SIERRA LEONE: Sierra Leone's opposition leader, Earnest Koroma, declines to attend a peace rally

A peace march organised to cement a pact against violence by Sierra Leone's poll contenders went ahead in the capital, Freetown without the All People's Congress Party (APC) leader, Earnest Koroma. The candidates had pledged to work for "violence-free elections" by riding in the same vehicle. The opposition front-runner in Sierra Leone's presidential election pulled out of a peace rally to have been held with his ruling party rival on Thursday (September 6), citing fears of renewed violence before a weekend run-off vote. The opposition All People's Congress (APC), whose candidate Ernest Bai Koroma led in a first round poll, said the ruling Sierra Leone's People's Party (SLPP) was arming supporters and had denied it campaign access to a contested eastern district. "The SLPP have not adhered to their commitment. We signed an agreement and you look through the agreement, there has been no commitment on the part of the SLPP to respect what is provided for in the agreement. That is why, unfortunately, very much against my wish, I have not been part and parcel of the peace march," explained Koroma, addressing a crowd of his supporters gathered outside the party's headquarters in Freetown. Alie Bah, a spokesman for President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, said Koroma had failed to attend a meeting late on Wednesday (September 5) at the presidential lodge to discuss security concerns. Bah said Kabbah was furious at Koroma's failure to attend. The SLPP strongly denied charges it was arming its supporters, in turn accusing the APC of arming its partisans with machetes and shotguns in the east. Koroma and his SLPP rival, Vice President Solomon Berewa, face a deciding second round ballot on Saturday (September 8). Both candidates had been scheduled to ride in the same vehicle in the rally, but the march went ahead without Koroma. Riots last week in the east of the country around Kailahun, an ethnically-mixed diamond mining area which saw some of the heaviest fighting during Sierra Leone's 1991-2002 civil war, forced the APC campaign convoy to turn back to Freetown. Dozens were wounded in the clashes. The polls are the first in the former British colony since United Nations peacekeepers pulled out two years ago. They are seen as a test of the West African nation's ability to consolidate peace and rebuild. Voters in the capital were sceptical about whether the peace rally would help curb violence. "With regard to whatever has been happening underground, its not going to be a peaceful election for sure. Some areas are locked up from other parties which I believe is not a better sign for a better election," said Patrick Swaray, a teacher in Freetown. Others like fellow teacher Baba Kamara are urging his countrymen to take personal responsibility in ensuring peaceful polls. The elections have revealed ethnic fault lines in the small, poor nation of around five million people, with the SLPP drawing its support from the southern Mende peoples and the APC stronger in the largely Temne north and west.

ITN Source | September 8, 2007

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