Reporters Without Borders condemns the six-month prison sentences that a court in the southwestern city of Bulawayo passed on three South African drivers on 2 June for “unauthorised possession of TV broadcast equipment” and urges the judicial authorities to release them.

The Republic of Congo plans to set aside part of its arable land for biofuel production, even as a debate rages over the part played by biofuels in the current global food crisis. Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Rigobert Maboundou, reckons biofuels have been overly maligned of late.

Exposure to the elements after heavy rains washed away shelters, and lack of adequate food, have hit many Somalis who fled the capital, Mogadishu, to seek refuge in the northern outskirts, local and civil society leaders said. "At least nine people, including a pregnant woman and two children have died in the last two weeks," Abikar Sheekhay, a medical doctor who visits the camps, told IRIN.

Chad accused Sudan's army of attacking a town on its eastern border on Tuesday and blamed its neighbour for Chadian rebel raids that have disrupted international aid operations to help thousands of refugees. The Chadian accusation showed tensions flaring again between the two oil-producing neighbours, who often accuse each other of supporting cross-border rebel attacks over their frontier running along Sudan's violence-torn Darfur region.

At least 40 people drowned and about 100 are missing after a boat carrying illegal immigrants from Libya to Italy capsized, an Egyptian security official said on Monday. Forty bodies have been recovered after the boat sank shortly after leaving the port of Zuwarah, about 100km west of Tripoli, on June 7, the official said, citing a report from the Egyptian embassy in Libya.

The Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) expressed their deep concern over the confrontation between the armed forces of Eritrea and Djibouti that began on June 10. The PSC urged the two countries to commence dialogue to resolve the dispute and to withdraw all forces, that have been positioned since February 4, from the border. The PSC also thanked Djibouti for their cooperation with the AU mission and requested that Eritrea do so. Further, an AU team led by former Sierra Leonean President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah will be sent to Zimbabwe to observe the presidential run-off election due to be held June 27. The AU expressed concern over violence and intimidation during the electoral preparations and called for effective measures to address the situation. In addition, prominent African leaders, including former heads of state, business leaders, academics and leading campaigners, have also called for an end to violence and intimidation in Zimbabwe. They stressed the need for every citizen to be able freely express their political choice in a peaceful and transparent manner. Still in peace related news, the AU has been called to intervene in Darfur by sending between 5000 to 10000 troops instead of the 3000 present there in order to stop an apparent genocide.

The People’s Republic of China, one of Africa’s newer investors, has reiterated its stance that it has no intention of colonizing or exploiting Africa as is being speculated by western countries. According to Ms. Wang Ke, Counsellor of the African Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China considers ‘African countries as friends and wants to build partnership based on trust, sincerity, equality, mutual support and common development’. Despite China’s energy-reliant and booming economy, the country holds under two percent of Africa’s oil. Also in economic news, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) seeks to create a pan-African board to attract more investors in Africa but its main peers, the Nigeria Stock Exchange and Nairobi Stock Exchange have responded unenthusiastically calling the decision politically unsound.

In development news, African environmental ministers called on the AU to adopt a common position on climate change at its 13th summit in 2009, ahead of the Copenhagen climate change summit in December that year. The ministers agreed that a common strategy on climate change will help persuade developed countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by between 25 to 40 percent by 2020. One of the consequences of climate change is the current food crisis in the world. In East Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have announced budgetary measures to alleviate some of the burden of soaring food prices on their respective populations.

African experts on slavery are meeting in Banjul, Gambia in an effort to create a common position on slavery. During the transatlantic slave trade, more than 13 million Africans were captured and enslaved and four million other killed in the transit. Also in human rights related news, a draft proposal for the merger of the African Human Rights Court and the African Court of Justice will be presented during the AU Summit in Egypt.

Finally, while welcoming partnership with Europe, Libyan president Col. Muammar Gaddafi has opposed plans for a Mediterranean Union saying that it would harm efforts towards Arab and African unity.

FAMEDEV is deeply concerned by the situation in Zimbabwe. As a result of this concern, FAMEDEV dedicated 35 minutes in their online radio to Zimbabwe and its current social, economic and political events. On this programme which was aired under our Assignment programme, they engaged John Masuku, veteran Zimbabwean broadcaster and Lucy Makaza, a renowned Zimbabwean Civil Rights Activist, on the current issues in the country.

The latest report from the International Crisis Group examines the ruling National Democratic Party’s (NDP) hard-line stance and the Muslim Brothers’ ambiguous approach to political participation. At a time of political uncertainty surrounding the presidential succession and serious socio-economic unrest, it offers an alternative to the current short-term thinking that carries very uncertain longer-term returns.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) seeks a Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) for its Environment, Production and Technology Division. Under the supervision of the Division Director and guided by the Research Fellow and Senior Scientist leading the Global Change research theme of IFPRI, and in close collaboration with other staff as appropriate, the successful post-doctoral fellow will conduct research and analysis on land use patterns and shifts under alternative scenarios of global environmental and economic change.

Demonstrators in many Brazilian cities and San Francisco denounced Brazil's brutal 4-year military occupation of Haiti -- on the occasion of the May 28th visit to Haiti by Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva, marking the 4th anniversary of the arrival of Brazilian U.N. troops in Haiti. Organized labor played a key role in coordinating the actions in Brazil.

This radio interview addresses the question of Charles Taylor's possible involvement in the assassination of Thomas Sankara.

We, women representatives from different organisations in Africa, representing farmer’s, Community Based Organisations, Landless Peoples Movements, Pastoralists and Youth, from Western, Southern and Eastern Africa, meeting in Nairobi from June 16-18, 2008, to share our diverse experiences on women’s access, control and ownership of land/natural and productive resources in Africa and governments’ extent of implementation of the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD) Declaration in Africa and the current food crisis.

This report from the International Crisis Group, analyses the frozen border conflict between two states who fought a major war in 1998-2000 and recommends an approach to overcome the stalemate. Following Ethiopia’s refusal to accept virtual demarcation of the border by the now defunct Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC), Asmara unilaterally implemented it and forced out the UN peacekeeping mission (UNMEE), significantly raising the stakes and shattering the status quo.

Imagine a Uganda where bruises and broken bones don’t keep mothers away from caring for their children
Imagine a Uganda where women walk the streets and paths at night without looking over their shoulders
Imagine a Uganda in which girls live a life free of violence from their teachers, relatives, strangers, etc.
Imagine a Uganda where perpetrators of violence against women and girls face the full rigour of the law
Imagine a Uganda Without Violence Against Women and Girls…

For consumers in developed markets, using a mobile phone for banking services is a smart add-on to a bank's branch network. But to people in the developing world, the arrival of mobile banking - or m-banking - is potentially revolutionary. If money is an economy's lifeblood, improving its circulation plays a critical role. Many Africans living in rural areas, for instance, rely on money sent home by members of their family who work in towns and cities. But getting that cash to a village that could be hundreds of miles away is a tricky business.

His Excellency Mr. Antonio De Aguiar Patriota, Brazilian Ambassador to the United States 3006 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 90008

Her Excellency, Ms. Theresa Maria M. Quintella, Consul General of Brazil 8484 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Your excellency,

It is time, after nine months of uneasy anxiety, that some authority charged in the name of the international community with responsibility for security in Haiti, advise the international community, that is, the international public, of its findings in regard to the scandalous kidnapping or disappearance of Haitian citizen and patriot, Mr. Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine.

The date of Mr. Pierre-Antoine’s disappearance is well established. It is also known that he had been helping human rights delegations from two countries -the USA and Canada, countries with famous courts and parliaments.

Please do not misunderstand this appeal. It has great hope in the United Nations as a peacekeeping agency and much hope in the evolution of democracy in Brazil, which holds a leading position in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. My disappointment is therefore considerable. Every son and daughter of Haiti deserves the protection of the law and of special international arrangements. Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine is a son of Haiti, one who is well-known in the region and is becoming better known in the world. His international reputation is a standard of judgment of the peacekeeping force. Their reputation will rise or fall with his fortunes. In the present day world, news of violations is highly saleable.

The world knows of no position by the official agencies in Haiti, whether domestic or international, on this important instance of inhumanity. When this matter was raised from the floor at a Conference on Haiti’s children at a University in San Diego, USA, the Ambassador of Haiti to the USA made a spirited response. Not only did he establish the non-involvement of the government of Haiti in the kidnapping of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, but he effectively defended the government, assuring the audience that it had no hand in the unfortunate affair. No one had even suggested that it had. He said that Mr Pierre-Antoine was probably a rival candidate of some other person and hinted that in such circumstances disappearances have sometimes occurred. I do not have a record of his statement before the gathering, and I am open to any correction he or any other party may wish to offer.

All the Ambassador was able to do was to vindicate the Haitian government. But Mr. Pierre-Antoine’s lawyer was present and rose to rebuke the government for its silence and its alleged failure to exercise its national responsibility.

The government of Haiti being ruled out as complicit in Mr. Pierre-Antoine’s absence, the hemisphere to which Haiti has always been central turns its searchlight on that multinational force considered to be of vital assistance to a historically crippled domestic government, and on the leadership of that force, the Republic of Brazil, a major hemispheric partner. Their presence there leads the uninformed to presume that they are there to supply the kind of expertise and clout which cannot be expected of the government in Haiti’s present circumstances. In these times of secretly employed but widely known intrusive surveillance, satellite observation on land, sea and air, clandestine wiretapping and other equipment useful in both offence and defense, there is a credibility gap. The public is not inclined to believe that a few thugs in Haiti have so completely baffled the human capacity of the leading States of the hemisphere.

This matter of the disappearance of Mr. Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine must therefore be taken to the bemused population of the hemisphere and the world at present waiting with impatience for some word of encouragement from the United Nations and its peacekeeping forces.

These forces must be aware of the kidnapping and disappearance of Haiti’s first Prime Minister, Toussaint L’ouverture. The French regime of that time, a regime of soldiers, treated TOUSSAINT’S fate with a silence similar to that with which Mr. Pierre-Antoine’s kidnapping is now being treated. Is this French model the model for the UN troops and its officials?

Questions rush to mind. The hemisphere certainly and the international community wish to know what task force has been set up to track the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine and other persons, regardless of their political attachment, who may be less well-known but in similar circumstances.

It is possible to have wrong notions about what happened to LOVINSKY. It is possible to make statements and then find the need to revise them. Is it possible in an age such as this, known for invasive surveillance, for criminal secrets to be so well-kept?

In the military context of a peacekeeping force, silence for two weeks on the part of the Commanding Authority may be advisable, after it has made an initial statement of concern assuring the public of its active pursuit of the offenders. Silence for three weeks may be cause for concern, yet understandable if it had given the necessary assurances. Silence for nine months becomes its opposite, and is no longer silence but an eloquent confession of incapacity, or worse, lack of concern.

If a citizen of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine’s prominence and popularity can be “caught up in the air”: then the fate of the unknown citizen in Haiti under the aegis of the United Nation’s force is not an enviable one.

Questions persist: When did the authorities first hear of this kidnapping? What specific steps have they taken? Who is keeping PIERRE-ANTOINE’S wife and their children informed? Are there no suspects? Is the kidnapping seen as self-inflicted? Have the suspects, if any, evaded the UN’s multi-national capacity? Were there secret landings of aircraft unknown to the official guardians? Was he spirited away in a small boat and have all suspects been called in? Has Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine been rendered? Where are the international media, famous for increasing effectiveness? Have state and media conspired not to investigate the fate of this man? Is he held by the forces of law and order, and if so where are his rights? If he is held, on what allegations or reasonable suspicion? Was this man, who was well known for his committed to non-violence and aimed to become a senator, suspected of planning to blow up the parliament?

Your Excellency, Ms. Theresa Maria M. Quintella, I ask you to transmit this letter to your government in Brazil without delay. Out of respect for President Lula as an elected Head of State the author shall release it to the international media in the Region and in all continents not before the end of the second day of its dispatch to the Head Consulate Officer of Brazil in Los Angeles.

Yours sincerely,
Eusi Kwayana

Cc: United Nations Secretary-General
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
Amnesty International
Pax Christi
Global Women's Strike, Los Angeles
Haiti Action Committee

* For more information on the disappearance of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine, see also: and [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/382/48924zimviolence.jpgRather than deflect and defeat the likelihood of political violence, the construct of a Government of National Unity would formally integrate it into the lifeblood of the Zimbabwean democratic dispensation. For South Africans, this situation recalls the kind of power sharing arrangements that former South African President F W De Klerk had in mind at the start of the 1990s negotiation process, where the share of actual voter support would not determine power arrangements. This proposal was not acceptable in the new South Africa then, and it is not acceptable in the new Zimbabwe now, writes Grace Kwinjeh examining the upcoming Zimbabwe presidential elections rerun.
===

In March 2008 Zimbabweans voted in the most peaceful election since independence, resulting in an unambiguous victory for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai. Three months later, the country is hemorrhaging from a massive and rising tide of political violence not seen since the state sponsored terror of the early 1980s. The ruling party and its supporters are responsible for the vast majority of the current attacks [1]. As if to underscore his party’s public embrace of violence, President Mugabe now openly threatens to “wage war” beyond the June 27 Presidential run-off election, if his candidacy should be rejected by the people for a second time. Meanwhile the MDC government-elect, MDC party structures and much of the party’s leadership have been forced into hiding as they seek to convince voters of their right to select – and see installed in place – a president of their choice.

For SADC, the Zimbabwe conflagration has become the most comprehensive diplomatic failure in the region since the resumption of the Angolan war in the 1990s. But unlike Angola, the Zimbabwe crisis is one for which SADC, President Mbeki and the international community bear a central contributing responsibility. By pushing for secretly brokered power-sharing arrangements leading to a “government of national unity” (GNU), the international intervention in Zimbabwe has relegated hopes for a new democratic dispensation built on the foundations of the expressed popular will of Zimbabweans. By refusing to actively acknowledge the MDC’s electoral victory and insist on its recognition and acceptance by ZANU PF, regional leaders and the international community effectively ignored and silenced the democratic voice of the people. As a consequence, the MDC’s hard-won legitimate authority has been erased, and the way has been opened for ZANU PF to recover by the bullet the authority it had lost at the ballot box.

This violent outcome of a proposed GNU strategy should not have been unexpected. ZANU PF’s violent riposte is reminiscent of the period immediately prior to Independence around the Lancaster House Conference, and even more so of the party’s violent campaign before the 1987 “Unity Accord” with the ZAPU opposition: indeed, it is a tried and tested tactic of ZANU PF to threaten and deploy intense violence as a strategic bargaining tool. Since independence the party has singularly distinguished itself among Zimbabwean political parties by demonstrating a capacity for – and indeed claiming the right to wage – mass violence in defense of its “national” interests. No longer heading the majority party, Robert Mugabe now cynically portrays violence as a means for defending the people from their mistaken choice.

This deeply cynical pathology is echoed more subtly in the GNU concept. Despite a clear rejection of ZANU PF under electoral conditions heavily tilted in that party’s favour, unity talks have been promoted as a means of bringing the former ruling party back into the centre of decision-making. Even though neither voters nor the MDC demanded this arrangement in March, the new government in waiting has come under enormous pressure to fall in line accordingly. Its leaders have repeatedly said that such an arrangement would deny the popular voice and reward anti-democratic, flagrantly illegal and often murderous behaviour – while only deferring, and certainly not solving, the problem of organising the transition to a new political order. It is indeed difficult to understand why those who previously promoted engagement with ZANU PF as a means of strengthening a deeply flawed electoral process, should now effectively reject that improved process and insist on power sharing terms with the author of electoral fraud and intimidation.

In contrast, it is clear that the promotion of a GNU is integral to the facilitation of an elite transfer of power which would vitiate the popular will of the electorate. This is why the idea of a GNU has been explicitly rejected by the leading membership-based civil society organisations in Zimbabwe, from the trade unions to human rights networks. These groups challenge the credibility and viability of a compromise that according to its proponents, would bring about some sort of “normalisation” of the political space without addressing the growing democratic deficit in Zimbabwe. For the Zimbabwean democratic movement, political normalisation requires before all else, recognition and acceptance of the expressed will of dominant social interests – not its circumvention through brokered elite ‘pacting’ carried out under the threat of violence.

In Zimbabwe, there is abiding consternation over why ZANU PF and its militia were given the opportunity by SADC and the international community to ignore the electoral results in the first place. What would have happened if the election results – deemed legitimate by observers – had been recognised and enforced? And what would happen if a similarly free and fair process were enforced in the current second round, by insisting on the disarming of ZANU PF and its militia, and the confinement of the security forces to base? Have those mediating and promoting mediation raised these issues – the clearest and most profound obstacles to democratic practice in Zimbabwe in the current moment?

It is widely acknowledged that demilitarisation is a central precondition needed to advance a democratic outcome and ensure its consolidation in the medium term. Yet, the perpetration of violence has been treated as a negotiable right – not as an act which invalidates claims to the process of a democratic transition. Remarkably, it took 10 weeks of deteriorating conditions for SADC’s official mediator Thabo Mbeki to publicly raise his concerns about the spiralling violence. But even then he avoided commentary on responsibility, despite ample documented evidence heavily implicating ZANU PF and state security forces in commanding the terror. His spokesperson claims he is precluded from doing so by virtue of his position as mediator. However this is a hollow rationale in the face of open and mounting ZANU PF belligerence.

For ZANU PF, with few political repercussions arising from the deployment of its violent supporters, there seems little incentive for abandoning this approach– and perhaps much to be gained from pursuing it. Robert Mugabe’s public declaration earlier this week that his party would go to war in the event of his defeat in the second round of voting was met with paralysing silence by Thabo Mbeki. The deployment of weapons and violence may be logistically difficult to confront: the deployment of words and threats is not.

THE ELECTION FIX: BACK TO THE FUTURE

By focusing on the GNU, rather than the actual election results, the SADC mediation has effectively allowed ZANU PF to return to the brokerage scenario it had anticipated in the post election period. This scenario, broadly shared by ZANU PF reformers, SA, some EU governments and others before the election, was premised on the belief that the MDC-Tsvangirai party’s support would be diminished by support for MDC-Mutambara and for Simba Makoni, the former Finance Minister and ZANU PF reformer who was a candidate for President. A split opposition vote would enable victory in the Presidential election and at least a plurality in Parliament. Moreover, the dispersion of opposition representation across three groupings would present options for developing a ‘Kenyan-style’ negotiation that could lead to a ZANU PF dominated GNU. Makoni – the “modernising” reform face of ZANU PF - could be parachuted in under Mugabe, to soon replace him as the consensus politician. And ZANU PF could argue that, if this kind of arrangement was acceptable for Kenya, why not in Zimbabwe? There was a lot of this kind of talk amongst MDC-M and Makoni supporters in advance of the election.

For ZANU PF this scenario both enabled the departure of Mugabe, a political liability whose presence would continue to block the party’s return to legitimacy and the resumption of desperately needed, stabilizing financial assistance for the world’s fastest-collapsing economy; and the retention and renewed consolidation of power by the ruling party. Confident of a mediated victory and needing a “legitimate” result to back its claims to rehabilitation, ZANU PF significantly loosened control over the electoral process in the first round of voting in March.

As it turned out, the party’s electoral assumptions were wildly naïve. At the election support for the MDC-M collapsed – and notably for its leadership, which was roundly defeated. Makoni was overwhelmingly rejected by voters, gaining perhaps just 10 percent of the vote. At the same time, ZANU PF’s traditional voters deserted the party by voting for the opposition or by boycotting the poll, as they had done in the benchmark defeat of the party in the 2000 Constitutional Referendum. In contrast, the MDC Tsvangirai party surged across the country, including in former rural strongholds of ZANU PF that for the first time ever had been rendered easily accessible to opposition campaigners – and to opposition polling agents and officials. This combination of factors meant there were too few votes to rig with, and that the conditions allowing the playing off of opposition forces within a prospective GNU did not materialize [2].

The shock of the election result and the resulting conundrum for the ruling party were quite literally written on its face. The headline of The Sunday Mail, the most slavishly loyal of the state-controlled newspapers, screamed the day after the election, “Anxiety Grips Zim.” Many other state media, including the country’s only radio and television broadcaster, ZBC, effectively fell silent, bewildered. No party leader of note addressed the nation for several days.

It was apparent that ZANU PF was reassessing its game plan. Over the next month it developed and then rolled this plan out, as SADC first patiently accommodated repeated inexplicable delays in the processing and announcement of results by ZEC, and then sat motionless as ZESN, the key civic election monitoring network, and MDC itself were raided by state officials in search of independently collected polling data that could be used to disprove manipulated official figures. Even after the long delay, only limited details of the presidential poll were eventually released [3].

Meanwhile, reports surfaced of remobilised war veterans and youth militias, and of the first violent penetrations by state security forces of “turncoat” former ruling party strongholds. ZANU PF aimed to create conditions that would make the run-off so difficult and dreaded that prospects of averting violence through some form of GNU and power sharing arrangement would be welcomed: a replay of the ZANU-ZAPU Unity Pact of 1987. ZANU PF’s transparently obvious “spin” on the violence –which has often been taken up by SADC leaders, and swallowed whole by much of the regional media as well – has been doubly damaging for Zimbabwean democrats. One the one hand, substantial evidence that the violence is disproportionately organised against the MDC has drawn muted criticism from SA, SADC and the GNU advocates like Makoni; on the other, the small amount of retaliatory violence attributed to the MDC is deemed to suggest a “crisis” and raise possibilities of “civil war” – reinforcing the need to avoid a run-off and the urgency for a negotiated solution [4].

African leaders have thus far studiously avoided apportioning responsibility for violence, in most instances couching reactions in terms of cautioning both sides and invoking dialogue. Widespread violations of SADC’s election ‘norms and standards’ have failed to elicit coherent responses from them. Neither has SADC cautioned or castigated the ZANU PF government for failing to ensure its constitutional responsibility for safety and security, despite overwhelming empirical evidence that the primary perpetrator is ZANU PF and its proxies.

Rather than address the issue of destabilizing violence and impose political censure for its deployment in this period of uncertainty, the SA government, SADC, some EU diplomats and the Makoni grouping actively talked up the need for a GNU – ostensibly as way to avert the threat of violence coming from ZANU PF. Indeed, independent and MDC reports demonstrated that increasing numbers from the MDC’s ranks were being beaten, tortured, abducted and murdered, the rationale for a GNU – and a political counter-attack to the wave of violence – was publicly reinforced by SA and SADC.

While mediation does not preclude processes of accountability, this approach appears to have been absent from the Mbeki initiative. As a result the SADC intervention has directly facilitated ZANU PF’s unfolding strategy for manipulating the conditions and issues that would have to be negotiated. SADC’s tentative response to the March vote allowed space and time for ZANU PF to regroup and ramp up the violence and threats of more of the same – both fuelling a defensive “demand for GNU”, and reasserting ZANU PF’s leading place in the setting of terms for any negotiations. The latter now focus on ending violence and averting civil war, rather than implementing the results of the peaceful election or ensuring that the next round of elections are conducted in a free and fair atmosphere – something that it appears can no longer be ensured.

THE GNU PROBLEM

If the GNU is primarily being proposed as a means to avoid a violent tragedy, rather than as a basis for a establishing a new inclusive democratic politics, skeptics are right to question the idea’s aims, objectives and predictable outcomes. Just as importantly, we need to pose a question for those advocating a non-democratic negotiated resolution to Zimbabwe’s election crisis: by what principle can the rights of the popular democratic will as expressed by voters be equated with, or rendered secondary to, the rights of discredited elites and perpetrators of violence? For this is precisely what the idea of a GNU proposes, in the name of an elusive, highly unstable and temporary peace.

Even if the MDC were able to extract considerable concessions from ZANU PF, it is highly unlikely that Robert Mugabe’s party would cede its effective control over its levers in the bureaucracy and particularly, in the security forces. Why would it: these are the instruments of war and obstruction that have enabled ZANU PF to climb out of the hole of electoral defeat on more than one occasion, to protect its networks of power. To suggest that these determinants of power would be given up willingly is to accept the notion that ZANU PF would be willing to abdicate. The last two months have exposed this view as profoundly delusional. Those who have put stock in the GNU have failed to assess their model of peace-making in light of ZANU PF’s strategic understanding that violence is a political asset and an effective substitute for popular legitimacy, which will not be negotiated away.

Rather than deflect and defeat the likelihood of political violence, the construct of a GNU would formally integrate it into the lifeblood of the Zimbabwean democratic dispensation. This is a remarkable solution to put before a political party that has just won an election based on its abiding commitment to non-violent democratic participation – and to the voting majority who supported it. For South Africans, this situation recalls the kind of power sharing arrangements that former South African President F W De Klerk had in mind at the start of the 1990s negotiation process, where the share of actual voter support would not determine power arrangements [5]. This proposal was not acceptable in the new South Africa then, and it is not acceptable in the new Zimbabwe now.
to the March election has facilitated a strong and violent response by ZANU PF.

For the time being, it seems increasingly likely that the GNU route will be not followed. This is not due to any lack of effort by the likes of Mbeki and many in SADC, or the distasteful posturing of the rejected Makoni, who cites rising violence as the need for inclusive negotiations without naming and condemning those – his erstwhile colleagues – who have created the unstable terrain on which he hopes to re-launch his ambitions. Rather, both the MDC and its supporters are wary of legitimizing the political role of those holding the gun to their heads and the torch to their homes. War is not something to be prevented: it is here already. And the only non-violent way to confront and defeat it is the ballot box, even if that option too is flawed.

If the current pressures for a GNU do indeed fail, all is not lost for ZANU PF: Makoni or another ZANU PF senior reformer could return to the forefront if Mugabe were to win the run-off, further destabilize the MDC and civil society, and then retire on his own terms – handing over power to a reformer to negotiate a new GNU from a position of regained legitimacy and strength. But this first requires another successfully manipulated election result, and a frontal assault on MDC and civil society resistance. The arrest on treason charges this past week of MDC Secretary General Tendai Biti does not bode well; neither does the relative weakness of the SADC response to this latest development. And is there any reason to think that additional ZANU PF manipulations during and after the second round of voting will not take place, given the success of such interventions in the first?

ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY, ACTING RESPONSIBLY

The options chosen by SADC and the international community for dealing with the March 2008 election have directly contributed to the options chosen by ZANU PF. It was a choice not to recognise the MDC victory and to allow the illegal charade over the recount to occur [6]. It is enough here to point out that the MDC won the Parliamentary elections, that Morgan Tsvangirai won the Presidential election, that nearly 3 million Zimbabweans did not vote, and consequently it is very clear that Robert Mugabe and ZANU PF do not enjoy the support of the vast majority of the population.

This set of circumstances allowed for an alternative political response; a recognition of and call for an MDC government to be accepted by ZANU PF. However, the failure to support this option has contributed directly to the current confusion between promoting conditions for a free and fair re-run and negotiations for a GNU. Despite a widespread acceptance that conditions cannot be free and fair for the June 27 poll, and calls for a GNU, the MDC is sticking to the electoral path and holding out prospects for an inclusive government of national healing in which it would play a lead role after the elections. This position, openly supported by SADC, will promote an elitist management of transitional arrangements under the auspices of a power sharing arrangement that will effectively insulate and protect those responsible for perpetrating violence and gross human rights abuses –as happened with previous election amnesties for party violence, and most seriously with the Unity Accord in 1987.

As regards the re-run, although it is no longer possible to create the conditions for a free and fair poll, with less than 10 days before the poll, there could and should be certain steps taken to remedy the most egregious violations and potential for destabilisation. This should include: deploying adequate numbers of election monitors, especially in areas where violence and intimidation has been reported, and playing a more active role in monitoring the activities and decision-making processes of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission; promoting an agenda of disarming ZANU PF and its militia/war veteran proxies hands; censuring the role of the security forces, censuring hate speech and talk of war by any political parties; commenting on access of candidates to state media; question and establishing a strategy with rewards and penalties for compliance/non-compliance with SADC election guidelines.

Thabo Mbeki did state ahead of the 2005 elections that there would be consequences if the SADC Principles and Guidelines were seriously violated, but this was said against the background of woefully inadequate provisions for monitoring on the ground [7]. Meanwhile, in June 2008, the corpses of MDC officials and suspected opposition supporters are accumulating, thousands have been displaced by the political violence, likely thousands more beaten and brutalised, hate speech fills the airwaves, and a discredited President threatens the majority with war – and still, there is no sign of serious electoral censure in the air.

It is time for fresh thinking and fresh action. In advance of the second round of presidential voting, problems need to be anticipated and prevented before they arise. Several critical questions emerge:

What would have happened if SA, SADC and the international community rejected the delays by ZEC and ZANU PF, demanded the transparent compilation and immediate release of results - and ensured that all parties abided by them?

What would have happened if all civil society organisations and democratic parties and politicians had stood firmly behind the MDC government-elect, rather than soliciting for all-inclusive extra-electoral GNU? If more support for the winning party MDC had been expressed, what options then would have remained for elite transitions?

Who, then, really enabled ZANU PF’s violent election strategy sending the defeated party, its leaders and violent supporters inside and outside the state all of the wrong signals in the immediate post-election period?

And consequently, whose responsibility is it now to end the violence by terminating discussions about an all-inclusive GNU, and insisting on a government of transition and renewal headed unambiguously by the party elected by the people: the MDC Tsvangirai.

* Grace Kwinjeh is an NEC member of the MDC and the Chairperson of the Global Zimbabwe Forum.

* Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

* For further notes, see below

Nigerian militants responsible for the bombing of oil pipelines and the kidnapping of foreign workers in the Niger delta said yesterday they would not take part in a peace summit called by the government. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, whose campaign of violent sabotage against Nigeria's oil industry has helped push world oil prices to record highs, said next month's summit was bound to fail.

The UN Security Council should adopt a resolution or presidential statement supporting efforts to rein in the capacity of the Lord’s Resistance Army to attack civilians and to ensure justice for the most serious crimes committed during the northern Uganda conflict, Human Rights Watch said in a letter released to council members.

The South African government should recognize that political repression and economic deprivation have forced Zimbabweans to flee their country and immediately stop deporting them, Human Rights Watch has said in a new report. Human Rights Watch called on the government to grant Zimbabweans in South Africa temporary status and work rights.

From June 8 to13 a Mission made up of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ Africa Office based in Senegal), Southern Africa Editors’ Forum (SAEF), Southern Africa Journalists Association (SAJA), the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Regional Office and the Network of African Freedom of Expression Organisations (NAFEO) visited Zimbabwe on a fact finding mission to ascertain the conditions of media and freedom of expression in Zimbabwe in the light of the arrests of journalists, both local and foreign and the deteriorating freedom of expression environment.

In a landmark decision delivered on June 5, 2008, The Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja, Nigeria declared the arrest and detention of Chief Ebrima Manneh illegal and ordered the Gambian authorities to immediately release him.

I look at the portrait in my mind and hope that every parent, every caregiver, every teacher can acknowledge that every child growing up is a human being, has an ethnic, physical, mental, psychological and sexual identity all rolled up and intermingled with each other, and that the education of that child needs to equip him or her to explore all aspects of it all while learning restraint and respect for social boundaries and respect for other people's choices and boundaries.
====

Bryan was my brother, ten years older than me and a paint artist. He left home when I was 8 and for a while the distance and age gap pulled us apart. After a particularly bad period of my life, Bryan made special effort to be a big brother. I needed that and still count it as one of the reasons I am still alive today.

At first, all Bryan could do was be there for me. At times, even that had to be at a distance. His work as a paint artist allowed him a few respites especially after a good exhibition sale at a gallery somewhere. Then he would take time off to come to the tiny village town where I spent my teens. While there he would ask me to pose as his subject for a painting. I recall breezy mornings on grassy green with palm trees and flowers in the background and me with a book. Then there were humid afternoons on sandy white with the jade blue ocean as our setting and yes, me with a book.

Bryan was tough, not very loud but potentially boorish after a few beers and in the company of his macho friends and cousins. When he was painting, he would be quiet and intense, listening to strange music that I have since discovered to be modern classical compositions, or alternatively asking me to read from poetry and classical books. During my career as his art subject, I read poetry from Homer's Iliad to Sara Teasdale's Peace(Sadly my own attempts at poetry are, well, deplorable!). I read Ernest Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea and children's classics like The Snow white Queen and Cinderella, the Kenyan legends like Mekatilili and Luanda Magere.

The last time I posed for Bryan's work (It can't be a pose exactly because I was allowed to sit and required to move around) I was 19 years old. I had to read both Mekatilili and Cinderella. I sneaked a few glances at the boys playing soccer further down the beach and wished to join them. I stared quite openly at the lovers covertly attending to each other hidden by the jade blue. A light skinned girl about 3 or 4 squealed with delight as her father, a foreigner, tickled her then let her run up to the edge of the water before scooping her and carrying her back to his black wife. And I wondered what Bryan's finished work would look like and if it would fetch him a bit of cash.

When I did see the finished work, I reeled in shocked surprise. In all his previous works he depicted me as an impish tomboy, caught between innocence and adulthood, hardly developed but not quite a child. One particular painting had me standing on the edge of a crag ready to dive into the ocean and obviously relishing the attention of the awed boys below. (That episode earned me a few slaps from a brother who was certain I had narrowly missed cracking my skull on jagged rock underwater.)

The portrait was nothing like that. Last I heard someone bought it for a hundred dollars (a good price then!)  and if you are reading this I will buy it back please. I might need to mow your lawn and do your laundry to get the sum together.

In the portrait, the person depicted (me surely?) is young, gentle, feminine, a woman... She looks at another person who is hidden by shadows, vague, male, not my brother. Her eyes know. Her mouth is full, sensuous, determined. Her body shocks me because it is relaxed, accepting of its own sexuality. The feminine curves are defined, the soft swell of a breast, the gentle roll of a hip just covered by the bright coloured fabric of a leso that might have flapped with the wind.

I wasn't shocked that my brother had drawn me, his own sister, in the form of a woman, and a sensuous one at that (!!!). I was more than shocked even repulsed at the idea of my being a woman, and a sexual being.

Perhaps this was the final lesson my brother wanted to teach me, because he was killed soon after this. As I stood there that day, shaking to the pit of my stomach, he asked me, "Wambui, you are who you are. But who are you? And what do you want to be?" The thing that has bothered me since then is the way he asked those questions. I am who I am, but who am I? What did I want to be?

It's taken me time, but I am slowly unravelling it in my mind. There have been times when I have chosen to ruminate over it, and times when I have chosen to skirt past it. However, I chose to be a teacher and a writer. As a teacher, I am in daily contact with young children and teenagers who are struggling to discover their personal identities. As a writer, I have to write about social issues and that almost always brings me back to the topic of identity.

Identity has been wrapped in issues of ethnicity, nationality and gender. Sexual identity forums almost always spiral into debates about gender roles and homosexuality versus heterosexuality. Generally, most people confuse, and lose, their own personal identities in the roles that they have to assume or that are imposed on them through the life cycle. I keep thinking, I am ME. I am a teacher, a writer, a sister, a Kenyan...I should still be ME if I chose not to teach anymore or to change citizenship. I should still be ME if I take on the roles of motherhood or say, uh..., wifehood.

Old African culture dictated the sequence of life role changes. It also provided support and symbolic rites which included a measure of educative processes that I believe helped shape and reinforce a person's individual identity for the good of the existing society. I cite the Agikuyu initiation rites which were accompanied by education from the elders and subsequent freedom to attend activities such as ngweko (a form of dating with sexual activity that was not limited to one partner but that did not allow penetration) which made it possible for a person to explore sexuality within limits. The subsequent ascension through the leadership roles with accompanying education and rites formed a kind of reinforcing system.

Times have inevitably changed. Historical developments, introduction of 'un-African' religion for example have changed the socio-cultural structures. Granted, some of the cultural traditions were shrouded in illogical shades and at times clearly violated the rights of a human being. However, it is my personal belief that the socio-cultural texture of many of the old African traditions did promote and contribute to the well being of individuals and societies as a whole. At the time.

I am not surprised then that more and more African peoples are going back to being as African as possible in this modern world. More and more people are choosing to learn, and have their children learn, at least one if not two or three ethnic Kenyan languages. Parents are choosing to have their children go through modernized forms of traditional initiation rites. For the boys, they may comprise in some cultures a 'cut' at the clinic followed by group setting counselling usually provided by a church based organization. For the girls, the counselling might be accompanied by basic skills teaching in housekeeping, social skills and so on, but eliminating female circumcision.

I think the effort is commendable. In fact I wish that I might have gone through a similar rite of passage to define the moment I passed from being a child to being a woman. As it is, life chose a very different and much more painful rite of passage for me.

That said, I must state at this point that I am very much disturbed by the manner in which we handle the development of a child into adulthood. We, African Society, chose to deny certain aspects of development (don't get me wrong here, we do pretend to talk about it) and in effect negate very important parts of the human identity, more often than not creating maladjusted individuals and therefore even more unhealthy societies.

Sexuality. As far as I know, 'counselling' in the context of the rites of passage ceremonies involves telling the youth to abstain. Abstain? From what? Sex and sexuality are deliberately and inadvertently portrayed as 'sinful' and shameful. So shameful that we cannot acknowledge that sex is part of who we are, so shameful that we in effect fail to teach the youth about boundaries and safe living. So shameful...and this in a society where a man will defile a ten year old and dare claim in his defence that she provoked him.

Back to the portrait. I am not sure what my brother was thinking when he painted the portrait. I do not know what you are thinking not, either. What I know is that it made me realize that I was a human being, with my very own identity, which does constitute a sexual component and is not at all anything shameful, even if I chose not to flaunt it. It just is.

I have though quite hard about the point I want to make with this article. I look at the portrait in my mind and hope that every parent, every caregiver, every teacher can acknowledge that every child growing up is a human being, has an ethnic, physical, mental, psychological and sexual identity all rolled up and intermingled with each other, and that the education of that child needs to equip him or her to explore all aspects of it all while learning restraint and respect for social boundaries and respect for other people's choices and boundaries.

I do not think it is easy to change the mind-set that now dictates our society today. But that is all it is; a mind-set. It can be reset. The reset, however, requires that we all accept 3 things:

-It is human to be sexual, just as there is nothing wrong with accepting our cultural and psychological identities, and that there is nothing wrong with accepting our own sexuality.

-Times will continue to change, therefore education systems within and without the family must evolve while encompassing the human development.

-A child does have a sexual identity, but there is nothing at all acceptable about an adult exploring or exploiting a child's sexuality. (I suppose we are now going to be debating about who is a child, but the boundaries for that are limited, too.)

So who am I? I still need to think about that for a while longer. I do know that I am well on the way of accepting myself for who I am.

*Juliet Maruru is a Kenyan writer.

*Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org

*

On June 19, the United Nations Security Council is set to debate the relevance of sexual violence in conflict to its work. The debate may result in the adoption of a historic resolution which would require the Council to analyze and address the occurrence of sexual violence in all conflict-affected situations on its agenda.

On March 29th 2008 Zimbabweans went to the polls and changed history. For the first time since Independence in 1980, the Zanu PF party lost its majority in parliament and Robert Mugabe lost the Presidential vote. The regime immediately embarked on a campaign of violence and reprisal attacks against the civilian population. This map aims to convey some sense of the scale of the violence and it also tries to locate responsibility in relation to key perpetrator groups.

It seems to me that the world over, and more so in our developing nations, that our very existence is built on risk. Women’s ability to bring life into the world is full of risks; the ability of the child to survive past her childhood is surrounded by risks; the ability of the child to obtaining basic schooling is a momentous risk. And the risk of a young girl falling into the poverty trap is greater than her succeeding in life - writes Salma Maoulidi.
====

Twice in one week I refused to be served by two men, both vendors, who would not heed my request that they wash their hands before serving me. Consequently, I forwent satiating an appetite for delicious oranges in one instance and ‘muhogo wa kuchoma’ in the other. And this is not the first time I have had to forgo appeasing my fetish for local yummies. One night I went to bed hungry after one man decided to serve me my portion of Swahili delicacies using his bare hands. I asked him to use a serving spoon and skewers. He responded by rudely asking me to leave his stall.

It is surprising that these men react extremely negatively (and even violently) to requests of consideration for a client’s welfare, in this case mine. They would not even have a discussion about why they could not or would not heed to my requests. I did not need to explain myself but just so that I left nothing to chance I clarified that we all know what men do when they need to relieve themselves. How could I be sure that cleaned up after, or if that he had not scratched himself somewhere wicked?

Momentarily the resistance I witnessed offered a vivid image of what women who have to negotiate with men over a condom must face. While a woman is keen to protect her self during intercourse her male partner has no sense of obligation towards her well-being. At all times his needs seem to eclipse all else. Indeed, if being asked to wash one’s hand to serve another causes such resistance and uproar what must putting on a condom entail?

For almost a week after the event I tried to figure why it was hard for the men to understand that what they were offering me with their bare hands would be consumed by me and enter my system. I, therefore, had no choice but to be prudent as to where what I consume originates and how it is served. It is enough that it is sitting by the side of the road. I don’t need the extra risk of exposure from a known carrier of bacteria. Did they honestly believe that I would trust their hands over my judgment? That I would defer to their ego over my wellbeing? Better safe than sorry I urged myself on as I turned my back to the oranges, muhogo and other choice bites.

I will not be surprised if someone attempts to explain such behaviour from a cultural perspective. I don’t think there is anything indigenous about risking another’s life but what I do buy into is the link between risk and a way of being. Indeed, it seems to me that the world over, and more so in our developing nations, that our very existence is built on risk. Women’s ability to bring life into the world is full of risks; the ability of the child to survive past her childhood is surrounded by risks; the ability of the child to obtaining basic schooling is a momentous risk. Rather she risks dropping out after a few years of schooling to work or to get married. The risk of a young girl falling into the poverty trap is greater than her succeeding in life.

WHY IS A DISCUSSION ON RISK RELEVANT?

Someone mentioned to me recently with regards the power outage in Zanzibar that if this was in another place (and perhaps in another era) the government would be sued for non performance, for the inconvenience caused and for the sheer negligence that leads to subjecting a whole population to power blackout, and for failing to have an emergency plan.

Elsewhere heads would have rolled: a few hours of power blackouts is serious enough let alone a whole month! But this is Tanzania so the President and his Ministers explain away the situation asking citizens to remain calm and preserve as they as they do other mess-ups by the leadership.

One would think that one scandal is enough to warrant a government to clean up its act lest it resigns. Not so in Tanzania. In the same week a few schools closed down because of food shortages. Apparently suppliers stopped sending food supplies to schools due to back payments in the millions of shillings. The ministry concerned through the Deputy Minister Mwantum Mahiza issued a weak statement asking suppliers to bear up as the Ministry has just completed an assessment of the contracts before sending them to Treasury for action.

Imagine our future is risked by poorly conceived and executed contracts! This fiasco happens at a time when students are gearing for their final ‘A’ level examinations. So the suppliers are promised action but what about the students, who will make up for their lost study time? How is it that the Ministry can have overlooked paying suppliers for months while they know children are in schools? No wonder national secondary education results have been dropping…

I worry about the placid response to all this goofing by the taxpayer. Indeed our sense of outrage over recent scandals involving grant theft in government is short lived. Imagine our national pride is compromised in order to appease political egos and we heed calls to stay calm. Our sense of justice is compromised so as not to risk offending the powerful and their friends or those who may be harbouring them. We watch as materialism and expediency puts at risk our sense of what is ethical - and morally just and applaud this as development.

Annually Tanzania remembers the victims aboard MV Bukoba on Lake Victoria who died after the Captain risked taking on extra baggage (perhaps to compensate for the transport shortage) resulting in a massive loss of life. Just recently in Lake Tanganyika another accident has claimed the lives of scores of passengers from all parts of the Greater Lakes. According to official reports overloading is to blame. Was this not a risk?

More disconcerting in all this is the power outage - a matter of national security not addressed as such. Indeed it is not only a grave matter with respect to the risk of an invasion or sabotage but with respect to the threat to life and livelihoods it has posed and continues to pose to local communities. How many people have died as a result? What is the sheer cost of running on generators for extended periods when oil prices are soaring? Who, I wonder, will meet these unexpected costs?

As the world braces itself for food shortages and soaring food prices how much food has wasted away in freezers? How much income has been lost when industries and business fail to operate or to operate maximally? Will the revenue authorities bear this in mind as they go after our taxes? Surely citizens cannot be expected to pay taxes but remain silent and docile when authorities mess up.

More shocking to our nationalist sensitivities is the reason behind the longetivity of the outage. Apparently the only one who can fix the problem is an expert from Norway. After four decades of national independence, why is an area of national sensitivity like power still in the hands of foreign experts? And this is by a government that claims the political right to protect the isles against a take over from some gulf state!

Incredulous as it seems, it is becoming increasingly clear that our belief that we have entrusted the governance of this country to people who know what they are doing is wrong. It is abundantly clear that highly paid professionals and people who claim to have high qualifications posing as politicians and bureaucrats don’t have a clue about what they are doing. Conversely those who do have a clue may not care enough to make a difference. The result is pure misery for the common taxpayer.

It is no wonder that a friend of mine signs off all her messages with quote that reads “experts made the titanic but an amateur made the ark.” The Americans would say “go figure!” but I say we need to figure a way out of this leadership mess.

*Salma Maoulidi is an activist and the Executive Director of the Sahiba Sisters Foundation in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

*Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org

I was greatly offended by Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem's article, which amalgamated complex political and historical situations in different countries into a faulty continuous fabric. I was at first shocked to read the one-sided statement that Kenyans "swore that Raila would never be president, not because of anything other than his being Luo...A 100% Luo is not good enough for them as President of Kenya but they are supporting a 5O% Luo to be president of the USA!"

Abdul-Raheem's statement is grossly skewed and full of contradictions. First, which "Kenyans" does he talk about, since both those who voted for and against Raila are Kenyans? Second, the majority of people celebrating Obama's Democratic party ticket were from Raila Odinga's core support group, not from outside that group as Abdul-Raheem suggests. This means that his accusation of hypocrisy does not hold. Third, many voters also swore not to vote Kibaki for the simple reason that he was Gikuyu, and women and children were burnt in an Eldoret church to reaffirm that promise. Were they not as myopic as those who swore not to vote a Luo president? Abdul-Raheem's condemnation is one sided, implying that evil is evil depending on the ethnicity of the perpetrator. The blame (and heroism) in Kenya during the turbulent period at the beginning of 2008 goes all round; there are no innocent parties but collective responsibility in the form of declining morality, decadent institutions and poor political leadership.

Perhaps the most offensive characteristic of Abdul-Raheem's article is the collapsing of the ordinary African voters with the African politicians. The politics of "ivoirete" in Ivory Coast, for example, was a largely political problem to suppress the candidacy of one candidate. The French government subsequently intervened in the crisis by arming the rebels, destroying the government's air-force fleet, and making a mockery of the country's sovereignty by summoning the principle protagonists like schoolboys to sign a peace deal in France. However, Ivoirians were more perceptive than Abdul-Raheem. They protested the deaths and casualties at the hands of the French army.

The argument that Obama celebrates his heritage which is not an impediment to his campaign lacks concrete evidence. If anything, the most worrying aspect of Obama's achievement is his distancing himself from Black American history. In his memoir "Dreams of my Father" Obama terms black nationalism as sustained by hatred. He makes ceremonial mention of the Civil Rights movement and gives no credit to Black American heroes for paving the way for his candidacy. While Obama has achieved a great feat, it has come at the cost of the moral integrity of African peoples worldwide. But as Kali Akuno has brilliantly argued ("Barack Obama and the New Afrikan Question"), the euphoria and unexpectedness of his victory mean that we have to go back to the drawing board and figure out a theory that still fights for the African poor without alienating them as they celebrate Obama's achievement.

Kali Akuno demonstrates that we need carefully balanced and meticulous reasoning to analyze and articulate a vision for Africans worldwide after Obama's victory. We cannot do this if we collapse history into simplistic formulas that deny the complexity of African societies worldwide. After all, we are the same ones who condemn racism for simplifying our histories and judging what happens in Haiti, the US and Zimbabwe on exactly the same historical schema simply because the people's complexion is similar. We should not do the same by blurring the distinction between Africa's political class and the ordinary voters across different national boundaries and historical peculiarities.

Thank you for the article, which is rational, academically sound and most illuminating. A refreshing antidote to the often myopic, hysterical and misleading nonsense published in the local, popular media.

When Eritrea earned independence from Ethiopia in 1991, it was seen by many as a revolutionary moment that would usher in freedom and equality. But more than fifteen years later, the “reality is the liberation-army-turned-government is led by a brutal dictator and his handful cronies. There are no systems of representation or participation in the government. Sadly, those who paid the highest price in the armed struggle, the former fighters men and women are the ones who suffer the most today,” Yet in the midst of it all Nunu Kidane finds hope.
===

My country Eritrea is in the news again and hardy on a positive note. The conflict with Djibouti reported in the New York Times and European press is not the news I would have liked to read about. Over the past decade, starting with the border clash with Ethiopia in 1998, Eritrea has been the cause of, or in some way directly linked to conflict and destabilization of the Horn of Africa half a dozen times.

What saddens me is that Eritrea, during the days of the struggle for independence, was a country that held such high hopes and promises for us as Eritreans, and for the Horn of Africa, indeed for the continent as a whole. It is a small country in North East Africa, by the Red Sea, with approx 4.5 million people, which a fierce sense of independence and pride in the people’s ability to do it on our own.

When it won de facto independence in 1991, it appeared indeed the defiant attitude of going against the grain of global political trends had paid off. The future looked hopeful and the people were united in the insurmountable challenge of nation building ahead.

Whenever I introduce myself as Eritrean in academic circles or with progressive Africa supporters from the old days, they tell me how much they had supported Eritrea’s struggle for liberation. They tell me their pride in supporting the women’s equality movement that was grassroots and led by Eritrean fighters, a model of self determination and securing full rights for women at all levels. The liberation movement was more than an armed struggle; it was visionary in planning for social and economic transformation of a country and its people that linked with the struggle of people in similar struggles the world over.

Whenever I or other Eritreans are greeted in such ways, for what our country used to be, there is a deep sense of loss and sadness that overcomes us. It is difficult to know what to say in response because the reality of what Eritrea is today cannot be further from the vision of our aspirations at the time of independence some 17 years ago.

The reality is the liberation-army-turned-government is led by a brutal dictator and his handful cronies. There are no systems of representation or participation in the government. Sadly, those who paid the highest price in the armed struggle, the former fighters men and women are the ones who suffer the most today. Both at the hands of the government as prisoners in their own ‘free’ country, as forced fighters in various conflicts with Eritrea’s neighbors, or from the high cost of food and fuel and the worsening economy which has left nearly one third of the country malnourished and at the brink of starvation.

In the early days of the Eritrean struggle for independence, Eritrean women were celebrated as heroes unlike any seen before in Africa. Despite the traditional limitations of the conservative culture which does not allow women to participate in any social and religious activities alongside their brothers, Eritrean women in the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) proved that cultures could be challenged and changed. Women wearing short military pants, hair in afro, slinging Kalashnikovs were our pride in depicting strength of body and character. Unlike other liberation fronts where the women were relegated to the kitchens and as support to their male counterparts, Eritrean military forces were made up of nearly thirty percent women. Not only was the military integrated fully, but women held leadership positions and participated in all health, education and agricultural programs that supported the rural communities. Violation of women’s rights was a serious crime and rape was punishable by death.

Where are those women now? What happened to their voices and the ‘equality’ that was supposed to translate into economic power? If one were to do a quick search on google for “Eritrean women” you would hardly find any evidence of the history of these women fighters. Right after you go past the postcard tourist photos of women in traditional drab and right past the “date Eritrean women” link, you may find the link to the National Union of Eritrean Women. Although still in operation, a discredited association which parastatal despite claiming to be non-governmental. Not only is it a weak association, but the NUEW has betrayed its historic mission by being a mouth piece of justifications and rationalization of the government for the repression and violation against Eritrean women today.

The Eritrean diasporic community was highly supportive of the struggle at home, financially and in policy advocacy in the US, Europe and the Middle East. It was the most mobilized of all African immigrant communities in the world, sending millions of dollars each year, from remittances of the hard working members of its population eager to return home after liberation. Eritreans were drunk with national pride that bordered arrogance and chauvinism, convinced that Eritrea was unique in what had been achieved during the liberation struggle, and once independent, it would prove to be a model of economic success and envy of the world. We in the diaspora were too trusting of the leadership and never posed questions of political balance and accountability process of our leaders. We were the cash cows that sent money regularly to our families and the movement and we were to pay a high price for this, still do.

A few years back, I spoke to Prof. Horace Campbell, a good friend and author of author of “Reclaiming Zimbabwe” about the sad state of affairs in Eritrea. Professor Campbell had supported Eritrean movements and the EPLF in the decades of the struggle. I described to him the state of paralysis that Eritreans in the diaspora seem to be in, stuck in disbelief that the reality of economic crisis and political repression is indeed the same country they had given so much for. Stuck in a state of apathy that comes from a profound state of betrayal by those we trusted most.

His response has been useful for me to reflect on. He said that this moment in history would pass and Eritreans would again “reclaim” their liberation for its true value and meaning, for social transformation into an equal society guaranteeing the rights of its people. However, he emphasized that this current state of crisis is an important stage for Eritreans to go through in order to never repeat their blind trust on their leaders. Difficult as this period is, that Eritreans at home and in the diaspora will draw the important lessons of discerning and challenging those who claim to lead and represent us. We will fully engage and set up mechanisms and systems of accountability of leaders and political groups, challenged to prove in open democratic ways, how they stand to serve their people and their country honestly.

As an Eritrean, my sense of pride in my national identity, my country and my people continues unchanged. The current leadership does not represent me, nor speak for me and other Eritreans. I do not feel conflicted or confused by those who claim to call me unpatriotic for being openly critical of the current regime. It is in fact the opposite is true; I speak out for love of my country and my people, not to do so would be ignoring the pleas of those silently waiting in crowded prisons, not to do so would be to ignore the calls of Eritreans who are waging a different struggle inside the country, against a repressive state that is bent on holding on to power against the wishes of its people.

*Nunu Kidane is a native of Eritrea and a member of Friends of Aster Yohannes. Aster is a former fighter and admirable woman who has been imprisoned since December 2003. Read more about her at:

*Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org

June 18 marks Nelson Mandela’s 90th Birthday. We are asking you, our readers, to send us your thoughts in a couple of lines on why this anniversary is important for you. We will publish a selection of the best comments received. Please send a sentence or two to: [email][email protected].

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/381/48822egyptfree.jpg“When the Egyptian people speak out against poverty and an inert government, human rights abuses follow.” Mustafa Adam-Noble looks at the various ways that suppression in Egypt is growing.
====

Ever since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981, Egypt has been governed under Emergency Law: 27 years worth of “emergencies” constitutionally designated for use only when facing a direct threat, such as a military invasion or a natural disaster. The law, which is supposed to be used in exceptional circumstances, has become the permanent method of governance in Egypt. Interestingly, President Hosni Mubarak has been the country’s ruler for all those 27 years.

Having survived several assassination attempts, it is perhaps no surprise that Mubarak has been reluctant to govern with normal laws. However, hundreds of thousands have been imprisoned during his rule, with 18,000 still held. The regime’s style of law enforcement constitutes jailing large groups of “suspects” in the hope that someone amongst the prisoners will be culpable. Under the rule of Emergency Law, anyone can be arrested without charge or evidence against them.

Alexander Weissink, a Radio Netherlands journalist with a specialty in Egyptian affairs, interviewed Mahmoud Qutri, an ex-Egyptian police colonel and author of books on Egyptian constabulary abuses. Qutri stated: “The police has tried for 27 years to work with a carte blanche. Outside of the state of emergency they would suddenly find themselves obliged to do real investigative work to find evidence, instead of rounding up suspects and use violence to force confessions out of them...That is about the last thing they want.”

A recent survey has found that Egypt’s government workforce of 6 million spends an average of just 27 minutes a day working. In addition to a malign vacuum of legal procedure, the absence of a government work ethic further sidelines the course of justice throughout the country’s population of 75 million.

Since the assassination of Sadat by al-Gama’a al-Islamya (the Islamic Group), the government has locked up 50,000 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood despite the lack of direct links between the Brotherhood and al-Gama’a. The Muslim Brotherhood has a far less violent ideology, and Al-Gama’a was in fact formed after the Brotherhood “renounced violence” in the 1970s. Al-Gama’a was behind the 1997 Luxor attacks in Egypt that killed 62 civilians, most of whom were tourists.

The crackdown on the two Islamic groups by President Mubarak has been brutal and far-reaching. Amid the unjust sweeping arrests, some attacks were probably prevented. However, the lack of accurate, evidence-based police action caused the imprisonment of thousands of people; the majority of whom were innocent and some of whom were tortured.

Human rights organisations continue to condemn the abuse and suppression of the Egyptian people.

During his 2005 electoral campaign, President Mubarak promised to stop the imprisonment of members of the press. In 2007, he jailed eleven journalists for “insulting” him and his party.

Also in 2005, Mubarak vowed to finally end the state of emergency. On 26th May 2008, he issued a verdict extending Emergency Law for yet another 2 years.

During the same elections, police blocked voters from casting their ballots for the Muslim Brotherhood - the only feasible opposition to the current regime. With poignant determination, some voters were forced to enter a polling station through its back window using a ladder, in defiance of police station closures.

Prime minister Ahmed Nazif summarised the superficial self-promotion of debunked government policy, stating: “The storm of terrorism blows strong around us and our enemies lie in wait.” Such poetic rhetoric of fear has become the justification for a farcical legal system and endemic human rights abuses.

Recently, on the 9th of June, eight thousand Egyptians protested against the government’s decision to end flour rations. Eighty-seven have been arrested so far.

Many similar protests occurred in 2007 and 2008, centring around the massive and rapid rise in the cost of living in Egypt (a 50% increase according to the latest count, with inflation at 20%). Further, millions of Egyptian workers do not have job contracts or social insurance; meaning that they have no rights to minimum wage, holidays, or compensation for job injuries.

Forty percent of people live on less than $2 a day and doubling food prices have left almost half of the population undernourished. This is taking place while the Egyptian government receives nearly $2 billion in aid from the US; the highest recipient of its kind after Iraq and Israel. Egypt has also gained another $2 billion this year in revenues from the Suez Canal, one of the world’s busiest trade routes.

When the Egyptian people speak out against poverty and an inert government, human rights abuses follow.

The government has openly declared its intention to suppress free speech when it issued warnings that any other demonstrators will lose their jobs. More gravely, the threat of imprisonment and serious maltreatment is ever-present.

Mubarak and his government are also considering blocking Facebook after 80,000 young Egyptians were mobilised in April 2008, protesting rising food prices. A blogger and activist who helped organise the protest was recently released after being jailed and allegedly tortured.

Even amongst the seriously ill, the brutality of the regime is acutely demonstrated. Sufferers of HIV were arrested and chained to their hospital beds for months before an international outcry in February 2008 pressured the Ministry of Health to have them unchained.

In a display of hypocrisy, a gay man was arrested because of his sexual orientation in May 2001 and was subsequently raped by one of these guards. He was arrested along with 51 others before being set free following pressure from both the US and the EU. Two years later, the courts put the men on trial again and, this time, were able to pass down prison sentences.

The authorities have forcefully used their power over the legal system to fulfil their aims in other instances. According to Radio Netherlands, in February 2007 forty members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested on suspicion of terrorism. Civil courts repeatedly dismissed their case because of a lack of evidence. Mubarak intervened and transferred them to a military tribunal where they were condemned to serve sentences ranging from two to ten years.

In an interview with the Inter Press Service, Ayman Aqeel, head of the Cairo-based Maat Centre for Constitutional and Legal Rights, said: "Egypt doesn't need an emergency law or new anti-terror legislation," he said. "Proposed anti-terrorism laws will only represent another means of restricting our freedoms. Normal laws, and the penalties they carry, should be enough to deal with any crime."

Mubarak and his government must take a step back and look at the landscape that they both have created in Egyptian society.

Continued violations of basic human rights that attempt to break the spirit of the Egyptian people in order to fulfill a political agenda are shameful crimes.

Much needs to change before Egypt can progress beyond its current flailing state. The government must find a way to use incentives in their bureaucracy to both protect the public and prosecute real perpetrators. This can eventually help develop the country under normal laws and do away with the “state of emergency”.

The suppression of freedom of speech and the systematic abuse of prisoners throws the country into a vicious cycle that diminishes tolerance and progressive attitudes.

With economic realities worsening and the ability to survive becoming more difficult, Egyptians will continue to protest and it will become harder and harder for Mubarak to silence the masses.

?*Mustafa Adam-Noble is a political commentator.

*Please send comments to or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/

Colin Bruce, the World Bank country director at the centre of a storm of controversy during Kenya’s post-election crisis, has been named as director of operations and strategy for Africa. Officials said the appointment was not technically a promotion but it allowed Mr Bruce to influence funding decisions for the continent as a whole.

For the better part of two decades, Guinea’s forest region has absorbed massive influxes of displaced people. Several hundred thousand refugees crossed into the area during civil war and unrest in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire. At the peak of the influx, refugees comprised half of the population in the area surrounding N’zérékoré, according to the United Nations Joint Programme. Host communities do not always welcome the presence of refugees, and conflict has occasionally erupted. But the departure of refugees is not always wholly beneficial either.

About 1,400 displaced people are living in the village of Kamba Kota in the north of the Central African Republic in terrible health and security conditions after fleeing attacks by armed bandits on their villages, according to a report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The United Nations is urging improved access to education as the right response to address the plight of the estimated 165 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 worldwide who are involved in child labour. “Despite global progress in many areas, it is unacceptable that so many children must still work for their survival and that of their families,” Juan Somavia, Director-General of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO), said on the occasion of the World Day Against Child Labour.

The massive scale of environmental devastation across the continent has been fully revealed for the first time in an atlas compiled by UN geographers. Using "before and after" satellite photos, taken in all 53 countries, UN geographers have constructed an African atlas of environmental change over the past four decades – the vast majority of it for the worse.

The Paris Club of creditor nations said on Thursday it had reached an agreement with Togo to cancel $347 million of the country's debt. The accord followed the International Monetary Fund's approval in April of a new lending programme to support economic development.

Seven years after effectively being dismissed by the Mpumalanga health department for supporting the dispensing of anti-retrovirals for rape survivors, Dr Malcolm Naude is fighting for the rights of all public service doctors and nurses to follow their conscience when treating patients.

Eni, Italy's biggest energy group has rewritten all of its contracts in Libya, setting the tone for the rest of the industry by accepting worse terms in return for another 35 years of access to one of the world's most important hydrocarbon reserves.

Displaced HIV-positive children who start antiretroviral therapy can do as well as children who start anti-HIV drugs in politically stable settings, according to a small study conducted in northern Uganda and published in the May 31st edition of AIDS. But the investigators note that maintaining good outcomes in their population is likely to be challenging, particularly because of population movement.

A month ago, 47-year-old Catarina Manungo was the owner of a two-bedroom house in Boksburg, where she lived with her four children and a grand-daughter. A few short weeks later, Manungo and her two youngest children find themselves living in a tent in the Maputo neighbourhood of Matola Garre.

Children who live in communities with an HIV prevalence rate of 10 percent or more have half a year of schooling less than children in other communities. In this way the negative consequences of HIV/AIDS are felt beyond the families that are directly affected. These facts were presented at a World Bank conference in South Africa by Robert Greener, senior economic adviser at the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

The 1st Annual Conference of the Working Class and Trade Union Studies Association of Nigeria (WCTUSAN) was convened and held at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan on 30 - 31st May 2008. Participants were drawn from the trade unions, academics, labour NGO’s, youths and students from different geo-political zones of Nigeria. The Key- note Address on the theme: ‘Towards A Liberating Self-understanding of The Working Class By The Working Class: The Case of Industrial Relations’ was delivered by the socialist former National President of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Festus Iyayi.

CHIPAWO Media is the only media house in Zimbabwe that produces television for
and with the Deaf in Sign Language. This grew out of the arts education and performance work that CHIPAWO began doing with Emerald Hill School for the Deaf, in Harare, back in 1994, supported by World University Service (WUS) Canada.

Considering the multiplication of assassinations, arbitrary arrests and detentions of political opponents as the run-off of presidential elections in Zimbabwe draws near, as well as threats, intimidations, and numerous hindrances to the human rights defenders’ work, the ACHPR condemned the human rights violations perpetrated in this country, urged the authorities to ensure the free access for candidates to the media.

The Afrobarometer has developed an experiential measure of lived poverty called the Lived Poverty Index (LPI). It measures how frequently people go without basic necessities during the course of a year. This is a portion of the central core of the concept of poverty not captured by existing objective or subjective measures.

EISA, the ACE Regional Electoral Resource Centre for Southern Africa, is calling for case studies that touch upon interesting and regionally relevant issues in the field of elections. The case studies in question will be featured on the ACE Regional and Country pages, ACE Regional Newsletter and other sections of the ACE website.