Eritrea Detains Four Antipiracy Contractors
12 June, 2011 | By Geffrey Gettlman (New York Times)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Protection Vessels International Ltd., the British maritime security
company that employs the four men, has apologized for the episode,
saying the men had “mishandled the situation.”
A company spokesman, Paul Gibbins, said on Friday that Protection
Vessels International was “not conducting any espionage or acts of
assassination” and that the contractors were simply part of an
antipiracy mission and desperately needed fuel. According to Eritrea’s
penal code, espionage is punishable by death, though legal scholars
say the country has not executed anyone recently, at least not publicly.
Eritrea is a small, rocky country with an increasingly isolationist —
and belligerent — foreign policy.
Since its independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has clashed
with almost all of its neighbors, most recently marching troops into
Djibouti. Eritrea’s government prides itself on self-reliance and has
steadily pushed out most international organizations, including several
United Nations agencies and private aid groups. Few tourists or
journalists ever visit.
According to Eritrea’s Foreign Ministry, about 10 armed men
working for Protection Vessels International arrived by boat at the
remote island, which is known as Romia, in late November. Eritrean
officials said the men took extensive still and video images of the
island, its vegetation, its potential water supply and possible
anchorage spots. Their actions were proof, the Eritreans said, that the
men planned to set up a base there.
In late December, some of the men went to Eritrea’s main port,
Massawa, to get fuel and food. They were apprehended by Eritrean
Navy officials, who discovered the arms cache and the computer files
— which the contractors had tried to erase — that showed the
surveillance activities.
Mr. Gibbins did not deny that the contractors had stored guns on the
island. He said bad weather and equipment problems had forced the
contractors to make an unscheduled stop in Massawa, and they did
not want to cause any alarm by showing up with the weapons.
“This was a fuel resupply and repair, nothing more, nothing less,” Mr.
Gibbins said.
He said his company was a leading provider of armed escorts for
ships passing through the pirate-infested waters off Somalia’s coast.
“We carry weapons as part of our work,” he added.
The Eritrean government says legal proceedings are continuing, but it
has refused to allow British diplomats to visit the contractors. The
British government, in return, has barred Eritrean diplomats from
traveling outside London without written permission, according to
Reuters.
Eritrea also said that Protection Vessels International sent an agent
posing as a tourist into the country. Mr. Gibbins did not deny the
allegation. He said the company was in a rush to provide help for the
unscheduled stop in Massawa and had dispatched an employee from
Djibouti.
“A standard method of moving in and out of any country for business
is a tourist visa,” he said.
Mr. Gibbins said he was mystified by the reports of the “poison-
tipped” bullets, and suggested that the Eritreans were confused by
tracer bullets, which have red-painted tips.
Courtesy
12 June, 2011 | By Geffrey Gettlman (New York Times)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
— Eritrea, a secretive and often
testy nation in the Horn of Africa,
has accused four British security
contractors who are working for an
antipiracy company of espionage,
sabotage, terrorism and “acts of
invasion.”
- The contractors, who have been in
custody since December, stashed a
small cache of sniper rifles, silencers,
pistols and “poison-tipped” bullets
on a remote Eritrean island in the
Red Sea and were apprehended
while trying to escape, according to
an unusually detailed statement
issued this week by the government.
Protection Vessels International Ltd., the British maritime security
company that employs the four men, has apologized for the episode,
saying the men had “mishandled the situation.”
A company spokesman, Paul Gibbins, said on Friday that Protection
Vessels International was “not conducting any espionage or acts of
assassination” and that the contractors were simply part of an
antipiracy mission and desperately needed fuel. According to Eritrea’s
penal code, espionage is punishable by death, though legal scholars
say the country has not executed anyone recently, at least not publicly.
Eritrea is a small, rocky country with an increasingly isolationist —
and belligerent — foreign policy.
Since its independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has clashed
with almost all of its neighbors, most recently marching troops into
Djibouti. Eritrea’s government prides itself on self-reliance and has
steadily pushed out most international organizations, including several
United Nations agencies and private aid groups. Few tourists or
journalists ever visit.
According to Eritrea’s Foreign Ministry, about 10 armed men
working for Protection Vessels International arrived by boat at the
remote island, which is known as Romia, in late November. Eritrean
officials said the men took extensive still and video images of the
island, its vegetation, its potential water supply and possible
anchorage spots. Their actions were proof, the Eritreans said, that the
men planned to set up a base there.
In late December, some of the men went to Eritrea’s main port,
Massawa, to get fuel and food. They were apprehended by Eritrean
Navy officials, who discovered the arms cache and the computer files
— which the contractors had tried to erase — that showed the
surveillance activities.
Mr. Gibbins did not deny that the contractors had stored guns on the
island. He said bad weather and equipment problems had forced the
contractors to make an unscheduled stop in Massawa, and they did
not want to cause any alarm by showing up with the weapons.
“This was a fuel resupply and repair, nothing more, nothing less,” Mr.
Gibbins said.
He said his company was a leading provider of armed escorts for
ships passing through the pirate-infested waters off Somalia’s coast.
“We carry weapons as part of our work,” he added.
The Eritrean government says legal proceedings are continuing, but it
has refused to allow British diplomats to visit the contractors. The
British government, in return, has barred Eritrean diplomats from
traveling outside London without written permission, according to
Reuters.
Eritrea also said that Protection Vessels International sent an agent
posing as a tourist into the country. Mr. Gibbins did not deny the
allegation. He said the company was in a rush to provide help for the
unscheduled stop in Massawa and had dispatched an employee from
Djibouti.
“A standard method of moving in and out of any country for business
is a tourist visa,” he said.
Mr. Gibbins said he was mystified by the reports of the “poison-
tipped” bullets, and suggested that the Eritreans were confused by
tracer bullets, which have red-painted tips.
Courtesy
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