The ever unpredictable and sometimes irrascible Foday Sankoh has thrown the spanner into the works of Ecowas Chairman, Togo's President Eyadema, in his gallant efforts to secure a peace settlement for Sierra Leone. The airwaves had barely recovered from the ripples of today's upbeat news of a real and imminent breakthrough in the deadlock when the RUF leader telephoned the BBC in London to say he was not privy to the current goings-on about a peace breakthrough.

We monitored the conversation on radio:

"I just want to clear the air…the rumours that is going on around the world that RUF leader has backed down to their demands…that is why I am calling to say we are still … are demanding for a transitional government. The RUF leadership will never back down…. will never back down …I repeat."

Asked about having being offered three cabinet posts by the Kabbah government Sankoh retorted:

"We never agreed to that …we are asking for a transitional government for a period of four years whereby the RUF of Sierra Leone shall nominate members to an expanded cabinet of 18 as proposed by the Board .....but the difference is that the Vice President should be offered to the RUF of Sierra Leone"

When reminded that the offer of 3 cabinet seats by Kabbah was itself generous in the light of the RUF's conduct during the war, Sankoh responded sharply:

"Ah…this not a matter of conduct. This is a matter of peace… for us to have everlasting peace we are to form a transition government whereby all our political parties and civil society will participate with the RUF and not for us to join any SLPP government in Sierra Leone…the RUF will never ...I will say again … we will never join any SLPP government in Sierra Leone .....and will not accept any three cabinet posts"

 So, he was asked, was there any possibility of compromise in the light of his pronouncements including the RUF's demand for a transitional government and so many cabinet posts?

"If they really mean business, they want to make peace to the people of Sierra Leone they have to listen to us to …to continue negotiating so we get something which is accepted by the RUF and all the civil society behind the rebel lines….nine years' war …you cannot offer three or four cabinet posts to an organisation that has fought to liberate our people from poverty….Listen!  We are a force to be reckoned with."

Then, who or what was the source of this new optimism about a peace deal?

"It's not that…. Because they tried to force us to agree to their own proposals. They have to listen to us…they have to give us chance…we are here to negotiate and we are prepared to negotiate."

When it was suggested to him that he sounded as if he was issuing a threat rather an offer to negotiate, Sankoh said angrily:

 "I am not threatening…I am telling you the truth.  We are here to negotiate … they were not giving [us] the chance to put our case across. This is what I am trying to tell you. They want to impose something on us that will not help us. "
 

In our latest Saturday Commentary we dared to suggest that the talks could founder because of, among other things, the indecent haste and the railroading that was taking place in Lomé by international civil servants - the so-called diplomats - who have formed themselves into a Mediation Committee. We pointed to a similar state of affairs at Abidjan and Yamoussoukro in 1996 and how international diplomats were more concerned to get resolutions rather than real solutions for the Sierra Leone problem.

Foday Sankoh's outburst at this critical stage of the negotiations is not helpful in one respect: why, if all this time he and the RUF negotiators were under such pressures, did he not publicly complain to the media until now when hopes of a breakthrough have been raised? Granted, he claims that the now misplaced optimism was not of his making but at least some indication over the last few weeks of deadlock would have prepared the people for this thunderbolt.

Nonetheless his complaint puts the matter into stark focus and, for that reason, it must be taken seriously and not treated with levity. The Mediation Committee must reconsider, reappraise, and alter if need be, its tactics and make the talks more frank and open between the parties. They must allow free flow and free rein for the parties to consider every possible option. The parties must not be rushed.

What also concerns us is that there is nobody present among that group with knowledge and understanding of the RUF. In this regard, we are surprised that the Ivory Coast, which has played such a prominent role in previous peace talks, has been kept out of the current bout of mediation. Where in particular is Mr Amara Essy, the Foreign Minister who worked tirelessly during the last round of talks in Abidjan and Yamoussoukro in 1996? The Lomé talks have lacked the benefit of hindsight of someone to guide its deliberations. Those who know the Ivorian foreign minister agree that he had a genuine concern for peace in Sierra Leone and he, more than most, knows and understands Sankoh best of all. After all, the Ivory Coast spent a fortune from its public purse to put up the RUF for over two years, and hosted all the conferences and discussions that led to the Abidjan Accord.

The problem for us Sierra Leoneans is that because we do not trust each we have always to depend on others to do our thing for us. But in this peace business, everybody seems to have his or her own reasons - a personal hidden agenda - for wanting to help Sierra Leone.  From this distance, one can well see why President Eyadema might want a quick fix. One is of course most grateful to him and to his government, especially his Foreign minister Kokou Koffigoh, for trying to find us a solution in Sierra Leone. But as far as conspiracy theories go, according to a seasoned commentator on African affairs, he needs a feather or two in his own cap to justify his tenure of the Ecowas chairmanship.  And since his government has been crippled by an European Union sanction imposed following the general elections and his treatment of the opposition parties, he must prove his best intentions and acquit himself to have it lifted. Hence the Sierra Leone peace process is a God-sent opportunity for him to do just that. 

Eyadema was at his most possessive when he refused to allow Sankoh to board a plane sent by the Libyan leader Kadaaffi for Sankoh to join him and President Kabbah at a rendez-vous in Tripoli. Our source claimed to us that Eyadema was not keen to allow Kadaaffi to steal the accolade of peace maker from under his nose. So he kept Sankoh grounded and would not let him leave Lomé.

In spite of the foregoing, we sincerely hope that the RUF leader's outburst will be looked at with due concern and that it is not simply dismissed, by those who in any case never wanted this dialogue to take place, as vindication of their own blinkered views. Let's hope for a good workable solution not a well crafted resolution. Mealy-mouthed words simply won't do this time. It is all about power and sharing it.... but sharing it equitably. That's the real issue that needs to be addressed.