The International criminal court in the Hague ordered the accused in its first case – Thomas Lubanga from Democratic Republic of Congo – to be freed. The judges say that his detention is no longer fair. They are giving the prosecution five days to appeal, after which Lubanga could be set free. Lubanga has pleaded not guilty to charges he used child soldiers during the fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo a decade ago. VOA’s Paul Ndiho, who was a reporter in the DRC when Lubanga was a rebel leader, discusses Lubanga with Ndimyake Mwakalyelye.
Washington DC came alive with the sights and sounds of Africa at the first Annual Washington DC African Festival. The festival showcased African arts and culture. Hundreds of people stepped out in the rain to enjoy a display of traditional African culture. There were cultural dances, fashion, arts & crafts, a taste of African cuisine, and countless other activities. “This is beautiful. It’s about time that there is an African festival in DC.” “They’ve had a lot of people turning up and the experience has been wonderful.” “It’s amazing to see that the Government of DC is trying to bring all African cultures and people together in one place. I hope they continue to do this annually.” Several Africans from different parts of the United States represented their countries at the fair as they marched around waving flags and dancing to “Waka Waka” and other 2010 World cup songs.
“It’s the first event Africans, as well Americans have come together to celebrate the accomplishments of Africans in the DC area.” “Great to see so many people come out and experience the different cultures of Africa.” “Wow the performances have been great, the crowd is wonderful and there are so many people here.” In an effort to promote African business in Washington, the park was turned into a replica of a small African street. Vendors were selling everything from original African clothing, to artifacts and colorful handcrafted jewelry from West Africa. After many hours of braving the heat, shopping, sight-seeing and tasting the delicious African delicacies, many visitors capped off the day by sitting down with family and friends to catch the live music.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank recently approved an estimated $8 billion dollars in debt relief for the Democratic Republic of Congo, the largest such write-off by the two bodies under programs launched in 1996 to ease the debt burdens of the world’s poorest countries. The debt relief for Congo came without the backing from Canada and Switzerland, which both cited governance concerns in the country. Congolese President Joseph Kabila had pushed for the $8 billion debt cancellation before Congo celebrated its 50th anniversary of its independence from Belgium. Mr. Kabila argues that his country has put its painful past behind it following a 1998-2003 war in which some five million people died. Mwangi Kimenyi, Senior Fellow, at the Brookings Institution, says that the timing of this debt relief for Congo could not have come at a better time. “Countries like Congo have had major problems because of the conflict, as we know–the ongoing conflict, although there has been some improvement. And it’s very difficult for those types of countries to actually make major debt progress with what we call a ‘debt of hung’ problem. So this type of relief is crucial for them to be able to move ahead.” Kimenyi argues that for countries to qualify for debt relief, they must demonstrate improvements in their government and institutions.
“When countries make improvements in institutions there comes a point when they can reverse back. And what you can do is support them so that they do not reverse. So they may not have fully reached where you would like in terms of institutional development, but you also don’t want them to revert back to a poorer governance, to conflict, and so on.” The World Bank-IMF deal will save Congo over $12 billion in debt service costs. The mineral-rich, Central African country is still plagued by a violent conflict with rebels in the east, despite a 2003 peace deal and the general elections of 2006. Canada and Switzerland’s last-ditch efforts to slow the debt relief process did not sway other World Bank member countries, which felt that Kinshasa had met all of the key benchmarks required under the debt relief program. “DRC met all the criteria and the reforms needed to reach this completion point. The debt of DRC was about 13.7 billion dollars at end 2009 and after this completion point and debt cancellation that will be 2.9 billion.” News of the debt relief came at a high point in celebrations marking Congo’s 50th anniversary of independence from Belgium. Last week, the World Bank also approved $50 million dollars in grants to help Congo improve governance in its mining sector. Analysts say Congo’s growth in Gross Domestic Product is expected to reach 5 percent this year.
Two former child soldiers from Africa are using their experiences to counsel other child soldiers and to bring justice to those affected by decades of war. Here are their stories. Child soldiers have been documented in several African nations, countries with a history of unstable governments and long civil wars. In Chad, barefoot children in torn t-shirts play with a deflated soccer ball. Nearby, men in uniform walk through the area – a common site in the capital city where soldiers are everywhere. Ishmael Beah is a former child soldier in Sierra Leone’s civil war and UNICEF’s advocate for children. “There’s always a bit of sadness. I feel like I can bring some assurance to some of the young kids there.” Beah is author of “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier,” a bestselling book. He is one of 16-hundred Sierra Leoneans who immigrated to the United States to escape the war there. The United Nations says children are still being recruited and used in combat in Chad. Orphaned by war, child soldiers find a new kind of family in the military. Robert, a 17 year-old former child soldier, says he was given literacy and language classes, three meals a day and medical care. “I joined the national army when I was 12 and fought for them for four years and then I joined the rebels, I was a soldier, a soldier of war.”
In Tanzania, another former child soldier – now a prosecutor at the International Tribunal for Rwanda – finds motivation for his work in his past. Alfred Orono is pressing his case against a Catholic priest accused of bulldozing a church and murdering the 15-hundred people sheltered inside. He was outraged by the priest’s original sentence of only 15 years. “He was moving events, and the events happened and that makes him a direct perpetrator. He committed genocide.” Orono says he is committed to prosecuting these crimes because his own childhood ended cruelly 30 years ago. He was not yet a teenager when Tanzanian forces invaded his native Uganda to oust Idi Amin. Amid the chaos, he encountered Tanzanian soldiers who persuaded him to join their ranks. As an interpreter, he was given an AK47. When Alfred was 18, President Milton Obote was overthrown, and Alfred again feared for his life. “I knew I was going to die. I was thinking I was going to die – but then something in me said no.” Alfred Orono escaped death and turned his life around, eventually winning a scholarship to study law in Canada. He was later recruited by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Today, the boy who once held a Kalashnikov helps prosecute criminals from the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
This month (June), the World observed World Refugee Day. In Sudan, this day could not have come at a better time. Tens of thousands are returning home after more than two decades in refugee camps. Southern Sudan’s returning refugees are a success story for a country coming out of decades of civil war. According to the United Nations, over 450-thousand people fled south Sudan during Africa’s longest civil war there. In 2005, the North and South peace deal paved the way for the 100-thousand refugees that have returned to Southern Sudan. Frantz Celestin, with the International Organization for Migration, says IOM is helping to resettle returnees. “IOM has assisted about 100,000 IDPs to go back to the various places of origins within S Sudan, and we’ve always worked with the UNCR to resettle about 40,000 refugees, and these refugees were outside of Sudan and the surrounding areas, such as Ethiopia, in Kenya and Cairo in Egypt and various areas.”
Refugees coming home face the challenge of reintegration. Christine Lindio is a young mother of two, who was living as a refugee in Uganda. Lindio and her family returned to southern Sudan at the beginning of 2009. She now owns a plot of land, and is pleased to be farming in her homeland. “I am back home now, I have land and I can cultivate it the way I want, because the land belongs to me.” Tailor Joseph Juma has set up business under a thorn tree on the road from Uganda, where he also lived as a refugee. He says he was helped by the UNHCR’s livelihood project, which taught him tailoring. Now he can support his family and pass on his skills to others. “Proud of being at home and my future is OK this time, because as everyone knows that Sudan has been recently electing a leader, we have been for elections. So if the election which means there is something good coming, so as there is something good coming so we expect good governance and my future with good governance will be OK. I will never be a refugee again my life and my family life in future will be so fine.” Noriko Yoshida, with UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency in South Sudan, says that UNHCR has projects aimed at helping refugees to prosper. “It is very important for UNHCR to insure the sustainability of the returnees, to achieve this it is very, very important to have the participation of returnees. In this context, UNHCR is implementing different projects in high return areas such as livelihood and training programs.” Celestin says that his group is also working to reverse Africa’s brain drain, to help people in the Diaspora, and especially women, play a role in Africa’s development. “Women play a very important role in the development in any community, and IOM realized the importance of including everybody in our programming and various programs that we have we make sure that women play an important part of it.” Community-based reintegration projects such as schools and health clinics are providing basic services and livelihood opportunities in areas of high return in Sudan. With the elections now behind them, people in Sudan can focus on next year’s referendum on independence for the south.
By Paul Ndiho June 16, 2010 A foundation that gives a $5 million prize for good governance in Africa says it will not honor anyone this year. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation said in a statement Monday that following its deliberations, the Prize Committee informed the Board of the Foundation that it had not selected a winner. This year the Prize Committee told the Board that there had been no new candidates or new developments and that therefore no selection of a winner had been made. The Ibrahim Prize recognizes and celebrates excellence in African leadership. The prize is awarded to a democratically elected former African Executive Head of State or Government who has served their term in office within the limits set by the country’s constitution and has left office in the last three years. Responding to the Prize Committee’s decision, Billionaire Sudanese businessman Mo Ibrahim, said in a statement “The Board respects the decision of the Prize Committee not to select a winner for the 2010 prize. The Prize Committee, which is independent from the Board. “We have full respect to the people you mentioned. Some of those people are personal friends. There is no issue of disrespect here.”
Committee members did not give a reason for their decision, citing the confidentiality of their discussions. Ketumile Masire , a board member said, Ibrahim founded the world’s largest individual award as a way to encourage good governance on a continent often plagued by bad governance and corruption. “This year, the prize committee has considered some credible candidates. However, after in-depth review, the prize committee could not select a winner.” Mo Ibrahim made it clear when he set up the prize three years ago that there may be years when there would be no winner. This year, the Ibrahim committee considered more than ten African leaders who had left office between 2006 and 2009. In 2008, the prize went to former Botswana President Festus Mogae, who was honoured for steering his country along a stable, prosperous path and for leading the fight against AIDS. Former Mozambique President Joaquim Chissano won in 2007 for leading his country to peace and democracy after years of civil war. Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian, chairs the prize committee. The winner receives $5 million over 10 years and then $200,000 a year for life, with another possible $200,000 a year for 10 years for “good causes” that he supports
By Paul Ndiho June 8, 2010 Representatives from over 100 member states that are signatory to the International Criminal Court, or ICC, gathered in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, to discuss the court’s future, and propose changes to its founding treaty, the Rome Statute. The Ugandan parliament recently passed an ICC bill, making it one of only a handful of African countries to have ratified the Rome statute. Over a decade ago, world leaders gathered in Rome to establish the International Criminal Court. The court investigates and tries cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says the court needs universal support: “For the International Criminal Court, we have reached the need to progress. We need to have universal membership for the ICC, therefore I add again, for those countries who have not signed yet, you should ratify the ICC as soon as possible.”
The ICC has focused on African conflicts. ICC prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo says his mission is to end impunity in Africa. “There were millions of victims in Africa, and they were ignored, there were other priorities. The world ignored, and did nothing to stop the genocide in Rwanda. The world ignored the Congo war, 4 million people died. The world let Somalia go to chaos, and that was a problem. I would not have brought this experience in my court, that’s why we are caring about the victims in Darfur, in Congo, in Uganda, in central Africa Republic, and now in Kenya. We will do justice for them.” In Uganda, the Court has four outstanding arrest warrants for top-level members of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), including its leader Joseph Kony. Ocampo says special forces need to be deployed to capture the rebels. “The problem is that Joseph Kony is a run-away militia, so I don ‘t think arresting is a police operation’s required, it’s a special force operation, and Congo was not able to do it in those moments. So I hope that we can galvanize efforts to implement a special force to arrest Joseph Kony in the near future.” In 2006, Thomas Lubanga was surrendered to the court by the Congolese government. His trial has been delayed because the prosecution had withheld evidence from the defense. Jean-Pierre Bemba and two other Congo rebel leaders are also being scrutinized by the ICC, as is former Liberian President Charles Taylor and Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. Claudio Cordone, Amnesty International criticizes major powers such as China, Russia and the U.S., for refusing to participate in the International Criminal Court. “Powerful governments, despite their rhetoric – they often speak about the importance of human rights and fighting impunity – and when it comes to the crunch then they actually apply double standards.” Delegates at the Kampala conference are discussing proposals giving the International Criminal Court powers to probe state aggression, as determined by the United Nations Security Council.
A series of civil wars in Chad has led to thousands of children being caught up in the conflict, mainly in the country’s eastern region. Estimates put the number of child soldiers in the country at more than 10,000. Reporter Paul Ndiho looks at how some former child soldiers are trying to return to normal life. Child soldiers in Africa have captured world attention. In Chad, thousands of children are kidnapped by armies and forced to fight. Many were already orphaned by years of civil war, and they find a new kind of family in the military. A new UN report says children are still being recruited and used in combat by Chad’s government and rebel forces. Some children are abducted — others join voluntarily. Anthony Lake is UNICEF’s executive director: “Children forced into unimaginable servitude by adults who regard them not as human lives to be nurtured but as objects to be used for unspeakable purposes.” In 2007, an agreement was signed between UNICEF and the government of Chad to step up efforts to get children out of armed groups and back into society.
“There is a proportion of these people who have actually been trained to kill. A proportion of them actually killed enemies. It’s very difficult to overcome the psycho- social aspect of this trauma and get them back to a normal life that was poor.” Under the agreement, the National army now vets all recruits. Those identified as being under the age of 18 are sent to rehabilitation centers in the capital Ndjamena. There, these former child solders receive education and psychological care, and are taught new skills to help them integrate back into society. So far, more than 800 children have gone through this process. The former child solders carry the burden of separation from families and are often plagued by horrendous memories. Former child soldier Dowa Samna: “During the six months we were tortured on the side of the road, I was hurt here and here and here and on my arm. I was also hurt and injured on my head.” Nineteen year-old Souleymane Adoum Izak now works at a hotel in N’Djamena, a huge change from the seven years he spent fighting with a rebel group in eastern Chad. He says that when he first joined the armed group, most of the rebels were aged between 10 and 14. He has found his second home here at the rehabilitation center, but normal life remains a huge challenge. “Because you’re young and you’re trained and you spend all your time with rebels, you still feel the need to fight all the time, even though you’re a civilian. You always feel the need to fight with people.” Human rights activists say that returning to normal life is very difficult for former child soldiers. Souleymane and others like him now have a new take on life. Employment is key – being able to earn a living and take care of basic needs. But even as these former child soldiers attempt to fit back into society, social workers say their psychological return to normal life can be a far longer journey.
By Paul Ndiho May 26, 2010 The race for president of Nigeria is generating a lot coverage in the media. With his new team in place, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is facing the challenges of electoral reforms and economic development in the West African nation. At least six politicians have expressed an interest in running for president, but analysts say Mr. Jonathan could prove a favorite in the 2011 elections. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has not officially declared he will be a candidate for president in 2011, but some prominent people say he will run. Under an unwritten agreement within the ruling People’s Democratic Party, Jonathan, cannot run for the top office because he is a southerner, and the late President Yar’Adua, a northerner, did not complete his eight-year rotation. Under the agreement, Jonathan’s deputy would become the PDP presidential candidate next year. But there is fierce infighting within the party, according to Abubakar Momoh, a professor at the Lagos University. “The sad event of the demise of the former President, nobody can help it, it is natural process, but the question is the aftermath, what happens next after him? And that is what lots of factions and tendencies in the PDP have not agreed upon. For them some are saying that the PDP in principle has zoned this post to the north for the next eight years, and therefore the next incumbent must be somebody from the north and now the situation is there are all kinds of things.” Several seasoned politicians, including former Military ruler Ibrahim Babangida, Donald Duke, a two-term State governor for Cross River State, have joined the race for president. Analysts say that as governor, Donald Duke excelled at improving basic services, tourism, information technology, and agriculture. Recently at fundraiser in Washington, D.C., Mr. Duke said that he wanted take his abilities to the national stage. “We’re trying to get people involved in the process now; for too long we’ve been complacent, we’ve been ambivalent to our politics; let’s get involved and change our country.” Voice of America reporter Chinedu Offor covers Nigeria and observes that Mr. Duke achieved quite a lot through his tourism initiative and today his state is the number one holiday destination in Nigeria. “He has done so much in turning his state into a tourist attraction. This state that had little or no oil and this is a story he told because he came in and there was no resources and said well the best thing to do is to create a place where people can come and spend money and turned his state into a destination sport where Nigerians and foreigners would come and enjoy their money and has made a success of it.
“We have perhaps one of the best landscapes anywhere in the country; we have historical sites, we have geological sites, we have great people and beauty and tremendous cultural values. So what we’ve tried to do in our state is put all of these together our sites, our culture, our history, make it a place people want to go to.” The Governor says that during his early years in office, a large consignment of pineapple suckers was imported and given to farmers; today pineapple is harvested in commercial quantities in this state and has become an affordable fruit in virtually every home. Chinedu Offor says that looking at what he has done for his state; it’s possible for him to give President Goodluck Jonathan a run for his money. “If he can replicate a little bit of what he has done for his state on a broader level I think that’s a good way to start in a since that you have supporting infrastructure like roads because Nigeria of course needs it, you have supporting infrastructure like power, electricity Nigeria needs it, you have supporting facilities like water people need it. Some political analysts say that although Nigeria’s principle of rotating power is based on the PDP constitution, it is not written into Nigerian law. That means there is nothing to stop Goodluck Jonathan from running for the presidency next year, despite being a southerner.
Preparations for Ethiopia’s elections scheduled for Sunday May 23 have been dominated by accusations of intimidation and disruption by both the government and the opposition. The government says it’s looking forward to a democratic process, but opposition parties say chances of free and fair polls are very slim. Ethiopians go to the polls this weekend for the first time since a government victory in 2005 was disputed by the opposition. More than 200 street protesters were killed by security forces and all the main opposition leaders imprisoned and charged with terrorism. Johnnie Carson, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs while testifying to the U.S. House Subcommittee on Africa said the Obama administration is watching very closely the upcoming elections in Ethiopia and called on the government to allow everyone to vote freely and fairly on Election Day and that it’s incumbent upon the government to do everything it possibly can ensure that the playing field is leveled. “We are encouraging the government of Ethiopia, as well as the opposition parties to act responsively during the election campaign and the election itself. We do not want to see a repetition of the violence that followed the flood elections of 2005 in which the opposition felt that it had not been treated fairly, protested after the election and a number of opposition leaders were killed in the streets of Addis Ababa.” Concerned Ethiopians are afraid to voice their doubts, the general feeling in the country is that polls will not be free or fair and that violence may erupt again. Here in the Washington D.C metro area some Ethiopians are worried that a repeat of the chaos seen in 2005 might carry the day. Alemayenu Abebe a Washington DC resident says the election campaigns have been dominated by intimidation and harassment from the government police are other security agencies. There is no independent election workers the ruling party will use all necessary means to stop the opposition parties. You know they can put you in jail they don’t have equal landscape they don’t have a right to go to the demonstration in the capital city.” However, Another D.C resident is hoping that this election will be free and fair to all Ethiopian people. “I’ve lived here in the United States of America for a long time because I enjoy the freedom and i hope that our people will get that freedom one day. And I hope this government in power right now will treat the opposition party fairly stop intimidation so that we will have some members go to the parliament and fight further for the people of Ethiopia.” The opposition says their candidates and voters are harassed and intimidated. The government, for its part, says the opposition plans to incite street violence and discredit the poll because it has no chance of winning.
One of the leading opposition leaders Merera Gudina while campaigning in and around his home area of Ambo, in the Oromia region, approximately 125 kilometres south of the capital Addis Ababa. The region is home to Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group which makes up 27 million of the country’s 80 million population also accused the government for intimidating in his people. “Well, the police, the security, there’s the local administrators, they’re all going around telling people that the forum (Medrek) and the Oromo People’s Congress is not peaceful and all kinds of things. They are intimidating people.” New-York based Human Rights Watch said the government has arrested and imprisoned opposition politicians for varying terms since the 2005 disputed polls. However, The National Election Board says measures are in place to make sure all parties follow strict guidelines for the elections. “Almost all political parties, more than 65 political parties have agreed on a code of conduct so as to make the upcoming election free, fair, democratic, peaceful and credible. We have also prepared a media election reporting directives.” Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who is running for re-election was hailed by the west as one of a new generation of democratic African leaders in the 1990s but human rights groups have increasingly criticized him for cracking down on opposition and the independent media in sub-Saharan Africa’s second most populous nation. In 2005 his security forces opened live fire at un-armed civilians and killed more than 200 people.
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