10.01.03

Song

"Bissau Nando"

Innocent...

But what is innocent in this war?

My Bissau understands nothing that is happening. I can swear that on my life...

10.02.03

LORDS OF WAR

10.02.24

Guinea Bissau fought the longest independence war in Africa. In June 1998, a military revolt began after the army chief-of-staff was sacked, accused of arms trafficking to rebels in Senegal. The disgruntled military demanded better salaries, better pensions for the elderly, a more dignified life for all those who fought Portuguese colonialism for 11 years and won independence for their nation.

10.02.52

90% of the army joined the mutiny. Battle-hardened veterans of the colonial war joined too. An isolated President Nino Vieira called on his neighbours for help. The Senegalese and Guinea-Conakry armies sent more than 3,000 troops to prop up a regime no one wants. For almost 9 months the capital Bissau was besieged by guerrillas, fighting a war with little incentive beyond bitterness and poverty. They sent two of the most powerful armies in West Africa packing.

10.03.22

Soldiers walking through the bush

Major Almane Alan Camará. He's one of the commanders who surrounded the capital. Fighting continued here until a ceasefire in February 1999 when an interim government was sworn in. Elections due in March have been postponed until September '99.

10.03.38

Camará was born in the Gambia, educated at a catholic mission and converted to Islam as an adult. He's an educated man. He speaks English, French , Portuguese, Creole and his ethnic language.

10.03.57

Man getting out of a car

Captain Bubo Natchuto, from Balanta, is married with five children. He started fighting during the colonial war when he 14 years old. After independence he was sent to Portugal, where he attended a training school for Fusiliers. When he returned to Bissau, he was arrested on charges of ethnic cleansing, when the army killed 39 Balanta people in 1986. He was in jail for five years, until he was "forgiven" by Nino Vieira's regime. Like many, he feels he was a scapegoat.

14.04.34

Major Lassana Ni Danny is 42 years old, and from the Balanta ethnic group too. He also started fighting when he was 14 years old. He was involved in the guerrilla fighting in the north and east of Guinea Bissau. He was a regular at the front line during the colonial war. By the end of the fighting, he was commander of the battalion. He was made deputy Chief of State in Bafatá. Arrested and tortured by Nino Vieira's regime, he left the army and worked for many years on a sailing boat. He is one of the commanders of the easterly wing of troops. His motto in life? He says "it's better to die fighting".

10.05.18

Captain Bidom Namomtche is commander of the 3rd detachment, in the central wing of rebel troops. The area he commanded was known as "the graveyard", where there are the graves of some of the 2,000 Senegalese allegedly killed during the fighting.

This old man with two wives and seven children took up arms again at the ripe old age of 52. Once he commanded a platoon of 15 men. Nowadays he commands 157 men. He never had any special relationship with Nino Vieira nor chief-of-staff Ansumane Mané. He is simply a soldier. He chain smokes a pipe. 

10.06.01

Major Tagme Na Way. A terrible hatred welled up after being involved in state sponsored human rights abuses. He was imprisoned for five years and severely tortured by Nino Vieira's regime. This war has given him the opportunity to get revenge. He is one of the most fierce fighters at the disposal  of the Military Junta.

10.06.27

These men went to war to end a political culture based on fear.

10.06.34

interview with Tagme Na Way

Int: Was Nino afraid of the Balanta people?

T: yes, he was afraid of the Balantas because the Balantas are very strong men, brave men during fighting.

Int: what happened to you in prison?

T: I was in prison for 10 months. After the trial took place I was sentenced to death by firing squad. They killed six people and left other six alive. We were deported to the island of Bijagos, where I stayed for six years.

Int: You escaped the firing squad.

T: yes

Int: do you know why?

T: Well, they forgave six and killed other six, they commuted the death sentence to life sentence.

Int: but you got out. Was it Nino who forgave you?

T: No, it wasn't Nino. It was the court.

Int: were you tortured?

10.07.29

T: Severely tortured. I was given the lid of a jug with water in every 24 hours.

Int: were you very thirsty?

T: yes. And hungry. I had a handful of food to last me 24 hours.

Int: were you beaten?

10.07.58

Whistling

T: Torture... plenty of it. Electric shocks, batons, a lot of torture.

Int: Had you stopped talking to Nino by this point?

T: A long time ago. We stopped talking in 1985 because Nino is a bad man, he is a savage. Nino is a bandit. He is no good. So many years of fighting... I started fighting in 1962. In 1964 I was a commander. A good commander. I was the commander in the bush in many different regions of Guinea Bissau.

10.08.56

I had 58 men. Of those just 30 survived, the others died. I was given 120 more men. Between 1970 and 1972 I had 100 out of 120 left.

Int: was the war against the Portuguese very hard?

T: yes, very hard. We lost many men. They lost their legs on the way because of the landmines. Sometimes we would stumble across Portuguese ambushes and we would lose one, two, three men. We had wounded people and those who would lose legs and hands.

10.09.37

Int: Were you ever hurt? by landmines?

T: yes, four times. I fell on a landmine once and my clothes got completely burnt. All I had left was my gun.  Another time a bullet went through my leg. The third time I got hit in my back. The fourth time in my arm.

Int: and what did you get out of so much sacrifice?

T: nothing. Only ingratitude.

Interview with Lassana Ni Danny

Lassana: The country was left in poverty, it didn't move forward, it was always left behind, and the people know that everything in this country stagnates. They made the military dig drains, serve as guards, that was the work that the military did in Guinea Bissau. And that cannot be. That is why we decided that things would have to be this way.

This situation has to change. Nino does not want change. He called in Senegal and the Guinea Conakry troops and wanted to destroy Guinea Bissau. We, as former  combatants, as military men, took up arms to defend our country.

Int: But the war is not over, the Senegalese troops have not gone.

Lassana: yes, they are still here. Until Senegal  leaves, the war will not be over.

10.11.29

Interview with Bubo Natchuto

int: before the rebellion did the former army soldiers try to talk to president Nino Vieira?

Bubo: yes. We spoke to president Nino Vieira, arranged a meeting with president Nino Vieira and he did not turn up. He did not accept that he had to meet with those who fought for freedom and country. We talked to him.

10.12.04

On 5th June, Nino made a speech and said that he would always rule Guinea Bissau and his son would do so after him.

Int: Was your life bad?

Bubo: I had no pre-conditions.

Int: what is your house like?

Bubo:It is not so bad, but I have no furniture or anything, because I have no money to buy it, not even a television or a radio. A man who fought for 11 years.

10.12.43

Interview with Bidom Namontche

Int: You should be retired. Why did you take up arms again?

Int: Through anger. Anger, but it is also a sacrifice. That is what made me take up arms again. We take up arms but that is not our destiny. We thought that once we took up arms he would recognise us, that within 24 hours he would talk to us, sit at a table and everything would be over. But he threatened us with war and we accepted the threat. We knew we had an advantage, we knew we are accepted, we knew that we would do whatever the people wanted us to do. That is what we are going to do. When we saw that he was bringing in foreign troops, it gave us more strength.

int: were you scared that troops from Senegal and Guinea Conakry were in Guinea Bissau?

Bidom: Me? if I was in those countries I might have been scared. But not here.

10.14.09

Interview with Almame Alan Camará

Int: do you think that Nino has forgotten his old comrades-in-arms?

Almame: I think that he has forgotten nothing. He cannot forget anything that happened. He cannot forget what he should do. But Nino became evil, an ungrateful person, a person I cannot describe right now. Nino knows very well what he is doing. He is very aware. But there is something I must stress: Nino, puts assets before people.

Int: You think it was ambition?

Almane: It was ambition for material assets. That is all I can say.  On 7th June, when the  military uprising took place, how many people called Nino in order to talk to him? To ask him to give the military better conditions, especially the mutilated soldiers, with no eyes, no feet, hands. What did he do? Nothing.

10.15.32

There are people whose feet were amputated, or their hand. And what can they do? Nothing. They receive 12.000 or 9.000 francs depending on their rank.

Int: That's a retired soldier's pension?

- Yes.

Int: How much does a bag of rice cost?

- A bag of rice cost 11.500 francs at the time of the uprising. Those who receive 9.000 what can they do? They have families, a wife, children,

10.06.03

you know what African relationships are like. All those who can´t work will just rely on one person and that person is responsible for feeding them, clothing them, everything society demands. This transformed Guinea Bissau into a mountain of corruption.  Everyone is prepared to do anything in order to look after those who depend on them. So Guinea Bissau became a very corrupt country. An extremely corrupt country. And Guinea Bissau became poorer, despite being a very rich country. And why did it became poor? It became poor because they took the money away, the money is only for those at the top.

10.17.05

During 18 years of presidency, Nino Vieira created a wealth of silent enemies.  The career of Guinea Bissau's president is marked by untold treachery, namely against army officers and the most influential of the Balanta ethnic group. These treacheries were unforgivable with history in mind: it was the Balantas who fought hardest in the war against the Portuguese, it was the Balantas who overthrew Luis Cabral in the coup d´etat that brought Nino Vieira to power.

10.17.34

If Nino had remained faithful to his men, he would be a proud leader today. In almost nine months of war, the Guinea Bissau rebels and former soldiers, drove back the armies of Senegal and Guinea Conakry. The rebels controlled 90% of the country, and the capital Bissau became the last stronghold of President Vieira. The rebels were determined to win.

10.17.55

Tagma talking in the bush

I am waiting for the comrades to arrive, they have to help us, so that we can surprise the enemy. There were 5 dead in the Bairro do Irak. We are resisting.

10.18.25

In the bush, you can´t raise your voice. The enemy is in trenches a few dozen metres away.

10.18.42

conversation in French between Tagma, a soldier and another from Casamance

- Let them go, don´t move, keep alert. As soon as they come close you start shooting.

- 18.55 The moment we see they've started their advance, then we go...

-OK...

10.19.08

Masters in guerrilla war, the men who fought against the Portuguese army re-live moments of glory, redemption, and revenge. For many of these rebels, those humiliated and tortured were friends.

10.19.22

Interview with Tagme Na Way

Tagme: Robaldo de Pina Araujo, Joao Monteiro, Afonso Te, many of them, there's no need to name names. Abulai Camará, Iansu Djamba... I can´t stand it, if I try to describe the situation I´ll start crying. But God is strong. We took up arms once again, to fight against that dog Nino. God permitting, today or tomorrow, this thing will explode and we will enter Bissau. I will pounce on them over at the palace.

10.20.09

Int: Do you consider the fight for independence a fight for the birth of the nation, whilst this war is a war of hatred?

Tagma: It is not a war of hatred. A lot of people joined the Junta and did not do it because of hatred. But for me personally, I am in a war of hatred against Nino. That´s me personally. If I was in charge of the Military Junta, things would be different. Whatever Ansumane says we obey, he is the junta´s supreme commander. But if I was in his shoes things would not be the same. No one would be allowed to stick their nose in. If anyone came to talk to me I would send them away. I wouldn´t rest until I got hold of Nino with my own hands.

10.21.01

Interview with Bidom Namontche

Int: did you ever think your soldiers could win a war against the Senegalese army?

Bidom: I was absolutely certain of it. The Guinea Bissau army... each soldier, each former soldier, is worth ten Senegalese soldiers.

10.21.28

Interview with Bubo

Int: did you kill many Senegalese?

Bubo: Many. Even today I have the heads of a Senegalese captain and of a Guinea Conakry captain. I kept them.

Int: You kept their heads?

Bubo: Under the bed.

10.21.39

Int: Are they your war trophies?

Bubo: I killed him over here on the 19th, I expelled the Senegalese forces, captured a lot of provisions. On the 30th I forced the Senegalese further back. This uniform belonged to a Senegalese soldier. The belt, the knife, everything. I stole it.

Int: Whose uniform was it?

Bubo: A Senegalese soldier called N´Djai. His name is written here.

Int: did the person who owned the uniform die?

Bubo: he died, he died. That is when we took the rucksacks, two rocket propelled grenades and so on.

10.22.20

This war began the day before the Guinea parliament published a report on arms trafficking. It examined the weapons given by officers in the Guinea Bissau army to the separatist guerrillas of Casamance, a region in south Senegal. Those guerrillas had been destabilising Senegal for 16 years with the support, sometimes tacit, sometimes overt, of the Guinean government. With the outbreak of war, the report was never published. Nino Vieira tried to pin the blame on his army chief Ansumane Mané. But in April 1999, the inquiry cleared Mané, and held Vieira criminally responsible for the arms sales. The military had said all along that the villain of this tale is Nino Vieira.

10.23.28

In May 1999, the rebels stormed the Presidential palace in the capital, Bissau, demanding that Vieira stand trial for corruption. The President has asked for, and received, asylum in Portugal. But that depends on whether the rebels will ask him to leave.

10.24.00

Interview with Almame Alan Camará

Almame: Firstly, we are aware. We are very aware. The fighters for freedom and country, the Cabral fighters, are very aware. We are the ones who liberated the nation but Nino says that the fighters are stupid, can´t write, but Nino himself he has only studied to year 4. Year 4!

Int: Do you believe he started the traffic of arms to Casamance?

Alamme: That is very difficult to say. We have to wait until we read the report on arms trafficking. Then you will know who was the author of the arms trafficking. That will confirm everything.

10.24.56

The report did indeed confirm everything, and parliament voted to put Vieira on trial. He is a man who knows how to hold onto power, only allowing a multi-party system in 1994 and having survived four attempted coups. But the military will not rest until Vieira steps aside.

10.25.20

Lassana:

He can´t stay. Whatever the people of Guinea Bissau want, Nino doesn´t. He only does what he wants to do. That cannot be.

10.25.36

Bidom

Bidom: There wasn´t a day which wasn´t difficult. Since 7th June there wasn´t a day which wasn´t hard.

10.25.59

The foreign troops may have gone, replaced by ECOMOG peacekeepers, but for this small, impoverished country, and the refugees created by the war, it's going to be an insecure year.