Iranian arms in West Africa: Set-up or mess-up?

RNW-Dec 2010- Late October, news came in that Nigerian police in Lagos had seized a ship carrying 13 containers with heavy arms and ammunition. Estimated price tag: some 20 million US dollars. Origin: Iran. Destination: the Gambian presidency. Now, two months later, relations between Senegal and Iran have reached breaking point.
 

By Bram Posthumus and Sheriff Bojang Jnr

Three questions. First, why would Iran send arms to West Africa? Second, does the Gambia, a small country along the river of the same name, need such a copious quantity of arms? Thus: third, who were they for?

Gambia's ambiguous role
Let us begin with that last question. Since 1982, there has been a low-intensity conflict going on in the southern Senegalese region of Casamance, which shares a border with the Gambia and another with Guinea Bissau. Northern Guinea Bissau was a rear-base for the Casamance rebels for years but recent incursions into Senegal from there have been rare. While still a nuisance, the rebel force itself is weak and splintered.

So what of the Gambia? Its role in the Casamance has been ambiguous. It has tried to facilitate peace talks but it has also been a shelter to the rebels and arms have reached Casamance through the Gambia before. So the news of this particular shipment caused consternation in Dakar, especially since the stated destination was the home village and permanent residence of Gambian president Yahya Jammeh, Kanilai – a few kilometres from the Casamance border.

Mutual suspicion
Gambian diplomats have denied that their country was the destination for the arms and the country has now also severed ties with Iran. But Senegal remains unimpressed and suspicious. That feeling, by the way, is mutual.

But even though the arms saga has further soured the mood between Dakar and Banjul, things still do not add up. As we said, the rebel movement in Casamance is hardly worthy of the name and such a quantity of arms and ammunition would be wasted on them. So: who were these arms for?

"We have looked at several possibilities," says Mark Schroeder, the Africa analyst at Stratfor, a global intelligence company. "Individual countries such as the Gambia don’t need so many arms. Another one, like Ivory Coast runs its own ports and can source weapons independently. So then we thought about various insurgent groups in the region, like MEND in Nigeria and the Casamance rebels. And we have certainly been thinking about AQMI (al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, a loosely organised series of groups that has been involved in kidnapping foreigners in among others Mauritania, Mali and Niger)."

Schroeder thinks that the weapons shipment could easily have had multiple destinations. "And I’m sure the US government would love to get proof if AQMI were to be one of the recipients of these arms. The US is concerned about AQMI and has worked with various countries in the region to keep it in check."

The Iran connection
The sender, Iran, does not have the habit of shipping arms directly to its clients, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. One Iranian deputy has declared that it’s all a set-up by Western intelligence, designed to cause embarrassment between Africa and Iran. Stratfor’s Mark Schroeder does not rule that out. "This is not a high cost activity for Western intelligence," he says, "and the US is always trying to put pressure on Iran’s behaviour. Every little bit helps."

If so, they have succeeded and Senegal is a case in point. Iran was a welcome guest at the summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference that was hosted by Dakar in 2007. Two years later, Iranian president Ahmadinejad paid a high-profile visit to the same city. Iran runs development projects in Senegal, Iranian Khodro taxis (assembled locally) ply the streets of Dakar – and crucially, Senegal supports Iran’s quest to go nuclear.

Tehran maintains that the intercepted arms were part of a private business transaction. But Nigerian newspapers report that the two Iranian businessmen involved, Azim Aghajani and Sayed Akbar Tahmaesebi, were operatives of the Revolutionary Guard, Iran’s chief military force.

Two losers
That would confirm Senegal’s view that you do not organise a private arms shipment of this magnitude without the Iranian state knowing about it. Dakar recalled its ambassador to Teheran on December 14th “for consultations”. A break-up seems imminent.

So far, the fallout appears to affect mostly Iran and the Gambia. Both have dreadful reputations internationally, in part thanks to their human rights record. In addition, there is controversy over Iran’s nuclear plans, while the Gambia is mostly known as a regional hub for money laundering, drugs trafficking and now weapons smuggling. But it is even worse for Iran.

According to Mark Schroeder, it has just lost a valuable pipeline. "This is an old supply chain that Iran has used for channelling political interest and also drugs, weapons and money. Now it’s blocked. Things may still go through Lagos but they will have to find new ways."

Gambia: The nightmare of Femi Peters' son

On 30 March, Olufemi Peters Jr rang his father, Femi Peters, from the UK where he is studying. It was just two days before his father's trial at a magistrate’s court outside the Gambian capital Banjul. Femi Peters, 64-year-old campaign manager for the United Democratic Party (UDP), had been arrested for holding an illegal political rally.

by Sheriff Bojang Jr

"He was confident on the phone that he would win the case, and so was I, because we knew that the state didn't have a genuine case against him".

But in the late hours of 1 April, Femi Peters was convicted and sentenced to a one-year jail term 'for holding a public rally and using a loudspeaker.'

The verdict bewildered his son: "The judgment has traumatised my whole family. I have always looked up to the man who gave me all his names and life and the last place I ever thought he would be is jail."

Outspoken
Opponents of  Gambian president Yahya Jammeh have been the victim of arbitrary arrests, torture and incarceration ever since Jammeh came to power in a military coup in July 1994. Even though he is now an elected head of state, opposition politicians still have a hard time under his rule. 

This was also the experience of Femi Peters, whose UDP is a very popular opposition party in Gambia. Since 1996, it has been contesting elections to 'bring back democracy, human rights and the rule of law to the Gambia'. Femi Peters was an outspoken critic of the policies and programmes of the government.

To his son Olufemi, his father's jail sentence was 'a political orchestration from the outset. If his political affiliation had been somewhat different, he wouldn't be languishing in jail right now. Let's face it... who else would go to jail for merely organising a legitimate political rally and using a loudspeaker to address a crowd?'

Travesty of justice
Human rights groups and the international community have criticised the Gambian government and the judiciary for the way it handled Femi Peters' case.

Ousainou Darboe, UDP leader and lawyer for Femi Peters, has called the judgment 'a travesty of justice'.

Since Femi Peters was sent to jail, concerns have been raised about his health and the bad prison conditions. Medical reports confirm that he is a diabetic and this deeply troubles his son:

"My dad's poor health is giving me nightmares. He is a diabetic and he had malaria the last time my family visited him in prison. I know he won't have the best medical care in there. I am very worried because in a nutshell, these guys are trying to kill my dad!"

Tough
Despite the imprisonment and the health fears, Olufemi is convinced that his father will not give in to pressure to change his position on issues of democracy and human rights:

'My dad is made of tougher stuff than that. He will not quit. That is not the man who sired me. He is very determined to see a free and democratic Gambia where we can all contribute, irrespective of our political affiliation and not get jailed, tortured or killed for it. And he will fight for that to the very end.'

Femi Peters' family and lawyer have appealed against his sentence, though there is no hope among UDP party members that the appeal will make any difference.

West Africa, drug lords’ new El Dorado

It has mainly been Guinea Bissau all along in the sub-region. Now a poor, tiny West African state of The Gambia is also making international headlines for illicit drugs.

On Tuesday, the National Drugs Enforcement Agency in Banjul discovered over 2 tonnes of cocaine with a street value of over US$1 Billion. This is the biggest drugs scandal in West Africa and twelve suspects, including three Dutch nationals have since been charged with various drugs offences.

The scandal in Banjul is another manifestation that drug trafficking is becoming more and more a huge problem in West Africa. Until less than a decade ago, the region’s major problems were internal political instability and corrupt leadership. But the emergence of Latin American drug kingpins at the West African ports and borders has opened up another challenge for a region already battling with poverty, diseases and violence.

Corrupt officials
The International Police (Interpol) estimated that two-thirds of drugs sold in Europe from Latin America in 2009 were trafficked through West Africa. Various studies by various international organisations revealed that while the drug lords target West Africa due to poverty, senior West African officials, including politicians, lawmakers and security personnel benefits directly from the drugs trade in the countries.

Recently, Ousman Conte, an influential son of late Guinean president, Lansana Conte was arrested for alleged drug dealings. In April, former Guinea Bissau Navy chief, Rear Admiral Bubo Na Tchuto and the current chief of the air force, were listed by the US Treasury Department as drug kingpins. In March, Gambian authorities arrested Police Inspector General as well as the Head of the National Drugs Enforcement Agency for alleged drug trafficking.

In countries like Guinea Bissau, one of the poorest and underdeveloped countries in the world, top officials drive big American trucks such as Hummer on a daily basis when their annual legitimate income is half the price of a used Hummer.

Latin American drug lords come to West Africa with lot of money and with it, it is obvious that they bribe their ways in and out of the porous West African ports and borders.

Insecurity and escalating crime rate
One of the major concerns about drug trafficking in West Africa is the threat that it poses to the region. Drugs use and trafficking are singled out by experts as being responsible for West Africa’s escalating crime rate and political instability.

In Guinea Bissau for example, the numerous assassinations of army chiefs and eventually the president, Joao Bernardo Vieira are blamed on booming drugs trafficking in the country.

According to Gambia’s Drugs Enforcement Agency chief, ‘the successful operation in Banjul will serve as a new warning to Latin American drug dealers that West Africa is ready for them’.

But West Africa is the El Dorado for those drug lords and certainly, it will take a lot of efforts and fight to put them off the region.

Gambia's secret torture chambers

“My hands were tied together, my head covered with a black plastic bag… they poured cold water on me and the four men from the State Guard started beating me… until I became unconscious”, says ex-Gambian parliamentarian.

By Sheriff Bojang Jnr.

The Gambia is one of West Africa’s major tourist destinations. Every winter season, thousands of tourists from mainly Britain, The Netherlands and Scandinavia visit the country to escape the freezing weather in Europe.

For the holiday makers it is a paradise, one of the most peaceful and relaxing countries on the African continent. But there is another side of The Gambia that is worlds apart from the one presented to the tourists and the one they fall in love with.

Enemies of the state

Less than 15km away from the Tourism Development Area, a vast area where most of the hotels are located, are the headquarters of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) and the Mile 2 Central Prison. These are The Gambia’s two most notorious and hostile detention centres where the authorities illegally detain and torture people they perceive as enemies of the state.

Demba Dem was a National Assembly member who won his parliamentary seat under the ticket of the President Yahya Jammeh’s ruling party. Unlike his peers on the ruling bench, Dem was renowned for challenging and voting against controversial pro-government bills. This had put him on a collision course with his peers and top government officials who confronted and threatened him on various occasions.

Demba Dem