United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

5 August 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

Mozambique and U.S. stage joint military exercise (UPI)

(Mozambique) Mozambique and the United States are staging joint Shared Accord
Exercises 2010 military exercise.

Mozambique, US Hold Joint Military Training Exercises (Voice of America)

(Mozambique) The U.S. and Mozambican militaries have begun a week of joint training
exercises in peacekeeping and humanitarian relief operations.

Obama meets young African leaders, delivers message of hope and self-reliance
(Daily Maverick - South Africa)
(Pan Africa) As part of the 50th anniversary of independence of 17 African nations, US
President Barack Obama met with 115 young leaders from 46 sub-Saharan nations at
the White House on Tuesday.

Peace is in Everyone's Interest - Gen. Kayizari (The New Times)

(Rwanda) Army Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Caesar Kayizari, on Monday, rejected
suggestions that the US government was using Africa Endeavor (AE) - a US-sponsored
multinational initiative that seeks to improve communication between African armies -
to gain influence on the continent.

Commerce Minister Meets With U.S. President (Angola Press)

(Angola) The Angolan Commerce minister, Idalina Valente, attended a meeting with
the US president, Barack Obama, together with colleagues from 38 African countries of
the Sub-Saharan region held in Washington DC on Tuesday.

Kenyans Vote on New Constitution (Wall Street Journal)

(Kenya) Voters cast ballots Wednesday to decide whether to adopt a new constitution,
a pivotal event that could help quell ethnic and political tensions that sparked mass
killings two years ago.

Nation to Keep Peace in Somalia 'If Zuma Orders' (Business Day - South Africa)
(South Africa) The South African National Defence Force would be prepared to send
troops to Somalia if President Jacob Zuma so ordered.
DR Congo frees 11,506 children from mines (Xinhua)
(Congo) The Democratic Republic of Congo has freed 11,506 children from mining sites
of the mineral rich Central African country under a project to knock out the worst forms
of child labor, an NGO said on Wednesday.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 UN peacekeeping chief calls for stepped-up efforts ahead of Sudan referenda
 Secretary-General welcomes peaceful staging of referendum in Zanzibar
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, August 4 – Thursday, August 5, Department of Defense

Civilian Personnel Management Service
WHAT: Conference on Forming an Interagency Community
WHO: National Security Professionals Symposium
Info: http://www.cpms.osd.mil/lpdd/nspd/NSP_Symposium.aspx
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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Mozambique and U.S. stage joint military exercise (UPI)

MAPUTO, Mozambique - Mozambique and the United States are staging joint Shared
Accord Exercises 2010 military exercise.

The Shared Accord Exercises 2010 is being conducted in Mozambique's southern

Moamba province district, Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique reported Tuesday.

A Mozambique Defense Ministry news release from Mozambique's Defense Ministry

stated that Shared Accord Exercises will run Aug. 12 and is designed to strengthen
Mozambique's peace keeping operations capacities and emergency humanitarian
assistance techniques.

More than 1,000 U.S. service members and Mozambican soldiers are participating in
Shared Accord 2010, which is coordinated by U.S. Africa Command's Marine
component.

U.S. Marine Forces Africa. Lt. Col. Andrew Olson, defense attache at the U.S. Embassy
in Mpauto said: "This exercise is part of a solid, long-term, multi-faceted partnership
between the U.S. and Mozambican militaries. Hundreds of members of both our armed
forces will participate together in various types of military training, including command
post, live-fire training, and peace operations, as well as sharing their experience.
"We are confident that this exercise will help develop Mozambique's capabilities to offer
additional security for its neighbors, keep Mozambique itself more free from threats to
its own security, such as illegal fishing, trafficking in drugs or other illegal activities, or
even the threat of piracy, and enhance its ability to effectively fight against poverty here
at home."

Besides the military exercise, troops will also jointly provide free medical and dental
care to three local communities and rehabilitate two schools.

Shared Accord is an annually scheduled, combined, bilateral U.S.-partner nation event,

which has previously been hosted by Benin, Ghana and Senegal. This year is the first
time Mozambique has been the site of the exercise, designed to build partner nation
capacity for conducting peace and stability operations, according to U.S. Marines Capt.
Kate Vanden Bossche, public affairs officer for the Shared Accord exercise.

The Shared Accord operation is being coordinated for the U.S. AFRICOM Command by
its Marine component, U.S. Marine Forces Africa. Members of the U.S. Navy, Air Force
and Army are also providing support for Shared Accord 2010. Following conclusion of
the exercise participating U.S. servicemen will return to their home bases in Europe and
the United States.

According to AFRICOM, aircraft maintenance issues in the United States meant that the
full advance team with heavy equipment operators and engineers, wouldn't arrive in
time to conduct the first part of their mission and deliver the 262 vehicles and
equipment, including Humvees, 7-Tons and bulldozers scheduled to participate, which
were subsequently sent to Maputo by sea and offloaded from the Liberian-flagged ship
Beluga Fusion.
--------------------
Mozambique, US Hold Joint Military Training Exercises (Voice of America)

The U.S. and Mozambican militaries have begun a week of joint training exercises in
peacekeeping and humanitarian relief operations.

Mozambique's defense ministry said Wednesday the exercises in Moamba district, in

southern Mozambique, will include about 800 Mozambican and 700 U.S. personnel.

The ministry said the training will include a simulation of a conflict zone to practice the
peacekeeping and relief activities.

The training is part of an annual cooperation program between the U.S. military and
some African countries. Senegal, Ghana, and Benin have taken part in the program in
the past.
--------------------
Obama meets young African leaders, delivers message of hope and self-reliance
(Daily Maverick - South Africa)

The open spigot of cash may not be there, but a lot of love is going around – and
perhaps some public respect too. As part of the 50th anniversary of independence of 17
African nations, US President Barack Obama met with 115 young leaders from 46 sub-
Saharan nations at the White House on Tuesday.
The gathering of mostly business figures and social and cultural entrepreneurs offered a
high-profile, public dose of Afro-optimism, drawing force from the fact that Africa is a
continent with a huge youthful population looking for new leadership and new
opportunities.

Speaking to the gathering, Obama drew upon feelings, already expressed in his books,
“Dreams from My Father” and “The Audacity of Hope” and in his speech in Accra,
Ghana in 2009, of the need for the next generation of Africa’s leaders to sweep away the
culture of the “big men” and unleash economic opportunities for future generations. On
the eve of his 49th birthday, Obama told his guests: “If all you are doing is talking to old
men like me, then you are not reaching the people who are going to be providing the
energy, the new initiatives, the new ideas.

“As I said when I was in Accra last year, I don’t see Africa as a world apart. I see Africa
as a fundamental part of our interconnected world. Whether it’s creating jobs in a
global economy, or delivering education and health care, combating climate change,
standing up to violent extremists who offer nothing but destruction, or promoting
successful models of democracy and development - for all this we have to have a
strong, self-reliant and prosperous Africa. So the world needs your talents and your
creativity. We need young Africans who are standing up and making things happen,
not only in their own countries. but around the world,” Obama said.

In responding to questions, Obama said the behaviour of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe

had been “terrible” and that the ethnic violence in Somalia was “heartbreaking.” But,
true to his Afro-optimism, Obama said, “We are rooting for your successes, and we
want to work with you to achieve that success. But ultimately, success is going to be in
your hands.”

This spirit clearly reaches back to Obama’s Accra speech when he told his audience
Africa’s future belongs to Africans. And it is easy to see more than a little of the
influence of a thinker like Ralph Waldo Emerson (as in his essay, “Self Reliance”) in
Obama’s own thinking about Africa and its problems and possibilities. Emerson wrote:
“It is easy to see that a greater self-reliance must work a revolution in all the offices and
relations of men; in their religion; in their education; in their pursuits; their modes of
living; their association; in their property; in their speculative views.”
The US state department described the forum as “an opportunity to deepen and
broaden our understanding of the trajectories of African societies, and to reflect on how
the next generation are building their communities' and their nations' futures.” And
besides the White House meeting, the schedule calls for small-group discussions on
transparency and accountability, job creation and entrepreneurship, rights advocacy
and the use of technology to empower individuals and communities. Organizers
obviously hope participants will seize the initiative and build on the relationships they
make at the three-day gathering for future, independent action.

As Obama described his vision: “I also want to make sure that all of you are having an
opportunity to meet each other, because you can reinforce each other as you are
struggling and fighting in your own countries for a better future. You will now have a
network of people that help to reinforce what it is that you’re trying to do. And you
know that sometimes change makes you feel lonely. Now you’ve got a group of people
who can help reinforce what you’re doing.”

Shamima Muslim, a Ghanaian talk-show host, asked him, “Is America committed to
ensuring a partnership that might not necessarily be beneficial to America, but [is] truly
beneficial to the sovereign interests of the countries that we represent?” Obama’s
answer spoke to the global economic interconnections of the wired world. “If you can
buy more iPods and buy more products and buy more services and buy more tractors
from us, that we can sell to a fast-growing continent, that creates jobs here in the US.”

The African Leaders Forum is actually only part of this renewed US focus on Africa.
This year also marks the 10th anniversary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act
(Agoa). The law was passed by Congress in 2000 to remove import duties on African
products and increase exports from Africa into America.

Thus African trade, commerce and finance ministers are in Washington for the ninth
annual Agoa forum. This year, while there is the obligatory Washington gabfest, the
visitors will also go to Kansas City to mingle with American business leaders and
representatives in “the heartland” to jump-start additional export opportunities. Then
there is also an African Women Entrepreneurs Forum recognising that the way forward
for job growth is with small enterprises, often started or managed by women.

However, most eligible African exports still come from the petroleum sector, mostly
from a small group of countries on the west coast of the continent that are less than
representative of the rest of continent or its troubles. But among non-oil exporters,
South Africa leads Africa in the value of its exports to the US arriving duty-free under
Agoa provisions.

Secretary of state Hillary Clinton reminded the conference on Tuesday of the things that
remain to be done. She said: “Agoa has achieved only modest results and has not lived
up to the highest hopes of a decade ago….Petroleum products still account for the vast
majority of exports to the US, and we have not yet seen the diversification of growth of
exports that Agoa was expected to spur. So as we praise Africa’s progress, we must at
the same time be clear-eyed about the challenges that persist.”

Some months ago, in a report on the future of US-Africa relations in the Obama era for
the Centre for Policy Studies, a local think tank, this writer noted that people around the
world – and perhaps most especially those in Africa – had taken heart from Obama’s
election and that his personal impact could be powerful and positive. In putting aside
military initiatives such as Africom, a key part of “improving America’s image could
also come from a relatively inexpensive investment in increasing the number and
variety of international student and cultural exchanges”.

Applications of “soft power” in this way could have a major impact on Africa as a
tangible manifestation of the promise that Obama, the man, exemplified in his 2008
campaign for the presidency. Moreover, in the absence of new funding for continent-
spanning programmes, more modest activities may yet help deliver on at least some of
Obama’s promise of hope. And, yes, it’s good to see some of it is starting to happen.
--------------------
Peace is in Everyone's Interest - Gen. Kayizari (The New Times)

Kigali — ARMY Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Caesar Kayizari, on Monday, rejected
suggestions that the US government was using Africa Endeavor (AE) - a US-sponsored
multinational initiative that seeks to improve communication between African armies -
to gain influence on the continent.

Kayizari was speaking at Laico Umubano Hotel in Kigali at the opening of a five-day
planning conference for an AE 2010 communications training exercise. The training
session is slated for August in Accra, Ghana.

"There are those who see it wrongly - peace is in the interest of everyone. The US is
interested in peace, not influence," Kayizari noted. Instead, he said, the initiative will
help provide the "overall picture and status of communication and information systems
as well as the baseline for interoperability for African armed forces."

"It will also move Africans towards a single location for a common goal that will
equally improve cohesion," added Gen. Kayizari. He explained that the training will
improve cohesion through sharing of cultural values, "improving esprit de corps and
human interoperability or social networks required for laying a strong foundation for a
peaceful Africa." The US Army AFRICOM's Lt. Col. David Schilling, backed Gen.
Kayizari.

"Security across the world can affect every single country equally. So, the more we work
together on security, communications interoperability, or anything, the better we will
be, as a group," he observed. Anne Casper, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US
Embassy in Kigali, underscored her Government's commitment to support the
initiative.

"Just as we support multinational peacekeeping operations and the African Union's

efforts to create regional standby peacekeeping brigades, we are proud to work
shoulder to shoulder with the African Union because it is in all our interests to see the
realization of a strong, secure, prosperous and well-governed Africa," she noted.

"Disasters like disease and transnational terrorists do not stop at national borders. Our
ability to communicate with one another must follow the same model of seamless
interconnectivity if we are to succeed". The third and final planning conference of
Africa's largest interoperability exercise is being attended by over 140 participants from
over 30 African nations.

Similar exercises were previously conducted in South Africa (2006), Nigeria (2008) and
Gabon (2009).
--------------------
Commerce Minister Meets With U.S. President (Angola Press)

Washington — The Angolan Commerce minister, Idalina Valente, attended a meeting

with the US president, Barack Obama, together with colleagues from 38 African
countries of the Sub-Saharan region held in Washington DC on Tuesday.

The meeting was held in the framework of the 9th African Growth and Opportunities
Act (AGOA), in Washington DC and Kansas City, under the theme "New Strategies for
a Changing World".

At the meeting, president Obama reaffirmed the engagement and commitment of his
administration towards a partnership with Africa proportional to the vital and growing
role in the global community and which reflects the present and future ties between the
African nations and the United States of America.

Idalina Valente also met with the US assistant secretary of State for Economic, Energy
and Agricultural Affairs, Robert Hommatts, on the premises of the Department of State.
The minister was accompanied at the meeting by the secretary of State for Agriculture,
José Amaro Tati, and the director of the Office for International Relations of the
Ministry of Energy and Water.

Issues related to the development of agriculture and food security, technical assistance
to energy projects and others, were discussed at the meeting. Robert Hommatts told
Idalina Valente that the US will release Usd 5.0 million to Angola, for projects in the
agrarian sectors.
--------------------
Kenyans Vote on New Constitution (Wall Street Journal)
NAIROBI, Kenya—Voters cast ballots Wednesday to decide whether to adopt a new
constitution, a pivotal event that could help quell ethnic and political tensions that
sparked mass killings two years ago.

.The new constitution—which among other landmark changes would put checks on
executive power and introduce a bill of rights to protect civil liberties—has been
championed by President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The political
rivals had agreed to allow the drafting of a new constitution as part of a deal brokered
to end nearly two months of ethnic violence that left more than 1,300 people dead in
early 2008, after a disputed presidential election.

The new constitution also paves the way for Parliament to overhaul laws related to land
ownership. The issue of property has troubled Kenya since independence from the U.K.
in 1963, when the country's new leaders doled out land along tribal lines.

.The U.S. has strongly backed the new constitution. Washington is eager to see lasting
political stability come to a country that remains the economic engine of East Africa, a
tumultuous region that includes Somalia and Sudan.

On Wednesday, voters lined up before dawn at polling stations across the country,
some waiting hours to vote. Daniel Okukle Maguge, a 37-year-old who sells flowers for
a living in the Kibera slum, said he was content to wait the entire day to cast his ballot.

"I want this new constitution. I need it for my daughters," he said. "Almost everything
will be different" if the draft is approved.

The most recent polls indicate the proposed constitution is likely to pass. While
preliminary results could be available as soon as Thursday, the final count isn't
expected for days. To be approved, the constitution must earn majority support, and
win at least 25% of the votes cast in five of Kenya's eight provinces.

Some religious critics of the draft say they want a new constitution—just not this one.
They have focused on controversial issues such as abortion, which they believe can be
too easily obtained under the draft language. They are also concerned that it allows
Kenya's Muslim minority to use Islamic courts to resolve family matters, such as
questions of inheritance. The majority of Kenyans are Christian.

Although the voting process was largely calm on Wednesday, the 2007 balloting for
president also proceeded smoothly until the results were announced. The ensuing
violence was initially directed at supporters of Mr. Kibaki, who is a member of the
Kikuyu tribe. The Kalenjin ethnic group and members of the Luo tribe, both of whom
supported Mr. Odinga, carried out most of those attacks, but the violence also spurred
reprisal killings, and attacks against and by minor tribes allied to those major groups.
The bloodshed in Kenya came at a huge cost. The economy, which ground to a halt in
2008, is only now beginning to recover. The social wounds are taking longer to heal,
and include lingering distrust among the country's tribes.

Most analysts and Kenyans aren't expecting violence this time. That is largely because
much of the country is likely to approve the constitution, and the main rival politicians
have united in support.

In Kibera, East Africa's largest slum, where violence flared after the latest election,
voters were watchful but calm. Graffiti scrawled on the corrugated metal walls of some
informal shops read: "Peace Wanted Now," and "Keep peace, Kenyans." Several voters
proudly showed off T-shirts wearing similar slogans in Swahili, the national language.

This is the second time Kenyans have voted on a new constitution. In 2005, Mr. Kibaki,
the president, pushed hard for a draft to be approved. His rivals, including Mr. Odinga,
opposed it. The referendum became not about the constitution but an up-or-down vote
on Mr. Kibaki's administration. That draft was rejected.
--------------------
Nation to Keep Peace in Somalia 'If Zuma Orders' (Business Day - South Africa)

Johannesburg — The South African National Defence Force would be prepared to send troops to
Somalia if President Jacob Zuma so ordered.

Despite being stretched on peacekeeping missions elsewhere in Africa, the South African
National Defence Force would be prepared to send troops to Somalia if President Jacob Zuma so
ordered, Department of Defence spokesman Simphiwe Dlamini said yesterday.

Pressure is mounting from the African Union and United Nations (UN) for SA to send soldiers to
troubled Somalia.

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson also hinted last week that SA
could play a positive role in defeating the insurgency in that country.

Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu warned last week, however, that sending
troops to Somalia could make SA vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

Al-Shabaab, the Somali group that claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks in Uganda's
capital, Kampala, last month, has warned that any country sending its troops to Somalia would
become a target for suicide bombs.

However, if SA were to decide to send soldiers to Somalia, SA would "prepare well" for the
mission, Mr Dlamini said yesterday. The request was being considered by the commander-in-
chief of the defence force, Mr Zuma, he said. SA had been widely praised for helping to end civil
wars that had engulfed countries such as Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
SA has also been active in stabilisation efforts in Eritrea, the Comores and Côte d'Ivoire.

Zwelethu Jolobe, international relations lecturer at the University of Cape Town, yesterday
warned that sending soldiers to Somalia without a well-thought-out plan could backfire on SA.

"There should be a very clear political objective on whether it is wise to send soldiers there," Mr
Jolobe said.

"It may be premature to even think about sending soldiers there in the absence of a clear political
solution. There is the inherent danger that there could be retaliation of some sort which could
result in the loss of lives."

SA is party to a binding resolution - taken by all the member states of the African Union last
month during a summit of 35 leaders of African countries in Kampala - to increase peacekeeping
forces in Somalia to 8000 soldiers.

Members of the defence force are already deployed in three African countries, with 1247
soldiers, staff and military observers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, 792 soldiers and
military observers in Sudan, and 51 members operating in the Central African Republic.

Mr Dlamini said that between January and June last year, the defence force had deployed about 2
900 soldiers on peace missions in Africa.

Pressure from home such as the xenophobic attacks last month in some townships had forced the
government to call in the defence force to avert possible violence.

The government is also mulling over a plan to use the army to patrol SA's borders.
--------------------
DR Congo frees 11,506 children from mines (Xinhua)

KINSHASA - The Democratic Republic of Congo has freed 11,506 children from mining
sites of the mineral rich Central African country under a project to knock out the worst
forms of child labor, an NGO said on Wednesday.

The "Save the Children" group said in a statement that the child laborers were liberated
from 12,000 mining sites of Kolwezi in Katanga province, Mongbwalu of Orientale
province and Mbuji- Mayi of Kasai Oriental province.

The children were retired under the project of REETE (reducing the exploitation of child
laborers by education), said the NGO. "Save the Children" aims to reduce 25 percent of
child laborers in DR Congo in the short run and prevent the scourge in the long run, the
statement said.

The international NGO also appealed to the authorities to put in practice the law and
policies on child labor and education.
In DR Congo, child labor is linked to the poverty of their parents, who have no money
to afford their education.
-------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

UN peacekeeping chief calls for stepped-up efforts ahead of Sudan referenda

4 August – Although he welcomes the commitment by the two parties to the peace pact
ending Sudan’s north-south civil war to holding referenda on the country’s future on
schedule, a senior United Nations official today underscored the need to accelerate
efforts to resolve key issues, including citizenship and border demarcation, ahead of
these ballots.

Secretary-General welcomes peaceful staging of referendum in Zanzibar

4 August – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the peaceful staging of a
referendum in Zanzibar, saying it will help with long-term reconciliation efforts in the
semi-autonomous Tanzanian islands.