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Obama: Defending the 'interests of empire'

Demba Moussa Dembele

2010-01-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61612

cc S GarfieldFor those anticipating sweeping, immediate change from Barack Obama's election to the US presidency, the results of the president's first year in office will undoubtedly have proven profoundly disappointing, writes Demba Moussa Dembele. Just as his Accra address was rooted in patronising references to 'corruption' and 'tribalism', it should be always borne in mind that Obama operates and will continue to operate first and foremost in defence of the 'interests of empire', Dembele stresses.

The election of Barack Obama to the Presidency of the United States elicited worldwide enthusiasm and raised hopes for change, especially in Africa and much of the global South. One year later, what remains of that enthusiasm, of the immense hopes and even expectations that his election had raised? For sure, one year is not enough to assess the record of his administration. But some decisions and actions during the last 12 months may give an indication of the kind of policies he intends to conduct for the duration of his term.

POSITIVE CHANGES

One of the most important changes in the international arena has been the end of the contempt for the United Nations and the embrace of multilateralism in tackling world affairs. This is reflected in the recognition of a greater role for the United Nations in dealing with global issues. One illustration of this shift is the participation of President Obama himself accompanied by a huge US delegation in the UN summit on climate change in Copenhagen in December 2009. Another positive change is the new approach to the Iranian and North Korean nuclear issues. Instead of threats and intimidation, President Obama has given priority to negotiations and diplomacy, even if it may remain some hidden agenda.

Overall, with Obama, the United States is projecting the image of a country that is less arrogant and seeks to restore good or normal relations with other countries and peoples of the world. The Cairo speech, addressed to the Muslim world, is certainly one of the most important illustrations of that new image that the US is trying to project with Barack Obama. By extending a friendly hand to the Muslim world and by distinguishing between Islam as a religion of peace and those who are using it as a political tool, he opened the door to restoring trust between the US and large parts of the Muslim world.

DISAPPOINTMENTS

But these positive changes cannot mask the big disappointments of the first Obama year, especially in Latin America and Africa. With Cuba, it is almost the status quo, despite some timid steps and Cuba’s gestures of goodwill and overtures. The goodwill displayed during the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, with a handshake with President Hugo Chávez, was not followed by a real break from Bush policies with regard to Venezuela, Bolivia and other progressive governments in South America. The signing with Colombia of an agreement to station US troops near the border with Venezuela did not sit well with most Latin American countries, even with some 'moderates' like Brazil. Then, the coup in Honduras and its consequences dealt a big blow to the credibility of the Obama administration in the region. After condemning – mildly – the coup, the US finally remained indulgent with the illegitimate regime and hailed the elections organised by the coup leaders as 'step toward the restoration of democracy'.

The boycott of the Durban Review Conference on Racism held in Geneva in April 2009 was another big disappointment for all progressive forces inside and outside the United States. Several African-American organisations reacted very angrily to this boycott, which was seen as an ominous signal of how the Obama administration would handle issues of racism and discrimination inside and outside the United States.

AFRICA: WHAT’S NEW?

Maybe one of the greatest disappointments is Obama’s attitude towards Africa. Several observers had expected to see Africa high on his administration’s agenda. But so far, there is more continuity with past policies than innovation.

The Accra address

The Accra address gave an illustration of that continuity. That address was supposed to outline Obama’s 'vision' for Africa. In fact, in Accra, he insisted more on the familiar clichés manufactured by Western imperialist ideology and mainstream media about Africa than on outlining a new vision for Africa–US relations. He spent more time condemning 'corruption', 'tribalism', 'bad governance' than talking about the real structural obstacles to Africa’s development, obstacles inherited from centuries of domination, plunder and exploitation by Western countries and corporations.

When he alluded to colonialism and Western responsibility in the current situation of the continent, it was to stress that this responsibility is secondary to Africa’s own responsibility. In his opinion, conflicts in Africa and weak economic and social indicators are all Africa’s fault. There was not a single word about the hand of Western powers – the US in the lead – in provoking and encouraging conflicts, staging military coups and assassinations in order to perpetuate the continent’s destabilisation and their control over its resources.

This position is consistent with Western countries’ attempt to convince public opinion – inside and outside Africa – that a few decades of neocolonial rule and imperialist intervention in all areas have erased centuries of destruction of the African mind, of genocide and of the looting of Africa’s wealth and resources.

Some Africans have praised Obama for insisting on 'good governance' and 'solid institutions'. But the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and the World Bank have been preaching the same gospel since 1989.[1] When Obama said that Africa’s development 'depends on good governance', this is a code word for neoliberal policies to make African countries more 'attractive' to foreign investors and put in place an 'enabling environment' for the promotion of the private sector – a speech Africans have heard before from the World Bank and the IMF!

Even more importantly, his Accra address was noticeable for its omissions. For instance, he mentioned President Kwame Nkrumah just once and as a footnote. But even more puzzling was his total silence about a great African-American and companion Nkrumah, W.E.B. DuBois. There was not a single word for DuBois, who is buried in Accra, just a few yards from the US embassy! DuBois is one of the founding fathers of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the oldest human rights organisation in the United States. He is also one of the fathers of Pan-Africanism, which explains why he went to Ghana to help Nkrumah after his country’s independence. But above all, DuBois is one of the foremost intellectuals of the 20th century, which is why Harvard University has named an institute after him, to honour his scholarly achievements. And that institute is chaired by Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., whom Barack Obama calls his friend.

The shadow of AFRICOM

Obama’s visit to Ghana was dubbed as a premium to 'democracy' and 'good governance'. And the US government hailed the visit as an opportunity to 'strengthen the U.S. relationship with one of [our] most trusted partners in sub-Saharan Africa, and to highlight the critical role that sound governance and civil society play in promoting lasting development.'[2]

But in reality, the visit was about promoting the US interests in a region rich in crude oil and minerals. Obama has not abandoned his predecessor’s idea of installing the headquarters of the Africa Command (AFRICOM) in Africa. It is the pursuit of that strategy that led Obama to Ghana in the hope that this country may accept to host AFRICOM, given its 'stability' and proximity to the Gulf of Guinea.

Some US analysts have come to the conclusion that the Obama administration is even trying to enhance Bush’s policies toward Africa: 'While Africans condemned U.S. military policy in Africa under the Bush administration, the Obama administration has not only mirrored Bush's approach, but has in fact enhanced it. President George W. Bush established Africa as a foreign policy priority in 2003, when he announced that 25% of oil imported to the United States should come from Africa. Like the Cold War, the Global War on Terror establishes a rationale for bolstering U.S. military presence and support in Africa. Yet official pronouncement of U.S. policy is routinely presented as if neither of these two developments occurred.'[3]

While official statements tend to present the Obama administration’s policies toward Africa as only aiming at bolstering economic development and preventing conflicts, they are contradicted by actual policies. In the eyes of the same analyst, the agenda outlined by the US government for public consumption is different from the real agenda. He noted that the fiscal year 2010 budget 'doubles the size of AFRICOM's funds' and there has been the 'doubling of financial support for counterterrorism projects throughout the continent – including increased funds for weapons, military training and education at a time when US foreign aid money is stagnating'.[4]

In light of the above, it is fair to say that with regard to Africa, there is nothing new, there is no bold vision for a different type of relationship in the 21st century as some had expected. Apparently, his 'African blood' made no difference!

SERVING THE INTERESTS OF THE EMPIRE

Of course, only those who are naïve may think that Obama’s 'African blood' would lead him to have a special agenda for Africa. This is why some of his most enthusiastic supporters on the continent, who were expecting massive flows of 'aid', are disappointed with his policies.

But what these people seem to ignore is that Obama was elected to defend and promote the interests of the United States. And those interests do not necessarily coincide with African interests. And to achieve this goal, he will resort to any means. In his Nobel speech in Oslo, Norway, on 10 December, he was very explicit about that by saying that he would not hesitate to use force to defend and protect the interests of the United States.

From that perspective, the decisions and actions of Barack Obama aim to promote first and foremost the interests of the empire, that is, the interests of US multinational corporations and banks, the interests of Wall Street, as well as the interests of the military–industrial complex. The election of Obama did not change the goals of the empire to hold on to world leadership by strengthening its hegemonic role in world affairs. So, behind the rhetoric lies the shadow of the empire, which as despotic, cynical and ruthless as ever.

CONCLUSION

It is difficult to see a shift in these policies in the medium term. In fact, the mid-term elections of November 2010 risk costing the Democratic Party if the economy does not show signs of recovery and if the situation in Afghanistan keeps deteriorating. The eventual loss of a majority in Congress would make Obama’s task even more difficult.

It is almost certain that if things don’t improve before November, especially on the economic front, Barack Obama will be confronted with a more complex situation and even more daunting challenges, at home and abroad. If a more hostile Congress emerges after the November elections, there will be little hope that the 'change' he advocated during his campaign may ever be achieved.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Demba Moussa Dembele is the director of the African Forum on Alternatives and a member of the 2011 Dakar World Social Forum organising committee.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

NOTES
[1] See Sub-Saharan Africa: From Crisis to Sustainable Growth: A Long-Term Perspective Study. Washington, DC, The World Bank
[2] 'Straight Talk: Revealing the Real US Africa-Policy', Foreign Policy in Focus, Washington, DC, July 2009
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid

Obama's first year: Change we can still believe in?

Ama Biney

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61622

cc AbangbayCan or will Barack Obama deliver a more peaceful, humane world, asks Ama Biney, a year after his inauguration as 44th President of the United States. Offering a tentative evaluation of the path followed by the Obama administration so far, Biney suggests that genuine change lies not with the president, but in the remobilisation of a grassroots movement among the ordinary Americans who had the optimism and motivation to campaign for him.

In revisiting some of the arguments I made in my New African article – sensationally entitled ‘Why I would not vote for Obama’ – I acknowledge that one year on, it is too soon to profoundly evaluate Obama’s presidency and the impact of his domestic and foreign policies to date.[1] I had deliberately entitled that article ‘Uncertainties in voting for Barack Obama’ to convey the considerable reservations I had at the time of writing and also the sense that historical perspective requires us to stand back from individuals and their actions in order to appreciate how intricate details contribute to the making of the larger historical picture. Also, the intention of the abandoned title was to suggest that in understanding current affairs, sometimes our noses are pressed too close to the events to enable us to properly explain them. Time needs to elapse before we can evaluate them effectively and soberly.

Since writing that article, I wish to correct two things. Firstly, Obama was the fourth African American to contest the presidential candidacy after Shirley Chisholm, Reverend Jesse Jackson and Reverend Al Sharpton. Secondly, I concede to colleagues, friends and students who have since asked me: ‘Would you really not have voted for Obama?’ that if I were an American citizen entitled to vote, I would have given Obama my vote – but hesitantly – and not so much on the basis of racial solidarity but on the basis of harm reduction (i.e. between McCain and Obama it is the latter who, on paper, was the candidate more likely in November 2008 to better the world and America, rather than harm it).

With 20 January marking a year since Obama’s inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, it may be argued that it is not fair to judge him as his record is far from complete. Certainly, if Obama is to win the next election, historians of the future will have a solid basis to evaluate the impact of his policies on the American people and the world. However, one year into his presidency, a positive psychological impact of Obama’s presidency is that a black family is occupying the White House. Some argue, that it is an inspirational and symbolic role model for Africans in the diaspora, particularly in Europe and the UK, where we do not see many images of the African family unit in the mainstream media compared to in the USA, where there are far more TV programmes with black families featured in them. In the UK, the dysfunctional black family or black single parent is considered to be the stereotypical norm and therefore it is positive to see challenges to such representations.

Another positive must be that Obama’s electoral victory will help end the invisibility of ‘Afro-Latinos’ in the other Americas i.e. Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Columbia and elsewhere. While ‘Si, se puedo!’ (‘Yes, we can!’) as a slogan may become forgotten, Obama’s physical and political occupation of the White House has psychologically empowered – and will continue to empower – people of African descent in South and Central America to struggle against socio-economic and political inequalities in their societies.

In terms of concrete positives, one school of thought has argued that Obama has made considerable efforts in repairing Washington’s image as a hegemon committed to the rule of law and multilateralism unlike his predecessor. Early in his presidency he announced relaxations for Cuban Americans travelling to the embargoed island. Yet, the 50-year-old embargo continues to remain in place for no other reason than to punish Cuba for the audacious threat of being a model of a non-capitalist society. Most ominously, the Obama administration signed a deal with the right wing government of Columbia on 30 October 2009 allowing America to make use of seven military bases in the country. This is action that can only alarm left wing governments such as Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela in the region. Even Time magazine observes that ‘Obama’s Latin American policy looks like Bush’s.’ [2]

On the closing of the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Obama acknowledged in November that his administration would miss the self-imposed deadline to close the centre by mid January 2010. The difficulties revolve around where to relocate the remaining 200 detainees, which has been condemned by some Democrats and Republicans in Congress as freeing terrorists who could strike America again.[3]

Obama sought to reach out to the Arab world when he visited Cairo in June 2009 and gave a candid apology for the CIA sponsored coup against Iran’s Mohammed Mossadeq in 1953, unlike the lecture he gave to Ghanaians in July on the need for good governance and his failure to apologise for the CIA backed coup against the government of Kwame Nkrumah in 1966.

On the issue of the Arab-Israeli conflict, there have been no significant developments in terms of moving nearer to the realisation of a Palestinian state. Instead the Israelis continue to build illegal settlements on Palestinian land. In order to secure Obama’s political future he has concluded that a top priority of his Middle East policies must be to continue to strengthen the US-Israeli partnership. He cannot resist the power of the Israeli lobby who dictate that the foreign policy for both the US and Israel are one and the same.

Obama’s participation in the Copenhagen Climate Summit in December last year, despite the failure to reach a legally binding agreement, has been cited as confirmation of his break with the unilateralism of George W. Bush, Jr. The granting of the Nobel Peace Prize to Obama that astounded many (including myself), demonstrates that there are considerable invested aspirations in Obama. Can he or will he deliver a more peaceful and humane world? How has he fared in regards to healthcare reforms for the almost 30 million Americans who are without healthcare, the economic crisis and Afghanistan?

What follows are some tentative evaluations – by no means exhaustive – in terms of the trajectory so far pursued by the Obama administration.

OBAMA & THE DOMESTIC FRONT

The Great Recession that confronts America is not of Obama’s doing, but how his administration responds to it will be the basis of how he will be judged. To date the American banksters have been bailed out by American taxpayers to the tune of US$787 billion in a fiscal stimulus package. It remains to be seen the extent to which Obama will be tough on the financial institutions that brought the country to its knees. For nearly a quarter of all homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth; one in eight are on food stamps; many have lost their homes in repossessions. Unemployment and underemployment has soared to 17.5 per cent of the population, while the national average is 10.2 per cent. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics ‘in 2008 the unemployment rate for African Americans 25 years and over without a high school diploma was 14 per cent’, while Latinos followed close behind at 13.2 per cent.

Recovery is far from being on the horizon. There appears to be no plan to help create million of new jobs in the foreseeable future whilst millions of people remain jobless. The working people – white, Asian, black, Latino – are suffering.

On healthcare, Obama attracted voters on his election trail by his campaign pledge to carry out health care reform in a nation where approximately 30 million Americans have no access to health care and are uninsured. Meanwhile, Obama’s election campaign managed to receive US$20 million from the health care industry, nearly three times the amount of his presidential rival, John McCain who raised US$7,758,289 from the healthcare industry.[4]

What kind of healthcare proposals Obama was seeking to implement, was not exactly clear in the highly vacuous campaign trail. We are now clear that the bill is not about health care but about protecting and increasing the profits of the insurance companies. The fierce public debate over health care during the year was eventually concluded in late December 2009 when the bill was passed with painful compromises for some leftwing Democrats. The public option government-run health insurance scheme had to be dropped as it was seen by many, including the all powerful private health insurers, as a means to rein them in. The bill that has been passed is instead a giveaway to big business, as it requires all Americans to obtain health insurance whilst insurers will be forbidden from denying coverage based on patient pre-existing conditions. Yet, it is ludicrous to mandate that an individual must buy an insurance premium they cannot afford and then fine them for failure to do so. Who benefits in such a situation?

It appears that alongside the intense debate over healthcare reforms, it is most bizarre that Congress a US$636 billion defence budget passed in late December, without any discussion and major headlines. Why is there a disconnect in the American psyche between a war that Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph E. Stiglitz and L. J. Bilmes predict will cost between US$3-5 trillion and American economic suffering at home?[5]

In Obama’s West Point Speech announcing his surge decision on 1 December 2009, Obama mentioned the cost of sending 30,000 new troops to Afghanistan at a cost of approximately US$30 billion per year. This cost is likely to soar fantastically. Added to the cost of America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan should be the cost of maintaining what Chalmers Johnson calls its 600 ‘empire of bases’ in 130 countries.[6]

The US manufacturing sector has been shrinking, whilst paradoxically the military industrial sector is nearly three times as large as the rest of the economy. Meanwhile, as Engelhardt and Turse point out, most Americans think of themselves ‘as something like the peaceable kingdom’. Yet, as the authors argue, the USA ‘garrisons the planet in a way no empire or nation in history has ever done.’[7]

AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ, PAKISTAN, IRAN & NOW YEMEN?

Obama’s election campaign was unambiguous in asserting that he would seek an exit from the war in Iraq, which he considered the ‘wrong war’ whilst simultaneously deploying troops to Afghanistan, the ‘right war.’ Therefore his announcement on 1 December 2009 that he was sending 30,000 troops to Afghanistan (making a total of approximately 64,000) was no surprise. The only surprise was that a president who was in office for just under a year was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize and then decided to send further troops to Afghanistan where the war is entering its ninth year. The war in Afghanistan has now become America’s longest war, surpassing the one in Vietnam and evoking many parallels as to whether it will be Obama’s own Vietnam.

It seems America is waging two and a half wars in the Middle East and Asian continent. The third war, after Afghanistan and Iraq, is the intensification of deadly drone missile and commando attacks inside neighbouring Pakistan, which killed 708 people in 2009, of which only 5 were identified as al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects.[8]

Obama is still entrapped in the illusion that the conflict with the Taliban in Afghanistan is a ‘war of necessity’ and a ‘just war’ to which he gave a subtle defence in his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. It is certainly a necessity for the military-industrial and intelligence complex that will continue to grow as result of the extension of the war. However, waging war will not make the American people nor the world a safer place because America continues to remain, as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, once said, ‘the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.’

The opposition of the Obama administration to Iran’s right to a nuclear enrichment programme, which is considered as a move towards acquiring nuclear weapons, smacks of duplicity in a region where Israel has between 100-200 nuclear weapons and is the sole nuclear power in the region of the Middle East. If the Obama administration is committed to preventing Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons, why will they not demand that Israel dismantles its weapons and that France ceases making use of nuclear energy? Obama will not do so because Israel is its most reliable pro-Western ally in an Arab dominated region. Leaving aside the morality of nuclear weapons, the fact that the US has arrogated itself the prerogative that America can and should decide which nations are civilised and sufficiently responsible to possess such weapons, is indeed an instance, among many, of imperial arrogance and audacity. It is indeed ‘nuclear imperialism’, as Kwame Nkrumah characterised the French testing of atomic weapons in the Sahara dessert in the early 1960s.

Already opinion polls have shown a decline in support for Obama since his election to office. It appears the sparkle of the Obama magic is gradually fading. Will it dissipate further if he were to extend the global war on terrorism to Yemen in the hunt for al-Qaeda terrorists there? Has Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the young Nigerian bomber who attempted to blow up Northwest Airlines flight 253 on Christmas day given new life to Washington’s global war on terror campaign in Yemen? M. K. Bhardrakumar, a former ambassador and a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service, observes Obama’s intelligence and realism but asks is he ‘blundering into a catastrophic mistake by starting another war that could turn out to be as bloody and chaotic and unwinnable as Iraq and Afghanistan?’[9]

As I have argued elsewhere, Abdulmutallab’s action has given those committed to waging the global war on terror a further justification for extending it to Yemen and in doing so the strategic importance of the region between Yemen, Somalia and particularly Djibouti, where America has some 2,000 troops stationed at Camp Lemonier, will increase in geopolitical significance.[10] We shall see the emergence of an American pretext for US or NATO, with a probable AFRICOM input in the militarisation of the waters around the Gulf of Aden and across the strait of Bab el-Mandab in Djibouti. This geographical area is the critical oil chokepoint as considerable Saudi oil passes through this region. As others have pointed out, the pretext of aiding the Yemeni government to fight al-Qaeda extremists in Yemen conceals America’s challenge to China’s influence in the sea lanes of the Indian Ocean which are the arteries of the Chinese economy. As Bhadrakumar argues, ‘By controlling them [i.e. the sea lanes], Washington sends a strong message to Beijing that any notions by the latter that the US is a declining power in Asia would be nothing more than an extravagant indulgence in fantasy.’[11]

The tone of Obama’s foreign policy may be different from that of his predecessor, but at its core the American empire and its imperialist corporate interests continue to be loyally served by Obama’s administration. His tone is different on account of Obama’s sophistication, but we should be under no illusion that he seeks to substantially dismantle the fundamental imperialist corporate structure which he serves. It is obvious that he would not have been elected if he had policies counter to those of the financial oligarchy and their imperialist interests. Obama is a liberal centrist with occasional conservative instincts. Some believe he is Clinton without the sleaze; charismatic, and a self-described believer in ‘the free market.’ However, during the election campaign Obama was able to package himself as ‘new’ and ‘fresh’, whilst Republicans cast him as left-wing for his pronouncements on health care reform. Whilst Obama uses the utterances of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, we shouldn’t be under the illusion that Obama is committed to the triple threats of eradicating global racism, poverty and militarism that King identified as ills of humanity.

RACISM NOW GOES VERY COVERT WITH OCCASIONAL OVERT

The arrest and manhandling of the African American Professor Henry Louis Gates in his own home in middle class white suburbia and the media attention it received demonstrates the highly nonsensical and mythical diatribe begun by the Wall Street Journal’s pronouncement of America entering a ‘post-racial age.’ Institutional racism did not end with the election of Obama and it is only white Americans who delude themselves in believing that racial inequality ended with the election of America’s first black president.

Prejudice, discrimination, racial inequalities remain deeply structurally embedded in American society – in the judicial system, in health care policies, in inadequate and under-funding for schools in poorer black neighbourhoods, in the way many of the subprime mortgages were sold to African American and Latino families, who are now the victims of such inflated mortgage deals. Or take for example the fact that, as of mid 2008, there were 4,777 black men imprisoned in America for every 100,000 black men in the population. By comparison there were only 727 white male inmates per 100,000 white men. Another example is that while whites use illegal drugs at substantially higher percentages than blacks, black men are sent to prison on drug charges at thirteen times the rate of white males.[12] The prison industrial complex of America thrives on the incarceration of black and brown males and females who are disproportionately represented within its institutions.

The danger of Obama’s election is that racism has become and will become reinforced (not just in American society but globally) because his election has given rise to what has been called ‘neoliberal racism’[13] or ‘enlightened exceptionalism.’[14] Essentially this new subtle and covert type of racism was reflected in the remarks by the senior member of the Democratic Party, Harry Reid, who was a key figure in pushing Obama’s campaign. Reid said that he was won over by Obama’s oratorical talents and believed that America was ready to embrace a black presidential candidate, especially a ‘light skinned African American, with no Negro dialect, unless he wanted to have one.’ His comments, made privately during the long 2008 campaign when discussing why Obama should seek and could win the presidency are contained in a new book recently published by the journalists M. Halpern and J. Heilemann called ‘Game Change’.

Reid’s comment gives a discerning but not a surprising prism into how some whites, particularly the 43 per cent who voted for Obama see him. By implication such a remark also gives insight into how the majority of African Americans are also viewed by some whites. In short, for those white people, Obama is the archetype of what Lamont Hill aptly defines as the ‘Cosbyesque gospel of personal responsibility (“Obama did it, so can you!”) that allows dangerous public policies to go unchallenged.’[15]

He represents a black man who has pulled himself up by his own bootstraps. He is the exceptional black man who has made it through hard work, educated himself and white people feel utterly comfortable in Obama’s presence, just as they do with the fictional middle class TV character of Cliff Huxtable in The Cosby Show. In the minds of such whites, the small cohort of Cliff Huxtables (i.e. a small but significant black middle class) have to be distinguished from the black and brown masses who are shiftless, continue to live on welfare, unemployed, unwilling to take responsibility for their lives and speak in a ‘Negro dialect’.

Reid’s racist reference to Obama’s skin colour has historical roots in the pigmentocracy that slavery and segregation put in place and to some extent was internalised by light-skinned and darker skinned slaves. The former were the buffer from the scary dark hued masses feared by whites. Today in many racially segregated white neighbourhoods there remains a fear of inner city black people.

The response of Obama to Reid’s comments are instructive. He was quick to say that there was nothing ‘mean spirited’ about the remarks. This is not surprising on account of the fact that during Obama’s election campaign he was most astute in his consistent deflections and silences on race matters.

The height of Obama’s hazardous walk on the entangled tightrope of race and class was his response to the fiery utterances of South Side Chicagoan Reverend Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s pastor in early 2008. Decontextualised clips of Wright’s speeches were played by ABC news to deliberately cast him as an angry, dangerous and unpatriotic African American. Wright said in one clip: ‘We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africa, and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America’s chickens are coming home to roost.’ He referred to America as ‘the US of KKK’ and ‘the United States of White America.’ On 18 March 2008 in Philadelphia, Obama gave a response which was entitled ‘A more perfect union.’ He accused his former pastor of ‘express[ing] a profoundly distorted view of this country – a view that sees white racism as endemic and that elevates what is wrong with America above all that we know is right with America; a view that sees the conflicts in the Middle East as rooted primarily in the actions of stalwart allies like Israel, instead of emanating from the perverse and hateful ideologies of radical Islam.’ Obama’s disapproving response to Wright’s condemnation of America not only set him apart from his former pastor, but juxtaposed him as belonging to a gentler, sympathetic, non-threatening, patriotic cohort of black people, versus the aggressive, bitter, illegitimate anger of blacks represented by Wright. Needless to say, Obama’s speech attempted to sweep under the historical carpet the fact that structural racism remains in American society in the colour-blind policies, practices, and structures of America. He conveyed that Wright was somehow stuck in time and that America had moved on. But has it? His response also reassured his white constituency that whites could be comfortable and safe with him.

Similarly, when Obama appeared before the Congressional Black Caucus in late 2009 the African American political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson observed that he was intent on maintaining his reputation as ‘a race neutral presidency.’ When approached to allocate more resources and programmes to help the black unemployed and black business people, Obama indignantly refused and stated he would not introduce any special initiatives for African Americans.[16] Obama stated that by helping everyone he was simultaneously assisting all needy black people.

Whilst we are well aware that Obama would have gotten nowhere near the presidency had he espoused the politics of Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, the reality is that he would not have won the White House if he had not won North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio. As Hutchinson points out, ‘Obama won these four states because black voters turned his election into a holy crusade and stormed the polls on Election Day.’[17] As the African American writer Kevin Alexander Gray correctly points out ‘Racial solidarity is the mood that helped get Obama into the White House. The traditional source of power and survival among blacks, it is also the novocaine of the moment, a numbing agent as people suffer through what, despite the more hopeful official forecasts, feels like a full-blown depression…’[18]

African Americans now possess what Hutchinson characterises as ‘the novocaine presidency’ – a black political messiah many believed would never arrive in their lifetime but one with whom their economic distress continues in his refusal to see racial disparities being rooted in persistent institutional racism beneath the success of a minority of privileged blacks. The colour of Obama’s skin i.e. that he is black – helps delude African Americans and continental Africans and to obfuscate the fact that he is in deference to his masters of capital and empire. Meanwhile, to paraphrase Malcolm X, the African American masses (and other oppressed minorities) continue to ‘suffer peacefully...’[19]

BUILDING A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE

During the election campaign Obama failed to present an overarching vision of what change would look like. There were certainly platitudes and references to ‘hope’, slogans (‘Yes, we can!’) and calls for an end to the Iraq war, but no detailed substantive programme was presented at any of the public platforms Obama stood on to concretely outline what precisely he wanted to do for America; in which direction he sought to take Americans and America in. Yet, American people were looking for something new after eight years of the criminal Bush. What kind of ‘new’ or change was never really spelled out by the Obama team beyond the elusive rhetoric on the website and what William Blum aptly calls the seductive ‘toothpaste advertisement smile.’[20]

However, the reality is that Obama raised more money during his campaign than Hilary Rodham Clinton. He was backed by some of the most influential and important financial institutions in America such as J. P. Morgan Chase, Manhattan, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley and pharmaceutical groups and therefore he is indebted to them on account of his need to have his eye on the next election campaign. This is the reality of the American political system that American politicians have to play to. To date, at least three of the Wall Street institutions have handed out bonuses of US$30 billion. It is business as usual for these institutions, yet, how Obama will walk the tightrope of seeking to win over voters whilst simultaneously seeking to keep Wall Street on side will be tortuous.

Obama’s approval rating is currently at 50 per cent, a precipitous drop from the 68 per cent he enjoyed when he first took office and lower than many of his presidential predecessors when they began their second year in power.

In agreement with the white American anti-racist campaigner Tim Wise, ‘The worst possible outcome of the 2008 election would be for Obama to have won, only to then have the millions of people mobilised by his mantra of change go back to sleep, to hit the snooze button on the none-too-subtle alarm clock that has been going off for many a year now…’[21]

We cannot rely on a very slick Obama to change America nor the world for his vision of change is more of the same. It requires ordinary Americans of all ethnicities and particularly the youth, who possessed the optimism and motivation to campaign for him, who must be re-mobilised in a grassroots movement for genuine change.

Such people, if they do not become disenchanted by the two terms in office his administration is likely to get, must seek to replace the vulture capitalism and military class structures of the United States with a humane, just, and egalitarian society based on an extensive economic redistribution of wealth. By no means will this movement and struggle occur overnight. But before it can materialise, there needs to be a major shift in the mindset, values and interests of the American people.

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* Dr Ama Biney is a pan-Africanist and scholar–activist who lives in the United Kingdom.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

NOTES

[1] See New African, November 2008 edition.
[2] Time Magazine, ‘Obama’s Latin America policy looks like Bush’s’ by Tim Padgett, 3 December 2009.
[3] New York Times, November 19 2009.
[4] B. Jacobson, ‘Obama received $20 million from health care industry in 2008 campaign’ in Common Dreams, January 12 2010.
[5] Washington Post, 9 March 2008.
[6] C. Johnson, The Sorrows of Empire, published by Verso, 2004, p. 151.
[7] ‘An American World of War’ by T. Engelhardt & N. Turse, in TomDispatch.com, Janary 4 2010.
[8] ‘US, NATO Expand Afghan War to Horn of Africa & Indian Ocean’, Global Research E-Newsletter, 9 January 2010.
[9] M. K. Bhadrakumar, ‘Obama’s Yemeni odyssey targets China’, Asian Times Online, 8 January 2010.
[10] ‘The Nigerian bomber & the Obama administration’ in Pambazuka 7 January 2010, Issue 464.
[11] M. K. Bhadrakumar, ‘Obama’s Yemeni odyssey targets China’, Asian Times Online, 8 January 2010. See also, F. William Engdahl, ‘The Yemen Hidden Agenda: Behind the Al-Qaeda Scenarios, A Strategic Oil Transit Chokepoint’ in Global Research E-Newsletter, 8 January 2010.
[12] New York Times 1 August, 2009.
[13] H. Giroux cited in Barack Obama & the Future of American Politics by P. Street, Paradigm publishers, 2009. p. 100.
[14] T. Wise, Between Barack & A Hard Place: Racism & White Denial in the Age of Obama, City Light Books, 2009.
[15] M. Lamont Hill, ‘Not my Brand of Hope’, CounterPunch, February 11 2008.
[16] E. O. Hutchinson ‘Obama Again Reminds He’s not Black President Obama’ December 9, 2009.
[17] E. O. Hutchinson ‘Something Special for Everyone from Obama, But not for Blacks’, December 22, 2009.
[18] K. A. Gray, ‘Obama and Black America’, CounterPunch, December 9, 2009.
[19] Malcolm X, Message to the Grassroots, 1964.
[20] William Blum, Anti-Empire Report, April 4 2009.
[21] T. Wise , Between Barack & A Hard Place: Racism & White Denial in the Age of Obama, City Light Books, 2009, p. 113.

Obama’s national security policy towards Africa: The first year

Daniel Volman

2010-01-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61614

cc US ArmyA year into his presidency, Barack Obama is essentially following the same course of militarised action in Africa pursued by his predecessors over the past decade, writes Daniel Volman. A consequence of the US president's faith in the necessity of the global war on terror and pragmatic political concerns around retaining oil supplies, Obama's approach to Africa has been entirely rooted in asserting his country's military might, Volman concludes.

When Barack Obama took office as president of the United States in January 2009, it was widely expected that he would dramatically change, or even reverse, the militarised and unilateral national security policy toward Africa (as well as toward other parts of the world) that had been pursued by the Bush administration. For many, expectations about the Obama administration’s approach to Africa were raised even higher by the speech that Obama delivered in Ghana in July 2009 and by the tour of Africa that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made in August 2009. But, after one year in office, it is clear that the Obama administration is essentially following the same policy that has guided US military involvement in Africa for more than a decade.

Thus, in its budget request for the State Department for the 2010 financial year the Obama administration proposed significant increases in US arms sales and military training programmes for African countries, as well as for regional programmes on the continent. These included the Foreign Military Financing Program (to pay for arms sales to African countries), the International Military Education and Training Program (to train African military officers in the United States), the Trans-Saharan Counter-Terrorism Partnership and the East African Regional Strategic Initiative (to provide training and equipment to the military forces of countries in North Africa, West Africa and East Africa), the International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement Program (to provide equipment, infrastructure and training to police and other law enforcement units in Africa), military training programmes to help implement peace agreements (in Sudan, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo), the African Contingency Operations and Training Assistance Program (to provide training and equipment to a number of African military forces to enhance their ability to conduct peacekeeping operations and other military activities), and to several anti-terrorism programmes including the Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program, the Terrorist Interdiction Program, the Counterterrorism Financing Program and the Counterterrorism Engagement Program (to provide training and equipment to African countries and build ties with key political leaders on the continent).

And in its budget request for the Defense Department for the 2010 financial year, the Obama administration asked for $278 million to fund the operations of the new Africa Command (AFRICOM) and the Trans-Sahara Counter-Terrorism Partnership programme from the AFRICOM headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. In addition, the administration requested $60 million in Defense Department funding in the 2010 financial year to pay for the operations of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA), as well as $249 million to pay for the operation of the 500-acre CJTF-HOA base at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti and $41.8 million for major base improvement construction projects at the base.

In addition to the Obama administration’s budget requests, the statement made by Secretary Clinton during her visit to Nigeria in August 2009 provided another indication that the new administration would continue the militarised and unilateral national security policy of its predecessor toward Africa. Following her meeting in Nigeria with Ojo Maduekwe, the foreign minister, and Godwin Abbe, the new minister of defence, Secretary Clinton was asked what the US government intended to do to help the Nigerian government establish stability and security in the Niger Delta.

'Well, the defense minister was present at the second larger meeting that the foreign minister convened,' she said, 'and he had some very specific suggestions as to how the United States could assist the Nigerian Government in their efforts, which we think are very promising, to try to bring peace and stability to the Niger Delta. We will be following up on those. There is nothing that has been decided. But we have a very good working relationship between our two militaries. So I will be talking with my counterpart, the Secretary of Defense, and we will, through our joint efforts, through our bi-national commission mechanism, determine what Nigeria would want from us for help, because we know this is an internal matter, we know this is up to the Nigerian people and their government to resolve, and then look to see how we would offer that assistance.'

Thus, in addition to the security assistance programmes in the budget request for the 2010 financial year, the Obama administration is now considering providing even more military support to the Nigerian government for use in the Niger Delta if the current amnesty programme collapses, as many analysts expect, and the government resumes military operations against insurgent forces in this vital oil-producing region (which produces 10 per cent of America’s total oil imports).

Further indications of the Obama administration’s national security policy toward Africa are provided by its decision to expand US military involvement in Somalia and its decision to continue the Bush administration’s policy of unilateral military attacks against alleged al Qaeda operatives in that country. In June 2009, a senior State Department official (presumed to have been Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson) revealed that the Obama administration had initiated a programme of indirect military support for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia (the internationally recognised government of the country, although it only exercises control over a small part of the capital, Mogadishu, and a few other towns in the southern part of the country).

According to the official, the US government was providing funding to the TFG to finance weapons purchases and had also asked the governments of Uganda and Burundi (which have deployed troops to Mogadishu under an African Union mandate to protect the TFG) to transfer weaponry from their own stockpiles to the armed forces of the TFG in exchange for promises that the US government would reimburse them. In addition, the US government made its base in Djibouti available to other governments for them to provide military training to the armed forces of the TFG.

During her visit to Kenya in August 2009, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the US government would 'continue to provide equipment and training to the TFG', stating 'very early in the administration, I made the decision, which the President supported, to accelerate and provide aid to the TFG'. She went on to declare that al Shabaab, the Islamist insurgent group fighting to overthrow the TFG, was 'a terrorist group with links to al-Qaeda and other foreign military networks' and that they 'see Somalia as a future haven for global terrorism'. 'There is no doubt', Secretary Clinton stated, 'that al-Shabaab wants to obtain control over Somalia to use it as a base from which to influence and even infiltrate surrounding countries and launch attacks against countries far and near.' Thus, 'if al-Shabaab were to obtain a haven in Somalia, which would then attract al-Qaeda and other terrorist actors, it would be a threat to the United States'.

The US government arranged for the delivery of an initial supply of approximately 40 tons of small arms and ammunition worth approximately $10 million to the TFG between May and August of 2009 from the stockpiles of the AU peacekeeping force, along with between $1 million and $2 million in cash to the TFG to finance its own arms purchase, and the delivery of another 40 tons of small arms and ammunition over the following months. A number of other governments – including Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and France – are also reported to have sent military personnel to the US base in Djibouti to provide military training to TFG troops.

According to a report by the Associated Press, American officials 'say the US military is not conducting the training and will not put any forces in Somalia'. Other countries were conducting the training, the Associated Press reported, because 'the [Obama] administration is making a concerted effort to avoid putting any American footprint in Somalia, which would risk alienating allies and add to charges by Islamic extremists of a Western takeover.' However, it has since become clear that most of the arms and training has been transferred to al Shabaab, either by Islamic militants who had infiltrated the TFG military forces or as a result of the sale of the weapons and ammunition on the black market.

Then, in August, US Special Forces troops attacked and killed Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan, an alleged al Qaeda operative who was accused of being involved in the bombing of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998, as well as other al Qaeda operations in East Africa. The US Special Forces troops carried out the attack from onboard several helicopters that had been launched from a US Navy warship off the Somali coast, using machine guns and automatic assault rifles to strafe a convoy of four-wheel drive vehicles carrying Nabhan and his retinue. Following the initial assault, the helicopters landed so that their troops could seize Nabhan’s body for positive identification. It is likely that the Obama administration will conduct further military operations in Somalia since, in the words of Vice Admiral Robert Moeller, the deputy commander of AFRICOM, 'the threat posed by al-Shabaab is something that we pay very, very close attention to'.

And in October 2009, the Obama administration announced a major new security assistance package for Mali that was delivered on 20 October 2009. The package – valued at $4.5 to $5 million (2.3 billion CFA) and which includes 37 Land Cruiser pickup trucks, communication equipment, replacement parts, clothing and other individual equipment – is intended to enhance Mali's ability to transport and communicate with internal security (counter-insurgency) units throughout the country and control its borders. The security assistance package is officially known as a 'Counter Terrorism Train and Equip' (CTTE) programme. Although ostensibly intended to help Mali deal with potential threats from AQIM (al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb), it is more likely to be used against Tuareg insurgent forces.

In addition, between April and June of 2009, 300 US Special Forces personnel were deployed to Mali to train Malian military forces at three local bases and, according to Lieutenant Colonel Louis Sombora, deputy commander of Mali's 33rd Parachute Regiment (which was the recipient of the new US military aid package), more than 95 per cent of his soldiers have received US military training. And in early November 2009, US Air Force Brigadier General Michael W. Callan, vice commander of the US Air Force Africa (the Air Force contingent based in Europe and dedicated to AFRICOM), visited Mali along with other US military personnel in order to inspect local military forces (including the 33rd Parachute Regiment) and tour local military facilities. According to Lieutenant Colonel Marshall Mantiply, defense attaché at the US embassy in Bamako, 'we are working with the Mali ministry of defense on a ten-year plan' to enhance the country's military capabilities.

The aid package to Mali is just the latest instance of America’s growing military involvement in the Sahel region. In his testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Africa hearing on 'Counter-terrorism in the Sahel' on 17 November 2009, Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson identified Mali – along with Algeria, Mali, and Mauritania – as one of the 'key countries' in the region for the US counter-terrorism strategy. 'We believe that our work with Mali to support more professional units capable of improving the security environment in the country will have future benefits if they are sustained', he stated.

It is clear, therefore, that President Obama has decided to follow the path marked out for Africa by the Clinton and Bush administrations, one based on the use of military force to ensure that America can satisfy its continuing addiction to oil and to deal with the threat posed by al Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups, rather than chart a new path passed on a partnership with the people of Africa and other countries that have a stake on the continent (including China) to promote sustainable economic development, democracy and human rights in Africa and a global energy order based on the use of clean, safe and renewable resources.

This is the consequence of two factors. To begin with, President Obama genuinely believes in the strategy of the global war on terrorism and thinks that Africa must be a central battlefield in America’s military campaign against al Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups. Many analysts believe that terrorism does not constitute a significant threat to America’s national security interests and that it would be far more effective to treat terrorism as a crime and to reduce the threat of terrorism by employing traditional law enforcement techniques. But, as demonstrated by the president’s decision to escalate US military operations in Afghanistan, Somalia and Mali, the Obama administration is determined to use military force instead, despite the evidence that – as US military analysts argue – this only helps to strengthen terrorist groups and jeopardises other US security interests.

And with regard to America’s growing dependence on African oil supplies, President Obama understands the danger of relying upon the importation of a vital resource from unstable countries ruled by repressive, undemocratic regimes and the necessity of reducing America’s reliance on the use of oil and other non-renewable sources of energy. But, for understandable reasons, he has concluded that there is simply very little that he can do to achieve this goal during the limited time that he will be in office. He knows that it will take at least several decades to make the radical changes that will be necessary to develop alternative sources of energy, particularly to fuel cars and other means of transportation (if this is even technically feasible). And he knows that – in the meantime – public support for his presidency and for his party depends on the continued supply of reliable and relatively inexpensive supplies of gas and other petroleum-based energy to the American people, more than only other single factor. In the event of a substantial disruption in the supply of oil from Nigeria or any other major African supplier, he realises that he will be under irresistible political pressure to employ the only instrument that he has at his disposal – US military forces – to try to keep Africa’s oil flowing.

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* Daniel Volman is the director of the African Security Research Project in Washington DC. He is a specialist on US military policy in Africa and African security issues and has been conducting research and writing on these issues for more than 30 years.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Who killed the president of Rwanda?

Gerald Caplan

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61625

cc WikimediaDebate over who was behind the assassination of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana has raged for nearly 16 years, writes Gerald Caplan. But a new report, prepared by an ‘Independent Committee of Experts’ appointed by the government of Rwanda, makes ‘a major contribution to settling the great question of who was responsible’ for Habyarimana’s death on 6 April 1994, two days before the genocide began.

Has one of the great political murder mysteries of our time finally been solved? I'd say the answer is probably yes, although we can be confident the solution will be rejected by many.

INTRODUCTION

On the evening of 6 April 1994, just as it was approaching Kigali, a plane carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana home from Tanzania was shot down by missiles fired from the ground. Also on the flight was the president of Burundi, Cyprian Ntaryamira, as well as several high-level Rwandan political and military officials. But from the first movement there was no doubt that the target was Habyarimana. What was in doubt was the culprit, and on this the debate has raged furiously for the past almost 16 years.

To most of those who have studied the genocide, commonsense always pointed to Hutu extremists in the Rwandan government and military. They passionately opposed the agreement that had been reached at Arusha, Tanzania, in mid-1993, for power to be shared among Habyarimana's followers, other political parties, and the Tutsi-led rebels of the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF). To prevent this betrayal, the extremists had decided on a final solution – the extermination of the entire Tutsi minority in Rwanda, between 10 and 15 per cent of the population. When Habyarimana was about to capitulate to international pressure and implement these power-sharing arrangements, they murdered him and implemented their carefully-planned genocidal conspiracy.

This analysis seemed logical enough in all respects, but there has never been an official investigation of the crash or evidence beyond the circumstantial. In fact, from the first there was an alternative interpretation. It has always been quite counter-intuitive and based on dubious foundations, and yet has been embraced not only among those who deny the genocide entirely, but also, quite surprisingly, among those who are hostile for whatever reasons to the RPF and particularly its long-time leader and now Rwanda president, Paul Kagame.

From the moment the plane crashed, Hutu extremist propagandists, directed by hate-radio station RTLM and echoed by officials of the government of France, pointed the finger directly at the RPF. From time to time, Belgium was implicated by France, as was Uganda. Uganda's only known connection to the crash was that it was an English-speaking country where the RPF had originally formed. But for France, speaking English is evidence enough of culpability when it comes to Africa.

It's never been entirely clear what motive Kagame could have had for murdering Habyarimana at the very moment when the president intended to implement the Arusha Accords. The RPF had been the huge winner at Arusha, about to receive substantial political and military power. Conversely, Habyarimana's officials were the great losers, about to surrender the monopoly on power and resources they had cherished for the previous two decades. How could the RPF benefit from the chaos, anarchy and lust for vengeance that was sure to follow Habyarimana's assassination? The on-and-off again low-intensity civil war since 1990 had bogged down in a stalemate; why assume the hot war that was sure to follow the plane crash would lead to an RPF victory rather than an RPF rout, especially if France came in behind Habyarimana's forces?

But if attributing the missile attack to the RPF didn't make much sense, it was extremely functional to the Hutu extremists. If the RPF was guilty, it meant the attack on the plane was not the first step in the genocide plan. The killings of the subsequent 100 days could simply be put down to mass Hutu fury at the murder of their beloved president, and no genocide would have taken place. This spin has been the motive driving many of those who have busily spent the past decade and a half devising a multiplicity of ‘proofs’ to pin the evil deed on Kagame and his forces.

THE NEW REPORT

Now along comes a new document prepared by an ‘Independent Committee of Experts’ appointed by the government of Rwanda, with the explicit title Report of the Investigation into the Causes and Circumstances of and Responsibility for the Attack of 06/04/1994 against the Falcon 50 Rwandan Presidential Aeroplane [sic], Registration Number 9xR-NN. The head of the 7-person committee was Dr Jean Mutsinzi, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Rwanda, now a judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. The other members are apparently lawyers or authorities on aircraft matters, but an annex offering their resumes is not unfortunately part of the commission's report (which is easily available online at mutsinzireport.com).

In my view, the Commission's report is largely persuasive. But you can immediately see how much more credible it would be if the members hadn't all been Rwandans appointed by the Kagame government. I am confident that an independent commission appointed, say, by the African Union, would have delivered the same conclusions but with far more credibility. An obvious precedent was the OAU-appointed independent International Panel of Eminent Personalities (IPEP) whose report, Rwanda: The Preventable Genocide[ PDF], has achieved a certain authority. But I readily acknowledge that genocide deniers, Hutu extremists and Kagame-haters will reject any and all conclusions that give Kagame the benefit of the doubt, and the evidence be damned.

Perhaps that's why his government consistently acts on its own, without waiting for external validation. It did the same with the report on the role of France in the genocide, delivered by a panel of Rwandans also appointed by the government and headed by well-known RPF militant. In my view its report was overwhelmingly accurate and appropriately damning for France. But I wished they had asked outside experts like Linda Melvern to undertake that project, to give it real international credibility. But that is not the way the Kagame government does things.

We are left, then, to judge the report on the plane crash on its merits, and in this respect it seems to me to have made a major contribution to settling the great question of who was responsible.

In a word, the ‘Committee of Experts’ documents the logic most of us have accepted since the start. They pin the blame directly and fully on a group of Hutu extremists who were simply not prepared to accept the power-sharing provisions of the Arusha Accords. In this sense, they prove a terrible point: The very agreement that was to bring harmony to Rwanda led directly to the genocide. This is a staggering truth for all those involved in conflict resolution and peace-making to conjure with.

The committee took two years to complete its report, which contains 169 pages plus many appendixes with countless documents, plus a ballistics report from staff at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Cranfield University. Its members heard 557 witnesses, including former officials of the UN military mission to Rwanda at the time (UNAMIR ), former members of the Rwandan army and Presidential Guard under Habyarimana; and they perused post-genocide reports by Belgium, France and the United Nations, plus the work of western authors who have studied the genocide, plus the book written by UNAMIR's head, General Romeo Dallaire, based on his experiences at the time. While all the authorities they consulted won't be happy with the way their work has been used, an overwhelming consensus emerges from the Committee's research and interviews.

Let me try to summarise briefly the main points of what is often lengthy, highly technical, and geography-specific material.

1. For months before Habyarimana's assassination on 6 April 1994, rumours abounded that senior government and military officials in his own government were determined the Arusha Accords would never be implemented. These stories included specific suggestions that the President would be murdered if he dared to put their power-sharing arrangements into practice. For years we have known that radio station RTLM and Kangura, a small publication that functioned as the voice of Hutu extremism, had publicly stated that something dramatic was going to happen to Habyarimana in late March or early April. In its cover story of December 1993, for example, Kangura declared that Habyarimana would be assassinated the following March. General Dallaire and others have cited the threat uttered at a social occasion on 4 April by Colonel Theoneste Bagosora, a leader of the extremists widely considered the mastermind of the genocide. ‘The only plausible solution for Rwanda,’ Bagosora said to a small group that included Dallaire's senior Belgian aide, ‘appears to be the extermination of the Tutsi.’

What the new report adds to our knowledge is how widespread these stories were. Dozens of witnesses had heard them beginning late in 1993 and escalating through the early months of 1994. There was even a specific rumour that Habyarimana's plane would be shot down. The President himself had heard such stories, it appears, as had the French crew that came with the Falcon 50 that President Mitterrand had gifted to Habyarimana (apparently that's how a socialist president of France rewarded his favourite African presidents).

On 6 April Habyarimana flew to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, for a summit with fellow regional presidents. (The Burundian president, who had no luxury jet, made the fatal mistake of later hitching a ride home with Habyarimana via Kigali.) That summit is usually described as focusing on Rwanda. In fact, the new report informs us, it was about the unstable situations in both Rwanda and Burundi. Habyarimana began the meeting by telling his peers that he was implementing Arusha two days later, and the rest of the day was spent discussing Burundi's extremely turbulent political crisis.

But if Habyarimana was aware of threats against his plane, why did Habyarimana agree to fly to Dar es Salaam that day? He could simply have told them by phone or through an emissary of his intentions to introduce the Arusha arrangements. Why did his pilots agree to fly him there? Why did some of the leading plotters against him, like his brother-in-law Colonel Elie Sagatwa, an extremist Hutu ironically in charge of the president's personal security, agree to accompany him? All went down to their fiery deaths on 6 April, yet all apparently were aware of the risk. It is a glaring omission in the report that it never asks this obvious question, let alone attempts in any way to answer it.

Still, the fact remains that Hutu extremists were known to be furious at Habyarimana and were determined to stop the implementation of the Arusha Accords. Since the President announced explicitly on 2 April that he intended to swear in a new broadly-based coalition government on 8 April, it has always been logical to assume that attacking the plane on 6 April was the execution of their plan.

2. The RPF couldn't have infiltrated anti-aircraft missiles and missile launchers into Kigali. It could not have smuggled them into Parliament, where an RPF contingent was temporarily billeted, as agreed by the Arusha Accords. It could not have then snuck them to the area where those who blame the RPF claim the missiles were fired. The committee establishes persuasively that both UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda) and above all the Rwandan army maintained very close surveillance of the RPF troops holed up in the parliament building, and these monitors could not possibly have missed the activity required to bring the missiles in, set them up and fire them. The committee also shows that the alleged firing area was constantly patrolled by Rwandan troops and no RPF soldiers carrying missiles and launchers could have infiltrated the area without being spotted.

3. The missiles could only have been fired from an area near the Kanombe military camp, the President's home, and the main Kigali airport, and this entire area was completely controlled by the Rwandan army. This is the area where Rwandan soldiers suddenly refused UNAMIR to enter during the day on 6 April. This key conclusion by the committee is based on a large number of eyewitnesses and what it calls ear witnesses, including pre-genocide Rwandan soldiers, employees of the adjacent airport where the plane was to land, and soldiers from UNAMIR and the Belgian Military Technical Cooperation.

Perhaps most significantly, it's also the conclusion of the report prepared for the committee by Mike Warden and Alan McClue of the Department of Applied Science, Security and Resilience, Cranfield University, Defence Academy of the UK.

The online documentation of the committee's work includes the formal contract that the committee signed with the two researchers, so that every part of it is transparent. In turn, the two presented a 109-page paper, often extremely technical, which concludes that the missiles must have been fired from the Kanombe area. Beyond dispute, this area was wholly controlled by Rwandan government forces. So the missiles were not fired from the area where those who blame the RPF say they came from, and they were fired from the area where only government soldiers (and French soldiers) could go.

It is hard to imagine staff at the Defence Academy of the UK exaggerating or falsifying their conclusions. It therefore seems to me that this independent ballistics report adds great credibility to the findings of the Committee of Experts, with which it of course concurs.

4. The committee shows that the Rwandan army possessed the kind of surface-to-air missiles that might have shot down the Focus 50, even though earlier reports, especially from France, claimed they did not. Conversely, it shows that the repeated assertion by those who blame the RPF – that Kagame's rebels received the missiles from Uganda (who got them from Russia) – is wrong and based on a deliberate deception at the time by Rwandan government soldiers, which enemies of the RPF have been only too happy to swallow.

6. Colonel Theoneste Bagosora is named as the instigator both of the attack on Habyarimana's plane and the genocide that it triggered, as planned. This corroborates the widespread view of Bagosora's role by everyone from General Dallaire to many of the historians of the genocide to the justices at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, who found Bagosora guilty of genocide and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

5. In the process of their report, the committee does a useful job of discrediting the hatchet job performed on the RPF by French Judge Jean-Louis Bruguiere in his own 2006 report on the plane crash. Bruguiere, following completely the script long favoured by the French establishment, baldy accused Kagame and the RPF of shooting down the plane in order, somehow, to take power in Rwanda.

Bruguiere's research was always problematic, to say the least. He relied on alleged eyewitness who were dissident Tutsi RPF members, with plenty of motive to malign the RPF. Some of these have since recanted their accusations against Kagame and the RPF or claim they never said what Bruguiere claims they said. And while the judge, remarkably, never went to Rwanda to investigate the crash site or to interview anyone in the RPF government or army whom he indicted, he did go to Arusha to interview men being held by the ICTR for their alleged role in the genocide. This included Colonel Bagosora himself, who even before his formal conviction was almost universally believed to have been a leader of the genocide. At one stage Bruguiere writes of a particular matter: ‘The real nature of the message…was also confirmed by the evidence in Arusha from former FAR soldiers [Habyarimana's army].’ He names four of these soldiers, including Colonel Theoneste Bagosora. This would be akin to asking P. W. Botha about apartheid and not asking Nelson Mandela.

6. France's cynical hand is felt throughout the committee's report, as indeed it must be in any recounting of the genocide. French soldiers were allowed in to the Kanombe military base on 6 April, while Belgian UNAMIR soldiers were not. French soldiers were at the plane wreck within moments, going through the debris and looking for the black box, which they removed. French officials scrupulously followed the original extremist Hutu line of blaming the Belgians, along with the RPF, for the missile attack. When the accusation against the Belgians had lost any credibility, President Mitterrand's senior Africa advisor, his chief of staff and the French ambassador to Rwanda all accused the RPF of responsibility. During the French parliamentary inquiry into the France's role in the genocide, French officials were anxious to implicate the Ugandan government in the plane attack. Never did they suggest that their close allies among the Hutu extremists, many of whom have long been hiding in France, may have had the slightest involvement.

As one former western diploma has put it, ‘In an ideal world, France would apologise to Rwanda, put 20 former senior French officials in the dock, and extradite 15 or 20 genocidaires living in France.’ We will see whether the recent France-Rwanda rapprochement will usher in a more ideal world.

CONCLUSIONS

The report of the Committee of Experts could have been better (although I dare say this is true of every report ever written). The organisation and the writing are sometimes confusing. Loose ends are left hanging, not least obscure references to three ‘whites’ who somehow might have been involved in the attack on Habyarimana's plane. At times it seems the plot to assassinate the president was hatched in late 1993, elsewhere that it all happened in the first few days of April 1994. It fails to analyse why Habyarimana agreed to fly to Dar es Salaam on 6 April even in the face of explicit death threats.

Despite an obvious attempt to be objective, its biases occasionally slip out. The committee asserts that ‘the practice of genocide against the Tutsi’ was initiated by the first Hutu-dominated government in the early 1960s, and that 1994 was ‘the final stage of genocide’. This is bad, partisan history that is accepted by no reputable historians of whom I'm aware. The fact is the massacres launched against the Tutsi after 1959 stopped after Habyarimana's coup in 1973 and didn't begin again until 17 years later, with the RPF invasion of Rwanda. Those early killings were terrible, but they were just that – massacres, pogroms, not the first stage in a 45-year plan exterminate all Tutsi. The final genocidal plot only began some time after the 1990 RPF invasion.

These flaws reduce the authoritativeness of this report. They will be jumped all over by those who will never accept any conclusion that fails to blame Kagame and the RPF for Habyarimana's murder. So there's no point whatever in trying to prove anything else to these deniers and extremists. They have no interest in the truth.

But for those genuinely searching for the most convincing answer to this great political murder mystery, the strengths of the committee's report overwhelmingly outweigh its few unfortunate flaws. Of course it would still be best to have the definitive report by a truly independent group of international experts. But until we do, the conclusions of this report should stand. And if there ever were an independent external study, I'm confident its conclusions would echo those of this Rwandan committee of experts:

‘We know who shot Habyarimana's plane down. We know why they did it. We know how they did it. And we know that they came within an inch of success in their diabolical plan. Before they were defeated, the Hutu extremists who assassinated President Habyarimana wiped out thousands of decent Hutu who wouldn't go along with their fiendish plot and three-quarters of their country's Tutsi. The attack on the president's plane was the opening shot in one of the purest genocides of the past 100 years, launched for no better reason than the greed of a few power-hungry Hutu fanatics. It was one of the greatest man-made tragedies of our time.’

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* Gerald Caplan has a PhD in African history. He recently published The Betrayal of Africa.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Haiti: The roots of poverty and powerlessness

Rebecca Zausmer

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61634

cc UNDPIt has taken an earthquake of 7.0 magnitude, causing momentous loss of life, to get the world talking about Haiti and its past. As the world digests the tragedy, it begins to remember and to criticise too. Rebecca Zausmer does a round-up of the commentary and analysis that is flowing fast about Haiti and the actors in its history.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti on 12 January 2010 continues to devastate. The earthquake has killed tens of thousands and left millions homeless. Casualties now, however, are now being caused by the lack of aid on the ground. Despite the world’s efforts to get aid to Haiti, aid organisations are struggling to get these supplies to the people: ‘little help has reached the many people waiting for help in makeshift camps on streets strewn with debris and decomposing bodies.’ The primary problem; an airport bottleneck. The US military has taken over Port-au-Prince’s small airport, which is currently the main entry point for aid. Aircraft carrying aid supplies are being denied permission to land. There is increasing frustration and confusion as to why the aid that is mounting up at the airport is not being allowed to be distributed.

While Time magazine paints a picture of violence interrupting aid efforts, there are those defending the victims of the earthquake. Andy Kershaw demands that we ‘stop treating these people like savages’. The consensus that aid will create a second nightmare is severely misconstrued, and ‘it is the Haitians who best know where the aid is needed’, not the ‘gibbering strike force of box-tickers’.

While aid efforts were, in fact, hampered by the powerful aftershock on Wednesday 19 January which further destabilised buildings and infrastructure, much criticism is being made of the US handling of the crisis. The US is being heavily criticised for ‘blocking aid’ and running a poor coordinating operation. The aid that is being distributed is being delivered to large-scale camps rather than small isolated areas where hundreds are still awaiting assistance.

Medicin Sans Frontiere is calling this ‘an unacceptable situation in Haiti as redirected air shipments slow capacity response and treatment’.

The US emphasis on military coordination and security is raising questions as to whether this is a ‘humanitarian operation or an invasion’. The US approach has been starkly contrasted with that of, for example, Cuba and Iceland who were the first on the ground. The Wall Street Journal reported, ‘… a team of Cuban doctors were seen Monday treating hundreds of patients without a gun or soldier in sight’.

It has not gone unnoticed either, that the US media either wrongly reported Cuba missing from aid attempts, or have ignored Cuba’s presence. Cuba, though, was already there.

Yet criticism of the US extends beyond their immediate control of the crisis. Commentators are asking why Haiti has been so badly affected. The devastation is being seen as partly natural disaster, but also manmade. The finger of blame is being pointed at the West. Peter Hallward writes: ‘… it's no accident that so much of Port-au-Prince now looks like a war zone. Much of the devastation wreaked by this latest and most calamitous disaster to befall Haiti is best understood as another thoroughly manmade outcome of a long and ugly historical sequence.’ Hallward reminds us that while we praise the ‘noble “international community”’ for its aid efforts, it is they who are most to blame for the extent of devastation. The poverty and powerlessness in Haiti has been created through colonial exploitation and continued postcolonial oppression.

Haiti’s earthquake is being flagged as a reminder to the world that ‘Haiti constitutes the disgrace of our era, in a world where the exploitation and pillage of the vast majority of the planet's inhabitants prevails.’

The parts played by the US and France in Haiti’s oppression have come under particular scrutiny. An Open Letter to David Brookes, is a vehement criticism of those who mistakenly forget the legacy of Haiti’s international debt that has been imposed on Haiti for centuries by France and the US. Haiti’s international debt dates back to its independence in 1804: ‘The Haitian people had the audacity to break their chains and declare independence in 1804 but were later forced by France to re-purchase their freedom for 150 million Francs, a burden that the country has had to carry throughout the twentieth century.’ US aid to the country, the letter further points out, is not the kind that alleviates poverty.

Robert Parry argues, however, that the debt is not Haiti’s to the US, but the US’s to Haiti. Looking back to Haiti’s independence he portrays how the wealth generation of the slave trade and concepts of freedom affected America’s own history, a history which might have been quite different without Haiti. ‘The time has come’ argues Bill Fletcher Jr, ‘for France and the USA to repay the debt.’

The profiteering that has risen out of the Haiti’s devastation has attracted attention. Private security companies, while claiming to be offering humanitarian assistance, are doing so for a price, working for the highest bidder in the hunt for loved ones.

Benjamin Dangl argues, though, that it is more than private security companies that seek to gain from the crisis ‘US corporations, private mercenaries, Washington and the International Monetary Fund are using the crisis in Haiti to make a profit, promote unpopular neoliberal policies, and extend military and economic control over the Haitian people.’ Haiti’s disaster is already being exploited. Naomi Klein, writer of ‘The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism’, pointed to the Heritage Foundation’s website post as an example of this where they state, ‘In addition to providing immediate humanitarian assistance, the US response to the tragic earthquake in Haiti earthquake offers opportunities to re-shape Haiti’s long-dysfunctional government and economy as well as to improve the public image of the United States in the region.’

In amongst criticism, however, are hard reminders of the tragedy that has yet to unfurl too. The star.com writes that vulnerability of girls and young women existed before the earthquake, the danger has now increased. Relief efforts need to also focus on preventing them from being victimised. Questions about the fate of orphans, the subjects of child trafficking, are also being asked.

Then there are comments by those asking what Haiti and its devastation represent. Ben Roberts believes Haiti has a dual personality: ‘Simply put, Haiti represents the unlimited potential for the human race to overcome and move into the light. Alternately, it represents the ugliness and darkness of the human race.’

For many, though, Haiti’s earthquake represents a chance to act. The International Action Center has listed their demands to the US:

- ‘Immediate delivery of food, water and medical supplies, not military occupation
- Allow the return of democratically elected President Aristide to Haiti and restore his government
- Reparations from the U.S., France and Canada so that Haitians can take charge of the relief effort and invite the international assistance of their choice
- Immediate cancellation of Haiti ’s debts
- Immediate asylum for all Haitians in the United States
- Permission for Haitian residents of the U.S. to go to Haiti to help their families and to return to the US
- Self-determination for Haiti.’

While the spotlight is on Haiti, it seems demands are being made where they could not be before.

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* Rebecca Zausmer is an intern with the Fahamu Oxford office.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

The right testicle of Hell: History of a Haitian holocaust

Blackwater before drinking water

Greg Palast

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61624

cc Wikimedia‘There's no such thing as a 'natural' disaster,’ writes Greg Palast, ‘200,000 Haitians have been slaughtered by slum housing and IMF “austerity” plans.’ Palast takes a look both at international community’s response to the Haiti earthquake and at its role in impoverishing a nation that was once the wealthiest in the western hemisphere.

1. Bless the President for having rescue teams in the air almost immediately. That was President Olafur Grimsson of Iceland. On Wednesday, the AP reported that the President of the United States promised, ‘The initial contingent of 2,000 Marines could be deployed to the quake-ravaged country within the next few days.’ ‘In a few days,’ Mr Obama?

2. There's no such thing as a 'natural' disaster. 200,000 Haitians have been slaughtered by slum housing and IMF ‘austerity’ plans.

3. A friend of mine called. Do I know a journalist who could get medicine to her father? And she added, trying to hold her voice together, ‘My sister, she's under the rubble. Is anyone going who can help, anyone?’ Should I tell her, ‘Obama will have Marines there in “a few days'‘’?

4. China deployed rescuers with sniffer dogs within 48 hours. China, Mr President. China: 8,000 miles distant. Miami: 700 miles close. US bases in Puerto Rico: Right there.

5. Obama's Defence Secretary Robert Gates said, ‘I don't know how this government could have responded faster or more comprehensively than it has.’ We know Gates doesn't know.

6. From my own work in the field, I know that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has access to ready-to-go potable water, generators, mobile medical equipment and more for hurricane relief on the Gulf Coast. It's all still there. Army Lieutenant General Russel Honoré, who served as the task force commander for emergency response after Hurricane Katrina, told the Christian Science Monitor, ‘I thought we had learned that from Katrina, take food and water and start evacuating people.’ Maybe we learned but, apparently, Gates and the Defence Department missed school that day.

7. Send in the Marines. That's America's response. That's what we're good at. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson finally showed up after three days. With what? It was dramatically deployed – without any emergency relief supplies. It has sidewinder missiles and 19 helicopters.

8. But don't worry, the International Search and Rescue Team, fully equipped and self-sufficient for up to seven days in the field, deployed immediately with ten metric tons of tools and equipment, three tons of water, tents, advanced communication equipment and water purifying capability. They're from Iceland.

9. Gates wouldn't send in food and water because, he said, there was no ‘structure ... to provide security.’ For Gates, appointed by Bush and allowed to hang around by Obama, it's security first. That was his lesson from Hurricane Katrina. Blackwater before drinking water.

10. Previous US presidents have acted far more swiftly in getting troops on the ground on that island. Haiti is the right half of the island of Hispaniola. It's treated like the right testicle of Hell. The Dominican Republic, the left. In 1965, when Dominicans demanded the return of Juan Bosch, their elected President, deposed by a junta, Lyndon Johnson reacted to this crisis rapidly, landing 45,000 US Marines on the beaches to prevent the return of the elected president.

11. How did Haiti end up so economically weakened, with infrastructure, from hospitals to water systems, busted or non-existent – there are two fire stations in the entire nation – and infrastructure so frail that the nation was simply waiting for ‘nature’ to finish it off?

Don't blame Mother Nature for all this death and destruction. That dishonour goes to Papa Doc and Baby Doc, the Duvalier dictatorship, which looted the nation for 28 years. Papa and his Baby put an estimated 80 per cent of world aid into their own pockets – with the complicity of the US government happy to have the Duvaliers and their voodoo militia, Tonton Macoutes, as allies in the Cold War. (The war was easily won: The Duvaliers' death squads murdered as many as 60,000 opponents of the regime.)

12. What Papa and Baby didn't run off with, the IMF finished off through its ‘austerity’ plans. An austerity plan is a form of voodoo orchestrated by economists zomby-fied by an irrational belief that cutting government services will somehow help a nation prosper.

13. In 1991, five years after the murderous Baby fled, Haitians elected a priest, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who resisted the IMF's austerity diktats. Within months, the military, to the applause of Papa George H.W. Bush, deposed him. History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. The farce was George W. Bush. In 2004, after the priest Aristide was re-elected President, he was kidnapped and removed again, to the applause of Baby Bush.

14. Haiti was once a wealthy nation, the wealthiest in the hemisphere, worth more, wrote Voltaire in the 18th century, than that rocky, cold colony known as New England. Haiti's wealth was in black gold: Slaves. But then the slaves rebelled – and have been paying for it ever since.

From 1825 to 1947, France forced Haiti to pay an annual fee to reimburse the profits lost by French slaveholders caused by their slaves' successful uprising. Rather than enslave individual Haitians, France thought it more efficient to simply enslave the entire nation.

15. Secretary Gates tells us, ‘There are just some certain facts of life that affect how quickly you can do some of these things.’ The Navy's hospital boat will be there in, oh, a week or so. Heckuva job, Brownie!

16. Note just received from my friend. Her sister was found, dead; and her other sister had to bury her. Her father needs his anti-seizure medicines. That's a fact of life too, Mr. President.

Through our journalism network, we are trying to get my friend's medicines to her father. If any reader does have someone getting into or near Port-au-Prince, please contact Haiti@GregPalast.com immediately.

Urgently recommended reading – The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution, the history of the successful slave uprising in Hispaniola by the brilliant C.L.R. James.

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* This article first appeared on Greg Palast.com
* Greg Palast is an investigative journalist and author of the New York Times bestseller, Armed Madhouse.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

The West's role in Haiti's plight

Peter Hallward

2010-01-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61616

cc R RoblesFollowing the devastation wrought by the recent earthquake in Haiti, Peter Hallward stresses the role of 'systematic postcolonial oppression' as a chronic obstacle to Haiti's progress. If the West is sincere in its desire to help Haiti, Hallward contends, it will need to stop trying to control the country's government before 'paying for at least some of the damage we've already done'.

Any large city in the world would have suffered extensive damage from an earthquake on the scale of the one that ravaged Haiti's capital city on Tuesday afternoon, but it's no accident that so much of Port-au-Prince now looks like a war zone. Much of the devastation wreaked by this latest and most calamitous disaster to befall Haiti is best understood as another thoroughly manmade outcome of a long and ugly historical sequence.

The country has faced more than its fair share of catastrophes. Hundreds died in Port-au-Prince in an earthquake back in June 1770, and the huge earthquake of 7 May 1842 may have killed 10,000 in the northern city of Cap Haitien alone. Hurricanes batter the island on a regular basis, mostly recently in 2004 and again in 2008; the storms of September 2008 flooded the town of Gonaïves and swept away much of its flimsy infrastructure, killing more than a thousand people and destroying many thousands of homes. The full scale of the destruction resulting from this earthquake may not become clear for several weeks. Even minimal repairs will take years to complete, and the long-term impact is incalculable.

What is already all too clear, however, is the fact that this impact will be the result of an even longer-term history of deliberate impoverishment and disempowerment. Haiti is routinely described as the 'poorest country in the western hemisphere'. This poverty is the direct legacy of perhaps the most brutal system of colonial exploitation in world history, compounded by decades of systematic postcolonial oppression.

The noble 'international community' which is currently scrambling to send its 'humanitarian aid' to Haiti is largely responsible for the extent of the suffering it now aims to reduce. Ever since the US invaded and occupied the country in 1915, every serious political attempt to allow Haiti's people to move (in former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide's phrase) 'from absolute misery to a dignified poverty' has been violently and deliberately blocked by the US government and some of its allies.

Aristide's own government (elected by some 75 per cent of the electorate) was the latest victim of such interference, when it was overthrown by an internationally sponsored coup in 2004 that killed several thousand people and left much of the population smouldering in resentment. The UN has subsequently maintained a large and enormously expensive stabilisation and pacification force in the country. Haiti is now a country where, according to the best available study, around 75 per cent of the population 'lives on less than $2 per day, and 56 per cent – four and a half million people – live on less than $1 per day'. Decades of neoliberal 'adjustment' and neo-imperial intervention have robbed its government of any significant capacity to invest in its people or to regulate its economy. Punitive international trade and financial arrangements ensure that such destitution and impotence will remain a structural fact of Haitian life for the foreseeable future.

It is this poverty and powerlessness that account for the full scale of the horror in Port-au-Prince today. Since the late 1970s, relentless neoliberal assault on Haiti's agrarian economy has forced tens of thousands of small farmers into overcrowded urban slums. Although there are no reliable statistics, hundreds of thousands of Port-au-Prince residents now live in desperately sub-standard informal housing, often perched precariously on the side of deforested ravines. The selection of the people living in such places and conditions is itself no more 'natural' or accidental than the extent of the injuries they have suffered.

As Brian Concannon, the director of the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, points out: 'Those people got there because they or their parents were intentionally pushed out of the countryside by aid and trade policies specifically designed to create a large captive and therefore exploitable labour force in the cities; by definition they are people who would not be able to afford to build earthquake resistant houses.' Meanwhile the city's basic infrastructure – running water, electricity and roads – remains woefully inadequate, often non-existent. The government's ability to mobilise any sort of disaster relief is next to nil.

The international community has been effectively ruling Haiti since the 2004 coup. The same countries scrambling to send emergency help to Haiti now, however, have during the last five years consistently voted against any extension of the UN mission's mandate beyond its immediate military purpose. Proposals to divert some of this 'investment' towards poverty reduction or agrarian development have been blocked, in keeping with the long-term patterns that continue to shape the distribution of international 'aid'.

The same storms that killed so many in 2008 hit Cuba just as hard but killed only four people. Cuba has escaped the worst effects of neoliberal 'reform', and its government retains a capacity to defend its people from disaster. If we are serious about helping Haiti through this latest crisis then we should take this comparative point on board. Along with sending emergency relief, we should ask what we can do to facilitate the self-empowerment of Haiti's people and public institutions. If we are serious about helping we need to stop trying to control Haiti's government, to pacify its citizens, and to exploit its economy. And then we need to start paying for at least some of the damage we've already done.

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* This article was originally published by The Guardian.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Requiem for a Haitian writer: Georges Anglade

John Ralston Saul

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61619

cc UNWriter Georges Anglade and his wife Mireille Neptune died in the collapse of their Port-au-Prince home. John Ralston Saul writes a tribute to a man whose life enriched both Canada and Haiti and which in many ways was a classic Canadian story of exile and commitment. ‘It is hard to accept that such a force of nature could be stopped by nature’, he concludes.

Georges Anglade was a great bear of a man. If you stood for causes like free speech or the defence of minority cultures, he was a warm, embracing force. If you didn't, he was a formidable opponent equipped with a torrent of rich, terrifying language, a true model of the engaged writer.

He was one of the leading writers produced by the close relationship between Haiti and Canada. He was one of the founders of the University of Quebec in Montreal. But he was also an important player in the evolution of modern Haiti. In many ways, Montreal is one of the two cultural capitals of Haiti, along with Port-au-Prince. And as with the other writers in his situation, Georges's life enriched both Canada and Haiti. He was one of the proofs that Haiti is on the very short list of Canada's closest and richest relationships, often produced by large groups of initially unwilling exiles.

Georges's fiction and non-fiction came out of Haiti, but were marked by Canada. He was particularly known for his lodyans, a Haitian literary form of short, explosive, comic stories, oral and written, to be declaimed on important occasions. One of his lodyans describes a negotiation between the pope and Fidel Castro over who has to pay what to whom in order to pull off a papal visit to Cuba, as compared to a visit by a Canadian prime minister.

Georges was central to the struggles over the last half-century to bring some sort of normalcy to Haiti. He was imprisoned in 1974, twice exiled, often lived with his life at risk and entered the Haitian cabinet with the hope of improving people's lives. He was always moving back and forth between Canada and Haiti; two loves, in many ways a classic Canadian story of exile and commitment.

His last great campaign was aimed at creating a PEN centre in Haiti. PEN-Quebec – of which he was an engaged board member – was strategic in this difficult work. It is no accident that so many of Haiti 's writers live in exile. But if he could create a PEN centre linking those in exile with those at home, he could create some sort of safety net for those who might be in danger in the future. A writer alone in an unstable country is frighteningly alone. Writers in an organisation through 102 countries have friends who will speak up and defend them.

The Haitian PEN centre came into existence two years ago. I saw it functioning publicly for the first time at the International PEN Congress in Austria in October. Georges was its president and he was already a force, cutting across borders, with friends throughout Africa and North Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas. I knew that in my role as the new international president, he was not only a friend, but an important force for the freedom of literature.

Then came the earthquake, hours of not knowing, then the news that from beneath the rubble he had managed to call his daughter. But by the time they'd found him, both him and his wife, Mireille Neptune, were dead. It is hard to accept that such a force of nature could be stopped by nature. I will miss his friendship and his support for tough causes. But his legacy, beyond his writing and his memory, is the reality of PEN Haiti and all that he has done for that freedom of speech and thought which allows civilisation to function.

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* Georges Anglade and his wife Mireille Neptune died in the collapse of their Port-au-Prince home. They were both 65 years old and had been married 43 years.
* Essayist and philosopher John Ralston Saul was elected president of International PEN in October 2009. He is the former president of PEN Canada.
* This article was originally published by Globe and Mail on Friday 15 January 2010.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

New Orleans, France and slavery: A declaration in US Congress

Marian Douglas-Ungaro

2010-01-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61613

cc I EThe following 2006 congressional record of the United States Congress, entered by Representative Major R. Owens and drafted by Marian Douglas-Ungaro, praises the work of Christiane Taubira and Gwendolyn Midlo Hall in documenting France's role in the slave trade and recording the experiences of those enslaved across the Louisiana area.

Mr Speaker, the African slave trade stands out in the annals of world history as one of the greatest crimes ever committed against humanity. It is important that we institutionalise every possible reminder of this horrible chapter in our civilisation.

I want to take this opportunity to commend the French republic and the work of Madame Christiane Taubira for setting 10 May as an annual national day in France to remember its role in slavery and the slave trade.

On the afternoon of 23 May 1848, Africans and their New World descendants enslaved by France were set free. That was 45 years after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, when France sold most of its territory in the Americas to the fledgling USA, and 15 years before President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

Madame Christiane Taubira is a member of the French parliament, representing her native Guiana in South America. She is also an economist. On 10 May 2001, Madame Taubira successfully proposed French legislation that thereafter declared slavery a crime against humanity, making France the first country in the world to make this declaration.

Madame Taubira's work in France complements the work of Professor Gwendolyn Midlo Hall here in the United States. Not only is Dr Hall a distinguished historian, she is also a New Orleans, Louisiana, native.

Hurricane Katrina's devastation in the Gulf Coast region has given an urgency and importance to the work of both Professor Hall and Madame Taubira.

Our active understanding and appreciation of the French and American culture and history of New Orleans and Louisiana, as part of the Gulf Coast, will help the people of the region as they restore and rebuild their community over the coming months, years and decades. We cannot honour a unique community and its people without honouring its history that has grown over four centuries from both French and American roots.

Gwendolyn Midlo Hall has spent her life honouring the history of her home region. For 15 years she laboured at finding, translating, reading and transcribing the old French slavery records in courthouses all over Louisiana, and travelling to study related records she found in other places.

It is a little-known fact among Americans that the French slave traders and slaveholders kept far better and more detailed records of the captive Africans and African-Americans they enslaved than did their British and American counterparts. Dr Hall's monumental assembly of these records has been organised in two outstanding databases available on CD-ROM. These are the Louisiana Slave Database and the Louisiana Free Database.

The New York Times has called her slave database 'the largest collection of individual slave information ever assembled', and in 1997 the French government appointed her a 'Cavalier in the Order of Arts and Letters' ('Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.')

I do not know whether Madame Taubira and Dr Hall have met in person, but thanks to the efforts of each in addressing slavery and the slave trade in world history, their lives already intersect.

Gwendolyn Midlo Hall's and Christiane Taubira's efforts give all of us a broader, clearer view of our history internationally, in the US, in France, and for every other country whose history shaped and was shaped by the African slave trade. I commend the French republic and these two women for their contributions.

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* Drafted by Marian Douglas-Ungaro, this article comprises a 2006 statement entered into the congressional record of the United States Congress by Representative Major R. Owens, 11th Cong District, Brooklyn, New York (retired from Congress, December 2006).
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

How to reinvent Ethiopian politics

The future of the future country (part two)

Alemayehu G. Mariam

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61623

cc M FranklinEthiopian politics needs to reinvent itself if it is to offer the country a coherent and convincing alternative to the current culture of oppression and corruption, writes Alemayehu G. Mariam. ‘Reinvention’, argues Mariam, is ‘a multi-step process whose ultimate aim is to cultivate a true democratic civic culture shared by all Ethiopians.’

Aristotle wrote that ‘man is a political animal’ to suggest that the defining characteristic of human beings is involvement in the civic life of their communities. Today, many Ethiopians across the board are strangely disengaged and alienated from Ethiopian politics. For the ‘alienated majority’, the disengagement is justified. They liken Ethiopian politics to a driverless bus, a pilotless plane or a freight train careening down a steep gorge without an engineer. People are starving. The economy is in shambles. Human rights violations are widespread. There is no rule of law. Corruption is endemic; and misery is a fact of daily life. Many have given up on politics believing that the country is in the iron clutches of ‘evil forces’, and pray for rescue through divine intervention. The average person in Ethiopia is a walking tale of woe and misery. A good segment of the civically active and potentially active community in exile is turned off by what they perceive to be the politics of endless recriminations, accusations, labelling, name-calling and finger-pointing. Ethiopian ‘diaspora’ politics is viewed by some as an exercise in self-indulgence at best, and not infrequently cannibalistic.

The discourse in contemporary Ethiopian politics undoubtedly has a sharp edge to it. It tends to be confrontational and adversarial, which serves its own purposes. It is also preoccupied by exertion of moral outrage over the general decline of the country. Rightly so, the moral bankruptcy, criminality, ineptitude, abuse of power, corruption and decadence of the current dictatorial regime has been laid out for the world to see. Much is written and said about the palace intrigues and behind-the-scenes manoeuvres in the dictator's lair. But the political discourse has yet to produce a clear, convincing and coherent alternative to the total and unmitigated mess created by the current dictatorship. In short, no one has stepped forward to articulate and define a brave new vision of a better future for the people of Ethiopia.

The current state of affairs in Ethiopia calls for the reinvention of politics in the democratic opposition, by disconnecting from the self-destructive politics of the past and overwrought politics of the present, and connecting to a new politics of the future which transcends partisanship, ethnicity, ideology, language, region and so on. This reinvention requires several things: A paradigm shift in political thought and behaviour, a radical change in perspective, a new approach and lexicon for political communication and a redefinition of the issues within a broader national agenda. It calls for politics that is ‘compassion-centred’ and pragmatically oriented to creatively solving the entrenched problems of governance.

What is needed to begin the ‘reinvention’ of Ethiopian politics? The ‘reinvention’ is a multi-step process whose ultimate aim is to cultivate a true democratic civic culture shared by all Ethiopians. Step 1 begins with a clear understanding of the current situation so that we need not spend any more time trying to convert a one-man, one-party dictatorship into a genuine multiparty system, or even wasting time talking about it. As one cannot change copper into gold, neither can one change dictators into democrats. What is it that we need to clearly understand about the current dictatorship before we begin the task of reinventing the Ethiopian politics of the future?

The answer is not complicated. The dictators of Ethiopia are trapped in a historical time warp. They have clutched the reigns of state for two decades and ostentatiously display the trappings of political power and wealth. But they have not been able to transform ‘bushcraft’ into statecraft as recent scholarship by one of the original founders of the party-in-dictatorship today has shown. In their armed campaign against the Derg junta, decision-making was left in the hands of the few. The few leaders exercised raw, brute power over their followers and the communities they controlled. They silenced dissent and criticism ruthlessly, and leaders who disagreed were marginalised, labelled as traitors and removed. Everything was done in secrecy. Power was understood not as a public duty but as a means of self-enrichment, political patronage and intimidation. Leadership meant the cult of personality. The best they have been able to do is to transform the ‘politics of the bush’ fighting the Derg into a one-man, one-party state, whose guiding motto is, ‘What is good for the TPLF/EPDRF is good for Ethiopia!’

The transition from ‘bushcraft’ to statecraft requires tectonic transformations. Democratic statecraft requires an appreciation, understanding and application of basic democratic principles such as the rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances and constitutionalism in the governance process. The dictators have little experience with or practical understanding of such principles. It is illogical for anyone to expect them to institutionalise accountability which they never had or experienced in their political lives. They never had free elections in the bush; and it is no wonder that they were totally surprised when they got thumped in the 2005 elections. Upholding the rule of law is absurd to them because they believe themselves to be THE LAW. The idea of an independent judiciary and impartial administration of justice is alien to them because they have no understanding or practical experience with due process. They scoff at civil liberties and civil rights as Western luxuries because they never lived in a system where the powers of government are constitutionally subordinated to the rights of the individual. In short, it is wishful thinking to expect from them the kind of statecraft necessary for democratic governance.

Reinventing politics means learning the lessons of the past and present and transforming the current political culture of oppression and corruption into a genuine future democratic civic culture. It means finding creative ways of replacing the climate of silence and fear with a culture of free expression, deliberation and debate and tolerance of dissent and divergent viewpoints.

There are many ways of reinventing Ethiopian politics. One approach is to adapt the model of the American civil rights movement. That movement was not aimed at seizing political power; rather it sought to organise, mobilise and channel basic popular disaffection on fundamental issues of civil and human rights. It was a movement guided by the idea of empowering ordinary people. From the outset, it was an inclusive movement. The maids, street cleaners, clergymen, doctors, lawyers and bankers participated equally in the movement and took ownership of their collective destiny. The religious institutions were the centres of ‘civic democracy’ as they mobilised the community to be involved in the struggle for civil rights. Young people got involved in large numbers and became the vanguard of the movement. The NAACP led the legal battles in the courts.

There is a special burden on all Ethiopians, and particularly the exiled intellectual community to lend assistance in getting the process off the ground. It is to be acknowledged that there are the ‘old’ and ‘new’ generation of Ethiopian intellectuals in exile. Many in the ‘old’ generation have bit their tongues in public. They have withdrawn from public debate turned off by what they perceive to be uncivil dialogue. There are also the ‘new’ generation of intellectuals who circulate their brilliant scholarly papers, research studies and analysis on various facets of Ethiopian society for review but do not necessarily see the need to share it with the wider public in a manner accessible to those without a technical background. It is vital that both generations be involved and directly engage the public in envisioning the future of the future country. They must come out of self-imposed censorship and share their extraordinary knowledge and innovative ideas with the rest of us.

Without the involvement of progressive Ethiopian intellectuals, it would be difficult to nurture and cultivate a vigorous civic culture that will enable us to envision a dynamic, pluralistic and inclusive society of the future. Most importantly, they can be sources of creative and innovative ideas that will be needed to make the transition from ethnic-building to nation-building and help empower each Ethiopian to forego ethnic identity for a new national democratic identity based on a shared history of suffering oppression and a common conviction for a shared destiny. In the meantime, their participation is needed to inform and elevate the contemporary debate and in speaking truth to power.

In the final analysis, reinventing Ethiopian politics is about redefining the problem of politics not merely as competition for political power but as a process of developing a democratic civic culture and strengthening the moral fibre of ordinary citizens to take collective responsibility and perform their individual civic duties. None of these seem strange to the shameless idealist and audacious optimist who thinks everything is possible and nothing is impossible, and believes with every fibre in his body that Ethiopia can be a utopia!

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* This article first appeared in The Huffington Post
* 'The future of the future country' is serialised set of special commentaries written by the author in honour of Ethiopia's foremost political prisoner Birtukan Midekssa. Her favourite aphorism is, ‘Ethiopia is the country of the future.’ Read part one in the series on Pambazuka News.
* Alemayehu G. Mariam is professor of political science at California State University, San Bernardino.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Cuba and the South African anti-apartheid struggle

Nicole Sarmiento

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61621

cc A LynnLast year marked 15 years of official relations between Cuba and South Africa, and 50 years of the Cuban Revolution, writes Nicole Sarmiento. But before official relations between the two states began, there was already a long history of assistance to the liberation struggle, which forms the background to relations between the two countries today, and provides a significant example of the possibilities of strengthening South-South relations.

Cuba’s relations with African liberation movements began as early as the 1960s, and shortly after the triumph of the struggle against the Batista dictatorship. Members of the Cuban leadership travelled to Algiers to build formal relations with the Algerian National Liberation Front (Gleijeses, 1996a). Che Guevara’s trip around the African continent in 1963 was a significant turning point in strengthening Cuba’s relationship with liberation movements around the continent. In interviews with former commanders of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and senior members of the MK Military Veterans Association, a number of the senior MK leadership met with Guevara in Algiers that year to discuss strengthening relations, the nature of the armed struggle and a number of other questions related to the role of liberation movements on the continent.[1] The relationship began at the political level and occurred in the space of international institutions, but it extended as well to clandestine meetings (such as those of Guevara in Algeria and Tanzania in 1963) and the beginning of direct assistance to liberation movements.[2]

In 1961 at the first Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Belgrade, then president of Cuba, Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado, condemned the apartheid government of South Africa and its policies.[3] Cuban officials began to speak out against the apartheid government and its internal policies at international conferences, summits, meetings and assemblies, repeatedly calling for resolutions and definitive decisions on the elimination of the policy of apartheid in South Africa.[4]

A number of central leaders of the anti-apartheid struggle have mentioned the weight of Cuban assistance to South Africa’s road to end white minority rule – from Nelson Mandela and Chris Hani, to cultural leaders such as Wally Serote and James Matthews. However, little academic work has been done on actually uncovering the nature of those relations. In the following article, I will try to outline the general character of those relations based on recently conducted research. I look at the policy carried out by the Cuban regime and civil society towards South Africa’s struggle to end apartheid. However, it is necessary to contextualise relations with South Africa during this period as intimately tied to Cuba’s overall policy in Africa and assistance to the anti-colonial struggle.

CUBA IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

A significant aspect of Cuba’s foreign policy was voicing its strong stance against the apartheid regime at international fora. Cuba’s support for UN Resolution 435 as well as its direct support to the Angolan struggle to defend its independence from apartheid military incursions forms the centrepiece of Cuban policy towards southern African liberation movements. Cuba’s role in Angola was central to its policy towards the South African liberation movements, as it provided a territorial base of support to the movement in exile and the military wing of the African National Congress (ANC). Angola was also a place where MK and South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO) soldiers received military training, education and other skills from Cuban military instructors.[5] Alfred Nzo, then general secretary of the ANC, read a message in 1975 that reiterated South Africans’ support for Cuba’s assistance in Angola fighting alongside Angolan, MK and SWAPO troops against the South African military invasion. He noted that Cuba’s assistance to the Angolans was ‘invaluable help for crushing South Africa’s evil racist and imperialist aggression’.[6]

At the first congress of the Cuban Communist Party, Jorge Risquet Valdés stated that Cuba’s assistance to and presence in Angola from 1975 was opening up the possibility of extending Cuba’s assistance to the South African resistance.[7] In 1977 the Novo Katengue training centre for MK combatants was established.

Interviews with members of ANC and South African Communist Party (SACP) leadership, as well as former senior members of MK, point to the Cuban role in the southern African region as fundamental to understanding Cuba’s role in assisting the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. These respondents make the assessment that the role of Cuba in Angola was central to speeding up the end of apartheid in South Africa and the independence of Namibia, and facilitated assistance to the South African liberation movements.

It is difficult to separate the dynamics of the struggle within South Africa as well as the development of liberation movements without taking into account the political and military developments in the southern African region. Angola laid the platform for strengthening direct engagement at the military and political level between Cuba and the liberation movements from South Africa. Cuba’s support for revolutionary change in the Americas and Africa reached a high point in Angola in 1988.[8] Before 1975 around 2,000 Cuban soldiers and aid workers had gone to Africa. By 1988 the figures reached over 450,000.[9]

Despite the assumption of Cuba acting as a Cold War proxy, recent scholarly work on Cuba’s role in Angola illustrates that the Cuban leadership has consistently acted autonomously in its foreign policy. Although much has been written on this period of the southern African history, very little has been written on Cuban involvement in South Africa, and much less from the perspective of participants.[10] Most accounts mention Cuba’s involvement as a rental army of the Soviet Union, as a subservient player to the Cold War rivalry, as a rogue affair guided by the personality of one individual, or mention the Cuban role in passing. The few scholars who take Cuban foreign policy as a serious area of study, avoiding the pitfalls of repeating simplistic and cynical characterisations of Cuban foreign policy, remain the following: Gleijeses (2003, 2006, 2009), Saney (2006, 2009), Dosman (2008) and López Blanch (2008). These accounts consistently reveal autonomy of foreign policy and formulation of aims and motives based on autochthonous experiences and aims.

CUBA’S POLICY TOWARDS SOUTH AFRICA

Encountering scholarly work, interviews and primary documents on Cuba’s collaboration with the anti-apartheid struggle is difficult. An explanation is provided by López Blanch (2008): ‘Most contacts, visits and exchanges were extremely secretive to protect South African revolutionaries who were persecuted by the regime.’ Even the SACP Seventh Congress in 1989, the last one to be held outside South Africa, was prepared, held, and had delegates flown to Cuba in strict secrecy. The congress was unknown to the president of the former Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, when he visited Cuba only three days before the Congress was held.[11] The process of de-classification of official documents is not complete in Cuba or in South Africa and thus further research, time and resources would need to be dedicated to unearthing some of the more specific questions pertaining to these relations.

Nonetheless, the data gained from the various qualitative interviews carried out in the process of this research point to extensive relations between Cuba and the ANC, SACP and trade union leadership, and particularly with MK as well as in terms of the development of internal discussions within the ANC and SACP on central political questions. The training of female cadres within the liberation struggle via the Federation of Cuban Women, as well as using Cuba as a platform for the South African liberation movement to exchange with other liberation movements from around the world was also part of the relations between the Cuban state and civil society and the South African liberation movements. A senior ANC/SACP leader recalls: ‘Our secretary general Nzo went to the first conference in Cuba – the Tri-continental – in the ‘60s. From then onwards a link was established, a formal political link, both with the SACP and the ANC.’[12].The expansion of relations in the 1970s included military cooperation and training to MK, political relations between both the Cuban state and liberation movements, educational and medical cooperation. The next sections will give an overview of some of those relations.

ANC MISSION IN HAVANA AND RELATIONS WITH MK

Nelson Mandela’s speech at Matanzas, Cuba in 1991 speaks about the founding of the armed wing of the ANC and the launch of the armed resistance to apartheid. MK was launched on 16 December 1961, and the manifesto of MK was made public via an illegal radio broadcast given by Walter Sisulu. Mandela speaks of the earliest contact with Cubans:

‘I must say that when we wanted to take up arms we approached numerous Western governments for assistance and we were never able to see any but the most junior ministers. When we visited Cuba we were received by the highest officials and were immediately offered whatever we wanted and needed. That was our earliest experience with Cuban internationalism’ (Mandela, 1991:22).

The official ANC Cuba Mission was set up in Havana in 1978 with Alex la Guma as the central representative of the mission. La Guma was also a well known novelist and poet, and was the head of the ANC mission in Cuba until his death in 1988. The ANC mission was paid for by the Cuban government, and was the centre of anti-apartheid political activity in the Caribbean. On the level of military cooperation, Joe Slovo and Joe Modise were the individuals responsible at the highest levels of coordinating all military cooperation between Cuba and the South African liberation movements. Relations on the level of military training began in the 1970s with the increased Cuban involvement in Angola; however, according to the respondents, political discussions took place on numerous occasions between the Cubans and the ANC, SACP and MK leadership in terms of the nature of the armed struggle.

Much of Cuba’s contact with the anti-apartheid alliance took place in different parts of southern Africa, and meetings occurred between Cuban leadership and ANC and SACP leadership in Lusaka, Conakry as well as Harare and other cities in the region. From 1976 until 1988 almost all MK training took place in Angola by Cubans and Soviets, mainly in the Novo Katengue camp. The most significant MK and SWAPO training camp on the African continent at the time was Novo Katengue. According to Ronnie Kasrils (2009:3): ‘We had a major camp, which had about 500 people training there at any one time, a year at a time, called Novo Katengue [...] It was our most advanced camp. And that is where the Cubans immediately came in and provided the infrastructure.'[13]

The political lull that took place within South Africa around 1963 until the late 60s, during which most of the anti-apartheid organisations were forced to go underground and few young recruits were joining MK. The events in Angola in 1975 and the Soweto uprising in 1976 changed this domestic dynamic: A wave of recruits began to join the liberation movement and particularly MK[14]. The Cubans were central in setting up a camp to train these young cadres as well as to provide more advanced military training to cadres who had already excelled in the basic courses. The Novo Katengue camp was established for basic military, guerrilla-style training, and then a specialised course was organised for those who graduated the main course. This was carried out by the Cubans in the urban area of Benguele. Kasrils (2009) describes the type of training specialisations: ‘…how to engage in urban guerrilla warfare, use of disguises, special rendezvous arrangements, burying of weaponry…’ The camp was bombed by the South Africans in 1979.[15] The cadres in the camp were moved to several other camps around Angola, and the Cuban training and assistance decreased, due to the agreement of gradual Cuban troop withdrawal from Angola which began around 1977.

However, the assistance between Cuba and MK, along with relations with the anti-apartheid alliance, continued throughout this period into the 1990s. The Angolans also had asked some Cuban forces to stay, given the SADF arming of UNITA and its presence in Namibia represented a major threat to Angola sovereignty. An increase in Cuban assistance begins in 1985, sending larger numbers of MK troops from Luanda to Havana for training. Kasrils (2009) describes how following discussions between Cubans and senior ANC, SACP and MK interlocutors, a specialised training regime was set up inside Cuba, which would receive South Africans in small groups.[16] From 1986-1989, much more specialised training of underground cells and smuggling of weapons, among other training occurring in Cuba. After 1988 ANC/MK instructors took over the training, as Cuba had then begun its withdrawal from Angola following the New York Accords on 11 December 1988.

On 29 October 1989 a mass rally of 80,000 people was held in Soweto and Walter Sisulu gave the main speech, with a call to maintain the armed struggle. From 1988 through the early 1990s, a number of discussions with the anti-apartheid alliance leadership took place in Havana and in the Cuban embassy in Lusaka, involving discussions of continuing military training and assistance to MK as well as the sending of equipment and armaments. Joe Slovo visited the Cuban embassy in Lusaka, Zambia in 1989, and made a request for special armaments. López Blanch (2008) writes of a meeting between Chris Hani, Timothy Makwena and other high level MK leaders at the Cuban embassy in Lusaka, in May of 1990 to discuss the training of officers for the future South African National Defence Force. Secret meetings between Cubans and ANC and SACP leadership took place in Lusaka and Harare in June 1987. Cuban documents from July 1990 detail that armaments were delivered to the ANC/MK in 1987, 1988 and 1989. The report also states that 403 MK combatants had received special training by Cubans at the time. In May 1990 in Lusaka, there was meeting between Cubans and Chris Hani: ‘Hani stated that Cuba meant a lot to the ANC and to South Africa, and that it was one of the few friends that the ANC had at the moment, which is why it looked to Cuba, not only because of its high degree of technical and combative specialisation, but because of the ideological role that would be played by the personnel trained on the island’ (López Blanch, 2008). Much remains to be learned on the side of military cooperation between Cuba and the liberation movement in South Africa, and for this more interviews would have to be carried out, as well as the declassification of official documents in South African and Cuban archives.

WOMEN, EDUCATION AND CIVIL SOCIETY

Cuban relations with the anti-apartheid alliance existed on multiple levels. Students from South Africa studied in Cuba, and young MK cadres who had little basic education were sent to Cuba to upgrade their levels of education and prepare for a future democratic state. Political education also took place for leaders within the Women’s Section of the ANC, organised by the Federation of Cuban Women (FMC).

Education agreements were made between Cuba and the ANC and the SACP, providing education to South Africans with all expenses paid by the Cuban state. In 1976 the first South African student arrived in Havana, and in 1977 the first group of South African students arrived in the Isle of Pines, which later was to be called the Isle of Youth.[17] Twenty-three students from South Africa came in 1986 and 107 in 1988. Alfred Nzo and Oliver Tambo had planned to send a large contingent of South Africans to receive education in Cuba. This eventually did not happen due to the wave of political activity in South Africa that began in 1988, the events in Cuito Cuanavale and subsequently the de-criminalisation of liberation organisations. By 2005, 272 South African students had graduated from Cuban universities and technical schools (115 from university and 157 at technical schools). As of 2005, over 400 South African youths were studying for free in Cuba. According to Thenjiwe Mtintso, former South African ambassador to Cuba, ‘out of every 20 South Africans who studied in Cuba, 15 today practice their specialties in the public sector’.[18]

The FMC began its assistance to woman involved in national liberation struggles from all over the Third World. In February 1975, the FMC opened the Fé del Valle School for women, which provided a wide variety of education and training over a ten month period, with all expenses paid by the FMC. Thenjiwe Mtintso, who was a senior MK Commander and member of the SACP Central Committee, was one of the women educated in Cuba who spent time training at the Fé del Valle School. The education programme that the FMC had begun was principally in political, cultural and ideological training (López Blanch, 2008). By 1976 there were around 300 women in the programme from different countries.

At the level of civil society, Cubans were involved in elevating the status of the anti-apartheid struggle to the level of popular consciousness. In May of 1981, Cuba had helped organise an international anti-apartheid conference in Paris. Cuba participated in June 1981 at the International Conference on Sanctions against South Africa – and pushed for a more hard line stand against apartheid than the one which had been drafted by the Western European states and the US.[19] In 1986, Cuba began its own anti-apartheid committee that would work with anti-apartheid committees all over the world on numerous issues. It became known as the Cuban Anti-Apartheid Committee.

Cuba awarded leaders of the South African resistance with numerous awards, from Nelson Mandela to Oliver Tambo, and cultural icons such as Miriam Makeba and Alex la Guma. Anti-apartheid protests were organised in Havana, and the Organisation of Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia and Latin America (OSPAAAL) popularised protest art that highlighted the struggle against apartheid and the war in Vietnam.

THE 1989 SACP CONGRESS AND A NEW ERA OF RELATIONS

Numerous important visits, with messages between Cubans and the South African resistance also took place throughout the 1960s and 1970s, intensifying after 1975[20]. In 1990 John Nkadimeng, then general secretary of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) and a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC as well as member of the SACP, visited Cuba. During the trip he had extensive meetings with Cuba’s state-affiliated trade unions. Nkadimeng became South Africa’s first ambassador to Cuba following the end of apartheid in 1994, which was the first new embassy established after democratic elections in 1994[21]. Nkadimeng (2009) and González González (2009) described the close relations between the Cuban Workers’ Federation (CTC) and the militant South African trade unions part of the anti-apartheid alliance. Numerous meetings were held in Cuba between the CTC and SACTU, and then later with COSATU[22].

The seventh Congress of the South African Communist Party, the last to be held outside of South Africa, took place in Cuba in 1989. Several leaders of the anti-apartheid alliance attended and the meeting was guarded with complete secrecy due to the difficult moment in which it was taking place and the underground existence of the SACP and liberation movements. John Nkadimeng (2009) states, ‘It was very important because it was a mark of respect and recognition of socialist Cuba. The role they played’.[23]

Following the decriminalisation of political organisations in 1990, the first Cuban meeting with Mandela took place at the celebration in Windhoek in 1990, and then Mandela’s 23-26 July 1991 visit to Cuba, in which he spoke to a mass rally at Matanzas. The rally celebrated the 38th anniversary of the attack on the Moncada Barracks, which marked the beginning of the Cuban revolutionary struggle. Cuba was Mandela’s first country to visit outside of Africa since his release from prison, and it was a significant show of solidarity. After the ANC triumph in the 1994 election, Cuba and South Africa began formal diplomatic ties – and Cuba was the first country recognised diplomatically by the ANC government elected in 1994. A new page of Cuban assistance to South Africa began, today geared towards social development.

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* Nicole Sarmiento is a graduate student based in Cape Town, South Africa.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

NOTES

[1] See interview with Senior MK Commander, 2009; Mxolisi Ndlovu, 2006; Thomas, 1997.
[2] Grovogui, 2003; Young, 2001; Gleijeses, 2003; López Blanch, 2008; Interview with Senior MK Commander, 2009; Mxolisi Ndlovu, 2006; Younis, 2000; Kasrils, 2004.
[3] This occurred at a time when few Western governments dared to speak out against the South African government and its policies, and many were supporting as well as aiding the regime with weapons that were used to oppress the vast majority of South Africa’s population.
[4] López Blanch, 2008.
[5] Interview with Kasrils, 2009; Interview with Pahad, 2009; Interview with Nkadimeng, 2009; Mtintso, 2008; Kasrils, 2008.
[6] Nzo quoted in López Blanch, 2008.
[7] Interview with Senior MK Commander, 2009; Mxolisi Ndlovu, 2006; Thomas, 1997.
[8] George, 2005; Gleijeses, 2006.
[9]Gleijeses, 2006.
[10] Dosman, 2008; Saney, 2004.
[11] López Blanch, 2008.
[12] Interview with Pahad, 2009.
[13] Motumi (1994) writes that between 1977 and 1988 almost all MK military training took place in Angola.
[14] Interview with Kasrils, 2009; Motumi, 1994; Ellis and Sechaba, 1992.
[15] Only a few Cubans and South Africans were killed, because the Cubans and the ANC/MK had managed to receive intelligence reports about the possibility of an SADF bombing of the camp. At the time the bombing occurred the camp was almost entirely evacuated (Dosman, 2009; López Blanch, 2008; Kasrils, 2004; Interview with Kasrils, 2009; Motumi, 1994).
[16] This was apart from the students who were sent from South Africa to study in Cuba, who were usually unaware of other cooperation or relations taking place on the island between ANC/MK and Cuba.
[17] López Blanch, 2008.
[18] Mtintso quoted in López Blanch, 2008.
[19] López Blanch, 2008.
[20] Some of the visits to Cuba of South African resistance leaders include the 1988 visit by Cyril Ramaphosa, then general secretary of the South African National Union of Mineworkers. In 1989 Thabo Mbeki visited Cuba.
[21] According the Nkadimeng (2009), 'I felt that Mandela had honoured me by sending me to Cuba, a country that was prepared to do anything for South Africa'.
[22] González González (2009) states that the close relations between trade unions of the two countries has furthermore extended after 1994, and numerous CTC leaders from Cuba have travelled to meetings with COSATU, to continue relations and exchange among workers’ federations.
[23] Aziz Pahad (2009) recalls of the SACP Congress, '[...] there was no surprise that the Congress would take place in Cuba for many of us'.

Double-speak paralyses society and economy

William Gumede

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/61626

cc AkuppaThe lack of honesty in South Africa’s political, economic and social debates is now becoming so severe it is undermining effective delivery of public services, the country’s economic prosperity and the consolidation of the democracy itself, says William Gumede.

If one listens to public statements from many senior ANC-COSATU-SACP tripartite alliance leaders, double-speak, rhetoric and talking in code has now – sadly – become the dominant culture of politics.

Leaders will say one thing, but do the opposite. Some leaders say they are pro-poor, but they drive R1.2 million cars paid for with scarce public money. Others again call for strong measures against corruption, but behave in dodgy ways themselves.

Yet others again defend gender equality while in the same breath making outrageously outdated sexist statements. Some argue for nationalisation of the mines, saying this is meant to redistribute resources to the poor.

If only this was genuine. In reality, they want to bail out struggling black economic empowerment tycoons or put their friends in charge of the proposed nationalised companies – and so extend their web of patronage.

Others defend our democratic institutions, but in their actions undermine it. They defend the rule of law and call for those who transgress it to be harshly punished. Yet, they themselves – as senior politicians and their allies – appear to be untouchable. When they do wrong, they can manipulate things in such a way that they will go scot-free.

Leaders ‘talk left, but act right’. Some say they are communists, but their real actions indicate they are not. In public ANC (African National Congress) leaders say everything is honky-dory, they are ‘united’, but in private they viciously fight among themselves.

Nobody knows anymore what the genuine policies of leaders and organisations within the ANC family are.

It is now difficult to distinguish between fact and fantasy. It is a circus. If the consequences to ordinary citizens were not so tragic, one could have joked about it.

Firstly, the policy confusion that the double-talk, rhetoric and talking in code is causing means that those who devise or implement policies either do not have adequate information, or have the wrong information, to do so effectively.

The same goes for those who want to make new investments. They cannot do so, because they do know not the real policy position of government.

Even for government planners, confused information from politicians will make it very difficult for them allocate resources efficiently. In fact government officials are forced to second-guess what the genuine policies are. It also causes implementation paralysis. Senior civil servants will be reluctant to implement policies they are not sure are backed by the influential politicians in the ANC. It could be career ending.

The double talk also opens the door for corruption. Since there is no certainty about policies, those with enough money can pay to have policies that favour their interests, implemented.

The lack of information also means that ordinary people are totally confused. Government leaders make outrageous promises, even if they know the resources, capacities or detailed plans to make it possible are not there.

They drum up the expectations of ordinary citizens. Not surprisingly promises made this way are hardly met. No wonder that many deflated communities then vent their frustration in angry outbursts by burning down municipal buildings, trains and the homes of local elected representatives.

It is better if there is total honesty about policies, decisions and the reasons for them. It is also better to state the real motivations for particular policies, decisions and approaches. It is also better to openly admit shortcomings – rather than covering up.

Then society can then debate the various proposals on their merits. We can then honestly decide our core priorities – which we cannot do effectively now, in a culture where double-speak is the norm. If only for selfish reasons, the ANC, COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) and the SACP (South African Communist Party) must stop the double-speak, as it erodes the trust their members and supporters have in them.

Without that trust, their membership will lose confidence in them – and leave them sooner rather than later. Importantly, ordinary citizens will become more cynical about politics, withdraw from politics altogether, or start to express their preferences increasingly more violently.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* This article first appeared in the Sowetan.
* William Gumede is co-editor (with Leslie Dikeni) of the newly released The Poverty of Ideas.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Haiti: Help provide assistance to earthquake survivors

Dwa Fanm

2010-01-22

http://www.dwafanm.org/

Dwa Fanm has activated an emergency response through our connection with the Brooklyn Tabernacle. Tabernacle doctors, nurses and community health workers are working to bring medical assistance and supplies to areas that have been hardest hit with the first delegation expected to be Haiti as early as tomorrow. Other delegations will continue to go to Haiti during these next few days of crisis.

Solidarity with African people in Haiti

The devastation began more than 200 years ago

Uhuru Solidarity Movement

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/Announce/61631

With at least 50,000 dead, hundreds of thousands injured and more than 3.5 million homeless, the conditions on the island have been described as unimaginable. With relief efforts moving slowly and the threat of mass starvation mounting, US military occupation forces are being sent in, raising the spectre of the brutal treatment of African people in New Orleans following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina.

US president Barack Obama has promised a massive US relief effort with a pledge of US$100 million to be sent to Haiti as an outpouring of support comes in from throughout the U.S. and around the world. All major media sources have sent reporters to the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince.

We unite with the efforts to send massive resources into Haiti as quickly as possible.

But the disaster hit Haiti 200 years ago and its problem is the colonial devastation that has long subjected this proud and once independent and prosperous African-led country to live on a diet of mud pies and dwell in tin shanty towns.

A strong earthquake is deadly, but a 7.2 tremor in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1989 resulted in 63 deaths as opposed to the tens of thousands in Haiti.

We are forced to ask, where was the North American outcry and outpouring of support over the past 25 years as Africans from Haiti were locked up in vile US detention camps in their desperate attempts to escape the conditions imposed on them by US economic policies that force the people to live on less than US$2 a day?

As the bodies of Africans struggling for asylum from Haiti washed up on south Florida beaches where was the mass mobilisation of resources to the already devastated island?

Where was the outrage when Haiti’s democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was kidnapped by the Bush administration in 2004, deposed from his position and exiled to Africa?

We recognise that Africans in Haiti are the people who freed themselves from enslavement by waging the first successful workers’ revolutionary movement against French colonial powers in the Western Hemisphere. They are the people who defeated Napoleon’s army of 30,000 French troops in 1804, declaring Haiti a free and independent country open as a refuge for anyone in the world seeking to escape oppression and injustice.

Following the victorious revolution in Haiti, the US and much of Europe imposed an economic embargo on the island. France then forced the Haitian people to pay ‘reparations’ for its lost ‘property’ which included enslaved African people themselves on land stolen from the indigenous Taino people who now have been wiped off the face of the earth.

As an article on the Uhuru News web site states, ‘The United States occupied the island from 1915 to 1934. This US occupation dismantled Haiti’s revolutionary constitutional system that prohibited land being purchased by foreigners. The US occupation reinstituted the enslavement of African people to build roads, and established the National Guards that ran the country after the marines left. In the process the US looted the entire treasury of Haiti. This is why Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere today, why Africans are forced to live in shanties, subsist on a diet of mud pies and are regularly shot down by UN armed forces! Africans continue to have no control over our resources, our Africa and our lives everywhere.’

The reality is that the US is a wealthy and powerful imperialist country built on the enslavement of African people and the genocide of indigenous people for the benefit of the white population. All of the US-pledged relief aid will never transform the colonial devastation imposed on Haiti.

The Uhuru Movement, led by the African People’s Socialist Party, is calling for African people worldwide to join together for a united relief effort to African people in Haiti under the slogan of ‘One Africa, one people, one destiny!’

The Uhuru Movement is leading the campaign for Africans on the Continent of Africa, inside the US, the Caribbean or wherever they have been forcibly dispersed around the world to organise to reunite and liberate Africa under the leadership of the African working class. This is the goal of the Party-led African Socialist International which has been built in the US, Canada, the UK, Sierra Leone and other places in the African world.

The African People’s Solidarity Committee is calling on white people to support the African-led programs and campaigns to win self-determination for African people worldwide as the only solution to natural and human-made disasters.

We are calling other white people to join us in standing for reparations to African people and to join and support the Uhuru Solidarity Movement campaign for Africa’s Resources in African Hands.

The only way to transform the horrendous conditions that African people suffer under colonialism and neo-colonialism is by African workers themselves taking control over all their resources and land. Charity only keeps the power and resources in the hands of imperialism and the white world.

We understand that the only sustainable future for the planet, for us and for all humanity lies in genuine solidarity with self-determination and liberation for African people and all oppressed people, not in the continuation of imperialist war, plunder and hoarding scarce resources at the expense of others!

Solidarity Not Charity!

* For more information contact the Uhuru Solidarity Movement national office: 215-387-0919.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem awarded African 'Personality of the Year 2009'

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/Announce/61627

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* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Urgent appeal for the people of Haiti

SOPUDEP School

2010-01-22

http://www.sopudep.org/

January 12 at 5 p.m. local time, a powerful magnitude-7 earthquake struck in Haiti. It was centered near the capital city Port-au-Prince and has caused massive destruction. We have word that School Director Réa Dol is okay and has converted her house and the school (which suprisingly survived the quake) into a makeshift hospital and shelter . There are 30 to 40 people at her home and 60 to 70 at the school.Unfortunately, we now know that some of the teachers and students were killed.

Political participation, politicians and the youth in Kenya

Paul Mwangi Maina

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/61620

cc DemoshKenya’s government, Paul Mwangi Maina argues, has failed to involve the youth in political processes, despite pre-election promises to do so. Maina portrays a system in Kenya where youth participation is dependent on wealth and connections. These youths are then merely used as political pawns, corrupted by politicians even before they enter politics at a national level, he stresses: ‘These people do not represent the young people of Kenya accurately.'

Though it has not been ratified in the African Youth Charter, Kenya is a member of the African Union and a democratic society that has made a commitment to all its citizens, including the youth, to ensure that they are fully involved in all spheres of society.

It is, therefore, regrettable for the youth of Kenya that their government has made no visible effort to push their agenda in terms of political participation in any of the government’s organs. For example, though not constitutionally bound, the government has made no attempt to reserve seats for youth in Parliament, the public sector or any government-run institution where youth presence is almost non-existent. Despite the fact that the government recognises that youth in Kenya are marginalised, especially in terms of political participation, the lack of government effort is clearly evident in the examples used in this paper.

In the first and second items of its manifesto of 2007, the Party of National Unity (PNU) made a pledge to ‘ensure that all Kenyans, including women, youth and people living with disabilities are fully involved in the management of party affairs’. The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), on the other hand, pledged in its manifesto to ‘promote greater youth participation in Kenyan political and cultural activities, entrench the rights of young people in decision-making and introduce a new national youth leadership programme to integrate the youth in leadership today not tomorrow’. The two parties are now in power and no effort has been made to promote youth participation in politics by either of them. In fact, both parties have shown reluctance to enact the new constitution that guarantees some rights to the youth. In addition, all the parties have failed to nominate even a single youth (15–35 years according to the African Union definition) to Parliament. Token appointments of ‘young’ (40+ years) individuals to assistant minister positions is what the Kenyan government views as youth political participation. These ‘youth’ who make it to parliament (mostly sons of former powerful leaders) are usually appointed to these leadership positions with little or no power to effect any change

Political parties are the gateway for political leadership in democracies and nowhere, I believe, is this more pronounced than on the Kenyan political scene. A former member of parliament and powerful minister in Kenya, Joseph Kamotho, was famously quoted as saying after the 1992 election that even if a dog stood for that election on a Ford-Asili[1] ticket in central Kenya, it would have won by a landslide. This was in reaction to his defeat in the parliamentary election that year. This example illustrates just how important party politics is in Kenya. Before the 2007 election, parties across the board pledged to streamline all their affairs, especially the nomination process, so as to ensure fairness, transparency and full participation. Any casual observer can deduce that this is not the case now and, from my own observation, I have not found any party that has adhered to this pledge. In addition, despite their pre-election promises, no party has ever sponsored any pro-youth bills in Parliament around political participation. Some youthful politicians were actually rigged out of the 2007 general election nomination process through violence, intimidation, bribery and interference by party bosses. For example in the Ugenya[2] constituency, a popular candidate was clearly rigged out in favour of an old foe-come-friend of the party’s ‘big man’.

A casual glance at the secretariat of the main political parties will reveal an almost total exclusion of youth, especially at the top. The trend with political parties has been to form youth wings that are parallel to, but not integrated into, the mainstream party. According to Godwin Murunga and Shadrak Wasong'o (2007), this trend was inherited by the post-colonial government from the colonial administration: ‘youth wings existed in both sides of the divide and were basically charged with carrying out instructions from above’. These youth wings are usually led by well-connected, mostly former university student leaders who use them as vehicles to launch their political careers. The youth wings are most visible during the general elections and are mainly used by politicians for intimidating rivals, but also serve as votes for purchase. Youths during this time, unfortunately, are reduced to pawns, with most of them blindly engaging in politically instigated violence in support of ‘mtu wetu’ ('our man') after a small bribe and incitement into tribal bigotry.

Political careers for a number of today's prominent leaders in Kenya began when they were student leaders in the country’s public universities. At least six members of the current cabinet were at one time student leaders, and mostly in public universities. It is, therefore, a fair assessment to say that student leadership provides a good platform for a political career for the youth in Kenya. Throughout Kenya’s recent history, however, established politicians have always infiltrated university elections. On 26 May 2009, for example, the University of Nairobi held elections that saw ethnically charged violence and mayhem, largely attributed to interference from political forces outside. Politicians introduced tribalism into the elections by sponsoring candidates from their ethnic communities in exchange for the candidates’ and their followers’ support on the national scene. Huge amounts of money also come in to play and, in the process, avenues for corruption are opened up. Consequently the young minds of our future leaders are corrupted way before they enter onto the national scene. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that a majority of youths in Kenya see politics as a vehicle for financial gain and not as an opportunity to serve. In addition, due to this conditioning, the few ‘youth’ who eventually end up on the Kenyan political scene display tribal and sycophantic characteristics that rival those of the pre- colonial political relics that they learn from.

The enactment of the Political Parties Bill is a positive development and a move in the right direction for the youth in Kenya. The bill provides for, among other things, government funding for political parties. As was the case previously, parties received some funding from membership contributions, with most funding coming from the party’s bosses. This was a big problem. Since the majority of young people are not rich, it was easy for individuals with money to 'buy' party positions and nominations and lock the youth out. The bill has made it possible for small, independent parties to thrive, creating more room for democracy and a larger space for the youth to participate. According to Njeri Kabeberi, executive director of Kenya’s Center for Multiparty Democracy, the passage of the bill is important as it provides space for the growth of political parties as public institutions with broad-based ownership. She further adds that the development is essential in ensuring transparency and accountability in the registration, management and funding of political parties. To add to this, the bill will streamline the running of the already existing larger parties, thus providing a more level playing field for the marginalised.

A lot has been said and done for the Kenyan youth in terms of economic empowerment. To its credit, the government introduced the Youth Enterprise Development Fund (YEDF), which has provided cheap loans for enterprising youth to start income-generating projects. Though I don’t have the figures, the positive impact of this initiative is being felt on the ground. There is also the ‘Kazi kwa Vijana’ ('Work for the Youth') initiative, a project that provides temporary menial jobs for thousands of youth. As good as these new projects are, without the youth being involved in formulating, planning and running them, they cannot go far. Indeed only fairly recently on 22 May 2009, the chief executive officer of the (YEDF), Umuro Wario, was sacked because of graft allegations. To quote the immediate former president Daniel arap Moi, ‘Siasa mbaya maisha mbaya’ ('Bad politics will always lead to suffering no matter how great the ideas are').

That the political scenario in Kenya favours the wealthy, well-connected, sycophantic, immorally unprincipled, unethical and corrupt individuals is a fact. That young people can have these attributes is also true. Most of the youthful politicians who have made it to positions of power are relatives or sons of former politicians. They owe their posts to either their wealth, powerful connections left by their kin or sympathy votes after the sudden demise of their kin. These people do not represent the young people of Kenya accurately. What we needed firstly is a total overhaul of the status quo and the entrenchment of policies and guidelines in the constitution that will guarantee youth participation in forming the agenda of the nation. Secondly, we also need progressive leaders – especially in the private sector where young people have progressed tremendously – religious leaders and civil society to actively engage the youth in education and leadership forums. This will help in forming a new and positive culture among Kenya’s youth towards leadership.

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* Paul Mwangi Maina is an intern with the Fahamu Kenya office.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

NOTES

[1] Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-Asili. The popular opposition party in Kenya in the 1990s.
[2] A constituency in Nyanza province of Western Kenya.

REFERENCES

Godwin R. Murunga and Shadrack W. Wasong’o (2007) ‘Kenya The Struggle for Democracy’, London, Zed Books
http://www.marsgroupkenya.org/
http://www.nimd.org/news/597/kenya-new-bill-on-political-party-funding
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party_of_National_Unity_(Kenya)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Democratic_Movement
http://www.pambazuka.org/en

Time to entrench media freedom in Kenya’s constitution

Henry Maina

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/61618

cc T MarukoWhile Article 39 of Kenya’s Revised Harmonised Draft Constitution makes giant steps in guaranteeing media freedom, Henry Maina finds it still lacking. Maina explores Article 39’s shortcomings in the areas of licensing, censorship and confidentiality and suggests some fundamental safeguards as solutions.

To many observers, the latest onslaught by the Kenyan government on the media through the publication of media regulations comes as no surprise. Most governments globally seek to control the media for fear of being executed in the people’s court. They thus tend to use coercive power to gag the media.

It is with this in mind that ARTICLE 19 welcomes the explicit guarantee of the freedom and independence of all types of media, including state-owned, in Article 39 of the Revised Harmonised Draft Constitution. Three reasons inform this endorsement. First, such a proclamation in the constitution can serve as a useful tool for journalists and the media, who seek to protect themselves from interference. Second, that the draft prohibits the exercise of state control in the media field is praiseworthy. Third, it makes explicit provisions concerning licensing.

The experience of licensing worldwide demonstrates that states often silence critical voices or give advantage in the media to persons close to them by the use of licensing. In this respect, a constitutional provision guaranteeing the independence of the licensing body is appropriate and needed. Article 39, paragraph 3, however, falls short in securing the independence of both the licensing body and the licensing procedures. A number of safeguards are necessary to secure the independence of a licensing body.

First, the licensing body should not be part of any government institution, that is, its members should not be appointed by the government. ‘Rules of incompatibility’ should apply to candidates for membership on the board. Second, once appointed, members of the licensing board should be protected against removal outside of exceptional circumstances. Third, the regulatory body should be accountable to the public through a multiparty body, such as parliament or a parliamentary committee. Fourth, the body should be adequately funded in a way that protects it against political interference. The non-recognition of these standards by the draft weakens the protection of the licensing body against political interference and governmental manipulations, despite the good intention of the drafters.

Further, while the draft permits licensing of broadcasting and ‘other electronic media’, it is unclear what is meant by ‘other electronic media’. To some commentators, this provision may be lauded as progressive as it anticipates future growth and for sure the media sector witnesses discoveries by the day. Such an ambiguous provision, however, may be interpreted in various ways and used as justification for licensing of internet providers or internet-based media. This is made worse given that the draft ill-defines the purpose of licensing and does not aim at protection of pluralism. Paragraph 3 sets out that the licensing procedures ‘shall be designed to ensure the necessary regulation of the airwaves and other forms of signal distribution’. The interpretation of the provision makes it possible to conclude that the licensing body is free to choose how to regulate the airwaves. Licensing is a form of regulation of airwaves and, as such, interferes with the right to freedom of expression, hence the need to ensure that it responds to only legitimate aims in a democracy like safeguarding pluralism in the media. Any licensing body, therefore, is obliged to promote and protect pluralism by ensuring a diversity of broadcasting organisations, of ownership of those organisations, and of viewpoints and languages represented in the programmes they carry.

While the draft provides for independence of state-owned media, it is prudent that it should ensure guarantees for the independence of all public media, as opposed to state-owned media. This is because public media more effectively serve the interests of the people and ought not to be under the direction of governments, but of independent boards of governors. Further, public media’s mission is not to be a mouthpiece of the government but to promote the public interest, including through politically impartial reporting. State-owned media, like our KBC (Kenya Broadcasting Corporation), are less likely to accomplish this mission because they are under the control of the government.

The Draft Constitution, just like the recently published media regulations, re-introduces statutory media self-regulation. This is an oxymoron of sorts. Self-regulation implies that journalists and publications take it upon themselves to regulate the media. In other words, self-regulation excludes interference from any state institution, including Parliament. The provision in Article 39, paragraph 4, goes beyond this standard by imposing an obligation on Parliament to regulate media self-regulation.

In sum, the constitutional regime proposed by the draft has two major shortfalls with regard to media freedom. Firstly, the draft does not contain a prohibition of prior censorship. Explicit prohibitions on censorship can be found in a number of national constitutions. The prohibition recognises that no person or media should have to ask the permission of a state body before publishing. This will also render nugatory the provisions in the recently published regulations that criminalise ‘unconfirmed reporting'. Secondly, it fails to protect the confidentiality of journalist sources. The right to protection of journalistic sources is well recognised in international law as an essential corollary of the right to freedom of expression. It protects journalists from arrests and prohibits their offices from being searched and their equipment seized for identification of their sources. The lack of adequate domestic protection for journalists’ sources is one of the major obstacles for freedom of the media. For that reason, I recommend that the draft follow the example of other countries, like Portugal and Macedonia, in explicitly providing for a right to the protection of journalistic sources.

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* Henry Maina is director of ARTICLE 19 Eastern Africa.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

From rights to commons

Jason Hickel

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/61629

cc D PlanetWhile the achievement of universal ontological rights in South Africa has been a marvellous step forward, writes Jason Hickel, the paradigm of a rights-based revolution is seriously and fundamentally flawed, and cannot serve the ends that South Africa intends it to. Cautioning that the state can grant people discursively constituted rights with one hand and strip them of the conditions for sustainable life with the other without ever having to confront the contradiction, Hickel says it’s time to reclaim the heritage of the commons.

‘But we can’t eat rights, hawu!’ Those five words of protest that usher from the lips of South Africa’s underclass sting like a slap in the face. Good liberals will always take offence. We find ourselves scrambling desperately to battle the mad claim that ‘things were better under apartheid.’ ‘But of what worth is a job,’ we retort, somewhat lamely, ‘within a society that defines you as ontologically subhuman?’

The impulse to defend South Africa’s political transformation kicks in like a reflex because we assume the critique to be reactionary, aligned with the propaganda of the old guard, a sure sign that minds remain colonised 15 years after liberation. But it’s not. It’s not a thoughtless dichotomisation of bread against freedom. Alongside the expression of profound disillusionment, this off-hand remark carries an insipient but radical critique of the ‘rights’ paradigm that furnished the parameters for the revolution.

It has become a leitmotif in South African political analysis to point out that something about the revolution went terribly, nightmarishly wrong. The people have seen the hopes they inscribed in the Freedom Charter cruelly dashed, have felt their families crushed by endemic joblessness and their aspirations thwarted by a failing education system, and all the while they have watched – bewildered – as glitzy malls rise like tides and the roads swell thick with luxury vehicles. It’s no wonder they want to spit out their rights with contempt like so many shards of glass. Fake jewels. A trick. That’s what betrayal feels like.

But how did this happen? How did it all come to this? The pundits are right to assert that the dawn of democracy left the basic class structures of colonialism and apartheid in place. They are correct to note that the negotiated transition, led by technocrats behind closed doors, left the banks, the mines, and the land – all the levers of true power – in the hands of private capital interests. Most of us accept the claim that initiatives like Black Economic Empowerment simply change the hue of the elite but fail to bridge the class inequalities that they pretend to redress.

By fetishising race as the object of revolutionary intervention, the state conveniently sidelines substantive questions of class. We know this. It’s all over the papers, part of the common parlance. Yet nothing changes. The reformers insist that the failures we sense are due merely to problems of implementation, that ‘rights’ are the solution to social inequality. South Africa has the most progressive constitution in the world, they remind us: It’s just a matter of realising the rights that all citizens have been assigned. If we can manage to beef up bureaucracy and expand service delivery, all will be well; the revolution lies therein.

If only it were so simple. In fact, it’s not a question of implementation at all; the pundits have it quite wrong on that point. The real issue is that the whole paradigm of a rights-based revolution is seriously and fundamentally flawed, and cannot serve the ends that South Africa intends it to. Human rights discourse acts as handmaiden to neoliberal economics because rights are – at base – registered in an individual-ontological domain rather than a collective-material one. The state can grant people discursively constituted rights with one hand and strip them of the conditions for sustainable life with the other, without ever having to confront the contradiction.

In this sense, ‘rights’ are a safe reformist option for a capitalist state with a progressive image to maintain. In South Africa, the elite class interests that underpinned apartheid were all too happy to grant this concession because it allowed them to keep their wealth intact; in fact, it allowed them greater latitude for exploitation. The same sleight of hand applies today, a masterful trick of legalese that shifts attention from economy to ontology, depoliticises protest by talking up service delivery, and quells discontent by casting a discursive veil of protection over the poor.

The trick consists in the conceptual slippage within the language of rights. There are two basic kinds of rights. Fundamental human rights – such as universal franchise and freedom from discrimination – recognise the ontological equality of all citizens. These rights are non-derogable and limitless in their application. For example, the state can grant everyone the right to speech because speech is not a limited resource. Socio-economic rights, however – such as rights to water, food, and housing – are only ‘progressively realisable,’ according to the constitution, and limited by the resources that the state has at its disposal. It is this latter specie with which I am concerned here. The trouble is that it registers in the individual-ontological domain, so that each individual ‘has’ equal rights to water in the same vague, transcendental sense that each individual ‘has’ equal rights to speech.

But the homology makes no sense. Speech and water are two completely different things. Each citizen can exercise the right to speech without impinging on the speech rights of all the others. This does not hold for water, however. If one citizen exercises rights over water in a certain area – if, say, he owns the land from which it springs – he might preclude others from exercising their own rights to water. The same goes for privatised food, housing, and healthcare. Liberty and equality thus exist in constant, irreconcilable tension.

The point is that the individual-ontological structure of ‘rights’ simply will not work for the socio-economic transformations that South Africa is trying to achieve. When it comes to things like water and jobs, we need a fundamental paradigm shift, a transition from the notion of ‘rights’ to the concept of ‘commons.’ Hints of this hide in the Freedom Charter. About natural resources it states, in paraphrase: ‘The national wealth of the country shall be restored to the people, and industry and trade shall be controlled to assist their wellbeing.’ Such words do not rely on the discourse of individual rights. Nor do they hail the spectre of command communism. Instead, they assert the simple point that none have the right to possess and accumulate that which society holds in common. Upholding this basic principle would not mean the abolition of private property or industry, but merely that certain public goods must be understood as commons, and that protections, profits, and benefits should accrue to people accordingly.

Let me be clear: The achievement of universal ontological rights in South Africa has been a marvellous step forward. But it’s time to extend our minds beyond this frontier, to reclaim the heritage of the commons. Rights and service delivery will not save South Africa from the social instability toward which it is rapidly plummeting. While the technocrats shout from the parapets of the union buildings ‘Let them eat rights!’ the people burn tires in the streets below, proclaiming through the flames that they will not be tricked, that history has not yet met its end.

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* Jason Hickel is a researcher at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and an instructor and doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology, University of Virginia.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

The rule of law even when it is inconvenient

Joseph Kaifala

2010-01-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/61615

cc F AFollowing the arrest of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian captured with an explosive device on a Northwest flight, Joseph Kaifala stresses that each and every individual accused of criminal activity must be treated according to the rule of law.

Many in Africa might be wondering why Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian who was captured with an explosive device in his underpants onboard the Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit, was not immediately tortured or killed by US security forces. This sort of speculation is in place, especially in Abdulmutallab’s own country where such unlawful torture or executions are not unusual. Take for instance the case of Muhammed Yusuf, the head of the Nigerian Islamic sect Boko Haram, who was captured alive and healthy, but later found suspiciously shot dead in police custody.

Yusuf, like Abdulmutallab onboard the Northwest flight, was no doubt a terrorist caught in the act. His extremist sect, Boko Haram, had publicly declared its intention of overthrowing the Nigerian government, banning all Western education and instituting sharia law. In July 2009, crowds of Boko Haram militants tried to storm government buildings and police headquarters in Bauchi state. The ensuing violence led to the death of an estimated 600 people. General public sentiment in Nigeria wanted Yusuf dead, just as much as ordinary Americans would not have quivered to see Abdulmutallab dead on scene.

However, one of the duties of any democratic government is to enforce the rule of law, and extrajudicial killing is a violation of our constitutional obligations and human rights. In his own country, Abdulmutallab’s head would have long been delivered on a platter, and even in America some are calling for such tit-for-tat justice, and if not at least that torture be perpetrated to obtain more information about the engineers of Abdulmutallab’s attempted bombing. President Obama’s administration has shown that adherence to the rule of law, especially the due process clause of the US constitution, must not be twisted as a matter of convenience as we saw in the previous US administration. Even those who blatantly hate us must be given their due before a dignified system of law and good governance.

Let it be known to all African governments that the law is there to protect both victims and perpetrators of violence. While it will be quite convenient to immediately execute those who attempt to murder us, it is definitely not in our interest to abandon fundamental principles and ideals at every minor test. Governments must avoid reverting to Moses’s law by ignoring our hard-achieved rule of law and the Geneva Convention. Those who hurt or attempt to hurt us must be legally punished through the proper provisions of law, even if such processes appear long and cumbersome.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab might not have died that day, but he would surely be reprimanded within the full measure of law as guaranteed by the American constitution. At the end of the day, justice would have been done and the American rule of law would have remained intact on the pedal stool upon which it belongs. The point I am making is that democracies should avoid stooping to the level of their enemies. We constantly witness extrajudicial justice in most African countries, which is why ordinary citizens find it difficult to obey laws that could easily be violated by their leaders willy-nilly. The laws must be there as instruments of equal protection for all against the tyranny of governments and the selfish interests of individuals. The Nigerian government should learn that it could have equally punished Yusuf within the provision of law and avoided the embarrassment of extrajudicial murder now circulating on YouTube.

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* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Angolan government was foolhardy to host tournament

Sonia Maria

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/61633

The actions of Cabindan separatists were predictable in the face of such a great opportunity to make a point. A football tournament in the same continent that is hosting the World Cup, not to mention the universality of the sport, and the fact that Africa produces many of the sport’s superstars. Needless to say, the world’s attention would be focused on Africa.

Until now, the separatist struggle of Cabinda has gone on unbeknownst to the Western world – nothing more than another ethnic conflict. Now, Angola has given them all the publicity they ever needed. Up to now, few had ever heard of Minga Rodrigues, much less the cause for which he has been fighting. Today, he is front-page news, speaking about his cause, getting the kind of publicity he has not had for thirty years.

The attitude of the Angolan government has been to try and kill two birds with one stone – keeping the Cabindans quiet, while emphasising its sovereignty to the rest of Africa. At the same time, it is trying to show the rest of the world that all is well and that it is in control. The net result of this has been the loss of innocent lives in a country still fragile after thirty years of civil war.

I hope that Angola and other governments of the continent will change their attitudes, and realise that it is time to end the dictatorship, the corruption and the suffering. That the continent known as the Cradle of Mankind, and strong in its diversity, can fulfil its role and save Humanity.

We are no longer at ease

An open letter from Nigerian writers

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/letters/61632

Today, Nigeria stands on a precipice. Behind us is a history that can push us, irrevocably, over the brink. Yet, we are writers. If we bring anything collectively to society, it must be the imagination and the inspiration to bridge impossible gulfs. Today, we must plumb our history, not to evoke despair, but to inspire resolve. Today, we call on Nigerians to hold hands across the trenches of our deep divisions and, somehow, find the resolution to dream again. Let us, as ordinary Nigerians, reject the ethnic fictions that local despots have used to colonise this country over the past five decades.

Let us dream a simple dream made fantastic by our present circumstances. Let us dream of a Nigeria that works, that evokes pride, and that inspires faith. Let us dream of a Nigeria of servant-leaders and sacrificial statesmen, a Nigeria which calls the best characteristics out of ordinary men and women. Let us call on that capacity for renewal to bring opportunity out of this crisis.

Let us recreate the excitement – and the possibilities – with which we approached the Independence Day of 1960. In 50 years, the resources and destiny of this great country have been hijacked by private carpetbaggers and adventurers. Let us take back the sanctity of our polls. Let us rejuvenate the recall process. Let us police our resources, our leadership. We must liberate Nigeria anew. Today, we must take back our country.

As writers, the past and the future are fertile fields for the work of our imagination. Today, in this love-letter to our nation, we call on all Nigerians to take authorship of our nation's next 50 years. Our destiny is in our own hands. Shall we write into it a bigger civil war? Another half-century of mediocrity and international disgrace? Then we need do nothing.

But if we, the people of Nigeria, must write an inspirational epic of a humbled nation on her knees, who, breaking free of bondage, soars into the keep of eagles, we must begin by demanding only the best of our leaders. In the days and months to come, we the people must find our voice, our votes, and our true values. And we must make them count.

Thank you.

Chuma Nwokolo, Abdul Mahmud, Afam Akeh, Helon Habila, Paul Onovoh, Chika Unigwe, Jude Dibia, Okey Ndibe, Chilo Zona Eze, EC Osondu, Tade Ipadeola, Unoma Azuah, Shola Adenekan, Amatoritsero Ede, Lola Shoneyin, Uzor Maxim Uzoatu, Ikhide Ikheloa, Uche Peter Umez, Nnorom Azuonye, Richard Mammah, Chike Ofili, Obiwu, Uche Nduka, Ogaga Ifowodo, Richard Ugbede Ali, Maik Nwosu, Akin Adesokan, Obi Nwakanma, Kachi A. Ozumba, Odili Ujubuonu, Emman Shehu, Ibrahim Sheme, Tanure Ojaide, Emmanuel Iduma, Sylva Nze Ifedigbo, Sarah Manyika, Ogo Ogbata, Kola Tubosun, Damilola Ajayi, Tolu Ogunlesi, Toyin Adewale-Gabriel.

Achebe: A true master of the word

Review of Chinua Achebe’s ‘The Education of a British-Protected Child’

Peter Wuteh Vakunta

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/61630

Achebe’s latest publication, ’The Education of a British-Protected Child’, is a compendium of seventeen skilfully written non-fictional pieces in which he walks his readers down memory lane. In the title story (p3-24), he writes: 'In 1957, three years after my failed Cambridge application, I had my first opportunity to travel out of Nigeria to study briefly at the BBC Staff School in London. For the first time I needed and obtained a passport, and saw myself defined therein as a ‘British Protected Person.'(p4) Achebe paints a vivid picture of himself, an African child growing up in Nigeria under British rule, and having to straddle both worlds. Ill at ease with his ambivalence he adumbrates his aversion for colonialism and attendant ills in these terms: ‘…I will state simply my fundamental objection to colonial rule. In my view, it is a gross crime for anyone to impose himself on another, to seize his land and his history, and then to compound this by making out that the victim is some kind of ward or minor requiring protection. It is too disingenuous.’(p7)

Achebe’s book is an acerbic lampoon on the propagation of colonial stereotypes via the medium of literature in a bid to justify the subjugation of Africans. He singles out Joseph Conrad’s ’Heart of Darkness’ as an epitome of such disingenuous works of literature stepped in racial undertones and bigotry. He observes that Conrad, the Polish-born French-speaking English sea captain and novelist recorded in his memoir his first experience of seeing a black man in these remarkable words: ‘A certain enormous buck nigger encountered in Haiti fixed my conception of blind, furious, unreasoning rage, as manifested in the human animal to the end of my days. Of the nigger I used to dream for years afterwards.’(p158) Achebe describes this sort of literature as ‘poisonous writing, in full consonance with the tenets of the slave trade-inspired tradition of European portrayal of Africa.’(p87-88)

‘The Education of a British-Protected Child’ is captivating in several respects but the quality that grips the reader’s attention is the writer’s continual recourse to the literary device of intertextuality. He often resorts to cross-references in a bid to prove salient points as this example indicates: ‘My first attention was first drawn to these observations of Conrad’s in a scholarly work, not very widely known, by Johah Raskin. Its title was The Mythology of Imperialism.’(159) In a similar vein, he refers to the ‘vast quantity of offensive and trashy writing about Africa in Victorian England (p62) and alludes to the works of Joyce Cary, Graham Greene, and John Buchan (p63). Taking umbrage at Buchan’s book, Prester John, Achebe notes that ‘what he says about natives in his novels takes on… an additional political significance.’(p63)

In ‘My Dad and Me’ (p35-38), Achebe lays bare the hollowness of the self-styled civilising mission to Africa: ‘Does it matter, I ask myself, that centuries before these European Christians sailed down to us in ships to deliver the Gospel and save us from darkness, their ancestors, also sailing in ships, had delivered our forefathers to the horrendous transatlantic slave trade and unleashed darkness in our world?’(p38) Achebe paints the colonialists and evangelists with the same brush. He depicts the transatlantic slave trade as ‘mankind’s greatest crime against humanity…’ (p56) His book embodies some bitter-sweet stories. He strives to provide intriguing answers to perplexing questions, the thorniest of which is the one he christens the ‘Negro problem’ (p60) or the ‘conundrum of African-Americans’ (p60). Achebe posits that the African-American conundrum is a two-headed monster that could be described as follows: ‘One: Africans sold us to Europeans for cheap trinkets. Two: Africans have made nothing of which we can be proud.’(p60)

These understatements are allusions to Africans’ complicity in the transatlantic slave trade. Above all, it broaches the question of underachievement in Africa. Achebe depicts the African-American Dilemma as a ‘scenario in which the victim is blamed for the crime…’ (p134) He resorts to the story of ‘Dom Afonso of Bukongo’ to make the point that Africans did not wilfully engage in slave trade: ‘…the Portuguese missionaries abandoned their preaching and became slave raiders. Dom Afonso in bewilderment wrote a letter in 1526 to King John III of Portugal complaining about the behaviour of Portuguese nationals in the Congo. The letter went unanswered.’ (p64) Achebe offers no foolproof solutions to this irksome African-American imbroglio. Rather, he cautions Africans against the temptation to give outsiders the leeway to tell the story of Africans: ‘The telling of the story of black people in our time, and for a considerable period before, has been the self-appointed responsibility of white people, and they have mostly done it to suit a white purpose, naturally…So much psychological, political and, economic interest is vested in the negative image.’(p61)

In ‘Spelling Our Proper Name’(p54-67), Achebe takes the West to task for the spoliation of Africa, particularly the theft of Africa’s artistic wealth: ‘Two hundred and fifty years later, before the British sacked the … city of Benin, they first described it as the ‘City of Blood’, whose barbarism so revolted their civilised conscience that they simply had to dispatch a huge army to overwhelm it, banish its king, and loot its royal art gallery for the benefit of the British Museum and numerous private collections.’(p62) So much for the civilising mission! Suffice it to say that the denigration of Africa, its people and value systems, to Achebe’s mind, amounts to a Western contraption designed to divest Africans of their valued treasures. He unveils the veneer that conceals Western hypocrisy in a story titled ‘Teaching Things Fall Apart’, a eulogy not only of African sagacity but also of the communal spirit characteristic of the African personality. He sheds ample light on the ‘Bantu dictum on humanity’s indivisibility: Umuntu ngumuntu nqa-bantu’ (p136), which could be translated as ‘A human is human because of other humans.’(136) Regarding the wisdom of Africans in conflict resolution, he has this to say about his own people: ‘When the Igbo encounter human conflict, their first impulse is not to determine who is right but quickly to restore harmony. In my hometown, Ogidi, we have a saying, “Ikpe Ogidi adi-ama ofu onye: The judgment of Ogidi does not go against one side”.’(p6)

In ‘Africa is People’ (p155-166), Achebe reveals painful truths about attempts made by Westerners to dehumanise Africans. He notes that in the course of his peregrinations around the world, he has learned eye-opening lessons, one of which is the fact that the simplest things can still give us a lot of trouble, even the brightest among us. This is particularly so in matters concerning Africa. For example, he observes that ‘One of the greatest men of the twentieth century, Albert Schweitzer – philosopher, theologian, musician, medical missionary – failed to completely see the most obvious truth about Africa and so went ahead to say: “The African is indeed my brother, but my junior brother.”’(p158) Achebe wonders why to date nobody has taken Dr Schweitzer up on that blasphemy.

In contradistinction, he heaps encomium on the best architects of Africa’s independence. ‘The Sweet Aroma of Zik’s Kitchen’ (p25-34) is the portrait of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, popularly known as Zik – as a fine educationist, politician and genuine Pan-Africanist. On Zik’s popularity, Achebe has the following remarks: ‘To say that Azikiwe’s name was a household word in my part of Nigeria during the first decade of my life would be true but insufficient… Azikiwe turned his light loose among the people and transformed Nigeria overnight.’(p28-29) Zik’s contribution to the decolonisation struggle in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general cannot simply be glossed over. Achebe notes that ‘Azikiwe’s contribution to Africa’s liberation politics was enormous.’(p33) In ‘Africa’s Tarnished Name’(p77-95) Achebe writes in praise of Africa’s most accomplished statesman and man of letters, Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal, who wrote a poem ‘Prayer to Masks’ in celebration of the problematic proximity between Africa and Europe.

All in all, the publication of this new book after protracted silence from a man acclaimed, rightly or wrongly, as the father of African literature should be a welcome relief to those who might have been wondering what became of their idol. True to himself, Achebe has once again proven to be a true master of the word.

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* Chinua Achebe’s The Education of a British-Protected Child is published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2009 (ISBN 0307272559).
* Peter Wuteh Vakunta is visiting assistant professor in the Department of African Languages and Literature, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Review of Jeremy Keenan's 'The Dark Sahara: America's War on Terror in Africa'

Dennis Sammut

2010-01-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/books/61617

Jeremy Keenan's love for the Sahara and for the Tuareg tribes that roam it is well known, and there is no escape from this in his book 'The Dark Sahara' as he tells of the pain inflicted on the region and its people as a result of the civil strife in Algeria over the last two decades, and particularly since the events of 9/11 brought the region to the attention of those chasing al Qaeda and its allies.

Keenan sets on a task to expose various shady activities of the Algerian military and security services as they sought to avail themselves of the United States's new interest in the region after 9/11. The Algerians were desperate to secure American backing in their fight against the insurgency that gripped the country after the Islamic parties had their election victories stolen away from them in 1991. In doing so Keenan has tried to connect three very distinct processes that have by fate come together in the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert: the global war on terror' (or GWOT), Algeria's painful civil war and post-colonial convulsions, and the aspirations of the Tuareg people for a better deal from the post-colonial states that now rule over them from distant and largely insensitive capitals.

Whatever one's views of the many conspiracy theories that have followed 9/11, nobody questions that in their pursuit of al Qaeda and its associates the Bush administration made alliances and cut deals with some of the most unpleasant regimes in the world – regimes with atrocious human rights records. From Tashkent to Sana'a, from Cairo to Islamabad, all other considerations were put aside in favour of the larger objective of winning the 'War on Terror'. Many fledgling democratic experiments – in the Middle East, Africa, the Caucasus and beyond – that emerged at the end of the Cold War were suddenly made a scapegoat of the new priorities. When in the fullness of time history takes stock of the costs of 9/11, it will find that apart from those who died from that heinous plot, many others in faraway places paid the price of the consequences that followed.

In 'The Dark Sahara' Keenan argues that the Tuareg people of the Sahara, and the Algerian people in general, were such victims who paid the price for 9/11 as the Algerian military–security apparatus persuaded the Bush administration that it was engaged in a war with al Qaeda and its allies in North Africa and that the Sahara was one area where al Qaeda terrorists were finding safe haven. Keenan accuses the Bush administration of creating a simplistic and misinformed reading of the situation in the Sahel, which he dubs 'the banana theory of terrorism'. This envisaged hordes of al Qaeda operatives moving from Afghanistan and Pakistan, through Somalia and the Sahel region to link up with Islamic militants in the Maghreb.

Keenan says that the 'events of 9/11 provided a heaven-sent opportunity for Algeria'. Its government, and those of other states in the region, rushed to join the GWOT. Keenan argues this was '… not simply because the regimes of the region were doing America's bidding. It was more complex and nastier than that; their alliance with the US in the GWOT has encouraged and enabled all of them, without exception – Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Mauritania, Mali Niger and Chad – to strengthen their repressive apparatus and to manipulate and use GWOT for their own benefits and purposes. This has been done in two distinct but related ways. Firstly the GWOT has provided them with the pretext to crack down on almost all forms of opposition, especially minority groups, and almost any expression of civil society democratisation. Secondly it has provided them with what I call 'terrorism rents'. These comprise the military and other aid and largesse that these regimes receive from the US for allying themselves to the US in fighting the "war on terror". However with no terrorism (except state terrorism) in many parts of the region, notably in the Sahara-Sahel, before the launch of the GWOT, it has had to be contrived.'

In 'The Dark Sahara' Keenan argues that the Algerian government went even further by creating incidents, including the kidnapping of European tourists, aimed at proving the existence of a terrorist threat in the Sahel.

On their own Keenan's claims do not always add up. In the murky world of intelligence services and counter-terrorism operations, and in a region of the world were criminality, smuggling, religious fervour and a general lack of transparency is the order of the day, Keenan tries to give black-and-white answers to questions than a sceptical reader would feel have been left largely unanswered.

However, Keenan tells his story in parallel with that of atrocities said to have been perpetrated by the Algerian state as part of its 'dirty war', aimed at discrediting the Islamist insurgency and cutting popular support from under its feet. This story has been much better documented. Keenan himself refers to Habib Souaidia's book 'La Sale Guerre', published in 2001. Keenan says that 'once in a while there is a book that turns history' and that Souaidia's book 'is one of them, not just because of what it revealed about the role of Algeria's military regime in that war, but because of its subsequent passage through the French courts which gave Algeria's people a reaffirmation of the truth…'

Keenan claims that the Algerian state and the Bush administration conspired to create a narrative – at the expense of the Tuareg people of the Sahara – that would allow the US to support the Algerian government politically, economically and militarily, in return for which Algeria opened its energy industry to American interests.

For many the Sahara is part of the last frontier, a region of the world largely unspoiled by the ugly hand of 20th century progress. Sustainable tourism in 2001 and 2002 had started to provide the region and its people with a livelihood, returning some of the prosperity seen at the time of the caravan routes of earlier centuries. The incidents with the kidnapping of tourists, and claims of terrorists running amok in the region put a brake to this process. It also gave a justification for the central government in Algiers, and in other Sahel states, to use strong-hand tactics in dealing with any claims for political rights for the Tuareg people. Keenan talks of the impact of the GWOT on the peoples of the Sahara: 'I was able to see the immense damage that the deception of its GWOT was causing to the livelihoods and well being of the peoples of much of this part of the Sahara-Sahel (and beyond), and that it was only a matter of time before it would encounter blowback…' In fact it is this warning that the 'War on Terror' in the Sahel may be turning into a self-fulfilling prophecy that should cause those dealing with the region to take Keenan's book seriously.

How this came to be is however a matter for discussion. Keenan accuses the United States of conniving with Algeria, saying that 'there is no doubt that the Algerian and US military intelligence services have been complicit in exaggerating and fabricating the evidence used to launch the Saharan front in the GWOT'. While the book does provide some evidence of this, it leaves many questions only partly answered.

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* Jeremy Keenan's 'The Dark Sahara: America's War on Terror in Africa' is available from Pluto Press (ISBN: 9780745324524, 2009).
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Tunis conference puts Sino-Africa trade ties under microscope

2010-01-21

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/africa_china/61628

The fast rising Sino-Africa ties are expected to face a major test in March when Tunis plays host to a rare meeting to scrutinise China’s engagement with the continent.

The Sino-Africa trade and investment pacts have grown significantly over the last 10 years driven by a quest by China to find resources to support its vibrant economic and industrial growth. Africa has proven a perfect match for China because consumers on the poor continent prefer the cheap goods and equipment from the Asian economic tiger.

2008 statistics showed that total trade between the two blocs was valued at $106.8 billion, up 45.1 per cent in 2007. According to Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, China invested $875 million in Africa in the first nine months of 2009, marking a 77.5 per cent year- on-year growth. China in November 2009, further pledged $10 billion in fresh low-cost loans to Africa over the next three years during the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation(FOCAC) in Egypt.

A new report by Standard Bank economists said while trade volumes inevitably suffered in the first half of 2009, Chinese enterprises still managed to sign $22.45 billion of new labour service contracts in Africa, climbing by 25 per cent year- on- year, and completed $11.53 billion of business volume, representing a 61.1 per cent year- on- year growth.

But despite this firm run in the trade and investment front, the ties have not been spared criticism with some analysts saying that the expansion of China’s trade and investment interests in Africa presented ‘a mixed-grill’ kind of scenario in that on one side it poses challenges for some countries while on the other opened additional development opportunities. A two-day forum under the auspices of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and funded by the UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) is expected to present a candid reflection of the Sino-Africa ties, extending beyond the past trade and investment deals to focusing on future economic and political governance. The forum is scheduled for March 24-26.

A brief by the forum organisers said although China’s involvement in Africa has generally been perceived as handy in helping provide new opportunities for investment, trade and market access, it has also been seen in some quarters as one solely driven by an urge to secure resources and commodities for the expansion of its manufacturing sector.

‘Moreover, the increased commercial activities of Chinese companies have led to a wide range of effects such as labour migration and have triggered a broad debate on the governance framework and the international aid architecture. Also, China’s demand for primary products has been combined with a commercial policy that discourages the import of manufacturing products,’ the organisers stated.

While Sub-Saharan African (SSA) exports of fuels and minerals have increased dramatically in the last decade, they observed, exports of manufacturing products have not been able to keep pace and have only experienced a slight increase.

‘The academic literature on China-Africa is often dominated by aggregate analysis, which is constrained by limited data. While traditional China-Africa research highlighted past trade and investment relations, this seminar will focus on the future China-Africa prospective and emerging challenges,’ the organisers further said.

A preview of the seminar’s agenda showed that analysts would train their focus on China’s impact on international aid architecture, African integration, growth of Chinese Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Africa, labour relations in Chinese owned companies in Africa, Chinese investment in Africa’s agriculture and infrastructure sectors, China’s impact on governance and political economy and Chinese investment in Africa’s banking sector.

The organisers also stated discussions would also focus on the ‘consequences of China’s investment and trade strategies in Africa for development policy, especially with regard to economic diversification and technological upgrading and sophistication of exports and challenges to Africa’s competitiveness under a Chinese-dominated global market for labour-intensive manufacturing.’

SIMMERING RIVALRY

Structural imbalance of trade between the two blocs has been floated repeatedly as a hitch to the Sino-Africa ties with statistics showing that as at 2008 Africa ran on an overall trade surplus with China estimated at about $10 billion.

This is due almost entirely to the natural resource exports from countries such as Angola, Republic of Congo, Zambia and Sudan, which provide nourishment for China’s own domestic economic transformation. Beyond these major resource exporters to China, 32 African countries run sizeable trade deficits with China owing to the volume of goods, largely low-cost consumer products, flowing into Africa from China’s coastal factories.

Some analysts however pointed out that the objectives of the Tunis talks and the role of the UK’s DfID in the talks was a reflection of the simmering rivalry between the East and West over alliances with Africa even though the seminar organisers are quick to deflect such fears. ‘The seminar is aimed at generating policy-oriented research on the impact of the rising strategic and economic role of China on Africa’s development prospects and its economic and political governance,’ the organisers said.

Once dominant western countries have lost grip on Africa with most lucrative contract deals and other trade and investment ventures going to China and other nations from the eastern bloc perceived to be more friendly and receptive.

‘The UK’s involvement in the seminar to appraise China’s involvement only helps to point at western nations trying to make a come back. That may not be the case as per the seminar but that is the message likely to go out there,’ an official at the Foreign Affairs ministry in Nairobi told Business Daily.

A recent study whose findings were published by the John Hopkins University, confirmed the renewed rivalry between China and the West over alliances with Africa but termed them misplaced, citing the huge difference in interests held by both sides. The Paper was titled; ‘China in Africa: European Responses and Challenges to the Chinese Challenge.’

‘The Chinese factor has renewed European interest in Africa. But it is far from obvious that Europeans have a clear sense about their interests and objectives in Africa and how relations between the two regions should look in future,’ said Mr Denis Tull who authored the report. ‘The unexpected Chinese-Africa alliance unveils a blind spot of the West’s relation with Africa. The West has always tended to make Africa only the subject of its own aspirations, initially its economic ones, later also its political ones.’

He added: ‘China by contrast takes the continent seriously to the extent it involves Africa in exchanges determined by interest. In the long run, Europe will probably follow the Chinese in building relations with Africa based on interest.’

Away from the trade and investment ties, though China has been lauded for its cheap and unconditional loans unlike the western countries leading super powers such as the US and the UK have criticised its leadership for being insensitive to governance issues.

The Darfur crisis on the Sudan/Chad border has often been cited as an attestation of China’s warped side of pushing for trade and investment ties even in instances when the beneficiaries were suspected of engaging in atrocities like in the case of the Khartoum government that is accused of fanning killings in Darfur. China has extensive oil interests in South Sudan but has been dealing with the President Omar al-Bashir who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over alleged war crimes in Darfur. The south is expected to vote to secede from the Arab-led north in a referendum next year. China has also been accused of engagement with a host of other African nations that pay little regard to the rule of law and the fight against corruption.

Only three weeks ago, US President Barack Obama barred Guinea, Madagascar and Niger from enjoying trade and investment opportunities for 2010 under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) citing concerns over governance.

‘Each of these countries has experienced an undemocratic transfer of power, which is incompatible with making progress toward establishing the rule of law or political pluralism,’ the White House said underlining the radical conditions that the US and other Western nations continued to attach to such partnerships.

‘These circumstances also make it extremely difficult to achieve the progress necessary to satisfy the other Agoa eligibility criteria,’
Records of Agoa decisions that US Presidents have made since 2000 show an emphasis on the rule of law and political pluralism, protection of human rights and workers’ rights and the fight against corruption.

Similar benchmarks were applicable last year when the decision was made to lock out eight countries including Zimbabwe, Somalia, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire, Equitorial Guinea, Eritrea, Mauritania and the Central African Republic, from the Agoa initiative in 2009.

MUTUAL RESPECT

‘If the President determines that a beneficiary sub-Saharan country is not making continual progress in meeting the eligibility requirements, he must terminate the designation of that country as a beneficiary,’ the Agoa Act states. Most Western nations agitate for such measures to be applied in all co-operation ties across the globe by supporting countries including China that is perceived to provide a lee-way for impunity through loose ties.

Chinese ambassador to Kenya, Mr Deng Hongbo, however, defended his country against the allegations of selective interest towards trade and investment while ignoring governance issues. ‘We strongly believe that every country we deal with always has a capacity to self develop. We believe in the basic principle of mutual respect to sovereignty, and mutual respect is two way,’ he told a news briefing in Nairobi on the eve of Christmas last year.

But even as the envoy defended his country, an analysis of recent deals showed that the China-Africa trade flows are gradually being dominated by private investors as the Asian nation ostensibly seeks to ‘polish its image.’

‘What elevates the relevance of these recent deals is their largely private nature. The Chinese government is increasingly keen on removing itself from the deal flow in Africa. There remains a common assumption throughout Africa that all Chinese deals are state-led and orchestrated,’ Standard Bank said in a report. The bank cites an instance in which the Chinese government was quick to distance itself from the rumoured $7 billion resource deal between Guinea’s military government and China International Fund.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

*This article first appeared in Business Daily Africa
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Pambazuka News 130: Que Haïti redevienne Haïti!

2010-01-20

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/summaryfr/61611

Pambazuka News 26: Repensando a 'ajuda' aos estados africanos e ao Haiti

2010-01-19

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/summarypt/61610

US may end block on Zimbabwe at the IMF

2010-01-22

http://zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=6350&cat=1

The US embassy in Zimbabwe has confirmed a report in the state-run Herald newspaper that the US would not oppose the restoration of Zimbabwe's voting rights in the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Zimbabwe suspends constitution talks

2010-01-22

http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/-/1066/847112/-/124c5h2z/-/index.html

Zimbabwe has suspended its constitution making process following sharp differences within President Robert Mugabe’s unity government over a consultation process that is already behind schedule by several months.

2010 Prize for women's creativity in rural life

WWWSF

2010-01-22

http://www.woman.ch/june09/women/1-introduction.php#5

WWSF invites nominations for its 2010 Prize for women's creativity in rural life. The aim of the prize is to draw international attention to women's contributions to sustainable development, household food security and peace, as well gain recognition and support for their community work.

Ghana: Quietly extending options to women

2010-01-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=50039

Non-medical abortions are frequent in Ghana, where abortion is illegal. Yet, as more people witness the suffering and deaths of women who've attempted unsafe abortions, more international organisations are trying to provide birth control, or to exploit legal loopholes to carry out abortions.

Global: Campbell Fellowship for women scholar-practitioners from developing nations

2010-01-22

http://sarweb.org/index.php?resident_scholar_campbell_fellowship

One six-month fellowship is available for a female social scientist from a developing nation, either pre- or post-doctoral, whose work addresses women’s economic and social empowerment in that nation. The goal of the program is twofold: to advance the scholarly careers of women social scientists from the developing world, and to support research that identifies causes of gender inequity in the developing world and that proposes practical solutions for promoting women’s economic and social empowerment.

Global: Feminist practice of technology

2010-01-22

http://www.wougnet.org/cms/content/view/471/1/

Feminist Practice of Technology is a growing idea that gives perspectives on technology. It poses questions and defines issues relating to technology from feminist perspectives, taking into account various women's realities, women's relationships with technologies, women's participation in technology development and policy-making, power dynamics in technologies and feminist analysis of the social effects of technologies.

Mauritania: Muslim imams initiate rare ban on female circumcision

2010-01-22

http://www.alertnet.org/db/an_art/58388/2010/00/21-170431-1.htm

Human rights campaigners who have been struggling for years to eliminate female genital mutilation (FGM) in West Africa got a boost this week as news emerged that a group of Muslim clerics and scholars in Mauritania had declared a fatwa, or religious decree, against the practice.

Uganda: Strengthening the use of ICTs to combat VAW

WOUGNET Discusses a national strategy

2010-01-22

http://www.wougnet.org/cms/content/view/424/69/

In collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communication Women’s Network Support Programme (APC WNSP), Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) organized a national strategy workshop on 22nd and 23rd September 2009 at NobView Hotel, Ntinda. The main objective of the workshop was to enable key stakeholders in the area of VAW and ICT to explore and understand the connections between violence against women and ICT.

Zambia: Scarcely room for women in male-dominated politics

2010-01-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=50047

Charity Mwansa, a former minister and member of parliament, knows just exactly what being one of the very few female politicians in Zambia means. When she left politics it had nothing to with not being able to do the work and instead had everything to do with the mad world of male-dominated politics.

Africa: ICTR: Rwanda Tribunal creates rich legal precedent

2010-01-22

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/01/15/ictr-tribunal-creates-rich-body-legal-precedent

The important judicial decisions of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) have enriched the law on genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said as it released a comprehensive digest with the judgments of the tribunal presented by topic.

Global: Abusers step up attacks on rights defenders -Human Rights Watch

2010-01-22

http://www.ifex.org/international/2010/01/21/world_report/

Governments responsible for serious human rights violations have over the past year intensified attacks against human rights defenders and organizations that document abuse, Human Rights Watch has said in issuing its World Report 2010.

Global: Developing better transitional justice initiatives in divided societies

New ICTJ Report

2010-01-22

http://www.ictj.org/static/Publications/Identity_Arthur_DividedSocieties_Nov09.pdf

ICTJ is pleased to announce the publication of a new policy report, Identities in Transition: Challenges for Transitional Justice in Divided Societies (attached). This report is the fruit of a multi-year, global research project on the ways that identity shapes transitional justice efforts.

Kenya: Deportation protest leads to widespread arrests

2010-01-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=50038

Organisers of a protest march against the expulsion of Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdullah El Faisal say Kenyan police have arrested up to 400 people and are interrogating them to prove their nationality and try to uncover links to terrorism.

Rwanda: Genocide suspect arrested in France

2010-01-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8471667.stm

A Rwandan doctor wanted on charges of genocide and war crimes has been arrested in France, police say. Sosthene Munyemana, 45, who had been working in a hospital in Bordeaux for eight years, denies the charges.

Swaziland: Launch of vigil

2010-01-22

http://zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=6352&cat=2

Exiled Swazis and supporters are to hold a weekly Vigil outside the Swaziland High Commission in London in protest at human rights abuses in that country.

Africa: Eritrea, Libya conspiring to deport refugees, group says

2010-01-22

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article33838

An Exiled Eritrean rights group, Solidarity Association for Justice and Democracy in Eritrea said that Libyan authorities along with representative of the Eritrean government in Tripoli are conspiring to deport hundreds of Eritrean refugees who are Currently languishing in Libyan prisons.

DRC: Concern for refugees rises as river runs low

2010-01-22

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87801

John Kanilamba sits under the porch of a half-finished house on the outskirts of Dongou - his home, despite its lack of doors and windows - since early November. His four children play idly at his feet, all refugees from inter-communal clashes in Equateur province in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Nigeria: Thousands displaced in Jos riots

2010-01-22

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/6a0530dc804bd414a444583c24c8b2de.htm

Several thousand residents of Jos, in central Nigeria, are displaced after their homes burned in deadly sectarian clashes, according to residents and the local Red Cross. Local authorities have not confirmed the death toll from the 17 January violence but reports put the number at 26, with 300 people injured.

West Africa: Refugees in Cameroon: An overview

Justice Mukete Tahle Itoe

2010-01-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/refugees/61638

This article attempts to highlight the plight of refugees, asylum seekers, and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) in the Cameroon and to showcase the state of available protection mechanism at their disposal within existing legislation and in the light of international law. It ends with a strong recommendation for the better protection of refugees.
Country Information

Cameroon is a relatively stable country situated along the Atlantic Coast between West and Central Africa. It has a population of about 18 million inhabitants. The country borders Gabon, Nigeria, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa Republic (CAR) and Congo Brazzaville.

Cameroon is referred to as ‘Africa in Miniature’, as the country has desert vegetation up North, the forest in the South and Savannah vegetation in the West. It has rich deposits of mineral resources and produces cocoa, timber, coffee, cotton and other export earning crops, yet with a GDP per capita income estimated at $1,140.

The Refugee Population

The deterioration of the security situation in neighboring Central Africa Republic (CAR) and the war in Chad are the immediate and constant push factors for refugees to enter Cameroon.

As of 31 December, 2009, the exact number of refugees in Cameroon is unknown. The population is a fluid one. However, according to a census carried out by the UN Refugee Agency between January and March 2008, Cameroon hosted a total of 97,400 refugees and asylum seekers within the last quarter of 2007 and early 2008.

Some other sources say the estimates may be 10 times as much. These include 49,300 from the Central Africa Republic (CAR), 41,600 from Chad and several thousand more from Nigeria, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia and other countries. Most of them live in the urban centres of Douala, Kousseri, Yaounde, Garoua, Ngaoundere, and Bertoua.

The majority of these refugees are still seeking asylum on prolonged exile from their war torn countries and are living a precarious life in the cities. And of course, the worst affected are women who are victims of sexual abuse and neglect with no clear rules about their access to basic social services or protection in the Camerouns.

National Refugee law

In 2005, Cameroon adopted a national law relating to the status of Refugees (Law No. 2005/006 of the 27th of July 2005). It is not however fully implemented. For instance, it is the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Yaounde that hears claims and makes decisions on refugee’s status. Asylum seekers register through the same UNHCR officer in Yaounde. Applicants receive appointment slips for eligibility interviews and wait up to five months for such interviews. The law permits denied applicants to appeal within 30 days of notification but does not allow ordinary Courts to review decisions. Applicants submit their appeals to a UNHCR Officer and hearings are scheduled by the same UNHCR Office within three months. No known case a refugees receiving legal representation by a lawyer has been documented. In short, there is no legal aid for refugees in the Cameroon.

International Law

Cameroon is a Signatory or Party to the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees, without reservation, its 1967 Protocol, and the 1969 Convention Governing the specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.

The 2005 law (supra) applies the refuges definitions of both Conventions and prohibits ‘refoulement’ of refugees, and asylum seekers for reasons other than national security and public order, pursuant to a lawful order, and with 72 hour notice to the UNHCR.

Access to Justice

Cameroon does not punish asylum seekers for illegal entry, provided they report to local authorities immediately upon arrival from a country of threat. However, the 2005 Refugee law permits 24 hours of detention, renewable twice. UNHCR monitors the detention of refugees, and asylum seekers can challenge their detention before the ordinary Courts, but they have to hire a lawyer at their own expense.

In the year 2007, the government of Cameroon published a Decree authorizing the UNHCR to issue refugee identification cards, replacing the hitherto refugee certificates. Asylum seekers also benefit from certificates; these are issued six days after registration.

Freedom of Movement

Generally, there are no permanent refugee camps in Cameroon. Make shift camps do exist such as in Maltam, from the Madana transit site, 32kms from Kousseri and Cetic in the Northern part near Chad. There also exists a temporary settlement area, at Gbabio in the Eastern Region. The UNHCR has just opened a Regional Office in Bertoua, Capital of the Eastern Region.

Registered refugees and asylum seekers with identification documents are free to travel throughout the country and settle where they like. However, government requires asylum seekers to notify immigration authorities of any change of address.

Some NGOs are permitted by government to assist refugees in choosing their place of residence and to protect their right to move around freely.

Livelihood

Prima faciè refugees including those seeking asylum cannot work legally. However, the 2005 law grants registered refugees the right to work, to own and transfer property and to practice professions on par with nationals. One limitation however is that, no foreigner can work in the national civil service or state enterprise (e.g. parastatal). They have an equal rights and access to health care as nationals. They receive the same protection in labour, security and safety regulations.

Right to Education

The 2005 law grants refugees education and access to public health systems on par with nationals. Medical care is available for a fee to both refugees and nationals. Refugee students are eligible to receive educational funding provided by the government or civil society organizations. UNHCR offers scholarships covering tuition, fees and part of the cost of school supplies for urban refugees enrolled in the same primary schools as nationals.

Main Stake holders

In Cameroon, very few NGOs exist that cater for the rights of refugees. Many persons are ignorant about the rights and plight of refugees. They think it is a totally government affair. These include the National Human Rights League of Cameroon, the Women Poverty Eradication Centre (WOPEC), the Association of Refugees without Borders and the Refugees Welfare Association.

Amongst the international NGOs are the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), Care International, Caritas, Reseau Ouest et Centre Africain de Recherche en Education (ROCARE), Reseau Famille et scolarisation en Afrique (FASAF) and ReliefWeb. Most of the work is done by the UNHCR and other inter-governmental agencies like the FAO, WHO, UNICEF, WFP, UNFPA, the ICRC, the Inter-government Committee for Refugees (ICR) and of course, the government of Cameroon. Other organizations or structures may exist unknown to this author.

Recommendations

1. There is the need to train a team of volunteer lawyers in refugees laws;
2. National NGOs and trained lawyers must sign up to the 2007 Nairobi code;
3. Cameroon government should abide by the 1951 and 1969 Conventions, inter alia, to allow the local Courts adjudicate on cases for refugee status determination and appeals;
4. Legal Aid should be extended to refugees seeking asylum especially those detained by local authorities upon arrival;
5. NGOs should be authorized to represent refugees in litigation before the counts;
6. The SRLA Network should as a matter of urgency extend her services to Cameroon for the benefit of the thousands of refugees; and
7. The process of RSD should not be left in the hands of the UNHCR alone. The government of Cameroon and relevant NGOs should be part of the process.



* Justice Mukete Tahle Itoe is a practicing Judge in Cameroon and a Civil Society activist. He is the Secretary General of the Global Network for Good Governance (GNGG), a good governance and anti-corruption NGO based in Cameroon. He is also the founding Director/CEO of the Refugees Welfare Association (RWA), an indigenous non-profit organization that strives to foster the respect of the rights of refugees in Cameroon as enshrined in International law. He can be contacted by e-mail at: tmukete@yahoo.com

South Africa: Blikkiesdorp evictees evicted again

2010-01-22

http://www.abahlali.org/node/6228

At 4pm January 21, 48 law enforcement officers from the City of Cape Town invaded the city's Temporary Relocation Area, Blikkiesdorp, and removed about 60 people from the one roomed dwellings. This was done completely unlawfully without any high court eviction order, without any explanation, and even more inexplicably by the same city officials who installed the people in the first place.

South Africa: Call to a prayer meeting for the Kennedy 12

22 January 2010

2010-01-22

http://www.abahlali.org/node/6226

On Friday 22 January, the "Kennedy 12" will be in court for the eighth time. The five will be expecting judgement in the bail application, while the seven will be seeking relaxation of their bail conditions. The "Kennedy 12" now need your presence, your prayers and your protest more than ever before.

China's Africa footprint: a makeover for Algeria

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/yeb2w9p

While still struggling with the aftermath of a decade-long Islamic insurgency, oil-rich yet impoverished Algeria is getting a makeover: a new airport, its first mall, its largest prison, 60,000 new homes, two luxury hotels and the longest continuous highway in Africa. The power behind this runaway building spree is China.

Emerging powers news roundup

Stephen Marks

2010-01-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/emplayersnews/61684

ECONOMIC TRENDS
Global flows of foreign direct investment fell 39% in 2009, but will pick up modestly this year, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said Tuesday. More

China has said its economy expanded by 8.7% in 2009, exceeding even the government's own initial expectations. More

China closes on Japan as growth accelerates More

Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy will probably expand 3.8 percent this year as the global recession eases, though export demand may wane in the second half of the year, the World Bank said. More

The World Bank expects the South African economy, which slumped into its first recession in 17 years during 2009, leading to an estimated 1,8% contraction in gross domestic product (GDP), to grow by 2% during 2010 and 2,7% in 2011 - however, a ‘double-dip' recession would severely undermine the pace and strength of the anticipated recovery.

The forecast is well below the country's now abandoned aspiration for economic growth of more than 6% as from 2010, which was also seen as a necessary condition for curbing South Africa's extremely high unemployment rate and growing levels of inequality. More

A sharp slowdown in China is one of the biggest threats to future prosperity, the World Economic Forum said in its latest assessment of the risks that mankind faces. More

INSIDE CHINA
The US has called on Beijing to investigate the recent cyber attacks on Google that have prompted the search giant to threaten to leave China. More

What’s the real reason behind Google’s new-found love for an open society in China? More

China Paints Google Issue as Not Political More

China Can Stonewall Google, but Its “Great Firewall” is Really a False Front More

Google vs. China represents a clash of what may be the two most powerful forces of the first decade of the 21st century More

300,000 more to move for China's Three Gorges Dam More

Sinopec, the Chinese oil and gas group, is in talks with BP over potential collaboration in the exploration and development of shale gas. The move underlines growing international interest in China’s shale gas fields. More

Economic take-off is reaching China’s hinterland More


CHINA IN AFRICA
Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming has outlined the general principles on the implement of "eight new measures" announced at the fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) More

Chinese envoy to Zimbabwe launches celebrations to mark 30 years of diplomatic relations. More

China-Africa Development Fund invests US$540 mln in Africa More

The China-Africa Development Fund has invested nearly US$540 million to support 27 projects in Africa, which will likely lead to investment of about US$3.6 billion in the continent by Chinese companies. More

A Zambian state-owned utility has awarded the key contract for a project partly funded by India to a Chinese company. More

Zambia: Sata accuses China and Malaysia investors of ‘slavery’ More

Tanzania and China have sealed a five-year live stock and fish farming deal under which the East African country will open doors to Chinese investors in aquaculture and livestock development ventures. More

China donates 244,000 doses of anti-malarial drugs to Uganda More

Standard Chartered Bank makes strategic alliance with China Unionpay More

China's Africa footprint gives Algeria a makeover, though not without frictions More

China is thinking about applying to take over Japan's refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean that was scrapped after the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won power late last August. More

Kenya has received the first two (of four) Chinese Z-9WA helicopter gunships. More

INDIA IN AFRICA
India’s minister of commerce and industry Anand Sharma has emphasised the strategic relationship between India and Nigeria and called upon the businesses of the region to forge new partnerships. More

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on trade relations. More

India and its largest African trading partner Nigeria will conclude by June the talks to sign agreements on trade, investment and double taxation avoidance that will lead to a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). This is to double the bilateral trade to over $20 billion in the next five years. India is also looking to make fresh investments of $10 billion, including in the oil sector, in Nigeria by 2015. More

Mauritius should not be singled out by India in its attempt to curb tax avoidance as the African nation’s image as a financial haven is ill-placed, its visiting Vice Prime Minister Ramakrishna Sithanen told a business roundtable in India. More

Ruchi Soya Industries, one of the leading edible oil processors, on Friday announced a major farm land acquisition in Ethiopia for soybean cultivation. More

India, China build parliaments for better Africa ties More

OTHER AFRICAN NEWS
Spain – the eighth world power and close neighbour of at least northern Africa – has come out to say that it is committed to development in Africa, with its ‘Africa Plan’ for 2009 to 2012. More

Saudi Arabia launches 750 million riyal agricultural project in Sudan More

Brewing giant SABMiller has said it will rely on the strength of its brands and the looming economic recovery to win back lost market share in South Africa, while capital investments will extend its reach through African markets. More

Kenya hosted a Sudanese cultural festival dubbed "Sudan: Cultural Diversity and Historical Perspective", to celebrate peace and highlight co-existence among the Sudanese people following the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 More

After 4 decades of war, Angola tries to recover More

OTHER EMERGING POWERS NEWS
Russia’s central bank announced on Wednesday that it had started buying Canadian dollars and securities in a bid to diversify its foreign exchange reserves.

Analysts said the move could be a sign of increased diversification of emerging market central bank assets away from the dollar and into investments denominated in other commodity-linked currencies, such as the Australian dollar. More

Copenhagen & beyond: Stage set for BASIC meet in Delhi More

China, India, South Africa and Brazil ministers to discuss moves to fight climate change More

Korea-Algeria Leaders Exchange Congratulatory Messages Marking the 20th Diplomatic Anniversary. More


BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS
* Stephen Marks is research associate and project coordinator with Fahamu's China in Africa Project.
* Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.

Tanzania, China in lucrative cattle deal

2010-01-22

http://farmlandgrab.org/10473

The Tanzania government has signed a five-year livestock and fishing agreement with China that would see Chinese firms invest in aquaculture and livestock projects.

Cote d'Ivoire: Electoral body admits errors

2010-01-22

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE60L09X20100122

Ivory Coast's electoral commission (CEI) has apologised for errors made in drawing up a voter list, saying thousands of names disputed by President Laurent Gbagbo were never intended to be on it.

Guinea: Junta 'names civilian Dore as prime minister'

2010-01-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8467298.stm

Guinea's military rulers have chosen opposition leader Jean-Marie Dore to be prime minister, overseeing a return to civilian rule, officials say. Junta spokesman Idrissa Cherif said 70-year-old Mr Dore had "experience and understanding of Guinean politics".

Madagascar: AU compromise stresses power-sharing

2010-01-22

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE60L01820100122

The African Union's top diplomat, Jean Ping, opened talks seeking an end to Madagascar's year-long political crisis with a call to its feuding leaders to respect last year's power-sharing deals.

Nigeria: More citizens demand quick resolution of current political crisis

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/yeqmjby

A group of 41 prominent Nigerians, led by former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim, were at the National Assembly in Abuja, the Nigerian Federal capital, urging lawmakers to take immediate steps to resolve the current political and constitutional crisis created by the 59 days of absence of President Umar Musa Yar'Adua from the country on account of ill health.

Nigeria: Senate rejects state of emergency in troubled state

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/ydfr2fl

The Nigerian Senate has unanimously rejected calls for the declaration of a fresh state of emergency in crisis-ridden north-central Plateau State. Plateau State had been engulfed in sectarian violence, which began Sunday in capital, Jos, and had claimed several lives.

North Africa: Sudan would accept separation, says President Bashir

2010-01-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8468760.stm

Sudan would accept the south's secession if southerners were to vote for independence in a referendum next year, President Omar al-Bashir said. Speaking at a ceremony marking five years since the end of the north-south war, he said his Northern Congress Party did not want the south to secede

Southern Africa: Angola abolishes presidential polls in new constitution

2010-01-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8472127.stm

Angola's parliament has approved a new constitution which abolishes direct presidential elections. The head of state will now automatically be the leader of the party with the parliamentary majority.

Morocco: Government renews commitment to eradicating corruption

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/yck4dxc

Recently-appointed Minister for Public Sector Modernisation Mohammed Saâd Alami has embraced his new position by vowing to curtail corruption in Morocco. Combating corruption "requires much thought from all players, be they the government, official institutions or charitable associations," he announced at a meeting on Tuesday (January 12th), when he convened an inter-ministerial committee to oversee government actions against corrupt practices.

Morocco: MPs must declare assets by May

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/yab7fyh

Members of Morocco's Parliament must declare their assets by May 2010, as the government implements a law passed in 2008 to govern the conduct of elected officials.

Southern Africa: Did De Beers cheat Botswana? – The Masire factor

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/y8mypcp

When David Magang sat down to write his memoirs, he certainly could not complain that his career had left him short of material. The former Minister of Mineral Resources and Water Affairs, who has waged a protracted battle for diamond beneficiation against De Beers, had a front row seat at some of the most questionable goings on between the diamond mining giant and the Botswana government.

Africa: AfDB doubles financial commitments to Africa

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/yd2f6vq

Because of the world economic and financial crisis, the African Development Bank (AfDB) last year more than doubled its financial commitments to Africa to US$11 as against US$5.0 billion, the chairman of the financial institution, Donald Kaberuka, has said.

Africa: How can governments regain control of the aid process?

2010-01-22

http://www.eldis.org/go/country-profiles&id=45542&type=Document

In the last three decades, changes in the global economy have led to debt and balance of payments crises in many African countries. They desperately needed foreign exchange which they could only get from the World Bank and the IMF. These institutions used this opportunity to expand their influence over the recipients' national policies. This paper discusses country ownership which is a central issue of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. It looks at the contradictory and competing usages of the term - ownership as commitment and ownership as control.

Botswana: Government to announce textile rescue plan

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/ycanfan

After a number of textile companies closed up shop, unable to face the onslaught of the slowdown in the markets, the government of Botswana has finally decided to implement a rescue plan.

Ghana: Thailand to support local rice production

2010-01-22

http://farmlandgrab.org/10541

Thailand, the World’s largest exporter of rice, is to support the Irrigation Company of Upper Region (ICOUR), to expand local rice production under the Tono and Vea Irrigation Schemes in the Region.

Kenya: Herders get satellite insurance for cows, camels

2010-01-22

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE60L00S20100122

Herders of cows or camels in arid northern Kenya can obtain a new type of insurance against drought, the first of its kind in Africa using satellites to gauge rainfall.

Zambia: US$20 million loan for smallholder agribusiness

2010-01-22

http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2010/1.htm

A US$20 million loan to the Republic of Zambia from IFAD will directly benefit 30,000 small-scale farming households, many headed by women. The loan agreement for the Smallholder Agribusiness Promotion Programme was signed today in Rome by Lucy Mungoma, Ambassador to Italy for the Republic of Zambia, and Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of IFAD.

Zimbabwe: Podcasts can inform poor farmers

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/yhodhuo

People in developing countries often lack information that could transform their economic circumstances. Those in remote parts of Africa, in particular, could benefit from knowledge that would help them move up from subsistence farming to become successful, commercial smallholders.

Zimbabwe: Water scarcity no obstacle to Bulawayo farmers

2010-01-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=50068

A project in Zimbabwe's second city, Bulawayo, is creatively using "marginal water" to ease water scarcity while helping residents provide food and earn a living. Water scarcity has led urban farmers to turn to treated waste water to grow food within the city limits.

Global: Urgent action needed to tackle malnutrition

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/ydojnkq

Improving nutrition in the developing world has never been more important. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, more than a billion people — one sixth of the global population — have a diet so poor they may be severely underweight, have stunted growth, or lack the vitamins and minerals they need for good health (all are aspects of severe malnutrition, or undernutrition).

Kenya: Special tribunal for HIV-related issues

2010-01-22

http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87829

The Kenyan government has created the first ever tribunal to handle legal issues relating to HIV, including discrimination against people living with HIV and protecting the confidentiality of medical records.

Zimbabwe: Government to double number of people on HIV treatment

2010-01-22

http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87841

An ambitious state plan that will almost double the number of people on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment by the end of 2010 has drawn mixed reactions from AIDS activists, but increased donor funding has made the government quietly confident.

Zimbabwe: Training teachers to cope with HIV-positive students

2010-01-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=49996

In Malawi, where aids agencies estimate 120,000 children are HIV-positive, school teachers are finding themselves increasingly in the frontline of the epidemic. The National AIDS Council recently carried out a study that found "teachers had not received enough HIV/ART education to carry out their supportive role in paediatric and adolescent care and support".

Global: Poor nations’ children’s education at stake

2010-01-22

http://www.afrol.com/articles/35119

The global financial crisis threatens to deprive millions of children in the world’s poorest countries of an education, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, with a knock-on effect on future economic growth, poverty reduction and progress in health and other areas, according to a United Nations report.

Africa: Crackdowns on gays make the closet safer

2010-01-22

http://www.plusnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87793

More than two-thirds of African countries have laws criminalizing homosexual acts, and despite accounting for a significant percentage of new infections in many countries, men who have sex with men tend to be left out of the HIV response.

South Africa: Withdraw Qwelane's appointment - Gey rights groups

2010-01-22

http://www.mask.org.za/article.php?cat=southafrica&id=2458

While lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) groups are up in arms against the alleged appointment of controversial columnist John Qwelane as South African ambassador to Uganda, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s remains ambiguous about his appointment.

Uganda: Anti-gay bill may change, says MP Bahati

2010-01-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8472085.stm

A Ugandan MP who proposed introducing the death penalty for some gay people has told a newspaper he is willing to change his draft legislation. In an interview with the Daily Monitor, David Bahati said he had talked to the cabinet about the bill and was willing to "amend some clauses".

Uganda: One-million march for anti-gay draft law

2010-01-22

http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/mfBXtQz1H8

A Ugandan preacher said on Friday he planned a “million-man” march to support an anti-gay draft law which the United Nations top human rights official called “blatantly discriminatory”.

East Africa: Kenya at carbon crossroads, says report

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/ychczld

Kenya's planned development path will more than double its carbon emissions unless efforts are taken to pursue low carbon development, according to an environmental think tank.

Global: Global action on ArcelorMittal

2010-01-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/environment/61639

The Luxembourg steel giant ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel company has been shortlisted along with five other candidates for the Public Eye Global Award to be held in Davos, Switzerland, on the 27th January – the opening day of the World Economic Forum.
The Luxembourg steel giant ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel company has been shortlisted along with five other candidates for the Public Eye Global Award to be held in Davos, Switzerland, on the 27th January – the opening day of the World Economic Forum.
The company has been selected from over 40 nominees due to its heavily polluting operation in Vanderbijlpark, which is their biggest and most profitable operation in South Africa. The nomination recognises the company’s toxic waste dumping; failure to clean up contamination in neighbourhoods around its steelworks; lobbying against stricter air pollution controls and withholding information from the public that will allow society to better understand the impact of the plant on their health and well-being.
The general public can cast votes at Publiceye until 26th January.
Samson Mokoena of the Vaal Environmental Justice Forum, a community organisation working with people living next to the Vanderbijlpark Plant calls on ArcelorMittal to respect South Africa’s new democracy:
“ArcelorMittal knows what pollution they have caused, but they refuse to release this information to the people who have requested it. This is a travesty of justice in a new South Africa, but Mr Mittal will not be touched because he advises our President on economic policy, thus he has protection for his polluting investment.”
“The problems with ArcelorMittal go far beyond South Africa, with communities as far apart as Kazakhstan and Ohio in the US suffering similar problems with pollution”, added Sunita Dubey, groundWork US Co-ordinator of the Global Action on ArcelorMittal Coalition. “The company’s Kazakh coal mines also have an appalling safety record, with 102 miners dying in accidents since 2004, it has been implicated in unduly influencing Liberian politicians with donations of four wheel drive vehicles and now it wants to build at least two mega-steelmills in India, depriving indigenous people of their ancestral land”.
“With its CEO and largest shareholder, Lakshmi Mittal, being the world’s eighth richest person, you’d think the company would have money to clean up its act, yet in spite of ArcelorMittal receiving ten public loans for a total of more than USD 1.2 billion from the international financial institutions in the last ten years, we’ve yet to see any significant progress”, added Pippa Gallop of CEE Bankwatch Network. “All we’ve heard for the last year is excuses about the financial crisis, but this doesn’t explain why the company has failed to even produce a decent Stakeholder Engagement Plan - costing virtually nothing - as part of its EBRD-financed project in Kazakhstan”.
The Public Eye awards, organised by Greenpeace and the Berne Declaration, are a critical counterpoint to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. Organized since 2000, Public Eye reminds corporations with destructive business practices that actions have consequences, presenting ‘name and shame’ awards to the nastiest corporate players of the year and through these awards presents to the world the immoral nexus between corporate power and the political elite.
Contacts:
Sunita Dubey - Coordinator GAAM and groundWork US
+1 617 233 3981 (United States) sunita@groundwork-usa.org
Samson Mokoena – Coordinator of the Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance +27 84 291 8510 (South Africa) samson.mokoena@gmail.com
Bobby Peek – Director groundWork, Friends of the Earth, South Africa +27 82 464 1383 bobby@groundwork.org.za (South Africa) Pippa Gallop - Research Co-ordinator, CEE Bankwatch Network +385 99 755 9787 (Croatia)
pippa.gallop@bankwatch.org

Kenya: Plastic bags: Convenience costing the earth

2010-01-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50061

When Nairobi was founded in 1899, it took its name from what the Maasai called the place: Ewassi Nyirobi, "cool waters." A century later, the river has something stuck in its throat: millions of plastic bags threaten to choke it.

Mali: Small farmers in the carbon market

2010-01-22

http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=50004

Dialoubé is in a region of sparse savannah in north-western Mali, near the Mauritania border. A cold, dry harmattan wind whistles through the fence surrounding the nursery full of young Acacia senegalensis seedlings, about 100 metres away from the villagers' mud houses. Further out lies a 50-hectare plantation established in 2007: part of Mali's Acacia Senegal Plantation Project which aims to plant 6,000 hectares of acacias in four villages in the area.

South Africa: Aims to complete climate change policy by year-end

2010-01-22

http://www.tralac.org/cgi-bin/giga.cgi?cmd=cause_dir_news_item&news_id=80855

The South African Department of Environmental Affairs has expressed a “firm intent” to complete the country’s national climate change policy white paper by the end of 2010.

Africa: 2009 IFJ Africa press freedom report launched

2010-01-22

http://africa.ifj.org/en/articles/launching-of-the-2009-ifj-africa-press-freedom-report

The Year 2009 can be considered as one of the worst years for press freedom in the African continent. Considering the year under review, 13 journalists were killed across the continent; 32 journalists imprisoned, a significant number of journalists arrested, some violently attacked and wounded, while threats and intimidation against journalists continued unabated.

Africa: Freedom in the world 2010

2010-01-22

http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fiw10/FIW_2010_Map_Africa.pdf

Freedom House has published its “Freedom in the World 2010: Global Erosion of Freedom” Report. The Report divides up the world into three categories of Free, Partly Free, and Not Free. Accordingly, declines in liberty were registered in 40 countries while gains were made in 16.

Egypt: Bloggers arrested

2010-01-22

http://www.ifex.org/egypt/2010/01/19/bloggers_arrested/

Freedom House condemns the arrest of 19 activists in Egypt - among them leading bloggers, political party representatives, and journalists - and demands their immediate release without harm.

Egypt: Detained bloggers tell their tales

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/ylq5f3n

More than 20 Egyptian bloggers, who were on their way to pay their respects to the families of the victims of the Coptic massacre, were arrested when their train arrived in the village of Naga Hammady in Upper Egypt. They were released shortly afterwards and they are now telling their side of the story.

Eritrea: RSF asks UN to investigate the fate of imprisoned journalists

2010-01-22

http://www.ifex.org/eritrea/2010/01/14/prison_conditions/

On 11 January 2010, the third anniversary of Eritrean journalist Fessehaye "Joshua" Yohannes' death in detention, Reporters Without Borders wrote to Manfred Nowak, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, asking him to do everything possible to obtain an improvement in the conditions of journalists imprisoned in Eritrea.

Harry Chapin Media Awards

2010-01-22

http://www.comminit.com/en/node/266524

The Harry Chapin Media Awards (HCMA) was created to encourage the media to tell the stories of hunger and economic poverty. The HCMAs honour print and electronic media for outstanding coverage of hunger and economic poverty and the underlying root causes of these problems.

Libya: Bloggers eye poverty, power and corruption

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/yc3crfo

This week, Libyan bloggers tackled sensitive issues ranging from poverty to corruption, while comparing how government supporters and the opposition differ on the meaning of key historical events.

Tunisia: IFJ condemns "sham" trial of journalist

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/yzlf232

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the four year jail term handed down to Tunisian journalist Fahem Boukadous on 13 January by a court for his reporting on the demonstrations against unemployment and corruption in the mining town of Gafsa in 2008.

Zambia: Moves to undermine self-regulation condemned

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/yzflrt7

The Federation of African Journalists (FAJ), the African regional organisation of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), is calling on the Zambian authorities to immediately end attacks on Zambian media as they work to establish self-regulatory mechanism.

Zimbabwe: Journalist flees after death threat

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/ya7e9nu

Freelance journalist Stanley Kwenda, who writes for the private weekly, The Zimbabwean, has fled the country after he said he received a telephone threat from a high-ranking police officer, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said quoting the paper's editor, Wilf Mbanga.

Nigeria: Army takes control of riot-hit Jos

2010-01-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8473891.stm

The army has taken over responsibility for security in the central city of Jos, Nigeria's Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan has said. At least 65 Christians and 200 Muslims are believed to have died in religious rioting in Jos in recent days.

North Africa: AU welcomes Sudan and Chad peace agreement

2010-01-22

http://www.afrol.com/articles/35124

The African Union Chair Jean Ping has hailed the Governments of Chad and Sudan’s agreement to normalise the once soured relations between the two neighbours. The remarks followed the peace agreement signed on 15 January 2010 in N’Djamena.

Somalia: Amnesty International urges tougher arms checks

2010-01-22

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8471599.stm

Amnesty International has called for much stricter controls for the military assistance being given to Somalia's transitional government. The human rights group says weapons are all too often being used against civilians or they end up in the hands of groups opposed to the government.

Sudan: 80 percent of Darfur conflict deaths due to disease

2010-01-22

http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE60L00I20100122

Nearly 80 percent of the 300,000 conflict-related deaths in Darfur were due to diseases like diarrhoea, not violence, Belgian scientists said on Friday. An analysis of deaths dating from 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government of Sudan, showed that after an initial peak of violent deaths in the still-ongoing conflict, diseases associated with diarrhoea became the major killers.

Burkina Faso: Farmers teaching farmers

2010-01-22

http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/Farmers-teaching-farmers

After researchers in Burkina Faso identified the best crop varieties for the Sissili region, a local organization, FEPPASI, introduced ICTs to inform farmers and explain new growing techniques. As a result, production is up to nine times greater than before.

Ethiopia: Pastoralists picture land use

2010-01-22

http://ictupdate.cta.int/en/Feature-Articles/Pastoralists-picture-land-use

A team of researchers combine maps, satellite images and participatory mapping techniques to develop an accurate picture of land use among pastoralists in southern Ethiopia.

South Africa: South Africa hits 5m Internet users according to recent research

2010-01-22

http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/current1.html#internet

In what is being considered a significant milestone for communications in the country, the number of South Africans to have access to the Internet has hit the five million mark. Research conducted by local analyst house World Wide Worx, in conjunction with Cisco, shows that local Internet penetration has increased to 10%.

Uganda: Mobile Monday starts Kampala chapter

2010-01-22

http://www.wougnet.org/cms/content/view/473/1/

Mobile Monday, the global community of mobile industry professionals and innovators, has now launched its newest chapter in Uganda. The Kampala Chapter was founded by representatives from Uganda’s telecom companies: Orange Uganda, MTN Uganda, I-telecom, Mara Telecoms, Universities, media and ICT firms.

Zimbabwe: Cabinet approves national ICT strategy plan

2010-01-22

http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/current1.html#computing

Cabinet has approved the newly-crafted national information communication technology strategy plan and the ICT blueprint is expected be launched at the end of next month.

South Africa: Internship opportunity in conflict resolution

ACCORD

2010-01-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/fundraising/61694

The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), a South African-based civil society organisation, is currently accepting applications for its Internship Programme. ACCORD works across Africa to bring creative African solutions to the challenges posed by conflict on the continent.
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), a South African-based civil society organisation, is currently accepting applications for its Internship Programme. ACCORD works across Africa to bring creative African solutions to the challenges posed by conflict on the continent. ACCORD’s primary aim is to influence political developments by bringing conflict resolution, dialogue and institutional development to the forefront as an alternative to armed violence and protracted conflict. ACCORD specialises in conflict management, analysis and prevention and intervenes in conflicts through mediation, negotiation, training, research and conflict analysis.

ACCORD’s internship programme is a unique experience that allows interns to work directly on conflict resolution matters in Africa through an immersion in high profile and challenging environments. As a crucial component of ACCORD’s work, interns are highly valued and are expected to provide substantive support to the activities implemented by the organisation.

Applications are currently being considered by the organisation’s Peacemaking, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding Units.

About the Units

- The Peacemaking Unit: The overall goal of the Peacemaking Unit is the prevention of violent conflict, and the promotion of dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts. The Unit is engaged with proactive and reactive peacemaking interventions through myriad categories of activities that include policy development, capacity building initiatives such as training forums, study tours, confidence building initiatives, institutional capacity building, contributing conflict analysis briefings, and others. At the time of writing particular attention was given to the situations in Sudan, Somalia, Madagascar and the Comoros.

-The Peacekeeping Unit: The Peacekeeping Unit, through its Training for Peace Programme, is one of the leading programmes on civilian peacekeeping. In the last 15 years, it has contributed towards capacity building within the broader ambit of regional and international peace operations at the practical and conceptual level in Africa. The Unit has given a crucial support to the development of African peacekeeping policies, particularly concerning the implementation of the civilian dimension of the African Standby Force.

- The Peacebuilding Unit: The Peacebuilding Unit has a strong focus on training, research, and policy development in the African peacebuilding field. In particular, its African Peacebuilding Coordination Programme (APCP) seeks to contribute to enhanced levels of coherence and coordination in peacebuilding, and to support the attainment of greater levels of local ownership of peacebuilding processes in African countries transitioning from conflict. Specifically, the Programme focuses its work on the peacebuilding processes currently underway in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia and Sudan. The Peacebuilding Unit has been working with a multitude of countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Liberia, Sudan and Angola.

About the Internship

Candidates are required to have a graduate or post-graduate degree in social science (e.g. politics, international relations, and conflict resolution) and in the case of a graduate degree, preferably be enrolled in a post-graduate course (but not necessarily). The intern should be fully fluent in English. For the Peacebuilding and Peacemaking Units positions fluency in French would be a benefit. Previous working experience in the field is not a requirement but it is preferred that the candidate exhibits a strong commitment and understanding of the focal areas of the Unit he or she is applying for.

The internship is based at ACCORD’s Headquarters in Durban, South Africa. Interns are expected to start around early March. However, both the starting dates and the duration of the internship can be negotiated, according to the availability of the intern and/or ACCORD’s needs.

For more information on ACCORD and the internship programme, please find the attached document or access our website www.accord.org.za

Please send your cover letter and CV, also informing of your availability for the internship (with proposed dates for start and end of the internship) to joyce@accord.org.za Applications must be submitted in English and referenced as follows:

Peacemaking: PM001
Peacekeeping: PKG 002
Peacebuilding: PBG: 003

Closing date for applications is Friday, 5 February 2010. Only successful candidates will be contacted, within 30 days of the closing date.

Africe: Field Courses 2010: Sudan and the Horn of Africa

Rift Valley Institute

2010-01-22

http://www.riftvalley.net/

Applications are now open for this year’s Rift Valley Institute field courses, to be held in May and June 2010. The Horn of Africa Course will be held from Saturday 29 May to Friday 4 June in Lamu, Kenya. The Sudan Course will be held from Saturday 12 June to Friday 18 June in Rumbek, Southern Sudan.

Codesria Gender Institute: 2010: Gender and sports in Africa’s development

Call for Applications

2010-01-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/61635

The 2010 Gender Institute selected the theme of Gender and Sports in Africa’s Development: Towards Gender Equality in Sports in Africa. This builds on the debates on the same theme held during the 2009 edition of the Annual Gender Symposium held in Cairo in November 2009. The papers presented at this symposium revealed a marked gender disparity within the African sports space.
Each year, since 1994, CODESRIA has organised a Gender Institute which brings together 12 to 15 researchers for between four to six weeks of concentrated debate, experience-sharing and knowledge-building. During the first few years of the existence of the Institute, its main objective centred on the promotion of a generalised gender awareness in the African social research community. The Institute has subsequently been organised around specific themes designed to strengthen the use of gender as an analytic category that is integral both to the output of African social researchers and the emergence of a networked community of scholars versed in the field of Gender Studies. The theme that has been selected for the 2010 Institute is: Gender and Sports in Africa’s Development.

The 2010 Gender Institute selected the theme of Gender and Sports in Africa’s Development: Towards Gender Equality in Sports in Africa. This builds on the debates on the same theme held during the 2009 edition of the Annual Gender Symposium held in Cairo in November 2009. The papers presented at this symposium revealed a marked gender disparity within the African sports space. To this end, the 2010 Gender Institute seeks to encourage researchers to explain and comprehend the recognized causes of this disparity and to urge them to take a critical look at sports, particularly from a gender perspective.

Sports is a set of practices which are grouped in three different categories: educational sports, which includes physical education in schools; leisure sports comprehended as a physical activity for relaxation and leisure time occupation; finally, competitive sports managed by national and international sports federations. It is now accepted that sports, in its different methods of exercise, is a universe that reproduces the dominant social values and reflects trends in the overall society (Pocciello, 1997). Indeed, the sports space cannot be detached from the overall social situation nor can it be regarded as a neutral and closed space. Furthermore, the field of sports is dynamic and therefore responsive to time and social changes. As such, it constitutes a space for building socio-cultural elements that promote the expression of stereotypes linked with gender differences and provides information on gender relations (Laberge, 2004). In this perspective, the gender approach is part of a development logic that admits the effectiveness of both sexes for the accomplishment of societal progress.

Like in all social practices, gender differences and inequalities in the field of sports are shaped and revealed both in the form of physical practices and in related institutional structures. Thus, considering gender in sports unavoidably leads to questions about gender parity and obstacles that impede its fulfillment. The Institute will try to highlight gender specificities of sports, which includes questions such as: How does the influence of gender proceed, according to spaces, times, practices, bodies, or institutions? Furthermore, to account for connections between local and global levels, is it possible to identify some peculiarity in modes of gender expression in sports inAfrica? Finally, in what ways does sport contribute to development in Africa?


Multidisciplinary approaches (sociological, historical, anthropological, economic etc.) are welcome to highlight the complexity of gender relations in sports and for a better knowledge of the reality in Africa. Comparative approaches are also highly desirable to address issues as varied as the gendered socialization process, the distribution of practices by gender and according to attendance in the sports space, commitment of both sexes in sports management, the sports body and its conventional connections with femininity and masculinity, etc. Thus, the challenge of the works will be to deepen knowledge on the methods of construction of gendered identities, hierarchical relations that underlie them, and to highlight the socio-cultural codes that maintain them.

With no intention to be restrictive, the 2010 Gender Institute proposes to develop the following areas of intervention:
- The sports space: a space for gendered practices;
- Gendered socialization and selection of sports practices;
- Gender in sports organizations (associations, clubs, federations, international bodies);
- Gender and the mixing of sexes in physical and sports education;
- The modes of gender expression in the Olympic Games;
- Body, sports and gender;
- The genderization of physical recreation;
- Sports, gender and the media;
- Sports and handicap: gender in adapted physical activities.
- Sports, gender and development

Eligibility and Selection
Director
For every session, CODESRIA appoints an external scholar to provide the intellectual leadership of the Institute. Directors are senior scholars known for their expertise on the topic of the year and for the originality of their thinking on it. They are recruited on the basis of a proposal and course outline covering a total of up to forty five days during which they are expected to:
- participate in the selection of laureates;
- assist with the identification of appropriate resource persons;
- design the course for the session, with specifications of sub-themes;
- deliver a set of lectures and provide a critique of the papers presented by the resource persons and the laureates; and
- submit a written scientific report on the session.

In addition, the Director is expected to (co)edit the revised versions of the papers presented by the resource persons with a view to submitting them for publication in one of CODESRIA’s collections. The Director also assists CODESRIA in assessing the papers presented by laureates for publication as a special issue of Africa Development or as monographs.
For the 2010 Gender Institute, Professor Monia Lachheb from Tunisia will be the director. She is a senior scholar in the field of Gender and Sports and has published extensively in this area.

Resource Persons
Lectures delivered at the Gender Institute are not introductory courses, but critical think-pieces that are meant to help advance the reflections of participants on the main topic of the year, and on their own research topics. Resource Persons are, therefore, senior scholars or scholars in their mid-career who have published extensively on the topic, and who have a significant contribution to make to the debates on it.
Once selected, resource persons must:
- submit a copy of their lectures for reproduction and distribution to participants not later than one week before the lecture begins ;
- deliver their lectures, participate in debates, and comment on the research proposals of the laureates;
- review and submit the revised version of their research work for publication by CODESRIA not later than two months following their presentation.

Laureates
African social scientists who have a minimum qualification of a Masters’ degree, with a proven research capacity and who are currently engaged in teaching and/or research activities are invited to send in their applications for consideration for admission into the Institute. The selection of laureates is done by an independent committee of renowned scholars.

Application
Applicants for the position of Resource Person should submit:
- an application letter ;
- two writing samples ;
- a curriculum vitae and ;
- a two-pages abstract of their proposed lecture.

Applicants wishing to be invited as Laureates should submit:
- an application letter;
- a curriculum vitae ;
- a letter indicating institutional or organisational affiliation ;
- a research proposal (two copies and not more than 10 pages, in English or French ) indicating a descriptive analysis, outlining the theoretical interest of the theme chosen by the applicant, and its relation to the problematic and concerns of the theme of the 2010 Institute and ;
- two reference letters from scholars and/or researchers known for their competence and expertise in the candidate’s research area, including their names, addresses and telephone, e-mail, fax numbers.

The deadline for the submission of applications is Friday the 15th April, 2010. Laureates will be informed of the outcome of the selection process by Friday the 30th April, 2010. Laureates are expected to use the month of May to carry out fieldwork or collect information and use it to prepare a draft paper based on their proposals. This draft paper should be submitted to CODESRIA on or before the 5th June, 2010. Laureates will be expected to work with this draft paper (not a proposal) and prepare it for publication during the Institute.
The Institute will be held from 7th to 25th June, 2010 in Dakar, Senegal.

Applications should be sent to:
The CODESRIA Gender Institute,
Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop X Canal IV,
B.P. 3304, CP 18524,
Dakar, SENEGAL.
Tel. (221) 825 98 21/22/23
Fax: (221) 824 12 89
E-mail : gender.institute@codesria.sn
Website: http://www.codesria.org

Global: National Forum on Mobile Applications - Call for papers

April 7-9, 2010 - New Delhi, India

2010-01-22

http://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/trai/upload/misc/127/Callforpapers.pdf

Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) of India is organizing aNational Forum on Mobile Applications The forum is scheduled to be held on April 7-9, 2010 at New Delhi, India. The theme of the Forum is "Mobile Applications for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development". The deadline for submitting the abstracts for the forum is 10th February 2010.

The AU Peace and Security Council: A five year appraisal (2004-2009)

Expert roundtable and monograph

2010-01-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/61637

The Institute for Security Studies through its Addis Ababa-based African Conflict Prevention Programme invites policy-makers, academics, practitioners, policy researchers to submit abstracts, and subsequently papers, which will assess a broad range of issues relating to the AU Peace and Security Council, with specific reference to its first five years of operation. Abstracts should be submitted by Friday 29th January and the papers will be due on 19th March 2010.
The AU Peace and Security Council: A Five Year Appraisal (2004-2009)

EXPERT ROUNDTABLE AND MONOGRAPH

Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th March 2010, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The Institute for Security Studies through its Addis Ababa-based African Conflict Prevention Programme invites policy-makers, academics, practitioners, policy researchers to submit abstracts, and subsequently papers, which will assess a broad range of issues relating to the AU Peace and Security Council, with specific reference to its first five years of operation. Abstracts should be submitted by Friday 29th January and the papers will be due on 19th March 2010.

Background and Objectives

The African Union’s Peace and Security Council is composed of 15 Member States (ten elected for a term of two years and five for a term of three years). The purpose of the Peace and Security Council is to provide “a collective security and early-warning arrangement to facilitate timely and efficient response to conflict and crisis situations in Africa.”1 The PSC assesses potential crisis situations; sends fact-finding missions to trouble spots and authorises and legitimises the AU’s intervention if and when necessary. Article 4(h) of the AU Constitutive Act affirms the right of the Union to intervene in a Member State with respect to crisis situations. Specifically, Article 7(e) of the Protocol Establishing the Peace and Security Council, states that the Council can ‘recommend to the Assembly of Heads of State, intervention, on behalf of the Union, in a Member State in respect of grave circumstances, namely, war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity, as defined in relevant international conventions and instruments.’2 The PSC has been operational for five years since it was inaugurated in 2004. The objective of this Expert Roundtable and Monograph will be to assess a broad range issues pertaining to the operationalisation, activities, and initiatives undertaken by the PSC. Authors are invited to submit a 250 word abstract, by Friday 29th January 2010, indicating the title of their proposed paper as well as a summary of their core research and analysis objectives. Authors are requested to concisely outline their core argument and also identify potential policy recommendations that will emerge from their analysis. Authors who are selected by the Review Committee will be required to submit their paper by 19th March 2010.

Themes

Authors and presenters can refer to any of these topics and themes when preparing their abstract and eventually their papers:

PART 1: CONCEPTUAL, INSTITUTIONAL AND OPERATIONALISATION ISSUES

1. The Genesis and Inception of the PSC: A Collective Security Regime for Africa
2. The PSC in the Context of the African Peace and Security Architecture
3. The PSC and the Continental Early Warning System
4. The PSC and the African Standby Force
5. The PSC and the Panel of the Wise
6. The PSC and the Military Staff Committee: A Case for Revitalisation
7. The PSC and its Relationship with the AU Commission
8. The PSC, Regional Economic Communities and Other Regional Organisations
9. The PSC and Civil Society: The Operationalisation of the Livingstone Formula



PART 2: CASE STUDIES OF PSC MEETINGS AND INTERVENTIONS

10. The PSC Meetings and Interventions on either of: Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Darfur, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea-Djibouti, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Zimbabwe (authors can undertake comparative analysis of two or more countries)



11. A Regional Analysis of the PSC Interventions in either: the Horn of Africa, the Great Lakes Region, West Africa or Southern Africa



PART 3: THE PSC AND THEMATIC ISSUES

12. The PSC and Unconstitutional Changes of Government
13. The PSC and International Justice
14. The PSC, the Responsibility to Protect and the Principle of Non-Intervention
15. The PSC and the Prevention of Genocide
16. The PSC and Pastoralists/Refugees/Internally Displaced Persons/Piracy

PART 4: THE PSC AND EXTERNAL ACTORS

17. The PSC and the United Nations Security Council
18. The PSC and the European Union
19. The PSC and NATO
20. The PSC and UN Agencies
21. The PSC and the Arab World/League/Middle East/Asia



Timetable

Authors should submit 250-word abstracts electronically in the MS Word version, by 29th January 2010, to:

Dr. Tim Murithi, tmurithi@issafrica.org and copied to

Mr. Alemayehu Behabtu, abehabtu@issafrica.org

Ms. Jamila El Abdellaoui, jelabdellaoui@issafrica.org

The abstracts must include the following details:

1. Title and summary of the proposed paper
2. Name of the author, their affiliation, and a brief bio-data (3-5 lines)
3. If there is more than one author, please provide the particulars of each of them



5th February 2010: Authors will be informed about the acceptance or rejection of their abstracts.

19th March 2010: Authors will have 6 weeks to finalise their papers which should be approximate 4,000 words in length and include relevant footnotes, endnotes, and a select bibliography. Authors should utilise the ISS Style Guide available on the website: www.issafrica.org

Authors will be invited to present their papers at an Expert Roundtable to be convened on Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th March 2010, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The ISS Addis Ababa Office will cover the travel and accommodation expenses of participants who are invited to the Roundtable.

Early submission of papers is strongly encouraged. A modest honorarium will be paid to authors whose papers are published after the monograph is printed.

If you have any queries regarding the submission of abstracts and papers contact Dr. Tim Murithi, Programme Head, Peace and Security Council Report Programme, tmurithi@issafrica.org

Further information will be communicated to authors selected to draft papers at a later stage.

The Meaning and practice of immigration detention

Perspectives from Legal, Political, and Social Theory, 21 May 2010

2010-01-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/courses/61682

This workshop aims to provide an academic forum aimed at the discussion of immigration detention in liberal, democratic countries. This practice raises important questions for researchers from different fields of study: What implications does it have for understanding state power and the future governance of communities?
One-Day Workshop on “The Meaning and Practice of Immigration Detention:
Perspectives from Legal, Political, and Social Theory”

Friday, May 21, 2010

This workshop aims to provide an academic forum aimed at the discussion of immigration detention in liberal, democratic countries. This practice raises important questions for researchers from different fields of study: What implications does it have for understanding state power and the future governance of communities? How is this practice located in a wider history of immigration control in liberal, democratic states? Why are immigration detention regimes continuing to expand? And how is it contributing to the reformulation of citizenship? We invite all those who are engaged in research and scholarship of this kind to submit their papers to share ideas, perspectives, and findings. We aim to approach these questions within an interdisciplinary framework, drawing on an array of approaches, methodologies, and case histories.

We invite papers from researchers and postgraduate students.

The workshop will be divided into four sessions with each session featuring one lecturer and one postgraduate student presenting individual papers examining related topics relevant to our understandings of immigration detention. Each paper presentation will last 20 – 25 minutes. Tea and complimentary lunch will be provided.
The goals of the workshop are
• To expand the existing base of knowledge on immigration detention.
• To bring together scholars and postgraduate students who might not otherwise have opportunities to meet and share ideas.
• To identify gaps or inconsistencies in state policies on immigration detention, and to analyze their implications.
• To disseminate the information discussed through a wide variety of fora, including podcasting, working papers series, and pamphlets.
• And, potentially, to propose a monograph based on the papers presented and the discussion that followed them.

We welcome the submission of draft papers or extended abstracts to
detention.workshop@sant.ox.ac.uk
The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 2, 2010.
Notification about acceptance will be given within two weeks.

*For more information about the workshop, please contact the workshop conveners:* Evelyne Massa (evelyne.massa@sociology.ox.ac.uk) and Stephanie J. Silverman (stephanie.silverman@politics.ox.ac.uk).

Kenya: Program Assistant - OSIEA

2010-01-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/61678

The Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) seeks a Program Assistant to provide administrative support to department members in the Nairobi office. Working under the supervision of the Program Officers, the Program Assistant will provide general administrative and programmatic support.
The Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) seeks a Program Assistant to provide administrative support to department members in the Nairobi office. Working under the supervision of the Program Officers, the Program Assistant will provide general administrative and programmatic support.

RESPONSIBILITIES

o Provide logistic support to program staff: Schedule meeting requests; photocopy, fax and answer e-mail and phone inquiries; handle travel arrangements; take minutes for meetings; draft correspondence; organize conference calls;
o Communicate OSIEA focus areas and funding requirements to outside audiences (usually in response to inquiries).
o Assist Program Officers to identify and assess potential grantees and finalize grant applications and budgets for approval by the director’s office.
o Work closely with the Program Officer and Grants Coordinator in the daily administration of the grant portfolio, including ensuring the timely receipt of statutory narrative and financial reports and other expected outputs
o Systematically record, correctly store and retrieve project information into and from the OSIEA Grant Management System; Monitor the quality of information input and output;
o Maintain regular contact with grantees;
o Process bills, staff expense reports, and reimbursement requests;
o Take a lead role in the preparation of documentation for projects managed in the program office; Prepare consultancy contracts, process consultants’ expense reports, and coordinate consultants’ travel needs;
o Assist in preparation and follow-up of meetings, conferences, seminars, mission plans and itineraries;
o In collaboration with respective program officers; Conduct occasional research and writing assignments; develop information depository on grantees and servicing grantees information; manage and respond to unsolicited funding requests;
o Under the guidance of the program officer, review media reports, monitor relevant internet sites and prepare regular updates relevant to the program issue area;
o Participate in missions where appropriate.

QUALIFICATIONS:

* University degree in a relevant subject
* Good knowledge of democracy, human rights and governance issues in East Africa.
* Minimum three years prior experience in an administrative/coordination role. Experience with experience proposal writing and review preferred;
* Extensive computer skills (expertise with Microsoft Word, Excel and databases required) and ability to learn new software applications ;
* Excellent written, verbal and organizational skills. Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a diverse array of people;
* High level of self-motivation and ability to work independently when necessary, as well as commitment to working as a member of a team;
* Ability to manage several simultaneous projects in a fast-paced environment;
* Close attention to detail;
* Pleasant, diplomatic manner and disposition;
* Integrity and professional discretion essential.

The Open Society Institute works in over 60 countries worldwide to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. OSIEA is based in Nairobi and implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, free speech, public health, and independent media in Eastern Africa. For more information please visit: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/osiea

COMPENSATION: Competitive salary, with paid benefits

TO APPLY: Send résumé and cover letter to jobs@osiea.org

No phone calls, please. Only successful candidates will be contacted.


Search closes February 26, 2010

South Africa: Gender and Media Programme Manager - Gender Links

2010-01-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/61648

Gender Links, a dynamic Southern African NGO based in Johannesburg that promotes gender equality in and through the media seeks to fill the post of Gender and Media Programme Manager on an initial two year contract basis. Deadline ofr applications is Friday 5 February 2009.
Gender Links, a dynamic Southern African NGO based in Johannesburg that promotes gender equality in and through the media seeks to fill the post of Gender and Media Programme Manager on an initial two year contract basis. The successful candidate will be expected to oversee all of GL’s gender and media research, policy and training projects including fund raising and financial accounting. Candidates must have:

· A master’s degree in media studies or equivalent qualification.
· At least five to eight years experience working in the media or a related field in the SADC region and knowledge/working experience of the region.
· Track record of commitment to gender equality and diversity in the media.
· Excellent research, writing and presentation, programme management as well as IT skills.

A competitive remuneration package will be offered, commensurate with skills and experience. Please send a letter of motivation, CVs, a sample of your writing and references to: hrandadmin@genderlinks.org.za or fax: 011-622-4732 by close of business Friday 5 February 2009. Only successful candidates will be contacted for interviews.

South Africa: HIV and AIDS Care Work Manager - GEMSA

2010-01-22

http://pambazuka.org/en/category/jobs/61649

The Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) Network seeks the services of a senior policy and advocacy expert for its regional campaign on making care work count. Please submit a letter of motivation CV, references, and at least two samples of your work to admin@gemsa.org.za by Friday 5 February 2010.
The Gender and Media Southern Africa (GEMSA) Network seeks the services of a senior policy and advocacy expert for its regional campaign on making care work count. The successful candidate will be expected to have a Masters Degree in a relevant social science discipline; at least ten years experience managing research, lobbying and advocacy work in HIV and gender related research; a thorough knowledge of the Southern African region; excellent verbal, written and management skills.


Competitive remuneration will be offered, commensurate with silks and experience. More information on GEMSA can be found on www.gemsa.org.za or by phoning Pinkie Magau on 011-622-2597. Please submit a letter of motivation CV, references, and at least two samples of your work to admin@gemsa.org.za by Friday 5 February 2010. Late applications will not be considered. Only short listed candidates will be contacted for interviews.

Uganda: Program Coordinator - EHAHRDP

2010-01-22

http://tinyurl.com/ylhvkaq

The East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (EHAHRDP) would like to recruit a Program Coordinator to work at the Secretariat based in Kampala, Uganda. Applications which should include a letter of motivation and a C.V. with details of education background, working experience, human rights activities and three references should be sent to; program@defenddefenders.org by the 31st January 2010.

Fahamu