A leaked State House Secret Document is said to have allegedly picked on the operations of the Diplomatic Community in Sierra Leone, questioning their interference into what the document termed as ‘‘ Maladroit interference evident by ‘Partners’[1] grouping in published commentary to the bye-elections held in Constituency 110’’.
The document in question which was written by the Director of the State House Secret Intelligence Unit, Bernard Tarawally, and addressed to the Chief Minister, Professor David J. Francis, is published verbatim.
For ease of reference see the official letter written in black and white targeting the Diplomatic Community in Sierra Leone.
August 26th, 2019
From:
Bernard Tarawally
State House
To:
The Chief Minister
Office of the Chief Minister,
State House
Reference: Maladroit interference evident by ‘Partners’[2] grouping in published commentary to the bye-elections held in Constituency 110
Sub-ref: Démarche counters non-intervention principle in international law
Dear Sir
I humbly draw attention to the above referenced matter which in essence, amounts to a maladroit interference by the ‘Partners’ grouping by their published commentary to the bye-elections held in Constituency 110.
I contend, the démarche counters the non-intervention principle in international law. This forum to coordinate their messaging, particularly to the Government, and electoral and security institutions, by the 5 international partners, through their diplomatic missions, under the guise of ‘international election observers’, amounts to a process that constitutes intervention.
The missive, which for good order, is reproduced in the Appendix below, is an attempt at interference with GOSL structures but also with the environment that condition and facilitate the formation of authority and substitutes the authentic process of self-determination with an artificially constructed process in order to generate particular attitudes and results aligned to the ‘Partners’ will.
Non-intervention is a fundamental principle of international law because it emanates from the principle of state sovereignty and protects certain essential aspects of this principle. More specifically, it protects the integrity and autonomy of – in this context – our State’s authority and will in the sense of our capacity to internal and external self-governance. The meaning and content of non-intervention is determined by its opposite that is, intervention. Intervention is traditionally understood as coercive interference in matters that fall within a state’s sovereign affairs such as the choice of political, economic, social and cultural system. Clearly, the ‘Partners’ grouping and its intent in the démarche, smacks of coercion, as the defining element of intervention implies compulsion – again, in this context, is that the 29 States’[3] grouping, attempts to compel our State to take a particular course of action oblivious and without the 29 States’ grouping full comprehension and actuality of the dynamics on the ground – which of course, is a purview of our State, alone.
The Partners’ statement, implies a desire to a subordination of the Government’s authority and will and interferes with GOSL institutions ability to discharging that authority freely.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Yours sincerely,
B. Tarawally
APPENDIX
[1] See Statement dated Freetown, 26 August 2019 entitled ‘ Partners Statement on the bye-elections held in Constituency 110 – Western Rural Area on 24 August’ 2019, issued by British High Commission, Delegation of the European Union, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Embassy of the Republic of Ireland, Embassy of the United States of America, at Appendix below.
[2] See Statement dated Freetown, 26 August 2019 entitled ‘ Partners Statement on the bye-elections held in Constituency 110 – Western Rural Area on 24 August’ 2019, issued by British High Commission, Delegation of the European Union, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Embassy of the Republic of Ireland, Embassy of the United States of America, at Appendix below.
[3] European Union 28 countries plus USA, i.e. 29 States.