AFRICOM Related News Clips June 29, 2010

8/9/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips June 29, 2010

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office29 June 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Interview Transcript:Diana Putman Honored With 'Dissent' Award(NPR)The State Department promotes itself as a place that likes to hear dissent. Each year, thedepartment's professional union hands out awards to diplomats who do just that. Thisyear's recipient was a woman serving alongside the U.S. military in AFRICOM, the

Africa Command, who managed to change a program meant to help rape victims inCongo. Diana Putman's story demonstrates that officials from the civilian and militarycultures of the U.S. Government can collaborate successfully.

Lush Land Winds Through a Ravaged Capital(Mogadishu Journal)(Somalia) Mogadishus frontline is a no man's land perhaps 200 feet wide of blasted-outbuildings and overgrown bush, separating a small, besieged enclave controlled by thegovernment from thousands of radical Islamist insurgents.

Staff assistance visit benefits USJFCOM, CJTF-HOA(USJFCOM)(USA) A deployable training team from U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint TrainingDirectorate/Joint Warfighting Center recently returned from a staff assistance visit withCombined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa. The visit was a chance for both the teamand the joint task force to assess training delivered by J7 prior to the JTF's deploymentearlier this year.

Biden's Tour of Kenya And Egypt(Daily Champion)(Kenya) Kenya, like Egypt, is a close ally of the United States, and Mr. Biden hoppedover to Nairobi in the knowledge that America has always regarded it as a veryimportant partner in the war against terrorism and Islamic militancy.

U.S. military contractors eye Africa(UPI)(Pan Africa) The U.S. military's Africa Command, whose mission is widely seen asprotecting U.S. energy interests, is reported to be seeking to move in private defensecontractors to set up a sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation to monitorterrorist infiltration.

Zimbabwe, EU dialogue to resume next month(Xinhua)
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(Zimbabwe) Dialogue between Zimbabwe and the European Union (EU) to exploreways of normalising relations between the two sides will resume in July following EUhas sent an invitation to Zimbabwe's ministerial team.

Rwanda takes a strict line on genocide denial. The US should support that. (Christian

Science Monitor)(Rwanda) Arrogance, ignorance, and indifference to African victims of genocide havelong been hallmarks of Western treatment of Rwanda. The US government should takecare not to perpetuate this unfortunate tradition in the run-up to Rwandas presidentialelection in August and fan ethnic tensions in Rwanda.

Burundi Holds Single Candidate Presidential Election(Voice of America)(Burundi) An opposition boycott has left President Pierre Nkurunziza as the solecandidate on the ballot as Burundians go to the polls Monday.

Lifetime of Tracking Killings Ends in Activists Own (New York Times)(Congo) Early on the morning of June 2, Mr. Chebeya, Congos best-known humanrights activist, was found dead in his car in the Mont Ngafula area of this capital city.The United Nations secretary general said he was deeply shocked by Mr. Chebeyasdeath, and the United States, European Union and French governments expressedconcern and called for an independent inquiry.

Equatorial Guinea Pledges Oil Revenue Transparency(Bloomberg)(Equatorial Guinea) Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo,who has held power for more than three decades, said his country had entered a new

era of accountability and transparency. A five-point policy initiative commits thegovernment to greater transparency on oil revenue, judicial independence and pressfreedom, Obiang told the Fortune Global Forum in Cape Town today.

Africa's biggest wind farm opens in Morocco(AFP)(Morocco) Morocco's King Mohammed VI inaugurated Monday a 250-million-euro(300 million dollar) wind farm near Tangiers, which an official source said was thebiggest in Africa.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN WebsiteGuinea earns UN plaudits after peaceful staging of presidential election

Outgoing UN envoy encourages Somali leadership to build on recent gains

Praising Eritreas engagement with neighbours, Ban urges compliance withresolutions

UN report urges Central Africans to press ahead with elections preparations-------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0628/Rwanda-takes-a-strict-line-on-genocide-denial.-The-US-should-support-thathttp://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0628/Rwanda-takes-a-strict-line-on-genocide-denial.-The-US-should-support-thathttp://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Burundi-Heads-to-Polls-with-Only-One-Candidate-97337174.htmlhttp://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Burundi-Heads-to-Polls-with-Only-One-Candidate-97337174.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/world/africa/28congo.html?ref=africahttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/world/africa/28congo.html?ref=africahttp://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-28/equatorial-guinea-pledges-oil-revenue-transparency.htmlhttp://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-28/equatorial-guinea-pledges-oil-revenue-transparency.htmlhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100628/wl_africa_afp/moroccoenergywindhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100628/wl_africa_afp/moroccoenergywindhttp://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICAhttp://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICAhttp://www.un.org/apps/news/region.asp?Region=AFRICAhttp://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100628/wl_africa_afp/moroccoenergywindhttp://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-28/equatorial-guinea-pledges-oil-revenue-transparency.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/world/africa/28congo.html?ref=africahttp://www1.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Burundi-Heads-to-Polls-with-Only-One-Candidate-97337174.htmlhttp://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/Opinion/2010/0628/Rwanda-takes-a-strict-line-on-genocide-denial.-The-US-should-support-that


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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, June 30, 4:00 p.m., Center for Global DevelopmentWHAT: Liberia: Life After DebtWHO: Augustine Ngafuan, Minister of Finance, Liberia; Amara Konneh, Minister of

Planning and Economic Affairs, Liberia; John Lipsky, First Deputy Managing Director,International Monetary Fund; Ben Leo, Center for Global DevelopmentInfo:http://actevarsvp.com/acteva/jsp/register.jsp?eventID=a0I50000006PQY7EAO&prtptID=a0D50000002Wnh9EAC&mailId=a0F50000002GGHMEA4

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, July 1, 10:15 a.m., U.S. Institute of PeaceWHAT: Preventing Violent Conflict: Principles, Policies, and PracticeWHO: Panel Chairs - AMB Marc Grossman, Vice Chairman, Cohen Group; AMB NancySoderberg, President, U.S. Connect Fund; Tara Sonenshine, Executive Vice President,

USIP; Conclusions Dr. Abiodun Williams, Vice President, Center for Conflict Analysisand Prevention, USIP.Info:http://www.usip.org/events/preventing-violent-conflict-principles-policies-and-practiceWHEN/WHERE: Friday, July 9, 1:00 p.m., U.S. Institute of PeaceWHAT: Measuring Progress in Stabilizing War-Torn SocietiesWHO: Colonel John Agoglia, Discussant, Director, Counterinsurgency Training Center Afghanistan; Michael Dziedzic, Moderator, Senior Program Officer, U.S. Institute ofPeace; Barbara Sotirin, Discussant, Deputy Director for Global Security Affairs, TheJoint Staff; John McNamara, Discussant, Director, Office of Planning, Office of theCoordinator for Reconstruction and StabilizationInfo:http://www.usip.org/events/measuring-progress-in-stabilizing-war-torn-societies----------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Interview Transcript: Diana Putman Honored With 'Dissent' Award (NPR)

The State Department promotes itself as a place that likes to hear dissent. Each year, thedepartment's professional union hands out awards to diplomats who do just that. This

year's recipient was a woman serving alongside the U.S. military in AFRICOM, theAfrica Command, who managed to change a program meant to help rape victims inCongo. Diana Putman's story demonstrates that officials from the civilian and militarycultures of the U.S. Government can collaborate successfully.

It's no secret that the U.S. military and civilian officials are occasionally at odds. Adramatic example came last week with the Rolling Stone article that led to General
http://actevarsvp.com/acteva/jsp/register.jsp?eventID=a0I50000006PQY7EAO&prtptID=a0D50000002Wnh9EAC&mailId=a0F50000002GGHMEA4http://actevarsvp.com/acteva/jsp/register.jsp?eventID=a0I50000006PQY7EAO&prtptID=a0D50000002Wnh9EAC&mailId=a0F50000002GGHMEA4http://actevarsvp.com/acteva/jsp/register.jsp?eventID=a0I50000006PQY7EAO&prtptID=a0D50000002Wnh9EAC&mailId=a0F50000002GGHMEA4http://www.usip.org/events/preventing-violent-conflict-principles-policies-and-practicehttp://www.usip.org/events/preventing-violent-conflict-principles-policies-and-practicehttp://www.usip.org/events/preventing-violent-conflict-principles-policies-and-practicehttp://www.usip.org/events/preventing-violent-conflict-principles-policies-and-practicehttp://www.usip.org/events/measuring-progress-in-stabilizing-war-torn-societieshttp://www.usip.org/events/measuring-progress-in-stabilizing-war-torn-societieshttp://www.usip.org/events/measuring-progress-in-stabilizing-war-torn-societieshttp://www.usip.org/events/measuring-progress-in-stabilizing-war-torn-societieshttp://www.usip.org/events/measuring-progress-in-stabilizing-war-torn-societieshttp://www.usip.org/events/measuring-progress-in-stabilizing-war-torn-societieshttp://www.usip.org/events/preventing-violent-conflict-principles-policies-and-practicehttp://www.usip.org/events/preventing-violent-conflict-principles-policies-and-practicehttp://actevarsvp.com/acteva/jsp/register.jsp?eventID=a0I50000006PQY7EAO&prtptID=a0D50000002Wnh9EAC&mailId=a0F50000002GGHMEA4http://actevarsvp.com/acteva/jsp/register.jsp?eventID=a0I50000006PQY7EAO&prtptID=a0D50000002Wnh9EAC&mailId=a0F50000002GGHMEA4


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Stanley McChrystal's resignation from his command in Afghanistan. Now, we're goingto hear about a very different dispute between civilians and the military. This oneworked its way through the regular channels, not the media, and resulted in a changein policy. NPR's Michele Keleman has the story.

MICHELE KELEMEN: As an anthropologist by training, Diana Putman seems quiteattuned to the culture clash between U.S. Agency for International Developmentofficials like herself and U.S. military officers. She works with the military at the newAfrica Command in Stuttgart, Germany.

Ms. DIANA PUTMAN (USAID): Unfortunately, within the military system, frequentlywhat happens is a good idea comes out from someone at a senior level and everybodyjust jumps on it and says, OK, the boss wants this done. The benefit of having peoplelike me coming from a different culture is that I come from a culture at USAID, wherewe're much freer to challenge.

KELEMEN: In fact, the American Foreign Service Association just gave her an awardfor constructive dissent for what she did to challenge a program in the DemocraticRepublic of Congo.

The story began last year when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was planning to visitCongo to highlight the problem of sexual violence U.S. AFRICOM sprang into action toshow that they're addressing the issue and prepared to send a medical team to helpvictims of rape.

Ms. PUTMAN: So they were planning on bringing out American military to participatein some sort of medical activity with Congolese women or some sort of psychosocialcounseling.

KELEMEN: Putman didn't think the U.S. military was equipped for that and argueddevelopment experts and nongovernmental groups are better suited to provide servicesfor rape victims and are already in the country. So she went up the chain of commandto persuade AFRICOM to help those services providers by fixing up hospitals and aschool where girls can study safely.

Ms. PUTMAN: We're just about to award the contracts to Congolese firms. So inaddition to the benefits that the women will get out of this, we're also helping the localCongolese economy.

KELEMEN: Development work has changed a lot of Putman's career, she says. And shebelieves there is a role for the military. What's unique about U.S. Africa Command isthat it was set up as an interagency command structure.


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Ms. PUTMAN: And we're learning, slowly, how to accommodate each other's cultures.And I think that's important for all of us within the U.S. government who've often beenstovepiped into doing our own things. Now we need to sit down, figure out how tocross our cultures.

KELEMEN: She says she found the generals at AFRICOM to be responsive to heradvice as a second generation development expert on Africa.

Ms. PUTMAN: Having grown up in Africa, having been around African women andseeing the strength of African women ever since I was a little girl, I just felt so honoredto be able to speak out for African women.

KELEMEN: Particular, she says, at a time when these issues are high on the U.S. foreignpolicy agenda.

Ms. PUTMAN: We have a president and a secretary of state who realize that womenhold up half the sky.

KELEMEN: Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Washington.

(Soundbite of music)

MONTAGNE: This is NPR News.--------------------Staff assistance visit benefits USJFCOM, CJTF-HOA (USJFCOM)

A deployable training team from U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint TrainingDirectorate/Joint Warfighting Center recently returned from a staff assistance visit withCombined Joint Task Force.

SUFFOLK, Va. - June 28, 2010) -- The results of a recent site assistance visit (SAV)conducted by U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) observer/trainers (O/Ts) andthe joint task force (JTF) responsible for U.S. military operations in eastern Africa willbenefit both commands.

A Joint Training Directorate/Joint Warfighting Center (J7) deployable training team(DTT) worked with Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) during thevisit, which is the final in a series of events - the Unified Endeavor (UE) MissionRehearsal Program - designed to prepare the JTF's core staff for its mission, said Lt. Col.Mark Brennan, the DTT's lead O/T.

Navy Rear Adm. Brian Losey, CJTF-HOA commander, said the visit and its precedingmission rehearsal exercise (MRX) are "utterly vital" to his task force because of the


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unique challenges it faces in both assembling and operating. Prior to deploying, his staffwent through education and training conducted by J7.

"Particularly with the way this JTF is formed," Losey said. "We form up outside of thetheater. There are some very specialized regional requirements that are necessary to

operate in Africa. That and the idea of bringing a disparate group together to form ajoint task force are both serviced by the MRX and the SAV."

Losey and his chief of staff, Navy Capt. John Dixon, both said the ultimate goal of theSAV is to enhance CJTF-HOA's mission effectiveness.

"It's making our team and our processes better so that we can execute the missionbetter," Dixon said. "We'll be more effective at doing what we came here to do. We'reout here working with other parts of the government to execute the national securitystrategy. That's what it's all about."

CJTF-HOA's primary mission is conflict prevention. That sometimes can be difficult tocommunicate, but Dixon said the small investment in operations now can keep at baythe large cost of wars later.

"The biggest difference is prevention of conflict is not the kind of thing Tom, Joe andMary back in Bedford, Pa., understand easily," he said "It's not the traditional sense ofwhat people see the military doing. Conflict prevention over here is a bargain. We'repreventing potential wars that could cost billions of dollars and see American liveslost."

J7 DTTs deploy to train JTFs and combatant commands all around the world and sharebest practices and lessons learned across those organizations. Losey said that insight isvaluable to JTFs like this one.

"They're bringing lessons learned to us from Afghanistan and Iraq," he said. "They takethose practices and bring them to us. A concrete example I can give you is population-centered analysis: understanding the environment from a population-centric view asopposed to an adversary-centric one. That's critical when you consider conflictprevention in the context here in Africa."

Lessons learned and best practices for a JTF immersed in an operating environment thatpresents new challenges regularly are important. The DTT can come in with anoutsider's perspective and see things a staff dealing with those challenges may havemissed, according to Dixon.

"They come in as an outside set of eyes," he said. "That's probably the best thing. Wemay be tunneled in on something whereas they can see maybe a bigger picture or


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different perspective and bring best practices to us and evaluate what we do. It's veryhelpful."

While the SAV was the final training event for this iteration of CJTF-HOA, it also wasthe first step for the J7 as it prepares to train the core staff's replacements. Navy Cmdr.

Nick Mungas, U.S. Africa Command lead planner with J7's Joint Exercise Division, waspart of the DTT and gathered lessons learned to help him craft relevant academics andtraining for that next core staff. He said he was there to find out what worked duringthis staff's training, what could have worked better, and what could be added to thisyear's MRX.

"It's going to pay a lot of dividends for me to have seen the environment they'reworking in and better understand their physical environment and what some of theirday-to-day limitations are while they're out here," he said.

Losey said the JTF's huge geographical footprint, its emphasis on civil-militaryoperations, and its need to operate in coordination with host nations and other U.S.government agencies are challenges the UE program has helped the staff prepare forand overcome.

"The key distinction they're helping us with here is that we're operating in a region ofroughly 12 countries," he said. "When you talk about exercising a whole of governmentapproach, understanding the dynamics of a country and its country team play in andimpact how you coordinate comprehensive solutions. They help us root through bestpractices to determine how to do that effectively."

--------------------Biden's Tour of Kenya And Egypt (Daily Champion)

LAGOS, Nigeria "Putting in place a new constitution, and strengthening yourdemocratic institutions and the rule of law , will further open the door to majorAmerican development programmes, such as, the Millennium challenge, and this Ipredict will bring about re-investment by American corporations and internationalorganizations in Kenya.

"That could provide millions of Dollars in assistance and grants.

"I assure the president and the prime minister that the United States supports Kenya'sefforts to secure the border in the face of very real threats from those who wish tospread chaos through despair and violence. We recognize that Kenya's long-termstability and development are tied to regional security and development."


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"The referendum on a new constitution scheduled for 4th August, this year, is a vote(completely) on the initiative of the Grand Coalition Government. We are confidentthat, through this process, Kenyans will get a new constitution."

"The vice-president had a wonderful meeting with President Kibaki, Prime Minister

Raila Odinga, the vice-president and several of us ministers, where we discussedbilateral and regional issues that bring us together as friends, thereafter, he visited theBomb Blast Memorial, where the American embassy stood before the bomb. And he'sscheduled to meet and address a congregation of several groupings of civil society,N.G.O.'s and academics and other Kenyans of goodwill from all over Nairobi who willcongregate at the Kenyatta international conference centre."

After flying to the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sham El Sheikh, where he held severalhours of talks with President Hosni Mubarak and other Egyptian governments officials,the vice-president of the United States, Joseph Biden, made Kenyan the next port of a

call in his tour of Africa. His talks with Mr. Mubarak happened to be on Monday June 7,so that the following day, Tuesday, he was already in Nairobi, communing with a cross-section of Kenyan's political leaders.

Whether or not the U.S. vice-president's recent trip to Africa qualifies to be called awhirlwind visit is hardly the point. Rather, what is important is this: the two keycountries on the V.P.'s schedule, Egypt and Kenya, represent two of the continent'smost prominent players. Egypt, for instance is the best-known corridor linking Africa tothe Middle East. Most of all, Egypt is run by a secular government that has longestablished itself as America's best friend in the entire Arab fraternity.

Kenya, like Egypt, is a close ally of the United States, and Mr. Biden hopped over toNairobi in the knowledge that America has always regarded it as a very importantpartner in the war against terrorism and Islamic militancy. Apart from being EastAfrica's main economic power-house, Kenya, as Vice-President Biden acknowledgedseveral times during his stay, remain a key player in the effort to prevent Al Shabbaband al Qaeda overthrowing Somalia's international backed, secular government andseizing power in that war-ravaged horn of Africa country.

Kenya, east Africa's second most populous, has also been the target of constant rebukeby Washington, because of what the Americans and their European Union allies havedescribed as its reluctance to introduce political reform, the perpetration of ethnically-based violence and the carrying out of serious human rights abuses by Kenya's nationalpolice.

U.S. president, Barak Obama, has strong ancestral links to Kenya. The last time he wasin the east African country was four years ago, when Obama was a U.S. senator fromthe state of Illinois. During his tour of Africa, sometime last year, Obama deliberately


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avoided visiting Kenya, and it's thought that the U.S. president was unhappy with theKenyan authorities over their handling of not just the controversial elections of 2007,but, also the spate of widespread violence, death and destruction that followed the poll.

Did Kenyans, the politicians especially, see vice-president Biden's visit to their country

as sufficient appeasement for the slap they felt they received back in 2009, whenPresident Obama circumvented their country and traveled all the way to Ghana?Whatever the perception(s) in Kenya, the fact remains that Mr.Biden said everythingPresident Obama was expected to tell the rulers of his fatherland. He, Mr. Biden, toldKenya's political leaders that the passage of a new constitution, as well as other keypolitical reforms, will be resulting in more American investment in their country.

Speaking in the capital, Nairobi, after he'd had talks with President Mwai Kibaki ofKenya, he said American companies are eager to do business in Kenya.

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga are the leaders for Kenya's two mainpolitical parties-the Party of National Unity, P.N.U., and the Orange DemocraticMovement, O.D.M. Both mainstream parties formed a coalition government in the wakeof that disputed presidential election held on December 27, 2007. The resultant violencebetween Kibaki's mainly Kikuyu supporters and Mr. Odinga's Lub-led camp killednearly 1,600 people and injured thousands.

In the middle of 2008, P.N.U. and O.D.M. set up a grand coalition as a way of resolvingthe political im-passe. But, two and-a-half years since the disputed polls, the country ispreparing for a constitutional referendum. According to President Kibaki, the vote will

give the people of Kenya what they need badly, which is reform. Experts say the resultof the August referendum could have major economic implications for the country. Anew constitution could change perceptions of Kenya and spark investment.

If on August 4, the Kenyan electorate vote against the document, analysts believeinvestors are likely to turn to their backs on the country-making an already uncertainpolitical environment too risky. An economically weakened Kenya also presentssecurity issues for the region.

President Kibaki had asked Vice-President Biden for more engagement fromWashington in stabilizing neighbouring Somali, which has had no effective governmentsince the outbreak of war in 1990. Kibaki pointed to the concerns shared by bothWashington and Nairobi about piracy in the Indian Ocean and the threat of extremistgroups operating in war-torn Somalia. In response, the Americans vice-president saidhe recognized Kenya's efforts in combating threats from Somalia.

On Sudan, the U.S. as already known has warned of the need for all concerned toprepared adequately for next January's referendum on the independence of southern


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Sudan from Khartoum. The reason is that a "yes" vote, which is the most likelyoutcome, will have wide effect and the pressure is building on Sudan's neighbours,including Kenya, to ensue the credibility of the process. Before returning toWashington, Vice-President Biden met South Sudan's president, Salva Kiar.

Experts say Kenya's role in the security of east Africa is the main reason why thecountry has received 2.2. billion Dollars of the 6.7 billion, in U.S. economic and securityassistance to the region in the past sixteen years.--------------------U.S. military contractors eye Africa (UPI)

ALGIERS, Algeria - The U.S. military's Africa Command, whose mission is widely seenas protecting U.S. energy interests, is reported to be seeking to move in private defensecontractors to set up a sophisticated intelligence-gathering operation to monitorterrorist infiltration.

This project, if it gets going, could provide a vital link between U.S. forces and those ofNorth African states that in April launched an unprecedented joint military campaignagainst jihadist groups operating in the region.

One of their biggest problems is a lack of intelligence-gathering aircraft, combathelicopters and transport planes capable of rapidly moving Special Forces troopsagainst the highly mobile terrorist units operating in the deserts and ungoverned spacesof northwestern Africa.

Africom's moves would go part way at least to alleviating some of these problems andhelp coordinate multinational operations against insurgents in the rugged region byAlgeria, Mauritania, Mali and Niger.

The Africa Intelligence Web site, noting that no African government has agreed to hostAfricom's headquarters -- which remain in Stuttgart, Germany -- reported the newcommand "is building up its operations on the continent by coming in through the sidedoor: via private contractors."

Africom, it said, has issued "rather intriguing calls for bids" to support one of itsprimary missions, training counter-terrorism forces in the Sahara and Sahel regions.

This is being done under the Trans Sahara Counter-Terror Initiative, which involvesU.S. training teams operating in Mali, Chad, Niger, Senegal and others.

The Algeria-based Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb -- the Arabic name for North Africa-- has been seeking to extend its influence through the region and into sub-SaharanAfrica.


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One target is oil-rich Nigeria, where religious bloodshed frequently occurs in the centralbelt between the Muslim north and the Christian-dominated south. Nigeria is a key oilsupplier to the United States.

In one of the projects, unveiled June 11 in Washington, Africom wants to contractprivate military companies to establish "a turnkey air surveillance program on behalf oflocal armed forces" by August, Africa Intelligence reported.

This would initially involve leasing two unmarked reconnaissance aircraft, "preferablyPilatus PC-12 NG" propeller-driven aircraft used by Latin American armies forcounterinsurgency operations and an unmanned aerial vehicle with high-resolution andinfrared cameras.

These would be operated by three teams of pilots, analysts and technicians who would

be "seconded to the armed forces of the host country."

Africom would have access to all intelligence amassed by the partner states, whichwould be passed on to command headquarters in Stuttgart.

This would dovetail neatly with a new effort by Algeria and other Maghreb statescombating AQIM and other jihadist groups which have been seeking in vain to acquireU.S. UAVs.

Africa Intelligence said another project is to acquire 83 four-wheel drive vehicles,

without military markings that "must be able to drive unnoticed on African roads,according to the specifications listed in the tender published June 11."

There is no evidence of any direct U.S. military involvement in the counterinsurgencycampaign under way in North Africa, a campaign centered on the Algerian military airbase at Tamanrasset deep in the Sahara.

But AQIM and its allies are clearly a priority for Washington as well.

U.S. mercenaries such as Blackwater -- now known as Xe Services -- DynCorp andTriple Canopy have been eyeing Africa as the industry's new frontier -- as it was in theheyday of the "dogs of war" from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Indeed, McClatchy Newspapers reported Sunday that Blackwater Worldwide,notorious for its deadly operations in Iraq, tried for two years to secure lucrativecontracts in rebel-held southern Sudan even though the country was under U.S.sanctions.


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"We are still waiting for the EU to indicate to us when our delegation should go thereand they certainly seem to be taking their time. It seems to suggest to us that the EU hasnever taken this dialogue seriously at all. They are just playing games with the lives ofthe people of Zimbabwe and I know that in international relations, morality is the first

casuality," Mumbengegwi said.--------------------Rwanda takes a strict line on genocide denial. The US should support that. (ChristianScience Monitor)

Arrogance, ignorance, and indifference to African victims of genocide have long beenhallmarks of Western treatment of Rwanda. The US government should take care not toperpetuate this unfortunate tradition in the run-up to Rwandas presidential election inAugust and fan ethnic tensions in Rwanda.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton admonished the Rwandan governmenton June 14 for its legal prosecution of opposition figures and lawyers, which shecalled political actions that should be reversed. Whoever drafted and vetted thesecretarys comments did her, and Rwanda, a disservice.

The opposition figure in question is Victoire Ingabire, a Rwandan migre whoreturned to Rwanda from Europe in January to run for president. She had been livingoutside Rwanda since the 1994 genocide. Upon her return this year, she was sooncharged with genocide denial, stirring up ethnic hatred, and collaborating with a rebelforce based in eastern Congo the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda

(FDLR), which is led by the remnants of the military officers and politicians whoplanned and perpetrated the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda.

The lawyer Secretary Clinton referred to is Peter Erlinder, an American who is adefense attorney for accused genocide perpetrators at the International CriminalTribunal for Rwanda, and a public spokesman for their cause. He portrays himself as aseeker of truth and justice, but is widely viewed within Rwanda as a conspiracy theoristand genocide denier. Mr. Erlinder came to Rwanda in late May to advise Ms. Ingabire.He was arrested, charged with genocide denial and endangering Rwandan security,then released on bail on June 17, on grounds of compassion for his physical and mentalhealth problems. Though he has since returned to the US, Rwanda still aims to try him.

To Americans who follow what passes for news about this far-away African country(there is a lot going on right now, often troubling, but with no Western journalists basedhere, there is a dearth of in-depth reporting), Clintons remarks might seem like soundadvice. But her intervention was harmful to Rwandas efforts to protect its post-genocide democracy from renewed ethnic divisions. The stakes are too high for an adhoc approach.


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In the case of Erlinder, the US has a duty to ensure that any American arrested overseasgets fair treatment. But to characterize his prosecution as political and to urge he bereleased on compassionate grounds, as the State Department did, goes well beyond thisduty. It supposes that genocide denial is a victimless crime, and not legitimate grounds

for legal action. Europe doesnt see it that way. Nor of course does Rwanda, with its300,000 still-traumatized genocide survivors. Why should we?

As for Ingabire, it is astonishing that the US would appear to go to bat for her. Ingabireclaims to want reconciliation and democracy for Rwanda. Human Rights Watch (HRW)has campaigned for her to be allowed to compete in Rwandas election. But,surprisingly, HRW has not told its readers (including, no doubt, folks at the StateDepartment) a word about the ideology and background of Ingabires party or thenature of her campaign. This can be remedied.

Ingabire is president of two Rwandan migr parties based in Europe. One is the RDR,the other the FDU; they are essentially the same, save for the alphabet-soup acronymintrigue of migr politics. Both are the descendents of the RDR party established in1995 in eastern Congo by Rwandan military leaders of the 1994 genocide against theminority Rwandan Tutsi. Their intent was to replace, with less compromised faces, theRwandan interim government that had committed the genocide and then retreated toeastern Congo.

The founding RDR ideology and strategy, never repudiated since 1995, is to return thegenocide perpetrators and their supporters to power in Rwanda by force or by

negotiation. Ingabires predecessor as RDR president in Europe, Charles Ndereyehe, isthe subject of an Interpol warrant for genocide crimes committed against Tutsis in 1994.Ingabires RDR and FDU have long had ties with the FDLR in eastern Congo. TheUnited States and the United Nations treat the FDLR as a terrorist group; two of itsEurope-based leaders are under arrest in Germany.

Ingabires personal links to the FDLR are cited in a 2009 UN Experts Report about theFDLR. Her public statements in Europe since 2000 are a rich trove of genocide ideologyand denial. And Ingabires campaign in Rwanda prior to her arraignment was clearlyaimed at mobilizing ethnic divisions between Hutus and Tutsis.

Her first stop once back in the country was to visit Rwandas main memorial to the 1994genocide against the Tutsis, where she raised the issue of remembrance of Hutu victims.This is like going to Auschwitz to raise the issue of the German victims of Dresden.Ingabire also chose to meditate at the tomb of the first president of the Rwandanregime, which took over on independence from Belgium in 1962. This regimeinstitutionalized racism against Tutsis and organized an initial mass killing of some15,000 of them in 1963-64. Next, she visited with convicted perpetrators of the 1994


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genocide in hospitals in two Rwandan towns, repeated her often-stated condemnationof the special genocide courts that convicted them, and promised to abolish these courtsif elected. (Thanks to these 15,000 courts, set up in 2001 and already projected to endtheir work this summer, there are over 500,000 genocide perpetrators in Rwanda whohave confessed or been convicted. Many are now at large again after having served

their sentences.)

To my knowledge, the US never admonished Germany for banning the Nazi-likeSocialist Reich Party in 1952, or for prosecuting Holocaust deniers, or for banning thetwo dozen right-wing hate groups it has shut down over the past 18 years. We shouldtreat Rwanda with the same understanding and respect.

Ingabire will be brought to trial soon. She is, of course, innocent of the charges againsther until proven guilty. The US government will be able to assess the Rwandangovernments case against her, its conduct of the trial, her defense, and the courts

ruling.

In the meantime, the State Department should certainly reconsider whether it reallywants to make comments that appear to press Rwanda to welcome into its political lifean migr party that is heir to the genocidal regime of 1994.--------------------Burundi Holds Single Candidate Presidential Election (Voice of America)

An opposition boycott has left President Pierre Nkurunziza as the sole candidate on theballot as Burundians go to the polls Monday.

Weeks of tension and sporadic bouts of violence have been capped off by an unlikelycalm as citizens vote for President Pierre Nkurunziza, who is certain to retain his officeafter Monday's election.

With the contest already won, Reuters has reported that many Burundians avoided thepolls.

Despite the low turnout, there is a possible consolation for opposition candidates.Burundi's unique electoral system requires voters to place their choice into a whiteenvelope while placing all others into a corresponding black envelope. Earlier thismonth, Burundi's electoral commission revealed it would treat any black envelopecontaining the president's ticket as a no-vote, essentially creating a referendum on Mr.Nkurunziza.

But that statement is unlikely to make up for the once bright outlook for the centralAfrican nation.


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After May's municipal elections saw unprecedented voter turnout and a firm stamp ofapproval from international observers, many hoped that Burundi's summer long seriesof elections would be the final step in the countries long and tumultuous transition todemocracy.

But hopes quickly faded as the results were announced and President Nkurunziza'sNational Council for the Defense of Democracy party took over 60 percent of theavailable seats. Opposition parties, including main challenger the Forces of NationalLiberation, accused the electoral commission of fraud and pulled out of the presidentialelection.

But the chief observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission, RenateWeber, said there was no evidence of any such tampering during the municipal polls.

"In spite of errors, in spite of irregularities, generally the elections have been conducted

in a manner that was indeed within the international standards. Why the oppositiondecided to withdraw?" asked Weber.

"They came with a number of allegations of fraud on the elections that we, personallythrough our observers but also through the observers of the civil society that werepresent, were not noticed. There is a difference between fraud and irregularities.Irregularities may be caused by human errors, by not enough logistics, not enough legalprecision while fraud means an intention to affect the result of the election," said Weber.

Despite assurances of the international observers, Burundi has seen a surge in

politically motivated violence in the time between polls.

Two weeks ago, a series of grenade attacks across the country injured over 20 people,and a fresh string of attacks on Tuesday killed one person and left another eight injured.The international community has also been targeted. On Sunday, a grenade went offnear the offices of the European Union's observation team, though nobody was hurt.

The impact of the violence is now being felt outside of the small, central African nation.Burundi is the newest member of the East African Community, an economic andpolitical union which is set to begin its formal integration process in July.

Kenya's foreign minister, Moses Wetang'ula warned that instability could jeopardizethe country's status within the bloc.

"The gains in both security and stability that have been made in the last couple of yearsmust not be lost. Having listened to all the parties, the region advises the people ofBurundi, very firmly, that the region will not tolerate any slippage of the country into


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instability and violence," he said. "We have impressed upon the remaining parties toparticipate fully in the remaining elections of parliament, senatorial and cell."

These are the first presidential elections since a 2005 peace agreement ended a 13-yearcivil war. Burundians will head to the polls again in July for two rounds of legislative

elections followed by village elections in September.--------------------Lifetime of Tracking Killings Ends in Activists Own (New York Times)

Early on the morning of June 2, Mr. Chebeya, Congos best-known human rightsactivist, was found dead in his car in the Mont Ngafula area of this capital city, hishands tied behind his back. The Congo police inspector general had summoned him forquestioning the afternoon before.

Im in front of the office, Mr. Chebeya said in atext message to his wife at 5:20. Keep

track of me, said his message sent two minutes later. That was the last she heard fromhim. She later received a message from his phone, but said she is certain it was not fromher husband.

Now, more than three weeks later, the Chebeya Affair, as his killing has becomeknown, continues to be told day after day on the front pages of Kinshasas newspapers.His death touched off an outcry that has not stopped, here or abroad. The UnitedNations secretary general said he was deeply shocked by Mr. Chebeyas death, andthe United States, European Union and French governments expressed concern andcalled for an independent inquiry.

The police inspector general, John Numbi, one of the most powerful men in thegovernment of President Joseph Kabila, has been suspended. Officials have announcedinvestigations, several officers have been arrested, and Interior Minister AdolpheLumanu announced on national television that Mr. Kabila was determined to get tothe bottom of Mr. Chebeyas death. No cause of death has been released, and nocharges have been filed, according to Human Rights Watch.

Suspicions about who ordered the death, and whether it was someone high in thegovernment, persist. He was quite a thorn in their side, said Anneke VanWoudenberg, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch.

People are angry about this, and touched, said Jospin Tono Goda, a clergymanpeering at the outdoor bulletin boards where newspapers are posted.

Were in mourning, said Claude Boilama, a civil servant, standing next to Mr. Tono.He defended everybody. This was somebody of great courage.


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Nearly 1,000 mourners and diplomats attended a funeral service and burial for Mr.Chebeya on Saturday in Kinshasa. Dozens of riot police officers were on hand, but noviolence was reported.

Human rights defenders, journalists and political opponents are routinely harassed or

even killed in this strategic, mineral-rich country in the heart of Africa, but Mr. Chebeyawas not an ordinary victim. He was the short, bespectacled, intense man who keptgoing, kept investigating, and kept speaking out, on the radio, in news conferences andat the head of demonstrations, year after year, in the face of constant threats andoccasional beatings.

He pursued multiple investigations at the same time from his spartan, unmarked officeson a hillside here: the repression of political opposition, awful conditions in the prisons,the suspicious death of a young woman who had said she was Mr. Kabilas sister.

To the outside world he was the vital on-scene witness, through the carefullydocumented bulletin of the organization he led, La Voix des Sans Voix, or Voice of theVoiceless, to what Human Rights Watch called the systemic nature of politicalrepression under President Kabila.

His experience of that repression was direct, and frequent. In March 2009 the Congopolice raided a news conference he was giving, lifted him up, threw him down stairs,handcuffed him and jailed him. He did not give up, however.

With no answers coming from the government, speculation and questions about his

death abound.

This time, did the police kill Mr. Chebeya? Was someone high up behind his killing?Why has the body of his driver not been found? Was it just a coincidence that the killingwas shortly before a major celebration planned to commemorate the 50th anniversary ofindependence on June 30, which Congo is using to try to prove that it has put civil warand instability behind it? (Indeed, the top hotel here is buzzing with Westernbusinessmen pursuing mining deals with government officials.)

Against the governments narrative of normality Mr. Chebeya offered the oppositeview.

Individual and Collective Liberties Constantly Trampled is the title of his Bulletin No.58, February-April 2009. Inside he documented case after case: a political opponenttortured and beaten into unconsciousness by security agents, human rights activistsbeaten with rifles and forced to strip naked, peaceful demonstrators arbitrarily arrested.Small cases all the routine accompaniment to unpunished mass killings and torture


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documented by Human Rights Watch in a stinging 2008 report on political repression inCongo, We Will Crush You.

He was showing that the elections of 2006 did not lead to the rule of law, said Jean-Claude Katende, president of the African Association for the Defense of Human Rights.

Mr. Chebeyas death was a clear message from the authorities, Mr. Katende said:Everybody should shut up. The investigations now under way, he said, are notcredible.

While emphasizing that the perpetrators remain unknown, Ms. Van Woudenberg ofHuman Rights Watch said, Undoubtedly the government had a motive.

Mr. Chebeyas widow, Annie Mangbenga Nzinga, has no doubt that her husbands tripto the police offices on June 1 led to his death. Speaking calmly, with controlled anger,in a bare room in their house she was occupying until his funeral, she recalled that he

had mentioned the appointment that morning. He did not seem particularly concerned,she remembered.

Hes been under threat most of his life, Ms. Nzinga said. The security services didnot accept the work that he did. When she went to visit him in prison in March 2009,the police officers taunted her, she recalled. Were going to kill him, and rape you, shesaid they told her.

But there was never any question of giving up.

He was a man who was faithful to his convictions, full of integrity, and not corrupted,Mr. Katende said. For Congo, where corruption is massive, this is very unusual. Its ashame we had to lose a man like that.--------------------Equatorial Guinea Pledges Oil Revenue Transparency (Bloomberg)

Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has held powerfor more than three decades, said his country had entered a new era of accountabilityand transparency.

A five-point policy initiative commits the government to greater transparency on oilrevenue, judicial independence and press freedom, Obiang told the Fortune GlobalForum in Cape Town today.

The country went through a period of crisis, Obiang told reporters. No one washelping us to develop. After the discovery of oil there was a rather weak initial responsefrom companies interested in investing. Now we feel secure in our position and it is theright moment to invite companies with confidence to invest in our country.


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The policy initiative will help the country rejoin the Extractive Industries TransparencyInitiative, Obiang said. It was ejected earlier this year from the organization ofcompanies, governments and civil groups that aims to clean up the oil and miningindustries for failing to meet guidelines.

Russias OAO Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of the worlds largest gas company, has said itplans to produce crude off the coast of Equatorial Guinea within four years after signingan accord with the African nations state energy company June 25.

Special Circumstances

Obiang has ruled sub-Saharan Africas fourth-biggest oil- producer since 1979, when heseized power from his uncle in a coup. He won a fourth term in elections in Novemberlast year, securing 95.4 percent of the vote. Groups including New York- based Human

Rights Watch said conditions were not in place for a free and fair contest, and haveaccused Obiang of human rights abuses and pilfering the countrys oil wealth.

Allegations that the country lacked an independent electoral commission and failed topublish a voters roll were incorrect and none of the parties that participated in the votecomplained, Obiang said.

Asked about his succession plans and whether his lengthy rule was good fordemocracy, he said: My country is democratic. In my own situation there are specialcircumstances. I have liberated the country. You can find development in every corner

of Equatorial Guinea and the people appreciate this. This may be the reason why mycandidacy is always supported.

Oil Wealth

With a population of about 660,000 and an $8.1 billion economy, Equatorial Guinea hasAfricas highest gross domestic product per capita, World Bank data shows. At thesame time, average life expectancy is 50 years and 148 out of every 1,000 children diebefore the age of five.

Substantial resources from the oil industry would be invested in health, educationand other services, and the environment would be protected, Obiang said.

A 2004 U.S. Senate investigation into money laundering found that Washington-basedRiggs Bank was holding as much as $750 million in accounts controlled by Obiang, hisfamily members or government officials.


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Obiang said he was unaware of any public funds being diverted from the country andthat many allegations made against his government and his family were untrue.

I will not say everything is well in Equatorial Guinea, he said. We ask the skepticsand the critics to trust the government and the society of Equatorial Guinea. Evaluate us

by our actions.

Only seven countries rank lower than Equatorial Guinea on TransparencyInternationals 2009 list of global corruption perceptions.

Obiang has appointed Lanny Davis, a special counsel under President Bill Clinton, as atechnical adviser on his reform and transparency program.--------------------Africa's biggest wind farm opens in Morocco (AFP)

TANGIERS, Morocco Morocco's King Mohammed VI inaugurated Monday a 250-million-euro (300 million dollar) wind farm near Tangiers, which an official source saidwas the biggest in Africa.

The new wind farm, which cost some 300 million dollars, is located in Melloussa, 34kilometres (21 miles) from Tangiers in northern Morocco and has 165 turbines, with aproduction capacity of 140 megawatts.

The project was part-financed by the European Bank, which invested 80 million euros,while Spanish and German banks put in a total of 150 million euros.

"The EU gives priority to this kind of investment and is proud to have financed theproject," said Guido Prud'homme, the European Bank's representative at theinauguration ceremony.

Morocco's Minister of Energy and Mining, Yamsmina Benkhadra, said the wind farm"is part of a global project estimated at three billion dollars. It will be completed in2020."

The project, she said, would secure 42 percent of Morocco's energy production, withwind farms, solar and hydraulic sources each generating 14 percent of the total.

This would reduce Morocco's energy bill, Benkhadra said, and would "assure ourenergy security and a sustainable development."

A large wind farm in north Morocco opened in 2000 with a 54-megawatt capacity.--------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs


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Full Articles on UN Website

Guinea earns UN plaudits after peaceful staging of presidential election28 June Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today commended Guinea for the successfulstaging of presidential elections, widely regarded as the first democratic polls in the

West African country since independence more than 50 years ago.

Outgoing UN envoy encourages Somali leadership to build on recent gains28 June The outgoing United Nations envoy for Somalia has called on the countrysleaders to remain focused on the priorities ahead for the Horn of Africa nation as itseeks to overcome years of conflict and build peace.

Praising Eritreas engagement with neighbours, Ban urges compliance with resolutions28 June Eritrea deserves credit for its recent constructive engagement with itsneighbours and the international community, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a

new report in which he urges the country to provide evidence that it is complying witha Security Council resolution that imposed sanctions for the countrys destabilizingactivities in Djibouti and Somalia.

UN report urges Central Africans to press ahead with elections preparations28 June Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged all parties in the Central AfricanRepublic (CAR) to forge ahead with preparations for presidential and parliamentaryelections, which were originally scheduled for earlier this year but have been postponedseveral times.

AFRICOM Related News Clips June 29, 2010

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