JAE M. KIM

I interviewed Foday Sankoh on April 23, 2000 in the courtyard of his luxurious house in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Sankoh had a reputation as inaccessible to foreign journalists, and it took several days to persuade his aides to grant me an audience with him. Even after they granted the interview, it was postponed for two days at the last minute with no clear explanation offered. One of his aides told me that Sankoh didn't want to speak with foreign journalists, "because most articles about Mr. Sankoh are antagonistic against him".

During the one-hour interview, he frequently fingered the high-tech satellite phone on the table. According to some, this was the phone he used to communicate with his commanders in the jungle. His demeanor struck me as paradoxical: on the one hand, he was preparing for the next presidential election, and yet, he still seemed to be enjoying his military power in the jungle. He articulated his strategy in simple terms: "If I win the presidential election, that's it. If I lose the game, I will simply go back to jungle again." Therefore, he reasoned, "If people really want peace, they will vote for me." Note the threat that lies beneath his plainspoken words: "If you don't vote for me, the civil war continues. Understand?"

Despite Sankoh’s confidence during our interview, the political situation soon took an unpredictable turn. The peace agreement was shattered, and in the following month his bodyguards gunned down 19 demonstrators protesting in front of his Freetown residence. Following that tragedy, the rival military group AFRC attacked his house, only to learn that he had escaped into hiding just before the attack. The pro-government militia subsequently arrested him.

Due to complications resulting from a stroke, Foday Sankoh died in July of 2003. At the time, he was awaiting trial for war crimes at the Special Court sponsored by the UN. After military intervention by the UN and the United Kingdom, the 11-year civil war in Sierra Leone was formally declared over in 2002. However, 12,300 UN peacekeeping troops remain in this war-torn country. Below are excerpts of my interview with Foday Sankoh.

FS: I think the main reason is the uncertainty of their future. The current disarmament program doesn't guarantee their future. Say, if a guy voluntarily submits his weapon to the UN peacekeeping force, he has to stay for about three months in the disarmament camp. What will he do after that? How can he make a living?

FS: Absolutely. My RUF soldiers are not against the peace agreement itself. RUF is now changing from a military organization to a political party. The name RUF is changing to RUF Party (RUFP). We are no longer combatants in the jungle. We are politicians. Therefore, disarmament is a natural process. (Under a peace agreement signed in Lome, Togo in July 1999, Sankoh and the rebels received "absolute amnesty" in exchange for disarmament. Sankoh was made a government minister, with the rank of Vice President.)

FS: Nonsense! What are you talking about? I signed the peace agreement with this hand! Moreover, as far as diamonds are concerned, I have something to tell you. Maybe you heard about my policy, proclaimed last February, that all mining of diamonds be prohibited. At present, RUF is following my order. The problem is the CDF. They are still mining diamonds. If you go to the Kenema district, you will confirm what I'm saying.

(The CDF is the government-allied Civil Defense Force that fought against RUF during the civil war. The aerial photography from the UNAMSIL helicopter shows active mining in the areas dominated by RUF).

FS: I would rather not say anything about that. RUF could have finished the revolution by itself, if there had not been any foreign interventions. It is deplorable that there are so many victims during the revolution due to the foreign mercenaries.

FS: I clearly say, I didn't order my soldiers to cut off the civilians' hands and legs. I clearly say also, I don't think that such behaviors are right. I'm sick of hearing about these atrocities. I didn't start my revolution to maim the civilians. However, in the war, generally speaking, it often becomes difficult to control the behavior of the soldiers.

FS: Well... You mention a very important thing. I know the history of the Chinese revolution. During the revolution, generally, there must be some mistakes. Revolution is revolution. Anyway, from now on, to be a really strong party, we will make an effort to establish grass-roots democracy.

(When I was waiting outside his house for this interview, I spoke with some of his young bodyguards. I felt that they were far from disciplined. For example, one of them approached me, pointing to my photo-jacket. "I like your jacket, he said, will you give it to me?" His rude manner made me wonder about his past behaviors during the war.)

FS: Up to eleven, twelve...Oh, right, twelve children from two wives.

FS: Why not?

FS: According to the hostile rumors, the RUF abducted many children. But it's just rumors. It's from malignant political propaganda! During the revolution, there were many orphans. We simply rescued them from danger and protected them! In the jungle, we have managed the orphanages. If you want, you can go and see them.

FS: Sure. Many citizens want peace, and they know well that the only man who will provide them with peace is me. The incumbent Tejan Kabbah regime cannot guarantee peace because of its weak leadership.

FS: All you hear are just malignant rumors. President Tejan Kabbah has been trying to push me to the margin. I clearly say that I don't have much money. I've lived as a revolutionary. How can a revolutionary save money?

FS: Until now, I have not been given the chance. The bias against the RUF is mostly because Tejan Kabbah controls the media. The RUF has been politically marginalized.

FS: WellÉ Since the start of the revolution, we haven't had enough time to prepare the detailed policy for the future. We have been too busy in revolution. These days, we are preparing the policies.

FS: I believe that economic development is as important as political stability. Therefore, I will mount a second revolution, in other words, a movement for economic development. But I don't think an extreme policy like expulsion is necessary. To develop this devastated country, more foreign investments from the United States as well as European countries including Great Britain are desirable.

During my interview with Foday Sankoh, he gave me a sample of the RUF’s political ideology in the form of a 44-page, passport-sized pamphlet entitled Footpaths to Democracy, Toward a New Sierra Leone, and issued by the RUF in 1995. The piece opens with a statement from Franz Fanon: "Each generation must out of relative obscurity, discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it." Sankoh follows Fanon, insisting that "When a society demands a change, there is no need attempting to change it on old principles." As far as revolution is concerned, this postulate might be correct. But, is the RUF’s ideology truly revolutionary? If any, what notion of revolution does it contain?

Under the subheading The Ideas and Ideals We Believe In, the RUF asserts that it seeks preventive solutions to the endemic state of poverty and hopelessness. In order to solve the problem, the RUF will organize the people of Sierra Leone along the lines of a key party slogan: "Arms to the people, power to the people, and wealth to the people." It is a noteworthy fact that, to dismantle the corrupt government, a large number of men and women including the elderly, youth, children and even the disabled, had to be trained as soldiers. Ten percent of RUF soldiers are believed to be children. As a whole, this book shows only loose and general introductory ideas, not amounting to a specific and detailed blueprint for the revolution.

When Foday Sankoh began his rebellion in the eastern jungles of Sierra Leone, he made a reasonable critique of current practice. At that time, most of the region’s diamond mines were occupied by Lebanese traders, who maintained connections with corrupt government officials. The RUF asks, "where are our diamonds, Mr. President? The RUF is hungry to know where they are." During the revolution, Sankoh's RUF occupied most of the diamond mines. If one looks only at the control of diamond mines, his revolution was successful indeed. Sadly, there is no evidence that the wealth from diamonds has contributed to the welfare of the people, and Sankoh himself insisted in the interview that he had no money because he lived as a revolutionary.

One final point: during the 11-year civil war, many civilians were maimed by Sankoh’s RUF soldiers. How would he explain the wounding of people with no connection to diamond interests, considering the supposedly revolutionary ideas of the RUF?