La Guinea Ecuatorial es una ex-colonia española en Africa y forma parte del mundo hispanoparlante y es por eso yo me dedico en especial a la causa de la democracia en la Guinea Ecuatorial. Son nuestros hermanos en lengua y ellos viven la peor dictadura que sacude la Africa. Es tiempo que los hispanos les pongamos atención a los destinos de las ex-colonias españolas en Africa, la Guinea Ecuatorial y la Sahara Occidental. No podemos abandonar a nuestros hermanos. Tenemos en Zapatero una oportunidad histórica para llamar la atención del mundo a la realidad de estos pueblos olvidados y que sufren en ese olvido. Si eres hispano, estas también son sus causas.
Following up on French Doc’s post on the verdict and the sentence of Simon Mann today in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, I want to add that if you are a Hispanic we have two brother nations in Africa living under the worst imaginable conditions. Spain’s former colonies in Africa languish under the most brutal dictatorships. Equatorial Guinea has been described as the “Dachau of Africa” and the Western Sahara is under a brutal occupation from Morocco. The Hispanic world must do better in bringing attention to horrific conditions in these countries.
Here is the Monday, July 7th, 2008 edition of interesting reads and events from around the world.
The United Arab Emirates Forgives Iraq’s Debt
The United Arab Emirates has cancelled almost $7 billion of debt including interest and arrears payments owed by Baghdad, becoming the first Gulf Arab country to forgive all of Iraq’s debt. It’s a wonderful move and other countries should follow suit. It’s time to rebuild Iraq. The full story in the International Herald Tribune.
Car Bomb in Kabul
Afghan officials say a suicide car bomber has killed at least seven people in an attack outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul. Details in the BBC and the UK Telegraph.
South African Plan for Zimbabwe
South African President Thabo Mbeki has presented a plan to Zimbabwe’s political leaders that would allow Robert Mugabe to remain as a titular head of state. More from Johannesburg’s Mail and Guardian. Under the plan, Mugagbw would be President of Zimbabwe in name only and real power would rest with the opposition MDC. In other news from Zimbabwe, the Los Angeles Times reports that Mugagbe’s ruling ZANU-PF party has some 900 camps for political dissidents where women are treated as “sex slaves.” Mugagbe must go.
The Uptick in Japanese Capital Punishment
Japan’s justice minister, dubbed the “grim reaper” for ordering a record number of executions, has defended the death penalty as “civilised” but said he loses sleep over signing the orders. I oppose the death penalty. Systemic genocide might be my only exception and even then I am not so sure. In Japan, 13 people have been hanged since Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama took office last August, a record high for the period. Japan lifted a de facto moratorium on executions in 1993. More from Agence France Presse.
Correa in Ecuador Commutes the Sentences of 1,200 Drug Couriers
President Rafael Correa of Ecuador has communted the sentences of some 1,200 mulas, or drug couriers. Under the pardon, prisoners (largely young poor women) who have served at least a year of their sentence and were carrying under 2 kilos of drugs (in their stomachs) are eligible for the pardon. It is estimated that approximately 1,200 prisoners in Ecuadorian jails will thus have their sentences commuted. It is a fair plan. The drug trade has many victims especially amongst the poor in Latin America. More in Spanish from Noticias 24. If you have never seen the award-winning Colombian movie, Maria, llena eres de gracia (Mary, Full of Grace), you should rent it. It covers the plight of these women called mulas or mules. The lead actress, Catalina Sandino Moreno, received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of young Colombian mula.
German Finance Minister Opines on Sarkozy’s EU Presidency
The French presidency of the European Union will be an exercise in “crisis management”, according to Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister, in particular with rocketing oil prices and the rejection of the Lisbon treaty by Irish voters.
The undiplomatic assessment echoes analysts’ expectations that France’s presidency, which began last week, will be short on new projects and instead have to focus on salvaging Lisbon and seeking answers to the global energy shortage.
“I think the French presidency will be very much influenced by the current challenges. As far as I know they understand themselves that they are sitting in the chair more in terms of crisis management,” Mr Steinbrück told the Financial Times in an interview.
Cristina Fernández de Kitchner Wins Round 1
Argentina’s lower house of congress has approved a controversial package of export taxes on grain which prompted widespread strikes and food shortages earlier in the year. The measures were passed by 129 votes to 122 on Saturday after 18 hours of heated debate. Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kitchner decreed a more than 10%, sliding-scale increase in export taxes on soy, corn and other grains on March 11 setting off a widespread revolt against her government and her popularity level drop to 20%. The measures now go before the Argentine Senate. More from Al Jazeera.
Bertha Becomes First Hurricane of the Atlantic Season
Tropical storm Bertha has strengthened to become the first hurricane of the Atlantic season. As of 5 am EDT Monday, Hurricane Bertha was about 845 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands.
Here is the Saturday, July 5th, 2008 edition of what is making news around the world.
UK Guardian Exclusive On Fraud in Zimbabwe
The UK Guardian has exclusive report on the fraud committed in Zimbabwe. Robert Mugabe’s henchmen have long been suspected of stealing civil servant postal ballots. This GuardianFilms exclusive provides the first evidence of how they did it. The clip is on my user page at the Guardian. In addition, this story from the Washington Post describes Mugagbe’s tactics.
Argentine Congress to Vote on Export Taxes
Argentina’s lower house of Congress was preparing to vote late Friday night on whether to approve a government tax program for agricultural exports in the latest chapter of a bitter battle between farmers and the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. More from the New York Times.
Malaysian Fuel Hike Protests
Malaysia’s opposition-backed protesters held a mass rally against a steep hike in fuel prices, despite a police warning that it was illegal according to this report from the International Herald Tribune.
Calm Returns to Ulan Bator Reuters reports that troops began pulling back from the streets of the Mongolian capital on Saturday ahead of the lifting of a state of emergency that had been declared after rioting over alleged election fraud. And of course, the Wall Street Journal worries that the unrest in Mongolia might hinder foreign investment in Mongolia’s mining sector.
Sarkozy’s Surveillance Proposals Fistful of Euros (lucky them) reports on the French President’s proposals on Internet surveillance that failed to pass in France but now he is attempting to get them passed on a pan-Europe basis through a bureaucratic manuever in Brussels. And then Europe’s leaders wonder why Europe keeps on voting down treaties?
It’s among the most bizarre places that I have ever been. And unless you’re a sucker for Stanlist architecture, you’re bound to be disappointed. And as for the steppes, they are as vast as they say. At any rate, Mongolia remains an isolated country of three million people.
Mongolians went to the polls on 29th June to elect a new parliament. The results were expected tomorrow. However, violent protests erupted in Ulan Bator following the re-election of President Nambariin Enkhbayar’s government.
The decree by President Nambaryn Enkhbayar allows the police to use force in dealing with thousands of rock-throwing protesters who mobbed the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party headquarters Tuesday and set it on fire. The crowd had not dispersed by Tuesday night, despite repeated volleys of tear gas and rubber bullets and the use of water cannons.
“Police will use necessary force to crack down on criminals who are looting private and government property,” said Munkhorgil, the minister of justice and home affairs, who like some Mongolians goes by one name. Ulan Bator was placed under curfew from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., he said.
The crowd thinned slightly after the emergency declaration in the early hours of Wednesday, though some protesters had begun looting paintings from an art gallery and televisions from government offices. Others vandalized cars parked on downtown streets.
Enkhbayar, a member of the governing party, acknowledged the protesters’ complaints about the election but appealed for calm.”Let’s sit down and solve the election fraud,” he said on national television.
Mongolians went to the polls Sunday after a campaign focused on how to share the country’s mineral wealth.
Fraud accusations originally centered on two districts in Ulan Bator that were awarded to the governing party but were contested by two popular members of the Civic Movement party. Following that, protesters called the entire election into question, with opposition Democrats saying that their party, not the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, or MPRP, had won the election.
Some protesters pushed into the General Election Commission offices to demand that officials resign because of alleged voting irregularities and fraud. The commission defended the vote, but at least one party called for a recount in some districts of Ulan Bator.
“The Mongolian people voted for democracy and not for the MPRP, who are ex-communists,” said Magnai Otgonjargal, vice chairman of the Civic Movement party.
According to preliminary results, the People’s Revolutionary Party - which also governed the country when it was a Soviet satellite - won 46 seats in voting Sunday. That would give the party far more than half of the 76 seats in Parliament, called the State Great Khural.
The other major party, the Mongolian Democratic Party, took 26 seats. An independent won one seat and a minor party another. Results in two other seats were not yet clear. The General Election Commission has until July 10 to announce the final results.
Tuesday’s clashes far surpass the usual minor violence that has often accompanied elections in the 18 years since Mongolia cast off communist rule for democracy. The police seemed unprepared to deal with the crowd, which trampled one police officer, apparently leaving him badly hurt.
Video from Mongolia
Mongolia imposed a four-day state of emergency after riots in the capital, Ulan Bator, by protesters saying the June 29 elections won by the ruling party were rigged.
The headquarters of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party was set on fire yesterday, Badral Bayasal, an official with the Mongolian National Mining Association, said by telephone from the city today. Supporters of the Mongolian Democratic Party demonstrated after preliminary results of the ballot showed the MPRP winning a majority in parliament.
“The city center has been totally blocked off,” Bayasal said. “I can see the military out as well, tanks and everything close to my work.” There are reports that three people were killed in the violence, he said.
Here is the Monday, June 30th, 2008 edition of interesting reads and events from around the world.
Iraq Opens Its Oil Sector to Foreign Investment
Iraq opened international bidding for eight enormous oil and gas fields Monday, paving the way for investment in a nation with some of the world’s largest petroleum reserves. More from the Christian Science Monitor and the Wall Street Journal.
African Union Summit
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Monday called for the suspension of Robert Mugabe from the African Union, until he allows a “free and fair” election. More from All Africa News and from the New York Times.
Ex Head of Chile’s DINA Sentenced for 1974 Murder of General Prats
General Manuel Contreras, the former head of Chile’s Intelligence Services, the DINA, was sentenced to two life prison sentences today for his role in the assassination of the former Chilean Army Chief of Staff in 1974 then in exile in Buenos Aires. From the Miami Herald.
A Chilean judge sentenced the country’s former intelligence chief, retired Gen. Manuel Contreras, to two life prison sentences Monday for masterminding the 1974 assassinations of former army chief Gen. Carlos Prats and his wife.
The historic decision, which can be appealed, helps to close one of the most notorious chapters of the 1973-1990 regime of dictator Augusto Pinochet, which ordered the politically motivated deaths and disappearances of some 3,000 people.
Pinochet’s replacement of Prats as army chief set the stage for the 1973 coup that ousted socialist President Salvador Allende. The Pinochet regime then sent U.S. citizen Michael Townley to plant a bomb under Prats’ car in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Prats had sought refuge. Townley went on to assassinate former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier in Washington.
The Saga of Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy prime minister and finance minister now leading Malaysia’s resurgent opposition coalition, is once again in a fight for his political life after being charged with new sexual perversion allegations. Stories from the Asia Sentinel and the Wall Street Journal.
France Assumes European Union Presidency Tomorrow
It’s an opportunity for French President Nicolas Sarkozy to have a lasting imprint on Europe or it may be his final dance of the macabre, a failed Presidency. Saying “something isn’t right” with Europe, President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday called for profound changes in building the European Union as France was poised to take the helm of the 27-nation bloc. Sarkozy isn’t tipping his hand, however. Stories from International Herald Tribune, the UK Guardian, and The Times of Malta.
Reuters reports that Zimbabwe’s state-run Herald newspaper said on Saturday the presidential election turnout could be a record and that this was a slap in the face to world leaders who had criticised President Robert Mugabe. The above report from the Associated Press paints a slightly different picture. It will be interesting to see how quickly the Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) releases results this time around. Shocked by the apparent loss for Mugagbe, it is increasingly evident that the results were delayed so Mugagbe could play for time and come up with a winning strategy.
These results are not a legitimate outcome and represent a mockery of the electoral process. It’s time for the African community of nations to hold a suffering of a people more dear than to perpetuate a dictatorship not withstanding whatever legacy from a struggle against colonialism he may yet enjoy in posh African capitals. Nelson Mandela, he is not. Leopold Senghor, he is not. Jomo Kenyatta, he is not. Julius Nyerere he is not. José Eduardo dos Santos, he is not. He long ago joined the ranks the likes of Francisco Macías Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, Siad Barre of Somalia, Jean-Bédel Bokassa of the Central African Republic (who declared himself “Emperor”), Charles Taylor of Liberia, Lieut. Col. Johnny Paul Koroma of Sierra Leone, and Mobutu Seke Seko of the former Zaire. These men pillaged their countries and starved their people. It’s time that Robert Mugagbe be held accountable.
Staying Alive in Zimbabwe, An Indelible Red Index Finger
In many countries around the world, dipping your finger in indelible red or purple ink is a sign that you voted. Originally, the practise was used to counter fraud. In Zimbabwe today, it is your passport to life. Reports are that fail to vote and beating or worse will come your way from Mugagbe’s thugs.
The BBC reports that Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has brushed aside last minute calls for Friday’s disputed presidential run-off election to be postponed or called off. And so Zimbabwe will vote tomorrow and no will care. The elections are not credible and the world will continue to ignore the plight of 13 million Zimbabwe not just disenfranchised but pushed to the brink of starvation by the whim of an egomanaical dictator.
Happy 90th Birthday to Nelson Mandela
Former South African President Nelson Mandela used his 90th Birthday fesitivies in London to chastize Robert Mugagbe for a “tragic failure of leadership.” Mandela rarely comments on political matters. I might also extend that assessment to current South African Mbeki who has watched the situation in Zimbabwe deteriorate to brink of civil war.
Here is the Saturday, June 21st, 2008 edition of interesting reads and events from around the world.
Zimbabwe Election Update
The International Herald Tribune reports that Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is considering whether to pull out of the June 27 presidential run-off election, fearing it will be a charade. Meanwhile the BBC reports that Mugagbe remains defiant.
The Battle for Kandahar
An operation by local and international troops appears to have cleared Taliban fighters from the outskirts of Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second largest city in a report from the Financial Times. Below a report from Qatar’s Al-Jazeera on Afghan President Karzai’s plan to strike at the Taliban strongholds in Pakistan:
Thai Protests Aim To Topple PM Sundaravej
Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej will not resign, a spokesman said on Saturday as thousands of protesters besieged his office, vowing to stay until they forced the government from power. The Washington Post has the full story with analysis.
A Canadian View on McCain’s Trip to Ottawa
John McCain flew to Ottawa this week. Toronto’s Globe and Mail provides a Canadian perspective.
Japan-ASEAN Trade Pact
Japan ratified a free trade accord with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on Saturday as the country’s divided parliament ended its session. Agence France Presse reports that under the deal, about 90% of trade between Asia’s largest economy and the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, which has a combined population of 550 million, will be tariff-free within 10 years.
Conspiracy To Murder
A British author says a senior official from the Rwandan war crimes tribunal flew to London last week to question Linda Melvern about the secret confessions of a 1994 Rwandan genocide organiser the then PM Jean Kambanda that she obtained for inclusion in her recently-published book, Conspiracy To Murder. More from the Saudi Gazette.
Sarkozy: No To EU Expansion without New Treaty
European Union leaders were in Brussels on Thursday night to discuss what to do after the Ireland “no” to the Lisbon Treaty. French Presidnent Sarkozy was clear that enlargement must be put on hold. Der Spiegel provides the coverage.
Here is the Thursday, June 19th, 2008 edition of interesting reads and events from around the world.
A Battle North of Kandahar
The New York Times reports that NATO and Afghan forces battled Taliban insurgents on Wednesday in this strategic district just a few miles north of the city of Kandahar.
Mbeki Meets with Mugagbe
South African President Thabo Mbeki met with Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday amid concerns about rising political violence in the country a week before the crucial run-off presidential election. All Africa covers this part of the story. In separate news, the BBC reports that Zimbabwean Television will not air ads for the opposition MDC. In other news from Zimbabwe, Agence France Presse reports that four Zimbabwe opposition activists were found dead near Harare on Thursday ahead of next week’s presidential election with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change blaming the deaths on the ruling party.
SK President Lee Myung-bak Apologizes for Beef Row
South Korea’s embattled President Lee apologized on Thursday for a U.S. beef import deal that sparked mass street protests against his new government and will sack close aides to try to halt a dramatic slide in public support. The story from Reuters.
Bush Vetoes US Farm Bill, Congress Overrides
President Bush vetoed the farm bill again on Wednesday, but Congress quickly reapproved the $290 billion bill overriding the President for just the second time during his Administration. The Washington Post provides the coverage. President Bush Bush contends that the legislation, which extends agriculture and nutrition programs, is too expensive and too generous with subsidies for farmers. It’s rare but I agree with the President. Subsidies total $40 billion, about a quarter of that for corn. The corn subsidies could actually balloon depending on the market price for corn. Again from the Washington Post though it is unlikely in the near future as a result of the Iowa floods which have seen corn prices shoot up past $7 a bushel. A year ago, corn prices were $3.25 a bushel.
Malaysian PM Badawi Faces No Confidence Vote
The Asia Sentinel reports that Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is now facing a no confidence vote, one that may end his political career.
Inflation in Finland
Inflation is a serious threat to Finland, warned Jyrki Katainen (cons), the Finnish finance minister, in an interview with the Finnish News Agency (STT) on Wednesday. For example food prices in May were up 10.0% compared to the previous year. According to Mr Katainen most of the price rises are due to circumstances outside of Finland that are beyond the country’s control. Finance ministry calculations suggest that without price rises in oil and food, inflation in Finland would be only at 2.5%, instead of the current 4.0%.
Europe to Ban Incandescent Lightbulbs
According to Der Spiegel, the European Union is planning to implement a phase-out of energy-wasting, climate-killing incandescent lightbulbs, starting next year. They will be replaced by energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulbs, which last 10 times longer. An energy-saving compact fluorescent lightbulb uses one-fifth of the energy required by a conventional incandescent bulb and lasts 10 times longer. It may cost a little more than a traditional lightbulb, but the investment pays for itself many times over.
Protests in Chile over Education Bill
With next door neighbor Argentina embroiled in a three month long crisis, Chileans took the streets to protest a new government education policy. Police are using tear gas and water cannon in several Chilean cities to scatter thousands of students and school teachers. The protesters say the education bill fails to meet their demands for greater national control over education.
Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe has pledged that he would never allow the opposition Movement for Democratic Change to rule the country.
“It shall never happen… as long as we are alive and those who fought for the country are alive,” Mugabe said on Saturday. The president said “We shall never, never accept anything that smells of … the MDC. These pathetic puppets taking over this country? Let’s see. That is not going to happen.”
So why have an election? The news from Zimbabwe is not good. Once the breadbasket of Africa, today Zimbabwe is the basket case of Africa. We are watching an entire country disappear before our very eyes. And the international community is complicit for allowing it to happen. It’s time to send in the tanks otherwise we will witness another horrific African tragedy that will cost hundreds of thousands of lives. Robert Mugagbe must be deposed by hook or by crook or by international intervention.
It is clear that in the elections of 29 March 2008 that Robert Mugagbe lost overwhelmingly. Stunned by this unexpected development and frightened at the prospect of being of thrown office, Mugagbe and his cohorts which includes the army did not know what to do and so they delayed the results and played for time. Weeks went by before the full results were known and in that time Mugagbe hatched his new plan to remain in power. He would permit a second round, claiming the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and its leader Morgan Tsvangirai failed to win 50% of the vote. After the recount and the verification of the results, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) announced on May 2 that Tsvangirai won 47.9% and Mugabe won 43.2%, thereby necessitating a run-off which will be held on 27 June 2008. Despite Tsvangirai’s continuing claims to have won a first round majority, the MDC is participating in the second round. Or at least trying to because they keep on getting arrested and charged with treason or worse simply murdered.
And the intimidation is not limitied to the leaders of the MDC, it is widespread and systematic across the whole of Zimbabwe. Food aid has been stolen and diverted from feeding opposition stronghold areas and given to troops loyal to the army. Travel between regions has been impeded. This is not a free and fair election. President Mbeki of South Africa, the one power in the region, that can bring an end to Zimbabwe’s misery sits on the sidelines pretending he can do nothing. It’s actually in his own self-interest to act and depose Mugagbe by force because otherwise he is going to have a million plus refugees streaming into South Africa. Mugagbe is not hero, he is one of the worst villians in power and in continent that has seen its fair share of devastating leaders, among the most brutal. It’s time to act.
A Summary of the News on Zimbabwe
From the UK Guardian:
The soldiers and ruling party militiamen herded the people of Rusape to an open field at the back of the local sports club and made their point crystal clear.
“Your vote is your bullet,” a soldier told the terrified crowd. Everyone knew what he meant.
“They are saying we will die if we don’t vote for Robert Mugabe, that there will be war if we don’t vote for Robert Mugabe,” said a wary young woman holding a small child. Mugabe says it too in speeches across the land ahead of next week’s run-off presidential election against the man who beat him in the first round, Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mugagbe or a bullet. Hell of a choice. This is not an election, it’s not even vote-rigging. This is a total sham. The world needs to know and the world needs to act.
