Abayomi Azikiwe, PANW Editor, Featured on Black Agenda Report: Search for Boko Haram Deepens Imperialist Penetration In Africa

Abayomi Azikiwe is the editor of the Pan-African News Wire.

Mon, 05/26/2014 - 23:06 — Glen Ford

To listen to this episode of Black Agenda Report featuring Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, just click on the website below:
http://www.blackagendareport.com/content/listen-black-agenda-radio-progressive-radio-network-glen-ford-and-nellie-bailey-%E2%80%93-week-52614

Search for Boko Haram Deepens Imperial Penetration in Africa

France recently oversaw an agreement between Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin to mount joint efforts to combat Boko Haram fighters, with the U.S. and Europeans providing financing, training and equipment. “Why should a conference concerned with the security of Nigeria and West Africa be held in Paris?” asked Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan African News Wire. “The question speaks volumes to the degree of neocolonialism that is still prevalent” in Africa. “This is just an effort on the part of France, the United States and other imperialist states to deepen their military intervention on the African continent” in the guise of humanitarian concerns, said Azikiwe.

Ras Baraka’s “Daunting Challenge” in Newark

Ras Baraka’s mayoral victory in Newark, New Jersey, represents “a significant break with the past, with the [Cory] Booker administration,” said Larry Hamm, chairman of the Newark-based People’s Organization for Progress. Baraka faces the “daunting challenge” of a $93 million budget deficit when he takes office, July 1. During the campaign, he opposed further school closings and charterization, and called for an end to state management of local schools, now in its 18th year. Some fear a state takeover of municipal finances, as well. “This points out the challenges of Black Power in the 21st century,” said Hamm.

Beware Banksters Bearing “Gifts” for Detroit

Wall Street banking giants JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs are offering millions in loans and grants for a structural makeover of Detroit, still mired in bankruptcy proceedings. “They say it’s philanthropy, but they also say they expect to make money” on the deal, said Tom Stephens, a people’s lawyer active in the resistance to the state and corporate takeover of the city. What the banks are actually funding is “a pretty overt racist, neoliberal and neocolonial framework – with strings attached – that is not going to benefit the vast majority of the people of Detroit.” JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs “should be facing charges for predatory, fraudulent financial manipulation” for helping bring Detroit down, said Stephens.

Temple U. Students Vow to Protest Monteiro Dismissal All Summer

“We’re fighting for students and community people to have a real voice at the university,” including matters such as gentrification of surrounding Black neighborhoods, said student leader Kashara White. The Temple University provost, she said, maintains that the firing of African American Studies scholar Dr. Anthony Monteiro was done in accordance with school policy. The problem “is not that the school isn’t following its policies, but that their policies are unjust,” said White. Adjunct professors need more job security, so they won’t be fired when they support student and community demands, as Dr. Monteiro did. The protests will continue through the summer. “This is going to set a standard for students in Philadelphia and across the nation,” she said. “We want Dr. Monteiro back because we know he sets that same precedent for faculty.”

A State of Mourning for Elombe Brath

Legendary New York-based activist Elombe Brath succumbed to a long illness, May 19. The Patrice Lumumba Coalition founder was honored on May 11 of last year at Harlem’s Harriet Tubman School. Raymond Santana, who along with others of the Central Park 5 was imprisoned for 13 years for a rape they did not commit, said he knew Brath “as a protector, a man who embraced me as one of his own sons, a man who stepped up for the Central Park 5 when lots of people wouldn’t, and still champions for us to receive our just due.”

Rodolfo Reyes, the Cuban Ambassador to the United Nations, also honored Brath in 2013. “Cuba remembers with high esteem his tireless struggle for the freedom of the Cuban 5, unjustly imprisoned in United States jails,” said Reyes. “By following the example of Elombe Brath, we can turn into reality the goal of our leader, Fidel Castro, that a better world is possible, where justice, human dignity and solidarity prevail."

Black Agenda Radio on the Progressive Radio Network is hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey. A new edition of the program airs every Monday at 11:00am ET on PRN. Length: One hour.

SACP Calls For Immediate Resolution And  End To The Strike In The Platinum Belt

South African Communist Party Central Committee meeting in
Feb. 2014.

26 May 2014

The South African Communist Party is gravely concerned with, and also strongly condemns, the intimidation, torture, violence and killings that continue to take place in the Rustenburg platinum belt. This violence is perpetrated by groupings from or implanted amongst the striking workers against other workers. Unfortunately, there is deafening silence by those who had pretended to be concerned about killing of workers before.

The SACP calls for an end to the strike: the mining bosses must engage genuinely with all the affected parties, and ensure that a collective bargaining agreement is reached with immediate effect. Instead of being intransigent, the mining corporations, which have previously made billions of Rands, must appreciate the plight of the workers by improving their working and living conditions through decent work, including better wages and benefits. But the SACP also calls upon the trade unions involved to stop gambling with the lives and jobs of the workers. Such unguided militancy has the potential to lead to job losses and roll back the many gains made by mine workers especially since 1994.

The SACP further calls upon workers not to be used in turning against other workers. On the 16th August 2012, 34 workers were killed and 78 wounded when police opened fire in a violent strike. Prior to this tragic incident, between 10-12 August, 10 workers including 2 police officers had been brutally killed by groupings from or implanted among striking workers. However, others were unprincipled in their condemnations; they ignored the 10 workers who were killed on 10-12 August coupled with the violence that was being unleashed to forge the emergence and growth of new union in the area. Similarly these opportunists are silent at the continuing intimidation, violence and killings of workers by other workers. With some few exceptions, unfortunately the media has also turned a blind eye on this violence.

The Communist Party supports the struggles of the workers against exploiters in every encounter, but cautions against the conversion of tactical instruments in collective bargaining engagements into a strategic goal. The Party calls on workers to take heed of demagogic forces who seek to entrench themselves by inflating expectations about the potential of collective bargaining, polarising workers against workers, and thereby weakening working class unity in our national democratic revolution and the struggle for socialism - the real solution to the problem of exploitation.

Issued by the SACP

Contact:

SACP Media and Communications Department

Alex Mashilo - Spokesperson
Mobile: 082 9200 308
Mobile: 060 343 1192
Office: 011 339 3621/2

Nigeria: War Drums In Adamawa State

Adamawa Gov. Murtala Nyako is under fire for his criticism
of the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan.

May 28, 2014

The mutual suspicion between the Governor Murtala Nyako and the State House of Assembly is degenerating.

By Umar Yusuf
Nigerian Vanguard

The on-again-off-again cordiality between Governor Murtala Nyako and the Speaker Umaru Fintiri led State House of Assembly seems to have taken a dive for the worse. Even more remarkably, word of an impeachment plot against the governor is in the air with a number of possible replacements being mentioned as being scrutinized to take over from Nyako.

Controversy beckoned on Governor Nyako when he circulated a blistering memo to northern governors in which he accused President Goodluck Jonathan of leading the Federal Government to commit genocide against the Northerners and secretly fueling the insurgency by the Boko Haram Islamic sect.

The memo attracted nation-wide condemnation, especially from the ruling political party and its allies. Even fellow governors from the region drew back from the memo.

It is now alleged that the impeachment process is Abuja’s own response to the Adamawa governor.

The threat gained some credibility when three All Progressives Congress, APC lawmakers in the House decamped to join the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP making it that all 25 members in the House belong to the PDP.

Still yesterday, the State House of Assembly issued a two month ultimatum to the government to pay two months salary arrears to civil servants in the state who were not paid during a strike by civil servants in September and October, 2012. The legislators also directed the executive arm to pay civil servants in the state their deducted allowances for the month of May, 2014 within this week.

Failure, on the part of the executive to meet the two ultimatums, the assembly said it will term it as a contempt of the legislative proceedings.

But that is as much as the verified facts can be proved. After that are so many tales.

One tale circulating in Yola is that the lawmakers were invited by the influential governor from the Niger Delta who handed over N10 million to each of the lawmakers. However, along the way the middle man between the said governor and the lawmakers shortchanged the lawmakers by deducting N2 million from each of the lawmakers.

Another tale is that a number of politicians have been penciled down to step in when Nyako is removed.

Among them are Awwal Tukur, son of the immediate past National Chairman of the PDP, Bamanga Tukur, Dr. Ahmed Modibbo, Dr Umar Ardo, Mr. Markus Gundiri, Mr. James Barka, current Nigeria’s Ambassador to Tunisia, and the former Lagos State Military Administrator, Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.), who recently dumped Nyako’s APC for PDP

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/05/war-drums-adamawa/#sthash.6peRLsqK.dpuf

Aftermath of Jos Blasts: Fear Grips Bauchi Residents

Bomb blast damage in Jos.

May 28, 2014
By SUZAN EDEH
Nigerian Vanguard

Just when everybody thought that the spate of bomb attacks in the North-East part of the country was gradually fizzling out, residents of Jos in Plateau State were once again rattled by two fresh bomb attacks in less than a week. In the first incident which happened on the May 20, 2014, two bombs exploded one after the other at a business-busy area packed with commuters and traders, leaving at least 118 people dead.

The second explosion occurred on a Saturday along Bauchi road, close to a football viewing centre by University of Jos. Eyewitnesses said the bomber approached the viewing centre while sports fans were watching the UEFA Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, but could not get there before his car exploded.

However, with the frequent occurrences of bomb attacks in some targeted parts of the North, most neighbouring states close to Plateau State are constantly living in fear of the unknown as nobody knows which state is the next target. This is presently the case in Bauchi State as everybody has become extra security conscious in response to the ugly experiences of bomb attacks.

Just last week, there was a bomb scare at a shopping complex in Wunti market where items suspected to be improvised explosives were concealed in a bag. When an alarm was raised in the market that a bomb was about to explode, everyone took to his or her heels. This, however, later turned out to be a false alarm as it was discovered that the suspected items were three kerosene stoves and not explosives devices.

It took the intervention of the security agents dispatched in the area to restore law and order as rumours spread fast in the state metropolis that Boko Haram had invaded Bauchi town. In fact, some residents in the state metropolis who spoke to VM about their fears, said government should intensify security checks throughout the state.

A Tailor at the Wunti market, popularly called Amaka Chidibere said she has been contemplating relocating from the North completely, adding that her husband prevailed on her to tarry a while to enable them gather enough capital to settle in his state, Anambra. According to her: “I thought the bomb attacks have ceased, but from what I’m seeing now, Bauchi may be the next target”.

An Indigiene of Bauchi State from Dass local government, Garba Maigani, said that he has nowhere to run to because Bauchi is his home state. He said: “Where am I going to run to? This is my home state and I can’t say that I want to relocate my family because of insecurity. The way out of this challenge is for the Federal and state governments to rise to the occasion; if not, we are all going to perish”.

Ali also said that fervent prayer at this perilous times is what is needed because security agents can no longer provide security of lives and property.

However, security has been beefed up in Bauchi as the war against the Boko Haram intensifies. Just last week, the Nigerian military bombed Boko Haram camps located in parts of Bauchi State, local and security sources have disclosed.

As early as 6 ‘O clock in the morning, locals said that they heard loud sounds of explosives in the forest where insurgents camps were reportedly located.

It has been reported that a sizeable number of gunmen suspected to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect are operating in the Balmo forests in Darazo,  Burra in Ningi, Soro in Ganjuwa and Yugda between Zara-Miya. Another camp is believed to exist around the Bauchi –Gombe border in Alkaleri.

Some of the locals in the forest communities who pleaded anonymity, for security reasons, said the vibration shook their houses to their very foundation, adding that shortly after the explosive sounds were heard they saw military aircraft bearing Nigerian flags hovering in the sky.

A reliable security source in the state confirmed that the army has started operation in the forest but did not give details of the operation, adding that the exercise was carried out without creating panic among the inhabitants of the forests.

- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/05/aftermath-jos-blasts-fear-grips-bauchi-residents/#sthash.Qlrbx40Y.dpuf

Stop Abusing My Husband, Patience Tells Nigerians

Nigerian First Lady Patience Jonathan defends her husband.

MAY 28, 2014
BY OLALEKAN ADETAYO
Nigerian Punch

Wife of President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, on Tuesday advised Nigerians to desist from abusing her husband because God Himself made him the head of the nation.

Patience gave the advice while addressing children at an event she organised to mark the 2014 Children’s Day at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The children used the occasion to send letters of protest to the Boko Haram sect and President Goodluck Jonathan on the need to release the abducted girls.

The letters were given to Mrs. Jonathan for onward delivery to her husband and members of the sect.

The President’s wife however said since she did not know members of the sect, she would forward the children’s letters to the National Security Adviser or the Chief of Defence Staff.

“Let me thank the children that gave me a letter to give Boko Haram. Well, I have received your letter, but I am not the one to give it to Boko Haram because I don’t know Boko Haram and I have never seen Boko Haram. But I will give it to the NSS or the Chief of Defence Staff who will submit your letter accordingly.

“To my children, thank you for your letter. Thank you for your deliberation. I have received what you gave to me. I will make sure I pass it to the President because it is addressed to him and the other one is addressed to Boko Haram. That is why the two are different,” she added.

Earlier, Patience had told the children that God’s instruction to mankind to honour their parents was not limited to their biological parents only.

She said, “It is bad to abuse our country and the President because God has made him the head.

“The Almighty God commands us to pray for our leaders. We therefore need to pray for the development of our country and the President.

“Remember that a child that abuses his father and mother is disobeying God’s commandment because the Bible says in Exodus 20:12 that you should honour your father and mother so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God has given you.”

She assured the children and adults who attended the event that the Federal Government was doing all within its powers to secure the release of the over 200 schoolgirls abducted from Chibok, Borno State.

While calling on Nigerians to be united in the fight against terrorism, Patience also advised that citizens should learn to encourage soldiers who are at the forefront of the terrorism war.

“It is the right of every child to go to school. It is only through education that you can be able to achieve your dreams and contribute meaningfully to your community and the nation.

“We desire peace in our community and in our nation. I want you all to be ambassadors of peace in your schools and practise good manners. We have no other country than Nigeria.

“We therefore need to be patriotic and committed to our dear country. We should strengthen our covenant with our country as outlined in the National Pledge.

“Let us therefore be united in fighting terrorism. We should encourage our soldiers who are in the frontline to rescue our beloved daughters,” she said.

Contact: editor@punchng.com

Experts to Testify Against Nigerian Senator In Case Charging Sponsorship Of Boko Haram

Nigerian Senator Aliyu Ndume is charged with sponsoring Boko
Haram.

MAY 28, 2014
BY ADE ADESOMOJU
Nigerian Punch

A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Tuesday granted an application by the Federal Government to call two additional witnesses against Senator Aliyu Ndume, who is facing charges of sponsoring the violent Islamic fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram.

The proposed witnesses, according to the Federal Government, are the MTN and a forensic expert. Three prosecution witnesses had already testified in the case.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole, after dismissing Ndume’s opposition to the prosecution’s application on Tuesday, gave the Federal Government seven days to file its additional proof of evidence and serve same on the defence.

Ndume had through his lawyer, Mr. Rickey Tarfa (SAN), argued that the request to call additional witnesses by the prosecution was “a ploy to bring back through the back door”, exhibits which the Court of Appeal had ruled were wrongly admitted by the trial court.

But Justice Kolawole held that the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, delivered by Justice Amiru   person had appealed against its admission in evidence.

The Exhibits P7, P8, P8A and P8B were said to be DVDs containing results of the forensic analysis of two mobile telephones said to be retrieved from Ndume and Ali Konduga.

Konduga (aka Al Zawahiri), who had been convicted of terror charges, was said to be a former spokesman for Boko Haram.

Justice Kolawole ruled on Tuesday that, though it was an elementary knowledge in law that an exhibit that had been marked rejected could not be re-tendered in the same proceedings, the exhibits which the prosecution sought to call additional witnesses for, were not the same marked rejected by the Court of Appeal.

“The court cannot anticipate what the proposed witnesses of the prosecution are coming to say,” Justice Kolawole added on Tuesday.

He also ruled, “In the light of this, it will be an unjudicial exercise of discretion by the judge to shut out or to shut down the evidence to be tendered by the proposed witnesses.”

The court dismissed Ndume’s other grounds of objection, among which was that the prosecution failed to give details of the proposed witnesses, especially the one from MTN, including their names, addresses, status and areas of expertise.

Ndume had also urged the court to refuse the prosecution’s application because it constituted an abuse of court process because the additional proof of evidence sought to be filed by the prosecution was baseless.

But the court, upheld the submissions of the Federal Government’s counsel, E.A Orji, to the effect that the prosecution was not bound by law to file proof of evidence in a criminal trial at the Federal High Court.

“The court cannot exert on the prosecution what is not imposed by law,” the court ruled.

The court added that the defence ought to focus on the “materiality and the relevance” of the evidence to be given by the witnesses, rather than bothering itself with the details of the witnesses.

The court added that the defence was at liberty to ask for an adjournment if it becomes handicapped to cross-examine the witnesses due to lack of sufficient information about the witnesses which had been withheld by the prosecution.

The matter was then fixed for June 30, July 1 and 9 for continuation of trial.

Ndume was arraigned on four counts of terrorism, after he was implicated by Konduga, who had since been convicted and sentenced.

The Court of Appeal had in its December 17, 2013 ruling declared as wrongful, the admission in evidence of the DVDs which contained the records of mobile telephone exchanges between Ndume and Konduga.

The appellate court ruled that the prosecution failed to comply with the condition precedent as required under Section 84(1) and (2) of the Evidence Act 2011 (as amended) in relation to the admission of computer generated evidence.

But the call data records had revealed a total of 73 mobile telephone conversations between Ndume and Konduga from October 3, 2011 to November 3, 2011.

The call data records were obtained after a forensic analysis of a Nokia E7 phone said to belong to Ndume, and a Nokia 2700 belonging to Konduga.

Contact: editor@punchng.com

Obasanjo, Others In Talks To Free Abducted Girls

Former Nigerian military leader and president Olusegun
Obasanjo.

by HENRY IYORKASE, FRANCIS SUBERU, BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA AND ADEOLA TUKURU
May 28, 2014
Nigerian National Mirror

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has met with people close to the Boko Haram sect in an attempt to broker the release of the 276 schoolgirls kidnapped a month ago, a source close to the talks told AFP yesterday. The talks last week end at Obasanjo’s farm in Ota, Ogun State included relatives of senior Islamist fighters, intermediaries and the former president, the source said on condition of anonymity.

“The meeting was focused on how to free the girls through negotiation,” said the source, referring to the kidnapped schoolgirls, whose abduction has triggered global outrage.

Nigeria’s response to the mass abduction has been widely criticised and the hostage crisis has brought unprecedented international attention to Boko Haram’s five-year extremist uprising.

Obasanjo, who left office in 2007, has previously sought to negotiate with the insurgents, including in September 2011 after Boko Haram bombed the United Nations headquarters in Abuja.

Then, he flew to Maiduguri, the Borno State capital, to meet relatives of former Boko Haram leader Mohammed Yusuf, who was killed in police custody in 2009.

The 2011 talks did not help stem the violence and some at the time doubted if Obasanjo was dealing with people with the authority to negotiate a ceasefire.

The former head of state, who remains an influential figure in Nigerian politics, refused to take questions when reached by phone earlier yesterday.

But the source told AFP that Obasanjo had voiced concern about Nigeria’s acceptance of foreign military personnel to help rescue the girls.

“He said he is worried that Nigeria’s prestige in Africa as a major continental power had been diminished” by President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to bring in Western military help, including from the United States.

Mustapha Zanna, the lawyer who helped organise Obasanjo’s 2011 talks with Boko Haram, said he was at the former president’s home on Saturday.

But he declined to discuss whether the Chibok abductions were on the agenda.

“I was there,” he told AFP, explaining that Obasanjo was interested in helping vulnerable children in Nigeria’s embattled northeast.

Zanna had represented Yusuf’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the government following his death in police custody.

It was not clear if Obasanjo’s weekend meeting had been sanctioned by the government.

Obasanjo backed Jonathan’s 2011 presidential campaign but the two are widely thought to have since fallen out.

According to the source, Obasanjo supported a prisoner- for-hostage swap that would see some of the girls released in exchange for a group of Boko Haram fighters held in custody.

As a private citizen with damaged ties to the presidency, Obasanjo likely does not have the authority to negotiate any deal on the government’s behalf.

Abuja has officially ruled out a prisoner swap but sent intermediaries to meet Boko Haram in the northeast to negotiate for the girls’ release.

The source identified one of the envoys as Ahmad Salkida, a journalist with ties to Boko Haram who was close to Yusuf before his death.

The security conference in Paris recently saw Nigeria and its neighbours vow greater cooperation to tackle Boko Haram because of the potential threat to regional stability.

Meanwhile, protests, tears and grief marked this year’s Children’s Day celebration yesterday over the abduction of 276 students of the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State, by the Boko Haram insurgents.

The schoolgirls were taken captive by the dreaded sect about six weeks ago.

There were protests across the country, with the demonstrators, including state governors, demanding that government ensure the immediate release of the girls.

In Enugu, thousands of primary and secondary school children wept openly while praying for the safety and speedy release of the abducted girls.

The children roused the audience at the Michael Okpara Square, venue of the event, with the passionate words of prayer they voiced while raising their hands towards an imagined direction of Sambisa forest and beseeching God to send his angels there to rescue their colleagues.

They also carried placards denouncing the abduction of the schoolgirls and calling for their immediate release and the cessation of harassment of school children and their teachers in the North.

Led in the prayers by the State Chairman of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Rev. Godwin Madu and the State Secretary of Christian Association Nigeria, Rev. Emeka Ejim, the children stressed that there was no room for celebrations of this year’s event since their abducted colleagues were still going through the horror of captivity in the custody of the terrorists.

They called on the government to intensify efforts to ensure the quick release of the captives and find ways to prevent such occurrence in the future.

Amidst flowing tears, Miss Precious Ede, who prayed on behalf of the children said: “We did not come here to celebrate; rather we came here to express our anguish at the continued plight of our mates in the hands of the Boko Haram.

Presenting the address of President Jonathan on the occasion, Enugu State Governor Sullivan Chime denounced the abduction of the school children and the rampant bombing and burning of schools, leading to the closure of some schools and colleges in the North-East.

In Lagos, it was protests galore as hundreds of people in different groups took to the streets to clamour for the rescue of the abducted Chibok girls.

Different groups, who participated in the “Bring Back our Girls” protests across the state yesterday include the Nigerians United Against Terrorism, NUAT, led by Mrs. Lailai Daniels; the Association for Formidable Educational Development, AFED, led by Mrs. Ifedola Dada, the Al-Mu’minaat Social Advocacy Project, SAP, led by Mrs. Sherifah Yususf-Ajibade, The Young Muslims Association, TYMA, led by Abdulazeez Ajala, and the Pure Heart Foundation, PHF, led by Mr. Abdulraheem Lukman.

Others are the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, MSSN, Lagos State Area and the League of Muslim Schools Proprietors, LEAMSP, Lagos State chapter.

Some of the protesting groups gathered at different areas with placards and marched through Ikeja to the Lagos State secretariat, Alausa, while others, including the NUAT marched from Maryland to the Freedom Park, Ojota.

The protesters, who marched in solidarity to demand for the release of the abducted school girls, were attended to by police officers attached to the Governor’s Office as Governor Babatunde Fashola and other members of his government had gone for the Children’s Day parade at the Police College, Ikeja.

The governor used the occasion to announce free bus rides for students in uniform in both public and private schools, to and from school, across the state.

Yesterday’s Children’s Day celebration was devoid of the usual fanfare as pupils of the various schools marched round the venue to the acknowledgement of the governor.

The pupils were all dressed in red vests with the inscription “Bring Back Our Friends” rather than their usual school uniforms.

Speaking on behalf of AFED, Dada said the protest was meant to demand for the immediate rescue of the over abducted 200 schoolgirls, saying children were now afraid of going to schools for fear of being kidnapped.

Fifteen-year-old Shukrah Yusuf, an SS1 Student of Al- Siddiq College, Mile 12, Lagos, told our correspondents that the abduction of the schoolgirls was appalling.

She said: “When I heard it, I felt very sad that schoolgirls were abducted and I learnt that some were converted from Christianity to Islam. That is not what Allah said we should do, it’s not by force, one can only encourage them, not the way the terrorists are doing it.

In Abuja, Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zainab Maina, lamented that terrorists had taken away the joy of the Children’s Day celebration with the kidnapping of the girls.

The Nigerian Military and the War on Terror

Nigerian soldiers after Boko Haram attacks.

Written by EDITOR
Nigerian Guardian

AS Nigeria passes through these troubled times, it is important to admit all inadequacies if the times would ever pass and not become permanent. Apart from other dysfunctions within the polity, the threat posed to the country and its citizens by the campaign of terror of the militant group, Boko Haram, has no doubt opened a can of worms regarding the combat readiness of the country’s security forces, worms that must be banished if the nation would not be swarmed.

   Recently, the Governor of Borno State, the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives and troops that are engaged with the insurgents in combat complained that the military is ill-equipped to fight the insurgents. Indeed, the inability of the country’s security forces to contain the insurgents has now caused the Nigerian military a huge embarrassment in the international community and the setbacks as well as discomforting reports of the state of the troops’ combat readiness is worthy of concern. After all, it has already resulted in avoidable casualty and a consequent mutiny in one of the military formations in the country. This obvious deficit must be addressed for a number of reasons.

  One, the military institution is the material force of the state and must be capable of fulfilling the function of protecting the nation. Secondly, the military is the most unifying institution in the country, and thirdly, the institution has played a critical role in restoring peace and democratic governance to neigbouring countries in West Africa. It has also been active in peace-keeping operations under the auspices of the United Nations globally. So, the Nigerian military has a rich legacy. But for this legacy to be sustained, it must meet its responsibility as the amour of the state and its vitiation by whatever means must be avoided.

   In grappling with the current circumstances, a historical reflection is inevitable. The military institution suffers from a foundational ‘Glover syndrome’, a situation where it has always distanced itself from the society and perceived it as an abstract construct, thereby alienating the rest of society from itself. Whereas in theory and practice, it ought to defend societal interest, the military’s incursion into politics and the corresponding spectacle of counter-coup d’etat brought down its espirit de corps. It was the case that once in politics, certain branches of the armed forces were treated preferentially according to the whims and caprices of whoever was the commander-in-chief as a form of guarantee against possible coup. Such was the state that a former army chief noted that “it became the norm for subordinate officers to sit, not only to discuss their superiors, but to pass judgment, of course in absentia. We became an army where subordinate officers would not only be contemptuous of their superiors but would exhibit total disregard to the legitimate instructions of such superiors.” Indeed, the Nigerian army became “an army of anything goes.” To be sure, military rule so eroded internal cohesion and professionalism of the institution that military officers became political officers chasing after wealth by means of primitive accumulation.

   The point has now been made that the morale of the military is low. And, also, there is dearth of equipment. Data on military expenditure in Nigeria between 1999 and 2005 averaging 1.3 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shows that the military may have been underfunded over-time.

In recent times, however, an improvement in funding has not resulted in corresponding professionalism and performance. Although military hardware are expensive, a logical question still is: what have the defence officials and National Security Advisers been doing? What happened to the trillions of naira voted for defence in the last three years? What of the security votes and sundry extra-budgetary allocations for security?    What is the nature of the procurement process within the military? Military expenditure is very opaque in an environment characterised by almost total non-control by the ministry of defence which, in the past, and in more civilised societies, has pre-eminence over the armed forces. Then there are the additional issues of absence of sound and steady defence policy as well as strategic, engineering and accounting expertise for arms purchase. Certainly, the Nigerian military needs to be reformed to restore professionalism.

    Regardless, of the current contradictions, the service chiefs must be responsible to the defence ministry as well as the president who appoints them all. The procurement process must become more transparent. This should be easy as armament purchase is done on government to government basis. Loopholes for the purchase of second rated materials in the black market should be plugged. Professionalism is a categorical imperative and it entails, among others, strictly disciplined conduct, sound equipment, great motivation as well as rigorous and strategic training of the fighting components of the military. The glory of the Nigerian armed forces must be restored.

And the time is now.

Defense Headquarters Condemns New York Times Report on Nigeria’s Military

Nigerian graphic on the northeast under a state of emergency.

Written by EDITOR
Nigerian Guardian

DEFENCE Headquarters (DHQ), Ministry of Defence has sharply criticized a May 23rd, 2014 report in the New York Times titled: “Nigeria’s Army Hampers Hunt for Kidnapped Girls,” describing it as ‘reckless, unprofessional’ and aimed at ‘disparaging and rubbishing the relentless efforts of Nigerian troops in the ongoing search and rescue operations to free the abducted Chibok girls.’

   In a statement issued Tuesday signed by Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, the Army said the report by Adams Nossiter was biased and “typical of the unfortunate approach adopted by a section of the foreign media organisations which have continued to feast on insinuations aimed at casting aspersions on the Nigerian military.

   The assertion in the article that Nigerian military “is so poorly trained and armed, and so riddled with corruption” is clear indication that the reporter is too prejudiced to acknowledge the fact that this same Nigerian military have trained and conducted military exercises and operations alongside the military organisations of other nations in recent times and excelled. It is ironical that the anomalies so loudly touted in Mr. Nossiter’s article were not identified with the Nigerian military during such international outings.

   “It is unfortunate that, rather than objectively examine the terrorism challenge currently confronting Nigeria’s transnational and contagious phenomenon; the writer preferred to uncannily engage in campaign of calumny to tarnish the reputation of the Nigerian military.  The report by Nossiter has clearly unveiled his abysmal mediocrity arrogance and racist sentiments.

   “Describing as a weak reed, a military that fought and sacrificed so much to extricate Liberia, a vital and longstanding ally of United States of America from the brinks of total collapse on two occasions, reveals the viciousness of the bias being displayed by Nossiter. This same Nigerian military, which Nossiter tried fruitlessly to ridicule fought valiantly and successfully to bring to an end, the civil war in Sierra Leone, a former British colony and ally. What about the successes in Darfur and Somalia? Has he also forgotten or is he so unaware of the gallantry of Nigerian soldiers when American troops were being mauled by rebels in Somalia in 1994? Has he quickly forgotten the contribution of the Nigerian military to the current peace being savoured in Mali?

   “Indeed, these are benchmarks and indicators of the prowess of the Nigerian military which have gone down the annals of regional and global history and no amount of mischievous reportage from hack writers can undo these feats. Mr. Nossiter is noted to be so committed to reporting Nigeria in bad light judging by his previous articles on the country in the same medium. The New York Times is expected to note the racist disposition of this writer and always take his writings on Nigeria and Africa with a pinch of salt.”

Boko Haram Kills At Least 31 Nigerian Security Personnel

Nigerian troops killed in brazen Boko Haram attack.

May 28, 2014

DAMATURU/MAIDUGURI. — Boko Haram gunmen attacked a Nigerian military base and adjacent police barracks simultaneously in the north-eastern town of Buni Yadi, killing at least 25 security personnel, security sources and a witness said.

The attack late on Monday in Yobe state occurred not far from where the Islamist insurgents shot or burned to death 59 pupils at a boarding school in February.

The militants, whose violent struggle for an Islamic state in northern Nigeria has killed thousands and made them the biggest threat to security in Africa’s top oil-producing state, are still holding more than 200 girls kidnapped on April 14, an act which provoked a storm of international outrage.

A witness and resident of Buni Yadi, who identified himself only as Mustafa for fear of retribution, said the militants arrived in an armoured personnel carrier and six Toyota Hilux pick-up trucks before dismounting and firing into the air.

They fired rocket propelled grenades at both bases.

The witness and two security sources, one in Yobe state and another at the army’s north-east headquarters in Maiduguri, said at least 11 soldiers and 14 police officers, including a female officer, were killed.

The security source in Yobe state said 17 soldiers may have actually died.

The spokesman for defence headquarters was not immediately available for comment.

Yobe police spokesman Nansak Chegwam said he knew of the attack but that the details were sketchy.

In what has become rare for a movement that has killed thousands of civilians in the past year, Boko Harm called out to people on the street not to run away as they had only come for the security forces, Mustafa and the Yobe police source said.

— Reuters.

What a Zimbabwe Policy Review Of Industry Will Mean

A Zimbabwe platinum facility.

May 28, 2014
Herald Reporter

Government is moving away from demanding equity in foreign-owned companies exploiting natural resources in the country towards a new model that insists on total control and ownership of all sub-soil assets, experts have said.

The experts said it was time Government redefined the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act to clarify recent changes and turn around the economy by stimulating extraction of mineral resources in partnership with experienced and trustworthy international partners.

Government proposed the Production Sharing Model (PSM) and the Joint Empowerment Investment Model (JEIM) as the two vehicles through which sector-specific implementation of indigenisation would be achieved.

The two vehicles have been successfully applied to oil and gas resources in the  Middle East and Latin America.

Whereas the Act requires all foreign-owned businesses worth at least US$500 000 to cede 51 percent shareholding to indigenous Zimbabweans, the PSM model allows investors to recover initial capital investment, receive an appropriate return on investment and recoup operational costs.

Under JEIM – outside mining, agriculture and particular tourism investments – indigenous Zimbabweans will be encouraged to enter joint ventures to generate capital to build wholly Zimbabwean-owned enterprises.

A source close to policy development on yesterday said the laws needed to be redefined to capture the changes and provide clarity.

“The existing law demands 51-49 percent disposal for value and it recognises that all sectors should have different thresholds because they have different circumstances,” the source said.

“Sector-specific thresholds can be announced tomorrow because the law accommodates that. It (the law) simply has to be redefined to accommodate the clarifications.”

The source said a highly specific feature of any country’s sub-soil assets was exploration and development of the resources.

He said ventures in this sector were risky as they were expensive and it was difficult to determine in advance the existence and quality of mineral reserves.

“Currently, Government has challenges in accessing the risk capital needed for that and you will realise the challenges emanate from concerns on the indigenisation process and limitation of fiscus in providing such funding,” said the source.

“Production sharing agreements should come into effect with Government awarding the execution of exploration and production activities to a contractor in a specified sub-soil area. The term of contract is typically 20 to 30 years.”

The contractor, the source said, bears all mineral and financial risk and “explores, develops and ultimately extracts minerals from the allocated sub-soil asset.

“The contractor is permitted to use the product from the sub-soil area to recover capital and operational expenditures. The remaining product is split between Government and the contractor at a respective rate,” he said.

He said the key benefits to Government were that no investment capital was needed, 100 percent ownership of the resources and accelerated production of mineral resources at an international level. Employment would also be created due to significant growth in the extractive industry. Added the source: “The share of production to the Government will be paid in resource form and this will form the pillar of Government reserves, which can be monetised as and when Government requires funding whether through sale on international market and or leverage.

“The State will control the duration of exploration and exploitation while to the contractor this clears the path to recovery of investment as well as provides a stable business environment.”

A number of countries with PSA for sub-soil assets include Algeria whose Government share of net production is 55 percent, Angola (51 percent), Cameron (60 percent), Libya (between 81 to 85 percent), Nigeria (maximum of 80 percent) and Equatorial Guinea (60 to 90 percent).

In the DRC, the ratio is negotiated with increase in production, in Gabon ratio varies on amount of production while in Egypt and Tunisia ratio is negotiable.

Former World Bank representative in Zimbabwe Dr Nginya Mungai Lenneiye of Kenya said fine-tuning the indigenisation and empowerment policy would be of great benefit to Zimbabwe.

“The current Act was an equity model whereby Government insisted on earning shares in company, participating in the management of the companies.

“By so doing you face responsibility and liability to the event that when capitalisation is needed you contribute towards that. The objective now is to own the resources not the company. Zimbabwe has the resources and foreign investors have the capital and that is where they have to co-operate on such that they make more money from their capital and you make money from your resources.”

Dr Mungai went on: “And if you make money you can then start your own companies or expand those businesses or put that money in other areas. By so doing you will be unlocking value of what you have.” On Sunday, prominent investment banker and Brainworks Capital Management chief executive Mr George Manyere said the changes would bring clarity to foreign investors.

“This approach was initially announced under the Government of National Unity and sector-specific committees were set up but there has not been official communication of the recommendations and or refinement of the indigenisation law to incorporate the sector-specific recommendations,” he said.

“Lack of clarity had compounded the confusion that investors had on the law negatively affecting FDI flows.”

Mr Manyere added: “Consideration by Government of a production sharing model to complement other instruments being used to empower locals makes sense and not only does it stimulate extraction of sub-soil assets but it also has a significant multiplier effect on the economy, for instance growth in much needed FDI and employment creation.”

Egypt’s Presidential Designate Pledges to Peacefully Resolve Dam Row With Ethiopia

The Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Project construction site.

May 26, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – Egypt’s presidential front runner Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said he would be keen to resolve the long running Nile water dispute with Ethiopia through dialogue if he is elected as the new president of the North African nation.

Al-Sisi said he was ready to visit Ethiopia for talks over the massive hydro plant project the East African country is building at the Blue Nile River.

Egypt fears the dam will diminish its water share and will eventually affect the country’s people, most of whom heavily rely upon the Nile’s water.

Just over a year ago Egyptian politicians were caught discussing whether to launch military attacks against Ethiopia to sabotage the construction of the multi-billion dollar power plant project.

The comments were made at a meeting hosted by the President Mohamed Morsi — who has since been deposed — when several politicians debated bombing the dam while unaware that television cameras were recording the discussion.

At the time Ethiopia responded to the threat by saying it was ready to defend the dam project to any external threats, raising fears of a possible military confrontation between Addis Ababa and Cairo.

Morsi was deposed by the military a month later with al-Sisi assuming control of the government and putting himself in poll position to become president in elections which began on Monday and will end on Tuesday 27 May.

"Dialogue and understanding are the best way to resolve the crisis," al-Sisi told the state-run Al-Ahram daily newspaper in recent interview.

He added: "This is better than going into a dispute or an enmity with anyone."

The former army chief, who led the army to oust Mohamed Morsi last July, said he would exert utmost efforts to sustain Egypt’s water security which he said was a "life-or-death issue".

Ethiopia is the source to 85% of the Nile River’s water, however, colonial-era treaties written by Britain has granted down stream countries of Egypt and Sudan the lions share of the water.

When completed, the $4.3 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam which is being built in the Benishangul Gumuz region near the Sudanese border will have an electric generation capacity of 6,000 MW.

According to Ethiopia’s Electric and Power Corporation (EEPCo) the dam which will be Africa’s largest is currently 33% completed.

An international panel of experts with ten members composed of two experts each from Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, as well as four international experts in its final report in June said the dam project will not cause significant harm to Sudan or Egypt but will in fact benefit them.

The panel of experts has delivered its final report to the respective governments of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

(ST)

Sudan’s Gold Exports Reached $4 billion In The Last Three Years, Says Finance Minister

A Sudanese gold trader.

May 27, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government revealed that gold exports during the last three years reached $4 billion stressing that traditional gold mining covered 50% of the shortfall in the foreign exchange that resulted from the south’s secession in 2011.

The Sudanese finance minister, Badr al-Din Mahmoud, said in statements following the opening session of the special conference on traditional mining on Tuesday, that the central bank approved new policies including keeping 10% of gold production as a reserve along with the conventional foreign exchange reserves.

He noted the increase in gold production through traditional mining and stressed that gold production since the beginning of the year up until May reached 20 tonnes, saying it helped bridge the deficit in trade balance and cover the country’s need of imports.

Last March, the government projected that gold production in 2014 would reach 70 tonnes compared to 34 tonnes in 2013 following development of the traditional mechanisms of exploration.

The minister of mining, Mohamed Sadiq al-Karuri, for his part, said the traditional mining sector produces between 90% to 93% of the country’s gold, pointing that around one million people are currently working in that sector.

He acknowledged that the government did not yet develop the necessary regulations for controlling traditional mining, saying this has led to a set of problems relating to environmental health and the inadequate use of mercury in gold purification besides failure to comply with the scientific measures for opening gold wells.

The ministry of mining had earlier said it plans to legalize and regulate the informal mining sector through the 2014 mineral wealth code which will be approved by the concerned bodies.

Al-Karuri further revealed introduction of new policies to curb gold smuggling through offering high prices for the purchase of gold from traditional miners and opening additional outlets of the central bank for purchasing gold.

The East African country is looking for gold to make up for the budget deficit it incurred as a result of losing three quarters of its oil production due to the secession of South Sudan in July 2011.

In recent years a growing number of foreign gold companies have expressed interest in obtaining licenses to operate in Sudan.

(ST)

South Sudan Turns to Russia to Avoid UN Sanctions

Map of areas in South Sudan where fighting is taking place.

May 27, 2014 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s minister for foreign affairs, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, is due to visit Russia in the coming days with the aim of helping the war-ravaged country avoid “sanctions and help efforts of peace”, a foreign ministry spokesperson told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

Mawien Makol Arik said recent comments by Russia at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) are supportive of the South Sudanese government’s commitment to peaceful settlement of the conflict.

“Instead of us being sanctioned, it will not help the efforts of peace. We need to be supported; first to bring peace to the people and most importantly, to alleviate the current suffering that our people are in,” said Mawien in an interview on Tuesday.

“This is what the government of South Sudan wanted and this is what the government of South Sudan is seeing [as the] Russian position and that is why we are there,” he said.

Fighting broke out in December in Juba between soldiers loyal to former vice-president Riek Machar and president Salva Kiir’s government, quickly spreading to other states of South Sudan.

The conflict, which is entering its sixth month, has killed an estimated 10,000 people and displaced over a million others. Around 4.7 million South Sudanese face severe food shortages, according to the United Nations, with a recent conference generating pledges of more than $600 million from donor countries.

Cessation of hostilities agreements – signed in January by the warring parties and on 9 May by president Kiir and opposition leader Machar – have failed to halt the fighting.

In April, the United States slapped sanctions on two military commanders – one on either side of the conflict – due the two sides being “obstructive” to the peace talks. The European Union and other western countries are threatening sanctions.

The UN has also warned that there will be consequences for a lack of commitment to peace talks.

However, the South Sudanese foreign ministry spokesperson said Russia will not support UN sanctions. As a permanent member of the UNSC, Russia holds a veto over decisions made by the powerful body, whose other permanent members include China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and United States.

But Mawien denied any shift in policy when asked if South Sudan turning away from its Western allies.

“We are still working with [the] Western world. We are still having our relations with the United States but we are inviting other countries to come on our help, to [be] supportive to us and respond to our needs,” he added.

(ST)

South Sudan’s Amum Calls For Political Reforms, End to War

Pagan Amum is the former secretary general of the SPLM/A.

May 26, 2014 (JUBA) – The former secretary-general of South Sudan’s ruling party, Pagan Amum, has agitated for political reforms, as well as an end to a more than five-month-long conflict in the new nation.

“The first priority is to stop the war; the second one is to initiate political reforms in the country,” Pagan wrote in a letter seen by Sudan Tribune.

“For South Sudan to achieve political stability and socioeconomic prosperity, there must be cessation of hostilities, formation of interim government and democratic transformation in the country,” it added.

Pagan also dismissed reports attributed to the armed faction of the SPLM led by former vice-president Riek Machar, claiming that the 12 former political detainees freed from detention in Juba were “undecided” on which side to join in resolving the conflict.

“First and foremost, we are not undecided because we have already made up our minds that we can’t be a party to the killing, maiming and displacement of our people and the unwarranted destruction of our country,” he wrote.

“We are saying that there is more to a failed government under President Kiir and to the doomed armed rebellion under Riek Machar. The paths they have chosen only succeed in bringing more suffering and death and heartache to our people and shame on our new nation,” adds the letter, which also copied to both president Salva Kiir and Machar.

DICTATORIAL TENDENCIES

The former political detainees, Pagan stressed, allied with fMachar before 15 December “in opposition to the creeping dictatorial tendencies of president Kiir who was taking (and has indeed succeeded) our country into the abyss”.

“We represent not only the face of South Sudan, but also its integral leadership, both in the war for independence and post-CPA [Comprehensive Peace Agreement]. As such, South Sudan is our heritage; we own it and we can’t be expected to join in the senseless destruction of our most exquisite possession,” he said.

Added Pagan: “It is our gift to future generations, not a carcass to be scrambled for”.

DEFENDS THIRD BLOC

Meanwhile Pagan clarified that they decided to form a “third bloc” in South Sudan’s laborious search for peace and reconciliation. The bloc, he said, is composed of himself, the presidential advisor, Rebecca Nyandeng, former ministers, Deng Alor, John Luk, Kosti Manibe, Oyai Deng, Gier Chuang, Madut Biar, Majak Agoot, Cirino Hiteng, Lakes state’s former governor, Chol Tong and former diplomat Ezekiel Gatkuoth.

However, he said that being members of the third bloc does not equate to being neutral in the current conflict, stressing they are part of the peace talks and part of any future government that would bring about political reform within the country.

“Both the government and armed rebels prefer a military solution but we in the third bloc fully support the IGAD peace process as the best alternative to the war in our country,” wrote Amum.

“This makes us more than neutral bystanders: we are not part of the bloodshed, but of the sustainable solution,” he added.

Pagan said it was not in the interest of the former political detainees to please the international community “so that [we] may snatch the proposed interim government’s leadership if both president Salva Kiir and opposition leader, Riek Machar, were to be forced to step aside”.

“Never in the course of our opposition to president Kiir’s creeping dictatorship or the rebels’ penchants for shedding the blood of unarmed civilians have we ever said that we are angels. We agree with our colleague, governor Chol Tong Mayai, that we are all responsible for the mess we are in and should therefore sit down in peace and talk like brothers and sisters to sort out our issues,” reads the missive.

“That South Sudan is a giraffe to be auctioned off to the most brutal hunter is the mindset of those whose hands are dripping with the precious blood of innocent South Sudanese. We can’t be cajoled nor forced to join in the bloody orgy,” it added.

Amum and three other detainees were released at the end of April after they were held in for months connection with the December 2013 alleged coup attempt in the country’s capital, Juba.

NO COUP ATTEMPT

The armed opposition led by Machar denied staging a coup, claiming that president Kiir took advantage of fighting within the armed forces to try and silence his critics within the ruling party.

The former ruling party secretary general, for instance, observed that it was never their intention to overthrow the government because it was and is still their government.

“A military coup entails war, death and destruction and that was never our cause,” he said.

Amum stressed that his group would be never be a party to any group engaged in the current conflict or use violence as a means to resolve or react to the political differences and “failures” within the SPLM leadership that triggered the conflict.

“Let me reiterate once more, we are never going to be a party to the bloody war going on in our country. Nor can we be a party to any interim government merely meant to reward evil. We can only be a party to peaceful negotiation toward ending the current evolving catastrophe in South Sudan,” said Amum.

“We can only be a party to the peace talks and an interim government meant to heal wounds and to initiate peace, unity and reconciliation among our beloved people,” he added.

(ST)

South Sudan Rebels Appoint Gore As Interim Deputy

Alfred Lado Gore seated in the centre next to rebel military
spokesperson Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang (L) and Angeline
Teny, the wife of rebel leader, Riek Machar, at a news conference
in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 26 February 2014.

May 27, 2014 (JUBA) – The rebel SPLM In Opposition have unveiled an interim leadership structure, appointing former environment minister Alfred Lado Gore as interim deputy leader of the movement, making him the second most powerful figure in the hierarchy of the almost six-month-old rebellion.

Gore, who comes from Equatoria region, will deputise the rebel leader Riek Machar, who hails from the Upper Nile region.

Other appointees include Dhieu Mathok Diing Wol and Hussein Maar Nyuot, who were designated the foreign affairs and humanitarian affairs portfolios respectively.

The eldest son of the founding leader of the governing Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), Mabior John Gareng de Mabior, has been named as a spokesperson on political affairs, while Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang retains his position as spokesperson on military affairs and General Taban Deng Gai remains as head of the rebel delegation for peace talks.

Several other members have been appointed as representatives of the movement to several key African countries, namely member states of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the east African bloc mediating the peace process, with representatives also expected to be appointed to South Africa and Nigeria.

The SPLM In Opposition says it is also seeking to appoint members of the South Sudanese diaspora community as its representatives to key Western allies, as well major international agencies such as the United Nations, European Union, the Arab League and the African Union.

Rebels say the structure aims to an inclusive and representative body for the whole country.

“The composition of the interim structure represents not only the entire South Sudan just as a country but [is] clearly reflecting [the] diversity of our people. It is a structure representing all faces of our people,” a key rebel official told Sudan Tribune on Monday from Addis Ababa.

(ST)

Central African Republic: ‘We Have Seen Women and Children With Gunshot Injuries Heading For Exile’

Muslims fleeing the Central African Republic.

Interview with María Simón, field coordinator in Kabo (CAR)
26 May 2014

MSF teams from Kabo carry out mobile clinics and support health centres in the periphery.
Maria Simón has borne witness to the degradation of the conflict hitting the Central African Republic for over one year. She has been operations coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières in Kabo (in the north of the country) for the past seven months and she admits it has not been easy. It has been tougher than her previous job in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This speaks for itself.

Tell us about your experience all this time, including different and very marked periods.

Yes, when I arrived in October there had already been attacks from the anti-Balaka militia against the Séléka coalition, then in power. Tension, the uncertainty about what there was to come, was in the air. Everything happening in Bangui echoes across the country. In November, tension between Christians and Muslims rose and in December it finally burst out. The change of government, the anti-Balaka offensive and the withdrawal of the Séléka made many of its members form uncontrolled, very dangerous groups.

And, at the same time, we witnessed hundreds and hundreds of trucks full of Muslim people heading for exile towards Chad in search of shelter to save their lives. Terrible.

What were they saying? How did they organise the convoys?

They travelled in very difficult conditions; they were sitting on top of their belongings at the rear of the trucks, in the sun, sometimes injured, many pregnant women and also children. We have seen women and children with gunshot wounds on their arms and backs. The anti-Balaka’s weapons are not very sophisticated, so in many cases injuries were minor and people could be treated as outpatients. Gunshot injuries, civilians fleeing on a truck. Overwhelming indeed.

And what about the Kabo population?

They, like the rest of the population in the country, have been crushed - in different periods, whenever there has been political turmoil. They were crushed by the Séléka when they took power. They had to flee and hide in the bush and endure their excesses, their violence. And now, by the anti-Balaka with their violence, their revenge.

In Kabo, under Séléka control, the population also suffers from inner tensions caused by the clashes between farmers (most of them Christian) and nomadic pastoralists (Muslim), which is another source of violence to cap it all. This year an agreement has been reached according to which the pastoralists, the Mbarara, will search pastures far from the fields. It is a local agreement, which has not scaled up to other areas and that may generate problems because the Mbarara are armed. We have treated patients injured by arrows from the Mbarara. Last year the conflict prompted population displacements as entire villages set on fire. Herds invade the fields, farmers attack the cows or the Mbarara and the latter take revenge. It is worrying.

Why?

The population has been fleeing for one year, hiding in the bush as they perceive a minor threat. There have been many such instances this past year, meaning they have to discontinue farming. In Kabo, farmers are able to plant now because they have reached an agreement with the Mbarara, unlike in other locations. If farmers don’t sow, they cannot harvest, malaria will arrive at its peak in a couple of months and fatality may rise when combined with malnutrition. Last year malaria was at its highest. We fear this year it will be even worse.

What will be done in this regard?

We will try to prevent the infection in a more aggressive manner. Taking treatment to people before malaria hits the hardest. We are going to try even if people are not at home, even if they are hiding in the bush, through mobile clinics. This is a challenge.

Can you describe the situation right now that you have just arrived back?

Shortly before returning, we scaled down activities for one week, protesting against the killing of 16 civilians, including three MSF colleagues at the Boguila hospital, presumably by an uncontrolled Séléka group. Over the weekend the Séléka were organising a congress in Ndele, also in the north, to appoint a new commandant, to rebuild, to regroup.

I drove back to Bangui and it is incredible: ghost villages, forsaken. Between Dekoa and Sibut, two locations one hundred kilometres apart from each other, we only saw two men in a village, who most probably had gone to collect some of their belongings they had left behind. As they heard the vehicle engine, they ran to hide. This means that many people are hiding in the bush, people that are living without anything, unprotected and helpless.

What has shaken you the most?

Due to the geographical situation of Kabo, we have witnessed the flight of Muslim people. I recall a young woman coming from Bouca, 150 kilometres away. The anti-Balaka had set the neighbourhood on fire. The woman told us that three of her children, not older than ten, had burned to death inside their house. She was explaining this resigned to the fact, full of sadness and sorrow....In Bouca there are no longer Muslims left and before they were a vibrant community. In Kabo and Batangafo there are few traders left. They left Batangafo between December and January and those still remaining sent their families far away. From December to February, trucks full of Muslim people have been an ongoing feature, all the day long, even causing traffic jams in Kabo, a town of 15,000 people.

In your opinion, what will happen in the coming months?

It does not seem that the situation is going to improve in the short run. Of course, the population is still unprotected, it is not enough with the presence of French troops and the MISCA international forces, and the transition government does not have any capacity whatsoever. In Bangui the situation appears to be “normal”, but in the neighbourhoods violence is pervasive. The rebuilding of the Séléka and their condemning of the atrocities perpetrated by some of their most autonomous groups may bring an uncertain calm. Let’s see whether they seek to regain control over lost territory, and head south. The situation is tremendously complicated and the population has been and still is subject to abuse and atrocities from all the parties involved.

French Fight Muslim Rebels in Central African Republic

CAR crowds protest French occupation of the country.

By Jerome Delay Associated Press
Saturday, May 24 2014 5:57 p.m. MDT

BAMBARI, Central African Republic — French forces in Central African Republic fired mortars and exchanged sustained gunfire Saturday with Muslim rebels who controlled the country until earlier this year.

The substantial engagement by the French in the central town of Bambari included targeting and destroying a rebel vehicle by firing on it from a Gazelle helicopter.

French forces fired warning shots and mortars as two rebel vehicles approached a bridge in the town, said a French military officer on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.

The rebel forces maintain the French forces overreacted, saying they had only crossed the bridge to relieve a small unit they had at a checkpoint down the road.

Many local residents had earlier demonstrated against the French forces and blocked the bridge to prevent them from passing.

The alliance of rebel groups known as Seleka was forced from power in January nearly a year after its fighters overthrew the president. Christian militias have said they are seeking revenge for atrocities committed during Seleka's rule. The sectarian violence has left thousands dead and forced nearly 1 million people to flee their homes.

The exchange Saturday shows that former Seleka rebels, who have been in disarray since they were forced from power, have not been defeated and may be gaining strength. Hundreds of the Muslim fighters had gathered more than two weeks ago to choose Gen. Joseph Zindeko as their new leader. He was once a commander of a rebel base in the capital, Bangui. At that time, the rebels said they intended to create a political wing so they can participate in reconciliation talks.

Around 2,000 French troops and nearly 5,000 African peacekeepers are trying to stabilize Central African Republic, a country about the size of Texas. Last month, the U.N. Security Council authorized a nearly 12,000-strong peacekeeping force to bolster the troops already in the country to protect civilians, though the U.N. force is not expected to be operational until September.


French troops battle Muslim rebels in Central African Republic town

Sat, May 24 2014
By Goran Tomasevic

BAMBARI, Central African Republic (Reuters) - French peacekeeping troops in Central African Republic used helicopter gunships and mortars on Saturday to fight Muslim rebels at a bridge in the town of Bambari, northeast of the capital Bangui, a Reuters witness said.

The clash is the latest between fighters from the mostly Muslim rebel Seleka coalition and peacekeepers, and could deepen antagonism in the north of the country towards French forces.

At least five people were injured, four of them Seleka fighters who have been resisting attempts to disarm them by French forces deployed in their former colony as part of the Sangaris peacekeeping operation.

The soldiers used stun grenades to try to disperse civilians wielding machetes who blocked the bridge, but then came under fire from automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. They brought in at least two helicopter gunships and fired mortars.

"We were confronted by individuals who fired at the Sangaris forces and we immediately responded," said Colonel Gilles Jaron, spokesman for the French army.

French forces fired a mortar as a warning shot and then followed up with anti-tank missiles, which destroyed a pick-up truck and likely caused casualties, a French army source said.

The Reuters witness said that the 10-15 rebels on the bridge did not have a pick-up truck.

DIVIDING LINE

Residents say Christians and Muslims live in harmony in Bambari, a market town of 65,000 people. Though its mud-brick houses attest to its poverty, the town is a crossroads for traders and a starting point for journeys to Chad and Cameroon.

The town's strategic value, however, lies in its position at what could be regarded as the dividing line between the largely Christian south and the Muslim-dominated north.

On Thursday, French forces in Bambari came under fire after they tried to disarm Seleka rebels, who have their headquarters at the town and still control the northeast of the country after being driven from Bangui. At least one person was killed.

Following a meeting on Wednesday, the peacekeeping troops demanded that members of the Seleka hand over weapons.

Crowds of civilians carrying machetes and hunting rifles took to the streets early on Thursday in protest and blocked roads in the center of Bambari with market stalls and furniture.

Muslims in Bambari are unwilling to give up their weapons after similar moves in Bangui led to attacks on Muslims there.

Central African Republic descended into chaos after Seleka rebels seized power in March last year and their attacks on the majority Christian population set off a wave of reprisals.

The Seleka coalition was forced to relinquish power under international pressure in January. Since then, Christian militias known as "anti-balaka" have mounted widespread attacks on Muslims.

More than 2,000 people have been killed in the violence and a million of the country's 4.5 million people have been forced from their homes despite the presence of several thousand African peacekeepers and European Union and French troops.

(Additional reporting by Leila Abboud, John Irish and Gregory Blachier in Paris; Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Lynne O'Donnell)

Can Spain's New Party Build On Its EU Poll Success?

Pablo Iglesias of the new left-wing Podemos Party in Spain.

Podemos Attracts Strong Protest Vote

By DAVID ROMÁN
Wall Street Journal
May 26, 2014 10:55 a.m. ET

Pablo Iglesias, head of leftist group "Podemos", or "We Can", may have attracted support from young members of the movement known as "indignado"

MADRID—An upstart leftist party that advocates a minimum income, a cap on salaries and a lower retirement age caused the biggest upset in Spain's elections for the European Parliament.

Now the question for many is whether Podemos—Spanish for "we can"—will pose an enduring challenge to the country's long-standing political order, like Greece's Syriza party, or whether it has simply attracted a one-off protest vote that is unlikely to be replicated in Spain's own general election.

Podemos won five of Spain's 54 seats in the European Union's legislature Sunday, surpassing all expectations. A month ago few if any polls gave the group, founded early this year, a chance to win even one seat. The party took 7.9% of the votes in Spain, coming fourth just behind a coalition led by Communists.

The result was a surprisingly strong protest vote against Spain's two mainstream parties—the governing conservative Popular Party, which finished first Sunday, and the main opposition Socialists. Both have run the country during its recent recession and resorted to unpopular austerity measures. Together they won 49% of the vote, their worst showing since they began dominating the country's politics in the early 1980s.

Podemos is still far from achieving the success of Syriza, which came out on top in Greece in Sunday's EU ballot, but it is off to the fastest start of any Spanish party in recent decades.

The party mirrors Syriza in many ways: Pablo Iglesias, the 35-year-old university professor that leads Podemos, said he sees Syriza, led by 40-year-old Alexis Tsipras, as an inspiration.

Both parties shun the openly anti-EU stance of right-wing euroskeptics that won the biggest share of Sunday's vote in the U.K., France and Denmark, but have exploited popular dissatisfaction with EU policies in their own ways. Syriza and Podemos share a similar far-left political platform, heavy on social issues and calls for political control of the independent European Central Bank.

"We don't want to be ruled by Germany, and be left to provide cheap labor" for Europe, Mr. Iglesias said in a recent interview. "It's they, the pro-austerity people, who are working against Europe. It's they who stopped [then-Greek Prime Minister George] Papandreou from holding a referendum on the bailout package they imposed."

All the same, some analysts say Podemos and Syriza have much in common with France's National Front, including comparable prescriptions to cure years of skyrocketing unemployment and economic stagnation across Europe.

In a blog post last week, José Ignacio Torreblanca, the head of the Madrid office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, a pro-EU think tank, wrote that Podemos is hostile to the euro. He said it seeks massive nationalizations and the withdrawal of the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon that sets working rules for the EU—stances shared by many right-wing euroskeptics.

Mr. Torreblanca also said that like the charismatic Mr. Tsipras and leaders of many of right-wing movements throughout Europe's history, Mr. Iglesias is channeling support for Podemos through his own personal popularity.

In Sunday's vote, Podemos was the only Spanish party in recent memory to stamp the face of its leader, rather than a party symbol, on the ballot. This may have been designed to help voters identify a new party that banked on media appearances by its leader, Mr. Torreblanca said, but was a departure from recent Spanish tradition.

Mr. Iglesias's prominence may have boosted Podemos's support from young members of the movement known as "indignado" who swarmed into Spanish plazas three years ago to rage against government corruption and economic inequality. That movement fizzled out after failing to focus its proposals and form an organization that could carry them forward, but its sentiment remains deeply embedded among Spain's young adults.

It's unclear, however, whether Mr. Iglesias will be able to lead Podemos to success in coming regional and national elections in Spain, over the next year and a half.

Spain's system of proportional representation in elections for national parliament tend to favor larger parties, said José Pablo Ferrándiz, deputy head of Metroscopia, a polling firm.

That means small protest parties tend to secure seats only in larger districts, such as Madrid and Barcelona.

The main opposition Socialist Party, after its disappointing second place in Sunday's vote, is likely to tack left to keep Podemos and other upstart groups from grabbing more of its support. Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, 62, resigned as the Socialist leader Monday. His replacement is widely expected to be much younger to compete with the likes of Mr. Iglesias.

—Ilan Brat and Christopher Bjork in Madrid and Nektaria Stamouli in Athens contributed to this article

Write to David Román at david.roman@wsj.com