Hizbul Islam ‘Did Not Disarm’ Hiran Governor in Somalia

Somalia: Hizbul Islam ‘Did Not Disarm’ Hiran Governor

14 October 2009

Beletwein, Somalia — The Islamist governor of a Hiran region in central Somalia has rejected rumors that he was disarmed after joining the Hizbul Islam rebel faction, Radio Garowe reports.

Sheikh Abdirahman Ibrahim Ma’ow, who quit the Somali interim government to join Hizbul Islam rebels in late August, told local media during a Tuesday night interview that he was not disarmed.

The widespread reports said that fighters loyal to Sheikh Ma’ow were mixed in with other Hizbul Islam fighters in Beletwein, the provincial capital of Hiran.

But Sheikh Ma’ow said that he has an appointment to meet with Hizbul Islam commanders in order to join together all the forces under a single command.

Currently, Beletwein is under the control of Hizbul Islam rebels but the rebels do not have a strong chain of command structure, according to local sources.

Beletwein has endured the exchange of hands between Somali government forces and Islamist rebels several times since the beginning of 2009. The town, which is located near the Ethiopian border, is now peaceful amid reports of a possible Ethiopian military incursion.

No Dinner For Votes, Says Jackie Selebi

No dinner for votes, says Selebi

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Oct 14 2009 16:36

Graft-accused ex-top cop Jackie Selebi has denied ever taking R30 000 from convicted drug trafficker Glenn Agliotti to host a dinner to garner votes for election as Interpol head.

Defence lawyer Jaap Cilliers told the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday that Selebi would rather have foregone the chance to be Interpol head than accept money.

“The accused absolutely refused to have such a dinner and said he would rather not be elected that to have a dinner. He refused to lobby in any way.”

Agliotti has testified that in August/September 2004 he allegedly gave Selebi R30 000 to fund a dinner in Paris to “lobby” for election as Interpol head.

Payment made a year after

However, Cilliers pointed out that the date on a cheque stub identified by the Scorpions as being for the dinner payment was made about a year after the Interpol election took place.

Agliotti then said there may have been two payments of R30 000. Cilliers slammed his answer, “Once you find the objective facts are wrong then you just change the version,” he said.

Selebi served as Interpol president from 2004 until January 12 last year, resigning after being suspended over the corruption allegations for which he is on trial.

Agliotti on Wednesday also gave the court an additional explanation for inconsistencies in his testimony and earlier statement to police.

Previously he had admitted that he lied on occasion. On Wednesday he said his memory also sometimes failed him.

“You take your mind back and you try and remember as much as you can,” explained Agliotti.

“There have been inconsistencies in my statement. They are not intentional.”

State deal
Agliotti has made a deal with the State in the Selebi case and will receive indemnity from prosecution on charges including corruption, money laundering, racketeering and defeating the ends of justice if he testifies “frankly and honestly”.

He made it clear on Wednesday that his memory could not be jogged to remember exactly how many payments he made to Selebi or what the amount of each payment was.

“How many payments for R30 000 or R5000 or R10 000 [I made to Selebi]. I cannot remember every payment … I did not keep a running log,” he said.

On Thursday the court’s attention will turn to determining the admissibility of a 2008 video recording of a meeting between Agliotti and NIA representatives.

Cilliers has asked that the video be admitted as evidence even though Agliotti testified that he was assured the recording was off the record.

Judge Meyer Joffe said he would hear full argument before deciding whether the recording could be viewed as evidence or if a trial within a trial should be held to determine admissibility.

Selebi is facing two counts of corruption and defeating the ends of justice, related to payments of at least R1,2-million he allegedly received from Agliotti, slain mining magnate Brett Kebble and former Hyundai boss Billy Rautenbach. — Sapa

Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-10-14-no-dinner-for-votes-says-selebi

Sports can help rehabilitate victims of human trafficking - UN official

Sports can play a significant role in helping victims of human trafficking overcome their trauma, a senior United Nations official said today.

Post offices in West Africa offer electronic money transfer services under UN scheme

Some 300 post offices in six West African countries have begun offering electronic money transfers as part of a United Nations-backed initiative to use technology to help ensure that rural populations and migrant workers have access to better services.

Sheikh Sharif’s Weakness Will Be His Ultimate Demise

From Garoweonline.com

Somalia Editorial: Sheikh Sharif’s weakness will be his ultimate demise

Sep 29, 2009 - 11:20:42 PM
SUNDAY EDITORIAL

Sheikh Sharif’s character weakness poses a grave threat to the international community’s financial and political backing, which could backfire with disastrous effect.

The number one issue surrounding the Somali conflict is a matter of how genuine the parties directly or indirectly involved are. Often, the officials of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) are accused of lacking legitimacy among the Somali public, in part due to the fact that most TFG officials are well-known crooks with ties to the Somali civil war.

Internationally, Western powers with the U.S. government at the forefront are accused of neglecting the root causes of the Somali conflict and aggressively dealing with the effects of war, as demonstrated by the targeted killing of an Al Qaeda terror suspect by American commandos on September 14, 2009.

Somalia’s neighbors are accused of abusing the chaotic situation and supporting different sides of an enduring civil war, for national advantages that are often detrimental to the restoration of a peaceful and stable Somalia.

Among all these actors, the most important role is played by the TFG officials.

Today, the TFG enjoys more support than any other “interim government” in Somalia since the violent collapse of Gen. Barre’s 21-year military dictatorship in 1991. Sheikh Sharif Ahmed, who led the rise of the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) in 2006, then considered a Taliban-type movement by U.S. officials, became Somali president in Jan. 2009 at the conclusion of UN-brokered peace talks in the neighboring Republic of Djibouti.

The international community hoped that Sheikh Sharif, who was a prominent figure among Somali Islamists, could marshal support among the Islamists’ grassroots networks that provide manpower and funding support to advance the Islamist insurgency against the Western-backed TFG in Mogadishu, Somalia’s war-battered traditional capital city.

Further, it was hoped that Sheikh Sharif as Somali president could inspire young Islamist fighters to join his cause much as they did in 2006, when thousands of Islamist fighters joined the ICU’s popular war to overthrow Mogadishu’s hated warlords.

To put it mildly, Sheikh Sharif has failed catastrophically in his capacity to lead Somalia from the ruins of war. The UN’s Special Envoy to Somalia, Amb. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, campaigned for President Sheikh Sharif’s interim government as the “best hope” to restore national order in Somalia.

However, eight months into his administration, President Sheikh Sharif’s interim government is looking identical to the interim government of Col. Abdullahi Yusuf, who expelled ICU fighters from Mogadishu with the backing of Ethiopian troops in early 2007, thereafter igniting the ongoing Islamist insurgency. Most recently, addressing the UN General Assembly, President Sheikh Sharif called on the UN to remove the 1993 arms embargo on Somalia following, it seems, the exact footsteps of President Yusuf who had asked the UN for the same thing.

Sheikh Sharif has the characteristics of a weak leader. If the TFG is a weak institution in and of itself, then Sheikh Sharif’s character weakness poses a grave threat to the international community’s financial and political backing, which could backfire with disastrous effect. The TFG, under Sheikh Sharif’s stewardship, has been unable to combine all the security forces under a single command to fight the insurgents; naturally, this disorder on the ground in Mogadishu has led to frequent deadly clashes among Somali government forces.

Further, he has been unable to reign in support from Islamist guerrillas, whom have labeled him a “puppet” of the West, and he has lost control of towns and regions dominated by members of his own clan, thereby making him a leader without a constituency. Important towns like Jowhar “ seized by Al Shabaab insurgents “ come to mind.

A more pressing example of President Sheikh Sharif’s character weakness is his inability to control some Cabinet ministers, especially Finance Minister Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, a shady character with intimate ties with Mogadishu’s hated warlords. In a recent trip to Saudi Arabia, President Sheikh Sharif was “questioned intensely” about the Finance Minister’s powerful role in the Somali government.

According to informed sources, Saudi government officials expressed serious concern with a recent statement issued by a number of Somali lawmakers, who accused Finance Minister Sharif Hassan of corruption and urged Arab countries not to give him donor funds.

The Finance Minister, the sources added, suggested that a rival group of Somali MPs be “bribed” to issue a press statement to counter allegations of corruption against him. So far, such a press statement has not been issued publicly by the rival lawmakers, however, but in a bloated Somali Parliament with 550 MPs, expect anything.

Leadership requires intellect, courage, charisma and resolve. Especially in a country torn apart by endless wars, the characteristics of leadership play a pivotal role in the survivability of the leader. What damages Sheikh Sharif’s ability to lead is his dramatic 360-turn from ICU chief in 2006 who actively campaign against foreign troops “ the single most divisive issue in Somali national politics “ to blatant and unashamed support for foreign troops currently in Mogadishu under the auspices of the African Union.

Most important of all, a genuine leader must truly care about his own people. Judging by the evident weakness of character and the influence of shady officials close to him, Sheikh Sharif’s demise will come by his own doing.

Garowe Online Editorial, editorial@garoweonline.com

http://www.garoweonline.com

Botswana: African Union Observers Okay Vote Preparations

Botswana: AU Observers Okay Vote Preparations

Wene Owino
14 October 2009

Gaborone — The African Union (AU) Observer Mission in Botswana has given preparations for the country’s elections on Friday a clean bill of health.

At the a press conference in Gaborone on Tuesday, the head of the mission Dr Brigalia Bam of South Africa said that so far, they are satisfied with what the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has done to prepare for the polls, the tenth since the country gained independence from Britain in 1966.

“The AU observer mission is convinced that there exist conducive and favourable conditions for the elections generally, and that sufficient preparatory work has been done to enable the people of Botswana to go to the polls and make their political choices based on free will,” she said.

Ms Bam who chairs the South African electoral commission said the AU mission is satisfied with the explanation given by IEC to shed light on why students sitting exams and over 25,000 civil servants will not vote on Friday. She added that operational hiccups should not be used to determine whether elections are free and fair.

She suggested that Botswana should adopt the counting of votes at polling centres because ferrying ballot boxes to the constituency headquarters for counting is outdated.

She said the Botswana IEC needs to be fully in control of the election process by for example setting the polling date. Currently, the Botswana president sets the election date, much to the chagrin of opposition parties who have demanded that the date be fixed by law.

But Ms Bam said that fixing the election date might not be wise. She said it might be difficult to postpone elections due to factors like poor preparations if the date has been fixed.

She stated that it is not fair for governments to be in charge of elections because the ruling party is always a player in the process. Besides the AU, a SADC team has also arrived in Botswana to monitor the elections.

Report Says Congo Military Campaign Has Been Disastrous

Rights groups slam ‘disastrous’ Congo army campaign

Oct 14 2009 06:00

Rights groups on Tuesday blasted Kinshasa’s “disastrous” military operation to neutralise Rwandan Hutu rebels in eastern Congo, and urged the international community to do more to protect civilians.

More than 1 000 civilians have been killed and more than 7 000 women and girls raped since the Congolese army began the operation to clear FDLR rebels out of eastern Congo in January, the Congo Advocacy Coalition said.

“The human rights and humanitarian consequences of the current military operation are simply disastrous,” said Marcel Stoessel of Oxfam, one of the groups in the 84-member coalition.

Nearly 900 000 people have been forced to flee their homes, mainly as a result of reprisal attacks by the rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, which took refuge in eastern Congo 15 years ago.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo is providing logistical support for the operation, codenamed Kimia II, and the rights groups want it to use its influence to ensure civilians are protected.

“UN peacekeepers, who have a mandate to protect civilians, urgently need to work with government forces to make sure civilians get the protection they need, or discontinue their support,” said Stoessel.

The call comes as diplomats and UN officials are due to meet in Washington this week to discuss the situation in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The coalition said the FDLR was deliberately targeting civilians in reprisal for the military operation.

But it added that Congolese government soldiers were also responsible for killing civilians as well as widespread rape, looting, forced labour and arbitrary arrests.

But despite working in close cooperation with the government troops, the UN had not used its leverage to instil greater discipline, including getting the government to remove commanders with track records of human rights abuses, the coalition said.

The UN mission is providing tactical expertise, transport and aviation support, fuel and food to Congo’s under-equipped forces at an estimated cost of six million dollars (four million euros).

“With an investment this big, the UN has clout and should not remain silent when abuses occur,” said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“The UN needs to make it clear that if the Congolese government wants its continued military support, the army should remove abusive soldiers from command positions and its soldiers should stop attacking civilians.

The coalition also said the 3 000 extra peacekeepers requested by the UN in November 2008 are only just arriving in eastern Congo, and that requested helicopter and intelligence support had not materialised.

The coalition, comprising international and Congolese humanitarian and human rights groups, calculated that for every rebel combatant disarmed during the operation, one civilian had been killed, seven women and girls have been raped, six houses burned or destroyed, and 900 people forced to flee.

It used satellite imagery to demonstrate that destruction of homes and villages was widespread, one of the worst affected areas being Busurungi in North Kivu, where 80% of the town’s structures had been destroyed.

The UN says 1 071 FDLR rebels had given up their arms and been repatriated to Rwanda since January.

However, the rights groups said the rebels had recruited new combatants.–Sapa

Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-10-14-rights-groups-slam-disastrous-congo-army-campaign

Zambian President Banda Tells Political Party Foes to Resign

Zambian president tells party foes to resign

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA Oct 14 2009 14:34

Zambian President Rupiah Banda has told opponents seeking to challenge him for the ruling party’s leadership that they should resign.

Analysts said the move could scare away foreign investors from Africa’s largest copper-producing nation.

In July Banda endorsed a decision by allies in the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) to prevent opponents from challenging him at a convention scheduled for early next year ahead of a presidential election in 2011.

The move, which caused outrage within the wider MMD, was also criticised by rights groups and by ex-finance minister Ng’andu Magande, who was sacked for challenging Banda during a party vote called to choose a successor for the late president Levy Mwanawasa in 2008.

“Those who want the convention and are pressing that it should be held at all costs should resign and join political parties that will hold conventions soon, if any,” Banda told supporters in Kasama in northern Zambia.

“After all, we are two years away from the 2011 elections,” the state-run Times of Zambia newspaper quoted Banda as saying.

Lusaka-based analyst David Punabantu said the decision to bar potential challengers to Banda could make it harder to attract further investment in Zambia.

“The MMD has a Constitution and they have to follow that Constitution and hold the convention to elect new leaders when the time comes,” Punabantu told Reuters.

“If they don’t follow their Constitution, then foreign investors will get scared that these people can change any time even on agreements entered into with investors,” Punabantu said.

Banda said senior MMD members demanding that the party should quickly hold a convention to elect new leaders were not genuine members of the organisation.

“[They] are being used by our enemies to rise against us,” Banda said.

Former defence minister George Mpombo, who resigned in July from the Cabinet and as the chairperson of the MMD’s energy committee, said at the time that the NEC decision to block aspiring candidates from challenging Banda was undemocratic.

Mpombo has regularly criticised Banda’s policies. — Reuters

Source: Mail & Guardian Online
Web Address: http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-10-14-zambian-president-tells-party-foes-to-resign

Honduran president’s ouster is ‘coup d’état,’ UN Secretariat reaffirms

A recent Honduran media report implying that the United Nations Department of Political Affairs (DPA) does not consider the ouster of President José Manuel Zelaya as a coup d’état is inaccurate, the world body said today.

UN political chief begins week-long visit to Southern and Eastern Africa

The United Nations political chief departs today for a week-long trip to Africa’s south and east to strengthen the world body’s partnerships with key Member States and regional organizations on such issues as conflict prevention, peacemaking and post-conflict peacebuilding.