Media Review for October 30, 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

Islamist rebels vow assault on Malian capital if international forces attack
Islamist rebels will attack Mali’s capital city if international military intervention is launched to regain control of the country’s north, a senior member of an insurgent group closely linked to al-Qaida has told the Guardian . Oumar Ould Hamaha, head of security for the Movement for Tawhid and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao) claimed that rebels have recruited thousands of new fighters and warned that intervention would galvanise the international jihadist movement. The Guardian

State Dept. Official on Clinton’s Meetings in Algeria
So they met first for about 90 minutes, and then we went into another almost two-hour lunch, I guess. Virtually the entire meeting portion focused on our counterterrorism cooperation and Mali, and they agreed that we need to now work together to build on our existing strong U.S.-Algerian counterterrorism cooperation to work together against the problems that are being exported from Mali and to help Bamako and ECOWAS with the AU and the UN support as well deal with the security threats inside of Mali. The Secretary made reference a number of times to the regional leadership Algeria displays in counterterrorism. State.gov

Clinton woos a reluctant Algeria on Mali intervention
In a bid to win Algerian support for a planned military intervention in northern Mali, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in Algiers Monday. But is Algiers likely to come on board? France 24

What Mali’s Crisis Means for the Future of Western Military Intervention
Why should Americans care about Mali? Many probably asked themselves that question during the last presidential debate, when Mitt Romney twice mentioned the northwest African nation, a place most Americans might be hard-pressed to locate on a map. Yet seven months after Islamic militant groups seized control of northern Mali, the Western-designed military strategy to push them out could have real consequences for future antiterrorist operations, including for the U.S., according to some analysts. Time

A Trip Through Hell: Daily Life in Islamist Northern Mali
For months, an Islamist regime has been terrorizing northern Mali. Hundreds of thousands have already fled the region, and those who have stayed behind are experiencing new forms of cruelty with each passing day. A SPIEGEL reporter documents a two-week journey through a region Europe fears will become the next Somalia. Spiegle

Military experts meet on Mali
Scores of European and Malian military experts on Sunday (October 28th) wrapped up week-long meetings in Bamako to take stake of the Malian army’s needs and identify shortcomings ahead of a possible military intervention in the nation’s north. The Bamako meetings coincided with another security summit held in in Paris last Monday and Tuesday that brought together French military commanders, US diplomats and military experts, as well as representatives of Sahel-Saharan states, the African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union and the United Nations. Magharebia

Gen. Dempsey: Africa Command change not tied to Libya
The top U.S. military officer is denying reports that Army Gen. Carter Ham’s planned departure as head of U.S. Africa Command is linked to the Sept. 11 attack in Libya. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey issued a written statement Monday calling speculation about the reasons for Ham’s move “absolutely false.” AP on the Boston Herald

A failed formula for worldwide war
[...] Many other US military actions abroad remain largely below the radar. Several weeks ago, for instance, US personnel were quietly deployed to Burundi to carry out training efforts in that small, landlocked, desperately poor East African nation. Another contingent of US Army and Air Force trainers headed to the similarly landlocked and poor West African nation of Burkina Faso to instruct indigenous forces. Al Jazeera

South Africa rhino poaching hits record high
[...] The simple explanation is that the rise in demand from the growing Asian middle class is driving the rise in poaching. That horn, which is made of keratin and is reputed to have medicinal benefits in Asian traditional medicine, costs more per ounce than gold. Those alleged benefits – including that its an aphrodisiac, can end hangovers and can even cure cancer – have been largely dispelled by scientific research. But that hasn’t stopped Asian consumers from snapping up the rare product at the whopping price of $65,000 a kilogram. The drivers of the illicit trade are more complex, says Jo Shaw, rhino co-ordinator for WWF South Africa. Al Jazeera

Rhino poaching in South Africa: organised crime and economic opportunity driving trade
[...] There is no single reason for the massive jump in poaching, rather a combination. Demand is increasing, alongside the ability of “customers” to pay for the horn. It is used in Chinese and East Asian medicine and, to a much lesser extent in terms of current poaching smuggling, to make much-prized dagger handles for rich Yemenis. The fast economic growth in China, Vietnam and other parts of East Asia and increasing disposable incomes of those who have benefitted, means that the demand for rhino horn is more than matched by money to pay high prices to offset the risks and costs of poaching and smuggling. Willie Mabasa said that arrests and convictions in recent years suggest that Vietnam is a particularly important market. African Argument

Kenya’s Biometric Voter Registration: New Solution, New Problems
On Monday 12 November 2012, the Electoral and Boundaries Commission of Kenya (IEBC) plans to start the biometric voter registration (BVR) process in an effort to develop a new voter’s roll for the upcoming general elections scheduled for 4 March 2013. The new voter registration system requires eligible voters to go through a biometric analysis, which, it is hoped, will help curb some of the fraudulent practices of manipulation and vote rigging that were prevalent in the previous manual registration system. ISS

S.Africa okays $5.4 bln in clean energy projects
South Africa has given the green light to an initial $5.4 billion worth of clean energy projects that will allow it to procure 1,400 MW of electricity and help reduce reliance on coal-fired plants, the energy minister said on Monday. The government has selected 28 wind and solar projects in the first stage of the programme, with the contracts expected to be signed on November 5, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters said. Reuters

Iran naval task force ‘docks in Sudan’
An Iranian naval task force has docked in Sudan, carrying with it a “message of peace and security to neighbouring countries”, Iranian state media report. The vessels, which include a corvette and freighter, set sail from Iran last month, the Irna news agency said. Their arrival comes six days after explosions destroyed an arms factory in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. BBC

Rogue Zim troops ‘terrorise villagers’
Zimbabwean troops are reportedly terrorising and intimidating villagers in Gokwe, where they are routinely addressing Zanu-PF campaign rallies and threatening “war” if the party loses in the forthcoming elections. According to a NewsDay report, villagers said soldiers were encamped at Mapfungautsi Plateau, from where they were conducting several rallies at business centres and schools in the vast farming district. News 24

Briefing: Ethiopia’s ONLF rebellion
Any hopes for an imminent end to conflict in Ethiopia’s Somali region were dashed earlier this month when talks between the government and the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) broke down. IRIN

Saudi embassy linked with terrorist funding in Ethiopia
The wife of a senior Ethiopian politician was on Monday charged with funneling money from the Embassy of Saudi Arabia to Islamist terror groups, at a hearing at the Ethiopian Federal High Court, on Monday. Habiba Mohammed, wife of former Minister for the Civil Service Junedin Sado, was one of 29 Muslim activists accused of criminal conspiracy to commit unspecified acts of terrorism — charges that could attract the death penalty. Those arrested were accused of belonging to, or supporting, the “Solution Seekers of the Muslim Community’s Problems”, a group that the prosecution contended is a terrorist organisation. Lawyers for the accused denied the charges. The Hindu

African-Angles: Rwanda-US friendship falters
The US has come out strongly against the Rwandan regime’s support for M23, a new rebel group in eastern DR Congo (DRC). Burundian author, Nestor Bidadanure argues that claims made by US Office of Global Criminal Justice official, Stephen Rapp, that Rwanda’s leadership could face prosecution were “excessive”. The Africa Report

Burundi asks international donors for over $1 billion for development
Burundi’s vice president on Monday asked international donors gathered in Geneva for over $1.0 billion to help finance his country’s development programmes over the next four years. Times Live

Africa’s False Dilemma
Ecological and economic welfare are two sides of the same coin and having to choose between developing economies and societies on one hand, and protecting the environment on the other, is a false dilemma. This false dilemma is often used by private companies to dismiss civil society and local communities, mislead policy makers, and then carry on with questionable practices. Sub-Saharan Africa has been the scene of a huge land grab in recent years, with overseas governments and businesses buying up or securing long-term leases on large tracts of land. Some of the deals are straightforward acquisitions but many are contentious to say the least. The Huffington Post

Alarming Sex Slavery Reports from Uganda
Ugandan girls are being trafficked for commercial sex in India according to the Ugandan ambassador to india Nimisha Madhvani as she met the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga on a trip to India. The Ambassador informed the Speaker that Ugandan girls are promised high paying jobs only to wind up into the sex. allAfrica

Villagers in Morocco Drive Out Prostitutes
For years, this mountain village with its crumbling whitewashed walls was known locally as the place to go for sex. Women — some dressed in tight jogging suits, some in dressing gowns — dallied in the tiled doorways off the main square, offering a Moroccan version of Amsterdam’s red-light district. But no more. A band of men here, known as the Islamists, took matters into their own hands last fall. The New York Times