Readers,
Due to upcoming heavy times constraints, the WNJ will have to close again, most likely for an extended time period. Apologies for any inconvenince. However, particularly important information may be posted periodically. As always, the archives will be left up for viewing. Submission of questions/comments that add to posts and e-mail correspondences are still always welcome. Brief Twitter updates may also occur periodically.
04 September, 2009
U.S. cuts more than $30 million in aid to Honduras.
By Arshad Mohammed and David Alexander Arshad Mohammed And David Alexander
2 hrs 2 mins ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Thursday it would cut more than $30 million in aid to Honduras in an effort to pressure the de facto government to step down and allow ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to power.
The U.S. State Department also moved to revoke the U.S. visas of some of the government's supporters and said it could not, for now, regard as legitimate Honduran elections scheduled for November because of Zelaya's June 28 ouster.
The United States did not, however, address the question of whether Zelaya was removed by the military despite the fact that he was arrested by soldiers while still in his pajamas, put on a army plane and flown into exile against his will.
Zelaya was ousted after he angered the judiciary, Congress and the army, which has longstanding ties to the U.S. military, by seeking constitutional changes that would allow presidents to seek re-election beyond a four-year term.
The Honduran Congress named an interim president, Roberto Micheletti, and the country's Supreme Court said it had ordered the army to remove Zelaya.
"Today's action sends a clear message to the de facto regime that the status quo is unacceptable and that their strategy to try to run out the clock on President Zelaya's term of office is unacceptable," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.
"There's a sense that the de facto regime was thinking if we can just get to an election that this will absolve them of all their sins," he added. "That is not the case."
U.S. officials said the aid cut-off included $9.4 million from the Agency for International Development, $8.96 million from the State Department, including funds for arms sales and military training, and $1.7 million in security assistance.
Roughly $11 million from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation, which aids countries with a track record of sound governance and economic policy, would also be terminated.
ZELAYA PLEASED, MICHELETTI UNMOVED
Zelaya welcomed the U.S. moves after a more than hour-long meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and he suggested that the members of the Organization of American States were united against the de facto government.
"They are not going to recognize a regime wrapped in illegality to call elections that will bring impunity to the coup regime," Zelaya told reporters.
Micheletti, the country's de facto leader, suggested he had no plans to step down.
"We have been, are and will continue to be friends of the United States," Micheletti said in a televised address. "But at the same time we are firm, determined and stronger than ever in defending our democracy and our freedom."
Clinton's action to terminate the aid was consistent with U.S. law barring aid other than humanitarian and pro-democracy funds "to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree."
U.S. officials said they shied away from determining that a military coup occurred in part because so many actors were involved in the coup, including the country's supreme court, Congress and the military.
"It's not your garden-variety military coup," Crowley told reporters.
Honduras watchers who have criticized the Obama administration for being "ambivalent" on Honduras said the measures were a step in the right direction, but not enough.
"The State Department is responding to pressure, but it's still not clear if the Obama administration is serious about dislodging the coup regime," said Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Some Latin American leaders have suggested Washington apply more pressure but some U.S. Republican lawmakers believe it has already done too much for Zelaya, an ally of Venezuela's socialist and anti-American president, Hugo Chavez.
(Editing by Kieran Murray and Anthony Boadle)
2 hrs 2 mins ago
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Thursday it would cut more than $30 million in aid to Honduras in an effort to pressure the de facto government to step down and allow ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to power.
The U.S. State Department also moved to revoke the U.S. visas of some of the government's supporters and said it could not, for now, regard as legitimate Honduran elections scheduled for November because of Zelaya's June 28 ouster.
The United States did not, however, address the question of whether Zelaya was removed by the military despite the fact that he was arrested by soldiers while still in his pajamas, put on a army plane and flown into exile against his will.
Zelaya was ousted after he angered the judiciary, Congress and the army, which has longstanding ties to the U.S. military, by seeking constitutional changes that would allow presidents to seek re-election beyond a four-year term.
The Honduran Congress named an interim president, Roberto Micheletti, and the country's Supreme Court said it had ordered the army to remove Zelaya.
"Today's action sends a clear message to the de facto regime that the status quo is unacceptable and that their strategy to try to run out the clock on President Zelaya's term of office is unacceptable," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.
"There's a sense that the de facto regime was thinking if we can just get to an election that this will absolve them of all their sins," he added. "That is not the case."
U.S. officials said the aid cut-off included $9.4 million from the Agency for International Development, $8.96 million from the State Department, including funds for arms sales and military training, and $1.7 million in security assistance.
Roughly $11 million from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation, which aids countries with a track record of sound governance and economic policy, would also be terminated.
ZELAYA PLEASED, MICHELETTI UNMOVED
Zelaya welcomed the U.S. moves after a more than hour-long meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and he suggested that the members of the Organization of American States were united against the de facto government.
"They are not going to recognize a regime wrapped in illegality to call elections that will bring impunity to the coup regime," Zelaya told reporters.
Micheletti, the country's de facto leader, suggested he had no plans to step down.
"We have been, are and will continue to be friends of the United States," Micheletti said in a televised address. "But at the same time we are firm, determined and stronger than ever in defending our democracy and our freedom."
Clinton's action to terminate the aid was consistent with U.S. law barring aid other than humanitarian and pro-democracy funds "to the government of any country whose duly elected head of government is deposed by military coup or decree."
U.S. officials said they shied away from determining that a military coup occurred in part because so many actors were involved in the coup, including the country's supreme court, Congress and the military.
"It's not your garden-variety military coup," Crowley told reporters.
Honduras watchers who have criticized the Obama administration for being "ambivalent" on Honduras said the measures were a step in the right direction, but not enough.
"The State Department is responding to pressure, but it's still not clear if the Obama administration is serious about dislodging the coup regime," said Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Some Latin American leaders have suggested Washington apply more pressure but some U.S. Republican lawmakers believe it has already done too much for Zelaya, an ally of Venezuela's socialist and anti-American president, Hugo Chavez.
(Editing by Kieran Murray and Anthony Boadle)
Embassy guards 'dress as Afghans' and go on covert missions.
The Independent
By Kim Sengupta in Kabul
Friday, 4 September 2009
Private security contractors guarding America's embassy in Kabul dressed as mujahedin fighters and went out on unauthorised night-time military operations in the Afghan capital, according to reports being investigated by the US State Department.
The dossier, seen by The Independent, tells how 18 guards, who are reportedly not trained for such missions, exposed the embassy to attack by taking weapons from its armoury. By removing night-vision goggles, they also left embassy staff "largely night-blind" in the event of an emergency, the reports adds.
The company which employed the contractors, ArmorGroup North America (AGNA), is the subject of a highly critical report by the Project on Government Oversight (Pogo), an independent monitoring group which has sent its findings to the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. While other claims have centred on drunkenness and sexual misconduct in the guards' quarters at Camp Sullivan outside Kabul, the new revelations will have a direct impact on security at a legation that Washington acknowledges is a prime target for terrorists.
During their foray into Kabul in the spring of this year, guards are said to have photographed themselves taking part in the "undercover" operation, later posting the images online.
The report reveals that, instead of taking action against the guards involved, AGNA gave them a mocked-up citation which improperly bore the seal of the US State Department and praised them for their "intrepidity".
By Kim Sengupta in Kabul
Friday, 4 September 2009
Private security contractors guarding America's embassy in Kabul dressed as mujahedin fighters and went out on unauthorised night-time military operations in the Afghan capital, according to reports being investigated by the US State Department.
The dossier, seen by The Independent, tells how 18 guards, who are reportedly not trained for such missions, exposed the embassy to attack by taking weapons from its armoury. By removing night-vision goggles, they also left embassy staff "largely night-blind" in the event of an emergency, the reports adds.
The company which employed the contractors, ArmorGroup North America (AGNA), is the subject of a highly critical report by the Project on Government Oversight (Pogo), an independent monitoring group which has sent its findings to the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. While other claims have centred on drunkenness and sexual misconduct in the guards' quarters at Camp Sullivan outside Kabul, the new revelations will have a direct impact on security at a legation that Washington acknowledges is a prime target for terrorists.
During their foray into Kabul in the spring of this year, guards are said to have photographed themselves taking part in the "undercover" operation, later posting the images online.
The report reveals that, instead of taking action against the guards involved, AGNA gave them a mocked-up citation which improperly bore the seal of the US State Department and praised them for their "intrepidity".
BP lobbied Jack Straw before he changed mind over Lockerbie bomber.
The Times
4 September 2009
By Tom Baldwin and Philip Webster
Jack Straw was personally lobbied by BP over Britain’s prisoner transfer agreement with Libya just before he abandoned efforts to exclude the Lockerbie bomber from the deal.
The Times has learnt that the Justice Secretary took two telephone calls from Sir Mark Allen, a former M16 agent, who was by then working for BP as a consultant, on October 15 and November 9, 2007.
Having signed a $900 million oil exploration deal with Libya earlier that year, BP feared that its commercial interests could be damaged if Britain delayed the prisoner transfer agreement (PTA) through which the Gaddafi regime hoped to secure the return home of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi.
For six months talks with Libya were deadlocked as Britain — under pressure from the devolved Scottish government — vainly sought to ensure the PTA would not cover al-Megrahi.
“The wider negotiations with the Libyans are reaching a critical stage and in view of the overwhelming interests for the United Kingdom I have agreed that in this instance the PTA should be in the standard form and not mention any individual,” he wrote.
Britain has already faced criticism from the Obama Administration for signing the PTA despite a decade-old promise to the United States that anyone convicted of the Lockerbie bombing would serve out the sentence in Britain.
The fresh disclosures last night may yet throw doubt over Gordon Brown’s assertion on Wednesday that there had been “no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to to instruct Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to Colonel Gaddafi”.
An aide to the Justice Secretary confirmed last night that Sir Mark, who had dealt often with Mr Straw when he was Foreign Secretary, “wanted to know what was happening with the PTA and get Jack’s perspective”. He added: “BP wanted to make its case because they were concerned that not making progress might have an effect on their deal with Libya.”
The Times has learnt that Sir Mark, a pivotal figure in negotiations leading to Libya’s abandonment of its weapons of mass destruction in 2003, was also instrumental in securing the BP oil deal. In 2005 he flew to Libya with Lord Browne of Madingley, then the BP chief executive, where he introduced him to Colonel Gaddafi and oil chiefs.
Although in his telephone conversations with Mr Straw, Sir Mark is said to have avoided explicit reference to al-Megrahi’s fate, a government source acknowledged this would have been unnecessary because it was “well known that the Libyans were resisting pressure for an exclusion” — and that was holding up the treaty. It is understood that between the two calls, Justice Department officials had concluded that the negotiating position agreed between the British and Scottish governments was unsustainable.
Mr Straw’s aide said: “Jack has always stated that he took into account the overall impact of the agreement across a whole range of issues — and those included trade. He took this decision in the certain knowledge that the Scottish government always had a veto on releasing al-Megrahi.”
As recently as last week, BP flatly denied it made any representations to the Government over the impact of the prisoner transfer deal on the oil contract with Libya. The company rejected suggestions that Libya was exerting pressure on its operations over al-Megrahi’s release.
Last night, however, a spokesman said: “BP did bring to the attention of the Government in late 2007 our concerns about the slow progress in concluding a PTA with Libya. Like many others we were aware that delay might have negative consequences for UK commercial interests including ratification of BP’s exploration agreement.”
He added: “We did not press for any particular kind of PTA, we were just hoping for an end to the delays concluding it.”
Libya has a long tradition of demanding political concessions in exchange for business deals. A representative of the Russian oil company OAO Lukoil was jailed briefly when commercial negotiations with Libya reached a difficult point in 2007 before being released in July 2008.
When police arrested Colonel Gaddafi’s son, Hannibal, and his pregnant wife in Geneva on assault charges, reprisals led to Swiss businessmen in Tripoli being imprisoned, flights into the country halted, oil exports cut and more than $5 billion withdrawn from Switzerland’s banks.
The BP oil deal was signed when Tony Blair shook hands with Colonel Gaddafi on plans for a PTA in May 2007. Oliver Miles, a former British Ambassador in Tripoli and vicechairman of the Libyan British Business Council, said: “BP was thrown out for political reasons in the 1970s and they only returned when the politics were right.
“During the PTA negotiations, I heard from business people in Libya that the authorities there may have played the BP card again.”
He added: “Certainly, if al-Megrahi had died in prison, the Libyans were saying that all bets are off.”
Nick Day, a former MI5 agent and the chief executive of the business intelligence firm Diligence, which has helped British companies to enter Libya, said: “It was an open secret on the ground there that other oil firms were not encountering the same difficulties that BP had ... because the whole issue of al-Megrahi was unresolved.
“Any government has the overwhelming priority of ensuring the economic wellbeing of the country, protecting national security and furthering bilateral relations. This is clearly what Britain was doing in this case — and there is nothing wrong with it. The problem is that governments do not always feel able to tell people the whole truth.”
4 September 2009
By Tom Baldwin and Philip Webster
Jack Straw was personally lobbied by BP over Britain’s prisoner transfer agreement with Libya just before he abandoned efforts to exclude the Lockerbie bomber from the deal.
The Times has learnt that the Justice Secretary took two telephone calls from Sir Mark Allen, a former M16 agent, who was by then working for BP as a consultant, on October 15 and November 9, 2007.
Having signed a $900 million oil exploration deal with Libya earlier that year, BP feared that its commercial interests could be damaged if Britain delayed the prisoner transfer agreement (PTA) through which the Gaddafi regime hoped to secure the return home of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi.
For six months talks with Libya were deadlocked as Britain — under pressure from the devolved Scottish government — vainly sought to ensure the PTA would not cover al-Megrahi.
“The wider negotiations with the Libyans are reaching a critical stage and in view of the overwhelming interests for the United Kingdom I have agreed that in this instance the PTA should be in the standard form and not mention any individual,” he wrote.
Britain has already faced criticism from the Obama Administration for signing the PTA despite a decade-old promise to the United States that anyone convicted of the Lockerbie bombing would serve out the sentence in Britain.
The fresh disclosures last night may yet throw doubt over Gordon Brown’s assertion on Wednesday that there had been “no conspiracy, no cover-up, no double-dealing, no deal on oil, no attempt to to instruct Scottish ministers, no private assurances by me to Colonel Gaddafi”.
An aide to the Justice Secretary confirmed last night that Sir Mark, who had dealt often with Mr Straw when he was Foreign Secretary, “wanted to know what was happening with the PTA and get Jack’s perspective”. He added: “BP wanted to make its case because they were concerned that not making progress might have an effect on their deal with Libya.”
The Times has learnt that Sir Mark, a pivotal figure in negotiations leading to Libya’s abandonment of its weapons of mass destruction in 2003, was also instrumental in securing the BP oil deal. In 2005 he flew to Libya with Lord Browne of Madingley, then the BP chief executive, where he introduced him to Colonel Gaddafi and oil chiefs.
Although in his telephone conversations with Mr Straw, Sir Mark is said to have avoided explicit reference to al-Megrahi’s fate, a government source acknowledged this would have been unnecessary because it was “well known that the Libyans were resisting pressure for an exclusion” — and that was holding up the treaty. It is understood that between the two calls, Justice Department officials had concluded that the negotiating position agreed between the British and Scottish governments was unsustainable.
Mr Straw’s aide said: “Jack has always stated that he took into account the overall impact of the agreement across a whole range of issues — and those included trade. He took this decision in the certain knowledge that the Scottish government always had a veto on releasing al-Megrahi.”
As recently as last week, BP flatly denied it made any representations to the Government over the impact of the prisoner transfer deal on the oil contract with Libya. The company rejected suggestions that Libya was exerting pressure on its operations over al-Megrahi’s release.
Last night, however, a spokesman said: “BP did bring to the attention of the Government in late 2007 our concerns about the slow progress in concluding a PTA with Libya. Like many others we were aware that delay might have negative consequences for UK commercial interests including ratification of BP’s exploration agreement.”
He added: “We did not press for any particular kind of PTA, we were just hoping for an end to the delays concluding it.”
Libya has a long tradition of demanding political concessions in exchange for business deals. A representative of the Russian oil company OAO Lukoil was jailed briefly when commercial negotiations with Libya reached a difficult point in 2007 before being released in July 2008.
When police arrested Colonel Gaddafi’s son, Hannibal, and his pregnant wife in Geneva on assault charges, reprisals led to Swiss businessmen in Tripoli being imprisoned, flights into the country halted, oil exports cut and more than $5 billion withdrawn from Switzerland’s banks.
The BP oil deal was signed when Tony Blair shook hands with Colonel Gaddafi on plans for a PTA in May 2007. Oliver Miles, a former British Ambassador in Tripoli and vicechairman of the Libyan British Business Council, said: “BP was thrown out for political reasons in the 1970s and they only returned when the politics were right.
“During the PTA negotiations, I heard from business people in Libya that the authorities there may have played the BP card again.”
He added: “Certainly, if al-Megrahi had died in prison, the Libyans were saying that all bets are off.”
Nick Day, a former MI5 agent and the chief executive of the business intelligence firm Diligence, which has helped British companies to enter Libya, said: “It was an open secret on the ground there that other oil firms were not encountering the same difficulties that BP had ... because the whole issue of al-Megrahi was unresolved.
“Any government has the overwhelming priority of ensuring the economic wellbeing of the country, protecting national security and furthering bilateral relations. This is clearly what Britain was doing in this case — and there is nothing wrong with it. The problem is that governments do not always feel able to tell people the whole truth.”
Clinton terminates aid to Honduras.
The Cable
3 September 2009
After Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya today, the State Department announced that Clinton has decided to terminate U.S. assistance to Honduras. Clinton had previously suspended U.S. assistance to the Central American state in the wake of the June 28 coup.
Negotiations led by Costan Rican President Oscar Arias under the auspices of the Organization of American States broke down last month, after Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Michelleti rejected efforts to allow Zelaya to return to power before Honduras' November elections.
The State Department further said that it was in the process of revoking the visas of identified members and supporters of Michelleti's de facto regime.
"Restoration of the terminated assistance will be predicated upon a return to democratic, constitutional governance in Honduras," the State Department said.
At stake for Honduras, approximately $18 million in U.S. assistance, reports estimate.
3 September 2009
After Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya today, the State Department announced that Clinton has decided to terminate U.S. assistance to Honduras. Clinton had previously suspended U.S. assistance to the Central American state in the wake of the June 28 coup.
Negotiations led by Costan Rican President Oscar Arias under the auspices of the Organization of American States broke down last month, after Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Michelleti rejected efforts to allow Zelaya to return to power before Honduras' November elections.
The State Department further said that it was in the process of revoking the visas of identified members and supporters of Michelleti's de facto regime.
"Restoration of the terminated assistance will be predicated upon a return to democratic, constitutional governance in Honduras," the State Department said.
At stake for Honduras, approximately $18 million in U.S. assistance, reports estimate.
03 September, 2009
Solana Calls for Sudan's Unity, Not South Sudan's Independence.
European Union (EU)’s foreign policy chief Javier Solana said today in favor of unity of Sudan as opposed to the establishment to an independent state in southern Sudan.
The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) stipulates that a referendum is to be held in 2011 by which Southern Sudanese will vote to decide on whether they want to have their own state or remain part of united Sudan.
The possible separation of southern Sudan is seen as possible source of troubles and instability in Sudan and the region by some Western and regional countries.
The shaky implementation of the CPA is leading many diplomats to view a need to postpone the referendum and seek to ensure some interdependence between two entities in the country.
However, the southern Sudan ruling party said it rejects any delay and considers referendum 2011 as read line.
"It is very important to have that country united," Solana told reporters in Cairo after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Arab League chief Amr Moussa.
"I do look at the map, I do look at the distribution of resources, I do look at the situation... I am for the unity of the country," he further said.
Last June the EU organized a meeting in Paris on the future of Sudan where some 40 experts took part.
The participants agreed on the need to promote dialogue between north and south Sudan to avoid war between the two parties.
Southern Sudan oil was seen limited and would not ensure a financial sustainability for a future state. Also the exploitation of oil reserves implies cooperation with the north as the south has no pipelines or refineries and the construction of such infrastructure need money and time.
Furthermore the southern heavy crude was seen as difficult to transport though the mountainous region of east Africa.
The US special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration is exerting efforts to facilitate an advancing implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in order to avoid political vacuum between the signatories.
The International experts also expressed fears over the negative impact of southern Sudan independence on Darfur the three areas and eastern Sudan.
On the other hand some experts consider southern Sudan independence as a sole solution for the conflict and supported separation insisting the Islamist regime in Khartoum would not implement the needed arrangements to make coexistence possible between the two parts of the country.
Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) issued a strong rebuke to statements made by Solana today.
Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, head of Southern Sudan’s mission to the United States told Voice of America (VOA) that Solana’s statement was ill-advised.
"The statement is not in line with the CPA spirit because in the CPA one of the options is united Sudan and another option is separation of the south to be an independent state. So, yes all of us have agreed that we are going to make unity attractive to the southerners so that they can vote for unity in 2011. But if the unity is not attractive to them at all, then they also have another option, which is separation," Gatkuoth said.
"It will not be wise for one person or individual to say that this is the only option that the people of Southern Sudan should explore… we want to say to the EU that in the CPA there are two options," he said.
The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) stipulates that a referendum is to be held in 2011 by which Southern Sudanese will vote to decide on whether they want to have their own state or remain part of united Sudan.
The possible separation of southern Sudan is seen as possible source of troubles and instability in Sudan and the region by some Western and regional countries.
The shaky implementation of the CPA is leading many diplomats to view a need to postpone the referendum and seek to ensure some interdependence between two entities in the country.
However, the southern Sudan ruling party said it rejects any delay and considers referendum 2011 as read line.
"It is very important to have that country united," Solana told reporters in Cairo after talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Arab League chief Amr Moussa.
"I do look at the map, I do look at the distribution of resources, I do look at the situation... I am for the unity of the country," he further said.
Last June the EU organized a meeting in Paris on the future of Sudan where some 40 experts took part.
The participants agreed on the need to promote dialogue between north and south Sudan to avoid war between the two parties.
Southern Sudan oil was seen limited and would not ensure a financial sustainability for a future state. Also the exploitation of oil reserves implies cooperation with the north as the south has no pipelines or refineries and the construction of such infrastructure need money and time.
Furthermore the southern heavy crude was seen as difficult to transport though the mountainous region of east Africa.
The US special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration is exerting efforts to facilitate an advancing implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in order to avoid political vacuum between the signatories.
The International experts also expressed fears over the negative impact of southern Sudan independence on Darfur the three areas and eastern Sudan.
On the other hand some experts consider southern Sudan independence as a sole solution for the conflict and supported separation insisting the Islamist regime in Khartoum would not implement the needed arrangements to make coexistence possible between the two parts of the country.
Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) issued a strong rebuke to statements made by Solana today.
Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, head of Southern Sudan’s mission to the United States told Voice of America (VOA) that Solana’s statement was ill-advised.
"The statement is not in line with the CPA spirit because in the CPA one of the options is united Sudan and another option is separation of the south to be an independent state. So, yes all of us have agreed that we are going to make unity attractive to the southerners so that they can vote for unity in 2011. But if the unity is not attractive to them at all, then they also have another option, which is separation," Gatkuoth said.
"It will not be wise for one person or individual to say that this is the only option that the people of Southern Sudan should explore… we want to say to the EU that in the CPA there are two options," he said.
Foreigners’ presence alarms Peshawarites.
The News
September 03, 2009
By Javed Aziz Khan
PESHAWAR: Worried at the increasing suspicious movement of foreigners in the University Town, the residents of the posh locality have warned of lodging a protest with the concerned authorities and the government over the matter.
“We are deeply concerned at the hiring of houses in the University Town by suspicious foreign elements and we will lodge a protest with the government in this regard,” Col (retd) Hameed Afridi, the president of the University Town Residents Welfare Society, said.
The society has around 800 families as its members. The late NWFP governor, Aslam Khattak, was the patron-in-chief of the society till his death and has now been replaced by Maj Gen (retd) Naseerullah Babar, another former governor and federal interior minister.
Afridi feared there was definitely something wrong with the mission and intentions of these foreigners and that’s why they were keeping their movement secret. “If they are clear, they should not hide themselves,” he added, saying such foreigners had recently hired a house just opposite to his residence.
The authorities, especially the Frontier Police as well as the Special Branch, have always denied the presence of personnel of any foreign security agency in the city. Hameed Afridi was angry over the closure of a road in the area where the American Club was located. Several roads leading to the US Consulate in the Cantonment are closed for the past six years and traffic is diverted to other routes.
“There are offices and residences of foreigners on Jamaluddin Afghani Road, Rahman Baba Road and other areas. This was a purely residential area, but now it has been converted into a commercial town,” he complained.
Mrs Cheema Rauf, a former member of the management committee of the society, expressed ignorance about the presence of suspicious foreigners in the locality, but said a rocket had landed recently at her house. “We remained unhurt as my family was in Abbottabad. But I would say that there is no say of the University Town residents in the affairs of the town these days,” she said.
Engineer Usman, the Nazim of Hayatabad, another wealthy locality of the provincial metropolis, denied the presence of any suspicious foreign elements in his area, but said he had seen vehicles, with tinted glasses, of foreigners in the University Town and the University Road.
“There is no bungalow in Hayatabad being used by Blackwater or other organisation or suspicious foreigners because we have launched a campaign against renting out buildings to strangers without proper verification. Also, we do not allow commercial activities in residential area and if someone violates the rule, we disconnect his water, power and gas supply and later move to cancel his plot allotment,” Usman added.
He was, however, worried about the media reports regarding the arrival of foreign security agents in Peshawar and other parts of the country. “What we have been hearing about the presence of Blackwater or other suspicious foreigners in Peshawar and Pakistan is alarming,” he continued.
Editor's Note: Interior Minister Rehman Malik has denied that Xe is present in Pakistan.
September 03, 2009
By Javed Aziz Khan
PESHAWAR: Worried at the increasing suspicious movement of foreigners in the University Town, the residents of the posh locality have warned of lodging a protest with the concerned authorities and the government over the matter.
“We are deeply concerned at the hiring of houses in the University Town by suspicious foreign elements and we will lodge a protest with the government in this regard,” Col (retd) Hameed Afridi, the president of the University Town Residents Welfare Society, said.
The society has around 800 families as its members. The late NWFP governor, Aslam Khattak, was the patron-in-chief of the society till his death and has now been replaced by Maj Gen (retd) Naseerullah Babar, another former governor and federal interior minister.
Afridi feared there was definitely something wrong with the mission and intentions of these foreigners and that’s why they were keeping their movement secret. “If they are clear, they should not hide themselves,” he added, saying such foreigners had recently hired a house just opposite to his residence.
The authorities, especially the Frontier Police as well as the Special Branch, have always denied the presence of personnel of any foreign security agency in the city. Hameed Afridi was angry over the closure of a road in the area where the American Club was located. Several roads leading to the US Consulate in the Cantonment are closed for the past six years and traffic is diverted to other routes.
“There are offices and residences of foreigners on Jamaluddin Afghani Road, Rahman Baba Road and other areas. This was a purely residential area, but now it has been converted into a commercial town,” he complained.
Mrs Cheema Rauf, a former member of the management committee of the society, expressed ignorance about the presence of suspicious foreigners in the locality, but said a rocket had landed recently at her house. “We remained unhurt as my family was in Abbottabad. But I would say that there is no say of the University Town residents in the affairs of the town these days,” she said.
Engineer Usman, the Nazim of Hayatabad, another wealthy locality of the provincial metropolis, denied the presence of any suspicious foreign elements in his area, but said he had seen vehicles, with tinted glasses, of foreigners in the University Town and the University Road.
“There is no bungalow in Hayatabad being used by Blackwater or other organisation or suspicious foreigners because we have launched a campaign against renting out buildings to strangers without proper verification. Also, we do not allow commercial activities in residential area and if someone violates the rule, we disconnect his water, power and gas supply and later move to cancel his plot allotment,” Usman added.
He was, however, worried about the media reports regarding the arrival of foreign security agents in Peshawar and other parts of the country. “What we have been hearing about the presence of Blackwater or other suspicious foreigners in Peshawar and Pakistan is alarming,” he continued.
Editor's Note: Interior Minister Rehman Malik has denied that Xe is present in Pakistan.
Indian Politician Dies in Helicopter Crash.
New York Times
By HARI KUMAR
Published: September 3, 2009
NEW DELHI — A powerful politician considered an influential player in the ruling Congress Party was found dead on Thursday after his helicopter disappeared in bad weather in southern India.
The wreckage of the helicopter carrying Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, 60, the chief minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh, was discovered after a search following its disappearance Wednesday morning on a flight from the state capital, Hyderabad, to the city of Chittor. Four other people also died.
“We are in deep mourning,” said India’s home minister, P. Chidambaram, as he announced the death in New Delhi. “We have a deep sense of shock, grief and loss at the passing away of a chief minister and a tall leader.”
The cause of crash was not known but the helicopter was found charred and broken into several pieces in a remote, hilly area. Initially, rescuers could not locate the crash site because of the rugged terrain and bad weather.
Dr. Reddy, a physician, was recently re-elected as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Reddy entered politics in 1978 and never lost an election. He also served four terms in Parliament.
Andhra Pradesh is infested with Maoist rebels and Dr. Reddy was credited with reducing the level of violence. There was no immediate indication that the helicopter had been attacked.
By HARI KUMAR
Published: September 3, 2009
NEW DELHI — A powerful politician considered an influential player in the ruling Congress Party was found dead on Thursday after his helicopter disappeared in bad weather in southern India.
The wreckage of the helicopter carrying Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, 60, the chief minister of the state of Andhra Pradesh, was discovered after a search following its disappearance Wednesday morning on a flight from the state capital, Hyderabad, to the city of Chittor. Four other people also died.
“We are in deep mourning,” said India’s home minister, P. Chidambaram, as he announced the death in New Delhi. “We have a deep sense of shock, grief and loss at the passing away of a chief minister and a tall leader.”
The cause of crash was not known but the helicopter was found charred and broken into several pieces in a remote, hilly area. Initially, rescuers could not locate the crash site because of the rugged terrain and bad weather.
Dr. Reddy, a physician, was recently re-elected as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Reddy entered politics in 1978 and never lost an election. He also served four terms in Parliament.
Andhra Pradesh is infested with Maoist rebels and Dr. Reddy was credited with reducing the level of violence. There was no immediate indication that the helicopter had been attacked.
Solons seek probe of Blackwater training.
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:32:00 09/03/2009
Filed Under: Military, Laws
MANILA, Philippines—Party list lawmakers want an investigation into reports US military contractor Blackwater (now Xe Services LLC) is training mercenaries at the Subic Bay free port in Olongapo City.
In filing House Resolution 1380, Bayan Muna party list Representatives Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenares asked the committee on national defense and security to lead the inquiry.
“The alleged existence of the notorious Xe (formerly Blackwater) in Subic or any part of the country and its alleged recruitment and training of foreigners and Filipinos could violate our national sovereignty and our Constitution,” the lawmakers said in the resolution.
A video story posted August 28 on the Russia Today website, American investigative journalist Wayne Madsen claimed Satelles Solutions, had a “major operating base” for the Blackwater subsidiary in the alleged Subic facility that could train up to 1,000 operatives.
Blackwater, founded by a former US Navy Seal in North Carolina, has been denounced in some US media as being America’s “private army.” It does jobs for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Interviewed on Russia Today, Madsen asked: “Who gave them permission? Apparently it’s against the Philippine Constitution to station foreign troops in the country ... someone is running around the Constitution of the Philippines. Obviously this is done with the permission of the president of the Philippines,” Madsen said.
He claimed the country was now a “major operating base” for the Blackwater subsidiary.
Madsen had alleged the Subic facility could train up to 1,000 operatives. He also claimed that other US companies linked to former US Vice President Dick Cheney had also opened a shooting range at the former Clark Air Base.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority administrator Armand Arreza denied this.
But Arreza admitted that Blackwater had submitted a proposal to set up a training facility in Subic three years ago. It was rejected, Arreza said, adding that “we want to develop the SBMA for commercial and industrial uses. We felt that the request went against our charter.”
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 16:32:00 09/03/2009
Filed Under: Military, Laws
MANILA, Philippines—Party list lawmakers want an investigation into reports US military contractor Blackwater (now Xe Services LLC) is training mercenaries at the Subic Bay free port in Olongapo City.
In filing House Resolution 1380, Bayan Muna party list Representatives Satur Ocampo, Teodoro Casiño and Neri Colmenares asked the committee on national defense and security to lead the inquiry.
“The alleged existence of the notorious Xe (formerly Blackwater) in Subic or any part of the country and its alleged recruitment and training of foreigners and Filipinos could violate our national sovereignty and our Constitution,” the lawmakers said in the resolution.
A video story posted August 28 on the Russia Today website, American investigative journalist Wayne Madsen claimed Satelles Solutions, had a “major operating base” for the Blackwater subsidiary in the alleged Subic facility that could train up to 1,000 operatives.
Blackwater, founded by a former US Navy Seal in North Carolina, has been denounced in some US media as being America’s “private army.” It does jobs for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Interviewed on Russia Today, Madsen asked: “Who gave them permission? Apparently it’s against the Philippine Constitution to station foreign troops in the country ... someone is running around the Constitution of the Philippines. Obviously this is done with the permission of the president of the Philippines,” Madsen said.
He claimed the country was now a “major operating base” for the Blackwater subsidiary.
Madsen had alleged the Subic facility could train up to 1,000 operatives. He also claimed that other US companies linked to former US Vice President Dick Cheney had also opened a shooting range at the former Clark Air Base.
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority administrator Armand Arreza denied this.
But Arreza admitted that Blackwater had submitted a proposal to set up a training facility in Subic three years ago. It was rejected, Arreza said, adding that “we want to develop the SBMA for commercial and industrial uses. We felt that the request went against our charter.”
6 Pakistanis held in Liberia.
SAPA
3 September 2009
Liberia's defence minister says police have arrested six Pakistan men who tried to enter Liberia on fake US passports.
Defence Minister Brownie Samukai said the men were arrested earlier this week at the international airport. In a radio statement late on Wednesday he claimed one of the suspects removed his phone's SIM card and swallowed it as he was being arrested.
Samukai did not give further details on what Liberian authorities believe the men were trying to do, where the men are being held or what charges they may face.
Officials said they believed the men's US passports were fakes.
3 September 2009
Liberia's defence minister says police have arrested six Pakistan men who tried to enter Liberia on fake US passports.
Defence Minister Brownie Samukai said the men were arrested earlier this week at the international airport. In a radio statement late on Wednesday he claimed one of the suspects removed his phone's SIM card and swallowed it as he was being arrested.
Samukai did not give further details on what Liberian authorities believe the men were trying to do, where the men are being held or what charges they may face.
Officials said they believed the men's US passports were fakes.
JOURNALIST KNOWN FOR DOCUMENTARY ON ‘MARAS’ STREET GANG KILLED.
MISNA
3 September 2009
The French-Spanish journalist and film-maker Christian Póveda was found shot dead in his car in a rural area outside the capital San Salvador. The announcement was made by Salvadoran Public Safety minister Manuel Melgar, expressing the “deep consternation” of President Mauricio Funes, who deplored the “repugnant and reproachable criminal act” and vowed police would work tirelessly to find Poveda’s killers. Based on first police reports, Póveda was killed with four gunshots to the head and chest by unidentified gunmen that stopped his car in the Tonacatepeque area, north of the capital, then fleeing the scene. Póveda, 52, was driving back from filming in La Campanera, a poor, overcrowded suburb controlled by the ‘Maras’ or ‘Pandillas’, the juvenile gangs spread throughout Central America. Póveda was famous for the documentary “La Vida Loca” (the Crazy Life), which follows the lives of members of the “Mara 18” street gang, the most feared in El Salvador along with the rival ‘Mara Salvatrucha’ gang, conceding that gangs “spread terror”, but it also describes the young gang members as captivating and representative of the breakdown of family life in El Salvador 17 years from the civil war (1980-1992). Póveda first came to El Salvador in 1980 as a photographer for Time magazine, also working as war correspondent in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America; in the 1990’s, he dedicated himself to documentary work and concentrated on Salvadoran gangs.
3 September 2009
The French-Spanish journalist and film-maker Christian Póveda was found shot dead in his car in a rural area outside the capital San Salvador. The announcement was made by Salvadoran Public Safety minister Manuel Melgar, expressing the “deep consternation” of President Mauricio Funes, who deplored the “repugnant and reproachable criminal act” and vowed police would work tirelessly to find Poveda’s killers. Based on first police reports, Póveda was killed with four gunshots to the head and chest by unidentified gunmen that stopped his car in the Tonacatepeque area, north of the capital, then fleeing the scene. Póveda, 52, was driving back from filming in La Campanera, a poor, overcrowded suburb controlled by the ‘Maras’ or ‘Pandillas’, the juvenile gangs spread throughout Central America. Póveda was famous for the documentary “La Vida Loca” (the Crazy Life), which follows the lives of members of the “Mara 18” street gang, the most feared in El Salvador along with the rival ‘Mara Salvatrucha’ gang, conceding that gangs “spread terror”, but it also describes the young gang members as captivating and representative of the breakdown of family life in El Salvador 17 years from the civil war (1980-1992). Póveda first came to El Salvador in 1980 as a photographer for Time magazine, also working as war correspondent in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America; in the 1990’s, he dedicated himself to documentary work and concentrated on Salvadoran gangs.
Djibouti to Send 500 Soldiers to Somalia.
Garowe Online
3 September 2009
The government of the Republic of Djibouti is planning to send peacekeepers to neighboring Somalia soon, Radio Garowe reports.
Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mohamud Ali Yusuf recently said that Djiboutian troops would serve as part of the African Union peacekeeping force in Mogadishu, known as AMISOM. He noted that Djiboutian soldiers are "ready" and will soon be transported to Somalia with "assistance of France."
His comment was reiterated by Djibouti's ambassador to the United States, Mr. Roble Olhaye.
Speaking on VOA Somali Service, Ambassador Olhaye said the Djibouti government decided to dispatch peacekeepers to Somalia to assist that country's interim government defeat an insurgency raging since early 2007.
"The Djibouti Government made the decision [to send peacekeepers] after the U.N. rejected sending a peacekeeping force to Somalia. It is our duty to help the Somali government, as this is the only option," Djibouti's ambassador to the U.S. said during the interview.
He did not specify the number of Djiboutian soldiers being sent to Somalia, but independent sources put that number at around 500 soldiers.
AMISOM currently consists of 5,000 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi. The force is short of the 8,000 soldiers approved by the AU to help guard government institutions in Mogadishu and train Somali security forces.
Meanwhile, upwards of 800 Somali soldiers are currently receiving military training in Djibouti camps with the help of French military advisers.
Last month, Somali Planning and International Cooperation Minister, Mr. Abdirahman Abdishakur, announced that Nigeria and Djibouti were sending peacekeepers to boost the AMISOM force in Mogadishu.
3 September 2009
The government of the Republic of Djibouti is planning to send peacekeepers to neighboring Somalia soon, Radio Garowe reports.
Djiboutian Foreign Minister Mohamud Ali Yusuf recently said that Djiboutian troops would serve as part of the African Union peacekeeping force in Mogadishu, known as AMISOM. He noted that Djiboutian soldiers are "ready" and will soon be transported to Somalia with "assistance of France."
His comment was reiterated by Djibouti's ambassador to the United States, Mr. Roble Olhaye.
Speaking on VOA Somali Service, Ambassador Olhaye said the Djibouti government decided to dispatch peacekeepers to Somalia to assist that country's interim government defeat an insurgency raging since early 2007.
"The Djibouti Government made the decision [to send peacekeepers] after the U.N. rejected sending a peacekeeping force to Somalia. It is our duty to help the Somali government, as this is the only option," Djibouti's ambassador to the U.S. said during the interview.
He did not specify the number of Djiboutian soldiers being sent to Somalia, but independent sources put that number at around 500 soldiers.
AMISOM currently consists of 5,000 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi. The force is short of the 8,000 soldiers approved by the AU to help guard government institutions in Mogadishu and train Somali security forces.
Meanwhile, upwards of 800 Somali soldiers are currently receiving military training in Djibouti camps with the help of French military advisers.
Last month, Somali Planning and International Cooperation Minister, Mr. Abdirahman Abdishakur, announced that Nigeria and Djibouti were sending peacekeepers to boost the AMISOM force in Mogadishu.
Uganda: Army Accused of Torture On Mt. Elgon.
The Monitor
3 September 2009
By Gerald Bareebe
A local human rights body has accused the UPDF of torturing at least 13 people to death in Mt Elgon area.
Human Rights Network of Uganda (Hurinet) yesterday released audio, video and pictorial evidence implicating the state in a number of human rights violation cases including rape, murder and torture.
The cases were committed against residents who were evicted from Mt Elgon area in 1993 after the government took a decision to re-gazette and expand the former Mt. Elgon Forest Reserve into a national park.
The decision left thousands of people who were never compensated for the land and property they lost due to the expansion of the national park homeless, resulting into continuous confrontation with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
According to the rights body, in order to counteract continuous hostility from the community, UWA deployed UPDF in the area to beef up security and protect the forest reserve against encroachers.
"Since the year began, 13 people have been killed," Mr Mohammed Ndifuna, the national coordinator of Hurinet, said yesterday. "Other people have been tortured, raped and sodomised. All these crimes are being committed by UPDF soldiers who were employed by UWA to work as game rangers in the area."
The human rights violation evidence, which will be handed over to Parliament by Hurinet, includes that of James Watoba, who died after he was allegedly pushed down from a cliff by a UPDF soldier, Karim Otyanga. A woman only identified as Harriet was alledly raped and later killed as she came from her garden.
Mr Ndifuna said, "Park rangers have been destroying houses, crops and killing animals of people they suspect to be trespassing on park land. In January, 2009, 17 acres of crops were destroyed in Bumbo and Manafwa district while three houses were destroyed in Sekululu and Namunyu areas."
Mr Ndifuna added that the livelihood of people in the area has been greatly affected by UWA park rangers who have destroyed their crops, shelter and denied them access to water, food and ancestral grounds. This, he emphasised, has affected people's ability to live a meaningful life.
Uganda Wildlife Authority spokeswoman Lillian Nsubuga denied the allegations and instead blamed residents for killing rangers.
"The community there frequently attacks our staff and some of them have been killed," she told Daily Monitor yesterday. "The challenge we have is to convince the people on Mt Elgon to understand that the mountain belongs to Uganda as a whole. We must protect that mountain because its our obligation. If we fail history will judge us harshly."
Army spokesman Col. Felix Kulayigye declined to comment on Hurinet's allegations saying the accused UPDF's soldiers are under UWA's command.
3 September 2009
By Gerald Bareebe
A local human rights body has accused the UPDF of torturing at least 13 people to death in Mt Elgon area.
Human Rights Network of Uganda (Hurinet) yesterday released audio, video and pictorial evidence implicating the state in a number of human rights violation cases including rape, murder and torture.
The cases were committed against residents who were evicted from Mt Elgon area in 1993 after the government took a decision to re-gazette and expand the former Mt. Elgon Forest Reserve into a national park.
The decision left thousands of people who were never compensated for the land and property they lost due to the expansion of the national park homeless, resulting into continuous confrontation with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
According to the rights body, in order to counteract continuous hostility from the community, UWA deployed UPDF in the area to beef up security and protect the forest reserve against encroachers.
"Since the year began, 13 people have been killed," Mr Mohammed Ndifuna, the national coordinator of Hurinet, said yesterday. "Other people have been tortured, raped and sodomised. All these crimes are being committed by UPDF soldiers who were employed by UWA to work as game rangers in the area."
The human rights violation evidence, which will be handed over to Parliament by Hurinet, includes that of James Watoba, who died after he was allegedly pushed down from a cliff by a UPDF soldier, Karim Otyanga. A woman only identified as Harriet was alledly raped and later killed as she came from her garden.
Mr Ndifuna said, "Park rangers have been destroying houses, crops and killing animals of people they suspect to be trespassing on park land. In January, 2009, 17 acres of crops were destroyed in Bumbo and Manafwa district while three houses were destroyed in Sekululu and Namunyu areas."
Mr Ndifuna added that the livelihood of people in the area has been greatly affected by UWA park rangers who have destroyed their crops, shelter and denied them access to water, food and ancestral grounds. This, he emphasised, has affected people's ability to live a meaningful life.
Uganda Wildlife Authority spokeswoman Lillian Nsubuga denied the allegations and instead blamed residents for killing rangers.
"The community there frequently attacks our staff and some of them have been killed," she told Daily Monitor yesterday. "The challenge we have is to convince the people on Mt Elgon to understand that the mountain belongs to Uganda as a whole. We must protect that mountain because its our obligation. If we fail history will judge us harshly."
Army spokesman Col. Felix Kulayigye declined to comment on Hurinet's allegations saying the accused UPDF's soldiers are under UWA's command.
Gabon's Bongo declared winner of presidential poll.
Mail & Guardian
3 September 2009
Ali Ben Bongo, son of Gabon's long-time ruler, Omar Bongo, won an election to succeed his late father with 41,73%of the vote, the interior minister announced on Thursday.
Just more than 800 000 voters had registered to take part in Sunday's election, called after Omar Bongo's death of a heart attack in June ended nearly 42 years of tight rule over the Central African oil-rich nation.
"He [Ben Bongo] is elected," Interior Minister Jean-Francois Ndongou declared on state television.
Security forces earlier used tear gas to disperse hundreds of opposition supporters who had led an overnight sit-in on a square near the election commission in the capital, Libreville.
A Reuters witness said the streets of Libreville were empty apart from a heavy security presence.
Ben Bongo's rivals had said they feared the official results were being massaged to ensure a dynastic succession from father to son, an accusation Bongo, the former defence minister, denied.
Observers and financial markets have played down the risk of major instability in the tiny country but some unrest was expected given the dispute over the result.
The death of 73-year-old Omar Bongo ended a period that brought his country stability but also allegations that he lavished petrodollars on family and friends rather than using them to alleviate widespread poverty.
Gabon hosts oil firms including France's Total and US-based Vaalco, and is one of the few sub-Saharan countries to have launched a Eurobond.
Analysts say Ben Bongo now faces the challenge of diversifying the economy to replace revenue from Gabon's dwindling oil reserves.
3 September 2009
Ali Ben Bongo, son of Gabon's long-time ruler, Omar Bongo, won an election to succeed his late father with 41,73%of the vote, the interior minister announced on Thursday.
Just more than 800 000 voters had registered to take part in Sunday's election, called after Omar Bongo's death of a heart attack in June ended nearly 42 years of tight rule over the Central African oil-rich nation.
"He [Ben Bongo] is elected," Interior Minister Jean-Francois Ndongou declared on state television.
Security forces earlier used tear gas to disperse hundreds of opposition supporters who had led an overnight sit-in on a square near the election commission in the capital, Libreville.
A Reuters witness said the streets of Libreville were empty apart from a heavy security presence.
Ben Bongo's rivals had said they feared the official results were being massaged to ensure a dynastic succession from father to son, an accusation Bongo, the former defence minister, denied.
Observers and financial markets have played down the risk of major instability in the tiny country but some unrest was expected given the dispute over the result.
The death of 73-year-old Omar Bongo ended a period that brought his country stability but also allegations that he lavished petrodollars on family and friends rather than using them to alleviate widespread poverty.
Gabon hosts oil firms including France's Total and US-based Vaalco, and is one of the few sub-Saharan countries to have launched a Eurobond.
Analysts say Ben Bongo now faces the challenge of diversifying the economy to replace revenue from Gabon's dwindling oil reserves.
African peacekeepers in Somalia receive 'new mandate': minister.
Garowe Online
2 September 2009
A Somali government minister has said that the African Union has made major changes to the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reports.
Mr. Abdirahman Abdishakur, the Somali Planning and International Cooperation Minister, told reporters Wednesday that AU peacekeepers serving in Mogadishu, known as AMISOM, have been “authorized” to fight alongside Somali government forces.
AMISOM peacekeepers in Mogadishu
Leaders of African countries met in Tripoli, Libya, for an extraordinary summit earlier this week with Somalia and other African conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo ranking high during the discussions.
Minister Abdishakur, who is part of Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake’s delegation in Tripoli, said the AMISOM mandate has been changed from peacekeeping to “peace-enforcement.”
“African leaders have agreed to assist the Somali government in every sector, especially on security, in order to rescue Somalia from 20 years of war,” Mr. Abdishakur said.
Further, he noted that the new changes to AMISOM include a provision giving the African peacekeepers the greenlight to conduct military operations outside of Mogadishu “if there are threats emerging from other regions.”
The AU originally approved an 8,000-strong AMISOM peacekeeping force for Somalia, but there are around 5,000 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi guarding essential government infrastructure in Mogadishu, including the presidential palace.
AMISOM commanders in Mogadishu, who have not publicly endorsed Minister Abdishakur's statements, were unavailable for comment.
Somali insurgents have routinely attacked AMISOM bases, using guerrilla tactics and suicide bombs. In recent weeks, AMISOM peacekeepers have left their bases on military operations for the first time since the African peacekeepers arrived in Mogadishu in March 2007.
2 September 2009
A Somali government minister has said that the African Union has made major changes to the mandate of its peacekeeping force in Mogadishu, Radio Garowe reports.
Mr. Abdirahman Abdishakur, the Somali Planning and International Cooperation Minister, told reporters Wednesday that AU peacekeepers serving in Mogadishu, known as AMISOM, have been “authorized” to fight alongside Somali government forces.
AMISOM peacekeepers in Mogadishu
Leaders of African countries met in Tripoli, Libya, for an extraordinary summit earlier this week with Somalia and other African conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo ranking high during the discussions.
Minister Abdishakur, who is part of Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake’s delegation in Tripoli, said the AMISOM mandate has been changed from peacekeeping to “peace-enforcement.”
“African leaders have agreed to assist the Somali government in every sector, especially on security, in order to rescue Somalia from 20 years of war,” Mr. Abdishakur said.
Further, he noted that the new changes to AMISOM include a provision giving the African peacekeepers the greenlight to conduct military operations outside of Mogadishu “if there are threats emerging from other regions.”
The AU originally approved an 8,000-strong AMISOM peacekeeping force for Somalia, but there are around 5,000 soldiers from Uganda and Burundi guarding essential government infrastructure in Mogadishu, including the presidential palace.
AMISOM commanders in Mogadishu, who have not publicly endorsed Minister Abdishakur's statements, were unavailable for comment.
Somali insurgents have routinely attacked AMISOM bases, using guerrilla tactics and suicide bombs. In recent weeks, AMISOM peacekeepers have left their bases on military operations for the first time since the African peacekeepers arrived in Mogadishu in March 2007.
Shocking Hazing at U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
CBS News
1 September 2009
On August 4, rockets land near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. On August 15, a suicide bomber hits close by killing or wounding 98. The attacks punctuate the dangers faced by hundreds of American diplomats and staff who work there. Yet some of the Embassy's own security guards are alleging shocking work conditions that put American lives at risk.
In numerous e-mails, the guards describe a crisis in discipline and morale, understaffing, sleep deprivation, "threats and intimidation." One guard refers to a group of guards and supervisors from the security contractor ArmorGroup as "sexual predators, deviants running rampant."
Guards provided dozens of graphic photos and videos depicting shocking scenes of hazing and humiliation by superiors, most of them too lewd to show. The guards recount a climate of fear and coercion where those who refuse to participate are retaliated against, even fired.
The State Department contracts with a private security firm - ArmorGroup North America, owned by Wackenhut. ArmorGroup employs 450 guards at the Kabul Embassy - two-thirds from Nepal and India, the rest from the U.S. and other English-speaking nations. Fifteen guards have brought their concerns about embassy security to the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, reports CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.
"These people have to rely on and trust each other for their lives, and you have a total breakdown in that trust, a complete breakdown in the command structure," said Danielle Brian, with the Project on Government Oversight.
Records show the State Department has warned the ArmorGroup about security problems for at least two years, yet renewed its contract as recently as July.
"What you have is sort of a predatory mentality where you've got supervisors that are humiliating the new recruits coming in," Brian said.
Tuesday, a State Department spokesman seemed at a loss to explain, but promised a full investigation.
"These are extremely serious questions that you're asking," said Ian Kelly. "The security of our colleagues serving overseas is an extremely, extremely serious matter."
Whackenhut, told CBS News it won't have a comment until Wednesday. In the meantime, Sen. Claire McCaskill has called on the State Department to open an investigation into its contract with the firm.
1 September 2009
On August 4, rockets land near the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. On August 15, a suicide bomber hits close by killing or wounding 98. The attacks punctuate the dangers faced by hundreds of American diplomats and staff who work there. Yet some of the Embassy's own security guards are alleging shocking work conditions that put American lives at risk.
In numerous e-mails, the guards describe a crisis in discipline and morale, understaffing, sleep deprivation, "threats and intimidation." One guard refers to a group of guards and supervisors from the security contractor ArmorGroup as "sexual predators, deviants running rampant."
Guards provided dozens of graphic photos and videos depicting shocking scenes of hazing and humiliation by superiors, most of them too lewd to show. The guards recount a climate of fear and coercion where those who refuse to participate are retaliated against, even fired.
The State Department contracts with a private security firm - ArmorGroup North America, owned by Wackenhut. ArmorGroup employs 450 guards at the Kabul Embassy - two-thirds from Nepal and India, the rest from the U.S. and other English-speaking nations. Fifteen guards have brought their concerns about embassy security to the watchdog group Project on Government Oversight, reports CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson.
"These people have to rely on and trust each other for their lives, and you have a total breakdown in that trust, a complete breakdown in the command structure," said Danielle Brian, with the Project on Government Oversight.
Records show the State Department has warned the ArmorGroup about security problems for at least two years, yet renewed its contract as recently as July.
"What you have is sort of a predatory mentality where you've got supervisors that are humiliating the new recruits coming in," Brian said.
Tuesday, a State Department spokesman seemed at a loss to explain, but promised a full investigation.
"These are extremely serious questions that you're asking," said Ian Kelly. "The security of our colleagues serving overseas is an extremely, extremely serious matter."
Whackenhut, told CBS News it won't have a comment until Wednesday. In the meantime, Sen. Claire McCaskill has called on the State Department to open an investigation into its contract with the firm.
US embassy staff investigated over 'Lord of the Flies' parties.
Daily Telegraph
2 September 2009
A wide-ranging State Department inquiry into allegations of misconduct and mismanagement by a private security firm guarding the US Embassy in Afghanistan could lead to the termination of the company's $189 million contract, a department spokesman has said.
The allegations describe "Lord of the Flies" conditions that include threats and intimidation and activities with guards and supervisors in various stages of nudity at parties.
"We expect to see prompt and effective action taken as a result of these investigations," the spokesman, Ian Kelly, told reporters.
Other possible actions include rebidding the contract or replacing individual guards and supervisors employed by the contractor, ArmorGroup North America, he said.
The State Department inspector general is leading the investigation of ArmorGroup. US officials in Kabul also are conducting a review, Mr Kelly said. And a team from the State Department's diplomatic security, management and contracting offices will go to Kabul to examine the situation.
ArmorGroup and the State Department came under fire Tuesday after an independent watchdog group said that the nearly 450 ArmorGroup guards live and work in an oppressive environment in which they are subjected to hazing and other inappropriate behaviour by supervisors.
The situation has led to a breakdown in morale and leadership that compromises security at the embassy where nearly 1,000 US diplomats, staff and Afghan nationals work, according to the Project on Government Oversight in Washington.
With insurgent attacks in Afghanistan increasing, any shortcomings in security put the diplomatic mission there at risk, the group said in a 10-page letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The State Department has been aware of ArmorGroup's shortcomings, the letter said, but has failed to correct the problems. Instead, it has renewed the contract twice, with the most recent instalment good through July 2010.
Mr Kelly acknowledged that ArmorGroup has been notified eight times of poor performance since the original contract was awarded in March 2007.
Wackenhut Services, ArmorGroup North America's parent company, has not responded to requests for comment.
The Project on Government Oversight's findings are based on interviews with ArmorGroup guards, documents, photographs and emails that it said depict "Lord of the Flies" conditions.
The reference is to the 1954 novel by William Golding about a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on a desert island and try, but fail, to govern themselves in a chaotic setting.
One email from a guard describes lurid conditions at Camp Sullivan, the guards' quarters a few miles from the embassy. The message described scenes of abuse, including guards and supervisors urinating on people and "threats and intimidation from those leaders participating in this activity".
Photographs show guards and supervisors in various stages of nudity at parties that took place near the housing of other supervisors.
"There were some things going on in Kabul that we were not aware of, but we frankly should have been aware of," Mr Kelly said.
ArmorGroup's management is aware of the conditions but has not stopped it or disciplined those responsible, the letter said. Two supervisors alleged to be the worst offenders have been allowed to resign and may now be working on other US contracts, the group said.
2 September 2009
A wide-ranging State Department inquiry into allegations of misconduct and mismanagement by a private security firm guarding the US Embassy in Afghanistan could lead to the termination of the company's $189 million contract, a department spokesman has said.
The allegations describe "Lord of the Flies" conditions that include threats and intimidation and activities with guards and supervisors in various stages of nudity at parties.
"We expect to see prompt and effective action taken as a result of these investigations," the spokesman, Ian Kelly, told reporters.
Other possible actions include rebidding the contract or replacing individual guards and supervisors employed by the contractor, ArmorGroup North America, he said.
The State Department inspector general is leading the investigation of ArmorGroup. US officials in Kabul also are conducting a review, Mr Kelly said. And a team from the State Department's diplomatic security, management and contracting offices will go to Kabul to examine the situation.
ArmorGroup and the State Department came under fire Tuesday after an independent watchdog group said that the nearly 450 ArmorGroup guards live and work in an oppressive environment in which they are subjected to hazing and other inappropriate behaviour by supervisors.
The situation has led to a breakdown in morale and leadership that compromises security at the embassy where nearly 1,000 US diplomats, staff and Afghan nationals work, according to the Project on Government Oversight in Washington.
With insurgent attacks in Afghanistan increasing, any shortcomings in security put the diplomatic mission there at risk, the group said in a 10-page letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The State Department has been aware of ArmorGroup's shortcomings, the letter said, but has failed to correct the problems. Instead, it has renewed the contract twice, with the most recent instalment good through July 2010.
Mr Kelly acknowledged that ArmorGroup has been notified eight times of poor performance since the original contract was awarded in March 2007.
Wackenhut Services, ArmorGroup North America's parent company, has not responded to requests for comment.
The Project on Government Oversight's findings are based on interviews with ArmorGroup guards, documents, photographs and emails that it said depict "Lord of the Flies" conditions.
The reference is to the 1954 novel by William Golding about a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on a desert island and try, but fail, to govern themselves in a chaotic setting.
One email from a guard describes lurid conditions at Camp Sullivan, the guards' quarters a few miles from the embassy. The message described scenes of abuse, including guards and supervisors urinating on people and "threats and intimidation from those leaders participating in this activity".
Photographs show guards and supervisors in various stages of nudity at parties that took place near the housing of other supervisors.
"There were some things going on in Kabul that we were not aware of, but we frankly should have been aware of," Mr Kelly said.
ArmorGroup's management is aware of the conditions but has not stopped it or disciplined those responsible, the letter said. Two supervisors alleged to be the worst offenders have been allowed to resign and may now be working on other US contracts, the group said.
Private guards at US embassy 'running rampant'
The Independent
By David Usborne, US Editor
3 September 2009
The US State Department is set to investigate allegations of a breakdown in discipline among privately-contracted guards at the American embassy in Afghanistan that created a "Lord of the Flies" environment of humiliation and coercion.
The working culture featured lurid locker room-style hazing, semi-naked, vodka-fuelled parties and the humiliation or even firing of those who refused to join in. A charitable government oversight group described the alleged violations in a report delivered to the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. The Project on Government Oversight also handed over emails, videos, photographs and other testimony from other guards.
The State Department recently renewed a contract with the private security firm ArmorGroup to supply guards for the embassy, even though a congressional sub-committee voiced concerns of its own about the arrangement two months ago. That report noted that some of the guards spoke so little English they communicated in mime.
The new report seems more troubling. One witness is quoted as having seen guards "peeing on people" and drinking "vodka shots out of ass cracks". It says also that Afghan guards have been forced into humiliating acts at odds with their Muslim beliefs.
Mrs Clinton has "zero tolerance" for the kind of behaviour described in the report, a State Department official in Washington insisted yesterday, and had ordered a "review of the whole system". The official added: "These are very serious allegations and we are treating them that way."
Emails from guards include descriptions of understaffing, sleep deprivation and "threats and intimidation". One guard speaks of colleagues and supervisors as "sexual predators, deviants running rampant".
The revelations sparked a rash of 'Guards Gone Wild' headlines across the US media yesterday. They come at a time when the US government is already under scrutiny for the extent to which it relies on private firms to provide security overseas. Most famous among those companies is Xe Services, formerly Blackwater, which is now banned from Iraq by its government.
Critics claim that sub-contracting tasks to private firms muddies the accountability chain. A separate study by the Congressional Research Service this week noted that private contractors now account for 57 per cent of all Pentagon personnel in Afghanistan, the highest percentage ever seen.
By David Usborne, US Editor
3 September 2009
The US State Department is set to investigate allegations of a breakdown in discipline among privately-contracted guards at the American embassy in Afghanistan that created a "Lord of the Flies" environment of humiliation and coercion.
The working culture featured lurid locker room-style hazing, semi-naked, vodka-fuelled parties and the humiliation or even firing of those who refused to join in. A charitable government oversight group described the alleged violations in a report delivered to the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. The Project on Government Oversight also handed over emails, videos, photographs and other testimony from other guards.
The State Department recently renewed a contract with the private security firm ArmorGroup to supply guards for the embassy, even though a congressional sub-committee voiced concerns of its own about the arrangement two months ago. That report noted that some of the guards spoke so little English they communicated in mime.
The new report seems more troubling. One witness is quoted as having seen guards "peeing on people" and drinking "vodka shots out of ass cracks". It says also that Afghan guards have been forced into humiliating acts at odds with their Muslim beliefs.
Mrs Clinton has "zero tolerance" for the kind of behaviour described in the report, a State Department official in Washington insisted yesterday, and had ordered a "review of the whole system". The official added: "These are very serious allegations and we are treating them that way."
Emails from guards include descriptions of understaffing, sleep deprivation and "threats and intimidation". One guard speaks of colleagues and supervisors as "sexual predators, deviants running rampant".
The revelations sparked a rash of 'Guards Gone Wild' headlines across the US media yesterday. They come at a time when the US government is already under scrutiny for the extent to which it relies on private firms to provide security overseas. Most famous among those companies is Xe Services, formerly Blackwater, which is now banned from Iraq by its government.
Critics claim that sub-contracting tasks to private firms muddies the accountability chain. A separate study by the Congressional Research Service this week noted that private contractors now account for 57 per cent of all Pentagon personnel in Afghanistan, the highest percentage ever seen.
Congo Wants First Quantum To Return Kolwezi Permit - Official.
Dow Jones Newswires
31 August 2009
The Congolese government has asked Toronto-listed First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.T) to return the exploitation permit for the country's Kolwezi tailings project to enable it to find an alternative investor, an industry official said Monday.
"First Quantum Minerals breached the terms of the contract and its permit for the project is now null and void," said Justin Nyembo Mutahile, technical director of Congo's state mining licensing body, Cadstre Minier.
First Quantum said in a statement late Friday that the allegations by the Congolese government have no legal basis.
"While the company [First Quantum] has rights to international arbitration pursuant to the contract of association, it will continue to seek a solution to the claims, which have resulted from the mining contract revisitation process," the company said in the statement.
Since 2007, the Congolese government has been reviewing as many as 60 mining contracts, mainly those acquired by international companies between 1996 and 2003 when the country was embroiled in various civil wars and suffering political instability.
-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +256 75 262 4615; bariyonic@yahoo.co.uk
31 August 2009
The Congolese government has asked Toronto-listed First Quantum Minerals Ltd. (FM.T) to return the exploitation permit for the country's Kolwezi tailings project to enable it to find an alternative investor, an industry official said Monday.
"First Quantum Minerals breached the terms of the contract and its permit for the project is now null and void," said Justin Nyembo Mutahile, technical director of Congo's state mining licensing body, Cadstre Minier.
First Quantum said in a statement late Friday that the allegations by the Congolese government have no legal basis.
"While the company [First Quantum] has rights to international arbitration pursuant to the contract of association, it will continue to seek a solution to the claims, which have resulted from the mining contract revisitation process," the company said in the statement.
Since 2007, the Congolese government has been reviewing as many as 60 mining contracts, mainly those acquired by international companies between 1996 and 2003 when the country was embroiled in various civil wars and suffering political instability.
-By Nicholas Bariyo, contributing to Dow Jones Newswires; +256 75 262 4615; bariyonic@yahoo.co.uk
Oil discovery threatens Eldoret-K’la pipeline.
East African Business Week
Written by ANDREW MAKARI
Monday, 31 August 2009
Fears about the profitability and sustainability of the Eldoret-Kampala oil pipeline are posing a major challenge to the project.
The discovery of oil in Uganda coupled with plans of constructing a refinery could be delaying the construction of the 320-kilometre oil pipeline, a senior Kenyan ministry official said recently.
Work on the pipeline, which was supposed to have been completed by 2007 after the Libyan owned Tamoil East Africa won the project in 2006 has not started.
Though Uganda’s senior ministry of energy officials have on several occasions said that construction of a mini-refinery will in no way affect the pipeline, the Libyans have fears that a refinery in Uganda will reduce profitability of their business, hence taking them longer to recoup their investment.
"The Libyans are asking for certain guarantees that should Uganda construct a refinery, it will in no way affect the pipeline usage," said Mr. Peter Nyoike, the Kenya’s Permanent Secretary Ministry of Energy.
The pipeline, which is supposed to be built under a public-private partnership (PPP) between the Uganda and Kenya governments and Tamoil, is aimed at reducing supply constraints as well as reducing wear and tear of the roads by haulage trucks. The pipeline was supposed to be constructed from Eldoret to Kampala from where it will be extended to Rwanda.
The eight-inch diameter Eldoret-Kampala pipeline with an initial budget of $110 milion increased to $121 million before burgeoning to the current $300 milion with a lot of modifications.
The specifications have also changed from eight inches to 10 inches and now to the current 12 inches in diameter.
The diameter of the Eldoret- Kampala pipeline was increased following questions raised by experts that the current infrastructure was too small to efficiently pump oil to Kampala.
A study conducted by an independent group of experts had indicated that the original section of the 496-kilometre Nairobi-Mombasa pipeline was too old to support an expansion upstream.
Part of the $300 million will go towards resettling those displaced by the construction of the pipeline.
Uganda is also undecided as to whether to construct a mini-refinery in the country or refine crude oil at Mombasa but President Yoweri Museveni (Pictured) is pushing for the construction of a refinery in Uganda so the jobs are kept there.
Uganda has so far drilled 32 oil wells in the Albertine basin with proven reserves standing at two billion barrels of oil.
However, this excludes new wells that are being drilled as well as further exploration work that is ongoing. According to a study by International Energy Association Uganda, hinterland countries are vulnerable to rising oil prices since they import most of the oil they consume either through Mombasa or from the refinery at Mombasa.
Experts have indicated that the existing pipeline from Mombasa to Eldoret is too narrow to support pressure levels required to pump the oil to far flung areas such as Kampala. This has led to the expansion of the diameter of Nairobi-Eldoret pipeline.
Written by ANDREW MAKARI
Monday, 31 August 2009
Fears about the profitability and sustainability of the Eldoret-Kampala oil pipeline are posing a major challenge to the project.
The discovery of oil in Uganda coupled with plans of constructing a refinery could be delaying the construction of the 320-kilometre oil pipeline, a senior Kenyan ministry official said recently.
Work on the pipeline, which was supposed to have been completed by 2007 after the Libyan owned Tamoil East Africa won the project in 2006 has not started.
Though Uganda’s senior ministry of energy officials have on several occasions said that construction of a mini-refinery will in no way affect the pipeline, the Libyans have fears that a refinery in Uganda will reduce profitability of their business, hence taking them longer to recoup their investment.
"The Libyans are asking for certain guarantees that should Uganda construct a refinery, it will in no way affect the pipeline usage," said Mr. Peter Nyoike, the Kenya’s Permanent Secretary Ministry of Energy.
The pipeline, which is supposed to be built under a public-private partnership (PPP) between the Uganda and Kenya governments and Tamoil, is aimed at reducing supply constraints as well as reducing wear and tear of the roads by haulage trucks. The pipeline was supposed to be constructed from Eldoret to Kampala from where it will be extended to Rwanda.
The eight-inch diameter Eldoret-Kampala pipeline with an initial budget of $110 milion increased to $121 million before burgeoning to the current $300 milion with a lot of modifications.
The specifications have also changed from eight inches to 10 inches and now to the current 12 inches in diameter.
The diameter of the Eldoret- Kampala pipeline was increased following questions raised by experts that the current infrastructure was too small to efficiently pump oil to Kampala.
A study conducted by an independent group of experts had indicated that the original section of the 496-kilometre Nairobi-Mombasa pipeline was too old to support an expansion upstream.
Part of the $300 million will go towards resettling those displaced by the construction of the pipeline.
Uganda is also undecided as to whether to construct a mini-refinery in the country or refine crude oil at Mombasa but President Yoweri Museveni (Pictured) is pushing for the construction of a refinery in Uganda so the jobs are kept there.
Uganda has so far drilled 32 oil wells in the Albertine basin with proven reserves standing at two billion barrels of oil.
However, this excludes new wells that are being drilled as well as further exploration work that is ongoing. According to a study by International Energy Association Uganda, hinterland countries are vulnerable to rising oil prices since they import most of the oil they consume either through Mombasa or from the refinery at Mombasa.
Experts have indicated that the existing pipeline from Mombasa to Eldoret is too narrow to support pressure levels required to pump the oil to far flung areas such as Kampala. This has led to the expansion of the diameter of Nairobi-Eldoret pipeline.
02 September, 2009
Controversial Blackwater Security Firm Gets Iraq Contract Extended by State Dept.
ABC News
1 September 2009
By KIRIT RADIA
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Blackwater/story?id=8466369
The State Department has extended a contract with controversial private security firm Blackwater, ABC News has learned. The contract was due to expire this month.
In this July 2005 file photo, contractors of the US private security firm Blackwater secure the site of a roadside bomb attack near the Iranian embassy in central Baghdad. The State Department has extended a contract with controversial private security firm Blackwater, ABC News has learned.
Sources say the department has agreed to temporarily continue using the subsidiary known as Presidential Airways to provide helicopter transport for embassy employees around Iraq until a new contract with another security company, Dyncorp International, is fully implemented. Presidential Airways is an arm of U.S. Training Center, which is a subsidiary of the company Xe, formerly and still commonly known as Blackwater.
Officials say Dyncorp will not be fully staffed and certified in order to assume the responsibilities immediately. Dyncorp takes over the airlift contract on Sept. 4, but because of the delicate handoff between companies, the contract with Blackwater was extended so that the companies overlap.
"The deployment of an aviation program in Iraq is a complex challenge -- a slower transition to DynCorp taking over the task order is in the best interest of the government," a State Department official said.
The Blackwater contract's extension is for an indefinite period of time, but an official stressed it was "limited." The official said the State Department would like to complete the transition in "weeks or months."
Once this contract expires, it will end Blackwater's controversial presence in Iraq. The company was banned from operating in Iraq by the Iraqi government earlier this year and the State Department did not renew its contracts for personal security details in Iraq. The airlift contract had been allowed to continue until it was set to expire this month.
Blackwater rose to infamy in 2007 when some of its guards, who were escorting an embassy convoy through crowded Baghdad traffic, allegedly fired indiscriminately, killing 17 Iraqis. The incident sparked massive protests among Iraqis and hastened calls for a U.S. withdrawal from the country.
Five of the guards were charged with 35 counts of manslaughter and federal fire arms charges last year and pleaded not guilty in court earlier this year. One of the Blackwater guards involved in the shooting, Jeremy Ridgeway, agreed to testify against the five Blackwater guards last November and pleaded guilty to charges of one count of manslaughter, attempt to commit murder and aiding and abetting.
A U.S. official says the U.S. informed the Iraqi government that the decision was made "because the complexity of transition from one company to the next was going to take a little bit more time."
"They were understanding," the official said of the Iraqis.
The U.S. embassy is dependent on the airlift capacity in order to get around the country, a need that has only increased since the U.S. military has begun to scale back its operations, officials say.
A spokeswoman for Xe did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
ABC News' Jason Ryan contributed to this report.
1 September 2009
By KIRIT RADIA
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Blackwater/story?id=8466369
The State Department has extended a contract with controversial private security firm Blackwater, ABC News has learned. The contract was due to expire this month.
In this July 2005 file photo, contractors of the US private security firm Blackwater secure the site of a roadside bomb attack near the Iranian embassy in central Baghdad. The State Department has extended a contract with controversial private security firm Blackwater, ABC News has learned.
Sources say the department has agreed to temporarily continue using the subsidiary known as Presidential Airways to provide helicopter transport for embassy employees around Iraq until a new contract with another security company, Dyncorp International, is fully implemented. Presidential Airways is an arm of U.S. Training Center, which is a subsidiary of the company Xe, formerly and still commonly known as Blackwater.
Officials say Dyncorp will not be fully staffed and certified in order to assume the responsibilities immediately. Dyncorp takes over the airlift contract on Sept. 4, but because of the delicate handoff between companies, the contract with Blackwater was extended so that the companies overlap.
"The deployment of an aviation program in Iraq is a complex challenge -- a slower transition to DynCorp taking over the task order is in the best interest of the government," a State Department official said.
The Blackwater contract's extension is for an indefinite period of time, but an official stressed it was "limited." The official said the State Department would like to complete the transition in "weeks or months."
Once this contract expires, it will end Blackwater's controversial presence in Iraq. The company was banned from operating in Iraq by the Iraqi government earlier this year and the State Department did not renew its contracts for personal security details in Iraq. The airlift contract had been allowed to continue until it was set to expire this month.
Blackwater rose to infamy in 2007 when some of its guards, who were escorting an embassy convoy through crowded Baghdad traffic, allegedly fired indiscriminately, killing 17 Iraqis. The incident sparked massive protests among Iraqis and hastened calls for a U.S. withdrawal from the country.
Five of the guards were charged with 35 counts of manslaughter and federal fire arms charges last year and pleaded not guilty in court earlier this year. One of the Blackwater guards involved in the shooting, Jeremy Ridgeway, agreed to testify against the five Blackwater guards last November and pleaded guilty to charges of one count of manslaughter, attempt to commit murder and aiding and abetting.
A U.S. official says the U.S. informed the Iraqi government that the decision was made "because the complexity of transition from one company to the next was going to take a little bit more time."
"They were understanding," the official said of the Iraqis.
The U.S. embassy is dependent on the airlift capacity in order to get around the country, a need that has only increased since the U.S. military has begun to scale back its operations, officials say.
A spokeswoman for Xe did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
ABC News' Jason Ryan contributed to this report.
Former Chief UN Rwanda Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte: “Obama War Crimes Ambassador Complicit in War Crimes Cover-up.”--Does Obama Know? or Care?
by Prof. Peter Erlinder
In mid-July, the NY Times reported that the Obama administration had selected Stephen Rapp to replace Pierre Prosper, the Bush administration’s Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes. A former Iowa U.S. Attorney, and Democrat politico, Rapp began his international career at the UN Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 2001, while Carla Del Ponte was Chief Prosecutor. In Del Ponte’s 2008 memoir, Madam Prosecutor: Confronting Humanity’s Worst Criminals and the Culture of Impunity, translated into English in early 2009, Del Ponte explains how she was removed from her ICTR position in 2003 by U.S. Ambassador Prosper himself, because she refused to cooperate with a U.S.-initiated “cover-up” of war crimes committed by the current Rwandan government during the 1994 “Rwandan Genocide.”
According to Del Ponte, the ICTR Prosecutor had the evidence long before 2003 to prosecute Kagame for “touching-off” the Rwanda Genocide by ordering the assassination of Rwanda’s sitting President Juvenal Habyarimana. Her book also details dozens of massacre sites involving thousands of victims for which the Kagame government and military should be prosecuted. The well-publicized canard, that “the identity of the assassins is unknown” is a bald-faced lie, known to all ICTR senior prosecutors, according to Ms. Del Ponte.
Two years after Del Ponte was removed from office, Rapp became “Chief” of ICTR Prosecutions with access to all of the evidence known to Ms. Del Ponte, and more. During his four years at the ICTR, Rapp also was in a position to prosecute Kagame and members of the current government of Rwanda, but, to this date, not ONE member of Kagame’s military has been prosecuted at the ICTR … and the “cover-up” continues to this day. Unlike, Ms. Del Ponte, Mr. Rapp was rewarded with an appointment as Chief Prosecutor at the U.S.-funded Sierra Leone Tribunal and, now, with a coveted ambassadorship.
Former Chief ICTR Prosecutor Del Ponte Details ICTR “Cover-up”
According to Del Ponte, in May 2003 she was called to Washington D.C. by Prosper (ironically, also a former ICTR prosecutor with knowledge of Kagame’s crimes) who informed her that the U.S. would remove her from her UN post if she carried through with her publicly announced plans to indict Kagame and members of his government and military. According to Del Ponte, when she refused to knuckle-under because “she worked for the UN, not for the U.S,” Prosper told her her ICTR career was over. True to his threat, by October, Del Ponte was replaced by a US-approved ICTR prosecutor, Hassan Abubacar Jallow. Stephen Rapp was elevated to Chief of Prosecution by Jallow two years later.
ICTR Trials: More Evidence of Rwanda Crimes Cover-Up
Del Ponte’s revelations are not the only evidence that a U.S. initiated “ICTR cover-up” is creating impunity for crimes committed by Kagame and his military. Memos from September 10, 1994, in evidence in the ICTR Military-1 Trial, confirm that U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher was informed that Kagame’s troops were killing “10,000 civilians a month” in military-style, according to an investigation funded by USAID. And, in early 1997, Chief ICTR Investigative Prosecutor and former Australian Crown Prosecutor Michael Hourigan; former FBI Agent James Lyons; and former UN-Chief of Military Intelligence in Rwanda, Amadou Deme: all reported to Ms. Del Ponte’s predecessor, Louise Arbour, that Kagame should be prosecuted for assassinating the previous president. Arbour scuttled the investigation, suppressed the report and disbanded the investigative team. Shortly thereafter, Arbour was elevated to Canada’s Supreme Court and has recently been chosen to head the International Crisis Group, after an illustrious UN career.
Former ICTR Prosecutor Rapp Complicit in Cover-up
But, even though Arbour suppressed the “Hourigan Report” it must have been known to Ms. Del Ponte, Mr. Rapp and other ICTR prosecutors, because ICTR judges had ordered the ICTR Prosecutor to release the “Hourigan report” which had already been released to a defense team as early as 2000, a year before Rapp began his ICTR work, and two years before Del Ponte was fired by Prosper.
Like Del Ponte, when Rapp became the ICTR Chief of Prosecutions under Jallow in 2005, he had access to all of the information necessary to prosecute Kagame and main figures in his military and government. But to date, not one indictment has been issued against Kagame by the ICTR Prosecutor.
Kagame & Co. Already Indicted in France and Spain
Athough the U.S. has been successful in preventing Kagame’s crew from being indicted at the ICTR, other courts have indicted Kagame and members of his retinue. In late 2007, French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguière indicted the assassins of Habyarimana and recommended that Kagame be prosecuted by the ICTR. And, in February 2008, Spanish Judge Fernando Merelles issued a 180-page indictment specifically charging Kagame with Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, including the massacres of more than 300,000 civilians. And Mr. Rapp’s former boss, Mr. Jallow, publicly admitted before the UN Security Council in spring 2008 that Kagame’s military is responsible for the assassination of Rwanda’s Catholic leadership in 1994. But still no ICTR prosecutions.
The Consequences of the ICTR Cover-up of Kagame’s Crimes
The tragic consequence of the failure to prosecute Kagame at the ICTR, from 1994 to-date, is that Kagame was free to invade Congo in 1996 and 1998, and is currently occupying a part of eastern Congo 14-times larger than Rwanda. No less than four UN Security Counsel-commissioned Panel of Experts Report(s) on the Illegal Exploitation of the DR Congo (2001, 2002, 2003 and December 2008) have detailed the massive rape of the Congo’s resources that has brought vast riches to Kagame and his inner circle. Since the first invasion in 1996, Kagame’s Congo invasions have been responsible for more than 5-million deaths, more every few months than the total alleged to have died in Darfur, crimes for which Sudanese President Bashir, a figure disfavored by the U.S., has been indicted by the ICC.
While Rapp was ICTR Senior Trial Attorney and Chief of Prosecutions, Kagame was effectively elected President-for-Life with 95% of the vote, after banning opposition parties and jailing opponents, in “a climate of intimidation” according to EU observers. According to the Economist report on the 10th Anniversary of the “genocide” in 2004:
“[Kagame] tolerates no serious domestic opposition, nor much in the way of free speech. Rwanda today is a thinly-disguised autocracy, where dissidents are usually accused of genocidal tendencies, live in fear, or exile, or both. The regime is a threat to its neighbors.
ICTR Chief of Prosecutions Rapp Personally Withheld Exculpatory Evidence from Defense Counsel and ICTR Judges
As if this wasn’t enough, in February 2009, the ICTR issued its Judgement in the Military-1 case, the main case at the ICTR, in which Mr. Rapp personally appeared for the Prosecution. Although massive violence did occur in Rwanda, the court certainly recognized that blaming only one side WAS a falsehood, when it acquitted all of the “architects of the killing machine” (as Mr. Rapp called the defendants in court) of conspiracy or planning to kill civilians. The highest ranking military-officer was acquitted of all charges.
And, although it is now clear from Ms. Del Ponte’s memoirs that Mr. Rapp had the evidence that would clear the defendants of the assassination charges and that both sides had committed crimes, for which the losing side has been blamed entirely. Simply put, Mr. Rapp and other ICTR prosecutors have: withheld evidence at the ICTR that would be beneficial to the defense; prosecuted defendants for crimes they knew were committed by Kagame and the RPF; and created a system of “judicial impunity” that has permitted Kagame to kill millions in the eastern Congo.
All of which raises the uncomfortable question regarding President Obama’s nomination of Mr. Rapp: Are his advisors ignorant of the public record regarding Rapp’s complicity in an ICTR Cover-up? … or does Obama just not give a damn?
Prof. Peter Erlinder
Wm. Mitchell College of Law
St. Paul, MN 55105
In mid-July, the NY Times reported that the Obama administration had selected Stephen Rapp to replace Pierre Prosper, the Bush administration’s Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes. A former Iowa U.S. Attorney, and Democrat politico, Rapp began his international career at the UN Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 2001, while Carla Del Ponte was Chief Prosecutor. In Del Ponte’s 2008 memoir, Madam Prosecutor: Confronting Humanity’s Worst Criminals and the Culture of Impunity, translated into English in early 2009, Del Ponte explains how she was removed from her ICTR position in 2003 by U.S. Ambassador Prosper himself, because she refused to cooperate with a U.S.-initiated “cover-up” of war crimes committed by the current Rwandan government during the 1994 “Rwandan Genocide.”
According to Del Ponte, the ICTR Prosecutor had the evidence long before 2003 to prosecute Kagame for “touching-off” the Rwanda Genocide by ordering the assassination of Rwanda’s sitting President Juvenal Habyarimana. Her book also details dozens of massacre sites involving thousands of victims for which the Kagame government and military should be prosecuted. The well-publicized canard, that “the identity of the assassins is unknown” is a bald-faced lie, known to all ICTR senior prosecutors, according to Ms. Del Ponte.
Two years after Del Ponte was removed from office, Rapp became “Chief” of ICTR Prosecutions with access to all of the evidence known to Ms. Del Ponte, and more. During his four years at the ICTR, Rapp also was in a position to prosecute Kagame and members of the current government of Rwanda, but, to this date, not ONE member of Kagame’s military has been prosecuted at the ICTR … and the “cover-up” continues to this day. Unlike, Ms. Del Ponte, Mr. Rapp was rewarded with an appointment as Chief Prosecutor at the U.S.-funded Sierra Leone Tribunal and, now, with a coveted ambassadorship.
Former Chief ICTR Prosecutor Del Ponte Details ICTR “Cover-up”
According to Del Ponte, in May 2003 she was called to Washington D.C. by Prosper (ironically, also a former ICTR prosecutor with knowledge of Kagame’s crimes) who informed her that the U.S. would remove her from her UN post if she carried through with her publicly announced plans to indict Kagame and members of his government and military. According to Del Ponte, when she refused to knuckle-under because “she worked for the UN, not for the U.S,” Prosper told her her ICTR career was over. True to his threat, by October, Del Ponte was replaced by a US-approved ICTR prosecutor, Hassan Abubacar Jallow. Stephen Rapp was elevated to Chief of Prosecution by Jallow two years later.
ICTR Trials: More Evidence of Rwanda Crimes Cover-Up
Del Ponte’s revelations are not the only evidence that a U.S. initiated “ICTR cover-up” is creating impunity for crimes committed by Kagame and his military. Memos from September 10, 1994, in evidence in the ICTR Military-1 Trial, confirm that U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher was informed that Kagame’s troops were killing “10,000 civilians a month” in military-style, according to an investigation funded by USAID. And, in early 1997, Chief ICTR Investigative Prosecutor and former Australian Crown Prosecutor Michael Hourigan; former FBI Agent James Lyons; and former UN-Chief of Military Intelligence in Rwanda, Amadou Deme: all reported to Ms. Del Ponte’s predecessor, Louise Arbour, that Kagame should be prosecuted for assassinating the previous president. Arbour scuttled the investigation, suppressed the report and disbanded the investigative team. Shortly thereafter, Arbour was elevated to Canada’s Supreme Court and has recently been chosen to head the International Crisis Group, after an illustrious UN career.
Former ICTR Prosecutor Rapp Complicit in Cover-up
But, even though Arbour suppressed the “Hourigan Report” it must have been known to Ms. Del Ponte, Mr. Rapp and other ICTR prosecutors, because ICTR judges had ordered the ICTR Prosecutor to release the “Hourigan report” which had already been released to a defense team as early as 2000, a year before Rapp began his ICTR work, and two years before Del Ponte was fired by Prosper.
Like Del Ponte, when Rapp became the ICTR Chief of Prosecutions under Jallow in 2005, he had access to all of the information necessary to prosecute Kagame and main figures in his military and government. But to date, not one indictment has been issued against Kagame by the ICTR Prosecutor.
Kagame & Co. Already Indicted in France and Spain
Athough the U.S. has been successful in preventing Kagame’s crew from being indicted at the ICTR, other courts have indicted Kagame and members of his retinue. In late 2007, French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguière indicted the assassins of Habyarimana and recommended that Kagame be prosecuted by the ICTR. And, in February 2008, Spanish Judge Fernando Merelles issued a 180-page indictment specifically charging Kagame with Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, including the massacres of more than 300,000 civilians. And Mr. Rapp’s former boss, Mr. Jallow, publicly admitted before the UN Security Council in spring 2008 that Kagame’s military is responsible for the assassination of Rwanda’s Catholic leadership in 1994. But still no ICTR prosecutions.
The Consequences of the ICTR Cover-up of Kagame’s Crimes
The tragic consequence of the failure to prosecute Kagame at the ICTR, from 1994 to-date, is that Kagame was free to invade Congo in 1996 and 1998, and is currently occupying a part of eastern Congo 14-times larger than Rwanda. No less than four UN Security Counsel-commissioned Panel of Experts Report(s) on the Illegal Exploitation of the DR Congo (2001, 2002, 2003 and December 2008) have detailed the massive rape of the Congo’s resources that has brought vast riches to Kagame and his inner circle. Since the first invasion in 1996, Kagame’s Congo invasions have been responsible for more than 5-million deaths, more every few months than the total alleged to have died in Darfur, crimes for which Sudanese President Bashir, a figure disfavored by the U.S., has been indicted by the ICC.
While Rapp was ICTR Senior Trial Attorney and Chief of Prosecutions, Kagame was effectively elected President-for-Life with 95% of the vote, after banning opposition parties and jailing opponents, in “a climate of intimidation” according to EU observers. According to the Economist report on the 10th Anniversary of the “genocide” in 2004:
“[Kagame] tolerates no serious domestic opposition, nor much in the way of free speech. Rwanda today is a thinly-disguised autocracy, where dissidents are usually accused of genocidal tendencies, live in fear, or exile, or both. The regime is a threat to its neighbors.
ICTR Chief of Prosecutions Rapp Personally Withheld Exculpatory Evidence from Defense Counsel and ICTR Judges
As if this wasn’t enough, in February 2009, the ICTR issued its Judgement in the Military-1 case, the main case at the ICTR, in which Mr. Rapp personally appeared for the Prosecution. Although massive violence did occur in Rwanda, the court certainly recognized that blaming only one side WAS a falsehood, when it acquitted all of the “architects of the killing machine” (as Mr. Rapp called the defendants in court) of conspiracy or planning to kill civilians. The highest ranking military-officer was acquitted of all charges.
And, although it is now clear from Ms. Del Ponte’s memoirs that Mr. Rapp had the evidence that would clear the defendants of the assassination charges and that both sides had committed crimes, for which the losing side has been blamed entirely. Simply put, Mr. Rapp and other ICTR prosecutors have: withheld evidence at the ICTR that would be beneficial to the defense; prosecuted defendants for crimes they knew were committed by Kagame and the RPF; and created a system of “judicial impunity” that has permitted Kagame to kill millions in the eastern Congo.
All of which raises the uncomfortable question regarding President Obama’s nomination of Mr. Rapp: Are his advisors ignorant of the public record regarding Rapp’s complicity in an ICTR Cover-up? … or does Obama just not give a damn?
Prof. Peter Erlinder
Wm. Mitchell College of Law
St. Paul, MN 55105
Lieberman to make first trip to Africa by Israel FM in 20 years.
Haaretz
2 September 2009
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman will depart Wednesday on a visit to Africa in a bid to boost trade ties and drum up diplomatic support in a continent where pro-Arab sentiment has long been strong.
Lieberman's visit will be the first by an Israeli foreign minister to Africa in 20 years. An Israeli business delegation, along with delegates from the Foreign, Finance and Defense Ministries will accompany him on visits to Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana.
"The aim is to reinvigorate our political and economic relations," said Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Lieberman.
African nations often vote in blocs in United Nations forums where Israel is a frequent target of censure. Israel is trying to enlist support for international pressure on Iran to abandon its disputed nuclear program.
Lieberman last month toured Latin America, another region that had not been high on Israel's diplomatic agenda.
"Israel has been absent for many years from many areas of the world," Lieberman said, "After my visit to South America, I was convinced of the importance of these kinds of visits and the contribution they bring in relations between the countries."
The Foreign Ministry stated that the issue of Iran will be discussed in light of Iran's effort to become a presence in Africa.
Liberman's trip will start in Addis Ababba where he will meet with Ethiopia's president and foreign minister and attend an economic seminar in conjunction with economic ministers from the Ethiopian government.
He will also help inaugurate a joint project between Israel, Ethiopia and the United States, which will strive to support farmers and agriculture in Ethiopia.
Lieberman will then visit Uganda on Thursday where he will meet the president and foreign minister. While in Entebbe, he will participate in a memorial ceremony commemorating Operation Entebbe, a hostage rescue operation in 1967 where 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed.
2 September 2009
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman will depart Wednesday on a visit to Africa in a bid to boost trade ties and drum up diplomatic support in a continent where pro-Arab sentiment has long been strong.
Lieberman's visit will be the first by an Israeli foreign minister to Africa in 20 years. An Israeli business delegation, along with delegates from the Foreign, Finance and Defense Ministries will accompany him on visits to Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana.
"The aim is to reinvigorate our political and economic relations," said Yigal Palmor, a spokesman for Lieberman.
African nations often vote in blocs in United Nations forums where Israel is a frequent target of censure. Israel is trying to enlist support for international pressure on Iran to abandon its disputed nuclear program.
Lieberman last month toured Latin America, another region that had not been high on Israel's diplomatic agenda.
"Israel has been absent for many years from many areas of the world," Lieberman said, "After my visit to South America, I was convinced of the importance of these kinds of visits and the contribution they bring in relations between the countries."
The Foreign Ministry stated that the issue of Iran will be discussed in light of Iran's effort to become a presence in Africa.
Liberman's trip will start in Addis Ababba where he will meet with Ethiopia's president and foreign minister and attend an economic seminar in conjunction with economic ministers from the Ethiopian government.
He will also help inaugurate a joint project between Israel, Ethiopia and the United States, which will strive to support farmers and agriculture in Ethiopia.
Lieberman will then visit Uganda on Thursday where he will meet the president and foreign minister. While in Entebbe, he will participate in a memorial ceremony commemorating Operation Entebbe, a hostage rescue operation in 1967 where 45 Ugandan soldiers were killed.
Clinton to meet Zelaya, US mulls cutting off aid.
Reuters
1 September 2009
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to meet ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Thursday, the State Department said as Washington debates formally cutting off aid to the Honduran government.
Despite worldwide condemnation of the June 28 coup against Zelaya, who was whisked into exile in a military plane while still in his pajamas, Roberto Micheletti's de facto government has said it will not be pressured into stepping down.
Micheletti has so far rejected proposals put forward by mediator Costa Rican President Oscar Arias that would have allowed Zelaya to return to power before November elections in the poor Central American nation.
Zelaya said he trusted the international community would not recognize the election or its winner if he had not been been restored to office before the vote is held.
"How can legitimate, transparent and democratic elections be held?" Zelaya said at a news conference at the Organization of American States, citing political repression of his followers by the de facto government.
While the OAS condemned his ouster and suspended Honduras, some countries in the hemisphere now believe the election of a new government in November might be the best way out of the Honduras stalemate.
Zelaya hopes the U.S. government will step up pressure for his reinstatement with stiffer sanctions.
Clinton's Washington talks with Zelaya, a wealthy landowner who moved toward the left after taking office, take place against the backdrop of an extended U.S. government debate on whether he was deposed by the military.
Under U.S. law, if it were determined that the military had removed him, the U.S. government would be obligated to terminate aid to the government in question.
The U.S. government already has suspended about $18 million in U.S. aid to the Honduran government that would be affected if Clinton makes the determination.
U.S. officials said the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. government corporation that gives funds to poor countries with a record of sound policies, had about $135 million in aid for Honduras that would have to be scrutinized and could be in jeopardy.
(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Anthony Boadle; Editing by Peter Cooney)
1 September 2009
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans to meet ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya on Thursday, the State Department said as Washington debates formally cutting off aid to the Honduran government.
Despite worldwide condemnation of the June 28 coup against Zelaya, who was whisked into exile in a military plane while still in his pajamas, Roberto Micheletti's de facto government has said it will not be pressured into stepping down.
Micheletti has so far rejected proposals put forward by mediator Costa Rican President Oscar Arias that would have allowed Zelaya to return to power before November elections in the poor Central American nation.
Zelaya said he trusted the international community would not recognize the election or its winner if he had not been been restored to office before the vote is held.
"How can legitimate, transparent and democratic elections be held?" Zelaya said at a news conference at the Organization of American States, citing political repression of his followers by the de facto government.
While the OAS condemned his ouster and suspended Honduras, some countries in the hemisphere now believe the election of a new government in November might be the best way out of the Honduras stalemate.
Zelaya hopes the U.S. government will step up pressure for his reinstatement with stiffer sanctions.
Clinton's Washington talks with Zelaya, a wealthy landowner who moved toward the left after taking office, take place against the backdrop of an extended U.S. government debate on whether he was deposed by the military.
Under U.S. law, if it were determined that the military had removed him, the U.S. government would be obligated to terminate aid to the government in question.
The U.S. government already has suspended about $18 million in U.S. aid to the Honduran government that would be affected if Clinton makes the determination.
U.S. officials said the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a U.S. government corporation that gives funds to poor countries with a record of sound policies, had about $135 million in aid for Honduras that would have to be scrutinized and could be in jeopardy.
(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Anthony Boadle; Editing by Peter Cooney)
Puntland leader receives EU delegation in Galkayo.
Garowe Online
1 September 2009
Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed "Farole," the Puntland leader, and senior officials of the Puntland government met with the five-member delegation led by the EU Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa region, Ms. Marika Fahlen, at Taar City Hotel in the outskirts of Galkayo, the provincial capital of Mudug region and Puntland's second-largest city.
Ms. Marika and President Farole [Image: Daljir.com]
Mr. Abdigani Yusuf Adde, Puntland's minister for the Environment, told reporters after the meeting that the two sides agreed on a number of key issues.
He noted that the two parties agreed on strengthening cooperation in the fight against piracy and human trafficking, advancing EU development projects in Puntland State, and assisting displaced Somalis who fled conflict in the country's south-central regions to the relative safety of Puntland.
The delegation included EU officials in the humanitarian and security sectors, the Environment Minister added.
In August, Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake signed a 15-point cooperation agreement with Puntland's government, including a clause stating that the anti-piracy campaign be headquartered in Puntland.
The EU delegation flew back to Nairobi, Kenya, later Tuesday.
1 September 2009
Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed "Farole," the Puntland leader, and senior officials of the Puntland government met with the five-member delegation led by the EU Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa region, Ms. Marika Fahlen, at Taar City Hotel in the outskirts of Galkayo, the provincial capital of Mudug region and Puntland's second-largest city.
Ms. Marika and President Farole [Image: Daljir.com]
Mr. Abdigani Yusuf Adde, Puntland's minister for the Environment, told reporters after the meeting that the two sides agreed on a number of key issues.
He noted that the two parties agreed on strengthening cooperation in the fight against piracy and human trafficking, advancing EU development projects in Puntland State, and assisting displaced Somalis who fled conflict in the country's south-central regions to the relative safety of Puntland.
The delegation included EU officials in the humanitarian and security sectors, the Environment Minister added.
In August, Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake signed a 15-point cooperation agreement with Puntland's government, including a clause stating that the anti-piracy campaign be headquartered in Puntland.
The EU delegation flew back to Nairobi, Kenya, later Tuesday.
Gilani for enhanced Pak-Libya trade, investment cooperation.
Daily Times
2 September 2009
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has stressed the need for increased trade and investment cooperation between Pakistan and Libya.
The prime minister – who is on a three-day visit to Libya to attend the 40th anniversary of the Libyan Revolution – was talking to Libya-based Pakistani businessmen at an Iftar-dinner hosted by Pakistan’s Ambassador in Tripoli Jamil Ahmad Khan on Monday.
“There is lot of trade and investment potential in Pakistan and Libya, which can be exploited for complementing each other’s economies,” Gilani said.
Pakistani business leaders discussed with Prime Minister Gilani the prospects of business opportunities in Pakistan particularly in oil and gas, agro industry, tourism and construction-related industries.
They assured the prime minister of their cooperation and support in promoting trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Gilani said the Libyan government was investing $147 billion in the construction of housing units in Pakistan over the next five years, and Pakistan could export cement and other such material to Libya.
The businessmen also pointed out some problems and delay in the issuance of visa by Libyan authorities for Pakistani businessmen to which the prime minister said he would raise the issue with the Libyan authorities.
He said the Libyan labour minister would soon visit Pakistan to help boost the export of Pakistani manpower to Libya.
The prime minister said with Pakistan having a good gas distribution system and Libya working on exploration, the two countries could also share each other’s expertise in the oil and gas sector.
Prime Minister Gilani apprised the business community of the challenges faced by the country including economic recession, terrorism, law and order, food and energy shortages and the government’s efforts to tackle these problems.
He informed the business leaders that the government had taken action against sugar hoarders and had increased supplies to the state-run Utility Stores for sale on subsidised rates.
Gilani said the government had initiated short-, medium- and long-term measures to address the electricity shortage in the country, with plans also being made to avoid an expected water shortage.
Gilani said work was in progress on various power projects and he would inaugurate a power project every month.
He also cited the approval of the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009 for the Northern Areas as an example of the achievement of the government and said the new CFC Award would also be announced soon.
The prime minister also apprised the businessmen of the recent successful military operation in Swat and Malakand and said most of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) had returned home.
He said after the recent ministerial meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) forum where Pakistan presented a Malakand Development package, the country would get the much-needed assistance from its friends for the reconstruction of the affected areas, as the FoDP meeting would be held in New York in September.
Sri Lanka: Prime Minister Gilani also met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday and expressed strong desire to strengthen multi-faceted ties and cooperation with the country.
The two leaders, who met here on the sidelines of the 40th anniversary of Libyan Revolution, discussed bilateral relations and other regional and international matters of mutual interest.
Gilani and the Sri Lankan president appreciated the fact that trade between the two countries had experienced a quantum jump after the Free Trade Agreement. They agreed to broaden the scope of FTA to services and investment. Gilani extended an invitation to President Rajapakse for an official visit to Pakistan, which the latter readily accepted.
Meetings: Gilani also met separately with President of the Philippines Macapagal Arroyo and Maltese President George Abella. He discussed the prospects of improving bilateral cooperation in various fields with the two leaders.
2 September 2009
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has stressed the need for increased trade and investment cooperation between Pakistan and Libya.
The prime minister – who is on a three-day visit to Libya to attend the 40th anniversary of the Libyan Revolution – was talking to Libya-based Pakistani businessmen at an Iftar-dinner hosted by Pakistan’s Ambassador in Tripoli Jamil Ahmad Khan on Monday.
“There is lot of trade and investment potential in Pakistan and Libya, which can be exploited for complementing each other’s economies,” Gilani said.
Pakistani business leaders discussed with Prime Minister Gilani the prospects of business opportunities in Pakistan particularly in oil and gas, agro industry, tourism and construction-related industries.
They assured the prime minister of their cooperation and support in promoting trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.
Gilani said the Libyan government was investing $147 billion in the construction of housing units in Pakistan over the next five years, and Pakistan could export cement and other such material to Libya.
The businessmen also pointed out some problems and delay in the issuance of visa by Libyan authorities for Pakistani businessmen to which the prime minister said he would raise the issue with the Libyan authorities.
He said the Libyan labour minister would soon visit Pakistan to help boost the export of Pakistani manpower to Libya.
The prime minister said with Pakistan having a good gas distribution system and Libya working on exploration, the two countries could also share each other’s expertise in the oil and gas sector.
Prime Minister Gilani apprised the business community of the challenges faced by the country including economic recession, terrorism, law and order, food and energy shortages and the government’s efforts to tackle these problems.
He informed the business leaders that the government had taken action against sugar hoarders and had increased supplies to the state-run Utility Stores for sale on subsidised rates.
Gilani said the government had initiated short-, medium- and long-term measures to address the electricity shortage in the country, with plans also being made to avoid an expected water shortage.
Gilani said work was in progress on various power projects and he would inaugurate a power project every month.
He also cited the approval of the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order 2009 for the Northern Areas as an example of the achievement of the government and said the new CFC Award would also be announced soon.
The prime minister also apprised the businessmen of the recent successful military operation in Swat and Malakand and said most of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) had returned home.
He said after the recent ministerial meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) forum where Pakistan presented a Malakand Development package, the country would get the much-needed assistance from its friends for the reconstruction of the affected areas, as the FoDP meeting would be held in New York in September.
Sri Lanka: Prime Minister Gilani also met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday and expressed strong desire to strengthen multi-faceted ties and cooperation with the country.
The two leaders, who met here on the sidelines of the 40th anniversary of Libyan Revolution, discussed bilateral relations and other regional and international matters of mutual interest.
Gilani and the Sri Lankan president appreciated the fact that trade between the two countries had experienced a quantum jump after the Free Trade Agreement. They agreed to broaden the scope of FTA to services and investment. Gilani extended an invitation to President Rajapakse for an official visit to Pakistan, which the latter readily accepted.
Meetings: Gilani also met separately with President of the Philippines Macapagal Arroyo and Maltese President George Abella. He discussed the prospects of improving bilateral cooperation in various fields with the two leaders.
Saudis come to Musharraf’s rescue.
Daily Times
2 September 2009
The Saudi authorities have formally sent a message to the Pakistani leadership that they want stability in Pakistan, with King Abdullah urging all stakeholders to abide by an agreement that rules out any action against former president Pervez Musharraf, reported a private TV channel on Tuesday.
Saudi royal family sources said that during a meeting between Interior Minister Rehman Malik and the Saudi king, a “clear message” was given to the government that a confrontation between the PPP and the PML-N and any step against Musharraf could affect the country’s political stability.
The channel reported that the Saudi king played the role of a guarantor at the time of Musharraf’s resignation and assured the former president that no action would be taken against him. The king said if a party or an individual backed out of the agreement reached, Pak-Saudi relations would be affected.
Nawaz travels to Saudi Arabia next week to hold meetings with officials, who would “force him to abide by the agreement”, said the sources, adding that the Saudi king wanted to defuse the tensions because he had been told Musharraf was considering making important disclosures about Nawaz and President Asif Ali Zardari in London that included talk of Saudi Arabia as well.
Musharraf – who is currently in Saudi Arabia – met the Saudi intelligence chief, who was an important player in Nawaz’s return to Pakistan, and discussed issues related to his trial.
2 September 2009
The Saudi authorities have formally sent a message to the Pakistani leadership that they want stability in Pakistan, with King Abdullah urging all stakeholders to abide by an agreement that rules out any action against former president Pervez Musharraf, reported a private TV channel on Tuesday.
Saudi royal family sources said that during a meeting between Interior Minister Rehman Malik and the Saudi king, a “clear message” was given to the government that a confrontation between the PPP and the PML-N and any step against Musharraf could affect the country’s political stability.
The channel reported that the Saudi king played the role of a guarantor at the time of Musharraf’s resignation and assured the former president that no action would be taken against him. The king said if a party or an individual backed out of the agreement reached, Pak-Saudi relations would be affected.
Nawaz travels to Saudi Arabia next week to hold meetings with officials, who would “force him to abide by the agreement”, said the sources, adding that the Saudi king wanted to defuse the tensions because he had been told Musharraf was considering making important disclosures about Nawaz and President Asif Ali Zardari in London that included talk of Saudi Arabia as well.
Musharraf – who is currently in Saudi Arabia – met the Saudi intelligence chief, who was an important player in Nawaz’s return to Pakistan, and discussed issues related to his trial.
SPLA Soldiers Attack Farmers inside Ugandan Territory Say Reports.
Daily Monitor
2 September 2009
By Warom Felix Okello
Sudanese People’s Liberation Army soldiers, yesterday afternoon attacked Ugandan farmers in Lefori Sub-county, Moyo District, claiming the land belongs to Sudan.
Seven heavily-armed SPLA soldiers ordered the farmers in Gwere Parish in Lefori to uproot their crops and leave the area which they said belonged to them, witnesses said. Lefori Sub-county Chief, Mr Saidi Sebi Makosa told Daily Monitor by phone: “The soldiers fired bullets in the air that scared children keeping watch over the crops.” The children, he said, ran and some got injured.
Mr Sebi, speaking after visiting the scene, reported that the contested land is about 10 kilometres inside the Ugandan territory. He accused the invading soldiers of destroying some of the crops and acting “lawlessly.”
In Kampala, Mr Ernest Onge, the Government of South Sudan’s principal liaison officer, said he was unaware of the reported raid. “Let us examine the information properly,” he said, adding: “If it is true, it should be taken as individual acts of SPLA soldiers and treated as an isolated incident. I know our government cannot order something like that.”
Moyo District Woman MP Anne Auru, however, said yesterday’s attack was one of the many her constituents have endured in the hands of “cruel” SPLA soldiers without commensurate response from Ugandan authorities. She said: “It’s an unfortunate incident because there have been previous disturbances by our Sudanese neighbours and the Uganda government is fully aware but failing to take action to clearly define the border.”
Yesterday’s attack, that has heightened tension at the frontier, comes a week after another group of SPLA soldiers reportedly arrested and caned some 20 Ugandan workers erecting a mobile telephone mast in Afoji border area, some 15 kilometres from Lefori.
Ugandan officials were unable to explain last week’s thrashing. Commenting on yesterday’s incident, the acting Moyo District Police Commander, Mr Anthony Ojok, said security personnel in the area would address the issue with their counterparts in South Sudan through cross-border discussions. “We condemn such attacks and we need to have dialogue so that we harmonise the relationships with Sudan,” he said. All land wrangles involving the two countries should be solved through bilateral talks, he suggested.
Earlier, Sub-county chief Makosa advised the furious community, which was planning to demonstrate over the attack, not to retaliate by attacking thousands of Sudanese nationals who have lived as refugees in Lefori Sub-county and other parts of West Nile for more than two decades. He said this is the second attack in four months by Sudanese soldiers against farmers in his sub-county. In the first incident, two farmers were allegedly arrested and locked in a container inside Sudan for three hours before they were released and allowed to return home.
Ugandan Foreign Affairs ministry officials were unavailable for comment last evening. Some residents said local political and security leaders in Moyo appear fearful to take on their Sudanese counterparts said to be intimidating ordinary citizens. This is not the first time that Uganda is drawn into a border dispute with neighbouring countries.
Early this year, tempers flared between Kampala and Nairobi after both Uganda and Kenya claimed ownership of Migingo Island on Lake Victoria.
A joint technical team comprising surveyors from both countries, mandated to delineate the border using colonial maps and modern equipments, abandoned work nearly a month ago after disagreeing on the survey process. The Kenyan surveyors were later to unilaterally declare in Nairobi, that the rocky outcropping, barely an acre-wide, is theirs.
2 September 2009
By Warom Felix Okello
Sudanese People’s Liberation Army soldiers, yesterday afternoon attacked Ugandan farmers in Lefori Sub-county, Moyo District, claiming the land belongs to Sudan.
Seven heavily-armed SPLA soldiers ordered the farmers in Gwere Parish in Lefori to uproot their crops and leave the area which they said belonged to them, witnesses said. Lefori Sub-county Chief, Mr Saidi Sebi Makosa told Daily Monitor by phone: “The soldiers fired bullets in the air that scared children keeping watch over the crops.” The children, he said, ran and some got injured.
Mr Sebi, speaking after visiting the scene, reported that the contested land is about 10 kilometres inside the Ugandan territory. He accused the invading soldiers of destroying some of the crops and acting “lawlessly.”
In Kampala, Mr Ernest Onge, the Government of South Sudan’s principal liaison officer, said he was unaware of the reported raid. “Let us examine the information properly,” he said, adding: “If it is true, it should be taken as individual acts of SPLA soldiers and treated as an isolated incident. I know our government cannot order something like that.”
Moyo District Woman MP Anne Auru, however, said yesterday’s attack was one of the many her constituents have endured in the hands of “cruel” SPLA soldiers without commensurate response from Ugandan authorities. She said: “It’s an unfortunate incident because there have been previous disturbances by our Sudanese neighbours and the Uganda government is fully aware but failing to take action to clearly define the border.”
Yesterday’s attack, that has heightened tension at the frontier, comes a week after another group of SPLA soldiers reportedly arrested and caned some 20 Ugandan workers erecting a mobile telephone mast in Afoji border area, some 15 kilometres from Lefori.
Ugandan officials were unable to explain last week’s thrashing. Commenting on yesterday’s incident, the acting Moyo District Police Commander, Mr Anthony Ojok, said security personnel in the area would address the issue with their counterparts in South Sudan through cross-border discussions. “We condemn such attacks and we need to have dialogue so that we harmonise the relationships with Sudan,” he said. All land wrangles involving the two countries should be solved through bilateral talks, he suggested.
Earlier, Sub-county chief Makosa advised the furious community, which was planning to demonstrate over the attack, not to retaliate by attacking thousands of Sudanese nationals who have lived as refugees in Lefori Sub-county and other parts of West Nile for more than two decades. He said this is the second attack in four months by Sudanese soldiers against farmers in his sub-county. In the first incident, two farmers were allegedly arrested and locked in a container inside Sudan for three hours before they were released and allowed to return home.
Ugandan Foreign Affairs ministry officials were unavailable for comment last evening. Some residents said local political and security leaders in Moyo appear fearful to take on their Sudanese counterparts said to be intimidating ordinary citizens. This is not the first time that Uganda is drawn into a border dispute with neighbouring countries.
Early this year, tempers flared between Kampala and Nairobi after both Uganda and Kenya claimed ownership of Migingo Island on Lake Victoria.
A joint technical team comprising surveyors from both countries, mandated to delineate the border using colonial maps and modern equipments, abandoned work nearly a month ago after disagreeing on the survey process. The Kenyan surveyors were later to unilaterally declare in Nairobi, that the rocky outcropping, barely an acre-wide, is theirs.
01 September, 2009
Women attacked by Honduras coup regime.
Morning Star
1 September 2009
US trade unionists have called on Washington to "take all necessary steps" to facilitate the restoration of democracy in Honduras and prevent the coup regime from "brutalising" Honduran women.
In a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, members of the United Steelworkers Women of Steel organisation expressed their "grave concern for the lives and well-being of women in Honduras," who are allegedly being "brutalised" by the police of the current coup regime.
According to the Honduras-based Feministas de Honduras en Resistencia (FHR) group, there have been at least 19 documented cases of rape by police officers since the June 28 coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
The FHR charges that the police are using rape and other forms of sexual assault against women leaders of the resistance to the coup.
The Women of Steel called upon Ms Clinton to "denounce this violence just as you have recently denounced such violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo."
And they expressed their conviction that the violence against women underlines "the need for a swift return to democratic rule in Honduras, a return which necessitates the return of President Manuel Zelaya."
The letter concluded by calling on Ms Clinton and US President Barack Obama to "denounce the repression and basic human rights violations being carried out by the current illegitimate government and to take all steps necessary to restore President Zelaya, including the withdrawal of the US ambassador to Honduras, the end of all economic assistance to the coup regime, including monies granted by the Millennium Challenge Corp, and to freeze all assets of the coup leaders."
1 September 2009
US trade unionists have called on Washington to "take all necessary steps" to facilitate the restoration of democracy in Honduras and prevent the coup regime from "brutalising" Honduran women.
In a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, members of the United Steelworkers Women of Steel organisation expressed their "grave concern for the lives and well-being of women in Honduras," who are allegedly being "brutalised" by the police of the current coup regime.
According to the Honduras-based Feministas de Honduras en Resistencia (FHR) group, there have been at least 19 documented cases of rape by police officers since the June 28 coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
The FHR charges that the police are using rape and other forms of sexual assault against women leaders of the resistance to the coup.
The Women of Steel called upon Ms Clinton to "denounce this violence just as you have recently denounced such violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo."
And they expressed their conviction that the violence against women underlines "the need for a swift return to democratic rule in Honduras, a return which necessitates the return of President Manuel Zelaya."
The letter concluded by calling on Ms Clinton and US President Barack Obama to "denounce the repression and basic human rights violations being carried out by the current illegitimate government and to take all steps necessary to restore President Zelaya, including the withdrawal of the US ambassador to Honduras, the end of all economic assistance to the coup regime, including monies granted by the Millennium Challenge Corp, and to freeze all assets of the coup leaders."
US indicates delay likely in Sudan policy review.
Sudan Tribune
1 September 2009
The US administration’s comprehensive policy review on Sudan has yet to be completed, an official here said today.
File photo showing US Special Envoy for Sudan meeting with President Barack Obama who is holding a map of Sudan (The White House) Exactly two weeks ago, the assistant US Secretary of State Philip Crowley told reporters that he expects the review to be complete “in the next couple of weeks,”
Today the spokesperson of the US State department of State Ian Kelly said that the special envoy Scott Gration is expected to present his recommendations to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“We expect this one to be completed sometime in the coming weeks,” he said.
Both Obama and Clinton will have the final say on whether to sign off on the policy recommendations amid reports of deepening rifts within the administration on the approach to dealing with Sudan.
1 September 2009
The US administration’s comprehensive policy review on Sudan has yet to be completed, an official here said today.
File photo showing US Special Envoy for Sudan meeting with President Barack Obama who is holding a map of Sudan (The White House) Exactly two weeks ago, the assistant US Secretary of State Philip Crowley told reporters that he expects the review to be complete “in the next couple of weeks,”
Today the spokesperson of the US State department of State Ian Kelly said that the special envoy Scott Gration is expected to present his recommendations to President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“We expect this one to be completed sometime in the coming weeks,” he said.
Both Obama and Clinton will have the final say on whether to sign off on the policy recommendations amid reports of deepening rifts within the administration on the approach to dealing with Sudan.
Two alleged mercenaries from Norway are facing the death penalty in the Democratic Republic of Congo after being accused of murder and spying.
The Guardian
1 September 2009
By David Smith
Two alleged mercenaries from Europe are facing the death penalty in the Democratic Republic of Congo after being accused of murder and spying.
Looking pale behind unkempt beards, Joshua French, 27, and Tjostolv Moland, 28, both from Norway, were charged with murder, attempted murder, espionage, conspiracy and armed robbery after their driver was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in May this year.
"May it please the garrison military court to say that the accusations against Tjostolv Moland and Joshua [French] are established and to sentence them ... to the death penalty," the prosecutor, Major Jean Blaise Bwa Mulundu, told the court last week, according to Reuters.
Norway has strongly expressed concerns that the men are not receiving a fair trial. French himself said: "I don't think any recognised nation would accept this trial in any way or accept any of the evidence."
A murky chain of events led the two men to the grim military courtoom of Kisangani in the lawless east of Congo.
French and Moland were reportedly in the country to set up their own security company. The website Private Military Herald, which monitors the private security industry, claimed that Norwegian military ID cards, counterfeit UN hats and employee ID badges with both correct and false names were found by police at an apartment shared by the two men in Uganda.
The employee badges were believed to use the logo of a Norwegian security company, Special Interventions Group (SIG), allegedly on false pretences. A source at SIG said: "We were supposed to have a partnership with these guys a year ago but it didn't happen. They decided to try it for themselves and start their own company. Unfortunately they chose our name and used our ID cards."
The source added: "We don't believe for a second these guys killed anyone. They're just kids who went abroad, tried to think big and set up a company. I don't have a bad word to say about them. They loved Africa and they did not want to be mercenaries."
French and Moland had previously served in Norway's armed forces. Norwegian diplomats say there has been no contact between the accused and their country's military or any other official organisation since 2007.
It is not clear what the two accused were doing in the area. Former soldiers are frequently taken on by private security companies who have stepped up interest in the region due to oil discoveries under Lake Albert, which lies on the border between Congo and Uganda.
French and Moland have said that 47-year-old driver Abedi Kasongo was shot and killed when their car was attacked by gunmen on the road, 60 miles east of the town of Kisangani.
The men were travelling in Congo's north-eastern Orientale province, which is still unstable and plagued by armed groups six years after the country's war officially ended. But the region is starting to attract investors after the discovery of billions of barrels of oil on the Ugandan side of the border by London-listed Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil.
The prosecution demanded last week that Norway pay Congo $500bn in damages over the incident.
Mulundu requested the death penalty for each of the five charges against the two defendants. The verdict is expected to be handed down by the military court this week.
1 September 2009
By David Smith
Two alleged mercenaries from Europe are facing the death penalty in the Democratic Republic of Congo after being accused of murder and spying.
Looking pale behind unkempt beards, Joshua French, 27, and Tjostolv Moland, 28, both from Norway, were charged with murder, attempted murder, espionage, conspiracy and armed robbery after their driver was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head in May this year.
"May it please the garrison military court to say that the accusations against Tjostolv Moland and Joshua [French] are established and to sentence them ... to the death penalty," the prosecutor, Major Jean Blaise Bwa Mulundu, told the court last week, according to Reuters.
Norway has strongly expressed concerns that the men are not receiving a fair trial. French himself said: "I don't think any recognised nation would accept this trial in any way or accept any of the evidence."
A murky chain of events led the two men to the grim military courtoom of Kisangani in the lawless east of Congo.
French and Moland were reportedly in the country to set up their own security company. The website Private Military Herald, which monitors the private security industry, claimed that Norwegian military ID cards, counterfeit UN hats and employee ID badges with both correct and false names were found by police at an apartment shared by the two men in Uganda.
The employee badges were believed to use the logo of a Norwegian security company, Special Interventions Group (SIG), allegedly on false pretences. A source at SIG said: "We were supposed to have a partnership with these guys a year ago but it didn't happen. They decided to try it for themselves and start their own company. Unfortunately they chose our name and used our ID cards."
The source added: "We don't believe for a second these guys killed anyone. They're just kids who went abroad, tried to think big and set up a company. I don't have a bad word to say about them. They loved Africa and they did not want to be mercenaries."
French and Moland had previously served in Norway's armed forces. Norwegian diplomats say there has been no contact between the accused and their country's military or any other official organisation since 2007.
It is not clear what the two accused were doing in the area. Former soldiers are frequently taken on by private security companies who have stepped up interest in the region due to oil discoveries under Lake Albert, which lies on the border between Congo and Uganda.
French and Moland have said that 47-year-old driver Abedi Kasongo was shot and killed when their car was attacked by gunmen on the road, 60 miles east of the town of Kisangani.
The men were travelling in Congo's north-eastern Orientale province, which is still unstable and plagued by armed groups six years after the country's war officially ended. But the region is starting to attract investors after the discovery of billions of barrels of oil on the Ugandan side of the border by London-listed Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil.
The prosecution demanded last week that Norway pay Congo $500bn in damages over the incident.
Mulundu requested the death penalty for each of the five charges against the two defendants. The verdict is expected to be handed down by the military court this week.
Congo Says Freeport-McMoRan Fine Reduced for ‘No Good Reason.'
Bloomberg
1 September 2009
By Franz Wild
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.’s copper and cobalt unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo had a settlement for visa breaches cut by four-fifths without good reason, the country’s immigration authority said.
The subsidiary, Tenke Fungurume Mining Sarl, agreed in July to pay $16 million in fees and penalties after claims that at least three of its employees misused Congo’s visa and work- permit system. The amount was reduced to $16 million from $74 million, said Jerome Katende, economic adviser to the immigration authority’s director-general, Francois Beya.
“There was no basis for this” reduction, Katende said in an interview in the capital, Kinshasa, on Aug. 28. “When a company is in such flagrant violation of the law we should keep the maximum penalty.”
Tenke Fungurume is investing $1.8 billion to exploit what it calls one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and cobalt deposits that the company takes its name from. The project will reach full capacity at 250 million pounds of copper and 18 million pounds of cobalt in the second half of this year, according to Freeport. The company plans to sell 100 million pounds of copper this year, it said in July.
Tenke Fungurume was asked to pay the $74 million by the immigration authority and Congo’s state revenue agency, known as the Direction Generale des Recettes Administratives, Judiciares, Domaniales et de Participations, or DGRAD. No immigration- authority representatives were present at the July 27 meeting when the DGRAD lowered the settlement amount, Katende said.
Phoenix, Arizona-based Freeport’s spokesman William Collier declined to comment on the reduction when e-mailed for comment.
Employees Arrested
Three employees of Tenke Fungurume, owned by Freeport, Lundin Mining Corp. and Congolese parastatal Gecamines, were arrested in August after immigration authorities found they had established a parallel system of documentation to replace resident visas and work permits for expatriate workers. The system was arranged with two unidentified officials in Katanga province, where the company’s project is based.
Lundin Mining didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment left at its office in Toronto via phone and e-mail. Gecamines Chief Executive Officer Paul Fortin didn’t immediately respond to a message left on his mobile phone seeking comment.
Tenke Fungurume issued 9,921 substitute documents for employees between February 2008 and April 2009, Katende said. The company paid $400 per document into the private account of the head of provincial immigration, rather than the $1,153 that was required to be paid into the agency’s account, he said.
Clarification Sought
Tenke Fungurume is trying to clarify Congolese labor law, Freeport’s Collier said in an e-mailed response to questions yesterday.
“The procedures associated with obtaining labor and immigration authorizations for short-term workers on a timely basis are not clearly established in the DRC,” he said.
The revenue authority reduced the settlement amount after Tenke Fungurume showed the figure was excessive, DGRAD Director- General Jean Elongo said in an Aug. 28 interview in Kinshasa.
“They were ignorant of the law,” Elongo said. “The company has already lost out as it was paying into the wrong account. Why should they be punished even more?”
Tenke Fungurume has already paid $6 million of the settlement amount, he said.
“Tenke continues to work proactively and cooperatively with the tax authorities to establish approved procedures for doing so consistent with its mining convention and local law,” Freeport’s Collier said.
1 September 2009
By Franz Wild
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.’s copper and cobalt unit in the Democratic Republic of Congo had a settlement for visa breaches cut by four-fifths without good reason, the country’s immigration authority said.
The subsidiary, Tenke Fungurume Mining Sarl, agreed in July to pay $16 million in fees and penalties after claims that at least three of its employees misused Congo’s visa and work- permit system. The amount was reduced to $16 million from $74 million, said Jerome Katende, economic adviser to the immigration authority’s director-general, Francois Beya.
“There was no basis for this” reduction, Katende said in an interview in the capital, Kinshasa, on Aug. 28. “When a company is in such flagrant violation of the law we should keep the maximum penalty.”
Tenke Fungurume is investing $1.8 billion to exploit what it calls one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper and cobalt deposits that the company takes its name from. The project will reach full capacity at 250 million pounds of copper and 18 million pounds of cobalt in the second half of this year, according to Freeport. The company plans to sell 100 million pounds of copper this year, it said in July.
Tenke Fungurume was asked to pay the $74 million by the immigration authority and Congo’s state revenue agency, known as the Direction Generale des Recettes Administratives, Judiciares, Domaniales et de Participations, or DGRAD. No immigration- authority representatives were present at the July 27 meeting when the DGRAD lowered the settlement amount, Katende said.
Phoenix, Arizona-based Freeport’s spokesman William Collier declined to comment on the reduction when e-mailed for comment.
Employees Arrested
Three employees of Tenke Fungurume, owned by Freeport, Lundin Mining Corp. and Congolese parastatal Gecamines, were arrested in August after immigration authorities found they had established a parallel system of documentation to replace resident visas and work permits for expatriate workers. The system was arranged with two unidentified officials in Katanga province, where the company’s project is based.
Lundin Mining didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment left at its office in Toronto via phone and e-mail. Gecamines Chief Executive Officer Paul Fortin didn’t immediately respond to a message left on his mobile phone seeking comment.
Tenke Fungurume issued 9,921 substitute documents for employees between February 2008 and April 2009, Katende said. The company paid $400 per document into the private account of the head of provincial immigration, rather than the $1,153 that was required to be paid into the agency’s account, he said.
Clarification Sought
Tenke Fungurume is trying to clarify Congolese labor law, Freeport’s Collier said in an e-mailed response to questions yesterday.
“The procedures associated with obtaining labor and immigration authorizations for short-term workers on a timely basis are not clearly established in the DRC,” he said.
The revenue authority reduced the settlement amount after Tenke Fungurume showed the figure was excessive, DGRAD Director- General Jean Elongo said in an Aug. 28 interview in Kinshasa.
“They were ignorant of the law,” Elongo said. “The company has already lost out as it was paying into the wrong account. Why should they be punished even more?”
Tenke Fungurume has already paid $6 million of the settlement amount, he said.
“Tenke continues to work proactively and cooperatively with the tax authorities to establish approved procedures for doing so consistent with its mining convention and local law,” Freeport’s Collier said.
AngloGold Will Offer Shares to Fund Moto Acquisition (Update1).
Bloomberg
1 September 2009
By Ron Derby
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Africa’s largest producer of the metal, plans to sell about 7.8 million new shares to fund the acquisition of an indirect 50 percent stake in Moto Goldmines Ltd.
AngloGold and Randgold Resources Ltd. said on July 16 that they had offered $488 million in cash and stock for Moto to access gold reserves in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
UBS Investment Bank is acting as sole bookrunner for the offering, AngloGold said in a statement to Johannesburg’s stock exchange today.
AngloGold fell 5.70 rand, or 1.9 percent, to 298.05 rand in Johannesburg trading yesterday, valuing the company at 105.6 billion rand ($13.6 billion). The stock has gained 18 percent so far this year.
1 September 2009
By Ron Derby
AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., Africa’s largest producer of the metal, plans to sell about 7.8 million new shares to fund the acquisition of an indirect 50 percent stake in Moto Goldmines Ltd.
AngloGold and Randgold Resources Ltd. said on July 16 that they had offered $488 million in cash and stock for Moto to access gold reserves in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
UBS Investment Bank is acting as sole bookrunner for the offering, AngloGold said in a statement to Johannesburg’s stock exchange today.
AngloGold fell 5.70 rand, or 1.9 percent, to 298.05 rand in Johannesburg trading yesterday, valuing the company at 105.6 billion rand ($13.6 billion). The stock has gained 18 percent so far this year.
Straw 'changed mind over bomber'
BBC News
1 September 2009
Jack Straw changed his mind about excluding the Lockerbie bomber from a proposed prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, letters have shown.
The UK's justice secretary initially agreed it should not include anyone connected with the bombing.
But in a later letter to the Scottish Government he said it was in the UK's interests the agreement should take a "standard form" - with no exclusion.
Terminally ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was freed on 20 August.
Documents released by the Scottish and UK governments included claims that a UK minister had told the Libyans that Prime Minister Gordon Brown did not want Megrahi to die in prison.
He was released by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on compassionate grounds, after the minister rejected a prisoner transfer request.
The UK government has published its letters to Scottish ministers over the issue.
Megrahi was freed after serving eight years of a life sentence for the bombing, which led to Pan Am flight 103 exploding over the town of Lockerbie in December 1988.
The decision to release Megrahi, who was given a hero's welcome when he arrived back in Libya, has divided opinion at home and abroad.
The controversy has prompted many Western leaders to stay away from celebrations in Libya this week to mark 40 years since the coup that brought Colonel Gaddafi to power.
The Scottish Government also published background reports on the case, which it said had justified its final decision.
They included minutes of a meeting between Libyan and Scottish officials on prisoner transfer, which noted concerns that the bomber could be returned to a "fanfare" in Libya.
The documents also included a handwritten letter from Megrahi to Mr MacAskill in which he said: "I am unjustly convicted of a most heinous crime."
'Critical stage'
The Ministry of Justice was first to publish several letters from the then Justice Secretary Lord Falconer to Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, along with letters from his successor Jack Straw to Mr MacAskill and Mr Salmond.
In a letter to Mr MacAskill in September 2007, Mr Straw agreed with the Scottish Government's proposal that anyone convicted of the Lockerbie bombing would be excluded from a prisoner transfer agreement between the UK and Libya.
But in a follow-up letter, dated 19 December, Mr Straw said he would not be able to secure such an exclusion, writing: "Wider negotiations with the Libyans are reaching a critical stage and, in view of the overwhelming interests for the United Kingdom, I have agreed that, in this instance, the PTA should be in the standard form and not mention any individual."
Mr Alobidi confirmed that he had reiterated that the death of Mr Megrahi in a Scottish prison would have catastrophic effects for the relationship between Libya and the UK
Notes from the Scottish Government
In a further letter to Mr Salmond, on 11 February 2008, Mr Straw said Libya had become an "important partner in the fight against terrorism".
He added: "Libya is in a key position to help stem the flow of illegal migrants to the EU and to the UK."
Mr Straw has previously said reports that the Lockerbie bomber was released over an oil deal are "wholly untrue".
Other letters from the Foreign Office to the Scottish Government, from July and August this year, claimed no commitment had been given to the US that Megrahi would serve out his sentence in Scotland.
In July, an unnamed official from the FCO wrote: "While at the time, we considered a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya most unlikely in view of our relations with Libya, the government of the day, in conjunction with the then Lord Advocate, was keen to ensure that any political assurances given to the US would not bind the hands of successor governments.
Sir Menzies Campbell: "What was it which persuaded Jack Straw to change his position?"
"The UK Government consequently did not give the US an absolute commitment in relation to the future imprisonment of the Lockerbie accused."
Meanwhile, a document published by the Scottish Government seems to suggest that Mr Brown and the foreign secretary did not wish Megrahi to die in a Scottish prison.
The Libyans said the statement was made by UK Foreign Minister Bill Rammell to a Libyan minister during a meeting in Tripoli in February.
Libya's Minister for Europe Abdulati Alobidi made the claim in a meeting with Mr MacAskill on 10 August.
The document said: "Mr Alobidi spoke of Mr Bill Rammell's visit to Tripoli in February and that they had discussed the matter of the prisoner transfer agreement.
"Mr Alobidi confirmed that he had reiterated to Mr Rammell that the death of Mr Megrahi in a Scottish prison would have catastrophic effects for the relationship between Libya and the UK.
"Mr Alobidi went on to say that Mr Rammell had stated that neither the prime minister not the foreign secretary would want Mr Megrahi to pass away in prison but the decision on transfer lies in the hands of the Scottish ministers."
1 September 2009
Jack Straw changed his mind about excluding the Lockerbie bomber from a proposed prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, letters have shown.
The UK's justice secretary initially agreed it should not include anyone connected with the bombing.
But in a later letter to the Scottish Government he said it was in the UK's interests the agreement should take a "standard form" - with no exclusion.
Terminally ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi was freed on 20 August.
Documents released by the Scottish and UK governments included claims that a UK minister had told the Libyans that Prime Minister Gordon Brown did not want Megrahi to die in prison.
He was released by Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill on compassionate grounds, after the minister rejected a prisoner transfer request.
The UK government has published its letters to Scottish ministers over the issue.
Megrahi was freed after serving eight years of a life sentence for the bombing, which led to Pan Am flight 103 exploding over the town of Lockerbie in December 1988.
The decision to release Megrahi, who was given a hero's welcome when he arrived back in Libya, has divided opinion at home and abroad.
The controversy has prompted many Western leaders to stay away from celebrations in Libya this week to mark 40 years since the coup that brought Colonel Gaddafi to power.
The Scottish Government also published background reports on the case, which it said had justified its final decision.
They included minutes of a meeting between Libyan and Scottish officials on prisoner transfer, which noted concerns that the bomber could be returned to a "fanfare" in Libya.
The documents also included a handwritten letter from Megrahi to Mr MacAskill in which he said: "I am unjustly convicted of a most heinous crime."
'Critical stage'
The Ministry of Justice was first to publish several letters from the then Justice Secretary Lord Falconer to Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, along with letters from his successor Jack Straw to Mr MacAskill and Mr Salmond.
In a letter to Mr MacAskill in September 2007, Mr Straw agreed with the Scottish Government's proposal that anyone convicted of the Lockerbie bombing would be excluded from a prisoner transfer agreement between the UK and Libya.
But in a follow-up letter, dated 19 December, Mr Straw said he would not be able to secure such an exclusion, writing: "Wider negotiations with the Libyans are reaching a critical stage and, in view of the overwhelming interests for the United Kingdom, I have agreed that, in this instance, the PTA should be in the standard form and not mention any individual."
Mr Alobidi confirmed that he had reiterated that the death of Mr Megrahi in a Scottish prison would have catastrophic effects for the relationship between Libya and the UK
Notes from the Scottish Government
In a further letter to Mr Salmond, on 11 February 2008, Mr Straw said Libya had become an "important partner in the fight against terrorism".
He added: "Libya is in a key position to help stem the flow of illegal migrants to the EU and to the UK."
Mr Straw has previously said reports that the Lockerbie bomber was released over an oil deal are "wholly untrue".
Other letters from the Foreign Office to the Scottish Government, from July and August this year, claimed no commitment had been given to the US that Megrahi would serve out his sentence in Scotland.
In July, an unnamed official from the FCO wrote: "While at the time, we considered a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya most unlikely in view of our relations with Libya, the government of the day, in conjunction with the then Lord Advocate, was keen to ensure that any political assurances given to the US would not bind the hands of successor governments.
Sir Menzies Campbell: "What was it which persuaded Jack Straw to change his position?"
"The UK Government consequently did not give the US an absolute commitment in relation to the future imprisonment of the Lockerbie accused."
Meanwhile, a document published by the Scottish Government seems to suggest that Mr Brown and the foreign secretary did not wish Megrahi to die in a Scottish prison.
The Libyans said the statement was made by UK Foreign Minister Bill Rammell to a Libyan minister during a meeting in Tripoli in February.
Libya's Minister for Europe Abdulati Alobidi made the claim in a meeting with Mr MacAskill on 10 August.
The document said: "Mr Alobidi spoke of Mr Bill Rammell's visit to Tripoli in February and that they had discussed the matter of the prisoner transfer agreement.
"Mr Alobidi confirmed that he had reiterated to Mr Rammell that the death of Mr Megrahi in a Scottish prison would have catastrophic effects for the relationship between Libya and the UK.
"Mr Alobidi went on to say that Mr Rammell had stated that neither the prime minister not the foreign secretary would want Mr Megrahi to pass away in prison but the decision on transfer lies in the hands of the Scottish ministers."
Namibian Govt, India Sign Diamond, Uranium Deals
The Namibian
1 September 2009
By Jo-MarÉ Duddy
Agreements paving the way for Namibia to share in India's US$30 billion nuclear industry, as well as their world-class diamond polishing sector, were signed between President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi yesterday.
An agreement on co-operation in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy and a memorandum of understanding on geology and mineral resources are the first steps towards selling uranium and diamonds to India.
It also ensures a training institute for diamond processing in Windhoek, Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina told The Namibian from India yesterday.
Nghimtina, part of the 43-member presidential delegation, said Namibia can export uranium oxide to India now that the country is no longer subject to the embargo on international nuclear trade.
However, that does not mean that India will receive special favours and be allowed to join the hunt for uranium locally, he said. "The moratorium on granting exclusive prospecting licences (EPLs) for uranium is something completely different," Nghimtina said.
Reports in the Indian media suggest differently, though.
According to The Economic Times, "sources said that discussions on uranium mining and supplies have been ongoing with Namibia for some time now", and the MoU "will give India the opportunity to tap Namibia's rich mining sector". "This includes the chance to get exclusive prospecting rights and the possibility of joint ventures in the sector," The Economic Times reported yesterday.
India's nuclear market is expected to grow to US$150 billion in the next 30 years. Media reports also suggest that the MoU has secured an additional market for Namibia's rough diamonds, a statement which, according to Nghimtina, "is not 100 per cent true".
"India and Namibia are on the verge of signing a MoU that will give India access to Namibia's diamond riches. Such an agreement will give India direct access to diamonds, decreasing its dependency on major producers," a report on the website of the International Diamond Exchange (Idex) said yesterday morning.
Namibia recently took the unusual step to bypass the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) and sell a significant chunk of Namdeb's stockpile to Diamonds India Limited (DIL) to relieve the local diamond giant's cash flow problem.
The Economic Times referred to the deal, hailing Nghimtina for his "bold initiative", and said the consortium of 58 leading diamond and jewellery manufacturers "is in continuous need of rough diamonds for their processing factories, even during recession".
"Currently, DIL, to fulfil its continuous demand of diamonds, is willing to enter into contracts to purchase rough diamonds on continuous basis and sometime in large quantities," The Economic Times said, adding that DIL will set up the training institute for diamond processing in Namibia.
The collapse of Namdeb's traditional markets at the end of last year due to the global financial storm has brought the company to its knees. The latest information showed that diamond production from January to June fell by more than 60 per cent compared to the first six months of last year.
The spill-over effect of its financial woes is one of the main reasons that Namibia has hit a recession, analysts said. Although Namdeb's diamonds are sold to the DTC, Government has left a back door open in the Diamond Act of 1999.
Section 58 gives the Mines and Energy Ministry the right to force producers like Namdeb to channel their rough diamonds to local processing plants, while Section 59 allows Government to sell up to ten per cent of a producer's rough diamond directly to the market.
"It's not all about Namdeb," Nghimtina told The Namibian. There are other diamond mines in the country, like Samicor, that can deal directly with India. Besides diamonds and uranium, defence issues are high on the presidential agenda too.
Pohamba and Manmohan also signed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation yesterday.
The Economic Times contacted Namibia's High Commissioner to India, Martin Kapewasha, for more detail on the agreement. He was only willing to confirm that "defence deals" would be discussed.
India and Namibia furthermore signed a bilateral agreement regarding communication, as well as an MoU related to exemption from visa requirements for diplomatic and official passport holders.
1 September 2009
By Jo-MarÉ Duddy
Agreements paving the way for Namibia to share in India's US$30 billion nuclear industry, as well as their world-class diamond polishing sector, were signed between President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi yesterday.
An agreement on co-operation in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy and a memorandum of understanding on geology and mineral resources are the first steps towards selling uranium and diamonds to India.
It also ensures a training institute for diamond processing in Windhoek, Mines and Energy Minister Erkki Nghimtina told The Namibian from India yesterday.
Nghimtina, part of the 43-member presidential delegation, said Namibia can export uranium oxide to India now that the country is no longer subject to the embargo on international nuclear trade.
However, that does not mean that India will receive special favours and be allowed to join the hunt for uranium locally, he said. "The moratorium on granting exclusive prospecting licences (EPLs) for uranium is something completely different," Nghimtina said.
Reports in the Indian media suggest differently, though.
According to The Economic Times, "sources said that discussions on uranium mining and supplies have been ongoing with Namibia for some time now", and the MoU "will give India the opportunity to tap Namibia's rich mining sector". "This includes the chance to get exclusive prospecting rights and the possibility of joint ventures in the sector," The Economic Times reported yesterday.
India's nuclear market is expected to grow to US$150 billion in the next 30 years. Media reports also suggest that the MoU has secured an additional market for Namibia's rough diamonds, a statement which, according to Nghimtina, "is not 100 per cent true".
"India and Namibia are on the verge of signing a MoU that will give India access to Namibia's diamond riches. Such an agreement will give India direct access to diamonds, decreasing its dependency on major producers," a report on the website of the International Diamond Exchange (Idex) said yesterday morning.
Namibia recently took the unusual step to bypass the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) and sell a significant chunk of Namdeb's stockpile to Diamonds India Limited (DIL) to relieve the local diamond giant's cash flow problem.
The Economic Times referred to the deal, hailing Nghimtina for his "bold initiative", and said the consortium of 58 leading diamond and jewellery manufacturers "is in continuous need of rough diamonds for their processing factories, even during recession".
"Currently, DIL, to fulfil its continuous demand of diamonds, is willing to enter into contracts to purchase rough diamonds on continuous basis and sometime in large quantities," The Economic Times said, adding that DIL will set up the training institute for diamond processing in Namibia.
The collapse of Namdeb's traditional markets at the end of last year due to the global financial storm has brought the company to its knees. The latest information showed that diamond production from January to June fell by more than 60 per cent compared to the first six months of last year.
The spill-over effect of its financial woes is one of the main reasons that Namibia has hit a recession, analysts said. Although Namdeb's diamonds are sold to the DTC, Government has left a back door open in the Diamond Act of 1999.
Section 58 gives the Mines and Energy Ministry the right to force producers like Namdeb to channel their rough diamonds to local processing plants, while Section 59 allows Government to sell up to ten per cent of a producer's rough diamond directly to the market.
"It's not all about Namdeb," Nghimtina told The Namibian. There are other diamond mines in the country, like Samicor, that can deal directly with India. Besides diamonds and uranium, defence issues are high on the presidential agenda too.
Pohamba and Manmohan also signed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation yesterday.
The Economic Times contacted Namibia's High Commissioner to India, Martin Kapewasha, for more detail on the agreement. He was only willing to confirm that "defence deals" would be discussed.
India and Namibia furthermore signed a bilateral agreement regarding communication, as well as an MoU related to exemption from visa requirements for diplomatic and official passport holders.
Ethiopian troops move to another Somali town.
Sudan Tribune
1 September 2009
Ethiopian troops have moved toward another town in western part of Somalia after they successfully dislodged the Islamist insurgents from Beledweyne where they entered on Saturday.
Ethiopian army for the first time since January returned to Beledweyn, a town near the Ethiopian border, after the fighters of Al-Shebab group had taken control of some parts the town on August 20.
Hundreds of Ethiopian troops in heavily armoured vehicles left Beledweyne, the capital of western region of Hiraan heading to Bulobarde town in the same region.
The militants had resisted an attack by the government forces last week on Bulobarde. Their attack on Beledweyn was in retaliation for an offensive by pro-government fighters on their strongholds.
Pro-government fighters recently launched a raid against Al-Shabaab, which alongside the more political Hizb Al-Islam control several town in the region since the pullout of the Ethiopian army from western Somalia.
Last June, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Ethiopia could send troops to Somalia if the situation there deteriorates. His statement came after call by Somalia’s speaker on neighboring countries and international community to intervene militarily in Somalia to prop up the UN backed transitional federal government.
The Ethiopian Communications Minister, Bereket Simon at the time, claimed Ethiopia would only intervene militarily in Somali to support the besieged transitional government if it has a clear international mandate.
However, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, claimed his opposition to the intervention of Ethiopian troops in the neighboring Somalia. Such intervention could be "counterproductive" to the Somali government, he said. Adding he fears that this would increase the popularity of the insurgency.
1 September 2009
Ethiopian troops have moved toward another town in western part of Somalia after they successfully dislodged the Islamist insurgents from Beledweyne where they entered on Saturday.
Ethiopian army for the first time since January returned to Beledweyn, a town near the Ethiopian border, after the fighters of Al-Shebab group had taken control of some parts the town on August 20.
Hundreds of Ethiopian troops in heavily armoured vehicles left Beledweyne, the capital of western region of Hiraan heading to Bulobarde town in the same region.
The militants had resisted an attack by the government forces last week on Bulobarde. Their attack on Beledweyn was in retaliation for an offensive by pro-government fighters on their strongholds.
Pro-government fighters recently launched a raid against Al-Shabaab, which alongside the more political Hizb Al-Islam control several town in the region since the pullout of the Ethiopian army from western Somalia.
Last June, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Ethiopia could send troops to Somalia if the situation there deteriorates. His statement came after call by Somalia’s speaker on neighboring countries and international community to intervene militarily in Somalia to prop up the UN backed transitional federal government.
The Ethiopian Communications Minister, Bereket Simon at the time, claimed Ethiopia would only intervene militarily in Somali to support the besieged transitional government if it has a clear international mandate.
However, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson, claimed his opposition to the intervention of Ethiopian troops in the neighboring Somalia. Such intervention could be "counterproductive" to the Somali government, he said. Adding he fears that this would increase the popularity of the insurgency.
Iran will start laying gas pipeline in Pakistan next year.
Daily Times
1 September 2009
By Ijaz Kakakhel
Iran will start laying the pipeline for gas supply in Pakistan next year, sources said on Monday.
The decision was made on Monday, the first day of three-day talks between officials of the two countries.
The sources said the design of the gas pipelines was discussed in detail on the first day of the meeting. The project would require 784 kilometres of pipeline, which would cost $1.25 billion, they said, adding that both sides would also deliberate on issues relating to the project’s operational plan in their next meeting. Pakistan would start receiving gas supply from Iran in 2013.
1 September 2009
By Ijaz Kakakhel
Iran will start laying the pipeline for gas supply in Pakistan next year, sources said on Monday.
The decision was made on Monday, the first day of three-day talks between officials of the two countries.
The sources said the design of the gas pipelines was discussed in detail on the first day of the meeting. The project would require 784 kilometres of pipeline, which would cost $1.25 billion, they said, adding that both sides would also deliberate on issues relating to the project’s operational plan in their next meeting. Pakistan would start receiving gas supply from Iran in 2013.
Patasse left the Togo aboard a Libyan plane.
APA
31 August 2009
The former CAR president Ange Felix Patasse left Togo on Monday aboard a plane chartered by Libya, APA noted.
The former CAR president flew to Tripoli for 12h with members of his family and his aides stayed with him in Togo during the seven years of exile.
Announced for Saturday's departure Patassé was shifted to Monday due to late arrival of the Libyan plane.
He told APA first visit to Libya at the invitation of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to take part in festivities marking the 40th anniversary of his accession to power and a "special session" of the African Union (AU) devoted to conflicts on the continent.
Ange Felix Patasse who said leave Togo "light hearted" announced last week that he will be candidate for the presidential election next year in his country.
Founding member of the Liberation Movement of Central African People (MLPC), Ange Felix Patasse was elected in October 1993, Chairman of the Central African Republic.
He was re-elected 6 years later before being ousted in a coup in March 2003 led by General François Bozizé, the Chief of Staff of the Army who has been President of Central Africa.
31 August 2009
The former CAR president Ange Felix Patasse left Togo on Monday aboard a plane chartered by Libya, APA noted.
The former CAR president flew to Tripoli for 12h with members of his family and his aides stayed with him in Togo during the seven years of exile.
Announced for Saturday's departure Patassé was shifted to Monday due to late arrival of the Libyan plane.
He told APA first visit to Libya at the invitation of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to take part in festivities marking the 40th anniversary of his accession to power and a "special session" of the African Union (AU) devoted to conflicts on the continent.
Ange Felix Patasse who said leave Togo "light hearted" announced last week that he will be candidate for the presidential election next year in his country.
Founding member of the Liberation Movement of Central African People (MLPC), Ange Felix Patasse was elected in October 1993, Chairman of the Central African Republic.
He was re-elected 6 years later before being ousted in a coup in March 2003 led by General François Bozizé, the Chief of Staff of the Army who has been President of Central Africa.
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