Africa

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Re: Africa

Post by blindpig » Sun Nov 14, 2021 3:42 pm

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“Limited Hangouts:” Western Intellectuals Whitewash Horrific Crimes of CIA Asset Paul Kagame
November 12, 2021
By Justin Podur – Nov 11, 2021

Admitting lesser crimes to conceal major ones is called a “limited hangout”

In the intelligence community, a “Limited Hangout” occurs when the conspirators put out part of the truth in order to hide the whole truth. Conspirators only do limited hangouts when desperate, since doing so often will reveal that they were previously either lying or covering up bigger truths.

If Western neocolonialism in Africa can be seen as a conspiracy of sorts, then the new book by Michela Wrong, Do Not Disturb: The Story of a Political Murder and an African Regime Gone Bad, fits the mold of a limited hangout perfectly. It presents the partial truth about Paul Kagame—that he has been running an international, decades-long, successful campaign of assassination all over the world, from Kenya to South Africa and beyond.

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[Source: publicaffairsbooks.com]
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Michela Wrong [Source: harpercollins.co.uk]

But in the process, it covers for bigger truths: that Kagame’s organization, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), has been committing genocidal violence for decades, both in Rwanda and in the DR Congo; that these murderous campaigns have been fully supported by the U.S., UK, and international institutions; and that journalists and academics have been supportive of Kagame and the RPF all through the decades of their worst crimes, showing callous indifference to mass murder, writing deceptions on behalf of the worst criminals, and encouraging the worst in their Western readers.

Why was Michela Wong’s book written?

To understand the purpose of Do Not Disturb, let me start with some notes on the role played by Western journalists in the system that governs Africa. The starting point is Africa’s place in the global economy, characterized by the depression of African economies and sovereignty.

Since European colonizers partitioned Africa into zones from which they would steal wealth and murder natives in the late 19th century, the whole continent has been subjected to an endless series of financial, political, and military assaults with a view to keeping its countries divided, weak, and exploited. Having put Africa into that desired state, there are careers to be made there: for mercenaries and traders; and, after independence in the 1960s, for aid workers and writers too.

The role of Western Africa experts (aka Africanists)—whether they are academics, journalists, aid industry professionals, or employees of non-governmental organizations—is to maintain the ideological mood in the West in the correct state, one that facilitates the continued plunder.

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African land grab. [Source: wired868.com]

This mostly means keeping Africa off the news agenda: This is done by keeping the total amount of coverage to a minimum and emphasizing the fact that, despite the Western obsession with Africa and Africans in general (and the obsession of these experts in particular), Africa is an unimportant place, a backwater, eternally poor and in need of help.

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[Source: toonpool.com]

I also have a hypothesis that deliberately bad writing by these high-profile Africanists—whether in academic or NGO jargon or the use of cliches that insult the reader—is also used to turn Westerners off of Africa, and that Do Not Disturb is an example.

When Africa does appear, it is important that Africans be presented as savage, sub-human caricatures. This is done by invoking the whole colonial imagery that has been drilled into Western audiences for generations, since they were children.

The only real knowledge and expertise on Africa comes from Western experts—who make sure they cite one another extensively and discredit African voices—through discrediting entire populations, as you’ll see, when they cannot be ignored.

For an Africanist, though, there is a challenge in doing all this during a “limited hangout” operation. It is not in convincing readers about Kagame’s assassination program, about which the facts are clear. The challenge is in doing so without undermining one’s own credibility. The challenge is answering the reader’s question: If Kagame is so bad, why did you tell us he was so good?


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The solution arrived at in Michela Wrong’s book is remarkable. Wrong, and the other Westerners who once celebrated Kagame’s crimes, were dupes, fooled by the bedeviling complexity and stress of Africa itself. They were fooled because they believed Rwandans, and Rwandans lie. At various points in the book, Wrong literally says lying is a Rwandan national trait, a national pastime.

Now Kagame himself has condemned the book and right-thinking Western people in the small community that has some interest in Rwanda or DR Congo have lined up: Will you be taking Wrong’s side, or Kagame’s?

The fact that the book has polarized the debate this way—leaving the worst RPF crimes, most of the propaganda structure facilitating neocolonialism in the region, including the innocence of the West in the whole thing—is a master class of Africanist writing. Michela Wrong has shown how it is to be done.

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Paul Kagame with Prince William at Buckingham Palace in 2020. [Source: zimbio.com]

But it has become nearly impossible to whitewash Kagame’s crimes any longer

On September 20, 2021, the last illusions for many about Kagame were dispelled when Paul Rusesabagina, who was portrayed in the Oscar-nominated movie “Hotel Rwanda,” was found guilty of supposedly forming and funding a group that carried out terrorist attacks in Rwanda and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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Paul Rusesabagina arriving at court in Kigali, Rwanda, last year during his “show trial.” [Source: nytimes.com]

Rusesabagina was once praised for sheltering more than 1,200 people in the hotel he managed during the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 that killed as many as one million people, but gradually became one of the most high-profile critics of Kagame, calling out the president for his increasingly repressive rule.

Rusesabagina’s case has been something of a turning point in the U.S. media, which for years depicted Kagame as Rwanda’s savior—a man who allegedly stopped genocide and then engineered an economic miracle.

Now, however, it seems he is to play the role of the archetypal African dictator whose persecution of Rusesabagina epitomized his tyrannical side.

Criticism of Kagame has its limits

While the romance with Kagame has ended, the U.S. media along with popular authors like Wrong have continued in many ways to treat Kagame with a soft touch.

Out of bounds is any dissection of the circumstances (as CAM reported) in which he had come to power in Rwanda—by invading Rwanda illegally from Uganda in 1990, sabotaging peace agreements and likely shooting down the Hutu president Juvenal Habyarimana’s aircraft.

Also out of bounds is any discussion of (a) how Kagame had distorted the truth surrounding what happened during the Rwandan genocide, (b) used U.S. and UK aid money to facilitate his invasions and plunder of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and (c) the imposition of a quisling regime that favored Western-based multi-national corporations.

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Kagame inspects rifles of Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) troops who have carried out systematic war crimes for the last three decades. [Source: glpost.com]

Establish yourself and your credentials

Above all, the first task of an Africanist writer is to establish that Africanists are the authority on the topic, not Africans. Acknowledging (some) African lived experience is acceptable, especially for (some) victims; accepting African intellectual authority over the issues is not. So you can search Wrong’s book in vain for African writers on the region like Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Olivier Nyirubugara, Abdul Ruzibiza (mentioned once), Marie Béatrice Umutesi, Jacques-Roger Booh-Booh, Amadou Deme, Paul Rusesabagina.

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Marie Béatrice Umutesi - Alchetron, The Free Social EncyclopediaMarie Béatrice Umutesi. [Source: alchetron.com]

On the other hand, fellow Africanists Jason Stearns, Gérard Prunier, and Linda Melvern are everywhere in the book, as are unnamed Western spies, unnamed Western businessmen, unnamed Western journalists, unnamed Western aid workers—74 of Do Not Disturb’s footnotes are to “Author’s interview, anonymity requested.”

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But the Africanist’s—and the journalist’s—authority is not established solely by omission of African intellects. It is also established by outright self-aggrandizement, witnessed whenever Wrong gets into its author’s adventures.

The protagonist of the book, ex-RPF spy chief Patrick Karegeya, driven into exile and then assassinated in 2014, supposedly was “a born iconoclast,” who “liked journalists’ combination of freewheeling lifestyles and moral seriousness, their ingrained irreverence toward the powers-that-be.”

Wrong discusses her subject, Patrick Karegeya, with humanity and sensitivity, emphasizing her own closeness to him and his charismatic effect on others—she sent him books, she had long discussions with him, they knew people in common.

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Patrick Karegeya [Source: hrw.org]

Exonerate yourself first

Having established her credentials though, and set up a story of the RPF and Kagame having “gone bad,” the Africanist has a problem, for the entire Africanist community has spent three decades lionizing the very same men they are denouncing as murderers today. Were Africanists lying then? Are they lying now? Are they stupid?

The solution Wrong has come up with to this dilemma is simple and remarkable. Yes, Africanists were duped. Yes, they were unwitting tools of a murderous regime. But it isn’t their fault, and each of the reasons they were fooled are reasons to trust them now.

Rwandans lie. First, they were fooled because Rwandans lie. Wrong uses the Kinyarwanda word for lying, ubwenge, and claims that it’s impossible to translate (because it is so unique to Rwandan culture). She calls her subject, Patrick Karegeya, the “ultimate practitioner of the Rwandan art of ubwenge.” She says journalists had a hard time “working out where truth ended and spin began, for no one was a more shameless practitioner of Rwanda’s national trait—brass-faced dissembling—than Patrick.”

If Westerners were seduced (literally) into writing accounts favorable to the (almost entirely ethnically Tutsi) RPF, it was because “Tutsi culture has always recognized sex as one of the most effective of political tools, cutting usefully across the bureaucratic hierarchy and social barriers.”

Even when the seduction was not sexual, these Tutsis and their hospitality were hard to resist. A “warm welcome was extended to writers and researchers passing through. These included the New Yorker writer Philip Gourevitch and academic Samantha Power, future U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, who both went on to write best-selling nonfiction books on Rwanda in which the RPF is portrayed in an overwhelmingly sympathetic light.”

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Another Africanist, poor Jason Stearns, was, presumably against his fragile will, driven all over town by the intelligence chief of Rwanda, in what is not exactly a model of fair and balanced journalism: “He took me out on the town, to clubs and bars. Wherever you went everyone knew him, and everyone recognized he was king of that town.” But something about the whole approach jarred.

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Jason Stearns [Source: congressresearchgroup.org]

The power of story. Africanists were fooled because of the very power of story, going back to the (Western) classics. “Few narratives possess the seductive power of the RPF’s redemptive tale of humiliated-refugees-reborn-as-crusaders, righteous warriors returning to a lost motherland to save their brothers from the forces of Absolute Evil and then, on the toxic ruins of a racist society, building a spotless, disciplined, tech-friendly African Utopia.”

“There were echoes of antiquity in this classic Quest saga: the Exodus of the Bible and Torah, Virgil’s Aeneid, with Plato’s idealized Republic as its culmination.” The power of story connects to the psychological needs of the storyteller, Wrong explains. “I often think of that wasted briefing as an example of how the storyteller’s need to identify Good Guys and Bad Guys, culprit and victims, makes fools of us all [emphasis added].”

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The Tutsi story of reclaiming their lost homeland was viewed through the lens of ancient epic like Virgil’s Aeneid, featured above, where the Trojan hero Aeneaes undertakes a hazardous journey to Italy and would become an ancestor of the Romans. [Source: open.edu]

The power of affinity. They were fooled, Wrong admits, using quotes from a colleague, because it is easier for Western journalists to identify with their wealthy counterparts in poor countries than with the poor majority.

An assumption of intellectual affinity was more quietly effective than overt pressure could ever be. ‘The RPF were likable because they were like us,’ admits Hrvoje Hranjski. As a young Croat who had witnessed the traumatic breakup of the former Yugoslavia, his identification with the Tutsi story was particularly acute. ‘It’s hard to identify with a Hutu peasant who tills the soil. These guys, you could meet them in bars and discuss films you’d seen, books you’d read. They were in our image—our mirror image—in so many ways.’

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Hrvoje Hranjski [Source: twitter.com]

Poor Hranjski is the fall guy for many of Wrong’s—and other Africanists’—failures. “I totally believed what they were doing in the Congo was right,” recalls Hranjski. “I’d swallowed the line that the Congolese were useless, bickering, and that the Rwandans should be given a shot at running the country. They were colonizers, plain and simple, but we were sympathetic. The Congolese raped and looted, with the RPF there were never any reports of raping and looting, so the argument was, ‘Look, these guys are not your typical army, they can put your house in order, why don’t you let them?’ In retrospect, it’s amazing what you can rationalize.’”

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Cross marks mass grave in Eastern Congo where Hutu refugees were hunted down by the RPF. [Source: nbcnews.com]

Laziness. They were fooled because of their own sloth-like laziness. “Having broadly decided at one point that Kagame and the RPF were ‘the Good Guys’ in Rwanda, ‘Good Guys’ who had stopped what was self-evidently ‘A Very Bad Thing,’ many an academic, diplomat, development official, and businessman would cling with a sloth’s viselike grip to that view, pretty much irrespective of events on the ground or any suggestion that the RPF had, in fact, played a part in bringing that Very Bad Thing about.”

RPF victims—Hutus and Congolese—are not believable. Consider the way that Seth Sendashonga, an ex-RPF politician who was killed 16 years before Karegeya and whose assassination was if anything more momentous politically, is treated in Do Not Disturb.

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Seth Sendashonga [Source: hapakenya.com]

Wrong writes:

Seth Sendashonga’s death in a barrage of AK-47 fire. A little silvery salamander of shame flips over inside me whenever I hear that. If they are honest, any journalist can list a series of stories they realize, in retrospect, they either missed, played down, or misinterpreted. For me, several are associated with Rwanda’s former interior minister … He is a memory of a job badly done for the simplest of reasons: in the smooth, contoured shape of a widely accepted narrative, his story stood out like a jagged splinter. So the splinter went ignored until it became too painful to bear.

I’ll come back to the work done by metaphors about silvery salamanders of shame and stories like jagged splinters.

Meanwhile, consider how Wrong discredits Sendashonga’s testimony of RPF massacres in the 1990s, the better to exonerate herself for suppressing the truth decades ago.

Now here was this former Rwandan minister suggesting, it seemed, that the French might have been largely correct all along. Stumped, I returned to my office and called my boss in London, the Africa editor of the Financial Times. Why hadn’t Sendashonga said something back in 1995? Why wait till now, when the claim smacked of aggrieved revisionism? Whom was I to believe, the 1995 Sendashonga, or this 1996 version

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RPF fighters in Kigali in 1994 in months preceding the RPF takeover and genocide. [Source: taiwannews.com]

“I honestly don’t know what to think,” I told my editor. “But if anyone is in a position to know, it’s him.” “Well, there’s no point agonizing,” he said. “There’s no space for Africa in tomorrow’s edition in any case.” In those days newspaper websites were in their infancy, space finite and fiercely fought over. I’d been let off the hook.” The lack of self-awareness by Wrong, who is revising her own story in 2021, to ask “Whom was I to believe, the 1995 Sendashonga, or this 1996 version?” is beyond brazen.

Let’s continue. Wrong presents another Africanist’s (academic Gérard Prunier’s) view of Sendashonga, who claimed to have been Sendashonga’s friend but also endorsed the RPF view of why Sendashonga had to die—because he was organizing an armed struggle (against the RPF, which had taken power through … an armed struggle).

The RPF was hardly in any position to preach, but it had so successfully claimed the moral high ground by this time that Western allies saw its survival as synonymous with Rwanda’s stability. From this perspective, Sendashonga’s death—the first high-profile slaying since Habyarimana’s—seemed less a gratuitous assassination than a case of preventive elimination, rough justice for a rough neighborhood.

Wrong quotes Prunier: “[He] was fed up of always playing the good guy and always finishing last.… It is probably then that some people in Kigali decided he had crossed the danger line.”

Westerners are afraid of Rwandans. Wrong also hints that the reason Africanists have lied about Rwanda for 30 years is because they fear the RPF. Big media ignored the assassination story.

Dissidents offered them the proof, the story was of undoubted interest, they would not run the articles. Bullying, sadly, works.” And the reason she has so many citations to anonymous interviewees, she explains how after an interview with one Westerner about Rwanda she’s told “No names, please. I want to do consulting work there in future.

All in all, Wrong deploys a remarkable array of excuses to make sure Africanists are not blamed for lying to their readers for two decades.

Introduce the characters
Once the narrator is positioned as both an innocent and an authority, she can get on with the job of revealing and interpreting Africa, presenting the story and its exotic characters. And characterization is indeed the first task: setting up the “good guys and bad guys” needed by the “storyteller,” using all the tools of nonfiction—and several from fiction. The range of colors and body sizes provides clues about the moral qualities of the African characters.

The subject of the story, the assassinated Patrick Karegeya, was “gap-toothed and medium in height, he could never be described as handsome. But his face was alive with a questing intelligence. His heavy-lidded eyes were disconcertingly light, the amber irises flecked with brown, while his skin was a smooth honey.”

Fred Rwigyema, who was supposed to lead the RPF but who was killed in 1990 leaving Paul Kagame in charge, “was young, he was beautiful: even at the front, unwashed and unshaven, Fred somehow always managed to look impeccably groomed, parade-ground-ready. Contemporaries recall that no man looked better in uniform. A slim, smooth-skinned, self-deprecating Hector, he was admired by men for his almost suicidal courage in combat and adored by women for his compassion.”

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Fred Rwigyema—a good looking Hector. [Source: wikipedia.org]

Seth Sendashonga, the assassinated unreliable ex-RPF dissident who Wrong had chosen not to believe when it mattered, “was a sturdy, well-built man with an impressive mustache. The pajama-like white bou bou he was wearing instead of a suit seemed to underline his sudden joblessness. It said ‘gardening leave.’ … The words were reassuring, but the body language was not. He was not sweating, exactly, but his shiny skin hinted at suppressed tension, strong emotions surging below the surface. Every now and then his dark eyes slipped sideways, glancing beyond the compound wall toward the jeep.”

Sendashonga and his wife Cyrie “formed one of those well-salaried, multilingual, highly skilled African couples driven in and out of the metal-fenced compounds in chauffeured white 4WDs, IDs dangling from lanyards.”

The implication here is that Africans are supposed to be poor, perhaps, not being chauffeured around in fancy cars. When a fat African is encountered, it is always noted—perhaps a hangover from the colonial era when Africans who were not at the edge of starvation were signs of inefficient colonial revenue collection. Assassinated Congolese president Laurent Kabila, for example, was “tubby, well past his prime, and militarily irrelevant.”

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Laurent Kabila in front of troops. [Source: blackpast.org]

One of the two best known RPF dissidents still living (the other being former General Kayumba Nyamwasa) is former RPF spokesman Theogene Rudasingwa, who is described as follows:

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Theogene Rudasingwa [Source: facebook.com]

“Among the RPF stalwarts who ended up in opposition, no one can quite rival Theogene Rudasingwa for his combination of suavity and elegance. ‘Le beau Theogene,’ Francophone reporters dubbed him at the height of his powers, while their American counterparts preferred ‘the Gucci Guerrilla.’ Softly spoken, surprisingly pale skinned, and gently melancholic, he is a man with a track record of passionate affiliation often regretted and painfully renounced. A lapsed doctor who only recently rediscovered the joys of medicine, he is a dedicated Marxist who came to relish the perks of high office, a Christian who lost his faith but was Born Again, a man who swore off politics only to end up wading back into the fray.”

All of these characters are orchestrated, of course, with the villain of the story, Paul Kagame, whose character flaw (of murderousness) was present all along, but who is presented as having started off good but become corrupted by the trappings of power. A former U.S. Ambassador to Uganda says that Kagame when challenged “recoiled and then rebounded, in the way of a green mamba, lashing out to bite another snake.”

Kagame reads the Facebook posts of his political enemies, Wrong reports. He creates fake twitter accounts to troll dissidents. He physically beats his subordinates in working meetings. He is, in short, out of control. The West has cut this man and his regime altogether too much slack, and perhaps, the implication is, it is time to start thinking about reining him in.

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Protests directed against the visit of Paul Kagame to Boston. [Source: bostonglobe.com]

But maintain the key elements of the narrative

The purpose of the book is to unveil the new story for Rwanda and the DR Congo: Kagame was the hero of a thousand hills, but he is now a villain. The heroes are the ex-RPF dissidents who Kagame has been killing off (especially Patrick Karegeya) and those who live in fear of assassination, such as Kayumba Nyamwasa and Theogene Rudasingwa.

But key elements of the old story must remain in place, lest readers believe that the solution could be for the West to leave Africa alone. And the key narrative element of the entire system of U.S. control over Central Africa is that the majority of Rwandans (former Hutus), and the occupied Congolese, are irredeemably evil. For if Kagame is the villain of the story, the Hutus are evil itself, a transcendentally evil force that must be suppressed and can only be suppressed by the West.

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A picture depicts the Eternally Evil Hutu preparing to massacre Tutsi. In Wrong’s work and others like it, the massacres aren’t political – they are the work of transcendental evil. [Source: theconversation.com]

When Westerners think of evil, they think of the Nazis. Wrong is explicit that the Hutus are worse than the Nazis.

She writes: “If we are honest, many of us might admit to being capable of pressing a button consigning a disliked acquaintance to anonymous, distant oblivion. Hence the debate about just how much ordinary Germans really knew about the Holocaust, during which Jewish neighbors simply boarded trains, never to be seen again, and how much guilt those witnesses carry. Rwanda’s massacres, in contrast, were pre-agreed, public affairs, conducted using the most democratic of tools. There was no mystery, no ambiguity about what happened. Killing someone with a machete, sickle, or hoe is a messy, exhausting business; the process leaves no room for subsequent sugarcoating.”

Because it is the majority of Rwandans who are evil, it is democracy that is to be feared. Rwandans (Hutus) are scary because they are evil, but also because they are obedient and because there are too many of them.

Wrong continues: “Xenophobic propaganda, broadcast by Rwandan radio stations, certainly played a role, its impact boosted by a culture of unquestioning obedience toward an all-seeing, all-powerful state that had long peered into every corner of its citizens’ lives—characteristics the Mwami’s court had bequeathed successive Hutu administrations. In Africa’s most overpopulated country, plain greed—for livestock, for land, for women, for property, for access to water—was also an undeniable factor. In DRC, hundreds of thousands of hectares of equatorial forest serve as an outlet for aching land hunger. In a dirt-poor, landlocked Rwanda, where every plot was already accounted for, self-betterment always seemed like a zero-sum game: for me to prosper, you must fail.”

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Hutu refugees fleeing after RPF takeover in 1994. Wrong’s demonization of the Hutu lent support to the Tutsi extermination campaign. [Source: reuters.com]

The return of Malthus to the discussion, and of overpopulation, is racist to the core and made even more ridiculous because, when the genocide occurred in 1994, Rwanda’s (supposed over-) population was around 7.5 million whereas today it is more than 13 million.

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Thomas Malthus [Source: wikipedia.org]

Wrong pours on the notion of “Rwandan obedience” thick: “As in the past, killing was presented to ordinary Rwandans as a patriotic duty. Out in the provinces, local bourgmestres and préfets called public meetings to pull together lists of victims, while Radio Mille Collines urged its listeners on to greater efforts. Their ‘work,’ as the radio announcers termed it, was made easier by the fact that overpopulated, intensely cultivated Rwanda had so little tree cover. On the terraced, denuded hillsides, there was nowhere to hide.”

And yet for all that it portrays pre-1994 Rwanda as a surveilled dystopia of obedient subhumans waiting for a chance to genocide their neighbors, Do Not Disturbcontains some incongruous admissions that post-1994 Rwanda is worse. Quoting one of her favorite unnamed “Western intelligence officials,” Wrong describes one of the characters recruited into helping the RPF assassinate Karegeya, a young man named Apollo:

“Apollo owned the $1 million Cine Star cinema complex in Nyamirambo, Kigali’s Muslim district, and enjoyed the freewheeling lifestyle of the playboy businessman, traveling widely in the Middle East and Europe, where he was briefly detained on suspicion of drug trafficking.

Then in 1994 Rwanda acquired grimly puritanical new masters, and adjustments had to be made. “Apollo’s big mistake was not to realize that he was living in a different Rwanda,” says a Western intelligence official who worked in Kigali during that period. “He’d grown up in a country where you could more or less speak your mind. He didn’t realize he was now in a Rwanda where you were under constant scrutiny.’”

She also describes how the RPF had their own methods for organizing mass murder, from the 1990s on and perhaps even before, in Uganda: “Human rights investigators registered that the tactics used—UN Special Rapporteur Roberto Garretón detailed how radio appeals were used to summon Hutus to meetings in schools and churches, urging those hiding in the forests to emerge for medical care and food—had a chilling familiarity.

The same methods for gathering people in one spot, the better to eliminate them, had been described in the infamous Gersony report. Like a serial killer, the RPF had developed a recognizable modus operandi.”

Continue to cover for RPF crimes

This, too, presents a challenge. How to showcase a subset of Kagame’s crimes while minimizing their extent, duration, and Western support for them? Presenting Hutus as evil is part of it, to be sure. Another key element is portraying the RPF crimes as revenge, perhaps excessive, but understandable—which is what the RPF dissidents believe. The evil of the Hutus made Africanists embrace the RPF:

“Covering the genocide had brought reporters face-to-face with the worst in human behavior. They had seen the splayed bodies, met the gang-raped women. At the few press conferences they staged before fleeing, members of Habyarimana’s government, expressing themselves in flowery French, had come across as thuggish and evasive. No wonder, amid all that horror, the slim puritans of the RPF, with their direct talk—‘Never forget, these guys spoke English,’ recalls an aid worker—seemed the incontestable Good Guys.”

RPF massacres, like the one at Kibeho, are explained as revenge and self-defense: “As the months passed, the new government in Kigali became increasingly irate at the way in which the giant refugee camps in neighboring Zaire were being used as launching pads for cross-border attacks by interahamweand ex-military, recruiting fighters in full view of the aid agencies … Kibeho camp’s existence felt like an insult [emphasis added]. On April 18, 1995, when the country had just staged a commemorative reburial of 6,000 genocide victims, several battalions of Rwandan soldiers surrounded it, torching shelters and firing warning shots at the 150,000 Hutus inside.”

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Survivors of Kibeho massacre after RPF rampage. [Source: jambonews.net]
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Australian soldiers carry out wounded survivor in Kibeho. [Source: abaryankuna.com]

The self-defense theme is presented again and again: “The refugees were being used as both shields and hostages by characters like General Augustin Bizimungu, former Rwandan army chief of staff, who was busy buying weapons from Mobutu’s corrupt military officers and using Congo’s local airports to import ammunition. In camps like Mugunga, thousands of young men were being openly trained in the arts of guerrilla warfare, as the ex-military and interahamwe prepared to reinvade.”

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General Augustin Bizimungu [Source: independent.co.uk]

“The camps sat illegally close to the Rwandan border, and the readiness of the likes of Oxfam, GOAL, Concern, Save the Children, and UNICEF to keep providing a rebel-army-in-training with food, water, and medical treatment violated every principle of international law. But aid officials, outnumbered and thoroughly intimidated, turned a blind eye.”

And again: “An exasperated Kagame made clear in interviews with journalists like myself that if the international community wouldn’t put a stop to the situation, the RPF would. In truth, he and his colleagues had already decided that the only way to neutralize the threat posed by the génocidairesinvolved invading Zaire, breaking up the camps, and forcing the refugees home. The plan possessed the mixture of ruthless brio and strategic chutzpah the world had learned to associate with the RPF, a movement beginning to feel it possessed a military Midas touch.”

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Hutu refugees being relocated on Rwanda-Congo border in May 1997 as villagers look on. [Source: nbcnews.com]

The Africanists explain away the RPF’s genocidal violence against Hutus and Congolese. Wrong paints a picture of Hutus as an undifferentiated mass. Present at the event, she makes no attempt to talk to any individual as she watches them walk by. They are not human to her.

“A week later, Rwanda’s army, commanded by James Kabarebe and Cesar Kayizari, launched a multipronged blitzkrieg on the refugee camps lining Lake Kivu and Lake Tanganyika, encircling the settlements where the génocidaires held sway while leaving open a corridor that led all the way back to Rwanda. The vast majority of Hutu refugees obediently plodded home. After two drawn-out, miserable years, the Great Migration took place in just ten days.”

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Paul Kagame with James Kabarebe [Source: medium.com]

Wrong continues: “I was one of many journalists who stood at Gisenyi’s border post watching that biblical human tide. The Tutsi taxi driver who took me there, his car radio blaring disco, drove through the oncoming refugees with a speed bordering on viciousness. From the Hutu refugees, there was no laughter, no chat, no smiles; but there was no wailing, or sobbing, either. The only sound was the strange, feathery whisper produced by thousands of bare feet brushing tarmac [emphasis added].”

Wrong tells the story of Kagame’s invasion of the DR Congo and killings running into the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, like this:

“Some 800,000 Hutus returned, trudging across the border without screening or checks. But it soon become clear that a large group of refugees, a group including the ex-military, interahamwe, and the genocide’s masterminds, had peeled off in the opposite direction, plunging into the equatorial rainforest as they headed for Shabunda in the southwest and Kisangani, the trading city built on the Zaire River.”

“The Rwandan army ruthlessly hunted them down. The RPF wanted the broad mass of the refugees back, but not these men. ‘These are not genuine refugees,’ Kagame told an interviewer. ‘They’re simply fugitives, people running away from justice after killing people in Rwanda—after killing!’ Women, old people, or children who had walked the red jungle roads alongside the fighters were dismissed as so much collateral damage.”

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Hutu refugees after RPF takeover. Many were hunted down mercilessly by the RPF under the claim that they had participated in the 1994 genocide. [Source: reuters.com]

The seeming concern for “women, old people, or children” is reduced by the fact that they had “walked alongside the fighters.” Why did they do that? Notice too that there is no verb attached to what was done to these women, old people and children—they “walked,” then they were “dismissed as so much collateral damage”—Wrong has said at the very beginning of the paragraph that they were “ruthlessly hunted down”—but creates an entire paragraph of distance between that verb and the object.

Wrong also minimizes and dismisses the number killed like this: “No definitive death toll was ever possible, but the UNHCR reckoned that some 200,000 people remained unaccounted for.”

Such a statement could of course be made about those killed in the 1994 Rwandan genocide too—we know no more about the real number killed there than we do about the number killed in the Congo, how could we?—but neither Wrong nor any other Africanist would dare say such a thing.

Nor would any Africanist dare to call the Rwandan genocide a “low impact conflict” or a “classic blight of underdevelopment,” but take a look at this: “The International Rescue Committee estimates that up to 4.7 million Congolese died in the civil war in eastern Congo: civilians for the most part killed not by gunshot, shrapnel, or bombing—for this was a low-impact conflict [emphasis added]—but by diarrhea, malaria, and malnutrition, classic blights of underdevelopment.”

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Burned home in Eastern Congo. [Source: hrw.org]

The same goes for the way Wrong, like the other Africanists, implies that some RPF killing would have been acceptable, since Hutus are evil, but the RPF probably did too much killing:

“The campaign was utterly brutal, though, in terms of civilian casualties. Journalists covering what became known as the Northern Insurgency saw scores of bodies lined up along road verges and were allowed to visit a network of caves at Nyakinama full of rotting corpses—up to 8,000 were said to have been sealed inside, then grenades thrown in. It was the usual problem: Were the dead Hutus really ‘infiltrators,’ as the army claimed, or villagers shot as suspected sympathizers? The often-indiscriminate nature of the killings, coming at a time when young Hutu men in the northwest were constantly mysteriously ‘disappearing,’ left a permanent stain on General Kayumba’s reputation” [emphasis added] on an ex-RPF dissident’s reputation.

But perhaps the greatest exoneration of the RPF that the Africanists do is by associating the RPF with Israel, protecting Tutsis everywhere the way Israel claims to stand up for Jews. Wrong produces a supposed speech made by Karegeya echoing every Israeli talking point about pre-emptive war doctrine, and it is worth reproducing here whether Karegeya said it or not (as typical for the book, it is a hearsay by an anonymous source), as it reveals the powerful associations Wrong is trying to invoke. Patrick tells Wrong’s source:

“We are a small and densely populated country. We have a higher population density than any other country in Africa. So we have no space for another war. We just don’t have the strategic geographical depth.”

Because of that every threat will be dealt with preemptively, and extraterritorially, because we do not have room for it to take place on our sovereign territory. So what you call ‘murder’ is not a crime, it’s an act of war by other means, and if it took place in any other circumstances, we would be congratulated, praised for it.

We have chosen to externalize the battlefield and preempt the threat. Externalizing the war zone is part of that policy and so is buffering. So, because of our relative sizes, we will never leave DRC, for example, until there’s a government in Kinshasa we can trust. Never Again will we allow a mass killing of our people, Never Again will we allow a war on Rwandan territory, Never Again will we allow anyone to lay a finger on a Tutsi head.

There are two countries in the world that have this doctrine, us and Israel. This is how Israel sees things, how Mossad acts, and this is how we see it. We will never allow our enemy to land a blow on us and remain standing.”

Karegeya also supposedly kept a picture of a dead child on his desk as a reminder of this in-group morality: “On his desk he kept a heartrending framed photo of a dead Rwandan baby on the ground, encircled by anonymous male boots. It served as both wordless reproach and daily reminder of why he did what he did.”

As with Israel, the slightest dissent from the most bloodthirsty aggression is celebrated. Karegeya, for example, apparently felt badly while running the occupation, plunder, and genocide of the DR Congo, quoted as saying: “I expressed to President Kagame privately and later on in a meeting with other senior officers that Rwanda’s invasion of Congo was quite unnecessary, as it would result in the loss of innocent lives and resources of which we could not afford at the point in time.” A noble heart. When they kill Palestinian children, the Israelis claim to be “shooting and crying.” Karegeya apparently was “looting and crying.”

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Protester calls out Kagame for crimes. [Source: globalresearch.ca]

Why write so badly?
Wrong’s skills as an Africanist writer are evident not only in her taking up such a difficult challenge but also in her implementation of it. She humanizes Karegeya and her other subjects and she makes a murderous imperialist proxy—the RPF—seem like a good organization “gone bad” because of the ambitions of Kagame alone, forcing her favorite RPF dissidents into their various tragic plot arcs.

The question arises then of why she writes so badly at times, since it must be by design. What is the role of these awful metaphors inserted into the text?

– “The first domino in a long column of mahogany and ivory that would eventually lead to the intelligence chief’s murder had just toppled, but no one in the South African diaspora had heard its quiet click.”

– Kampala, the capital of Uganda: “The city where the RPF’s key figures spent their formative adult years looks, from a distance, like a giant bowl of salad, ripe for munching.”

– Sendashonga’s death makes her feel shame, “a little silvery salamander of shame flips over inside me,” while the story is a splinter: “in the smooth, contoured shape of a widely accepted narrative, his story stood out like a jagged splinter. So the splinter went ignored until it became too painful to bear.”

– “Brutality passes like a virus from one community to another.”

– “Suspicion of personal responsibility for Sendashonga’s murder was to hover over Patrick for the rest of his life. Like a speck floating across an eyeball, out-of-focus yet definitely there [emphasis added], it was one of those unconfirmed suspicions that niggled silently at the back of one’s mind.”

– Kagame “even—like some clucking mother—gave tips on how to dress.”

– “Patrick set about recruiting the Aimés and Apollos of the future, precious assets to be stowed like wine bottles in a cellar.”

– On the battle between Rwanda and Uganda in Kisangani: “The strands of that brotherly scrap weave in and out of one another, as fiddly to unpick as the plaited fibers of a mat.”

– The assassination of Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana by the RPF, which triggered the war and genocide, “squats like a giant toad at the heart of the RPF story, even uglier and more poisonous than the question of who killed Fred Rwigyema or organized the assassination of Laurent Kabila.”

– New institutions “sprang up like pristine white mushrooms in the forest, bodies that would—surely, inevitably—become healthy checks and balances.”

There are also word salads like this: “But for those accustomed to stripping the political ingredients from their assessments of African nation-states, Rwanda’s incredible statistics made it easy to overlook that inconvenient fact.”

This sort of intrusive metaphor parallels the way Wrong intrusively inserts her own views and struggles into the text. I am not certain what is happening here but I hypothesize that if she had done it too well, she would have humanized the Hutus, revealed too coherent a picture of RPF criminality at the West’s behest, or made the new Africanist story (Kagame bad) too blatantly incongruous with the old one (Kagame good).

So what do the imperialists want to happen in Rwanda?
To puzzle out what the imperialists really want, we have to spend some time talking about what really went on in Rwanda and the DR Congo, rather than taking apart the Africanist version. Here goes—note that I have written a whole book about this, America’s Wars on Democracy in Rwanda and the DR Congo(London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) if you want more detail.

In 1990 the RPF, an army created in Uganda and sponsored by the U.S., invaded Rwanda. The U.S. was interested in sweeping France (and eventually Mobutu) out and they used Kagame to do it. The RPF was not driven by events into this position. They were the local proxies and the French withdrawal was negotiated—and accompanied by plenty of humiliating propaganda.

A History Written in Blood

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Young Kagame leads RPF in invasion of Rwanda from Uganda. [Source: newsweek.com]

After three years of assassination, massacre, the creation of immense numbers of refugees from areas the RPF conquered, and successful negotiations that would have seen the RPF take over a disproportionate share of power in Rwanda with full U.S. backing, the U.S. decided to go all the way. The RPF assassinated Habyarimana in April 1994 and conquered Rwanda over the next three months, taking the capital in July. In the process, the RPF massacred a huge number of civilians. Militias on the losing side massacred an even bigger number.

The big massacres by the militias were abstracted from the assassination, war, and conquest and labeled a genocide, with the entire conquered population blamed for it. The lesser (but also immense) massacres by the RPF were simply erased from the Western historical record. The successful military conquest of the country by the RPF, the erasure from history of their crimes, and the labeling of the conquered population as “genocidaires” have changed politics in the entire region forever.

The creation of the narrative that abstracted the militias’ massacres from the broader processes of war and civilian massacre was led by African Rights, Human Rights Watch, and several Western authors—notably Gourevitch, Melvern, Prunier, and afterwards Wrong, Stearns, Dallaire, and others. They successfully imposed the idea that the enemies of the RPF and of Kagame were all genocidaires or proto-genocidaires and ultimately deserving of death. That idea facilitated mass imprisonments within Rwanda and Kagame’s multiple invasions of the DR Congo and multiple wars of occupation there that killed millions of people.

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Mealtime at grossly overcrowded Rwandan prison in 1995 where most of the prisoners were Hutu accused of participating in the 1994 genocide. [Source: aparchive.com]

And the truth is we have seen this movie before—literally. In 2014, inspired by the murder of Patrick Karegeya, the first mainstream cracks in the story appeared on the BBC. Elements—only elements—of the reality were presented for the first time in the documentary “Rwanda’s Untold Story.” Notably Kagame’s assassination program, the possibility that the entire conquered population might not be guilty of genocide and deserving of conquest and death, and even the “ethnic accounting” of the Kagame government and its supporters came under scrutiny.

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Ad for BBC documentary “Rwanda’s Untold Story,” which began puncturing the myth of Kagame and related to the 1994 genocide. [Source: genodynamics.weebly.com]

The sources for the BBC documentary were the same RPF dissidents Wrong relies on in her book—notably Theogene Rudasingwa—and the inspiration was the murder of Patrick Karegeya by Kagame’s assassins in South Africa. Kagame and his supporters in the West collectively freaked out and they all signed a letter together to try to discipline the BBC. Wrong’s book, if anything, is more narrowly cast and departs from the pro-Kagame position even less than the BBC documentary, and largely exonerates the U.S./UK of any wrong-doing.

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Members of the Rwandan National Congress mourning Patrick Karegeya in 2014. [Source: theguardian.com]

And so Kagame marches on, even amidst the Hotel Rwanda scandal.

What Rwanda needs, as Congolese have argued since their own country was occupied, is a process of real reconciliation—not a reconciliation program used to further suppress and terrorize the majority, but a process that acknowledges all crimes committed by all sides and a new regime that actually includes everyone. Such a regime would leave its neighbors in peace and would not be a keen imperial catspaw.

If what happened in Rwanda is seen as a war, not unlike what happened in Uganda before, or the DR Congo afterwards, then there is a possibility for peace or reconciliation. If it is seen as a genocide with Hutus as the genocidaires and eternally guilty, then they have to be suppressed forever. This means, for humanitarian reasons, the West also has to be there forever, to help manage this guilty population.

With his international assassination program, his selfish desire to stay in personal power forever, and his increasingly brazen persona, Kagame may no longer be the best vehicle for control of the region. This was hinted in 2014 and is being repeated in 2021 a bit louder. But the other planks—eternal Hutu guilt, ultimate Western innocence and control—should remain in place. This is the task that Do Not Disturbtakes up. It is the challenge of keeping intact, while making some tweaks, one of the most successful propaganda operations in history.

Featured image: Cartoon mocking Tony Blair and Bill Clinton’s worship of Kagame in the 1990s. [Source: medium.com]

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Re: Africa

Post by blindpig » Mon Nov 15, 2021 3:03 pm

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TPLF’s War on Ethiopian Gov’t is a US-EU Backed Ploy to Thwart Cooperation in the Horn of Africa, Says Former Ethiopian Diplomat
November 14, 2021

The coalition of nine ethnic groups formed in Washington D.C to fight the Ethiopian government is merely a psy-op and does not exist on the ground, diplomat Mohamed Hassan told Pavan Kulkarni

Tens of thousands have been killed and millions are starving and have been displaced in the civil war in northern Ethiopia which passed the one year mark last week. The devastating war began with the attack on an army base of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on November 4, 2020.

According to Ethiopian diplomat Mohamed Hassan, it was the US security establishment of president-elect Joe Biden that had advised the TPLF to launch this attack.

The former Ethiopian Diplomat and current adviser to the president of Ethiopia’s Somali regional state told Peoples Dispatch in a phone interview that the US and the European Union (EU) are the driving forces behind the TPLF’s war, aimed at bringing down Abiy Ahmed’s government.

Ahmed came to power in 2018 after the TPLF, which had ruled Ethiopia since 1990, was cornered by mass pro-democracy protests. Soon after coming to power, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed released political prisoners, welcomed back political exiles, and lifted the ban on free press and on political parties outside the TPLF-dominated ruling coalition.

His reforms also extended to foreign policy. He signed a peace deal with Eritrea ending the decades-long conflict, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He followed it up with a Tripartite Agreement, in which Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia declared that the conflict between the three states had been resolved, and their relations had entered a new phase based on cooperation.

This “is not appreciated by the US and EU. They find this is a very bad example”, Hassan said, because “resolution of the antagonism between African states and people” will weaken and eventually collapse the US Africa Command (AFRICOM), which he describes as “Africa’s NATO”.

At the time of these developments, however, the Trump administration, which was in power, was not very interested in this region, and was disengaging. But the return of the old foreign policy establishment to White House with the election of Joe Biden has reversed the aberration of the Trump administration.

The US, Hassan argues, has since been using the TPLF – which had depended on American support throughout its decades of authoritarian rule – to bring down the Ethiopian government and wreck the Tripartite Agreement. However, he maintains, TPLF is losing the war, and has essentially “committed suicide” by taking American counsel.

Expanding the fighting from Tigray into neighboring regional states of Amhara and Afar, the TPLF’s forces have reached 300 kilometers within the reach of capital Addis Ababa, killing, raping and looting all along the way .

However, Hassan maintains, the TPLF is unable to proceed any further because, having stretched too far out from their base in Tigray, they are now surrounded in Wollo province by the Amharic and Afar militias and the ENDF. The frontline, he says, “is tilting in favor of the government.

Read an edited excerpt from the interview below:
Pavan Kulkarni: Reports indicate that the TPLF has made major advances and is threatening to close in on the capital. What is your reading of the situation in Ethiopia?

Mohamed Hassan: The situation in Ethiopia is not as the media makes it to be. The media is using psychological warfare against the people and the government of Dr. Abiy Ahmed. But (in reality) the TPLF’s forces are in a very difficult situation at the moment. They have stretched more than 300 kilometres away from their base area. They are not able to continue because they are encircled. They have lost several areas they had captured. I think they will be decimated in Wollo province (at the juncture of Amhara, Afar and Tigray).

They can’t win; they’re a rag-tag invading force. They do not mobilize people. They have no social project. Everywhere they go, they engage in killing, looting and raping. They are hated by the total population.

PK: Is there any clarity on where the frontline is?

MH: The frontline in Amhara is around 300 kilometers from Addis Ababa and is tilting in favor of the government. They also tried to open another front in Afar, but didn’t succeed. Many areas they had seized have been recaptured.

PK: Media has reported that the TPLF has taken control of Dessie. TPLF also claims to have seized Kombolcha.

MH: In Dessie, the local population, militia and the army are fighting the TPLF. TPLF does not have absolute control of Dessie. On the contrary, they are losing; they are now on the fringes. In Kombolcha also the fight is going on. The western media, of course, will report in a certain way; because this war is in fact a war by external forces. The US and Europe don’t care for Tigrayans, but they are using the TPLF to impose pressure on Abiy Ahmed’s government.

PK: What is it that the US and Europe want to extract from Abiy Ahmed’s government by imposing such pressure?

MH: It is not for extraction anymore; I think they now want to overthrow the government. Because they didn’t like the Tripartite agreement, which was signed in 2018 in (Eritrea’s capital) Asmara between Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Through this agreement, the three states declared that the conflict among them had been resolved, and that they are going to start a new project for cooperation called The Horn of Africa Project. This resolution of the antagonism between African states and people is not appreciated by the United States and the European Union (EU). They find this is a very bad example because, in the long term, it might weaken and eventually collapse Africa’s NATO, namely the US Africa Command (AFRICOM). This is a problem for Brussels and Washington.

PK: Just ahead of this Tripartite agreement, a Peace Agreement was also signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea ending the decades long-conflict. Given TPLF’s historic animosity towards Eritrea and its opposition to the peace agreement, is it not very likely that the peace deal will also collapse if the TPLF wins the civil war?

MH: Yes, indeed. The peace agreement will also collapse. They will try to isolate Eritrea again and might even want to attack the country. But they don’t have that kind of strength anymore. The TPLF is seriously weakened, its capacity to fight is diminished. The weaker they get, the more they try through the African Union (AU) to form a front with other African countries in the name of African peace and so on. They are also using the (Western) puppets on the continent, including the former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo (currently the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa). In the name of peace talks, they want to bring down Abiy Ahmed’s government.

PK: But when the war first broke out, on November 4, 2020, the then US secretary Mike Pompeo was quick to condemn the TPLF for launching the attack on the ENDF base in Tigray. When TPLF later fired rockets into Eritrea, he had also condemned its “attempt to internationalize the conflict.” The US did seem quite supportive of Abiy’s government until the civil war began. Did its policy towards Ethiopia change subsequently?

MH: There is a difference between the Democrats (now in power) and Donald Trump’s government. The Trump government was disengaging in this region; it was not very interested in this area. It didn’t follow the same political line as (its predecessors). But the Democrats have a long history of deep involvement with the TPLF (since the 1990s when it came to power and ruled Ethiopia till 2018). The TPLF has also been paying individuals in return. Susan Rice and others became wealthier with payments from the TPLF. From Clinton to Obama, and now with Biden, it is the Democrats who have been the lifeline of the TPLF, hoping to fight Eritrea and the idea of Eritrea in the region.

In fact, on November 3, the Democrats, knowing that they would be in office in two months, advised the TPLF to attack the ENDF’s Northern Command base in (Tigray’s capital) Mekele. They were hoping that it could seize 80% of Ethiopian army’s armaments that were stored there and march to Addis Ababa to topple Abiy’s government. But that didn’t succeed and the TPLF is getting crushed.

PK: If I understand you correctly, you are saying that the incoming security establishment of Biden’s administration had advised the TPLF to attack the Ethiopian army base in November 2019, knowing that they would be in White House in two months. That is a very strong statement. Can you possibly substantiate it?

MH: Of course they will not say it openly or write it down. But I don’t think the TPLF could have managed that kind of an operation, killing more than 9,000 Ethiopian soldiers and officers and capturing armaments, unless it had external assurances and advice. The TPLF never had an Ethiopian project. Their project was the Greater Tigray project aimed at seceding from Ethiopia. So the TPLF would not have done this unless some other forces behind were advising it. That is my understanding. I have been studying the TPLF for the last 30 years. I know their behavior.

I think forces within the (then incoming) Democrats assured them of diplomatic cover. They thought it was the appropriate time because it would take two months until the new president came into the White House. They had assumed that the TPLF could finish the job in two months. But the TPLF, by taking their advice, have committed suicide.

PK: In Washington D.C, a signing ceremony was recently held to launch the so-called United Front of Ethiopian Federalist and Confederalist Forces. This anti-government coalition is reported to have nine different groups representing different ethnic regions in Ethiopia. Apart from the TPLF [and, to a smaller degree, the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF)], do any of the other organizations have significant political or military strength?

MH: First of all, these nine individuals who were brought for the signing ceremony suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Nobody knows them. This is the first time they have appeared with these names. Nine cab drivers were brought from the streets, put in a hall and given press coverage. The ceremony was only a psy-op to put pressure on the Ethiopian government. This coalition is a paper-tiger which has no existence in reality.

PK: Are you saying nobody had heard the names of the nine individuals claiming to represent these groups, or are the names of the groups themselves unheard of? You hail from the Somali region, had you never heard of the Somali State Resistance?

MH: Never. The first time I heard it was from this ceremony.

PK: Is the Somali region affected by the war?

MH: Not at all. The regional state is guarding its security and continuing its work normally.

PK: What is the situation in the capital now? The government has called on residents to organize neighborhood defense. The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has reported mass-arrests of ethnic Tigrayans in Addis Ababa. It seems there is panic, is there?

MH: No. You see, Dessie was taken not mainly by the TPLF’s fighters, but by the 30,000 odd ethnic Tigrayans who reside in the city. They had accumulated weapons. They started attacking the army from behind the frontline, and took over the city with the support of TPLF fighters. The government took measures to ensure such a thing does not happen in Addis Ababa. They have declared an emergency and arrested many, that is true. And they have found stashed weapons, money, forged ID cards and so on.

I don’t think the TPLF can rule the country anymore, but they can cause chaos and trigger panics. Their biggest supporters in doing this are the western embassies and certain African embassies too, like (that of) Zambia, which are moving their diplomats out of Addis Ababa. This is all to impose pressure. This is a war, not led by the TPLF, but by the US and EU against the government in Ethiopia.

If they cannot control a country, they will want to break it and create hate and division amongst its people. But I don’t think it will succeed. The Ethiopian people are united at the moment. They will reverse this onslaught supported by external forces.


Featured image: Tigray refugees on the banks of the Tekeze River on the border of Ethiopia with Sudan in November 2020. The civil war instigated by the TPLF against the Ethiopian Government has already killed thousands and forced millions to flee. Photo: Narimal El-Mofty

(Peoples Dispatch) by Pavan Kulkarni

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Re: Africa

Post by blindpig » Wed Nov 17, 2021 2:32 pm

Sudan: Despite Increasing Repression, Trade Unions and Civil Society Rally Against Military Coup
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on NOVEMBER 16, 2021
Peoples Dispatch

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Sudanese protesters in Khartoum on November 13. Photo: Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir

At least seven people have died so far in Khartoum State alone after protesters were fired upon by the military on Saturday. Protesters have rejected the new sovereignty council that was formed by the coup leader and army chief Abdelfattah al Burhan

The death toll due to the firing on protesters who had taken to streets across Sudan to protest the military coup on Saturday, November 13, has risen to seven in Khartoum State alone. This was confirmed by the Central Committee of Sudan Doctors (CCSD) on Monday. The State comprises the capital Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman.

The bridges connecting the three cities in this State were blocked by the military during the protests. Roads leading to several government offices were barricaded and barbed-wired by the security forces which opened fire in multiple places in the three cities, each of which witnessed several large demonstrations.

A 13-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old were among the seven killed. These seven deaths bring the total number of civilians killed since the military coup led by the army chief Abdelfattah al Burhan on October 25 to 22, CCSD confirmed on Monday.

Given the unstable situation of the many others who have been seriously injured, the likelihood of the death toll rising further exists. Over 200 have sustained injuries, about 192 of them from bullets. The doctors’ union has said that the type of bullets that were used expand its size in the body upon impact to cause maximum damage – a type that is “internationally forbidden”.

Casualties outside of Khartoum State, if any, remain unverified. Mass demonstrations were also held in the eastern State of Kassala, El Gezira in the east-central region, North Darfur, South Darfur and several other States.

Medical staff held demonstrations in various hospitals against the atrocities committed by the security forces on Monday. In Kassala Teaching Hospital, the security forces stormed the medical premises to prevent the protesting medicos from entering.

Noting that security forces used snipers to kill protesters, invaded neighborhoods and houses and conducted random arrests, and even “laid siege on several hospitals and medical centers to prevent the injured from receiving timely treatment”, the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) deemed these acts as “crimes against humanity.”

The SPA, a coalition of trade unions organizing in coordination with the Sudanese Communist Party (SCP), had led the December Revolution which caused the overthrow of dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019. It is currently spearheading the resistance against the military coup, following which the elements of Bashir’s ousted Islamist regime are being restored into positions of power.

“We call on revolutionaries in all neighborhoods and branches in all cities and villages of Sudan to close the public and internal roads.. to disrupt.. the movement of the security forces,” read its statement after the attacks by security forces on November 13.

“The mass tide of peaceful resistance will continue to diversify its tools until the military junta is overthrown, the criminal generals are brought to justice and a full civilian transitional government, whose members are chosen by the forces driving the December Revolution, is formed.”

Two days prior to this ‘March of Millions’ across Sudan, on November 11, the coup leader Burhan had reinstated the sovereignty council, the highest body of the transitional government which was dissolved after the coup.

In this body, the military generals and the representatives of the armed rebel groups have remained the same as before the dissolution post-coup. However, all but one of the civilian members in this body have been replaced to Burhan’s liking. The rebel groups had sided with the military after the Juba peace agreement of 2020 in exchange for a share in power, and also supported the coup.

The Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) have refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the new sovereignty council. The FFC is a coalition of centrist and right-wing political parties which had struck a compromise with the military after the ouster of Bashir and, in August 2019, had formed the now-ousted transitional government along with the military.

The FFC has reiterated its demand for the restoration of the transitional government headed by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, including the cabinet in which, with the exception of the Defense and Interior Minister, all the ministers were civilians.

On the other hand, the revolutionary forces who command the majority of the protesters on the streets have rejected this demand as most of the power in that government was anyway held by the military.

“No negotiation, No compromise, No partnership in crime” is the political line proposed by the SCP, SPA and the resistance committees – which organized in neighborhoods, form the backbone of the December Revolution. This line remains the most popular slogan on the streets, declaring that those civilians agreeing to share power with the military are partners in crime.

The political strike and total civil-disobedience continues.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/11/ ... tary-coup/

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What if Qaddafi’s Son Won the Presidency of Libya?
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on NOVEMBER 15, 2021

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The problem of Libya is not the candidacy of Saif al-Islam, but the continued rule of militias

No one can predict what the situation in Libya will be like in the next few days, especially after Saif al-Islam Qaddafi submitted his candidacy for the presidential elections. Warlords, militia leaders, Brotherhood activists and those who describe themselves as the revolutionaries of February 17th announced that they would block the way to the elections, and would close the polling stations. And they will prevent voters from voting on the due date, including those who called for the besieging of the headquarters of the Electoral Commission in Sidi al-Masry, and for the arrest of its head, Imad al-Sayeh, all because the ideological forces, armed groups and powerful authorities in the capital and cities in the west of the country reject the candidacy of Saif al-Islam Qaddafi and Khalifa Haftar.

The international community and its international front will have to contemplate the current course of events after ignoring that the real problem in Libya is security, not political, and it is represented by the armed militias that have controlled the centers of sovereign, governmental and economic decision-making in Tripoli since 2011. The dismantling of the state has led to a security and military vacuum which has been exploited by armed groups that still extend their influence and consider themselves the actual rulers in the country, and they are not ready to compromise their interests, which inevitably contradict the interests of the state in its value, sovereignty, symbolism, influence over its capabilities and monopoly on arms.

Those militias, groups and currents associated with them do not want the state to be established, except according to their own conditions. They will not allow the country to exit the tunnel into which it has been pushed since 2011. Although they claim to defend the “civil state” in the face of “militarization,” they seek to consolidate the “militia state” under a religious cover that is not devoid of the takfiri tendency that is adopted in mobilizing against the other politically and ideologically different, despite the international community’s realization that these militias represent the real danger to the democratic path, especially in light of a real division of the country, and a real hostility between the parties; Haftar, for example, is a candidate for the presidency of the Libyan state in its entirety, but he cannot move in the western region, which revolves around the capital, Tripoli. Saif al-Islam, is a candidate for the position of President of the State of Libya, and he is persecuted by the judiciary, by militias, by infidels by the Mufti, and an outcast from the February politicians.

What if he wins the presidency?

The appearance of Saif al-Islam Qaddafi at the sub-headquarters of the Electoral Commission in Sebha, where he submitted his candidacy papers for the presidential elections, represented a resounding surprise inside and outside, as soon as the man moved in the center of the capital of Fezzan province, entered the headquarters and found enough time to complete the registration procedures, then leave the place quietly, confirms that coordination took place with the leadership of the National Army, which extends its influence over the city and the southern region, and even suggests that there were consensuses that took place weeks before, and one of its outcomes was the registration of Saif al-Islam’s name in an office in Sabha, even though he was born in Tripoli and a resident of its territory if we consider him still residing in Zintan.

I will not ask here whether Saif al-Islam moved from Zintan to Sebha directly to submit his candidacy file. The distance between the two cities, passing through Gharyan, is about 760 kilometers, and crossing it requires more than eight hours of uninterrupted walking, which means that the man and his companions were in one of the southern regions, and most likely it was Ghat, before entering Sabha, and that during the last period he was able to move around between a number of cities and villages of Fezzan to meet dignitaries and local residents, all with direct security from the army.

What several Libyan cities and villages witnessed in celebrations of his candidacy confirms the extent of the overwhelming popularity that Saif al-Islam enjoys in all regions of the country, for several reasons, including that the previous government was primarily a cultural one linked to a complex social structure, and it succeeded in transforming into a symbol, the nature of the Libyan Badia society with its extensions. Tribalism within cities, with the titles of Bedouin culture, customs, traditions and daily behaviors. Those who were surprised by Saif al-Islam’s adherence to his father’s traditional dress ten years after his death should pay attention to a message to the father’s supporters that there is no rupture with cultural and social privacy, even though there are differences in visions and political and economic projects.

On the other hand, gunmen came out in some areas of western Libya to denounce Saif al-Islam’s candidacy and attack electoral centers and raise threats to the commission and its head, and a movement of militias was announced next Saturday, and there may be other programs, all of which are in the framework of a general trend for decision makers in Tripoli, which is to compel the international community to accept postponing elections, or changing Article 12 in order to allow Prime Minister Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba to run for president. If he wins, that is required. And if the results go to Saif al-Islam or Haftar, then everyone should prepare for war and division again, and this is what the Brotherhood, militants and regional leaders have threatened.

The international community finds itself in a difficult situation, for true democracy requires it to respect the will of the Libyan people, to create conditions to enable those chosen by the people at the ballot box to carry out their mission, and to take a decisive position on those who might obstruct the elections or refuse to recognize their results, or want to run the train of candidacy and vote according to their choices. and their interests as they work to return the country to chaos and civil strife.

Meanwhile, there are parties that are trying to impose their guardianship on the general popular position and voting intentions, and they reject the candidacy of Saif al-Islam Qaddafi on the basis of their knowledge of the wide popular base he enjoys that may qualify him to win the position of president, and they rely in their position on the strength of arms and money. If Field Marshal Haftar has an army and Dabaiba has militias, Qaddafi’s son is the only one from the real power rivalry who does not have an armed force on the ground.

What is sure and certain is that several parties at home and abroad do not want Qaddafi’s son to win the presidency of Libya or influence its upcoming political scene, but the reality on the ground indicates that internal, regional and international balances imposed consensus by allowing him to run for office and the biggest challenge will be how the community confronts those who are trying to use the candidacy of Qaddafi’s son as a justification for obstructing the elections. What if he continues his march towards the twenty-fourth of December and actually won the elections? How would he be president in a capital controlled by those who consider their only legitimacy to be in their war against his father’s government?

The problem of Libya is not Saif al-Islam’s candidacy, but the continuation of the rule of the militias that want the next president to be part of their chaotic project, in line with their regionalism, and in response to their interests that they do not want to compromise, and with the centers of influence they have achieved during the past ten years. They do not recognize democracy or the peaceful transfer of power, but rather the power of the revolution, which cannot be transformed into a state while the guns are still on the shoulders of the rebels.

Al Arab

Translation by Internationalist 360°

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Re: Africa

Post by blindpig » Thu Nov 25, 2021 2:55 pm

Ethiopians Rally Against CNN, the TPLF, and US Aggression
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor 23 Nov 2021

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Ethiopians Rally Against CNN, the TPLF, and US Aggression

Ethiopians and Eritreans are decrying CNN’s slander of their nations and peoples, but CNN’s just fulfilling their mission, manufacturing consent for aggression, deprivation, and war, most of all in the Global South.

On Sunday, I attended the San Francisco manifestation of the Ethiopian Eritrean global rally, and joined in a number of call and response chants. Most of all, speakers were chanting, “US OUT OF ETHIOPIA!”, “US OUT OF ERITREA!” and “US OUT OF AFRICA!” into the microphones, and the crowd was responding with the same. Other chants included:

CALL: “CNN!”

RESPONSE: “FAKE NEWS!”

C: “AL JAZEERA!”

R: “FAKE NEWS!”

C: “BBC!”

R: “FAKE NEWS!”

The New York Times, Reuters, AP, and the Guardian had all earned “Fake News!” chants too, and I wondered whether Donald Trump had any idea how far his “fake news” meme has spread. Indeed, I took a photograph of one protester’s sign that read, “CNN Fake News! Trump Was Right!” And of course Trump was one of those broken clocks that got it right twice a day, even as the liberal media sobbed and screamed about his bad manners.

I met another young Ethiopian American man with a sign reading, “Trump was Right! CNN is Fake News!!!” He said he’d never expected to be creating or carrying such a sign before the massive disinformation campaign against his home country, with CNN way out in the lead.

That campaign was the first weapon fired in Biden’s hybrid warfare against Ethiopians and their elected government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. It now includes harsh sanctions on Eritreans and more promised to Ethiopians come January unless they bend to US will, and neither their majorities nor their leaders show any sign of doing so.

The exception is, of course, the minority Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front, more commonly known as the TPLF, a kleptocratic elite who ruled Ethiopia for 27 years with a Marxist-Leninist facade. US political, diplomatic, economic, and military support for the TPLF throughout that time evidenced just how paper-thin that facade was. In exchange for US support, the TPLF offered its army in service to the US agenda on the African continent, most notably when it invaded Somalia and overthrew the Islam Courts, leaving Somalia to struggle with al-Shabaab and US drone bombing ever since.

In 2018, the TPLF were ousted from power, but a year ago, in November 2020, treasonous TPLF troops attacked an Ethiopian federal army base, the Northern Command in Mek'ele, the capital of Tigray Region, starting a civil war.

Sunday’s demonstrators were filled with rage at the TPLF but seemed equally, and understandably, outraged by CNN. The community had raised the money to hire a public relations firm, which had at least managed to get a foot in the door at some of the big corporate and state press, but not at CNN. The firm told them that CNN was so committed to their narrative that there was no point in even trying.

Their narrative is that the TPLF are victims of a genocidal government, even though the massacre of Afar and Amhara civilians by the TPLF has been well-documented.

In the words of Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman in “Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media ,” the TPLF and the people of Tigray Region—whom the TPLF accuse the Ethiopian army of massacring—are “worthy victims.” The people of Afar and Amhara Regions are not.

Sad to say, CNN’s award winning foreign correspondent Nima Elbagir, who rivals USAID Chief Samantha Power in shrieking about “Tigray genocide,” has been Democracy Now!’s primary source on the Ethiopian conflict.

CNN! Turn It Off!

When I arrived at Sunday’s rally, the organizers asked me to say a few words impromptu, so I told the crowd that CNN and all these other outlets are doing exactly what they're supposed to do: manufacture consent for corruption, aggression, deprivation, and war, and for crushing any nation or people who dare to challenge US global hegemony, especially in the Global South.

I also suggested that they not burn too much of their energy hating on CNN, and that CNN is dying, as is the rest of cable news because more and more people, especially young people, prefer Web-based media. They loved that, so I told them to consider turning to the Black Agenda Report, the Grayzone, CovertAction, and other independent outlets.

Then I led a few rounds of a variation of their own call and response chant:

C: CNN!

A: TURN IT OFF!!!

I said that criticizing CNN is fine, but the ultimate goal is to turn it off, and encourage anyone else they know to turn it off till its advertisers drift away and no one’s left listening.

https://www.blackagendareport.com/ethio ... aggression

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Social Policy in Africa: The Root Causes of Social Problems
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on NOVEMBER 23, 2021
Anna Wolkenhauer

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Anna Wolkenhauer commends a new book, Social Policy in the African Context, edited by ROAPE’s Jimi Adesina, which rescues social policy from the assault of neoliberalism by carving out the necessary space for sovereign and transformative policymaking that can tackle the “root causes” of social problems. With its timely and important intervention into the debates on radical social policy in Africa, this collection, she argues, contributes a significant step forward. – ROAPE

Achieving socio-economic equality and development is an unfinished project on the African continent. While grand visions exist, many national and global initiatives remain piecemeal and palliative, certainly since the neoliberal turn. Although the reigning dominant doctrine for development includes a concern for welfare, much social policymaking has been criticised for being too narrowly concerned with poverty reduction and thus insufficient for making a significant dent in existing power relations. Especially in a development context, however, social policy must address the larger picture by connecting issues of production, reproduction and protection, as Thandika Mkandawire has so powerfully argued. He called for acknowledging and fostering the transformative potential of social policy, and his intellectual legacy is a gift in the continuing pursuit of transformation on the continent. After his death on 27 March last year, it now falls to his long-time companions as well as the new generation of scholars to keep the agenda alive. The volume reviewed in this blogpost, edited by ROAPE’s Jimi O. Adesina and published by CODESRIA in August this year, is dedicated to Thandika and his vision – it makes for a worthy tribute.

The professed aim of Social Policy in an African Context is to rescue social policy from the assault of neoliberalism by carving out the necessary intellectual space for sovereign and transformative policymaking that is able to tackle the “root causes” of social problems, as Adesina argues. Indeed, the book argues that visionary policies require intellectual grounding, reflection, and innovation; scholarship that conceptually expands the universe of thinkable strategies and empirically interrogates the appropriateness and effectiveness of social interventions. The book is based on the Social Policy in Africa conference of 2017 (which takes place bi-annually, again on 22-24 November, 2021) and assembles a total of 14 chapters, which study social policy in a variety of country contexts and fields. While each would merit a thorough review on its own, I will concentrate on what I consider the key overriding insights that the contributions collectively produce. Overall, the book constitutes an important step forward for critical social policy scholarship but also demonstrates that there remains a lot left to be done not only in formulating emancipatory visions but also in understanding better the impoverished form of social policy that we are up against.

What becomes more than clear throughout this volume is the importance of adopting a long-term view on social policy and seeing it as part and parcel of the ongoing project of decolonisation, development, and nation-building, as Tade Akin Aina argues in the second chapter of the book: “Africa needs to move towards sustainable, inclusive and democratic development more than ever before” (p. 13). Social policy develops over the longue durée; welfare states need to be negotiated and borne by all relevant social forces: governments, formal and informal workers, and society at large. In Africa, this process has been cut short, and the current focus on social policy must be seen as a return to what had essentially started at independence. As Katja Hujo argues in chapter three, the formation of social policy systems began long ago but was “aborted prematurely, with the state losing its steering and coordinating function in both social and economic policy” (p. 35). I see this and Aina’s claim that “the aims of the African project remain fundamentally unchanged yet unfulfilled over the past five decades” (p. 20) to be very much in line with how Thandika Mkandawire spoke about “Africa rising” some years ago, emphasising that the growth at the time was actually a recovery from the recession that structural adjustment had produced during Africa’s “lost decades”. In this unfinished recovery, social policy has a vital role to play.

A comparison with welfare states in other parts of the world, even though they have developed in different political moments, illustrates that welfare state building takes time. German health insurance, for example, has been scaled up over many decades until it covered all professions and citizens. In the book, Augustine I. Omoruan uses the German, Thai and Rwandan examples to understand why the Nigerian health insurance scheme is not achieving its goal of universal coverage. Having been developed as a response to the negative consequences of privatising healthcare during the 1980s and 1990s, the challenges for the scheme are manifold, including a large rural population, lack of solidarity, inadequate resource mobilisation, the fragmentation of the scheme itself, and the lack of cross-financing with other schemes. The cross-country comparison shows how these challenges might be tackled but also that strategic policy learning and consistency will be key.

Linking social policy and employment, despite wide-spread informal working relationships, is one aspect of the transformative agenda, according to Katja Hujo. She holds that this will require strengthening the bargaining position of informal workers and ensuring that both sectors become interlinked within the construction of a welfare state. She also reminds us that, ultimately, social policy cannot be divorced from economic policies, not least because widening the resource base through economic diversification will be one important component in ensuring sustainable social policy financing.

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The importance of thinking about social and economic policies in tandem is highlighted in two chapters that focus on agriculture, a field of growing importance. Clement Chipenda makes clear, based on his research in Zimbabwe, that social protection gains in effectiveness when preceded by the redistribution of land. The Fast.Track Land Reform provided a way for farmers to become food secure by enabling them to build granaries, it provided them with shelter, allowed them to have family gardens and to keep livestock. Where coupled with the provision of farming inputs, the benefits could be exploited even more effectively. Yet, there is often a tendency to prevent the same households from benefiting under more than one scheme, which runs the risk of missing out on important synergy effects. Newman Tekwa then drives the point home that land reform alone, if not coupled with other services, can only achieve so much, and might even have adverse effects, for instance when women need to off-set the “shortfall that results from the deficient provision of social infrastructure” (p. 81).

Aligning social with other policies requires state capacity, and in many places, this, too, needs to be re-built. The chapter by Marion Ouma and Jimi O. Adesina shows not only that state actors are often aware of the need for seeing social policy as part of a larger developmental process, but also that the state is often side-lined by donors who promote specific social policy models based on their own interests. Their discussion substantiates the importance of carving out that space for sovereign policymaking, which will require capacity at all levels of the state. Moreover, social policy not only requires administrative capacity, it also must rest on a broader sense of community and solidarity. At the macro-level, such nation-building has historically been one of the overriding aims that social policy was meant to serve.

Ndangwa Noyoo and Emmanuel Boon make this very clear in their comparison of Zambia and Ghana, where equity and delivering economic growth for everyone were part of decolonisation and development. Kaunda and Nkrumah invested in manufacturing, agriculture as well as universal social services to lend credibility to the new nations. Without idealising either of the two leaders, the authors argue that what had been set in motion after independence could well hold important lessons going forward.

While nation-building seems like an abstract endeavour, I would hold that it ultimately boils down to creating structures of solidarity, belonging, and mutual support at the micro level. The chapter by Kolawole Omomowo and Jimi O. Adesina on communal mutual support structures in two South African townships, demonstrates very well how social policy can contribute to a sense of community. They argue that theself-help groups (e.g., credit and savings associations) in their two case-studies, which combine economic rationality and social values, should be seen as “a reservoir of organic praxis that could inform the broad planning of collective consumption to foster social wellbeing” (p. 182).

Similarly, in their chapter on farming cooperatives in Ethiopia, Kristie Drucza and Dagmawit Giref Sahile present the different forms of social capital that accrue from these groups. They find that while informal groups are declining, formal, state-registered ones are multiplying, and suggest that this might have to do with the specific advantages that connections to the state bring, such as access to inputs. Yet, they hold, top-down initiated structures should take customs and local values seriously and learn from grown informal arrangements.

Informal social protection arrangements deserve special discussion in the African context, given how long communities needed to cope without inclusion in formal schemes. As suggested by some of the book’s contributors, they can offer very valuable insights into what types of social policies work for people in real-life situations. But non-state actors, as Jonathan Makuwira makes clear, not only provide social services but also play important advocacy roles. He draws on examples from Malawi, Ethiopia, and South Africa, where non-state actors successfully lobbied for disability-inclusiveness, adult and non-formal education, and access to comprehensive AIDS prevention and treatment services, respectively, to argue that social policy development is ultimately a political process.

This view presents social protection as a human right that must be guided by universality, justice, democracy, and empowerment, as Hujo spells out; a point that is further underlined by Marlize Rabe’s study of gender relations in South Africa. Rabe describes how the importance of the mining sector in the country has historically contributed to men being disconnected from their families and care work, as well as to dominant notions of masculinity. These notions of masculinity ascribe men with ideas of being the main breadwinner, which exerts additional stress when these expectations are impossible to fulfil. So, social protection, she argues, needs to address these perceptions, too, and cites the example of an NGO that works towards changing gender perceptions and practices among people living in impoverished areas.

This example and other contributions demonstrate that social policy evolution still requires a better understanding of social problems. One of the drivers for social policy is inequality, but this concept is far from straight-forward, as Boaz Munga shows. Focussing on the Kenyan case, he compares the much-used Gini coefficient, the Atkinson and Theil indices, and the Palma index that is based on decomposing for income deciles. The latter addresses the problem that the Gini coefficient tends to gloss over changes at the bottom and top of the income distribution. He then shows the importance of regional variation that has to inform social policymaking. When looking at expenditure shares per decile over time and then disaggregating this for rural and urban households in Kenya, for example, it becomes clear that between 1994 and 2005-06, the expenditure share of the top decile in urban areas increased considerably more (from 23 to 42 percent) while that of the top decile in rural areas fell (from 30 to 26 percent). Practically, this means that addressing inequality within urban areas would be most effective for reducing inequality overall and becoming alert to growing shares of income held by the top decile, I would add, can be one important political lever to put the sustainable financing of social policies back on the agenda – another component of the transformative framework.

Looking at a very different problem, Walid Merouani, Nacer-Eddine Hammouda and Claire El Moudde also demonstrate the practical impact that research could make. Based on survey data, they show that social insurance uptake in Algeria is impeded by future-discounting behaviour and a lack of knowledge about existing social insurance schemes. They then derive practical suggestions such as coupling social insurance with more immediate benefits like child support and call for improving the visibility of the schemes. In addition, this and other chapters exemplify how worthwhile it is to focus on people’s own perspectives. Taking the knowledge, experiences and perceptions of communities seriously will make policies more effective.

To end my review on a slightly critical note, the book could have benefited from a deeper empirical unpacking of what is referred to as the “narrow” or “neoliberal” version of social policy. Katja Hujo states clearly that this version is characterised by “endorsing rather than questioning mainstream orthodox economic recipes and ignoring unequal power relations”, and often appears through targeted conditional cash transfers and privatised social services. But she also points out that the structural adjustment period had not fully resolved the role of social policy, even after the “social turn” had taken hold. Given that the neoliberal response to social problems is far from being a thing of the past, and that the covid crisis and economic recession might even be revitalising the risk approach to social protection, the criticism voiced in this book (and elsewhere) seems to be directed at a moving target. Although several chapters nuance our understanding of it indirectly – as having individualising effects (Omomowo’s and Adesina’s chapter); segregating social schemes for different groups (Omoruan’s chapter); avoiding redistributing the means of production (Chipenda’s chapter); and being blind to underlying societal hierarchies (see Rabe’s chapter), I would argue that we need more work directed at understanding its many faces. We need to interrogate the present moment with its new and complicated economic, political, environmental, and ideological challenges, while picking up the threads of building transformative social policy on the continent. With its timely and important intervention into the debates on radical social policy in Africa, this collection contributes a significant step forward.

Jimi O. Adesina (ed) Social Policy in the African Context (Dakar: CODESRIA, 2021).

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"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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Re: Africa

Post by blindpig » Fri Nov 26, 2021 2:20 pm

Libya Elections Face Crisis of Legitimacy Following the Politically Motivated Exclusion of 25 Presidential Candidates
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on NOVEMBER 25, 2021
Abu Sbeiha: The Exclusion of Supporters of the Mass System from the Presidential Race was for Political, Not Legal Reasons

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The head of the Supreme Council of Tribes and Cities of Fezzan, Ali Misbah Abu Sbeiha, confirmed that those supporters of the mass system who were barred from the race for the presidency of the state were excluded for political and not for legal reasons.

Abu Sbeiha said that the Libyan judiciary itself is at stake, and it will either prove its integrity and apply the correct law, or slip into the mud of politics and lose credibility and the confidence of the people.

He concluded with the words of God Almighty: “And you say, be just, even if he is a relative.” And he also said: “And if you judge between people, judge with justice.” God Almighty has spoken the truth.

It should be noted that the High National Elections Commission issued a statement yesterday on its Facebook page, including Decision No. (79) regarding the exclusion of (25) candidates who do not meet the conditions for running for the presidential elections, according to what was stated in the responses of the Attorney General and the head of the Criminal Investigation Agency, and the head of the Passports and Nationality Authority, based on the articles of Law No. (1) of 2021, regarding the election of the head of state, and the list of those excluded included all the symbols of the previous government.

Libyan Position

Abu Ras: The defense team for Dr. Saif al-Islam Muammar Qaddafi will submit an appeal against the exclusion decision today

Ayman Abu Ras, a member of the political team of the presidential candidate, Dr. Saif al-Islam Muammar Qaddafi, that his defense team will submit today an appeal against the decision to exclude him by the Commission. Abu Ras said, in a statement:

“We are continuing with the procedures followed by the Commission related to the appeal and its decision by the judiciary. In the end, the Libyan people have the final say.”

Dr. Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi’s defense team added that since reading the exclusion decision, they have prepared procedures of appeal and that they will submit them this morning to the competent court.

Libyan Position

An Exclusion that Would Conform to Legal Criteria – Everyone is Waiting for the Judiciary’s Word on the Dabaiba File

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Parliament member Jaballah Al-Shaibani Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba confirmed that he led an electoral campaign, taking advantage of his position, in violation of the tasks of the caretaker government. Al-Shaibani said that the caretaker prime minister, Abdul Hamid al-Dabaiba, led an electoral campaign, taking advantage of his position, presiding over cabinet sessions, issuing decisions, visits abroad and at home, meetings with municipalities, youth, and many activities in violation of even the tasks of the caretaker government itself. He added that everyone is waiting for the Libyan judiciary’s word on this file and others, while it is in a difficult test. Integrity, impartiality and independence are at stake.

Libyan Position



Khaled Al Zaidi, Lawyer of Dr. Saif Al-Islam Muammar Qaddafi, confirms there was an armed attack on the Sebha Court and that forced the expulsion of judges and employees outside the court building, so that he could not complete the procedures for challenging the ruling of the High Electoral Commission.

Al-Zaidi said in a video recording that a session was set to consider the appeal against the exclusion of Saif al-Islam, when an armed force attacked.

Al-Zaidi indicated that the judiciary is the last resort, and the use of force against judges threatens the electoral process.


Lawyer for Saif al-Islam Qaddafi: An armed group closed the appeals court in Sebha

Khaled al-ZaIdi, Saif al-Islam Qaddafi’s lawyer, said that an armed group closed the appeals court in Sebha city, where the appeal against the High Elections Commission’s decision to reject his client’s candidacy was supposed to be heard.

Al-Zaydi explained in a video circulating that “an armed force attacked the court and expelled the employees and judges by force of arms,” ​​stressing that the failure to hold a hearing on the appeal decision would “affect the entire election process.”

Saif al-Islam Muammar Qaddafi had submitted an appeal to the Sebha Court after the High Electoral Commission in Libya included his name on the lists of those rejected to run for the presidential elections, based on his accusation of a criminal charge that prevents him from running.

A member of Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi’s political team, Muhammad al-Qaloushi, said that “the appeal was submitted by the legal team of Saif al-Islam to the Sebha Court,” explaining that “the appeal was submitted because of the exclusion of Saif al-Islam from the presidential elections, based on two articles that do not apply to him.”

Source: Agencies

Al-Qilooshi: Saif Al-Islam’s lawyer was prevented from challenging his exclusion from the electoral race

Muhammad al-Qaloushi, a member of Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi’s political team, announced that Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi’s lawyer was unable to file an appeal against the rejection of his candidacy for the presidential elections.

Al-Qayloushi said in statements to Al-Hadath channel that an armed group terrified those present in the Sabha Court of Appeal and prevented the judges in the court from accepting Saif al-Islam’s appeal against the decision to exclude him.

Al-Qaloushi called on the competent authorities to play their role in securing the electoral process.

Source: Agencies

What Saif al-Islam’s lawyer said after he was excluded from the electoral race

Khaled Al-Ghweil, one of Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi’s lawyers, confirmed that the decision of the High National Elections Commission in Libya to exclude Saif Al-Islam from the electoral race, which was based on Article 10 of the President’s Election Law, is a legal violation and does not apply to Saif Al-Islam.

Al-Ghwail added to “Al-Arabiya.net” that Saif al-Islam has not issued a final court ruling against him in a felony or crime, as he appeared in a criminal case certificate that proves that he is free of any precedents.

And he indicated that an appeal will be submitted today before the judicial committees concerned with electoral appeals, against this exclusion decision, describing it as a “political decision.”

He confirmed the existence of names that do not meet the conditions, but their candidacy papers were accepted, questioning the integrity and independence of the Electoral Commission.

Source: Agencies

The city of Bani Walid in Libya witnessed a state of anger over the exclusion of Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi from the Libyan presidential elections, as the High Electoral Commission put his name on the list of those excluded, due to a violation of two provisions of the President’s Election Law.

Source: Agencies


Military source: We issued orders to Major General Tariq bin Ziyad to protect the headquarters of the Commission and the Sebha Court of Appeal

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Today, Thursday, Major General Tariq bin Ziyad Moazez deployed his force to protect the headquarters of the High National Elections Commission and the Sebha Court of Appeal.

This comes after an outlaw group attacked this morning’s Sebha Court of Appeal.

A military source confirmed, in a statement to The Address newspaper, that Major General Tariq bin Ziyad and the forces affiliated with the National Army had nothing to do with the attack on the Sebha Court of Appeal, expressing his astonishment at the fabrication of the false news.

The source emphasized that he was not aware of the affiliation of the armed force that attacked the court’s headquarters and expelled the employees.

The military source said, “After learning of the attack, we issued orders to Major General Tariq bin Ziyad to protect the court’s headquarters and the electoral district office of the commission; to secure it from any new attack attempt”.

The source emphasized that the Libyan National Army’s job is to provide security, not to destabilize security.

Libyan Address Journal

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/11/ ... andidates/

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China Issues White Paper On Africa Cooperation In New Era

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Kenya-China Joint Laboratory for Crop Molecular Biology at the Confucius Institute of Egerton University, Nakuru, Kenya, June 25, 2021. | Photo: Xinhua

Published 26 November 2021 (45 minutes ago)

President Xi put forward the principles of China's Africa policy: sincerity, real results, amity, good faith, and pursuing the greater good and shared interests.

On Friday, China's State Council Information Office issued the white paper titled "China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals."

Developing solidarity and cooperation with African countries has been the cornerstone of China's foreign policy. President Xi Jinping put forward the principles of China's Africa policy -- sincerity, real results, amity and good faith, and pursuing the greater good and shared interests, charting the course for China's cooperation with Africa, and providing the fundamental guidelines.

He and African leaders unanimously decided at the Forum on China-Africa Co-operation (FOCAC) that the two sides would work to build an even stronger China-Africa community, advance cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, establishing a new milestone in China-Africa relations.

China is committed to consolidating China-Africa political mutual trust, expanding pragmatic cooperation with Africa in various areas, and extending its help to boost peace and development in the continent. After years of dedicated efforts, the tree of China-Africa cooperation has flourished -- it is tall and strong, and cannot be shaken by any force. Friendly relations between China and Africa have endured through more than half a century and withstood the test of time, and the two sides have always stood firmly together at critical junctures and on major issues.


China and Africa have joined forces in confronting the grave challenge posed by COVID-19, further reinforcing their friendship, the White Paper said, noting that the solidarity between the Chinese and African peoples enables them to overcome difficulties and obstacles and build a bright future.

Stressing that the global governance system and the international order are changing at an accelerating rate, and the international balance of power is undergoing a profound adjustment, the White Paper called on China and Africa to further consolidate their partnership, and build a China-Africa community of shared future in the new era.

The two sides will steadfastly reinforce their traditional friendship, promote mutually beneficial cooperation, and safeguard common interests, according to the white paper. China and African countries will continue to set the pace of cooperation through FOCAC, support the Belt and Road Initiative, bring the China-Africa comprehensive strategic and cooperative partnership to a higher level, and deliver a brighter future together, the white paper noted.

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Re: Africa

Post by blindpig » Tue Nov 30, 2021 2:36 pm

‘No More’: Worldwide Protests Oppose US Intervention, Corporate Media Disinfo on Ethiopia, Eritrea
02:04 GMT 23.11.2021
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Supporters of the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia rally at a #NoMore protest outside the White House in Washington, DC, on November 21, 2021, demanding an end to US intervention in the Ethiopian conflict. - Sputnik International, 1920, 23.11.2021
© Morgan Artyukhina


Large protests in more than 30 countries on Sunday demanded an end to US intervention in the conflict in Ethiopia, as well as misleading reporting on the conflict by Western media outlets, including the BBC and CNN.

The protests took place under the hashtagged slogan #NoMore, signifying an end to Africans’ tolerance of US meddling not just in Ethiopia and Eritrea, but the entire Horn of Africa region. According to Horn of Africa Hub, which helped initiate the hashtag as well as the protests, the protests spanned from London to Pretoria and from Washington, DC, to Tel Aviv, including in dozens of US cities.
In the US, the protests were supported by the Black Alliance for Peace and the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, two leading activist groups in the US anti-war movement.
#NoMore rally at #Canada #US #UK #Israel
🇪🇹|ns & 🇪🇷|ns spoke boldly against US misguided policy and media disinformation on 🇪🇹, 🇪🇷 & z HoA@HermelaTV @NeaminZeleke @iyoba4u @HornOfAfricaHub pic.twitter.com/NkxxqhQWZl

— Hafez J 🇪🇹🇪🇷 (@afizejem) November 21, 2021
#NoMore #DC pic.twitter.com/JG1nXAFI9X

— ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) November 21, 2021
#London! አኮራችሁን! The ppl say #NoMore! pic.twitter.com/gjXnXNu5Dr

— Ethio-American Development Council (EADC) (@EA_DevCouncil) November 21, 2021
Thousands rallied outside the White House and marched through the US capital, waving Ethiopian and Eritrean flags and carrying signs that criticized the US Agency for International Development (USAID) for weaponizing aid and suggested that if the US continued its intervention in Ethiopia, the country would meet the same fate as other nations like Libya, Afghanistan, and Syria.
Who is next for US imperialism? #NoMore pic.twitter.com/89fR9wjsU9

— ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) November 21, 2021
The protests followed others held two weeks earlier in conjunction with demonstrations in Addis Ababa.

‘You Are Reporting Fake News’

Another prevailing theme was repudiating what many called the “disinformation” about the conflict spread by major news outlets including CNN, the BBC, the Associated Press, and Reuters.

“CNN, you are reporting fake news on Ethiopia,” one sign read. “#NoMore spreading misinformation and insighting [sic] panic, fear and chaos,” read another.
#NoMore means US corporate media misinformation about #Ethiopia too. @CNN @nytimes @Reuters @AP @BBCWorld have spread fear thru false information & created support for US intervention against a democratically-elected president pic.twitter.com/KlwDzR8ZbZ

— ANSWER Coalition (@answercoalition) November 21, 2021
Several rally-goers told a Sputnik correspondent at the Washington, DC, rally that the outlets had given readers false impressions about the conflict, including that the Ethiopian government had fired the first shot and not the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and that the Ethiopian army is on the verge of collapse, leaving the capital of Addis Ababa open to capture by the TPLF.

They also expressed their resentment that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the country’s first democratically-elected leader and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with Eritrea, was not being properly represented in the outlets’ reports.

Those attitudes are widespread back in Ethiopia, too. On Friday, the Ethiopian Media Authority published letters to CNN, BBC, Reuters and AP warning the news agencies “not to endanger Ethiopia’s national interest, territorial integrity, or the peaceful coexistence of the people of Ethiopia” with their news reports. “In the absence of ethical and professional journalistic operation, the Authority would be compelled to revoke the license granted to your institution to operate in Ethiopia.”
Letter of Warning!
Ethiopian Media Authority issued a LETTER OF WARNING for four foreign media. These Media being: CNN, BBC, Reuters and Associated Press. #Ethiopia #EMA #Media #disinformation #journalism pic.twitter.com/a5hJHXiJol

— Ethiopian Media Authority - ኢመብባ (@EthMediaAuth) November 19, 2021
Some of the objections the EMA noted include manufacturing and dissemination of false news and news analyses on Ethiopia to assist the TPLF’s objectives; reporting the law enforcement operation as a genocidal campaign; reports undermining the government’s efforts to address the humanitarian crisis in Tigray; reporting that the government is using famine and rape as weapons of war in Tigray; producing defamatory reports on the country’s leading institutions, and publishing news seeking to discredit Abiy in the international arena and put the country under intense diplomatic pressure.

Their fears are real: days earlier, the US Treasury announced sanctions against Eritrean defense and political figures and institutions, claiming their alliance with Abiy against the TPLF has “undermined the stability and integrity of the Ethiopian state." Earlier this month, the Biden administration also removed Ethiopia from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a US law that gives preferential trading privileges to certain African states, citing “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”

Rebellion Against TPLF Rule

The conflict began with Abiy’s election in 2018 as the replacement chairman of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) after the former leader of the TPLF, Hailemariam Desalegn, resigned amid mass protests. A coalition of ethnic parties from some of Ethiopia’s many ethnic groups, the EPRDF had been dominated for nearly three decades by the TPLF, but the other coalition members rebelled against TPLF rule and chose Abiy from the Oromo Democratic Party (ODP) instead.

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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
© AP Photo / Francisco Seco

After Abiy became prime minister, he began a series of reforms designed to undo the TPLF’s ethnic federation system, which gave it leverage over other Ethiopian states, including merging the EPRDF’s many parties into a single nationwide Prosperity Party. The TPLF rejected these changes, calling them illegal, and rejected postponement of August 2020 elections caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, deciding to hold its own elections in Tigray anyway, which the Ethiopian government called illegal.
The tense situation finally exploded in November 2020 when the TPLF launched an attack on Ethiopian National Defense Force bases inside of Tigray state, a northern province that borders Eritrea and Sudan. While the ENDF counteroffensive made early gains and captured the capital of Mekelle, the TPLF regrouped in the countryside. By July 2021, they had pushed the ENDF out of Tigray and launched new offensives into nearby Amhara and Afar states. Earlier this month, the TPLF claimed to be considering a march on the capital, but statements about its strength are believed to be overstated.
The conflict has created a massive humanitarian crisis. According to the United Nations, more than 70,000 people have fled across the border into neighboring Sudan and an estimated 4 million more internally displaced. There is no reliable death toll for the conflict.
On Monday, Abiy said he would be taking direct control over the military’s effort, noting that “our enemies are attacking us on the outside and on the inside.”

"Starting tomorrow, I will mobilize to the front to lead the defense forces," Abiy said in the release. "Those who want to be among the Ethiopian children who will be hailed by history, rise up for your country today. Let's meet at the front."

https://sputniknews.com/20211123/no-mor ... 41439.html

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Women Have Always Been at the Forefront of Sudanese Resistance
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on NOVEMBER 28, 2021
Shadia Abdel Moneim

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Women protesters in Khartoum, Sudan April 2019 | Ala Kheir/DPA/PA Images. All rights reserved

A military coup carried out last month threatens to roll back the gains made in the 2019 revolution that overthrew al-Bashir’s brutal regime

Protests against authoritarianism and military regimes are not new to Sudan. Even the revolution that overthrew Omar al-Bashir’s regime in 2019 was decades in the making.

Today, just over two years later, a military coup carried out on 25 October is threatening to roll back the gains of the 2019 revolution. What can we learn from the history of struggles against the previous regime in Sudan? And how are the groups that made the revolution possible two years ago, especially women’s groups, reacting to the coup?

Sudanese opposition against al-Bashir’s regime dates back to the first day of his rule in 1989. For 30 years, the regime met any dissent with brutal repression in efforts to prevent any organized resistance. It targeted trade and professional unions, and worked to weaken and divide political parties.

As a feminist who was part of the struggles against al-Bashir’s rule from the outset, I remember that women made their minds about the regime early on. It was their unity of purpose and experience from the long confrontation with the regime that helped prepare them to be among the most important factions that led the 2019 revolution.

If in 2019, women were already more organized and ready to topple the regime than many men, today, given the coup and the threat to the revolutionary gains in Sudan, we can say that the last two years of ‘transition’ have helped all revolutionary factions, including women’s groups, become more organized and able to network.

Leading the masses

The path towards the 2019 revolution was long. In order to understand it, we need to look back decades. In 2007, after the failure of the 2005 peace agreement between the al-Bashir regime and the South Sudan-based Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, the Sudanese Communist Party began working to mobilize its allies in the National Consensus Forces, a coalition of political parties against the regime.

The Communist Party called for the formation of resistance committees in neighborhoods and, during its Fifth General Conference in January 2009, publicly called for the regime to be overthrown. The communists began building resistance groups, including feminist pressure groups, among the masses.

Women were prominent in the formation of various initiatives such as ‘No to Women’s Oppression’, a group formed days after a number of women, including journalist Lubna Ahmed Hussein, were arrested on 3 July 2009 for wearing trousers. ‘No to Women’s Oppression’ began with a meeting of solidarity in support of those women, some of whom were later convicted on charges of ‘indecent’ clothing, and against the dress code imposed on them by the al-Bashir regime.

As well as pressure groups, professional networks began to form as alternatives to the regime-controlled unions. By 2008, journalists, including those from the Communist Party’s newspaper ‘Al-Medan’, began to form the Journalists’ Network to resist the constant violation against freedom of the press. Soon after, the Doctors’ Committee and the Democratic Lawyers Alliance were also formed. In 2012, an alliance of unions opposed to al-Bashir’s authority unofficially began to form: this was called the Tajamu’, which means gathering in Arabic. In 2016, the group was officially registered as the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), and the Teachers’ Committee also joined.

By December 2018, the alliance comprised 17 unofficial union bodies. The SPA led the revolutionary movement in 2019 and the mass sit-in in front of the General Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces in April that year.

But the SPA was not the only coordination framework. Resistance committees has also formed in different neighborhoods following the September 2013 uprising – when a wave of popular protests erupted in Wad Madani, Khartoum, Omdurman and other towns across Sudan, after al-Bashir announced the end of fuel subsidies and the start of other austerity measures. Government security forces responded to the protests with force, including with the use of live ammunition. More than 170 people, including children, were reportedly killed, with hundreds more injured, arrested and detained, some for weeks and months without being charged, without access to lawyers, or family visits. Detainees – especially those from Darfur, who had been seen as enemies of the regime since the 2003 war in the region – were subjected to torture.

These committees were able to lead the masses when the revolution was at its height a few years later. Since then, many new committees formed and new leadership appeared that was able to coordinate and organise to make these committees a living revolutionary force.

Thirty years of grievances

It is no exaggeration to say that women were one of the most important revolutionary forces on the ground in 2019. Not only did women protesters make a significant qualitative difference to the struggle, but they were also key in shaping the image of the revolution, both in Sudan and abroad.

Women began to come together to resist the attacks of the regime as early as 1993, organizing resistance and pressure groups

These women, from different political, social and ethnic backgrounds, came bearing grievances crystallized over the 30 years of al-Bashir’s rule. They had been targeted by the repressive machine of his regime, which used rape as a weapon as war and arrested, killed and humiliated women. The regime, which committed war crimes against communities in Darfur, Blue Nile, South Kordofan/Nuba Mountains and South Sudan, worked tirelessly against women’s liberation.

The regime rolled back the gains that women had made through hard struggle since the country’s independence in 1956, by the enactment of legislation such as the Personal Status Law of 1991, which permits the marriage of a girl at the age of ten, and the Criminal Code of the same year. The latter, which criminalizes women in six of its paragraphs, allocated a significant space for flogging, in punishment for the crimes of adultery (100 lashes), ‘outrageous acts’ (40 lashes), not abiding to the dress code (40 lashes), defying ‘public morals’ (60 lashes), being involved in prostitution, which was interpreted to include the gathering of any number of men and women in a private or closed place, or being involved in managing a brothel (both 100 lashes). ‘Seduction’ also carried a punishment of 100 lashes. These laws were used by the hardline islamist regime to oppress women, especially activists, and suppress feminist movements, by curtailing the presence of women in the public sphere.

Women began to come together to resist the attacks of the regime as early as 1993, organizing resistance and pressure groups. This included the Nuwieda Association, which was formed by women from the Nuba Mountains,and the Asma Women’s ِAssociation, which ostensibly works to build women’s capacities and eradicate illiteracy in marginal areas. These groups raised women’s awareness of their rights and the need to struggle against the regime and others.

Today, the goals and demands of the revolution have become even clearer: the rejection of partnership with the military, rejection of the flawed constitutional document, rejection of the incomplete Juba peace agreements and the adherence to a transitional period led by civilians.

Carrying the long experience of struggle against authoritarianism in Sudan, the revolutionary organisations and the protestors on the streets are capable of confronting the 25 October coup and impose their conditions: democracy and a civil state.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/11/ ... esistance/

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Burkina Faso: Speculations on Terror
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on NOVEMBER 29, 2021
Guadi Calvo

Image

Today Burkina Faso, among the five poorest countries in the world, with almost eleven million of its twenty million inhabitants living below the poverty line, finds itself in the midst of a tide of popular demonstrations, given the failure of the security policies pursued by President Roch Kaboré, re-elected last year for another five-year term.

The erratic anti-terrorist policy of the government, was exposed by the hundreds of attacks, which the country has been suffering for five years, including the one that happened November 14, in a gendarmerie detachment in Inata, in the north of the country, where 53 gendarmes and four civilians were killed during an incursion of the rigorists.

Since 2016, the country has begun to suffer the constant actions of the different fundamentalist organizations that operated in the Sahel, such as the Jamā’at Nuṣrat al-Islām wa-l-Muslimīn (Support Group for Islam and Muslims (JNIM)) a conglomerate of armed groups that united in 2017 and answer to the command of global al-Qaeda, Daesh in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) and the native group Ansarul Islam. In pursuit of leading the terrorist war, armed clashes between Daesh mujahideen and JNIM mujahideen have been frequent.

Until 2015, because of the iron repressive measures developed during the long dictatorship of Blaise Compoaré, overthrown in that year, the country was also able to stay out of the fundamentalist operations that since 2012, had been taking place in Mali and Niger. But everything changed on January 15, 2016, just days after Kaboré’s inauguration, when Ouagadougou, the country’s capital, suffered its baptism of fire, with a series of coordinated attacks against cafes, restaurants and hotels, which left some thirty dead and plunged the country into a scale of violence that has not stopped to this day. After hundreds of attacks, which have left thousands dead and forced more than a million people to flee their homes, particularly in the north of the country, where hundreds of schools have had to be closed after a wave of targeted attacks against teachers and professors. Today the terrorist escalation has spread across the country, from the porous borders with Mali in the north and Niger in the east, to the Ivory Coast border in the south of the country.

The security crisis has forced the government of Kaboré to pass a law of “voluntary” recruitment, to swell the ranks of both the Army and the Police, to which have been added self-defense groups known as Koglweogo, in Mossi language: “vigilantes of the forest”, with presence in rural areas.

The protests shaking the country today, beyond the ineffectiveness of the measures against terrorism, are also influenced by the constant abuses to which the civilian population is subjected, both by the security forces and by the self-defense groups, which at the same time are aggravating the always tense inter-community relations. At the center are the Fulani or Peul, an ethnic group of shepherds, originally nomadic, spread throughout almost all the countries of West Africa, who are accused of having links with terrorist groups, which has stimulated the increasingly frequent attacks against them, starting an endless cycle of revenge. This is also repeated in Mali, Niger and Nigeria, among other nations.

These episodes have made it possible that the different khatibas operating in the country have had a substantial increase in their ranks, since many young people find in these organizations, not only a “job outlet”, but also as a way to rebel against the abuses that their communities are being subjected to.

The actions between the communities and the security forces have left real massacres such as those that happened in January 2019, where a Koglweogos patrol killed more than fifty Fulani in Yirgou district in response to an earlier attack against the pro-government militia. At the same time, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has denounced the Burkinabe authorities for the execution of some thirty civilians after they were arrested by the army in an anti-terrorist operation in the northern district of Djibo in April 2020.

Marking the growing instability last November 19, several thousand protesters blocked a French military supply convoy, belonging to Operation Barkhane, which was heading to Mali, in the district of Kaya, about a hundred kilometers north of Ouagadougou. The French transports, coming from the Ivory Coast, were heading via Burkina Faso and Niger, with final destination of Mali.

After entering Burkina, the convoy was stopped in Bobo-Dioulasso, the country’s second largest city, and then in Ouagadougou where barricades were erected, tires were burned, government buildings were looted and computers and documents were thrown into the streets. The demonstrations ended in clashes with the police. In order to stop communication between the demonstrators, under the excuse of “national security”, the Government cut Internet services more than a week ago and banned any kind of demonstration.

After the French convoy was stopped in the town of Kaya, 350 kilometers east of Niamey, the Nigerian capital, where the convoy was held for almost a week, French and Burkinabe troops reportedly opened fire and fired tear gas on the crowd, resulting in four civilians being injured by firearms. Some local sources reported that the protesters had evidence that the convoy was carrying weapons for terrorists operating in Mali. Which would not be entirely unreasonable, considering the growing enmity between Paris and the nationalist junta of colonels that has installed itself in Bamako.

France sinks into the desert

After entering Niger, the French caravan spent the night in the town of Tera, in the region of Tillabéry, so that on Saturday morning, about a thousand demonstrators again prevented the transit, which continued towards Niamey. In an attempt to escape the new siege, the French troops again opened fire, resulting in the death of two civilians and the wounding of 18 others, eleven of them seriously. Other versions, denied by the local authorities, say that the French army in Tera, would have produced dozens of dead.

While it is still not clear the real number of victims caused on the route of the French caravan which left Ivory Coast more than ten days ago, the spokesman of the General Staff of the French Army, Colonel Pascal Ianni, accused the demonstrators of wanting to “seize the trucks”. This is why the Nigerian gendarmes and French soldiers were forced to fire warning shots. Nothing has been said from Paris, but it is known that “no French soldier was injured” and only two civilian drivers suffered some injuries.

The convoy episode makes clear the degradation that France is suffering as a result of its notorious failure in the fight against Wahhabi terrorism in the Sahel region, if it ever intended to fight it, and not only to monitor that the mujahideen did not get out of hand. Beyond any presumption the incontrovertible fact is that Paris with a very long Operation Barkhane, with which it put on the ground more than five thousand troops in 2013, has achieved nothing, or rather has managed to generate more instability in the region. Four coups d’état: two in Mali, one in Chad and one in Burkina Faso; the reactivation of intercommunity conflicts in several countries in the area and an exponential growth of terrorism, which since the north of Mali in 2012, has launched itself to conquer the continent, opening new fronts in Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea, Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Mozambique… so far and deepening the long conflict in Nigeria.

Never before had a Barkhane mission been the target of the manifest rejection of the local population, who had considered them as true liberators of Wahhabi terrorism. After almost ten years of failure, France has succeeded in consolidating, for example, the Coalition of Burkina Faso Patriots (Copa-BF), part of a growing pan-African movement that rejects the presence of French soldiers.

In any case, Paris continues to deny the obvious and seeks, as always, culprits on whom to unload its responsibilities, and for that nothing better than Russia, of course, a nation which, according to the analysis of the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has suggested that Russia, after having “taken over” the Central African Republic, has considerably weakened France in its former colony. What Moscow would be reproducing in Mali and Burkina Faso.

A source in the Elysée also consoles himself by shifting responsibilities and looking for ghosts: “Russia wants to weaken us and why not expel us from Africa. We have lost Bangui (capital of the Central African Republic) and Moscow continues to advance”.

Perhaps at the same pace at which France is sinking in the desert.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/11/ ... on-terror/
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Re: Africa

Post by blindpig » Wed Dec 01, 2021 2:57 pm

Libya: Protesters Gather in Sebha in Support of Saif Qaddafi, Demanding Free and Fair Elections and an Impartial Judiciary
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on NOVEMBER 30, 2021

The People of Ghat Protest Before the Court in Sebha, Demanding Independence and Impartiality of the Judiciary

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The people of Ghat confirmed that there are those who want to occupy the country and restore colonialism again, and who threaten to divide the country according to the interests of the international powers.

This came during a protest organized by the people of the city of Ghat in front of the Sebha Court of First Instance to support the demonstrators against the closure of the court by force. The people added that it is the duty of all of us to unite to save the country from division and refraction, and what is happening in front of the court complex in Sebha, and to prevent them from considering the appeals submitted by the candidates, not far from these ambitions. The people denounced the actions of the current in the vicinity of Sebha, the prejudice and interference in the affairs of the judiciary and the attempt to obstruct justice, stressing that the independence of the judiciary means the sovereignty and prestige of the country, and we will not allow the judiciary to be dragged into political disputes. The people said that if we were not able to secure the headquarters of the judicial bodies, how can we secure the electoral centers and conduct transparent and fair elections.

Libyan Position

Under the protection of the army.. Demonstrations in Sebha demand the independence of the judiciary

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Monday, the Sabha Courts Complex witnessed a protest stand by a number of the city’s residents, raising slogans calling for the independence of the judiciary and non-interference in its affairs.

Informed sources confirmed to The Address newspaper that the protests continued for hours under the protection and security of Major General Tariq bin Ziyad of the National Army.

In a statement, a number of the city’s residents demanded the independence of the judiciary and the completion of the appeal procedures for the exclusion of the presidential candidate “Saif al-Islam Gaddafi” from the list of presidential candidates.

The statement also called on Saif Al-Islam’s lawyer, Khaled Al-Zaydi, and court employees to return to their offices to complete their assigned work.

Libyan Address

Major General Tariq bin Ziyad withdraws all forces from the Sebha Court of Appeal

The Libyan Address newspaper learned today, Tuesday, that the armed vehicles of Major General Tariq bin Ziyad withdrew completely from before the Sebha Appeals Court.

An informed source stated that the withdrawal of the force of Major General Tariq bin Ziyad coincided with the influx of citizens and their gathering in front of the court’s headquarters.

He pointed out that he notes the deployment of the emergency and traffic police of the Sebha Security Directorate, Public Security and the Judicial Police to secure today’s session if it is held.

Yesterday, Monday, the Sebha Courts Complex witnessed a protest stand by a number of the city’s residents, raising slogans calling for the independence of the judiciary and non-interference in its affairs.

Informed sources confirmed to The Address newspaper that the protests continued for hours under the protection and security of Major General Tariq bin Ziyad of the National Army.

In a statement, a number of the city’s residents demanded the independence of the judiciary and the completion of the appeal procedures for the exclusion of the presidential candidate “Saif al-Islam Gaddafi” from the list of presidential candidates.

The statement also called on Saif Al-Islam’s lawyer, Khaled Al-Zaydi, and court employees to return to their offices to complete their assigned work.

Libyan Address

UNSMIL: We are following with great concern the continued closure of the Sebha Court of Appeal

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya warned against actions that could deprive Libyans of exercising their right to democratically elect their representatives, noting that it is following with great concern the continued suspension of the Sebha Court of Appeal.

The mission said in a statement, today, Monday, that it was “concerned about the increasing reports of intimidation and threats against judges and judicial staff, particularly those who deal with complaints related to elections, as well as against candidates, in a number of locations in Libya.”

The mission affirmed its strong condemnation of all actions aimed at harming the integrity of the electoral process and preventing Libyans from exercising their democratic rights in safety and dignity.

The mission said that it reminds all parties involved in obstructing the justice system that they are subject to criminal responsibility under Libyan law (the Code of Criminal Procedure and Law No. 1 of 2021 regarding presidential elections) and may be subject to sanctions in accordance with relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

In its statement, the mission renewed its call on the parties and the relevant authorities to take all possible measures to facilitate the work of the judicial system with full respect for its independence.

It urged all relevant security authorities to ensure equal access to due process for all candidates and to ensure the safety and security of judges and judicial staff.

The mission also renewed its commitment to holding the parliamentary and presidential elections, in accordance with the roadmap of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum and as stipulated in United Nations Security Council Resolution 2570 (2021).

The mission called on the authorities and institutions to take all necessary steps to ensure that the elections are held as a free, fair, inclusive and credible process without intimidation or obstruction in the security conditions.

The mission warned against any action that could deprive the Libyans of their right to democratically elect their representatives and undermine the holding of free, fair, inclusive, credible and transparent elections.

Libyan Address

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/11/ ... judiciary/

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Libya: Where Fortune Favors the Corrupt Who Control Wealth and Arms
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on NOVEMBER 30, 2021

Image
Protesters Gather in Sebha in Support of Saif Qaddafi, Demanding Free and Fair Elections and an Impartial Judiciary

The electoral scene in Libya leaves no room for optimism for a better future in the foreseeable future. The main actors in the course of events are armed force on the ground, political money, and abuse of influence. Of course, those who possess wealth, power and weapons take precedence. As for people of good will, the situation is not suitable for their aspirations, especially since the slogans of freedom, democracy, pluralism, integrity and transparency, and the promises of the United Nations and the international community are nothing but a basket. It is an illusion, which cannot be disposed of in reality.

Everything that is going on in Libya at present confirms that the presidential elections are facing major challenges. Perhaps it is fortunate for the UN envoy, Jan Kubis, that he will leave his post on the tenth of December. The contenders for the position of head of state seem closer to competing for the presidency of regions, the rule of governorates or municipalities, or the leadership of tribes or clans. As for Libya’s vast geography, which exceeds an area of ​​1,750,000 square kilometers, none of the candidates for its presidency can move between its borders and roam its regions freely; Neither Haftar can move to Tripoli, Misrata, Zawiya, or the Nafusa Mountains, nor can Dabaiba go around Tobruk, Derna, or Benghazi easily, nor can Saif al-Islam Qaddafi come out of his hiding place to roam between cities and villages.

What happened in Sebha is evidence that what is happening in Libya currently has nothing to do with freedom, democracy or popular will.

The court was prevented from convening to announce its decision regarding the appeal request submitted by Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, against the action taken against him by the Electoral Commission, And the judge excluded him from the race as a result of pressure from government authorities, and from internal and external forces that see that allowing Saif al-Islam to compete may reshuffle the cards once and for all, given the wide popular base he enjoys.

The electoral law stipulates that candidacy files for the presidential elections are to be submitted to three regional administrations affiliated to the commission, located in Tripoli (west), Benghazi (east) and Sebha (south), and that appeals be submitted within the administration in which the contested candidate submitted his eligibility to run. When Saif al-Islam surprised everyone by submitting his candidacy file in Sebha, the Supreme Judicial Council intervened to amend the law to allow the petitioners to submit their appeals wherever they wanted, but only two days later the Council retracted and restored the legal situation as it became clear that the attempt to use the amendment to challenge the the candidacy of Haftar or Saif al-Islam in Tripoli, Misrata and al-Zawiya, for example, will benefit the opposite party in submitting appeals against the candidate Abdel Hamid al-Dabaiba, who is considered one of the most prominent violators of the law on the election of the president.

Everyone realized that Dabaiba had placed his hand on all the judicial, administrative, security and service agencies in the west of the country, and was able to take advantage of his position as head of the government to win over debts and influence by relying on the capabilities of the state, and during the past months he worked day and night for one goal, which is to reach the position of president And enabling the lobby it represents to extend its influence over Libya and its vast wealth in the absence of a constitution that could limit its powers and authorities.

Dabaiba submitted his candidacy file, in violation of Article 12 of the law, as he trampled on his previous commitments before the political dialogue forum in Geneva, and was satisfied with managing the transitional phase and preparing for elections without running in them, and he did not give up his position as prime minister three months before the scheduled vote for the twenty-fourth of December which was against the law. He also has a second nationality of St. Kitts in the Caribbean, however, the Electoral Commission did not dare to exclude him from the race, which reminded observers of what was published weeks ago of secret data about a meeting Dabaiba held with political, social and militia actors in his hometown of Misrata. It stated that he would run for the presidency and that he had arrangements with the head of the commission, Imad al-Sayeh that he will win the post of president.

The commission also did not dare question Khalifa Haftar’s right to run because of his second US citizenship, but it targeted Qaddafi’s son, claiming that a court ruling had been issued against him, although it is not final as stipulated in that law, and it was overturned by Supreme Court months ago. It may not differ in anything from the death sentence issued against Field Marshal Haftar in Misrata, in that it reflects the nature of the struggle for power and influence since 2011 and reveals the spirit of revenge and the desire to exclude the other.

Saif al-Islam submitted a request to the Appeals Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Sebha with to appeal the decision of the Commission, and a ruling was expected to return him to the race, as happened with other candidates. But when the moment of response came, armed men affiliated with the army led by Field Marshal Haftar surrounded the court, and direct threats reached the judges, and the situation continued in a way that exposed that Haftar did not want Saif al-Islam to compete with him for the presidency, and that he considered Sebha part of his vast area of ​​influence.

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In Libya, the Appeals Committee was forced to resign from its mission, and the UN mission was unable to continue ignoring the incident, especially after demonstrators came out in the city to express their refusal to try to control the judiciary and influence its rulings related to electoral merit.

In Tripoli, the Appeals Chamber of the Court of Appeal accepted the two appeals against Dabaiba’s candidacy, one of which was submitted by the former Minister of the Interior and his friend and son of his city, Fathi Bashagha, and announced a decision to exclude him from the competition for the position of Head of State, but all indications confirm that there are arrangements taking place behind the scenes, and that the court is part of a scenario prepared by specialists to convince public opinion at home and abroad that everything is going according to the law and respect for the judiciary and that Dabaiba is not an exception.

Saif al-Islam Qaddafi is not allowed to compete for the position of president, given the fear of the rest of the parties of his victory as a result of the wide popular base he enjoys. His candidacy is characterized by not having an armed force on the ground like the other two parties, namely the army in the east led by Haftar, and the militias in the west of the country, which are supposed to be under the existing authority.

Among those issues is that Dabaiba will not give up the competition for the position of president, and he will inevitably return to the list of candidates. Some parties within the Commission have begun to promote the principle of postponement, even for a few days, and regional countries, including Turkey and Italy, are working in this context.

And in the event that Dabaiba wins, the East will reject him. If Haftar wins, the West will not accept him. None of them can extend the influence of his authority over the entire country, and it would be natural for the situation to be frozen as it is, and the schedule for the evacuation of foreign forces and mercenaries to be abandoned.

The biggest mistake the international community has made is insisting on organizing presidential elections in a country that is still torn apart, and most of the candidates for the post are virtually unable to move around most of the country, and are rejected by the active forces on the ground. It was supposed to focus first and foremost about dissolving militias, collecting weapons, unifying the military institution, evacuating foreign militants, declaring comprehensive national reconciliation, and gathering all parties under one roof to announce the inauguration of a new phase in which each of them accepts what it will produce political leaders and government authorities.

As for the current scene, it is closer to surrealism, and everything that will result from it will be absurd, preserving the interests of those in control of the keys to the treasury in return for the continued disintegration of the state and the suffering of the people.

Al Arab

Translation by Internationalist 360°

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/11/ ... -and-arms/
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Re: Africa

Post by blindpig » Fri Dec 03, 2021 3:04 pm

Gunmen Attack Four Libyan Election Centers

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Citizens protesting against procedures used for the upcoming elections, Tripoli, Libya, Nov. 30, 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @Lyobserver

Published 3 December 2021 (48 minutes ago)

This African nation is scheduled to hold presidential elections on Dec. 24 and the parliamentary elections in January, with an aim to bring stability to the war-torn country.

On Thursday, the Libyan High National Elections Commission (HNEC) said that four of its election centers have been attacked by a group of gunmen.

Said Al-Qasabi, head of the main operations chamber of the HNEC, said that gunmen in civilian clothes launched the attacks on Wednesday, taking away 2,312 voter cards and damaging 69 others. Interior Minister Khaled Mazen on Tuesday warned that obstructing the security plan of the elections could threaten the whole electoral process.

"We announce today that the continued obstruction to the security plan and the increased violations will lead to thwarting all the security efforts, which would directly affect the electoral process and holding the elections on time," he told a joint press conference along with Minister of Justice Halima Abdurrahman.

On Monday, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) condemned acts that aim to jeopardize the integrity of the elections in Libya. An armed group, allegedly affiliated with forces controlling the southern city of Sebha, has reportedly again violently obstructed the work of the Court of Appeal.


"UNSMIL is also alarmed by increasing reports of intimidation and threats against judges and judicial employees, particularly those dealing with electoral-related complaints, as well as against candidates, in a number of locations in Libya," it said.

Libya is scheduled to hold presidential elections on Dec. 24 and the parliamentary elections in January next year, with an aim to bring stability to the war-torn country.

Besides being held amid tensions prompted by gun violence, however, the electoral process has been strongly criticized by people who rejects "the current electoral laws and holding elections without a constitution," the Libya Observer explained.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Gun ... -0003.html

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Khaled Al-Zaydi: Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi’s Return to the Electoral Race is a Victory for Justice and the Will of Libyans
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on DECEMBER 2, 2021

Saif al-Islam Qaddafi Returns to the Presidential Race

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The hearing of the appeal of presidential candidate Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi began Thursday, after the arrival of his lawyer, Khaled Al-Zaydi, to the headquarters of the Sebha Court of First Instance.

The Sebha Court of Appeal rejected the appeal submitted against the candidate for the presidential elections, Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi, and issued a final ruling to return him to the presidential race.

The ruling of the Sebha Appeals Court came days after it postponed a scheduled hearing in a decision that may change the balance of the election battle that has raged during the past few hours.

Libyan Address

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Saif al-Islam Qaddafi, a candidate in the presidential elections, thanked the judges of Libya, after a judicial ruling was issued today to return him to the electoral race.

He wrote on his Facebook page:

“All thanks and appreciation to the judges of Libya who risked themselves for the sake of the truth.”

“We dedicate this victory to all the Libyan people… and a special gift to my aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters, who endured the cold nights and stayed up to protect the court.”


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https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/12/ ... f-libyans/

The great popular support received by this son of Colonel Qaddafi is an enormous vindication of his father's policy and condemns US/NATO criminality.
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Re: Africa

Post by blindpig » Mon Dec 06, 2021 3:02 pm

Newly Elected General Secretary of Abahlali baseMjondolo Vows: “We Will Resist”
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on DECEMBER 4, 2021
Pavan Kulkarni

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Abahlali Engaging during the Policy Conference today at the Denis Hurley Hall ahead of the Elective Congress. Photo: AbM

The congress of Abahlali baseMjondolo, held at a time of severe repression but also of expanding influence, has laid out for South Africa’s shack-dwellers’ movement the road ahead for the next three years.


The congress of South Africa’s shack-dwellers’ movement, Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM), held on November 28, has laid down the road for the future of the movement, centered around collective action to occupy lands and build communal self-sustainable projects to achieve food-sovereignty. For the movement this is essential because “the state has failed us; we need to build a bottom-up alternative to sustain ourselves,” AbM’s newly elected General Secretary, Thalepo Mohapi, told Peoples Dispatch in a phone interview.

Noting the relentless attacks on its land-occupations – especially the eKhenana occupation whose successful communal poultry and farming projects has served as an example for other occupations – “the congress made it very clear that Abahlali is prepared to defend any occupation that represents a communal way for people to sustain themselves,” he said.

“When people are finding a way to sustain themselves in these difficult times through communal projects, the African National Congress (ANC) government wants to destroy these projects and force people to be dependent on the government for survival. But we will resist. We will mobilize the masses from below and use all necessary means to defend ourselves,” he asserted.

“In the midst of the attacks by the state, by its police and by the goons of the ruling ANC, we continue to show the strength of our democratic process,” Mohapi added, highlighting the importance of the congress which elected a new national council to lead the movement for the next three years. Collective action, the congress has resolved, must also involve intervention in elections to consolidate the electoral strength to defeat the ANC and to strengthen working class parties.

“This time around we have decided that we will collectively determine at the general assembly which working class party we have to support, and then ensure we all vote unanimously to consolidate our votes and use it to strengthen that party, so it can carry the mandate of the poor and the marginalized,” he said.

Its electoral consolidation against the ANC has already begun to show results, he says, pointing to the result of the municipal election in November 2021, in which the ANC for the first time secured less than 50% of the votes and lost major cities.

“Most importantly, the ANC had to enter into a coalition in the eKhenana municipality, which has been their stronghold. Our call to vote against the ANC, in this province where the Abahlali also has a stronghold, has cost the ANC a major loss in support,” he said.

Finally, grateful for the solidarity AbM has received from organizations across the globe, Mohapi reiterated the internationalist commitment of the movement, stating that “ours is not a struggle taking place only in South Africa. Land-grabbing by corporations of imperialist countries are dispossessing the Indigenous and poor people in many countries in South America. Many of the same corporations are also involved in capturing resources from Africans.. [W]e are not only fighting against capitalism in South Africa, but are playing our role in the struggle to completely dismantle imperialist capitalism as a global system.”

Read an edited excerpt from the interview below.

Peoples Dispatch: For the members of AbM, what significance does this congress hold?

Thalepo Mohapi: This congress shows democracy from below; the people who give us the mandate have elected the new national council. We do this every three years because there is no dictatorship (in our organization); there is democracy, there is socialism. The voices of the people are more important than of individual leaders. The masses have the power to elect the leadership every three years, and it’s the masses whose mandate the leadership will carry for the next three years.

PD: By renewing the democratic mandate at a time when the movement is facing a relentless crackdown, what message do you seek to send out to the state and to the other forces that position themselves against the movement?

TM: We are first and foremost showing our respect for and our faith in the power of democracy from below. In the midst of the attacks by the state, by its police, and by the goons of the ruling ANC, we continue to show the strength of our democratic process. This democratic process is very different from the process that has imposed this government on South Africa.” Only 40 or 50% of the people who are registered to vote in the election did vote, and most of the people who are eligible to vote did not even register.

We, on the other hand, are showing the way of democratic practice. Voices of the more than hundred thousand members of Abahlali counted in the congress. But because we could not all gather in one place together, there were 400 delegates who were chosen by the constituencies of the branches and sent to the congress with a mandate to vote (according to their will).

PD: The eKhenana land occupation has been at the center of recent attacks on AbM. What were some of the conclusions drawn by the Congress with regards to the struggle in eKhenana?

TM: The policy conference that was held before the congress made it very clear that Abahlali is prepared to defend any occupation that represents a communal way for people to sustain themselves. We are going to protect our movement from attacks, from those who want to destroy the hope eKhenana occupation has offered.

We will go to court if necessary, or do whatever it takes to protect any progressive occupation. When people are finding a way to sustain themselves in these difficult times through communal projects, the ANC government wants to destroy these projects and force people to depend on the government for survival. But we will resist. We will mobilize the masses from below and use all necessary means to defend ourselves.

PD: What were some of the other resolutions that came out of the policy conference?

TM: One of the resolutions is that we will strengthen our mandate to build a just and equal society where people are treated with dignity regardless of the color of their skin, their nationality or their socio-economic status. To accomplish this, we will grow our movement, increase our membership among the masses from the current hundred thousand to half a million, and expand our branches. We will work to promote and organize a communal way of life so people will become self-sufficient. We will continue to work on the practice of food sovereignty because the state has failed us; we need to build a bottom-up alternative to sustain ourselves.

We have also resolved that when there is an election, nationally or at local levels, we should not vote as individuals in different directions. We need to vote collectively in one direction to consolidate our power. We are going to work with progressive working class political parties and make sure that the more than hundred thousand votes we have currently – and this number of course will grow further – will all be cast for one political party.

PD: Had AbM not taken a position in support of any political party before this congress?

TM: In the previous general election, Abahlali supported the SRWP (Socialist Revolutionary Workers’ Party), but the members were told they could vote for their choice as individuals. And they voted differently. This weakens our power. This time around we have decided that we will collectively determine at the general assembly which working class party we have to support, and then ensure we all vote unanimously to consolidate our votes and use it to strengthen that party, so it can carry the mandate of the poor and the marginalized.

We have also given a call to ensure that our members do not vote for the ruling ANC. We are clear that our people should not vote for their graves, because the ANC has been killing the activists of Abahlali. Under ANC’s 27-year rule, people in the informal settlements have continued to live in abject poverty, under inhuman conditions. So why should we vote for the ANC and give it a mandate to continue to run the country?

PD: AbM’s statement about the policy conference also states “The power that we have been able to build over the years is beginning to bear fruits.” Can you elaborate?

TM: That is seen in the result of the recent election (for municipality in November 2021, when the ANC for the first time secured less than 50% of the vote and lost major cities.) The ANC has lost big money. Most importantly, the ANC had to enter into a coalition in the eKhenana municipality, which has been their stronghold. Our call to vote against the ANC, in this province where the Abahlali also has a strong hold, has cost the ANC a major loss in support. People are now voting with conscience, and saying we will not vote for our grave, we will not vote for those who have betrayed the struggle of Nelson Mandela.

PD: The delegates who attended this policy conference also “noted a significant change in terms of how the general public view our Movement.” In what manner has the public perception changed?

TM: During the unrest when many forces were perpetrating violence, Abahlali worked for calm and peace in the province. Even small business-owners, the middle class and the liberals have come to acknowledge and praise this work. So the perception about our movement is changing in the general public.

After the unrest, more and more sections of the society are realizing the importance of our struggle to ensure an equitable distribution of the country’s resources, to ensure that no child will have to go hungry, and that those who do not have food are right in occupying lands to live and to produce food for their survival. They have come to understand the value of Abahlali’s work in ensuring poor Black people are not forced into violence against each other, but are organized to collectively advance the cause of the poor and the marginalized sections.

PD: Congratulating AbM on its conference, many trade unions, grassroots organizations and left political parties in the Southern African region have expressed solidarity. Even organizations beyond the continent, in Latin America and elsewhere, have consistently shown solidarity. Where do you see Abahlali fit in the global class struggle?

TM: The global solidarity we have earned is fundamental to us. Our comrades all over the country, in the region of Africa and the world show their solidarity through protests and demonstrations outside South African embassies, every time we face severe repression here. We really appreciate that and want to build these links. Because ours is not a struggle taking place only in South Africa.

Land-grabbing by corporations of imperialist countries are dispossessing the indigenous and poor people in many countries in South America. Many of the same corporations are also involved in capturing resources from Africans. We have to work together with comrades across the world, because we are not only fighting against capitalism in South Africa, but are playing our role in the struggle to completely dismantle imperialist capitalism as a global system.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/12/ ... ll-resist/

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The Supreme Council of Libyan Tribes Calls for Continued Protests in Sebha
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on DECEMBER 4, 2021

The head of the Supreme Council of Tribes and Cities of Fezzan in Libya, Abu Sbeiha, called on the people of the south to demonstrate tomorrow, Sunday, in front of the headquarters of the High Electoral Commission in Sebha.

In his Facebook post, Abu Sbeiha urged citizens to demonstrate to demand “the impartiality of the commission, that it not interfere in the affairs of any party, that it maintain the same distance from all candidates, that it hold the elections on time 24/12/2021 and not delay them for any reason whatsoever, to invite all presidential candidates to participate, and before including their names on the final list, candidates must submit a written document of an approved contract in which they acknowledge their acceptance of the election results after all appeals are met, and that they must reject all forms of international interference in the election process and in Libyan affairs in general, and that they leave the choice to the people on how to end their crisis”.

He pointed to the possibility of raising other slogans in favor of the continuation of the electoral process and the smoothing of the fabric of Libyan society and their acceptance of the other opinions with open arms.

He saluted the people of the south for their courageous, organized and civilized stance, far from violence and extremism, and their just demands for the independence of the judiciary and the safety of its members.

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https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/12/ ... -in-sebha/

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China is Not Colonizing Africa
Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist 01 Dec 2021

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Narratives are Amplified with Badly Photoshopped Falsehoods

International media cannot be trusted to give accurate information. Skepticism is especially warranted when China is the topic and allegations of colonizing Africa make headlines.

International media are reporting that the Ugandan government has turned over Entebbe airport to a Chinese bank in order to make payment on a loan. “Museveni to surrender Uganda’s only international airport over Chinese loan,” claimed The Guardian . Similar headlines have appeared widely and all repeat as fact an allegation that Uganda will lose its airport to Exim bank.

Uganda has not defaulted on the $200 million loan yet the false bad news continues to be reported. Despite denials from China and Uganda the story continues to circulate and is now accepted as being true.

The bad journalism resonates despite inaccuracies in these accounts because they repeat a now familiar trope, that China offers “debt traps” to African nations and has become the 21st century colonizer of the continent. In reality, Africa is colonized by the same nations which began their exploitation by carving up the continental at the 1884 Berlin Conference.

It is a French billionaire, Vincent Bolloré , who controls 16 West African ports through bribery and influence peddling. France also controls the CFA currency of its former colonies. Canadian companies control gold mining in Burkina Faso, Mali and Democratic Republic of Congo. Decades after the struggle for independence, British soldiers are still stationed in Kenya .

The U.S. and its allies have little to offer except exploitation in the form of extraction and military control through the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). It is China that pursues development projects with new railroads in Nigeria and Angola, and a highway in Kenya. The only narrative that makes the colonizers look good is a smear against China. The U.S./EU/NATO formation still has a hold on African nations and corporate media continue to act as governmental spokespeople and endlessly repeat whatever they are told.

The terms on Chinese loans are better than those of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). China doesn’t demand austerity in return for project funding, interference is not the goal. The difference is well known and clear and explains why news about China and Africa is so negative and why falsehoods are so readily accepted.

This particular fake news broke just days before the Forum on China-African Cooperation (FOCAC) was scheduled to take place in Dakar, Senegal. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Senegal just weeks earlier and repeated the usual anti-Chinese screeds. The most basic journalistic standards are not followed with these stories which appear at opportune moments. Allegations of Chinese debt traps should be viewed with great skepticism.

Black/African people are very much interested in the condition of their brothers and sisters all over the world. This dynamic is generally a positive one but it also creates a susceptibility to believe in lies when they are spun well enough. The Chinese as colonizer trope has been repeated too often and information about Africa is too scant for most people to analyze these news stories correctly. We are left with nothing but “China is bad” tales that are accepted because of well meaning but misdirected concerns for Africans.

The story of Uganda is particularly complex. The Ugandan government is a U.S. puppet, a full fledged participant in the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), and a terrorist nation which invaded the Democratic Republic of Congo and killed millions of people. While it is important to dispel myths about China it is also important to do so without covering up for Uganda and nations like it.

That is why the Black radical tradition must be nurtured and revived. Without it the world is viewed through the eyes of imperialism’s lackeys and media manipulators. All the truth about African nations and their relations with the rest of the world must be known and clearly understood. Africa is a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI certainly benefits China and its involvement in African countries is obviously a benefit to them. What is needed are impartial journalistic standards free of state run falsehoods and political discernment that reveals useful information.

While the airport story was told and retold, China announced a plan to provide African nations with 1 billion doses of Covid vaccines. The project involves donations and joint ventures which will waive the intellectual property rights that have hampered vaccinations in Africa. Neither the United States or its allies have attempted to do anything similar on behalf of the countries we are told live under Chinese subjugation.

The media do indeed have the power to make the innocent look guilty and the guilty appear innocent. The intricacies of international financing cannot be left to scribes for powerful countries. Events taking place at this juncture in history require far more.

https://www.blackagendareport.com/china ... ing-africa
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Re: Africa

Post by blindpig » Fri Dec 10, 2021 3:31 pm

US Still Strong Arming “Democracy” Onto Libya
Netfa Freeman 07 Dec 2021

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US Still Strong Arming “Democracy” Onto Libya

The Western imperialist forces responsible for the overthrow and assassination of Muammar Gaddafi, as well as the destruction of Libya, are now trying to force elections and so-called “democracy” onto the country.

If US imperialism could only be said to be one thing, it is audacious. Recently US rulers have been making a fuss over Russian troops on their own border with Ukraine, while 1,000 US National Guard soldiers were deployed to the Horn of Africa, in countries where the US shares no borders and is actually more than 7,396 miles away.

Ever since its government was destroyed in 2011 in the first operation of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), Libya has been the quintessential victim of US audacity in Africa. Now, led by the US, western officials have been talking up a UN-led peace process in Libya that insists on “inclusive” and “credible'' elections starting on December 24, despite serious disputes over how they should be held.

Of course the Libyan people should have the right to decide their leaders, forms of government, and politics. In fact, however, it is extremely difficult to see through the murk created by the inhumanity of the US-EU-NATO axis of domination.

But what sort of process for nominating candidates are the Libyan people able to exercise? How credible and inclusive can an election be that is cast in the midst of a civil war and with the US presiding over the country’s affairs like a Godfather?

The imperialist structure responsible for leading the overthrow of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , AFRICOM, just backed the election efforts of US Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland. This was after Norland took to twitter to scold those discrediting the elections saying, "We call on all parties to de-escalate tensions and to respect the Libyan-led, legal, and administrative electoral processes underway."

For these emissaries of empire, such statements are mere words of formality, empty rhetoric meant to minimize the glare of the contradiction: they created a failed state.

Reports have surfaced about the likely re-emergence of violence which has been on pause during a very fragile ceasefire. There have been stolen voter cards , an allegedly politically motivated disqualification of 25 of the 98 presidential hopefuls by the election commission, a chaotic appeals process, and, of course, a delay in the final list of candidates.

Then there were also the road blocks by gunmen backing eastern military chief and former CIA operative Khalifa Haftar to prevent travel to a court in the southern city of Sebha set to examine the appeal by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi to run for president. It is no surprise that Haftar himself is also a presidential candidate.

Initially Saif al-Islam, son of the murdered Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was being excluded from a bid for presidency by the High Elections Commission. Before a Libyan court ruled on December 2nd that Gaddafi can run for president, the case had endured an armed attack on the Sebha Court of Appeals followed by a protest in front of the Sebha Court at the end of November, organized by the people of the city of Ghat against the closure of the court by force.

The protesters , in support of Saif Gaddafi, demanding free and fair elections, and an impartial judiciary said, “...there are those who want to occupy the country and restore colonialism again, and who threaten to divide the country according to the interests of the international powers.”

Black and Brown people of the Global South know full well about what the protesters from Ghat are protesting. The capitalist, white surpremacist order has to disparage people-centered projects and legitimize anything in the interest of racist neoliberalism.

Some of the most transparent and participatory elections in the world, in Nicaragua and Venezuela, are denounced and demonized by the same international powers, its institutional extensions like the OAS, and its corporate media mouthpieces. Beneath that newswire is the irony of a Libya literally destroyed by the same forces. Now, ten years later, it is being forced into a largely illegitimate process.

The title “dictator” is bandied around for all leaders not compliant to Western interests, as was commonly done to the late Muammar Gaddafi. A common sense question one might ask is: why go through such lengths to prevent the candidacy of the son of a dictator supposedly intent on reestablishing his father’s dynasty?

Once the non-white working class inside the belly of the beast realize that the US is an undemocratic oligarchy that cannot pretend to offer, to the rest of the world, a nonexistent “democracy,” then it will begin to see that the internationalist fight to support the people of Libya is the same as the domestic fight to liberate those struggling for justice.

https://www.blackagendareport.com/us-st ... racy-libya

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UN and AU Endorse Sudan’s Coup Government, the Streets Do Not
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on DECEMBER 9, 2021
Pavan Kulkarni

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(Photo: Herculesami/Twitter)

Protesters are not convinced by the UN and AU’s position that democracy can be won by accepting a government where the real levers of power are held by the military while a cabinet of technocrats is paraded before the international community to maintain the facade of ‘joint military-civilian rule’


While the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) have legitimized the coup-government in Sudan, resistance to the military shows no signs of abating as hundreds of thousands took to the streets to protest once again on Monday, December 6.

Tear gas, live ammunition and hired gangs were used to attack the protesters, leaving scores injured. There is widespread concern that dozens of protesters and activists who were arrested and are being held in unknown locations will be tortured.

“No partnership, No negotiations, No bargaining with the military” was the slogan that resounded in towns and cities across Sudan, reiterating a mass rejection of prime minister Abdalla Hamdok’s reinstatement on November 21 on the military’s terms.

According to these terms – to which Hamdok agreed by signing a political agreement with coup leader and army chief Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah Al Burhan – a new cabinet of technocrats who do not represent any of the political parties will be formed by the prime minister.

However, sources and observers indicate that given the across-the-board rejection of this compromise by political parties and the civil society, the military may soon make a move to form a government on its own without Hamdok. Such a move will further escalate the confrontation with the pro-democracy protest movement, which is already intensifying.

In the capital Khartoum on December 6, soldiers fired tear gas at protesters near the presidential palace where multiple rallies taken out from different assembly points in the city were converging. Goons with sharp weapons, reportedly ferried in buses, attacked the protesters on Sixty Street where protesters had reached after breaking through security barricades.

In neighboring Omdurman, security forces entered neighborhoods and fired tear gas into homes. Several were detained outside the Omdurman Central police station, Radio Dabanga reported. In Khartoum North, after an abrupt and seemingly timed withdrawal of security forces, “bandits” set fire to El Safia police station to prepare grounds for the forces to unleash violence against protesters, the resistance committees said in a statement.

Over 700 protesters injured by security forces since the coup

By the beginning of December, a month and a half since the coup on October 25, almost 700 protesters had suffered serious injuries, according to Omega Research Foundation’s analysis of the field reports of the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD).

While 186 of these injuries were from live ammunition, 197 injuries were caused by suffocation induced by inhalation of tear gas. Another 133 injuries were due to trauma from being hit directly by tear gas shells.

“Tear gas projectiles are not designed to be fired directly at a person. Any such use would amount to excessive force and be unlawful. Direct fire at persons can result in severe injuries and death, especially when at close range or at the head or other sensitive part of the body,” according to the report.

At least 44 protesters are known to have been killed since the coup, although the total number of deaths remains unclear.

Despite the risk to life and limb, Sudanese have continued to pour onto the streets, not only in the three cities of Khartoum State, but across the country including in troubled war-torn regions like Darfur.

Cities including Nyala, Zalingei and El Daein saw large demonstrations despite the ongoing inter-tribal violence triggered in this region due to attacks on the communities by state-backed militias. Formerly armed rebel groups have joined forces with the state-backed militias after reaching a power-sharing deal in the Juba peace agreement.

UN and AU endorse coup-government

While the unarmed protesters continue to resist the military through civil disobedience under these dangerous conditions, UN general secretary Antonio Guterres and AU Commission chairperson Moussa al-Faki have sought to buy legitimacy for the coup-government.

At a joint press conference the duo held in New York on December 1, al-Faki said, “For the first time in Sudan for several decades, the political parties, the armed component, the component of the armed movements, find themselves together and I believe that it is a momentum that should not be lost despite the slippages that it has had.”

Warning that rejecting the compromise Hamdok struck with Burhan will lead to a “dangerous” destabilization of the country, Guterres appealed “to the Sudanese people to support Prime Minister Hamdok in the next steps so that it is possible for a peaceful transition to true democracy in Sudan.”

“We refuse any settlement with the coup leaders”

However, the protesters are not convinced that “true democracy” can be won by accepting a government where the real levers of power are held by the military while a cabinet of technocrats is paraded before the international community to maintain the facade of a ‘joint military-civilian rule’.

The center of Khartoum State Resistance Committees said in a statement on December 5 that its delegate invited for a meeting with the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) will reiterate that: “Sudan is now under a complete military Coup orchestrated and executed by the armed forces and militia generals who are implicated in several wars, atrocities, and crimes against humanity.”

Outrightly rejecting the position advocated by the UN and AU, its statement added, “We refuse any intermediation or settlement with the coup leaders, and we will carry on our struggle and fight to oust the Coup and take the criminals before justice.”

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/12/ ... ts-do-not/

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Ethiopans March Against TPLF and US Intervention in Their Country
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on DECEMBER 9, 2021



Thousands of Tigrayans residing in Addis Ababa held a rally in support of the federal government and against the US-backed Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Demonstrators raised the slogan, “Tigrayans and the TPLF are not the same” and called on the Ethiopian gov’t to liberate Tigray from the TPLF. Globally, resistance to US intervention is growing with expansion of #NoMore movement led by the Ethiopian diaspora.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/12/ ... r-country/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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