Henri Poncet

The Lieutenant-general of army Henri Poncet (born the October 4th 1949 with Oran (Algeria)) is a general officer French having directed several operations in Africa, in particular with the Rwanda and in Ivory Coast.

Biography

It is from the weapon of the Troupes of navy, speciality parachutist. He is the French general more decorated with the country.

In 1994, it directs the operation '' Amaryllis '', for the evacuation from abroad present at the Rwanda, at the beginning of the genocide.

As from February 2001, it directs the Commandement of special operations (COS) French.

From May 2004 at June 2005, it directs the operation '' Licorne '' in Ivory Coast. It is him which is in station during the confrontations opposing the French Army to the partisans of Laurent Gbagbo in November 2004, after the surprised attack of the base of Bouaké by two Sukhoï controlled by Belorusse mercenaries or Ukrainian.

The July 13rd 2005, it is decorated by the President with the Republic Jacques Chirac.

It also was “to advise Africa” of the Ministers for defense Charles Million, then Alain Richard.

This general 4 stars is a character very disputed with the center even of the French Army. If it has unconditional defenders, other officers qualify its acts of “ methods of hooligan ”. One also reproaches him for not giving an account of the real situation on the ground to the political officials.

The Mahé business

The version of the force Unicorn

According to the version of the French Army, the May 13rd 2005, Firmin Mahé, shown to be with the head of a band of cutters of road (of the criminals) is localized. This man is required for several crimes (at least five died, nine wounded and four Viol S); he succeeds in fleeing, and the soldiers of Licorne install a surveillance device. Around 6 p.m., Mahé opens fire on the French soldiers, the latter retort and wound seriously Mahé. This last dies during its transfer towards the hospital of Man.

The internal survey of the French Army

A rumor lets believe that this version would cover a bur implying the French soldiers.

The October 11th the general Bernard Thorette, chief of staff of the French Army, learns by the call from the Général Gerard Bezacier, based with Rennes that the official version could not be exact and be partly covered by the Poncet general. This information comes from its nephew captain in service with Montpellier. The Thorette general makes contact the following day with Jacques Baillet, the prosecutor of the Tribunal to the armies of Paris (TAP), only French court being able to inform of the crimes committed by French soldiers abroad.

According to the review the Point , a military source would have indicated to the Agence France-Press (AFP), that Firmin Mahé, wounded slightly with the leg was choked with a plastic bag by a French soldier then transferred to the hospital from Man, the west of the Ivory Coast . According to Release , the order which would have been given by the Poncet general, transmitted to the soldiers, would have been the following: Make transport it to the infirmary and take your time. You included/understood me.

The decision to suspend the Poncet general

The business is so serious that the Poncet general is suspended, seems it temporarily, (the definite decision must be taken at the latest in four months) by the Minister for Defense, Madam Michele Alliot-Marie the October 17th, for serious deficiencies with the law, the military payments and the orders . Two other officers were suspended, a colonel, the chief of police of the 13th battalion of Alpine hunters and a regimental sergeant major, the section head which would have drawn on the aforementioned Mahé .

Legal sanctions and continuations

The November 2nd 2005 the Poncet general, and his assistant operations, the general Renaud de Malaussène were the object of the definite decision of the authorities of the Republic: blame and the change. The Poncet general was transferred to a station of Operations manager to the Direction of the military information (DRM). In the facts, they are in a wall cupboard, they will not have responsibilities for command a senior officer declared than AFP. This decision does not prejudge a later legal decision.

The alleged leaders of the murder of Firmin Mahé, the Raugel regimental sergeant major and two men of the row (the lance sergeant Schnier and the sergeant Ben Youssouf), were suspended and will be translated in front of the military Council of investigation. Their chief of police, the colonel Eric Burgaud, will be intended by the military Council of investigation to know so yes or not there was an order to kill Firmin Mahé.

November 28th, after the military Council of investigation established that the regimental sergeant major and the two privates were quite present in the armoured tank at the time of the death of Firmin Mahé, were placed in police custody for voluntary Homicide. The next day, it is colonel Eric Burgaud who is in his turn placed as a police custody. According to Le Monde of the December 2nd, it would have explicitly blamed the Poncet general. Colonel Burgaud would have declared with the investigators of the murder squad of Paris that the Poncet general an implicit order having led to died of Mahé would have given .

The December 13rd, the Poncet general was put in examination for voluntary complicity of manslaughter .

It should be noted that a priori the officers blamed is likely, with minima, to be continued in accordance with article 40 of the Criminal procedure code which specifies that any authority made up, any public officer or civil servant who, in the performance of his duties, acquires the knowledge of a crime or an offense is held to deliver opinion without delay to the public prosecutor and to transmit of them to this magistrate all the information, official reports and acts which are relative there .

Colonel Burgaud and the Poncet general were never placed in detention pending trial just as the driver of the vehicle, Lianrifou Ben Youssouf, continue for complicity of this crime. The lance sergeant Johanes Schnier and the Raugel regimental sergeant major, put in examination for “voluntary manslaughter”, were given in freedom after respectively 5 and 7 months of detention pending trial.

Interrogations on this business

Many commentators throughout the world and in particular in Ivory Coast wonder about the severity of such an exceptional measurement (but it is not the first time that a soldier of such a row is suspended) and wonder other facts whether did not determine the decision of the minister - and in particular the shootings of the French Army in crowd with Abidjan in November 2004, for which complaints could be in hand. Thus Le Figaro of the October 20th 2005 writing: Is this the water drop which made overflow the vase, the file of the general being much heavier?

More than one year after the facts, the French Army still did not give precise details (identity of the victims, testimonys, dates and places) on the facts which would be reproached Firmin Mahé. A survey carried out by the Le Monde newspaper seems to indicate that the charges of murder and rape in its opposition rest exclusively on the remarks of notable of the area with which it was in conflict. The journalists also found the body of Mahé whose army had lost the trace but the results of the autopsy were not made public.

Random links: