Second official visit to France
by Jahan Aliyeva (Sun Staff Writer)
Baku Sun, Azerbaijan
Sept 10 2004
French President Jacques Chirac, right,
talks with his Azerbaijan’s counterpart
Ilham Aliyev at the start of their
meeting at the Elysee palace in Paris,
Tuesday. Aliyev started Tuesday
a three-day working visit to France
to discuss bilateral relations, the development
of economic cooperation and the attraction
of French investments. (AP)
Baku — On September 8, President Ilham Aliyev met with his French
counterpart, Jacques Chirac during the Azerbaijan leader’s second
official visit to France since becoming inaugurated in October last
year.
The two presidents discussed international issues, their perspectives
on bilateral economical relations, as well as the increase in the
investment of French companies to Azerbaijan’s economy.
During the meeting, Chirac stressed that the relationship between
both nations are at an “excellent” level, Turan news agency reported.
Chirac added that, “France places third in Azerbaijan’s foreign
trade.”
The presidents also discussed the Nagorno (Dagligh) Karabakh
conflict. Chirac stated that Paris supports the continuation of
negotiations on a peaceful settlement to the conflict, Turan
reported.
“As co-chairman of the Minsk group of OSCE, France will do its best
towards settling this issue,” Chirac said. Meanwhile, in Azerbaijan,
observers made different comments about the effects of France’s
visits to Nagorno (Dagligh) Karabakh and the peace talks.
Novruz Mammadov, head of the International Relations department of
the Presidential Apparatus in Azerbaijan said in light of the
upcoming meeting between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia in
Astana, Kazakhstan, this current meeting with Chirac has substantial
significance.
“Negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia are becoming intensive,”
Mammadov told journalists last week.
However, Col. Sulhaddin Akbar, the former deputy minister of the
National Security Ministry, thinks that there will be no development
regarding the Nagorno (Dagligh) Karabakh settlement in the near
future.
“I think the political approach in this conflict should be completely
changed,” Akbar told Baku Sun.
Akbar stressed that, after the Iraq crisis, the United States has
cold relations with the member nations of the European Union and
Russia. By visiting European countries, the Azerbaijani government is
trying to benefit from this situation.
“Since Ilham Aliyev became the president, he has visited France,
Russia, Germany, and now again he is in France. He has still not been
invited to the United States. So, by visiting the European countries,
he wants to compensate this on one hand, but on the other hand to
pressure the U.S. in some way,” said Akbar.
Within his visit to France, Ilham Aliyev met with the French co-chair
at the OSCE’s Minsk Group, Henry Jacqueline, and Christian Ponsle,
chairman of French Senate. He also attended an exhibition of
Azerbaijani artists at the French Senate.
During the visit to France, Azerbaijan’s First Lady, Mehriban Aliyeva
accompanied her husband where UNESCO’s Director-General Koichiro
Matsuura appointed Aliyeva as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for
Folklore and Musical Traditions for her “actions to promote
traditional music, literature and poetry, her role in the promotion
of musical education and international cultural exchanges, and her
dedication to the Organization’s ideals.”
Aliyeva is a chairperson of the cultural foundation “Friends of
Azerbaijan”.
In the role as UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, Aliyeva will support the
Organization’s activities for the safeguarding of cultural heritage.
Caballe Montserrat, Pierre Cardin, Princess of Hannover, Pele Edson
Arantes are among the Goodwill Ambassadors.
Azerbaijan has been a member of UNESCO since 1992.

THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN THE PROCESS OF ARMENIA’S
COMPLIANCE WITH COMMITMENTS TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE
ARKA News Agency – Interview
Sept 9 2004
Tigran TOROSYAN’s Exclusive interview of RA NA Deputy Chairman,
the Head of the Armenian delegation in PACE to ARKA News Agency.
ARKA – As it’s known, the new draft on constitutional amendments is
supposed to be included into the agenda of the Parliament. Which are
the main new provisions in it compared to the present Constitution,
and how do they defer from the old package of amendments turned down
at the referendum of 2003?
T. Torosyan – At present there are two draft laws on constitutional
amendments (the draft submitted by the political coalition and that
by the opposition – ARKA), and the commission to consider them is
chosen to be the temporary commission on European integration. The
issue of including both draft laws into the agenda of the session
will be discussed during next session on September 8. Taking into
consideration the importance of the draft laws, I think that there
will be no problem in case they are included into the agenda. I
think that the coming discussions will be quite broad, as it was in
the case with the first package of the constitutional amendments,
submitted to a referendum in 2003. Of course, nobody initially can
guess the future of the draft laws, as the final decision is to be
made by the public. However, two aspects should be clearly marked off:
the answer received after the referendum; and the work done before
it. Scrupulousness of the work will determine the extent of perception
of by the society. Simultaneously, during the work of the commission
and the discussions in the Parliament the draft of amendments should
be improved as much as possible. Thus, about 70 suggestions were made
during the discussion of the previous draft law and the majority
of them were reflected in the document. In regard with this, one
should not consider the shortcomings in the draft law as something
extraordinary, since the gist of the draft is in enabling Deputies
submit as perfectly developed document as possible to the final voting
after having developed it. In both the new and the previous draft laws
on constitutional amendments the main provisions remained unchanged,
namely: the draft law must improve the constitutional mechanisms for
a man to exercise rights and the principle freedoms, and provide for
a complex of counterpoises for the system of governance as well as
full constitutional guarantees for the creation of an independent
and impartial judicial system and full-fledged institutions of local
governing. These aspects proceed from our experience of applying
constitution and tendencies considered in the constitutional processes
of the European countries. As compared to the previous draft law,
the amendments concern the system of governance, judicial system
and that of institutions of local governing. In particular, if the
previous draft law provided for a system by which the president could
twice submit the state program to the Parliament and, in case it was
turned down by the latter for the third time, the Parliament would
form the Government by itself, then the last provision was amended
in the new draft law. Thus, if the state program submitted by the
president is turned down by the parliament for the third time, then
the President has the right to dismiss the Parliament. I think that
this system has certain shortcomings, which we will try to correct
during the discussion around it. An extremely important amendment
refers to the activity of the Council of Justice. Thus, according to
the amendment, the Ministry of Justice directly submits suggestions
regarding the judicial system to the President. In the previous
version it was done at the initiative of the Minister of Justice,
meanwhile the judicial system must be separated from the executive
power. The new draft on constitutional amendments differs from the
previous one by its status as well: it’s a deputy draft law, which
will be considered in three readings and in case it is a success,
it will initiate a referendum, while the first one provided for such
an initiative on the part of the President.
ARKA – The opposition finds the amendments to the Constitution mainly
as negative, aimed at strengthening the presidential authority and
undermining the power of the parliament. What is your opinion about
it? As to you, which are the main shortcomings of the provision on
approval of a state program?
T. Torosyan – Such a position of the opposition pursues political
goals. I would like to remind that during the discussion of the
previous draft law they again criticized it. Of course, Deputies have
full right to make political statements, but their main duty is to
work in Parliamentary commissions and at the sessions of NA. If they
notice such shortcomings, they can make corresponding amendments and
not having done it it’s early to speak of the shortcomings of the draft
law. With regard to the authority, for some reasons the authorities
exercised by the president, the Government and NA are considered in
a numerical correlation, but the goal is not in entitling anyone with
more authority at the expense of the others. The goal is more serious,
namely, to ensure such a complex of authorities that would allow
creating a full system of counterpoises for normal work of each branch
of power and restraining the attempts of the other branch to abuse its
authorities. I have already mentioned that there are shortcomings in
the draft law on the approval of the state program and they refer to
the point stipulating dismissal of the Parliament. New elections will
be held after the dismissal of the NA, hence, almost the same staff
may be elected to the Parliament. So, a way out should be tried to
be found. However, I would like to note that the principle of the
formation of the Government and the dismissal of the Parliament,
which is the base of this and the previous draft laws, significantly
differs from the principle of the acting Constitution, according to
which the President may dismiss the Parliament any moment. And now
dismissal of the Parliament is stipulated for certain cases, i.e. when
the legislative body doesn’t function for a long period of time. This
makes the Parliament more independent and increases its role.
ARKA – There are rumors in the society that the issue of holding
presidential office for the third term is being discussed within the
frames of the Constitution. How grounded are such talks?
T. Torosyan – I would like to remind that such kind of absurd
talks spread in 2003 during the work at the previous draft law on
constitutional amendment as well. But the time showed that nothing
of the kind was stipulated by the draft law. The new version also
lacks such a provision. If someone wants to consider himself as an
extrasensory individual and guesses someone’s thoughts, then this
already refers to parapsychology field, but not to legislative work.
However, I can assure that no considerations or suggestions about it
have been made during 4 years.
ARKA – The main reason because of which the first package of
constitutional amendments was not approved when submitted to the
referendum was considered to be the society’s unawareness. Do you
manage to avoid the problems this time?
T.Torosyan – There is really such a goal as to increase the awareness
and understanding of the importance of the constitutional amendments in
the society. At that, I think that it should be achieved not by means
of mere publication of the amendments to be made so that each citizen
could read and participate in the referendum, as our colleagues from
the opposition suggested. Of course, the amendments are necessary
to be published in large circulation, and no other opinion can be
here. But on the other hand, I think that it’s a rather populist
measure, as it’s obvious that the Constitution is a quite complex legal
document, and the society, as a rule, never studies such documents in
details. So, the duty of the political powers and NGOs called to work
at such documents is to introduce what these amendments provide for,
what new changes they will bring in the lives of each family and the
country on the whole. Besides, if we speak of the last referendum, we
shouldn’t forget that it was held simultaneously with the parliamentary
elections and it’s quite possible that the parties were first of all
concerned about the quantity of the seats occupied in the parliament
and they almost didn’t get back to the issue of the Constitution.
ARKA – It was supposed that the report on Nagorno-Karabakh by Terry
Davis would be introduced at the autumn session in PACE, but since
September 1 Davis holds a new position of a Secretary General of
the Council of Europe, and the new reporter, the name of which is
not known yet, will hardly have the time to study the problem. What
solution may be found in this case?
T.Torosyan – The report on Nagorno-Karabakh by Terry Davis is already
in PACE and will be included into the agenda of the session of the PACE
political commission to be held on September 14. However, in regard
with T. Davis’s being Secretary General of the Council of Europe,
but not the Deputy of PACE, a new reporter must be appointed for the
introduction of the report. I think that the report itself will be
preserved, but on the other hand it’s obvious that such documents
undergo a lot of changes in the curse of discussions, so the new
reporter must study the issue thoroughly. I suppose that for this
purpose it would be better to postpone the discussion of the report
and not to consider it at the session of PACE on October 4. This would
allow the new reporter to study the issue better. It would be also
very useful if he visited the region. I think that the commission
would approve such a suggestion. With regard to a new reporter,
he will be elected from the members of the political commission.
ARKA – You suggested to organize a round -table discussion on
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in PACE. What stage is your suggestion at?
T. Torosyan -The PACE Chairman on political issues suggested
considering this issue during the session of the commission on
September 14. I hope that the decision of the commission will be
positive. Simple logic implies it, as it’s impossible to expect the
settlement of the conflict when one of the parties in the conflict
(Nagorno-Karabakh – ARKA) is kept away from everything. It’s not a
realistic approach. Besides, there are traditions in PACE that give
hopes: parties in the conflict are even invited to the session of
the commission, as it was in the case of the discussion of the Cyprus
conflict, when the representatives of the Turkish community of Cyprus
were present at the session.
ARKA – How ready is the report on Armenia by the member of the PACE
monitoring commission Jerzy Jaskernia? Will it be considered at the
autumn session of PACE, taking into account that the last term for
Armenia to comply with the main commitments is the end of 2004?
T.Torosyan – The session of the PACE commission on monitoring will
be held on September 15, and the agenda of the session contains the
report by Jaskernia. It is formulated as follows: compliance of RA
with the commitments in the frames of April and January resolutions.
>>From my perspective it would be more expedient to introduce the
report during PACE January session in 2005, since January resolution
1361 on Armenia contains some points that determine the term to comply
with the commitments – the end of the year, so the discussion of them
till the end of the term is not logical. We will suggest discussing the
issue in January, especially if no emergencies happened in Armenian
after April. At that I will note that a significant progress in the
process of Armenia’s compliance with the commitments to the Council of
Europe is recorded. In particular, with respect to January resolution,
we actually guide by the fixed schedule. We leg a little behind of
the intervening terms for making amendments to the Constitution and
the Election Code, and the reason is that for a month and a half we
were waiting for the opposition to take part in the work, whereas it
refused to do so. However I think that we will manage to accelerate
the process and catch up with the fixed terms. Almost all points of
April resolution 1374 are complied with. Since we have a progress,
I think it would be possible to postpone the discussion of the issue
of commitments and do it with more details.
ARKA – What expectations do you have from the autumn session of the
Parliament? Will the Parliament manage to start the work with its
full staff? What political decision is the Council of RA NA going to
make in this connection?
T.Torosyan – The events of the recent months make an erroneous
impression that the return of the opposition to the Parliament will
be a gift to the authorities or the majority of the parliamentary.
Parliament is the place of our work and each of us has its liabilities
rather to the society on the whole than to one another. I am sure
that if the opposition doesn’t take part in the work, it will have
to make its explanations to the society. The excuses brought by
the opposition about the boycott cannot be considered as grounded.
Taking into account the fact that quite important documents for Armenia
will be discussed at the autumn session, I see no logical excuse for
why the Deputies should not participate in them. On the contrary,
if they have suggestions how to improve the welfare in the country,
then it’s a good reason for them to come and introduce their positions
and prove their rightfulness. The society should have the chance in
the Parliament to compare what the majority of the parliament offers
and what’s offered by the opposition. Moreover, the opposition suffers
from some inferiority complex because of the failure of the autumn
rallies of protest. In regard with this, it doesn’t want to return
to the Parliament, though it’s a good chance for it to continue
the political struggle by means of legislative work. Anyway, I hope
that the Deputies from the opposition will not be deprived of their
mandates, and there will be no need to replenish their seats with new
deputies. However, we should not forget that the law is the same for
everyone and everybody is obliged to follow it. A.H. -0–

Former Russian cosmonaut from Caucasus beaten up by police
Agence France Presse — English
September 10, 2004 Friday 2:18 PM GMT
MOSCOW Sept 10 — A former cosmonaut from the Caucasus republic of
Dagestan was beaten up in Moscow by police in an apparently racially
motivated attack, Moscow Echo radio reported on Friday.
The incident happened when police checked the papers of Magomed
Tolboyev, who holds the title of a Hero of Russia, in the subway in
the southwest of the city.
Taking offence at his appearance and Chechen-sounding name, the two
police proceeded to beat up the one-time test pilot and verbally
abuse him.
“Get out of here, darky, and tell this to your countrymen or else
we shall do them in in the same way,” the officers said. Police have
opened an inquiry.
Tolboyev, who was a cosmonaut in the 1990s but never made it into
space, was not able to defend himself and suffered injuries to
his spine.
The incident raises further concerns about the risk of
racially-motivated attacks in the Russian capital after the school
hostage tragedy in the southern Russian town of Beslan, which was
blamed on rebels from the Caucasus republics of Ingushetia and
Chechnya.
Earlier this week one person was killed and two injured when a group of
young skinheads set fire to and gutted Armenian and Azeri restaurants
in the Urals city of Ykaterinburg.

ARMENIA WILL SEND ITS SERVICEMEN TO IRAQ
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
September 10, 2004, Friday
Armenia will be the second CIS country (after Ukraine) to send
its servicemen to Iraq. Armenian servicemen will be assigned to
the Polish contingent, presidents Robert Kocharjan (Armenia) and
Alexander Kwasniewski (Poland) decided on Kocharjan visit to Poland
this Monday. All 50 servicemen of the Armenian contingent will be sent
to Iraq within the framework of the security cooperation accord the
presidents signed in Warsaw. To quote Defense Minister of Armenia Serzh
Sarkisjan who accompanied Kocharjan on the visit, Yerevan is sending
its soldiers to Iraq because “size of our country and the distance
to Europe notwithstanding, Armenia regards itself as a part of Europe.”
Sarkisjan has always promoted a pro-Western course for Armenia and
its integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. It is Sarkisjan who
lobbies Armenia’s involvement in NATO programs. Yerevan has aspired
for participation in the Western peacekeeping operation in Iraq for a
long time now, and the latest developments are Sarkisjan’s achievement
to a considerable degree. There is a considerable Armenian diaspora
in Iraq – up to 25,000 people. Armenia counts on post-war restoration
contracts in Iraq, afterwards.
There is no saying at this point if Armenia’s involvement in the
Iraqi operation (following Ukraine’s involvement) may aggravate the
relations between Christian countries of the Commonwealth and the
Arab world. Religious discord in the world is deepening, and CIS
countries are undoubtedly a part of the process.
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, September 8, 2004, p. 5

Armenian officers to take part in NATO drill in Baku
By Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 10, 2004 Friday
YEREVAN, September 10 — Five officers of the Armenian Armed Forces
will take part in the Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises in
Azerbaijan on September 14-26 under the NATO Partnership for Peace
program, press secretary of the Armenian defense minister Col. Seiran
Shakhsuvaryan told Itar-Tass on Friday.
“Our position is invariable. We will take part in the drill,” he
said. He noted that the exercises organizer – NATO – has not made any
changes in the program. “In addition, Yerevan does not have official
information about refusal of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tbilisi to
grant entry visas for the Armenian servicemen going to the drill in
Baku,” he said.
Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Khachaturov said that Baku
protests against the participation of Armenian servicemen in the
exercises are formal.
“If Armenian officers are given permission to visit Baku, Azerbaijan
will have to provide for their security,” he said.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said that
Armenia should abstain from participation in the Cooperative Best
Effort 2004 exercises.
“Baku is perplexed with the insistent wish of Armenia, which
occupied some of Azerbaijani lands, to take part in the exercises,”
Abiyev said. “Armenia does not recognize territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan. There are no diplomatic relations between our countries.
Is the participation of Armenian officers in the exercises in Baku
expedient?”
He said the Azerbaijani public objects to the visit of Armenian
servicemen.
“The insistence of Armenia may build up bilateral tension shortly
before the CIS summit in Astana,” where Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan are expected to meet
with the Russian mediation, he said.
The news of Armenian servicemen’s visit agitated the Azerbaijani
public. A number of opposition parties, public and non-governmental
organizations will hold protests the day before the drill and on
the drill’s opening day. The Baku City Hall has authorized some of
the protests.
From: Baghdasarian

Several thousands attend Beslan remembrance ceremony in Yerevan
By Tigran Liloyan
ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 10, 2004 Friday
YEREVAN, September 10 – Several thousands of people attended a
remembrance ceremony for victims of the Beslan terrorist act in the
St. Grigory the Educator Cathedral in Yerevan on Friday.
Public organizations and the Russian-Armenian (Slavic) State University
organized the ceremony with the assistance of the Armenian Apostolic
Church and the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
Head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II prayed
for the Beslan dead. He presented condolences to Russian President
Vladimir Putin, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Alexy II and the
whole people of Russia on behalf of the people of Armenia.
“The Armenian people, whole Armenia are shaken by the monstrous crime,”
Parliament Speaker Artur Bagdasaryan said. “International terrorism
is acquiring a new, even more intricate face, and we must unite to
combat this evil,” he said.
Russian Ambassador to Armenia Anatoly Dryukov thanked every citizen
of Armenia for compassion and support. “Sorrow and ordeals have united
us again,” he said.
After the ceremony, people marched to the Russian embassy building
to light candles in the memory of Beslan victims.

Armenia should abstain from NATO drill in Baku – minister
By Sevindzh Abdullayeva, Viktor Shulman
ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 10, 2004 Friday
BAKU, September 10 — Armenia should abstain from participation
in the Cooperative Best Effort 2004 exercises due in Azerbaijan
on September 14-26 under the NATO Partnership for Peace program,
Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said.
“Baku is perplexed with the insistent wish of Armenia, which
occupied some of Azerbaijani lands, to take part in the exercises,”
Abiyev said. “Armenia does not recognize territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan. There are no diplomatic relations between our countries.
Is the participation of Armenian officers in the exercises in Baku
expedient?”
He said the Azerbaijani public objects to the visit of Armenian
servicemen.
“The insistence of Armenia may build up bilateral tension shortly
before the CIS summit in Astana,” where Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev and Armenian President Robert Kocharyan are expected to meet
with the Russian mediation, he said.
Meanwhile, the Armenian defense minister’s press secretary Seiran
Shakhsuvaryan said that five Armenian officers would take part in
the NATO exercises in Azerbaijan.
“Our position is invariable. We will take part in the drill,” he
said. He noted that the exercises organizer – NATO – has not made any
changes in the program. “In addition, Yerevan does not have official
information about refusal of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tbilisi to
grant entry visas for the Armenian servicemen going to the drill in
Baku,” he said.
The news of Armenian servicemen’s visit agitated the Azerbaijani
public. A number of opposition parties, public and non-governmental
organizations will hold protests the day before the drill and on
the drill’s opening day. The Baku City Hall has authorized some of
the protests.

Conference on Black Sea security opens in Georgia
By Eka Mekhuzla
ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 10, 2004 Friday
TBILISI, September 10 — A regional conference on security of the
Black Sea region opened in Chakva, near Batumi, on Friday. It is being
held under the aegis of Harvard University. Taking part in its work
are fifty-eight military experts from Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia,
Bulgaria, Romania, USA, and Turkey.
The experts, “whose views are heeded by the presidents of many
countries of the world”, Georgian Defence Minister Georgy Baramidze
stated, will discuss some problems of regional security in order to
“provide objective information to the world community, which is very
important for Georgia”. Present at the conference is Deputy Commander
of U.S. Forces in Europe Charles World, who is known to be among the
authors of the U.S. “Training and Equipment Program”. Four battalions
of Georgian commandos were trained in accordance with it.
This is the third conference on Black Sea security that is being
held by Harvard University. The first one took place in Yalta in
2002 and the second one – in Baku in 2003. “Its main purpose is to
promote contacts among the participants of the Harvard Program and
to draw American generals and politicians into the dialogue on Black
Sea security,” officials of the Georgian Defence Ministry pointed out.
Russia, they told Itar-Tass, is not taking part in the conference.

150 tonnes of relief sent to Beslan from RF cities, other states
ITAR-TASS News Agency
September 10, 2004 Friday
MOSCOW, September 10 — Humanitarian aid is supplied to the small
North Ossetian city of Beslan affected in the terrorist act from all
over the world. About 150 tonnes of humanitarian aid were supplied
after the tragic events in North Ossetia, a source in the Russian
Emergencies Ministry told Itar-Tass on Friday. “This is medicines,
medical equipment, bandages, syringes, mobile medical stations,
donor blood and ambulances,” the source emphasised.
Airplanes from Russian cities, CIS and other countries with
humanitarian aid have come to Beslan already for a week.
In particular, only Moscow, St. Petersburg and Mineralnye Vody sent
39 tonnes of medicines and foodstuffs in this North Ossetian city.
Italy, the United States, France, Norway, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Greece,
Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, Poland and Finland sent humanitarian
aid. The authorities of these countries sent to Beslan not only
medical equipment and medicines that are needed for the treatment
of the terror victims but also foodstuffs and clothes. Citizens of
Armenia and Greece have donated more than 200 kilograms of blood for
the wounded people in the terrorist act, and this blood has already
been supplied to the Vladikavkaz blood donor station.

Old Etonian gets seven years for Guinea coup plot
By Peta Thornycroft in Harare and David Blair, Africa Correspondent
The Daily Telegraph/UK
(Filed: 11/09/2004)
Simon Mann, an old Etonian and former SAS officer, stood expressionless
in khaki prison fatigues yesterday as he was sentenced to seven years
in a Zimbabwean jail for trying to buy weapons.
The biggest mercenary trial in Africa’s recent history ended in the
capital Harare with Mann’s 67 accomplices receiving prison sentences
of between 12 and 18 months for immigration and aviation offences. Two
other men were acquitted.
The court reserved its harshest sentence for 51-year-old Mann, who
holds British and South African citizenship.
“The accused [Mann] was the author of the whole transaction,” said
Mishrod Guvamombe, the magistrate, imposing sentence in a makeshift
court inside Harare’s maximum security prison. “He was caught while
trying to take the firearms out of the country.”
Mann had admitted trying to buy weapons valued at more than £100,000
from the state-owned defence company in Zimbabwe.
Prosecutors said the arms would have been used to overthrow the regime
of Equatorial Guinea. Mann and the 69 other men, all South Africans,
were arrested at Harare airport in March, supposedly bound for the
oil-rich West African dictatorship.
They were on board a Boeing 727, valued at about £2 million, which
Mr Guvamombe turned over to the Zimbabwean state.
Explaining his decision to impose a sentence on Mann nearing the
maximum of 10 years laid down in Zimbabwean law, the magistrate said
the offences “were well planned and well executed and that must be
reflected in the penalty”.
Mann’s lawyer, Jonathan Samkange, described the sentence as
“excessive”. But he ruled out an appeal to the supreme court.
Mann is likely to serve his sentence in Chikurubi maximum security
prison, where he has been held since his arrest six months ago.
After serving across the world with the SAS, he helped found Executive
Outcomes, a South African-based mercenary company in 1989. Despite his
experience, his last operation was a bungled and amateurish venture.
Maps of Equatorial Guinea and vital details about the operation were
found on the aircraft. The coup plot had been widely discussed for
months by former members of South Africa’s special forces before it
went into action. Mann and his colleagues were arrested after South
Africa’s intelligence service learned of their plans and alerted
Zimbabwe.
The men he hired for the operation were treated far more leniently. The
court sentenced 65 of them to a year behind bars for breaching aviation
and immigration laws. The remaining two were sentenced to 18 months.
The men testified that Mann agreed to pay them £3,300 each for taking
part in the operation. Mann’s family in Britain has given the men’s
relatives a one-off payment of £550.
Executive Outcomes was wound up in 1999 after South Africa banned
mercenary activity. But Mann remained active in the security business.
He lived in the expensive Cape Town suburb of Constantia, a few
streets away from Sir Mark Thatcher, the former prime minister’s son,
who has also been charged with involvement in the Guinean plot.
Fifteen other men, all South African or Armenian, are still on trial
in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea. One, Nick du Toit,
whose evidence implicated Sir Mark, faces a possible death sentence.