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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Statement on Sierra Leone by the Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku

25 May 1997

I have just heard with great concern the news of the overthrow of the democratically elected Government of Sierra Leone. If confirmed, such an unconstitutional change of government is totally unacceptable to the Commonwealth which attaches great importance to democracy and human rights as set out in the Harare Declaration of 1991. This would be a particularly retrograde step for Sierra Leone after the advances made by that country in the last year in building democracy, peace and reconciliation.

I am sure that the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, established by Heads of Government in 1995 to deal with serious or persistent violations of the Harare Principles, would wish to condemn this development in the strongest possible terms in the light of the growing view within the association that the days are now past when military regimes would have any place in the councils of the Commonwealth.

 

97/22 25 May 1997

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