United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

22 November 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Ham Testifies at Africom Confirmation Hearing (DVIDS)

(Pan Africa) President Barack Obama's nominee to be the next commander of U.S.
Africa Command outlined his objectives, Nov. 18, during a confirmation hearing with
the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Coup attempt ends in Madagascar (CNN)

(Madagascar) Renegade military officers who declared a coup in Madagascar earlier
this week surrendered Saturday following 15 hours of negotiations with authorities,
ending the three-day standoff.

Al Qaeda Lays Out Demands to France (Wall Street Journal)

(North Africa) Al Qaeda's affiliate organization in North Africa has warned France that
the release of five French hostages held in the Sahara desert depends on France's
pulling its troops out of Afghanistan.

Sudan’s Rival Factions Trade Voter Intimidation Charges (VOA)

(Sudan) A prominent member of Sudan’s governing National Congress Party (NCP)
told VOA the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has flouted the
Referendum Act by intimidating and harassing prospective voters ahead of the January
vote.

Burkina Faso votes as Compaore seeks fourth term as president (AFP)

(Burkina Faso) Voters trickled to the polls on Sunday as Burkina Faso voted in
presidential elections with incumbent Blaise Compaore expected to win a fourth term
amid fears he could extend his grip on power indefinitely.

Bail denied in SAfrica for Nigeria terror suspect (AP)

(South Africa) A Nigerian terror suspect linked to the deadly bombings in Nigeria last
month must be held without bail, a magistrate in South Africa said Friday.

'Sanctions are war on us all' (Times Live)

(Zimbabwe) The word "sanctions" was among the first five words mentioned to the
new European Union (EU) ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell'Ariccia when he first
arrived and met with government officials in Zimbabwe a few months ago.

Republic Of Guinea: Africa’s Newest Perennial Disease (Sierra Express Media)

(Guinea) It is one of life’s most ironical situations, that although the republic of Guinea
is potentially one of Africa’s richest countries, like many other African countries, it is
among the poorest. Guinea has just made a bold attempt to savour the taste of
democracy, but the omens conjure caution.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 Côte d''Ivoire: UN mission urges peace ahead of presidential poll run-off
 Industrial development in Africa can help achieve better world for all, says Ban
 Ban voices deep concern over grave abuse of child rights in Somalia
 Sudan: UN panel monitoring referenda visits Abyei
 UN experts urge South Africa to strengthen control over private security firms
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, November 23, 2:00 p.m.; Brookings Institution

WHAT: The Role of Africa’s Regional Organizations in Conflict Prevention and
Resolution
WHO: Ruhakana Rugunda, Uganda’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Info: http://www.brookings.edu/events/2010/1123_africa_conflict_resolution.aspx

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday and Thursday, December 15-16; National Defense

Industrial Association
WHAT: Stability, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction Operations
WHO: Amb Robert Loftis, Acting Coordinator, Reconstruction and Stability,
Department of State (S/CRS); Susan Reichle, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau
for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance, USAID; Dr. James Schear,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (DASD) for Stability Operations; GEN Carter
Ham, Commander, US Army, Europe; and others (see agenda)
Info: http://www.ndia.org/meetings/1450/Pages/default.aspx

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, December 16, 9:00 a.m.; Africa Center for Strategic Studies
and the Center for Complex Operations
WHAT: Sudan: Regional Implications of Post-Referendum Scenarios
WHO: Special Envoy to Sudan, Maj. General Scott Gration (ret.), Keynote; See agenda
for full speaker list
Info: http://ccoportal.org/event/sudan-regional-implications-post-referendum-
scenarios
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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Ham Testifies at Africom Confirmation Hearing (DVIDS)

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's nominee to be the next commander of U.S.

Africa Command outlined his objectives, Nov. 18, during a confirmation hearing with
the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Africa is important to U.S. national security interests, Army Gen. Carter F. Ham told
committee members.

"These interests," Ham said, "include concerns over violent extremist activities, piracy,
illicit trafficking, Africa's many humanitarian crises, armed conflict, and more general
challenges such as the effect of HIV/AIDS."

Africom has a role in addressing each of these issues, Ham said, as the military
component of a U.S. whole-of-government approach.

However, "the key remains that Africa's future is up to Africans," the general said.

Ham, who currently commands U.S. Army Europe, appeared during a joint
confirmation hearing with Air Force Gen. Claude Kehler, who is nominated to head
U.S. Strategic Command.

Africom was established in October 2007 and operated under U.S. European Command
during its first year. Africom transitioned to independent unified command status in
2008.

According to Africom officials, the command, which is headquartered in Stuttgart,

Germany, focuses on synchronizing hundreds of activities inherited from three regional
commands that previously coordinated U.S. military relations in Africa.

"If confirmed, I look forward to building upon the command's efforts, to continue
expanding the unique interagency composition of the headquarters, and to enhancing
partnerships with African nations," Ham said.

Ham said that if he is confirmed, he will have a lot to learn about Africa and Africom,
but that he will work closely with the committee "to ensure [Africom] is correctly
focused on accomplishing its role in support of U.S. policy objectives in Africa."

Ham also told the committee that as Africom commander he'd endeavor "to uphold the
trust and confidence you place in me, to accomplish the many and varied important
missions of the command, and to the very best of my ability provide for the well-being
of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, civilians and families
entrusted to my care."
------------------------
Coup attempt ends in Madagascar (CNN)

Antananarivo, Madagascar - Renegade military officers who declared a coup in

Madagascar earlier this week surrendered Saturday following 15 hours of negotiations
with authorities, ending the three-day standoff.

The talks were led by Madagascar's Chief of Staff Gen. Ndriarijaona Andre and Gen.
Noel Rkotonanadrasana, who represented the renegade soldiers holed up since
Wednesday in a military compound near Ivato International Airport.

Witnesses said there were some exchanges of gunfire during the negotiations, but a
government soldier stationed outside the compound called it a "misunderstanding,"
saying the rebels were not aware of the ongoing talks.

A total of 30 rebel soldiers ultimately surrendered. There were no reports of casualties,

the military said.

Six of the renegade officers have been arrested and taken to Tsiafahy prison, outside the
capital city Antananarivo, government officials said. The remaining 24 were taken to an
unknown destination, the officials said.

"The case is now in the hands of justice, which will act in full independence," Prime
Minister Gen. Albert Camille Vital said at a news conference Saturday night.

The coup attempt occurred as the country voted on a referendum on a new constitution
that would allow current President Andry Rajoelina to extend his term in office.

The officers were demanding an end to Rajoelina's interim government. They want a
committee of officers to rule the nation.

Rajoelina ascended to the presidency in 2009 as part of a power-sharing deal, ending

months of political wrangling that rocked the island nation off the east coast of Africa.
Under the deal, he was to serve with two new co-presidents.

Rajoelina, 35, a former disc jockey, ousted President Marc Ravalomanana with the help
of the military in March 2009. The United States condemned the toppling as a coup. U.S.
officials deemed it "unconstitutional and undemocratic."
---------------------
Al Qaeda Lays Out Demands to France (Wall Street Journal)
PARIS—Al Qaeda's affiliate organization in North Africa has warned France that the
release of five French hostages held in the Sahara desert depends on France's pulling its
troops out of Afghanistan.

In an audio message, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb—a group of Islamic militants

who pledged allegiance to al Qaeda in early 2007—also said the release had to be
negotiated directly with al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, a sign that the once-
peripheral Maghreb group may be seeking to play a bigger role in global jihad.

The audio message was attributed to AQIM leader Abdelmalek Droukdel, also known
as Abu Mossab Abdelouadoud, and broadcast late Thursday by Qatar-based news
station al Jazeera. The five French nationals were kidnapped together with a
Madagascan and a Togolese two months ago.

French authorities said they would spare no effort to obtain the release of the hostages,
who were kidnapped in their sleep near a French-run uranium mine where they
worked in Niger. Speaking Saturday before the AQIM message had yet to be
authenticated, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that "France cannot accept that its
policy be dictated by anyone outside."

The AQIM message represents the group's boldest statement to date that it is willing to
participate in Mr. bin Laden's global campaign, according to analysts. Before allying
with al Qaeda, AQIM militants were mainly Algerians pursuing a domestic goal: seize
power and set up a radical Islamic government in Algeria. But Algeria, the main
military power in north Africa, has repelled AQIM militants into the northern,
mountainous region of Kabylie and the south.

While Mr. Droukdel is believed to be entrenched in Kabylie, according to Algerian

officials, some of his lieutenants, together with a few hundred militants, have set up
bases in the Sahara desert and hopscotch borders between Algeria, Mauritania, Mali
and Niger.

When it joined al Qaeda four years ago, AQIM's main assignment was to extend the
jihad into Western Europe, said Jean-Pierre Filiu, a professor in the Middle East
department at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. Back then, one of Mr. bin Laden's
lieutenants had warned that AQIM militants would become "a bone in the throat of U.S.
and French crusaders." But unable to strike in Europe, the AQIM group has focused on
European targets in the Sahara desert. The group has claimed responsibility for the
killing of several Europeans, including four French tourists in Mauritania in late 2007, a
British tourist in Mali in 2009 and a French aid worker, also in Mali, in July.

AQIM has also traded hostages against ransoms or the release from prison of some of
its members detained in Mali.
French authorities have said they believe the seven hostages, including the five French
nationals, who were kidnapped in Niger on Sept. 15, are alive and detained by AQIM in
northern Mali.

The release of the AQIM message last week coincided with a summit of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization in Lisbon, where the U.S., France and other members
discussed how to fight Taliban resistance in Afghanistan and set a 2014 deadline for
leaving the country.

In October, in a separate message that French authorities said was authentic, Mr. bin
Laden threatened to hit France unless it called back its troops from Afghanistan.

France has about 3,750 soldiers involved in the NATO-led war in Afghanistan. Two
French reporters from national television France 3 are being held hostages in the
Central Asian country.
----------------------------
Sudan’s Rival Factions Trade Voter Intimidation Charges (VOA)

A prominent member of Sudan’s governing National Congress Party (NCP) told VOA
the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has flouted the Referendum Act by
intimidating and harassing prospective voters ahead of the January vote.

Rabie Abdelati Obeid said there is enough evidence to prove that officials of the SPLM
encouraged southerners living in the north not to register for the 9th January
referendum.

Sudan’s referendum commission is compiling a voter list that would be used to conduct
the referendum.

“I think because the SPLM personnel, especially in Khartoum and other northern states,
they made a lot of disturbances and they threatened the southern people (living) in
Khartoum and they are terrorizing them so as not to register their names to vote in the
upcoming referendum,” said Obeid.

“The SPLM (cadres) have put pressure on them not to register their names because they
think that those people who are coming from the south, but staying in the north, they
will not vote for secession (and that) they will vote for unity.”

The NCP also said that the SPLM is interfering with activities in the run up to the
referendum, which the ruling party said could undermine the credibility of the vote.

Obeid said there have been complaints that officials of the SPLM are intentionally
putting pressure on voters to choose secession rather than unity.
“Some complaints (have) already (been) presented to the general commission of the
referendum so as to take the necessary step against all those people according to the
criminal law and according to the act of referendum that (has) already (been) approved
by the NCP and the SPLM,” Obeid said.

But, the SPLM denies the accusations and blames the NCP of intimidating and
harassing southerners living in the north.

Obeid also said his party will only accept the results of the referendum if the vote is
conducted in a free, fair and transparent environment devoid of both internal and
external interference.

As part of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ending more than two decades of
civil war, southerners will vote to decide whether to secede and become an
independent nation or be united with the north.
----------------------------
Burkina Faso votes as Compaore seeks fourth term as president (AFP)

Voters trickled to the polls on Sunday as Burkina Faso voted in presidential elections
with incumbent Blaise Compaore expected to win a fourth term amid fears he could
extend his grip on power indefinitely.

Mr Compaore, 59, has led the impoverished African nation since 1987 when he staged
the country’s fifth military coup since independence in 1960.

Speaking as he cast his ballot with his wife Chantal at a polling station in the centre of
Ouagadougou, Compaore urged as many people to vote as possible.

“We want to see the people turn out in massive numbers as this is a moment which
allows us, including those of us who are in power, to assess where we are and also to
look to the future,” Mr Compaore said.

“We must place our faith in the choice of the people and we await their choice with
confidence,” the president added.

But turnout was visibly low in early voting today in the capital Ouagadougou and other
main cities, residents said. A low turnout is expected to play into Compaore’s hands.
Turnout was 57.6 per cent in 2005, when Compaore won 80 per cent of the vote.

Supporters say Mr Compaore has brought stability to the land-locked former French
colony and established himself as “mediator-in-chief” in other West African nations
beset by crises.
The country remains one of the poorest in the world with nearly half of its 16 million
population living in poverty.

The opposition, which boycotted the nation’s first two democratic polls in 1991 and
1998, remains weak, divided and lacking a strong, charismatic personality.

It is fielding six candidates including lawyer Benewende Stanislas Sankara who finished
in second place in the 2005 ballot with nearly five percent of the vote compared to the
president’s 80 percent.

Pargui Emile Pare, who scored less than one percent in 2005, was also standing along
with first-time candidates former army commander Boukary Kabore, diplomat and
former UN official Hama Arba Diallo, hydrogeologist Ouampoussoga Francois Kabore,
and independent Maxime Kabore.

Polling among the 3.2 million registered voters started at 6 am (GMT) and was due to
end at 6 pm.

If re-elected, Mr Compaore has pledged to carry out political and institutional reform
including the creation of a senate in addition to the national assembly.

But his party has taken upon itself one highly contentious task. The Congress for
Democracy and Progress (CDP) said several months ago it wished to abolish the limit
on the number of times the president can run for office, fixed in 1991 at two five-year
terms.

In this way, Compaore could stand again in 2015 and beyond, after two five-year and
two seven-year terms. However, the influential Roman Catholic Church and the
opposition have denounced the plan.

After voting in the capital’s Ouaga suburb, 19-year-old student Sylvie Christiane
Kabore told AFP he hoped his “candidate Blaise Compaore will win”, as he was a
“pleasant man” whose programme he likes since it was meant to give Burkina Faso a
boost.
-------------------
Bail denied in SAfrica for Nigeria terror suspect (AP)

JOHANNESBURG -- A Nigerian terror suspect linked to the deadly bombings in

Nigeria last month must be held without bail, a magistrate in South Africa said Friday.

The decision ended a month of bail hearings that played out like a mini-trial of Henry
Okah. Prosecutors, who said they are working closely with Nigerian authorities,
presented evidence drawn from Okah's diaries and computer correspondence they said
bolstered accusations he was behind bombings in Abuja, Nigeria, during Oct. 1
independence celebrations.

MEND, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, claimed responsibility
for the bombings. Magistrate Hein Louw said the "most damning testimony against the
accused" was that South African police found a handwritten note by Okah's wife that
referred to Okah as the leader of MEND.

Okah insists he is innocent. He has lived in South Africa since last year and was
arrested in Johannesburg a day after the bombings.

The magistrate said after listening to tapes of Okah's testimony multiple times, he
determined Okah had lied to the court.

"He is indeed a leader of MEND," said magistrate Hein Louw. "His entries in diaries
cannot lead the court to any other conclusion than that the accused is involved in
military activity within the Niger Delta."

Diary entries included lists of infantry and artillery weapons, which Okah said he wrote
for academic reasons. Okah also used the collectives "we" and "us" to refer to fighters in
the Niger Delta in diary entries.

Until his arrest, Okah had not recently been seen as a key figure in MEND, the
movement that has destroyed oil pipelines, kidnapped petroleum company workers
and fought government troops since 2006. The group accuses Nigeria's government of
doing nothing to end poverty in the delta even as the nation receives billions of dollars
from oil found in the delta region. Nigeria is a major oil supplier to the United States.
-------------------
'Sanctions are war on us all' (Times Live)

The word "sanctions" was among the first five words mentioned to the new European
Union (EU) ambassador to Zimbabwe Aldo Dell'Ariccia when he first arrived and met
with government officials in Zimbabwe a few months ago.

The country's politicians have tried to convince Zimbabweans and outsiders that the
sanctions imposed on 98 individuals and companies are directly linked to the collapse
of the country's economy and the general drop in the quality of life.

In 2002, the EU imposed targeted sanctions on President Robert Mugabe, members of

his Zanu-PF party, the armed forces, the police, judges, individuals and companies with
links to the party and its officials.

The sanctions were a direct response to the deterioration in the human rights and
political climate in the country.
The terms of the sanctions include travel bans to EU territory, freezing of assets, an
embargo on arms and related materials and a ban on equipment that might be used for
internal repression.

Dell'Ariccia describes the measures as "restrictions on Zanu-PF officials, their entities

and those individuals and entities associated with them".

"The sanctions are not designed to hurt the ordinary people of Zimbabwe, but those
targeted and those who are close to political power. To demonstrate this fact, the EU
remains Zimbabwe's second-biggest trade partner after South Africa," Dell'Ariccia
points out.

To buttress his point, he told the Inter Press Service the EU was funding an $18-million
project to support the recovery of the country's important sugar sector. The EU also
remains involved in several humanitarian projects in the country.

But economic historian Tafataona Mahoso differs sharply from the EU envoy. "These
sanctions are an economic war on the people of Zimbabwe. Lives of people have been
devalued and pushed back to 1953 levels."

He regards the sanctions as a Trojan horse employed against the people of Zimbabwe.

Mahoso cites the example of millions of Zimbabweans have who migrated to

neighbouring countries and Western capitals, where they have been forced to take up
menial jobs that they would not have accepted back home. This is an effect of the
sanctions, he says.

"We have witnessed the loss of pensions and of dignity, which explains why this is a
war," he says.

In outlining how the country's economy has been affected by the sanctions, Mahoso
explains that Zimbabwean companies are not able to source equipment from abroad
because they cannot access lines of credit. The country's government is struggling to
provide basic services because it is forced to operate a cash economy.

"A sanctioned economy produces a sanctioned people. The economy is like a river and
whoever decides to impose sanctions on a country is putting poison in that river," he
says.
--------------------------
Republic Of Guinea: Africa’s Newest Perennial Disease (Sierra Express Media)

It is one of life’s most ironical situations, that although the republic of Guinea is
potentially one of Africa’s richest countries, like many other African countries, it is
among the poorest. Some will say that God has a good sense of humour, by blessing the
continent with riches but boasts of a monopoly on poverty. In spite of these, Guinea
has proved resistant to the kind of political upheavals that have characterised
neighbouring countries like Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote D’Ivoire, to name a few. In
spite of its image as a bulwark against instability, recent developments in the country
should be sending chilling spasms along the political and social spinal cord of all those
concerned. This is more so for its neighbours, namely Sierra Leone, which is just
slumbering from a decade of political interregnum.

Guinea has just made a bold attempt to savour the taste of democracy, but the omens
conjure caution. When Guinea broke the shackles of colonialism from the French in
1958, late president Ahmed Sekou Toure made sure that he subjected his people to 26
years of poverty, economic mismanagement, and serfdom; in his pursuit of his Russian
backed revolutionary socialist agenda. Enough of the history lesson, but with failed
attempts to organise a democratically elected government, Guinea has been plunged
into a political powder keg; the potential consequences of which one cannot bear
contemplating.

Since Guinea decided to take the democratic highway to solve its political malaise, lanes
have been drawn along tribal lines. Since the death of Sekou Toure, the political parcel
has been passed, with varying lengths of tenure, from different but major tribal groups
except the Peul (Fullah) Tribe. During Sekou Toure’s rule, you may be forgiven to think
that he was the first African leader, even before the Tutsi-Hutu debacle (pardon the
euphemism), to embark on ethnic cleansing. Sierra Leone became the safe haven for the
Fullah people, who sought refuge in their thousands, if not millions in neighbouring
Sierra Leone and Liberia as well. He crushed every sign of opposition, as tens of
thousands of people were tortured, executed and made to “disappear” into the bowels
of his notorious “Kambuaru “prison. Incidentally, one of the most prominent of his
prisoners was Diallo Telli, a Fullah, who has come to symbolise the apparent
marginalisation, or so they see it, of the Fullah people at the hands of their so-called
leaders. History teaches us that the Fullahs have been well known to lead a nomadic
life, traversing the African plains from Futa Djallon to the Horn of Africa; in search of
new markets and pasture for their livestock. This demographic dispersal meant that
many who had come to settle in Sierra Leone saw it as their home, until one celebrated
idiot unleashed his carnage in Sierra Leone in 1990.

Democracy in Guinea is still in its embryonic stage, but with it has come a wave of self
actualisation. The Fullahs have never held the reins of power in Guinea. So when Cellou
Dalein Diallo and veteran politician Alpha Conde; the two candidates vying to lead the
country out of its political slumber, happened to be of Fullah and Manlike persuasions,
it was not surprising that the battle lines were drawn along tribal lines. Even the local
musicians have cashed in on the act, with each faction producing chart battling lyrics on
the musical scene. Talk of top of the pops. The Malinke’s may be inclined to think that
the country is their bona fide property, by virtue of Sekou Toure, who they may see as
the political mid-wife of modern-day Guinea. Having being marginalised for so long,
the Fullahs may see it as “this as our time”, for a slice of the pie. The wrangle for power
between these similarly different groups stretches as far back to the days of Samory
Toure( the great-grandfather of Sekou Toure) and Djanke Wali.

The circumstances are very different today. When Sierra Leone was plunged into the
abyss of savagery for ten years, many opportunists and war merchants tried arduously
to give the war a tribal slant. Accusations and counter accusations, mainly between the
Mende and Temne tribes were traded along the length and breadth of the country about
the origin of the war. Every theory as to the proponents of the war was peddled in a bid
to divide the country and fuel the carnage. The Temne tribe seemingly accused the
Mendes because the war sipped into Sierra Leone through the Eastern Area, an area
that is dominated by latter. In equal measure, The Mendes accused the Temne tribe
because in comparison, the ravages of war were not as widespread in the Northern
area. These can be misguided and painful memories. Thankfully, the people of Sierra
Leone did not rise to the bait, although there were pockets of tribal sentiments
expressed along the way. Unlike the Hutu-Tutsi conundrum, the people spoke with one
voice and tackled the problem together as one.

The situation may not be the same in Guinea, and with the little pockets of violence
already etched on the political canvass, I would hate to imagine the unimaginable. It is
obvious that political divides have been based on ideologies, beliefs, religion, colour,
etc. It is this variety that adds spice to the life. A chronological timeline of Guinea’s
political life has been showing signs of tremor on the Richter scale for some time. It
started in 2005, when Alpha Conde, the then head of the main opposition Guinean
People’s Rally returned from exile in France. In 2006, late President Lansana Conte was
flown to Switzerland for medical treatment. The Prime Minister, Cellou Dalein Diallo
was sacked, immediately after Lansana Conte left the country. Coincidence? .You see
my drift. This seeming political vacuum marked the beginning of strikes and protests.
New found political oxygen.

The mystery surrounding Lansana Conte’s health saw new kids on the block jostling for
positions as heirs apparent. Uncertainty over a successor to Guinea’s authoritarian
president had prompted a European think-tank, the Crisis Group, to warn that Guinea
risks becoming a “failed state”. It has taken a coup attempt, coup d’états, strikes, riots
etc to get Guinea to where it is today; so near but so far. Since 2006, Guinea’s political
landscape has been littered with violence, police and army brutality, attempted coups,
coup d’états, and civil unrest. A new wave of democracy seems to have been born and
the fever has been very contagious with dire consequences for the Guinean people.
With Lansana Conte leaving the scene in 2008(am not being cynical), it appears that
democracy was thrust upon the people, who now find themselves on alien territory.

Change is a necessity in life. However, change should be from within. It should be

evolutionary and not revolutionary; as it is obvious that any form of change that
negates its culture is bound to fail. It appears that Guinea has not had the luxury to
evolve into a democracy, as we know it. Instead, the process has been rather
revolutionary, with the hand brakes taken off. It is therefore not surprising that it
required a run-off to get a political mandate, via a democratic election. It is the same
scenario in Iraq. Like Guinea, the people of Iraq were subjected to tyrannical rule for a
very long time. With Saddam gone, it is not surprising that it was only recently that a
parliament was agreed, following “democratic elections” This was only after outside
interventions by the Saudi’s and other interested parties. Guinea has had its fair share
of failed “democratic” elections. Sadly, the demagogues of democracy are standing by
to see the country descend into chaos and oblivion, save for some lip service. You
wonder how long will the disciples of democracy remain as onlookers. It is like the
proverbial “shutting the barn door when the horse has bolted”. I admit that as Africans,
we should be able to sort our own problems…

Although these two countries are juxtaposed in every sense of the word, save the
religious persuasions, we can begin to see the common denominations. Both countries
suffered untold sufferings from brutal regimes. They are predominantly Muslim
countries. Both have experienced political gridlocks, following “democratic” elections.
It is obvious that the concept of democracy is alien to both. It has been brought to them
by outside forces. While in Iraq, it took billions of dollars and a death toll of holocaust
proportions, a few strikes and sporadic killings by the army has characterised the
Guinean death fields. When more than 150 were killed in a seeming attempt to silence
opposition to military rule, a Human Rights Watch report concluded that it constituted
a crime against humanity. In the Guinean case, democracy has been thrust upon them
by remote control, while in Iraq, you don’t need any telling. In Iraq the pursuit of
democracy has been fought mainly along religious lines while it has been tribal in
Guinea.

I hate to sound like a doomsday merchant, but I cannot help fearing for the worst in
Guinea. This is because of the tribal ingredient that has been added to the broth. Like
religion, tribal affiliations can be lethal. As Sierra Leoneans, we all know the impact of
war. Every Sierra Leonean felt and continues to feel the impact of this savagery. For
some of us, the impact was, and continues to be closer to home; with the emotional
scars to show for it. Guinea is a powder keg.

Thankfully, the elections have been conducted, in spite of the ongoing accusations and
counter-accusations from both factions. One would only hope that common sense will
prevail. As I finish this piece, I do so with a heavy heart. Are you thinking what I’m
thinking? If so, whether a Christian, Muslim, or Rastafarian, please take some time out
and offer a silent prayer for divine intervention in Guinea. As the saying goes….” If
your neighbour’s house is on fire …”
--------------------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website
Côte d''Ivoire: UN mission urges peace ahead of presidential poll run-off
20 November – The United Nations peacekeeping force in Côte d'Ivoire today called for
peaceful campaigning in the run up to the second round of the presidential election in
the West African country next week and deplored yesterday's acts of violence in the
main commercial city of Abidjan.

Industrial development in Africa can help achieve better world for all, says Ban
20 November – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today underlined the need to increase
international cooperation to unleash Africa's potential, saying that the continent's
development can contribute to a better world for all.

Ban voices deep concern over grave abuse of child rights in Somalia
19 November – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern over the
continuing grave violations of children’s rights in Somalia and urged all armed groups
in the Horn of Africa country to immediately cease recruiting children and release those
in their ranks.

Sudan: UN panel monitoring referenda visits Abyei

19 November – Members of the United Nations panel tasked with monitoring the
referenda on self-determination in Sudan today visited central area of Abyei, where
they met with the area’s chief administrator, other local officials and community chiefs.

UN experts urge South Africa to strengthen control over private security firms
19 November – A group of independent United Nations experts today urged South
Africa to strengthen oversight and control over private military and security companies
exporting their services abroad, saying regulations currently in place face
implementation challenges.