Sudan Tribune
7 January 2010
London based Tullow Oil, is expected to prospect oil in Ethiopia after a deal signed with the US SouthWest Energy which holds acreage in the Horn of Africa country.
According to the HIS International Oil Letter, a weekly news letter on oil industry, Tullow will explore oil in Ogaden basin in blocks 9a, 9, and 13. SouthWest Energy’s blocks cover a total area of approximately 29,000 sq. km in the north-east part of the Ogaden Basin.
The Ethiopian government believes that the Ogaden basin, which covers 350,000 sq km (135,100 sq miles), contains gas reserves of some 4 trillion cubic feet. Officials point to neighboring countries such as Sudan and Yemen as evidence there could be major oil deposits under Ethiopia’s deserts.
The Ethiopian government downplays threats by an active rebel group in the region and stresses there would be five basins out of the troubled region.
The rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) attacked an oil field in April 2007where the separatist group killed 74 people, including nine Chinese employees of Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, part of Sinopec, China’s biggest refiner and petrochemicals producer.
07 January, 2010
Museveni signs off Land Bill Amid Protest from Buganda.
Daily Monitor
By Mercy Nalugo
January 7 2010
Buganda Kingdom was last evening still adamant it would not respect the controversial Land Amendment Act 2010, even after President Museveni yesterday signed it off to become law.
But Mr Museveni who assented to the Bill from his country home in Rwakitura was unmoved by the controversy the new law has attracted, saying he is happy with the amendment because it will protect people from evictions.
“The President said he does not support taxing idle land, something that is being talked about by some people,” said a State House statement, sent to Daily Monitor last evening.
He signed the Bill in the company of members of the National Bibanja Owners Association.
But Buganda Kingdom Information Minister Charles Peter Mayiga said Ugandans opposed to the new law should not lose hope “as an opportunity will present itself for the law to be amended or even deleted at the right time”.
“President [Idi] Amin introduced the Land Reform Decree in 1975 but 20 years later it was thrown out. People should not lose sleep over this law,” he said
Mr Mayiga said Mengo presented its legitimate position to Parliament on why they are completely opposed to the Bill “and we cannot deviate from that position”.
Buganda Kingdom provided the fiercest opposition to the Bill, introduced to Parliament three years ago. And when it was passed by Parliament on November 26, 2009, the Kingdom Prime Minister, Mr John Baptist Walusimbi, issued a declaration, saying Buganda would not respect the new piece of legislation and would continue its sensitisation about its negative content.
Mr Mayiga’s deputy, Mr Medard Lubega, said; “I can speak with confidence that this law is not in the best interests of Ugandans. It is his (the President’s) law.”
“Pontius Pilate danced to the tune of the gallery. In the end he had to wash his hands and assured himself that he was washing himself clean,” he added.
At yesterday’s signing ceremony, President Museveni criticised those opposed to the new law, saying socio-economic changes will come through education and not through financial coercion.
He thanked members of the government Mobilisation team led by Maj. Jacob Asiimwe, present at the function, for sensitising the masses about the need for the new law.
“The team was appointed by the President after forces opposed to the amendment went to the public spreading untrue and ill intentioned propaganda that the new law was a ploy to grab land from sections of people in Buganda,” the statement said.
The new law will hand down a seven-year jail sentence or a fine of Shs1.9 million, or both penalties, to any individual who evicts or attempts to evict tenants without order of court. The new law will offer tenants a grace period of six months before an eviction order can be effected.
The Bill also empowers the Lands Minister to determine ground rent within six months after district land boards have failed to do so.
By Mercy Nalugo
January 7 2010
Buganda Kingdom was last evening still adamant it would not respect the controversial Land Amendment Act 2010, even after President Museveni yesterday signed it off to become law.
But Mr Museveni who assented to the Bill from his country home in Rwakitura was unmoved by the controversy the new law has attracted, saying he is happy with the amendment because it will protect people from evictions.
“The President said he does not support taxing idle land, something that is being talked about by some people,” said a State House statement, sent to Daily Monitor last evening.
He signed the Bill in the company of members of the National Bibanja Owners Association.
But Buganda Kingdom Information Minister Charles Peter Mayiga said Ugandans opposed to the new law should not lose hope “as an opportunity will present itself for the law to be amended or even deleted at the right time”.
“President [Idi] Amin introduced the Land Reform Decree in 1975 but 20 years later it was thrown out. People should not lose sleep over this law,” he said
Mr Mayiga said Mengo presented its legitimate position to Parliament on why they are completely opposed to the Bill “and we cannot deviate from that position”.
Buganda Kingdom provided the fiercest opposition to the Bill, introduced to Parliament three years ago. And when it was passed by Parliament on November 26, 2009, the Kingdom Prime Minister, Mr John Baptist Walusimbi, issued a declaration, saying Buganda would not respect the new piece of legislation and would continue its sensitisation about its negative content.
Mr Mayiga’s deputy, Mr Medard Lubega, said; “I can speak with confidence that this law is not in the best interests of Ugandans. It is his (the President’s) law.”
“Pontius Pilate danced to the tune of the gallery. In the end he had to wash his hands and assured himself that he was washing himself clean,” he added.
At yesterday’s signing ceremony, President Museveni criticised those opposed to the new law, saying socio-economic changes will come through education and not through financial coercion.
He thanked members of the government Mobilisation team led by Maj. Jacob Asiimwe, present at the function, for sensitising the masses about the need for the new law.
“The team was appointed by the President after forces opposed to the amendment went to the public spreading untrue and ill intentioned propaganda that the new law was a ploy to grab land from sections of people in Buganda,” the statement said.
The new law will hand down a seven-year jail sentence or a fine of Shs1.9 million, or both penalties, to any individual who evicts or attempts to evict tenants without order of court. The new law will offer tenants a grace period of six months before an eviction order can be effected.
The Bill also empowers the Lands Minister to determine ground rent within six months after district land boards have failed to do so.
Two Americans Killed in Attack on Afghanistan CIA Base Worked for Xe (Formerly Blackwater).
DeClassified
Newsweek Blog
6 January 2010
By Mark Hosenball
Two of the seven Americans killed in the Dec. 30 suicide bombing of a CIA outpost in Khost, Afghanistan, were employees of Xe, the current incarnation of the controversial paramilitary contractor formerly known as Blackwater, according to people familiar with the issue, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive information. One source said that the Xe employees had been involved directly in CIA intelligence operations, rather than merely serving as security guards at the remote CIA facility.
An Associated Press story published Wednesday cited an obituary released Wednesday as the original source for information indicating that bombing victim Jeremy Wise, a 35-year-old a former Navy SEAL from Virginia Beach, Va., had been working at the outpost, known as Forward Operating Base Chapman, for the company now known as Xe. The wire service reported that MindyLou Paresi of Dupont, Wash., had told The News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., that her husband, 46-year-old Dane Clark Paresi, was also a Xe contractor who was killed in the attack.
Two people familiar with details of the incident confirmed the identities of Wise and Paresi to NEWSWEEK and that they were working for Xe, evidently as contractors to the CIA, at the time of their deaths. While Xe has principally been known for providing highly trained physical-security officers to U.S. agencies like the State Department and CIA, according to one of the people familiar with the late Xe employees' activities, their role in CIA activities at the Chapman base may have involved them directly in agency counterterrorism operations, rather than merely providing security to the base.
Since the incident, the CIA has declined to release names or biographic information on those who died. But a U.S. intelligence official told NEWSWEEK: "The agency does not, at times like this, draw distinctions between contractors and staff officers. Everyone who was there faced the same dangers in pursuit of the same mission. Counterterrorism is by definition hazardous work, and it's a disgrace for second-guessers who don't know the facts to suggest that anyone took a cavalier approach to security. No one does in Afghanistan, let alone when you're meeting someone with extremist ties."
Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Xe, told NEWSWEEK: "We have no comment. But our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the fallen."
Initial reports said that seven CIA employees had been killed when a Jordanian doctor, who was being evaluated as a possible informant against Al Qaeda, was invited onto the CIA base and blew himself up. However the dead are now understood to include the two Xe employees. The involvement in the incident of personnel from Xe, which changed its name from Blackwater after that corporate identity became tarnished in the wake of a series of deadly incidents in Iraq, is almost certain to raise new questions about the extent to which U.S. government agencies rely upon outside contractors for ultra-sensitive security and intelligence operations. Intelligence sources have said that Blackwater personnel, if not the company itself, were also involved in discussions that CIA officials had during the Bush administration about establishing some kind of Israeli-style hit squads to hunt down and kill Al-Qaeda leaders.
Newsweek Blog
6 January 2010
By Mark Hosenball
Two of the seven Americans killed in the Dec. 30 suicide bombing of a CIA outpost in Khost, Afghanistan, were employees of Xe, the current incarnation of the controversial paramilitary contractor formerly known as Blackwater, according to people familiar with the issue, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive information. One source said that the Xe employees had been involved directly in CIA intelligence operations, rather than merely serving as security guards at the remote CIA facility.
An Associated Press story published Wednesday cited an obituary released Wednesday as the original source for information indicating that bombing victim Jeremy Wise, a 35-year-old a former Navy SEAL from Virginia Beach, Va., had been working at the outpost, known as Forward Operating Base Chapman, for the company now known as Xe. The wire service reported that MindyLou Paresi of Dupont, Wash., had told The News Tribune of Tacoma, Wash., that her husband, 46-year-old Dane Clark Paresi, was also a Xe contractor who was killed in the attack.
Two people familiar with details of the incident confirmed the identities of Wise and Paresi to NEWSWEEK and that they were working for Xe, evidently as contractors to the CIA, at the time of their deaths. While Xe has principally been known for providing highly trained physical-security officers to U.S. agencies like the State Department and CIA, according to one of the people familiar with the late Xe employees' activities, their role in CIA activities at the Chapman base may have involved them directly in agency counterterrorism operations, rather than merely providing security to the base.
Since the incident, the CIA has declined to release names or biographic information on those who died. But a U.S. intelligence official told NEWSWEEK: "The agency does not, at times like this, draw distinctions between contractors and staff officers. Everyone who was there faced the same dangers in pursuit of the same mission. Counterterrorism is by definition hazardous work, and it's a disgrace for second-guessers who don't know the facts to suggest that anyone took a cavalier approach to security. No one does in Afghanistan, let alone when you're meeting someone with extremist ties."
Mark Corallo, a spokesman for Xe, told NEWSWEEK: "We have no comment. But our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the fallen."
Initial reports said that seven CIA employees had been killed when a Jordanian doctor, who was being evaluated as a possible informant against Al Qaeda, was invited onto the CIA base and blew himself up. However the dead are now understood to include the two Xe employees. The involvement in the incident of personnel from Xe, which changed its name from Blackwater after that corporate identity became tarnished in the wake of a series of deadly incidents in Iraq, is almost certain to raise new questions about the extent to which U.S. government agencies rely upon outside contractors for ultra-sensitive security and intelligence operations. Intelligence sources have said that Blackwater personnel, if not the company itself, were also involved in discussions that CIA officials had during the Bush administration about establishing some kind of Israeli-style hit squads to hunt down and kill Al-Qaeda leaders.
06 January, 2010
Private security company director held, illegal weapons seized.
Daily Times
6 January 2010
The capital police during a raid in I-10 sector on Tuesday arrested the director of a private security company and seized huge quantity of illegal weapons.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tahir Alam Khan had directed Sabzi Mandi Station House Officer (SHO) to check the record of security companies in the limits of the police station and take strict action against those found involved in illegal activities.
SHO Muhammad Hussain Lasi, ASI Hafiz Muneer Ahmad and other officials checked record of Ghazi, Chup, Al-Mateen and Tight security companies. During the checking, Tight Security Company director Niaz Ahmad Bhatti, a resident of Rawalpindi, produced fake licences. The police arrested Bhatti and registered a case against him.
The police also seized eight repeaters, two pistols, a 44-bore rifle and rounds. The police also took record and uniforms of the company in their custody. Further investigations are in progress.
6 January 2010
The capital police during a raid in I-10 sector on Tuesday arrested the director of a private security company and seized huge quantity of illegal weapons.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Tahir Alam Khan had directed Sabzi Mandi Station House Officer (SHO) to check the record of security companies in the limits of the police station and take strict action against those found involved in illegal activities.
SHO Muhammad Hussain Lasi, ASI Hafiz Muneer Ahmad and other officials checked record of Ghazi, Chup, Al-Mateen and Tight security companies. During the checking, Tight Security Company director Niaz Ahmad Bhatti, a resident of Rawalpindi, produced fake licences. The police arrested Bhatti and registered a case against him.
The police also seized eight repeaters, two pistols, a 44-bore rifle and rounds. The police also took record and uniforms of the company in their custody. Further investigations are in progress.
Kenyan ICC Witnesses Escape Death.
Nairobi Star
5 January 2010
A campaign to silence several potentially key witnesses for the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo appears to have intensified in the last two weeks.
In December Ocampo went before the ICC pre-trial chamber to seek permission to start formal investigations into the post-election violence in early 2008. The ruling is due this week.
The witnesses reported the attacks to different police stations in Rift Valley and Western provinces, as well as to human rights organisations that are documenting evidence to be presented to Ocampo.
The Star has obtained Ocurrence Book numbers and dates where the witnesses have reported the incidents but we cannot report them for security reasons.
Four witnesses claimed to have escaped death narrowly on different days between the December 23 and yesterday.
Witness "A" has been on the run for the last six months. He gave evidence in camera on certain politicians to the Waki Commission to investigate post-election violence.
On December 28, he was hauled out of a taxi and beaten senseless by four men who claimed that they had been paid to kill him.
"They told me that unless I withdraw my evidence from Waki they will return to kill me," said Witness A. He claimed that he had also been attacked by the same men in October but that his neighbours rescued him.
" After the attack, I went to hide at my uncle's house near Mt. Elgon.
They followed me there but they missed me. They then murdered my cousin and told my relatives that they will kill more people unless they produce me," said the shaken witness who fled to a neighboring country yesterday.
Twenty-five year-old Anthony Juma was tied up by the gang which then used a rope to hang the young man.
Police in Bungoma confirmed the killing at Brigadier village.
Witness "B" used to live in Kitale but for the last three months has been staying with friends and relatives around the country. He also testified in camera to Waki.
On December 27 he says he was attacked in Nairobi's Komarock area.
"For a whole week three people kept following me and at some point confronted me on December 23 near Afya Center. I knew two of them were security officers because I had worked with them at some point".
"They told me that I was too dangerous to be left out there so I should write my will. On December 27 the same people arrived at a friend's house in Komarock asking for me but I escaped through the back door.
They shot my friend twice in the leg for refusing to produce me," said Witness B.
Witness C who is nursing a fracture on his left hand and several panga cuts said he was attacked on January 1 in Kericho.
"I had just returned from my home in central province when they came to my house. They said they wanted to warn me against meeting Ocampo or writing to him and even before I responded they slashed me several times and broke my arm," said Witness C.
He claimed the same people had warned him several times of "dire consequences" in the past six months.
Another witness has suffered post-traumatic stress and is being treated at the Moi Referral Hospital in Eldoret after being threatened with death along with his family in Uasin Gishu district.
A witness who was a human rights activist in Naivasha was murdered last April after he rejected offers for a scholarship, or money to go and do business in South Africa. His name cannot be revealed to protect his family.
Six other witnesses in Naivasha accepted the offers and left the country to study and do business on condition that they will not testify anywhere including at the ICC if asked to do so.
All the potential ICC witnesses had appeared before the Waki Commission in camera.
Last November the Star exclusively reported that several witnesses had received death threats from cabinet ministers who suspect that ICC may indict them.
Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo then confirmed that some witnesses had written to him expressing fear for their lives.
"I'm aware that some witnesses are fearful for their lives but I'm sure you know that it's the responsibility of the Attorney General to ensure their safety,' Mutula said.
Yesterday Attorney General Amos Wako, who is responsible for witness protection, did not answer his mobile telephone or respond to our test messages.
Kenya's Witness Protection Act was enacted into law in December 2006, and operationalised in September 2007 but the AG's office has been accused of not effectively implementing it.
The ICC has already set up a pre-trial chamber followed a meeting between Ocampo, President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Nairobi on November 5. The bench will rule later this month if Ocampo can go ahead and investigate Kenya's case.
Eleven other witnesses, mostly from the North Rift, are on the run moving from one town to another seeking refuge from relatives.
One of those returned home last November to find that his maize had already been harvested by unknown people who threatened his now hungry family.
5 January 2010
A campaign to silence several potentially key witnesses for the International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo appears to have intensified in the last two weeks.
In December Ocampo went before the ICC pre-trial chamber to seek permission to start formal investigations into the post-election violence in early 2008. The ruling is due this week.
The witnesses reported the attacks to different police stations in Rift Valley and Western provinces, as well as to human rights organisations that are documenting evidence to be presented to Ocampo.
The Star has obtained Ocurrence Book numbers and dates where the witnesses have reported the incidents but we cannot report them for security reasons.
Four witnesses claimed to have escaped death narrowly on different days between the December 23 and yesterday.
Witness "A" has been on the run for the last six months. He gave evidence in camera on certain politicians to the Waki Commission to investigate post-election violence.
On December 28, he was hauled out of a taxi and beaten senseless by four men who claimed that they had been paid to kill him.
"They told me that unless I withdraw my evidence from Waki they will return to kill me," said Witness A. He claimed that he had also been attacked by the same men in October but that his neighbours rescued him.
" After the attack, I went to hide at my uncle's house near Mt. Elgon.
They followed me there but they missed me. They then murdered my cousin and told my relatives that they will kill more people unless they produce me," said the shaken witness who fled to a neighboring country yesterday.
Twenty-five year-old Anthony Juma was tied up by the gang which then used a rope to hang the young man.
Police in Bungoma confirmed the killing at Brigadier village.
Witness "B" used to live in Kitale but for the last three months has been staying with friends and relatives around the country. He also testified in camera to Waki.
On December 27 he says he was attacked in Nairobi's Komarock area.
"For a whole week three people kept following me and at some point confronted me on December 23 near Afya Center. I knew two of them were security officers because I had worked with them at some point".
"They told me that I was too dangerous to be left out there so I should write my will. On December 27 the same people arrived at a friend's house in Komarock asking for me but I escaped through the back door.
They shot my friend twice in the leg for refusing to produce me," said Witness B.
Witness C who is nursing a fracture on his left hand and several panga cuts said he was attacked on January 1 in Kericho.
"I had just returned from my home in central province when they came to my house. They said they wanted to warn me against meeting Ocampo or writing to him and even before I responded they slashed me several times and broke my arm," said Witness C.
He claimed the same people had warned him several times of "dire consequences" in the past six months.
Another witness has suffered post-traumatic stress and is being treated at the Moi Referral Hospital in Eldoret after being threatened with death along with his family in Uasin Gishu district.
A witness who was a human rights activist in Naivasha was murdered last April after he rejected offers for a scholarship, or money to go and do business in South Africa. His name cannot be revealed to protect his family.
Six other witnesses in Naivasha accepted the offers and left the country to study and do business on condition that they will not testify anywhere including at the ICC if asked to do so.
All the potential ICC witnesses had appeared before the Waki Commission in camera.
Last November the Star exclusively reported that several witnesses had received death threats from cabinet ministers who suspect that ICC may indict them.
Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo then confirmed that some witnesses had written to him expressing fear for their lives.
"I'm aware that some witnesses are fearful for their lives but I'm sure you know that it's the responsibility of the Attorney General to ensure their safety,' Mutula said.
Yesterday Attorney General Amos Wako, who is responsible for witness protection, did not answer his mobile telephone or respond to our test messages.
Kenya's Witness Protection Act was enacted into law in December 2006, and operationalised in September 2007 but the AG's office has been accused of not effectively implementing it.
The ICC has already set up a pre-trial chamber followed a meeting between Ocampo, President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Nairobi on November 5. The bench will rule later this month if Ocampo can go ahead and investigate Kenya's case.
Eleven other witnesses, mostly from the North Rift, are on the run moving from one town to another seeking refuge from relatives.
One of those returned home last November to find that his maize had already been harvested by unknown people who threatened his now hungry family.
05 January, 2010
Bulgarian journalist Boris Tsankov gunned down in Sofia.
BBC News
5 January 2010
Boris "Bobbie" Tsankov, a prominent crime journalist who reported on the mafia in Bulgaria, has been killed by gunmen in the capital, Sofia.
The 30-year-old, who was also a popular radio host, was attacked on a crowded street in the city centre, police said.
Two men who were with him were also shot and critically wounded, before the gunmen escaped on foot.
In 2008, Georgi Stoev, the author of several books on Bulgarian organised crime, was killed in a similar attack.
Months later, Bulgaria lost access to more than 500m euros (£430m) of EU funding for failing to deal with corruption and organised crime.
Since his book The Secrets of the Mobsters was published last November, Mr Tsankov said he had received numerous death threats.
The book - based on his contacts with underworld bosses such as the drug dealer Anton Miltenov - who was shot dead in 2005 - alleged links between mafia figures and businessmen.
5 January 2010
Boris "Bobbie" Tsankov, a prominent crime journalist who reported on the mafia in Bulgaria, has been killed by gunmen in the capital, Sofia.
The 30-year-old, who was also a popular radio host, was attacked on a crowded street in the city centre, police said.
Two men who were with him were also shot and critically wounded, before the gunmen escaped on foot.
In 2008, Georgi Stoev, the author of several books on Bulgarian organised crime, was killed in a similar attack.
Months later, Bulgaria lost access to more than 500m euros (£430m) of EU funding for failing to deal with corruption and organised crime.
Since his book The Secrets of the Mobsters was published last November, Mr Tsankov said he had received numerous death threats.
The book - based on his contacts with underworld bosses such as the drug dealer Anton Miltenov - who was shot dead in 2005 - alleged links between mafia figures and businessmen.
President Ahmadinejad Meets With Somali FM.
ISNA
2 January 2010
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Transitional Federal Government of the Somali Republic Ali Ahmed Jama Jangeli on Wednesday in Tehran.
"The situation of many Islamic countries necessitates that a strong unified front is established against enemies," President Ahmadinejad said.
Enemies make troubles in different Islamic countries and employ some elements to meet their goals, Ahmadinejad said adding enemies want to weaken solidarity of Islamic countries to obtain their ends.
He also said Iran is willing to foster relations with Somalia.
Ali Ahmed Jama Jangeli on his part stressed expansion of mutual relations in all sections.
He then called for using potentials of both Iran and Somalia to help mature mutual cooperation.
2 January 2010
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Transitional Federal Government of the Somali Republic Ali Ahmed Jama Jangeli on Wednesday in Tehran.
"The situation of many Islamic countries necessitates that a strong unified front is established against enemies," President Ahmadinejad said.
Enemies make troubles in different Islamic countries and employ some elements to meet their goals, Ahmadinejad said adding enemies want to weaken solidarity of Islamic countries to obtain their ends.
He also said Iran is willing to foster relations with Somalia.
Ali Ahmed Jama Jangeli on his part stressed expansion of mutual relations in all sections.
He then called for using potentials of both Iran and Somalia to help mature mutual cooperation.
Iran bans contact with US groups allegedly involved in "soft war" against Iran.
Press TV (State-run)
5 January 2010
Iran has banned Iranian citizens from cooperating with 60 international institutions and a number of media outlets due to their involvement in the post-election unrest.
Iran's deputy intelligence minister for foreign affairs announced on Monday that 60 European and US foundations and institutions played a role in inciting post-election violence in the Islamic Republic.
Cooperating and signing contracts with these foundations and institutions, which are conducting soft warfare against Iran, is illegal, and receiving facilities from them is also prohibited, he said.
He urged Iranian citizens to avoid any unusual relations with these organizations and with foreign embassies and nationals.
He also stated that political parties are prohibited from receiving financial assistance from foreign countries.
He went on to say that institutions and media outlets like BBC and VOA are trying to help efforts to overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
The Soros Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the East European Democratic Centre (EEDC), Wilton Park, the Smith Richardson Foundation, and the United States' National Defense University are some of the institutions and foundations on the Intelligence Ministry list of banned organizations.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said that "several foreign nationals" were arrested during the unrest on December 27, which was Ashura day, which is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH) and his 72 companions.
Some of the detainees are foreign nationals who were attempting to conduct propaganda and psychological warfare campaigns against Iran, Moslehi told reporters on Monday, IRIB News reported.
"They had entered Iran only two days before Ashura. Their cameras and equipment have been confiscated," he added.
The intelligence minister did not say how many foreigners were arrested or mention the nationalities of the detainees.
On Sunday, December 27, 2009, protesters took to the streets during the Ashura mourning ceremonies and chanted anti-government slogans. They also damaged public property and clashed with security forces. Seven people were killed in the unrest.
5 January 2010
Iran has banned Iranian citizens from cooperating with 60 international institutions and a number of media outlets due to their involvement in the post-election unrest.
Iran's deputy intelligence minister for foreign affairs announced on Monday that 60 European and US foundations and institutions played a role in inciting post-election violence in the Islamic Republic.
Cooperating and signing contracts with these foundations and institutions, which are conducting soft warfare against Iran, is illegal, and receiving facilities from them is also prohibited, he said.
He urged Iranian citizens to avoid any unusual relations with these organizations and with foreign embassies and nationals.
He also stated that political parties are prohibited from receiving financial assistance from foreign countries.
He went on to say that institutions and media outlets like BBC and VOA are trying to help efforts to overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
The Soros Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the East European Democratic Centre (EEDC), Wilton Park, the Smith Richardson Foundation, and the United States' National Defense University are some of the institutions and foundations on the Intelligence Ministry list of banned organizations.
Earlier on Monday, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heydar Moslehi said that "several foreign nationals" were arrested during the unrest on December 27, which was Ashura day, which is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (PBUH) and his 72 companions.
Some of the detainees are foreign nationals who were attempting to conduct propaganda and psychological warfare campaigns against Iran, Moslehi told reporters on Monday, IRIB News reported.
"They had entered Iran only two days before Ashura. Their cameras and equipment have been confiscated," he added.
The intelligence minister did not say how many foreigners were arrested or mention the nationalities of the detainees.
On Sunday, December 27, 2009, protesters took to the streets during the Ashura mourning ceremonies and chanted anti-government slogans. They also damaged public property and clashed with security forces. Seven people were killed in the unrest.
FDU-Inkingi finally due to arrive in Rwanda for election preparations.
Rwandan News Agency (RNA)
5 January 2010
The Dutch-based opposition group which has already named its presidential candidate for the August 2010 elections is due in the country within two weeks, RNA can reveal.
A United Democratic Forces-Ikingi (FDU-Inkingi) high-level team, including leader Ms. Victoire Umuhoza Ingabire, are scheduled to arrive in the country to start preparations for the polls.
The polls will take place on August 09 with two candidates already who have declared their intention to take part. They are Ms. Ingabire and Mr. Ntaganda, Bernard of the Social Party-Imberakuri – which is in the country. President Kagame is most likely to be the flag bearer of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) after it overwhelmingly voted him last month as its leader for other term.
FDU-Ikingi has been at the center of a lengthy controversy over passports for its members. Early last year, the group submitted applications for the passports but only a few got them. Immigration officials in Rwanda told RNA that passport decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. “We do not give passports to political parties,” said Ms. Anaclet Kalibata, head of the Immigration Department.
5 January 2010
The Dutch-based opposition group which has already named its presidential candidate for the August 2010 elections is due in the country within two weeks, RNA can reveal.
A United Democratic Forces-Ikingi (FDU-Inkingi) high-level team, including leader Ms. Victoire Umuhoza Ingabire, are scheduled to arrive in the country to start preparations for the polls.
The polls will take place on August 09 with two candidates already who have declared their intention to take part. They are Ms. Ingabire and Mr. Ntaganda, Bernard of the Social Party-Imberakuri – which is in the country. President Kagame is most likely to be the flag bearer of the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) after it overwhelmingly voted him last month as its leader for other term.
FDU-Ikingi has been at the center of a lengthy controversy over passports for its members. Early last year, the group submitted applications for the passports but only a few got them. Immigration officials in Rwanda told RNA that passport decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. “We do not give passports to political parties,” said Ms. Anaclet Kalibata, head of the Immigration Department.
04 January, 2010
86th Air Wing Expands AFAFRICA's AFRICOM Equipment Airlift Support with First Super Hercules Flight.
US 17th Air Force
Press Release
By Senior Airman Stefanie Torres
17th Air Force Vice Commander Brigadier General Michael Callan hands a ceremonial key for a new C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to Staff Sergeant Jason Keithley, 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, after landing the aircraft at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, December 23, 2009. The J-model, one of two aircraft delivered to the 37th Airlift Squadron that day, gives the unit a total of 10 J-models received. The first C-130J Super Hercules mission in support of U.S. Air Forces Africa, or 17th Air Force, was flown December 19 to pick up troops who were assisting with training Malian forces. 17th Air Force is the air component of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).
The first C-130J Super Hercules mission in support of U.S. Air Forces Africa, or 17th Air Force, opened up doors to a future partnership of support between the 86th Airlift Wing and upcoming missions into Africa.
The mission's aircraft commander, Major Robert May of the 37th Airlift Squadron, and his crew were tasked to fly into Mali December 19, 2009 to bring home 17 troops who were assisting with training Malian forces.
The significance of this mission is two-fold, May explained.
"First, we now recognize the capability of the J-model aircraft," he said. "I really believe that the J-model is uniquely going to show our capabilities in Africa. Second, this shows we can support the guys on the ground with a very reliable aircraft."
The C-130J is the latest addition to the C-130 fleet, replacing aging C-130Es. The 86th Airlift Wing is the first wing outside the United States to have the C-130J assigned. The unit began receiving the Super Hercules in April 2009, and in late December took delivery of the 10th and 11th aircraft in the fleet of 14 to be assigned to the 37th Airlift Squadron, and 86th Airlift Wing.
"AFAFRICA will be able to call on the 37th Airlift Squadron to support the mission," said May. "I know this is something our aircrews look forward to."
The J-model has six-blade propellers, new turboprop engines and is larger than previous models. It climbs faster and higher, has a longer range at a higher cruise speed, and takes off and lands in a shorter distance.
The J-model can also perform three times the workload of the previous models, increasing mission capability. Brigadier General Michael Callan, the vice commander at 17th AF, recently experienced these capabilities first hand. He flew one of the 37th AS's new J-models from the Lockheed-Martin plant in Marietta, Georgia to Ramstein December 23.
"The J-model is a significant improvement over the C-130H and E models," Callan said. "It's range and enhanced payload will make the 86th Airlift Wing even more capable of supporting missions in Africa. We're very lucky to have the 86th so close!"
The General's sentiments were echoed by Lockheed-Martin.
"The C-130J is the most advanced tactical airlifter in the world," said Peter Simmons, communications director for C-130 programs for Lockheed-Martin. "The newly formed mission in support of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has given us yet another opportunity to see how this aircraft can operate in a testing environment. Yet, the aircraft is ideally suited for the missions flown on the African continent."
The maximum load of the C-130 J is 45,000 pounds. However, a bigger aircraft doesn't necessarily mean a bigger crew. This cargo plane only needs a minimum of three crew members compared to five on the older models, he explained.
"With a 20,000-pound payload, the aircraft can fly more than 4,000 nautical miles and is well over 15 percent more fuel efficient as well," said Simmons.
Ultimately, this mission was only a beginning. J-model crews here were excited at the challenge presented by supporting AFAFRICA.
"The increased missions will be a challenge, but we are excited to take this on," May said.
Press Release
By Senior Airman Stefanie Torres
17th Air Force Vice Commander Brigadier General Michael Callan hands a ceremonial key for a new C-130J Super Hercules aircraft to Staff Sergeant Jason Keithley, 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chief, after landing the aircraft at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, December 23, 2009. The J-model, one of two aircraft delivered to the 37th Airlift Squadron that day, gives the unit a total of 10 J-models received. The first C-130J Super Hercules mission in support of U.S. Air Forces Africa, or 17th Air Force, was flown December 19 to pick up troops who were assisting with training Malian forces. 17th Air Force is the air component of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).
The first C-130J Super Hercules mission in support of U.S. Air Forces Africa, or 17th Air Force, opened up doors to a future partnership of support between the 86th Airlift Wing and upcoming missions into Africa.
The mission's aircraft commander, Major Robert May of the 37th Airlift Squadron, and his crew were tasked to fly into Mali December 19, 2009 to bring home 17 troops who were assisting with training Malian forces.
The significance of this mission is two-fold, May explained.
"First, we now recognize the capability of the J-model aircraft," he said. "I really believe that the J-model is uniquely going to show our capabilities in Africa. Second, this shows we can support the guys on the ground with a very reliable aircraft."
The C-130J is the latest addition to the C-130 fleet, replacing aging C-130Es. The 86th Airlift Wing is the first wing outside the United States to have the C-130J assigned. The unit began receiving the Super Hercules in April 2009, and in late December took delivery of the 10th and 11th aircraft in the fleet of 14 to be assigned to the 37th Airlift Squadron, and 86th Airlift Wing.
"AFAFRICA will be able to call on the 37th Airlift Squadron to support the mission," said May. "I know this is something our aircrews look forward to."
The J-model has six-blade propellers, new turboprop engines and is larger than previous models. It climbs faster and higher, has a longer range at a higher cruise speed, and takes off and lands in a shorter distance.
The J-model can also perform three times the workload of the previous models, increasing mission capability. Brigadier General Michael Callan, the vice commander at 17th AF, recently experienced these capabilities first hand. He flew one of the 37th AS's new J-models from the Lockheed-Martin plant in Marietta, Georgia to Ramstein December 23.
"The J-model is a significant improvement over the C-130H and E models," Callan said. "It's range and enhanced payload will make the 86th Airlift Wing even more capable of supporting missions in Africa. We're very lucky to have the 86th so close!"
The General's sentiments were echoed by Lockheed-Martin.
"The C-130J is the most advanced tactical airlifter in the world," said Peter Simmons, communications director for C-130 programs for Lockheed-Martin. "The newly formed mission in support of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has given us yet another opportunity to see how this aircraft can operate in a testing environment. Yet, the aircraft is ideally suited for the missions flown on the African continent."
The maximum load of the C-130 J is 45,000 pounds. However, a bigger aircraft doesn't necessarily mean a bigger crew. This cargo plane only needs a minimum of three crew members compared to five on the older models, he explained.
"With a 20,000-pound payload, the aircraft can fly more than 4,000 nautical miles and is well over 15 percent more fuel efficient as well," said Simmons.
Ultimately, this mission was only a beginning. J-model crews here were excited at the challenge presented by supporting AFAFRICA.
"The increased missions will be a challenge, but we are excited to take this on," May said.
03 January, 2010
Iraq demands Blackwater employees leave, will sue five guards.
The Hill
3 January 2010
By Tony Romm
A top Iraqi official on Sunday issued a strong warning to employees of the Blackwater military firm still in the state: Leave Iraq immediately.
In an interview with CNN, aired this Sunday, spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said his government was no longer willing to host "any Blackwater member, even if they are working in other companies." He said Iraq's Ministry of the Interior would begin examining records to ensure those employees have or are about to leave the state.
"Instructions have been given to check if there is any Blackwater member [in the state]. I advise him to leave Iraq and not to stay in Iraq anymore," al-Dabbagh said.
"I don't think we need to consult any others," the spokesman added, when asked whether Iraq had informed the U.S. embassy of its move. "It is an Iraqi prevailing law and we have to practice that law in our country."
Iraq's decision to expel employees of Blackwater -- now named 'Xe' -- arrives just days after a U.S. court dismissed charges against five Blackwater guards suspected of murder. A judge ruled that prosecutors violated the suspects' Fifth Amendment rights by procuring statements "under threat of job loss," according to the ruling.
But that outcome has hardly satisfied Iraqi leaders, who are still demanding justice. The government announced Friday it would file suit against those five guards, and it has implored the Justice Department to consider appealing the federal ruling.
"Investigations carried out by specialized Iraqi authorities unequivocally found that the Blackwater guards committed murder and broke use-of-force rules when there was no threat requiring the use of force," al-Dabbagh previously said, according to CNN.
3 January 2010
By Tony Romm
A top Iraqi official on Sunday issued a strong warning to employees of the Blackwater military firm still in the state: Leave Iraq immediately.
In an interview with CNN, aired this Sunday, spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said his government was no longer willing to host "any Blackwater member, even if they are working in other companies." He said Iraq's Ministry of the Interior would begin examining records to ensure those employees have or are about to leave the state.
"Instructions have been given to check if there is any Blackwater member [in the state]. I advise him to leave Iraq and not to stay in Iraq anymore," al-Dabbagh said.
"I don't think we need to consult any others," the spokesman added, when asked whether Iraq had informed the U.S. embassy of its move. "It is an Iraqi prevailing law and we have to practice that law in our country."
Iraq's decision to expel employees of Blackwater -- now named 'Xe' -- arrives just days after a U.S. court dismissed charges against five Blackwater guards suspected of murder. A judge ruled that prosecutors violated the suspects' Fifth Amendment rights by procuring statements "under threat of job loss," according to the ruling.
But that outcome has hardly satisfied Iraqi leaders, who are still demanding justice. The government announced Friday it would file suit against those five guards, and it has implored the Justice Department to consider appealing the federal ruling.
"Investigations carried out by specialized Iraqi authorities unequivocally found that the Blackwater guards committed murder and broke use-of-force rules when there was no threat requiring the use of force," al-Dabbagh previously said, according to CNN.
US Marine Corps weighs merits of AFRICOM task force.
Marine Corps Times
By James K. Sanborn - Staff writer
January 3, 2010
Talks are underway to add a special-purpose Marine air-ground task force to U.S. Africa Command, a move that would center on expanding efforts to train African militaries, officials say.
The plan is “purely in the conceptual phase,” said Master Sgt. Grady Fontana, a spokesman for Marine Corps Forces Africa, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. “… It’s just something that people are talking about as a way that can help support Africa Command.”
MAGTFs are quick-reaction units that range in size. The smallest comprise only a handful of troops, while the largest include thousands. Media reports published in December suggest as many as 1,000 Marines could be stationed in Europe as part of an AfriCom MAGTF, though neither the Marine Corps nor AfriCom would confirm how large this task force could be.
And both entities were careful when speculating about future basing options, saying only that prospective locations are being studied and that Europe, with its established infrastructure and proximity to Africa, is a logical contender. Locating a MAGTF on the African continent is not an option, officials said, even though Marines already deploy to Camp Lemonier, a joint expeditionary base in Djibouti, just north of Somalia.
“It’s phenomenally diplomatically sensitive when you start talking about stationing troops in Africa,” said Vince Crawley, a spokesman for AfriCom.
Stationing a MAGTF in Europe may help sidestep political sensitivities among African leaders already abuzz over the thought of Marines in their backyard. Ongoing U.S. missions such as the deadly September raid that targeted an al-Qaida operative in Somalia have done little to soothe those fears.
High-level negotiations
If a MAGTF is added to AfriCom, a great deal of political wrangling and diplomacy would need to take place first, officials said. Such negotiations likely would include U.S. politicians and members of the State Department.
“If the concept does go forward, it would be well-discussed with our partners,” Crawley said. “U.S. Africa Command’s leadership and staff meet regularly and frequently with the leadership of African nations and regional organizations to discuss security matters, as well as to provide updates on the evolution of Africa Command and U.S. military partnerships in Africa.”
The youngest of the Defense Department’s geographic commands, AfriCom was established in October 2007 and has never had a permanent Marine Corps element attached to it. Despite the diplomatic challenges that may lie ahead, a MAGTF would help AfriCom’s efforts to train African militaries by giving the fledgling command a dedicated group of troops to call upon when needed, Fontana said.
“Having a [Marine] unit available … provides this command the ability to improve engagements and be more responsive to other missions, such as disaster relief and humanitarian assistance,” Fontana said.
US Marines already conduct regular bi-national training with a number of African nations, including Egypt, Kenya, Benin and Senegal. The size and makeup of these training teams varies from mission to mission. Marines are requested based on the skills needed to complete the task at hand, be it air-support training or instruction on urban combat tactics.
Having Marines assigned to Africa for longer periods of time could give them more time to conduct Africa-specific cultural training, making those exercises more effective and resulting in stronger ties with partner nations, Fontana said.
AfriCom was created after the Horn of Africa gained greater focus as the U.S. increased efforts to disrupt suspected terrorist activities in countries with unstable governments. A permanent Marine task force also could prove valuable to counter-terrorism efforts throughout the region.
By James K. Sanborn - Staff writer
January 3, 2010
Talks are underway to add a special-purpose Marine air-ground task force to U.S. Africa Command, a move that would center on expanding efforts to train African militaries, officials say.
The plan is “purely in the conceptual phase,” said Master Sgt. Grady Fontana, a spokesman for Marine Corps Forces Africa, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. “… It’s just something that people are talking about as a way that can help support Africa Command.”
MAGTFs are quick-reaction units that range in size. The smallest comprise only a handful of troops, while the largest include thousands. Media reports published in December suggest as many as 1,000 Marines could be stationed in Europe as part of an AfriCom MAGTF, though neither the Marine Corps nor AfriCom would confirm how large this task force could be.
And both entities were careful when speculating about future basing options, saying only that prospective locations are being studied and that Europe, with its established infrastructure and proximity to Africa, is a logical contender. Locating a MAGTF on the African continent is not an option, officials said, even though Marines already deploy to Camp Lemonier, a joint expeditionary base in Djibouti, just north of Somalia.
“It’s phenomenally diplomatically sensitive when you start talking about stationing troops in Africa,” said Vince Crawley, a spokesman for AfriCom.
Stationing a MAGTF in Europe may help sidestep political sensitivities among African leaders already abuzz over the thought of Marines in their backyard. Ongoing U.S. missions such as the deadly September raid that targeted an al-Qaida operative in Somalia have done little to soothe those fears.
High-level negotiations
If a MAGTF is added to AfriCom, a great deal of political wrangling and diplomacy would need to take place first, officials said. Such negotiations likely would include U.S. politicians and members of the State Department.
“If the concept does go forward, it would be well-discussed with our partners,” Crawley said. “U.S. Africa Command’s leadership and staff meet regularly and frequently with the leadership of African nations and regional organizations to discuss security matters, as well as to provide updates on the evolution of Africa Command and U.S. military partnerships in Africa.”
The youngest of the Defense Department’s geographic commands, AfriCom was established in October 2007 and has never had a permanent Marine Corps element attached to it. Despite the diplomatic challenges that may lie ahead, a MAGTF would help AfriCom’s efforts to train African militaries by giving the fledgling command a dedicated group of troops to call upon when needed, Fontana said.
“Having a [Marine] unit available … provides this command the ability to improve engagements and be more responsive to other missions, such as disaster relief and humanitarian assistance,” Fontana said.
US Marines already conduct regular bi-national training with a number of African nations, including Egypt, Kenya, Benin and Senegal. The size and makeup of these training teams varies from mission to mission. Marines are requested based on the skills needed to complete the task at hand, be it air-support training or instruction on urban combat tactics.
Having Marines assigned to Africa for longer periods of time could give them more time to conduct Africa-specific cultural training, making those exercises more effective and resulting in stronger ties with partner nations, Fontana said.
AfriCom was created after the Horn of Africa gained greater focus as the U.S. increased efforts to disrupt suspected terrorist activities in countries with unstable governments. A permanent Marine task force also could prove valuable to counter-terrorism efforts throughout the region.
Karzai's cabinet nominees: who was approved and rejected.
Reuters
2 January 2010
The Afghan parliament on Saturday dealt President Hamid Karzai a painful political blow when they rejected over half of his cabinet nominees, including several close allies.
Cabinet approvals are one of the few areas where parliament has genuine power to hold the executive branch to account.
At a time when security and corruption problems are worsening dramatically, representatives appear to have been relishing that influence, quizzing ministers for over a week on past policy and future plans and now rejecting a swathe of Karzai's choices.
The following is a list of key ministers who will remain in their posts and those that were rejected by parliament:
APPROVED
HANIF ATMAR - INTERIOR MINISTER
A Pashtun technocrat who has worked in humanitarian organisations and once served as a senior spy during the communist regime. Liked by Western diplomats for launching early reforms of the struggling police force. Reports in Afghan media he was being investigated for corruption have been denied by the attorney general's office.
ABDUL RAHIM WARDAK - DEFENCE MINISTER
The veteran former anti-Soviet guerrilla commander is well liked by the United States and was praised last week by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates for his handling of the army.
OMAR ZAKHILWAL - FINANCE MINISTER
An economist and Karzai ally praised by Western diplomats for increasing revenues and tackling corruption. He has been one of the architects of a plan to put a handful of ministers in charge of clusters of ministries, which could see his own influence extended in economic affairs.
WAHIDULLAH SHAHRANI - MINES MINISTER
Wahidullah Shahrani will take over the mines portfolio, which has the potential to earn Afghanistan significant revenue in the future. The outgoing minister for mines has been the subject of some media criticism over corruption allegations.
During his tenure at the commerce ministry, Shahrani adopted a vigorous privatisation campaign and has doggedly rooted out corruption. He fired corrupt people working in his ministry and appointed department heads he described as more educated and transparent in their operations.
He also fired 180 people at the government-owned petroleum enterprise, including the director general, whom he has described as "one of the most corrupt individuals in the country".
REJECTED:
MOHAMMAD ISMAIL KHAN - ENERGY AND WATER MINISTER
Perhaps the highest-profile scalp claimed by parliament was Mohammad Ismail Khan, a renowned anti-Soviet guerrilla leader and anti-Taliban commander who was also energy minister in the last cabinet. He is unpopular with some because of his role in an era when Afghanistan was split by civil war and Western diplomats wanted to see him sidelined.
Karzai won a last-minute endorsement from Khan after first backing main presidential rival Abdullah Abdullah and some analysts say parliament was punishing Khan for the switch.
HUSN BANO GHAZANFAR - WOMEN'S MINISTER
The only woman among Karzai's 24 nominees, Ghazanfar is a poet and taught literature at Kabul University until she was appointed Women's Affairs Minister. She has been in the post for over three years, and is one of just a small handful of female ministers since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
ANWAR-UL HAQ AHADI - ECONOMY MINISTER
Ahadi was Karzai's finance minister for four years until he quit last February, in order to run against his former boss in the August presidential election, but then failed to register as a candidate and supported Karzai's campaign.
The 58-year-old former professor of economics and political science spent many years living in the West, but is also a close relative of one of the country's two main spiritual leaders. Like Karzai, and most of the Taliban, he is an ethnic Pashtun.
GENERAL KHODAIDAD - COUNTER-NARCOTICS
Khodaidad, who goes by only one name, was born in southern Uruzgan province and has studied in India and Russia. He had held the post of counter-narcotics minister for three years.
He told Reuters last week that members of the Afghan government are sponsoring slices of the country's lucrative opium trade, and they are hard to identify and stamp out.
NOT MENTIONED:
RANGEEN DADFAR SPANTA - FOREIGN MINISTER
A former Karzai adviser on international affairs, Spanta is among the handful of technocrats in the government. An ethnic Tajik, Spanta lived and worked for many years in Germany and speaks Turkish. His senior adviser said Spanta will stay foreign minister for the time being, but declined to say why his name was excluded from the lineup. Parliamentary officials, who asked not to be named, have said Spanta would leave his post after the Jan. 28 London conference on Afghanistan.
(Reporting by Jonathon Burch and Emma Graham-Harrison)
2 January 2010
The Afghan parliament on Saturday dealt President Hamid Karzai a painful political blow when they rejected over half of his cabinet nominees, including several close allies.
Cabinet approvals are one of the few areas where parliament has genuine power to hold the executive branch to account.
At a time when security and corruption problems are worsening dramatically, representatives appear to have been relishing that influence, quizzing ministers for over a week on past policy and future plans and now rejecting a swathe of Karzai's choices.
The following is a list of key ministers who will remain in their posts and those that were rejected by parliament:
APPROVED
HANIF ATMAR - INTERIOR MINISTER
A Pashtun technocrat who has worked in humanitarian organisations and once served as a senior spy during the communist regime. Liked by Western diplomats for launching early reforms of the struggling police force. Reports in Afghan media he was being investigated for corruption have been denied by the attorney general's office.
ABDUL RAHIM WARDAK - DEFENCE MINISTER
The veteran former anti-Soviet guerrilla commander is well liked by the United States and was praised last week by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates for his handling of the army.
OMAR ZAKHILWAL - FINANCE MINISTER
An economist and Karzai ally praised by Western diplomats for increasing revenues and tackling corruption. He has been one of the architects of a plan to put a handful of ministers in charge of clusters of ministries, which could see his own influence extended in economic affairs.
WAHIDULLAH SHAHRANI - MINES MINISTER
Wahidullah Shahrani will take over the mines portfolio, which has the potential to earn Afghanistan significant revenue in the future. The outgoing minister for mines has been the subject of some media criticism over corruption allegations.
During his tenure at the commerce ministry, Shahrani adopted a vigorous privatisation campaign and has doggedly rooted out corruption. He fired corrupt people working in his ministry and appointed department heads he described as more educated and transparent in their operations.
He also fired 180 people at the government-owned petroleum enterprise, including the director general, whom he has described as "one of the most corrupt individuals in the country".
REJECTED:
MOHAMMAD ISMAIL KHAN - ENERGY AND WATER MINISTER
Perhaps the highest-profile scalp claimed by parliament was Mohammad Ismail Khan, a renowned anti-Soviet guerrilla leader and anti-Taliban commander who was also energy minister in the last cabinet. He is unpopular with some because of his role in an era when Afghanistan was split by civil war and Western diplomats wanted to see him sidelined.
Karzai won a last-minute endorsement from Khan after first backing main presidential rival Abdullah Abdullah and some analysts say parliament was punishing Khan for the switch.
HUSN BANO GHAZANFAR - WOMEN'S MINISTER
The only woman among Karzai's 24 nominees, Ghazanfar is a poet and taught literature at Kabul University until she was appointed Women's Affairs Minister. She has been in the post for over three years, and is one of just a small handful of female ministers since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.
ANWAR-UL HAQ AHADI - ECONOMY MINISTER
Ahadi was Karzai's finance minister for four years until he quit last February, in order to run against his former boss in the August presidential election, but then failed to register as a candidate and supported Karzai's campaign.
The 58-year-old former professor of economics and political science spent many years living in the West, but is also a close relative of one of the country's two main spiritual leaders. Like Karzai, and most of the Taliban, he is an ethnic Pashtun.
GENERAL KHODAIDAD - COUNTER-NARCOTICS
Khodaidad, who goes by only one name, was born in southern Uruzgan province and has studied in India and Russia. He had held the post of counter-narcotics minister for three years.
He told Reuters last week that members of the Afghan government are sponsoring slices of the country's lucrative opium trade, and they are hard to identify and stamp out.
NOT MENTIONED:
RANGEEN DADFAR SPANTA - FOREIGN MINISTER
A former Karzai adviser on international affairs, Spanta is among the handful of technocrats in the government. An ethnic Tajik, Spanta lived and worked for many years in Germany and speaks Turkish. His senior adviser said Spanta will stay foreign minister for the time being, but declined to say why his name was excluded from the lineup. Parliamentary officials, who asked not to be named, have said Spanta would leave his post after the Jan. 28 London conference on Afghanistan.
(Reporting by Jonathon Burch and Emma Graham-Harrison)
CIA Agents Assassinated in Afghanistan Worked for “Contractor” Active in Venezuela and Cuba.
2 January 2009
By Eva Golinger
At least eight U.S. citizens were killed on a CIA operations base in Afghanistan this past Wednesday, December 30. A suicide bomber infiltrated Forward Operating Base Chapman located in the eastern province of Khost, which was a CIA center of operations and surveillance. Official sources in Washington have confirmed that the eight dead were all civilian employees and CIA contractors.
Fifteen days ago, five U.S. citizens working for a U.S. government contractor, Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), were also killed in an explosion at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) office in Gardez. That same day, another bomb exploded outside the DAI offices in Kabul, although no serious injuries resulted.
The December 15 incident received little attention, although it occurred just days after the detention of a DAI employee in Cuba, accused of subversion and distribution of illegal materials to counterrevolutionary groups. President and CEO of DAI, Jim Boomgard, issued a declaration on December 14 regarding the detention of a subcontractor from his company in Cuba, confirming that, “the detained individual was an employee of a program subcontractor, which was implementing a competitively issued subcontract to assist Cuban civil society organizations.” The statement also emphasized the “new program” DAI is managing for the U.S. government in Cuba, the “Cuba Democracy and Contingency Planning Program”. DAI was awarded a $40 million USD contract in 2008 to help the U.S. government “support the peaceful activities of a broad range of nonviolent organizations through competitively awarded grants and subcontracts” in Cuba.
On December 15, DAI published a press release mourning “project personnel killed in Afghanistan”. “DAI is deeply saddened to report the deaths of five staff associated with our projects in Afghanistan…On December 15, five employees of DAI’s security subcontractor were killed by an explosion in the Gardez office of the Local Governance and Community Development (LGCD) Program, a USAID project implemented by DAI.”
DAI also runs a program in Khost where the December 30 suicide bombing occurred, although it has yet to be confirmed if the eight U.S. citizens killed were working for the major U.S. government contractor. From the operations base in Khost, the CIA remotely controls its selective assassination program against alleged Al Qaeda members in Pakistan and Afghanistan using Predator drone UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).
A high-level USAID official confirmed two weeks ago that the CIA uses USAID’s name to issue contracts and funding to third parties in order to provide cover for clandestine operations. The official, a veteran of the U.S. government agency, stated that the CIA issues such contracts without USAID’s full knowledge.
Since June 2002, USAID has maintained an Office for Transition Initiatives (OTI) in Venezuela, through which it has channeled more than $50 million USD to groups and individuals opposed to President Hugo Chávez. The same contractor active in Afghanistan and connected with the CIA, Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), was awarded a multi-million dollar budget from USAID in Venezuela to “assist civil society and the transition to democracy”. More than two thousand documents partially declassified from USAID regarding the agency’s activities in Venezuela reveal the relationship between DAI and sectors of the Venezuelan opposition that have actively been involved in coup d’etats, violent demonstrations and other destabilization attempts against President Chávez.
In Bolivia, USAID was expelled this year from two municipalities, Chapare and El Alto, after being accused of interventionism. In September 2009, President Evo Morales announced the termination of an official agreement with USAID allowing its operations in Bolivia, based on substantial evidence documenting the agency’s funding of violent separtist groups seeking to destabilize the country.
In 2005, USAID was also expelled from Eritrea and accused of being a “neo-colonialist” agency. Ethiopia, Russia and Belarus have ordered the expulsion of USAID and its contractors during the last five years.
Development Alternatives, Inc. is one of the largest U.S. government contractors in the world. The company, with headquarters in Bethesda, MD, presently has a $50 million contract with USAID for operations in Afghanistan. In Latin America, DAI has operations and field offices in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
This year, USAID/DAI’s budget in Venezuela nears $15 million USD and its programs are oriented towards strengthening opposition parties, candidates and campaigns for the 2010 legislative elections. Just two weeks ago, President Chávez also denounced the illegal presence of U.S. drone planes in Venezuelan airspace.
By Eva Golinger
At least eight U.S. citizens were killed on a CIA operations base in Afghanistan this past Wednesday, December 30. A suicide bomber infiltrated Forward Operating Base Chapman located in the eastern province of Khost, which was a CIA center of operations and surveillance. Official sources in Washington have confirmed that the eight dead were all civilian employees and CIA contractors.
Fifteen days ago, five U.S. citizens working for a U.S. government contractor, Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), were also killed in an explosion at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) office in Gardez. That same day, another bomb exploded outside the DAI offices in Kabul, although no serious injuries resulted.
The December 15 incident received little attention, although it occurred just days after the detention of a DAI employee in Cuba, accused of subversion and distribution of illegal materials to counterrevolutionary groups. President and CEO of DAI, Jim Boomgard, issued a declaration on December 14 regarding the detention of a subcontractor from his company in Cuba, confirming that, “the detained individual was an employee of a program subcontractor, which was implementing a competitively issued subcontract to assist Cuban civil society organizations.” The statement also emphasized the “new program” DAI is managing for the U.S. government in Cuba, the “Cuba Democracy and Contingency Planning Program”. DAI was awarded a $40 million USD contract in 2008 to help the U.S. government “support the peaceful activities of a broad range of nonviolent organizations through competitively awarded grants and subcontracts” in Cuba.
On December 15, DAI published a press release mourning “project personnel killed in Afghanistan”. “DAI is deeply saddened to report the deaths of five staff associated with our projects in Afghanistan…On December 15, five employees of DAI’s security subcontractor were killed by an explosion in the Gardez office of the Local Governance and Community Development (LGCD) Program, a USAID project implemented by DAI.”
DAI also runs a program in Khost where the December 30 suicide bombing occurred, although it has yet to be confirmed if the eight U.S. citizens killed were working for the major U.S. government contractor. From the operations base in Khost, the CIA remotely controls its selective assassination program against alleged Al Qaeda members in Pakistan and Afghanistan using Predator drone UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).
A high-level USAID official confirmed two weeks ago that the CIA uses USAID’s name to issue contracts and funding to third parties in order to provide cover for clandestine operations. The official, a veteran of the U.S. government agency, stated that the CIA issues such contracts without USAID’s full knowledge.
Since June 2002, USAID has maintained an Office for Transition Initiatives (OTI) in Venezuela, through which it has channeled more than $50 million USD to groups and individuals opposed to President Hugo Chávez. The same contractor active in Afghanistan and connected with the CIA, Development Alternatives Inc. (DAI), was awarded a multi-million dollar budget from USAID in Venezuela to “assist civil society and the transition to democracy”. More than two thousand documents partially declassified from USAID regarding the agency’s activities in Venezuela reveal the relationship between DAI and sectors of the Venezuelan opposition that have actively been involved in coup d’etats, violent demonstrations and other destabilization attempts against President Chávez.
In Bolivia, USAID was expelled this year from two municipalities, Chapare and El Alto, after being accused of interventionism. In September 2009, President Evo Morales announced the termination of an official agreement with USAID allowing its operations in Bolivia, based on substantial evidence documenting the agency’s funding of violent separtist groups seeking to destabilize the country.
In 2005, USAID was also expelled from Eritrea and accused of being a “neo-colonialist” agency. Ethiopia, Russia and Belarus have ordered the expulsion of USAID and its contractors during the last five years.
Development Alternatives, Inc. is one of the largest U.S. government contractors in the world. The company, with headquarters in Bethesda, MD, presently has a $50 million contract with USAID for operations in Afghanistan. In Latin America, DAI has operations and field offices in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
This year, USAID/DAI’s budget in Venezuela nears $15 million USD and its programs are oriented towards strengthening opposition parties, candidates and campaigns for the 2010 legislative elections. Just two weeks ago, President Chávez also denounced the illegal presence of U.S. drone planes in Venezuelan airspace.
Open Letter From DRC Traditional Chiefs to President Obama.
KINFUMU KIA INSI YA BENA KONGO
BO Nkumu WA MBOKA ya Kongo
USULTANI WA NCHI ya Kongo
BUNFUMU BWA BWA KABUKULU KONGO
Chieftainships and Traditional Authority of the Congo
AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA,
SUBJECT: Our categorical REFUSAL of your AFRICOM Project in the Congo.
COPIES (CC) TO:
-The Honourable Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations;
-The governments, People, and Nations of the World;
Dear Your Excellency President Barack Obama,
We, the traditional Chiefs and the rightful landowners of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, are sending you, through this letter, our stirring
message to denounce and condemn at a global level, with all our energy,
the machinations and relentless multitude of hardly-veiled crimes by the
previous American administrations, at least since 1994, in the process of
exterminating the population of the Congo.
All the international available reports on "The African Third World War"
show, with rigor, that this horrible war is the abominable work
unreservedly planned and supported by the government of the USA under
President William J. Clinton, backed by multinational corporations in
order to help themselves to the Congo's resources, by immeasurable
violence and contempt for the population of the Congo and Africa as
well. This infernal war, massively conducted by Rwanda's troops (with
their interposed militias) and supported by successive American
administrations and by ethnicized, hegemonic, and despotic neighbouring
countries in the East of the Congo, offer all the characteristics of a
war-like and infernal machination animated by odious, obscure and unjust
principalities, which have a terrible grudge against humanity and threaten
all life and existence on the planet in the 21st Century.
The Congo is the Heart of Africa, that is, of the world. Your relentless
desire to destroy the Congo and its people and also your refusal to help
bring justice to the people of the Congo in particular and to the African
people in general, leads us to forcefully conclude, taking all the
peoples and nations of the world as eyewitnesses, that the USA presents
the danger of a permanent and destructive threat to Africa, which is represented by
the traditional power of the Pentagon for the Americans themselves and for
the rest of Humanity. Consequently, the Congo, Africa and the whole of
humanity today are well informed and denounce, condemn and reject with
firmness, the destructive power of the USA through the infernal
machinations of the Pentagon. Please be warned that there is no
cooperation without JUSTICE.
Considering what precedes, we, the traditional Chiefs of the DRC, in the name
of the Supreme Power and the Majestic kindness which governs the Soul of
the Bantu of the Kongo and the Manes of our Ancestors since the invisible
origins in the Hereafter and in the Galaxy, in the name of his sacred
Life-giving Breath and of its infinite goodness, which animates the entire
Humanity pulled out from the stomach of our earth, and in the name of his
omnipotent Spirit conveyed by KIMBANGU in Kongo through the territory of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Africa and in the Universe, we
prohibit, with firmness, and we repeat it three times, to install your
project of mass destruction abominably called AFRICOM in the territory of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo or anywhere else in Africa. This decision
is non-negotiable and eternally irreversible.
Done in Congo (DRC), December 7, 2009
Representatives of Chieftainships and Traditional Authority of the Congo
Mfumu Maray
Mfumu Bwania Tshibamba
Mwami Kabare Désiré
Chef Salumu Sakombi Christophe
Chef Longbe Tshiabi
BO Nkumu WA MBOKA ya Kongo
USULTANI WA NCHI ya Kongo
BUNFUMU BWA BWA KABUKULU KONGO
Chieftainships and Traditional Authority of the Congo
AN OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELLENCY BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA,
SUBJECT: Our categorical REFUSAL of your AFRICOM Project in the Congo.
COPIES (CC) TO:
-The Honourable Ban Ki Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations;
-The governments, People, and Nations of the World;
Dear Your Excellency President Barack Obama,
We, the traditional Chiefs and the rightful landowners of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, are sending you, through this letter, our stirring
message to denounce and condemn at a global level, with all our energy,
the machinations and relentless multitude of hardly-veiled crimes by the
previous American administrations, at least since 1994, in the process of
exterminating the population of the Congo.
All the international available reports on "The African Third World War"
show, with rigor, that this horrible war is the abominable work
unreservedly planned and supported by the government of the USA under
President William J. Clinton, backed by multinational corporations in
order to help themselves to the Congo's resources, by immeasurable
violence and contempt for the population of the Congo and Africa as
well. This infernal war, massively conducted by Rwanda's troops (with
their interposed militias) and supported by successive American
administrations and by ethnicized, hegemonic, and despotic neighbouring
countries in the East of the Congo, offer all the characteristics of a
war-like and infernal machination animated by odious, obscure and unjust
principalities, which have a terrible grudge against humanity and threaten
all life and existence on the planet in the 21st Century.
The Congo is the Heart of Africa, that is, of the world. Your relentless
desire to destroy the Congo and its people and also your refusal to help
bring justice to the people of the Congo in particular and to the African
people in general, leads us to forcefully conclude, taking all the
peoples and nations of the world as eyewitnesses, that the USA presents
the danger of a permanent and destructive threat to Africa, which is represented by
the traditional power of the Pentagon for the Americans themselves and for
the rest of Humanity. Consequently, the Congo, Africa and the whole of
humanity today are well informed and denounce, condemn and reject with
firmness, the destructive power of the USA through the infernal
machinations of the Pentagon. Please be warned that there is no
cooperation without JUSTICE.
Considering what precedes, we, the traditional Chiefs of the DRC, in the name
of the Supreme Power and the Majestic kindness which governs the Soul of
the Bantu of the Kongo and the Manes of our Ancestors since the invisible
origins in the Hereafter and in the Galaxy, in the name of his sacred
Life-giving Breath and of its infinite goodness, which animates the entire
Humanity pulled out from the stomach of our earth, and in the name of his
omnipotent Spirit conveyed by KIMBANGU in Kongo through the territory of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Africa and in the Universe, we
prohibit, with firmness, and we repeat it three times, to install your
project of mass destruction abominably called AFRICOM in the territory of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo or anywhere else in Africa. This decision
is non-negotiable and eternally irreversible.
Done in Congo (DRC), December 7, 2009
Representatives of Chieftainships and Traditional Authority of the Congo
Mfumu Maray
Mfumu Bwania Tshibamba
Mwami Kabare Désiré
Chef Salumu Sakombi Christophe
Chef Longbe Tshiabi
Tony Blair’s £1m-a-year paymaster seeks giant Iraqi oil deal.
Sunday Times Online
3 January 2010
By Jon Ungoed-Thomas
A Middle Eastern investment fund that pays Tony Blair about £1m a year as an international adviser is in talks to develop one of Iraq’s biggest oilfields.
Mubadala, a United Arab Emirates investment firm, is in negotiations to join a consortium of western oil companies developing the Zubair oilfield in southern Iraq. More than £6 billion of investment is required for the project.
Blair has always insisted that the Iraq conflict was never linked to the country’s vast oil reserves, but he was facing criticism this weekend over his role with Mubadala. The investment firm, which receives 80% of its revenues from oil and gas, intends to build the biggest oil company in the eastern hemisphere.
It has been confirmed that Mubadala’s oil and gas division is in talks with Occidental Petroleum, an American company, about sharing some of its stake in the Zubair deal, which is to be developed by a consortium headed by Eni, the Italian energy firm. The talks were confirmed to financial analysts in a public briefing by Ray Irani, Occidental’s chief executive.
Zubair is one of Iraq’s largest oilfields, with four billion barrels of reserves. The Baghdad administration offered contracts to develop Iraqi oilfields to foreign companies for the first time last year and the Eni-led consortium has the preliminary go-ahead for the Zubair field.
Ruth Tanner, the campaigns and policy director at War on Want, the anti-poverty charity based in London, said: “Foreign oil companies have been demanding that Iraq privatises its oil since the invasion. It is shocking news that rather than being held to account for his actions in Iraq, Tony Blair now appears to be profiting at the expense of the Iraqi people.”
Blair, who is due to give evidence to the Iraq inquiry by early February, is combining pro bono work in Africa with corporate consultancies and serving as an international peace envoy in the Middle East. These roles are generating the biggest fortune earned so far by a former British prime minister.
Blair’s consultancy roles with Mubadala, JP Morgan, Zurich Financial Services and the Kuwait government pay him at least £6m a year. He also earns millions on the lecture circuit, with fees of as much as £6,000 a minute.
Asked about his roles with Mubadala and JP Morgan in a Sunday Times interview last month, Blair said: “Because I am travelling the world I can help to explain where I think politics is going.”
Mubadala already has oil and gas contracts in Libya, Kazakhstan and Bahrain. It is in partnership with Occidental in the operation of a gas pipeline from Oman to Qatar.
Blair was accused of supporting the interests of the western oil companies with the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, but dismissed the allegations as a conspiracy theory. He proposed that oil revenues should be placed in a United Nations-administered fund for the benefit of the Iraqi people.
The fund was initially administered by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and overseen by an advisory body with UN representatives. This body subsequently highlighted “inadequate controls” by the CPA. Funds were being stolen and oil was being smuggled illegally out of the country.
After Saddam Hussein was deposed, western oil firms helped to draft a law under which they would have gained a strong role in controlling Iraq’s huge reserves. This was defeated and the current deals are widely viewed as being more fair to the Iraqis, although some MPs in the country are highly critical of the contracts.
Mubadala declined to comment on any talks, but said: “We are always looking for opportunities overseas and have an expertise in oil and gas.” Occidental declined to comment. A spokesman for Blair said: “This is not an issue Tony Blair has had anything to do with.”
3 January 2010
By Jon Ungoed-Thomas
A Middle Eastern investment fund that pays Tony Blair about £1m a year as an international adviser is in talks to develop one of Iraq’s biggest oilfields.
Mubadala, a United Arab Emirates investment firm, is in negotiations to join a consortium of western oil companies developing the Zubair oilfield in southern Iraq. More than £6 billion of investment is required for the project.
Blair has always insisted that the Iraq conflict was never linked to the country’s vast oil reserves, but he was facing criticism this weekend over his role with Mubadala. The investment firm, which receives 80% of its revenues from oil and gas, intends to build the biggest oil company in the eastern hemisphere.
It has been confirmed that Mubadala’s oil and gas division is in talks with Occidental Petroleum, an American company, about sharing some of its stake in the Zubair deal, which is to be developed by a consortium headed by Eni, the Italian energy firm. The talks were confirmed to financial analysts in a public briefing by Ray Irani, Occidental’s chief executive.
Zubair is one of Iraq’s largest oilfields, with four billion barrels of reserves. The Baghdad administration offered contracts to develop Iraqi oilfields to foreign companies for the first time last year and the Eni-led consortium has the preliminary go-ahead for the Zubair field.
Ruth Tanner, the campaigns and policy director at War on Want, the anti-poverty charity based in London, said: “Foreign oil companies have been demanding that Iraq privatises its oil since the invasion. It is shocking news that rather than being held to account for his actions in Iraq, Tony Blair now appears to be profiting at the expense of the Iraqi people.”
Blair, who is due to give evidence to the Iraq inquiry by early February, is combining pro bono work in Africa with corporate consultancies and serving as an international peace envoy in the Middle East. These roles are generating the biggest fortune earned so far by a former British prime minister.
Blair’s consultancy roles with Mubadala, JP Morgan, Zurich Financial Services and the Kuwait government pay him at least £6m a year. He also earns millions on the lecture circuit, with fees of as much as £6,000 a minute.
Asked about his roles with Mubadala and JP Morgan in a Sunday Times interview last month, Blair said: “Because I am travelling the world I can help to explain where I think politics is going.”
Mubadala already has oil and gas contracts in Libya, Kazakhstan and Bahrain. It is in partnership with Occidental in the operation of a gas pipeline from Oman to Qatar.
Blair was accused of supporting the interests of the western oil companies with the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, but dismissed the allegations as a conspiracy theory. He proposed that oil revenues should be placed in a United Nations-administered fund for the benefit of the Iraqi people.
The fund was initially administered by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) and overseen by an advisory body with UN representatives. This body subsequently highlighted “inadequate controls” by the CPA. Funds were being stolen and oil was being smuggled illegally out of the country.
After Saddam Hussein was deposed, western oil firms helped to draft a law under which they would have gained a strong role in controlling Iraq’s huge reserves. This was defeated and the current deals are widely viewed as being more fair to the Iraqis, although some MPs in the country are highly critical of the contracts.
Mubadala declined to comment on any talks, but said: “We are always looking for opportunities overseas and have an expertise in oil and gas.” Occidental declined to comment. A spokesman for Blair said: “This is not an issue Tony Blair has had anything to do with.”
02 January, 2010
Rwandan Ambassador to India Judged Guilty in French Brugiere Indictment.
Outlook India
11 December 2006
by V. Sudarshan
When he turned on the radio last Thursday, some unlikely news greeted the Rwandan Ambassador to India, Lt. Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa. A French court had indicted him for war crimes. The court, presided over by France's top anti-terrorist judge, Jean-Louis Brugiere, named Amb. Nyamwasa as having a direct role in the assassination that killed Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana in April '94 and triggered the Rwandan genocide.
Judge Brugiere, nicknamed the 'Sheriff' for his erstwhile penchant to carry a Magnum pistol, is famous for rounding up a number of terrorist suspects. He played a crucial role in bringing to book Carlos the Jackal and Libyan officials convicted of blowing up planes in the '80s. This time he wants Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his military aides, including (then) Col. Nyamwasa, brought before a UN court to be tried for war crimes and genocide. He is convinced that President Kagame instructed his Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) to destroy the plane in which President Habyarimana and the President of Burundi were travelling.
"The investigations undertaken have clearly shown that, for the RPF, the physical elimination of President Juvenal Habyarimana was the necessary precondition for seizing power by force, and was inscribed in a vast plan worked out to this end," reads the indictment. "The final order...was given by Paul Kagame himself in a meeting held in Mulundi on March 31, 1994."
"It is like a judge in Haryana indicting (President) Chirac to appear in court somewhere in Haryana for an alleged crime without proof," Amb. Nyamwasa told Outlook India, in response. "How can it happen? It is not an international court. He (Brugiere) is not an international judge." Brugiere is trying the case because the family members of the French-national pilot and crew members approached the French court in 1998 to ask for an investigation to determine who was responsible for the attack.
According to a report by international agency Human Rights Watch (HRW), President Habyarimana died on April 6, 1994, when the plane bringing him home from Dar-es-Salaam was shot down. He had been attending a meeting of heads of state where he had consented to put in place a broad-based transitional government. The president of Burundi, Cyprien Ntaryamira, who also attended the meeting, decided to fly home in President Habyarimana's plane rather than in his own. He too died in the attack as did General Deogratias Nsabimana, Chief of Staff of the Rwandan army, along with several others. The plane was shot twice as it was coming in for a landing by surface to air missiles fired from a location on top of a hill near the Kigali airport. The Rwandan army later stated it recovered two missile launchers. The registration numbers on the launchers identified them as SAM-16s, sophisticated weapons that require some training to use.
Judge Brugiere's indictment, released last week, plunged already strained relations between Paris and Kigali into a diplomatic impasse. Rwanda has since shut down its diplomatic mission in Paris and ordered all French diplomats out of the country. When contacted, the French embassy in India declined to be drawn into the issue, merely stating that the judiciary in France was independent.
How the arrest warrants will be implemented remains to be seen. Rwanda's Ministry of Justice has already called upon Interpol member states not to give weight to the warrants. At the time of writing, it wasn't clear what views the mea had on the subject. When asked if he thought the Indian government would act on the warrant, Amb. Nyamwasa said, "India is a democracy with a functioning government and an independent Parliament and judiciary. It won't take orders from an obscure French judge. Colonialism is over. Those times are gone when they can indict and deport sovereign nationals. We are independent nations."
In fact, claims Amb. Nyamwasa, "those named did not commit this crime at all. They weren't part of the army guarding him (the late president). On the contrary, he (President Habyarimana) was being guarded by French troops. The judge should be indicting them instead."
Rwanda's Minister of Justice, Tharcisse Karugarama, also claims this. "The French military guarded President Habyarimana, were his pilots and they, together with Habyarimana's presidential guard's troops, guarded the airport and the vicinity. It is on record that when the plane was shot down, the UN Mission to Rwanda (UNAMIR) officers went to the scene to conduct investigations and were chased by the French and Habyarimana's presidential guards. The RPF forces were nowhere near the airport or in its vicinity. It is absurd that the French government should indict Rwanda government officers instead of its own military and political leaders...."
Amb. Nyamwasa is still reportedly reading through the document (in French)—which a friend sent him. He's yet to read all of it, but prima facie he finds it rubbish. "This judge has even got my name wrong," he says. "I'm identified as Faustin Nyamwasa-Kayumba. I'm not Faustin. Were the Interpol to come inquiring, I'd have to tell them I'm not Faustin."
As for the actual charges, the ambassador claims, "The day it happened, I was about 100 km away, in Mulindi, Byumba. This judge alleges that one time I attended a meeting when we planned to kill the president. The source of this information is about fifth-hand. He has not asked us to substantiate it. Not one of his witnesses is first-hand. How do you rely on this sort of information as a basis of indictment? There was no such meeting. There was no such plan anyway."
Amb. Nyamwasa claims the French government is behind all this. "It's what they wanted him (the judge) to do," he says. "Rwanda is an African republic where the French have repeatedly carried out coup d'etats year in and year out. If they had wanted it, they could have sent whatever evidence they had to Arusha (where a separate inquiry into the genocide is under way). France is causing problems in Cote d'Ivoire. Can Cote d'Ivoire now indict President Chirac?"
Ambassador Nyamwasa, who became a colonel in the Rwandan Patriotic Army in 1993, was Deputy Chief of Staff of the National Gendarmerie in 1994 and has been accredited with the Indian government since April of last year. Ironically, he has been to France—Normandy to be precise—for military exercises as part of a joint training team. This was back in 2001, even as the investigation was under way. But he's not going back there in any hurry, at least not in the near future.
Chad president makes New Year peace plea to rebels.
AFP w/editing by WNJ
2 January 2010
Chad's President Idriss Deby Itno, called Friday on armed forces in the troubled central African nation to lay down their weapons, saying constant conflict was hindering the country's development.
"War is not the solution," the president in his New Year address.
"Today, conditions are more than ripe for everyone to satisfy their political ambitions through the ballot box."
In 2005, Deby pushed for a constitutional amendment that allowed him to run for a 3rd term. Following the amendment, numerous members of the Chadian army and opposition politicians defected and joined the ranks of armed groups opposed to the Chadian government.
The landlocked nation is rich in oil but has been blighted by violence and governmental instability and corruption.
In February last year, anti-Chadian rebels swept across the whole of southern Chad to N'Djamena in only a week and were only defeated with French military-backing.
But President Deby, who took power in a 1990 military coup and has since been re-elected, insisted Friday that the country's rebel movements had no future and accused them of acting as "a brake on the country's development".
"Stop, stop, stop plunging Chadian families into mourning and destroying our country," he urged in his latest message to anti-government forces.
He said there had been repeated efforts to end the fighting and help Chad go forward in harmony with its neighbours, in particular Sudan where several rebel groups have a rear base.
Sudan and Chad started a fresh bid last week to normalise relations.
Both sides agreed at high-level talks in Khartoum to meet again to take steps to stop cross-border attacks from each side, according to Sudanese presidential adviser Ghaze Salaheddin.
Improved ties between the two countries would also help bring peace to war-torn Darfur, where Chad has supported militias that oppose the Sudanese government and vice-versa.
2 January 2010
Chad's President Idriss Deby Itno, called Friday on armed forces in the troubled central African nation to lay down their weapons, saying constant conflict was hindering the country's development.
"War is not the solution," the president in his New Year address.
"Today, conditions are more than ripe for everyone to satisfy their political ambitions through the ballot box."
In 2005, Deby pushed for a constitutional amendment that allowed him to run for a 3rd term. Following the amendment, numerous members of the Chadian army and opposition politicians defected and joined the ranks of armed groups opposed to the Chadian government.
The landlocked nation is rich in oil but has been blighted by violence and governmental instability and corruption.
In February last year, anti-Chadian rebels swept across the whole of southern Chad to N'Djamena in only a week and were only defeated with French military-backing.
But President Deby, who took power in a 1990 military coup and has since been re-elected, insisted Friday that the country's rebel movements had no future and accused them of acting as "a brake on the country's development".
"Stop, stop, stop plunging Chadian families into mourning and destroying our country," he urged in his latest message to anti-government forces.
He said there had been repeated efforts to end the fighting and help Chad go forward in harmony with its neighbours, in particular Sudan where several rebel groups have a rear base.
Sudan and Chad started a fresh bid last week to normalise relations.
Both sides agreed at high-level talks in Khartoum to meet again to take steps to stop cross-border attacks from each side, according to Sudanese presidential adviser Ghaze Salaheddin.
Improved ties between the two countries would also help bring peace to war-torn Darfur, where Chad has supported militias that oppose the Sudanese government and vice-versa.
Sudan Islamist Party (PCP) led by al-Turabi names presidential candidate
2 January 2010
Leading Islamist dissident Sheikh Hassan al-Turabi said on Saturday that his Popular Congress Party (PCP) has nominated its deputy chief Abdullah Deng Nhial, a Dinka southerner, to run for the Sudanese presidency in April's elections. Mr. Nhial was a professor in Juba University in 1985 then a minister of Guidance and Endowments following the 1989 coup; a minister for peace and reconstruction; the White Nile governor in 1994 before siding with Turabi in his 1999 major fallout with Bashir.
Mr. Nhial is the second candidate announced so far against President Omar al-Bashir, who has ruled Sudan since a 1989 coup as an ally of the National Islamic Front (NIF), which Mr. al-Turabi founded. Though he denies it, Mr. al-Turabi is accused of having ties to the JEM rebel group. Some have even accused the JEM of being the armed wing of the PCP. Mr. Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of the JEM, has historical ties to al-Turabi in the NIF and is said to be a PCP member.
Mr. Abdullah Ali Ibrahim, a university professor, has said he will also contest the elections as an independent.
Other candidates are expected to put themselves forward ahead of the January 22 registration deadline.
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the current ruling party in South Sudan, has yet to officially confirm whether or not it will field a candidate, but is expected to do so this week.
Party leader Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit, a Dinka southerner, who is currently the Sudanese Vice President and President of semi-autonomous South Sudan, has previously said he would run in the national presidential election.
Leading Islamist dissident Sheikh Hassan al-Turabi said on Saturday that his Popular Congress Party (PCP) has nominated its deputy chief Abdullah Deng Nhial, a Dinka southerner, to run for the Sudanese presidency in April's elections. Mr. Nhial was a professor in Juba University in 1985 then a minister of Guidance and Endowments following the 1989 coup; a minister for peace and reconstruction; the White Nile governor in 1994 before siding with Turabi in his 1999 major fallout with Bashir.
Mr. Nhial is the second candidate announced so far against President Omar al-Bashir, who has ruled Sudan since a 1989 coup as an ally of the National Islamic Front (NIF), which Mr. al-Turabi founded. Though he denies it, Mr. al-Turabi is accused of having ties to the JEM rebel group. Some have even accused the JEM of being the armed wing of the PCP. Mr. Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of the JEM, has historical ties to al-Turabi in the NIF and is said to be a PCP member.
Mr. Abdullah Ali Ibrahim, a university professor, has said he will also contest the elections as an independent.
Other candidates are expected to put themselves forward ahead of the January 22 registration deadline.
The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the current ruling party in South Sudan, has yet to officially confirm whether or not it will field a candidate, but is expected to do so this week.
Party leader Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit, a Dinka southerner, who is currently the Sudanese Vice President and President of semi-autonomous South Sudan, has previously said he would run in the national presidential election.
01 January, 2010
African Elections in 2010.
Editor's Note: This is very much a work in progress.
Burkina Faso
November – Presidential
Burundi
21 May - Local
28 June – Presidential, 1st round
23 July – Parliamentary
26 July - Presidential runoff
28 July - Senatorial
Central African Republic
16 May - Parliamentary, local, Presidential 1st round
Egypt
May - Legislative
November – Parliamentary
Ethiopia
23 May - Parliamentary and regional assembly
Ghana
August - Local government
Guinea
27 June – Presidential 1st round
? - Parliamentary
Ivory Coast
? – Presidential
Lesotho
April - Local
Madagascar
20 March – Parliamentary
October – Presidential
Mauritania
November - Parliamentary and municipal elections
Mauritus
July – Parliamentary
October - Municipal
December -Village Council
Namibia
November – Regional, local and indirect Senate
Rwanda
9 August – Presidential
Sao Tome and Principe
July - Parliamentary, regional and municipal
August - Regional
Somaliland
January – Presidential
September - Parliament
Sudan
5 to 12 April –Presidential, parliamentary, gubernatorial and state assembly
July - Darfurian amalgamation referendum
Tanzania
October - Presidential, Parliamentary and local
Togo
28 February –Presidential
Tunisia
May - Municipal
Uganda
March - Local
Burkina Faso
November – Presidential
Burundi
21 May - Local
28 June – Presidential, 1st round
23 July – Parliamentary
26 July - Presidential runoff
28 July - Senatorial
Central African Republic
16 May - Parliamentary, local, Presidential 1st round
Egypt
May - Legislative
November – Parliamentary
Ethiopia
23 May - Parliamentary and regional assembly
Ghana
August - Local government
Guinea
27 June – Presidential 1st round
? - Parliamentary
Ivory Coast
? – Presidential
Lesotho
April - Local
Madagascar
20 March – Parliamentary
October – Presidential
Mauritania
November - Parliamentary and municipal elections
Mauritus
July – Parliamentary
October - Municipal
December -Village Council
Namibia
November – Regional, local and indirect Senate
Rwanda
9 August – Presidential
Sao Tome and Principe
July - Parliamentary, regional and municipal
August - Regional
Somaliland
January – Presidential
September - Parliament
Sudan
5 to 12 April –Presidential, parliamentary, gubernatorial and state assembly
July - Darfurian amalgamation referendum
Tanzania
October - Presidential, Parliamentary and local
Togo
28 February –Presidential
Tunisia
May - Municipal
Uganda
March - Local
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