Malawi: De novo um Mutharika como Presidente

Opposition candidate Peter Mutharika has been declared the winner of Malawi's disputed presidential election.

The leader of the Democratic Progressive Party obtained 36.4% of the vote, the electoral commission announced.

A protester died earlier after police dispersed an angry crowd demanding a recount of last week's ballot.

Outgoing president Joyce Banda has alleged the vote was rigged.

The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) had asked for a 30-day extension to declare the results so that a recount could be carried out.

However, the High Court refused to delay the release of results and ordered the commission to make its announcement on Friday.

"The law is clear, there is no extension," judge Kenyatta Nyirenda said.

Mr Mutharika is the brother of the late President Bingu wa Mutharika, and had served as his foreign minister.

More than seven million people were eligible to vote in the elections

The elections were chaotic and several irregularities were reported

Mrs Banda tried to annul a vote she said was marred by rigging, but was overruled by the High Court

Former preacher Lazarus Chakwera came second with 27.8% of the vote. He represented the Malawi Congress Party, which governed from independence in 1964 until the first multi-party poll in 1994.

Mrs Banda, who came to power after the death of Bingu wa Mutharika two years ago, was third with 20.2% of the vote.

Her administration had been hit by a corruption scandal dubbed "cashgate", which led donors to cut aid.

Malawi is one the poorest nations in the world and is heavily dependent on aid, which provides 40% of the country's budget.
'Frustrated voters'
About 7.5 million people were eligible to vote in the elections, which was described as Malawi's closest-fought poll in 20 years.

The election was chaotic, with many polling stations opening up hours late and frustrated voters setting one polling station alight.

The electoral commission said that in 58 of more than 4,000 polling centres the official number of votes cast was more than that of registered voters.

Last week, Mrs Banda accused a party, which she did not name, of infiltrating and hacking the electronic system that transmits the results to the MEC's headquarters.

The MEC's chairman denied that its system had been hacked. BBC

Timor-Leste: Luta pela liberdade de expressão

On 6 May, Timor-Leste's Parliament passed a law which would severely restrict Constitutional rights of freedom of speech and of the press. More than three weeks later, they have not yet sent the law to President Taur Matan Ruak, who will have 30 days to sign or veto the law when he receives it.

On 29 May, La'o Hamutuk and other organizations urged the President to veto the law, "because it will harm democracy and human rights, restrict many people's rights to freedom of expression, and give power to a single group to issue a few licenses while limiting other people's rights to share information. We believe this violates Timor-Leste’s Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights."

Their letter is online in Tetum or English translation, as well as information and analysis. The following is abridged from the letter:

Your Excellency, Mr President, with our respect,

On 6 May 2014, National Parliament approved a Media Law, after nearly three months of work. La’o Hamutuk participated in a Parliamentary hearing on 19 February, where we explained that the draft law could damage freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Since National Parliament has not repaired the basic flaw in this law, we would like to ask the President to use your powers to veto, as a symbolic and actual protection of democracy and the principles of independence. This Law will harm democracy and human rights, restrict many people’s freedom of expression, and give power to a single group to issue a few licenses while limiting other people’s rights to share information. We believe this violates Timor-Leste’s Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Free expression is a principle of democracy.

Freedom of expression is a universal principle of democratic nations, and laws must not limit the rights of any person to receive and distribute information. This principle is guaranteed by Articles 40 and 41 of Timor-Leste’s Constitution and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Timor-Leste has ratified. Timor-Leste is legally obliged to follow them, and legislation must reflect their fundamental principles.

Article 2(a) of the proposed law defines “journalistic activities” as “seeking, collecting, selecting, analyzing and distributing information to the public, as text, words or images, through a media organ”, which Article 2(l) defines as “a person or corporation engaged in journalistic activity.” Article 2(i) says that a “journalist” is a professional whose principle activity is “journalism.” These self-referential definitions encompass a far broader range than commercial newspapers, radio and television stations.

In reality, many other people have a profession of distributing information, such as researchers, academics, civil society organizations, bloggers, freelance journalists and others. Therefore, this Article limits freedom to distribute information to professionals with credentials from the Press Council, which represents commercial media. In truth, the Press Council cannot limit people’s freedom of expression, as Articles 42, 43 and 44(b, c and d) in this Law would empower it to.

In addition, Article 12 cancels some people’s right to freedom of expression, rejecting the rights of anyone who is not an “adult citizen” to be a journalist.  This provision restricts students who want to cover news as well as student bloggers who publicize information. For example, students at Escola São Jose (Sanyos) write in Suara Timor-Lorosa’e, and coverage by students as Colegio Saó Miguel (CSM) is often on STL TV news. 

Not only “journalists” share information with the public.

Article 13.5 says that people who don't meet the law’s criteria cannot distribute information to the public. “Media organs” like www.aitaraklaran.blogspot.com, Buletin Fongtil, Buletin Haburas,  www.laohamutuk.org, www.haktl.org, www.timorhauniadoben.com , www.diakkalae.org , www.economia-tl.blogspot.com, Casa Producão Audiovisual (CPA) television programs, NGOs, World Bank and UN reports, Facebook writers and others have a fundamental right to distribute information to the public.

The law should protect the diversity of opinion.

A key function of the press is to circulate information and opinions from different perspectives, to help people understand various sides, rather than to give only one view.  Article 3.1(e)’s description of media’s function to “promote peace, social stability, harmony and national solidarity” could discourage dissemination of other points of view. Article 4(g)’s requirement that media “promote the public interest and democratic order” could be an excuse for repressing different opinions. These articles contradict Article 20.1(c) which says that a journalist has a duty to “defend the plurality of opinions, ensuring the ability of expression of different currents of opinion and respect for cultural, religious and ethnic diversity.” We hope that the latter point of view will prevail.

In addition, we are concerned about Article 23’s statement that a separate law will regulate non-profit media. Although we do not know what Parliament plans for that law to include, the current example is cause for concern. If the intention of Article 23 is to state that this Media Law does not apply to religious, community and non-profit media, it would be better to say that explicitly, that such publications do not need credentials from the Press Council.

Don't restrict the independence of the press.

Media organs should follow the Journalists’ Code of Ethics, which was developed by journalists and their employers, ensuring accuracy, diversity and freedom of the press. We appreciate that working journalists have voluntarily committed themselves to follow these principles. However, we are concerned when they become law through Article 21, enforced (and perhaps modified) by the Press Council, and applied more widely than their authors intended. This could open the way for media owners or Parliament to interfere in the independence of the media, and to limit other people’s right to free expression.

Furthermore, we are concerned that the Press Council with legal authority, funding and members chosen by political officials and commercial media, should not have the power (under Articles 43 and 44) to prevent anyone from exercising his or her freedom of expression. The State should respect journalists’ rights to create their own bodies, including journalist associations like AJTL and TLPU, to regulate their own members, but they cannot compel other people to follow their rules.

This Law denigrates Timor-Leste’s history.

Timor-Leste should not forget the history of our liberation struggle from 1974 to 1999. Many people in the resistance used media to share information to defend the rights and dignity of the people of this land. The Seara Bulletin and Radio Maubere helped liberate Timor-Leste from colonialism and occupation. José Ramos-Horta, Xanana Gusmão, Francisco Borja da Costa and others used these media to educate, inform and coordinate the struggle, even though they were not accredited by the Portuguese or Indonesian governments.

In addition, journalists from other countries, including Roger East, the Balibo Five, Sander Thoenes, Agus Mulyawan, Kamal Bamadhaj, Amy Goodman and Max Stahl made tremendous contributions through journalism free from geographic and political limitations.  Their reporting helped our diplomatic front advocate for Timor-Leste’s independence, supported others providing solidarity, assisted Maubere people to know what was happening here and exemplified the spirit of “A Luta Kontinua”.

The first nine of these foreign journalists gave their lives for Timor-Leste’s independence. If they had sought accreditation from Suharto’s “Dewan Pers”, Timor-Leste might still be under Indonesian rule.  Even today, foreign media serve a key role in keeping Timor-Leste in the world’s eyes.

Unfortunately, Article 25 of this Media Law requires visiting foreign reporters to get Press Council approval, and Article 12 bans non-citizens from working as journalists. These provisions negate reporters' contribution to ensure that a democratic state under rule of law which values human rights will stand strong in this beloved land Timor-Leste.

This proposed law reminds us of dictatorships everywhere who try hide the reality in their countries from the world, strangling people’s freedom of expression to preserve their power. Our experience with the Salazar and Suharto regimes should make Timor-Leste think twice.

Final words

Timor-Leste has been sovereign for more than a decade without a Media Law, and we have not had problems with non-accredited media.  Timorese people freely exercised our right to express their opinions and receive uncensored media information for the first time in nearly 500 years.

There is no urgency to enact a press law, especially a defective one which will reverse our society’s advances toward using social and other media to exchange ideas without limitation. We recognize that journalists’ capacity, misinformation and lack of experience sometimes make people unhappy with published articles, but state regulation is not the solution.

In closing, we believe that Timor-Leste can continue with the freedom of expression and the press defined in our Constitution and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with the good intentions of our leaders, journalists, media owners and entire society.

Sincerely,
Juvinal Dias, Celestino Gusmão, Charles Scheiner
La’o Hamutuk

This letter is also supported by:

From Timor-Leste:      
Arsenio Pereira, NGO Forum (FONGTIL)
Manuel Monteiro, Asosiasaun HAK
Carlos Florindo, ETADEP
Alex Tilman, www.diakkalae.com blog
Jenito Santana, Kdadalak Sulimutu Institute (KSI)
Nolasco Mendes, Mata Dalan Institute (MDI)
Marilia da Silva Alves, FOKUPERS
Filomena Fuca, Rede Feto
Apolinario Ximenes, FORAM
Feliciano da Costa Araujo, ISEAN-Hivos Program
Zenilton Zeneves, Luta Hamutuk
Maria do Rosario (Zizi) Pedruco, http://www.timorhauniandoben.com blog
Hugo Fernandes, Asosiasaun Jornalista Timor-Leste (AJTL)
Matias dos Santos, Timor-Leste Koligasaun ba Edukasaun (TLCE)
Max Stahl, CAMSTL
Susan Marx, The Asia Foundation
Madre Monica Yoko Nakumura, Escravas do Sagrado Coração de Jesus
Meagan Weymes, independent journalist
Rowena McNaughton, independent journalist
Nugroho Katjasungkana, Fortilos
       
From around the world: 
David Robie, Pacific Media Centre, regional
Shalmali Guttal, Focus on the Global South, regional
John M. Miller, East Timor and Indonesia Action Network, USA
Maire Leadbeater, East Timor Independence Committee, NZ
Carmel Budiardjo, TAPOL, UK
Jude Conway, Hunter East Timor Sisters, Australia
Gabriel Jonsson, Swedish East Timor Committee
Mikio Monju, Japan East Timor Coalition

We will add more signers, preferably representing organizations. Please write to info@laohamutuk.org.

Egipto: Al-Sisi eleito com mais de 96%

Former military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has won an overwhelming victory in Egypt's presidential election, according to provisional results.

He gained over 96% of the vote with ballots from most polling stations counted, state media say.

Turnout is expected to be around 45% despite a massive push to get more people to polling stations. Many groups boycotted the vote.

Mr Sisi deposed President Mohammed Morsi last July after mass protests.

He has overseen a bloody crackdown on Mr Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood movement in which more than 1,400 people have been killed and 16,000 detained.

Jump media player

Media player help

 

Democracy campaigner Nagy Kamel: "I don't believe these are real elections"

The Brotherhood said it would boycott the vote, as did many liberal and secular activist groups.

Hamdeen Sabahi, the only other candidate in the election, said earlier his team had recorded "violations" in the voting process.

However, he rejected calls from his supporters to withdraw from the elections, saying it was not in the interest of Egyptians.

Mr Sabahi secured only about 760,000 of the 24.7 million votes counted, and lost out in many regions to a high number of spoiled ballots, the state-run al-Ahram newspaper reports.

Hundreds of Sisi supporters took to the streets of Cairo in the early hours of Thursday as results emerged, waving Egyptian flags, setting off fireworks and honking their car horns.

The military-backed authorities had extended voting to a third day in the hope of boosting turnout.

But reports suggested many polling stations were almost deserted on Wednesday.

The former military chief's election victory was widely predicted after his opponents boycotted the vote

Provisional results show a huge victory for Mr Sisi with most of the votes counted

Analysts say the low turnout damages Mr Sisi's authority before he takes office.

He had aimed to win 40 million of 54 million registered votes, to show that he had the support of the majority of Egypt. In the event, it appears about 25 million voted.

In comparison, turnout for the previous presidential election between Mohammed Morsi and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq was around 52%.  BBC

Bissau: As propostas matreiras de Nuno Nabiam

Nuno Gomes Nabiam, o candidato à Presidência da Guiné-Bissau apadrinhado por Kumba Ialá, nos meses que antecederam a morte deste, não aceitou facilmente ter ficado com menos de 40 por cento dos votos expressos. E vai daí começou a bradar que "quase metade dos eleitores" lhe confiou o seu voto, esquecendo que ficou bem mais de 20 pontos percentuais atrás do candidato do PAIGC, José Mário Vaz.
Fazendo finca-pé num projecto a que chama estranhamente "Guinendade positiva", Nuno Nabiam quer que os que votaram nele fiquem representados na governação do país, apesar de o PAIGC ter ganho tanto as legislativas como as presidenciais.
Pede, pois, uma quota-parte do Poder, já que não lho deram todo, como teria acontecido se acaso se tivessem cumprido os desígnios de Kumba Ialá e dos seus aliados nas Forças Armadas da Guiné-Bissau.
Esquecendo que haverá agora um Chefe de Estado, um Parlamento e um Governo a quem isso compete, Nuno Nabiam veio a público propor que se crie "um espaço, estrutura ou instituição" que supervisione o tão necessário programa de reforma dos sectores da defesa e da segurança.
Não é, porém, um espaço qualquer, nem dirigido por qualquer pessoa. Mas sim por ele próprio, Nuno Gomes Nabiam, líder do projecto "Guinendade positiva, paz, coesão social"; agora alçado a Vice-Presidente da República, cargo que por acaso até nem existe na Constituição, mas de que pelos vistos sente a falta.
O candidato claramente derrotado nas urnas quer ainda que o seu grupo, o tal da "Guinendade", essa palavra estranhíssima, horrorosa, dirija uma Agência ou Alta Autoridade para gerir os recursos naturais do país. Não vá o Estado presidido pelo PAIGC ficar com o petróleo, o ouro, a bauxite e tudo o mais que for possível extrair das terras e das águas da Guiné-Bissau..
Para além disso, deseja que não haja perseguição, revanchismo e retaliação de pessoas. Muito possivelmente a pensar nos seus amigos militares que há dois anos deram o golpe de estado que impediu o primeiro-ministro Carlos Gomes Júnior de ser eleito Presidente da República.
Ou seja, Nuno Gomes Nabiam não se contenta em ser um político qualquer, mesmo que isso signifique ser uma destacada personalidade da oposição ao Governo que vai ser formado pelo líder do PAIGC, Domingos Simões Pereira.
Quer ser alguém muito importante, se possível um vice-presidente, ou até mesmo um co-presidente, capaz de impedir o afastamento do general António Indjai da chefia do Estado-Maior General das Forças Armadas; e o afastamento de outros oficiais-generais que nos últimos anos têm interferido demasiado na governação da Guiné-Bissau.
Isto numa altura em que até mesmo instâncias internacionais já começam a sugerir que, de facto, se abrandem as queixas existentes contra o golpista Indjai, não vá ele irritar-se e mandar prender o Presidente eleito José Mário Vaz, como já fez com o Presidente interino Raimundo Pereira e com o primeiro-ministro Carlos Gomes Júnior.
Aguardemos. Aguardemos, pois ainda a procissão vai no adro. Daqui a dias começará a funcionar o Parlamento eleito, depois toma posse o Presidente e Domingos Simões Pereira, ao que tudo indica, forma Governo.
No entanto, enquanto aguardamos devemos abrir bem os olhos e estar muito atentos a todas as manobras de que é capaz Nuno Gomes Nabiam, uma espécie de advogado do que queria Kumba Ialá e do que António Indjai continua a querer.
A comunidade internacional não pode lavar as suas mãos de tudo o que acontece na Guiné-Bissau, dando-se por satisfeita só porque já se verificaram nesse território eleições presidenciais e legislativas. Eleições essas que, no contexto guineense, podem não passar de uma simples panaceia, como tão bem diz o sociólogo Carlos Lopes.
Lisboa, 24 de Maio de 2014   Jorge Heitor

Líbia: Entra em cena um novo Califa

Libyan forces loyal to Brigadier General Khalifah Haftar sense an imminent foreign military intervention in the escalating crisis in the country, which has intensified after he launched "Operation Dignity" to fight "terrorism" in Benghazi.
Clashes spread to the capital Tripoli when a number of official military units announced that they were joining Haftar's troops. In the meantime, the Libyan government and army, as well as the main political powers in the country, describe his moves as a coup attempt. America has moved 200 US Marines from Spain to Sicily due to concerns over events in Libya. They are part of the "Crisis Response Force" formed after the attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi in 2012.
Previous statements made by Haftar confirm that he has requested intervention by the Egyptian army in Libya. Meanwhile, the sacked ex-prime minister, Ali Zeidan, who supports "Operation Dignity", has jumped on the bandwagon. In a telephone call to "Libya for all the Free" television, Zeidan spoke about communicating with the international community and asking for help in order to "regain the state". He added that "the world will not stand by watching."
A spokesman for the tribes in Libya, Ali Mabrook, appealed to Egypt through a similar call to Egyptian TV. Calling for support against Islamists in Libya, he insisted that the Muslim Brotherhood in the country "cannot be removed without full Egyptian support".
Despite a denial by the US State Department of any recent communication with Brig. Gen. Haftar, fears are rising in Libya that foreign military intervention in the crisis might be imminent. This is in light of the continuing armed clashes between forces loyal to Haftar and troops under the command of the army's joint staff.
According to the representative of the Arab League Secretary General in Libya, "it would do no one any good to side by any party in the Libyan crisis." Nassir Al-Qudwah said that the reports talking about Egyptian intervention in the crisis are baseless and ruled out any possibility that Arab troops would be sent to Libya. "The Arab League can try and help Libya on security issues and help it rebuild the Libyan army but this has to be requested by the Libyans themselves," he insisted.
The US Marines in Sicily are there, he added, to help airlift American subjects from Libya should the crisis escalate further. However, Pentagon spokesperson Steve Warren said that the marines are part of "a contingency plan because we believe that the security situation in North Africa is deteriorating to a level that could pose a threat." The US Army is on alert, he added. There are known to be hundreds of US "diplomats and security personnel" in Libya.

Bob Kennedy ordenou o assassínio de Marilyn?

EXCLUSIVE - Bobby Kennedy ordered Marilyn Monroe's murder by lethal injection to prevent her from revealing her torrid affairs with RFK and JFK: New book sensationally claims to have finally solved the mystery surrounding her death

• Investigative journalists Jay Margolis and Richard Buskin believe they they lay to rest any notion that Marilyn committed suicide, and reveal how they think the screen goddess really died
• The Kennedy brothers were ‘passing her around like a football,' revealed brother-in-law, actor Peter Lawford, years after she died
• Marilyn knew too much about the Kennedys and threatened to reveal everything
• Bobby Kennedy did not act alone, the authors claim. Complicit in the murder was Lawford and Marilyn's shrink, who gave her the fatal dose of pentobarbitol
• Before that, she was given an enema filled with broken-down Nembutals and seventeen chloral hydrates
• When ambulance drivers found her in her Brentwood guest house, 'She was naked. She had no sheet, no blanket. There was no water glass. No alcohol…'

By Caroline Howe

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2630449/

Bissau: Paninhos quentes para António Indjai

O mandado de captura por tráfico de droga contra António Injai, líder militar da Guiné-Bissau, pode precisar de ser atenuado, como moeda de troca para impedi-lo de perturbar o país, defende uma analista da Chatham House.

"O mandado de captura norte-americano que recai sobre António Indjai pode precisar de ser atenuado, talvez mostrando através de canais diplomáticos que ele não será ativamente perseguido desde que permaneça em Bissau", refere Elisabete Azevedo-Harman num texto de análise publicado na terça-feira no portal do Instituto Real de Relações Internacionais britânico.

A investigadora em assuntos africanos defende que vai ter que ser "moldado um compromisso" para os militares guineenses se afastarem da esfera política e cortarem ligações com o crime organizado.

António Indjai é o chefe do Estado-Maior General das Forças Armadas e liderou os militares no último golpe de Estado, em 12 abril de 2012, e é também acusado pela justiça norte-americana de estar envolvido em tráfico de droga transatlântico.

O primeiro-ministro eleito, Domingos Simões Pereira e José Mário Vaz, o Presidente eleito, vão precisar de "um mandado nacional robusto, com suporte internacional e sub-regional, para fazerem a reforma no setor da segurança", defende a analista.

No plano partidário, apesar de ter ganho o parlamento com maioria absoluta e de ter conquistado a presidência, o Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) "precisa de evitar ser triunfalista".

De acordo com Elisabete Azevedo-Harman, "para lidar com os múltiplos desafios que herdou, o novo Governo precisa de ser inclusivo para recolher contributos de toda a sociedade", mas isso não quer dizer que tenha de haver "um acordo de partilha de poder".

Embora haja um "cansaço compreensível" por parte dos parceiros internacionais em ajudar a Guiné-Bissau depois de tantas "falsas partidas", a analista defende que há agora uma "oportunidade que não se pode perder" para desenvolver o país.

"A alternativa seria arriscar a frágil Guiné-Bissau a sujeitar-se a uma renovada entrada de crime organizado transnacional, ameaçando a paz regional e no resto do mundo", refere.

"A alta taxa de participação nas eleições representa um pedido inequívoco por uma nova oportunidade que a comunidade internacional não deve ignorar", conclui.

José Mário Vaz obteve 61,9 por cento dos votos na segunda volta das eleições presidenciais, realizada no domingo, enquanto o candidato Nuno Nabian recolheu 38,1 por cento, anunciou na terça-feira a Comissão Nacional de Eleições (CNE).

A taxa de participação foi de 78,2%. Na primeira volta a adesão dos eleitores tinha sido de 89,29% e nas legislativas, realizadas no mesmo dia, a taxa de participação foi de 88,57%.