United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

9 February 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

AFRICOM Commander Visits Robert G. Bradley, APS (DVIDS)

(West Africa) Commander of U.S. Africa Command Gen. William E. “Kip” Ward spoke
to African partners and U.S. Sailors aboard USS Robert G. Bradley, Feb. 7, during the
first of many port visits of Africa Partnership Station West.

Special forces to help fight al-Qaida in Africa (Ottawa Citizen)

(North Africa) Canadian special forces troops from Petawawa will be soon heading
overseas to train soldiers from countries in North Africa who are fighting al-Qaida
insurgents.

FBI Begins Probe of Tunisia Leader's Assets (Wall Street Journal)

(Tunisia) The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a preliminary investigation
into ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his clan, according to a
person familiar with the matter, seeking information on whether he has any assets in
the U.S.

Southern Sudan welcomes US electricity project (Associated Press)

(Sudan) The power lines, electricity poles and street lamps that now dot the red dirt
roads of the Southern Sudanese town of Kapoeta seem out of place next to the rusting
tanks and shot-up buildings. The electrification project, which was funded by U.S.
government aid, is one sign that the U.S. is intent on helping bring development and
stability to what will soon be Africa's newest country.

UN hails final results of south Sudan referendum, cautions about challenges ahead
(Xinhua)
(Sudan) Top UN officials have welcomed the Monday announcement of the final
referendum results in south Sudan, which showed an overwhelming majority opted for
secession from the north, and called on both north and south Sudan to quickly agree on
a host of issues stemming from the separation and to resolve the future of a disputed
area.
ECOWAS criticizes S.Africa warship off West Africa (Associated Press)
(Ivory Coast) The chairman of West Africa's regional bloc on Tuesday criticized South
Africa for sending a warship to the region amid Ivory Coast's political crisis, but the
South African government maintained it had sent the vessel as a negotiating venue.

Opposition to I. Coast's Gbagbo eroding: ECOWAS (AFP)

(Ivory Coast) The head of West African bloc ECOWAS on Tuesday slammed attempts
to compromise with Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo, saying international
solidarity against him had waned.

Tunisian Spark (Frontline)

(Tunisia) The Tunisian government was one of the few supporters of the U.S. Africa
Command (AFRICOM), which aims to set up military bases on the continent. When the
popular uprising commenced, the U.S. announced $12 million in security assistance to
the Tunisian government.

Tension, Uncertainty as Uganda Prepares for Election (Voice of America)

(Uganda) In just over one week Ugandans will go to the polls to elect their president
for the fourth time since the reinstitution of democracy. Facing perhaps his toughest
competition yet, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will seek a fourth term and a
continuation of his 25-year rule.

Africa's resources central to China: expert (AFP)

(Pan Africa) Africa's rich natural resources will remain key to China as the Asian giant
grows at a more moderate but sustainable pace, an expert on the country told an
African mining conference Tuesday.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 Sudan: UN peacekeepers patrol site of deadly military clash
 UN calls for tackling alleged irregularities in Central African Republic election
 Deaths in Mozambique highlight perils facing people fleeing Horn of Africa –
UN
 UN agency stocking up aid to assist Côte d’Ivoire’s displaced
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 2:00 pm; Brookings Institution

WHAT Access During Humanitarian Crises: Barriers to Protection and Assistance
WHO: Claude Wild, Head of the Political Affairs Division IV, Swiss Federal
Department of Foreign Affairs, The Swiss Confederation; Elizabeth Ferris
Senior Fellow and Co-Director, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement, The
Brookings Institution; Buti Kale, Deputy Regional Representative for the United States
and the Caribbean, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees;
Martin de Boer, Deputy Head, Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada,
International Committee of the Red Cross; Gerry Martone, Director, Humanitarian
Affairs, International Rescue Committee; Ashraf Hadari, Political Counselor, Embassy
of Afghanistan
Info: https://www.cvent.com/EVENTS/Register/IdentityConfirmation.aspx?
e=1fbbf519-874e-4ac1-a753-9c1c457ca0aa

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, February 22, 2011, 10:00 am; US Institute of Peace

WHAT: Can Nigeria Hold Credible Elections?
WHO: Peter M. Lewis, Director, African Studies Program, School of Advanced
International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University; Dave Peterson, Director of
Africa Programs, National Endowment for Democracy; Ambassador Robin Sanders,
Co-Moderator, International Affairs Advisor, Africare; David Smock, Co-Moderator,
Senior Vice President, U. S. Institute of Peace
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/will-nigerias-elections-be-credible

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FULL ARTICLE TEXT

AFRICOM Commander Visits Robert G. Bradley, APS (DVIDS)

LOME, Togo – Commander of U.S. Africa Command Gen. William E. “Kip” Ward
spoke to African partners and U.S. Sailors aboard USS Robert G. Bradley, Feb. 7, during
the first of many port visits of Africa Partnership Station West.

Ward spoke about the importance of the APS mission at an all-hands call on the flight
deck of Robert G. Bradley.

“I cannot stress enough the importance of the job you are doing with all of the partners
involved in the APS mission,” said Ward. “The work you do here embodies the true
meaning of ‘partnership’ and the relationships we are building with African nations. I
thank you for your commitment, your hard work and dedication to making this a
successful start to the APS mission.”

Ward closed his speech talking about the positive effect APS has on bilateral relations
between the U.S. and African countries. He used the relationship U.S. has with Togo as
the shining example.

Before departing Ward met with the senior leadership, toured the ship and present two
Robert G. Bradley sailors with award for their hard work.

“On behalf of the crew I would like to thank Gen. Ward for taking the time to visit
Robert G. Bradley,” said Cmdr. Darryl Brown, commanding officer of Robert G.
Bradley. “His enthusiasm for the APS mission was very motivating to all on board and
shows that the hard work we are putting in APS West is being noticed.”
--------------------
Special forces to help fight al-Qaida in Africa (Ottawa Citizen)

Canadian special forces troops from Petawawa will be soon heading overseas to train
soldiers from countries in North Africa who are fighting al-Qaida insurgents.

The U.S.-led training exercise, dubbed Flintlock, will see troops from the Canadian
Special Operations Regiment heading to Senegal.

Other countries besides the U.S. and Canada involved in the exercise include Spain,
France, The Netherlands and Germany, as well as soldiers from Burkina Faso, Chad,
Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Senegal, according to a statement released Thursday by
U.S. Africa Command.

This is the first time that Canada has participated in Flintlock, an annual special forces
training exercise held in Africa. Governments in North Africa have been fighting a
group that calls itself al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb or AQIM.

The organization traces its roots back to Islamist insurgents fighting the Algerian
government.

But insurgents have since become associated with al-Qaeda and have branched out to
conduct attacks in other countries in the region, as well as kidnapping westerners.

Canadian diplomats Robert Fowler and Louis Guay were held by AQIM after being
kidnapped in December 2008. They were released 130 days later amid claims by
government officials in Mali that four AQIM detainees were set free in return. The
Canadian government has said it played no part in any such deal and did not pay any
ransom for the release of the two diplomats.

On Wednesday, the Mauritanian army announced it had killed three AQIM insurgents
who had planned to assassinate Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. In
early January, AQIM was in the news after two Frenchmen were executed during an
attempted rescue mission by troops from France and Niger. The two had been
kidnapped by gunmen in Niamey, Niger.

The Flintlock exercise runs from Feb. 21 to March 11.

The contingent of Canadian trainers will number around 15. The African troops will be
taught small-unit tactics.
In addition, the exercise will focus on improving the sharing of information and
increasing co-ordination between the various countries.

Participants in Flintlock will also help the indigenous population by providing medical
and veterinary programs. In total, around 800 military personnel will take part in the
exercise, according to Africa Command.

The Canadian Special Operations Regiment, or CSOR, was created in 2006. Its soldiers
have conducted operations in Afghanistan, but the details are secret.

In 2008, the Citizen reported that CSOR helped train the Jamaican counterterrorism
team that stormed a hijacked CanJet airliner in Montego Bay and captured a mentally
troubled gunman without firing a shot. The hijacker had earlier allowed 159 Canadian
passengers and two crew members to leave the chartered aircraft. CSOR members did
not take part in the raid. In a previous interview with the Citizen, special forces
commander Brig-Gen. Mike Day said CSOR will continue to send small training teams
to Jamaica and that missions to additional countries could be organized.

Countries that could qualify for such training would be selected based on Canadian
government policy needs and economic and various other ties between Canada and the
nation in question, said Day, head of the Canadian Special Operations Forces
Command, also known as CANSOFCOM.

CANSOFCOM was created in 2006 to oversee Joint Task Force 2, the special forces and
counter-terrorism unit based at Dwyer Hill, CSOR and the 427 Special Operations
Aviation Squadron, both at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa and the Canadian Joint
Incident Response Unit at CFB Trenton. The response unit deals with weapons of mass
destruction.

CSOR has around 450 people. It is slowly growing with a goal of having 690 personnel
in its ranks, but the military does not have a set timetable on when that number would
be reached.
--------------------
FBI Begins Probe of Tunisia Leader's Assets (Wall Street Journal)

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a preliminary investigation into ousted
Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his clan, according to a person familiar
with the matter, seeking information on whether he has any assets in the U.S.

The FBI is conducting the probe in conjunction with a new Justice Department team that
is scouring the financial system for proceeds of theft by foreign officials. Governments
in Europe have already moved to freeze funds the former Tunisian leader is suspected
of spiriting out of the country.
After 23 years in power, Mr. Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14 following a month
of popular unrest. Tunisia has issued a warrant for Mr. Ben Ali's arrest, accusing him of
transferring money out of the country illegally. A week after he was toppled, the U.S.
Treasury Department warned financial institutions to guard against the "flow of illicit
assets" from Tunisia.

The FBI is looking at whether Mr. Ben Ali has assets in the U.S. or has used U.S.
financial institutions to move illicit funds, the person said. Only then would the U.S.
have jurisdiction to pursue a case.

The Tunisian embassy in Washington didn't return calls seeking comment.

The U.S. government has long been in the business of impounding and repatriating
assets linked to foreign corruption, but laws passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist
attacks furnished new tools. The Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section,
housed in the Justice Department's Criminal Division, has been authorized to hire five
lawyers to staff a unit whose mandate is to ferret out illicit assets belonging to "high-
level" foreign officials and return them to victim countries, officials said.

The FBI has added more agents to effort, building on established anticorruption groups
in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the bureau's Washington field
office.

"We are going to bring cases against the assets of those around the world who have
stolen from their citizenry and have taken money that obviously belongs to their
country," said Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, head of the Justice
Department's Criminal Division. "Those people are the embodiment, in some ways, of
what's wrong in these countries." Mr. Breuer wouldn't comment on specific cases.

U.S. officials expect that most cases will involve foreign politicians who have left office
and are no longer in a position to obstruct investigations. Forfeiture complaints in the
unit's first major case could be ready in the next month and more are expected this year,
officials said.

U.S. financial institutions are required to apply enhanced scrutiny to bank accounts
held by or on behalf of senior foreign political figures. In asset probes, U.S. investigators
seek the help of the victim country in identifying companies, friends, associates and
relatives of the official suspected of stealing public funds. The names are then used by
law enforcement to query U.S. financial institutions for matches.

The World Bank estimates that developing countries lose $20 billion to $40 billion every
year to corruption, but that only about $5 billion in stolen assets have been recovered to
date.
Since Mr. Ben Ali's ouster, the European Union and the Swiss have moved to freeze
assets belonging to the former leader, his wife and dozens of associates and relatives.
French authorities opened their own investigation of his property, spurred by legal
complaints filed by anti-corruption organizations, according to French news reports.

Separately, Swiss authorities are pursuing assets belonging to former Haitian leader
Jean-Claude Duvalier, whom Haitian authorities suspect of stealing between $300
million and $900 million during his regime. Mr. Duvalier returned to Haiti last month,
after a 25-year absence, and was promptly arrested by the authorities there.
--------------------
Southern Sudan welcomes US electricity project (Associated Press)

KAPOETA, Sudan – The power lines, electricity poles and street lamps that now dot the
red dirt roads of the Southern Sudanese town of Kapoeta seem out of place next to the
rusting tanks and shot-up buildings.

The electrification project, which was funded by U.S. government aid, is one sign that
the U.S. is intent on helping bring development and stability to what will soon be
Africa's newest country.

The final results from Southern Sudan's January independence referendum were
announced Monday, with nearly 99 percent of ballots cast for independence. Southern
Sudan is slated to become a new country in July, and it will need all the help it can get.

Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir, in his first comments since the results were
announced, said Tuesday that the vote was the "crowning moment of all the sacrifices
made during our long struggle."

More than 2 million people died during the nearly two-decade war that ended in 2005.

"It is a glorious day for Africa and the world," Kiir said. "You exercised your inalienable
right to self-determination freely, fairly and peacefully."

Decades of civil war between the mainly Christian-animist south and the mainly
Muslim north mean most of Southern Sudan has no electricity, roads or other
infrastructure, despite the south's oil riches.

In the barren scrubland of Eastern Equatoria state, where the U.S. has just funded the
electrification project in Kapoeta, semi-nomadic herders from the Toposa tribe carry
spears and automatic rifles for protection and wear leopard skins and feather
headdresses for celebrations.

The U.S. Agency for International Development spent $1.1 billion in Sudan and eastern
Chad in the 2009 fiscal year. More USAID workers are being sent to Southern Sudan,
where most people live on less than $1 day and only 15 percent of the population can
read. Quality health care is almost nonexistent.

"The development needs of Southern Sudan are absolutely enormous," Barrie Walkley,
the top U.S. diplomat in Southern Sudan, said during last Friday's opening of the
electricity project.

U.S. and southern government officials hope electricity will boost the area's economy,
improve security and quality of life and attract investors to the area's gold and copper
reserves. Herders in this Wild West-like hinterland struggle to keep their cattle alive
during the months of near-drought in one of the most arid and bleak expanses in
Southern Sudan.

The Kapoeta project is just one of many initiatives USAID has launched in the region.
One of its top projects is the funding of a $200 million highway from Uganda to Juba,
the southern capital.

Lorna Merekaje, an activist in Juba who led a referendum monitoring group of last
month's referendum, said she believes U.S. aid projects are generally positive.

"It is a great support to Southern Sudan but it needs to be managed well because there
is a common theme that if people are not careful then we end up only implementing the
donor agenda and not the agenda of the people," Merekaje said.

Other USAID programs are designed to improve the skills of southern leaders in areas
like budgeting or managing social welfare programs. Many of the south's leaders are
former rebels whose decades of fighting means them are more accustomed to planning
ambushes than accounting.

The influx of aid money — coupled with Southern Sudan's oil revenues — means
"there's a threat and an opportunity at the same time," said James Shikwati, an
economist from neighboring Kenya. Funding infrastructure helps improve regional
links and provides people with the economic independence to start participating in
political life, he said.

"Southern Sudan is likely to have a problem similar to what many countries have
experienced: the emergence of an elite class that serves the interests of the donor
countries and not the needs of the people. There may also be donors who want to
ensure access to the region's natural resources," he said.

Other donors funding projects in Southern Sudan include the E.U. and China — which
also has a hand in the region's oil fields — although the U.S. has spent more money in
Sudan over the past decade than any other donor. The Kapoeta project took three years
and $4 million to complete.
"We are literally and figuratively bringing light to Kapoeta," Walkley said as hundreds
of residents danced and drummed last week.

USAID funded the project in Kapoeta because it's a strategic trade center near the
border with Kenya. The region's governor, Louis Lobong, praised the U.S. for the help.

"We love the American people for standing with us during our liberation war," said
Lobong. He said the project "demonstrates the solidarity and commitment of the
American government and its people to support the Sudanese in the development of
the new state to be born."
--------------------
UN hails final results of south Sudan referendum, cautions about challenges ahead
(Xinhua)

Top UN officials have welcomed the Monday announcement of the final referendum
results in south Sudan, which showed an overwhelming majority opted for secession
from the north, and called on both north and south Sudan to quickly agree on a host of
issues stemming from the separation and to resolve the future of a disputed area.

UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon on Monday welcomed the announcement of the

final results of the south Sudan referendum, saying that "the peaceful and credible
conduct of the referendum is a great achievement for all Sudanese."

PEACEFUL REFERENDUM

After a six-year transitional period following two decades of brutal civil war, close to
four million southern Sudanese went to the polls from Jan. 9 to Jan. 15 to cast their vote
for unity or secession. With 98.83 percent of all voters choosing independence, South
Sudan will officially be able to declare independence on July 9.

The referendum marks the final phase of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement
(CPA), which concluded 20 years of war between the northern-based government in
Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in the south
-- a war that reportedly claimed the lives of some two million people and left millions
more displaced.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir formally accepted the secession results, reports said.

"The results ... are reflective of the will of the people of Southern Sudan," Ban said in a
statement issued by his spokesman.
Also on Monday, Helen Clark, the UNDP administrator, thanked the Southern Sudan
Referendum Commission as well as all of the international partners who have worked
with the UNDP to help make the polls a success.

Clark said that creating a solid government is essential for the new country, which will
be the world's youngest nation.

"Many actors have a stake in this process, as enabling strong government in Southern
Sudan will improve the long-term development and security prospects of the whole
region," she said.

Ban went on to call on the international community to assist all Sudanese toward
greater stability and development, reiterating the UN commitment to do so. Meanwhile,
Clark emphasized that the UNDP will work side-by-side with south Sudan to help
make the transition to nationhood successful.

FUTURE CHALLENGES

However, the UN officials are also clear about the challenges that lie ahead in the post-
referendum Sudan.

In his most recent report to the UN Security Council on Sudan, the secretary-general
said it is "crucial" for parties to the CPA to reach a "broad framework agreement" on key
post-referendum issues. These include wealth-sharing, the management of assets and
debts, citizenship and border security arrangements.

Such issues also cover border security, citizenship, frontier demarcation, and popular
consultations in the states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile -- and Abyei, an area
straddling northern and southern Sudan, that was due to have voted in a separate but
simultaneous referendum on which side it would join.

But a referendum commission has yet to be established there, and there is still no
agreement on who would be eligible to vote.

"Their work is not over," the secretary-general's Panel on the Referenda in Sudan said in
a news release. "The Panel calls on the parties to build on the constructive relationship
they have developed to quickly reach a lasting agreement on post-referendum
arrangements so that the peoples of Northern and Southern Sudan can live together
side by side in cooperation, security and dignity."

The secretary-general appointed the panel, headed by former Tanzanian president

Benjamin Mkapa, to monitor January's week-long vote in south Sudan.
In its statement, the Panel noted recent deadly clashes in Abyei -- "which have only
further complicated the situation" -- and stressed the continuing importance of the
protection of all Sudanese civilians, whether northerners or southerners.
--------------------
ECOWAS criticizes S.Africa warship off West Africa (Associated Press)

ABUJA, Nigeria – The chairman of West Africa's regional bloc on Tuesday criticized
South Africa for sending a warship to the region amid Ivory Coast's political crisis, but
the South African government maintained it had sent the vessel as a negotiating venue.

The dispute comes amid a growing rift between African nations on how to resolve the
political stalemate in Ivory Coast. Incumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo has refused to
cede power more than two months after the U.N. said he lost the election.

James Victor Gbeho, president of the West African bloc of states known as ECOWAS,
said Tuesday the presence of a South African warship "can only complicate the matter
further."

"The solidarity that started among us in the international community is fast being
eroded because certain countries are picking sides and therefore are disagreeing with
the decision already taken," he said in Abuja, Nigeria, where the 15-nation regional bloc
is based.

But South African defense department spokesman Siphiwe Dlamini said the ship is not
supplying military support to Gbagbo or to the internationally recognized election
winner, Alassane Ouattara.

The vessel has been in international waters off West Africa for about two weeks for
routine training and is there in case it is needed, Dlamini said.

The African Union last week asked the presidents of Chad, Mauritania, South Africa,
Tanzania and Burkina Faso to find a peaceful way to install Ouattara, as president. The
leaders sent a team of 15 experts to Abidjan on Sunday, who will eventually be
followed by the presidents.

AU representative Ambroise Nyonsaba said Monday the leaders would try to organize
a face-to-face meeting between Gbagbo and Ouattara, both who claim to be the elected
president.

South Africa, though, has never endorsed Ouattara as president unlike the African
Union, and instead has suggested a recount of the votes — echoing calls made by
Gbagbo for such a move.
However, South African President Jacob Zuma this week denied supporting Gbagbo
and said South Africa remains a neutral mediator in the political deadlock, according to
state-funded South African Broadcasting Corp.

ECOWAS has threatened military invasion to oust Gbagbo if negotiations fail, though
several countries have since expressed reservations about using force and no deadline
has been set.

The crisis has fractured African nations into three camps: pro-Gbagbo, anti-Gbagbo and
neutral, according to Rinaldo Depagne, the International Crisis Group's senior analyst
for West Africa.

Depagne put South Africa and Angola in the lead of the pro-Gbagbo camp that includes
Uganda, Gambia and Zimbabwe. Meanwhile, Nigeria, Senegal, Kenya and Ivory Coast
neighbor Burkina Faso take a hard line and want military intervention.

The majority of African nations favor a negotiated solution, Depagne said, including
Libya, Congo, Gabon, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Cameroon and Tanzania.

"We find that others are encouraging Gbagbo not to yield, probably because they can
give him certain things that ECOWAS does not have," Gbeho said Tuesday.

Nigeria's Foreign Minister Odein Ajumogobia last week proposed a naval blockade to
enforce sanctions imposed against Gbagbo.

In an op-ed article in This Day newspaper of Lagos, he noted that the proposal to use
military intervention has provoked some dissent, but added: "The use of 'legitimate
force' is however not exclusively about military warfare in the conventional sense and
therefore does not necessary connote an 'invasion' by troops."

He said that "legitimate force can include, for example, a naval blockade to enforce
sanctions which might be imposed against Gbagbo."

Ivory Coast was divided into a rebel-controlled north and a loyalist south by a 2002-
2003 civil war. The country was officially reunited in a 2007 peace deal, but the long-
delayed presidential election was intended to help reunify the nation. Instead, the U.N.
says at least 260 people have been killed in violence since the vote.
--------------------
Opposition to I. Coast's Gbagbo eroding: ECOWAS (AFP)

ABUJA — The head of West African bloc ECOWAS on Tuesday slammed attempts to
compromise with Ivory Coast strongman Laurent Gbagbo, saying international
solidarity against him had waned.
James Victor Gbeho also singled out South Africa for criticism over what he said was
Pretoria's decision to send a warship to Ivory Coast. South Africa's ambassador here
said it was a support vessel and had no military purpose.

The 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has

threatened to use force if Gbagbo does not step down.

"We find that others are encouraging Gbagbo not to yield ...," ECOWAS commission
president Gbeho told journalists at a presentation by European Union observers on
November's Ivory Coast election.

"The solidarity that started among us in the international community is fast being
eroded."

Gbeho also said he was disappointed with moves on the crisis by the African Union.

Following a recent African Union summit, experts sent by an AU panel tasked with
mediating peace in Ivory Coast met representatives of both sides in the crisis this week.

Asked if he was disappointed with the AU, Gbeho said, "yes, in a way, because there
was the attempt to unravel what this region was doing.

"Any attempt to change the result that the Ivorian electorate have out of their own free
will mandated, it's something that we should all regret, and I do hope that it will not
come to that in the final analysis," he added.

Gbeho did not discuss details in his criticism of the South African vessel he said had
been sent to Ivory Coast.

"As we talk now, there is a South African warship docked in Cote d'Ivoire," he said.
"Action such as that can only complicate the matter further.

"I'm surprised that a distinguished country like South Africa would decide to send a
frigate to Ivory Coast at this time."

South Africa's ambassador to Nigeria, Kingsley Mamabolo, said the vessel could be
used as a neutral negotiating venue.

It had been docked in Ghana, which neighbours Ivory Coast, but he said he was unsure
of its current location.

"There is nothing amiss about the vessel we sent," Mamabolo told AFP.
"It's just a harmless support vessel. It could be used for evacuation. It's not meant to go
and intervene militarily."

He added that "South Africa in principle has never believed in intervention by force.
We have always believed in negotiation to avoid unnecessary bloodshed."

South African President Jacob Zuma said last month that efforts to end the dispute by
demanding "one of the two leaders must go" were not working and another way must
be found.

Pretoria initially joined calls for Gbagbo to cede power, but Zuma appeared to
backtrack in January, saying both candidates had raised "quite serious" allegations
about voting irregularities.

ECOWAS, like much of the world, has recognised Gbagbo's rival Alassane Ouattara as
president and demanded Gbagbo quit power.

However, the bloc faces difficulties in mustering troops for a military intervention.

Nigeria, likely to provide the bulk of any force, will hold elections in April and is
seeking to stem unrest back home. Ghana, another ECOWAS member, opposes the use
of force.

"The concern that some of us have is that apparently, because of certain geopolitical
interests, some countries are keen on awarding a failure mark to ECOWAS heads of
state," said Gbeho, who is from Ghana.

"They are saying that the whole matter should be looked at, that it seems Gbagbo was
the winner, and if that is the situation then they must negotiate."

Gbeho said ECOWAS was not opposed to dialogue, but talks must end with Ouattara
as head of state.

The EU observers presented their report in Abuja as they said they could not obtain
fresh visas for Ivory Coast.

Their report, which recognised Ouattara as the victor and ruled out the need for a
recount, had been presented in Brussels last month.
--------------------
Tunisian Spark (Frontline)

The self-immolation by Mohammad Bouazizi, an unemployed man who was harassed

by the police in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid on December 17, was the spark that
ignited the Arab street. It first started the “Jasmine” Revolution (jasmine is Tunisia's
national flower). The residents of the sleepy town, who were already angry about
routine police brutality and the lack of economic opportunities, took to the streets
spontaneously with “a rock in one hand and a cellphone” in the other. Grainy images of
the protests were soon telecast on Al Jazeera television and were subsequently picked
up by other Arab television networks. There had been similar incidents of suicide and
protests in Tunisia before, but the authorities had managed to stop the news from
reaching the domestic audience. This time, however, things took a dramatic and
unscripted turn, taking the authoritarian rulers in the region by surprise and triggering
anti-government protests all over the Arab world.

On December 17, a close relative of Bouazizi posted a video of a peaceful protest led by
the victim's mother in front of the local municipal office. The next day it was on Al
Jazeera. Although the news was not reported in the Tunisian media, the country's 3.6
million Internet users, who form one-third of the population, quickly caught on to the
happenings in Sidi Bouzid.

Tunisia has the highest number of Internet users in Africa in terms of percentage of
population. The Tunisian authorities tried to thwart the flow of information by
resorting to censorship and cutting off of power in Sidi Bouzid and neighbouring towns
that had joined the protests.

It was only on December 29 that a local television channel showed footage of the
protests. The government, in a desperate effort to stop the protests from spreading,
even resorted to phishing operations and hijacking Facebook accounts of online
protesters. The overconfident government of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, which had one of
the strongest censorship laws in the Arab world, had allowed social networks such as
Facebook and Twitter to remain uncensored until the events of December.

The working class played an important role in the uprising. Members of the Tunisian
General Labour Union (UGTT) were involved in it from day one. The union activists in
Sidi Bouzid and in the south of the country became the driving force behind the daily
demonstrations, which soon spread to nearby towns. Thousands of people, many of
them unemployed, joined in. The unemployment rate in Tunisia is around 30 per cent.
Many university graduates are among those without work.

The unrest spread through the nation and engulfed the capital, Tunis, after the police
resorted to killings in the towns of Menzel Bouziane and Regoub. Students, teachers
and the unemployed spontaneously joined the struggle.

A resident of Sidi Bouzid told Al Jazeera that Ben Ali's big mistake was to order the
police to use real bullets instead of rubber bullets against his people. On January 6, a
successful general strike was organised to protest against the brutality of the security
forces. More than a hundred people had been killed by then. The government ordered
the closure of all the universities but the unrest had become unstoppable.
On January 13, Ben Ali finally went on national television and promised to initiate
democratic reforms. He also said he would not seek re-election when his term would
end in 2016. Ben Ali has been in power since the mid-1980s. In fact Tunisia has seen
only two rulers – Habib Borguiba and Ben Ali, both pro-Western and authoritarian to
the core – since it attained independence in 1956.

The President's appeal had no takers. The following day, the trade unions called for a
general strike. The government responded by invoking a state of emergency and
threatened “that arms will be used if orders of the security forces are not heeded”. The
people defied the threats. Thousands marched to the Interior Ministry building even as
a nation-wide strike was on.

The 29-day-long struggle of the Tunisian people ended Ben Ali's 23-year rule. He
caught a plane in the stealth of the night on January 14 and disembarked in Saudi
Arabia, the favourite resting place for dictators shorn off power. His long-time patron,
France, refused him asylum at the eleventh hour.

It was the first popular revolution in the Arab world in many years. The Sudanese got
rid of their dictator Jaffar Nimeiry in 1985 by taking to the streets, but their triumph was
short-lived as the country experienced another military coup a few years later. Tunisia
could also face a similar threat if the democratic opposition does not get its act together
soon.

Ben Ali is out, but the vestiges of his rule remain. Mohamed Ghannouchi, the man who
has assumed the presidency, is a close associate of Ben Ali. He has pledged to remain a
caretaker President until multiparty elections are held later in the year. Popular outrage
forced him to drop the holdovers from Ben Ali's Cabinet and replace them with lesser
known associates of the fallen dictator. The new banners the protesters are carrying
read “RCD Out” instead of “Ben Ali Out”. Ben Ali had used the Constitutional
Democratic Rally (RCD) party to consolidate his rapacious rule. The opposition has
demanded that Ben Ali return the $5 billion he is alleged to have embezzled during his
tenure. The only way Tunisians could find jobs in the government was by becoming
members of the RCD. One out of 30 Tunisian works for the country's security agencies.

Efforts are under way to form a Centre-Left democratic alternative comprising the
Communist Workers' Party, the Congress Party of the Republic and the Ennahda Party.
The return of Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of the Islamist Ennahda movement, to
Tunisia from his exile in France will make the political situation more interesting.
Ennahda was banned in 1989 when it was the leading opposition force. A year before
that, in the only comparatively free elections held during Ben Ali's rule, it had got
nearly 20 per cent of the votes. The Islamists, like their counterparts in Egypt, did not
play an important role in the events leading to the ouster of the dictatorship. Today, the
party is split into two factions. Some of its leading members even talk of separating
religion from politics. Seyyed Ferjani, a senior member of the party, has said that the
Tunisian uprising belongs to the people. “It is a genuine revolution and it does not
belong to any party. It belongs to all,” he said.

The West was supportive of Ben Ali's crackdown on the Islamists. Washington and
Brussels will not be too happy at the prospect of Islamists being able to operate legally
again and contest for power in Tunisia and Egypt. The United States especially has
reason to be upset by the turn of events. Ben Ali was their favourite “strong man” in the
region. He unquestioningly implemented the policies of the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which led to the impoverishment of his people and
encouraged crony capitalism.

The diplomatic cables exposed by WikiLeaks show that the U.S. was aware of the
rampant corruption the President's close associates were indulging in. But the U.S. was
willing to gloss over everything because Tunisia was one of its strongest allies in the
“war on terror”.

Tunisia was also the headquarters of the U.S. administration's Middle East Partnership
Initiative, ostensibly meant to spread democracy in the region. The Bush administration
had taken upon itself the task of spreading its version of democracy after the invasion
of Iraq in 2003. The success of Hamas in Palestine in the 2006 election and the good
show by the Muslim Brothers in the seats they were allowed to contest in Egypt in the
2005 election convinced Washington that democracy was not all that good for its
strategic interests in the region.

The Ben Ali government, like many other governments in the region, had lent a helping
hand to the Bush administration's “extraordinary rendition programme”. Terror
suspects from other countries were handed over to Tunisian security services to extract
information through torture. The Tunisian government was one of the few supporters
of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), which aims to set up military bases on the
continent. When the popular uprising commenced, the U.S. announced $12 million in
security assistance to the Tunisian government. The other beneficiaries of the Obama
administration's security assistance are its close allies, Israel, Egypt, Jordan and
Colombia.

There was not a word of condemnation from the U.S. when the police opened fire on
demonstrators. Washington's reaction came only after it became clear in the second
week of January that Ben Ali's days at the helm of affairs were numbered. France had
also viewed Ben Ali as their man in the region. French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-
Marie said in Parliament in December, when the protests were raging, that France was
willing to share the “know-how of its security forces to help control this kind of a
situation”. President Nicolas Sarkozy, during a 2008 visit to Tunisia, hailed Ben Ali as a
great democrat, saying that the “space for freedom was getting wider”. Dominique
Strauss-Kahn, the IMF chief and a man widely tipped to challenge Sarkozy in the next
presidential election, once hailed Tunisia “as a model for many developing countries”.
--------------------
Tension, Uncertainty as Uganda Prepares for Election (Voice of America)

In just over one week Ugandans will go to the polls to elect their president for the
fourth time since the reinstitution of democracy. Facing perhaps his toughest
competition yet, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni will seek a fourth term and a
continuation of his 25-year rule.

On February 18, Museveni will face yet another election and another challenge to his
long tenure as the country’s leader. Museveni has soundly defeated his challengers
every five years since 1996, but his support has steadily declined. In the 1996 poll, the
Ugandan leader received around 75 percent of the vote, but registered just under 60
percent in 2006.

Despite the numbers, many observers have pegged Museveni as the inevitable winner.
The long-serving president ended the corruption-marred rule of President Milton Obote
in 1985 and has since overseen a period of relatively strong economic growth.

Corruption within Museveni’s government, however, also has grown in recent years.
Senior Fellow at Makerere Institute of Social Research Frederick Golooba-Mutebi
believes such corruption is likely to help keep the president in power.

"Every election President Museveni has won has been contested on the grounds that it
has been marred by malpractice, that there has been significant rigging," said Golooba-
Mutebi. "I do not think that that is going to go away this time."

The upcoming election is likely to be Museveni’s most difficult yet. Though facing
seven other candidates, his most serious challenge is retired Ugandan Colonel Dr. Kizza
Besigye.
The retired soldier is a familiar face of the opposition. Besigye also ran in 2001 and 2006,
taking over 35 percent of the vote in the most recent poll. In the upcoming vote, Besigye
represents the Inter-Party Coalition, a group of four opposition parties that have united
to challenge the president and his National Resistance Movement.

While the campaigns have been mostly peaceful, supporters of Besigye’s IPC and the
ruling party have clashed in recent months. Uganda’s electoral commission also has
found that various parties have formed militias before the vote and warned of possible
violence during the election.

Tensions have been on the rise since the New Year with Besigye’s coalition threatening
a boycott of the vote. The opposition leader has accused the National Resistance
Movement of planning to rig the vote and warned of unrest similar to that in Egypt and
Tunisia if the poll is unfair.

Recent reports reveal the Ugandan government is preparing for some measure of civil
unrest with an increase in police recruitment and the import of riot-gear, such as tear
gas.
Golooba-Mutebi said such actions will only stoke public suspicion. "The question for
me and for other people is: a government that is preparing to contest a free and fair
election - why are they preparing for trouble? They expect to win in a way that is going
to leave a lot of dissatisfaction among the public and that that might cause trouble."

A recent Synovate poll published by Ugandan newspaper New Vision found President
Museveni to be favored by 67 percent of Ugandans. But the results have recently been
disputed, with officials from Synovate denying involvement in the polling.

Museveni is still favored to win the upcoming vote, but the rising tension and
uncertainty have left many in Uganda fearing a disputed election and perhaps even
violence on the streets.
--------------------
Africa's resources central to China: expert (AFP)

CAPE TOWN – Africa's rich natural resources will remain key to China as the Asian
giant grows at a more moderate but sustainable pace, an expert on the country told an
African mining conference Tuesday.

"We feel that demand from China is something to rely upon," said Kobus van der Wath,
managing director of consultancy Beijing Axis, adding that China's economic
performance was not a "flash in the pan".

"If anything we will see a more moderate growth rate and therefore more moderate but
certainly more sustainable demand."

China should be viewed as a broad player on the continent, where a lack of

infrastructure and capital play to the its strengths, he said.

The world's second-biggest economy "comfortably" had outbound investments of more

than $50 billion a year but there was greater appetite and ability to invest more,
particularly in Africa, he said.

The "Chinese, although they are not new, are becoming a far more intensive player...
and far more assertive in their global aspirations," van der Wath told delegates at the
Investing in African Mining Indaba conference.
"Raw materials is a big focus for this global expansion and really Africa is also a very
big focus."

"Africa will continue, and developing countries and resource hubs will continue, to be
very very important in terms of focus," said van der Wath.

Africa drew 14 percent of China's investment last year, he said.

--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Sudan: UN peacekeepers patrol site of deadly military clash

8 February – United Nations peacekeepers have positioned armoured personnel carriers
and are patrolling an area in Sudan where units made up of Northern and Southern
Sudanese troops clashed last week, killing 54 soldiers and wounding 85 others.

UN calls for tackling alleged irregularities in Central African Republic election

8 February – The United Nations is encouraging electoral authorities in the Central
Africa Republic (CAR) to address alleged irregularities in last month’s presidential poll,
which reportedly gave President Francois Bozize a second term but has left opposition
candidates in an uproar over fraud.

Deaths in Mozambique highlight perils facing people fleeing Horn of Africa – UN

8 February – The United Nations refugee agency today highlighted the dangers facing
those fleeing the Horn of Africa, noting the recent deaths of eight Ethiopian asylum-
seekers who suffocated aboard a closed container truck in Mozambique en route to
South Africa.

UN agency stocking up aid to assist Côte d’Ivoire’s displaced

8 February – The United Nations refugee agency said today has begun delivering more
supplies of relief aid to Côte d’Ivoire for distribution to tens of thousands of internally
displaced persons (IDPs) who fled their homes due to tensions and violence related to
last year’s presidential election.