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27 January 2011

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

US offers to move forward with Sudan (AFP)

(Sudan) The United States said Wednesday it was ready to move ahead in normalizing
ties with Sudan after it allowed a peaceful vote on secession in the south, but insisted it
would not overlook Darfur.

African Union leaders divided about Ivory Coast intervention (Christian Science
Monitor)
(Ivory Coast) A growing number of African nations are backing away from calls for
military intervention in Ivory Coast, as a months-long political stalemate over who
should rule the country pushes that country back to the brink of civil war.

Tunisia revolt sends powerful message across Africa (The Citizen)

(Tunisia) It is barely a week since Tunisia, a beautiful former French colony with the
best infrastructure among North African countries, finally opened a new democratic
chapter that is yet to be completed.

North Africa's Real Economic Challenges (Wall Street Journal)

(North Africa) The spread of political protest from Tunisia to Egypt gives the situation
in the Middle East and North Africa a new economic significance. Egypt's $230 billion
economy is roughly five times the size of Tunisia's, and the country is one of the "Next
Eleven" emerging countries picked by Goldman Sachs as likely to play a key role in the
global economy. But the protests highlight the big challenges facing the region.

Ivory Coast's Embattled Gbagbo Orders Seizure Of Bank Assets (RTT News)
(Ivory Coast) Ivory Coast's embattled incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo has directed
his troops to take control of the local branches of Central Bank of West African States
(BCEAO), to stave off a major cash crunch following the asset freeze imposed by the US
and other major European and regional powers, it has been reported Wednesday.

UN Report Cites Sudanese 'Interference' With Peacekeepers (Voice of America)

(Sudan) Sudan’s government has interfered 23 times with the United Nations-African
Union peacekeeping mission, or UNAMID, in recent months, according to a United
Nations Security Council briefing Wednesday. Rebels or civilians were responsible for
three other instances of interference.

S. Africa's Zuma to Lobby African Union to Tap Brakes on Zimbabwe Elections

(Voice of America)
(Zimbabwe) South African President Jacob Zuma, mediator in Zimbabwe for the
Southern African Development Community, will seek support from African Union
leaders meeting in summit this week to dissuade President Robert Mugabe from calling
snap elections this year.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 Government-rebel clashes in Darfur subside but tensions persist – UN
 Tunisia: UN human rights team to begin assessment on Thursday
 UN refugee chief appeals for $280 million to assist vulnerable Iraqis
 UN and African Union to convene high-level meeting on Somali peace process
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 5:30 pm; New America Foundation

WHAT: Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop Genocide
WHO: Rebecca Hamilton, Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation, Author,
Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop Genocide; Juan E. Méndez,
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment, Visiting Professor, Washington College of Law; Andrés Martinez,
Director, Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program, New America Foundation
Info: http://www.newamerica.net/events/2011/fighting_for_darfur

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, February 2, 2011, 10:00 am; US Institute of Peace

WHAT: Perspectives on Sudan’s Referendum
WHO: Linda Bishai, Senior Program Officer, US Institute of Peace; Jok Madut Jok,
Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow, US Institute of Peace; Timothy Luccaro, Program
Specialist, US Institute of Peace; Jon Temin, Moderator, Director, Sudan Program
US Institute of Peace
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/perspectives-sudans-referendum

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday and Wednesday, February 8-9, 2011; National Defense

Industrial Association, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DC
WHAT: Defense, Diplomacy, and Development: Translating Policy into Operational
Capability
WHO: Keynote Speakers include ADM Michael Mullen, USN, Chairman, Joint Chiefs
of Staff; BG Simon Hutchinson, GBR, Deputy Commander, NATO Special Operations
Forces Headquarters; ADM Eric T. Olson, USN, Commander, U.S. Special Operations
Command; Gen Norton A. Schwartz, USAF, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force
Info: http://www.ndia.org/meetings/1880/Pages/default.aspx
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT
US offers to move forward with Sudan (AFP)

The United States said Wednesday it was ready to move ahead in normalizing ties with
Sudan after it allowed a peaceful vote on secession in the south, but insisted it would
not overlook Darfur.

Foreign Minister Ali Karti met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on a trip to
Washington, just weeks after 99 percent of the largely Christian and animist south
voted to split from Africa's largest country.

Clinton praised Sudan for its handing of the referendum, a key part of a 2005 peace deal
ending more than two decades of war that left over two million people dead and
around twice as many displaced.

"We very much appreciate the government of Sudan's cooperation and assistance in
ensuring a peaceful referendum and we look forward to continuing to work with the
minister and the government," she told reporters.

In a subsequent statement, the State Department said its boss "reaffirmed US

willingness to take steps toward normalization of relations, as Sudan meets its
commitments under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement."

Those commitments include negotiating further arrangements in the south -- but also
helping resolve the separate conflict in the parched western region of Darfur, a
longstanding source of tension.

After years of friction, Karti struck a sharply different tone as he publicly thanked the
United States for its assistance for the referendum and "for all they have done
(throughout) the history of Sudan."

"We are here also to look to the future, and to cooperate and work together," Karti said.

Officials said Karti was seeking an easing of economic sanctions on Sudan. The United
States has banned virtually all trade with Sudan since 1997, and President Barack
Obama extended the restrictions in November.

The Obama administration has focused on resolving the north-south conflict but said it
was also concerned about Darfur.

"We are certainly not ignoring the situation with respect to Darfur," State Department
spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.
"That is a critical importance in terms of our ability to make the decision down the road
to normalize relations with Sudan," which he described as a step-by-step process.

To remove Sudan from the blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism, the United States
namely needs assurances it will not support banned groups.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said Tuesday that that his country, whose north is
dominated by Arabs and Muslims, would not "mourn" the south's independence and
accepted the birth of the world's newest nation.

But Bashir also faces an international arrest warrant from the International Criminal
Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide over the conflict
in Darfur.

At least 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since the conflict erupted in 2003
when tribal fighters rose up against the Khartoum government, according to UN
figures. Khartoum says 10,000 people have died in the conflict.

Obama highlighted US assistance for the Sudan referendum in a rare foreign policy
mention in his annual State of the Union address Tuesday, when guests from the north
and south of the country sat together in the gallery.

"We are shaping a world that favors peace and prosperity," the US president said.

US-based activists welcomed the Obama administration's effort on south Sudan but
said further action was needed in Darfur.

Mark Hanis, president of Genocide Intervention Network/Save Darfur Coalition,

saluted the administration's "aggressive diplomatic leadership" ahead of the
referendum.

"Such leadership is needed now for Darfur, where increasing violence displaced more
than 40,000 civilians in December," he said in a statement.

The United States meanwhile called for UN peacekeepers to be more "aggressive" in

protecting civilians in Darfur.
--------------------
African Union leaders divided about Ivory Coast intervention (Christian Science
Monitor)

A growing number of African nations are backing away from calls for military
intervention in Ivory Coast, as a months-long political stalemate over who should rule
the country pushes that country back to the brink of civil war.
Two men, incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and opposition leader Alassane
Ouattara claim to have won the Nov. 28 runoff elections, although the country’s
election commission, the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union, and
most countries other than Zimbabwe have accepted Mr. Ouattara’s victory with 54
percent of the vote.

The stalemate has turned violent, with pro-Gbagbo forces linked to hundreds of
summary executions of human rights activists and Ouattara supporters. A large United
Nations peacekeeping force protects the Golf Hotel in the country’s capital of Abidjan,
where Ouattara has begun taking on the responsibilities of president.

With an African Union summit planned for this coming weekend, regional leaders have
begun a feverish last-minute lobbying campaign, pushing either for AU intervention or
against it. With or without military intervention, success in resolving the brewing
conflict in Ivory Coast could determine if Africa is prepared to solve its own problems.

Resistance to using force

Last week, as the Nigerian government urged the United Nations Security Council to
sanction an AU military intervention in Ivory Coast, South African president Jacob
Zuma hinted that Ivory Coast might become yet another experiment in power-sharing.
In a joint press conference with visiting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Mr.
Zuma told reporters he still had hope for diplomacy.

“We are hoping that the AU will be able to resolve the matter and convince the parties,”
he said. “Our view is that we need to do something to help the situation and don't
demand that one leader should go.”

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who will face elections Feb. 18, also urged
restraint, noting that the Ivorian elections held Nov. 28 were not as free and fair as the
European Union and AU observer teams had led the world to believe.

"Uganda differs with the UN and international community on Ivory Coast," presidential
spokesman Tamale Mirundi said. "If elections are contested, you just don't declare one
candidate a winner. You must investigate thoroughly what went wrong."

A middle path
Ghana’s president John Atta Mills, has taken the middle path, assuring his fellow
leaders in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that he would
support military action in Ivory Coast, if ECOWAS voted to intervene, but saying his
country would not be able to contribute troops.
Yet Nigeria, which already is one of Africa’s biggest contributors of peacekeeping
forces, with 5,700 troops currently serving in the United Nations-African Union Mission
in Darfur (UNAMID), continues to press the case for military intervention.

In an opinion piece that presages Nigeria’s case to the United Nations Security Council,
Nigerian Foreign Minister Odein Ajumogobia wrote: “It is clear that Gbagbo is
determined to defy and treat the entire international community with absolute disdain.
In the interest of global peace and security and in order to preserve and deepen the
growing democratic culture in Africa, he cannot, he must not be allowed to prevail.”

All of these arguments are sure to come to a head at this week's AU summit at the
organization's headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The theme of this conference is “Shared Values,” and among the issues to be taken up
this year are an expected vote of sympathy for Kenya’s efforts to pull out of the
International Criminal Court (because of human-rights charges against top Kenyan
officials) and an official statement expressing regret that the ICC hasn’t delayed a
genocide trial against sitting Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.
-------------
Tunisia revolt sends powerful message across Africa (The Citizen)

It is barely a week since Tunisia, a beautiful former French colony with the best
infrastructure among North African countries, finally opened a new democratic chapter
that is yet to be completed.

Few in the Arab world imagined that Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia’s long-serving
president, would pack up and flee the country he had ruled with an iron fist for 23
years.

It all started like a joke. One day, small riots were reported in one area, but these spread
like a wildfire in just 24 hours.

Angry and hungry demonstrators no longer feared the repercussions of live bullets
after losing faith with the government that had failed to feed them and provide them
with decent employment.

It was an expression of anger at steep increases of food prices, lack of employment,

nepotism and high levels of corruption, to mention but just a few. Images carried by the
international media portrayed angry demonstrators holding round pieces of bread
known as ‘khubza’ in Arabic.

Theirs was a simple but clear message to the world. That it is bearable to be denied any
other necessity, but it becomes a totally different story when one is denied that simple
meal.
That is why it was not easy to suppress the palpable anger among the populace. It was
yet another clear message that the will of the masses is more powerful than any
weapon.

Ben Ali was no stranger to such revolts. They had happened before, and in all instances
he used both his political charm and military might to see the dawn of another day.
This time around, having failed to read the signs of the times, he was completely wrong
to think that he could have dealt with the rising anger the way he previously did.

He instantly took a reactionary step by promising to create over 300,000 jobs and hold
free and fair elections, but it was too late. The wave of popular revolt spreading across
the country was unstoppable.

After realising that his attempts were futile and that the more the riots dragged on the
more his life was endangered, he fled to Saudi Arabia with his family. The decision,
though unexpected, was welcomed both in Tunisia and outside. In fact, his dramatic fall
from grace was equated to the sudden fall of a baobab tree that had withstood all
manner of storms for many decades.

It has been widely predicted that the citizens of other Arab countries facing similar
repression will stage copycat revolts in a bid to rid themselves of tyranny. Political
analysts are already seeing a similar uprisings taking place in countries like Egypt,
Morocco, Algeria or even Libya.

There is no reason not to believe this because if it has worked for Tunisians, it can work
for Algerians too, but I have my reservations when it comes to Libya.

Muammar Gaddafi may not have any reason to worry because much as he is portrayed
as a dictator by Western powers, he is a hero to his subjects for some simple reasons.

With a population of not more than five million in a country that is the fourth largest in
Africa, no single day Libyans will take to the streets like Tunisians, not for fear of their
government, but simply because, Gaddafi has first of all made them masters of their
own land with easy accessibility to food, water, electricity, medical facilities and other
basic needs. Libya may be a desert nation, but it has more than enough food to the
extent that it has sent some to Brazil and a number of other countries as aid.

Bread, for instance, which is a staple in most Arab countries, is sold at rock-bottom
prices in Libya such that it is affordable to virtually anyone.

This is where Ben Ali went wrong and, funny enough, he didn’t bother to learn from his
neighbour. But Tanzania and other African countries too are not exempted from
Tunisia’s scenario. As each new day dawns, Tanzanians only wish it was yesterday due
to the ever-increasing cost of living.

Lack of employment with high level of corruption and nepotism are just few of those
concerns that are eating the backbone of our society.

God forbid, but if our leaders are not careful enough, then I’m afraid that we may be
another Tunisia. After all, haven’t we started seeing students demonstrating
everywhere? That is how it begins before it gets out of control.

The suffering of an ordinary Tanzanian is not very different from that of a Tunisian.
Maybe they are only different from us because they are white and we are black, and
maybe their “boiling point” is different from ours, but the reality on the ground is that
we are all boiling in the same pot.
------------
North Africa's Real Economic Challenges (Wall Street Journal)

The spread of political protest from Tunisia to Egypt gives the situation in the Middle
East and North Africa a new economic significance.

Egypt's $230 billion economy is roughly five times the size of Tunisia's, and the country
is one of the "Next Eleven" emerging countries picked by Goldman Sachs as likely to
play a key role in the global economy. But the protests highlight the big challenges
facing the region.

At one level, these economies have been performing well. Growth averaged 7% in
Egypt and 5.3% in Tunisia from 2006-2008, according to Moody's; both countries
comfortably avoided recession in 2009 and retained fiscal room for maneuver. Their
banking systems largely have been untouched by the global crisis. But, as shown by the
protests, there are strong reasons for economic discontent, including demographic
factors that have led to high youth unemployment and high inflation, including soaring
food prices.

The problem is that growth hasn't been fast enough. In Egypt, Fitch notes, growth of
6%-7% is needed simply to absorb the 700,000 new entrants to the labor force each year.
Meanwhile, the upheavals in Tunisia, where over 100 people have died during the
turmoil, already are estimated to have cost some 4% of gross domestic product.
Tourism revenue will drop this year and growth will slow. Nomura forecasts Tunisia
will expand just 2%-3% this year.

But growth will require the kind of ambitious structural overhauls that autocratic
regimes have failed to deliver. In Tunisia, former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali had
pledged in 2004 that the dinar would become fully convertible by 2009, but still was
promising this in 2010, Citigroup notes. In Egypt, the government needs to deal with
twin budget and current-account deficits, but has held off from cutting fuel subsidies
and introducing a value-added tax; the crisis may entrench subsidies further.

The question for investors is whether successor regimes will fare any better, given the
overhauls needed to promote growth initially may cause even greater social dislocation.
Markets may need to get used to protests becoming more common.
---------------
Ivory Coast's Embattled Gbagbo Orders Seizure Of Bank Assets (RTT News)

Ivory Coast's embattled incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo has directed his troops to
take control of the local branches of Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), to
stave off a major cash crunch following the asset freeze imposed by the US and other
major European and regional powers, it has been reported Wednesday.

Following the disputed polls, the bank had recognized opposition candidate Alassane
Ouattara as the country's new President. Apparently the move to take over control of
BCEAO's assets was prompted by the exit of Bank's governor, Philippe-Henri Dacoury-
Tabley. A trusted Gbagbo ally, Dacoury-Tabley, was forced to resign by West African
leaders last weekend.

Gbagbo's decision is the latest instance of enraging defiance which has seen him reject
global calls to step down following his defeat to the internationally-accepted winner of
November's Presidential run-off.

According to remarks made by Gbagbo's finance minister Désiré Dallo on Ivorian state
TV, BCEAO branches in Ivory Coast, including the central one in the capital of Abidjan,
would be "requisitioned, along with the staff."

The bank based in Senegal's capital Dakar holds assets of eight nations including those
of Ivory Coast and it has a national headquarters in each of the eight countries.

Meanwhile as part of efforts to enlist US help for the West Africa regional group,
ECOWAS, a delegation is to meet US President Barack Obama for talks in Washington.
Ecowas has been mulling military action to resolve the continuing impasse in the
African nation.

Earlier in November, trouble began after Ivory coast's Constitutional Council reversed
Alassane Ouattara's victory to pave the way for incumbent Gbagbo's re-election. The
polls were held as part of efforts to reunify the African nation which has been wrecked
by a long-running civil war that split the country into two. The Ivorian government
controls the south while the rebels hold sway in the northern areas.
The country slipped into civil war following the death of President Felix Houphouet-
Boigny in 1993.
-----------------
UN Report Cites Sudanese 'Interference' With Peacekeepers (Voice of America)

Sudan’s government has interfered 23 times with the United Nations-African Union
peacekeeping mission, or UNAMID, in recent months, according to a United Nations
Security Council briefing Wednesday. Rebels or civilians were responsible for three
other instances of interference.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice spoke to reporters after the briefing and said,
"We have been frustrated and dismayed by repeated instances of UNAMID being
denied access and its freedom of movement restricted."

Rice said that UNAMID, which is the largest peacekeeping operation in Africa, should
not have to negotiate access with Sudan’s government in order to fulfill its mission to
"robustly" protect civilians.

"The government has an obligation, and in fact has made a commitment, to allow
freedom of movement, this is something the U.N. and many concerned governments
repeatedly discuss with the government of Sudan," said Rice.

UNAMID’s 20,000 military and civilian members are in Sudan to protect civilians from
the fighting between government forces and rebels.

Also on Wednesday, Sudan’s foreign minister, Ali Ahmed Karti, was in Washington for
meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In a speech to a private group, he
called for normalizing relations between Sudan and the U.S., and said relations should
not be, in his words, "held hostage" by the matter of Darfur. The U.S. has offered Sudan
incentives if it makes progress in Darfur and accepts the results of a referendum on
independence for Southern Sudan due in early February.

The vote so far shows strong support for independence.

------------------
S. Africa's Zuma to Lobby African Union to Tap Brakes on Zimbabwe Elections
(Voice of America)

South African President Jacob Zuma, mediator in Zimbabwe for the Southern African
Development Community, will seek support from African Union leaders meeting in
summit this week to dissuade President Robert Mugabe from calling snap elections this
year.
Diplomatic and political sources said Mr. Zuma is pushing for the implementation of
many reforms before elections are held, including the drafting and ratification of a new
constitution, and electoral measures such as overhaul of the voters roll.

But Mr. Zuma is on a collision course with Mr. Mugabe who has threatened to dissolve
Parliament and call elections with or without a new constitution in place, expressing his
impatience with the protracted process of drafting a new constitution.

Diplomatic sources say there are widespread fears a new round of elections before
reforms would lead to a repeat of the political violence seen in 2008 balloting.

Mr. Mugabe and Mr. Zuma are both expected to arrive at the AU summit Saturday.

Zuma foreign policy advisor Lindiwe Zulu told VOA Studio 7 reporter Blessing Zulu
that Zimbabawe is not on the AU agenda but it will be discussed informally.

Spokesman Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change formation of

Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai says the party has appealed to Mr Zuma to ensure
among other things that the voters roll is updated. Many voters listed on it are
deceased.

Chamisa said that "for this country to hold any free, fair and credible election there is
need for an impartial, professional and independent board, contracted to come up with
a fresh, biometric digitalised voter’s roll, as is the trend in civilised countries."

He added that the MDC wants a "comprehensive, accurate and credible voters’ roll as a
prerequisite for the coming elections" and any other ballot to be held. A referendum on
a new constitution is supposed to precede elections, but that sequence is in doubt.

In other domestic political developments, representatives of the Joint Monitoring and

Implementation Committee set up to measure compliance with the 2008 Global Political
Agreement for power sharing stepped in after two members of the MDC formation led
by Welshman Ncube were threatened then violently attacked.

District Executive Gift Nengomasha and Phibion Dziva, an MDC activist, were targeted
on Sunday in Chitungwiza, 25 kilometers south of Harare, by youths who according to
MDC spokesman Nhlanhla Dube claimed to belong to Mr. Mugabe's ZANU-PF party.
Nengomasha was assaulted and his home destroyed. Dziva sustained injuries.

Dziva sought medical attention after the episode but could not do so without a police
report. The police refused to give him one, the MDC activist alleged.
MDC spokesman Dube told VOA Studio 7 reporter Tatenda Gumbo that with the police
failing to respond, party officials asked the Joint Monitoring and Implementation
Committee to intervene and the panel sent a representative to investigate.
------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Government-rebel clashes in Darfur subside but tensions persist – UN

26 January – Intense fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region between Government forces and
rebels has subsided but tensions persist and a resumption of violence is possible, a
senior United Nations official said today.

Tunisia: UN human rights team to begin assessment on Thursday

26 January – A team of United Nations experts will begin a week-long assessment on
Thursday of the human rights situation in Tunisia in the wake of the recent political
unrest, it was announced today.

UN refugee chief appeals for $280 million to assist vulnerable Iraqis

26 January – The United Nations refugee chief today announced an inter-agency appeal
for $280 million to support over 190,000 Iraqi refugees living in the region, the majority
in Syria and Jordan.

UN and African Union to convene high-level meeting on Somali peace process

26 January – The United Nations and the African Union will hold a high-level meeting
in a few days to review efforts to achieve peace, security and reconciliation in strife-torn
Somalia, which has been suffering through two decades of conflict and numerous
humanitarian challenges.