Burundi: En bref ce 28 JUILLET 2006 ...

Burundi: Thousands of Congolese Cross Border to Vote
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks July 28, 2006
Bujumbura

Thousands of Congolese nationals living in Burundi began crossing the border on Friday in order to cast their ballots during elections on Sunday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The Congolese used every available means of transport to get to the border - buses, taxis and even bicycles. A woman in her mid-30s said she would not miss the chance to vote at any cost: "It will be the first time in my life for me to vote."

Makonga Monga, the charges d'affaires at the Congolese embassy in the Burundian capital, Bujumbura, said at least 25,000 Congolese were expected to cross the border into eastern DRC to vote on Sunday.

By Thursday, he said, the embassy has issued 18,000 passes to registered voters in the DRC. At the border, travellers have to show a voter's card and the embassy's pass to be allowed into the DRC.

Monga said 15 offices to process the passes had been opened in Bujumbura, in the central province of Gitega and in Rumonge town in the southern province of Bururi. However, on Friday morning, there were long queues of Congolese at the embassy in Bujumbura. Monga said all would be processed by the end of the day.

He said Congolese nationals were not authorised to cast their ballots at the embassy in Bujumbura because DRC electoral law did not allow it. However, a member of a coordination committee in charge of distributing passes at the Bujumbura embassy, who requested anonymity, said that given Congo's troubled past, "there are still suspicions and some candidates would not trust us".

Near the Burundi-DRC border, about three kilometres from the Gatumba border post, immigration officials had set up about 20 workstations to ease controls on those wishing to cross the border. All a potential traveller had to do was present the white pass and receive a pink one with the same number and an immigration stamp.

"We want to ensure that those who are going have been really checked at the embassy," said Salvator Hakizimana, an immigration officer supervising the operation. There were no queues as the process took less than a minute per person.

At the border post, immigration agents only checked luggage and ensured that those travelling had stamped passes. Hakizimana said at least 2,000 people had crossed the border by mid-morning.

Congo's parliamentary and presidential elections will be the first democratic vote in the country since 1960. The Burundi government lent the DRC 8,000 ballot boxes, which were transported to the eastern DRC on Thursday by the UN Mission in Burundi, known as ONUB.

Rwanda: Canada Boosts Decentralization With Frw6 Billion
The New Times (Kigali) July 27, 2006 Gertrude Majyambere Kigali

Rwanda has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth Frw6billion (Canadian$12million) with the Canadian government to support decentralization-tailored projects over 5 years.

Jim Wall, the Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya and Uganda also the Ambassador to Rwanda, Burundi and Eritrea, said the Canadian Cooperation Program in Rwanda is concentrating on the areas of rural development and local government.

The project aims at supporting the Rwandan government's decentralization policy, strengthening the capacity of decentralized local authorities and the rural associations of Nyaruguru and Nyamagabe in Gikongoro.

The portion of the project is also dedicated to strengthen the Rwandan Association of Local Government authorities (RALGA).

"This is in line with achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), ultimately, we hope to help reduce poverty and take charge of their (associations) own development", said Wall.

Wall mentioned education as their next project, emphasizing that this will be Canada's major project for the Rwandan government.

Among other successful projects Canada has supported includes projects in the National University of Rwanda (NUR), Ministry of Justice and support to micro finance institutions.

"We hope to continue this type of fruitful and creative collaboration, help the Rwandan government reach her objectives," he promised.

The Minister of Finance and Economic planning, James Musoni said the Canadian government had been supportive in many developmental activities in the country.

"They have been so supportive in areas of rural development, poverty reduction, embarking achieving the MDGs and the government vision of 2020," he said. He said that the reason why the two districts of Nyaruguru and Nyamagabe were chosen is because they have the lowest production. "The project has come at the right time, after H.E Paul Kagame signed the agreement of commitment with local authorities to achieve their targets," he noted.

East Africa: Rwanda And Burundi's Accession Into the EAC - Benefits and Challenges
The New Times (Kigali) ANALYSIS July 27, 2006 Church Williams
Kigali
The issue of economic integration continues to occupy center-stage in the economic agendas of these two sister countries, and economic integration is imperative if Rwanda and Burundi are to succeed in meeting their development goals and becoming effective partners in the global economy.

Both Rwanda and Burundi realize that, among other things, their respective national markets are too small to provide the benefits of economies of scale and specialization. Rwanda applied to join the regional bloc that now consists of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda in 1996. Three years later, in 1999 Burundi also handed in its application for East African Community (EAC) membership. Negotiations on accession of Rwanda and Burundi into the regional bloc are now underway and the mood in the two countries is optimistic.

Arap Koech, the Chairperson of the Council of Ministers of the EAC recognized the fact that the two countries' territories are indeed inseparable from the regional bloc.

"Partner States have traditionally shared many things in common with Rwanda and Burundi, including historical, cultural, trade and other beneficial ties", Koech said during the 8 July launching of the high-level negotiations on the admission of Rwanda and Burundi into the EAC.

A report on the negotiations will be presented to the 12th Meeting of the EAC Council of Ministers scheduled for 21-25 August 2006. EAC Secretary-General Ambassador Mwapachu said that by incorporating Rwanda and Burundi, the EAC regional bloc would unleash a human and physical resource base and potential that will spur and bolster sub-regional economic competitiveness.

The enlarged economic bloc would constitute a viable regional powerhouse able to respond to and muster the challenges posed by globalization," added Ambassador Mwapachu. The envisaged enlargement is expected to turn the EAC into a five-nation regional economic integration bloc with a combined population of about 115 million people.

In a press conference held in Kigali last week, Mary Baine the Commissioner General of Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), pointed out that, "Rwanda and Burundi's accession will mean an increase in business opportunities for regional industries and commercial activities, and free movement of their people across the five borders." In actual sense, Rwanda is already actively participating in some of the EAC projects and programmes.

In February 2004, the EAC and Rwanda signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate the efficient management and sustainable development of the Lake Victoria basin and its natural resources, poverty reduction and environment protection.

The Lake Victoria catchment area covers 193,000 sq. km in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania as well as parts of Rwanda and Burundi. This area, invariably described as the Lake Victoria Basin and the East African Lake Region, is the size of an average African country with a population of over 30 million and a gross economic product in the order of US$ 5 billion.

An assessment of resource potential in the basin indicates that there are numerous potentials for investment. The basin boasts a potential market of 84.1 million people within the EAC and with strategic connection to other parts of the Great lakes region. The intra and interstate connectivity through road, rail, air and water makes the region ideal for investment in terms of strategic links with other parts of the world.

Ambassador Richard Sezibera, President Kagame's Special Envoy in the Great Lakes region and Rwanda's Technical Team leader in the formal high-level negotiations with the regional bloc believes Rwanda stands to benefit from wide and deepened co-operation in the EAC when it finally joins.

"Co-operation will among other things extend into political, economic and social fields of our mutual benefit and to this extent there shall be established a Customs Union as the entry point of the Community, a common market, a monetary union and ultimately a political federation of the East African States," added Sezibera.

Rwanda and Burundi also stand to benefit from various areas of co-operation between partner states on their admission. The regional co-operation and integration envisaged in the EAC is wide ranging, involving co-operation in political, economic, social and cultural fields, research, technology and skills development, defense, security and legal affairs for mutual and equitable development in the region.

"One of our greatest benefits in joining the regional bloc will be the maintenance of peace, security and stability within our countries," emphasized Sezibera. EAC countries emphasize co-operation in the priority areas of transport and communication, trade and industry, security, immigration and the promotion of investment in the region.

Whereas regional co-operation is necessary and indispensable to sustainable development, peace and security are a precondition to, indeed the starting point of regional integration and development according to Koech, the experience with regional co-operation shows that so long as countries are co-operating among themselves in pursuit of economic development, they will have neither reason nor cause to resort to conflict among themselves.

UGANDA

Uganda: Govt Not Ready to Abolish Death Penalty
The New Times (Kigali) July 27, 2006 Charles Kazooba Kampala

Uganda is not ready to abolish the death penalty the Speaker of Parliament, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, has said. Ssekandi, on Wednesday, July 26, told officials from the African Commission on Human and People's Rights that abolishing the death penalty "could cause anarchy" in society. He said "in our society it requires patience and sensitization" to contain crime but not abolishing the death penalty. "I personally would not say we abolish the death penalty. We should leave it intact after all, it is rarely carried out. Once we abolish the death penalty, it could cause anarchy in our society," Ssekandi told Mumba Malila and Reine Alapini-Gansou, both commissioners at the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

The two officials, during a courtesy call, had asked the Speaker to explain why Uganda was reluctant to abolish the death penalty, "a human rights abuse that is hindering development in Africa".

"From what you have said, it is true Uganda will do better. As parliament, you should explain why you have not abolished the death penalty. Nobody should take the life of another. That is how Africa will develop," Alapini-Gansou, the Commissioner of the Defense of the defenders of human rights, said.

But Ssekandi insisted: "Maybe some years to come. We still need to sensitise. The death penalty in Uganda is for capital offences, which are very few. Even in America, there are capital offences. And there is no evidence that many people have suffered because of the death penalty."

The Speaker had earlier said that the abolition of the death penalty was first debated upon during the Constituent Assembly and majority of the members maintained that it stays.

Later, Ssekandi further explained, a Constitution Review Commission was formed and "evidence came up but was rejected".

The Speaker was also asked why Uganda had failed to expressly ratify an additional declaration to the protocol charter to African Human Rights, which is supposed to permit Ugandans to approach the African Human Rights Court for rights abuse redress.

In response Ssekandi said: "Uganda was committed to the court and should the Ugandan parliament be asked for any contribution, I will immediately put that on order paper."

We need smart envoys in Arusha
Thursday, 27th July, 2006 Richard Todwong http://www.newvision.co.ug

As the election for the East African legislature Assembly (EALA) is around the corner, many Ugandans are showing interest to go to Arusha and represent our country. As we wish them well, the task at hand is not who should go but rather what Uganda’s interest in the community is and also who can best represent these interests.
Unlike Kenya and Tanzania, we are still young in the political transition that has ushered the multiparty dispensation. Kenya and Tanzania are politically more staved because the senior statesmen who fought for independence then played a critical role in nationalizing their countries. Late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and the late Mzee Julius Nyerere did their countries proud. Nyerere through the 1967 Arusha Declaration that outlined Tanzania’s policy on socialism and self-reliance introduced the Ujaama paradox hence the transformation of Tanzania from a colonial heritage to an African socialist state.
In Uganda, those who fought for independence, for example the late Ignatius Musaazi and others who had good vision for the country, were not fully in charge of the affairs of the country and they left room for opportunists to take charge. This is why as we go for the community, Uganda faces more challenged than the other partner states. We are not united as a country.
We need to do a position auditing while carrying forward our burden to the community. We should ask ourselves what we have achieved through the previous representations, what were the issues we identified as a country that our members carried to Arusha and what reports we have got from our representatives, good or bad.
If we don’t establish our core interest in the community we shall definitely achieve nothing other than sending delegates based on our usual domestic formula of regional, tribal, religious and other social class representation instead of having people in the areas of human resource development, common tariffs, common citizenship, equal employment opportunities, common market, attracting more regional investors, strengthening our shilling which is the weakest in the region, the small arms trade and the many conflicts we have gone through.
Comparative analysis according to the UNDP human development report, Millennium Development Goals 2003 puts Uganda in a more challenging position. Ugandans are 24.6 million, Kenya 31.3 million while Tanzania 35.2 million people. Life expectancy in Uganda is 43 years, Kenya is 46 years and Tanzania is at 44 years. Uganda is land-locked compared to Kenya and Tanzania.
We need, as a country, to prepare for the challenges of the integration as well. We should be ready to lose our sovereignty and some problems with our balance of payment due to the integration, fiscal impact on government revenue and expenditures will equally be affected and lastly, we should be ready to accept Rwanda and Burundi who are scheduled to join the community.
In view of the above, we need to be more focused on the economic integrations like Preferential trade Area (PTA), Freed trade Area ( FTA) , Customs Union (EC), Economic Union (EU) , Confederation and finally federation.
The conflicts Uganda has gone through have depleted the country of many experienced human resources and up to date, the following sectors: banks, insurance, industries, petroleum, hotels and tourism are mostly being manned by Kenyans and Tanzanians, the business opportunities in southern Sudan are being tapped by Kenyans and Tanzanians more because they have capital. We need as a country to realise that only national unity can make us achieve some thing through the community in spite of all the odds before us. The people we are to send are very critical in negotiating a fair deal for Uganda.
The business opportunities in southern Sudan are being tapped by Kenyans and Tanzanians more because they have capital. We need as a country to realise that only national unity can make us achieve something through the community in spite of all the odds before us.

Voters, candidates risk death in Congo's east
By C. Bryson Hull Reuters Friday, July 28, 2006

WALIKALE, Congo (Reuters) - Voters in Congo's east say they will risk their lives to cast their ballots in historic elections on Sunday as they run the gauntlet of marauding rebels and militias.
"We live in fear. These people take from us, they kill us, and they rape us," said Rita Mikindu, a resident of the remote eastern town of Walikale in Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu district.
United Nations peacekeepers are promising to protect voters in Sunday's polls, the first open, multi-party presidential and parliamentary elections held in 40 years in the vast, mineral-rich former Belgian colony in central Africa.

But although a five-year war in Congo ended three years ago in peace deals that set up the elections, large swathes of the east have been terrorized by armed groups which kill, rape and loot civilians.

Inhabitants of isolated eastern areas like Walikale, 105 km (60 miles) northwest of Goma, say they live under constant threat of attack by rebels hiding out in thick rainforests.

And the threat will be there on election day, residents say.

Mikindu said there were several villages -- many of them two days' walk through the bush -- under control of the FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu rebel group.

"Getting to these places will be difficult, because these people, the Interahamwe, are there and control the roads," she said, using a local term for the FDLR.

Walikale and its surroundings are iconic Congo, primeval rainforests breathing thick white clouds that hug the tree canopy.

The turbulent east is still struggling to emerge from Congo's 1998-2003 war, which involved six neighboring states and killed nearly 4 million people mostly through disease and malnutrition in one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters.

The FDLR has been in the Congo since 1994. Many of their estimated 10,000 fighters took part in Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

CAMPAIGN VIOLENCE
The rebels have also hindered electioneering by candidates, who have not been able to walk the streets of their districts for fear of being shot.

Two campaign workers were shot dead by unidentified gunmen in Virunga National Park on Thursday, sparking angry protests in the North Kivu town of Kiwanja on Friday.

Many blame the rebels and militias for attacks that have killed at least nine people in poll-related violence in the east.

"There have been candidates who have tried to get into FDLR-controlled territories who have either been refused or have had to seek authorization," Jason Stearns, an analyst with the International Crisis Group think tank said.

Death threats have stopped some candidates from venturing out from the relative safety of the North Kivu capital Goma.

"I don't want to meet anyone and I don't want to talk to anyone," said Kiabantu Pilipili, a candidate for Sunday's parliamentary elections.

The Congolese army and U.N. peacekeepers have deployed across North Kivu and the rest of the east, along with national police who are due to handle security at polling stations.

At Shabunda, an isolated town in South Kivu district, a unit of Pakistani U.N. peacekeepers is preparing for Sunday's vote.

"We are here to support the elections," said their commanding officer, Major Alamgeer. But residents say the protection goes little further than the town.

(Additional reporting by David Mwangi, Eva Gilliam, and David Lewis.)

East Africa: Kenya And Uganda Railways Takeover Date Postponed
The East African Standard (Nairobi) July 28, 2006 Kimathi Njoka
Nairobi

The planned takeover of the Kenya Railways Corporation by the Rift Valley Railways through a concessioning has been shelved.

In a joint communique, the Governments of Kenya and Uganda on Thursday announced the postponement of the takeover by the concessionaire from August 1, to November 1.

The communique indicated that the date change was meant to allow the finalisation of some outstanding conditions.

"To facilitate a smooth transfer of operations from the current management to the concessionaire and to enable fulfillment of all the conditions stipulated in the agreements, the parties have agreed to extend the transfer of operations from August 1to November 1," the statement said.

According to the statement, the three-month extension will also allow the two Governments to implement country specific transitional measures aimed at ensuring smooth operation of railway services before the handover. This will also cover core labour related issues, including settlement of terminal benefits.

The review, the statement indicated, will also allow the concessionaire to finalise project financing arrangements needed for longer-term investments.

However, there are indications that the shelving of the takeover date may have been occasioned by a delay in the short-listing of the workers.

According to documents available to The Standard, the firm engaged by the concessionaire to undertake staff assessment and recruitment of workers from the corporations to be retained is yet to complete its job.

According to the documents, Delloite Consulting Ltd recruitment exercise is expected to be concluded by the end of September.

Senior and middle management staff to be hired by RVR will be assessed next week, while those of other staff members has been set for August 7 and 18.

The two Governments had in 2003 agreed to undertake a joint concession of Kenya and Uganda Railways Corporations.

The process culminated in the signing of the concession agreement with the winning bidder - the Rift Valley Railways on April 7.

The concessionaire is expected to rehabilitate the railway networks and breathe life into the operations of the cash-strapped corporations.

RVR is also set to revive wagon ferry link between Kisumu and Port Bell in Uganda.

According to an agreement signed with the two Governments, the concessionaire will run the railways for 25 years, during which he will pay an annual concessioning fee equivalent to 11.1 per cent of its revenues from business and Sh74 million per year for passenger services in Kenya.

Angola: Ivorian Minister In Angola For MOWCA Meeting
Angola Press Agency (Luanda) July 27, 2006 Luanda

Côte d'Ivoire's Transports minister, Canaky Kobenan Innocent, arrived in Luanda on Wednesday evening to attend the 5th session of Ministers Bureau of the Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (MOWCA), which will be held on 27-28 July.

The official, who did not speak to the press on his arrival, is being accompanied by a senior staff of the Ivorian Transports Ministry.

The Transports ministers of Nigeria and Senegal are already in Luanda to attend this meeting, whose main theme is "For a profitable maritime service, with security and less pollution".

The event will analyse topics such as "The maritime fund/regional maritime bank", "Issues relating to maritime academies" and "Cooperation with the international organisations for development", among others.

The presidency of MOWCA is currently being chaired by Angola, assisted by Senegal and DR Congo (vice-presidency).

Set up in 1975, MOWCA has 25 members and has the objective of creating an integrated network of coastal guard services for member countries, as well as encourage the organisation's modernisation, development and efficiency.

Angola/Trade Fair: Spain, S. Africa, Cuba Exhibit Today
Luanda, 07/28 - ANGOP - The 23rd edition of the International Trade Fair of Luanda (FILDA) reserves for this Friday, third day of the event, the holding of commercial contacts between firms and business people, as well as the exposition of the products by Spanish, South African and Cuban companies, in the morning period.

According to the FILDA-2006 programme, an event which ends on Sunday, there will also be this Thursday a seminar on "Business Solutions".

There are 22 countries exhibiting in this year`s edition, with highlight to Portugal, Spain, Germany, Russia, USA, Ghana, The Netherlands, Mozambique, Brazil, South Africa, Namibia and China.

ANGOP has learnt that out of he 340 firms in the fair, 260 of them are foreign.

Angola analyzes requests to open 10 financial institutions

[ 2006-07-28 ] (macauhub) Lisbon, Portugal, 28 July – The Bank of Angola is analyzing 10 requests to open financial institutions in the country, amongst them the new bank of Macau businessman Stanley Ho, that of South Africa’s Standard Bank and Britain's Barclays, Portuguese financial daily, Diário Económico reported.

According to the paper, a project of Portuguese bank Finibanco is amongst the proposals being assessed. The bank plans to open up 20 branches in Angola in three years as well as investment banking activities.

This bank, which has capital of US$10 million, will be 60-percent owned by Finibanco, 30 percent by local investors and also involves Portuguese businessman Jorge Armindo.

Another project being analyzed is that of Banco Privado do Atlântico, with capital of US$50 million, which is aimed at the corporate and investment sectors.

Mário Palhares, a former director of Banco Africano de Investimento, is linked to another proposal to create a financial institution involving Angolan financial investors.

Ho’s project was announced a few months ago and isfocused on serving the Chinese population, businesspeople and companies operating in Angola, called Banco Angolano de Negócios e Comércio (BANC).

According to Diário Económico the proposals being analyzed also include those of Standard Bank, the largest bank in South Africa, and Barclays, which is a shareholder of Banco Comercial Angolano, via South Africa’s ABSA, which it recently acquired.
The increased interest in the Angolan market is driven by projected strong growth of the country’s economy over the next few years, as well as investment potential.

Angola currently has low levels of banking, but which have been growing steadily, particularly over the last few years.

Bank deposits represent 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and loans represent 7 percent, but these indicators fell 50 percent and 60 percent respectively in 2005, according to Diário Económico.

The Angolan banking market is currently dominated by Banco Fomento de Angola (BFA), owned by Portuguese group BPI and Banco de Poupança e Crédito.

As well as Banco Fomento, which last year led the Angolan market for loans, Banco Espírito Santo and Totta also operate in the country.

Portugal’s largest private bank, Millennium BCP is currently beginning its process of expansion, as is BIC, which is part-owned by Portuguese businessman Américo Amorim.

AFRIQUE DU SUD :

Trying times at De Beers
Justin Brown | Johannesburg, South Africa 28 July 2006

The world's largest diamond miner, De Beers, on Friday said it expects the outlook for the global rough diamond market for the second half of 2006 to be difficult.

De Beers's marketing arm, the Diamond Trading Company (DTC), is estimated to have lowered the prices of its smaller diamonds by 5% to 7% at its July sight -- the sixth for 2006. The DTC holds 10 such marketing events each year.

"It has been a testing time over the past six months. It has been difficult trading conditions," De Beers chairperson Nicky Oppenheimer said during a results teleconference.

However, the retail market for diamond jewellery is vibrant, he added.

"Asia-Arabia is currently returning mixed reports with good growth seen in China and slower growth in India. The risk factors in the second half was rising fuel prices and higher interest rates, stock-market volatility as well as global instability," De Beers MD Gareth Penny said.

During the half-year to June, the DTC increased its rough diamond prices by less than 2%, in February. Comparing the first half of 2005 and the first half of 2006, rough diamond prices rose by 3,3%, De Beers financial director Stuart Brown said.

Earlier on Friday, De Beers reported a 1% increase in DTC sales for the half-year to June to $3,252-billion from $3,220-billion in the previous interim period.

The group's total attributable diamond production at its mines in Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania rose by 4% to a record 24,7-million carats.

In the first half of 2005, De Beers reported diamond production of 23,7-million carats.

De Beers has six diamond mines in South Africa, 50:50 diamond-mining joint ventures with the Botswana and Namibian governments and a 75:25 venture mining venture with the Tanzanian government.

Two of the South African mines are profitable and four are close to profitability, Brown said. In February, De Beers said that four out of six local mines were profitable.

The positive aspect of De Beers's first-half results is the increase in diamond production, while its earnings have come out more or less in line with expectations, an analyst said. "The negative was the dull outlook for rough diamond prices," the analyst added.

Investment analysts have been concerned about the level of cutting-centre debt. The world's key diamond cutting centres are in Belgium, China, India and Israel.

There is a lack of liquidity in cutting centres due to rising interest rates, Penny said.

De Beers reported that its first-half underlying earnings declined by 14% to $308-million from $357-million previously.

The group said that in the short term, the company expects rough-diamond market conditions to remain "challenging", with constrained growth in the second half of DTC sales.

"On the back of increased DTC marketing expenditure and new marketing initiatives, expectations remain positive for consumer diamond jewellery sales in the second half. This consumer-demand growth will, in the medium term, translate into increased demand for rough diamonds," De Beers said.

De Beers declared an interim dividend of $150-million, unchanged from the previous comparative period.

The group is 45% held by global resources group Anglo American (Anglo), which said it will report underlying earnings of $164-million for the half-year to June from De Beers, down from $188-million in the six months to June last year.

At 11.05am, Anglo shares were quoted at R282,50, down 0,6% or R1,90 from the previous close.

Demand for diamond jewellery in the consumer markets has remained robust, with estimated growth of 3% to 4% on the record levels of 2005, but more difficult trading conditions exist in the market for rough diamonds, De Beers said.

"This results from the impact, on rough diamond demand, of higher interest rates, higher gold and platinum prices in the retail jewellery product, reduced margins across the distribution pipeline, and the increasing need to manage polished inventory levels," the group added.

In Canada, the Snap Lake and Victor projects remain on track for commissioning, as planned, in the fourth quarter of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2008 respectively, De Beers said.

Snap Lake is expected to produce 2,4-million carats a year and Victor 630 000 carats a year, MD Penny said.

"Project costs have increased, principally due to higher energy and material costs in the competitive Canadian environment, technological and construction challenges and the impact of the early closure of the winter road," the group said.

De Beers has approved a total expenditure of Can$2-billion to bring the two projects into production on schedule.

The group's capital expenditure for the half-year to June was $394-million, up 338% from the $90-million in the same period in 2005.

Other projects that De Beers is involved in are the South African Sea Areas project expected to add 260 000 carats a year -- the project is to be completed by 2007.

De Beers is also looking to proceed with the Voorspoed mine, which would add 595 000 carats a year, Penny said.

In Botswana, Debswana is looking to 10-million carats a year from the Orapa 3 project, of which production will largely be replacement carats, Penny added.

In the first half of 2006, De Beers increased exploration, investing $25-million more than in the corresponding period in 2005.

"This includes the use of state-of-the-art geophysics technology deployed on a Zeppelin in Botswana, and the re-establishment of full-scale programmes in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where we have access to some of the world's most diamond-rich prospective ground," the group said.

"2006 results from the De Beers joint venture with LVMH in the retail sector have been good, with sales well up on 2005 in total and on a like-for-like basis. New stores have been opened in Japan and Dubai, and further expansion is planned in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Taiwan," De Beers added.

De Beers is looking to open 20 new stores before the end of 2006, Penny said.

In April, De Beers concluded an empowerment deal that resulted in 26% of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBCM) or De Beers's South African operations being sold to Ponahalo empowerment consortium for R3,7-billion. About R4,5-billion in debt had been raised for the transaction, Brown said.

On conflict diamonds, Oppenheimer said that according to the United Nations, these diamonds were an estimated 4% of global production in the 1990s. Oppenheimer claimed that these stones now make up 0,2% of total global diamond production.

On safety, Penny said that that group's lost-time injury frequency rate was 0,19 in the first half of 2006 from 0,22 in the first half of 2005. -- I-Net Bridge

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SA urges on Kony talks
Thursday, 27th July, 2006 By Wilfred Sanya
THE South African (SA) government has called upon the international community to participate in the peace negotiations between the Joseph Kony-led LRA and the Ugandan government in Sudan.
SA minister of security and chief negotiator in the Burundi peace talks Charles Ndakura said this while addressing journalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday. He had come to brief President Yoweri Museveni regarding the Burundi talks in Arusha, Tanzania.
“We urge the international community to participate in the peace negotiation in Southern Sudan because the conflict in northern Uganda has been a concern to everybody,” said Ndakura
Foreign affairs minister Sam Kutesa, deputy ambassador to the UN Adonia Ayebare and ambassador Patrick Mugoya attended the press conference.
Ndakura said the SA could participate if called upon to assist in the talks in Sudan. He encouraged countries with more resources to participate too. He said SA was one of the first countries to send forces that participated in peace keeping during negotiations between the rebel Sudanese people’s Liberation army and the Sudan government.
He said the Burundi peace negotiations will be concluded if the government agreed to restructure the national army as demanded by the rebel National Liberation Forces.
He said SA president Thambo Mbeki will not seek a third term in office. “He will stick to the their constitution,” he said in response to a question from the press as to whether Mbeki would stand again.

AFRIQUE / U A :

Somalis riot after minister shot to death
7/28/2006 By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN The Associated Press

BAIDOA, Somalia (AP) — Hundreds of people rioted Friday near the headquarters of Somalia's virtually powerless government after a Cabinet minister was fatally shot outside a mosque.

People began streaming into the streets and setting fires just hours after the killing of Abdallah Isaaq Deerow, Somalia's minister for constitutional and federal affairs.

An unidentified gunman shot Deerow several times in the chest, then escaped, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

"We condemn this wicked action and the government will chase the murderers and treat them with an iron hand," said the government's information minister, Mohamed Abdi Hayir.

The shooting was the second this week of a lawmaker in Baidoa, the only town controlled by the fragile administration. Mohammed Ibrahim Mohammed, chairman of the parliamentary committee for constitutional affairs, was wounded Wednesday night. Police were investigating both shootings.

The government, which has no military, has watched helplessly in recent months as Islamic militants have taken over the capital and much of southern Somalia. On Thursday, 18 top ministers resigned, saying the government has failed to bring peace to this chaotic African nation.

Deerow was not among those who resigned.

Also Friday, Islamic fighters closed roads around the capital's airport and chased away onlookers while a plane was unloaded. A similar aircraft delivered goods Wednesday, and officials from the government accused Eritrea of sending arms to the militants on that flight.

Islamic officials and Eritrea both denied the accusation. Eritrea and Ethiopia have been accused of supporting opposite sides in the Somali standoff, using the country as a battleground in their own rivalry.

The lawmakers who resigned Thursday said they were opposed to troops from neighboring Ethiopia who were sent here to protect the government from the Islamic group.

"We have seen that the government cannot carry out national reconciliation and development," said the resignation letter issued Thursday by 18 key ministers in the 102-member Cabinet.

Prime Minister Mohammed Ali Gedi accused the former Cabinet ministers of trying to bring down his government, but said it would not be affected.

The Islamic militants' increasing power has prompted grave concerns in the United States, which accuses the group of harboring al-Qaida leaders responsible for deadly 1998 bombings at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The Islamic group's imposition of strict religious courts also has raised fears of an emerging Taliban-style regime.
Associated Press writer Mohamed Sheikh Nor contributed to this report from Mogadishu.

Malawi Ex-President Muluzi charged with corruption

Blantyre, Malawi, 07/28 - ANGOP - Malawi`s former President Bakili Muluzi, who was arrested Thursday by agents of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), has been charged with 42 counts of corruption, theft and breach of trust, his lawyers and officials of the State agency said.

"We obtained a warrant of arrest for the former Head of State from a Magistrate and we executed it this morning," ACB Director Gustave Kaliwo, told the press here. "We have two indictments for him with a total of 42 counts."

He said 40 of the charges related to 1.4bn Malawi Kwacha (about US$12 million) of donor funds allegedly traced to Muzuli`s personal account, adding that the money from Taiwan, Morocco, Libya and Rwanda, was meant for development programmes.

The other charges, Kaliwo said, involved US$50,000 allegedly channelled through the Tanzanian embassy to Muluzi.

The former president refused to speak to journalists but one of his lawyers, Fahad Assani, said Muluzi denied all the charges.

"We would rather the former president make full explanation to the nation in court and we are very confident he will be found innocent," the lawyer added.

Muluzi, wearing a black suit and flanked by some political allies, came out of the ACB office beaming.

He spoke briefly to some supporters who chanted his praise before being driven away in his Range Rover.

UDF spokesman Sam Mpasu described the arrest as continuation of "political persecution" by the administration of President Bingu wa Mutharika.

Muluzi anointed Mutharika to succeed him at the end of his two five-year constitutional terms. But soon after winning the May 2004 controversial elections both men fell out.

Mutharika quit the UDF to found his own Democratic Progressive Party, claiming he left the former ruling party because its leaders were against his anti-corruption drive.

The UDF later ganged up with other opposition parties to try and impeach Mutharika, accusing him of breaching the national Constitution, but the bid failed.

Central Africa: Conquests in Networking the Great Lakes Region
The New Times (Kigali) July 27, 2006 Church Williams Kigali

In terms of coverage, both Rwanda and Burundi lead the region in tarmac roads per square kilometers, which can partly be explained by their size and their complete dependency on roads since they are landlocked. Kenya and Uganda hold the mid-range positions with less than half the road density than Rwanda and Burundi. Finally, it should be of little surprise that the Central African Republic and the DRC are least developed and represent their own brand of challenges.

Tanzania is making plans for a road network connecting the Central transport corridor that traverses the central part of Tanzania linking Dar es Salaam with the landlocked countries of Rwanda and Burundi. Another 245-km road stretch that links the inland transit depot of Isaka in Tanzania with landlocked Rwanda is in the pipeline. Although this would improve trade in the region, GLCSS believes the work will be affected by under-funding and corruption which has characterized some of the road network projects in the region.

Considering the undeveloped rail and road systems in the region, air transport continues to play a significant role. Nairobi, Kinshasa, and recently Entebbe airports provide the region with external connections. The recent dispute between Rwanda and SN Brussels airline provides an accurate assessment of the region's vulnerability and dependence on European airlines to open external markets.

Nevertheless, efforts to upgrade airports in the region are in progress. The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is being upgraded to Win the "category one" status from America's Federal Aviation Authority. This status will allow direct flights between JKIA and American airports. Tanzania in collaboration with Kenya has embarked on two complementary projects. The East African Civil Aviation Project which entails a study on the establishment of an East Africa Upper Flight Information Region, and a Search and Rescue region. In addition, they will create a project to address common deficiencies identified by the ICAO Safety Oversight audits.

This will allow JKIA to maintain its status as a regional hub in the face of competition and will allow the rest of the region to export their perishable products to the American market as well as boosting tourism in the region.

Ocean transport, however, remains the key access to the region for large bulk items. Kenya's main sea port of Mombasa has a deep-water port with 21 berths, and it serves most of the East and Central African countries. Although the port acts a main port of entry for water transport in the region, the ever increasing congestion has necessitated introduction of new measures, including the fast-tracking of cargo verification by police. This is in an effort to speed up cargo clearance to Rwanda, Burundi, DRC and South Sudan. Also, the Kenyan government plans to construct a second commercial port at its Indian Ocean island of Lamu, north of Mombasa targeting cargos from Southern Sudan and Ethiopia.

The transport infrastructure of the region remains one of the top priorities for stimulating economic growth in Central and East Africa. However, the governments of the region remain dependent on outside financing of these large-scale projects and project development time is extensive. The regional experiences a fast growing population, a continuing drought in some parts of the region, and continued corruption which present significant obstacles to further development. Nevertheless the infrastructural networking provides a leeway to development in this region.

UN /ONU :

Time to Create a Legitimate World Organization
Frank Salvato July 28, 2006 http://www.familysecuritymatters.org

As Israel continues to battle Hezbollah and Hamas (the proxy warriors of Syria and Iran) in a struggle for their very existence, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has publicly accused the Israeli Defense Forces of “deliberately” targeting a UN observation post in Lebanon with a missile strike that took the lives of four UN peacekeepers. That a UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, established in 1978 to assure peace in the region, has failed should not come as a surprise; that Kofi Annan should invite scrutiny of the UN in the face of its many failures does.

When the United Nations was established in 1945, there was great hope that it would serve to stave off future world conflicts through the facilitation of dialogue between nations. In theory, this concept – that ingenuous nations might be able to rationally meet in the spirit of compromise and negotiation – seemed sensible and noble. But as moral relativism and corruption manifested at the roots of the organization, ingenuousness disappeared and the organization fell to those possessing a globalist agenda, the victims of this ideological coup being innocents around the globe and the notion that there is good and evil in the world.

Beginning with the fact that nations that harbor terrorist groups, along with those who routinely ignore the basic tenants of human rights, are seated on the UN Human Rights Commission, it is easy to see how behind the scenes politics and the idea of inclusion at all costs has corrupted the very spirit of the organization. When nations such as Communist China, Syria and Vietnam can sit in judgment of others regarding their approach to human rights, the validity of the commission stands in question. And when Sudan, a leaderless country currently unable to prevent the ethic cleansing of it own people, is counted among those charged with examining the human rights practices of other nations, the commission’s credibility lay shattered.

Illustrating the decades of ineptitude and backroom political corruption is the tenure of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan. To say that Annan’s “leadership” has been a miserable failure would be the epitome of an understatement.

Annan served as the Assistant Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations from 1993 to 1994. Under this command, UN Peacekeepers were denied their repeated requests for authorization to intervene in the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda. Annan’s inaction – and the inaction of the UN Security Council – is responsible for the genocidal massacre of an estimated 1,071,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

In 2002, reports that UN Peacekeepers were sexually abusing refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo came to light. Claims of pedophilia, rape and prostitution at a UN site in Bunia were dismissed by a UN investigation into the charges. It wasn’t until film surfaced validating the allegations that any action was taken. Still, Annan decided to downplay the atrocities stating that, he was, “…glad to say that the allegations concern only a small number of UN personnel.”

To date, the crisis in Darfur, Sudan receives little else but rhetoric as the number of those killed in what the United Nations cannot bring itself to call genocide approaches 500,000. While the UN Security Council has passed a peacekeeping resolution for Darfur, in which the African Union would transfer its 7,300-member peacekeeping force stationed there to UN control by the end of September, precious time is running out as radical Islamists flock to Sudan in an effort to reconstitute a base of operations lost in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The UN and Kofi Annan, assisted by the progressive-left and the mainstream media, continue to ignore that mass murder, ethnic cleansing and human rights atrocities were the primary reason given for the US-led liberation of Iraq. These were but a few of many reasons – including Iraq’s WMD programs and its links to terrorist organizations including al Qaeda – that were presented by President Bush in an address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 12, 2002. Yet Annan and his cohorts on this failing world body continue to characterize the liberation of over 31 million people from the totalitarian regime of Saddam Hussein as “an illegal war,” doing so in the face of the corrupt Oil-for-Food Program that saw UN officials lining their pockets with Saddam’s blood money.

Time after time the United Nations has been given the opportunity to “do what was right” in the eyes of the innocent and tortured, the threatened and the oppressed existing throughout the world. And time after time they have chosen a politically influenced globalist ideology over action and inaction over saving lives.

It is well past time that the United States takes the initiative in closing the history book on this ineffective and dangerous organization of ideologues, do-nothings, bureaucrats and criminals.

The US should assemble an exclusive coalition of functioning democratic governments from around the world and enjoin them in forming a legitimate world body whose tenants place liberty, freedom, human rights and justice above a globalist ideology that employs moral relativism and political corruption. Once this new and legitimate world body has been assembled the United States should immediately withdraw from the United Nations and cease all funding to the organization, declaring it corrupt beyond repair.

As the impotent UN stands in the shadow of its inability to define “terrorism,” and as the world stands witness to the on-going aggression of radical Islamofascism, an aggression reminiscent of the Nazi uprising, the only question to be asked is whether the world can continue to afford the ineptitude, in-action and corruption of the United Nations. To that extent, it’s only the survival of the world that hangs in the balance.

USA :

Africa may sue US over subsidies
27/07/2006 - (SA)
Geneva - African countries on Thursday warned they may launch a legal challenge over subsidies to cotton producers in rich countries, notably the United States, after the collapse of talks aimed at making global commerce fairer.

Days after faltering World Trade Organisation talks were frozen because of persistent disputes among six leading powers, Africa's main cotton-producing countries said they were deeply frustrated.

"Over five years of talks we've told our farmers that their misery was nearly over," said Samuel Amehou, the trade ambassador of Benin.

The West African nation has worked alongside Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali to try to solve the cotton issue.

"Our leaders are ready to move to the next stage," Amehou said, when asked if Africa's cotton nations were prepared to launch a full-blown legal offensive.

Officials from Benin note that 25 000 US cotton producers share a subsidy cake worth $4.bn a year, while conditions for 20 million African cotton farmers are worsening.

About 60% of Benin's seven-million-strong population lives from cotton, which represents 70% of the country's foreign earnings.

A conference of the 149-nation WTO in Hong Kong last December yielded a deal in which the United States and other rich countries agreed to progressively remove subsidies to their cotton producers, which are accused of skewing trade against poor competitors.

A key plank of the deal was that export subsidies for rich countries' cotton industries would be phased out by the end of this year.

The accord was part of the WTO's wider Doha Round negotations which aim to give developing countries a much-needed economic boost by cutting global barriers to commerce.

But the Doha Round, which was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001, was on Monday put on ice for an undetermined period - possibly until 2009 or 2010, analysts forecast.

The suspension occured after talks between Australia, Brazil, the European Union, India, Japan and the United States broke down in acrimony because their negotiators were unable to reach a compromise on overall cuts in farm subsidies and customs duties.

Some subsidies to the US cotton industry have been ruled illegal already by the WTO's dispute settlement body, which handles complaints among member nations and can order stiff penalties to make them fall into line.

Amehou said that discussions were under way with Brazil, which won the earlier challenge against Washington.

Brazil later reached a deal with Washington, giving the United States time to adapt its legislation, but still could ask for WTO authorisation to impose $4bn in retaliatory duties.

There have been widespread warnings that the Doha Round freeze could lead to a rise in WTO disputes, as members try to drive down subsidies through legal action.

CANADA :

Canada happier than U.S.
Fri, July 28, 2006 By CP

TORONTO -- Don't worry, be happy -- it seems to be the Canadian way.

Canada has made the top 10 on a "world map of happiness," which rates 178 countries ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe on their populations' overall sense of well-being.

Ranked 10th in the world, Canada scored high on the map's three major measures of happiness -- health, wealth and access to education, said one of its creators, Adrian White of the University of Leicester in England.

"Recently there's been a lot of political interest in looking at happiness as a measure of a country's performance, rather than just GDP," White said.

He said in recent years, there has been a growing debate, particularly in England, over whether countries should focus more on societal happiness than on wealth creation.

"The underlying assumption between that is that the two aren't related. But if you look at the countries that don't have the finances for health or education for their children, there's much lower levels of satisfaction with life."

Topping the happiness map is Denmark, with Burundi claiming the bottom spot. The U.S. ranked 23rd.

AUSTRALIE :

EUROPE :

'World Map of Happiness' Shows Denmark Is Capital

http://abcnews.go.com LONDON, July 28, 2006 — If you're looking for happiness, go and live in Denmark.

It is the happiest country in the world while Burundi in Africa is the most unhappy, according to a report by a British scientist released on Friday.

Adrian White, an analytical social psychologist at the University of Leicester in central England, based his study on data from 178 countries and 100 global studies from the likes of the United Nations and the World Health Organisation.

"We're looking much more at whether you are satisfied with your life in general," White told Reuters. "Whether you are satisfied with your situation and environment."

The main factors that affected happiness were health provision, wealth and education, according to White who said his research had produced the "first world map of happiness".

Following behind Denmark came Switzerland, Austria, Iceland and the Bahamas.

At the bottom came the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and Burundi. The United States came in at 23rd, Britain was in 41st place, Germany 35th and France 62nd.

Countries involved in conflicts, such as Iraq, were not included.

"Smaller countries tend to be a little happier because there is a stronger sense of collectivism and then you also have the aesthetic qualities of a country," White said.

"We were surprised to see countries in Asia scoring so low, with China 82nd, Japan 90th, and India 125th. These are countries that are thought as having a strong sense of collective identity which other researchers have associated with well-being."

He admitted collecting data based on well-being was not an exact science, but said the measures used were very reliable in predicting health and welfare outcomes.

Regular studies by academics across the globe using the same tests would allow researchers to better understand what factors affected happiness and White said he hoped every country in the future would carry out bi-annual checks.

CHINE :

China woos Africa and African students
By: Jennifer Holder Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
7/26/2006

In June 2006, China’s Premier Wen Jiabo went on a seven-nation African tour. China has had diplomatic relations with African countries for 50 years, and Wen is the third high-level Chinese official to visit Africa so far this year.

Further evidence of China’s commitment to maintaining strong relations with Africa is the Sino-Africa summit that is scheduled to be held in Beijing later this year.

As reported in the Chinese media, Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing declared Wen’s tour a success that will have a profound impact on future China-Africa relations. The Chinese government has given approximately U.S. $5.5 billion in assistance to Africa to date; and in addition, China has completed some 900 projects of economic and social development in Africa.

Over the 50 years of its relations with Africa, China has sent 16,000 health workers to 47 different countries on the continent and reduced or cancelled the debt of 31 nations. It was also reported that to date China has provided scholarships for 18,000 students from 60 African countries to study in China.

During the week that Wen was visiting Africa, televised news reports showed African government officials thanking and praising the Chinese government. The media also reported at the same time that China’s relations with African countries have not been without skeptics. The view that China’s interests are self-serving, albeit voiced only by a minority, was openly debated.

I live in Hangzhou, where a number of Africans study who are recipients of Chinese government scholarships. It was my pleasure to meet Dunga (not his real name), an African student on a Chinese scholarship at Zhejiang University. His awe-inspiring story adds a personal element to the debate as to the nature of China’s relations with Africa.

Dunga is one of about 50 African students studying at Zhejiang University, nicknamed Zheda, during the 2005-2006 school year. Ranked one of the three top Chinese universities, Zheda is one of the largest and most prestigious educational institutions in China.

This is the only university in Zhejiang province where the African students are sent to study medicine and agronomy almost exclusively. Students at Zheda study in an outstanding academic environment, live on beautiful, modern campuses, and are in a position to experience firsthand the rapid development of China.

Dunga was one of hundreds of people, students and working adults alike, who applied for one of the 10 Chinese scholarships that are awarded in his country each year. Dunga feels very fortunate that he was chosen, and although his country cannot afford to give him a monthly stipend for personal expenses, nor guarantee him a job immediately upon his return, he is very grateful for the unique opportunity to study in China.

Now in the process of completing his doctoral studies in agronomy, Dunga is conducting research under the auspices of one of China’s top institutions in agricultural research and development. He arrived in China four years ago to study for a master’s degree. Upon completion of the master’s program, the Chinese government extended Dunga’s scholarship to study for his Ph.D. due to his excellent academic performance.

Dunga recalls much difficulty in adjusting to the Chinese culture. In fact, shortly after he arrived in China, he was overcome with culture shock and wanted to return home. However, since he did not have an airline ticket nor any money, returning home immediately was not a viable option. Thus, Dunga applied his energy to studying and at the same time working as an English teacher in an elementary school.

During Dunga’s first year, his study was solely devoted to learning the official Chinese language. With determination, Dunga became proficient in the language, not only in speaking but also in reading and writing the Chinese characters. This skill has endeared him to the Chinese people and allows him to move more freely within the culture.

Dunga is quite often amused by the reactions of Chinese people when he speaks. Nonetheless, he is no longer perturbed by the curious stares from onlookers or the queries about his skin color. China has become Dunga’s second home, and although he looks forward to returning home to his African country, he enjoys living in Hangzhou and admits that he will miss China.

Jennifer Holder, Ed.D., a retired bank executive from St. Paul, is one of seven foreign teachers and the only African American at a foreign language school in Hangzhou, China. Dr. Holder welcomes reader responses to jyholder@msn.com.

INDE :

Globalisation and Democracy
2006 » July » 28 , By Jimmy Dabhi - Jimmi Dhabi is the director of Indian Social Institute

The basic tenets of globalization are to remove borders, restrictions and create a free movement of people and resources. However, the globalization we have at hand is that of economics where finance and trade are expected to have borders and restrictions of movements. This proclaimed globalisation is contradiction in terms because it restricts the freedom of movement of labour, knowledge and technology. This globalisation allows goods to be moved from one part of the world to the other but not labour force. Labour movement is considered as liability for the developed countries, and therefore, strict, stringent migration and visa restriction.

Globalisation and democracy are not opposed to each other but the way globalisation is conceived by the rich countries (especially the USA, the UK and some countries of EU) and by the rich in our country is anti-democratic.

Globalisation has come to mean global trade and financial transaction out of the control of the State and under the dictates of the market. The assumption is that free market will enhance trade and economy and thus the well- being of all. The last decade and a half has proved the well being of a few and a curse for millions - for example, the collapse of the South Asian tigers of 1990s, the impoverishment of African countries, and the increase in disparities between the rich and the poor in Asian countries including India.

Market is based on the principle of demand, supply and competition. A market does not operate on its own. It is a human made system. It is selective. Those who have resources can enter the market, and those who do not are rejected. Therefore, those who have and have in plenty manipulate the market as well as the demand and supply within the market. Competition therefore is unfair and between unequal partners and the small players are eliminated from the market. The small, domestic and indigenous trade and product does not stand much chance to be in the market. The debate and conflict in the WTO negotiations are centred on on how to manipulate the world market in the interests of a few countries and the rich within those countries. It is a cutthroat business where the democratic principles and the well- being of all do not have a role to play and the first countries to violate these norms are the USA and EU. India is no better when it comes to fleecing our neighbouring countries with regard to trade.

Free market for profit
Free market is supposed to remove the monopoly of any one player but experience suggests that globalisation has brought in the monopoly of the Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and World financial institution like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. They control domestic, national and global economy and thus the State becomes a ploy in their hands and in danger of losing its sovereignty. In other words, economy controls the politics of the world and the nation state. Monopoly and democracy are contradictory in terms but the present profit- oriented globalisation encourages monopoly and undermines democracy and sovereignty of other countries. The attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq in recently and on Vietnam in the past are the crude examples of this hegemony of USA and UK. The UN stood helpless in front of these powers. Love for democracy is the justification for these attacks and wars but the real motives are oil, natural resources and big business (arms supply, reconstruction, relief supply) that can be established in times of war. The internal conflict of some of the African countries like Rwanda, Burundi, Chad are in many ways the result of profit driven markets, a kind of development paradigm supported by the big powers, MNCs, Mafia, including WB and IMF. The right wing political parties within these countries are ardent supporters of such a development where blood, sweat and suffering of the millions are justified if a few can enjoy the fruits of this development.

Democracy is a system of governance, which is in the hands of people to govern and develop themselves. Globalisation as it is operating today is violating democratic principles and reducing democratic spaces for people to participate, protest and prevent.
The evils of globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation are resisted all over the world and at the same time they are gaining ground in all spheres of national and international life. These forces have changed the character of world economy as well as that of the socio-cultural and political life. Globalisation, as advocated, is undervaluing democracies across the world, and often seems to replace that old dictatorship of national elites with new dictatorship of international finance.

For millions of people globalisation has not worked, not for our Dalits, Adivasi, Muslim minorities, backward castes and communities. Many have actually been made worse with their jobs destroyed, their habitats trampled upon, and making their lives more insecure. They feel increasingly powerless against the forces beyond their control. They have seen their democracies undermined and their culture eroded. Terrorised and forced by state coercive powers, dominance of large financial institutions and the criminalized polity have compelled some to take to arms and are branded as ‘terrorists’, ‘naxals’, ‘maos’, by the so- called custodians of democracy, national security and integrity of the nation state. Democracy itself is hijacked by a few for their vested interests. Hitler is an example of a recent past and Bush and Modi are living examples.

Propoganda
Harold Dwight Lasswell argued that democracies need propaganda to keep the uninformed citizenry in agreement with what the specialized class had determined was in their best interests. This seems to be true in today’s world. The rich countries and elite of our country use democracy to further their interests. The present conflict in Nepal is to restore democracy, democracy, which is not at the mercy of the king. The demand of the people including the Maos is for people’s power, gone are the days of king and queens. Our Sangh Parivaris would not be totally against the rule of the kind because it suits their ends – the domination of Hindutva, the high caste and elite, the fundamentalists, the fascist. The USA troops will be very happy to send their forces to eliminate the Maos. Anyone who voices people’s concern and agenda have to be branded as terrorist, Naxals and Maos. One needs justification to suppress people’s voice. Fascist forces in India like the Sangh parivar need cultural Nationalism (another name for Hindu Rashtra) to eliminate the Muslims who then have to necessarily be branded Islamic terrorist by Bush, Blain and BJP to kill them.

Governments do not always act in the interests of people at large. Indeed, they are frequently sectarian in their actions and interventions as they seek to promote or to protect the interests of the classes, or groups, whom they represent. Sometimes, if not often, they may manipulate on behalf of groups who can exercise influence. Many governments of the Third World including India have given red carpet welcome to liberalisation and privatisation, the two pillars of globalisation. South Asian, African, Latin American experience suggest that globalisation as promulgated by the rich nations have not benefited the poor countries and the poor within these countries.
The Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, the poor, the marginalised, landless and unorganised labourers, the fisher folks of India are not against development or globalisation. But they do condemn the lopsided globalisation, which is anti-poor, anti-labour, against sustainable development and disrespectful of subaltern cultures. People want globalisation, which not only liberalises trade and finance but also allows free movement of labour, knowledge and technology. People want globalisation, which ends the regime of patents and discriminatory visa and migration policies. People want globalisation, which protects and enhances local resources and increases people’s ownership and access to them. People will encourage globalisation, which enhances people’s power to decide and to work for their own development.

People will merely reject profit centric globalisation in favour of people centric globalisation. People will reject market, which objectifies human beings especially the poor, the Adivasis, the Dalits, and women in particular. People across the globe will always reject globalisation dictated by the USA, the European Union, the WB and IMF and big player within WTO, their strategies and framework which benefit a few and impoverish billions. People understand market and welcome market, but a market for people and not people for the market. People welcome the market, which is not discriminatory - on caste, class, sex and religious basis. People reject market promoted by a new globalisation, which opens avenues for human trafficking, child and cheap labour, for sexual tourism, depletion of natural resources, displacement and deprivation.

BRAZIL:

S/Africa FA Delegation Hits Brazil for Parreira
07.26.2006 http://www.thisdayonline.com

South African football officials will depart Johannesburg today to meet with former Brazil coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who they want to offer a contract to take over the running of their national side.
Parreira, who quit as coach of Brazil last week after their quarter-final elimination at the last World Cup finals, has already said he is receptive of the idea but still has to negotiate terms and conditions of a contract.
The South African Football Association has confirmed the departure of a delegation to see Parreira, likely to include the chief executive officer of the country's World Cup 2010 Local Organising Committee, Danny Jordaan.
Parreira has been designated as the first choice of the association, who earmarked a selection committee to come up with names of potential candidates almost six months ago.
The committee also suggested Luiz Filipe Scolari and Guus Hiddink, but both are under contract until 2008.
Hiddink is the new coach of Russia and Scolari has renewed his contract with Portugal.
Interviews were also held with two South African coaches, Gordon Igesund and Jomo Sono, but both were ruled out in the selection process.
Last week Parreira released a statement in Rio de Janeiro in which he said: "It's an honour to receive an invitation from the South African national team as the country will be the centre of attention as hosts of the next World Cup.
"But this will only happen after sitting down and talking to representatives of the South African federation."
Should Parreira agree to take the job and lead South Africa when they host the 2010 World Cup finals, it would be his sixth World Cup as coach.
The 63-year-old Parreira led Brazil to the 1994 title and also at this year's tournament in Germany, where they crashed out in the quarterfinals to France.
In 1982 he was coach of Kuwait at the World Cup, took the United Arab Emirates to the 1990 finals and in 1998 was fired after Saudi Arabia's first two matches in France.
South Africa, who failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals, have had 13 coaches in 14 years of participation in international football since returning from long-standing international sporting isolation.