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Good Fences, Good Neighbours

Standard Times (Freetown)
EDITORIAL
January 21, 2005
Posted to the web January 21, 2005

Guinea's continued occupation of Yenga despite all diplomatic efforts is a
clear indication that the Guinean government is not prepared to relinquish the
territory to Sierra Leone.
It must now be clear to the government in this country that diplomatic
negotiations between the two countries over the disputed territory is
definitely not getting anywhere.
Such a situation is to the detriment of the Sierra Leonean inhabitants of the
village, who are subjected to continous harassment and control by Guinean
soldiers.
At the latest count, they were being threatened with forceful illegal
relocation.
Yet the fact remains that Yenga, a diamondiferous patch of land not far from
the Moa River in eastern Sierra Leone, is a Sierra Leonean territory, and
Guinean forces only came there to help this government with its fight against
the rebels.
It may be that the adage, "a friend in need is a friend in deed" that has
brought about the seemingly passive strategy of the Sierra Leone government
with regards to the issue of Yenga.
But if the precaution not to disturb the good relationship between the two
countries means that Sierra Leoneans ain Yenga have to endure continued
harassment and illegal control by Guinean forces, then it is about time that
the strategy is revised.
It was the former Prime Minister of Britain, Margaret Thatcher, who once said,
"good fences meant good neighbours," implying that a nation must have supreme
jurisdiction at all times over the demarcated area called its territory.
"This is one effective way it can be respected as a state," she went on.
It is therefore a failure of jurisdiction and territorial responsibility on the
part of this government to allow her territory to be usurped by neighbouring
forces, leaving its citizens at the mercy of the invaders.
This government must do all in its power to reclaim Yenga.
There is the additional option of calling for the intervention of the
International court of Justice (ICJ).
When all this fails, there is always the option of going to war to regain lost
territories.
Whatever option is adopted in the end, time is of the essence, for the longer
the invaders stay the firmer their grip and the hardship on the people becomes.

   

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