Drowning applause
  President Kabbah entered the hall to tremendous applause from a rather unexpectedly open-mined audience. Rumours had spread around in the days ahead of the meeting that opponents of the peace deal with the rebel RUF, including a group claiming to be London supporters of Sierra Leone's pro government kamajoh militia, would be unreceptive and create chaos. They had even threatened to hold a demonstration against Kabbah outside the hall. None materialised but in anticipation of this eventuality, this editor and scores of equally determined supporters of the Lomé Agreement had already laid counter plans to ensure that the saboteurs did not succeed. It was this that probably led them to drop their plans. 
  As far as events inside the hall went, if indeed these would-be saboteurs were at all present they were conspicuous by their silence which may well have been due to the thunderous applause that greeted the president and his entourage as they were led in front the back of the hall on to the podium in front. Among them was the British Foreign Secretary of State for International Development, Ms Clare Short. Her presence there was clearly intended to send a strong message of support from the British Government and to add gravitas to the president's first public defence of the Lomé Agreement among Sierra Leoneans in the Diaspora.

Kabbah recommends Lomé to his countrymen and countrywomen
  President Kabbah was introduced by his rebellious High Commissioner Mr Cyril Foray who, even then, still raised his doubts about the wisdom of some of the provisions of the agreement. In his eagerness to accommodate himself with a critical audience, he tried his best to rehabilitate himself with a few jokes that failed to make any impression.
  The President thanked all who had turned up and paid special tribute to Ms Short and her government for the tremendous interest they have been showing in the affairs of Sierra Leone. He said the purpose of his visit was to address a donor conference that had been organised by the British Government to help with implementation of the Lomé Agreement. He would be meeting the friends of Sierra Leone at that meeting the next day. 
  In recommending the agreement to his audience, Kabbah dwelt at length on the events that led to his overthrow and those thereafter, and the hopelessness of the situation that he had inherited upon assuming office. He said he had inherited a war with which he had absolutely nothing to do. He had also inherited a situation in which there was no security system. He gave a wide-ranging background to the war and said that many people had abandoned the country as a result. Everybody had suffered one way or another.
  To demonstrate the gravity of the situation the country had descended to, which he said was one reason why they had to go for dialogue and broker peace, Kabbah cited the example of Somalia where the length of the war and the involvement of so many factions with allegiance to a number of countries had led to irreversible consequences for that country. One being that Somalia was already disappearing because other countries were swallowing it up so that it would no longer exist. He did not want that to happen to Sierra Leone. Also, the experience of seeing so much suffering such as little babies with their arms chopped off made the ending of the conflict imperative. He appealed to everybody present to support the agreement. People, he said, were yearning for peace and Lomé has given it to them. 
  The President said that his government had consulted widely. Solomon Berewa, his attorney general and chief negotiator, on the platform with him, had been in direct regular touch with him on an almost daily, and at critical moments hourly, basis throughout the negotiations in Togo. Even after the agreement had been signed he had held further nation-wide consultations and the country had massively endorsed the agreement. People had turned out in throngs in Bo and Kenema. Parliament too had unanimously endorsed it.
 Kabbah then embarked on some pep talk that roused even those still sceptical about some of the provisions of Lomé. He revealed that the British Government had now agreed to finance the replacement of the SLBS short wave radio with one that would be heard throughout the whole country. That very morning, he further disclosed, he had met an European Union delegation and had stressed the country's need for civic education, to help people know their rights and duties. The EU had now agreed to release promised funding previously been marked for the Freetown area; they had also accepted and given a contact to improve and extend TV coverage over the whole country by installing repeater stations to cover North, East and South of Sierra Leone. 
  The project for disarmament and demobilisation of the fighters on all sides was also in hand with commitments already in hand from the British Government, the World Bank and others. The President said his principal aim was to start removing the guns away from these people and to re-train them for meaningful employment that eschewed the use of the gun but making them into productive individuals. "We must train them to develop and make things, not to destroy," he said. The challenge was for us to mobilise our resources not for destruction but for creating the things that we need. 
  President Kabbah briefly touched on the recent UNICEF development statistics which placed Sierra Leone 174th out of 174 countries in the world. It pained him much that we were also the country that had the highest mortality rate and the worst for children to grow in. He was not sure about the data used for such statistics and, though not making excuses for the country, he felt it was time for the sources of the data that fed into these assessments to be looked at again.
  Rounding up his talk, Kabbah pleaded with his audience that he would depend on them to write and tell their relatives and friends in Sierra Leone that we should all work together as a team. The cease-fire has been holding and there had been no serious incidents reported to him since the agreement was signed. The kamajoh leader in Kenema had just assured him that there had not been a single shot fired in his area. Foday Sankoh had given orders for child hostages to be released and they had been released.
  Referring to the atrocities of the war and in particular to the RUF and the "sobels", he stressed the need for forgiveness, urging the audience that "Bad bush nor dey for troway bad pikin!" Even if they were killed in their thousands and say only three were left, they could still lay ambushes and terrorise your families; they would kill innocent people and if it is not your family this time it could be next time. "How would you feel about that?" he asked. Kabbah said that as a religious country whose people often pray together, we should try to forgive each other even though it will be hard for us to forget what has happened to us. He was aware that some critics have raised the issue of impunity but he would rather lay emphasis on that of self-preservation. The RUF would never sign an agreement knowing very well that they would then be punished, including being killed, as a result. That is why the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be set up so we can find out and learn about the things that happened, including who did what to whom.
 In a final rallying cry the President exhorted his countrymen and women to "Come home!" "No need for [to be afraid if you have] political problems!" "If you have legal problems, talk to the Attorney General" he said, amidst unrestrained laughter and applause from the audience. Everything, he said, will be solved. With that he received a standing ovation from at least two-thirds of the audience.
 
 

"This is your last chance....grab it!"
 British Cabinet minister Ms Clare Short rose to deafening applause after the address by the President. She said she understood the position of the doubters. However, Lomé was a chance for Sierra Leoneans to bring peace to their country. Everyone should therefore give it a chance to work. 
  But even that was not enough. "Your country will need us to mobilise the international system so it responds quickly and positively". The West was already trying to cope with refugees around the world who are just as desperate as those were from the war in Sierra Leone. 
 The view of all she met during her three-day visit to the country was one of desperately wanting the agreement to work. She saw our beautiful country. It has suffered far too much for too long. Yet she could see the grace of the people in the face of such odds. She was also aware of the country's abundant resources. It is a shame and a disgrace that there was such mismanagement of it. 
  She saw two young men whose arms had been chopped off. But these two were diligently learning to cope, and were very eager and determined to become familiar with using the special gadgets that had been made for them in place of their hands so that they can work again. "Now if these people, despite their impairment, can struggle to get back to working again, so can every able-bodied Sierra Leonean" she told her audience.
  The SOS recounted that when she was on her way back, she bought a book about Sierra Leone which, during a flight delay, she skimmed through it. It helped her understand some of the sources of the country’s ills. Nothing however excuses the violence that had taken hold of the country though there was a need to help the poorest people. Thousands of them were still in the bush, hungry and with guns. Sierra Leoneans must get organised and move forward.
  On a note of caution, Ms Short reminded the audience that rehabilitation was not just of the fighters but also of those who have been driven away from their homes. Koffi Annan, the UN and Ecomog should therefore work pretty fast and close together. She pledged that for their part they, too, will work faster to get things moving. She confirmed the news of the phased expansion of the radio station and also the retraining of the old Sierra Leone armed forces. Her government was soon to despatch a senior British officer to Sierra Leone to serve as its new Inspector General of Police.
  The Secretary of State advised Sierra Leoneans to get down to the ploughs and to the farms. If this agreement does not work or is allowed to fail "this will end badly for your country" she said. But they will do everything to help. 
  Ms Short cited the example of Mozambique and how, when she was recently on a flight with its Foreign Minister, they both drifted into a discussion about Sierra Leone. Her companion noted the similarities, especially the nature of the atrocities committed in both wars and expressed a wish to make contact with Sierra Leone authorities so that he can share with them the benefit of their own experience in Mozambique. "They are doing very well right now," said Ms Short. She said that she saw no reason why that should not happen in Sierra Leone too …only it should be much easier in our case.
 
 

Attorney General Solomon Berewa started on a powerful and constructive note when he gave the reasons why they had to go to the negotiating table, leading the Lomé Agreement. He would answer any queries and clear any doubts anyone had about the negotiations or the agreement that the government had signed. It had been a victory for the Government because not only had the sanctity of the Constitution been maintained intact but also the RUF had not got what they set out to wrest from the government. But, said the AG, in all negotiations, and considering the dire situation of the country, there was need for compromise and the government had done just that. He fiercely rejected the allegation that his delegation had been subjected to arm twisting by certain governments and the international community. This denial was received with sceptical response from the audience. 
  Berewa gave six main reasons why the Government of Sierra Leone decided to go for dialogue and peaceful settlement, instead of war, to bring the civil war to an end:
 

• Sierra Leone did not have an army of its own. All that the country had were 'sobels' – soldier rebels. Following the coup of May 1997, and the ensuing ousting of the junta out of Freetown, rebel soldiers threw in their lot with the RUF and joined them to form a unified army.

• On each occasion when there was trouble, the country's international community deserted it. After the coup, the only people who were prepared to help the government were the Nigerians – a foreign army whose head was also the President of the country. But the political landscape had changed in Nigeria since then. Nigeria is no longer a military dictatorship but a democratic country. The civilian government now has to abide by the law and their own Constitution. The Kabbah government can not therefore place its destiny in the prevailing state of affairs; nor can it predict the future conduct of the Nigerian Parliament.

•  The economy of Nigeria was itself severely strained and could not bear the continuing and increasing expense of its operations in Sierra Leone any more. The Government of Sierra Leone was left with no alternative but to show a greater determination to sue for peace. Thanks to President Eyadema in Togo this was made possible.

• Before they opted for dialogue, the attitude of members of the international community was again made evident after the invasion of Freetown last January. Again, they all withdrew from the country and abandoned us. Although the rebels were driven back in the end, they had not been broken and were still very well armed. "We could not depend on the international community to help us next time. They will run away and leave us to face the rebels who, only recently, were threatening ‘operation no living thing’ for their next incursion" said the AG.

• The sheer magnitude of the suffering in the country was another reason why they decided to sit down and talk with the rebels. With well over 5,000 amputees, thousands of deaths and the country's entire infrastructure destroyed, we were nearing a state of collapse. So they had to make a stout political decision. They opted to go for compromise but without offending the provisions of the Constitution.

• Above all they needed to stop the carnage but without forfeiting the government's aims and objectives. Of course they went to the talks with both sides holding conflicting positions. RUF wanted a transitional government which they did not get; they wanted an expanded cabinet of 21 (RUF 11 ministers : Kabbah 10; RUF 10 deputies : Kabbah 4; RUF 6 Heads of parastatals : Kabbah 4.) They got nothing close to any of these demands. Moreover, the RUF will only nominate people but it is Kabbah who will appoint them, just as he appointed those from the PDP and the CDP. There was nothing like power sharing.

The Attorney General then embarked on a laboured and insipid discourse about how the Lomé Agreement had being crafted so that it did not offend against the “spirit and letter” of the Constitution. At which point he lost his audience. It was as if he was lecturing a group of law students. But he concluded that the agreement was received with widespread endorsement in Sierra Leone and by the international community. It was an agreement for the good of the majority of Sierra Leoneans. It would make sure that there was no more shooting. People were beginning to move around up country. And that should be welcomed by all.
  The meeting ended after barely three questions from the floor, much to the annoyance and disappointment of the audience. But at least Lomé had had its baptism in London. Ironically, for a place perceived by government as a hotbed of some of its fiercest and most implacable opponents, it received almost overwhelming approval. Not a bad evening for Kabbah, after all.