Deja Vu All Over Again

There are some things in life that are so unpredictable that they stand out as unique. On the rarest of occasions, they seem to repeat themselves. I had a great surprise when I read about the separation of the security details sent to accompany the African peace delegation to Ukraine and then to Russia. As was reported in Eye-Witness News and SARCASTOSAUR, The Presidents of Comoros, the Republic of the Congo, the Republics of South Africa and Zambia, the Prime Minister of Egypt, and a Presidential envoy of Uganda were underway to ‘the troubled region of Eastern Europe where two brotherly Slavic nations are involved in a bloody armed conflict’. They travelled to Poland in one aircraft with their bodyguards: another aircraft, operated by the South African Airways, followed on Thursday afternoon (15 June) as a second flight. This was loaded with around 100 additional bodyguards and some 20 journos – and was never announced to any of European authorities, not even to the air traffic control, and thus denied the overflight rights by several of EU/NATO countries already while on approach – including Italy and Hungary. Once on the ground in Warsaw, the Polish authorities realised that the jet was carrying containers full of undeclared “dangerous substances’, armed men, and ammunition. Thus, the aircraft was blocked, and nobody was allowed to leave for about 20 hours,

The African leaders were transported by rail to Kyiv to met with Zelensky. They returned to Poland and flew to Russia to meet with Putin. They did so without benefit of the security guards in the second plane whose airplane was still impounded by the Polish authorities. This second jet, full of the “security detail’ was allowed to leave the following day, but not to Russia. Some went to Russia commercially; others just went back with the plane to South Africa on Saturday (17 June). The Russians were surprised by the lack of security details accompanying the Presidents but laughed as they, and I, remembered this was not the first time such a shambles had taken place.

A few years ago, I was visiting India on two projects. The first was a contract to deliver Bulgarian cement to the Indian Government. The second was as an adviser to Rajiv Gandhi’s team on their preparations to host the “Non-Aligned Governments” meeting proposed for India. I had acted as an adviser to the Zambian Government earlier on when they were the hosts in 1968. On my third day in Delhi, I got an urgent call from my business partner and close friend Pierre-Victor Mpoyo. He told me that he was calling from Luanda with an urgent message from Kito Rodrigues (Minister of the Interior in Angola). Kito had called to see if there was anything I could do to help as I was in India. Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, the Angolan President, was currently on a State Visit to Japan. He had decided to make a short (one day) visit to India before his final visit to Moscow before returning home. The problem was that Angola had no embassy or other relations with India and they were having diplomatic difficulties in confirming a State Visit to India at short notice without any diplomatic relations. He asked if there was anything I could do. I said I’d try. I got in touch with V.P. Singh’s office and briefed him about the problem and confessed to having no knowledge at all about how to proceed. Singh called the Foreign Minister and explained the problem. The Foreign Minister said that a State Visit was impossible but that the Foreign office could arrange guest cottages for the entourage and a special place for Jose Eduardo. He couldn’t guarantee a meeting with Rajiv who was in the middle of a State Visit of Gustav Husak from Czechoslovakia but would work something out.

The next day Jose Eduardo arrived and was greeted by the Foreign Minister. He sent the entourage to their houses and took Dos Santos to his for a short discussion. Later that night he was able to get Rajiv on his own and he took him to meet Dos Santos for a late-night visit. Dos Santos rushed all his people to the airport the next morning and took off for Moscow. I thought it was all over. I was wrong. In the rush to the airport, Dos Santos left his three security guards behind at their cottage. I got an urgent call from them asking what they should do. They had no papers, no money, no contact with Angola. Moreover, they were supposed to be in Moscow protecting the President. I said I thought I could get the Russians to help since that it where they were going. I sent a car for them, and we went to the Russian Embassy. After a bit of cajoling and discussion I was taken to the Security Section of the Embassy with my three Angolans. I told them the story and they were amused but doubted me. They said the nothing like that could happen. I said we could buy them a commercial ticket to Moscow but we needed a ‘laissez-passer’ so they could travel to Moscow. They laughed. I asked them to please call the Indian Foreign Minister and ask him. They did so and, shaking their heads, they agreed to issue the ‘laissez passer’.

We took the papers, and, with some friends, we collected enough money to buy them a one-way ticket to Moscow on the next flight. They left and made it to Moscow to be with their President. I was told that the Russians kept them on for a week or so for additional training as bodyguards.

That is why I laughed when I read about the African Presidents security detail being sequestered in Poland. For some of us it was déjà vu all over again.