Sandline affair

Sandline International provided ex-Soviet weapon systems (here a Mil Mi-24 ( Hind ) attack helicopter) for use on Bougainville Island

The Sandline affair was a political scandal in Papua New Guinea about a contract signed by the state in early 1997 with the private security and military company Sandline International for a military solution to the Bougainville conflict .

The commander of the regular forces tasked with working with the mercenaries instead had Sandline personnel arrested during the preparation phase. The result was unrest that brought Papua New Guinea to the brink of a state crisis.

While the Sandline affair forced the resignation of Prime Minister Julius Chan 's government , Bougainville events marked a turning point – the conflict was settled as a result of the affair.

prehistory

After Julius Chan became Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea in 1994, he made repeated attempts to use diplomacy to resolve the Bougainville conflict. However, these attempts were unsuccessful because Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) leaders Francis Ona , Sam Kauona and Joseph Kabui refused to agree to a timetable for peace talks. In November 1994, Chan attempted to install moderate Bougainvillean Theodore Miriung as leader of an interim government. This too failed because Ona, Kauona, Kabui and others refused to participate in such a government. This was the final impetus for Chan to seek a military solution to the conflict.

Defense Minister Mathias Ijape requested logistical support from Australia and New Zealand for an attack on Bougainville. However, both nations rejected any military intervention. A decision was then made in the leadership of Papua New Guinea to consider hiring mercenaries for support. Using his connections abroad, Ijape put him in touch in April 1996 with Tim Spicer , an ex-Lieutenant Colonel in the Scots Guards , who had recently founded Sandline International : a company specializing in providing mercenaries to take part in conflicts .

Spicer tried to convince the commander of the Papua New Guinea Defense Forces (PNGDF) - the armed forces of Papua New Guinea - Jerry Singirok of the need to purchase military equipment; a course of action he had previously discussed with Ijape. Singirok dismissed the idea and focused on proceeding with planning an attack on the island of Bougainville, codenamed Operation High Speed ​​II . However, this operation turned into a fiasco, in the summer of 1996 the regular Papua New Guinean army was defeated by the insurgents on Bougainville within six days and had to withdraw from the island.

In October 1996, Tim Spicer met Chris Haiveta , Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, in London and convinced him of the merits of using his mercenaries to end the Bougainville conflict once and for all, by crushing the Bougainville Revolutionary Army the disputed copper mine at Panguna to be able to reopen. While Singirok continued to object to Spicer's squad being deployed, Haiveta invited Spicer to visit his country and asked for his assessment of the situation. Spicer received a $250,000 deposit and agreed to do the job for a total of $36 million.

Contract with Sandline

On January 8, 1997, Tim Spicer met Prime Minister Chan for the first time. Spicer convinced Chan that Sandline International could actively help regain control of Bougainville before the June 1997 elections. They agreed that Sandline would provide about 40 mercenaries to fight alongside the PNGDF soldiers. The payment of the 36 million US dollars was not decided by the entire cabinet, but approved by the National Security Council. The payment of the first half of the money should be made immediately, the second half after the successful completion of the mission. The funds were raised through budget cuts in several ministries, including education and health. On January 31, 1997, a deal was signed with Sandline International, $18 million was transferred from a Papua New Guinea government account to a Sandline International account.

Sandline had most of his crew recruited for the Bougainville mission through Executive Outcomes , a South African private security and military company. The first mercenaries arrived in Papua New Guinea on February 7, 1997 on an Air Niugini flight from Singapore . By March 1997, about 80 Sandline employees had arrived. Meanwhile, a series of meetings had taken place between Deputy Prime Minister Chris Haiveta, Tim Spicer and several others with the intention of buying out the shares of the Australian mining group Conzinc Riotinto of Australia (CRA) from the owner of the Panguna copper mine, given the CRA's refusal to to pay compensation for ecological damage caused by the Bougainville conflict.

Appointment of Sandline personnel

On 19 February 1997, in the presence of Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer , Prime Minister Julius Chan mentioned that the government of Papua New Guinea had hired mercenaries for "training purposes". Downer condemned this, especially in view of a possible use of Bougainville. On 10 February 1997, details of Sandline International's planned operation on Bougainville were published in the Australian newspaper Weekend Australian . Public reactions in Australia have been more violent than Chan had anticipated. The international sensation increased Singirok's dislike of the treaty. When he returned from a visit to the Philippines on February 27, 1997 , he had made up his mind. He complained that the government had not sufficiently informed him, the commander of the PNGDF, and denounced that Spicer had gained more access to the government than he had. Over the next few weeks he made plans for Operation Rausim Kwik ( Tok Pisin for: " how to get rid of them quickly"). On March 8, 1997, he asked Major Walter Enuma if he would like to take command of the operation, Enuma accepted.

Over the next few days, the Australian government tried in vain to persuade the government of Papua New Guinea that the plan should be dropped. On the evening of March 16, 1997, Operation Rausim Kwik began . By the time the night was over, all Sandline personnel had been disarmed and placed under arrest. Prime Minister Julius Chan was unaware of what was happening. On the morning of March 17, 1997, Singirok accused Prime Minister Chan, Defense Minister Ijape and Deputy Prime Minister Haiveta of corruption and gave them 48 hours to resign. Singirok fiercely resisted allegations that he wanted to take power himself. Declined to step down, Chan sacked Singirok as commander of the PNGDF and replaced him with the controversial Colonel Alfred Aikung.

riots

Singirok said he accepted the dismissal but urged his soldiers to support his reinstatement. Chan announced to the media that Singirok had been removed from power and was being held. He also claimed that Singirok attempted a coup but his men did not stand behind him. Chan's optimism faded when soldiers at Murray Barracks began disobeying orders and police forces had to be moved from the surrounding countryside to the capital , Port Moresby , to maintain order. On March 19, 1997, a student strike began at the University of Papua New Guinea in support of Singirok. A crowd blocked the streets around the barracks, and various government agencies had to shut down because of bomb threats. Chan further stated that he had everything under control and accused Singirok of participating in a copper price manipulation plot . The following day protests intensified and looting broke out . The situation worsened for Chan when Governor-General Wiwa Korowi published a newspaper article accusing the government of condoning and perpetrating corruption on a large scale. Public life in Port Moresby came to an almost complete standstill.

The protests became increasingly violent, with police and army confronting each other. The army supported Singirok, but obeyed Major Enuma's orders to hold their positions and not overthrow the government in a coup. The police stayed put to avoid a confrontation with the army. Enuma ordered the army to stop the looting. The Australian government sent envoys to Port Moresby and threatened to halt the grants unless the Sandline contract was cancelled. On March 20, 1997, Chan reluctantly canceled the contract and ordered a legal investigation. Singirok and Enuma had achieved one of their main goals and continued to demand the resignation of Chan, Ijape and Haiveta. On March 21, Sandline's staff were withdrawn, with the exception of Tim Spicer, who was scheduled to remain to testify before the Board of Inquiry. In the weeks that followed, the Sandline mercenaries were arrested and then expelled from the country and their material (including two Mil Mi -24 ( Hind ) attack helicopters and two Mil Mi-17 multi- role transport helicopters ) confiscated.

Although the contract with Sandline had been terminated, the security situation became increasingly uncontrollable for the government. The commander of the armed forces, Alfred Aikung, was attacked and his car was set on fire. Aikung fled and went into hiding, fearing for his life. Chan considered asking for foreign military intervention, but Aikung advised against it. Parliament Speaker and former Prime Minister Rabbie Namaliu met with Chan and Singirok and told Singirok that two of his demands had been met and that Chan would only resign if Parliament wanted it.

Resignation of the Chan government

The next session of Parliament began on March 25, 1997 and Bill Skate , the Governor of Port Moresby, prepared a motion of no confidence . On the night of March 24, 1997, various members of Julius Chan's cabinet resigned and public life in the capital once again came to a standstill. Soldiers from Murray Barracks wanted to march to Parliament, but Enuma refused. A large crowd began to gather around Parliament. The police tried to stop the students from taking part in the demonstration, but the soldiers escorted them into the Parliament building. Former Prime Minister Michael Somare amended Skate's request to only ask Chan to leave office until the committee of inquiry had completed its work. A fierce debate ensued, and opinions in Parliament differed widely. In the end, Chan found his position hopeless. He offered to resign if Parliament asked for it. Parliament voted to keep Chan in office.

The crowd outside rioted upon hearing the news. She hadn't heard anything about Chan's intention to resign. The police advised the members of parliament to remain in the building because a safe evacuation was not possible. Chan and Haiveta dressed up and were taken to safety in a police car. The riot continued throughout the night, many soldiers demanding the occupation of Parliament, but Enuma told them to remain at their posts. He spoke in Parliament and stated that he had no intention of staging a coup d'etat . Enuma tried to send the soldiers back to the barracks and disperse the crowd, but they stayed until Parliament resumed its session the next morning. That morning, Julius Chan dismissed Ijape and Haiveta and resigned.

Follow

Bill Skate succeeded Julius Chan as Prime Minister. The peace process was revived under Skate, and a ceasefire agreement was signed on October 10, 1997 . Some further investigations followed. Jerry Singirok was able to resume his post as commander of the Papua New Guinea Defense Forces in 1998 , but resigned in 2000 due to new allegations of bribery. He was acquitted of all charges relating to the 1997 events in 2004.

Sandline International sued the government of Papua New Guinea over the outstanding US$18 million and won in an Australian court and later in a Luxembourg court . In mid-1999, Sandline International received the second half of the contractually agreed remuneration.

literature

• Tim Spicer: An unorthodox soldier. Peace and War and the Sandline Affair . Mainstream Publishing, Edinburgh 2003, ISBN 1-84018-349-7

web links

• sandline.com – Former website of Sandline International
• Parliament of Australia: Background and course of the Sandline affair
• Australian National University, Coombsweb, list of Sandline International equipment for use on Bougainville
• Amnesty International: Papua New Guinea Annual Report 1998
• Frank Westenfelder: Tim Spicer and Sandline, founding and problems of a PMC.

itemizations

1. ↑ Australian National University, Coombsweb Agreement For The Provision Of Military Assistance Dated This 31. Day Of January 1997 between the Independent State of Papua New Guinea and Sandline International.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Annette Büttner: Private security corporations as security policy actors in developing countries. Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation, Working Paper/Documentation No. 111 2003 (pdf; 253 kB)
3. ↑ David Robie (May 16, 1997) Mercenary Inquiry clouds PNG Election Campaign. The Independent Retrieved January 14, 2007
4. ↑ World Conflict Barometer 1997 (pdf; 121 kB) Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research HIIK e. V. pp. 9–10. 12 1997. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 8, 2009.