VZCZCXRO0840
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHFN #0099/01 0751750
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 161750Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2524
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 FREETOWN 000099 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/W (JHUNTER/ESPRUILL) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019 
TAGS:        
SUBJECT: FREETOWN UNDER FIRE: POLITICAL VIOLENCE CREATES 
CHAOS IN THE CAPITAL 
 
Classified By: Ambassador June Carter Perry for reasons 1.4 (b/d) 
 
 1. (C) Summary: APC and SLPP members clashed on the evening 
of March 13, and despite a calmer weekend, Freetown erupted 
with violence on March 16 as political battles continue to be 
waged. Party events on March 13 led to SLPP Headquarters 
being stoned, and several vehicles owned by SLPP leadership 
burned out. Tempers calmed over the weekend, but flared again 
on March 16, and the SLPP headquarters once again allegedly 
came under fire by a mob of APC supporters. Sierra Leone 
Police (SLP) officers deployed to control the scene used tear 
gas and may have fired live ammunition. The downtown area is 
now cordoned off, with many businesses and government 
buildings closed. Ambassador met with SLPP leadership on 
March 16 to discuss their concerns, and has communicated with 
other members of the diplomatic corps. The UN Executive 
Representative of the Secretary General is hosting a meeting 
on March 17 with Chiefs of Mission to discuss the situation 
and possibly begin mediation between the parties. End Summary. 
 
--------------- 
MARCH 13 EVENTS 
--------------- 
 
 2. (SBU) On March 13, the mayor of the Freetown City Council 
(FCC) unveiled a newly refurbished clock tower in the city's 
east side. The FCC is almost exclusively APC, and crowds of 
party supporters attended the unveiling and then followed the 
mayor back to his office, which is adjacent to the SLPP 
headquarters. The crowd allegedly chanted anti-SLPP songs and 
threw rocks at SLPP supporters standing around the party 
headquarters. These supporters allegedly responded by pelting 
stones at the crowd, escalating the violent clashes between 
them. Some reports indicate that several people were injured 
in the melee, and the two vehicles parked in the SLPP 
compound were torched. During the clashes, the SLPP radio 
station repeatedly announced that their headquarters were 
under attack, essentially urging supporters to join the 
crowds and come to their aid. The radio station claimed that 
two people were killed (Note: This is unsubstantiated, and 
have not been repeated. End note). SLPP supporters allege 
that the SLP did nothing to stop the attacks and even 
provoked the crowds to further violence. On March 16 the 
Minister of Information, APC member I.B. Kargbo alleged that 
SLPP Secretary General J.J. Saffa used the radio station to 
call on the military to intervene, since, in his view, the 
SLP were not doing their jobs. 
 
 3. (C) Emboffs visited the SLPP headquarters site on March 
14, at the behest of Party Chairman John Benjamin. The damage 
to the building had not been exaggerated: many windows had 
been shattered by stones, and the husks of the vehicles 
remained in the compound yard. Windows in some nearby 
buildings had also been broken. Information shared by SLP and 
the UN may indicate that the SLPP were not merely bystanders 
in the evening's events, however; the SLP have intelligence 
suggesting that SLPP supporters heckled the APC members at 
the mayor's office, and then threw petrol bombs at the crowd 
outside the headquarters, igniting their own vehicles in the 
process. SLP told a high-ranking UN advisor that they did as 
much as they could to contain and stop the altercation, with 
35 officers injured in the process, and that arrests were not 
effected because their efforts were solely focused on 
stopping the fracas. SLP allege that they have intelligence 
suggesting that SLPP members, including high-ranking 
officials, actually planned the event to discredit and 
destabilize the APC government. 
 
------------------------------- 
MARCH 14: PARTY RADIO SUSPENDED 
------------------------------- 
 
 4. (U) On March 14, Vice President Sam Sumana, standing in 
for a traveling President Koroma, used executive powers to 
suspend the APC and SLPP radio stations. He stated that the 
suspension would last until Koroma returned from him trip to 
India and addressed the situation (Note: Koroma returned to 
Sierra Leone the night of March 15. End note), and further 
said that the government will not tolerate any form of 
violence in the country. The Information Minister supported 
the Vice President's decision on March 16, saying that it was 
a governance decision to restore peace and tranquillity to 
the nation, rather than a politically-motivated one. The 
minister went on to say that the suspension is only 
temporary, that a full investigation into the events of March 
13 will be undertaken immediately, and that those responsible 
for the violence will face justice. 
 
 5. (U) Though party radio stations are often careful not to 
be gratuitously inciteful, they do call on their respective 
 
FREETOWN 00000099  002 OF 003 
 
 
supporters to assist when clashes occur, worsening already 
tense situations. The Vice President thus suspended the 
stations out of fear that they would be used to instigate 
further incidents. However, the Sierra Leone Association of 
Journalists condemned the ban, saying that it is "an attempt 
to suppress press freedom," and called for an immediate and 
unconditional lifting of the suspension. The Independent 
Media Commission, the independent parastatal that registers 
media outlets, monitors freedom of the press, mediates 
complaints, and investigates actions taken by or against 
journalists that are controversial or unlawful, allegedly 
informed the Vice President that only they have the power to 
suspend the stations. The Vice President countered that he 
used constitutional authority as acting Head of State in 
light of security concerns. As of March 16, the stations 
continue to be off the air, though the parties are using 
other stations to reach their constituents. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
MARCH 16: SITUATION WORSENS, BUT CONTAINED 
------------------------------------------ 
 
 6. (U) On March 16, violence erupted again at the SLPP 
Headquarters during the morning rush hour. The building was 
allegedly vandalized by an unidentified group believed to be 
APC supporters. SLPP leadership allege that the SLP guard, 
which has been protecting the perimeter of the SLPP 
headquarters compound since March 13, allowed looters to 
enter the building. These looters set fires in various 
locations, attacked SLPP party members, raped seven women, 
and destroyed office equipment. The SLPP Secretary General 
gave a radio interview in the morning, asking all SLPP 
supporters to defend the party against the attack, and 
claiming that the SLP had failed to fulfill their 
constitutional responsibility. 
 
 7. (C) Reports from various contacts indicate that the 
looting and vandalism did take place, with SLP officers 
finally regaining control of the building around 1400 hours. 
The SLP used tear gas to disperse the crowd, and contacts 
reported mobs of people running from the gas throughout the 
downtown streets. Contacts also reported shots being fired, 
though emboffs have yet to confirm how and where this took 
place. With most of downtown cordoned off by a police 
blockade, and businesses and offices closed, the heart of 
Freetown is quiet as of 1730. Whether this calm will remain 
overnight and into March 17 is unknown, particularly if the 
blockades are lifted. It is currently unclear if tomorrow 
will be "business as usual," and some contacts have said that 
they will not re-open their businesses until the President 
issues a statement and mediation between the parties begins. 
 
---------------- 
EMBASSY RESPONDS 
---------------- 
 
 8. (C) Ambassador met with Foreign Minister Zainab Bangura on 
March 16, and indicated her concern about the situation and 
reiterated the need for unity between the majority and 
opposition parties. Bangura responded that the problems are 
being instigated by SLPP "thugs," but that she strongly 
believes that Sierra Leone is one country and must be 
governed as such. She also stated that the radio stations are 
conduits for parties to insult one another, and that the 
opposition should focus on the 2012 elections rather than 
verbally attacking ministers and other members of government. 
Ambassador stated the importance of having independent, 
politically-neutral radio stations, especially in a country 
known for its commitment to human rights and democracy. 
Bangura ended her comments by saying that APC supporters want 
the President to take SLPP members to task for their 
perceived disinterest in unity, and made an oblique reference 
to the fact that they could take matters into their own hands. 
 
 8. (C) Also on March 16, Ambassador met with SLPP party 
leaders, including Benjamin, Saffa, and Regional SLPP 
Chairman for the Eastern District, Ambassador Foyah. The 
leaders placed the blame for the various incidents on APC 
members and leaders, as well as saying that the SLP had 
deliberately been derelict in their duties. They also stated 
that the Vice President had been their primary government 
interlocutor, but that his orders to the SLP to control the 
violence had been ignored. They claimed that they had been 
aware of the potential for the March 16 attack the previous 
day, reported it to the SLP chain of command, but still had 
minimal assistance. They warned the Ambassador that, though 
violence is not their party's policy, various factions across 
Sierra Leone could take retaliatory action. Saffa stated that 
SLPP Members of Parliament are threatening to withdraw from 
government, and that they will no longer attempt to interface 
 
FREETOWN 00000099  003 OF 003 
 
 
with government and APC leaders without the presence of an 
international mediator. Benjamin told Ambassador that they 
are appealing to the international community, as guarantors 
of Sierra Leonean peace, to address this situation. 
 
 9. (C) Ambassador responded that Sierra Leone is a model in 
the region as a peaceful, stable democracy. She warned 
against a descent into violence and a withdrawal from 
democratic institutions, saying that governments must strive 
for unity for the good of their nations. Reminding them of 
the poor conditions in Guinea as a result of their recent 
coup, she said that a similar occurrence here could lead to a 
suspension of good-willed donor support. She let the SLPP 
contingent know that she had spoken with the Foreign Minister 
about the March 13 incident, and that she would follow-up 
with the UN Executive Representative of the Secretary 
General. She advised that an international group could 
mediate the parties' dispute, and the SLPP representatives 
agreed that this would be welcome (Note: The UN is hosting a 
meeting of COMs and party leaders on March 17. End note). 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
 10. (C) Sierra Leonean party politics is rife with vitriolic 
rhetoric and finger-pointing. Emboffs observed the damage at 
SLPP headquarters, but it is unlikely that the SLPP are 
wholly innocent victims in this latest round of party 
clashes. Though one cannot condone the vandalism and alleged 
violence against the SLPP, there is a strong likelihood that 
they provoked their rivals. The SLPP are already spinning 
these attacks against them as propaganda against the APC and 
their ability to govern, even though the facts of the two 
incidents and the subsequent government response remain 
unclear. Though party interactions are frequently negative, 
this incident represents a serious and significant decline in 
their relationship. Without international community attention 
and mediation, this situation threatens to spin dangerously 
out of control, reducing a peaceful country to its previous, 
unfortunate state of war. Post issued a warden message to all 
AmCits, urging them to stay away from political events and be 
mindful of current tensions. Further septel reports will be 
provided in the coming days. According to UN sources, 
President Koroma is slated to address the nation - a move we 
believe is critical to demonstrate his leadership and 
ameliorate the current state of affairs. End Comment. 
PERRY