BURUNDI :
LE PARTI
POLITIQUE CNDD-FDD TRANQUILLISE L'OPINION PUBLIQUE SUR LES RUMEURS REPANDUES
AU SUJET DE LA SECURITE PUBLIQUE
Bujumbura, le 21 Mars 2006 (RTNB)-Le parti politique CNDD-FDD
vient de publier un communiqué dans lequel il demande à la communauté
nationale et internationale de rester sereine au sujet des rumeurs répandues
sur la sécurité du Burundi. Le parti CNDD-FDD se référant à l'allocution du
président de la République lors de la réunion avec les corps de sécurité
tenue à Mwakiro en province Muyinga, trouve qu'il y a eu une exagération de
la part des journalistes de certaines radios locales. Cependant le CNDD-FDD
reconnaît qu'il y a deux, trois ou même quatre politiciens qui ensemble avec
des officiers de la police ou de la défense se réunissent dans certains
quartiers de la capitale ou même à l'étranger pour méditer en commun sur les
forfaits, crimes et délits qu'ils ont commis contre le Burundi et le peuple
en vue d'éviter de comparaître devant la justice.
POINT DE PRESSE QUOTIDIEN DU BUREAU DU PORTE-PAROLE DU
SECRÉTAIRE GÉNÉRAL DE L'ONU: 20 MARS 2006
Ci-dessous, les principaux points développés par Stéphane Dujarric,
Porte-parole du Secrétaire général de l'ONU, M. Kofi Annan:
http://www.un.org/News/fr-press/docs/2006/dbf060320.doc.htm
Rendu public aujourd’hui, le dernier rapport en date du Secrétaire général
sur l’Opération des Nations Unies au Burundi (ONUB) indique que
la situation économique et en matière de sécurité
dans ce pays demeure extrêmement précaire et nécessite des améliorations
urgentes dans les domaines de la bonne gouvernance,
de la transparence et du respect des droits de l’homme. Le
document, qui détaille les préparatifs du retrait de l’ONUB, prévu d’ici à
la fin de cette année, souligne le rôle de surveillance que continueront de
jouer les Nations Unies dans les prochains mois. Le
Secrétaire général rappelle qu’en consultation avec le Gouvernement
burundais, le rythme du retrait de l’ONUB pourrait être ajusté à l’évolution
de la situation. La Représentante spéciale du Secrétaire général
pour le Burundi, Carolyn McAskie, sera mercredi l’invitée du point de
presse.
‘Extremely
fragile’ conflict-ridden Burundi needs close monitoring: Annan
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17870&Cr=Burundi&Cr1=
20 March 2006 – Improvements in human rights, good governance and
other areas are urgently needed in conflict-ridden Burundi,
Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in a report released today, calling for
close monitoring of the impoverished country in the countdown to the planned
withdrawal of the United Nations mission there by the end of this year.
In his latest report to the Security Council on the UN Operation in Burundi
(ONUB), covering the situation since November, Mr. Annan noted that
“significant challenges remain,” with the “most immediate task facing the
Government is ending the 12-year conflict and restoring durable peace.”
“After more than a decade of devastating conflict, the security and economic
situation in Burundi remains extremely fragile, requiring massive commitment
of all involved,” the Secretary-General pointed out.
“Urgent improvements are required in the areas of good governance,
transparency and accountability and respect for human rights, as well as the
continuation of major economic, security and political reforms,” he said,
stressing the importance of the active involvement of the region, bilateral
partners and the UN.
The conflict, along with recurring drought and frequent displacements, had
driven “two thirds of the population into extreme poverty and thousands are
still facing serious food shortages,” he said.
Describing the humanitarian and social crises in Burundi as “acute,” Mr.
Annan emphasized that the plan to fully withdraw the ONUB by 31 December had
been developed with the Government, “following its specific and strong
request for the early disengagement of the United Nations peacekeeping
presence.”
He noted that the “initial tasks” of the UN operation had been completed,
but warned that “given the severity of the challenges facing the country…the
possibility of a relapse remains strong,” and recommended altering the
withdrawal time depending on the situation on the ground.
“In that regard…it will be prudent to continue to monitor developments
closely and assess the situation in the coming months, in consultation with
the Government and major stakeholders,” he pointed out.
“Should the situation at that time so require, the pace of the ONUB drawdown
could be adjusted accordingly in full consultation with the Government,” Mr.
Annan concluded.
Earlier this month the UN said that 2.2 million people in Burundi --
including refugees and returnees – will need food aid in 2006 because of
poor rains, crop disease and poverty.
ELECTION DU NOUVEAU PRESIDENT DU
CONSEIL COMMUNAL EN COMMUNE MWUMBA EN PROVINCE NGOZI
Bujumbura, le 21 Mars 2006 (RTNB)-Le conseil communal de la
commune Mwumba dans la province Ngozi a élu ce dimanche 19 mars 2006,
l'honorable Déo Nyabenda comme nouveau président du conseil communal. Le
nouveau président remplace à la tête du conseil communal, monsieur Pierre
Nkurunziza, le président de la République qui avait préférer qu'un nouveau
élu communal soit choisi. Il faudrait rappeler que le président de la
République avait été élu à la tête du conseil communal de Mwumba le 8
juillet 2005.
LE PRESIDENT DE LA REPUBLIQUE A
NOMME LES NOUVEAUX AMBASSADEURS DU BURUNDI
Bujumbura, le 21 Mars 2006 (RTNB)-Le président de la République,
monsieur Pierre Nkurunziza a nommé les nouveaux ambassadeurs du Burundi et
après approbation du sénat. Sur le décret présidentiel figure, monsieur
Joseph Ntakarutimana ex-ministre de la bonne gouvernance et sera accrédité à
New York , monsieur Laurent Kavakure est nommé en Belgique, Ildephonse
Nkeramihigo est nommé en France, Léopold Ndayisaba a été nommé ambassadeur
en Italie, Léandre Amuri sera affecté en Tanzanie, Jérémie Ngendakumana
ex-chef de protocole d'Etat est accrédité au Kenya, Serges Karonkano est
affecté au Rwanda, Amissi Ntangibingura est nommé en Egypte, Rénovat
Ndayirukiye est nommé en Russie, Gabriel Sabushimike est nommé en Chine,
Paul Mahwera est nommé en Suisse, madame Appollonie Simbizi est affectée au
Canada, madame Domitille Barancira, président de la cour constitutionnelle
est affectée en Allemagne, Augustin Nsanze a été nommé ambassadeur à l'Union
Africaine, madame Jeanne Bigayimpunzi a été nommée ambassadeur à la
Francophonie et Célestin Niyongabo a été nommé ambassadeur à Washington. Le
président de la République a également nommé monsieur Salvator Ntacobamaze,
ex-ministre de l'intérieur au poste de chef de protocole d'Etat. Le
président de la République a également promu le colonel Aloys
Ndayikengurukiye au poste de conseiller principal chargé des questions
d'administration et gestion, de planification, d'instruction et d'opérations
militaires. Il faudrait signaler que sur le même chapitre des nominations
figure monsieur Eloi Ruberinyange.
RWANDA
Rwanda: Gov't
to React On US HR Report
The New Times (Kigali)/ March 20, 2006 / Felly Kimenyi / Kigali
The government has set up a team to respond to the recently published US
State Department Report on the situation of human rights in Rwanda, last
year."We have a team working on a report that will give a point to point
reaction on that report; details will soon be released," foreign affairs
minister Dr. Charles Murigande, said Saturday, in a phone interview. He
could, however, not specify the date on which the report would be released.
The State Department Report, which was released on March 8, 2006 indicated
that there was significant improvement in regard to human rights, but added
that in some areas things did not go well. Among the areas of improvement,
the Report cites the living conditions of inmates in prisons, noting that
sufficient food was availed to the prisoners and that their accommodation
facilities also improved by way of sanitation.
'The sanitary conditions in detention centers were still poor at the
beginning of the year but an improvement was registered as the year
progressed,' the report states in part.
It further states that the overcrowding in prisons was checked by the
release of approximately 22,000 genocide suspects last August.
However, the report indicates that the freedom of press was antagonized with.
Efforts to reach Prof. Laurent Nkusi, the Minister of Information in the
Prime Minister's Office for comment were futile by press time.
UGANDA
Uganda treason suspects claim tortured in custody
KAMPALA, March 21 (Reuters) - Sixteen Ugandan treason suspects
charged with opposition leader Kizza Besigye are suing the government for
more than $1 million, saying they were tortured in custody, their lawyer
said on Tuesday.
They are among 22 men arrested between Nov. 2004 and Jan. 2005 who were
later accused alongside the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party leader.
Besigye lost elections last month that extended President Yoweri Museveni's
20 years in power.
The 16 say they were kicked, beaten and threatened by state security agents
who wanted them to confess to being rebels.
"These individuals were terribly and inhumanely treated. Someone in this
country cannot believe it could happen like this, but it did," Caleb Alaka,
the men's lawyer, said.
"The 1995 constitution of Uganda is very clear on this: when someone has had
their most fundamental human rights and freedoms violated, they must be
compensated," he told Reuters.
Ugandan army spokesman Major Felix Kulayigye said the torture allegations
were lies designed to malign the military.
"It is not true," he said. "There is no policy of torture in our
institution, and besides, it would be foolish if anyone had wanted to
torture them because they appear in court so often, and you have seen how
they are fit and walking."
Besigye says the charges against him are politically motivated, and is
challenging the result of the Feb. 23 election in Uganda's Supreme Court,
citing widespread rigging.
Those hearings are due to begin on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, his treason trial is due to start in the High Court on April 4.
The FDC leader was once Museveni's close ally and doctor during the bush war
that won him power in 1986.
UGANDA: Too scared to return home
KITGUM, 21 March (IRIN) - Wilson Akera hates living in Padibe camp for
internally displaced persons because life is generally unbearable but he is
even more scared of the prospect of returning home soon as he believes
insecurity is still rife in the villages.
"We are willing to go home and end this cycle of despair, but we are
uncertain of our security," Akera said. "The area a few kilometres out of
here is a den of the unknown. Groups of rebels still loiter there."
Akera is one of the 1.6 million-plus people who have been displaced by two
decades of war between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's
Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda. He has lived in Padibe camp for
years, relying on aid agencies to survive. The camp is located in the
northern Kitgum district - one of the areas worst hit by the rebellion.
Rose Agiro agreed that in spite of the bad conditions at Padibe, returning
home, some 6 km away, was not a viable option. "We have no land around here
for cultivation. I would prefer to return home and access my field, but
there is no security. If I go back, the rebels are there and will abduct my
children," she said. Conditions in the camp are tough for Agiro, 46, and her
family of six. Water is in short supply, and there are not enough classrooms,
creating overcrowding and putting pressure on the few available teachers.
Residents complained that their needs remained great. "More boreholes are
needed, more classrooms, provision of agricultural implements is required,"
said a memorandum read to Dennis McNamara, head of the UN Inter-Agency
Internal Displacement Division, who led a team of donors to evaluate the
situation between 15 and 17 March. "There is need for the decongestion of
the camps and more security," the memorandum added.
McNamara told reporters: "We need to break out of this prolonged
humanitarian crisis. The conditions these people are living in are totally
below any standards. They are unacceptable in terms of lack of assistance,
lack of protection."
Ugandan authorities said the problem of decongesting the camps was being
addressed through the creation of "satellite villages". Through this
programme, military units have been established and people are encouraged to
settle alongside them. However, local residents said the transition was very
hard, as not enough supplies were available at the new locations.
Dure camp, further south of Kitgum town, is one new location, where aid
workers are trying to cope with the situation. "This translates into
changing our operations and increasing the logistics to deliver supplies to
these new locations, a change that takes time," said one relief worker at
the camp, where the European Union had just set up a solar-powered borehole
in response to the water problem there.
Prepare to go home, says gov't
McNamara warned that any returns of the displaced to their villages must be
voluntary. "We can only support that return if it is voluntary, if it is
safe and if it is viable. If it is not, we will not be able to support if,"
he said.
Vincent Okongo, 60, who lives in Dure camp, insisted there had been no
guarantee that the rebellion was ending. "Two days ago, we got reports of
rebels passing nearby the camps, so we do not know what this means. The only
good thing is that many are continuing to surrender to the army," he said.
Ugandan authorities insist that the rebellion is at its end and the
displaced should prepare to start going home in April. "The army has
defeated the LRA terrorism in the north and the peace prevailing now in
southern Sudan has paved way for the return of the displaced persons to
their homes," President Yoweri Museveni told a delegation from the United
States that visited him over the weekend. He said that only 120 rebel
fighters were remaining, and even they had fled from southern Sudan to
Garamba National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Asked in an interview with the Ugandan Sunday Vision newspaper whether he
thought the camps should be dismantled, the president answered, "The IDPs [internally
displaced persons] are going home." Days earlier, his government said it
would buy 259,000 roofing sheets to be distributed to returnees in the
war-affected districts of Gulu, Kitgum, Kaberamaido, Apac, Katakwi, Pader,
Kumi and Amuria. Each household would get 30 sheets to rebuild their home –
a small start given the number of displaced families living in the camps.
Children most affected
At Padibe, according to 19-year-old Alex Akena, four children who had gone
to gather mangoes had disappeared - most probably having been abducted by
the LRA - one week before the UN delegation's visit. They represent only a
tiny fraction of a particularly vulnerable group that has borne the brunt of
the conflict. Children, perhaps more than anybody else, will live longest
with brutal memories of the terror and abuse they suffered as captives of
the LRA.
Irene Ajok, nine, is afraid to sleep at night. She said that if she slept,
she might be abducted and forced to eat a human being, as her sister was
almost made to do when the rebels abducted them. "They killed a person and
ordered the freshly abducted children, including my sister, Lillian, to eat
the body. They refused to eat that body, and she was made to carry a heavy
load of sorghum for a long distance as a punishment," Ajok told IRIN at a
night commuters' centre at a school in Kitgum. She is one of 400 children
who seek refuge there every night.
Night commuters are children who, out of fear of LRA abduction, flee their
home villages each night to sleep in the relative safety of larger towns. In
the morning, they return to their villages. There are an estimated 40,000
night commuters in northern Uganda. The children said life as a night
commuter was difficult, but better than living with the cruel treatment
meted out by the rebels.
For many former abductees, the memories of atrocities committed by either
their peers or LRA rebels torment them the most. Twelve-year-old Walter said
he was never tortured or made to kill when he was abducted two years ago,
but he had seen people having their heads cut off when they tried to escape.
"Their eyes were looking at me," Walter remembered, speaking quickly in a
monotone.
Rights groups and relief agencies estimate that the LRA has abducted at
least 25,000 children to serve as fighters, porters and sex slaves since the
rebellion started in northern Uganda in 1988.
The war drags on
The war, often described as the world's worst forgotten humanitarian crisis,
has dragged on despite on-and-off attempts to pursue peace talks. Over time,
the Ugandan military offensives have driven the rebels further underground
and into neighbouring countries.
Last week, the Ugandan army claimed that LRA leader Joseph Kony had fled
from bases in southern Sudan into eastern DRC. If true, said army spokesman
Maj Felix Kuraigye, the elusive guerrilla leader's drawn-out violent
campaign - ostensibly to replace Museveni's government with one based on the
Biblical Ten Commandments - is waning.
Pressure on the rebels has also grown since 2005, when Kony and four top
commanders were indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes,
among them the "brutalisation of civilians by acts including murder,
abduction, sexual enslavement (and) mutilations".
TANZANIE:
Tanzania :
Regional govts urged to address child psychosocial needs
March 21, 2006 Source : Guardian
By ANDnetwork .com
Regional governments in Tanzania and the civil society have been urged to
enhance family and community capacity to provide for the psychosocial well
being of the children.
The remarks were aired by Fortune Thembo, REPSSI Advocacy and Regional
Partnership Manager.
He said many people especially those affected with HIV/AIDS in East and
Southern Africa suffer deprivation, abuse, overwhelming loss and grief among
other effects, which could easily affect their emotions and feelings.
He said the psychosocial component could as well affect the community and
friends of the victim.
’In long term this is a threat to the stability and development of families,
communities and the national at large,’ said Thembo.
He said children affected by HIV/Aids, poverty and conflict need special
support to cope with their situations.
’That is why we have come up with a psychosocial approach to assist them in
their daily dealings,’ he said.
According to Thembo, the psychosocial care and support is enhanced and
mainstreamed into eight key child care programmes.
He cited them as paediatric ant-retroviral (ARV) programmes, schools and
children’s education systems, emergency response programmes and feeding
programmes.
Others involve home based care programmes, early childhood development,
community development and poverty reduction strategies and children
empowerment programmes.
REPSSI works to enhance psychosocial care and support for children affected
by HIV/AIDS, poverty and conflict operates in 13 countries in East and
Southern Africa.
The countries include Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Malawi, and
Zimbabwe.
Others are Zambia, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Uganda, Kenya and
Tanzania.
CONGO RDC
:
Annan urges
Congolese to adopt electoral code
Brazzaville, Congo, 03/21 - ANGOP - UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on
Monday urged political leaders in Congo to agree on a code of conduct to
ensure smooth and transparent elections in the country.
"A code of conduct accepted and respected by all is necessary, and if the
elections are free, everybody should accept the results," Annan said at the
end of a meeting with Congolese President and AU chairman, Denis Sassou
Nguesso.
The situation in Cote d`Ivoire, the DR Congo, and Congo (Brazzaville) were
the focus of the discussions between the two leaders.
"Elections are necessary but that`s not enough," Annan said, urging the
Congolese government and the opposition to work together because "this
happens elsewhere, why not in Africa".
Legislative and presidential elections are scheduled in Congo in 2007 and
2009, respectively.
Annan also encouraged Congolese citizens to work together for the interest
of Congo, not that of a "party leader" or a "small group".
Concerning the situation in Cote d`Ivoire, Annan said he was confident the
elections could take place in October 2006 if all Ivorian political parties
work together.
"I held a very good discussion with President Sassou Nguesso who consults
with Ivorian leaders on an almost daily basis. I think with that spirit of
cooperation, we can successfully work out things with our Ivorian brothers
and sisters," he said.
As for the elections in the DR Congo, Annan called on all Congolese
political leaders to participate in the elections planned for next June.
Kofi Annan who arrived here Sunday is expected to travel to Kinshasa on
Tuesday in continuation of his African tour that already took him to in
South Africa and Madagascar.
"I hope it is going to be a comprehensive process and it is absolutely
necessary that everybody gets involved in that process," he counselled.
Annan heads to Congo as elections loom
21/03/2006
http://www.eveningecho.ie
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan travelled to Congo today to meet the
president and electoral officials ahead of the war-battered nation’s first
election in decades.
Annan is to meet President Joseph Kabila, top officials in charge of
arranging the first presidential and legislative elections in 45 years and
the head of the UN’s 16,700-troop peace mission overseeing post-war Congo’s
transition to democratic rule.
Annan, on a two-week African tour, is also expected to visit Congo’s east,
where eight peacekeepers were killed in battles with militants earlier this
year.
The east remains violent and insecure despite the 2002 end of back-to-back
civil wars and decades of military coups d’etat and corrupt rule.
KENYA :
Britain urged to investigate UK link to Kenya scandal
David Pallister / Monday March 20, 2006 / The Guardian
Kenya's former anti-corruption tsar has called on the British authorities to
launch a full investigation into a number of British businessmen whose
multimillion dollar contracts are at the centre of the country's latest
corruption scandal.
The contracts are being investigated by Kenyan anti-corruption authorities
with the help of the Serious Fraud Office, but no formal inquiry has yet
been launched in Britain.
Kenyan investigators are looking at several individuals and companies from
the UK that were given security and defence-related contracts worth up to
$350m (£200m) with the Kenyan government.
The Guardian has
approached the British individuals allegedly involved, all of whom have
denied wrongdoing.
The anti-corruption inquiry has found evidence that some of the money was
paid to legitimate firms for goods or schemes that were overpriced, or that
contracts were awarded to bogus companies with non-existent finance
companies offering fictitious loans. In return it is alleged that officials
and members of the country's elite received personal "kickbacks" as well as
using the money for political campaigning. Although first details of the
so-called Anglo Leasing scandal - named after one of the bogus companies
involved - were revealed two years ago, the scale of the British involvement
in the racket is only now emerging.
The contracts were entered into during the regime of the former president
Daniel arap Moi, and continued within the president's office after Mwai
Kibaki came to power in elections in December 2002 with a promise to stamp
out corruption.
The man who led the initial investigation into the scandal in Kenya, John
Githongo, is now in exile in the UK from where he has continued his
anti-corruption campaign from an Oxford university college. In meetings with
Home Office and Foreign Office officials Mr Githongo has urged Britain to
carry out a full inquiry. "The British government would be doing Kenyans a
big favour if it took a more robust interest in some of these figures," he
told the Guardian.
In March 2004 Mr Githongo began investigating Anglo Leasing, a company that
had been awarded a secret $30m contract for passport printing. His
anti-corruption commission, with input from the SFO and private
investigators in London, found it appeared to be a front company and
ministers could not explain who was behind it. Although the firm was not
registered in Britain, the contract was signed by a UK accountant, Colin
Flynn, and gave an address in an elegant Victorian house near Liverpool city
centre. This, it transpired, was the offices of a small property company,
Saagar Associates. Saagar claimed it was simply acting as UK agent for Anglo
Leasing which was based in Switzerland.
But it was the discovery of Saagar's owner that most worried Mr Githongo.
The company belonged to Sudha Ruparell, a Kenyan who lived at the time in
Barnet, north London. Mrs Ruparell is the sister of the well-connected
Kenyan Asian businessman Deepak Kamani, whose family had made a fortune in
the country on controversial government contracts dating back to the early
1980s. He has since emerged as a central figure in the scandal. Last month
he was ordered to surrender his passport and, as a licence holder, his guns.
As Mr Githongo's inquiry widened, he learned that Anglo Leasing had secured
an earlier $54.5m contract in 2001 for the supply of forensic science
laboratories for the Kenyan CID. This, too, had been signed by Colin Flynn
and nearly $5m had been handed over. In return, Kenyan CID had been given
only some technical drawings. Mr Flynn, a father of three who lives in a
modest semi-detached house in the suburb of West Derby in Liverpool, has
declined to comment although Kenyan detectives have interviewed him. When
the Guardian put the fraud allegations to lawyers for Saagar Associates,
they said: "All business transacted by our clients is confidential and no
details can be given to you. My clients ... consider they have done nothing
wrong."
Within a couple of months of the scandal going public there were surprising
developments. Without prompting, Anglo Leasing refunded $6m through an
account in Zürich. Then another company associated with Mr Kamani paid back
€5m (£3.5m) for a police communications project. A third, Silverson
Establishment, paid back $900,000 on a $90m contract to supply police
vehicles. Silverson had entered into the contract in 2001 but no vehicles
had been delivered. Mr Githongo says he found the whole experience
unsettling since "those making the refunds were not making themselves known".
Silverson's address is a modern office block in Cambridge. Reception staff
in the building said this was simply a mailing address and Silverson had
stopped using it last October. Mail and messages were forwarded to a local
businessman, David Dunkley. An international financier formerly employed by
Marconi, Mr Dunkley, 65, told the Guardian that the Cambridge address was a
"liaison office". He said Silverson paid back its advance because the
government could not raise all the finance. "I am not able to discuss any
further details of the contracts as the confidentiality conditions with the
government of Kenya does not permit such disclosure."
Another firm on Mr Githongo's suspect list was LBA Systems of Fife and
Daventry, which specialises in body armour and has been owned and run by
Andrew Macgill since 1975. LBA has two contracts with Kenya for the supply
of four M17 helicopters to the police and a communications system to the
prison department. Together they are worth more than $50m. It is understood
LBA delivered the helicopters and has started work on the prison system.
Both contracts are being investigated by the Kenyan anti-corruption
authorities amid allegations of overpricing, according to internal Kenyan
auditor reports. The Guardian has discovered that in September 1994 Mr
Macgill married a Russian woman, Ludmila Kalushenko. Her maiden name
appeared on the Anglo Leasing CID contract in 2001.
When this connection was put to Mr Macgill he replied: "What you state is a
matter of public record. I confirm that the entities that you mention have
properly constituted commercial contracts with the government of Kenya. Any
contracts that you refer to concern the state security of the government of
Kenya and it is to them that you must address your inquiries. I am unable to
assist you further."
Mr Githongo resigned his post in January last year after hearing of death
threats. He gave a dossier of his allegations, backed up by secretly taped
conversations, to President Kibaki and the country's anti-corruption
commission last November. Since the dossier was leaked last month two
ministers have resigned.
Mr Githongo now wants action in the UK. He said: "Many of the brokers,
businessmen and lawyers key to these transactions that impoverish millions
of Kenyans are able to move in and out of Britain and even apparently
transact business here unmolested."
ANGOLA :
China to build
$3 billion oil refinery in Angola
MENAFN - 21/03/2006
(MENAFN) Angola's finance ministry said that it had joined China to move
ahead with construction of a $3 billion oil refinery in the port of Lobito,
Reuters reported.
State oil firm Sonangol said in December that construction could start this
year and that it was upbeat about finding investors for the project.
China is keen on oil from West Africa to fuel its rapid economic expansion.
Last month traders reported that the total flow of West African crude set to
go to Asia in March matched the all-time high, buoyed by Chinese buying.
Angola: Church council pledges electoral support
March 21, 2006, Source: Angola Press By Andnetwork .com
The Angolan Christian Churches Council (CICA) has expressed its readiness to
contribute for a successful electoral process that is in its civic education
stage.
This was said by CICA secretary general, Rev. Luís Nguimbi, during the
opening of the national seminar on electoral civic education and of the
council`s XVII General Assembly that will go on until Friday, with the
participation of delegates from the country`s 18 provinces.
For five days, the participants will learn about the various stages of the
electoral process and the forms of people`s participation in it.
Opening the event, Luís Nguimbi reiterated CICA`s decision to keep ready to
contribute for the holding of the future elections, through the mobilisation
of its followers.
According to Rev. Nguimbi, the elections should be seen and prepared with
caution, taking into account the 1992 experience.
"Thus, we encourage the President of the Republic to continue with the
consultations he has been carrying out with the political parities with the
purpose of seeking consensus on this wish," he stressed.
He said that besides being a must for the normalisation of the country`s
political life, it is a test to the maturity of the Angolan people. It is a
proper opportunity to show the neighbours of Angola, to Africa and the world
that what happened in 1992 was just an accident, he added.
On the other hand, sources said the event that he opened comprises a seminar
and the general assembly to elect CICA`s new chairman and deputy chairman.
CICA was established on 24 February 1977, with the purpose of developing and
strengthening cooperation among the churches based in the country. It
comprises 16 full time religious congregations, four associate and two
observer institutions.
Angolan Culture Minister In Brasilia
Brasilia, 03/20 - ANGOP - Angolan minister of Culture, Boaventura
Cardoso, is since Sunday night in Brasília (Brazil) to attend the meeting of
preparation of the International and Scientific Committee on the 2nd
Conference of Africa and Diaspora Intellectuals (CIAD).
The preparatory meeting is starting Monday evening to review the proposals
on the main topics that will be discussed on 12-14 July, in Salvador, at the
2nd CIAD Committee meeting, a Brazilian government`s initiative.
The 2nd CIAD has as its central proposal "The Diaspora and African
Renaissance", whose debate will be held in two plenary sessions over six
thematic panels. 700 people are expected to attend.
Among several other purposes, the event is aimed at the African affirmation
and the strengthening of relations of the continent with the various regions
befitting from the continent`s diaspora. CIAD is headed by the African Union
(AU) Commission chairman, the head of State of Mali, Alpha Oumar Konaré, and
by the Brazilian minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil.
The organisation comprises the Senegalese Culture minister, Mame Birame
Diouf, the Mozambican nationalist, Marcelino dos Santos, among other
international figures.
AFRIQUE DU SUD :
South Africa: India-SA-Brazil Forum Seeks Plan of Action
Business Day (Johannesburg) / March 20, 2006 / Jonathan
Katzenellenbogen / Johannesburg
INDIAN Deputy Foreign Minister Anand Sharma arrives in SA this week for
talks with South African diplomats that are likely to focus on how to inject
greater vigour into the trilateral arrangement between India, Brazil and SA,
known as the Ibsa dialogue forum.
The forum provides a mechanism through which the countries exchange ideas,
with the aim of exploiting each other's strengths to the benefit of the
participants and other developing countries.
The first meeting was in India in 2004. The group is often referred to as
the Group of Three (G-3) at foreign minister level.
While diplomats from the three countries now hold talks before most major
international gatherings, the grouping has not been able to translate the
initial enthusiasm over the show of unity by the developing world's three
largest democracies into anything more than a dialogue forum, despite the
ambitions of the three governments.
Sharma's visit to SA comes a week ahead of a forum meeting in Brazil. The
Brazilian meeting will focus on preparations for a summit of leaders from
the three countries later this year.
A time has yet to be decided for the group's first official summit, but it
is likely to be in the second half of the year. The leaders of the three
countries have met informally at such occasions as the opening of the United
Nations General Assembly but this would be the first formal summit.
The governments have spoken of building ties in defence and science and
technology, but there are few hard signs of this so far. Ties between the
individual members tend to be bilateral and building on trilateral ambitions
has proved extremely difficult.
With the upcoming summit, diplomats from the three countries say that there
is now pressure to come up with something more substantial for the group to
do beyond its current purely consultative role.
South Africa plans 10-15 year euro bond
LONDON, March 21 (Reuters) - South Africa's planned
benchmark-size euro-denominated Eurobond will have a maturity in the 10-15
year range, a market source familiar with the details of the deal said on
Tuesday.
On March 10, the government mandated Deutsche Bank and Standard Bank as
joint lead managers for the issue. The South African Treasury said it made
provisions in its 2006 budget to borrow an equivalent of $1 billion from
international financial markets to cover maturing foreign debt.
"They are targeting a global benchmark bond in euros that should be slightly
larger than 500 million euros but could be up to $1 billion," said the
market source.
The marketing roadshow begins in London on March 27 before moving to Munich
and Frankfurt on March 28 and ending in Holland on March 29.
Pricing is expected immediately after, the source said. "This should be
wrapped up by the end of business next week," the source said.
South Africa is rated 'BBB+' by both Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings and
'Baa1' by Moody's Investors Service.
AFRIQUE
/ U A :
otswana in AU Security Council
March 21, 2006 Source : Daily News By Andnetwork .com
Botswana has been elected to serve in the Peace and Security Council of the
African Union beginning at the end of March for a period of two years.
President Festus Mogae announced this at a diplomatic dinner in Gaborone on
Friday and said the southern African region continued to enjoy relative
peace and stability, except for pockets of conflict in the Democratic
Republic of Congo.
However, Mogae regretted the conflicts in Burundi
and Cote d Ivoire. He said although they could be described as
smouldering and manageable, the nefarious activities carried out by
Janjaweed in the Sudan conflict continues to be a horrific human tragedy.
Mogae said Africa had done everything it could to end the strife in the
Darfur region without much success, especially given the limited resources
at its disposal.
He said Botswana had a contingent of 15 military personnel based in
different parts of Darfur.
In addition, the President said Botswana had offered to airlift peacekeeping
forces of different nationalities to different places in Darfur from October.
Two Botswana police officers had been serving under the African Union
Mission in Darfur from February 2005.
He said Liberia is the only success from the list of conflict situations, as
it held successful elections in January/February this year and for the first
time in the history of Africa a woman was elected President.
On the home front, Mogae said Botswana continued with her international
interaction, with diplomatic relations having been established with 15
additional countries.
This has brought to 104 the number of countries with which Botswana now
enjoys diplomatic relations.
Mogae also informed the diplomats that for purposes of conserving and
preserving other national resources and heritage, the government has set
aside 16 per cent of the surface area of Botswana as game parks and nature
reserves and another 16 per cent adjacent to the game reserves are
designated wildlife management areas.
Only wildlife related economic activities such as tourist lodges, game
ranching and others are allowed in the wildlife management areas.
East African nations appeal for
global aid
March 21 2006 - Sapa-AFP - By Bogonko Bosire
Nairobi - East African leaders on Monday appealed for international help to
combat a drought that is threatening millions of lives, but said they had
the means to resolve long-running conflicts that keep the Horn of Africa
locked in chronic poverty and instability.
Faced with dwindling funding, they pledged to continue mobilising resources
to provide relief supplies to help 11 million people who face the threat of
starvation due to a prolonged shortage of rain and massive crop failure.
"In this regard, we call upon the international community to be forthcoming
with sufficient resources to assist our efforts," said a joint communique
issued at the end of the seven-nation Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) summit.
The participants said competition for resources in the region, home to about
180-million people, had worsened conflicts that have claimed millions of
lives and caused deep suffering in the last 50 years.
Despite deadly fighting in western Sudan, Somalia and northern Uganda and
festering tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea over an unresolved border row,
the leaders said that the region had the wherewithal to reverse the
situation.
"The region has the capacity to uplift itself from misery," Ugandan
President Yoweri Museveni told the summit, which was also celebrating the
IGAD's 20th anniversary.
"Over-internationalising" regional conflicts "will not bring solutions,"
Museveni said, citing Burundi as an example where Ethiopia and South African
peacekeepers helped restore peace.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, the new IGAD chairperson, called for a united
front to battle the searing drought, the seventh to ravage East Africa since
1975.
"In order to address the challenges effectively, we need to detail our co-operation
and develop concerted sub-regional approaches and strategies that will
create and environment favourable for socio-economic development," Kibaki
said.
The European Union (EU), a strong East African partner, urged the region to
fight a vicious cycle of poverty and scale down instability, whose effects
are felt across Europe.
"There are growing concerns back in Europe on the fallout of this chronic
cycle of poverty and instability. We feel the consequences of large number
of migrants and refugees and the risk of the spread of trafficking and
terrorism in the region," EU Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner
Louis Michel said.
Museveni called for insurance for people affected by famine and to enhance
regional trade as a means to stave off the effects of the scorching drought.
"We need and we can work together to insure this area against these
vicissitudes. Since there are insurance policies, why don't we have
insurance policies against famine in Africa?" Museveni added, two weeks
after UN announced the world's first-ever insurance cover for humanitarian
emergencies in Ethiopia, in the event of extreme drought.
Michel told the region to help Sudan implement a January 2005 peace deal and
press Somalis to seal a 15-year-old power vacuum, that has sparked fears of
terrorism, piracy and arms smuggling, further destabilising neighbouring
states.
"These processes are fragile and cannot be sustained without a strong
regional strategy," Michel said.
The communique expressed "satisfaction" in the implementation of Sudan's
north-south peace deal, but urged the international community promptly to
deliver $4,5-billion that was pledged at the Oslo conference last year.
Sudan's President Omar el-Bashir pledged to restore peace in Darfur, where
300 000 people have died and two million others displaced, but rejected
plans to deploy UN peacekeepers.
In addition, they called on the UN to lift an arms embargo on Somalia to
enable a formation of a national force.
African leaders and Swedish Foreign Minister Annita Sode told Ethiopia and
Eritrea to turn down their belligerent rhetoric and work towards a final
resolution of the border row that has threatened to erupt into a full-scale
war.
"We strongly believe that there is a window of opportunity to resolving the
simmering tension," Kibaki said.
The summit was also attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi,
Somalia's Abdullahi Yusuf, Djibouti's Ismail Omar Guelleh, Sudan's Omar
el-Beshir while Eritrea was represented by Agriculture Minister Arefaine
Berhe.
UN /ONU :
U.N.'S Annan hails German lead on Eu force for Congo elections
Sapa - 21 mar. 2006
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed Germany's decision on Monday to
lead a European Union troop deployment for Congo's historic elections,
saying U.N. peacekeepers there will coordinate closely with the EU forces.
"I'm very pleased with the decision," Annan told a small group of reporters,
reacting to Germany's Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung's announcement that
his country will lead the EU mission of up to 1,500 members to support U.N.
troops in Congo. "It's going to be a rapid reaction force that will come in
as and when required. So we will coordinate very effectively with them,"
said Annan in a brief interview.
Annan met with Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, current
head of the 53-nation African Union, saying afterward the two leaders
discussed lynchpin elections in Ivory Coast and Congo and violence in
Sudan's Darfur region. Annan repeated calls for an African Union force in
the war-battered region to be transformed into a U.N. mission.
"In Darfur I hope we will be able to work with the African Union to
strengthen their presence and eventually to expand and transition to U.N.
force," he said. Earlier this month Sudan and the African Union agreed to
extend the mandate of AU peacekeeping forces in Darfur to September, and
then allow them to be merged into a larger U.N. force. But later, Sudan said
it would reject the proposed deployment of U.N. forces to Darfur. Annan said
U.N. peace missions had logged successes since the 1994 Rwandan genocide,
when U.N. troops weren't able to forestall the massive slaughter of hundreds
of thousands Tutsis and Hutu moderates by Hutu extremists.
"Look around the continent and see what is happening. We have three
operations that have gone well: Burundi, Liberia and Sierra Leone. These are
three operations we should remember," he said of three countries where
tentative peace is taking hold after U.N. peace missions. A 16,700-member
U.N. peace force hasn't yet been able to fully calm the restive east in
Congo, however. Congo's June 18 elections are meant to end decades of coups
d'etat, corrupt rule and civil wars - and Annan said the U.N. would help
however it could.
"This is the first time in 45 years that we will have elections in Congo and
the U.N. will do everything to aid them," Annan said in earlier remarks,
without offering details. U.N. peacekeepers in Congo are helping provide
security in the vast nation as a postwar transitional administration
arranges the first elections in decades. "It is absolutely necessary that
everyone takes part," Annan said of the vote. Annan added that the African
Union could help the United Nations secure elections in Ivory Coast in
October. Annan did not give details on talks over Darfur's conflict. Annan
is on a two-week African tour that has already included stops in South
Africa and Madagascar.
He's expected to travel Tuesday to Congo, Republic of Congo's larger
neighbor to the east. He called on his fellow Africans to trade violence for
democracy. "We are working closely together to support democracy," Annan,
who is from Ghana, said of the United Nations and the African Union. "We
have lots of problems, especially in Africa and as Africans we must do all
we can to stop violent conflict."
USA :
CANADA :
EUROPE :
U.N.'S Annan hails German lead on Eu force for Congo
elections
March 21, 2006 Source : Sapa By ANDnetwork .com
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan hailed Germany's decision on Monday to
lead a European Union troop deployment for Congo's historic elections,
saying U.N. peacekeepers there will coordinate closely with the EU forces.
"I'm very pleased with the decision," Annan told a small group of reporters,
reacting to Germany's Defense Minister Franz-Josef Jung's announcement that
his country will lead the EU mission of up to 1,500 members to support U.N.
troops in Congo. "It's going to be a rapid reaction force that will come in
as and when required. So we will coordinate very effectively with them,"
said Annan in a brief interview. Annan met with Republic of Congo President
Denis Sassou-Nguesso, current head of the 53-nation African Union, saying
afterward the two leaders discussed lynchpin elections in Ivory Coast and
Congo and violence in Sudan's Darfur region. Annan repeated calls for an
African Union force in the war-battered region to be transformed into a U.N.
mission. "In Darfur I hope we will be able to work with the African Union to
strengthen their presence and eventually to expand and transition to U.N.
force," he said. Earlier this month Sudan and the African Union agreed to
extend the mandate of AU peacekeeping forces in Darfur to September, and
then allow them to be merged into a larger U.N. force. But later, Sudan said
it would reject the proposed deployment of U.N. forces to Darfur. Annan said
U.N. peace missions had logged successes since the 1994 Rwandan genocide,
when U.N. troops weren't able to forestall the massive slaughter of hundreds
of thousands Tutsis and Hutu moderates by Hutu extremists.
"Look around the continent and see what is happening. We have three
operations that have gone well: Burundi, Liberia and Sierra Leone. These are
three operations we should remember," he said of three countries where
tentative peace is taking hold after U.N. peace missions. A 16,700-member
U.N. peace force hasn't yet been able to fully calm the restive east in
Congo, however. Congo's June 18 elections are meant to end decades of coups
d'etat, corrupt rule and civil wars - and Annan said the U.N. would help
however it could. "This is the first time in 45 years that we will have
elections in Congo and the U.N. will do everything to aid them," Annan said
in earlier remarks, without offering details. U.N. peacekeepers in Congo are
helping provide security in the vast nation as a postwar transitional
administration arranges the first elections in decades. "It is absolutely
necessary that everyone takes part," Annan said of the vote. Annan added
that the African Union could help the United Nations secure elections in
Ivory Coast in October. Annan did not give details on talks over Darfur's
conflict. Annan is on a two-week African tour that has already included
stops in South Africa and Madagascar. He's expected to travel Tuesday to
Congo, Republic of Congo's larger neighbor to the east. He called on his
fellow Africans to trade violence for democracy. "We are working closely
together to support democracy," Annan, who is from Ghana, said of the United
Nations and the African Union. "We have lots of problems, especially in
Africa and as Africans we must do all we can to stop violent conflict."
EU seeks peace, security pact with Horn of Africa
www.chinaview.cn
NAIROBI, March 20 (Xinhuanet) -- The European Union on Monday proposed a
strategy for peace, security and development in the Horn of Africa region,
calling for the formation of a standby force, effective cross-border
controls to solve the problem of an influx of immigrants into the Western
countries.
Louis Michel, visiting EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian
Development, said the strategy builds on the actions taken by the
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), aseven-nation regional
group, and the Nile Basin Initiative.
Addressing an IGAD Summit underway in Kenya's capital of Nairobi, Michel
said the regional pact will serve as a catalyst for bringing peace, security
and development to the Horn, buildingon mutual dependency.
"I am proposing to you a regional pact for stability, security and
development in the Horn. This pact would revitalize and complement agreed
common programs to address the regional cross-border dynamics and ensure
that such programs are fully effective," Michel said.
"This strategy should focus, in particular, on regional governance, natural
resources management, food security, border control and nonproliferation of
small arms," he told eastern Africa leaders in Nairobi.
He called on the IGAD heads of state to build concrete achievements which
would create de facto greater solidarity in theregion as the EU experienced
itself.
"The history of the EU can be a source of inspiration for the region. The EU
has thrived and flourished because it has overcome long-standing rivalries
and hatred," said Michel.
"Nowadays, your regional political forum, IGAD, has become a central part of
the political and security architecture of the Horn of Africa. It needs to
be utilized to its full potential. Butthis requires genuine political will
and commitment," he added.
The eastern Africa leaders are meeting in Nairobi under the auspices of IGAD
to discuss rising insecurity in the region and take stock of peace in Sudan
and Somalia.
The EU official said the combination of borders and nomadic pastoralists'
communities in the region has been a constant sourceof conflicts for decades.
The region is also food insecure and lacks a rapid response mechanism to
famine, which the EU wants solved through a fund, said Michel.
He said the landmark peace agreement on Sudan and the consolidation of the
Transitional Federal Institutions in Somalia are already major breakthroughs
in achieving peace in the Horn, although these processes remain fragile.
Michel welcomed the establishment of the Eastern African Standby Military
Brigade (EASBRIG) as part of the African Standby Force, saying it would help
in developing African capacities in deployment of military peacekeeping and
monitoring operations.
Michel said the 25-member bloc envisages supporting the initiative should it
become fully operational.
"We need to recognize that most borders in the region are permeable and we
need to devote efforts to reform border controls and remove the incentives
of illicit trafficking," Michael said.
He said the border initiative would target bilateral initiatives to enhance
the monitoring of borders such as Ethiopia and Eritrea through joint
military coordination commissions or joint training programs.
The EU proposal was welcomed by delegates attending the day-long summit
"I am in favor of this proposal that is the only way to stabilize the region.
It is now the responsibility of the states and they should issue a statement
to that effect," UN Special Envoy to Somalia Francois Fall said on the
sidelines of the Summit.
The EU said there is growing concerns back in Europe on the fallout of the
chronic cycle of poverty in Africa, the instabilityin the region, which is
partly to blame for the high turnover of immigrants into Europe.
"We feel the consequences of a large number of migrants and refugees and the
risks of the spread of trafficking and terrorism in the region," Michael
told the leaders from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan and Djibouti.
He said European states believe there is an opportunity and a duty of the
African states to change the course of things.
The concrete initiatives worth expanding, according to Michel, include food
security and desertification as a major challenge, asthe region faces a new
cycle of drought and famine.
CHINE :
INDE :
BRAZIL:
Brazil Rejects Illegal Diamond Export Report
By Jeff Miller (Rapaport...March 20, 2006) Brazil's ambassador (to the
United Kingdom,) Jose Mauricio Bustani, told the Financial Times that "the
ministry of mines and energy of Brazil is carrying out new inspections in
all the mining areas for which Kimberley Process Certificates have been
granted, including those mentioned in the recent report by Partnership
Africa Canada (PAC.)"
On March 10, 2006, PAC released its report on Brazil, claiming roughly half
of diamond exports were not accounted for, and therefore, Brazil should be
suspended from the Kimberley Process. Read the summary
Bustani rejected PAC's claims and said the Kimberley Process "allows the
government to act against possible frauds. Furthermore, the Brazilian
government goes beyond the requirements of the Kimberley Process by granting
certificates only when there is documented proof that the diamonds in
question have been extracted from authorized sites."
