Category: Politics

Obama on Trump: We are all now rooting for his success

{Outgoing president pledges smooth transition to a president-elect who has vowed to undo many of his top initiatives.}

US President Barack Obama on Wednesday vowed to work for a smooth transition of power to president-elect Donald Trump despite what he called their “significant differences”.

The outgoing president said in a brief speech that he wished the Republican Trump well.

“We are now all rooting for his success in uniting and leading the country,” Obama said in the White House Rose Garden.

“Everybody is sad when their side loses an election, but the day after we have to remember we’re actually all on one team. We’re Americans first, we’re patriots first, we all want what’s best for this country.”

Obama had campaigned heavily on behalf of defeated candidate Hillary Clinton, a fellow Democrat, often portraying the election as crucial to ensuring his legacy. Trump has promised to undo many of his top domestic and foreign policy initiatives.

Obama urged Democrats to put aside their differences and tried to strike a positive tone after what was a devastating defeat for his party.

“You have to stay encouraged. Don’t get cynical,” he said. “Don’t ever think you can’t make a difference.”

In reply to a question about a pledge Trump made to jail Clinton if elected, the White House said it hoped that would not happen.

“We’ve got a long tradition in this country of … people in power not using the criminal justice system to exact political revenge,” spokesman Josh Earnest told a news briefing.

Obama had previously warned voters that if Trump were to win, “all that progress goes down the drain”.

Clinton said in a concession speech that the United States was “more deeply divided than we thought,”, urging her supporters to accept the outcome of the presidential election.

“I still believe in America, and I always will,” she said.

November 10, 2016
A critical look at South Africa, Burundi and Gambia decisions to leave ICC

{On the basis of alleged institutional bias against Africa and its leaders continued to be ropagated by African Union (AU) despite sharp opposition from some member states (Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Gabon, Central African Republic, Tanzania and Mali) South Africa, Burundi and the Gambia have recently expressed their intention to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC).}

As a crutch for the allegation, the AU argues that out of the ten cases being currently probed by the office of the prosecutor being in Africa (Mali, Cote D’ Ivoire, Central African Republic, Libya, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo), Georgia is the only country outside Africa facing trial.

As the obvious or expected, there have been mixed reactions across Africa. In Liberia, many which could be deduced as in solidarity or sympathizers of former President Charles Taylor welcomed the move or decision.

On the contrary, all of the views by some reflect Article 4 of the constitutive act of the AU which expressly and unequivocally rejects acts of impunity in Africa. In other words, they considered the move or decision to be inimical to justice as one of the “shared values” to be preserved and protected at all times by the AU.

Respecting the sovereign rights of South Africa, Burundi and the Gambia decision to quit the ICC coupled with all of the mixed reactions across Africa, this article using the case of the indictment of Sudan President Omar al-Bashir as the premise critically and comprehensively examine the decisions of these three Countries.

To start with, it is important that a synopsis of the reasons behind the decision be considered.

South Africa

South Africa justified its decision to quit the ICC stemmed from the apparent conflict with its obligations to the African Union to grant immunity to serving heads of states. This was manifested in 2015 the AU summit in June when South Africa as a host came under vehement criticism domestically and internationally for its refusal to honor the arrest warrant of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir indicted for crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Burundi

Unlike South Africa, Burundi accused the ICC as a ‘Western tool to target African governments’. As a crutch of its allegation, Burundi claimed that the ICC inability to try heads of state/leaders of any of the P5 countries (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) or even inaugurate preliminary investigations against them for acts of impunity is indicative of being bias. Although viewing the ICC as ‘Western tool to target African governments’ is Burundi expressed reason.

However, it worth arguing that the ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda announcement in April 2016 to inaugurate a preliminary investigation into acts of killing, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence in Burundi could be the driving force for escape route from indictment based on warranty or evidence that may be gathered from the preliminary investigation.

Burundi is faced with political crisis caused by the injudicious decision in April by President Pierre Nkurunziza to secure a third term over the objections of his opponents, both Hutu and Tutsi argued that the action violated Article 23 of Burundi’s post-civil war constitution. Since then, the international media have reported incident of violence that at least killed 240 and caused more than 180,000 Burundians to flee to neighboring countries.

The Gambia

Similar to Burundi, the Gambia citing the ICC inability to prosecute former British Primary Minister Tony Blair for his role in the Iraq war, accused the court of “persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans” Granted or agreed that this is the Gambia expressed reason. However, it worth arguing that the questionable human rights track record, including the crackdown on political opponents could spark off or initiate preliminary investigation by the ICC. As such, the expressed reason for withdrawal could be inferred as looking for escape route for any eventuality relative to indictment. Interestingly, the ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda is a national of the Gambia.

The Case of Sudan

On 31st March 2005, the UN Security Council acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations (“UN Charter”), that makes determinations of threats to peace on an international level and recommends or decides what measures shall be taken concerning that threat, passed Resolution 1593 to the ICC prosecutor to investigate who bears the greatest responsibilities of the Darfur conflict. Interestingly, Benin and Tanzania were among the eleven countries that voted in favor of the Resolution 1593. It was from this investigation president Omar al-Bashir as an individual without regard for his status was indicted despite Sudan is not party to the Rome Statue the created the ICC. What is the legal basis for the ICC action?

The Jurisdiction of the ICC over nationals of state non- party to the Rome Statute

According to the Rome Statute, there are three ways in which the ICC exercise jurisdiction over nationals of state non- party to the statute.

(1) As in the case of president Bashir, the ICC may prosecute nationals of states not party to the statute in situation referred to the prosecutor of the ICC by the UN Security Council.

(2) Non- party nationals are subject to ICC jurisdiction when they have committed a crime on the territory of state party to the ICC Statute or has otherwise accepted the jurisdiction of the court as it relates to the crime.

(3) The jurisdiction of the court may be exercised over nationals non-party to the ICC when the non-party state has consented to the jurisdiction of the court as it relates to the crime. According to legal experts, in either of the first two circumstances, the consent of the state of nationality is not a prerequisite for the court to exercise jurisdiction.

In the case of Sudan, by virtue of the referral from the UN Security Council, the ICC don’t need the consent of the Sudan as a state to try President Bashir as it’s national. In other words, this could mean that the consent from Sudan should they refuse is irrelevant to the prosecution. This could also mean a matter of time for the ICC to grab Bashir after his tenure as president.

Let’s agreed that case of Sudan have attracted lots of legal debate regarding the jurisdiction of the ICC. Amidst these debates, nothing has ever changed or nullifies the indictment or the arrest warrant. We wait to see or listen to the legal argument in court in the future holding all factors constant.

If Burundi and the Gambia including other African Countries beside South Africa are apprehensive or thinking about pending investigation that would warrant indictment for which they are using the allegation of the ICC of being biased as the escape route, the case of Sudan as argued in the paper is another argument in support for no escape route.

Unlike the P5 countries who are non-party to the ICC Statute that have all of the resiliencies of not subjecting its members to ICC, it worth arguing that due to bad governance that reduced most of the African Countries to international assistant, withdrawal from the ICC may show no significant different on grounds of lack of resilience to resist the pressure of turning over an inductee who may be national of a non-party state to the ICC Statute.

November 9, 2016
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump seek to sway voters

{Rival candidates seek to sway swing states in the final hours of campaigning, stopping off at major battleground states.}

With just hours to go before polls open in the US, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and her rival Republican Donald Trump have raced to collect last-minute votes.

In the final hours of campaigning on Monday night, the candidates and their political allies hit the campaign trail hard, stopping off at major battleground states across the US in a last-ditch effort to sway voters.

As of Monday night, Clinton’s lead over Trump had widened to 3.2 percent, according to an average of polls conducted by the website RealClearPolitics.

The figure came a day after the FBI announced that it had found no criminal wrongdoing in Clinton’s use of a private email server, following a last-minute review that clouded her campaign and allowed Trump to recover ground lost in a series of recent scandals.

Campaigning in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Monday, Clinton promised to build a “big-hearted” America out of the wreckage of contentious presidential race that has broken nearly every conceivable norm in US political life.

“Our core values are tested in this election,” she said.

“We don’t have to accept a dark and divisive vision for America. Tomorrow, you can vote for a hopeful, inclusive and a big-hearted America.”

Trump delivered a sprawling speech in the crucial state of Florida, rallying against Washington, the healthcare system and Clinton, telling his supporters it was their last chance to change a broken political system.

“Hilary Clinton is being protected by a totally rigged system,” he said, questioning the legitimacy of the the FBI’s rapid review of a Clinton aide’s emails and targeting what he called “the Washington establishment”.

“My contract with the American voter begins with a plan to end government corruption, and take back our country … from the special interests who I know so well. When we win tomorrow, we are going to drain the swamp.”

Both Clinton and Trump are by far the most unpopular candidates to run for the Oval Office in the past 30 years, according joint polling by ABC News and the Washington Post newspaper.

Since announcing his presidential campaign in June 2015, Trump, a billionaire businessman from New York, has consistently alienated minority groups, refused to release his tax returns, and remained seemingly unapologetic for leaked tapes in which he brags about sexually assaulting women.

Clinton, who has 30 years in public service and has served as a State senator, secretary of state and first lady, is not wildly popular either.

Her campaign has been marred by the never-ending email scandal, accusations of negligence in Benghazi, Libya, and for a recent gaffe in which the candidate said half of Trump supporters belonged in a “basket of deplorabes”.

If she wins Clinton will become the first-ever female US president.

The latest national polls, released by CBS on Monday, gave Clinton a 4 percent lead over Trump in a four-way race that includes Green Party candidate Jill Stein and Libertarian Gary Johnson

Race and immigration have been a major dividing factors in this election cycle. And neither Clinton nor Trump has managed to gain a major foothold among voters of any of the minority communities across the US.

{{Election-day rallies}}

Both candidates have a full day of last-minuted rallies planned for Election Day on Tuesday.

Clinton will hold two events in Pennsylvania, one in Michigan and another one in North Carolina, while Trump is scheduled to be in Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Michigan.

States such as Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio have the power to swing the election.

These five major swing states, all of which are in eastern time zone in the US, and will be early indicators as to the winner of race.

November 8, 2016
Nicaragua: Daniel Ortega storms to landslide victory

{Former Sandinista guerrilla wins with 72 percent of the vote as opposition vows to “fight” the outcome.}

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has overwhelmingly won re-election to a third consecutive term as voters cheered in the streets and overlooked criticism that he is installing a family dynasty.

Ortega, 71, ran with his wife, Rosario Murillo, as his vice-presidential candidate in a race that pitted him against five lesser-known candidates after court rulings weakened the opposition.

The Reuters news agency reported on Monday that Ortega secured 72.1 percent of votes citing Nicaragua’s Supreme Electoral Council.

The announcement sent hundreds of Ortega’s Sandinista National Liberation Front party supporters out into the streets of the capital to celebrate.

The opposition, which had urged people to boycott the election, disputed that claim, contending “more than 70 percent” of voters did not cast ballots.

Ana Margarita Vigil, a leader from the Broad Front for Democracy, told Al Jazeera the opposition rejected the results and would “fight” the outcome.

“The people of Nicaragua have said ‘no’ to this farce and we are committed to fight until we have new, free, fair and competitive elections.”

Al Jazeera’s Lucia Newman, reporting from the capital, Managua, said there was a real fear among some Nicaraguans that Ortega was trying to create a political dynasty.

“For many there is a real concern that history may be repeating itself. Nicaragua fought a revolution that ended a political dynasty that lasted nearly 50 years.

“Murillo’s election as vice president legitimises her already dominant position in the government and allows her to take over if and when the 70-year-old cannot complete his mandate,” Newman said.

However, Ortega will face an increasingly difficult regional landscape in his new term.

Leftist ally Venezuela is overwhelmed by an economic crisis and Cuba is normalising relations with the United States.

The US Congress is also working on legislation to require the US government to oppose loans to Nicaragua from international lending institutions.

“The lack of Venezuelan support, the international price of oil, the price of our exports, and the possibility that [US legislation passes] make it a more complicated outlook for Ortega in the next term,” Oscar Rene Vargas, a sociologist and economist at Central American University, told AFP news agency.

November 8, 2016
South Africa’s Julius Malema challenges apartheid-era law

{South African opposition figure Julius Malema is challenging an apartheid-era law used to prosecute him over calls to occupy white-owned land.}

He is accused of urging his supporters to occupy white-owned land in a speech he gave in June, in contravention to the 1956 Riotous Assemblies Act.

A judge has agreed to postpone his trial while he challenges the act in the Constitutional Court.

Land reform is still a highly sensitive issue in South Africa.

Twenty-two years after the end of white-minority rule, most of the country’s best farmland is owned by a few thousand white farmers.

Outside the court Mr Malema told supporters: “What we are calling for is peaceful occupation of the land and we don’t owe anyone an apology for that,” reports Reuters news agency.

“The land must be expropriated without compensation.”

European colonisers “found peaceful Africans here. They killed them. They slaughtered them like animals,” he said.

“We are not calling for the slaughter of white people, at least for now.”

Mr Malema, who is the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), told supporters in Newcastle in June that white people can’t claim to own land because it belongs to the country’s black majority.

Mr Malema is trying to exploit the vacuum left by the governing African National Congress (ANC), which has been paralysed by infighting and renewed pressure on President Jacob Zuma to resign over alleged corruption.

But the applause that Mr Mamela’s receives at rallies can be misleading – in this year’s municipal elections, his Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) won only 8% of the vote, compared with the 54% and 24% of the ANC and Democratic Alliance respectively.

So not too much emphasis should be placed on Mr Malema’s land grab call.

The judge told a packed court in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, that Mr Malema’s lawyers must return to court on 7 December and provide proof that he has filed his case to overturn the law with the Constitutional Court.

Back in 2014, Mr Malema told his supporters they should go and occupy vacant land in a speech at a party conference in Bloemfontein, south-west of Johannesburg.
On Monday Mr Malema is due in court in Bloemfontein for that case.

November 8, 2016
Trump accuses US-based Somalis of spreading extremism

{US presidential candidate Donald Trump has attacked the Somali community in the US state of Minnesota saying “some of them [are] joining Isis and spreading their extremist views”.}

Mr Trump promised to ensure that local communities were consulted before refugees settled.

Around 50,000 Somalis are in Minnesota.

The mayor of Minneapolis, Betsy Hodges reacted on Facebook, saying Somali immigrants made her city, in Minnesota state, a “better, stronger place”.

She is from the Democratic Party, while Mr Trump is a Republican.

Mr Trump cited a recent knife attack by a Somali immigrant who stabbed 10 people at a Minnesota shopping centre before being shot dead by a police officer.

He said at the rally on Sunday that Minnesota had seen “problems with faulty refugee vetting, with large numbers of Somali refugees coming into your state without your knowledge, without your support or approval”.

Mr Trump vowed to stop admitting immigrants from “terror-prone regions’” until new, more intense vetting mechanisms were put into place.

Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali community – about 50,000 according to the US census.

The Somali community in Minnesota has been a target for terrorism recruiters.

Next week nine ethnic Somalis from Minnesota will be sentenced on terror charges for plotting to join the Islamic State group.

More than 20 young men have left the state in recent years to join the Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabab, which controls many rural areas in the south of the country.

About a dozen others have left in recent years to join militants in Syria.

November 8, 2016
Besigye blocked from travelling to South Africa

{Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesman, Mr Emilian Kayima said police were aware of Dr Besigye’s trip to South Africa but denied accusations that they had blocked him.}

Kampala- Opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye has cancelled his trip to South Africa where he was scheduled to address the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Conference.

Dr Besigye was on Tuesday forced to call off the trip after police blocked him at his home in Kasangati. The opposition politician was expected to depart from Entebbe International Airport for Johannesburg using South Africa Airline at 9:00am for a conference slated for Thursday 10, November 2016.

FDC officials who talked to Daily Monitor said Dr Besigye was blocked as he attempted to leave his Kasangati home at 6:00am.

Dr Besigye told Daily Monitor that the police blockade was reportedly removed at 7:40am after he had cancelled the flight.

“It is just annoying and simply incomprehensible that people can just act with impunity, if they want to detain me at least they should give me food,” Dr Besigye said.

Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesman, Mr Emilian Kayima said police were aware of Dr Besigye’s trip to South Africa but denied accusations that they had blocked him.

“We have also learnt from the social media that some are people saying we have blocked him from travelling to South Africa, we have not. He has all his freedom to do what he pleases,” Mr Kayima said.

He added: “We are aware of his journey and he has the freedom to go. I don’t know whether political actors just enjoy keeping themselves in the limelight for the wrong reasons to portray the police as the brutes.”

Dr Besigye has been blocked from leaving his home on several occasions. On October 17, when he was expected to appear before Ms Mary Eleanor Khainza, the registrar of the High Court- Criminal Division for extension of his bail in a treason case, police blocked him.

After the 2001 elections Dr Besigye fled the country to South Africa where he stayed in a self-imposed exile and only returned in 2005.

November 8, 2016
FBI: No charges against Hillary Clinton over emails

{Trump says his opponent is ‘protected by a rigged system’ after FBI director rules out any charges against Clinton.}

FBI Director James Comey has told Congress a review of new Hillary Clinton emails has “not changed our conclusions” from earlier this year that she should not face charges.

Comey sent the letter on Sunday, just two days before the US presidental election. It followed one he sent last week saying agents would be reviewing newly discovered emails that may be connected to Clinton.

They were found on the device of Anthony Weiner, the disgraced congressman and estranged husband of Clinton’s close aide Huma Abedin.

Clinton’s Republican rival Donald Trump quickly responded to Comey’s latest announcement, saying Clinton is protected by a “rigged system”.

“Right now she’s being protected by a rigged system. It’s a totally rigged system. I’ve been saying it for a long time,” Trump told supporters in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

“Hillary Clinton is guilty, she knows it, the FBI knows it, the people know it and now it’s up to the American people to deliver justice at the ballot box on November 8.”

Since Comey dropped the bombshell that a review of Clinton’s state department email practices would be revisited after new messages were uncovered, “the FBI investigative team has been working around the clock,” Comey said in a widely circulated letter to lawmakers.

“During that process, we reviewed all of the communications that were to or from Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state. Based on our review, we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to secretary Clinton.”

Her campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri welcomed the move.

“We are glad to see that he has found, as we were confident that he would, that he’s confirmed the conclusions that he reached in July,” Palmieri told reporters travelling with the candidate.

“And we’re glad that this matter is resolved.”

Clinton holds a five-point lead over Trump in the latest Washington Post-ABC Tracking Poll released early Sunday.

In a Post-ABC poll on Friday, Clinton had led Trump by 47 percent to 44 percent.

Clinton had an advantage in affirmative support, the poll said, with 55 percent of backers saying they are mainly supporting her, compared with 43 percent of Trump voters. More Trump voters say they “mainly oppose Clinton”.

November 7, 2016
Mass protest in Hong Kong over China intervention

{Police fire pepper-spray at demonstrators after Beijing bars two pro-independence lawmakers from taking office.}

Street battles erupted as thousands in Hong Kong protested China’s intervention in a dispute over whether two recently elected pro-independence lawmakers should be barred from taking office.

On Sunday scuffles broke out and police pepper-sprayed some demonstrators as they marched from Wan Chai district to the city’s Central financial district, with several hundred pressing on to Beijing’s Liaison Office – where demonstrators charged metal fences set up by police.

“This is outrageous,” said Jay, a bespectacled 21-year-old student who wore a mask to protect against the pepper spray.

“The Chinese government is destroying Hong Kong’s judicial independence. It’s an attempt to control what we think. Even people who are against independence are coming out against this.”

Some protesters threw bottles at security forces and others hoisted open umbrellas in the air – a symbol reminiscent of student-led pro-democracy demonstrations in 2014 when hundreds of thousands came out and blocked key Hong Kong streets, attracting global attention.

Organisers put Sunday’s protest numbers at 11,000 and police said 8,000 turned out. A number of arrests were made.

Last week, China passed a ruling that could preclude lawmakers Yau Wai-ching and Baggio Leung from the opportunity to redo their swearing-in ceremonies in the city’s legislative council – since their oaths in October were rejected because they deliberately misread them to protest for greater sovereignty in Hong Kong.

Beijing’s law that could reshape the autonomous territory’s constitution came as courts in Hong Kong debated whether or not Yau and Baggio could retake their oaths. Both pledged allegiance to the “Hong Kong nation” and displayed a “Hong Kong is not China” banner during their swearing-in ceremonies.

The pair have been described by Chinese officials as a threat to their country’s sovereignty and security.

Beijing’s government has discussed invoking its rarely used power to interpret Hong Kong’s constitution, the Basic Law, to stop the two lawmakers from taking office.

Al Jazeera’s Divya Gopalan, reporting from Hong Kong, said the protesters view China’s intervention as a threat to the territory’s independence and autonomy.

“The way Hong Kong’s people see it … if Beijing is allowed to intervene in the constitution this time and change a piece of the law, overriding Hong Kong’s traditional system, they will be able to do it anytime when they are unhappy with Hong Kong’s rule of law or any judicial decisions,” Gopalan said.

The situation is seen among many across Hong Kong’s legal and political elites as one of the biggest tests the global financial hub has faced since its handover to China, with some fearing its vaunted rule of law is under threat.

Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese control in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that gave the territory wide-ranging autonomy – including judicial freedom – under the Basic Law.

November 7, 2016
South Africa’s Zuma ‘not afraid of jail’ amid corruption accusations

{South Africa’s embattled President Jacob Zuma has said he is not scared of going to prison, days after an investigation found evidence of possible government corruption.}

This was his first public appearance since an anti-corruption report asked for a judicial inquiry.

Mr Zuma, 74, is accused of an improper relationship with wealthy businessmen. He denies any wrongdoing.

Thousands of people took to the streets on Wednesday demanding his resignation.
The 355-page report entitled State of Capture focused on allegations that Mr Zuma allowed the Guptas, a wealthy Indian business family close to the president, to influence cabinet appointments.

The Gupta brothers have not commented, but they have previously denied any wrongdoing.

Mr Zuma, who spent 10 years as a political prisoner on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela during apartheid (white minority rule), told a cheering crowd in his home province of Kwa-Zulu Natal: “I’m not afraid of jail. I’ve been to jail during the struggle.

“There’s no longer any space for democratic debate. The only space there is for court arguments by lawyers. That’s not democracy,” he added.

Mr Zuma, who is also the leader of the governing African National Congress (ANC), has been dogged by corruption allegations for more than a decade. He had tried to block the release of the report, but dropped his court bid.

He faces a vote of no confidence in parliament next week. He survived two similar votes earlier this year.

November 6, 2016