Now that we have a great web-site, I’m glad to be able to write messages home without having to go through the media.
First of all I would like to thank everyone so much for all the support-mail we have received. Mathilde and Rune came yesterday with lots of printed mail, and both Tjostolv and I read them all. We sat there with tears in our eyes, and wished we could thank each and everyone in person. I thank you here instead – now! God bless you everyone for your thoughts and words.
You have a lot of time to reflect in the prison and I will remind you all that there are many others besides Tjostolv and me with our families that need your prayers. There are more than 300 other prisoners here who have no judicial rights and they hurt as much as we do. They are often convicted to many years in prison and every day they worry about their own lives and the lives of their families who they are supposed to provide for.
I just want to make a personal statement about myself first:
I hope I haven’t come across as too arrogant or vulgar in interviews on TV. First of all I’m not used to be on TV, and many of the interviews are done after a long day in court. Where I together with Tjostolv have been scorned, threatened and ridiculed in ways the Norwegian media doesn’t show (I think), so forgive me for my reactions. I will also remind you that we most of the time don’t know what’s been written and said at home, so it’s difficult for us to explain logically and continuous.
Mathilde, Rune and Dr. Erlid also brought with them printouts from online newspapers, and I can’t say it any differently than that I’m chocked! With so much wrong and sensationalized media coverage I understand why there are so many rumours and objections against us in Norway. Even if the media prints faster than we can explain, I feel the need to comment some of the things I’ve read.
First I want to make it very clear that neither I nor Tjostolv were kicked out of the army. We left voluntarily, and in a normal way. We both have papers and good credentials from the army.
The training-video:
In regards to the “chocking training-video” I think it just as chocking how VG bought it in Uganda; well knowingly that it was stolen goods.
But first, let me comment on the training: We had 10 days with safety- and military type of training for three of our (Tjostolv’s) partners, on an Island south of Kampala. These three are personal friends of ours, who we’ve known for respectively 2 years, 1 year and 1 year. All three of them have a good safety background from defence, safety and active foreign duty. Among others against rebel groups in North Uganda and Iraq. And against pirates outside of Somalia. All three were in complete agreement with the training and we were focused on learning and safety during the training. All three had wanted a co training course for a long time and were very happy to get a course of high standard.
The Island was rented from a former friend and associate in Uganda, John Russell Hunwick. He owns the backpacker lodge, is involved with Ugandan intelligence and assists the police in Kampala against crime. Also Ugandan police and intelligence was informed of unarmed training on the Island, and were well informed with the approved papers that we have. Hunwick, the police and intelligence were also present during the training, including our personal chef who had a field kitchen during the stay. We had planned an armed training with the police on their shooting range by the Chigo prison in Kampala.
The focus was learning and we made sure they had plenty of sleep and good food between the field trips and the lessons. One of them got a bad knee during training and I refused him to run for three days to avoid injury. We had a lot of medical supplies, and were only 1 hour from a private hospital if we had an accident.
Back to the video: We see me in the role of an aggressive and disciplinary “sergeant” (a title we have in the company), and Tjostolv as the balanced officer everyone can feel secure with. We see the three naked men running around with an iron rod and all the while I use strong words and expressions to all three of them. The reason for this is that we wanted to take them out of their comfort zone and stress them both physically and mentally to see how they handle it. This is called stress management and it’s a common method in a lot of armies. We taped this small part of this small and toughest part of the training to show them later, so we could go through it and comment how they felt and how they thought they handled it afterwards. We had three of these stress managements during the stay, each for about 30 minutes.
The tape shows about 10 minutes of a 10 day course, and reflects in no way how we normally treat our friends. This tape was in a single copy, a tape that was in the camera. This was locked up in a safe (like the ones you find in Oslo Central Station) at Hunwick’s Backpacker Lodge. We borrowed the camera from TV2 to produce film material to their future projects. I agreed to that in the summer of 2008.
How did Nilas Johnsen from VG get a hold of it? John Hunwick, when he heard we were arrested in Congo broke up the safe and stole a lot of our things. Johnsen then bought the tape from Hunwick even though we told him it was our personal property. This reflects how the media has operated while we’ve been in prison.
And then the Norwegian armed forces chief psychologist makes a statement. I take some precautions that I’ve only heard this on a bad phone line here in Congo, but I think it’s correct when he meant in his wisdom that the 10 minutes he saw of our 10 days course was “embarrassing and old fashioned” and “amateurish”. I personally thinks it’s embarrassing of a psychologist to comment about a stolen tape that’s only purpose is to destroy us, without thinking what kind of a mental strain it has been for us doomed in Congo. Also I think it’s embarrassing that the armed force chief psychologist thinks that the training I (and others) got in the professional British army has been through amateurish. I’m actually quite proud of having served in that kind of a professional and skilled department in England. Even though the Norwegian armed forces think they’re amateurs.
I personally, in my humble opinion think that the armed forces with a better mental training and with training in coping with stress could be better suited for trips to Afghanistan. Maybe they wouldn’t come home as nervous wrecks. But then again I’m not a psychologist in the Norwegian armed forces who have a responsibility to make sure that only the young men who are mentally prepared gets to serve abroad.
Bank robbery:
In regards to bank robbery or attacking strategic targets I’m not sure if it’s the Ugandan intelligence or the newspapers who literally buys their stories, who has the biggest fantasy. I want to remind you that in Congo they use Congolese franc. So if we filled a fictive truck full of these, the truck would still be worth more. In Congo, as in many African countries it’s difficult to get American dollars because of the financial crisis and that includes the banks. It’s empty, something the media and the Foreign Ministry all have experienced. And in regards to the fact that there are 17000 soldiers, 600 kilometres out of the country and only one usable road through one of the most military areas in Africa, I hope everyone understands how unserious this story and the so called plan is. That we were supposedly to plan this crime wearing UN beret, as the only two non French-speaking UN employers in Congo, and then scam our way through about 10 or so military check points with a bag filled with Congolese francs, as you by the way can only use in Congo, is just too stupid. These stories deserve some kind of a price….
More about the media:
There are a lot of cases I want to comment, regarding the media, the way we’ve been treated here in Congo, the trial, the evidence and the two victims/witnesses/informants/suspects.
I want to focus on the media now, as we have got these articles printed out to us. There are probably a lot more articles I don’t know about.
Tore Bergsaker from Dagbladet had a reportage that Aftenpostens editor Per Anders Madsen referred to in his chronicle. In Bergsakers interview and reportage with the “famous mercenary Eben Barlow”, Barlow makes some comments about us. The word amateur is mentioned a few times, and he thinks that if we had a security firm he would have known about it. According to his own book “Against all odds” Barlow tells that he considered a bank robbery in South Africa when he had financial problems. That’s amateurish, but it’s even more embarrassing for a man who has worked for South African intelligence to claim that Tjostolv doesn’t have a security firm, when we have all the legal papers, and it has existed since 2007. Bergsakers reportage was filled with wrong information about Barlow, who is by the way an intelligent and successful businessman.
Former anchorman from NRK (national television network in Norway) and respected Africa-correspondent Tomm Kristiansen had as far as I know some strong statements about me and Tjostolv. We had “spat in the faces of the mourners” according to him, because we, guilty or not must pay the widow money according to African culture, and that we don’t have enough knowledge about African traditions. The more than eager FAFO researcher Morten Bøås who has apparently expressed his superiority and our incompetence on several occasions agrees with him.
I want to add that Bibishe Kasongo (the widow) is a victim in this terrible case. I give her all my sympathy and I wish that I could talk to her. I’ve been advised very strongly against that, because the military would fabricate something around it, and I’ve understood that she’s not allowed by the military as well. It gave me a lot of pain when I heard that she has money problems, and most of all I think about the pain she’s suffering from loosing her husband. My thought also goes out to her children. Luckily Rune Edvardsen, through his Dina-Foundation organized so that she gets 200 dollars a month, and I’m sure we can make some arrangements with financial aid when we’re not involved in this joke of a “trial”.
And to you Tomm: We are fully aware of the many great African cultures. Tjostolv has actually lived in Africa for 5 years, and started a company as the only Norwegian investment in Uganda. He is extremely interested and well travelled in Africa. Myself I have clocked 2 intense years in a lot of African countries. We are in Africa because we are interested in and love Africa.
I suspect on the other hand that both Kristiansen and the expert Bøås have been over eager, because our Congolese legal advisers who has to be considered experts when they’re in fact African, advised us against giving any money now. That would be admitting guilt according to them, and the military would use that exactly like they did now with Tjostolv in a psychotic and drugged state at the hospital. There he met both the family and colonel Wawara that resulted in the “confessional letter”. I would like to add that I don’t in any circumstances blame the family for this, only the military.
We actually asked our Congolese advisers for money to organize an “obuntu” a while ago, but we were warned against it. But thanks for asking.
Facts about SIG:
Special Intervention Group (U) LTD is a legally registered company in Uganda since January 2007. Tjostolv started and owns it together with the Ugandan Ewedde Saidi Hamisi. I, Joshua have been an unregistered and on paper unofficial role in the company since the fall of 2007, as a representative in Europe and as an acting co-chief in Uganda.
The company has had several paid employees, but I have because of a lack of a working permit in Uganda worked more on a voluntarily basis, unpaid. The company is completely independent from SIG in Norway, but has earlier collaborated with Torgeir Friksen as he describes it himself.
The company SIG (U) LTD has approvals from Norwegian police and all Ugandan authorities, and has worked together with Ugandan police on some training. We have papers to prove this.
The company has had several job interests, specifically events (in co operation with several other companies), escort, bodyguard service in rural areas and rental service of military, safety advising and support to police/military or companies.
- Events
- Bodyguard/escort in rural areas
- Military/safety advising and support
In addition the company has been contacted several times by more or less serious actors for training or tactical guidance and planning. This includes other safety companies or police/military. The company has like all other serious safety organisations paid close attention to the development in the region and offered safety analyzes for clients.
Pictures in the media:
There have been a lot of pictures that they in suspicious ways have gotten their hands on from Uganda. According to the Ugandan intelligence these pictures come from our company-computer that was confiscated for some reason in May/June this year (-09). On some of the “controversial” pictures I (Joshua), Tjostolv and Friksen are wearing military uniforms and berets with a skull on them. We also have guns on some of the pictures.
First I want to say that the pictures being published weren’t with our permission. The pictures, as with the video are our personal property, and I think it was shameful of VG to deliberately buy stolen goods such as the video. The training was on an Island for privacy reasons because of the fact that we could be naked.
Back to the pictures: First of all, most of them are promotion pictures taken with future advertising in mind. This can be seen early, we took them in a training context. Second of all it’s totally legal to wear a uniform at a private shooting range, and it is normal to have guns at a shooting range. I don’t think I have to apologize for that. We actually borrowed a weapon from Hunwick at other trainings.
In regards to the skull-beret, the media insinuates that we had nazi tendencies and interviewed a war historical expert that gave a good summary. I want to remind you all that Prince Harry from the British royal family was himself photographed in a SS-costume at a costume party once. Even though that was unfortunate I don’t think Harry is a nazi.
Unfortunately I have to disappoint the media and say that it wasn’t just the nazis who used the symbol. Mercenaries in Africa in the sixties also used the label in their beret. And as I told you earlier this was promotion pictures. Could it be that we thought of a possible future event, maybe with this theme in Uganda?
I know that many of you are offended by this thought, but remember that one of the worlds largest event companies – Quintessential Event – offers events like “Day of the Jackal” after the famous book of the first assassin tried on president de Gaulle. An assassin event.
It’s just sad with comments saying that “we wanted to live out our fantasies in war role-plays”. I’m sorry but we work actually in the safety business and we don’t need to “live out” any fantasies. Tjostolvs Company is real, our jobs are real and so is our background. We are real and we don’t need to play anything. We have on the other hand been offered a cooperation to coordinate so that people who’d like an exiting week where they get to “be” special soldiers with the real special soldiers (our partners) can try this in exotic Uganda.
Note! Our partners with decades of experience as special soldiers and in the event business, and companies that are listed on the stock exchange in England don’t need to “live out their fantasies” either as some has written.
I want to add that I hope people thinks it’s strange that media can just get their hands on all these pictures and documents both in Congo and Uganda. The truth is that in Africa you can buy anything and most every media there has bought “investigation material” and “evidence”.
According to a journalist we spoke with here in Congo Nilas Johnsen from VG bought Tjostolvs mobile phone from Wawara. After taking/copying the pictures he gave it back, as if he just “borrowed” it. This has been the trend with some of the journalists here in Africa.
Joshua French November 2009
