Africa News Digest
U.S. Calls Its Own Handiwork in Sudan 'Genocide'
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell charged, in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sept. 9, that the government of Sudan is guilty of genocide in its western region of Darfur. This followed "research" the State Department outsourced to the Coalition for International Justice, a self-described advocacy group that has Sen. Joe Lieberman's (D-Conn) former counsel, Nina Bang-Jensen, as its executive director. The research, issued the same day by the State Department under the title, "Documenting Atrocities in Darfur," does not mention the word genocide, but Bang-Jensen told Reuters, "This is genocide."
The Cheney-Bush Administration has now achieved the hypocrisy of finding Khartoum guilty of genocide when it provoked the violence itself, by building the Darfur insurgencies to the level of a serious threat through its agencies, the Sudan People's Liberation Army and the government of Eritrea. It knew that Khartoum had only blunt instruments with which to respond.
The European Union said in August that its investigation showed no evidence that the violence in Sudan was genocide. Powell had resisted intense pressures from the Cheney crowd for a declaration of genocideuntil now.
Hours earlier, a Sudanese parliamentary delegation in Nairobi, Kenya named the expected consequences of such a declaration. The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, delegation leader Angelo Beda, told the press the insurrectionists in Sudan "will think that the U.S. can simply throw the government away and they will come to power in Khartoum." The insurrectionists have been holding out for more leverage from Washington in the peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria.
Powell also called on the UN, in his testimony, to launch an international commission of inquiry to rule on the Darfur genocide question, to back him up. The State Department submitted a formal request for the inquiry to the UN Security Council a few hours later.
The U.S. also put a new draft resolution before the UN Security Council Sept. 9, declaring Sudan "has failed to comply" with the July resolution. It calls for a no-fly zone over Darfur and thousands of African Union observers dependent on the U.S. for logistics and equipment. The intent is to move from observers to peacekeepers. The resolution threatens economic sanctions, especially against Sudan's oil exports.
Garang: Genocide Declaration Will Prod Khartoum To Negotiate
Anglo-American puppet John Garang, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), met with Colin Powell in Washington Sept. 9, and later told the press that Powell was right to declare Khartoum guilty of genocide in Darfur, and that it would be good for negotiations. "Mr. Garang said he thinks the U.S. genocide finding will affect Sudan's overall peace process in a positive way, by energizing international efforts to secure the civilian population in Darfur and obliging the parties [really just one party, Khartoumed.] to work harder on the parallel North-South peace track," Voice of America reported Sept. 9.
Garang also said that Sudan "is threatened with disintegration" unless a comprehensive political settlement is reached, according to Reuters.
Powell, in his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sept. 9, said that Khartoum bore most of the blame for stalling the North-South peace talks with the SPLA. In fact, the destructive U.S. policy vis-à-vis Sudan goes back to Madeleine Albright and Susan Rice in the Clinton Administration, and has been continued with a vengeance under Bush.
China Threatens To Veto New Resolution Against Sudan
Chinese Ambassador to the UN Wang Guangya, in response to a question from the press Sept. 10, said China would veto the new, U.S.-drafted resolution against Sudan if it were put to a vote as it now stands. Some wire reports say China objects especially to the threat of sanctions.
Before the draft was submitted, some wire reports said that Russia was expected to veto any resolution calling for sanctions.
Anglo-American Orders Are Obeyed in DR Congo and Rwanda
Developments in Congo and Rwanda over the past two weeks show that the Anglo-American plan for peace without development in Congo is proceeding. U.S. National Security Council Director for Central and Southern Africa Cindy Courville on Aug. 27 ordered Congolese Vice President (and Rwandan puppet) Azerias Ruberwa to return to Kinshasa from Goma, end his threat of a secession war in the East, and rejoin the political process. He returned Aug. 30 and rejoined the political process Sept. 1. The insurrection against his treason in the party he leads, the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD), was a contributing factor in these decisions. Ruberwa locked the rest of the RCD leadership out of their headquarters when he arrived in Kinshasa. "We think it is high time to change the leadership of the party," RCD Deputy Secretary General Crispin Kabasele Tshimanga told a Kinshasa journalist, RFP reported Aug. 30.
In response to a July 16 demand from the U.S.-dominated committee of ambassadors in Kinshasathe International Committee to Accompany the Transition (CIAT)that the government take control of the East, the army on Sept. 10 took two towns in South Kivu province, Nyabibwe, and Dutu, which had been held by Rwandan puppet Gen. Laurent Nkunda since June. An army spokesman told AFP Sept. 11 that the army would continue to Minova, about 12 kilometers away, where Nkunda's forces are encamped.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame's response showed that he is also falling into line. At a press conference in Kigali Sept. 11, Kagame, when asked about the taking of the two towns, could only bluster that "this is something that merits special attention.... We are going to take up the problem with the people concerned to find a solution together."
France Calls for 'Urgent Reinforcements' in Congo
France submitted to the UN Security Council Sept. 7 a draft resolution for the "urgent reinforcement" of UN forces in Congo. It calls for an additional 1,600 troops and four more attack helicopters "to deal with any possible renewal of tensions" in DR Congo, an apparent euphemism. The added forces would be helpful to the Congolese army in driving Rwandan puppet Gen. Laurent Nkunda and his troops out of the country.
The resolution is distinct from that submitted by France Sept. 3, which calls for strengthening UN forces in Congo over the longer term. It calls for an increase from 10,500 troops at present, to 23,900, and an enlarged mandate.
The Congolese government welcomed both proposals.
Mark Thatcher Partner Sentenced to Seven Years in Zimbabwe
British mercenary Simon Mann, following his conviction for attempting to illegally buy weapons in Zimbabwe, received a jail sentence of seven years, the Mail and Guardian reported Sept.10. Mann was the partner of Sir Mark Thatcherthe son of Iron Lady Margaret Thatcherin organizing the failed coup against Equatorial Guinea.
"The accused was the author of the whole transaction. He was caught while trying to take the firearms out of the country," said Magistrate Mishrod Guvamombe. He said the offenses "were well planned and well executed and that must be reflected in the penalty."
Sixty-five other mercenaries who were tried along with Mann received 12 month sentences. Two pilots received 16 month sentences.
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