Of Weapons and Rulers
Most world news headlines evoke images of crises, scandals, situations in which yesterday's friend is today's bitter foe, and other sources of bleak reflection. Occasionally an item of good news appears: A government makes peace with some rebels; a state holds its first round of free elections. But these moments of triumph are tainted by their share of previous crises, scandals, and the legacy of transition from friend to foe and perhaps back to friend of some other once-or-future power.
Perhaps nowhere is this cycle more apparent than in Sierra Leonne. Since it gained independence in 1961, the small West African state existed as a one-party dictatorship. This arrangement was formalized by referendum in 1978. Although political stability resulted, the ruling military council relied extensively on international lenders for fiscal stability.
As with many military governments, dissenting groups of officers eventually emerged. In 1992 one of these groups ousted the nominal President and installed a new ruling council. As would be expected, the ousted government sought to restore itself to power. From this situation ensued one of the most intricate arms sales scandals in recent memory. Anyone who finds the US "Iran Contra" arms sales too complex to comprehend should suspend that perception.
While the government dismantled itself in Sierra Leonne, civil war and chaos ravaged neighboring Liberia. Liberian rebels (which should be construed as anyone who could carry, aim, and fire a gun) sought refuge in Sierra Leonne's coastal swamps to reorganize their ranks and plan their next offensives. Rival groups often hid in the same swamps and conducted search-and-destroy missions against each other's camps.
Without directly intending it, Liberian rebels spread their conflict into Sierra Leonne. The competition of various military cliques spread to the population and led to quasi-ethnic warfare by the Temni and Mende groups. A thriving weapons trade evolved among these groups, their Liberian quasi-allies, and other West African groups. The carnage in the Sierra Leonne capital Freetown mounted. In the mid-1990s the British government attempted to intercede via the Commonwealth to bring the factions to a reasoned truce. That was the beginning of the debacle.
When it won power in 1997, the "New Labour" British government led by Tony Blair declared it would apply an "ethical and moral foreign policy". The then-Foreign Secretary Robin Cooke was particularly in favor of such a policy. As would seem logical, a vital component of an "ethical and moral foreign policy" would include ensuring the spread of democracy at least through the Commonwealth. To Mr. Cooke, there seemed no better place to begin than Sierra Leonne.
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