UN Slams Police Repression in the Bas Congo Province - July 2008
On June 13, shortly after the conclusion of the visit of the French Vice Minister for Human Rights and francophonie, Rama Yade, the United Nations mission in the DRC released a damning report on the bloody police repression in the country's Bas Congo province.
The report documents the political and religious suppression of the "Bundu dia Kongo" (translated from Kikongo to mean the "Kingdom of Congo") on the part of the police in early-March 2008. According to the UN, the Congolese rapid response police unit and the integrated police unit were deployed to the province to counter Bundu dia Kongo's meetings. This came on the back of the movements’ attempts to usurp national control, and takeover certain remote areas of the province by replacing local authorities, policemen, magistrates, and priests with their own people. As history has shown, this process is actually quite a common feature of the Bas Congo region. Occurring roughly every two decades, the people of the Kongo tribe reportedly discover a new prophet who will speak out against authorities. It is little wonder that authorities would be worried about the movement of such a group - during Belgian colonial rule one such 'prophet' - Simon Kimbangu - founded a new church whose members nowadays amount to millions in the DRC.
Game Over for the DRC’s Most Powerful Warlord - A Short History of Jean Pierre Bemba’s Rise and Fall - June 2008
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has acted fast to bring in what many call the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) most powerful warlord - Jean Pierre Bemba. On 23 May 2008, the ICC issued a warrant of arrest for Bemba - less than 24 hours later on 23 May he was arrested at his Belgian home.
Bemba has been arrested for his and his troops’ involvement in the murder, rape, and looting of civilians person and property between 25 October 2002 and 15 March 2003 in the Central Africa Republic (CAR). At the time, his political organisation, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), had sent its militiamen to support the then-CAR President, Ange Patasse who was facing the rebellion of the current president, General Francois Bozize.
Whilst in the CAR, Bemba’s MLC troops created chaos on route to the conflict zone. However, the fight was a lost one from the start - as most of the fighting troops were child soldiers, they stood very little chance against the Chadian mercenaries that Bozize eventually brought into the war. Following his successful coup, Bozize quickly organised a flawed election that was won without little surprise. Now in a “legitimate” position of power, Bozize approached the ICC to investigate the war crimes committed in the CAR by the former regime, including the assistance gained from Bemba and the MLC.
New Dimensions of Belly Politics: Escalating Food Prices, Riots and Rising Insecurity - May 2008
“Politics of the Belly” has taken on a literal dimension in recent months. Escalating food and fuel prices have caused worldwide concerns and are affecting all dimensions of human security, especially in developing countries and regions plagued by insecurity and political instability. The past few months have seen wide-spread social unrest, protests, riots and strikes by populations and trade unions all over the world. During March and April this year, West African countries such as Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and Senegal experienced large scale demonstrations of civil discontent, which in several cases led to violence, mass arrests and even deaths. Other countries that saw similar protests over rising food prices include Egypt, Morocco, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mali, Niger, Mozambique, and South Africa. On a global level, the Food and Agriculture Organisation has announced that thirty-seven countries currently face food crises.
Politics, Ethnicity and Peace…Kenya 3-months on - April 2008
Before the General Election of December 2007, Kenya was regarded as one of the forerunners on the African continent, both in terms of political stability, as well as economic and social development. However, the scale and intensity of the violence that overcame the country in the wake of the election has shattered that image and exposed political and ethnic divisions that have been simmering below the surface. The violence has resulted in over 1,000 dead and approximately 500,000 internally displaced persons in the country. Whilst a peace deal was concluded on February 28, the problems in Kenya cannot merely be solved by such an agreement. The question now arises as to how long it will take the country to recover from the two months of violence and bloodshed, and if indeed such a recovery is possible.
Bush comes to shove: Resources, terrorism and China in Africa - March: 2008
With visits to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia (the first visit by a US president to that country in three decades), the choice of countries is significant, particularly since each is lead by what the US perceives as a new generation of democratic African leaders. On an official, diplomatic level, the purpose of the visit was to highlight US support for health, education and good governance projects in Africa. This included PEPFAR and the Millennium Challenge Cooperation programme, two of the most successful projects implemented by Bush. PEPFAR or the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has, over the past 5 years, spent in excess of US$ 15 billion in mostly African countries; the Millennium Challenge Cooperation programme meanwhile has been instrumental in providing US aid and assistance packages to a number of African countries.
The EU-Africa Strategic Partnership - December: 2007
Europe’s relationship with Africa will take centre stage this month as the EU-Africa Summit reconvenes after a seven year hiatus. Taking place in Lisbon over December 8 and 9 2007, the agenda will concentrate on the Africa-EU Strategic Partnership and First Action Plan drafted at the Africa-EU Ministerial Troika on October 31 2007. Portugal has convened the Summit as a means to reopen the fractured relationship between the EU and the African continent following growing tensions over a number of pivotal issues as well as to deal with the rising influence of China throughout the continent. EU-Africa relations have been greatly influence by the events that have transpired in Zimbabwe over the past decade as the economy has continued to implode and President Robert Mugabe has ever centralised power, silenced opposition and punished dissident voices. The planned 2003 EU-Africa Summit was cancelled over divisions surrounding whether the EU should extend an invitation to President Mugabe who is largely seen as being responsible for spearheading Zimbabwe’s downward spiral.
Climate Change and Increasing Floods in Africa: Implications for Africa’s Development - November: 2007
The African continent has experienced severe flooding in the few past months, due to heavy torrential rains which started in July of 2007. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) estimates that the number of floods on the continent that require relief aid have increased eight-fold since 2004. The floods that Africa has been experiencing this year have been described as the worst in three decades. The importance of the issue has been echoed in the debate on climate change which has dominated the annual General Debate at the United Nations General Assembly from 25 September to 3 October. The recent floods in Africa reflect the challenges of climate change. Experts believe that the recent floods have been caused by the La Nina weather pattern in the Pacific Ocean - a phenomenon during which oceans cool down faster, due to extremes in temperatures caused by global warming, and causing the rainy season to come earlier. The resultant effects have seen people having to deal with floods that are more extreme than usual. In addition, deforestation has also been blamed, such as in the case of Rwanda, where the destruction of the Gishwati forest has been charged as the reason for the heavy rains in that region.
Malawi’s Political Turmoil: A Crisis Averted? - October: 2007
A political storm has been brewing in Malawi. Since April, Parliamentarians had been unable to reach a final decision on the nation’s US$ 1.2 billion budget, due to a variety of problems that may not be solved as easily as one might think. Despite a deadline of 30 June 2007, debate on the budget was resumed on 15 August 2007, after much wrangling and bitter infighting among lawmakers, and only finally approved on 11 September 2007. The reasons for and consequences of the long-delayed budget vote are perhaps indicative of a deeper problem in Malawian politics - one that may yet play a significant role in the country’s future. The first problem came in May 2007 when the First Lady of Malawi, Ethel Mutharika, passed away. The second major obstacle came in June when Supreme Court proceedings that had been instituted resulted in a ruling authorising the Parliamentary Speaker to expel 41 Members of Parliament for defecting from the parties for which they were elected in 2004, out of a total of 60 defectors. President Bingu wa Mutharika himself was one of the defectors, having moved from the United Democratic Front (UDF) to a new party established by himself, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The Emergence of a New Epidemic: Drug Trafficking and West Africa - September: 2007
West Africa is facing an emerging epidemic that threatens to further destabilise the region: the global narcotics trafficking trade. The political economy of global drug trafficking has now shifted towards the fragile states of West Africa as a staging point and transit stop in the shipment of illegal drugs around the world. Cooperation between Western law enforcement agencies and traditional staging areas within the Caribbean Islands has resulted in drug traffickers turning towards West Africa for the same reasons that continuously threaten the state, its institutions and the consolidation of the rule of law. Simply put, the drug trade is turning to West Africa because of its porous borders, weak state institutions, lack of rule of law, endemic poverty and subsequent propensity towards corruption within all levels of the State. West Africa’s strategic location as well as its historical and cultural linkages with Europe, have positioned the region as an ideal location for drug traffickers to stage the shipment of illegal narcotics for consumption in European and US markets. Both cocaine traffickers from Latin America seeking market access into Europe and heroin and opiate producers in Asia supplying the markets in the US have begun to increasingly utilise West Africa for its strategic advantage in the shipment of illegal narcotics.
Darfur: After the UN and AU, enter the EU! - August: 2007
Following the Artemis (2003) and Eufor (2006) military missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the European Union (EU) is on the verge of sending a military mission to Africa for the third time in 4 years. This time, European troops will be deployed beyond the Sudanese border, both in Chad and Central Africa Republic (CAR). The deployment, which is directly linked to the Darfur conflict, follows intensive talks between Brussels and New York in July 2007. The meeting, which included Jean Marie Guehenno, the head of the United Nations Department for Peacekeeping Operations (UN-DPO), a strong advocate of a European military mission. On July 23, the European Council agreed for a feasibility study for the deployment of about 2,000 troops.
ANC Succession Race - Determining South Africa’s Future - July: 2007
Having emerged from a freedom-organisation to a political party ruling Africa’s power house, South Africa, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is now facing one of its more unpredictable times. Up to now, leadership in the party has largely been known and understood; Nelson Mandela, the reconciliatory leader led the party from independence to 1999, followed by the economic growth orientated Thabo Mbeki. However, the candidacy - and ultimately South Africa’s future - is now being heatedly contended. With the ANC looking to comfortably win the 2009 General Elections (the party gained 67% of the vote in 2004), the December 2007 party elections will ultimately determine South Africa’s next President - either directly or indirectly. While a number of names are being bandied about to lead the ANC, there are truly 3 players in the ring at this stage: Jacob Zuma, Mbeki, and Tokyo Sexwale. South Africa’s ex-Deputy President and current ANC Deputy President, Jacob Zuma, is, rightly, viewed as a ‘people’s person’. Armed with extensive ‘struggle credentials’ through his time spent in exile during Apartheid, Zuma is a populist contender who holds significant grassroots support, despite facing potentially crippling setbacks such as corruption charges, a rape accusation, and embarrassing comments on homosexuals and HIV & AIDS.