Category: Politics

Burundi violence talks in progress tomorrow

Former President, Benjamin William Mkapa brings the Second Round of the Burundi Dialogue to Arusha this week with the sessions expected to start tomorrow and will be in progress until next Friday at the Arusha International Conference Centre (AICC).

On the other hand, the French envoy to Tanzania and the East African Community, Ambassador Ms Malika Berak, expressed her country’s dedication to further provide support to the ongoing Burundi Dialogue.

France has also hailed ongoing reforms to promote more prudent use of resources and efficiency at the East African Community Secretariat in Arusha which on the other hand emulates cost saving strategies shown by President John Magufuli.

Envoy Berak reaffirmed France’s commitment to the success of the mediation which is aimed at promoting peace, reconciliation and security in the Republic of Burundi. The Burundi Dialogue is being facilitated by Mr Benjamin William Mkapa, a former President of Tanzania, with support from the EAC Secretariat.

Ambassador Berak said that France as a member of the European Union knew that regional integration initiatives were full of challenges hence the country’s desire to work closely to promote integration in East Africa.

She described as timely the reforms being undertaken by the EAC Secretariat to promote fiscal efficiency and accountability. The French Ambassador made the remarks when she paid a courtesy call on the EAC Secretary General, Mr Liberat Mfumukeko, at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha.

Mr Mfumukeko said the EU and France were some of the largest contributors of financial support to the Community, adding that the Burundi Dialogue was well on course with the next round of talks due to be held in Arusha this month.

He said the EAC was committed to improving in terms of performance and delivery on its mandate of driving the integration process forward. He added that he had dedicated his first two months in office to putting in place reforms at the Secretariat.

July 11, 2016
Japan election: Parties struggle to engage voters

Sunday’s vote for upper house seats has the ruling Liberal Democrats eyeing major gains.

Tokyo, Japan – On Sunday Japanese voters go to the polls in a national election that is widely expected to result in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party gaining a level of parliamentary dominance that has never before been seen in post-war Japanese politics.

Should the ruling party and its allies emerge from these House of Councillors, or Upper House, elections with more than two-thirds of the seats in the chamber, then even revisions to the nation’s pacifist constitution will be in reach for the arch-conservative prime minister.

Newspaper polls are predicting that the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will easily regain its own simple majority in House of Councillors for the first time in 27 years, and that coalition partner Komeito, their support base deriving from a well-organised Buddhist sect, is also likely to make advances.

Meanwhile, the leading opposition Democratic Party is virtually guaranteed to suffer big losses in the number of seats it holds, with only the scale of its defeat being in question. The sole opposition party expected to be celebrating on election night is the Japan Communist Party, which has surged in popularity in the last few years to become Japan’s second-largest opposition party.

While the stakes for Japan’s national charter and its political future may be high in these elections, voter interest has been low. Rob Fahey, a specialist of Japanese politics at the Waseda University Graduate School of Political Science, told Al Jazeera this election is likely to record the lowest voter turnout figures in Japanese history.

“Neither the political parties nor the media have framed these elections in a way that make them seem either consequential or engaging – or even gives the public the sense of having a real choice,” Fahey said.

These are, however, the first national elections that are being held since the voting age in Japan was lowered from 20 to 18, adding about 2.4 million people to the list of eligible voters.

Last summer there was considerable excitement over the emergence of the SEALDs (Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy) and the unusual degree of activism that some young people were showing in opposition to the Abe government’s passage of new security legislation.

Although the SEALDs still exist and some of its leaders continue to garner media attention, it is also apparent it has so far failed to spark a mass political movement among the young, nor are young voters expected to have a significant impact on the results of Sunday’s elections.

In their first test, which was a local mayoral election in southwestern Japan, eligible 18 and 19 year olds had a voter turnout of only 38.4 percent compared to an overall voter turnout of 56.1 percent.

Still, the largest Japanese political parties have been attempting to innovate in the video, internet, and social media spheres in an effort to reach out to young voters.

It was only three years ago that internet campaigning was first allowed by a revision of the nation’s election law. Perhaps the most successful campaign since then is Kakusanbu, a group of eight animated characters supporting the Japan Communist Party. The stated objective of this “section” of characters is “to spread correct policies and politics throughout the world”.

In pursuit of this objective, the Kakusanbu webpage features a series of short “lectures”. For example, in the first lecture, the character Koyo no Yoko (Employee Yoko) shows the yellow card to “black companies” that force their employees to work unreasonably long hours without proper compensation.

For this election, the Democratic Party has created the VOTE18 campaign in which a pair of stylish female high school students encourage eligible teenagers to pay attention to politics and to vote.

The governing Liberal Democratic Party has uploaded a special manga pamphlet to its website called “A Report to the Country”, which is explicitly aimed at 18-year-old voters. Among other things, the online pamphlet explains the procedures for voting, and it also offers a short history of the ruling party, starting with prime minister Nobusuke Kishi and ending with a colour photo of Kishi’s grandson, incumbent Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Fahey provided a mixed evaluation of these efforts: “Online campaigning is new to Japanese politics, and parties here are still playing catch-up, with some success. But they are largely falling on deaf ears at a time when the public isn’t actually paying very much attention.”

Many members of the general public gave the same view. A service industry worker, Mr Abe, 35, told Al Jazeera to the extent he is interested in politics, it is the July 31 special election of a new Tokyo governor that is capturing his attention. As for Sunday’s House of Councillors election, he apologised and then stated, “I haven’t really been watching the news about it.

July 10, 2016
Uganda:Report coup plot to DPP, Besigye tells Museveni

Dr Besigye said Mr Museveni shows prejudice when he speaks about issues that are already in court

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) former presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, has challenged President Museveni to report allegations that he and Gen David Sejusa were planning to kill him or destabilise Uganda, to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).

Speaking to a team of 14 FDC supporters and leaders from Kabarole District who visited him at Luzira prison on Friday afternoon, Dr Besigye said Mr Museveni shows prejudice when he speaks about issues that are already in court.

“Mr Museveni should not talk about cases that are already before court. He is breaking the law because treason case is already in court,” Dr Besigye said. “If he has a complaint, he should present it before the Director of Public Prosecutions for investigations. It’s only the Director of Public Prosecutions who can say that I have a case to answer.”

Mr Museveni, earlier this week while meeting Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) officials, allegedly said Dr Besigye and Gen Sejusa wanted to destabilise Uganda. He also reportedly claimed jailed Nakawa MP Michael Kabaziguruka was behind schemes to assassinate him.

Dressed in yellow prison uniform and blue slippers, Dr Besigye boastfully said he is “spiritually strong, emotionally strong and physically fit.”

An ecstatic Besigye said yellow uniform is for prisoners in Uganda whether you meet them inside or outside prison.

The group went through a weary five hour process before meeting the four time presidential candidate at around 2pm. For instance, from Luzira prison main gate to Upper Prison where Besigye is detained, the team was checked five times at different checkpoints. At the first gate, Mr Kyensi Buruhani, an executive member of FDC Kabarole District committee, who was donning an FDC shirt, was forced to remove it.

Dr Besigye said Nakawa court Chief Magistrate James Ereemye Mawanda, who visited Luzira on Thursday, did not address his complaints.

Mr Ereemye visited the prison accompanied by the Nakawa court state attorney Doreen Elima and the Judiciary’s communication officer Solomon Muyita.

“The magistrate didn’t make any decision about my complaint. He promised to compile a report which he will hand over to higher authorities,” Dr Besigye revealed, adding that he will present his complaints in court again next time, specifically denying him a chance to communicate with the outside world.

Dr Besigye has repeatedly complained to court that his life is under threat. He told Nakawa Magistrate’s Court on June 29 that his rights as prisoner were being abused, prompting the magistrate to promise that he would visit Luzira to address “those issues.”

Dr Besigye said he is optimistic that court will grant him bail since it is not the first time he is being charged with treason.
“I was supposed to appear in court on Wednesday for my bail application hearing but it was Idd. I will go there on Monday,” he said. “They have charged me with 50 or 80 cases and all of them were dismissed. Even this one, they will drop these charges,” he said.

Earlier this month, the DPP withdrew a case in which Dr Besigye had been charged with disobeying lawful orders at Kasangati court.
However, Dr Besigye said whether court grants him bail or not, he will be released because treason charges will be dropped. He said the DPP should expedite investigation process.

“They say I declared myself president; how long does it take to investigate that case and present evidence?” he asked. “I have spent two months in prison and they haven’t presented evidence.”

Besigye described his court battles as “persecution not prosecution.”
Kabarole District FDC chairperson Rusoke Nyakato Abooki, who led the delegation, said the process of accessing Besigye is tiresome.

“Clearing from the first to the last gate took us almost three hours,” she said.

July 10, 2016
S Africa honours black soldiers killed in World War I

Black South Africans, who died and were buried in France in 1916, honoured and remembered for first time.

More than 250 black South Africans, who perished during a bloody battle in World War I in France, have been finally commemorated for their role during the Great War, the country’s Minister of Defence has said.

Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, Minister of Defence and Military Veterans said on Friday in Dieppe in northern France, that it was the first time the lives of black South African troops, who died and were buried in Arque-la-Bataille in 1916, would be honoured and remembered.

The minister was speaking during a memorial service at Arque-la-Bataille in what she described as a bid to the rewrite “an objective just and authentic South African military history”.

“It is necessary to ensure that the historical role played by black South Africans in France is accorded the importance it deserves in the same spirit as that of white South Africans.

“The representation of Africans during the war is very minimal and it distorts the important role they played in various theatres of war,” she said.

More than 229,000 South Africans, of which 21,000 were black, participated in the allied effort against Germany and its allies in WW I between 1914-1919.

Black South Africans, however, were considered unfit to serve as combatants because of their skin colour. They were not allowed to carry arms and their duties were mostly restricted to working in the dockyards and the railroads.

Around 1,120 black South Africans men died during the war in Europe, with 260 buried in Arque-la-Bataille.

According to the Ministry, white and black South Africans were buried in different places even here in France; white troopers were buried at Dalville Wood cemetry and blacks at Arque-la-Bataille.

“History will be re-written as until now only white soldiers buried in Delville Wood were the only ones who were recognised and celebrated,” Siphiwe Dlamini, communications head for ministry, said in a statement on Friday.

At the museum and national memorial at Delville Wood, in Longueval, where the First South African Infantry Brigade suffered some of the biggest casualties in WW I, there is little mention of blacks and coloureds and their role in the war. At the time, the South African brigade, made up of more than 3000 troops, was attached to the 9th Scottish Division and tasked with securing the woods, when they incurred massive casualties.

Contesting politics

The Delville memorial, originally unveiled in 1926, commemorates South African soldiers who died in Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

According to historian Bill Nasson, the memorial has always been a site of contestation in South African politics.

Writing in the English Historical Review, Nasson, notes that while some white newspapers saw the memorial as a way to celebrate Dutch-English relations, black organiations took exception to the manner in which black lives were ignored.

“The Natal Witness saw the National Memorial as an ode ‘to the memory of the Fallen, drawn from the great white stocks that form the South African people of today’.

“Black South African political organisations and their small press expressed little if any Delville Wood
allegiance, embittered that observance seemed to provide no honouring recognition of the deaths of African support troops on active service,” Nasson, a professor of history at the University of Stellenbosch, wrote.

On Friday, the South African government also reinterned the remains of Private Nyweba Beleza, the first black South African to lose his life during the war, to the Delville museum.

“It will further greatly assist in helping to remove the negative stigma attached to the Delville Wood Memorial that has been for a very long time seen as a dedication to a very small segment of the South African population,” Dlamini said.

July 9, 2016
Mugabe won’t step down, says his party as protests pile up pressure

They said they were fed up with the 92 year-old ruler’s failed policies.

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will not resign as demanded by protestors who brought the country to a standstill Wednesday, the ruling party has said.

The country was brought to a standstill in one of the biggest protests to rock Zimbabwe in the last decade after a social media movement known as #ThisFlag and civil society groups called for a job boycott to force President Mugabe to listen to their demands.

They said they were fed up with the 92 year-old ruler’s failed policies, corruption and a worsening economic crisis.

However, the ruling Zanu PF accused Western embassies of coordinating the protests and vowed that State security agencies would clampdown on dissent.

“Zanu PF is focused on what it wants to do and cannot be shaken by these activities,” Zanu PF secretary for administration Ignatius Chombo told journalists in Harare.

“We are the ruling party and we will not accept anything short of law and order. In Harare, these demonstrations have been led by leaders of vendors’ associations, some other shadowy groups calling themselves various names. And we know that they are being sponsored by Western embassies,” he added.

Mr Chombo claimed Western countries wanted to topple President Mugabe’s government. “The regime change agenda that is being pursued by the West will come to naught,” he said.

The organisers of Wednesday’s stay-away dubbed #ShutDownZimbabwe 2016 said they would stage another protest next week if the government does not address their demands.

President Mugabe, in power since 1980, has in the past few months been facing growing protests against his rule as the economic crisis that has crippled the country continues to intensify.

In April, former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, organised one of the biggest marches in the last decade in the capital Harare against the veteran ruler, demanding that he steps down.

Mr Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change party has since held two more marches against President Mugabe in the cities of Bulawayo and Mutare.

Civil society groups have also been staging daily protests against the government demanding an end to the economic crisis and human rights violations.

FORGOING WORK

Zanu PF has already endorsed President Mugabe to stand for yet another term in the 2018 elections.

Under Mugabe’s authoritarian rule, protests and strikes have been rare in Zimbabwe despite about 90 per cent of the population being out of formal employment.

The last similar protests took place in 1998 when riots erupted over the price of bread.

“This is a sign of economic collapse which has left people with nothing more to sacrifice and nothing to lose,” Mr Dumisani Nkomo, spokesman for the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition campaign group said.

“We are heading towards a tipping point as a country, where citizens will express their pain by any means.”

There were few people on the streets of the usually bustling capital Harare after civil society organisations called the strike to pressure Mugabe to tackle economic woes.

“I can’t go to work when the rest of the country is not going to work,” said Sybert Marumo, who works for an electrical shop.

“Life is tough and we need to show the government that we have been stretched to the limit.” Children were seen streaming home from school after teachers failed to turn up.

In some suburbs of Harare, protesters burned tyres and blocked streets to prevent cars from heading into the city centre.

The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said police had arrested at least 20 people across the country.

July 8, 2016
Museveni- Opposition meet angers Besigye

Former presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye, is unhappy with members of the Opposition who met with President Museveni under the auspices of the Inter Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) “posturing” to plead for him.

Dr Besigye, who faces treason charges after he swore in himself as president following the disputed February general election, expressed his displeasure yesterday at a meeting with Opposition senior leaders at Luzira Upper Prison.

“I am discontented with some of the things I am reading in the press. I saw members of the Opposition who went to Mr Museveni claiming to plead for me. How can anyone plead before the oppressor for my freedom? This is unacceptable,” Dr Besigye told Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda.

He shortly after thanked Mr Ssemujju, also the party’s spokesman for speaking against the move by IPOD members led by Democratic Party’s secretary general Mathias Nsubuga.

The team met Mr Museveni last week at State House Entebbe. Early this week, Mr Nsubuga said the meeting involved discussions on the status of Dr Besigye and Nakawa MP Micheal Kabaziguluka, who was separately charged for treason at the General Court Martial in Makindye.

The President is quoted to have said Dr Besigye, former coordinator of intelligence services Gen David Sejusa and MP Kabaziguruka were engaged in subversion and the courts would handle the matter.

At yesterday’s meeting, Dr Besigye said he had told FDC’s secretary general Nandala Mafabi to disassociate himself from the IPOD’s efforts to “implore Mr Museveni to give me freedom”.

Mr Ssemujju said the group was, “trading Dr Besigye’s freedom for their own selfish agenda. They cannot trade the people’s president with Museveni over tea.”

The two leaders were given a maximum of 15 minutes each to speak to Dr Besigye after watertight security screening that saw Mr Lukwago at one point nearly lost his head when an officer asked him to loosen his belt so he check his under garments in a locked room.

The prison authorities have now spared two rooms for males and females with a curtain and wire mesh where Dr Besigye’s visitors are ordered to remove their shoes, socks, belts and their inner clothing checked even after they have gone through the ordinary check points.

New visitors’ photos are taken and inputted into a system designed to specifically handle Dr Besigye’s visitors.
“Security matters are tighter now. Anything on Dr Besigye is beyond us,” one of the officers pleaded with Mr Lukwago and Mr Ssemujju before confiscating this reporter’s notebook for what the officer said was for censuring of the content.
Meanwhile, Nakawa Chief Magistrate James Ereemye Mawanda yesterday clarified his visit to Luzira prison was not specific to Dr Besigye but part of routine visits to detention centres under the Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS).

Mr Ereemye, who at Dr Besigye’s last appearance in court vowed to visit his detention facility due to numerous complaints that his life was in danger, instead blamed the media for quoting him out of context.

But the trend of events leading to the visit appeared to indicate as much. By 9am, the magistrate and Judiciary spokesperson, Mr Solomon Muyita’s phones were buzzing with telephone calls. Orders were given that journalists should not be allowed in.

When he arrived at Luzira prison at 10:25am, Mr Ereemye was led in with the Resident State Attorney, Nakawa who serves as the secretary of the district chain committee, an innovation under the JLOS to converge efforts by different actors in the administration of justice chain.

Mr Apollo Akankunda who represented the Commissioner General of Prisons, Dr Johnson Byabashaija, said in the impromptu meeting, “Please clarify because the perception out there is that you have come to see an inmate by the names of Dr Kizza Besigye.”

Before he could finish his statement, the magistrate said: “No, we are here on a routine visit. We have another DCC meeting at the end of the month and we shall present a report, we visit all detention centres. Besigye has always complained and I told him I would come to Luzira and see the issues he was raising as part of the DCC mandate but not to see him personally.”

But the conduct of the meeting gave a different picture. First, the regional prisons commander for Kampala, Mr Wilson Magomu, had to be called in abruptly by Mr Akankunda who persistently took calls from his handset.

July 8, 2016
Kenya:Uhuru’s rating up in new survey but Cord says results ‘doctored’

Those who dismiss his performance cite his lackluster fight against corruption.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s approval rating has risen to 68 per cent over the last three months, up from 47 per cent last November, according to a new opinion poll published on Thursday.

The survey by Ipsos shows that only 31 per cent of those interviewed disapproved of Mr Kenyatta’s leadership.

The approval rating was highest among Jubilee supporters, at 85 per cent, up from 73 per cent in November.

The poll was immediately disputed by Senator Minority Leader Moses Wetang’ula, who described it as “a ploy to hoodwink Kenyans that Uhuru is still electable”.

“These are cooked figures to depict some imagined popularity on the part of Jubilee,” said Mr Wetang’ula, one of the three top Cord leaders.

According to Ipsos, the poll was conducted between June 4 and 18, around the time that the Cord leaders, was holding rallies to push for the resignation of the electoral commissioners.

The results did not take into account President Kenyatta’s “development” tour of Ukambani between June 10 and 12 or the agreement between the Teachers Service Commission and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) and the

Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (Kuppet) on salaries.

They also did not factor in the deal between Jubilee and Cord to nominate seven members each to a special parliamentary committee on the IEBC.

All these events, if considered, could have influenced the outcome of the survey one way or the other.

The poll indicates that opposition to President Kenyatta’s leadership has waned among Cord supporters.

In November, 75 per cent of Cord supporters interviewed in a similar poll said they disapproved of Mr Kenyatta’s leadership. Three months later, this has dropped to 60 per cent.

Mr Kenyatta’s approval was highest in Jubilee strongholds of central Kenya (88 per cent), Rift Valley (71 per cent) and Eastern (68 per cent).

However, in what is likely to generate some heated debate within the political class, the poll shows that the Cord strongholds of Coast and Western also approve of President Kenyatta’s leadership at 66 and 52 per cent, respectively.

On Thursday, Mr Wetang’ula said that Mr Kenyatta had not done anything to justify his supposed improved ratings in the two regions.

“What has he done in Western to boost his ratings in the Mulembe nation? Even in Coast, the ratings fly in the face of the recent Malindi by-election, where voters returned a resounding victory for Cord,” he said.

Mr Kenyatta also scores favourably in North Eastern (58 per cent) and Nairobi (57 per cent). His approval is lowest in Nyanza, at only 30 per cent.

Respondents who approve of his performance cite infrastructure development (31 per cent), education (15 per cent), the economy (13 per cent) and fighting corruption (eight per cent).

Those who disagree cite his lacklustre fight against corruption (39 per cent), poor economy (19 per cent) and lack of infrastructure (six per cent).

The poll shows that 90 per cent of those who feel that Kenya is headed in the right direction also approve of the President’s performance with only six per cent thinking otherwise.

“Yet, on the other hand, nearly half of those holding a negative view regarding the country’s direction likewise give the President approval (49 per cent). To put it another way, while nearly all of those who feel Kenya is headed in ‘the right direction’ also approve of his recent performance (90 per cent), not even half of those who feel the country’s direction is ‘wrong’ fault his recent performance (44 per cent),” the pollsters explain.

“Such a contradiction underscores two key questions raised earlier. One is, how much of the support enjoyed by such a political leader rests upon identity rather than (attributed) performance? The other is; given the reduced/shared powers of the presidency under the Constitution, how much credit or blame should the President be given for the (perceived) performance of the (national) government?”

JUBILEE GAINS

The poll shows that Jubilee has maintained its advantage over Cord with 46 per cent support against 32 per cent.

This represents a one per cent rise in Jubilee’s support which stood at 45 per cent last November against Cord’s 32 per cent.

Some 73 per cent of the respondents said they either have “a lot” or “some” confidence in the President, as opposed to 59 per cent, who said they had either “a lot” or some” confidence in Deputy President William Ruto.

Fifty per cent of those interviewed said they have “a lot” or “some” confidence in the current Cabinet.

Interestingly, whereas 72 per cent of Jubilee supporters have confidence in President Kenyatta as an individual, only 33 per cent have confidence in his government.

By contrast, only 13 per cent of Cord supporters have confidence in President Kenyatta, and seven per cent in the government.

July 8, 2016
U.N. peacekeepers preparing for possible Congo political violence

Political uncertainty over Democratic Republic of Congo’s next presidential election could spiral into a severe crisis and United Nations peacekeepers are developing contingency plans for widespread violence, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned.

In a report to the U.N. Security Council released on Tuesday, Ban said that under those plans peacekeepers in Congo might need to ask for help from other U.N. missions.

“I am concerned that in the absence of a credible and meaningful political dialogue among Congolese stakeholders, tensions could degenerate into a severe crisis, with a high risk of relapse into violence and instability,” Ban said.

The Congolese government has said it is unlikely it will be able to hold elections in November for logistical reasons but opponents of President Joseph Kabila accuse him of trying to cling to power. The government has denied the claim.

Kabila, who has been in power since 2001, is barred by the constitution from standing for a third term. But a Kabila ally has raised the prospect of a referendum to allow him to run.

Dozens of Kabila’s critics have been arrested since last year as part of what the United Nations and rights groups say is an escalating crackdown on political dissent ahead of a presidential election.

“I urge the government of Democratic Republic of Congo to respect freedom of expression, assembly and information as fundamental rights that are essential to the conduct of free and fair elections,” Ban said.

Dozens died in street protests in January 2015 against a revision to the election code that could have pushed the election back by years.

“(The U.N. peacekeeping mission) MONUSCO is developing contingency plans in the event of widespread violence in the context of the electoral process,” Ban said.

The U.N. Security Council is due to be briefed on the U.N. peacekeeping mission on Thursday.

The overthrow of longtime Congolese ruler Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997 fuelled years of conflict in the mineral-rich east that sucked in more than half a dozen countries and killed millions of people. U.N. peacekeepers have been deployed in Congo since 2000.

July 6, 2016
Belgian MP kicks against signing of EU trade deal with Burundi

The European Union’s trade deal with Burundi might suffer some delays as a member of the European parliament has raised reservations about the process.

Belgian socialist MP Marie Arena is on a campaign to stop the signing of a trade deal with Burundi citing human rights violations in that country.

The Trade Committee of the European parliament has given the green light for the signing of an economic partnership agreement with five countries in east and central Africa including Burundi.

But Bujumbura has been under EU sanctions since its controversial election of 2015 which saw the re-election of Pierre Nkurunziza as president for a third term.

Burundi is said to have violated the Cotonu agreement signed in 2000 recognising human rights as an essential component of the Europe-Africa partnerships.

Marie Arena argues that trade must be a way to help development as well as democracy and not the opposite.

Arena hopes to rally enough members to block the procedure at the September vote in the European parliament.

July 6, 2016
Uganda:Visit marks new chapter after airport raid – Israel PM

Kampala- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, yesterday described his country’s clinical mission to rescue the 103 nationals who had been held hostage at Entebbe airport in 1976 as a “watershed moment” that taught his people a lesson of fighting back and protecting themselves.

Mr Netanyahu, who was in the country for a day’s visit to commemorate the 40th anniversary of this mission often referred to as the ‘Raid on Entebbe’ in which his brother, Lt Col Yonatan Netanyahu, was shot dead by a Ugandan soldier, said it was not only an “emotional privilege” but also a new chapter in the Israel-Africa relations.

“Forty years ago, a group of Israeli commandos landed in the dead of the night in a country led by a brutal dictator on a rescue mission. Today, we land in the light of the day in a country led by friendly president,” he said.

Israeli delegation
Mr Netanyahu, accompanied by his wife Sara Netanyahu and a group of about 100 military officials touched down at about 1:40pm at the old Entebbe airport; where 40 years ago on the same day, an elite squad commanded by his elder brother Yoni Netanyahu attacked on a rescue mission.

Yoni was the lone casualty in the group. The mission has since been christened “Operation Yonatan.”

Also accompanying him were the surviving members of the elite squad that raided Entebbe and select hostages who were rescued that day.

In his speech, Mr Netanyahu commended Uganda’s efforts in the fight against terrorism and vowed to contribute to these efforts, also promising to help other African countries.
“When terrorism succeeds in one place it thrives everywhere. When it is defeated somewhere it is defeated everywhere.”

He said the raid on Entebbe “delivered a devastating blow to the spirits of terrorism” and vowed that the fight will continue guided by two principles -clarity, to distinguish between good and evil and courage, to fight.

“We must condemn all acts of terrorism everywhere, whether in Paris, San Bernado, Orlando or Nairobi.”

He later met select African presidents, Zambia’s Edgar Lungu, Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, South Sudan’s Salva Kiir, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, Malawi’s Peter Mutharika and the Ethiopian premier Hailemariam Desalegn.

He said the visit, the first by an Israeli premier on the continent in 30 years, marked a new page in relations saying that “Israel is coming to Africa, and Africa is coming to Israel”.

The celebration of the anniversary was attended by several government dignitaries, Ugandan military officials, select members of the Jewish community in the country and members of the Diplomatic Corp.

President Museveni used the moment to talk tough promising to double the efforts in the fight against terrorism but also set the record straight that he supports Israel living side by side and in harmony with her arch rival Palestine.
It was, however ,not clear why the President repeatedly referred to Palestine.

In his opening remarks using political and biblical facets, President Museveni dwelt a lot on the bond between Palestine and Uganda/ Africa which caused some discomfort among the visitors.

In the presence of his guest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his delegation and the top brass of the Ugandan government, Mr Museveni also advanced a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict saying Uganda’s view is guided by the Bible and cannot accept “bigotry” which holds that “either of you [Palestine or Israel] does not belong in that area.”

July 5, 2016