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Gold/Mining/Energy : DIAMONDWORKS DMW.v -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wizzer who wrote (244)	2/2/1999 1:54:00 PM
From: Diamonds Are Forever	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 413

Maybe the halt is because of the below. I would be interested to hear anyone's thoughts. CANADA CAREFULLY DISENTANGLING ITSELF. According to a Sierra Leone Government Press Release, the SLPP's Minister of Finance, Development and Economic Planning, Dr. James Jonah held a series of discussions with the Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy in the week that ended on January 23rd 1999. However, unlike previous trips to Canada, the Canadians only responded to Dr. Jonah by telling him that they would "consider" his requests for assistance to the SLPP Government in their military campaign. Credible Information reaching the NINJAS state that the Canadians are however very skeptical about having much dealings with the Tejan Kabbah Government. This skepticism has come about because Fifth Estate, a very respectable Investigative Television programme aired on Canadian Television has done an expose where they revealed that a shady character from Thailand, Rakish Saxena cut an unsavoury deal with the exiled Tejan Kabbah in 1997 on Canadian soil on behalf of a Canadian Diamond Company called Diamondworks. This deal was signed in Canada according to Fifth Estate in December 1997. According to the Fifth Estate, Sandline was to restore Tejan Kabbah back to power and they would be paid ten million dollars for the job by Saxena, who is a fugitive from the law in Thailand. In return, DIAMONDWORKS, a Canadian Diamond Company with "links" to Saxena would be given diamond mining concessions of over two hundred million dollars worth of uncut diamonds. The physical cash for Sandline's operation was actually collected from Canada. Naturally, the Fifth Estate's Televison Presenters asked several questions about the ethics of such an unsavoury deal being cut on Canadian soil. This expose has thoroughly embarrased the Canadian Foreign Office and it is understood that they want to distance themselves as far as possible from any more action that would seemingly intricate the Canadian Government more in Saxena's Sandline Mercenary Deal with Tejan Kabbah. The SLPP's Defence Chief, Sam Hingha Norman appeared on the television programme to state categorically that he was never made aware of any part of the unsavoury deal. Although the effect of the Canadian's Fifth Estate programme was not noticeable worldwide, it created quite a diplomatic furor in Canada. The NINJAS have been reliably informed that as a result of the Canada Sandline debacle, the Canadian Government has decided to play it safe and not to appear to be too anxious to support the use of military force in Sierra Leone. The Fifth Estate's programme had repeatedly stated the ethical implications for Canada to be seen backing a military offensive that was very costly in human losses so that a Canadian Diamond Company could benefit from 200 million dollars worth of uncut diamonds. Our source informed us that this is why despite the assurance given to the usually erudite James Jonah on January 22nd, a few days later on January 27th, the Canadian Foreign Minister visited Nigeria, held closed door talks with the Nigerian Head of State and immediately after their talks, General Abubakar came out of the talks stating the sudden 180 degrees change in the policy of the Nigerian Federal Military Government towards Sierra Leone. The Canadians stated that they would make any assistance to the Sierra Leone Government for Military Offensives through the United Nations. However, the Canadians promised the Nigerians 600,000 (six hundred thousand dollars) to assist them in their wrapping up and packing up operations in Sierra Leone over the next few months. The Nigerians are scheduled to leave Sierra Leone before May this year. Another school of thought however point out that the Canadians are always opposed to the Death Sentence especially for political crimes. The Nigerians were suspended from the Commonwealth on the urging of Canada because the Nigerian dictator, the late General Abacha, went ahead despite international outcry, to execute Ken Saro Wiwa on trumped up charges of murder because of his political beliefs. President Kabbah who proudly acknowledges that he moulds himself and his Government after the obnoxious Abacha, also decided to defy the Canadians and other Countries and International Organisations by publicly executing a female nursing sister and twenty three men for political crimes. This action of the Kabbah government in defiance of International calls for clemency is said to have greatly angered the Canadians and International World. The British Government also called for clemency but within days of the political executions, right in the middle of the International Condemnation, the British were sending in millions of pounds sterling to prop up the Kabbah Government. Around the same time, British Companies were preparing to land their third load (40 tons) worth of arms and ammunitions to the RUF rebels in Kenema.