Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Life of Juan Almeida: Interview With Llusif Sadin Tasse

The life of Juan Almeida: Interview With Llusif Sadin Tasse

Interview by Tidiane Kassé
2009-09-24, Issue 449
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/58974

Juan Almeida, the only Afro-Cuban to hold the title of Revolutionary Commander, died on 11 September. The second person after Che Guevara to be elevated to this rank, he remained the Cuban revolution’s ‘Number Three’ behind Fidel and Raul Castro throughout his life. Llusif Sadin Tassé, Cuba’s ambassador to Senegal, spoke to Pambazuka News about the life of this hero, who is credited for the famous battle cry: ‘Nobody here is going to surrender!’

In his homage to Almeida, Fidel Castro described him as a ‘companion of exemplary conduct in the course of over 50 years of heroic and triumphant resistance’. Almeida, the son of a labourer, was part of the revolution right from the beginning. He was part of the attack on the Moncada army barracks in Santiago, on the 26th of July 1953, as well as all the other battles that led to the eventual triumph by Castro’s forces.

Facing the onslaught of Batista’s superior troops, he is credited with the famous battle cry, ‘nobody here is going to surrender!’ He was a member of the new Cuban Communist Party’s Politburo at its inception in 1965. H.E. Llusif Sadin Tassé, Cuba’s ambassador to Senegal, spoke to Pambazuka News about the life of this hero.

Fidel Castro reflected that he had no idea just how much pain Almeida’s passing would cause the Cuban people. Almeida, who passed away on 11 September, is more than just an icon. He is part and parcel of the country’s history, its revolution, and all that gave his life meaning.

Almeida was the second of twelve children. At a very young age he was forced to join his mason father to make ends meet. In 1952 when Batista staged his coup d’Etat, he joined the progressive voices, especially the students, who took up arms. His political conscience made him keenly aware that Cuban democracy was under threat, and it was only through armed conflict that it could be safeguarded. It was at this point that Almeida joined the revolutionary forces. He took part in the assault on the Moncada army barracks in 1953. The ill-fated assault landed him in prison, along with Fidel, Raul and a number of other key revolutionaries.

Under public pressure, a general amnesty was declared, and Almeida was one of those who were exiled to Mexico. There, the core revolutionary group formed, with the arrival of Che Guevarra and others. He remained very close to Fidel, even after they returned to Cuba. He was aboard the Granma, and on the frontline of all subsequent battles leading up to the fall of Havana in 1959.

His revolutionary pedigree does not however detract from another facet of this man – Almeida the poet, writer and artist. His works chronicled the nexus moments of the revolution, from a first-person perspective. Almeida the writer and revolutionary was one of only three people to achieve the rank of commander in the course of the Sierra war. He ranked third behind Che and Raul.

He owed this distinction to his extraordinary qualities. As Fidel stated, he was one of those fighters who was always ready to fight with one, and for one, to the death. Every time he went into combat he was ready to die. He was a living example. He is credited with the battle cry ‘nobody here is going to surrender!’ He uttered this when his fellow fighters, surrounded and outnumbered by Batista’s troops, were losing hope.

Almeida carried all his battle glory with unbelievable humility. He headed the veterans’ association, all the while remaining an artist and a creator of beauty. A number of songs he composed won international accolades. One of these songs, La Lupita, which went on to become a Cuban classic, was composed aboard the Granma.

It is a sad song of loss and separation, and it has been said that Almeida was singing of a lost love. In reality Lupita was about all the friends and loved ones that the revolutionaries left behind on their way to the battlefront.

After the triumphant revolution, all his prestigious appointments did not prevent him for running the association for veterans of the Cuban revolution. The association represented not only those who fought in Cuba, but also on other fronts like Angola and elsewhere. He forged strong links with the great leaders of the Luso-African revolutions.

As the only Afro-Cuban to hold the title of Revolutionary Commander, Almeida’s dedication over-shadowed the race issue. He was dedicated to the fight against poverty and social injustices, which were undoubtedly even starker when one was black and poor in Cuba at the time. His dedication is thus a reflection of his sensitivity towards others and to their suffering.

Almeida asked to be buried at the Mausoleum at Santiago de Cuba in Oriente, built in memory of those members of the 3rd front that he led. He lies there among his fellow combatants, after all the military honours according him, and the homage of the country’s population

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

His Excellency Llusif Sadin Tassé is Cuba’s ambassador to Senegal. His reflections were recorded by Tidiane Kassé, editor of Pambazuka News, French Edition.

Translated by Josh Ogada

Please send comments to editor@pambazuka.org or comment online at Pambazuka News.
Posted by at 3 comments:

Guinea News Update: Junta Declares Two-Day Mourning After Massacre; Police/Military Killings Spark International Condemnation

CONAKRY 30 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

GUINEA JUNTA DECLARES TWO-DAY MOURNING OVER DEATHS

Guinea's military junta declared two days of national mourning
from Wednesday over the killing of scores of people during a
crackdown on an opposition rally and banned mass gatherings on
those days.

"I declare a national mourning on Wednesday and Thursday," junta
leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara said on television late Tuesday.

"Any mass gatherings which are of a subversive nature are
banned," he added.

Camara urged Christian and Muslim priests, political and civic
leaders and journalists to "abstain from acts that disrupt public
order."

He warned that those disobeying the order would be severely
punished.

Rights activists said Guinean troops had killed at least 157
people, wounded more than 1,000, and raped women in a crackdown Monday on an opposition rally.

The country's military ruler said he was sorry for the violence,
but a human rights group alleged that junta soldiers killed three
more people outside the capital Conakry Tuesday and kidnapped
victims of the crackdown from hospitals.


CONAKRY 30 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

GUINEA BANS MASS GATHERINGS AFTER STADIUM BLOODBATH

Guinea on Wednesday banned "subversive" gatherings as it
announced two days of national mourning after troops killed at
least 157 people in a brutal crackdown on an opposition rally,
rights activists said.

The country's military ruler said he was sorry for the violence,
but a human rights group alleged junta soldiers killed three more
people outside the capital Conakry Tuesday, a day after the
crackdown, and kidnapped victims of the crackdown from hospitals.

"I declare a national mourning on Wednesday and Thursday," junta
leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara said on television.

"Any mass gatherings which are of a subversive nature are
banned," he added.

Camara urged Christian and Muslim priests, political and civic
leaders and journalists to "abstain from acts that disrupt public
order."

He also asked for national prayers to be held on Friday and
Sunday in memory of the dead.

Rights activists reported fresh killings for a second day
Tuesday.

"Today we recorded three more deaths from army shootings, two in
Wanidara and one in Cosa," both neighbourhoods outside Conakry,
said Thierno Maadjou Sow, an official with the Guinean Organisation
for the Defence of Human Rights.

"The young people went outside and the soldiers shot at them."
Sow also alleged that soldiers removed wounded people from
hospitals and took them to unknown locations.

"Soldiers went to take away the injured being treated at the
Donka hospital (in the capital) to bring them to an unknown
destination as well as women who had been raped and were being
treated at the local health centre in Ratoma (outside the
capital)," he said.

The United Nations, African Union and European Union, the United
States and Canada all expressed alarm over the killings, which took
place Monday at a stadium where tens of thousands of people
attended a rally against Camara, who took power in December last
year.

Camara on Tuesday made his first appearance in public since the
crackdown, visiting two hospitals in Conakry to meet with the
wounded, witnesses said.

"It's unfortunate, it's dramatic," Camara told French radio
station RFI. "Very frankly speaking, I'm very sorry, very sorry."
He said "this is the first time such a thing has happened in
Guinea," and accused opposition leaders of fomenting unrest by
"distributing money to the youth to incite them to revolt."

The opposition has accused junta forces of collecting bodies in
a bid to hide "the scale of the massacre" which the Guinea rights
group said left at least 157 dead and 1,253 wounded.

"The exactions by soldiers are continuing ... even if there is
nobody on the streets, they are firing in the air and looting
shops," a resident said.

Sydia Toure, one of two former prime ministers injured at the
protest, told AFP that the shootings were "a deliberate attempt" to
eliminate the opposition.

Mamadi Kaba, head of the Guinean branch of the African Encounter
for the Defence of Human Rights (RADDHO), said the rapes of women began in the Conakry stadium.

"The military raped women" at the stadium and later at army
barracks, police posts and other parts of Conakry, Kaba said,
adding that there were reports of new rape attacks by soldiers on
Tuesday.

Opposition activist Mouctar Diallo said he saw soldiers putting
their rifles into the vaginas of naked women. "I saw this myself,"
he told RFI.

"They were raping women publicly," Diallo added. "Soldiers were
shooting everywhere and I saw people fall." A Red Cross source said
military commanders ordered all bodies at the stadium taken to the
Alpha Yaya Diallo military camp, the junta headquarters, rather
than to morgues.

Witnesses and rights group said the military was massively
deployed throughout the capital on Tuesday and more violent actions
by soldiers were reported.

"The bad behaviour continues in the suburbs, carried out by the
military. Even if there's nobody on the street, they shoot in the
air, loot shops and beat people up," Kaba said.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon slammed the "excessive use of force" and
said he was "shocked by the loss of life, the high number of people
injured and the destruction of property."

The protesters had gathered in the stadium to oppose any bid by
the junta leader to run for president in an election due in
January. Camara also faces strong international pressure to step
down.

Camara took over the west African nation after leading a
bloodless coup within hours of the death of Guinea's strongman
leader Lansana Conte, who had ruled the west African country since
1984.


UNITED NATIONS 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

FRANCE AT UN: GUINEA UNREST 'VERY WORRYING'

A French minister told the UN Security Council Tuesday that the
bloody unrest in Guinea was "very worrying" and urged an end to the
violence as well as protection of opposition figures.

"I would like to express France's outrage following the events
in Conakry, where troops opened fire on a peaceful crowd, killing
and wounding dozens of people," said junior minister for
cooperation Alain Joyandet.

"The situation is very worrying," Joyandet told an open meeting
of the 15-member Security Council dedicated to the turmoil in the
former French west African colony.

He subsequently told a press conference that Paris was
determined to "exert as much pressure as possible to end the
escalation of violence and repression" in Guinea.

Joyandet also stressed the need to ensure the safety and freedom
of action of Guinean opposition figures.

"It is absolutely imperative that these leaders be protected and
emerge from these events with the ability to pursue their political
activities."

Reports in Guinea say at least 157 people were killed and 1,253
wounded when security forces opened fire Monday on opposition
supporters protesting against the junta that seized power in a
bloodless coup last December.

France has suspended military ties with its former colony,
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, said Tuesday.

In Conakry on Tuesday, soldiers shot dead a youth and gunfire
rang out again across the capital, witnesses said. Soldiers were
still attacking people and raping women in their homes, rights
groups said.

The protesters had gathered to oppose any bid by junta leader
Moussa Dadis Camara, who took power in December 2008, to run for president in an election due in January. Camara faces strong
international pressure to step down.

Camara took over the west African nation after leading a
bloodless coup in the hours following the death of Guinea's
strongman leader Lansana Conte, who had been in power since 1984.


ABUJA 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

WEST AFRICAN BLOC CONDEMNS 'VIOLENT REPRESSION' IN GUINEA

West African regional bloc ECOWAS Tuesday condemned what it
called "violent repression" in Guinea a day after more than 150
people were killed in a crackdown by junta troops on opposition
supporters.

The commission of the Economic Community of West African States
said in a statement it had "learnt with dismay that the peaceful
demonstration organised in Conakry" was met "with violent
repression."

"The Commission strongly condemns these acts of repression," it
said, deploring what it called the "use of excessive force" by
security forces.

ECOWAS also called for an immediate release of those arrested in
the incident.

It also urged the establishment of "an international committee
of inquiry in collaboration with the African Union and the United
Nations Commission for Human Rights" to identify those responsible and take necessary measures to address the situation.

"This tragic incident is all the more regrettable as it occurred
at a time when the international community is actively working
towards a satisfactory end to the prevailing crisis," said ECOWAS,
based in Abuja.

It added that "the militarisation of Guinea presents further
grounds" for ECOWAS' request to junta leader and current Guinea
president Moussa Dadis Camara "to re-affirm his commitment not to
contest the next presidential election" set to be held in late
January.

Guinea's security forces opened fire on Monday on opposition
supporters at a rally in a stadium against the junta that seized
power in a bloodless coup in the west African country last
December.

The Guinean Human Rights Organisation said Tuesday that at least
157 people were killed and 1,253 wounded in the crackdown.

The United Nations, African Union, European Union and several
countries have expressed alarm over the killings.


BRITAIN CONDEMNS 'SHOCKING' DEATHS IN GUINEA

Britain Tuesday condemned "shocking" reports of large numbers of
deaths at an opposition rally in Guinea, deploring the use of
excessive force and urging security forces to use restraint.

"Reports of large numbers of deaths at an opposition rally in
Conakry yesterday are shocking," the Foreign Office said, as a
human rights group in Guinea said at least 157 people died.

"We deplore any use of excessive force and urge the Guinean
authorities to exercise restraint and to ensure the safety and
security of its people."

Guinea's security forces opened fire Monday on opposition
supporters protesting against the junta that seized power in a
bloodless coup in the west African country last December.

The Guinean Human Rights Organisation said Tuesday that at least
157 people were killed and 1,253 wounded in the crackdown.

"We send our condolences to those who have lost loved ones
during these tragic events," the Foreign Office added in a
statement.

"We fully support the statement issued by the European Union and
urge the Guinean authorities to work with the International Contact
Group for Guinea in support of a return to democratic order."
The EU earlier condemned the crackdown by Guinea's army as
"unacceptable" and urged an immediate investigation.


CONAKRY 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

GUINEA TROOPS KILL AT LEAST 157 IN STADIUM BLOODBATH: OPPOSITION

Guinea junta troops shot and killed at least 157 people, wounded
more than 1,000, and raped women when they broke up a huge rally in a stadium, opposition leaders said Tuesday amid deadly new unrest.

Gunfire rang out across the capital Conakry and a youth was
killed, witnesses said. Troops were again attacking people and
raping women in their homes, rights groups said.

The United Nations, African Union and European Union all
expressed alarm over the killings when tens of thousands of people
Monday attended a rally against junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara,
who took power in December 2008.

But much of Conakry remained closed Tuesday, with inhabitants
stunned by the clampdown in the city's September 28 stadium.

The Guinean Human Rights Organisation said that 157 dead were
taken to two Conakry hospitals after the shootings in the stadium.

The opposition has accused junta forces of collecting bodies in a
bid to hide "the scale of the massacre".

"Up until now we have counted 157 dead and 1,253 wounded. Our
people have been all around Conakry and in hospitals but they
haven't been able to see everything," rights group head Thierno
Maadjou Sow said.

Sydia Toure, one of two former prime ministers injured at the
protest, told AFP that the shootings were "a deliberate attempt" to
eliminate the opposition.

Mamadi Kaba, head of the Guinean branch of the African Encounter
for the Defence of Human Rights (RADDHO), said the rapes of women began in the stadium.

"The military raped women" at the stadium and later at army
barracks, police posts and other parts of Conakry, Kaba said,
adding that there were reports of new rape attacks by soldiers on
Tuesday.

Opposition activist Mouctar Diallo said he saw soldiers putting
their rifles into the vaginas of naked women. "I saw this myself,"
he told French radio station RFI.

"They were raping women publicly," Diallo added. "Soldiers were
shooting everywhere and I saw people fall. They were live bullets."

A Red Cross source said military commanders ordered all bodies
at the stadium to be taken to the Alpha Yaya Diallo military camp,
the junta headquarters, rather than to morgues.

A source at Conakry's Ignace Deen hospital told AFP an army
truck took away "dozens of bodies" after the violent clampdown on
the banned demonstration.

"The bad behaviour continues in the suburbs, carried out by the
military. Even if there's nobody on the street, they shoot in the
air, loot shops and beat people up," Kaba said.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon slammed the "excessive use of force" and
said he was "shocked by the loss of life, the high number of people
injured and the destruction of property."

The African Union said in a statement that it "strongly condemns
the indiscriminate firing on unarmed civilians, which left dozens
dead and many others injured, while serious other violations of
human rights were committed."

In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also deplored
the "high number of victims" and called for the immediate release
of the arrested opposition leaders.

Former colonial ruler France condemned "the violent repression,"
suspended military cooperation with Guinea and urged caution on
expatriates, while a senior US official in Washington said: "We're
deeply concerned about the general breakdown in security in
Conakry."

The protesters had gathered in the stadium to oppose any bid by
the junta leader to run for president in an election due in
January. Camara also faces strong international pressure to step
down.

Camara took over the west African nation after leading a
bloodless coup within hours of the death of Guinea's strongman
leader Lansana Conte, who had ruled the west African country since
1984.

"It's unfortunate, it's dramatic," Captain Camara told RFI of
the violence. "Very frankly speaking, I'm very sorry, very sorry."


DAKAR 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

GUINEA'S PEOPLE WILL DEMONSTRATE TO OUST JUNTA: CONDE

A Guinean opposition leader, Alpha Conde, said Tuesday that
demonstrations would go on to rid the country of its "criminal
regime" after a bloodbath in a stadium claimed more than 150 lives.

"We'll continue with demonstrations until we get satisfaction.

It's no longer a matter of elections (slated for January 2010), but
to get rid of this criminal regime that fires on youths at
point-blank range," Conde said from New York.

"These are the same killings (as in 2007) which are beginning
again. It means to say they are ready to impose a military
dictatorship, but we are ready to mobilise the people to impose
change, because nobody wants a military regime."

Conde is a veteran opposition leader who heads the Rally of the
People of Guinea (RPG) party.

The Guinean Human Rights Organisation said at least 157 people
were killed and more than 1,250 wounded when Guinean troops opened fire on protesters in the capital Conakry on Monday.

The United Nations, African Union and European Union all
expressed alarm over the killings among tens of thousands of people who attended the rally against junta leader Moussa Dadis Camara.

The rally in a Conakry stadium had been intended to urge Captain
Camara not to run for office in a presidential election the junta
has announced for next January.

People defied a ban to take part in the rally, and then they
found themselves at the mercy of the presidential guard troops and
the police.


CONAKRY 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

WOMEN RAPED IN GUINEA CRACKDOWN: NGO

Women were brutally raped by soldiers during violent repression
of an anti-junta demonstration in Guinea that left more than 120
people dead, according to opposition groups and witnesses.

"They were raping women publicly," opposition activist Mouctar
Diallon in an interview with French radio station RFI. "Soldiers
were shooting everywhere and I saw people fall. They were live
bullets," Diallo added.

"Women were stripped naked. The soldiers were putting their
rifles in the vaginas of these women ... I saw this myself."
An opposition party led by former prime minister Sydia Toure
said at least 128 people had died in the violence and the junta was
removing bodies in a bid to hide "the scale of the massacre". The
party also accused junta forces of rape.

The rapes began in the stadium where opposition supporters had
gathered Monday for a demonstration, said Mamadi Kaba, the head of the Guinean branch of the African Encounter for the Defence of
Human Rights (RADDHO), based in Dakar.

"The military raped women" at the stadium, then in army
barracks, police posts and in suburbs of the capital Conakry, Kaba
said.

Asked who was carrying out these atrocities, Diallo said "it's
the presidential guard" and "police officers."

Diallo was wounded and arrested during the crackdown, but he
returned to his home from hospital during the night.

"The military is going into districts, looting goods and raping
women. We have similar reports from several sources, including
police sources and some close to the military," Kaba said.

"Many soldiers and policemen do not approve of that (the
rapes)," he added.

Tens of thousands of people were gathered in the September 28
stadium in Conakry for a rally against junta leader Captain Moussa
Dadis Camara when shots were fired on Monday.

The United Nations, African Union, European Union and leading
powers all condemned the killings which the Guinea opposition said
was a deliberate attempt to eliminate them.


CONAKRY 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

FRESH GUNFIRE IN GUINEA CAPITAL: WITNESS

Fresh gunfire rang out in Guinea's capital Tuesday as security
forces deployed on the streets, one day after scores of people were
killed in a clampdown on an opposition demonstration.

"We haven't slept in our district, the shots did not stop all
night and are continuing now," said a resident of Dar Es-Salam, a
Conakry district.

Shops were closed and few vehicles were on the streets of the
capital, after scores were killed Monday when security forces
opened fire on demonstrators in a stadium.

Opposition party leader Sydia Toure said Tuesday at least 128
people were killed by junta forces at the protest. A police source
said 87 bodies were collected in and around the stadium.

Tens of thousands of people were in the September 28 stadium in
Conakry -- at the rally against junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis
Camara -- when shots were fired.

The United Nations, African Union, European Union and leading
powers all condemned the killings which the Guinea opposition said
was a deliberate attempt to eliminate them.


ADDIS ABABA 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

AFRICAN UNION CONDEMNS KILLINGS BY GUINEA MILITARY

The African Union on Tuesday condemned the Guinea army's violent
suppression of an opposition demonstration that left at least 87
people dead.

The AU commission "strongly condemns the indiscriminate firing
on unarmed civilians, which left dozens dead and many others
injured, while serious other violations of human rights were
committed," a statement said.

Guinea's security forces opened fire Monday on opposition
supporters protesting against the junta that seized power in a
bloodless coup in the west African country last December.

The bloc also called for the "unconditional and immediate"
release of those detained by the forces.

Two former prime ministers now in the opposition are among those
detained at a military camp.

The 53-member bloc recently threatened sanctions against junta
leader Captain Moussa Dadis Camara over his intentions to run for
the presidency despite earlier pledges not to do so.


BRUSSELS 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

EU CONDEMNS USE OF FORCE IN GUINEA, URGES RESTRAINT

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana condemned Tuesday the
Guinea army's violent crackdown on an opposition protest which left
at least 87 people dead and urged the authorities to show
restraint.

"I strongly condemn the use of force to disperse the
demonstrations that took place in Conakry, in Guinea, and that
provoked such a high number of victims," he said in a statement
issued by his office in Brussels.

"I urge for the immediate release of the arrested political
leaders and call on the authorities to exercise maximum restraint
and ensure a peaceful and democratic transition," he said.

Guinea's security forces opened fire Monday on opposition
supporters protesting against the junta that seized power in a
bloodless coup in the west African country last December.

In a seperate statement, EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Karel
De Gucht said: "I'm in a state of shock and deeply saddened by the
terrible events that took place yesterday in Guinea."

"I want to express my condolences to the families of the
victims. I call on all parties for calm and to show restraint, as
well as the immediate release of political leaders and other
militants who were arrested."

"It is clear that all those who are responsible for these crimes
must be brought to justice," he said.


CONAKRY 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

GUINEA JUNTA CONDEMNED OVER STADIUM KILLINGS

The death toll mounted Tuesday in Guinea after security forces
opened fire on demonstrators in a stadium killing at least 87
people.

The United Nations, African Union, European Union and leading
powers all condemned the killings which Guinea opposition said was a deliberate attempt to eliminate them.

Tens of thousands of people were in the September 28 stadium in
Conakry -- at the rally against junta leader Captain Moussa Dadis
Camara -- when shots were fired on Monday.

A Red Cross source said military commanders ordered all bodies
at the stadium to be taken to the Alpha Yaya Diallo military camp,
the junta headquarters, rather than to morgues.

But a police source said 87 bodies were collected in and around
the stadium. The official said 47 bodies, including four women,
were at the Samory Toure military camp in Conakry.

A source at Conakry's Ignace Deen hospital told AFP an army
truck took away "dozens of bodies" after the violent clampdown on
the demonstration which had been banned by the junta.

Two former prime ministers now in opposition, Cellou Dalein
Diallo and Sidya Toure, were wounded in the violence and then taken
to the military camp used as the coup leaders' headquarters,
according to Diallo's wife.

The houses of the two men were pillaged by soldiers, their
neighbours said.

"This was a deliberate attempt to eliminate us today, we the
opposition," Sidya Toure told AFP.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon slammed the "excessive use of force" and
said he was "shocked by the loss of life, the high number of people
injured and the destruction of property."

The African Union said in a statement that it "strongly condemns
the indiscriminate firing on unarmed civilians, which left dozens
dead and many others injured, while serious other violations of
human rights were committed."

In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana also deplored
the violence and "high number of victims".

"I urge for the immediate release of the arrested political
leaders and call on the authorities to exercise maximum restraint
and ensure a peaceful and democratic transition," he said.

Former colonial ruler France also condemned "the violent
repression exercised by the army against the opposition and civil
society during a peaceful demonstration."

A senior US official in Washington said: "We're deeply concerned
about the general breakdown in security in Conakry."

Police dispersed a first attempt to gather at the stadium on
Monday morning with tear gas and baton charges, witnesses said. But the stadium, which has an official capacity of 25,000, eventually
filled with thousands spilling over onto the pitch. Shots were
heard and the bodies were later seen.

An AFP journalist saw at least 10 bodies with bullet wounds
inside the stadium and three badly injured people laid out in front
of a police post near the stadium. One had his leg broken in two
places.

The journalist, Mouctar Bah, said he was forced to kneel on the
ground by a soldier from the presidential guard. His microphone and
tape recorder were seized and broken by soldiers.

The protesters had gathered to oppose any bid by the junta
leader, who took power in December 2008, to run for president in an
election due in January. Camara also faces strong international
pressure to step down.

Camara took over the west African nation after leading a
bloodless coup within hours of the death of Guinea's strongman
leader Lansana Conte, who had been in power since 1984.

In his first public comment on the violence, Camara told
Senegal's RFM radio station that "I wanted to go (and see what was
happening), I was so really disgusted when I was told" about the
violence.

"I'd rather die (than see people killed) because I didn't take
control of this country to have a confrontation," Camara said.


MOSCOW 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

RUSSIA MAY BACK GUINEAN JUNTA IN RETURN FOR BUSINESS TIES: REPORT

Moscow may support the Guinean junta which is under strong
international pressure after bloody crackdowns if the west African
country drops a plan to nationalize a Russian-owned metals plant, a
newspaper said Tuesday.

Billionaire Oleg Deripaska's UC Rusal, the world's largest
aluminium producer, is fighting attempts by the Guinean junta that
came to power last December to reverse the company's 2006 purchase of the Friguia alumina refinery.

A top ministerial delegation from Guinea is to arrive in Moscow
for talks with Russian officials on October 5-7 that will centre on
the fate of UC Rusal's besieged alumina refinery, the Kommersant
daily reported, citing a source familiar with the situation.

The delegation will represent the government of junta chief
Moussa Dadis Camara who installed himself as president of the west African state last December and is now under strong international pressure to step down.

Guinea will ask Russia to block sanctions that the West would
like to slap on the junta, a request that the Russian foreign
ministry has already received in writing, Kommersant said, citing
unnamed sources.

Moscow could help Guinea by stalling the sanctions resolution in
the UN Security Council, where Russia is one of the five permanent
members, the newspaper said.

The Russian foreign ministry and UC Rusal declined immediate
comment when contacted by AFP.

Russia could also offer Guinea to start a series of joint
projects in the oil, agriculture and military spheres, Kommersant
said.

Last year, Moscow vetoed a US-sponsored draft resolution at the
UN Security Council that called for an assets freeze and a travel
ban on Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and his associates as
well as an arms embargo.
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Mozambique Opposition Parties Lose Election Bid

MOZ POLITICAL PARTIES LOSE ELECTION BID

The Mozambican Constitutional Council has dismissed claims by 14
political parties that they were unfairly excluded from the
upcoming elections, a report said on Tuesday.

The state controlled daily Noticias said the parties had claimed
they were unfairly excluded from the October 28 elections by the
national election commission (CNE).

The parties had sought the intervention of the Constitutional
Council after the CNE had said candidates for the presidential,
legislative and provincial parliament had submitted incomplete
nomination papers.

The exclusion of the 14 parties generated much controversy as
local political commentators and western diplomats accredited to
Mozambique alleged the move was unconstitutional.

However, CNE president Leopoldo da Costa insisted he was
following the electoral laws and could not bend laws to accommodate parties which had submitted incomplete nomination papers.

Mozambique will hold presidential, national and provincial
parliamentary elections on October 28.

Current president Armando Emilio Guebuza will stand as the
presidential candidate on the ruling Frelimo ticket against Daviz
Simango from the Mozambique Democratic Movement and Afonso Dhlakama from the main opposition party Renamo.


MOZAMBIQUE POLITICAL PARTIES' COMPLAINTS REJECTED

Mozambique's constitutional council has dismissed complaints
from 14 parties that they were unfairly excluded from running in
all electoral districts in next month's vote.

The rejection upheld a Mozambican elections commission decision
of two weeks ago that 14 political parties could not run in all
electoral districts for the October 28 vote on grounds of
incomplete documents.

Only ruling party Frelimo and long-time opposition movement
Renamo were approved by the commission to stand for parliament in all 13 electoral districts.

The Renamo breakaway group Democratic Movement of Mozambique led by Daviz Simango, mayor of Beira city, was among those excluded.

"In a unanimous decision, the constitutional council rejected
the appeal of MDM against the exclusion of the lists from most
provinces," the Mozambique Political Process Bulletin said Tuesday.

The O'Pais daily newspaper reported earlier, citing a statement
from the council said "the parties claims had no legal foundation."

The excluded parties complained that the candidate approval
process was arbitrary and lacked transparency -- a complaint that
was echoed by ambassadors from the European Union, the United
States and Canada.

Political analyst Antonio Frangoulis told the newspaper: "This
negative decision discredit the national electoral commissions and
other public institutions."

There are 17 parties which are running for seats in the
Mozambican parliament, known as the Assembly of the Republic, and, for the first time, provincial assemblies.

The elections will be fourth since the country became a
multi-party democracy 15 years ago.
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South African President Zuma Tells Police to Shoot-to-Kill; Police Killings Exposed in Mpumalanga

JOHANNESBURG 29 September 2009 Sapa

SHOOT TO KILL, ZUMA TELLS POLICE

President Jacob Zuma threatened criminals with a shoot-to-kill
policy on Tuesday, re-igniting the debate on the rights of criminals in a country where 50 people are murdered every day.

"Criminals don't take an oath to do warning shots," Zuma told
1000 police station commanders at the Voortrekker Monument in
Pretoria.

"If you take a gun out to me, that intent is more than clear,
the next thing the criminal is going to shoot at me. That intent is very
clear.

"My thinking is once a criminal takes out their gun the intent
is clear... police must then act to protect themselves and the
innocents."

Zuma expressed support for the amendment to Section 49 of the
Criminal Procedure Act that will give the police more lenience to shoot in dangerous situations.

"We have an abnormal criminal problem in South Africa. We must
therefore apply extraordinary measures," he said.

Zuma was accompanied by Police Chief Bheki Cele, Police Minister
Nathi Mthethwa, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe and Ministers in the
Presidency Trevor Manuel and Collins Chabane.

All nine provincial premiers and safety MECs also attended the
event, that started with an hour-long address by Zuma, after which he held private discussions with the station commanders.

Mthethwa said the issues discussed included possible changes to
the ranking system, a new appraisal system, better partnerships
with communities and improving the criminal justice system.

He said station commanders complained that criminals enjoyed too
many rights, and that the president said this needed to be debated.

"Too many rights for criminals... it's what we feel ourselves.
Many a provincial commissioner [has] raised an issue inside here about how they are failed the justice system," said Mthethwa.

"Here is a person who has a right like anybody... he has killed,
why do you still consider that person as a normal human being who has to enjoy rights like others? It's a debate that's ongoing."

Radebe said the amendment of the legislation would be in line
with the constitution.

"It will address the anxiety expressed by police and we also
believe it will pass the constitutional mast," said Radebe.

"We have prepared a draft which we have shared with the
department of the police and they are giving their comments."

The draft provided "one vision and one mission" for the entire
criminal justice system, as well as measurement targets for the system.

"You can't measure the performance of the police in isolation
from the conviction rate."

The reforms would also look at bail for repeat offenders and
whether criminals arrested a third time should be granted bail.

Radebe and Mthethwa assured citizens that South Africa was not
returning to a police state.

"These are the safeguards to protect ordinary citizens against
rampant criminals," Radebe said.

The meeting with station commanders comes a week after the
annual release of crime statistics which showed that about 50 people were murdered in South Africa a day, that business robberies were up 41.5 percent and house robberies 27.3 percent.

In his address to the hundreds of policemen and women, Zuma
first flattered them with words of praise but later lectured
officers on absenteeism and laziness.

"Absenteeism, laziness in the discharge of duties must be a
thing of the past... we must also seriously eradicate corruption within the police force....

"The legendary loss of dockets leading to botched cases should
end."

Zuma said he had received lots of complaints from the public --
some of them through his presidential complaints hotline -- about the police hanging out at shopping centres and taverns in working hours.

South Africans were also complaining about the emergency number
10111 not being answered, or callers being told that no police vehicles were available.

"We must really work hard to turn the image of our police
stations around. Police stations must be the hope of our citizens,"
said Zuma.

A police captain, who asked not to be named, told Sapa after the
meeting that it was "fruitful and empowering" to talk to the
president.

She also complained about flaws in the judicial system.

She said that often when the police arrested a criminal, courts
granted bail. It was the community's perception that the police had
released the criminal.

This led to the community losing trust in law enforcement
officials.

To win back confidence, there was a need to review laws
regulating the police and courts, so that the police would be able
to explain why a person was granted bail, other than saying, "it
was a matter for the court to decide".

"The meeting was an opportunity to highlight to the present
strained relationship between the community and the police," she said.

"It was not your usual ‘I'm-looking-forward to-work-with-you',
it was empowering."


JOHANNESBURG 30 September 2009 Sapa

MTHETHWA NOT AWARE OF ALLEGED POLICE SHOOTINGS IN MPUMA

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa on Wednesday said he was not
aware of reports of policemen allegedly shooting dead a man and
injuring five others, including three children, during a service
delivery protest in Mpumalanga earlier this year.

"I can't talk about that specific matter. I'm not aware of
this," Mthethwa told SABC radio.

The Sowetan newspaper reported on Wednesday that police fired
rubber bullets during a protest at Mashishing township in June.

According to a lawyer representing the victims, Maditsi Mphela,
a three-year-old, Neo Khumalo, and a six-year-old, Mongezi Maila,
were allegedly shot in the face with rubber bullets.

"Once you do this, you have exceeded the bounds of
self-defence," said Mphela, adding that he was in the process of
suing the police for R10 million.

A man named Jacob Malakane was allegedly shot dead, while Marcus Masilela, 38, was reportedly wounded in the leg, Sfiso Nkosi was allegedly shot in the genitals and teenager Emily Madonsela
apparently shot in the cheek with live bullets.

It is not clear from the newspaper report whether Malakane,
Nkosi and Masilela were shot with live ammunition or rubber
bullets.

The Sowetan published photos of the victims, one of them still
heavily bandaged after the alleged incidents, and interviewed some
of their family members who witnessed the alleged shootings.

Mthethwa was asked about this after President Jacob Zuma on
Tuesday expressed support for an amendment to the Criminal
Procedure Act to give the police more lenience to shoot criminals.

The minister said along with the amendment, the power of the
Independent Complaints Directorate would also be enhanced.

The police could not confirm the report in the Sowetan.
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DRC Senate Report Denounces Bad Practices In Mining

KINSHASA 29 September 2009 Sapa-AFP

DR CONGO SENATE REPORT DENOUNCES BAD PRACTICES IN MINING

A report for the senate in the Democratic Republic of Congo
shows that the mining sector is riddled with fraud, incorrect
figures and bad management that costs hundreds of millions of
dollar a year.

"No state service ... is up to date to give reliable figures" on
the "number of operators in the mining sector, their quality and
the quantity of products exported," said the report, passed by the
senate on Saturday and made available to AFP.

Products exported under inaccurate names and the underestimation
of weight are aspects of the industry where "statistics fail to
tell the whole story," according to the document, which noted how
one mineral export of 33 tonnes was recorded "as 3.3 tonnes, at the
whim of an official."

The state "lost more than 450 million dollars in 2008,"
according to the president of the Senate commission of enquiry,
David Mutamba, who added that this figure was based only on
available statistics.

But mineral production in the DR Congo -- which has 34 percent
of world reserves of cobalt, 10 percent of copper and plentiful
supplies of gold, diamonds and uranium -- should cover more than
half the country's budget receipts, according to the senators.

The report blames bad management at the top level of government,
stating that the ministries of mining and finance charge much too
little for mining concessions, "in flagrant violation of the
constitution and the law, to the detriment of the public treasury."

Senate investigators found that "80 percent of mineral ores are
fraudulently exported" in the eastern provinces of the DR Congo,
where rebels and armed groups are active.

In the diamond-rich central Kasai Occidental province, local
authorities "stand by powerless during unprecedented pillage by
numerous national mining exploiters or by foreigners guarded by
uniformed men."

The lack of equipment, rundown infrastructure and poor rates of
pay for civil servants and mining industry employees all help to
explain why the mining sector is a mess.

The report gives the example of the directorate of mines in
Kinshasa, which is responsible for statistics, but only has a
"single, antiquated computer with a very low capacity." There are
also no archives.

The Senate team recommends a revision of the mining code of
2002, since some of its clauses are judged "inefficient," like the
"disorganised distribution of mining rights across the territory."

A total of 4,542 mining concessions were granted to 642
companies according to a count in November 2008, but "numerous
operators exploit our mineral resources without abiding by the
demands of the mining code," the report said.

"The services of the state know this situation, but they give
the impression of being determined not to remedy the excessive
growth, which is surrealistic in a state that wants to be modern."

"Even if we revise the code, we'll get the same results," said
opposition senator Ramazani Baya, who stated that the management of the mining sector was "calamitous."

Senators Henri-Thomas Lokondo and Denis Engunda regretted that
the Senate commission did not "give the names of the bad managers, nor those of the operators involved ... and even less (proposed) sanctions."

The pair made recommendations that will be added to the report.
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Highland Tower's Tenants Score Victory Against DTE Energy and Absentee Landlords

Highland Towers's Tenants Score Victory Against DTE Energy and Absentee Landlords

Struggle results in utility restoration and re-location

by Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
Detroit

A major struggle against DTE Energy and absentee landlords has reached a conclusion in Highland Park, a municipality surrounded by the city of Detroit. On August 31, DTE Energy shutoff the electricity at the apartment building leaving over 150 residents in the dark and under threat of imminent peril.

Members of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures, Evictions and Utility Shutoffs took action in support of the tenants leading demonstrations, press conferences and an eventual lawsuit filed by the residents against DTE Energy and the landlords. This series of actions resulted in the restoration of electrical power as well as a settlement that provided monetary and material assistance for all of the tenants to re-locate to better living facilities.

An order by Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen MacDonald on September 11 forced DTE Energy to turn the power back on at the apartment building. Two other hearings on September 15 and 18, created the conditions for DTE Energy and the landlords to cover the costs of moving the tenants to other apartments.

Residents of the Highland Towers were empowered by the struggle waged against DTE Energy and the absentee landlords. On September 3, tenants organized by the Moratorium NOW! Coalition went to DTE Energy headquarters in downtown Detroit to demand that their power be restored.

After the tenants and their supporters occupied the lobby of the building, DTE Energy security officials stated that executives would meet with them shortly. After remaining in the building for over an hour, they were told that the lobby was closed and that no one was available to discuss the situation at their apartment building.

An Ongoing Struggle Against DTE Energy

Members of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition had been contacted by DTE Energy top executives on July 21 to discuss a planned demonstration outside their headquarters on July 24 in response to the deaths of four members of the Reed-Owens family on the northwest side of Detroit on July 16. The family had recently filed bankruptcy which should have placed an automatic stay on the termination of utility services.

Despite the filing for bankruptcy, DTE Energy still shutoff the power at the Reed-Owens' family home on July 15. The family borrowed a generator from their church so that breathing assistance machines could be powered for a child in the home suffering from a respiratory ailment. The malfunction of the generator resulted in the deaths of three children and their father. The mother survived after being rushed to the hospital.

When members of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition met with DTE Energy officials on July 23, they demanded an immediate halt to utility shutoffs in light of the high rates of unemployment and poverty facing millions of people living in Detroit and throughout southeast Michigan. High-ranking executives present at the meeting stated that they would not impose a moratorium but that they would work with Moratorium NOW! in the future to prevent shutoffs.

This was not acceptable to the Coalition and the demonstration went forward on July 24. The action enjoyed broad press coverage. DTE Energy executives told the Moratorium NOW! Coalition members that they could be contacted if there were other issues requiring their attention.

However, when the delegation of Moratorium NOW! members and tenants from the Highland Towers went to the DTE Energy corporate headquarters on September 3, the executives refused to respond to repeated phone calls. The following day, in the aftermath of an emergency demonstration in front of DTE Energy headquarters, executives met with Moratorium NOW! organizers and tenants from the Highland Towers.

The executives told the tenants that under no circumstances would they restore the power. They promised to work with human service agencies to provide other assistance to the tenants. DTE Energy representatives said that service providers were on the way to their headquarters to met with tenants. Nonetheless, no one ever showed up inside the DTE Energy building. A car from the United Way drove up outside but the representative never entered the building to speak with the tenants.

The Highland Towers apartments had suffered from years of neglect and mismanagement. Residents had paid their monthly rents, yet the funds collected were never used to make repairs or cover the cost of utility bills. After the Legal Aid and Defenders, Inc. agreed to file a lawsuit on behalf of the tenants against DTE Energy and the landlords, the power was restored and residents received damages in the form of re-location funding.

In a recent article published on the Detroit Blog of Time.com, Highland Towers tenant and co-plantiff in the lawsuit against DTE Energy and the absentee landlords, LaTanya Lloyd narrates the developments surrounding the struggle at Highland Towers. Lloyd, who also attended the National March for Jobs in Pittsburgh on September 20, said in regard to the September 4 meeting with DTE Energy that "When we went to talk with DTE, it was like DTE just didn't...I hate to say it, but it was like they just didn't give a s***."

Lloyd went on to say that "One of the executives told us that the landlord owed over $150,000 to DTE. He said "No, we're not turning the power back on. This is a business, and we're in business to make money." (Time.com, Detroit Blogs, September 25)

Lloyd then stated that "A few days after the power went out, a man named Abayomi from Moratorium NOW! approached us. Moratorium NOW! works with people in the community to stop unfair evictions and foreclosures. And that's basically what this was, an unfair eviction. Once they got involved, things changed real fast. We got hooked up with Legal Aid and Defenders' attorneys, and we took DTE to court."

Lloyd, who is the mother of two children and whose husband is a graphic designer, continued by stating "They still kept fighting us! They told the judge lies about giving us notice, things like that. We never saw any notice from them. Our notice was the power going out. We're human beings, and we matter. And we just weren't going to let them do that to us without a fight. And we didn't. And you know...we won."

As a result of the struggle in support of the residents at Highland Towers, other human services agencies also became involved. The United Community Housing Coalition, the Detroit Area Agency on Ageing, Southwest Solutions, the Department of Human Services and others came to the building in order to assist the residents with re-location.

On September 21, a delegation of tenants and organizers for the Moratorium NOW! Coalition showed up at the City Council meeting in Highland Park. Mayor Hubert Yopp in his report on the situation at Highland Towers never mentioned the struggle that took place against DTE Energy and the landlords and omitted the fact that the organizing effort resulted in the power being restored.

Building residents blasted the City government for not fighting to protect the interests of its citizens. When Sandra Hines, an organizer for the Moratorium NOW! Coalition rose to go to the podium and speak, residents of the Highland Towers applauded. Hines stated that it was the struggle of the people that resulted in the victory against DTE Energy and the landlords.

On September 23, DTE Energy hosted a community outreach program at the State Fairgrounds purportedly designed to assist people who were having problems in paying their utility bills. Over 10,000 people showed up at the event, most of whom were not able to receive any attention due to the overwhelming turn out.

This outpouring of people clearly demonstrates that there is a state of economic emergency in existence in the state of Michigan. The Moratorium NOW! Coalition has been calling upon the Governor of Michigan Jennifer Granholm for over a year to exercise her emergency powers by imposing a halt to foreclosures, evictions and utility shutoffs. Michigan is facing an official unemployment rate of over 15%. The city of Detroit's official unemployment rate is nearly 29%. Yet the state government and local officials have consistently refused to take action in defense of the people.

At the Highland Park City Council meeting, it was brought out that DTE Energy provides public lighting for the municipality. One resident of Highland Park said that she had repeatedly called DTE Energy about defective lighting on her street. Despite promises from the power company, no action has been taken.

The struggle surrounding the residents at Highland Towers makes the case even clearer for the imposition of a moratorium on evictions and utility shutoffs. The Moratorium NOW! Coalition plans to reach out to more apartment buildings where tenants are facing threats of eviction and utility shutoffs.
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Gabon to Re-count 'Rigged' Poll

Gabon to re-count 'rigged' poll

Gabon's highest court is due to re-count the votes in last month's presidential election, which was marked by accusations of widespread fraud.

The decision was taken after opposition candidates filed 11 complaints of rigging to the constitutional court.

Ali Ben Bongo, son of Gabon's long-time leader Omar Bongo, was officially declared the winner of the August poll.

Opposition leaders immediately cried foul, sparking violent protests in which several people were killed.

Court president Marie Madeleine Mborantsuo said the re-count would take place in the presence of representatives of the opposition parties who had lodged complaints.

A senior official of the ruling Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), which backed Mr Bongo, said he was not worried.

"The election took place openly. Whether you re-count once or 100 times, it doesn't change the results," said PDG secretary general Faustin Boukoubi, reports the AFP news agency.

One official told AFP that the re-count would start at 1400 local time (1300 GMT) last all night.

Gabon is sub-Saharan Africa's fourth biggest oil producer and Africa's second biggest wood exporter, although most of its 1.4 million people live in poverty.

Last month's election was called after the death of Omar Bongo, one of the world's richest men, who had ruled the nation for four decades.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8280079.stm
Published: 2009/09/29 09:40:28 GMT
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Angola Secures IMF Loan Agreement

Angola secures IMF loan agreement

Angola has reached a preliminary deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for loans of up to $890m (£558m).

IMF mission chief Lamin Leigh said the loans would help alleviate the nation's immediate cash flow pressures.

Angola, the world's 19th largest oil producer, has been hit hard by falling crude prices over the past year and the wider global economic slowdown.

Oil is currently trading at $67 a barrel, less than half its $147 all-time high of July 2008.

'Important victory'

Angola's Economy Minister Manuel Nunes Junior said the deal with the IMF would bolster the country's credibility.

Mr Leigh said the loans should be approved by the IMF board in November and that Angola was on track to pass an "appropriately tight 2010 budget, backed by firm policies on monetary management".

The preliminary deal marks a big improvement in Angola's relationship with the IMF.

Angola broke off talks with the IMF in 2007 and instead turned to China for billions of dollars in oil-backed loans.

"This is a very important moment for the government of Angola and we are on the way to securing one more important victory for the country and for the Angolan people," Mr Nunes Junior added.

Angola expects its economy to grow 6.2% this year, although analysts have predicted it could be as low as 0.4%.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/8281639.stm
Published: 2009/09/29 20:23:37 GMT
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Guinea Protests 'Will Continue' Says Opposition Party

Guinea protests 'will continue'

A leading Guinean opposition leader has said protests will continue in the country to get rid of what he called the "criminal" military regime.

Alpha Conde, head of the Rally of the People of Guinea party, said he would return there to "mobilise the people".

Rights groups say at least 157 people were shot dead by troops on Monday and that woman have been publically raped.

But the interior ministry said 57 people died in the protests. Officials denied knowledge of sexual assaults.

"We can't fight and then draw back, we fought for change so we can't retreat now," Mr Conde, speaking from New York, told the BBC.

"We want free and democratic elections, but considering what happened yesterday, we now want the government to go and for it to be replaced by a national government that can organise elections."

Mr Conde said the government had been "discredited" by the violence, which he said had been "planned and were directed by the president's own advisor".

“ Frankly it saddens me immensely. Frankly, it is very regrettable ”
Capt Camara

Guinean soldiers used tear gas, baton charges and fired live ammunition on Monday to break up demonstrations in the capital, Conakry.

About 50,000 people were protesting over rumours that Junta head Capt Moussa Dadis Camara intends to run for president in an election scheduled for next January.

The Guinean Organisation for Defence of Human Rights put the toll at 157 people killed and more than 1,200 wounded.

Guinea's interior ministry told the BBC that a total of 57 people died during the violence.

Bodies 'hidden'

Human rights groups say they have had reports of soldiers bayoneting people and women being stripped and raped in the streets during the protest.

"The military is going into districts, looting goods and raping women," Mamadi Kaba, the head of the Guinean branch of the African Encounter for the Defence of Human Rights (RADDHO), told AFP.

"We have similar reports from several sources, including police sources and some close to the military," said Mr Kaba, from his office in Dakar, Senegal.

The interior ministry source admitted that some soldiers had fired live rounds into the crowd, but said that only four people had died from gunshot wounds. The others, the ministry said, were trampled to death.

The opposition has accused the army of taking away some bodies to hide the scale of the violence.

Capt Camara denied knowledge of sexual assaults, but admitted that some of his security forces had lost control.

He said he was waiting to hear exactly how many people had died.

"Frankly, it saddens me immensely. Frankly, it is very regrettable," he told French radio.

Capt Camara said he had not yet decided whether to run for the presidency and was unsure what the correct move would be.

There has been worldwide condemnation of the violence.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the Guinean authorities to exercise maximum restraint, while the West African regional body Ecowas is reported to be pursuing sanctions against the military regime.

The African Union has expressed grave concern over the latest violence, condemning the "indiscriminate firing on unarmed civilians".

Did you see the rally? Are you in the area?

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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/8281772.stm
Published: 2009/09/29 22:15:56 GMT
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Sudanese Government Appreciates China's Support on National Issues

Sudanese gov't appreciates China's support to Sudan's issues

http://www.chinaview.cn
2009-09-30 06:11:46
by Fayez Hassan Zaki, Shao Jie

KHARTOUM, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- A senior Sudanese official on Tuesday expressed his government's appreciation of China's stances supporting Sudan whether regarding the Darfur crisis, the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between northern and southern Sudan, or the implementation of many Sudanese strategic projects.

In a special interview with Xinhua on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Sudanese Presidential Advisor Mustafa Osman said "we appreciate this strategic partnership between Sudan and China."

"The relationship between Sudan and China has remained solid and deeply-rooted. It has never been affected by the changes of governments in Sudan, but instead, witnessed advanced leaps in the economic, political and humanitarian fields," he added.

Ismail went on saying that "in Sudan we regard China as a country that has managed to establish a modern state and achieved stability and welfare for its people. China has also managed to achieve a remarkable economic progress, and through its fixed and stable policy, succeeded in supporting the third world countries and above all else established positive stances towards Africa and the Arab world."

The Sudanese official further noted that China had successfully managed to build a strong economy, overcoming many world crisis, the last of which the global financial crisis, saying "because of its strong economy, China has not been affected by the recent global economic crisis, but instead it has been a support for the great economies which collapsed because of the crisis."

Ismail reiterated his country's support to China's policy, which works to preserve unity of the Chinese lands, saying "we support China's wise policy which restored many of the Chinese lands such as Hong Kong and others to China. It is a policy that we believe to restore the rest of the Chinese lands such as Taiwan."

He said Sudan was keen to develop its relations with China in all fields and that Sudan was attaching a great concern to the cooperation with China in the agricultural field.

"Following the great development in the cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy, we are currently entering an important field, which is agriculture, to provide food," the Sudanese official stressed.

He disclosed that a high-level Chinese delegation would visit Sudan in November to discuss with the Sudanese side agricultural cooperation and sign a number of agricultural projects, saying "we believe there is no ceiling in the cooperation with China, but in fact it is a relation that covers the different fields."

"We hope to make use of the Chinese experience in the agricultural field, because China is of few countries that are ready to transfer their technologies to the different peoples and countries," he affirmed.

He described the Sino-African relations as "strategic and constructive," explaining "we see that the Sino-African relations are very important because China's external policy does not stand on intervention in the internal affairs of countries as some superpower countries do. The Chinese policy, as well, is not confined to provision of humanitarian assistance but also provides development programmes that contribute to stability of the economies of the African countries."

"Because of this external policy, the African countries appreciate and welcome cooperation with China. Additionally, the relationship between Africa and China has significantly outdone other relationships that built on colonialist bases and divided Africa to francophone and Angelo-Saxon states."

The Chinese Embassy in Sudan celebrated on Tuesday the 60th anniversary of the founding of People's Republic of China.

Chinese Ambassador in Sudan Li Chengwen held a reception on the occasion at the Friendship Hall in Khartoum. It was attended by the representative of the Sudanese President and Minister of Finance and National Economy Awad Ahmed al-Jaz, the Presidential Adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail, Secretary-General of the Council for International People's Friendship in Sudan Ahmed Abdel Rahman Mohamed.

Meanwhile, hundreds of representatives of the foreign diplomatic missions accredited to Khartoum as well as Chinese companies and other organizations in this African country also attended the reception.
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The Discourse and the Reality Do Not Agree: Cuban Foreign Minister Speaks at UN General Assembly

The discourse and the reality do not agree

Speech given by Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Cuba, during the debate in the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly

Mr. President,

I would like to congratulate you on your election and confirm our confidence in your total ability to lead our work and deliberations.

Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of CubaI also wish to recognize the excellent administration of Father Miguel D’ Escoto, president of the recently concluded session. The ethical dimension and political reach of his presidency made us advance in our determination to restore to this assembly all of its powers and they will constitute an obligatory reference in the future. With his example, it has become clearer that reforming the United Nations is to democratize it and bring it closer to the people.

Since the general debate took place here one year ago, significant events have occurred on the international stage. Climate change is the most perceptible and dangerous. The economic crisis acquired an intense and global character. Social exclusion grew.

However, the international community reacted with profound optimism to the change of government in Washington. It seemed that a period of extreme aggressiveness, unilateralism and arrogance in that country’s foreign policy was coming to an end, leaving the infamous legacy of the regime of George W. Bush sunk in repudiation.

As could be appreciated in this very hall, the innovative and conciliatory discourse coming from the White House is arousing widespread hope and its reiterated messages of change, dialogue and cooperation have been welcomed. Unfortunately, time is passing and the discourse does not appear to be sustained by concrete acts. The discourse and reality do not agree.

The gravest and most dangerous aspect of this new situation is uncertainty as to the real capacity of the current authorities in Washington to overcome the political and ideological currents that threatened the world under the previous president.

The neoconservative groups, which placed George Bush in the presidency, promoters of the use of force and domination under the protection of the colossal U.S. military and economic power; responsible for crimes that include torture, murder and the manipulation of the U.S. people, have rapidly regrouped and have conserved immense resources of power and influence against the announced change.

The torture and detention center on the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo Bay that usurps Cuban territory has not been closed down. The withdrawal of occupation forces in Iraq has not come about. The war in Afghanistan is expanding and threatening other states.

In the case of Cuba, which has suffered the aggression of the United States for more than half a century, last April the new government announced measures to abolish one of the most brutal actions of George W. Bush, which prohibited links between Cuban residents in the United States and their family members in Cuba, in particular the possibility of visiting them and sending them aid without limitations. These measures constitute a positive step, but are extremely limited and insufficient.

The announcement included the authorization for U.S. companies to undertake certain telecommunications operations with Cuba, but other restrictions that prevent its implementation have not been modified. Neither are there any signs that the U.S. government is prepared to put an end to the immoral practice, recently extended, of robbing Cuban funds frozen in U.S. banks and other assets, under the protection of orders from corrupt judges who are violating their own laws.

The essential issue is that the economic, commercial, and financial blockade of Cuba remains intact.

Despite the existence of laws like the Helms-Burton Act, the president of the United States retains broad executive powers — such as licenses — via which he could modify the application of the blockade.

If a real will for change existed, the U.S. government could authorize the export of Cuban goods and services to the Untied States and from the United States to Cuba.

It could permit Cuba to acquire, anywhere in the world, any product that contains more than 10% of U.S. components or technology, independently of its trademark or origin.

The Treasury Department could abstain from harassing, freezing and confiscating transfers from third countries in U.S. dollars and other currencies to Cuban entities and nationals.

Washington could suspend its prohibition on ships from third countries docking in U.S. ports for 180 days after having touched a Cuban port.

It could also suspend the Treasury Department’s persecution of financial companies and entities that do business with and operate with Cuba.

President Obama could allow U.S. citizens, via licenses, to travel to Cuba, the only country in the world they are prohibited from visiting.

The report to this Assembly from the United Nations secretary general contains abundant examples. In 2009, numerous actions of fining, confiscating or impeding Cuban transactions and those of third countries with Cuba have been documented.

According to the Treasury Department itself, since January of this year, almost half the money collected by its Office of Foreign Assets Control came from penalties levied on U.S. and foreign companies for supposed violations of the economic blockade of Cuba.

The real and indisputable fact is that the new U.S. government has not as yet heeded the overwhelming demand of the international community, expressed in this General Assembly year after year, to end the blockade of Cuba.

Two weeks ago, President Obama notified the secretaries of State and of the Treasury — contrary to what the opinion surveys of the U.S. people reveal — that it is of "national interest" to maintain economic sanctions against Cuba under the Trading with the Enemy Act, passed in 1917 to deal with situations of war and applied only to Cuba.

The U.S. blockade of Cuba is a unilateral act of aggression, which should be ended unilaterally.

For many years, Cuba has expressed its will to normalize relations with the United States.

On August 1, President Raúl Castro publicly reiterated Cuba’s disposition to sustain a respectful dialogue with the United States, between equals, without any shadow over our independence, sovereignty and self-determination. He noted that we should mutually respect our differences, and that we do not recognize that country’s government, or any other, or any group of states whatsoever, as having jurisdiction over our sovereign affairs.

The Cuban government has proposed to the government of the United States the essential matters that it considers necessary to address in an eventual process of dialogue aimed at improving relations. These are the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade; Cuba’s exclusion from the spurious list of terrorist countries; the annulment of the Cuban Adjustment Act and the "wet-foot/dry-foot" policy; compensation for economic and human damages; the return of the territory occupied by the Guantánamo naval base; the end of radio and television aggression from the United States against Cuba; and a halt to its financing of internal subversion.

An essential issue on that agenda is the release of the five Cuban anti-terrorists who, for 11 years, have been suffering unjust imprisonment in the United States. President Obama has the constitutional prerogative to release them, as an act of justice and of his government’s commitment against terrorism.

We have proposed to the United States, moreover, to initiate talks for establishing cooperation to confront drug trafficking, terrorism, and human trafficking, to protect the environment and confront natural disasters.

It is in this spirit that the Cuban government has held talks with the U.S. government on migration and on the reestablishment of a direct mail service. Those talks have been respectful and useful.

Mr. President:

Cuba enjoys extensive and productive relations in every corner of the planet. With the single exception of the United States, Cuba has friendly relations with every country in this hemisphere and can count on the solidarity of the region.

We practice cooperation in solidarity with dozens of countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean.

Ours is stable country, with a united, educated and healthy people, which has more than demonstrated its ability to confront, even under blockade conditions, the consequences of the global crisis and the effects of climate change, which in the past year cost the national economy 20% of its gross domestic product.

Cuba is in a position to face its own problems and find solutions to them. We do so in a just and equitable society, which rests upon its own efforts, and which has been able to advance and direct its development in the most adverse conditions.

We are prepared to continue facing those challenges with equanimity and patience, with the confidence that no citizen has been left or will be left to their own fate, and with the assurance that we are defending a cause of national independence and a social project that has great support from the Cuban people.

Anyone who tries to put an end to the Revolution or break the determination of the Cuban people is suffering from delusions. Patriotism, social justice and determination to defend independence are all part of our national identity.

Mr. President:

Latin America and the Caribbean are at a dramatic juncture, defined by the acute contradiction between the great majorities, which together with progressive governments and broad social movements, are demanding justice and equity, facing the traditional oligarchies bent on preserving their privileges.

The coup d’état in Honduras is a reflection of that. The coup-plotters and usurpers who kidnapped that country’s legitimate president are in violation of the Constitution and are brutally repressing their people, as in the dark period of military dictatorships backed by the United States in Latin America.

Hundreds of thousands of murdered, disappeared and tortured people are agitating in the awareness of "Our America" in the face of impunity.

It has yet to be clarified why the aircraft that kidnapped the constitutional president of Honduras made a stopover on the U.S. air base in Palmerola. The U.S. fascist right, symbolized by Cheney, is openly supporting and backing the coup.

President José Manuel Zelaya should be restored fully, immediately and unconditionally to the exercise of his constitutional functions.

The inviolability of the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa must be respected, and the siege and aggression against its facilities must cease.

The Honduran people are resisting heroically and will have the last word.

These events coincide with the renewed and aggressive interest of the United States in establishing military bases in Latin America, and with the reestablishment of the 4th Fleet, obviously with the objective of placing U.S. troops within reach of the region in a question of hours, thus threatening revolutionary and progressive processes — particularly the Bolivarian Revolution in the sister nation of Venezuela, and procuring control of the region’s oil and other natural resources.

The slander and lies against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela are brutal. It should be recalled that that is how atrocious acts of aggression against our homeland developed and were executed.

The broader and clearer that the policy toward that fraternal country becomes, the more it will contribute to the peace, independence and development of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Latin America and the Caribbean can advance, and to a certain degree they are advancing, toward new and superior forms of integration. They have water, land, forests, mineral resources and energy resources superior to any other region on the planet. Their combined population is in excess of 570 million.

The Rio Group, the Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development (CALC) and UNASUR are bodies created by virtue of the ties that unite us.

The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA-TCP) and the PETROCARIBE cooperation concept are perfect examples of that.

Mr. President:

The optimistic predictions in Pittsburgh concerning the evolution of the global economic crisis, foretelling a possible economic recovery by early next year, are not based on solid data, and in the best of cases, refer only to an easing of the drop experienced by a very small group of the most powerful economies on the planet. It is striking that objectives have been set, but not one word has been said about how to reach them.

Nobody should ignore the fact that this is an unprecedented crisis of the capitalist system that takes in—respectively—food, energy, the environment, and social and financial crises; nor should they ignore the danger of the inflation/debt combination, the bursting of other financial bubbles, or a second downturn.

The developing countries are not responsible for but are victims of the consequences of the industrialized economies’ irrational and unsustainable model of consumption, exploitation and speculation, attacks on the environment, and corruption.

While this is being debated, the number of hungry people is set to reach a record figure of 1.02 billion in 2009, one-sixth of the world’s population. This year, another 90 million people will be thrown into poverty, and a further 50 million into unemployment. Another 400,000 children are expected to die as a consequence of the crisis in these months.

The measures being adopted are simply palliative ones, preserving the serious shortcomings of an unjust, exclusive and environmentally unsustainable international economic system. An international dialogue is necessary, one that is all-embracing and inclusive, with the active participation of all developing countries.

A new international economic order needs to be established, based on solidarity, justice, equity and sustainable development. The international financial architecture should be re-founded. A central role in this effort belongs to the United Nations, and particularly this General Assembly.

Mr. President

Concluding these words, I wish to repeat Cuba’s gratitude for the traditional and invaluable solidarity that it has received from this General Assembly in its struggle against aggression and blockade. Today that solidarity remains essential.

As Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz stated on this same podium nine years ago: "nothing of that which exists in the economic and political order serves the interests of humanity. It cannot sustain itself. It must be changed. Suffice it to recall that we are now more than six billion inhabitants, of whom 80% are poor. Millenary infirmities of the countries of the Third World, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and other equally deadly diseases have not been defeated; new epidemics like AIDS are threatening to wipe out the populations of entire nations, while the rich countries are investing fabulous sums on military spending and luxuries, and a voracious plague of speculators are exchanging currencies, shares, and other real or fictional securities, for sums rising to trillions of dollars every day. Nature is being destroyed, the climate is changing before our eyes, water for human consumption is being contaminated and is in short supply; humanity’s food sources in the oceans are being exhausted; vital non-renewable resources are being squandered on luxuries and vanities…The dream of reaching truly just and rational regulations to govern human destiny seems impossible to many. Our conviction is that the struggle for the impossible should be the slogan for this institution that brings us together today!"

In spite of everything, the Cuban revolution is victoriously and securely celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Thank you very much

Translated by Granma International
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Calls at United Nations for Anti-Cuba Blockade to Be Lifted

Calls at UN for anti-Cuba blockade to be lifted

Leaders speak in favor of reforming the organization

NEW YORK, September 23.— Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated that without a political will, obsolete measures such as the U.S. blockade of Cuba will continue to exist. The dignitary was the first speaker at the 64th Session of the UN General Assembly, which took place today.

For his part, Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez, stated that as Americans, "we feel the ethical duty and political responsibility of likewise reiterating in this international forum that we will persevere in our efforts toward American integration without exclusions, exceptions, or blockades like the one affecting Cuba."

Likewise, Bolivian leader Evo Morales stated that in order to change the world, "we will first have to change the UN and end the blockade of Cuba."

Meanwhile, during yesterday’s session, U.S. President Barack Obama called for a "new era of commitment" to the world and promised to work alongside other nations while defending his own country’s interests.

"The time has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect," said Obama during his speech before the Assembly.

Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed reaching an agreement on a provisional reform of the Security Council before the end of the year. "The crisis is forcing us to demonstrate imagination and boldness," he said, stating that, "in politics, the economy and environmental policy, the need for global government is imperative," EFE reports.

Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi also called for a reform of the UN, by transforming the General Assembly into its central apparatus and transferring the prerogatives of the Security Council to that authority.

He also commented that, according to the UN Charter, all countries are equal, irrespective of their size, but the vast majority of them are not represented on the Council.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Libyan diplomat Ali Treki, General Assembly president for the next period, both called for a reinforcement of multilateralism.

For the former, this is the time to act with a spirit of renewed multilateralism, to create "a United Nations of genuine collective action".

Among the most important issues facing the international organization, Ban mentioned nuclear disarmament and the battle against poverty and climate change.

Meanwhile, Treki alerted delegates to current challenges related to peace and international security. He identified the challenges of conflicts among states, civil wars, weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, organized crime, the deterioration of the environment, extreme poverty and the spread of infectious diseases.

The Libyan diplomat called on members to work for the revitalization of the General Assembly and "a more representative and reformed Security Council." He also reaffirmed a commitment to the environment and a non-selective approach to the issue of human rights.

Translated by Granma International
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