-Caveat Lector- Tuesday, 17 April, 2001, 06:12 GMT 07:12 UK No child slaves on Benin ship A ship suspected of carrying child slaves has arrived in the West African country of Benin, but there is no sign of the 200-plus children the authorities had said it was carrying. "We will take in the 23 children and we will question them tomorrow, one by one" aid worker Cabinet ministers, police and United Nations officials crowded the dockside in the port of Cotonou for the arrival of the Nigerian-registered Etireno, which has been at the centre of an international search effort since it set sail from Benin two weeks ago. The passengers, who included at least 23 children and about 20 adolescents, disembarked to be looked after by relief organisations. The question now is what has happened to the children. A BBC correspondent says they were either on board the Etireno and have been disembarked somewhere, or else there is a second ship. But since no-one even seems to know its name, the chances of rescuing the children look very slim indeed. A United ntions children's fund (Unicef) co-ordinator said the organisation was "really very frustrated" and increasingly worried about the missing children. "When we heard that [the captain] has a criminal past, we imagined the worst, and the worst is that they could have been thrown overboard," he said. I am not into child slavery, they can not prove it; it is one thing to say and one thing to prove Nigerian captain Lawrence Onome The vessel's 40-year-old Nigerian captain, Lawrence Onome, said no child slaves had been on the ship. "I have not committed any offence that will warrant my arrest," he said. "I am not into child slavery, they cannot prove it. It is one thing to say and one thing to prove". Benin officials said they still needed to speak to the passengers and crew before they could explain the confusion about the suspected slaves' whereabouts. Elizabeth Ponce, a worker with the humanitarian organisation Terre des Hommes, said: "We will take in the 23 children and we will question them one by one." Aid officials had set up a reception centre in CotonuInternational arrest warrants had been issued for the crew of the Etireno on suspicion that they were smuggling children to work as slave labourers. But Social Protection Minister Ramatou Baba Moussa said the Etireno had been confused with a second ship, whose name and current location were unknown. Both vessels had been turned away from Gabon after attempting to dock with illegal migrants on board, she added. Despite international efforts to curb the trade, child slavery persists in West and Central Africa. Human rights activists say the selling of children into slavery is still quite common in impoverished Benin, although it is officially banned. They say parents are often tempted to sell their children for as little as $15 in the hope that they may find work in richer West African states, usually on cocoa and coffee plantations. Thousands of children between the ages of nine and 12 are thought to work on plantations in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ foot tapping mentalism for all ages http://www.mp3.com/theehumancannonball <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
