NZ hostage will not be executed, say his captors

African rebels holding a New Zealander they claim was hired to assassinate two of their leaders say he will not be executed.

A commander of the New Forces rebels of Ivory Coast had vowed on Monday that Hamish Sands would be handed over to "the people" for punishment, having established himself as a would-be murderer.

But New Forces spokesman Amadou Kone said yesterday that Mr Sands would not be executed.

And early today, Mr Kone told the Herald that his group would meet United Nations leaders on Saturday to discuss whether to free Mr Sands.

Mr Kone said the prisoner was "very okay" and a letter from him would be sent to his family today.

Asked if the rebels considered him a threat, Mr Kone said: "Yes, we think Mr Sands is a very dangerous man."

Mr Kone said the rebels had contacted the Red Cross and the UN mission in Ivory Coast to notify them of Mr Sands' detention.

Asked earlier by Associated Press if his group would kill the 36-year-old former Hawkes Bay man, Mr Kone laughed and said, "No."

Mr Sands is being held in the rebel stronghold of Bouake.

Red Cross and UN officials have visited Mr Sands, but the New Zealand Government fears his French Foreign Legion past may hamper rescue efforts.

Foreign Minister Phil Goff said the Government welcomed the Red Cross' prompt response to pleas for help in the volatile West African country, but feared confirmation Mr Sands once served with the Foreign Legion would not aid his cause.

Neither would "a great degree of exaggeration", which he believed may have been fuelled by Mr Sands' alleged mental instability, including a claim, denied by the Defence Force, that he had served as a captain with the New Zealand Army.

"That exaggeration obviously isn't helping Mr Sands' situation where he is at this time," Mr Goff said.

"Our hope would be that his captors would see him not as a mercenary bent on assassination, but rather a person who is perhaps suffering under some illusions."

Although New Zealand has no diplomatic links with Ivory Coast, let alone the rebels, Mr Goff said the British Ambassador there had been in contact with Mr Sands' captors and assured he was being held under reasonable conditions.

A spokesman at the Foreign Legion's headquarters in Marseille told the Herald Mr Sands served with the organisation for nine months until August 1990, when he was discharged for allegedly being inept and stubborn, and refusing to obey orders.

He completed four months' basic training before joining an operational battalion, the "4th Regiment Etranger", near Toulouse, but commanders soon decided he was not suited for military life.

The spokesman said the New Zealander's contract should have run for five years and it took several months to work through his discharge, but he never served on operations outside France.

He denied that Mr Sands was trained as a sniper, diver or paratrooper, as alleged by the rebels.

Newstalk ZB quoted a legion spokesman as saying Mr Sands drank "hard", although the official did not know if he had mental problems.

"He had an awful mentality, but I don't know if he was crazy," he said.

The French Foreign Legion is a fighting unit made up of volunteers of any nationality. Many who join the legion have chequered pasts.

"The legionnaire is seldom an angel but never a criminal," a section about the legion on the website of the French Embassy in the United States says.

The hard-nosed military unit was not the only organisation to find Mr Sands difficult to handle.

Marten Heesterman, Mr Sands' former teacher at Havelock North Primary School in the 1970s, said he was "probably the most difficult child I ever had to deal with" in 40 years of teaching.

"He demanded attention 100 per cent of the time. He wasn't rude but would shuffle his foot on the floor or I'd hear him constantly rustling paper.

"He was unobtrusive, yet he had me tearing my hair out. After two terms I said I couldn't teach him any more and he moved to another school where a teacher thought she could handle him."

But Mr Heesterman said Mr Sands lasted there only days, and was understood to have been sent to a special school in Hamilton.

He said Mr Sands was a lonely boy with no friends or social pastimes, but with enough intelligence to know what he was doing, although not physically violent or capable of harming others.

His parents, who are believed to have adopted him, were "very nice people".

Mr Sands' Wellington-based sister, Catherine Sands-Wearing, who confirmed at a news conference on Monday that her brother had behavioural and psychological problems, said her family did not know what he had been doing for the past 20 years, although an email arrived from him two weeks ago.

The rebels claim Mr Sands entered Ivory Coast on February 13 and was caught on a bus in their northern-held territory on Friday with a satellite navigation system, body armour and phone numbers of Government politicians and international mercenary companies.

Red Cross spokesman Kim Gordon-Bates said from Ivory Coast he could not discuss Mr Sands' physical or mental health, but the agency was satisfied he was being held in conditions which met acceptable standards.

French Foreign Legion

* What is it?

A branch of the regular French Army, numbering about 8500 troops and formed in 1831. It differs from other military units as it accepts foreign nationals.

* How do you join?

Applicants must be aged between 17 and 40, be physically fit and hold a valid official identity card. The ability to speak French is not required - it will be learned. In the past, it had a reputation for attracting criminals but selection processes are tough and background checks are made.

* Does it pay well?

The legion takes care of all its troops' clothing, food, accommodation and medical needs. Pay depends on rank. A legionnaire can expect to earn about 975 ($1760) a month, a corporal 1290 ($2334) a month, and a chief corporal 1372 ($2482) a month.

* What are the career prospects?

After the initial five-year enlistment, a legionnaire can sign on for six-month, one-, two- or three-year terms, up to 15 years or more.

* What are the perks?

After 15 years of service a legionnaire is entitled to a retirement pension payable even in foreign countries. Regular overseas postings are typical in the French Foreign Legion.

Source: French Embassy website.