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Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission Witnesses urged to speak the truth as commission ends October session |19 October 2019

Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission     Witnesses urged to speak the truth as commission ends October session

Mr Ernesta

Witnesses have once again been reminded to speak the truth, while people are advised to respect the work of the Truth, Reconciliation and National Unity Commission.

Yesterday was the last day the commission heard complainants and witnesses, perpetrators in cases of human rights abuses for the month of October as the commission is set to reconvene in November.

Before the start of the session, commission chairperson Gabrielle Louise McIntyre told witnesses who come before the commission to give evidence reasonably known to be true. This follows statements written to the commission by people whose names have been mentioned and they have categorically denied being implicated. She also launched an appeal to people on social media to be more responsible about the things they say and post on Facebook and to respect the work and integrity of the commission.

 

Case 0010

Following the close session of case 009, Jimmy Zatte, Lieutenant Francis Mirabeau was the first suspect to appear live before the commission yesterday morning to give his accounts on allegations made by Roy Beehary to the commission on Thursday that he was unlawfully arrested at his residence at La Louise and brought to the Grand Police to be beaten up.

Lieutenant Mirabeau said it all started in 1998 when the country was being invaded by a wave of criminal activities by certain people involved in drugs and arms. He said the criminal activities included robbery, rape, kidnapping and the shooting of members of the security forces which resulted in the death of one police officer while drugs were all over the community.

He noted that the criminals happened to get guns from civilians who were contracted to transport a shipment of arms off the ‘Malo’ vessel even though they were under constant surveillance. He further said some people managed to get guns from a Russian vessel which was docked at sea.

In view of the tense situation in the country, Lieutenant Mirabeau said that an operation task force consisting of the police and the army was mounted to find the suspects involved and to defuse the situation. He noted that the task force was under the command of former high ranking officer Robert Ernesta.

Lieutenant Mirabeau explained that from intelligence information gathered, Beehary’s name came up as someone who was involved in criminal activities, mainly in drug trafficking and a search was held at his place at La Louise and during the search some hashish was found in a drawer in the house. He was arrested and brought to the Grand Police prison for interrogation.

He acknowledged that Mr Beehary was tied to a pole and beaten with polythene pipe on the orders of Mr Ernesta to get information from him about the guns and drugs. He noted that Mr Ernesta also took part in the beating of Mr Beehary with the polythene pipe. He added that while being beaten, Mr Beehary did say he did not have any drugs but he had knowledge of the guns which he said was with Yves Micock and somebody nicknamed ‘Suzuki’. A search was mounted to find ‘Suzuki’ and he was arrested.

Lieutenant Mirabeau said that while it could have seen to be wrong to beat up people who have not been proven guilty by the court, he supported the operation as it spared the country of almost 100 illegal guns while also reducing the amount of drugs on the market.

Lieutenant Mirabeau also said Mr Beehary was dismissed from the army as a result of bad behaviour and it was only after that that he learned that Mr Beehary was involved in drug trafficking. He noted that one has to ask how Mr Beehary who has no history of long employment and who claims he is a poor guy, has so much wealth in terms of big houses, cars and land among others as compared to him and others who have been in employment for so long.

Speaking on his relationship with Mr Ernesta who was his superior, Lieutenant Mirabeau, who was then a sergeant major, said that he only followed his orders. He alleges that nothing was accountable and that money collected from drug raids were kept by Mr Ernesta who would send him to bank it on his personal account at Habib Bank. Apart from that, he said he also brought money to Mr Ernesta’s concubines in Roche Caïman, Anse Louis, Anse à la Mouche and Takamaka. He further said that Mr Ernesta also kept all the drugs from the raids in his possession which he then resold to the drug barons.

He noted that nobody told him to talk bad about Mr Ernesta as he was just reporting true facts.

 

Case 001

The daughter of Davidson Chang Him, Judy Dingwall, was very emotional throughout her testimony on the accounts of his father’s death which happened on the day of the Coup d’Etat – June 5, 1977.

She told the commission of her family’s situation after her father’s death which she said had impacted heavily on them, both morally and physically.

Mrs Dingwall stated that armed men came to the family’s residence in Bel Ombre in the middle of the day on June 5, 1977 in search of her father, who was not at home, and kidnapped her older brother Harry and brought him as hostage to the Central Police station.

She said that she and other members of her family, including her mother, sought redress at the Beau Vallon Police Station but were mistreated. She noted that upon being released, his brother came home and spoke of hearing gun shot while at the police station.

The family then waited for their father’s return until late at night and it was an uncle of theirs who broke the news to them that their father had been killed at the police station.

Mrs Dingwall said the family was instructed by those in power not to publicise the burial and to quickly bury the body. She said her father was not a perfect man but was a very good father and he was also a well-respected person in the community.

She said she was very disappointed that the state felt no remorse and had never apologised to the family. She and the rest of her family are still searching for answers as to why her father was killed and noted that she never recalls her father owning a gun.

 

Case 009

Emmanuel Faure, who was a high ranking officer in the government, was a witness in case 009 of Jimmy Zatte who had alleged that Mr Faure pressured him to sell his unfinished reclaimed land at Pointe Conan in 1978 for a low price following the cancellation by the Ministry of Land to sell the land to two potential buyers for a much higher price, on reasons that work on the reclamation was unfinished.

Mr Zatte also alleged that Mr Faure as the principal secretary at that time, had made arrangement with the person responsible for land reclamation in the Ministry of Land, Raymond Fock-Tave, to claim possession of his land as the ministry agreed for the land to be sold to Mr Faure unfinished when originally the sale, with the reclamation work unfinished, was refused.

He also claimed in his allegation that Mr Faure covered up for other people in the likes of the late Minister for Foreign Affairs, Danielle De St Jorre, at that time.

Firstly, Mr Faure denied that he was a principal secretary at that time as he became one either in 1985 or 1986, but not in 1978. He categorically refuted the allegation that he pressured Mr Zatte to sell his land to him as he did so voluntarily to him in the mid-90s.

He said on buying the land he met with Mr Fock-Tave to ask for permission to continue with the reclamation, but now regrets to have invested his money into this piece of land.

Mr Faure explained that as it was a bad investment and that he resold the land which has since changed owners a number of times. He told the commission that he did not recall for how much he bought the land and how much he resold it as he will have to go to the registrar’s office to get the information.

Mr Faure made known that Mrs De St Jorre had no knowledge of the land transaction as she was not part of it just like Mr D’Offay de Rieux who was also mentioned as being behind the sale of the land by Mr Zatte.

He noted that he had worked with Mrs De St Jorre for a long time and to his knowledge, the lady did her duty with fairness and integrity and she should be given the respect she deserves.

 

Case 0010

Mr Robert Ernesta concluded the October session as he answered allegations in case 0010 of Roy Beehary who had alleged that Mr Ernesta was responsible for his mistreatment at Grand Police.

Mr Ernesta, who left the army in 2007, said that he took responsibility for all the beatings that happened at Grand Police, including that of Mr Beehary as he was the person in charge. He also noted that everybody at Grand Police prison knew what to do when such persons arrive at the prison even without him being around. He said though that he does not recall if he was present when Mr Beehary was being mistreated as information he had gathered from a past prisoner that at the time of the incident he was not present as one person stated he was waiting to be interviewed by him and was told he had not arrived yet.

He said that he came to know that Mr Beehary was a drug dealer only after some unsuccessful operations and at one point he (Beehary) sent out information to him through another officer that he and his officers do not know how to look for drugs as during one of the raids the drugs were in his vehicle.

Commenting on allegations made by Lieutenant Francis Mirabeau that he took all the money and drugs for his personal benefits, Mr Ernesta denied, saying all operations were held in the presence of the police and the operations and all exhibits, including guns, money and drugs, were recorded in the occurrence books of both the police and the army for court cases. He said it was the responsibility of the police to guard those exhibits. He also gave his bank account at Habib Bank (which has been closed down) for the commission to trace and to verify the transactions.

He further said that he presumes there are some kind of manoeuvres by certain people in government and the army to destabilise his affiliation to the Linyon Demokratik Seselwa (LDS) which he is a founding member. It was his third appearance before the commission.

Jimmy Zatte, a complainant in case 009, Harry Adrienne, Dr Guy Ah-Moye, a complainant in 001 in relation to Dorothy Chang-Him (Davidson Chang Him), Dr Guy Ah-Moye and Georges Lefevre in case 009 (Jimmy Zatte) were heard behind closed doors.

Eddy Mussard and Jeffery Marie in case 0010 (Roy Beehary) have been rescheduled to be heard during the November sessions.

 

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