Brother Cecil,
I will have to take time over the weekend to read your posting in detail. In the mean time, I think you missed the essence of Dr. Mbayo's News Release. The Dayton conference lasted from about 8:30 AM to about 6:00 PM. The conversations with Ambs. Jonah and Hirsch, Mr. Norman and President Kabbah lasted a total of 50 to 70 minutes including times to make the phone calls. The rest of the time was devoted to just what you said the conference was supposed to be about - disection of the Conakry Accord- along with some short term objectives.
It was by providence that the announcement first by Jonah then Kabbah and later confirmed by Norman about the capture of Tongo three days ealier was made during that conference. We were also told the exact position of CDF units with respect to Freetown which I'll leave out of this discourse for now. The announcement by junta Foot of State, Koroma, that he may not (or did not want to) handover on 22 April was also made by Envoy Okello that very day. So I hope you can see why the CDF activities on the ground caused jubilation in the room.
The main reason for calling the President and Dr. Jonah was to clarify certain misconceptions in the Accord with respect to the earlier Abijan Accord. In particular the insistence by the junta that Foday Sankoh be released. I think the main reasons for calling Norman were: 1) to congratulate him on a job well done so far, and 2) to find out the exact status of the CDF. I think it would be a fatal neglect of duty for Kabbah as Commander if Chief and Minister of Defence to sit back and watch the clock while the country was being plundered by a ruthless bunch psychopaths. It would be equally unpatriotic (some of us think) for the rest of us to sit back and wait for the deposed government to deal with this situation alone. Like the saying goes, war is far too important to leave it in the hands of genearls, just as government is far too important to leave it in the hands of politicians alone.
What I fail to grasp is how you put Kabbah and Norman who are fighting for a legitimate cause on the same platform with the scumbags who usurped the will of the people, in the first place. The Conakry Accord did not say that we have to sit around and play scrabble until midnight April 21 when the other side has already given notice to the world that they do not intend to handover. So Norman gets Freetown before 22 April, we will call Kofi Anan and tell him not to bother.
But like I said, I will have to read your posting over the weekend. I'm sure there is something there I'm not seeing.
Regards,
SMF
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