Dr. Alexander von Paleske - The trial of British mercenary Simon Mann, allegedly having tried to overthrow the government of the oil rich African country Equatorial Guinea, in March, 2004, is on.

The failed coup, better known as the "Wonga Coup" ended prematurely during a stopover of the weapon-and-mercenary-carrying plane at Harare/Zimbabwe international Airport on 7th March 2004. This is where weapons were supposed to be onloaded for the rest of the trip but instead the group of 70 mercenaries, former members of South Africa's Terror and destruction gangs, like the 32. Buffalo Battalion, the 44 Parachute Brigade, the Reconnaissance Commandos and the death squad Civil Cooperation Bureau were offloaded and later sentenced to prison terms.

The alleged coup leader Simon Mann was sentenced to four years in prison in Zimbabwe and after serving his prison term extradited to Equatorial Guinea on 30th January 2008.

Who is Simon Mann?
Simon Mann, a former officer of the British Special Forces SAS, Etonian, son of a rich beer brewing family in Britain, who after his service for queen and country became a mercenary under his boss Tony Buckingham, the latter number 244 on the list of the wealthiest Englishmen and former owner of British mercenary company Sandline. He was also the founder and CEO of the oil company Heritage Oil, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Simon Mann, Buckingham's employee in the 90s, looked after his ventures in many African countries. However, he was not the only one allegedly involved in the failed Coup. Other persons in Britain have been accused of having been involved in the failed coup as well.

The alleged Co-Coup Plotters
There is Eli Calil, a British of Lebanese origin, and a friend of Equatorial Guineas's opposition leader, Severo Moto Nsa. He allegedly brought Simon Mann and Moto together.

Allegedly Calil happily and illegally banked money for the former horrible Nigerian dictator the late Sani Abacha.

Calil is also being investigated in France for money laundering on the one side, and on the other side he is a close friend of Tony Blair's Ex-Minister for scandals, Peter Mandelson.

Mandelson could be no longer gainfully employed in Tony Blair's cabinet, because of several scandals involving "small gifts" from good friends including Calil. He, however, managed to get another job with Tony's helping hand - a friend is a friend - more distant to the mother of all parliaments, this time as EU trade commissioner in Brussels.

Peter Mandelson has strictly denied any involvement or even having heard anything about the planned coup beforehand.

His Lordship and the Coup
Also allegedly involved is Lord Jeffrey Archer, former chief of Maggie Thatcher's Conservative Party who spent a few years in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice. He allegedly put a bit of his pocket money, a few ten thousands of British pounds on Simon Mann's coup savings account placed in the tax haven of Guernsey. Of course, he denies, but there was a payment made by a J.H. Archer into that account. And he phoned Calil before the coup most likely to tell him, that crime does not pay.

And, alas, the former vice-chairman Howard Flight of the Conservative Party via the Investec banking group offered a loan of US $ 30 million for agricultural development in Equatorial Guinea - after the coup - of course.

Next in the line is Greg Wales old friend of the Thatcher family with African experience.

He denies having been involved, however an E-Mail, passed on to me by the widow of the alleged transportation officer for that coup, the German Gerhard Merz, shows the exact opposite.

And there is David Hart, 60, Old Etonian like Mann, and old friend of the Thatcher family.

He was Maggie Thatcher's chief enforcer during the British miners strike in the 80s he handed out money for strike breakers from a suite at Claridges, a hotel in London, that takes per room per night, what a miner earns in one month. The Government of Equatorial Guinea accuses him of being involved as well.

Not to forget Sir Mark Thatcher, Mummy Maggie's son who has been famous for making headlines, negative ones mostly and who cobbled together an income without breaking too much sweat. Now barred from entering the US where his former wife and children live. He was arrested in Cape Town in 2004 and later confessed to have violated South Africa's anti-mercenary laws and sentenced to a suspended prison term and a fine by a court in Cape Town in 2005.

Last but not least, the German Gerhard Merz, who died a few days after his arrest in Malabo's notorious Black Beach Prison, allegedly after having been tortured.

Merz, a former transporter of chemical weapons of mass destruction from China to Iran in the 90s was the alleged transportation officer for the coup.

The Mercenary starts singing
Simon Mann, after his extradition from Zimbabwe to Equatorial Guinea, has not only confessed for the first time his involvement in the coup, but also implicated Mark Thatcher and Eli Calil as key players in this affair. Others like Greg Wales, Lord Archer, David Hart, and Gerhard Merz were either not named or declared as "not involved".

Simon Mann's obvious strategy in this trial was: Say as much as necessary , to get a reduced sentence and the chance to be pardoned later on and say as little as possible to find a way back into the British Society after the release.

So he did not name the alleged "political commissar" in the attempted coup, Greg Wales , or financiers like Lord Archer. His strategy was, obviously , to put the blame on those, who were either already convicted, like Mark Thatcher, or who had a bad reputation anyway, like Eli Calil. At the same time Mann tried to downplay his own role and upgraded the one of financier Calil as the mastermind of the attempted coup.

The "Green Light" of Spain, the US and South Africa
In his trial Mann claimed, that the coup plotters got the green light for their action from Spain, the US and South Africa.
He does not mention Britain.

Greg Wales met in the weeks before the coup allegedly with Pentagon official Theresa Whelan. She is now Deputy Secretary for Defense of the African department of Defense. One can assume, that the US-Government was informed.
During the last year Whelan unsuccessfully promoted Africom.

The then Aznar Government of Spain was, according to author Adam Roberts (The Wonga Coup) heavily involved, however not the government of South Africa, contrary to what Simon Mann testified in court. South Africa was informed by two intelligence man, Nigel Morgan and Johann Smith and became instrumental in preventing the coup.

The Government of Britain got wind of the planned coup two months in advance and invited top mercenary Tim Spicer, a former colleague of Simon Mann in those PMC-Sandline days, to discuss the issue. This was admitted by the then Foreign Minister Peter Hain in Parliament.

Nick du Toit
With Simon Mann in prison is another co-coup plotter by the name of Nick du Toit, sentenced to 34 years in 2004. He was the head of the advance party for the planned coup. Nick du Toit can look back on a long career in South Africa's Apartheid murder and destruction gangs.

On 14th June 1985, he allegedly came with his Reconnaissance Commando 5 to Gaborone/Botswana on a killing spree, killed 14 unarmed civilians including a six-year-old child and blew up a number of houses afterwards. Last Saturday, a group of people, including South Africa's Ambassador to Botswana, Moopeloa, Ex-Robben Island prisoner Michael Dingake and Botswana's Speaker of Parliament, Patrick Balopi, in a solemn ceremony at Extension 14 cemetery in Gaborone paid tribute to those fallen heroes.


Last Saturday in Gaborone. Michael Dingake, ex Robben Island Prisoner, recipient of the highest South African order of merit. Photo: Dr. Alexander von Paleske

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