T
the patriot
Guest
January 2, 2001
‘Disgraced‘ colonel helps free hostages
Six captured in Balkans: Soldier criticized for Somalia now a key NATO negotiator
Andrew Duffy
Ottawa Citizen, with files from The Associated Press
Colonel Serge Labbé, a Canadian soldier criticized for his failures as a commander in Somalia, has helped to win the freedom of six Serb hostages.
Col. Labbé -- the key NATO negotiator in the Balkan region -- met yesterday with Albanian rebel commander Shefket Musliu, whose forces are believed to have seized the six men on Sunday afternoon from a buffer zone between Kosovo and Serbia.
The men were released later the same day and turned over to representatives of the International Red Cross.
The six men were taken hostage while travelling to Kosovo from the town of Presevo in southern Serbia, according to The Associated Press.
Their capture heightened tensions across the region, where Albanian guerrillas continue to clash with forces from southern Serbia in what many fear is a prelude to full-scale warfare.
The Albanian insurgents want to extend the borders of Kosovo to include three predominantly ethnic Albanian towns -- Presevo, Medveja and Bujanovac -- that are now part of southern Serbia.
Col. Labbé reportedly secured assurances from Mr. Musliu to release the Serb hostages once it was confirmed they were not members of the special police.
But while Col. Labbé continues to negotiate on behalf of NATO in the Balkan tinderbox, his appointment to the post is drawing criticism at home.
Art Hanger, the Canadian Alliance defence critic, said Col. Labbé should not be representing Canada overseas after being "disgraced and demoted" by the Somalia inquiry into the murder of a Somali teen by members of the Canadian Airborne Regiment.
Col. Labbé‘s expected promotion to brigadier-general was cancelled following the Somalia revelations.
The inquiry upheld five allegations against the colonel in its 1997 report, which read in part: "We conclude that Col. Labbé failed as a commander."
"I‘ve ceased being amazed at how the Department of National Defence operates at the upper levels," Mr. Hanger said yesterday.
"There‘s no question this man was found unfit to lead at the time of the mission to Somalia ... and now he‘s put in a position of trust?
"I find it, to say the least, unsettling," he said.
Mr. Hanger is joined in that concern by Barry Armstrong, who was the Airborne‘s medical officer and one of the key witnesses at the Somalia inquiry.
Col. Labbé, while commander of the Canadian contingent in Africa, was alleged to have offered a case of Champagne to the first paratrooper to kill a Somali.
"I‘m not sure why Labbé is even still in uniform," Dr. Armstrong, who has retired from the army, said last week. "I don‘t think he‘s best suited to serve Canada‘s interests. In Somalia, he failed to service his troops, his country and the UN mandate."
Dr. Armstrong has alleged one Somali was executed at close range after being wounded.
Col. Labbé has suggested the death, on March 4, 1993, was the result of soldiers confronting two armed, "trained saboteurs," one of whom was injured and the other killed.
A military investigation revealed the two Somalis were unarmed civilians.
Col. Labbé, however, continues to have the backing of his senior commanders. Chief of Defence Staff General Maurice Baril has repeatedly praised him as "the best colonel of the army."
Mr. Hanger said the case of Col. Labbé, more than anything else, is a reflection of a federal government and a Defence Minister "unwilling to make hard decisions."
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-the patriot-
‘Disgraced‘ colonel helps free hostages
Six captured in Balkans: Soldier criticized for Somalia now a key NATO negotiator
Andrew Duffy
Ottawa Citizen, with files from The Associated Press
Colonel Serge Labbé, a Canadian soldier criticized for his failures as a commander in Somalia, has helped to win the freedom of six Serb hostages.
Col. Labbé -- the key NATO negotiator in the Balkan region -- met yesterday with Albanian rebel commander Shefket Musliu, whose forces are believed to have seized the six men on Sunday afternoon from a buffer zone between Kosovo and Serbia.
The men were released later the same day and turned over to representatives of the International Red Cross.
The six men were taken hostage while travelling to Kosovo from the town of Presevo in southern Serbia, according to The Associated Press.
Their capture heightened tensions across the region, where Albanian guerrillas continue to clash with forces from southern Serbia in what many fear is a prelude to full-scale warfare.
The Albanian insurgents want to extend the borders of Kosovo to include three predominantly ethnic Albanian towns -- Presevo, Medveja and Bujanovac -- that are now part of southern Serbia.
Col. Labbé reportedly secured assurances from Mr. Musliu to release the Serb hostages once it was confirmed they were not members of the special police.
But while Col. Labbé continues to negotiate on behalf of NATO in the Balkan tinderbox, his appointment to the post is drawing criticism at home.
Art Hanger, the Canadian Alliance defence critic, said Col. Labbé should not be representing Canada overseas after being "disgraced and demoted" by the Somalia inquiry into the murder of a Somali teen by members of the Canadian Airborne Regiment.
Col. Labbé‘s expected promotion to brigadier-general was cancelled following the Somalia revelations.
The inquiry upheld five allegations against the colonel in its 1997 report, which read in part: "We conclude that Col. Labbé failed as a commander."
"I‘ve ceased being amazed at how the Department of National Defence operates at the upper levels," Mr. Hanger said yesterday.
"There‘s no question this man was found unfit to lead at the time of the mission to Somalia ... and now he‘s put in a position of trust?
"I find it, to say the least, unsettling," he said.
Mr. Hanger is joined in that concern by Barry Armstrong, who was the Airborne‘s medical officer and one of the key witnesses at the Somalia inquiry.
Col. Labbé, while commander of the Canadian contingent in Africa, was alleged to have offered a case of Champagne to the first paratrooper to kill a Somali.
"I‘m not sure why Labbé is even still in uniform," Dr. Armstrong, who has retired from the army, said last week. "I don‘t think he‘s best suited to serve Canada‘s interests. In Somalia, he failed to service his troops, his country and the UN mandate."
Dr. Armstrong has alleged one Somali was executed at close range after being wounded.
Col. Labbé has suggested the death, on March 4, 1993, was the result of soldiers confronting two armed, "trained saboteurs," one of whom was injured and the other killed.
A military investigation revealed the two Somalis were unarmed civilians.
Col. Labbé, however, continues to have the backing of his senior commanders. Chief of Defence Staff General Maurice Baril has repeatedly praised him as "the best colonel of the army."
Mr. Hanger said the case of Col. Labbé, more than anything else, is a reflection of a federal government and a Defence Minister "unwilling to make hard decisions."
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-the patriot-
