24 June 2011

What Can Outsiders Do to Help Stop Dictators?

22 June 2011
Eric Stoner


In the Guardian last week, Carne Ross asks an important question: What can people living outside of countries where movements are struggling to bring down repressive regimes do to help? He asks readers to contribute ideas for “practical suggestions for nonviolent action to help those struggling against repression and dictatorship” in the comment section, which he said he’ll select from for a future column. Ross then suggests a few examples to jump start the conversation:


Online, Access Now has created a “proxy cloud” to enable internet users in countries that limit internet access, like China, to reach sites that would otherwise be blocked – you can contribute your spare bandwith to the effort. Likewise, Tor uses volunteers’ computers to help users under authoritarian rule cover their tracks on the web. And when the Egyptian authorities shut down the internet, Avaaz.org smuggled in high-tech phones and portable satellite internet modems to maintain connections to the outside world – paid for by online donations.

At the more hardcore end of the spectrum, there are reports that the hacker collective Anonymous has been organising distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks on Syrian government websites. While ,at the high end (expense-wise), the Sudan Sentinel project, started by George Clooney, rents a surveillance satellite to monitor potential flashpoints for violence between north and south Sudan in an attempt to deter the resumption of war (at the time of writing, sadly, it’s not working too well).

Reaching back further for historical precedent, thousands offered refuge to Czech students after the Soviet invasion in 1968; humanitarian assistance also, carefully delivered, can sustain opposition as well as relieve suffering. Boycotts remain a powerful nonviolent tool. The Genocide Intervention Network lobbies companies to divest from countries whose governments kill their own people. The act of shunning those who support repression may seem slight but has a subtle power: I remember a white farmer in a newly-liberated Zimbabwe telling me that once the international boycott began of white minority-ruled Rhodesia, she knew that, sooner or later, it would have to end. Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi has advised tourists not to visit the country in order to isolate the ruling military junta and deny it foreign exchange.

He seems to have hit on most of the obvious tactics. If you have any creative ideas, let us know and add them to the comments on Ross’ piece.

23 June 2011

To Rehabilitate African Damaged Self-esteem

8 June 2011
Conelle.net


Africans must fight and defeat their former colonial masters to rehabilitate their damaged self-esteem


Men have contempt for those they defeat at war and substitute war, sports and other competitions. Men have contempt for those who are easily intimidated by threat of force and coercion. Africans, so far in their shameful history (they allowed other folks to enslave them and colonize them), have shown the world one trait and one trait only: cowardice. Say boohoo and Africans run away. Point guns at them and threaten to kill them and they pee in their pants and beg for mercy.

Men do not respect those who beg for mercy; they have contempt for them. Very few African countries actually fought for their independence. Nigerian and many Africa nationalists merely called the British names but did not actually take up guns and fought the British or French. Because they did not fight for their liberty they do not value it; they do not know that the price of liberty is blood hence they allow thieves to hijack their government and essentially loot their wealth while they live in poverty and merely complain about the loot instead of organizing and fighting and killing the thieves of Abuja. I believe that one of the reasons Africa is misgoverned is because the people had not fought and died for their freedom; they must now fight and die for their freedom if they are to value liberty and good governance. As Thomas Payne observed (in his book, Common Sense) the tree of liberty is watered with brave patriots’ blood. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance against tyrants (who are always hovering around the corner).

You actually see Africans, especially the loathsome Nigerians, who believe that they are taken seriously by the rest of the world.Former President Olusaegun Obasanjo actually applied to be taken into the Security Council of the United Nation! Why? Because he exists and because he exists he is to be taken seriously and accounted a human being. Nobody told the clown the purpose of the Security Council. Upon the end of the First World War, guided by US President Woodrow Wilson’s sentimentalism, his famous fourteen points for remaking the world, creating democracy and bringing about world peace, the League of Nations was established and all members were given equal votes. Well, in matters of war and peace some countries have more clout than others. In the League’s voting weak countries had the same vote with powerful ones and the powerful ones ignored such votes and nothing was accomplished. Thus, the League was not able to prevent any wars. At the end of the second world war a more realistic appraisal of human nature led folks to structure the successor to the League with two bodies, one where folks big and small come to make noise, the General Assembly, and another where the big boys with military clout come to decide important matters of war and peace.

Imagine Goodluck Jonathan, a nothing militarily speaking, participating in deciding matters of war and peace at the international level. As Joseph Stalin would ask: how many panzer (tank) divisions can he marshal into the battle field? Zero. Mr. Jonathan is as good as a ghetto gang leader when international politics is discussed; he is a powerless nothing; in fact, he and his pathetic country of thieves do not even exist!

In international politics Africa is nothing and nobody takes her seriously. Why should you take Nigerians or Africa seriously? Is it because of their collapsed schools, their lack of military prowess, their lack of contribution to science and technology, their dilapidated economic infrastructure? Is it because of their reliance on one resource for most of their revenue, putting all their eggs in one basket until the West discovers an alternative to oil and they become a failed state? Is it because their leaders are thugs and steal their country’s money and do not work to develop their country? Do you respect criminals? I certainly would not hesitate lining all the rulers of Nigeria against a wall and shooting them to death. I would not show any feeling of sympathy from killing the criminals; they are best dead, they are wasting our natural resources by merely being alive, consuming food that they did not produce; get rid of garbage. Kill all the thieves of Abuja the other members of the empire of thieves and appropriate all their ill-gotten wealth and devote it to the development of Nigeria and Africa.

The salient point here is that men do not take seriously those they are not afraid to fight; no one takes Nigerians and Africans seriously for nobody is afraid to fight with them. I submit that Africans must, if necessary, deliberately provoke a war with Europe and defeat her before they can be taken seriously.

And do not go thinking that this task is impossible or merely idealistic. I am a student of real politics and know that if a real leader, the like of Napoleon, a determined war dog who is not afraid of leading millions to their death, emerges in Nigeria and conscripts all able bodied Nigerians (between the age of eighteen and thirty eight) into the army, at least, ten million can be so mobilized, given rigorous training and equipped with the best weapons money can buy (manufacture them locally) it is easy to unite all of Africa within five years. Subsequently, Africa would be reorganized with each large tribe a state for a total of about five hundred tribe based states in the anticipated Africa federation…see my writings on ideal constitution for Nigeria and African states. Subsequent to the reorganization of Africa, such a leader would embark on economic development. Within twenty years Africa would be developed; at least, she would be at the level of the Asian tigers. Thereafter, Africa would be able to launch war against Europe. It is possible to mobilize an army of twenty million Africans and use them to smash into Western Europe and defeat it.

Never mind about nuclear weapons. No one is going to use them on Africans. Moreover, nuclear weapons should be manufactured in Africa soon after all the basic physics is now known to most college educated persons (in nuclear fission the nucleus of atoms, protons and neutrons, is bombarded with neutrons and split and energy is released; that energy could be controlled and used for electricity or to destroy cities). No one should be intimidated by the terrorists possessing nuclear weapons, not when all of us have the capability to manufacture them if we have the will and resource to do so.


DISCUSSION

I have always been amazed by Africans lack of political realism, their inability to grasp the simple and obvious. The simple fact is that white men screwed our fathers and in the present discriminate against us. They do so because they have no respect for us. They have no respect for us because they defeated and colonized us; and in the past they enslaved us. The only way we can regain respect in our eyes and the eyes of the rest of the world is to screw those who screwed us.

If it were possible Africans ought to enslave Europeans and Arabs, to give them a dose of their own medicine. Why not; they enslaved us, didn’t they? So why should we not reciprocate their favor? Fear, sympathy, guilt feeling? Give me a break; in the real world folks do to others as was done to them.

I understand the need for love and forgiveness, but that is when we talk metaphysical matters; in the world of politics power and guile rules. If someone sticks it to you stick it back to him and that way he learns not to stick it to you again. As long as you are easily attacked and defeated and you cry for mercy no one is going to have mercy for you; other folks would always try to enslave you (as camel humping, god damned Arabs still do in Sudan and Mauritania).

Those enslaved and colonized must fight their enslavers and colonizers and defeat them in the battle field for their manhood to be rehabilitated in their eyes. Romans enslaved Germans, whom they called barbarians. Germans fought, defeated and destroyed the Roman Empire and took it over (unfortunately, their material culture in the fifth century was too low hence European civilization went into dark ages…the Catholic Church also played a role in the making of this darkness by insisting that men replace reason with religious superstition).

Asians were messed around with by white folks and they fought white folks and are today on the verge of taking over the world economy. And make no mistake about it, when Asians take over the world they would stick it into the eyes of Europeans; the Chinese have not forgotten how Europeans divided up their country and looted her resources so when they feel up to it they would no doubt fight to defeat white men and do unto them as was done to them. What is history but how groups of human beings attacked and defeated other groups and then other groups attack and defeat them. Human living is characterized by offense and defense and defense and offense. Human beings are predatory animals; as long as they live in bodies and have egos they must have war and conflict; they must attack others who defend themselves by counter attacking them. Peace, love and happiness exist only in the non-material world of spirit, not earth.

Africans have been screwed by all comers, by Arabs and by Europeans. Africans must fight with Arabs and use force to chase them out of North Africa and reclaim it as African territory and eventually fight with Europe and if necessary colonize it so that it learns not to go colonizing other people and stealing their resources and impoverishing them. Until Africans fuck those who fucked them they are not ever going to hold their heads high and walk like human beings. Masquerading around as fat bellied important men would not make them important for all that an African head of state needs to do is come to America and white men would treat him as a nigger (and arrest him if he walks the streets of rich white neighborhoods, such as Beverly Hills and Bell Air) at night. Simply stated in our extant world Africans are perceived as nothing and the only way they are going to acquire importance is to fight for it. Pretending to be important does not make one important, it is action that does so.

Africans should read up on real politics, read folks like Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Pareto, Metternich, Napoleon, and, oh, yes, Adolf Hitler(Mein Kampf, Table Talks) and even the white ass kissing Henry Kissinger, and begin to behave like realistic adults instead of the childish clowns they currently seem like.

Let me say a few words on fear, for fear holds Africans down. Fear is a biological and psychological phenomenon; it alerts the individual to potential dangers that could harm or even kill him and urges him to take measures to protect his life (fight or flight response…this response is mediated by complex biochemical reactions in the body, reactions that we cannot get into in this non- technical essay). Fear is a mechanism for safeguarding the individual’s biological life. Without fear it is doubtful that people and animals would do what they have to do to protect themselves from the myriad threats to their lives. Useful as fear is to human survival, however, it is a double edged sword. Fear enables people to anticipate danger and to survive avoid that danger. For example, if one anticipates that the political leaders of ones society could harm or kill one if one opposes them one feels fear and out of desire to live one desists from doing what one wanted to do, oppose their injustices. Thus, one survives but in the process tolerates oppression.

Africans have tolerated the oppressive rules of their criminal leaders because they are afraid of being harmed, jailed or killed by them. Most of the leaders of Africa are thugs and would not hesitate killing anyone who opposes them so to live Africans tolerate the criminals ruling them. Contemporary African leaders are actually like their ancestors who roamed around capturing and selling their people to Arab and European slave buyers; these people have no goodwill towards their people. Fear, in this case, has served to make Africans slaves.

Talking about slavery, Africans sold their people to Arabs and white folks for thousands of years (they sold their people to Romans, remember) and those sold tolerated slavery out of fear of what the slave masters could do to them, kill them; they tolerated slavery out of fear of death.

At some point human beings must prefer what is right to merely surviving as biological organisms. If one believes that a course of action is right, such as freedom, one must be willing to risk death fighting for it. Those in power seldom concede power to the ruled without the ruled demanding it and fighting and dying for it. (As I write, Hosni Mubarak the thief of Cairo who looted 70 billion dollars from his people, while they lived in poverty, has been chased out of office by the peoples determined insistence that he must go). If black Americans had not fought for the end of slavery white Americans would today still be enslaving them. Human beings can achieve goodness but they are not automatically good; they are automatically evil.

Africans must realize that the tree of liberty is watered with patriot’s blood and therefore fight for their freedom and die for it. As long as they tolerate their criminal rulers they would have criminal rulers. A people have a government they deserve; cowards deserve criminals ruling them; valorous men are ruled by honest men.

A word on America. Americans did not directly colonize Africa so it is not really a case where Africans have to fight America in order to rehabilitate their injured pride. America has her issues. Illiterate and uncut Mexican peasants below her border, like the barbarians above the borders of Rome, are pouring into her and are currently being used as cheap labor to do menial jobs in America. At some point in the future these unwashed “barbarians” would exceed the Americans in population and take over the country and transform it to third world status (as is their country of origin, Mexico) and eventually work their way to becoming a new civilization. The barbarians who took over Rome initially reduced Rome to a primitive civilization but eventually worked out their own brand of civilization, what we now know as Europe. Africans do not have to worry about America, it is sufficient for them to worry about Europe, their former colonial masters.

It is Europe that Africans have rendezvous with destiny. Africans must eventually fight and defeat Europeans in battle fields, not talkfests to have the shame of been ruled by Europeans washed away from their psyches. And before we hear from cowardly nay Sayers let me remind us the amazing degeneration of Europeans. These people are increasingly becoming beasts, engaging in unnatural sexual behaviors and other bestial behaviors that sap people of marshal spirit. Moreover, Europeans and white folks in general seem to have group narcissistic personality disorder; these people are in love with their egos and bodies and admire themselves no end. Narcissists so value life in body that they are afraid to die to their bodies; they do everything to live in bodies (taking care of their bodies via medical treatment, good eating and exercising habits etc.). Whereas some of those activities are good, in excess they have some drawback: fear of death hence of sacrificing their bodies in battles; kill a few Europeans and you cause the rest of them to panic and surrender in defeat just so they live to take care of their overvalued bodies.

A people who firmly believe in God, in life after death and, as such, are not afraid to die fighting for a just course will easily defeat a people who so worship their bodies that they are afraid to lose them in battle fields. Contemporary science has given white folks the erroneous belief that all they are are bodies so they take care of their bodies and are afraid to lose them; this is their Achilles heel.


CONCLUSION

A determined African military can easily defeat the men of Europe and must do so to rehabilitate Africans damaged self-esteem; there seem no other ways for improving Africans injured pride. The assault on Africans vanity and narcissism requires for us to fight and die assuaging it.

20 June 2011

"Liberal Interventionism" is a Scam

20 June 2011
Tom Fowdy's Blog


"Liberal Interventionism" is the biggest scam ever in the scope of modern world foreign policy issues. A total con; its an excuse for countries to invade other countries to reap their own rewards and benefits, not to actually "bring freedom" to the country that is being invaded. That is rarely the case and in many cases the means are not justified behind such "attacks".

Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries we have witnessed many wars and invasions which are supposed to be bringing "freedom" to the nations being attacked. In most cases this is not the intention or even the outcome of suck attacks. Lusts for oil and power overshadow the actual interests of freeing nations from authoritarian and fascist minded regimes. Usually, "it's an authoritarian nation" is just a petty excuse to justify such invasions. Whereas the actual number of deaths caused by the actual invasion in itself usally outnumber the amount of people who were being killed in the country away during peacetime; which makes it all the more pointless. Thus this foreign policy idea is a sham, and the Iraq war and the Suez crisis stand as testimonies to why this is so.

There are hundreds of authoritarian nations in the world today where the people have no civil liberties and human rights, yet these "western police" nations such as the USA and the UK take no interest whatsoever in invading or intervening them nor does the Liberal ideological con of the United Nations. So why ignore hundreds of horrific nations yet pick on one or two are not even amongst the worst? This shows that in reality, governments do not really care about the people of nations, rather they simply seek to meet their own corrupt ends.

There are 54 nations in the world ranked by the global democracy index as"Authoritarian Regimes". Why aren't we invading them? To be ranked an authoritarian regime by this index means that the state is being ran like a dictatorship, the people have no freedom of speech, no freedom of expression, no rights against the government, nothing. Yet we aren't invading them and we aren't about to. So how can liberal interventionism be real? We're being lied to.

Countries ranked as "Authoritarian regimes" by the Economist Intelligence Unit:


Madagascar
Kuwait
Mauritania
Jordan
Ethiopia
Fiji
Burkina Faso
Cuba
Bahrain
Nigeria
Togo
Algeria
Cameroon
Comoros 
Nigeria
Gambia
Belarus
Angola
Kazakhstan
Gabon
Rwanda
Azerbaijan
China
Qatar
Egypt
Vietnam
Swaziland
Republic of the Congo
Oman
Guinea
Tunisia
Zimbabwe 
Yemen
United Arab Emirates
Tajikistan
Afghanistan
Sudan
Eritea 
Syria
Djibouti
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Laos
Guinea Bissau
Libya
Iran
Equatorial Guinea 
Saudi Arabia
Central African Republic
Burma
Uzbekistan
Turkmenistan
Chad
North Korea

Most of the nations listed. We are not interested in "getting rid of the leader" or "pretending to protect the people". Some of these nations have nuclear weapons too, we aren't really bothered about changing them. Just the ones we see an interest in. In these countries, hundreds are getting killed everyday or executed, or imprisoned. The internet is censored, the media is censored. Horrific things happen and we never hear of them. Our governments aren't interested in changing them, this is why liberal interventionism really is a delusion to make us think that governments care, clearly not. They have no intention to bring peace or stability in the world when you have so many of these nations with corrupt and tyrannical governments. Our press don't even report most of them; they are too busy seeking the oil in Libya and thus are on a crusade to demonize and get rid of Muammar Gaddafi, he is no where near the worst out of all the leaders out of the countries I have listed above. Like him, most of the countries have had the same leader for 20/30/40 years and have done the same horrific things against the people, if not worser things.

If we are interested in intervening in "some of them". Then I'd like to see us take down every authoritarian regime, or otherwise simply leave all of them alone and stop picking on some of them to suit our greedy interests. So its either all or none we invade or take or leave it. We probably shouldn't be waging war against any of them or bombing them. It isn't for a good cause or even a just one.

Is Africa's Youth Getting the Leadership it Deserves?

15 June 2011
BBC



In South Africa this year's ANC Youth League conference will be dominated by a leadership contest. The controversial incumbent, Julius Malema, is accused of dictatorial tendencies, plundering state resources and dividing the league by the campaign team of his challenger for the top position, Lebong Maile.

The ANC Youth League and its leader are regarded as kingmakers, having backed both former president Thabo Mbeki and President Jacob Zuma. The ANC Youth League was founded by Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu, and every South African president post-apartheid has come through its ranks.

In other countries in Africa, the youth wings of political parties have less historic roots, but they and their leaders also come in for criticism. In Ghana and Uganda, for example, the perception amongst many people is that they are little more than mobs who can be rented by politicians, and are only motivated by a hunger for power and money.

Do the youth wings of political parties wield too much power in your country? Do they actually represent the youth, and their concerns? Are there ways in which these youth wings can be made more effective? Or can real change for young people only come from by-passing existing parties as happened in Egypt and Tunisia?

Amnesty Slams Equatorial Guinea Ahead of African Union Summit

20 June 2011
AFP


Amnesty International on Monday accused Equitorial Guinea of a clampdown on freedom of expression ahead of an African Union summit being held in the country this month.

Teodoro Obiang with his friends Idriss Deby from Chad and 
Denis Sassou Nguesso from Congo (Brazzaville)
The rights group says political opponents of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema and around 100 students have been arrested and detained in recent months.

Amnesty said the arrests appeared to be "a pre-emptive measure to prevent any demonstrations during the summit".

"The authorities in Equatorial Guinea must end this deeply alarming wave of arrests, torture and ill-treatment of people merely exercising their right to freedom of expression," said Tawanda Hondora, Amnesty's deputy director.

"President Obiang's government is already among the worst human rights abusers in Africa and the continuing persecution of political opponents is deplorable," Hondora added in a statement.

Obiang, who has ruled Equatorial Guinea with an iron fist since seizing power in a 1979 coup, was named the AU's new chairman at a summit in Addis Ababa in January.

Earlier this month he rejected suggestions there were human rights violations in Equatorial Guinea and noted that he had signed an agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross to monitor the country's rights record.

The full AU summit takes place in a city built especially for the occasion near Equitorial Guinea's capital Malabo from June 29 to July 1. It will be preceded by six days of meetings.

18 June 2011

Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?

17 June 2011
Farouk Chothia
BBC African Service



Boko Haram, which said it bombed the police headquarters in the capital Abuja on Thursday, is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state.

Its followers are said to be influenced by the Koranic phrase which says: "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors".

Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with western society.

This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education.

It led to shoot-outs on Maiduguri's streets. Hundreds of Boko Haram supporters were killed and thousands of residents fled the city.

Nigeria's security forces eventually seized the group's headquarters, capturing its fighters and killing Mr Yusuf.

His body was shown on state television, and the security forces declared Boko Haram finished.

But its fighters have regrouped under a new, unidentified leader and last year it attacked a prison in Maiduguri, freeing hundreds of the group's supporters.

Its trademark has been the use of gunmen on motorbikes, killing police, politicians and anyone who criticises it, including clerics from other Muslim traditions and a Christian preacher.

In recent months, it has staged several more audacious attacks in different parts of northern Nigeria.

These reportedly include a bombing in December in the city of Jos, a New Year's eve attack on military barracks in Abuja, and several explosions around the time of President Goodluck Jonathan's inauguration last month.

Now, it has attacked the police headquarters, signalling that it is far from finished.

The threat it poses is unlikely to disappear: Poverty-stricken northern Nigeria has a history of spawning groups similar to Boko Haram.

Analysts believe the threat will disappear only if the Nigerian government manages to reduce the region's chronic poverty, and builds an education system which gains the support of local Muslims.

Uganda: Civil Society Seeks Independent Inquiry into April Killings

15 June 2011
IFEX


Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni should ensure independent and transparent investigations into killings which occurred during the "Walk to Work" protests and hold security forces accountable, a coalition of 105 human rights, media, and development organizations said in a letter to the president today. The coalition, including civil society groups from every corner of Uganda, urged the president to invite the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions. 

During the April 2011 protests over the rising costs of commodities and the arrest of opposition leaders, police and military responded to protesters with live ammunition in Kampala, Gulu, Mbale, and Masaka, leaving at least nine unarmed people dead. The known circumstances of the deaths to date indicate that the use of lethal force was unnecessary and unjustified. The government has arrested hundreds of protesters and put significant resources into investigating alleged acts of looting, arson, and destruction of property, but little effort has gone into investigating killings by security forces, the groups said. 

Some government officials have contended that those killed were violent protesters. One victim's family was told at the morgue that they were not permitted to retrieve the body because "all these people died while attempting to overthrow the government." 

"Blaming the victims is a weak ploy to distract attention from the actions of the security forces," said Arthur Larok of the Uganda National NGO Forum. "The government needs to determine what really happened and to make sure that those responsible are held responsible." 

One police officer has been arrested in the shooting of 2-year-old Julian Nalwanga by police in Masaka. In a May 17 opinion article by Museveni in several Ugandan newspapers, he referred to the shooting as a "criminal killing." The government has said the police officer will face trial before military courts, despite a 2009 ruling by the Constitutional Court barring prosecution of civilians before military jurisdictions. No one else has been arrested in connection with the other deaths of unarmed civilians. 

Impunity for serious crimes by members of the security forces, especially during political demonstrations, persists in Uganda, the coalition, which includes 95 Ugandan organizations, said. Ugandan law guarantees the right to free assembly, speech, and association, but in practice the government has often responded to the exercise of these rights with firearms and lethal force. 

In September 2009, at least 40 people were killed by security forces during two days of protests in Kampala after the authorities sought to restrict the movement of Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, the cultural leader of the Buganda ethnic group. Human Rights Watch documented numerous instances in which unarmed protesters and bystanders died after police and military police used live ammunition to scare people off the streets or shot into people's homes. Despite numerous commitments by government ministers and Uganda's parliament to investigate those events, no one has been held accountable for those killings, and the police and soldiers responsible have never been punished. 

"We have seen the government promise investigations before, but in the end, nothing happens and perpetrators remain in active service," said Maria Burnett, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The president should show that things will be different this time and listen to civil society by ensuring an independent investigation with international expertise." 

The groups also called upon Uganda, as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, to cooperate fully with the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression and invite these international experts to Uganda. In 1986 Museveni's government extended an invitation and was host to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions. Uganda should issue standing invitations to all special rapporteurs and UN working groups to visit Uganda, the groups said. This engagement with the UN would facilitate the necessary investigations and help ensure present and future accountability. 

"An invitation to the Special Rapporteurs would demonstrate that Uganda is committed to rule of law and understands the importance of accountability," said Mohammed Ndifuna, chief executive officer at HURINET-Uganda. "It is time for the government to stop ignoring killings during demonstrations." 


Click here to read the letter to the President and to see the full list of signatories

16 June 2011

U.N. Rights Chief Concerned About New Ivory Coast Army

15 June 2011
Fredrik Dahl


The top U.N. human rights official expressed concern on Wednesday over acts of violence allegedly carried out by members of Ivory Coast's new army, including reports of summary executions, rape and torture.

The former rebel Forces Republicaines Cote d'Ivoire (FRCI) is now the backbone of the west African state's armed forces after the ousting of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo two months ago.

"Lack of discipline and violence on the part of the newly established army, the FRCI, which is composed of several different groups with no clear command structure, are ... of serious concern," U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement.

"There are reports alleging that soldiers were involved in human rights violations in both Abidjan and the rest of the country, including summary executions, arbitrary arrest, torture, rape, looting and extortion."

Pillay, a former U.N. war crimes judge, made the comments as she presented a report on Ivory Coast to the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Ivory Coast plunged into a four-month conflict after a disputed presidential election last November which U.N.-certified results showed Gbagbo lost to Alassane Ouattara, but Gbagbo refused to step-down.

The conflict, which killed about 3,000 and displaced over a million, ended in April after troops loyal to Ouattara swept through the country and ousted Gbagbo with the help of U.N. and French forces.

VICTORY JUSTICE?

A U.N. investigative team last week said both sides had committed serious human rights violations, some of which may be considered crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Ouattara, who has set security and economic recovery as priorities, has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate allegations of serious crimes during the conflict. He has also created a truth and reconciliation commission.

Pillay said security in Abidjan, the cocoa producer's commercial center, and in the west had improved since a serious escalation of violence in the lead-up to Gbagbo's arrest.

But the human rights situation remained a serious concern, she said, citing reports of excessive use of force against civilians, retaliatory killings, pillaging and sexual violence.

Vitit Muntabhorn, a Thai law professor and human rights expert who headed the U.N. investigative commission in Ivory Coast last month, also voiced concern over the "malpractices of some elements affiliated" with the army.

The presence of young, armed people who say they belong to FRCI forces fed insecurity and "it is urgent for measures to be taken to disarm them, to dismantle militia and to establish a professional army which respects human rights," he said.

Another member of the U.N. commission, Suliman Baldo, said concern about "one-sided victory justice" was well-founded.

"Those who are under investigation currently, either by the military prosecutor or by the civilian prosecutor, are all from the former officials of the government of Laurent Gbagbo," Baldo told a news conference.

He said the team had met with Gbagbo and his wife, under house arrest in the country's north, while in Ivory Coast.

"They are well-treated according to their own statements, their immediate protection is ensured by the United Nations," Baldo said.

14 June 2011

Tunisia: Resurgence of Internet Censorship and Arrests

9 June 2011
IFEX




The International Freedom of Expression Exchange Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG), a coalition of 21 IFEX members, is alarmed by the arrest and the charges facing outspoken policeman Samir Feriani, and what seems to be the resurgence of Internet censorship. 

Feriani, a Senior Police Commissioner, was arrested on 29 May in an unusual manner after a car crashed into his car forcing him to stop. He has been detained since then on charges related to a strongly-worded letter to Interior Minister Habib Essid in which he criticised the intelligence agency in Tunisia and the Ministry of Interior, blaming current officials for allowing protesters to be killed during the revolution, and saying that "notorious torturers" remain at large. Feriani also alleged corruption in the ministry and said he was subjected to intimidation after sending a petition to the Minister about the destruction of official records, including some taken from the residence of the late Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Leader Yasser Arafat. His accusations were reported in two newspapers, "El Khabir" ("The Expert") and "l'Audace" ("The Bold One"). 

Feriani was taken on 2 June before an investigative judge of the Military court at Bab Saadoun and is facing charges under the penal code of "harming the external security of the state," distributing information "likely to harm public order," and "accusing, without proof, a public agent of violating the law." If convicted, he could face prison. 

Feriani had also criticised the crackdown on websites deemed critical of the army. This resurgence of Internet censorship lead to the resignation of blogger and political activist Slim Amamou from his post as Secretary of State for Youth and Sport on 23 May. The resignation came in protest over the closure of four websites at the request of the Tunisian army. 

Also last month, the police brutally cracked down on a peaceful protest on 6 May by journalists, beating some of them up and arresting them. The following day, during another demonstration in support of the journalists, police broke the arm of Najib Abidi, a fixer hired for the IFEX-TMG mission in April by IFEX member the Observatoire pour la liberté de presse, d'édition et de création (OLPEC). 

"This looks like a return to the kind of bad habits that we had hoped the Tunisian revolution had done away with," said IFEX-TMG Chair Rohan Jayasekera, Associate Editor of Index on Censorship. 

"Recalling the Prime Minister's recent pledges of support for a free media in meetings with the IFEX-TMG, we urge him to continue to defend the right of the press to represent all opinions, especially in the public interest," said Virginie Jouan, representing the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), the mission leader. 

"Feriani must be immediately released," Jayasekera added, "and the Prime Minister must act to prevent factions from further abusing the free speech rights of Tunisian citizens in the run-up to free elections."

Nigerians at War With Each Other

6 June 2011
BBC News

In our series of viewpoints from African journalists, Sola Odunfa laments the blood-letting in Nigeria.

The statistics of fatalities are grim enough but few Nigerians are conscious of the reality that their nation is in the throes of a fierce war which is neither officially acknowledged nor likely to end soon.The blood-letting is so common that it no longer commands front-page presentation in national newspapers, except when politicians or the Central Bank governor take a rest.

Last Wednesday, the police gave, for the first time, official casualty figures for the violence that hit northern Nigeria after the presidential election in April. The figures were for only two of the five states affected by the conflict.The police said that 520 people, including six policemen, were killed in Kaduna and Niger, 81 others were wounded and at least 22,000 were displaced from their homes or communities.

In better days in this country, that information would dominate the front pages but last week one national newspaper put it on page two, another on page six and a third downgraded it to page seven.One should not blame the editors. They have probably become weary of blood-dripping reports coming to their desks daily and now they assume the proverbial posture of the ostrich.The presidential inauguration banquets turned sour on 29 May when bombs exploded near the nation's capital, Abuja, and in Bauchi and Zaria - both in northern Nigeria. No fewer than 14 lives were taken away by the bombers.


In my opinion these Biafran loyalists are on the fringes of society and entitled to have their fun as long as they do not disturb anybody else. The secessionist war ended more than 40 years ago, so why are the police still jittery at the mere mention of the word Biafra? They denied killing three of those Biafra loyalists but admitted arresting 300 of them. It is instructive that the courts have released on bail more than 200 of those charged.

In Lagos state, the police are smarting from the murder of four of their officers by soldiers, pardon me, "unknown soldiers" who were avenging the killing of one of their ranks by a policeman.

In Ibadan, 120km (74 miles) away, the smoke is just settling on the latest round of deadly battles between rival groups in the transport union.

Everywhere in southern Nigeria, armed bandits continue to brazenly rob, rape and kidnap people. In the north-central and north-eastern states, arson, malicious killings and the rain of bombs show no sign of abating. Highways nationwide are not safe either, during the day or night, as robbers rule. 

Nigerians are killing Nigerians daily but there is no-one to cry to.
In fact, we must not cry aloud for fear of scaring off potential investors. 
So, hush.

U.S. Reaffirms Commitment to Niger Delta Development

14 June 2011
Ben Dunno


The Consul General of the United States of America in Nigeria, Joseph Stafford, has said that his country was committed to working with other partners for the rapid development of the oil-rich Niger Delta region. 

Speaking in Warri while exchanging views with the former national chairman of the Traditional Rulers of Oil Minerals Producing Communities of Nigeria, TROMPCON, Charles Ayemi-Botu, the Pere of Siembiri kingdom, in Burutu local government area, Mr Stafford said he was excited to be in the oil city. He said the Niger Delta was very important to the U.S. as major American companies were operating in the region and the consulate was interested in forging closer ties with the people of the region, with a view to knowing the people, understanding their cultures and problems, and how to be of assistance. According to him, “America would do everything possible to strengthen its bond with Nigeria and the Niger Delta region in particular.

Welcoming the US top official to his palace, the traditional ruler, Mr Ayemi-Botu, commended America for its continued interest for the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria, particularly its role in the 2011 general elections. He said the Niger Delta struggle was caused by marginalisation of the people from whose land the country derives oil, its major revenue earner, adding that the youth took up arms in the name of militancy, but the royal fathers called for dialogue in the face of deprivation. He noted that “as a result of the intervention of the government and leaders of the region, there is a graveyard peace at the moment, and all President Goodluck Jonathan has to do is to be focused and put the interest of Nigeria above himself to succeed.

He called on President Jonathan to foster a stronger relationship with the American government during his four–year tenure, saying, “As a big brother, it is obvious that America wants to assist Nigeria to develop.”

Juliette's comment: Let's wait and see.... Time will tell! 

12 June 2011

New Diplomatic Efforts in Africa

12 June 2011
Scott A Morgan 



Within the last few weeks the State Department has been making all efforts in the Diplomatic Realm regarding two Crisis Spots that are on the verge of spiraling out of control. 

Within the last week Secretary of State Clinton held talks at the AGOA Summit in Lusaka, Zambia with the Foreign Minister of Chad Mr. Moussa Faki. The topics of these talks focused on the Deterioration of the situations in both Libya and in Sudan. The Foreign Minister informed his American counterpart of the actions that his Country is currently taking. 

Chad has a violent past history with Libya. During the 1980s Libya invaded Chad in an effort to create an Empire for Col. Qadaffi. At one point the Aouzou Strip and the Town of Faya Largou were prominent during American Newscasts as the fighting raged on. The United States and France supported then President Hissen Habre with Arms, Material and even Troops when it was deemed necessary. President Habre would be later overthrown by the Current President Mr. Deby. There are now reports that the Libyan Government has been recruiting Fighters in Chad as well. 

It should be noted that Chad is one of the Countries in the Sahel Region that has seen an influx of Refugees since the uprising against Col. Qadaffi began earlier this year. So it is by no means a stretch of the imagination to learn that the Government of Chad would like to see a Change of Government in Tripoli. Foreign Minister Faki also told Secretary Clinton that they wish to see a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Libya and a removal of Col Qadaffi. 

What is interesting is the situation in Sudan. Before the Referendum on Independence for Southern Sudan took place the Government of President Deby came out against it. They feared that Rebels operating in the Southeastern part of the Country would agitate and advocate for a similar deal themselves. The Chadian Army has been conducting Joint Patrols with the Sudanese Army in an effort to control cross-border violence in the long suffering region of Darfur. 

Foreign Minister Faki has been meeting with the leaders in both Khartoum and in Juba to bring apart an end of the violence. In recent days the Sudanese Air Force has launched a series of Air Strikes against the South. Now the Government of the South has asked for Foreign Intervention to help defend against the Air Strikes. The Obama Administration should take this request seriously. The US along with Britain and Norway comprise the Troika which are supposed to ensure that the transition to Two Sudanese States occur peacefully. Clearly the US needs to address this situation. But what action that will be taken by the US is yet to be seen. There is a more legitimate cause for Intervention in Sudan then there was for Libya. 

Another case of US Diplomacy under the Radar has to be the Mission in May to Equatorial Guinea. The Deputy Undersecretary of State for African Affairs Susan Page met with Government Officials and the two main Opposition Parties the Convergence for Social Democracy and the Popular Union. 

The Undersecretary stated that there would be no change in the Policy of the Administration towards Equatorial Guinea. However the Deputy Undersecretary did say that President Obiang needs to follow through with the Promises that He makes during his speeches. The Gulf of Guinea is a region that the US will have interest in. Mostly for the Petroleum that is in the region. The US imports 27% of its Oil from this region this means that there is a strategic interest in the region. 

The Author Publishes Confused Eagle on the Internet. It can be found at confusedeagle.livejournal.com