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The Balancing Act: the current situation regarding the Truth and Reconciliation Commission within the broader political and security framework by Dr. Dennis Bright, Commission for the Consolidation of Peace at the National Workshop on the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission Chairman, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, all protocols observed. I am indeed grateful for this opportunity accorded me, through the Commission for the Consolidation of Peace of which I am a member, to make my modest contribution to the consultations on this all important subject of the T.R.C. The title I have given to this contribution is "The Balancing Act" because in my view and in the light of the current situation we may be walking on a tight rope with crucial and fragile issues such as peace, reconciliation, truth and justice in our hands. And since we are dealing with issues that affect the lives of four million people it is imperative that we conduct our deliberations with frankness and sincerity. The Sierra Leone T.R.C. is now law, passed into our body of legislations and gazetted on 2nd March 2000. This was in fact Government's response to a requirement of the Lome Peace Agreement of July 1999 signed by the Revolutionary United Front and the Government of Sierra Leone. This legislation gives to the T.R.C. the overall objectives of creating an impartial historical record of violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law related to the armed conflict in Sierra Leone, from the beginning of the conflict in 1991 to the signing of the Lome Peace Agreement". It should also "address impunity, "respond to the needs of victims", "promote healing and reconciliation", and "prevent a repetition of the violations and abuses suffered". Sensitization Although there have been quite a few sensitization campaigns on the issue led by various agencies such as the NCDHR, Forum of Conscience and such Human Rights organizations, the need to pass on to the public more precise information about the TRC cannot be over-emphasized. This need is confirmed even by the Act itself which provides for a 3 month preparatory period before the commencement of the TRC during which a "public education campaign on the purposes and procedures of the Commission" shall be designed and undertaken. If people were unsure of the real nature and objects of the TRC, even more confusion has been created in their minds since talk of a Special Court for Sierra Leone or a War Crimes Tribunal started. I have noticed that even legal experts both at home and abroad do not seem to have come into any concrete agreement yet on the relationships between the TRC and the proposed Court; you can therefore imagine the perplexity of ordinary people including myself when informed legal personalities take on each other in a debate over that issue. However, I would try to comment on that later. Demand for peace: a matter of priority For now, permit me, Ladies and Gentlemen, to draw your attention to the matter of peace. Regrettably, I have sometimes witnessed considerations regarding security and the peace process, and even the general mood of the ordinary man and woman being sacrificed on the altar of legalistic and bureaucratic finesse. But I was heartened when I read the following statement in the report of a recent U.N. Security Council Mission to Sierra Leone: "While visiting locations outside Freetown, members of the mission were struck by the deep desire of Sierra Leoneans to lead a normal life in peace and by their commitment to that objective". In my opinion, here lies the bottom line. After ten years of brutality and insanity Sierra Leoneans are now exhausted and frustrated with violence. Several times it has happened that whenever they seemed to have come close to the end of the conflict either by the signing of an agreement or apparent government military upper-hand their hopes have been smashed with a new round of even more intense waves of violent death and destruction. The priority of the people especially those living precariously in the vast areas that are not under the control of the legitimate government, is peace and freedom from fear, freedom to live their lives like normal human beings. And for this they are ready to go a long way, even to reconcile with those who were hurting them yesterday. This should not be interpreted to mean peace at any cost and I shall address the question of impunity later. Let me at this point refer to an initiative which I consider to be very much in context and should be very useful to those associated with the process of creating the T.R.C. Reconciliation and the Tasso experience All over the country local initiatives by NGOs and CBOs are being taken to challenge the temptations of hate, revenge and nihilism within their communities. I refer to organizations like the Bo Peace and Reconciliation Movement, the Campaign for Peace in Bo, the organization for Peace Reconciliation and Development (OPARD) based in Mile 91. On this issue of people's need for peace and reconciliation I wish on behalf of the CCP to take this opportunity to invite members of the press who may be interested, the NCDHR and others to Tasso Island on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. The occasion will be the final ceremonies of reconciliation of a whole Island that was torn apart as a result of divisions caused during the AFRC and the ECOMOG Military Intervention periods. The CCP has been mediating in this conflict and can now safely announce its solution. Indeed, we have always emphasized the fact that beneath the macro-conflict which often receives the glare of international publicity there is a formidable undergrowth of sub conflicts at local and community levels that need to be resolved if real peace should return to the homes of ordinary citizens. This is another way of saying that the relevance and impact of the T.R.C. will have to be felt at these levels. I will now turn to the question of truth. Truth: Which truth? Whose truth? If the Lome Agreement signed by both Government and the RUF calls for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I assume that it is because such a body responds to a need felt by both sides. However, much caution and tact is needed so that this idea is not mistaken for a trap into which one side is luring the other. There is an urgent need for people, including and especially the RUF, to be sensitized on the benefits of the T.R.C. in the same way that they are sensitized on the benefits of the NCDDR and the NCRRR. There is a need for all combatants to know now that the T.R.C. will not be selective on the basis of which side they were fighting on. This is because the T.R.C. cannot function on partial-truths; it has to be the whole truth or nothing at all. The T.R.C. can only achieve its goal of healing and reconciliation if all truths are told and everybody is given the chance to tell his own. I am convinced that within the context of impartiality the principle of accountability will be appreciated by the perpetrators. Our friends in Article 19 have argued convincingly about people's right to know the truth. The cathartic effect of "knowing the truth" in communities so deeply bruised by war cannot be overestimated. When the people of Tasso visited the CCP to register their gratitude for the role we played in the resolution of their conflict, they expressed their relief in that they finally knew the truth. However, in the same way that there is the right to know truth, it is true that people also feel the need to tell the truth sometimes as a therapy against guilt and an implied act of penitence. The T.R.C. must offer this opportunity to those who have been perpetrating violence in Sierra Leone. Justice In all this therefore, where does the question of impunity come in? First of all, it must be realized that Sierra Leone has been the theatre of some of the worst crimes ever committed by man against man; and this goes beyond eliminating life, to the act of maiming individuals so that they will continue to live with physical evidence of the damage caused to them for the rest of their lives. It is inconceivable therefore that such acts would go unpunished. However, justice is an extremely delicate phenomenon especially when it has to do with offences committed on such a wide scale, involving a whole nation and even humanity. A friend of mine recently told me that the best form of justice in the Sierra Leone conflict is tit-for-tat, meaning the military option. This view is symptomatic of the frustration being felt by many Sierra Leoneans in the light of the intransigence of the RUF. And indeed, listening to their spokesperson sometimes one has the impression that it is the world that has wronged them and that Government's claim to control areas being occupied by the RUF is like an attempt to trespass and violate. Government's frustration on the other hand, is based on the fact that its right to exercise sovereignty in the whole country has been usurped and that all attempts at making concessions and signing agreements have been treated with contempt. I hope the RUF realizes how fast it is losing sympathy even from those who have tried in the past to show some measure of understanding of their plight. Having said that, military options are usually not the best as we can see every where in the world, so that other forms of justice must be sought. Special court The current proposal for a special Court for Sierra Leone came up as a result of the May incidents which saw the near collapse of the Lome Agreement. Many questions are being asked and need to be answered on the issue of a Special Court. For instance, how will it articulate with the TRC, if it does? If the temporal jurisdiction begins at the Abidjan Agreement of November 1996, how fair will this cut off date be regarded by aggrieved parties of the NPRC era, some of whom are today chasing Valentine Strasser everywhere he goes. Another question is how do child commanders fit into the "most responsible" category? And finally, how timely can the debate over the establishment of a special court be at a time when at least 50% of the country is being controlled by armed rebels who are being asked to disarm. The UN Security Council Mission noted NGOs and Civil Society's concern about the negative impact of "the establishment and jurisdiction of the court on the minds of ex-combatants who could be more reluctant to come forward for fear of prosecution". It is interesting that whereas we read in some despatches that the people are eager for the establishment of the Special Court now, consultations with Civil Society Groups and local NGO's are indicating otherwise. Perhaps this will be a test of the capacity of the people of Sierra Leone to say "NO" or "WAIT" to the International Community, the benefactor who is paying the piper. The T.R.C. therefore seems to be the only indisputable option that will guarantee the right to know the truth and satisfy the need to tell it. And there is nothing stopping us from preparing for it now as long as care is taken to sensitize all parties on the opportunities it holds for the achievement of healing and reconciliation and for a firm foundation of justice to be laid. Furthermore, it must be said that with the crowd of concepts and initiatives currently pushing and shoving at our doorsteps, perhaps it is the T.R.C. that can respond adequately to our need for some serenity, our need to take time to tell it all and get it off our chests, our duty to consider the plight of the victims and record those things that should never be allowed to happen again. Nearly finally, just one note of caution: "elections are in the air". Government's mandate ends in February next year and can be extended for 6 months. While people are talking about the impracticability of holding elections before peace, I have noticed that many politicians are on their guard and are bracing themselves up for the event. It is anybody's guess what impact the investigations and findings of the TRC may have on the elections in the event of the two processes running simultaneously. It is necessary to think of ways in which, in the heart of electioneering, deliberate manipulation of crimes against humanity to look like crimes committed because of political, tribal or regional motives, could be avoided. These few thoughts are my truths. Let us realize that this is something like a balancing act. We are talking about the lives of people, ordinary men and women who have suffered for long years for no just cause. For reasons of politics, greed and ambition a whole nation has been subjected to the worst atrocities ever recorded in human history. For as long as the amputees live Sierra Leone will have a reminder of this great mistake. If we are to turn around and start correcting our mistake we will have to be courageous and stand face to face with the truth, the whole truth and nothing of the truth. This moment can no longer be postponed for the more we put it off to another day the deeper the pain, sorrow and hate that is bottled up in the bosom of the widow, the sexually abused teenager or the child that has been taught to shed blood even before he knew what life was all about. It is only when the truth has been told that real reconciliation will begin and the foundation for justice will have been laid. These are my truths. Think about them and thank you very much for listening.
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