IGIHE

Category: Politics

  • Morocco seeks to rejoin African Union after 32 years

    {Morocco has formally announced its wish to rejoin the African Union, 32 years after leaving the organisation.}

    In a message to the AU summit in Rwanda, the Moroccan King Mohammed VI said the time had come for his country to retake its place within its institutional family.
    Morocco left the AU in 1984, after the organisation recognised the independence of Western Sahara.

    Moroccans describe Western Sahara as their country’s “southern provinces”.
    For more than three decades, Morocco has refused to be part of the organisation.
    In March, it threatened to pull its soldiers out of UN global peacekeeping missions because of the dispute.

    Now, the Moroccan authorities seem to have concluded their absence hasn’t helped them diplomatically over Western Sahara and many other issues, says the BBC’s Africa Reporter James Copnall.

    They sent a special envoy to lobby African leaders at their summit in the Rwandan capital Kigali this weekend.

    The AU has said that it will continue pushing for the rights of the people of Western Sahara to hold a self-determination referendum.

    Morocco is the only African country which is not an AU member.

    Last month Morocco's King Mohammed VI met Rwandan President Paul Kagame, whose country is hosting the AU summit

  • Museveni feeling insecure – Besigye

    {The Former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, has said President Museveni’s roadside phone conversation last week is a sign that he is besieged and insecure.}

    The Former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, has said President Museveni’s roadside phone conversation last week is a sign that he is besieged and insecure.

    A picture showing President Museveni seated by the roadside in Kyeirumba, Isingiro District on July 11, speaking on phone went viral on social media platforms.

    In the picture released last Tuesday, the day Dr Besigye was granted bail after spending 62 days in Luzira prison over treason charges, President Museveni’s entourage is seen standing at a distance.

    Dr Besigye said the President is insecure to the extent of not trusting his driver and bodyguard.

    “Mr Museveni is now besieged. He is surrounded by soldiers but feels he is surrounded by enemies,” Dr Besigye said. “He must have suspected cameras in his car. How could he run from his car and sit on the roadside to make a call?” Dr Besigye asked.

    The four-time presidential candidate was addressing journalists at the residence of former Bushenyi FDC chairman William Mukaira in Bushenyi Town on Saturday.
    Dr Besigye also slammed the President for blocking Ugandans from using roads whenever he hosts foreign visitors, saying the President is now hell-bent on stopping his visitors from seeing those he leads. “He is now a president of guns. Time will come when the gun will lose power to the people,” Dr Besigye said.

    He said the multiple charges against him are intended to persecute and weaken him politically so that he gives up, adding: “I am now reloaded to start afresh with the struggle to bring power into the hands of the citizens.”

    He blasted police for “terrorising” Ugandans who pay their salaries.
    Police trailed Dr Besigye from Mbarara to Bushenyi where he had planned to make a stop-over in Bumbaire Sub-county to lay a wreath on the grave of the late Mary Kasande, the former Bushenyi District FDC electoral chairperson, who was buried last Wednesday. However, Dr Besigye was blocked by police.

    He gave the wreath to the district FDC leaders and drove through Bushenyi Town followed by his supporters as he proceeded to his home in Rukungiri.
    Mr John Muramya, who claimed leadership of the head of the family where Kasande belonged, earlier in the morning, told journalists at Bushenyi police they would not welcome Dr Besigye because the relatives to Kasande do not belong to the Opposition.

  • US election: ‘Trump to name Mike Pence as running mate’

    {Mike Pence was a US congressman for more than a decade and is a member of the conservative Tea Party movement.}

    Republican White House hopeful Donald Trump is expected to name Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate on Friday, Roll Call news site reported.

    An anonymous source said Trump is going to select Pence, 57, a former US congressman, as his vice presidential nominee, Roll Call, a Washington-based organisation that reports on the politics of Capitol Hill, reported on Thursday.

    Al Jazeera could not independently confirm the report.

    The presumptive Republican presidential nominee will officially announce his choice on Friday at 11am (15:00 GMT) in Manhattan.

    Trump is to be formally nominated as the party’s candidate for the November 8 election at the Republican National Convention next week in Cleveland. Traditionally, the vice presidential choice is used to build enthusiasm among party loyalists.

    Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington DC, said: “All signs indicate that it will be the Indiana governor, Mike Pence. He has an awful lot of experience that Donald Trump doesn’t have.”

    Our correspondent added that Trump, a former reality television star and businessman, does not have the governing or legislative experience that Pence possesses.

    “Pence has served in congress for six terms.That complements Donald Trump’s resume, making him more appealing to voters,” she said.

    {{Donald Trump’s dangerous demagoguery}}

    Trump’s choice of running mate is seen as critical because his defeat of 16 rivals in the Republican primary race left the party divided. Some party leaders are still uneasy about some of his campaign positions, and his style.

    Roll Call said Trump was reportedly impressed with Pence’s calm demeanour, his experience on Capitol Hill and as a governor, and Pence’s potential to assist in governing if Trump wins in November. Trump, a New York businessman, has never held elected office.

    Trump had also considered former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as finalists.

    Gingrich told an ABC News correspondent earlier that he expected to hear Trump’s decision soon and would not be surprised if Pence was selected.

    Pence is seen as a safe choice, not too flashy but popular among conservatives, with Midwestern appeal and the ability to rally more party faithful behind Trump.

    Pence had backed a Trump rival, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, in April before the Indiana primary, but he praised Trump and said he would work on behalf of the eventual Republican nominee.

    He is currently seeking re-election as governor of Indiana, a US midwest state. Indiana law prevents him from seeking two offices at once, and he faces a Friday deadline to withdraw from the governor’s race.

    {{Testing Chemistry}}

    Pence and Trump spent time this month testing their chemistry at Trump’s golf course in New Jersey and at the governor’s residence in Indiana, Roll Call said.

    He had considered running for president himself in 2016 before deciding to run for re-election as governor. Conservatives had urged him to seek the White House, but missteps in 2015 related to an Indiana law seen as anti-gay hurt his national profile.

    2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney accuses Trump of promoting ‘trickle-down racism’
    This year, he was the target of a mocking social media campaign by women outraged at a law he signed which added restrictions on abortions. Feeling that the law invaded their privacy, women responded by calling Pence’s office to describe their menstrual periods or tweeting similar messages.

    Pence ran unsuccessfully for Congress twice before he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2000, where he was chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a group of conservatives.

    {{Flurry of meetings}}

    In what has been an unusually public process of making his choice of running mate, Trump, 70, met both Pence and Gingrich separately in Indianapolis on Wednesday.

    He also met with a fourth potential running mate , US Senator Jeff Sessions. The 69-year-old of Alabama has been one of Trump’s closest advisers.

    Trump had dinner with Pence on Tuesday night after they appeared together at a rally.

    Trump adviser Ed Brookover told CNN that “first and foremost” Trump wants a running mate who he has good chemistry with and someone who can help him govern best.

    Indiana Governor Mike Pence served as a member of Congress from 2001 to 2013

  • Congo election likely to be delayed – U.N. mission chief

    {KINSHASA (Reuters) – Democratic Republic of Congo is unlikely to hold a presidential election as scheduled in November, the U.N. head of mission there said on Thursday, something that U.N. experts have warned could trigger violent political unrest.}

    President Joseph Kabila, in power since 2001, is bound by term limits to step down after having won elections in 2006 and 2011, but opponents accuse him of deliberately delaying the Nov. 27 poll to cling to power.

    “I do not see the elections (taking place) on Nov. 27,” U.N. mission chief Maman Sidikou told a news conference in Kinshasa.

    In March, the U.N. Security Council called on the country to organise the election this year, but the government says logistical and budgetary obstacles make it unrealistic. The election commission has said it needs more than a year to update voter rolls.

    The country’s highest court ruled in May that Kabila would remain in power until the election is held.

    “It is the Congolese who will decide when the elections will take place,” Sidikou said.

    He urged political leaders to join a national dialogue called for by Kabila but which has been boycotted by leading opposition parties.

    The largest opposition party, the Union for Democracy and Social Progress, said this week that its president, 83-year-old Etienne Tshisekedi, would return to Congo to attend a July 31 rally and participate in an eventual dialogue.

    Tshisekedi, the runner-up to Kabila in the 2011 election that observers said was tainted by widespread fraud, has been in Belgium since August 2014 receiving medical treatment.

  • We won’t arrest Sudan’s Bashir—Rwanda

    {The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Louise Mushikiwabo, has said that the International Criminal Court (ICC) request to Rwanda to arrest Sudan’s president Omar Al Hassan Bashir two days ago has been ignored.}

    President Omar Al Bahir has confirmed he will attend the 27th African Union Summit that kicked off on 10th July to end on 18th July 2016.

    The session of presidents who confirmed attendance of the AU summit will start from July 17th to July 18th, 2016 along with former presidents, ambassadors from AU, foreign affairs ministers and various organizations from Africa.

    In a press briefing yesterday, Minister Mushikiwabo s aid that Rwanda has no obligation to arrest president Bashir.

    “It is a simple problem. Rwanda received African leaders invited by African Union and all invited guests will be here in Kigali. He is welcomed and this country will ensure his security. President Bashir is a president of an African country; he was invited and will attend this summit. As a host country we will receive whoever,” she said.

    “ Secondly ,Rwanda didn’t sign Rome statute ,so it doesn’t have rights to arrest whoever .We have considered the ICC request as an intention of distracting us. We have been very busy to the extent that we could not find time for that,” she said.

    The AU members are contemplating leaving the ICC.

    “Leaving ICC is their right. Countries signed membership voluntarily .I think they can leave through any process granted by Rome statute,” said Mushikiwabo.

    She said that declining to arrest Bahir doesn’t mean supporting impunity as a country which experienced genocide.

    “Let’s say that International justice is political. Rwanda as a member of African Union, we respect its decisions by all means. It requested UN Security Council immunity for in service presidents alleged of crimes till their tenure expires. We greatly respect guidelines of African heads of states,” she said.

    Mushikiwabo said that Rwanda doesn’t support impunity but has to be cautious on politicized justice.

    ICC placed an arrest warrant for president Bashir for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Darfur since 2003.

    ICC released the first arrest warrant of Bashir on March ,2009 followed by the next released arrest warrants of 2010.He is hunted along with the governor of Northern Kordofan state, Ahmed Haroun who was the Minister of Security at the time of violence.

    Mushikiwabo said that ICC entered politics other than international justice.
    “It can’t be explained how only Africans are pursued by the court for 15 years,” she said.

    Mushikiwabo explained that powerful countries of the world manipulate ICC noting that African countries must avoid crimes punished by the court .She added that Africa is strengthening capacities of Senegal based African court which has recently held the trial of Hissene Habre,former Tchad president.

    The Minister of Foreign Affairs,Louise Mushikiwabo said that Rwanda doesn’t support impunity but has to be cautious on politicized justice.

  • Theresa May becomes Britain’s second female PM

    {In a surprise move, Theresa May appoints former London mayor and Leave campaigner Boris Johnson as foreign secretary.}

    After weeks of turmoil in British politics following the EU referendum, Theresa May, a Conservative politician, has become Britain’s second female prime minister.

    May, 59, accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II on Wednesday to form a new government just minutes after David Cameron, the outgoing prime minister, tendered his resignation to the 90-year-old.

    “The government I’ll lead will be driven not by the interests of the privileged few, but by yours,” said May, as she arrived at 10 Downing Street from Buckingham Palace.

    In a surprise move, May named Boris Johnson, former London mayor and prominent figure in the victorious “Leave” campaign in Britain’s EU referendum as foreign secretary.

    Johnson’s role in Britain’s negotiations over its future relationship with the EU is likely to be limited because May is expected to create a new ministerial post focused exclusively on Brexit issues.

    Nevertheless, as foreign minister, Johnson, who has never previously held a cabinet post, will have to address questions about the country’s role in the world after its exit from the EU and he will inherit Britain’s often difficult relationship with Russia.

    Meanwhile, Philip Hammond was appointed chancellor, replacing George Osborne.

    May is the second female prime minister after Margaret Thatcher, also a Conservative politician, who led the country from 1979 until 1990.

    In her first speech as prime minister, May promised to fight against “burning injustice”, citing difficulties of young white working class men in attending university, black Britons when they need to use the criminal justice system, women in the workplace, mental health patients and young people who hope to own their own homes.

    David Cameron’s “true legacy is not about the economy but about social justice”, she said. “In that spirit, I also plan to lead.”

    Her appointment comes amid weeks of uncertainty after millions of Britons went against her advice, and that of Cameron, and voted to leave the EU.

    Until Wednesday, May was the home secretary.

    Having failed to convince Britons to vote to remain in the EU, Cameron resigned, opening the way for a brief leadership contest.

    {{Cabinet reshuffle}}

    Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Phillips, reporting from London, said that May was disadvantaged because she did not have much time to form her cabinet.

    “The process has been truncated,” our correspondent said.

    Now that she is prime minister, May will learn the details of Britain’s nuclear deterrent and has started to receive congratulatory phone calls from fellow world leaders.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel called May and vowed to continue friendly relations. French President Francois Hollande also rang the new leader and said negotiations for Britain leaving the EU should be as quick as possible.

    European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also urged May to swiftly engage divorce talks with the EU.

    The outcome of the UK vote “has created a new situation which the United Kingdom and the European Union will have to address soon,” Juncker said in a letter to May published on his Twitter account.

    “I wish you every success in the task ahead,” he added.

    European Parliament President Martin Schulz also piled on the pressure as he congratulated May.

    The White House was quick to congratulate May and said it was confident in her ability to steer Britain through negotiations on leaving the EU.

    “Based on the public comments we’ve seen from the incoming prime minister, she intends to pursue a course that’s consistent with the course that President Obama has offered,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing.

    Earlier, at Prime Minister’s Questions – a weekly session, Cameron said May was “a brilliant negotiator”.

    His advice to her, regarding the EU, was “to be as close to the European Union as we can be for the benefits of trade, cooperation and security … The Channel will not get any wider once we leave the European Union, and that is the relationship we should seek.”

    Until Wednesday, May was the home secretary under Prime Minister David Cameron

  • Zimbabwe pastor Evan Mawarire calls for more protests

    {A Zimbabwean pastor who was briefly detained after organising a nationwide strike last week has called on people to keep protesting.}

    Evan Mawarire told the BBC people should stay at home as part of a campaign against corruption, economic mismanagement and unemployment.

    He said the campaign was serious about wanting change.

    Mr Mawarire was freed on Wednesday when a court in Harare dismissed a legal case against him.

    His lawyers successfully argued that the charge of subversion had been added at the last minute, denying him a fair trial.

    {{Zimbabwe’s flag fury}}

    The pastor has been at the heart of a social media campaign denouncing the government’s management of the economy.

    He said the #ThisFlag movement’s goal was to “get as many citizens as possible involved in nation-building”.

    His latest call for people to stay away from work in protest at the economic crisis went largely unheeded, with most businesses opening as normal on Wednesday.

    Mr Mawarire admitted the protest was not as successful as last week’s – when the country’s cities were deserted – but said the strike should continue on Thursday.

    He said: “Let’s all shut down and send a message to our government that enough is enough, we need changes in very simple things, in very simple areas.

    “And our protest – non-violent, non-inciting, stay-at-home, is the best because it is within the confines of the law.

    “Every Zimbabwean who does not participate is robbing us of a great opportunity to add to the momentum of where our country is going.”

    Evan Mawarire said stay-at-home protests were best as they were within the law

  • Clinton gets nod from rival Sanders in White House race

    {The 74-year-old US senator from Vermont vows to work hard to make the former Secretary of State become president.}

    US Senator Bernie Sanders has withdrawn his presidential campaign and endorsed his one-time rival Hillary Clinton in the race to the White House, ending his long-shot bid as the Democrat nominee.

    “Secretary Clinton has won the Democratic nominating process,” Sanders declared on Tuesday in a joint appearance in the US state of New Hampshire.

    After an often bitter campaign, Sanders said he will do everything he can to make Clinton “the next president” of the US.

    “This campaign is about the needs of the American people,” Sanders added, echoing some themes of his own year-long campaign.

    He also criticised Clinton’s presumptive Republican opponent Donald Trump for his “reckless economic policies”, which he warned could lead to trillions of dollars of debt.

    Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Portsmouth, said that while Clinton and Sanders have differences in policies, they share ideological beliefs.

    In her remarks accepting Sanders’ endorsement, Clinton embraced many of his causes, vowing to oppose trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, fight to raise the federal minimum wage – adopting Sanders’ tone, she called it a “starvation wage” – and overhaul the campaign finance system.

    “These aren’t just my fights. These are Bernie’s fights. These are America’s fights,” Clinton said.

    The 74-year-old Sanders, a US senator from Vermont, waged a tougher-than-expected year-long battle against the former secretary of state, but Clinton clinched enough delegates to secure the nomination in early June.

    Sanders, a feisty self-described democratic socialist, nevertheless has long resisted conceding defeat to his rival, although he has said he would vote for Clinton and do anything to help defeat Trump.

    On Tuesday, Trump said Sanders “totally sold out” to Clinton. Trump is expected to announce his vice presidential pick in the next few days.

    I am somewhat surprised that Bernie Sanders was not true to himself and his supporters. They are not happy that he is selling out!

    Sanders wants to ensure that his ideas are part of the party platform presented at the Democratic National Convention later this month in Philadelphia, when Clinton will formally be nominated.

    Party officials met over the weekend in Orlando, Florida to finalise the Democratic platform, which they described as the most ambitious and progressive yet in history.

    Sanders wants to ensure that his ideas are part of the party platform presented at the convention later in July

  • Zimbabwean protest leader arrested ahead of strike

    {Preacher Mawarire, who started a campaign against government, has been arrested for “inciting public violence”.}

    A Zimbabwean protest leader has been charged with inciting public violence, but still urged supporters to go ahead with demonstrations and strike against President Robert Mugabe.

    Baptist preacher Evan Mawarire, was arrested and charged on Tuesday, for “inciting public violence and disturbing peace,” his lawyer Harrison Nkomo told the Reuters news agency.

    Nkomo said police had raided his client’s home, office and church in the capital Harare.

    Mawarire started a social media campaign against the government last April, tapping into public anger over corruption, high unemployment and economic woes.

    Mawarire has recorded a series of online videos, urging Zimbabweans to reject the government’s proposed economic measures as the country faces the risk of a recession.

    After initially ignoring his grainy videos calling for demonstrations and strikes, Mugabe’s administration started to push back, especially after the videos attracted support from thousands of civil servants whose salaries has not been paid.

    Mawarire said on Tuesday he broke no law while calling for a one-day strike last week. The “stay away” from work action closed businesses across the southern African nation, the biggest strike since 2005.

    A copy of a search warrant seen by Reuters said police believed Mawarire was in possession of a stolen police helmet, button stick and “other subversive material” that could be used to incite public violence.

    {{‘Protests will continue’}}

    Henry Munangatire, a group spokesman speaking to Al Jazeera, said #ThisFlag was surprised by the arrest and hoped Mawarire’s lawyers could get him released.

    “We are shocked and perplexed by the charges because our movement has always preached non-violence. In his videos, Evan has always called for peaceful protests, but now we see how things work in this country,” he said.

    “We are going ahead [with our protests] as the government has ignored our demands. In his videos Pastor Evan has always said we should continue even if he gets arrested, so we have to do this,” Munangatire added.

    The law under which the 39-year-old preacher has been detained carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

    Africa’s oldest leader at 92, Mugabe has led the former British colony since independence in 1980. The country has chronically been in economic hardship, with a reputation for corruption and rights abuses.

    The "stay away" from work action closed businesses across Zimbabwe last week, the biggest strike since 2005

  • Five Political Parties Boycott Burundi Peace Talks

    {Representatives of five parties that participated in Burundi’s general election boycotted a second round of peace talks in the northern Tanzanian city of Arusha on Tuesday.}

    Burundi has been mired in crisis that has killed more than 450 people since President Pierre Nkurunziza pursued and won a third term last year. Opponents said his move violated the constitution and a peace deal that ended a civil war in 2005.

    Dialogue in Bujumbura last year between the government and opponents failed to bridge differences, and talks mediated by Uganda earlier this year also swiftly stalled.

    The five parties were unhappy over the decision of the mediator, former Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa, to invite Burundians accused of human rights violations and involvement in an attempted coup against Nkurunzinza in May 2015.

    The five parties, FNL, FROLINA, PIEBU ABANYESHAKA, RADEBU and FRODEBU are concerned by the inclusion of Pacifique Nininahazwe of FOCODE party, Armel Ningoyere from ACT party in Burundi and Minani Jean in the dialogue.

    “We are very surprised by their inclusion in the dialogue after all the humanitarian crisis they caused in Burundi,” Jean Didier Mutabazi, RADEBU’s president, told reporters at the venue of the talks. “We don’t see the point of continuing with the dialogue.”

    The government in Bujumbura also expressed its unhappiness over the inclusion of some participants with Willy Nyamitwe, Nkurunziza’s communications adviser, complaining on Twitter.

    “Jean Minani, Nininahazwe Pacifique, Armel Niyongere are being prosecuted and can’t be invited in Burundi dialogue in Arusha,” Nyamitwe wrote.

    Earlier in the day, three former presidents of Burundi were seen walking out of a closed session chaired by Mkapa. Domitien Ndayizeye, Sylvester Ntibatunganya and Pierre Buyoya demanded the arrest of Ninihazwe, and the other two wanted in Burundi, a source in the Burundian delegation said.

    Arusha was also the location for negotiations that led to the deal to end the ethnically charged 1993 to 2005 civil war in Burundi.

    Renewed violence in Burundi has alarmed a region where memories of the Rwanda’s 1994 genocide remain raw. Like Rwanda, Burundi has an ethnic Hutu majority and a Tutsi minority.

    Till now, the violence in Burundi has largely followed political rather than ethnic loyalties. But diplomats fear ethnic wounds could reopen the longer violence continues.

    A woman holds up a picture of Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza during a rally in Bujumbura on May 14, 2016, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the failed attempt of a government coup.