Zambia under pressure over hostages

UN investigators are trying to identify the remains

By Anthony Kunda in Lusaka

Zambian President Frederick Chiluba has vowed to keep on supporting UN peacekeeping efforts in Sierra Leone, where hundreds of his troops are being held hostage by rebels.

He has also reportedly sent a high-ranking delegation led by Zambia's army commander General Georgiado Musengule to investigate the situation in Sierra Leone.

His comments come after criticism in Zambia that his government has been silent over the fate of the Zambian hostages amid rising anxiety among relatives.

Concern has grown since the discovery on Monday of six badly mutilated bodies wearing UN uniforms with Zambian military badges.

The news has also provoked fears and worries among the friends and relatives of Zambians serving with Unamsil in Sierra Leone.

It goes to show yet again that our government does not genuinely care for the welfare of citizens

ZAP leader Dean Mung'omba

Opposition politicians as well as human rights activists have also been calling for better handling of the news.

The discovery of the corpses in an area held - until recently - by rebels of the Revolutionary United Front, RUF, has led to fears that the six were Zambian UN peacekeepers who were among the 500 taken hostage by the rebels.

President Chiluba: Tight lipped

But the UN says such conclusions were premature because the rebels are known to wear the uniforms taken from UN hostages.

The UN is conducting its own investigations to ascertain the identities of the six corpses.

Tight-lipped officials

Zambian Defence ministry officials appeared to be playing a hide-and-seek game with local journalists seeking comments.

They should have sent a team of high-ranking military officials to Sierra Leone

Human Rights activist Alfred Zulu

Defence Minister Chitalu Sampa is reportedly "out of the country", most probably on his way to Sierra Leone.

His deputy has also been hard to get.

Foreign Affairs Minister Keli Walubita took hours to make a statement, even then tersely saying: "We can only comment elaborately when we get a full report on the matter from our official sources in Freetown."

Until his speech on Thursday, President Chiluba's office had been equally tight-lipped over the subject.

But some opposition party politicians and human rights activists are angry over the matter.

Opposition calls

Stanslous Hlazo, an MP for the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), said the government "ought to come out more openly and explain to the nation".

"It seems they are also in the dark," he added.

Sierra Leonean government soldiers have been guarding the grave

Alfred Zulu, president of the human rights group Independent Monitors Team, said government response "has been lukewarm".

"They should have sent a team of high-ranking military officials to Sierra Leone immediately the soldiers were captured," he advised.

Dean Mung'omba, leader of the Zambia Alliance for Progress, said: "It goes to show yet again that our government does not genuinely care for the welfare of citizens."

In Kabwe, a town 140 km north of the capital Lusaka, where most of the Zambian peacekeepers come from, families of the soldiers have been glued to radio and television sets for information.

Military authorities there have instructed them not to talk to "outsiders", least of all journalists.

Despite government assurances, there is deep anxiety among the families of the soldiers, with some preparing for the worst.

"There is a war going on; anything can happen," a soldier's brother intimated.