Daily Times
7 May 2009
Guinea’s ruling junta has recalled 30 ambassadors in cities from Washington to Beijing, nearly five months after seizing power when the West African country’s longtime dictator died.
The military junta gave no reason for the diplomatic reshuffle, ordered by a presidential decree read on state television Tuesday night. Almost all of Guinea’s embassies abroad will be affected by the reshuffle, including those in Paris, London, Moscow, Cairo and Pretoria, South Africa. The Guinean representatives to the European Union and African Union were also included.
It is the first major diplomatic move by self-proclaimed president Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara since he seized power in a bloodless coup on Dec. 23, hours after dictator Lansana Conte died. Conte’s inner circle had ruled Guinea for a quarter century. Camara suspended the constitution, launched an anti-corruption crackdown and publicly interrogated officials of the former regime accused of drug trafficking and graft. Guinea has an abundance of gold, copper, diamonds and bauxite, the raw material used to make aluminum. But despite its mineral wealth, the country remains one of the world’s poorest. In 2006, Transparency International rated it Africa’s most corrupt country, and many officials routinely traversed the capital’s potholed roads in imported SUVs and lived in glitzy, seaside villas.
07 May, 2009
US State Dept. Security Expert Named UN Security Chief.
The Associated Press
May 6, 2009
UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday announced the appointment of Gregory Starr, the U.S. State Department's security director, as the new U.N. security chief overseeing the world body's far-flung security operations.
Starr is responsible for protecting more than 285 U.S. embassies and consulates overseas as well as 100 domestic facilities.
U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas, who announced Starr's appointment as undersecretary-general for safety and security, said he was chosen "mindful of the immediate need to tackle the heightened serious security risks facing the organization around the world."
He replaces David Veness of Britain who resigned last June over the December 2007 truck bombing at U.N. offices and another building in Algiers that killed 17 U.N. staffers and injured 40 others. An expert panel found "gaps and weaknesses" in the U.N.'s overall security operations due to cost-cutting.
Starr, 56, previously served with the State Department in Israel, Senegal, Tunisia and Congo.
May 6, 2009
UNITED NATIONS — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday announced the appointment of Gregory Starr, the U.S. State Department's security director, as the new U.N. security chief overseeing the world body's far-flung security operations.
Starr is responsible for protecting more than 285 U.S. embassies and consulates overseas as well as 100 domestic facilities.
U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas, who announced Starr's appointment as undersecretary-general for safety and security, said he was chosen "mindful of the immediate need to tackle the heightened serious security risks facing the organization around the world."
He replaces David Veness of Britain who resigned last June over the December 2007 truck bombing at U.N. offices and another building in Algiers that killed 17 U.N. staffers and injured 40 others. An expert panel found "gaps and weaknesses" in the U.N.'s overall security operations due to cost-cutting.
Starr, 56, previously served with the State Department in Israel, Senegal, Tunisia and Congo.
06 May, 2009
Zuma elected South African leader.
BBC News
6 May 2009
The leader of South Africa's African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, has been officially elected the country's president by members of parliament.
He will be inaugurated on Saturday. The ANC won the general election in South Africa two weeks ago.
Mr Zuma's government is expected to focus on the faltering economy, fighting crime, poverty and HIV/Aids.
Pro-poor populist
Mr Zuma, 67, was challenged in the vote by Mvume Dandala of the opposition Congress of the People (Cope), which broke away from the ANC last year.
Mr Zuma received 277 votes compared to 47 for Mr Dandala.
South Africa's fourth democratic parliament, seated in Cape Town, began by swearing in 400 MPs when it convened for the first time on Wednesday.
The BBC's Mohammed Allie in Cape Town says the MPs then elected the speaker and deputy speaker before voting for Mr Zuma.
Tens of thousands of people and some 5,000 dignitaries are expected on Saturday to attend what is considered to be the main event: Mr Zuma's inauguration in Pretoria. His new cabinet will be announced by Sunday.
Mr Zuma won over voters on a pro-poor populist ticket and the ANC gained 264 seats in parliament.
But the party which has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994 fell just short of its previous two-thirds majority, which had enabled it to pass constitutional changes.
It lost ground to the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, which has swelled to 67 seats and Cope (third place with 30 seats).
Our correspondent says former President Thabo Mbeki was criticised for not spending enough time in parliament but many analysts believe Mr Zuma will have a different approach.
6 May 2009
The leader of South Africa's African National Congress, Jacob Zuma, has been officially elected the country's president by members of parliament.
He will be inaugurated on Saturday. The ANC won the general election in South Africa two weeks ago.
Mr Zuma's government is expected to focus on the faltering economy, fighting crime, poverty and HIV/Aids.
Pro-poor populist
Mr Zuma, 67, was challenged in the vote by Mvume Dandala of the opposition Congress of the People (Cope), which broke away from the ANC last year.
Mr Zuma received 277 votes compared to 47 for Mr Dandala.
South Africa's fourth democratic parliament, seated in Cape Town, began by swearing in 400 MPs when it convened for the first time on Wednesday.
The BBC's Mohammed Allie in Cape Town says the MPs then elected the speaker and deputy speaker before voting for Mr Zuma.
Tens of thousands of people and some 5,000 dignitaries are expected on Saturday to attend what is considered to be the main event: Mr Zuma's inauguration in Pretoria. His new cabinet will be announced by Sunday.
Mr Zuma won over voters on a pro-poor populist ticket and the ANC gained 264 seats in parliament.
But the party which has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994 fell just short of its previous two-thirds majority, which had enabled it to pass constitutional changes.
It lost ground to the official opposition, the Democratic Alliance, which has swelled to 67 seats and Cope (third place with 30 seats).
Our correspondent says former President Thabo Mbeki was criticised for not spending enough time in parliament but many analysts believe Mr Zuma will have a different approach.
French judge wants to investigate 3 Africa leaders.
AP
5 May 2009
A French judge has decided to investigate three African heads of state for money laundering and other alleged crimes linked to their wealth in France.
The probe follows a complaint by Transparency International France, an association that tracks corruption, against Gabon's Omar Bongo, Republic of Congo's Denis Sassou-Nguesso and Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.
Association lawyer William Bourdon claimed Tuesday the decision was "unprecedented" for such a probe against heads of state.
A preliminary investigation turned up numerous signs of wealth among the three that Bourdon says belongs to their people.
The prosecutor's office opposed the opening of an investigation April 20 and now has five days to appeal the decision by investigating Magistrate Francoise Desset.
Bongo is among the last of the so-called "African Big Men" who came to power by the gun and resisted the democratic tide sweeping the continent. He faces little political opposition in his oil-rich West African nation, ruling through a mixture of patronage and quiet intimidation.
Last year, Bongo became the world's longest-ruling head of state, not counting the monarchs of Britain and Thailand. He has been in charge since 1967.
French media have reported his family owns abundant real estate in France — at one time with more Paris properties than any other foreign leader.
Equatorial Guinea is Africa's No. 3 oil producer. Its leader, Obiang, has faced several attempts to topple his government since he seized power in a coup three decades ago. His government is considered among Africa's worst human rights violators.
Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of Congo seized power for a second time in 1997 with help from Angolan troops.
5 May 2009
A French judge has decided to investigate three African heads of state for money laundering and other alleged crimes linked to their wealth in France.
The probe follows a complaint by Transparency International France, an association that tracks corruption, against Gabon's Omar Bongo, Republic of Congo's Denis Sassou-Nguesso and Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.
Association lawyer William Bourdon claimed Tuesday the decision was "unprecedented" for such a probe against heads of state.
A preliminary investigation turned up numerous signs of wealth among the three that Bourdon says belongs to their people.
The prosecutor's office opposed the opening of an investigation April 20 and now has five days to appeal the decision by investigating Magistrate Francoise Desset.
Bongo is among the last of the so-called "African Big Men" who came to power by the gun and resisted the democratic tide sweeping the continent. He faces little political opposition in his oil-rich West African nation, ruling through a mixture of patronage and quiet intimidation.
Last year, Bongo became the world's longest-ruling head of state, not counting the monarchs of Britain and Thailand. He has been in charge since 1967.
French media have reported his family owns abundant real estate in France — at one time with more Paris properties than any other foreign leader.
Equatorial Guinea is Africa's No. 3 oil producer. Its leader, Obiang, has faced several attempts to topple his government since he seized power in a coup three decades ago. His government is considered among Africa's worst human rights violators.
Sassou-Nguesso of the Republic of Congo seized power for a second time in 1997 with help from Angolan troops.
AI calls on Ethiopian govt to reveal fate of political prisoners.
Afrol News
5 May 2009
Amnesty International (AI) has today called on the Ethiopian government to immediately disclose the names and fate of more than 35 people believed to be held by its security forces on political grounds since 24 April.
The group has further said it had learned that additional arrests were reportedly been carried out over the past several days, with further arrests expected.
According to AI, many of the victims are believed to have been arrested for their alleged involvement in planning a thwarted attack on the government, while others appear to have been arrested for their own or family members’ peaceful political opposition to the government.
Amnesty further said that amongst the 35 people, is an 80-year-old grandfather in urgent need of medical care.
“We are very concerned about the fate of those arrested,” said Michelle Kagari, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Africa Programme.
“Several may have been detained solely for their family ties to men who have expressed political opposition to the government. They should be released immediately. Any others should be charged with a recognisable criminal offense or released. All should have immediate access to their families, lawyers and any medical care they may require,” further lamented the deputy director.
Amnesty International said that while protection of national security is a responsibility to which governments rightfully attach high priority, it cannot be used to justify human rights violations.
The group stressed that several of those detained have been arrested solely on the basis of family ties with members of Ginbot 7, an opposition group established in the aftermath of the disputed 2005 elections.
In addition to General Tefera Mamo and other former military officers who have recently been detained, Amnesty International also said it had confirmed that at least one opposition party member and family members of opposition party leaders have also been detained, including a cousin of the opposition figure Berhanu Nega.
Many or all of those recently arrested are believed to be held in Maekalawi Prison in Addis Ababa, though the government has not yet confirmed, according to AI, adding that due to the secret nature of their detention, they are at significant risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment.
After an initial court appearance last week, those detained were remanded into custody for 14 additional days to allow for further investigation and charges to be filed, said Amnesty International, adding that it expects their next court appearance to take place on or about 12 May 2009.
“Peaceful opposition to the government is not a crime - and being related to someone who opposes the government is not a crime. The Ethiopian government must not detain, harass or intimidate opposition party members or their family members in the course of ongoing security operations. This will only serve to exacerbate an already tense political climate pervading the country,” said Michelle Kagari.
5 May 2009
Amnesty International (AI) has today called on the Ethiopian government to immediately disclose the names and fate of more than 35 people believed to be held by its security forces on political grounds since 24 April.
The group has further said it had learned that additional arrests were reportedly been carried out over the past several days, with further arrests expected.
According to AI, many of the victims are believed to have been arrested for their alleged involvement in planning a thwarted attack on the government, while others appear to have been arrested for their own or family members’ peaceful political opposition to the government.
Amnesty further said that amongst the 35 people, is an 80-year-old grandfather in urgent need of medical care.
“We are very concerned about the fate of those arrested,” said Michelle Kagari, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Africa Programme.
“Several may have been detained solely for their family ties to men who have expressed political opposition to the government. They should be released immediately. Any others should be charged with a recognisable criminal offense or released. All should have immediate access to their families, lawyers and any medical care they may require,” further lamented the deputy director.
Amnesty International said that while protection of national security is a responsibility to which governments rightfully attach high priority, it cannot be used to justify human rights violations.
The group stressed that several of those detained have been arrested solely on the basis of family ties with members of Ginbot 7, an opposition group established in the aftermath of the disputed 2005 elections.
In addition to General Tefera Mamo and other former military officers who have recently been detained, Amnesty International also said it had confirmed that at least one opposition party member and family members of opposition party leaders have also been detained, including a cousin of the opposition figure Berhanu Nega.
Many or all of those recently arrested are believed to be held in Maekalawi Prison in Addis Ababa, though the government has not yet confirmed, according to AI, adding that due to the secret nature of their detention, they are at significant risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment.
After an initial court appearance last week, those detained were remanded into custody for 14 additional days to allow for further investigation and charges to be filed, said Amnesty International, adding that it expects their next court appearance to take place on or about 12 May 2009.
“Peaceful opposition to the government is not a crime - and being related to someone who opposes the government is not a crime. The Ethiopian government must not detain, harass or intimidate opposition party members or their family members in the course of ongoing security operations. This will only serve to exacerbate an already tense political climate pervading the country,” said Michelle Kagari.
The Case For The Congo.
By Ali M. Malau
5 May 2009
Opinion
Foreign Policy magazine recently published a rather disturbing article on the Congo (There is No Congo, posted March 2009, Web Exclusive, http://www.foreignpolicy.com), by Mr. Jeffrey Herbst of Miami University of Ohio, and Mr. Greg Mills, who directs the Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation. The article argues against Congo as a unified entity. As a Congolese citizen, I could not disagree more with their argument, and I believe it warrants an appropriate rebuttal.
Their article is a perfect illustration of the flawed approach with which much of the so-called international community, and some scholars on Africa, have analyzed the situation in the Congo since its nominal independence in 1960, and frankly, part of the reason why they never get it right. It is often not due to inaccurate facts, or lack of knowledge on the region, but more due to inadequate prisms molded in the group-think of Western-centric academia.
In my view, and to illustrate some of the points I am rebutting, the article boils down to the following citations:
" … And indeed, for centuries, this is precisely what Congo's colonial occupiers, its neighbors, and even some of its people have done: eaten away at Congo's vast mineral wealth with little concern for the coherency of the country left behind. Congo has none of the things that make a nation-state: interconnectedness, a government that is able to exert authority consistently in territory beyond the capital, a shared culture that promotes national unity, or a common language. Instead, Congo has become a collection of peoples, groups, interests, and pillagers who coexist at best."
"The very concept of a Congolese state has outlived its usefulness. For an international community that has far too long made wishful thinking the enemy of pragmatism, acting on reality rather than diplomatic theory would be a good start."
There is one general sense in this article that is right: the Congo has been a disappointment. With the vast swathes of fauna, flora, mineral, agricultural, hydroelectric, and human resources it inherited at its independence, one would expect the Congo today to rival if not exceed such rising powers as South Africa, Brazil, India, China, Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Instead, as the article justly points out, the level of deliquescence in Congo today is almost unprecedented; not acknowledging that reality would be intellectually dubious.
Nevertheless, what is equally dubious, is the misdiagnosis of the root causes of the current situation. The authors of this article repeatedly, and I believe questionably, confuse causes and consequences, to support and justify a desire, long-held in certain circles, for the balkanization of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The authors point out the weakness of the Congolese central state in governing the vast country, without fully and honestly addressing the international geo-strategic reasons why that reality came to be. The authors point out the various secessions and minor uprisings during the past 40+ years to justify their diagnosis of the Congo. Yet they fail to shine a light on the multiple foreign state and corporate backers that participated in those early attempts at derailing the Congo. The authors claim that " the Congolese government's inability to control its territory has resulted in one of the world's longest and most violent wars", without actually addressing the reasons why the government was - and still is - not able to control its territory in the first place.
My contention is quite simple. The current conflict(s) in the Congo, the deliquescence of the state, the lack of infrastructures and "interconnectedness", are not merely unforeseen, pathological consequences of bad colonial and/or cold war policy gone awry. The current situation is a direct, calculated, and progressively manufactured result of a long-standing operation by Western nations to maintain a weak state in this vast mineral rich swath of land in the heart of Africa and perpetuate the systematic plunder of Congo's resources by various foreign interests, and their proxies in the local elite.
Seems far-fetched? Let us consider that, until proven otherwise, the Congo is a sovereign country, recognized as such by international law, the United Nations, and, in theory, every country on the planet. Yet despite that, over the past five decades, these very countries, (including supposed champions of the rule of law like The United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France and South Africa), have allowed their mining companies (like Banro, Freeport-McMoran, Anglo American, DeBeers, and others) to enter into odious contracts with corrupt elements of the leadership in Kinshasa, and worse, with murderous warlords, and near-genocidal militias, unhindered and unpunished. Furthermore, several of these very countries and their corporations have provided the military, logistical and ideological support to the secessionist regimes in the 60's and 70's, Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, their proxy militias and/or their rival militias, thus destabilizing and creating a de facto partition of the country, and further guaranteeing maximized profits through cheap/slave/child labor under warlords. That is not happenstance, but cold, calculated, predatory business planning. In fact, one only has to examine the history of the ties between the Oppenheimer mining magnate family of South Africa - which founded, and finances, the Brenthurst foundation that one of the authors of "There is No Congo," Greg Mills, leads - and the various regimes and rebellions we have seen in the Congo, to understand how integral these foreign corporate and state interests are to the conduct of ANY business in the Congo.
I contend that it is not so much that there is No Congo; nor is it that the Congo as a country is not possible. I contend that since 1959, it was deemed too much of a potential threat to several world and regional powers, and to the coffers of their corporate acolytes, to allow the rise of a strong, large, potential Brazil-type power, in the heart of Africa.. And we can see why. Let us consider the Congo today. Despite being one of the poorest, badly-managed countries in the world, by virtue of its position and of its potential, the country is poised - should there be a great deal of change in leadership - to be a major guarantor of the development of a truly functional African continent, and African Union. As Herbst and Mills themselves justly point out, "the country is the region's vortex ". Former South African President, Thabo Mbeki notes “There cannot be a new Africa without a new Congo.” President Barack Obama himself rightly notes “If Africa is to achieve its promise resolving the problem in the Congo will be critical.”
Over the years, despite all the adversity the Congo faces, and despite the desires they secretly harbor to see the Congo disintegrate to begin annexing its pieces, its neighbors in the region were forced to recognize its central and crucial position for the advent of further economic development for the entire continent. As a result, despite currently being, admittedly, an economic drag on all of them, the countries of Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa have all secured some form of regional economic/political supranational alliance with the Congo, whether through SADC, CEPGL, CEEAC or COMESA (all groups that constitute regional clusters in the building of the larger African Union).
There lies the issue for this country. Left to its own devices, a big, strong, unified Congo would be a powerful engine for the development, and the industrialization of the entire continent. Herbst and Mills, I believe justly state that "economically, the various outlying parts of Congo are better integrated with their neighbors than with the rest of the country." But that is not in Congo's disfavor. Whether in terms of its abundant precious and strategic minerals, the tremendous amount of renewable energy that could be generated by the Inga dam project on the Congo river, the natural gas in Lake Kivu or the geo-thermal potential of the volcanic mountains in the east, the second lung of our planet that is its rainforest, or the extraordinary - and exhaustively demonstrated - resilience of its people, the Congo has everything to be the central pillar around which Africa rises. Should the people of the Congo find a way to build the infrastructure to interconnect its outlying parts, the country would instantly become the key piece in regional development. That prospect has always unsettled many, whose interests might not be as well served should there be a strong government, a functioning army and police, and rule of law.
Herbst and Mills claim that "the very concept of a Congolese state has outlived its usefulness." When was it ever truly - and democratically - implemented, I ask? When, since 1885, have the affairs of the Congo ever truly been left to the Congolese people? See, I contend that the Congo has, intentionally, never even been given a fighting chance to live up to its potential.. Its challenge since 1885 has been both an internal and external one. Under colonial rule, the people were voluntarily under-educated, and the infrastructure built was limited to basic transportation needs for minerals, and the comfort of colons. Under Mobutu, the regime, backed by Western powers, ruled with an iron fist, promoted corruption, allowed the deliquescence of the already meager infrastructure and mining industry, and progressively engineered a weakening of the state apparatus, the army and the police, in order to strengthen and impose Mobutu's personal rule, and better protect the mechanisms of the systematic plundering of the country's resources. The Congo today is the result of a systematic, documented, and fully reversible process of manufactured under-development, with roots in colonial and neo-colonial policies, but more importantly, in greed. Fomenting and perpetuating misery, turmoil, tribalism, destructive autocratic rule, and angling for the "Somalization" of the Congo, was more profitable to key greedy domestic elites and foreign groups, and more dependable for key foreign powers, than actually allowing this country to build the infrastructure it needed - and still needs - to succeed.
That is a far more accurate prism to consider the events that have befallen the Congo over the decades. It explains the secession of Katanga, the mineral rich southern province, only 7 days after independence in 1960, with the help of Belgium, the very colonial power the people of the entire country had just successfully sought to get rid of. It also explains the assassination of the first democratically elected Prime Minister, Patrice E.. Lumumba, with, at the very least, the tacit backing of Belgium and the United States. It explains, for instance, the documented contacts between the Oppenheimer family of South Africa and Albert Kalonji Mulopwe, the "Emperor" of the secessionist South-Kasai, Moise Tshombe, leader of the Katanga secession, and rebel groups of more recent years. Finally, and most tragically, it explains how the Congo's neighbors - Rwanda, Uganda, and to some degree Angola, their proxy militias, their rival militias, and corrupt elements of the so-called leadership of the Congo and their militias, have been not only allowed by the international community, but backed and supported primarily by the United States and Britain:
* to systematically destroy, ransack and plunder an entire country, unhindered and unpunished;
* to brutally rape and sexually terrorize tens of thousands of women in front of their sons, fathers and husbands, unhindered and unpunished;
* to turn children into soldiers, unhindered and unpunished;
* and to cause the death of nearly 6 million people - a scale for another century - to this day, seamlessly, unhindered and unpunished.
All the above has been accomplished in blatant violation of every principle of International Law, and every principle of human decency, and in full view of the inadequately-led, inadequately-sized, ineffective, inept, overhyped, overpriced and overpaid so-called "largest United Nations peacekeeping force" (MONUC), and with logistical support from Western powers, and recently, the dreaded AFRICOM of the United States. Herbst and Mills argue that "the international community does not have the will or the resources to construct a functional Congo"? It seems more accurate to say that over the years, the international community has been - more or less intentionally - actively, and systematically undermining a functional Congo. It is for this reason that Antonio Guterres, High-commissioner of the UNCHR reminded us in his interview with the Financial Times, in January 2008, that we must not forget that “the international community has systematically looted the Congo” and that is a far different and, in my opinion, far more easily remediable problem.
The ultimate solution to the Congolese situation lies in investing on a key element that Herbst and Mills discount too quickly, and wrongly so: the Congolese people, its sense of citizenship, and its resilience. Through all the humiliations of colonialism and dictatorships, the scheming, the gaming, the profiteering, the raping, the oppression, the daily humiliations of poverty, the hunger, the injustice, the corruption, the tribalism and the morbid reality of living in a needlessly war-torn country, the Congolese people have emerged as quite the resilient people, AND quite the cohesive people; at least as cohesive as can be expected for any multi-cultural people, whether in the Congo, in South Africa, or in the United States. Congo may yet have "none of the things that make a nation-state", but I contend that you would be hard-pressed to find a Congolese citizen, rural or urban, who does not identify with the Congolese nation, and the "boundaries that the king of Belgium helped establish in 1885 ".
Yes, the lack of infrastructures makes the task to establish and solidify the regal functions of a strong, centralized state on the entire territory, unusually daunting. But the Congo is not the first, and will certainly not be the last, multi-cultural nation, that has to, in its formative years, struggle with translating their sense of national identity into stable, and accepted state institutions. It may be hard, but the argument that it is not worth thriving for, fighting for, and supporting, is simply untenable; especially coming from two scholars from the two countries in the world - the United States and South Africa - that symbolize the most (and I admire them for that) the possibility of overcoming tremendous and varying odds to build united and strong countries, that combine multi-cultural peoples, and effective, democratic states. Maybe the Congolese can learn from them, and Brazil, and India, and establish a strong, but truly federal state. When the Congo's affairs are left to the Congolese people, the possibilities are endless.
Now, that is definitely not to say it will be a cakewalk. The Congo we envision, thrive and advocate for is possible, but it will entail a great deal of work and investment from the Congolese people. Those in the “learned class” – economists, agronomists, engineers, teachers, doctors, etc - that have managed to maintain their integrity by not partaking in the plunder of the Congo, will have to outgrow this sense of cynicism, hopelessness and apathy that has seeped into their consciousness due to years of despair and lack of prospects for change, and roll-up their sleeves. The Congolese will need to revitalize the education sector, so as to ensure that the coming generations have access to the knowledge they need to continue the task of rebuilding their country. They will also need to organize education/training initiatives for urban and rural adults, in various fields, among which – and most importantly – sustainable agriculture, construction, urbanization, sanitation, and salubrity. They will need to reinforce notions of civics, citizenship, human rights, civil and civic rights, law and order, and respect for women, which years of oppression and mis-education, of Leopoldism, colonialism, Mobutism and other -isms have caused to somewhat crumble away in the general consciousness. Finally, on a national level, they will need to seek worthy partners to do all the above, and also begin the work of reconnecting the Congo to the main grids of modern technology, starting with the electrification of the country, through the rehabilitation and completion of the Inga hydroelectric complex.. The task is not complex for the Congolese people; it is simply tedious. The prescriptions we put forth imply a laborious, time-consuming but necessary grassroots work, that needs to start yesterday, but is absolutely achievable. And given a true opportunity, I believe the Congolese people are up to the task.
So, instead of giving up on the Congo, and dismissing it as an irredeemable failure, I say let the Congo and its people truly amaze you. Give the Congo a fighting chance. It is quite simple, really. Intel, Nokia, Dell, T-Mobile, IBM, Banro, Freeport-McMoran, Anglo American, Chevron, Tullow and all the other companies identified in the Financial Times and United Nations Reports from 2001 – 2003, that romp through Congo for coltan, cassiterite, tin cobalt, gold, diamonds, oil, etc, should cease and desist from buying minerals illegally from warlords, from neighboring countries that have looted our resources, or through odious or illegal contracts. By all means, invest in Congo, but be deliberate and intentional about doing it through the proper channels. Stop financing and arming warlords. All people of goodwill should discourage the Congo's neighbors from meddling in its affairs and support and finance education and healthcare institutions. Support local institutions, and help the civil society hold the central government, the provincial governments and the security forces truly accountable.
And finally this time, this time, help the Congolese ensure that they conduct truly free, fair, transparent and democratic elections in 2011. The International Crisis Group's 2007 report "Congo: Consolidating the Peace", shows quite clearly that the last time around, the International community was more concerned about access to lucrative mining contracts as opposed to a democratic process that would reflect the interests of the people. Let us all thrive to prevent a repetition of that. The Congolese have an imperfect constitution, with imperfect prescriptions, and imperfect institutions, but they are all theirs to perfect. Let the Congolese people choose its own leaders, and manage its own territory. Give them the chance they have never had: to demonstrate their capacity to be a viable nation, and establish for themselves a state that helps their country live up to its full potential. Is that really a concept that has outlived its usefulness? I dare think not.
Ali Malau is an adviser to The Friends of the Congo (FOTC), a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.
5 May 2009
Opinion
Foreign Policy magazine recently published a rather disturbing article on the Congo (There is No Congo, posted March 2009, Web Exclusive, http://www.foreignpolicy.com), by Mr. Jeffrey Herbst of Miami University of Ohio, and Mr. Greg Mills, who directs the Johannesburg-based Brenthurst Foundation. The article argues against Congo as a unified entity. As a Congolese citizen, I could not disagree more with their argument, and I believe it warrants an appropriate rebuttal.
Their article is a perfect illustration of the flawed approach with which much of the so-called international community, and some scholars on Africa, have analyzed the situation in the Congo since its nominal independence in 1960, and frankly, part of the reason why they never get it right. It is often not due to inaccurate facts, or lack of knowledge on the region, but more due to inadequate prisms molded in the group-think of Western-centric academia.
In my view, and to illustrate some of the points I am rebutting, the article boils down to the following citations:
" … And indeed, for centuries, this is precisely what Congo's colonial occupiers, its neighbors, and even some of its people have done: eaten away at Congo's vast mineral wealth with little concern for the coherency of the country left behind. Congo has none of the things that make a nation-state: interconnectedness, a government that is able to exert authority consistently in territory beyond the capital, a shared culture that promotes national unity, or a common language. Instead, Congo has become a collection of peoples, groups, interests, and pillagers who coexist at best."
"The very concept of a Congolese state has outlived its usefulness. For an international community that has far too long made wishful thinking the enemy of pragmatism, acting on reality rather than diplomatic theory would be a good start."
There is one general sense in this article that is right: the Congo has been a disappointment. With the vast swathes of fauna, flora, mineral, agricultural, hydroelectric, and human resources it inherited at its independence, one would expect the Congo today to rival if not exceed such rising powers as South Africa, Brazil, India, China, Korea, Singapore, Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Instead, as the article justly points out, the level of deliquescence in Congo today is almost unprecedented; not acknowledging that reality would be intellectually dubious.
Nevertheless, what is equally dubious, is the misdiagnosis of the root causes of the current situation. The authors of this article repeatedly, and I believe questionably, confuse causes and consequences, to support and justify a desire, long-held in certain circles, for the balkanization of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The authors point out the weakness of the Congolese central state in governing the vast country, without fully and honestly addressing the international geo-strategic reasons why that reality came to be. The authors point out the various secessions and minor uprisings during the past 40+ years to justify their diagnosis of the Congo. Yet they fail to shine a light on the multiple foreign state and corporate backers that participated in those early attempts at derailing the Congo. The authors claim that " the Congolese government's inability to control its territory has resulted in one of the world's longest and most violent wars", without actually addressing the reasons why the government was - and still is - not able to control its territory in the first place.
My contention is quite simple. The current conflict(s) in the Congo, the deliquescence of the state, the lack of infrastructures and "interconnectedness", are not merely unforeseen, pathological consequences of bad colonial and/or cold war policy gone awry. The current situation is a direct, calculated, and progressively manufactured result of a long-standing operation by Western nations to maintain a weak state in this vast mineral rich swath of land in the heart of Africa and perpetuate the systematic plunder of Congo's resources by various foreign interests, and their proxies in the local elite.
Seems far-fetched? Let us consider that, until proven otherwise, the Congo is a sovereign country, recognized as such by international law, the United Nations, and, in theory, every country on the planet. Yet despite that, over the past five decades, these very countries, (including supposed champions of the rule of law like The United States, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, France and South Africa), have allowed their mining companies (like Banro, Freeport-McMoran, Anglo American, DeBeers, and others) to enter into odious contracts with corrupt elements of the leadership in Kinshasa, and worse, with murderous warlords, and near-genocidal militias, unhindered and unpunished. Furthermore, several of these very countries and their corporations have provided the military, logistical and ideological support to the secessionist regimes in the 60's and 70's, Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, their proxy militias and/or their rival militias, thus destabilizing and creating a de facto partition of the country, and further guaranteeing maximized profits through cheap/slave/child labor under warlords. That is not happenstance, but cold, calculated, predatory business planning. In fact, one only has to examine the history of the ties between the Oppenheimer mining magnate family of South Africa - which founded, and finances, the Brenthurst foundation that one of the authors of "There is No Congo," Greg Mills, leads - and the various regimes and rebellions we have seen in the Congo, to understand how integral these foreign corporate and state interests are to the conduct of ANY business in the Congo.
I contend that it is not so much that there is No Congo; nor is it that the Congo as a country is not possible. I contend that since 1959, it was deemed too much of a potential threat to several world and regional powers, and to the coffers of their corporate acolytes, to allow the rise of a strong, large, potential Brazil-type power, in the heart of Africa.. And we can see why. Let us consider the Congo today. Despite being one of the poorest, badly-managed countries in the world, by virtue of its position and of its potential, the country is poised - should there be a great deal of change in leadership - to be a major guarantor of the development of a truly functional African continent, and African Union. As Herbst and Mills themselves justly point out, "the country is the region's vortex ". Former South African President, Thabo Mbeki notes “There cannot be a new Africa without a new Congo.” President Barack Obama himself rightly notes “If Africa is to achieve its promise resolving the problem in the Congo will be critical.”
Over the years, despite all the adversity the Congo faces, and despite the desires they secretly harbor to see the Congo disintegrate to begin annexing its pieces, its neighbors in the region were forced to recognize its central and crucial position for the advent of further economic development for the entire continent. As a result, despite currently being, admittedly, an economic drag on all of them, the countries of Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa have all secured some form of regional economic/political supranational alliance with the Congo, whether through SADC, CEPGL, CEEAC or COMESA (all groups that constitute regional clusters in the building of the larger African Union).
There lies the issue for this country. Left to its own devices, a big, strong, unified Congo would be a powerful engine for the development, and the industrialization of the entire continent. Herbst and Mills, I believe justly state that "economically, the various outlying parts of Congo are better integrated with their neighbors than with the rest of the country." But that is not in Congo's disfavor. Whether in terms of its abundant precious and strategic minerals, the tremendous amount of renewable energy that could be generated by the Inga dam project on the Congo river, the natural gas in Lake Kivu or the geo-thermal potential of the volcanic mountains in the east, the second lung of our planet that is its rainforest, or the extraordinary - and exhaustively demonstrated - resilience of its people, the Congo has everything to be the central pillar around which Africa rises. Should the people of the Congo find a way to build the infrastructure to interconnect its outlying parts, the country would instantly become the key piece in regional development. That prospect has always unsettled many, whose interests might not be as well served should there be a strong government, a functioning army and police, and rule of law.
Herbst and Mills claim that "the very concept of a Congolese state has outlived its usefulness." When was it ever truly - and democratically - implemented, I ask? When, since 1885, have the affairs of the Congo ever truly been left to the Congolese people? See, I contend that the Congo has, intentionally, never even been given a fighting chance to live up to its potential.. Its challenge since 1885 has been both an internal and external one. Under colonial rule, the people were voluntarily under-educated, and the infrastructure built was limited to basic transportation needs for minerals, and the comfort of colons. Under Mobutu, the regime, backed by Western powers, ruled with an iron fist, promoted corruption, allowed the deliquescence of the already meager infrastructure and mining industry, and progressively engineered a weakening of the state apparatus, the army and the police, in order to strengthen and impose Mobutu's personal rule, and better protect the mechanisms of the systematic plundering of the country's resources. The Congo today is the result of a systematic, documented, and fully reversible process of manufactured under-development, with roots in colonial and neo-colonial policies, but more importantly, in greed. Fomenting and perpetuating misery, turmoil, tribalism, destructive autocratic rule, and angling for the "Somalization" of the Congo, was more profitable to key greedy domestic elites and foreign groups, and more dependable for key foreign powers, than actually allowing this country to build the infrastructure it needed - and still needs - to succeed.
That is a far more accurate prism to consider the events that have befallen the Congo over the decades. It explains the secession of Katanga, the mineral rich southern province, only 7 days after independence in 1960, with the help of Belgium, the very colonial power the people of the entire country had just successfully sought to get rid of. It also explains the assassination of the first democratically elected Prime Minister, Patrice E.. Lumumba, with, at the very least, the tacit backing of Belgium and the United States. It explains, for instance, the documented contacts between the Oppenheimer family of South Africa and Albert Kalonji Mulopwe, the "Emperor" of the secessionist South-Kasai, Moise Tshombe, leader of the Katanga secession, and rebel groups of more recent years. Finally, and most tragically, it explains how the Congo's neighbors - Rwanda, Uganda, and to some degree Angola, their proxy militias, their rival militias, and corrupt elements of the so-called leadership of the Congo and their militias, have been not only allowed by the international community, but backed and supported primarily by the United States and Britain:
* to systematically destroy, ransack and plunder an entire country, unhindered and unpunished;
* to brutally rape and sexually terrorize tens of thousands of women in front of their sons, fathers and husbands, unhindered and unpunished;
* to turn children into soldiers, unhindered and unpunished;
* and to cause the death of nearly 6 million people - a scale for another century - to this day, seamlessly, unhindered and unpunished.
All the above has been accomplished in blatant violation of every principle of International Law, and every principle of human decency, and in full view of the inadequately-led, inadequately-sized, ineffective, inept, overhyped, overpriced and overpaid so-called "largest United Nations peacekeeping force" (MONUC), and with logistical support from Western powers, and recently, the dreaded AFRICOM of the United States. Herbst and Mills argue that "the international community does not have the will or the resources to construct a functional Congo"? It seems more accurate to say that over the years, the international community has been - more or less intentionally - actively, and systematically undermining a functional Congo. It is for this reason that Antonio Guterres, High-commissioner of the UNCHR reminded us in his interview with the Financial Times, in January 2008, that we must not forget that “the international community has systematically looted the Congo” and that is a far different and, in my opinion, far more easily remediable problem.
The ultimate solution to the Congolese situation lies in investing on a key element that Herbst and Mills discount too quickly, and wrongly so: the Congolese people, its sense of citizenship, and its resilience. Through all the humiliations of colonialism and dictatorships, the scheming, the gaming, the profiteering, the raping, the oppression, the daily humiliations of poverty, the hunger, the injustice, the corruption, the tribalism and the morbid reality of living in a needlessly war-torn country, the Congolese people have emerged as quite the resilient people, AND quite the cohesive people; at least as cohesive as can be expected for any multi-cultural people, whether in the Congo, in South Africa, or in the United States. Congo may yet have "none of the things that make a nation-state", but I contend that you would be hard-pressed to find a Congolese citizen, rural or urban, who does not identify with the Congolese nation, and the "boundaries that the king of Belgium helped establish in 1885 ".
Yes, the lack of infrastructures makes the task to establish and solidify the regal functions of a strong, centralized state on the entire territory, unusually daunting. But the Congo is not the first, and will certainly not be the last, multi-cultural nation, that has to, in its formative years, struggle with translating their sense of national identity into stable, and accepted state institutions. It may be hard, but the argument that it is not worth thriving for, fighting for, and supporting, is simply untenable; especially coming from two scholars from the two countries in the world - the United States and South Africa - that symbolize the most (and I admire them for that) the possibility of overcoming tremendous and varying odds to build united and strong countries, that combine multi-cultural peoples, and effective, democratic states. Maybe the Congolese can learn from them, and Brazil, and India, and establish a strong, but truly federal state. When the Congo's affairs are left to the Congolese people, the possibilities are endless.
Now, that is definitely not to say it will be a cakewalk. The Congo we envision, thrive and advocate for is possible, but it will entail a great deal of work and investment from the Congolese people. Those in the “learned class” – economists, agronomists, engineers, teachers, doctors, etc - that have managed to maintain their integrity by not partaking in the plunder of the Congo, will have to outgrow this sense of cynicism, hopelessness and apathy that has seeped into their consciousness due to years of despair and lack of prospects for change, and roll-up their sleeves. The Congolese will need to revitalize the education sector, so as to ensure that the coming generations have access to the knowledge they need to continue the task of rebuilding their country. They will also need to organize education/training initiatives for urban and rural adults, in various fields, among which – and most importantly – sustainable agriculture, construction, urbanization, sanitation, and salubrity. They will need to reinforce notions of civics, citizenship, human rights, civil and civic rights, law and order, and respect for women, which years of oppression and mis-education, of Leopoldism, colonialism, Mobutism and other -isms have caused to somewhat crumble away in the general consciousness. Finally, on a national level, they will need to seek worthy partners to do all the above, and also begin the work of reconnecting the Congo to the main grids of modern technology, starting with the electrification of the country, through the rehabilitation and completion of the Inga hydroelectric complex.. The task is not complex for the Congolese people; it is simply tedious. The prescriptions we put forth imply a laborious, time-consuming but necessary grassroots work, that needs to start yesterday, but is absolutely achievable. And given a true opportunity, I believe the Congolese people are up to the task.
So, instead of giving up on the Congo, and dismissing it as an irredeemable failure, I say let the Congo and its people truly amaze you. Give the Congo a fighting chance. It is quite simple, really. Intel, Nokia, Dell, T-Mobile, IBM, Banro, Freeport-McMoran, Anglo American, Chevron, Tullow and all the other companies identified in the Financial Times and United Nations Reports from 2001 – 2003, that romp through Congo for coltan, cassiterite, tin cobalt, gold, diamonds, oil, etc, should cease and desist from buying minerals illegally from warlords, from neighboring countries that have looted our resources, or through odious or illegal contracts. By all means, invest in Congo, but be deliberate and intentional about doing it through the proper channels. Stop financing and arming warlords. All people of goodwill should discourage the Congo's neighbors from meddling in its affairs and support and finance education and healthcare institutions. Support local institutions, and help the civil society hold the central government, the provincial governments and the security forces truly accountable.
And finally this time, this time, help the Congolese ensure that they conduct truly free, fair, transparent and democratic elections in 2011. The International Crisis Group's 2007 report "Congo: Consolidating the Peace", shows quite clearly that the last time around, the International community was more concerned about access to lucrative mining contracts as opposed to a democratic process that would reflect the interests of the people. Let us all thrive to prevent a repetition of that. The Congolese have an imperfect constitution, with imperfect prescriptions, and imperfect institutions, but they are all theirs to perfect. Let the Congolese people choose its own leaders, and manage its own territory. Give them the chance they have never had: to demonstrate their capacity to be a viable nation, and establish for themselves a state that helps their country live up to its full potential. Is that really a concept that has outlived its usefulness? I dare think not.
Ali Malau is an adviser to The Friends of the Congo (FOTC), a 501 (c) 3 tax-exempt advocacy organization based in Washington, DC.
05 May, 2009
Gunned down Irishman ‘linked to neo-Nazi group’
Belfast Telegraph
4 May 2009
The Bolivian authorities have claimed that Michael Dwyer, the Tipperary man shot dead by police two weeks ago, was heavily involved in neo-Nazi terror group Szekler Legion.
Last week the Bolivian government released pictures of Mr Dwyer and other members of the group posing for photographs surrounded by guns. The group is also suspected of planting a bomb at the home of a Catholic cardinal in Bolivia the day before he and two Hungarian terrorists were shot dead.
The same terror group, which the Bolivians say Mr. Dwyer (24) joined last October, was suspected of carrying out a series of attacks on the homes of Bolivian cabinet ministers, civil servants and politicians since 2006 when its leader Eduardo Rozsa-Flores sneaked into the country.
One of Rozsa-Flores' closest associates, also a 32-year-old Hungarian, is living in Ireland and met Michael Dwyer when they worked together for the security firm I-RMS during its contract with Shell. I-RMS was making no comment on the affair but sources in the security industry said the Hungarian they employed had proper credentials and has no known criminal record in Hungary or elsewhere.
On Friday the Bolivian government released pictures taken from cameras found in the rooms in the four-star hotel where five member of the gang were staying. The pictures include several of Dwyer holding guns and rifles.
The 32-year-old Hungarian ex-soldier travelled to Bolivia with Dwyer on October 20 along with two other Hungarians. While Dwyer stayed on the three Hungarians returned, two to Hungary and the 32-year-old ex-soldier to Cavan.
It is believed he and a number of other men of east European nationality attended Dwyer's funeral in Tipperary on Thursday but did not speak to any mourners. Despite repeated claims that Mr Dwyer was an innocent party and had been associated with “adventurers”, photographs released by the Bolivian authorities last week show he was heavily armed and close with the terrorist ring-leader Rozsa-Flores, a man who has been implicated in ethnic cleansing in former Yugoslavia and who, at his own admission, was actively seeking the overthrow of left-wing Bolivian president Evo Morales.
He is also believed to have been an active member of Szekler Legion, led by Rozsa-Flores, until he was shot dead in Santa Cruz.
In one of the pictures apparently taken on New Year's Day, Dwyer and Rosza-Flores are sitting at a table covered with firearms and ammunition smiling to the camera.
Dwyer also he had a Nazi SS insignia tattooed on his arm. The tattoo was disguised in an elaborate, larger design but is clearly visible on his arm. He joked about it with associates on his Facebook page.
Gardai are now investigating the activities of the neo-fascist Hungarians and Romanians who have come to the Republic in recent years.
4 May 2009
The Bolivian authorities have claimed that Michael Dwyer, the Tipperary man shot dead by police two weeks ago, was heavily involved in neo-Nazi terror group Szekler Legion.
Last week the Bolivian government released pictures of Mr Dwyer and other members of the group posing for photographs surrounded by guns. The group is also suspected of planting a bomb at the home of a Catholic cardinal in Bolivia the day before he and two Hungarian terrorists were shot dead.
The same terror group, which the Bolivians say Mr. Dwyer (24) joined last October, was suspected of carrying out a series of attacks on the homes of Bolivian cabinet ministers, civil servants and politicians since 2006 when its leader Eduardo Rozsa-Flores sneaked into the country.
One of Rozsa-Flores' closest associates, also a 32-year-old Hungarian, is living in Ireland and met Michael Dwyer when they worked together for the security firm I-RMS during its contract with Shell. I-RMS was making no comment on the affair but sources in the security industry said the Hungarian they employed had proper credentials and has no known criminal record in Hungary or elsewhere.
On Friday the Bolivian government released pictures taken from cameras found in the rooms in the four-star hotel where five member of the gang were staying. The pictures include several of Dwyer holding guns and rifles.
The 32-year-old Hungarian ex-soldier travelled to Bolivia with Dwyer on October 20 along with two other Hungarians. While Dwyer stayed on the three Hungarians returned, two to Hungary and the 32-year-old ex-soldier to Cavan.
It is believed he and a number of other men of east European nationality attended Dwyer's funeral in Tipperary on Thursday but did not speak to any mourners. Despite repeated claims that Mr Dwyer was an innocent party and had been associated with “adventurers”, photographs released by the Bolivian authorities last week show he was heavily armed and close with the terrorist ring-leader Rozsa-Flores, a man who has been implicated in ethnic cleansing in former Yugoslavia and who, at his own admission, was actively seeking the overthrow of left-wing Bolivian president Evo Morales.
He is also believed to have been an active member of Szekler Legion, led by Rozsa-Flores, until he was shot dead in Santa Cruz.
In one of the pictures apparently taken on New Year's Day, Dwyer and Rosza-Flores are sitting at a table covered with firearms and ammunition smiling to the camera.
Dwyer also he had a Nazi SS insignia tattooed on his arm. The tattoo was disguised in an elaborate, larger design but is clearly visible on his arm. He joked about it with associates on his Facebook page.
Gardai are now investigating the activities of the neo-fascist Hungarians and Romanians who have come to the Republic in recent years.
Camec Says It Finds 439 Million-Ton Bauxite Resource in Mali.
Bloomberg
By Brett Foley
May 5, 2009
Central African Mining and Exploration Co., a producer of copper and cobalt, said it discovered a so- called inferred bauxite resource of about 439 million metric tons in Mali.
The resource estimate, which complies with the JORC standard, referring to the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, is equal to 152 million tons of “smelter- grade” alumina, the London-based company said today in a statement distributed by the Regulatory News Service. Alumina is refined from bauxite ore and sent to smelters to produce aluminum metal.
By Brett Foley
May 5, 2009
Central African Mining and Exploration Co., a producer of copper and cobalt, said it discovered a so- called inferred bauxite resource of about 439 million metric tons in Mali.
The resource estimate, which complies with the JORC standard, referring to the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, is equal to 152 million tons of “smelter- grade” alumina, the London-based company said today in a statement distributed by the Regulatory News Service. Alumina is refined from bauxite ore and sent to smelters to produce aluminum metal.
L'enquête du juge Bruguière sur l'attentat du 6 avril 1994 : rien qu'un vulgaire pétard mouillé?
Rappel des faits
L'enquête du juge français fut initiée en 1998 suite à une plainte contre X déposée initialement par la fille d'un des membres de l'équipage du Falcon présidentiel, plainte à laquelle se sont joints ensuite d'autres membres des familles. Fin novembre 2006, le juge Bruguière, Premier vice-président du Tribunal de grande instance de Paris en charge de la coordination antiterroriste, rend une ordonnance par laquelle il demande que neuf mandats d'arrêt internationaux soient décernés à l'encontre de proches collaborateurs de Paul Kagame. En ce qui concerne le président en exercice du Rwanda, couvert par son immunité de chef d'Etat, le juge se tourne vers le Secrétaire Général de l'ONU et préconise que le Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (TPIR), compétent en la matière, prenne le relais des poursuites.
L'instruction couvre donc une période de huit ans. Le moins que l'on puisse dire est qu'elle fut menée en dehors de toute précipitation. Les autorités gouvernementales rwandaises se rendirent parfaitement compte de la portée réelle de la procédure en cours et réagirent bien avant que l'ordonnance ne soit rendue. En 2005 elles menacèrent à différentes reprises la France de poursuites judiciaires pour complicité de génocide. Effectivement des plaintes furent déposées en ce sens à Paris, par des rescapés rwandais, contre l'armée française. Ensuite, en avril 2006, une commission (dite Mucyo du nom de son président) fut mise sur pied pour enquêter sur "le rôle de la France avant, pendant et après le génocide".
Longue de près de 70 pages, l'ordonnance signée par le juge Bruguière est plutôt inhabituelle en ce sens qu'il n'était pas tenu de motiver l'émission de mandats d'arrêt internationaux. Mais ce moment essentiel dans l'instruction du dossier lui permet de faire une synthèse des investigations conduites avec la division nationale antiterroriste (DNAT). Sa conclusion est catégorique : l'implication de Paul Kagame dans l'attentat du 6 avril 1994 est directe.
Les réactions de Kigali vont en sens divers, qualifiant l'ordonnance d'allégations totalement infondées, basée sur des ragots et des rumeurs et reprochant à la justice française d'être plus motivée politiquement que judiciairement dans cette affaire. D'autres réactions frisent le surréalisme, certains officiels affirmant que le président Habyarimana et le général Nsabimana, le chef d'état-major des forces armées rwandaises, étaient des cibles légitimes dans le cadre d'un conflit armé. Oubliant sans doute que le Front patriotique rwandais (FPR) avait signé des accords de paix et que le président du Burundi et d'autres officiels des deux pays se trouvaient à bord du Falcon 50. Plus concrètement le Rwanda rompt également ses relations diplomatiques avec la France et en mars 2007 deux généraux rwandais, inculpés par le juge Bruguière, déposent plainte contre lui devant la justice belge, de même que contre l'Etat belge.
Rappelons encore dans ce contexte deux éléments majeurs. Le premier est que, fin 2006, le Juge Møse, président à l'époque du TPIR et président de la Chambre compétente dans le procès dit "Militaires I", verse dans son intégralité l'ordonnance du juge Bruguière comme pièce au dossier des quatre officiers rwandais inculpés dans ce procès. Le second élément est l'aboutissement, en février 2008, de l'enquête menée par le juge espagnol Fernando Andreu Merelles. Cette enquête, initiée suite aux assassinats de neuf ressortissants espagnols perpétrés au Rwanda entre 1994 et 2000, se clôture par la délivrance de 40 mandats d'arrêt internationaux à l'encontre d'officiers de l'Armée patriotique rwandaise (APR). Dans un arrêt circonstancié de 181 pages, le juge estime que les personnes visées ont commis des actes de génocide, crimes contre l’humanité, crimes de guerre et terrorisme sur ordre du président Kagame. Ce dernier bénéficie de l’immunité que lui confère sa fonction et n’est donc pas l’objet d’un mandat d’arrêt. Dans ses conclusions, le juge accuse le FPR d’avoir mis en place une véritable méthode criminelle. Il estime que depuis sa prise du pouvoir à Kigali, en juillet 1994, le parti a créé un véritable règne de la terreur, non seulement par l'organisation même de son régime dictatorial, mais surtout par la mise en place de structures parallèles responsables de crimes odieux commis contre la population civile, tant nationale qu’étrangère. Le point culminant de cette politique, poursuit-il, est l'invasion du Congo qui, sous couvert de motif sécuritaire, devait permettre, entre autres, la réalisation du pillage de ressources naturelles précieuses, de façon à se maintenir au pouvoir et exercer une domination géostratégique sur la région. Le juge relève par ailleurs que les crimes commis en 1994 sont du ressort du TPIR et plus spécifiquement de son procureur, le Gambien Hassan Bubacar Jallow, responsable des poursuites.
Une enquête contestée qui se réduirait à une peau de chagrin
Dans un article paru dans le quotidien ''Le Soir'' du 6 avril dernier et qui n'est pas le premier du genre, la journaliste belge Colette Braeckman (CB) tente de démontrer que le "dossier Bruguière" se dégonfle comme une vulgaire baudruche. Que reproche-t-elle concrètement au juge français et à son enquête?
Précisons avant tout que le seul document porté à la connaissance du commun des mortels est l'ordonnance datée du 17 novembre 2006. Le dossier répressif proprement dit n'est accessible qu'aux ayants droit. C'est-à-dire, au stade actuel, à Madame Rose Kabuye (entendue par la justice française) et ses avocats. Dès lors nous nous demandons en vertu de quelle compétence Madame Braeckman aurait eu accès au dossier du juge Bruguière pour pouvoir le commenter en connaissance de cause ?
Soyons clair. Nous n'avons pas la prétention de croire que nous détenons "la Vérité". Nous entendons cependant que si nous sommes dans l'erreur on nous le démontre avec des éléments objectifs et non par des affirmations gratuites, des demi-vérités, des amalgames et autres subterfuges en vue d'éluder le débat de fond. Dans un dossier aussi émotionnel que celui du Rwanda et du Congo (en près de vingt années la région des Grands Lacs a été transformée en un immense charnier de plusieurs millions de victimes), le citoyen est en droit d'être informé avec la plus grande rigueur. Que le dossier du juge Bruguière, à l'instar de n'importe quelle œuvre humaine, comporte le cas échéant certaines imperfections ou lacunes est dans l'ordre des choses. Mais, de là à réduire un travail d'investigation de huit années à un vulgaire pétard mouillé, voire à mettre en cause la probité du juge et de ses collaborateurs, il y a une marge à ne pas franchir. En la franchissant, ce que nous estimons être le cas, on perd toute objectivité et toute crédibilité.
Trois éléments significatifs sont invoqués, parmi d'autres, dans l'article de CB pour justifier la piètre appréciation qui est la sienne quant à la consistance du dossier ?
· Les principaux témoins à charge se sont rétractés.
· Un interprète et traducteur rwandais, Fabien Singaye, qui assistait le juge Bruguière et ses enquêteurs dans les interrogatoires de témoins était tout sauf neutre.
· L'autorisation faite à Madame Kabuye de regagner le Rwanda et d'y poursuivre ses activités officielles, même si le mandat d'arrêt la concernant n'est pas formellement levé, est symptomatique de la légèreté des charges retenues contre elle.
Qu'en est-il de ces différentes assertions ?
Quant à la rétractation des principaux témoins à charge
Deux témoins à charge se sont rétractés : Abdul Ruzibiza et Emmanuel Ruzigana. Il s'agit, en effet, de deux témoins importants mais qui sont loin d'être les seuls à avoir témoigné à propos des mêmes choses.
Prenons le cas d'Abdul Ruzibiza, le plus connu. Son livre "Rwanda l'histoire secrète", paru aux éditions du Panama en 2005, a jeté un fameux pavé dans la mare lors de sa parution. En synthèse, ce livre met en évidence la responsabilité directe de Paul Kagame dans l'attentat du 6 avril 1994 et dans l'ampleur des massacres perpétrés au Rwanda ainsi qu'au Congo-Zaïre. Pareilles accusations n'avaient cependant à l'époque rien d'un scoop. Elles avaient déjà été exprimées à l'encontre de l'homme fort de Kigali bien avant celles de Ruzibiza ou de Ruzigana. Notamment par Jean-Pierre Mugabe, Aloys Ruyenzi et Déogratias Mushayidi, pour ne citer que ceux-là.
Il est vrai que dans l'article du journal Le Soir du 6 avril dernier, CB précise qu'elle avait rencontré à l'époque Ruzibiza et qu'elle l'avait jugé peu crédible. Etonnant quand on sait que le livre de Ruzibiza a été préfacé par deux experts reconnus de la région des Grands Lacs : Claudine Vidal, directrice de recherches émérite au CNRS et André Guichaoua, professeur de sociologie à l'université de Paris 1. Ce n'est quand même pas rien !
Ce n'est pas parce que Ruzibiza s'est rétracté que forcément les 494 pages de son livre ne sont qu'un salmigondis d'inventions, de mensonges et d'élucubrations diverses. C'est d'autant moins le cas que pour avoir vécu certaines des circonstances décrites dans le livre, nous pouvons attester que les détails fournis les concernant sont tout à fait corrects. Quoi qu'il en soit, il nous semble un peu court de déclarer que Ruzibiza n'est qu'un affabulateur et que par conséquent le dossier du juge Bruguière se dégonfle en même temps que son principal témoin.
Il est peut-être utile de rappeler à Madame Braeckman que l'intéressé a aussi été témoigner au TPIR et que son témoignage, qui reprenait les principaux thèmes de son livre, a été fait sous serment. Dans ces conditions, il est étonnant que le procureur du TPIR n'ait pas jugé utile de rappeler ce témoin pour parjure, alors qu'il a autorité pour le faire et qu'il a déjà fait usage de cette prérogative par le passé.
Sur le plan journalistique la démarche aurait été tout autre si, au lieu de prendre la rétractation de Ruzibiza au premier degré, une enquête sérieuse avait été menée pour essayer de déterminer les véritables raisons pour lesquelles l'intéressé est revenu sur ses affirmations. N'est-ce pas cela en réalité le travail du journaliste ?
En conclusion de ce premier point, nous disons que si Ruzibiza avait été le seul à accuser nommément Paul Kagame pour son implication directe dans la tragédie rwandaise, il faudrait, en effet, remettre en question la matérialité de ses affirmations. Etant donné que ce n'est pas le cas et que bien d'autres témoins directs disent en substance la même chose, il serait dès lors plus opportun de rechercher les véritables raisons pour lesquelles Ruzibiza et Ruzigana sont revenus sur leurs dires. Pareille démarche permettrait, sans aucun doute, d'appréhender de façon beaucoup plus exacte l'enjeu réel de cette volte-face.
Quant au rôle controversé de Fabien Singaye
Selon CB "des documents inédits découverts en Suisse – et dont nous avons pu prendre connaissance en exclusivité – établissent que le traducteur rwandais qui assista Bruguière dans l'interrogatoire de ses témoins était tout sauf neutre (…) rien d'étonnant à ce que des témoins comme Emmanuel Ruzindana (qui ne parle pas le français) aient déclaré par la suite n'avoir rien reconnu des propos qu'ils avaient réellement tenus …".
De grâce restons sérieux. Peut-on imaginer un seul instant que le juge Bruguière, avec le pedigree qui est le sien, se soit laissé intoxiquer comme un vulgaire débutant ? Si les documents inédits évoqués par Madame Braeckman sont de même nature que le soi-disant "témoin capital de l'assassinat de Habyarimana" (Le Soir du 6 mai 2006), le seul à affirmer que ce sont trois missiles sol-air qui ont été tirés sur l'avion présidentiel, cela ne mérite en aucun cas le détour. Aller dénicher pareil témoin, il fallait le faire. C'est vraiment très fort ! Alors que tout qui se trouvait à Kigali le soir du 6 avril 1994 vous confirmera que ce sont bien deux missiles et non trois qui ont pris le Falcon présidentiel pour cible. Consacrer un article d'une page, à semblable témoignage farfelu, constituait déjà à l'époque une manière de jeter le doute sur le sérieux de l'enquête du juge qui ne mentionne que deux missiles.
Le fait que Fabien Singaye soit le beau-fils de Félicien Kabuga, accusé d'être l'un des financiers du génocide, constitue-t-il vraiment l'argument irréfutable de sa compromission ? Tant que l'on y est, pourquoi ne pas affirmer tout simplement que le juge Bruguière s'est entouré de génocidaires pour l'assister dans son travail ? Pareille association entre Kabuga et son beau-fils ne trompe guère de monde. L'amalgame est une technique éculée dont le but est surtout de camoufler l'indigence de l'argumentation. Si les documents inédits évoqués sont à ce point probants, pourquoi ne pas être plus précis quant à leur contenu ? Ceci éviterait à tout le moins de se cantonner dans le vague et le sous-entendu, si pas la diffamation.
En conclusion de ce second point soulignons que celui qui est accusé, par Madame Braeckman, d'être un interprète "engagé" a été requis pour la transcription des bandes d'enregistrement de la tour de contrôle de Kigali et pour l'audition de deux témoins. Fabien Singaye n'a été impliqué, ni de près ni de loin, dans le témoignage de Ruzibiza ou de Ruzigana. Pas plus, du reste, que dans celui de Emmanuel Ruzindana dont le nom n'apparaît même pas dans l'ordonnance du juge Bruguière !
Quant au régime de faveur dont bénéficie Madame Rose Kabuye
Nous avons tout récemment connu en Belgique une crise gouvernementale provoquée par une simple "suspicion" d'ingérence entre le pouvoir exécutif et le pouvoir judiciaire, à moins que ce ne soit l'inverse. De quelle façon nos amis français perçoivent-ils la notion de "séparation des pouvoirs" ? En tout cas, à suivre les déclarations engagées et les salamalecs répétés de Bernard Kouchner, ministre des Affaires étrangères, à propos de l'affaire Kabuye, nous avons le sentiment (que beaucoup partagent) que le bouillant Monsieur K. a pris de sérieuses latitudes par rapport à ce principe de séparation des pouvoirs. Bizarrement, son ingérence flagrante est loin d'avoir suscité de la part des parlementaires français la même réaction que celle que nous avons connue en Belgique.
Parler d'un "énorme malentendu", en évoquant l'inculpation de Madame Kabuye, a quelque chose de provoquant à l'égard du pouvoir judiciaire. C'est aussi plus que choquant pour les proches des victimes de l'attentat du 6 avril 1994. Même si tout inculpé reste, jusqu'à preuve du contraire, présumé innocent des faits qui lui sont reprochés.
Le souci du président de la République française et de son ministre des Affaires étrangères de normaliser les relations tumultueuses de la France avec le Rwanda est louable en soi. Néanmoins nous restons convaincu que tout n'est pas justifiable au nom de la realpolitik et ce, d'autant moins qu'une normalisation des relations équivaudrait, de facto, au renvoi dans les oubliettes de l'histoire de plusieurs millions de victimes immolées sur l'autel du pouvoir absolu. Non, il y a des limites qui ne peuvent être franchies.
Tout aussi interpellant est cette exhortation lancée par le président Sarkozy, au début de cette année, à mettre en œuvre une nouvelle gestion des ressources et de l'espace géographique des provinces orientales de la République Démocratique du Congo. Se prendrait-il pour le Bismarck des Grands Lacs ? Aurait-il vraiment oublié ce que les Français chantaient jadis la main sur le cœur et le trémolo dans la voix : ils n'auront pas l'Alsace et la Lorraine… ? En vertu de quels critères voudrait-il faire accepter par les Congolais ce que les Français ont combattu à l'époque au prix de lourds sacrifices ? A quoi est-il donc prêt pour dérouler le tapis rouge devant les pieds du nouveau Mwami du Rwanda ? En tout cas, ce dernier doit en ricaner à se démettre les mâchoires !
Aussi, étant donné ce qui précède, invoquer, comme le fait CB, le régime de faveur de Madame Kabuye pour tenter de démontrer que le dossier Bruguière ne serait qu'une calebasse vide, c'est vraiment prendre les lecteurs pour des imbéciles.
Conclusion
Si autant d'années après l'attentat du 6 avril 1994 les choses n'ont toujours pas repris un cours normal. Si autant d'années après cet acte terroriste tant de livres et de documents sont toujours rédigés sur ses conséquences, c'est qu'objectivement les choses ne sont toujours pas claires. Elles le sont d'autant moins que certains s'évertuent, envers et contre tout, à vouloir imposer "leur vision" unilatérale de l'histoire, vision qui ne résiste, mais alors plus du tout, à l'analyse historique. Force nous est aussi de constater que ces tenants de la pensée unique exercent urbi et orbi une véritable dictature intellectuelle en récupérant avec cynisme les concepts de "révisionnisme" et de "négationnisme" dont ils accablent tout qui ose contester un tant soit peu leur version de l'histoire.
Que la presse se contente d'exercer le noble rôle qui est le sien : informer le public en toute objectivité. Qu'elle évite, pour d'obscures raisons qui lui sont propres, de vouloir se substituer à la justice. Cette dernière est parfaitement en mesure d'assumer ses propres responsabilités.
Prétendre que l'enquête du juge Bruguière est sur le point d'imploser par manque de consistance, c'est faire peu de cas d'une autre enquête qui l'a précédée et dont la conclusion va dans le même sens. En 1997, Michael Hourigan, chef d'une équipe d'enquêteurs du TPIR travaillant à Kigali, avait constitué un dossier dont les éléments mettaient l'actuel régime de Kigali en cause dans l'assassinat des présidents Habyarimana et Ntaryamira. Cette enquête a bien été menée à charge et à décharge, puisqu'elle visait initialement à établir l'implication des extrémistes hutus dans cet attentat, mais que les éléments recueillis pointèrent, en réalité, la responsabilité directe du Front patriotique. Nous savons ce qu'il est advenu du "dossier Hourigan" : rangé de façon péremptoire au fond d'un tiroir par la procureur du TPIR de l'époque, la canadienne Louise Arbour. Quant à Michael Hourigan il fut sommé d'arrêter, sine die, ses investigations et de détruire tous les documents s'y rapportant.
Aussi, ce n'est pas la tentative de dénigrement de l'enquête du juge Bruguière de la part d'une certaine presse qui nous fera changer d'avis sur la nécessité que la procédure judiciaire suive son cours normal et débouche sur un procès. Seul le procès permettra un véritable débat par la confrontation des arguments. Un procès, c'est aussi l'espoir qu'après autant d'années d'obscurantisme, toute la clarté soit enfin faite sur l'attentat du 6 avril 1994.
Luc Marchal
Le 04/05/2009
L'enquête du juge français fut initiée en 1998 suite à une plainte contre X déposée initialement par la fille d'un des membres de l'équipage du Falcon présidentiel, plainte à laquelle se sont joints ensuite d'autres membres des familles. Fin novembre 2006, le juge Bruguière, Premier vice-président du Tribunal de grande instance de Paris en charge de la coordination antiterroriste, rend une ordonnance par laquelle il demande que neuf mandats d'arrêt internationaux soient décernés à l'encontre de proches collaborateurs de Paul Kagame. En ce qui concerne le président en exercice du Rwanda, couvert par son immunité de chef d'Etat, le juge se tourne vers le Secrétaire Général de l'ONU et préconise que le Tribunal pénal international pour le Rwanda (TPIR), compétent en la matière, prenne le relais des poursuites.
L'instruction couvre donc une période de huit ans. Le moins que l'on puisse dire est qu'elle fut menée en dehors de toute précipitation. Les autorités gouvernementales rwandaises se rendirent parfaitement compte de la portée réelle de la procédure en cours et réagirent bien avant que l'ordonnance ne soit rendue. En 2005 elles menacèrent à différentes reprises la France de poursuites judiciaires pour complicité de génocide. Effectivement des plaintes furent déposées en ce sens à Paris, par des rescapés rwandais, contre l'armée française. Ensuite, en avril 2006, une commission (dite Mucyo du nom de son président) fut mise sur pied pour enquêter sur "le rôle de la France avant, pendant et après le génocide".
Longue de près de 70 pages, l'ordonnance signée par le juge Bruguière est plutôt inhabituelle en ce sens qu'il n'était pas tenu de motiver l'émission de mandats d'arrêt internationaux. Mais ce moment essentiel dans l'instruction du dossier lui permet de faire une synthèse des investigations conduites avec la division nationale antiterroriste (DNAT). Sa conclusion est catégorique : l'implication de Paul Kagame dans l'attentat du 6 avril 1994 est directe.
Les réactions de Kigali vont en sens divers, qualifiant l'ordonnance d'allégations totalement infondées, basée sur des ragots et des rumeurs et reprochant à la justice française d'être plus motivée politiquement que judiciairement dans cette affaire. D'autres réactions frisent le surréalisme, certains officiels affirmant que le président Habyarimana et le général Nsabimana, le chef d'état-major des forces armées rwandaises, étaient des cibles légitimes dans le cadre d'un conflit armé. Oubliant sans doute que le Front patriotique rwandais (FPR) avait signé des accords de paix et que le président du Burundi et d'autres officiels des deux pays se trouvaient à bord du Falcon 50. Plus concrètement le Rwanda rompt également ses relations diplomatiques avec la France et en mars 2007 deux généraux rwandais, inculpés par le juge Bruguière, déposent plainte contre lui devant la justice belge, de même que contre l'Etat belge.
Rappelons encore dans ce contexte deux éléments majeurs. Le premier est que, fin 2006, le Juge Møse, président à l'époque du TPIR et président de la Chambre compétente dans le procès dit "Militaires I", verse dans son intégralité l'ordonnance du juge Bruguière comme pièce au dossier des quatre officiers rwandais inculpés dans ce procès. Le second élément est l'aboutissement, en février 2008, de l'enquête menée par le juge espagnol Fernando Andreu Merelles. Cette enquête, initiée suite aux assassinats de neuf ressortissants espagnols perpétrés au Rwanda entre 1994 et 2000, se clôture par la délivrance de 40 mandats d'arrêt internationaux à l'encontre d'officiers de l'Armée patriotique rwandaise (APR). Dans un arrêt circonstancié de 181 pages, le juge estime que les personnes visées ont commis des actes de génocide, crimes contre l’humanité, crimes de guerre et terrorisme sur ordre du président Kagame. Ce dernier bénéficie de l’immunité que lui confère sa fonction et n’est donc pas l’objet d’un mandat d’arrêt. Dans ses conclusions, le juge accuse le FPR d’avoir mis en place une véritable méthode criminelle. Il estime que depuis sa prise du pouvoir à Kigali, en juillet 1994, le parti a créé un véritable règne de la terreur, non seulement par l'organisation même de son régime dictatorial, mais surtout par la mise en place de structures parallèles responsables de crimes odieux commis contre la population civile, tant nationale qu’étrangère. Le point culminant de cette politique, poursuit-il, est l'invasion du Congo qui, sous couvert de motif sécuritaire, devait permettre, entre autres, la réalisation du pillage de ressources naturelles précieuses, de façon à se maintenir au pouvoir et exercer une domination géostratégique sur la région. Le juge relève par ailleurs que les crimes commis en 1994 sont du ressort du TPIR et plus spécifiquement de son procureur, le Gambien Hassan Bubacar Jallow, responsable des poursuites.
Une enquête contestée qui se réduirait à une peau de chagrin
Dans un article paru dans le quotidien ''Le Soir'' du 6 avril dernier et qui n'est pas le premier du genre, la journaliste belge Colette Braeckman (CB) tente de démontrer que le "dossier Bruguière" se dégonfle comme une vulgaire baudruche. Que reproche-t-elle concrètement au juge français et à son enquête?
Précisons avant tout que le seul document porté à la connaissance du commun des mortels est l'ordonnance datée du 17 novembre 2006. Le dossier répressif proprement dit n'est accessible qu'aux ayants droit. C'est-à-dire, au stade actuel, à Madame Rose Kabuye (entendue par la justice française) et ses avocats. Dès lors nous nous demandons en vertu de quelle compétence Madame Braeckman aurait eu accès au dossier du juge Bruguière pour pouvoir le commenter en connaissance de cause ?
Soyons clair. Nous n'avons pas la prétention de croire que nous détenons "la Vérité". Nous entendons cependant que si nous sommes dans l'erreur on nous le démontre avec des éléments objectifs et non par des affirmations gratuites, des demi-vérités, des amalgames et autres subterfuges en vue d'éluder le débat de fond. Dans un dossier aussi émotionnel que celui du Rwanda et du Congo (en près de vingt années la région des Grands Lacs a été transformée en un immense charnier de plusieurs millions de victimes), le citoyen est en droit d'être informé avec la plus grande rigueur. Que le dossier du juge Bruguière, à l'instar de n'importe quelle œuvre humaine, comporte le cas échéant certaines imperfections ou lacunes est dans l'ordre des choses. Mais, de là à réduire un travail d'investigation de huit années à un vulgaire pétard mouillé, voire à mettre en cause la probité du juge et de ses collaborateurs, il y a une marge à ne pas franchir. En la franchissant, ce que nous estimons être le cas, on perd toute objectivité et toute crédibilité.
Trois éléments significatifs sont invoqués, parmi d'autres, dans l'article de CB pour justifier la piètre appréciation qui est la sienne quant à la consistance du dossier ?
· Les principaux témoins à charge se sont rétractés.
· Un interprète et traducteur rwandais, Fabien Singaye, qui assistait le juge Bruguière et ses enquêteurs dans les interrogatoires de témoins était tout sauf neutre.
· L'autorisation faite à Madame Kabuye de regagner le Rwanda et d'y poursuivre ses activités officielles, même si le mandat d'arrêt la concernant n'est pas formellement levé, est symptomatique de la légèreté des charges retenues contre elle.
Qu'en est-il de ces différentes assertions ?
Quant à la rétractation des principaux témoins à charge
Deux témoins à charge se sont rétractés : Abdul Ruzibiza et Emmanuel Ruzigana. Il s'agit, en effet, de deux témoins importants mais qui sont loin d'être les seuls à avoir témoigné à propos des mêmes choses.
Prenons le cas d'Abdul Ruzibiza, le plus connu. Son livre "Rwanda l'histoire secrète", paru aux éditions du Panama en 2005, a jeté un fameux pavé dans la mare lors de sa parution. En synthèse, ce livre met en évidence la responsabilité directe de Paul Kagame dans l'attentat du 6 avril 1994 et dans l'ampleur des massacres perpétrés au Rwanda ainsi qu'au Congo-Zaïre. Pareilles accusations n'avaient cependant à l'époque rien d'un scoop. Elles avaient déjà été exprimées à l'encontre de l'homme fort de Kigali bien avant celles de Ruzibiza ou de Ruzigana. Notamment par Jean-Pierre Mugabe, Aloys Ruyenzi et Déogratias Mushayidi, pour ne citer que ceux-là.
Il est vrai que dans l'article du journal Le Soir du 6 avril dernier, CB précise qu'elle avait rencontré à l'époque Ruzibiza et qu'elle l'avait jugé peu crédible. Etonnant quand on sait que le livre de Ruzibiza a été préfacé par deux experts reconnus de la région des Grands Lacs : Claudine Vidal, directrice de recherches émérite au CNRS et André Guichaoua, professeur de sociologie à l'université de Paris 1. Ce n'est quand même pas rien !
Ce n'est pas parce que Ruzibiza s'est rétracté que forcément les 494 pages de son livre ne sont qu'un salmigondis d'inventions, de mensonges et d'élucubrations diverses. C'est d'autant moins le cas que pour avoir vécu certaines des circonstances décrites dans le livre, nous pouvons attester que les détails fournis les concernant sont tout à fait corrects. Quoi qu'il en soit, il nous semble un peu court de déclarer que Ruzibiza n'est qu'un affabulateur et que par conséquent le dossier du juge Bruguière se dégonfle en même temps que son principal témoin.
Il est peut-être utile de rappeler à Madame Braeckman que l'intéressé a aussi été témoigner au TPIR et que son témoignage, qui reprenait les principaux thèmes de son livre, a été fait sous serment. Dans ces conditions, il est étonnant que le procureur du TPIR n'ait pas jugé utile de rappeler ce témoin pour parjure, alors qu'il a autorité pour le faire et qu'il a déjà fait usage de cette prérogative par le passé.
Sur le plan journalistique la démarche aurait été tout autre si, au lieu de prendre la rétractation de Ruzibiza au premier degré, une enquête sérieuse avait été menée pour essayer de déterminer les véritables raisons pour lesquelles l'intéressé est revenu sur ses affirmations. N'est-ce pas cela en réalité le travail du journaliste ?
En conclusion de ce premier point, nous disons que si Ruzibiza avait été le seul à accuser nommément Paul Kagame pour son implication directe dans la tragédie rwandaise, il faudrait, en effet, remettre en question la matérialité de ses affirmations. Etant donné que ce n'est pas le cas et que bien d'autres témoins directs disent en substance la même chose, il serait dès lors plus opportun de rechercher les véritables raisons pour lesquelles Ruzibiza et Ruzigana sont revenus sur leurs dires. Pareille démarche permettrait, sans aucun doute, d'appréhender de façon beaucoup plus exacte l'enjeu réel de cette volte-face.
Quant au rôle controversé de Fabien Singaye
Selon CB "des documents inédits découverts en Suisse – et dont nous avons pu prendre connaissance en exclusivité – établissent que le traducteur rwandais qui assista Bruguière dans l'interrogatoire de ses témoins était tout sauf neutre (…) rien d'étonnant à ce que des témoins comme Emmanuel Ruzindana (qui ne parle pas le français) aient déclaré par la suite n'avoir rien reconnu des propos qu'ils avaient réellement tenus …".
De grâce restons sérieux. Peut-on imaginer un seul instant que le juge Bruguière, avec le pedigree qui est le sien, se soit laissé intoxiquer comme un vulgaire débutant ? Si les documents inédits évoqués par Madame Braeckman sont de même nature que le soi-disant "témoin capital de l'assassinat de Habyarimana" (Le Soir du 6 mai 2006), le seul à affirmer que ce sont trois missiles sol-air qui ont été tirés sur l'avion présidentiel, cela ne mérite en aucun cas le détour. Aller dénicher pareil témoin, il fallait le faire. C'est vraiment très fort ! Alors que tout qui se trouvait à Kigali le soir du 6 avril 1994 vous confirmera que ce sont bien deux missiles et non trois qui ont pris le Falcon présidentiel pour cible. Consacrer un article d'une page, à semblable témoignage farfelu, constituait déjà à l'époque une manière de jeter le doute sur le sérieux de l'enquête du juge qui ne mentionne que deux missiles.
Le fait que Fabien Singaye soit le beau-fils de Félicien Kabuga, accusé d'être l'un des financiers du génocide, constitue-t-il vraiment l'argument irréfutable de sa compromission ? Tant que l'on y est, pourquoi ne pas affirmer tout simplement que le juge Bruguière s'est entouré de génocidaires pour l'assister dans son travail ? Pareille association entre Kabuga et son beau-fils ne trompe guère de monde. L'amalgame est une technique éculée dont le but est surtout de camoufler l'indigence de l'argumentation. Si les documents inédits évoqués sont à ce point probants, pourquoi ne pas être plus précis quant à leur contenu ? Ceci éviterait à tout le moins de se cantonner dans le vague et le sous-entendu, si pas la diffamation.
En conclusion de ce second point soulignons que celui qui est accusé, par Madame Braeckman, d'être un interprète "engagé" a été requis pour la transcription des bandes d'enregistrement de la tour de contrôle de Kigali et pour l'audition de deux témoins. Fabien Singaye n'a été impliqué, ni de près ni de loin, dans le témoignage de Ruzibiza ou de Ruzigana. Pas plus, du reste, que dans celui de Emmanuel Ruzindana dont le nom n'apparaît même pas dans l'ordonnance du juge Bruguière !
Quant au régime de faveur dont bénéficie Madame Rose Kabuye
Nous avons tout récemment connu en Belgique une crise gouvernementale provoquée par une simple "suspicion" d'ingérence entre le pouvoir exécutif et le pouvoir judiciaire, à moins que ce ne soit l'inverse. De quelle façon nos amis français perçoivent-ils la notion de "séparation des pouvoirs" ? En tout cas, à suivre les déclarations engagées et les salamalecs répétés de Bernard Kouchner, ministre des Affaires étrangères, à propos de l'affaire Kabuye, nous avons le sentiment (que beaucoup partagent) que le bouillant Monsieur K. a pris de sérieuses latitudes par rapport à ce principe de séparation des pouvoirs. Bizarrement, son ingérence flagrante est loin d'avoir suscité de la part des parlementaires français la même réaction que celle que nous avons connue en Belgique.
Parler d'un "énorme malentendu", en évoquant l'inculpation de Madame Kabuye, a quelque chose de provoquant à l'égard du pouvoir judiciaire. C'est aussi plus que choquant pour les proches des victimes de l'attentat du 6 avril 1994. Même si tout inculpé reste, jusqu'à preuve du contraire, présumé innocent des faits qui lui sont reprochés.
Le souci du président de la République française et de son ministre des Affaires étrangères de normaliser les relations tumultueuses de la France avec le Rwanda est louable en soi. Néanmoins nous restons convaincu que tout n'est pas justifiable au nom de la realpolitik et ce, d'autant moins qu'une normalisation des relations équivaudrait, de facto, au renvoi dans les oubliettes de l'histoire de plusieurs millions de victimes immolées sur l'autel du pouvoir absolu. Non, il y a des limites qui ne peuvent être franchies.
Tout aussi interpellant est cette exhortation lancée par le président Sarkozy, au début de cette année, à mettre en œuvre une nouvelle gestion des ressources et de l'espace géographique des provinces orientales de la République Démocratique du Congo. Se prendrait-il pour le Bismarck des Grands Lacs ? Aurait-il vraiment oublié ce que les Français chantaient jadis la main sur le cœur et le trémolo dans la voix : ils n'auront pas l'Alsace et la Lorraine… ? En vertu de quels critères voudrait-il faire accepter par les Congolais ce que les Français ont combattu à l'époque au prix de lourds sacrifices ? A quoi est-il donc prêt pour dérouler le tapis rouge devant les pieds du nouveau Mwami du Rwanda ? En tout cas, ce dernier doit en ricaner à se démettre les mâchoires !
Aussi, étant donné ce qui précède, invoquer, comme le fait CB, le régime de faveur de Madame Kabuye pour tenter de démontrer que le dossier Bruguière ne serait qu'une calebasse vide, c'est vraiment prendre les lecteurs pour des imbéciles.
Conclusion
Si autant d'années après l'attentat du 6 avril 1994 les choses n'ont toujours pas repris un cours normal. Si autant d'années après cet acte terroriste tant de livres et de documents sont toujours rédigés sur ses conséquences, c'est qu'objectivement les choses ne sont toujours pas claires. Elles le sont d'autant moins que certains s'évertuent, envers et contre tout, à vouloir imposer "leur vision" unilatérale de l'histoire, vision qui ne résiste, mais alors plus du tout, à l'analyse historique. Force nous est aussi de constater que ces tenants de la pensée unique exercent urbi et orbi une véritable dictature intellectuelle en récupérant avec cynisme les concepts de "révisionnisme" et de "négationnisme" dont ils accablent tout qui ose contester un tant soit peu leur version de l'histoire.
Que la presse se contente d'exercer le noble rôle qui est le sien : informer le public en toute objectivité. Qu'elle évite, pour d'obscures raisons qui lui sont propres, de vouloir se substituer à la justice. Cette dernière est parfaitement en mesure d'assumer ses propres responsabilités.
Prétendre que l'enquête du juge Bruguière est sur le point d'imploser par manque de consistance, c'est faire peu de cas d'une autre enquête qui l'a précédée et dont la conclusion va dans le même sens. En 1997, Michael Hourigan, chef d'une équipe d'enquêteurs du TPIR travaillant à Kigali, avait constitué un dossier dont les éléments mettaient l'actuel régime de Kigali en cause dans l'assassinat des présidents Habyarimana et Ntaryamira. Cette enquête a bien été menée à charge et à décharge, puisqu'elle visait initialement à établir l'implication des extrémistes hutus dans cet attentat, mais que les éléments recueillis pointèrent, en réalité, la responsabilité directe du Front patriotique. Nous savons ce qu'il est advenu du "dossier Hourigan" : rangé de façon péremptoire au fond d'un tiroir par la procureur du TPIR de l'époque, la canadienne Louise Arbour. Quant à Michael Hourigan il fut sommé d'arrêter, sine die, ses investigations et de détruire tous les documents s'y rapportant.
Aussi, ce n'est pas la tentative de dénigrement de l'enquête du juge Bruguière de la part d'une certaine presse qui nous fera changer d'avis sur la nécessité que la procédure judiciaire suive son cours normal et débouche sur un procès. Seul le procès permettra un véritable débat par la confrontation des arguments. Un procès, c'est aussi l'espoir qu'après autant d'années d'obscurantisme, toute la clarté soit enfin faite sur l'attentat du 6 avril 1994.
Luc Marchal
Le 04/05/2009
Rwanda Govt, U.S. Move to Shield Recession-Hit Trade.
East African Business Week
2 May 2009
By Bosco Hitimana
Top Rwandan and United States of America trade officials met in Kigali recently to address reports of declining trade.
The meeting followed reports that trade between the two countries has been falling since the beginning of the year.
The US delegation was headed by the Assistant US Trade Reprehensive for Africa, Ms. Florizelle Liser and hosted by Rwanda's Trade and Industry Minister, Ms. Monique Nsanzabaganwa.
Rwanda-US trade is laid on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) signed in 2006 and the now nine-year-old African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The US Foreign Trade Statistics website reports that US exports to Rwanda fell from $3 million in January to $0.9 million in February 2009. In that same period, imports fell from $2.3 million to $1.7 million.
This, however, is attributed to the surging global economic downturn which has hit the USA causing dramatic job losses and reducing the US citizens' purchasing power, analysts said.
The Rwandan minister said her country was going to focus on how to increase exports to the USA under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) and increase the flow of investments between the two countries.
Rwandan exports to the USA include agricultural products, mainly coffee, tea, pyrethrum, flowers, minerals, handicrafts and gift articles. Rwanda imports many goods from the USA.
The head of the US delegation, Liser said: "We went through our action plan; we talked about each of the specific items in the action plan and we then added some things that we want to do and we think will enhance further the US-Rwanda investment and trade relationship."
She said the meeting agreed both parties to keep contacting each other at least every three months to keep TIFA very vibrant and alive.
Total trade between the United States and Rwanda was valued at $34.2 million in 2008, a 19% increase over 2007.
During that same period, US exports to Rwanda were valued at nearly $20.5million, increasing by 27% and Rwandan exports to the United States were valued at $13.7 million, increasing by 8%.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry said value of Rwanda coffee exports to the US under AGOA reduced from $2.4 million in 2007 to $0.77 million in 2008.
Metal ores and concentrates exports reduced from $4.61 million in 2007 to $1.74 million in 2008. The Rwanda Private Sector Federation(PSF) told local media that the export revenue from the USA reduced from about Rfw 5 billion in 2007 to Rfw 2 billion in 2008 (Freight On Board).
2 May 2009
By Bosco Hitimana
Top Rwandan and United States of America trade officials met in Kigali recently to address reports of declining trade.
The meeting followed reports that trade between the two countries has been falling since the beginning of the year.
The US delegation was headed by the Assistant US Trade Reprehensive for Africa, Ms. Florizelle Liser and hosted by Rwanda's Trade and Industry Minister, Ms. Monique Nsanzabaganwa.
Rwanda-US trade is laid on the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) signed in 2006 and the now nine-year-old African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA).
The US Foreign Trade Statistics website reports that US exports to Rwanda fell from $3 million in January to $0.9 million in February 2009. In that same period, imports fell from $2.3 million to $1.7 million.
This, however, is attributed to the surging global economic downturn which has hit the USA causing dramatic job losses and reducing the US citizens' purchasing power, analysts said.
The Rwandan minister said her country was going to focus on how to increase exports to the USA under the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) and increase the flow of investments between the two countries.
Rwandan exports to the USA include agricultural products, mainly coffee, tea, pyrethrum, flowers, minerals, handicrafts and gift articles. Rwanda imports many goods from the USA.
The head of the US delegation, Liser said: "We went through our action plan; we talked about each of the specific items in the action plan and we then added some things that we want to do and we think will enhance further the US-Rwanda investment and trade relationship."
She said the meeting agreed both parties to keep contacting each other at least every three months to keep TIFA very vibrant and alive.
Total trade between the United States and Rwanda was valued at $34.2 million in 2008, a 19% increase over 2007.
During that same period, US exports to Rwanda were valued at nearly $20.5million, increasing by 27% and Rwandan exports to the United States were valued at $13.7 million, increasing by 8%.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry said value of Rwanda coffee exports to the US under AGOA reduced from $2.4 million in 2007 to $0.77 million in 2008.
Metal ores and concentrates exports reduced from $4.61 million in 2007 to $1.74 million in 2008. The Rwanda Private Sector Federation(PSF) told local media that the export revenue from the USA reduced from about Rfw 5 billion in 2007 to Rfw 2 billion in 2008 (Freight On Board).
Work begins on Niger uranium mine.
BBC News
4 May 2009
Work on what will become the world's second largest uranium mine has begun in the west African state of Niger.
After it opens in three years' time the $1.5bn (£1bn) mine is expected to yield 5,000 tonnes of uranium per year.
French nuclear energy company Areva is building the mine and will take a majority share in it.
Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and the export of uranium provides one of its few sources of foreign currency.
The open pit mine at Imouraren will employ 1,400 people and more than double Niger's current uranium exports.
The mine is in the north of Niger, home to the semi-nomadic Tuareg people.
Rebel groups
For the past two years armed rebel groups from the region have been fighting the government for a greater share of Niger's uranium wealth.
Niger's president, Mamadou Tandja, made his first trip to the north since the rebellion started to lay the first stone at the mine, and on Sunday evening he met with rebel leaders in the town of Agadez.
The president promised an amnesty to those who laid down their weapons.
Also at the inauguration were Anne Lauvergnon, director of Areva, and France's junior minister for co-operation, Alain Joyandet.
Areva and Niger signed an agreement in January for the firm to operate the mine, describing it as "the biggest in Africa and the second largest in the world".
France keeps close ties with its former colony and uranium from Niger is vital to its nuclear energy programme.
Areva already has other mines in the landlocked sub-Saharan country.
Other than uranium mining, Niger's population relies on subsistence farming and livestock production.
The BBC's West Africa correspondent, John James, says the fluctuating world price in uranium has brought repeated instability to the country's economy.
Niger is the world's fourth biggest producer of uranium after Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan, according to the British Geological Survey.
4 May 2009
Work on what will become the world's second largest uranium mine has begun in the west African state of Niger.
After it opens in three years' time the $1.5bn (£1bn) mine is expected to yield 5,000 tonnes of uranium per year.
French nuclear energy company Areva is building the mine and will take a majority share in it.
Niger is one of the world's poorest countries and the export of uranium provides one of its few sources of foreign currency.
The open pit mine at Imouraren will employ 1,400 people and more than double Niger's current uranium exports.
The mine is in the north of Niger, home to the semi-nomadic Tuareg people.
Rebel groups
For the past two years armed rebel groups from the region have been fighting the government for a greater share of Niger's uranium wealth.
Niger's president, Mamadou Tandja, made his first trip to the north since the rebellion started to lay the first stone at the mine, and on Sunday evening he met with rebel leaders in the town of Agadez.
The president promised an amnesty to those who laid down their weapons.
Also at the inauguration were Anne Lauvergnon, director of Areva, and France's junior minister for co-operation, Alain Joyandet.
Areva and Niger signed an agreement in January for the firm to operate the mine, describing it as "the biggest in Africa and the second largest in the world".
France keeps close ties with its former colony and uranium from Niger is vital to its nuclear energy programme.
Areva already has other mines in the landlocked sub-Saharan country.
Other than uranium mining, Niger's population relies on subsistence farming and livestock production.
The BBC's West Africa correspondent, John James, says the fluctuating world price in uranium has brought repeated instability to the country's economy.
Niger is the world's fourth biggest producer of uranium after Canada, Australia and Kazakhstan, according to the British Geological Survey.
04 May, 2009
Museveni's popularity waning.
AFP
4 May 2009
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has lost popularity in recent years, with less than 50% of respondents in a rare opinion poll released on Monday saying they would vote for him.
Forty-one percent of those polled would choose him, 21% would go for the opposition leader, Kizza Besigye and the rest other candidates if elections were held tomorrow, said the poll by Wilksen Agencies done on behalf of Afro-Barometer, a democracy promotion group.
"Trust in both the ruling party and the president has gone down tremendously since the last poll was taken three years ago," said Robert Sentamu, Wilkens Agencies director.
The poll, which surveyed 2 434 people, was conducted between July and October 2008 and had a 2% margin of error.
Asked how much they trusted the president, 30% said "somewhat trust" and 26% said "a lot" compared to 78% in 2006 who said they trusted Museveni either somewhat or a lot.
Museveni took power in 1986 following a six-year armed struggle and has not ruled out running for another term in elections scheduled for February 2011.
Uganda's constitution does not place limits on presidential terms.
He has won Uganda's three previous elections although his margin of victory has declined with each vote. He won 75% of the vote in 1996, 69% in 2001 and 59% in 2006.
Also in the polls, 31% described their living conditions as "fairly bad", 21% "very bad" and 29% said they expected those conditions to get worse over the next 12 months.
4 May 2009
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has lost popularity in recent years, with less than 50% of respondents in a rare opinion poll released on Monday saying they would vote for him.
Forty-one percent of those polled would choose him, 21% would go for the opposition leader, Kizza Besigye and the rest other candidates if elections were held tomorrow, said the poll by Wilksen Agencies done on behalf of Afro-Barometer, a democracy promotion group.
"Trust in both the ruling party and the president has gone down tremendously since the last poll was taken three years ago," said Robert Sentamu, Wilkens Agencies director.
The poll, which surveyed 2 434 people, was conducted between July and October 2008 and had a 2% margin of error.
Asked how much they trusted the president, 30% said "somewhat trust" and 26% said "a lot" compared to 78% in 2006 who said they trusted Museveni either somewhat or a lot.
Museveni took power in 1986 following a six-year armed struggle and has not ruled out running for another term in elections scheduled for February 2011.
Uganda's constitution does not place limits on presidential terms.
He has won Uganda's three previous elections although his margin of victory has declined with each vote. He won 75% of the vote in 1996, 69% in 2001 and 59% in 2006.
Also in the polls, 31% described their living conditions as "fairly bad", 21% "very bad" and 29% said they expected those conditions to get worse over the next 12 months.
Museveni's popularity waning.
AFP
4 May 2009
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has lost popularity in recent years, with less than 50% of respondents in a rare opinion poll released on Monday saying they would vote for him.
Forty-one percent of those polled would choose him, 21% would go for the opposition leader, Kizza Besigye and the rest other candidates if elections were held tomorrow, said the poll by Wilksen Agencies done on behalf of Afro-Barometer, a democracy promotion group.
"Trust in both the ruling party and the president has gone down tremendously since the last poll was taken three years ago," said Robert Sentamu, Wilkens Agencies director.
The poll, which surveyed 2 434 people, was conducted between July and October 2008 and had a 2% margin of error.
Asked how much they trusted the president, 30% said "somewhat trust" and 26% said "a lot" compared to 78% in 2006 who said they trusted Museveni either somewhat or a lot.
Museveni took power in 1986 following a six-year armed struggle and has not ruled out running for another term in elections scheduled for February 2011.
Uganda's constitution does not place limits on presidential terms.
He has won Uganda's three previous elections although his margin of victory has declined with each vote. He won 75% of the vote in 1996, 69% in 2001 and 59% in 2006.
Also in the polls, 31% described their living conditions as "fairly bad", 21% "very bad" and 29% said they expected those conditions to get worse over the next 12 months.
4 May 2009
Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has lost popularity in recent years, with less than 50% of respondents in a rare opinion poll released on Monday saying they would vote for him.
Forty-one percent of those polled would choose him, 21% would go for the opposition leader, Kizza Besigye and the rest other candidates if elections were held tomorrow, said the poll by Wilksen Agencies done on behalf of Afro-Barometer, a democracy promotion group.
"Trust in both the ruling party and the president has gone down tremendously since the last poll was taken three years ago," said Robert Sentamu, Wilkens Agencies director.
The poll, which surveyed 2 434 people, was conducted between July and October 2008 and had a 2% margin of error.
Asked how much they trusted the president, 30% said "somewhat trust" and 26% said "a lot" compared to 78% in 2006 who said they trusted Museveni either somewhat or a lot.
Museveni took power in 1986 following a six-year armed struggle and has not ruled out running for another term in elections scheduled for February 2011.
Uganda's constitution does not place limits on presidential terms.
He has won Uganda's three previous elections although his margin of victory has declined with each vote. He won 75% of the vote in 1996, 69% in 2001 and 59% in 2006.
Also in the polls, 31% described their living conditions as "fairly bad", 21% "very bad" and 29% said they expected those conditions to get worse over the next 12 months.
New justice minister for Kenya.
AFP
4 May 2009
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Monday named a new justice minister to the post vacated last month by a close ally who complained of being undermined, his office said.
Kibaki appointed Mutula Kilonzo, a lawmaker from an allied party in the coalition government, replacing Martha Karua, who quit on April 6 citing the appointment of judges made by Kibaki without her knowledge.
Karua's resignation rattled the power-sharing government formed last year to heal rifts caused by the bitterly disputed 2007 presidential elections that plunged the country into weeks of bloody clashes.
At least 1 500 people were killed in the violence, some of the worst the east African nation has seen since independence in 1963.
Kenya's cabinet has lately been strained by tensions between Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga over appointments to key government posts.
Mutula was minister with responsibility for Nairobi's metropolitan development.
4 May 2009
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki on Monday named a new justice minister to the post vacated last month by a close ally who complained of being undermined, his office said.
Kibaki appointed Mutula Kilonzo, a lawmaker from an allied party in the coalition government, replacing Martha Karua, who quit on April 6 citing the appointment of judges made by Kibaki without her knowledge.
Karua's resignation rattled the power-sharing government formed last year to heal rifts caused by the bitterly disputed 2007 presidential elections that plunged the country into weeks of bloody clashes.
At least 1 500 people were killed in the violence, some of the worst the east African nation has seen since independence in 1963.
Kenya's cabinet has lately been strained by tensions between Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga over appointments to key government posts.
Mutula was minister with responsibility for Nairobi's metropolitan development.
Senators Accuse Pentagon of Delay in Recovering Millions.
New York Times
By JAMES GLANZ
Published: May 3, 2009
The Pentagon has done little to collect at least $100 million in overcharges paid in deals arranged by corrupt former officials of Kellogg Brown & Root, the defense contractor, even though the officials admitted much of the wrongdoing years ago, two senators have complained in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
The letter also said that the Army had almost completely failed to move away from the monopolistic nature of the logistics contract that has paid the contractor, now called KBR, $31.3 billion for logistics operations in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan.
The New York Times obtained a copy of the letter, dated Friday, by the senators, Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, and Susan M. Collins, Republican of Maine. Senator McCaskill is chairman of a contracting oversight subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Senator Collins is the subcommittee’s ranking Republican.
Their letter is likely to revive allegations that the Pentagon has become so close to KBR, and relies so heavily on it, that there is little inclination or incentive to discipline the company, in response to either Congress or critics outside the government.
In 2007 the Army split the logistics contract, known as Logcap, in a way that allowed several companies to compete for each new need. The Army did this partly to avoid relying solely on KBR, whose pricing practices, even when technically legal, have sometimes received criticism as exorbitant. But the Army has seldom used the newly competitive arrangement.
The senators wrote that as of February, the latest date for which the subcommittee had received information, the Army had “not awarded a single task order for work in Iraq,” the biggest source of logistics work.
In pressing for use of the new competitive arrangement, the senators cited 2008 legislation that calls for competition by multiple companies on military contracts unless there is “a compelling reason not to do so.” The senators also brought up Congressional testimony by the Army’s chief of logistics that they said indicated the Army had no such compelling reason.
Reached for comment, Dan Carlson, a spokesman at the Army Sustainment Command in Rock Island, Ill., which administers the work, pointed out that under the new competitive arrangement, in which KBR, Fluor and Dyncorp submit bids, Fluor and Dyncorp have received some work in Afghanistan and Kuwait. Mr. Carlson said that the Army was working toward awarding work in Iraq under the new competitive arrangement.
A spokeswoman for KBR, Heather L. Browne, said all of KBR’s logistics contracts have been won competitively. She added that “when KBR has discovered wrongdoing of any sort by an employee, we have swiftly reported it to the government,” and said the company “in no way condones or tolerates illegal or unethical behavior.” KBR itself has not been accused of wrongdoing in any of the cases of fraud by former employees.
Ms. Browne made clear that the company intended to continue its logistics work, saying KBR remained committed to high quality and to “engaging in a transparent and fact-based dialogue with the government.”
The letter and the Pentagon auditing documents that back up its conclusions are likely to be a point of discussion in Washington on Monday, when the Wartime Contracting Commission, a bipartisan legislative commission, is scheduled to meet on the logistics program, according to its Web site.
To the irritation of KBR’s critics, the Army has generally upheld the bills the company has submitted to the military, even when the Pentagon’s own auditors have questioned the amounts. But the argument that the Army was overcharged appears to be more clear-cut in the cases of several former KBR officials convicted of accepting bribes and kickbacks.
In those cases, the Army asked KBR to perform a certain task under the Logcap contract, like buying living trailers or building a dining facility, and the KBR officials found subcontractors in the region to carry out the actual work. The officials took bribes to steer the work toward subcontractors who were not the low bidders, or simply inflated the worth of the contracts once they had been awarded.
In the contracts handled by just one of those officials, Stephen Lowell Seamans, who pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy in March 2006, Pentagon auditors quickly found potential excess profits by a Kuwaiti subcontractor of $49.8 million, or 76 percent, “as a result of Mr. Seamans’s fraudulent activities,” the senators wrote.
Of $306 million in tainted contracts, at least $100 million of the charges appeared to be unjustified, wrote the senators.
By JAMES GLANZ
Published: May 3, 2009
The Pentagon has done little to collect at least $100 million in overcharges paid in deals arranged by corrupt former officials of Kellogg Brown & Root, the defense contractor, even though the officials admitted much of the wrongdoing years ago, two senators have complained in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.
The letter also said that the Army had almost completely failed to move away from the monopolistic nature of the logistics contract that has paid the contractor, now called KBR, $31.3 billion for logistics operations in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan.
The New York Times obtained a copy of the letter, dated Friday, by the senators, Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, and Susan M. Collins, Republican of Maine. Senator McCaskill is chairman of a contracting oversight subcommittee of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Senator Collins is the subcommittee’s ranking Republican.
Their letter is likely to revive allegations that the Pentagon has become so close to KBR, and relies so heavily on it, that there is little inclination or incentive to discipline the company, in response to either Congress or critics outside the government.
In 2007 the Army split the logistics contract, known as Logcap, in a way that allowed several companies to compete for each new need. The Army did this partly to avoid relying solely on KBR, whose pricing practices, even when technically legal, have sometimes received criticism as exorbitant. But the Army has seldom used the newly competitive arrangement.
The senators wrote that as of February, the latest date for which the subcommittee had received information, the Army had “not awarded a single task order for work in Iraq,” the biggest source of logistics work.
In pressing for use of the new competitive arrangement, the senators cited 2008 legislation that calls for competition by multiple companies on military contracts unless there is “a compelling reason not to do so.” The senators also brought up Congressional testimony by the Army’s chief of logistics that they said indicated the Army had no such compelling reason.
Reached for comment, Dan Carlson, a spokesman at the Army Sustainment Command in Rock Island, Ill., which administers the work, pointed out that under the new competitive arrangement, in which KBR, Fluor and Dyncorp submit bids, Fluor and Dyncorp have received some work in Afghanistan and Kuwait. Mr. Carlson said that the Army was working toward awarding work in Iraq under the new competitive arrangement.
A spokeswoman for KBR, Heather L. Browne, said all of KBR’s logistics contracts have been won competitively. She added that “when KBR has discovered wrongdoing of any sort by an employee, we have swiftly reported it to the government,” and said the company “in no way condones or tolerates illegal or unethical behavior.” KBR itself has not been accused of wrongdoing in any of the cases of fraud by former employees.
Ms. Browne made clear that the company intended to continue its logistics work, saying KBR remained committed to high quality and to “engaging in a transparent and fact-based dialogue with the government.”
The letter and the Pentagon auditing documents that back up its conclusions are likely to be a point of discussion in Washington on Monday, when the Wartime Contracting Commission, a bipartisan legislative commission, is scheduled to meet on the logistics program, according to its Web site.
To the irritation of KBR’s critics, the Army has generally upheld the bills the company has submitted to the military, even when the Pentagon’s own auditors have questioned the amounts. But the argument that the Army was overcharged appears to be more clear-cut in the cases of several former KBR officials convicted of accepting bribes and kickbacks.
In those cases, the Army asked KBR to perform a certain task under the Logcap contract, like buying living trailers or building a dining facility, and the KBR officials found subcontractors in the region to carry out the actual work. The officials took bribes to steer the work toward subcontractors who were not the low bidders, or simply inflated the worth of the contracts once they had been awarded.
In the contracts handled by just one of those officials, Stephen Lowell Seamans, who pleaded guilty to bribery and conspiracy in March 2006, Pentagon auditors quickly found potential excess profits by a Kuwaiti subcontractor of $49.8 million, or 76 percent, “as a result of Mr. Seamans’s fraudulent activities,” the senators wrote.
Of $306 million in tainted contracts, at least $100 million of the charges appeared to be unjustified, wrote the senators.
Charles Taylor loses Hague bid.
BBC News
4 April 2009
War crimes judges have rejected a request to acquit Liberia's former President Charles Taylor on charges of crimes against humanity.
Mr Taylor's defence team argued that there was not enough evidence for the trial to proceed.
The decision by the Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague means that Mr Taylor, who has pleaded not guilty, must now present his defence.
Tens of thousands of people died in Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war.
"The prosecution has produced evidence capable of supporting a conviction of the accused, " the presiding judge told the court as he dismissed the defence's request.
It is not unusual for a defence team to lodge a request for dismissal at this stage in an international tribunal's proceedings, analysts say.
The judge also stressed that the decision does not mean that the tribunal will convict Mr Taylor.
The trial is scheduled to continue on 29 June.
Charges
Charles Taylor faces 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his alleged role in the brutal civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone, where he is accused of backing rebels responsible for widespread atrocities.
Prosecutors argue that Mr Taylor planned the atrocities, committed by Revolutionary United Front rebels, during the civil war, which only ended in 2002.
The specific charges relate to terrorising the civilian population, murder, sexual violence, physical violence such as cutting off limbs, using child soldiers and enslavement.
4 April 2009
War crimes judges have rejected a request to acquit Liberia's former President Charles Taylor on charges of crimes against humanity.
Mr Taylor's defence team argued that there was not enough evidence for the trial to proceed.
The decision by the Special Court for Sierra Leone at The Hague means that Mr Taylor, who has pleaded not guilty, must now present his defence.
Tens of thousands of people died in Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war.
"The prosecution has produced evidence capable of supporting a conviction of the accused, " the presiding judge told the court as he dismissed the defence's request.
It is not unusual for a defence team to lodge a request for dismissal at this stage in an international tribunal's proceedings, analysts say.
The judge also stressed that the decision does not mean that the tribunal will convict Mr Taylor.
The trial is scheduled to continue on 29 June.
Charges
Charles Taylor faces 11 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity over his alleged role in the brutal civil war in neighbouring Sierra Leone, where he is accused of backing rebels responsible for widespread atrocities.
Prosecutors argue that Mr Taylor planned the atrocities, committed by Revolutionary United Front rebels, during the civil war, which only ended in 2002.
The specific charges relate to terrorising the civilian population, murder, sexual violence, physical violence such as cutting off limbs, using child soldiers and enslavement.
Rwanda to Build Memorial Site in London.
Hirondelle News Agency
29 April 2009
The Rwandan government obtained from the City Hall of London a piece of land on which will be erected a memorial for the genocide committed against Tutsis in 1994.
"We obtained the land. The British architects (who will build the memorial) have already come to Rwanda for a visit of the existing memorials",the Rwandan Minister for Culture and Sports, Joseph Habineza, told Hirondelle Agency Wednesday on phone from Kigali.
The minister indicated that the funds for the project would come from the Rwandan government and various donors.
It will be the first international genocide memorial erected outside Rwanda, according to the Minister..
The Rwandan deputies also asked their government in March to carry out negotiations with Uganda so that a memorial was erected in the neighbouring country in memory of the thousands of people who were washed ashore in 1994 on the banks of Lake Victoria.
29 April 2009
The Rwandan government obtained from the City Hall of London a piece of land on which will be erected a memorial for the genocide committed against Tutsis in 1994.
"We obtained the land. The British architects (who will build the memorial) have already come to Rwanda for a visit of the existing memorials",the Rwandan Minister for Culture and Sports, Joseph Habineza, told Hirondelle Agency Wednesday on phone from Kigali.
The minister indicated that the funds for the project would come from the Rwandan government and various donors.
It will be the first international genocide memorial erected outside Rwanda, according to the Minister..
The Rwandan deputies also asked their government in March to carry out negotiations with Uganda so that a memorial was erected in the neighbouring country in memory of the thousands of people who were washed ashore in 1994 on the banks of Lake Victoria.
Taliban using gemstones’ money to fund terrorism.
Daily Times
4 May 2009
By Akhtar Amin
Swat Taliban are using money earned from mining and selling gemstones in Swat and Shangla for terrorism, entrepreneurs from the Swat valley said on Sunday.
Entrepreneurs in a Gem Bazaar – organised by the Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company at Namak Mandi – told Daily Times that Taliban were using the money for terrorist activities in Swat, Buner and Dir districts of Malakand division.
Babu Khan, an entrepreneur from Swat who had displayed emeralds in the bazaar, said that Taliban had started extensive mining through hired labourers and were selling the precious stones in the black market.
He said plunderers had also taken over several mines of high quality gemstones, one of which had earned the government about Rs 90 million in a single auction in the past.
Another entrepreneur from Swat, Muhammad Ali, told Daily Times that Taliban had also taken over the Mingora emerald mine.
The Shamozai emeralds mine, some 25 kilometres from Mingora, and the Gujaro Killay emerald mine in the adjacent district of Shangla, are also under the control of the Swat Taliban.
Stones extracted from these mines are auctioned in the premises of the Mingora mine every Sunday, where dealers from all over Pakistan come to shop, he said.
The federal and provincial governments have not taken any action over “this looting and plunder of state property”, Muhammad Ali said.
Imran Inam, a senior official of the Gems and Jewellery Development Company, told Daily Times that the US was also concerned over the Taliban occupation of emerald mines in Swat and Shangla and had talked to the Pakistani government.
4 May 2009
By Akhtar Amin
Swat Taliban are using money earned from mining and selling gemstones in Swat and Shangla for terrorism, entrepreneurs from the Swat valley said on Sunday.
Entrepreneurs in a Gem Bazaar – organised by the Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company at Namak Mandi – told Daily Times that Taliban were using the money for terrorist activities in Swat, Buner and Dir districts of Malakand division.
Babu Khan, an entrepreneur from Swat who had displayed emeralds in the bazaar, said that Taliban had started extensive mining through hired labourers and were selling the precious stones in the black market.
He said plunderers had also taken over several mines of high quality gemstones, one of which had earned the government about Rs 90 million in a single auction in the past.
Another entrepreneur from Swat, Muhammad Ali, told Daily Times that Taliban had also taken over the Mingora emerald mine.
The Shamozai emeralds mine, some 25 kilometres from Mingora, and the Gujaro Killay emerald mine in the adjacent district of Shangla, are also under the control of the Swat Taliban.
Stones extracted from these mines are auctioned in the premises of the Mingora mine every Sunday, where dealers from all over Pakistan come to shop, he said.
The federal and provincial governments have not taken any action over “this looting and plunder of state property”, Muhammad Ali said.
Imran Inam, a senior official of the Gems and Jewellery Development Company, told Daily Times that the US was also concerned over the Taliban occupation of emerald mines in Swat and Shangla and had talked to the Pakistani government.
03 May, 2009
Press freedom declining around the world: study.
AFP
1 May 2009
Press freedom declined around the world last year, deteriorating for the first time in every region, according to a study released by Freedom House.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), meanwhile, unveiled its list of "10 worst countries to be a blogger," naming Myanmar, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Tunisia, China, Turkmenistan and Egypt to its "dishonor roll."
Out of the 195 countries and territories covered in the Freedom House study, 70, or 36 percent, were rated "free," 61 (31 percent), were rated "partly free" and 64 (33 percent) were rated "not free."
Freedom House, which is funded by the US government and private groups and has been conducting an annual study of press freedom since 1980, said that 72 countries were rated free the previous year.
It said that while press freedom had declined in 2008 for the seventh year in a row, last year marked the first time it had deteriorated in every region.
"The journalism profession today is up against the ropes and fighting to stay alive, as pressures from governments, other powerful actors and the global economic crisis take an enormous toll," executive director Jennifer Windsor said.
Freedom House said gains in South Asia and Africa were "overshadowed by a campaign of intimidation targeting independent media, particularly in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East and North Africa."
It said Israel, Italy and Hong Kong slipped from free to partly free status in 2008.
Among the worst-rated (least free press) states in the world were Belarus, China, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, the Palestinian occupied territories, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.
In Asia, Cambodia fell to not free status because of increased violence against journalists, while Hong Kong slipped to partly free as Beijing exerted growing influence over the media.
China's media environment remained "bleak" while media in Taiwan faced assault and growing government pressure this past year.
South Asia saw improvement in Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan while Sri Lanka and Afghanistan suffered setbacks.
Myanmar also got poor marks from the CPJ.
"With a military government that severely restricts Internet access and imprisons people for years for posting critical material, Burma is the worst place in the world to be a blogger," it said.
Freedom House said the biggest drop in press freedom occurred in Central and Eastern Europe with several journalists murdered in Bulgaria and Croatia, assaulted in Bosnia and denied judicial protection in Russia.
The Middle East and North Africa continued to have the lowest level of press freedom.
Restrictions on journalists and official attempts to influence coverage during the Gaza conflict led to Israel's downgrading to partly free status.
Freedom House said press freedom fell in Senegal, Madagascar, Chad, South Africa, Tanzania and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa while Comoros, Sierra Leone, Angola and Liberia all showed improvement.
It said Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua registered major declines while Guyana regained its free rating and Haiti and Uruguay saw significant improvement. Mexico's score dropped because of increased domestic violence.
Western Europe boasted the highest level of press freedom although Italy slipped into the partly free category with free speech limited by courts and libel laws and concerns over the concentration of media ownership.
1 May 2009
Press freedom declined around the world last year, deteriorating for the first time in every region, according to a study released by Freedom House.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), meanwhile, unveiled its list of "10 worst countries to be a blogger," naming Myanmar, Iran, Syria, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Tunisia, China, Turkmenistan and Egypt to its "dishonor roll."
Out of the 195 countries and territories covered in the Freedom House study, 70, or 36 percent, were rated "free," 61 (31 percent), were rated "partly free" and 64 (33 percent) were rated "not free."
Freedom House, which is funded by the US government and private groups and has been conducting an annual study of press freedom since 1980, said that 72 countries were rated free the previous year.
It said that while press freedom had declined in 2008 for the seventh year in a row, last year marked the first time it had deteriorated in every region.
"The journalism profession today is up against the ropes and fighting to stay alive, as pressures from governments, other powerful actors and the global economic crisis take an enormous toll," executive director Jennifer Windsor said.
Freedom House said gains in South Asia and Africa were "overshadowed by a campaign of intimidation targeting independent media, particularly in the former Soviet Union and the Middle East and North Africa."
It said Israel, Italy and Hong Kong slipped from free to partly free status in 2008.
Among the worst-rated (least free press) states in the world were Belarus, China, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, North Korea, the Palestinian occupied territories, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.
In Asia, Cambodia fell to not free status because of increased violence against journalists, while Hong Kong slipped to partly free as Beijing exerted growing influence over the media.
China's media environment remained "bleak" while media in Taiwan faced assault and growing government pressure this past year.
South Asia saw improvement in Bangladesh, the Maldives and Pakistan while Sri Lanka and Afghanistan suffered setbacks.
Myanmar also got poor marks from the CPJ.
"With a military government that severely restricts Internet access and imprisons people for years for posting critical material, Burma is the worst place in the world to be a blogger," it said.
Freedom House said the biggest drop in press freedom occurred in Central and Eastern Europe with several journalists murdered in Bulgaria and Croatia, assaulted in Bosnia and denied judicial protection in Russia.
The Middle East and North Africa continued to have the lowest level of press freedom.
Restrictions on journalists and official attempts to influence coverage during the Gaza conflict led to Israel's downgrading to partly free status.
Freedom House said press freedom fell in Senegal, Madagascar, Chad, South Africa, Tanzania and other countries in sub-Saharan Africa while Comoros, Sierra Leone, Angola and Liberia all showed improvement.
It said Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua registered major declines while Guyana regained its free rating and Haiti and Uruguay saw significant improvement. Mexico's score dropped because of increased domestic violence.
Western Europe boasted the highest level of press freedom although Italy slipped into the partly free category with free speech limited by courts and libel laws and concerns over the concentration of media ownership.
Gunmen kill Albanian opposition MP ahead of polls.
Reuters
2 May 2009
Gunmen shot and killed an Albanian opposition Socialist Party lawmaker on Saturday evening, police said, as the west Balkan country prepares to hold elections seen as crucial in its bid for European Union accession.
The killing of Fatmir Xhindi, 49, is likely to heighten tension ahead of the June 28 general elections, which pit the ruling Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha against the main opposition Socialist Party led by Edi Rama.
Albania is one of Europe's poorest countries and faces an uphill struggle to join the EU, which remains to be convinced of its democratic credentials. The country formally applied for EU membership on April 28.
The Interior Ministry said Xhindi was shot inside the courtyard of his own home just after parking his car.
"He was shot and killed with six bullets and died on the way to hospital," said police spokesman Klodian Branko, quoting from a statement by police in Fier, the regional centre near Roskovec in southern Albania where Xhindi was killed.
Xhindi is the second lawmaker to be killed in Albania since the fall of communism in 1990. The assassination of Democratic Party lawmaker Azem Hajdari in September 1998 enraged his supporters, who took over government offices and the public television broadcaster for several days.
The Socialists said they were shocked by Xhindi's killing.
Describing him as a "symbol of maturity and friendship who exuded benevolence", senior Socialist Gramoz Ruci said he did not exclude the possibility that the killing was politically motivated.
Parliament's speaker Jozefina Topalli, a Democrat, and Socialist Party leader Edi Rama travelled to Roskovec to comfort Xhindi's family.
Rama said the Socialists were "impatiently waiting" for police to shed light on the killing.
No violence was reported.
(Reporting by Benet Koleka; Editing by Louise Ireland)
2 May 2009
Gunmen shot and killed an Albanian opposition Socialist Party lawmaker on Saturday evening, police said, as the west Balkan country prepares to hold elections seen as crucial in its bid for European Union accession.
The killing of Fatmir Xhindi, 49, is likely to heighten tension ahead of the June 28 general elections, which pit the ruling Democratic Party of Prime Minister Sali Berisha against the main opposition Socialist Party led by Edi Rama.
Albania is one of Europe's poorest countries and faces an uphill struggle to join the EU, which remains to be convinced of its democratic credentials. The country formally applied for EU membership on April 28.
The Interior Ministry said Xhindi was shot inside the courtyard of his own home just after parking his car.
"He was shot and killed with six bullets and died on the way to hospital," said police spokesman Klodian Branko, quoting from a statement by police in Fier, the regional centre near Roskovec in southern Albania where Xhindi was killed.
Xhindi is the second lawmaker to be killed in Albania since the fall of communism in 1990. The assassination of Democratic Party lawmaker Azem Hajdari in September 1998 enraged his supporters, who took over government offices and the public television broadcaster for several days.
The Socialists said they were shocked by Xhindi's killing.
Describing him as a "symbol of maturity and friendship who exuded benevolence", senior Socialist Gramoz Ruci said he did not exclude the possibility that the killing was politically motivated.
Parliament's speaker Jozefina Topalli, a Democrat, and Socialist Party leader Edi Rama travelled to Roskovec to comfort Xhindi's family.
Rama said the Socialists were "impatiently waiting" for police to shed light on the killing.
No violence was reported.
(Reporting by Benet Koleka; Editing by Louise Ireland)
Presidential security forces 'sell armed trucks' to Shabaab.
Garowe Online
2 May 2009
Somali government security forces aboard four armed trucks escaped from the Villa Somalia presidential compound on Friday with the goal of selling their weaponry to Islamist hardliners, Radio Garowe reports.
A security official at Villa Somalia who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed the report that the soldiers belonged to the Villa Somalia security force, guarding the palace where President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed calls home alongside African Union peacekeepers.
"The soldiers made a secret deal with Al Shabaab to sell four trucks and the big guns on top," said the security source.
A businessman at Mogadishu's Bakara Market said armed trucks with government insignia were seen around the market, which has been a stronghold of Islamist rebels since the Ethiopian intervention.
A government spokesman could not be reached for comment.
2 May 2009
Somali government security forces aboard four armed trucks escaped from the Villa Somalia presidential compound on Friday with the goal of selling their weaponry to Islamist hardliners, Radio Garowe reports.
A security official at Villa Somalia who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed the report that the soldiers belonged to the Villa Somalia security force, guarding the palace where President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed calls home alongside African Union peacekeepers.
"The soldiers made a secret deal with Al Shabaab to sell four trucks and the big guns on top," said the security source.
A businessman at Mogadishu's Bakara Market said armed trucks with government insignia were seen around the market, which has been a stronghold of Islamist rebels since the Ethiopian intervention.
A government spokesman could not be reached for comment.
AFRICOM's Yates Going to Kenya.
African Press Agency
2 May 2009
Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, U.S. Africa Command deputy to the commander for civil-military activities will be visiting Kenya on 4 and 5 May.
2 May 2009
Ambassador Mary Carlin Yates, U.S. Africa Command deputy to the commander for civil-military activities will be visiting Kenya on 4 and 5 May.
Guinean leader orders legal action on mine take over by a Russian company.
African Press Agency
2 May 2009
Directors at the Russian Aluminum headquarters in Moscow reported that the Guinean President Moussa Dadis Camara has ordered the Guinean Justice Ministry to consider legal action over 2006 transactions that gave control of the Friguia bauxite and alumina complex to the Russian firm of United Company RusAl, APA learns here Saturday.
The company directors said that the Guinean government launched fresh investigations into operations that were concluded previously that gave RusAl full legal rights to the bauxite mines.
“Guinea has to exercise its rights by getting back this factory, which belongs to it,” Camara said to the local media. “It is not a question of leaving this refinery, which has to serve future generations.”
Camara took power on December 23 after a coup that followed the death a day earlier of President Lansana Conte, who had ruled for 24 years. Conte’s government concluded the agreement, and the new government has said mining deals made by the earlier regime will be investigated.
“A commission on the privatization of Friguia....will thoroughly study the situation and give its final conclusion,” a RusAl spokeswoman said. “We…welcome this decision because RusAl privatized Friguia legitimately and in full compliance with the legislation.”
Friguia has the capacity to produce 640,000 tons of alumina and 1.9 million tons of Bauxite per year, according to RusAl’s web site.
Camara said RusAl paid $19 million for the assets, while consultants had valued it at $257 million. The president, who did not name the consultants, said action would be taken against the Guineans who negotiated the transfer.
Anatoly Patchenko, head of RusAl’s Guinean operations, has taken refuge in the Russian embassy in the capital, Conakry, Guinea’s state-owned radio reported.
2 May 2009
Directors at the Russian Aluminum headquarters in Moscow reported that the Guinean President Moussa Dadis Camara has ordered the Guinean Justice Ministry to consider legal action over 2006 transactions that gave control of the Friguia bauxite and alumina complex to the Russian firm of United Company RusAl, APA learns here Saturday.
The company directors said that the Guinean government launched fresh investigations into operations that were concluded previously that gave RusAl full legal rights to the bauxite mines.
“Guinea has to exercise its rights by getting back this factory, which belongs to it,” Camara said to the local media. “It is not a question of leaving this refinery, which has to serve future generations.”
Camara took power on December 23 after a coup that followed the death a day earlier of President Lansana Conte, who had ruled for 24 years. Conte’s government concluded the agreement, and the new government has said mining deals made by the earlier regime will be investigated.
“A commission on the privatization of Friguia....will thoroughly study the situation and give its final conclusion,” a RusAl spokeswoman said. “We…welcome this decision because RusAl privatized Friguia legitimately and in full compliance with the legislation.”
Friguia has the capacity to produce 640,000 tons of alumina and 1.9 million tons of Bauxite per year, according to RusAl’s web site.
Camara said RusAl paid $19 million for the assets, while consultants had valued it at $257 million. The president, who did not name the consultants, said action would be taken against the Guineans who negotiated the transfer.
Anatoly Patchenko, head of RusAl’s Guinean operations, has taken refuge in the Russian embassy in the capital, Conakry, Guinea’s state-owned radio reported.
02 May, 2009
US appoints new charge d’ affaires to Sudan.
Sudan Tribune
2 May 2009
The US has tapped a new diplomat to head its mission in the East African state of Sudan, according to a news report.
US embassy in Khartoum The London based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoting sources at the State department said that Robert Whitehead will become the new charge d’ affaires effective May 1st to replace Alberto Fernandez who headed this post since 2007.
The US mission in Khartoum has been headed by a lower level official since 2002. The last time an ambassador was in Khartoum was in 1996 before the US closed the embassy.
US imposed comprehensive sanctions in Sudan since 1997 and stiffened them during Bush administration. It also designated Sudan as a state that sponsors terrorism.
However recently under the new Obama administration there have been signs that relations between the two countries are moving towards normalization. US officials have hinted their readiness to partially lift sanctions and remove Sudan from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.
Sudan has been pushing Washington towards a full upgrade of diplomatic relations and appointing an official at an ambassador level.
The US State Department website shows that Whitehead served before at the US embassy in Sudan as well as in Zimbabwe.
2 May 2009
The US has tapped a new diplomat to head its mission in the East African state of Sudan, according to a news report.
US embassy in Khartoum The London based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper quoting sources at the State department said that Robert Whitehead will become the new charge d’ affaires effective May 1st to replace Alberto Fernandez who headed this post since 2007.
The US mission in Khartoum has been headed by a lower level official since 2002. The last time an ambassador was in Khartoum was in 1996 before the US closed the embassy.
US imposed comprehensive sanctions in Sudan since 1997 and stiffened them during Bush administration. It also designated Sudan as a state that sponsors terrorism.
However recently under the new Obama administration there have been signs that relations between the two countries are moving towards normalization. US officials have hinted their readiness to partially lift sanctions and remove Sudan from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.
Sudan has been pushing Washington towards a full upgrade of diplomatic relations and appointing an official at an ambassador level.
The US State Department website shows that Whitehead served before at the US embassy in Sudan as well as in Zimbabwe.
Madagascar Set to Hold Elections Before the End of the Year.
Mail & Guardian
2 May 2009
Madagascar's transition government is ready to hold elections by the end of the year, African Union officials said in Addis Ababa late on Thursday.
The authority set up by army-backed opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, who had Marc Ravalomanana relinquish power on March 17, "has let it be known to us that it is ready to bring forward the transition calendar", the AU's special envoy in Madagascar, Ablasse Ouedraogo, told a press conference.
Elections were promised for 2010, but "they have said they are ready to organise elections before the end of December 2009". Ouedraogo added: "It remains to be seen if, in precipitating events, we will discover a durable stability on Madagascar.
"That will [only] be possible if all the protagonists in Madagascar's political crisis understand the need to make concessions."
The announcement came at the end of a meeting of a consultative group on Madagascar which began talks earlier on Thursday over the Indian Ocean island's worsening political crisis.
The talks by the AU-appointed team opened at the bloc's headquarters in Addis Ababa a day after Madagascar's months-old crisis took a dive with the arrest of a prime minister appointed by the country's ousted president.
"The current situation in Madagascar is dangerous. We need to work for the return of social order and lasting stability in Madagascar," Jean Ping, the AU commission chairperson, said earlier.
"Our task is to support the return of constitutional order as soon as possible," he added.
Sworn in by the Constitutional Court as Madagascar's transitional leader, Rajoelina's power takeover has been condemned internationally as a coup and saw the country suspended from the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The AU's peace and security commissioner, Ramtane Lamamra, said that inclusive dialogue in the run-up to fresh polls would "pre-suppose the participation of M. Ravalomanana." After initially allowing protests by supporters of the former president, forces loyal to Rajoelina have recently clamped down on demonstrators and his regime has banned protests.
On Wednesday, a group of around 20 soldiers arrested Ravalomanana-appointed premier Manandafy Rakotonirina in a hotel in Antananarivo where he had set up a base to challenge Rajoelina's regime.
"The situation has never ceased to deteriorate since the unconstitutional change of government," said Ping.
In addition to the SADC, the consultative group also includes the Common Market for East and Southern Africa, the Indian Ocean Commission, the International Organisation of the Francophonie and the European Union.
2 May 2009
Madagascar's transition government is ready to hold elections by the end of the year, African Union officials said in Addis Ababa late on Thursday.
The authority set up by army-backed opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, who had Marc Ravalomanana relinquish power on March 17, "has let it be known to us that it is ready to bring forward the transition calendar", the AU's special envoy in Madagascar, Ablasse Ouedraogo, told a press conference.
Elections were promised for 2010, but "they have said they are ready to organise elections before the end of December 2009". Ouedraogo added: "It remains to be seen if, in precipitating events, we will discover a durable stability on Madagascar.
"That will [only] be possible if all the protagonists in Madagascar's political crisis understand the need to make concessions."
The announcement came at the end of a meeting of a consultative group on Madagascar which began talks earlier on Thursday over the Indian Ocean island's worsening political crisis.
The talks by the AU-appointed team opened at the bloc's headquarters in Addis Ababa a day after Madagascar's months-old crisis took a dive with the arrest of a prime minister appointed by the country's ousted president.
"The current situation in Madagascar is dangerous. We need to work for the return of social order and lasting stability in Madagascar," Jean Ping, the AU commission chairperson, said earlier.
"Our task is to support the return of constitutional order as soon as possible," he added.
Sworn in by the Constitutional Court as Madagascar's transitional leader, Rajoelina's power takeover has been condemned internationally as a coup and saw the country suspended from the African Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
The AU's peace and security commissioner, Ramtane Lamamra, said that inclusive dialogue in the run-up to fresh polls would "pre-suppose the participation of M. Ravalomanana." After initially allowing protests by supporters of the former president, forces loyal to Rajoelina have recently clamped down on demonstrators and his regime has banned protests.
On Wednesday, a group of around 20 soldiers arrested Ravalomanana-appointed premier Manandafy Rakotonirina in a hotel in Antananarivo where he had set up a base to challenge Rajoelina's regime.
"The situation has never ceased to deteriorate since the unconstitutional change of government," said Ping.
In addition to the SADC, the consultative group also includes the Common Market for East and Southern Africa, the Indian Ocean Commission, the International Organisation of the Francophonie and the European Union.
Libya takes over Tamoil's Ugandan oil reserves.
The New Vision
11 March 2009
The Ugandan Government has given the Jinja national oil reserve to Tamoil, a Libyan oil company. The Cabinet directed the energy ministry to hand over the country's only reserves in a letter of January 7, 2009.
The decision comes at a time when the Government has unveiled plans to construct a 150 mm-litre capacity fuel depot in Kampala to deal with emergencies.
Tamoil is constructing the Kampala Oil Products Terminal as well as the $ 250 mm (Sh 425 bn) Eldoret-Kampala oil pipeline extension project. According to documents, the 30 mm-litre oil facility will be integrated into the pipeline project.
Energy state minister Simon D'Ujanga said the tanks would be part of the pipeline and as such, would automatically be managed by Tamoil.
"In the past it was a strategic fuel reserve, but we are now turning it into an operational fuel reserve," D'Ujanga said. "Initially we wanted a pipeline, but later we said it will be better if it has an operational capacity along the way."
However, the contract was not advertised as required by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) Act and as such it can be challenged. The Act prohibits sole sourcing of a public asset, service or goods except in an emergency where the waiver is granted by the procurement authority. Consequently, the energy ministry wrote to the PPDA on January 30, 2009, seeking permission to go ahead with the deal.
Acting permanent secretary Eng. Paul Mubiru said in a letter since the Cabinet had already decided to hand over the tanks to Tamoil, it had to implement the directive. He said Tamoil had the skills and experience in fuel supply and depot operation and had already produced the design for up-grading the facility.
"The cost of repair and restocking will be met by Tamoil," he said. "This will save the Government from having to use its own funds."
Documents show that PPDA wrote back to the ministry in February, saying the issue was outside its mandate. The PPDA said the matter was being handled by a Joint Coordinating Commission (JCC) formed by Kenya and Uganda to manage the pipeline project.
"Any contracting arrangements in respect of the Jinja Storage Tanks and Tamoil are the responsibility of the JCC," acting PPDA boss Cornelia Sabiiti said in the letter. He instead referred the ministry to the Solicitor General for legal advice.
Earlier, the Solicitor General had said that the JCC was acting on behalf of Kenya and Uganda and so its decisions overrode the PPDA Act. Under the current arrangement, Tamoil will build the pipeline, own 51 % of it, and form a joint venture company with the Ugandan and Kenyan governments to operate it for 20 years before surrendering ownership to them.
Uganda started building the oil reserves in Jinja, Nakasongola, Gulu and Kasese in the 1970s. However, only the Jinja one was built with a capacity of 30 mm litres. The facility needed Sh 31.23 bn to refurbish and restock. The Government said it did not have the money and so gave the deal to Tamoil.
The energy ministry has been struggling to raise the Sh 50 bn needed to restock the reserves with at least 20 mm litres of diesel and 10 mm litres of petrol. At least Sh 79 mm was needed to repair the hose pipes, Sh 74.7 mm for the depot repair and Sh 82 mm to transport 3 mm litres of kerosene from Jinja depot to Kampala.
The Government sold 11.5 mm litres in 2002 and realised over $ 37 mm (Sh 64.7 bn) which it used to buy fire fighting equipment for the reserves. The first attempt to restock the oil reserves was cancelled by the PPDA because the energy ministry contravened procurement rules in awarding the contract to Kenlyod Logistics. The project was re-tendered and awarded to GAPCO and MOGAS oil companies. The companies, however, did not sign contracts because the ministry lacked money.
Shortly afterwards, the ministry closed down the empty depot, exposing the country to greater risk of fuel shortage. The Mombasa oil refinery is due to close for renovation in June.
Uganda suffers acute oil shortages whenever there is a disruption in the supply line from Kenya. Over the last five years, the country has suffered shortages in December, January, March, April and in June. Uganda relies on oil companies whose limited facilities can hardly store fuel to last the country 10 days. Uganda consumes 2.2 mm litres daily and demand grows by 7 % annually.
The new management is expected to renovate and increase the capacity of the existing oil reserves, buy new equipment, build three new tanks and install a computerised monitoring system. Tamoil won the right to build a $ 60 mm liquid petroleum gas storage facility in Mombasa in 2007 under a deal which caused a public outcry as the Kenya government carried out sole sourcing.
The Libyan firm is also investing $ 300 mm in upgrading the Mombasa refinery, which serves the entire East Africa market with refined products.
The relinquishing of the country's only oil reserves by the Government also follows several failed attempts by energy ministry last year to restock the tanks. Political interference coupled with the refusal of Parliament to approve the Sh 45 bn requested by the energy ministry to restock the reserves bogged down the project.
The Auditor General too declined to issue an Audit Warrant for the Sh 45 bn, arguing that the expenditure would have risen beyond the 3 % government's supplementary ceiling.
11 March 2009
The Ugandan Government has given the Jinja national oil reserve to Tamoil, a Libyan oil company. The Cabinet directed the energy ministry to hand over the country's only reserves in a letter of January 7, 2009.
The decision comes at a time when the Government has unveiled plans to construct a 150 mm-litre capacity fuel depot in Kampala to deal with emergencies.
Tamoil is constructing the Kampala Oil Products Terminal as well as the $ 250 mm (Sh 425 bn) Eldoret-Kampala oil pipeline extension project. According to documents, the 30 mm-litre oil facility will be integrated into the pipeline project.
Energy state minister Simon D'Ujanga said the tanks would be part of the pipeline and as such, would automatically be managed by Tamoil.
"In the past it was a strategic fuel reserve, but we are now turning it into an operational fuel reserve," D'Ujanga said. "Initially we wanted a pipeline, but later we said it will be better if it has an operational capacity along the way."
However, the contract was not advertised as required by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA) Act and as such it can be challenged. The Act prohibits sole sourcing of a public asset, service or goods except in an emergency where the waiver is granted by the procurement authority. Consequently, the energy ministry wrote to the PPDA on January 30, 2009, seeking permission to go ahead with the deal.
Acting permanent secretary Eng. Paul Mubiru said in a letter since the Cabinet had already decided to hand over the tanks to Tamoil, it had to implement the directive. He said Tamoil had the skills and experience in fuel supply and depot operation and had already produced the design for up-grading the facility.
"The cost of repair and restocking will be met by Tamoil," he said. "This will save the Government from having to use its own funds."
Documents show that PPDA wrote back to the ministry in February, saying the issue was outside its mandate. The PPDA said the matter was being handled by a Joint Coordinating Commission (JCC) formed by Kenya and Uganda to manage the pipeline project.
"Any contracting arrangements in respect of the Jinja Storage Tanks and Tamoil are the responsibility of the JCC," acting PPDA boss Cornelia Sabiiti said in the letter. He instead referred the ministry to the Solicitor General for legal advice.
Earlier, the Solicitor General had said that the JCC was acting on behalf of Kenya and Uganda and so its decisions overrode the PPDA Act. Under the current arrangement, Tamoil will build the pipeline, own 51 % of it, and form a joint venture company with the Ugandan and Kenyan governments to operate it for 20 years before surrendering ownership to them.
Uganda started building the oil reserves in Jinja, Nakasongola, Gulu and Kasese in the 1970s. However, only the Jinja one was built with a capacity of 30 mm litres. The facility needed Sh 31.23 bn to refurbish and restock. The Government said it did not have the money and so gave the deal to Tamoil.
The energy ministry has been struggling to raise the Sh 50 bn needed to restock the reserves with at least 20 mm litres of diesel and 10 mm litres of petrol. At least Sh 79 mm was needed to repair the hose pipes, Sh 74.7 mm for the depot repair and Sh 82 mm to transport 3 mm litres of kerosene from Jinja depot to Kampala.
The Government sold 11.5 mm litres in 2002 and realised over $ 37 mm (Sh 64.7 bn) which it used to buy fire fighting equipment for the reserves. The first attempt to restock the oil reserves was cancelled by the PPDA because the energy ministry contravened procurement rules in awarding the contract to Kenlyod Logistics. The project was re-tendered and awarded to GAPCO and MOGAS oil companies. The companies, however, did not sign contracts because the ministry lacked money.
Shortly afterwards, the ministry closed down the empty depot, exposing the country to greater risk of fuel shortage. The Mombasa oil refinery is due to close for renovation in June.
Uganda suffers acute oil shortages whenever there is a disruption in the supply line from Kenya. Over the last five years, the country has suffered shortages in December, January, March, April and in June. Uganda relies on oil companies whose limited facilities can hardly store fuel to last the country 10 days. Uganda consumes 2.2 mm litres daily and demand grows by 7 % annually.
The new management is expected to renovate and increase the capacity of the existing oil reserves, buy new equipment, build three new tanks and install a computerised monitoring system. Tamoil won the right to build a $ 60 mm liquid petroleum gas storage facility in Mombasa in 2007 under a deal which caused a public outcry as the Kenya government carried out sole sourcing.
The Libyan firm is also investing $ 300 mm in upgrading the Mombasa refinery, which serves the entire East Africa market with refined products.
The relinquishing of the country's only oil reserves by the Government also follows several failed attempts by energy ministry last year to restock the tanks. Political interference coupled with the refusal of Parliament to approve the Sh 45 bn requested by the energy ministry to restock the reserves bogged down the project.
The Auditor General too declined to issue an Audit Warrant for the Sh 45 bn, arguing that the expenditure would have risen beyond the 3 % government's supplementary ceiling.
Turkey signs deals with foreign firms for joint exploration in Iraq.
Neftgaz
20 March 2009
Other foreign firms, including Gazprom (Russia), ONGC (India), BP (UK) and Royal Dutch Shell (the Netherlands/UK), are negotiating with TPAO with a view to joint exploration in Iraq, TPAO's CEO Mehmet Uysal reported. The key deal at this stage is a memorandum of understanding signed with EOG. Together with TPAO, EOG will seek oil and gas in two areas of Anatolia and the Thrace Basin.
While no estimates of the size of the fields have been made, TPAO's consultant geophysicist Atilla Aydemir said he hopes "in the future this is going to be very important."
The Exxon deal is only in its initial stages, although it follows an agreement signed last year for Exxon's subsidiary, ExxonMobil Exploration, to explore two large deepwater blocks off the Turkish coastline. The area in question covers some 7 mm acres (29,500 sq km) of the Black Sea.
ExxonMobil is looking forward "to bringing our global deepwater experience to this prospective unexplored area," said Tim Cejka, president of ExxonMobil Exploration.
TPAO is looking to move quickly, or to embark on "an aggressive exploration program," as Uysal put it.
The company believes there could be reserves of some 10 bn barrels of oil and 1.5 tcm of natural gas offshore.
20 March 2009
Other foreign firms, including Gazprom (Russia), ONGC (India), BP (UK) and Royal Dutch Shell (the Netherlands/UK), are negotiating with TPAO with a view to joint exploration in Iraq, TPAO's CEO Mehmet Uysal reported. The key deal at this stage is a memorandum of understanding signed with EOG. Together with TPAO, EOG will seek oil and gas in two areas of Anatolia and the Thrace Basin.
While no estimates of the size of the fields have been made, TPAO's consultant geophysicist Atilla Aydemir said he hopes "in the future this is going to be very important."
The Exxon deal is only in its initial stages, although it follows an agreement signed last year for Exxon's subsidiary, ExxonMobil Exploration, to explore two large deepwater blocks off the Turkish coastline. The area in question covers some 7 mm acres (29,500 sq km) of the Black Sea.
ExxonMobil is looking forward "to bringing our global deepwater experience to this prospective unexplored area," said Tim Cejka, president of ExxonMobil Exploration.
TPAO is looking to move quickly, or to embark on "an aggressive exploration program," as Uysal put it.
The company believes there could be reserves of some 10 bn barrels of oil and 1.5 tcm of natural gas offshore.
Gul, Erdogan discuss Iraq security with Sadr.
Aswat al-Iraq
1 May 2009
Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed on Friday with Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr security developments in Iraq, according to the Turkish Anatolian news agency.
“Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr had a session of talks during his visit to Turkey with Prime Minister Erdogan and later met with President Gul at his residence,” the Turkish agency said.
This is the first time Sadr makes public appearance as he kept a low profile since June 2007.
His visit to Turkey comes a couple of months ahead of the scheduled U.S. withdrawal from Iraqi cities on June 30 and coincided with an upsurge in suicide attacks in several areas in Baghdad, including Sadr City, the key stronghold of Sadr’s followers.
1 May 2009
Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed on Friday with Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr security developments in Iraq, according to the Turkish Anatolian news agency.
“Sayyed Muqtada al-Sadr had a session of talks during his visit to Turkey with Prime Minister Erdogan and later met with President Gul at his residence,” the Turkish agency said.
This is the first time Sadr makes public appearance as he kept a low profile since June 2007.
His visit to Turkey comes a couple of months ahead of the scheduled U.S. withdrawal from Iraqi cities on June 30 and coincided with an upsurge in suicide attacks in several areas in Baghdad, including Sadr City, the key stronghold of Sadr’s followers.
Iraqi anti-US cleric Sadr resurfaces in Turkey.
AFP
1 May 2009
Iraq's Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr -- not seen in public for nearly two years -- held face-to-face talks Friday with Turkey's top two leaders, Anatolia news agency reported.
The anti-US cleric met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan first for talks on "security in Iraq and the promotion of links between the parties," according to a Turkish diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He was then entertained by President Abdullah Gul at the president's residence, the agency added, with the Turkish foreign ministry's special Iraq envoy, Murat Ozcelik, also in attendance, but no statements were made.
Turkey's leaders regularly host the leaders of diverse political groupings from its close neighbour state.
"He is going from Iran to Turkey to meet a delegation from (the Iraqi shrine city of) Najaf and to hold discussions with the Turkish side about the situation in Iraq and its future," senior Sadr aide Haidar al-Turfi earlier told AFP.
Turfi is the first senior official from Sadr's movement to say directly that Sadr has been in Iran.
His followers have always said he was in hiding in Iraq, while the US military has long said he was living in Iran.
Sadr was to travel with several senior figures from his movement, after an earlier delegation went to Ankara six months ago to lay the groundwork for the trip, Turfi added.
On Thursday, Anatolia cited unnamed diplomatic sources as saying that Sadr's visit was aimed at "holding consultations on the political process in Iraq."
Sadr, said to be aged in his 30s, gained wide popularity among Shiites in Iraq in the months after the US-led invasion of 2003 and in 2004 his Mahdi Army militia battled US troops in two bloody revolts.
But he disappeared after a public appearance at an Iraqi mosque in June 2007 and has since issued statements through senior aides and spokesmen.
In August 2008, he suspended the activities of his Mahdi Army, which once numbered in the tens of thousands, following major US and Iraqi assaults on its strongholds in Baghdad and southern Iraq in the spring of that year.
1 May 2009
Iraq's Shiite radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr -- not seen in public for nearly two years -- held face-to-face talks Friday with Turkey's top two leaders, Anatolia news agency reported.
The anti-US cleric met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan first for talks on "security in Iraq and the promotion of links between the parties," according to a Turkish diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He was then entertained by President Abdullah Gul at the president's residence, the agency added, with the Turkish foreign ministry's special Iraq envoy, Murat Ozcelik, also in attendance, but no statements were made.
Turkey's leaders regularly host the leaders of diverse political groupings from its close neighbour state.
"He is going from Iran to Turkey to meet a delegation from (the Iraqi shrine city of) Najaf and to hold discussions with the Turkish side about the situation in Iraq and its future," senior Sadr aide Haidar al-Turfi earlier told AFP.
Turfi is the first senior official from Sadr's movement to say directly that Sadr has been in Iran.
His followers have always said he was in hiding in Iraq, while the US military has long said he was living in Iran.
Sadr was to travel with several senior figures from his movement, after an earlier delegation went to Ankara six months ago to lay the groundwork for the trip, Turfi added.
On Thursday, Anatolia cited unnamed diplomatic sources as saying that Sadr's visit was aimed at "holding consultations on the political process in Iraq."
Sadr, said to be aged in his 30s, gained wide popularity among Shiites in Iraq in the months after the US-led invasion of 2003 and in 2004 his Mahdi Army militia battled US troops in two bloody revolts.
But he disappeared after a public appearance at an Iraqi mosque in June 2007 and has since issued statements through senior aides and spokesmen.
In August 2008, he suspended the activities of his Mahdi Army, which once numbered in the tens of thousands, following major US and Iraqi assaults on its strongholds in Baghdad and southern Iraq in the spring of that year.
UN extends mandate of force in southern Sudan.
AFP
1 May 2009
The Security Council has extended the UN mandate for southern Sudan by a year, and called for strict implementation of an agreement between Khartoum and southern rebels the UN force is in charge of overseeing.
In a resolution adopted by unanimity, the Council stressed "its firm commitment to the cause of peace and stability throughout Sudan and the region, noting the importance of the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)."
The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), which has some 10,000 troops, was deployed to help oversee the implementation of the CPA, signed in January 2005 between Khartoum and the Sudan's People Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).
The agreement ended a 21-year civil war in southern Sudan that killed some 1.5 million people, but remains fragile as key elements have not yet entered into effect.
1 May 2009
The Security Council has extended the UN mandate for southern Sudan by a year, and called for strict implementation of an agreement between Khartoum and southern rebels the UN force is in charge of overseeing.
In a resolution adopted by unanimity, the Council stressed "its firm commitment to the cause of peace and stability throughout Sudan and the region, noting the importance of the full implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)."
The United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), which has some 10,000 troops, was deployed to help oversee the implementation of the CPA, signed in January 2005 between Khartoum and the Sudan's People Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).
The agreement ended a 21-year civil war in southern Sudan that killed some 1.5 million people, but remains fragile as key elements have not yet entered into effect.
Bolivia takes over BP subsidiary.
BBC News
1 May 2009
Bolivian President Evo Morales has announced the takeover of a subsidiary of British oil company BP, as part of his nationalisation campaign.
Mr Morales told May Day crowds that he had ordered troops and the state oil company to take over Air BP, which supplies jet fuel across the country.
He has already nationalised oil and gas reserves to redistribute wealth to Bolivia's indigenous majority.
A BP spokesman said the company "had agreed a handover of our operations".
"We were surprised by today's takeover process. But we will continue to support the handover," the spokesman said in London.
Bolivian Energy Minister Oscar Coca said Air BP would be compensated for the nationalisation. A valuation would be carried out within 120 days, he said.
Air BP owns 12 jet fuel stations at airstrips and airports in Bolivia. Its 90 local employees would keep their jobs, the energy minister said.
Since he took office in 2006, Mr Morales has taken control of several foreign-owned energy, mining and telecommunications companies.
1 May 2009
Bolivian President Evo Morales has announced the takeover of a subsidiary of British oil company BP, as part of his nationalisation campaign.
Mr Morales told May Day crowds that he had ordered troops and the state oil company to take over Air BP, which supplies jet fuel across the country.
He has already nationalised oil and gas reserves to redistribute wealth to Bolivia's indigenous majority.
A BP spokesman said the company "had agreed a handover of our operations".
"We were surprised by today's takeover process. But we will continue to support the handover," the spokesman said in London.
Bolivian Energy Minister Oscar Coca said Air BP would be compensated for the nationalisation. A valuation would be carried out within 120 days, he said.
Air BP owns 12 jet fuel stations at airstrips and airports in Bolivia. Its 90 local employees would keep their jobs, the energy minister said.
Since he took office in 2006, Mr Morales has taken control of several foreign-owned energy, mining and telecommunications companies.
Senegalese leader’s son features in new cabinet.
APA
1 May 2009
Karim Wade, son of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, on Friday was appointed senior minister in the new cabinet, as International Cooperation, Land, Planning, Air Transport, and Infrastructure minister.
The government team formed by the new Premier, Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye, comprises a 30 member cabinet with 9 senior ministers and three junior ministers.
Before his appointment, Karim Wade, 40, was the president of the National Agency for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (ANOCI). In addition, he had been adviser to the President since 2001.
He was elected municipal councillor for the city of Dakar for a maiden mandate, following the 22 March local polls.
Karim Wade featured on the list of the Coalition Sopi 2009 (presidential spectrum) which was defeated in the Senegalese capital by the 34-opposition party Benno Siggil Senegal Coalition.
Several observers allege that he is being groomed to take over from his father whose constitutional tenure ends in 2012.
1 May 2009
Karim Wade, son of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, on Friday was appointed senior minister in the new cabinet, as International Cooperation, Land, Planning, Air Transport, and Infrastructure minister.
The government team formed by the new Premier, Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye, comprises a 30 member cabinet with 9 senior ministers and three junior ministers.
Before his appointment, Karim Wade, 40, was the president of the National Agency for the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (ANOCI). In addition, he had been adviser to the President since 2001.
He was elected municipal councillor for the city of Dakar for a maiden mandate, following the 22 March local polls.
Karim Wade featured on the list of the Coalition Sopi 2009 (presidential spectrum) which was defeated in the Senegalese capital by the 34-opposition party Benno Siggil Senegal Coalition.
Several observers allege that he is being groomed to take over from his father whose constitutional tenure ends in 2012.
01 May, 2009
RWB Urges Rwandan Government to Lift Ban On BBC's Local Broadcasts
Reporters Without Borders
30 April 2009
Press Release
Reporters Without Borders has written to Rwandan information minister Louise Mushikiwabo expressing deep concern about the "temporary suspension" of BBC broadcasts in the local language Kinyarwanda because of comments about the 1994 genocide, which Rwandan citizens made in one of these broadcasts.
"We are aware that the genocide continues to be a highly sensitive subject in your country and that Rwanda is engaged in a delicate process of national reconciliation, but we nonetheless think that this suspension is arbitrary and constitutes a serious press freedom violation," Reporters Without Borders said in its 28 April letter.
"We therefore ask you to restore the BBC broadcasts without delay and to guarantee respect for diversity of views," the letter said. "In a country where there is no press freedom, this incident seems to be an additional way of reducing Rwandans' access to news and information."
The ban on the BBC's programmes in Kinyarwanda was announced on 26 April, a day after the programme "Imvo n'Imvano" (Heart of the Problem) included an interview in which former Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu said that as a Hutu, he could "never give in to Tutsi demands to apologize for the 1994 genocide." Another interviewee said the bodies of Rwandans that washed up on the banks of Lake Victoria were those of Hutus killed by the soldiers of the Rwandan Patriotic Front.
The government said these comments were liable to undermine efforts at national unity and reconciliation and were clearly made with the sole aim of "inciting hatred among Rwandans."
Relations between the government and foreign media are very tense. Sonia Rolley, the correspondent of the French public radio station Radio France Internationale (RFI), was expelled without explanation in June 2006. Five months later, the government ordered the closure of RFI's local FM relay station after breaking off diplomatic relations with France.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Rwanda 145th out of 173 countries in the 2008 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index while President Paul Kagame has for several years been on the Reporters Without Borders list of "Predators of Press Freedom."
30 April 2009
Press Release
Reporters Without Borders has written to Rwandan information minister Louise Mushikiwabo expressing deep concern about the "temporary suspension" of BBC broadcasts in the local language Kinyarwanda because of comments about the 1994 genocide, which Rwandan citizens made in one of these broadcasts.
"We are aware that the genocide continues to be a highly sensitive subject in your country and that Rwanda is engaged in a delicate process of national reconciliation, but we nonetheless think that this suspension is arbitrary and constitutes a serious press freedom violation," Reporters Without Borders said in its 28 April letter.
"We therefore ask you to restore the BBC broadcasts without delay and to guarantee respect for diversity of views," the letter said. "In a country where there is no press freedom, this incident seems to be an additional way of reducing Rwandans' access to news and information."
The ban on the BBC's programmes in Kinyarwanda was announced on 26 April, a day after the programme "Imvo n'Imvano" (Heart of the Problem) included an interview in which former Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu said that as a Hutu, he could "never give in to Tutsi demands to apologize for the 1994 genocide." Another interviewee said the bodies of Rwandans that washed up on the banks of Lake Victoria were those of Hutus killed by the soldiers of the Rwandan Patriotic Front.
The government said these comments were liable to undermine efforts at national unity and reconciliation and were clearly made with the sole aim of "inciting hatred among Rwandans."
Relations between the government and foreign media are very tense. Sonia Rolley, the correspondent of the French public radio station Radio France Internationale (RFI), was expelled without explanation in June 2006. Five months later, the government ordered the closure of RFI's local FM relay station after breaking off diplomatic relations with France.
Reporters Without Borders ranked Rwanda 145th out of 173 countries in the 2008 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index while President Paul Kagame has for several years been on the Reporters Without Borders list of "Predators of Press Freedom."
Senegal's PM steps down.
AFP
30 April 2009
Senegal's Prime Minister Cheikh Hadjibou Soumare resigned on Thursday, in a move that is likely to trigger a cabinet reshuffle, a source in the president's office told AFP.
"The prime minister handed in his resignation which was accepted by the president," the source, who did not want to be named, said.
Information Minister Abdoul Aziz Sow, who is also the government spokesperson, told the APS national news agency that Soumare stepped down "for personal reasons" and that President Abdoulaye Wade accepted his resignation.
Wade is set to name, later on Thursday, a new prime minister who will start forming a new cabinet as of Saturday, APS said. In Senegal the prime minister names his own cabinet.
Wade suffered a defeat in Senegal's March 22 local elections when voters - fed up with rising food prices, cooking gas shortages and power cuts - overwhelmingly voted for the opposition coalition Bennoo Siggil Senegal - in key locations including the capital Dakar.
30 April 2009
Senegal's Prime Minister Cheikh Hadjibou Soumare resigned on Thursday, in a move that is likely to trigger a cabinet reshuffle, a source in the president's office told AFP.
"The prime minister handed in his resignation which was accepted by the president," the source, who did not want to be named, said.
Information Minister Abdoul Aziz Sow, who is also the government spokesperson, told the APS national news agency that Soumare stepped down "for personal reasons" and that President Abdoulaye Wade accepted his resignation.
Wade is set to name, later on Thursday, a new prime minister who will start forming a new cabinet as of Saturday, APS said. In Senegal the prime minister names his own cabinet.
Wade suffered a defeat in Senegal's March 22 local elections when voters - fed up with rising food prices, cooking gas shortages and power cuts - overwhelmingly voted for the opposition coalition Bennoo Siggil Senegal - in key locations including the capital Dakar.
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