US has no Werewolves in Iraq – Simunja

DEPUTY Defence Minister Victor Simunja appears to have been wrong when he insisted in the National Assembly recently that August 26 Holdings had only sold Werewolf armoured vehicles to the United Nations in Angola and Iraq over the last two years.

Answering questions from the DTA’s McHenry Venaani, Simunja said 27 of these armoured personnel carriers had been manufactured by Windhoeker Maschinen Fabrik (WMF), of which seven had been sold to the United Nations. The remaining vehicles were procured for the Namibian Defence Force, Simunja stated.”No armoured vehicles were sold to American security companies based in Iraq.August 26 Holdings sold some Werewolves to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) only … Five vehicles were sold to UNAMI and two were sold to the UN demining operations in Angola,” he stated in the National Assembly.The United Nations Verification Mission (UNAVEM III) was however thrown out of Angola in 1998 by President Eduardo dos Santos for being opposed to the government’s plans to militarily obliterate former rebel movement UNITA.The UN also never ran any de-mining operations in Angola, it has been established.Its food aid arm, the World Food Programme (WFP) has previously funded landmine-clearing operations via several NGOs such as MAG (Mine Action Group), the Halo Trust, NPA (Norwegian People’s Aid) and MgM (Menschen gegen Minen).”The UN never did any clearing of landmines – full stop.If anything, they (August 26) may have sold some vehicles to SEDITA,” a private de-mining company set up by the son of Angolan Home Affairs Minister Andrei Petroff, one well-placed source said.Petroff, his second-in-command Brigadier Roque and a certain “Engineiro Sapalo” in fact had visited the WMF plant in July last year.Unconfirmed reports said they had purchased at least two of these vehicles, possibly funded by the Angolan government’s CNIDAH (Commissoa Nacional Intersectoral de Desminagem e Ajuda Humanitario).It is not sure if these have been taken delivery of yet by CNIDAH.Similarly, Simunja’s claims that August 26 had sold five Werewolf vehicles to UNAMI was similarly rubbished by sources in Iraq, who offered photographic evidence of these vehicles being used by ERINYS, a British-South African private military contractor.Five or six of these vehicles were being used to guard oil installations at Kirkuk, after they had previously been used by Aegis, another Iraqi private military contractor working for the US Army.Documentation and photographs seen by The Namibian make it clear that the vehicles were in effect the property of AMICO, the procurement arm for the Gulf Region division (GRD) of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).The asking price for the Werewolves at the time was about N$2,5 million each, equipped with run-flat tyres and air-conditioning.The vehicles were in high demand for use as protection against ambushes in Iraq.August 26 Holdings and WMF are currently being sued by a local consulting firm HEC CC for N$478 000 in unpaid commission in respect of a 2004 marketing agreement for the sale of four Werewolf vehicles to the US military.Defence Ministry spokesperson Margereth Amughulu recently said she could not reach Simunja to verify with him who had signed the end-user certificates for the Werewolves in Iraq and Angola.But in late development, Simunja in a letter addressed to this reporter strongly objected to suggestions relayed via the MoD PR department that he may have told less than the full truth to the National Assembly.”While you deserve the right to solicit answers or information (…), take note that such persons from whom you solicit information also deserve respect from you and also deserve the right to withhold such information from you,” Simunja wrote.Any allegation that he may have lied – knowingly or unknowingly – to the National Assembly was “an insult of the highest order” and he was not willing to discuss the matter any further “unless you change your behaviour,” Simunja wrote in a letter hand-delivered to The Namibian.* John Grobler is a freelance journalist; 081 240 1587The remaining vehicles were procured for the Namibian Defence Force, Simunja stated.”No armoured vehicles were sold to American security companies based in Iraq.August 26 Holdings sold some Werewolves to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) only … Five vehicles were sold to UNAMI and two were sold to the UN demining operations in Angola,” he stated in the National Assembly.The United Nations Verification Mission (UNAVEM III) was however thrown out of Angola in 1998 by President Eduardo dos Santos for being opposed to the government’s plans to militarily obliterate former rebel movement UNITA.The UN also never ran any de-mining operations in Angola, it has been established.Its food aid arm, the World Food Programme (WFP) has previously funded landmine-clearing operations via several NGOs such as MAG (Mine Action Group), the Halo Trust, NPA (Norwegian People’s Aid) and MgM (Menschen gegen Minen).”The UN never did any clearing of landmines – full stop.If anything, they (August 26) may have sold some vehicles to SEDITA,” a private de-mining company set up by the son of Angolan Home Affairs Minister Andrei Petroff, one well-placed source said.Petroff, his second-in-command Brigadier Roque and a certain “Engineiro Sapalo” in fact had visited the WMF plant in July last year. Unconfirmed reports said they had purchased at least two of these vehicles, possibly funded by the Angolan government’s CNIDAH (Commissoa Nacional Intersectoral de Desminagem e Ajuda Humanitario).It is not sure if these have been taken delivery of yet by CNIDAH.Similarly, Simunja’s claims that August 26 had sold five Werewolf vehicles to UNAMI was similarly rubbished by sources in Iraq, who offered photographic evidence of these vehicles being used by ERINYS, a British-South African private military contractor.Five or six of these vehicles were being used to guard oil installations at Kirkuk, after they had previously been used by Aegis, another Iraqi private military contractor working for the US Army.Documentation and photographs seen by The Namibian make it clear that the vehicles were in effect the property of AMICO, the procurement arm for the Gulf Region division (GRD) of the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).The asking price for the Werewolves at the time was about N$2,5 million each, equipped with run-flat tyres and air-conditioning.The vehicles were in high demand for use as protection against ambushes in Iraq.August 26 Holdings and WMF are currently being sued by a local consulting firm HEC CC for N$478 000 in unpaid commission in respect of a 2004 marketing agreement for the sale of four Werewolf vehicles to the US military.Defence Ministry spokesperson Margereth Amughulu recently said she could not reach Simunja to verify with him who had signed the end-user certificates for the Werewolves in Iraq and Angola.But in late development, Simunja in a letter addressed to this reporter strongly objected to suggestions relayed via the MoD PR department that he may have told less than the full truth to the National Assembly.”While you deserve the right to solicit answers or information (…), take note that such persons from whom you solicit information also deserve respect from you and also deserve the right to withhold such information from you,” Simunja wrote.Any allegation that he may have lied – knowingly or unknowingly – to the National Assembly was “an insult of the highest order” and he was not willing to discuss the matter any further “unless you change your behaviour,” Simunja wrote in a letter hand-delivered to The Namibian.* John Grobler is a freelance journalist; 081 240 1587