Fare Thee Well, Schulenberg

There is a cloud of clouds surrounding the departure next week of the Executive Representative of the United Nations' Secretary General to Sierra Leone, Michael Von Der Schulenberg. Under difficult and controversial circumstances he came. Under difficult and controversial circumstances, it seems, he leaves. In-between the two he did the country good. He engaged civil society and made them even stronger. He hobnobbed with journalists and helped make the media grow even robuster. His commitment to ensuring the country did not slide back to full-scale conflict was evident and laudable. Surely Politico will sorely miss him.
Schulenberg came after the outgoing government of the Sierra Leone People's Party and their sympathisers in the media had sought to decry and deride and discredit his predecessor, Victor Angelo by linking him to the then opposition All People's Congress party. They even said he had rigged the polls to ensure a loss for the governing party at the time. He could no longer enjoy the confidence of his host government after his position had become untenable. “Angelo sacked”, screamed a headline in a pro-establishment newspaper at the time. A few weeks later, Angelo was reassigned by the UN to the Central Africa Republic.
There have been fevered speculations that the Government of Sierra Leone declared Schulenberg persona non grata, a Latin phrase which, literally, means “an unwelcome person”. In diplomacy it is the most serious censure that a country can apply to a foreign diplomat who is otherwise protected by diplomatic immunity. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations does not oblige a state to provide explanation or give reasons for declaring a diplomat persona non grata. In the murky world of diplomacy, it is a weapon that is rarely used and in many cases even when used its use is kept in the dark. A country that is worth its salt in the comity of nations, therefore, hardly uses it for reasons of political party protection; rather for the genuine survival of the state.
It is perhaps no surprise that the Government of Sierra Leone has denied that it declared Mr Schulenberg persona non grata even if some sources at the UN say there was an official request from Freetown for him to go. Those sources cite the antecedents to his recall as reasons for anyone who is in doubt. The United Democratic Movement (UDM), which is close to the ruling APC party and some pro-establishment sections of the media have persistently sought to embarrass the diplomat. They have accused him of being sympathetic with the opposition SLPP party even if without substantiating their allegations. He was even accused of meeting with civil society groups to cause trouble for the government. A government official has told us that those voices critical of the UN man do not represent their official position.
Whatever the truth and whether it will ever come to light, it is as certain as the sun is sure to rise up tomorrow that whoever succeeds Schulenberg will not be any different. They will hold regular meetings with civil society organisations. They will have cosy relations with the media and media-rights defender organisations. They will hold meetings with the opposition and help strengthen their capacity. They will not listen to the APC only or any government for that matter, for everything they do or intend to do with civil society or the media or even the opposition – unless of course their stay here is for money rather than for essence. Angelo was accused of the same thing. The former UNDP Country Representative Ugandan-born Elizabeth Lwanga was accused of the same complicity with the opposition. The former UN Special Envoy here, Francis Okello was also badly written about by the pro-SLPP media apparently acting at the say-so of their patrons until he was forced out of the country. They accused him of complicity with the RUF rebels at the time. But did all of those knee-jerk reactions of our governments change the behaviour of subsequent reps here? No!
Whether or not Schulenberg was declared persona non grata be becomes the second German diplomat to leave the country under unpalatable circumstances. The first was German Ambassador Carl Prince who was dubbed The People's Ambassador. He was kicked out by the NPRC junta in the mid 1990s. That move took away German attention and aid from Sierra Leone and needless to say it hurt our nation at the time. The return of German assistance to Sierra Leone which preceded and ensued the visit to the country of then President Horst Köhler has helped our post-conflict reconstruction work, especially in the last few years, in the development and transparency sectors.
If for some reason the SLPP had retained power in 2007 the country could have had strained relations with the UN, the same way it may if the APC wins later this year. But whatever has happened to Schulenberg and whoever is behind it, we at Politico salute him for his nearly four-year service to our nation. We wish him well.