The capture of Sankoh may be a poisoned chalice for a government that is
afraid of taking decisions and always expects the "international community"
to think and act for it. Even this "community" is beginning to fragment. The
Brits don't want to be blamed if the Sankoh episode gets out of hand and
produces dumb results, such as another Lomé. In order to cover their tracks,
the Brits would like to see the SL government assume its responsibilities.
UN officials on the ground may want to go through Sankoh to free their
peacekeepers. A trade-off or linkage between Sankoh and the peacekeepers
will be a tragedy for Sierra Leone.
Even Jesse Jackson is beginning to make the right noises. The government
must assume its responsibilities and provide leadership. If they don't lead
the way, those who have coerced them in the past will take decisions for
them, and we will be back to square one. But you know what, a firm
pro-people decision on Sankoh has immense consequences for policy: the
government cannot just announce that Sankoh will be tried and punished for
his crimes and leave it at that. They will have to take the crucial next
step of taking the initiative in the security field and burying Lomé. This
means a higher sense of responsibility and commitment that has been in very
short supply. And recent comments on this issue by spokespersons have been
very uninspiring. The way this issue is handled will tell us whether this
government ( the Kabba government) still prefers soft options that always
produce tragedies. 
Good evening.

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