The Ambassador Page #2

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So he used force -

- to remove those

who tried to make an obstacle.

He tried to put them away,

so they say that he killed them.

So with this passport we can go

to the Foreign Ministry to show it -

- and another department

as diplomat.

In the diplomat world they say,

if you're not at the table -

- you're on the menu.

So we have to get to the table.

To the places

where decisions are being made.

Because I don't want to be like

an air guitar diplomat.

You've been working for the Chinese?

They're difficult to cooperate with.

Very difficult.

Tell you what. I think there's a war

going on between the West and China.

It's a cold war, but it is a war, and

the front line is right here in Africa.

Because the Chinese are coming.

They want all the minerals -

- the natural resources.

They have no moral.

- They have no moral! Exactly!

- Now my head is bursting with ideas.

I have so many ideas,

so many visions.

We must work

on the diamond mining.

A diplomat at heart, I wanted to get

as many diamonds as possible.

Diamonds are a popular, secret side

business amongst Bangui diplomats.

Some years ago the Spanish

and Greek consuls were charged -

- with massive tax fraud

with diamonds.

The Spanish consul had to flee at

night assisted by the Italian consul.

Don't touch any weapons.

Don't touch any diamonds.

And don't touch

the employees' women.

- Everything else goes.

- That's the advice I need.

I wanted to follow in their footsteps

with my business partner to be -

- Monsieur Dalkia Gilbert

who came to my hotel late at night.

Also there to greet him

was my secretary Maria.

M. Gilbert, an old,

seasoned diamond miner -

- had been traveling for days

from his mines to meet with me.

Like most of the diamond miners

in Central Africa -

- he'd been close to bankruptcy after

the collapse of the diamond market.

Another problem was his attachment

with the former President Patasse.

He was removed after a coup by the

current president, General Bozize.

Now Gilbert was busy sucking up

to President Bozize -

- who had accepted him as a

candidate for member of parliament.

Gilbert was looking for business

angels from abroad and proposed -

- I should bring him a bulldozer

to assist his men in the mines.

Now he can choose the one he likes.

When he tells me "I like that one,"

I will call Europe -

- and it will be flown into Bangui.

Today, or when

you choose a bulldozer -

- M. Mads will call Europe.

M. Gilbert and I meet

with the lawyer and make a contract.

Let's talk about the contract.

In two weeks, you can have

millions of stones.

Because of the water.

It has rained a lot this year.

- Understand?

- No.

He says that the work

with that mine is so far -

- that as soon as the water is gone,

they'll dig out the bloody diamonds.

He needs about

10m CFA francs in cash.

That could get the diamonds out

of the ground in a few weeks.

I tried to mine some, but I need...

I met with some businessmen today...

I can meet with many others,

but I trust you.

Many businessmen want

to cooperate with him.

- Gentleman deal.

- But he believes in you.

Thank you, M. Gilbert. Now it begins

for real. Business for businessmen.

Of course, diplomats in Africa can

not openly deal with diamonds.

My cover was a plan to open up

a match factory in the CAR.

A brilliant business idea, since the

country is so undeveloped and poor -

- they even have to import eggs.

For this I brought in a match-making

expert from India named Sumeet.

It's not very difficult when

you take a matchbox construction...

A matchbox is very small -

- but the construction of a matchbox

involves a lot of processes.

Making the splints, and then you make

the outer box, the inner box -

- dipping the splints in chemicals...

- A lot of processes.

- That's why we brought you here.

The former Safari Hotel in Bangui is

the best example -

- of how time moves backwards

in the CAR.

Here, in an old recording of

Emperor Bokassa, you see the hotel -

- overlooking the Obangui River

that borders the Congo.

The hotel was known

as "the Jewel of Bokassa".

Since the fall of the crazy emperor,

it's been crumbling to pieces -

- barely holding

its shaky structure together.

In my ambassador suite to be

there used to be a nightclub.

Now it was going to be the

headquarters of a Liberian diplomat.

Did you have this framed down here?

Damn, it's crooked.

I sent out invitations to meet

with my fellow diplomats in Bangui -

- and high-ranking people

from government.

You have your business cards?

As a dedicated diplomat, I didn't

mind filming my meetings in secret.

This comes with the territory.

Hello, Monsieur.

One of my first meetings was -

- with the head of state security

of the Central African Republic.

- A little gin tonic or a vodka tonic?

- Vodka.

Straight?

I'm in charge of all missions -

- regarding

the interior security of the state.

Espionage, counter-espionage,

surveillance and counter-surveillance.

- He's a former Foreign Legionary?

- I served 26 years in the Legion.

He served 26 years

in the Foreign Legion.

The French made me a French national

for services rendered in 1986.

They took away my passport in 2006.

That says it all.

In December 2006 I was indicted

by France for mercenary activities.

France has always considered

the CAR as its savings bank.

They believe that everything

in the ground is theirs.

And no one else's.

It's a bankbook that you don't touch.

It belongs to France and no one else.

That's still the attitude.

In the underground we have copper,

iron, manganese -

- cobalt, uranium, red mercury...

- They have all kinds of minerals.

- We know where it is.

But every time we ask for a grant

or aid to start mining it -

- we encounter problems.

- You're stopped?

- But how? What do they do?

When you want to stop someone

from running -

- you put a stone in their shoe.

If you want to stop a state

from developing...

The resources used to run after the

rebels can't be used for development.

This is Ernesto, my tennis coach.

We're playing a double

against the Indian consul Paul -

- and a man from the French energy

consortium Areva who was in town -

- because the French, now backed

with Chinese money, were ready -

- to explore the legendary uranium

mine at Bakouma close to Bangui.

Emperor Bokassa used to threaten

to sell the uranium to the Chinese -

- whenever he wanted to put

a squeeze on the French.

But now the French and the Chinese

have joined hands at Bakouma.

Paul, the Indian consul,

was almost an exact copy -

- of the man

I was making myself into.

He was also mixing business

and diplomacy in bewildering ways.

Thank you, Paul. Fantastic to win

my first tennis match in the CAR.

To my amazement, he'd also had

plans to open a match factory here.

Start with the matches.

I'm curious why you didn't do it.

I told you it was extremely difficult.

The country is not secure, so...

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