Media Review for August 17, 2012

Please note: The following news items are presented here for informational purposes. The views expressed within them are those of the authors and/or individuals quoted, not those of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, the National Defense University, or the Department of Defense.

Today’s News

Police open fire on South African miners
At least 12 people have been killed when police opened fire on miners staging a protest at a platinum mine in South Africa, according to the Reuters news agency. South African police opened fire and dispersed a crowd of striking miners at the Lonmin mine in the North West province on Thursday after issuing an order to the protesters to lay down their machetes and sticks. Al Jazeera

Ethiopian church patriarch Abune Paulos dies
The head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abune Paulos, has died aged 76, the government has announced. The foreign ministry said he had been receiving treatment over the past week for an undisclosed illness. The patriarch’s office is due to hold an emergency meeting on Friday to finalise arrangements for what is expected to be a state funeral. BBC

Who is Ansar Dine?
Ansar Dine is the new power player in northern Mali, and the United States is worried. The Islamist rebel group, which in June took de facto control over a swath of the Sahara the size of Texas, is raising diplomatic eyebrows across the globe for its destruction of U.N. World Heritage Sites in Timbuktu, the threat that it could pose to U.S. and global security interests, and the humanitarian crisis manifested by an estimated 420,000 displaced persons. CNN

The Pivot to Africa: Circumcision, mosquito killing, and other strange doings of Africom.
“A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa,” Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is said to have remarked. For most Americans occupying the now-now-now world of Facebook, this probably feels apt. And until just over a decade ago, Zuckerberg’s statement might equally have applied to Pentagon strategists. A 1995 strategy document from the Defense Department was hardly less blunt: “[U]ltimately we see very little traditional strategic interest in Africa.” Foreign Policy

US Africa Command denies plans to establish military base in Botswana
Visiting Commander of the United States Africa Command (US AFRICOM) Carter Ham denied on Thursday plans to build a military base in Botswana. Ham announced this when responding to questions from media in a press briefing, before attending the closing ceremony for the two- week joint military training exercise “Southern Accord 12″ between the two countries at Botswana Defense Force’s (BDF) Thebephatswa Base in southeast part of Botswana. Xinhua on Global Times

Ham Closes Southern Accord Praising U.S.-Botswana Partnership
The commander of U.S. Africa Command closed one of the largest joint exercises ever conducted on the African continent here today, praising the Botswanan military as a capable partner and an important and positive influence throughout southern Africa. U.S. Department of Defense

Senegal makes headway on gender equality – but not everyone is happy
[...] In 2010, Senegal’s gender parity law came into force, which requires political parties to ensure that at least half their candidates in local and national elections are women. The law is viewed by many as a necessary step to force change in a country with complex gender dynamics, influenced by traditional customs and beliefs, Islam and French colonialism. More than half of Senegal’s 12.5 million population is female and although women have long organised at a local level, forming co-operatives and associations to improve access to public services, this has not translated easily into power at parliamentary level. The Guardian

Standing by to standby: The African peacekeeping force with more problems than solutions
The African Standby Force is a beautiful concept. The crack troops were meant to be the silver bullet for Africa’s security problems, a rapid-response team able to get in and stop conflict before it began—or make sure it never reached Rwanda-level proportions. Only problem? Nine years later, it’s still in standby mode. Daily Maverick

Mali Moves Ahead with Plan to Form Unity Government
Mali’s transitional leadership continues moving toward a larger unity government, although no date for its establishment has been set. Thursday marks the final day for candidates to submit applications for posts in the new government, including that of a newly created commissioner charged with overseeing the situation in the north. VOA

China’s role in funding Ethiopian dam draws ire
Ethiopia says construction of a dam along the Omo River will create needed electrical power for itself and Kenya, and channel water for food production. Environmentalists worry it could drain a Kenyan desert lake central to people’s livelihoods. CS Monitor

Pursuing Soft Power, China Puts Stamp on Africa’s News
China’s investment prowess and construction know-how is widely on display in this long-congested African capital. A $200 million ring road is being built and financed by Beijing. The international airport is undergoing a $208 million expansion supported by the Chinese, whose loans also paid for a working-class housing complex that residents have nicknamed the Great Wall apartments. The Washington Post

US electronics industry feels heat on conflict minerals
Years after the first reports that rare minerals like coltan, essential to the manufacture of electronic goods including cell phones and video game consoles, could be funding a war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), some of the world’s electronics giants have changed the way they do business. Globalpost

East Africa: civil society and the oil sector
Over the last 8 years, a lot has been happening in the Uganda oil sector following the discovery of commercially viable quantities in the Western part of the country. Since then, there have been more finds along the Albertine graben spreading all the way to the Acholi region in the North of the country. Tullow Oil, which made the discoveries in Uganda, has struck lucky again in Kenya discovering oil in March this year, followed by another find in May. Tanzania hasn’t missed out either, as they also found commercially viable gas quantities there. Generally, this should be viewed as good news for the East African countries, but it calls for more attention to be paid to the oil and gas sector. African Argument

The ICC Ten Years On: Challenges and Opportunities for Africa
When the International Criminal Court (ICC) began operating a decade ago this July, controversy over its work should have been anticipated. After all, the court has an unprecedented authority to bring to trial government leaders and others allegedly responsible for the gravest crimes – genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Many governments in Africa, including South Africa, were active in the establishment of the ICC and became ICC members. But nowhere has the ICC’s work been more debated and criticised than in Africa. Think africa press

Nigerian Navy believed to be buyer of three Shaldag fast patrol boats
Israel Shipyards has sold three Shaldag fast patrol boats to an African country, which is believed to be Nigeria. The West African nation is in the midst of expanding its navy in order to combat maritime insecurity such as piracy and oil theft. Israel Shipyards on July 17 said that it had agreed upon a deal for the sale of three Shaldag (Kingfisher) vessels for 80 million shekels (US$19 million). The Gold Bond Group, which owns 20% of the company, said it expected to make a profit of 16 million shekels (US$3.9 million) out of the deal. DefenceWeb

S.Leone declares cholera emergency
Sierra Leone’s government on Thursday declared a cholera outbreak a national emergency after 176 deaths and 10 800 reported cases since January, health ministry sources said. “A decision has been taken to declare cholera as a national emergency,” a source at the health ministry told AFP on condition of anonymity. IOL News

At last, Somalia is rising again
Somalia, a country whose name became a synonym for a failed state two decades ago is once again becoming a governed state, thanks go to the continental initiative spearheaded by the African Union (AU), largely financed by the United Nations and the United States and diligently executed by a few African countries led by Uganda. The Citizen

Somalia: Next Stop Kismayo
Even before it kicks off in earnest, the assault on Somalia’s port city of Kismayo is causing jitters. A preliminary push by UN-backed African Union troops on the last bastion of Somalia’s Al-Shabab insurgency has already added to Somalia’s civilian casualties, and there are fears that more may lie ahead as air, ground and naval operations in the strategic city escalate. IRIN

73 Shabaab killed, KDF suffers 2 fatalities in Somalia
Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) have killed 73 Al Shabaab militants in an attack at a remote region of Fafadun in Somalia, a military source said on Thursday. “There was an attack in Somalia at a place called Fafadun. Seventy three Al Shabaab were killed and there are two KDF casualties,” the source said. Capital FM

Kenya-Somalia – Repatriating Dadaab Refugees ‘Unrealistic’
Repeated calls in recent months by Kenyan government officials to repatriate half a million Somali refugees currently living in the Dadaab refugee complex to so-called safe areas of southern Somalia have been described as unrealistic by aid agencies and by the refugees themselves.IRIN on allAfrica

Africa’s pirates have demands – and letterhead, too
Welcome to the Pirate Action Group. Pirate commander Jamal wishes to congratulate you on being hijacked. Kindly speak to his negotiator about your ransom, bearing in mind that his demands are similar for every vessel he seizes. This is not an absurd joke — this is how the pirates of the African coast do business, and it’s a serious matter for the companies that have to pay out. The Province


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