By: Jackson Cozzens and Brittany Brienholt
Africa houses the biggest diamond producing countries in the world. In theory, this would be a great asset for a country to have. Diamonds should provide jobs and money to improve the country. Unfortunately, in countries such as Angola, Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone, diamonds have been the source of much bloodshed and suffering. Sierra Leone has become infamous for the gruesome civil war that lasted 10 years. The conflict dealt primarily with diamond trade, but there were many factors that contributed to rebels nearly taking over the country. Sierra Leone is also the main setting of the movie “Blood Diamond.”
Africa houses the biggest diamond producing countries in the world. In theory, this would be a great asset for a country to have. Diamonds should provide jobs and money to improve the country. Unfortunately, in countries such as Angola, Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone, diamonds have been the source of much bloodshed and suffering. Sierra Leone has become infamous for the gruesome civil war that lasted 10 years. The conflict dealt primarily with diamond trade, but there were many factors that contributed to rebels nearly taking over the country. Sierra Leone is also the main setting of the movie “Blood Diamond.”
Joseph Saidu Momoh was the president of Sierra Leone during a time of economic peril. The economy had slowly been in decline for the last 40 years but took a turn for the worse towards the beginning of his reign. Momoh declared a state of economic emergency, granting himself greater control over Sierra Leone's economy. His people viewed him as far too weak and inattentive to the affairs of state, allowing his corrupt advisors to manipulate matters behind his back. Sierra Leone's economy gradually disintegrated and the country's currency decreased in value.
Sierra Leone reached the point under President Momoh where it could not afford to import gasoline and fuel oil, and the country went without electricity for months at a time. President Momoh made an attemt at fixing the government by ushering in a new constitution, providing for a multi-party state and ending the single party rule. These efforts for reform came too late in September of 1991 because the civil war had already begun in March. The Revolutionary United Front (RUF) took matters into their own hands.
The political goal of the RUF was to overthrow the government of the Momoh Regime. In order to defeat the government the RUF aimed to disrupt the commercial and industrial activities that funded the government, undermine the legitimacy of the Sierra Leone military and to gain an international audience.
In the beginning the RUF was popular among the Sierra Leoneans who were hopeful for a change and looking forward to the promises given to them by the RUF. These promises included free education and health care; but most of all, equal sharing of diamond revenues. The slogan of the RUF said, “No More Slaves, No More Masters. Power and Wealth to the People." The people liked the idea of getting a portion of the diamond trade. However, the RUF did not have any policy saying what they would do once in power. They lacked any kind of formal hierarchy and gave little indication of what kind of government was going to replace it.
Diamond mines were especially targeted by Foday Saybana Sankoh (leader and founder of the RUF). He believed that if he could stop the government in their mining efforts, the Government and its army would cease to function. This is when the people began to realize what the RUF was willing to do to seize power. The rebels committed many crimes including extermination, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery and use of child soldiers.
While the RUF called the government corrupt and accused them of mismanagement of diamonds, they were committing terrible crimes. The rebels split up families, used boys as young as eight for child soldiers who were recruited, drugged, brainwashed and sent to fight with AK47 assault rifles. The rebels cut off the arms, noses and ears of people they encountered, leaving entire villages murdered, maimed or kidnapped. It appears now that all of this was for personal gain and control of the diamond mines.
Sierra Leone’s Government Changes
Article about Julius Maada Bio
Blog Dedicated to Strasser
Article about Ahmed Tejan Kabbah
Article about Julius Maada Bio
Blog Dedicated to Strasser
Article about Ahmed Tejan Kabbah
The beginning of the civil war started with President Joseph Momoh. His party was called the All People’s Congress (APC). Momoh was overthrown in a military coup staged by Valentine Strasser. Momoh spent the last years of his life as a guest of the military government. Valentine Esegragbo Melvine Strasser served as head of state of Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1996. He became the world's youngest Head of State. The National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) was formed, with Strasser as its leader.
Strasser did not maintain control of the government for long. Julius Maada Bio led another coup in Sierra Leone on January 16, 1996, ousting the head of the NPRC junta Valentine Strasser. There were some who questioned Bio's motives, primarily because his sister, Agnes Deen Jalloh, was a member of the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Bio wanted a temporary peace to be established before the country tried to have elections. But civil society organizations rejected Bio's "peace before elections" campaign and forced his junta to proceed with elections and the restoration of constitutional order.
The elections proceeded on March 15, 1996 and a clear winner was determined after the second round. On March 29, 1996 he handed power over to Ahmad Tejan Kabbah. Bio's handover of power had a condition; that upon his ascension to the presidency Tejan Kabbah would publicize an NPRC Indemnity and Transition Degree. This provides indemnity to the whole Army and all members of the NPRC and their appointees for all actions, intentional or otherwise, including the very coup that brought them to power and all extrajudicial killings during their time in government.
Child Soldiers
There are 300,000 child soldiers fighting in 30 countries. An additional 500,000 are in paramilitary groups. A child soldier is anyone under the age of eighteen who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity. Child soldiers consist of boys and girls fighting in an adult war. These children are armed and it is not uncommon for then to participate in killing and raping.
In Sierra Leone children as young as seven were taken from their families and sent to kill innocent people. These children were part of the RUF or the "rebels" who would basically take them as prisoners. In rebel camps, they were forced to serve as soldiers or prostitutes. The children were forced to fight, sometimes the forced violence included the murder their parents. Children in the camps were drugged, brainwashed and made into killing machines. Guerrillas would carve RUF into children’s chests and officers would rub cocaine and gunpowder into the open cuts to make them “invincible.”
It was estimated that about 30 percent of child soldiers in the conflict were girls. 10,000 child soldiers fought in Sierra Leone's 10-year civil war. The civil war left up to 75,000 people dead.
Today about 2,000 child soldiers still remain.
If you would like to learn more about the appalling scene of Sierra Leone during the civil war, an educational, but disturbing documentary was created by Sorious Samura called “Cry Freetown.” Due to the graphic material of "Cry Freetown," you will have to look it up on your own. Here are some other videos that show real events in politics, as well as a clip from the movie "Blood Diamond."
