PAMBAZUKA NEWS 151: WHAT CHOICES FOR SOUTH AFRICAN VOTERS?
PAMBAZUKA NEWS 151: WHAT CHOICES FOR SOUTH AFRICAN VOTERS?
Côte d'Ivoire saw its peace process in tatters during March 2004, with the collapse of the transitional administration and the massacre of hundreds of opposition supporters by security forces and pro-government militias, according to the latest edition of CrisisWatch, the International Crisis Group's monthly bulletin on the world's conflicts that identifies deteriorating situations in fifteen countries. Despite government claims of some 37 protesters killed, ICG has reliable reports saying forces loyal to the government massacred over 200 during a protest march and in the days immediately following. Many protesters were killed in police stations. There is a real risk of escalating violence and further massacres, says the ICG.
Sudan, where prospects for peace had looked so promising for much of 2003, has become a potential horror story in 2004. The rapid onset of war in its western region of Darfur has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises - thousands dead and some 830,000 uprooted from homes. Meanwhile, the IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority for Development) peace talks in Naivasha, Kenya between the government and the insurgent Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLA) threaten to deadlock. It is urgent that these talks succeed and that, simultaneously, a parallel process begins to address both the humanitarian and political crises in Darfur. This is according to a report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), 'Darfur Rising: Sudan's New Crisis'.
Centuries after Africans were beaten, chained and transported in their millions across the Atlantic, Britain's role in the slave trade is set to resurface in sensational fashion in a New York courtroom. Descendants of black American slaves are preparing a multi-billion dollar action against Lloyd's of London, the best-known name in world insurance, for allegedly financing the trading fleets that uprooted them from their homelands and condemned them to generations of slavery in the New World. The dramatic claim is the latest in which 'UK plc' is being forced to confront allegations of a murky past. In recent years a host of British companies have been sued for allegedly collaborating with South Africa's racist apartheid regime.
The Sudanese government is complicit in crimes against humanity committed by government-backed militias in Darfur, Human Rights Watch said in a recent report. In a scorched-earth campaign, government forces and Arab militias are killing, raping and looting African civilians that share the same ethnicities as rebel forces in this western region of Sudan. The report, “Darfur in Flames: Atrocities in Western Sudan,” describes a government strategy of forced displacement targeting civilians of the non-Arab ethnic communities from which the two main rebel groups - the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) - are mainly drawn.
Ugandan security forces are torturing supporters of the political opposition and holding them in secret detention amid the government's pursuit of rebels involved in the country's armed conflict, Human Rights Watch said. The 76-page report, "State of Pain: Torture in Uganda," documents cases of torture committed by military, intelligence and security agents in the government's pursuit of armed rebels. However, politicians challenging the de facto single-party state and the 18-year rule of Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, are often detained, severely beaten and threatened with death by the uncontrolled security apparatus.
Robert Mugabe's government has terrorised almost every single opposition member of Zimbabwe's parliament with violence, intimidation and jail, according to a new report. A survey of 50 of the Movement for Democratic Change's 59 MPs and of 28 of its parliamentary candidates found that all claimed to have personally experienced human rights abuses in the past three years at the hands of the security services and supporters of the ruling Zanu-PF party. In collecting MPs' accounts of vandalism, torture and attempted assassination for the first time, the Zimbabwe Institute, a non-governmental organisation based in South Africa, said it had revealed the price of standing up to Mugabe.
Nigeria's ruling People Democratic Party (PDP) has won a sweeping victory in local elections during which almost 50 people died. President Olusegun Obasanjo's party now controls almost all levels of government across the country. The local elections were marred with claims of massive rigging and recorded a very low turn out.
For the period February 1-29, The Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum recorded 100 cases of political discrimination, 97 cases of freedom of expression violations, 74 cases of torture and 32 cases of assault. Detailing the abuses in its political violence report for February, the forum called upon the responsible authorities to take action regarding the human rights violations cited in this report in terms of bringing the perpetrators to justice. "Failure to do so will create a climate of impunity in which politically motivated violence may thrive. It is imperative that checks be put in place to prevent this prior to the upcoming Parliamentary Elections in early 2005."
The aim of the 'Campaign for a Democratic Angola' - joining the hands of civil society and opposition - is to form a common front to push the government to improve democracy in Angola and to call on its leaders to announce a date for national elections. The organisers will launch the campaign in four of the country's 18 provinces in its first month (March) alone - Luanda, Cabinda, Huambo and Lunda-Sul. The campaign will be launched in up to a further four provinces between April and June 2004 and the ultimate aim is to make it nationwide. Organisers will hold a conference in April during which they plan to draw up a concrete agenda for the campaign's future activities. The hope is that pressure from the campaign will force the government to implement significant changes in Angola but organisers are also warning the country's leaders that they will be the ones left behind if they do not start to move quickly.
The Forced Migration Online (FMO) team, of the Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford has prepared an online resource page highlighting key relevant news sources on the web. References are available for specific news services that focus on refugees/IDPs, emergencies, migration, conflict, as well as more comprehensive news search engines and directories. The Internet provides a wealth of opportunities for sharing news and information; examples of mailing lists, discussion boards, blogs and wikis are also featured. Finally, several free newsfeeds are also noted.
Against the backdrop of last week's declaration by foreign affairs minister Olu Adeniyi that Nigeria has ratified the UN Anti Corruption Convention, Independent Advocacy Project (IAP), the good governance group, has urged the federal government to also ratify the African Union (AU) Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption which was adopted last July in Maputo, Mozambique by African Heads of State. While describing the ratification of the UN Convention as a significant development, IAP in a statement released in Lagos points out that both the UN and the AU Conventions are useful instruments and that one should not be ratified to the neglect of the other.
Anti-corruption campaigners have attacked the British government's financial support for a UK-based subsidiary of Halliburton that is part of a consortium under investigation over bribery allegations. The consortium is alleged to have paid $180m (?149m, £99m) in bribes to secure a construction project in Nigeria. In a letter to the UK's Department of Trade and Industry, a group of five pressure groups claims the British government failed to vet properly the consortium's work on a multi-billion dollar natural gas project under construction in the country.
A Tanzanian human rights body has expressed concern over the high level of corruption in the country, which it said was continuing unabated and was curtailing people's human rights. However, in its 2003 report released on Tuesday, the Legal and Human Rights Centre said there had been some steps taken to tackle the vice, notably in the strengthening of the Prevention of Corruption Bureau and the prosecution of some government officials, but that this was merely "scratching the surface".
Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister Kiraitu Murungi says the Government and the Electoral Commission of Kenya were in the process of enacting the law to encourage accountability and provide funding for political parties. He made the remarks at the United States International University during a two-day international conference on the role of the media in the fight against corruption. The Bill would also cater for party nominations to be conducted by the ECK to ensure effective leadership in political parties. This, Mr Murungi said, would prepare the parties as governments "in waiting".
The media should assist in monitoring corruption and not leave the task to public prosecutors and law enforcement officers alone, chief Government spokesperson Mutale Nalumango has said. Mrs Nalumango said corruption did not respect national boundaries and as such the media had a crucial role to play in fighting the scourge which had deepened poverty around the globe.
Linking the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on the issues of poverty eradication, gender equality and environmental sustainability can expand women's access to natural resources, according to a report from Women's Environment and Development Organisation (WEDO). The report illustrates, through grassroots initiatives and real life examples, the practical linkages between the issues, and provides strategies, tools and actions for organisations and institutions to integrate gender issues and women's participation in the MDG process.
South African environmental authorities sent DNA samples from thousands of shark fins confiscated at Cape Town harbour this week for testing as part of an illegal hauling probe. Marcel Kroese, head of law enforcement at the country's Marine and Coastal Management agency, said that officials wanted to establish whether threatened species of fish were involved.
The United Nations opened a global environment summit Monday, warning about the growing number of dead zones in the world's oceans but painting a picture of a greener planet with an increase of vegetation in many regions. The three-day conference, hosted by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), will also consider how to tackle water shortages, increasingly frequent dust storms, and overfishing.
Under a new project co-sponsored by the World Health Organisation announced Friday, physicians and researchers across the globe will have free online access to the results of the latest clinical trials in reproductive health, infectious diseases, vaccines and other medical fields. As of Friday, all randomized controlled trials - considered the best way to compare the success of various methods of disease prevention or treatment - that receive approval from the WHO ethics review board will be assigned a number and catalogued under a register set up by WHO and an independent publishing house, London-based Current Controlled Trials Ltd. The International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number Register will for the first time make readily available research about neglected diseases, many of which disproportionately affect the poor in developing countries.
Africans do not see AIDS as a dire problem, unlike health experts, who predict the pandemic will unleash catastrophic consequences on the continent, according to a survey conducted in 15 African countries during 2002-2003 by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa. According to the study, for which 23,000 adults were interviewed, many Africans, especially in East and southern Africa, had either lost relatives or friends to the disease or were affected by it in some other way, but many were undecided about whether their governments should divert resources from other priorities to fight AIDS.
As expected, South Africa last Thursday began the rollout of its national antiretroviral drug distribution program at five hospitals in Gauteng province, SAPA/SABC News reports. The South African Cabinet in November 2003 approved a plan for the program, which aims to provide antiretroviral drugs to 1.2 million people - or about 25% of the country's HIV-positive population - by 2008. Gauteng is the first of the country's nine provinces to begin dispensing drugs under the government's program.
Ethiopia has launched a National Partnership Forum Against HIV/AIDS to coordinate a multi-sectoral response to the disease, highlight the government's commitment and bring together a wide range of partners to avoid duplication of efforts, according to an AllAfrica report. A statement from the foreign ministry quoted President Girma Wolde-Giorgis, who launched the forum on Wednesday, as saying: "We should be able to discharge our historical responsibility of saving the generation from HIV/AIDS."
Debt swaps exchange debt for some other asset or obligation. In the context of development, they normally involve countries negotiating cancellation of external debts in return for commitments on internal resource mobilization or some other government action. There has been considerable international interest in debt swaps and their potential to create a new and additional financing mechanism to help overcome long-standing barriers to development. The impact of AIDS on many developing countries, including many of the most indebted, has been severe. In the worst cases, AIDS has caused development progress to be set back by decades. There is therefore emerging interest in examining whether debt swaps are potentially useful new instruments to apply to the problem of AIDS and development. This is according to a UNAIDS policy brief on the issue.
A majority of South Africans point to the government for "doing little to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS" in the country, according to a survey conducted by the Washington Post, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University, the Post reports. Researchers interviewed in person 2,961 people - including 1,715 black South Africans, 612 white South Africans, 364 South Africans of mixed race and 265 Indians living in South Africa between Sept. 29, 2003, and Nov. 7, 2003.
The expected outcome of the AIDS epidemic is that attitudes in matters concerning the environment and natural resources are affected, probably in the direction of greater tolerance for short-term exploitation at the expense of long-term economical use of natural resources and protection of the environment, according to a report from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). This short report looks at impacts of HIV/AIDS on agriculture and the environment, with a focus on rural areas in Africa. It looks at the effects of the epidemic on local use of the environment and natural resources, and asks why rural areas are particularly vulnerable.
A study just completed in Togo has revealed high levels of child abuse in the West African state. Almost 370 men, women and children were surveyed for the study, which found instances of paedophilia, illegal child labour, trafficking – and discrimination against children who were disabled, or from certain ethnic groups.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has renewed his appeal to the West to open up its market so as to enable Africa to achieve food security. "You cannot talk about total food security for Africa without talking about the need for Africa to gain access to rich western countries’ agricultural markets. Can we have food security when we are competing on an unequal playing field with these nations? When they flood our markets with finished agricultural products that have been manufactured from our raw materials?" he posed to delegates attending an international meeting on food security.
It is retold so often that the account of how an embarrassed government minister rescued a female relative, who had been caught in a police sex worker crackdown he sanctioned, has become something of an urban legend. Some say it is surprising that the woman’s embarrassment - not to mention that of the official - did not lead him to entertain the possibility that police may have acted too arbitrarily when they set out to banish the world’s oldest profession in the 1980s. Officers’ methods included accosting - and even arresting - any ‘suspicious’ woman walking around after dark, especially if she was daring to move about unaccompanied.
Women’s right to land ownership could change the face of Africa and speed up efforts to achieve food and nutrition security. This is the view of some 500 delegates who attended a three-day international meeting on food security in Uganda’s capital Kampala. The gathering which ended Saturday attracted delegates from 50 countries, 30 of them from Africa.
The Ethiopian government said on Monday that the situation in the volatile southwestern region of Gambela, where scores of people have been killed in ethnic clashes, mainly between the Anyuak and Nuer, has improved. In a statement sent to IRIN by the Ministry of Federal Affairs, Ethiopia said that "the situation on the ground has come down to normality". It said security in the region had been beefed up, the perpetrators of the violence arrested, destroyed homes rebuilt and the provision of relief was ongoing.
The guns in Angola may have fallen silent, but the broad consensus on the streets of this battered country is that two years of peace have done little to better the lives of ordinary citizens. Sunday marked the second anniversary of the signing of the peace accord between the ruling MPLA and its arch-foe, UNITA, which brought to an end one of Africa's longest and bloodiest civil conflicts.
The Nigerian authorities have banned local radio and television stations from relaying foreign news broadcasts live. This move has stopped the BBC from broadcasting news and programmes on FM in four Nigerian cities, depriving listeners across the country of a popular source of national and international news. The ban on live relay broadcasts was imposed by the government’s radio and television regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), with effect from 1 April.
Efforts to end hunger in Africa by 2020 can achieve results if governments focus on raising agricultural productivity, food experts said at the weekend. At the closing of a food security conference in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Saturday, delegates called on African leaders to prioritise increased agricultural production, noting that food security was a "human rights issue".
PAIGC, which ruled Guinea-Bissau until it was ousted from power following a brief but bitter civil war five years ago, has emerged as the biggest party in the country’s new parliament, according to elections results published on Sunday. The PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde)won 45 of the 100 seats declared – leaving it just short of an absolute majority.
Medecins Sans Frontieres reported on Wednesday that by mid-March 40,000 people had been vaccinated against meningitis in the western district of Batangafo, in the Central African Republic. The ongoing vaccination drive was launched on 8 March in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and includes protection against measles. MSF reported that all 59,000 people over two years old in Batangafo and neighbouring rural areas, some 386 km north the nation's capital, Bangui, were being vaccinated.
Thank you for including Luleka Mangquku's eloquent portrayal of the helplessness and guilt-feelings of onlookers to the Rwandan genocide (Pambazuka News 150: Special edition on Rwanda). The end of the commentary raises the question of forgiveness and the difficulty of forgiving the untrustworthy on "seventy times seven" occasions.
I must protest the misuse of the Christian gospels by both Rwandan gacaca and the church in erecting this obstacle across the path of justice.
The Gospel According to Matthew (18:15-22) provides a process for forgiveness that includes confrontation, first by the injured individual, then by his/her community, then by the church itself, for the requisite repentance of the perpetrator. The Gospel According to Luke (17:3-4) requires forgiveness after the perpetrator requests it.
If the Christian gospels must be invoked for healing the monstrous wounds of Rwanda, let the process begin with truth-telling and forgiveness-seeking by the perpetrators, not the victims. Diffusing responsibility to include the victims promotes further injustice.
Ten years further down the road, as the wounds continue to fester, blaming victims for not divulging enough of their humiliation nor pardoning sufficient numbers of the murderers of their families would be the ultimate sacrilege.
To many of you I may sound cynical or sadistic but let me grab this opportunity and ask my question: Why should we remember the Rwanda Genocide? Is it because there are some people who are more dead than others? I ask this question in the same context that I ask: Why should we remember 11 September?
To me, there seems to be a justifiable move towards remembering the dead within the human rights movement but unfortunately hijacked by misguided "guilt cleansing". Arguments that exist to date is that the Rwanda genocide happened because of prejudice, racism, failure of the international community, ineffectiveness of the UN, ethnic or tribal clashes, etc.
While many or all of these arguments maybe true, I do not see any difference in the way the world that I know has operated and continues to operate each day. For example, genocide is neither new in Africa nor unique to Rwanda. The mass massacres of protestors, secessionists, demonstrators in colonial Africa have never received the kind of attention that Rwanda receives today. The slave raids and trade of Africa's human resource into Europe and North America has never received historical global attention.
Sadly, hardly do any school curricular or national programs in Africa recognize it. In fact we are told in some corners that we should forget and move on. Why then do we have to remember 1994 Rwanda? The argument about racism (of the West) towards Black Africa is not convincing to me because this is the global structure in all corners of the world each day except with varying end results. In any case, assuming that the west is racist against Black Africa is a misguided assumption that each person in the West is "White" thus denying the diversity of colours.
We are also not told if indeed everyone in the West stood by in silence before and after the genocide. Instead we are told that the international community (which has become an oxymoron of USA and Europe) did nothing. Any keen observer would know that the Organization of African Unity (now AU) was engaged in the Rwanda peace process for many years; countries like Tanzania supported and hosted the Arusha Peace Process while Uganda supported the Rwanda Patriotic Front in their struggle to return home. Sadly, these and many other achievements (in my judgement) are shadowed in a misguided naming of the International Community.
The argument about the ethnic or tribal warfare between the Hutus and Tutsi fails to recognize the historical stimulants of such divisions. Why we cannot deny that surely the Tutsi exerted hierarchical power over the Hutus before Belgian colonialism, these differences and divisions became more sharp and antagonist during colonial rule when the Tutsi were granted racial accession close to Europeans. Thus, we cannot excuse the effects of such propaganda on the Rwanda of 1959 and 1994 by ignoring the ethnicitizing of the Banyarwanda.
Lastly, while the United Nations indeed shares the blame given its avowed promise in 1948 to prevent human suffering, save lives and save the world of another holocaust, one wonders whether it should indeed take all the blame and the accolades? In my opinion, it is high time that we recognized that the UN is a group of Member States, each with their own interests and their conduct will always reflect their priorities. For example, the US's decision to block UN efforts to stop the Rwanda Genocide reflected its memories of the Somali engagement. As one of my colleagues mentioned, the US withdrew from Somalia after 11 US soldiers died but is still in Iraq after more than 500 deaths. France did not want to see another French culture disappear into oblivion to the Anglophone RPF. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and UK were still making money selling arms and military hardware to the Habyarimana government while The World Bank was still lending and hoping to collect its debt from Rwanda.
Therefore, it is not that I do not want to mourn the dead; it is in realizing that there are too many dead and always let to die by the same people who come to mourn. What is the impact of parading skulls of the other people’s dead in national memorials on the customary closure of life and transition into after-life? What is the impact of the victim mentality on the future of Rwandese Tutsi-Hutu and the creation of Rwanda of national unity? Shouldn't we really ask what is the impact of selective memories on state responsibility towards its own people and reconciliation (in Rwanda) if there is ever going to be?
(Uganda)
I want to thank Pambazuka News. We Africans do have a lesson to learn from this genocide. It happened in Rwanda but this was an African reality brought to the lamplight. I have a point for all of us Africans: there are more genocides to come and in progress that we need to fight. To my Rwandan brothers and sisters I will ask you to take heart, love your country and know that the human being is God's creature. To leaders I will advise them to be God fearing and do to their people what you would like them to do to you. To all African believers or not, every evening just say God thank you for the day and help us to love one another. With love for Mother Africa!
RESPONSE TO AZEH JOHN:
FROM NICOLE VENTER, SOUTH AFRICA
I am always so inspired by your mail, and proud to be part of the African renaissance - we are indeed all brothers and sisters here and God willing we will take heed when the call comes to assist each other, sustain each other, teach, support and care for each other.
Concerning Rwanda - an issue very close to my heart is that of the children. If anyone can assist with information (other than that which has been posted in Pambazuka News) relevant to the formulation of new programmes of assistance in various health and development related areas, I would like to invite them to forward such information to us. ([email protected])
RESPONSE TO NICOLE VENTER:
FROM VALENTINE NGWA
I really hope that the African Renaissance is a reality. Ten years is too short a time for us to understand how our so called brothers and sisters can sit down, plan, import machetes and slaughter almost a million of their neighbours, rape many and plunder their property. I wonder how long it takes for the memories of such barbaric acts to go away; especially so when there are many things to remind the victims including HIV.
Rather than Africa taking a leaf from Rwanda, we see neighbouring DR Congo in anarchy, Sudan on the verge of their own genocide and my native Cameroon under a very uneasy calm; which lessons have we learnt? These issues get difficult to comprehend and at times one is tempted to wonder whether such things were meant to be.
After all, history teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. In all these, you will always hear our people in their usually escapist tendency say 'The International Community failed us!' They should rather say how they have failed themselves. I weep for Mother Africa.
I just wanted you to know that Runnart Kambudzi died recently. Runnart was one of the pioneer staff members of Civil Liberties Committee.
She was an administrator and Gender officer. I preferred to refer to her as assistant director because the two of us did the donkey work with help from the founder members and dedicated members of CILIC. Whenever the wind turned against me personally, which could be nasty, she would manage to sooth me. She would convince me to go and meet people I thought I should not meet. She would do her job seven days a week, 10 hours a day and sometimes we would work in the field 8 hours a day and drive four hours a day for a one week field visit. She would work the accounts, help in the organisation and lecture, and work on our sentiments in such a calm manner.
She was a chronic asthmatic, so that travelling in the cold could have contributed to her early death. For some time we would go without salaries, yet she was a widow with so many dependants and her 2 children, one of them an adopted niece. She was a gallant Human Rights Soldier with no provisions for the battle.
I hope you can pass this on to people who knew her, most of whom admired her guts and her beauty.
The Crime and Justice Programme at the ISS is engaged in policy research on crime, criminal justice and crime prevention issues in South Africa. The Programme is starting a new project focusing on immigration in Southern Africa. The senior researcher will be responsible for researching, monitoring and analysing immigration trends in SA. The position also involves project planning and managing, working collaboratively with government on quantitative and qualitative research processes and policy development, travel in SA and the region, writing and public speaking, and liaison with the media.
Asylum Welcome, an organisation working with refugees and asylum seekers in Oxford, is currently seeking a honorary treasurer to serve on its Executive Committee.
The IDS seeks an experienced social scientist who combines an interest in research with a desire to contribute in a practical way to the development of health systems in low and middle-income countries. Candidates should have a post-graduate degree in a relevant social science and several years of practical experience working in health-related development projects or programmes in low or middle income countries.
The Centre for Economic Justice's (CEJ) mission is to strengthen international movements that counter corporate-driven globalization and to promote more just policy alternatives. CEJ supports the people most directly and negatively affected, helping them gain political power as well as technical and funding support in their struggles for environmentally-healthy, human-centred, and sustainable economies. CEJ also links global South networks with U.S.-based community groups, activists, and policy advocates, with the goal of fostering and strengthening cooperation. People from the global South, people of colour, women, and LGBT individuals are especially encouraged to apply.
For many indigenous African people, magic still governs the life of the individual and the course of the universe. If you have ever been intrigued by the healing arts of the witchdoctor, this is the book for you. Discover in detail the methods used to cast demons out of the possessed, call spirits from trees, and use medicinal plants to cure physical illnesses.
Springing from an unprecedented meeting between the sons and daughters of the Holocaust and the children of the Third Reich, Justice Matters: Legacies of the Holocaust and World War II takes readers on an unparalleled journey of hatred and ethnic resentments. Although more than half a century has passed, recollections of the Holocaust and WWII still sear the lives of survivors, their children and grandchildren. Weissmark’s book shows how the cycle of ethnic and religious strife is kept alive generation after generation through story-telling, with each side recounting the injustice it suffered and the valour it showed in avenging its own group.
The idea of an International Criminal Court has captured the international legal imagination for over a century. In 1998 it became a reality with the adoption of the Rome Statute. This book critically examines the fundamental legal and policy issues involved in the establishment and functioning of the Permanent International Criminal Court. Detailed consideration is given to the history of war crimes trials and their place in the system of international law, the legal and political significance of a permanent ICC, the legality and legitimacy of war crimes trials, the tensions and conflicts involved in negotiating the ICC Statute, the general principles of legality, the scope of defences, evidential dilemmas, the perspective of victims, the nature and scope of the offences within the ICC's jurisdiction - aggression, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, questions of admissibility and theories of jurisdiction, the principle of complementarity, national implementation of the Statute in a range of jurisdictions, and national and international responses to the ICC.
The latest issue of Chimurenga, a quarterly publication of arts, culture and politics from and about Africa and its Diasporas, is inspired by the writings of Bessie Head (1937-1986) and titled Triptych: Head/Body (& Tools)/Corpses. It features unpublished notes by Ms Head and new writing and art by Olu Oguibe, Chimamanda Adichie, Greg Tate, Sandile Dikeni, Charles Mudede, Khulile Nxumalo, Achille Mbembe, Jean-Claude Fignole, Tanure Ojaide, Pumla Dineo Gqola, Muthoni Garland, Pravasan Pillay...amongst others. The cover art is by Dread Scott.
South Africa’s political transition was astonishing. The reversal of overall economic decline has also been remarkable. However, the social change process has been chequered, mixed, arduous, open to diverse interpretations and often contradictory. Proud moments and excitement co-exist with disappointments. This book tells South Africa’s story of change in the best way that it can be told – through multiple viewpoints and different ways of conveying it: articles, interviews, short stories, poetry, and photography. It combines intensely personal reflections with broad-sweep viewpoints and assessments.
If you are a mid-level or senior programme manager, social worker, senior government officer or planner, a health care professional, or have an interest in ageing issues, then this course is for you. Topics to be covered include: Demographic situation and socio-economic implications for Africa; HIV/AIDS and its impact on older people; Gender dimension of ageing; Poverty Research and Policies on ageing.
The Human Rights Advocates Program was established in 1989 to build the capacity of grassroots activists worldwide so that they can more effectively address pressing human rights concerns and build linkages with the global human rights community. To date, nearly 200 leading human rights activists from more than 60 countries have participated in the program and are now affecting change in their communities, both locally and globally. Beginning this year, a new phase of the program will be launched by focusing specifically on advancing human rights thinking and activism with respect to the global economy. The ‘Initiative on Human Rights Advocacy and the Global Economy: Human Rights Advocates Program’ builds on the success of the now 15 year-old Advocates Program, featuring a program of advocacy, skill-building, and scholarship through a four-month intensive training program in New York.
The course is intended for professionals, researchers, activists, defenders and trainers to broaden their knowledge and further develop their human rights expertise about the substantive and institutional aspects of the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights at national, regional and international levels.
Ongoing trials of two potential vaginal microbicides against HIV/AIDS at a hospital in Kampala have so far produced promising results, local newspaper Sunday Monitor reported. Vaginal microbicides are substances that a woman can insert before sex in order to inactivate HIV and other sexually transmitted microbes. The microbicides can work in one of three ways - by killing the virus before it enters the body, by preventing it from taking hold once inside the body, or by creating a barrier to stop it from entering the body in the first place, the report said.
In April 1994, Rwanda suffered one hundred days of violence, targeted at the Tutsi and moderate Hutu population. Ten years later, the consequences of the violence have not been dealt with adequately, neither by the international community nor by the Rwandan government. Survivors of violence still cry out for medical care; survivors and families of victims clamour for justice that is slow in coming. Women continue to die from diseases related to HIV/AIDS, which some of them contracted as a result of rape during the 1994 genocide and armed conflict.
Tanzanians in the diaspora have launched an online petition making the case for recognition of dual citizenship by the Tanzanian government.
The report highlights the difficulties that black and minority ethnic-led voluntary organisations in the UK – many of which support development activities in their countries of origin in the South – face in securing recognition and funding from institutional funders. However, the report also highlighted efforts by funders to reach out more effectively to such groups.
The Global Commission on International Migration (GCIM) will hold a ‘Regional Hearing for Asia and the Pacific’ in Manila on 17 and 18 May 2004, followed by a ‘Commission-only’ meeting on 19 May. The hearing will involve some 20 selected governments from Asia and the Pacific, a number of non-governmental bodies, global and regional organisations, migration experts, private sector representatives, trade unions and the media. The next regional Commission hearing will be organised in the Mediterranean region, in Rabat, Morocco, in September 2004. Meanwhile, the GCIM invites contributions to a new series of research papers titled ‘Global Migration Perspectives’, edited by Dr Jeff Crisp and Dr Colleen Thouez. The purpose of the series is to contribute to the current discourse on global migration issues, and to assist the Commission in formulating policy options and proposals for its final report, which will be submitted to the UN Secretary-General in mid-2005. Preference will be given to papers that provide new, creative and policy-relevant perspectives on global migration issues (see http://www.gcim.org/ir_gmp.htm).
The Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty aims to promote new policy approaches that will help to maximize the potential benefits of migration for poor people, whilst minimizing its risks and costs. It will undertake a programme of research, capacity-building, training and promotion of dialogue to provide the strong evidential and conceptual base needed for such new policy approaches. This knowledge base will also be shared directly with poor migrants, contributing both directly and indirectly to the elimination of poverty.
The Boston College Centre for International Higher Education has launched the International Network for Higher Education in Africa (INHEA), an information clearinghouse for institutions and individuals engaged in research, development, and advocacy activities in postsecondary education in Africa. INHEA’s purpose is to strengthen and foster interest in African higher education through information sharing. (See also http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/cihe/newsletter/News35/text012.htm)
The International Roots Foundation (IRF) will hold its biennial Roots Cultural event from June 26 to July 2 in 2004 in The Gambia. The program offers a close encounter with Roots Culture - a diverse culture and heritage and a unique celebration of a full circle of the encounters of life.
In the fourth of its joint Migration Dialogues, the EPC-KBF strategic partnership addressed the topic of “Migration and Development: Myths and Facts.” Panellists included Erica Usher, Senior Policy Adviser in the Migration Policy and Research Department at the International Organisation for Migration, Uri Dadush, Director of the International Trade Department at the World Bank, Françoise Moreau, Head of Unit “Development Policy, Coherence and Forward Studies,” in the DG Development at the European Commission, Johan Wets, Research Manager International Migration, Higher Institute for Labour Studies at the Catholic University of Leuven an d Marc Verwilghen, Belgian Minister for Development Cooperation.
The US National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC) plans a one-week diaspora trade mission to London, Paris and Accra starting Thursday 10 June 2004. The NBCC says it reaches 95,000 Black-owned businesses. Apparently, there are one million Black-owned businesses in the United States. Black businesses account for over $100 billion in annual sales. African Americans have over $800 billion in expendable income each year according to the US Bureau of Census.
pulseAFRICAtv, a subsidiary of Global Africa Media Inc., is a one-hour magazine program on the African world that includes news, culture, conversation, profiles and commentary. The show aims to inform, educate and entertain, as it provides a window to Africa and its peoples, thus serving as the pulse of the community. The program premiers in the summer of 2004, and is tape-broadcast from Washington DC.
Zimbabwe used the occasion of International Women's Day to launch its National Gender Policy. Developed in collaboration with UNIFEM, the Zimbabwe Gender Forum and UNDP Zimbabwe, the policy will facilitate gender mainstreaming in all sectors of the economy and government to promote gender equality and redress historical gender imbalances. Contact Nomcebo Manzini on the email address below for more information.
At the end of this month, on April 24-25, the IMF and World Bank will meet in Washington for their spring meetings. This event, together with other stories in the news, provides an excellent “hook” to get letters to the editor and/or op-eds published in your local newspaper or online publication about debt! Writing a letter to the editor is easy, and letters are an effective tool to reach people in your community as well as decision-makers with our message. Read on for tips on how to write a letter, sample letters and talking points on various topics, and other helpful information.
In a further blow to the independence of the judiciary, the Zimbabwean Government ignored two judicial rulings and used State-controlled media to attack magistrates, stated the Centre for the Independence of Judges and Lawyers of the ICJ (ICJ/CIJL). On 17 March, Magistrate Judith Tsamba, following a precedent of the High Court in a similar case, ordered the release of prominent businessman James Makamba due to irregularities in his arrest. Despite the Magistrate's order, the police decided to ignore the ruling and immediately rearrested the accused. In a similar case, the Government ignored Judge Bhunu's ruling ordering the immediate release of Phillip Chiyangwa. Mr. Chiyangwa, Chinhoyi legislator and ZANU-PF chairman for Mashonaland West, is facing criminal charges involving the obstruction of justice, contempt of court and perjury.
Media and other reports over the weekend of April 2-3 2004 said that President Sam Nujoma has now officially “confirmed he would not seek a fourth term” of office and that he has “laid to rest speculation over the fourth term once and for all”. It has also been reported that Nujoma would now abide by the Namibian Constitution and would step down on March 21 2005 when his third term ends. Read the Press Statement by Nujoma: “The President of SWAPO reiterated his earlier decision that in accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Namibia, he will not seek another term of office, and will step down at the end of his term on 21st March 2005”.
This obviously “shock” announcement, which purports to have been made by Nujoma himself, came after a rather tumultuous SWAPO Central Committee (CC) meeting held over the said weekend. This ‘official’ announcement is a far cry from another “shock” announcement by Nujoma who only on March 30 2004 reportedly indicated to a Reuters’ reporter that he might go for a fourth term “if the people” wanted him to do so. Vox populi, vox Dei, meaning “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Also, please note that what is conspicuously missing from the above statement is the fact that it does not say that Nujoma would not accept or entertain any further demands from any quarters that he stands for a fourth term.
Since 2002, Nujoma has been making similar flip-flop statements about his desire for a fourth term: in some cases he has indicated that he would step down, inter alia, because of his age, while in others he has indicated that he would go for a fourth term, among other things, because he was “still young”.
Over the April 2-3 2004 weekend, however, Nujoma cited only the constitutional limitation as the prime reason for his stepping down. In the past, when considering whether or not he would stand for a fourth term the Constitution did not appear to matter. The President has no track record of spontaneously adhering to the Constitution. Why all of a sudden now?
On Sunday evening April 4 2004 NBC TV News showed “joyous” SWAPO members in what appeared to be a celebrating mood. This mood was apparently caused by their decision that Nujoma should step down and that three candidates - announced in this order, Hifikepunye Pohamba, Nahas Angula and Hidipo Hamutenya - be nominated to vie for the presidential post. The winner of the three will be determined at the extraordinary SWAPO congress to be held on May 28-29 2004.
Media reports also indicated that central committee (CC) members turned down and rejected three of Nujoma’s four nominees, who included Secretary General Ernest Tjiriange and his deputy John Pandeni.
Hence, the “joyous” mood on the part of the committee members appears to confirm media speculations that there was “fierce” opposition to Nujoma’s fourth term bid. In the likely event that this, indeed, was the case, it is fair to conclude that a victorious palace revolution (or revolt) against not only the fourth term but also Nujoma’s authority has occurred during the said CC meeting. That is to say, Nujoma was subdued, vanquished and forced to shelve - albeit temporarily - his fourth term bid and all other collateral plans associated with the said term of office.
During the Politburo meeting on March 30 2004 Nujoma is said to have issued an ultimatum to his subordinates to choose between two things: either to accept Pohamba as the sole presidential candidate or to face a fourth term for him. Politburo members, however, “fiercely” opposed and defied such ultimatum.
My question is: how and why should Nujoma allow himself to be humiliated or insulted by people whom he has the executive power to constitutionally dismiss summarily in the same manner he had appointed them? In terms of both the country’s Constitution and SWAPO’s own constitution, Nujoma has the power to summarily dismiss anyone not towing his line. He also has popular support among rank and file SWAPO members to disciplining anyone seen as disloyal to him. Simply put, President Nujoma is unstoppable!
Nujoma is bound to retaliate and punish those who dare to oppose his plans for many years. He has done so in the past with Tony von Wietersheim and recently with Hage Geingob, Ernest Tjiriange, Nangolo Mbumba and others. Constitutionally, President Nujoma has also the executive power to sack the entire Cabinet and even to dissolve the National Assembly if he so wished.
Hence, I am cautiously optimistic that Nujoma will, indeed, step down come March 21 2005. Or am I? Such optimism is based on my observations of incidental events or occurrences inside and outside this country, including:
Nujoma has been preparing for the fourth term at least since the dismissal of former Prime Minister Hage Geingob. This was followed by the demotion of Finance Minister Nangolo Mbumba, followed by the removal of Ernest Tjiriange from his post as Minister of Justice.
Hidipo Hamutenya who, according to media allegations, Nujoma fears or dislikes the most - and neither Nujoma nor Hamutenya has so far dismissed these allegations - was removed from his powerful and influential post at the Ministry of Trade and Industry and transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs minus the portfolio of the equally influential Minister of Information and Broadcasting.
Since August 2002 Nujoma or those he has sent encouraged or instigated among others Owambo traditional leaders and rank and file SWAPO supporters to march in favour of the fourth term. He has commissioned the construction of a multimillion Namibia dollar new State House. I am not a bit convinced that Nujoma would build a castle to be inaugurated by Lucas Pohamba, his favoured successor, let alone for Hidipo Hamutenya or Nahas Angula.
Rank and file SWAPO members credit Nujoma personally for having “liberated” this country and for being the only person capable - and I agree - of keeping SWAPO Party unity, from where national unity and peace as well as the relative stability flow, in this country. Under these circumstances, Nujoma cannot now, all of a sudden, be expected to shelve all these good things on which he has been working so hard at.
As in 2002 during his address to the opening of the SWAPO CC over the April 2-3 2004 weekend Nujoma made it clear that Party divisions were unacceptable, warned against infighting and urged unity among SWAPO members. Indeed, there are “widespread” divisions and “a potential rift” within SWAPO as various factions vie for support within and possibly without the ruling Party.
Seeing that the three leaders that the SWAPO CC has nominated to compete for the presidency would engage in what could be viewed as sowing Party divisions and disunity as well as posing a threat to national stability and security, this could be used by Nujoma and others as an excuse.
Hence, he could even use his constitutional powers to dissolve Parliament in accordance with the provisions of Article 57, read together with Articles 26, 32 (3)(a) and 50 of the Constitution. In this case, presidential and National Assembly elections would be held within 90 days to create a completely new Parliament and new Cabinet with Nujoma as new Head of State. Hence, there would be no need for holding a national referendum referred to in Articles 63 (2) (g) and 131 of the Constitution.
Furthermore, as a human rights activist specializing also in early warning systems, I smell a rat due to the over-intensive interactions between the principals of Namibian and Zimbabwean governments lately. I am particularly deeply alarmed by ominous signs of a Zimbabwe-style human rights and humanitarian crisis developing in this country. In addition to the aforementioned internal Party divisions within SWAPO there are several indicators pointing out to this scenario.
I am alarmed at the frequency of both high and low profile visits to this country by high-ranking Zimbabwe officials, especially those who have been pivotal in engineering and sustaining the current human rights and humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe, including Nujoma’s principal ally Robert Mugabe.
It is my belief that President Nujoma, called “a Mugabelite” by some media, is probably the closest ally of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in the whole world. According to media reports, Mugabe has indicated he would not step down when his present term of office comes to an end sometime in 2008. If this is true - and I believe it is - then why on earth should Nujoma step down now, leaving his friend Mugabe to face a very hostile world alone?
Last November Mugabe arrived here under cover of secrecy. The exact purpose of his visit has not [yet] been disclosed officially. But according to State-controlled media, Mugabe came here for bilateral talks, including “the strengthening of security cooperation”.
Hence, my suspicion is that Nujoma and Mugabe might have signed a mutual defence pact along the lines of the SADC mutual defence pact concluded at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in August 2003. The Namibian Parliament has since ratified the SADC pact paving the way for SADC Member States to intervene diplomatically, politically and militarily in the internal affairs of another country to remove a threat to national security and integrity and restore or enforce peace.
Prior to the Mugabe visit, Zimbabwean Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mohadi visited Namibia sometimes in July 2003 and paid a courtesy call on President Nujoma. Mohadi also held talks with his Namibian counterpart, Home Affairs Minister Jerry Ekandjo, and visited several police stations in Windhoek and possibly elsewhere in the country.
Then came the “shock” announcement in the evening of February 25 2004 when Namibian Prime Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab “out of the blue” stated that there will be a land expropriation drive in order to “speed up” land reform in the country. This announcement came on the eve of the visit to this country by Mugabe’s propaganda Minister, Professor Jonathan Moyo. Moyo is a principal engineer in the Mugabe’s land grab fiasco.
The Moyo visit entailed touring Namibia’s Government-controlled media institutions: NBC, New Era and Nampa as well as the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). The visit peaked in the signature of a MOU between the two countries apparently on media matters. The content of such MOU has never really been disclosed. Professor Moyo called his visit a ‘happy coincidence’.
On March 11 2004 Zimbabwe’s Defence Minister Sydney Sekeremayi paid a low-key visit to Namibia where talks were held with President Nujoma. Sekeremayi then headed north apparently to inspect Namibia’s military installations at Grootfontein and possibly other places in the country. The Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) has at least two aircraft in this country, purportedly to help in the evacuation of flood victims in the Caprivi Region. The question is: was Namibia now really unable to deal with the flooding situation in the Caprivi Region?
Over the April 2-3 2004 weekend, Mugabe seconded to Namibia six of his “experts” in land reform to “advise” and “train” Namibians on the techniques of “compensation” for expropriated lands. There has never been similar compensation in Zimbabwe in respect of any lands expropriated by Mugabe. Moreover, Minister Lucas Pohamba recently explained in Parliament how disagreements over the amount of compensation for expropriated land could be taken to land Boards.
Hence, in my opinion these Zimbabwe contacts are no mere coincidences. Nor can they be seen in isolation. They are interconnected, interrelated, interdependent and mutually reinforcing.
Again, such contacts come at the time when there is wholesale ambiguity on whether or not President Nujoma would go for a fourth term as well as widespread media speculations that there is “stiff” resistance within and without the ruling SWAPO party against the 4th term for Nujoma, if not against Nujoma himself as both President of SWAPO and Namibia. This scenario is similar to the situation prevailing in Zimbabwe prior to Mugabe’s seizure of white-owned farmlands and his unleashing of violence on civil society organisations and the political opposition in that country.
Hence, the true picture is bound to emerge in the days, weeks and months to come, possibly before the extraordinary SWAPO Congress scheduled for May 28 –29 2004.
* Phil ya Nangoloh is Executive Director of the National Society for Human Rights, Namibia.
* SEND COMMENTS ON THIS EDITORIAL – AND OTHER EVENTS IN AFRICA – TO [email][email protected]
On February 12, more than 100 environment, development and human rights groups in the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) formed an alliance to oppose the "development" of the country's rainforests, which could include a vast increase in industrial logging. The social network sent a letter to the Minister for the Environment, Waters and Forests, the World Bank Resident Representative, and the FAO Representative, expressing their concern regarding the future of the country's forests and the people living within these forests. Covering around 1.3 million square kilometres, the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo are the largest in the world after Amazonia, and have so far largely been spared extensive destruction. An estimated 35 million people live in and around these forests, including Bantu farmers, and Twa and Mbuti hunter-gatherer 'Pygmies'.
Decades of deforestation and forest degradation have left less than two percent of Ghana's native forest intact. These forests have been the source of livelihood for forest dependent people, providing them with fuel wood, charcoal, building materials, fodder, fruits, nuts, honey, medicines and dyes. They also play an environmental role regarding prevention of soil erosion, watershed protection, soil fertility/shade, shelter from wind, prevention of floods and landslides, water retention and maintenance of water purity. They are also home to 2,100 plant species, over 200 mammal species including buffalo, leopard, golden cat, chimpanzee, forest elephant and pygmy hippopotamus, 200 bird species including the African grey parrot, and butterflies, all internationally recognized as in danger of extinction, thus designating them as Special Biological Protection Areas and Globally Significant Bio-diversity Areas.
The Landless People's Movement (LPM) - a national movement of poor and landless people struggling for land and agrarian reform - has called on the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to retract its so-called hate-speech "finding" against LPM National Organiser Mangaliso Kubheka, and to provide protection to Kubheka, his family and other LPM members whose lives have been placed in jeopardy by the SAHRC pronouncements.
Providing gender inclusiveness in access to land can benefit families, communities, and nations through increased economic opportunities, increased investment in land and food production, improved family security during transitions and better housing and land stewardship. This is according to a paper by the Sustainable Development Department, FAO / SD Dimensions. The paper explores gender and issues of land access and administration in rural development. It argues that increasing social, economic and technological changes are requiring a re-examination of the institutional arrangements used to administer who has rights to what resources and under what conditions.
A bold agrarian reform pledged 10 years ago by the new dispensation in South Africa to rectify the injustices of colonialism and apartheid has progressed slowly with 80% of the land still held by the white minority, fuelling rising impatience among landless blacks. A decade after the formal end of apartheid, the land reform objectives are a long way off. Only 3% of the land has been acquired by the government under the "willing-buyer, willing-seller" scheme and given out to some 700,000 blacks, according to official estimates.
Civic groups presented evidence on the delay in the entry of new players in the broadcasting sector to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communications. The Committee is investigating the delay in inviting and issuing licenses to new players in the commercial and community-broadcasting category. The meeting was held on 5th April 2004 in Harare. The groups included the Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ), Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)- Zimbabwe Chapter, Radio Dialogue, Global Arts Trust, Voice of the People Trust and the Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAS).
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says it is deeply concerned about the recent jailing of an Ethiopian journalist, after he was unable to pay bail in a criminal defamation case. On Friday, April 2, Ethiopian authorities jailed Merid Estifanos, former editor-in-chief of the private, Amharic-language weekly Satanaw. According to local sources, Estifanos appeared before a federal court in the capital, Addis Ababa, on April 2, in connection with a defamation charge stemming from a September 2001 opinion piece titled "The Hidden Agenda of Prime Minister Meles."
The editors of four independent weekly newspapers, "L'Eveil Hebdo", "L'Authentique", "Le Journal" and "Al Moujtamaa", have been sued for allegedly libelling Bodiel Ould Houmeid, a leading member of the ruling Socialist Democratic Republican Party (PRDS) and a close associate of President Maaouiya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya. According to Media Foundation for West Africa-Mauritania's sources, the editors were first brought before the state prosecutor in the capital, Nouakchott, on 31 March 2004. After they had waited for over two hours, they were sent away and told to appear in court on 1 April.
A lawsuit for alleged libel has been filed with the Abuja High Court against The Sun Publishing Limited of Nigeria and its senior editors. The journalists named in the suit are Mike Awoyinfa, managing director and editor-in-chief, Louis Odion, editor of the "Sunday Sun", Femi Adesina, editor of "The Sun" daily and Steve Nwosu, editor of the "The Sun on Saturday". Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, the newspaper's publisher and the governor of Abia State, in southeastern Nigeria, was cited in the suit as the principal defendant. Chief Anthony Anenih, former works and housing minister and current chairman of the board of trustees of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), filed the suit on 23 March 2004, claiming damages in the amount of five billion naira (approx. US$37 million). According to Media Foundation for West Africa-Nigeria, the lawsuit followed a series of reports published by the "Sun" about an allegation by Kalu saying that Anenih had threatened to give him "the Bola Ige treatment," which is a euphemism for assassination in a manner similar to that of Chief Bola Ige, the former justice minister, who was murdered two years ago.
On 1 April 2004, at around 7:30 p.m. (Kinshasa time), seven Military Intelligence (Détection militaire des activités anti-patrie, DEMIAP) soldiers and three National Intelligence Agency (Agence nationale des renseignements, ANR) officers raided the offices of Radio Kilimandjaro, a private station in Tshikapa, the second largest city in West Kasai province, central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The soldiers stopped the broadcast as soon as they entered the station's studios and ordered all of the staff members who were present to undergo a two-minute voice test.
On 30 March 2004, the Luanda Provincial Tribunal sentenced Felisberto de Graça Campos, director and editor of the weekly magazine "Semanario Angolense", to 45 days in prison or a fine of US$1,200 for a series of articles published in 2003 that detailed the fortunes of prominent government officials. Campos's sentence follows defamation charges filed against him by the defence minister, General Kundy Payama, who was included in a list of 59 people believed to be millionaires. The list included politicians, economists, senior military officials, ministers and members of parliament.
The Tanzania government is drafting a policy on genetically modified (GM) crops in readiness for adopting the controversial technology, which some advocates consider a necessity for the future of food production. The EastAfrican has learnt that a multi-sectoral selection of Tanzanian experts will be drafting the policy guidelines and regulations in order to safeguard and equip the nation with the necessary precautions. Tanzania’s Minister for Agriculture and Food Security, Charles Keenja, said in Dar es Salaam last week that the country had taken no clear position on GM products to date.
Kenya received crucial international support for its opposition to uncontrolled trade in ivory when the Standing Committee for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) recently shot down proposals by South Africa, Namibia and Botswana to sell off 60 tonnes of stockpiled elephant ivory. The three countries had hoped they would be given permission to sell the ivory legally by CITES 50th Standing Committee that concluded a weeklong session in Geneva recently. But the sale was held up until a list of conditions is met.
Twofoxes, a South African company, has announced the release of NGO-in-a-box, the second in its series of open source starter packs. The company says the Open Source construction kits, which can either be downloaded from the website or ordered, contain all the software required for an NGO's operation. Dror Eyal, founder of Twofoxe, says the collections are the starting points for companies wanting to shift to, or start running an Open Source solution. "You will obviously want to tailor them and/or add various bits and pieces to them as per your specific needs. However these kits are the basic building blocks to get you started putting together your Open Source NGO."
In impoverished Burkina Faso, girls as young as eight are married off to men often older than their own fathers. But the government is now trying to eradicate this practice, alarmed by the continuing emergence of pregnancy complications in very young mothers. Typical of this phenomenon is the case of 22-year-old Christine. When she was 16, Christine ran away from home after realising that her family was preparing to marry her off to a polygamous old man.
Heeding a call from Secretary-General Kofi Annan to extend Internet connectivity to underserved populations around the world, the United Nations Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force and the Wireless Internet Institute has announced a series of programmes to accelerate the adoption of wireless Internet in support of universal connectivity. In his challenge to Silicon Valley in 2002, the Secretary-General said: "We need to think of ways to bring wireless-fidelity applications to the developing world so as to make use of unlicensed radio spectrum to deliver cheap and fast Internet access."
Aid programs designed to rehabilitate war-affected populations fail to address the needs of children, particularly girls, who often receive no support at all, experts said at a conference on children and war. Women may be abducted by warring parties and forced to serve as fighters, scouts, cooks, porters, spies and sexual slaves. Like boys, they may also volunteer, whether because of poverty, concern for their safety or ideological reasons.
Ten years after the genocide in Rwanda that took the lives of 800,000 people, the country’s children continue to struggle with the lingering impact of the atrocities, UNICEF has said. “Ten years later, the children of Rwanda are still suffering the consequences of a conflict caused entirely by adults,” UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said. “For them, the genocide is not just a historical event, but an inescapable part of daily life today and tomorrow.”
The international humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has expressed its serious concern about continued sexual violence against women and girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a phenomenon that is being perpetuated by ongoing insecurity. One year after a peace agreement was signed to put an end to the war in DRC, MSF continues to see victims of rape in its clinics. Releasing a report entitled "I have no joy, no peace of mind", MSF describes the terrible medical, psychosocial and socio-economic consequences of sexual violence in the DRC and the use of rape - against both women and men - as a weapon of war.
That question follows the conclusion of a two-day U.N. summit, in which delegates from sundry countries such as Cuba, Ghana, Bolivia and Venezula lectured North American, Asian and European countries about how best to run the Internet. Their demands varied, but the bottom line was the same: They want a piece of the action in just about every way. The event's agenda was breathtakingly broad, taking in everything from spam and privacy to intellectual property, network security and the operation of root domain name servers.
A cheap handheld computer designed by Indian scientists has been launched after a delay of nearly three years. The team first came up with the idea for the Simputer in 2001 to help India's poor join the internet age. But development of the computer was hampered by lack of investment and by little interest in the idea from computer manufacturers.
The current system of Internet governance seems to be working well, but the question was how to better coordinate the work of specialized bodies and ensure the involvement of all stakeholders, participants told a United Nations forum in New York. The two-day Global Forum on Internet Governance examined different areas of Internet governance, including infrastructure, electronic commerce, intellectual property, privacy issues, spam and consumer protection.
Internet search engine Google's plans for a free email service have come under fire from privacy campaigners. Google is devising Gmail as a rival to Microsoft's Hotmail and to Yahoo! Privacy campaigners have objected to plans to send users adverts linked to the content of messages, and to the permanent storage of email.
This paper analyses the phenomenon of 'global apartheid', an international system of minority rule whose attributes include differential access to basic human rights, wealth and power, from an African and South African perspective, and discusses possible alternative measures to fight against it.
This comparative study assesses the readiness and ability of six African countries - Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe - to respond to the HIV/Aids epidemic. The key issues addressed are: Is the allocation to health, as a per cent of total government expenditure, sufficient? Is enough allocated to deal with HIV/Aids, given the magnitude of the problem.
"The conflict in northern Uganda is unique in the sense that children are not just the main victims, but they are the main targets," says Mads Oyen of the United Nation Children's Fund. Children make up 90 percent of the rebels' forces. On average they spend over two years with the LRA, a movement claiming that it wants to establish a government based on the Ten Commandments. The children are forced to fight on the frontlines, but they also serve as porters and sex slaves.
The trial began in a military court in the Burkina Faso capital on Tuesday of 11 soldiers and two civilians accused of plotting to topple President Blaise Compaore. All 13 are charged with plotting to undermine state security, while the alleged mastermind of the putsch, Captain Luther Ouali, also faces charges of treason and of colluding with a foreign power to destabilise the Burkinabe government.
Almost 700 lecturers of Makerere University in the Ugandan capital went on strike on Tuesday, demanding pay hikes ranging between 100 and 150 percent, their union said. "It has been decided after a meeting that all lecturers at Makerere University will stop providing their services to the institution until our pay package has been increased," the chairperson of the Makerere University Academic Staff Association (MUASA), Ezra Twesigomwa, told reporters.
Namibian President Sam Nujoma has abandoned any prospect of a fourth term in office after a weekend meeting with leaders of his ruling SWAPO. The 74-year-old former guerrilla leader suggested only last week he would be willing to contest a fourth term - currently barred by the constitution - if asked by the party he led in a three-decade armed struggle for independence from South Africa.
A deal giving cheaper Aids drugs to the developing world is being made available to hundreds of thousands more patients. Previously available in 16 countries in the Caribbean and Africa, the deal will now cover up to 122 nations. The agreement is with five drug manufacturers and five firms which make Aids and HIV diagnostic tests. ActionAid said the move was positive but warned the cost of drugs would still be too high for poor countries.
Corruption watchdog Transparency International has warned that SA could be in breach of the African Union (AU) convention by allowing political parties to keep the sources of their private sector donations secret. Nongovernmental organisations have criticised government for not addressing this in the soon-to-be enacted Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Bill as it leaves the door open for business to buy political influence without anyone being aware of this relationship. SA's major political parties are set to clash with the Institute for Democracy in SA (Idasa) in court later this year contesting Idasa's demand that they disclose the identity of private sector donors.
The Ministry of Education loses between four to six of the 235,000 teachers daily through HIV/Aids. Permanent Secretary Prof Karega Mutahi said there was a large number of teachers already infected and that many others are bed-ridden. This has affected teaching and student performance in both primary and secondary schools, he added. "Sick teachers have to be on the payroll which means that the already stressed education system must carry a large proportion of unproductive persons. That means that work is piled up on those not sick," he said.
The ruling classes or ruling groups in a number of sub-Saharan African states use their control of the state machinery as a direct method of accumulating wealth. State finances are treated as personal finances, leading to a looting of the exchequer. This is particularly so with regard to foreign earnings, as from export of raw materials, and foreign aid. These personally looted monies are exported out of the country, leading to capital flight. As Kofi Annan put it, “Africa is suffering from multiple crises… Billions of dollars of public funds continue to be stashed away by some African leaders, even while roads are crumbling, health systems have failed, school-children have neither books nor desks nor teachers, and the phones do not work”.
Kenya has urged other African countries to adopt a spirit of compromise in negotiations aimed at ending the impasse on the Doha round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks. "Without sacrificing the principles and fundamental issues that we stand for, we cannot be successful negotiators unless we have some negotiating room," Kenya's Trade Minister Mukhisa Kituyi told reporters in Nairobi. He was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of government officials and private sector representatives from 12 African countries to discuss how to revive deadlocked world trade liberalisation talks.