Freetown, Sierra Leone — Lieutenant-General Daniel Ishmael Opande, a Kenyan, is the force commander of the United Nations mission in Sierra Leone, Unamsil. Opande, who served as the UNs chief military observer in neighbouring Liberia in the 1990s, took up his Freetown posting in 2000.
He heads a 17,500-strong force of UN peacekeepers, with contingents drawn from seven countries - Bangladesh, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan. The largest African contingent comes from Nigeria; the largest overall from Pakistan. Unamsil - with staff and military observers from 31 nations - is currently the UNs largest peacekeeping operation - and its most successful.
The UN 'blue helmets' were first sent into Sierra Leone in October 1999 to try keep the peace. But they were attacked by the rebels who kidnapped 500 peacekeepers, almost scuppering their mission. More UN troops were sent in and their mandate beefed up.
Now, the presence of Unamsil troops is seen as crucial for the maintenance of security and stability in Sierra Leone. Unamsil is also providing essential logistics for the elections, helping to transport ballot boxes, voting materials and officials to remote areas of the country. Opande's team is keeping a watchful eye over the elections and ensuring that voting is smooth at more than 5000 polling stations countrywide.
In an interview with allAfrica.com, General Opande outlined some of the challenges facing the UN and the people of Sierra Leone after the elections, but spoke first about the key issue of security. The war was formally declared over in January this year.
Is Sierra Leone secure, General Opande?
Yes, very, very secure. I am comfortable with the current security situation. In fact I think Sierra Leone is much, much better than some other countries I know.
How secure?
Very secure. In other words the kind of insecurity the country had maybe six or seven months ago is no longer there. People are free to go wherever they want to go and people are not afraid of armed combatants or youths molesting them.
There are no roadblocks. There are countries that have not gone through civil war like the one you saw in Sierra Leone and there are roadblocks on every other corner. There arent any roadblocks here.
And yet there are still isolated incidents, violent clashes, that bring fear to the people. Explain how Unamsil deals with these, or of course the Sierra Leone police, because I believe they are the first line of defence for local security, arent they?
I think when people go through, or they are just about getting through, a period of insecurity like there has been in this country, any minor incident that brings the youth or individuals out to demonstrate is seen as a big thing.
Are you talking about former armed combatants?
Yes, former armed combatants were demonstrating for example in Makeni, because they complained that they had not been paid their dues by the relevant authorities. And they wanted to be heard. And when we realized that was not the way to demonstrate and get whatever they wanted to get, we told them, "youve got to disband and get out of this particular area." And they did.
Looking back over the history of Unamsil and the capture of 500 peacekeepers by the rebels, before your time, it was said that the mandate for the force was not tough enough. Are you now happy with the mandate given you by the UN Security Council and do Unamsil peacekeepers have the authority to fire back if they are shot at?
Our mandate is absolutely good for us in this situation. It is a very good mandate and I am satisfied with it. The mandate that we have here today is good enough for us to go through the process of peacekeeping until we hand over to the national government, or national army, to ensure that people live in peace here.
Does that mean a shoot-back policy exists for Unamsil troops?
Wait until somebody shoots at me, my friend, and he himself, or her, will know that Unamsil is not here to play about. Unamsil is ready to deal with any spoilers, anywhere in the country.
We have very, very comprehensive rules of engagement, which I am satisfied with. And should anybody care to shoot at us, of course we will respond in the manner that we have been trained to do. We will do everything within our power to forestall any such eventualities.
Everybody is supposed to have disarmed, but yes, there is every possibility of weapons coming into this country if people want to bring in weapons. If anyone is still holding weapons, holding them illegally, then the law will catch up with them. If they use these arms to threaten anyone during the elections, we will be there. But you cannot disarm 100 percent, it is impossible, especially with Sierra Leones porous borders. We know that. But I am very satisfied with our mandate.
For a country coming out of war, why is it that the Sierra Leone police, rather than the national armed forces of Sierra Leone, are responsible for security, backed, I assume, by Unamsil?
Well, in any country, the national police has the mandate of ensuring that peace and stability are maintained. That is why the Sierra Leone police is in the forefront. We only support them, as a peacekeeping force.
Unamsil is here to provide umbrella security cover for the whole country. The responsibility for ensuring law and order rests with the Sierra Leone police.
It should be the same when there are no UN peacekeepers here - that the national police should attend to any internal security problems. And if they are unable to suppress it or solve it, then of course they call upon - or the government will call upon - the national army to intervene.
Where are the lingering pockets of resistance and insecurity, those places where the UNHCR, for example, is reluctant to bring refugees home to Sierra Leone?
I dont want to speak for the NGOs, because perhaps my perception of security, peace and stability could be completely different from their own perception. So, Id rather say that, as far as Im concerned from my own perception, throughout the corners of this country today, there is peace and security. Peace and security reign.
I go out a lot. I visit nearly every corner of this country and I go out into the hinterland, where not very many NGOs get to. You find the people going about their business, doing what they want to do. Im not criticizing anybody for not going out there, but thats the situation I see.
Are you ready for the elections?
Our plans have been tested over and over again and have proven very effective. We have made sure that electoral materials are delivered within the time set. Once the elections are over, we will help the National Electoral Commission transport everything back.
We have also been training and helping with communications, radios, faxes etc.
Just a year ago, Sierra Leone was considered almost a no-hope country, still poor and right at the bottom of the UNs human development index despite its diamonds and natural resources? It was mired in war and fighting between rebels and government troops, civilians being harassed, killed and having their limbs cut off. How do you think the country has been able to pull itself out of the chasm?
I think it is the resolve of the people of Sierra Leone. I think they realised they had had enough of civil war, war amongst themselves. They were determined that, with the support of the international community and the United Nations, they needed to ride on the right path of peace and tranquility.
Of course, the international community and the UN and others have chipped in and put in a lot of effort in helping the people of Sierra Leone consolidate peace. And I think that is where they are today.
Were you surprised, personally?
I was not surprised, Ofeibea, because, when I arrived in November 2000, I was asked the same question: whether I had any hope in seeing the then status quo being turned over so that we could hope for a better Sierra Leone? And I told them, "yes, I have every hope that Sierra Leone will turn a new chapter", provided the people were committed to bringing peace.
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But if there was no peace to be achieved, or no peace to be kept by Unamsil, even if I were given thirty to forty thousand men and women, I dont think we would have achieved what we have achieved.
I want to thank the people of this country for giving us that support and for working towards peace. We were just a cog in the wheel. We have done our best but, without their commitment that they wanted peace, there would be no peace to be kept here or there would be no peace among the people of Sierra Leone.
How long is Unamsil going to remain in Sierra Leone, helping to support a democratically-elected leadership, once the elections, the results and the possible fall-out have happened?
Today, we have a mandate which had been extended to September this year. We are still here until September. Whether we stay beyond that is a matter for the Security Council to decide. That is where we are today.
But, of course, your input is important. Surely you must tell the Security Council whether you think Sierra Leone is stable enough, whether security is assured and whether you think the local security forces can continue to do the job without the backing of UN peacekeepers?
I am sure our input will be sought at the right time and if it is, of course we will review the situation and we will say what needs to be said. But whether my input, or our input, will be turned into action is a different thing; because we do not decide for ourselves how long the peacekeepers need to stay here. That is a political decision.
Are you confident that peace is here to stay in Sierra Leone?
I think peace is here for good. What is required now for the people of this country is to consolidate what they have achieved. Not only that. They need to look back and say "where did we go wrong?"
The mistakes made that could have brought the ten years of civil war need to be addressed. If they address them, peace is here and it should last for many years to come, if not forever.
