A LONDON-BASED ADVOCACY GROUP FOR AFRICA IS LAUNCHING A CAMPAIGN TO RID THE CONTINENT OF MERCENARIES. AMONG ITS TARGETS ARE PRIVATELY OWNED SECURITY FIRMS THAT HAVE SPRUNG UP SINCE THE END OF THE COLD WAR.IN TIMES PAST, THERE WAS LITTLE QUESTION OVER WHO WAS OR WAS NOT A "MERCENARY." INDIVIDUAL SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE HAVE LONG BEEN HOUSEHOLD NAMES IN AFRICA -- BY CHALLENGING INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS FROM THE COMOROS TO EQUATORIAL GUINEA.
OBSERVERS SAY MERCENARIES HAVE CHANGED WITH THE TIMES -- ALTHOUGH THEY ARE STILL ACTIVE IN AFRICA. THE OUSTED PRESIDENT OF ZAIRE -- MOBUTU SESE SEKO -- HIRED EAST EUROPEAN SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE TO FIGHT THE REBEL FORCES OF LAURENT KABILA. NOW-PRESIDENT KABILA IS ALSO SAID TO HAVE RELIED ON MERCENARIES TO TOPPLE THE MOBUTU GOVERNMENT PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS SAY TODAY, MERCENARIES ARE AS LIKELY TO WEAR BUSINESS SUITS AS BATTLE FATIGUES. CRITICS SAY THEIR HEADQUARTERS ARE THE POLISHED AND AIR-CONDITIONED OFFICES OF PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS IN JOHANNESBURG OR LONDON. ONE OF THE BEST KNOWN IS THE SOUTH AFRICA-BASED "EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES." ITS HELP IN CRUSHING REBELS WAS VITAL TO MULTI-PARTY ELECTIONS LAST YEAR IN SIERRA LEONE. AFTERWARD, EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES WITHDREW FROM THE COUNTRY. THE MILITARY OVERTHREW THE CIVILIAN PRESIDENT JUST OVER A MONTH AGO.
BUT PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS ARE CHALLENGING FIRMS LIKE EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES. RECENTLY, A LONDON-BASED ORGANIZATION ANNOUNCED A CAMPAIGN TO END ALL MERCENARY ACTIVITY IN AFRICA.
THE GROUP IS THE AFRICA RESEARCH AND INFORMATION BUREAU, OR ARIB [PRON. AYE'-RIB]. KAYODE FAYEMI [PRON. KIE-ODE'-EE FIE-EM'-EE] IS ITS COORDINATOR FOR DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT. HE EXPLAINS THE CASE AGAINST WHAT SOME CALL "THE NEW MERCENARIES."
WHAT THEY DO NOT DO IS ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSES OF THE CONFLICTS THEY'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN. THEY SCRATCH THE SURFACE. THE MINUTE [EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES] LEFT SIERRA LEONE -- WHAT THEY DROVE UNDERGROUND ROSE UP WHEN THEY LEFT. THIS IS ALSO A FORM OF "CORPORATE RECOLONIZATION" ALL OVER AGAIN. THEY MORTGAGE THE RESOURCES OF THE LAND TO HAVE MERCENARIES IN PLACE. PEOPLE HAVE SAID [THE SECURITY FIRMS] PAY AS MUCH AS 15 THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH PER SOLDIER. THAT IS COMING FROM THE SAME RESOURCES THAT COULD HAVE GONE TO CREATING WEALTH OR REDUCING POVERTY.
MR. KAYODE'S GROUP ALSO WANTS TO CURB THE THREAT OF SO-CALLED "CONFESSIONAL MERCENARIES" -- OR THOSE SAY THEY ARE MOTIVATED BY RELIGIOUS CONVICTION.
ABDEL-FATAU MUSAH IS THE HEAD OF ARIB'S CONFLICT UNIT. HE SAYS ISLAMIC MERCENARIES ARE OFTEN SUPPLIED BY IRAN, OR "MUJAHADEEN" FIGHTERS FROM AFGHANISTAN. HE SAYS THEY'VE BEEN ACTIVE IN BOSNIA AND IN SUDAN -- THOUGH A SPOKESMAN FOR THE LONDON-BASED WORLD ISLAMIC COUNCIL DENIED TO V-O-A THERE ARE ANY ISLAMIC FIGHTERS IN THE EAST AFRICAN COUNTRY :.
THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE FIGHTING [IN SUDAN] ARE NOT THERE AS A RESULT OF TWO SOVEREIGN STATES HELPING ONE COUNTRY RESTORE ORDER. THESE PEOPLE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO CLAIM THEY ARE THE ARMY OF GOD -- AND GO WHEREVER A SO-CALLED MUSLIM REGIME IS UNDER THREAT. AND WE FEEL AFRICA IS SUCH A MULTI-CULTURAL CONTINENT, IF YOU BRING RELIGIOUS EXCLUSIVISM THERE, THERE WILL BE NO LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL AS REGARDS CONFLICT ON CONTINENT.
ACTIVISTS SAY MERCENARIES ARE HINDERING AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT. THEY ACCUSE GOVERNMENTS OF GRANTING THE SECURITY FIRMS LUCRATIVE MINING CONCESSIONS IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIR SERVICES. THEY SAY THE MONEY WOULD BE BETTER SPENT ON SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT.
PUBLIC INTEREST ACTIVISTS ALSO SAY PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS ARE IMMORAL: SOME USE FIGHTERS FROM SOUTH AFRICA'S FORMER APARTHEID GOVERNMENT. THEY SAY PRIVATIZED FIRMS ARE ALSO MOTIVATED BY PROFIT AND SELF-INTEREST, RATHER THAN BY PATRIOTISM. AND THEY SAY PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS LACK THE CHECKS AND BALANCES OF GOVERNMENT-RUN FORCES. ACCORDING TO THE ACTIVISTS, THE GURKHAS OF THE BRITISH MILITARY OR EVEN THE FRENCH FOREIGN LEGION ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO THEIR ELECTED PARLIAMENTS -- AND THE LAWS SET FORTH UNDER THEIR DEMOCRATIC CONSTITUTIONS. BY CONTRAST, CRITICS SAY THE PRIVATE FIRMS ARE SUBJECT ONLY TO THE LAWS OF BUSINESS. DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS SAY THAT IS ONE REASON WHY THEY'RE PREFER WESTERN GOVERNMENTS -- RATHER THAN BUSINESSES -- TO TRAIN AFRICAN POLICE FORCES AND ARMIES.
ARIB SPOKESMAN ABDEL-FATAH MUSAH SAYS PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS SPREAD THE CULTURE OF GUNS AND VIOLENCE IN AFRICA. HE LIKENS THE REGULATION -- OR ERADICATION -- OF MERCENARY FIRMS TO THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST DRUG TRAFFICKING.
WHEREVER DRUG [TRAFFICKING IS GOING ON], THERE IS INTERPOL AND OTHER INTER-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS [COOPERATING] TO STOP IT. WHAT MAKES DRUG TRAFFICKERS MORE DANGEROUS THAN MERCENARIES? [TAKE, FOR EXAMPLE] THE RECENT SITUATION WHERE A RESPECTED BRITISH ARMY COLONEL TIM SPICER -- WHO [SERVED] IN THE U-N FORCE IN BOSNIA -- NOW HAS A MERCENARY FORCE. HE [WENT WITH HIS SECURITY FIRM RECENTLY] TO NEW GUINEA, [AND WAS ABLE] TO TRANSPORT COLOSSAL AMOUNTS OF ARMAMENTS ACROSS HALF THE GLOBE. NOBODY WAS ABLE TO STOP THEM. JUST IMAGINE IF SOMEONE WAS CARRYING HEROIN -- THEY WOULD NOT HAVE MADE A QUARTER OF THE JOURNEY THEY MADE.
V-O-A REACHED COLONEL TIM SPICER IN LONDON TO ANSWER THE CRITICISMS. HIS FIRM -- CALLED SANDLINE INTERNATIONAL -- PROVIDES SECURITY AND MILITARY ANALYSIS AND ASSISTANCE.
COLONEL SPICER DISPUTES ALLEGATIONS THAT THOSE HIRED FROM SOUTH AFRICA'S DEFENSE FORCES ARE KILLERS. AND HE REJECTS CRITICISM THAT THE WORK OF PRIVATE SECURITY FIRMS IS IMMORAL.
WHETHER THE PROVISION OF MILITARY SERVICES IS IMMORAL, NO. THERE IS NO MORAL QUESTION THERE AT ALL. IT IS UNFORTUNATE, BUT WAR AND SECURITY OPERATIONS ARE A FACT OF LIFE IN THE WORLD. THEY HAVE TO BE DEALT WITH BY GOVERNMENTS IN AN EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE, BUT PROFESSIONAL AND HUMANITARIAN WAY -- IF YOU CAN EQUATE THEM WITH THAT. PROFESSIONALS USE MINIMAL FORCE AND TRY TO RESOLVE CONFLICT, NOT PERPETRATE IT.
HE SAYS HIS COMPANY HAS NEVER SOUGHT MINING CONCESSIONS IN EXCHANGE FOR ITS SERVICES -- AND DOUBTS THAT THE SOUTH AFRICA-BASED "EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES" FIRM HAS EITHER. COLONEL SPICER CREDITS EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES WITH RESOLVING THE SIERRA LEONE CRISIS. BUT HE SAYS THE CONTRACT EXPIRED BEFORE THE JOB WAS COMPLETED, LEAVING THE GOVERNMENT VULNERABLE TO A COUP. EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES SAY IT IS ALSO SOCIALLY MINDED: IT HAS SET UP DISPENSARIES IN SIERRA LEONE AND ANGOLA -- WHERE PATIENTS ARE TREATED FREE OF CHARGE. COLONEL SPICER SAYS MORE RESOURCES SHOULD GO TO SOCIAL PROGRAMS. BUT HE SAYS THOSE EFFORTS ARE NOT LIKELY TO ACHIEVE MUCH WITHOUT POLITICAL STABILITY OR A CLIMATE THAT ATTRACTS INVESTMENT.
COLONEL SPICER ADDS THAT SECURITY FIRMS ARE FILLING A VACUUM LEFT BY THE WEST. HE SAYS SOME COUNTRIES ARE CUTTING BACK ON POLICE OR MILITARY TRAINING IN AFRICA --- EITHER BECAUSE OF NEGATIVE PUBLIC OPINION, OVER-COMMITMENT, OR DOWN-SIZING OF THEIR OWN MILITARIES.
COLONEL SPICER SAYS PROFESSIONAL SECURITY COMPANIES SUCH AS HIS OWN FOLLOW THEIR OWN [HIGH] STANDARDS AND ETHICS. EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES, FOR EXAMPLE, SAYS IT IS APOLITICAL -- AND WILL ONLY WORK FOR "LEGITIMATE GOVERNMENTS" -- WHILE REFUSING CLIENTS INVOLVED IN ORGANIZED CRIME, ETHNIC CLEANSING, OR INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM. AND TIM SPICER SAYS THE COMPANIES ARE SUBJECT TO THE LAWS OF THE COUNTRY THEY OPERATE IN, THE LAWS OF ARMED CONFLICT, AND INTERNATIONAL LAW.
COLONEL SPICER REJECTS THOSE WHO COMPARE THE WORK OF HIS GROUP, SANDLINE INTERNATIONAL, TO DRUG OR WEAPONS SMUGGLERS:
THE COMPARISON IS HYSTERICAL RUBBISH. PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS DO NOT CONDUCT ILLICIT ARMS DEALS THAT COULD BE COMPARED TO ILLICIT DRUG TRANSPORTING. ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS MINE WILL ONLY PROCURE MILITARY EQUIPMENT AT THE BEHEST OF A GOVERNMENT WITH THE NECESSARY PAPERWORK, END USER CERTIFICATES, OVERFLIGHT CLEARANCES, ETC. AND THOSE WEAPONS ARE DELIVERED FROM THE SUPPLIER TO THE GOVERNMENT WHICH HAS ORDERED THEM.
MR. SPICER SAYS THE WEAPONS BECOME THE PROPERTY OF THE GOVERNMENT SECURITY FORCES -- WHICH IS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR USE -- OR MISUSE.
STILL, MANY PUBLIC INTEREST ACTIVISTS ARE NOT CONVINCED. THEY SAY SECURITY WOULD BE BETTER SERVED BY A U-N RAPID REACTION FORCE OR AFRICAN PEACE FORCE. THE LONDON-BASED "ARIB" GROUP WANTS AN INTERNATIONAL REGISTER OF KNOWN MERCENARIES THAT CAN BE CHECKED AT AIRPORTS. AND THEY WANT WESTERN NATIONS TO TIGHTEN LEGISLATION OF ARMS EXPORTS. THEY ALSO ADVOCATE CHECKS ON ARMS FLOWS TO AFRICA.
OTHERS WOULD LIKE COMPANIES LIKE EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES TO BE INCORPORATED INTO THE STRUCTURES OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN DEFENSE FORCE OR THE U-N OFFICE FOR PEACE-KEEPING -- AND TO OPERATE UNDER THEIR AUSPICES. BETTER YET, THEY SAY THE U-N AND THE O-A-U SHOULD TAKE PREVENTIVE ACTION -- TO RELIEVE THE TEMPTATION OF DESPERATE GOVERNMENTS TO CALL IN MERCENARIES.
09-Jul-97
Source: Voice of America