Feral Jundi

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Podcasts: Cry Havoc–Simon Mann Speaks At Chatham House About Coup Attempt In Equatorial Guinea

Filed under: Books,Equatorial Guinea,Podcasts — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 8:12 AM

This is interesting. Simon Mann tells his side of the story at the think tank Chatham House. He is also promoting his book Cry Havoc (Jundi Gear Store) which details this coup attempt in Equatorial Guinea. I am sure it will sell well.

The other thing that I wanted to mention is that Eeben picked up on a story written about Cry Havoc over at News24, and they outright lied about Executive Outcome’s involvement with this incident. Eeben corrected the record and I wanted to put the word out through this blog as well. Here is a link to the post. To be clear, Executive Outcomes was not involved, did not back anything, and EO was officially shut down in December 31, 1998. The coup attempt took place in 2004.

Finally, if you are interested in following Simon Mann online, he has become quite connected. He is on Twitter , Facebook, and has a website he is using to promote the book. His Twitter account is very active and he talks about all sorts of stuff there. –Matt

 

Cry Havoc: Simon Mann’s Account of his Failed Equatorial Guinea Coup Attempt
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Location
Chatham House, London
Participants
Simon Mann, Author and Coup Attempt Leader

Discussant: Alex Vines, Research Director, Regional and Security Studies, Chatham House, and author, Well Oiled: Oil and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea?Chair: Professor Nana Poku, John Ferguson Professor of African Studies and Dean, School of Social and International Studies, University of Bradford
Type: Members Events
The speaker will outline his version of events surrounding the failed coup attempt against Equatorial Guinea in 2004. He will contend that a number of governments had prior knowledge and offered tacit endorsement of the coup attempt.  ?For more information about the event please contact the Members Events Team
Transcript to follow.
Resources:
Cry Havoc: Simon Mann’s Account of his Failed Equatorial Guinea Coup Attempt (Click to download)
Click on the play icon to start playing the audio.

Q&A Recording (Click to download)
Click on the play icon to start playing the audio.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Equatorial Guinea: Mann Returns To EG To Consult For Dictator That Imprisoned Him For Coup Attempt

      From being convicted and imprisoned for trying to overthrow Obiang, to becoming a consultant for the guy? Weird. Although one thing is for sure, Simon would be the ‘go to guy’ in order to sniff out other coups being planned against Obiang.

     The other thing that is interesting here is that Simon might actually be in a position to ‘influence’ Obiang, which the oil companies would really like. From what I have read, the oil companies hate dealing with this extremely corrupt nation and leadership, and I would too. Having a guy that has a leader’s ear like this, makes things a lot more easier when negotiating deals. (kind of like The Last King of Scotland movie)  Stay tuned, because this story just keeps getting weirder as time goes by. –Matt

Mann back in Equatorial Guinea – to work for leader he tried to oust

Mercenary advises Equatorial Guinea president

Simon Mann

Mann back in Equatorial Guinea – to work for leader he tried to oust

By Kim Sengupta

25 October 2010

Simon Mann’s incarceration in a brutal prison for attempting to overthrow one of the most notorious dictators in Africa was turned into an international cause célèbre in a long and vocal campaign by family friends.

The former SAS officer is now free and has just taken up his first proper “day job” since his release: working for that very same ruler he was determined to depose, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.

At the time of the bungled coup in 2004, Mr Mann is said to have declared to his friends that he was helping to deliver the people of the benighted nation from the depredations of their appalling leader, who had been accused, among other things, of being a cannibal.

(more…)

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Industry Talk: The New Mercenaries ‘Made In Spain’

     This is cool.  I got a Facebook friend request from a security company in Spain the other day, and I decided to do a little research on this market.  I couldn’t find anything in english, but I did find some stuff in spanish and I thought it would be cool to Google Translate some stuff and post it up here. This is from last year, but still pretty interesting.

     The point of this post is that this industry is global and it is massive. There is security contracting news going on all over the world and it is easy to miss.  My readership has definitely fed me all sorts of  stories from around the globe, and has even helped in translation or with the local vibe of their market. That is information gold to me, and I really enjoy filling the archives of the blog with those stories.  Check this one out and let me know what you think.-Matt

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The new mercenaries ‘made in Spain’

Lucas Marco / Valencia

Thursday January 8, 2009.

Private military companies have been cropping up in the Spanish market. Formed by ex-military, they offer all kinds of services to businesses and governments in conflict areas worldwide.

Private military companies have been consolidated as a new actor in the conflict. An example is the massive presence of private contractors in Iraq with U.S. occupation troops. To the Professor of International Law and International Relations, Francisco Javier López Quel, the emergence of these companies “is part of a privatization process started in the early 90s that affects health or the prison system.” This generates “the outsourcing of basic services the state in relation to the defense” that involves “a change in structure of hosts.” The High Commissioner of United Nations Human Rights recognizes that “armed conflicts, terrorism, arms trafficking and covert operations by third Powers, among other things, encourage the demand for mercenaries on the global market.”

(more…)

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Books: My Friend The Mercenary, By James Brabazon

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Maritime Security: U.S. Helps African Navies With Floating Academy

   I wanted to put this up, because they gave a mention to MPRI training the Equatorial Guinea navy.  I posted the job ad for this gig awhile back, and it is cool to hear a little something about it. Although the hardhat Stetsons decorated with the ‘stars and stripes’ is a little much for me. lol  Check it out. –Matt

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U.S. helps African navies with floating academy

Tue, Apr 20 2010

By David Lewis

ABOARD USS GUNSTON HALL (Reuters) – Men in blue overalls haul on the ropes alongside American crewmen sporting hardhats shaped as Stetsons and decorated in the stars and stripes.

“Pull harder! Coil the ropes!” one of the Americans barks at the “ship riders,” a term used for the West African sailors aboard the U.S. amphibious landing vessel as she slips her moorings in the port of Dakar.

This is a floating academy, part of an effort by the U.S. military to train local navies and coast guards to combat rising instability in the Gulf of Guinea — an increasingly important source of oil and other raw materials for western markets which has drawn huge international investment.

The United States says the destabilizing effects of piracy, drug smuggling, and illegal fishing in the area are also costing West and Central African coastal economies billions of dollars each year in lost revenues.

“You have an area that is traditionally a landward-focused region which is awakening to the impact of the maritime domain,” said Captain Cindy Thebaud, commander of the U.S. Navy’s Destroyer Squadron Six Zero and head of the project.

(more…)

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