BS: Should we care about Africans?

Subject: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:28 PM

btw, my opinion is "YES"
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A Cry for Zimbabwe
A Moment to End the Repression -- Unless the World Retreats Into Silence

By Desmond Tutu and Madeleine Albright
Thursday, March 29, 2007; Page A19

Zimbabwe, long plagued by the repressive leadership of President Robert Mugabe, has reached the point of crisis. Leaders of the democratic opposition were arrested and beaten, and one was killed, while attempting to hold a peaceful prayer meeting on March 11. Morgan Tsvangirai, head of the Movement for Democratic Change, emerged from detention with a swollen eye and a fractured skull. Several days later, Nelson Chamisa, the movement's spokesman, was stopped en route to a meeting with European officials and beaten with iron bars. Other activists have been prevented from leaving the country to seek medical treatment for wounds inflicted by police.

Unrest has continued, as have the violent crackdowns. Mugabe, stubborn and unrepentant as ever, has vowed to "bash" protesters and dismissed international criticism as an imperialist plot. Although anti-government feelings are prompted by the regime's lack of respect for human and political rights, Mugabe's poor management of the economy is also to blame. The inflation rate, more than 1,700 percent, is the world's highest, while an estimated four out of five people are unemployed. Zimbabwe, once Africa's breadbasket, has become, under Mugabe, a basket case.

The crisis in Zimbabwe raises familiar questions about the responsibilities of the international community. Some argue that the world has no business interfering with, or even commenting on, the internal affairs of a sovereign state. This principle is exceptionally convenient for dictators and for people who do not wish to be bothered about the well-being of others. It is a principle that paved the way for the rise of Hitler and Stalin and for the murders ordered by Idi Amin. It is a principle that, if consistently observed, would have shielded the apartheid government in South Africa from external criticism and from the economic sanctions and political pressure that forced it to change. It is a principle that would have prevented racist Rhodesia from becoming Zimbabwe and Robert Mugabe from ever coming to power.

We are not suggesting that the world should intervene to impose political change in Zimbabwe. We are suggesting that global and regional organizations and individual governments should make known their support for human rights and democratic practices in that country, as elsewhere. We should condemn in the strongest terms the use of violence to prevent the free and peaceful expression of political thought. We should make clear our support for the standards enshrined in the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Given Mugabe's consistent unwillingness to respect the legitimate complaints of his people, this is not the time for silent diplomacy. This is the time to speak out. It is especially important that members of the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC) raise their voices, for they have the most influence and can hardly be accused of interventionism. As the examples of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela remind us, it is never inappropriate to speak on behalf of justice.

As in South Africa, the solution to the economic, political and social quagmire in Zimbabwe is open dialogue -- perhaps facilitated by the SADC -- that includes all relevant parties and leads to an understanding based on support for democracy and respect for the legitimate rights of all. To this end, the government of Zimbabwe should cease its abusive practices, repeal draconian laws and bring the electoral code into line with regional and international standards.

Presidential and parliamentary elections that are transparent and considered to be legitimate by the people of Zimbabwe and by local and international observers should be held. Should Mugabe decide to run for president again, as he has said he might, the world will have to make an effort to ensure that balloting is fair. However, Mugabe's own party, which includes responsible and moderate elements, might well consider whether the time has come for a new leader.

With crisis comes opportunity. This is the moment for political and civic leaders in Zimbabwe to unify around a common goal: a peaceful and democratic transition. Members of the opposition would be well advised to overcome their differences and to speak with a single, strong voice. In this way, reformers can demonstrate to the people of Zimbabwe and to the world that there is a viable and patriotic alternative to the repressive and misguided leadership under which the country has suffered for so long.

Desmond Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, was archbishop of Cape Town from 1986 to 1996 and headed South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Madeleine Albright, who served as secretary of state under President Bill Clinton, is principal of the Albright Group LLC and chairman of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/28/AR2007032801876.html

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: bubblyrat
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:40 PM

When it comes to "regime change "----It hasn"t gone too well for Great Britain or the USA recently, so there MIGHT be some reluctance to proceed. But I am 100 % with you insofar as SOMETHING needs to be done, by SOMEBODY , and very soon. If we cannot find a national government with the guts to do something, perhaps some of us could raise an international volunteer army to go in and help to rid the world of the maniac Mugabe?? I"m a bit old ,but I"d be up for it !!!It"s not against the law to say that , is it ??

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:43 PM

"VISION
To support security, peace, freedom, and democracy everywhere.

MISSION
To support national and international security policies that protect those who are defenseless and provide a free voice for all with a dedication to providing ethical, efficient, and effective turnkey solutions that positively impact the lives of those still caught in desperate times."





http://www.blackwaterusa.com/

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Wolfgang
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:48 PM

Mugabe went all the way from Marxist revolutionary to despotic dictator. Somewhere in between he lost what he initially may have had of humanist ideals. He repeated some of the errors of East European Socialism and added several of his own.

So, yes, we should care of course. But it will help the poor people there more if the necessary political pressure comes predominantly from African neighbours and not from very afar. We (West) should show we care and offer help if other African nations ask for. But it is in my opinion a task for Africans to begin with and to lead the way.

As awful as it feels to do not much more at first but send open letters like the one you have posted, we should be aware that more of Western interference as that at this moment could be even worse than doing nothing.

Wolfgang

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 12:54 PM

"But it is in my opinion a task for Africans to begin with and to lead the way. "

Agreed. But at what point, if action is not taken by Africans does it become our responsibility, as human beings?

Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda, Cambodia, Bosnia ... The West's inaction in so many cases does not do us credit.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Donuel
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 01:12 PM

Mugabe has effectively destroyed all the farms in his country in his attempt to put all farms under immediate black ownership. White citizen farmers were driven off or killed.

If we had intervened then it would appear to be a race war. If we do so with Blackwater mercenaries now it would appear to be a race war.

Only a huge Peace corps project to get farms up and running as effieciently as possible would be of any help at this late date. But Mugabe would have to sign on to such an intervention first.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 01:24 PM

We've been having endless programmes on radio and TV here celebrating the ending of slavery in 1807, lot's of people asking for governments to apologise, and pay reparation to the descendants of slaves.
However not one voice amongst those most prominent in this campaign about the situation in Zimbabwe, seems they'd rather pursue ideals than end persecution of more Africans.
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 02:35 PM

Summit ends with African leaders siding with Mugabe
POSTED: 2:00 p.m. EDT, March 29, 2007

Story Highlights• NEW: South Africa leaders call for end of all sanctions against Zimbabwe
• Rights groups have condemned President Mugabe's opposition crackdown
• Madeleine Albright, Desmond Tutu had called on SADC to "speak out"
• Robert Mugabe has led nation with iron fist for 27 years, economy in shambles

DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania (CNN) -- Southern African leaders Thursday emerged from a conference in Tanzania's capital allied with embattled Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and calling for the lifting of all sanctions against his government.

Mugabe maintains a tight grip on power as his country spirals into economic disaster.

After the Southern Africa Development Community emergency summit, Mugabe described the meeting as "excellent."

"We are one with our neighbors," he said.

Mugabe has been condemned by the West and human rights groups for arrests and reported intimidation and beatings of his political opponents. His forces have been accused of severely beating opposition leaders Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara on March 11.

The SADC meeting comes a day after Zimbabwean forces raided the Harare headquarters of the opposition, Movement for Democratic Change, the country's main opposition group, and detained about 10 MDC staff and officials.

Police said the raid was part of an overall initiative to arrest people responsible for throwing petrol bombs around Harare.

MDC officials said it was just another attempt to intimidate the opposition group. Tsvangirai was among those detained, just before he was to hold a news conference from the headquarters, MDC officials said.

Government police denied that Tsvangirai was among those arrested.

Communique issued after summit
A joint communique issued by the 14 SADC leaders reaffirmed the group's solidarity with Zimbabwe's government and people, and mandated that South African President Thabo Mbeki continue his efforts to facilitate dialogue between Zimbabwe's opposition groups and the government.

In the communique, the SADC leaders also encouraged better diplomatic contacts to resolve the situation in Zimbabwe and called for the lifting of all economic sanctions.

In Thursday's Washington Post, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and South African human rights activist and Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu addressed the Zimbabwe issue and called on SADC to "speak out."

"Given Mugabe's consistent unwillingness to respect the legitimate complaints of his people, this is not the time for silent diplomacy," the op-ed, entitled "A Cry for Zimbabwe."

"This is the time to speak out. It is especially important that members of the African Union and Southern African Development Community (SADC) raise their voices, for they have the most influence and can hardly be accused of interventionism.

"As the examples of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela remind us, it is never inappropriate to speak on behalf of justice."

The government raid and arrests Wednesday were denounced by British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, who called it a "calculated" move "not only to prevent them from legitimately expressing their views but to intimidate."

MDC: Opposition leader still suffering from injuries
MDC Secretary-General Tendai Biti said Tsvangirai is resting at home Thursday, a day after he was briefly detained.

He is still suffering from injuries inflicted by Zimbabwean forces on March 11, when he and his fellow MDC leader were taken into custody and beaten as they tried to hold a rally outside Harare.

Biti said Tsvangirai may have to be evacuated to neighboring South Africa for medical treatment.

That could prove difficult since Zimbabwean forces have prevented other MDC officials from leaving the country. Some were wounded in the March 11 crackdown and are seeking medical treatment in South Africa.

On March 18, MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa was attacked and beaten near Harare International Airport, where he was scheduled to depart for a conference in Brussels, Belgium. Tsvangirai told CNN he believed Mugabe's government was behind the attack.

Mugabe's government accuses the MDC of using brutal tactics to oppose the government. Last week, Zimbabwe's government threatened to expel Western diplomats, including the U. S. ambassador, who have openly sided with the opposition.

Mugabe, 83, has been Zimbabwe's only ruler since it achieved independence from Britain 27 years ago.

Under his rule, the once-prosperous country has suffered an economic crisis, with routine shortages of food, electricity and foreign currency. Inflation is estimated to exceed 1,700 percent.

While there is no official figure, unemployment among Zimbabweans is estimated at 80 percent.

Mugabe has indicated he intends to run for another term in next year's elections.

Tsvangirai lost his bid to unseat Mugabe in the last presidential election in 2002, which was marked by widespread allegations that Mugabe and his supporters rigged the vote.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 02:56 PM

Yes, we should care and support financially the ones who are trying to bring about peaceful regime change in Zimbabwee.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Teribus
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 08:42 PM

Of course we should care about Africans, we should care about everybody. High time though that Africans care about Africans, but as the recently concluded summit in Tanzania shows they couldn't give a toss.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Amos
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 10:15 PM

Africa --and Zambia in particular--is wild country, blending the most violent and the most gracious of natural environments, and it is also thickly layered with despair and a loss of bearings. The small white population made Rhodesia work only by almost despotic control, and the battle of the Rhodesian whites against self-rule was awful and violent on both sides. But although it wrested rule of the region away from whe white minority, it did not address the deeper causes at play that brought about despair and confusion.

There WAS a structure to the native lives under the tribal system, which got completely shattered by the imposition of "modern" hierarchical rule. Tribes do not, apparently, smoothly transition to statehood and do not federalize easily. The tribal ethos having been lost, individuals are desperate for orientation. The natural economy having been displaced by large farms and urban centers and state controls, there is a lot of desperate poverty.

Mugabe is trying to control the region with despotic tight-fisted control, but I'd be very surprises if it did anything to remedy the core causes of chaos -- a huge often violent region naturally, and an absence of economic opportunities, and a loss of tribal moral guidance with no substitute. If the "ideal" for Zimbabwe is to make it into a "modern" nation, it will require a LOT of education, a lot of reorganization, and some kind of moral spark which steers the lives of those who live there.

ANother thought, and then I will shut up. It seems to me to be demonstrated both in Zambia and in Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, that the inability to transcend tribalism's code of violent antagonism to other tribes is the paradigm that has to shift. The world has shrunk down to the point where the sandbox is not big enough for tribes to roam around and combat other tribes, killing for the sake of old grudges or a disagreement about belief. But until that paradigm is shifted in the minds of those tribal men and women, there is no easy path out of the constant violence that is part of the paradigm. The two things that can cause such a change or reformation -- a grassroots re-eduction by some compelling vision, such as happens when a new political, economic or religous pricniple sparks huge numbers of people to re-think what they are doing -- or a lot of time allowing the shift to occur over generations. A charismatic ruler with a lot of political savvy might be able to do it.

I don't see either of those things happening broadly although there are many pockets throughout Africa, I think, where revitalization is occuring as people learn how to become citizens of the world.

I am not persuaded that more invasion, more fire-power, and more death would accomplish much of anything.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: GUEST,meself
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 10:18 PM

(Good post!)

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 30 Mar 07 - 09:05 AM

Amos-

Nice post but you are evidently confusing the country of "Zambia" with the country of "Zimbabwee."

I would agree that many "newer" counries in Africa share the same problems as Zimbabwee. Some don't. The neighboring country of Tanzania is not particularly wealthy but it seems to have been well governed for more than 40 years. Revolution, civil war, and coups rarely produce stable democracies be they in Africa, South America, Asia, the Middle East or even Europe. And we in the States have had over 200 years to sort out our transition and we still ain't got it right!

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 30 Mar 07 - 04:32 PM

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Mugabe endorsed as 2008 presidential candidate
POSTED: 3:27 p.m. EDT, March 30, 2007
Story Highlights• Mugabe to stand for new five-year term
• Zimbabwe to add seats in parliament
• Zimbabwe facing economic crisis; inflation at 1,700 percent
Adjust font size:
HARARE, Zimbabwe (Reuters) -- Zimbabwe's ruling party on Friday adopted a motion to hold elections in 2008 and endorsed President Robert Mugabe as its presidential candidate, allowing him to stand for another term as leader of the crumbling country.

"The resolution was accepted by the central committee ... and so both the presidential and parliamentary elections will now be held in 2008," Nathan Shamuyarira, national ZANU-PF spokesman said after the meeting.

"The candidate of the party will be the President (Mugabe) himself. He was endorsed by the central committee at the meeting today," said Shamuyarira, adding the presidential term will be cut to five years from the current six.

Mugabe has faced international condemnation over a brutal crackdown on opponents this month, which left opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai injured and hospitalized after police stopped a banned prayer rally to protest against a deepening economic crisis.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told journalists at the same briefing the central committee had also decided that if a presidential vacancy occurred in between elections an acting president would be chosen by parliament to complete the term.

Chinamasa said local government polls would also be held in 2008 and the parliamentary lower house of assembly would be expanded from the current 150 members to 210. Parties would fill the upper house -- Senate -- with representatives on the basis of their proportional vote in parliament.

The Senate would be expanded from 66 to 84 members.

Critics say Mugabe, Zimbabwe's sole ruler since independence from Britain in 1980, has plunged the country into crisis through his policies, including the seizure of white-owned farms to give to landless blacks.

But Mugabe earlier told the central committee to resist "the machinations of the West", which he has blamed for an outbreak of violence following the police crackdown on the opposition.

"Our organs ... have to adopt a high sense of vigilancy and militancy," he said, one day after winning regional backing for his crackdown despite calls for tough action from the West.

Mugabe, 83, has accused the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) of mounting a "terrorist" campaign to remove him from office and defended violent police sweeps this month which saw dozens of MDC activists arrested.

On Thursday, a special crisis summit of Southern African leaders publicly expressed solidarity with Mugabe, while calling for renewed political dialogue and an end to Western sanctions against his government. (Watch the surprising result as African leaders meet on Zimbabwe )

The veteran leader had sought to win ZANU-PF backing to extend his rule over Zimbabwe, which now faces its worst crisis in history with inflation running at more than 1,700 percent, soaring joblessness, and regular food and fuel shortages.

Mugabe had suggested extending his term by two years to 2010 but ran into resistance in his party. He then proposed running for president again when his current six-year term ends in 2008 -- outflanking opponents who planned to oppose the 2010 option.

Mugabe's candidacy had already won backing from the party's key women and youth leagues, whose members make up a sizeable number of the 245-member central committee.

Analysts had seen little opposition to Mugabe, saying his nomination was a formality because the ZANU-PF constitution stipulates that the party president, elected at a congress every five years, automatically becomes the presidential candidate.

Mugabe was elected at the party's last congress in 2004 and has not faced an election since then.

He said his fellow African leaders understood that his government was under attack by the West as revenge for his policy of seizing white-owned farms to give to landless blacks.

"We are a family. Our detractors have been shamed," he said, accusing some major television news networks of demonizing his government and laughing off British and U.S. suggestions that he might be on the way out.

Mugabe said he had told SADC leaders that Tsvangirai deserved beating by police earlier this month in an incident which drew outrage, including from some Western countries which threatened stiffer action against the veteran leader.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Ron Davies
Date: 31 Mar 07 - 03:26 PM

BB--

If by "caring about Africans" you mean an invasion of Zimbabwe, you should make that clear. And we will treat the suggestion with all the respect it deserves.

If you have something else in mind, specify.

In general, white military forces trying to solve problems in black Africa is a loser, as I think you know.

It's up to the Africans to solve this one.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Mar 07 - 05:35 PM

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Amos
Date: 29 Mar 07 - 10:15 PM

..."I am not persuaded that more invasion, more fire-power, and more death would accomplish much of anything" ...

Agreed.

All that is needed is one bullet.

Accurately aimed .

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Stringsinger
Date: 31 Mar 07 - 05:37 PM

Blackwater's statement needs to be examined in the light of their activities in Iraq.

""VISION
To support security, peace, freedom, and democracy everywhere."

If anything, Blackwater is responsible for destablizing Iraq and its prouncements about security, peace, freedom and democracy are hollow indeed.

"MISSION
To support national and international security policies that protect those who are defenseless"

Their true mission is to support and protect oil companies, military contractors and armed mercenaries. They torture and kill defenseless people.

" and provide a free voice for all with a dedication to providing ethical, efficient, and effective turnkey solutions that positively impact the lives of those still caught in desperate times."

They are not ethical. They cheat their employees and show lack of regard for their safety and welfare. They are efficient killing mercenaries and reflect the efficiency of their CEO, a fundmentalist religious nut who is wealthy and built up the organization with his cash,
Erik Price. You can google him and find out what his priorities are like. Blackwater would be very dangerous in Africa. It would promote private corporate interests ahead of the needs of the poor people and destablize the country as it is doing in Iraq.

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 03 Apr 07 - 08:10 AM

National strike begins in Zimbabwe
POSTED: 6:35 a.m. EDT, April 3, 2007
Story Highlights• Two-day strike called by unions to protest deepening economic hardships
• Police reaction force, water cannon trucks deployed in potential trouble spots
• Police spokesman says planned strike has been declared illegal
• Strike comes amid political crisis after opposition leaders beaten by police
Adjust font size:
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Zimbabwean police and troops fanned out through impoverished townships Tuesday on the first day of a two-day national strike called to protest deepening economic hardships blamed on the government.

Police manned roadblocks across the capital. Four trucks carrying soldiers were seen headed to the southern town of Chitungwiza, 25 kilometers (15 miles) from Harare. Military helicopters flew over the nearby Epworth district.

Most downtown shops opened their doors. An electrical store kept one of its main entrance doors shut, a practice seen in previous strikes enabling businesses to close hurriedly in case of unrest. One bank was closed.

Police ordered township shops and bars to close early evening Monday as paramilitary police and water canon trucks were deployed, witnesses said.

There were no early reports of incidents or arrests. Commuter buses appeared to be operating normally with full loads of passengers.

A national reaction force of police and troops was sent to potential trouble spots, police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said, according to state radio reports Tuesday morning.

The strike was a likely "avenue for acts of violence" by government opponents, he said.

Security measures were in place to keep schools open on the last day of the term before the Easter break, Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu told state radio.

He described the strike -- known as a stayaway with workers being urged to stay at home and not to take to the streets -- as "irrational."

The government was "doing all it could to address the current economic challenges facing the country," the radio station quoted him as saying.

The main Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions called the strike to protest the country's economic crisis, accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement that fueled official inflation of nearly 1,700 percent -- the highest rate in the world -- as well as 80 percent unemployment and acute shortages of food, hard currency and gasoline.

Labor unions planned no street demonstrations for fear of inciting police action.

On Monday, Bvudzijena said the planned strike had been declared illegal and police were being "strategically deployed" at bus stations, outside businesses and factories and at commuter transport ranks in townships to stop intimidation of workers by labor activists.

He said police would protect people going to work and "going about their legal business."

Executives at one Harare engineering plant said its workers planned to ignore the strike because the lunch provided in the canteen was the only daily meal they could rely on. Other workers feared that participating in the strike would lead to their pay being withheld.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and top colleagues in the Movement for Democratic Change were hospitalized after being beaten by police while in custody last month after police violently stopped a Harare prayer meeting that had been declared an illegal political protest.

President Robert Mugabe has admitted that Tsvangirai and least 40 opposition activists were beaten in custody, and warned protesters they would be "bashed" again if violence continued -- a reference to government accusations that the opposition is to blame for a wave of unrest and petrol bomb attacks, allegations the opposition has repeatedly denied.

Fifteen opposition activists, nine of them ordered by a court to receive medical attention during the weekend for injuries allegedly inflicted by police, are scheduled to reappear in court Tuesday on violence-related charges, their lawyers said.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Stu
Date: 03 Apr 07 - 10:18 AM

Should we care about Africans?

Of course, we are all Africans - Africa is the birthplace of man.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Ross
Date: 04 Apr 07 - 05:16 AM

That could explain everything

If you were cynical

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 05 Apr 07 - 10:59 AM

Bodies cleared away as Mogadishu fighting calms
POSTED: 4:01 a.m. EDT, April 5, 2007

Story Highlights• Workers recover the dead as fighters, soldiers observe cease-fire
• Residents skeptical of truce, hundreds packing up and leaving
• At least 400 killed in heaviest fighting in Somalia in 15 years
• Ethiopian troops help Somali soldiers trying to rout Islamic insurgents

MOGADISHU, Somalia (Reuters) -- Workers carried the dead from the rubble of battle in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, moving amid fighters observing a cease-fire residents say is so tenuous many are gathering their belongings to leave.

In a third day of a truce after some of the heaviest fighting in the coastal capital in 15 years, Ethiopian and Somali government troops faced off less than 20 meters (66 feet) away from insurgents belonging to the dominant Hawiye clan and a defeated militant Islamist group.

Four workers, helped by the Red Crescent society, dredged through the wreckage of the four-day battle under a deal between the Hawiye and the Ethiopians to end the fighting that killed at least 400 people and allow for the recovery of corpses.

"We found one body at the gate of Mogadishu Stadium, and then we moved on and found more bodies. At the end, we collected 25 bodies," witness Abdi Dhaqane Iye said.

The dead included women, children and the elderly. Those charged with the grim task said they expected to find more. One old man lay in the road, his body crushed and branded with the mark of tank tread.

"If you had been there, you would not eat food for the next three days. The smell was overwhelming," Iye said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said the wounded numbered nearly 900, and the toll may be higher because many had not reached the hospital. The humanitarian group said it planned to start re-supplying hospitals on Thursday.

International diplomats meeting under the auspices of the International Contact Group on Somalia late on Tuesday urged a comprehensive cease-fire to stop the bloodshed, and also pressed the government to carry out an inclusive reconciliation.

President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim government is due to hold a national reconciliation conference in Mogadishu on April 16, but many doubt it will go ahead because of insecurity.

His administration is the 14th attempt at imposing central rule on the Horn of Africa nation, in anarchy since warlords including Yusuf helped topple Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.

Exodus of residents, skeptical of truce
Residents by the hundreds raced into their homes to take advantage of the lull in the fighting which shattered whole neighborhoods with indiscriminate tank, rocket and artillery fire, and drew international condemnation.

The joint Ethiopian-Somali interim government offensive was intended to wipe out an insurgency that has targeted them and rocked the city with almost daily attacks since a hardline Islamist movement was ousted in a war over the New Year.

At least 100,000 people have fled Mogadishu since February.

"I went back this morning and collected what was remaining at my home. I don't trust the truce. The fighting might start at any minute," trader Dahir Ali, 45, told Reuters as he raced to get out with hundreds of other residents.

The exodus of refugees has strained limited resources in the places where the fleeing have landed, and aid groups fear clashes could erupt over food, water and housing -- prices for all of which have skyrocketed.

Even in Mogadishu, people complained of higher prices and extortion. The price of a litre of gasoline had almost tripled to 28,000 Somali shillings ($1.71) after the fighting ended on Sunday, residents said.

Truckers who keep their vehicles in a garage in one of the pro-insurgent neighbourhoods complained of having to pay government soldiers bribes.

"We had to pay 500,000 shillings to get the trucks out because we couldn't get them during the fighting," Abdisalan Yusuf Osman, 40, said, adding that the two AK-47 assault rifles he keeps in the cab were also taken.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 05 Apr 07 - 11:51 AM

Washington Post:

Mugabe's Enablers

By Arnold Tsunga
Thursday, April 5, 2007; Page A17

When the heads of state of the Southern African Development Community convened last week in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to discuss the political situation in Zimbabwe, hopes among the Zimbabwean people ran high. President Robert Mugabe had recently extended his brutal efforts to crush dissent from his political opponents to include ordinary Zimbabweans. His ruling party left a trail of fractured bodies and two dead in its most recent crackdown.

With the economy in shreds and the tense political situation posing a security threat not only to Zimbabwe but potentially to its neighbors, too, there was an expectation that African leaders would finally act.

At the summit, however, the African leaders showed their indifference to the suffering that we ordinary people of Zimbabwe continue to endure. At the closing news conference, Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete announced that he and his fellow heads of state were "in support of the government and people of Zimbabwe."

"We got full backing; not even one [SADC leader] criticized our actions," Mugabe boasted after the summit.

Zimbabweans were left to wonder how neighboring governments can continue claiming to support the brutalizer and the brutalized at the same time.

As Mugabe's government continues its assault on the media, its political opponents, civil activists and human rights defenders, the danger to the population is growing. Nearly two years after the government's program of mass evictions and demolitions -- Operation Murambatsvina, or "Clear the Filth" -- hundreds of thousands continue to suffer catastrophic consequences.

In hindsight, we can see that this scheme was just the beginning. Mugabe sought to destabilize the population by arbitrarily destroying people's homes and property without notice, process or compensation; and by displacing thousands into rural areas, where they lack basic services such as health care, schools and clean water. Today, HIV-AIDS is rampant in my country, and there are acute food shortages. Young Zimbabweans have no meaningful educational opportunities, and Mugabe has wrecked the country's economy through macroeconomic chaos, endemic corruption and political patronage. Millions of black Zimbabweans who love their country have been forced to migrate out of this insecurity and hopelessness to live as second-class citizens in foreign lands.

Last month, Human Rights Watch documented how police forces in Harare, Bulawayo and Mutare have beaten Zimbabweans in the streets, in shopping malls and in bars. The terror has prompted many families in those areas to obey a self-imposed curfew after dark.

Mugabe is stronger than ever, though removed from the fact that Zimbabweans want to be liberated from oppression. Of course, a weakened and terrified population cannot fight back.

With Mugabe poised to rig five more catastrophic years in office, it is time for regional leaders to recognize that his campaigns of oppression make apartheid Rhodesia and South Africa look like amateurs. As Bishop Desmond Tutu has said, we as Africans must hang our heads in shame at our failure to make a difference to the suffering men, women and children of Zimbabwe.

When will Southern Africa's leaders decide they will no longer align themselves with tyranny? When will they abandon their failed strategy of "quiet diplomacy" and move to help the people of Zimbabwe?

African leaders and the international community must demand that the government of Zimbabwe stop its violence against political opponents; create a democratic environment through the repeal of repressive legislation; enact a democratic constitution; and hold free, fair elections that are supervised by the international community.

If Southern Africa's leaders finally break their silence about the catastrophe in their neighborhood, this could be the year Mugabe leaves office and Zimbabwe reintegrates itself into the world. Or they could remain silent and complicit, and this year could mark the beginning of an even steeper decline into oppression.

The writer is executive director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and secretary of the Law Society of Zimbabwe.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 07:25 AM

Nice to see effective action taken...


Universities may rescind Mugabe's honorary degrees
POSTED: 3:13 a.m. EDT, April 6, 2007

Story Highlights• UMass, Michigan State, University of Edinburgh gave Zimbabwe leader degrees
• Honorary degrees go to world leaders, renowned scholars and writers
• Mugabe once hailed as humane revolutionary who ended oppressive white rule
• Now, seen as tyrant who crushes opposition, oversees Zimbabwe's disintegration

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts (AP) -- Since 1885, the University of Massachusetts has awarded nearly 2,000 honorary degrees to world leaders, renowned scholars and writers.

Now for the first time, the university is considering taking one back -- from Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe.

When Mugabe received an honorary doctorate of law from the UMass-Amherst campus in 1986, he was hailed as a humane revolutionary who ended an oppressive white rule to establish an independent Zimbabwe in 1979. But in the two decades since, Mugabe has been condemned for attacks on dissidents and accused of running a corrupt government that has ruined the economy.

Some UMass students at the Boston campus have circulated a petition asking for the university to revoke Mugabe's degree, and officials say they're considering doing so.

Michigan State, U. of Edinburgh also concerned
The issue also has surfaced at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and Michigan State University, which gave Mugabe honorary degrees in 1984 and 1990, respectively.

Terry Denbow, a Michigan State spokesman, said administrators have received letters requesting that Mugabe's degree be rescinded.

"There have been discussions, but I know of no formal process for rescinding the degree," Denbow said, adding that Michigan State has stopped its study abroad program in Zimbabwe.

Officials at Edinburgh said the issue of Mugabe's degree was under review.

According to UMass policy, honorary degrees are handed out to people "of great accomplishment and high ethical standards." Recipients have included Nelson Mandela, former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, author Toni Morrison and comedian and educator Bill Cosby.

Mugabe 'has become a scourge of Africa'
Once lauded as a model for African democracy, Mugabe has tried to crush opposition to his power and has threatened to expel Western envoys for criticizing his government.

Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate and suffers from shortages of food, hard currency, gasoline and essential imports. The country's Roman Catholic bishops said last month that health, education and other public services "have all but disintegrated."

"Mugabe has become a scourge of his people and a scourge of Africa," said Michael Thelwell, a professor in the UMass Afro-American studies department. "He has degenerated as a political leader and as a human being."

Thelwell was one of the professors who encouraged the school to award Mugabe an honorary degree in 1986.

"They gave it to the Robert Mugabe of the past, who was an inspiring and hopeful figure and a humane political leader at the time," he said. "The university has nothing to apologize for in giving a degree to the Robert Mugabe of 20 years ago. And they wouldn't imagine giving an honorary degree to the Robert Mugabe of today."

But Thelwell and others cautioned against revoking the degree just to appease Mugabe's critics.

"The task of intellectuals is to seek the truth, not to be swayed by pressures of the moment," said Bill Strickland, a UMass politics professor. "If they take away the degree, they have to look at all the facts surrounding what is happening in Zimbabwe and not simply blame just one person."

Bill Wright, a spokesman for UMass president Jack Wilson, said university officials and trustees were "just in the discussion phase" about what to do with Mugabe's degree.

If they decide they want to withdraw the honor, it is not likely to happen anytime soon. While the university has a detailed procedure for awarding the degrees, there is no process for taking one back.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Mike Miller
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 09:51 AM

My God, MSU is considering thinking about decertifying Mugabe's degreee. Wow, that'll get his attention. Without his degree, he will have to take a minimum wage job at Walmart and he won't have time to victimize Zimbabwe.
If that doesn't work, we can, always, hit him with a chorus of "Kumbaya". Well, I guess that is better than wringing our hands and admitting our inability to fight evil wherever it rears its ugly head.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 06 Apr 07 - 03:23 PM

Zimbabwe's rural dwellers brace for food shortages by Susan Njanji
Fri Apr 6, 10:08 AM ET



BIKITA, Zimbabwe (AFP) - Winnie Mupunga normally produces 40,000 kilogrammes (40 tonnes) of the staple corn cereal on her smallholding in southwestern Zimbabwe but this year she does not expect to harvest even 500.

"This is all I have to show for the past year," she said pointing to acres of emaciated metre-long brown maize stalks bearing tiny cobs or nothing at all.

"We'll just have to rely on handouts this year."

Zimbabwe, formerly the regions breadbasket, has been hit by a drought in several of its 10 provinces which has served to compound the hardship of a nation already reeling under the effects of a 1,730 percent inflation rate.

Bikita district, 400 kilometres (250 miles) southwest of the capital in Masvingo province is one of the areas worst affected by the drought.

A few kilometres from the Mupunga homestead reside Ngwarai and Mabel Zevezanayi, a couple in their late fifties who are responsible for the upkeep of nine dependents, among them five grandchildren aged under 12 years.

But all they have left is 20 kilogrammes of sorghum donated by an international relief agency operating in the area.

"We have no produce to talk about this year," said Mabel.

There is no news of when next they are lined up for handouts.

And the largest foreign food relief agency operating in the country, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP), announced this week that it was scaling down aid to Zimbabwe starting April.

WFP fed some 1.5 million most vulnerable people over the past three months, the most critical time of the year dubbed the pre-harvest "lean season" when poor families routinely struggle to find enough to eat.

"With the annual harvest due in April, WFP is scaling down its aid operations in Zimbabwe from this month, reducing the number of beneficiaries to 256,000 in April," said the agency in a statement.

Meantime, the Zevezanayi family, with no other source of income, resorts to brewing traditional beer with part of the donated grains so it can make a bit of money for other essentials.

"We are brewing this beer to sell. Maybe we can get some cash to pay for the milling of the little grain we have left," said Mabel of the sorghum she is so sure will not last her family even a week.

To save the meagre grains, the family skips meals.

"We dont even remember what breakfast tastes like. It's only the children who have anything before they go off to school -- a few peanuts and some tea without any sugar," she added as she spooned some sorghum porridge into the hungry mouth of her four-month-old grandson.

"I can hardly sleep when I try to think of where I will get food for my family."

In the previous two drought years, she had chickens which she could either sell or slaughter for her family to eat but the poultry has now all gone.

Down the road at Masarira primary school, about 30 children receive a daily ration of beans and starch-based cereals during their mid-morning break. For some it is the only meal they will have in the day, said headteacher Zvinavashe Takabvirakare.

"When we have no food stocks, we experience numerous cases of pupils fainting in class" as a result of hunger, he said.

"Unless there is food aid, I think this time it's going to be very difficult for the children.

"The drought has been persistent for about four years and now, coupled with the harsh economic conditions, it's worse."

When the food shortages are severe, on average 10 percent of the 470 pupils drop out, but in the kindergarten section, not even half bother to walk several kilometres back and forth on an empty stomach.

Authorities and aid agencies are yet to study the full impact of the drought but the opposition has warned that the country will fall 1.3 million tonnes short of its food needs this year.

The government has admitted food will run out in parts of the country, but said the shortages will not be critical.

"The situation is really not very serious to say there will be a crisis," Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said Tuesday.

The cash-strapped government has already started importing grain to avert starvation.

Finance Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi last month spoke of plans to import about 400,000 tonnes of maize to make up for a possible food shortfall.

Bikita district chief Johnston Mupamhadzi said: "It's going to be bad, this is the worst drought" in recent years.

"We really need assistance because the district has not produced enough for the past four years," he said.

Zimbabwe is already saddled with economic crisis characterised by a four-digit rate of inflation, unemployment of around 80 percent and chronic shortages of basic foodstuffs like cooking oil, sugar and foreign currency.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Barry Finn
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 09:53 AM

Although this thread was titled about the plight of Africans & is focused on Zimbabwe and it's president, Mugabe & his awful rule there are other African nations that are also in need of disprate help. Not to take away from Zimbabwe's cry. AIDS is crippling the the economies of many countries along with drought. Corruption in many of the African's nation are also kiiling it's people & starving them off. Some of these nations are very wealthy in resources but are being raped by foriegn companies that are taken all they can from the land & sea without paying more than a pitence to those that are in power while the rest go bare. For sure it is an African problem that should be dealt with by a joint African congress but all resources, infulences should be given to a congress that askes for it if they are seen to be just & fair in their dealings with these problems & a joint effort should be brought to bare on all who'd oppose this congress.
The only draw back is that it does not seem to be a big enough problem for nations that presently have industries that profit in what's happening to Africa & why help if it's gonna cost far more than what other wise would amount to a handout.
Should we care, of course, can we afford to care, yes. Do we care or care to to care, I don't think so, not until it directly effects US, as usual. We may put forth a showing effort but if we invested more & did it for the right reasons we could take some of our value in the pride of seeing millions of Africans survive and this says nothing of our lack of motovation in putting an end to the dictorships that are commiting genocide.
Should we care yes, do we care? Not enough it seems.

Barry

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Barry Finn
Date: 07 Apr 07 - 10:21 AM

"Do we care or care to to care" Sorry, that should read; Do we dare or care to care.

BTW, thanks BB for starting this thread about a topic that should be getting more world attention & doesn't.

Barry

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 09 Apr 07 - 02:32 PM

As I have stated before, in the future our inaction over genocides, especally in Africa, will (IMO) be our greatest regret.

8-{E

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 09 Apr 07 - 03:55 PM

Zimbabwe's bishops warn of uprising if Mugabe stays
POSTED: 8:35 p.m. EDT, April 8, 2007

Story Highlights• Easter letter was pinned to church bulletin boards around the country
• The letter is titled "God Hears the Cries of the Oppressed"
• Pope Benedict XVI also singled out Zimbabwe as troubled in Easter address
• Zimbabwe's Anglican church has been more muted; generally toeing party line


HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- In an Easter message pinned to church bulletin boards around the country, Zimbabwe's Roman Catholic bishops called on President Robert Mugabe to leave office or face "open revolt" from those suffering under his government.

The letter, titled "God Hears the Cries of the Oppressed," was the most critical pastoral message since Zimbabwe won independence from Britain in 1980 and Mugabe assumed leadership of the country for the first time.

Once prosperous, the country is reeling under hyperinflation of more than 1,700 percent, 80 percent unemployment, shortages of food and other basic goods and one of the world's lowest life expectancies.

"As the suffering population becomes more insistent, generating more and more pressure through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, the state responds with ever harsher oppression through arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings and torture," the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference said in a pastoral message pinned up at churches throughout the country.

The majority of Zimbabwe's Christians -- including Mugabe -- are Roman Catholics. Several thousand worshippers who packed the cathedral in Harare clustered around the bulletin boards to read the message after morning Mass on Sunday.

"Many people in Zimbabwe are angry, and their anger is now erupting into open revolt in one township after another," the nine bishops wrote.

"In order to avoid further bloodshed and avert a mass uprising, the nation needs a new people-driven constitution that will guide a democratic leadership chosen in free and fair elections," it said.

A similar letter in the nearby nation of Malawi pressured longtime dictator Hastings Kamuzu Banda into holding a referendum on reform in 1992 and calling democratic elections, which he lost, ending 30 years of brutal rule.

"We cannot yet say what the response of our congregations will be, but basic biblical teachings apply. Oppression is not negotiable. It must stop before there can be any dialogue," said the Rev. Oskar Wermter of the Catholic communications secretariat in Harare.

Wermter said the bishops wanted the contents of the letter to receive the widest possible distribution. The letter was delivered in the traditional rural strongholds of Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party across the country, where priests showed what he called a very strong interest in it.

In his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" Easter address from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, Pope Benedict XVI singled out Zimbabwe among other troubled countries.

"Zimbabwe is in the grip of a grievous crisis and for this reason the bishops of that country in a recent document indicated prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as the only way forward," the pope said in his Easter message which he read to tens of thousands of faithful in St. Peter's Square.

The bishops called for a day of prayer and fasting April 14 and said there would be a prayer service for Zimbabwe every week after that.

The Anglican church has been more muted, with its leaders generally toeing the ruling party line.

Police in Zimbabwe violently broke up a multi-denominational prayer meeting March 11, describing it as a banned demonstration. Two pro-democracy activists died and Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change, and a dozen senior colleagues were hospitalized after beatings.

Mugabe subsequently headed off a challenge to his leadership to win party support to stand for another presidential term in national elections in 2008. There was no response from the government Sunday to the pastoral letter and Mugabe was out of the country.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 23 Apr 07 - 01:59 PM

Fighting rages in Somali capital as bodies rot in streets
POSTED: 8:11 a.m. EDT, April 23, 2007
Story Highlights• Six days of fighting leaves more than 200 people dead in Mogadishu
• Islamic insurgents battle Ethiopian troops backing Somalia's government forces
• U.N.: Clashes spark the worst humanitarian crisis in the country's recent history
• Many residents trapped by closed roads
Adjust font size:
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Heavy shelling and tank fire rocked Mogadishu Monday, the sixth straight day of raging battles in the capital that have plunged the country deeper into chaos and left more than 200 people dead.

Masked Islamic insurgents clashed with Ethiopian troops backing the fragile Somali government's forces in the southern part of the battle-scarred coastal city, pounding each other with machine-gun fire, mortars, tank shells and heavy artillery.

At least four people were killed in Monday's fighting, said Khadija Farah, who saw a shell hit a residential area north of the city and kill three men and a women. Farah added a six-month-old baby was wounded.

The United Nations said the fighting had sparked the worst humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged country's recent history, with many of the city's residents trapped because roads out of Mogadishu were blocked.

Rotting bodies have been left on the streets for days, witnesses said, as it is too dangerous to try to retrieve them. At least six people were wounded early Monday, said Medina Hospital director Dahir Dhere, but he expected fatalities.

Halime Ibrahim, who fled from south of the city, which saw the worst fighting for more than 15 years, said she had seen 11 bodies. "I even failed to recognize if they were men or women," she told The Associated Press.

"Masked Somali fighters who dug in near my house are in an intensive fight with Ethiopian and Somali troops since early morning," said Hassan Mohamed Ali lives in Tawfiq neighborhood and opted to remain behind to look after his family's house. From time to time, Ali was checking the fighting from his window.

The latest fighting flared after Ethiopian and Somali government troops made a final military push to try to wipe out the insurgency, Western diplomatic and Somali government sources told the AP on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The government and its Ethiopian backers were facing international pressure over the mounting death toll and appeared determined to bring order before a planned national reconciliation conference.

Ethiopian troops opened fire with tank shells and artillery from the presidential palace early Monday at insurgent positions in the south, said resident Osman Ali Yusuf who said one of the shells hit near his house. Yusuf, who monitors the fighting from his rooftop, said he had seen two tanks stationed at the strategic Tawfiq junction that divides the south from the north of Mogadishu where the two sides are facing off.

Ethiopians are in the north. The insurgency they are trying to end and which emerged after the defeat of the Council of Islamic Courts is operating from the south of the city of 2 million people. Clan and warlord militia have also joined the fight against the Ethiopians and government forces.

A bid earlier this month to wipe out the insurgency left more than 1,000 people dead, many of them civilians. More than 320,000 people have fled the fighting.

Elman Human Rights Organization that records casualties in the capital, said six insurgents and 41 civilians died on Sunday alone. They did not have any casualty figures for either Ethiopian or Somali government soldiers.

"The killing of civilians like this is a crime against humanity," said Sudan Ali Ahmed, the chairman of the group. "We urge the international community to send a team to investigate these crimes. They are war crimes."

The new tallies bring the death toll in five days of fighting in Mogadishu to at least 212, with more than 291 wounded, according to the human rights group.

A Somali government official warned on Sunday that his government planned a major offensive against the insurgents soon and wanted residents of the capital to move from insurgent strongholds.

"People in Mogadishu should vacate their homes that are located near the strongholds of terrorists, and we will crack down on insurgents and terrorists very soon," said Deputy Defense Minister Salad Ali Jelle.

In a separate development that could increase tension in the Horn of Africa, Eritrea suspended its membership in a regional body that mediated the Somali conflict Saturday.

The region is already tense because of the unresolved border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia that has seen the two countries go to war in the past. In recent months, the Somalia conflict has also been seen as a proxy war between the two, with each backing rival sides.

U.S. officials have named Eritrea as a supporter the months-old insurgency in Mogadishu, something Eritrea has denied.

Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy.

The transitional government was formed in 2004 with U.N. help, but has struggled to extend its control over the country.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 24 Apr 07 - 07:17 AM

Nigerian vote denounced as flawed
POSTED: 3:44 p.m. EDT, April 23, 2007

Story Highlights• Ruling party candidate Yar'Adua declared winner of Nigerian presidential election
• Chief EU observer says election "cannot be considered to have been credible"
• Outgoing president Obasanjo admits electoral process was "not perfect"
• 65 people have been killed in violence related to Saturday's vote

ABUJA, Nigeria (Reuters) -- Nigeria's ruling party candidate Umaru Yar'Adua was declared winner on Monday of a presidential poll rejected by the opposition and condemned by observers as a "charade."

The observers and opposition politicians said Saturday's vote for the first handover of power from one civilian leader to another in Africa's most populous nation and top oil producer was manipulated through violence and rigging.

Electoral commission head Maurice Iwu declared Yar'Adua of the People's Democratic Party the winner with 24.6 million votes, far ahead of his closest rival, former army strongman Muhammadu Buhari, with 6.6 million.

Buhari rejected the result as "blatantly rigged" and called on parliament to impeach President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Thousands of opposition youths started street fires in the northern city of Kano but the protest was quelled by police and reaction elsewhere was muted.

World oil prices rose sharply on Monday because of fears of further violence in the world's eighth largest oil exporter, where militant attacks have already curbed output.

Nigeria, scarred by decades of corrupt dictatorship and military rule since independence from Britain in 1960, returned to civilian government in 1999.

Yar'Adua said he was "greatly humbled" and would reach out to the opposition. "I intend to invite them to join hands with me to work for this country," he said.

Observers: Election a 'charade'
European Union observers cited poor election organization, lack of transparency, significant evidence of fraud, voter disenfranchisement, violence and bias.

"These elections have not lived up to the hopes and expectations of the Nigerian people and the process cannot be considered to have been credible," said chief EU observer Max van den Berg.

The United States said the vote was "flawed" but stopped short of calling for it to be overturned. Problems should be resolved peacefully and according to the constitution, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.

A coalition of civil society observers called in a statement for the vote to be cancelled and held again.

"The election was a charade. A democratic arrangement founded on such fraud can have no legitimacy," they said.

But any annulment would plunge Nigeria into a constitutional crisis because by law Obasanjo must hand over power on May 29.

Obasanjo said the election could not be described as perfect but appealed to aggrieved losers to use the courts for any complaints over the next five weeks.

"Nothing should be done to make our people lose faith in the electoral process and its democratic outcome," he said.

Analysts had predicted Yar'Adua would win because of the ruling party's unrivalled funds and powers of incumbency, but Buhari had been expected to put in a much stronger showing because of widespread disaffection with poverty and crime.

About 65 people have been killed in the past 10 days in election-related crime. Four people were killed in armed clashes between criminal gangs in the southern oil capital Port Harcourt but there was no obvious link to the election.

The government has labeled critics of the poll coup-plotters and linked them to a failed attempt to blow up the electoral commission headquarters on Saturday with a fuel tanker.

Police arrested protesters at the headquarters in the capital Abuja on Sunday and banned all rallies.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Charley Noble
Date: 24 Apr 07 - 07:48 AM

There are limits to what outside armed intervention can accomplish, and the Ethiopians (who should know better) are re-learning that lesson in Somalia. Of course, it's likely that the Ethiopians would be satisfied with continued anarchy in Somalia. What the Ethiopians don't want is a strong unified aggressive Islamic state as a neighbor. At least half of Ethiopia's population has been traditionally Muslim, and there is some potential for a Muslim/Orthodox Christian civil war, not to mention several other forms of civil war in Ethiopia.

At the same time Ethiopia is one of the staunchest allies of the United States in Africa, and we are no doubt supporting their armed intervention into Somalia.

This is just my opinion, but I'm usually right!

Charley Noble
Ethiopia Peace Corps Volunteer 1965-1968

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Mike Miller
Date: 24 Apr 07 - 09:30 AM

In a sectarian conflict, armed intervention is the only effective tool. We can wring our hands, apply economic sanctions, introduce stongly worded resolutions and congradulate ourselves for our moral stand but, for those poor souls in the line of fire, we can only observe and condemn. Unless we are willing to send real troops with real bullets (and kill real people), our protestations are empty gestures.
Condemning Ethiopia for intervening in Somalia is short sighted, even if their intervention is on the "wrong" side. Any nation that might experience a civil war, based on religion, should feel threatened and should act to prevent that war. Theocracies are, historically, intolerant and expansive. Nothing justifies injustice like faith.
What, then, is a moral people to do, in the face of atrocities? Intervention is not the answer unless we have learned nothing from a past adventures. Dictators abound and ethnic animosities are ingrained. We can not be the sword of justice, even if we, really, knew what the just side was, every time. We can, only, follow the example of Candide and tend our own gardens. It is not immoral to recognise limitations.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: Stringsinger
Date: 24 Apr 07 - 11:58 AM

BB on this issue, we agree. Liked the article.

Frank Hamilton

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 24 Apr 07 - 02:40 PM

74 killed in attack on Ethiopia oil field
POSTED: 9:20 a.m. EDT, April 24, 2007

Story Highlights• Seven Chinese workers kidnapped during raid
• Ethiopian rebel group warned last year against projects in area
• China increasing presence in Africa as need for natural resources grows

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- Gunmen raided a Chinese-run oil field in eastern Ethiopia on Tuesday, killing 65 Ethiopians and nine Chinese workers, an official of the Chinese company said.

Seven Chinese workers were kidnapped in the morning attack at the oil installation in a disputed region near the Somali border, Xu Shuang, the general manager of Zhongyuan Petroleum Exploration Bureau, said.

China has increased its presence in Africa in recent years in a hunt for oil and other natural resources to feed its rapidly growing economy. Its forays into areas considered politically unstable, however, has exposed Chinese workers to attacks.

No one claimed responsibility for Tuesday's raid, but an Ethiopian rebel group warned last year that any investment in the Ogaden area that also benefited the Ethiopian government "would not be tolerated."

The Ogaden National Liberation Front is fighting a low-level insurgency with the aim of creating an independent state for ethnic Somalis. Somalia lost control of the region in a war in 1977.

The rebel group also has been fighting Ethiopian troops inside Somalia, where Ethiopia has been backing the government in crushing an Islamic movement and re-establishing control over the country.

In Nigeria, armed militants seeking a greater share of that country's oil wealth kidnapped nine Chinese oil workers in January, and two more in March. Two were still being held, though hostages are normally released unharmed in Nigeria, after a ransom is paid.

Also in March in Nigeria, five Chinese telecommunications workers were abducted for two weeks.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: GUEST,Partridge
Date: 24 Apr 07 - 03:13 PM

I have a very personal interst in Zimbabwe, I was born there and lots of my extended family lived there. It was Rhodesia when I was born, and it has gone bad. Extended family have moved back to the UK with nothing, meaning they they lost everything.

Mugabe is a corrupt person, the previous posts show that. I think that we will have to let time take its toll and he will eventually die and I hope thats soon and someome will take over that has some goodness and a sense of what is right. The political stuff is far too complicated.

Zimbabwe used to be one of the most self sufficient countries in Africa, I can only hope that in the very near future it returns to that state - for the good of its people.

Pat x

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 25 Apr 07 - 11:54 AM

Nigeria's president says elections not fatally flawed
POSTED: 5:38 p.m. EDT, April 24, 2007

Story Highlights• Obasanjo: Don't judge country by developed-world standards
• Opposition rejects win by Umaru Yar'Adua
• Observers say election not credible after massive improprieties
A
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- President Olusegun Obasanjo said in remarks released Tuesday that Nigeria's deeply flawed weekend presidential elections should not be voided and asked observers not to judge his country by developed-world standards.

The political opposition has rejected the Saturday vote, won by Umaru Yar'Adua of Obasanjo's ruling party, that local and international observers said was not credible after massive improprieties, including ballot-box stuffing.

Obasanjo reiterated his acknowledgement that the vote had been flawed, but said "the magnitude does not make the results null and void."

He said election observers should not only criticize, but help.

"We should not be measured by European standards. Nigeria has come a long way from when I first voted. We are better than 20 years ago," he said in statement, which indicated he made the comments originally to the British Broadcasting Corp.

The campaign for the third-place challenger, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, said he rejected the result announced Monday and said he would mount a court challenge.

The runner up, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, also rejected the vote as rigged by Obasanjo's ruling party, and a party spokesman said a final response was still being formulated.

The spokesman, Abba Kyari, said his party, the country's leading opposition group, was not calling for mass demonstrations.

He said public rallies could spark massive unrest in his chaotic nation and that a decision to stage protests would only be made after careful consideration.

"We prepared for elections, we didn't prepare for war," he told The Associated Press.

The elections were meant to boost civilian rule and stability in Africa's top oil producer, where some 15,000 people have died in political violence since 1999 as factions fought for power in a political space liberated by the end of strict military rule that year.

Questions about the elections' legitimacy undermined the voting for Nigeria's first transfer of power from one elected civilian to another. All other civilian transfers of power between elected officials have been undermined by annulments or military coups. Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960.

President-elect Umaru Yar'Adua, the 56-year old governor of a heavily Muslim northern state, is scheduled to take over the presidency on May 29.

Obasanjo, a former military ruler, won a 1999 election that ended 15 years of near-constant military rule. His 2003 re-election was marked by allegations of massive vote rigging. The opposition says the elections were the worst-ever in Nigeria.

Dozens of Nigerians have died in civil strife related to the presidential election and a week-earlier vote for state officials that the ruling party also won, and the outcome seemed unlikely to stanch further bloodshed, like a low-intensity armed struggle in the country's oil-producing region.

Oil prices rose on news from Nigeria, in part because of concern about Nigeria, a country of 140 million people.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 25 Apr 07 - 11:55 AM

Aid held up as battles plunge Somalia into crisis
POSTED: 2:55 p.m. EDT, April 24, 2007

Story Highlights• More than 320,000 Mogadishu residents flee fighting, U.N. says
• Government demands to inspect all food and medical shipments
• Tens of thousands of residents remain trapped by the violence

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- Somalia's government is holding up vital aid to tens of thousands of people as car bombs and street fighting Tuesday brought the death toll to nearly 1,500 in less than a month, sending this country lurching toward catastrophe, diplomats and witnesses warned.

Tuesday's fighting came hours after U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on warring sides to end the violence and allow humanitarian assistance to reach the needy. The Somali government and its Ethiopian allies are trying to quash a growing Islamic insurgency but civilians are getting caught in the crossfire.

The U.N. says more than 320,000 of Mogadishu's 2 million residents have fled since February, sending streams of people into squalid camps with little to eat, no shelter and disease spreading. The country is suffering its worst humanitarian crisis in the war-ravaged country's recent history, according to the U.N.

But the weak transitional government has been demanding to inspect all food and medical shipments, holding up potentially lifesaving aid, European and American officials warned in letters obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.

The United Nations, the European Union and the U.S. ambassador responsible for Somalia and Kenya have all appealed to Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi in letters over the past month to ease the demands, saying they were complicating the already difficult task of delivering aid to a violent and largely lawless country.

"The efforts of international agencies to come to the aid of these stricken people are being thwarted on the one hand by militia looting relief supplies, demanding 'taxes' and violently threatening aid workers, and on the other by administrative obstacles imposed by the Transitional Federal Government," the German ambassador to Kenya, writing on behalf of the European Union, said in an April 20 letter to Yusuf.

U.S. Ambassador Michael Ranneberger wrote in an April 17 letter to Yusuf that the government should stop "halting distribution of food aid for unspecified inspections." He also said at least one government-appointed regional governor "required payment for the transit of relief goods on top of payments already made to militia checkpoints. These practices are unacceptable and undermine the legitimacy of your government."

In an April 12 letter to Gedi, Graham Farmer, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, said soldiers at a military checkpoint outside Mogadishu turned back a World Food Program shipment that would have benefited 32,000 people because the government had not given clearance.

The letters were provided to the AP by an aid official who asked not to be named for fear of being fired.

Somali Interior Minister Mohamed Mohamud Guled wrote in an April 9 letter to the United Nations' World Food Program that, "no food distribution can take place anywhere in Somalia without being inspected and approved by the government."

He did not give a reason, but told the AP last week that "it is our duty to monitor for security reasons all humanitarian aid." Somali officials could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

Government inspections are not unheard of for aid agencies, but Somalia's relatively new administration lacks the capacity to process the massive quantities of assistance. Several large shipments of food have been turned back because there was no clearance from government, according to aid agencies and diplomats.

One car bomb went off Tuesday outside the Ambassador Hotel, which is used as a base by Somali lawmakers, killing seven civilians were killed, witnesses said. The other car bomb, a suspected suicide attack, exploded outside an Ethiopian military base 18 miles (30 kilometers) from the capital, after troops opened fire on a minibus that was speeding toward them, local resident Mayow Mohamed said.

Artillery fire and mortar shells also rained down on the capital. In total, 358 people have been killed and 680 wounded in the past seven days, according to a committee set up by Mogadishu's dominant clan to assess the fighting.

Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on one another, throwing the country into anarchy. The current administration was formed in 2004 but has struggled to extend its control over the country.

The insurgents are linked to the Council of Islamic Courts, a hard-line religious movement that had controlled Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia for six quiet months in 2006. Somali and Ethiopian troops drove the group from power over the New Year. The militants reject any secular government, and vow to fight until Somalia becomes an Islamic state.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 26 Apr 07 - 11:41 AM

U.N. says Mogadishu becoming 'ghost city'
POSTED: 1:11 p.m. EDT, April 25, 2007

Story Highlights• Somali government, Ethiopians trying to crush Islamist insurgents, clan militia
• U.N. says 340,000 people have fled city, many sleep outdoors
• Agency fears health disaster looms
• 300 people killed in a week of fighting in Islamist stronghold in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia (Reuters) -- The Somali capital Mogadishu is becoming a "ghost city" as residents flee a government offensive to crush Islamist insurgents and clan militia, the United Nations refugee agency said on Wednesday.

Shelling and machine-gun fire shook the coastal city for an eighth day, although residents said Wednesday's fighting was lighter than in previous days.

Allied Somali-Ethiopian forces are battling Islamist rebels frustrating the interim government's bid to restore central rule in the Horn of Africa nation for the first time in 16 years.

The United Nations says nearly 340,000 people have fled the coastal city in recent weeks, many sleeping in the open or under trees. It has warned of a looming health disaster.

"Civilians are still fleeing at a very high rate," the U.N. refugee agency said in a statement on Wednesday. "At least half the capital is deserted, slowly turning it into a ghost city."

Locals, officials and human rights workers say nearly 300 people have been killed in a week of fighting that has focused on an Islamist stronghold in the north of a city which was once home to at least a million people.

Somali media said leaders of the city's dominant Hawiye clan were meeting Ethiopian army officers to try to find common ground for a ceasefire, but gave no other details. Hawiye elders could not immediately be reached for comment.

"The shelling is still going on, but it is less heavy than yesterday. But it is still too dangerous to venture out," said one resident who asked not to be named.

Some miss relative calm of Islamists' rule
For many Mogadishu residents, accustomed to chaos and violence over the past decade and a half, the fighting contrasts with the relative stability during the Islamists' six-month rule, before they were ousted in a war over the New Year.

"This experience dramatically underlines the benefits of the brief period of 'Islamist' authority in southern Somalia which already begins to seem like a 'Golden Age'," Britain's Chatham House think tank said in a report on Wednesday.

"The (government) is simply not trusted by the populace, nor does it represent the powerful interest groups in Mogadishu."

As the battles intensified on Tuesday, a car bomb killed four civilians in central Mogadishu and a suicide attacker struck at Ethiopian troops at a base in Afgooye, a small farming town on the western outskirts.

An Islamist militant group claimed responsibility for both.

The group, calling itself the Young Mujahideen Movement in Somalia, said a Kenyan member named Othman Otibo carried out the suicide bombing at the Ethiopian military base in Afgooye.

"Following this blessed martyrdom operation, a seven-minute clash broke out between the victorious lions of unification (Islam) and the remnants of the...defeated Ethiopians," it said in an Internet statement posted on Wednesday.

The authenticity of the statement could not be verified. It was posted on a Web site used by Islamist militants fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 27 Apr 07 - 12:41 PM

Britain slams 'outright rigged' election in Nigeria
POSTED: 10:20 a.m. EDT, April 27, 2007

Story Highlights• Britain says result "not credible," but urges opposition to seek redress lawfully
• Ruling party presidential candidate Umaru Yar'Adua won landslide victory
• President Olusegun Obasanjo is due to hand over to Yar'Adua on May 29
• Opposition plans series of mass protests on May 1

LAGOS, Nigeria (Reuters) -- Former colonial power Britain denounced "outright rigging" in Nigeria's elections, but urged the opposition to stick to the constitution in seeking redress.

The electoral commission gave the ruling party candidate, Umaru Yar'Adua, a landslide victory in Saturday's presidential poll, but the opposition called for it to be cancelled and held again after international observers said the result was not credible.

"It was not just a question of disorganization, but there was outright rigging and the results were frankly not credible," High Commissioner Richard Gozney said at a reception in Lagos on Thursday night.

"It is up to Nigerians to decide what should happen next. But we do make a plea for people to stick strictly to constitutional means," he added.

President Olusegun Obasanjo is due to hand over to Yar'Adua on May 29, in what would be the first transfer of power from one civilian president to another since Nigeria gained independence from Britain in 1960.

Obasanjo has urged the opposition to seek redress through election tribunals.

Some opposition groups have called for the National Assembly to install an interim government headed by Senate President Ken Nnamani to run fresh elections, but Nnamani has rejected the idea as unconstitutional.

The opposition is also planning a series of mass protests starting on Tuesday, when trade unions stage their annual May Day parade.

"If constitutionality prevails in Nigeria over the next few weeks that in itself will be a very big step forward," Gozney said, adding that Britain would not accept or endorse any unconstitutional outcome.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 01 May 07 - 08:12 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/africa/04/30/ivory.coast.reut/index.html

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 04 May 07 - 02:52 PM

Problem solved!


Mayor of Mogadishu bans weapons By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, Associated Press Writer
Fri May 4, 9:30 AM ET



MOGADISHU, Somalia - A former warlord who has long lived by his gun was sworn in as mayor of Mogadishu on Friday and immediately ordered residents of the Somali capital to get rid of their weapons.

But Mayor Mohamed Dheere offered no clear details on how that could be accomplished in a city awash in Kalashnikov rifles, machine guns and hand grenades. Previous efforts to get residents to give up their weapons have been unsuccessful.

"No weapons are allowed in the city," Dheere, who spent 16 years as a warlord struggling for power in this Horn of Africa nation, said at his inauguration ceremony. "Anyone who violates this directive will be punished."

The new police chief, Abdi Qeybdiid, also called for residents to disarm Friday, and said cars with blacked-out or tinted windows must go.

"Anyone who fails to abide by these rules will be brought before the court," he said — a surprising assertion in a city that has seen little more than chaos for more than a decade.

Dheere is trying to build on a fragile peace carved out by clan deal-making and a fierce military crackdown on Muslim militants.

Aid groups say 1,670 people were killed between March 12 and April 26 and more than 340,000 of the city's 2 million residents fled for safety as the government, backed by Ethiopian troops, pressed to wipe out an Islamic insurgency.

It was not clear how long the calm would last — extremist Islamic leaders have vowed their forces would rise up again. But the violence was also spurred by a struggle for power among Somali clans, and that element may have subsided because of efforts to appease the clans, including the weekend appointment of Dheere as mayor. Dheere's powerful clan, the Hawiye, had complained of being ignored by the government.

Somalia has been mired in chaos since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned against each other. The current government was established in 2004, but has failed to assert full control.

With the crucial aid of troops from neighboring Ethiopia, Somali forces ousted a militant Islamic group known as the Council of Islamic Courts over the New Year. But the group promised to launch an       Iraq-style insurgency, and the capital was soon enduring weeks of artillery battles and shelling between the warring sides.

The relentless violence is among the reasons many Somalis have been reluctant to give up their arms. But in a hopeful sign for the government, several members of the powerful business community in the capital handed over 25 boxes and 20 sacks filled with weapons, saying they would now depend on government forces to protect them.

But violence and crime continues to be a challenge. On Thursday, gunmen seized three boats off the coast of Somalia's semiautonomous Puntland region, said Andrew Mwangura, head of the Kenyan chapter of the Seafarers Assistance Program. Mwangura had no update on the situation Friday.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 10 May 07 - 11:53 AM

Villagers flee killings as 'peace' plan backfires
POSTED: 1:15 p.m. EDT, May 9, 2007

Story Highlights• "I buried my child in the forest," says one mother who fled village in Congo
• 600,000 flee homes as army meant to protect them kills, rapes villagers
• Violence result of plan to integrate rebels into regular army

NYONGERA, Congo (Reuters) -- "I buried my child in the forest," said Jeannette Nyirarukundo, who fled her village in eastern Congo when it was attacked by the government army meant to protect it.

Six-year-old Moise starved to death before the family reached the safety of a camp at Nyongera, 70 kilometers (44 miles) from North Kivu's provincial capital Goma.

Some 113,000 civilians have fled fighting in Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu since February, and the province now has 600,000 displaced people, according to the U.N. humanitarian coordination agency OCHA.

'They came for us there, too'
"We slept in the forest for two weeks, and then they came after us there too. It wasn't safe anymore, and we came here," said Nyirarukundo, 28, who was accompanied by her husband and three surviving children.

Eastern Congo is no stranger to violence, but ironically the latest surge in killing started with a deal designed to bring peace to this corner of the vast country nearly four years after a nationwide accord officially ended a 1998-2003 war.

Laurent Nkunda, a dissident Congolese army general, led his two brigades into the bush in 2004, vowing to protect his fellow ethnic Tutsis. He is under an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes after his men occupied Bukavu, South Kivu.

After last year's historic polls saw President Joseph Kabila become Congo's first democratically elected leader in more than four decades, the army and Rwandan mediators began negotiations to bring Nkunda and his soldiers into existing army brigades stationed in North Kivu. That process began in January.

But instead of ending the violence, the five new mixed brigades began hunting down Nkunda's enemies in the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu-dominated Rwandan rebel movement based in eastern Congo.

Mixed brigades kill, rape, force civilians from homes
"There's more and more movement every day ... If this military strategy continues, we could be looking at another 280,000 more (displaced)," said Luciano Calestini, emergency specialist for eastern Congo for U.N. Children's Fund UNICEF.

"The next six months is going to be a disaster. It's going to be catastrophic," he said.

Human rights observers accuse the mixed brigades of killing, raping and forcing civilians from their homes.

Soldiers from the mixed Bravo Brigade arbitrarily executed at least 15 mostly Hutu civilians in Buramba village about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Goma, the human rights division of Congo's U.N. peacekeeping mission said in a report.

Bravo Brigade commander Colonel Sultani Makenga blamed the massacre on the FDLR.

"What we did was separate the population from the FDLR. That's why the villages are uninhabited," Makenga told Reuters in an interview. "We evacuated the civilians in order to fight the FDLR alone ... It was to protect them."

'We are in the hands of a killer'
Makenga said operations would continue until the FDLR were chased out of Congo or destroyed.

Dominique Bofondo, territorial administrator of Rutshuru, where Bravo Brigade is based, said civilians now lived in fear of the mixed brigades.

"These are the same soldiers who killed people, who raped women. And now they are here to take care of us? ... We are in the hands of a killer," Bofondo said.

In Nyongera camp, Nyirarukundo said she is still afraid to return home but says her surviving children are hungry and sick.

"For now, we have nothing. There's no food. Nothing. We just want security, so we can go home," she said.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 14 May 07 - 01:44 PM

From the Washington Post:

Liberia's Moment of Opportunity

By Robert L. Johnson
Monday, May 14, 2007; Page A15

Last September, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf captivated an audience at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York with descriptions of the extraordinary challenges facing her country. Sirleaf's courage and vision inspired me and a group of colleagues to commit to revitalizing the historic but dormant relationship between African Americans and Liberia. After all, Jewish Americans have been vital to Israel's welfare. African Americans should play a similar role for Liberia.

As part of our commitment, we pledged to mobilize investment capital to support Sirleaf's reconstruction efforts. This led to the creation of the $30 million Liberia Enterprise Development Fund, which is designed to make credit available to Liberian entrepreneurs working to build viable, job-creating businesses.

We also pledged to take African American leaders to Liberia. Last month, our 25-person delegation visited businesses in Monrovia, toured villages in the countryside and met with Liberians from all walks of life. We were awed by the challenges but moved by the sense of hope and faith Liberians have in their future. Every Liberian with whom we spoke said that the country will not return to war. Liberians want to rebuild their lives by finding jobs, restoring their homes and educating their children.

As it turned out, our investment mission to Liberia was the first by a group of Americans in over 25 years.

The United States has a special obligation to support Liberia. The country was established in 1847 by freed American slaves, and its first few presidents were African American. While Congress and the Bush administration have taken several helpful steps, more needs to be done -- and soon.

First, the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs Appropriations Act should be amended. Section 520 requires the administration to notify Congress of every program it intends to fund in Liberia. This delays unnecessarily the disbursement of the $270 million the United States has made available to Liberia and conveys the impression that Washington is indifferent to Liberia's challenges. Other countries under this constraint include Sudan and Zimbabwe. With Liberia's encouraging progress on economic and political reform, it is wrong that our government has not rescinded this burdensome requirement.

Immediate progress also needs to be made on relieving Liberia's debt. Liberia cannot pay the $3.7 billion it owes. The Bush administration, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Union need to resolve this so that the Sirleaf government can access new sources of development assistance. Moreover, Liberians need to see tangible results from their government's development efforts. A far-reaching debt-reduction program would be a well-deserved boost for Sirleaf's administration and would visibly distance this government from the corruption and mismanagement of previous regimes.

Few issues are as critical as Liberia's security situation. Fifteen thousand U.N. peacekeepers are there now. There is agreement among the government and foreign government donors that Liberia's new army will be a force of 2,000. The United States should take the lead to ensure that the United Nations does not withdraw until Liberia's new force is fully trained and equipped. Attention also must be paid to the development of a coast guard.

The Bush administration could display its confidence in Liberia's future by locating the new Africa Command there. Few countries are as pro-America as Liberia, and it was a staunch U.S. ally during World War II and the Cold War. The placement of a U.S. military command in Africa is overdue. Liberia, with its strategic coastal location in West Africa, is well suited to serve as a host.

Promoting U.S. investment in Liberia should be another priority. In many sectors, Liberia has world-class natural resources. Under an agreement ratified a week ago, Mittal Steel will invest more than $1 billion to extract iron ore from northern Liberia. Firestone, which has been in the country for 80 years, is working to significantly increase its rubber production. Other opportunities exist in timber, mining and infrastructure development.

Attention also needs to be given to encouraging an American carrier to make direct flights to Monrovia. This would aid the growth in commerce and make it easier for Liberian residents in the United States to travel home.

President Sirleaf has put special emphasis on attracting foreign investment and strengthening her domestic private sector. She understands, correctly, that a strong private sector is essential to growth. A strategy for attracting American investors in areas such as energy, housing and road-building should be a priority for the Bush administration.

Liberia deserves American support, and African Americans especially must come forward to reestablish the historic bond between our nations. The Sirleaf government is working tirelessly to create a better and more prosperous future for citizens. We bear a special responsibility to ensure that she succeeds.

The writer is chairman of RLJ Companies, which is a member of the Liberia Enterprise Development Fund. He is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 15 May 07 - 03:13 PM

Bono: Industrial countries lag on Africa promises

POSTED: 12:21 p.m. EDT, May 15, 2007

BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- The world's biggest industrial countries are failing to keep up with financial promises they made to Africa, rocker-activist Bono said Tuesday, calling a new progress report "a cold shower" for the Group of Eight.

G-8 members in 2004-2006 contributed less than half the amount needed to make good on promises to double Africa aid to $50 billion by 2010, according to a report released by DATA -- Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa -- an advocacy group founded by Bono, the 47-year-old frontman for Irish band U2.

"The G-8 are sleepwalking into a crisis of credibility. I know the DATA report will feel like a cold shower, but I hope it will wake us all up," he said. (Bono talks to CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta about Africa, poverty and promises )

Bono is urging German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who chairs a G-8 summit in Germany next month, to ensure that members contribute what they said they would.(Go to CNN's podcasting page to download Dr. Sanjay Gupta's interview with Bono)

The report shows the G-8 increased aid by $2.3 billion but says the nations need to increase aid by an additional $3.1 billion to substantially help the people of Africa.

"These statistics are not just numbers on a page," Bono said. "They are people begging for their lives, for two pills a day, a mother begging to immunize her children, a child begging not to become a mother at the age of 12."

The DATA report said aid money that does arrive has an effect. "Every day 1,450 Africans living with AIDS are put on lifesaving drugs," the organization said, and 20 million African children are going to school for the first time, thanks in part to debt cancellations and aid increases.

Still, Bono warns that insufficient increases in aid could reverse progress already made. DATA says the G-8 must contribute $7.4 billion this year alone to reach its goal. If Germany makes good on its promises to help Africa, he said, the other G-8 members will do the same.

Britain and Japan have contributed most of the aid increase so far, it said.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 22 May 07 - 08:42 AM

6 beheadings blamed on sect shock Kenyans
POSTED: 7:57 a.m. EDT, May 22, 2007
Story Highlights• Media says Mungiki responsible for murders
• Group instills fear by promoting archaic Kikuyu rituals like swearing oaths
• Sect fighting with local minibus taxi operators over protection money
• Mungiki was banned in 2002 after killing more than 20 people in a Nairobi slum
Adjust font size:
NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- Villagers found heads placed on poles and body parts scattered in bushes in six murders the media blamed on Tuesday on an outlawed sect notorious for killing and extortion.

People in the country's central region found the heads and other remains after attacks on Sunday and Monday.

The media blamed the killings on Mungiki, a banned group that has fought weeks of battles with local minibus taxi operators who are resisting its demands for protection money.

With presidential elections due in the east African nation in December, many commentators suspected a political hand behind violence threatening the government's authority.

"[Mungiki] is out to demonstrate that it can operate and strike with impunity anywhere and everywhere," the Daily Nation newspaper said on Tuesday in a front page editorial, below pictures of four of the six men who were decapitated.

"It is out to show the police and other government organs are feeble, helpless and unable to protect anyone who defies it."

Police said they would hold a briefing later on Tuesday.

Fear spread fast through the villages of Murang'a and Kiambu with some families fleeing the area as the victims' remains were discovered.

"I had gone out to answer a call of nature at around 3 a.m. when I switched on my torch and saw the head of a human being placed on the roof of my chicken pen," Robert Kiunjuri, a teacher in Kianjogu village, told the Nation.

The 50-year-old victim's headless body had been dragged to the nearby home of a chief, where it was dumped at the gate.

Another head was found perched atop a telephone pole about a mile (kilometer) away, and another found after villagers heard two dogs fighting over it.

In neighboring Kiambu, one head was left at a bus stop in the center of the main town, local media said. A torso and three amputated legs were discovered in a ditch in a nearby village.

The victims all appeared to be local laborers and peasant farmers with no known links to the shadowy sect.

Mungiki, whose name means "multitude" in the local Kikuyu language, was banned in 2002 after members armed with knives and clubs killed more than 20 people in a Nairobi slum.

The group instills fear by promoting archaic Kikuyu rituals like swearing oaths, and many Kenyans believe it has been supported by corrupt politicians in the past.

"The police cannot claim to be seriously investigating Mungiki if they are not calling in for questioning such political leaders," the Nation said. "Ultimately, the government must take full responsibility for failing to contain what is now clearly a national security issue."

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 May 07 - 01:02 PM

U.S. imposes new sanctions against Sudan

POSTED: 12:41 p.m. EDT, May 29, 2007

Story Highlights• U.S. imposes punitive action against 31 companies and three individuals
• Bush: Sudanese President Bashir "finding new methods of obstruction"
• Sudan objects to latest U.N. plan to deploy peacekeepers

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush imposed sanctions Tuesday against Sudan in reaction to the "genocide" in Darfur, and has ordered actions against 31 companies and three people -- preventing them from doing business in or with U.S. companies.

The three Sudanese people affected include two high-ranking government officials and a rebel leader, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. They were targeted for their roles in fomenting violence and human rights abuses in Darfur, the agency said.

"For too long the people of Darfur have suffered at the hands of a government that is complicit in the bombing, murder and rape of innocent civilians.

"My administration has called these actions by their rightful name, genocide. The world has a responsibility to help put an end to it," Bush said.

Bush said he had ordered Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to write up a draft resolution that will be presented to the U.N. Security Council.

Bush intended to announce the sanctions last month in a speech at the Holocaust Museum in Washington but held off to give the United Nations and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir more time to try to resolve the situation.

Bush and other top U.S. officials have grown impatient with Bashir's reluctance to stop attacks by Arab militias widely believed to be supported by the government. The largest of these groups is known as the Janjaweed.

Bashir has also stalled efforts to increase international peacekeeping troops in the region.

Seven thousand African Union troops are in Darfur, and Bashir in April said Sudan would allow a U.N. support force of 3,000 troops into the country, the second phase of U.N. peacekeeping efforts in Darfur.

On Friday, the U.N. Security Council approved plans for the third phase, the deployment of 22,000 U.N. and African Union peacekeepers.

At the weekend, however, Bashir said he still opposed that plan, The Associated Press reported, saying he would only accept a predominantly African Union force.

"President Bashir's actions over the past few weeks follow a long pattern of promising cooperation while finding new methods for obstruction," Bush said Tuesday.

Fighting by government-backed militias and rebel groups in the Darfur region of western Sudan has killed more than 200,000 people and driven about 2 million from their homes.

The Treasury Department issued a statement immediately after Bush's announcement, saying that, as of Tuesday, the agency had blocked the assets of the three Sudanese.

"Even in the face of sanctions, these individuals have continued to play direct roles in the terrible atrocities of Darfur," said Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. "We are working to call attention to their horrific acts and further isolate them from the international community."

The Treasury also acted Tuesday to sanction 30 Sudanese companies owned or controlled by the government of Sudan, and one company that has violated the arms embargo in Darfur.

"These companies have supplied cash to the Bashir regime, enabling it to purchase arms and further fuel the fighting in Darfur," added Paulson.

"By denying these companies access to the U.S. and international financial system, we will make it harder for the government of Sudan to pursue its deadly agenda."

One of the three individuals named Tuesday, Ahmad Muhammed Harun, Sudan's state minister for humanitarian affairs, has been accused of war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal Court in the The Hague, Netherlands.

Sudan's head of military intelligence and security, Awad Ibn Auf, was also designated Tuesday, along with Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement , a rebel group that has refused to sign the Darfur Peace Agreement, the Treasury Department said.

Tuesday's action brings to seven the number of Sudanese individuals for whom access to the U.S. financial system is prohibited, according to the agency.

Fighting between the government of Sudan, the Janjaweed and splintered rebel groups has continued unabated in Sudan, despite the signing of the African Union-brokered Darfur Peace Agreement in May 2006.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 May 07 - 01:03 PM

3,000 Darfur refugees make 10-day trek through bush

POSTED: 11:27 a.m. EDT, May 29, 2007

Story Highlights• Darfur refugees walk 125 miles to seek shelter in Central African Republic
• Attacks force all 15,000 inhabitants Dafak to flee their homes
• Town of Sam-Ouandja unable to cope with the influx of Sudanese refugees
• Refugees are relying on mangoes picked from the bush for food

BANGUI, Central African Republic (Reuters) -- An estimated 3,000 Sudanese refugees driven from their homes by fighting in Darfur trekked for 10 days through the bush to seek shelter in Central African Republic, United Nations officials said on Tuesday.

The refugees told a U.N. team in the northeastern town of Sam-Ouandja, some 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the Sudanese border, that a ground and air attack had forced all 15,000 inhabitants of the southern Darfur town of Dafak to flee their homes.

Most of them headed south within Sudan, but some fled westward into Central African Republic, an arduous journey of more than 125 miles (200 kilometers) following a track accessible only on foot or by horse.

Their flight was the latest evidence that the conflict in Darfur, where a war pitting rebels against Sudan's army and allied militias has raged since 2003, is pushing refugees into neighboring states like Chad and Central African Republic.

"So far we have registered 1,411 refugees and more of them are arriving every day," said Bruno Geddo, country representative for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, who led a U.N. mission on Monday to Sam-Ouandja in the isolated north-east.

"We are working on an estimate of 3,000 [refugees] at the moment," he told Reuters.

Although initial news reports suggested the group were armed and could include Chadian rebels, Geddo said the U.N. team had found no evidence of either weapons or Chadian nationals.

The town of Sam-Ouandja was attacked in March and November by insurgents trying to topple Central African President Francois Bozize, who seized power in a 2003 coup before legitimizing his rule at the ballot box two years later.

Geddo said the town's inhabitants were unable to cope with the influx of Sudanese refugees, who were currently relying on mangoes picked from the bush for food.

The United Nations children's agency UNICEF estimated last month that a quarter of the 4 million people in Central African Republic -- the world's sixth poorest country -- are suffering the effects of internal violence or the spill over from conflicts in neighboring Sudan and Chad.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 29 May 07 - 08:44 PM

Sudan: U.S. sanctions over Darfur unfair

By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer
Tue May 29, 5:16 PM ET



KHARTOUM, Sudan - The Sudanese government condemned a new set of U.S. economic sanctions aimed at pressuring it to halt the bloodshed in Darfur, describing them Tuesday as "unfair and untimely" and calling on the rest of the world to ignore them.

       President Bush announced the United States was enforcing sanctions that bar 31 Sudanese companies owned or controlled by Sudan's government from the U.S. banking system. The sanctions also prevent three Sudanese individuals from doing business with U.S. companies or banks.

"We believe this decision is unfair and untimely," Sudan's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ali Sadiq, told The Associated Press.

His call found support in China, Khartoum's top diplomatic ally and a key business partner, which defended its investment in Sudan. Trade and investment are "helpful for the development of Sudan's economy and will fundamentally help Sudan to address the conflicts and wars in Sudan," China's envoy, Liu Guijin, told reporters in Beijing.

However, the       European Union said it was prepared to consider tougher measures to push Sudan to finally allow a large U.N. peacekeeping mission into Darfur. "In principle, we are open to consider that," Javier Solana told the AP.

Sadiq defending Sudan, saying it accepted a first batch of 3,000 U.N. peacekeepers in April to reinforce the overwhelmed African Union force already deployed in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have fled their homes in four years of fighting between Sudanese forces and rebels.

"These American measures come at a time when Sudan is actively discussing peace in Darfur and working on the hybrid force," of U.N. and African Union peacekeepers, Sadiq said. "We invite the international community to ignore and condemn these sanctions."

Officials said Chris Hill, the U.S. nuclear negotiator with       North Korea, was heading to China on Wednesday and planned to raise Darfur with the Chinese.

The U.S. mission to the       United Nations has been drafting a resolution for broader U.N. sanctions against Sudan that is expected to face resistance in the Security Council because of China's opposition and questions over its timing.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said he needs more time to promote negotiations and persuade the Sudanese government to accept more peacekeepers.

Asked whether the U.S. sanctions would complicate his job of getting Sudan to agree to a larger U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force, Ban said: "We will have to see."

The U.N. agreed last week with the African Union on the final outline of the hybrid force that would more than triple the number of peacekeepers in Darfur with a mission of at least 23,000 soldiers and police. The peacekeepers would be allowed to launch pre-emptive attacks to stop violence.

South Africa's U.N. ambassador questioned the timing of the U.S. sanctions in the midst of those negotiations.

"It's not clear to us what are the sanctions supposed to achieve, what's really the aim?" said Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, whose country is a large contributor to the current 7,000-strong African Union force in Darfur.

Arab League chief Amr Moussa also criticized Bush's announcement, saying "this is not time for sanctions but time for intensifying efforts to reach understanding."

However, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir recently repeated his opposition to direct U.N. involvement in Darfur peacekeeping, saying the world body should only operate in support of the African Union.

World powers are growing increasingly frustrated with Sudan's dallying on the fine print of a U.N. deployment.

Sadiq, the Sudanese spokesman, warned that sanctions would "give the wrong signal" to rebel groups fighting in Darfur.

One of the individuals targeted for sanctions is Khalil Ibrahim, the head of the Justice and Equality Movement rebel group that opposes a peace deal signed last year by one rebel faction and the Sudanese government.

The group voiced outrage that Ibrahim was targeted after repeatedly meeting with U.S. officials to find a way out of the conflict.

The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum said the rebel chief was listed because his troops contribute to the ongoing violence. "Meetings notwithstanding ... the U.S. government regards them as obstructing the peace process," said embassy spokesman Joel Maybury.

The two targeted government officials are Awad Ibn Auf, Sudan's head of military intelligence and security, and Ahmed Harun, the minister for humanitarian affairs, the U.S.       Treasury Department said.

Subject: RE: BS: Should we care about Africans?
From: beardedbruce
Date: 30 May 07 - 02:26 PM

from the Washington Post:

President Bush announces new sanctions for Sudan; China proposes more foreign investment.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007; Page A12


PRESIDENT BUSH'S announcement yesterday of new sanctions against Sudan because of the continuing genocide in Darfur was well justified and -- after more than a month's delay to allow for fruitless diplomacy -- overdue. It was also out of sync with the disturbing position of China, whose cooperation is essential to bringing sufficient pressure to bear on the Sudanese regime.

On the same day that Mr. Bush extended U.S. economic sanctions to 31 more Sudanese companies and three individuals, China's new African envoy held a news conference at which he argued that more foreign aid and investment, not sanctions, is the right medicine for the regime of Omar Hassan al-Bashir. As it is, Sudan sells 60 percent of its oil and 40 percent of its total exports to China, which has invested heavily in Sudan's oil industry and sold weapons to its army. As long as Beijing continues this lucrative partnership, U.S. sanctions, already in place for a decade, are unlikely to prove effective.

Worse, China seeks to discount well-documented atrocities by the Sudanese government, which have recently included the attempted bombing of rebel commanders meeting to discuss a peace deal, as well as raids on villages in southern Darfur. In a just-concluded tour of the region, Chinese ambassador Liu Guijin said he "didn't see a desperate scenario of people dying of hunger." He couldn't have been looking very hard: The United Nations says 250,000 people have been displaced in Darfur since last fall, adding to more than 2 million already crammed into miserable and insecure camps. Deliveries of food and other aid have frequently been disrupted in recent months, according to aid groups.

Mr. Bush said yesterday that the United States will press for a new U.N. Security Council resolution that would include further sanctions on Sudan and an enforceable ban on offensive military flights over Darfur. Though Britain and the new French government strongly support such action, the resolution will go nowhere without a change in Chinese policy. That's where the good news from Mr. Liu's news conference comes in. He declined to say that his government would veto a new resolution, and he was obliged to respond to the growing campaign to connect China's support for Sudan to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. "Linking China's approach to the Darfur issue and the Olympic Games is totally untenable," he protested. And if China uses its veto to stop a new U.N. resolution? Its leaders should be made to wonder what will be "untenable" then.