British mercenary goes on trial over EGuinea coup plot

[maddezmom]

Source: AFP

MALABO (AFP) - The trial of British mercenary Simon Mann, accused of plotting to oust the president of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea in a 2004 coup attempt, opened Tuesday in the capital Malabo.

Mann arrived at the court in an armoured van amid tight security for his trial on charges of conspiring against President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, which could carry the death penalty or a 30-year jail term.

Other well-connected Britons such as Mark Thatcher, the son of former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, and London-based millionaire businessman Ely Calil, have been linked to the failed coup bid.

Mann -- the heir to a brewing fortune who was educated at Eton and served in Britain's Special Air Services (SAS) after training at the prestigious British military academy Sandhurst -- was secretly extradited to Equatorial Guinea this year from Zimbabwe.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080617/wl_afp/britaineguineacouptrial_080617115603

[acmavm]

1. Wonder if we'll see Maggie's son in the dock? Like Mother like

Son.

[Spouting Horn]

2. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss...

A coup in Africa simply means replacing one thug with another.

It's time Westerners minded their own business when it comes to Africa.

[Nihil]

5. I agree.

> It's time Westerners minded their own business when it comes to Africa.

Africans are fully capable of replacing old thugs with new ones.

[maddezmom]

3. Mark Thatcher part of Eq. Guinea plot, court told as well as Spain and S. Africai

Mark Thatcher part of Eq. Guinea plot, court told By Daniel Flynn
1 hour, 17 minutes ago



MALABO (Reuters) - The son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a leader of a 2004 coup plot in Equatorial Guinea that was backed by Spain and South Africa, a British mercenary told a court on Wednesday .

Simon Mann, an Eton-educated former special forces officer, was giving testimony at his trial in Malabo about his role in the failed plot to overthrow President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo in the small, oil-rich West African nation.

Answering questions from the prosecution, Mann said Mark Thatcher, who has denied knowing about the conspiracy, "was not just an investor."

"He came on board completely and became part of the management team," Mann said, adding that a London-based millionaire, Eli Calil, was "the boss" of the plot.

more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080618/wl_nm/equatorial_plot_dc;_ylt=AiBud5B4K7JtIWUQ9L63G_pm.3QA

[maddezmom]

4. Tacit approval from Washington, the CIA and Big US Oil Co's

From the pentagon in Washington, and from the CIA and the big US oil companies, came tacit approval for regime change, according to Mann. Their message, conveyed by one of his colleagues who went to Washington discreetly to test the waters, was that "the political situation in Equatorial Guinea was very unsatisfactory and very dangerous and that a well-conducted change of government would be welcomed", he said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/18/equatorialguinea.southafrica?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront