[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
[May 18, 1999]
[Page 803]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Statement on the Sierra Leone Cease-Fire Agreement
May 18, 1999

    I welcome the signing of a cease-fire agreement today in Lome, Togo, 
by President Kabbah of Sierra Leone and 
the leader of the Revolutionary United Front rebels, Foday 
Sankoh. I want to express my appreciation to my 
Special Envoy for the Promotion of Democracy in Africa, the Rev. Jesse 
Jackson, the Economic Community of West 
African States, and to the U.N. for helping to bring about this 
agreement which marks an important first step towards peace.
    The conflict in Sierra Leone has killed tens of thousands of 
people--6,000 in the first month of this year alone. Half a million men, 
women, and children have become refugees, and one-fifth of Sierra 
Leone's population has been uprooted.
    With the continued commitment and engagement of both parties, the 
cease-fire and the confidence-building measures outlined in the 
agreement today can pave the way for the negotiation of a durable peace 
agreement. I welcome the agreement as a step toward providing for 
guaranteed safe and unhindered access by humanitarian agencies to all 
people in need, and hope that the world might soon witness an end to the 
needless suffering of Sierra Leone's people.
    I urge all parties to implement the agreement in good faith.