Studio 7 VOA

Nigeria’s Electoral Commission Set to Announce Election Timetable

Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it’s on course for holding the presidential election in January.  An exact date is expected to be announced this week by the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

Analysts say the commission has a huge task ahead, based on the number of unresolved issues, like voter registration.  It also has to arrange for voting machines and hire election staff countrywide.

“INEC has promised the whole world and Nigerians in particular that it would do its best to deliver a credible election come January and to that promise it is absolutely committed,” says INEC spokesman Kayode Idowu.

“On the issue of timing, INEC will work within the [requirements] of the law, which dictates that it should conduct this election in January.  That is not to say if there is opportunity for a better time frame, INEC would not do a better job.”

All stakeholders in the election process are cooperating with the commission in the effort, says Kayode.

“The commission has been interacting very closely with the political parties to also bring them up to speed with the requirement of conducting a credible election in January.  Don’t forget that the task of organizing election is not only that of INEC.  All the other stakeholders, including the political parties especially, have to play their part.”

Some opposition parties point out that INEC’s top officials are appointed by the government and say they will favor the ruling party. Kayode disagrees.

“This commission has demonstrated even in the short time that it has been in office that it is independent.  The chairman did say at his inauguration that he would have no relationship with any of the politicians beyond what the law provides for.”

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Guinea Presidential Candidate Says Local Officials Campaigning for Rival

The front-runner in Guinea's presidential runoff says some local officials are unfairly campaigning for his rival ahead of this month's vote.

Cellou Diallo won more than 40 percent of ballots in Guinea's first round of presidential voting. So he is considered the front-runner in this month's runoff, especially as he has expanded his political coalition to include former rivals.

But in campaigning for the September 19 election, Diallo says some local government officials are unfairly favoring his opponent, Alpha Conde, who won just over one-quarter of the first-round votes.

Diallo told reporters in Conakry that his party objects to some local officials and governors openly demonstrating their preference for the other candidate. He says that is not fair because all Guineans expect the administration to be neutral. No one in the transitional government is allowed to be a candidate in this election. So Diallo says their obligation to remain neutral must be respected.

Guinea's Ministry of Territorial Administration and Political Affairs this week issued a circular reminding local officials that they must remain impartial in this contest.

The ministry's role in this vote is a source of political controversy in Conakry because interim prime minister Jean-Marie Dore wants it to play a bigger role to help the electoral commission overcome first-round problems that included too few polling stations in remote areas.

The military decree establishing the rules for this election empowered the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Political Affairs to give "technical assistance" to the electoral commission.

Prime Minister Dore wants acting military ruler General Sekouba Konate to issue another decree specifying the extent of that assistance. Opponents say there is no need for another decree and accuse the prime minister of trying to change the rules in the middle of the game.

Hadja Mame Camara is the electoral commission's vice president. She says the commission, the transitional government, and the candidates are all trying to improve the process.

Camara says the electoral commission is dispatching thirteen inspection teams, each of which includes representatives from the electoral commission, the Ministry of Territorial Administration, and both of the candidates. Those teams will examine existing polling stations and consider establishing new polling stations where needed.

Camara says the inspection teams will help bring polling stations closer to voters. She says the electoral commission now has 462,000 new, electronically-secure voter cards to replace the temporary papers that were used in the first round of voting.

This is an election meant to return Guinea to constitutional order after nearly two years of military rule. General Konate is warning soldiers to stay out of the process and respect the country's democratic transition.

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Red Cross Feeding Ghanaians Displaced by Ethnic Violence

Ghana's Red Cross is distributing food to some 2,000 families - 10,000 people in all - who ethnic fled violence that erupted in March in the northern town of Bawku.  

"This is the first organization that has intervened.  Since April, no other organization," said Francis Obeng, the national disaster manager of the Ghana Red Cross. "A lot of NGOs who were on the field even left the place, the government offices were closed down.  A lot of people and officials left the area, and so it was only the Red Cross that has the money to come to the aid of the people at this time."

With support from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the German Red Cross, Ghana's Red Cross is distributing 120 kilograms of maize, 40 kilograms of beans, 20 liters of oil and two kilograms of salt to each household.

Northern Ghana has been plagued by tension between the Kusai and Mamprusi ethnic groups for decades.  The conflict stems from competition over who controls the area's traditional chieftaincy, which has implications for land rights.  There was fighting over this issue in 2007 and 2008.

Obeng says the latest flare-ups in March and April of this year resulted in dozens of deaths and severely disrupted farming.

"The people want to go back to their farming, which is their major activity," he said. "Unfortunately they have eaten all their seeds during the period of crisis starting in March, so the intervention with Ghana Red Cross, ICRC, and German Red Cross, will be able to sustain the people to reach for their harvest period, which in one or two months time will be ready."

The Red Cross food donations will help the local population reach the next harvest period in November.  Yet the situation between the Kusai and Mamprusi remains volatile.

"The situation is not over and the people need to recover, especially their buildings which were burnt down, so if other societies, other organizations can come over to rehabilitate these people, I think these people will appreciate it very much," said Obeng.

Beyond food, Obeng says people displaced by this year's violence also need help rebuilding their homes and getting enough seeds for the next planting season.

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Liberian Official Insists the Government Takes Care of Its Former Presidents

The Liberian government has said it has not failed to take care of the needs of its most recent former presidents.

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This comes as one of the former chairmen of Liberia’s National Transitional Council, professor David Kpomakpor, who passed away last week, is being buried this weekend in the United States.

Eddie Jones, son of the late Kpomakpor, complained that the government has done little, or nothing, to assist the family in his father’s burial.

But, Jerolinmek Piah, Liberia’s deputy minister of information and public affairs, says the government has been working with individuals who took care of Kpomakpor that he gets a proper burial.

“The government is fully aware that, while the former councilman was sick in the United States, the son was nowhere around. The father was in the care of other persons and not the son. So, whatever assistance the government is giving toward the burial of Kpomakpor is being done through those who were in charge of him while he was ill and alive because our interest is to ensure that the former councilman is properly buried,” he said.

Piah said the Liberian government is willing to give the former Transitional Council chair a state funeral. On the other hand, he said, the government respects the wishes of the Kpomakpor family to bury him in the United States.

“We’ve been informed earlier that the family was interested in having the former councilman buried in the United States, and the government is not in the business of moving against the wishes of families when people are dead. But, if the family was to have a second thought, for instance, and decides that the former councilman would be taken back home for burial, of course, all of the kinds of courtesies and formalities associated with the burial of someone of such status will accompany his burial ceremony,” Piah said.

He said the government is sending a delegation to the burial headed by former Justice Minister Phillip A.Z. Banks, who served on the council of state at the time with Kpomakpor.

Those who saw the late Kpomakpor in his final days said he lived under dehumanizing circumstances.

Piah said the Liberian government is concerned about all its former leaders, but he said the government is in the process of streamlining the laws that would make possible a system of benefits for its former presidents.

“We have a country that runs in keeping with the budget, which becomes law every year. So, when the government does expenditure, it’s got to be consistent with what is reflected in our national budget. We’ve had some problems because too many conflicting things are on the book, from the past state council kind of government, to the last day of the Taylor government, to the coming into being of the Moses Blah government. There are countless documents that say what needs to be done for former presidents, and all of that,” Piah said.

The only surviving former Liberian president, Moses Blah, who suffers from heart disease, has reportedly told local media that he has had to see local doctors for routine check-ups, even though his condition calls for him to see foreign specialists yearly.

But, Blah said he cannot get such foreign medical evaluation because he has no money. He said he was confused about what has been stipulated in the Liberian government budget regarding benefits for former officials.

Piah said there is no clear pension policy, but he said former president Blah receives a monthly allowance of U.S. $2,000.

“As far as the information on the books is concerned, no, we don’t really have a standardized pension scheme. Mr. Blah receives a little amount, which is being budgeted in the amount of a little over $U.S. 2,000, is being given to him. So, as the Budget Committee works with Civil Service Agency and there is an agreed figure for past leaders, then, of course, when you’re taking those kinds actions, it is being done consistent with the law,” Piah said.

The Liberian Transitional council was a collective presidency that consisted of a civilian chair and members representing Liberian’s many warring factions.

Kpomakpor served from March 1994 to September 1995.

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Rwanda Official Critical of Amnesty Law Review Appeal

Rwanda’s Justice Minister has expressed disappointment over the latest report from the human rights group Amnesty International calling on President Paul Kagame’s government to review genocide ideology and sectarianism laws.

Tharcisse Karugarama condemned the report describing it as dishonest and an affront to the government and Rwandans.

The government has said it will review the laws critics charge it uses as tools to suppress its political opponents.

“I did ask different stakeholders, including Amnesty [and] Human Rights Watch to give ideas, if they have any. When they came on board this country, I told them that we are in the process of reviewing that law for different reasons in our own judicial system because we periodically review the laws that we’ve put in place to see how effective they are,” he said.

Karugarama said London-based Amnesty cannot be asking the government to amend the laws when they were aware it was considering reviewing them.

Amnesty international said in its report that both local and international lawyers were unable to define “genocide ideology and sectarianism laws,” especially with some judges saying the measures were broad and abstract.

But, Karugarama said Amnesty International “stole” the government’s initiative in reviewing the laws.

“They want to take our initiative and make it theirs and that is a very dishonest way of doing business. They know we are amending the law. They have given us their ideas and we have responded to them in writing. There was a cabinet decision in April. We asked different stakeholders to provide ideas on how we can improve that legislation,” Karugarama said.

An official with Amnesty International has said that “the ambiguity of the genocide ideology and sectarianism laws means Rwandans live in fear of being punished for saying the wrong thing.”

But, the justice minister said the government has reassured Amnesty it will be taking into consideration its concerns when reviewing the laws to improve them.

“What Amnesty International has not told the world, which is really very unfortunate, is that I gave them three assignments to do for us. One [was] to check for us how this legislation is written in other European countries where hate legislation is in place. They have not responded to that. Then, I ask them also to do research for us on how our courts have interpreted it. They have not done that,” he said.

Officials of Amnesty International were not immediately available for comment despite repeated attempts.

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Gambian Businessman Denies Drug Allegations, Files Suit

A close associate of Gambian President Yahya Jammeh has filed a lawsuit in a U.S court claiming the independent Freedom online newspaper recently published articles that tarnished his reputation.

Amadou Samba, a Gambian-based businessman, said allegations that he is under investigation for dealing in illicit drugs in the West African nation are unfounded and malicious.

“He [newspaper editor] has been defaming all the while, but I have been ignoring him. But, the last two articles, which I think he was not fair to me, is when he alleged [that] I was involved in a drug scandal, and that, two, I was involved in a coup [d’état] plot. It is my constitutional right to proceed because he is trying to defame me. I’m a businessman and it can send the wrong signal,” he said.

In a recent report, the newspaper said Samba and another businessman were under investigation in connection with a billion-dollar cocaine bust in The Gambia.

The drugs were allegedly found in a bunker, in Bonto village, on the outskirts of the capital, Banjul.

But, Samba denied ever dealing in drugs and challenged the newspaper to prove his guilt.

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“He did it for the allegation sake. He has nothing to back it up. If he has anything to back it up, let him come up with it. It is as simple as that,” Samba said.

He also denied using the American judicial system to intimidate journalists, as well as the publisher of the online newspaper.

Samba also denied the newspaper’s allegation he was plotting to overthrow President Yahya Jammeh’s administration.

Meanwhile, Pa Nderry Mbai, publisher of the Freedom newspaper, said the lawsuit is aimed at crippling his online newspaper. He vowed not to be silenced by the Gambian government.

“We never defamed Amadou Samba. Our stories were reported in good faith without malice. Mr. Samba is a public figure and his life is of interest to the Gambian public, including the international community. Here is a guy who is very close to President Jammeh and, if it is alleged that he has been invited for questioning by the National Drug Enforcement Agency, our job is to investigate the story,” Mbai said.

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UN: Perpetrators of DRC Gang Rapes Must Be Brought to Justice

The U.N. envoy charged with combating sexual violence in conflict zones says the Democratic Republic of Congo's "zero tolerance" policy toward rapists must be backed by consequences for the perpetrators.  Margot Wallström said Tuesday that those who carry out sexual attacks on women, such as the reported gang rape of nearly 200 women in the eastern DRC earlier this month, must be brought to justice.

The United Nations has blamed Rwandan rebels and an eastern Congolese militia for the gang rapes in Livungi that took place from July 30 to August 3.

These attacks are part of an endemic problem in the DRC.  In the first three months of this year alone, the United Nations estimates that more than 1,200 women were sexually assaulted in the Congo -- an average of almost 14 rapes each day.  U.N. agencies say the true numbers could be even higher because many survivors stay silent out of fear and shame.

U.N. Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Margot Wallström visited the DRC recently. She says it is the Congolese government that has the first responsibility to protect its civilians and that impunity must end.

"So long as rapists remain at large they hold the whole reputation of the Congo hostage.  The latest atrocities really enforce a key finding from my mission -- you cannot have a policy of zero tolerance backed by zero consequences.  And the government's zero tolerance policy on sexual violence must be backed by consistent and visible consequences for the perpetrators of sexual violence on their territory," she said.

Wallström warns that such acts can constitute war crimes for both the perpetrators and those in command, adding the time when sexual violence is tolerated as a by-product of war is over.

Although it is the primary responsibility of the government to protect its citizens, U.N. peacekeepers based in the DRC came under criticism for not intervening to stop the attacks.  The United Nations says its troops were not informed of the attacks when they happened and that they did not learn of them until nearly two weeks after they had occurred.  Wallström says she did not know about the attacks until August 21st.

She defended the peacekeepers -- whose numbers have begun to shrink at the request of the Congolese government -- saying that it is unrealistic to expect them to protect all of the women in the vast area of the eastern DRC.  But she accepted that the United Nations must improve its response in such situations.

"So, of course, they can't be everywhere.  That doesn't mean to say we shouldn't look at were there early warning signals that were not picked up.  And how can we improve that understanding of early warning signals?  What can we do to better communicate?  Can we equip the women in those villages better to actually report on their fears and to pick up the early warning signs?  So I think this is part of the follow up," she said.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he was "outraged" by the Luvungi attacks.  He has dispatched an envoy to the DRC to investigate the incident.

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Legacy of Genocide Fuels Political Repression in Rwanda

In the 16 years since the genocide, Rwanda has received nearly universal acclaim for rebuilding its shattered society and re-branding itself as a new "African Tiger."  But concerns are being raised that the legacy of that brutal event has been manipulated for the benefit of the ruling party.

During the past decade, Rwanda has undergone a seemingly impossible transformation.  The tiny central African nation, plagued by the 1994 genocide in which an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsi's were killed by the country's Hutu majority, has been tirelessly engaged in a campaign to reunite the country and change its international image.

President Paul Kagame has used his considerable authority to quickly rebuild the country, both economically and socially. Mr. Kagame has pushed for the elimination of ethnic identities in favor of Rwandan unity and laid the groundwork for significant investment throughout the country.

The president's government accountability programs have all but eliminated corruption in Rwanda, a minor-miracle in East Africa, and free primary education is nearly universal.

The country is now working to become the African hub of information technology by the year 2020, a growth strategy modeled after the "Asian Tiger" economies of the 1980s and 1990s.  There is also a monthly day of national service, called Umuganda, during which citizens contribute to public works such as planting trees and cleaning streets.

President Kagame has essentially run the country since the end of the 1994 genocide, after he led the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front's campaign against the Hutu government.

The president has been lauded as an African hero, receiving praise from world leaders such as former U.S. President Bill Clinton and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.  The president also has near universal support among Rwandans. In the country's two presidential polls, Mr. Kagame was elected by more than 90 percent of the vote.

But Mr. Kagame's government has drawn sharp criticism in recent months.  The country has come under fire for controversial laws in effect to prevent "sectarianism" and the promotion of "genocide ideology."

In a new report, Amnesty International warns the laws are too vague and had been abused by the government to silence opposition.  The report, entitled "Safer to Stay Silent," charged the laws promoted self-censorship among Rwandans.  But Rwandan Media High Council executive secretary Patrice Mulama said the laws were necessary given Rwanda's history.

"Hate speech is never appropriate in any democracy, in any society, because it burns; it kills people," said Mulama.  "That is why, world over you have laws against discrimination, laws against segregation, laws against hate speech and stuff like that.  You must remember that this is a society that is recovering from a genocide, in which hate speech and racist speech had a very strong role in orchestrating."

In the lead up to the August 9 presidential election, the government was accused by rights organizations, such as Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders, of suppressing opposition and, in effect, guaranteeing the president's re-election.

Opposition newspapers, such as Umuseso and Umuvigizi, were handed suspensions by Rwanda's Media High Council for publishing articles that allegedly incited public instability or promoted genocide ideology.

Opposition figure Victoire Ingabire was also charged with promoting genocide Ideology.  Ingabire, who had planned to challenge President Kagame in the election, argued that crimes had been committed by both Hutu and Tutsi populations during the genocide.

Ingabire remains a controversial figure in Rwanda, but the author of the Amnesty report, Erwin van der Borght told VOA that legitimate calls for accountability deserved a hearing in Rwanda.  The author urged Rwandan authorities to review the controversial laws in order to prevent further abuse.

"It is obvious that the Rwandese authorities, like any government, have a responsibility to ensure that hate speech is clamped down on, and that incitement to violence and discrimination and the people responsible for that are investigated and prosecuted," said van der Borgh.  "The problem is that with the Genocide Ideology law is the Rwandese government went too far in restricting freedom of expression.  We see that it is being abused and misused against political opponents, human rights activists and the media."

Controversy has erupted during the past week that could challenge the traditional narrative of the Rwandan genocide.  An upcoming U.N. report, leaked to the media has found the Rwandan Patriotic Front was involved in killing thousands of Hutu refugees in Congo before and after the genocide in Rwanda.

While the Rwandan Patriotic Front has maintained its efforts in Congo targeted Hutu militias, the report found evidence of large-scale human-rights violations committed against civilian populations.

The Rwandan government has blasted the report, calling it "immoral and unacceptable" and accused the United Nations of hypocrisy, citing the organization's failure to respond to the 1994 killings.  The central African nation has threatened to withdraw from its U.N. obligations if the report is published.  And, it has been revealed the government has completed a plan to withdraw its peacekeepers from the U.N. mission in Darfur.

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Somali Government Denies Ethiopia Sent Troops into Somalia

Somalia's Transitional Federal Government is denying reports that Ethiopian troops have taken the town of Beledweyn from al-Shabab militants in the central Hiran region. A government spokesman says there is no Ethiopian military presence in Somalia.

Somali government spokesman Mohamed Nor Dabaashe issued a statement Tuesday refuting eyewitness reports that hundreds of Ethiopians soldiers carried out operations against al-Shabab militants around Beledweyne in recent days, and have entered the strategic town near the Ethiopian-Somali border.

Dabaashe called the information "false" and said there were no Ethiopian forces inside Somali territory. The spokesman said government troops are amassing in the town of Kalabeyr, another key junction that links much of Somalia to the Ethiopian border, preparing to attack al-Shabab forces in Hiran.

VOA sources in Beledweyne say a large number of Ethiopians crossed the border several times in armored trucks last week. The sources say the troops, along with some Somali government forces, took Beledweyne peacefully Monday after the militants withdrew.

If Addis Ababa has sent troops into Somalia, analysts say the timing suggests it may be aimed at achieving two objectives:  First, to draw al-Shabab's attention and resources away from the Somali capital, Mogadishu, where the al-Qaida-linked group has recently redoubled their effort to topple the Somali government. And second, to possibly pave the way for the start of the long-awaited offensive by pro-government forces to capture ground from al-Shabab in several regions of Somalia including Hiran, Galgadud, Gedo, Bakool, and Middle Shabelle.

A detailed plan of the offensive was reportedly discussed in late July in Addis Ababa at a meeting sponsored by the regional East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development bloc.

Al-Shabab is the most powerful armed group in Somalia, controlling most of the country's south and the capital. It is considered a terrorist group by several Western countries, including the United States.

Al-Shabab was once a part of the Islamic Courts Union, which briefly ruled Somalia in 2006. With U.S. support, Ethiopia militarily intervened late that year to oust the courts from power and to install the U.N.-backed Transitional Federal Government in Mogadishu.

Addis Ababa withdrew its military in 2009 after Islamist leader and now-President Sharif Sheik Ahmed joined the government, promising to bring an end to the Islamist insurgency. But allegations of gross human rights violations by troops during the Ethiopian occupation created deep resentment and anger in Somalia.

Many western analysts have since suggested that the occupation helped swell al-Shabab's ranks and gave the group's radical leaders the credibility they needed to attract the support of groups like al-Qaida.    

Meanwhile, an al-Shabab military spokesman in Mogadishu, Abdiaziz Abu Musaab, confirmed the group had carried out Monday's mortar attack on African Union peacekeepers guarding the presidential palace. The attack killed four Ugandan soldiers and wounded several others.

Hinting that al-Shabab may be receiving intelligence from inside the presidential palace, the al-Shabab commander claims the group fired the mortar deliberately and accurately at a Ugandan troop position.

The spokesman for the peacekeeping mission called the mortar strike a "lucky hit" for the insurgents.

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World Bank says Population Growth, Climate Change Demand Better Water Management

A soaring world population, climate change and greater demands for food are placing greater demands on the planet’s water resources.  The World Bank says the best way to address those issues is to have better information and a more integrated approach to water management.

The bank says a review of its 2003 water resources strategy finds many successes in water projects.  But it also sets priorities and makes recommendations as access to water becomes critical for many people around the world.

Life and death

“As every high school child knows, water runs through absolutely every we do,” says  World Bank Water Sector Manager Julia Bucknall.  “We can’t grow any food without water.  We can’t live without water.  We can’t run our cities without managing our water properly.”

The floods in Pakistan, she says, show the importance of having a good water management policy in place.

“Both from the resource point of view, in the sense of the floods, but also from the basic management of water supply and sanitation.  That’s what is going to be killing a lot of people now after the immediate impact of the floods,” she says.

Strategy plan

In 2003, the World Bank issued a strategic plan for water projects.  In a new report, called Sustaining Water for All in a Changing Climate, the bank reviewed that strategy.

“The strategy itself,” says Bucknall,” was quite a path-breaking strategy, which really put infrastructure to the front and center of the development agenda and anticipated many of the issues…population growth, climate change and the need to manage water for food.”

She says the strategy has resulted in “enormous success.”

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“We have been able to triple our lending in the water sector.  And we’ve been able to be much more integrated so that we look at building irrigation systems, for example, at the same time as looking at the water resources that those systems depend on,” she says, adding, “We are very pleased with the results.”

Making water a priority

At recent climate change conferences, advocates for water management tried to put the issue high on the agenda but were not always successful.

Bucknall says, “Everybody knows it’s a priority in some very generic sense.  I think what people don’t always do is take the very hard choices that have to be made in order to manage water properly.”

In making those tough choices, the World Bank official says some people will face “disruptions.”

“Many governments are just not willing to take that decision now and sort of put it off until it becomes a crisis later.  They don’t actively put it off until it becomes a crisis later, but that’s what ends up happening.”

What next?

The review makes a number of recommendations.  “One is to continue efforts to integrate water resources with water services.  So, this is something we’ve done quite well over the past five or six years, but we want to do it more and more consistently,” she says.

Other recommendations include putting water management higher on the climate change agenda and increase efforts to improve sanitation.

“One third of the world’s population does not have access to a toilet, which has huge social and health implications,” she says, “You know more people die of diarrhea than of AIDS, malaria and TB combined.”

The review also calls for support for hydro power, calling it “the largest source of renewable and low carbon energy, including high-risk, high-reward infrastructure projects.”  But Bucknall admits it’s a complicated issue.

Dams, for instance, have been criticized by some as harmful to the environment and the livelihoods of those living near lakes and resources.

Bucknall says hydropower could mean building damns but also could mean making better use of existing dams or rehabilitating them.

“Sometimes making better use out of them so that you can use them for adaptation to climate change,’ she says, “And also to give more space for the environment.  One of the things we’re looking at actively is reengineering existing dams to make them have more multiple uses for people, for energy and for the environment.”

Inger Andersen, vice-president for sustainable development at the World Bank, says, “Only 23 percent of hydropower potential located in developing countries has been exploited.  The gains for the poor can be enormous.”

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Zimbabwe Party Leaders, Security Chiefs Sued by Former Detainees

Human-rights activist Jestina Mukoko and 17 others are suing some of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's closest colleagues for $22 million, claiming they were kidnapped, tortured and illegally detained in 2008.  

Zimbabwe human-rights activist Jestina Mukoko says she was abducted in her night clothes at dawn by a dozen security agents, shoved into an unmarked vehicle, and driven to a secret location.

At that time a group of 18 people - including a two-year-old boy picked up with his parents, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters, and some with no political connections - disappeared.  They all claim in papers before the High Court they were held in secret locations and physically and mentally abused.

Mukoko was abducted just 10 weeks after former opposition leader, now prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai signed a political agreement that led to the unity government in February last year.

After an international outcry, Mukoko and other detainees were released to a hospital and she was charged with recruiting insurgents to overthrow Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled her arrest was illegal and ruled similarly for all the others now suing leaders and security chiefs of Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF Party.  The group of abductees is asking for $22 million in damages, charging the party officials are responsible for kidnapping and torture.

ZANU-PF Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa, former Security Minister Didymus Mutasa, Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri, security chief Happyton Bonyongwe, senior prison officers, policemen and security agents are among those facing trial on September 13.

The suit is being seen by political analysts and lawyers in Harare as a significant legal and political moment in Zimbabwe's 30 years of independence.

At the time of her abduction, Mukoko was documenting ZANU-PF violence against Mr. Tsvangirai's supporters before the June 2008 presidential run-off.  A week before that poll Mr. Tsvangirai withdrew his candidacy after about 200 of his supporters were killed and hundreds injured by ZANU- PF militia.

The lawsuit will be heard by Judge George Chiweshe, who was chairman of the election authority that in 2008 delayed the presidential poll results for five weeks.

Mr. Mugabe recently appointed Chiweshe Judge President of the High Court without consultations with Prime Minister Tsvangirai, which Harare constitutional lawyer Derek Matyszak says was "illegal."

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South African Strikers to Consider New Government Offer

Striking South African public service workers are considering a new wage offer from the government aimed at ending a 14-day-old strike.

Officials from the main labor federation, COSATU, and other unions say their members will discuss the proposal over the next couple of days.  They say a decision on the offer could come Wednesday.

The strike by some 1.3 million civil servants has shut down schools and led to army medics taking over public hospitals.

The government's latest offer calls for a 7.5 percent pay increase, up from the earlier offer of 7 percent.  The government also raised its monthly housing allowance offer from $96 to $109.

The public service unions have demanded an pay increase of 8.6 percent and a higher housing allowance.

The newest government offer comes after South African President Jacob Zuma ordered government ministers to resolve the strike in the interest of the country.

A government spokesman says the president is particularly concerned about the strike's impact on the health and education sectors.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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Situation Critical for Thousands in Somalia

The International Committee of the Red Cross says hundreds of thousands of people who have fled fighting in the Somali capital, Mogadishu are in a critical situation.

A mass exodus of people from the Somali capital, Mogadishu has been going on since 2007. That is when fighting between government forces and insurgents intensified.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have settled in squalid makeshift camps on the road between Mogadishu and Afgooye, which is about 30 kilometers south of the capital.

ICRC spokeswoman, Nicole Englebrecht says the situation for the displaced is becoming more critical. She says people are still fleeing fighting in Mogadishu and this is swelling the ranks of the displaced and their needs.

"Just last month alone, 4,000 new people according to our estimations joined these displaced on that axis and they are barely able to meet their most urgent needs," she said. "So, the ICRC has just completed a distribution of food, together with our partner organization, the Somali Red Crescent Society to more than 55,000 people on the axis."

The ICRC says it has provided a two-month supply of beans, rice and oil. It says the most vulnerable people, especially the disabled and single mothers with children were given priority in its food distribution.

The Red Cross says people who have lost practically everything are coping through petty trade or by growing crops on small patches of land. They also receive some help from resident communities. But it notes this covers only their most urgent needs, making the displaced extremely vulnerable to malnutrition and disease.

The deputy head of ICRC operations for the Horn of Africa, Benjamin Wahren, says fighting in Mogadishu has intensified in recent days, claiming a high number of civilian casualties.

"During the last eight days, the number of people wounded in the fighting and who came to the two surgical hospitals supported by the ICRC and the Somali Red Crescent Society, the number of wounded doubled" said Wahren. "As you say it has calmed down a little. I think today effectively fewer people arrived. But the situation definitely is critical because during eight days there was almost constant fighting."

The ICRC says it has treated more than 200 patients with weapon-related injuries in its Medina and Keysaney hospitals since August 23rd. It adds this is more than twice the average number admitted in previous weeks.

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Burundi's 'Peace Village' a Unique Effort to Reconcile Ethnic Groups

It has been five years since Burundi's civil war ended.  Tutsis and Hutus clashed in a conflict that lasted 13 years, leaving an estimated 300,000 dead.  But there is a longer history of ethnic violence in Burundi and a unique effort is under way to reconcile the two ethnic groups.

A baby goat cries for its mother inside a small wooden shed in Mutambara Peace Village.

About 1,600 Burundians live in this village, with its 300 identical two-room homes constructed of concrete with tin roofs.  It was set up by the United Nations and Burundi's government as an experiment in reconciliation to see if Hutus and Tutsis could better understand each other by living side by side.  

Burundi's ethnic clashes have been a problem for generations.  In 1972, the Tutsi-dominated government launched a campaign of violence against the Hutu majority.  In what an international commission dubbed genocide, up to 200,000 people were killed and hundreds of thousands more fled the country.

Nyandwi Philemon was one of them, ending up in Tanzania with his parents in 1972, when he was just three years old.  He returned to his homeland five years ago and was given a home in the Peace Village.

He says when his family was in the refugee camps, people used to say, "We cannot live with people from other ethnic groups."  But, he says, when we are here, we see that we can live with them without any problems.

Philemon is a Hutu married to a Tutsi.  He said he does not care about ethnicity, saying it is used by politicians "to get power."  As the camp's government representative, he says he has never received any complaints related to ethnicity.

According to Peace Village resident Denise Ndabige, it is not the problem anymore.  The biggest challenge is a lack of food.

She says she has not eaten this morning, and neither have her children.  She says the problem is finding food because the residents do not have a way to cultivate crops, and without land they can not even grow small things like vegetables.  She says they just stay there, just perhaps waiting for death.

Each family is given a plot of land, but it is not big enough to cultivate crops.  Charities are helping, but the Peace Village project was not designed to support the residents, just give them a place to live.  

While there is a nearby medical clinic, getting medical care is also a problem for Ndabige and other residents.

He says the residents have no money to go to hospitals.  He says he has an eye problem, but the hospital charged so much he decided to stay at home without taking medicine.

Ndabige says the solution is more support from the government.

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The Hutus and Tutsis living together as neighbors say they have come to realize they are not so different and that they are facing similar problems each day in Burundi, be it paying for medical care or figuring out where the next meal will come from.

Despite the challenges of life in the Peace Village, resident David Thomas Ciza said he is thankful to have a home.  

He says when the refugees were in Tanzania, they were facing a terrible situation.  They were threatened by different security services, like the army and police, but in Burundi, it is safe now and no one comes to ask for your identity card.  He says, "We are free," and he is happy to have his feet on Burundi soil because it is his country.

While there is peace, the Hutus and Tutsis who live in the Mutambara Peace Village say they still need food and other resources to lead a meaningful life.  This is a problem also faced by millions in Burundi, one of the world's poorest countries. But the government has provided little help, regardless of ethnicity.   

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Southern Cameroon Political Leader Calls for Region's Independence

A political leader from Cameroon’s southern region told VOA that if the international community is interested in the rule of law, it must ensure that the struggle for southern Cameroon independence is resolved through diplomacy.

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Southern Cameroon, once a British territory, joined French-speaking Cameroon in 1961.

Since then, the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC) has been seeking the region’s separation from the Republic of Cameroon.

Mola Njoh Litumbe, who has witnessed Cameroon’s political evolution, is in the United States at the invitation of Diaspora Southern Cameroonians to discuss the fate of the region.

Litumbe said southern Cameroon was never a part of the territory known since 1960 as the Republic of Cameroon.

“For nearly 50 years, la Republique du Cameroon has failed to observe the special status of southern Cameroon which was never a part of its territory at independence, and anyone talking about southern Cameroon is arrested and charged with secession. And, the position of southern Cameroonians is that you cannot have secession unless you have been part of a corporate territory,” he said.

Litumbe said the threatened breakaway of eastern Nigeria from the federal republic was an act of secession because eastern Nigeria was part of Nigeria when the country gained its independence.

On the other hand, Litumbe said the Republic of Cameroon cannot prove that southern Cameroon was ever a part of it at independence.

He said independence from the Republic of Cameroon is still attainable because the people of southern Cameroon took the government of Cameroon to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.

“This occurred in 2003. Six years later, in 2009, a decision was rendered which stated that la Republique du Cameroon should enter into constructive dialogue with the people of southern Cameroon with a view to resolving constitutional and other grievances,” he said.

Litumbe said the African Commission gave the parties six months during which to come together under the auspices of the commission.

But, he said the government of Cameroon applied for an additional six months which expired in June this year.

“So, we are waiting to see if la Republique is amenable to discipline of the international community by entering into constructive dialogue, the position of southern Cameroon being that they were never part of the corporate territory which attained independence as la Republique du Cameroon,” Litumbe said.

Litumbe said the government of Cameroon has also failed to comply with the U.N. Charter to file an agreement of terms joining together with southern Cameroon meaning they were never legally joined.

He said obtaining separation has been difficult for the people of southern Cameroon because the region has been virtually under siege.

“The army, the police force and the gendarmerie are all in the hands of la Republique du Cameroon. Indeed, even the divisional officers and senior divisional officers in southern Cameroon, 90 percent of them, are from la Republique du Cameroon. By joining together, independence, as defined by the United Nations, was a power-sharing arrangement. That has been denied the people of southern Cameroon,” Litumbe said.

He said southern Cameroon is waiting for the constructive dialogue recommended by the African Union and would prefer to resolve its differences with the Republic of Cameroon amicably in accordance with the provision of the United Nations.

Litumbe said, although southern Cameroon is alleged to have joined the Republic of Cameroon in 1961, there is no treaty of such a union.

“We have challenged la Republique du Cameroon that if you are accusing the woman in your house of divorce, you must have in your pocket a marriage certificate that produces any instrument acceptable under international law to prove that we ever join. Otherwise, you are exercising colonialism which has been condemned by the United Nations by denying the people of southern Cameroon their sovereign right to independence,” he said.

Categories: News

Former Leader Calls on Swaziland to Embrace Democracy

A former Swaziland prime minister has called on the country to embrace democracy ahead of the opening of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) heads of state and government summit Tuesday in the Swazi capital, Mbabane.

Obed Dlamini said Swazis cannot call for significant infrastructural and nationwide development while keeping out political development in the tiny southern African country.

“My expectations are very high, and I have no doubts, (we) will benefit a lot. (And,) not only that, they would be in touch with other fellows from (all over) Africa, especially the members of COMESA. That will also go for other friends from elsewhere, especially investors. And, I hope the politicians will come up with some resolutions towards African development, in particular within COMESA in the area of trade,” he said.

Several heads of state have arrived in Swaziland to participate in the three-day 14th COMESA summit of the heads of state and government.

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According to organizers, topics of discussion include developments on a regional integration agenda, including progress towards full implementation of the COMESA Customs Union, the tripartite cooperation between COMESA, the East African Community and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and how the region can enhance the use of science and technology for the benefit of its people.

Swaziland’s King Mswati III is expected to take over the COMESA chairmanship from the Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe during the summit.

Former Prime Minister Dlamini said Swaziland’s political leaders should take into account the growing democracy practiced in the sub-region and copy what is relevant to them.

“As you are aware, Swaziland is one of the least in terms of development, comparatively. But, when we have fellows coming from as far as Egypt, there would be some cross-pollination of some sort. I believe the exchange of views will affect not only our economic performance, but it will also affect our political performance as well,” Dlamini said.

Analysts say, although a constitution has been reintroduced in Swaziland, the level of power invested in King Mswati III is so significant that the country can be considered an absolute monarchy.

Swaziland has banned all forms of political parties in the kingdom. Critics and human right groups say the government often uses state institutions, including the security agencies and the judiciary, to intimidate and harass opponents. The government denies the accusations.

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Kenyan Lawmaker to Demand Answers about Sudan Leader’s Visit

A Kenyan lawmaker told VOA he will demand answers from the foreign minister in parliament Tuesday about the controversial invitation of Sudan’s embattled President Hassan Omar Al-Bashir to participate in the promulgation of Kenya’s constitution.

Musa Sirlma, who is also the chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Global Action, an international group that supports the Rome Statute, said Kenya abdicated its responsibility of enforcing the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants against the indicted Sudanese leader.

“I am particularly not happy in that Kenya has ratified the International Crime Act, or we have in fact domesticated (it). In 2008, we deposited our instrument and we believe that the leadership in this country would have seen it wise that they go by the rule of law. I will be seeking from the minister to tell us why he saw it fit to invite His Excellency Al-Bashir to Kenya,” he said.

U.S. President Barack Obama joined former U.N Secretary General Kofi Annan in expressing shock and disappointment over Mr. Bashir’s invitation and participation during the promulgation Friday of Kenya’s constitution.

In a statement, Mr. Obama said Kenya’s government “has committed itself to full cooperation with the ICC, and we consider it important that Kenya honor its commitments to the ICC and to international justice, along with all nations that share those responsibilities. In Kenya, and beyond, justice is a critical ingredient for lasting peace.”

Some officials in Kenya’s coalition government also condemned the Sudanese leader’s participation after accusing some within the Kenyan administration of keeping his visit under tight wraps. A group of Kenyans also demonstrated demanding Mr. Bashir’s arrest.

Sirlma said the foreign minister will have to explain the rationale behind the Sudanese leader’s invitation in defiance of The Hague based court and the international community.

“If we keep these people who believe in war, war crimes and genocide, then how are we going to be setting (an) example and becoming an island of peace, which we have been in East Africa?” he asked.

He also said that Kenya should be “teaching” the Sudanese leader about the need to respect and practice democracy and the rule of law instead of inviting him to “mar Kenya’s day in the sun.”

Categories: News

Unions and South African Government in Talks to End Strike

of public service unions and the government have resumed negotiations aimed at ending the crippling strike by South African public servants. President Jacob Zuma ordered his ministers back to the negotiating table.

Mr. Zuma held emergency talks with his ministers late Sunday, and ordered a resumption of talks with unions representing public servants. The president's spokesman, Zizi Kodwa, told the eNews Channel that Mr. Zuma made it plain the 13-day strike that has shut down schools and hospitals across the country cannot continue.

"Let us put the interests of the country first, and the people," said Kodwa. "We can't allow babies dying in hospitals because of our disagreement; we can't allow disruption of school and learning because of our sectoral interests."

Mr. Zuma has been stung by mounting criticism that he left the country for six days on a state visit to China during the strike. He has also been the focus of much criticism from union members, traditionally allies of his party, the African National Congress.

The strike has hurt government services across South Africa, with hospitals and schools most severely affected.

Even though nurses are prohibited from striking, the government has been forced to deploy more than 3,500 military medics to 57 state hospitals.

In some cases, patients have been denied entry to hospitals, or simply abandoned. AIDS patients have had their treatment interrupted, which could eventually cause the treatment to fail.

State schools across the country are closed, causing concern among students and parents that some will have to repeat the year.

Economists are warning of the long-term economic effects. They say it will take at least three years for the approximately one million workers affected to make back lost income, and that in turn will mean reduced revune for businesses across the country.

They say this will slow South Africa's gradual recovery from the recession, and result in the creation of fewer jobs. South Africa's unemployment rate is 25 percent.

Public servants want an 8.6 percent pay increase, along with a housing allowance of $133 per month; the government has offered 7 percent and $93.

Categories: News

Zimbabwe Government Bans 'Offensive' Paintings

In a rare act of censorship, Zimbabwe's inclusive government has banned artwork by Bulawayo-based artist Owen Maseko that depicts violent political upheavals more than 25 years ago.  

A special government order was issued in Harare late Friday banning art works by Owen Maseko, briefly seen by the public last march in the main art gallery in Bulawayo.

The artworks, some of them huge murals, concentrated on political violence in the two Matabeleland provinces in the 1980's aimed at the opposition of that time, the Zimbabwe African People's Union led by the late nationalist Joshua Nkomo.

President Robert Mugabe sent a brigade of North Korean-trained soldiers into rural areas in the two Matabeleland provinces.  Few outside those areas knew about this terror campaign, South African and British journalists exposed the atrocities in 1983.

Human rights activists investigated and produced a detailed report years later called "Breaking the Silence", which said about 20,000 people, mostly ZAPU supporters from the minority Ndebele tribe, were killed.

President Mugabe has never made an apology for the campaign, but once described it as an "act of madness."

Maseko's most striking picture is his depiction of a unity accord Nkomo signed with Mr. Mugabe in 1987 that ended the violence, but also brought an end to ZAPU, which had fought the war to end white minority rule alongside Mugabe-led forces.

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Another painting of Maseko's view of Zimbabwe elections shows people putting their ballot papers into a flushing toilet.

The government order banning the paintings came from the Home Affairs Ministry under the Censorship and Entertainment Control Act.  The ministry is jointly controlled in the 18-month-old unity government by ministers loyal to Mr. Mugabe and to Movement for Democratic Change leader Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.  

The censorship authority says the artworks, which it described as 'offensive" are also "tribal."  The authority also complained that among the art on display at the Bulawayo Gallery in March was a picture of nude man with exposed genitals.

Veteran political analyst Brian Raftopoulos says censorship is not widely used in Zimbabwe, because people have little access to books.  He also says Zimbabweans practice a degree of self censorship through their fear of the state.

Shortly after the gallery opening, police stormed the building, which has large windows at street level, covered the art works with newspaper, and arrested Maseko.

He was charged under laws that penalize anyone seen to "insult" or "demean" the authority of the president.

Categories: News

Kenyan Government Seeks Peace Among Pastoralists

Cattle rustling is a long-standing problem in Kenya. Pastoralist communities from Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia cross over into Kenya and battle Kenyan pastoralists, who also fight among themselves.  Northern Kenya is especially awash with guns, which increases the number and severity of attacks.  Months after the Kenyan government ended a disarmament program, local officials are stepping up efforts to collect more guns.

Cattle are a precious commodity in large areas of Kenya, and Turkana, Samburu, and other tribal herders often fight over them.  In the north, pastoralists from Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia regularly cross borders to raid Kenyan cattle.

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Turkana pastoralist John Ewoton Ekaran has lost more than cattle during those raids.  "I had my gun to protect my cattle.  Our enemies attacked us all the time.  They took our animals.  They killed all of my brothers.  So, now, I do not have any brothers left," said Ekaran.

Guns rather than spears are the weapons of choice among many modern pastoralists in Africa.  To cut down on the violence, last year the Kenyan government formed a committee of senior police, military and intelligence officials to disarm pastoralist communities.  The committee instituted an amnesty program intending to collect 50,000 firearms, but gathered only about 2,400.

Patrick Muriira is the district commissioner for Turkana West.  He said the government extended the program in an effort to collect more guns.  "We have met with some success because we have been able to, first of all, sensitize people on the dangers of holding illegal firearms."

Muriira said most of the firearms come from Sudan and Ethiopia. "We cannot have development in this district for as long as people are holding illegal guns," said Muriira.

Muriira said the government's disarmament program includes community development strategies to build roads and open schools.

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Many pastoralists, however, say they need their firearms to protect themselves.  They argue that communities in Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia also need to be disarmed for peace to come to Kenya.  Additionally, they call on the government to boost security forces in cattle-rustling areas.

Pastoralist Lotira Esinyen Abong said, "Now that my gun has been taken away, I feel like a desperate woman who is looking for any man to marry her.  I am defenseless and helpless.  The gun also helped me to hunt wild animals for food."

The Ugandan government has carried out a disarmament program in the Karamoja area for the past decade, but attacks by Karamajong in northern Kenya continue.

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