KINSHASA - A United Nations' Security Council delegation arrived in Kinshasa on Friday to persuade Congo that a gradual withdrawal of 20,500 peacekeepers would be better than the swift exit the government wants.
With independence celebrations this year and elections in 2011, Democratic Republic of Congo's government wants the U.N. contingent out by 2011.But top U.N. officials, diplomats and aid groups fear a hasty pull-out will worsen security problems in the troubled mining giant, which held U.N.-backed elections in 2006 but is struggling to contain a plethora of rebellions.
Diplomats from the 15-nation Security Council met Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito on Friday, and will meet President Joseph Kabila on Saturday.
The mandate for the U.N. force, which has been in Congo for a decade, expires at the end of May.
Seraphin Ngwej, Kabila's diplomatic advisor, told Reuters last week that 2011 was a reasonable deadline' for withdrawal.
But France's ambassador in Congo said earlier the United Nations would propose to pull 2,000 soldiers out by June 30, the 50th anniversary of Congo's independence from Belgium. If approved by the Security Council and the Congolese, this would be followed by a progressive disengagement based on the evolution of the security risk facing the country'.
A source close to Friday's meeting said the government had agreed to assess the security situation jointly with the united Nations and was open to receive support during the election but officials maintained demands for a complete pullout by 2011.
U.N. peacekeepers provide logistical support and, sometimes, firepower, for Congo's weak national army, which is struggling to battle a collection of local and foreign rebels groups.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced by violence, which has spared the copper and cobalt mining province of Katanga, but continues to plague other eastern provinces, where tin and gold are mined and there are hopes for oil.
Security risks due to the civil conflict in the eastern part of the country loom large in investors' minds as far as mining assets are concerned,' Standard Bank said this month.
The government's request for the U.N. to pull out its peacekeepers by the end of 2011 is likely to heighten these security concerns. Given (Congo's) precarious security situation, (the) government's request seems premature, and thus we doubt that U.N. forces will withdraw within this time frame.'
Although peacekeepers are frequently accused of not doing enough to protect civilians, many in Congo fear rebel and government forces will commit further abuses in their absence.
I suggest they stay for another two years, because they should be here for the elections,' said father Albert, a Catholic priest in Mwenga, a town at the heart of fighting in South Kivu province.
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/15/2010 00:00 ||
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#3
Mmm, some of the best parts of the world, let's give it away to the Chi-coms.
Please, somebody explain, WHAT was the US thinking? Even in '76, the future could be seen....
The leader of Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) has bowed to growing demand to resign his post over charges of embezzlement.
PDP Chairman Vincent Ogbulafor submitted his letter of resignation to the party's deputy chairman on Thursday, the Lagos-based ThisDay newspaper reported. The resignation is to take effect in 30 days.
The embattled Ogbulafor has been accused of fraud and funneling money to fictitious projects on 16 occasions. He has, however, denounced the accusations as "politically motivated."
The decision comes as many analysts question whether or not the resignation might have an impact on the ruling party's assessment of picking acting President Goodluck Jonathan as its next candidate for the presidency in the next election in 2011.
Ogbulafor had stated in March that the next president must be from the Muslim north to satisfy the party's internal power-sharing agreement.
Under PDP`s policy, candidates for presidency within the party are chosen in rotation between the mainly Muslim north and Christian south for two four-year terms. Accordingly, since Jonathan is a Christian, the next candidate must be from the Muslim north.
The first term of the late Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua, a Muslim who passed away on May 5, began in 2007.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/15/2010 00:00 ||
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SANAA - Two people died in a southern Yemeni village where the military intervened to end a dispute over water rights, underscoring tensions sparked by a looming water crisis in the impoverished Arabian peninsular state.
Twenty homes were damaged and unarmed residents were forced to flee Shara'ab, in the southern province of Taiz, during the eight-day stand-off. A soldier and a local gunman were killed and four other people were wounded in the violence, which ended on Thursday after a deal between the authorities and local leaders.
A regional official told Reuters the clashes were sparked by anger over new government regulations on well drilling.
The people have resisted,' the official said. This province suffers from a severe water crisis. Our ground (water) wells are almost depleted.'
Troops were sent in after violence erupted over the ownership of a coveted well licence and a number of well diggers were taken hostage during the dispute, the Internet news agency al Sahwa.net said on Friday.
After a week of blockade, the military operation made no progress until a factional leader offered to surrender himself in return for a military retreat,' the southern website said.
Thursday's resolution of the clash allowed the faction of one of the local factions to dig a well but it was not immediately clear if the release of the well diggers was part of the deal.
The dispute may have been triggered by the need for water to irrigate qat, a mild narcotic leaf that plays a major role in Yemeni life, with men spending half of their day chewing it, even at work. Agriculture accounts for over 90 percent of Yemen's water use, of which 37 percent goes to irrigate qat, researchers say.
Local authorities told Reuters that they provide enough drinking water for the region.
Some experts say Sanaa could be the world's first capital city to run dry because of a chronic shortage of ground water.
The country's 21 ground water wells are already failing to meet demand from its 23 million-strong population, which is expected to double in the next 20 years. The problem is particularly acute in cities like Taiz and Sanaa. So each well serves a million people? And soon two million?
Posted by: Steve White ||
05/15/2010 00:00 ||
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As a Nevada rancher, I feel for the Yemenis on this one. Water business is serious business, and has caused otherwise descent, law-abiding people to kill each other many times in history.
Spain's crusading judge Baltasar Garzon was suspended from his post Friday ahead of his trial for abuse of power linked to a probe of Franco-era crimes, a decision condemned by human rights groups.
The body that oversees the judiciary, the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), decided unanimously to suspend Garzon, a spokeswoman for the body said, two days after the Supreme Court cleared the way for his trial.
On hearing of the decision, an emotional Garzon emerged from his office at National Court to cheers and hugs from dozens of supporters who chanted "Garzon, friend, the people are with you!"
Garzon is accused of abuse of power for opening an investigation in 2008 into the disappearance of tens of thousands of people during the 1936-39 civil war and General Francisco Franco's ensuing right-wing dictatorship. The case follows a complaint by far-right groups that the probe ignored an amnesty law passed in 1977, two years after Franco's death, for crimes committed under the general's rule.
Garzon has argued that the disappearances constituted crimes against humanity and were therefore not covered by the amnesty.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday removed the last obstacle to his trial over the case, although no date been set.
If convicted he would avoid prison but could be suspended for up to 20 years, which would effectively end the career of the 54-year-old.
"It's a very sad day for Spain," said Santiago Macias, the vice president of the Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory, which campaigns for the rights of victims of Franco.
"Today, someone needs to come out and say: 'Spaniards, justice is dead,'" he said, referring to the famous line of a television presenter in 1975 who announced in tears that "Spaniards, Franco is dead."
Human Rights Watch also condemned the CGPJ's decision.
"This is a sad day for the cause of human rights. Garzon was instrumental in delivering justice for victims of atrocities abroad and now he is being punished for trying to do the same at home," Reed Brody, the rights group's legal counsel, said in a statement.
"Garzon's decision not to apply Spain's amnesty, for which he is being prosecuted, is supported by international law, which impose on states a duty to investigate the worst international crimes, including crimes against humanity."
On Tuesday, Garzon asked Spanish authorities to be allowed to work as a consultant for the International Criminal Court, following an offer from The Hague-based court.
The ICC posting, scheduled to last seven months, had been seen as an attempt by him to avoid the humiliation of a formal suspension over the charges against him.
The judge is also involved in two other cases, one regarding wiretaps he ordered as part of a probe into a corruption scandal involving members of the conservative opposition party and another over suspected bribery over payments he allegedly received for seminars in New York.
He first made world headlines in October 1998 when he ordered the arrest of former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet in London under the principle of "universal jurisdiction."
Universal jurisdiction holds that heinous crimes like torture or terrorism can be tried in Spain even if they had no link to the country. In March 2009, Garzón considered whether Spain should allow charges to be filed against former officials from the United States government under George W. Bush for offering justifications for torture.
The six former Bush officials are: Alberto Gonzales, former Attorney General; John Yoo, of the Office of Legal Counsel; Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense for policy; William Haynes II, former general counsel for the Department of Defense; Jay Bybee, also at Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel; and David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff.
On 29 April 2009, Garzon opened an investigation into an alleged "systematic programme" of torture at Guantanamo Bay, following accusations by four former prisoners. Garzón has repeatedly expressed a desire to investigate former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in connection with a plot in the 1970s known as Operation Condor.
#1
I'll note there is no rush to investigate the Republican side, especially the thousands of Soviet supposed volunteers who spent most of their time murdering civilians and their 'allies'. They killed at least 10,000 priests/monks/nuns.
The federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species -- and despite strong warnings from that agency about the impact the drilling was likely to have on the gulf.
Those approvals, federal records show, include one for the well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and resulting in thousands of barrels of oil spilling into the gulf each day.
The Minerals Management Service, or M.M.S., also routinely overruled its staff biologists and engineers who raised concerns about the safety and the environmental impact of certain drilling proposals in the gulf and in Alaska, according to a half-dozen current and former agency scientists.
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#1
No one from the Marshall Islands ever inspected the rig.
No kidding.
required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species � and despite strong warnings from that agency about the impact the drilling was likely to have on the gulf.
Those approvals, federal records show, include one for the well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded on April 20
So they got the approval, or this is unusually crappy writing even by the low standards of the MSM.
I'm puzzled as to why big businesses seem to tend towards throwing their bungs at the Democrats. Is it a response to the Chicago Way, is it because their Chiefs aren't as smart as they would have us believe, and actually wanted Obama to win, or is it because the Republicans can be relied on to be sensible and pragmatic if in charge, whereas the childish leftism of the democrats means it's more sensible to fill their coffers and keep them sweet, just in case they win? If the former and the latter plays a part, the Republicans are perennially screwed when it comes to raising corporate bucks, and should they campaign to put limits a system which rewards the more capricious party?
#6
why big businesses seem to tend towards throwing their bungs at the Democrats
They throw their money at both, but more to whom they think will win. They favor the donks in a toss up because they favor regulation which stifles innovation and small competitors who can erode the market share of the oligopolists. They are happy to let the politicians rail at them as bad guys as long as profits increase.
Barry is getting in trouble with business now because it is finally becoming clear to them that he and his policies are not returning the economy to prosperity. That is the worst sin to business.
#7
No, Barry is in trouble with business folk because (a) he has created a regime in which rational planning is close to impossible and (b) success just means that the IRS is going to knock on your door first when the impending massive tax hike comes around. I could go on.
Posted by: Matt ||
05/15/2010 14:07 Comments ||
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#8
They are happy to let the politicians rail at them as bad guys as long as profits increase.
Not so much, anymore. JammieWearingFool comments on a report that Wall Street bigwigs skipped a recent $25K/plate Democratic party fundraiser.
Proposing a budget that would eliminate the state's welfare-to-work program and most child care for the poor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday outlined a stark vision of a California that would sharply limit aid to some of its poorest and neediest citizens.
His $83.4-billion plan would also freeze funding for local schools, further cut state workers' pay and take away 60% of state money for local mental health programs. State parks and higher education are among the few areas the governor's proposal would spare.
The proposal, which would not raise taxes, also relies on $3.4 billion in help from Washington -- roughly half of what the governor sought earlier this year -- to help close a budget gap now estimated at $19.1 billion. Billions more would be saved through accounting moves and fund shifts.
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#1
Cutting welfare is the only way out for California, Greece and every other heavily indebted government, because it is the only expenditure reduction that increases government tax revenues through increased economic activity.
#3
I know his budget cuts look primarily on the poor but that is because the poor get most of the services. My advice: Before someone gets a dime of assistance they must provide proof of legal residency. Trust me on this one, the saving will be dramatic. Estimated saving by the California budget office is about $10 billion, so can assume that the number exceeds $30 billion (probably around 50).
#9
At least Schwarzenegger has figured out that California has taxed and regulated its industrial base to extinction. During the years I worked in SD, most industry leased rather than owned their businesses so that if push came to shove they could move. The only thing required was to extend generous offers to those employees you wanted to move with you. There are a few diehards like General Atomics that actually own their physical plants, but most everyone else is checking out the low-tax right to work states for more hospitable business conditions. The rate CA is going, the only jobs left in the state will be drug dealers servicing the welfare recipients.
#11
Keeps public union retirees in the cash, starves out everything else. Start chopping them. OS
The public unions, teacher's union, corrections union, SEIU, etc. have been dictating to Sacramento for some time. They need to be reined in if the budget is going to be manageable.
[G. M. Greenwood, via Asia Sentinel]
The spectre of civil war is now routinely discussed as a possible outcome to Thailand's now-systemic political and social crisis. This is an improbable outcome in the current phase of the protest cycle given the widely differing and frequently opposed expectations, grievances and fears that underpin the motives and issues driving the country's protracted political instability.
Thailand is not simply experiencing a binary struggle between pro- and anti-government forces but is in the midst of a complex series of revolts that now involve much of the population and most institutions. The depth and force of commitment may vary, but disentangling the now exposed divisions between classes, regions and within key organisation cannot be dealt with through a superficial compromise between already discredited political leaders.
The crisis, which began for the more perceptive members of the country's traditional elite in January 2001 with Thaksin Shinawatra's first election victory, now defines Thailand's political and social system.
Thaksin's massive popular reaffirmation in the February 2005 polls, an existential threat to Thailand's established order, ignited a series of revolts that now engulf the country. These largely passive rebellions are largely concealed by the noisier narrative that Thailand's crisis is a simple struggle between the impoverished, neglected and marginalised countryside seeking redress from the wealthy, distant and disdainful city.
The now familiar colour-coded ur-revolt reds, yellows, with occasional sightings of blues, pinks, as well as the ever-present green of the military, the mysterious and murderous blacks' and the growing involvement of saffron-clad Buddhist monks give an impression of order and symmetry. In reality, the Thai crisis more closely represents at its present stage the million mutiny' phase of social and political upheaval rather than the coherent coalescence and radicalisation required to move general disorder into nation-breaking anarchy.
Rather than presenting unified ideological or structural fronts, the organic components of the Thai drama have often conflicted beliefs and sentiments towards the other players and within their own groups.
The professional military leadership may, for reasons of conviction and ambition, be firmly aligned to maintaining the status quo. The army, in particular, is traditionally in a near-permanent state of revolt against any civilian government which includes Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's creaking administration that owes its position to military leverage. The military is also divided within, with many senior officers seeking advantage over intra-service rivals while doubting the willingness of enlisted personnel to act decisively against their own class.
These competing tensions are regarded as responsible for the army's reluctance to support successive governments in restoring order either against the pro-establishment yellow-shirted People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) when they occupied Bangkok for months in 2008 or now against the red version of this similar strategy.
The much reviled police are, by contrast, seen as supporting the Red Shirts no doubt partly due to Thaksin's links with the force that he served for many years, but also because of the animosity between the police and the military. The police, therefore, have frequently failed to act against the Red Shirts out of solidarity and against the well-connected yellows out of professional reticence and the fear of personal retribution.
Even the monkhood is riven between what many junior clergy appear to view as the contradiction between Buddhism's high status at the apogee of Thailand's elite pantheon and its mission to bring succor to country's most disadvantaged. This raises the possibility that some of the clergy may take to the streets with reds, much as Buddhist monks did in Burma during the doomed 2007 anti-government protests.
The reds' appeal to the rural population of the northern and northeastern provinces reflects economic, class, social and even ethnic divisions between the hardscrabble lives most lead, in contrast to the reality and perceptions of those in distant Bangkok. Ideological mobilisation may be evolving, but the principal catalysts for revolt are for improved personal outcomes based on more stable income, affordable health and education provision and freedom from usury and indebtedness.
Assuring such expectations - raised and partially met by Thaksin - is the most readily achievable resolution at an economic and administrative level, but opposition to such largesse from the country's still narrow tax base stirs counter-revolts.
The yellows created, funded and protected by the military, the aristocracy, bureaucracy and largely ethnic Chinese urban professional and commercial classes represent the status quo and reflect an unwillingness to share status and wealth with the masses. This group forced Thaksin and his successor governments from power by staging a protracted revolt in 2008 that, unlike the reds, drew no warnings that the country faced civil war.
The unintended consequence of the Yellow Shirt uprising was to produce an operational and moral template for the reds to follow and use to claim the protection of precedence. Until the first fatalities occurred in Bangkok in April, the red case was beginning to receive more favorable or at least sympathetic coverage in the mainstream Thai media, revealing conflicted opinions within the elite.
The royal institution' the respectful term used to refer to the monarchy is at the heart of the present national melee. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, hospitalised since September last year, made a rare public comment in late April in which he repeated a message to the nation's judges to do their work well.
The king's failure to deliver even a runic phrase or comment that could be directly linked to the present crisis and serve as a keystone in forcing compromise between his divided subjects has disappointed and confused many Thais and foreign observers. However, the king's call to uphold the law may also be interpreted as a warning to the country that without a recognizably equitable legal system Thailand faces a future dictated by the arbitrary use of power and force, with the unspoken implication that it will be unmediated by a benign monarch.
Such après moi le deluge sentiments and the king's removal from worldly events which may be viewed as a regal strike - can be added to the numberless revolts that now characterise Thai society.
This maze of passive and active revolts complicates any resolution to the crisis. Millions of Thais have incrementally abandoned or ignored the bonds or shackles that had traditionally defined relations between classes and within the country's key institutions. In the absence of any new charismatic leader emerging - Thaksin is extremely unlikely to return to Thailand and prosper - who can complete either the red agenda of mass democracy or enforce the yellow intent to reserve political power for a small elite, Thailand risks slipping into an era of sullen apathy that leaves grievances to fester and petty ambitions to flourish. The response to such a period, which may well combine Burma's ruthless authoritarianism with Cambodia's past displays of hysterical nativism, may serve as the precursor for a coherent populist revolt that could violently shatter Thailand's mythic national consensus for generations.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
KINSHASA - A United Nations' Security Council delegation arrived in Kinshasa on Friday to persuade Congo that a gradual withdrawal of 20,500 peacekeepers would be better than the swift exit the government wants.
The leader of Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) has bowed to growing demand to resign his post over charges of embezzlement. 
