Sean Penn, who won this year's best actor Oscar, has filed for divorce from his actress wife Robin Wright Penn.
The couple, who married in 1996, first began divorce proceedings in December 2007, with Wright Penn, 43, citing irreconcilable differences.
But the pair called off divorce plans and reconciled four months later.
The Hollywood couple are seeking joint custody of their two children Dylan Francis, 18, and Hopper Jack, 15. Penn, 48, was previously married to Madonna.
Penn won his second best actor Oscar in February for his role as gay activist Harvey Milk in the eponymous Milk - but eyebrows were raised when he omitted to thank his wife in his acceptance speech.
The star has been nominated for a best actor Oscar five times, winning his first Academy Award in 2004 for his role in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River.
He has also been acclaimed for his work as a director, with credits including The Indian Runner and 2001's The Pledge, in which his wife starred opposite Jack Nicholson.
Robin Wright Penn's films include cult favourite The Princess Bride and Forrest Gump.
She is currently appearing in the big screen thriller State of Play - a remake of the BBC series - with Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Mexico arrests 'drug gang boss'
Mexican police have arrested one of the country's most sought-after suspected drugs bosses.
Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa was arrested in a raid on a house in the city of Matamoros, near the US border.
He is accused of being one of the kingpins of the notorious Los Zetas drugs gang, the armed wing of the Mexican Gulf Cartel.
Earlier this month the US government placed Los Zetas on its list of suspected drug syndicates.
Correspondents say Los Zetas is made up of hitmen and former police officers.
Its activities range from drugs and human trafficking to prostitution rackets, and gang members are renowned for beheading their rivals.
Police consider Mr Gamboa, 44, to be a founder of the gang.
Weapons seized
Officers say they also confiscated weapons during the raid on the house, and arrested Mr Gamboa's wife.
Mr Gamboa, a former policeman, was flown to Mexico City after his arrest.
As well as being on a list of most wanted drugs suspects in Mexico, he is also wanted by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
"Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa is accused of being active in organised crime," said Mexican interior ministry spokesman Javier Del Real Magallanes.
"He is charged with violating federal laws regarding the possession of firearms and explosives."
About 8,000 people have died in Mexico over the past two years in a vicious turf war by drugs gangs fighting over lucrative routes into the US.
The Mexican government has sent troops to the US border region to regain control of some areas.
Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa was arrested in a raid on a house in the city of Matamoros, near the US border.
He is accused of being one of the kingpins of the notorious Los Zetas drugs gang, the armed wing of the Mexican Gulf Cartel.
Earlier this month the US government placed Los Zetas on its list of suspected drug syndicates.
Correspondents say Los Zetas is made up of hitmen and former police officers.
Its activities range from drugs and human trafficking to prostitution rackets, and gang members are renowned for beheading their rivals.
Police consider Mr Gamboa, 44, to be a founder of the gang.
Weapons seized
Officers say they also confiscated weapons during the raid on the house, and arrested Mr Gamboa's wife.
Mr Gamboa, a former policeman, was flown to Mexico City after his arrest.
As well as being on a list of most wanted drugs suspects in Mexico, he is also wanted by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
"Gregorio Sauceda Gamboa is accused of being active in organised crime," said Mexican interior ministry spokesman Javier Del Real Magallanes.
"He is charged with violating federal laws regarding the possession of firearms and explosives."
About 8,000 people have died in Mexico over the past two years in a vicious turf war by drugs gangs fighting over lucrative routes into the US.
The Mexican government has sent troops to the US border region to regain control of some areas.
Marking 100 days, Obama is 'pleased with progress, not satisfied'
Thursday 30 April 2009
US President Barack Obama was prudent but positive about his first 100 days in office during a press conference in Washington. He stressed that many challenges ranging from terrorism to pandemic flu continued to need to be confronted.
Marking his symbolic 100th day in office, US President Barack Obama Wednesday pledged an "unrelenting, unyielding effort" to return to economic prosperity and confront threats including swine flu.The president said that while he was "pleased with our progress ... I am not satisfied" with the accomplishments in his first four months and stressed there was a long slog ahead to pull the nation out of its worst recession in decades."We still confront threats ranging from terrorism to nuclear proliferation to pandemic flu," Obama said in opening remarks of a prime time press conference at the White House marking his first 100 days in office.He immediately highlighted the threat of a swine flu pandemic, and stressed the United States will do "whatever it takes" to control the outbreak which has claimed eight lives, one a Mexican toddler who died in Texas.Obama also defended his 3.4-trillion-dollar budget for 2010 -- approved by the House of Representatives Wednesday and due to be voted on by the Senate later this week -- as a budget which "builds on the steps we've taken over the last 100 days to move this economy from recession to recovery and ultimately to prosperity."So we are off to a good start, but it is just a start," he said, warning that more pain lies in store for Americans."Millions of Americans are still without jobs and homes, and more will be lost before this recession is over."All of this means you can expect an unrelenting, unyielding effort from this administration to strengthen our prosperity and our security -- in the second hundred days, and the third hundred days, and all the days after."Earlier in the day Obama flew to the heartland state of Missouri where he told a town hall meeting that his administration had begun "remaking America" since taking office January 20 by reversing some of the most contentious policies of George W. Bush's administration and orchestrating a historic 787-billion-dollar stimulus bill, among other reforms."Now, after 100 days, I'm pleased with the progress we've made, but I'm not satisfied," he told a raucous crowd there.His upbeat assessment of his own presidential debut was tempered with calls for Americans to steel themselves for a long road towards recovery."I'm not a miracle worker. We've got a lot of tough choices and hard decisions and hard work ahead of us."Obama's broad agenda during his debut months -- seen as a success by most Americans, according to opinion polls -- is widely considered one of the fullest plates for any new president in decades.He has focused on the country's economic downturn and what Obama described as his administration's "bold and sustained" steps to rein it in.He unleashed a huge government intervention in the economy with a historic 787-billion-dollar stimulus bill and now has high-stakes environmental and healthcare reforms in the works.In an emergency bid to keep many Americans from avoiding foreclosures, a 75-billion-dollar fund was created to help embattled homeowners, and new loans are coming on line for small businesses.His administration has also intervened to try to help save teetering US auto giants Chrysler and General Motors, and injected billions of dollars into struggling banks and other companies in moves that critics have decried as partial nationalization.Abroad, Obama recast US foreign policy by putting greater emphasis on multilateral diplomacy, reaching out to Muslims, and vowing to end decades of enmity with foes Cuba and Iran.The US president has also made a start on rolling back Bush's "war on terror" policies by mandating the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison camp, outlawing torture and setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, including all US forces scheduled to leave by the end of 2011.He also doubled down in Afghanistan and Pakistan to tackle mounting insurgency and unrest, and reversed US denial on climate change.And Obama has expanded a state health insurance scheme to cover millions of children, broadened unemployment benefits, and overturned predecessor Bush's restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research.
US President Barack Obama was prudent but positive about his first 100 days in office during a press conference in Washington. He stressed that many challenges ranging from terrorism to pandemic flu continued to need to be confronted.
Marking his symbolic 100th day in office, US President Barack Obama Wednesday pledged an "unrelenting, unyielding effort" to return to economic prosperity and confront threats including swine flu.The president said that while he was "pleased with our progress ... I am not satisfied" with the accomplishments in his first four months and stressed there was a long slog ahead to pull the nation out of its worst recession in decades."We still confront threats ranging from terrorism to nuclear proliferation to pandemic flu," Obama said in opening remarks of a prime time press conference at the White House marking his first 100 days in office.He immediately highlighted the threat of a swine flu pandemic, and stressed the United States will do "whatever it takes" to control the outbreak which has claimed eight lives, one a Mexican toddler who died in Texas.Obama also defended his 3.4-trillion-dollar budget for 2010 -- approved by the House of Representatives Wednesday and due to be voted on by the Senate later this week -- as a budget which "builds on the steps we've taken over the last 100 days to move this economy from recession to recovery and ultimately to prosperity."So we are off to a good start, but it is just a start," he said, warning that more pain lies in store for Americans."Millions of Americans are still without jobs and homes, and more will be lost before this recession is over."All of this means you can expect an unrelenting, unyielding effort from this administration to strengthen our prosperity and our security -- in the second hundred days, and the third hundred days, and all the days after."Earlier in the day Obama flew to the heartland state of Missouri where he told a town hall meeting that his administration had begun "remaking America" since taking office January 20 by reversing some of the most contentious policies of George W. Bush's administration and orchestrating a historic 787-billion-dollar stimulus bill, among other reforms."Now, after 100 days, I'm pleased with the progress we've made, but I'm not satisfied," he told a raucous crowd there.His upbeat assessment of his own presidential debut was tempered with calls for Americans to steel themselves for a long road towards recovery."I'm not a miracle worker. We've got a lot of tough choices and hard decisions and hard work ahead of us."Obama's broad agenda during his debut months -- seen as a success by most Americans, according to opinion polls -- is widely considered one of the fullest plates for any new president in decades.He has focused on the country's economic downturn and what Obama described as his administration's "bold and sustained" steps to rein it in.He unleashed a huge government intervention in the economy with a historic 787-billion-dollar stimulus bill and now has high-stakes environmental and healthcare reforms in the works.In an emergency bid to keep many Americans from avoiding foreclosures, a 75-billion-dollar fund was created to help embattled homeowners, and new loans are coming on line for small businesses.His administration has also intervened to try to help save teetering US auto giants Chrysler and General Motors, and injected billions of dollars into struggling banks and other companies in moves that critics have decried as partial nationalization.Abroad, Obama recast US foreign policy by putting greater emphasis on multilateral diplomacy, reaching out to Muslims, and vowing to end decades of enmity with foes Cuba and Iran.The US president has also made a start on rolling back Bush's "war on terror" policies by mandating the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison camp, outlawing torture and setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, including all US forces scheduled to leave by the end of 2011.He also doubled down in Afghanistan and Pakistan to tackle mounting insurgency and unrest, and reversed US denial on climate change.And Obama has expanded a state health insurance scheme to cover millions of children, broadened unemployment benefits, and overturned predecessor Bush's restrictions on embryonic stem-cell research.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Young Hutus are massively joining FDLR to escape “oppression” from Kigali
FDLR fighters with their former commander Edmond Ngarambe.A recent article from Belgian International Radio Television channel (RTBF) has reported that young Rwandan men are massively fleeing Rwanda to join the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR)in eastern DRC. Unfortunately, only the French version of the article is available online and can be found here (http://www.rtbf.be/info/monde/de-jeunes-hutu-joignent-les-fdlr-pour-fuir-loppression-de-kigali-60789 ). However, I have also provided the English version below.
Paul Kagame, the current Rwandan president, claims that Rwandans must view themselves only as Rwandans and stop using the words “Hutu” and “Tutsi”.This view is mostly meant to convince western sponsors that RPF is doing a great job at bringing about unity and reconciliation in Rwanda.
On the ground, the untold truth is that this view is mainly meant to cover up not only the RPF’s fear about facing democratic elections in Rwanda but also the RPF ‘s inability to handle the actual state of Hutu-Tutsi problems in Rwanda.
Since coming to power in 1994, the RPF regime has been desperately trying to underestimate and ignore the existence of such Hutu-Tutsi problems in Rwanda. Several testimonies from the FDLR new recruits attest that the citizens in Rwanda (majority who happen to be Hutu farmers) are exploited under a highly sophisticated economic system to the full benefits of the RPF and other ruling elites.
In order to set up a joint operational plan to uproot the FDLR in eastern DRC, several high-level meetings between Rwandan and DRC officials have been taking place for years but all of them failed to come up with any realistic solution to this crisis (http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=13735&article=11441).
It is important to recall that one should not ignore that the origin of the current DRC crisis is in Kigali not in the eastern DRC. The presence of the FDLR combatants in DRC is a direct consequence of the RPF sinister plan in the DRC.
Indeed, in the aftermaths of the Rwandan genocide in 1994, Rwanda has invaded the DRC twice, in order to track down the ex-Rwandan Army Forces (FAR) inside the DRC, exterminate them, and install its allies in Kinshasa.
To achieve this goal, the RPF massacred at least 200,000 Rwandan refugees inside the DRC. It even tried hard to conceal evidence for these mass killings by burning victim corpses and scattering the ashes away in the forest and/ or in the river.These proxy wars inside the DRC forced some survivors of the massacres of the Rwandan refugee of 1996 and 1997 by the RPF soldiers to stand up and defend themselves against these strenuous enemies.The birth of the FDLR in DRC was a direct consequence of the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and the RPF sinister plan in the DRC.Therefore, attempting to solve the current DRC crisis without addressing its root causes that are in Rwanda, is nothing else than pulling the wool over the public opinion’s eyes.
Despite the fact that up to date, Rwanda continues to stir deadly brew of troubles in Congo (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/world/africa/04congo.html), there are still reasons to believe that the Obama administration might not follow the same failed US foreign policies of the past in Africa.
A realistic approach to the current DRC crisis should include tackling the current political deadlock in Kigali. In other words, a democratically elected government is urgently needed in Kigali.
Such a democratically elected government in Kigali would not need to sponsor any armed groups in eastern DRC. In addition, a democratically elected government in Kigali would refuse to offer back-up bases to any Congolese armed groups whose rebellions would therefore die off shortly.
Concerning the FDLR combatants, a democratically elected government in Kigali would not be afraid to directly discuss with them. Direct talks between these combatants and the democratically elected government in Kigali would set up new relationships under which the armed struggle would become meaningless.The FDLR combatants would therefore not have any reason to refuse to face justice in Rwanda, should some of them have to respond for their acts, just as any other Rwandan in similar situation would have to, especially the RPF members who are internationally accused of several crimes, including crimes against humanity.
Finally, a democratically elected government in Kigali would provide impartial justice for all Rwandans without any discrimination. There will be no need to send the FDLR combatants elsewhere. Their home is in Rwanda not any where else.
According to Professor Peter Erlinder, the decision to end the current DRC crisis should come from the US and the UK, the only countries that have the power to not only remove any support for the military and economic crimes of their allies in the region but also to cut off any private capitals that continue to fuel Africa’s wars (http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/18-2).
Young Hutus are massively joining FDLR to escape “oppression” from Kigali
“Manhandled are the Hutus in Rwanda”, said a new recruit of the Rwandan Hutu rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Oppressed and no decent future in Kigali, young Hutus are massively fleeing Rwanda to plunge into radical ideology and conflict in eastern DRC.
At Lushebere in eastern DRC, these young recruits of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) patrol around a rebellion resort.
The FDLR combatants, some of which have participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which, according to the UN, claimed about 800,000 deaths mainly among the minority Tutsi, operate in eastern DRC.
They are currently fighting alongside the Congolese army against the rebels of the former Congolese Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda.With a green beret and a rasta necklace, Claude, who appeared younger than 22 years old, fixes his interlocutor with a disturbing regard while explaining his escape from the RPF massacre in Rwanda.
“My father was accused of being a genocidaire and has been imprisoned unjustly. I have been chased away,” he said to AFP, maintaining his AK-47 rifle between his boots.
“In late 2005, the RPF government led by Paul Kagame tried to force me to enter the military services to fight the FDLR. I preferred to flee for my safety,” he continues.
The current Rwandan President Kagame led the RPF, former Tutsi rebellion, which ended the genocide by taking power in Kigali in July 1994.
After passing through Burundi, Claude arrived in the Congolese province of South Kivu where he joined the FDLR.
“The Hutus in Rwanda are harassed by the Tutsi (…). They are speachless and have difficulty finding any job,” he protests.
According to the spokesman of FDLR, Lieutenant-Colonel Edmond Ngarambe, the movement has “received an influx of youth” since 2006, because of the ongoing trials organized by the “gacaca” courts Rwandan people responsible for trying alleged perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide in 1994.
“Every day, people are fleeing oppression in Rwanda”, he said, denying that the FDLR may practice forced recruitment. He criticizes “a spirit of domination in the current Tutsi regime” in Kigali, “which does not evolve.”
Emmanuel, 22 years old, had first fled Rwanda in 1994 - before returning back home shortly after - then a second takeover in 2007.
According to his testimony, after being injustly ousted during a competitive examination for admission in college and replaced by a Tutsi student, he decided to join his compatriots in eastern Congo.”
“Life is not harder (in the rebellion); that is what pushed me to flee,” says Emmanuel, even though he was apparently aflicted by a malaria crisis.
“I look forward -as anyone here- to returning to Rwanda and regain my human rights one day”, he says hardening his face.
Many young Hutus who fled Rwanda after the Rwandan genocide, grew up in eastern DRC and freely decided to join the FDLR.
In a Torn uniform, his cap lying on the barrel of his gun, Simeon, 20, talks about “the extermination of his entire family” during an RPF attack in his village in 1994 and his escape to the DRC. He also talks about ” a warm welcome” he received within the FDLR family, which he joined 4 years ago.
In his 25 years, another youth who wished to remain anonymous claims to have already spent ten years in the rebellion.
“During the Rwandan genocide of 1994, when my parents were killed by the RPF, I fled to the DRC. The RPF continued to track us throught DRC even inside Congo Brazzaville. The FDLR organization is the only parents I now have, he says.“My goal is to return to Rwanda one day and not to permanently stay here. In the meantime, preserving my life is my priorities, he says
Les FDLR contrôlent désormais plus de positions qu'ils n'en contrôlaient avant l'opération conjointe
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) soldiers patrol on April, 2009 in Lushebere in the Massasi district, eastern DRCongo, 50 kilometres north-east of provincial capital Goma. Rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo clashed again Thursday with pro-government groups, both sides said, each accusing the other of attempted encroachment.Moins d'un mois après la fin de l'opération militaire congolo-rwandaise contre les rebelles des Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR), de nouvelles attaques de ces rebelles sont signalées dans l'est de la République démocratique du Congo. Selon le Haut commissariat aux réfugiés, elles auraient provoqué la fuite de 30 000 civils, essentiellement dans le territoire de Lubero, au nord du Kivu.
Ces deux dernières semaines, trente mille villageois selon le Haut commissariat de l’ONU pour les réfugiés (HCR) ont fui les exactions des FDLR (Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda). Les rebelles hutus rwandais se vengent sur la population après avoir été la cible en début d’année d’une opération militaire rwando-congolaise.
Le HCR se dit préoccupé par cette situation qui ralentit son travail d’assistance aux populations déplacées dans la région. La société civile du Nord-Kivu de son côté parle « d’une situation catastrophique ». L’armée congolaise déployée sur place n’arrive pas à contrôler les différents groupes rebelles FDLR éparpillés dans l’ensemble de la province.
Selon le président de la société civile du Nord-Kivu, les FDLR sont revenus à Walikale. Ils sont aussi présents à Lubero et aux portes du Butembo, territoires qu’ils ne contrôlaient pas avant l’opération conjointe.
Yesterday a "victim", today an oppressor: how aid funds war in Congo ?
FDLR fighter Watch and listen this video (in french lenguage) that explains real what happened in Rwanda 1994.
A Rwandan refugee child in 1994. Tonight the genocide will be remembered....Presiding over it all will be Paul Kagame, the Rwandan President, self-styled liberator and darling of Western aid donors who rushed billions to the tiny nation in the guilty aftermath of foreign inaction to stop the killing.But 15 years on, Mr Kagame finds himself cast more as a perpetrator than victim, with the unveiling of Rwanda's role in the plunder and killing in eastern Congo, a war that has claimed the lives of five times as many people as the genocides in Rwanda and Darfur combined. So why are British taxpayers still supporting him?Since the genocide, Rwanda has relied on foreign aid for half its national budget. Britain is its single largest donor, committed to a disbursement of at least £46 million a year until 2015. The United States is close behind in direct contributions to Rwanda's budget, a form of aid-giving reserved for what the European Union calls a “privileged” few who have proved their transparency and good governance.***
From Survivors EditionsNobody’s going to help you. It’s all up to you. Make it happen for yourself.Sadly, Rwanda, our beloved homeland as we know it is a dead country due to the heavyweight criminal Paul Kagame and RPF his criminal organization. Luckily the few of us and children were not on earth that day of 1994. But now we must fight to survive. Go solo or join our fleet of freedom fighters. Doing so will get you to the top. So these children that have decided to join our fleet do'n't fight for the fun of it, they fight to survive.Every Rwandan must remember them. In order to love our parents and homeland we must survive; in order to survive, we must fight. And we will until the Evil is taken away."what we need now is the will and confidence to transcend a passive attitude about our deteriorating circumstances.Already, some can see the vulnerability of the Kagame and RPF machine. Cultural pessimism is only a first, if necessary, withdrawal of faith. the current philosophy, born of disappointment from 1990 up to 1994 and frm 1994 to 1998 onwards, must carry us through from critique to vision to resistance.
Hundreds of hutu children had no other choice than to join the FDLR fighting to survive. These hutu children are looking to you for salvation and guidance. They all need help. You can't ignore them because they are crying, because they are hungry or because they're in rags or haven't had a wash.Know why they joined the RUD -FDLR *-* Stop animalizing and admonishing them. Paul Kagame is an Evil and not a President.You've go to look at their hearts, not at the way they look, not because they happened to be born Hutus. Any you've got to remember their dignity. They all have that and you've got to let them keep it.Know why they are crying, they are all orphans but not professional beggars. They were not told by a maternity doctor as children of your own, RPF killed their beloved moms, fathers and relatives. No dream is ever too small, no dream is ever too big. The winds are changing and the world begins to know how evil Kagame is. Survivors urge everyone within the sound of our typing to keep waging the fight against the Kagame bloody and autocratic regime.Since 1994, the majority of Rwandan survivors are living with Anger and Hopelessness since RPF seized power in Rwanda in 1994. Because of this anger, we must have to take action. There is no way survivors and the rest of the Rwandan population can go for Evil acceptance. Enough is enough. On the contrary, everybody, every single survivor must go for Courage:How to maintain hope: In these for us darkest moments of this ongoing genocide in Rwanda we look for hope that we will get by, and that we will survive. It requires courage to maintain hope when our fellow citizens inside Rwanda or around you despair. Joining the fleet of fighters, RUD or FDLR means that you believe in yourself and the gifts that have been bestowed upon you. Adopting this belief system allows survivors, children, men, women, daughters and sons to maintain hope, and the necessary courage to face Rwandan Evil Paul Kagame and the RPF government.
When you join our fleet of fighters, RUD,RPR, FDLR, IMANZI, you are blessed with many of our ancestors, parents, family, and friends, those whose victims of RPF hatred and mega massacres STILL can't be remembered.
From Survivors EditionsNobody’s going to help you. It’s all up to you. Make it happen for yourself.Sadly, Rwanda, our beloved homeland as we know it is a dead country due to the heavyweight criminal Paul Kagame and RPF his criminal organization. Luckily the few of us and children were not on earth that day of 1994. But now we must fight to survive. Go solo or join our fleet of freedom fighters. Doing so will get you to the top. So these children that have decided to join our fleet do'n't fight for the fun of it, they fight to survive.Every Rwandan must remember them. In order to love our parents and homeland we must survive; in order to survive, we must fight. And we will until the Evil is taken away."what we need now is the will and confidence to transcend a passive attitude about our deteriorating circumstances.Already, some can see the vulnerability of the Kagame and RPF machine. Cultural pessimism is only a first, if necessary, withdrawal of faith. the current philosophy, born of disappointment from 1990 up to 1994 and frm 1994 to 1998 onwards, must carry us through from critique to vision to resistance.
Hundreds of hutu children had no other choice than to join the FDLR fighting to survive. These hutu children are looking to you for salvation and guidance. They all need help. You can't ignore them because they are crying, because they are hungry or because they're in rags or haven't had a wash.Know why they joined the RUD -FDLR *-* Stop animalizing and admonishing them. Paul Kagame is an Evil and not a President.You've go to look at their hearts, not at the way they look, not because they happened to be born Hutus. Any you've got to remember their dignity. They all have that and you've got to let them keep it.Know why they are crying, they are all orphans but not professional beggars. They were not told by a maternity doctor as children of your own, RPF killed their beloved moms, fathers and relatives. No dream is ever too small, no dream is ever too big. The winds are changing and the world begins to know how evil Kagame is. Survivors urge everyone within the sound of our typing to keep waging the fight against the Kagame bloody and autocratic regime.Since 1994, the majority of Rwandan survivors are living with Anger and Hopelessness since RPF seized power in Rwanda in 1994. Because of this anger, we must have to take action. There is no way survivors and the rest of the Rwandan population can go for Evil acceptance. Enough is enough. On the contrary, everybody, every single survivor must go for Courage:How to maintain hope: In these for us darkest moments of this ongoing genocide in Rwanda we look for hope that we will get by, and that we will survive. It requires courage to maintain hope when our fellow citizens inside Rwanda or around you despair. Joining the fleet of fighters, RUD or FDLR means that you believe in yourself and the gifts that have been bestowed upon you. Adopting this belief system allows survivors, children, men, women, daughters and sons to maintain hope, and the necessary courage to face Rwandan Evil Paul Kagame and the RPF government.
When you join our fleet of fighters, RUD,RPR, FDLR, IMANZI, you are blessed with many of our ancestors, parents, family, and friends, those whose victims of RPF hatred and mega massacres STILL can't be remembered.
Congo ex-rebel 'working with UN'
An indicted war criminal is playing a leading role in the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to documents seen by the BBC.
A Congolese army paper suggests ex-rebel leader Gen Bosco Ntaganda has a major part in the command chain, says a BBC correspondent in the country.
The UN-Congolese force is fighting Hutu rebels in the eastern DR Congo.
The force says Congolese authorities have given assurances that Gen Ntaganda is not involved in joint operations.
Gen Ntaganda - known as "the Terminator" - is wanted by the UN's own war crimes court for alleged forced enrolment of child soldiers in 2002-2003.
'No name'
The BBC's Thomas Fessy in the capital, Kinshasa, has seen an internal Congolese army document, dated 4 April 2009, which refers to Gen Ntaganda as the deputy co-ordinator for the joint mission's operations.
Rather than denying or ignoring the role being played by Bosco Ntaganda, the UN should be actively seeking his arrest and transferring him to The Hague
Anneke Van WoudenbergHuman Rights Watch
Q&A: DR Congo conflict
Congo conflict in a beer can
Our correspondent says the paper - which notes that Gen Ntaganda spoke during an operations meeting - proves he is playing a major role in the chain of command.
A high-ranking Congolese army official confirmed the former rebel leader was involved in the operations, describing him as an adviser to the operations commander.
The UN's peacekeeping force in DR Congo, which is known as Monuc, denied the report.
"Monuc has been in very close touch with the Congolese authorities working with the Congolese military," spokesman Kevin Kennedy told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"A document has been shared with Monuc concerning the command for the operations that Monuc is working on with the FADRC (Congolese national army).
"Bosco Ntaganda's name does not appear on that document, so we have from our Congolese counterparts an assurance that he is not part of the command."
'Head in the sand'
Earlier this year, when the Congolese government said he could be useful in bringing peace to the eastern DR Congo, Monuc said it would not participate in any operation involving an indicted war criminal.
WHO IS BOSCO NTAGANDA?
Known as "the Terminator"
Indicted for war crimes; conscripting children to fight
Ex-ally of rebel chief Thomas Lubanga, detained at The Hague
Ntaganda refused offer of a Congolese army post in 2004
He joined Gen Nkunda's CNDP two years later
Split and joined Congolese army in January 2009
New York-based Human Rights Watch accused Monuc on Wednesday of deliberately ignoring the issue.
"We are very worried by this information and it seems to us that the United Nations is acting like an ostrich with its head in the sand," Anneke Van Woudenberg, the group's senior researcher on DR Congo, told the BBC.
"It's time now this is addressed head on. Rather than denying or ignoring the role being played by Bosco Ntaganda, the UN should be actively seeking his arrest and transferring him to The Hague."
Gen Ntaganda formerly served as chief of staff to Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda in the Tutsi-dominated rebel militia, the Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP).
But he joined the national army after splitting in January with Gen Nkunda - who was subsequently arrested in Rwanda.
International Criminal Court judges have said that as deputy head of military operations for another rebel militia, Gen Ntaganda was responsible for seven camps where children were trained.
He is also accused of taking part in that group's attacks when the group used child soldiers.
A Congolese army paper suggests ex-rebel leader Gen Bosco Ntaganda has a major part in the command chain, says a BBC correspondent in the country.
The UN-Congolese force is fighting Hutu rebels in the eastern DR Congo.
The force says Congolese authorities have given assurances that Gen Ntaganda is not involved in joint operations.
Gen Ntaganda - known as "the Terminator" - is wanted by the UN's own war crimes court for alleged forced enrolment of child soldiers in 2002-2003.
'No name'
The BBC's Thomas Fessy in the capital, Kinshasa, has seen an internal Congolese army document, dated 4 April 2009, which refers to Gen Ntaganda as the deputy co-ordinator for the joint mission's operations.
Rather than denying or ignoring the role being played by Bosco Ntaganda, the UN should be actively seeking his arrest and transferring him to The Hague
Anneke Van WoudenbergHuman Rights Watch
Q&A: DR Congo conflict
Congo conflict in a beer can
Our correspondent says the paper - which notes that Gen Ntaganda spoke during an operations meeting - proves he is playing a major role in the chain of command.
A high-ranking Congolese army official confirmed the former rebel leader was involved in the operations, describing him as an adviser to the operations commander.
The UN's peacekeeping force in DR Congo, which is known as Monuc, denied the report.
"Monuc has been in very close touch with the Congolese authorities working with the Congolese military," spokesman Kevin Kennedy told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"A document has been shared with Monuc concerning the command for the operations that Monuc is working on with the FADRC (Congolese national army).
"Bosco Ntaganda's name does not appear on that document, so we have from our Congolese counterparts an assurance that he is not part of the command."
'Head in the sand'
Earlier this year, when the Congolese government said he could be useful in bringing peace to the eastern DR Congo, Monuc said it would not participate in any operation involving an indicted war criminal.
WHO IS BOSCO NTAGANDA?
Known as "the Terminator"
Indicted for war crimes; conscripting children to fight
Ex-ally of rebel chief Thomas Lubanga, detained at The Hague
Ntaganda refused offer of a Congolese army post in 2004
He joined Gen Nkunda's CNDP two years later
Split and joined Congolese army in January 2009
New York-based Human Rights Watch accused Monuc on Wednesday of deliberately ignoring the issue.
"We are very worried by this information and it seems to us that the United Nations is acting like an ostrich with its head in the sand," Anneke Van Woudenberg, the group's senior researcher on DR Congo, told the BBC.
"It's time now this is addressed head on. Rather than denying or ignoring the role being played by Bosco Ntaganda, the UN should be actively seeking his arrest and transferring him to The Hague."
Gen Ntaganda formerly served as chief of staff to Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda in the Tutsi-dominated rebel militia, the Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP).
But he joined the national army after splitting in January with Gen Nkunda - who was subsequently arrested in Rwanda.
International Criminal Court judges have said that as deputy head of military operations for another rebel militia, Gen Ntaganda was responsible for seven camps where children were trained.
He is also accused of taking part in that group's attacks when the group used child soldiers.
Virus claims first US victim; EU reports new cases
A 23-month-old baby in Texas became the first person to die of swine flu outside Mexico. In Europe, the virus has hit nine countries, with Germany, Austria and the UK reporting new cases.
A baby in Texas has died of the H1N1 flu strain, the first confirmed death outside Mexico from the virus, which health officials fear could cause a pandemic.
» Factbox: what is Swine flu ?
» WHO: Swine influenzaNearly a week after the threat first emerged in Mexico, where up to 159 people have died, U.S. officials said on Wednesday that a 23-month-old child died from the virus in the state that borders Mexico.
They gave no other details on the first death in a country with 65 confirmed cases of swine flu, most of them mild.
Germany reported its first three cases and Austria one, bringing the number of countries with confirmed cases to nine.
France said it would seek on Thursday a European Union ban on all flights to Mexico because of the flu.The EU, like the United States and Canada, has already advised against nonessential travel to the popular tourist destination.A Bavarian couple in their 30s, a 22-year-old woman in Hamburg and a 28-year-old Austrian, who is now recovering, had all recently returned from Mexico -- as had all five Britons taken ill with mild symptoms.The Britons include three new cases confirmed on Wednesday, adults in London and Birmingham and a 12-year-old girl in southwest England.
Cases have also been confirmed in Canada, New Zealand, Israel and Spain.
The World Health Organisation said it may raise its pandemic alert level to phase five -- the second highest -- if it were confirmed that infected people in at least two countries were spreading the new disease to other people in a sustained way.
» Mexico City under quarantine
Before the US death was reported, Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director for health security and environment, said it could be a "very mild pandemic", adding, however, that influenza "moves in ways we cannot predict".
Stock markets in Asia and Europe rose on Wednesday, partly on optimism the world could be spared a major deadly pandemic. Considerable market uncertainty remained.
"The sentiment is not one of panic but that of caution," said Alex Wong, director with Ample Finance Group in Hong Kong.
"There is no indication on how bad the situation may get, so investors are guarded about taking new positions."
Mexico: the epicentre
The new strain contains DNA from avian, swine and human viruses and appears to have evolved the ability to pass easily from one person to another, unlike most swine H1N1 viruses.
It is not caught from eating pig meat products but several countries, led by Russia and China, have banned U.S. pork imports. The EU said it has no plans to follow suit.
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said more than 1,300 people were in hospitals, some of them seriously ill, out of a total of around 2,500 suspected cases.
"In the last few days there has been a decline (in cases)," he said. "The death figures have remained more or less stable."
Victims ranged from children and young adults to middle-aged people and the old, a different pattern to common seasonal flu that mainly kills the elderly and infirm.
"The distribution doesn't follow a fixed pattern," Cordova said.
Interactive map of the swine flu epidemic by healthmap.org. To see the full, updated version, click on the link below and check "influenza" in the left-hand column.
» Swine flu map by Healthmap.org
In a sign of how mild many cases outside Mexico have been, New Zealand gave the all-clear on Wednesday for a group of students and a teacher who caught the virus to return to school.
"(They) will be able to come out of isolation again," said Deputy Director of Public Health Fran McGrath.
Australia approved tough new powers to detain and disinfect people suspected of carrying swine flu, as authorities awaited test results from 91 suspected cases.
Travel curbs
Argentina became the second country to ban flights to and from Mexico. Cuba imposed a similar measure earlier in the week.
Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said they were temporarily suspending port calls in Mexico. Land-based tour groups were also calling off trips to the area's beaches.
All Mayan ruins and Aztec pyramids, dotted through central and southern Mexico, were closed until further notice.
Mexico City was unusually quiet with schools closed. Many took their children in to work, including a ruling party lawmaker whose children spent the day in Congress.
As suspected cases began to crop up across Central America, El Salvador began sending nurses to check buses of Salvadoran migrants being deported from Mexico for flu-like symptoms.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said pork, soybean and corn prices had fallen in the last two days and criticised what he said were illogical restrictions on pork.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk praised the Japanese government for publicly stating it would not ban U.S. pork.
"We want to make sure that a handful of our trading partners don't take advantage of this legitimate concern over public health and engage in behaviour that could also damage the world's economy," Kirk said at a news conference.
A baby in Texas has died of the H1N1 flu strain, the first confirmed death outside Mexico from the virus, which health officials fear could cause a pandemic.
» Factbox: what is Swine flu ?
» WHO: Swine influenzaNearly a week after the threat first emerged in Mexico, where up to 159 people have died, U.S. officials said on Wednesday that a 23-month-old child died from the virus in the state that borders Mexico.
They gave no other details on the first death in a country with 65 confirmed cases of swine flu, most of them mild.
Germany reported its first three cases and Austria one, bringing the number of countries with confirmed cases to nine.
France said it would seek on Thursday a European Union ban on all flights to Mexico because of the flu.The EU, like the United States and Canada, has already advised against nonessential travel to the popular tourist destination.A Bavarian couple in their 30s, a 22-year-old woman in Hamburg and a 28-year-old Austrian, who is now recovering, had all recently returned from Mexico -- as had all five Britons taken ill with mild symptoms.The Britons include three new cases confirmed on Wednesday, adults in London and Birmingham and a 12-year-old girl in southwest England.
Cases have also been confirmed in Canada, New Zealand, Israel and Spain.
The World Health Organisation said it may raise its pandemic alert level to phase five -- the second highest -- if it were confirmed that infected people in at least two countries were spreading the new disease to other people in a sustained way.
» Mexico City under quarantine
Before the US death was reported, Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director for health security and environment, said it could be a "very mild pandemic", adding, however, that influenza "moves in ways we cannot predict".
Stock markets in Asia and Europe rose on Wednesday, partly on optimism the world could be spared a major deadly pandemic. Considerable market uncertainty remained.
"The sentiment is not one of panic but that of caution," said Alex Wong, director with Ample Finance Group in Hong Kong.
"There is no indication on how bad the situation may get, so investors are guarded about taking new positions."
Mexico: the epicentre
The new strain contains DNA from avian, swine and human viruses and appears to have evolved the ability to pass easily from one person to another, unlike most swine H1N1 viruses.
It is not caught from eating pig meat products but several countries, led by Russia and China, have banned U.S. pork imports. The EU said it has no plans to follow suit.
Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said more than 1,300 people were in hospitals, some of them seriously ill, out of a total of around 2,500 suspected cases.
"In the last few days there has been a decline (in cases)," he said. "The death figures have remained more or less stable."
Victims ranged from children and young adults to middle-aged people and the old, a different pattern to common seasonal flu that mainly kills the elderly and infirm.
"The distribution doesn't follow a fixed pattern," Cordova said.
Interactive map of the swine flu epidemic by healthmap.org. To see the full, updated version, click on the link below and check "influenza" in the left-hand column.
» Swine flu map by Healthmap.org
In a sign of how mild many cases outside Mexico have been, New Zealand gave the all-clear on Wednesday for a group of students and a teacher who caught the virus to return to school.
"(They) will be able to come out of isolation again," said Deputy Director of Public Health Fran McGrath.
Australia approved tough new powers to detain and disinfect people suspected of carrying swine flu, as authorities awaited test results from 91 suspected cases.
Travel curbs
Argentina became the second country to ban flights to and from Mexico. Cuba imposed a similar measure earlier in the week.
Carnival Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said they were temporarily suspending port calls in Mexico. Land-based tour groups were also calling off trips to the area's beaches.
All Mayan ruins and Aztec pyramids, dotted through central and southern Mexico, were closed until further notice.
Mexico City was unusually quiet with schools closed. Many took their children in to work, including a ruling party lawmaker whose children spent the day in Congress.
As suspected cases began to crop up across Central America, El Salvador began sending nurses to check buses of Salvadoran migrants being deported from Mexico for flu-like symptoms.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said pork, soybean and corn prices had fallen in the last two days and criticised what he said were illogical restrictions on pork.
U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk praised the Japanese government for publicly stating it would not ban U.S. pork.
"We want to make sure that a handful of our trading partners don't take advantage of this legitimate concern over public health and engage in behaviour that could also damage the world's economy," Kirk said at a news conference.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Rwanda: Restore BBC to the Air
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Growing Media Restrictions Cast Doubt on Nation’s Commitment to Free Speech
This suspension of the BBC reflects the Rwandan government's growing crackdown on free speech. If Rwanda is truly committed to the fundamental right of free expression, it should allow differing viewpoints on genocide issues and related government policies.
Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Hum
New York) - The Rwandan government should immediately reverse its suspension of the Kinyarwanda radio service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Human Rights Watch said today.The Rwandan minister of information, Louise Mushikiwabo, justified the suspension on the grounds that the program amounted to a "blatant denial of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda" and called it "unacceptable speech."Up to 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed by the extremist elements in the majority Hutu population during the genocide. It ended with the military victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi rebel group founded by Rwandan exiles and led by Paul Kagame, now the president. Since the genocide, the Kagame-led government has sought to portray an image of national unity in Rwanda and it allows no public references in any form to Hutu or Tutsi ethnicity."This suspension of the BBC reflects the Rwandan government's growing crackdown on free speech," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "If Rwanda is truly committed to the fundamental right of free expression, it should allow differing viewpoints on genocide issues and related government policies."The BBC's suspension is part of a broader pattern of increasing government interference in the Rwandan media, including threats to suspend major media outlets such as the BBC and Voice of America and the banning of independent Rwandan journalists from government news conferences.The BBC suspension on April 25, 2009 occurred after the station broadcast a coming attraction for its weekly program Imvo n'imvano ("Analysis of the Source of a Problem") that was to include a debate on forgiveness among Rwandans after the genocide.The advance segment included comments by a former presidential candidate, Faustin Twagiramungu, opposing the government's attempt to have the country's entire Hutu population apologize for the genocide, since not all Hutu people had killed Tutsi or otherwise participated in the genocide.It also included a man of mixed Hutu-Tutsi ethnicity questioning why the government had refused to allow relatives of those killed by the RPF forces to grieve for their loved ones.According to estimates from experts working for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the group's soldiers killed between 25,000 and 45,000 people between April and August 1994.The suspension comes days before Rwanda is to host a regional conference celebrating "World Press Day," to be attended by high level delegates from the East African Community. The theme of this year's event is the role of media in reconciliatory dialogue."Meaningful and open discussion on the genocide and its aftermath could help foster reconciliation and stability in Rwanda," said Gagnon. "Repressive restrictions on such discussions by branding them as ‘unacceptable speech' may achieve the opposite."Recent legislation, currently awaiting presidential approval, proposes to ban all national journalists without a university degree or certificate in journalism. Most independent Rwandan journalists have neither. The legislation would make defamation a criminal offense in addition to other civil and administrative sanctions, and would impose a wide range of restrictions on gathering and reporting information.In March, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concerns over reports that the Rwandan government had subjected journalists critical of government policies to intimidation and harassment and had charged other journalists with "divisionism," a crime vaguely defined under Rwandan law as spreading ideas that encourage ethnic animosity between the country's Tutsi and Hutu populations."Divisionism" is often used interchangeably with the term "genocide ideology" - a crime that was first adopted into Rwanda's law in 2008 but that the government has used for at least five years to punish expression of any ideas that could lead to genocide. The government lodged complaints against the BBC radio station in 2004 after a parliamentary report accused it of propagating "genocide ideology." Rwanda's international donors and human rights organizations have criticized the terms as too sweeping and punishing speech that is intended neither to incite violence nor to deny the existence of the genocide.The UN committee urged the Rwandan government to guarantee freedom of expression for the press and all citizens in accordance with the government's international obligations under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.In August 2008, shortly before Rwanda's parliamentary elections, the country's information minister warned the BBC that it would be suspended it if failed to abandon its "non-factual reporting." BBC journalists from the Kinyarwanda service have been excluded from several government events since that time.During World Press Day celebrations in Kigali in May 2008, the government removed three leading independent journalists - Charles Kabonero of Umuseso, Jean Bosco Gasasira of Umuvugizi, and Jean Grober Burasa of Rushyashya - from the celebrations and barred them from all official news conferences.The journalists were also prohibited from interviewing government officials, with both prohibitions continuing to this day. A diplomatic incident occurred in September 2008 when a scheduled news conference marking the signature of a new US Millennium Challenge Corporation partnership agreement with Rwanda had to be cancelled by the US embassy in Kigali because the Rwandan government refused to allow the three journalists to attend.In late 2007, the government accused a BBC journalist, Yusuf Mugenzi, of exacerbating ethnic differences through the Imvo n'imvano program, which brings together leading - and at times controversial - figures from the Rwandan diaspora. Government officials accused the program of giving airtime to "genocide fugitives," referring to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu rebel group based in eastern Congo, some of whose members took part in the 1994 genocide and continue to threaten stability in the region. The government also warned that BBC's license might not be renewed if the program did not assume a more positive tone."Rwanda's targeting of the media, including the suspension of the BBC, calls into question Rwanda's respect for press freedom," said Gagnon. "With presidential elections scheduled for 2010, it is critical that the government guarantee free and fair discussion of issues, failing which Rwanda cannot be viewed by it partners as a thriving democracy."
Growing Media Restrictions Cast Doubt on Nation’s Commitment to Free Speech
This suspension of the BBC reflects the Rwandan government's growing crackdown on free speech. If Rwanda is truly committed to the fundamental right of free expression, it should allow differing viewpoints on genocide issues and related government policies.
Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Hum
New York) - The Rwandan government should immediately reverse its suspension of the Kinyarwanda radio service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Human Rights Watch said today.The Rwandan minister of information, Louise Mushikiwabo, justified the suspension on the grounds that the program amounted to a "blatant denial of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda" and called it "unacceptable speech."Up to 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed by the extremist elements in the majority Hutu population during the genocide. It ended with the military victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi rebel group founded by Rwandan exiles and led by Paul Kagame, now the president. Since the genocide, the Kagame-led government has sought to portray an image of national unity in Rwanda and it allows no public references in any form to Hutu or Tutsi ethnicity."This suspension of the BBC reflects the Rwandan government's growing crackdown on free speech," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "If Rwanda is truly committed to the fundamental right of free expression, it should allow differing viewpoints on genocide issues and related government policies."The BBC's suspension is part of a broader pattern of increasing government interference in the Rwandan media, including threats to suspend major media outlets such as the BBC and Voice of America and the banning of independent Rwandan journalists from government news conferences.The BBC suspension on April 25, 2009 occurred after the station broadcast a coming attraction for its weekly program Imvo n'imvano ("Analysis of the Source of a Problem") that was to include a debate on forgiveness among Rwandans after the genocide.The advance segment included comments by a former presidential candidate, Faustin Twagiramungu, opposing the government's attempt to have the country's entire Hutu population apologize for the genocide, since not all Hutu people had killed Tutsi or otherwise participated in the genocide.It also included a man of mixed Hutu-Tutsi ethnicity questioning why the government had refused to allow relatives of those killed by the RPF forces to grieve for their loved ones.According to estimates from experts working for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the group's soldiers killed between 25,000 and 45,000 people between April and August 1994.The suspension comes days before Rwanda is to host a regional conference celebrating "World Press Day," to be attended by high level delegates from the East African Community. The theme of this year's event is the role of media in reconciliatory dialogue."Meaningful and open discussion on the genocide and its aftermath could help foster reconciliation and stability in Rwanda," said Gagnon. "Repressive restrictions on such discussions by branding them as ‘unacceptable speech' may achieve the opposite."Recent legislation, currently awaiting presidential approval, proposes to ban all national journalists without a university degree or certificate in journalism. Most independent Rwandan journalists have neither. The legislation would make defamation a criminal offense in addition to other civil and administrative sanctions, and would impose a wide range of restrictions on gathering and reporting information.In March, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed concerns over reports that the Rwandan government had subjected journalists critical of government policies to intimidation and harassment and had charged other journalists with "divisionism," a crime vaguely defined under Rwandan law as spreading ideas that encourage ethnic animosity between the country's Tutsi and Hutu populations."Divisionism" is often used interchangeably with the term "genocide ideology" - a crime that was first adopted into Rwanda's law in 2008 but that the government has used for at least five years to punish expression of any ideas that could lead to genocide. The government lodged complaints against the BBC radio station in 2004 after a parliamentary report accused it of propagating "genocide ideology." Rwanda's international donors and human rights organizations have criticized the terms as too sweeping and punishing speech that is intended neither to incite violence nor to deny the existence of the genocide.The UN committee urged the Rwandan government to guarantee freedom of expression for the press and all citizens in accordance with the government's international obligations under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.In August 2008, shortly before Rwanda's parliamentary elections, the country's information minister warned the BBC that it would be suspended it if failed to abandon its "non-factual reporting." BBC journalists from the Kinyarwanda service have been excluded from several government events since that time.During World Press Day celebrations in Kigali in May 2008, the government removed three leading independent journalists - Charles Kabonero of Umuseso, Jean Bosco Gasasira of Umuvugizi, and Jean Grober Burasa of Rushyashya - from the celebrations and barred them from all official news conferences.The journalists were also prohibited from interviewing government officials, with both prohibitions continuing to this day. A diplomatic incident occurred in September 2008 when a scheduled news conference marking the signature of a new US Millennium Challenge Corporation partnership agreement with Rwanda had to be cancelled by the US embassy in Kigali because the Rwandan government refused to allow the three journalists to attend.In late 2007, the government accused a BBC journalist, Yusuf Mugenzi, of exacerbating ethnic differences through the Imvo n'imvano program, which brings together leading - and at times controversial - figures from the Rwandan diaspora. Government officials accused the program of giving airtime to "genocide fugitives," referring to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu rebel group based in eastern Congo, some of whose members took part in the 1994 genocide and continue to threaten stability in the region. The government also warned that BBC's license might not be renewed if the program did not assume a more positive tone."Rwanda's targeting of the media, including the suspension of the BBC, calls into question Rwanda's respect for press freedom," said Gagnon. "With presidential elections scheduled for 2010, it is critical that the government guarantee free and fair discussion of issues, failing which Rwanda cannot be viewed by it partners as a thriving democracy."
New Madagascar government named
Supporters of Madagascar's ousted President Marc Ravalomanana have announced a new government.
There are now two governments in the country after a former city mayor, Andry Rajoelina, swept to power in a military-backed takeover in March.
Meanwhile, sections of the army loyal to the current administration have been trying to round up opposition figures.
The naming of a new government has increased the sense of confusion within an already deeply divided country.
Whether or not the new ministers can actually work effectively remains to be seen and the current administration has dismissed the announcement as childish.
However, the move is likely to increase tensions in the increasingly bloody political standoff.
Explosive package
According to the spokesman for Mr Ravalomanana's prime minister, civil servants and, perhaps more significantly, high-ranking members of the armed forces are prepared to work with them.
Meanwhile, the bloodshed continues. A young man was very seriously injured on Monday evening after a package he had been given exploded.
Forces loyal to the transitional authorities have been continuing to try to arrest alleged political opponents and have also searched office blocks in the capital, apparently for money.
Whether or not they are acting on direct orders from the current administration remains unclear.
There are now two governments in the country after a former city mayor, Andry Rajoelina, swept to power in a military-backed takeover in March.
Meanwhile, sections of the army loyal to the current administration have been trying to round up opposition figures.
The naming of a new government has increased the sense of confusion within an already deeply divided country.
Whether or not the new ministers can actually work effectively remains to be seen and the current administration has dismissed the announcement as childish.
However, the move is likely to increase tensions in the increasingly bloody political standoff.
Explosive package
According to the spokesman for Mr Ravalomanana's prime minister, civil servants and, perhaps more significantly, high-ranking members of the armed forces are prepared to work with them.
Meanwhile, the bloodshed continues. A young man was very seriously injured on Monday evening after a package he had been given exploded.
Forces loyal to the transitional authorities have been continuing to try to arrest alleged political opponents and have also searched office blocks in the capital, apparently for money.
Whether or not they are acting on direct orders from the current administration remains unclear.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Western media in demonization and criminalization of all Hutus
Ordinarily, we don't write introductions to articles or essays published in The Black Star News but the following column by Keith Harmon Snow warrants it. Snow has been at the forefront, as has this newspaper, in exposing Western duplicity in Africa and how U.S. and U.K. corporate and government interests have caused the deaths of millions of Africans; all for the love of money.In the end, the African actors, the bit players really, are the ones who are blamed; wars of blood money and profits are referred to euphemistically by major newspapers, including The New York Times as "tribal wars," so that Americans can nod their heads and continue on with their lives without bothering to ask any further questions.After all, "tribal wars" are endemic to Africa; they always happen. Africans just wake up one day, grab machetes and start chopping off their neighbors' heads to satisfy "blood lust;" a term actually once used by Time magazine to explain what the magazine contended was the reason for the Rwanda massacres of 1994.Meanwhile, no one writes about the Western companies that somehow just always happen to be around digging the gold and the diamonds and ferrying off the timber and the young Congolese girls, even as the chopping off of heads and limbs occur.But Keith Harmon Snow, whose long report follows, is not with the program. He is the anti-New York Times kind of reporter; and the anti-New Yorker magazine; and, anti-BBC and anti-Washington Post kind of journalist.In fact, he is beyond being a mere journalist. He is the type of forthright individual that corporate media would refer to as "radical," in order to impugn his reputation, without having to challenge him on a single fact. He salvages a little respectability for the profession of journalism, which has been corrupted by corporate media.He is a crusader with a mission; his goal is to expose United States' and Britain's roles in the genocide in Uganda and in the Congo; with characters like Rwanda's president Paul Kagame and Uganda's Yoweri K. Museveni and Sudan's Omar Hassan al-Bashir all playing the bit roles.Snow writes long; he cannot help it because he feels the pain of the Congolese and the Ugandans and he wants someone somewhere here in the United States and Britain– to pay a price. He might be accused of being overly passionate; one has to be, when one feels the kind of indignation that Snow feels. When it is a matter of genocide no article can be too long. Readers that bear with Snow and read all his words will learn information not found in the corporate media.Corporate media are often accomplices to crimes against humanity. Sometimes in a most perverted manner. Take The New York Times' resident Sudanese genocide expert, Nicholas Kristoff. If Kristoff really cares about the suffering of Africans, and not just about winning a Pulitzer Prize as he did for his Sudanese crusade, don't you think he would lend his big pen to expose with equal passion the suffering of Congolese and Ugandan civilians; or might that lead to the indictment of Kagame and Museveni, "friends" of United States interests?Why would a humanitarian be selective in fighting against genocide unless there was a hidden agenda?Thank the creator for the Internet. In the past, the world was held hostage to the tyranny of selective coverage and cover-ups by newspapers such as The New York Times and writers like Kristoff. He is a hero to Africans in his own mind. The Internet era has broken the monopoly of disinformation and misinformation once enjoyed by elite media.Many years ago, George Orwell had warned against the dangers of propaganda, or what he called "New Speak." We hear New Speak every day; where everything is turned upside down, killers are praised, while innocents are marched off to shallow graves in the forests. New Speak celebrates murderers as heroes and denounces victims.Although successive generations have always declared "never again;" and "not on our watch," as surely as the sun rises, humanity never fails and genocide always occurs. New Speak always exonerates the killers. New Speak is public relations disinformation; black becomes white; red is yellow; and bad is good.As one of the characters in Orwell's 1984 puts it: "It's a beautiful thing, the destruction of words."Ah, yes; New Speak has helped send millions of Africans six feet under or to the crocodiles in the Kagera river, the Nile, and Lake Victoria.
Take Uganda's Yoweri Museveni as an example; he is a master New Speaker. He has single-handedly, with the assistance of U.K. and U.S. financing and military hardware, caused the deaths of more than eight million Africans –half a million or more in Uganda; one million in Rwanda; seven million in Congo. Please see http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/116/10455.pdfYet, at least up until the time President George W. Bush left office, he was treated like some respected elder statesman of politics in the West.He is such a smooth New Speaker that he attends the funerals of people whom he has reportedly eliminated in Uganda. He is such a smooth operator that he even secured an audience with President Bush in the White House in 2007 even though The Wall Street Journal had already reported on June 8, 2006, that he is being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes committed by his troops and militia in Congo between 1998-2003 and conceivably, like Liberia's former president Charles Taylor, and like Sudan's president al-Bashir, he too may be indicted by the ICC.While President Bush could ignore the inconvenient truth and entertain Museveni in the White House, praising him for fighting HIV/Aids, even as he used his other hand to eliminate millions of Africans, it is difficult to imagine how President Barack Obama, a constitutional law professor, could ignore the smell of blood emanating from the Ugandan. Then again, on this earth, anything is possible.Rwanda's Kagame is another master New Speaker.Earlier this week, he presided over memorial ceremonies for the victims of the 1994 massacres. Kagame indulges in this macabre exercise each year even though he was instrumental in the very genocide which he now "mourns": he commanded the invasion of Rwanda from Uganda in 1990 and a French court has concluded that he ordered the missile downing of the presidential plane carrying Presidents Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntayamira of Burundi, sparking the 100 days of mass murders.Western media had also prepared the global community for the eventual demonization and criminalization of all Hutus –even the ones who never participated in the mass murders of 1994– with a racist campaign against them in major magazines such as The New York Times magazine and The New Yorker, both with circulation in the millions.One of the first media volleys against the Hutus was an article by Alex Shoumatoff, published on June 20, 1992 in The New Yorker, where he described people he had observed while travelling in Burundi, which has the same ethnic combustibility between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis; at that time Burundi’s army and government were controlled by the Tutsi minority."There were three obvious Tutsis," Shoumatoff wrote, of the people he saw in a taxi cab, "Tall, slender with high foreheads, prominent cheekbones, and narrow features." He added: "They were a different physical type from the five passengers who were short and stocky and had the flat noses and thick lips typical of Hutus."Almost three months later, an even more insidious article by Shoumatoff, "Rwanda's Aristocratic Guerrillas," was published on December 13, 1992, in The New York Times magazine. By this time, the invasion of Rwanda was in its second year and the RPF had already committed numerous massacres against Hutu civilians, as a lexis-nexus search of news reports will reveal. These crimes were glossed over or ignored in Shoumatoff's article and all contemporary and subsequent accounts in major newspapers such as the Times.Moreover, Shoumatoff was married to a Tutsi woman who was the first cousin of the RPF's spokesperson and he was met at Entebbe airport in Uganda by RPF officials who guided him to the zones they controlled. So, The New York Times knowingly participated in the demonization campaign against the Hutus, who make up 85% of the population in both Rwanda and Burundi."In the late 19th Century," Shoumatoff, acting as an unofficial propagandist for the invading army wrote in The New York Times magazine, describing Tutsis, "early ethnologists were fascinated by these 'languidly haughty' pastoral aristocrats whose high foreheads, aquiline noses and thin lips seemed more Caucasian than Negroid, and they classified them as 'false negroes.' In a popular theory of the day, the Tutsis were thought to be highly civilized people, the race of fallen Europeans, whose existence in Central Africa had been rumored for centuries."Shoumatoff added, of the Tutsis: "They are not a race or a tribe, as often described, but a population, a stratum, a mystical, warrior-priest elite, like the Druids in Celtic society." As for the Hutus, they were far from resembling warrior priests: as Shoumatoff revealed, they were "short, stocky local Bantu agriculturalists." [To read more critique of Western media demonization of Africans, please see "The Hearts Of Darkness, How White Writers Created The Racist Image of Africa," (Black Star Books, 2005)]Yes, henious crimes against humanity and war crimes occurred in Rwanda, not only in 1994, but right from the time of the Uganda-sponsored invasion in 1990. Yet, the account here shows, many people would rather pretend that the atrocities started in 1994.Some of the people who participated in the crimes have been caught and tried; many who have been tried and convicted did not even participate; those prosecuted so far have been only Hutus.The story can never be complete when others involved in the same crime are exonerated through New Speak–some are outside Rwanda, including Museveni, for sponsoring the invasion and reportedly for supplying the missile used to down Habyarimana's jet; others, indicted and unindicted criminals now govern Rwanda.
Take Uganda's Yoweri Museveni as an example; he is a master New Speaker. He has single-handedly, with the assistance of U.K. and U.S. financing and military hardware, caused the deaths of more than eight million Africans –half a million or more in Uganda; one million in Rwanda; seven million in Congo. Please see http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/116/10455.pdfYet, at least up until the time President George W. Bush left office, he was treated like some respected elder statesman of politics in the West.He is such a smooth New Speaker that he attends the funerals of people whom he has reportedly eliminated in Uganda. He is such a smooth operator that he even secured an audience with President Bush in the White House in 2007 even though The Wall Street Journal had already reported on June 8, 2006, that he is being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes committed by his troops and militia in Congo between 1998-2003 and conceivably, like Liberia's former president Charles Taylor, and like Sudan's president al-Bashir, he too may be indicted by the ICC.While President Bush could ignore the inconvenient truth and entertain Museveni in the White House, praising him for fighting HIV/Aids, even as he used his other hand to eliminate millions of Africans, it is difficult to imagine how President Barack Obama, a constitutional law professor, could ignore the smell of blood emanating from the Ugandan. Then again, on this earth, anything is possible.Rwanda's Kagame is another master New Speaker.Earlier this week, he presided over memorial ceremonies for the victims of the 1994 massacres. Kagame indulges in this macabre exercise each year even though he was instrumental in the very genocide which he now "mourns": he commanded the invasion of Rwanda from Uganda in 1990 and a French court has concluded that he ordered the missile downing of the presidential plane carrying Presidents Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and Cyprien Ntayamira of Burundi, sparking the 100 days of mass murders.Western media had also prepared the global community for the eventual demonization and criminalization of all Hutus –even the ones who never participated in the mass murders of 1994– with a racist campaign against them in major magazines such as The New York Times magazine and The New Yorker, both with circulation in the millions.One of the first media volleys against the Hutus was an article by Alex Shoumatoff, published on June 20, 1992 in The New Yorker, where he described people he had observed while travelling in Burundi, which has the same ethnic combustibility between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis; at that time Burundi’s army and government were controlled by the Tutsi minority."There were three obvious Tutsis," Shoumatoff wrote, of the people he saw in a taxi cab, "Tall, slender with high foreheads, prominent cheekbones, and narrow features." He added: "They were a different physical type from the five passengers who were short and stocky and had the flat noses and thick lips typical of Hutus."Almost three months later, an even more insidious article by Shoumatoff, "Rwanda's Aristocratic Guerrillas," was published on December 13, 1992, in The New York Times magazine. By this time, the invasion of Rwanda was in its second year and the RPF had already committed numerous massacres against Hutu civilians, as a lexis-nexus search of news reports will reveal. These crimes were glossed over or ignored in Shoumatoff's article and all contemporary and subsequent accounts in major newspapers such as the Times.Moreover, Shoumatoff was married to a Tutsi woman who was the first cousin of the RPF's spokesperson and he was met at Entebbe airport in Uganda by RPF officials who guided him to the zones they controlled. So, The New York Times knowingly participated in the demonization campaign against the Hutus, who make up 85% of the population in both Rwanda and Burundi."In the late 19th Century," Shoumatoff, acting as an unofficial propagandist for the invading army wrote in The New York Times magazine, describing Tutsis, "early ethnologists were fascinated by these 'languidly haughty' pastoral aristocrats whose high foreheads, aquiline noses and thin lips seemed more Caucasian than Negroid, and they classified them as 'false negroes.' In a popular theory of the day, the Tutsis were thought to be highly civilized people, the race of fallen Europeans, whose existence in Central Africa had been rumored for centuries."Shoumatoff added, of the Tutsis: "They are not a race or a tribe, as often described, but a population, a stratum, a mystical, warrior-priest elite, like the Druids in Celtic society." As for the Hutus, they were far from resembling warrior priests: as Shoumatoff revealed, they were "short, stocky local Bantu agriculturalists." [To read more critique of Western media demonization of Africans, please see "The Hearts Of Darkness, How White Writers Created The Racist Image of Africa," (Black Star Books, 2005)]Yes, henious crimes against humanity and war crimes occurred in Rwanda, not only in 1994, but right from the time of the Uganda-sponsored invasion in 1990. Yet, the account here shows, many people would rather pretend that the atrocities started in 1994.Some of the people who participated in the crimes have been caught and tried; many who have been tried and convicted did not even participate; those prosecuted so far have been only Hutus.The story can never be complete when others involved in the same crime are exonerated through New Speak–some are outside Rwanda, including Museveni, for sponsoring the invasion and reportedly for supplying the missile used to down Habyarimana's jet; others, indicted and unindicted criminals now govern Rwanda.
Rwanda Government suspends BBC programmes
Sunday, 26th April 2009
KIGALI - The government has removed British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) local language (Kinyarwanda) programmes from the airwaves.
This was confirmed by Information Minister Louise Mushikiwabo by phone late Saturday because, as she put it, the BBC programmes despite repeated written and verbal protests from Government, consistently showed total disregard for Rwanda’s unity and reconciliation efforts.
“This action by Government was prompted by one of their programme called Imvo n’Imvano this morning which was previewed last night,” Mushikiwabo said.
Alarmed by what she had heard in the preview, the Minister stressed that she immediately contacted BBC on the issue expecting them to reconsider “after hearing from us” but, the latter took no heed.
“In the programme, you have some of the most outrageous statements,” Mushikiwabo noted, pointing to what she said were suggestions that there was a double Genocide and, that the bodies of Rwandans found floating in the waters of Lake Victoria, in Uganda, “were victims of the Rwanda Patriotic Front.”
“We are lodging a very strong and serious protest to the BBC leadership. What we heard (on the programme) was Genocide denial and insensitive. This is extremely serious and, we cannot tolerate it as government.”
A subsequent Government press release, which The New Times has seen, notes that the “divisive and disparaging nature” of these programmes — as they stand today — is no longer acceptable, in light of the hard-earned peaceful coexistence of the people of Rwanda over the last 15 years.
“Parts of today’s “Imvo n’Imvano” show as broadcast in a trailer on BBC’s airwaves on the evening of April 24, and the subsequent show on April 25 amount to blatant denial of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda, and constitute unacceptable speech,” reads part of the statement.
“Rwanda believes in difference of opinion and enforces press freedom in its laws and practices, which is why the Government of Rwanda has patiently continued to seek common ground and cooperation on the part of the BBC Great Lakes leadership,” it concludes.
The government has for some time been requesting the broadcaster not to give Genocide deniers airtime to no avail.
KIGALI - The government has removed British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) local language (Kinyarwanda) programmes from the airwaves.
This was confirmed by Information Minister Louise Mushikiwabo by phone late Saturday because, as she put it, the BBC programmes despite repeated written and verbal protests from Government, consistently showed total disregard for Rwanda’s unity and reconciliation efforts.
“This action by Government was prompted by one of their programme called Imvo n’Imvano this morning which was previewed last night,” Mushikiwabo said.
Alarmed by what she had heard in the preview, the Minister stressed that she immediately contacted BBC on the issue expecting them to reconsider “after hearing from us” but, the latter took no heed.
“In the programme, you have some of the most outrageous statements,” Mushikiwabo noted, pointing to what she said were suggestions that there was a double Genocide and, that the bodies of Rwandans found floating in the waters of Lake Victoria, in Uganda, “were victims of the Rwanda Patriotic Front.”
“We are lodging a very strong and serious protest to the BBC leadership. What we heard (on the programme) was Genocide denial and insensitive. This is extremely serious and, we cannot tolerate it as government.”
A subsequent Government press release, which The New Times has seen, notes that the “divisive and disparaging nature” of these programmes — as they stand today — is no longer acceptable, in light of the hard-earned peaceful coexistence of the people of Rwanda over the last 15 years.
“Parts of today’s “Imvo n’Imvano” show as broadcast in a trailer on BBC’s airwaves on the evening of April 24, and the subsequent show on April 25 amount to blatant denial of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi of Rwanda, and constitute unacceptable speech,” reads part of the statement.
“Rwanda believes in difference of opinion and enforces press freedom in its laws and practices, which is why the Government of Rwanda has patiently continued to seek common ground and cooperation on the part of the BBC Great Lakes leadership,” it concludes.
The government has for some time been requesting the broadcaster not to give Genocide deniers airtime to no avail.
Karegeya walks out of prison
Monday, 27th April 2009
Former spy chief Patrick Karegeya yesterday walked out of the coolers after completing his 18-month sentence. Karegeya, who was also stripped of his military Colonel rank on July 13, 2006 by the Military Tribunal, has been serving time for desertion and insubordination.“He has been released from prison having completed his sentence as the law stipulates,” Military Spokesman, Maj. Jill Rutaremara, said of his predecessor.Karegeya, 46, whose last portfolio in Rwanda Defence Forces was military spokesman, was arrested in May, 2006 on the orders of the Chief of General Staff General James Kabarebe. Prosecution accused him of defying General Kabarebe’s instructions to report to office after he had been released from an earlier six-month detention on disciplinary grounds.Karegeya has been detained at a new senior military officers’ detention facility in Kanombe Military Headquarters, where he was transferred to Mulindi Military Prison in Kigali.Upon his release, according to reliable sources, Karegeya met with General Kabarebe. However details of their meeting were not available by press time.The now former colonel became the second senior Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) officer to be stripped of his rank after Colonel Fred Nyamurangwa – now a Pentecostal pastor and commissioner in the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission – who lost his pips around1999 for allegedly confiscating civilians’ property. Several other military junior officers, including a captain, have also previously been stripped of their ranks on various charges.Karegeya’s wife Leah confirmed her husband’s release. “He came out. But he’s busy with visitors right now,” Leah, who did not sound excited said.It was not clear whether Karegeya obtained his release certificate from the Military Prosecution immediately. However he can choose to pick the document anytime upon paying about Frw30, 000 for court expenses.As a former convict, Karegeya may not legally join certain key leadership positions until his rehabilitation.Rehabilitation of a former military convict is sanctioned by the Military High Court upon request by that person and consent of the prosecution. But, legal experts say, such a decision can only take place after about five years from the time of completion of sentence.“In such a case it must be put in records that so and so sentenced to and served this amount of time in prison but was there after rehabilitated,” a law specialist, who requested not to be mentioned, said yesterday.
Former spy chief Patrick Karegeya yesterday walked out of the coolers after completing his 18-month sentence. Karegeya, who was also stripped of his military Colonel rank on July 13, 2006 by the Military Tribunal, has been serving time for desertion and insubordination.“He has been released from prison having completed his sentence as the law stipulates,” Military Spokesman, Maj. Jill Rutaremara, said of his predecessor.Karegeya, 46, whose last portfolio in Rwanda Defence Forces was military spokesman, was arrested in May, 2006 on the orders of the Chief of General Staff General James Kabarebe. Prosecution accused him of defying General Kabarebe’s instructions to report to office after he had been released from an earlier six-month detention on disciplinary grounds.Karegeya has been detained at a new senior military officers’ detention facility in Kanombe Military Headquarters, where he was transferred to Mulindi Military Prison in Kigali.Upon his release, according to reliable sources, Karegeya met with General Kabarebe. However details of their meeting were not available by press time.The now former colonel became the second senior Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) officer to be stripped of his rank after Colonel Fred Nyamurangwa – now a Pentecostal pastor and commissioner in the Rwanda Demobilisation and Reintegration Commission – who lost his pips around1999 for allegedly confiscating civilians’ property. Several other military junior officers, including a captain, have also previously been stripped of their ranks on various charges.Karegeya’s wife Leah confirmed her husband’s release. “He came out. But he’s busy with visitors right now,” Leah, who did not sound excited said.It was not clear whether Karegeya obtained his release certificate from the Military Prosecution immediately. However he can choose to pick the document anytime upon paying about Frw30, 000 for court expenses.As a former convict, Karegeya may not legally join certain key leadership positions until his rehabilitation.Rehabilitation of a former military convict is sanctioned by the Military High Court upon request by that person and consent of the prosecution. But, legal experts say, such a decision can only take place after about five years from the time of completion of sentence.“In such a case it must be put in records that so and so sentenced to and served this amount of time in prison but was there after rehabilitated,” a law specialist, who requested not to be mentioned, said yesterday.
FDLR PRESS RELEASE NR. 03/SE/CD/APRIL/2009
The FDLR are not involved in barbarous acts of which populations of Luofu and Kasiki in
North Kivu have been victims and condemn once again all ongoing serious crimes in eastern
DRC.
The Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) strongly condemn the killings, destruction
of homes by fire and other barbaric acts that have just hit the civilian population living in the
Congolese town of Luofu in the territory of Lubero in the province of North Kivu and call upon
the United Nations in collaboration with the African Union to establish without delay an
independent and international board of inquiry to identify the perpetrators of those crimes and
bring them to justice.
The FDLR compassionate with the Congolese people in these difficult times of their history and
inform the media and the International Community that none of their members has been
implicated in the attack the Luofu residents were victims of in the night of 17 to 18 April 2009.
The FDLR are ready to assist any established inquiry team or any person animated by good faith
in the identification of those who might have participated in the attack.
The FDLR judge ridiculous and unacceptable that some officials of the UN Mission in DRC
(MONUC) animated by bad faith have rushed on 18 April 2009 to criminalize the FDLR as the
perpetrators of the attack before they even reach the scene of crime or conduct any serious
investigation aimed at identifying the perpetrators of these heinous crimes against the population
of Luofu.
The FDLR also deny nefarious allegations of some agents of MONUC that the FDLR would be in
the process of illegally exploiting the wealth of the DRC. The FDLR urge those officials to cease
their slanderous campaign whose goal is nothing other than to discredit them. The FDLR remind
those officials that to make unsubstantiated accusations of this magnitude is in itself a crime that
must be repressed.
The FDLR repeat to anyone who wish to listen that they have never had and will never have any
hegemonic goal on the wealth of the DRC and their objective is not to remain forever in the DRC
or to get involved in illegal looting of that country’s wealth.
The FDLR condemn once again the war imposed by the warmongers on peace-loving peoples of
the African Great Lakes Region and find it unacceptable that it is those warmongers that are
directly or indirectly on the basis of serious crimes against civilian populations rather than
protecting them. The FDLR urge once again the International Community to condemn that war
and those warmongers to stop this unjust, senseless and unnecessary war.
The FDLR remain convinced that the Rwandan problem which is essentially political can not be
solved by war or other terrorist
acts that the coalition of the RPA (RDF) and the FARDC are
carrying out in the Kivu region, but rather by a direct dialogue between the Kigali regime and its
opposition.
Done in Paris on 20 April 2009
Callixte Mbarushimana
Executive Secretary of the FDLR
(Sé)
North Kivu have been victims and condemn once again all ongoing serious crimes in eastern
DRC.
The Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) strongly condemn the killings, destruction
of homes by fire and other barbaric acts that have just hit the civilian population living in the
Congolese town of Luofu in the territory of Lubero in the province of North Kivu and call upon
the United Nations in collaboration with the African Union to establish without delay an
independent and international board of inquiry to identify the perpetrators of those crimes and
bring them to justice.
The FDLR compassionate with the Congolese people in these difficult times of their history and
inform the media and the International Community that none of their members has been
implicated in the attack the Luofu residents were victims of in the night of 17 to 18 April 2009.
The FDLR are ready to assist any established inquiry team or any person animated by good faith
in the identification of those who might have participated in the attack.
The FDLR judge ridiculous and unacceptable that some officials of the UN Mission in DRC
(MONUC) animated by bad faith have rushed on 18 April 2009 to criminalize the FDLR as the
perpetrators of the attack before they even reach the scene of crime or conduct any serious
investigation aimed at identifying the perpetrators of these heinous crimes against the population
of Luofu.
The FDLR also deny nefarious allegations of some agents of MONUC that the FDLR would be in
the process of illegally exploiting the wealth of the DRC. The FDLR urge those officials to cease
their slanderous campaign whose goal is nothing other than to discredit them. The FDLR remind
those officials that to make unsubstantiated accusations of this magnitude is in itself a crime that
must be repressed.
The FDLR repeat to anyone who wish to listen that they have never had and will never have any
hegemonic goal on the wealth of the DRC and their objective is not to remain forever in the DRC
or to get involved in illegal looting of that country’s wealth.
The FDLR condemn once again the war imposed by the warmongers on peace-loving peoples of
the African Great Lakes Region and find it unacceptable that it is those warmongers that are
directly or indirectly on the basis of serious crimes against civilian populations rather than
protecting them. The FDLR urge once again the International Community to condemn that war
and those warmongers to stop this unjust, senseless and unnecessary war.
The FDLR remain convinced that the Rwandan problem which is essentially political can not be
solved by war or other terrorist
acts that the coalition of the RPA (RDF) and the FARDC are
carrying out in the Kivu region, but rather by a direct dialogue between the Kigali regime and its
opposition.
Done in Paris on 20 April 2009
Callixte Mbarushimana
Executive Secretary of the FDLR
(Sé)
Prisoners Freed as Rebels Clash With Troops in Eastern DRC
As the U.N. Security Council prepared to discuss the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, gunmen attacked the town of Uvira, near the border with Burundi, and a human rights group criticized the Congolese military's actions in its campaign against a Rwandan militia in the region. In the early morning hours, gunmen attacked the city of Uvira, on Lake Tanganyika, near Congo's border with Burundi. The attackers raided a jail in the town, freeing nearly all of the more than 100 prisoners.Clashes with government forces left at least nine dead, including six attackers and two soldiers. The situation had reportedly returned to calm by the afternoon.
Louis Leonce Muderhwa, listens during the opening of the Congo conference in Nairobi, Kenya (File)The governor of South Kivu province, Louis Muderhwa, said the attackers belonged to different armed groups operating in the region.He said the attackers' objective appeared to be to free members of their groups from the prison in Uvira, and that members of the National Liberation Forces, a Burundian rebel group, were involved in the assault. He said that four Burundian citizens were captured.The U.N.-backed Radio Okapi also reported that members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu militia, were also involved in the attack.Congolese soldiers have been pursuing the FDLR since mid-January. The initial operation was led by Rwandan troops, who left the country at the end of February.On Thursday, as the U.N. Security Council was set to discuss the instability in eastern Congo, the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch said that both rebels and government soldiers have targeted civilians during the operation.Researcher Anneke Van Woudenberg spoke to VOA from London."We now know that at least 180 civilians have been killed, most of them by the Rwandan Hutu militias, but also that Congolese army soldiers are themselves, as part of looting sprees killing people and raping a lot of women," said Van Woudenberg.The Congolese military is planning a renewed offensive against the FDLR, which according to Human Rights Watch, has regained much of the ground it lost during the Rwandan-led operation."Now we know that the Congolese army is gearing up for the next phase of its military operation, but they are sending their troops to the front line without salary payment, without logistical support, without food," added Van Woundenberg. "And we are deeply concerned about what that will mean for local populations and what is being done to ensure that people are protected as part of these military operations and not being targeted."The U.N. peacekeeping force plans to support the upcoming offensive. Human Rights Watch called for the U.N. to increase its efforts to ensure that civilians are not targeted in operations with U.N. involvement.
Louis Leonce Muderhwa, listens during the opening of the Congo conference in Nairobi, Kenya (File)The governor of South Kivu province, Louis Muderhwa, said the attackers belonged to different armed groups operating in the region.He said the attackers' objective appeared to be to free members of their groups from the prison in Uvira, and that members of the National Liberation Forces, a Burundian rebel group, were involved in the assault. He said that four Burundian citizens were captured.The U.N.-backed Radio Okapi also reported that members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, a Rwandan Hutu militia, were also involved in the attack.Congolese soldiers have been pursuing the FDLR since mid-January. The initial operation was led by Rwandan troops, who left the country at the end of February.On Thursday, as the U.N. Security Council was set to discuss the instability in eastern Congo, the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch said that both rebels and government soldiers have targeted civilians during the operation.Researcher Anneke Van Woudenberg spoke to VOA from London."We now know that at least 180 civilians have been killed, most of them by the Rwandan Hutu militias, but also that Congolese army soldiers are themselves, as part of looting sprees killing people and raping a lot of women," said Van Woudenberg.The Congolese military is planning a renewed offensive against the FDLR, which according to Human Rights Watch, has regained much of the ground it lost during the Rwandan-led operation."Now we know that the Congolese army is gearing up for the next phase of its military operation, but they are sending their troops to the front line without salary payment, without logistical support, without food," added Van Woundenberg. "And we are deeply concerned about what that will mean for local populations and what is being done to ensure that people are protected as part of these military operations and not being targeted."The U.N. peacekeeping force plans to support the upcoming offensive. Human Rights Watch called for the U.N. to increase its efforts to ensure that civilians are not targeted in operations with U.N. involvement.
Court sentences 11 more Darfur rebels to death
Sunday 26 April 2009
Sudan sentenced to death another 11 Darfur rebels on Sunday, for their part in a 2008 attack on Khartoum. The sentence raises to 82 the number of Justice and Equality Movement fighters ordered hanged for the raid.
A Sudanese court sentenced another 11 Darfur rebels to death on Sunday for a 2008 attack on Khartoum, raising to 82 the number of Justice and Equality Movement fighters ordered hanged for the raid. Judge Hafez Ahmed found the JEM fighters guilty of terrorism and illegal possession of weapons during the unprecedented attack on the capital's twin city of Omdurman in May 2008. The condemned men stood up and shouted "Go, Jem, Go!" and "Go, Khalil, Go!" as the sentences were handed down, in reference to JEM commander Khalil Ibrahim. Eight other men were acquitted, two referred to a juvenile court and two others sent to psychiatric institutions. Special tribunals set up in the wake of the attack have been judging the alleged rebels in batches over the last few weeks, usually sentencing around 10 to death at a time. More than 222 people were killed when rebels thrust more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) across the sandy expanse from conflict-torn Darfur in western Sudan to Omdurman, just across the Nile from the presidential palace. JEM last week rebuffed Qatari efforts to broker new peace talks, saying Khartoum had failed to honour a confidence-building deal brokered by Qatar in February aimed at paving the way for peace negotiations. "We maintain our position to not sit down with the government unless real and clear progress is achieved on the ground, in terms of prisoners, displaced people, and especially after the ouster of humanitarian organisations," JEM official Jibril Khalil told AFP. Last year, the United Nations expressed concern over the trials in the Sudanese courts especially created for the case and urged Khartoum to abolish capital punishment. Defence lawyers have argued that the special courts are unconstitutional and have not guaranteed their clients' legal rights. Under Sudanese law, any death sentence must be ratified by an appeal court and the high court. All death warrants must then be signed and approved by President Omar al-Beshir. The condemned men's lawyer, Adam Bakr, said he would appeal the sentences. Human rights groups have slammed Sudan for its use of capital punishment. Amnesty International has said that it is "appalled that the Sudanese authorities continue to apply the death penalty after grossly unfair legal procedures." The JEM last month said it would no longer hold peace talks with the Sudanese government after Khartoum's expulsion of 13 foreign aid agencies from Darfur. It had already expressed serious doubts about the viability of negotiations with Beshir's regime after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on March 4 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The world court accused Beshir of criminal responsibility for "exterminating, raping and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians." The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in Darfur rose up against the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum in February 2003. Sudan says 10,000 have been killed.
Sudan sentenced to death another 11 Darfur rebels on Sunday, for their part in a 2008 attack on Khartoum. The sentence raises to 82 the number of Justice and Equality Movement fighters ordered hanged for the raid.
A Sudanese court sentenced another 11 Darfur rebels to death on Sunday for a 2008 attack on Khartoum, raising to 82 the number of Justice and Equality Movement fighters ordered hanged for the raid. Judge Hafez Ahmed found the JEM fighters guilty of terrorism and illegal possession of weapons during the unprecedented attack on the capital's twin city of Omdurman in May 2008. The condemned men stood up and shouted "Go, Jem, Go!" and "Go, Khalil, Go!" as the sentences were handed down, in reference to JEM commander Khalil Ibrahim. Eight other men were acquitted, two referred to a juvenile court and two others sent to psychiatric institutions. Special tribunals set up in the wake of the attack have been judging the alleged rebels in batches over the last few weeks, usually sentencing around 10 to death at a time. More than 222 people were killed when rebels thrust more than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) across the sandy expanse from conflict-torn Darfur in western Sudan to Omdurman, just across the Nile from the presidential palace. JEM last week rebuffed Qatari efforts to broker new peace talks, saying Khartoum had failed to honour a confidence-building deal brokered by Qatar in February aimed at paving the way for peace negotiations. "We maintain our position to not sit down with the government unless real and clear progress is achieved on the ground, in terms of prisoners, displaced people, and especially after the ouster of humanitarian organisations," JEM official Jibril Khalil told AFP. Last year, the United Nations expressed concern over the trials in the Sudanese courts especially created for the case and urged Khartoum to abolish capital punishment. Defence lawyers have argued that the special courts are unconstitutional and have not guaranteed their clients' legal rights. Under Sudanese law, any death sentence must be ratified by an appeal court and the high court. All death warrants must then be signed and approved by President Omar al-Beshir. The condemned men's lawyer, Adam Bakr, said he would appeal the sentences. Human rights groups have slammed Sudan for its use of capital punishment. Amnesty International has said that it is "appalled that the Sudanese authorities continue to apply the death penalty after grossly unfair legal procedures." The JEM last month said it would no longer hold peace talks with the Sudanese government after Khartoum's expulsion of 13 foreign aid agencies from Darfur. It had already expressed serious doubts about the viability of negotiations with Beshir's regime after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on March 4 on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. The world court accused Beshir of criminal responsibility for "exterminating, raping and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians." The United Nations says up to 300,000 people have died and 2.7 million fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in Darfur rose up against the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum in February 2003. Sudan says 10,000 have been killed.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Italy ship thwarts pirate attack
A captain of an Italian cruise ship has given the BBC a dramatic account how his crew fended off a pirate attack off the coast of Somalia.
Capt Ciro Pinto said six pirates in a speedboat approached his Melody ship and opened fire, but then fled after security men fired in the air.
He said his crew also sprayed water on the gunmen when they tried to climb aboard using a ladder.
No-on was hurt in Saturday's incident. Some 1,500 people were on the vessel.
Pirates have recently intensified attacks on shipping in the region, despite patrols by the foreign navies.
See map of how piracy is affecting the region and countries around the world
Last year, pirates attacked more than 100 ships in the region, demanding huge ransom for their release.
Captain's story
Capt Pinto told the BBC that the pirates tried to hijack his ship late on Saturday, about 290km (180 miles) north of Victoria in the Seychelles.
"One white small boat with six people on board approached the port [left] side of the ship and started shooting."
The captain said the pirates fired some 200 rounds of shots on the vessel.
His said "our security started shooting in the air... and also we started spraying some water" to beat off the attackers.
Capt Pinto said the pirates were forced to give up after about five minutes of shooting and a high-speed chase.
The head of the Italy's MSC Cruises, which owns the Meloday, credited the captain for his "cool-headed" handling of the incident, Italy's Ansa news agency reported.
The ship was on a cruise from South Africa to Italy. It was now headed as scheduled for the Jordanian port of Aqaba.
Somali pirates have hijacked about a dozen ships since the start of April, despite the presence of around 20 foreign naval vessels in the area.
International warships have been patrolling the waters off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden in recent months as part of an effort to counter piracy.
They have freed a number of ships, but attacks have continued.
Somalia has been without an effective administration since 1991, fuelling the lawlessness which has allowed piracy to thrive.
Shipping companies last year handed over about $80m (£54m) in ransom payments to the gangs.
Capt Ciro Pinto said six pirates in a speedboat approached his Melody ship and opened fire, but then fled after security men fired in the air.
He said his crew also sprayed water on the gunmen when they tried to climb aboard using a ladder.
No-on was hurt in Saturday's incident. Some 1,500 people were on the vessel.
Pirates have recently intensified attacks on shipping in the region, despite patrols by the foreign navies.
See map of how piracy is affecting the region and countries around the world
Last year, pirates attacked more than 100 ships in the region, demanding huge ransom for their release.
Captain's story
Capt Pinto told the BBC that the pirates tried to hijack his ship late on Saturday, about 290km (180 miles) north of Victoria in the Seychelles.
"One white small boat with six people on board approached the port [left] side of the ship and started shooting."
The captain said the pirates fired some 200 rounds of shots on the vessel.
His said "our security started shooting in the air... and also we started spraying some water" to beat off the attackers.
Capt Pinto said the pirates were forced to give up after about five minutes of shooting and a high-speed chase.
The head of the Italy's MSC Cruises, which owns the Meloday, credited the captain for his "cool-headed" handling of the incident, Italy's Ansa news agency reported.
The ship was on a cruise from South Africa to Italy. It was now headed as scheduled for the Jordanian port of Aqaba.
Somali pirates have hijacked about a dozen ships since the start of April, despite the presence of around 20 foreign naval vessels in the area.
International warships have been patrolling the waters off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden in recent months as part of an effort to counter piracy.
They have freed a number of ships, but attacks have continued.
Somalia has been without an effective administration since 1991, fuelling the lawlessness which has allowed piracy to thrive.
Shipping companies last year handed over about $80m (£54m) in ransom payments to the gangs.
Sri Lanka rebels call ceasefire
Tamil Tiger rebels fighting government forces in north-east Sri Lanka have declared a unilateral ceasefire.
A Tamil Tiger spokesman told the BBC the move was due to what he called an "unprecedented humanitarian crisis".
Sri Lanka's defence secretary however dismissed the announcement as "a joke", insisting the rebels must surrender.
The rebels have been beaten back to a 12 sq km (5 sq m) area. The UN says more than 160,000 civilians have fled from there, but 50,000 remain.
See a map of the region
The announcement came as the United Nations' top humanitarian official, John Holmes, was meeting Sri Lankan officials to call for access for aid workers to the war zone and government-run camps for thousands of displaced people.
Aid workers have been barred from the area since the fighting escalated last year.
The rebels say the government is deliberately blocking food aid there - a charge the Sri Lankan authorities have denied.
Rebels on back foot
In a statement, the rebels said they were responding to "calls made by the UN, EU, the governments of India and others".
They said the unilateral ceasefire would come into immediate effect.
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa however told the BBC the ceasefire was "a joke" that was coming from "the losing side."
He said the rebels should release all civilians within the conflict zone immediately.
The BBC's Charles Haviland in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, says the declaration is a sign that the rebels are feeling increasingly under pressure.
He says the government, by contrast, feels it it is moving forward in its campaign against the Tigers and has had them on the back foot for a long time.
The Tamil Tigers have fought for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority since 1983.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the war, but that figure could now be far higher because of intensified fighting in recent weeks.
Hospitals and government-run camps for displaced people in the north-east have been flooded by people fleeing the shrinking rebel-held zone as the military closes in on the rebels.
'Very dire' situation
Speaking in Thailand on his way to Sri Lanka, Mr Holmes said the civilians caught up in the conflict were suffering not only a high casualty rate from the fighting but from a lack of access to food, clean water and medical supplies.
"The situation of these people is very dire and that's why we need to somehow find a way to stop the fighting and get them out of there so we can look after them properly," he said.
A UN document being circulated around diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka estimates that nearly 6,500 civilians have died and 14,000 have been injured since the end of January.
The White House said it was "deeply concerned about the plight of innocent civilians caught up in the conflict between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers and the mounting death toll".
It called on both sides to adhere to international humanitarian law and to "stop fighting immediately and allow civilians to safely leave the combat zone".
A Tamil Tiger spokesman told the BBC the move was due to what he called an "unprecedented humanitarian crisis".
Sri Lanka's defence secretary however dismissed the announcement as "a joke", insisting the rebels must surrender.
The rebels have been beaten back to a 12 sq km (5 sq m) area. The UN says more than 160,000 civilians have fled from there, but 50,000 remain.
See a map of the region
The announcement came as the United Nations' top humanitarian official, John Holmes, was meeting Sri Lankan officials to call for access for aid workers to the war zone and government-run camps for thousands of displaced people.
Aid workers have been barred from the area since the fighting escalated last year.
The rebels say the government is deliberately blocking food aid there - a charge the Sri Lankan authorities have denied.
Rebels on back foot
In a statement, the rebels said they were responding to "calls made by the UN, EU, the governments of India and others".
They said the unilateral ceasefire would come into immediate effect.
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa however told the BBC the ceasefire was "a joke" that was coming from "the losing side."
He said the rebels should release all civilians within the conflict zone immediately.
The BBC's Charles Haviland in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, says the declaration is a sign that the rebels are feeling increasingly under pressure.
He says the government, by contrast, feels it it is moving forward in its campaign against the Tigers and has had them on the back foot for a long time.
The Tamil Tigers have fought for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority since 1983.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the war, but that figure could now be far higher because of intensified fighting in recent weeks.
Hospitals and government-run camps for displaced people in the north-east have been flooded by people fleeing the shrinking rebel-held zone as the military closes in on the rebels.
'Very dire' situation
Speaking in Thailand on his way to Sri Lanka, Mr Holmes said the civilians caught up in the conflict were suffering not only a high casualty rate from the fighting but from a lack of access to food, clean water and medical supplies.
"The situation of these people is very dire and that's why we need to somehow find a way to stop the fighting and get them out of there so we can look after them properly," he said.
A UN document being circulated around diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka estimates that nearly 6,500 civilians have died and 14,000 have been injured since the end of January.
The White House said it was "deeply concerned about the plight of innocent civilians caught up in the conflict between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers and the mounting death toll".
It called on both sides to adhere to international humanitarian law and to "stop fighting immediately and allow civilians to safely leave the combat zone".
Guinea arrests over 'coup plot'
Two army officers in Guinea have been arrested on suspicion of plotting a coup, security sources told the BBC.
The arrests were made as new military leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was preparing to make his first trip out of Guinea since seizing power in December.
He led a bloodless coup after the death of Lansana Conte, who had ruled the West African country since 1984.
A BBC correspondent says the head of state was already at the airport when his trip to Libya was cancelled.
State television later announced that the minister charged with constitutional reform was on his way to Libya, deputising for Capt Camara.
Intermittent gunfire
The BBC's Alhassan Sillah in Conakry says more armed soldiers than usual are on the streets of the capital and road blocks have been set up in the administrative sector.
Intermittent gunfire was heard in some areas of town on Thursday, he says.
The two alleged coup plotters - Captain Saa Alphonse Toure and Captain Abdoulaye Keita - have been transferred to a detention centre at Kassa, an island just off the shores of Conakry, our reporter says.
Earlier this week, Capt Camara said he would not contest elections later this year, having last week insisted he had the right to stand as a candidate.
He gave the assurance following a visit from Mohammed Ibn Chambas, president of the regional grouping Ecowas.
After their meeting, Mr Chambas said a timetable for elections had been agreed with legislative polls to be held in October, and the presidential vote in December.
More than a third of the world's bauxite reserves are in Guinea, but its people are among the poorest in West Africa.
The arrests were made as new military leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara was preparing to make his first trip out of Guinea since seizing power in December.
He led a bloodless coup after the death of Lansana Conte, who had ruled the West African country since 1984.
A BBC correspondent says the head of state was already at the airport when his trip to Libya was cancelled.
State television later announced that the minister charged with constitutional reform was on his way to Libya, deputising for Capt Camara.
Intermittent gunfire
The BBC's Alhassan Sillah in Conakry says more armed soldiers than usual are on the streets of the capital and road blocks have been set up in the administrative sector.
Intermittent gunfire was heard in some areas of town on Thursday, he says.
The two alleged coup plotters - Captain Saa Alphonse Toure and Captain Abdoulaye Keita - have been transferred to a detention centre at Kassa, an island just off the shores of Conakry, our reporter says.
Earlier this week, Capt Camara said he would not contest elections later this year, having last week insisted he had the right to stand as a candidate.
He gave the assurance following a visit from Mohammed Ibn Chambas, president of the regional grouping Ecowas.
After their meeting, Mr Chambas said a timetable for elections had been agreed with legislative polls to be held in October, and the presidential vote in December.
More than a third of the world's bauxite reserves are in Guinea, but its people are among the poorest in West Africa.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Renewed clashes leave dozens wounded
Thursday 23 April 2009
Clashes on Thursday, between supporters of ousted Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana and government security forces, have left 36 wounded. This was the second day of protests despite a ban against demonstrations.
Thirty six people were wounded Thursday as Madagascan security forces clashed with ousted president Marc Ravalomanana's supporters who staged second day of protests despite a demonstration ban. Head of the emergency unit at the capital city's main hospital Cornell Rafolohanitrarivo said "we have received 36 wounded" without giving further details. Other hospital sources said many of the wounded suffered bullet wounds and one of them was in a critical state. Groups of protesters erected road barriers and battled the security forces who had earlier blocked them from gathering at a park in downtown Antananarivo and fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse them. A security official who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said that one police officer was badly beaten unconcious and his gun stolen. Meanwhile a spokesman of Ravalomanana's TIM party said four of their lawmakers were arrested durring the protest. "We don't know the reason (for the arrest). We only know that they are at the national inquiry commission," Raharinaivo Andrianatoandro told AFP. On Tuesday, the country's transitional administration of Andry Rajoelina banned public protests a day after two Ravalomanana supporters were killed as security forces broke up a rally. Ravalomanana's supporters have been rallying in the capital to demand the return of their leader who was forced to resign last month by his army-backed opposition rival Rajoelina. The former president fled to exile in southern Africa. The series of tense rallies to demand Rajoelina's departure is reminiscent of the daily protests he organised at the start of the year to obtain Ravalomanana's ouster.
Clashes on Thursday, between supporters of ousted Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana and government security forces, have left 36 wounded. This was the second day of protests despite a ban against demonstrations.
Thirty six people were wounded Thursday as Madagascan security forces clashed with ousted president Marc Ravalomanana's supporters who staged second day of protests despite a demonstration ban. Head of the emergency unit at the capital city's main hospital Cornell Rafolohanitrarivo said "we have received 36 wounded" without giving further details. Other hospital sources said many of the wounded suffered bullet wounds and one of them was in a critical state. Groups of protesters erected road barriers and battled the security forces who had earlier blocked them from gathering at a park in downtown Antananarivo and fired warning shots and tear gas to disperse them. A security official who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity said that one police officer was badly beaten unconcious and his gun stolen. Meanwhile a spokesman of Ravalomanana's TIM party said four of their lawmakers were arrested durring the protest. "We don't know the reason (for the arrest). We only know that they are at the national inquiry commission," Raharinaivo Andrianatoandro told AFP. On Tuesday, the country's transitional administration of Andry Rajoelina banned public protests a day after two Ravalomanana supporters were killed as security forces broke up a rally. Ravalomanana's supporters have been rallying in the capital to demand the return of their leader who was forced to resign last month by his army-backed opposition rival Rajoelina. The former president fled to exile in southern Africa. The series of tense rallies to demand Rajoelina's departure is reminiscent of the daily protests he organised at the start of the year to obtain Ravalomanana's ouster.
Willy Claes: «Kagame est au moins en partie responsable du génocide»
BRUXELLES, 2 avril 2009 - Selon l'ancien ministre Willy Claes, le général Kagamé, actuel président du Rwanda, a été «au moins en partie responsable du génocide rwandais en 1994».La semaine prochaine, cela fera exactement quinze ans, qu’a éclaté au Rwanda, petit pays d’Afrique centrale, le dernier génocide du 20ème siècle.Suite à l'assassinat de dix paras belges, le 7 avril 1994, la Belgique a retiré presque aussitôt le reste de son contingent de casques bleus.Etant donné que les Belges formaient le noyau de la mission de l'ONU, le reste de la force onusienne est parti avec eux. C’est ainsi que le génocide a donc pu éclater et emporter près d'un million de vies humaines.En 2000, à Kigali, capitale rwandaise, le premier ministre Guy Verhofstadt a été présenter ses excuses, au nom du gouvernement belge.Neuf ans plus tard, Willy Claes, ministre des Affaires étrangères en 1994, déclare qu’il avait trouvé inapproprié le fait que Verhofstadt se soit également excusé auprès du général Kagamé.Paul Kagamé a été avant et pendant le génocide, le chef de la rébellion tutsie et est devenu président après le génocide. Pour Claes, il ne fait aucun doute que Kagamé est « au moins en partie responsables» du génocide.A l’époque les excuses Verhofstadt, qui auparavant était dans l’opposition, ont été surtout considérées comme une raillerie à la politique du CVP, parti démocrate flamand, au pouvoir lors du génocide au Rwanda.
Clinton makes surprise visit to Baghdad
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made an unannounced visit to Iraq on Saturday and said she saw no sign that the country was sliding back into sectarian warfare despite recent suicide bombings.
Making her first trip to Iraq as secretary of state, Clinton said the United States would keep supporting the Iraqi government as Washington prepares to withdraw all its troops from the country by the end of 2011.
Clinton landed on a military transport plane a day after two female suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a Shi'ite Muslim shrine in Baghdad, killing 60 people in the deadliest single incident in Iraq in more than 10 months.
It was the third major attack in two days, bringing the two-day death toll to at least 150 people.
Recent high-casualty attacks have fanned fears of a resurgence in violence. President Barack Obama has ordered U.S. combat troops to prepare to pull out of Iraqi cities in June and there are doubts about the effectiveness of Iraqi forces.
Asked if the latest bloodshed could rekindle sectarian warfare, Clinton replied: "I see no signs of that at this time.
"I think the suicide bombings ... are, in an unfortunately tragic way, a signal that the rejectionists fear that Iraq is going in the right direction," she added, speaking to reporters in Kuwait late on Friday before flying to Baghdad on Saturday.
Clinton noted that the worst single attack in the Northern Ireland conflict -- an August 1998 car bomb that killed 29 people in the town of Omagh -- occurred after the 1998 Good Friday accord that largely ended the sectarian struggle.
She suggested the nation had turned a corner and that Iraqi society had wearied of the violence.
"In any conflict, there comes a point -- sometimes it's far later than we would wish -- where a critical mass of people on all sides just say 'enough,'" she said.
TOWN HALL MEETING
In a whirlwind visit, Clinton plans to meet Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, to be briefed by Gen. Ray Odierno, the U.S. commander in Iraq, and to meet privately with a group of Iraqi women.
She said the highlight of her day was likely to be a "town hall" meeting with about 150 Iraqis, as well as U.S. officials, at the U.S. embassy, saying this was a first for a senior U.S. official in Baghdad.
"I want to listen. I want to respond to their concerns and questions. And I want some feedback and ideas about ... how we are going to make this transition as successful as possible," Clinton said.
The sectarian warfare and insurgency unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion have receded sharply over the past year, but Iraqi security forces still face huge challenges as they take on policing and military operations from the United States.
A national election scheduled for the end of the year has also heightened apprehensions as political parties and armed groups jostle for dominance of the oil-producing nation.
Making her first trip to Iraq as secretary of state, Clinton said the United States would keep supporting the Iraqi government as Washington prepares to withdraw all its troops from the country by the end of 2011.
Clinton landed on a military transport plane a day after two female suicide bombers blew themselves up outside a Shi'ite Muslim shrine in Baghdad, killing 60 people in the deadliest single incident in Iraq in more than 10 months.
It was the third major attack in two days, bringing the two-day death toll to at least 150 people.
Recent high-casualty attacks have fanned fears of a resurgence in violence. President Barack Obama has ordered U.S. combat troops to prepare to pull out of Iraqi cities in June and there are doubts about the effectiveness of Iraqi forces.
Asked if the latest bloodshed could rekindle sectarian warfare, Clinton replied: "I see no signs of that at this time.
"I think the suicide bombings ... are, in an unfortunately tragic way, a signal that the rejectionists fear that Iraq is going in the right direction," she added, speaking to reporters in Kuwait late on Friday before flying to Baghdad on Saturday.
Clinton noted that the worst single attack in the Northern Ireland conflict -- an August 1998 car bomb that killed 29 people in the town of Omagh -- occurred after the 1998 Good Friday accord that largely ended the sectarian struggle.
She suggested the nation had turned a corner and that Iraqi society had wearied of the violence.
"In any conflict, there comes a point -- sometimes it's far later than we would wish -- where a critical mass of people on all sides just say 'enough,'" she said.
TOWN HALL MEETING
In a whirlwind visit, Clinton plans to meet Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, to be briefed by Gen. Ray Odierno, the U.S. commander in Iraq, and to meet privately with a group of Iraqi women.
She said the highlight of her day was likely to be a "town hall" meeting with about 150 Iraqis, as well as U.S. officials, at the U.S. embassy, saying this was a first for a senior U.S. official in Baghdad.
"I want to listen. I want to respond to their concerns and questions. And I want some feedback and ideas about ... how we are going to make this transition as successful as possible," Clinton said.
The sectarian warfare and insurgency unleashed by the 2003 U.S.-led invasion have receded sharply over the past year, but Iraqi security forces still face huge challenges as they take on policing and military operations from the United States.
A national election scheduled for the end of the year has also heightened apprehensions as political parties and armed groups jostle for dominance of the oil-producing nation.
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