European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 20, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse Soldiers of Fortune Rule a Paradise by Tony Avirgan United press International he Remote and forgotten Indian Ocean Archi Pelago of the Comoro islands until now noted Only for its exotic Lang Lang perfume Plant and wide spread human poverty has become the unlikely fiefdom for the last of Africa s White mercenary leaders and his ragtag army. Having deposed the Comoros despotic drug taking president Ali Stilih in a precision engineered invasion in May. French born col. Bob Denara and his 30 hand picked soldiers of Fortune have become effective rulers of the Republic s three volcanic islands and its population 01 290.000. The mercenaries run everything from the local army and police to the customs the Island s empty Treasury and its garbage collection. Despite blustering threats by such Mainland african leaders As Uganda s Idi Amin who has promised person ally to Lead a Parachute drop to throw the mercenaries the Indian Denard and some of his followers appear to have every intention of retiring for life on their volcanic fortress. The women Are Young and enthused the 50 Yir old mercenary King who already has taken a local i can eat Well Here drink sleep and make love of said in an Imer vew. A Man does t need any More. I plea to spend the res of my Days Here and if us people still want me. It would Lake 100.909 cuban troops to get us off the for he Sorieri at least the islands bewildered popu of does War. Denard they regard him As a major for ousting so Iii in a textbook operation which could have been lifted from Frederick Forsyth s novel. To decs of War Denar ii who described his takeover operation As a n Susie piece said he has not read the Book about Mer cer Aries attempting u Seis control of an african nation. Slih himself had grabbed Power in the capital of no Roni in grand Comoro Island shortly after three of the trouble plagued islands declared unilateral Independence from France in 1s7s, the Christian population of the fourth Island Mayotte. Voted of Erthel Mingery to retain its ties with Paris Stilih embarked co a presidency is bizarre if not As brutal As thai of the Man now threatening to average him Uganda s Amin quickly exhausting the country s Treasury. Stilih tried to n end masters by firing the is aads s.s30 civil servants and replacing them with Loyal ims Eraie teenagers who became resp crib a for handing every Hii from disk a aug affairs with the Ocie embassy of the Bra ends. The in Vahai he terraced a Suaese style Revoli Ksn. Sothma lowered the voting age to a burned All the islands and recons Lor the past 15s years Aad Sra Raed by a Sage to beware of Nua wish a Deg ordered his Leea Goon squad to kill even Doe of the islands. The Isis Straw came wises a ordered the cameras. If the people still want me it would take 100,000 cuban troops to get us off the the stars and stripes largely moslem women to Stop wearing veils and banned traditional wedding on god and see if he answers Stilih stormed at worshippers in May at Moroni s waterfront Grande mosque. Then came the predicted Man with a dog. God answered a moslem Leader said afterwards. Denard and his handpicked army of French Bel Gian. German and British mercenaries and a German Shepherd dog slipped ashore faces and suits Black ened from rubber rafts at the town s main it Sandra Beach Only a few hours after the mosque showdown. Denard had fought As a Soldier for hire for nearly 30 years in dozens of conflicts around the world. He and his army arrived aboard a rusting freighter the Mariwa that took 35 Days to sail from France around the Cape of Good told the French we were prospecting for Oil not to raise their suspicions he said. But when we got to the Cape we turned left instead of going tenants Force quickly Cut All Telephone communications a the islands slumbering 200-Man army to flight killed four presidential guards and Delight edly found Stilih drugged in the presidential bed with two women. Stilih was later shot allegedly while trying to escape. Denard rapidly installed the Man Stilih had deposed Ahmed Abdallah and a local businessman Mohammed Ahmed As co presidents of the Comoros. But he still retains the Power. He converted to islam took the name Moustapha Mou Hajou. Bestowed Comoros citizenship on himself mar ried a local girl and announced his intention to retire to this Paradise for the rest of his life. The Paradise is an unlikely one when the new regime sent a delegation to the Summit meeting of the 49-Nauon organization of african Unity Ioanu in Stefan it was unceremoniously bundled out and labelled the Bob Denard delegation from the Merce nary Isles Amin said he was putting together an invasion Force from african cot tries to attack Denard and other nations held emergency meetings to discuss the Mercena Ries takeover. The message began to seep through to the new local Niters in Moroni too some of whom would now like to distance themselves from the Man who brought them to Power. Denard himself remains undeterred. Driving through the main Island in his Ford he is still greeted enthusiastically As the no 1 president by an adoring population. Denard said he has received hundreds of letters from Ether mercenaries eager to join him on his volcanic re treat. Denard said he would indeed invite other carefully screened technicians to help him continue to run the of Noros Denard boasted to a recent interviewer that he was indeed Africa s last mercenary Leader the Only one Ca Pable of earning out the Comoros invasion. Sipping peacefully into the slow easy routine of the is bods Denard reminisced about the mercenary life and he insisted was his last fling. The work of a mercenary is finished he said. We Here Are the last vestiges a Persa Matiy am the Only person left who could have earned out a operation like this. But what is being said about us now is mythology. People Are not talking about wheat we ire a cig or Are capable of doing but Rathe they acc we should be be Cesarie have become Obol to. He said parch Becot african oat Ioas have much better up in 1966 photo mercenary col. Bob Denard was in the congolese army. A few White soldiers can no longer win a War against an entire african army As in the Congo. We can no longer undertake grand operations such As in Katanga now Shaba province in Zaire. The Only thing we can now provide is a specific service on a functional Small scale. There was a time when our services were really needed but that time is thickening slightly around the Waist and his stubby Grey hair bristling in the tropical Sun Denard still takes Pride in his physical prowess and revels in giving the population exaggerated military salutes As he motors around the Island in his Green Beret Khaki shirt and camouflage trousers the uniform of a Comoros colonel. My role Here is to put the Comoros army into shape and then retire. I am now a Comoros citizen. If i make a mistake they cannot throw me out. They can Only put me in Denard and his mercenaries Are still popular but recognizing that the wind could change. If the Comoros people ask us to leave we will be gone the next Day. But if they Don t want us to leave it will take 100,000 cuban soldiers to throw us Denard said he staged the invasion because i am 50 now and a Man reaches a Point in his life when he sees it s time to Settle Down and selects the place. This is it. There has never been an operation that has gone As smoothly As this. This is a very fitting end to my career. It 4i 1 Newyork times up magnificent finale. One should t look further or cd end up with burned fingers. This is my last of mercenaries have followed their Leader s exam pan to Settle there permanently ire clearcut and in their Early 20s and 30s. The invasion Force was French belgian with two Sand a Lone briton. Tjwie Are doing Here is4ike foreign Aid Denardy men did t ask for a contract before they Ley May stay or they May in already have gone. The slow life so attractive Titi is quickly becoming Boring for younger men. Fay ran away before we could have a Good Bash id one sipping Beer in the capital s Only night Cocoe Laranche. Even the girls Aren t As pretty we Hucht he said. Dot like the Congo Zaire Here an older col lidded. The women Are not very tie soldiers of Fortune who expected to find Fortune were disappointed. The islands coffers empty and Denard said he even helped finance oration. Eive no salary Here at All because i realize that Tatry has no Money Denard said. Even the slay my men is quite Low around $600 a month. To because they understand the country cannot Afagh salaries. This is much preferable to being in a National Aid being closed in. One breathes Here. One has a a Freedom that you would never find in Paris or d still keeps an Iron grip on his mercenaries or to him almost affectionately As notre Patron � re is no one to replace him said one White itch Iii More action elsewhere. There is no other rifles Are ready in Case of a guerrilla raid at a cocktail party in Rhodesia. Meanwhile prime minister Ian Smith has been exhorting Whites to wait before deciding to leave the country. For the moment appears willing to pay a High or his retirement. Whether the Comoros or the Ulrica allow him to enjoy it is another matter. Asia grand Comoro Sroni Anjou an Mayotte Comoro islands it Laws Indian Ocean 75 up calling it quits in by Maureen Johnson associated press funding almost plaintive prime min ister Ian Smith recently exhorted fellow Whites to wait just a few More months before deciding whether to leave Rhodesia. From the Man who once pledged the White minority now outnumbered 26 to 1 by Blacks would Rule this country for 1,000 years the plea sounded much like an admission of defeat. Over the past few months As guerrillas have notice ably loosened the administration s control Over vast tracts of this Montana sized land Smith s three Moder ate Black colleagues in the transition government also have been urging Whites to stay. The soothing appeals from the Black leaders that Whites Are wanted and will be needed in the Black ruled nation to be renamed Zimbabwe that property will not be seized and pensions will be paid Are partly a sign of expressed willingness to forget past bitterness. There is also a sense of pragmatism that with no sign of a cease fire or International recognition Whites Are needed if the transition administration and any guerrilla opposed Black government which succeeds it Are to survive. However every month about 1,000 More Whites pack up and go despite tight Exchange control regulations which allow each family to take out Only $1,400 and limited personal belongings. In july the number of exiting Whites Rose to 1,342 and White immigration dropped to a record Low of 231, according to official statistics. This meant the White Popula Tion probably is below 255,000 now in contrast to 277,000 in january 1976. In 1977 a record 16,600 Whites left according to official statistics. With about 480 immigrants a month Many returning residents there was a net loss of nearly 11, 000 for that year. At a recent military briefing an official suggested that Only 230,000 Whites actually Are still in Rhodesia allow ing for people who simply leave As vacationers and never return and families who Send sons out of the country for schooling to avoid military Call up. Officials announced last month that three state run White schools will close in december because of dwindling enrolments. The number of children at the state s segregated White asian and mixed race schools dropped by nearly 2,000 to 56,620 Between 1976 and 1977. At its Peak some 10 years ago the White Popula Tion nudged 280,000. In contrast the Black Popula Tion with one of the world s three highest birth rates has shot up from some 4 million 15 years ago to nearly 7 million and is increasing rapidly. Along with almost everything else it is Uncertain How Many More Whites plan to get out before year s end. In terms of the March 3 Domestic settlement Between Smith and the Black leaders a Black government is sup posed to take Over on dec. 31. But it is Clear that if plunging White morale leads to a mass exodus the Economy and military will collapse even without More battering from International Trade sanctions and the stepped up guerrilla War. For the majority of rhodesian Whites there is at least on paper a Way out. It is estimated unofficially there Are fewer than 50,000 Whites As Well As most of the 14 ,000 asians and 28,000 col reds persons of mixed race who cannot claim pass ports to other countries mainly Britain South Africa and Portugal by virtue of birth or descent. Recent emigrants include at least 10 prominent Legisla tors and retired civil servants in Smith s former White minority government. Lesser known Gap takers As departing Whites Are dubbed readily express fear bitterness bewilderment frustration or disillusion that prompts them to leave. But the sex officials usually one time publicly outspoken opponents of Black Rule slip out quietly. Among Many of the remaining Whites these departures evoke a sense of betrayal combined with suspicions that some prominent persons Are being allowed to turn state pensions into foreign currency. In july the former top official in charge of Black affairs at the height of Smith s Power in the late 1960s and Early 1970s, w. H. Nicolle 65, settled in a coastal resort in neighbouring South Africa. The career of rhodesian born Nicolle who shunned interviews before leaving included setting up now defunct Mobile courts which tried and often sentenced to death captured guerrillas. Former defense minister Reg Cowper last year quit the government in a Blaze of local publicity and joined an Ultra right Wing party declaring Zimbabwe May be the prime minister s cup of Tea. It is not Cowper moved out quietly two months ago also headed for South Africa. Rhodesian born Mechanic Ronald Wheeler 51, is Frank about his reasons for going. It is the end of the White Man Here he said. Black leaders say they want us but they can go with begging bowls to just about any country in the East or West and get millions. Any White who thinks he s needed must be Wheeler said he plans to Settle in Bolivia one of sever Al latin american countries apparently keen to accept Whites from Southern Africa. Former Green Beret and Vietnam Veteran Mike Breen 31, from Indianapolis ind., one of several Hun dred americans in the rhodesian Security forces arrived two years ago. Last month Breen bought himself out of his $700-a month three year contract As a police instructor in coun Ter insurgency methods sold his farm and with his rhodesian Bride Patricia went Felt frustrated at Home after Vietnam said Breen in an interview. Rhodesia seemed the Only country fighting the stars and stripes Page 15
