Africa Center for Strategic Studies

Media Review for September 2, 2010

Africa Center for Strategic Studies — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:58:47 +0000

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

Obama faces calls to get tougher on Sudan amid war fears
US President Barack Obama is facing calls by activists to get tougher with the Sudanese government to bring peace to Darfur and ensure a peaceful referendum on southern independence in January. AFP

Fighting, death and oil: Inside the conflict in Sudan
[...]We could point our finger at America for the early days of it, because Chevron sank the first well in southern Sudan. When we went down south in Sudan and saw the wells, we found out that it’s all Chinese companies there now. China doesn’t have any of America’s problems of bad press in the Middle East or Africa, or people back home saying they shouldn’t buy conflict diamonds or whatever. China is in very good favor in those parts of the world. CNN

Kenyan ambassadors summoned over Omar al-Bashir’s visit
Kenyan ambassadors in Europe have been asked to explain why Kenya did not arrest the Sudanese president during a recent visit to Nairobi. BBC

Just How Serious is the Situation in the DRC in DC?
We have seen the Statements by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice regarding the horrific rapes that occurred earlier this month in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There is a investigation underway by the United Nations regarding the actions taken by the Peacekeepers. But what of the United States itself? Accra daily Mail

Hell on Earth: The UN Documents Congo’s Bloodbath
Women and girls were raped. Men slaughtered. Refugees killed with machetes and sticks. A new UN report describes an orgy of violence in Congo between 1993 and 2003, meticulously documenting how law and humanity were abandoned. It also accuses Rwanda of atrocities in Congo — something that has not gone down well in Kigali. Der Spiegle

Congo leaders: We begged UN to protect civilians
Congolese community leaders say they begged local U.N. officials and army commanders to protect villagers days before rebels gang-raped scores of people, from a month-old baby boy to a 110-year-old great-great-grandmother. AP

EU keen to strike deal with Gaddafi on immigration
The European Union is keen to strike a pact with Muammar Gaddafi to stem the flow of immigrants across the Mediterranean, officials said today, after the Libyan leader put a price tag of €5bn (£4.1bn) a year on the deal. The Guardian

DRC: Stanley doesn’t merit a statue
If the north Welsh town of Denbigh’s choice of Henry Morton Stanley for a commemorative statue is ironic, given the trouble he took to hide his origins, it’s hard to find a word for Tim Butcher’s praise in the Telegraph for Stanley’s bloody-mindedness, his loyalty to Africans, his loathing of the slave trade and his pioneering journeys.The Guardian

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. VOA

USA·S AFRICOM may directly train Somali troops
Since the creation of Africa Command Center under Bush administration in 2007, much focus of the Command has been creation of development projects and military cooperation between participating African countries and the United States military. Somaliland Press

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. VOA

In Somali Civil War, Both Sides Embrace Pirates
Ismail Haji Noor, a local government official, recently arrived in this notorious pirate den with a simple message: we need your help. With the Shabab militant group sweeping across Somalia and the American-backed central government teetering on life support, Mr. Noor stood on a beach flanked by dozens of pirate gunmen, two hijacked ships over his shoulder, and announced, “From now on we’ll be working together.” The New York Times

AQIM claims responsibility for failed bomb attack in Mauritania
The North African wing of Al Qaeda (AQIM) has claimed responsibility for the failed suicide bomb attack at Nema, some 1,200 km east of Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania. Xinhua

France leads charge against African al-Qaida
The French are ideally situated to bolster the regional powers in their unprecedented offensive against AQIM. France had military bases across its former African colonies where Sarkozy has been seeking to restore Paris’ influence. UPI

At least 4 die in Mozambique food riots
At least four people died and 27 were wounded in riots that erupted Wednesday after Mozambique’s government announced increases in the price of bread, water, energy and other critical goods, the southern African nation’s official news agency reported. CNN

Cape Verde: Royal Navy warship intercepts yacht carrying cocaine worth £4m
Drug found hidden in rudder after boat seized in Atlantic following tip-off from French intelligence.[...] Cocaine suppliers in Colombia have increasingly been targeting west African states as transit sites for new routes into Europe. The boats often leave Venezuela and cross the Atlantic at one of its narrowest points.The Guardian

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. VOA

Zambia’s Constitutional Review Process Has Thwarted Meaningful Public Participation
“A costly spectacle.” “A circus.” “A charade.” This is how some detractors in the Zambian media have described the Zambian National Constitutional Conference (NCC), the body charged with the important task of rewriting the Zambian Constitution. The Huffington Post

EU blacklists 2 Ghanaian cargo airlines
The European Union says it has added two Ghanaian-registered cargo companies to its list of airlines whose aircraft are barred from flying to Europe.AP

When yes means maybe: Doing business in Nigeria
In a business culture where negotiations are fluid and what’s agreed on Monday might not necessary mean the same thing on Tuesday, how do you get the job done? It’s a challenge some foreigners encounter when doing business in Nigeria. CNN

Media Review Archive

ViewPast Issues

Security Brief Examines Fragile States and Extremism

Africa Center for Strategic Studies — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:14:48 +0000

The Africa Center for Strategic Studies’ latest Africa Security Brief by Zachary Devlin-Foltz highlights the increased leverage that fragile African states create for Islamist extremists. The security vacuum that emerges in such contexts provides extremists an opening in their on-going struggle with moderates for influence. Underscoring this pattern, 12 of the world’s top 20 “high-risk” fragile states are in Africa. Many of these also face challenges from extremists. It is this strong overlap, Devlin Foltz contends, that requires counter-extremism and counter-terrorism strategies to also focus on building stronger states if they are to be effective.

The Africa Center’s Research Director, Dr. Joseph Siegle, said: “This Africa Security Brief assesses the threat of extremism from the lens of state fragility–the context in which extremists find most fertile ground. By so doing, the Brief provides insights and guidance for the priority of shoring up Africa’s fragile states–and marginalizing extremists.”

Zachary Devlin-Foltz is an independent scholar whose research has focused on al-Qaeda’s influence in Africa, political persecution in Ethiopia, and civil society development in Egypt. He is co-author with Binnur Ozkececi-Taner of “State Collapse and Islamist Extremism: Reevaluating the Link,” which was published in Contemporary Security Policy (April 2010). [PDF]

African Journalists Visit Africa Center and National Defense University

Africa Center for Strategic Studies — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:31:23 +0000

The differences between control over the military and police in the U.S. and what takes place in other parts of the world are so distinct that most Americans take them for granted. Building on our tradition of subordination of the military and police operations to civilian rule is a new concept in many parts of Africa. At least that is the perspective in some African countries, according to 11 African journalists who recently visited the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.

The journalists, all from independent media in their respective countries and guests of the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Press Center, were invited to the U.S. to examine the differences between the military and civilian law enforcement authorities.

Collectively, the journalists serve an audience of more than 110 million people ranging from the 50 million listeners who tune in daily to Radio Lagos in Nigeria to the 20,000 readers of the Cameroon Tribune. Other countries represented by the journalists included Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic of the Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe.

Ambassador William M. Bellamy (ret.), Africa Center Director, and Dr. John F. Kelly, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, briefed the journalists, explaining that in the U.S. on the rare occasions when the military does the job of the police, it is due to an extraordinary breakdown in the system, such as in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Louisiana.

The insightful questions from the seasoned and dynamic group of African journalists resulted in an engaging dialog with the Africa Center faculty including Academic Dean Dr. Monde Muyangwa, Academic Chair for Defense Economics Dr. Assis Malaquias, Director of Research Dr. Joseph Siegle, Academic Chair of Civil-Military Relations Dr. Mathurin C. Houngnikpo, and Senior Fellow for Security and Development Katherine Almquist. Also joining the discussion was Ambassador Joyce Barr, Acting Commandant, Industrial College of the Armed Forces at National Defense University.

After the briefing, the journalists toured the NDU campus and library. In addition to their visit to the Africa Center and NDU, the journalists’ U.S. travels also took them to Baltimore and New Orleans.

(View photos from this event)

Media Review for September 1, 2010

Africa Center for Strategic Studies — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:10:54 +0000

Today’s News

Ex-Islamists walk free from Libyan jail
Libya freed 37 prisoners late on Tuesday, including at least one former detainee at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, who had been jailed for links to radical Islamist groups but have since renounced violence. AP

Ransoms boost al Qaeda in Africa: US official
Paying ransom for hostages held by al Qaeda in Africa just encourages more kidnappings and hands the militant network a global propaganda boost, a U.S. military official said on Tuesday. The same goes for the practice of releasing jailed militants to win freedom for hostages held by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), added the official in a briefing about U.S. military support for governments in Africa’s Sahel region. Reuters

US sees rebel “tension” on foreign militant role
Foreign militants do not enjoy universal acceptance in Somalia’s al-Shabaab but outside powers will find it hard to use their presence to divide and weaken the hardline Islamist insurgency, a U.S. military official said. Reuters

Rwanda considers pulling its peacekeepers from Darfur
Rwanda is considering pulling out all its troops from United Nations peacekeeping missions, starting with Darfur, after a leaked draft U.N. report said Rwandan troops may have committed genocide in Congo. Reuters

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. VOA

Russian air crew kidnapped in Darfur freed
Three Russian helicopter crewmen kidnapped in Sudan’s restive Darfur region have been freed, officials said on Tuesday, with one report indicating force was used to secure their release. AFP

Kenya, African Union defend Bashir visit
Kenya and the African Union are defending a visit by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted on allegations of war crimes and genocide. Al-Bashir on Friday joined other African leaders in Kenya to mark the signing of a new constitution, which is expected to usher in major change. CNN

U.N. E-Mail Shows Early Warning of Congo Rapes
United Nations officials had been warned about rape ocurring in a remote Congolese area much earlier than officials originally said, according to an internal United Nations e-mail and a humanitarian bulletin.The New York Times

ICRC: Somalis swamp hospitals after 8 violent days
Eight days of deadly clashes between government forces and al-Qaida-linked insurgents have forced dozens of people to seek surgical care and left Somalia’s capital in a critical state, the international Red Cross said Tuesday. AP

Pirates of Puntland: A tale of Somali Pirates, Ethiopia and the USA
Pirates, warlords, Marxist guerilla turned G-20 statesman and the USA . . . the real story of the Somali pirates in the Horn of Africa is a tale that needs telling. This story starts in a place calling itself Puntland, after The Land of Punt, a once great and glorious civilization in Africa’s Horn, today a forgotten legend found only in the most ancient texts. Online Journal

S.African gov’t ups wage offer to civil servants
The South African government has increased its offer to civil servants whose nationwide strike for higher wages has crippled hospitals and schools across the country, officials said Tuesday. AP

Thousands flee south Sudan floods
Floods in south Sudan have forced more than 50,000 people from their homes, health officials said on Tuesday, warning that the situation could worsen. AFP

Mullen Meets With EUCOM, AFRICOM Leaders
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff met today with leaders of U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command, both of which have their headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. Africom

Nigeria: FBI Trains EFCC Operatives on Anti-Terrorism
Instructors from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States yesterday commenced a training programme for operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on anti-money laundering and control of terrorist financing. allAfrica

Commerce, Conflict Coexist On The Congo
With barely 300 miles of paved road in all of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Congo River has become the nation’s Route 66 — the artery pulsing life into the heart of Africa. NPR

Bottled water becomes new venture among Kenya investors
For a world that is nearly three quarters covered with water, any mention of scarcity would be the last “word” would expect to hear.However, this is not the case. According to the United Nations statistics, over 1 billion lack access to safe water and over 2.5 billion lack adequate sanitation. Xinhua

Nigeria: Locked Doors Greet Those Late to Work
Federal employees who reported late to work Tuesday got a rude awakening. As part of an effort to end chronic tardiness, several federal offices in the capital, Abuja, locked out hundreds of who arrived after the 8 a.m. start time. An hour later the employees were allowed in. Government offices usually close at 4 p.m. The New York Times

Report: Nigeria on cusp of ‘demographic disaster’
Nigeria teeters on the edge of a “demographic disaster” unless its stagnant economy rapidly expands to support its teeming youth population, according to a report released Wednesday. Stars and Stripes

Media Review Archive

ViewPast Issues

Media Review for August 31, 2010

Africa Center for Strategic Studies — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:50:26 +0000

Today’s News

President Obama on Kenya’s New Constitution
President Barack Obama makes a statement on the promulgation of Kenya’s new constitution, which was approved by a majority of voters on August 4. America.gov

U.S. Judge Dismisses Piracy Charges Against 6 Somalis
A federal judge in Norfolk, Va., dismissed charges of piracy against six Somalis accused of attacking a U.S. Navy ship in April near Somalia. The Wall Street Journal

Uganda: Army ready to send 10,000 to Somalia
Uganda is set to send thousands of its reserve troops for deployment to Somalia if the US government provides promised funding for the mission, the Chief of Defence Forces has said. Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, in an interview in Kotido District on Thursday, said; “we can even call up to 10,000 [reservists] but that will depend on whether the United States supports us or not.” Daily Monitor

How Khartoum is Messing with Southern Sudan’s Borders
In recent weeks, high-level officials have recommended that the contested 1,300-mile border that divides the country into north and south should be given a final demarcation before a vote. It might seem reasonable to request that a country know its own borders before declaring independence — but from the south’s perspective, Khartoum’s suggestion is purely a stalling tactic. Demarcating the borders will be a laborious, miserable process that could take years. Foreign policy

South Sudan to end use of child soldiers ‘by year’s end’
South Sudan vowed on Monday to end its use of child soldiers by the end of the year, as the former rebel force works to transform itself into a regular army ahead of a 2011 independence referendum. AFP

Four Ugandan peacekeepers killed in Mogadishu
Four Ugandan soldiers with the African Union forces in Somalia were killed Monday when hardline insurgents fired a mortar shell at one of their bases, the force’s spokesman said. AFP

CIA training Sudan’s spies as Obama officials fight over policy
American officials may be at odds over U.S. policy toward Sudan, but the CIA is soldiering on there. The East African regime is not just an international pariah for its genocidal track record in the western region of Darfur, it’s officially been branded by Washington as a terrorist state, in part for its past harboring of Islamist radicals, including Osama bin Laden in the 1990s. The washington Post

Niger flooding displaces nearly 200,000, UN says
Heavy rains in Niger have displaced nearly 200,000 in recent weeks, the United Nations says, calling on donors and aid agencies to send shelter material, blankets and other supplies. CNN

Millions at risk as crops fail in central Africa
Hundreds of thousands of children across central Africa are at risk of death from starvation and disease after flash flooding worsened an already chronic humanitarian crisis caused by drought. The Independant

Brown returns to politics with a plea for famine-stricken Niger
Gordon Brown returns to front-line politics today, making an appeal for Britain to fund food aid to the landlocked African state of Niger where more than half the population face starvation. The independant

South African president steps in to end strikes
South Africa’s president on Monday called on negotiators to resume talks aimed at ending a nationwide civil servants’ strike for higher wages. AP

Spain seeks explanation for Morocco arrests
The Spanish government has asked Morocco to provide an explanation of the circumstances which led to the arrest Sunday of 11 activists in Western Sahara, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Monday. Reuters

Uganda: Museveni takes on the three musketeers
Opposition leaders are preparing to choose a single candidate for next year’s presidential election but the three biggest parties do not trust each other completely, a situation that the incumbent is bound to exploit to his advantage. The Africa Report

Libya to free 38 radical Islamists
The Libyan government will release 38 more members of a radical Islamist group jailed for plotting to overthrow the government of Muammar Gaddafi, the country’s attorney general Abderhmane al Abbar said on Monday. News24

Algeria killings cast light on Qaeda extortion racket
A series of murders in the mountains east of Algiers this month is a demonstration of force by al Qaeda’s north Africa arm to ensure danger money from local farmers keeps flowing into its coffers, residents say. Reuters

US criticizes Eq Guinea execution of coup plotters
The United States on Monday expressed deep concern over Equatorial Guinea’s execution of four former military officers for treason, saying their summary convictions by a military tribunal failed to meet minimum human rights standards. Reuters

Mauritania to resume dialogue with Islamists after previous success
Mauritanian will soon resume dialogue with Muslim jihadists after talks with jailed Islamists early in the year in a bid to persuade them to abandon extremism, according to the government. Xinhua

Guinea Coup Leader Stays Out of Presidential Run-Off
The leader of Guinea’s military coup, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, has said he is staying away from the country so as not to disrupt an electoral process that is set to conclude with next month’s second round of presidential voting. VOA

Virus related to smallpox rising sharply in Africa, UCLA researchers find
In the winter of 1979, the world celebrated the end of smallpox, a highly contagious and often fatal viral infection estimated to have caused between 300 and 500 million deaths during the 20th century. The virus was eradicated through an aggressive worldwide vaccination campaign, which itself ended in 1980. After all, with no virus, there was no longer a need for a vaccine. Now, researchers at UCLA say the elimination of the smallpox vaccine has allowed a related virus to thrive. UCLA Newsroom

Media Review Archive

ViewPast Issues

“Africa’s Fragile States: Empowering Extremists, Exporting Terrorism,”

Zachary Devlin-Foltz — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 19:27:59 +0000

by Zachary Devlin-Foltz

Persistent reports of extremist activity from every region of the continent, punctuated by the recent al-Shabaab bombings in Kampala and advances in Mogadishu, have deepened concern over the growth of extremism in Africa. This Africa Security Brief assesses the threat of extremism from the lens of state fragility – the context in which extremists find most fertile ground. By so doing, the Brief provides insights and guidance for the priority of shoring up Africa’s fragile states – and marginalizing extremists. [ENGLISH]

Media Review for August 30, 2010

Africa Center for Strategic Studies — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:20:59 +0000

Today’s News

Obama administration intensifies efforts in Sudan
The Obama administration, which came to office promising stronger leadership on Sudan, is now scrambling to salvage a 2005 U.S.-backed peace accord and prevent Africa’s largest nation from sliding back into civil war.The Washington Post

Burundi: Veering off the path of peaceful power-sharing
The political climate is growing increasingly antagonistic in Burundi, where many of today’s political parties were yesterday’s rebel groups. A spate of elections designed to entrench stability through pluralism has only made matters worse, say analysts, raising fears that a 10-year-old power-sharing deal is falling apart. IRIN

Somali militants grow more brazen in attack
Somali militants linked to al-Qaeda briefly asserted control over Mogadishu’s most strategic road Saturday, escalating their efforts to overthrow the U.S.-backed transitional government in a region where Islamic radicalism is gaining strength. The Washington Post

Somali pirate admits attacking US warship
A Somali man has admitted attacking a US warship in April after mistaking it for a merchant vessel. Jama Idle Ibrahim and five others chased the USS Ashland and opened fire on it before being captured, court papers said. BBC

Al-Shabaab commandeers Somali radio station
An al Qaeda-linked militant movement has taken control of a radio station in Somalia’s capital, the government announced Saturday. The weak central government claims the group is spreading propaganda from at least two radio stations, including Mogadishu’s Holy Quran radio, a private FM station, which it took earlier this week. CNN

U.N.: Rwandan troops may have committed war crimes in efforts to end ‘94 genocide
An exhaustive U.N. investigation into the history of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo has concluded that the Rwandan military and its allies carried out hundreds of large-scale killings of ethnic Hutu refugees during the 1990s that amounted to war crimes, crimes against humanity and possibly genocide, according to a confidential copy of the report. The Washington Post

Rwanda Contests Report on Army
Rwanda has threatened to withdraw its troops from peacekeeping operations for the United Nations if it publishes a report accusing the Rwandan Army of committing genocide in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 1990s, Rwanda’s foreign minister said in a letter sent to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The New York Times

How moderate Muslims in Africa view NYC mosque debate
The question may seem trivial, coming from one of Africa’s smaller nations (Senegal), but America’s controversy over the interfaith community center proposed by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf has implications for the United States’ ability to thwart terrorism and defeat Al Qaeda. And Senegal, with a 95 percent Muslim population, represents a pivotal buttress in that campaign, say US military operatives.The Christian Science Monitor

Algerian forces kill 8 al-Qaida insurgents
Algerian forces have killed eight al-Qaida insurgents in an attack in a mountainous area considered a bastion for the terror network’s North African branch. AP

Labor Unrest Empties South African Hospitals
Most patients in the hulking, seven-story tuberculosis hospital here — all infected with potentially lethal, drug-resistant strains of the disease — have gone home since a majority of nurses, orderlies and janitors went on strike a week and a half ago. The New York Times

Exiled Madagascan leader Ravalomanana sentenced
Madagascar’s exiled former president has been sentenced to life in prison with hard labour for ordering the killing of opposition supporters. Marc Ravalomanana was sentenced in absentia for the February 2009 murders of at least 30 people by his presidential guard. BBC

“Beware peacekeeping adventurism”
Those who despatch peacekeeping forces to the world’s trouble spots often engage in false economies and adventurism that place solders’ lives at risk while not helping civilians caught in war zones. That’s the view of Paramount Group business development director David McDonald Joyce. DefenseWeb

Ugandan president Museveni sets sights on re-election
The Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni, will contest next year’s presidential poll, trying to extend a presidency that began in 1986his office said today. He will also seek election as chairman of his National Resistance Movement party at its conference next month. The Guardian

Food Crisis Forever
[...]In the short term, the United States must implement U.S. President Barack Obama’s promise to commit $3.5 billion to food security assistance. Since he made the pledge in 2009, only $812 million has been allocated. Surely the United States can do better, and at a faster pace. Emergency food aid is needed now to prevent famine and needless deaths in Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and northern Nigeria. Foreign Policy

Kenya defends failure to arrest Sudan’s president Omar al-Bashir in Nairobi
The Kenyan government defended its failure to arrest Sudan’s president while he was in Nairobi on Friday, citing strategic interest in the neighbouring country. Richard Onyonka, an assistant foreign minister, said today that arresting Omar al-Bashir may have risked adversely affected peace in Sudan. The Guardian

ICC Asks UN to Act Against Kenya
The International Criminal Court is asking the U.N. Security Council to take action against Kenya for hosting Sudan’s president in defiance of international warrants for his arrest. ICC judges in The Hague said Friday Kenya has a “clear obligation” as a member of the court to cooperate in enforcing its arrest warrants for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. VOA

U.S. Senate introduces new bill on Ethiopia
United State Senators Feingold and Leahy have introduced a new legislation titled, Support for Democracy and Human Rights in Ethiopia Act of 2010. Read text of the bill below or click here: To reaffirm United States objectives in Ethiopia and encourage critical democratic and humanitarian principles and practices, and for other purposes. Ogaden Online

Moroccan police arrest 11 Spanish activists
Moroccan police have arrested 11 Spanish activists in Western Sahara who were demonstrating for independence for the disputed territory, the Spanish Foreign Ministry said Sunday. The detainees were later released but are waiting to return to Spain at a Spanish diplomatic residence called “Casa de Espana” in Aaiun, the capital city of the former Spanish colony. Reuters

Jama’s Travels: In this first novel, a Somali orphan roams the world
Nadifa Mohamed’s ambitious first novel tells the story of a Somali orphan’s odyssey from Yemen to Djibouti, onward to Eritrea, Sudan, Egypt, Palestine, Marseille, Hamburg and Wales — and ultimately to an epiphany in London. Toward the end of this trek, the hero meets up with an old friend, with whom he competes “over who had walked the farthest, starved the longest, felt the most hopeless; they were athletes in the hard-luck Olympics.” The New York Times

Media Review Archive

ViewPast Issues

Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risks in Botswana

Institute for Security Studies — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:46:48 +0000

By Jackson Madzima. Institute for Security Studies, March 2009.

Most countries in Southern Africa lack comprehensive legal frameworks that criminalize terrorism and the methods to finance it. However, as numerous local arrests of international terrorists suggest, the sub-region is attracting terrorist networks. To prevent such activity, states should institute legal reforms and better coordinate anti-money laundering efforts through available international and sub-regional working groups. [PDF]

Media Review for August 27, 2010

Africa Center for Strategic Studies — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 12:32:56 +0000

Today’s News

Kenya president ratifies new constitution (video)
Kenya has adopted a new constitution, more than three weeks after it was overwhelmingly approved in a national referendum.Tens of thousands of people watched as President Mwai Kibaki signed the document into law at a large ceremony in the capital, Nairobi. UN

Sudan Leader Travels Despite Warrant
Despite international demands for his arrest on genocide charges, President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan arrived in Nairobi on Friday to participate in a ceremony inaugurating Kenya’s newly-minted constitution. The New York Times

Leaked UN report accuses Rwanda of possible genocide in Congo
The United Nations has accused Rwanda of wholesale war crimes, including possibly genocide, during years of conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. An unprecedented 600-page investigation by the UN high commissioner for human rights catalogues years of murder, rape and looting in a conflict in which hundreds of thousands were slaughtered. The Guardian

Fertile land the prize that could reignite ethnic conflict in DR Congo
For more than a decade North Kivu has been at the centre of the fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Rebel groups’ and foreign armies’ lust for mineral riches is usually cited as one of the main causes of the war. The Guardian

U.N. Knew of Rebels in Area of Congo Rapes
The United Nations knew Rwandan rebels were occupying villages in eastern Congo at the time the rebels raped nearly 200 women there, United Nations and aid officers said Wednesday, raising questions about why peacekeepers failed to move to protect villagers. The New York Times

UN calls for action over DRC rapes
The UN Security Council has demanded that efforts be stepped up to prevent a repeat of the reported mass rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) a few weeks ago. Council members on Thursday voiced open dissatisfaction at the late response of UN peacekeepers in the country, blaming the weak reporting line at the ground level. Al Jazeera

Strike in S. Africa shows strains in ruling alliance
The African National Congress governs in partnership with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) and the Communist Party, all key participants in the dismantling of apartheid. The ANC under Zuma’s leadership is the most powerful member of this “tripartite alliance,” but all partners are supposed to have a say in policy. The Washington Post

Further industrial unrest threatens South Africa
Another powerful union in South Africa is threatening to join the massive strike that has already crippled the country. The National Union of Mineworkers said Friday it will join the public sector strike next week if the government does not meet the demands of strikers who want more money. CNN

Somalia has a role model for success on its doorstep
Torn between violent extremists and a puppet government, Somalia could look to Somaliland for a lesson in nation building. The Guardian

Somali government fears more militant attacks
Somali government officials warned Friday that Islamist Al-Shabaab rebels may intensify attacks against civilians and security forces to mark the 17th day of Ramadan. The 17th day of Ramadan is Saturday. It stems from a historical day in 624 A.D. denoting the Battle of Badr when the Prophet Muhammed won a key battle, said Abdirahman Omar Osman, the government’s minister of information. CNN

Nigeria: Federal Government Moves to Secure Jobs in U.S., UK
The Federal Government said yesterday it had begun moves to secure the jobs of Nigerians resident in the United States and the United Kingdom threatened following the recent economic meltdown that hit those nations. Nigerians in the diaspora have lost many jobs in the global recession encountered by many developed nations. allAfrica

10 tonnes of counterfeit drugs seized in Africa: Interpol
A vast police operation coordinated by Interpol in East Africa has led to the seizure of 10 tonnes of counterfeit medical products and more than 80 arrests, Interpol said Thursday. AFP

Nigeria to privatize power companies
Nigeria’s government is preparing to privatize three of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria’s successor companies by the end of the year. This Day reported Wednesday that the three PHCN distribution entities are in Port Harcourt and Lagos and include Port Harcourt’s Eko company and Ikeja in Lagos. UPI

Burundi Facing Many Challenges as President Begins New Term
Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza has been sworn into office for another term. He was re-elected in the country’s first presidential direct-vote election in late June, while the opposition boycotted the poll, claiming massive fraud and intimidation by the government in previous legislative and local-government elections. VOA

Yes, America Is Exporting Terrorism
Partly because the deadliest attack in the history of modern international terrorism was against the United States, Americans tend to see their own country as the center of the counterterrorist universe. It was a U.S. president who declared a “war on terror,” led by the United States. Although U.S. officials have said a lot about international cooperation, the cooperation they have had in mind has been mostly a matter of the United States leading, pushing, or insisting, and other countries conforming or complying. Foreign Policy

Media Review Archive

ViewPast Issues

Media Review for August 26, 2010

Africa Center for Strategic Studies — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:00:10 +0000

Today’s News

AFRICOM prepared to train Somali troops if called upon, general says
As Islamic militants stepped up their assault on the U.S.-backed government in Somalia this week, U.S. Africa Command’s top officer said he is prepared, if called upon, to lend more support to the embattled Somali military. Stars and Stripes

Security Council debates legal options for pursuing pirates off Somali coast
Commending the efforts undertaken so far to combat piracy off the coast of Somalia, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed that more can be done, as the Security Council debated legal options to help bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice. UN

Clashes add to Somalis’ plight (video)
Heavy clashes in Mogadishu, the Somali capital, has flared for the third consecutive day,leaving six people dead – taking the death toll to more than 60 in two days.
Youtube-Al Jazeera

US vows help in fight against Congo sexual violence
The United States will help any effort to bring to justice rebels accused in the “horrific” mass rape of women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday.Reuters

U.S. Weighs Expanded Strikes in Yemen
U.S. officials believe al Qaeda in Yemen is now collaborating more closely with allies in Pakistan and Somalia to plot attacks against the U.S., spurring the prospect that the administration will mount a more intense targeted killing program in Yemen. The Wall Street Journal

DR Congo plane crash ‘kills 20′
A plane has crashed in the west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing 20 people, officials say. One person was also critically injured as it came into land in Bandundu, about 200km (125 miles) west of the capital. BBC

Powerful ex-gang leader shot in Nigerian oil hub
A powerful former Nigerian gang leader accused of helping to rig elections in the oil-producing Niger Delta was shot and believed killed late on Tuesday, raising fears of retaliation in the volatile region. Reuters

Ivory Coast final voter list to be posted Oct 10-12
Ivory Coast’s electoral commission said on Wednesday it will post a final voter list between Oct. 10-12 when it unveiled its timetable for an Oct. 31 poll which Ivorians hope will end years of instability. Elections have been halted repeatedly since 2005. Six election dates have been missed due to rows over voter identity and rebel disarmament after a 2002-3 war divided the West African nation in two, leaving the north in rebel hands. Reuters

Could Al-Shabab Attacks Bring Down Somalia’s Government?
Just a few months ago, the going story on al-Shabab, an Islamic insurgent group in Somalia, was that it could carry out well-coordinated, very deadly attacks, but posed no existential threat to the country’s central government, weak as it may be. Time

Mubarak names al-Dabba area to build Egypt’s first nuclear power station
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak issued on Wednesday a final decision to choose and start building Egypt’s first nuclear power station at al-Dabba area (160 km west of the country’s main harbor of Alexandria), official MENA News Agency quoted presidential spokesman Suliman Awwad as saying. Xinhua

Congo Republic’s heavy use of D.C. lobbyists prompts questions
Over the past five years, the authoritarian regime of the Congo Republic has leaned on Washington lobbyists to help with an image problem.Denis Sassou-Nguesso, the president of the one of the world’s poorest countries, had been accused in court and in lawsuits of diverting tens of millions of dollars in national oil profits to hidden bank accounts, then using the money to buy mansions in France and to finance spending sprees in Paris, Dubai and New York. The Washington Post

Former US diplomat tackles Sudan north-south issues
A retired U.S. ambassador has gone to Sudan to try to help settle north-south disputes on sharing wealth and power ahead of a referendum on independence for the south, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. Reuters

Outsourcing a U.S. war: Ugandans in Iraq
An Iraq veteran turned war critic, Camillo Mejia, said that 4,000 U.S. troops who are leaving Iraq will be replaced by 7,000 employees of private military contractors. Other observers say the U.S. has long outsourced the Iraq occupation to troops from some of the world’s poor nations, such as Uganda, Angola, India and Bangladesh, and that many of the mercenaries due to replace other U.S. troops will also come from those countries, especially from Uganda. The San Fransisco BayView

To Catch Cairo Overflow, 2 Megacities Rise in Sand
The highway west out of Cairo used to promise relief from the city’s chaos. Past the great pyramids of Giza and a final spasm of traffic, the open desert beckoned, 100 barren miles to the northwest to reach the Mediterranean. The New York Times

2010 Food Security Challenges in West Africa: Let’s Pay Attention!
There have been few reports noting the growing food security issue that has arisen over the last few months in the West Africa Region. We all need to pay more attention to this so that it doesn’t turn into a regional crisis. Affected countries in West Africa are doing their best to manage the ever-growing food security issues related to staple commodities, particularly grains. The Huffington Post

Tunisia is backtracking on women’s rights
Tunisia’s historical commitment to women’s rights is being used by Ben Ali as a smokescreen for the persecution they now suffer. The Guardian

Media Review Archive

ViewPast Issues