The Africa Thread

[bugwar]

From the Reuters article:

Reported cases of Christians killed for their faith around the world doubled in 2013 from the year before,
...
The United States-based group reported increasing violence against Christians in Africa and said radical Muslims were the main source of persecution in 36 countries on its list.

"Islamist extremism is the worst persecutor of the worldwide church," it said.

WAR AGAINST THE CHURCH

Christianity is the largest and most widely spread faith in the world, with 2.2 billion followers, or 32 percent of the world population, according to a survey by the U.S.-based Pew Forum on religion and Public Life.

It faces restrictions and hostility in 111 countries, ahead of the 90 countries limiting or harassing the second-largest faith, Islam, another Pew survey has reported.

Michel Varton, head of Open Doors France, told journalists in Strasbourg that failing states with civil wars or persistent internal tensions were often the most dangerous for Christians.
...
In the list of killings, Syria was followed by Nigeria with 612 cases last year after 791 in 2012. Pakistan was third with 88, up from 15 in 2012. Egypt ranked fourth with 83 deaths after 19 the previous year.

The report spoke of "horrific violence often directed at Christians" in the Central African Republic but said only nine deaths were confirmed last year because "most analysts still fail to recognize the religious dimension of the conflict."


Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/08/us-christianity-persecution-report-idUSBREA070PB20140108

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Good on you, Ethiopia.

Once the epitome of poverty and hunger, Ethiopia is changing. Three decades after a famine that prompted America’s top singers to respond with “We Are the World,” Ethiopia has had an average economic growth rate of 10 percent for over a decade and has met or is coming close to meeting several important Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations, according to the World Bank.

Some economists have called Ethiopia an “African lion,” mimicking the success stories of Asia’s economic tigers, and the government here has an ambitious plan to make Ethiopia a middle-income country by 2025.

It sometimes seems that everything here in the capital is under construction. Head out on one road in the morning and you might find it blocked off for a development project by evening. The thumping of jackhammers, the sight of men in orange vests, and the comments of Ethiopians who are at once infuriated by the inconvenience and impressed with their country’s transformation are constant.

But critics of Ethiopia’s economic growth story point to human rights abuses (some carried out in the name of economic development) and the lack of genuine democracy, and they question the sustainability of the nation’s economic path.

“When a society is not free, development is not as sustainable,” said Obang Metho, executive director of the Solidarity Movement for a New Ethiopia, an advocacy group. “It is not investment in building the human capacity of the people, but only in infrastructure and opportunities that mostly benefit the narrow interests of regime cronies.”

By no means has Addis Ababa eliminated the problems found in many developing capitals. Tin houses in shanty neighborhoods can still be seen around town, electricity cuts are common, the Internet is frustratingly slow and telecommunications are largely not reliable.

Good luck with that, Libya.

Libya urged the UN Security Council on Wednesday to approve a request for military purchases as it struggles to combat Islamic State militants and protect its oil fields.

According to a document from the sanctions committee seen by AFP, Libya is seeking to purchase 14 MiG fighter jets, seven helicopters, 150 tanks, 150 armed personnel carriers mounted with machine guns, 10,000 grenade launchers, along with ammunition rounds and mortars from defence contractors in Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Serbia.

"The leadership of the Libyan army has submitted specific requests for exemptions from the arms embargo to the sanctions committee," Libyan Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi told the 15-member council.

"These requests relate to reinforcing the ability of the Libyan air force so that it may be able to monitor Libya's territory and borders, and prevent the terrorists from reaching oil fields and oil facilities, so that it can protect the fortune and wealth of the country," he said.

If none of the 15 members of the UN Security Council committee overseeing an arms embargo imposed on Libya, the request for the purchases will be approved on Monday, Reuters reported.

The request came less than two weeks after Libya asked the council to lift the arms embargo imposed in 2011 when the country descended into violence after the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi.

Britain, France and the United States oppose scrapping the embargo, arguing that it would fuel violence, but diplomats have stressed that arms contracts can be approved by the sanctions committee on a case-by-case basis.

The Libyan ambassador said the request for the military purchases was coupled with measures to tighten control, including allowing an observer to be dispatched on site to check on the shipment's whereabouts.

A previous request made by Libya for an exemption to the arms embargo was turned down because of the volume of weaponry on the list, some of which was highly sophisticated, diplomats said.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Stupid terror warnings, who needs 'em?

NAIROBI, Kenya — The Australian diplomatic office in Kenya on Friday warned of a possible terrorist attack here in the capital, reiterating its recommendation that protests and political rallies be avoided. The warning came two days after the United States issued a similar advisory for neighboring Uganda.

“Current information suggests that terrorists may be planning attacks against crowded locations in Nairobi in the near future,” said a statement from the Australian High Commission.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, United States officials warned of a possible terrorist attack in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

“The U.S. Embassy has received information of possible terrorist threats to locations where Westerners, including U.S. citizens, congregate in Kampala, and that an attack may take place soon,” the statement read. Uganda is a close ally of the United States in East Africa.

While the Australian and American statements did not specify the threat, attacks in the region in recent years by the Shabab, a Somali Islamist extremist group, have killed dozens of people.

In 2013, an attack by the Shabab on the Westgate mall in Nairobi led to the deaths of 67 people. In 2010, 74 people were killed in an attack in Kampala as they watched the World Cup soccer final on outdoor screens.

The Shabab, Al Qaeda’s Somalia affiliate, say they target the East African nations because Kenyan and Ugandan troops take part in African Union operations in Somalia aimed at combating the group.

Kenyan officials have expressed displeasure with Western security warnings, which have hurt the vital tourism industry.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

The shockwaves of Libya.

NICOSIA, Cyprus — The leaders of Cyprus, Egypt and Greece agreed Wednesday to step up cooperation on combatting terrorism amid fears that worsening security conditions in neighboring countries such as Libya could threaten the region.

This would involve boosting defense and security ties and "discussing relevant information" to counter terrorist threats, said Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

The three leaders made the pledge in a joint declaration during a summit in the Cypriot capital of Nicosia.

In the declaration, the leaders urged all countries to "effectively confront this menace" by boosting security cooperation to expose extremist groups' political and financial supporters.

The leaders expressed "grave concern" over a growing terrorist threat in Libya that may destabilize neighboring countries, adding that they support putting in place a counter-terrorism strategy that would run in tandem with the ongoing political process.

"We underscored the significance of our joint efforts to restore stability in Libya," said El-Sissi.

The Egyptian president said he's saddened that "horrible crimes" are being committed because of the victims' identity and faith and offered his country's condolences for the recent killings of dozens of Ethiopian Christians by Islamic extremists in Libya.

The leaders also expressed strong support for the legitimate government of Yemen where fighting continues between a Saudi-led coalition and Shiite rebels. They said the worsening situation in the impoverished Arab country threatens to destabilize the Gulf area, the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and the wider Middle East.

The leaders also agreed to closer economic and trade ties in the energy, tourism and maritime sectors.

Egypt said it wants to buy quantities of Cyprus' offshore gas and Anastasiades repeated that the discovery of mineral deposits in the eastern Mediterranean can act as a catalyst for wider regional cooperation.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

African countries in charge of bringing criminals against humanity to justice.

“The government’s failure to arrest Bashir is inconsistent with the Constitution,” Judge President Dunstan Mlambo said.

But of course by then it was too late. Six years after the ICC first issued a warrant for Bashir, this was the closest he’d come to being arrested. Now the court’s champions and detractors alike are saying his near-miss is a serious blow to the court’s standing. “South Africa has been a traditional defender of the ICC and has previously insisted that it would arrest Bashir if he stepped foot on its territory,” wrote Mark Kersten, a researcher at the London School of Economics who studies criminal justice and conflict resolution. “His visit to South Africa with impunity seemingly sent a powerful signal that the ICC’s indictment no longer constrains his movements.”

The high court’s ruling does likely mean that Bashir won’t be able to return to South Africa, since he’d face arrest there. And the fact that the court moved against him is a sort of progress. Since the ICC warrant was issued, he’s visited numerous other member countries, only to have them refuse to act, including Chad, Kenya, and Nigeria.

Opinion about the ICC has shifted in Africa since it was chartered in 1998. Initially, it had strong support—particularly in the aftermath of the Rwanda genocide, Mbaku has written, when “there was an urgent need in Africa to squarely confront impunity and the mass violation of human rights.” Since then, some governments and thinkers have apparently revised their opinions.

One reason is that every indictment issued by the ICC has been in Africa. The court’s jurisdiction is somewhat hobbled by the non-participation or non-cooperation of many countries, most notably the United States. But the fact remains that Africa has been the focus of a court based in Europe, and given that memories of colonialism are in some places still fresh and very raw, that raises hackles.

Add to that the fact that while the court can mete out an abstract sort of justice, it has little power to make things right for victims. It’s all well and good to lock up a perpetrator, but it doesn’t do much to restore the damage. When those trials happen in The Hague, far away from where the crimes were committed, there may be little chance for many victims to take part in the proceedings anyway.

Taylor’s trial was not in the ICC but in the Special Court for Sierra Leone, though the trial was moved to The Hague for security reasons. But to Mbaku, it demonstrates the flaw in international justice systems like the ICC.

“The international community pats itself on the back that they were able to force Charles Taylor to stand up for what he did, but in terms of looking at the big picture, I don’t really see what the benefits are for the people of Liberia and the people of Sierra Leone,” Mbaku told me in an interview.

While Bashir’s indictment in 2009 irked many African leaders, the indictment of Uhuru Kenyatta, now the president of Kenya, for crimes against humanity during post-election violence in 2007 and 2008, seems like it was a breaking point. The indictment was widely criticized by African leaders. The African Union has argued that no sitting head of state should be prosecuted by the ICC. In December, the ICC withdrew charges against Kenyatta, citing the inability to acquire evidence.

 

[chijohnaok]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015...oon-idUSKCN0TA0JR20151121#AGrv5hidsAaOZQ5r.97

World | Sat Nov 21, 2015 9:00am EST

Suspected militants kill 10 in Cameroon suicide bombing

YAOUNDE

A suicide attack by suspected members of Nigerian Islamist militants group Boko Haram killed at least 10 people over the border in the Far North region of Cameroon on Saturday, security sources said.

Boko Haram has mounted numerous attacks in Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria this year and is turning the border region near Lake Chad into a war zone, the United Nations refugee agency said last month.

Continued at above link

This is not a first time incident in Cameroon.
From September:

At least five people were killed in a suicide bomb attack on Sunday in the northern Cameroon town of Mora, military sources said, in what appeared to be the latest cross-border attack by Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist militant group.

The dead included a police officer, two civilians and the two female suicide bombers, who detonated themselves at around 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) in the Galdi neighborhood near the entrance to the town.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015...oon-idUSKCN0RK0AU20150921#rZEiYpttK5dTAYFl.99

Boko Haram, which calls itself Wilāyat Gharb Ifrīqīyyah , (Islamic State's) West Africa Province, ISWAP),[9] and Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād', "Group of the People of Sunnah for Preaching and Jihad"),[10] is an Islamic extremist group based in northeastern Nigeria, also active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon.[4] The group's leader is Abubakar Shekau. The group had alleged links to al-Qaeda, but in March 2015, it announced its allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).[11][12] Since the current insurgency started in 2009, it has killed 20,000 and displaced 2.3 million from their homes.

Boko Haram has been busy and shows no signs of letting up in its rain of terror (not a good thing IMHO).

 

[Ajidica]

Some interesting things have been happening in Africa recently that have been largely overshadowed by the kerfuffle of the US Presidential Inauguration.

First, the crisis in The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh refused to step down following an election loss prompting ECOWAS states -notably Senegal and Nigeria- to threaten military intervention unless he steps down.

Senegalese troops have entered The Gambia in support of Adama Barrow, who was sworn in as president on Thursday after winning last month's election.

Mr Barrow took the oath of office at the Gambian embassy in Senegal's capital, Dakar, and his legitimacy has been recognised internationally.

The West African regional bloc Ecowas has now given Yahya Jammeh until noon on Friday to leave office.

Ecowas has threatened to remove Mr Jammeh by force.

The 15-member UN Security Council has given them its backing, while stressing that a political solution should be attempted first.

New mediation talks ahead of Friday's deadline will be led by Guinea's President Alpha Conde, after talks between Mr Jammeh and Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz failed to break the deadlock late on Thursday.

Mr Barrow, who remains in Senegal, has said that he will not return to Gambia's capital, Banjul, until the military operation comes to an end.

Nigeria deployed reconnaissance aircraft over The Gambia on Thursday as part of the mission, warning that it was ready to strike militarily.

The tiny country, a popular destination for European holidaymakers attracted by its beaches, has been clouded by uncertainty for weeks.

Thousands of Gambians have sought refuge in Senegal while tourists broke off their holidays to return home.

At the scene - Thomas Fessy, BBC News, Banjul, The Gambia

Image copyright Reuters
People have been following the inauguration of Adama Barrow live on Senegalese TV, which many receive here in The Gambia.

Few people have come out to celebrate, timidly chanting the name of Mr Barrow or waving at the cars driving by. Tension is still running high, as people are very much aware that the political crisis is not over.

Banjul feels like a ghost town. Even the usually busy thoroughfares of Serekunda, on the outskirt of the capital, are deserted. Many say the military remain - like Yayha Jammeh - unpredictable.

But in a sign that parts of the security forces may switch sides, I have met five police officers standing outside their station, relaxed and visibly happy. I asked how things were going, and one of them replied with a smile "everything is alright, change is good".

How dangerous is the situation?
A convoy of heavily armed Senegalese soldiers, in full battle dress, could be seen heading for the Gambian border.

They are backed by Nigerian air and naval power, as well as other troops from Ghana.

A Senegalese army spokesman, Col Abdou Ndiaye, told the BBC that the troops had encountered no resistance and were heading for Banjul.

He warned: "It is already war. If we find any resistance, we will fight it. If there are people who are fighting for the former president, we will fight them. The main goal is to restore democracy and to allow the new elected president to take over."

But Gambian army chief Ousman Badjie said his troops would not fight Senegalese forces because the dispute was "political".

"I am not going to involve my soldiers in a stupid fight," he said. "I love my men."

In his inaugural speech, President Barrow ordered all members of The Gambia's armed forces to remain in their barracks.

Any found found illegally bearing arms would be considered "rebels", he said.

Why is Mr Jammeh refusing to go?
After first accepting defeat he reversed his position and said he would not step down. He declared a 90-day state of emergency, blaming irregularities in the electoral process.

The electoral commission accepted that some of its early results had contained errors but said they would not have affected Mr Barrow's win.

Mr Jammeh has said he will stay in office until new elections are held.

Remaining in power would also give him protection against prosecution for alleged abuses committed during his rule.

How great is the pressure to remove him?
The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) mandated Senegal to take the lead in outside intervention because it almost surrounds The Gambia.

The Ecowas strategy was approved by the UN Security Council which unanimously approved a resolution expressing "full support" for President Barrow and calling on Mr Jammeh to step down.

"I think events will move quickly now," Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at Chatham House in London, told the Associated Press.

"Jammeh will not last 90 days remaining in power. He may cling on to power for a few more days, increasingly isolated. After the inauguration of Adama Barrow, the trickle of power flowing to him will become more of a flood."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38682184

Fortunately, it appears that diplomacy, backed by the threat of military intervention, has encouraged Jammeh to step down and likely receive protection in a neighboring country.

The Gambia's long-term leader Yahya Jammeh says he will step down, after refusing to accept defeat in elections.

In an announcement on state TV, he said it was "not necessary that a single drop of blood be shed".

The statement followed hours of talks between Mr Jammeh and West African mediators. He gave no details of what deal might have been struck.

Mr Jammeh has led the country for 22 years but was defeated in December's election by Adama Barrow.

Mr Barrow has been in neighbouring Senegal for days and was inaugurated as president in the Gambian embassy there on Thursday.


Troops from several West African nations, including Senegal, have been deployed in The Gambia, threatening to drive Mr Jammeh out of office if he did not agree to go.

Mr Jammeh's decision to quit came after talks with the presidents of Guinea and Mauritania.

"I have decided today in good conscience to relinquish the mantle of leadership of this great nation with infinite gratitude to all Gambians," he said.

"I promise before Allah and the entire nation that all the issues we currently face will be resolved peacefully."

Shortly before the TV address, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz said that a deal had been struck and that Mr Jammeh would leave the country. He gave no further details.

Mr Jammeh was given an ultimatum to leave office or be forced out by UN-backed troops, which expired at 16:00 GMT on Friday.

The deadline was set by the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas), a regional grouping backed by the United Nations.

The first signs of a breakthrough came on Friday when a senior aide to the new president told the BBC's Umaru Fofana that Mr Jammeh had agreed to step down.

Mr Jammeh had at first accepted defeat in the election but then reversed his position and said he would not step down.

He declared a 90-day state of emergency, blaming irregularities in the electoral process.

The electoral commission accepted that some of its early results had contained errors but said they would not have affected Mr Barrow's win.

Mr Jammeh had vowed to stay in office until new elections were held.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38702787


In non-The Gambia news, it appears the Biafran separatist movement is gaining ground again and is trying to draw attention to their cause by appealing to Donald Trump.

A rally in Nigeria to show support for Donald Trump as he was inaugurated as US president turned violent, injuring several people, police say.

The event in the southern oil hub of Port Harcourt was organised by a group supporting the independence of the south-eastern region of Biafra.

The group says it backs Mr Trump because he supports "self-governance".

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) allege 11 people died in clashes with security forces during the rally.

But a police spokesman in Port Harcourt told the BBC that only tear gas was fired and said some people were wounded in the scuffles.


At least one million people died in the 1967-70 civil war started by Biafran secessionists. Pro-Biafra protests have resumed over the last 18 months.

(IPOB) dubbed the event in Port Harcourt a solidarity rally and hundreds of supporters waved flags and chanted pro-Trump slogans.

Prince Emmanuel Kanu, the brother of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu - who has been held by the Nigerian government since October 2015 on treason charges - said Mr Trump had won their favour as he "supports the right to self-determination".

According to the AFP news agency, IPOB has also renamed its push for secession "Biafrexit", after the UK's Brexit vote to leave the European Union.

IPOB's campaign has gained momentum since the authorities detained Mr Kanu.

Human rights activists say the heavy-handed approach of dealing with the group has inflamed the tensions.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38688798

Donald Trump won the US presidency after suggesting he would make big changes in the way his country relates to the rest of the world. So what does his move to the White House mean for different African countries?

South Africa - by Pumza Fihlani
South Africa has gone to great lengths to position itself not as a country in need of aid but as a formidable trade partner. But tough negotiations with the US on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) late last year were perhaps a reminder to the developing country of its actual place at the big table. Some critics of the treaty say South Africa, like many African countries, was strong-armed into accepting less than favourable terms for the sake of having a powerful ally.

The US has been accused of dumping chicken, which is said to be crippling South Africa's poultry industry. Trade union federation Cosatu claims the deal could lead to further job losses here - especially in the poultry industry. Mr Trump has a reputation of being a shrewd businessman, and while it's not clear what his policy on South Africa will be, some here are worried that the somewhat cosy relationship South Africa has enjoyed for years may be shaken up. They suggest the businessman's administration might require South Africa to show why it deserves to be on Mr Trump's team. Anyone else reminded of his reality show The Apprentice?


Nigeria - by Naziru Mikailu
Since the election of President Muhammadu Buhari last year, Nigeria has improved ties with the US. Relations had been severely damaged by accusations against the Nigerian military of human rights abuses, especially in the fight against Boko Haram Islamist militants. The Nigerian military received training and equipment from the Obama administration and would surely want Mr Trump to maintain these improved ties.

Nigeria would also want better trade relations with the world's largest economy. Some of the biggest US companies are among the major investors in Nigeria's energy sector but the exploitation of shale gas in the US has led to a reduction in the amount of oil the US buys from the West African nation.

The two countries may yet find themselves at loggerheads if Mr Trump decided to recognise the Biafra separatists. The activists, who have been campaigning for a breakaway state in the east of the country, endorsed the Republican candidate during the presidential race in the hope he would recognise their independence movement. They say that he supported Brexit - the UK's move to leave the European Union - and so would also back "Biafrexit", although he has given no such indication publicly.

There are also said to be more than one million Nigerians living in the US, and some here are worried that Mr Trump's immigration policies may lead to thousands being deported.


Uganda - by Catherine Byaruhanga
The US government provides more than $700m (£570m) in assistance to Uganda every year. The majority of this aid goes to health programmes, particularly free HIV/Aids medication for those who need it. An unspecified amount is also given in military support. No details are given but as Uganda has increased its missions abroad, including to Somalia and the Central African Republic, Washington has been a key financial backer. It also provides training for Ugandan soldiers.

In a recent letter to the US State Department, Mr Trump's transition team asked about these activities. The worry in Kampala is that the new administration will stop or reduce this support. On the other hand, some in the opposition have argued that foreign financial backing has given the government an unfair advantage. In the health sector, reduced US support could leave many in the cold.


Kenya and Somalia - by David Wafula
Up to one third of the 90,000 Kenyans in the US are illegal immigrants, according to the Pew Research Centre. This means that more than 30,000 people could be sent back to Kenya if President-elect Donald Trump makes good his campaign pledge to deport illegal immigrants. That would badly hit the remittances they send home, estimated at $60m from the US and Canada in 2015.

It could also mean the end of the road for thousands of young people from poor backgrounds hoping to study in the US under scholarships, which Mr Trump has sworn to eliminate as soon as he takes office.

Members of Mr Trump's transition team assessing US relations with Kenya and Africa have raised concerns over comments about future ties. The transition team has questioned why the US has been fighting al-Shabab for a decade yet has not won. And it has questioned whether the money that Washington donates to various causes in Africa is being spent wisely.


Zimbabwe - by Shingai Nyoka
President Robert Mugabe's government has said it hopes the change in the status quo might help it restore ties with Washington. Mr Mugabe, some of his officials and some government-owned companies have been under travel and economic sanctions since George W Bush's presidency over alleged human rights abuses. Mr Mugabe believes the sanctions are illegal.

But Mr Trump has not made any statement about Zimbabwe or Mr Mugabe and there is no indication his stance on Zimbabwe will differ from his predecessor's.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38676146

Now, because events don't occur in a vacuum -and because Cold War Africa is one of my favorite historical topics- this thread can also be used to discuss historical events in Africa.

A member of the House of Lords, Lord Lea, has written to the London Review of Books saying that shortly before she died, fellow peer and former MI6 officer Daphne Park told him Britain had been involved in the death of Patrice Lumumba, the elected leader of the Congo, in 1961.

When he asked her whether MI6 might have had something to do with it, he recalls her saying: "We did. I organised it."

During long interviews I conducted with her for the BBC and for a book that in part covered MI6 and the crisis in the Congo , she never made a similar direct admission and she has denied that there was a "licence to kill" for the British Secret Service.

But piecing together information suggests that while MI6 did not kill the politician directly, it is possible - but hard to prove definitively - that it could have had some kind of indirect role.

Daphne Park was the MI6 officer in the Congo at a crucial point in the country's history. She arrived just before the Congo received independence from Belgium in the middle of 1960.


'Elimination'
Congo's first elected prime minister was Patrice Lumumba who was immediately faced with a breakdown of order. There was an army revolt while secessionist groups from the mineral-rich province of Katanga made their move and Belgian paratroopers returned, supposedly to restore security.

Lumumba made a fateful step - he turned to the Soviet Union for help. This set off panic in London and Washington, who feared the Soviets would get a foothold in Africa much as they had done in Cuba.

The comments attributed to Daphne Park by Lord Lea are subtler than saying that Britain killed Lumumba
In the White House, President Eisenhower held a National Security Council meeting in the summer of 1960 in which at one point he turned to his CIA director and used the word "eliminated" in terms of what he wanted done with Lumumba.

The CIA got to work. It came up with a series of plans - including snipers and poisoned toothpaste - to get rid of the Congolese leader. They were not carried out because the CIA man on the ground, Larry Devlin, said he was reluctant to see them through.

Murder was also on the mind of some in London. A Foreign Office official called Howard Smith wrote a memo outlining a number of options. "The first is the simple one of removing him from the scene by killing him," the civil servant (and later head of MI5) wrote of Lumumba, who was ousted from power but still considered a threat.

MI6 never had a formal "licence to kill". However, at various times killing has been put on the agenda - but normally at the behest of politicians rather than the spies.

Anthony Eden, prime minister at the time of Suez, had made it clear he wanted Nasser dead and more recently David Owen has said that as Foreign Secretary, he had a conversation with MI6 about killing Idi Amin in Uganda (neither of which came to anything).

But in January 1961, Lumumba was dead.

Did Britain and America actually kill him? Not directly. He went on the run, was captured and handed over by a new government to a secessionist group whom they knew would kill him.

The actual killing was done by fighters from the Congo along with Belgians- and with the almost certain connivance of the Belgian government who hated him even more than the American and the British.

Powerful enemies
The comments attributed to Daphne Park by Lord Lea are subtler than saying that Britain killed Lumumba.

Lord Lea claims Baroness Park told him that Britain had "organised" the killing. This is more possible.

Among the senior politicians in the Congo who made the decision to hand Lumumba over to those who eventually did kill him were two men with close connections to Western intelligence.

One of them was close to Larry Devlin and the CIA but the other was close to Daphne Park. She had actually rescued him from danger by smuggling him to freedom in the back of her small Citroen car when Lumumba's people had guessed he was in contact with her.

Do these contacts and relationships mean MI6 could have been complicit in some way in the death of Lumumba? It is possible that they knew about it and turned a blind eye, allowed it to happen or even actively encouraged it - what we would now call "complicity" - as well as the other possibility of having known nothing.

The killing would have almost certainly happened anyway because so many powerful people and countries wanted Lumumba dead.

Whitehall sources describe the claims of MI6 involvement as "speculative". But with Daphne Park dying in March 2010 and the MI6 files resolutely closed, the final answer on Britain's role may remain elusive.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-22006446
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02h0yjh

Although most of Nigeria's current population of about 170 million was not born when the country's first coup was staged 50 years ago, its legacy lingers on, writes Nigerian historian and author Max Siollun.

On 15 January 1966, a group of young, idealistic, UK-trained army majors overthrew Nigeria's democratic government in a violent military coup.

The coup leaders described it as a brief and temporary revolution to end corruption and ethnic rivalry. Instead, it made them worse.

The coup exposed the vulnerability of the Nigerian state, and how simple it was to use soldiers to attack the government, rather than protect it.

A succession of increasingly repressive military governments ruled Nigeria for 29 of the next 33 years, until the restoration of democracy in 1999. Here are four ways in which Nigeria - Africa's most populous state and leading oil producer - is still affected by the events of 1966:


Biafra protests

Protesters in south-east Nigeria have recently demanded the region's secession from Nigeria and the formation of a new country called Biafra. The Biafra movement's origins can be traced back to the January 1966 coup.

The officers who staged the coup were mostly Christian southerners from the Igbo ethnic group, and they assassinated several northerners, including the four highest-ranking northern army officers, Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, and Northern Region Premier Ahmadu Bello (both Muslims from the north).

Army commander Major-General Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, an Igbo, suppressed the coup, but seized power himself. Northerners interpreted the coup as an Igbo-led conspiracy to subjugate the north and impose Igbo domination.

Six months later, northern soldiers staged another even bloodier counter-coup against their Igbo colleagues.

Northern mobs killed around 30,000 Igbos, and Igbos fled south, and in the following year sought to form a new breakaway country called Biafra. Northerners living in Igbo areas were also killed in revenge attacks.

Although the army suppressed the attempt at secession after a brutal civil war, bitterness remains 50 years later.

Unaddressed grievances from 1966 lie at the heart of the Biafra movement's resurgence. Many Igbos feel that Nigeria regards them as a fifth column and is still punishing them for their previous attempt at secession.

Corruption

One of the coup leaders Major Nzeogwu said: "We wanted to get rid of rotten and corrupt ministers… We wanted to gun down the bigwigs in our way."

His coup unwittingly entrenched the presence of "rotten and corrupt ministers". His best friend was a young western army officer named Major Olusegun Obasanjo.

Ten years later, he found himself at the head of a different military government. It promulgated a new constitution that gave the government ownership of all mineral resources.

This provision encouraged corruption and the do-or-die nature of Nigeria's elections, as winners now had control over the country's vast mineral wealth.

It is also the source of much bitterness in Nigeria's oil-producing areas, and a cause of the latent Niger Delta insurgency which rocked Nigeria for several years and severely disrupted its oil industry.

'Class of 1966'

The January 1966 coup propelled a group of young military officers onto the national stage. Now wealthy septuagenarian grandfathers, they still wield enormous influence in Nigerian politics.

Gen Obasanjo is one of these retired military kingmakers. His withdrawal of support for then-President Goodluck Jonathan was one factor in his presidential election defeat last year, and the victory of current President Muhammadu Buhari.

As a young officer, Mr Buhari was among the young northern officers who in July 1966 staged the counter-coup against the Igbo majors.

The influence of retired military officers is so pervasive that Mr Jonathan is the only president in Nigeria's history who had no personal or family involvement in the 1966 crisis and the ensuing civil war.

Ghosts of the past

The army's politicised past means that Nigerians live with the (real or imagined) fear that a coup is a possible outcome of any political crisis.

Last year, Nigeria's then-national security adviser admitted that previous governments' wariness of the coup-prone army made them reluctant to upgrade its weaponry.

Years of strategic military under-investment recently came back to haunt Nigeria when soldiers facing Islamist militant group Boko Haram complained that they were under-equipped to fight the insurgents.

This coup issue also partly explains why Nigerian authorities react with such severity to any disobedience by soldiers.

Yet, ironically, Nigeria partially owes its continued existence to the near obsessive desire to avoid a repeat of the 1966 bloodshed.

The young military firebrands have mellowed and talk their way out of crisis rather than blasting their way into it.

The elaborate power-sharing arrangements in Nigeria's constitution, and the unwritten rule requiring rotation of political power between the north and south are legacies of the mistrust engendered in 1966.

Nigeria has matured. So have its former coup leaders.

* Max Siollun is a Nigerian historian, writer, and author of the books Oil, Politics and Violence: Nigeria's Military Coup Culture 1966-1976 and Soldiers of Fortune: a History of Nigeria (1983-1993).

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35312370

 

[Lohrenswald]

I'm sorry to be boring but this thread already exists: https://forums.civfanatics.com/threads/the-africa-thread.520541/

 

[Bootstoots]

Moderator Action: Merged with existing Africa thread.

Jammeh has fled to Guinea, and the intervention was apparently bloodless or at least nearly so. Props to Senegal et al.: this is how to do a pro-democracy military intervention.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38706426

 

[Oerdin]

I've been saying the same things about the ANC, that they basically have done nothing to improve the lot the African population.

The ANC's main reason for existence seems to be a good old boy network designed to help insiders steal everything not nailed down. South Africa is a country badly in need of good governance and a strong dose of law and order with independent oversight which politicians can't influence.

 

[Lohrenswald]

Marocco is joining the african union after over 30 years

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/morocco-rejoins-african-union-33-years-170131084926023.html

https://www.theguardian.com/global-...ejoins-african-union-after-more-than-30-years

 

[Ajidica]

So, Etienne Tshisekedi died recently.
I know most people probably have no idea who Etienne Tshisekedi is, but this guy has been the de facto leader of the Congolese opposition since the 80s. Whenever Mobutu needed to pretend to democratize he would make Tshisekedi Prime Minister for a couple months before firing him (and then make him PM again a few months later). During the First and Second Congo Wars and the continuing conflict in the Kivu Region Tshisekedi was a near constant presence in the perpetual peace talks. Most recently he was involved in the power-sharing agreement that would see Joseph Kabila step down later this year.
It's going to be weird not seeing his name always appear in news articles about the DRC.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38835381

 

[Takhisis]

Meanwhile, (the) Gambia finally has a new president and the outgone president is accused of having taken some things with him illegally.

 

[Oerdin]

Marocco is joining the african union after over 30 years

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/morocco-rejoins-african-union-33-years-170131084926023.html

https://www.theguardian.com/global-...ejoins-african-union-after-more-than-30-years

I guess invading and illegally annexing a neighbor is acceptable after all as long as you stick with it long enough.

 

[Takhisis]

But President Drumpf said the Russians aren't in Cri- oh, wrong thread.

 

[innonimatu]

I guess invading and illegally annexing a neighbor is acceptable after all as long as you stick with it long enough.

If the EU states can help break countries apart and annex the pieces lated (Yugoslavia), why shouldn't the aspiring copycat AU allow Morocco a little annexation?

Is the same age-old politics, anywhere and at any time. We just adapt the propaganda and justifications to the ideas of the age. It the past it could be ending a religious conflict, or suppressing a rebellion, or enforcing ancient rights. Now it it supporting self-determination, or bringing economic prosperity, or fighting terrorism. Morocco went with the bullcrap about bringing prosperity, along with some even more stinking ancient rights claims.

 

[Agent327]

If the EU states can help break countries apart and annex the pieces lated (Yugoslavia)

It's a good thing there's an IF at the start of that sentence. Alternative facts for the win!

 

[Takhisis]

Old Jugoslavija deserves its own thread, preferably with some fire extinguishers at hand.

Please?

 

[Lohrenswald]

I guess invading and illegally annexing a neighbor is acceptable after all as long as you stick with it long enough.

I'm not going to judge the AU, but did you even read either article?

 

[Takhisis]

This thread needs a bump…

The events in Guinea are the latest political upheaval in west Africa, where military juntas have taken control of power in Mali – in the second coup within a year – and Chad, after the death of Idriss Déby. The unrest has deepened fears that states already vulnerable to rising jihadist violence in the Sahel could be weakened.

(source: Guinea president held in military detention, say army coup leaders - the Graun)