MISC 99: Letter to the Chairman of the Committee from the Parliamentary Relations Team, Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Sierra Leone

Thank you for your letter dated 30 July 2009 on your recent meeting with Dr John Benjamin, the National Chairman of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). You asked for an assessment of the political situation in Sierra Leone and an explanation of what the FCO is doing to improve the situation.

As you will be aware, hostility between the ruling All People's Congress (APC) and SLPP has been a problem in Sierra Leone for decades. It usually manifests itself in the form of street demonstrations and occasionally violent rioting at times of political tension. The last serious incident was in Freetown in March, when APC supporters surrounded and sacked the SLPP Headquarters. The international community, including the UK, helped to calm tensions and, in the following week, brokered a "Joint Communiqué" in which both parties committed themselves to working actively to reduce tension. Shortly after this was signed the third largest party, the People's Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC), also signed up to the Communique. We, along with international partners, are monitoring progress in implementation of the agreement and are maintaining a dialogue with the signatories. President Koroma is acting as its Patron. Party Leaders, including Dr John Benjamin, have publicly dedicated themselves to its success. NGOs and religious groups (the latter are particularly influential) are participating in outreach events in Freetown and the regional capitals of Makeni, Bo and Kenema.

Our High Commissioner in Freetown has recently held meetings with the National Committees of all three main parties. He urged them to use their influence to decrease tension, and to increase understanding of the boundaries between healthy, robust political competition and damaging hostility and aggression. In recent discussions with John Benjamin he encouraged him to speak frankly to his APC colleagues and to President Koroma to explore the scope for mutual tension reduction measures. For the longer term, the High Commission is supporting key national institutions (Election Commission, Media Commission, Political Party Registration Commission) that will play a crucial role in the run up to the 2012 election.

We shall continue to focus our activity in Sierra Leone on helping the country to rebuild its institutions and improve the lives of its people, which were so damaged by years of conflict. We see the development of a vibrant and stable multi-party democracy as a key part of that process, and will support the Sierra Leoneans in achieving that aim.

I hope that this assessment answers your questions.

Julian Smith

Head

Parliamentary Relations Team

25 August 2009