SA: Mann's claims laughable

2008-06-19 20:37

Johannesburg - South Africa has rejected suggestions that it gave tacit support for a failed military coup in Equatorial Guinea in 2004.

This allegation was "as preposterous as it is laughable", the Foreign Affairs Department said in a statement on Thursday.

The assertion of South Africa's support for the coup came from Simon Mann, currently on trial for allegedly masterminding a failed coup attempt.

As the trial entered its third day in Malabo on Thursday, Mann said he was only a junior member of the team that planned to overthrow Equatorial Guinea's government.

"We reiterate our view that Simon Mann must bear the consequences of his own actions," said SA's Foreign Affairs Department.

SA has enacted the Foreign Military Assistance Act which expressly prohibits the involvement of its citizens in military activities outside the borders of the country without due authorisation, said the department.

"In this regard, South Africa will never, tacitly or expressly support the use of mercenaries to bring about fundamental political changes in any country in our continent or elsewhere in the world including Equatorial Guinea."

- SAPA