Friendly relations between a state and the outside world do not go sour in a day, but a product of a long feud fuelled by disrespect for internationally accepted values.
So be it for President Julius Maada Bio whose relationship with the United States and the West has turned for the worst for abusing democracy and development, US’s core values.
Bio is accused by the world powers of holding and exercising “a stolen mandate” after the June 24, 2023 elections. Bio was backed up by the United States and the West in 2018 to become President through an election that a vast majority of the people of Sierra Leone doubted.
For many Sierra Leoneans, Bio did not win the 2018 elections especially when his party, the Sierra Leone People’s Party had less seats compared to its rival, the All People’s Congress (APC), the incumbent party at that time.
The rigging was overlooked as the international community would not like to see APC in governance after two terms in a row.
It came to pass as Bio was pronounced winner and sworn in on the same day with the backing of the international community.
Bio’s government was strongly financially supported by the West and US as long as there was democracy in the land.
It however did not take too long for Bio’s regime to abuse the people’s rights through killings, indiscriminate arrest and detention of opposition politicians, and creation of a police state.
Democracy in all its forms was thrown out of the window and even refused to conduct free and fair elections. his attempt on the life of former President Ernest Bai Koroma who he accused of orchestrating and fuelling a coup also placed him at loggerheads with the sub regional bloc, ECOWAS.
To date, there is apparently no democracy in Sierra Leone as government faces legitimacy crisis locally and internationally.
World Powers such as the US, UK, EU and others will not sit down with folded arms while democracy is strangled by a selected few.
Democracy and Development are key values which the world especially the US jealously guard and preserve for the maintenance of international peace and security.
Democracy is composite: it is an embodiment of periodic, free and fair elections, respect and recognition for fundamental human rights and the rule of law, freedom of expression and of the press and tolerance to opposition politicians.
In a democracy, the people are the real holders of power as sovereignty belongs to them.
Sierra Leone’s constitution contains a provision that is in line with such notion as it states that “sovereignty belongs to the people of Sierra Leone from whom government, through this constitution, derives its powers, legitimacy and authority.”
With real political sovereignty resting with the people, they have the mandate to vote in government, and renew its mandate when it delivers to the people and vote it out when it does otherwise.
In such political arrangements, it is the government that fears the people and not the people that fears government. Former US President, Barrack Obama, in one of his most enlightened moments, said “it is tyranny when the people fear government, and it is freedom when the government fears the people.”
It is the respect for such democratic tenets that keep America going and has always wanted to see them cascaded to the least country in the world.
America cherishes such values so much that they form part of her key foreign policy objectives evidenced by huge amounts of money America spends annually to build peace and democracies around the world.
Countries who support democracy and development are friends and allies to the United States and those who oppose them are foes to the Super World power, and there is abundant evidence to show that countries in Africa that adopted democracy in the 1980s have successfully delivered services to their people while countries that frowned at such value collapsed and failed.
The triumph of democratic states over authoritarian ones lends credence to the notion that ‘democracy and development are two sides of the coin.” Peace and security is also enjoyed in democratic state as evidenced by peaceful political transitions as opposed to brutal takeover of power in countries without democracy.
It however does not mean the EU, UK, Commonwealth and other inter-governmental institutions are not assertive in protecting democracy; they are, but the US is more assertive and passionate about democracy than any other country in the world.
America will not hesitate to part ways with a friend or ally who has been stoutly protecting democracy and later turning out to destroy it by abusing people’s rights, freedoms and civil liberties, trampling on the rule of law, suppressing free speech and undermining institutions of accountability, indiscriminately arresting and locking up opposition politicians and most dangerously, refusing to hand over power after losing an election as is the case in Sierra Leone.
The world witnessed how the United States fell out with the late Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein who was once their great and trusted ally. Saddam, according to the Americans undermined democracy in his country Iraq by abusing people’s fundamental rights especially the right to life.
Thousands of muslims in a different sect were killed in gas chambers upon Saddam’s orders, and harbouring and unleashing of terrorist attacks on the United States was the last straw that broke the camel’s back.
All what the United States could do was to pronounce a regime change in Iraq and to disarm Saddam by the use force.
The world saw how it ended in 2003. It was almost at the same time again that the United States proclaimed a regime change in Afghanistan whose government abused democratic principles too.
The Taliban regime in Afghanistan was a key ally to the United States from he got much of its foreign aid, but the Asian country became a foe when it failed to respect the rights of their people, and also maintained terrorist bases and training camps according to intelligence agencies.
In the wake of September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre, one of the greatest building in the United States, George Bush (jr) minced no word in condemning the Taleban regime and urged it to step aside or face the wrath of America.
The world also saw America’s role in Libya where an Arab dictator, Muammar Gaddafi lost legitimacy for failing to respect the freedoms of the people.
History shows that the late Libyan leader was a friend to the US and the West but nakedly disrespected democracy by abandoning all systems of checks and balances although he worked very hard for his people.
Despite all allegations to the United States for getting read of the Libyan leader, Gaddafi did not portray himself as a democrat and therefore succumbed to the barrel of the gun.
Even the regimes of Husni Mubarak of Egypt and Ben Ali of Tunisia crumbled in a rather bizzare way because they fail to respect democracy in their countries.
Even Basha Alhassad of Syria and other autocrats of other countries around the world are under threats of annihilation for dishonouring democracy.
Invariably, the United States and the West will also frown at countries that attempt to tear democracy down.