Have Gun, Will Travel
At Lawrence Allan Jewelers
This watch has stunning
pearlized dial with
black border and an
intricate chain bracelet in
brushed and polished gold tones.
It is water resistant and
features the day and date.
He will love it as a gift.
An enduring classic makes a
timeless gift.
With a black snakeskin strap
and a golden case, this
handsome watch is also available
with a rose gold-tone
case and dial for both men and
women.
SEIKO
FineJewelers
Est. 1919
Shire 19/9
30400 Telegraph Rd. Suite 134, Bingham Farms • 642-5575
WINTER
CLEARANCE SALE
SERTA & RESTONIC
EXTRA BONUS OFF
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TTRESS
KING PRICES
As $ 47°°
A L 7 $87°°
$ 10"
Twin
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BUT BUY RATED BY
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ill
A
EN i 1..M1111Z.C11
Fcrmington _Hills
Pleasant Ridge
28952 Orcitcrd Lk. Rd. 23700 Woodward
Next b Ram Hom
At 91/2 Mile
855-8188
548-3434
SLEEP
CENTERS
Troy
5042 Rochester Rd.
N. of Long Lk. Rd.
528-9226
Hours: M-TH-F: 10-8, T-W-SAT: 10-6, SUN: 12-5
Israeli mercenaries in the Congo have prompted a debate over
the wisdom of exporting hired guns.
LARRY DERFNER ISRAEL CORRESPONDENT
I
sraeli mercenaries have been
making the news here. Jour-
nalists have gone off to the
Congo, and pictures and sto-
ries have come back of a camp
in the middle of the country
where dozens of ex-Israeli sol-
diers, mainly in their early 20s,
are instructing Congolese army
commanders on how to train
soldiers to fight rebels.
The Israelis are not planning
to do any fighting themselves,
so they don't like the term "mer-
cenaries." The Tel Aviv compa-
ny that hired them, Levdan, has
a $55 million contract with the
Congolese government, which
includes military training and
provision of light weapons as
well as all sorts of non-lethal
military equipment, down to
underwear.
Everything they're doing
has the okay of the Israeli De-
fense Ministry.
For a change, the Israelis
are on the side of the "good
guys" — the Congolese gov-
ernment is run by President
Pascal Lisuba, who was elected
and re-elected in democratic
elections; the rebel opposition
includes the country's one-time
Marxist dictator, Dennis Seso.
"There is absolutely no pos-
sibility of Israelis getting in-
volved in any fighting. Besides,
there is no fighting going on at
all now. Everything is quiet,"
said a Levdan official who iden-
tified himself only as "Chico."
Israeli recruits in the Congo
told journalists they are spend-
ing much of their time in the
swimming pool, and that there
is nothing to worry about.
Still, a number of Israelis are
concerned, even incensed. Knes-
set members from both the left
and right have proposed legis-
lation that would stop this sort
of military freelancing abroad,
or at least put tighter controls
on it. "If Israel wants to help the
Congolese government, let it do
so formally," said Meretz MK
Naomi Chazan.
Carmela Michaeli is one of
the mothers of the mercenaries
and would-be mercenaries who
called Knesset members in an
effort to have the whole caper
called off. Michaeli's 22-year-old
son, recently demobilized from
an elite combat unit, was about
to join the Israelis in the Congo
— at the going rate of $2,500/
month — but Levdan delayed
the flight because of all the un-
favorable media attention.
"For him it's a big adven-
ture," said Mrs. Michaeli, who
would not give her son's name.
"He heard about it from his
friends, and he went down to
the Levdan office, and was ac-
cepted. They didn't tell him
there was a danger of war.
ment and the opposition signed
a cease-fire agreement Jan. 30,
there has been only one con-
frontation between the two
sides, Gen. Zachrin noted. But
here was the situation leading
up to the signing of the pact, as
he described it:
"Most of the clashes [in and
around Brazzaville] were initi-
An
Israeli Army armored
personnel carrier on patrol.
"He told me that if he had
known about the danger, he
never would have signed up,"
she continued. "But now with
all the boys over there saying
there's no problem, I don't know
if I can keep him from going the
next time there's a flight. They
say they're just training people,
and they're not going to get in-
volved in anything, but who
knows what's going to happen?
Would you feel calm if your son
was over there?"
After the Congo story became
a nightly feature on the TV
news and the front pages of the
newspapers early this month,
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
asked the Israelis there to re-
port on the situation. Brig. Gen.
(res.) Ze'ev Zachrin, head of the
operation, faxed the Defense
Ministry some very contradic-
tory impressions:
"In the area of the capital
[Brazzaville], which is the 'prob-
lematic' area, quiet prevails and
life goes on in very routine fash-
ion...[but] because of the tense
situation people prefer not to
walk around outside at night,"
he said. (The training camp is
about 180 miles from the capi-
tal, but a number of Israelis on
the mission are in Brazzaville,
and journalists there report the
Israelis are always armed.)
Since the Congolese govern-
ated by the opposition in June
1993, when 40 people were
killed. In July 1993 the presi-
dent's forces responded with an
attack on the quarter which
houses the people of the Laris
tribe, who support the opposi-
tion; about 60 people were
killed. In November 1993 an-
other clash occurred, in which
about 10 people were killed.
Aside from these clashes, which
were the main ones, there were
occasional minor incidents. In
general, quiet has since pre-
vailed."
The Congo operation is not
unusual, either for Israel or for
any other country with military
weapons, equipment and ex-
pertise to sell, said Zeev Eytan,
a military expert with Tel Aviv
University's Jaffee Center for
Strategic Studies.
Israel ex-military men have
a relatively small part in the in-
ternational mercenary indus-
try, Mr. Eytan said. Ex-Soviet
officers appear to be the lead-
ers, he noted, but there are also
Americans, British, Dutch,
French plus men from dozens
of other countries also heavily
involved. (The Congo opposition
is reportedly supplied by French
concerns.)
In Israel, some 80 companies
are licensed by the Defense
Ministry to sell military goods