BANJUL Feb 27 (Reuters) - Gambian President Adama Barrow has replaced the head of the military, a pillar of his predecessor Yahya Jammeh's repressive government, and dismissed a number of senior military officers, officials said on Monday.
The director of the prisons system was also arrested, as were nine men suspected of being members of Jammeh's alleged death squads, known as the Jungulars.
The moves were the latest in a series of arrests and personnel changes under Barrow, who is seeking to assert control following the end of Jammeh's 22-year rule. The former president fled into exile last month after refusing to accept his election defeat.
Jammeh was himself an army officer, seizing power in a coup in 1994, and he leaned heavily on the military to bolster his grip on the country, a popular destination with European tourists.
General Ousman Badjie, the defence chief of staff, was removed along with 10 other senior officers, including the directors of operations and intelligence, army spokesman Lieutenant Kemo Kanuteh said.
Badjie's loyalty appeared to vacillate between Jammeh and Barrow in the wake of the Dec. 1 election.
He finally publicly recognised Barrow as commander-in-chief last month as a regional intervention force closed in on the capital Banjul to remove Jammeh, stating he would welcome the force "with flowers and make them a cup of tea".
27.2.17
Sara Ocidental: Intervenção de Guterres
Retour à la case départ pour le Maroc plus de six mois après le début de l’opération Guerguerat. Le nouveau Secrétaire général de l’ONU, Antonio Guterres, a réussi à faire baisser la tension là ou son prédécesseur, Ban Ki-moon, avait échoué. Les civils et les gendarmes marocains qui, pour la première fois en un quart de siècle, avaient traversé le mur militaire à la pointe sud du Sahara occidental, rebroussent chemin.
Le Secrétaire général de l’ONU blâme le Polisario et s’en prend au Maroc
Guterres s’est alarmé, vendredi, après avoir reçu un appel de Mohamed VI, le roi du Maroc. Il a, le jour même, eu à sa demande un entretien avec Ahmed Boukhari, le représentant du Front Polisario auprès de l’ONU. Vingt-quatre heures après il s’est aussi fendu d’un communiqué dans lequel il se déclare « profondément préoccupé par les tensions accrues » à Guerguerat et « appelle les deux parties à faire preuve de la plus grande retenue (…) ». Le cessez-le-feu qui prévaut depuis 1991 semblait en danger.
Dans son communiqué Guterres blâme d’abord le Polisario, sans le nommer, quand il « souligne que le trafic commercial ne doit pas être obstrué et qu’aucune mesure pouvant éventuellement changer le statut quo dans la zone tampon ne devrait être prise ». Depuis le début de la semaine, ses hommes en armes ne laissaient plus passer vers la Mauritanie les camions frappés du drapeau marocain ou de cartes du Maroc incluant le Sahara. « C’est de la propagande pour l’occupation que nous n’acceptons pas », expliqua au téléphone Mhamed Khadad, coordinateur du Polisario avec la Minurso, le contingent de l’ONU déployé dans cette ancienne colonie espagnole.
Mais le Secrétaire général s’en prend aussi au Maroc quand il exhorte les deux parties « à retirer sans conditions les éléments armés de la zone tampon dès que possible (…) ». Selon lui, les uns et les autres ont ainsi violé les accords de cessez-le-feu contrairement à ce qu’affirmait Rabat. Le Maroc proclamait que ce n’était pas son armée qui avait traversé le mur mais des civils escortés par des gendarmes comme si ces derniers étaient désarmés.
Les gendarmes marocains se retirent
Ceux-ci vont se retirer ce dimanche de leur côté du mur. Sur les « hautes instructions du roi et afin que la demande du Secrétaire général soit respectée et appliquée dans l’immédiat, le Royaume du Maroc procédera, dès aujourd’hui, à un retrait unilatéral de la zone », annonce un communiqué du ministère des Affaires étrangères marocain. Il s’attribue, en partie, le mérite de l’initiative de Guterres car elle s’est produite « suite à l’entretien téléphonique » qu’il a eu avec Mohamed VI.
Au téléphone le souverain avait demandé à Guterres de prendre des « mesures urgentes » pour mettre fin aux « provocations » du Polisario (le renvoi des camions), car elles menacent le cessez-le-feu, selon le communiqué du cabinet royal diffusé tard vendredi dans la nuit.
C’est le 14 août 2016 qu’une poignée d’hommes du génie civil marocain, escortés par des gendarmes, ont traversé à Guerguerat le mur construit par les Forces armées royales (FAR) dans les années quatre-vingt sous prétexte de goudronner en zone tampon la piste de moins de cinq kilomètres qui sépare le rempart marocain de la douane mauritanienne.
Le Polisario s’est alors démené pour que l’ONU empêche ce qui, d’après lui, était une violation du cessez-le-feu, une incursion marocaine dans ce qu’il appelle le « territoire libéré» du Sahara occidental. Mais le Conseil de sécurité n’a pas bougé. Le mouvement indépendantiste a donc pris l’initiative et envoyé ses éléments armés, le 28 août, bloquer l’avancée marocaine. Le Maroc, qui venait d’entreprendre des démarches pour intégrer l’Union Africaine, a alors fait preuve de retenue. Ses hommes se sont arrêtés à 120 mètres de leurs adversaires.
La situation s’est par la suite davantage détériorée même si la Minurso s’interpose pendant la journée -elle se retire la nuit- entre les deux ennemis. Le Polisario s’était mis à construire en dur démontrant qu’il était venu pour y rester. Ses chefs ont même laissé entendre qu’ils pourraient prendre d’autres mesures pour exercer leur autorité sur un territoire qu’ils considèrent comme le leur : fouiller les véhicules qui vont ou viennent de Mauritanie ou tamponner les passeports avec le sceau de la République arabe sahraouie démocratique (RASD).
Abdallah al-Bellal, chargé de la Défense de la RASD, n’a même pas exclu la fermeture du passage vers la Mauritanie lors d’une interview avec le site mauritanien « Masara ». Ce verrouillage empêcherait le Maroc d’exporter ses produits agricoles chez ses voisins du Sud.
Craintes d’une reprise des affrontements
Pour la première fois depuis le cessez-le-feu, il y a plus d’un quart de siècle, les capitales européennes qui suivent de près le conflit du Sahara occidental se sont mises alors à craindre que les armes se remettent à crépiter. La presse marocaine semblait aussi de cet avis. Elle spéculait sur l’escorte que la Gendarmerie pourrait fournir aux camions marocains jusqu’à la frontière mauritanienne. Le journal marocain online « Le Desk » croyait même savoir que Rabat soupesait la possibilité juridique d’invoquer la poursuite à chaud pour s’en prendre au Polisario sous prétexte qu’il entrave le trafic frontalier.
Guterres a démontré son efficacité. Si le Conseil de sécurité s’était lui aussi penché sérieusement, depuis la mi-août, sur la situation à Guerguerat, le Polisario et l’armée marocaine n’auraient pas été sur le pied de guerre. Mais il a été incapable de faire baisser la tension. L’organe suprême des Nations unies est totalement inefficace sur ce sujet. Il n’a même pas pu obtenir le retour au Sahara de 17 agents de la branche civile de la Minurso expulsés en mars dernier par les autorités marocaines.
Que va faire le Front Polisario ?
Le Polisario ne semble pas prêt à rebrousser chemin. Dans un communiqué publié tard dimanche, il dit certes partager les « préoccupations » Guterres, mais il décrit aussi le retrait marocain comme de « la poudre aux yeux qui cache mal le mépris de Rabat pour la légalité internationale ».
Le Front Polisario rappelle également « qu’avant l’établissement du cessez-le-feu il n’y avait ni route, ni trafic commercial entre le mur d’occupation marocain et la frontière mauritanienne ». Leur existence est « une violation du statut du Territoire (…) ». La direction saharauie pense sans doute avoir marqué un point et elle ne veut pas y renoncer même si Paris et Madrid le lui ont demandé dans leurs communiqués.
Même s’il avait été délogé de Guerguerat par la force, le mouvement sahraoui aurait pu tirer profit d’un bref affrontement armé. Plus encore que son prédécesseur, son nouveau chef, Brahim Ghali, cherche à sortir le conflit de l’oubli dans lequel il plongea peu après le cessez-le-feu de 1991. Il souhaite que la communauté internationale s’y intéresse à nouveau et force le Maroc à négocier, ce qu’il se refuse de faire depuis 2011 à Manhasset, dans la banlieue de New York. Pour Ghali, déterrer la hache de guerre, ne serait-ce que brièvement, c’est aussi démontrer à cette jeunesse sahraouie, avide de reprendre les armes, qu’il tient compte de ses aspirations.
Le Maroc ne veut plus, en effet, négocier le sort de « son » Sahara. Il n’évoque même plus très souvent cette offre timide d’autonomie pour le Sahara qu’il avait formulée en 2007 et qui avait été applaudie à Paris et Madrid car ces capitales avaient aidé discrètement à son élaboration. Il table désormais, pour asseoir son contrôle sur ce grand morceau de désert, sur l’effondrement de l’Algérie frappée par une grave crise économique à cause de la chute du prix des hydrocarbures et qui n’arrive toujours pas à trouver un successeur à son président malade.
La santé fragile d’Abdelaziz Bouteflika nuit déjà à la politique étrangère de l’Algérie face à un roi marocain qui ne cesse depuis l’automne de parcourir l’Afrique. Sans une Algérie débout, il n’y aura plus de Polisario, pense-t-on plus que jamais à Rabat. C’est la deuxième fois qu’on y fait ce calcul. La première fut dans les années quatre-vingt-dix quand l’Algérie subissait les coups des groupes terroristes, mais alors, il ne s’est pas vérifié.
25.2.17
Bissau: O diálogo que nunca mais há
A aprovação do Acordo de Conacri, assinado em outubro de 2016, na sequência de conversações entre os líderes políticos, a sociedade civil e os líderes religiosos - o Conselho considerou que este é o quadro principal para uma resolução pacífica da crise política, uma vez que oferece oportunidade histórica às autoridades nacionais, aos líderes políticos, bem como à sociedade civil, para assegurar em conjunto a estabilidade política e construir uma paz sustentável.
Os 15 membros do Conselho congratularam-se e apoiam uma missão de alto nível que deverá chegar ao país sob a orientação do bloco regional, a Comunidade Económica dos Estados de África Ocidental (CEDEAO), como parte de um acompanhamento para a implementação do Acordo.
No âmbito do seu novo mandato, que terá início no dia 1 de março de 2017 e irá até 28 de fevereiro de 2018, o Conselho de Segurança manifestou o seu firme apoio ao papel fundamental desempenhado pelo Representante Especial do Secretário-Geral da ONU para a Guiné-Bissau. Também endossou plenamente as recomendações da missão de revisão estratégica de dezembro de 2016, conforme delineadas no relatório do Secretário-Geral, sobre a necessidade de UNIOGBIS reorientar seus esforços atuais em direção às capacidades políticas de apoio aos bons ofícios do RESG e ao papel de facilitação política.
O Conselho de Segurança solicitou ainda ao UNIOGBIS para que, principalmente, através da utilização de seus bons ofícios e do apoio político do Representante Especial, a focar-se, nomeadamente, nas seguintes prioridades:
- Apoiar um diálogo político inclusivo e um processo de reconciliação nacional para reforçar a governação democrática e trabalhar em prol de um consenso sobre questões políticas fundamentais, nomeadamente no que diz respeito à implementação das reformas urgentes necessárias;
- Apoiar, nomeadamente através da assistência técnica, as autoridades nacionais a agilizar e finalizar a revisão da Constituição da Guiné-Bissau;
- Dar aconselhamento e apoio estratégico e técnico às autoridades nacionais e às partes interessadas em coordenação com a CEDEAO/ECOMIB e outros parceiros internacionais, na implementação de estratégias de reforma do setor da segurança nacional e do Estado de direito, bem como no desenvolvimento de sistemas de justiça civis e militares, que sejam compatíveis com as normas internacionais;
O UNIOGBIS também se concentrará em apoiar o Governo da Guiné-Bissau na "mobilização, harmonização e coordenação da assistência internacional", com os parceiros tais que a União Africana (UA), a Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLC), a Comunidade Económica dos Estados da África Ocidental (CEDEAO) e a União Europeia (UE).
Congratulando-se com o papel crucial desempenhado pelo ECOMIB na segurança das instituições do Estado e no apoio à Reforma do Setor de Segurança, o Conselho de Segurança expressou a sua apreciação pela sua contribuição para a estabilidade na Guiné-Bissau e incentivou a CEDEAO a considerar uma nova prorrogação do seu mandato.
O Conselho de Segurança também declarou que o UNIOGBIS e o Representante Especial continuarão a liderar os esforços internacionais em áreas prioritárias, incluindo o reforço das instituições democráticas e o reforço da capacidade de funcionamento dos órgãos estatais, tais como: a justiça; os direitos humanos; o tráfico de drogas e o crime organizado transnacional, em estreita cooperação com o UNODC.
O Conselho de Segurança congratulou-se com os esforços conjuntos de parceiros internacionais, nomeadamente as Nações Unidas, a União Africana, a CEDEAO, a UE e a CPLP, para reforçar a cooperação em apoio ao Governo da Guiné-Bissau e encorajou-os a continuarem a trabalhar em conjunto para a estabilização do país em conformidade com as reformas estruturais prioritárias estabelecidas pelo Governo e, neste contexto, reconheceu o papel da Comissão de Consolidação da Paz no reforço destes esforços com vista a apoiar as prioridades de consolidação da paz a longo prazo na Guiné-Bissau.
Os 15 membros do Conselho congratularam-se e apoiam uma missão de alto nível que deverá chegar ao país sob a orientação do bloco regional, a Comunidade Económica dos Estados de África Ocidental (CEDEAO), como parte de um acompanhamento para a implementação do Acordo.
No âmbito do seu novo mandato, que terá início no dia 1 de março de 2017 e irá até 28 de fevereiro de 2018, o Conselho de Segurança manifestou o seu firme apoio ao papel fundamental desempenhado pelo Representante Especial do Secretário-Geral da ONU para a Guiné-Bissau. Também endossou plenamente as recomendações da missão de revisão estratégica de dezembro de 2016, conforme delineadas no relatório do Secretário-Geral, sobre a necessidade de UNIOGBIS reorientar seus esforços atuais em direção às capacidades políticas de apoio aos bons ofícios do RESG e ao papel de facilitação política.
O Conselho de Segurança solicitou ainda ao UNIOGBIS para que, principalmente, através da utilização de seus bons ofícios e do apoio político do Representante Especial, a focar-se, nomeadamente, nas seguintes prioridades:
- Apoiar um diálogo político inclusivo e um processo de reconciliação nacional para reforçar a governação democrática e trabalhar em prol de um consenso sobre questões políticas fundamentais, nomeadamente no que diz respeito à implementação das reformas urgentes necessárias;
- Apoiar, nomeadamente através da assistência técnica, as autoridades nacionais a agilizar e finalizar a revisão da Constituição da Guiné-Bissau;
- Dar aconselhamento e apoio estratégico e técnico às autoridades nacionais e às partes interessadas em coordenação com a CEDEAO/ECOMIB e outros parceiros internacionais, na implementação de estratégias de reforma do setor da segurança nacional e do Estado de direito, bem como no desenvolvimento de sistemas de justiça civis e militares, que sejam compatíveis com as normas internacionais;
O UNIOGBIS também se concentrará em apoiar o Governo da Guiné-Bissau na "mobilização, harmonização e coordenação da assistência internacional", com os parceiros tais que a União Africana (UA), a Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLC), a Comunidade Económica dos Estados da África Ocidental (CEDEAO) e a União Europeia (UE).
Congratulando-se com o papel crucial desempenhado pelo ECOMIB na segurança das instituições do Estado e no apoio à Reforma do Setor de Segurança, o Conselho de Segurança expressou a sua apreciação pela sua contribuição para a estabilidade na Guiné-Bissau e incentivou a CEDEAO a considerar uma nova prorrogação do seu mandato.
O Conselho de Segurança também declarou que o UNIOGBIS e o Representante Especial continuarão a liderar os esforços internacionais em áreas prioritárias, incluindo o reforço das instituições democráticas e o reforço da capacidade de funcionamento dos órgãos estatais, tais como: a justiça; os direitos humanos; o tráfico de drogas e o crime organizado transnacional, em estreita cooperação com o UNODC.
O Conselho de Segurança congratulou-se com os esforços conjuntos de parceiros internacionais, nomeadamente as Nações Unidas, a União Africana, a CEDEAO, a UE e a CPLP, para reforçar a cooperação em apoio ao Governo da Guiné-Bissau e encorajou-os a continuarem a trabalhar em conjunto para a estabilização do país em conformidade com as reformas estruturais prioritárias estabelecidas pelo Governo e, neste contexto, reconheceu o papel da Comissão de Consolidação da Paz no reforço destes esforços com vista a apoiar as prioridades de consolidação da paz a longo prazo na Guiné-Bissau.
Timor-Leste: Um Governo de Unidade Nacional
Timor-Leste goes to the polls in 2017 with little in the way of a genuine policy debate. The political scene is dominated by former revolutionary leaders and the jostling between them. It seems likely that the two largest parties—the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (known by its Portuguese initials, CNRT) and the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin)—will back the candidacy of Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres in the upcoming presidential election. These two parties will probably also win a majority in the parliamentary poll due in July, allowing a broad government of national unity to remain in place. Opposition groups that highlight issues of corruption are unlikely to make much headway, producing a new parliament with a fragile opposition.
The decision of Xanana Gusmão, a former leader of the resistance against Timor-Leste's occupation by Indonesia, to step down as prime minister in February 2015 led to the formation of a government of national unity, backed both by Mr Gusmão's CNRT and Fretilin, the party of the current prime minister, Rui Maria de Araújo. The support of smaller parties afforded the coalition government the backing of all 65 members of parliament for some time, leaving Timor-Leste bereft of a parliamentary opposition.
However, this cosy set-up has led to government clashes with the president, José Maria Vasconcelos, who is popularly known by his nom de guerre, Taur Matan Ruak. In February 2016 Taur Matan Ruak made a withering criticism of Mr Gusmão and what he sees as political corruption. This is significant, as Taur Matan Rauk has decided to stand down as president in 2017, running for parliament instead with the support of a new party, the People's Liberation Party (PLP), in a way that reopens the sphere of democratic competition. The perceived closeness of a small party, the Partido Democrático (PD), to the president led in May 2016 to the PD's own expulsion from the ruling unity government. (PD ministers in the government opted to stay as independents, forestalling a reshuffle.)
This will be followed in July by the legislative election. As CNRT and Fretilin appear to be continuing to co-operate, it is likely that these parties will win a majority in parliament. A poll conducted in November 2016 by the International Republican Institute (IRI), a pro-democracy think-tank, shows that Fretilin has the support of 44% of Timorese, while CNRT comes in at second place with the support of 19%. Only 3% of those surveyed supported the PD, and 2% the PLP, with other small amounts of backing other minor parties. Under a proportional representation system with a 3% threshold to secure a seat, Taur Matan Ruak may struggle. The opposition groups are likely to win only a handful of seats in total.
This reflects broad satisfaction with the governing coalition. In the IRI poll, 74% stated that the government was doing a good job, and reported improvements in healthcare, education and electricity supply. There is strong public support for state investment in the Oecusse special economic zone and the Tasi Mane petrochemical complex. At present, there appears to be little public opposition to the way that the government is spending petroleum wealth. Over the longer term, however, as petroleum wealth runs out, a stronger political debate may emerge in Timor-Leste. In policy terms, there seems little reason to expect the 2017 elections to produce a sharp change. The Economist
The decision of Xanana Gusmão, a former leader of the resistance against Timor-Leste's occupation by Indonesia, to step down as prime minister in February 2015 led to the formation of a government of national unity, backed both by Mr Gusmão's CNRT and Fretilin, the party of the current prime minister, Rui Maria de Araújo. The support of smaller parties afforded the coalition government the backing of all 65 members of parliament for some time, leaving Timor-Leste bereft of a parliamentary opposition.
However, this cosy set-up has led to government clashes with the president, José Maria Vasconcelos, who is popularly known by his nom de guerre, Taur Matan Ruak. In February 2016 Taur Matan Ruak made a withering criticism of Mr Gusmão and what he sees as political corruption. This is significant, as Taur Matan Rauk has decided to stand down as president in 2017, running for parliament instead with the support of a new party, the People's Liberation Party (PLP), in a way that reopens the sphere of democratic competition. The perceived closeness of a small party, the Partido Democrático (PD), to the president led in May 2016 to the PD's own expulsion from the ruling unity government. (PD ministers in the government opted to stay as independents, forestalling a reshuffle.)
Fretilin set for an easy presidential win
This pits the supporters of the unity government against those who focus on corruption and claim that the government is wasting the country's petroleum wealth on trophy projects. The first election due in 2017 is for the presidency, which is likely to be held in March, with a run-off in April. A new president will take office on May 20th. So far, there are three candidates. Fretilin is backing its party leader, Mr Guterres, who lost out to Taur Matan Ruak in the 2012 presidential poll. Mr Guterres has emphasised his closeness to Mr Gusmão in a way that suggests he is seeking CNRT backing. The only other declared candidates are António Maher Lopes, known by his nom de guerre Fatuk Mutin, who was put forward by a minor party, the Socialist Party of Timor, as well as José António de Jesus das Neves, who goes by the nom de guerre Samala Rua. He is a former deputy commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission and is running as an independent. Presuming that CNRT does not run a separate candidate, this leaves the field wide open for an easy win by Mr Guterres. Speculation that a former president and Fretilin founder, José Manuel Ramos-Horta, currently the UN Special Representative to Guinea-Bissau, might run has so far proven unfounded.This will be followed in July by the legislative election. As CNRT and Fretilin appear to be continuing to co-operate, it is likely that these parties will win a majority in parliament. A poll conducted in November 2016 by the International Republican Institute (IRI), a pro-democracy think-tank, shows that Fretilin has the support of 44% of Timorese, while CNRT comes in at second place with the support of 19%. Only 3% of those surveyed supported the PD, and 2% the PLP, with other small amounts of backing other minor parties. Under a proportional representation system with a 3% threshold to secure a seat, Taur Matan Ruak may struggle. The opposition groups are likely to win only a handful of seats in total.
This reflects broad satisfaction with the governing coalition. In the IRI poll, 74% stated that the government was doing a good job, and reported improvements in healthcare, education and electricity supply. There is strong public support for state investment in the Oecusse special economic zone and the Tasi Mane petrochemical complex. At present, there appears to be little public opposition to the way that the government is spending petroleum wealth. Over the longer term, however, as petroleum wealth runs out, a stronger political debate may emerge in Timor-Leste. In policy terms, there seems little reason to expect the 2017 elections to produce a sharp change. The Economist
Timor-Leste: Sem uma oposição efectiva
Politicians must sometime feel as though they can never win. For most of the last 15 years since Timor-Leste gained its independence, it has been marred by political division and partisanship, which exploded violently in 2006 when a dispute between regional officers in the military escalated into nationwide unrest. Today, the problem is the opposite: there is not enough division.
In 2015 the two largest political parties – FRETILIN and the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) – reached what is widely considered to be a power-sharing agreement. CNRT leader Xanana Gusmão stepped down as prime minister in February that year and nominated as his successor the former health minister and FRETILIN lawmaker, Rui Maria de Araújo. Along with the backing of some smaller parties, this “unity government” now has a majority in the National Parliament, meaning Timor-Leste is without an effective opposition.
This consensus irked President Taur Matan Ruak, who decided last year to take it upon himself to be the one to hold the government to account (not strictly the purpose of his role). In February 2016, he stood before the country’s parliamentarians and announced: “The state of Timor-Leste is far too centralized. It centralizes skill, power, and privileges. It excessively wastes resources, allowing thousands of Timorese to become second-class citizens.”
Without an effective opposition, he said, the country’s leaders were becoming more nepotistic and wasteful. Rauk is expected to step down as president before this year’s general election, predicted to take place in July, and run for prime minister with the backing of a newly created political party, the People’s Liberation Party (PLP).
Before the parliamentary elections, East Timorese vote to choose the next president. Both FRETILIN and the CNRT are looking likely to back the same candidate, Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres, the president of FRETILIN, although the CNRT has yet to formally back him. There are few indications, however, that it will come up with its own candidate with only a month to go.
There were rumors late last year that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former president José Ramos-Horta would run again for the post this year. This now appears not to be the case. Ramos-Horta announced last month that he would not stand as a candidate, according to a Portuguese-language newspaper. Other presidential candidates include António “Fatuk Mutin” Maher Lopes, who is reportedly running with the backing of the small Socialist Party of Timor, and José António de Jesus das Neves, a former deputy commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission, who is running as an independent.
So what does this mean? Well, should Lu Olo win the presidential race, and FRETILIN and the CNRT win a majority of the seats at the general election (which is likely to be the case, though they will be campaigning separately) then the FRETILIN-CNRT alliance will have complete control over the executive if the unity government continues post-election. Ruak and the PLP may well win some seats in parliament, they will have an uphill struggle to secure enough MPs to form a viable opposition.
Some contend that unity between FRETILIN and the CNRT is justifiable, since it means the scenes that unfolded in 2006 are unlikely to reoccur. And the country, which desperately needs to develop economically and socially, will no longer be plagued by infighting in the National Parliament over legislation.
There are also suggestions the public is happy with the arrangement. A poll conducted in November by the International Republican Institute (IRI), a U.S.-based nonprofit, found 74 percent of East Timorese thought the government was doing a good job, and 72 percent thought Timor-Leste will be “better off” in years to come. In terms of infrastructure, a high number of respondents thought things had improved over the course of the year: 79 percent for healthcare, 78 percent for education, and 71 percent for electricity. Though only 29 percent saw improvements in the country’s enfeebled road network, compared to 32 percent who thought it was getting worse.
“The optimistic outlook and enthusiasm for democracy displayed in this poll are highly encouraging,” IRI Regional Director for Asia, Derek Luyten, said in a statement. “Ahead of the upcoming presidential election, it is crucial that Timorese political leaders seize upon this popular goodwill to address the issues of greatest concern to citizens, and take steps to ensure citizens are well-informed of how and when to vote.”
Still, this is only half of the picture. A report published last month by the Asia Foundation , a nonprofit international development organization, found that the majority of residents in the capital, Dili, fear they could be evicted from their homes should a draft law currently being debated in parliament go through. If the law is passed, said the Asia Foundation’s deputy country director in Timor-Leste, Todd Wassel, “we estimate a quarter of Dili would not be protected under the new law, so they wouldn’t have any legal tenure security on the land where they’re currently living.” The report described land dispossession and conflict as the “dormant giants” affecting the country’s stability.
Consensus, according to Ruak, only works in the interest of the ruling elite. According to the outgoing president, the government does “not use unanimity to solve [Timor-Leste’s] issues; they use it for power and privilege. Brother Xanana takes care of Timor while Brother [Alkatiri] takes care of Oecussi.” Oecussi is a small enclave in Indonesian West Timor, where a costly Special Social Market Economy Zone is currently in development. In 2013, Mari Alkatiri, the Secretary-General of FRETILIN, was chosen by Gusmão to preside over this economic zone.
Timor-Leste’s problems, however, tend to fall into the categories of “what-ifs.” What if violence breaks out again (unlikely) and what if its oil and gas reserves run out (incredibly likely), as I have considered previously?
Should the unity government survive after this year’s elections, there is little to suggest it would turn away from the economic policy it has followed for a number of years: growing state budgets, a lethargic diversification of the economy, dependence on its sovereign wealth fund, and large infrastructure projects that (not always unfairly) have been dubbed vanity projects.
The division that has arisen in East Timorese politics, going into an election year, was summed up in a brief report by the Economist’s Intelligence Unit, published January 16, which stated that the elections will pit “the supporters of the unity government against those who focus on corruption and claim that the government is wasting the country’s petroleum wealth on trophy projects.”
The question, therefore, is whether political peace and stability justify the costs that come with consensus. Indeed, whether they justify the possible weakening of the country’s proud democracy. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2015 Democracy Index ranked Timor-Leste 44th out of 167 places, the highest of all Southeast Asian countries. The 2016 edition of the same index bumped Timor-Leste up one place, still the highest in the region.
This is quite a feat for a nation that only gained its independence 15 years ago. But it is a feat that could be so easily undone should the government be bereft of an effective opposition for the next five years. Arguably, the government needs to be held accountable during the next few years more than any other time since 2002; the decisions it makes will be among the most important in the nation’s short history. The Diplomat
In 2015 the two largest political parties – FRETILIN and the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT) – reached what is widely considered to be a power-sharing agreement. CNRT leader Xanana Gusmão stepped down as prime minister in February that year and nominated as his successor the former health minister and FRETILIN lawmaker, Rui Maria de Araújo. Along with the backing of some smaller parties, this “unity government” now has a majority in the National Parliament, meaning Timor-Leste is without an effective opposition.
This consensus irked President Taur Matan Ruak, who decided last year to take it upon himself to be the one to hold the government to account (not strictly the purpose of his role). In February 2016, he stood before the country’s parliamentarians and announced: “The state of Timor-Leste is far too centralized. It centralizes skill, power, and privileges. It excessively wastes resources, allowing thousands of Timorese to become second-class citizens.”
Without an effective opposition, he said, the country’s leaders were becoming more nepotistic and wasteful. Rauk is expected to step down as president before this year’s general election, predicted to take place in July, and run for prime minister with the backing of a newly created political party, the People’s Liberation Party (PLP).
Before the parliamentary elections, East Timorese vote to choose the next president. Both FRETILIN and the CNRT are looking likely to back the same candidate, Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres, the president of FRETILIN, although the CNRT has yet to formally back him. There are few indications, however, that it will come up with its own candidate with only a month to go.
There were rumors late last year that the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former president José Ramos-Horta would run again for the post this year. This now appears not to be the case. Ramos-Horta announced last month that he would not stand as a candidate, according to a Portuguese-language newspaper. Other presidential candidates include António “Fatuk Mutin” Maher Lopes, who is reportedly running with the backing of the small Socialist Party of Timor, and José António de Jesus das Neves, a former deputy commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission, who is running as an independent.
So what does this mean? Well, should Lu Olo win the presidential race, and FRETILIN and the CNRT win a majority of the seats at the general election (which is likely to be the case, though they will be campaigning separately) then the FRETILIN-CNRT alliance will have complete control over the executive if the unity government continues post-election. Ruak and the PLP may well win some seats in parliament, they will have an uphill struggle to secure enough MPs to form a viable opposition.
Some contend that unity between FRETILIN and the CNRT is justifiable, since it means the scenes that unfolded in 2006 are unlikely to reoccur. And the country, which desperately needs to develop economically and socially, will no longer be plagued by infighting in the National Parliament over legislation.
There are also suggestions the public is happy with the arrangement. A poll conducted in November by the International Republican Institute (IRI), a U.S.-based nonprofit, found 74 percent of East Timorese thought the government was doing a good job, and 72 percent thought Timor-Leste will be “better off” in years to come. In terms of infrastructure, a high number of respondents thought things had improved over the course of the year: 79 percent for healthcare, 78 percent for education, and 71 percent for electricity. Though only 29 percent saw improvements in the country’s enfeebled road network, compared to 32 percent who thought it was getting worse.
“The optimistic outlook and enthusiasm for democracy displayed in this poll are highly encouraging,” IRI Regional Director for Asia, Derek Luyten, said in a statement. “Ahead of the upcoming presidential election, it is crucial that Timorese political leaders seize upon this popular goodwill to address the issues of greatest concern to citizens, and take steps to ensure citizens are well-informed of how and when to vote.”
Still, this is only half of the picture. A report published last month by the Asia Foundation , a nonprofit international development organization, found that the majority of residents in the capital, Dili, fear they could be evicted from their homes should a draft law currently being debated in parliament go through. If the law is passed, said the Asia Foundation’s deputy country director in Timor-Leste, Todd Wassel, “we estimate a quarter of Dili would not be protected under the new law, so they wouldn’t have any legal tenure security on the land where they’re currently living.” The report described land dispossession and conflict as the “dormant giants” affecting the country’s stability.
Consensus, according to Ruak, only works in the interest of the ruling elite. According to the outgoing president, the government does “not use unanimity to solve [Timor-Leste’s] issues; they use it for power and privilege. Brother Xanana takes care of Timor while Brother [Alkatiri] takes care of Oecussi.” Oecussi is a small enclave in Indonesian West Timor, where a costly Special Social Market Economy Zone is currently in development. In 2013, Mari Alkatiri, the Secretary-General of FRETILIN, was chosen by Gusmão to preside over this economic zone.
Timor-Leste’s problems, however, tend to fall into the categories of “what-ifs.” What if violence breaks out again (unlikely) and what if its oil and gas reserves run out (incredibly likely), as I have considered previously?
Should the unity government survive after this year’s elections, there is little to suggest it would turn away from the economic policy it has followed for a number of years: growing state budgets, a lethargic diversification of the economy, dependence on its sovereign wealth fund, and large infrastructure projects that (not always unfairly) have been dubbed vanity projects.
The division that has arisen in East Timorese politics, going into an election year, was summed up in a brief report by the Economist’s Intelligence Unit, published January 16, which stated that the elections will pit “the supporters of the unity government against those who focus on corruption and claim that the government is wasting the country’s petroleum wealth on trophy projects.”
The question, therefore, is whether political peace and stability justify the costs that come with consensus. Indeed, whether they justify the possible weakening of the country’s proud democracy. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2015 Democracy Index ranked Timor-Leste 44th out of 167 places, the highest of all Southeast Asian countries. The 2016 edition of the same index bumped Timor-Leste up one place, still the highest in the region.
This is quite a feat for a nation that only gained its independence 15 years ago. But it is a feat that could be so easily undone should the government be bereft of an effective opposition for the next five years. Arguably, the government needs to be held accountable during the next few years more than any other time since 2002; the decisions it makes will be among the most important in the nation’s short history. The Diplomat
Timor-Leste: As presidenciais de 20 de Março
By Rui Graça Feijó, Lecturer at CES/UCoimbra and IHC/UNLisboa
The field of candidates is composed of 8 individuals who submitted at least 5,000 endorsements with a regional distribution of at least 100 in each of the country’s 213 districts. This is the same number as in 2007, and 5 less than in 2012. Underneath the “normality” of this picture, a major change is occurring: there is a very strong candidate alongside seven others with little or no chance of actually fighting for anything more than a modest result, at best an honourable second. The presidential elections will thus fulfil two purposes: one is the official task of choosing a president; the other is to help contenders ascertain their hold on popular vote and their chances in the legislative elections scheduled for June, allowing for tactical decisions. On top of that, internal party struggles, a show of personal vanity, and access to the generous public support to candidates (at least US$ 10,000 per candidate regardless of their electoral score) will play a minor part in the circus.
FRETILIN proposed Lu Olo, its chairman (not its leader, the secretary-general Mari Alkatiri), as it had done in 2007 and 2012. Both times Lu Olo came first on the initial round only to see all other candidates rally against him in the decisive one. He has now received the formal backing of the largest parliamentary party, CNRT, and most of all, of the charismatic leader of the young nation, Xanana Gusmão. He is “Snow White” surrounded by seven dwarfs.
The main rival seems to be António Conceição. He is a member of Partido Democrático, a party that suffered a heavy blow with the death of its historical leader Fernando Lasama de Araújo (2015), followed by internal strife. The party as such ceased to be part of the governmental coalition, although his ministers were allowed to remain in functions as “independent”. António Conceição is one of those, and his bid at the presidency is partly a test for a presumed bid for the party leadership. He may have the backing of a new party, Partido da Libertação do Povo, inspired by the outgoing president Taur Matan Ruak, who declined to seek re-election and is widely believed to be preparing a bid for the premiership (if the presidential elections allow for such presumption).
Former minister José Luis Guterres, whose party Frenti-Mudança is the smaller one in the governmental coalition, has also declared his intention to run.
Two non-parliamentary parties have also fielded candidates. Partido Trabalhista supports its leader, Angela Freitas, and Partido Socialista Timorense backs António Maher Lopes. Although PST has no MP, its leader, Avelino Coelho, holds an important position in government.
A former deputy commissioner in the Anti-Corruption Commission, José Neves, is among those who seek the popular vote without party support – a circumstance that in the past has been critical in winning the second ballot, as candidates in these circumstances were able to build coalitions of all the defeated runners against the “danger” of a partisan candidate. Two others fall in this category: Amorim Vieira, of whom very little is known apart from the fact that he lived in Scotland where he joined SNP; and Luis Tilman, a virtually unknown individual who also presents himself as “independent”.
A few things emerge from this picture. Against what is expectable in two-round elections in fragmented party systems (Timor has 4 parliamentary parties, about 30 legal ones, and the 2012 elections had 21 parties or coalitions running), which induce the presentation of candidates on an identity affirmation basis in view of a negotiation for the second ballot (as was the case in Timor in 2007 and 2012), this time the two largest parties negotiated a common candidate before the first round, significantly increasing the likelihood that he will be elected on March 20.
It thus highly probable that Timor-Leste will have for the first time a president who is a member of a political party. The experience of three non-partisan presidents comes to an end not because the rules of the game have been changed, but rather because the political scenario has moved considerably. Back in 2015, a government of “national inclusion” replaced the one led by Xanana with the backing of all parties in the House, even if FRETILIN, who offered one of its members for the premiership, still claims to be “in the opposition”. The move has been called by a senior minister “a transformation of belligerent democracy into consensus democracy”. Although the outgoing president is supposed to have facilitated this development, he soon turned sides and became a bitter and very outspoken critic of Rui Maria de Araújo’s executive and the political entente that sustains it.
Now the two major partners of the entente agreed to go together to the presidential elections, signalling that they wish to continue the current government formula after this year’s cycle of elections (even if the place of smaller parties in the coalition is not secure, and a question mark hangs above the score that the new opposition PLP may obtain). More than this, they assume that the role of the president has somehow changed from being the guarantor of impartiality discharging a “neutral” function as “president of all Timorese” to be a player in the partisan game, throwing his political and institutional support behind the government coalition.
A question emerges when one considers that CNRT is the largest party in the House, and that it has relinquished the right to appoint the prime minister (who is a member of FRETILIN acting in an “individual capacity”) and now forfeits the chance of securing the presidency, offering it to its rival/partner. Will it maintain this low-key attitude after the parliamentary elections if it remains the largest party?
The CNRT/FRETILIN entente suggests that Timorese politics lives in a double stage: the official one with state officers discharging their functions, and the one behind the curtains where de facto Xanana (who is simply a minister) and Mari Alkatiri (who holds a leading position in a regional development entity) tend retain the reins of actual power. In this light, public efforts to promote the “gerasaun foun” (younger generation) in lieu of the “gerasaun tuan” (the old guard that was already present back in 1975) by offering the premiership and other jobs to those who are relatively younger needs to be carefully hold in check.
In Dili, I was told that Timorese presidents tend to suffer the “syndrome of the wrong palace”. This expression is meant to convey the idea that they become frustrated with the (allegedly limited) powers bestowed upon them by the constitution, and consider that the legitimacy conferred on them by a two round election that guarantees an absolute majority is sort of “kidnapped”. They are prisoners in their palace. They believe they have the right to determine strategic orientations and cannot find the actual means to implement them. So they look at the premiership in the palace next door. Xanana stepped down from the presidency and launched a party and a successful bid to head government; Taur Matan Ruak is trying to follow suit – but his chances are not deemed so high. If Lu Olo manages to get elected, the sort of relations he is likely to establish with the prime-minister are totally different, as he is compromised with “one majority, one government, one president” – only the president is not likely to be the one who leads. Will this resolve the syndrome issue? Interesting times lay ahead.
23.2.17
Bissau: Jomav must go!
Hundreds of protesters have marched through the capital of Guinea-Bissau, demanding the departure of embattled President Jose Mario Vaz.
On Thursday, the crowd of angry demonstrators on the main avenues of the capital Bissau held anti-government placards and repeatedly chanted slogans such as "Jomav get out", using the president's local nickname.
They also called for fresh elections to end the political crisis gripping the African country.
The demonstration came a day after parliament rejected a program submitted by Prime Minister Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embalo.
Vaz appointed Sissoco in November after months of regional talks seeking an end to an 18-month political turmoil in the country.
The prime minister has already missed a 60-day deadline to present a government program and budget that have to be accepted by parliament.
"The party ... voted against the program of the PM because his government is illegitimate," said Seidy Ba Sane, a spokesman for the country's ruling PAIGC party.
Sissoco has stressed that he would continue ruling without the confidence of parliament.
People in the West African country say the failure to pass a budget has begun to affect their daily lives and caused delays in payment of salaries for civil servants.
In addition, the ongoing crisis has stoked fears that drug traffickers might profit from the power vacuum in the country.
Earlier this month, the United Nations expressed concern "over challenges posed by transnational organized crime and emerging threats, including drug trafficking, in the country."
The economy of Guinea Bissau, one of the world's poorest countries, is heavily reliant on cashew nut production.
Violence has rocked Guinea-Bissau since 1974 when it gained independence from Portugal.
Since its independence, the country has suffered from political turmoil, including a series of military coups largely due to the unprecedented expansion of the army.
On Thursday, the crowd of angry demonstrators on the main avenues of the capital Bissau held anti-government placards and repeatedly chanted slogans such as "Jomav get out", using the president's local nickname.
They also called for fresh elections to end the political crisis gripping the African country.
The demonstration came a day after parliament rejected a program submitted by Prime Minister Umaro Mokhtar Sissoco Embalo.
Vaz appointed Sissoco in November after months of regional talks seeking an end to an 18-month political turmoil in the country.
The prime minister has already missed a 60-day deadline to present a government program and budget that have to be accepted by parliament.
"The party ... voted against the program of the PM because his government is illegitimate," said Seidy Ba Sane, a spokesman for the country's ruling PAIGC party.
Sissoco has stressed that he would continue ruling without the confidence of parliament.
People in the West African country say the failure to pass a budget has begun to affect their daily lives and caused delays in payment of salaries for civil servants.
In addition, the ongoing crisis has stoked fears that drug traffickers might profit from the power vacuum in the country.
Earlier this month, the United Nations expressed concern "over challenges posed by transnational organized crime and emerging threats, including drug trafficking, in the country."
The economy of Guinea Bissau, one of the world's poorest countries, is heavily reliant on cashew nut production.
Violence has rocked Guinea-Bissau since 1974 when it gained independence from Portugal.
Since its independence, the country has suffered from political turmoil, including a series of military coups largely due to the unprecedented expansion of the army.
19.2.17
Gâmbia: Tem a palavra o Senegal
Le président de la République a déclaré vendredi à Banjul que les liens naturels et culturels qui lient le Sénégal et la Gambie ne doivent pas être remis en cause par des tracés frontaliers décidés par le colonisateur, évoquant la nécessité de rehausser le niveau de partenariat entre les deux pays.‘’Nous sommes le même peuple et nous resterons le même peuple. C’est devenu à la limite sacré. Ce sont les colonisateurs britannique et français qui ont procédé au tracé des frontières, mais nos liens naturels sont beaucoup plus forts que cela’’, a souligné Macky Sall, peu après son arrivée dans la capitale gambienne.Une foule nombreuse a envahi vendredi les rues de Banjul pour offrir un accueil populaire au président Macky Sall, invité d’honneur du 52ème anniversaire de l’indépendance de la Gambie, a constaté l’APS.‘’Il nous faut retravailler nos liens et nos rapports de tous les jours avec cette nouvelle Gambie. Les relations ne doivent plus être que politiques ou diplomatiques. Il faut plus de rapprochement entre les commerçants, les hommes d’affaires et les acteurs économiques et sociaux des deux pays’’, a préconisé Macky Sall.Il a fait remarquer que les deux pays peuvent se revendiquer ‘’du même style de vie, des mêmes langues nationales, du même peuple’’. ‘’Nous deux pays doivent joindre leurs forces pour un développement économique et social qui profite à nos peuples. Nous allons nous battre pour la satisfaction des besoins des personnes pour qui et par qui nous sommes élus’’, a-t-il fait valor.
avec Aps
Gâmbia: Libertados os detidos sem julgamento
Le nouveau président gambien Adama Barrow a annoncé samedi la libération de tous les détenus sans jugement dans le pays et une commission d'enquête sur les disparitions sous le régime de l'ex-président Yahya Jammeh, lors de la fête de son investiture. Il a également annoncé la mise sur pied d’une « commission d’enquête sur les disparitions » sous le régime de M. Jammeh qui a dirigé pendant 22 ans la Gambie sans partage et est accusé de nombreuses violations de droits de l’Homme.« Le ministre de la Justice va recevoir des informations au sujet de tous ceux qui ont disparu sans laisser de trace. Une commission chargée des droits de l’homme sera installée sans délai pour compléter les initiatives du ministre de la Justice », a dit M. Barrow, en présence de milliers de personnes
La cérémonie s’est tenue un mois après sa prestation de serment le 19 janvier à l’ambassade de Gambie au Sénégal voisin, où il était accueilli à la demande de la Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Cédéao) par crainte pour sa sécurité.
Yahya Jammeh, qui contestait la victoire d’Adama Barrow à l’élection du 1er décembre, a finalement cédé le pouvoir et quitté la Gambie le 21 janvier pour la Guinée équatoriale à la suite d’une intervention militaire de la Cédéao et d’une ultime médiation des présidents guinéen Alpha Condé et mauritanien Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
M. Barrow, rentré en Gambie le 26 janvier, a de nouveau prêté serment, cette fois devant le président de la Cour suprême, le juge Hassan Bubacar Jallow.
Les festivités avaient commencé vers 09H00 (GMT et locales) au stade de Bakao, d’une capacité de 20.000 places, aux gradins remplis de monde.
Des centaines de personnes ont convergé vers le lieu de la cérémonie dès les premières heures de la matinée de samedi. « J’ai passé la nuit dans le stade pour m’assurer que j’aurai une place confortable. Je ne le regrette pas parce que j’ai pu le faire sans bousculade », a dit à l’AFP Isatou Dibba.
Des diplomates étrangers se sont difficilement frayés un passage pour accéder au stade. Des milliers de personnes n’ayant pu entrer sont restés dehors, sous la surveillance de forces de l’ordre.
Les festivités se sont tenues en présence des chefs d’Etat du Sénégal Macky Sall, invité d’honneur, du Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, également présidente en exercice de la Cédéao, de Mauritanie, de Côte d’Ivoire, du Burkina Faso et du Ghana.
Le Nigeria, engagé à la fois dans la médiation auprès de Yahya Jammeh et dans l’opération militaire, et la Sierra Leone, étaient représentés par leur vice-président, la Guinée-Bissau par son Premier ministre, la Guinée par sa ministre des Affaires étrangères, Makalé Kamara.
Parmi les invités de marque figuraient notamment Dawda Jawara, premier président de la Gambie indépendante, de 1965 jusqu’au coup d’Etat de 1994 qui a porté Yahya Jammeh au pouvoir. L’ex-président du Ghana John Dramani Mahama a également assisté à la cérémonie.
La Gambie est une ex-colonie britannique totalement enclavée dans le Sénégal francophone à l’exception de son étroite façade côtière.
La cérémonie s’est tenue un mois après sa prestation de serment le 19 janvier à l’ambassade de Gambie au Sénégal voisin, où il était accueilli à la demande de la Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Cédéao) par crainte pour sa sécurité.
Yahya Jammeh, qui contestait la victoire d’Adama Barrow à l’élection du 1er décembre, a finalement cédé le pouvoir et quitté la Gambie le 21 janvier pour la Guinée équatoriale à la suite d’une intervention militaire de la Cédéao et d’une ultime médiation des présidents guinéen Alpha Condé et mauritanien Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
M. Barrow, rentré en Gambie le 26 janvier, a de nouveau prêté serment, cette fois devant le président de la Cour suprême, le juge Hassan Bubacar Jallow.
Les festivités avaient commencé vers 09H00 (GMT et locales) au stade de Bakao, d’une capacité de 20.000 places, aux gradins remplis de monde.
Des centaines de personnes ont convergé vers le lieu de la cérémonie dès les premières heures de la matinée de samedi. « J’ai passé la nuit dans le stade pour m’assurer que j’aurai une place confortable. Je ne le regrette pas parce que j’ai pu le faire sans bousculade », a dit à l’AFP Isatou Dibba.
Des diplomates étrangers se sont difficilement frayés un passage pour accéder au stade. Des milliers de personnes n’ayant pu entrer sont restés dehors, sous la surveillance de forces de l’ordre.
Les festivités se sont tenues en présence des chefs d’Etat du Sénégal Macky Sall, invité d’honneur, du Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, également présidente en exercice de la Cédéao, de Mauritanie, de Côte d’Ivoire, du Burkina Faso et du Ghana.
Le Nigeria, engagé à la fois dans la médiation auprès de Yahya Jammeh et dans l’opération militaire, et la Sierra Leone, étaient représentés par leur vice-président, la Guinée-Bissau par son Premier ministre, la Guinée par sa ministre des Affaires étrangères, Makalé Kamara.
Parmi les invités de marque figuraient notamment Dawda Jawara, premier président de la Gambie indépendante, de 1965 jusqu’au coup d’Etat de 1994 qui a porté Yahya Jammeh au pouvoir. L’ex-président du Ghana John Dramani Mahama a également assisté à la cérémonie.
La Gambie est une ex-colonie britannique totalement enclavée dans le Sénégal francophone à l’exception de son étroite façade côtière.
18.2.17
As mentiras de Donald Trump
Donald Trump: Estou aqui a cumprir o que prometi fazer. É só o que estou a fazer. Estou a expor isto aos americanos. Tive 306 votos no Colégio Eleitoral. Não era suposto eu ter obtido 222. Disseram que era impossível obter 222 ou 230. Então os necessários 270, nem pensar. E obtivemos 306. Porque as pessoas saíram e foram votar como nunca tinha acontecido. Creio que foi a maior vitória no Colégio Eleitoral desde Ronald Reagan.
Peter Alexander: Disse que obteve a maior margem eleitoral desde Ronald Reagan, com 304 ou 306 votos. Na verdade, o Presidente Obama obteve 365.
D.T.: Bem, eu referia-me aos republicanos.
P.A.: E depois o Presidente Obama obteve 332 votos e George W. Bush 422, quando foi eleito Presidente. Porque deverão os americanos confiar em si?
D.T.: Passaram-me essa informação. Não sei. Acabaram de ma passar. Tivemos uma margem elevadíssima.
P.A.: Porque devem os americanos confiar em si quando alega que a informação que eles recebem é falsa e o próprio Presidente passa informações falsas?
D.T.: Bom, não sei. Deram-me essa informação. Na verdade, já tinha visto essa informação por aí. Mas foi uma vitória substancial. Concorda com isso?
P.A.: Você é o Presidente.
D.T.: Ok, obrigado. É uma boa resposta. Expresso
15.2.17
Sudão do Sul: A catástrofe
Un rapport confidentiel de l'ONU, consulté par l'AFP mardi, avertit que la guerre au Soudan du Sud a atteint des "proportions catastrophiques pour les civils" et que l'emprise des milices risque de devenir incontrôlable et d'alimenter les combats pour de nombreuses années.
Le secrétaire général de l’ONU Antonio Guterres écrit dans ce rapport que les civils fuient villes et villages « en nombre record » et que le risque d’atrocités de masse « est réel ».
« La situation sécuritaire continue de se détériorer dans certaines régions du pays et l’impact de ce conflit et des violences atteint des proportions catastrophiques pour les civils », s’inquiète le chef de l’ONU.
« La montée des milices sous le commandement du SPLA (l’armée sud-soudanaise loyale au président Salva Kiir) ou des rebelles est en train de causer la fragmentation » du territoire sud-soudanais qui risque, si cette tendance continue, « d’échapper à tout contrôle du gouvernement pour les années à venir », peut-on encore lire dans ce rapport envoyé lundi au Conseil de sécurité.
13 000 Casques bleus
Les Nations unies entretiennent un contingent de 13 000 Casques bleus au Soudan du Sud mais ces soldats sont régulièrement empêchés de mener à bien leur mission de maintien de la paix par les troupes gouvernementales et les rebelles dans les régions où des combats ont éclaté.
La semaine dernière, un Casque bleu en patrouille a été arrêté par quatre soldats, arraché de sa voiture et battu, selon le rapport.
Force régionale
Après sa rencontre avec Salva Kiir le mois dernier, Antonio Guterres fait état de progrès concernant le déploiement d’une force régionale sous commandement de l’ONU pour renforcer la sécurité dans la capitale, Djouba.
Le Rwanda est prêt à envoyer des troupes et des hélicoptères lors d’une première vague de déploiement en mars ou en avril et l’Éthiopie se prépare également à contribuer à cette force.
Le Kenya n’a cependant pas encore confirmé sa contribution à cette force de 4 000 hommes et un différend sur la présence de la force à l’aéroport de Djouba n’est pas résolu, indique le rapport. Jeune Afrique
Le secrétaire général de l’ONU Antonio Guterres écrit dans ce rapport que les civils fuient villes et villages « en nombre record » et que le risque d’atrocités de masse « est réel ».
« La situation sécuritaire continue de se détériorer dans certaines régions du pays et l’impact de ce conflit et des violences atteint des proportions catastrophiques pour les civils », s’inquiète le chef de l’ONU.
« La montée des milices sous le commandement du SPLA (l’armée sud-soudanaise loyale au président Salva Kiir) ou des rebelles est en train de causer la fragmentation » du territoire sud-soudanais qui risque, si cette tendance continue, « d’échapper à tout contrôle du gouvernement pour les années à venir », peut-on encore lire dans ce rapport envoyé lundi au Conseil de sécurité.
13 000 Casques bleus
Les Nations unies entretiennent un contingent de 13 000 Casques bleus au Soudan du Sud mais ces soldats sont régulièrement empêchés de mener à bien leur mission de maintien de la paix par les troupes gouvernementales et les rebelles dans les régions où des combats ont éclaté.
La semaine dernière, un Casque bleu en patrouille a été arrêté par quatre soldats, arraché de sa voiture et battu, selon le rapport.
Force régionale
Après sa rencontre avec Salva Kiir le mois dernier, Antonio Guterres fait état de progrès concernant le déploiement d’une force régionale sous commandement de l’ONU pour renforcer la sécurité dans la capitale, Djouba.
Le Rwanda est prêt à envoyer des troupes et des hélicoptères lors d’une première vague de déploiement en mars ou en avril et l’Éthiopie se prépare également à contribuer à cette force.
Le Kenya n’a cependant pas encore confirmé sa contribution à cette force de 4 000 hommes et un différend sur la présence de la force à l’aéroport de Djouba n’est pas résolu, indique le rapport. Jeune Afrique
13.2.17
Cabinda: O que afirma a FLEC
As Forças Armadas de Cabinda (FAC) lançaram, nos dias 03 e 06 de Fevereiro,
um assalto contra vários povoados detidos pelas FAA. Na localidade de
Ntungo, houve 6 mortos das FAA e, na de Tchivovo as FAA registaram 3
mortos e 4 feridos. Na área do Dinge e Massabi, na povoação de Tchibueta,
houve 5 elementos das FAA mortos e 1 das FAC .
As FAC lançaram também um ataque contra as posições das FAA na região do
Necuto, no dia 10 de Fevereiro. Na localidade de Mbuco Nkangu, na Montanha
de Mbata Nkazu, as FAA sofreram 4 mortos e 6 feridos, e nós recuperámos
armas pesadas.
Cabinda é zona de guerra embora não tenhamos a cobertura mediática ou o
apoio das empresas estrangeiras.
As Forças Armadas de Cabinda (FAC) exigem que as empresas exploradoras de
Ouro a operar na região de Buco-Zau, na área de Mongo Mbucuco, suspendam
imediatamente as suas actividades ilegais. A sua presença no nosso território é
contrária à proibição de toda a exploração na floresta do Maiombe.
Cabinda está em guerra, pelo que nós não podemos garantir a segurança
daqueles que exploram as nossas riquezas .
Cabinda é zona de guerra embora não tenhamos a cobertura mediática ou o
apoio das empresas estrangeiras!
Tenente-general Alfonso Nzau
Chefe da Brigada do Maiombe Sul
12.2.17
Bissau: As Lagoas de Cufada
Guineenses radicados em Portugal exigem fim das obras que colocam em risco biodiversidade das Lagoas de Cufada, a maior reserva de água doce do país. Governo diz que construção vai avançar.
Parque Natural das Lagoas de Cufada abrange ecossistemas de zonas húmidas e de florestas.
A maioria dos guineenses radicados em Portugal não quer ver erguida uma projetada central termoelétrica dentro da área protegida do Parque Natural das Lagoas de Cufada, situado na região de Quinará, no sul da Guiné-Bissau.
O sentimento é de "muita indignação", como constatou a DW África durante uma conferência realizada na sexta-feira (10.02), na Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, em Lisboa, para debater alternativas e travar a construção, que viola, entre outras, as leis de proteção das áreas protegidas e da terra.
Ouvir o áudio 05:52
Parque natural guineense é ameaçado por central elétrica
O parque que concentra a maior reserva de água doce da Guiné-Bissau abrange ecossistemas de zonas húmidas e de florestas de interesse patrimonial excecional, além de ter uma zona de pesca como único meio de subsistência da população.
Segundo o ativista e sociólogo guineense, Miguel de Barros, os prejuízos ambientais serão enormes se o investimento avançar. O projeto patrocinado pelo Governo tinha de obedecer à realização de estudos prévios de impacto ambiental, e de viabilidade económica e financeira, mas nada disso foi feito.
"Sobretudo, era necessário transparência em termos do que é o investimento em si e como obedece, por exemplo, o código de investimento público, a lei da terra, a lei de avaliação de impacto ambiental e o decreto da criação de área protegida, que salvaguarda a não concessão de terras no interior do Parque de Lagoas de Cufada", explica.
Miguel de Barros, que também é diretor-executivo da ONG Tiniguena, ressalta que o investimento tem interesses obscuros e não traz vantagens para a população.
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Ativista Miguel de Barros: "É necessário transparência sobre os investimentos"
"Como é que uma central a gasóleo para um país que não é produtor de petróleo tem capacidade de fornecer energia, independentemente do tipo de impacto – emissão de gases, do barulho e do impacto no lençol freático? Qual é a capacidade de compra de energia que as populações têm em relação ao preço e nível de investimento feito ao repôr a oferta que depois vão fazer?", questiona.
A construção da central financiada pela Índia e orçada em 18,7 milhões de euros prevê a desflorestação de mais de nove hectares de terra. Especialistas advertem que a intervenção humana pode contaminar a água e o solo e afetar a rica biodiversidade da região.
"Para além de chimpazés, existem outros mamíferos. Existem outros grandes animais, mas que já vão desaparecendo. Ocasionalmente, ainda se observa um búfalo, um elefante, mas esses animais já são muito ameaçados", explica o biológo português, Paulo Catry, investigador do ISPA – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa.
Governo diz que obras vão avançar
Em declarações recentes à agência Lusa, o ministro da Energia, Florentino Pereira, garantiu que a construção da central é para avançar, mesmo não tendo sido feito estudos de impacto ambiental. Ele disse que se as obras que vão garantir fornecimento de energia no sul do país pararem os custos serão "incalculáveis". Pereira, no entanto, afirmou que o lençol freático não será afetado e que não houve grande desmatação.
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Paulo Catry: "População e biodiversidade serão prejudicados"
Um dos opositores à ideia da central térmica, o economista guineense Eduardo Fernandes, considera, por sua vez, que conservar a natureza traz ganhos.
"Não desaparece um determinado número de espécies, vamos ter a garantia de água doce na região e as populações vão continuar a ter alimentos e uma fauna diversificada. Portanto, há ganhos a longo prazo maior do que o imediatismo de uma central elétrica", argumentou.
Os defensores do Parque Natural das Lagoas de Cufada querem alternativas sustentáveis e pedem ao Governo para parar as obras, fazer estudos de impacto e tornar público o acordo estabelecido com a empresa indiana. Além disso, querem que a produção energética seja de energia limpa fotovoltáica, para evitar o desbravamento da floresta.
A diáspora, na opinião de Miguel de Barros, pode desempenhar um papel importante de alerta aos atores políticos e da própria comunidade internacional, na lógica de exigir responsabilidades ao Estado guineense relativamente à preservação de espaços e de recursos produtivos indispensáveis à estratégia de desenvolvimento sustentável da Guiné-Bissau.
11.2.17
Nigéria: Estranhas profecias
The founder and primate of the Evangelical Church of Yahweh Worldwide, Theophilus Olabayo, has said that time has come for a new president to emerge in Nigeria.
In a phone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday night, Mr. Olabayo said “a man of destiny is going to take over in another dimension.”
“God told me that the president has done well but his time is up, Aso Rock is vacant, nobody is there. And God told me that he will raise up a man who loves Nigeria to take over,” said Mr. Olabayo.
“It’s not going to be business as usual, God is taking over this country, what happened in America is going to happen in Nigeria. New Nigeria will be born. Most of those people who stole our wealth, God told me that they will be exposed wherever they are.
“What God revealed to me is that enemies of this country, enemies that are always putting wrong people there to punish us… God said he has put a lion there, on the seat of the leader of this country, nobody is sitting there.
“And anybody that doesn’t love this country, that they want to go all out to fix people there, God will consume them.”
Mr. Olabayo’s prophecy comes one week after he called for a three-day national fasting and prayer to avert an impending “darkness” hovering over Nigeria.
In a phone interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday night, Mr. Olabayo said “a man of destiny is going to take over in another dimension.”
“God told me that the president has done well but his time is up, Aso Rock is vacant, nobody is there. And God told me that he will raise up a man who loves Nigeria to take over,” said Mr. Olabayo.
“It’s not going to be business as usual, God is taking over this country, what happened in America is going to happen in Nigeria. New Nigeria will be born. Most of those people who stole our wealth, God told me that they will be exposed wherever they are.
“What God revealed to me is that enemies of this country, enemies that are always putting wrong people there to punish us… God said he has put a lion there, on the seat of the leader of this country, nobody is sitting there.
“And anybody that doesn’t love this country, that they want to go all out to fix people there, God will consume them.”
Mr. Olabayo’s prophecy comes one week after he called for a three-day national fasting and prayer to avert an impending “darkness” hovering over Nigeria.
Nigéria: Mulher insatisfeita
A 36-year-old seamstress, Sherifat Adetunji, on Friday pleaded at a Lagos Island Customary Court that her marriage should be dissolved on ground that her husband was longer ejaculating inside her during sex.
The mother of two said that her 10-year-old marriage was blissful until five years ago when things started changing.
She lamented that her husband could go a year or more without making love to her and that when he did he would not ejaculate inside her.
“My husband has been starving me sexually, sometimes he will not touch me for a whole year and when he did, he would not release inside me.
“I have complained severally about my dissatisfaction over his attitude towards our sexual life, but has refused to change,” she said.
She told the court that her husband once brought a strange man into their house to perform some rituals in the middle of the night and since then she started emaciating.
The husband brought a man to pass the night in our house and that in the middle of the night they performed some rituals since then I have been growing lean.
“He did not show any concern about my state of health or why I was growing lean everyday,” Sherifat said.
She, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve the marriage and give her the custody of their two children, Alia, 8, and Kismat, 5.
Her husband, Monsuru, 38, a trader, told the court that he thought his wife was happy in their marriage because they hardly quarreled.
He said he was surprised when she packed out of the house and brought him to court for the dissolution of their marriage.
He admitted his sexual behaviour, saying that it was due to the current economic recession so as to prevent his wife from getting pregnant.
“I stopped making love to her regularly and releasing in her because of the present economic situation in the country so that she does not get pregnant.
“The man she said I brought home was a distant relation who had no place to pass the night.
“The reason why my wife is reducing in size is because she does not give herself rest of mind, she is always worried about one thing or the other,” he said.
He urged the court to dissolve the marriage as he was no longer interested in the marriage because she had packed out of their matrimonial home.
The Court President, Mr Awos Awosola, said that marriage institution could only work if the two were in agreement.
“Marriage is for two people, not one; your wife should also have a say in the home.
“Since she has complained severally that you are starving her sexually, you should have made amends.
“If you do not want to get her pregnant you can always use condom,” he said.
Awosola urged the two parties to maintain the peace and adjourned the case to Feb. 16 for further hearing.
(NAN)
The mother of two said that her 10-year-old marriage was blissful until five years ago when things started changing.
“My husband has been starving me sexually, sometimes he will not touch me for a whole year and when he did, he would not release inside me.
“I have complained severally about my dissatisfaction over his attitude towards our sexual life, but has refused to change,” she said.
She told the court that her husband once brought a strange man into their house to perform some rituals in the middle of the night and since then she started emaciating.
“He did not show any concern about my state of health or why I was growing lean everyday,” Sherifat said.
She, therefore, prayed the court to dissolve the marriage and give her the custody of their two children, Alia, 8, and Kismat, 5.
Her husband, Monsuru, 38, a trader, told the court that he thought his wife was happy in their marriage because they hardly quarreled.
He admitted his sexual behaviour, saying that it was due to the current economic recession so as to prevent his wife from getting pregnant.
“I stopped making love to her regularly and releasing in her because of the present economic situation in the country so that she does not get pregnant.
“The man she said I brought home was a distant relation who had no place to pass the night.
“The reason why my wife is reducing in size is because she does not give herself rest of mind, she is always worried about one thing or the other,” he said.
He urged the court to dissolve the marriage as he was no longer interested in the marriage because she had packed out of their matrimonial home.
The Court President, Mr Awos Awosola, said that marriage institution could only work if the two were in agreement.
“Marriage is for two people, not one; your wife should also have a say in the home.
“Since she has complained severally that you are starving her sexually, you should have made amends.
“If you do not want to get her pregnant you can always use condom,” he said.
Awosola urged the two parties to maintain the peace and adjourned the case to Feb. 16 for further hearing.
(NAN)
Gâmbia fica no TPI
New Gambian President Adama Barrow has confirmed through a top EU official that The Gambia will remain in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Neven Mimica, the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, was in The Gambia to announce a package of financial support for the country and reported the decision after meeting with Barrow. Last October then-president Yahya Jammeh had stated that the country intended to leave the international court dedicated to trying instances of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity because the court had allegedly been disproportionately scrutinizing African leaders. Jammeh referred to the court through Information Minister Sheriff Bojang as the "International Caucasian Court."
The Gambia was the third country that had announced plans to leave the ICC or had actually done so within the last several years. In October South Africa and Burundi [JURIST reports] similarly announced their withdrawal from the ICC. The South African government originally expressed [Reuters report] such intentions in 2015 when the nation refused to act on the ICC's arrest warrant for visiting Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The nation's Justice Minister stated that the country's ICC membership conflicts with South Africa's Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act (DIPA). Vice President Gaston Sindimwo of Burundi previously announced the country's decision to withdraw from the ICC amid criticism the court only prosecutes African nationals.
The Gambia was the third country that had announced plans to leave the ICC or had actually done so within the last several years. In October South Africa and Burundi [JURIST reports] similarly announced their withdrawal from the ICC. The South African government originally expressed [Reuters report] such intentions in 2015 when the nation refused to act on the ICC's arrest warrant for visiting Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. The nation's Justice Minister stated that the country's ICC membership conflicts with South Africa's Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act (DIPA). Vice President Gaston Sindimwo of Burundi previously announced the country's decision to withdraw from the ICC amid criticism the court only prosecutes African nationals.
Gâmbia: Diminui o número de soldados estrangeiros
Thousands of soldiers from the West African bloc ECOWAS will start returning home this month from The Gambia, from where long-time leader Yahya Jammeh was forced to flee last month, paving the way for new President Adama Barrow to take office, Euronews reported.
The multinational force will be cut to 500 troops from the 7,000 sent into Gambia after Jammeh, who had ruled since seizing power in a 1994 coup, have refused to accept Barrow’s victory in a Dec. 1 election.
Force's mission will include protecting Barrow and other government members and institutions as trust is established between the new authorities and Gambia’s military, which was a pillar of Jammeh’s authoritarian regime.
The multinational force will be cut to 500 troops from the 7,000 sent into Gambia after Jammeh, who had ruled since seizing power in a 1994 coup, have refused to accept Barrow’s victory in a Dec. 1 election.
Force's mission will include protecting Barrow and other government members and institutions as trust is established between the new authorities and Gambia’s military, which was a pillar of Jammeh’s authoritarian regime.
10.2.17
Gâmbia: O apoio da União Europeia
Une aide européenne de 225 millions d’euros sera allouée à la Gambie, afin de soutenir son économie exsangue, selon son nouveau président Adama Barrow.
Banjul devrait dans un premier temps bénéficier d’une aide financière immédiate de 75 millions d’euros, destinée à combattre l’insécurité alimentaire, le chômage et le mauvais état du réseau routier, si l’on en croit un communiqué de l’Union européenne daté du jeudi 9 février. À cela s’ajouterai un second programme d’aide, d’un montant de 150 millions, mais dont les modalités sont actuellement en discussions.
L’annonce a été faite dans la capitale gambienne par le commissaire européen à la Coopération internationale et au Développement Neven Mimica. Elle survient alors que l’UE avait gelé son aide à la Gambie en décembre 2014, en raison de la mauvaise situation des droits de l’Homme dans le pays, et des exactions commises par les services du régime de l’ex-président Yahya Jammeh.
Une aide bienvenue
Le commissaire européen a salué le « changement pacifique et démocratique » représenté par l’accession au pouvoir d’Adama Barrow, vainqueur de l’élection du 1er décembre face à Yahya Jammeh. Il lui a assuré que l’UE était « pleinement engagée [dans] la coopération avec le président Barrow et son gouvernement ».
Lors de la cérémonie de signature, le président Barrow a pour sa part affirmé que la Gambie ne disposait que de deux mois de réserves de changes, avec « une économie quasiment en faillite et en besoin de secours immédiat ». Jeune Afrique
Banjul devrait dans un premier temps bénéficier d’une aide financière immédiate de 75 millions d’euros, destinée à combattre l’insécurité alimentaire, le chômage et le mauvais état du réseau routier, si l’on en croit un communiqué de l’Union européenne daté du jeudi 9 février. À cela s’ajouterai un second programme d’aide, d’un montant de 150 millions, mais dont les modalités sont actuellement en discussions.
L’annonce a été faite dans la capitale gambienne par le commissaire européen à la Coopération internationale et au Développement Neven Mimica. Elle survient alors que l’UE avait gelé son aide à la Gambie en décembre 2014, en raison de la mauvaise situation des droits de l’Homme dans le pays, et des exactions commises par les services du régime de l’ex-président Yahya Jammeh.
Une aide bienvenue
Le commissaire européen a salué le « changement pacifique et démocratique » représenté par l’accession au pouvoir d’Adama Barrow, vainqueur de l’élection du 1er décembre face à Yahya Jammeh. Il lui a assuré que l’UE était « pleinement engagée [dans] la coopération avec le président Barrow et son gouvernement ».
Lors de la cérémonie de signature, le président Barrow a pour sa part affirmé que la Gambie ne disposait que de deux mois de réserves de changes, avec « une économie quasiment en faillite et en besoin de secours immédiat ». Jeune Afrique
9.2.17
África: O lirismo de António Guterres
Bissau,09 Fev 17 (ANG) - O Secretário-Geral da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), António Guterres, disse quarta-feir que África é “um continente de esperança, promessa e vasto potencial”, preferindo esta abordagem em vez de olhar para a região “pelo prisma dos problemas”.
Num artigo de opinião, António Guterres refere que “muitas vezes, o mundo vê a África pelo prisma dos problemas; quando olho para a África, vejo um continente de esperança, promessa e vasto potencial”.No texto, que surge na sequência da sua participação na cimeira de Chefes de Estado e de Governo da União Africana, que decorreu a 30 e 31 de Janeiro em Addis Abeba, António Guterres garante estar “empenhado em reforçar esses pontos fortes e estabelecer uma plataforma mais elevada de cooperação entre as Nações Unidas, os líderes e o povo da África” e diz que isso é “essencial para promover o desenvolvimento inclusivo e sustentável e aprofundar a cooperação para a paz e a segurança”.
O antigo primeiro-ministro português afirma no texto ter trazido da capital etíope um “espírito de profunda solidariedade e respeito”, mas também “um profundo sentimento de gratidão” pelo contributo africano para as forças de paz da ONU.
África “fornece a maioria das forças de paz das Nações Unidas no mundo; as nações africanas estão entre os maiores e mais generosos anfitriões de refugiados mundiais; em África estão algumas das economias com mais rápido crescimento do mundo”, salienta o antigo Alto-Comissário das Nações Unidas para os Refugiados.
“Deixei a cimeira mais convencido do que nunca de que toda a humanidade vai beneficiar-se ouvindo, aprendendo e trabalhando com o povo de África”, afirma Guterres, que sublinha que a prevenção é essencial para resolver os conflitos.
“Muitos dos conflitos de hoje são internos, desencadeados pela competição pelo poder e recursos, desigualdade, marginalização e divisões sectárias; muitas vezes, eles são inflamados pelo extremismo violento ou por ele alimentados”, lê-se no documento.
A prevenção, prossegue, “vai muito além de nos concentrarmos unicamente no conflito. O melhor meio de prevenção, e o caminho mais seguro para uma paz duradoura, é o desenvolvimento inclusivo e sustentável”, defende.
O Secretário-geral da ONU diz não ter dúvidas “de que podemos vencer a batalha pelo desenvolvimento sustentável e inclusivo, que são também as melhores armas para prevenir conflitos e sofrimentos, permitindo que a África brilhe ainda mais de forma vibrante e inspire o mundo”. António Guterres deixou a 28.ª Cimeira da União Africana com um forte apelo para a mudança na forma como o continente berço da humanidade é caracterizado pela comunidade internacional, e com a promessa de apoiá-lo na construção do desenvolvimento e da paz sustentáveis.
Na cimeira de Addis Abeba, lamentou a forma como África é descrita na Europa, Américas e Ásia, denunciou o que chamou de “uma visão parcial de África” e disse ser preciso mudar a narrativa sobre o continente na comunidade internacional e que este deve ser reconhecido “pelo seu enorme potencial”.
O líder da ONU elogiou a União Africana pelo “trabalho muito importante em nome do continente”, manifestou “disposição total da ONU em apoiar plenamente as suas actividades” e destacou “o entendimento integral entre a ONU, a União Africana e a Autoridade Intergovernamental para o Desenvolvimento sobre a necessidade de se trabalhar “numa só voz” para pacificar o Sudão do Sul."
O novo paradigma no relacionamento entre a ONU e os africanos implementado por António Guterres levou o Alpha Condé, o Presidente da Guiné-Conacri e líder em exercício da União Africana, a convidá-lo a participar anualmente num pequeno almoço com Chefes de Estado e de Governo africanos em Janeiro.
Para o Secretário Geral da ONU, estas ocasiões servem para interagir com líderes africanos e discutir “de forma muito significativa” as relações entre a União Africana e a Organização das Nações Unidas.
ANG/JA
Gâmbia: tropas da CEDEAO permanecem
La mission militaire déployée en Gambie par la Cedeao pour renforcer la sécurité du régime du nouveau président Adama Barrow a été prolongée de trois mois. Réforme de l’Agence nationale du renseignement
Le communiqué de la présidence gambienne a également précisé que l’Agence nationale du renseignement (NIA), accusée par les défenseurs des droits humains d’avoir commis des exactions sous le régime de Yahya Jammeh, serait réformée et rebaptisée.
Ses missions vont désormais se limiter « à rassembler des renseignements et à leur analyse, et à conseiller les services du gouvernement responsables de la sécurité intérieure et extérieure ».
Sous le régime de Jammeh, la NIA « ne s’est pas limitée à son mandat mais en a abusé et a instillé la peur parmi les citoyens », a estimé la présidence gambienne dans ce communiqué.
Selon ces défenseurs des droits de l’homme, l’agence est responsable d’exécutions extrajudiciaires, de tortures et de détentions arbitraires. Jeune Afrique
Le communiqué de la présidence gambienne a également précisé que l’Agence nationale du renseignement (NIA), accusée par les défenseurs des droits humains d’avoir commis des exactions sous le régime de Yahya Jammeh, serait réformée et rebaptisée.
Ses missions vont désormais se limiter « à rassembler des renseignements et à leur analyse, et à conseiller les services du gouvernement responsables de la sécurité intérieure et extérieure ».
Sous le régime de Jammeh, la NIA « ne s’est pas limitée à son mandat mais en a abusé et a instillé la peur parmi les citoyens », a estimé la présidence gambienne dans ce communiqué.
Selon ces défenseurs des droits de l’homme, l’agence est responsable d’exécutions extrajudiciaires, de tortures et de détentions arbitraires. Jeune Afrique
8.2.17
Moçambique: Comer amarantos
O Conselho de Ministros de Moçambique analisou
a proposta de produção do amaranthus, nome científico de uma planta alimentar que na região Sul do país é conhecida por ”tseke” e “nheua“, no Norte.
Trata-se de uma planta silvestre que, segundo dados do Governo, possui um elevado teor nutricional e fácil cultivo.
Segundo informações do executivo, já foram produzidas sementes em quantidade para comercialização.
7.2.17
Gâmbia: Crimes contra a humanidade?
GENEVA (AP) -- Gambia's former interior minister who applied for asylum in Switzerland is being investigated for possible crimes against humanity committed in his homeland, Swiss federal prosecutors said Monday.
The attorney general's office said in a statement that it's taking over an investigation initially launched by regional authorities in Bern because crimes against humanity would be international offenses that fall under federal jurisdiction.
Michael Lauber's office did not specify the suspect by name Monday but cited a complaint filed by Trial International. The watchdog group last month called for an investigation into whether former Gambian Interior Minister Ousman Sonko had any role in crimes including assault, coercion and false imprisonment during the 22-year rule of former President Yahya Jammeh.
Sonko, who was minister from 2006 to 2016, applied for asylum in Switzerland on Nov. 10 amid a political squabble following elections that Jammeh lost. Sonko was taken into custody Jan. 28.
Trial International welcomed the prosecutors' decision, saying Sonko must have been aware of the human rights violations happening in Gambia.
"As the head of detention centers, M. Sonko could not have ignored the large-scale torture that political opponents, journalists and human rights defenders suffered there," said Benedict de Moerloose, the group's head of the inquiries and criminal law division.
It said Sonko first fled to Senegal and then to Sweden, where an asylum application was rejected.
Jammeh, who seized control in a 1994 coup, went into exile following international pressure and the threat of a regional military intervention after refusing to accept his December election loss to Adama Barrow.
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4.2.17
Angola: Adeus a José Eduardo dos Santos
Derrière un sourire énigmatique, il cachait une poigne de fer et un art consommé de la manipulation. Sans jamais être directement élu, le président Jose Eduardo dos Santos a réussi à diriger sans partage l'Angola pendant trente-sept ans. A 74 ans, fatigué par la maladie, l’ancien rebelle marxiste a confirmé vendredi qu’il ne briguerait pas de nouveau mandat à la tête du pays lors des élections générales prévues en août.
Sa décision, annoncée à son parti début décembre, marque la fin d’un règne autoritaire qui lui a permis de remettre l’Angola sur le chemin de la paix mais pas, malgré sa manne pétrolière, de le sortir de son extrême pauvreté.
Même si ses apparitions publiques sont très rares, José Eduardo dos Santos est omniprésent dans tous les secteurs du pays depuis près de quatre décennies.
Chef du parti au pouvoir, il dirige son gouvernement, commande l’armée et la police, nomme les juges, exerce sa mainmise sur l’économie et contrôle les médias.
Même hors de ses frontières, il s’est imposé comme l’un des piliers politiques de la région. Seul son homologue équato-guinéen Teodoro Obiang Nguema le devance pour le titre de doyen du continent africain. D’un petit mois à peine.
M. dos Santos est crédité d’avoir sorti l’Angola de la guerre fratricide qui l’a ensanglanté jusqu’en 2002. Puis d’avoir favorisé son récent boom pétrolier, qui a fait de Luanda l’une des capitales les plus chères de la planète.
Malgré la construction de routes ou d’hôpitaux, ce bond en avant n’a bénéficié qu’à une infime partie de la population, qui reste l’une des plus pauvres du monde.
La famille de « Zedu », le surnom du président, figure au premier rang des « profiteurs » de la corruption que dénonce ses opposants.
– « Grand stratège » –
C’est notamment le cas de sa fille Isabel, surnommée la « princesse » et considérée comme la femme la plus riche d’Afrique par le magazine Forbes. L’an dernier, elle a été bombardée aux commandes de la compagnie pétrolière nationale, la Sonangol, touchée de plein fouet par la baisse des cours de l’or noir.
« Contre toute attente », M. dos Santos « a réussi à garder le pouvoir malgré le défi de la guerre et des élections », résume Alex Vines, du centre d’études Chatham House de Londres.
Il « a toujours été un grand stratège », renchérit Didier Péclard, professeur à l’université de Genève. « Il a su redistribuer les faveurs rendues possibles grâce à la rente pétrolière dans un cercle assez restreint de clients politiques ».
Né le 28 août 1942 d’une famille modeste, M. dos Santos a grandi dans le « barrio » de Sambizanga.
Dans ce bidonville de la capitale, noyau de la lutte contre le Portugal, la puissance coloniale, ce fils de maçon adhère en 1961 au Mouvement populaire pour la libération de l’Angola (MPLA), mais ne fait qu’un bref passage dans la lutte armée.
Deux ans plus tard, il obtient une bourse pour étudier en Azerbaïdjan où il décroche un diplôme d’ingénieur et épouse une Soviétique. Aujourd’hui marié à Ana Paula, une ex-hôtesse de l’air de 18 ans sa cadette, il est père de plusieurs enfants.
Dans les années 1970, il poursuit son ascension politique en intégrant le Comité central du MPLA, avant de devenir chef de la diplomatie à l’indépendance du pays en 1975.
Dauphin du premier président angolais Agostinho Neto, il est nommé vice-Premier ministre, puis ministre du Plan. A la mort de son mentor en 1979, il est investi chef de l’Etat par le MPLA, dont il prend la présidence.
– « Faux démocrate » –
Il n’a depuis plus lâché le pouvoir au gré des scrutins et des changements de Constitution, sans jamais être directement élu.
En 1992, la présidentielle est annulée entre les deux tours après des accusations de fraude de son rival, le rebelle Jonas Savimbi. Une autre élection prévue en 2008 n’aura jamais lieu et la Constitution de 2010 lui permet d’être reconduit deux ans plus tard en tant que chef du MPLA, vainqueur des législatives.
La police réprime toute tentative de manifestation de masse. Ses adversaires politiques crient à la « dictature », lui s’en défend. « Nous sommes un pays démocratique. Nous avons plusieurs partis », dit-il en 2013 dans l’un de ses rares entretiens à la presse.
« C’est un vrai despote, un faux démocrate », tranche le rappeur Adao Bunga « McLife », du Mouvement révolutionnaire pour l’Angola.
Amateur de musique et de poésie, M. dos Santos partage son temps entre le palais présidentiel d’un rose très colonial et une résidence dans le sud de Luanda.
En 2013, il avait confié à une télévision brésilienne sa lassitude du pouvoir en qualifiant son règne de « trop long ».
En décembre 2016, M. dos Santos, que la rumeur dit atteint d’un cancer, fait savoir à la surprise générale qu’il laissera sa place lors des élections générales de 2017 à son dauphin, Joao Lourenco.
L’intronisation officielle de ce dernier vendredi met fin a l’incertitude et au long chapitre Dos Santos en Angola. Jeune Afrique
Sa décision, annoncée à son parti début décembre, marque la fin d’un règne autoritaire qui lui a permis de remettre l’Angola sur le chemin de la paix mais pas, malgré sa manne pétrolière, de le sortir de son extrême pauvreté.
Même si ses apparitions publiques sont très rares, José Eduardo dos Santos est omniprésent dans tous les secteurs du pays depuis près de quatre décennies.
Chef du parti au pouvoir, il dirige son gouvernement, commande l’armée et la police, nomme les juges, exerce sa mainmise sur l’économie et contrôle les médias.
Même hors de ses frontières, il s’est imposé comme l’un des piliers politiques de la région. Seul son homologue équato-guinéen Teodoro Obiang Nguema le devance pour le titre de doyen du continent africain. D’un petit mois à peine.
M. dos Santos est crédité d’avoir sorti l’Angola de la guerre fratricide qui l’a ensanglanté jusqu’en 2002. Puis d’avoir favorisé son récent boom pétrolier, qui a fait de Luanda l’une des capitales les plus chères de la planète.
Malgré la construction de routes ou d’hôpitaux, ce bond en avant n’a bénéficié qu’à une infime partie de la population, qui reste l’une des plus pauvres du monde.
La famille de « Zedu », le surnom du président, figure au premier rang des « profiteurs » de la corruption que dénonce ses opposants.
– « Grand stratège » –
C’est notamment le cas de sa fille Isabel, surnommée la « princesse » et considérée comme la femme la plus riche d’Afrique par le magazine Forbes. L’an dernier, elle a été bombardée aux commandes de la compagnie pétrolière nationale, la Sonangol, touchée de plein fouet par la baisse des cours de l’or noir.
« Contre toute attente », M. dos Santos « a réussi à garder le pouvoir malgré le défi de la guerre et des élections », résume Alex Vines, du centre d’études Chatham House de Londres.
Il « a toujours été un grand stratège », renchérit Didier Péclard, professeur à l’université de Genève. « Il a su redistribuer les faveurs rendues possibles grâce à la rente pétrolière dans un cercle assez restreint de clients politiques ».
Né le 28 août 1942 d’une famille modeste, M. dos Santos a grandi dans le « barrio » de Sambizanga.
Dans ce bidonville de la capitale, noyau de la lutte contre le Portugal, la puissance coloniale, ce fils de maçon adhère en 1961 au Mouvement populaire pour la libération de l’Angola (MPLA), mais ne fait qu’un bref passage dans la lutte armée.
Deux ans plus tard, il obtient une bourse pour étudier en Azerbaïdjan où il décroche un diplôme d’ingénieur et épouse une Soviétique. Aujourd’hui marié à Ana Paula, une ex-hôtesse de l’air de 18 ans sa cadette, il est père de plusieurs enfants.
Dans les années 1970, il poursuit son ascension politique en intégrant le Comité central du MPLA, avant de devenir chef de la diplomatie à l’indépendance du pays en 1975.
Dauphin du premier président angolais Agostinho Neto, il est nommé vice-Premier ministre, puis ministre du Plan. A la mort de son mentor en 1979, il est investi chef de l’Etat par le MPLA, dont il prend la présidence.
– « Faux démocrate » –
Il n’a depuis plus lâché le pouvoir au gré des scrutins et des changements de Constitution, sans jamais être directement élu.
En 1992, la présidentielle est annulée entre les deux tours après des accusations de fraude de son rival, le rebelle Jonas Savimbi. Une autre élection prévue en 2008 n’aura jamais lieu et la Constitution de 2010 lui permet d’être reconduit deux ans plus tard en tant que chef du MPLA, vainqueur des législatives.
La police réprime toute tentative de manifestation de masse. Ses adversaires politiques crient à la « dictature », lui s’en défend. « Nous sommes un pays démocratique. Nous avons plusieurs partis », dit-il en 2013 dans l’un de ses rares entretiens à la presse.
« C’est un vrai despote, un faux démocrate », tranche le rappeur Adao Bunga « McLife », du Mouvement révolutionnaire pour l’Angola.
Amateur de musique et de poésie, M. dos Santos partage son temps entre le palais présidentiel d’un rose très colonial et une résidence dans le sud de Luanda.
En 2013, il avait confié à une télévision brésilienne sa lassitude du pouvoir en qualifiant son règne de « trop long ».
En décembre 2016, M. dos Santos, que la rumeur dit atteint d’un cancer, fait savoir à la surprise générale qu’il laissera sa place lors des élections générales de 2017 à son dauphin, Joao Lourenco.
L’intronisation officielle de ce dernier vendredi met fin a l’incertitude et au long chapitre Dos Santos en Angola. Jeune Afrique
Bissau: Escolher as prioridades
- Senhor presidente José Mário Vaz: O senhor prometeu dar uma viatura nova a cada futebolista da selecção nacional da Guiné-Bissau que foi ao Campeonato Africano das Nações (CAN) e que nem sequer fez muito boa figura. Mas quem é o senhor para dar 15 ou 20 carros? Os carros por acaso são seus, tenciona pagá-los do seu bolso? Ou está a pensar tirar dinheiro do Estado para pagar esse luxo? Esperamos bem que não, pois o país tem outras prioridades, outras coisas mais importantes do que o futebol. A Guiné-Bissau necessita, acima de tudo, de ter boas escolas, hospitais e centros de saúde, bem como estradas por onde se possa circular à vontade, sem buracos. O país necessita de dar um bom ensino a todos os seus filhos; e de ter medicamentos para quem está doente. Só depois de haver sempre água e electricidade nas cidades e vilas é que se pode pensar em gastar dinheiro em futebol, que é uma mera distracção, um entretenimento. Esteja atento ao essencial, senhor presidente. Dote o país de um Governo capaz, estável, que alfabetize todos os cidadãos. E só depois poderá ter esses devaneios, essas loucuras, de distribuir carros pelos rapazes que jogam futebol. Premiar os futebolistas é bom para países ricos, como a Arábia Saudita, o Qatar ou os Emiratos Árabes Unidas; não para uma Guiné-Bissau, que se encontra na cauda do desenvolvimento. Seja realista, senhor presidente. Abra os olhos; e não deixe que lhe chamem ridículo.
Jorge Máximo Heitor
3.2.17
Bissau: Os poetas guineenses
Poesia em conflito: marcas identitárias na poesia guineense contemporânea de Odete Semedo, Saliatu da Costa e Tony Tcheka.
A Guiné-Bissau também tem coisas boas, e há quem reconhece o mérito dos guineenses. Desta feita é a poesia de três poetas da terra de Amílcar Cabral, a ser matéria de pesquisa e dissertação de Tese de Mestrado na Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - Brasil.
O trabalho foi da autoria de Luís Carlos Alves de Melo, Mestre em Letras - Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - UERJ
Graduando em Relações Internacionais - Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro - UFRRJ
Coordenador Adjunto - Observatório dos Países de Língua Oficial Portuguesa - OPLOP.
Apresento neste espaço uma pequena nota explicativa escrita pelo Mestre Alves de Melo:
Título: Poesia em conflito: marcas identitárias na poesia guineense contemporânea de Odete Semedo, Saliatu da Costa e Tony Tcheka.
Esse trabalho examina como a poesia em língua portuguesa da Guiné-Bissau retrata literariamente os conflitos recentes pelos quais o país tem passado e de que forma tais conflitos literariamente elaborados têm moldado a identidade guineense em alguns aspectos. Buscamos apresentar uma revisão acerca dos conceitos de identidades e nação bem como uma exposição dos elementos que figuram essa questão, cuja base historiográfica, do ponto de partida desta pesquisa, principia nos conflitos datados das lutas pela independência até os dias atuais. Desse modo, ao proceder uma análise poética buscamos desvendar como essa narrativa se desenvolve nas obras No fundo do canto (2007), de Odete Semedo, Entre a Roseira e a Pólvora, o Capim (2011), de Saliatu da Costa e Desesperança no Chão de Medo e Dor (2015), de Tony Tcheka, uma vez que essas obras poéticas estão balizadas em um contexto de conflitos intensos na Guiné-Bissau. A razão para essas escolhas é que, ao produzir obras poéticas que retratam os momentos conflituosos da pátria-mãe, os autores contribuem para a contestação e negociação das identidades no país, uma vez que é na arena do conflito que ela passa a ser uma questão. O narrar de um conflito é antes de mais nada, e sobretudo, resgatar e reviver uma memória. É relembrar aos indivíduos de uma “nação” as agruras de um passado amargo, intragável e inesquecível, de modo a criar uma marca de resistência que impeça esse passado de se transformar numa ameaça futura. Deste modo, observamos que ao produzir essa poética esses autores contribuíram para criar uma esfera de compartilhamento identitário e forjar uma união nacional, tal como Amílcar Cabral parece ter feito de forma bastante convincente. Constatamos que os conflitos descritos literariamente na Guiné-Bissau são significantes para se entender a dinâmica de produção de uma literatura de resistência, assim como para evidenciar o reconto da história das guerras, golpes e abalos nacionais, e, no limite, negociar e forjar uma identidade nacional e ressignificar o sentido da nação.
Posteriormente, enviarei uma cópia da dissertação completa, para que possa conhecê-la por completo. Além disso, gostaria de registrar que também agora no Doutorado mantenho os meus estudos sobre a Literatura Guineense. Dessa forma espero trazer novas contribuições para o estudo dessa literatura e fomentar mais debates sobre ela.
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