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- This web page is dedicated to Mr. Toni Blair, retired Prime Minister of Britain, for his role in African development and the improvement of European-African relationship.



- Mr. Blair was among the European heads of state, who helped to end the decade of brutal rebel war in Sierra Leone in 2002. Sierra Leone is a former British colony.

- He used his talent in politics and interests in human rights to make Sierra Leone a better place to live today.

- Through his effort, the British troupes were sent to Sierra Leone. They fought very hard alongside the Sierra Leone soldiers to defeat the rebel fighters in Sierra Leone.

- At the end of the rebel war, Mr. Blair paid an official visit to Sierra in February 2002.
Copy of the speech he made can be seen further down this webpage.

- On his tour to West Africa, Mr. Blair became the first UK Prime Minister to visit Senegal.
Please scroll down for a summary of details of his tour.

- The political history of Sierra Leone will be incomplete, without mentioning the role of Toni Blair and, indeed, Mr. Kofi Annan (the retired UN Secretary General).

Address by Prime Minister Tony Blair Delivered at Lungi, Mahera Court Barrie, Sierra Leone, Saturday, 10 February 2002:

" Mr President, Paramount Chiefs, Excellencies ladies and Gentlemen Citizens of Sierra Leone:

It is with a very great sense of honour that you do me, that I come here today, to express to you our great solidarity and good wishes for the future of Sierra Leone, and for the future of your democracy so long under threat, but now I believe stable for the future for the people of Sierra Leone.

It was indeed a long and bitter civil war. 11years of conflict, 11 years of people fighting each other, land, buildings destroyed, people dying, and yet now I know, that all the citizens of Sierra Leone want to put those days of conflict behind them, and engage together, in the grim task of building Sierra Leone for the future, as a nation of prosperity and stability for all the people of Sierra Leone.

The International Community has played its part in that endeavour. I thank you Mr Paramount Chief and Mr President for your expression of gratitude to us. I feel very proud of the role the British soldiers have played here, but I know also that they've been joined by soldiers of many many other countries, and they've been joined in particular, in the endeavours that they've had to carry out, as armed forces by a strong sense of will in the International Community, that Sierra Leone was not going to be allowed to descend into chaos and conflict, but had to be rescued and helped, for the future.

I can see that future, when I meet those young people formerly part of the rebel forces, but now training to be part of the army of the government of Sierra Leone; an army dedicated not to civil conflict, but to supporting the democratic, legitimate government of Sierra Leone as any armed services should do.

Now in this further process of change and reconstruction, it is important we work together too, because the end to the conflict creates the conditions in which there could be stability and normalcy in which proper institutions of government and civil society can be built. But as you know the task of building them still remains. So we want to be your partners in that endeavour too, making sure the process of government, the commercial, the legal systems, the proper building blocks of any decent civil society are put in place and allowed to grow, because this is a country, Sierra Leone, potentially of vast wealth. This is a country with huge natural resources, it is a country with essentially a good and hardworking and decent people, prepared to put their shoulders to the wheel and build a better society here. That is why we need therefore to make sure that in these coming months and years the International Community supports and helps you in building Sierra Leone as we did in saving Sierra Leone from the conflict you had.

I'd like to end simply by saying this to you; and Paramount Chief thank you so much for your kind expression of condolences for the death of Princess Margaret that would be greatly appreciated I know by the Royal family. I wanted to say to you that my first introduction to Sierra Leone came many many years ago because my father used to come to Freetown to the University there to teach. And I remember him telling me what a wonderful country it was and how friendly and warm the people were. And if we think back to the past and the possibilities then, and if we look forward to the future now, then I think we can see that this dreadful process of conflict is not the true Sierra Leone. It is an aberration of the true Sierra Leone. I only wish that I've been able to spend more time and come to Sierra Leone and visit Freetown, I hope very much at some later stage it would be possible to do so, but I say to you from the bottom of my heart, that there is I believe the real prospect of changing your country today for the better.

Mr President you I know have worked very hard in these difficult times, to bring peace and security to your people; now there is the prospect there. So just as we refused to say that it was hopeless to try to end the conflict, and we acted, the International Community and yourselves to end it, let us also say that it is not hopeless, it is genuinely realistic and possible after the conflict is ended, to build a Sierra Leone of the future that you want to see.

My parting words to you are these. That we will be with you, we will help you in that process of reconstruction. These young people here, we see, are the future in Sierra Leone, they were not given proper education a peaceful environment given the opportunity to work and make their way in the world they will be as good as any group of people anywhere in the world. They are the future its for them that we saved Sierra Leone from the bitterness of conflict and its for them that we will build a future for Sierra Leone worthy of their talents, and worthy of the future they deserve.

Thank you very much." Toni Blair, Prime Minister of Britain.

Toni Blair in Senegal, West Africa
" Summary: Feb 10, 2002 (This Day/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) -- Tony Blair has become the first UK Prime Minister to visit Senegal. He arrived in the capital, Dakar, on Saturday, on the final leg of a four-nation tour of west Africa."

Press Release

Blair's 'heal Africa tour' doomed without full debt
cancellation

New report reveals development funding black-hole

Full Report (PDF)

The 2015 Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people
suffering extreme poverty, will not be met without total cancellation of the
debts of the world's poorest and most indebted countries. This is the
stark conclusion of a new study launched today, on the eve of this year's
meeting of G7 finance ministers, and as Tony Blair starts a tour of
African countries.

The report, written by Jubilee Research at the New Economics
Foundation and jointly published with the Jubilee Debt Campaign
challenges ministers' complacency on debt relief. Using widely accepted
methodologies, the study concludes that at least 39 of the 42 Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries, (34 of which are African), will need a complete
write off of their debts, plus an increase in aid from the current level of
$15bn to $46bn a year, if the poverty target is to be met.

As the study shows, recent welcome calls to increase aid flows, unless
accompanied by wholesale debt cancellation for the poorest countries,
will result in any new aid being squandered on debt repayments. This will
leave the drive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals seriously
undermined.

Author of the report Romilly Greenhill said: "Our report uses widely
accepted economic models to show that the Millennium Development
Goals are unattainable without total debt cancellation for the world's
poorest countries. We in the Jubilee Movement are outraged by recent
attempts on the part of G7 leaders to block moves to link debt relief with
crucial expenditures needed to protect the human rights of millions of
poor people. The continued squandering of precious resources on debt
repayments is making a mockery of the international community's stated
commitment to improving the lives of the poor."

Stephen Rand of Tearfund and Chair of JDC said: "The debt campaign
has never been about debt cancellation as an end in itself: It is based on
the hard and harsh reality that poverty cannot be significantly reduced
without it. This report demonstrates that JDC will continue to press the
case for debt cancellation with vigour, commitment, and on the basis of
fact."

Alison Marshall of JDC founder member the World Development
Movement said: "Tony Blair's number one priority for Africa must be total
debt cancellation. Debt cancellation is the most efficient way of getting
money to the places and people that need it most."

Henry Northover of CAFOD said: "Unless creditors are willing to go for
deeper debt cancellation there is no prospect of achieving the 2015
targets for the whole of Africa. They must commit policies and resources
in order to meet their rhetorical commitment."

Jubilee Research at NEF and JDC warn of serious consequences for the
poor, and for global security, if the findings of the report are not heeded.
They call upon G7 Finance Ministers to take radical action on debt if the
promises for 2015 are to have any hope of being fulfilled.
ENDS

Full Report (PDF)

Notes for editors

1. 52 of the world's poorest countries owe an unpayable historical
debt to the rich world of over $300bn. Only about $18bn of this
has so far been cancelled, with a total of $54bn of cancellation
due to occur "over time". These correspond to merely 5% (actual)
and around 15% (to occur) cancellation of unpayable poor country
debt stocks.

2. An electronic version of the joint report "The Unbreakable Link" is
available by email from JDC, WDM or Jubilee Research at NEF.

3. Jubilee Debt Campaign and Jubilee Research at the New
Economics Foundation are the UK successors to Jubilee 2000.
JDC consists of a coalition of almost 50 national organisations
and over 60 local/regional groups. For more information see
www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk or http://www.jubileeplus.org/

4. JDC and Jubilee Research are calling for a 100% cancellation of
the unpayable debt of the world's poorest countries, by fair and
transparent means, with refinancing (as necessary) of the
international financial institutions.

5. JDC supporters will be lobbying their MPs to encourage them to
restate their commitment to debt cancellation. JDC Patrons
include Glenys Kinnock MEP, Colin Lucas (Vice-Chancellor of
Oxford University), Bishop Mano Rumalshah (Secretary of
USPG), Larry Elliott (Economics Editor, The Guardian), Rev
Michael Taylor.

Contact:

Ashok Sinha, Jubilee Debt Campaign on 020 7922 1111 or 07905
139 140 (m) or ashok@jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk.
Romilly Greenhill, Jubilee Research on 020 7089 2878 or
rgreenhill.jubilee@neweconomics.org
Dave Timms, World Development Movement Press Officer on: 020
7274 7630 or 07711 875 345 or dave@wdm.org.uk

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