NIGER WATCH

Niger coup: Is France to blame for instability in West Africa?

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Sun, 06 Aug 2023 01:04:00 +0000

Report at BBC News
By Leonard Mbulle-Nziege & Nic Cheeseman
Africa analysts
Published Sun 06 Aug 2023 - here is a full copy:

Niger coup: Is France to blame for instability in West Africa?

Niger has become the latest country in West Africa where the army has seized control, following Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, and Chad - all former French colonies. Since 1990, a striking 78% of the 27 coups in sub-Saharan Africa have occurred in Francophone states leading some commentators to ask whether France - or the legacy of French colonialism - is to blame?

Many of the coup plotters would certainly like us to think so. Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga, who was named prime minister by the military junta in Mali in September 2022, launched a scathing attack on France.

Criticising "neocolonialist, condescending, paternalist and vengeful policies", Mr Maiga alleged that France had "disowned universal moral values" and stabbed Mali "in the back".

Anti-French vitriol has also flourished in Burkina Faso, where the military government ended a long-standing accord that allowed French troops to operate in the country in February, giving France one month to remove its forces.

In Niger, which neighbours both countries, allegations that President Mohamed Bazoum was a puppet for French interests were used to legitimise his removal from power, and five military deals with France have since been revoked by the junta led by Gen Abdourahmane Tchiani.

Partly as a result, the coup was followed by popular protests and attacks on the French embassy.

The historical record provides some support for these grievances. French colonial rule established political systems designed to extract valuable resources while using repressive strategies to retain control.

So did British colonial rule, but what was distinctive about France's role in Africa was the extent to which it continued to engage - its critics would say meddle - in the politics and economics of its former territories after independence.

Seven of the nine Francophone states in West Africa still use the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro and guaranteed by France, as their currency, a legacy of French economic policy towards its colonies.

France also forged defence agreements that saw it regularly intervene militarily on behalf of unpopular pro-French leaders to keep them in power.

In many cases, this strengthened the hand of corrupt and abusive figures such as Chad's former President Idriss Déby and former Burkinabe President Blaise Compaoré, creating additional challenges for the struggle for democracy.

Although France did not intervene militarily to reinstate any of the recently deposed heads of state, all were seen as being "pro-French".

Worse still, the relationship between French political leaders and their allies in Africa was often corrupt, creating a powerful and wealthy elite at the expense of African citizens.

François-Xavier Verschave, a prominent French economist, coined the term Françafrique to refer to a neocolonial relationship hidden by "the secret criminality in the upper echelons of French politics and economy". These ties, he alleged, resulted in large sums of money being "misappropriated".

Although recent French governments have sought to distance themselves from Françafrique, there are constant reminders of the problematic relations between France, French business interests and Africa, including a number of embarrassing corruption cases.

It is therefore easy to understand why one Nigerien told the BBC that: "Since childhood, I've been opposed to France… They've exploited all the riches of my country such as uranium, petrol and gold."

Such scandals were often swept under the carpet while France's African political allies were strong, and France's military support helped to maintain stability.

In recent years, the ability of France and other Western states to ensure order has deteriorated, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to criticism.

Despite considerable funding and troops, the French-led international response to Islamist insurgencies in the Sahel region has failed to enable West African governments to regain control of their territories.

This was particularly significant to the fate of civilian leaders in Burkina Faso and Mali because their inability to protect their own citizens created the impression that French support was more of a liability than a blessing.

In turn, growing popular anger and frustration emboldened military leaders to believe that a coup would be celebrated by citizens.

Yet, for all of the mistakes France has made in its dealings with its former colonies in Africa over the years, the instability Francophone states are currently experiencing cannot be solely laid at its door.

It has hardly been the only former colonial power to prop up authoritarian leaders abroad.

During the dark days of the Cold War, the UK and the United States helped prop up a number of dictators in return for their loyalty, from Daniel arap Moi in Kenya to Mobutu Sese Seko in what was then Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The strong relationship between coups and the former colonial power was also much less prevalent in previous eras. Four of the countries that have seen the highest number of coup attempts since 1952 are Nigeria (8), Ghana (10), Sierra Leone (10), and Sudan (17), which all experienced British rule.

While the recent trend of coups in Francophone states may reflect the legacy of Françafrique coming home to roost, it has also been underpinned by "unprecedented" levels of insecurity in parts of West Africa and the Sahel region, with "armed groups, violent extremists and criminal networks" undermining public confidence in civilian governments, according to the UN.

Each of the coups over the last three years has also been driven by a specific set of domestic factors that demonstrate the agency of African political and military leaders.

In Mali, the background to the coup included an influx of extremist forces following the the collapse of the Libyan state in 2011, allegations the president had manipulated local elections, and mass anti-government protests orchestrated by opposition parties in the capital.

The trigger for the coup in Niger appears to have been President Bazoum's plans to reform the military high command and remove Gen Tchiani from his position.

This is a strong indication that the coup was not really intended to strengthen Nigerien sovereignty, or to aid the country's poorest citizens, but rather to protect the privileges of the military elite.

The mixed motives of recent coups are well demonstrated by the speed with which many of the new military governments have sought to replace one problematic relationship with an external ally with another.

At the recent Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, leaders from Burkina Faso and Mali declared their support for President Vladimir Putin and the invasion of Ukraine.

As in the past, the beneficiaries of these global alliances are likely to be the political elite rather than ordinary citizens. There are already reports that in May, troops from the Wagner group, in alliance with Putin's government at the time, were responsible for the torture and massacre of hundreds of civilians in Mali as part of anti-insurgency operations.

Reducing French influence is therefore unlikely to be a straightforward boon for political stability, and in decades to come we may well see a new generation of military leaders attempting to legitimise further coups on the basis of the need to rid their countries of malign Russian influence.

Leonard Mbulle-Nziege is a research analyst at Africa Risk Consulting (ARC) and Nic Cheeseman is the director of the Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation at the University of Birmingham.

IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS

Image caption, "Goodbye France," reads a placard held by supporters of the coup

IMAGE SOURCE, EPA

Image caption, Demonstrators in Niger also condemned neighbouring countries that have imposed economic sanctions since the coup

IMAGE SOURCE, EPA

Image caption, Some of those opposed to French involvement in Niger have shown their support for Russia instead

MAP

The Sahel region of Africa

View original: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-66406137

[Ends]

The Tuareg people and the mystery of the Niger convoy - U.S. says at least a dozen senior Libyan officials fled by convoy into Niger

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 07:42:00 +0000

"A flurry of confusing reports lent an air of mystery to the convoy and set off excited speculation among Libyan rebels that Colonel Qaddafi had fled the country [Libya] — bringing joy that he could do no more harm here, and disappointment that he might have escaped Libyan justice — though by day’s end they were in doubt that he had fled." (New York Times)

The Tuareg people and the mystery of the Niger convoy (Daily Maverick)
Libyan convoys in Niger, may be Gaddafi deal (Reuters)
U.S. says at least a dozen senior Libyan officials fled by convoy into Niger (New York Times)
Libyan rebel leader Abdelhakim Belhaj admits to Al Qaeda ties (Libya Watch)

Full details here below.

The Tuareg people and the mystery of the Niger convoy
From The Daily Maverick - http://dailymaverick.co.za
By KHADIJA PATEL and SIMON ALLISON
Published: Wednesday, 07 September, 2011; 08:45:30 (South Africa).
Full copy:

Niger’s foreign minister insists that while several people, of varying importance, arrived in Niger in a heavily armed convoy on Tuesday, neither Gaddafi nor any of his sons were among the passengers. Asked whether Gaddafi was welcome in Niger, the minister said that decision was up to the president but added: "Gaddafi in Niger could cause some problems". Niger is certainly too close to Libya for any future government of Libya to feel free of the shackles of Gaddafi but in Niger itself, Gaddafi’s wheeling and dealing with the nomadic Tuareg people could prove especially challenging.

On Tuesday, while Nato jets continued to pummel Sirte, the hometown of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the nearby town of Bani Walid laid down their arms and agreed to hoist the flag of the National Transitional Council (NTC) well before the 10 September deadline. Rebel soldiers celebrated the advance closer to Gaddafi’s hometown by shooting into the air but their celebrations proved premature. Tribal leaders in Bani Walid recanted later in the day. But away from the to-and-fro of the negotiations, the most salacious news of the Libyan war came from Niger. Early reports indicated that a convoy of between 200 and 250 vehicles was given an escort by the army of Niger across the Libyan border. Reuters soon fanned rampant speculation of who exactly was aboard the convoy by quoting a French military source who believed the convoy would be joined by Gaddafi en route to neighbouring Burkina Faso, which has of course offered Brother Leader asylum.

The speculation was killed by the foreign minister of Niger who unequivocally denied that Gaddafi had fled Libya and was in Niger. "It is not true, it is not Gaddafi and I do not think the convoy was of the size attributed to it," the minister told AFP. Reports from Chad late on Tuesday appeared to corroborate the minister. The size of the convoy does now appear to have been significantly exaggerated. Eye witnesses claim no more than 30 vehicles passed into the town Agadez on Monday night. Speculation however has grown that South Africa – diplomatic superheroes that we are – is brokering a deal that would see Libya move entirely into rebel hands in exchange for a safe passage for Gaddafi into Burkina Faso. In Libya, the rumour mill is a particularly lucrative industry.

The much trumped-up convoy consisted of more than a dozen pickup trucks bristling with well-armed Libyan troops, according to eyewitnesses. Tuareg rebel leaders were reported to have led the convoy into the town of Agadez under the protection of the local army. Gaddafi remains popular in towns like Agadez, where the majority of the population is Tuareg. Gaddafi is remembered fondly for his for his assistance to the Tuareg during their fight for independence.

The convoy into Niger raises questions about the Tuaregs and their political influence in Libya and the Sahel region. The Tuaregs are the nomads of the Sahara desert, and move largely unimpeded across the borders of Libya, Niger and Mali. They’re historically uncomfortable with governments and restrictions, and are a headache for whatever government is trying to exert its control over them. For example, the leadership of Western Sahara, the breakaway region of Morocco, is led by Tuaregs; and Tuaregs feature prominently in the ranks of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Gaddafi was one of the few leaders who successfully co-opted the tribe into his regime, a feat achieved through the provision of political support and money. Tuareg fighters from other countries were welcomed in Libya, and Gaddafi funded Tuareg wars, even across borders: the two Tuareg leaders who apparently headed the convoy – Agbaly Alambo and Rhissa Agbouly – led an unsuccessful Gaddafi-funded rebellion in Niger before finding refuge in Libya.

In this context, Tuareg support for Gaddafi makes sense. What is more puzzling is how and why they escaped – or were allowed to escape – into Niger. Apparently, the convoy originated from Bani Walid, the town which has been besieged by the rebels for the last week. But did it fight its way through the rebel lines, or was it allowed past? There’s plenty of speculation about a possible secret deal to let the convoy through, with Libya’s new leaders perhaps preferring to be rid of a potentially troublesome – and heavily armed – group of people.

The heavily armed convoy also raises pressing questions about Gaddafi’s reported use of mercenaries during this war. Allegations of “African” mercenaries in Gaddafi’s troops have circulated for as long as this war has raged, but there has so far been scant evidence that Gaddafi did indeed hire mercenaries to quell the armed insurrection against his rule. An Amnesty International investigation into rebel claims that Gaddafi had paid men from Central and Western Africa to fight for him, found no evidence to corroborate such allegations. Early on in the war, many of the foreigners that were paraded to journalists as foreign mercenaries were later found to have been quietly released. Many of the foreigners accused of being mercenaries are actually sub-Saharan migrant workers without the requisite visas permitting them to be in the country. Talk about African mercenaries has flamed mistrust of dark skinned people in Libya, lending an air of racism to the foundations of the new Libya. Dark skinned people face arbitrary arrest and persecution as rebels seek to win Libya over from what they deem to be Gaddafi’s hired hands. So too, the Tuaregs in Libya have also been accused of being hired guns.

Tuaregs specifically from Niger and Mali have been singled as suspected mercenaries in Gaddafi’s army. Reports indicate that some 4,000 Tuaregs who had been unemployed after a peace deal ended their rebellion against the Niger and Mali governments in 2009 did indeed take up arms for Gaddafi. In March, the BBC reported that Tuaregs were being paid $10,000 to join the Libyan government forces and a further $1,000 a day to fight. If indeed true, this would not be the first time Colonel Gaddafi has turned to the Tuareg for troops. In the 1970s he bolstered his Islamic Legion, a military force to fight for a united state across North Africa, with the Tuareg.

Many Tuaregs have already left Libya, returning to Niger and Mali, but their reputation for violence remains with Tuaregs who remain in Libya, severely exacerbating tensions between the local Tuaregs and rebels. The report on Tuesday of the convoy of vehicles crossing into Niger is markedly similar to a report late last month of a convoy of 60 vehicles that had driven over the Libyan border into Niger. French media also reported a separate incident of a convoy of 20 vehicles crossing into Mali. The Tuareg seem to be in an almighty hurry to leave Libya, taking with them anything that could fetch a price across the border. In the case of the convoy that had crossed the Niger border last month, Niger officials found the remnants of a destroyed helicopter piled on to the back of a pickup truck. But the convoy on Tuesday is reported to have been loaded with cash looted from the central bank but more significantly, senior members of the Gaddafi regime. As Americans implore Niger officials to arrest any of Gaddafi’s aides found in the country, the Tuareg might find that their passengers fetch a handsome price. DM

Read more:

Libyan army convoy in Niger may be Gaddafi deal in Reuters Africa;
Reports Say Loyalists Are Fleeing From Libya to Niger in The New York Times;
Poor, Destitute Niger: Gadhafi’s New Home? In International Business Times.

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NOTE FROM THE EDITOR OF NIGER WATCH
Here below are copies in full, for future reference, incase the above links become broken.

Libyan convoys in Niger, may be Gaddafi deal
From Reuters - af.reuters.com
By EMMA FARGE and ABDOULAYE MASSALATCHI
Published: Tuesday, 06 September 2011; 4:55pm GMT

BENGHAZI, Libya/AGADEZ, Niger (Reuters) - Scores of Libyan army vehicles crossed the desert frontier into Niger in what may be a bid by Muammar Gaddafi to seek refuge in a friendly African state, military sources from France and Niger told Reuters on Tuesday.

The Libyan rebels who overthrew Gaddafi two weeks ago said they also thought about a dozen other vehicles that crossed the remote border may have carried gold and cash apparently looted from a branch of Libya's central bank in Gaddafi's home town.

Details of the developments remained very sketchy.

The military sources said a convoy of between 200 and 250 vehicles was escorted to the northern city of Agadez by the army of Niger, a poor and landlocked former French colony. It might, said a French military source, be joined by Gaddafi en route to adjacent Burkina Faso, which has offered him asylum.

U.S. officials said they thought Gaddafi was still in Libya, though the convoy in Niger might contain senior figures.

France, Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as Libya's new rulers and NATO, all denied knowing where Gaddafi was or of any deal to let him go abroad or find refuge from Libyans and the International Criminal Court who want to put him on trial.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said it was for Libyans to decide the venue but that Gaddafi must not slip away quietly. "He will have to face justice for all the crimes he has committed in the past 42 years," he said.

Near Tripoli, Reuters journalists found torture chambers used recently as Gaddafi tried to suppress the revolt.

Sources close to Niger's government said the head of Gaddafi's security brigade, Mansour Dhao, was in the capital Niamey. He was allowed in to the country earlier in the week.

But Niger's foreign minister, Bazoum Mohamed, was quoted by Al Arabiya television saying that Gaddafi was not in the military convoy, which arrived late on Monday.

Those comments did not contradict a French military source who said the 69-year-old fugitive and his son and heir Saif al-Islam might join the convoy later to head for Burkina Faso.

France has taken a lead in the NATO action backing Libya's uprising and, with its Western allies, would be likely to have the ability to track any sizeable convoy in the empty quarter.

But Niger's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Adani Illo, told Reuters that such surveillance over thousands of miles of desert was still hard. "The desert zone is vast and the frontier is porous," he said. "If a convoy of 200 to 250 vehicles went through, it is like a drop of water in an ocean."

Gaddafi has broadcast defiant messages since he was forced into hiding two weeks ago, and has vowed to die fighting on his own soil. But he also has long friendships with his poor African neighbours, with which he shared some of Libya's oil wealth.

The sources said the convoy, probably including officers from army units based in the south of Libya, may have looped through Algeria rather than cross the Libya-Niger frontier. Algeria last week took in Gaddafi's wife, daughter and two other sons, angering the interim council now ruling Libya.

"GOOD SPIRITS"

Gaddafi's fugitive spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said in remarks broadcast on Monday: "Muammar Gaddafi is in excellent health and in very, very high spirits ... He is in a place that will not be reached by those fractious groups, and he is in Libya."

NATO warplanes and spy satellites have been scouring Libya's deserts for months, raising the likelihood that any convoy of the size mentioned would have been spotted. But a spokesman for the Western alliance said it was not hunting Gaddafi and had a U.N. mandate only to stop his forces attacking civilians.

"Or mission is to protect the civilian population in Libya, not to track and target thousands of fleeing former regime leaders, mercenaries, military commanders and internally displaced people," Colonel Roland Lavoie said in a statement.

Tuareg nomads living in the Sahara say those fleeing Libya include many black Africans, some of whom may have been fighters for Gaddafi and most of whom fear the anger and reprisals of Gaddafi's enemies among Libya's Arabs.

NTC commanders last week said both Gaddafi and his son Saif al-Islam were in the tribal stronghold of Bani Walid, 150 km (90 miles) south of Tripoli. But that belief has evaporated this week after days of blockade of the town.

NTC officials said Saif al-Islam, for one, may have escaped south into the desert, toward the southern, pro-Gaddafi bastion of Sabha and perhaps on to Niger. Tracking him would be hard; fully 1,300 km (800 miles) of sand separate Sabha from Agadez, with a further 750 km of road to travel to Niamey.

Near Sirte, Gaddafi's home town on the Mediterranean coast, there was the first sign of heavy fighting for some days. Combatants reported exchanges of shell fire and rockets to the east. Several NTC fighters were wounded in an ambush.

Though conditions in Tripoli were improving with the return of water supplies two weeks after rebels overran Gaddafi's headquarters compound, evidence of brutality during his battle to cling to power during the Arab Spring is also accumulating.

Reuters journalists in the provincial town of Khoms found evidence Muammar Gaddafi had deployed squads which held suspected opponents in shipping containers, tortured them for information about insurgent networks and disposed of their bodies in unmarked graves.

"They wanted to frighten the people, so if anyone was thinking of going over to the rebels, they would change their minds," said Nabil al-Menshaz, a council official in the town.

AFRICAN JOURNEYS

A spokesman for the NTC said banknotes in the convoy of gold and cash that the council believed had reached Niger had been stolen from Sirte's branch of the Central Bank of Libya.

NTC official Fathis Baja told Reuters: "Late last night, 10 vehicles carrying gold, euros and dollars crossed from Jufra into Niger with the help of Tuaregs from the Niger tribe."

It was unclear if these vehicles were separate from the much larger military convoy reported by the foreign sources.

Burkina Faso, also once a French colony and a recipient of large amounts of Libyan aid, offered Gaddafi sanctuary last month but has also recognised the NTC as Libya's government.

President Blaise Compaore, like Gaddafi, took power in a military coup. He has run the country for 24 years.

Gaddafi has long touted his origins among the peoples of the desert. After largely turning his back on fellow Arab leaders, most of them allied with his Western adversaries, Gaddafi had portrayed himself as an African "king of kings".

He was fond of epic road journeys on his travels around the continent, so the drama of a flight across the Sahara into friendlier lands further south might seem a fitting departure.

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At Least a Dozen Libyan Officials Flee to Niger
From The New York Times - www.nytimes.com

A flurry of confusing reports lent an air of mystery to the convoy and set off excited speculation among Libyan rebels that Colonel Qaddafi had fled the country — bringing joy that he could do no more harm here, and disappointment that he might have escaped Libyan justice — though by day’s end they were in doubt that he had fled.

[PHOTO: Libya's Transitional National Council negotiators and tribal elders from Bani Walid met in a mosque near the city to talk about a peaceful surrender on Tuesday. Youssef Boudlal/Reuters]

By ANNE BARNARD, ADAM NOSSITER and ALAN COWELL
Published: Tuesday, 06 September 2011

The colorful and contradictory accounts from rebel leaders and officials of various countries seemed to reflect the unpredictability of the conflict and of the colonel himself, and the difficulty that rebel forces, preoccupied with securing Libya’s main cities near the Mediterranean Sea, face in trying to snare fleeing loyalists in the vast desert south.

TRIPOLI, Libya — Rebel negotiators pressed fighters loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in the town of Bani Walid to surrender on Tuesday, as a dozen senior members of his government fled the country in a convoy that crossed the southern desert into Niger, according to the State Department.
Some versions said the convoy included more than 200 military vehicles, the kind of grand entourage that Colonel Qaddafi sometimes took on his travels. Others said it was made up mainly of Tuareg fighters who had sided with him as mercenaries or irregulars. Rebel leaders issued conflicting statements, with some saying one of his sons had fled with gold looted from the country’s banks.

But later, in Washington, the State Department’s spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, confirmed that a convoy had left Libya for Niger carrying “some dozen or more senior members of the regime,” including senior military commanders, but not Colonel Qaddafi.

The American ambassador to Niger, Bisa Williams, spoke to officials there and urged them to detain and return to Libya any exiles wanted by international prosecutors, Ms. Nuland said.

She said that Nigerois officials had been strongly urged “to detain those members of the regime who may be subject to prosecution, to ensure that they confiscate any weapons that are found and to ensure that any state property of the government of Libya — money, jewels, etc. — also be impounded so that it can be returned to the Libyan people.”

Senior rebel officials were left trying to learn who, if anyone, had slipped through their fingers even as their fighters pressed for the surrender of encircled loyalist strongholds in Surt and Bani Walid.

Ali Tarhouni, the deputy chairman of the Transitional National Council, said in a statement, “We’re in direct contact with officers on the ground and our friends at NATO, and we are trying to verify the facts about the convoy.”

Col. Ahmed Bani, the rebels’ military spokesman based in Benghazi, said in an interview that he thought about 15 people had fled.

“We can’t confirm how many vehicles were in the convoy or who was in the convoy,” he said. “They are saying that there was gold and money in the convoy, but we can’t confirm that.”

One thousand miles of desert separate population centers in Libya and Niger, and while rebels say they have troops in southern Libya, it is unclear whether any rebels were near roads or border crossings that the convoy might have taken.

Rank-and-file rebels said that they were disappointed by the escape of senior officials, like Mansour Dhao, Colonel Qaddafi’s security chief, who was blamed by many Tripoli residents for the crackdown there and was said by a Nigerois official to be in the convoy. But they said the escape had provided more evidence that the old government had lost its bite.

“We know that they don’t have the power to do anything significant,” said Rabei Dehan, 21, a Tripoli resident who said he had fought in the western mountains and spoke for a rebel unit called the Red Thuraya Battalion.

Niger’s government sought to play down the scale and composition of the convoy and said Colonel Qaddafi was not traveling in it. In a telephone interview, Marou Amadou, Niger’s minister of justice, described the convoy as small — “three vehicles maximum” — and unarmed. Niger had allowed the group to cross into its territory for purely humanitarian reasons, he said.

The director of Radio Sahara, an independent radio station in Agadez, Niger, a town where the convoy was reported to have passed through, dismissed reports of a large military convoy. “Nobody has seen the convoy,” the director, Hamed-Assaneh Raliou, said. “Outside, maybe, in the bush. Maybe. It would astonish me, though, a convoy of 200 vehicles.”
“The only convoy was Sunday, 10 people,” he said. “Three vehicles. That’s the only convoy. I saw that one. They came Sunday afternoon.” He said they were in contact with Nigerois authorities.

The convoy was later reported to have moved on from Agadez toward the Niger capital, Niamey, 600 miles away in the southwest near the border with Burkina Faso.

Abdoulaye Harouna, owner of the newspaper Agadez Info, told The Associated Press that he saw the group arrive in several dozen pickup trucks. At the head of the convoy, Mr. Harouna said, was a Tuareg rebel leader who had sought refuge in Libya several years ago and was believed to be fighting for Colonel Qaddafi.

A rebel military spokesman, Abdulrahman Busin, expressed skepticism that a convoy could have gone unnoticed by NATO, whose warplanes have been conducting air operations over Libya under a United Nations Security Council mandate since March.

But a NATO official, who spoke in return for anonymity because of the political delicacy of the situation, said, “To be clear, our mission is to protect the civilian population in Libya, not to track and target thousands of fleeing former regime leaders, mercenaries, military commanders and internally displaced people.”

Colonel Qaddafi’s spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, whose whereabouts also remain a mystery, continued to portray the former leader as unbowed. He told Syrian television that Colonel Qaddafi was still in Libya, and in “excellent health, planning and organizing for the defense of Libya.”

“We are fighting and resisting for the sake of Libya and all Arabs,” The A.P. quoted Mr. Ibrahim as saying. “We are still strong and capable of turning the tables on NATO.”

Meanwhile, rebel leaders sought to project control, continuity and gravitas. Mr. Tarhouni, the rebel official, presided as rebel forces handed over a major oil and gas complex to the same government official who was responsible for the facility’s security under Colonel Qaddafi, but who joined rebels early on.

The Mellitah oil and gas complex, which delivers natural gas to Italy via a pipeline, was handed back without any damage or looting by the rebels, according to employees, who had returned to work. But they said Qaddafi troops who occupied it earlier had stolen jewelry, electronics and even underwear from the houses of Italian managers.

Mr. Tarhouni said the transfer showed that the rebels were responsible and not intent on holding on to power and property seized during the fighting.

“The revolutionaries are not only capable of liberating Libya, but also making sure that its wealth is well protected,” he said in an interview. “I’m so proud not only that they are protecting the wealth, but also that they are easily willing to hand it back to the authorities.”

A rebel commander stood next to Mr. Tarhouni — both wore hard hats — and said that he had assigned rebels specific tasks to preserve the facility as loyalist troops fled, and that “now it’s my job to give it back.”

Mr. Tarhouni said the refinery would restore full production, including 25 million to 30 million cubic meters, or about 33 million to 39 million cubic yards, of natural gas exported daily to Italy within a few weeks, and called the transfer a signal to international energy companies that “your investment here is safe.”

He said oil tankers would soon be taking delivery.

On Tuesday, Al Jazeera television said Libyan forces had struck a deal with loyalists in Bani Walid, 100 miles southeast of Tripoli, and planned to enter the town later in the day. But when elders negotiating for the loyalists tried to carry the proposed deal back into town, the loyalists, who watched the talks on Al Jazeera and apparently found their representatives too conciliatory, refused to receive them and told them to go join the rebels.

By nightfall there was no indication that rebels had moved in.

Anne Barnard reported from Tripoli, Libya; Adam Nossiter from Dakar, Senegal; and Alan Cowell from Paris. Steven Lee Myers contributed reporting from Washington, and Steven Erlanger from Paris.

A version of this article appeared in print on September 7, 2011, on page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. Says at Least a Dozen Senior Libyan Officials Fled by Convoy Into Niger.

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Poor, Destitute Niger: Gadhafi’s New Home?
From International Business Times - www.ibtimes.com
By International Business Times
Published: Tuesday, 06 September 2011; 9:30 AM EDT

Libyan army vehicles loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are reportedly crossing the desert borders southward into the West African nation of Niger. Speculation is rising that Gadhafi, realizing he has completely lost his hold over Libya after more than four decades, is desperate to find refuge in a friendly African state.

But what's Niger?

This vast landlocked country just north of Nigeria and east of Mali, is one of the world's poorest nations. More than four-fifths of Niger's territory is desert, forcing most of its about 15 million people to reside in the fertile far south and western corners of the nation.

Most of the people – who generally belong to the Hausa tribe, Tuareg or the Zarma-Songhai – are subsistence farmers with little access to education.

Nigeriens are plagued by various ills that keep them in poverty: periodic droughts, substandard schools, poor health care, and lack of infrastructure.

Despite a high infant mortality rate, Niger has one of the world’s highest fertility rates, which has led to half the population being under the age of 15.

Gadhafi has long intervened in the affairs of the Sahara nations, including Niger. He has sent money and arms to various groups engaged in uprisings, and he has reportedly recruited thousands of Nigeriens to fight as mercenaries in his private army in Libya.

As the former head of the African Union, Gadhafi allegedly viewed himself as “King of the Africans” and dreamed of a “Unites States of Africa.”

During the recent civil war in Libya, West African soldiers (as well as ordinary migrant workers) have tried to flee -- those who couldn't leave suffered horrific abuse and even death at the hands of Libyan rebels. Many of these Africans crossed into Niger, directly south of Libya’s border.

It is in Niger’s rugged northern terrain where the fabled Tuareg tribe dominates -- these are the hardy warriors whom Gadhafi has long hired as his soldiers and bodyguards. However, how many of them have crossed northward to Libya during the civil war to help fight the rebels is unclear.

A Nigerien Tuareg told France’s Le Monde publication: “There are hundreds of [us]. [We] leave in caravans. The ride is long but easy. We avoid Nigerien army checkpoints, and once in Libya, we’re at home. We’ve always been welcome there.”

Issuf Maha, a former official of the Nigerien Patriotic Front rebel group, told the French journal: “Unemployment, idleness, destitution and political frustration, added to the feeling that they are in debt to Gadhafi. All the ingredients are there to make the Tuaregs fight by his side. Gadhafi doesn’t need equipment or money, he needs men.”

Gadhafi has also recruited Tuareg fighters from the southern part of his own country Libya, as well as from Mali.

In a sidebar analysis, the BBC said “There is some support for Col Gadhafi in Niger: local groups have tried to organize pro-Gadhafi demonstrations, although turnout was fairly small. However, Niger's government has recognized the National Transitional Council in Libya and is a new democracy.”

In addition, BBC noted that Niger’s new leader, President Mahamadou Issoufou, who was elected in February, “is trying hard to convince the international community that he is a responsible leader, so he will be keen to prevent Niger getting caught up in the Libya conflict.”

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FURTHER READING

Note, yesterday's report at libyawatch.blogspot.com entitled Libyan Rebel Leader Abdelhakim Belhaj Admits to Al Qaeda Ties.

The African Union welcomes the successful conclusion of the transition process in Niger

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:28:00 +0000

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Wednesday, 16 March 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Jean Ping, has followed with great interest the holding of the second round of the presidential election in Niger, on 12 March 2011. He welcomes the smooth conduct of the election, as well as the calm, wisdom and the high sense of responsibility demonstrated by the people of Niger before and during the voting, as well as when the results were announced.

The Chairperson of the Commission congratulates Mr. Mahamadou Issoufou for the confidence bestowed upon him by the people of Niger, by electing him to the highest office in his country.

He reiterates his deep appreciation to General Salou Djibo, Head of State and Chairman of the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD), and the members of the CSRD, as well as to the political forces of Niger, for having successfully concluded the transition, in accordance with their commitments.

The Chairperson of the Commission takes this opportunity to express his gratitude to all AU partners, notably the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United Nations and the European Union (EU), for their accompaniment of the restoration of constitutional order in Niger.

He assures the people of Niger and the new authorities of the determination of the AU to continue to support them in their efforts to consolidate the democratic process and promote the socio‐economic development of their country.

The holding of this election and the inauguration of the new President will mark the conclusion of the process of restoring constitutional order in Niger. In this context, the AU welcomes the prospect of the resumption of the participation of Niger in its activities, as well as the valuable contribution that President Mahamadou Issoufou will be able to make to the promotion of peace and the integration of the continent.

SOURCE: African Union Commission (AUC)
With thanks to APO

Private-army phenomenon exacerbates African conflicts -UN

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:21:00 +0000

Independence led to an upsurge in African conflicts. Ex-soldiers from all over the world flock to war zones for pay. European and US security firms are at large in African states.

Private-army phenomenon exacerbates African conflicts, UN says
Source: Deutsche Welle - www.dw-world.de
Author: Nick Amies

Editor: Jennifer Abramsohn
Date: Thursday, 18 November 2010

A working group from the United Nations has been visiting South Africa this week to investigate the link between African conflicts and international mercenaries, and discuss ways to enforce legal regulations.

Africa is a continent that seems to be perpetually at war with itself. Nearly half of its 53 countries are home to an active conflict or a recently ended one.

The causes behind most of the dirty wars raging in nations such as Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Niger have been lost in time; the soldiers and rebels involved locked in a spiral of violence where killing is the only aim as ideological targets fade into the past.

But where there is little hope, there is considerable profit. Much of Africa is a fertile recruiting ground for private mercenaries and security contractors who are willing to do the dirty work for various governments, according to Dex Torricke-Barton from the Executive Office of the Secretary-General at the UN in New York.

"Many ex-military personnel from South Africa have offered their services over the last decade and there are also plenty of former European and US troops who are willing to fight," Torricke-Barton told Deutsche Welle.

"The vast majority of these people are contractors, and they perform a wide range of services including providing intelligence, risk assessment, training, and logistics - as well as fighting."

The well-paid private soldiers often operate with impunity, either under the shield of government command or through the shady subterfuge of multinationals who have hired them to protect their interests.

Currently a UN working group - its mouthful of an official name is the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries as a Means of Violating Human Rights and Impeding the Exercise of the Right of Peoples to Self-determination - has been visiting South Africa this week to investigating the link between African conflicts and international mercenaries, and to discuss ways to enforce legal regulations.

The UN has said the growth of unaccountable private armies has exacerbated conflicts in Africa. It has suggested the hired guns are helping to keep the cycle of violence alive in many wars purely to reap financial rewards, while committing atrocities with no fear of prosecution.

Legal gray area

"There are many problems associated with the growing use of private security contractors in conflict zones," Torricke-Barton said. "Governments can rely on these people to avoid taking direct legal responsibility for their conduct, and to commit human-rights abuses which fail to get addressed through the current, weak international legal framework."

Allan Cowley, a former British army officer and military analyst, agreed that private soldiers "absolve the governments from any direct responsibility" in the conflicts they're waging.

"They work in a netherworld, a gray area between legality and criminality, where neither they nor their employers appear accountable for their actions," he told Deutsche Welle.

Earlier this decade, a golden era for private security firms heralded the rise of companies that have gained Western credibility - and sometimes notoriety - through their involvement in government-backed operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And the use of mercenaries has only increased in line with the grudging acceptance of their role in modern warfare.

Now the UN wants governments in Africa to enforce both new and existing laws in an attempt to rein in what many experts says is an exponentially expanding industry.

Turning a blind eye

"In the post-Cold War world, there has been a proliferation of new security challenges in Africa," said Torricke-Barton. "Governments and conventional military forces have been ill-equipped to deal with these, so they call in independent talent to solve their problems."

Growing interest in Africa's natural resources and the growing presence private firms there has led to an explosion in international investment, points out military analyst Cowley.

"A blind eye cannot see what's right under its nose," Cowley said. "Just as many of these companies pay little regard to the people and surroundings in which they operate, so they have even less concern about who they employ to protect their businesses, and how these security firms enforce their directives."

A number of African governments signed legislation in 2007 that required private soldiers and security firms to get official authorization to operate in war zones. However, these laws and older statutes have remained unimplemented by many of the signatories.

"There are many national, regional and international legal arrangements which relate to the use of mercenaries. But all of these legal layers have deficiencies of some form of another, and the legal status of contractors remains fuzzy at best in international law," said Torricke-Barton.

"Most of the work of modern private security contractors falls outside the purview of the 1989 UN Convention on Mercenaries ... A lot more work needs to be done by the international community to adapt the regulatory framework to the 21st century," he added.

Private security firms sign up to new Code of Conduct

The UN's efforts to address exactly these problems come just days after a landmark US and British-backed code-of-conduct was implemented by the Swiss government and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law.

The code will be compulsory for any country using private security operators, and will require companies to meet standards in "recruitment, vetting personnel, training, control mechanisms, compliance with local and international laws and protection of human rights."

The code also imposes limits on the use of force and an assurance that staff cannot invoke contractual obligations or "superior orders" in a conflict zone to justify crimes, killings, torture, kidnappings and detentions. The aim is to prevent abuse and rein in excessive violence in lawless conflict zones.

The US and Britain are among the 35 countries that have backed the Swiss code, and 58 private security companies – including Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater – have already signed up.

Nigeria and its huge potentials is key to success of Africa

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 18:41:00 +0000

Africa: How to Grow African Economy -UK Financial Expert
Source: Daily Independent (Lagos) - www.independentngonline.com
Written by Abel Orukpe
Date: Monday, 01 November 2010

(Lagos) - Former United Kingdom Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Paul Boateng, said Africa economies have the capacity to boom despite the current global meltdown ravaging economies around the globe.

He also said Nigeria and its huge potentials is the key to the success of Africa.

Boateng is participating at the Kuramo conference being organised by the Lagos State government in partnership with the organised private sector to bring together the best brains in all aspects of life to fashion out the best way to moving Africa economies forward.

He spoke with journalists at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos on why the economies of developing countries have continued to dwindle.

According to Boateng, "The good news is that Africa has proved to be remarkably resilient in terms of its economy during this current global downturn and we have every expectation that Africa would come through this difficult process for her world to make a stronger and better place."

He posited that to make the economies of developing countries work, Africans have the responsibility to ensure that their economies are well managed, adding that it is by doing this that African continent can grow and create jobs for its people.

In his words, "The key to that is that all of us recognising the responsibility that we have to ensure that the economy are managed well, that we have effective and sound micro- economic policy and that together we create a continent in which there is growth with jobs

Boateng, the first black cabinet minister in UK contended that the growth of developing economies and job creation go hand -in - hand and that if these aspects are fixed economies of developing countries, where African countries belong will be stronger for it.

"The truth is that both of them go together, growth and jobs and the good news is that Africa should be on track to come out of this recession stronger than it was before".

The former secretary to the treasury, who said he was delighted to be in Lagos, said that the Kuramo conference is a clear sign that the government and people of Lagos recognise the role of this great metropolis in rebuilding and strengthening the African economy.

On the future of Nigerian economy, he said: "Nigeria and its future, Nigeria and its huge potentials are the key to the success of Africa that is why all people of good will look to Nigeria to demonstrate leadership, to demonstrate the strength that historically I believe that it has and to fulfil that it displayed some what 50 years ago when the people of Nigeria won their independent so this is a great conference and we are looking forward very much to do a serious work in order to make sure that the economy of Africa and its people fulfil the potentials that they have."

Hat tip: AllAfrica.com
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'Reversing Brain Drain Is Key To Continent's Development', Says Wole Soyinka In Tunis
Source: Tunisia Online News
Date: 26 October 2010 - excerpt:

Addressing the African Development Bank's (AfDB) "Eminent Speakers" program in Tunis on Friday, Wole Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Literature Prize, said that the reversal of Africa's brain drain is key to the continent's development. ...

Hat tip: allafrica.com/afrora.com

Nigerian weapons haul shows lengths Iran will go to supply Hamas

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 22:32:00 +0000

Map of Niger courtesy of nigeriamasterweb.com article 19 February 2010: Niger President Toppled, Whisked Away
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Nigerian Weapons Haul Shows Lengths Iran Will Go to Supply Hamas
Source: The MidEast News Source - www.themedialine.org
Written by Benjamin Peim
Date: Sunday, 31 October 2010

Gaza-based groups learned in last war that home-made Qassams aren’t effective

The capture in Nigeria late last week of over a dozen containers filled with weapons highlights the lengths to which Iran is taking to supply its Hamas ally in the Gaza Strip, but leaves a question mark over how successful the arms conduit has been, analysts say.

The containers, unloaded in Lagos, the country’s largest port, came from a cargo ship originating in Iran, the company that owned the ship said in a statement. While their ultimate destination has not been confirmed, analysts believe the containers were bound for Gaza, ruled by the Muslim group Hamas.

“It’s getting harder to obtain the weapons so they’re using all types of funny places,” Martin van Creveld, a retired professor of military history at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told The Media Line. “They find a place that is so messy they can get through, and Nigeria apparently wasn’t messy enough.”

As Hamas’ main weapons supplier, Iran’s success in delivering missiles and other arms into Gaza will be a key factor in any future conflict with Israel. In its last confrontation with Hamas 14 months ago, Israel sustained almost no casualties, but if the Islamic group succeeds in obtaining more sophisticated weaponry it could put Israeli cities in rocket-range and jeopardize Israel’s control of the skies.

The shipping company, French-based CMA CGM, said it had been duped by Iranian trader who arranged the shipment. The shipper had listed the materials inside the containers as, “packages of glass wool and pallets of stone," but when Nigerian security service personnel opened the containers, they found rockets, bullets, mortars and other weapons under a thin layer of floor tiles.

In the past, Hamas and Iran have sought to bring weapons into Gaza through smuggling routes that wind along the east coast of Africa from the Sudan, north into Egypt. From there, they arrive in Gaza through tunnels under the border with Egypt. But, these routes have grown more difficult as Israel and Egypt crack down on weapons shipments.

“They [Hamas and Iran] were under heavy pressure by the Egyptians,” Yoram Schweitzer, head of the Terror Project at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, told The Media Line. “These routes are under strict supervision, and there is probably some international political pressure as well.”

Israeli warplanes reportedly bombed a caravan of trucks in Sudan that were transporting weapons to Hamas in January 2009, although Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. The United States could be monitoring the situation, as well.

“They are aware of American capabilities to intercept arms on the east coast of Africa,” said Shmuel Bar, director of studies at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.

Bar said Iran has infrastructure in Nigeria, which makes it a prime spot to turn to for its smuggling operations. “They have more assets there than in Egypt and the security is weaker,” he told The Media Line.

Hamas has its own rocket workshops in Gaza where it manufactures simple, short-range Qassams, which constituted the mainstay of Hamas’ arsenal when it confronted Israel in the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead. Qassams have a range of about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), which limits targets to mostly empty and agricultural land adjacent to the Gaza Strip.

No matter how much Hamas beefs up its inventory of Qassams, short-range rockets like the Qassam won’t significantly improve the group’s fighting capabilities, according to Bar. “The real game changer,” he said, would be surface-to-air missiles that threaten Israeli control of the skies over Gaza.

Without the ability to upgrade its weapons technology in Gaza, Hamas is seeking longer-range and more sophisticated rockets from abroad, analysts said.

“They want to upgrade their capabilities so they can strike further into Israel and possibly strike at our air traffic,” Bar said. “But there is nothing specific in this shipment to change the strategic balance.”

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said October 20 that Israel believes Hamas, in fact, has obtained surface-to-air strike capability. However, van Creveld, of The Hebrew University, told The Media Line it was likely they would only be capable of hitting helicopters. Jets, which are the key to Israel’s control of Gaza skies, are out of range for Hamas fighters for the time being, he said.

While this smuggling attempt failed, Hamas and Iran will continue their efforts to smuggle weapons into Gaza, analysts said.

“This is a permanent agenda they have,” Schweitzer said. “I don’t think this will deter them from trying to procure weapons in other venues in the future.”

Bill Gates dédicace un ballon de football au Nigeria en soutien à l’éradication de la polio en Afrique

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:10:00 +0000

ROTARY INTERNATIONAL - COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE

CONTACT: Sandra Prufer, + 1 847 866-3208 sandra.prufer@rotary.org

Kiki Melonides, +1 847 866-3134 kiki.melonides@rotary.org

Bill Gates dédicace un ballon de football au Nigeria en soutien à l’éradication de la polio en Afrique

Les Rotary clubs du Nigeria et d’Afrique unissent leurs efforts alors que le ballon achève son périple de quatre mois à travers le continent africain.

ABUJA, Nigeria (8 juin 2010) – Bill Gates, co-président de la Fondation Bill & Melinda Gates a apporté son soutien à la campagne Bouter la polio hors d’Afrique en dédicaçant un ballon de football qui voyage de la ville du Cap à l’Égypte en préambule de la coupe du monde de football 2010. Au cours de ce voyage épique, durant lequel le ballon s’est déplacé dans 22 pays affectés par la polio ou à risques, les Rotary clubs d’Afrique ont mobilisé le public pour des campagnes de vaccination d’une grande amplitude et ont sensibilisé l’opinion à l’importance de l’éradication de la polio. Bill Gates a loué les efforts du Rotary pour éradiquer la maladie de l’Afrique et du reste du monde.

M. Gates a salué le Nigeria pour les résultats significatifs obtenus dans le combat contre la polio et s’est joint aux dirigeants nigérians pour souligner les campagnes de vaccination qui se déroulent actuellement en Afrique et qui ciblent plus de 100 millions d’enfants âgés de moins de 5 ans.

Depuis que le Rotary et ses partenaires ont commencé leur combat contre la polio en 1988, le nombre de cas a été réduit de 99 %. En Afrique, seul le Nigeria reste endémique, mais la maladie touche encore des enfants d’autres pays à risques, démontrant ainsi l’importance de vacciner contre la polio tous les enfants africains. Selon l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé, seulement trois nouveaux cas de polio avaient été constatés au 25 mai de cette année au Nigeria, contre 276 cas sur la même période en 2009.

« Les progrès récents dans le combat contre la polio au Nigeria constituent une réussite dont tous les Nigérians devraient être fiers, a déclaré Bill Gates. Grâce aux leaders politiques et traditionnels, au travail des professionnels de la Santé et aux parents qui souhaitent que leurs enfants soient protégés, le Nigeria est en bonne voie pour éliminer la polio. »

Après s’être déplacé pendant près de quatre mois dans tout le continent africain, le ballon s’apprête à atteindre sa destination finale, Alexandrie en Égypte. La conclusion de cette campagne de sensibilisation aura lieu à la bibliothèque d’Alexandrie le 12 juin sous les hospices de la première dame d’Egypte Suzanne Moubarak. Les joueurs de l’équipe d’Égypte championne d’Afrique taperont symboliquement dans le ballon pour le propulser hors d’Afrique dans la mer méditerranée. Hany Salama, star du cinéma et ambassadeur de bonne volonté de la polio sera également présent lors de l’évènement, ainsi que des enfants atteints de la polio, des représentants et des dignitaires gouvernementaux.

Comme l’explique Ismail Serageldin, directeur de la bibliothèque d’Alexandrie : « la polio existe toujours, mais elle peut être éradiquée. Nous ne devons pas céder à l’oubli ou au désintéressement qui laisseraient de si nombreuses victimes dans la misère. Nous sommes prêts du but. Ensemble, finissons-en. »

La campagne de sensibilisation panafricaine du Rotary « Kick Polio Out of Africa » (Bouter la polio hors d’Afrique), a été lancée le 23 février au Cap, par Monseigneur Desmond Tutu qui en a donné le coup d’envoi en tapant dans un ballon qu’il avait dédicacé. Lui-même touché par la polio lorsqu’il était enfant, il a rejoint la campagne du Rotary comme ambassadeur de bonne volonté.

Le ballon se rendra d’Égypte à Montréal (Canada), pour être présenté à la convention du Rotary dans la deuxième moitié du mois de juin. Le transport du ballon est assuré par DHL Express.

En soutien de la campagne, le Rotary invite les fans de football du monde entier à signer un ballon virtuel sur www.kickpoliooutofafrica.org et à rejoindre le grand mouvement mondial de solidarité envers les enfants africains - et les enfants du monde entier - pour les préserver de cette maladie paralysante et parfois mortelle. Les dédicaces virtuelles seront présentées aux responsables de l’Initiative mondiale pour l’éradication de la polio après la coupe du monde de football.

« Nous faisons appel aux footballeurs du continent pour assurer le succès de cette campagne. Des efforts unifiés galvanisant des sociétés entières sont seuls capables de bouter ce virus, qui ressemble tant à un ballon de foot, hors d'Afrique et enfin hors du monde », déclarait Nelson Mandela, ancien président d'Afrique du Sud, au cours de son discours devant l’Organisation pour l’Unité africaine en 1996, date officielle du lancement de la campagne Bouter la Polio hors d’Afrique.

« Source de nombreux bénévoles et partenaire privé de l’Initiative mondiale pour l’éradication de la polio, le Rotary a alloué 388 millions de dollars aux efforts d’éradication en Afrique, affirme June Webber, organisatrice de la campagne sud-africaine du Rotary. Alors que nous célébrons la première coupe du monde de football sur le sol Africain et le 20^e anniversaire de la libération de Nelson Mandela de prison, les Rotariens et nos partenaires sont déterminés à offrir à cet ancien président emblématique une raison de plus de rentrer dans l’histoire. »

Le capitaine de l’équipe nigériane de football Nwankwo Kanu a rejoint la campagne en annonçant qu’il avait deux objectifs cette année : que le Nigeria se distingue lors de la coupe du monde de football et que la polio soit éradiquée d’Afrique.

L’éradication de la polio est depuis plus de 20 ans la priorité absolue du Rotary. L’organisation de service humanitaire internationale a consacré plus de 900 millions de dollars à cette cause et est le fer de lance de l’Initiative mondiale d’éradication de la polio aux cotés de l’organisation mondiale de la Santé, du CDC d’Atlanta et de l’Unicef.

Le Rotary s’est également récemment engagé à collecter 200 millions de dollars en réponse à la subvention de la Fondation Bill & Melinda Gates de 355 millions de dollars. La somme totale servira à soutenir les actions d’éradication.

Des progrès fantastiques ont donc été réalisés et le nombre de cas de polio est passé de près de 350 000 en 1988 à moins de 2 000 en 2009. Plus de deux milliards d’enfants ont été vaccinés dans 122 pays, évitant cinq millions de cas de paralysie et 250 000 morts infantiles.

Pour suivre le parcours du ballon : http://kickpoliooutofafrica.wordpress.com.

Pour signer le ballon virtuel : www.kickpoliooutofafrica.org.

Pour consulter des vidéos et des photos : www.thenewsmarket.com/rotaryinternational

# # #

Le Rotary est une organisation mondiale de plus de 1,2 million de membres issus du monde des affaires, des professions libérales et du monde civique, qui apportent un service humanitaire. Il existe plus de 33 000 Rotary clubs dans plus de 200 pays et régions. Les Rotariens s’investissent dans des actions locales visant à répondre aux grands problèmes d'aujourd'hui tels que la pauvreté, les maladies et l’illettrisme.

Distribué par l’Organisation de la Presse Africaine au nom de Rotary International

Ping mourns Yar'Adua, congratulates President Jonathan

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Sat, 08 May 2010 23:45:00 +0000

Ping mourns Yar'Adua, congratulates President Jonathan
From (Pana) Afrique en ligne - Friday, 07 May 2010:

(Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) - With the passing of President Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigeria and Africa have lost one of their illustrious sons, and an activist committed to the unity and well-being of all peoples of the continent, said Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. Ping presented his deepest condolences to the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the African Union, and requested the Ambassador to convey them to the Government and people of 'this great brotherly country of Africa.'

In addition, the Chairperson has invited all of Africa to pray for the rest of the soul of the late President Yar'Adua and the soothing of hearts within his family and the entire population of Nigeria.

In his eulogy, Ping said he still remembered 'the brilliance, wisdom and vigour with which President Yar'Adua chaired on 29 October 2009, in the Nigerian capital Abuja, the 207th meeting of the Peace and Security Council, which took historic decisions on the situation in the Sudan, with the adoption of the Report and Recommendations of the AU High-Level Panel on Darfur.'

On the same occasion, the PSC took decisions on the situation in Guinea and Niger, which Ping said 'have contributed to accelerating the search for solutions to the crises in both countries.'

Also, Yar'Adua will be remembered for chairing the AU Summit of the PSC in Sharmel Sheikh, Egypt, in July 2008.

Meanwhile, Ping has sent his 'warm congratulations and best wishes for success' to Nigeria's new leader, President Goodluck Jonathan, who was sworn Thursday, saying he was assuming a 'noble and exciting mission to lead this great country of our continent.'

Red Cross & UN: Africa polio eradication scheme launched, targeting 85 million children

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 14:45:00 +0000

The campaign will target children under the age of five in 19 countries

Many analysts believe the key to its success lies with Nigeria.

From BBC News Online at 10:48 GMT, Saturday, 6 March 2010:
Africa polio eradication scheme launched

A campaign has been launched to eradicate polio in west and central Africa, targeting 85 million children.

Some 400,000 health workers and volunteers will go from door-to-door in 19 countries, giving oral polio vaccine to children under the age of five.

Africa has made significant progress in the fight against polio, which attacks the nervous system, but the virus has still not been stamped out.

Previous efforts at eradication failed as too few children were vaccinated.

The effort is a joint campaign by the Red Cross and United Nations.

Many analysts believe the key to its success lies with Nigeria.

In the past, campaigns in the north of the country were met with suspicion by religious leaders, some of whom even suggested the vaccinations were an attempt to spread sterility and HIV.

But religious groups are now showing support for vaccination drives, and correspondents say there is optimism that the debilitating, sometimes fatal, virus can be eradicated.

Tony Blair instrumental to Nigeria's debt relief by Olusegun Obasanjo

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 15:28:00 +0000

Saturday, February 20, 2010 by Creativity and Thougthfulness
Source: www.thisdayonline.com/
TONY BLAIR INSTRUMENTAL TO NIGERIA’S DEBT RELIEF BY OLUSEGUN OBASANJO

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who is in Nigeria for the THISDAY’s Nigeria at 50, 2010 Awards, yesterday relived the diplomatic interactions that contributed to the success of their administrations.

Speaking at an Inter-faith Malaria Initiative organised by the Nigeria Inter-faith Action Association with funding support from Federal Government, World Bank, Centre for Inter-faith Action on Global Poverty and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation held at the Kuje Town Hall in Abuja, Obasanjo said the former British premier made a significant contribution to Nigeria’s exit from the Paris Club and other creditor nations.

Obasanjo, whose entry into the venue of the event elicited wild, nostalgic cheers from the audience, said while he travelled round the globe to get Nigeria off the Paris Club debt yoke, he received promises from world leaders which were not fruitful thus prompting his government to search for a facilitator and a member of the Group of Seven industrialised nations (G7) which they found in Mr. Blair.

He said the debt relief allowed the country to channel resources into the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) projects notably funds needed to fight infant mortality and morbidity occasioned by such diseases as malaria.

“Since I left public office, I have engaged in issues of health and education which are very critical and I have always looked for an opportunity to meet Tony Blair and say thank you.

“In my eight years of leadership, Blair was in the vanguard of support in the area of health but more importantly in the area of debt relief. I visited world leaders but we needed somebody in G7 to get us debt relief. Blair led G7 to get us debt relief.

“What that has done for us is that the money we would have used to service debt is now being used on MDGs for infant mortality and other things. The money we used for the MDGs came from there,” he said.

He commended the inter-faith initiative which he said was deployed under his administration to tackle HIV/AIDS and it worked.
“People hear Nigeria as a land of religious crisis and destruction of lives. This one is about peace. Why are we not telling the world that we are religious and not religious fanatics. What we hear after the terror incident involving Nigeria is that when we call terrorism, Americans catch cold,” he said, eliciting laughter from the audience.

In his remarks, the former British premier recalled that he spoke severally with President Obasanjo on his African Commission initiative which led to the commitment of huge sums of money to alleviation of poverty in Africa for which the former president was instrumental.

He commended religious leaders notably the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop John Onaiyekan, for their commitment in the fight against malaria and noted that the coming together of religious leaders on the effort to eradicate malaria and other initiatives would go a long way in ensuring religious harmony in the country.

“The issue of religious faith will be of the same significance to the 21st century as political ideology was to the 20th century. In an era of globalisation, there is nothing more important than getting people of different faiths and cultures to understand each other better and live in peace and mutual respect; and to give faith itself its proper place in the future,” he said.

Also yesterday, Blair visited Acting President Goodluck Jonathan at his Akinola Aguda residence, Presidential Villa, Abuja and commended him for holding the country together in the face of the daunting political leadership facing the country.

Blair also expressed concern about recent political developments in the country and thanked Jonathan for the skilful way he has handled the country.

Fielding questions from newsmen at the end of about 30 minutes parley with Jonathan, Blair expressed satisfaction that the relation between Nigeria and the United Kingdom had remained very strong over the years. He expressed the hope that Nigeria would continue to play a leading role in the African continent as it’s mandatory on her.

Said Blair: “First of all I would say I am delighted to have seen the Acting President and to discuss with him and hear from him the situation here in Nigeria and the wider region and we were able to talk about some of the issues that are of mutual interest to the relationship between Britain and Nigeria. That relationship is a strong one, and I want it to stay strong.

“I have done lots of work with the previous president of Nigeria while I was in the office and all of Africa and we know that without Nigeria fulfilling its potentials and exacting its leadership, it will be greatly difficult for the whole of Africa.

“I said to the Acting President that I want to thank him for the wise way he and the institution of Nigeria government have handled themselves in the last few days and I want to say it has been a pretty difficult situation and I think they have handled it with skill.”

When asked what the response of Jonathan was on the issues discussed. Blair said, “He was explaining to me the importance of maintaining the right constitutional process and we both agree that one of the greatest things to have happened is returning to democratic government and we would want to see that maintained.

“There is no place for nothing else and I am actually optimistic that this will happen, there is the great desire on the part of the legislature and the acting president himself to make sure that even in what seems to be unique and difficult situation, the country has been able to function and move forward in a proper way and in a way that helps its people,” he said.

Source:www.thisdayonline.com/

CSRD coup ousts Niger President Mamadou Tandja

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:26:00 +0000

A newsreader on Niger television said the country's borders had been closed and a curfew was now in force. The 'patriotic' military announcement was made on TV. See video clip in the following report.

Military coup ousts Niger president
From BBC News online at 23:34 GMT, Thursday, 18 February 2010:

A coup has taken place in Niger and the president has been captured after a gun battle in the capital, Niamey.

In a television announcement, a spokesman for the plotters said Niger's constitution had been suspended and all state institutions dissolved.

The country was now being led by a group called the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD), the spokesman said.

President Mamadou Tandja is believed to be in captivity at a military barracks.

Reports say government ministers are also being held.

Making the announcement on television, the spokesman for the coup leaders, wearing a military uniform, was surrounded by a large group of soldiers.

He called on the people of Niger to "remain calm and stay united around the ideals postulated by the CSRD", to "make Niger an example of democracy and good governance".

"We call on national and international opinions to support us in our patriotic action to save Niger and its population from poverty, deception and corruption," he added.

A newsreader on Niger television said the country's borders had been closed and a curfew was now in force.

Tensions have been growing since last year in the uranium-rich nation.

Mr Tandja was widely criticised when he changed the constitution in August to allow him to stand for a third term.

Long-term tensions

A BBC correspondent said earlier that tanks were firing and witnesses reported seeing injured people being taken to hospital.

The exchange of gunfire has been between soldiers but it is confusing and one cannot tell one side from another. I saw tanks being fired and soldiers on the streets using machine guns.

The area near the presidential palace is where the business of government takes place and at least four military barracks are based there.

People have fled the area and some civil servants have locked themselves inside their offices.

Earlier, smoke could be seen from the roof of the office where President Mamadou Tandja was holding his cabinet meeting.
An unnamed French official told AFP that the president had been seized.

"All I can say is that it would appear that Tandja is not in a good position," he told the news agency on condition of anonymity.

Soldiers captured Mr Tandja while he was chairing his weekly cabinet meeting, a government source told the BBC.

AFP later reported an official as saying Mr Tandja was possibly being held at a military barracks about 20km (13 miles) west of Niamey.

A witness told the news agency that the bodies of three soldiers had been taken to a military mortuary.

The situation in Niamey remains unclear - there has apparently been no large-scale deployment of military personnel.

The government and opposition have been holding on-off talks since December - mediated by the regional body Ecowas - to try to resolve the country's political crisis.

Constructive engagement

Ecowas has told the BBC that it is closely following developments in Niger.

The organisation's political director, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said that, if needed, Ecowas would be in the country as quickly as it could to ensure order was maintained and constitutional order restored as soon as possible.

Mr Musah said that while Ecowas would never recognise a military takeover, it would maintain a constructive engagement with those in authority in Niger.

Mr Tandja, a former army officer, was first voted into office in 1999 and was returned to power in an election in 2004.

Niger has experienced long periods of military rule since independence from France in 1960.

It is one of the world's poorest countries, but Mr Tandja's supporters argue that his decade in power has brought a measure of economic stability.

Under his tenure, work has begun on the world's second-biggest uranium mine, and energy deals have been signed with Chinese firms

AT THE SCENE:
Idy Baraou
BBC News, Niamey

The exchange of gunfire has been between soldiers but it is confusing and one cannot tell one side from another. I saw tanks being fired and soldiers on the streets using machine guns.

The area near the presidential palace is where the business of government takes place and at least four military barracks are based there.

People have fled the area and some civil servants have locked themselves inside their offices.

Earlier, smoke could be seen from the roof of the office where President Mamadou Tandja was holding his cabinet meeting.

Click on coup label here below to read related reports and latest updates.

Coup attempt launched in Niger

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:25:00 +0000

Elite guards are fighting to put down a suspected coup attempt against President Mamadou Tandja in the uranium-rich African country Niger.

Niger produces close to eight percent of the world's uranium, traditionally in partnership with French and Canadian mining firms.

In the last two years, it has signed deals with two Chinese state owned companies to extract uranium and pump oil from new wells. One of the Chinese deals, agreed in June 2008, is worth £3 billion.

Niger, where the main religion is Islam, is one of the countries in the region where Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - the network's North African affiliate - has become active. Read full story here below.

Niger's President Mamadou Tandja Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Coup attempt launched in Niger
From The Daily Telegraph by Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent
Published: 2:36PM GMT UK Thursday, 18 February 2010:

The sounds of machine-gun fire and heavy weapons were heard from the government district of the capital Niamey, and smoke was rising from the presidential palace.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the apparent attempt to oust President Tandja, who changed his country's constitution in August to allow him to stay in power.

"We heard automatic gunfire and then large detonations. The house was shaking. It lasted about a half hour, non-stop," Claire Deschamps, a French national living in Niamey, told the AFP news agency.

Soldiers were blocking the road near to the prime minister's office, and all other streets nearby were said to be deserted, with shops shuttered.

The president was not thought to have been injured during the first bout of sustained gunfire.

A member of his personal staff at the presidential palace told the Reuters news agency that "for now everything is alright".

But tensions have been rising in the vast West African country on the southern fringes of the Sahara, since the constitutional amendment two months ago.

Mr Tandja forced the change through by claiming that "his people" wanted him to stay past his prescribed two term limit in order to "finish the work I have started".

At the same time, he dissolved parliament and awarded himself extra powers, moves which drew international criticism and sanctions from neighbouring states.

Mr Tandja won elections in 1999 and 2004 that were widely seen as free and fair.

Niger produces close to eight percent of the world's uranium, traditionally in partnership with French and Canadian mining firms.

In the last two years, it has signed deals with two Chinese state owned companies to extract uranium and pump oil from new wells. One of the Chinese deals, agreed in June 2008, is worth £3 billion.

Niger, where the main religion is Islam, is one of the countries in the region where Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - the network's North African affiliate - has become active.

Also, read IRIN news report, Thursday, 18 February 2010 re NIGER: Constitution crisis turned coup.

Click on coup label here below to read related reports and latest updates.

Coup attempt underway in Niger

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:16:00 +0000

Snapshot of Google's newsreel on Thursday, 18 February 2010; at 17:18 pm GMT UK:

Gunfire reported near Niger's presidential palace

Xinhua - Fang Yang - ‎8 minutes ago‎

18 (Xinhua) -- Explosions and bursts of gunfire were reported in Niger's capital Niamey, which was by some termed as a coup attempt, the agencies reported ...

Armed soldiers storm Niger presidential palace

The Associated Press - ‎16 minutes ago‎

NIAMEY, Niger — Armed soldiers stormed the presidential palace Thursday afternoon and witnesses said the president was missing after heavy gunfire in the ...

euronews

Coup bid underway in Niger

euronews - ‎29 minutes ago‎

A coup attempt is said to be underway in Niger after automatic weapons fire was reported coming from the presidential palace in the capital Niamey. ...

West Africa Gunfire Around Niger's Presidential Palace

Voice of America - Scott Stearns - ‎34 minutes ago‎

Thousands of people march in Niamey to back Niger's President Mamadou Tandja, who has obtained an extension of his mandate in defiance of his foes and by ...

Coup attempt ongoing in Niger

afrol News - ‎40 minutes ago‎

Currently, the Niger coup-makers seem to be in control of Niamey. However, the presidential guard is still loyal to the government. Gun fighting is reported ...

Bangladesh government accused of crackdown on Burmese refugees

Open Democracy - Josephine Whitaker - ‎51 minutes ago‎

Rumours of a coup attempt in Niger. All this and much more in today's briefing. Two separate reports this week have raised fresh concerns about the ...

Armed soldiers storm Niger presidential palace

The Associated Press - ‎55 minutes ago‎

NIAMEY, Niger — Witnesses say armed soldiers have stormed the presidential palace with guns blazing and left with the president, whose whereabouts are ...

Afrik.com

Niger coup: "Tandja is not in a good position"

Afrik.com - ‎59 minutes ago‎

Niamey, the capital of Niger has been hit by a coup d'état. The President Mamadou Tandja and his Cabinet Ministers who were holding an extraordinary meeting ...

Reports: Gunfire breaks out in apparent Niger coup bid - Update

Earthtimes (press release) - ‎1 hour ago‎

By : dpa Nairobi/Niamey, Niger - Gunfire has broken out in the Nigerien capital Niamey in an apparent coup attempt, reports said Thursday. ...

Nigerien Streets Near Presidency Empty After Gunfire

BusinessWeek - Djibril Saidou, Franz Wild - ‎1 hour ago‎

A coup attempt against President Mamadou Tandja is underway, Agence-France Presse reported, citing an unidentified French official.

Nigeria: Army troops and vehicles are now patrolling the streets of riot-hit Jos

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 09:50:00 +0000

The army has taken over responsibility for security in the central city of Jos, Nigeria's Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan has said.

At least 65 Christians and 200 Muslims are believed to have died in religious rioting in Jos in recent days.

Mr Jonathan said the situation in Jos under control and those responsible would be brought to justice.

It is unclear what the trigger was for the latest bout of violence, but there have been reports it started after football match.

Other reports suggested it began after an argument over the rebuilding of homes destroyed in the 2008 clashes.

Correspondents say such clashes in Nigeria are often blamed on sectarianism.

However, poverty and access to resources such as land often lie at the root of the violence.

Full story: BBC News 03:46 GMT, Friday, 22 January 2010 - Nigeria army takes control of riot-hit Jos

Pass this on: Missing Persons Registry - Haitian Earthquake January 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:09:00 +0000

Copy of message today on Twitter from Ushahidi's Erik Hersman:

Pass this on. Missing persons registry for #haiti is http://www.haitianquake.com
about 4 hours ago from twhirl
ushahidi

Further reading

Patrick Meier's report at Ushahidi's blog, 13 January 2010: Our Efforts in Response to Haiti’s Earthquake - We’ve launched Haiti.Ushahidi.com

Ethan Zuckerman's blog post at My Heart's in Accra, 13 January 2010: Following the Haitian earthquake online

World Bank: Niger & Nigeria eligible to participate in initial $26.2m phase of CAB program to develop high-speed telecoms

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 10:59:00 +0000

$215 Million Central Africa Backbone Program (CAB Program) Will Bring Low Cost, High Speed Internet to the Region. Program is expected to bring significant development impact.

Source: World Bank Press Release No:2010/094.SDN
Contact
In Geneva: Ian Larsen
Phone: +41(0)79 477 96 17
E-mail: ilarsen@worldbank.org or ianlarsen71@yahoo.com

GENEVA, October 6, 2009 – Today the Executive Board of Directors of the World Bank Group has announced its endorsement of the $215 million, ten-year Central African Backbone Program (CAB Program). This program will support the countries of the Central African region in developing their high-speed telecommunications backbone infrastructure to increase the availability of high-speed Internet and reduce end-user prices. The CAB Program will also help countries harmonize the laws and regulations that govern the ICT sector to increase private sector investment and improve competition.

Three countries – Cameroon, Chad and Central African Republic (CAR) – are participating in the initial $26.2 million phase of the Program. A further eight countries are also eligible to participate in the Program—Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Niger, Nigeria, São Tomé and Principe, and Sudan.

The CAB Program is being supported through a partnership between the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The program also aims to leverage an additional US$98 million from the private sector. In conjunction with the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), the African Union Commission (AUC) will play an important role in facilitating inter-governmental cooperation and policy harmonization. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will also assist governments in structuring Public Private Partnerships under the program.

Development Impact

The CAB Program brings much needed connectivity to Central Africa. Until now, people in Central Africa have the lowest quality and highest cost Internet and telephone services in Africa. The population pays up to two times more in monthly Internet rates than people living in other African countries, and up to three times more than those living in other parts of the world. “The CAB Program is very important for the countries involved and lies at the heart of their development strategies. It will assist countries to strengthen their enabling environment, create competition and, ultimately increase access and lower the costs for end users,” said Mary Barton-Dock, World Bank Country Director for Cameroon, Chad and Central African Republic.

In its recent Information and Communications for Development 2009: Extending Reach and Increasing Impact, the World Bank found that for every 10 percentage-point increase in high speed Internet connections there is an increase in economic growth of 1.3 percentage points. The report also identifies the mobile platform as the single most powerful way to reach and deliver public and private services to hundreds of millions of people in remote and rural areas across the developing world.

“Ultimately, our goal is to develop regional and national broadband backbones and significantly reduce the cost of ICT services in Central Africa. Through better and affordable connectivity, the aim is to leverage the transformational powers of ICTs to support economic growth, SME development, employment creation, productivity gains and trade integration in the region,” says Mohsen Khalil, Director of Global Information and Communications Technologies at the World Bank Group.

Modernizing the ICT Sector

In addition to infrastructure development, the CAB Program will strengthen the capacity of public institutions such as the sectoral ministries and regulatory authorities and will promote a competition-friendly environment by liberalizing the sector and restructuring telecommunications operators.

The Program is also meant to be a model of regional integration and successful public-private partnerships. Its design and implementation require the cooperation of several countries and international and regional organizations. Design goals will be to: (i) maximize the use of private financing (or minimize the use of public financing); (ii) ensure feasibility and attractiveness of the transaction; and (iii) secure open access to regional connectivity infrastructure and ensure competitive, reasonable tariff of international, regional and national capacity.

“This program is a great example of the World Bank’s increasing emphasis on regional infrastructure as part of Africa’s development,” said Rick Scobey, Acting Director for Regional Integration in Africa at the World Bank.

Part of a Broader Regional Strategy

The World Bank Group and African Development Bank (AfDB), in partnership, are committing significant resources and are making progress on the ground in helping to achieve the goals outlined at the October 2007 Connect Africa Summit. The Summit was convened by the International Telecommunications Union, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the African Union, and the United Nations Global Alliance for ICT and Development.

This partnership has already launched three major regional connectivity programs, among a range of other ICT activities, with a fourth in the pipeline.

Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (RCIP)

The World Bank is providing US$424 million in financing for the Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (RCIP) to support regional connectivity and transparency in government through the use of ICT. The Program is available to all countries in the East and Southern Africa region and can be tailored to each country’s specific needs and priorities. The first phase of RCIP included Kenya, Madagascar and Burundi and was approved by the Board of the World Bank in 2007. The second phase was for Rwanda and was approved in 2008. The third phase includes Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi and was approved by the Board of the World Bank in June 2009.

East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) – World Bank Group, AfDB and other Development Finance Institutions (DFIs)

EASSy is a 10,000 km submarine fiber-optic cable running along the East Coast of Africa from Sudan to South Africa. It will directly connect eight of the countries along the route and indirectly connect all of the others in the region to the international communications infrastructure. It will provide broadband connectivity to the global fiber-optic cable networks, supplying low-cost, high bandwidth capacity to the markets in the region.

The project was developed by a consortium of 26 telecommunications operators, mostly from Eastern and Southern Africa with the support of five DFIs: International Finance Corporation (IFC), the AfDB, European Investment Bank, Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). The total cost of the project is $235 million with around $70 million coming as debt-financing from the DFIs. Of this, IFC contributed $32.7 million and AfDB contributed U$14.5 million.

EASSy is one of three submarine fiber-optic cables that are due to become operational in the region between 2009 and 2010. Experience shows that competition between submarine cables is the best way to achieve efficient and affordable ICT services.

West African Power Pool – Joint World Bank-AfDB

Limited inter-country connectivity in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region results in inefficient, costly routing of calls between neighboring countries by satellite. Policy makers in the region have identified the emerging regional electricity transmission infrastructure as a way of improving high bandwidth regional communications capacity. These electricity networks have built in fiber-optic cables whose spare capacity can be utilized to provide backbone services to communications providers on a wholesale basis.

The World Bank and AfDB have been closely involved in developing the regional electricity transmission infrastructure through the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP). This transmission infrastructure will also be able to carry telecommunications traffic. In 2008, a stakeholder workshop in Benin endorsed the opportunity and committed to removing the bottlenecks associated with creating a regional backhaul network.

The World Bank and AfDB continue to provide support to the development of this network in FY09 through the preparation of the detailed technical, commercial and financial feasibility studies. Staff are also working with governments in the region to address the legal/regulatory and contractual arrangements for implementation, and continue to work with other donor agencies to ensure that efforts in this area are complementary.

“Regional communication infrastructure programs such as the CAB program illustrate what can be achieved through a strong partnership between the governments, private-sector and development partners,” said Yann Burtin, Project Manager for the CAB Program. The contributions of the AfDB and of the African Union Commission are essential to the process, added Burtin.

“The CAB program is an exciting development for Chad, Cameroon and the Central African Program. Regional connectivity projects like this one are increasingly important in the African Development Bank’s strategy for the region,” said Amadou Thierno Diallo, Manager for Energy and ICT at theAfDB.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.worldbank.org/gict

Cross-posted to Sudan Watch and Congo Watch

Nigeria rebel group Mend attacked oil pipeline using machine guns and assault rifles

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:45:00 +0000

Armed men in the Niger delta of Nigeria say they have attacked an oil pipeline overnight, putting a two-month truce with the government in doubt.

A faction of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said it attacked the pipeline.

A spokesman said it was because the government was delaying peace talks due to the absence of ill President Umaru Yar'Adua, who is in Saudi Arabia.

Attacks have cost Nigeria millions in lost revenue over the years.

The faction said, in an e-mailed statement, that the "warning strike" was carried out by 35 men on five boats with assault rifles, rocket launchers and heavy-calibre machine guns.

It said the pipeline was in Abonemma, about 50km (30 miles) west of Port Harcourt.

Nigeria's military has not commented on the attack.

Peace talks were suspended when President Yar'Adua was hospitalised in late November in Saudi Arabia.

Full story: BBC News at 10:53 GMT, Saturday, 19 December 2009 - Nigeria rebels attack oil pipeline

European Union gives Nigeria $1bn 'for peace' - Militants have been demanding a greater share of the oil wealth

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:31:00 +0000

From BBC News online, November 23, 2009:
European Union gives Nigeria $1bn 'for peace'

The European Commission has signed a $1bn (£602m) development pact with Nigeria, aimed at tackling corruption and promoting peace.

A substantial amount of the funding will be spent on resolving conflict in the oil-rich and crime-plagued Niger Delta, the EU's development chief said.

The money will also target electoral reform and improving human rights.

But correspondents say many Nigerians will doubt the money will get to its intended targets.

The BBC's Caroline Duffield, in Lagos, says corruption touches the lives of everyone in Nigeria and leaves the vast majority of people in poverty.

And she says many Nigerians believe the current government is losing the fight against corruption.

Almost a third of the EU money is devoted to the Niger Delta region.

For years militants have blown up pipelines and kidnapped foreign oil workers, demanding a fairer share of the wealth.

"I'm delighted that a substantial amount of this financing will go to support conflict resolution and the peace process in the Niger Delta which has been ravaged by years of unrest," said the EU's development commissioner Karel De Gucht.

Over the past few months, thousands of militants have given up their weapons in an amnesty deal offered by the government in return for the promise of education and jobs.

A three-month respite from the violence has brought back some oil and gas production, but sceptics fear the former fighters could resume violence if they do not quickly find work.

Meme: Joe Trippi's Eleven-Eleven 1111Campaign - America's and Britain's Veterans have given so much. Now, you can give back.

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:23:00 +0000

Joe Trippi, one of America's greatest bloggers, has launched Eleven Eleven Campaign. The objective of the Eleven Eleven Campaign is simple: to get 11 million Americans to donate $11 to support America’s Veterans. Here is a copy of Joe's latest tweet on Twitter:

Tomorrow is Veterans Day, and now is our moment to encourage our friends, family members and colleagues to join us... http://bit.ly/9Iu9s
33 minutes ago from Facebook
1111Campaign
Eleven Eleven

Hey Joe! Britain's Veterans have given so much too!

Stand with 11 million Brits and Give £11 to Support Britain’s Vets!

Take Action Today
Click here to support Britain's Veterans
November 11, 2009

FOCA: China, Africa hold summit to reinforce bilateral trade

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:51:00 +0000

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao can expect a warm welcome from Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and finance and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCA) starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has said the new meeting will lay down a “road map” to further boost cooperation between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Source: AFP report via Saudi GazetteFriday 06 November 2009. Copy:
China, Africa hold summit to reinforce bilateral trade

CAIRO - Leaders from China and Africa start a three day summit on Sunday that will again throw the spotlight on Beijing’s strategic sweep for energy, minerals and political influence in the continent.

China has over the past decade paid for dams, power stations, football stadiums across Africa and scooped up copper, oil and other fuel for its breakneck economic expansion from Algeria to Zimbabwe.

It has invested billions of dollars while raising eyebrows in the United States and its allies by pursuing the hunt for oil and other resources in Sudan, Somalia and other nations that the West has shunned.

Many African leaders praise China however for not preaching about rights and corruption. So despite neo-colonialist qualms, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao can expect a warm welcome from Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and finance and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has said the new meeting will lay down a “road map” to further boost cooperation between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

Some in the West have accuse China of worsening repression and human rights abuses in Africa by supporting countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe.

US intelligence director Dennis Blair told a Congress committee in March that US agencies are keeping close tabs on China’s expanding influence in Africa, especially in oil-producing countries like Nigeria.

Cross-posted to:
China Tibet Watch
Congo Watch
Egypt Watch
Ethiopia Watch
Kenya Watch
Sudan Watch
Uganda Watch
Africa Oil Watch

AGI: Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:26:00 +0000

From The Office of Tony Blair
November 05, 2009
Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative to create development through good governance becomes charity

The Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative has become a registered UK charity after creating a unique 'hands-on' approach to development and poverty eradication over the past eighteen months.

The Charity Commission approved the application from this relatively new organisation, which is underpinned by the belief that good governance and sustainable development are key to poverty eradication in the long term.

Tony Blair, founder of the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), said:

"I'm extremely proud of our excellent project teams who are working in partnership with the governments of Rwanda and Sierra Leone to reduce poverty and develop new opportunities for growth.

"It is a privilege to work with leaders as talented and as committed to their people as President Koroma and President Kagame who represent a new generation of leaders in Africa with a commitment to building a new future for their people.

"The developed world needs to keep up its commitment to Africa expressed at the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles. But lasting change in Africa will only come in the end from African solutions. By building the capacity to create sustainable long-term development through good governance and providing high level advice, we have already started to help deliver that change.

"And it won't stop here. Whilst developing our work in Sierra Leone and Rwanda, we want to launch new projects with other countries, sharing our knowledge, experience and expertise. We want more countries to develop sustainably, paving the way to a prosperous future.

"This work has reinforced my optimism about Africa's future, as well as my conviction that governance and growth are the key ingredients to effectively reduce poverty across the continent."

Commenting on Tony Blair and the work of the Africa Governance Initiative, Ernest Koroma, President of Sierra Leone, said:

"Mr. Blair has demonstrated an enduring commitment to Sierra Leone and its people. The work comes at a critical stage in Sierra Leone's development. I believe together we have an opportunity to ensure that Sierra Leone puts in place the policies, people and institutions to achieve real and lasting change."

Commenting on the work of AGI, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said:

"What I would like people to know is that the type of partnership we have with Tony Blair is totally different from the type of consultancy people are used to. We work in very strong partnerships whereby not only gaps are filled where they exist, but there's also the notion of transfer of skills, mentoring, actually doing things that are measurable such that over a period of time, we will be able to know what kind of impact was made."

Cross-posted to:
China Tibet Watch
Congo Watch
Egypt Watch
Ethiopia Watch
Kenya Watch
Sudan Watch
Uganda Watch
Africa Oil Watch

Why is Africa poor? Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:54:00 +0000

Quote of the Day
"Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed." - President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, 2009.

The following report also tells us that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf says she underestimated the problem of graft.

From BBC News, Monday, 24 August 2009:
Why is the African continent poor?
By Mark Doyle, BBC world affairs correspondent

The desolate, dusty town of Pibor on South Sudan's border with Ethiopia has no running water, no electricity and little but mud huts for the population to live in.

You would be hard put to find a poorer place anywhere on earth.

I went there as part of a journey across Africa to ask the question "Why is Africa poor?" for a BBC radio documentary series.

I was asked to investigate why it is that every single African country - with the exceptions of oil-rich Gabon and Algeria - is classified by the United Nations as having a "low" broadly defined Human Development Index - in other words an appalling standard of living for most of the people.

In Pibor, the answer to why the place is poor seems fairly obvious.

The people - most of whom are from the Murle ethnic group - are crippled by tribal conflicts related to disputes over cattle, the traditional store of wealth in South Sudan.

The Murle have recently had fights with the Lol Nuer group to the north of Pibor and with ethnic Bor Dinkas to the west.

In a spate of fighting with the Lol Nuer earlier this year several hundred people, many of them women and children, were killed in deliberate attacks on villages.

There has been a rash of similar clashes across South Sudan in the past year (although most were on a smaller scale than the fights between the Lol Nuer and the Murle).

And so the answer to why South Sudan is poor is surely a no-brainer: War makes you destitute.

Why is there so much war?

And yet South Sudan is potentially rich.

"It's bigger than Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi combined," the South Sudan Regional Co-operation Minister Barnaba Benjamin, enthused.

"Tremendous land! Very fertile, enormous rainfall, tremendous agricultural resources. Minerals! We have oil and many other minerals - go name it!"

The paradox of rich resources and poor people hints at another layer of explanation about why Africa is poor.

It is not just that there is war. The question should, perhaps be: "Why is there so much war?"

And the headline question is in fact misleading; Africans as a people may be poor, but Africa as a place is fantastically rich - in minerals, land, labour and sunshine.

That is why outsiders have been coming here for hundreds of years - to invade, occupy, convert, plunder and trade.

But the resources of South Sudan, for example, have never been properly developed.

During colonial rule South Sudan was used as little more than a reservoir of labour and raw materials.

Then independence was followed by 50 years of on-off war between the south and north - with northerners in Khartoum continuing the British tactic of divide and rule among the southern groups.

Some southerners believe this is still happening today.

Corruption

On my journey across the poorest, sub-Saharan swathe of the continent - that took in Liberia and Nigeria in the west, Sudan in the centre, and Kenya in the east - people explored the impact that both non-Africans and Africans had had on why Africa is poor.

Almost every African I met, who was not actually in government, blamed corrupt African leaders for their plight.

"The gap between the rich and the poor in Africa is still growing," said a fisherman on the shores of Lake Victoria.

"Our leaders, they just want to keep on being rich. And they don't want to pay taxes."

Even President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia came close to this when she told me she had underestimated the level of corruption in her country when she took office.

"Maybe I should have sacked the whole government when I came to power," she said.

"Africa is not poor," President Johnson-Sirleaf added, "it is poorly managed."

This theme was echoed by an architect in Kenya and a senior government official in Nigeria.

Both pointed out that the informal sector of most African economies is huge and almost completely unharnessed.

Marketplaces, and a million little lean-to repair shops and small-scale factories are what most urban Africans rely upon for a living.

But such is their distrust of government officials that most businesspeople in the informal sector avoid all contact with the authorities.

Kenyan architect and town planner Mumo Museva took me to the bustling Eastleigh area of Nairobi, where traders have created a booming economy despite the place being almost completely abandoned by the government.

Eastleigh is a filthy part of the city where rubbish lies uncollected, the potholes in the roads are the size of swimming pools, and the drains have collapsed.

But one indication of the success of the traders, Mr Museva said, was the high per-square-foot rents there.

"You'll be surprised to note that Eastleigh is the most expensive real estate in Nairobi."

He added that if Eastleigh traders trusted the government they might pay some taxes in return for decent services, so creating a "virtuous circle".

"It would lift people out of poverty," he said.

"Remember, poverty is related to quality of life, and the quality of life here is appalling, despite the huge amount of wealth flowing through these areas."

Then the young Kenyan architect echoed the Liberian president, some 5,000km (3,000 miles) away on the other side of the continent.

"Africa is not poor," he also said.

"Africa is just poorly managed."

See blog: Why is Africa poor? Have Your Say

Malawi team to replace Nigeria's in CECAFA Under-17 Youth Championship (Bashir Cup)

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 08:52:00 +0000

Nigeria have pulled out of the Council of East and Central Africa Football Association (CECAFA) Under-17 competition, organisers have announced.

CECAFA secretary Nicholas Musonye said the young Eagles informed him of their withdrawal, citing other commitments in Europe.

Nigeria, who were one of the two guest nations in the competition, will now be replaced by Malawi, who had been put on standby.

The other guest side is Egypt.

Full story: Goal.com, Sunday, 16 August 2009 - Nigeria Pull Out Of CECAFA Under-17 Competition

UN Expert warns of mass forced evictions in Nigeria

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:35:00 +0000

GENEVA, Switzerland, August 14, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)
UN Expert warns of mass forced evictions in Nigeria

United Nations independent expert Raquel Rolnik said today: “Forced evictions can only be justified in the most exceptional cases and in full compliance with international human rights law,”, while expressing her concern at the mass evictions planned by the Nigerian River State Government, which could leave hundreds of thousands of people homeless over the coming year.

“Evictions should not result in individuals being rendered homeless or vulnerable to the violation of other human rights,” warned the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing.

In February 2009, the River State Government announced its decision to demolish all the waterfront settlements in Port Harcourt within the framework of its urban renewal strategy. Since then the authorities have allegedly carried out demolitions at various sites throughout Port Harcourt in violation of a stay order issued by the Federal High Court to stop the evictions.

“Nigeria, as State Party to several international human rights treaties must take all appropriate measures, to the maximum of its available resources, to ensure that adequate alternative housing or resettlement is available,” said Rolnik.

According to international human rights standards, people affected by forced evictions have the right to compensation and to procedural protection, including genuine consultation, adequate and reasonable notice, information on the proposed evictions, provision of legal remedies and legal aid, to be present during the eviction and to identify all persons who are carrying out the eviction.

However, according to local sources, most of these conditions have not been met in evictions already carried out in Port Harcourt. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government of Nigeria to respect its international obligations by fulfilling all of them.

The UN independent expert is also concerned that military personnel may assist in the forced evictions in Port Harcourt. “The military’s participation in forced evictions may result in multiple human rights violations” she pointed out. According to local sources, on 5 August 2009, Port Harcourt’s military forces arrested over 1000 residents who were protesting against the demolition of their homes.

SOURCE: Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

CECAFA U-17 football tournament: Somalia v Nigeria (Khartoum, Sudan, 9.30pm on 20 Aug 2009)

noreply@blogger.com (Ingrid J. Jones) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:38:00 +0000

From Pana via Afrique en ligne, Wednesday, 12 August 2009:
Fixtures of Cecafa youth football tournament in Sudan

(Kenya) - Below are the fixtures for this month's Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (Cecafa) championships taking place in Sudan.

The regional event, known as the Cecafa U-17 tournament, is slated for 19-31 August in three Sudanese cities - Khartoum, Juba and Medani. It is being sponsored by Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir to the tune of US$ 700,000.

Aug. 19 - Ethiopia v Zanzibar (Juba 2.30pm); Kenya v Uganda (Juba 4.30pm).

Aug. 20 - Somalia v Nigeria (Khartoum 5.30pm); Sudan v Tanzania (Khartoum 9.30pm )

Aug. 21 - Zanzibar v Kenya (Juba 2.30pm); Uganda v Ethiopia (Juba 4.30pm).

Aug. 22 - Nigeria v Tanzania (Khartoum 5.30pm); Somalia v Sudan (Khartoum 9.30pm ),

Aug. 22 - Eritrea v Rwanda (Medani 5.30pm); Egypt v Burundi (Medani 9.30pm).

Aug. 23 - Kenya v Ethiopia (Juba 2.30pm); Zanzibar v Uganda (Juba 4.30pm).

Aug. 24 - Tanzania v Somalia (Khartoum 5.30pm); Sudan v Nigeria (Khartoum 9.30pm ).

Aug. 24 - Rwanda v Burundi (Medani 5.30pm); Eritrea v Egypt (Medani 9.30pm).

Aug. 25 - Rest Day.

Aug. 26 & 27 - Quarter finals

Aug. 28 & 29 - Semi finals (Khartoum).

Aug. 30 - Rest Day.

Aug. 31 - Third place play offs/Finals (Khartoum).

Cross posted from Sudan Watch on Wednesday 12 August 2009: Fixtures of CECAFA U-17 football tournament in Sudan 19-31 Aug 2009

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