Illegitimate Gbagbo's bloody hands cling to power

While the murderous Muammar Gadhafhi has received most of the international press attention, former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo's blood lust for power is equally bloody. Gbagbo was defeated at the polls last November by opposition leader Alasanne Ouatarra but steadfastly refuses to give up power.

Most recently, his insecurity forces mowed down at least five women in the main city of Abidjan who were marching in support of President-elect Ouatarra.

Yesterday, Gbagbo's regime ordered that water and electricity be cut to the northern half of Cote d'Ivoire, Ouatarra's stronghold. I'm not sure if this fits the legal definition of a war crime (and make no mistake about it, Gbagbo views his quest for power as a war to be won at all costs) but it certainly re-inforces how illegitimate his regime is.

He is clearly afraid of the truth, which is why his regime kicked the BBC World Service and Radio France Internationale off the country's FM airwaves. Though if my forces were slaughtering women, I wouldn't want the outside world to know about it either.

But Gbagbo's thugs don't just target women, they target all opponents. The Associated Press reported on evidence of mass killings of those presumed to be Ouatarra supporters in the aftermath of the controversial election.

Africans embrace democracy while the African Union rejects it

The former Organization for African Unity was often derided as a club for dictators. The organization rebranded itself the African Union several years ago in an attempt to start afresh. It was part of a trend at the time where pan-African institutions were created (such as the New Partnership for African Development, NEPAD) or reformed (such as the AU) to purportedly do more self-policing on issues like human rights and good governance.

So it was quite sickening to read that the AU named Equatorial Guinea’s longtime dictator Teodoro Obiang Nguema as its new president. Although the position is mostly ceremonial, it’s a slap in the face to give such a platform to the head of one of the world’s three most repressive regimes. As a man who seized power in a coup in 1979 and has brutally cracked down on all opposition, with what authority can he lecture Côte d’Ivoire’s recalcitrant former president Laurent Gbagbo or the generals in Cairo? With one of the world’s most abominable human rights record, how can he speak on northern Uganda or the Central African Republic or the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo?

While Africans from Tunisia to Egypt are courageously rising up to embrace democracy, it’s a revolting sight to see the AU so strongly cravenly reject it.

Côte d'Ivoire: Rwanda redux... redux

In 2005, I wrote an essay entitled Côte d'Ivoire: Rwanda Redux.

The country was then, as now, run by the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI). The FPI was a long-time opposition party that gained power through the same public outrage against a rigged election that now threatens it. The FPI has cultivated a hypernationalistic and very xenophobic streak to preserve its grip on power, against the obvious will of the people, at all costs... to the point where they are willing to destroy the country to hold on to it.

In my 2005 essay, I described the similarities between the situation then in Cote d'Ivoire and pre-genocide Rwanda as such:

There are so many parallels between the two, it's scary. From the leader who considered making peace with rebels but was opposed by extremists in his own camp. To the despicable hate media campaign against 'foreigners.' To the involvement of French and UN troops. To the meticulously planned campaign against all 'enemies' of the regime... and thus enemies of the Republic... the rhetorical unification of the government of the day with the nation as a whole is a key part of any sinister propaganda campaign. Even to the Lady MacBeth wife of the president with her own Pretorian Guard entourage (Agathe Habyrimana in Rwanda and Simone Gbagbo in Côte d'Ivoire).

Laurent Gbagbo and his FPI have changed little since that essay was written, despite being declared loser of the recent presidential runoff by the Ivorian Independent National Electoral Commission among others.

There are serious warnings of genocide in the country by pro-Gbagbo forces.

The UN has accused the regime of blocking access to mass graves.

Ivorian observers have expressed concern about the proliferation of hate media, a key component of the Rwandan genocide. As someone who's read and listened to the Ivorian media for many years, these accusations are consistent with my own experiences, both past and present.

No doubt hearing reports of serious human rights abuses and the violent fanaticism of some Gbagbo supporters, thousands of Ivorians have fled to neighboring countries, with officials fearing that influx could be as high as 100,000.

Gbagbo has been called upon to give up the power he legitimately lost not only by westerners and the UN, but also by the African Union and the West African regional body ECOWAS. ECOWAS threatened to remove Gbagbo by force by has since backed off. The military option is unlikely without the support of Ghana, which has one of the region's strongest militaries.

And that's probably just as well for the moment. Threats of outside intervention only play into the hands of the hypernationalistic Gbagbo camp and may provoke a return to civil war should it actually take place. Pressure should continue to be heaped upon the losers to give up power before a bloodbath occurs; a Nigerian human rights group has offered some suggestions in that regard. However, ECOWAS should be ready to intervene if Gbagbo's forces get out of control. Already, the pro-Gbagbo Young Patriots thugs have threatened Ouattara and his aides.

Botswana's president Ian Khama rubbished the idea of a power-sharing agreement with Gbagbo remaining as president and Ouattara returning to his old job as prime minister until the next elections. And very rightly so. Power sharing agreements prevent solutions rather than addressing them.

Pres. Khama denounced the precedent that this would set, noting that "Elections there [in Kenya and Zimbabwe] were hijacked by the ruling party and if that is what is going to happen every time someone wants to dispute an election result and then stay in power by default through a mechanism of power-sharing, then it’s wrong."

Former president Gbagbo has two options. He could follow the example of Cellou Dalein Diallo in neighboring Guinea by accepting defeat with dignity and prevent his country from descending into hell. Or he might end up facing trial in the Hague, like Charles Taylor of neighboring Liberia. May he choose the path of a civilized human being.

Repression in Rwanda

The Economist has a piece on strongman Paul Kagame and his regime of paradoxes in Rwanda.

The Facebook group We Support the African Greens has a number of links to stories and resources related to repression by the Rwandan dictatorship against journalists and others.

Torture victims and the US justice system

US National Public Radio had a fascinating piece on whether victims of torture had the right to sue their tormentors in US court. The question is how to reconcile two American laws: the 1991 Torture Victim Protection Act and the 1976 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.

Guinea slaughter was 'premeditated', says NGO

A recent report by the advocacy group Human Rights Watch concluded that massacre by the Guinean 'security' forces which killed over 150 was in fact premeditated.

The country's military dictator Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara had blamed the killings on out-of-control members of the military and Red Berets (presidential guard). The argument seemed plausible as army discipline has long been a problem in the country, especially the mutiny-turned-coup attempt of 2-3 February 1996, which I lived through.

Dadis also had the audacity to partly blame the demonstrators, who'd gathered to peacefully protest his decision to break his promise and run in next January's presidential election.

This remarkable piece of reportage by France 24 (unfortunately available only in French) reveals beyond any shadow of a doubt the messiah complex that has clearly seized Dadis.

HRW found that members of the Presidential Guard carried out a premeditated massacre of at least 150 people on September 28 and brutally raped dozens of women. Red berets shot at opposition supporters until they ran out of bullets, then continued to kill with bayonets and knives.

The Africa director of HRW said, "Security forces surrounded and blockaded the stadium, then stormed in and fired at protesters in cold blood until they ran out of bullets. They carried out grisly gang rapes and murders of women in full sight of the commanders. That’s no accident."

HRW also discounted claims that the massacre was provoked. It obtained video evidence showing that the crowd in Conakry's main stadium had a "peaceful and celebratory atmosphere" with "singing, dancing... and even praying."

The NGO added that it has not seen any evidence that any opposition supporters were armed, and no security officials were wounded by opposition supporters at the stadium, suggesting that there was no legitimate threat posed by the opposition supporters that required the violence that followed.

It added that the violence started as soon as the Presidential Guard savages entered the stadium and "began firing point-blank directly into the massive crowd."

87 (120+?) massacred after Guinean insecurity thugs attack anti-dictator demonstrators

Reprinted with permission from Friends of Guinea blog

Initial optimism about the new regime has faded dramatically ever since junta leader Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara reneged on a promise to not participate in presidential elections scheduled for January 31.

A new political party, the Rally for the Defense of the Republic, was formed to back the military leader's candidacy. After Dadis, who unilaterally declared himself president following the death of Gen. Lansana Conté, broke his pledge not to run for the chief executive, the African Union imposed sanctions on Guinea.

Anti-Dadis has been rising ever since the coup leader's electoral ambitions became clear. He was met by huge protests when he visited Labé, the country's second largest city. And when the opposition tried to organize a rally against the regime, the junta banned it.

When the demonstration proceeded anyway, the "security" forces fired live ammunition at the crowd, reportedly killing dozens of demonstrators.

"It's butchery! There are dozens of dead," a Conakry doctor told the French news agency AFP.

Some media outlets reporting the death total as high as 87.

Another Conakry doctor told the IRIN news agency that there were 'hundreds' of injuries from bullets and beatings.

The massacre occurred on the 51st anniversary of the referendum in which Guineans voted for independence from France.

Update: Al-Jazeera reports that opposition leader and former prime minister Cellou Dalien Diallo and several other politicians were thrown in jail. A source indicated to me that Diallo was also shot during the protests. New reports suggest the death toll now exceeds 120.

Guinean army chief calls for poll delay but is rebuffed by Dadis

Reprinted from Friends of Guinea blog with permission

Earlier this week, Guinea's army chief made waves by claiming that the country was not ready for elections in 2009 and that they should be delayed until next year.

However, the head of state, Capt. Moussa Dadis Camara, responded by insisting that elections would take place this year as scheduled.

When the German ambassador pressed Dadis if he would contest presidential elections if they were postponed until 2010, the junta leader angrily lashed out at the envoy. Camara promised not to stand in the 2009 elections, but some observers wonder if the promise precluded a candidacy if the polls were delayed until next year.

An Afrik.com correspondent shared his thoughts on a visit to the head of state's lounge.

Source: here

Human rights' giant dies in plane crash

Last Thursday, 49 people were killed when a plane crashed near Buffalo, NY. One of the victims was Alison Des Forges of Human Rights Watch.

Des Forges was regarded as the world's leading expert on the 1994 Rwandan genocide and its aftermath and has testified many times at the Rwanda war crimes tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania. She wrote the report "Leave None to Tell the Story," which is considered the seminal work on the genocide, as well as several other influential reports on post-genocide Rwanda.

HRW adds, Clear-eyed and even-handed, Des Forges made herself unpopular in Rwanda by insisting that the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front forces, which defeated the genocidal regime, should also be held to account for their crimes, including the murder of 30,000 people during and just after the genocide.

Though "just" a human rights activist, Des Forges was one of those people who made a huge impact on behalf of justice from a position of little inherent power. She was an inspiration to human rights activists and proponents around the world.

Des Forges was 66.

YouTube for human rights

Radio Netherlands' excellent The State We're In program talked about an interesting new website called Witness.org.

It's basically a YouTube-like site where people can post videos exposing human rights' abuses.