On 9 May Robin Cook, Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office made a statement to the House of Commons on Sierra Leone. Following
his statement Mr Cook answered a number of questions during the course of
which the following exchange took place. The reference is Hansard (House of
Commons Daily Debates):
Mr Andrew Robathan (Blaby): Given the litany of the thousands of awful
murders and mutilations that the Foreign Secretary referred to, does he
accept that his foreign policy on Sierra Leone over the past three years has
not been a success? Does he remember the Prime Minister's official spokesman
saying two years ago that it did not really matter because the good guys
won? Does he regret that? Does he regret not listening some two and a half
years ago to the advice of Peter Penfold, when high commissioner? He was
then supporting President Kabbah, who wished to stage a coup--a counter
coup--which might not have led to the terrible murders that we have seen in
the past three years as a result?
Mr Cook: The whole House will appreciate that the hon. Gentleman has
uncorked the ancient vinegar. I think it regrettable that there is any
Member of the House who cannot rise to the gravity of the situation faced by
500 British nationals and those UN forces engaged in the field. The hon.
Gentleman referred to President Kabbah staging a coup--rather curious,
considering that he was elected by the people of Sierra Leone.
Mr Robathan: Counter coup.
Mr Cook: I think that "counter" came after the hon. Gentleman originally
said that it was a coup. I presume that the hon. Gentleman was making a
reference to Sandline. The liberation of Sierra Leone that occurred in 1998
had nothing whatever to do with Sandline, and everything to do with Nigerian
troops, which took a large number of casualties in the process. The truth is
that, in the present situation, mercenaries would be nothing but a menace.
---------
Mr Cook knows perfectly well from information that he would have received
that Sandline played a material role in the planning of the liberation of
Freetown in early 1998. To suggest that it had "nothing whatever to do with
Sandline" is a gross distortion of the truth.
Mr Cook's statement to the House that "in the present situation, mercenaries
would be nothing but a menace" should be considered in the context of the
failure of the present 8,000-strong UN force to keep the peace in Sierra
Leone and the fact that a 150-strong (no typographical error) deployment by
a private military company in 1995 and 1996 is widely acknowledged, even
amongst the critics of "mercenaries", as having created the conditions which
brought the rebels to the negotiating table and facilitated the first
democratic elections for many years.
It is in Sierra Leone's interest for Mr Cook to consider all the options
open to Her Majesty's Government to resolve the continuing crisis, including
the use of private military companies to supplement the resources of the
present UN force. However, he has made it very clear that any such proposal
would be dismissed out of hand.
The crisis in Sierra Leone would never have arisen if the contract with
Executive Outcomes had not been prematurely terminated in 1996 (contrary to
the advice given to the Sierra Leone Government at the time) and, even then,
could have been stayed a year later if Sandline had been contracted as
proposed to resolve the problem.
Far from private military companies being "a menace" as suggested by Mr Cook
they have proven to be of material value in terminating conflict in Sierra
Leone when hired by the State. The facts have been clearly reported and Mr
Cook would be well advised to refresh his memory before he makes any more
unjustified statements on this subject.