MSF: DR Congo army has used vaccination clinics as "bait" to attack civilians in N. Kivu

The Congolese government says military operations in the area have been suspended to allow an inquiry into the UN allegations that soldiers had killed civilians.

From BBC News Friday, 6 November 2009:
DR Congo army 'used aid as bait'

The Democratic Republic of Congo army has used vaccination clinics as "bait" to attack civilians, says aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

Thousands of Hutu civilians were targeted when they visited sites set up to combat a measles epidemic, in areas controlled by the rebels, MSF said.

It denounced the attacks in North Kivu as "an abuse of humanitarian action".

On Monday the UN withdrew its support for a government army unit, accusing soldiers of killing 62 civilians.

MSF said the clinics were targeted despite security guarantees from all parties to enable the mass immunisation scheme to be carried out in the Maisisi district north-west of the city of Goma.

It said it was operating in support of the Ministry of Health, whose workers were unable to access regions controlled by the Hutu rebel group, the FDLR.

"We feel we were used as bait," said Luis Encinas, head of MSF programmes in Central Africa.

"How will MSF be perceived by the population now? Will our patients still feel safe enough to come for medical care?"

The targeting of civilians has been a major concern for charities operating in DR Congo and UN support for the government had been dependent on it respecting the neutrality of civilians.

The Congolese government says military operations in the area have been suspended to allow an inquiry into the UN allegations that soldiers had killed civilians.

The UN had been helping the army tackle the FDLR since January 2009.

The rebels have been at the heart of years of unrest in the region.

Their leaders fled to the area in 1994 after being accused of taking part in Rwanda's genocide and have since been fighting with the local Tutsi population and government troops.

Leading LRA rebel commander Charles Arop surrenders to Ugandan army?

Report from Sudan Tribune by Richard Ruati Friday 6 November 2009:
Leading LRA rebel commander surrenders to Ugandan army

November 5, 2009 (KAMPALA) — Lt Col Charles Arop, a leading Ugandan LRA rebels (the Army of the Lord’s Resistance), has decided to surrender himself to the Ugandan army. Arop is responsible for a bloodbath perpetrated on Christmas Day last year in Faradje in the DRC during which at least 143 people have died.

He was left with only one rebel fighter, so he had little choice," a spokesman of the UPDF, LT Col Felix Kulayigye has said on Thursday. The Army spokesperson spoke to Sudan Tribune via telephone hookup from Kampala. Not a long time ago, Arop commanded an army of 100 rebel fighters, most of them having been decimated after actions from the UPDF.

Kulayigye revealed that “the surrender of Arop took place near Faradje, adding that his surrender is very significant given the fact he was Commander within Kony units, however this has degenerated and declined the commanding chain of LRA.”

He added that, “the surrender of Arop is fortunately making the arrest of Kony the next target of UPDF.”

Asked whether how many Kony fighters are still in the jungles, he said at moment the Ugandan Army doesn’t know, however Kony is believed to be in isolation in Central Africa Republic.”

Lt Col Felix dismissed future peace negotiations with LRA, saying that, “the only options left for Kony are to capture or kill him, except if Kony signs the negotiated agreement.

He dismissed the media reports that, “the Operation Light Thunder is a failure,” he tabled the rescue of 450 abductees and the capture of 20 LRA officers as a success, he also said there are no LRA rebels in DR Congo anymore.

Speaking to local journalist of Yambio FM in Western Equatoria, Lt Col Charles Arop said that, he was arrested in 1994 from Northern Uganda; he has been the immediate operation commander of Joseph Kony.

Arop appealed to his former LRA colleagues those still close to Joseph Kony to put down their guns and come out of the jungles, he directed his appeal mainly to his former closed commanders like Dominic Okello and Smart, that by the mercy of God they should come back home “the children of Acholi have finished in the bush.”

He advised the remaining LRA soldiers in the bush not to fear to hand themselves in to the UPDF.

He further appealed to Joseph Kony himself to come out open, as the war has claimed the lives of innocent civilians and displaced many others.

The Ugandan Army spokesperson said that, Arop may decide to remain as civilian or politician, however if at all he committed any crime against humanity, legal actions shall be taken against him by a competent law institution.

He also revealed that, since the Light Thunder Operations started last December only 12 Ugandans armies have lost their lives. The Ugandan army hunts down LRA fighters in the DRC, Central African Republic and Southern Sudan. Since the attacks of the army on the LRA at the end of last year, this movement has dispersed in small units.

Cross-posted to Sudan Watch and Uganda Watch

FOCA: China, Africa hold summit to reinforce bilateral trade

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao can expect a warm welcome from Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and finance and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCA) starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has said the new meeting will lay down a “road map” to further boost cooperation between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Source: AFP report via Saudi GazetteFriday 06 November 2009. Copy:
China, Africa hold summit to reinforce bilateral trade

CAIRO - Leaders from China and Africa start a three day summit on Sunday that will again throw the spotlight on Beijing’s strategic sweep for energy, minerals and political influence in the continent.

China has over the past decade paid for dams, power stations, football stadiums across Africa and scooped up copper, oil and other fuel for its breakneck economic expansion from Algeria to Zimbabwe.

It has invested billions of dollars while raising eyebrows in the United States and its allies by pursuing the hunt for oil and other resources in Sudan, Somalia and other nations that the West has shunned.

Many African leaders praise China however for not preaching about rights and corruption. So despite neo-colonialist qualms, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao can expect a warm welcome from Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak and finance and foreign ministers from 50 countries when the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation starts in the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on Sunday.

FOCAC is held every three years and this will be the fourth since it started in 2000.

Ever-eager for raw materials and markets to sell its products, China has said the new meeting will lay down a “road map” to further boost cooperation between 2010 and 2012.

Direct Chinese investment in Africa leapt from $491 million in 2003 to $7.8 billion in 2008. Trade between the two has increased tenfold since the start of the decade.

Last year, China-Africa trade reached $106.8 billion - a rise of 45 percent in one year and on a par with with the United States, which estimated its two-way trade with sub-Saharan Africa at $104 billion for 2008.

Chinese imports from Africa last year were worth $56 billion, dominated by oil ($39 billion) and raw materials.

Its $56 billion of exports in 2008 consisted mainly of machinery, electrical goods, cars, motorbikes and bicycles.

Some in the West have accuse China of worsening repression and human rights abuses in Africa by supporting countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe.

US intelligence director Dennis Blair told a Congress committee in March that US agencies are keeping close tabs on China’s expanding influence in Africa, especially in oil-producing countries like Nigeria.

Cross-posted to:
China Tibet Watch
Egypt Watch
Ethiopia Watch
Kenya Watch
Niger Watch
Sudan Watch
Uganda Watch
Africa Oil Watch

AGI: Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative

From The Office of Tony Blair
November 05, 2009
Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative to create development through good governance becomes charity

The Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative has become a registered UK charity after creating a unique 'hands-on' approach to development and poverty eradication over the past eighteen months.

The Charity Commission approved the application from this relatively new organisation, which is underpinned by the belief that good governance and sustainable development are key to poverty eradication in the long term.

Tony Blair, founder of the Africa Governance Initiative (AGI), said:

"I'm extremely proud of our excellent project teams who are working in partnership with the governments of Rwanda and Sierra Leone to reduce poverty and develop new opportunities for growth.

"It is a privilege to work with leaders as talented and as committed to their people as President Koroma and President Kagame who represent a new generation of leaders in Africa with a commitment to building a new future for their people.

"The developed world needs to keep up its commitment to Africa expressed at the 2005 G8 Summit in Gleneagles. But lasting change in Africa will only come in the end from African solutions. By building the capacity to create sustainable long-term development through good governance and providing high level advice, we have already started to help deliver that change.

"And it won't stop here. Whilst developing our work in Sierra Leone and Rwanda, we want to launch new projects with other countries, sharing our knowledge, experience and expertise. We want more countries to develop sustainably, paving the way to a prosperous future.

"This work has reinforced my optimism about Africa's future, as well as my conviction that governance and growth are the key ingredients to effectively reduce poverty across the continent."

Commenting on Tony Blair and the work of the Africa Governance Initiative, Ernest Koroma, President of Sierra Leone, said:

"Mr. Blair has demonstrated an enduring commitment to Sierra Leone and its people. The work comes at a critical stage in Sierra Leone's development. I believe together we have an opportunity to ensure that Sierra Leone puts in place the policies, people and institutions to achieve real and lasting change."

Commenting on the work of AGI, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda said:

"What I would like people to know is that the type of partnership we have with Tony Blair is totally different from the type of consultancy people are used to. We work in very strong partnerships whereby not only gaps are filled where they exist, but there's also the notion of transfer of skills, mentoring, actually doing things that are measurable such that over a period of time, we will be able to know what kind of impact was made."

Cross-posted to:
China Tibet Watch
Egypt Watch
Ethiopia Watch
Kenya Watch
Niger Watch
Sudan Watch
Uganda Watch
Africa Oil Watch

Operation Natural Fire 10: Oct. 16-25 joint military exercise in N. Uganda involving about 450 U.S. troops

Here is some news of operation Natural Fire 10, a joint military excercise in northern Uganda involving about 450 U.S. troops.

From Peter Eichstaedt's blog post 12 October 2009 'Boots on the ground':

"... There's an interesting article in The East African, written by Keven Kelley, about the joint military exercise in northern Uganda involving about 450 U.S. troops.

According to Kelley's article, total troops will be about 1,000, with Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi each sending 150 soldiers to join 450 US military personnel in Kitgum for the October 16-25 event.

Labeled as operation Natural Fire 10, it is reportedly the U.S.'s largest African exercise this year. While this is clearly an exercise loaded with significance, it is the not the first such military exercise. Such joint maneuvers began across Africa in 1998, hence the name Natural Fire 10 -- this being the tenth. ..."

Read full story at this blog's sister site Uganda Watch, Saturday, 17 October 2009: Operation Natural Fire 10: Oct. 16-25 joint military exercise in N. Uganda involving about 450 U.S. troops

Africa is focused on prosperity, says Kagame

On September 21, the president of Rwanda Paul Kagame gave a speech at the International Peace Institute in New York in which he said Africa’s own private sector has been gaining strength in the mobile telecommunications that are changing the lives of millions of Africans by increasing access to information, facilitating education, health and trade, reaching into even the remotest villages.

The latest World Bank Group’s “Doing Business” Report shows that Sub-Saharan Africa is reforming at a fast pace, he said noting that Liberia, a recent graduate from conflict, has become the second most active reformer in Sub-Saharan Africa and Sierra Leone.

“On the political and diplomatic front, we have now exchanged ambassadors with the DRC – paving the way for further efforts in the more important realms of economic growth and development – including joint projects in energy, environment, trade and investment,” he said.

Source:   The Independent, Uganda, Tuesday, 6 October 2009 -
Africa is focused on prosperity, says Kagame

On September 21, the president of Rwanda Paul Kagame gave a speech at the International Peace Institute in New York in which he outlined how Africa is “pushing the boundaries of peace, reconciliation and development”.

He said stability, peace, and development make today’s Africa unrecognisable from that of yesteryear.

“Present day preoccupation in Africa revolves around creating prosperity, especially strategies to mitigate the ongoing global economic crisis – including strengthening markets, regional integration, productivity, competitiveness, science, technology and innovation,” he said.

He said this has enabled most African countries to sustain economic growth rates of above 5% before the current global economic crisis, attract bigger volumes of venture and equity capital, a larger share of foreign direct investment, and broaden its sources of trade and investment beyond traditional partners of North America and Western Europe to Asian countries, especially China and India.

The president said more importantly, Africa’s own private sector has been gaining strength in the mobile telecommunications that are changing the lives of millions of Africans by increasing access to information, facilitating education, health and trade, reaching into even the remotest villages.

The latest World Bank Group’s “Doing Business” Report shows that Sub-Saharan Africa is reforming at a fast pace, he said noting that Liberia, a recent graduate from conflict, has become the second most active reformer in Sub-Saharan Africa and Sierra Leone.

“Our country, Rwanda, is identified as the top reformer worldwide, moving from one hundred and forty third position to sixty seventh out of one hundred and eighty three countries,” he said. “With the exception of a few conflict hotspots, Africa is a different place today.”

He said the establishment of the African Union (AU), with a fundamentally different vision and mindset from its predecessor, the Organization of the African Unity (OAU), is indicative of this significant shift.

He described how the AU supports peace operations in Burundi in 2003, in Darfur Sudan in 2004.

Rwanda has participated in African and UN led peace missions in Darfur, where it remains the largest contributor.

Commenting on Rwanda’s neighborhood, President Kagame said together with the Democratic Republic of Congo, “a major breakthrough towards extending the boundaries of peace” has been achieved in a conflict that has roots in colonial and post-colonial history, whose current manifestation arose in mid-1994 when the government that committed genocide in Rwanda fled – with all its institutions and a hostage population of three million – into what was then Zaire.

“Regrettably, the “definition” of this problem kept changing in the minds of the international community – resulting in delaying the closure of this chapter of misery and havoc,” he said.

Initially, he said, the issue was about caring for the millions of refugees in camps in Eastern Zaire without a willingness to separate genuine refugees from the genocidal forces.

He said Rwanda’s intervention brought about another distorted definition of the problem – Rwanda was now accused of exploiting DRC’s natural resources employing the pretext of hunting genocide perpetrators.

“Numerous reports on this subject were written by the `experts’ – all of them were false and were not worthy of the resources and time spent on them,” he said.

“The question I always ask is this: if in real fact Rwanda does not have the technical capacity to exploit our own mineral resources, how can we take advantage of those in DRC – a country like many others in Africa that have not fully utilized these resources for decades for their own advancement?” he said.

He said Rwanda’s developmental achievements since 1994 are not based on illegal exploitation of the resources of another country.

“We are steadily improving the lives of our people because Rwanda is making all the effort to build a nation of laws, and institutions that promote security, peace, reconciliation and development,” he said, “We are painstakingly building the confidence of domestic and foreign investors to put their money into our hotels, energy projects, agriculture, construction industry, and ICT, on the basis of transparent governance and predictability.”

The president said a stable, peaceful and more integrated sub-region enhances these objectives.

He described how, in 2002, the United Nations asked Rwanda to withdraw from the DRC and set up MONUC, a peace keeping mission of 17,000 “at a very high price without corresponding results”.

“The genocidal forces continued to operate, destabilizing both the host country and Rwanda,” he said.

He said the situation only changed fundamentally when Rwanda and the DRC undertook a joint military operation that weakened the command and control structure of these forces, repatriated nearly 1,000 combatants and over 5,000 civilians to Rwanda, thus raising confidence at leadership and citizen levels for further collaboration.

“On the political and diplomatic front, we have now exchanged ambassadors with the DRC – paving the way for further efforts in the more important realms of economic growth and development – including joint projects in energy, environment, trade and investment,” he said.

He thanked many global leaders, including the United Nations secretary general, for their support but restated that “today’s Africa is increasingly one that seeks its own solutions as well as a different relationship with the international community – one based on mutual respect, trust, and a collaborative outlook.”

African oil producers meet in Brazzaville - APPA countries produce more than 98 percent of oil in Africa

The 16-member states of Association of Petroleum Producers in Africa (APPA) include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Mauritania, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Chad.

The APPA countries produce more than 98 percent of oil in Africa, with a combined daily production estimated at 10 million barrels per day.

Source: BRAZZAVILLE, Sept. 29, 2009 (Xinhua) African oil producers meet in Brazzaville on sustainable development --

The 16-member Association of Petroleum Producers in Africa (APPA) is holding an expert meeting in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, to discuss a common strategy for sustainable development.

The meeting, which runs from Monday to Wednesday, coincides with the 38th meeting of the APPA secretariat.

The experts are expected to examine a number of documents including a memorandum on the Eighth Action Plan of APPA 2011/2014.

A grouping of oil producing countries in Africa, the APPA sees much to be done to make it the best tool for socio-economic development for the people and the government of member countries.

" Despite the intended objectives of ensuring that the populations and the governments of the African countries benefit from the stocks of APPA, the association does not have, 22 years since its formation (1987), the required financial resources that can have an impact on the lives of the people and their development," said the representative of the Congolese hydrocarbon minister, Alfred Charles Sockath, at the opening of the meeting.

The 16 member states of APPA include Algeria, Angola, Benin, Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Mauritania, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan and Chad.

The APPA countries produce more than 98 percent of oil in Africa, with a combined daily production estimated at 10 million barrels per day.

Editor: Fang Yang

WOMEN OF AFRICA UNITED IN PEACE - “Bridge of Peace”

According to the following copy of an email received today, 'Eastern Congo is being destroyed in one hand by rebel groups supported militarily and diplomatically by Rwanda and Uganda. And on the other hand, by armed groups from Rwanda and Uganda who try to resist them inside Congo. There are also armed groups of Congolese origin who try to fight the invasion by neighbouring countries'.  Here is a copy of the email.

Women’s Federation for World Peace
The Ballroom, 43 Lancaster Gate, London W2 3NA
Sunday 20th September 2009

Dear sisters and brothers,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased and honoured to stand here in front of you to celebrate this day, the wonderful day of peace.

As you know peace is a state of being quiet. Peace is our common responsibility, a world responsibility.

Women and Peace are the same thing, they get married forever.

It is important that the United Nations (UN) decide a particular date devoted to peace.

Peace is so important to humanity that when it breaks down, basic human rights such as right to live, to security and to freedom cannot exist.

So, it is good to pause for a while and meditate on the state of the world peace, celebrate with those who are able to celebrate but also try not to forget those who are excluded from celebration today.

If in many parts of the world important progress has been made towards peace, we must sadly say that in other areas peace is very far from being achieved.

I would like to focus with you on those hot islands of insecurity, of war, of violence and of human rights abuses where men, women, and children have no cause of celebration today.

In doing so, we can better see who we may build Peace Bridge with and, finally, we will be able to see how peace bridges can be built with the aim of bringing more people to the celebration of next year’s Peace Day.

We know that the UN Resolution 1325 (31.10.2000) made specific provisions for the protection of women during armed conflict. But the reality in the DRC is the entire contrary.

1. What about women in Congo (DRC)

There are many parts of the world where peace does not exist. As it is the case in my country, the DRC. I would like to share with you what is going on in the Democratic Republic of Congo – DRC – with a particular stress on the fate of women and girls.

Women in Congo do not know peace long time ago; but they want peace.

What it happened?

As we know, the DRC is very rich in natural resources. Many western countries and multinational companies seek to control those natural resources. As they did during the slave trade and the colonisation of Africa, they have no intention of taking into account the rights and aspirations of the local populations:

· living as free people
· Having a normal life as human beings
· Having benefits from their natural resources and their trade
· Having a good government
· Peace within and outside of the Congo

These countries and multinational businesses just use violence. They usually help a rebel or a soldier to seize power by force. They assist him to hold power for several years and to become a strong man with very weak institutions, unable to hold him accountable. In fact the “so-called strong man” is a toy in the hands of western powers and of the multinational businesses.

In order to take control of the Congolese resources, some western political and capitalistic powers decided to topple Mobutu, a strong man they had helped to keep office for 32 years (1965-1997).

Since October 1996, the DRC has been victim of several invasions from Rwanda and Uganda. Among the actors of theses invasions, is the current president of the DRC, Joseph Kabila. He is president since January 2001, after the assassination of the then Laurent Désiré Kabila, the auto-proclaimed president of the DR Congo.

According to IRC (International Rescue Committee) more than 5 million Congolese died as a result of the permanent state of war and insecurity created and deliberately maintained by Rwanda and Uganda with the blessing of the International Community. It is worth stressing the specific ill-treatment reserved to women and girls in the eastern part of Congo.

According to MSF (Médecins sans Frontières or Doctors without borders) 200 000 women have been raped including old ladies aged more than 75 years and girls of 3 years of age. Women are easy targets when they go to the fields or when fetching water. They used to dig a hole to hide in when they are under threat of being raped. But many are not lucky enough to escape. How could they when their heads are loaded with wood, water or food for their families. Very often they are gang-raped or simply killed.

Those who are less lucky end up with their genitals cut off or fired at with live bullets. It is frequent that rape takes place in the very presence of the husband and children. Many female family members are raped in the presence of their male family members. As a result, they cannot keep living together. Families are broken and the social fabric of the community is torn apart.

In addition, HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases are intentionally spread as a policy of ethnic cleansing let alone the psychological trauma. Those abuses are being committed every single day for 13 years now but till now none of the abusers has been punished or even investigated.

Because of the massive killings of 1994 in Rwanda, the International Community does not have the courage to stop the Tutsi-dominated regime of Rwanda from destroying lives in the Congo.

Multinational companies are more than happy buying cheap minerals, coltan from Rwanda and timber, gold and diamond from Uganda. Arms’ trafficking has increased in the area, enabling small armed groups to grow. Two violent groups, FDLR opposed to Rwanda and LRA opposed to Uganda are devastating the Eastern Congo: killing, raping, looting and burning villages in total impunity.

As a result more than 1.8 million local people live “in internal displaced persons” camps where conditions are sub-human: no proper sanitation, no drinking water and malnutrition.

In short, Eastern Congo is being destroyed in one hand by rebel groups supported militarily and diplomatically by Rwanda and Uganda. And on the other hand, by armed groups from Rwanda and Uganda who try to resist them inside Congo. There are also armed groups of Congolese origin who try to fight the invasion by neighbouring countries.

It is sad to say that the rest of the Congo is not safe as well. Women and girls are saved nowhere throughout the Congo. Young girls are sold in the borders of Congo-Cabinda (Angola) by the same military forces. Women and girls are abused at the hands of the police, of the army and of the security services. Rape is common place in prison and in police stations. It has become a weapon of war to exterminate Congolese women. And so, massive violations to human rights are taking place in Congo in total impunity (www.hrw.org/en/node/76188/section/6). We need a deep change.

As a lawyer, I used to assist many victims, men as well as women and girls. At one point in time, I felt that the war against those abuses must be fought at a higher level. I decided to stand for presidency of the republic. I still strongly believe that moral and competent leadership is the first requirement of progress.

My struggle was and is to keep our people free, to make an area of happiness for populations, and have a good and accountable government in the rule of law with a great respect for human rights.

But as you know, I was arrested on trumped up charges of inciting an insurrection to overthrow Kabila’s regime, of burning the Supreme Court and of possessing weapons. I was brought before a military tribunal. It is a hard thing to be considered as guilty without committing neither any offense nor crimes. Since my prison I pay more attention if someone is accused.

I always say thanks to the courage of the judges, of my lawyers, the international and national communities’ pressure and prayers done for me worldwide, I was acquitted with my 7 assistants on 30 April 2007.

Prison in Congo is a very painful experience. In addition to being overcrowded, the prison is a very dirty place without proper sanitation or drinking water. Mosquitoes, worms and flies are everywhere. I was kept in a cell next to a stinking toilet. I developed a respiratory infection and was about to die. Thanks to a military doctor and to my family who sent the medicine, I was saved. Many prisoners die of hunger or lack of medical care because the Congolese government does not feed its prisoners and there is no medical assistance provided. Only family members do.

While in prison, a young girl aged 11 was arrested on suspicion of stealing 150 dollars. She was beaten up and raped. I did all I could to secure her release. Congolese prisons are real hell. I wanted to share all this with you because all those victims are voiceless, and of course excluded from celebration today.

I keep shouting on their behalf but their voices will have a better chance to be heard if we are many to shout on their behalf.

On behalf of peace, of world peace and development, the blood regime in the Congo must change for real democracy and help so women and children live in quiet area. With the exceptional force of the women of the world it can be done. I will be grateful if you could put this case on your agenda as well as talk of the endless suffering of Congolese women and, why not send letters to world deciders. We expect from them to take action to stop the killings of Congolese people and the under-development of the Congo with Kabila’s regime.

2. BUILDING BRIDGES OF PEACE

The first step to building peace is to become peace agents ourselves. We need to become peaceful people inside and around us and to take action to prevent the breakdown of peace and actively contribute to rebuild it with all our abilities. As individuals we need to be aware of what is going on in some troubled places of the world such as Somalia, Nigeria, Darfur, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and the Congo and decide to do something about peace in those areas. For example, we support the Iranian women of refugee camp of Ashraf in Irak by standing before the USA Embassy here in London since July 2009.

We may just choose to raise awareness or to organise events in support of women and children affected in those places. We need to be creative and to show active solidarity.

Secondly, I believe that our organisations, our churches and mosques need to work together towards peace-making and support for victims. More will be achieved when we join together to raise awareness or support victims.

Finally, working in a network with organisations and individuals who are in direct contact with those affected in troubled places will make a significant difference. I know from my own experience how hard is to fight injustice and human rights abuses from inside. Very often you end up fighting against powerful people, in high position, cruel and arrogant. In conditions like these, the backing of an outside network can be very helpful.

Those who work on the grass-roots level in troubled areas need our moral, financial and psychological backing. In doing so, we can save many lives from death or prison. Then we will be able to bring more women, men and children to celebration next year.

Women of Africa and of the world, let us stand together for peace.

Thank you for listening.

Marie-Therese Nlandu

Human Rights lawyer

Amnesty International Prisoner of conscience 2006-7

Oil to be found on Congolese side of Uganda's Lake Albert? (Tullow Oil)

SO far 800 million barrels of oil have been confirmed in Uganda, with an estimated total value of $50b. Ibrahim Kasita and Els De Temmerman interviewed Aidan Heavey, founder and chief executive officer of Tullow Oil, about the challenges and opportunities of the oil find for Uganda and East Africa. Full story at Uganda Watch. Excerpt:

You have just completed drilling the Ngassa-2 well on the shores of Lake Albert. How much oil do you estimate is under the lake?

Ngassa-2 is a huge structure. It runs out for about 150km2. We just drilled from the shoreline into the top of the structure and that gives an indication of what is there. We don't know exactly how much is there. It needs extra wells drilled out into the lake to establish the exact amount. But the range we are looking at is 100 million to 400 million barrels. That is only on the Ugandan side of the lake.

So there could be as much oil on the Congolese side?

We have no information at all on Congo in terms of seismic data or what the prospects are.

But from your experience, when there is oil on one side of the lake, is there also oil on the other side?

Absolutely. there should be oil on the Congo side. 

Would it make sense for the oil wells in Southern Sudan to be connected to Uganda?

It might make sense if you had a central hub for distribution in Uganda and have other countries linked to that central hub. That would be a cost-effective way of doing it. It would be great to have the cooperation between all the countries in the region through a central hub. That is one option. That would require the various governments talking to each other and putting together a central hub. If that is the way the governments want to go, we will work with that.

See Wikipedia info on Lake Albert and map Rivers and lakes of Uganda

Why is Africa poor? Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed

Quote of the Day
"Africa is not poor, it is poorly managed." - President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, 2009.

The following report also tells us that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf says she underestimated the problem of graft.

From BBC News, Monday, 24 August 2009:
Why is the African continent poor?
By Mark Doyle, BBC world affairs correspondent

The desolate, dusty town of Pibor on South Sudan's border with Ethiopia has no running water, no electricity and little but mud huts for the population to live in.

You would be hard put to find a poorer place anywhere on earth.

I went there as part of a journey across Africa to ask the question "Why is Africa poor?" for a BBC radio documentary series.

I was asked to investigate why it is that every single African country - with the exceptions of oil-rich Gabon and Algeria - is classified by the United Nations as having a "low" broadly defined Human Development Index - in other words an appalling standard of living for most of the people.

In Pibor, the answer to why the place is poor seems fairly obvious.

The people - most of whom are from the Murle ethnic group - are crippled by tribal conflicts related to disputes over cattle, the traditional store of wealth in South Sudan.

The Murle have recently had fights with the Lol Nuer group to the north of Pibor and with ethnic Bor Dinkas to the west.

In a spate of fighting with the Lol Nuer earlier this year several hundred people, many of them women and children, were killed in deliberate attacks on villages.

There has been a rash of similar clashes across South Sudan in the past year (although most were on a smaller scale than the fights between the Lol Nuer and the Murle).

And so the answer to why South Sudan is poor is surely a no-brainer: War makes you destitute.

Why is there so much war?

And yet South Sudan is potentially rich.

"It's bigger than Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi combined," the South Sudan Regional Co-operation Minister Barnaba Benjamin, enthused.

"Tremendous land! Very fertile, enormous rainfall, tremendous agricultural resources. Minerals! We have oil and many other minerals - go name it!"

The paradox of rich resources and poor people hints at another layer of explanation about why Africa is poor.

It is not just that there is war. The question should, perhaps be: "Why is there so much war?"

And the headline question is in fact misleading; Africans as a people may be poor, but Africa as a place is fantastically rich - in minerals, land, labour and sunshine.

That is why outsiders have been coming here for hundreds of years - to invade, occupy, convert, plunder and trade.

But the resources of South Sudan, for example, have never been properly developed.

During colonial rule South Sudan was used as little more than a reservoir of labour and raw materials.

Then independence was followed by 50 years of on-off war between the south and north - with northerners in Khartoum continuing the British tactic of divide and rule among the southern groups.

Some southerners believe this is still happening today.

Corruption

On my journey across the poorest, sub-Saharan swathe of the continent - that took in Liberia and Nigeria in the west, Sudan in the centre, and Kenya in the east - people explored the impact that both non-Africans and Africans had had on why Africa is poor.

Almost every African I met, who was not actually in government, blamed corrupt African leaders for their plight.

"The gap between the rich and the poor in Africa is still growing," said a fisherman on the shores of Lake Victoria.

"Our leaders, they just want to keep on being rich. And they don't want to pay taxes."

Even President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia came close to this when she told me she had underestimated the level of corruption in her country when she took office.

"Maybe I should have sacked the whole government when I came to power," she said.

"Africa is not poor," President Johnson-Sirleaf added, "it is poorly managed."

This theme was echoed by an architect in Kenya and a senior government official in Nigeria.

Both pointed out that the informal sector of most African economies is huge and almost completely unharnessed.

Marketplaces, and a million little lean-to repair shops and small-scale factories are what most urban Africans rely upon for a living.

But such is their distrust of government officials that most businesspeople in the informal sector avoid all contact with the authorities.

Kenyan architect and town planner Mumo Museva took me to the bustling Eastleigh area of Nairobi, where traders have created a booming economy despite the place being almost completely abandoned by the government.

Eastleigh is a filthy part of the city where rubbish lies uncollected, the potholes in the roads are the size of swimming pools, and the drains have collapsed.

But one indication of the success of the traders, Mr Museva said, was the high per-square-foot rents there.

"You'll be surprised to note that Eastleigh is the most expensive real estate in Nairobi."

He added that if Eastleigh traders trusted the government they might pay some taxes in return for decent services, so creating a "virtuous circle".

"It would lift people out of poverty," he said.

"Remember, poverty is related to quality of life, and the quality of life here is appalling, despite the huge amount of wealth flowing through these areas."

Then the young Kenyan architect echoed the Liberian president, some 5,000km (3,000 miles) away on the other side of the continent.

"Africa is not poor," he also said.

"Africa is just poorly managed."

See blog: Why is Africa poor? Have Your Say

Deadly attack Aug 12th by armed militiamen in a mine-rich area of east of DR Congo

From UN News Centre, Saturday, 15 August 2009:
UN blue helmets provide help in wake of deadly attack in east of DR Congo

The United Nations peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is providing medical assistance to the victims of a deadly attack by armed militiamen in a mine-rich area in the strife-torn east of the country.

Media reports say at least 16 people were killed during Wednesday's attack, which took place in the remote village of Mpama in North Kivu province, close to the mines at Biseye. Mining is a lucrative source of income in the impoverished region, which continues to be beset by outbreaks of fighting involving militia groups and the army.

Troops from the Congolese army (FARDC) stationed nearby were dispatched to find the militiamen, but they had already fled, according to a press statement issued today by the UN peacekeeping mission, known as MONUC.

Alan Doss, the head of MONUC and the Secretary-General's Special Representative to the DRC, denounced the attack.

“Nothing can justify these crimes committed by the armed groups that strike at civilians,” Mr. Doss said.

MONUC established a medical assistance team in the nearby town of Ishenga to treat the injured, with some others evacuated to other centres. The blue helmets have also stepped up their patrols in the Walikale-Biseye area.

(Hat tip: ISRIA)- - -



From MONUC Kinshasa, Friday, 14 August 2009:
MONUC Blue Helmets keeping the peace in Orientale province

MONUC’s Blue Helmets, stationed in Orientale province in northeastern DRC continue to work hard in the troubled districts of Haut Uele and Ituri, to keep the peace, protect the population and assist the DRC Armed Forces against the activities of the LRA rebels in Haut Uele and residual armed groups in Ituri.

In Haut Uele, the MONUC Moroccan contingent, comprising of 290 Blue Helmets, are working in the areas of Dungu, Duru and Faradje to protect the civilian population. These peacekeepers live in tents in the middle of the jungle with no infrastructure, in what MONUC Military Spokesman Jean Paul Dietrich described as “the most difficult living conditions in the mission.”

Other tasks include patrols and the escorting of humanitarian food convoys, up to a 50km radius outside of Dungu.

Through Operation Rudia II, MONUC is providing assistance to a large part of the DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) based in Dungu territory, with rations, transport and medical evacuations.

A MONUC Indonesian engineering company is currently working on the Dungu-Duru road, and once completed it will greatly improve the transport network in the area.

It will also allow humanitarian convoys greater access to the interior, where an estimated 181,000 people are displaced and in need of assistance due to the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.

In the past week, the LRA have launched new sporadic attacks in areas close to the Central African Republic border, in an apparent attempt to escape the military pressure being exerted on them.

In Ituri, over 3,500 Blue Helmets are working to pacify the district, which has experienced residual militia activity by groups such as the “Front de Résistance Patriotique en Ituri” (FRPI) and the “Front Populaire pour la Justice au Congo” (FPJC). According to OCHA, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, an estimated 176,000 people are still displaced in the district.

The joint operation “Iron Stone” is currently in progress, with MONUC forces assisting the FARDC in the planning of military operations. MONUC is also assisting the FARDC with rations, transport, fire support and medical evacuations.

In the past week, the FARDC have attacked militia position in the Poto Poto valley, and are still engaged in the consolidation of operations in the south of Irumu territory. In recent joint operations against the FRPI and the FPJC, 11 militiamen were killed and many others fled.

DR Congo: Several radio stations threatened with closure for retransmitting Radio France Internationale (RFI)

KINSHASA, Dem. Rep. of Congo (DRC) August 17, 2009/African Press Organization (APO):

DRCongo / Several radio stations threatened with closure for retransmitting RFI



Reporters Without Borders is worried by the National Intelligence Agency’s warning to the managers of three local radio stations in the eastern province of Nord-Kivu that their stations will be closed down unless they stop retransmitting the programmes of French public broadcaster Radio France Internationale (RFI).

“This threat is unacceptable,” Reporters Without Borders said. “It confirms that the government is determined to hound both RFI and local media and suggests a move towards authoritarianism. The population has already been denied access to independent news and information since RFI’s local broadcasts were suspended on 26 July. Media freedom in its entirety is in danger if local radio stations are now being threatened with closure.”

The press freedom organisation added: “The National Intelligence Agency does not have the power to suspend a news media. Only a court can do that. We urge the central government in Kinshasa to put a stop to this kind of intimidation. We also reiterate our desire for RFI to be allowed to resume local broadcasting without delay.”

Kennedy Wema of Radio Télé Graben, Rochereau Kambakamba of Radio Liberté and John Tchipenda of Radio Scolaire went to the National Intelligence Agency’s local office on 12 August in response to a summons received the previous day and were told during the ensuing interview that they could be closed down if they did not stop retransmitting RFI.

In fact, according to the information available to Reporters Without Borders, the only station currently retransmitting RFI is Radio Télé Graben. Wema, its manager, told Reporters Without Borders that the station would definitely continue to broadcast RFI until it received official notification in writing.

A total of 27 local radio stations are RFI’s partners in Democratic Republic of Congo. Its local signal was suspended after it broadcast information provided by the UN Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) explaining why certain former rebel units decided to desert from the Congolese army, into which they had recently been incorporated.

SOURCE: Reporters without Borders (RSF): Several radio stations threatened with closure for retransmitting RFI

- - -

From Reporters without Borders (RSF):

Minister carries out threat to shut down French station’s broadcasts throughout country
July 28, 2009

Reporters Without Borders and Journalist in Danger (JED), its partner organisation in Democratic Republic of Congo, strongly condemn the government’s shutdown of local FM retransmission of the French public radio station Radio France Internationale (RFI) throughout the country since 26 July. The two organisations urge the authorities to rescind the ban.

“This measure confirms that certain government officials have it in for RFI and makes us fear more authoritarian excesses,” Journalist in Danger president Donat M’Baya Tshimanga said. “The government has taken a very disturbing decision,” Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Jean-François Julliard added. “By shutting down RFI, it has deprived half of the Congolese population of the access it needs to independent news.”

Reporters Without Borders and Journalist in Danger point out that, instead of silencing RFI, the Congolese authorities could use their right of reply whenever they see fit.

JED has confirmed from various sources that RFI’s broadcasts on the FM waveband have been cut since 26 July in Kinshasa (the country’s capital), Lubumbashi (the capital of the southern province of Katanga) Kisangani (the capital of the northeastern province of Orientale) and Matadi (the capital of the western province of Bas-Congo).

Communications minister Lambert Mendé Omalanga confirmed to Reporters Without Borders by telephone yesterday that all local retransmission of RFI has been suspended. “I am not in a position to make a public statement today," he said, “We will hold a news conference tomorrow in Kinshasa to explain why we had to take this grave decision.” He invited JED to attend the news conference at 1 p.m. today in Kinshasa’s Grand Hotel.

RFI said the government’s reason for the shutdown was the broadcasting of information explaining why certain former rebel units had decided to desert from the Congolese army, into which they had recently been incorporated. RFI pointed out that the information had been provided by the United Nations Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) at a news conference on 22 July.

RFI’s signal in Bukavu (the capital of the eastern province of Sud-Kivu) has been cut since 10 June, when the communications minister had threatened to extend the measure to the rest of the country. “We accuse RFI of trying to incite soldiers to disobey their superiors and to revolt, and of stirring up problems in the barracks while the country is at war,” he said at the time.

Reporters Without Borders has received complaints from residents in Kivu since the shutdown there. Eric Muvomo, the head of a human rights group based in Luvungi, near Bukavu, said: “the population of the Ruzizi-Sud-Kivu plain is not happy with this draconian measure by the minister Lambert Mendé,” he said. “The public needs to be informed about the army’s situation in the province and about military operations.”

A local radio station manager told Reporters Without Borders: “What will they do with the small local stations? The RFI shutdown sends a strong signal. It means the authorities are prepared to do anything, even to close all the other media.”

A human rights activist said: “We are definitely missing RFI a great deal in Bukavu. We find it hard to accept the shutdown, which was decided suddenly without any consultation with the population.”

In the same country

Several radio stations threatened with closure for retransmitting RFI

RFI signal in Bukavu cut one week ago

Government suspends French public radio broadcasts in northeast

IFJ condemns suspension of RFI programmes in Democratic Republic ...

ReliefWeb (press release) - ‎Jul 29, 2009‎

For RFI, it was "about a normal restitution of information made available to the public by an international institution, MONUC, on a press conference on ...

For RFI, static in Kinshasa

CPJ Press Freedom Online - ‎Aug 3, 2009‎

... a joint project of the Hirondelle Foundation and the United Nations Mission in DRC (MONUC), and foreign stations like RFI for independent coverage. ...

DRCongo cuts Radio France signal

ReliefWeb (press release) - ‎Jul 28, 2009‎

RFI said in a statement that the Congolese authorities blamed the station for carrying excerpts of the UN Mission in DR Congo (MONUC) news conferences. ...

Hillary Clinton visits the Heal Africa clinic in Goma, DR Congo

The secretary of State made an impression with a heartfelt visit to eastern Congo, which is rocked by violence, particularly rape. Some have hope that U.S. efforts can end the conflict.



Photo: Clinton meets with patients and staff of the Heal Africa clinic in Goma, Congo. She also toured a refugee camp on the outskirts of Goma and met with victims of rape, which has become a weapon of war there. (Roberto Schmidt/Associated Press /August 11, 2009)

From Los Angeles Times
Hillary Clinton's stop in Congo strikes a chord in Africa
By Robyn Dixon reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa
Monday August 17, 2009

For most of her recent African tour, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sounded much like any visiting foreign official, male or female. Except in Congo.

When Clinton ignored security advice and flew to Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, her focus on the region's rape crisis resonated with some of the continent's most powerless people: women.

It wasn't just that she was the first top-level American official to go to the epicenter of one of the world's deadliest wars, nor even the U.S. aid money she promised. It was her reaction to victims' stories of rape -- and the hope that she might do something about it.

The conflict in eastern Congo is a toxic mix of jostling militias, ethnic tensions, greed for resource wealth, a tragic colonial history, a predatory army and opportunistic neighbors. Rape is commonly used as a weapon in this war. Although reliable statistics are difficult to come by, it's estimated that close to 200,000 women have been raped since the conflict began 13 years ago.

In a recent surge in violence, an estimated 3,500 women and girls have been raped since the beginning of the year. Men and boys also are increasingly victims of sexual assault.

In America, Clinton might have been portrayed as a bit of a shrew in her sharp reaction to a Congolese student's question about her husband's thoughts on an issue -- a momentary loss of her usual steely control that got so much media coverage that it became the single moment some people remember about her trip.

But women's rights activists in eastern Congo weren't talking about that. They were talking about the tears they saw glistening in her eyes Tuesday as she talked to rape victims and heard their horrendous stories of suffering, including a woman who was raped while pregnant and who lost her baby.

Clinton was so warm and compassionate, activists said, they felt they could almost call her Hillary.

Christine Schuler Deschryver, a prominent Congolese activist with the organization VDAY, which fights gender violence in Congo, is cynical after many futile visits from envoys of various countries and organizations.

But Clinton's visit gave her a renewed sense of hope, said Deschryver, who was one of the activists who met with the secretary of State.

"For the first time in a decade, I have hope again," she said, speaking by telephone from the city of Bukavu. "The message I gave her first of all, as a woman, not as secretary of State, is that a woman can feel the pain all these women feel.

"I had another image of Mrs. Clinton" before meeting her, Deschryver said, "and I have really discovered a woman with a big heart. I saw in her eyes many times tears. I know she was deeply moved."

Clinton's focus on the violent tussle for mineral wealth in the region, not just the victims it creates, was seen by activists as a key part of the message.

John Prendergast, founder of the anti-genocide awareness group Enough Project, said resolving the conflict required a concerted long-term approach.

He said one key was to make more transparent the trade in minerals from the region, including gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum. That way consumers could be sure that their purchases of cellphones, laptops and other electronics in which these metals are often used were not helping fund the war.

The conflict "has devolved into a scramble for one of the richest non-petroleum resources bases in the world. There's just way too much money to be made," said Prendergast, who was an Africa analyst in President Bill Clinton's administration.

He said if America's top diplomat decided to make stopping the war in Congo a priority, a lot could be achieved.

"When an issue becomes specific and personal to a Cabinet member, it has a better chance of getting the kind of personal attention needed to push through the initiatives that can make a difference," Prendergast said. "I think she's now personally invested in having some kind of solution in Congo.

"She's stated her desire is to have an end to the conflict," he said. "She separated herself from the usual high-level visitors [to Congo] by saying we are doing to deal with it."

To activists such as Deschryver, Clinton's visit also inspired hope that female Congolese leaders could play a role in ending the conflict.

Although her initial euphoria over the Clinton visit has faded a little, she remains optimistic that Clinton can make the difference if she continues to push the issue.

"If the U.S. has the will and if they give a very strong warning and say first of all we want to stop the violence, it can have a big impact," Deschryver said.

"I hope that was her aim in coming here. Otherwise in 100 years, we will still be here, beggars depending on other countries."

An African foreign policy analyst said Clinton hit the right diplomatic notes.

"A little over halfway through the year, both the president, followed up by Secretary of State Clinton, have been to Africa, which is quite a departure from the attention that Africa usually gets," said Francis Kornegay, analyst with the Institute for Global Dialogue, an independent South African think tank. "I think overall her seven-nation safari has been quite successful."

robyn.dixon@latimes.com

Prendergast's ENOUGH Project: Poker players Ante Up for Africa charity - Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Chad, and Somalia

Posted to YouTube by ENOUGH - Ante Up for Africa, June 25, 2008:

ENOUGH is the project to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Focusing on the crises in Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Chad, and Somalia, ENOUGH uses a 3Ps crisis response strategy: promoting peace, protecting civilians, and punishing the perpetrators.

This year ENOUGH again joined the benefit poker tournament Ante Up for Africa, hosted by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke.

To learn what you can do to join the fight against genocide, go to ENOUGH.

© Center for American Progress
Category: Nonprofits & Activism
Tags: Cheadle Prendergast genocide Sudan Khartoum Uganda Somalia ICC advocacy Gayle Smith Africa war ENOUGH Ante Up Poker charity benefit Hollywood

- - -

From usaplayers.com Thursday, 13 August 2009 by Bruce:
Full Tilt Poker's "Ante up for Africa" Charity Tournament

As part of Full Tilt Poker's FTOPS XIII online poker series, they are holding a special charity poker tournament known as "Ante up for Africa". The tournament will be held at 3 p.m. on August 15th [2009], and it will raise money for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The tournament will be hosted by actor and avid poker player Don Cheadle. The buy in for the tournament will be $100+20. The twenty dollar tournament fee will be donated to the charity. This charity tournament will be part of the FTOPS VIII online poker championships, which will feature more than $16 million in prize money over various tournaments. The last of the tournaments is known as the main event, and it will be held on August 16th with a massive guaranteed prize pool of $2.5 million.

Back in 2007, Cheadle co founded an Ante up for Africa Poker Tournament with Norman Epstein and Annie Duke. At the recent 2009 World Series of Poker, the third annual Ante up for Africa charity tournament was held. The tournament attracted some of the top celebrities from both poker and entertainment. Some of the stars in attendance were actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and they were joined by poker pros Erick Seidel and Jennifer Harmon. The tournament had a $5,000 entry fee, and the players were asked to donate 50% of their winnings to the charity. When the tournament was complete, over $600,000 was raised. Since the Ante up for Africa charity was formed a few years back, over $2 million dollars has been raised. The funds have been distributed to organizations such as "Not on Our Watch", "Enough Project", and "International Rescue Committee". The upcoming online charity tournament will help raise even more money for such a good cause.

The FTOPS XIII charity tournament will take place on a Saturday afternoon giving most players the opportunity to play and help raise money for a good cause. Even though the tournament is designed to raise money for the Ante up for Africa charity, there is plenty of money to be won as well. The tournament will have a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool, with the winner guaranteed to walk away with at least $22,500. Players can take that their shot at winning some serious cash, while raising money for a great organization. Along with the chance to play with many well known poker professionals, players who play in the tournament will also get to play alongside celebrities such as Matt Damon. This will be another opportunity for poker players to help raise money for the ongoing crisis in Darfur.

To discuss this and other Poker articles like it drop by our brand new forum at: www.usaplayers.com

- - -

From PokerNews.com Wednesday, 12 August 2009 by Elaine Chaivarlis:
2009 WSOP Ante Up for Africa Recap

ESPN’s third week of 2009 WSOP coverage aired last night with the Ante Up for Africa event. Dozens of celebrities and poker pros showed up for this event. This was the first time that Ante Up for Africa was aired on television.

The event had a $5,000 buy-in and attracted 137 players. The total prize pool generated for the event was $665,820. It was suggested that players donate 50% of their winnings to the charity.

Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Sarah Silverman, Montel Williams, Nelly, Cedric the Entertainer, Herschel Walker, and Charles Barkley were among the notable celebrities at the event. Several poker pros played the event as well, including Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow, Peter Eastgate, and Dennis Phillips.

Let’s face it, there weren’t a lot of stellar players, or plays in this event, as the event was created more as a fun way to raise money and awareness for the Darfur region.

Charles Barkley and Herschel Walker were two celebrities that might be able to benefit a little from the PokerNews strategy section. They both made this event entertaining to watch with their interesting plays. In one hand, where he rivered trip queens, Walker doesn't even know what the minimum bet is, but was happy with the face time he got from his hollywooding. Charles Barkley got it all in post flop when he flopped a flush draw with his . He never got there and was eliminated.

Mike McDermott (or Matt Damon, whatever you like to call him) ended up at the feature table sitting next to Erik Seidel. This is significant, only in that because of the movie Rounders, Erik Seidel's second place finish to Johnny Chan in the 1988 WSOP has been seen millions of times. So maybe Seidel had it out for Damon a little. Damon, like every other celebrity in this event, didn't make it to the final table. Wonder what happened to all those tells he used to pick up on.

The final table was, not surprisingly, packed with poker pros. Jennifer Harman, Matt Kay, John Hennigan, Phil Gordon, Chris Ferguson, Erik Seidel, Rafe Furst, Adam Richardson, and Alex Bolotin all made the final table of the Ante Up for Africa event. Five of the players at the table, Harman, Hennigan, Ferguson, Seidel, and Furst hold a combined 18 WSOP bracelets.

With the super fast structure, the final table saw its players drop rather quickly with Adam Richardson all but out the door at one point when he was all in and went runner runner clubs to stay alive. Richardson ended up going heads up against the eventual winner, Alex Bolotin, who won $176,449 for his first place finish.

There have been numerous opinions about whether or not there should have been more events from the 2009 WSOP aired on television. We're sure the minds over at ESPN had a reason for the lack of other coverage. We're not sure, however, if this will be the trend next year. What we can say is, in regards to this event, people watch what their favorite celebrities are doing, and if their favorite celebrity is playing poker, then they’re watching them play poker, bringing a more mainstream audience to the game, and that much we like. No matter what the broadcast schedule is next year, we definitely hope this event will be in the mix.

Be sure to tune into ESPN every Tuesday night for continuing coverage of the WSOP, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

Good luck to all.



ENOUGH was conceived in 2006 by a small group of concerned policymakers and activists who wanted to transform their frustration about inaction into pragmatic solutions and hope. Co-founded by Africa experts Gayle Smith and John Prendergast, ENOUGH launched in early 2007 as a project of the Center for American Progress. John Norris is Enough’s Executive Director. Read more about ENOUGH at http://www.enoughproject.org/about.

C.A.R.: ICC granted the request of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo for interim release

International Criminal Court (ICC)
Pre-Trial Chamber II renders a decision on conditional release of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo

THE HAGUE, Netherland, August 14, 2009/APO
ICC-CPI-20090814-PR443
Situation: Central African Republic
Case: The Prosecutor v. Jean Pierre Bemba Gombo

Today, 14 August 2009, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court decided to grant the request of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo for interim release, albeit under conditions. The implementation of this decision is deferred pending a determination in which State Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo will be released and which set of conditions shall be imposed.

In conformity with article 60(3) of the Rome Statute and rule 118(3) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, Pre-Trial Chamber II reviewed anew its previous ruling on the continued detention of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo dated 14 April 2009. Prior to today’s decision, Pre-Trial Chamber II held a hearing on 29 June 2009 with respect to any issue related to the pre-trial detention of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo.

Pre-Trial Chamber II found that changed circumstances since 14 April 2009 warranted the modification of its previous ruling on detention, as the requirements for continued detention pursuant to article 58(1)(a) and (b) of the Rome Statute were no longer met. In assessing all relevant factors of the case taken together and having balanced those factors, Pre-Trial Chamber II held that the continued detention of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo did not appear necessary (i) to ensure the appearance of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo at trial, (ii) to ensure that he does not obstruct or endanger the investigation or the court proceedings and (iii) to prevent Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo from continuing with the commission of the same or related crimes which arise out of the same circumstances in the present case.

Pre-Trial Chamber II invited those States, to which Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo requested to be released, to provide informative observations on the questions of his interim release onto their territory and any possible set of conditions restricting liberty to be imposed. The hearings are envisaged to take place between 7 and 14 September 2009.

14.08.2009 – Decision on the Interim Release of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo and Convening Hearings with the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Portugal, the Republic of France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Italian Republic, and the Republic of South Africa

For further information please contact Ms Jelena Vukašinović, Associate Legal Outreach Officer at +31 (0)70 515-8094 or (0)6 50 29 57 38 or at jelena.vukasinovic@icc-cpi.int

SOURCE: International Criminal Court (ICC)

Translation into French:

Aujourd’hui 14 août 2009, la Chambre préliminaire II de la Cour pénale internationale a décidé de faire droit, sous condition, à la demande de mise en liberté provisoire de Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo.

L’exécution de cette décision est reportée dans l’attente de la détermination de l’Etat sur le territoire duquel Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo sera libéré et de la détermination des conditions qui lui seront imposées.

Conformément à l’article 60 (3) du Statut de Rome et à la règle 118 (3) du Règlement de procédure et de preuve, la Chambre préliminaire II a réexaminé sa décision précédente relative au maintien en détention de Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo du 14 avril 2009. Préalablement à la décision de ce jour, la Chambre préliminaire II avait tenu une audience le 29 juin 2009 sur toutes les questions relatives au maintien en détention de Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo avant son procès.

La Chambre préliminaire II a conclu que l’évolution des circonstances depuis le 14 avril 2009 justifiait la modification de sa décision précédente sur la détention, dans la mesure où les conditions pour un maintien en détention telles que prévues par l’article 58 (1) (a) et (b) du Statut de Rome n’étaient plus réunies. En effet, après avoir évalué tous les éléments pertinents de l’affaire dans leur globalité et après les avoir mis en perspective, la Chambre préliminaire II a conclu que le maintien en détention de Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo ne paraissait plus nécessaire pour garantir (i) la comparution de ce dernier, (ii) qu’il ne fera pas obstacle à l’enquête ou à la procédure devant la Cour, ni n’en compromettra le déroulement et (iii) qu’il ne poursuivra pas l’exécution du même crime ou d’un crime connexe relevant de la compétence de la Cour et se produisant dans les mêmes circonstances que dans la présente affaire.

La Chambre préliminaire II a invité tous les Etats sur le territoire desquels Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo a souhaité être libéré, à présenter leurs observations détaillées sur les questions relatives à sa mise en liberté provisoire ainsi que sur les conditions restrictives de liberté qui pourraient être imposées. Les audiences devraient avoir lieu entre le 7 et le 14 septembre 2009.

14.08.2009 – Decision on the Interim Release of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo and Convening Hearings with the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Portugal, the Republic of France, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Italian Republic, and the Republic of South Africa

Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez vous mettre en rapport avec Mme Jelena Vukasinovic, juriste ajoint de 1re classe (tél. : +31 (0)70 515 8094 ou +31 (0)6 50 29 57 38 ; jelena.vukasinovic@icc-cpi.int)

SOURCE: International Criminal Court (ICC)

DR Congo: Goma, a major Ushahidi update!

Goma, a major Ushahidi update!

Originally published by Ushahidi 13 Aug 2009 .  Received via email 14 Aug 2009.  I have copied and pasted the email and hope that it appears OK to readers of this page.  Here is a copy of the email.

An Ushahidi tradition is to name all of our major releases after African cities that have had disturbances. Today we’re announcing the “Goma” release of the platfrom, version 0.9 – named after that oft-beleaguered town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

We had three main areas that we focused on for this Goma; stability, speed and mobile apps. To introduce the release, here’s David Kobia:

Stability, Speed and Mobile Apps: Ushahidi's Goma Release from WhiteAfrican on Vimeo.

What’s in Goma?

It’s not possible to track all of the minor upgrades, changes and additions to the platform here, but here are some of the items that are important for everyone to know about.

• Caching – map and database queries have been slowing load times down considerably. All pages with maps now have caching built-in.
• Alerts – email and SMS proximity-based alerts are now fully functional.
• You can now watch incidents play chronologically on the main map using the “Play” button.
• Refined the submissions page, simplifying the location chooser, date/time and other minor features.
• On the detailed incident report page the map shows other incidents by proximity.
• Admins can import KML or GeoRSS feeds, and these can show up on the map as overlays on top of the normal Ushahidi data. (delayed for a couple days, working out some kinks…)
• Admins can now download a CSV file of all their data.
• Admins can now do a “mass upload” of data into the database.
• We’re trying to make it easier to get a fresh install of Ushahidi up on your own server. To this end, we’ve moved the config.php items into the admin area for easier modification by non-techies.
• Improved feedback form, residing in every instances footer, that makes it easy for end users to send feedback to the admin. This shows up in their admin panel.
• Sharing of data between instances of Ushahidi is fully functional now.
• Added a “Comments” tab into the admin area for moderation.
• Added a new feature to track veracity and trust of users by the admin

Find a bug? Submit it to bugs.ushahidi.com
Have a question? Ask it on the forums
Want to pitch in? Start on the wiki or download the code

Mobile phone applications

A small team of dedicated devs put a lot of time into creating the new Ushahidi mobile apps that are available for you to run on your phone. The basic functionality of all the mobile apps are to sync with an instance of Ushahidi. It allows you to send reports with images and location information as well as receive alerts from others who have sent in reports to the site. With this, you can track what is going on in an emergency, disaster or crisis anywhere in the world.

The mobile apps work in offline mode as well, so you can create reports and send them when you reconnect, or you can download and see the incidents that have been reported and still view them when you’re not connected.

Android – Henry Addo, our Ghanaian dev, has been part of the team since January, but he started fiddling around with Android well before that.

Windows Mobile - Dale Zak is an amazing Canadian mobile phone dev. He does a lot of cool stuff out there, and we were extremely happy when he volunteered to create the WinMo version of Ushahidi.

J2ME (Java) – Steve Mutinda is an outstanding Kenyan mobile app developer, he and his firm Shimba Mobile dedicated a lot of resources to see this app come into being. The J2ME app will work on any phone that runs Java, so it should work on the widest number of phones available.

This is their beta release, so there will be some bugs, submit them to bugs.ushahidi.com and they’ll be on them right away.

Major contributors

Projects like Ushahidi wouldn’t be where they are without the help of programmers who volunteer their time, brains and energy to solving some very difficult challenges. A BIG thanks goes out to all the devs who made this happen. Major contributors included:

• Jason Mule (Kenya)
• Brian Muita (Kenya)
• Soyapi Mumba (Malawi)
• Emmanuel Kala (Kenya)
• Henry Addo (Ghana)
• Steve Mutinda (Kenya)
• Dale Zak (Canada)