Category Archives: EO

The Empire Never Left Africa | Jerm Warfare – PD Lawton

Angola, British Financial Empire, EO, History Modern, Liberia, mozambique, Sierra Leone, South Africa, ,

I discuss the creation of synthetic revolutionaries like Julius Malema and the RUF in Sierra Leone. South Africa`s treasonous role on the continent historically and current in its support of anti-government forces. Angolan war – UNITA and the role of Executive Outcomes in Angola and Sierra Leone – how South Africa, the West and the UN tried to destroy Executive Outcomes because they were WINNING WARS

Source: UK Column and UK Column News

The Empire Never Left Africa | Jerm Warfare

17 July 2026

Jerm and PD Lawton argue that Africa’s chronic instability is not accidental, but the product of a centuries-old financial network — centred on the City of London, Wall Street, and mining giants like Anglo-American and De Beers — that has kept the continent unsovereign since Cecil Rhodes. They cast figures like Julius Malema as synthetic evolutionaries built to divide and destabilise, frame events like Marikana as false flags designed to manufacture political outrage, and suggest that institutions like the UN and IMF deliberately perpetuate conflict to enable corporate looting. The throughline is that South Africa was never truly liberated in 1994; the empire simply went covert, swapping overt apartheid for debt bondage, regime change, and the slow privatisation of the state itself.

There is No Christian Genocide in Nigeria | Jerm Warfare

AES, African High Speed Railway, Angola, British Financial Empire, Burundi, DRC, EO, KHS, Nigeria, ,

PD Lawton with Jerm Warfare : I discuss the role of insurgencies/ low-intensity wars on the African continent and how the media use perception modification to keep eyes off reality.

Source: UK Column News and UK Column

There is No Christian Genocide in Nigeria | Jerm Warfare

25 June 2026

P.D. Lawton argues that conflicts like Boko Haram are synthetic, Western-backed insurgencies designed to keep African states weak while corporations extract minerals cheaply — She cites the PMC Executive Outcomes, which routed Boko Haram in four weeks before it was dismissed so the insurgency could continue. She links this to a Kissinger-era destabilisation doctrine, flags the UK–Rwanda deal as to have funded Kagame’s Congo operations, and sees hope in the Alliance of Sahelian States (Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger), where military governments reclaim their mineral wealth and infrastructure, to include a neglected continental railway project.

 

Islamic Extremism, Religious Intolerance, Territorial disputes and Ethnic Conflict fueling Genocide in Northern Nigeria

AES, British Financial Empire, Current African News, DRC, EO, History Modern, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, ,

Islamic Extremism, Religious Intolerance, Territorial disputes and Ethnic Conflict fueling Genocide in Northern Nigeria

Part 3 in the Nigeria series by PD Lawton, 19 May 2026

Part 1 : Boko Haram: a Golden Commercial Venture

Part 2 :London Uses Nigeria and Ghana to Attack the AES and BRICS

Access this series by typing into the search bar

Image: former Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero. Source: Wikipedia

A deepening ethno-sectarian divide threatens to destroy the Nigerian legacy of common citizenship under one shared civic identity. Both the Muslim response to the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th, 2023, and recent riots fueled by the radical Christian element have revealed a scale and intensity of inter-ethnic conflict in Nigeria about which the political class has been largely silent. Except for Northern Nigeria where ethnoreligious sectarianism has long been an acknowledged reality, the wider establishment and the main political parties have refused to recognize the simmering tensions between different ethnic groups – predominantly sections of the Christian and certain Muslim groups but also some Fulani and Edo in central and northern towns of the country, besides a myriad of gangs across many areas.

The paragraph above was adapted with minor changes, which are highlighted, from the original titled:

`Riots and Radicalization: Ethnoreligious Violence and Islamism in Britain`

https://www.hoover.org/research/riots-and-radicalization-ethnoreligious-violence-and-islamism-britain

That the quote can be so easily adapted to fit Nigeria shows that narratives are being superimposed to obfuscate basic underlying reality.

image: Pope Leo XIV . source: Wikipedia

The official narrative about the British is that they are racist. The term used against ordinary working class Brits is ` far right` which misleadingly infers racist nationalism. The official narrative claims religious sectarianism drove the civil war in Ireland and continues to drive social division. The official narrative about Nigeria holds that Islamic extremists are killing because of religious fanaticism and that the violence is being caused by Nigerians who cannot help themselves when it comes to the African preponderance for conflict. Africans are violent. Africans fight each other over religion and territory.

If the reader believes the British are racist and Africans are predisposed to violence then they have been subjected to media perception modification.

There are critical problems in Britain and the British are tired of being ignored by government and tired of mass immigration and especially mass illegal immigration and of many other things. Mass immigration from Africa stems from the destruction of Libya by the Anglo American Alliance – NATO. It is now the largest human trafficking operation in history after Slavery. It is run by the same crowd, all legal and above aboard just as it was back in the day. The human trafficking migrant ferry services across the Mediterranean and the Channel are operated by taxpayer funded ngo`s.

In Nigeria people are dying daily, horrible brutal deaths. But Nigeria`s violence is not being driven by the perception modification hashtags of inter-ethnic conflict, territorial disputes, or religious extremism. People are being killed in Nigeria because of what lies beneath their feet. To attribute Nigeria`s troubles to anything else is to submit to a superimposed narrative that has been manufactured for public consumption to keep eyes off reality.

image: the Lord Bishop of London. source: Wikipedia

Who runs Nigeria?

“Africa is all the same. It is run by crooks.” – taxi driver in Nigeria

” Macron is with the mafia. All French presidents since Chirac are mafia. The Rothschilds run this mafia” – Tunisian taxi driver in Paris

(Why do people with blue collar jobs have much deeper insights into world affairs than do highly paid legacy media journalists and academics?)

Nigerian President Tinubu is part of the City of London-Wall Street criminal network, the Western mafia.

Tinubu is the second richest Nigerian after industrialist Dangote. Tinubu`s accumulation of vast wealth is unaccounted for, like his South African counterpart, President Ramaphosa.

Tinubu is a well known as crook and has pending convictions against him in the USA for drug dealing many years ago. Washington refuses to release Tinubu’s files.

THIS IS IMPORTANT :

WHY WILL THE WHITE HOUSE NOT RELEASE THE DOCUMENTS? Why does the Trump administration want to hand the 2027 Nigerian General Election over to Tinubu? If they released the incriminating documents Tinubu would be barred from running.

Tinubu has not visited the White House but he visits Macron often, more often than he visits outlying regions of Nigeria. Tinubu recently had a glorious visit to King Charles of Britain. It was the first state visit in 37 years. Apparently the UK wants Tinubu to resurrect the carcass of the British steel industry which is strange because successive Nigerian governments have ignored their own for decades leaving , Ajaokuta Steel Mill, Nigeria`s once great steel mill and industrial bedrock, to decay.

Tinubu`s firmest business relationship is with Gilbert Chagouray, a Nigerian-Lebanese billionaire. Tinubu recently gave an $11 billion contract to Chagouray to build a highway that is very low on the national priority list.

Chagouray has donated millions to the Democrat Party and to the Clinton Foundation.

“We came, we saw, he died.”– Hillary Clinton on the assassination of Gadhafi

Plundering is easier amidst chaos

“You do not have a problem in Nigeria with Islamic extremists. You have a problem with criminality” – Gen. Eeben Barlow

The International Mineral Mafia is a term coined by Cameroonian author and geopolitical analyst, Charles Onana. In his book` Holocaust in Congo: the International Community`s Omerta`, he explains the decades of low intensity war and destabilization of Central Africa`s Great Lakes region is attributable to a handful of multinational corporations that form the global supply chain of critical minerals. The violence in eastern Congo has allowed for utopian level deregulation for the mining industry. In a copy and paste destabilization program, northern Nigeria mirrors eastern DRC.

President Trump fed a Christian genocide narrative to make his foreign policy acceptable to the American public. There is an ongoing massacre of Christians just as there is an ongoing massacre of Hutus in Eastern DRC. But they are not being killed on religious or ethnic grounds. They are being killed because of what is in the soil under their feet. They are the unfortunate landowners.

Just as in North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri in DRC, militias are as well, if not better equipped than government forces. These are no rag-tag, bush- dwelling rebel outfits.

Boko Haram and ISWAP are equipped with state of the art technology. They use FPVs which are drones that carry munitions. They use Israeli and American weaponry: P90s etc.

The Nigerian military has retrieved 400 Starlink satellite devices from Boko Haram and ISWAP. They operate with untraceable sims. These satellite devices came from American sources.

Temporary runways are constructed in Boko Haram-ISWAP held territory. Commercial, private and Nigerian military aircraft land on these runways which transport weapons and fly out minerals and cash.

The cash is derived from all the kidnappings which are big business. It is even more lucrative than mining. It is left to thrive by the Nigerian government because it serves 2 purposes. It keeps  areas total no-go zones ( large swathes of Nigeria from Abuja north, east and west)and it provides instant cash for the war effort, the Boko Haram-ISWAP war effort.

The minerals being flown out include uranium and lithium. Gold and gem stones are also a major part of this illicit trade.

Uranium is literally flying out of Nigeria, unregulated.

As to the dealers, they will be connected to the exact same supply chains that operate in eastern Congo, the supply chain that Charles Onana calls the International Mineral Mafia. These multinational corporations all have respectable fronts with men in suits advising their respective governments on how to perpetuate the conditions for utopian level deregulation for as long as possible.

The multinationals have a much bigger profit margin when buying from insurgents. The profits can be stashed in London’s offshore tax havens such as the British Virgin Isles or Channel Isles.

The British contraption known as Nigeria is continuing its role as the stalwart colony of London. Between Nigeria and Ghana, the UN Counter Terrorism operation in the Gulf of Guinea conducts intelligence and logistical operations against the perceived enemy which it regards as non-compliant countries. The defining feature of non-compliance according to the Anglo American alliance/NATO/ City of London-Wall Street networks is rejection of French presence.

image: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson. Source: Wikipedia

France plays a filthy role in West Africa. Here are a few examples:  When Guinea was under the presidency of Sekou Touré ( 1958-1984) France collapsed the Guinean franc by floating counterfeit currency thus forcing Sekou ` Touré s Guinea into the CFA system whereby the French Treasury acts as the Central Bank for FrancAfrique.

In January 2013 France deployed under the UN mandate, 4000 French troops to stabilize Bamako which was under attack by the Azawad Liberation Front who are Tuareg separatists. This supposed humanitarian intervention turned into military occupation leaving Mali not just politically occupied by its former ruler but militarily.

The most significant act of treachery was the French airstrikes on behalf of NATO on Tripoli and arch criminal and City of London- Wall Street mafia man, former President Nikolas Sarkozy. Gadhafi funded his electoral campaign. With Tripoli under attack Gadhafi phoned Sarkozy and asked for his assistance. Sarkozy said give me your co-ordinates and I will get you rescued. That is how Gadhafi’s location became known to those who tortured and murdered him.

Gadhafi held together the warring factions of the Sahel. He was a force of stability and his Libya an economic mecca.

The French, having been kicked out the AES states of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger are now working from a base in Cameroon from where they are  assisting Boko Haram-ISWAP.

Macron recently tried wooing Kenya, Egypt and Ethiopia but has so insulted the Kenyans that, not first time, Macron`s tactlessness has demonstrated Western arrogance when dealing with Africa.

The Gravy Train

Just as in eastern DRC, the illicit mineral trade`s gravy train runs far and wide. Tinabu`s extreme wealth? Government officials, State Governors and high ranking Nigerian military have all long been known to have involvement in supporting Boko Haram-ISWAP.

700 American troops are currently stationed in Nigeria. Recently a high level ISIS commander was killed by a joint US-Nigerian operation.

But what is the American track record on the African continent? Let us be honest, it is appalling.

WHY ARE NEW AMERICAN ARMAMENTS AND WEAPONRY BEING USED BY BOKO HARAM?

Since the contested election of President Buhari in Nigeria, Boko Haram was allowed to resurge and Islamic extremism has grown exponentially since 2015.However, the obfuscated reality is not the increase in Islamification, it is the increase in lawlessness, ungoverned, ungovernable territory where the mineral mining Wild West can be opaque and unregulated and its gravy train can feed the Fulani herdsmen cum bandits, the corrupt government and military officials, the African middle men and the entire apparatus of terrorism.

But we must comply with narratives superimposed to cover the real causes. We must shake our heads and say Africa is a violent place and there will always be insurgencies and that these insurgents are so powerful they can never be stopped. Or at least they cannot be easily stopped.

Only that is not reality. Boko Haram was defeated in 2015. An area the size of Belgium was stabilized in 4 weeks by a correctly trained Nigerian Strike Force under the command of the founder of the African private military company, Executive Outcomes, General Eeben Barlow.

However, peace and stability were not wanted by Nigeria`s incoming president, Buhari, and nor by his handlers in Westminster, Washington and Paris.

You can read about Operation Anvil HERE, why it was a success, who opposed it and how. You can also read about all of Africa`s major wars , how those either ending them or attempting to end them were opposed and by whom and why HERE.

“Furthermore, it is also held up as an indisputable truth that the true, the main leaders of these terrorist movements do not come from the Sahel.

It’s also necessary to underscore that they have vast logistical means, a specific modus operandi and exhibit blind unheard of violence which is completely foreign to our geographical and cultural space.

Indeed, our countries throughout our history have known wars in the name of religion. We’ve seen rebellions, but we’ve never seen such bloody, gratuitous, indiscriminate violence on a scale that we are experiencing now. For all of the above reasons, I’m sure you’ll agree that this is deliberately imported terrorism that we’re facing.

Madame President, this is also sponsored terrorism and this throws up the actual genuine issue of terrorism financing and the destination of all of the resources terrorists have been capturing for over a decade now. How can we understand the fact that terrorists have maintained the war effort over such a long period of time?“-

Excerpt from the speech by Prime Minister of Niger Lamine Zeine Ali Mahaman to the UN GA September 2025

 

Footnote:

The title and images in this article are irrelevant to the material. It has been done to demonstrate that we allow religion to over-ride common sense and reality

CARVING-UP THE CONTINENT

British Financial Empire, Current African News, EO,

re posted from                         EEBEN BARLOW MILITARY AND SECURITY BLOG

CARVING-UP THE CONTINENT

Saturday, June 14, 2014

As a continent, Africa remains under the constant threat of destabilisation along with numerous internal, intractable crises aimed at fuelling suspicion and exploiting differences amongst the populace. These threats are aimed at creating fractious states that will be ripe for foreign intervention and ultimately the division of countries.

As a general guideline, the development of tensions along with destabilisation and revolution follows a predictable pattern in resource-rich countries:

  1. The build-up of hostilities: The ethnic, religious, political and tribal differences along with clan rivalries within a country are exploited and fuelled to increase historical tensions, political anger, dissent, disunity and hostility. The approach adopted by the sponsor-governments will be to ostensible promote “democracy”, “liberate the oppressed” and “remove a dictatorship”. Non-violent and violent protests and strikes will be encouraged by the sponsors of the hostilities. The hostilities will increase as attacks and bombings on government and private buildings and facilities along with essential infrastructure take place. Educational, emotional and symbolic targets such as schools, buses, places of worship, large outdoor congregations, sports stadiums, tourist hotels and groups and so forth will be targeted. Kidnappings of HVI’s and large groups of innocent and/or vulnerable people will occur. Provocative statements will be made on both mainstream and social media platforms to further add to tensions and suspicions. Agitators, armed militias, insurgent and even terrorist groups will be given or promised support and encouraged to conduct armed attacks against the government. The pattern of armed destabilisation will aim to fuel radical actions and thereby force the intelligence services, the law enforcement agencies and the armed forces to either overreact – in which case they will be condemned – or to operate over a wide front thereby stretching their abilities and resources. Ultimately, this will render the country weak, endanger the population, create both fear and an uncontrollable refugee problem and economically drain the country, thus rendering it vulnerable to foreign intervention and manipulation.
  1. Internationalising the hostilities: The escalating violence between contrasting ethnic, religious and/or tribal groups will result in international calls for the situation to be contained. The government will be faced with a growing insurgency supported by acts of terrorism. Calls will be made by foreign governments, international bankers, the United Nations and advocacy groups and NGOs for sanctions, humanitarian aid and assistance and even for armed foreign intervention to establish “democracy” and “stability”. Limited air attacks will be aimed at damaging the economy and destroying the infrastructure. Covert support by the sponsors, including arms, finances and moral support will be channelled to one or more of the clashing factions to ensure a continuation and an escalation of hostilities. Agitators, insurgent leaders and warlords will be the prime beneficiaries of this covert assistance and support. International think-tanks and crisis-resolution groups will be established to mediate the “problem” and envoys will be despatched to negotiate settlements and assist with the establishment of “democracy” and “security” or the “removal of a dictatorship”. Every attempt to bring the problem under the international spotlight will be propagated and exploited. However, the powers that created the destabilisation will be planning on how best to divide the country and gain strategic and economic advantages from such a division.
  1. Intervention and division: Resultant from the internationalisation of the destabilisation and the subsequent chaos and carnage, an increase in international debates will take place and methods devised on how best to contain and resolve the situation. The conflict will become commercialised and agreements made in lieu of assistance. Weapons, ammunition, vehicles and training will be given or sold to the side that can pay for them – and sometimes to both sides. Calls will be made for international peacekeeping forces to be deployed under the auspices of the UN or the AU to separate the warring factions. Foreign governments will despatch military advisors to “monitor” the situation and provide advice. Often, the advice will be aimed at increasing the problem as opposed to resolving the problem. Where training is given, it will be sub-standard and/or irrelevant as the government forces are set-up for failure. If necessary, air attacks will be intensified in order to destroy as much of the essential infrastructure as possible. Calls will be made for the country to be divided into two or more “new states” to bring about peace and stability and ensure “democracy” and “freedom” for the populace caught between the warring parties or factions. By engineering the division of countries and installing puppet or proxy governments that serve the interests of the sponsoring governments, the beneficiaries of the natural resources ie energy and minerals will be the powers that instigated the destabilisation. The newly-found pseudo-states will now (hopefully) serve the interests of their benefactors.

 

It is therefore important that governments do not merely label threats by the actions or the tactics they apply but instead determine the root cause of the problem and understand the aim and/or purpose of the threat’s actions and deeds along with its support.

Source:

https://eebenbarlowsmilitaryandsecurityblog.blogspot.com/2014/06/carving-up-continent.html

TRUMP’S AIRSTRIKES IN NIGERIA EXPLAINED: WHAT THE MEDIA WON’T SAY | With PD Lawton

British Financial Empire, Burkina Faso, Burundi, DRC, EO, Haiti, History Modern, Mali, New World Order, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, South Africa

I recently had the great pleasure of speaking to Cryto Rich ! Correction to my information: Uvira is still under M23-RDF occupation. I explain why across Africa it is ALL THE SAME WAR and always has been.  To read my article on Boko Haram – type into search bar: Boko Haram: a Golden Commercial Venture?

Source: CRYPTO RICH POLITICS

TRUMP’S AIRSTRIKES IN NIGERIA EXPLAINED: WHAT THE MEDIA WON’T SAY | With PD Lawton

2 Jan 2026

Donald Trump’s airstrikes in Nigeria are being reported everywhere but key facts are being left out. In this video we explain what actually happened, how the mainstream media is framing these strikes, and what the political and religious implications are for Nigeria and the wider region. Watch to see what the media won’t say about Trump, Nigeria, and the real agenda behind this conflict.

Part 3: The Securing of Sierra Leone : Tony Blair`s Good War

British Financial Empire, DRC, EO, History Modern, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone

Part 3:  The Securing of Sierra Leone: Tony Blair`s Good War

This series of articles applies to the present: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Nigeria, Mozambique, and the Sahel; where Africa is being kept at war with itself using the same program and the same players…

by PD Lawton           11 December 2025

A deliberate attempt to drive up the price of peace.

By 2005 the United Nations had adopted the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) which in effect legalized the invasion and occupation of countries by the NATO axis under the new `humanitarian` international  law. The Twin Towers-9/11 disaster justified their War on Terror. And the invasions of Iraq and Libya followed allowing for the complete breakdown of law and order across the Maghreb and Sahel with the predicted explosion of extremist Islam, drug trafficking  and legalized human trafficking which is referred to as Europe`s migration crisis.

1997 was the year Tony Blair became British Prime Minister. Bill Clinton was the US President at the time. Clinton and Blair would front the political theatre for the events that unfolded in Central Africa. The Anglo American network would use Rwanda to destabilize eastern Congo and maintain 30 years of utopian level deregulation for its multinational corporations.

image: Tony Blair and  President Paul Kagame in  2009. Blair set up his AGI office in Rwanda as he did in Sierra Leone

“President Kagame today at Urugwiro Village met with Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister and founder of the African Governance Initiative, a charitable organisation which aims to assist African leaders to effectively deliver their vision for their countries. Mr Blair, who is on the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) and a regular visitor to Rwanda, is here as part of the partnership with the Government of Rwanda in which AGI has been providing capacity building support since 2008. The meeting today follows Mr Blair’s earlier visit in May and marks AGI’s second year in Rwanda. Professionals from AGI are currently working side by side with officials in the Office of the President, the Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Public Service and the Rwanda Development Board, to assist in delivering on key priorities for Rwanda’s development, promoting investment and advising on government capacity building strategy.” Source

image: children in IDP camp outside Goma, DRC in 2024 : the ngo run Misery Industry

Under Tony Blair, Britain`s version of USAID was formed and was known as the Department for International Development (DIFD). The logo was” UKAID , Aid from the British people”. Under  DIFD, British foreign development aid was outsourced to the NGO network which like USAID became a money laundering exercise  . DIFD was closed down in 2020 and remerged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

image: Goma 2024 . The DRC`s version of the RUF , Rwandan controlled M23, create `consumers` for the Misery Industry

In 2011, independent journalist, Linda Polman, published `War Games` which exposes the theatre of the humanitarian aid industry, run through a veritable sea of non-government organizations, for what it is.

Polman interviewed RUF commander, Mike Lamin, who was the star of Philip Diaz`s documentary `Empire in Africa`. Lamin accused Polman and the likes of her, i.e. the West, of ignoring the country and its need of peace. He said that the RUF increased their amputation campaign of mutilating women and children, to get the world`s attention. Because with the world`s attention comes bags of money in humanitarian assistance which begs the question of who is the more insane?

“Two hundred thousand dead in ten years of civil war, hundreds of thousands wounded or deliberately maimed half the population of over 4 million displaced or in exile, hundreds of villages and towns burned to the ground. Not a single telegraph pole in the country has been left standing and there`s hardly a bridge that hasn`t been dynamited. The war has gone down as the cruellest and most destructive in the modern history of west Africa. Many experts dismiss the warriors in sierra Leone’s bush as drug-fuelled maniacs, but some suspect that a rational, calculated strategy lay behind their destructive frenzy and thirst for blood- they suggest it was a deliberate attempt to drive up the price of peace. “ pg. 152 War Games

Why did the UN Force EO to Leave?

In late 2000, British civil service agent, Alan Doss joined the UN peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone. (UNAMSIL) and would then go on to work for the Kofi Annan Foundation as a Senior Political Adviser   . Kofi Annan as Secretary General of the United Nations was known as `Nes- Kofi` as it was under his tenure that the United Nations and multi-national business community became even more interlocked. Helmut Maucher, CEO of Nestlé said at the time “ We`ve achieved what we wanted! We now find ourselves at the centre of the debate.” In other words, the UN is controlled by its donor multi nationals.

Alan Doss as head of UNAMSIL knew what EO had achieved in Sierra Leone. He stated at the time of EO`s expulsion:

“It is UN policy to discourage mercenaries. We do not think this is an appropriate form of armed intervention anywhere, involving any group. And if there is to be a peace keeping operation it should be duly authorized by the International Community and regional bodies that have that responsibility. And that was the case here in Sierra Leone with the establishment of the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission. That is the job of the International Community.” Alan Doss, head of UNAMSIL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBjmSH4VG_k

“In Sierra Leone the UN mandated force reached 17 000 men. That did not prevent the RUF from starting again. 17 000 United Nations `blue berets` were incapable of stopping what barely 100 did in Sierra Leone, 100 Executive Outcomes employees.”- War Correspondent Jim Hooper

image:young  victim of RUF brutality. Photo BBC

Within 3 months of EO`s departure, the RUF had broken the peace agreement and kidnapped 500 blue berets. The terrorism on civilians continued and the RUF took over Freetown resulting in an estimated 6000 deaths and tens of thousands of people mutilated, raped and traumatized.

“In Sierra Leone, Executive Outcomes deployed for 22 months, from 1995-1997. Over that time frame, the average cost was exactly $20 million per year. The subsequent peace keeping force, not peace enforcement – people in the front line, peace keeping force deployed by the United Nations, numbered at its peak about 18 000 personnel at the cost of about US$ 1 billion per year. “- Michael Grunberg pmc consultant

EO has yet to be paid in full for its services.

Media Smear Campaign

Executive Outcomes became the target of a formidable media disinformation campaign when it began working for the MPLA government of Angola, contracted to train the Angolan military to bring an end to the civil war being fomented by the opposition party, UNITA. EO`s quick success in restoring stability to large parts of Sierra Leone, fuelled the torrent of lies that were spread across the world about them, from journalists in the South African press to top ranks of the UN, the opinion was unanimous : White racist South African mercenaries destabilizing poor African countries in exchange for diamonds and mining concessions.

The media smear campaign became so far-fetched, so ludicrous, so imaginative that it is reminiscent of Graeme Greene`s novel `Our Man in Havana`. Greene was himself a British intelligence agent and wrote his classic to mock intelligence services, especially the British MI6, and their willingness to believe reports from their local informants. The novel is set in Cuba where an informant is under pressure to produce espionage reports of Cuban collusion with the Soviets. The informant cannot find enough `dirt` to satisfy his MI6 handler and resorts to adapting a diagram from a vacuum cleaner manual and presenting it as secret document of a military installation.

“The methodology of the Stratcom (Strategic Communications Operation/disinformation campaign) devised and implemented by the DFA (Department for Foreign Affairs), MI (Military Intelligence), and others vying for their place in the sunshine of our rainbow nation was simple: if you tell a lie often enough, people will start believing it.” Once it is believed, it becomes their reality. The technique involved generating fake intelligence, leaking it to the media to publish, and then submitting intelligence reports that referenced the media articles. This created a Gordian knot of misinformation layers deep as stories mutated with each telling, and eventually conglomerated into a single pervasive myth with Executive Outcomes at its centre.” Page 706 ` Executive Outcomes : Against All Odds` by Eeben Barlow

Behind the `leaked intelligence` reports, that were inserted into the media worldwide, were the DFA and MI. The Military Intelligence bureau of post apartheid South Africa was comprised of a number of the `old guard, high ranking military officers who one can presume were prepared to use EO as target to deflect from their own involvement in foreign interference under the National Party which ran  destabilization operations across Southern Africa. They were also desperate to ingratiate themselves with the new ANC government. Under President Mandela, Military Intelligence of the new South Africa excelled itself in being a purveyor of disinformation and lies.

The irony is that the disinformation had in some reports, substantial elements of truth. For instance one leaked MI report dated 6/04/95 said:

“EO has a group of members that are used as provocateurs in countries where they wish to establish contacts. The provocateurs make a study of strong and weak points of country like Nigeria. When they have established the weak points, these are exploited to cause unrest in the country. When this happens `brokers` arrive and offer EO`s services to certain large companies to protect their property against payment. Once EO has commenced protecting companies, they offer their services to the government to bring about peace. According to …this was a general tactic amongst Special Forces members during the bush war in Namibia. As soon as the war was `going a bit slow` they would attack RSA bases in order to escalate the war.” Pg 678 `Executive Outcomes : Against All Odds`

Liars are known to use `projection` which is apparently especially common among people with personality disorders – sociopaths and psychopaths, narcissists and borderlines. When someone is accusing you of doing something that they’re doing, they are engaging in the psychological defense mechanism of projection.

The disinformation being leaked to the press worldwide, was describing what the Anglo American network comprised of the City of London and Wall Street multi nationals and their banking institutions, their Israeli and South African diamond dealing networks have been doing across large parts of the `Third World` for decades.

Executive Outcomes Founder & CEO on War, Intelligence, and his LEGACY | ft. Eeben Barlow

Angola, Current African News, EO, History Modern, Sierra Leone, South Africa

well done to this podcaster for interviewing an African who is legendary for all the right reasons. This man and his company have, despite United Nation`s heavyweights and the media propaganda and lies written about them, conducted warfare on the continent in the name of Africa, saved tens of thousands of lives, stopped civil wars and acted for the sovereignty of legitimate African governments

Source: Not A Grayman

(Part 1/3) Executive Outcomes Founder & CEO on War, Intelligence, and his LEGACY | ft. Eeben Barlow

3 December

Welcome to the Not A Grayman Podcast, where your host, RK Gray, speaks with her unique network of professionals who have stepped out of the shadows and are NOT “Graymen”. Among them are today’s guests, Eeben Barlow, the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Executive Outcomes—one of the world’s first modern private military companies (PMCs). He has worked across the African continent to help stabilize nations facing insurgencies and civil wars. He advises and trains African armed forces, advocating for African-led solutions to African challenges. He is a prolific author and, while he has at times been an outspoken critic of foreign interference in Africa, his mission is rooted in a deep desire to see Africa thrive through strong leadership, strategic self-reliance, and ethical security frameworks. While in the SADF, Eeben served in the South African Army’s elite 32 Battalion Reconnaissance Wing. Eeben has also provided assistance to the private sector in strategy, business intelligence, and countering economic espionage. DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this episode are solely those of the guest and do not necessarily reflect the views of the host or this platform. Statements made by the guest have not been independently verified and should not be taken as facts. Viewer discretion is advised, especially regarding sensitive or potentially controversial topics.

TIMESTAMPS (Part 1): 00:00:01: Preview 00:04:30: Intro & Eeben’s origin story in 32 Batallion 00:13:37: Apartheid Era, Cold War Geopolitics in Africa, and interests 00:26:00: Competing Strategic Interests in Africa – Minerals, Resources, and the view from Africa 00:36:00: NGOs, aid groups, and the UN in Africa 00:38:14: Apartheid, patriotism, and the South African experience 00:52:00: African militant groups, piracy, child soldiers, etc. 01:04:00: Eeben Barlow on founding Executive Outcomes, composite warfare, and ending the war in Angola

To be continued…..

 

Part 2: The Securing of Sierra Leone: Tony Blair`s Good War

Angola, British Financial Empire, DRC, EO, History Modern, Liberia, Sierra Leone, South Africa

Part 2 of     

This series of articles applies to the present : the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Nigeria, Mozambique,and the Sahel; where Africa is being kept at war with itself using the same program and the same players…

                The Securing of Sierra Leone: Tony Blair`s Good War

by PD Lawton, 8 December 2025

By 1995, the RUF had gained control over the interior of Sierra Leone and were on the point of taking Freetown. The Sierra Leonean military were proving ineffective, lacking in training, discipline, leadership and pay. Many would later find it more profitable to work by night posing as rebels and living off the proceeds of crime.

President Strasser contracted the South African private military company, Executive Outcomes, having heard about their successes in Angola working for the MPLA government of Angola. They came highly recommended from General João De Matos, Angola`s First Chief of Staff. An Australian rutile mining firm trying to operate in Sierra Leone contacted Tony Buckingham, oil and diamond executive, who initiated contact between Strasser and EO. Contradictory to what is widely reported; neither Tony Buckingham nor Simon Mann had anything to do with the founding of EO. With the Sierra Leonean Government Treasury empty, it was Tony Buckingham, the Australian rutile mining operation and other investors who secured payment for EO`s services.

The Sierra Leonean government contracted EO to assist the army in driving the RUF from the vicinity of the capital, Freetown, and to train and assist the army in stabilizing the country, in particular the diamond areas of Kono. The RUF were paying for their international support and weapons, medical and technical supplies in diamonds at the same time depriving the government of revenue from legal diamond trade. Securing Kono was vitally important as depriving the RUF of diamonds was to remove their power.

“We realised only too well that diamonds were being smuggled out of Sierra Leone, not only by rebels, but also by elements of foreign governments and large multinational business corporations. Such players would not be at all happy about EO`s arrival; after Angola they had to know it would only be a matter of time before they lost access to cheap `conflict` or `blood` diamonds.” Page 459 Executive Outcomes: Against All Odds

Renier Hugo, EO member, who was appointed commander of the mobile strike force recalled the dilapidated condition of the equipment EO was provided with, that being the same equipment available to the Sierra Leonean army, 1 old land rover, 2 worn out BMP-2 infantry combat vehicles and 2 aging Bedford trucks. The EO strike force assimilated into the RSLMF and wore their uniforms as they had done in Angola working for the MPLA government. The EO force numbered no more than 200 men at any time. In many of their missions they would number from as few as 2 personnel to 40.

Air support in war-torn terrain is essential for obvious reasons but in West African jungle terrain it is of paramount importance as rebel force positions can only be located from above. The Sierra Leonean army only possessed one Mi-24 attack helicopter which had been supplied with 2 Ukrainian pilots who were on hire. MI24s are the `godfathers` of air support due to the titanium undercarriage. EO later flew up from South Africa two Mi -17 utility helicopters which are transport helicopters. Sierra Leone is roughly the same size as the Czech Republic, a large country with minimal infrastructure and dense jungle vegetation. It was a formidable task to patrol vast areas with minimal air support.

image: EO members with `Rhino` the country`s one and only attack helicopter

Col. Roelf van Heerden was appointed the senior command of operations in Sierra Leonean. A Namibian national, Roelf van Heerden published his memoirs of EO during the Angolan and Sierra Leonean contracts. His book was published in 2012 `Four Ball One Tracer`. It is a fascinating and informative account that describes in detail the military campaigns and unique style of warfare that EO mastered in countering anti- government forces. The author relates many experiences through which the reader comes to realise the full extent of national sentiment held for the men of EO.

Col van Heerden worked extraordinarily hard to restore trust and societal cohesion wherever the strike force was active. He gained the high respect of traditional elders, community leaders and the Kamajors who were the forest hunters and village armed protectors who acted as the community civil defence force. To this day there are Sierra Leonean children named after EO members as a mark of respect for them.

The Kono District in the east is the diamond rich region with Koidu being the capital. As mentioned, it was deemed of paramount importance to secure Koidu in order to cut off the RUF`s financial support. Before undertaking the liberation of Koidu, other strategies were considered.

“ The first option that was developed during the planning cycle provided for a speedy end to the war by attacking the RUF headquarters base in the vicinity of Joru, to the southeast of Kenema in the hilltops inside the Gola Forrest. After having neutralized the main headquarters, area operations could then be conducted in the country`s southern districts and then move progressively from east to west within each district. On the other hand, the concept of operations outlined by the second option provided for operations to secure the central areas of the country along the main routes towards the eastern and southeastern districts. This would allow the focus of main effort to move progressively eastward in order to conduct attacks on the priority target areas occupied by the RUF. Once this had been achieved the expansion of operations to other priority conflict areas could take place. The final option provided for operations aimed at clearing the RUF from the west of the country by neutralizing the threat in the eastern proximity of Freetown, and thereafter penetrating to the east until the RUF were forced into the forest area of the Gola Forrest on the border of Liberia. “ pg 150 `Four Ball One Tracer`by Roelf van Heerden

Under Col.  van Heerden and with only 40 EO soldiers and a contingent of trained RSLM forces, the military convoy left Freetown. The only equipment at their disposal was 6 operational military vehicles. The convoy was followed by 120 civilian vehicles this being the first secured convoy to travel to the town called Mile 91 and on to Koidu in nearly 10 years. When the convoy reached Mile91 the roads were lined with people who having been effectively cut-off from the capital for years and living under continuous insecurity and acts of RUF atrocities, were over- joyed to see their government forces and alongside them, the South African soldiers. The convoy continued on from the town of Mile 91 to the regional capital, Koidu.

Having encountered a number of RUF ambushes on the route to Koidu and having suffered a few serious causalities but no fatalities on their side, Van Heerden and the strike force arrived in Koidu to be met with a deserted town that was usually inhabited by 20-30 000 people. A roundabout which is the point of entry to the town had been decorated with severed heads with the rotting corpses having been thrown into the centre of the roundabout. Evidence of brutality and atrocities were everywhere and decomposing bodies littered the town. Only two living souls were found by EO and these were abandoned handicapped children who were later flown to Freetown and put in the care of the Catholic Church. The surviving inhabitants of the town began returning sometime after news had spread of its liberation from RUF.

With the progression of EO and the ultimate securing of the eastern region, as well as Freetown, the RUF were taking a serious challenge both to their numbers as well as the morale of the `troops`. However, a new challenge became increasingly evident and that was the complete lack of discipline and morality among a large element of the Sierra Leonean army who used their positions of power to steal from and intimidate the civilian population, on some occasions even posing as RUF. They would take advantage of the temporary ban on diamond mining to work by night in the diamond fields which they were guarding.

Col van Heerden had formed a good relationship with the Kamajors who became increasingly needed to guard the villages from RUF and rogue Sierra Leonean soldiers. Reporting the bad behavior to the higher command or reporting it to the local police had little to no effect.

Van Heerden in his book refers to the ill-disciplined soldiers as `sobels` meaning `soldier rebels`.

“Our actions against the sobels only served to bolster the image and perception of EO amongst the local inhabitants to the extent that they demanded the presence of EO throughout the area as this had become the only way to achieve any semblance of safety and stability. What these actions failed to eradicate was the sobel attitude amongst the RSLMF and incidents and reprisals still took place. “

EO would later be accused of arming the Kamajors who were falsely accused of then attacking civilians. This fabrication from certain quarters of the Western media was particularly insulting as the opposite was the case.

“Our actions also led to a meeting with Randolph Filly Faboi- veteran politician and former APC party member- who was the current Kamajor administrator in Koidu. He wished to convince me to issue those AK-47 rifles that we had recovered during contacts with the RUF to the Kamajors. His justification lay in the argument that the rifles would lend that little extra firepower to the antiquated arsenal of Kamajor shotguns of which the ammunition had become old and unserviceable. I also calculated that I was justified in assisting the Kamajors to defend themselves, especially if the sobels became aware that the Kamajors did in fact have AK-47 rifles.” Pg 203 Four Ball One Tracer

image: Chief Sam Hinga Norman

Van Heerden became exceptionally well respected by the community elders and writes highly of the Kamajor leader, and the man later appointed by President Kabbah as Defence Minister, Chief Sam Hinga Norman.

Van Heerden wrote of him:

“What amazed me as a representative of EO was the manner in which he respected and revered the people. This absolute respect was reciprocated by the people wherever he went. “ pg 229 Four Ball One Tracer

This good man, Chief Sam Hinga Norman, would later be accused of crimes against humanity by the UN-backed war crimes tribunal, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Sierra Leone. The special court was the first of its kind to sit UN-appointed judges alongside local judges, in the country where the crimes were committed.

Africa saw this happen again in Rwanda where honourable and incorruptible men and women or those who knew too much were silenced. We will see it again in the future in Congo where the Mai-Mai and Wazalendo will be taken to court for the crimes of protecting their communities. The Serbians of Yugoslavia were subjected at this time to similar treatment.

Chief Sam Hinga Norman would die after a medical procedure awaiting indictment by the ICC in 2007.

His trial and that of 2 other Kamajors was selected as the first trial conducted under Chief prosecutor David Crane, at the Special Court for Sierra Leone which would prove to be a court of selective justice.

The Syrian Civil Defence Force under former President Assad were accused in the same manner and their Western backed counterpart, the White Helmets, were applauded with international awards and a Netflix airing. (See research of British journalist Vanessa Beeley)

EO member Renier Hugo would take command of the air strikes. The RUF used the dense jungle canopy as cover. Locating the RUF bases was done by GPS coordinates obtained by relentless searching from the air in a Cessna flown by Renier Hugo.

“We made sure these horror stories and the chopping off of hands and the killing of innocent women and children, the recruiting of 12 year olds and putting them on drugs, all of that stopped and that progressed so quickly in Sierra Leone that the population actually supported us wherever we went and whatever we did.” Lafras Luitingh, former CEO of Executive Outcomes

The video link below is age restricted. It is one if not the only unbiased reporting from the time. It was produced for the History Channel. You can locate it on James Peterson chanel, titled : Executive Outcomes – Sierra Leone 1995

https://youtu.be/SBjmSH4VG_k?si=a8YNV54zbe7JKhCq

In January 1996, General Julius Maada Bio deposed Valentine Strasser in a bloodless coup. (Julius Maada Bio is the current president of Sierra Leone). By March 1996 civilian government was restored, with former United Nations Development Program official, Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, elected president.

The UN`s stipulation to the new government was the immediate removal of Executive Outcomes and negotiations with the RUF under which the RUF would become a political party and be given representation in Parliament. They had demanded 8 seats in Parliament but were allocated 2. Foday Sankoh was to be Vice President and given control of the mining sector.

By this point in time EO had secured most of Sierra Leone and the RUF were on the point of becoming a nullified threat.

Predictably, the RUF made full use of the ceasefire during negotiations which predictably dragged on.

“As we had predicted, the RUF had violated the ceasefire agreement on a number of occasions in order to infiltrate their units into positions that would enable them to commence offensive operations immediately, should the negotiations fail. Rebel sightings were being reported from all over the country.” Pg 234 Four Ball One Tracer

By December EO`s contract was terminated early and they departed Sierra Leone by 3 February 1997.

“What really saddened me in Sierra Leone to this day I do think about it is that we told the president when he told us to leave, we told him that RUF will take over the government or will try and take over Freetown again. And we knew precisely what was going to happen. And because of the influence on him , you know I would say, close to intimidation on him, he had to let us go.” Lafras Luitingh, former CEO of Executive Outcomes

UK Ambassador to Sierra Leone at the time, Craig Murray, recounted the chaotic farce of the negotiations:

“The negotiations were a grim game. The essential points of the peace plan were these. All fighting would cease immediately. There would be a general amnesty, but not for “crimes against humanity.” The RUF would disarm and enter the process, becoming a political party. There would be a government of national unity until elections a couple of years later. The RUF would have ministers in the government of national unity. They would get some funding to transform themselves into a political party and help to develop their policy programme. They would get offices and office equipment in return for guns. There would be scholarships for their young leadership to be educated. The fighters would be disarmed and go to camps. There would be training programmes, and counselling for child soldiers. A percentage of the RUF fighters would be reintegrated into the national army.” Craig Murray – `The Catholic Orangemen of Togo`

 

The Abidjan Accord was not long signed when in June 1997 Major General Johnny Paul Koroma and a faction of former RSLM military, rebranded as the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) deposed Tejan Kabbah in a coup took control of the government for the RUF, abolishing all political parties. Major General Johnny Paul Koroma announced to the world (included in Philippe Diaz`s misleading documentary) :

“The problem we have in Sierra Leone is that there are too many De Beers seeking control of our diamonds.”

With his sunglasses and AK47, Koroma was a typical `Westside Boy`, a cool killer with his pockets stuffed full of diamonds.

The AFRC and RUF returned to their former tactics and began retaliation against any seen as government, ECOMOG and especially EO sympathizers. At this point there were nearly one million displaced persons living in camps around Freetown. The RUF and Koroma faction of the Sierra Leonean military conducted their `cleansing program` across Freetown. Operation “No Living Thing” raped and mutilated civilians and in a week accounted for 6000 deaths.

Away from Freetown the killing spree campaign of terror across the countryside took back control of the diamond fields.

“ The Kono district, where EO had worked so hard and achieved so much, was hit the worst and the AFRC/RUF coalition exacted special retaliation on the population for what had befallen the rebels during the EO period. The town of Koidu was razed to the ground. Not a single roof stood and not a single well was without its fair share of bloated , floating corpses. For the RUF it was payback time. What a shattering end to such a promising beginning.” Pg 242 Four Ball One Tracer

Prior to elections, Tejan Kabbah had allowed people to give their vote verbally, not due to illiteracy but due to the sheer number of people who had suffered amputation of both hands. This particularly sadistic act was all the more barbarically cruel in a country of people who only had farming as a way of making a living. The RUF then turned to cutting out the tongues of the amputees so they could not vote.

A month later, June 1997, ECOWAS, Economic Community of West African States, led by Nigeria, approved the use of force to restore the Kabbah government. The West African region had by then 243,000 refugees who had fled to camps in neighbouring Liberia and Guinea. ECOMOG ( Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group) retook Freetown and restored President Tejan Kabbah but were incapable of securing beyond the capital.

The war continued until January 1999 when the International Community negotiated once again between the elected government of Kabbah and Foday Sankoh`s RUF. The Lomé Peace Accord was signed in March 1999 granting the Vice presidency to Foday Sankoh and control of the mining sector in return for cessation of hostilities and disarmament of the RUF. Other RUF leaders were granted government posts. The UN deployed the peace keeping operation UNAMSIL, United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone to monitor the process. By May 2000 the RUF, displeased about power sharing, continued to violate the ceasefire and by May 2000 were once again advancing on Freetown.

“17 000 United Nations `blue berets` were incapable of stopping what barely 100 did in Sierra Leone, 100 Executive Outcomes employees.” – Jim Hooper, honest American journalist on History Channel documentary

The U.S. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright visited Freetown in October in 1999 and promised $55 million in aid and $65 million in debt forgiveness. She was widely criticized for supporting the amnesty and RUF positions in government.

image: Madeleine Albright, US Secretary of State weighs in on West Africa

In May 2000, the RUF took 500 UN peacekeepers hostage and Britain decided to send British troops under Operation Palliser. In June the UN Security Council banned the sale of diamonds from conflict zones and extended sanctions to include Liberia. Under international pressure Charles Taylor is forced to close Liberia`s border with Sierra Leone and renounce his support for the RUF. The war is finally declared over in January 2002 and President Kabbah and his party win the election. Foday Sankoh is charged with war crimes and is killed in prison while awaiting trial. The U.N. peacekeeping forces leave Sierra Leone in December 2005.

Taylor`s Liberia is Made the Scapegoat for the War to Deflect from International Players

The following is the statement given by the Liberian Foreign Minister, Monie R. Captan, to the UN Security Council 4264th Meeting (AM & PM), SC/6997 in 2001. It is republished in full here because it proves the point that Liberia was made the scapegoat and Charles Taylor probably has some very interesting stories to tell if he were permitted to do so. The statement is very interesting as among other matters it mentions the black-market diamond trade was widespread :“Smuggling was endemic to the global diamond industry and was not limited to Sierra Leone.”

It also mentions the `donations` of armaments to the RUF by UNAMISL and ECOMOG forces which is currently happening in other African war zones such as MONUSCOs `donating` of armaments to M23 as well as  EAC ( East African Community) and SADC ( South African Development Community) `donating` technical and armaments to M23.

“MONIE R. CAPTAN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Liberia, said that it should be recalled that the involvement of his country in the resolution of conflict in Sierra Leone had been the result of an ECOWAS mandate, issued in Bamako. In addition, his Government could not have been an uninterested bystander. Liberia and Sierra Leone shared common historical, cultural, and family ties, as well as a common border. Liberia was hosting more than 100,000 Sierra Leonean refugees, as a result of the civil conflict. There could be no peace and stability in Liberia until there was enduring peace and stability in Sierra Leone and other neighbouring countries.

He said that it should also be recalled that, at the request of ECOWAS and the United Nations, the Liberian President had negotiated the release of more than 500 United Nations peacekeepers that had been taken hostage by the RUF. In addition, Liberia had permitted RUF delegations going to ECOWAS-sponsored meetings to transit through its territory. It had also permitted RUF officials to hold meetings on its territory with officials of ECOWAS and the United Nations. Moreover, the appointment of a new interlocutor and RUF leadership had been the result of an initiative of the Liberian President. Those efforts, among others, by Liberia’s President, had been undertaken with the sole objective of furthering the peace process in Sierra Leone.

Notwithstanding those initiatives, he said, the Liberian Government had been and continued to be the “target of grossly unsubstantiated allegations” of diamond smuggling and gun running with the RUF. On the diamonds issue, his Government could neither deny nor confirm that the war in Sierra Leone was being financed by the sale of conflict diamonds. It could confirm, however, that it was not connected, nor was it a party to, the illicit diamond trade of Sierra Leonean diamonds. If, as claimed in the report, his Government was exporting and selling $217 million worth of diamonds annually to Belgium, the Panel had failed to provide evidence of a trail of financial transactions implicating his Government.

In addition, he said, no one familiar with the diamond industry would agree with the Panel that the pre-conflict value of Sierra Leone’s annual production was anywhere near $450 million. Smuggling was endemic to the global diamond industry, and was not limited to Sierra Leone. Historically, his country had faced the problem, and previous governments had been unable to adequately address it. Liberia found itself in a much weaker position, having recently emerged from a disastrous seven-year civil war that completely destroyed basic national infrastructure. The problem had been further exacerbated by the Government’s lack of resources and personnel, including customs, immigration, transport and communications.

Depending on which figure was used, between 80 and 90 per cent of Liberia’s domestic diamond production was smuggled out of the country, he went on. That should refute the conclusion reached in the report that “it is not conceivable that so much of Liberia’s own diamond production could avoid the detection of Government”. With regard to arms supply to the RUF, the Panel had erroneously concluded that virtually all of RUF’s weapons had been obtained from external sources, specifically, Liberia. At the same time, the Panel had found that, among the considerable amounts of weaponry seized from the Sierra Leone Armed Forces, a “significant” number of those weapons had been seized from a Guinean UNAMSIL unit. Other Guinean units serving under the Economic Community of West African States’ Monitoring Observer Group (ECOMOG) had also previously been disarmed during ambushes and seizures.

In addition, he continued, the RUF had obtained weapons directly from the Sierra Leone Army inventory when the Armed Forces Revolutionary United Council had assumed power in May 1997 and entered into a power-sharing arrangement with the RUF. The Sierra Leonean Government might also have been a source of supply to the RUF when it requested two waivers of the provisions of the ECOWAS Protocol on the Moratorium on Small Arms on 18 and 23 June 2000. The waivers were to permit the importation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ammunition rounds. Given the pattern of events in Sierra Leone, it was not unreasonable to assume that a “substantial portion” of those shipments also ended up in the RUF’s hands.

Continuing, he said that the report confirms that additional arms shipments were received by the RUF from neighbouring Guinea based on RUF diamond sales made to “mid-level Guinean military officers”. It further admitted that the RUF had received weapons captured from ECOMOG forces that had fallen victim to various ambushes. Given all of those well-documented non-Liberian sources of arms received by the RUF, it was “unfair and erroneous” that the Panel would conclude that the primary supplier of arms received by the RUF was Liberia and that such an arms flow was the result of official Liberian policy.

He said his Government acknowledged that it maintained a training base in Gbartala, Bong County, Liberia, which provided much-needed training facilities for its internal security organizations, including the unit that provided protection of foreign embassies and sensitive government installations. His Government was currently engaged in discussions with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to provide workshops on humanitarian law at the training base. It must be re-emphasized that his Government did not train any foreigners at that facility.

The Liberian Government had reacted to allegations of illicit activities on its border by making concrete proposals to the United Nations to ensure proper monitoring and verification, he said. On 22 January, it had decided to ground all Liberian-registered aircraft and requested the ICAO to notify the civil aviation authorities of all Member States of that action. The Government had also revoked the appointment of all agents acting on its behalf in matters of aircraft inspection and registration. Those measures were taken in recognition of the fact that many aircraft flew the Liberian flag without the knowledge or authorization of the Government, which had sought the assistance of ICAO in providing technical assistance to improve its capacity in air traffic control and surveillance.

While it was his Government’s desire to continue to be constructively engaged in the search for peace in Sierra Leone, he said that it was equally true that the Government could not continue engagement in the “midst of the grave allegations levied against it” by the Experts Panel, especially the charge that Liberia had not played a constructive role in Sierra Leone. Thus, his Government had embarked upon an alternative policy of disengagement from Sierra Leone. Consistent with that policy, all RUF members had been asked to leave Liberia and all had done so, with the exception of Sam Bockarie whose return to Sierra Leone had been rejected by the RUF leadership.

Cognizant of the ongoing constructive dialogue between the RUF and UNAMSIL, the confidence-building visits into RUF-held territory, the opening of roads,
and ongoing discussions concerning the deployment of UNAMSIL forces into RUF-held territory, his Government – occasioned by the return of Mr. Bockarie – had engaged the ECOWAS Chairman in discussions aimed at identifying a third country to accept him. The transiting of RUF members through Liberian territory would no longer be permitted, nor would they be allowed to attend meetings on Liberian territory. The Liberian Government was prepared to take further actions to close its border with Sierra Leone, and to recuse itself from all discussions on the peace process, should the international community deem that necessary.

Furthermore, he said that his Government, cognizant of the complex problems associated with the monitoring and control of diamond trading on its territory and the subregion, had decided to seek the assistance and cooperation of the United Nations in putting into place an appropriate mechanism for the control and monitoring of the diamond trade. Ongoing cross-border armed incursions within the Mano River were also a matter of grave concern for his Government, which had suffered four different attacks on its territory form neighbouring Guinea.

He said that, as a result, an ECOWAS Committee set up to investigate the incursions, had recommended that a military observer mission be deployed at the borders of Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, and that dialogue ensue among the heads of States of those countries. His country called upon the United Nations to urgently facilitate the implementation of those recommendations by assisting ECOWAS with its logistical requirements. Furthermore, his country unequivocally condemned all dissident activities within the Mano River Union, including the recent attacks in Guinea.

He expressed additional concerns of his Government, including the view that the Panel had exceeded its mandate by proposing punitive measures, rather than a strengthening of measures already imposed by the Council. The extreme prejudice of the Panel was demonstrated in its recommendation to impose a travel ban on Liberian officials and diplomats. There was no basis in the United Nations Charter to deny Liberia the opportunity to conduct its external relations as a sovereign Member of the United Nations. In addition, the proposed ban on the export of Liberian timber was intended to deny the Government substantial revenue that funded social programmes in the areas of education, health, and social welfare.

Moreover, he said, the Panel’s claim that timber revenue was used to purchase arms for the RUF was a contradiction of its submission that the revenue from diamond sales “is more than enough to sustain its military activities”. In light of the very serious charges made against Liberia and the concrete decisions taken by his Government to address the concerns of the international community, the Government requested the cooperation and support of the Security Council. That approach, coupled with regional initiatives of ECOWAS, would yield far greater positive results than the imposition of punitive measures.”

source of above excerpt:

https://press.un.org/en/2001/sc6997.doc.htm

continued in Part 3

Diamond Cartel Wins Victory with Kimberley Process (Conflict minerals – Blood Diamonds)