IGIHE

Category: Rubrique

  • Obama says Democrats could win back U.S. House in 2014

    {{President Barack Obama, whose agenda has been frustrated by Republicans in Washington, said on Wednesday he believed his party could reclaim control of the House of Representatives in the 2014 midterm elections but conceded it was an uphill struggle.}}

    The party in power in the White House typically loses seats in the first midterm election after a presidential campaign, and many political analysts believe Democrats could lose seats in Congress in 2014.

    But Obama, appearing at fundraisers for Democratic House candidates in his hometown of Chicago, said he believed 2014 could prove different.

    “We’ve got a great chance to take back the House,” he told more than 100 people gathered at a cocktail reception in an ornate ballroom at the Chicago Hilton, where ticket prices ranged from $1,000 per person to $5,000 per couple.

    Obama, who was reelected in 2012, told donors that he is willing to work with Republicans on issues like creating jobs through national infrastructure programs, but said he has a hard time finding Republican lawmakers willing to compromise.

    “We’ve got a politics that is stuck right now. And the reason it’s stuck is because people spend more time thinking about the next election than they do thinking about the next generation,” Obama said.

    Obama said he is willing to work with Republicans, who currently control the House, but accused them of “obstructionism” and “an interest only in scoring political points or placating a base.”

    It was the fifth time since April that Obama has traveled to raise money for Democrats running for Congress in 2014.

    In Chicago, about 70 people paid $10,000 per person or $32,400 per couple to attend dinner in the sculpture-filled apartment of Bettylu and Paul Saltzman, longtime Chicago Democratic activists and some of Obama’s earliest political benefactors.

    Obama told the group, which he described as “kind of an Obama cabal,” that a Democratic-controlled House is key to achieving goals he views as his legacy, like curbing climate change and gun violence.

    “My only interest is making sure that when I look back 20 years from now, I say, ‘I accomplished everything that I could while I had this incredible privilege to advance the interests of the broadest number of Americans,’” he said.

    But he admitted winning back the House won’t be easy.

    “This will be hard,” he said, blaming “gerrymandering” or the redistricting process which many Democratic groups have said unfairly benefits Republicans.

    First Lady Michelle Obama also spoke at two Democratic fundraisers on Wednesday in Manhattan.

    “We need all of you to get engaged in every special election and every midterm election all across this country,” she told donors who paid between $5,000 and $25,000 to attend a fundraiser in the Manhattan apartment of fashion designer Tory Burch.

    “We need you to keep on writing those checks and, if you haven’t maxed out, max out. Get your friends to max out,” she said, referring to caps on donations set by U.S. election law.

    At a Park Avenue gala with about 350 people who paid $1,250 to $32,400 to attend, the first lady was introduced by basketball player Jason Collins, who recently came out as the nation’s first openly gay major professional sports player.

    {wirestory}

  • Libyan Parliament Chief Resigns Over ex-regime Ban

    {{ Libya’s parliament chief, who served under Moammar Gadhafi before becoming an opposition leader in exile, resigned on Tuesday, just weeks after lawmakers passed a bill banning former regime officials from senior government posts.}}

    The law, which may effectively bar the speaker, Mohammed al-Megarif, and several other experienced Libyan leaders from high-level posts for the next 10 years, was adopted on May 5 amid much turmoil and pressure from militias.

    The resignation was the latest turn on Libya’s rocky path to democracy. The country’s nascent government faces a multitude of challenges, including reining in armed groups that have mushroomed in size in the last two years.

    The government continues to rely on some of the militias to provide security in the absence of a strong military or police force, but has also struggled to enforce its authority over them.

    Al-Megarif’s move comes after Libya’s Muslim Brotherhood rallied successfully to push through the so-called Political Isolation Law in the face of liberal opposition.

    As he announced his resignation before the General National Congress in the capital, Tripoli, al-Megarif suggested that lawmakers passed the new law under threat of force and decried what he described as the empowerment of some legislators backed by gunmen.

    But he said he was stepping down out of respect for democracy, the first official to resign in accordance with the new law.

    “All must comply with the law out of respect for the legitimacy and institutionalization of democracy,” he said, his eyes welling up with tears. “I put my resignation in your hands, and I want you to witness that I leave you with my head up.”

    The power struggle now enters a new round as parliament is to draft another law — one that will oversee a nationwide vote for a 60-member committee that will be tasked with writing Libya’s new constitution. The new charter could undo the controversial isolation law.

    Under Gadhafi, al-Megarif was Libya’s ambassador to India in 1980 before he joined the opposition in exile and the struggle against the former dictator.

    After Gadhafi’s ouster in an eight-month civil war and his killing at the hands of rebels in 2011, al-Megarif returned to the country to become one of Libya’s new leaders.
    In his resignation speech, al-Megarif chastised militia tactics.

    “The use of force, threatening to use force, or brandishing force … do not conform with the building of and transition to democracy that we all seek,” he said.

    {wirestory}

  • Zimbabwe poll gets SADC Approval

    {{SADC bloc yesterday said it was awaiting the announcement of the date for harmonised elections because nothing precluded Zimbabwe from holding elections as the bloc was happy with progress made towards that end and would stand guided by due process.}}

    Addressing a Press conference after an extraordinary Summit of Sadc Heads of State and Government held on the sidelines of the 21st Ordinary Session of the African Union General Assembly here yesterday, the bloc’s executive secretary Dr Tomaz Salamao said elections could not continue to be postponed forever.

    ‘‘Our position as Sadc is that the Constitution was concluded and the next step is the election, whether it’s held within one month, two months, three months or the next six months, it is up to those with the powers to decide.

    “We are waiting to hear the ruling of the Supreme Court, and as Sadc we will be there to support . . . We are basically waiting for the announcement of the day of the election so that we move this process forward,” Dr Salamao said.

    The Supreme Court last week reserved judgment in the case in which a Harare man, Mr Jealousy Mawarire, is seeking to compel President Mugabe to announce the election date before the expiry of the life of the Seventh Parliament at midnight on June 29, saying failure to do so would see Zimbabwe run illegally without the third pillar of the State, the legislature.

    The money for the elections, Dr Salamao said, would be found.

    Responding to a question on MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai’s recent tour of the region to drum up support for a postponement of elections, Dr Salamao said if Mr Tsvangirai had concerns, he should table them before Sadc, but the reports they were getting were that he was happy with the build-up to elections.

    MDC-T is seized with selecting candidates to contest the harmonised elections and concluded primary elections, and the controversial confirmation exercise in Harare and Chitungwiza over the weekend.

    Turning to the communiqué, Dr Salamao said since it was the first time for the full summit to meet since the referendum, summit took note of the outcome and commended Zimbabwe for the manner in which the referendum was conducted.

    Summit, he added, also took note of the fact that the Constitution had been concluded and adopted.
    The summit had three items on the agenda which was to review the peace and security situation in the region with specific reference to Madagascar, DRC and Zimbabwe in that order.

    On Madagascar, summit endorsed the position taken by the Troika, saying the AU Peace and Security Council had also endorsed the position and declared that they would not recognise any authorities elected in violation of the Sadc position.

    On DRC, summit endorsed UN Resolution 2098 which paved way for the deployment of an intervention force into the eastern of that country, a process that was already under way.

    Earlier on, as he emerged from the five-hour meeting, Troika chairperson Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete said he didn’t see any impediments to the holding of elections.

    ‘‘Why not? There is progress. We are hopeful, there is progress. We have to keep our fingers crossed for the next hurdle.

    “We have made progress with the referendum. It went on very well and now there are preparations for the next election,’’ Mr Kikwete said.

    Mr Kikwete’s comments come in the wake of last week’s signing into law, and publication of the new Constitution to pave way for elections constitutionally due on or before midnight June 29 when the life of the inclusive Government expires.

    Meanwhile, the 21st Ordinary Session of the Africa Union General Assembly began here yesterday with leaders departing from convention to go straight into a closed session to tackle a broad agenda encompassing mapping Vision 2063 as well as the peace and security challenges facing the continent.

    Traditionally there should be an opening ceremony until lunch time after which the leaders go into a closed session to discuss the agenda items and suggest requisite solutions.

    Mali, which recently underwent unconstitutional regime change, was on the agenda along with Madagascar which is in an impasse since a 2009 coup as well the DRC whose eastern region has been overrun by rebels that a UN-backed force has failed to contain.

    President Mugabe joined other heads of state and government here for the mid-term indaba that came on the heels of a glittering launch of year-long Golden Jubilee Celebrations on Saturday night.

    {herald}

  • Egypt’s Court Says Police & Army Should Vote

    {{Egyptian Islamists and former members of the nation’s military voiced concern Sunday about the potential pitfalls stemming from a decision by the country’s top constitutional court that would allow members of the armed forces and police to vote in the nation’s elections.}}

    For decades, a long-running legal tradition in Egypt’s army and police barred soldiers, conscripts and members of the security from voting while in the service.

    The ban, which was written into law in 1976, was widely seen as a move designed to keep both the military and the security agencies out of politics — despite the fact that the country was run by former generals.

    The Supreme Constitutional Court said Saturday the ban violated the country’s new constitution, which stipulates that all citizens have the right to vote.

    The court also shot down 12 other articles of the election laws drafted by Egypt’s Islamist-led legislature, saying they too went against the charter.

    Human rights groups and some in Egypt’s secular opposition welcomed the decision, saying that in Egypt’s nascent democracy the right to vote should be extended to all Egyptians.

    Islamists and former members of the military, however, expressed fears that the decision risks forcing the nation’s highly polarized politics into the armed forces.

    “This is a threat to national security. Divisions in the streets will be reflected in the military — the sectarianism, the partisanship,” said Hossam Sweilam, a retired general who served in the military for more than 30 years.

    “We are different from other countries. We have political problems. … This (ruling) would be in the interest of the Muslim Brotherhood and could be a problem for the cohesion of the military.”

    The Brotherhood, winner of both the parliamentary and presidential elections that followed the country’s 2011 uprising, and its fellow Islamist groups also pushed back against the decision, which would add more than 1 million votes to Egypt’s already 50 million registered voters.

    {wirestory}

  • Africa must stand up against politicization of international justice

    {Africa leaders gathered today at the 21st Ordinary Session of the African Union following the jubilee celebrations of the organisation’s 50th anniversary. The day was marked by discussions ranging from the need for the African Union to finance its activities to a review of the report documenting peace and security situations on the continent.}

    President Kagame today condemned the sentimentalization of international justice for political interests which continues to undermine peace processes as well as the sovereignty of African nations.

    “We cannot support an ICC that condemns crimes committed by some and not others or imposes itself on democratic processes or the will of sovereign people. Such a court cannot facilitate reconciliation which is a vital precursor to peace.”

    While highlighting the importance of fighting impunity, President Kagame urged all present to stand up against the use of international justice as a political tool:

    “It is evident that political bias, control and flawed methodology are being deployed in the name of International Justice. Yet ICC proponents are ostensibly deaf to the increasingly vocal criticism against the court’s bias towards Africa. This is not acceptable and Africa must stand up to it and refuse to be intimidated or bribed into silence and inaction on this matter.”

    President Kagame urged African nations to build capacity to address criminal justice and called for a united African stance in favor of the ICC dropping cases against Kenyan leaders:

    “It is not in the interest of the ICC, the Security Council, the African continent and relationships between the three, to see further humiliation of African people and their leaders by an unfair criminal justice system. We should support a common African position and action on the matter at this Summit and subsequently at the UN General Assembly.”

    The first day of the African Union Summit was also marked by the follow up meeting to the United Nations Secretary General Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework on DRC. Commenting on the role of the framework, Minister Mushikiwabo reiterated Rwanda’s support for a political solution:

    “The framework reaffirmed the importance of addressing the root causes of conflict in DRC through political dialogue.”

    Heads of State present ended the day by signing the African Union 2063 Proclamation pledging their commitment to fulfilling the vision of a united and dignified Africa.

    President Kagame condemning the sentimentalization of international justice for political interests at the AU Summit in Addis Ababa

  • Kerry makes sub-Saharan Africa visit

    {{Making his first official trip to sub-Saharan Africa, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday demanded that Nigeria respect human rights as it cracks down on Islamist extremists and pledged to work hard in the coming months to ease tensions between Sudan and South Sudan.}}

    Kerry, attending the African Union’s 50th anniversary, backed the Nigerian government’s efforts to root out Boko Haram, an al-Qaida-linked radical sect. But he said there is no excuse for abuses by armed forces in Nigeria’s long neglected north, where President Goodluck Jonathan has declared emergency rule.

    “We defend the right completely of the government of Nigeria to defend itself and to fight back against terrorists,” Kerry said. He added, however, that he has raised his concerns with Nigerian officials to insist on the military “adhering to the highest standards and not itself engaging in atrocities.”

    “One person’s atrocities do not excuse another’s,” Kerry said. “Revenge is not the motive. It’s good governance, it’s ridding yourself of a terrorist organization so that you can establish a standard of law that people can respect.”

    Speaking to reporters alongside Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Kerry also blamed Sudan’s government for much of the tension along its volatile border with South Sudan.

    He says residents in the contested areas of Blue Nile and South Kordofan don’t want to be subjected to strict Islamist rules.

    Both areas border the new nation of South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011 under an agreement that ended decades of civil war. Many residents are sympathetic to the South, and both areas have experienced regular violence in recent years.

    “There are very significant border challenges, but they’re bigger than that,” Kerry said. “You have people who for a long time have felt that they want their secular governance and their identity respected.”

    “They don’t want independence; they are not trying to break away from Sudan,” he said. But he said the response from Sudan’s government has been to “press on them through authoritarian means and violence an adherence to a standard that they simply don’t want to accept with respect to Islamism.”

    “That’s the fundamental clash,” Kerry said.

    He acknowledged, however, the North’s concerns that the South is fueling rebels in the areas and said the U.S. would try to work with Ethiopia and other international partners to ease tensions.

    He said he’d soon appoint a new American envoy to both countries.

    Kerry meets the foreign ministers of both Sudans later Saturday.

    His meetings in Ethiopia’s capital also include the U.N. and African Union chiefs and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.

    AP

  • China Hopes Visit of North Korean Envoy Can Ease Tension

    {{China hopes that this week’s visit by a senior North Korean envoy can ease tension in the region and help spur efforts to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday.}}

    Choe Ryong-hae, a special envoy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, met Chinese officials in the highest-ranking visit by an official from Pyongyang in about six months.

    “We hope that this visit can ameliorate the present tension on the Korean peninsula and give new impetus to pushing for the denuclearization of the peninsula,” ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily briefing.

    On Friday, Choe met General Fan Chonglong, vice chairman of China’s powerful Central Military Commission, who warned Choe about tension on the peninsula threatening peace.

    “In recent years, the state of affairs around the Korean peninsula nuclear issue frequently turns into one escalation of tensions after another,” China’s Xinhua state news agency cited Fan as saying.

    “The conflicting strategies of all parties have intensified, jeopardizing peace,” Fan said.

    Choe responded by saying peace could not be assured although North Korea wanted it in order to build the country, and it was willing to work with all sides in solving problems.

    “The situation on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia is complex and extraordinary, and there is no guarantee of peace,” Xinhua cited Choe as saying.

    “The North Korean people need a peaceful and stable environment to build their country,” Choe was quoted as saying. “The North Korean side wishes to work together with all parties and, through dialog, seek a means to resolve the problem.”

    On Thursday, Choe told another senior Chinese official that North Korea was willing to return to talks, although the prospect for those in the near future is dim.

    Tension has been mounting between North Korea and China even though China is the North’s most important economic and political backer.

    Ties have been hurt between the two supposed allies by the North’s third nuclear test in February, despite China’s disapproval, and by China agreeing to U.N. sanctions on the North in response and starting to put a squeeze on North Korean banks.

    {reuters}

  • President Mugabe Signs New Constitution into Law

    {{Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe signed a new constitution into law on Wednesday, replacing a 33-year-old document forged in the dying days of British colonial rule and paving the way for an election later this year.}}

    Approved overwhelmingly in a referendum in March, the constitution clips the powers of the president and imposes a two-term limit. However, it does not apply retroactively so the 89-year-old Mugabe could technically extend his three decades in office by another 10 years.

    A beaming Mugabe, flanked by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, his main political rival, and Deputy President Joice Mujuru signed multiple copies of the charter at State House in the capital to cheers and applause from aides.

    The constitution was formed as part of a power-sharing deal between Mugabe and Tsvangirai after disputed and violent elections in 2008.

    The five-year coalition government formed under the same agreement expires on June 29, and parliamentary and presidential elections should follow within 90 days of that date.

    However, many obstacles remain, not least finding the estimated $130 million needed to pay for the election and reaching agreement on outside monitors.

    Harare has turned down offers of United Nations or donor assistance and Mugabe accused some in the 15-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC), which has been mediating in the crisis, of trying to impose their will on Harare.

    “We rejected this,” he told reporters after the signing ceremony, adding that any vote would be fair and peaceful.

    “We will ensure that there won’t be any violence, that there won’t be any rigging.”

    In brief remarks, Tsvangirai said the charter had set the southern African country “on a new path” after nearly a decade of economic decline and political violence that started in 2000 with the seizure of white-owned commercial farms by Mugabe supporters.

    However, neither he nor Mugabe made any mention of a possible election date and they did not take questions from reporters.

    State media said on Wednesday Mugabe was pressing for a vote before July although his rivals want it delayed to allow for the opening up of broadcast media, registration of new voters and reform of the military to ensure it stays out of politics.

    {reuters}

  • Gen. Bashir Expected to Announce Cabinet Reshuffle

    {{Different sources have expected a large ministerial reshuffle in Khartoum, saying that the first vice-president Ali Osman Taha might be relieved from his position.}}

    A presidential source told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that First Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha is one of the most prominent figure that will quit the government in the upcoming reshuffle, adding he will dedicate his time as deputy chairman to the management of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

    The source further revealed that defence minister Gen. Abdel-Rahim Hussein, will also be among those who will lose their ministerial portfolios.

    Abdel Rahim recently disclosed to several journalists in Khartoum that he demanded to be relieved from his position for health reasons. The minister suffers herniated disc in his back.

    Gen. Bakri Hassan Saleh, minister of the presidential affairs, is among the most prominent candidates to succeed him. Saleh is appreciated from the army and at different times the military preferred to speak with him about the problems they face than Hussein.

    However other sources ruled out to appoint him at this position because he holds a prominent position in the Islamist Movement. In the past also, some sources speculated that Bashir was preparing him for the presidency of the country.

    Finance minister Ali Mahmoud is also cited among those who will be removed in the expected ministerial reshuffle.

    Also, the presidential assistant Jaffar Al-Mirghani would be appointed minister at an important portfolio and quit his current post.

    The source stressed that the reshuffle will be comprehensive and touch most of the cabinet members.

    The new cabinet was scheduled to be announced before the end of April but the attacks of the rebel groups in Kordofan region forced the presidency to defer it, it was learnt.

    It was also reported that presidential assistant and NCP deputy chairman Nafie Ali Nafie is strongly opposed to the ministerial reshuffle because he says the moment is not opportune to make such important changes.

    He also argues that the reshuffle may create a vacuum in the executive body.

    But sources said that Nafie is probably fearing that Ali Osman may delimit his role in the leadership of the ruling party.

    Currently, Omer Al-Bashir is the leader of the ruling party, Ali Osman is the NCP deputy chairman for executive affairs and Nafie is the deputy chairman for the party’s affairs .

    Nafie led a wing within the NCP against the Comprehensive Peace Agreement negotiated by Ali Osman Taha with the late SPLM leader John Garang and signed in January 2005.

    Following Garang death, he worked to weaken and marginalise Taha who since lost his influential role in the government.

    Omer Al-Bashir at different times announced that he would not seek to remain in power after the end of his current term in 2015, and asked the party to chose a new candidate to replace him.

    Observers say if Taha takes the control of the party this may give him the necessary means to prepare for his election in 2015.

    ST

  • Zimbabwe Lecturer Jailed for Calling Mugabe ‘donkey’

    {{A lecturer at a government university in Zimbabwe has been jailed for three months for labelling veteran President Robert Mugabe “a rotten old donkey,” in the latest such case, lawyers said Saturday.}}

    Chenjerai Pamhiri, 38, a lecturer at Great Zimbabwe State University in Masvingo city, was convicted and jailed on Friday by a magistrate on Friday, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said.

    Prosecutors alleged that Pamhiri, while doing his shopping at a local supermarket last week, shouted that Mr Mugabe was “dirt which should be discarded, a rotten old donkey”.

    He is also said to have urged people not to vote for him in elections expected sometime this year.

    Police arrested him as he left the supermarket.

    “We received the shocking news of the conviction and sentencing of Pamhiri and we have promptly moved in to assist him,” Kumbirai Mafunda, spokesman for the human rights lawyers, told media.

    “Our lawyers will file an appeal against the conviction and sentence and a make a separate application for bail pending appeal.”

    Arrests for slandering Zimbabwe’s long-time president and breaching the strict public order law are common and those found guilty usually get away with light sentences, fines or are ordered to do community service.

    Mr Mafunda said rights lawyers have recorded over 60 such cases since 2010.

    {Agencies}