Day: February 19, 2023

The African Union insisted Sunday it had a “zero tolerance” policy toward unconstitutional change as it maintained its suspension of four military-ruled countries.

The Sahel states of Burkina Faso, Guinea and Mali as well as Sudan were sanctioned by the Pan-African body after coups in recent years, but the AU said Sunday it was ready to help them return to democratic rule.

“The assembly reaffirmed zero tolerance against unconstitutional change (of government),” said the AU’s Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Bankole Adeoye.

“The Commission is ready to support these member states to return to constitutional order, the idea is that democracy must take root and must be promoted and protected,” he told a news conference on the final day of the weekend AU summit in Addis Ababa.

“It is necessary to reemphasize that the AU remains intolerant to any undemocratic means to political power,” he added.

The regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) bloc also said it has maintained sanctions on the three Sahel countries.

West African leaders met on the sidelines of the AU summit to review the measures and discuss the progress in restoring civilian rule in the three states.

“The Authority of Heads of State and Governments decided to maintain the existing sanctions on all three countries,” the bloc said in a statement signed Saturday but shared on Sunday.

ECOWAS has also decided to impose travel bans on government officials and senior leaders in those countries, it added.

Sanctions in spotlight

Fearing contagion in a region notorious for military takeovers, ECOWAS imposed tough trade and economic sanctions against Mali, but lesser punishments against Guinea and Burkina Faso.

All three countries are under pressure by ECOWAS to return swiftly to civilian rule by 2024 for Mali and Burkina and a year later for Guinea.

Juntas seized power in Mali and Burkina Faso amid anger at the military over the toll from a jihadi insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives and forced millions from their homes.

The coup in Guinea had different causes, being rooted in public anger against then President Alpha Conde over a lurch toward authoritarianism.

Sudan has been gripped by deepening political and economic turmoil since the coup led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in 2021 that derailed a short-lived transition to civilian rule following the ouster of Omar al-Bashir in 2019.

In an address to the summit Saturday, AU Commission chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat said the Pan-African bloc needed to look at new strategies to counter the backsliding of democracy.

“Sanctions imposed on member states following unconstitutional changes of government… do not seem to produce the expected results,” he said.

“It seems necessary to reconsider the system of resistance to the unconstitutional changes in order to make it more effective.”

Source: Voice of America

ADDIS ABABA— Kenya has become the first African State to sign the African Audiovisual and Cinema Commission (AACC) statute.

The signing ceremony which took place on the margins of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, comes hot on the heels of Kenya signing a host country agreement between Kenya and African Union (AU).

The agreement paves the way for the operationalization of a temporary secretariat of the African Audiovisual and Cinema Commission (AACC) to be based in Nairobi.

Dr. Alfred N. Mutua, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Amb. Minata Samate Cessouma, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, and other top Foreign Affairs officials graced the occasion.

This makes Kenya the first member state of the African Union to sign the Statute.

The AACC is a Pan-African Institution for the promotion of African audio-visual and cinema industry, a key objective of the African Union (AU) and the Kenya government.

AACC will develop and strengthen the African audiovisual and cinema industry and encourage the establishment of appropriate structures at the national, regional and continental levels to enhance cooperation between African States in audiovisual and cinema, thus providing African wide opportunities for our audiovisual industry players.

In his statement, Dr. Mutua encouraged other member states to also sign the statute and support the work of the AACC.

Source: Nam News Network

The head of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group accused of widespread human rights abuses, said on Sunday he was committed to intergrating the force into a reformed national armed forces.

RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, joined Sudan’s leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in a coup in 2021 that ended a ruling partnership between the military and pro-democracy groups and plunged the country into political and economic turmoil.

The RSF is Sudan’s largest paramilitary group. It emerged from the “janjaweed” militias accused of atrocities during the early 2000s conflict in Darfur.

They are also accused by human rights groups of killing scores of protesters since the military overthrow of Omar al-Bashir in 2019. Dagalo, who is known as Hemedti, has denied most of these claims, blaming infiltrators, while allowing the prosecution of some soldiers.

Pro-democracy groups and army leaders have called for the RSF to be integrated into the main military and for the formation of a single army.

The military leadership has reached an initial agreement with political groups, with discussions going on to formalise a new political settlement and create a new government.

But in a speech on Thursday, Burhan said the army would only support the deal as long as it provided for the integration of the RSF.

On Sunday, Dagalo defended the RSF’s legitimacy.

“We are committed to the principle of a single military formed according to agreed upon timelines, and we are sincerely committed to being involved in security and military reform,” he said in a speech.

The framework agreement, signed in December, recognises the RSF as a force alongside the military, police, and general intelligence. It assigns the head of state as its highest commander and also calls for its integration.

“The Sudanese military is a historic institution, and it will not be captured by any party,” Dagalo said. “We are part of it and we will not spare any effort to defend it from anyone who abuses or belittles it.”

He also warned against any interference by Islamists who lost control of the country in 2019 with the overthrow of Bashir.

Source: Voice of America

DAR ES SALAAM— Tanzania has kicked off the legal reforms debate, with the launch of public participation process to pave the way to review of the country’s laws

On the Law Reform Commission on Feb 15 put out a public notice inviting written proposals on which laws need to be scrapped, changed or amended as a matter of priority.

The notice included a link to an online questionnaire requiring respondents to specify the problems and “challenges” inherent in any laws they suggest for review.

The deadline for receiving all public responses has been set for March 15.

“The aim of this initiative is to ensure that all Tanzania’s laws are in conformity with changing times for sustainable development,” the Commission’s executive secretary Griffin Mwakapeje said.

According to Mwakapeje, the Commission is preparing a comprehensive law review programme covering the period 2023-2025.

The notice comes on the heels of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s pledge last month that her government was ready to start reviewing laws deemed repressive by opposition parties and civil rights advocates in Tanzania.

While announcing the lifting of a long-standing ban on political rallies on Jan 3, the president said further moves were in the pipeline to push forward a reconciliation (maridhiano) agenda with opposition parties that she initiated in May last year.

Less than a week later, she appointed Mwakapeje, previously a senior officer in the Justice and Constitutional Affairs ministry, to run the Law Reform Commission’s day-to-day affairs under the chairmanship of retired Court of Appeal judge January Msoffe.

Other urgent reforms being sought by the opposition as part of the maridhiano drive include entire revamps of Tanzania’s current constitution and elections system along with a slew of laws governing political activity, police and judicial operations, and more.

Speaking after the ban on political rallies was scrapped, main opposition Chadema party chairman Freeman Mbowe said there were “numerous” laws that required fixing before Tanzania holds its next civic elections in 2024 and presidential/parliamentary elections in 2025.

“The main thing that the president promised is that the review work on all these laws will be inclusive and collaborative. That is the most important takeaway,” Mbowe said.

According to the commission, the questionnaire now accessible on its website is open to citizens, private institutions, civil society organisations, workers and trade unions, urban and rural farmers, business people “and any other interested stakeholders.”

President Suluhu has been hailed by the opposition for allowing divergent views when she lifted the ban on political rallies.

The freedom has seen opposition leader Tundu Lissu return to the country from exile where he has been living after assassination attempts.

Source: Nam News Network

NEW DELHI– Twelve cheetahs from South Africa, including five females and seven males, landed in India’s central state of Madhya Pradesh, yesterday.

An Indian Air Force’s (IAF) C-17 aircraft, carrying the batch of 12 cheetahs, landed at the Air Force Station in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior city, after a 10-hour flight from Johannesburg, the IAF tweeted earlier in the day.

Later, the cheetahs were released in the Kuno National Park, where eight cheetahs were flown in from Namibia five months ago.

With this, the total headcount of the big cats in India has risen to 20.

Cheetah was declared extinct from India in 1952. The introduction of cheetahs in India is being done under “Project Cheetah,” an ambitious translocation project of the Indian government.

Source: Nam News Network