MILITARY HARRASSEMENT OF US SECURITY COMPANY

C O N F I D E N T I A L CONAKRY 000471 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/16/2019 TAGS: EINV ECON ASEC PGOV PREL GV SUBJECT: MILITARY HARRASSEMENT OF US SECURITY COMPANY REF: A. CONAKRY 00158 ¶B. CONAKRY 00440 Classified By: ECONOFF BRIANA WARNER FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Intercon, a U.S. based security company, recently reported several instances of harassment by armed men in military uniform to the Embassy. A senior level military officer reportedly sought to foment dissention among Intercon workers and extort payments from Intercon,s Country Director in the same month that an apparently unrelated group of soldiers demanded reinstatement of a former employee. This case serves as yet another example of the dissolution of military order under the CNDD, and reiterates the dangers that international companies face. END SUMMARY -------------- FIRE YOUR MANAGEMENT AND PAY ME THE MONEY -------------- ¶2. (C) James Morrison, the Country Manager for U.S. based security firm Intercon, told EconOff that his company has experienced a marked rise in harassment by the military over the past two months. According to Morrison, a relatively unknown senior-level military officer, Commandant Barry, began meddling in internal company affairs in July. Barry reportedly visited Intercon headquarters in Conakry and encouraged workers to pay a large, one-time fee directly to him, so that he could form a labor union in their name. Despite a law prohibiting unions in security firms, the workers paid the large sum to Barry the next day, in hopes that a union backed by the military would provide needed benefits. According to Morrison, Barry has not yet formed a union with this money and may have taken it for himself. ¶3. (C) After collecting the money, Barry apparently sent uniformed men to escort Morrison to Barry,s office at the Palais du People. Morrison said that Barry reminded him of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, as he shouted and cursed at him about the evils of foreign investment and the colonial legacy. ¶4. (C) After nearly thirty minutes of ranting, Barry apparently threatened to encourage Intercon security guards to revolt if Morrison did not suspend his top three Guinean employees and pay their salaries directly to Barry. When Morrison refused, Barry then proposed that Morrison make him Intercon,s General Manager in addition to paying him the salary of the top three Intercon employees. When Morrison again refused, Barry apparently told him that he would have him deported. Fed up, Morrison told EconOff that he "would prefer being deported to working with these guys." ¶5. (C) In a separate incident, a group of twelve armed military officers reportedly came to Intercon,s Conakry headquarters during the night with a former Intercon employee. Fired two years prior for excessive tardiness, the former employee demanded his job back. The armed group apparently appeared drunk and threatened retaliation if Intercon workers did not immediately reinstate the former worker and pay him for his two years of unemployment. The group left after several hours of argument. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶6. (C) Embassy has reported several instances of private company harassment by the military. In fact, the situation is remarkably similar to what was reported about G4S, the private security contractor used by the Embassy (reftel A). This is the first time however, that we have heard of an American company being specifically targeted. Employing the second largest private guard force in Guinea, Intercon has grown substantially over the past year and this growth has apparently caught the eye of individuals in the military. ¶7. (C) The military continues to have unchecked power under the CNDD and are increasingly the perpetrators of violent attacks and general criminal activity (reftel B). In such an atmosphere, commercial investments are not safe, and harassment of the private sector for personal gain goes unpunished. The involvement of a senior-level officer in this particular case highlights the varying levels at which corruption and banditry take place. BROKENSHIRE