africom related news clips january 26, 2011

8/7/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips January 26, 2011

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office26 January 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

US Sends Senior Envoy to Tunisia (Voice of America)(Tunisia) The Obama administration has sent a senior envoy to Tunisia to underscore

U.S. support for efforts there to transition from authoritarian rule to democracy. TheUnited States is offering Tunisian authorities help in organizing promised elections.

Key diplomat says U.S. approves of Tunisia revolt (Los Angeles Times)(Tunisia) The top U.S. diplomat for the Arab world gave Washington's firmendorsement of the uprising that ousted Tunisia's longtime ruler, even as a crisis overthe North African country's transitional government continued to simmer.

Washington facing the ire of the Tunisian people (Voltairenet.org)(Tunisia) The big powers abhor political upheavals that escape their control and thwarttheir plans. The events that have electrified Tunisia for the past month are no exception.

Obama, Ki-Moon to Meet Ecowas Delegation (This Day)(Cote d'Ivoire) President Barack Obama would on Wednesday evening meet with adelegation from the Economic Council of West African States (ECOWAS) over thelingering presidential election crisis in Cote d'Ivoire, THISDAY has learnt.

UN Chief in Ivory Coast to Talk with Rival Leaders (Voice of America)(Cote d'Ivoire) The current head of the African Union is in Ivory Coast for anotherattempt to mediate the country's political crisis.

U.S. envoy sees agriculture as focus area for ties with Kenya in 2011 (Xinhua)(Kenya) Agriculture will be a key support area by the United States to Kenya in 2011 byhelping the country to improve its research capacity and provision of humanitarianfood at the time of drought, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger said onTuesday.


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Robert Mugabe alone cannot decide when elections are held - US (The ZimbabweMail)(Zimbabwe) United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray says Zimbabweansmust have a say on when and how the country should hold elections, a day afterPresident Robert Mugabe said he may call for early polls.

Ghailani Is Sentenced to Life in Prison (Wall Street Journal)(Pan Africa) A former Guantanamo detainee was sentenced to life in prison Tuesdayafter he was convicted last year of conspiracy in the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies inAfrica.

Sudan: Post-Referendum Issues and Implications for Africa (The Namibian)(Sudan) As we enter the second decade of the 21st century, a new state of SouthernSudan is to be born on July 9 2011. As is the case now, the southerners voted in theirmillions for the independence of the southern Sudan.

Somali Piracy Threat Requires New Courts, Jails, Laws, UN Says (Bloomberg)(Somalia) The failure of international efforts to deter piracy off the coast of Somaliarequires urgent action, including creation of new laws, courts and jails, according to areport today to the United Nations Security Council.

Somali refugees storm United Nations office in South Africa (All Headline News)(Somalia) Hundreds of Somali refugees in South Africa on Tuesday stormed the officeof the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Cape Town.

Central African Republic candidates reject poll (AFP)(Central African Republic) Three of five candidates in the Central African Republic'spresidential elections said Tuesday they rejected the results "in advance" and demandedthe vote be annulled.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Websitey Work on first camp for Ivorian refugees in Liberia continues, says UN agencyy Rwandan rebel leaderwanted for alleged crimes in DR Congo sent to ICCy Angola: UN and partners applaud renewed commitment to eradicate polio

------------------------------------------------------------------------- UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 5:30 pm; New America FoundationWHAT: Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop GenocideWHO: Rebecca Hamilton, Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation, Author,Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop Genocide; Juan E. Mndez,UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment


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or Punishment, Visiting Professor, Washington College of Law; Andrs Martinez,Director, Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program, New America FoundationInfo: http://www.newamerica.net/events/2011/fighting_for_darfur

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, February 2, 2011, 10:00 am; US Institute of Peace

WHAT: Perspectives on Sudans ReferendumWHO: Linda Bishai, Senior Program Officer, US Institute of Peace; Jok Madut Jok,Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow, US Institute of Peace; Timothy Luccaro, ProgramSpecialist, US Institute of Peace; Jon Temin, Moderator, Director, Sudan ProgramUS Institute of PeaceInfo: http://www.usip.org/events/perspectives-sudans-referendum

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday and Wednesday, February 8-9, 2011; National DefenseIndustrial Association, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DCWHAT: Defense, Diplomacy, and Development: Translating Policy into Operational

CapabilityWHO: Keynote Speakers include ADM Michael Mullen, USN, Chairman, Joint Chiefsof Staff; BG Simon Hutchinson, GBR, Deputy Commander, NATO Special OperationsForces Headquarters; ADM Eric T. Olson, USN, Commander, U.S. Special OperationsCommand; Gen Norton A. Schwartz, USAF, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air ForceInfo: http://www.ndia.org/meetings/1880/Pages/default.aspx---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FULL ARTICLE TEXT

US Sends Senior Envoy to Tunisia (Voice of America)

The Obama administration has sent a senior envoy to Tunisia to underscore U.S.support for efforts there to transition from authoritarian rule to democracy. The UnitedStates is offering Tunisian authorities help in organizing promised elections.

The dispatch to Tunisia of Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs JeffreyFeltman underscores U.S. interest in seeing a peaceful and democratic outcome to thepolitical upheaval there that ousted President Zine Abidine Ben Ali.

Weeks of street protests and rioting drove Mr. Ben Ali, who had ruled the country for22 years, into exile on January 14.

Unrest has continued with protestors demanding that holdovers from the previousgovernment be purged from the new transitional administration.

Announcing the Feltman mission several hours after his departure for Tunis, StateDepartment Spokesman P. J. Crowley said the assistant secretary will seek a "first hand


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view" of the situation and sound out the new authorities on how the United States canassist in building a stable democracy.

"We support the transition that is underway, and we hope that this transition will bepeaceful. We understand that Tunisian civil society has questions about the nature of

the government. Clearly after decades of mistrust, there are questions that the peoplecontinue to raise. The government is trying to be responsive. W e know that this is hard.And we know that the government will at times have missteps along the way," he said.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday telephoned Tunisian Prime MinisterMohammed Ghannouchi to commend the interim governments call for electionswithin six months and initial steps to investigate corruption and past abuses.

Mr. Ghannouchi has held the post since 1999 and is himself the target of public protestsfrom trade union and other factions pressing him to step aside.

Crowley said U.S. officials are encouraged by steps the interim government has taken tobegin dialogue with civil society groups, release prisoners and ease media curbs. But hesaid that a "lot of work" remains to be done.

He said part of Feltmans mission will be to evaluate how the United States can supportthe electoral process in Tunisia, perhaps through technical assistance by U.S. non -governmental groups that have been active in democratization efforts elsewhere.

Feltman, a former U.S. ambassador to Lebanon, is to have a second day of meetings in

Tunis on Tuesday before returning to Washington.------------------Key diplomat says U.S. approves of Tunisia revolt (Los Angeles Times)

Tunis, Tunisia The top U.S. diplomat for the Arab world gave Washington's firmendorsement of the uprising that ousted Tunisia's longtime ruler, even as a crisis overthe North African country's transitional government continued to simmer.

Jeffrey D. Feltman, assistant secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs, also saidWashington had offered the fragile new government "whatever support is appropriateand requested" in conducting a nationwide election.

The transitional government has promised to hold balloting in six months. But for now,it faces a mounting protest movement opposed to the inclusion in the Cabinet of formerfigures in the deposed regime of President Zine el Abidine ben Ali, who fled thecountry for Saudi Arabia on Jan. 14.


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Tunisia is starkly divided over the inclusion of key members of Ben Ali's former rulingparty in critical positions. Activists backed by powerful labor unions have set up arowdy encampment outside the prime minister's office and demanded the removal ofthose officials from the government.

"Somebody is stealing our revolution," said Mastori Salman, among the increasinglymilitant activists mounting a challenge against the government of Prime MinisterMohamed Ghannouchi, who held the same post in the ousted regime. "Ben Ali said weare terrorists. But we are revolutionaries."

Feltman, who served as a diplomat here in the 1990s, said the ongoing political rift"symbolizes a new spirit" in the country.

"What's going to give any government real credibility are elections," Feltman toldreporters at the U.S. Embassy. "To get to credible elections after having a system that so

restricted the role of civil society and political parties is going to take some time andeffort."

The diplomat said he told Tunisian ministers that Washington supports efforts to freepolitical prisoners, end media restrictions and lift bans on political parties ahead of thevote. "We have long called for greater political space in Tunisia," he said.

Feltman flatly rejected reports, circulating in local and European media, that the Obamaadministration pushed Ben Ali out of office. "The U.S. was not involved in the ouster ofBen Ali," he said.------------------

Washington facing the ire of the Tunisian people (Voltairenet.org)

The big powers abhor political upheavals that escape their control and thrwart theirplans. The events that have electrified Tunisia for the past month are no exception, quitethe contrary.

It is therefore rather surprising that the international mainstream media, staunchcohorts of the world domination system, should suddenly acclaim the "JasmineRevolution", churning out reports on the Ben Ali family fortune which they had upuntil now turned a blind eye to, despite their ostentatious luxury. Western countries arechasing after a situation that has slipped from their hands and which they are trying torein in by painting it as it suits them.

First and foremost, what must be borne in mind is that the Ben Ali regime wassupported by the United States, Israel, France and Italy.


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Regarded by Washington as a country of minor importance, Tunisia fulfilled a securityrole more than an economic one. In 1987, a soft coup dtat deposed President HababBourguiba in favour of his Interior Minister Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, a CIA agenttrained at the U.S. Army Intelligence School, Fort Holabird, Maryland. According torevelations that have recently come to light, it would seem that Italy and Algeria were

akin to that power takeover [1].

The minute he settled into the Republican Palace, Ben Ali set up a military commissionin conjunction with the Pentagon, which has met in May of each year. Wary of thearmy, he relegated it to a marginal role, keeping it under-equipped with the exceptionof the Tunisian Special Forces which train with the U.S. military and take part in theregional "anti-terrorism" device. The ports of Bizerte, Sfax, Sousse and Tunis hostNATO vessels and, in 2004, Tunisia joined the "Mediterranean Alliance" under NATOauspices.

Not expecting anything in economic terms, Washington allowed Ben Ali tosystematically bleed his country. Every expanding firm was requested to yield 50% ofits capital plus the accompanying dividends. However, things turned sour in 2009 whenthe ruling family, which jumped from greed to cupidity, intended to impose theirextortion racket also to U.S. firms.

For its part, the State Department began to prepare for the inevitable demise of thepresident. The dictator meticulously eliminated his rivals and had no heir. A solutionhad to be found and some sixty figures apt to play a political role in the future werebrought on board. They each followed a three-month training at Fort Bragg and

received a monthly salary [2].

Although President Ben Ali parroted the anti-Zionist rhetoric prevailing in the Muslimworld, Tunisia extended several facilities to the Jewish colony of Palestine. Israelicitizens of Tunisian descent were authorised to travel to and trade in the country. ArielSharon was even invited to Tunis.

The revolt

The desperate act on 17 December 2010 of Mohamed el-Bouzazi, a street vendor who sethimself on fire after the police confiscated his cart and produce, touched off the initialprotests. This personal drama, which resonated with the Sidi Bouzid residents, sparkeda general uprising. The clashes spread to several regions before engulfing the capital.The General Union of Tunisian Workers, best known under its French acronym UGTT,and lawyers groups joined in the demonstrations, thus sealing spontaneously analliance between the popular and middle classes around a structured organisation.


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On 28 December, President Ben Ali attempted to regain control of the situation, makinga bed-side visit to young Mohamed el-Bouazizi and addressing the nation that sameevening. Yet his televised speech exposed his obliviousness. He treated the protestors asextremists and paid agitators, promising a ferocious crackdown. Instead of appeasingthe people, his intervention transformed a popular revolt into an insurrection. The

Tunisian people are not only mobilised against social injustice, they are also questioningthe political power system.

Producer and Nessma TV magnate Tarak Ben Ammar is an associate of SilvioBerlusconi and the uncle of Yasmina Torjman, wife of French Industry Minister EricBesson. It became clear to Washington that "our agent Ben Ali" had lost the reins. TheNational Security Council, Jeffrey Feltman [3] and Colin Kahl [4] concurred that thetime had come to drop this spent dictator and to organise his succession before theinsurrection could morph into a genuine revolution, i.e. a challenge to the system.

The media were enlisted, in Tunisia and the rest of the world, to circumscribe theinsurrection. The attention of the Tunisian people would be focused on social issues, thecorruption of the Ben Ali family, and press censorship. Anything to stave off a debateon the reasons that, 23 years earlier, had prompted Washington to invest the dictatorand to protect him while he pilfered the countrys economy.

On 30 December, private Nessma TV channel defied the regime by broadcasting protestreports and organising a debate on the need for a democratic change. Nessma TV isowned by the Italo-Tunisian group of Tarak Ben Ammar and Silvio Berlusconi. Themessage rang out loud and clear for those who were still sitting on the fence: the regime

was split.

Concurrently, U.S. experts (as well as Serbian and German) were detailed to Tunisia tochannel the insurrection. Exploiting the collective emotional wave, they attempted toplant their slogans during the demonstrations. Attuned to the techniques of the so-called "coloured revolutions", fashioned by the Albert Einstein Institution of Gene Sharp[5], they shone the spotlight on the dictator to forestall a debate on the countryspolitical future: "Ben Ali, out" [6]

The insurrection

The Tunisians continued to spontaneously brave the regime, stage massive streetdemonstrations, and set fire to police precints and shops owned by Ben Ali.Courageously, some have even shed their own blood. Pathetic and overtaken by events,the dictator stiffened without understanding.

On 13 January, he ordered the army to open fire on the crowd, but the Army Chief ofStaff refused. Having been contacted by Africom Commander General William Ward,


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General Rachid Ammar informed the President that Washington was enjoining him toflee.

In France, kept in the dark about Washingtons decision, the Sarkozy government failedto analyse the various repositions. Foreign Minister Michle Alliot-Marie set out to save

the dictator by dispatching law-enforcement specialists and equipment, enabling him to

hold on to power through more orthodox means [7]. A cargo plane was chartered onFriday the 14th. By the time customs formalites were completed in Paris, it was too late:Ben Ali no longer needed the aid; he had already taken flight.

His erstwhile friends, in Washington and Tel-Aviv, Paris and Rome, denied himasylum. He ended up in Riyad. He is said to have taken with him 1,5 tons of gold stolenfrom the Public Treasury, which the authorities still in place have denied.

Marketing : the logo of the "Jasmine Revolution" is unveiled at the exact moment of Ben

Alis flight. In the center, a raised fist, which is the ex-communist symbol used in all the

"colour revolutions" since Otpor in Serbia. From Washingtons perspective, what isimportant is to affirm that the events are over and that they are part of a liberalinternational order. Also, the title appears in English and the Tunisian flag has beenreduced to a simple ornament on the letter R. A bit of jasmine to calm the Tunisians

The U.S. communications strategists tried next to blow the whistle to call the end of thegame, while the outgoing Prime Minister was assembling an interim government. It isat this juncture that the press agencies launched the "Jasmine Revolution" mantra (inEnglish, if you please!), assuring us that the Tunisian population had just lived through

its "colour revolution". A national unity government was on the rails ... and all is wellthat ends well!

The epithet "Jasmine Revolution" evokes bitter memories to Tunisians of oldergenerations: it is the same one alread used by the CIA in its communications at the timeof the 1987 coup that placed Ben Ali in the seat of power.

The Western press - henceforth better controlled by the Empire than its Tunisiancounterpart - turned its floodlights on Ben Alis doubtful fortune. No mention wasmade of the report by IMF Managing Dominique Strauss-Kahn commending Tunisiasdecision-makers in glowing terms just a few months after the 2008 hunger riots [8]. Norwas any mention made of the latest Transparency International report stating thatTunisia was less corrupt than certain members of the European Union, such as Italy,Romania and Greece [9].

The regime militia which had terrorised the civilian population during the riots, forcingit to organise through self-defense committees, disappeared from the scene overnight.


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The Tunisians, considered as depoliticised and malleable, proved to be extremelymuture. They realised that the Mohammed Ghannouchi cabinet is tantamount to theearlier version without Ben Ali. Despite some cosmetic changes, the bosses of the soleruling party (RCD) held on to the key ministries. The UGTT trade unionists refused tobe associated with the U.S. manipulation and walked out of the coalition government.

An opponent "made in the USA". With a little help from Nessma TV magnate Tarak BenAmmar, film director Moufida Tlati was nominated Culture Minister. Less in thelimelight, but far more significant, Ahmed Njib Chebbi, a National Endowment forDemocracy pawn, was given the Ministry of Regional Development. The obscure SlimAmanou, a blogger familiar with the methods of the Albert Einstein Institute, filled theslot of Youth and Sports Secretary under the label of the shadowy Pirate Party attachedto the self-proclaimed hacker group Anonymous.

The real of power is no longer the Republican Palace, but the Embassy of the United

States. This is where the Ghannouchi government was concocted. Located on theoutskirts of Tunis, in a vast gated campus, the Embassy is a gigantic bunker that housesthe main CIA and MEPI functions for North Africa and part of the easternMediterranean. Needless to say, the U.S. Embassy did not invite the Communist Partyto be part of the so-called "government of national unity".

On the other hand, preparations got underway for the return of Rachid Ghannouchi(unrelated to the Prime Minister), a legendary leader of the Rennaissance Party(Ennahda) who was exiled in London. A Muslim (formerly of the Salafist tendency), heextols the compatibility between Islam and democracy and has been preparing a

reconciliation with the Democratic Progressive Party headed by his friend Ahmed NjibChebbi. In case of a coalition government breakdown, this pro-US duo could offer anillusion of change.

Tunisian street power is still alive, with the people expanding the slogan that had beenhanded down to them: "RCD, out!". In the villages and workplaces, they stalk thecollaborators of the fallen regime.

On the road to Revolution?

Contrary to what has been reported by the Western media, the insurrection is not yetover and the Revolution has not yet commenced. It is clear that Washington haschanneled nothing at all, except for western journalists. Today, even more than lastDecember, the situation is out of control.------------------Obama, Ki-Moon to Meet Ecowas Delegation (This Day)


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Ajumogobia, who is also the chairman, Council of Foreign Ministers of ECOWAS, hadas Guest Columnist in Monday's edition of THISDAY, called for global support forECOWAS' bid to use legitimate force to oust Gbagbo.

Though UN had condemned Gbagbo's bid to sit-tight in office and also clearly

acknowledged Ouattara as the elected President of the West African country,Ajumogobia, in his column in THISDAY, specifically requested for a UN SecurityCouncil resolution authourising "military force as a last option."

He argued that "would complement ECOWAS' own commitment to dialogue anddiplomacy, and would also reinforce the need to take steps now to protect the civilianpopulation and stem the growing number of civilian casualties and deaths."

Last month, President Obama had in a phone conversation with President GoodluckJonathan, who is also the chairman of ECOWAS, commended Nigeria 's resolute

leadership in standing behind the Ivorien people and for insisting that the result of theNovember 28, 2010 presidential rerun must be respected.------------------UN Chief in Ivory Coast to Talk with Rival Leaders (Voice of America)

The current head of the African Union is in Ivory Coast for another attempt to mediatethe country's political crisis.

Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika plans to meet separately with Ivory Coast'sincumbent leader Laurent Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara, who most countries

recognize as the winner of November's presidential election.

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and other envoys have tried to mediate thestandoff with no success. Mr. Gbagbo is refusing to give up power, despite strongpressure from the AU and the United Nations.

At least two African leaders have broken with the AU stance that Mr. Gbagbo shouldstep down.

On Tuesday, Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper reported that President YoweriMuseveni is against recognition of Mr. Ouattara as president. The paper quotes Mr.Museveni's spokesman as saying the outcome of the November election should beinvestigated.

Last week, South African President Jacob Zuma said both the Gbagbo and Ouattaracamps had raised serious allegations about election irregularities.


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Envoys from the Economic Community of West African States plan to discuss IvoryCoast later this week with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington and U.N.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York

ECOWAS has threatened to remove Mr. Gbagbo by force if he does not yield power.

On Monday, Nigeria's foreign minister said ECOWAS wants a U.N. Security Councilresolution authorizing the use of force in Ivory Coast.------------------U.S. envoy sees agriculture as focus area for ties with Kenya in 2011 (Xinhua)

NAIROBI - Agriculture will be a key support area by the United States to Kenya in 2011by helping the country to improve its research capacity and provision of humanitarianfood at the time of drought, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael Ranneberger said onTuesday.

"Through the Feed the Future Initiative, working with Kenya, we have affirmed acommitment to achieve significant agricultural development objectives, includingalleviating the suffering of the over 2 million Kenyans who are chronically foodinsecure," he told members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kenya (ACCK).

ACCK is a grouping of American investors in Kenya, with membership open toAmerican companies, multinationals, and local companies having strong business tieswith the United States.

The U.S. government last year announced a donation of 29 million dollars to the Kenya

Agriculture Research Institute (KARI) to support agricultural research through the Feedthe Future initiative.

The U.S. envoy, however, said real success in the agricultural sector will requireKenya's commitment to the political and economic reform agenda, including landreform, a strengthened fight against corruption, restructuring of the 34 agriculture-related parastatals and removing protectionist tariffs and import licenses that increasethe price of basic foodstuffs to the poor.

Kenya is an agriculture based economy with an estimated 84 per cent of the workingpopulation involved in on agriculture activity or the other. Agriculture is estimated toprovide a quarter of the country's gross domestic product.

The ambassador said another key focus area for the Unites States in Kenya in 2011 willbe President Obama's Global Health Initiative, which aims to strengthen health servicesfor mothers and children, while building sustainability to allow countries to takegreater responsibility for their health care systems. "Kenya's 560 million dollars


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program to fight HIV/AIDS is the largest that we have with any country in the world,"he said.

The embassy will also focus on empowering the youth to be aware politically to avoidthem being used by rogue politicians to cause chaos.

The embassy supports the National Youth Forum, a conglomeration of youth groupsdrawn from across Kenya with a common agenda to promote peaceful reform.

He said Washington will support the forum as it plans to establish the County YouthForums in every county.

"We are establishing 10 million dollars youth-led and youth- owned Youth Innovate forChange Fund that will provide youth with opportunities to access capital for economicdevelopment."

The ambassador said his country welcomes the progress that has been made in theimplementation of the new constitution.

He said Kenya has made positive progress through the free primary education,infrastructure development particularly through extensive expansion of the roadnetwork, procurement, civil service, electoral reforms, and increased efficiency in taxcollection.

He however said the challenge of making Kenya a middle income state as envisioned

by Vision 2030 requires more efforts towards economic growth--

sustained double-

digitgrowth rates over the next years.

He challenged the Chamber to help increase trade between the Unites States and Kenyaand increase the inflows to Kenya from the Unites States that currently average 3 billiondollars annually.

The flows include U.S. official assistance, trade, U.S. private sector investment,remittances, tourism, humanitarian assistance, and contributions to internationalfinancial institutions and the United Nations.------------------Robert Mugabe alone cannot decide when elections are held - US (The ZimbabweMail)

HARARE - United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, Charles Ray says Zimbabweansmust have a say on when and how the country should hold elections, a day afterPresident Robert Mugabe said he may call for early polls.


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Ray made the statement after handing over grants worth more than US$100 000 toeight community based groups under the Ambassadors Self Help Fund in Harare.

The decision on elections or anything else to do with the fate of Zimbabwe has to restin the hands of Zimbabweans. Ideally, that should be all Zimbabweans have a say on

the fate of the country, Ray told journalists.

It really has to be left on Zimbabweans to decide when and how you should holdelections here.

There has been heated debate in Zimbabwe on when the country should hold polls afterMugabe said he might call for general elections early before the constitutional makingprocess ends.

Mugabe said this on his return from holiday on Sunday.

The constitution making process is part of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) roadmap to free and fair elections after disputed polls in 2008.

Meanwhile, the US government donated US$100 000 to support projects that includebuilding classrooms, borehole drilling for communities to access clean water,horticulture and a wildlife and conservation project.

Beneficiaries of the US grants are Chinamora Secondary School, Kushinga nutritionalgarden, Kuvaka Ishungu, Kwayedza Secondary School, Muturi horticulture producers

association, Nyangombe Wildlife project, Rupare High School and Tichakunda projectin Hatcliffe.

Ray commended the community groups for coming up with projects that are benefitingtheir communities.

You all work tirelessly to improve the lives of those around you. We honour andcommend you for your work, Ray told the beneficiaries of the grants.

The US ambassador said his government has pumped in three million dollars since 1980to support community groups to embark on projects like education, food aid, andincome generating projects and improve water and sanitation.------------------Ghailani Is Sentenced to Life in Prison (Wall Street Journal)

NEW YORKA former Guantanamo detainee was sentenced to life in prison Tuesdayafter he was convicted last year of conspiracy in the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies inAfrica.


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Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, 36 years old, was the first former detainee of the prison inGuantanamo Bay, Cuba, to be tried in a U.S. civilian court.

In November, a jury convicted Mr. Ghailani of one count of conspiracy but acquitted

him of more than 280 other counts in connection with two truck bombings outside U.S.embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 people and injured thousands.

"It was a cold-blooded killing and maiming of innocent people on an enormous scale,"U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday as hesentenced Mr. Ghailani, who is Tanzanian, to life in prison.

"The very purpose of the crime was to create terror by causing death and destruction ona scale hard to imagine in 1998 when it occurred." As part of the sentence, the judge alsoordered Mr. Ghailani to pay $33 million in restitution.

Lawyers for Mr. Ghailiani, who has been in U.S. custody since 2004, including atGuantanamo from 2006 to 2009, argued for leniency. They cited his mistreatment whilein U.S. custody. Mr. Ghailani didn't address the court himself during the sentencing.

While being held by the Central Intelligence Agency, Mr. Ghailani was subjected to so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, according to his lawyers. His lawyers havesaid those techniques amount to torture. "Nothing developed through the history of oursystem of justice ever envisioned the use of torture in a criminal matter," said PeterQuijano, one of Mr. Ghailani's lawyers.

The judge said his sentencing decision shouldn't be taken as condoning anymistreatment Mr. Ghailani may have suffered. He said Mr. Ghailani may have remediesfor any "any illegal and improper actions by our government." The judge said: "Today isabout justice not only for Mr. Ghailani, but for the victims of his crimes."

During the trial, which lasted more than a month, lawyers for Mr. Ghailani had arguedthat he was duped by more sophisticated people into purchasing material used in abombing outside the U.S. embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

However, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Mr. Ghailani, who later became abodyguard for Osama bin Laden, was a full

-fledged member of the conspiracy.

Prosecutors claimed he knew what he was doing when he purchased a truck and othermaterials used in the Tanzanian bombing, including gas tanks containing pure oxygenand acetylene.

"To have a spouse murdered in the way I did has been excruciatingly painful," said SueBartley. Ms. Bartley lost her husband, Julian, the U.S. consul general in Nairobi, Kenya,


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vessel with 12 men on board belonging to the fleet of Bremen-based Beluga ShippingGmbH.

Lang, who said nine out of 10 captured pirates are released because there isnt sufficientcapacity to prosecute or incarcerate them, recommended establishment of three new

specialized courts. Two would be established in semi-autonomous Somaliland and

Puntland, and a third with Somali jurisdiction in Tanzania.

Civil War

A court cant be set up in Somalia itself because the nation has been in a state of civilwar for two decades and hasnt had a functioning central administration since the 1991ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre. Its Transitional Federal Government and 8,000African Union troops are battling Islamic militants for control of the capital Mogadishuand southern Somalia.

Lang also proposed new criminal laws for acts of piracy, construction of prisons,sharing of forensic information such as fingerprints, financial monitoring, and UNsanctions against what he called the dozen brains behind the pirates.

It is very important that the kingpins be tackled, Lang said. We know their names.

Piracy, Lang said, is slightly separate from terrorism, but we do see in Somalia somelinks.

Taken together, the recommended steps would cost about $25 million, Lang said.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice and other members of the Security Council expressedsupport for Langs proposals and a plan to adopt a draft resolution to implement them.

Creative Solutions

Piracy off the coast of Somalia threatens us all, Rice said. Much more work remainsto be done. My government remains open to exploring creative solutions to increaseand facilitate domestic prosecutions.

Somalias Ambassador Elmi Duale also endorsed the UN proposals, saying the situationrequires immediate action.

Lang said pirates are better organized and use increasingly sophisticated weaponry andtechnology such as global satellite positioning systems. He also cited the emergence ofa real industry of negotiators and interpreters.


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Pirates are becoming the masters of the Indian Ocean, he said.------------------Somali refugees storm United Nations office in South Africa (All Headline News)

Hundreds of Somali refugees in South Africa on Tuesday stormed the office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Cape Town.

Moqtar Mohammed, a Somali refugee who witnessed the incident, said he sawhundreds of Somalis forcing their way into the office, adding that guards escapedwithout injury.

Mohammed said a large number of South African policemen used tear gas and clubs todisperse the crowd. The Somalis entered inside the office with force in an attempt toget ID cards to stay in South Africa. Then, police forces came to the scene and beganbeating and torturing Somalis and also they used tear gas to us, Mohammed was

quoted by Mogadishu-based Shabelle radio station as saying.

The witness didnt mention if there are people detained during the operation. SouthAfrican police have not yet commented the event.

Since the fall of Somalias military regime led by Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991, morethan 1 million people have taken refuge in many nations around the world, includingSouth Africa.

In the last few years, South African gangs have launched brutal attacks against the

Somali community, burning refugees alive or beating them to death. South Africanpolice say that xenophobia and not criminality is the main motivating factor in theattacks.------------------Central African Republic candidates reject poll (AFP)

BANGUI Three of five candidates in the Central African Republic's presidentialelections said Tuesday they rejected the results "in advance" and demanded the vote beannulled.

Former premier minister Martin Ziguele, ex-defence minister Jean-Jacques Demafouthand a third challenger, Emile Gros

-Raymond Nakombo, called Sunday's vote a

"masquerade", in a statement from an opposition coalition.

Incumbent Francois Bozize has been tipped to win another term, with the president heousted in 2003, Ange-Felix Patasse, his strongest challenger, but there have beencomplaints of irregularities and fraud.


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The Collective of Forces for Change (CFC) coalition "rejects in advance and with forceand will not recognise the so-called results of this masquerade," according to thestatement read by spokesman Nicolas Tiangaye.

The CFC, a coalition of the opposition and former rebels, also groups 213 candidates in

the parliamentary elections that were also held on Sunday.

They "demand the cancellation of these elections, the results of which are fraudulentlymanipulated and in no way reflect the vote of the people because of their untransparentand unfree character," the statement said.

Voter turnout on Sunday was high, at about 70 percent according to the IndependentElectoral Commission (IEC), but the election was dogged by complaints of incorrectelectoral lists and fake voter cards.

The coalition said it would "use all legal means to have the will of the Centrafricanpeople respected," including referring their complaints to the election authority andConstitutional Court.

Provisional results are expected to be published beginning Friday, IEC spokesmanRigobert Vondo has said, after which the Constitutional Court has a fortnight tovalidate them or voice objections.

Bozize took power in a coup in 2003 and was elected in 2005 in a vote disputed by theopposition. He has been confident of reelection after a campaign in which he trumpeted

himself as "The Builder" of the country.

The vote, the culmination of a peace process launched in 2008 to integrate theopposition and rebels, was also poorly organised, according to observers, with votingmaterials not arriving in some areas in time for voting day.

Ziguele said Monday: "There were thousands of false cards about, and electoral listsexceeded by far the number of voters registered."

The Central African Republic ranks among the poorest countries in the world, despite awealth of raw materials such as uranium, diamonds and wood, with its progress heldback by years of instability.

Since the fall in 1979 of military dictator Jean-Bedel Bokassa, the former French colonyhas been rocked by regular rebellions and coups, hobbling development in a country of4.5 million people.------------------UN News Service Africa Briefs


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