Posted on 07/28/2002 12:58:46 PM PDT by LarryLied
LEADING American diamond merchant Maurice Tempelsman has offered to arrange a secret payment for Government if it entrenches the right of the De Beers cartel to buy all Namibia's diamonds.
Tempelsman has written to President Sam Nujoma proposing that a secret loan of N$500 million or more be raised to cover Government's projected national Budget deficit, but the money will only be paid if Government drops plans to independently check the prices De Beers pays Namibia for diamond exports.
If it goes ahead, the move will retard plans to open up the diamond market and will further delay the implementation of two dormant sections of the Diamond Act of 1999.
It is not known if Government has accepted Tempelsman's offer.
In an extraordinary seven-page letter, dated May 27 2002, Tempelsman, who visited Nujoma three weeks earlier, thanked President Nujoma "for taking me into your confidence" on Namibia's national Budget deficit.
The diamond dealer's visit came at a time when Government was planning to invoke two sections of the Diamond Act that had been dormant since the law was passed. These concern the selling of Namibian diamonds on the open market and allowing locals direct participation.
Mines Minister Jesaya Nyamu confirmed yesterday that Government had "some time ago proposed" that Namibia should begin selling diamonds on the open market. He did not say when, but pointed out that the proposal was not "well-received by diamond producers".
In fact, Nyamu said: "There was a hysterical reaction from some quarters."
Asked whether Namdeb was among the companies that objected, Nyamu said the semi-state company "maybe wasn't opposed" but De Beers "had some problems with the idea".
De Beers is the sole marketer of Namibia's diamonds through the Diamond Trading Company, which sells them with mixed gems from other countries. The actual value of Namibian diamonds is, as a result, not known.
It is widely known in the diamond trade that Namibian diamonds are of the highest quality and used as sweeteners in consignments for De Beers' customers. Some of the diamonds are then sold back to Namibian polishers.
Tempelsman is a major De Beers sight-holder. A sight-holder is a merchant who is invited by De Beers every five weeks to pick up a box of specially selected stones for re-sale.
On learning about Government's plans to open up the trade, Tempelsman visited Namibia in May to meet with the President. Three weeks later he wrote to raise the secret off-shore loan idea.
Nyamu would "neither confirm nor deny" that the American merchant was among people trying to convince Government not to open up the industry.
Tempelsman proposed raising an offshore loan of US$80 million to be made to the purchaser of Namibia's diamonds (De Beers) which it would use to pre-buy Namibia's diamonds. From this, US$50 million (N$500m) would flow to the Government.
Further conditions set by Tempelsman include a Government legal guarantee that De Beers will get exclusive rights to Namibia's diamonds.
"Mr President," said the letter, "whether we wish it or not, the proposal above cannot bear fruit without the co-operation at several levels of your partner in Namdeb, De Beers, and thus some acknowledgement of their interests.
"They have every incentive to extend such co-operation, and I firmly believe they will. But both they and the bank lenders will, as part of this process, undoubtedly seek formal assurances that during the term of the financing facility there will be no disruption of the delivery for sale through De Beers of Namdeb's entire production.
"To accommodate the repayment schedule that is envisioned, the Sales Agreement and arrangements that have prevailed over the past decade would predictably have to be extended through 2008 [three years beyond their currently scheduled renegotiation date]."
Tempelsman stated that the loan would entail no borrowing, guarantees, or other financial undertakings by Government and thus, among others, could be accomplished on an entirely confidential basis. But Namdeb will pay up through diamond exports.
He drew Nujoma's attention to guarantees that Government had made on Air Namibia and other parastatals as unfortunate deals, and said he hoped such budgetary burdens would be cleared through the reorganisation of State companies.
Tempelsman does not specify any fees to be paid for organising the deal.
At State House, Joseph Kashea, who is acting Secretary to the President, and spokesperson Daniel Smith both said they were not aware of the existence of the letter. They, therefore, declined to comment.
Efforts to obtain comment from Tempelsman yesterday proved fruitless. His spokeswoman in New York said he was not available at the time of going to press.
COMMITTEE FOR CONGRESSMAN RONALD V. DELLUMS
TEMPELSMAN, MAURICE
10/6/92 $20,000.00
NEW YORK, NY 10017
LEON TEMPELSMAN/SON
"I am going to totally dismantle every intelligence agency in this country piece by piece, nail by nail, brick by brick..."- Ron Dellums (D-CA) Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, 1993
Maurice Tempelsman, a diamond broker who served as an agent of influence for the Angolan Communist regime, secured the companionship of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who, for a number of years served as his mistress. Tempelsman was able to use this relationship, in combination with the Angolan oil payoffs to the Kennedy family to secure a completely pro-Communist Angolan policy by the new administration of Bill Clinton, which arranged for U.N. sanctions and follow-up U.S. sanctions on the anti-Communist UNITA freedom fighters led by Jonas Savimbi.
Aided by Maurice Tempelsman . . . the Kennedy family, operating through "next generation" representatives Joseph Kennedy and Michael Kennedy, was granted its own oil concession from the Marxist-Leninist government of Angola to something called the Citizens Energy Corporation.
International diamond dealer Maurice Tempelsman, a generous contributor to the Democratic Party, has won unusual support from high Clinton administration officials for a business proposal that could position him as a key marketer of billions of dollars worth of Angolan diamonds, interviews and classified government cables show . . .
Lazare Kaplan International, America's largest diamond cutter, is headed by Maurice Tempelsman, whose initial foray into diamonds came in Zaire, where he was a close friend of the tyrant Mobutu Sese Seko. In the 1960s Tempelsman hired as his business agent the CIA station chief in Kinshasa, Larry Devlin, who helped put Mobutu in power and afterward served as his personal adviser.
Tempelsman is best known as Jackie Onassis's longtime companion, but he's also a prominent player in Washington. He's doled out about $500,000 to the Democratic Party in the past decade, and during the Clinton years he was twice invited to state dinners and was one of a dozen executives who went on the President's 1998 trip to South Africa.
Lazare Kaplan has a long-term agreement to buy $ 100 million worth of gems per year from ALROSA, the Russian diamond monopoly that is rife with corruption and a fierce opponent of efforts to restrict the trade in conflict diamonds. In the mid-1990s the US Export-Import Bank issued a $62 million loan guarantee to underwrite ALROSA's acquisition of mining equipment from Caterpillar. In March, the Ex-Im confirmed that it has approved a new, $200 million loan guarantee that will benefit Lazare Kaplan's diamond-cutting factories in Russia. In January Lazare Kaplan announced that last year's second-quarter sales of polished diamonds increased by 108 percent. . .
". .. UNITA would have not survived as an armed group without the powerful diamond sale network established in Antwerp. "Belgians play a predominant role in the trafficking of arms, goods and diamonds for UNITA", the Belgian secret service report points out, adding that the funds for the purchase of UNITA's arms comes from the same source as that of the Lebanese Hezbollah and Amal terrorist organisations.
The Secret Intelligence Service report noted that illegal diamond trafficking goes hand in hand with drug trafficking and money laundering. It cites companies like De Beers and countries like Great Britain and Canada as beneficiaries of this illegal UNITA diamond trafficking. It also mentions people like Maurice Tempelsman whose company buys UNITA's diamonds which are then transported to London and Antwerp through Tel Aviv. . .
When senators of both parties questioned the special access granted big Democratic Party donors by the National Security Council, NSC boss TONY LAKE pooh-poohed the charges. But last week the NSC admitted that the month beore last year's presidential election, Lake did meet with MAURICE TEMPLESMAN, the deep-pocketed Democratic donor who was the companion of JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS.
Templesman, a diamond dealer with long experience in Africa, was seeking loans from the Export-Import Bank and loan guarantees from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation for a multimillion dollar diamond deal in Angola. After the meeting, a sympathetic Lake decided to intervene: he directed an NSC staff member, with approval from legal counsel, to call Ex-Im and OPIC. The message: Templesman's venture had "merit." But TIME has obtained the text of a recent letter from Angola's ambassador in Washington that bluntly asks the U.S. to stop attempts to broker a diamond deal and, in an apparent reference to Tempelsman, criticizes similiar attempts by "private companies." The Angolan letter, as well as Administration maneuvers on behalf of Tempelsman, have raised concerns among senior G.O.P. legislators--concerns discussed with the State Department . . .
The following is partial transcript of Representative Cynthia McKinney's recent brief:
Prepared Statement of Janine Farrell Roberts
The Secret Story Behind Blood Diamonds
May I first briefly introduce myself. I hold degrees in Sociology and Theology and have authored several books written about Australian Aborigines and their civil rights struggle, which were launched by their leaders. For many years I was funded by a coalition of US and European church to work on human rights frontiers internationally.
This work led me to De Beers - after it clashed with an Aboriginal community. The more I worked internationally the more I discovered about its human rights violations. I have now been researching and writing on De Beers and the diamond trade for twenty years during which time I have made several films - including: "The Diamond Empire", a feature length" Frontline" since suppressed by WGBH due to pressure from De Beers. The owners of Doubleday also commissioned a major work from me on diamonds - only to drop it at the very last moment as they wrote "rich and important people" did not want it to come out.
De Beers is nothing if not secretive. In the course of my investigation, De Beers banned me from its South African diamond mines where I was the guest of the National Union of Mineworkers (but I was smuggled in).
Here I witnessed in De Beers's mines horrific conditions with wages paid at one third of the official union minimum and in very hazardous conditions. I also witnessed considerable natural resources being hidden from the SA Government.
I went also to India and witnessed children as young as 8 cutting and polishing diamonds in workshops mostly supplied by De Beers through its favored merchants, working in what is defined as a form of slavery. The wages were slashed this year from 40c to 25c a diamond causing riots. Workers get one dollar a day for cutting romantic gems. India cuts 55% by value of the world's gem diamonds.
De Beers tried to stop my film in the Canadian NW Territories diamond fields - but the Sierra Club and the Unions had it happen. On 5th Avenue, merchants were phoned telling them not to speak to me "as I worked with Blacks in Australia to make life difficult for De Beers." I was also the keynote speaker at the first post apartheid conference of Southern African mineworkers where I was funded by the World Council of Churches.
I have been told that a major reason for some of my difficulties is the fear publishers have of a certain Maurice Tempelsman, the former companion of Jackie Onassis who in 1998 was reported to be developing a romantic relationship with Secretary of State Albright. He is a leading international diamond merchant of unique power and influence - often he has helped shaped US foreign policy in directions that favour De Beers. I have extensively researched his work. Much of this is in my forthcoming book "Blood Stained Diamonds" . . .
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Think about it Dennisw. There is a connection here. Ng Lap Seng and Maurice Tempelsman have something in common.Can you guess what it is?
Assuming you are a guy, there is always a fear you might have to buy a diamond. But tell her emeralds and rubies are better. Or Alexanderite. Women love that stone. Might cost you more than a diamond but all three hold their value better. And you don't have to feel like a sucker because you bought something which is priced artifically high due to the machinations of Tempelsman and his buddies.
I try not to judge people on race, creed, color, or religion. How about you? Could you accept a good person without regard to his or her heritage? Are you willing to accept that some people are evil, no matter what their heritage?
I've met a few conmen in my life and your shtick is still way too transparent......
No way. Africa is a totally chaotic continent. A cruel continent. Even where there are no diamonds. Factions change. Alliances change. It's all about raw power for whatever tribal group happens to get the upper hand. If you can make a profit there, then good luck to you. Matter of fact I think Lied imported some stuff from there and got screwed trying to sell it here. Go ask him.
No African American would ever move to Africa despite all their big talk.
To be fair to Africa, the entire 3rd world is terrible mess. Africa just more so.
1900s XXX XX In Arkansas early in the century there had been an active diamond mine in Murfreesboro. It was long ago abandoned and converted into the Crater of Diamonds State Park - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1961 XXX XX "In 1961 Patrice Lumumba, the Prime Minister in the Congo's first elected government, was seized, tortured, and murdered by a Colonel named Joseph Mobuto." - Jezer, Marty. "History of the Congo." NY Transfer News. February 2, 2001
"Kimball asked Schwar to comment on her own experience in doing research on the Congo at CIA. Schwar said that she had found no "smoking gun" having to do with Patrice Lumumba and did not think that any such documents existed. On the other hand, she had uncovered a lot of very interesting material, including issues that had come up in the Church Committee in the 1970s." - Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation." U.S. State Department. March 5-6, 1998
1965-1991 XXX XX Zaire received more than $1.5 billion in U.S. economic and military aid.
1965 NOV XX " General Joseph Mobutu, a former journalist who had risen to command the nation's armed forces, seized power in a bloodless coup in November 1965. The coup won ready acceptance in western capitals, where Mobutu already had many advocates, because of concern that the civilian regime was moving to the left." - Copson, Raymond W. "CRS Issue Brief: 96-037:Zaire " Federation of American Scientists. Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division. December 18, 1996.
One may recall that Mobutu was put in power [in Zaire] by the CIA in 1965. At independence he was a Sargent in the Colonial Army called "La Force Publique". He worked closely with American and Belgian agents in assassinating Prime Minister P. Lumumba. - Kintu, Remigius. "Tutsi Invasion of Congo: A Report of a Visit to Congo in September, 1998." Africa2000.com September, 1998
1973 XXX XX "... At the end of 1973, he launched his "Zairianization" campaign for the economy, which resulted in the seizure of foreign-owned properties and their redistribution to Mobutu loyalists A long era of negative growth set in, worsened by low world prices for copper and the high cost of oil imports. Moreover, even after attempting to rectify the excesses of Zairianization, Mobutu repeatedly provoked confrontations with major aid donors, notably Belgium and the World Bank." - Copson, Raymond W. "CRS Issue Brief: 96-037:Zaire " Federation of American Scientists. Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division. December 18, 1996.
1975 XXX XX "The CIA was involved, directly or indirectly, in plots against seven foreign leaders: Castro, Patrice Lumumba of the Congo, Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic, President Salvador Allende of Chile, President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam, President Francois Duvalier of Haiti and President Sukarno of Indonesia... It was just such ghastly details--including the CIA's effort to infect Lumumba's toothbrush with a deadly African disease--that led President Gerald Ford to issue an executive order on Feb. 18, 1976, banning assassinations by U.S. agencies..." - Wise, David. "No License To Kill." Congressional Record Central Intelligence Agency Page: S183 New York Times. January 23, 1990
1980s XXX XX Jean-Raymond Boulle promoted a venture digging for diamonds in Arkansas. - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1984 XXX XX ".Jean-Raymond Boulle initially worked for the world's biggest diamond producers, Anglo-De Beers, cutting his teeth in Zaire. Boulle branched out on his own in 1984, first in Minnesota and then in Arkansas, where he claims to have interested former governor Bill Clinton in exploiting the diamond potential of his home state " - Moody, Roger. "The Mercenary Miner, Robert Friedland Goes to Asia." Multinational Monitor. Volume 18 Number 6. June, 1997
"When he was trying to line up the approvals he needed to make his promotion plausible, he turned to James Blair -- the Springdale, Ark. attorney who helped Hillary Clinton turn $1,000 into $100,000 trading commodities. Blair got Boulle and then-governor William Jefferson Clinton together over lunch in the summer of 1984. Apparently convinced that the mine had promise, governor Clinton asked his friend Karen Lackey, then commissioner for parks and tourism, to work on a "blue ribbon task force" to study the issue despite the outraged howls of environmentalists. Bruce Lindsey, President Clinton's confidant and White House aide, did the legal work on Boulle's diamond project." - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1987 XXX XX "Boulle met Clinton again around 1987, this time at the governor's office, to complain about delays in approval. Clinton immediately signed a bill authorizing exploratory drilling as soon as the Clinton-picked task force recommended the project. It was green-lighted, allowing the Boulle-controlled company, along with a few others, to drill in the Arkansas park. That was not the last time Boulle saw Clinton. Boulle and his wife were guests at Clinton's first White House inauguration." - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1992 NOV 03 Bill Clinton was elected president.
1992 XXX XX Boulle and his wife were guests at Clinton's first White House inauguration." - Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1993 XXX XX " The Clinton Administration increased pressure on Mobutu. When the term of the U.S. Ambassador came to an end, the Administration refused to appoint a successor until Mobutu facilitated a democratic transition. The Administration decided to deny visas to Mobutu and his entourage, as well as other Zairian nationals who impede the democratization process. " - Copson, Raymond W. "CRS Issue Brief: 96-037:Zaire " Federation of American Scientists. Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division. December 18, 1996.
1993 DEC XX Jean Boulle and Robert Friedland teamed up in Diamond Fields Resources (DFR) Moody, Roger. - "The Mercenary Miner, Robert Friedland Goes to Asia." Multinational Monitor. Volume 18 Number 6. June, 1997
1993 XXX XX "The reverse movement started in 1993; 18.5% of the overall value of the world mining production (with the exception of oil) was in the hands of the State enterprises. In 1994, this ratio was about 16%, and it was anticipated that, in 1996, it would only be 14% . It was first in the developed countries that privatization of the mines was the most important. From June 1995 to May 1996, US $2.2 billion were spent for the acquisitions of this type of enterprise." - Baracyetse, Pierre. "The Geopolitical Stakes of the International Mining Companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ex-Zaire)" Minorisa.es December, 1999
1994 XXX XX Jean Boulle guided Paul Stephens, cofounder of Robertson Stephens Investment Management Co, of San Francisco, whose funds have for years invested in companies run by Boulle, on a trip through Africa around 1994, treating him to barbecued warthog and a lunch with Namibia's president. - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1994 JAN XX " Boulle and Friedland had met through a common interest in prospecting for diamonds off the Atlantic coast of Namibia. They struck it big time in January 1994 when they staked out what they originally thought was a major diamond property in Labrador. A year and a half later, Friedland and Boulle sold this property--which turned out to have a huge nickel deposit-- to Inco, the world's largest nickel producer for $4.3 billion Canadian. In the next 12 months, the two parted ways but by then, each was the richer by several hundred million dollars. " - "Militarization & Minerals Tour: Introduction." Project Underground. November 27, 1997.
1994 APR 06 An airplane carrying Rwanda's Hutu president, Juvenal Habyarimana, was shot down. All aboard including President Cyprien Ntaryamira of Burundi, were killed - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
"The agreement between the leaders of AMFI [American Mineral Fields Inc.] on the one hand, and Museveni, Kagame, Buyoya and Kabila on the other, went back to the period before 1995, year of the establishment of AMFI. The cooperation between one of the leaders of this endeavor (Jean Raymond BOULLE) and the Museveni-Kagame tandem could even have preceded the double assassination of the Rwandese President Habyarimana and the Burundian President Ntarayamina, who were gunned down in the Presidential jet in the night of April 6, 1994. Such an "exploit" required technical means and political assurances, especially in the area of high-tech telecommunications, of acquisition of missiles, of indispensable diplomatic complicities, as well as the imperious complacency of international judiciary bodies after the heinous crime; means and assurances which AMFI alone could put at the hands of the assassins... Thus, one can reasonably estimate that, when in 1995, AMFI was officially established, all the plans about the Congo (DRC) and other countries of the Great Lakes Region were already in place; the strategy was already devised; the financial means were already set up; the logistics and the military were already mobilized; and US support and the diplomatic complacency of the Western countries were already guaranteed...." - Baracyetse, Pierre. "The Geopolitical Stakes of the International Mining Companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ex-Zaire)" Minorisa.es December, 1999
1994 APR 07 "In the early 1990s, the international community applied intense diplomatic pressure on Rwanda's Hutu government to share power with Tutsi rebels. Threatening to cut off aid, the West compelled the Hutu president to sign an agreement to hand over power. But the West could not compel the Rwandan president and his cronies to honor the pact, which would have cost them the benefits of rule and left them vulnerable to retribution from new leaders. Instead, Hutu extremists decided to retain power by killing the opposition and its civilian supporters. The United Nations withdrew its peacekeepers and returned only after the killing was over." - Kuperman, Alan J. "Once again, peacekeepers arrive too late." The University of Toledo. Wall Street Journal. September 21, 1999
"The genocide in Rwanda in l994 is most likely the symbolic fuse. During the genocide in that country, Hutu militiamen slaughtered more than a half million Tutsis, but in the midst of the chaos, a Tutsi rebel force seized power. Hutu killers then fled west into neighboring Congo, then called Zaire. Rwanda's new Tutsi leaders pursued their enemies across the border and, in the process, they threw their support behind rebels seeking the overthrow of Zaire's aging dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko. After a few months of fighting, Mobutu's long rule collapsed in l997. " - The Institute for International Mediation and Conflict Resolution web site. Here and Now section.
"Peacekeepers fled, some families say, and Rep. Cynthia McKinney wants to know why and what can be done to avert future genocide. On the morning of April 7, 1994, Hutu soldiers burst into the home of Rwanda's minister of labor and killed him. They herded his wife and children onto his bed and shot them, too. The killings of Landoald Ndasingwa and his family happened while they were under the protection of U.N. peacekeeping guards, and Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) believes they could have been prevented had the United Nations heeded warnings of the impending assassination. " - Carr, Rebecca. Atlanta Journal-Constitution. December 9, 1999
Flash-back from December of 1999: "Madeleine Albright, the U.S. secretary of state, has refused to appear before a United Nations-mandated independent inquiry probing why the world body failed to prevent the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, the National Post has learned. Ms. Albright was the U.S. ambassador to the UN at the time of the genocide and can provide key information about high-level decisions that led the U.S. to call on the UN Security Council to dramatically reduce the number of UN peacekeepers in Rwanda shortly after the killing began in earnest in April. ... However, she and members of her senior staff, including Susan Rice, U.S. assistant secretary of state for Africa both at the time of the genocide and now, have declined invitations from Ingvar Carlsson, a former Swedish prime minister who is chairing the inquiry, to meet with him and his two fellow panelists when they visit Washington this week" - Edwards, Steven. "Albright Shuns Investigation of Rwandan Genocide." Global Policy Forum. December 6, 1999
"Three Tutsi informants have revealed to the United Nations that they were part of an elite strike team that assassinated the Hutu president in 1994, shedding new light on an event that triggered the genocide of at least 500,000 people in Rwanda. The informants told UN investigators in 1997 that the killing of president Juvenal Habyarimana was carried out "with the assistance of a foreign government" under the overall command of Paul Kagame, now the vice-president of Rwanda. The April 6, 1994, assassination proved to be a flashpoint in central Africa in 1994, igniting a bloodletting in which extremist Hutus targeted Tutsis and moderate Hutus.... The informants told the investigators that the front decided to kill Mr. Habyarimana because the group was not pleased with the slow pace of the talks. "This information fitted in with claims by the Hutu extremists that the [Rwandan Patriotic Front] killed their president," the report said. But when the information was presented to Louise Arbour, then the chief UN war crimes prosecutor, she terminated the investigation, the report said. Ms. Arbour, now a Supreme Court of Canada justice, could not be reached for comment yesterday" - Edwards, Steven. "'Explosive Leak' on Rwandan Genocide." The National Post. March 1, 2000
1994 JUL XX "Eastern Zaire is racked by rebellion and has slipped from central government control. This region was gravely destabilized in July 1994, by the arrival of an estimated 1.2 million Hutu refugees from Rwanda. The Hutu had fled Rwanda as the Tutsi dominated Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) was consolidating its conquest of Rwanda" - Copson, Raymond W. "CRS Issue Brief: 96-037:Zaire " Federation of American Scientists. Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division. December 18, 1996.
1995 XXX XX "There are also some "small ones", less known but which nevertheless dare to confront the big ones in a field that is in a great state of crisis; it is the case of American Mineral Fields Inc. (AMFI) and of its affiliate, the American Diamond Buyers, and others from the US, Canada, South Africa, Uganda, Belgium and Israel. AMFI, which was established in 1995, was created as an instrument aimed at executing in Africa the will of economic domination of the western financiers, and particularly at accomplishing the designs of the American companies, whose leaders are participating in the world big strategic stakes that are intimately linked to scientific, financial, industrial and political endeavors" - Baracyetse, Pierre. "The Geopolitical Stakes of the International Mining Companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ex-Zaire)" Minorisa.es December, 1999
1995 APR XX "In April 1995 Sierra Rutile teamed up with a British company named Branch Energy, which is now [August 1997] controlled by Diamond Works, to bring in a South African mercenary outfit called Executive Outcomes to the country with the blessing of Valentine Strasser, the military ruler of Sierra Leone... About a year later the new Sierra Leonian government terminated the Executive Outcomes contract, under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, and was promptly overthrown in a coup.... Last month Tim Spicer of Sandline International met with investors in Vancouver, Canada, to discuss ''strategy, logistics and training'' to ''convert 40,000 militia into an effective fighting force'' in Sierra Leone ... Sandline is controlled by minerals speculators Robert Friedland and Anthony Buckingham, the two principal investors in Diamond Works, a mining company with extensive interests in Sierra Leone, who were also instrumental in the 1995 mercenary interventions. ... In the meantime Sierra Rutile has been struggling to raise new money. Last year the company raised 10 million dollars in new funds from Jean-Raymond Boulle after he made 800 million dollars selling indigenous lands in Voisey's Bay, Canada, to Inco, the nickel multinational. " - "Sierra Leone Titanium Mine and Mercenaries" Project Underground. Drillbits & Tailings. Page Two. August 21, 1997
1996 XXX XX The Arkansas diamond project was shut down when it was determined that the kimberlite in the state park was not worth mining. - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
"In 1996, after DFR sold its 75 percent interest in Voisey's Bay to Inco, Boulle set up American Mineral Fields (AMF), taking many of DFR's staff with him, but also recruiting senior management from Anglo De Beers and, like Friedland, from RTZ. He quickly pledged support for rebel leader Laurent Kabila's Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL). - Moody, Roger. "The Mercenary Miner, Robert Friedland Goes to Asia." Multinational Monitor. Volume 18 Number 6. June, 1997
1996 JAN 23 Robertson gave another $100,000 to the Democratic Party. - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1996 APR XX "Meanwhile, in the US, Boulle put up US$10 million in early April 1996 for Sierra Rutile, an Ohio-based company that was struggling to re-open the world's largest rutile mine in Sierra Leone. The west African facility, a major source of titanium dioxide, had been shut down by rebels in January 1995 " - "Militarization & Minerals Tour: Introduction." Project Underground. November 27, 1997.
1996 MAY XX ".Here's the murky tale: Paul Beaver, a consultant specializing in mercenaries for the reputable Jane's defense publications, says the Clinton Administration forced the Angolan government to ditch mercenaries it had been employing and replace them with groups of Washington-approved mercenaries. One such security company to emerge was a Brussels-based outfit called IDAS Belgium S.A. (International Defense & Security). The Angolan government granted a Netherlands Antilles IDAS subsidiary 50% of the diamond rights in more than 36,000 square kilometers of rebel-controlled bush. Think of it as an incentive contract: Clear out the rebels, and a share of the diamonds is yours......Starting in May 1996, Boulle's AMF began buying the IDAS affiliate with the diamond rights, paying $2.3 million in cash and shares, plus a back-end share of profits capped at $84 million if enough diamonds are produced." - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1996 OCT XX In October 1996, the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL), commanded by and composed mainly of Tutsi military forces from Paul Kagame's Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA), along with Tutsi refugees from Zaire and some Congolese patriots, all under the titular leadership of Congolese exile Laurent Kabila, crossed into Zaire from Rwanda and Burundi - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1996 NOV 04 " In North Kivu, Tutsi guerrillas, acting in alliance with local, non-Tutsi militia, completed the capture of Goma on Nov. 4. Goma was surrounded by Hutu refugee camps housing 700,000 people and served as the center of international relief efforts aimed at helping these refugees." - Copson, Raymond W. "CRS Issue Brief: 96-037:Zaire " Federation of American Scientists. Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division. December 18, 1996.
1996 NOV 05 Bill Clinton was re-elected
1996 NOV 12 "On November 12, Ottawa offered to lead a force of 10,000 to 15,000 troops from about a dozen countries to intervene in eastern Zaire under the flag of the United Nations. One day later, the Clinton administration announced its initial approval of sending up to 4,000 U.S. troops as part of the UN intervention force with a Canadian commander and a U.S. officer as his deputy " - Arney, Megan. "Washington, Ottawa Plan Zaire Intervention." Militant. Vol. 60, no. 42 - 25. November 1996
1996 DEC 17 "Mobutu has returned to Zaire from France, at least temporarily, but appears frail after prostate cancer surgery. Press reports indicate that the cancer has spread.... Mobutu pledged to find a "rapid and positive" solution to the crisis in eastern Zaire , where rebels have captured a 300-mile swath of territory. The rebel advance appears to have slowed for the present, and rebel leader Laurent Kabila offered a cease-fire on Dec. 12. " - Copson, Raymond W. "CRS Issue Brief: 96-037:Zaire " Federation of American Scientists. Foreign Affairs and National Defense Division. December 18, 1996.
Early 1997 XXX XX Boulle suddenly dropped mining ventures he was working on with the Mobutu regime and started cozying up to Kabila. - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1997 FEB 19 "The Zairian government has stepped up a campaign to arm Hutu guerrillas living among the largest population of Rwandan refugees still in Zaire, effectively making human shields of tens of thousands of refugees, according to diplomats and international relief workers." - French, Howard W. "Zaire Government Is Arming Hutus, Making Human Shields of Refugees." New York Times. February 19, 1997
U.S. State Department officials met Kabila in late February in South Africa. - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1997 MAR 07 "JRB Holdings I Limited, a Cayman Island company associated with Mr Jean-Raymond Boulle, is acquiring 1,350,000 common shares in Indomin Resources Limited, or 5.3% of the shares issued and outstanding, from Indo Mineratama Holdings Limited...." - Battlefield Minerals website. News Release Archive. March 7, 1997
1997 MAR 27 Boulle hired a Turkish pilot to fly into rebel headquarters in Goma - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
Boulle put at Kabila's disposal AMF's Learjet, and "advanced" $1 million worth of "mineral taxes" and "fees" to the guerrilla leader. - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
AMF got a contract to rehabilitate the Kipushi zinc and copper mines and to develop the copper/cobalt Kolwezi Tailings Project, the latter a massive mine's easily sifted waste, from which an estimated $16 billion worth of minerals can be extracted - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1997 MAR XX "In March 1997, against stiff competition from both foreign and domestic companies, AMF won a $1 billion tender for Zaire's vast cobalt, copper and zinc reserves at Kolwezi and Kapushin; it also secured a diamond contract in Zaire's Kasai Oriental province" - Moody, Roger. "The Mercenary Miner, Robert Friedland Goes to Asia." Multinational Monitor. Volume 18 Number 6. June, 1997
"In March 1997, as soon as Kisangani was taken by the ADFL, the leaders of AMFI set up their office in Goma to enter in contact with the authorities of the Alliance. The contact was made thanks to a former Belgian colonel, Willy MALLANTS, military advisor of the ADFL and former military advisor of Mobutu. AMFI succeeded in taking over the bid at the expense of its competitors, the most important of which was AAC-GENCOR. We must note that these two (2) companies have relationships, which are a little clear, because four (4) of the administrators of AMFI have worked for AAC for several years." - Baracyetse, Pierre. "The Geopolitical Stakes of the International Mining Companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ex-Zaire)" Minorisa.es December, 1999
1997 APR XX Boulle and Martin came away in April 1997 with concessions on two valuable mining properties for Boulle's flagship company, America Mineral Fields Inc. - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
A week before Kinshasa fell to Kabila AMF flew a group of investors and analysts to meet the new Congo rebel leader in the area he controlled including: Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney (DGa.), Robin Sanders, Director of African Affairs for the National Security Council, Robert Brisotti, a Wall Street investment banker. - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
"For mining companies salivating over Zaire's incomparable mineral riches, Kabila's control of the most important mining areas is reason enough to deal with him. Even before Kabila's forces occupied half the country, the boldest mining executives were courting him and making plans.... On Wednesday, America Mineral Fields of Hope, Ark., signed three major agreements with Kabila's forces worth $885 million. DeBeers Consolidated Mines Ltd. and Anglo-American Corp., South Africa's biggest miners, also have turned to Kabila's alliance and are renegotiating deals they had with Mobutu's government. " - Harper, Peter Alan. "Soldiers of Fortune: Multinationals say it's time to invest in Zaire." Associated Press.
1997 MAY XX ".The Zairean people tirelessly protested and condemned, to no avail, the CIA's role in sustaining Mobutu's dictatorship. As he was approaching his death, due to multiple illnesses, American agents hurriedly looked for a replacement. They planned his overthrow using Tutsi troops from Uganda and Rwanda. U.S. military advisors planned and managed the invasion. They had others camped at Goma during the invasion. They provided weapons, funds and disinformation propaganda. Washington, London and Pretoria played the role of hidden "command centers". Corporations, notably, S.G. Warburg - a merchant bank in London, De Beer - a famous mining company of South Africa, American Mineral Fields Inc. of Hope, Arkansas, several other American mining and oil companies were in the forefront negotiating secret deals with invaders and grabbing mineral-rich real estate in eastern Congo, looting gold and other minerals. American Mineral Fields Inc. is highly connected to President Clinton." - Kintu, Remigius. "Tutsi Invasion of Congo: A Report of a Visit to Congo in September, 1998." Africa2000.com September, 1998
"After only seven months of fighting, they had overthrown the 30-year dictatorship of Mobutu Sese Seko... key cabinet posts and the new Congo army and security forces were immediately staffed at the highest levels by Rwandan Tutsis. - Ellen, Ray. "U.S. Military and Corporate Recolonization of the Congo." Covert Action Quarterly on the web. # 69 Spring-Summer, 2000
Kabila's forces have been condemned by the U.N. for their role in the Hutu massacres "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
Laurent Kabila took Kinshasa and installed himself as the new dictator, changing the name of the country to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1997 MAY 09 "Branch Energy's own diamond security in Luo is headed by JC Erasmus Erasmus is also a shareholder in DiamondWorks... The contract was awarded over the heads of Sunshine Mining and Diamond Fields Resources, then headed by Jean- Raymond Boulle, whose America Mineral Fields appears to be emerging as the victor in the mineral rush into Zaire. Boulle has forged close relations with the rebels of Laurent Kabila" - "Mercenaries grab gems." Weekly Mail & Guardian. May 9, 1997
1997 AUG XX "A number of businessmen approached Kabbah with offers to finance an operation to reinstate his civilian government. They included Chief Executive of American Mineral Fields (AMF) Jean-Raymond Boulle, whose company played a key role in financing the successful rebellion against Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaïre earlier in 1997. AMF has a majority stake in Nord resources, a major mining house in Sierra Leone. Among the companies offering security services to Kabbah were Defence Systems Limited and Sandline, both based in London and with strong links to the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Defence. " -Moody, Roger. "The Mercenary Miner, Robert Friedland Goes to Asia." Multinational Monitor. Volume 18 Number 6. June, 1997
1997 AUG 11 "When senators of both parties questioned the special access granted big Democratic Party donors by the National Security Council, NSC boss TONY LAKE pooh-poohed the charges. But last week the NSC admitted that the month before last year's presidential election, Lake did meet with MAURICE TEMPLESMAN, the deep-pocketed Democratic donor who was the companion of JACQUELINE KENNEDY ONASSIS.......Templesman, a diamond dealer with long experience in Africa, was seeking loans from the Export-Import Bank and loan guarantees from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation for a multimillion dollar diamond deal in Angola. After the meeting, a sympathetic Lake decided to intervene: he directed an NSC staff member, with approval from legal counsel, to call Ex-Im and OPIC. The message: Templesman's venture had "merit." But TIME has obtained the text of a recent letter from Angola's ambassador in Washington that bluntly asks the U.S. to stop attempts to broker a diamond deal and, in an apparent reference to Tempelsman, criticizes similiar attempts by "private companies." " - Zagorin, Adam. "Gore to rebels: We're with you, maybe." Time on the web Vol. 150 No. 6. August 11, 1997
1997 DEC XXX "Murky indeed are the ways of African politics and business. After Kabila's government took power in the former Zaire, it showed scant gratitude for Boulle's early support. The AMF deal was torn up in December 1997 and Kabila was on the verge of giving the contract to the giant international conglomerate Anglo American Corp. of South Africa Ltd.... "When Jean is cornered, he plays rough," says former Boulle partner Don Hanvey. In this case Boulle demonstrated his toughness by sending into action Stephen Malouf, a longtime Boulle associate and attorney who was officially reprimanded in 1995 for beating up opposing counsel in a Texas court. In January of this year Malouf sued Anglo American and its affiliates in Dallas on antitrust grounds, demanding damages of $3 billion. Very smart. That's the last subject the South African diamond cartel cares to have dragged into U.S. courts....Suddenly AngloAmerican and Boulle were partners, and the suit was dropped. ... Boulle and AMF now stand to make a huge amount of money as the Democratic Republic of the Congo tries to restore the copper industry -- all but shut down in the civil war. Will AMF, a small company, reap the reward because of its mining expertise? Unlikely. Most of that will be supplied by Anglo American. Jean Boulle's real contributions to the deal are his political connections and political savvy. One more foreigner exploiting Africa's desperate struggle for development and stability" - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1997 DEC 05 "The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that while Jean-Raymond Boulle's America Mineral Fields is complaining about business in Congo, not every western company doing business in the former Zaire reports having problems. Reporters Karen Howlett and Madelaine Drohan say that in fact, Ted Webb, president of Vancouver-based Tenke Mining says he thinks the business climate has improved. In contrast to the difficulties that America Mineral Fields is encountering, Mr Webb of Tenke, which is controlled by Geneva-based mining promoter Adolph Lundin, has finalized all aspects of its contract with the Kabila government" - "Tenke Mining Corp." Greywolf Technology. September 1, 1998
1998 XXX XX "In 1998, AMZ {Toronto Stock Exchange symbol for American Mineral Fields] and Anglo American Corporation of South Africa formed a joint-venture to put these tailings deposits into production and, in October 1987[sic], signed a convention with the Government of the DRC and Gécamines. The company had meanwhile acquired other exploration interests in Russia, Zambia and Angola. In early 1999, a new management team was appointed to AMZ and, in October, Union Miniere acquired an 11% interest in the company with the option to increase to 20%.. " - American Mineral Fields Inc website. Corporate Overview section.
1998 JAN 06 "On the heels of the Congolese announcement that the tender had been canceled for the America Mineral Fields (AMF) -Gecamines joint venture at the Kolwezi tailings project, Reuters reported on January 3 that Gecamines now also wants to review the situation at the Tenke Fungurume project for which there was thought to be a joint venture between Tenke Mining Corp. (TNK.TO) and Gecamines. It is not yet clear how this decision impacts TNK's arrangements with Gecamines." - "Tenke Mining Corp." Greywolf Technology. September 1, 1998
1998 FEB 06 "The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Congo's minister of mines tried on Thursday to lift the cloud of suspicion hanging over his country by saying an acrimonious dispute with America Mineral Fields is the exception rather than the rule for international investors in his country. Reporter Madelaine Drohan notes that Frederic Maliba Kibassa says his country has no problem with a deal signed with Tenke Mining. America Mineral Fields v-p Earl Young says his company is still pursuing the Kolwezi concession, despite a statement by state mining company Gecamines on Thursday that AMZ is now out of the running. Mr Young says he considers that president Laurent Kabila has the final word on the contract." - "Tenke Mining Corp." Greywolf Technology. September 1, 1998
1998 FEB XX "U.S. State Department officials met Kabila in late February in South Africa " - "Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1998 Early Boulle's America Mineral Fields moved its headquarters to Dallas from Hope, Ark. -"Friends in high places." Forbes on the web. August 10, 1998.
1998 JUL XX " A highly placed contact in Kinshasa revealed that Kabila reneged on the secret deals with the cabal and that cost him their support. Consequently, American agents, Museveni and Kagame met in Kampala early this year and decided to eliminate Kabila and replace him with another puppet who will obey their orders. It is further revealed that the French also agreed to go along with this plot. The plan was to arrest Kabila and Commander John Numbe, charge them with fictitious crimes of treason in order to justify killing them. ... In July of 1998, James Kabarebe, a Rwandese Tutsi who had become Congo's Army Chief of Staff, requested for an appointment with President Kabila. Prior to entering the President's office, Kabarebe was found with a hidden pistol which had a silencer mounted on it. The full story of the plot to assassinate President Kabila was uncovered. His reaction was to expel all Tutsis from his government and ordered their return back to Rwanda and Uganda. When the order was carried out, Kabila was left virtually alone in his office since all the personnel were Tutsis. More than 90% of the army left with all the weapons and supplies. " - Kintu, Remigius. "Tutsi Invasion of Congo: A Report of a Visit to Congo in September, 1998." Africa2000.com September, 1998
1998 AUG 02 Ugandan and Rwandan regular troops invade Congo with rebel forces to overthrow Kabila - Ellen, Ray. "U.S. Military and Corporate Recolonization of the Congo." Covert Action Quarterly on the web. # 69 Spring-Summer, 2000
1999 APR 01 "America Mineral Fields Inc. (the ``Company'') is pleased to announce that it has reached agreement with its largest shareholder, Jean-Raymond Boulle, to underwrite up to US$3,000,000 of a proposed private placement... The proceeds from this financing will provide the Company with sustaining working capital in the immediate term pending an improvement in capital markets and a resolution of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ..." - America Mineral Fields Inc. - DRC Peace Accord welcomed by AMF." Canada Newswire. (9:03) July 13, 1999
1999 APR 19 "Diamond Fields International Ltd. (DFI) today announced that it received $6 million (US$4 million) from the exercise of share purchase warrants into 9,999,999 shares priced at US$0.40 per share. MIL Investments, a private company controlled by Jean-Raymond Boulle, exercised warrants it had earlier purchased from three institutional shareholders. Mr. Boulle has advised the Company that, as a result of exercising the warrants, he beneficially owns approximately 27% of DFI's 51,244,809 outstanding shares, making him DFI's largest shareholder. Mr. Boulle was a founder of Diamond Fields Resources (DFR), the former parent company of DFI, which was acquired by Inco in 1996 for over $4 billion. Mr. Boulle, in his role with DFR, originally secured DFI's core Luderitz asset in Namibia. ...." - "Diamond Fields International receives $6 million from Diamond Fields Resources founder Jean-Raymond Boulle through exercise of warrants." Canada NewsWire. April 19, 1999.
1999 JUL 13 "America Mineral Fields Inc. Tradings: TSE:AMZ America Mineral Fields Inc. (``AMF'') welcomes the signing of a peace accord in Lusaka on Sunday 11th July . AMF is a 50% shareholder of Congo Mineral Developments Limited (CMD) with Anglo American plc. CMD has entered into a joint venture with the DRC's state-owned mining company, La Generale des Carrieres et des Mines (``Gecamines''), to undertake, subject to certain conditions precedent, a feasibility study and, if demonstrated to be economic, to implement a project to treat the oxide tailings originating from the concentrator at Kolwezi. " - "Union Miniere acquires strategic stake in America Mineral Fields Inc." Canada Newswire. (13:32) October 4, 1999
1999 OCT XX "In the wake of the Lusaka Accords the conflict escalated. The JMC held its first meeting in October 1999. By early September 1999, both sides were already trading accusations of cease-fire violations. In the beginning of November 1999, the rebel groups declared the cease-fire null-and-void, accusing Kabila of attacks on their positions, calling for sanctions against him for violating the Lusaka Accord." - Central Africa Risk Pointers-Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)" Janes on the web. February 20, 2001.
1999 DEC 17 "A strongly worded report issued today by an international panel of experts holds both the United Nations and leading member countries, primarily the United States, responsible for failing to prevent or end the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, which cost hundreds of thousands of lives Mr. Annan and others in his department made weak and equivocal decisions in the face of mounting disaster, the panel found. At the same time the Clinton administration -- represented at the United Nations by Madeleine K. Albright -- persistently played down the problem, setting the tone for a Security Council generally lacking the political will for a tougher response." - Crossette, Barbara. "Report slams US, UN over Rwandan genocide." University of New Brunswick website. December 16, 1999
2000 JAN 31 "Invited to the UN by US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the usually elusive Mr. Kabila embarked on a campaign to dispel his reputation as a strongman and to persuade the world body to intervene in his war-torn country.... A former communist who trained with Che Guevara, Kabila now easily hobnobbs with industrialists, like diamond merchant Maurice Templesman, at the posh Metropolitan Club on Tuesday night. And at the Security Council open meeting, he denounced Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi -the very governments that helped bring him to power but have turned against him." - Vo, Minh T. "Besieged Congo leader fights image as despot." The Christian Science Monitor. January 31, 2000
2000 FEB 18 " Defense Secretary William S. Cohen completed a visit to Africa this week that was nearly invisible to the U.S. news media. . In preparation for the visit, the Defense Intelligence Agency recently wrote up a classified report on the arms flow to the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to DIA, Congolese President Laurent Kabila concluded a secret agreement with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in October " - Gertz, Bill; Scarborough, Rowan. Washington Times. February 18, 2000
2000 JUN XX "In mid-2000 it appeared as if support for large-scale UN deployment was waning due to ongoing hostilities. The DRC has also filed a case against Uganda and Rwanda in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) demanding their withdrawal from the DRC, however a petition for an interim judgement was rejected by the court as the main case is still pending." - Central Africa Risk Pointers-Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)" Janes on the web. February 20, 2001.
2000 AUG XX "In August 2000 it was announced that the DRC government had officially suspended the Lusaka Accord, and in September 2000 the DRC foreign minister stated that no deal to end the war could be implemented until the UN compels Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi to withdraw from the DRC... " - Central Africa Risk Pointers-Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)" Janes on the web. February 20, 2001.
2000 AUG 08 "America Mineral Fields (TSE:AMZ) reported that it continues to advance key projects and rationalize its portfolio of mineral properties. "We have attracted a strong joint venture partner in the Kipushi Mine Rehabilitation, while advancing the Kolwezi Tailings Retreatment and taking steps to divest the Chapada diamond deposit," said Tim Read, President and Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, efforts to cut overheads and conserve cash have been sustained." Read said AMZ's wholly-owned subsidiary, America Mineral Fields International Ltd. ("AMFI") has concluded an option agreement with Zinc Corporation of South Africa ("Zincor"), providing Zincor with an option to conduct due diligence and to investigate restoring limited initial production at the Kipushi zinc mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo ("DRC") and ultimately extensively redevelop it. ...." - AMZ and Zincor in Kipushi agreement." Canada Newswire. (8:00) August 8, 2000
2000 AUG 20 " Two United States diplomats are reported to have left the Democratic Republic of Congo after being expelled. They were accused of plotting against the government and planning to kill President Laurent Kabila. His administration announced on Friday that it was expelling the two on charges that their behaviour was incompatible with their status as diplomats. The two men, cultural adviser Denis Burgess, and political adviser Roger Moran, were given 48 hours to leave." - Walters, Stephanie. "Kinshasa expels US diplomats." BBC. August 19, 2000
2000 SEP XX "In September 2000 the two Ugandan-backed rebel groups rejected an offer by Kabila to set up a commission to negotiate with the rebel groups. " - Central Africa Risk Pointers-Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire)" Janes on the web. February 20, 2001.
2001 JAN 16 Laurent Kabila was shot and killed.
2001 JAN 18 Cabinet officials placed Kabila's son into power. A number of Kabila's body guards were arrested - "Congo Places Slain Leader Kabila's Son In Charge of Country." FoxNews Associated Press. January 17, 2001
2001 JAN 19 Richard Holbrooke, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said: "It is essential that the foreign forces who have invaded and occupy large parts of the Congo halt their offensive action."
2001 JAN 27 "Congo's new president vowed to renew this war-weary nation, promising free elections, a liberalized economy and the deployment of U.N. forces to oversee an often-ignored peace agreement. Joseph Kabila was sworn in Friday, 10 days after the assassination of his father . The new president's public support is questionable ... he promised to liberalize his father's restrictive economic policies, including freeing the trade in precious stones and the exchange of foreign currencies " - Sullivan, Tim. "Congo's new leader promises free elections, free trade." Associated Press. January 27, 2001.
2001 FEB 27 "Rwandan troops began pulling back from their positions around a town on the front line of the war in Congo early Wednesday, marking the first major withdrawal since the war began 21/2 years ago, a Rwandan commander said." - Tomlinson, Chris. "Rwandan Troops Withdraw From Congo." Associated Press. February 27, 2001
People have wondered why the ADL and the Simon Wiesenthal Center never mention the antisemitism of Castro (Fidel trained PLO terrorists). Perhaps this is the reason why. Castro had thousands of troops in Angola.
Thanks for the detailed information. Tempelsman is not mention in a few instances where he had a great deal of influence. The Arkansas diamond mine was purchased by Oppenheimer in the 1920s and shut down (DeBeers never prospects for diamonds, they want to restrict supply). That mine closing cost America in WWII when we needed industrial diamonds and DeBeers refused to sell us what we wanted.
And I feel something similar will happen in this decade. We're all in touble; we're all in the same boat.
"People" being just you, Mr. Lied/Voegelin. That was about the time when you claimed to have "invented" the term "holocaustism", which turned out to be a part of the standard neo-nazi nomenclature, in use on every nazi site on the net.
But hey, what do I know - maybe you did invent it? Lol. Maybe your real name is Ernst Zundel and you're in Canada instead of Florida?
:)
That's pretty much how I feel about diamonds and other gemstones. I've got minimal jewelry--a wedding band, a couple chain necklaces, but stones? Naw, I'd rather spend the money on something that's a lot more fun--travel, something for our families, our home and our boat. I also like silver better than gold.
People have wondered why the ADL and the Simon Wiesenthal Center never mention the antisemitism of Castro (Fidel trained PLO terrorists). Perhaps this is the reason why. Castro had thousands of troops in Angola
Your "perhaps" = innuendo. Your specialty when it comes to what Jewish people do.
How about your assertion that "Israelis are right there on the ground helping Mugabe kill white farmers". This sure seems like a lie but you never responded. Which makes me even more sure it's a lie.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/723270/posts?page=59#59
Guess with Italy jailing Leonid Minin and Sierra Leone throwing Col Yair Klein in the klink, Israel decided to move on to another country to plunder.
You said this over here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/723270/posts?page=59#59
DeBeers is a South African company. Not an American one. They sold the US what we needed. They refused to sell America enough industrial diamonds to make a stockpile. Good business as far as I can see.
But then you probably still think the Oppenheimers are Jewish. LOL!
Interesting, then, your support of McKinney, because you're not a supporter of Israel, and neither is Louis Farrakhan, who visited Mugabe on his recent trip to the Middle East and Africa. McKinney adopts any number of the positions and philosophies of the Nation of Islam, including Louis Farrakhan's support of the Mugabe regime, and the NOI not only supports McKinney, but even provides NOI/Fruit of Islam guards for McKinney.
Here's Farrakhan in his own words (from his own newspaper, The Final Call) from his press conference on July 22, 2002. This was broadcast on C-Span:
Our trip also took us to Zimbabwe where the historical injustice of the land question has to be resolved, hopefully amicably. The way the media in America and Great Britain and Europe have written and shown President Mugabe, they showed him as an undemocratic, wicked man who is now taking land from the White owners. I think if we really want peace, we have to structure peace on the basis of justice. And we cannot have justice except on the basis of truth. And the truth must not be hidden to vilify one or the other. Truth must be told. The land was taken from its original owners by force.
Under Joshua Nkomo and Robert Mugabe, men, women and children fought a war of liberation. They didn’t fight a war of liberation just to have a flag and a national anthem and a seat in the United Nations. They fought to liberate the land so that the resources of that land would accrue to its natural and original owners. Unfortunately, just as they were about to capture the whole country, negotiations began with Great Britain. And for three months at Lancaster House in the United Kingdom, they argued over the land question: What to do with the land settled on by Whites that originally belonged to Blacks?
The British wanted Zimbabweans to buy the land back from somebody who never used a dollar to get it. That was an insult. So they founded a constitution and the land question in that constitution was, that the land would be bought back but the people of Zimbabwe had no money to pay for the land. So under the administration of Margaret Thatcher and Jimmy Carter, there was an agreement, not written but verbal, that they would help to buy the land back from the British settlers. Well, that went along pretty good for a while. Then Margaret Thatcher had no more to give. President Carter was only in office for four years then Ronald Reagan for eight. And all during that time money was given to buy back land and it was proceeding, but slowly.
So the Zimbabweans changed an aspect of the constitution, which at first said that if the White settlers wanted to sell the land, the land could be bought. But if they refused to sell, you could not force them to sell. But after 10 years of that, the constitution (was changed to say) the land would be bought in the national interest. Now after 20 years, Robert Mugabe, when he was fighting for the land, we saw old newspaper articles that depicted him as a terrorist. And all the man was doing was fighting to liberate his land. He allowed Ian Smith, who was brutal in his suppression of Black people after independence, to still live there on a large tract of land. He still lives there. And as long as the Whites’ ownership of land was undisturbed, Mugabe was a gentleman. From a terrorist, he became a gentleman.
But after 20 years, some of the soldiers that fought with him felt betrayed and that’s when they settled on the land to say that the revolution is not complete until the land is back in the ownership of the original owners. Now, Mugabe had two things to do. He could either fight them and throw them off the land or recognize the rightness of them and the slowness of justice coming. When Mugabe took the latter position that the soldiers were right, the revolution was not completed, 4,500 Whites owned 12 million hectares of land and a hectare is 2.7 acres. When you have 4,500 Whites owning 12 million hectares of arable land and millions of Blacks living huddled together with no real economic substance, that is an injustice that must be rectified.
Great Britain has no desire to give anymore money. Under the administration of the elder Bush, they gave money for awhile and then they watched the way Zimbabwe was voting (in the United Nations). Since Zimbabwe seemed to be voting more on the side of the Soviet Union than the United States, President Bush, the elder, decided to give no more money to settle the land issue. So the land question then gets bogged down until that man who was a soldier stood on that land and said we are claiming this. This is what we fought for.
Instead of Britain and America recognizing that it was a little more than $2 billion it would take to buy back all the land, what is better—$2 billion or extended war? Nothing is going to stop Black people in Africa from wanting what belongs to them. And it is wiser for the Whites who live there well to want to share the resources. The Zimbabweans don’t want to just kick the Whites altogether out but they cannot live as they are living anymore. One man owns 40 percent of the wealth of South Africa and that same man owns 130,000 hectares in Zimbabwe, the size of Belgium, and doesn’t want to give anything back to the indigenous people. Well, what will that eventually cause?
To the Whites of Europe and America, I am pleading with you to think with wisdom. Justice is not what you are being offered. You are being offered mercy. If you reject mercy, then justice comes. And what is justice? The Prophet Obadiah said, “As thou hast done so shall it be done unto you.” That’s not what you want. You have given something to Africa so why not accept a merciful solution that allows you something but does not deprive the indigenous people of what belongs to them, what they rightfully deserve.
*****
And here's a snippet from a very laudatory article from Final Call extolling the virtues of Rep. McKinney:
"Cynthia McKinney’s reelection is absolutely imperative," adds Minister Ray Muhammad, southeastern regional representative of the Nation of Islam. "We’ve witnessed what happened with the dastardly defeat of Alabama Congressman Earl Hilliard, and we certainly believe there was an outside influence that was used to bring him down as a Black leader. We will not allow Congresswoman McKinney to be victimized by a similar fate. We need her voice and vision and verve in Congress."
Min. Muhammad accompanied Rep. McKinney—both flanked by members of the F.O.I.—when she swept into and out of an overflow meeting of the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists to present her case. Later, Min. Muhammad talked about the singular significance of Rep. McKinney’s political prestige to a battery of Black reporters.
<snip>
Alabama’s venerable Congressman Hilliard was defeated because of his political ties and support for Palestinian issues. His opponent was backed by a windfall of Jewish monetary muscle. Min. Muhammad believes Rep. McKinney is the next and newest target of the Israeli lobby.
"The Jewish constituency knows the importance of supporting a candidate financially and with the vote," Min. Muhammad said to reporters following Rep. McKinney’s charge and challenge to Atlanta’s Black Press. "We have not realized the importance of the financial backing of our candidates, but Arabs have. They are now trying to align themselves with Black candidates. They did it with Congressman Hilliard and I believe they want to support Rep. Cynthia McKinney in the same way. We must be equally willing to give generously and vote vigorously."
<snip>
*****
Do you think the Nation of Islam and McKinney know about Israel's "support" of Mugabe? If they did, they'd drop their support of Mugabe in a heartbeat, but they haven't. I wonder if they perceive this "support" as something less than you do.
Which people? I have never considered such an off-the-wall topic. I am thinking about the war on terrorism and how we are going to find Bin Laden. You are clearly anti-Israel and here to antagonize Jews. Did your family have some problems in that area? Are you Polish-born?
As far as diamonds, nothing equals them, but you need some dough to get good ones. If you ever get a job Freep mail me if you want to buy one, I can get good prices.
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