Politics

The Security Council has added two more people to a United Nations blacklist for attempting to undermine the transitional government of the Central African Republic and inciting violence against Muslims in the conflict-torn nation. According to an announcement dated Dec. 17, the council's Central African Republic (CAR) sanctions committee added Haroun Gaye and Eugene Barret Ngaikosset and they are now subject to an international travel ban and assets freeze. The former French colony descended into chaos in March 2013 when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power in the majority Christian nation, triggering reprisals by "anti-balaka" Christian militias who drove tens of thousands of Muslims from the south in a de facto partition.

The sanctions committee said on its website that Gaye, leader of an armed group in Bangui's PK5 district, was listed due to his links to acts "involving sexual violence, targeting of civilians, ethnic- or religious-based attacks, attacks on schools and hospitals, and abduction and forced displacement." It said he has repeatedly supported anti-balaka elements to foment chaos in PK5, where thousands of Muslims are surrounded by Christian militias, and that he was involved in an attempted coup backed by supporters of former President Francois Bozize aimed at toppling the transitional government. The committee said Gaye met in October with Ngaikosset, a "member of a marginalized anti-balaka group" and the other individual blacklisted last week, to plan an attack on Bangui. In May 2014, the committee imposed its first targeted sanctions by blacklisting former Bozize and two other men.

In August, the council blacklisted the Belgian branch of CAR's diamond trading company and three more people linked to the conflict. There are now seven people and one entity blacklisted over the war. Thousands have died and around one in five Central Africans has fled violence. Fighting that began as clashes between rival militias has degenerated into a conflict between Christians and Muslims. The country is rich in diamonds, uranium, gold, oil and other assets which are coveted by the rival factions as well as by foreign interests. Separately, the council's Panel of Experts that monitors compliance with the CAR sanctions said in its latest report that prospects for peace "remain remote." It said diamond-buying houses have not taken action to reduce the risk of financing ex-Seleka elements while anti-balaka groups still engage in "taxation and racketeering", are present at several diamond mining sites and have obtained mining licenses.

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Ngwa Bertrand

23.Dec.2015

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Rwanda's president Paul Kagame thanked the nation on Monday for voting in a referendum last week that overwhelmingly backed constitutional changes to let him extend his rule beyond 2017, but he did not say if he would seek re-election. Friday's referendum, in which 98 percent of those casting ballots voted "yes", drew criticism from Western powers who worry about the growing list of African leaders who have been seeking to extend their time in office. Kagame has been president since 2000 but he has effectively been in control since his rebel force marched into Kigali to end the 1994 genocide. The change would allow him stay until 2034, if he chooses. In Burundi and the Congo Republic, the issue of extending presidential terms has sparked unrest. Rwanda has been calm. Rights groups acknowledge Kagame has broad support for rebuilding the nation, but accuse the authorities of stifling the media and opposition voices, charges the government denies.

The United States, which has long praised Kagame for transforming the nation since the 1994 genocide, said the president could best serve his nation by stepping down in 2017. "When the time comes to transfer responsibility from one public servant to another, Rwandans already have confidence that it will be done in an orderly and harmonious manner," Kagame said in a state of the nation address. "No individual is forever, but there is no term limit on values, institutions, or progress," he said to an audience of Rwandan officials and others who applauded and cheered. Foreign diplomats also attended. He thanked those who took part in the vote whether they voted "yes" or "no". "We stand up for these propositions without hesitation and undaunted by reproach. The results are undeniable and the historical context is unforgettable at least to us Rwandans," he said. Kagame, 58, had said any decision on re-election would happen after the vote, without giving a specific timeliness.

The European Union criticized the speed at which the vote was held, saying it did not give enough time for the public to consider the arguments. The referendum took place about a month after Senate gave its final approval to the draft changes. There is only one real opposition party in Rwanda. The Democratic Green Party, which is tiny and has no seats in parliament, had its bid to block the constitutional amendments rejected in the courts. The constitutional changes will allow him to run for another seven-year term in 2017, followed by two five-year terms afterwards.

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Ngwa Bertrand

21.Dec.2015

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Nine military officers in the West African state of Niger have been detained on allegations of plotting a coup against the government and will face a military court, the country’s interior minister says. Hassoumi Massaoudou further stated in a Saturday news conference in the capital Niamey that the suspects were taken into custody earlier this week after what he described as a month-long surveillance operation, AFP reported. The Nigerien minister added that the coup plot had been thwarted "thanks to the loyalty" of a number of soldiers "who regularly kept us informed of the plan's progress."

According to the report, the announcement came after the country’s opposition figures challenged the government to offer proof of the alleged plot. Massaoudou said the suspected coup plot was set to be carried out on December 18, when President Mahamadou Issoufou was due to return to Niamey from an Independence Day celebrations elsewhere in the country. The development came just weeks prior to the nation’s scheduled presidential and parliamentary elections, in which the 63-year-old president plans to seek a second term. This is while Issoufou announced in a televised address to the nation on Thursday that most of the key suspects involved in the alleged plot were already in custody.

The opposition, however, quickly rejected the claim, insisting that the president had offered “no proof” and accusing the government of efforts to manipulate the nation’s political atmosphere ahead of the February 21 polls. According to the interior minister, among those detained in connection with the coup plot were air force General Souleymane Salou, commander of Niamey’s air force base, Lieutenant Colonel Idi Abdou Dan Haoua, and chief of the 1st Artillery Battalion in the western town of Tillaberi, Nare Maidoka, in addition to two senior officers with the elite anti-terror units.

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Ngwa Bertrand

20.Dec.2015

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About 90 percent of voters in the capital of the Central African Republic have said yes to a proposed new constitution, in a referendum that will pave the way for elections this month, authorities said on Friday. Results from this week's vote are yet to come in from other parts of the country. About 10 percent of the population of nearly 5 million lives in the capital Bangui. Central African Republic has been mired in conflict for nearly three years, since mostly Muslim rebels from a coalition called the Seleka seized power in the majority Christian country. The rebels later handed power to a transitional government charged with steering the landlocked nation to a vote scheduled for Dec. 27.

Religious and inter-communal violence has continued, killing about 100 people since September, despite the efforts of two interim governments, a U.N. peacekeeping force and a French mission. Violence in Bangui during the referendum killed five and wounded 34, according to the Red Cross. Turnout was around 30 percent of registered voters. "We are able to give the provisional results from the countryside (outside Bangui) on Sunday or Monday," said Julius Ngouade Baba, the spokesman for the national election authority. Human Rights Watch said fighters affiliated with Seleka leader Nourredine Adam blocked people from voting in some parts of the north after Adam said conditions were not in place for polls to take place.

On Tuesday Adam declared the northeast region to be autonomous, saying it would seek independence and spurring the government to call for international action. The referendum results must be validated by the constitutional court, which will complete that task two weeks after the publication of the complete provisional tally. The proposed constitution reins in the president's power and expands that of parliament, establishing a senate to complement the existing national assembly. It also creates a Special Criminal Court to try grave crimes. Central African Republic is rich in diamonds, gold, oil and uranium but has one of the world's poorest populations.

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Ngwa Bertrand

19.Dec.2015

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The Obama administration is considering how to respond to an Iranian ballistic missile launch that violated U.N. Security Council resolutions, senior U.S. officials said on Thursday, as senators pressed for a strong reaction. "We are now actively considering the appropriate consequences to that launch in October," Stephen Mull, the State Department's lead coordinator for implementing an international nuclear deal with Iran, told a Senate committee hearing. Almost every Republican U.S. lawmaker, as well as several of President Barack Obama's fellow Democrats, opposed the nuclear agreement announced in July, in which Iran agreed with major powers to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

Concerns in the United States about the agreement have intensified since Iran's rocket test on Oct. 10 and other events seen as hostile, including the conviction of Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, who has been held by Tehran for more than 500 days. Many lawmakers criticize the Obama administration for what they see as an inadequate response to Tehran. "One area that we all agree on is the need to be tough on any destabilizing or illegal action by Iran. With that view, I think the agreement is off to a really terrible start," said Republican Senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As first reported by Reuters, a team of sanctions monitors in a report on Tuesday found that Iran violated a U.N. Security Council resolution by test-firing a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead. "We have a very permissive environment," said Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, who opposes the nuclear deal, as he closely questioned Mull and other administration officials about the response to the missile test. Senator Chris Coons, another Democrat who backed the Iran deal but with reservations, said that starting next month members of Congress would push for renewal of a U.S. sanctions bill that is in force until the end of 2016.

Mull said the administration is looking forward to working with Congress on the issue. Asked whether he thought Iran would view renewing the legislation as a U.S. violation of the nuclear deal, Mull said it would be hard to predict. Separately, two-thirds of the Republicans in the Senate signed a letter sent to Obama on Wednesday urging him not to lift sanctions on Iran under the nuclear deal, saying Tehran's recent ballistic missile testing showed "blatant disregard for its international obligations." On Thursday, 21 Democratic senators led by Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the foreign relations panel, also wrote to Obama, saying they were deeply concerned about Iran's ballistic missile testing.

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Ngwa Bertrand

18.Dec.2015

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The second trial involving Yves Michel Fotso, ex-General Manager of Camair, the defunct national airline, came up for hearing at the Yaounde-based Special Criminal Court, SCC, on Thursday, December 17, 2015. However, not much progress was made because counsel for Yves Michel Fotso informed the court that he was in hospital. Though they did not say what he was suffering of or where he was hospitalised, the court later ruled that the matter be adjourned to January 20, 2016. Yves Michel Fotso on November 6, 2014, pleaded not guilty to charges of fraudulently obtaining 18.9 billion FCFA from 2000 to 2002.

The suit, filed by Camair’s Liquidation Committee and the State of Cameroon, says the sum comprised 4,051,209,866 FCFA, 4,606,130,515 FCFA, and 8,934,203,742 FCFA, which was compensation for the famous Boeing 747 ‘Combi’ aircraft as well as 1,400,000,000 FCFA, representing the worth of the wreck of the aircraft. On Monday, May 25, 2015, the trial witnessed a mild drama when counsel for Michel Fotso, argued for the dropping of charges against him. But both the Advocates General and counsel for the civil claimant, asked the court presided by Mr. Justice Moukoury Francis and assisted by Mr. Justice Jean Claude Michel Nana and Mrs. Justice Zibi Nsoe, to reject the defence’s application.

The Advocates General were Taghim Jean Claude and Ngoupa Napoleon. According to the civil claimant and prosecution, the accused’s request for dropping of charges could only be considered if he applied to the Minister of Justice after reimbursing the amount he embezzled before the start of the trial. But in the case at hand, they argued, Yves Michel Fotso had simply made known his intention to reimburse, though he also applied for charges against him to be dropped. In response, counsel for the accused pointed out what they saw as inconsistencies in the arguments of the prosecution, recalling that in the first phase of the same trial, an agreement had already been reached between the accused and the Legal Department.

Thus, it was not simply the mention of intention to reimburse, but honouring the agreement by paying in 250 million FCFA, Fotso’s lawyers argued. They pointed out that their client did not continue with the reimbursement because his bank accounts were frozen, though he offered to pay in kind. The former Camair GM’s counsel therefore pleaded with the court to defreeze his accounts in order to enable him continue with the reimbursement. The court later refused to defreeze the accounts or to drop charges against Fotso. He took the matter to the Supreme Court and lost.

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Ngwa Bertrand

18.Dec.2015

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