Date: Wednesday, 28-Feb-96 08:35 PM

Date: Wednesday, 28-Feb-96 08:35 PM
From: Saffa J. Kemokai \ PRODIGY: (GUGP07A)

Subject: The Electronic Telegraph: A pact with the devil
Femibyte :The Electronic Telegraph Monday 26 February 1996 World News

Tel nu ya loma nja hun mpowa gbekei vu-oe bi f'ea ngi wel ar mbumbu lu (sorry folks, I can't say it in English) but abstractly enough, a dying man is a desperate man is how I feel about how the Executive Outcomes got to SL and its relationship with what is left of the country. Personally, I had approached it from the beginning with apprehension although at that time, I was more concerned about Nigerian soldiers whom I tend to know a little bit about but again, that was before the EO came into the picture.

Thank you Femi for enlightening me through the piece captioned above. Well netters, this recent revelations in my mind will complicate things in SL much more than I for one had anticipated. We may have more than the RUF to be concerned about after the elections. Africa's soldiers of fortune, allied profit-only business community, badly educated elite, selfish and corrupt politicians, and a longing masses will form the core of our next debates in the ensuing months.

The Electronic Telegraph reports:

> "It's good to see Kono return to life," said van Heerden, "but it's not the main reason for our presence. >We are here on business." He was one of several South African officers who decided to leave the army in >the late Eighties and put their expertise on the market. The result is Executive Outcomes, arguably

>the ultimate post-Cold War security firm.

I find an irony in this. Although it is known that the presence of EO is compensated for in monetary terms therefore a business of some kind. Won't the saving of lives in Kono be the main reason for being there? Reports have greatly emphasized on the soldiers mining in Kono. I am tempted to believe that perhaps while there maybe some truth in that, the real truth lies with the EO and its cohort sister companies and it might even be that the soldiers do not have control over it and that is the real danger.

The Electronic Telegraph reported:

>For a hefty fee and lucrative business contracts for its network of British and South African sister >companies, it hires out "consultants" to governments in need. EO's first big operation was in Angola, >where its support for the army helped to bring Jonas Savimbi, the leader of the Unita rebels, to the

>negotiating table. Government oil and diamond contracts swiftly followed. Then came Sierra Leone. >"Lafras Luitingh [EO co-founder] roamed the continent canvassing heads of state," said van Heerden. >"He easily convinced Sierra Leone's government [a junta of young officers] that he had an offer they >could not refuse."

The young soldiers in desperation to salvage the country may not have had much choice giving their experience in world or business politics. Not to let them off the hook, the soldiers also had the choice to consult with those outside the army or even use professional consultants to review this EO a little better. But again, who knows who those consultants maybe - British..? I begin to feel that the difference between the RUF and EO is that the RUF kills indiscriminately while EO kills with purpose - business and profit.

The Electronic Telegraph reported:

>The result was a deal, thought to be worth $1 million (about $660,000) a month, to help the army >against the rebel Revolutionary United Front. Between October and November 1995, Branch Energy >alone reported $12,000,000 annual income from the mining in SL.

By admission, Branch Energy is also the other EO. Didn't they get enough pay in one year..?
The Electronic Telegraph reported:
>There was also a Kono diamond mining concession for Branch Energy, an EO sister company. Kono, >which produces an estimated $300 million of diamonds a year, is a coveted prize in the five-year civil >war. Last spring, rebels held it. Then, in May, EO arrived with up to 200 soldiers - blacks and whites - >trained in the >bush wars in Angola and in undercover campaigns against the African National >Congress. "The rebels didn't know what hit them," said a relief official.

The role and purpose of EO in Africa is not accidental in my judgment. It is the attempt to find new home for apartheid. Like van Heerden said, if they were trained to fight freedom fighters in South Africa for the apartheid system, why will they be interested in freedom and democracy in SL..? South Africa now has a government in which the indigenous form the majority which defies apartheid. So apartheid is scourging Africa to find a new home - a weak country with mineralsto devour... I hope is not SL.. Didn't Britain set up South Africa..?

The Electronic Telegraph reported:

>......... The army, implicated in many atrocities against civilians, has also been brought to heel. The South Africans have shot those caught looting. For now, Branch Energy's mining seems to be EO's preoccupation, backed up by some public relations work, such as ferrying Sierra Leone's football team to the African All Nations Cup in Johannesburg and the escorting of food convoys into

the interior.

Although my whole chiefdom was looted, my choice of revenge does not include killing looters for the sole purpose of more business earning. Bringing the war under control does not consist of killing at random because somebody stole what is properly his. From the above confession, it seems practical to conclude that EO may even be doing the works of RUF. They might even be the source of recent attempts to derail the peace talks by creating the situations that have been blamed on the RUF and or NPRC. After all, from reading the profile on this EO, itis quite clear that peace in SL is contradictory to their business

The Electronic Telegraph reported:

>Plenty need help. As an EO officer put it: "To the east, there is Liberia. It, too, has >diamonds."

All yours Mr. EO, but remember, it is little different in Liberia. In SL and Angola, you only have one group to be content with in each case. You are probably the one supporting the RUF in SL. In Liberia, the groups are many. It's a little harder to convince all of them with your business deal - they have had quite a bit exposure to business. You may not get through the fragile coalition there now. Each member is watching the other and they are pretty much

determined...

Saffa Kemokai @ Browns Mills, NJ

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