Reuters
14 February 2009
Uganda's main opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, is on course for a third tussle with President Yoweri Museveni for the east African nation's top job after retaining his party's leadership.
Besigye, who was once Museveni's close ally and personal doctor, has lost twice to the former guerrilla leader, most recently in Uganda's 2006 presidential election.
Besigye kept the presidency of his Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in a landslide victory at a vote late on Friday, local media said. That makes him the presumptive 2011 presidential challenger, though the party will formally vote next year on their candidate.
14 February, 2009
Russia criticizes US Congressmen's push to extradite alleged weapons smuggler Viktor Bout.
AP
14 February 2009
Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday criticized a push by American congressmen for the extradition to the United States of Viktor Bout, a Russian wanted for allegedly trying to smuggle missiles and rocket launchers to Colombian rebels.
Bout has been jailed in Thailand since his arrest there a year ago. More than two dozen U.S. lawmakers this week called for the Obama administration to ensure he is extradited.
The legislators said Russian authorities want Bout turned over to them, raising the possibility he could avoid trial in the United States. Russia in the past has rejected requests to extradite its citizens, most notably in the case of Andrei Lugovoi, whom Britain has named as the main suspect in the killing by radioactive poison of exiled security agent Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the congressmen's call was "bewildering" because charges against Bout in Thailand have been dropped and "his guilt on charges put forth in the United States has not been proven."
"Such activity on the part of parliamentarians in a nation that purports to be a paragon of rule and law and observance of human rights looks embarrassing to say the least," the statement said. It also suggested the push was "an attempt to derail efforts by Washington and Moscow to relaunch American-Russian cooperation."
Bout, reputed to be one of the world's most prolific arms dealers, was caught at a Bangkok luxury hotel in an elaborate sting operation. Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration posed as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, looking to buy millions of dollars in weapons from Bout. FARC is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
U.S. authorities long have considered Bout a weapons smuggler whose alleged list of customers included former dictator Charles Taylor of Liberia, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now known as Congo) and both sides of the civil war in Angola. In Afghanistan, he also allegedly armed the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance.
He was charged in the United States with conspiracy for allegedly trying to smuggle missiles and rocket launchers to the FARC. Bout also faces charges conspiring to kill U.S. officers or employees. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Bout has denied the charges.
14 February 2009
Russia's foreign ministry on Saturday criticized a push by American congressmen for the extradition to the United States of Viktor Bout, a Russian wanted for allegedly trying to smuggle missiles and rocket launchers to Colombian rebels.
Bout has been jailed in Thailand since his arrest there a year ago. More than two dozen U.S. lawmakers this week called for the Obama administration to ensure he is extradited.
The legislators said Russian authorities want Bout turned over to them, raising the possibility he could avoid trial in the United States. Russia in the past has rejected requests to extradite its citizens, most notably in the case of Andrei Lugovoi, whom Britain has named as the main suspect in the killing by radioactive poison of exiled security agent Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the congressmen's call was "bewildering" because charges against Bout in Thailand have been dropped and "his guilt on charges put forth in the United States has not been proven."
"Such activity on the part of parliamentarians in a nation that purports to be a paragon of rule and law and observance of human rights looks embarrassing to say the least," the statement said. It also suggested the push was "an attempt to derail efforts by Washington and Moscow to relaunch American-Russian cooperation."
Bout, reputed to be one of the world's most prolific arms dealers, was caught at a Bangkok luxury hotel in an elaborate sting operation. Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration posed as rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, looking to buy millions of dollars in weapons from Bout. FARC is a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
U.S. authorities long have considered Bout a weapons smuggler whose alleged list of customers included former dictator Charles Taylor of Liberia, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now known as Congo) and both sides of the civil war in Angola. In Afghanistan, he also allegedly armed the Taliban and the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance.
He was charged in the United States with conspiracy for allegedly trying to smuggle missiles and rocket launchers to the FARC. Bout also faces charges conspiring to kill U.S. officers or employees. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Bout has denied the charges.
President Sirleaf claims she is 'sorry' she backed Charles Taylor during commission testimony.
BBC News
14 February 2009
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has apologised at a truth and reconciliation commission over her backing for ex-rebel Charles Taylor.
She said she had initially supported the rebel chief's war effort and even raised funds for him, but denied ever having been a member of his group.
She said she had been fooled about the real intentions of Mr Taylor.
He led rebels who toppled President Samuel Doe in a 14-year civil war that
left the West African nation shattered.
Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf was imprisoned in the 1980s for criticising the military regime of President Doe and then backed Charles Taylor's rebellion before falling out with him and being charged with treason after he became president.
She took an oath on Thursday in the capital Monrovia from truth commission chairman Jerome Verdier and then sat before the flag of Liberia.
The 70-year-old Liberian leader faced the seven-member commission as she narrated her own involvement in the Liberian crisis that began on the eve of Christmas in 1989.
"If there is anything that I need to apologise for to this nation is to apologise for being fooled by Mr Taylor in giving any kind of support to him," she said.
"I feel it in my conscience. I feel it every day," she said, regretting her support to Mr Taylor.
The Liberian leader said she had paid him a visit in May 1990 at his base in the north-eastern Liberian town of Gborplay, on the border with Ivory Coast.
"I will admit to you that I was one of those who did agree that the rebellion was necessary," she told the commission. "But I was never a member of the NPFL (National Patriotic Front of Liberia)."
14 February 2009
Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has apologised at a truth and reconciliation commission over her backing for ex-rebel Charles Taylor.
She said she had initially supported the rebel chief's war effort and even raised funds for him, but denied ever having been a member of his group.
She said she had been fooled about the real intentions of Mr Taylor.
He led rebels who toppled President Samuel Doe in a 14-year civil war that
left the West African nation shattered.
Mrs Johnson-Sirleaf was imprisoned in the 1980s for criticising the military regime of President Doe and then backed Charles Taylor's rebellion before falling out with him and being charged with treason after he became president.
She took an oath on Thursday in the capital Monrovia from truth commission chairman Jerome Verdier and then sat before the flag of Liberia.
The 70-year-old Liberian leader faced the seven-member commission as she narrated her own involvement in the Liberian crisis that began on the eve of Christmas in 1989.
"If there is anything that I need to apologise for to this nation is to apologise for being fooled by Mr Taylor in giving any kind of support to him," she said.
"I feel it in my conscience. I feel it every day," she said, regretting her support to Mr Taylor.
The Liberian leader said she had paid him a visit in May 1990 at his base in the north-eastern Liberian town of Gborplay, on the border with Ivory Coast.
"I will admit to you that I was one of those who did agree that the rebellion was necessary," she told the commission. "But I was never a member of the NPFL (National Patriotic Front of Liberia)."
UN extends Abkhazia mission until June.
by Gerard Aziakou Gerard Aziakou
Fri Feb 13, 3:56 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The Security Council voted unanimously Friday to extend the mandate of the UN mission in Georgia for four months pending security arrangements in breakaway Abkhazia to be worked out by Moscow and Tbilisi.
The text, which does not mention Georgia by name nor refer to the UN mission by its official name UNOMIG (United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia), extends the mandate, which expires Sunday, "for a new period terminating on June 15, 2009."
UNOMIG's mandate extends only to the conflict between Georgia and the breakaway enclave of Abkhazia.
The force, which currently fields 131 military observers and 20 policemen, was created in 1993 to oversee a ceasefire accord between the Georgian government and Abkhaz separatist authorities.
Japan's UN Ambassador Yukio Takasu, the 15-member council chair this month, voiced hope the resolution "will have a calming effect" on the situation on the ground and linked it to the Geneva talks between Georgia and Russia on security arrangements and humanitarian issues, which are to resume next week.
Resolution 1866 said the council intends to "outline the elements of a future UN presence in the region by June 15, 2009," once it has received recommendations from UN chief Ban Ki-moon by May 15, as well as the ongoing Geneva discussions and developments on the ground.
Russia sent troops deep into Georgia in August to beat back a Georgian military attempt to retake South Ossetia, a territory which had received extensive backing from Moscow for years.
Russian forces later withdrew to within South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another rebel region, under a ceasefire brokered and monitored by the European Union.
Thousands of Russians remain in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two enclaves which broke away from Tbilisi in the 1990s. Moscow has recognized both regions as independent states.
"We are looking forward to working closely with our friends as well as with the UN to come up with a comprehensive full-scale operation on the ground which will help peacekeeping and monitoring," Georgia's UN envoy Alexander Lomaia told reporters.
His Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin said the resolution highlighted the need for Georgia "to respect the principle of non-use of force" enshrined in the 1994 Moscow accord on a ceasefire and separation of forces.
"This is a fundamental issue ... Georgia is continuing to refuse to sign legally binding agreements with Abkhazia and South Ossetia on non-use of force and this is an important destabilizing element in the situation in the area," he added.
Churkin also defended Moscow's decision to deploy some 3,800 soldiers in each of the two rebel regions and to set up military bases there.
"There is nothing wrong with Russia planning to have military bases on the territory of a sovereign state, Abkhazia," he asserted. "There is a sovereign state, Abkhazia, which has been recognized by the Russian Federation."
Last month, a senior source in the Russian navy told ITAR-TASS news agency that Moscow had decided to set up a naval base in the Abkhaz port of Ochamchire, on the region's Black Sea coast.
But Britain's UN Ambassador John Sawers sharply disagreed.
"We recognize Georgia within its internationally recognized borders, which include the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and therefore any bases that are set up there have to be with the permission of the Georgian government," he said.
"We think the Russians' intention to build a naval base or a military base in the area is a cause for concern. It's not going to contribute to stability of the region and we hope the Russians will reconsider."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday welcomed Turkey's push for a greater diplomatic role in the Caucasus and Black Sea area, saying last year's Georgia war showed US involvement was unnecessary.
"The August crisis last year showed the importance of coordination by all countries of the region when such threats arise and showed we can deal with such problems ourselves, without the involvement of outside powers," he said during a visit by his Turkish counterpart Abudullah Gul.
Turkey, historically a rival of Russia, is now seeking closer ties with Moscow.
Fri Feb 13, 3:56 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The Security Council voted unanimously Friday to extend the mandate of the UN mission in Georgia for four months pending security arrangements in breakaway Abkhazia to be worked out by Moscow and Tbilisi.
The text, which does not mention Georgia by name nor refer to the UN mission by its official name UNOMIG (United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia), extends the mandate, which expires Sunday, "for a new period terminating on June 15, 2009."
UNOMIG's mandate extends only to the conflict between Georgia and the breakaway enclave of Abkhazia.
The force, which currently fields 131 military observers and 20 policemen, was created in 1993 to oversee a ceasefire accord between the Georgian government and Abkhaz separatist authorities.
Japan's UN Ambassador Yukio Takasu, the 15-member council chair this month, voiced hope the resolution "will have a calming effect" on the situation on the ground and linked it to the Geneva talks between Georgia and Russia on security arrangements and humanitarian issues, which are to resume next week.
Resolution 1866 said the council intends to "outline the elements of a future UN presence in the region by June 15, 2009," once it has received recommendations from UN chief Ban Ki-moon by May 15, as well as the ongoing Geneva discussions and developments on the ground.
Russia sent troops deep into Georgia in August to beat back a Georgian military attempt to retake South Ossetia, a territory which had received extensive backing from Moscow for years.
Russian forces later withdrew to within South Ossetia and Abkhazia, another rebel region, under a ceasefire brokered and monitored by the European Union.
Thousands of Russians remain in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two enclaves which broke away from Tbilisi in the 1990s. Moscow has recognized both regions as independent states.
"We are looking forward to working closely with our friends as well as with the UN to come up with a comprehensive full-scale operation on the ground which will help peacekeeping and monitoring," Georgia's UN envoy Alexander Lomaia told reporters.
His Russian counterpart Vitaly Churkin said the resolution highlighted the need for Georgia "to respect the principle of non-use of force" enshrined in the 1994 Moscow accord on a ceasefire and separation of forces.
"This is a fundamental issue ... Georgia is continuing to refuse to sign legally binding agreements with Abkhazia and South Ossetia on non-use of force and this is an important destabilizing element in the situation in the area," he added.
Churkin also defended Moscow's decision to deploy some 3,800 soldiers in each of the two rebel regions and to set up military bases there.
"There is nothing wrong with Russia planning to have military bases on the territory of a sovereign state, Abkhazia," he asserted. "There is a sovereign state, Abkhazia, which has been recognized by the Russian Federation."
Last month, a senior source in the Russian navy told ITAR-TASS news agency that Moscow had decided to set up a naval base in the Abkhaz port of Ochamchire, on the region's Black Sea coast.
But Britain's UN Ambassador John Sawers sharply disagreed.
"We recognize Georgia within its internationally recognized borders, which include the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and therefore any bases that are set up there have to be with the permission of the Georgian government," he said.
"We think the Russians' intention to build a naval base or a military base in the area is a cause for concern. It's not going to contribute to stability of the region and we hope the Russians will reconsider."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday welcomed Turkey's push for a greater diplomatic role in the Caucasus and Black Sea area, saying last year's Georgia war showed US involvement was unnecessary.
"The August crisis last year showed the importance of coordination by all countries of the region when such threats arise and showed we can deal with such problems ourselves, without the involvement of outside powers," he said during a visit by his Turkish counterpart Abudullah Gul.
Turkey, historically a rival of Russia, is now seeking closer ties with Moscow.
New Somali prime minister named.
BBC News
14 February 2009
By Kevin Mwachiro
BBC News, Nairobi
President Ahmed said he was confident in the PM's ability "to serve his nation"
Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has chosen Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke to be the country's new prime minister.
Mr Sharmarke, a former diplomat, is widely seen as a bridge between Islamists within the government and the international community.
The fact that he holds both Canadian and Somali citizenship leaves him free of the explosive politics in Somalia.
His appointment is the 15th attempt to resolve Somalia's 18-year-old conflict.
"I will continue to promote reconciliation and create a sense of unity among Somalis," Mr Sharmarke said in his acceptance speech.
"The Somali people are not interested in having a government which is beset by infighting instead of helping the people. And I will closely work with the Somali people and parliament," he said.
Hard work
The appointment of Mr Sharmarke seems to have ticked all the right boxes.
His father was Somalia's first civilian president and is still fondly remembered.
He is from the Darod clan, ensuring that the country's three major clans are represented in the country's struggling leadership, and he also enjoys widespread support from parliamentarians and Somalis living at home and abroad.
More importantly, he and the newly-elected president seem to get along.
But now the hard work begins for Somalia's new leadership.
Mr Sharmarke has a month to appoint a new cabinet, which will have to be approved by parliament, and then there is the issue of how to deal with the radical Islamist group al-Shabab.
The insurgents have denounced the country's new administration as being anti-Islamists.
14 February 2009
By Kevin Mwachiro
BBC News, Nairobi
President Ahmed said he was confident in the PM's ability "to serve his nation"
Somalia's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has chosen Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke to be the country's new prime minister.
Mr Sharmarke, a former diplomat, is widely seen as a bridge between Islamists within the government and the international community.
The fact that he holds both Canadian and Somali citizenship leaves him free of the explosive politics in Somalia.
His appointment is the 15th attempt to resolve Somalia's 18-year-old conflict.
"I will continue to promote reconciliation and create a sense of unity among Somalis," Mr Sharmarke said in his acceptance speech.
"The Somali people are not interested in having a government which is beset by infighting instead of helping the people. And I will closely work with the Somali people and parliament," he said.
Hard work
The appointment of Mr Sharmarke seems to have ticked all the right boxes.
His father was Somalia's first civilian president and is still fondly remembered.
He is from the Darod clan, ensuring that the country's three major clans are represented in the country's struggling leadership, and he also enjoys widespread support from parliamentarians and Somalis living at home and abroad.
More importantly, he and the newly-elected president seem to get along.
But now the hard work begins for Somalia's new leadership.
Mr Sharmarke has a month to appoint a new cabinet, which will have to be approved by parliament, and then there is the issue of how to deal with the radical Islamist group al-Shabab.
The insurgents have denounced the country's new administration as being anti-Islamists.
13 February, 2009
Alison Des Forges, Human Rights Advocate: Rest in Peace.
Personal Note: Dr. Des Forges, one of my greatest regrets is that now I will never have the opportunity to thank you in person for all you did to help save my life while I was being threatened when I was in Rwanda. I literally owe you my life. What can I possibly say or write to express how I feel? I suspect most people have no real concept just how much you have done for humanity and human rights. May you rest in peace, and may your family, friends, colleagues, and all those you have helped over the years find comfort and blessings during our collective time of mourning and grief. I will never forget you, and they will never forget you either. My deepest condolences to her husband, Mr. Roger Des Forges, their daughter, son, 3 grandchildren, and all of her kin.
Adapted from an obituary in the New York Times by SEWELL CHAN on 13 February 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/nyregion/14desforges.html?pagewanted=print
Dr. Alison L. Des Forges, a historian who documented the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and was an authority on human rights abuses in Central Africa, was a passenger on Continental Airlines Flight 3407 when it crashed near Buffalo on Thursday night, killing all 49 people on board. She was 66.
Her death was announced by Human Rights Watch, the New York-based human rights advocacy group where Dr. Des Forges, who lived in Buffalo, served as senior adviser for its Africa division.
“Her death is a devastating blow,” Kenneth Roth, the president of Human Rights Watch, wrote in an e-mail message Friday to the organization’s board of directors. “She epitomized the human rights activist — principled, dispassionate, committed to the truth and to using that truth to protect ordinary people.”
Dr. Des Forges was also an authority on human rights violations in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire.
Before April 1994, Dr. Des Forges was part of a group convened by Human Rights Watch and other organizations that examined rights abuses, including killings and attacks and kidnappings of civilians, in Rwanda from 1990 to 1993.
“She was a volunteer, and eventually the executive director forced her to take a salary,” said Emma Daly, communications director at Human Rights Watch.
Alison B. Liebhafsky was born on Aug. 20, 1942, in Schenectady, N.Y., the daughter of Herman A. Liebhafsky, a chemist, and Sybil Small. She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1964, and received a master’s degree in 1966 and a doctorate in 1972, both in history, from Yale. Her master’s thesis focused on the impact of European colonization on Rwanda’s social system, and her doctoral dissertation was about Yuhi Musinga, the mwami, or ruler, of Rwanda from 1896 to 1931, during which Germany, and later Belgium, colonized Rwanda. She was fluent in French.
Dr. Des Forges is survived by her husband, Roger V. Des Forges, a historian of China who teaches at the State University of New York at Buffalo; a brother, Douglas Small Liebhafsky; a sister-in-law, Wendy Gimbel; a daughter, Jessie Des Forges; a son, Alexander Des Forges; and three grandchildren.
50 killed after plane crashes into house near Buffalo, New York.
International Herald Tribune
By Matthew L. Wald and Trymaine Lee
Friday, February 13, 2009
Editor's Note: My most sincere condolences and prayers for the families and friends of all the victims.
Federal investigators have retrieved both black boxes from a Continental Airlines plane that crashed late Thursday night near Buffalo on its way to Buffalo Niagara International Airport from Newark, killing 50 people. The boxes were in good condition and should be at the laboratories of the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington for analysis this afternoon, officials said. The plane, which crashed in the hamlet of Clarence Center, New York, carried 44 passengers, a crew of 4 and an off-duty crew member, officials said. All the people aboard the plane and one person in a house destroyed by the plane were killed, said Chris Collins, the Erie County executive.
Two others in the house, a 57-year-old woman and her 22-year-old daughter, suffered minor injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were treated and released, officials said.
Among those on the flight was Alison Des Forges, a historian and human rights advocate who documented the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and has investigated related issues in Burundi and Democratic Republic of the Congo since then, according to Emma Daly, communications director of Human Rights Watch in New York City.
Also on the flight was Beverly Eckert, the widow of Sean Rooney, a Buffalo native who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
She was heading to Buffalo for a weekend celebration of what would have been her husband's 58th birthday, and had planned to take part in the presentation of a scholarship award at Canisius High School that she had established in his honor, The Buffalo News reported.
Eckert was at the White House last week with President Barack Obama as part of a meeting he had with relatives of those killed in the 2001 attacks and the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole.
Speaking at the White House late Friday morning, Obama said Eckert "was an inspiration to me and to so many others, and I pray that her family finds peace and comfort in the hard days ahead."
He said that the crash reminds the nation of the fragility of life and the value of each day.
Continental Airlines said the pilot was Captain Marvin Renslow, the first officer was Rebecca Shaw, flight attendants were Matilda Quintero and Donna Prisco and the off-duty crew member was Captain Joseph Zuffoletto.
After the crash, other pilots in the area reported icing on their planes, but the airplane that crashed was certified for flying into icing conditions, and the crews of such planes are trained for icy conditions.
An intense fire at the site of the crash fueled by a natural gas leak initially made it difficult for the investigators to retrieve the black boxes, said Steven Chealander, an NTSB spokesman. The cause of the crash is not yet known and will be the subject of the investigation by 14 NTSB investigators, he said in a news conference.
Since the airplane is a newer model, the flight data recorder should have captured hundreds of data points each second about the performance of the airplane and its condition. While there was no communication from the crew during the flight that indicated a problem, the cockpit voice recorder could provide information from conversations and other sound that was picked up.Tony Tatro, who lives near the crash site, told CNN that he was driving home when the plane passed about 75 feet overhead, with its nose pitched lower than normal and its wings tilted. The plane struck the ground moments later, he said.
The plane, Continental Connection Flight 3407, crashed about 10:20, five minutes before it was due to land. The plane — a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 with 74 seats and twin turboprop engines — was on approach to land. It was operated by Colgan Airways, a feeder airline for Continental.
David Bissonette, the emergency coordinator for Erie County, speaking at a news conference about 4 a.m., said the plane made "a direct hit" on the house, which officials said was located at 6038 Long Street in Clarence Center, part of the Town of Clarence.
"It's remarkable that it only took one house," he said. "It could have easily taken the whole neighborhood."
He said the only recognizable piece of the plane was the tail. The investigation, he said, would be "painstaking" because of the amount of damage to the plane and the house.
Collins said that about 12 houses had been evacuated after the crash and that a limited state of emergency had been declared.
The crash, which occurred as a light snow fell in the area, was the second major one in a month in New York State, coming weeks after the Jan. 15 forced landing of a US Airways jet into the Hudson River in which all 155 people on board were pulled to safety.
Sandra Baker, who lives on Railroad Street, two blocks from the site of the crash on Thursday, said: "It was just like a huge great big crash, a boom."
Both of her sons, volunteer firefighters, went to the scene.
"There was this banging sound" before the crash, she said. It was followed by a boom, then a dark cloud and flames and the smell of fuel and fire.
Another woman who lives nearby described the sound before the crash as "a loud roar over my house."
"It was like the whole house shook," said the woman, Jennifer Clark, who also lives on Railroad Street. "Then there was silence."
Clark said she looked out of her window and saw a ball of flames rising into the sky.
She woke up her husband and said, "I think a plane just crashed."
"I don't know," she said. "I feel bad for the people on the plane and their families. I feel bad for the firemen who have to recover the remains of those poor people."
Baker described the town as "small-town U.S.A," a place that will reel from what she was sure would be the biggest tragedy the town has ever seen.
A joint investigation was being conducted overnight by the State Police, the Erie County Sheriff's Office and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. A team of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived in Buffalo on Friday morning.
Collins said families of the people on the plane had gathered at the Buffalo airport waiting for news.
At a command center where officials gathered after the accident, Chris Kausner told CNN that his sister was on the flight. He said she was connecting from Jacksonville, Florida, where she was a law student.
"Right now I'm thinking the worst," Kausner said. "And I'm thinking of the fact that my mother has to fly in from Florida and what am I going to tell my two sons."
When a reporter asked Kausner how his family was taking the news, he said: "I heard my mother make a sound into the phone that I had never heard before. So, not good."
In the neighborhood where the crash occurred, flames rose high above the bare trees and neat houses. Neighbors rushed from their homes to the carnage, through a swell of emergency lights and sirens.
Brendan Biddlecom, who lives a few blocks from the crash, made his way with other neighbors.
"I didn't get too close," Biddlecom said. "I didn't want to get too close. It was clear what was going on."
By 2:30 a.m., the police had set up checkpoints around the neighborhood. The smell of burning fuel and rubber was still thick in the air.
Scott Bylewski, the Clarence town supervisor, said he heard the crash from his house, about a half mile away. "I took a look from my house and the sky was red," Bylewski said at the 4 a.m. news conference. "I know when I go home I'm going to give my wife and kids a kiss."
In a statement released early Friday, Governor David Paterson said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were on board, and with the people of the Buffalo metropolitan area."
Colgan, the operator of the plane, also flies as a feeder for US Airways and United Airlines. Colgan's Web site said the airline operates 51 turboprops.
The last fatal crash involving a scheduled carrier in the United States was a ComAir regional jet in Lexington, Kentucky, in August 2006. The crew picked a too-short runway for takeoff; 47 passengers and 2 of the 3 crew members were killed.
Colgan, which has flown for Continental since 1997, is owned by Pinnacle Airlines Corporation, based in Memphis. Pinnacle has about 6,000 employees around North America, 1,800 of them in Memphis. The company has 142 regional jets and 51 turboprops. Pinnacle said last month that it had reached an agreement with Continental for Colgan to buy an additional 15 turboprops to fly as Continental Connection airplanes.
Earlier on Thursday, Continental posted a notice on its Web site that its operations would be affected by the winter storm on the East Coast, including in Buffalo and the New York City area.
The storm caused flights to Newark Liberty International Airport to be delayed by more than five hours on Thursday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. That was unusual even for that airport, which routinely has some of the worst delays of any destination in the country.
Early on Friday, the FAA's Web site showed delays at Newark of three hours and 50 minutes.
By Matthew L. Wald and Trymaine Lee
Friday, February 13, 2009
Editor's Note: My most sincere condolences and prayers for the families and friends of all the victims.
Federal investigators have retrieved both black boxes from a Continental Airlines plane that crashed late Thursday night near Buffalo on its way to Buffalo Niagara International Airport from Newark, killing 50 people. The boxes were in good condition and should be at the laboratories of the National Transportation Safety Board in Washington for analysis this afternoon, officials said. The plane, which crashed in the hamlet of Clarence Center, New York, carried 44 passengers, a crew of 4 and an off-duty crew member, officials said. All the people aboard the plane and one person in a house destroyed by the plane were killed, said Chris Collins, the Erie County executive.
Two others in the house, a 57-year-old woman and her 22-year-old daughter, suffered minor injuries and were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were treated and released, officials said.
Among those on the flight was Alison Des Forges, a historian and human rights advocate who documented the 1994 genocide in Rwanda and has investigated related issues in Burundi and Democratic Republic of the Congo since then, according to Emma Daly, communications director of Human Rights Watch in New York City.
Also on the flight was Beverly Eckert, the widow of Sean Rooney, a Buffalo native who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
She was heading to Buffalo for a weekend celebration of what would have been her husband's 58th birthday, and had planned to take part in the presentation of a scholarship award at Canisius High School that she had established in his honor, The Buffalo News reported.
Eckert was at the White House last week with President Barack Obama as part of a meeting he had with relatives of those killed in the 2001 attacks and the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole.
Speaking at the White House late Friday morning, Obama said Eckert "was an inspiration to me and to so many others, and I pray that her family finds peace and comfort in the hard days ahead."
He said that the crash reminds the nation of the fragility of life and the value of each day.
Continental Airlines said the pilot was Captain Marvin Renslow, the first officer was Rebecca Shaw, flight attendants were Matilda Quintero and Donna Prisco and the off-duty crew member was Captain Joseph Zuffoletto.
After the crash, other pilots in the area reported icing on their planes, but the airplane that crashed was certified for flying into icing conditions, and the crews of such planes are trained for icy conditions.
An intense fire at the site of the crash fueled by a natural gas leak initially made it difficult for the investigators to retrieve the black boxes, said Steven Chealander, an NTSB spokesman. The cause of the crash is not yet known and will be the subject of the investigation by 14 NTSB investigators, he said in a news conference.
Since the airplane is a newer model, the flight data recorder should have captured hundreds of data points each second about the performance of the airplane and its condition. While there was no communication from the crew during the flight that indicated a problem, the cockpit voice recorder could provide information from conversations and other sound that was picked up.Tony Tatro, who lives near the crash site, told CNN that he was driving home when the plane passed about 75 feet overhead, with its nose pitched lower than normal and its wings tilted. The plane struck the ground moments later, he said.
The plane, Continental Connection Flight 3407, crashed about 10:20, five minutes before it was due to land. The plane — a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 with 74 seats and twin turboprop engines — was on approach to land. It was operated by Colgan Airways, a feeder airline for Continental.
David Bissonette, the emergency coordinator for Erie County, speaking at a news conference about 4 a.m., said the plane made "a direct hit" on the house, which officials said was located at 6038 Long Street in Clarence Center, part of the Town of Clarence.
"It's remarkable that it only took one house," he said. "It could have easily taken the whole neighborhood."
He said the only recognizable piece of the plane was the tail. The investigation, he said, would be "painstaking" because of the amount of damage to the plane and the house.
Collins said that about 12 houses had been evacuated after the crash and that a limited state of emergency had been declared.
The crash, which occurred as a light snow fell in the area, was the second major one in a month in New York State, coming weeks after the Jan. 15 forced landing of a US Airways jet into the Hudson River in which all 155 people on board were pulled to safety.
Sandra Baker, who lives on Railroad Street, two blocks from the site of the crash on Thursday, said: "It was just like a huge great big crash, a boom."
Both of her sons, volunteer firefighters, went to the scene.
"There was this banging sound" before the crash, she said. It was followed by a boom, then a dark cloud and flames and the smell of fuel and fire.
Another woman who lives nearby described the sound before the crash as "a loud roar over my house."
"It was like the whole house shook," said the woman, Jennifer Clark, who also lives on Railroad Street. "Then there was silence."
Clark said she looked out of her window and saw a ball of flames rising into the sky.
She woke up her husband and said, "I think a plane just crashed."
"I don't know," she said. "I feel bad for the people on the plane and their families. I feel bad for the firemen who have to recover the remains of those poor people."
Baker described the town as "small-town U.S.A," a place that will reel from what she was sure would be the biggest tragedy the town has ever seen.
A joint investigation was being conducted overnight by the State Police, the Erie County Sheriff's Office and the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. A team of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board arrived in Buffalo on Friday morning.
Collins said families of the people on the plane had gathered at the Buffalo airport waiting for news.
At a command center where officials gathered after the accident, Chris Kausner told CNN that his sister was on the flight. He said she was connecting from Jacksonville, Florida, where she was a law student.
"Right now I'm thinking the worst," Kausner said. "And I'm thinking of the fact that my mother has to fly in from Florida and what am I going to tell my two sons."
When a reporter asked Kausner how his family was taking the news, he said: "I heard my mother make a sound into the phone that I had never heard before. So, not good."
In the neighborhood where the crash occurred, flames rose high above the bare trees and neat houses. Neighbors rushed from their homes to the carnage, through a swell of emergency lights and sirens.
Brendan Biddlecom, who lives a few blocks from the crash, made his way with other neighbors.
"I didn't get too close," Biddlecom said. "I didn't want to get too close. It was clear what was going on."
By 2:30 a.m., the police had set up checkpoints around the neighborhood. The smell of burning fuel and rubber was still thick in the air.
Scott Bylewski, the Clarence town supervisor, said he heard the crash from his house, about a half mile away. "I took a look from my house and the sky was red," Bylewski said at the 4 a.m. news conference. "I know when I go home I'm going to give my wife and kids a kiss."
In a statement released early Friday, Governor David Paterson said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were on board, and with the people of the Buffalo metropolitan area."
Colgan, the operator of the plane, also flies as a feeder for US Airways and United Airlines. Colgan's Web site said the airline operates 51 turboprops.
The last fatal crash involving a scheduled carrier in the United States was a ComAir regional jet in Lexington, Kentucky, in August 2006. The crew picked a too-short runway for takeoff; 47 passengers and 2 of the 3 crew members were killed.
Colgan, which has flown for Continental since 1997, is owned by Pinnacle Airlines Corporation, based in Memphis. Pinnacle has about 6,000 employees around North America, 1,800 of them in Memphis. The company has 142 regional jets and 51 turboprops. Pinnacle said last month that it had reached an agreement with Continental for Colgan to buy an additional 15 turboprops to fly as Continental Connection airplanes.
Earlier on Thursday, Continental posted a notice on its Web site that its operations would be affected by the winter storm on the East Coast, including in Buffalo and the New York City area.
The storm caused flights to Newark Liberty International Airport to be delayed by more than five hours on Thursday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. That was unusual even for that airport, which routinely has some of the worst delays of any destination in the country.
Early on Friday, the FAA's Web site showed delays at Newark of three hours and 50 minutes.
NTAGANDA, JUSTICE MINISTER: “PEACE FIRST OF ALL."
MISNA
13 February 2009
“There are times when the need for peace overrides the need for justice”, said justice minister, Emmanuel Janvier, in Kinshasa, explaining the government’s decision to handover the leader of the so-called national Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), Bosco Ntaganda, to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant against him on charges of having forcibly recruited child warriors and for perpetrating war crimes. The minister reiterated that Ntaganda “has not been pardoned” for his crimes, noting, however, that “justice is an intrinsic element of peace”, even while asking critics not to “drag authorities in the mud, over the difficult choices they are asked to make”. Ntaganda – who has taken over the leadership of the dissident wing of the CNDP, ‘denouncing’ the ‘ineffective’ leadership of the group’s former leader, Laurent Nkunda, who was captured and detained by Rwandan forces last January 22 – has made a commitment to participate in a peace process with Kinshasa, which provides for the de-mobilization and absorption of the former fighters within the ranks of the army. However, several human rights groups have lamented the failure to hand over Ntaganda to the ICC in The Hague, to answer to crimes against civilians perpetrated in Ituri and Kivu. As for Nkunda, Janvier said that his extradition "is a matter of time" and that he would be tried in Congo
13 February 2009
“There are times when the need for peace overrides the need for justice”, said justice minister, Emmanuel Janvier, in Kinshasa, explaining the government’s decision to handover the leader of the so-called national Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), Bosco Ntaganda, to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant against him on charges of having forcibly recruited child warriors and for perpetrating war crimes. The minister reiterated that Ntaganda “has not been pardoned” for his crimes, noting, however, that “justice is an intrinsic element of peace”, even while asking critics not to “drag authorities in the mud, over the difficult choices they are asked to make”. Ntaganda – who has taken over the leadership of the dissident wing of the CNDP, ‘denouncing’ the ‘ineffective’ leadership of the group’s former leader, Laurent Nkunda, who was captured and detained by Rwandan forces last January 22 – has made a commitment to participate in a peace process with Kinshasa, which provides for the de-mobilization and absorption of the former fighters within the ranks of the army. However, several human rights groups have lamented the failure to hand over Ntaganda to the ICC in The Hague, to answer to crimes against civilians perpetrated in Ituri and Kivu. As for Nkunda, Janvier said that his extradition "is a matter of time" and that he would be tried in Congo
12 February, 2009
New York Times Releases False Story-No Warrant Issued for Bashir Claims ICC.
News 24
12 February 2009
The International Criminal Court said on Thursday no arrest warrant has been issued for Sudan President Omar al-Beshir for crimes in Darfur, after the New York Times reported judges had decided to issue it.
"At this moment, there is no arrest warrant," spokeswoman Laurence Blairon told AFP.
"When we have something to announce, we will announce it. For now, there is nothing to announce."
The newspaper reported on Wednesday that ICC judges had decided to issue an arrest warrant for al-Beshir, as requested last July by the chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
12 February 2009
The International Criminal Court said on Thursday no arrest warrant has been issued for Sudan President Omar al-Beshir for crimes in Darfur, after the New York Times reported judges had decided to issue it.
"At this moment, there is no arrest warrant," spokeswoman Laurence Blairon told AFP.
"When we have something to announce, we will announce it. For now, there is nothing to announce."
The newspaper reported on Wednesday that ICC judges had decided to issue an arrest warrant for al-Beshir, as requested last July by the chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL DISMANTLING OF REBELLION.
MISNA
12 February 2009
Mali's Defense ministry announced that after completing an offensive underway for weeks, the army now controls “all bases” of the rebels active in the north of the country. In a statement released today, the ministry specified that “the army has routed Tuareg rebels of the Democratic Alliance for Change (ATNM)” led by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, the last armed group active in the nation that refuses to take part in the Algiers peace process. All the operational and logistical bases of the movement in Tin Assalek, Abeibara, Boureissa, Inerdjane and east of Touksimène have been taken and are under the control of our army and security forces”, added the ministry, referring that 22 rebels had been taken prisoner in the operation and large amounts of weapons, munitions and vehicles seized. The wanted rebel leader Ag Bahanga is still at large.
A ceremony is due to be held on Sunday in Kidal, in the north, for the peaceful return of more than 500 former Tuareg rebels to the town of Kidal, a step outlined in the July 2006 Algiers peace agreement, committing the rebels to drop demands for the autonomy of northern Mali in exchange for a more rapid development of the three northern regions of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu. The ATNM in fact demanded a reduction in the military presence in the Tinzaouatène zone, on the border with Algeria, but the government refused claiming it was an international drug transit area.
12 February 2009
Mali's Defense ministry announced that after completing an offensive underway for weeks, the army now controls “all bases” of the rebels active in the north of the country. In a statement released today, the ministry specified that “the army has routed Tuareg rebels of the Democratic Alliance for Change (ATNM)” led by Ibrahim Ag Bahanga, the last armed group active in the nation that refuses to take part in the Algiers peace process. All the operational and logistical bases of the movement in Tin Assalek, Abeibara, Boureissa, Inerdjane and east of Touksimène have been taken and are under the control of our army and security forces”, added the ministry, referring that 22 rebels had been taken prisoner in the operation and large amounts of weapons, munitions and vehicles seized. The wanted rebel leader Ag Bahanga is still at large.
A ceremony is due to be held on Sunday in Kidal, in the north, for the peaceful return of more than 500 former Tuareg rebels to the town of Kidal, a step outlined in the July 2006 Algiers peace agreement, committing the rebels to drop demands for the autonomy of northern Mali in exchange for a more rapid development of the three northern regions of Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu. The ATNM in fact demanded a reduction in the military presence in the Tinzaouatène zone, on the border with Algeria, but the government refused claiming it was an international drug transit area.
11 February, 2009
Azerbaijan air force head killed.
BBC News
11 February 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7882911.stm
The commander of Azerbaijan's air force has been shot dead outside his house in the capital, Baku, officials have said.
Lt-Gen Rail Rzayev, 64, was shot in the head by an unknown gunman while getting into his car at around 0800 (0400 GMT), the private Turan news agency reported.
Defence ministry officials said the general was taken to a military hospital, but died shortly afterwards.
The authorities say they have launched an investigation into the murder, but they do not know what the motive was.
Nijmedin Sadykhov, the head of the Azeri military general staff, told Lider TV that security cameras near Gen Rzayev's home might help catch the perpetrator.
"There was a single shot. According to preliminary information, Rzayev's car had been under surveillance for several days," he said.
Oil-rich nation
Gen Rzayev was made commander of the air force and air defence forces shortly after Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
At the time, Azerbaijan was in conflict with neighbouring Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
More recently, the general was the Azeri representative in the stalled negotiations between Russia and the US over the use of the Qabala radar station in northern Azerbaijan.
Moscow had offered Washington access to data from the Soviet-built radar station, which it leases from the Azeri government, as an alternative to US plans to station elements of a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe.
Baku-based military analyst Uzeir Jafarov told the AFP news agency the killing might have been linked to Gen Rzayev's role in large-scale military acquisitions which Azerbaijan has made in recent years.
"Rzayev was the focal point for air force and air defence military acquisitions and the largest part of [Azerbaijan's] military budget is being allocated for acquisitions in these spheres," he said.
In October 2008, the International Crisis Group described Azerbaijan's armed forces as "fragmented, divided, accountable-to-no-one-but-the-president, un-transparent, corrupt and internally feuding".
"There have been several instances of officers arrested on corruption and embezzlement charges, but these tend to be brought selectively against those who have been critical of the regime," it said.
11 February 2009
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/europe/7882911.stm
The commander of Azerbaijan's air force has been shot dead outside his house in the capital, Baku, officials have said.
Lt-Gen Rail Rzayev, 64, was shot in the head by an unknown gunman while getting into his car at around 0800 (0400 GMT), the private Turan news agency reported.
Defence ministry officials said the general was taken to a military hospital, but died shortly afterwards.
The authorities say they have launched an investigation into the murder, but they do not know what the motive was.
Nijmedin Sadykhov, the head of the Azeri military general staff, told Lider TV that security cameras near Gen Rzayev's home might help catch the perpetrator.
"There was a single shot. According to preliminary information, Rzayev's car had been under surveillance for several days," he said.
Oil-rich nation
Gen Rzayev was made commander of the air force and air defence forces shortly after Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
At the time, Azerbaijan was in conflict with neighbouring Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
More recently, the general was the Azeri representative in the stalled negotiations between Russia and the US over the use of the Qabala radar station in northern Azerbaijan.
Moscow had offered Washington access to data from the Soviet-built radar station, which it leases from the Azeri government, as an alternative to US plans to station elements of a missile defence shield in Eastern Europe.
Baku-based military analyst Uzeir Jafarov told the AFP news agency the killing might have been linked to Gen Rzayev's role in large-scale military acquisitions which Azerbaijan has made in recent years.
"Rzayev was the focal point for air force and air defence military acquisitions and the largest part of [Azerbaijan's] military budget is being allocated for acquisitions in these spheres," he said.
In October 2008, the International Crisis Group described Azerbaijan's armed forces as "fragmented, divided, accountable-to-no-one-but-the-president, un-transparent, corrupt and internally feuding".
"There have been several instances of officers arrested on corruption and embezzlement charges, but these tend to be brought selectively against those who have been critical of the regime," it said.
Congo May Introduce “Use It or Lose It” Principle for Mining Congo May Introduce “Use It or Lose It” Principle for Mining.
Bloomberg
11 February 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=akBcBfuVYUnM
By Paul Richardson
The Democratic Republic of Congo may introduce a “use it or lose it” principle for future mining contracts as part of an effort to unlock the country’s mineral wealth, deputy Mines Minister Victor Kasongo said.
The Central African nation is seeking a mechanism to encourage mining companies to develop mineral rights they have acquired, Kasongo said in an interview today at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town. Those companies that aren’t able to access finance to exploit resources may have to find partners that can, he said.
“We are so determined about mining,” Kasongo said. “We can’t afford to have key mining assets frozen.”
Congo, which has a third of the world’s cobalt and 4 percent of all copper, wants to develop its mining industry to rebuild an economy shattered by two civil wars between 1996 and 2003 and in which more than 5 million people died. The country is completing a review of mining contracts with companies including Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd.
“The mining review was never about taking assets, it was about looking at the terms of contracts,” Kasongo said. “The review also wasn’t about security of tenure - security of tenure is there.”
Congo’s government sought a larger share of profits as metals prices soared and investors became less concerned about local risk following elections in 2006, the first democratic vote in four decades. Some projects that had struggled to find financing while uncertainty remained over their titles were cut back as the world financial crisis set in last year.
Mining Laws
South Africa, the world’s largest platinum producer, in 2004 introduced a law forcing companies to give up deposits if they didn’t produce plans to develop mines. Congo may introduce such a measure, although any law that is implemented won’t be “aggressive,” Kasongo said.
“We are considering something similar, but if mining is going on, we won’t need to do that,” he said.
While Congo’s government is unable to assist companies in raising finance to start mining projects, state-owned enterprises are prepared to help by funding the construction of roads and power supply facilities, Kasongo said.
“We have to make every effort to get production going,” he said.
11 February 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=akBcBfuVYUnM
By Paul Richardson
The Democratic Republic of Congo may introduce a “use it or lose it” principle for future mining contracts as part of an effort to unlock the country’s mineral wealth, deputy Mines Minister Victor Kasongo said.
The Central African nation is seeking a mechanism to encourage mining companies to develop mineral rights they have acquired, Kasongo said in an interview today at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town. Those companies that aren’t able to access finance to exploit resources may have to find partners that can, he said.
“We are so determined about mining,” Kasongo said. “We can’t afford to have key mining assets frozen.”
Congo, which has a third of the world’s cobalt and 4 percent of all copper, wants to develop its mining industry to rebuild an economy shattered by two civil wars between 1996 and 2003 and in which more than 5 million people died. The country is completing a review of mining contracts with companies including Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc., AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. and First Quantum Minerals Ltd.
“The mining review was never about taking assets, it was about looking at the terms of contracts,” Kasongo said. “The review also wasn’t about security of tenure - security of tenure is there.”
Congo’s government sought a larger share of profits as metals prices soared and investors became less concerned about local risk following elections in 2006, the first democratic vote in four decades. Some projects that had struggled to find financing while uncertainty remained over their titles were cut back as the world financial crisis set in last year.
Mining Laws
South Africa, the world’s largest platinum producer, in 2004 introduced a law forcing companies to give up deposits if they didn’t produce plans to develop mines. Congo may introduce such a measure, although any law that is implemented won’t be “aggressive,” Kasongo said.
“We are considering something similar, but if mining is going on, we won’t need to do that,” he said.
While Congo’s government is unable to assist companies in raising finance to start mining projects, state-owned enterprises are prepared to help by funding the construction of roads and power supply facilities, Kasongo said.
“We have to make every effort to get production going,” he said.
08 February, 2009
A Fake Report on Fake Elections.
31 January 2009
Last Monday, the EU Electoral Observation Mission released its final report on the legislative elections held in Rwanda in September 2008. The presentation happened quite discreetly in Kigali, and the story was not picked up by the international press. When reading the report, one understands this discretion and why this release happened months after the date initially announced.
In his opening remarks at the Kigali press conference, the Chief Observer, British MEP Michael Cashman, stressed that “The process of democratisation in Rwanda since the end of the genocide is remarkable”. However, that is not really what the report implies.
Although often hidden in technical language, the mission reports major flaws in the electoral process. For instance, in 76% of the polling stations observed, the ballot boxes were not sealed; in 73% of the cases the upper slot of the ballot box was not sealed after the end of voting, a fact which, in the report’s own prudent wording, “could have left room for potential electoral abuse”.
The consolidation process, a crucial moment as it is here that the results are “made”, is assessed by the mission as “poor or very poor with procedures not properly followed in 63.9% of the cases”. These percentages relate to operations observed by the mission, i.e. 576 polling stations out of a total of over 15,000. One can only image what has happened in places where no observers were present.
All this might be seen by some as minor defects without substantial impact on the outcome of the elections, were it not that the mission knows very well that the “imperfections” noted in its report are just the visible signs of a massive electoral fraud. Indeed, according to several of its members, the mission found out that the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) had been too efficient in intimidating the voters and fixing the ballot, as it obtained 98.39% of the vote.
This observation is based on a very robust sample size of 24.96% of the total vote (which gives a standard error for the smallest sample of under one percent). Realising that this result looked too “Stalinist”, the regime modified the results: officially the RPF obtained 78.76%, and two other parties were credited with 13.13% (PSD) and 7.50% (PL). Although the mission is fully aware of this manipulation, it is not mentioned in the report, which is thus as fake as the elections it pretends to analyse.
The “generosity” of the RPF of course does not in the least diminish the fact that this was a massive and centrally organised fraud. Indeed, it is as if no elections had taken place: it was the RPF that decided its share of the vote and that of the two other parties. There are at least two lessons in this story. The first is that less serious faults in elections elsewhere would lead to strong criticism and possibly sanctions by donors, but that Rwanda –as often in the past– escapes condemnation.
The Rwandans of course know that we know, and the message for them is all too clear: impunity remains ensured. This can only encourage the regime to continue pursuing its path of disastrous political governance, which will eventually lead to new massive violence. As the main bilateral donor of budget aid, the UK bears a heavy responsibility for this likelihood.
The second lesson relates to the EU observer mission. It is a useless way of spending taxpayers’ money if what is observed is not reported. As a matter of fact, it is worse than useless: it is counterproductive, as it sends a signal to the Rwandan regime that it need not worry about conducting free, fair and transparent elections in the future.
Filip Reyntjens, Ph.D
Professor of African Law and Politics
Institute of Development Policy and Management (IOB),
University of Antwerp
(The report can be found on the Observer Mission’s website: http://www.eueomrwanda.org/)
Last Monday, the EU Electoral Observation Mission released its final report on the legislative elections held in Rwanda in September 2008. The presentation happened quite discreetly in Kigali, and the story was not picked up by the international press. When reading the report, one understands this discretion and why this release happened months after the date initially announced.
In his opening remarks at the Kigali press conference, the Chief Observer, British MEP Michael Cashman, stressed that “The process of democratisation in Rwanda since the end of the genocide is remarkable”. However, that is not really what the report implies.
Although often hidden in technical language, the mission reports major flaws in the electoral process. For instance, in 76% of the polling stations observed, the ballot boxes were not sealed; in 73% of the cases the upper slot of the ballot box was not sealed after the end of voting, a fact which, in the report’s own prudent wording, “could have left room for potential electoral abuse”.
The consolidation process, a crucial moment as it is here that the results are “made”, is assessed by the mission as “poor or very poor with procedures not properly followed in 63.9% of the cases”. These percentages relate to operations observed by the mission, i.e. 576 polling stations out of a total of over 15,000. One can only image what has happened in places where no observers were present.
All this might be seen by some as minor defects without substantial impact on the outcome of the elections, were it not that the mission knows very well that the “imperfections” noted in its report are just the visible signs of a massive electoral fraud. Indeed, according to several of its members, the mission found out that the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) had been too efficient in intimidating the voters and fixing the ballot, as it obtained 98.39% of the vote.
This observation is based on a very robust sample size of 24.96% of the total vote (which gives a standard error for the smallest sample of under one percent). Realising that this result looked too “Stalinist”, the regime modified the results: officially the RPF obtained 78.76%, and two other parties were credited with 13.13% (PSD) and 7.50% (PL). Although the mission is fully aware of this manipulation, it is not mentioned in the report, which is thus as fake as the elections it pretends to analyse.
The “generosity” of the RPF of course does not in the least diminish the fact that this was a massive and centrally organised fraud. Indeed, it is as if no elections had taken place: it was the RPF that decided its share of the vote and that of the two other parties. There are at least two lessons in this story. The first is that less serious faults in elections elsewhere would lead to strong criticism and possibly sanctions by donors, but that Rwanda –as often in the past– escapes condemnation.
The Rwandans of course know that we know, and the message for them is all too clear: impunity remains ensured. This can only encourage the regime to continue pursuing its path of disastrous political governance, which will eventually lead to new massive violence. As the main bilateral donor of budget aid, the UK bears a heavy responsibility for this likelihood.
The second lesson relates to the EU observer mission. It is a useless way of spending taxpayers’ money if what is observed is not reported. As a matter of fact, it is worse than useless: it is counterproductive, as it sends a signal to the Rwandan regime that it need not worry about conducting free, fair and transparent elections in the future.
Filip Reyntjens, Ph.D
Professor of African Law and Politics
Institute of Development Policy and Management (IOB),
University of Antwerp
(The report can be found on the Observer Mission’s website: http://www.eueomrwanda.org/)
Swedish Lundin sells East African interests after negative results in South Sudan.
Sudan Tribune
8 February 2009
Swedish oil explorer, Lundin Petroleum AB announced the selling of its investments in eastern Africa following its negative drilling results in southern Sudan.
Block 5B Lundin Petroleum announced on February 5 the signing of an agreement for the sale of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Lundin East Africa and Lundin Kenya to Africa Oil Corporation ("Africa Oil," http://www.africaoilcorp.com/s/Home.asp).
Lundin East Africa covers Ogaden Basin, southern Ethiopia and the Adigala Area in northern Ethiopia. Lundin Kenya holds interest in the Anza Basin region in the northwest of Kenya. Also, the contract includes unexploited fields in Somalia due to the political situation there.
"The strategy to grow our business in East Africa was particularly driven by the prospectively of our exploration acreage in Sudan," said Lundin President Ashley Heppenstall.
However, due to the unsuccessful drilling results in Sudan, Lundin presence in the region has less weight and "as a result we have decided to divest our interests," Heppenstall added.
Swedish oil explorer failed after three drilling operations since March to October 2008 to find oil in Sudan’s oil Muglad Basin in Block 5B.
The partners in Block 5B are Petronas Carigali White Nile (5B) Ltd ("Petronas")
(39%), Lundin Petroleum (24.5%), ONGC Videsh Ltd (23.5%) and Sudapet Ltd (13%)
8 February 2009
Swedish oil explorer, Lundin Petroleum AB announced the selling of its investments in eastern Africa following its negative drilling results in southern Sudan.
Block 5B Lundin Petroleum announced on February 5 the signing of an agreement for the sale of its wholly owned subsidiaries, Lundin East Africa and Lundin Kenya to Africa Oil Corporation ("Africa Oil," http://www.africaoilcorp.com/s/Home.asp).
Lundin East Africa covers Ogaden Basin, southern Ethiopia and the Adigala Area in northern Ethiopia. Lundin Kenya holds interest in the Anza Basin region in the northwest of Kenya. Also, the contract includes unexploited fields in Somalia due to the political situation there.
"The strategy to grow our business in East Africa was particularly driven by the prospectively of our exploration acreage in Sudan," said Lundin President Ashley Heppenstall.
However, due to the unsuccessful drilling results in Sudan, Lundin presence in the region has less weight and "as a result we have decided to divest our interests," Heppenstall added.
Swedish oil explorer failed after three drilling operations since March to October 2008 to find oil in Sudan’s oil Muglad Basin in Block 5B.
The partners in Block 5B are Petronas Carigali White Nile (5B) Ltd ("Petronas")
(39%), Lundin Petroleum (24.5%), ONGC Videsh Ltd (23.5%) and Sudapet Ltd (13%)
Video shows diplomats are alive in Niger.
AFP
8 February 2009
Canada has received a videocassette as proof that two of its diplomats kidnapped in Niger in mid-December are still alive, sources close to the investigation in Mali said on Saturday.
"In the cassette, we see the two Canadian diplomats appear before the camera in turn to introduce themselves", a local elder from northern Mali who has seen the video told AFP.
The diplomats, UN envoy to Niger Robert Fowler and Louis Guay, and their driver went missing in mid-December when returning from a visit to a gold mine operated by Canadian company Semafo, west of Niamey in Niger.
Another Malian source who saw the video said it confirms the two diplomats are alive.
Search launched
"It is Robert Fowler who appears first before the camera. Behind him there are armed men. Mr Fowler asks for a response to the demands of his kidnappers but doesn't provide any more details", said the source.
In the undated video that lasts several minutes Guay "looks dejected", the source said.
They said the driver of the two diplomats, Soumana Moukaila, did not appear in the video.
Their car, which was marked as belonging to the UN Development Programme, was discovered on December 15 beside a road in an apparently trouble-free area close to the capital of Niger.
Canada has asked countries in the region to help search for the diplomats and has sent investigators to Mali.
A Canadian newspaper reported last month that there had been some evidence that Fowler was alive, citing UN Security Council sources, but Canadian officials declined to comment on the information.
8 February 2009
Canada has received a videocassette as proof that two of its diplomats kidnapped in Niger in mid-December are still alive, sources close to the investigation in Mali said on Saturday.
"In the cassette, we see the two Canadian diplomats appear before the camera in turn to introduce themselves", a local elder from northern Mali who has seen the video told AFP.
The diplomats, UN envoy to Niger Robert Fowler and Louis Guay, and their driver went missing in mid-December when returning from a visit to a gold mine operated by Canadian company Semafo, west of Niamey in Niger.
Another Malian source who saw the video said it confirms the two diplomats are alive.
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"It is Robert Fowler who appears first before the camera. Behind him there are armed men. Mr Fowler asks for a response to the demands of his kidnappers but doesn't provide any more details", said the source.
In the undated video that lasts several minutes Guay "looks dejected", the source said.
They said the driver of the two diplomats, Soumana Moukaila, did not appear in the video.
Their car, which was marked as belonging to the UN Development Programme, was discovered on December 15 beside a road in an apparently trouble-free area close to the capital of Niger.
Canada has asked countries in the region to help search for the diplomats and has sent investigators to Mali.
A Canadian newspaper reported last month that there had been some evidence that Fowler was alive, citing UN Security Council sources, but Canadian officials declined to comment on the information.
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