20091204

REUTERS - Guinea junta chief Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was flown to Morocco

on Friday for hospital treatment after being wounded in a gun attack by a former military aide, Moroccan authorities said.

Guinea's leadership played down the extent of Camara's injuries and denied his departure left a power vacuum in the unstable West African nation, the world's top exporter of the aluminium ore bauxite. His powerful deputy Sekouba Konate returned to the capital Conakry from a trip abroad.

But Camara's evacuation for treatment in Morocco's main military hospital raised questions about his health and political future, with many observers believing he may not return to Guinea and could be persuaded to go into exile.

"I think he will probably undergo an operation because he was hit by bullets," Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore told reporters in his capital, Ouagadougou.

"The information we had from his personal doctor an hour ago is that Dadis is in a difficult but not desperate situation," said Compaore, who has led mediation on the Guinea crisis and whose presidential plane was used to evacuate Camara to Morocco.

Guinean Communications Minister Idrissa Cherif said earlier Camara had merely been grazed in the head in the attack in Conakry late on Thursday, and the situation was under control.

"Power is in the hands of the CNDD (junta) and the government," he told Reuters. Camara took power at the head of the junta after a bloodless coup in December 2008 that followed the death of strongman leader Lansana Conte.
However, a diplomat in Guinea said earlier: "If he leaves the country, that would be it for him."

Metals analysts said aluminium prices could rise if Guinea's troubles escalated, but that there was no lack of global supply and so the impact would be limited for now.

‘El Tigre returns’

Camara was rushed to the Hay Riyad military hospital outside Morocco's capital Rabat for treatment on what the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said were "strictly humanitarian grounds".

Morocco has been a longstanding destination for West Africa's elite to seek medical care. Officials there did not comment on his injuries.

Political analysts have said any outbreak of wider unrest in Guinea threatens to destabilise neighbours Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Liberia, still recovering from civil wars that ended earlier this decade.

Ex-colonial power France, which cut off defence ties with Guinea after it crushed pro-democracy protesters in September, said it had received "reassuring news" about the safety of the French community there since Thursday's incident.

The attack on Camara happened as U.N. investigators in Conakry wound up their inquiry into the crackdown on Sept. 28, which witnesses said killed more than 150 people. The inquiry could lead to international prosecutions of those responsible.

A junta statement late on Thursday said Lieutenant Aboubacar "Toumba" Diakite, Camara's former aide de camp and the soldier named by witnesses as a leading figure in the September killings, had carried out the gun attack on Camara.

Sources in Conakry said tensions had been mounting for weeks between Camara and Toumba, who suspected that he would be made to shoulder the blame for the massacre.

"This was the only way out for him (Camara)," one diplomat said of the theory that Camara would try to implicate Toumba in the Sept. 28 killings and so remove any blame from himself.

Residents said Conkary was calm on Friday but there were conflicting reports as to whether Toumba was still at large.

Konate, Camara's deputy, widely known as "El Tigre" because of his ferocity in combat against rebels in 2000 and 2001, returned to Conakry on Friday after a trip to Lebanon, sources close to Konate said.

20091204

Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the president of Equatorial Guinea, has been re-elected with 95.37 per cent of votes, according to the country's government, following a vote denounced by political opponents and international human rights groups.

Obiang won 260,462 votes in the election on November 29, a government statement released on its web site said on Friday.

Four opponents shared the remaining votes but the government refused to publish a voters' roll.

In his second term, Obiang plans to press ahead with health, education and human rights reforms, the government statement said.

UN reports show that infant mortality in Equatorial Guinea is increasing, while education enrolment has dipped since oil was discovered in 1994.

Obiang said before the polls that he expected to at least match the 97 per cent of the vote he took in the last poll in 2002, which was widely criticised for fraud.

Corruption concerns

Sunday's vote was also widely criticised for irregularities, with claims that election observers were given scant access and that foreign media were barred from covering the election.

Pro-democracy groups complained about the lack of media time given to rivals.

"In recent weeks it [the government] has stifled and harassed the country's beleaguered political opposition ... [and] imposed serious constraints on international observers," New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement.

Critics have accused Obiang, who has ruled Equatorial Guinea since 1979, of attacking and harassing opposition politicians, and having the election organised by his own ministers.

'Isolated and disappointed'

Western governments have also been accused of ignoring widespread rights abuses and repression, in favour of dealing with the West African nation which has large oil and gas reserves.

"We feel isolated and disappointed because we are doing what little we can while those who have interests in this country should be putting pressure on this regime," Wenceslao Mansogo Alo, a human rights representative of the main opposition Convergence for Social Democracy, said before the vote.

"Countries like the United States and the European Union have the power to intervene with this dictatorship."

Equatorial Guinea is the third largest producer of oil in sub-Saharan Africa, aiding the country's annual per capita income rise to $31,000, the highest in the region.

However, more than 60 per cent of its about 600,000 citizens still live on less than $1 per day.

aljazeera

20091204

Lagos — Afrobeat maestro, Femi Kuti, has been nominated for the 52nd edition of the Grammy Awards under the 'Best Contempo-rary World Music Album' category for his 'Day by Day' album.

Femi is currently signed to Mercer Street Records alongside his compatriot Asa. This is Femi's second Grammy nomination.

Kuti, 47, is the first son of late Afrobeat creator, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti.

Thenetng reported yesterday that he is in contention with Amadou & Mariam, Bella Fleck, Oumou Sangare and Omar Sosar for the World music category.

Femi is one of the most remarkable performers from the African continent and has built a steady career since forming his positive force band over two decades ago.

His first Grammy nomination was in 2003 - for the critically-acclaimed album, Fight to Win. He lost the prize to Ruben blade from Mundo.

Nominees for the 2010 Grammy were announced yesterday, amidst performances on broadcast partners, CBS Network.

Singer Beyonce leads the pack with a whopping 10 nods while Taylor Swift, who has had an interesting and eventful year, follows with eight nominations. Kanye West got six (all for his works with other artistes) while rave act Lady Gaga earned five nods.

Sunny Ade and Femi kuti are the only indigenous Nigerians to have been nominated for the Grammy's.

Nigerian-born artistes who have won the award in the past are Helen Folasade Adu (who first achieved the success in the 1980s as the frontwoman and lead vocalist of the popular Brit and Grammy Award winning English group) and Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel (who was born on February 19, 1963 in Paddington London). Both are British citizens.

Seal's "Kiss from a Rose" won a Grammy Award for Record of the year, Song of the Year in 1996, becoming his best performing single on the market.

Kuti was born June 16, 1962 and is an award-winning Nigerian musician and the oldest son of legendary afrobeat pioneer Fela.

He was born in London to Fela and Remi Kuti and grew up in Lagos. His mother soon left his father, taking Femi to live with her.

In 1977, though, Femi chose to move in with his father. Femi eventually became a member of his father's band.

Like his father, Femi has shown a strong commitment to social and political causes throughout his career, but he differs from his father in his religious views.

According to Wikipedia, in 2001, Femi collaborated on his album Fight to Win with a number of U.S. musicians, such as Common, Mos Def, and Jaguar Wright.

In 2002, Femi's mother, who had played an influential role in Femi's life, died at the age of 60. Femi's 12-year-old son currently appears as part of his act, playing alto saxophone.

Femi's voice is featured in the videogame Grand Theft Auto IV where he is the host of radio station IF 99 (International Funk 99, described as "playing a great selection of classics from West Africa, the US and elsewhere").

allafrica

20091204

The conviction in a Swiss Court on 19 November of Abba Abacha, son of former military leader General Sani Abacha, for participating in a criminal organisation together with the confiscation of US$350 million in assets stolen from Nigeria provide important clues to the corruption linked to the $6 billion Bonny Island gas scheme, according to legal experts in Geneva.

Swiss investigators showed how Abacha family members and their advisors set up front companies and channelled hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen state funds through established Western banks including Credit Suisse, Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs, with few questions asked. Gen. Abacha's Lebanese financial advisor Gilbert Chagoury and the Swiss-Israeli banker Gabriel Katri used their sway with international institutions to open accounts for the Abacha brothers using false names.

Detectives say several corporate entities used by the Abacha family to plunder state assets from 1993-1998 also featured in the bribery scheme run by the United States' Halliburton to distribute millions of dollars to individuals and companies working on the Bonny gas project. In January 2009, Halliburton paid $560 mn. in fines to the US Justice Department and the US Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a plea bargain over its Nigerian operations.

The Justice Department investigation continues with a focus on companies and individuals - such as British lawyer Jeffrey Tesler and Halliburton official Wojciech Chodan - involved in the bribe scheme. The US is trying to extradite both men to help the probe (AC Vol 50 No 5). British, French, Italian and Nigerian teams are all investigating the deals. US lawyer Jack Blum, who represents the Nigerian government in its efforts to obtain legal assistance from the US government, doubts the criminal case in Nigeria will be launched before 2012.

Investigators from Britain's Serious Fraud Office working on the Bonny Island case have requested copies of the Abba Abacha prosecution notes and details of the Abacha family's financial networks (see diagram). The money trail should lead to even bigger sums of stolen assets, especially those diverted from Bonny Island through over-priced procurement contracts and massive under-invoicing on gas exports, a Geneva-based legal expert told Africa Confidential.

More than $1.5 bn. is likely to have been illegally diverted from the gas project by company officials and senior representatives of successive regimes in Nigeria, the expert added. 'The real black box would contain much bigger contract commissions and extremely high intermediation fees on the gas export contracts.'

On 19 November, the Geneva court also convicted Katri, currently domiciled in Monaco, for assisting Abacha's criminal endeavours. Katri, who advised Kenya's President Daniel arap Moi, Nigeria's Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and several Middle Eastern leaders on their finances, has not informed the court whether he intends to appeal. Katri, who had been working as an external manager for Union Bancaire Privée, opened an account in the name of the Nigerian company Allied Network Ltd., whose beneficiaries were falsely declared as 'Mohammed Sani' and 'Abba Sani', when they were in fact Mohammed and Abba Abacha.

allafrica

20091204

An attempt has been made on the life of the head of the military junta in Guinea, Moussa Dadis Camara. According to newspaper reports, he sustained severe head injuries when shot by an aide de camp, Aboubacar Toumba Diakité.

Le Soleil of Dakar reports that the junta's secretary of state, Tiegboro Camara, confirmed in a radio broadcast that Diakité has been placed under arrest. But he refused to give any reasons, saying they were considered "state secrets".

Many witnesses to the September 28 massacre in Conakry, carried out by members of the presidential guard when suppressing protest against the military, singled out Aboubacar Toumba Diakité as the commander who ordered the shooting.

Fasozine newspaper of Ouagadougou reports that although the reason for Diakité's action remains uncertain, many Guineans believe that it is a result of Camara placing the blame for the September 28 massacre on his shoulders.

According to sources from Camp Alpha Yaya Diallo, the barracks where Camara has his headquarters,
the juntal turned down an offer from Senegal to take Dadis Camara to Dakar for treatment. Dakar, however, dispatched an emergency medical plane to Conakry to treat the injured leader.

Since the nature of the injury remains unknown, some sceptics believe reports of a shooting might be a ploy on the part of the junta to divert international attention from the real issues.

Fasozine also reports that since September 28, considerable dissent has emerged from within the junta and Dadis Camara has lost much support from former allies. The paper suggests Diakité might be the junta's first "sacrificial lamb" in an effort to avoid being blamed for the massacre by the international community.

The paper also questions what will become of the negotiations to end Guinea's crisis which are being facilitated in Ouagadougou by Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaoré.

allafrica

20091204

Harare — ZIMBABWE reeled into a crisis after diamond traders blacklisted Marange gems from the international market, despite the country escaping sanctions from the international diamond watchdog, the Kimberley Process (KP).

Old Mutual, which has come under pressure because of its investment in some local counters, which human rights activists said were abetting human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, also relented to pressure over its investment in a company allocated a stake in a project to mine diamonds in Marange.

DiamondGeezer.com, a leading online fine diamond jeweller, said in a statement issued by its publicists on Friday that it had implemented an immediate trading ban on all diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange diamond fields due to what it described as "severe human rights violations".

"The ban does not apply to all diamonds from Zimbabwe -- only those from the Marange area. Severe human rights violations have taken place in the diamond fields of Marange, Zimbabwe, and the DiamondGeezer.com board of directors has passed a resolution banning the trade or use of any Marange diamonds," the company said in the statement.

DiamondGeezer.com's decision came after the Rapaport Diamond Trading Network, a global network of companies that support the development of free, fair and competitive global diamond markets, said it had banned trading of the gems from Zimbabwe's Marange fields because of severe human rights violations.

Martin Rapaport, the chairman of the network, said the organisation's members would be required to immediately remove all listings of Marange diamonds and to confirm to the trading network that they would no longer knowingly trade in gems from Manicaland.

The network also sent letters to industry organisations asking them to ban the controversial Marange diamonds, which it said were uniquely identifiable.

The move by the diamond players came as pressure built up against the Zimbabwe government over allegations of continued abuse of human rights at the Marange diamond fields, which have been parceled out to several companies said to be linked to top ZANU-PF elites and their cronies.

One of the companies that have set up operations in Marange is scrap metal recycler, New Reclamation Group, of South Africa, which will mine the diamonds under a joint venture with the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corpor-ation, a government-owned mining firm.

The involvement of New Reclamation Group has resulted in activists, as well as African Consolidated Resources, which claims rights to part of the Marange claims, piling pressure on global insurer and investment giant, Old Mutual, which controls a six percent shareholding in the company.

Old Mutual has relented, and ann-ounced last week that it was reviewing its stake in the company, although it noted that New Reclamation's engagement with Zimbabwe's government "post-dated any reported wrongdoing in the mining industry".

The Zim-babwe government, an inclusive outfit consisting three former political protagonists, has denied reports of the abuses, and won a reprieve from the KP, which ordered government to initiate certain processes, including withdrawing the army from guarding the claims.

International human rights activists, who had lobbied for the expulsion of Zimbabwe's diamond from the international market, were however, peeved by the decision.

The Zimbabwe government, which welcomed the KP decision as victory, has promised to comply with its directive.

The KP, to which more than 70 countries are members, was launched in 2003 to curb the flow of conflict diamonds into the mainstream market.

Zimbabwe's diamonds have reportedly been smuggled to other KP members who now fear risking expulsion from world diamond trade if smuggled diamonds continue to find their way into their markets.

allafrica

20091204

While urging Zimbabweans to return home, affable Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday made light of Wednesday's announcement by Finance Minister Tendai Biti that the country expected to experienced a 4.7% economic growth rate this year.

Speaking at a press conference in Sea Point, Tsvangirai said it was "easy to achieve economic growth after the economy has shrunk by 50% and hit rock bottom."

He said even a small increase in mining, tourism and manufacturing activity would create growth.

However, he said the growth forecast indicated that Zimbabwe was getting back on track and he urged the over four million Zimbabweans who had left home to return and help reconstruct and develop the country so that it could once again be breadbasket of Africa rather than the "basket case".

Tsvangirai is in South Africa on Thursday and Friday in a bid to get his countrymen and women to return home.

Together with a team of government ministers, he has been attending a two-day conference in Franschoek titled 'The Challenges of Economic Reconstruction' organised by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and funded by the Royal Danish Embassy.

With the government delegation he has been holding talks with prominent figures in Zimbabwe's diaspora from business, investment and civil society sectors.

Addressing the press on Thursday evening, he said things had "definitely changed for the better" in Zimbabwe since the signing of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) in September last year.

Schools and hospitals had reopened, hyper inflation had been curbed by doing away with Zimbabwean Dollar, and the economy had stabilised.

He said the inclusive government, which was "stabilising" was doing what it could to provide a positive environment for returning Zimbabweans and it was up to individuals to make use of the new opportunities being created.

He said confidence among foreign investors was slowly increasing and Biti's budget speech this week would further ward off investors fears.

"We're turning a new chapter and that chapter is providing opportunities for Zimbabweans who are probably now living in worse conditions abroad (than they would at home)."

Questioned over his recent boycott of the unity government Cabinet for three weeks in October, he said he did it because the GPA was not being adhered to.

He said the move brought in the SADC mediators who vindicated him and enabled negotiations to take place which have led to subsequent agreements on the implementation of the GPA.

Tsvangirai was also questioned both by the press and later by the public in a subsequent open address over how Zuma's team of negotiators fared compared to Mbeki's much criticised 'quiet democracy' approach, Tsvangirai remained diplomatic.

He said Mbeki and his team were dealing with difficult "substantive issues" whereas Zuma and his team had a much easier time of it as they only had to ensure implementation of the agreements already brokered.

However, he praised Zuma's team for displaying an enthusiasm to get things moving.

Introducing Tsvangirai to the public audience, Institute for Justice and Reconciliation executive director Dr Fanie du Toit waylaid criticism of Tsvangirai being labelled a Zanu-PF collaborator by comparing his ability to look his political foe in the eye and work with him with the aim of brokering a peaceful transition, to that of Nelson Mandela brokering peace with FW de Klerk and the apartheid ministers.

allafrica

20091204

Tunis — Participants in the High-Level International Conference on "Building Knowledge Economies for Job Creation, Increased Competitiveness and Balanced Development," paid tribute to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali for his leading efforts to achieve a comprehensive and balanced development and lay down solid foundations for Tunisia's scientific, technological and civilisational progress.

They also commended the major contributions of the Head of State to building knowledge economies and prompting innovation and competitiveness.

In a message sent to the President of the Republic, participants in this meeting express their deep consideration to President Ben Ali for the pertinent guidelines and appropriate visions contained in his speech at the opening of the Conference, held on December 1-3, 2009 by ISESCO and the Tunisian Government, in association with the World Bank; such views proceed from a pertinent approach adopted by Tunisia, under President Ben Ali's judicious leadership, on the road of building the knowledge economy based on science and the international experience gained in this area.

Authors of the message also underline the outstanding results that came out of this large-scale event which are likely to support world leaders' efforts aimed to identify operational mechanisms and efficient methods to build knowledge-based economies.

Signees of the message underline that the Conference provided the opportunity to present a comprehensive and global vision with a humanist dimension, in perfect harmony with principles, ideas and initiatives on the basis of which rests Tunisia's vanguard experience in the area of building knowledge economy and achievement of balanced development.

They express their gratitude to President Ben Ali for the sustained support he has lent to events and activities held in Tunisia, under the aegis of ISESCO and the World Bank, reiterating their adherence to the vanguard initiatives announced by the President of the Republic at the inaugural sessions of these events and which were well received by the international community.

Authors of the message reiterate, in this regard, their total adherence to the call launched by the Head of State so that ISESCO proceed with the setting up of a specific agenda in the building of the knowledge economy to be funded by member States and work to deepen co-operation and complementarity among States to gather propitious conditions for progress and development.(TAP)

allafrica

20091204

Tunis — Chairmen of parliamentary groups of the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), the Socialist Democrats Movement (MDS) and the People's Unity Party (PUP) expressed the pride they take in President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali's reform policy.

This policy, they said, helped in driving progress of political life and within the framework of which has been grounded his initiative to create parliamentary groups to improve the legislative branch's performance.

They also commended the Head of State's follow-up of performance and proposals submitted by deputies, which reflects the sustained presidential support lent to the legislative power.

In a message to the President of the Republic, the chairmen of new parliamentary groups express, after their first meeting under chairmanship of Mr. Foued Mebazaa, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, their adherence to the contents of the speech delivered by President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on November 12, 2009, on his oath-taking, as well as their support to the choices and approach contained in the presidential electoral programme: "Together, We Meet Challenges."

Signees of the message praise the distinguished political climate resulting from the October 25, 2009 elections, which confirmed cohesion of all Tunisian around President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and opened up promising prospects on the way of enhancing the process of reform and progress.

Authors of the message reiterate commitment of the parliamentary groups to enrich the gains made by the country and endeavour to support presidential initiatives to reach national goals set in the new presidential programme as part of allegiance only to Tunisia.

They also voice determination to preserve the climate of stability and invulnerability prevailing in the country and cohesion of society and make new gains to enhance Tunisia's influence and preserve freedom of its decision.(TAP)

allafrica

20091204

Cape Town — South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana face a difficult first round in the 2010 World Cup soccer finals, while Nigeria will contend with familiar opponents and Cameroon can probably count themselves luckier than their African counterparts.

This emerged from the glamour and glitz of the World Cup draw held in the Cape Town International Conference Centre tonight.

South Africa, the hosts of the tournament, will open play against Mexico in the opening game on June 11 at Soccer City in Johannesburg, after being drawn in a tough Group A. Also paired with Bafana Bafana are European giants France and South American side Uruguay, two-time winners of the tournament.

It is a desperately tough grouping for coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and his side, with all three matches considered very difficult.

Côte d'Ivoire have once again been paired in a tough pool, having been in the Group of Death in their maiden World Cup showing in Germany 2006. They will open their tournament against Portugal in Group G, having also been paired with the might of Brazil and minnows North Korea.

Nigeria will have a feeling of déjà vu as they face Argentina and Greece in Group B, the same teams they played in their maiden World Cup in 1994. Also in their pool is South Korea, a very good side.

North Africans Algeria will feel they have a chance as they meet England, the United States and Slovenia. It is not an easy pool for sure, but if they can get something from the games against the USA and Slovenia they will stand a chance.

Ghana are not so lucky, having been pooled in Group D along with Germany, Serbia and Australia, three very tough matches for the Black Stars.

Cameroon will be quietly confident with their pool, which also includes Holland, Denmark and Japan.

In the two pools without African sides, Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia meet in Group F, while Spain, Switzerland, Honduras and Chile are together in Group H.

allafrica

20091204

The United Nations refugee chief today appealed to Spain and Morocco to consider any measure to pave the way for the movement of a Saharawi activist who started a hunger strike last month and whose condition is rapidly deteriorating.

According to media reports, Aminatou Haidar began her strike at the airport at Lanzarote, on Spain's Canary Islands, after Moroccan authorities denied her entry into her native Western Sahara, whose status has been the subject of a long-running dispute.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, on the basis of his agency's good offices and on strictly humanitarian grounds, called today on Spain and Morocco "to consider any measure that could facilitate [the] movement and end the current impasse" of Ms. Haidar, who is from the town of Laayoune.

Fighting broke out between Morocco and the Frente Polisario after Spain's colonial administration of Western Sahara ended in 1976. The UN mission there, known as MINURSO, is tasked with monitoring the ceasefire reached in September 1991 and organizing a referendum on self-determination in Western Sahara.

Morocco has presented a plan for autonomy, while the Frente Polisario's position is that the territory's final status should be decided in a referendum on self-determination that includes independence as an option.

Last week, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern over the tensions between the parties to the talks on Western Sahara, which have risen after the recent detention of several groups of Saharawi activists.

"The Secretary-General has urged both parties to continue to cooperate with his Personal Envoy, Mr. Christopher Ross, in seeking to schedule another set of talks and to work together to achieve progress toward a mutually agreed political solution," his spokesperson told reporters.

allafrica

20091204

Bangui — The UN has warned that the recent kidnapping of two aid workers in the northeastern town of Birao in Central African Republic will have a highly damaging impact on humanitarian activities in the remote, impoverished Vakaga region.

In an interview with IRIN in Bangui, OCHA's Head of Office in the Central African Republic (CAR) Jean-Sébastien Munié, said NGOs had a crucial role to play in sustaining the population in the northeast, particularly in terms of assisting early recovery programmes and catering to the needs of hundreds of displaced persons.

"Our presence is much more than symbolic," Munié stressed. "It is heavily demanded by the population itself." But Munié also warned that security problems had to be taken seriously. "There is a kind of trauma amongst the humanitarian community when you see your colleagues disappearing like that."

The two aid workers, both working with the French organization Triangle, were seized late on a Sunday night by a raiding party, which made off with three NGO cars and a motorbike. A third hostage, working for the NGO Comité d'Aide Médicale (CAM) was reportedly released after internal discussion among the abductors.

Diplomatic sources in Bangui have warned against rumours and speculation concerning the kidnappings, stressing that few clear details have emerged of the whereabouts of those kidnapped or the identities of the Birao raiding party. Media reports from Sudan, based on satellite phone contacts with those claiming to be responsible for the abductions, have highlighted the role of the "Aigles de la Libération de l'Afrique", or Eagles of African Liberation, a little-known group that claims to be targeting the French government.

The Eagles first came to prominence in April 2009 when they kidnapped two women aid workers, French and Canadian nationals working for the French NGO Aide Medical Internationale, from Ed el Fursan in eastern Chad. The women were released after 25 days in captivity. The Eagles denied asking for a ransom. Their stated objective at the time was to pressurize France into taking stronger judicial action against the French organization Arche de Zoé, accused of trying to organize the abduction of dozens of children from Chad in October 2007. The Eagles say they also have in custody Laurent Maurice, an agronomist with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), abducted on 9 November in eastern Chad. The ICRC says it has had regular phone contact with Maurice, but is unclear on his abductors' demands. Maurice's abduction led to a suspension of ICRC activity in eastern Chad.

A senior rebel with forces operating in the northeast dismissed the Eagles' claims. "This is a fictitious organization," he told IRIN. "One is talking about opportunists and bandits, people without any principles, not a movement of any kind."

A senior diplomat following events from Bangui also voiced scepticism. "One just does not know at this stage if the Eagles' reported involvement is a credible part of the story or not," he told IRIN. "It might be possible. It might not be possible. It is much too early to say."

Storm after the calm

The Vakaga region lies more than 1,000km northeast of Bangui and is very sparsely populated. Birao is the provincial capital and hosts a contingent of troops, mainly Togolese nationals, from the UN Mission in Central Africa and Chad (MINURCAT). Relief officials have expressed amazement at the "ineptitude" of MINURCAT's response to the raid on Birao, with soldiers arriving long after the alert had gone out and the vehicles had departed.

The events of 22 November come after a period of comparative calm in the region. Long-standing tensions between Gula and Kara communities led to serious outbreaks of violence in June, forcing hundreds of villagers to flee their homes. The rebel Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR), which has strong support from within the Gula community, has worked with the Central African Armed Forces (FACA) in helping to stabilize the region and leaders from both ethnic groups have been involved in mediation attempts. The kidnappings are not being linked to the Gula-Kara rift.

Humanitarian activities in recent months have focused on getting a mainly rural population back to the fields after serious disruption of agricultural production after the events in June. Triangle, CAM and the International Medical Corps (IMC) have all suspended activities in Birao.

Munié says local communities suffer as a consequence. "When you see an event in a town like that when people think they are protected, it puts a lot of questions on the table," Munié told IRIN.

Relief operations have also been disrupted in Ndélé, provincial capital of Bamingui-Bangoran, which adjoins Vakaga. As in Birao, there is a substantial NGO presence in Ndélé, with French organizations Solidarités and AMI among those providing medical support. Fighting between the FACA and forces from the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP) on 26 November left the government in control of the town. But many residents who fled the clashes are reportedly still in the bush.

The CPJP has yet to sign the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed by other rebel movements and the government. The movement's 300 troops are not part of the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) programme being undertaken by other factions. The CPJP formed in December 2008, a splinter group from the UFDR.

Violence fears

Its nominal leader, Charles Massi, is a former cabinet minister and presidential candidate. Massi was arrested earlier in the year by the Chadian authorities while supposedly on a mission to Chad to secure President Idriss Déby's mediation between the CPJP and the CAR government of François Bozizé. Massi's whereabouts are not known. The CPJP's platform is unclear, but Massi and his supporters have protested against changes in diamond legislation in the CAR, arguing that the clampdown on diamond collectors and attempts to regulate the sector have penalized artisanal miners and their communities. The CPJP reportedly derives strong support from within the Runga community and it is the Runga part of the Ndéle population that has been slowest to return to the town.

Other rebel leaders dismiss Massi's leadership of the CPJP as a sham, suggesting he took on the movement simply as a bargaining tool with Bozizé and that CPJP field commanders operate autonomously.

The kidnappings in Birao and the battle for Ndélé do not appear to be linked, but have triggered warnings that there could be a new cycle of violence now that the CAR's rainy season is over.

"In the dry season there are more opportunities for bandits, poachers, zaraguinas and other groups to operate," Munié told IRIN. But while describing the episodes of violence as "worrisome", he warned they should not detract from tangible progress being made elsewhere. "We have a strong peace process going on," Munié stressed, arguing that arrangements for DDR were in hand and should not be overshadowed by the events in the north.

allafrica

20091204

Kigali — Following the mini Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, newly appointed ministers have spoken about their ambitions and what will be top on their agenda in their new portfolios.

President Paul Kagame reshuffled his cabinet that saw a few ministers transferred to different ministries and others dropped from the cabinet line up.

In an interview with The New Times, newly appointed Infrastructure Minister, Vincent Karega, who has served in different cabinet posts, said that his main focus will be strengthening institutions under his docket and fast tracking the development of infrastructure needed for the economic growth of this country.

"Of course the first thing I have to do is strengthen the institutions of the Ministry to support the development of the country."

"Infrastructure development is one of the major areas I will focus on as well as appropriate maintenance strategies that are sustainable to our economic development," Karega said.

Karega reckons that the country is in much need of infrastructure including roads, railways, airports, hospitals and others that form the backbone of economic development.

"We will carry out prospective studies to know all the necessary infrastructure Rwanda needs in the areas of transport, energy and water to speed up development," Karega.

The former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Secretary to the Treasury, John Rwangombwa, is the newest face in the Cabinet.

He was elevated to head the Ministry of Finance, replacing James Musoni who is now Minister of Local Government.

Rwangombwa who takes office at the time when economic growth is expected to recede from 11.2 percent in 2008 to between an estimated 5 to 8 percent in 2009, as well as the current global recession, said that maintaining the Macro-economic stability of the country was his priority.

"Number one is maintaining the macro-economic stability of our economy. As the economy recovers, we will focus on investing in areas that ensure quick returns to avert the effects of the crisis," Rwangombwa said.

"Most important on my agenda will be putting in place proper public finances management- ensuring accountability at all levels. I will also focus on financial sector development to boost economic growth," said Rwangombwa, who has been at the ministry since 2006.

On the other hand, James Musoni, the new Local Government Minister said that during his tenure at MINALOC he will be preoccupied with the need to harmonise coordination between the Central and Local Government for efficiency and effectiveness in policy implementation.

"You know, in Local Government you have to support efficiency and effectiveness of local governments at the district and other levels close to the people in line with the decentralisation programme.

"This means that you have to give these levels of governance the means to implement policies efficiently and effectively. You focus on promotion of good governance, service delivery and social justice to the people in order to embark on development," Musoni said in an interview with The New Times.

Musoni who has also occupied several cabinet posts, further said that the ministry is charged with the task of implementing policies of the central government.

He takes over at a time when big percentage of Mayors and other senior district officials have resigned, been sacked or ended up before courts for different reasons, especially misusing public funds.

The new minister said that his office is charged with social protection, where vulnerable groups are catered for through Social Safety nets which are mechanisms to mitigate the effects of poverty and other risks; and this is what he will focus on during his term.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources was split into two; that of Lands and Environment and Forestry and Mines.

Christophe Bazivamo will head the Forestry and Mines portfolio while Stanislas Kamanzi takes over the new Environment and Lands ministry.

In an interview with The New Times, Kamanzi whose job description hasn't changed much from his previous post, said that there is nothing new in particular, but said that his first days in office will be preoccupied with forthcoming negotiations on Climate change.

"Rwanda and other African countries need to come up with a Climate Change Regimen; an agreement managing the negative effects of Climate Change. As Rwanda, we believe all nations have to put together efforts to curb climate change," Kamanzi told The New Times.

Ahead of the upcoming Copenhagen Meeting on Climate change, Kamanzi said it is a role of both developed and developing countries to merge efforts to abate climate change by cutting down on emission. He said it is not only the duty of developed nations to cut down emissions.

"What we need is commitment from developed countries to mobilise finances and support developing countries to adopt and support policies to combat climate change policies,"

Kamanzi added that Developing countries will need to support developing countries to go with clean technology to boost industrial growth. He said Rwanda will continue with its plans of going 'Clean and green'.

Top on his agenda will be pursuing the implementation of land tenure and consolidation plans as well as putting the country's water resources to proper use.

His colleague, Christophe Bazivamo, revealed that his main focus at the Forestry and Mines Ministry will be ensuring value addition to the country's mineral resources before export.

"All stones have value depending on how you use them; therefore the main focus will be value addition. We have lots minerals to exploit which we can add value to before export, thereby generating revenue for our economy."

Bazivamo also added that focus will also be shifting from rudimentary mining methods to technology-based mining. He said he will implement the country's plan to have at least 30 percent of the country's land covered with vegetation.

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20091204

Kigali — A letter by former Minister of Local Government, Christophe Bazivamo, has called for disciplinary action against the Mayor of Kigali City, Dr. Aisa Kakira Kirabo, if it is established that there was negligence in addressing the concerns of Jabana residents about a stone quarry in Gasabo District.

The stone quarry, owned by a Chinese firm, is said to be emitting dust and smoke, hence exposing area residents to health hazards.

It was also reported that the explosives the company uses to blast the rocks was causing cracks in houses belonging to nearby residents leading to damage and loss of property worth millions of francs.

The quarry is supervised by the Rwanda Geology and Mines Authority (OGMR) and over 200 people are said to be affected.

A visit to the area revealed the rude reality. What appears to be fog from a distance is actually dust spewing from the stone crashing.

"Some reports compiled after visiting the quarry site indicated that residents had been exposed to dangers," KCC's Advisory Council president Titine Muberangabo told The New Times, yesterday.

The Ombudsman and Gasabo residents are said to be very upset about "the Mayor not acting as directed".

It's understood that on Wednesday and Thursday, Kigali City Council Advisory Council convened to discuss the Mayor's fate.

According to Muberangabo, Bazivamo wrote to the council asking the members to take action against the Mayor.

"I don't know what exactly awaits the Mayor but council members will have the last word on this matter," Muberangabo explained.

Asked whether by not acting within the time requested by the Ombudsman, the Mayor erred and can be held responsible for the continued suffering of area residents, Muberangobo said "this is serious."

"If it's proved that there was negligence and in the process residents' lives were put in danger, this will have serious implication on the side of the Mayor," Muberangobo revealed.

The Mayor could not be reached for comment by press time because she was reportedly attending an emergency meeting. KCC's spokesperson, Bruno Rangira declined to comment, saying the matter was beyond him.

Petition

The Chairman of Gasabo District Advisory Council, Francois Gakwerere, said that when the affected residents forwarded their predicament to the Ombudsman's Office, officials went to the area to investigate, and on witnessing what was going on, convened a meeting with all the concerned parties and agreed that the problem be resolved.

But after the meeting, nothing was done, which led to the Ombudsman Office to write to Prime Minister Bernard Makuza asking him to intervene.

The Prime Minister then wrote to the Minister of Local Government and asked him to instruct KCC and Gasabo district to stop the operations of the company.

However, KCC and Gasabo authorities never acted on the orders of the Minister since the company continued to use dynamite.

This prompted the then Minister of Local Government to write to KCC's Advisory Council asking the members to take action against the Mayor for defying his orders.

In the letter, the Minister also ordered the district authorities to put in place a committee to assess the damage the quarry had caused to the residents and to order the company to compensate the victims since it was provided for in the contract.

Angry residents

"We tried to tell our local authorities to help us solve this problem, but they have done nothing, yet the mining activities are continuing to have far reaching effects," one angry resident told The New Times.

Gasabo residents accused the company of breaching its contract with the Ministry of Natural Resources by using heavy machinery.

The machines and dynamites used in crashing the stones in the Jabana quarry have led to cracks in the walls of nearby houses.

Former Gasabo mayor

The Mayor of Gasabo District, Claudine Nyinawagaga said she resigned for personal reasons. But sources now say her resignation could also be related to the Jabana stone quarry.

She is said to have also ignored the directive from the Ministry of Local Government to check stone quarry activities.

Nyinawagaga tendered in her resignation last month during an advisory council meeting which had convened to discuss rising problems in the district.

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20091204

Washington — As U.S. special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration defended the Barack Obama administration's new policy toward the war-torn country on Capitol Hill Thursday, NGOs and a U.N. official reacted with disappointment and impatience.

Before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health, Gration faced persistent questioning from some members of Congress over the policy's inclusion of carrots alongside the sticks favoured by most international organisations.

The policy, announced Oct. 19, aims bring the conflict in the western-central Darfur region - which the U.S. and others have labeled as genocide - to an end as well as maintain the peace between the northern and southern Sudan that was established by a 2005 treaty.

This peace is thought to be threatened as tensions rise ahead of elections in April 2010 -the country's first since 1986 - and a referendum on possible southern secession the following year.

But the policy's path toward achieving these goals traces a controversial route between sanctions, whose effectiveness is more widely accepted, and a strategy of negotiating with Khartoum, for which Gration reportedly advocated and for which he has come under fire from advocacy groups. Gration, a retired Air Force major general, said in September that the U.S., in order to secure the cooperation of President Omar al-Bashir's government, should "think about giving out cookies. Kids, countries, they react to gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk, engagement".

Thursday, Senator Sam Brownback, who was allowed to participate in the House hearing, led Gration down an accusatory and intense chain of logic which culminated in the question, "You are dealing with a government that is conducting an ongoing genocide, is that correct?"

"I am dealing with a government," said Gration.

After a brief back and forth, Gration repeated, "I am dealing with the government in Khartoum of Sudan."

"Which is currently conducting a genocide in Sudan, is that correct?" said Brownback.

"That is correct," Gration conceded.

While these meeting are "in an effort to end the conflict, in an effort to end gross human rights abuses", as Gration told Brownback, these objectives have not been enough to get advocacy groups off the envoy's back.

They were particularly upset Thursday that Gration did not reveal details of the carrots or sticks that were supposedly included in the administration's Sudan policy.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had spoken in October of a "classified annex" that listed the incentives that would be on the table for Khartoum.

"There is no annex," Gration said Thursday. "I'm telling you that I've never seen one."

"The big surprise was there is not a classified annex. And that suggests there is a big hole at the center of the administration's strategy. They haven't clearly articulated for themselves, international partners, Khartoum and other actors what the benchmarks are for progress," said Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition.

Sam Bell, executive director of the Genocide Intervention Network, echoed Fowler: "After hearings in the Senate and House of Representatives and the public release of an administration policy, we still haven't heard what specific benchmarks Special Envoy Gration is using to measure progress in Sudan. It is also alarming to hear there might not be a classified annex given the prominent announcement of it at last month's policy roll-out."

Gration did, however, mention "classified working papers" on which he would be willing to brief members of Congress privately. He also said the administration has told China, which has significant investments in oil-rich Sudan and reportedly sells arms to the country, that they should join the U.S. in imposing sanctions.

"We have. We have, indeed," Gration responded when pressed on the question. He said President Obama and Chinese Prime Minister Hu Jintao discussed the matter in private during their meetings in Beijing last month.

But Enrico Carish, coordinator of the most recent U.N. Panel of Experts on Sudan report, told the committee later in the day that "the United States appears to have now joined the group of influential states who sit by quietly and do nothing to ensure that sanctions work to protect Darfurians."

He contrasted this with actions of the Bush administration, particularly in 2004 and 2005.

Carish was less than enthusiastic about a mixed sanctions-negotiations approach. He said the U.S. and others have backed off their enforcement of a U.N. arms embargo against Sudan, allowing weapons from countries like China and Chad to illegally enter the country in recent years.

"Increasingly it looks like poorly understood and under-enforced U.N. sanctions are being sold out in favour of mediation whose success is far from ensured," Carish said.

Gration also noted that U.S. officials would meet in January for a quarterly evaluation of Khartoum's progress toward the goals laid out in the U.S. policy.

In terms of the upcoming elections, he said he was concerned about not only escalating violence ahead of the votes but also procedural disagreements and the contested census results that are slowing voter registration. "We are deeply engaged with the parties through the trilateral process to resolve these outstanding issues," he said.

The 2005 treaty, known as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, ended a 21-year civil war between the north and south in which two million people are believe to have died. It also laid out a path toward elections - a path which has proven to be rockier than hoped.

In his testimony Thursday, John Prendergast, co-founder of the Center for American Progress' Enough Project, focused on the importance and difficulty of free and credible elections.

"The parties should agree to delay the election until the conditions mandated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement exist, because the U.S. and international community should not recognize any election that does not meet basic standards," Prendergast said.

To reach these conditions, he said, "Sanctions on the Sudanese government should be ratcheted up, including enforcement of the arms embargo, denial of debt relief, and greater support for further International Criminal Court investigations and indictments."

Bashir has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Gration said reports have placed the number of Sudanese registered to vote at 12 million, though the numbers vary greatly "across constituencies". Voter registration will conclude next week.

But in Darfur, two million people have been driven from their homes and 300,000 have died since the conflict began in 2003, according to the U.N. Darfuris, and millions of other Sudanese, are expected to be largely left out of the election.

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20091204

Arusha — All HIV-positive east Africans could soon access free anti-retroviral treatment even as they move freely from country to country, if a new proposed law comes into effect.

The East African Community (EAC) is currently developing a law to guide the region's response to HIV/AIDS.

This comes as the regional block moves towards an integration process that would see more citizens cross the boarders in the five states of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda.

"With the signing of the protocol on customs union that will enable free movement of persons, you are actually going to see free movement of the virus because people will be interacting more easily as they transact business. The effect of that is that HIV must be seen regionally," said Catherine Mumma, a Kenyan Human Rights Lawyer, who works with consultancy group Africa Vision Integrated Strategies. She led a consultation in the EAC states before the drafting of the new proposed law.

Based upon the consultations, the proposed law aims to provide joint treatment policies for people in the region while they move freely across the borders.

"One other thing is that east Africans would want a law that would enable them to access services anywhere they go in east Africa. So that if you were in Nairobi and you were on ARVs and you only brought two days ARVs and Kenya Airways went on strike, you should be able on the third day to walk into a treatment centre and get treated."

The law will allow for a common stance on HIV/AIDS, which aims to be non-discriminatory. Currently some countries in the region criminalise the treatment of HIV-positive sex workers and gay men.

The presidents of the five member states agreed in November to commence the East Africa common market protocol, which beings in early in 2010. It will allow for the free movement of labour and trade across borders, similar to the Southern African Development Community trade agreement.

Lucy Ng'ang'a, the executive director for the Eastern African National Networks of AIDS Service Organisations (EANNASO) said the proposed law will take on the good parts of the existing laws in the region but also tackle some of the silent issues and make better the areas that are controversial.

For example, Kenya has as a law providing for the free treatment and counselling for HIV-positive people.

One of the controversial areas is the criminalisation of the transmission of HIV/AIDS being suggested by countries like Uganda.

Another controversial area is that in the Penal Codes of Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania prostitutes and gay men, who are considered high risk in HIV/AIDS transmission, are not allowed access to treatment.

Member states like Kenya, Tanzania and Burundi already have laws on HIV/AIDS.

Uganda's law, the HIV/AIDS Control Bill 2009, was tabled before Parliament in 2008 as a Private Member's Bill. It has already caused a public outcry because of a clause relating to the criminalisation of HIV transmission between adults.

EANNASO contracted consultancy group Africa Vision Integrated Strategies to study the existing HIV laws within the region and advise on a draft bill for an East African Law on HIV.

The report by the Kenyan-registered consultancy was presented at a regional consultative meeting held between December 3rd and 4th, 2009.

Participants at the meeting in Arusha voiced concern at provisions in the member states laws relating to the rights of People Living With HIV/AIDS and criminalisation of HIV transmission.

Mumma told IPS that most people consulted felt that the issue of wilful transmission of HIV/AIDS should be punishable, but not in the context of the HIV law. It should be dealt with separately because if it was included in the HIV law, it will stigmatise people who may use this law to seek protection and treatment, the East Africa Law Society said.

"HIV should be seen as any other diseases including hepatitis B. And it would better for it to be dealt with in the context of the penal code even if it meant drafting another clause in the penal code," Mumma said.

Sarah Bonaya, a Kenyan Representative at East African Legislative Assembly and also a member of the General Purposes Committee in the parliament, said she was sure that her colleagues in the assembly would support the Bill which may be tabled as a Private Member's Bill to the East African Assembly.

She was happy that consultations had gone on through the five states to ensure a harmonised law that would address some of the negative provisions within each member state law that would affect management of HIV/AIDS as a region.

The new proposed law on HIV/AIDS would be the second in Africa after the SADC HIV law adapted in November 2008. The SADC law provides a comprehensive framework for harmonisation of HIV and human rights in southern Africa.

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20091204

Nairobi — Mr Kofi Annan is on Monday scheduled to meet President Kibaki to discuss the pace of reforms in the country.

The chief mediator in Kenya's post-election political crisis will be joined by Ms Graca Machel and former Tazanian president Benjamin Mkapa, who were also involved in the peace process.

On Tuesday, the team is expected to address a news conference regarding their talks with the two principals -- President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Mr Annan has praised Parliament and Speaker Kenneth Marende for efforts to set up a special tribunal to try violence suspects.

The bid to set up the tribunal has been sabotaged three times, with MPs walking out, citing quorum hitches.

The government too has taken a back seat in bringing the masterminds to book and has refused to send the suspects to the International Criminal Court, saying it would amount to abdication of its responsibility.

Mr Annan has called for the arrest and prosecution of the masterminds of the post-poll chaos before the next General Election to be held in 2012.

On Friday, Mr Annan took a break from politics to chair a board meeting of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, which comes three days before the start of the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen.

And on Friday Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo (below) said the law proposing a local tribunal to try the suspects will be reintroduced in Parliament. He said the ICC may try key perpetrators of the conflict, but the majority that destroyed property, raped or committed other crimes cannot go unpunished.

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20091204

Arusha — Although he was born with the virus, it was only 15 years after his birth that Robert* and his family discovered he was HIV-positive.

His mother, Flavia Kyomukama, was devastated by the discovery.

Kyomukama is also HIV-positive and she immediately put her teenage son on anti-retroviral therapy.

But Robert, who is now 19-years-old, stopped taking the life-saving drugs two years ago.

He lost interest in life after facing stigmatisation at school. It was not just the kids who made his life difficult, but also the school nurse and the deputy head teacher.

His classmates questioned why he was always sick and regularly swallowing tablets. Some school mates even started avoiding him.

"The school nurse used to ask him what kind of medicine he was taking and questioning why he was always sick because he was always at the school dispensary.

"And then the deputy head teacher said he was pretending to be sick yet he actually was. That is what made him decide to leave boarding school," says Kyomugisha, the national coordinator for the Global Coalition of Women against HIV/ AIDS, a local non-governmental organisation in Uganda.

Her son then dropped out of school altogether. He could not bear the stigma and even stopped taking his anti-retrovirals (ARVs) because he was tired of the side effects, she explains.

Robert's story is just one of many that children living with HIV face in their communities including schools in the East African Community (EAC) countries of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda.

It was some of the information presented at a regional consultative meeting on East Africa HIV law held in Arusha. Discussions centred on the development of a law to guide the region's response to HIV/AIDS.

The Eastern African National Networks of AIDS Service Organisations contracted consultancy group, Africa Vision Integrated Strategies, to study the existing HIV laws within the region and advise on a draft bill for the new law.

Feedback on consultations with several communities found that the stigmatisation of HIV-positive school goers often affects their ability to complete their studies.

Children are faced with stigma and discrimination and there are no laws or policies to protect them in the region. There are even reports of head teachers rejecting pupils who are HIV positive.

"When children are stigmatised, they don't want to go to school. Even if you force them to go - and they don't like the teacher because the teacher said something that affected them or the person that they sit with stigmatised or insulted them because they lost their mother or father - they will not concentrate in class and it will affect their performance and retention in school," Kyomukama says.

She says more awareness about HIV/AIDS is needed in schools. "There should be increased access to services and where services are not available, government needs to provide it. There should also be awareness in our educational institutions and carers."

The EAC countries are signatories to several international agreements on HIV/AIDS-related discrimination including the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and Convention on the Rights of the Child. At national level, countries also have provisions on the rights of the child.

However, human rights gaps in relation to children and HIV still exist, including the right to protection from discrimination. HIV/AIDS activists are now calling for government intervention to protect children from stigma and discrimination.

Jeremiah Nyegenye, who is part of the group compiling the new law, says the team investigated how the EAC faired in terms of HIV-related discrimination. "Broadly we would it is unsatisfactory. None of the jurisdictions have what we call an entirely comprehensive law."

He says even in countries that had provisions for HIV-positive children, stigma still continues. "Despite the provisions there is discrimination in schools."

Kyomukama says the issue of HIV-positive children is a critical one that should be legislated.

"In some health centres we do not even have ARV dosages for children. Sometimes they have to split an adult's dose and that is not accurate. We don't even have personnel trained in handling children living with HIV. Paediatric counsellors and services are limited. There is need to give it the attention it deserves," she says.

Allan Achesa Maleche of Africa Vision Integrated Strategies concurs.

"It is important to make specific provisions for children when legislating on HIV-related issues. This is fundamental as children's issues raise special concerns as compared to those of adults."

It is thus imperative to have specific clauses that directly address the human rights concerns of children in the context of HIV/AIDS.

"The principles of the best interest of the child and non discrimination must be taken into account," Maleche says.

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20091204

Indiscriminate bombings, rape and other crimes are continuing in Darfur, the Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC) said today, while noting that the Government of Sudan still refuses to cooperate with his office and its indicted President and other suspects remain at large.

The ICC, which is based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant for President Omar Al-Bashir in March for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur, where estimated 300,000 people have died since 2003 due to fighting between Government forces and allied Arab militiamen, known as the Janjaweed. Soon after the warrant was issued the Government expelled 13 international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and revoked the permits of three local groups, dealing a blow to humanitarian efforts in the region.

Briefing the Security Council on the latest developments, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said that attacks against civilians in Darfur are continuing. In an incident on 25 November, militia reportedly attacked two villages in North Darfur, where they captured civilians, beat villagers and looted property.

"President Al-Bashir, instead of stopping the crimes, is stopping the information about the crimes," he told the Council. "The decisions to expel humanitarian workers and silence others by threats of expulsion, or the attempts at restricting the freedom of movement of UNAMID [joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur] are part and parcel of this policy to reduce the monitoring capacity of the international community."

In his recent report on UNAMID, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon highlighted the impediments put by the Sudanese Government on the movement of peacekeepers which continue to hamper their ability to stabilize the situation in Darfur. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said that efforts in recent months have focused on encouraging Sudan to respect its responsibilities as a UN Member State and to put an end to crimes and arrest people indicted by the Court. He noted that Mr. Al-Bashir has been unable to travel to certain States where he may be arrested.

"This process of marginalization of indicted criminals, if maintained steadfastly, is a way towards the ultimate implementation of the arrest warrants issued by the Court. "Respect for the Court decision to issue an arrest warrant against President Al-Bashir sends a clear message: President Al-Bashir will face justice. Any leader committing crimes will face justice. Power does not provide immunity," he added.

The Prosecutor also stressed that he needs the Security Council's full support to ensure that the attention remains on the need to arrest the indicted suspects and to end crimes in Darfur.

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20091204

Mr Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, the Tanzanian national standing trial for terror charges in the US, wants all charges against him dismissed because his constitutional rights were violated.

He is the first detainee to be transferred from the notorious Guantanamo detention facility to the US mainland for a civilian trial.

Mr Ghailani, who is accused of helping plot the 1998 attacks on US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed hundreds of people, argues that he has not been given his constitutional rights to a fair and speedy trial.

He also claims to have suffered "abhorrent" physical and psychological abuse at the hands of interrogators, his lawyers said in a court filing.

The trial of Mr Ghailani, 34, is being closely watched because it is the first involving a suspect transferred from the controversial facility at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

It also comes in the wake of the Obama administration's plans to also transfer five men accused of plotting the September 11, 2001 attacks on US soil from Guantanamo for trial in New York City.

Mr Ghailani who hails from Zanzibar and the five 9/11 co-accused, who include self-confessed mastermind of the attacks Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, were all held in secret CIA detention facilities overseas and subjected to harsh interrogation techniques.

The US government is not seeking the death penalty for Mr Ghailani, although it will do so for the 9/11 accused. The family of the Tanzanian suspect has publicly expressed its wish to have their kin repatriated and charged in local courts.

In a legal filing dated November 16, obtained after it was reviewed for classified information, Mr Ghailani's lawyers noted that the original indictment against their client dates from 1998.

"Our government made the conscious and deliberate decision to sequester him in solitary confinement in secret prisons for over two years, subjecting him to what are euphemistically referred to as 'ehanced interrogation techniques,' even though he had a pending indictment," the filing said.

His lawyers add that the US government sought to turn Mr Ghailani "into an intelligence asset which our government could rely upon in the defense of our nation."

The government's decision to risk violating Mr Ghailani's right to speedy trial in order to gain intelligence from him must have 'consequences,' the lawyers added.

"Those consequences must be severe when the means and methods used by the government to reach their goal included the systematic physical and psychological abuse of the defendant, abuse so abhorrent that the government must rely upon a claim of national security as a justification for the interrogation techniques that were employed," the lawsuit said.

Judge Lewis Kaplan has sole discretion to rule on the case and his decision can be appealed before the US Supreme Court.

Mr Ghailani, who faces 308 charges, is accused of helping plot attacks on the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, which killed 224 people and injured more than 5,000.

President Obama's administration announced its plan to try the five Guantanamo detainees accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks in New York as it works to close the controversial facility.

President Obama has acknowledged his administration will likely miss a self-imposed January 2010 deadline to close the prison.

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