Marina Litvinsky

21 July 2009
Washington — Several international companies are named as helping to prolong the more than 12-year conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in a new report by the British-based group Global Witness, released Tuesday.

Titled "Faced with a gun, what can you do?", it details how many mining areas in eastern DRC are controlled by rebels and the national army, who violently exploit civilians to retain access to valuable minerals. It names international companies which buy from suppliers who trade in minerals from the warring parties.

European and Asian companies, including Bangkok-based THAISARCO, Britain-based Afrimex, and Belgium-based Trademet, have been buying minerals from the DRC that are funding armed groups and fuelling conflict, said Global Witness.

Informed by on-the-ground investigations and interviews in North and South Kivu, the report reveals that despite being on opposing sides, the national Congolese army, the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC) and rebel groups, in particular the Forces Democratique de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR), regularly cooperate with each other, carving up territory and occasionally sharing the spoils of illegal mining.

The FDLR use roads controlled by the FARDC, and vice versa, without difficulty. Minerals produced by the FDLR are sent out through local airports controlled by the FARDC in South Kivu.

"(The FARDC and the FDLR) don't attack each other. Where both are present, they share the spoils and both extort from the population," a human rights activist told Global Witness last year.

The unregulated nature of the mining sector in eastern DRC, combined with the breakdown of law and order and the devastation caused by the war, has meant that these groups have had unrestricted access to these minerals and have been able to establish lucrative trading networks.

"(The report) shows the extent to which the Congolese government is incapable not only of controlling the mineral-rich areas, but also of controlling its own army that is profiting from the mineral trade at expense of the state," David Sullivan, a research associate at the Enough Project, told IPS.

He added that mine inspectors often cannot do their job because they have not been paid their salaries, or "do not have the resources to travel to mines". Once they do arrive, they are prevented from inspecting the mines with threats of violence.

"The Congolese government needs more assistance in order to be able to oversee the trade, but it is not the only actor," said Sullivan, adding that companies that continue to profit from the trade must be held accountable.

"As long as we don't change the way we go about purchasing these things economic incentives will override" the need for greater transparency, he added.

The profits armed groups make from their illegal control of the mines allow them to survive, as they pay for arms. To sustain this control, the main warring parties have carried out horrific human rights abuses, including widespread killings of unarmed civilians, rape, torture and looting, recruitment of child soldiers to fight in their ranks, and forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, the report said.

"All the warring parties in the DRC are systematically using forced labour and violent extortion in mining areas," said Patrick Alley, director of Global Witness. "Despite recent political and military developments, including the apparent rapprochement between the DRC and Rwanda, violence against unarmed civilians is continuing and countless lives are lost each day."

Years of unrest have plagued the DRC. Following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, hundreds of thousands of Hutus fled across the border into the DRC, as the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front conquered the country. The conflict has resulted in an estimated 5.4 million deaths over the past decade.

This link between armed groups and the illicit mineral trade was also documented by a United Nations panel of experts in December 2008.

The "conflict minerals" at the centre of the violence include cassiterite, coltan and wolframite, which are moved from the DRC, usually through Rwanda or Burundi, to East Asia where they are processed into valuable metals, like tin and tungsten, needed for electronics products.

One of the companies featured in the report is THAISARCO, the world's fifth-largest tin-producing company, owned by British metals giant, Amalgamated Metal Corporation (AMC). THAISARCO's main supplier, Congo-based Panju, sells cassiterite and coltan from mines controlled by the FDLR.

Another company is the British-based Afrimex, already found by the British government in 2008 to be in breach of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises for buying from suppliers who made payments to a rebel group. The British government has yet to take any concrete action on this information.

Global Witness wrote to 200 companies and found that most had no controls in place to stop conflict minerals entering their supply chain.

AMC denied any wrongdoing, saying that it operated under U.N. guidelines.

"Both AMC and Thaisarco have always sought to comply with the requirements and recommendations of the U.N. in respect of minerals originating in the DRC," the company said in a statement. "In accordance with this, Thaisarco purchases DRC minerals subject to a recently enhanced, formal and detailed due diligence programme which ultimately is aimed at providing transparency throughout the supply chain."

In a letter to Global Witness in January, F. Muylaert of the Belgian company Trademet said, "Your hypothesis according to which we should verify the exact origin of every kilo of exported material is inappropriate in the current context in Congo."

The report points out that comptoirs - trading houses based in Goma and Bukavu - which buy, sell and export minerals produced by or benefiting the warring parties are officially licensed and registred with the Congolese government. Foreign companies use the "legal" status of their suppliers as justification for continuing to trade with them, without verifying the exact origin of the minerals or the identity of intermediaries.
"It is not good enough for companies to say they buy only from licensed exporters, when they know full well that their middlemen buy from armed groups," argued Alley

The report said that foreign governments, including Britain and Belgium, are undermining their own development assistance and diplomatic efforts to end the 12-year conflict by failing to crack down on companies based within their borders.

Global Witness contends that the governments of Rwanda and Burundi have failed to acknowledge that these minerals are fueling conflict and have not held to account companies in their country which engage in this trade.

"The failure of governments to hold companies to account, of Burundi and Rwanda to restrict the trade across their borders, and of donors and diplomats to address explicitly the role of the mineral trade, have all contributed to the continuation of a conflict that has killed millions and displaced many more," said Alley.
allafrica

20 July - Mauritania’s former junta leader, Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz has won the weekend presidential polls with the light victory, the Interior Minister announced in a statement.

The Interior Ministry said Mr Abdelaziz had 51 percent of the vote, compared with 17 percent for parliament speaker Messaoud Ould Boulkheir and 12 percent for veteran opposition leader Ahmed Ould Daddah.

However, the four presidential contenders have rejected the provisional results stemming from the polling stations throughout Mauritania, saying there was widespread rigging, aimed at legitimising the military rule.

The opposition has also called on the international community to institute a probe into the disputed polls.

General Abdelaziz seized power in a coup last August throwing the country into the crisis after toppling the democratically-elected President Ould Cheikh Abdullahi. In Mauritania's first democratic elections, held in 2007, the opposition leader lost in the second round against Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.

The African Union observer group to Mauritania's presidential election is scheduled to release its findings on the weekend polls later today.

The presidential elections which were initially set for 6 June and were postponed to 18 July saw a voter turnout of 61 percent according to the election commission.

The Mauritania's military rulers and the opposition leaders signed an agreement to end a political crisis in June, under which the former junta leader Gen Abdelaziz suspended his campaign in the presidential elections.

The deal struck after a marathon talks involving local parties and the international mediators also envisages the formation of a unity government. The deal also foresees the return of press freedom and equal access by political players to the media during the electoral campaigns.

By staff writer

© afrol News

20 July - The Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative has warned that the continuing tensions between Sudan and neighbouring Chad remains one of the major obstacles to the peace and security of the troubled Darfur region.

Mr Rodolphe Adada has urged the two neighbours to end hostilities along their border amid fresh accusations by Sudan of air strikes carried out in Umm Dukhum, a West Darfur village on its border with Chad.

“We are deeply concerned at such reports, which are being investigated by UNAMID, and I once again urge all parties to refrain from such escalation,” he said, emphasising that dialogue is the only solution for the tensions between Chad and Sudan.

He also urged the neighbours to desist from conflict while diplomatic efforts are being undertaken to bring an end to the ongoing tensions, saying good relations between Chad and Sudan are a key to ensuring lasting peace in the area.

In the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s latest report to the Security Council on the work of UNAMID, he said he is deeply concerned by the ongoing instability along the border and the “inflammatory rhetoric” of both sides.

Mr Ban called on Khartoum and N’Djamena to end their support for one another’s rebel groups and to normalise their bilateral relations.

The Secretary-General has recommended that UNAMID’s mandate be extended at least through the end of July 2010, citing the numerous challenges in Darfur, despite the decrease in large-scale conflict.

An estimated 2.6 million Darfurians remain displaced from their homes and as many as 4.7 million people in total depend on humanitarian assistance, while sexual violence and banditry are also prevalent.

UN said close to 300,000 people have been killed since fighting erupted in 2003, pitting rebels against government forces and allied Janjaweed militiamen.

By staff writer

© afrol News

21 July - Nigerian authorities have been urged to investigate and prosecute members of security forces allegedly involved in the killing of 130 people in the November 2008 Jos violence.

The Human Rights Watch said the Plateau State Judicial Commission of Inquiry should dig deeper into last year’s violence between Muslim and Christian mobs left more than hundred people dead.

A researcher, Eric Guttschuss, who testified before the commission yesterday in Jos, revealed that policemen and soldiers gunned down unarmed citizens in their homes, chasing down and killing men trying to flee to safety, and lining victims up on the ground and summarily executing them.

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry was set up by the Plateau State government in central Nigeria to look into the causes of the Jos violence and to identify the individuals or groups responsible for the violence.

Nigeria's federal government has also established a Presidential Panel of Investigation, which has yet to hold hearings after repeated delays.

The international rights organisation found out that while most of the deadly inter-communal clashes took place on 28 November, the vast majority of killings by the police and military came on 29 November, a day that the Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, issued a "shoot-on-sight" directive to the security forces.

Human Rights Watch documented 118 cases of alleged arbitrary killings by the security forces that took place between 7 am and 1 pm on 29 November alone.

The organisation has urged the federal government of Nigeria to address the root causes of the violence, including by passing nationwide legislation, banning all forms of discrimination against non-indigenes, with respect to any matter not directly related to traditional leadership institutions or other purely cultural matters.

"The government should consider the sectarian killings in Jos as a wake-up call to address the longstanding problems of discrimination and inequality that in large part underpin and contribute to this kind of violence," HRW official said.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Posted on Monday 20 July 2009 - 08:27
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Kingsley Kobo, AfricaNews reporter in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
The four main antagonists in the Mauritania presidential election have contested the outcome that gave the incumbent military leader, Gen Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz, the lead. They claimed it was a "prefabricated" result meant to legalize a coup plotter and called for international investigations.
mauritania coup leader
Mauritania interior minister announced over the weekend that Gen. Abdelaziz won with 52% of the total votes counted in Saturday's poll. He seized power in a coup last year.

Abdelaziz challengers cited massive fraud using purchased voter’s cards, manipulation of voter’s lists, use of fake ballots and ID cards. Abdelaziz supporters were shown on state TV celebrating across the streets of Nouakchott. Voter turnout was fairly high; the electoral commission gave the figures as 61.46%.

Other figures communicated earlier are 16.72% for Messaoud Ould Boulkheir, house speaker and leader of the anti-military coup front; and then 13.86% for Ahmed Ould Daddah, leader of the main opposition party.

Ibrahim Sarr, the only black-Mauritanian candidate, came fourth with 5.01%. While liberal Islamic leader, Jamil Ould Mansour got 4.57%, coming before ex-military head of state (2005 – 07), Colonel Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, who had 3.79%.

The 250 international observers sent by the African Union and OIF (Francophonie International Organisation) have not issued any statement concerning the results and the accusations forwarded by opposition parties.

Mauritanian has not been ruled more than one year by a democratically elected leader since its independence in 1960.

africanews

Posted on Monday 20 July 2009 - 10:45
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Maina Waruru, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya Photo: Lameck Nyagudi
Fears of a resurgence of violence growing in Kenya's Rift Valley Province as the debate of possible prosecution of suspected planners of the 2007 post-election violence rages.
Lameck Nyagudi riots in the streets of kenya
It is emerging that 90% of suspects in the controversial and now famous envelope currently in the hands of the International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo are from one community.

According to AfricaNews reporter, what is fuelling tensions even more is that the suspects are all prominent personalities in the government from the Kalenjin ethnicity which is the dominant group in the Rift Valley Province. There is growing tension and hatred between the Kalenjin and the Kikuyu - the ethnic group that suffered the heaviest casualties in the 2008 flare ups.

Our reporter said the Kalenjins claim the list is not a fair representation on the ground and suspect witch-hunting. He said members of the Kikuyu community are living in fear of a possible attack should the ICC prosecutor disclose the names.

The renewed tensions come at a time when thousands of people who have been living in camps over the past 18 months are barely settling in their homes from camps where they have lived as Internally Displaced Person (IDPS). Some 1000 people lost their lives in the country, majority of them from this province in the chaos that followed disputed 2007 presidential results.

About 90,000 out of the original displaced 350,000 are still living in camps strewn across the province and the possibility of these Kenyans going back home will be diminished should the situation remain same.

africanews

Posted on Monday 20 July 2009 - 16:25
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Kenya's cabinet put off a decision on how to deal with perpetrators of post-election violence in 2008 for another week, with ministers split between using a local tribunal or the ICC. Pressure has been mounting on Kenyan authorities to punish those behind the worst violence in the history of that country.
kibaki
The post election violence in that country killed at least 1,300 people and displaced 300,000.

Crisis mediator and former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan handed over an envelope containing the names of 10 suspects to ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo earlier this month.

"After making considerable and substantial progress the cabinet adjourned to next week to enable a team headed by the minister for justice ... to refine the proposals discussed," said a statement from the president's office, according to Reuters.

Analysts said the delay was a sign that rifts in the cabinet were growing, and the fact that some ministers were probably suspects was no doubt complicating matters.

"If they had made considerable progress, then they would have been pumped full of consensus and agreement. So that seems to me that the cabinet probably has so many varied view points they don't know what to do," said Robert Shaw, an economist and political commentator in Nairobi.

Annan's move has heightened pressure on the shaky coalition government, led by President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, to establish a local court quickly or face international justice.

africanews

Monday, July 20, 2009

An anti-government armed Somali group controlling large swathes of the country has said it will shut down three UN agencies and prevent them from working in areas under its control.

Armed men from the al-Shabab group looted a UN compound in Baidoa in south-central Somalia on Monday following the announcement.

In a statement broadcast on local radio, al-Shabab accused the UN agencies of corruption and allegedly conspiring against Islam.

The agencies affected are the United Nations Political Office for Somalia, the United Nations Development Programme, and the United Nations Department for Safety and Security.

UN officials were not immediately available for comment.

Al-Shabab is fighting to overthrow Somalia's government, and controls large areas of the capital and southern Somalia.

The group is fighting government troops and African Union peacekeepers in the hope of imposing its own strict interpretation of sharia, or Islamic law, throughout Somalia.

The US state department says that the group has links to al-Qaeda, but al-Shabab has denied that.

Speaking about the incident in Baidoa, an unnamed UN officer said that "dozens of well-armed al-Shabab militia" had surrounded the UN compound there.

He continued: "They have taken away three UN cars from the compound, but have not harmed several UN foreign staff."

The town of Baidoa used to house Somalia's interim parliament before it was seized by al-Shabab fighters.

aljazeera

20 July 2009 – Somali militants raided two United Nations compounds today, stealing equipment and vehicles and forcing the world body to close down one of its operations in the violence-wracked country.

Al Shabaab militiamen looted UN facilities in the towns of Baidoa and Wajid, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe told reporters in New York, adding that the UN Office in Somalia “deeply regrets having to relocate staff and temporarily suspend its operations in Baidoa.”

Ms. Okabe said that the UN will continue working in Wajid, where the minimum security measures remain intact, and it is optimistic that a reassessment of safety conditions on the ground will allow critical humanitarian work to resume in Baidoa and elsewhere in Somalia.

The looting occurred as the top UN envoy to Somalia warned that extremist rebel groups are threatening to overthrow its legitimately recognized Government, while calling on the international community to intervene.

“While the world focuses elsewhere, groups of foreign extremists are trying to take control of a strategically placed country,” Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, wrote in an opinion piece published today in The Washington Post.

A fresh wave of fighting, which broke out in Mogadishu in May, has driven 200,000 people from their homes, in addition to the more than 400,000 already displaced near the capital and along the Afgooye corridor, west of Mogadishu.

“Those who attacked Mogadishu in May are extremists with no common agenda except to seize power by force,” said Mr. Ould-Abdallah. “They include individuals on the UN Security Council’s list of al-Qaida and Taliban members and a few hundred experienced fighters from other areas of Africa, as well as Arabs and Asians.”

He noted that Somalia has “the longest coastline in Africa and borders international maritime routes as well as regional powers Kenya and Ethiopia,” stressing that foreign fighters are using the impoverished country “to further their agenda of spreading international violence.”

The Special Representative said that the “credibility of the United Nations and others is threatened if they stand by and allow such a takeover in Somalia.”

Last year’s UN-brokered Djibouti Agreement ended the long-running conflict between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia, with President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed taking office in January and a new unity Government being formed in February.

“I saw what a tremendous effort his government is making… organizing an effective administration that is working for the people,” Mr. Ould-Abdallah wrote, referring to a recent visit to President Sheikh Ahmed.

“But how can they defend against determined suicide bombers such as those who killed the extremely able internal security minister and dozens of innocent civilians in May?”

Mr. Ould-Abdallah urged donor countries to fund African Union peacekeeping troops who need better equipment, improved living conditions and logistical support, and to provide urgent life-saving aid and assistance to the suffering population.

Highlighting the Security Council’s declarations to act against those “attempting to disrupt the peace process and create anarchy,” he noted that a list “is being compiled for the UN sanctions committee of those who may find their assets frozen and face a travel ban.”

He said that businessmen gaining from the continuing conflict and others who support extremists, whether out of conviction or in pursuit of profit, should be hit in their wallets.

“Some are working in Kenya, Congo and south Sudan, but they are known. Likewise, those extremist leaders who have sent their families abroad while they destroy innocent lives here should understand that these family members will no longer be welcome.”

Mr. Ould-Abdallah said that the situation in Somalia should concern the international community and that, with help, the conflict can be stopped as other seemingly endless internal wars have been brought to a close.

un.org

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
Published: July 18, 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya — The Shabab, Somalia’s most fearsome Islamist group, the one leading a guerrilla war against the weak transitional government, may be running into a problem with its cash flow.
In the past week, Shabab rebels have seized two French security advisers originally captured by a different band of Somalian gunmen, and now they are widely suspected of another kidnapping on Saturday morning along the Kenya-Somalia border.

“They need money,” said one Western diplomat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing diplomatic protocol. “It’s a fact.”

Another fact: kidnapping is one of the few money-making industries left in shattered Somalia.

According to a new posting on a Somalian insurgent Web site, the Shabab will soon try the Frenchmen in an Islamic court. And though the Shabab’s brand of justice often involves amputations and even beheadings, the Web site said that in this case, commanders were considering a “fine,” a signal that they may be after money more than blood.

Recent events bear that out, analysts say. While Somalia’s transitional government got a 40-ton pile of guns and ammunition from the United States in June, the Shabab’s outside support may be slowing down.

Kidnapping has been a lucrative business in Somalia for years, but now more than ever. The country’s central government imploded in 1991, and ever since then marauding gangs, warlords, teenage street fighters and various Islamist factions have scrambled for power and money. Pirates off Somalia’s coast netted tens of millions of dollars last year alone, seizing ships and ransoming back the crews. These days, the few foreigners who enter Somalia need platoons of gunmen to make sure they are not the next victims.

At a meeting last week with reporters in Paris, Claude Guéant, chief of staff for the French president, was asked if the kidnapping of the two French security advisers, who were snatched from their Mogadishu hotel on Tuesday, was a “money issue.”

Mr. Guéant answered that “it was likely” to be one.

nytimes

Katie Mattern

20 July 2009
Washington — A prominent human rights group is demanding the release or trials of five Ugandan detainees held by military intelligence for up to 16 months.

The five detainees, four men and one woman, were arrested throughout 2008 by agents of a governmental police force, made up of military, police and intelligence officers, which answers to the chief of military intelligence called the Joint Anti-Terrorism Task Force (JATT).

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that the Ugandan government is in violation of the Ugandan Constitution by continuing to hold them without charge or access to a lawyer or family.

Petitions for habeas corpus were filed at the High Court in Kampala on Jul. 17 by lawyers on behalf of friends and families of the detainees. The filings seek to force the government to provide justification for the arrest and continued detention of the five individuals.

The government has also refused to release the location of the individuals, which HRW said "makes these cases of enforced disappearance under international law".

"If the government thinks that any of these people committed a crime, it should bring charges," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at HRW. "But holding them indefinitely and secretly this way violates both Uganda's own laws and its international obligations."

Three of the five individuals were confirmed to be in government custody by the chief of military intelligence, Brigadier James Mugira. Two of the five, Abdulrahman Kijjambu and Ismail Kambaale, were arrested in July 2008 for allegedly planning "terrorist attacks". The other, Abdul Hamid Lugemwa, was arrested in March 2008 for his alleged involvement with an "urban hit squad", according to HRW.

HRW was told that these cases are pending prosecution but no charges have been filed in any of them.

While the Ugandan government has said that it has no knowledge on the location of the fourth detainee, Mohamed Sekulima, witnesses told HRW that he was in the custody of JATT and they saw him several times in the city of Kololo throughout 2008.

Systematic torture by JATT at its headquarters in Kololo, a suburb of Kampala, was documented in an HRW report released in April.

The fifth individual, Fatuma Nantongo, was purportedly arrested by known members of JATT in December 2008, but, according to HRW, these reports are unconfirmed. HRW said that witnesses confirmed seeing her in custody in January 2009.

Currently there is no knowledge of the physical whereabouts of any of these five detainees, which HRW says is a direct violation of international law.

HRW exchanged letters with Mugira throughout November 2008 regarding the location of 16 people, including four of the five detainees whose families filed the petition Friday.

"In the months following the Nov. 3 letter, 11 detainees who had been identified by Human Rights Watch as being unlawfully detained were released without charge, granted amnesty, or charged with a criminal offense," the group said.

None of those charged, however, have gone to trial or had a date set for their trial.

One detainee, Saidi Lutaaya, died while in custody. Military intelligence denied the death despite HRW's possession of a copy of the death certificate. There is no cause of death listed on the certificate.

Reports HRW received from individuals who saw Lutaaya during his detention indicated that he was beaten severely and repeatedly by officials. One said that he was hit on the head with a hammer during an interrogation.

Lutaaya's family has never received official notice of his detention or his body.

While the Ugandan military denied to HRW that it abuses suspects and detainees as a method of gaining intelligence, the Ministry of Defence has refused to respond to questions from HRW regarding the issue.

However, other government officials, including the minister of defence and Mugira, have made promises to investigate the allegations by HRW and that "those found responsible for abuses would be held to account."

Deputy chief of mission at the Ugandan embassy in Washington, Charles Ssentongo, told IPS that, "Human Rights Watch has been in touch with our government in that matter and I think the minister of defence has promised to send a response."

According to HRW, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance calls an enforced disappearance an occurrence "when a person is deprived of his or her liberty, whether under arrest, detention, or otherwise, by state authorities, and the detention is followed by a refusal to acknowledge that deprivation of freedom or to give information on the fate or whereabouts of the detained person."

The group says that the disappearances occurring in Uganda violate basic human rights, "including the right to life, the right to liberty and security of the person, the right to a fair and public trial, as well as the prohibition on torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment."

"Human Rights Watch has documented many instances of [Ugandan armed forces] abuse against Ugandan civilians, particularly civilians in northern Uganda," said Beth Tuckey of Washington-based Africa Faith and Justice Network.
Tuckey called for the U.S. to withhold military aid "until the government recognises democracy and human rights, particularly in the field of military affairs".

HRW also cites Uganda's own constitution, which gives citizens the right to habeas corpus. If the current petitions from the lawyers of the detainees' friends and families are granted, the government must bring those held before a judge and explain why they have been detained.

"Ugandan military and civilian authorities need to stop disappearances immediately," Gagnon said. "Family members should not have to resort to legal action to find out the whereabouts of their loved ones."

HRW also released an audio recording of discussions with two former detainees who had been tortured by the task force and military intelligence on Friday.

allafrica

Hebert Zharare

21 July 2009
Harare — Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa was detained for six hours at Frankfurt International Airport in Germany recently -- culminating in his failure to attend the crucial European Union-Zimbabwe dialogue in Brussels, Belgium, with immigration police grilling him over his visa.

Minister Chinamasa, who was part of the Zimbabwean delegation that joined an advance team led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai -- who was already in Europe -- had his booking for Brussels cancelled by the immigration officials, who insisted that he was not supposed to proceed as he was on the EU sanctions list.

Minister Chinamasa yesterday confirmed his detention at Frankfurt International Airport and the ordeal he went through at the hands of German immigration officials.

"They kept on telling me that they were verifying the authenticity of the visa documents I had because I am on the sanctions list.

"They proceeded to cancel my booking to Brussels. As a result, I did not attend some of the meetings. They finally rebooked me six hours later," Minister Chinamasa said.

The Zimbabwean delegation, which flew to Brussels last month, almost failed to travel because some EU member-states were against the inclusion of officials from Zanu-PF, insisting that they were on a travel ban.

Besides Minister Chinamasa and his Foreign Affairs counterpart Simbarashe Mumbengegwi (both Zanu-PF), the delegation also included Ministers Elton Mangoma (Economic Planning and Investment Promotion), Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga (Regional Integration and International Co-operation), Welshman Ncube (Industry and Commerce) and Tendai Biti (Finance) -- all from the MDC formations -- and was led by PM Tsvangirai.

Swedish Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Sten Rylander -- whose country currently holds the EU rotating presidency -- told The Herald that he did not have details on Minister Chinamasa's detention in Germany.

"Maybe the people at Frankfurt did not have more information on Minister Chinamasa's travel arrangements. He later joined us during the meeting in Brussels," Mr Rylander said.

The Swedish ambassador, however, said formal dialogue between Zimbabwe and the European Union Troika was set to begin in Harare soon as the two parties explored ways to thrash out remaining thorny issues.

The success of the dialogue would eventually see the lifting of the illegal economic sanctions and other forms of sanctions imposed on the country by the European bloc.

The troika -- comprising Sweden, the EU representative to Zimbabwe Mr Xavier Marchal and Spanish Ambassador Ms Pilar Fuertes -- was set to meet with Zimbabwe's technical team made up of the permanent secretaries of five ministries.

The Zimbabwean technical committee is chaired by Foreign Affairs Secretary Ambassador Joey Bimha.

Mr Rylander confirmed that informal discussions had been going on between the troika members and the Zimbabwean officials over the past two weeks with a view to kick-starting formal discussions.

"Formal meetings might start before the end of the week . . . I had informed meetings with (Mr) Bimha and others. We are talking . . . it's not that we are at a standstill," he said.

During the meetings, the technical team chaired by Ambassador Bimha will represent the Zimbabwean side.

Other members of the team are secretaries and officials from the ministries of Finance, Regional Integration and International Co-operation, Justice and Legal Affairs, Economic Planning and Investment Promotion, and Industry and Commerce.

Said Mr Rylander: "Nothing much has happened since the Brussels meeting. The technical team needs guidance from their principals."

Zimbabwe and EU members had their first meeting in Brussels last month after almost seven years of acrimonious relations.

During the forthcoming meetings, the Zimbabwean team will present to the troika its commitment plan in implementing the Global Political Agreement and the time frame in thrashing out issues that are of concern to the EU members.

During the meeting, the EU is also expected to submit its commitment plan and come up with a concrete undertaking to address all forms of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe and its leadership over the years and the restoration of normal relations.
Mr Rylander said following the Brussels meeting, things had been moving smoothly in the country except for a few pockets that he said were also being addressed.

"We are seeing a lot of progress on the economic side, but on the political side we have not seen much . . . like media reforms. We are also looking forward to seeing the land audit being completed.

"I was shocked with the developments at the constitution conference," he said, referring to the disruption on the opening day of the all-stakeholders conference last week, "but the next day the meeting went on well after the principals had made a statement. The developments at the national vision meeting were also encouraging. There is a collective spirit on what is happening in the country. Zimbabwe is moving in the right direction," he said.

Ambassador Bimha could not be reached for comment as he was said to be out of the country.
allafrica

Monday, 20 July 2009

San_tribesman

The United States African Development Foundation has signed a grant agreement to benefit a San community group in Botswana and empower them to become competitive in the wool trade. The grantee is BORAVAST Community Resource Management Trust, which is located in an isolated part of the Kalahari Desert.

After signing the grant, USADF President Lloyd Pierson stated, "USADF strives to identity and work with the most marginalised populations in Africa to ensure a better quality of life for them. This grant is funding one of the most marginalised populations in Botswana and is designed to help the group's members raise themselves out of poverty."

BORAVAST is a community-based organisation composed of 1,500 San residents living in four remote villages in the Southern Kgalagadi District. Traditionally a marginalised population, the San suffer from high levels of unemployment, illiteracy, and poverty. BORAVAST improves members' quality of life by mobilizing the community to participate in income generating activities.
africagoodnews

Monday, 20 July 2009

Gill Marcus's credentials as a former central bank deputy governor and head of South Africa's largest retail banking group should reassure markets she is an able successor to respected outgoing governor Tito Mboweni.
Mboweni_Tito
Bowing out: SA's current Central Bank Governor, Tito Mboweni

Marcus's close links with the ruling ANC could also ensure more harmonious relations with powerful labour unions who have clashed with Mboweni over the past year over a monetary policy stance they say has worsened the plight of the poor.

President Jacob Zuma on Sunday appointed Marcus as Governor of the central bank with effect from November.

Zuma told reporters he had initially reappointed Mboweni for another term to the post but the Governor asked to leave in November.

Marcus, 59, served as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank between 1999 and 2004 and is credited with helping formulate exchange regulations which have helped shield South African banks from the worst of the global financial crisis.

The market's high regard for Marcus should soothe financial markets which took the government's silence on Mboweni's soon-to-expire contract as a sign that he would stay on.

"She's highly respected in the market place. She oversaw the foreign exchange regulations (as deputy governor) and she's actually quite a good administrator," Colen Garrow, economist at investment group Brait, said.

Marcus's history with the ruling African National Congress could however be a double edged sword.

Marcus, who is white, spent years in exile helping the ANC fight the apartheid system which discriminated against blacks, and on her return to South Africa gained prominence working in the party's information department.

She was elected to parliament on an ANC ticket in the country's first multi-racial elections in 1994, earning a reputation for efficiency as chair of the finance committee.

Marcus, the first woman to serve as deputy central bank governor, will likely enjoy a more amicable relationship with labour unions.

They wanted Mboweni out over the central bank's refusal to meet their demands for steep interest rate cuts,

But any indication of a closure relationship with labour could raise market fears of a departure from the existing prudent monetary policy.

Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of labour federation COSATU, welcomed Marcus's appointment, expressing hope that "she will bring in fresh air into the institution".

Reuters

Monday, 20 July 2009

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and the African Union (AU) Commission have signed a special agreement to strengthen journalism in Africa, particularly in science and technology.
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Behind the lens: UNESCO and the AU are addressing Africa's media vacuum

The special agreement will see the two organisations working together to enhance the skills of African journalists and other media professionals in a series of initiatives across the continent and internationally.

The agreement is expected to improve the quality of African journalism in general, and science and technology reporting in particular.

Beninese mathematician Jean-Pierre Ezin, the AU's commissioner for human resources in science and technology, and Unesco's assistant director-general for communication and information, Abdul Waheed Khan, signed on the line in Paris on 8 July, bringing the agreement into immediate force.

The two organisations have also agreed to meet at least once a year to consult on and assess the programme. An action plan is expected within six months of the signing.

Unesco and the AU have identified a number of priority areas for collaboration. These include knowledge sharing; the evaluation of previous similar initiatives; the implementation of capacity building programmes; and the joint financing of projects and possible involvement of other partners.

Journalistic centres of excellence
In 2007 Unesco undertook a study to identify and document the capacity of 96 journalism schools across Africa. Emphasis was placed on those schools that showed real potential to be so-called centres of excellence.

The project was conducted with the help of the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University in South Africa's Eastern Cape province, and the ESJ International School of Journalism in Lille, France. Media organisations around the continent also added their expertise.

A comprehensive list of the participating schools was assembled in a database, which is accessible on the Unesco website. Under the new special agreement, the schools involved will be enlisted as training venues.

Science journalism on the rise
With the increasing realisation of the importance of technology in the growth of the African continent comes a parallel awareness of the need for quality journalism, especially in the field of science. Science journalism is a relatively new speciality, but a growing one.

At an assembly of science journalists earlier in 2009, it was revealed that the genre is flourishing in developing nations, while at the same time diminishing in some developed countries.

Delegates at the 2009 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held in February in Chicago, heard of a growing demand for science stories from both editors and readers in Africa and the Middle East. But in the US, media houses have cut back on their science reporters and some have even done away with their science departments altogether.

Akin Jimoh of the Lagos-based Development Communications Network said that the developing world's scientific loss was Africa's gain. "Science journalism is growing [in Africa]," he commented. "Associations of science journalists are being formed in a number of countries. They have organised conferences in their countries to influence science policy."

Other reasons given at the recent Chicago gathering for the rise of science journalism included greater interest from the media in promoting science as a development tool, and the increased attention to issues of global interest, such as climate change.

But in other more developed countries, the story has taken a different turn. US-based television network CNN is reported to have shut down its entire environmental, science and technology unit, while the respected Boston Globe publication is phasing out its science section over the course of a year.

World science journalism conference for Cairo
Luckily for avid readers in the developing nations of Africa, South America and the Middle East, the future of science journalism is looking good - so much so that the next world conference of science journalists is to take place for the first time in Cairo. The conference is held under the auspices of the World Federation of Science Journalists (WFSJ).

The Cairo bidding group fought off fierce competition from Finland, Uganda and Kenya to snatch the privilege of hosting the prestigious gathering. The Finnish Broadcasting Company's Pirjo Koskinen was disappointed, but conceded that it was fitting that a developing country should next host the conference. "It's very important for us to get to know Africa," she added.

Announcing the winning bid in June 2009, outgoing WFSJ president Pallab Ghosh expressed delight that Africa had been so strongly represented in the bidding process.

Ghosh is succeeded as WFSJ president by Cairo-based Nadia El-Awady, a co-founder and past president of the Arab Science Journalists Association.

Media Club South Africa

Monday, 20 July 2009

Mozambique's rice production has risen this year, a situation which bodes well for the nations food security. The country's rice output has risen to 260,000 tonnes this year, from the 190,000 tonnes last year.
brazilian_rice
Mozambique's rice production is on the increase

Mozambique is aiming at producing about 400,000 tonnes a year, with the government hoping to become completely self-sufficient through rice production within three years, and cut its imports of the crop by 2011.

Last year Provincial director for agriculture of the Mozambican province Momed Vala was quoted as saying that rice production this season would rise to a total of 200,000 tonnes.

Mozambique, one of the poorest nations in Africa, depends on agriculture for its economic security.

The country's Agriculture Minister Soares Nhaca said rice production had grown due to the use of improved seed and machinery support for farmers.

Nhaca said that Mozambique was investing heavily in the purchase of quality seeds and agriculture machinery in regions regarded as potentially productive, particularly in central parts of the country.

Mozambique's increase in rice output comes barely a few days after the United States Agency for International Development launched their $20 million agro-business project, aimed at improving the agriculture sector in the country.

Former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan recently also sought the support of Japan and other rice producing countries to achieve a goal of doubling rice output in Africa by 2018. He said sustainable production of rice would help ease hunger and poverty in the continent.

Many African countries have relied on Maize as their staple food crop, but rice seems a better crop for feeding a continent in which food security is a big issue.

Nigeria, Egypt and Madagascar are among the leading rice farming nations in Africa.

Africa News

18 July 2009
Mandhera — Unidentified Somali gunmen have abducted three foreign aid workers in Mandera town in the border between Somalia and Kenya, witnesses told Shabelle radio on Saturday.

Reports say that the kidnapped foreigners were working for an internaional French charity Organization ( ICF) and were abducted by unknown armed group from the centre of the agency overnight injuring one of the security guards of the centre.

Locals said that the foreign aid workers were a Pakistani, a Zimbabwean and a westerner and it is unclear the reason of their abduction so far and also where the kidnappers took them.

ICF is one of the international charity organisaztions which provided food to the people, especially the women and children in Mandera town, on the border of Somalia and Kenya.

The kidnapping of the three aid workers comes as two French training officials were kidnapped from the Somali capital Mogadishu, as more Kenyan security forces were deployed to the town to assure the security and make search operations in the area of the ICF centre where the abduction happened.
allafrica.com

18 July 2009
The head of the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur today called on Sudan and Chad to end any hostile activities along their border amid fresh accusations of air strikes in the troubled region.

Rodolphe Adada, the Joint AU-UN Special Representative, warned that the continuing tensions between the neighbouring countries remain "one of the major obstacles to the peace and security of Darfur."

Mr. Adada, who heads the joint peacekeeping mission known as UNAMID, issued a press statement after Sudan accused Chad of carrying out air strikes in Umm Dukhum, a West Darfur village on its border with Chad.

"We are deeply concerned at such reports, which are being investigated by UNAMID, and I once again urge all parties to refrain from such escalation," he said.

Mr. Adada stressed that dialogue is the only solution for the tensions between Chad and Sudan.

"I encourage you [the two Governments] to desist from conflict even as diplomatic efforts are being undertaken to bring an end to the ongoing tensions, which could exacerbate conditions for Darfur's civilians. Good relations between Chad and Sudan are a key to ensuring lasting peace in the area."

In Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's latest report to the Security Council on the work of UNAMID, released today, he said he is deeply concerned by the ongoing instability along the border and the "inflammatory rhetoric" of both sides.

Mr. Ban called on Khartoum and N'Djamena to end their support for one another's rebel groups and to normalize their bilateral relations.

The Secretary-General has recommended that UNAMID's mandate be extended at least through the end of July 2010, citing the numerous challenges in Darfur, despite the decrease in large-scale conflict.
An estimated 2.6 million Darfurians remain displaced from their homes and as many as 4.7 million people in total depend on humanitarian assistance, while sexual violence and banditry are also prevalent.

But Mr. Ban noted that more than 90 per cent of the authorized strength of UNAMID should be in place and fully operating by the end of the year, while mechanisms for cooperation with the Sudanese Government are functioning more effectively.

"Both developments will put UNAMID in a position to dedicate more time to the implementation of its mandate and less time to deployment-related issues."

In its first 18 months the mission has struggled with numerous logistical and operational problems, which has made it difficult to effectively deploy troops and police officers across an arid and remote region that is larger than Iraq.
allafrica.com

17 July 2009
Mogadishu — The two Frenchmen consulted as security advisers for Somalia's U.N.-backed interim government were kidnapped by suspected fighters loyal to Hizbul Islam insurgent group from Hotel Sahafi in Mogadishu.

Hizbul Islam is considered the more moderate of the two Islamist rebel factions waging war to overthrow the Somali interim government.

Sources close to Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam confidentially told Garowe Online that Hizbul Islam had succumbed to pressure from Al Shabaab to "share" the French hostages. One of the hostages was "transferred" to Al Shabaab yesterday.

But on Friday, Al Shabaab fighters "used force" to snatch away the second hostage from the hands of Hizbul Islam gunmen, the sources added.

"Both men are now in our custody," said a member of Al Shabaab who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Separately, a top Hizbul Islam militia commander said the group "peacefully handed over" the French hostages to Al Shabaab "to avoid bloodshed."

He rejected reports that Al Shabaab guerrillas used force to seize the hostages. It is not clear what Al Shabaab will do to the hostages, but Western and regional powers have repeatedly accused Al Shabaab of having links to Al Qaeda.

Separately, Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmake condemned the kidnapping of the French security advisers and demanded that Hizbul Islam release the hostages immediately.

But the Prime Minister did not mention the government soldiers who reportedly "helped" Hizbul Islam fighters to successfully kidnap the Frenchmen.

Some reports said Al Shabaab hardliners have asked that those government soldiers be turned over to them, but the latest reports say that no one knows the whereabouts of those soldiers.

Somalia's interim government in Mogadishu relies on security support from some professional soldiers and a host ex-insurgents, some of whom switch alliances randomly.

allafrica.com

17 July 2009
The top United Nations official in Côte d'Ivoire has called for the immediate publication of a timetable for the long-awaited presidential elections, which are now set for 29 November.

If the deadlines for each stage of the electoral process are not met, there is a risk that the polls - repeatedly postponed since 2005 - could be delayed, the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Choi Y. J., said following a meeting on Wednesday with Ivorian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro.

The UN Mission in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), which is headed by Mr. Choi, has been providing technical and logistical support for preparations for the elections, including in areas such as voter identification and registration.

Over 6 million voters have been registered so far, or about 70 per cent of the eligible voter pool in the West African nation, which became divided in 2002 between the Government-controlled south and the rebel Forces Nouvelles-held north.

Mr. Choi, who held a similar meeting with President Laurent Gbagbo earlier this week, also stressed that UNOCI is ready to assist the Independent Electoral Commission and the relevant authorities in overcoming any challenge on the road to the elections, according to a news release issued by the mission.

In addition, the Special Representative underlined the fact that the implementation of decisions associated with the country's 2003 peace agreement had been postponed, including the transfer of authority and the redeployment of the administration in the north of the country.

"We talked about how to strengthen the achievements and how to take up the challenges," said Mr. Choi.

In his latest report on the work of UNOCI, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that Côte d'Ivoire's political parties have the responsibility for ensuring that the elections are held on time and are free, fair and transparent.
He added that it is important that the parties sustain the progress achieved so far and complete, "in a timely manner," the remaining stages of the peace process.

In a related development, UNOCI staff met yesterday with their colleagues from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) to identify challenges associated with the 1,000 microprojects programme.

Launched in 2008, the $4 million pilot initiative is designed to support the Government's efforts to reintegrate ex-combatants. Some 2,700 people are working on 507 projects throughout the country under the programme, which is financed by the UN Peacebuilding Fund that was set up to help jump-start projects in countries emerging from conflict.

allafrica.com