Like most former African colonial countries, since 196 1 gained independence from the former British colonial rule, Sierra Leone has taken an uneven road both politically and economically.
Military coup has become the main way to change the state power, while dictatorship and corruption are getting worse. Rich natural and mineral resources with a single economic structure (Sierra Leone is rich in diamonds and is a famous "blood diamond" producing area) have been concentrated in the hands of a few people; The prosperity of the central city is in sharp contrast with the closed and backward rural areas, and the rural areas are increasingly dissatisfied with the city. As long as someone leads, don't worry. No one will rise to respond to the rebellion.
The civil war in neighboring Liberia provided a convenient source of weapons for Sankoh's rebellion. The early activities of RUF were mainly concentrated in rural areas. Under the pretext of corruption, the organization made a mess of the national economy and vowed that "the general regime would drive out the capital Freetown and completely eradicate the presidential election system".
After the end of 1994, RUF's anti-government actions were obviously strengthened and extended to some big cities, which hit some major economic facilities, especially the major mining companies in southeastern Serbia. Some major mining companies were forced to stop production or even close down by armed attacks or taking foreigners of these mining companies as hostages. In turn, the mining and export of titanium ore, bauxite and diamonds in the country have been paralyzed, while the rebels have made profits by illegally exporting diamonds. As the most important financial resource to support the war, diamond resources have always been the goal of this war. The warring sides forcibly recruited a large number of teenagers to serve and trained them into bloodless killing machines. In particular, the "RUF" side often regards a large number of innocent civilians as the targets of its violence and often cuts off people's limbs. Its wanton cruelty to children and young girls is even more numerous, which has aroused the public indignation of the whole international community.
The civil war in 1 1 also caused extremely serious damage to agricultural production, making about 1/4 of the population in the country become refugees, tens of thousands of people died in the civil war, and a large area of farmland was deserted. In rebel-controlled areas, food aid provided by international agencies could not be delivered, and a large number of people died of hunger. Foday Sankoh is famous for his bloodthirsty and cruelty. The Revolutionary United Front he led is the most brutal force in the world: beatings and massacres have become their daily life. The most outrageous thing is that the doll army often tortures people who are enemies with various tortures such as dismemberment and heart digging, and even calls it "psychological deterrence of the enemy."
The civil war in Sierra Leone is therefore called the bloodiest civil war in the world.
It is incredible to say that Sankoh was born in the Jimmy tribe in Sierra Leone. 1956 joined the royal west African army and went to Britain to receive wireless operator training. Before his debut, he was just a little-known army corporal and did wedding photography.
On the way to the peak of political power and capture the diamond-producing area of Sierra Leone, Sankoh had an army composed of kidnapped children. In order to completely cut off these children's way home, Sankoh invented a cruel method. He ordered his subordinates to force these teenagers to rape their mothers and sisters at gunpoint, and then forced them to kill their relatives themselves, cut off the temples of these children and stuff them with cocaine. Then these children were dragged into the jungle. If they want to live, they can only recognize the thief as their father and listen to Sankoh's command. This child army, which grew up in the "battle", played a decisive role in the peace process in Sierra Leone. 1992, Sierra Leone government officers staged a coup and seized power. However, the RUF's offensive was fierce, and the government troops were losing ground. In desperation, 1995, the newly appointed Captain Warrington Strasser hired a South African private military and security service company and signed a two-year contract. The condition for becoming a mercenary is to have a real share of Sierra Leone's diamond mines.
This mercenary stayed in Sierra Leone for 2 1 month and spent $35 million, but they did make some achievements: the main force of RUF was wiped out and retreated to the countryside, occupying only a few small places. The government saved the diamond-producing areas, and Sankoh was forced to go to the negotiating table to hold consultations on free elections.
However, the role played by mercenaries in Sierra Leone has aroused the dissatisfaction of western powers. They first put pressure on strasser, and then put pressure on the newly elected Kabbah government in Amede to immediately terminate the contract with mercenaries.
1997, the Kabbah government had no choice but to cancel the contract with the private military and security service company. Mercenaries went home.
RUF finally made a breakthrough. RUF has never accepted the election procedure or recognized the election results. When the mercenaries retreated, they made a comeback and began a large-scale bloody revenge. Because Kabbah put forward the slogan "The future is in your hands" during the campaign, the rebels cut off the hands of ordinary people. Without mercenaries, the government's defense is vulnerable, and the "Revolutionary United Front" does whatever it wants in the countryside. 1996165438+1On October 30th, President Tejan Kabbah, who came to power by universal suffrage, signed a peace agreement with rebel leader Sankoh in Abidjan, the capital of C? te d 'Ivoire, announcing the end of the civil war that had plagued the country for five years. Residents of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, once cheered: "The war is over and peace has finally arrived!"
Even Sankoh said that this agreement marks "the beginning of a new era in Sierra Leone" ... The challenge we face today is to manage the country well and implement democratic politics. President Kabbah said: "The Revolutionary United Front is no longer the enemy of Sierra Leone. In the future, our enemies will be poverty, hunger, disease, greed and suspicion. " However, Sierra Leoneans have just had a wonderful time.
1On May 25th, 1997, Colonel Koroma, who once supported strasser, staged a coup, overthrew the Kabbah government, invited the Revolutionary United Front to enter the capital Freetown, wantonly burned and looted, and nearly 10,000 women were raped. And there are dismembered bodies everywhere, because there are too many bodies and no one is buried, so they are simply piled up, and the piles of bodies in the street stink. Koroma became head of state and formed a military government, including members of the RUF. President Kabbah is in exile in Guinea. The international community generally condemned the coup, and the "West African Economic Community" sent peacekeeping troops to Sierra Leone.
In the same year, on 8 October, 65438/KLOC-0, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1 132 to impose sanctions and embargoes on the military government. 10 10 On October 23rd, the military government signed a peace agreement in Conakry, Guinea, and handed over power to the elected government.
1February 1998 12, West African peacekeeping forces led by Nigeria captured the capital Freetown, and the short-lived military government was overthrown in less than a year. On March 10, President Kabbah returned to China to resume his post.
1999 1 month, the recovered rebels made a comeback and raided the capital Freetown, almost overthrowing the Kabbah regime again. West African peacekeeping forces made great efforts to drive the rebels out of the capital. As there is no hope of a military solution, the two sides seek a political solution again. On July 7 of the same year, President Kabbah and Sankoh, leader of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF), signed a peace and partial power-sharing agreement in Lomé, Togo.
According to the agreement, the rebels will lay down their arms. In exchange, they will get four ministerial posts and four deputy ministerial posts in the government. Forgive all the crimes of the rebels, and Sankoh will enjoy the treatment of vice president and be responsible for the management and reconstruction of strategic resources. It seems that "peace is in sight." It is precisely to ensure the implementation of the Lomé Agreement that the United Nations sent a peacekeeping force, the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), to monitor the ceasefire and disarmament and help implement the elections held in 2006. However, when they started the peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone, the United Nations found that the difficulties it encountered here were not just "maintaining peace".
In May, 2000 1 year, although the government signed a peace agreement with the Revolutionary United Front, domestic security was still not restored, and President Kabbah decided to postpone the presidential election for1year.
In May 2002, a presidential election was held under the supervision of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone, and Kabbah was re-elected. The reason why the civil war in Sierra Leone has dragged on for so long is related to the abnormal political ecology of this country. As often happened in many African countries in the past, Sierra Leone has long had a bad example of resolving domestic power succession through a military coup. Military power cannot guarantee to serve the interests of the country and the people, but it is often used by a few careerists. When the army exercises state functions, it is often influenced by the selfish interests of a few people, and even becomes a tool to subvert the country and the government.
Secondly, it is related to the strategy of big countries, especially western countries, towards Africa after the Cold War. After the end of the Cold War, western powers generally adopted a stand-by attitude on the issues of war and peace in Africa, that is, let African countries "solve their own internal affairs independently", especially after 1993 United Nations peacekeeping operations in Somalia made American soldiers suffer greatly. Without the approval of the United States, the action of the United Nations is impossible. The inaction of western countries and the United Nations has wasted many opportunities to achieve peace.
In addition, it is also related to the geopolitical and economic environment in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone is a member of the West African Economic Community headed by Nigeria. It has an unnatural border with Liberia, a member of the Economic Community of West African States. In addition, rebel leader Sankoh has a special friendship with Liberian military strongman Taylor. Every time the rebels are hit hard, they can make a comeback with the help of Liberia.
On the other hand, while supporting the restoration of Kabbah, the "West African Peacekeeping Force" dominated by Nigeria failed to fundamentally solve the rebels militarily, resulting in endless legacy. Moreover, the international community and the elected government of Serbia are eager for peace. They have made too many concessions to the rebels, given them things that they simply can't get on the battlefield, and given them too much space and power to move.
Therefore, the United Nations peacekeeping force is in a very embarrassing situation. In 2000, Sankoh and his "RUF" once again made a splash in front of the world. In May of that year, the "RUF" openly challenged the United Nations by kidnapping more than 500 soldiers of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Serbia and taking them hostage. Once this matter was reported, the whole world was in an uproar. You know, kidnapping hundreds of UN peacekeepers is unique in the history of UN peacekeeping. "RUF" finally angered the whole world, and the voice of crusade rose accordingly.
Interestingly, while the RUF kidnapped peacekeepers, Sankoh himself disappeared mysteriously. While the United Nations was racking its brains for the hostage incident, Sankoh, who was secretly lurking in the capital Freetown, was captured by local civilians and handed over to the Sierra Leone government. Sankoh's arrest finally turned the hostage incident around.
Under strong international and domestic pressure, RUF finally released the detained UN peacekeepers.
Since then, Sankoh has had bad luck.
Although the "RUF" still regards Sankoh as the leader and claims that Sankoh is the only person who can negotiate with the government and the United Nations on behalf of the RUF, the angered United Nations said nothing and disagreed with Sankoh's continued participation in the Sierra Leone peace process. After the hostage crisis, the United Nations Security Council unanimously passed a resolution to establish the United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone to try criminals who seriously violated international humanitarian law and relevant laws in Sierra Leone during the civil war, and Sankoh was the first to bear the brunt.
In March 2003, Sankoh was handed over to the Special Court of Serbia for trial, and he is awaiting 65,438+07 charges of crimes against humanity. Unexpectedly, before being tried, the tyrant who was hated by Sierra Leoneans left first. After the establishment of the Serbian Special Court at the end of 2002, Sankoh was transferred to the court for trial. From June, 5438 to October, 2002 10, Moraceae suffered a severe stroke. After that, his health went from bad to worse. When he was tried in March 2003, Sankoh was in a wheelchair and could not answer the judge's questions. Sankoh applied to the special court to postpone the trial for health reasons, but was rejected. Just a few days later, Sankoh ended his sinful life.
Although Sankoh escaped the final judgment by death penalty, people still think that his trial by the Serbian special court is a "clear signal to the turbulent African continent", that is, "all rebel leaders will be punished by law". Subsequently, the leaderless "RUF" gradually disintegrated under the joint attack of all parties, and Sierra Leone finally ushered in the dawn of peace.