Institute for War and Peace Reporting
By Goran Jungvirth in The Hague
(TU No 550, 9-May-08)
The ex-prime minister of the wartime Bosnian Croat mini-state Herceg Bosna testified in his own defence this week, telling judges that he always favoured an independent Bosnian state.
Giving evidence before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Jadranko Prlic sought to distance himself from the actions of the Bosnian Croatmilitary and police.
Prlic and five other Bosnian Croats are accused of taking part in a “joint criminal enterprise” aimed at expelling Bosniaks from parts of the country during the Croatian-Muslim conflict in 1993-94.
The prosecution argues that the defendants conspired to ethnically cleanse Muslim Bosniaks and other non-Croats from those parts of Bosnia that were claimed as Herceg Bosna in 1991, and that they planned incorporate this region into a “Greater Croatia”.
This week, Prlic supported his claim that he always advocated an independent Bosnia by presenting a recording of an interview with Sarajevo TV in 1992, in which he said that “in order to survive, Bosnia should be equally close to and equally distant from both Croatia and Serbia”.
He insisted that Herceg Bosna was created not to secede from Bosnia, but simply to help the territory function effectively during the war with Serb forces, he said.
According to the indictment, the Herceg Bosna authorities “established, supported and operated a system of ill-treatment, involving a network of prisons, concentration camps and other detention facilities… to arrest, detain and imprison thousands of Bosnian Muslims”.
Prlic, who did not take an oath before speaking, described how the late president of Herceg Bosna, Mate Boban, promised him that as prime minister, he would “have nothing to do with either the police or the military”.
The accused also said he did everything in his power to close the detention centres in which Bosniaks were held.
“During one of the meetings I attended… I asked for the dissolution of all detention centres – or else I’d leave the government and resign from all my duties,” he said.
Prlic tried to distance himself from his co-defendants, saying he met them only occasionally and did not command them or coordinate with them.
“My role… it was clearly shown, did not include military affairs,” he said.
Apart from Prlic, the others standing trial are the Bosnian Croat entity’s then defence minister Bruno Stojic, military police chief Valentin Coric, General Slobodan Praljak, General Milivoj Petkovic, and the head of the commission for prisoner exchanges, Berislav Pusic.
The former prime minister said his decision to quit the Croatian Democratic Union party, HDZ, in 2000 was the reason why he was now facing charges.
“[My departure] received strong media coverage. A series of articles, obviously commissioned, denounced me and pronounced me guilty of everything that happened during the war, including alleged war crimes,” said Prlic.
The first witness called by Prlic, Croatian diplomat Miomir Zuzul, proceeded to counter prosecution claims that the late president of Croatia, Franjo Tudjman, who exercised authority over the senior Bosnian Croats, wanted to annex parts of Bosnia to Croatia.
He also suggested that the Bosnian leadership was prepared to cut territorial deals.
Zuzul alleged that two days after signing a confederation agreement with Croatia in September 1993, the late Bosnian president Alija Izetbegovic signed a similar document with Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic – and failed to inform Croatia of this.
This agreement, he said, envisaged the creation of a Serb republic within Bosnia Hercegovina, BH, with the possibility that the entity could break away after two years.
Prlic’s defence counsel Michael Karnavas asked, “Was [the agreement] about the customisation [division] of BH?”
“Yes, that opened up the possibility of customising BH,” replied Zuzul.
The witness also said that in spring 1993, Izetbegovic privately suggested to Tudjman that Croatia should annex western Hercegovina. This happened, Zuzul said, during a break in peace talks in Geneva.
Tudjman approached Izetbegovic who, according to Zuzul, said, “Western Hercegovina should be carved out of BH and then annexed to Croatia.”
The Croatian president rejected this proposal, the witness said, because he believed it would not solve the crisis in Bosnia or improve the position of Croats living there.
Zuzul said Tudjman did not want Bosnia Hercegovina to be divided up and wanted it to be a sovereign state. Tudjman was primarily interested in protecting Croatia’s borders, looking after the rights of the Bosnian Croats, and stopping the war, the witness said.
Zuzul will be cross-examined by the prosecution before the summer break on July 18.
10 May, 2008
SWISS PREPARES BILL TO HARMONISE LAWS WITH ICC.
Hirondelle News Agency
9 May 2008
The Swiss Confederation has prepared a bill which will integrate in its criminal law the crimes covered by the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which will allow it to prosecute the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
This project has not yet been submitted to the parliament. Already in July 1998, it had signed the Treaty of Rome. After some legislative modifications that were immediately necessary, the ratification became effective in October 2001. These new measures constitute a second step of integration of the provisions of the Statute. While wanting "to exclude any risk to yield jurisdiction to the ICC", Switzerland wants to "accurately reflect international law currently in effect", according to Swiss official statement.
The Confederation explains that it wants to eliminate "the risk to be used as a refuge for this kind of criminals".
The new bill aims at integrating crimes against humanity into Swiss law, to give a more precise definition to war crimes, which until now were only sanctioned by a "general reference to the international humanitarian law and at reorganizing the powers of the jurisdictions. “
Trial Watch, a Swiss NGO headquartered in Lausanne, was consulted in the development phase of the project, its critics were sometimes taken into account. Thus, Trial Watch was firmly against maintaining the condition known as the "strong link", introduced in 2003 into the article governing the prosecution of war crimes committed abroad.
A particularly strong link was required between the defendant and Switzerland, making prosecution almost impossible. It was characterized, inter alia, by residency or the defendant’s life being concentrated in Switzerland or the maintenance of regular contacts with its family living in Switzerland. The Confederation wanted to protect itself against an influx of proceeding, as was the case in Belgium. According to Trial Watch, it acted as a "drastic" limitation to universal jurisdiction.
Henceforth, rather than a "strong link", it will be enough that the alleged author be in Switzerland and cannot be extradited nor transferred to an international criminal tribunal. It gives itself a "limited universal jurisdiction" and aligns itself with other countries of the European continent.
Trial Watch also underlined "forgotten" infractions, such as: collective sentences, the fact of spreading terror among the population or the practice of apartheid. The latter was added in the category of crimes against humanity.
The responsibility of senior officials, envisaged in the new law, is less broad than in the ICC Statute. A superior will only be responsible if he was informed of the commission of these acts by the subordinates, while the Statute also aims the cases where he "should have known".
One of the last principal points raised by Trial Watch relates to the prosecution of public provocation to commit genocide which was only possible in the case when the entire or part of the genocide was committed in Switzerland. Not only did the genocide have to actually take place, which international law does not require, and is even contrary to the jurisprudence of the two international criminal tribunals, but, also, this provision did not cover incitement to commit genocide abroad.
The Federal Council seems to have taken sides again on the question since it affirms in its official statement that "the provision does not exclude the instigation committed abroad referring itself to a genocide committed abroad". A transfer clause to conventional and customary international law was inserted to mitigate certain gaps to offer every guarantee of compliance in the event of later developments in international law.
The principle of non-retroactivity, however, will constitute a major obstacle to prosecution. Whereas Switzerland has already brought several proceedings against criminals originating from the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, it, henceforth, excludes this possibility with this criterion.
France is also working on a bill adapting French criminal law to the Statute of the ICC. But according to the French coalition for the ICC (CFCPI), two points are still delicate: it does not envisage the imprescriptibility of the sanctioned crimes and does not have any provisions relating to territorial jurisdiction of French judges.
9 May 2008
The Swiss Confederation has prepared a bill which will integrate in its criminal law the crimes covered by the Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which will allow it to prosecute the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
This project has not yet been submitted to the parliament. Already in July 1998, it had signed the Treaty of Rome. After some legislative modifications that were immediately necessary, the ratification became effective in October 2001. These new measures constitute a second step of integration of the provisions of the Statute. While wanting "to exclude any risk to yield jurisdiction to the ICC", Switzerland wants to "accurately reflect international law currently in effect", according to Swiss official statement.
The Confederation explains that it wants to eliminate "the risk to be used as a refuge for this kind of criminals".
The new bill aims at integrating crimes against humanity into Swiss law, to give a more precise definition to war crimes, which until now were only sanctioned by a "general reference to the international humanitarian law and at reorganizing the powers of the jurisdictions. “
Trial Watch, a Swiss NGO headquartered in Lausanne, was consulted in the development phase of the project, its critics were sometimes taken into account. Thus, Trial Watch was firmly against maintaining the condition known as the "strong link", introduced in 2003 into the article governing the prosecution of war crimes committed abroad.
A particularly strong link was required between the defendant and Switzerland, making prosecution almost impossible. It was characterized, inter alia, by residency or the defendant’s life being concentrated in Switzerland or the maintenance of regular contacts with its family living in Switzerland. The Confederation wanted to protect itself against an influx of proceeding, as was the case in Belgium. According to Trial Watch, it acted as a "drastic" limitation to universal jurisdiction.
Henceforth, rather than a "strong link", it will be enough that the alleged author be in Switzerland and cannot be extradited nor transferred to an international criminal tribunal. It gives itself a "limited universal jurisdiction" and aligns itself with other countries of the European continent.
Trial Watch also underlined "forgotten" infractions, such as: collective sentences, the fact of spreading terror among the population or the practice of apartheid. The latter was added in the category of crimes against humanity.
The responsibility of senior officials, envisaged in the new law, is less broad than in the ICC Statute. A superior will only be responsible if he was informed of the commission of these acts by the subordinates, while the Statute also aims the cases where he "should have known".
One of the last principal points raised by Trial Watch relates to the prosecution of public provocation to commit genocide which was only possible in the case when the entire or part of the genocide was committed in Switzerland. Not only did the genocide have to actually take place, which international law does not require, and is even contrary to the jurisprudence of the two international criminal tribunals, but, also, this provision did not cover incitement to commit genocide abroad.
The Federal Council seems to have taken sides again on the question since it affirms in its official statement that "the provision does not exclude the instigation committed abroad referring itself to a genocide committed abroad". A transfer clause to conventional and customary international law was inserted to mitigate certain gaps to offer every guarantee of compliance in the event of later developments in international law.
The principle of non-retroactivity, however, will constitute a major obstacle to prosecution. Whereas Switzerland has already brought several proceedings against criminals originating from the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, it, henceforth, excludes this possibility with this criterion.
France is also working on a bill adapting French criminal law to the Statute of the ICC. But according to the French coalition for the ICC (CFCPI), two points are still delicate: it does not envisage the imprescriptibility of the sanctioned crimes and does not have any provisions relating to territorial jurisdiction of French judges.
Sudan imposes curfew after rebels attack capital.
Reuters
10 May 2008
Editor's Note: A Chad-backed retaliatory coup attempt is underway.
Sudan has imposed an overnight curfew in the capital Khartoum after Darfur rebels attacked a suburb on Saturday, state television said.
"We are announcing a curfew in the state of Khartoum from 5 p.m. (1400 GMT) until 6 a.m. starting from today May 10th, 2008," an army spokesman said on state television.
Heavy gunfire was heard by residents in the western suburb of Omdurman on Saturday. Attack helicopters and army vehicles headed to the scene. (Reporting by Opheera McDoom; editing by Sami Aboudi)
10 May 2008
Editor's Note: A Chad-backed retaliatory coup attempt is underway.
Sudan has imposed an overnight curfew in the capital Khartoum after Darfur rebels attacked a suburb on Saturday, state television said.
"We are announcing a curfew in the state of Khartoum from 5 p.m. (1400 GMT) until 6 a.m. starting from today May 10th, 2008," an army spokesman said on state television.
Heavy gunfire was heard by residents in the western suburb of Omdurman on Saturday. Attack helicopters and army vehicles headed to the scene. (Reporting by Opheera McDoom; editing by Sami Aboudi)
Heavy gunfire heard west of Sudan capital.
Reuters
10 May 2008
Heavy gunfire was heard in the west of Sudan's capital on Saturday and helicopters and army vehicles rushed through the streets towards the area, witnesses said.
The gunfire follows heavy battles between Darfur rebels and Sudan's army in the North Kordofan province bordering Khartoum on Friday and Saturday, according to a local government official and witnesses.
The shooting in west Omdurman could be heard down the telephone of one resident who telephoned Reuters on Saturday.
"There is very, very heavy shooting here and we are all terrified," the resident called al-Sadig said.
A Reuters witness saw an attack helicopter and a convoy of 10 army trucks with machine guns attached on their way to Omdurman, a western suburb of Khartoum.
Many in Khartoum hunkered down at home and the streets were filled by people rushing to their houses. (Reportng by Opheera McDoom; Editing by Robert Woodward)
10 May 2008
Heavy gunfire was heard in the west of Sudan's capital on Saturday and helicopters and army vehicles rushed through the streets towards the area, witnesses said.
The gunfire follows heavy battles between Darfur rebels and Sudan's army in the North Kordofan province bordering Khartoum on Friday and Saturday, according to a local government official and witnesses.
The shooting in west Omdurman could be heard down the telephone of one resident who telephoned Reuters on Saturday.
"There is very, very heavy shooting here and we are all terrified," the resident called al-Sadig said.
A Reuters witness saw an attack helicopter and a convoy of 10 army trucks with machine guns attached on their way to Omdurman, a western suburb of Khartoum.
Many in Khartoum hunkered down at home and the streets were filled by people rushing to their houses. (Reportng by Opheera McDoom; Editing by Robert Woodward)
Ethiopia Troops Return Warlord to Power in Somalia Region.
Garowe Online
9 May 2008
A notorious warlord in central Somalia has returned to his former seat of power at a provincial capital after being forced to flee in April by Islamist guerrillas.
Yusuf Daboged, the former governor of Hiran region, told reporters by telephone that he is the "legitimate" governor of Hiran.
Mr. Daboged said he is in the outskirts of Beletwein, the capital of Hiran, although hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers backed by armored trucks entered the town early Friday for the first time in weeks.
The former governor appealed to the residents of Hiran to remain calm and to cooperate with authorities in improving local security.
Beletwein residents said Ethiopian troops moved into the interior of the city and immediately took positions at all important government buildings, including the State House and police stations.
Other soldiers were seen standing guard along the town's main roads.
Last week, Somali Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein issued a decree replacing former Hiran Gov. Daboged with a new regional administration led by Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed.
But many officials of the new Hiran regional authority have refused to accept their posts, citing insecurity and lack of resources.
It is not clear why the Ethiopian army has returned Mr. Daboged to Beletwein, especially in light of the Prime Minister's decree.
Ethiopian troops backing the Somali transitional government invaded Somalia in December 2006 to dislodge an Islamist militia that was ruling the capital Mogadishu at the time.
The Islamists then withdrew and began a costly insurgency targeting Somali and Ethiopian troops and allies, with thousands of civilians killed in the crossfire.
9 May 2008
A notorious warlord in central Somalia has returned to his former seat of power at a provincial capital after being forced to flee in April by Islamist guerrillas.
Yusuf Daboged, the former governor of Hiran region, told reporters by telephone that he is the "legitimate" governor of Hiran.
Mr. Daboged said he is in the outskirts of Beletwein, the capital of Hiran, although hundreds of Ethiopian soldiers backed by armored trucks entered the town early Friday for the first time in weeks.
The former governor appealed to the residents of Hiran to remain calm and to cooperate with authorities in improving local security.
Beletwein residents said Ethiopian troops moved into the interior of the city and immediately took positions at all important government buildings, including the State House and police stations.
Other soldiers were seen standing guard along the town's main roads.
Last week, Somali Prime Minister Nur "Adde" Hassan Hussein issued a decree replacing former Hiran Gov. Daboged with a new regional administration led by Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed.
But many officials of the new Hiran regional authority have refused to accept their posts, citing insecurity and lack of resources.
It is not clear why the Ethiopian army has returned Mr. Daboged to Beletwein, especially in light of the Prime Minister's decree.
Ethiopian troops backing the Somali transitional government invaded Somalia in December 2006 to dislodge an Islamist militia that was ruling the capital Mogadishu at the time.
The Islamists then withdrew and began a costly insurgency targeting Somali and Ethiopian troops and allies, with thousands of civilians killed in the crossfire.
Rwanda minister scraps Belgian trip amid arrest threat to official.
AFP
9 May 2008
Rwanda's Foreign Minister Rosemary Museminali scrapped an official visit to Belgium after being told that a member of her delegation would be arrested upon arrival, a Belgian diplomatic source said Friday.
"Belgium has told (on Tuesday) the Rwandans that one person in their delegation is being sought. According to Belgian law, if someone is sought then when they cross our border they must be arrested," the diplomatic source told AFP.
On Wednesday, Rwanda announced the cancellation of the official visit, due to take place on Thursday and Friday, he added.
The official in question is Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Nzabamwita, Rwanda's number two official for external security.
He is one of 40 Rwandan army officers for whom a Spanish court has issued arrest warrants on accusations of genocide.
"The Rwandans probably took it badly because they see it as interference in the make-up of their delegation, but that's not the case," the Belgian diplomatic source said.
Spain's top criminal court on February 6 announced it would prosecute the Rwandan officers for genocide, crimes against humanity and terrorism related to events that took place between 1994 and 2000.
9 May 2008
Rwanda's Foreign Minister Rosemary Museminali scrapped an official visit to Belgium after being told that a member of her delegation would be arrested upon arrival, a Belgian diplomatic source said Friday.
"Belgium has told (on Tuesday) the Rwandans that one person in their delegation is being sought. According to Belgian law, if someone is sought then when they cross our border they must be arrested," the diplomatic source told AFP.
On Wednesday, Rwanda announced the cancellation of the official visit, due to take place on Thursday and Friday, he added.
The official in question is Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Nzabamwita, Rwanda's number two official for external security.
He is one of 40 Rwandan army officers for whom a Spanish court has issued arrest warrants on accusations of genocide.
"The Rwandans probably took it badly because they see it as interference in the make-up of their delegation, but that's not the case," the Belgian diplomatic source said.
Spain's top criminal court on February 6 announced it would prosecute the Rwandan officers for genocide, crimes against humanity and terrorism related to events that took place between 1994 and 2000.
Former Belgium Envoy Concludes His Testimony.
Hirondelle News Agency
9 May 2008
The former Belgian Ambassador to Rwanda, Johann Swinnen, concluded his testimony at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) by wondering if the events which preceded the 1994 genocide had "something to do with a trap".
"This confusion, this chaos, this distress and the radicalization which went hand in hand in front of situations of despair animated by actors not very serious, it was maybe something thought out, calculated, planned... did many actors, officials, ordinary citizens fall into a trap?", questioned Swinnen in conclusion of his testimony.
"I am speculating, I am not affirming anything", he said in his testimony at the request of the defence of the former head of the Rwandan diplomacy, Jerome Bicamumpaka.
The Belgium envoy also stated categorically "that he was not pointing a finger at the persons responsible".
According to him, the main question that he has be asking himself since 1994 is to know if "all kinds of events, developments, reversals of fortunes, difficult negotiations did not push too many people towards extremism, even moderates towards a radicalization and the extreme error of genocide. Wasn't it "a very dangerous trap put in place by all kinds of elements?" he asked
9 May 2008
The former Belgian Ambassador to Rwanda, Johann Swinnen, concluded his testimony at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) by wondering if the events which preceded the 1994 genocide had "something to do with a trap".
"This confusion, this chaos, this distress and the radicalization which went hand in hand in front of situations of despair animated by actors not very serious, it was maybe something thought out, calculated, planned... did many actors, officials, ordinary citizens fall into a trap?", questioned Swinnen in conclusion of his testimony.
"I am speculating, I am not affirming anything", he said in his testimony at the request of the defence of the former head of the Rwandan diplomacy, Jerome Bicamumpaka.
The Belgium envoy also stated categorically "that he was not pointing a finger at the persons responsible".
According to him, the main question that he has be asking himself since 1994 is to know if "all kinds of events, developments, reversals of fortunes, difficult negotiations did not push too many people towards extremism, even moderates towards a radicalization and the extreme error of genocide. Wasn't it "a very dangerous trap put in place by all kinds of elements?" he asked
Khartoum accuses Chad`s army of attacking Sudan`s border area.
Antara News
10 May 2008
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Friday accused the Chadian army of attacking a border area inside Sudan to support an infiltration and sabotage attempt of Darfur rebels in Khartoum and other major cities.
"The Chadian armed forces on Friday launched an attack on the border area of Kashkash," said SAF spokesman Osman al-Aghbash.
He noted that the SAF confronted the Chadian troops and forced them to pull back to the Chadian territories.
The Chadian armed forces, which suffered casualties, fired artilleries from inside Chad after it withdrew from Sudan territories, the spokesman said.
He said the attack came as a "direct support from the Chadian government for the infiltration and sabotage attempt which the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) was planning to carry out."
It is reported that the armed members of the JEM, led by Khalil Ibrahim and believed to have the largest military rebel force in Darfur, were attempting to infiltrate Khartoum and other major cities in the country in order to conduct sabotage activities.
Though the JEM had denied such an intention, the Sudanese security forces announced on Friday that they had tightened security measures.
The Sudanese army also said that it had detected infiltrations by the JEM members riding vehicles to the country through the Chadian borders.
The Sudanese government has repeatedly accused the Chadian government of providing support and assistance to the rebel movements in Darfur, but the accusation has been denied by N` Djamena.
10 May 2008
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on Friday accused the Chadian army of attacking a border area inside Sudan to support an infiltration and sabotage attempt of Darfur rebels in Khartoum and other major cities.
"The Chadian armed forces on Friday launched an attack on the border area of Kashkash," said SAF spokesman Osman al-Aghbash.
He noted that the SAF confronted the Chadian troops and forced them to pull back to the Chadian territories.
The Chadian armed forces, which suffered casualties, fired artilleries from inside Chad after it withdrew from Sudan territories, the spokesman said.
He said the attack came as a "direct support from the Chadian government for the infiltration and sabotage attempt which the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) was planning to carry out."
It is reported that the armed members of the JEM, led by Khalil Ibrahim and believed to have the largest military rebel force in Darfur, were attempting to infiltrate Khartoum and other major cities in the country in order to conduct sabotage activities.
Though the JEM had denied such an intention, the Sudanese security forces announced on Friday that they had tightened security measures.
The Sudanese army also said that it had detected infiltrations by the JEM members riding vehicles to the country through the Chadian borders.
The Sudanese government has repeatedly accused the Chadian government of providing support and assistance to the rebel movements in Darfur, but the accusation has been denied by N` Djamena.
Chadian Govt Arrests 4 Eufor Troops.
IRIN
9 May 2008
Four troops from EUFOR, the European Union force in Chad, were arrested on 7 May by local authorities near the southern town of Moundou. They have not yet been released.
"This is in blatant violation of the agreement we made with the government which established the current EU in Chad," the spokesman for EUFOR in N'djamena Lieutenant Colonel Jean Axelos told IRIN on 9 May.
According to state-run radio, the four EUFOR troops were "disguised as tourists" and traveling in an unauthorized area. The radio said local police confiscated the soldiers' weapons, communications equipment and vehicles.
Axelos said the government had signed a Status of Force Agreement allowing EUFOR troops to travel everywhere in the country. "We are going to write a letter of complaint about this to the relevant Chadian authorities," he said.
"We hope it is the first and last time this happens."
On 8 January the EU launched EUFOR into the volatile east of Chad and northeast Central African Republic where various armed groups frequently clash.
The four arrested troops, two from Finland and two from Sweden, were on a reconnaissance mission when they were stopped, Axelos said. They were taken to a hotel in Moundou before being transported to the capital N'djamena.
"They have not yet arrived here," Axelos said. "When they do we fully expect the authorities to release them."
He said he had no information on what had happened to EUFOR's weapons, vehicles and communication equipment.
9 May 2008
Four troops from EUFOR, the European Union force in Chad, were arrested on 7 May by local authorities near the southern town of Moundou. They have not yet been released.
"This is in blatant violation of the agreement we made with the government which established the current EU in Chad," the spokesman for EUFOR in N'djamena Lieutenant Colonel Jean Axelos told IRIN on 9 May.
According to state-run radio, the four EUFOR troops were "disguised as tourists" and traveling in an unauthorized area. The radio said local police confiscated the soldiers' weapons, communications equipment and vehicles.
Axelos said the government had signed a Status of Force Agreement allowing EUFOR troops to travel everywhere in the country. "We are going to write a letter of complaint about this to the relevant Chadian authorities," he said.
"We hope it is the first and last time this happens."
On 8 January the EU launched EUFOR into the volatile east of Chad and northeast Central African Republic where various armed groups frequently clash.
The four arrested troops, two from Finland and two from Sweden, were on a reconnaissance mission when they were stopped, Axelos said. They were taken to a hotel in Moundou before being transported to the capital N'djamena.
"They have not yet arrived here," Axelos said. "When they do we fully expect the authorities to release them."
He said he had no information on what had happened to EUFOR's weapons, vehicles and communication equipment.
Rwanda: visite annulée en raison d'un mandat d'arrêt international ...
RTBF
8 May 2008
Le Rwanda annule la visite officielle en Belgique de sa ministre des Affaires étrangères. Une visite de deux jours durant laquelle Rosemary Museminali devait rencontrer de nombreux responsables politiques. Apparemment, c'est la composition de la délégation rwandaise, qui a posé problème. L'un de ses membres fait l'objet d'un mandat d'arrêt européen, délivré par la justice espagnole...
8 mai 2008 19:12
En février dernier, la justice espagnole a émis pas moins de 40 mandats d'arrêt à l'encontre de responsables de l'armée rwandaise, dont certains sont des proches du président Kagamé. Ils sont suspectés d'actes de génocide, de crimes contre l'humanité, crimes de guerre et terrorisme. Des actes commis entre 1990 et 2002.
Cette enquête est partie d'une plainte suite à l'assassinat de pères blancs espagnols au début des années 2000. Dans les années 90, une dizaine d'espagnols, prêtres et humanitaires, ont été tués au Rwanda. L'enquête s'est étendue aux actes commis par l'APR, l'armée rwandaise, à l'époque où elle menait sa rébellion et après la prise de pouvoir du président Kagamé en 94. Le juge Meirelles soupçonne l'APR d'avoir planifié des massacres de civils, d'opposants hutus, de même que l'attentat qui a coûté la vie à l'ex-président Habyarimana.
De source diplomatique, une des personnes visées par les mandats d'arrêt figurait parmi les membres de la délégation rwandaise attendue en Belgique. Apparemment, il s'agirait d'un haut responsable de la sécurité extérieure rwandaise. En mettant le pied sur le territoire belge, il aurait été arrêté. Ce que la Belgique a signifié au gouvernement rwandais.
Il y a quelques jours, le président Kagamé s'était rendu en Allemagne et une rwandaise, membre de sa délégation figurait aussi sur la liste émise par le juge Meirelles. Mais sa présence avait pu être tolérée dans la mesure ou une loi allemande restreint la compétence de la justice pour des officiels étrangers qui sont invités par le gouvernement allemand. Ce qui n'est pas le cas en Belgique.
8 May 2008
Le Rwanda annule la visite officielle en Belgique de sa ministre des Affaires étrangères. Une visite de deux jours durant laquelle Rosemary Museminali devait rencontrer de nombreux responsables politiques. Apparemment, c'est la composition de la délégation rwandaise, qui a posé problème. L'un de ses membres fait l'objet d'un mandat d'arrêt européen, délivré par la justice espagnole...
8 mai 2008 19:12
En février dernier, la justice espagnole a émis pas moins de 40 mandats d'arrêt à l'encontre de responsables de l'armée rwandaise, dont certains sont des proches du président Kagamé. Ils sont suspectés d'actes de génocide, de crimes contre l'humanité, crimes de guerre et terrorisme. Des actes commis entre 1990 et 2002.
Cette enquête est partie d'une plainte suite à l'assassinat de pères blancs espagnols au début des années 2000. Dans les années 90, une dizaine d'espagnols, prêtres et humanitaires, ont été tués au Rwanda. L'enquête s'est étendue aux actes commis par l'APR, l'armée rwandaise, à l'époque où elle menait sa rébellion et après la prise de pouvoir du président Kagamé en 94. Le juge Meirelles soupçonne l'APR d'avoir planifié des massacres de civils, d'opposants hutus, de même que l'attentat qui a coûté la vie à l'ex-président Habyarimana.
De source diplomatique, une des personnes visées par les mandats d'arrêt figurait parmi les membres de la délégation rwandaise attendue en Belgique. Apparemment, il s'agirait d'un haut responsable de la sécurité extérieure rwandaise. En mettant le pied sur le territoire belge, il aurait été arrêté. Ce que la Belgique a signifié au gouvernement rwandais.
Il y a quelques jours, le président Kagamé s'était rendu en Allemagne et une rwandaise, membre de sa délégation figurait aussi sur la liste émise par le juge Meirelles. Mais sa présence avait pu être tolérée dans la mesure ou une loi allemande restreint la compétence de la justice pour des officiels étrangers qui sont invités par le gouvernement allemand. Ce qui n'est pas le cas en Belgique.
Questions Raised by New Book on Canada's JTF-2.
May 4, 2008
Jonathan Montpetit
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Questions are being raised about a first-hand account of Canada's secretive Joint Task Force 2 commando unit, a book whose author was arrested on the eve of its launch last week.
Several presumably top-secret missions are detailed in "Nous etions invincibles" ("We Were Invincible"), which is billed as a memoir of Denis Morisset's time in the unit from 1993 to 2001.
The book's more explosive claims include that JTF2 members took part in the assassination of a suspected war criminal and conducted an unauthorized intelligence operation in Afghanistan years before the Sept. 11 attacks.
Morisset also says he was among four JTF2 members who served as bodyguards for General Romeo Dallaire during the UN Mission in Rwanda during 1994.
"Mr. Denis Morisset never served as a bodyguard to retired lieutenant-general Dallaire while (he was) commanding his mission in Rwanda," claimed Rafael Guzman, a spokesperson for Dallaire who consulted with the senator on the issue.
According to the book, JTF2 also conducted a series of reconnaissance missions while in Rwanda and witnessed part of the massacre of Belgian soldiers in April 1994.
Dallaire's office questioned the timeline Morisset gives for JTF2's presence in Rwanda, saying there would have been little overlap with Dallaire's assignment.
Morisset's description of a late-1990s JTF2 mission in Afghanistan that was ordered by CSIS but hidden from the federal government is met with incredulity by a fellow author on the JTF2.
"It just doesn't make sense that we would have been involved in operations at that stage," said Scott Taylor, editor-in-chief of military affairs magazine Esprit de Corps and co-author of "Tested Mettle: Canada's Peacekeepers at War," which deals partly with JTF2.
The debate over "Nous etions invincibles" has carried over into several military Internet forums.
Morisset's claim that JTF2 was called to end a hostage-taking at an Ottawa bank in 1994 has been met with skepticism.
Some point out there seems to be no public record of this event, which Morisset says took place at a bank near Parliament Hill and ended in gunfire.
"Everything we could check out, we did," said the book's publisher Jean-Claude Larouche. "But there are many details that only he can say, 'This is what happened."'
Complicating matters is Morisset's personal life.
He was arrested last week and charged with contacting two minors with the intent of committing sexual crimes. His co-author has claimed it was an attempt to discredit his book.
Morisset once served a 14-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to similar charges in 2003. He says he was ordered to admit to the crimes and maintains his innocence.
His friends point out that he suffers from a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Every little look at this unit... will probably have a good result in that we probably shouldn't have a unit that is able to operate behind a complete cloak of secrecy and silence," he said.
Without a Canadian foreign intelligence service, Taylor says Canadian commandos may operate at the mercy of allies who provide vital information.
"For us to deploy highly trained skilled commandos, either we're doing someone else's dirty work or it's going to be limited to operations at home, because we really don't have the capacity to understand the tribal nuances of Afghanistan," Taylor said.
The few bits of information that do escape about JTF2's activities sometimes come from south of the border.
It was only during Congressional hearings in 2001 that Canadians learned the elite commandos were part of an international force hunting Taliban and al-Qaida suspects in Afghanistan.
But for all its secrecy, JTF2 hasn't exactly been immune from bad publicity.
A JTF2 explosives expert went AWOL in 2003, possibly with sensitive information, only to surface several months later in Thailand.
And in 2006, a unit member ducked assault charges because he couldn't be named for security reasons.
Jonathan Montpetit
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Questions are being raised about a first-hand account of Canada's secretive Joint Task Force 2 commando unit, a book whose author was arrested on the eve of its launch last week.
Several presumably top-secret missions are detailed in "Nous etions invincibles" ("We Were Invincible"), which is billed as a memoir of Denis Morisset's time in the unit from 1993 to 2001.
The book's more explosive claims include that JTF2 members took part in the assassination of a suspected war criminal and conducted an unauthorized intelligence operation in Afghanistan years before the Sept. 11 attacks.
Morisset also says he was among four JTF2 members who served as bodyguards for General Romeo Dallaire during the UN Mission in Rwanda during 1994.
"Mr. Denis Morisset never served as a bodyguard to retired lieutenant-general Dallaire while (he was) commanding his mission in Rwanda," claimed Rafael Guzman, a spokesperson for Dallaire who consulted with the senator on the issue.
According to the book, JTF2 also conducted a series of reconnaissance missions while in Rwanda and witnessed part of the massacre of Belgian soldiers in April 1994.
Dallaire's office questioned the timeline Morisset gives for JTF2's presence in Rwanda, saying there would have been little overlap with Dallaire's assignment.
Morisset's description of a late-1990s JTF2 mission in Afghanistan that was ordered by CSIS but hidden from the federal government is met with incredulity by a fellow author on the JTF2.
"It just doesn't make sense that we would have been involved in operations at that stage," said Scott Taylor, editor-in-chief of military affairs magazine Esprit de Corps and co-author of "Tested Mettle: Canada's Peacekeepers at War," which deals partly with JTF2.
The debate over "Nous etions invincibles" has carried over into several military Internet forums.
Morisset's claim that JTF2 was called to end a hostage-taking at an Ottawa bank in 1994 has been met with skepticism.
Some point out there seems to be no public record of this event, which Morisset says took place at a bank near Parliament Hill and ended in gunfire.
"Everything we could check out, we did," said the book's publisher Jean-Claude Larouche. "But there are many details that only he can say, 'This is what happened."'
Complicating matters is Morisset's personal life.
He was arrested last week and charged with contacting two minors with the intent of committing sexual crimes. His co-author has claimed it was an attempt to discredit his book.
Morisset once served a 14-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to similar charges in 2003. He says he was ordered to admit to the crimes and maintains his innocence.
His friends point out that he suffers from a severe case of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Every little look at this unit... will probably have a good result in that we probably shouldn't have a unit that is able to operate behind a complete cloak of secrecy and silence," he said.
Without a Canadian foreign intelligence service, Taylor says Canadian commandos may operate at the mercy of allies who provide vital information.
"For us to deploy highly trained skilled commandos, either we're doing someone else's dirty work or it's going to be limited to operations at home, because we really don't have the capacity to understand the tribal nuances of Afghanistan," Taylor said.
The few bits of information that do escape about JTF2's activities sometimes come from south of the border.
It was only during Congressional hearings in 2001 that Canadians learned the elite commandos were part of an international force hunting Taliban and al-Qaida suspects in Afghanistan.
But for all its secrecy, JTF2 hasn't exactly been immune from bad publicity.
A JTF2 explosives expert went AWOL in 2003, possibly with sensitive information, only to surface several months later in Thailand.
And in 2006, a unit member ducked assault charges because he couldn't be named for security reasons.
Radio director arrested in Puntland.
Garowe Online
9 May 2008
Security forces in the semiautonomous Somali territory of Puntland arrested the director-general of Somali Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), an independent broadcaster based in the northern port city of Bossaso.
Mowlid Haji Abdi was at working at his office inside the SBC headquarters when armed police entered the building and demanded to see him Friday morning, an SBC employee said.
The police unit did not have any court paperwork authorizing Mr. Haji Abdi's arrest, but stated that they had "government orders" to detain the radio station's director-general.
The commanding police officer was allowed to privately enter Mr. Haji Abdi’s office alone, according to a SBC statement posted online.
But minutes later, the remaining officers jumped over the reception area counter and forcefully entered the back of the building, including the studio room with reporters broadcasting live news.
The SBC director-general was then transported from the building to an undisclosed location, although inside sources suggested that he was taken to a jail inside the port of Bossaso.
Unconfirmed reports indicated to Garowe Online that Mr. Haji Abdi was arrested on the orders of Puntland Security Minister Abdullahi Said Samatar.
It is not clear why Mr. Samatar ordered the arrest, but Bossaso residents said SBC radio had reported gun battles between unknown militias and Puntland police inside Bossaso for the past two consecutive nights.
Bossaso-based SBC is owned by Ali Abdi Aware, a former Cabinet minister who is now an adviser to President Adde Muse.
The radio station and its Web site has a history of enjoying close relations to the government of Puntland and is nominally viewed as a pro-government news source.
9 May 2008
Security forces in the semiautonomous Somali territory of Puntland arrested the director-general of Somali Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), an independent broadcaster based in the northern port city of Bossaso.
Mowlid Haji Abdi was at working at his office inside the SBC headquarters when armed police entered the building and demanded to see him Friday morning, an SBC employee said.
The police unit did not have any court paperwork authorizing Mr. Haji Abdi's arrest, but stated that they had "government orders" to detain the radio station's director-general.
The commanding police officer was allowed to privately enter Mr. Haji Abdi’s office alone, according to a SBC statement posted online.
But minutes later, the remaining officers jumped over the reception area counter and forcefully entered the back of the building, including the studio room with reporters broadcasting live news.
The SBC director-general was then transported from the building to an undisclosed location, although inside sources suggested that he was taken to a jail inside the port of Bossaso.
Unconfirmed reports indicated to Garowe Online that Mr. Haji Abdi was arrested on the orders of Puntland Security Minister Abdullahi Said Samatar.
It is not clear why Mr. Samatar ordered the arrest, but Bossaso residents said SBC radio had reported gun battles between unknown militias and Puntland police inside Bossaso for the past two consecutive nights.
Bossaso-based SBC is owned by Ali Abdi Aware, a former Cabinet minister who is now an adviser to President Adde Muse.
The radio station and its Web site has a history of enjoying close relations to the government of Puntland and is nominally viewed as a pro-government news source.
Ethiopia soldiers slay nomads as they vacate Somalia town: witnesses.
Garowe Online
8 May 2008
At least 10 dead bodies were discovered Wednesday morning in southern Somalia after Ethiopian troops escaped an insurgent ambush yesterday, leaving behind a grisly scene of deaths.
The bodies were found in Wanla Weyn, a district in Lower Shabelle region, according to locals.
Muktar Robow "Abu Mansur," a spokesman for the al Shabaab guerrillas, claimed responsibility for the ambush, saying that insurgents burned three of the Ethiopian army's military trucks.
Locals said yesterday's gunfight erupted with three separate explosions hitting an Ethiopian military convoy on its way to Baidoa, an inland city that serves as a key military base.
The Ethiopian soldiers and insurgents then engaged in face-to-face combat where machineguns and rockets were used, witnesses reported.
Ali Moallim Ahmed, a Wanla Weyn resident, told Garowe Online: "The bodies were found early this morning when we woke up and they [bodies] included nomads who are well-known."
Other witnesses said most of the dead bodies were young men, some of whom were captured alive and later "shot to death" or had their "throats slit."
The descriptions of the gruesome killings could not be independently verified, but the allegations against the Ethiopian soldiers closely follow an Amnesty International report condemning the soldiers for widespread atrocities.
8 May 2008
At least 10 dead bodies were discovered Wednesday morning in southern Somalia after Ethiopian troops escaped an insurgent ambush yesterday, leaving behind a grisly scene of deaths.
The bodies were found in Wanla Weyn, a district in Lower Shabelle region, according to locals.
Muktar Robow "Abu Mansur," a spokesman for the al Shabaab guerrillas, claimed responsibility for the ambush, saying that insurgents burned three of the Ethiopian army's military trucks.
Locals said yesterday's gunfight erupted with three separate explosions hitting an Ethiopian military convoy on its way to Baidoa, an inland city that serves as a key military base.
The Ethiopian soldiers and insurgents then engaged in face-to-face combat where machineguns and rockets were used, witnesses reported.
Ali Moallim Ahmed, a Wanla Weyn resident, told Garowe Online: "The bodies were found early this morning when we woke up and they [bodies] included nomads who are well-known."
Other witnesses said most of the dead bodies were young men, some of whom were captured alive and later "shot to death" or had their "throats slit."
The descriptions of the gruesome killings could not be independently verified, but the allegations against the Ethiopian soldiers closely follow an Amnesty International report condemning the soldiers for widespread atrocities.
09 May, 2008
CLASHES IN BEIRUT (2): STREETS DESERTED, OPPOSITION CONTROLS WESTERN ZONES.
MISNA
9 May 2008
“The people are afraid and expect the violence to spiral. Many began stocking up this morning on bread, water and pasta. The streets are almost deserted and people only go out if absolutely necessary”, said a MISNA source contacted in Beirut, where in the western part of the city clashes resumed this morning at dawn between supporters of the government of Fuad Siniora and militants of the opposition, which yesterday left at least 11 dead. Security officials confirmed a short while ago that the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal militias seized control of the western neighbourhoods of the city, where the majority of Sunni residents live.
“More than preparing for war, the people are afraid that there will be no provisions over the next days since the international airport closed”, added the source, specifying that “flights have been officially suspended until tomorrow, but they could be delayed further”. Also Beirut’s port shut down this morning “until further order”, while the highways remain closed that take from Beirut to Damascus and Sidon (south), on which barricades were set up by pro-government militants. The spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign ministry, Hossam Zaki, announced an emergency Arab League meeting at the bloc’s headquarters in Cairo in the next two days. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, blamed by the anti-Syrian majority as responsible for the unrest of the past days, today commented that “the crisis in Lebanon is an internal affair”, expressing hope that “the Lebanese brothers find a solution through dialogue”.
9 May 2008
“The people are afraid and expect the violence to spiral. Many began stocking up this morning on bread, water and pasta. The streets are almost deserted and people only go out if absolutely necessary”, said a MISNA source contacted in Beirut, where in the western part of the city clashes resumed this morning at dawn between supporters of the government of Fuad Siniora and militants of the opposition, which yesterday left at least 11 dead. Security officials confirmed a short while ago that the Shiite Hezbollah and Amal militias seized control of the western neighbourhoods of the city, where the majority of Sunni residents live.
“More than preparing for war, the people are afraid that there will be no provisions over the next days since the international airport closed”, added the source, specifying that “flights have been officially suspended until tomorrow, but they could be delayed further”. Also Beirut’s port shut down this morning “until further order”, while the highways remain closed that take from Beirut to Damascus and Sidon (south), on which barricades were set up by pro-government militants. The spokesman for Egypt’s Foreign ministry, Hossam Zaki, announced an emergency Arab League meeting at the bloc’s headquarters in Cairo in the next two days. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, blamed by the anti-Syrian majority as responsible for the unrest of the past days, today commented that “the crisis in Lebanon is an internal affair”, expressing hope that “the Lebanese brothers find a solution through dialogue”.
CLASHES RESUME AT DAWN IN BEIRUT, ‘AL MUSTAQBAL’ TV SHUT DOWN.
MISNA
9 May 2008
Clashes resumed this morning at dawn in different neighbourhood of Beirut between supporters of Lebanon’s majority and opposition, which yesterday paralysed the city and left at least 11 dead and some twenty wounded, according to local security sources. Gunmen also attacked the TV station of the al Mustaqbal (the Future) party of the majority leader Saad Hariri. The head of the pro-government station, Nadim Moulla, said that the gunmen stormed the building, threatening the reporters and staff, and forcing the station to shut down. Also the newspaper and radio of Hariri’s party were attacked by militants last night; the army intervened to escort the journalists from the building. The heaviest fighting, like yesterday, is taking place in the southern area of Mazraa, toward the seafront, but also in other neighbourhoods.
9 May 2008
Clashes resumed this morning at dawn in different neighbourhood of Beirut between supporters of Lebanon’s majority and opposition, which yesterday paralysed the city and left at least 11 dead and some twenty wounded, according to local security sources. Gunmen also attacked the TV station of the al Mustaqbal (the Future) party of the majority leader Saad Hariri. The head of the pro-government station, Nadim Moulla, said that the gunmen stormed the building, threatening the reporters and staff, and forcing the station to shut down. Also the newspaper and radio of Hariri’s party were attacked by militants last night; the army intervened to escort the journalists from the building. The heaviest fighting, like yesterday, is taking place in the southern area of Mazraa, toward the seafront, but also in other neighbourhoods.
CHRISTIAN CHURCHES, “ONLY VIABLE SOLUTION IS TO TALK WITH MUNGIKI."
MISNA
9 May 2008
“The viable solution is to talk with the Mungiki sect leaders”, said Kenya’s Christian religious leaders in a joint statement, calling on the government to engage in dialogue because “the Mungiki issue is deeply rooted in the society”. According to The Nation newspaper, the clergy from the Catholic church, Anglican church of Kenya and Presbyterian Church of East Africa called on politicians to approach the Mungiki sect “as youths who are energetic, averagely educated but jobless and living in absolute poverty”, urging the release of the jailed Mungiki leader Maina Njenga arguing that his freedom would be of help in the dialogue process.
The death last month in unclear circumstances of Njenga’s wife Virginia Niako sparked violent protests of the group in various areas of the nation, resulting in the death of some twenty people. The sect, outlawed in 2002 and made up predominantly by unemployed youths of the main Kikuyu ethnic group, is believed to count a few thousand members, despite claims of 4-million followers by its leaders. Violence unleashed last year by the Mungiki left over fifty dead, sparking a mass security force operation in which thousands of members were arrested.
9 May 2008
“The viable solution is to talk with the Mungiki sect leaders”, said Kenya’s Christian religious leaders in a joint statement, calling on the government to engage in dialogue because “the Mungiki issue is deeply rooted in the society”. According to The Nation newspaper, the clergy from the Catholic church, Anglican church of Kenya and Presbyterian Church of East Africa called on politicians to approach the Mungiki sect “as youths who are energetic, averagely educated but jobless and living in absolute poverty”, urging the release of the jailed Mungiki leader Maina Njenga arguing that his freedom would be of help in the dialogue process.
The death last month in unclear circumstances of Njenga’s wife Virginia Niako sparked violent protests of the group in various areas of the nation, resulting in the death of some twenty people. The sect, outlawed in 2002 and made up predominantly by unemployed youths of the main Kikuyu ethnic group, is believed to count a few thousand members, despite claims of 4-million followers by its leaders. Violence unleashed last year by the Mungiki left over fifty dead, sparking a mass security force operation in which thousands of members were arrested.
PRESIDENT ACCEPTS REFERENDUM ON HIS PRESIDENCY.
MISNA
9 May 2008
In a new turning point in the political crisis underway for months in the nation, Bolivian President Evo Morales agreed to a national recall vote on his rule, which he had already proposed last December and that the opposition controlled Senate unanimously authorised in a surprise move yesterday. The recall initiative was immediately approved by Congress, but held up for months in the Senate. “I confirm my decision to give back to the people the decision to say who should or should not rule”, said Morales, defining the referendum on his presidency “a way to deepen democracy and express respect of legality”.
The President urged the Congress to promptly pass legislation for the convocation of the vote, after which Bolivian voters will go to the polls within 90 days to decide whether or not to ratify his rule, that of his Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and nine regional ‘prefectos’ (governors), most of which make up the hardline opposition to the central government, which last Sunday resulted in a controversial referendum for the autonomy of the nation’s richest eastern department of Santa Cruz. By law, to revoke the President’s term the percentage of ‘no’s’ would need to be higher than that obtained by Morales when he was elected in 2005 (53.7%, equivalent to 1,544,374 votes); in which case Morales would have to call new general elections in 3-6 months. If the governors are not ratified, they would have to immediately leave their posts and be replaced by ‘interim’ officials designated by the President until new local elections.
9 May 2008
In a new turning point in the political crisis underway for months in the nation, Bolivian President Evo Morales agreed to a national recall vote on his rule, which he had already proposed last December and that the opposition controlled Senate unanimously authorised in a surprise move yesterday. The recall initiative was immediately approved by Congress, but held up for months in the Senate. “I confirm my decision to give back to the people the decision to say who should or should not rule”, said Morales, defining the referendum on his presidency “a way to deepen democracy and express respect of legality”.
The President urged the Congress to promptly pass legislation for the convocation of the vote, after which Bolivian voters will go to the polls within 90 days to decide whether or not to ratify his rule, that of his Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and nine regional ‘prefectos’ (governors), most of which make up the hardline opposition to the central government, which last Sunday resulted in a controversial referendum for the autonomy of the nation’s richest eastern department of Santa Cruz. By law, to revoke the President’s term the percentage of ‘no’s’ would need to be higher than that obtained by Morales when he was elected in 2005 (53.7%, equivalent to 1,544,374 votes); in which case Morales would have to call new general elections in 3-6 months. If the governors are not ratified, they would have to immediately leave their posts and be replaced by ‘interim’ officials designated by the President until new local elections.
ARMY DISMANTLES ARMED GROUP IN NORTH, 12 ARRESTS.
MISNA
9 May 2008
Mali’s army dismantled an armed group in the north, theatre in the past days to attacks by Tuareg rebels, arresting 12 people and sequestering arms and munitions. A military spokesman specified that the operation “began yesterday with an exchange of fire” in Inabague, in the Kidal region (north-east). “We have arrested 12 people and sequestered four vehicles in addition to ammunition”, added the spokesman, not however specifying to which group they belonged.
Ibrahim ab Bahanga, who heads the main Tuareg rebel alliance, yesterday denied any involvement of his group in an attack of the past days against an army base in Diabaly, in central Mali, in which one soldier was killed. “We had no part in the Diabaly attack. Our group signed the Algiers accord (2006) and is keeping the truce”, said ab Bahanga. A cease-fire accord was signed in Tripoli between the Malian government and rebellion last April, in a bid to end the armed confrontation that resumed in northern Mali at the end of March.
9 May 2008
Mali’s army dismantled an armed group in the north, theatre in the past days to attacks by Tuareg rebels, arresting 12 people and sequestering arms and munitions. A military spokesman specified that the operation “began yesterday with an exchange of fire” in Inabague, in the Kidal region (north-east). “We have arrested 12 people and sequestered four vehicles in addition to ammunition”, added the spokesman, not however specifying to which group they belonged.
Ibrahim ab Bahanga, who heads the main Tuareg rebel alliance, yesterday denied any involvement of his group in an attack of the past days against an army base in Diabaly, in central Mali, in which one soldier was killed. “We had no part in the Diabaly attack. Our group signed the Algiers accord (2006) and is keeping the truce”, said ab Bahanga. A cease-fire accord was signed in Tripoli between the Malian government and rebellion last April, in a bid to end the armed confrontation that resumed in northern Mali at the end of March.
EX-BELGIAN ENVOY DEPLORES LACK OF INVESTIGATION INTO SHOOTING DOWN OF HABYARIMANA’S PLANE.
Hirondelle News Agency
8 May 2008
Johann Swinnen, Belgium Ambassador to Rwanda during 1994, deplored Thursday before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) the lack of serious investigations into the attack against the plane of President Juvénal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, which triggered the genocide.
Habyarimana died in the plane shoot-down near the capital Kigali. He was returning from a regional peace meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Also killed in the plane was Burundi’s President, Cyprien Ntaryamira.
Ten Belgian soldiers and as many Belgian civilians were killed in the hours that followed because of rumours claiming that Belgium was involved in the firing of the missiles which brought down the presidential aircraft.
The Security Council ordered an investigation into the attack which never materialized, the envoy said in his testimony for the defence of Jerome Bicamumpaka, then Rwanda’s Foreign Minister, who is jointly charged with three other ministers in the case known as “Government II." All have pleaded not guilty.
"It always astonishes me that we did not succeed in carrying out a serious investigation leading to results", stressed the diplomat.
"I will be the last to affirm what may have happened. We must have intellectual, moral and political honesty to admit that many things have not been answered yet", he added.
The diplomat however said that he did not know Bicamumpaka except for a meeting that he had with him in company of two other ministers after his nomination. He also mentioned the discomfort which he had felt at the time of the formation of the interim government.
8 May 2008
Johann Swinnen, Belgium Ambassador to Rwanda during 1994, deplored Thursday before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) the lack of serious investigations into the attack against the plane of President Juvénal Habyarimana on April 6, 1994, which triggered the genocide.
Habyarimana died in the plane shoot-down near the capital Kigali. He was returning from a regional peace meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Also killed in the plane was Burundi’s President, Cyprien Ntaryamira.
Ten Belgian soldiers and as many Belgian civilians were killed in the hours that followed because of rumours claiming that Belgium was involved in the firing of the missiles which brought down the presidential aircraft.
The Security Council ordered an investigation into the attack which never materialized, the envoy said in his testimony for the defence of Jerome Bicamumpaka, then Rwanda’s Foreign Minister, who is jointly charged with three other ministers in the case known as “Government II." All have pleaded not guilty.
"It always astonishes me that we did not succeed in carrying out a serious investigation leading to results", stressed the diplomat.
"I will be the last to affirm what may have happened. We must have intellectual, moral and political honesty to admit that many things have not been answered yet", he added.
The diplomat however said that he did not know Bicamumpaka except for a meeting that he had with him in company of two other ministers after his nomination. He also mentioned the discomfort which he had felt at the time of the formation of the interim government.
SECURITY OFFICERS LAUNCH MANHUNT FOR WITNESS WHO MYSTERIOUSLY DISAPPEARED FROM ICTR SAFE HOUSE.
Hirondelle News Agency
8 May 2008
Tanzanian police in collaboration with the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) security have launched a manhunt for a controversial protected witness who mysteriously disappeared on Tuesday from a safe house in Arusha.
The witness was scheduled to re-testify over his own admission to have given a false testimony before the UN Court.
Known only by code” GFA “, the witness disappeared while he was under guard of Tanzanian police supervised by tribunal officers, just some few hours before his scheduled appearance.
However, Arusha Regional Police Commander (RPC) Basilio Matei stated that Tanzanian police’s task was to man the gate, but all operations within the house’s boundary are solely looked after by ICTR witness protection unit. The only vehicles entering inside the house are ICTR personnel.
The ‘safe houses’ are ordinary villas throughout Arusha and often surrounded by high walls, aimed at protecting the identity of the witness and any possible external influence in the course of the trial.
The ICTR spokesman, Roland Amoussouga, said efforts were underway to track down the witness.
”ICTR and host government are making necessary efforts to locate him [witness]”, he said.
Commander Matei, told Hirondelle Agency that initial investigations indicated that the witness jumped over the wall of the safe house while in his routine jogging.
However, the witness supposedly left a note saying that he was going to his girl friend’s place, without giving her name or location.
The note also said that he had requested for $400 to be sent to his family which he never got. According to the note, the witness had expected to stay for only two weeks in Arusha, but was not the case.
The police found rest of personal belongings of the witness intact in the house.
GFA had testified for the prosecution in several trials currently in progress at the ICTR, including on-going Government II trial.
Recently , GFA contacted Bicamumpaka’s defence team and admitted that he had lied in his statement so as to get released from prison in Rwanda, where he was facing 1994 genocide charges The Chamber had authorized the defence team to meet GFA in the presence of a member of the prosecution team. This meeting took place in Kampala, Uganda.
On his arrival in Arusha for his re-testimony, GFA was warned by the Chamber of the legal risks he faces of false testimony. He had then asked to postpone his testimony and requested a new meeting with his lawyers.
The meeting took place and his testimony was scheduled for Tuesday.
The miraculous disappearance created agitation within the tribunal, where the charges of false testimony have lately multiplied.
The GFA’s disappearance has brought into focus the ability of the tribunal’s witness protection unit, according to some ICTR officials, who sought for anonymity.
8 May 2008
Tanzanian police in collaboration with the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) security have launched a manhunt for a controversial protected witness who mysteriously disappeared on Tuesday from a safe house in Arusha.
The witness was scheduled to re-testify over his own admission to have given a false testimony before the UN Court.
Known only by code” GFA “, the witness disappeared while he was under guard of Tanzanian police supervised by tribunal officers, just some few hours before his scheduled appearance.
However, Arusha Regional Police Commander (RPC) Basilio Matei stated that Tanzanian police’s task was to man the gate, but all operations within the house’s boundary are solely looked after by ICTR witness protection unit. The only vehicles entering inside the house are ICTR personnel.
The ‘safe houses’ are ordinary villas throughout Arusha and often surrounded by high walls, aimed at protecting the identity of the witness and any possible external influence in the course of the trial.
The ICTR spokesman, Roland Amoussouga, said efforts were underway to track down the witness.
”ICTR and host government are making necessary efforts to locate him [witness]”, he said.
Commander Matei, told Hirondelle Agency that initial investigations indicated that the witness jumped over the wall of the safe house while in his routine jogging.
However, the witness supposedly left a note saying that he was going to his girl friend’s place, without giving her name or location.
The note also said that he had requested for $400 to be sent to his family which he never got. According to the note, the witness had expected to stay for only two weeks in Arusha, but was not the case.
The police found rest of personal belongings of the witness intact in the house.
GFA had testified for the prosecution in several trials currently in progress at the ICTR, including on-going Government II trial.
Recently , GFA contacted Bicamumpaka’s defence team and admitted that he had lied in his statement so as to get released from prison in Rwanda, where he was facing 1994 genocide charges The Chamber had authorized the defence team to meet GFA in the presence of a member of the prosecution team. This meeting took place in Kampala, Uganda.
On his arrival in Arusha for his re-testimony, GFA was warned by the Chamber of the legal risks he faces of false testimony. He had then asked to postpone his testimony and requested a new meeting with his lawyers.
The meeting took place and his testimony was scheduled for Tuesday.
The miraculous disappearance created agitation within the tribunal, where the charges of false testimony have lately multiplied.
The GFA’s disappearance has brought into focus the ability of the tribunal’s witness protection unit, according to some ICTR officials, who sought for anonymity.
La 2ème journée du témoignage de l'Ambassadeur Swinnen devant le TPIR.
par Gaspard Musabyimana
Ce Jeudi, 08 mai 2008 devant la Chambre II du TPIR à Arusha (Affaire Le Procureur contre Dr Casimir Bizimungu et al.), l'Ambassadeur belge à Kinshasa Mr Swinnen qui représentait son pays au Rwanda depuis 1990 jusqu'aux premiers jours de la tragédie de la dernière décennie a poursuit sa déposition qui a débuté hier dans l’après-midi.
L’Ambassadeur Swinnen a expliqué qu’il y avait des personnes modérées dans tous les partis politiques au Rwanda.
Il a précisé que l’échec des accords de paix d’Arusha s’explique davantage par la cause de la radicalisation et la difficulté d’explication pédagogique de ces Accords. Il a souligné que l’événement important qui explique l’échec des Accords de paix d’Arusha, c’est l’assassinat du Président burundais Mr Melchior Ndadaye, élu démocratiquement par le peuple, et qui disparut suite un coup d’Etat du 21 octobre 1993. Cet assassinat a constitué un élément difficile à expliquer au Rwanda, un pays qui venait d’amorcer un processus de démocratisation.
Il a aussi souligné que la radio RTLM a contribué à la radicalisation des esprits qui n’étaient pas avaient des doutes sur l’application de ces accords.
Il a noté que des antagonismes Nord-Sud ou personnels au sein des partis politiques compliquaient de plus en plus le jeu. Le conflit entre Twagiramungu et Nsengiyaremye au sein de MDR serait de ce genre d’antagonisme, a-t-il donné comme un exemple.
Interrogé par le Procureur Olivier sur la question de “hutu power” attribué à Karamira, Monsieur l’Ambassadeur Swinnen a mentionné que lors de sa rencontre avec Karamira sur ce point, ce dernier lui a expliqué que c’est un concept et non une idéologie formelle ou élaborée. Selon lui (Swinnen), ce terme va dans le sens de la volonté de l’affirmation d’identité.
L’Ambassadeur Swinnen a souligné avec insistance et à maintes reprises qu’il fallait qu’il y ait des enquêtes sérieuses et honnêtes pour découvrir l’auteur de l’attentat contre l’avion du Président Habyarimana et son équipage. Il a exprimé son inquiétude qu’aussi longtemps qu’il n’y a pas de réponse à cette question, il n’y aura pas de justice équitable et que d’autres questions corollaires resteront sans réponses. Pour l’ambassadeur Swinnen, la mis e sur pied d’une enquête s’avère nécessaire pour identifier les auteurs de cet attentat.
A.D.
Arusha, le 8 mai 2008
Ce Jeudi, 08 mai 2008 devant la Chambre II du TPIR à Arusha (Affaire Le Procureur contre Dr Casimir Bizimungu et al.), l'Ambassadeur belge à Kinshasa Mr Swinnen qui représentait son pays au Rwanda depuis 1990 jusqu'aux premiers jours de la tragédie de la dernière décennie a poursuit sa déposition qui a débuté hier dans l’après-midi.
L’Ambassadeur Swinnen a expliqué qu’il y avait des personnes modérées dans tous les partis politiques au Rwanda.
Il a précisé que l’échec des accords de paix d’Arusha s’explique davantage par la cause de la radicalisation et la difficulté d’explication pédagogique de ces Accords. Il a souligné que l’événement important qui explique l’échec des Accords de paix d’Arusha, c’est l’assassinat du Président burundais Mr Melchior Ndadaye, élu démocratiquement par le peuple, et qui disparut suite un coup d’Etat du 21 octobre 1993. Cet assassinat a constitué un élément difficile à expliquer au Rwanda, un pays qui venait d’amorcer un processus de démocratisation.
Il a aussi souligné que la radio RTLM a contribué à la radicalisation des esprits qui n’étaient pas avaient des doutes sur l’application de ces accords.
Il a noté que des antagonismes Nord-Sud ou personnels au sein des partis politiques compliquaient de plus en plus le jeu. Le conflit entre Twagiramungu et Nsengiyaremye au sein de MDR serait de ce genre d’antagonisme, a-t-il donné comme un exemple.
Interrogé par le Procureur Olivier sur la question de “hutu power” attribué à Karamira, Monsieur l’Ambassadeur Swinnen a mentionné que lors de sa rencontre avec Karamira sur ce point, ce dernier lui a expliqué que c’est un concept et non une idéologie formelle ou élaborée. Selon lui (Swinnen), ce terme va dans le sens de la volonté de l’affirmation d’identité.
L’Ambassadeur Swinnen a souligné avec insistance et à maintes reprises qu’il fallait qu’il y ait des enquêtes sérieuses et honnêtes pour découvrir l’auteur de l’attentat contre l’avion du Président Habyarimana et son équipage. Il a exprimé son inquiétude qu’aussi longtemps qu’il n’y a pas de réponse à cette question, il n’y aura pas de justice équitable et que d’autres questions corollaires resteront sans réponses. Pour l’ambassadeur Swinnen, la mis e sur pied d’une enquête s’avère nécessaire pour identifier les auteurs de cet attentat.
A.D.
Arusha, le 8 mai 2008
La déposition devant le TPIR de l'Ambassadeur belge Mr Swinnen.
par Gaspard Musabyimana
Mercredi, le 07 Mai 2008 dans l'après-midi, l'ex Ambassadeur belge au Rwanda, actuellement chef de la représentation diplomatique à Kinshasa, Mr Swinnen, a déposé son témoignage devant la Chambre II du TPIR à Arusha, dans l'affaire « Le Procureur contre Dr Bizimungu Casimir et al ».
Tout au long de son témoignage, l'Ambassadeur Swinnen a confirmé que Madame Uwiringiyimana Agathe a été empêchée de se rendre à la Radio Rwanda pour prononcer un discours officiel au nom du Gouvernement. Le témoin a affirmé que Uwiringiyimana Agathe l'avait téléphoné dans la nuit du 06 avril 2008 pour lui tenir au courant qu'elle devait se rendre à la Radio Rwanda le matin du 07 avril 2008 en vue de prononcer un discours.
Concernant le climat anti belge au Rwanda d'avant les événements douloureux d'avril 1994, l'Ambassadeur Swinnen a mentionné qu'il reprenait son témoignage fourni devant le Sénat belge et qu'il réaffirme qu'au Rwanda il n'y avait pas de sentiment anti belge généralisé. Il a souligne que l'Ambassade de Belgique au Rwanda a toujours soutenu, appuyé et encouragé les forces modérées au Rwanda et que par conséquent il n'est pas question de parler de sentiment anti belge. L'Ambassadeur Swinnen a souligné que parmi des gens modérés, il reconnait le Dr Casimir Bizimingu, l'ancien Ministre de la Santé à qui il attribue des éloges d'un homme sympathique, bon, social et modéré. Cependant, il souligne que les Belges n'étaient pas aimés par des extrémistes.
Quant aux émissions de la Radio RTLM qui sèmeraient la haine entre les Rwandais, l'Ambassadeur Swinnen a mentionné que c'est vers la fin de l'année 1993 que les éditions du journaliste belge Ruggio ont marqué des exactions verbales.
Le témoin a affirmé que la Radio Muhabura, Radio du FPR, propageait des discours de haine et qu'il en a parlé à Kagame une fois à Mulindi. Le témoin a souligné que cette radio tenait des propos non favorables à l'application des accords de paix d'Arusha.
Par ailleurs, l'Ambassadeur Swinnen a confirmé qu'il a fait des échanges avec le Ministre Jérôme Bicamumpaka et qu'à cette occasion, il a appris des objectifs du Gouvernement intérimaire de Jean Kambanda qui avait pour la première mission la pacification et la reconstruction du pays. Il a affirmé que le Ministre Bicamumpaka a fait des démarches nécessaires pour la réalisation de ces objectifs.
L'Ambassadeur Swinnen poursuivra son témoignage le 8 mai avec le contre interrogatoire interrompu et qui était dirigé par Maître Michelyne St-Laurent, l'Avocat du Dr Casimir Bizimungu.
A.D.
Arusha, le 08 mai 2008
Mercredi, le 07 Mai 2008 dans l'après-midi, l'ex Ambassadeur belge au Rwanda, actuellement chef de la représentation diplomatique à Kinshasa, Mr Swinnen, a déposé son témoignage devant la Chambre II du TPIR à Arusha, dans l'affaire « Le Procureur contre Dr Bizimungu Casimir et al ».
Tout au long de son témoignage, l'Ambassadeur Swinnen a confirmé que Madame Uwiringiyimana Agathe a été empêchée de se rendre à la Radio Rwanda pour prononcer un discours officiel au nom du Gouvernement. Le témoin a affirmé que Uwiringiyimana Agathe l'avait téléphoné dans la nuit du 06 avril 2008 pour lui tenir au courant qu'elle devait se rendre à la Radio Rwanda le matin du 07 avril 2008 en vue de prononcer un discours.
Concernant le climat anti belge au Rwanda d'avant les événements douloureux d'avril 1994, l'Ambassadeur Swinnen a mentionné qu'il reprenait son témoignage fourni devant le Sénat belge et qu'il réaffirme qu'au Rwanda il n'y avait pas de sentiment anti belge généralisé. Il a souligne que l'Ambassade de Belgique au Rwanda a toujours soutenu, appuyé et encouragé les forces modérées au Rwanda et que par conséquent il n'est pas question de parler de sentiment anti belge. L'Ambassadeur Swinnen a souligné que parmi des gens modérés, il reconnait le Dr Casimir Bizimingu, l'ancien Ministre de la Santé à qui il attribue des éloges d'un homme sympathique, bon, social et modéré. Cependant, il souligne que les Belges n'étaient pas aimés par des extrémistes.
Quant aux émissions de la Radio RTLM qui sèmeraient la haine entre les Rwandais, l'Ambassadeur Swinnen a mentionné que c'est vers la fin de l'année 1993 que les éditions du journaliste belge Ruggio ont marqué des exactions verbales.
Le témoin a affirmé que la Radio Muhabura, Radio du FPR, propageait des discours de haine et qu'il en a parlé à Kagame une fois à Mulindi. Le témoin a souligné que cette radio tenait des propos non favorables à l'application des accords de paix d'Arusha.
Par ailleurs, l'Ambassadeur Swinnen a confirmé qu'il a fait des échanges avec le Ministre Jérôme Bicamumpaka et qu'à cette occasion, il a appris des objectifs du Gouvernement intérimaire de Jean Kambanda qui avait pour la première mission la pacification et la reconstruction du pays. Il a affirmé que le Ministre Bicamumpaka a fait des démarches nécessaires pour la réalisation de ces objectifs.
L'Ambassadeur Swinnen poursuivra son témoignage le 8 mai avec le contre interrogatoire interrompu et qui était dirigé par Maître Michelyne St-Laurent, l'Avocat du Dr Casimir Bizimungu.
A.D.
Arusha, le 08 mai 2008
L’Opération Turquoise.
Décidée par la résolution n° 929 du 22 juin 1994 du Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU, l’Opération Turquoise est une opération militaire organisée par la France au Rwanda du 23 juin au 21 août 1994.
Selon la résolution, cette force devait « contribuer, de manière impartiale, à la sécurité et à la protection des personnes déplacées, des réfugiés et des civils en danger au Rwanda ».
Contrairement à la MINUAR qui relevait du chapitre VI, c’est-à-dire le règlement pacifique des différends, l’Opération Turquoise se référait, elle, au chapitre VII de la Charte de l’ONU qui préconise une action en cas de menace contre la paix, de rupture de la paix et d'acte d'agression.
L’Opération Turquoise était dirigée par le Général français Jean Claude Lafourcade. Ses éléments sont entrés au Rwanda par le poste frontalier de Gisenyi, au nord-ouest du Rwanda, en provenance du Zaïre.
Forte de 2 550 militaires français et 500 autres venus de sept pays d'Afrique (Sénégal, Guinée-Bissau, Tchad, Mauritanie, Égypte, Niger et Congo), l’Opération Turquoise a mis sur pied une "zone humanitaire sûre" à partir du 4 juillet 1994.
Voici la carte « RWANDA : OPÉRATION TURQUOISE », mise à jour en août 1994 et la zone "Humanitaire sûre" vue à Mwaka (Mushubati - Gitarama), dans la zone de la « 59th Combined mobile Force Unit », en Juillet 1994, par Flavien Lizinde, ancien officier, cartographe et topographe du FPR.
Légende
- Partie Rouge : Déploiement des Marines
- Partie Verte : Déploiement des Légionnaires
- Rectangle avec diagonales : Infanterie
- Rectangle avec un point au milieu : Artillerie
- Rectacle avec ancre : Marine
- Rectangle avec forme oblongue : Blindés
Le positionnement des forces
- Poste de Commandement de l'Opération Turquoise (PC TURQUOISE) : Goma - Zaïre
- 2ème Régiment Parachutiste d'Infanterie de Marine (2e RPIMA) : Goma - Zaïre
- Poste de Commandement de Légion Étrangère (PC Légion) : Cyangugu
- Commando de Recherche et d'Action dans la Profondeur (CRAP) : Cyangugu
- 2ème Régiment Étranger de Parachutistes (2e REP) : Cyangugu
- La 1ère Compagnie du 2ème Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie (1/2e REI) : Nyarushishi - Cyangugu
- La 3ème Compagnie de la 13ème Demi-Brigade de Légion Étrangère (3/13e DBLE) : Gisakura - Cyangugu
- Poste de Commandement de Troupes De Marine - Nord (PC TDM Nord) : Kibuye
- Section de reconnaissance blindée du Régiment d'Infanterie Chars de Marine (RICM) : Nyange - Kibuye
- Section de la 3ème Batterie du 11ème Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine (3/11e RAMA) : Gisovu - Kibuye
- Poste de Commandement de Troupes De Marine - Sud (PC TDM Sud) - Gikongoro
- La 1ère Compagnie d'Infanterie de 3ème Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine (1/3e RIMa) : Gikongoro
- Section de la 3ème Compagnie de la 13ème Demi-Brigade de Légion Étrangère (3/13e DBLE) : Kitabi - Gikongoro.
Selon toujours Flavien Lizinde, le 23 juin 1994, près de 500 hommes de l’Opération Turquoise rejoignent Goma et Bukavu au Zaïre, tandis que les premiers éléments du Commandement des Opérations Spéciales (COS) foncent sur Cyangugu.
Le 16 juillet 1994, les ''Marsouins'' du 1er et 4ème escadron du RICM, appuyés par la 1ère Compagnie du 3ème RIMa dénommée les ''Forbans'' font le mouvement vers Kibuye pour protéger la ville et localiser le FPR. Sur la colline de Ndaba a lieu le premier contact.
Le soir du 17 juillet, à Nyakabuye, le FPR est dans la zone Turquoise. L'officier français donne l'ordre aux Marsouins de stopper les Inkotanyi. La 3ème Batterie du 11ème RAMa entre action. Dix-neuf combattants Inkotanyi sont tués, et une dizaine de soldats français sont emprisonnés.
Le cessez-le-feu sera signé sur le pont de la Mwogo à la fin du mois entre le colonel français de Stabenrath et le major Wilson Rutayisire du FPR.
Le 5 août, 243 Sénégalais, 132 Tchadiens, 43 Nigériens, 40 Congolais, 35 Guinéens - Bissau, 10 Mauritaniens et 7 Égyptiens sont intégrés à l'opération Turquoise, tandis que les premiers des 500 Ghanéens de la MINUAR II se positionnent au sud de Gikongoro.
Les Noirs francophones ayant participe à l'opération ne seront acceptés dans la MINUAR II qu'a mi-août 1994, le FPR les ayant rejetés dans un premier temps.
par Gaspard Musabyimana
http://www.musabyimana.be/
Le 6 mai 2008.
Selon la résolution, cette force devait « contribuer, de manière impartiale, à la sécurité et à la protection des personnes déplacées, des réfugiés et des civils en danger au Rwanda ».
Contrairement à la MINUAR qui relevait du chapitre VI, c’est-à-dire le règlement pacifique des différends, l’Opération Turquoise se référait, elle, au chapitre VII de la Charte de l’ONU qui préconise une action en cas de menace contre la paix, de rupture de la paix et d'acte d'agression.
L’Opération Turquoise était dirigée par le Général français Jean Claude Lafourcade. Ses éléments sont entrés au Rwanda par le poste frontalier de Gisenyi, au nord-ouest du Rwanda, en provenance du Zaïre.
Forte de 2 550 militaires français et 500 autres venus de sept pays d'Afrique (Sénégal, Guinée-Bissau, Tchad, Mauritanie, Égypte, Niger et Congo), l’Opération Turquoise a mis sur pied une "zone humanitaire sûre" à partir du 4 juillet 1994.
Voici la carte « RWANDA : OPÉRATION TURQUOISE », mise à jour en août 1994 et la zone "Humanitaire sûre" vue à Mwaka (Mushubati - Gitarama), dans la zone de la « 59th Combined mobile Force Unit », en Juillet 1994, par Flavien Lizinde, ancien officier, cartographe et topographe du FPR.
Légende
- Partie Rouge : Déploiement des Marines
- Partie Verte : Déploiement des Légionnaires
- Rectangle avec diagonales : Infanterie
- Rectangle avec un point au milieu : Artillerie
- Rectacle avec ancre : Marine
- Rectangle avec forme oblongue : Blindés
Le positionnement des forces
- Poste de Commandement de l'Opération Turquoise (PC TURQUOISE) : Goma - Zaïre
- 2ème Régiment Parachutiste d'Infanterie de Marine (2e RPIMA) : Goma - Zaïre
- Poste de Commandement de Légion Étrangère (PC Légion) : Cyangugu
- Commando de Recherche et d'Action dans la Profondeur (CRAP) : Cyangugu
- 2ème Régiment Étranger de Parachutistes (2e REP) : Cyangugu
- La 1ère Compagnie du 2ème Régiment Étranger d'Infanterie (1/2e REI) : Nyarushishi - Cyangugu
- La 3ème Compagnie de la 13ème Demi-Brigade de Légion Étrangère (3/13e DBLE) : Gisakura - Cyangugu
- Poste de Commandement de Troupes De Marine - Nord (PC TDM Nord) : Kibuye
- Section de reconnaissance blindée du Régiment d'Infanterie Chars de Marine (RICM) : Nyange - Kibuye
- Section de la 3ème Batterie du 11ème Régiment d'Artillerie de Marine (3/11e RAMA) : Gisovu - Kibuye
- Poste de Commandement de Troupes De Marine - Sud (PC TDM Sud) - Gikongoro
- La 1ère Compagnie d'Infanterie de 3ème Régiment d'Infanterie de Marine (1/3e RIMa) : Gikongoro
- Section de la 3ème Compagnie de la 13ème Demi-Brigade de Légion Étrangère (3/13e DBLE) : Kitabi - Gikongoro.
Selon toujours Flavien Lizinde, le 23 juin 1994, près de 500 hommes de l’Opération Turquoise rejoignent Goma et Bukavu au Zaïre, tandis que les premiers éléments du Commandement des Opérations Spéciales (COS) foncent sur Cyangugu.
Le 16 juillet 1994, les ''Marsouins'' du 1er et 4ème escadron du RICM, appuyés par la 1ère Compagnie du 3ème RIMa dénommée les ''Forbans'' font le mouvement vers Kibuye pour protéger la ville et localiser le FPR. Sur la colline de Ndaba a lieu le premier contact.
Le soir du 17 juillet, à Nyakabuye, le FPR est dans la zone Turquoise. L'officier français donne l'ordre aux Marsouins de stopper les Inkotanyi. La 3ème Batterie du 11ème RAMa entre action. Dix-neuf combattants Inkotanyi sont tués, et une dizaine de soldats français sont emprisonnés.
Le cessez-le-feu sera signé sur le pont de la Mwogo à la fin du mois entre le colonel français de Stabenrath et le major Wilson Rutayisire du FPR.
Le 5 août, 243 Sénégalais, 132 Tchadiens, 43 Nigériens, 40 Congolais, 35 Guinéens - Bissau, 10 Mauritaniens et 7 Égyptiens sont intégrés à l'opération Turquoise, tandis que les premiers des 500 Ghanéens de la MINUAR II se positionnent au sud de Gikongoro.
Les Noirs francophones ayant participe à l'opération ne seront acceptés dans la MINUAR II qu'a mi-août 1994, le FPR les ayant rejetés dans un premier temps.
par Gaspard Musabyimana
http://www.musabyimana.be/
Le 6 mai 2008.
08 May, 2008
Russia declines to comment on U.S. military attache expulsions.
RIA Novosti
8 November 2008
The Russian Foreign Ministry has made no comment on the alleged expulsion from Moscow of two U.S. military attaches working at the American Embassy in Russia.
Western media agencies reported earlier that Russia had ordered the military attaches to leave the country in response to the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Washington.
"We can confirm that the two individuals have been asked to leave," said Gonzalo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman. "We object to this action but we will comply with the Russian government's request."
The U.S. said it would appeal the expulsions.
One Russian military officer was ordered to leave Washington on November 6, 2007. The second was ordered to leave on April 22, officials said.
8 November 2008
The Russian Foreign Ministry has made no comment on the alleged expulsion from Moscow of two U.S. military attaches working at the American Embassy in Russia.
Western media agencies reported earlier that Russia had ordered the military attaches to leave the country in response to the expulsion of two Russian diplomats from Washington.
"We can confirm that the two individuals have been asked to leave," said Gonzalo Gallegos, a State Department spokesman. "We object to this action but we will comply with the Russian government's request."
The U.S. said it would appeal the expulsions.
One Russian military officer was ordered to leave Washington on November 6, 2007. The second was ordered to leave on April 22, officials said.
US to arm and train Rwandan Army for Darfur mission.
Sudan Tribune
8 May 2008
The United States is helping to equip Rwandan troops who will be heading to Darfur and is trying to find helicopters for the peacekeeping force in the conflict-wracked region, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan said Wednesday.
Soldiers from the joint UNAMID peacekeeping force guard a supply convoy leaving El Fasher in Sudan’s Darfur region, Jan 13, 2008. A joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force took over duties in Darfur in January from a beleaguered AU force to try to stem the violence. But it only has about 7,500 troops and fewer than 2,000 police on the ground, out of a total of 26,000 that have been authorized.
There are currently four Rwandan battalions with about 2,700 troops in Darfur, and the soldiers being equipped and trained by the U.S. will replace many of them as they complete their tour of duty in the coming months, the U.N. said. When the Rwandan troop contingent is fully deployed, it will have four larger battalions with about 3,200 troops.
U.S. Ambassador Richard Williamson, who took over in January as President George W. Bush’s special envoy, said about 900 Rwandan troops will be trained, equipped and ready to deploy in June and another 1,600 by August.
"We’re providing training as well as equipment as part of President Bush’s US$100 million commitment to help prepare African peacekeepers," he said.
It is unclear, however, when the Rwandan peacekeepers will actually arrive in Darfur.
8 May 2008
The United States is helping to equip Rwandan troops who will be heading to Darfur and is trying to find helicopters for the peacekeeping force in the conflict-wracked region, the U.S. special envoy to Sudan said Wednesday.
Soldiers from the joint UNAMID peacekeeping force guard a supply convoy leaving El Fasher in Sudan’s Darfur region, Jan 13, 2008. A joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force took over duties in Darfur in January from a beleaguered AU force to try to stem the violence. But it only has about 7,500 troops and fewer than 2,000 police on the ground, out of a total of 26,000 that have been authorized.
There are currently four Rwandan battalions with about 2,700 troops in Darfur, and the soldiers being equipped and trained by the U.S. will replace many of them as they complete their tour of duty in the coming months, the U.N. said. When the Rwandan troop contingent is fully deployed, it will have four larger battalions with about 3,200 troops.
U.S. Ambassador Richard Williamson, who took over in January as President George W. Bush’s special envoy, said about 900 Rwandan troops will be trained, equipped and ready to deploy in June and another 1,600 by August.
"We’re providing training as well as equipment as part of President Bush’s US$100 million commitment to help prepare African peacekeepers," he said.
It is unclear, however, when the Rwandan peacekeepers will actually arrive in Darfur.
NORTH: TUAREG REBELS ATTACK ARMY BASE.
MISNA
7 May 2008
Rebels of the Tuareg Alliance for Change (ATC) attacked an army base in Djiabally, 500km south-west of Timbuktu, in the central Ségou region. Reports on the attack are still confused and contrasting versions are in circulation. The Tuareg rebels in fact claim to have seized control of the base after several hours of fighting in which “various government soldiers and two rebels were killed”, while the other troops surrendered or fled on the Niger River on boats. Mali’s government instead communicated that only one soldier was killed in the attack and that reinforcements have been sent to the area. This was the second Tuareg rebel attack in less than a week, a month after a truce was signed on 3 April in Tripoli (Libya) between the government and northern rebels to end the conflict. The accord established the release of soldiers abducted by the rebels on March 20 in north Mali, in exchange for a partial withdrawal of the army from some northern areas that the Tuareg claim control over.
7 May 2008
Rebels of the Tuareg Alliance for Change (ATC) attacked an army base in Djiabally, 500km south-west of Timbuktu, in the central Ségou region. Reports on the attack are still confused and contrasting versions are in circulation. The Tuareg rebels in fact claim to have seized control of the base after several hours of fighting in which “various government soldiers and two rebels were killed”, while the other troops surrendered or fled on the Niger River on boats. Mali’s government instead communicated that only one soldier was killed in the attack and that reinforcements have been sent to the area. This was the second Tuareg rebel attack in less than a week, a month after a truce was signed on 3 April in Tripoli (Libya) between the government and northern rebels to end the conflict. The accord established the release of soldiers abducted by the rebels on March 20 in north Mali, in exchange for a partial withdrawal of the army from some northern areas that the Tuareg claim control over.
CLASHES BETWEEN ARMY AND FNL.
MISNA
7 May 2008
About 50 rebels form the FNL were killed and thirty were captured after clashes took place 20 km. south of Bujumbura today. A military spokesman said the fighting took pace near Kabezi. Colonel Adolphe Manikariza said that two soldiers were killed and that the troops recovered 300 grenades. The administrator of the area of Kabesi, Tharcisse Ndabaruhuye, said that “there was intense fighting today, when the rebels went to look for rebels hiding in the hills of Rugembe, Kivomo, Gitega and Mubone”. In the morning a delegation of the leaders of the FNL, last active rebel group in Burundi, had announced a return to Burundi from Tanzania to resume their participation to the Joint Mechanism of Ceasefire Monitoring and the peace talks with the government of Bujumbura.
7 May 2008
About 50 rebels form the FNL were killed and thirty were captured after clashes took place 20 km. south of Bujumbura today. A military spokesman said the fighting took pace near Kabezi. Colonel Adolphe Manikariza said that two soldiers were killed and that the troops recovered 300 grenades. The administrator of the area of Kabesi, Tharcisse Ndabaruhuye, said that “there was intense fighting today, when the rebels went to look for rebels hiding in the hills of Rugembe, Kivomo, Gitega and Mubone”. In the morning a delegation of the leaders of the FNL, last active rebel group in Burundi, had announced a return to Burundi from Tanzania to resume their participation to the Joint Mechanism of Ceasefire Monitoring and the peace talks with the government of Bujumbura.
ARMY BATTALION CONVICTED FOR POLICE MASSACRE.
MISNA
8 May 2008
Fifteen army officers received sentences of 50 to 54 years in prison for killing ten agents of the elite ‘Dijín’, Colombia’s judicial investigative police, and a civilian guide, in an anti-drug operation on 22 May 2006 in the south-western area of Jamundí. After a year and a half of hearings, with over 40 witnesses, Cali Judge Edmundo López ruled that the battalion commander, Col. Byron Carvajal, ordered the attack that was conducted “with a disproportionate use of force”. Many questions remain on the case: while the soldiers claim it was a case of ‘friendly fire’, according to the chief prosecutor Mario Iguarán, the troops acted “on commission of drug traffickers”: a version not demonstrated during the trial, but that remains a main hypothesis in the Colombian press. Carvajal, a decorated officer, is suspected of links to drug cartels and extreme right-wing ‘death squads’.
8 May 2008
Fifteen army officers received sentences of 50 to 54 years in prison for killing ten agents of the elite ‘Dijín’, Colombia’s judicial investigative police, and a civilian guide, in an anti-drug operation on 22 May 2006 in the south-western area of Jamundí. After a year and a half of hearings, with over 40 witnesses, Cali Judge Edmundo López ruled that the battalion commander, Col. Byron Carvajal, ordered the attack that was conducted “with a disproportionate use of force”. Many questions remain on the case: while the soldiers claim it was a case of ‘friendly fire’, according to the chief prosecutor Mario Iguarán, the troops acted “on commission of drug traffickers”: a version not demonstrated during the trial, but that remains a main hypothesis in the Colombian press. Carvajal, a decorated officer, is suspected of links to drug cartels and extreme right-wing ‘death squads’.
Putin confirmed as new Russian PM.
BBC News
8 May 2008
Russia's parliament overwhelmingly approved former President Vladimir Putin as Russia's new prime minister.
The State Duma (lower house) voted 392-56 in favour of Mr Putin. His United Russia bloc dominates the house.
In a speech just before the vote, Mr Putin told parliament that he would strive for "single-digit inflation within a few years".
He claimed Russia could overtake the UK in terms of GDP this year. Reducing the tax burden and widening the shareholder class were further priorities, he said.
Within hours of being sworn in on Wednesday, Mr Medvedev had nominated Mr Putin, his mentor, as prime minister.
Mr Medvedev told the deputies: "I don't think anyone doubts that our tandem, our co-operation will only strengthen."
Economic ambitions
Mr Putin, a 55-year-old former KGB agent, was barred by the Russian constitution from running for a third consecutive presidential term in the March elections.
Mr Putin will remain Russia's most popular politician for the foreseeable future, which will give him huge influence over the man he mentored as his successor, our correspondent says.
In his speech to the Duma on Thursday, Mr Putin said that "to stimulate an increase in production and refining of oil, it is time to cut the tax burden in that sector".
He said Russia must rank with the world's leading nations on key indicators such as levels of income and social welfare, quality of education, health and life expectancy.
He also spoke of the need to create "a real mass class of investors", saying even people on modest incomes should be able to hold shares.
8 May 2008
Russia's parliament overwhelmingly approved former President Vladimir Putin as Russia's new prime minister.
The State Duma (lower house) voted 392-56 in favour of Mr Putin. His United Russia bloc dominates the house.
In a speech just before the vote, Mr Putin told parliament that he would strive for "single-digit inflation within a few years".
He claimed Russia could overtake the UK in terms of GDP this year. Reducing the tax burden and widening the shareholder class were further priorities, he said.
Within hours of being sworn in on Wednesday, Mr Medvedev had nominated Mr Putin, his mentor, as prime minister.
Mr Medvedev told the deputies: "I don't think anyone doubts that our tandem, our co-operation will only strengthen."
Economic ambitions
Mr Putin, a 55-year-old former KGB agent, was barred by the Russian constitution from running for a third consecutive presidential term in the March elections.
Mr Putin will remain Russia's most popular politician for the foreseeable future, which will give him huge influence over the man he mentored as his successor, our correspondent says.
In his speech to the Duma on Thursday, Mr Putin said that "to stimulate an increase in production and refining of oil, it is time to cut the tax burden in that sector".
He said Russia must rank with the world's leading nations on key indicators such as levels of income and social welfare, quality of education, health and life expectancy.
He also spoke of the need to create "a real mass class of investors", saying even people on modest incomes should be able to hold shares.
Witness Mysteriously Disappears From ICTR's Safe House.
Hirondelle News Agency
7 May 2008
A protected witness who was to re-testify before the Arusha-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to confess to false testimony, suddenly disappeared on Tuesday just some few hours before his appearance , reports Hirondelle Agency.
The UN security service was immediately ordered to investigate how witness, known only by code" GFA ", disappeared from a safe house where he had been staying under the guard of Tanzanian police supervised by tribunal officers.
The ICTR spokesman, Roland Amoussouga, said efforts were underway to track down the witness. "ICTR and the host government are making necessary efforts to locate him [witness]".
The Arusha Regional Police Commander, Basilio Mateo, told Hirondelle Agency that he was not aware of the incident, but promised to look into the issue and will respond accordingly.
GFA had testified for the prosecution in several trials currently in progress at the ICTR, including on-going Government II trial, which brings together in a joint case of four former Rwandan ministers accused of genocide and crimes against humanity in 1994.
The four ministers are: Casimir Bizimungu (Health), Prosper Mugiraneza (Civil Service), Justin Mugenzi (Commerce) and Jerome Bicamumpaka (Foreign Affairs). All have pleaded not guilty.
Recently , GFA contacted Bicamumpaka's defence team and admitted that he had lied in his statement so as to get released from prison in Rwanda, where he was facing 1994 genocide charges The Chamber had authorized the defence team to meet GFA in the presence of a member of the prosecution team. This meeting took place in Kampala, Uganda.
On his arrival in Arusha for his re-testimony, GFA was warned by the Chamber of the legal risks he faces of false testimony. He had then asked to postpone his testimony and requested a new meeting with his lawyers.
The meeting took place and his testimony was scheduled for Tuesday.
The disappearance created agitation within the tribunal, where the charges of false testimony have multiplied greatly.
The 'safe houses' are ordinary villas throughout Arusha and often surrounded by high walls, aimed at protecting the identity of the witness and any possible external influence in the course of the trial. The GFA's disappearance has brought into focus the ability of the tribunal's witness protection unit, according to some ICTR officials, who sought for anonymity.
Since its establishment by the UN Security Council, almost 2000 witnesses have testified since its first hearing in January 1997.
7 May 2008
A protected witness who was to re-testify before the Arusha-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to confess to false testimony, suddenly disappeared on Tuesday just some few hours before his appearance , reports Hirondelle Agency.
The UN security service was immediately ordered to investigate how witness, known only by code" GFA ", disappeared from a safe house where he had been staying under the guard of Tanzanian police supervised by tribunal officers.
The ICTR spokesman, Roland Amoussouga, said efforts were underway to track down the witness. "ICTR and the host government are making necessary efforts to locate him [witness]".
The Arusha Regional Police Commander, Basilio Mateo, told Hirondelle Agency that he was not aware of the incident, but promised to look into the issue and will respond accordingly.
GFA had testified for the prosecution in several trials currently in progress at the ICTR, including on-going Government II trial, which brings together in a joint case of four former Rwandan ministers accused of genocide and crimes against humanity in 1994.
The four ministers are: Casimir Bizimungu (Health), Prosper Mugiraneza (Civil Service), Justin Mugenzi (Commerce) and Jerome Bicamumpaka (Foreign Affairs). All have pleaded not guilty.
Recently , GFA contacted Bicamumpaka's defence team and admitted that he had lied in his statement so as to get released from prison in Rwanda, where he was facing 1994 genocide charges The Chamber had authorized the defence team to meet GFA in the presence of a member of the prosecution team. This meeting took place in Kampala, Uganda.
On his arrival in Arusha for his re-testimony, GFA was warned by the Chamber of the legal risks he faces of false testimony. He had then asked to postpone his testimony and requested a new meeting with his lawyers.
The meeting took place and his testimony was scheduled for Tuesday.
The disappearance created agitation within the tribunal, where the charges of false testimony have multiplied greatly.
The 'safe houses' are ordinary villas throughout Arusha and often surrounded by high walls, aimed at protecting the identity of the witness and any possible external influence in the course of the trial. The GFA's disappearance has brought into focus the ability of the tribunal's witness protection unit, according to some ICTR officials, who sought for anonymity.
Since its establishment by the UN Security Council, almost 2000 witnesses have testified since its first hearing in January 1997.
Revealed - Flaws in Presidential Election.
The Nation
By Dave Opiyo
8 May 2008
Loopholes that give returning officers unlimited powers to determine the results announced in tallying centres during presidential elections were exposed on Wednesday.
Senior officers of the Electoral Commission of Kenya said the figures returning officers announce can only be challenged within 24 hours after which a winner is declared. Only an election petition can overturn the results.
This means that the word of returning officers at the constituency level can override objections raised by agents for presidential candidates when it comes to compiling the national tally.
The revelations also raised the possibility of figures at constituency level being changed at the national tallying centre.
This emerged as the Kriegler commission, probing into events leading to last year's disputed presidential election results, heard presentations from top ECK officers for he second day running.
Ballot papers
On Tuesday, the officers, led by ECK secretary Suleiman Chege, had been questioned about the practice of giving voters different ballot papers - one at a time - for presidential, parliamentary and civic seats.
Some members of the Kriegler commission felt that the system could be abused by allowing voters to cast three ballots for a presidential candidate, and that a better way was to give out the three ballots at once.
The session, at Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, rekindled memories of the disputes and chaos which followed the announcement of last year's presidential election results at the same venue.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) disputed the tallying which gave President Kibaki victory over Mr Raila Odinga, now the Prime Minister.
More than 1,200 people were killed and over 350,000 displaced during the violence which erupted soon after the announcement of the disputed results. Peace was restored when President Kibaki and Mr Odinga signed a power-sharing deal on February 28.
Members of the Kriegler commission heard that ECK has 48 hours - after receiving a petition - to resolve the disputes after which only an election petition can change the figures.
According to electoral rules, ECK is supposed to direct a recount or a re-tallying of the votes depending on the nature of the complaint.
There are currently more than 30 parliamentary election petitions pending before the High Court.
Late last year, ODM disputed results announced by ECK in several constituencies and alleged anomalies at the tallying centre.
President Kibaki had been trailing Mr Odinga but overtook the ODM candidate when results from parts of Central and Eastern provinces were released, sparking an outcry from ODM agents at the KICC tallying centre and protests by party supporters in various towns across the country.
It emerged that returning officers wielded so much power in determining the candidate who won an election because they results they transmitted to the ECK headquarters were deemed to be final.
Said Mr Chege: "It is always assumed that whatever results are brought to our headquarters by the returning officers are correct, that is why they are normally announced as the final results."
According to ECK electoral rules, other officials did not have the power to make alterations on the results announced at the polling stations.
"These officers are supposed to remain accountable for their actions even if their job has been completed. They can still be called upon to give evidence in court if need be," Mr Chege said.
Returning officers are also expected to provide all documents to the commission's headquarters including form 17 - the certificate of results in parliamentary election and form 17 A - a declaration of the election result, both presidential and parliamentary at the constituency level.
He is also expected to present Form 16 - the certificate of results of presidential elections - and form 16 A - the presidential and parliamentary election declaration of the election results at the polling station.
Mr Chege was responding to queries from commissioner Francis Aywa who also wanted to know what happens if the returning officer did not bring with him all the required documents to the tallying centre just before the results were announced.
The secretary said that in such instances, returning officers are issued with fresh forms to fill at the commission's headquarters.
The revelations sparked fears from members of the Kriegler commission that this could be used to manipulate the results in favour of an individual. However, Mr Chege said that all documents related to the elections were intact and available and could also be produced on demand except in areas where the vote counting process were marred by violence like Kamukunji constituency.
Present during the session were Mrs Jemimah Keli, ECK's senior legal officer and Mr Philip Chepsat, the elections manager.
The Kriegler commission was represented by Justice Johann Kriegler, who is also the commission's chairman, the Vice Chair Lady Justice Imani Daud Aboud and commissioners Horacio Bonee from Argentina, Prof Marangu M'Marete, Mrs Catherine Muyeka Mumma, Ms Lucy Kambuni and Mr Francis Angila Aywa all from Kenya. Also present was Mr Jorgen Elkilit, the Kriegler commission's secretary.
The Kriegler commission is among others expected to assess ECK's efficiency and its capacity to discharge its mandate. It will also investigate the vote counting and tallying for the entire election and investigate the organisation and structure of the 2007 electoral operations among other key issues.
By Dave Opiyo
8 May 2008
Loopholes that give returning officers unlimited powers to determine the results announced in tallying centres during presidential elections were exposed on Wednesday.
Senior officers of the Electoral Commission of Kenya said the figures returning officers announce can only be challenged within 24 hours after which a winner is declared. Only an election petition can overturn the results.
This means that the word of returning officers at the constituency level can override objections raised by agents for presidential candidates when it comes to compiling the national tally.
The revelations also raised the possibility of figures at constituency level being changed at the national tallying centre.
This emerged as the Kriegler commission, probing into events leading to last year's disputed presidential election results, heard presentations from top ECK officers for he second day running.
Ballot papers
On Tuesday, the officers, led by ECK secretary Suleiman Chege, had been questioned about the practice of giving voters different ballot papers - one at a time - for presidential, parliamentary and civic seats.
Some members of the Kriegler commission felt that the system could be abused by allowing voters to cast three ballots for a presidential candidate, and that a better way was to give out the three ballots at once.
The session, at Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, rekindled memories of the disputes and chaos which followed the announcement of last year's presidential election results at the same venue.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) disputed the tallying which gave President Kibaki victory over Mr Raila Odinga, now the Prime Minister.
More than 1,200 people were killed and over 350,000 displaced during the violence which erupted soon after the announcement of the disputed results. Peace was restored when President Kibaki and Mr Odinga signed a power-sharing deal on February 28.
Members of the Kriegler commission heard that ECK has 48 hours - after receiving a petition - to resolve the disputes after which only an election petition can change the figures.
According to electoral rules, ECK is supposed to direct a recount or a re-tallying of the votes depending on the nature of the complaint.
There are currently more than 30 parliamentary election petitions pending before the High Court.
Late last year, ODM disputed results announced by ECK in several constituencies and alleged anomalies at the tallying centre.
President Kibaki had been trailing Mr Odinga but overtook the ODM candidate when results from parts of Central and Eastern provinces were released, sparking an outcry from ODM agents at the KICC tallying centre and protests by party supporters in various towns across the country.
It emerged that returning officers wielded so much power in determining the candidate who won an election because they results they transmitted to the ECK headquarters were deemed to be final.
Said Mr Chege: "It is always assumed that whatever results are brought to our headquarters by the returning officers are correct, that is why they are normally announced as the final results."
According to ECK electoral rules, other officials did not have the power to make alterations on the results announced at the polling stations.
"These officers are supposed to remain accountable for their actions even if their job has been completed. They can still be called upon to give evidence in court if need be," Mr Chege said.
Returning officers are also expected to provide all documents to the commission's headquarters including form 17 - the certificate of results in parliamentary election and form 17 A - a declaration of the election result, both presidential and parliamentary at the constituency level.
He is also expected to present Form 16 - the certificate of results of presidential elections - and form 16 A - the presidential and parliamentary election declaration of the election results at the polling station.
Mr Chege was responding to queries from commissioner Francis Aywa who also wanted to know what happens if the returning officer did not bring with him all the required documents to the tallying centre just before the results were announced.
The secretary said that in such instances, returning officers are issued with fresh forms to fill at the commission's headquarters.
The revelations sparked fears from members of the Kriegler commission that this could be used to manipulate the results in favour of an individual. However, Mr Chege said that all documents related to the elections were intact and available and could also be produced on demand except in areas where the vote counting process were marred by violence like Kamukunji constituency.
Present during the session were Mrs Jemimah Keli, ECK's senior legal officer and Mr Philip Chepsat, the elections manager.
The Kriegler commission was represented by Justice Johann Kriegler, who is also the commission's chairman, the Vice Chair Lady Justice Imani Daud Aboud and commissioners Horacio Bonee from Argentina, Prof Marangu M'Marete, Mrs Catherine Muyeka Mumma, Ms Lucy Kambuni and Mr Francis Angila Aywa all from Kenya. Also present was Mr Jorgen Elkilit, the Kriegler commission's secretary.
The Kriegler commission is among others expected to assess ECK's efficiency and its capacity to discharge its mandate. It will also investigate the vote counting and tallying for the entire election and investigate the organisation and structure of the 2007 electoral operations among other key issues.
French Court Approves Transfer of Accused in France to UN Court in Arusha
Hirondelle News Agency
7 May 2008
The Final Court of Appeal, highest court in France, rejected Wednesday an appeal of a Rwandan accused of committing genocide, Dominique Ntawukuriryayo, and upheld the ruling by the Court of Appeal of Paris which authorized the accused's transfer to the Arusha, Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to stand a trial.
Ntawukuriryayo, who was Deputy Governor of Gisagara, southern Rwanda in 1994, was arrested on 16 October in Carcassonne, south-west France, under an arrest warrant issued by ICTR on 21 September 2007.
Ntawukuriryayo, 66, arrived in France in 1999 and enjoyed residence visa.
The Investigation Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Paris in November, 2007, agreed to transfer Ntawukuriryayo to the ICTR's detention facility in Arusha but the decision was quashed due to legal errors by the Criminal Chamber of the Final Court of Appeal.
The case was re-examined by the Investigation Chamber, but composed of new judges who on 14 February ordered the accused's transfer to the UN tribunal, but the accused challenged the ruling.
Two other Rwandans accused by the ICTR are currently held in Europe under an ICTR extradition request. They are former Minister for Planning Augustin Ngirabztware (held in Germany since September 2007) and Michel Bagaragaza, detained in The Netherlands after the cancellation of transfer of his case to the Dutch courts.
7 May 2008
The Final Court of Appeal, highest court in France, rejected Wednesday an appeal of a Rwandan accused of committing genocide, Dominique Ntawukuriryayo, and upheld the ruling by the Court of Appeal of Paris which authorized the accused's transfer to the Arusha, Tanzania-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to stand a trial.
Ntawukuriryayo, who was Deputy Governor of Gisagara, southern Rwanda in 1994, was arrested on 16 October in Carcassonne, south-west France, under an arrest warrant issued by ICTR on 21 September 2007.
Ntawukuriryayo, 66, arrived in France in 1999 and enjoyed residence visa.
The Investigation Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Paris in November, 2007, agreed to transfer Ntawukuriryayo to the ICTR's detention facility in Arusha but the decision was quashed due to legal errors by the Criminal Chamber of the Final Court of Appeal.
The case was re-examined by the Investigation Chamber, but composed of new judges who on 14 February ordered the accused's transfer to the UN tribunal, but the accused challenged the ruling.
Two other Rwandans accused by the ICTR are currently held in Europe under an ICTR extradition request. They are former Minister for Planning Augustin Ngirabztware (held in Germany since September 2007) and Michel Bagaragaza, detained in The Netherlands after the cancellation of transfer of his case to the Dutch courts.
07 May, 2008
Yusuf Approves Controversial Puntland Oil Exploration Project.
By Yusuf Ali
30 April 2008
The president of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has signed a letter formally approving an oil exploration project in the northern region of Puntland that has been mired in controversy and bloodshed since early 2006, Garowe Online has learned.
The letter, dated April 25th, was signed by interim President Abdullahi Yusuf, himself a former Puntland warlord before being elected to the Somali presidency in October 2004 at the conclusion of a two-year peace process in neighboring Kenya.
"This letter serves as an official endorsement by the TFG of the legitimacy of the existing agreements with the concession holders in Puntland," the letter stated.
Although the letter did not elaborate, the "concession holders" refers to Australia-based mining firm Range Resources, Ltd., and Canada's Africa Oil Corp., two companies who have a joint venture to explore for oil and gas in the semiautonomous State of Puntland, northeastern Somalia.
This is the first time the President of Somalia has officially recognized the "legitimacy" of the Puntland-Range-Africa Oil agreement that was originally nurtured under suspicious circumstances and sparked bloodshed in one of Somalia's most peaceful regions.
In August 2005, Puntland President Mohamud "Adde" Muse flew to Dubai and met with Range representatives, who presented a contract of work, which the Puntland leader eagerly signed with utter disregard for the region's constitution and the establishment of the new federal government (TFG).
Attempts by Range to send geologists to the region of Sanaag, which is at the heart of a violent land dispute between Puntland and the breakaway republic of Somaliland, sparked civil unrest in an erstwhile peaceful mountainous village, with local villagers taking up arms against Puntland security forces protecting the Range geologists.
Local sources reported - and Garowe Online documented - the death of at least 10 people including soldiers and villagers during three separate acts of violence in the village of Majihaan, Sanaag.
Due to this, Puntland and Range indefinitely suspended their operations in Sanaag after it become increasingly clear to all parties that the local Warsangeli clan violently opposed any encroachment upon their territory without clan approval.
In 2007, Range announced that it had signed a farm-in deal with Africa Oil (formerly Canmex Minerals), giving the latter an 80% stake in the Puntland exploration project.
Puntland officials and their foreign partners, namely Range Resources, spent the past two years attempting to collect mineral samples on the ground, with little success, while working diligently to gain President Yusuf's approval.
That the Somali leader has finally signed on to the Puntland-Range-Africa Oil controversy was presented as good news by the aforementioned companies and their supporters in the Puntland government.
On April 29, Range issued a statement announcing a delay in the Africa Oil drilling program, which was scheduled to begin in July. The company cited "civil unrest in southern Somalia and piracy around Somalia's coast" as creating "logistical difficulties" to the shipping of heavy drilling equipment to Puntland.
But the company claimed that President Yusuf gave the exploration project "a broad endorsement," apparently referring to the Somali president's April 25th letter, which was mysteriously published only in the English language.
Government insiders have told Garowe Online that President Yusuf's endorsement directly contradicts the position of other TFG officials, including parliament Speaker Sheikh Adan "Madobe" Mohamed and Somali Energy Minister Mohamud Ali Salah.
In March, Energy Minister Salah issued a press statement condemning the Puntland oil law, which the Muse administration in Puntland claimed was ratified by the regional parliament.
But many Puntland lawmakers, who represent local armed clans, remain strongly opposed to the oil law and have demanded a second vote after accusing Puntland Parliament Speaker Ahmed Ali Hashi using an ill-timed and "illegal" vote to break a 21-21 tie on the Puntland oil law.
Adan Madobe, the TFG Parliament Speaker, has backed a legislative process at the federal level to enact a national oil law for Somalia, which would automatically disqualify Puntland's oil law and terminate its controversial agreements with foreign companies.
According to Speaker Madobe, the TFG Parliament is in the process of completing the national oil law and debate is soon expected on the parliament floor.
Many observers have wondered how it is possible to explore for oil in Somalia, where a civil war has raged for 18 years, worsened only by Ethiopian occupation troops protecting Yusuf's government in war-torn Mogadishu.
It is not clear why Yusuf, who enjoys little support from Mogadishu's armed clans, would now endorse the exploration effort in Puntland, where he has historically enjoyed local clan support.
Muse, the Puntland leader, has angered many local clans during his tenure and is blamed for a range of social, economic and security-related problems that have devastated the region since late 2005.
Source: Garowe Online
30 April 2008
The president of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has signed a letter formally approving an oil exploration project in the northern region of Puntland that has been mired in controversy and bloodshed since early 2006, Garowe Online has learned.
The letter, dated April 25th, was signed by interim President Abdullahi Yusuf, himself a former Puntland warlord before being elected to the Somali presidency in October 2004 at the conclusion of a two-year peace process in neighboring Kenya.
"This letter serves as an official endorsement by the TFG of the legitimacy of the existing agreements with the concession holders in Puntland," the letter stated.
Although the letter did not elaborate, the "concession holders" refers to Australia-based mining firm Range Resources, Ltd., and Canada's Africa Oil Corp., two companies who have a joint venture to explore for oil and gas in the semiautonomous State of Puntland, northeastern Somalia.
This is the first time the President of Somalia has officially recognized the "legitimacy" of the Puntland-Range-Africa Oil agreement that was originally nurtured under suspicious circumstances and sparked bloodshed in one of Somalia's most peaceful regions.
In August 2005, Puntland President Mohamud "Adde" Muse flew to Dubai and met with Range representatives, who presented a contract of work, which the Puntland leader eagerly signed with utter disregard for the region's constitution and the establishment of the new federal government (TFG).
Attempts by Range to send geologists to the region of Sanaag, which is at the heart of a violent land dispute between Puntland and the breakaway republic of Somaliland, sparked civil unrest in an erstwhile peaceful mountainous village, with local villagers taking up arms against Puntland security forces protecting the Range geologists.
Local sources reported - and Garowe Online documented - the death of at least 10 people including soldiers and villagers during three separate acts of violence in the village of Majihaan, Sanaag.
Due to this, Puntland and Range indefinitely suspended their operations in Sanaag after it become increasingly clear to all parties that the local Warsangeli clan violently opposed any encroachment upon their territory without clan approval.
In 2007, Range announced that it had signed a farm-in deal with Africa Oil (formerly Canmex Minerals), giving the latter an 80% stake in the Puntland exploration project.
Puntland officials and their foreign partners, namely Range Resources, spent the past two years attempting to collect mineral samples on the ground, with little success, while working diligently to gain President Yusuf's approval.
That the Somali leader has finally signed on to the Puntland-Range-Africa Oil controversy was presented as good news by the aforementioned companies and their supporters in the Puntland government.
On April 29, Range issued a statement announcing a delay in the Africa Oil drilling program, which was scheduled to begin in July. The company cited "civil unrest in southern Somalia and piracy around Somalia's coast" as creating "logistical difficulties" to the shipping of heavy drilling equipment to Puntland.
But the company claimed that President Yusuf gave the exploration project "a broad endorsement," apparently referring to the Somali president's April 25th letter, which was mysteriously published only in the English language.
Government insiders have told Garowe Online that President Yusuf's endorsement directly contradicts the position of other TFG officials, including parliament Speaker Sheikh Adan "Madobe" Mohamed and Somali Energy Minister Mohamud Ali Salah.
In March, Energy Minister Salah issued a press statement condemning the Puntland oil law, which the Muse administration in Puntland claimed was ratified by the regional parliament.
But many Puntland lawmakers, who represent local armed clans, remain strongly opposed to the oil law and have demanded a second vote after accusing Puntland Parliament Speaker Ahmed Ali Hashi using an ill-timed and "illegal" vote to break a 21-21 tie on the Puntland oil law.
Adan Madobe, the TFG Parliament Speaker, has backed a legislative process at the federal level to enact a national oil law for Somalia, which would automatically disqualify Puntland's oil law and terminate its controversial agreements with foreign companies.
According to Speaker Madobe, the TFG Parliament is in the process of completing the national oil law and debate is soon expected on the parliament floor.
Many observers have wondered how it is possible to explore for oil in Somalia, where a civil war has raged for 18 years, worsened only by Ethiopian occupation troops protecting Yusuf's government in war-torn Mogadishu.
It is not clear why Yusuf, who enjoys little support from Mogadishu's armed clans, would now endorse the exploration effort in Puntland, where he has historically enjoyed local clan support.
Muse, the Puntland leader, has angered many local clans during his tenure and is blamed for a range of social, economic and security-related problems that have devastated the region since late 2005.
Source: Garowe Online
Somaliland Discusses Oil Exploration Investments With Oil Executives In Texas.
26 April 2008
Somaliland Minister of Water and Mineral Resources, Qassim Sh. Yussuf Ibrahim, left here today after several days visit to San Antonio, Texas, aimed at attracting foreign investors for Somaliland’s potential oil explorations, and other untapped mineral resources, on the sidelines of an international petroleum convention.
The visit comes on the heels of the ministry's announcement on April 11, 2008 of the completion of the geophysical surveys of oil prospects in its onshore and offshore areas by the Norwegian TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (“TGS”), raising hopes for significant foreign investment to Somaliland.
“The Ministry is excited about completion of the TGS geophysical surveys and looks forward to bringing substantial foreign investment to Somaliland,” the statement concluded,” Ibrahim said at the time in a press statement a copy of which was sent to Awdalnews Network.
The TGS completed an on-shore program of 34,600 kilometers of aeromagnetic data and a 2D seismic survey of offshore Somaliland, consisting of 5,100 KM of modern seismic data. Both data programs are currently being processed for an international bid round planned for late 2008. In March 2007. TGS acquired 1000 KM of offshore seismic as well.
Later during a stopover in Dallas, the Minister briefed the Somaliland Community on the current situation of the country during a luncheon hosted in his honor by Safia Abdillahi from Awdal Charity Services, Inc, and Kayse Noor Ahmad.
Minister Ibrahim urged the community members who attended the luncheon to invest in their home country to create business for themselves and create jobs for Somaliland's people.
The Minister and his entourage thanked the Somaliland community for their hospitality. Later the Minister departed from Dallas and Forth-worth international airport for London.
Parts of the report was also contributed by Kayse Noor Ahmad Dallas, Texas.
Kayse71@hotmail.com
Source: Awdalnews Network
Somaliland Minister of Water and Mineral Resources, Qassim Sh. Yussuf Ibrahim, left here today after several days visit to San Antonio, Texas, aimed at attracting foreign investors for Somaliland’s potential oil explorations, and other untapped mineral resources, on the sidelines of an international petroleum convention.
The visit comes on the heels of the ministry's announcement on April 11, 2008 of the completion of the geophysical surveys of oil prospects in its onshore and offshore areas by the Norwegian TGS-NOPEC Geophysical Company (“TGS”), raising hopes for significant foreign investment to Somaliland.
“The Ministry is excited about completion of the TGS geophysical surveys and looks forward to bringing substantial foreign investment to Somaliland,” the statement concluded,” Ibrahim said at the time in a press statement a copy of which was sent to Awdalnews Network.
The TGS completed an on-shore program of 34,600 kilometers of aeromagnetic data and a 2D seismic survey of offshore Somaliland, consisting of 5,100 KM of modern seismic data. Both data programs are currently being processed for an international bid round planned for late 2008. In March 2007. TGS acquired 1000 KM of offshore seismic as well.
Later during a stopover in Dallas, the Minister briefed the Somaliland Community on the current situation of the country during a luncheon hosted in his honor by Safia Abdillahi from Awdal Charity Services, Inc, and Kayse Noor Ahmad.
Minister Ibrahim urged the community members who attended the luncheon to invest in their home country to create business for themselves and create jobs for Somaliland's people.
The Minister and his entourage thanked the Somaliland community for their hospitality. Later the Minister departed from Dallas and Forth-worth international airport for London.
Parts of the report was also contributed by Kayse Noor Ahmad Dallas, Texas.
Kayse71@hotmail.com
Source: Awdalnews Network
France recognizes de facto Somaliland.
BY ROBERT WIREN
Versailles, France, April 8th 2008 - Somaliland is asking for international recognition since 1991 when it restored its independence. Some countries have granted a de facto recognition to Somaliland, for instance Ethiopia which hosts a representative based in Addis Ababa. Delegates have also been sent to the United Kingdom, once the colonial power controlling the protectorate of Somaliland, and to the USA and Italy. Recently France has sent twice diplomats from its embassy in Djibouti to Hargeisa to create cultural links with Somaliland. The latest move materializing a de facto recognition by France has been to authorize the opening of a representative liaison office in the French capital. Les nouvelles d’Addis has met the newly appointed Somaliland representative, Mr Mahamud Salah Nur.
Les nouvelles d'Addis. – You arrived recently as a representative of your country in France. What have been your previous official assignments ?
Mahamud Salah Nur. – I had various positions since Somaliland was created again. A national charter was adopted in 1993 in Borama and government structures came into existence. I became then a member of parliament representing my Sanaag region up to 1997 when late president Egal was elected. Then I joined the government as minister of Foreign Affairs until 2001. When the political parties were created I became one of the founders of Kulmiye party which is the biggest opposition party. Lately I was chosen by president Riyale, taken into consideration my background, even though I belong to an opposition party and I did not leave my party. I was appointed as a representative in France. And the Somaliland government has decided to open an office taken into consideration the position of France as one of the great powers. It is a force to reckon with in Europe and we have decided to introduce the French language into the educational system. Now French is beeing taught in the universities of Somaliland, both in Borama and Hargeisa. I just have arrived to open this office.
LNA. – It cannot be an official diplomatic representation because there is no recognition yet. What can be your status ?
MSN. – Recognition has got two aspects. You have de facto recognition and de jure recognition. What we have now is de facto recognition. France takes into consideration the fact that Somaliland has existed for 17 years and single-handedly was able to survive, has shown unbelievable resilience to survive on its own. To day without boast Somaliland is a force to reckon with in the region. It has got the most democratic institutions, it has got the freest press, it has got a real functioning parliament and lot of things are controlled by the opposition. As you know we have separation of powers. The legislative, the judiciary and the executive. The parliament is controlled by the opposition which has got the majority. So it is something like cohabitation in a strange way on that part of the continent.
LNA. – You mentionned recognition de facto. Are you referring to the visits of French diplomats to Hargeisa last October and more recently ? Do you think this is a first step toward full recognition ?
MSN. – We think that there is a growing awareness worldwide that it is high time, it is overdue that the world has finally to grant Somaliland a legal, diplomatic recognition because the international community has realized that we have met all the conditions for a fully-fledged state, all the requirements as stipulated in the Montevideo Convention on recognition of states in the sense that we have fixed boundaries, permanent population with all the functional institutions of a state and we have legitimacy because we had several elections. We had presidential elections, we had parliamentary elections. By the way we are unique in East Africa in the sense that we have a president who is there by the virtue of the fact that we had national elections with a thin majority of 80 votes. That has happened nowhere in the world. And above all we are an oasis of peace and stability in the region. Thus number of people say this merits the respect of the international community.
LNA. – One strange thing is that while European countries like France and Great Britain have started to have relations, even if they are unofficial, inside the African Union they are waiting to do something. In your opinion will the African Union continue to wait and take no decision ?
MSN. – It is a very interesting question. In fact having officially made an application for membership in the African Union, a high level delegation was sent to Somaliland and finally a draft report was written, a very positive report about the situation which prevails in Somaliland. It strongly recommends that Somaliland should be recognized and admitted into the African Union, that our country cannot be equated to Biafra or to any split state but that Somaliland is unique in the sense that it meets all the conditions for a fully-fledged state. What Somaliland has done is fully in harmony with the charter of the African Union. This is now seriously debated by African countries and we think soon, inch’Allah, they will reach a positive decision.
LNA. – Beeing now in France do you plan to meet some personalities to inform them, in the ministry of Foreign Affairs for instance ?
MSN. – The Foreign Ministry has already agreed in February that Somaliland should be given the right to open an office to represent our country. Not fully diplomatic but a sort of ex officio.
LNA. – Like the Palestinian representation ?
MSN. – Something along that line. You call it officieux. The decision of recognition will be taken by France and by the European countries. France cannot take this decision alone but it will have to consult other European governments. France will be chairman of the European Union by the first of July.We think by then the Europeans will seriously debate the issue of the recognition of Somaliland and that depends on how much efforts we put in to convince and sell our gopel to Europeans.
LNA. – You have a lot of work ahead. Welcome to this country. We shall certainly meet again.
MSN. – Thank you.
Source: LES NOUVELLES D'ADDIS
Versailles, France, April 8th 2008 - Somaliland is asking for international recognition since 1991 when it restored its independence. Some countries have granted a de facto recognition to Somaliland, for instance Ethiopia which hosts a representative based in Addis Ababa. Delegates have also been sent to the United Kingdom, once the colonial power controlling the protectorate of Somaliland, and to the USA and Italy. Recently France has sent twice diplomats from its embassy in Djibouti to Hargeisa to create cultural links with Somaliland. The latest move materializing a de facto recognition by France has been to authorize the opening of a representative liaison office in the French capital. Les nouvelles d’Addis has met the newly appointed Somaliland representative, Mr Mahamud Salah Nur.
Les nouvelles d'Addis. – You arrived recently as a representative of your country in France. What have been your previous official assignments ?
Mahamud Salah Nur. – I had various positions since Somaliland was created again. A national charter was adopted in 1993 in Borama and government structures came into existence. I became then a member of parliament representing my Sanaag region up to 1997 when late president Egal was elected. Then I joined the government as minister of Foreign Affairs until 2001. When the political parties were created I became one of the founders of Kulmiye party which is the biggest opposition party. Lately I was chosen by president Riyale, taken into consideration my background, even though I belong to an opposition party and I did not leave my party. I was appointed as a representative in France. And the Somaliland government has decided to open an office taken into consideration the position of France as one of the great powers. It is a force to reckon with in Europe and we have decided to introduce the French language into the educational system. Now French is beeing taught in the universities of Somaliland, both in Borama and Hargeisa. I just have arrived to open this office.
LNA. – It cannot be an official diplomatic representation because there is no recognition yet. What can be your status ?
MSN. – Recognition has got two aspects. You have de facto recognition and de jure recognition. What we have now is de facto recognition. France takes into consideration the fact that Somaliland has existed for 17 years and single-handedly was able to survive, has shown unbelievable resilience to survive on its own. To day without boast Somaliland is a force to reckon with in the region. It has got the most democratic institutions, it has got the freest press, it has got a real functioning parliament and lot of things are controlled by the opposition. As you know we have separation of powers. The legislative, the judiciary and the executive. The parliament is controlled by the opposition which has got the majority. So it is something like cohabitation in a strange way on that part of the continent.
LNA. – You mentionned recognition de facto. Are you referring to the visits of French diplomats to Hargeisa last October and more recently ? Do you think this is a first step toward full recognition ?
MSN. – We think that there is a growing awareness worldwide that it is high time, it is overdue that the world has finally to grant Somaliland a legal, diplomatic recognition because the international community has realized that we have met all the conditions for a fully-fledged state, all the requirements as stipulated in the Montevideo Convention on recognition of states in the sense that we have fixed boundaries, permanent population with all the functional institutions of a state and we have legitimacy because we had several elections. We had presidential elections, we had parliamentary elections. By the way we are unique in East Africa in the sense that we have a president who is there by the virtue of the fact that we had national elections with a thin majority of 80 votes. That has happened nowhere in the world. And above all we are an oasis of peace and stability in the region. Thus number of people say this merits the respect of the international community.
LNA. – One strange thing is that while European countries like France and Great Britain have started to have relations, even if they are unofficial, inside the African Union they are waiting to do something. In your opinion will the African Union continue to wait and take no decision ?
MSN. – It is a very interesting question. In fact having officially made an application for membership in the African Union, a high level delegation was sent to Somaliland and finally a draft report was written, a very positive report about the situation which prevails in Somaliland. It strongly recommends that Somaliland should be recognized and admitted into the African Union, that our country cannot be equated to Biafra or to any split state but that Somaliland is unique in the sense that it meets all the conditions for a fully-fledged state. What Somaliland has done is fully in harmony with the charter of the African Union. This is now seriously debated by African countries and we think soon, inch’Allah, they will reach a positive decision.
LNA. – Beeing now in France do you plan to meet some personalities to inform them, in the ministry of Foreign Affairs for instance ?
MSN. – The Foreign Ministry has already agreed in February that Somaliland should be given the right to open an office to represent our country. Not fully diplomatic but a sort of ex officio.
LNA. – Like the Palestinian representation ?
MSN. – Something along that line. You call it officieux. The decision of recognition will be taken by France and by the European countries. France cannot take this decision alone but it will have to consult other European governments. France will be chairman of the European Union by the first of July.We think by then the Europeans will seriously debate the issue of the recognition of Somaliland and that depends on how much efforts we put in to convince and sell our gopel to Europeans.
LNA. – You have a lot of work ahead. Welcome to this country. We shall certainly meet again.
MSN. – Thank you.
Source: LES NOUVELLES D'ADDIS
Cable Requesting Information on UK Missionary Murdered in Rwanda 1994.
The Spanish High Court has charged the RPA with the murder of Mr. Mannion.-Editor
Document courtesy of Mr. Peter Erlinder and the Rwandan Documents Project.
Murder attempt against Puntland’s last woman TV presenter in Puntland.
Reporters Without Borders
Press release
7 May 2008
Reporters Without Borders said today it was disgusted by a murder attempt against Bisharo Mohammed Waeys, celebrated presenter on the privately-owned Eastern Television Network (ETN), on 4 May, the last woman working openly as a journalist in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, north-eastern Somalia.
Bisharo Mohammed Waeys, who presents a popular talk show onto which she invites singers from the region, was driving to her home in Bossasso, when she came under fire from several armed men and only escaped by accelerating away fast, it was reported by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), partner organisation in Somalia of Reporters Without Borders. The next day she received two text messages threatening to kill her if she did not stop her entertainment programme on ETN.
Mohammed Waeys previously presented the TV news. Given her independent character and the fact that she presents programmes without wearing the veil, the group suspected of carrying out the murder attempt is the armed Islamist group “Al-Shabaab”, which has been responsible for most murders of journalists since 2007 and was named a “press freedom predator” by Reporters Without Borders on World Press Freedom Day on 3 May 2008.
“A terrible tragedy has been narrowly avoided in this country, which was in 2007, the deadliest for journalists in Africa. Bisharo Mohammed Waeys’s forced descent into life under guard symbolises a serious step backwards for Somalia since the outbreak of war between the transitional government and Islamic insurgents,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said.
“The Puntland authorities must take into consideration the disgrace that this represents and protect this journalist in every possible way,” the organisation added.
————
SOMALIE
Tentative d’assassinat de la dernière présentatrice de télévision du Puntland
Reporters sans frontières est révoltée par la tentative d’assassinat dont a été victime, le 4 mai 2008, Bisharo Mohammed Waeys, célèbre présentatrice de la chaîne de télévision privée Eastern Television Network (ETN) et dernière femme à exercer publiquement le journalisme dans la région semi-autonome du Puntland (Nord-Est).
“Une terrible tragédie a été évitée de justesse dans ce pays qui a été, en 2007, le plus meurtrier pour les journalistes en Afrique. La plongée forcée dans une vie sous protection de Bisharo Mohammed Waeys est le symbole du considérable bond en arrière qu’a effectué la Somalie depuis l’irruption de la guerre entre le gouvernement de transition et les insurgés islamistes. Les autorités du Puntland devraient prendre en considération le scandale que cela représente et protéger cette journaliste par tous les moyens”, a déclaré l’organisation.
Le 4 mai 2008, Bisharo Mohammed Waeys, une présentatrice de talk-shows renommée au Puntland, circulait dans sa voiture en direction de son domicile de Bossasso, lorsqu’elle a été prise sous le feu de plusieurs hommes armés, selon l’Union nationale des journalistes somaliens (NUSOJ), l’organisation partenaire de Reporters sans frontières en Somalie. Elle a échappé aux balles en accélérant brusquement. Le lendemain, elle a reçu deux SMS la menaçant d’être abattue si elle n’arrêtait pas l’émission de divertissement qu’elle présente sur ETN.
Bisharo Mohammed Waeys est une figure de la télévision au Puntland. Après avoir présenté les journaux télévisés, elle anime désormais un talk-show dans lequel elle invite les chanteurs de la région.
Etant donné la personnalité indépendante de la journaliste et le fait qu’elle présente ses émissions sans porter de voile, les soupçons se portent sur le groupe islamiste armé des “Shabaab”, responsable de la plupart des assassinats de journalistes depuis 2007 et désigné “Prédateur de la liberté de la presse” le 3 mai 2008 par Reporters sans frontières.
Bisharo Mohammed Waeys est la seule journaliste à présenter un programme de télévision dans la région.
Press release
7 May 2008
Reporters Without Borders said today it was disgusted by a murder attempt against Bisharo Mohammed Waeys, celebrated presenter on the privately-owned Eastern Television Network (ETN), on 4 May, the last woman working openly as a journalist in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, north-eastern Somalia.
Bisharo Mohammed Waeys, who presents a popular talk show onto which she invites singers from the region, was driving to her home in Bossasso, when she came under fire from several armed men and only escaped by accelerating away fast, it was reported by the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), partner organisation in Somalia of Reporters Without Borders. The next day she received two text messages threatening to kill her if she did not stop her entertainment programme on ETN.
Mohammed Waeys previously presented the TV news. Given her independent character and the fact that she presents programmes without wearing the veil, the group suspected of carrying out the murder attempt is the armed Islamist group “Al-Shabaab”, which has been responsible for most murders of journalists since 2007 and was named a “press freedom predator” by Reporters Without Borders on World Press Freedom Day on 3 May 2008.
“A terrible tragedy has been narrowly avoided in this country, which was in 2007, the deadliest for journalists in Africa. Bisharo Mohammed Waeys’s forced descent into life under guard symbolises a serious step backwards for Somalia since the outbreak of war between the transitional government and Islamic insurgents,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said.
“The Puntland authorities must take into consideration the disgrace that this represents and protect this journalist in every possible way,” the organisation added.
————
SOMALIE
Tentative d’assassinat de la dernière présentatrice de télévision du Puntland
Reporters sans frontières est révoltée par la tentative d’assassinat dont a été victime, le 4 mai 2008, Bisharo Mohammed Waeys, célèbre présentatrice de la chaîne de télévision privée Eastern Television Network (ETN) et dernière femme à exercer publiquement le journalisme dans la région semi-autonome du Puntland (Nord-Est).
“Une terrible tragédie a été évitée de justesse dans ce pays qui a été, en 2007, le plus meurtrier pour les journalistes en Afrique. La plongée forcée dans une vie sous protection de Bisharo Mohammed Waeys est le symbole du considérable bond en arrière qu’a effectué la Somalie depuis l’irruption de la guerre entre le gouvernement de transition et les insurgés islamistes. Les autorités du Puntland devraient prendre en considération le scandale que cela représente et protéger cette journaliste par tous les moyens”, a déclaré l’organisation.
Le 4 mai 2008, Bisharo Mohammed Waeys, une présentatrice de talk-shows renommée au Puntland, circulait dans sa voiture en direction de son domicile de Bossasso, lorsqu’elle a été prise sous le feu de plusieurs hommes armés, selon l’Union nationale des journalistes somaliens (NUSOJ), l’organisation partenaire de Reporters sans frontières en Somalie. Elle a échappé aux balles en accélérant brusquement. Le lendemain, elle a reçu deux SMS la menaçant d’être abattue si elle n’arrêtait pas l’émission de divertissement qu’elle présente sur ETN.
Bisharo Mohammed Waeys est une figure de la télévision au Puntland. Après avoir présenté les journaux télévisés, elle anime désormais un talk-show dans lequel elle invite les chanteurs de la région.
Etant donné la personnalité indépendante de la journaliste et le fait qu’elle présente ses émissions sans porter de voile, les soupçons se portent sur le groupe islamiste armé des “Shabaab”, responsable de la plupart des assassinats de journalistes depuis 2007 et désigné “Prédateur de la liberté de la presse” le 3 mai 2008 par Reporters sans frontières.
Bisharo Mohammed Waeys est la seule journaliste à présenter un programme de télévision dans la région.
Concern about increasing contempt shown by Rwandan government for certain journalists.
Reporters Without Borders
Press release
6 May 2008
Reporters Without Borders is deeply disturbed by the increasingly fraught climate for the press in Rwanda, in particular, the expulsion of three newspaper editors from a 2 May ceremony marking World Press Freedom Day on the orders of the new information minister, Louise Mushikiwabo.
“Nowhere else in Africa does a government display this degree of contempt and aggressiveness towards journalists,” the press freedom organisation said. “This latest incident highlights the government’s inability to tolerate dissent or criticism, whether moderate or radical. The information minister should think twice about launching into such an unequal battle against the press, which the government will easily win.
In the course of the 2 May ceremony at Kigali’s Hotel Serena, the new information minister asked her assistant, Aimable Semukanya, to ensure that Charles Kabonero, the editor if the weekly Umuseso, Jean-Gualbert Burasa, the editor of the fortnightly Rushyashya and Jean-Bosco Gasasira, the editor of the fortnightly Umuvugizi, were removed.
The three journalists were firmly asked to leave the room although Roland Amoussouga, the spokesman of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), was about to begin a presentation on the subject of “Press freedom, limits and responsibilities.” The three had attended the event’s morning sessions and had lunched with their colleagues.
Explaining their removal, the information minister said they had not been invited and that she intended to exclude these “negativist” newspapers from all governmental activities.
Another recent example of the dangerous climate of hatred was a comment by Théodore Simburudali, the president of Ibuka (Remember), a pro-government organisation dedicated to keeping alive memories of the genocide. Speaking on 14 April, Simburudali criticised journalists working for the BBC and VOA who he claimed were “genocide deniers or even genocide supporters.”
Without naming them, he said a list of journalists “who should be fired from their jobs” would be provided to the US embassy in Kigali, where a ceremony was being held in honour of Rwandan employees killed during the genocide of April-July 1994.
Reporters Without Borders has been told that the journalists to whom Simburudali was alluding are Ally Yusuf Mugenzi, the head of the BBC’s “Great Lakes” service, Etienne Karekezi, VOA’s Central African editor, and Thomas Kamilindi, the BBC’s former Kigali correspondent, who now works for VOA.
Reporters Without Borders condemns these comments and threats as baseless and disgraceful as these journalists are above suspicion and some of them lost children during the genocide.
Almost immediately after being named information minister, Mushikiwabo declared Ugandan journalist Robert Mukombozi, the correspondent of the Kampala-based Daily Mirror newspaper, persona non grata for “unobjective reporting” and “distorting the facts.”
In 2007, Mukombozi was briefly detained by the intelligence services and was fired from the Rwandan pro-governmental newspaper The New Times over a report that was potentially damaging for relations between Rwanda and Uganda.
———–
RWANDA
Reporters sans frontières inquiète du mépris grandissant du gouvernement envers certains journalistes
Reporters sans frontières exprime son malaise et son inquiétude face au climat de plus en plus irrespirable qui règne au Rwanda, après que la nouvelle ministre de l’Information, Louise Mushikiwabo, a chassé trois directeurs de publication d’une cérémonie commémorant la Journée internationale de la liberté de la presse, le 2 mai 2008.
“Nulle part en Afrique, on ne connaît ce niveau de mépris et d’agressivité d’un gouvernement envers certains journalistes. Ce nouvel incident est révélateur de l’impossibilité pour les autorités de tolérer la dissidence ou la critique, qu’elle soit modérée ou radicale. Cela pourrait donner à réfléchir à la ministre de l’Information, à qui la sagesse devrait commander de ne pas se jeter avec tant d’enthousiasme dans une bataille inégale avec la presse que le gouvernement remportera à tous les coups”, a déclaré l’organisation.
Le 2 mai 2008, alors que se déroulait une cérémonie de commémoration de la Journée internationale de la liberté de la presse à l’hôtel Serena, à Kigali, la nouvelle ministre de l’Information du gouvernement rwandais a demandé à son assistant, Aimable Semukanya, de veiller à ce que trois directeurs de publication de journaux quittent les lieux.
Charles Kabonero, directeur de publication de l’hebdomadaire privé Umuseso, Jean-Gualbert Burasa, directeur de publication du bimensuel Rushyashya et Jean-Bosco Gasasira, directeur de publication du bimensuel Umuvugizi, ont été fermement priés de sortir de la salle, alors que le porte-parole du Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (TPI-R), Roland Amoussouga, allait commencer un exposé sur le thème : “Liberté de la presse, limites et responsabilités”. Les trois journalistes se sont exécutés, alors qu’ils avaient pu assister sans problèmes aux travaux de la matinée et déjeuner avec leurs confrères. La ministre s’est justifiée en expliquant que les trois journalistes n’avaient pas été invités et qu’elle entendait exclure ces journaux “négativistes” de toutes les activités gouvernementales.
Illustration de ce dangereux climat de haine, la dénonciation publique, le 14 avril 2008, par le président de l’association Ibuka (”Souviens-toi”, association de préservation de la mémoire du génocide, proche du pouvoir) de prétendus “journalistes négationnistes du génocide, voire génocidaires” travaillant pour les stations publiques britannique et américaine BBC et VOA. Théodore Simburudali a indiqué qu’il fournirait à l’ambassade américaine à Kigali, où se tenait une cérémonie en hommage aux employés rwandais tués lors du génocide de 1994, une liste de journalistes “devant être chassés de leurs emplois”, sans les nommer. Selon les informations de Reporters sans frontières, il s’agirait d’Ally Yusuf Mugenzi, responsable du service “Grands Lacs” de la BBC, Etienne Karekezi, rédacteur en chef Afrique centrale de VOA, et Thomas Kamilindi, ancien correspondant de la BBC à Kigali et aujourd’hui journaliste de VOA. Reporters sans frontières s’élève contre ces propos indignes et les menaces proférées sans fondement contre des journalistes au-dessus de tout soupçon, dont certains ont perdu un enfant lors du génocide d’avril-juillet 1994.
Par ailleurs, à peine nommée au ministère de l’Information, Louise Mushikiwabo avait fait déclarer le journaliste ougandais, Robert Mukombozi, persona non grata sur le territoire rwandais. Elle l’avait accusé d’avoir publié des “reportages non objectifs” et de “déformer les faits”. Correspondant du quotidien privé ougandais The Daily Monitor, le journaliste avait, en 2007, été brièvement détenu par les services de renseignements puis licencié du quotidien progouvernemental rwandais The New Times, après avoir publié une information compromettante pour les relations entre l’Ouganda et le Rwanda.
Press release
6 May 2008
Reporters Without Borders is deeply disturbed by the increasingly fraught climate for the press in Rwanda, in particular, the expulsion of three newspaper editors from a 2 May ceremony marking World Press Freedom Day on the orders of the new information minister, Louise Mushikiwabo.
“Nowhere else in Africa does a government display this degree of contempt and aggressiveness towards journalists,” the press freedom organisation said. “This latest incident highlights the government’s inability to tolerate dissent or criticism, whether moderate or radical. The information minister should think twice about launching into such an unequal battle against the press, which the government will easily win.
In the course of the 2 May ceremony at Kigali’s Hotel Serena, the new information minister asked her assistant, Aimable Semukanya, to ensure that Charles Kabonero, the editor if the weekly Umuseso, Jean-Gualbert Burasa, the editor of the fortnightly Rushyashya and Jean-Bosco Gasasira, the editor of the fortnightly Umuvugizi, were removed.
The three journalists were firmly asked to leave the room although Roland Amoussouga, the spokesman of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), was about to begin a presentation on the subject of “Press freedom, limits and responsibilities.” The three had attended the event’s morning sessions and had lunched with their colleagues.
Explaining their removal, the information minister said they had not been invited and that she intended to exclude these “negativist” newspapers from all governmental activities.
Another recent example of the dangerous climate of hatred was a comment by Théodore Simburudali, the president of Ibuka (Remember), a pro-government organisation dedicated to keeping alive memories of the genocide. Speaking on 14 April, Simburudali criticised journalists working for the BBC and VOA who he claimed were “genocide deniers or even genocide supporters.”
Without naming them, he said a list of journalists “who should be fired from their jobs” would be provided to the US embassy in Kigali, where a ceremony was being held in honour of Rwandan employees killed during the genocide of April-July 1994.
Reporters Without Borders has been told that the journalists to whom Simburudali was alluding are Ally Yusuf Mugenzi, the head of the BBC’s “Great Lakes” service, Etienne Karekezi, VOA’s Central African editor, and Thomas Kamilindi, the BBC’s former Kigali correspondent, who now works for VOA.
Reporters Without Borders condemns these comments and threats as baseless and disgraceful as these journalists are above suspicion and some of them lost children during the genocide.
Almost immediately after being named information minister, Mushikiwabo declared Ugandan journalist Robert Mukombozi, the correspondent of the Kampala-based Daily Mirror newspaper, persona non grata for “unobjective reporting” and “distorting the facts.”
In 2007, Mukombozi was briefly detained by the intelligence services and was fired from the Rwandan pro-governmental newspaper The New Times over a report that was potentially damaging for relations between Rwanda and Uganda.
———–
RWANDA
Reporters sans frontières inquiète du mépris grandissant du gouvernement envers certains journalistes
Reporters sans frontières exprime son malaise et son inquiétude face au climat de plus en plus irrespirable qui règne au Rwanda, après que la nouvelle ministre de l’Information, Louise Mushikiwabo, a chassé trois directeurs de publication d’une cérémonie commémorant la Journée internationale de la liberté de la presse, le 2 mai 2008.
“Nulle part en Afrique, on ne connaît ce niveau de mépris et d’agressivité d’un gouvernement envers certains journalistes. Ce nouvel incident est révélateur de l’impossibilité pour les autorités de tolérer la dissidence ou la critique, qu’elle soit modérée ou radicale. Cela pourrait donner à réfléchir à la ministre de l’Information, à qui la sagesse devrait commander de ne pas se jeter avec tant d’enthousiasme dans une bataille inégale avec la presse que le gouvernement remportera à tous les coups”, a déclaré l’organisation.
Le 2 mai 2008, alors que se déroulait une cérémonie de commémoration de la Journée internationale de la liberté de la presse à l’hôtel Serena, à Kigali, la nouvelle ministre de l’Information du gouvernement rwandais a demandé à son assistant, Aimable Semukanya, de veiller à ce que trois directeurs de publication de journaux quittent les lieux.
Charles Kabonero, directeur de publication de l’hebdomadaire privé Umuseso, Jean-Gualbert Burasa, directeur de publication du bimensuel Rushyashya et Jean-Bosco Gasasira, directeur de publication du bimensuel Umuvugizi, ont été fermement priés de sortir de la salle, alors que le porte-parole du Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (TPI-R), Roland Amoussouga, allait commencer un exposé sur le thème : “Liberté de la presse, limites et responsabilités”. Les trois journalistes se sont exécutés, alors qu’ils avaient pu assister sans problèmes aux travaux de la matinée et déjeuner avec leurs confrères. La ministre s’est justifiée en expliquant que les trois journalistes n’avaient pas été invités et qu’elle entendait exclure ces journaux “négativistes” de toutes les activités gouvernementales.
Illustration de ce dangereux climat de haine, la dénonciation publique, le 14 avril 2008, par le président de l’association Ibuka (”Souviens-toi”, association de préservation de la mémoire du génocide, proche du pouvoir) de prétendus “journalistes négationnistes du génocide, voire génocidaires” travaillant pour les stations publiques britannique et américaine BBC et VOA. Théodore Simburudali a indiqué qu’il fournirait à l’ambassade américaine à Kigali, où se tenait une cérémonie en hommage aux employés rwandais tués lors du génocide de 1994, une liste de journalistes “devant être chassés de leurs emplois”, sans les nommer. Selon les informations de Reporters sans frontières, il s’agirait d’Ally Yusuf Mugenzi, responsable du service “Grands Lacs” de la BBC, Etienne Karekezi, rédacteur en chef Afrique centrale de VOA, et Thomas Kamilindi, ancien correspondant de la BBC à Kigali et aujourd’hui journaliste de VOA. Reporters sans frontières s’élève contre ces propos indignes et les menaces proférées sans fondement contre des journalistes au-dessus de tout soupçon, dont certains ont perdu un enfant lors du génocide d’avril-juillet 1994.
Par ailleurs, à peine nommée au ministère de l’Information, Louise Mushikiwabo avait fait déclarer le journaliste ougandais, Robert Mukombozi, persona non grata sur le territoire rwandais. Elle l’avait accusé d’avoir publié des “reportages non objectifs” et de “déformer les faits”. Correspondant du quotidien privé ougandais The Daily Monitor, le journaliste avait, en 2007, été brièvement détenu par les services de renseignements puis licencié du quotidien progouvernemental rwandais The New Times, après avoir publié une information compromettante pour les relations entre l’Ouganda et le Rwanda.
Rwanda and the War on Terrorism.
Foreign Policy In Focus
Written By Bahati Ntama Jacques and Beth Tuckey
February 21, 2008
Editor: John Feffer
www.fpif.org
A common flaw in U.S. foreign policy is the politicization of foreign assistance. Whether Republican or Democratic, U.S. administrations allow narrowly defined “national interests” – instead of needs, priorities, and realities in a given country – to dictate foreign assistance. As a result, foreign aid often backfires, undermining long-term U.S. interests and fueling instability, conflict, and violations of core human rights standards. Nowhere is this truer than in Central Africa’s Great Lakes Region. Today, President George W. Bush supports corrupt, illegitimate regimes that will either cooperate in the Global War on Terror, provide U.S. companies access to vital natural resources, or both. If history is any indication, this infusion of wealth and military training is likely to be disastrous for the people of Africa.
Rwanda is an excellent case in point. While many link Rwanda with internal issues of genocide, a similar atrocity is now underway with the current regime of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. As Kagame hosts President Bush this week, Rwanda continues incursions across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with support from the U.S. government. Will the leader of the most powerful country in the world have the courage to discuss Rwanda’s negative role in peace and economic development in the DRC? Will Bush castigate Kagame for not providing the political space for Hutu to return to Rwanda? This is not likely because of the strategic value of coltan, a metallic ore extracted from Central Africa, without which cell phones, computers, and other technologies cannot be made.
From 1996-2003, the Congolese people suffered a great deal from two wars that pitted Rwanda and its allies against the DRC. A recent report from the International Rescue Committee estimates that 5.5 million Congolese have died as a result of this conflict. According to Inter Press Service journalist Tito Dragon, “to control coltan mines that was the principal, if not the only, motivation behind the U.S.-backed 1998 occupation of part of DRC territory by Rwanda and Uganda.” In fact, in 2004, after a three-year investigation, a UN Panel of Experts implicated three major U.S. companies (Cabot Corporation, Eagle Wings Resources International, and OM Group) for fueling war in DRC by collaborating with rebel groups trafficking coltan. In spite of major human rights violations, Bush administration assistance to Rwanda continues today largely due to Kagame’s willingness to be engaged in the so called War on Terror.
Although Kagame publicly denies any direct involvement, Rwandans acknowledge that their president funds renegade General Laurent Nkunda’s militia in the DRC – a militia whose primary purpose appears to be to keep Hutu rebels away from the Rwandan border. UN peacekeepers accuse Nkunda’s Tutsi faction of some of the worst human rights abuses of any rebel group currently operating in the eastern region.
Bush knows that Rwanda’s involvement in the armed conflict in the DRC delays peace in eastern Congo, but he continues to authorize military aid to Rwanda. In 2007, the United States armed and trained Rwandan soldiers with $7.2 million from the U.S. defense program Africa Contingent Operations Training Assistance (ACOTA) and $260,000 from the International Military and Education (IMET) program. At the same time, the United States is involved in facilitating peace talks between Rwanda and the DRC and the various rebel groups operating in eastern Congo. Not only does arming Rwanda contradict the peace process, but it also delays the recovery of Rwanda from its 1994genocide.
During the Cold War, the United States provided military aid to African countries to counter communism. Many of those countries – Somalia, Sudan, and the DRC – have now become hotspots of violence and economic chaos. It is no surprise that lending arms and financial support to corrupt dictators and human rights abusers contributes to destabilization, but still the U.S. government has yet to learn its lesson. Today, the rationale for providing military aid to countries like Rwanda is to counter terrorism; the methods and outcomes will likely be the same as they were in the Cold War era.
The Department of Defense argues that training and equipping African military forces will bring greater stability and legitimacy to African governments. This argument for professionalizing militaries was also made during the Cold War to support a policy that ultimately failed. Yet the same justification is being used to mask U.S. corporate interests in Africa’s vast resources.
President Bush has the opportunity to encourage African governments to engage peacefully and democratically with their people and their neighbors. This can only be done if African nations see the administration’s actions as legitimate. Most countries have vehemently rejected the creation and implementation of a new U.S. military command for Africa (AFRICOM) and expanding the U.S. military footprint in Africa. Shifting U.S. policy away from defense toward human security, development, and diplomacy is the best path to long-term peace in the Great Lakes region and throughout Africa.
FPIF Analyst Bahati Ntama Jacques is the Policy Analyst at Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) in Washington, DC. He is Congolese.
FPIF Analyst Beth Tuckey is the Associate Director of Program Development and Policy at Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) in Washington, DC.
Written By Bahati Ntama Jacques and Beth Tuckey
February 21, 2008
Editor: John Feffer
www.fpif.org
A common flaw in U.S. foreign policy is the politicization of foreign assistance. Whether Republican or Democratic, U.S. administrations allow narrowly defined “national interests” – instead of needs, priorities, and realities in a given country – to dictate foreign assistance. As a result, foreign aid often backfires, undermining long-term U.S. interests and fueling instability, conflict, and violations of core human rights standards. Nowhere is this truer than in Central Africa’s Great Lakes Region. Today, President George W. Bush supports corrupt, illegitimate regimes that will either cooperate in the Global War on Terror, provide U.S. companies access to vital natural resources, or both. If history is any indication, this infusion of wealth and military training is likely to be disastrous for the people of Africa.
Rwanda is an excellent case in point. While many link Rwanda with internal issues of genocide, a similar atrocity is now underway with the current regime of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame. As Kagame hosts President Bush this week, Rwanda continues incursions across the border into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), with support from the U.S. government. Will the leader of the most powerful country in the world have the courage to discuss Rwanda’s negative role in peace and economic development in the DRC? Will Bush castigate Kagame for not providing the political space for Hutu to return to Rwanda? This is not likely because of the strategic value of coltan, a metallic ore extracted from Central Africa, without which cell phones, computers, and other technologies cannot be made.
From 1996-2003, the Congolese people suffered a great deal from two wars that pitted Rwanda and its allies against the DRC. A recent report from the International Rescue Committee estimates that 5.5 million Congolese have died as a result of this conflict. According to Inter Press Service journalist Tito Dragon, “to control coltan mines that was the principal, if not the only, motivation behind the U.S.-backed 1998 occupation of part of DRC territory by Rwanda and Uganda.” In fact, in 2004, after a three-year investigation, a UN Panel of Experts implicated three major U.S. companies (Cabot Corporation, Eagle Wings Resources International, and OM Group) for fueling war in DRC by collaborating with rebel groups trafficking coltan. In spite of major human rights violations, Bush administration assistance to Rwanda continues today largely due to Kagame’s willingness to be engaged in the so called War on Terror.
Although Kagame publicly denies any direct involvement, Rwandans acknowledge that their president funds renegade General Laurent Nkunda’s militia in the DRC – a militia whose primary purpose appears to be to keep Hutu rebels away from the Rwandan border. UN peacekeepers accuse Nkunda’s Tutsi faction of some of the worst human rights abuses of any rebel group currently operating in the eastern region.
Bush knows that Rwanda’s involvement in the armed conflict in the DRC delays peace in eastern Congo, but he continues to authorize military aid to Rwanda. In 2007, the United States armed and trained Rwandan soldiers with $7.2 million from the U.S. defense program Africa Contingent Operations Training Assistance (ACOTA) and $260,000 from the International Military and Education (IMET) program. At the same time, the United States is involved in facilitating peace talks between Rwanda and the DRC and the various rebel groups operating in eastern Congo. Not only does arming Rwanda contradict the peace process, but it also delays the recovery of Rwanda from its 1994genocide.
During the Cold War, the United States provided military aid to African countries to counter communism. Many of those countries – Somalia, Sudan, and the DRC – have now become hotspots of violence and economic chaos. It is no surprise that lending arms and financial support to corrupt dictators and human rights abusers contributes to destabilization, but still the U.S. government has yet to learn its lesson. Today, the rationale for providing military aid to countries like Rwanda is to counter terrorism; the methods and outcomes will likely be the same as they were in the Cold War era.
The Department of Defense argues that training and equipping African military forces will bring greater stability and legitimacy to African governments. This argument for professionalizing militaries was also made during the Cold War to support a policy that ultimately failed. Yet the same justification is being used to mask U.S. corporate interests in Africa’s vast resources.
President Bush has the opportunity to encourage African governments to engage peacefully and democratically with their people and their neighbors. This can only be done if African nations see the administration’s actions as legitimate. Most countries have vehemently rejected the creation and implementation of a new U.S. military command for Africa (AFRICOM) and expanding the U.S. military footprint in Africa. Shifting U.S. policy away from defense toward human security, development, and diplomacy is the best path to long-term peace in the Great Lakes region and throughout Africa.
FPIF Analyst Bahati Ntama Jacques is the Policy Analyst at Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) in Washington, DC. He is Congolese.
FPIF Analyst Beth Tuckey is the Associate Director of Program Development and Policy at Africa Faith and Justice Network (AFJN) in Washington, DC.
06 May, 2008
DEPORTED KENYANS RELEASED, NGO’S WARN ABOUT TORTURE.
MISNA
5 May 2008
Eleven Muslims, who were arrested and detained in Ethiopia a few months ago, have been released. The local Somali press says there are 19 Kenyans still in the jails of Addis Abeba and Awasso. The arrests are tied to the phenomenon of illegal sequestration and detention by Ethiopian authorities at the expense of Kenyans and Somalis, accused of having ties to the deposed Islamic Courts. The prisoners are believed to have been captured without any formal accusations between last January and February along the border between Somalia and Kenya, as well as some areas of Nairobi. Some are still in prisons located in Somalia, Ethiopia and Guantanamo.
“The eleven people released have been taken to Awesso (Ethiopia) and Baidoa (Somalia) after having been tried by a martial court” said Amin Kimathi, head of the Muslim Human Rights Forum in Kenya. He added that “some became deaf, two were paralyzed and another lost an eye” because of maltreatments during captivity. Meanwhile, authorities in the Puntland have extradited and delivered 13 Somalis accused of having ties to the rebels in Ogaden, Ethiopian region but with a Somali majority, which has seen decades of separatist rebellion. The local press said that an elder from the Puntland (semi-autonomous region of Somalia) was arrested by the police last Sunday morning after condemning – in a BBC interview – the arbitrary arrest of several civilians, who have been extradited to Ethiopia.
5 May 2008
Eleven Muslims, who were arrested and detained in Ethiopia a few months ago, have been released. The local Somali press says there are 19 Kenyans still in the jails of Addis Abeba and Awasso. The arrests are tied to the phenomenon of illegal sequestration and detention by Ethiopian authorities at the expense of Kenyans and Somalis, accused of having ties to the deposed Islamic Courts. The prisoners are believed to have been captured without any formal accusations between last January and February along the border between Somalia and Kenya, as well as some areas of Nairobi. Some are still in prisons located in Somalia, Ethiopia and Guantanamo.
“The eleven people released have been taken to Awesso (Ethiopia) and Baidoa (Somalia) after having been tried by a martial court” said Amin Kimathi, head of the Muslim Human Rights Forum in Kenya. He added that “some became deaf, two were paralyzed and another lost an eye” because of maltreatments during captivity. Meanwhile, authorities in the Puntland have extradited and delivered 13 Somalis accused of having ties to the rebels in Ogaden, Ethiopian region but with a Somali majority, which has seen decades of separatist rebellion. The local press said that an elder from the Puntland (semi-autonomous region of Somalia) was arrested by the police last Sunday morning after condemning – in a BBC interview – the arbitrary arrest of several civilians, who have been extradited to Ethiopia.
PEACE TALKS: OPPOSITION TO ATTEND DESPITE US AIRSTRIKE.
MISNA
6 May 2008
The Somali opposition movements announced that they will participate in peace talks with the government of Mogadishu set for the end of May in Djibouti, despite the US airstrike last week in Dhusamareb, in which Adan Hashi Ayro, military head of the al-Shebaab (literally, Youth) that are considered the armed wing of the Islamic Courts, was killed along with another 15 people. “We will participate in the talks, even though American warplanes bombed our people”, said Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of the Eritrea-based Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), in an interview with al-Jazeera TV. After the attack, in which some civilians were also killed, the spokesman of the al-Shebaab, reiterated the group’s refusal to join the talks and, based on unconfirmed news in circulation in these hours, the movement decided to include foreign aid workers in Somalia among the ‘legitimate targets’ of the rebellion. If confirmed, the new strategy of the Somali militia many constitute a serious risk for personnel of aid agencies working on the field.
6 May 2008
The Somali opposition movements announced that they will participate in peace talks with the government of Mogadishu set for the end of May in Djibouti, despite the US airstrike last week in Dhusamareb, in which Adan Hashi Ayro, military head of the al-Shebaab (literally, Youth) that are considered the armed wing of the Islamic Courts, was killed along with another 15 people. “We will participate in the talks, even though American warplanes bombed our people”, said Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of the Eritrea-based Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia (ARS), in an interview with al-Jazeera TV. After the attack, in which some civilians were also killed, the spokesman of the al-Shebaab, reiterated the group’s refusal to join the talks and, based on unconfirmed news in circulation in these hours, the movement decided to include foreign aid workers in Somalia among the ‘legitimate targets’ of the rebellion. If confirmed, the new strategy of the Somali militia many constitute a serious risk for personnel of aid agencies working on the field.
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