Sub-Saharan Africa: They're Conflict Minerals, Marie

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Sub-Saharan Africa: They're Conflict Minerals, Marie

«‹›47 »

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

well poop, i thought the EFF was legit. some really good ideas in the article, but i bolded the unexpected stuff. seems like a CCP model but more explicit?

quote:

Floyd Shivambu: EFF job plan will rescue SA from a crisis

Floyd Shivambu

One of the biggest failures of the post-1994 government has been the inability to create jobs, in particular for able, willing and young people.

South Africa has more than 22.6 million people who can work, of which 16.4 million are employed and 6.2 million are unemployed.

These figures do not include the more than 2 million people who looked for work, could not find work and now have given up looking for work.

In expanded definition � the real definition � close to 9 million South Africans are jobless.

All aspects and sectors of the EFF�s election manifesto include a jobs dividend.

Historically � and now � the most effective way to create jobs is to build sustainable industries to produce things that people consume on a daily basis and involve people in all stages of production.

South Africa�s semi-colonial character has positioned the country as an importer of almost all finished goods, products and services and an exporter of natural and semi-processed products.

The massive and almost complete importation of finished goods and products is man-made.

The EFF carries the political and ideological will to change that fundamentally.

The post-1994 government�s industrial policy failed drastically because it did not pursue inward industrialisation, needed to build sustainable labour and absorptive factories for the production of daily consumables.

This failure was made worse by the movement of investors� money.

There was not sufficient regulation, resulting in a large component of foreign capital coming in as speculative capital, which did not have the much-needed jobs dividend.

In the past 25 years the ANC-led government has failed by establishing only five special economic zones (SEZs) that are functional.

The direct state investment in these zones is around R10 billion, insignificant for a country that spends more than R150 billion on social assistance annually.

Fewer than 14 000 jobs have been created by these SEZs which, if massively expanded, protected and supported, could end the socioeconomic crisis of joblessness.

As an interim measure of poverty alleviation, social grants are a progressive intervention, but they cannot and should not be a permanent solution to the country�s developmental, poverty and inequality challenges.

Social assistance programmes must be accompanied by an equally aggressive labour-absorptive industrialisation.

First, to create sustainable jobs the EFF industrial policy will focus on inward industrialisation with export capacity.

The policy will aim to depopulate high-density populated cities by creating labour-absorptive industries in parts of the country that have not realised any form of economic development.

To achieve this, the EFF government will declare zero company taxes in multiple SEZs in various regions, starting with 35 areas and including the whole of the Northern Cape.

These multiple SEZs will gain special benefits, such as tax incentives and a factory-building allowances.

The non-negotiable and legislated basis of each company gaining access to these SEZ benefits will be the employment of a minimum of 2 000 workers by each company in each investment area.

As the EFF we studied areas that have immense potential, either informed by historical infrastructure or markets and resources, to identify viable SEZs.

Any investor who can commit to a minimum of 2 000 sustainable jobs, pay employees a minimum wage and employee benefits will have access to these multiple SEZs zones� benefits.

The EFF government will spend a minimum of R100 billion annually in pursuit of massive inward industrialisation which will not be the same as those in many post-colonial societies, which substituted imports with inferior domestic products.

The inward industrialisation the EFF will pursue will have maximum quality controls with export capacity.

The underpinning belief of the EFF�s industrialisation policy is the creation of jobs. Any investment must clearly demonstrate commitment to accessing jobs in the SEZs.

These tax-free multiple economic zones have the potential to generate a minimum of 400 000 jobs by 2024 if each zone can attract an average of between five to 10 companies which will commit to 2 000 sustainable jobs for each investment area.

The industrialists in all these sectors should primarily be South Africans whom the state should incubate, guide and finance, with an appreciation that not all industries will be profitable immediately.

Developmental finance institutions must be positioned to finance and support no fewer than 30 000 initiatives annually.

A 60% success rate in this regard will create many jobs.

These industries will not be producing daily consumables only, but will leverage on the domestic beneficiation of natural resources, with a firm legislative framework that ensures a minimum of 50% of all natural resources are added value domestically.

Massive and decisive industrialisation will develop a financial and professional services sector and boost other household industries because many people will have work and more people will need consumables.

Second, the EFF government will use state procurement decisively in all spheres of government � including in state-owned entities � estimated at around R1 trillion yearly to enable industrialisation and localisation.

The EFF government will amend the Public Finance Management Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act to procure 80% of all goods and products from local producers, of which half should be owned and controlled by women and the youth.

The EFF government will ensure that products � such as glasses, cups, plates, spoons, tiles, energy-efficient building materials, furniture, washing products, electronics and textiles � that people use on a daily basis must be produced locally through labour-absorptive means.

The EFF government will leverage the economies of scale to buy commonly used products, such as motors, linen and garments for hospitals, clinics and correctional services� facilities, food and other consumables, to expand on value for money, using the government budget to maximise the effect on industrialisation and job creation.

At the core of the EFF industrial policy, underpinned by employment dividends, is the call for quality work and a living wage.

There are South Africans who have work but continue to live in poverty because they are paid low wages.

They are as good as unemployed. Any industrial policy that intends to create jobs but does not emphasise quality of work and a living wage will fail to address South Africa�s problems of unemployment, inequality and poverty.

HISTORICALLY � AND NOW � THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO CREATE JOBS IS TO BUILD SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIES TO PRODUCE THINGS THAT PEOPLE CONSUME ON A DAILY BASIS AND INVOLVE PEOPLE IN ALL STAGES OF PRODUCTION.

This is why the EFF in Parliament objected to a R40 an hour ($2.75/hr) national minimum wage across all sectors and strongly called for sectoral determinations.

For far too long the value of wages has continued to decline unabated, while companies have continued to make millions in profits for the shareholders.

The EFF government will marry closely the need to create jobs through inward industrialisation with quality export capacity, using state procurement capacity to fast-track the process of industrialisation.

At the same time the quality of work and a living wage will be key priorities.

The EFF�s plan on jobs is a cogent and decisive departure from what the post-1994 government has been doing.

South Africans should give the visionary EFF political power. The people will gain economic power as a result.

Shivambu is EFF deputy president and parliamentary chief whip

it's certainly better than the status quo but i thought they were revolutionaries like the ANC 25 years ago

# ? Oct 30, 2019 09:25

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 25, 2024 15:41

RocknRollaAyatollah: Nov 26, 2008; Lipstick Apathy

Isn't Malema, the founder and leader of the EFF, supposed to be incredibly corrupt? While he takes on the revolutionary leanings of the old ANC, he seems to be very much cut from the same cloth as the more corrupt elements of the contemporary ANC.

# ? Oct 30, 2019 14:08

punk rebel ecks: Dec 11, 2010; A shitty post? This calls for a dance of deduction.

I initially thought these guys looked like Hugo Chavez types but it turns out they are another party that wants to copy the China model.

# ? Oct 30, 2019 16:17

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD: Jul 7, 2012

Well this is going about how I expected

# ? Nov 8, 2019 16:26

Toplowtech: Aug 31, 2004

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:

Well this is going about how I expected

The Egyptians must be pleased.

# ? Nov 8, 2019 16:39

Saladman: Jan 12, 2010

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:

Well this is going about how I expected

Well, if the Ethiopians let him cut a ribbon there and put up a signed photo of him and Abiy shaking hands in the control room, that would also reduce the probability of Sisi openly attacking the dam from like 1% to 0%.

But I can�t imagine anyone seriously inviting Trump to any mediation, especially not for an infrastructure project in Africa that he will know literally nothing about and won�t bother informing himself (or receiving information) in advance of such discussions.

# ? Nov 8, 2019 16:41

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD: Jul 7, 2012

Toplowtech posted:

The Egyptians must be pleased.

If the US-Egypt relationship collapses over this unforced error I will lol eternally

# ? Nov 8, 2019 17:03

Grouchio: Aug 31, 2014

We'll also get to figure out how the world deals with tens of millions of more arab refugees :v:

# ? Nov 8, 2019 17:12

Cat Mattress: Jul 14, 2012; by Cyrano4747

Grouchio posted:

We'll also get to figure out how the world deals with tens of millions of more arab refugees

Oh, I know! Trump will say "lol not my problem, they're going to Europe" but double down on the child concentration camps just in case, and Europe will react by bribing despots in Turkey, Egypt, Libya, etc. to bottle them up, while hoping that those who do manage to reach the shores will drown quietly far from the sight of those annoying sea rescue NGOs.

Canada will say "we're the good guys and we welcome them", knowing full well that less than 0.001% of them will be able to reach Canada without having to first go through Europe or through the USA.

# ? Nov 8, 2019 17:24

PawParole: Nov 16, 2019

does Somalia go here or the Middle East?

There�s been massive ethnic pograms in Ethiopia between Amhara and oromos, university students have been forced to withdraw from their courses if they�re in the wrong ethnic region, and basically the country does not seem like it will last until the 2020 elections ( if EPDRF doesn�t cancel it).

PawParole fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Nov 16, 2019

# ? Nov 16, 2019 04:47

BlueBull: Jan 21, 2007

RocknRollaAyatollah posted:

Isn't Malema, the founder and leader of the EFF, supposed to be incredibly corrupt? While he takes on the revolutionary leanings of the old ANC, he seems to be very much cut from the same cloth as the more corrupt elements of the contemporary ANC.

There are a great many corruption allegations hanging over Malema, and he was living way beyond his means even back when he was still in the ANCYL.

# ? Nov 23, 2019 03:30

Saladman: Jan 12, 2010

PawParole posted:

There�s been massive ethnic pograms in Ethiopia between Amhara and oromos, university students have been forced to withdraw from their courses if they�re in the wrong ethnic region, and basically the country does not seem like it will last until the 2020 elections ( if EPDRF doesn�t cancel it).

Have there? This seems like a lot of hyperbole to me to be honest ("massive" "pogroms" "does not seem like it will last until May"). I asked a childhood friend who has lived in Addis for years, and she thinks that there's a absolute poo poo-ton of pizzagate-level conspiracy theories rolling around in Ethiopia, especially for things related to Oromo-vs-Amharic relations. I've been reading about Ethiopia for the last couple months and haven't seen anything substantiated beyond a few violent protests centered around Adama and Hawassa. I do not see any reliable news sources that have reported on "pogroms" in Ethiopia, and I can't imagine Abiy canceling the 2020 election.

There is banditry (with a flavor of "freedom fighter") in the Afar region and in almost all of the border regions, but this has also been the case for decades for those regions.

It's worth noting that the Sidama region independence vote from SNNPR went totally fine, and the EPDRF just formed itself into a new coalition party ( https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-50515636 ).

E: I mean yeah a handful of churches and mosques have been burned down, and there has been some university stuff like you mention (e.g. https://borkena.com/2019/11/13/ethiopia-students-oromo-region-leaving-university-campuses/ ) but it's not "massive" and it's also not like Ethiopia has ever had any long period of stability without low-level ethnic violence. Talking about as if the current situation portends a near-term collapse of Ethiopia seems... dramatized. You're not the only person I've seen say that, but the only other people I've seen say that have been on Facebook, and since what I've read on FB is written in more or less grammatically-correct English, it is no doubt by Ethiopian expats living in the US and Canada who get third-hand information from their relatives through a game of telephone. I don't see anything about

I mean just look at the 4 comments on that Ethiopian article I linked regarding pizzagate-level conspiracy theories. The first comment is lol.

Saladman fucked around with this message at 10:47 on Nov 23, 2019

# ? Nov 23, 2019 10:38

Cat Mattress: Jul 14, 2012; by Cyrano4747

Speaking of Ethiopia, they're trying to bolster their military.

The leaked document shows their ambition is matched only by their approximation. Besides wanting "multiroll helicopters" (I agree, a copter that can do only one roll isn't interesting), they also seem to think the M51 is an air defense missile. (It's not. It's also absolutely not on sale. I assume they're actually thinking about the Aster.)

Of course they don't have the money for any of that, and I doubt France would be eager to give away its top-of-the-line stuff to a country heavily indebted to China.

# ? Nov 23, 2019 13:35

freeasinbeer: Mar 26, 2015; by Fluffdaddy

Cat Mattress posted:

Speaking of Ethiopia, they're trying to bolster their military.

The leaked document shows their ambition is matched only by their approximation. Besides wanting "multiroll helicopters" (I agree, a copter that can do only one roll isn't interesting), they also seem to think the M51 is an air defense missile. (It's not. It's also absolutely not on sale. I assume they're actually thinking about the Aster.)

Of course they don't have the money for any of that, and I doubt France would be eager to give away its top-of-the-line stuff to a country heavily indebted to China.

Based on that doc they are looking for ballistic missiles. So heh.

# ? Nov 23, 2019 15:00

WAR CRIME GIGOLO: Oct 3, 2012; The Hague
tryna get me
for these glutes

Cat Mattress posted:

Speaking of Ethiopia, they're trying to bolster their military.

The leaked document shows their ambition is matched only by their approximation. Besides wanting "multiroll helicopters" (I agree, a copter that can do only one roll isn't interesting), they also seem to think the M51 is an air defense missile. (It's not. It's also absolutely not on sale. I assume they're actually thinking about the Aster.)

Of course they don't have the money for any of that, and I doubt France would be eager to give away its top-of-the-line stuff to a country heavily indebted to China.

Eh its for show all the cool kids have ballistic missiles so why not us?

# ? Nov 25, 2019 06:13

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD: Jul 7, 2012

This piece by Awol Allo in Al Jazeera yesterday on the dangers of merging EPDRF into the Prosperity Party is definitely worth reading.

# ? Dec 6, 2019 19:58

PawParole: Nov 16, 2019

Basically only the future losers are joining the new party. TPLF is the only party that is popular in its home region.

# ? Dec 7, 2019 22:55

Charlz Guybon: Nov 16, 2010

Just as the virus was brought under control aid workers for MSF have been forced out of central Congo by violence.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ebola-response-workers-killed-in-attacks-force-withdrawal-from-critical-drc-region/

# ? Dec 8, 2019 10:21

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

goodluck jonathan's relatives are freaking out on facebook, apparently some gunmen got close to his house

looks like they came up on motorboats and were trying to steal a gunboat at the guard station protecting the ex-prez. jonathan lives in bayelsa which is a lot like the southern louisiana of nigeria

# ? Dec 24, 2019 17:40

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD: Jul 7, 2012

Manager of Sonangol account in Portuguese bank found dead in Lisbon: report

uhhhh

# ? Jan 23, 2020 16:38

Toplowtech: Aug 31, 2004

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:

Manager of Sonangol account in Portuguese bank found dead in Lisbon: report

uhhhh

Yeah they are the bank who manages the money they get from the oil extracted offshore of Cabinda. To understand the context: Cabinda's oil represents, if i am not wrong, like 90% of Angola income for the last 50 years. Cabinda is an exclave of Angola in Congo with a non stop independence movement since the Angola civil war of the 70s.

# ? Jan 23, 2020 16:49

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD: Jul 7, 2012

he was also implicated in the dos santos scandal and then suddenly "hung himself"

# ? Jan 24, 2020 16:46

Wistful of Dollars: Aug 25, 2009

This story is from July so it may already have been posted in this thread last year so if it was I apologize but I thought it was interesting.

Why Zimbabwe’s female rangers are better at stopping poaching

quote:

Sgt. Vimbai Kumire holds up a photo of a dead leopard on her phone. She stares at the image as the truck she’s riding in bounces over the rutted road. The cat’s neck is slashed and its bloody paws hang slack. “Before this job, I didn’t think about the animals,” she says.

Now Kumire, 33, and her all-female wildlife ranger team, the Akashinga, are among the animals’ fiercest protectors. The rangers are an arm of the nonprofit International Anti-Poaching Foundation, which manages Zimbabwe’s Phundundu Wildlife Area, a 115-square-mile former trophy hunting tract in the Zambezi Valley ecosystem. The greater region has lost thousands of elephants to poachers over the last two decades. The Akashinga (“brave ones” in the Shona language) patrol Phundundu, which borders 29 communities. The proximity of people and animals sometimes leads to conflicts such as the one Kumire’s headed to now, involving the leopard.
...
With that local-first mentality, Mander turned to Phundundu’s surrounding villages—specifically their women—to fill the ranks of the Akashinga. After years of training male rangers, he concluded that in some ways women were better suited for the job. He found they were less susceptible to bribery from poachers and more adept at de-escalating potentially violent situations. He also knew that research shows working women in developing countries invest 90 percent of their income in their families, compared with 35 percent for men. In this regard, the rangers demonstrate a key conservation principle: Wildlife is worth more to the community alive than it is dead at the hands of poachers.

# ? Jan 27, 2020 19:37

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD: Jul 7, 2012

https://www.voanews.com/africa/mystery-illness-kills-ethiopian-nomads

quote:

Mystery Illness Kills Ethiopian Nomads

More than 2,000 nomads in Ethiopia�s Somali region have died since 2014 after falling ill from a mysterious disease that caused bleeding from their mouths and noses.

Other reported symptoms include swollen limbs and green or yellow eyes.

The affected people roam with their cattle around the Ogaden Basin region, which is being explored by companies looking for oil and natural gas.

Reports of the mysterious illness and deaths have drawn Western reporters and researchers from rights groups to investigate.

Residents of Calub, Ethiopia, have accused a Chinese project that includes construction of a pipeline from Ogaden to Djibouti of destroying the environment where their animals are grazing.

Chinese firm Poly-GCL has been prospecting for natural oil and gas in Ogaden since 2014. It is expected to start commercial gas production soon. The Ethiopian government has signed a deal with the Chinese company that gives it 50% of any income from oil or gas exploration.

The pipeline will enable Ethiopia to export natural gas.

Local residents say they have not been consulted.

The government in Addis Ababa has denied allegations that the project is causing a health and environmental crisis in the region.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has promoted oil and gas industry as essential for Ethiopia�s economic growth.

gently caress's sake

# ? Mar 18, 2020 16:24

Toplowtech: Aug 31, 2004

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD posted:

https://www.voanews.com/africa/mystery-illness-kills-ethiopian-nomads

gently caress's sake

Well, gently caress. It's horrible.

# ? Mar 18, 2020 20:09

Cat Mattress: Jul 14, 2012; by Cyrano4747

The symptoms make me think of a particularly nasty jaundice.

# ? Mar 19, 2020 16:36

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

rip

# ? Apr 8, 2020 06:26

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD: Jul 7, 2012

Um Nkurunziza is dead of a "heart attack"

# ? Jun 9, 2020 16:13

Grouchio: Aug 31, 2014

Wonder what happens to Burundi now.

# ? Jun 9, 2020 16:16

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD: Jul 7, 2012

Well conveniently his successor was just installed.

# ? Jun 9, 2020 16:49

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD: Jul 7, 2012

This poo poo is loving outrageous.

quote:

Making a killing: Israeli mercenaries in Cameroon

Our investigation found Israeli citizens have been training Cameroon�s most notorious military unit for years, making them huge sums in the process.

In November 2018, Eran Moas basked under the Caribbean sun by an infinity pool stretching towards the horizon. The Israeli citizen was taking a much-needed break by holidaying in the Bahamas with his wife and children.

The beachside villa he rented did not come cheap at a cool $20,000 a day, but this expense was of little concern to Moas. His personal portfolio of properties includes a New York flat worth over $20 million, which he bought without a loan, and a Los Angeles villa worth over $12 million. His usual place of residence is a massive mansion in Cameroon�s capital of Yaound� where he reportedly travels around in a bullet-proof car escorted by a team of bodyguards.

Moas enjoys this lifestyle thanks to his long-standing job with the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), an elite unit of the Cameroonian army, as well as business ventures with the Cameroonian government. The BIR operates under the direct orders of President Paul Biya, who has been in power for 37 years. The Cameroonian battalion is known for the arduous training regime its soldiers go through and their access to superior weaponry.

The BIR is also notorious for its ruthlessness. Human rights organisations have documented extensive torture and arbitrary killings by the unit. One of its former soldiers told African Arguments that he personally witnessed two mass executions in the north of Cameroon in which a group of about ten victims were forced to dig their own graves, then told to lie in them before being shot dead.

The BIR�s actions have received particular attention since the Anglophone conflict began in 2016. In this uneven fight between government forces and poorly armed separatists, the unit has faced multiple accusations of burning villages, raping women, conducting extrajudicial killings and torture. These abuses prompted the US to cut some of its long-standing military aid to Cameroon in February 2019 and have been strongly condemned by the UN, European Union and others.

�The BIR is sort of Mr Biya�s private army because they are not answerable to the regular army chain of command,� explains Kah Walla, an opposition politician in Cameroon. �You have a dictatorial president, who has shown himself to be repressive [and] then created a private armed force. And, of course, this has increased the level of repression.�

Moas is not the only Israeli contractor to provide services to the BIR. An investigation by African Arguments examined long-standing ties between certain Israeli citizens and President Biya�s elite forces. These links stretch from the 1980s up to today when the likes of Moas profit substantially from the relationship. The investigation found no evidence of direct links between these individuals and human rights violations.

A lavish lifestyle

Working with the BIR is a lucrative venture. The unit is well-funded and widely believed to be financed through an �off-budget� account of Cameroon�s national oil company. As such, its revenue could come indirectly from oil companies drilling in Cameroon. This includes several British firms such as one that struck a natural gas deal in 2018 worth �1.5 billion ($1.9 billion).

Israelis are involved in the training, command and supply of weapons to the BIR, although the corporate structures through which they operate are opaque. New soldiers are recruited for the unit every few years and are trained in batches of one to two thousand. After graduating, soldiers have been given Israeli-made assault rifles. One former BIR recruit, who graduated in 2015, says that about a hundred Israeli trainers spent three months in Cameroon training his cohort. The recruit says they told him they were each paid around $1,000 a day.

The arrangement appears to be all the more profitable for those at the top. Our investigation reveals that Moas has bought at least $32 million dollars-worth of property in New York, Los Angeles, Haifa and Yaound�, much of it without a mortgage. He also lives a lavish lifestyle. He bought three $5,000 tickets to watch the Mayweather Jr. vs Pacquiao fight in May 2015 and his wife has been seen wearing a $60,000 diamond-encrusted Rolex.

Moas� known real estate investments began in 2010 with the $1.6 million purchase of a Los Angeles villa with a pool, stunning views of the city and in-house cinema. He sold it for $2.7 million in 2014. In July 2015, he bought a flat in New York on the 49th floor of a glass skyscraper on Billionaires� Row. It was purchased for $20 million through a shell company. This way of buying the property was likely intended to keep the purchase secret, but Moas� name shows up on the firm�s tax filings which African Arguments obtained through a freedom of information request.

The following year, Moas bought a $12 million villa in Hidden Hills, an exclusive gated community in Los Angeles, according to Dirt.com (the article has since been removed). This property was also purchased through a shell company, whose address is listed as �c/o Kohli & Partner�, a law firm based in Switzerland that was revealed in the Paradise Papers to represent various dubious clients.

None of this seems to have made much of a dent in the family�s budget. Later that year, they stayed in a villa at the Four Seasons Bahamas Ocean Club, costing around $20,000 per night. They returned the following year.

More recently, Moas� ambitions seem to have gone beyond his job with the BIR. In April 2018, a mysterious company called Portsec SA obtained a $43 million contract to build security infrastructure around Cameroon�s port of Douala. The company is registered in Panama, a secrecy jurisdiction, and no owners are listed on its website, but two sources we talked to point to Moas as the person behind the deal. According to a document leaked to Cameroonian activist Boris Bertolt, Portsec obtained the contract via a �special tender� from the president�s office. The document is blurry, but the address for the company can be deciphered as �c/o Kohli & Partner�, the same Swiss lawyers Moas used for his Los Angeles purchase.

We could not trace a direct line between Moas� Cameroonian interests and his real estate purchases, but he does not appear to have other significant sources of income. Called on his Cameroonian cell phone, he hung up after we introduced ourselves and he did not respond to questions sent to his Whatsapp account. The Port of Douala and the Kohli & Partner law firm didn�t respond to repeated requests for comment.

An historic relationship

Cameroon�s close links with Israel stretch back far before Moas entered the scene. They can be traced to 1984 and a failed coup. President Biya, who had been in power for just two years at the time was nearly toppled by his own army. He reportedly suspected that Cameroon�s former coloniser France had supported the attempted overthrow and thus looked for new partners to ensure his security.

He first turned to Israeli businessman Meir Meyuhas, a former secret agent working for Israel, and later Meir�s son Sami. The father and son had an exclusive license from Israel�s Ministry of Defence to negotiate arms deals with Cameroon. This particular arrangement ended in 2001, but the supply of Israeli arms into the country continued. Several sources told Efrat Lachter of Israel�s Channel 12 that the Mehuyas are still behind military exports to Cameroon.

We were not able to reach the Meyuhas for comment.

According to various BIR soldiers, each new recruit since 2009 has received a brand-new firearm produced by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), an Israeli arms manufacturer. These have included ACE 21, Galil, and more recently Tavor assault rifles, which cost around $1,900 each. Israeli companies also provide the BIR with armed personnel carriers � such as the Saymar Musketeer and Thunder � and equip the Presidential Guard.

But Israel�s involvement in Cameroon�s armed forces go much deeper than just arms deals. In fact, an Israeli, Abraham Avi Sivan, created the BIR unit in 1999, initially under a different name. Sivan had formerly commanded several elite units in Israel�s army before pivoting to the private sector as Israel�s defence attach� to Cameroon. In his retirement from civil service, he trained and supervised Cameroon�s Presidential Guard and worked to establish the BIR under the command of Cameroon�s defence minister and President Biya himself.

In 2010, Sirvan died in a helicopter crash near Yaound�. Since then, the identities of his replacements have been carefully guarded, though various names � including likely fake ones such as �Maher Heretz� � circulated. One name in particular has been reported by various sources.

A former brigadier general

�General Erez Zuckerman was at the top,� said one former BIR soldier, who recalls hearing from colleagues that this man would replace Sivan around 2012. This account was confirmed by several others. �It�s like when a new president has taken power in [a] country; the name was circulating without even you seeing the person,� he added.

Zuckerman is a former brigadier general in the Israeli army. Unlike Sivan, his career did not end brilliantly. In the 2006 Lebanon War, his division made spectacular mistakes, leading him to resign in disgrace, saying �I have failed�. After quitting the army, his friends told reporters �he�ll probably run his family�s farm; they own a herd of cattle�. Instead, the former Israeli commander turned to the BIR.

The former BIR soldier says Zuckerman visited each of Cameroon�s military bases to introduce himself. He recalls that he first saw the new general in the Bakassi region, near the border with Nigeria. �He came with a helicopter in 2012,� he said. �By then we already knew who he was.�

The last time the soldier saw Zuckerman was in February 2018 at the military�s Salak base in northern Cameroon. �It was like an inspection to see how work is being done,� he said, explaining that Zuckerman gave orders to officers. The BIR has been shown to conduct torture at Salak, and the US has an ongoing investigation into the presence of its own soldiers at the base. Another soldier said that he saw him twice in Yaound� in May 2019, including once at a military base.

Zuckerman admitted to African Arguments that he had worked as a military adviser in Cameroon but said he hasn�t returned there since 2017. He declined to respond to further questions.

At some point, Zuckerman appears to have handed over the lead to Eran Moas. By contrast to his predecessors, Moas wasn�t a career military man. When he arrived in Cameroon in 1998, he initially worked for the Israeli conglomerate Tadiran to maintain the communications systems of the army. He was later hired by the Cameroonian military directly.

In this role, he likely first worked under the supervision of Avi Sivan. In 2004, an Israeli journalist reported on his visit to an ape sanctuary near Yaound� that had been established by Sivan and received �enormous support� from Moas. The reporter noted that Moas was driven around in �a jeep of the Cameroon army, chauffeured by a member of the Presidential Guard, who wears Israeli Paratroop wings and has on red Paratrooper boots�. He wrote that Moas was �known as captain or general in these parts�.

A controversial relationship

According to Israeli human rights lawyer Eitay Mack, who campaigns to increase transparency in Israel�s defence exports, the arrangement between the BIR and Israeli�s trainers is highly unusual.

�It�s a very rare situation that Israel is approving someone to conduct a unit,� he says. Mack explains that Moas, Zuckerman and their colleagues would need formal licences from the Israeli government for their work in Cameroon. Mack says it�s unlikely they would circumvent this requirement.

�Nobody is ready to violate [this rule] because it would be considered as a criminal security offence,� he says. �It�s like being a traitor�[Moas] is doing it with a license from the Israeli government for sure. He is not doing it on his own as a private citizen.�

The Israeli Embassy in Yaound� directed us to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Israel. Their spokesperson said they would not comment, adding �we don�t have to give an explanation�. The Ministry of Defence refused to provide specific information but said that export licenses are �subject to constant scrutiny and periodic assessments by the senior echelons of the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs�.

Mack believes the Israeli government�s position on the matter may be strategic. �Paul Biya is one of the most reliable friends of Israel in [the whole] African continent,� he says. �The payoff is [for Cameroon] to support Israel openly in international forums�Cameroon is an important part of helping Israel to get legitimacy�It�s all part of the geopolitical fight with the Palestinians.�

In March 2018, Mack filed a petition to the Israeli Supreme Court to cancel all export licenses to the BIR and freeze the awarding of new ones. The court ruled a few months later, but the judge issued a gag order which means Mack cannot share the outcome of the case. But according to one source within the BIR, most of the soldiers who graduated in 2019 were given Croatian rifles, not Israeli.

If Israel has stopped its defence exports to Cameroon, it would make any military training by Israeli citizens illegal too, according to Mack. It may be too little too late, however. �There are so many Israeli weapons over there, and the unit already [has] Israeli knowledge, so the effect [would be] limited,� he says.

For opposition figure Walla too, much damage has already been done. �It�s a very bizarre setup to have an armed force [with] a foreign national as a commander,� she says. �Even if these are private Israeli consultants, or they belong to private firms, most of them are former Israeli military officers�It places Israel in a position where, within the Cameroonian population, they are seen as part of this repressive force.�

# ? Jun 23, 2020 17:13

ToxicAcne: May 25, 2014

Seems like Mali has it's own Khomeini

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53176083

# ? Jun 28, 2020 17:25

KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD: Jul 7, 2012

Thanks for posting that, I hadn't heard about it. I hope to read more about this, the fact the dude is named Dicko probably doesn't hurt

# ? Jul 1, 2020 21:02

Squalid: Nov 4, 2008

cross posted from midEast thread, but i think this video is worth watching for everyone:

I just saw this excellent video profiling the career of Muammar Kaddafi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1NkZn5P8UA

which is from an African perspective. Not that Nigerians have any special insight into Libyan history, but still. This channel is a must subscribe for anyone interested in contemporary African history and politics.

# ? Jul 5, 2020 15:55

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

I con't find anything about the provenance of that channel.

# ? Jul 5, 2020 19:13

Squalid: Nov 4, 2008

Discendo Vox posted:

I con't find anything about the provenance of that channel.

nor could I, except that they say they are based in the UK. My impression watching a few videos is that the author is trained as an economist but if there are multiple writers I don't know. They have a twitter account though so you could try @ing them?

# ? Jul 5, 2020 20:27

Toplowtech: Aug 31, 2004

Has anyone found any good us-centric articles or takes on the current conflict between the state and the local islamic extremist in gaz-rich north Mozambique? Beside a few good Allafrica articles i have found next to nothing in the english web and most of those articles were a translation from news in Portuguese. Apparently the Tony Blair Institute and the US State Department call it "Islamic State terrorism" but since there is currently a repression of journalism in Mozambique by the government, not a lot get out.

# ? Jul 6, 2020 06:46

i say swears online: Mar 4, 2005

this is about as US-centric and neoliberal as you're gonna get

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/war-mozambique-natural-gas-blessing-turned-curse/

# ? Jul 6, 2020 06:53

Toplowtech: Aug 31, 2004

i say swears online posted:

this is about as US-centric and neoliberal as you're gonna get

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/war-mozambique-natural-gas-blessing-turned-curse/

I really like how they don't even mention the journalists recently arrested for pointing the corrupt link between government members and the international gaz companies. Really, "IT'S A CURSE"

# ? Jul 6, 2020 06:57

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? May 25, 2024 15:41

Discendo Vox: Mar 21, 2013; We don't need to have that dialogue because it's obvious, trivial, and has already been had a thousand times.

Squalid posted:

nor could I, except that they say they are based in the UK. My impression watching a few videos is that the author is trained as an economist but if there are multiple writers I don't know. They have a twitter account though so you could try @ing them?

https://medium.com/@kwabena.taiwo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/k-b-taiwo-2a6a6218a/?originalSubdomain=uk

all stubs. I really can't tell how to evaluate it, given the significant amounts of money behind the design, and because I am not literate enough in the area to tell its slant.

# ? Jul 6, 2020 07:05

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Sub-Saharan Africa: They're Conflict Minerals, Marie

«‹›47 »