WORLD NEWS TREND

Associated Press
24 October 2008

The United States is taking another step toward getting formerly communist Albania and Croatia folded into the NATO alliance.

President Bush planned to meet Friday with NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and sign so-called accession protocols paving the way for the two Balkan countries’ final membership in the military alliance.

The White House invited to the signing ceremony about 160 lawmakers, members of the diplomatic corps, the U.S. ambassadors to Albania and Croatia, and members of Albanian-American and Croatian-American groups.

NATO leaders agreed at a summit earlier this year in Romania to invite Albania and Croatia into the alliance. However, the alliance rebuffed U.S. attempts to begin the process of inviting Ukraine and Georgia, both former Soviet republics, to join. Despite U.S. pressure to bring them in, Germany, France and other alliance members oppose the move.

Albania and Croatia will be eligible to join NATO when all 26 allies have ratified the accession protocols. Slovakia and Hungary have ratified them to date. NATO officials hope Albania and Croatia will be able to participate as full members at next year’s summit.

BBC News
by Michael Voss
23 October 2008

The EU and Cuba have formally restored ties.

European Commissioner Louis Michel said the accord he signed with Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque was “a turning point for EU-Cuban relations”.

Mr Perez Roque welcomed its respect for the island’s political independence.

It will now receive 2m euros ($2.6m) of emergency hurricane recovery aid, with 30m euros ($38.9m) available next year.

An EU delegation will return to Cuba in November to determine the needs and priorities for the financing to be made available in 2009.

Political dialogue

The two recent hurricanes which swept through Cuba in late August and early September - Ike and Gustav - caused billions of dollars worth of damage.

Cuba’s authorities refused all offers of aid from the US and the EU as well.

Now following a signing ceremony in Havana, Cuba and the EU have agreed to resume co-operation.

A joint declaration, signed by Cuba’s foreign minister and the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, calls for respect for Cuba’s political independence and non-intervention in its internal affairs.

However, according to Mr Michel, the Cuban Government has agreed to open political dialogue in which “no subjects will be taboo”.

Mr Michel also announced an aid package of up to 30m euros for hurricane reconstruction.

How to deal with Cuba is one area where Europe and the United States have substantial differences.

Since Mr Raul Castro took over the presidency, following his brother Fidel’s retirement due to health reasons, EU policy has been to try to develop a dialogue with Cuba in the hope of influencing change.

But the Cubans demanded that the EU formally lift the diplomatic sanctions it imposed in 2003 following the mass arrest of dissidents. The sanctions were suspended in 2005, but only eliminated altogether at a recent EU summit in June.

BBC News
24 October 2008

Kenya’s parliament has approved a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) to probe human rights abuses since independence in 1963.

Those found guilty of genocide and other human rights violations will not be eligible for amnesty.

The move comes amidst debate on how to deal with those implicated in the violence that broke out after the disputed elections in December 2007.

A tribunal has been urged to try those behind the clashes.

More than 1,500 people were killed and some 300,000 more fled their homes in the unrest.

President Mwai Kibaki and Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga, now prime minister, signed a power-sharing deal in February to bring an end to the crisis and formed a coalition government.

Culture of impunity

The setting up the TJRC was recommended by the National Dialogue and Reconciliation Committee which was formed to deliberate on the root causes of the post-election violence.

The TJRC will investigate crimes committed since the country’s independence in 1963 to February 2008.

It will have nine commissioners - six Kenyans and three foreigners.

The foreign commissioners will be appointed by the team of African Eminent Personalities which mediated the power-sharing deal along with former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Correspondents say the TJRC is separate from the international tribunal, which was the recommendation of a separate commission of inquiry set up after the violence, headed by Justice Phillip Waki.

It found that politicians and businessmen on all sides had stirred up violence after the polls.

Last week, Mr Waki handed over a sealed list of suspects to Mr Annan, the chief mediator of the power-sharing agreement.

It was agreed that if an international tribunal was not set up within 60 days, Mr Annan would hand over the names to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

‘Political mischief’

Politicians have clashed over the Waki report’s recommendations, with some calling for unconditional amnesty for those implicated.

Others insist that those involved should be prosecuted as amnesty would encourage impunity.

President Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU) says that the report should be implemented fully within the framework of a new constitution.

Mr Annan urged the Kenyan government to set up the tribunal, saying the long culture of impunity must end.

Human rights activists say they fear the TJRC will duplicate some of the work to be undertaken by the Waki tribunal.

“Considering the political realities in Kenya, I will not be surprised that there will be political actors who will want to slow down on the implementation of the Waki recommendations,” human rights lawyer Harun Ndubi told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme.

Mr Ndubi said he read political mischief in the duplication of roles between the TJRC and the proposed tribunal.

“They are hoping that they will cover their tracks because they will have an opportunity to negotiate for amnesty… It is possible that the politicians are using this TJRC as an avenue for self interest,” said Mr Ndubi.

The attorney general is to study the bill before presenting it to President Kibaki for assent into law.

MISNA
24 October 2008

Editor’s Note: This may mark the beginning of a new stage in the carve-up of Sudan.

The Sudanese press has reported that a series of government commissions is being planned to confront the crisis in Darfur to support reconciliation and development and deal with the issues of refugees and security. The creation of the committees was borne out of the conference discussing the peace initiative for Darfur, which the Sudanese government sponsored last week.

Ahmed Bilal, advisor to the presidency, also said: “the government does not oppose the idea of unifying the three states that currently make up the Darfur in a single one, to be headed by a vice-president” (as has been the case for South Sudan); the formation of a single state in Darfur was one of the most frequently requested demands by some of the many active rebel groups in the region of Darfur, who have generally seemed divided over the peace initiative, which, even if it has enjoyed some support such from as the SPLM (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement), is has been opposed by others such as the JEM (Justice and Equality Movement) which refuses to return to the negotiating table. At the Khartoum conference, said the ‘Sudan Tribune’, over 60% of the local representatives of civil society were in attendance; they examined several hypotheses to end the conflict that began in 2003, and which has caused no less than 200,000 victims directly or indirectly and up to 2.5 million refugees totaled.

MISNA
24 October 2008

Local MISNA missionary sources refer that based on findings of a joint committee made up by the local Justice and Peace Commission and government officials, 113 civilians were killed in a series of attacks carried out in mid September by Ugandan rebels of the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) in the Eastern Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The committee updates a list on news received gradually from the various areas targeted by the attacks in one of the most remote regions of the country, where already difficult communications are greatly hampered by the absence of practicable roads. According to the same source, reports so far indicate that 99 minors were kidnapped by the rebels, the majority of which (66) were taken from a school in the Duru village.

New details also arrived on a rebel attack carried out on Monday in the Bangadi village: according to well-informed local MISNA sources, after entering the village at dawn and abducting some residents, the rebels were confronted by an armed militia formed by villagers; at least 27 rebels and seven Congolese were killed in the confrontation. In a situation that remains tense due also to the presence of several thousands of displaced, the Congolese army is attempting to regain control of the area, positioning units of sixty-some soldiers in some villages around Dungu, a main city of the province where a section of the United Nations mission in DR-Congo (MONUC) is located.

This September 1994 cable, from Undersecretary for African Affairs George Moose to Secretary of State Warren Christopher shows the U.S. State Department was fully aware of a UNHCR investigative team that discovered that the Rwandan Patriotic Army and “civilian surrogates” were killing at least 10,000 civilians a month in July and August of 1994. The UNHCR team also discovered that the Government of Rwanda was aware of the massacres. The UNHCR planned to make the report public and Secretary General Ghali planned to brief the Security Council on the matter.

http://webpages.charter.net/jabdmb/rwandamoose94_001.pdf

Special thanks to Professor Peter Erlinder for providing this document.

The Southern Times
24 october 2008
http://www.southerntimesafrica.com/inside.aspx?sectid=83&cat=10

The SADC region, and indeed Africa as a whole, needs to spare a thought for the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They have not known peace and meaningful development since the days of the late dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. In fact, the country has seen conflict after conflict ever since the days of the assassination of Patrick Lumumba.

And just when things seemed to be improving in the vast country after recent parliamentary and presidential polls, the first such democratic elections in years, a new conflict erupts in the eastern parts of the country.

And just like previous conflicts that have torn the country apart, the latest one is said to have the backing of neighbouring Rwanda which is said to be backing rebels led by Laurent Nkunda. In fact, what is more worrying is the allegations that Rwandan troops have crossed onto DRC territory.

Last week we published pictures of a Rwandan soldier and Rwandan Defence Forces weapons said to have been captured inside the DRC. The UN, together the African Union and SADC need to verify these claims and take appropriate action. At this time, Africa cannot afford another war.

This is the time for all countries on the continent to fight poverty, hunger and diseases. These are the three biggest enemies facing the continent today.

The DRC, Africa’s third largest country, is the richest country on the continent in terms of resources but has never enjoyed its wealth because of either internal strife or foreign-sponsored wars.

The last time the Congo was invaded, a full-scale war erupted sucking in Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, on the side of the DRC government, and Rwanda, Uganda, and, to some extent, Burundi, on the side of the invaders.

If Rwandan troops are on DRC territory, then we call upon SADC, the AU and international community to condemn in the strongest of terms, the violation of territorial integrity of the DRC. If that fails, then the Congo, being a member of SADC, has the right to ask for whatever assistance it needs from the regional body.

No-one wants war in SADC, but this does not mean that member states can watch and fold their arms while a fellow member state is being violated. Neither does the AU, despite its commitments elsewhere like in Somalia and Darfur, need to fold its hands and watch as the crisis unfolds in the eastern DRC.

Problems in the eastern part of the DRC need to be addressed once and for all in a lasting solution that addresses the concerns of all. For as long as there is war in the DRC, there will not be any economic prosperity on the continent.

There will not be any meaningful economic development in SADC either. For Africa and the region are as strong as their weakest link.

Editor’s Note: A full 2 weeks ago, observers operating in Rutshuru Territory noted the presence of Rwanda’s 99th Brigade operating illegally inside Congolese territory. The Congolese Government alleges that Colonel Mupenzi, Commander of the RDF’s 9th Battalion, is in charge of the joint RDF-CNDP operations inside Congolese territory. The UN Security Council, by refusing to seriously address these unilateral acts of aggression by Rwanda, fails to uphold certain UN Charter principles it was founded on. Rwanda is clearly acting as a threat to international peace and security by these acts of war. Therefore, it is the duty and purpose of the UN Security Council to address this issue, however, the politics of the member states in the Security Council have prevented meaningful action thus far.

The African Union has a crucial primary duty to address this issue with the means it has available. As a pan-African organization, who better to provide the needed Afro-centric perspective on conflict mediation? Unfortunately, His Excellency, Mr. President Jean Ping, has thus far shown an unwillingness to seriously address this issue as well, in part, because after visiting Congo and Rwanda, he was given grossly conflicting information from both sides. AU officials must ultimately ask, does the AU value the Rwandan presence in UNAMID over peace and security in the Congo? Without Rwanda, the AU contingent in Darfur would collapse, which also goes against the aims of certain western states supporting the mission, some of whom provide logistical and military support to the mission. This political reality shackles the AU’s decisionmaking options when it comes to addressing Rwanda’s aggression inside the Congo.

This editor strongly supports an increased level of AU and SADC involvement in the crisis. I also support MONUC’s renewed efforts to institute the Nairobi Agreement and a Belgian Parliment initiative calling for the deployment of a quick reaction force under a Chapter 7 UN mandate. I also support Special Representative Doss and Ambassador Ripert’s call for improved intelligence and monitoring capabilities, with an increase in troops to help escort and protect IDPs and humanitarian workers so they may gain access to desperately needy people in the field. Meanwhile, the international community must continue to support efforts to train and professionalize the Congolese National Army if there is to be lasting peace. If financially and logistically possible, these efforts should be supplements by additional resources.

However, as has been said many times already, a military solution will not solve this crisis. The actors who were not present at the Goma Conference must hold meaningful dialogues and commit to resolve their issues. FDLR-FOCA leadership, Congolese government and military officials, and the Rwandan Government must engage politically, or else none of the long-term issues will be solved, and the entire region will suffer the consequences. Realizing this, Kenya has tried to mediate between the Congo and Rwanda.

Mail & Guardian
26 October 2008

Briton Simon Mann, jailed for plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea, could be transferred home if Britain arrests others like Sir Mark Thatcher, the African state’s president said in an interview Sunday.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema told the Mail on Sunday that if Britain arrested Thatcher — son of former prime minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher — and Ely Calil, Mann could be sent back to a British jail.

He also claimed that Mann’s sentence could be reduced if he continues to “collaborate” with his government.

Mann, a former special forces officer who attended Britain’s prestigious Eton school and the Sandhurst military academy, was jailed for 34 years in July for leading an abortive coup to oust the president in 2004.

Mann also implicated Thatcher, who was given a fine and a suspended sentence in South Africa in 2005 after pleading guilty to unwittingly helping to finance the plot.

“I’ll tell you what it will take for him to be allowed to leave my country,” the president said of Mann.

“If the British police arrest the people we say were also involved — Ely Calil, Mark Thatcher and others — and bring them to court then maybe we will transfer Simon to an English jail so he can be close to his family”.

He added that British police had visited Equatorial Guinea three times within a few months gathering evidence and Mann had “collaborated brilliantly” with them.

“Simon Mann has collaborated with our government and the British police and if he continues to behave so well, then yes, we will reduce his sentence,” the president said.

Institute for War & Peace Reporting
By Enis Zebic in Zagreb (TU No 574, 24-Oct-08)

The Croatian language edition of the autobiography of ex-war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte was given a mixed reception at its launch in Zagreb this week

In the book, Madame Prosector, Del Ponte talks of her time leading the prosecution team at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, ICTY, from 1999 to January this year, where she earned both praise and censure for her outspoken and uncompromising style.

The book has already causes a stir in the Balkans since it was published in Italian in April, and opinions were similarly varied at its Zagreb launch on October 20.

In her memoirs, Del Ponte looks back over her eight years at the tribunal.

Del Ponte said “the worst period” of her mandate was the time when appeal judges significantly reduced the sentence given to Bosnian Croat Tihomir Blaskic. Although Blaskic was sentenced initially to 45 years in prison for crimes against Bosniak civilians, this was slashed to just nine years in the appeals chamber and 16 of the original 19 counts were thrown out.

However, she won no sympathy from Ante Nobilo, Blaskic’s former defence counsel, who spoke at the launch.

“I can say that Carla Del Ponte wrote this book to change the image of herself and her work, to justify herself [for failing to secure convictions in some cases, and more severe sentences in others],” he told IWPR.

In her book, the former prosecutor said the failure to make charges against Blaskic was the fault of the Croatian authorities who she said hid documents that were relevant to the case. She also blamed judges at the Hague tribunal for deciding to accept written testimonies from some witnesses into evidence, instead of hearing them in court.

However, this week, Nobilo dismissed Del Ponte’s claims.

He told the audience gathered at the Zagreb event that the tribunal’s investigators had full access to Croatian archives. He added that the judges did not do anything unusual by accepting written testimonies from some witnesses, as this happened in other cases at this court, too.

All of those who spoke at the event said they were sorry that the book did not touch on allegations that world powers obstructed the search for two indicted suspects, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and his army chief Ratko Mladic.

Karadzic was arrested in July this year, after 13 years on the run, while Mladic is still at large.

“The things that should have been told she could not say. She did not dare to because of the balance of power in the world today,” said Zvonimir Cicak, moderator at the talk and president of the Croatian Helsinki Committee, suggesting that Del Ponte could somehow be in danger if she spoke.

“Most of those politicians and powerful people, especially in intelligence services, are still holding the same posts, not in ex-Yugoslavia, but around the world,” he added.

However, he predicted that she would reveal more one day, “We can only wait for her to, maybe, really say something. I believe she will…”

Among the criticism, there was one positive response to the book.

Florence Hartmann, Del Ponte’s ex-spokeswoman, who also spoke at the launch, said further information on the court should always be welcomed.

“More important than all the gossip and absurdities [contained in the book], if I can call them that, is freedom of movement and speech [in relation to the work of the court]. Perspectives should be multiplied, because we cannot have only one opinion on the work of the tribunal,” said Hartmann, who published a book on the work of the court last year.

“I think it is important that people [discuss the court so] that they have different perspectives and provide numerous details, so a more complete, a more complex and objective opinion could be formed,” she said.

Enis Zebic is an RFE reporter and IWPR’s contributor in Zagreb.

Special thanks to UNPOS and Garowe Online for the document scans.