US Terrorism in Sierra Leone, Zaire, etc. Clancy id CAA03956; Fri, 10 Oct 1997 02:09:24 -0400 Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source:jclancy@peg.apc.org Thu Oct 9 18:21:50 1997 US terrorism -SierraLeone,Africa USA, THIS IS A MUST FOR YOUR PROFESSORS. The Left understands. The first thing US/UK citizens should learn well is that unless their leaders take steps to become more humane and less consumed with dreams of greed and power, then the United Nations Org'n must disintegrate. The US control of the Security Council suggests that a new UN Law must be passed to appoint the US the sole judge and arbiter of all UN doings and responsibilities, instead of it being a perpetual debtor which pays no debts, is a blot on the lives of the poor, and is a perpetual torturer and terrorist of small nations. Our ethnic TV (SBS) has just screened "The life of KABILA" with appropriate views of the corrupting imperialists' use of his country- Democratic Republic of CONGO -renamed from Zaire, which was the main supply base for Gingrich and his friends past and present, to supply the US terrorist Gen.Savimbi in a quest to replace the elected government of ANGOLA with US ownership of its vast oil and diamond reserves. But those 2 million deaths are for another day. The most recent batch of African generals to accept "payment" from the US to act the part of hit-man, (or mafia boss, or torturer, or just a UN, maybe future NATO, force to appear with new uniforms, free fighter-bomber planes and heavy artillery to patrol the nearby nations, who know and fear these US/UK trained and supplied killers) include General Abacha and his brother generals who 'run' NIGERIA for Shell oil and many US oil corp'ns. "Run" means to murder dissidents. SIERRA LEONE has changed its governments many times. It unfortunately owns rich rutile fields, diamonds, timber, and rich fishing grounds. Also unfortunately, most of their presidents have been easily corrupted, mainly by the US, to protect US rutile mining and remove the farmers from their fields which are rich in the mineral. So we have a regular change of government, from one who has been corrupted and repressive of the people, to another who takes his place and tries to be honest -like western politicians. At the moment we have Major Johnny Paul Koromah: who must be honest because the US has gone to extremes to remove him. The Nigerians have been brought in by plane and boat but have been forced to run away. Their country is 1000 miles east of SierraL. Now the Security Council, have all agreed to the British proposal (not the American, you understand) to apply an American blockade on the country -no oil, no exports, no loans, nothing! -until Johnny does what he is told. He is supported by the people, but not the US friends among them who do well with white business salesmen. So Abacha and his ghastly companions, who had murdered many thousands of Ken Saro-Wiwa-type Ogoni people, are now in the pay of the UN -a cheap escape for Gingrich, and the boys back home and the British. This is a definite advance from being part of the African Executive Outcome, or Sandline option, or the US mercenary groups. BBC DISCUSSIONS this morning. The UN/Imperialist-formed group of West African States -ECOWAS, has also attempted an invasion of Freetown SL but without success. From Washington the UN stated, "The diplomatic and economic isolation of Sierra Leone is now complete. Already there is the ECOWAS blockade. The regime, recognized by no-one, is now under UN sanctions. The sanctions include an arms and oil embargo and a travel ban on the May 97 coup leaders and their families." (One can assume what THEIR future will be when superior forces arrive. JC) Welcoming the measures, Sierra Leone's Ambassador to the UN, James Turner said that he hoped the country's intransigent military rulers will finally step aside, saying, This should be a new beginning, a new reality. It will enable them to know that the world Community is serious, and wants legal government to be restored." UK Journalist: "Whether the UN will be prepared to take the next step, if sanctions fail, and authorize us to use force, is more uncertain. Many diplomats are still uncomfortable with the irony, of giving ECOWAS, which is currently Chaired by Nigeria's military government, powers of restoring democracy in Sierra Leone. Radio Holland presenter asked Patrick Smith of "Africa Confidential" in London, why the Security Council has decided to act now, months after the coup that brought Johnny Koromah to power? "First of all there was the reaction of the West African States led by Nigeria, which, within weeks of the day the coup happened, decided to take tough, some sort of military action against the coup plotters. This failed dismally." "So then there has been this long interval of some 4-5 months, while the international community gets itself in gear, and that to a great extent has helped to shore up the military regime in Freetown. It has now got almost the benefits of incumbency." Q? "To turn to the ability to impose a ban on petroleum and petroleum products, arms and all kinds of similar materials, how is this going to be enforced? A. "Well they seem to be devolving the responsibility for that embargo to the West African Community of African States. The dominant factor in that IS Nigeria, and for the last 2 -3 months, Nigeria has been doing just that -enforcing the embargo. I suppose the UN element would add weight to Nigeria's operation, making it a global, rather than a regional embargo. For example, we've seen shiploads of rice, I think from Thailand. We've seen oil turn up from the former Soviet Union, so the UN embargo will actually give the Nigerian led embargo as implemented, a bit of added force." Q. "This is clearly going to strengthen Sunni Abacha's regime in Nigeria. Isn't it rather extraordinary to impose sanctions for being a military regime and not being democratic, but using another country which has a very weak record if not worse record itself?" A. "Well that was part of the problem that the international community faced. When addressing the situation they said that shoring up one undemocratic regime, which is trying to get international credentials by appearing to be pro-democracy in a neighboring country is the dilemma they face." Q. "The question is, 'Why pick on Sierra Leone?' A. "Well I would say, bcause it's small and because it's relatively weak, and is not going to be able to fight back effectively. It makes a fairly easy target for the the precise reason why military regimes in Nigeria and quasi-military regimes in places like INDONESIA are not the subject of very serious sanctions and embargoes, when they contravene international standards of human rights! Sierra Leone is basically an easy target, both for western governments and for the Security Council of the UN as a whole." Patrick Smith, Reporter The above is a singularly apt description of imperialism. AFRICA is a death trap for its people. Africa is not short of people, good people. But Americans and others arrive to steal the resources, divide the peoples, incite the 'rebels' when needed, or the regimes when needed, and corrupt the leaders. Africa deserves better. When will the USA elect a series of world statesmen? JC ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytaf-10.10.97-02:09:25-29467