Document #1086429
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
In a 7 June 1996 telephone interview, a
professor of international relations at Staffordshire University
who specializes in Sierra Leone and recently spent time there,
stated that there is evidence that the Fula have been "subjective
targets of violence" by elements of the rebel forces of the
Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
The source stated that the Fula have
historically been merchants and traders, with origins from the
neighbouring state of Guinea. As such, the Fula are viewed by some
nationals as being exploitative outsiders in control of certain
economic domains. Fulas have been targeted in killings used exploit
anti-Fula ethnic sentiment in order to obtain increased popular
support of the RUF in rural Sierra Leone. The Fula are also subject
to violence stemming from robberies by rebel groups and other
criminal elements of Sierra Leone society. The source cautioned
that these attacks against the Fulas are spasmodic and cannot be
determined to be an intensive concerted campaign, nor are Fulas the
only group being targeted in this manner.
The source stated that in the voter
registration for the recent national elections (March 1996), the
government was accused of being discriminatory towards Fulas. There
was some difficulty in determining the citizenship, and thus the
right to vote, of individual ethnic Fula voters and also in
registering all the eligible voters, problems that were compounded
by the large numbers of internally and internationally displaced
people.
The source noted that although the Fulas
may have received preferential treatment under the Momoh regime, he
did not believe that they enjoyed special privileges under the
Strasser military regime (1992-1996) or the present civilian rule
(since March 1996).
The source stated that after a brief lull
in violent activities immediately following the national elections
and the peaceful transition from military to civilian rule,
casualties have begun to increase and reached levels of 70 to 100
persons per week over the period of May to June 1996. The source
was unaware of the ethnic composition of these recent deaths or
whether Fulas represented a disproportionate number of those found
dead, as the data was not yet available.
Please find attached additional general
information on the Fulas.
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
Reference
Professor of international relations,
Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom. 7 June
1996. Telephone interview.
Ethnologue: Languages of the World.
1992. 12th edition. Edited by Barbara F. Grimes. Dallas, Texas:
Summer Institute of Linguistics, p. 362.
Refugee Legal Centre. SL9 11 July 1995.
(UNHCR RefWorld: Country and Region Information \ Responses to
Information Requests (REFINFO) \ (SLE) Sierra Leone)
SLBS Radio [Freetown, in English]. 25
January 1996. "Sierra Leone: Electoral Commission to Investigate
Registration Complaints." (BBC Summary 26 January 1996/NEXUS)
_____. 14 May 1991. "West Africa in
Brief: Sierra Leone President Warns Against Cooperating With
'Terrorists'." (BBC Summary 18 May 1991/NEXUS)
Third World Guide 93/94. 1992. Toronto:
Garamond Press/Instituto del Tercer Mundo, p. 519.