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Good news from Burundi! A spokesman for the opposition party UDP was murdered in his home today, following a recent assassination attempt on the current president of the UDP. Over 100 people have been killed in political violence since the election and it looks poised to get worse!
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Sep 8, 2015 23:22
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Jagchosis posted:Good news from Burundi! I'm so glad things are finally looking up! 
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Sep 8, 2015 23:40
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Speaking of third terms, the parliament in Rwanda voted to change the constitution and lift the two-term limit for the presidency, paving the way for Paul Kagame to run again. Rwanda's Supreme Court has agreed to review the measure and decide whether Kagame will be eligible to run again at the end of his current term. Spoiler: He will prevail While this is sure to piss off the international community, this will likely not be nearly as controversial as Nkurunziza's reelection in neighboring Burundi, as Kagame is popular in Rwanda. He's credited with the relative peace and prosperity Rwanda has had under him. Plus he has brutally crushed the opposition during his time as president.
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Sep 10, 2015 05:13
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In Mali there's been some challenges to the fragile peace established through the French intervention recently. First, throughout summer there have been a wave of attacks by the Macina Liberation Front, a jihadist group that likely formed sometime around January. The group is supposedly led by Amadou Koufa, a radical preacher with ties to Ansar Dine, but some argue that he was actually killed in 2013 by the French. The attacks have largely been concentrated in the north and central Mali, which have been the hotbed of jihadism since things went to poo poo there several years ago. However, the attacks are slowly spreading southward and several attacks on government and UN targets have occurred in and around Mali's capital, and just the other day Malian police arrested a terror cell affiliated with the MLF. There has also been some renewed clashes with Tuareg separatists, as a pro-government militia invaded the small northern town of Anefis in mid-August. The government is trying to deescalate the situation, and has apparently successfully pressured the militia to begin withdrawing. In other Mali news, Mali and Cameroon have renegotiated their long standing open border policies, and now citizens of the two countries will need entry visas to pass through check points for the first time in half a century. There has also been a confirmed polio case in Mali, which may have been caused by a live virus vaccine failing and becoming contagious
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Sep 10, 2015 19:19
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The opposition leader in Burundi called for targeted sanctions against the leadership in response to the recent election, and the UN warns that failure to react to Burundi risks the outbreak of yet another war in the Great Lakes region. Burundi's government had their own response to the risk of civil war: they arrested over 100 members of the opposition yesterday. In other clinging to power news, the president of the DRC, Joseph Kabila, sacked two opposition leaders from their roles in government for complaining about him milling on whether to run for another term. There's been violence this week between opposition and government supporters over Kabila's tenure, so this may lead to a more pronounced violent flair up should he run again. In Sweden, a trial began for Claver Berinkindi, a Hutu Swedish national accused of leading attacks against Tutsis. I haven't read much on the case so I don't know how strong the evidence against him is. Homura and Sickle fucked around with this message at 11:25 on Sep 18, 2015 |
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Sep 18, 2015 03:02
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Why must this thread be so depressing.
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Sep 18, 2015 09:03
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my dad posted:Why must this thread be so depressing. Speaking of depressing, there was a coup d'etat in Burkina Faso. The coup was perpetrated by military officers supposedly loyal to the former president for life Blaise Compaore, who was ousted recently by popular protests. The coup was against the leaders of the transitional government, and occurred three weeks before scheduled elections to determine his successor. The leader of the coup, General Diendere, says that elections will still go forward but the scheduled date of October 11 is much too early, and we must not rush democracy, oh no that would be bad, so the elections are delayed indefinitely. The French use Burkina Faso as a staging area for operations against Islamists, and the country is also allied with the U.S. against those militants. The U.S. is mad salty about this coup and saying they're going to "review" the military aid they provide to the country (in the same manner they "reviewed" military aid to Egypt after their coup, which is to say lol). The UN wrote Diendere a very strongly worded letter expressing stern disapproval.
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Sep 18, 2015 09:31
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10 dead in ongoing violent protests in Burkina Faso over the coup.
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Sep 19, 2015 16:24
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Jagchosis posted:Speaking of depressing, there was a coup d'etat in Burkina Faso. The coup was perpetrated by military officers supposedly loyal to the former president for life Blaise Compaore, who was ousted recently by popular protests. The coup was against the leaders of the transitional government, and occurred three weeks before scheduled elections to determine his successor. The leader of the coup, General Diendere, says that elections will still go forward but the scheduled date of October 11 is much too early, and we must not rush democracy, oh no that would be bad, so the elections are delayed indefinitely. The French use Burkina Faso as a staging area for operations against Islamists, and the country is also allied with the U.S. against those militants. The U.S. is mad salty about this coup and saying they're going to "review" the military aid they provide to the country (in the same manner they "reviewed" military aid to Egypt after their coup, which is to say lol). The African Union is apparently threatening travel bans and asset freezes if the coup-ers don't knock that poo poo off immediately. Not sure it'll stick, but it's slightly more than a strongly worded letter.
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Sep 19, 2015 16:30
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Jagchosis posted:Speaking of depressing, there was a coup d'etat in Burkina Faso. The coup was perpetrated by military officers supposedly loyal to the former president for life Blaise Compaore, who was ousted recently by popular protests. The coup was against the leaders of the transitional government, and occurred three weeks before scheduled elections to determine his successor. The leader of the coup, General Diendere, says that elections will still go forward but the scheduled date of October 11 is much too early, and we must not rush democracy, oh no that would be bad, so the elections are delayed indefinitely. The French use Burkina Faso as a staging area for operations against Islamists, and the country is also allied with the U.S. against those militants. The U.S. is mad salty about this coup and saying they're going to "review" the military aid they provide to the country (in the same manner they "reviewed" military aid to Egypt after their coup, which is to say lol). One the one hand it would be cool to see the coup guy thrown out, but on the other hand that could easily lead to more instability and violence, and it could also lead to anti-French sentiment if it looks like France is militarily picking and choosing leaders without having super broad support from the general public (both in Burkina Faso and abroad) to do something like that. fade5 fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Sep 19, 2015 |
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Sep 19, 2015 16:48
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fade5 posted:So are the French gonna do any sort of intervention (military or otherwise) against General Diendere and company, or are they only doing stuff against Islamists? The French response so far has been to condemn the coup, but President Hollande added "France has friendly relations with Burkina Faso and we cannot just allow what is happening today . . . [but we] have no reason to intervene." So, so far no it's not looking like they're gonna stick their dick into this beehive. The coup leaders released the interim president and several ministers but the prime minister remains in custody.
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Sep 19, 2015 20:44
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Jagchosis posted:In Sweden, a trial began for Claver Berinkindi, a Hutu Swedish national accused of leading attacks against Tutsis. I haven't read much on the case so I don't know how strong the evidence against him is. There's not many sources beyond the news24 article- even the Rwandan Kinyarwanda-language sources took all their information from it. From that, he's already been tried and convicted in absentia in Rwanda, and the main pieces of prosecution evidence are eyewitness testimony from survivors, phone recordings where he used Interahamwe language about Tutsis, and him looking up the outcome of another trial of an accused genocidaire in Norway two years ago. The defense is planning to argue that the eyewitnesses mistook Berinkindi for his brother, who was definitely a genocidaire but is also dead. So, there's not much beyond survivors identifying him as leading Interahamwe forces during massacres, and what there is is circumstantial. Still, 21 years isn't too late for justice, right?
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Sep 19, 2015 21:43
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The oil slump and China's economic catastrophe are starting to show their effect on export focused economies in Africa. Take for example, Equatorial Guinea and Botswana. Both are relatively wealthy countries, and both are facing hard economic times now. EG's economy is based almost entirely on oil exports, and because of the collapse in oil prices the GDP per capita PPP is expected to plummet over the next several years. EG is exploring with the IMF plans to diversify its economy, and focus on building human capitol. EG already has a pretty good infrastructure by African standards but the proposed plan involves further investment in that sector. In Botswana, GDP growth forecasts have been cut in half recently. Botswana is a major mineral exporting economy, with diamonds being the biggest export sector. China's economic woes have caused a sharp decrease in exports of diamonds, because there is an associated collapse in demand for luxury goods. Botswana is also exploring how to diversify their economy for longer term growth and lower reliance on world demands for gems. Ganbatte, Botswana
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Sep 20, 2015 00:33
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The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is expected to shut down by the end of December of this year, close to its 21st anniversary. 60 people have been convicted of planning the genocide, 14 acquitted, 9 still are at large. Sentences for planning genocide ranged from a few months to life in prison, with Italy, Sweden, and Mali agreeing to host the defendants. However, a number of them are still in Arusha, Tanzania, the city where the ICTR is headquartered. All that remains at the moment is to consider the appeal case of Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the first woman to be convicted by an international genocide court, and the first woman to be convicted of genocidal rape. However, trials in Rwanda and around the world will continue, with Spain and London arresting the former intelligence chief of Rwanda in June. With Nyiramasuhuko's trial having lasted 12 years from indictment to conviction, it seems likely that the wheels of justice will continue to spin for another decade or more. Possibly Kagame will have retired from the Presidency by then. The court's own director has this to say about its legacy: "Now no court has a problem to interpret what genocide actually means," "We have shown: The time in which African leaders can do with their citizens whatever they want is over," 'The court was also the first to recognize rape as a means of perpetrating genocide. "But that is not enough," says Majola, who thinks that more perpetrators should have been punished.'
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Sep 20, 2015 00:44
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As an aside the UK released Gen. Karake after deciding against extradition to Spain and I believe he's now back in Rwanda.
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Sep 20, 2015 00:51
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kustomkarkommando posted:As an aside the UK released Gen. Karake after deciding against extradition to Spain and I believe he's now back in Rwanda. “After careful consideration we do not believe an extradition offence can be established under UK law. The main reason is that the relevant laws on the conduct alleged in this case do not cover the acts of non-UK nationals or residents abroad." Jesus Christ.
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Sep 20, 2015 00:53
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Effectronica posted:“After careful consideration we do not believe an extradition offence can be established under UK law. The main reason is that the relevant laws on the conduct alleged in this case do not cover the acts of non-UK nationals or residents abroad." It's even funnier when you know who lead his legal defence Cherie Blair
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Sep 20, 2015 00:57
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kustomkarkommando posted:It's even funnier when you know who lead his legal defence Good God.
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Sep 20, 2015 00:59
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To add a little context, General Emmanuel Karenzi Karake was the head of Rwandan intelligence from 1994-1997 and was arrested for charges of assassinations during that time and of war crimes committed against Congolese civilians in 2000. His arrest was hugely controversial, in large part because although he had been arrested in 2010 in Rwanda on charges of "immoral conduct" (after a stint in charge of Rwandan forces in Darfur with the UN), the Great African War and the circumstances surrounding the Rwandan Patriotic Front cementing rule of Rwanda are still a sensitive subject for many Rwandans, in large part because of perceived European and American hypocrisy.
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Sep 20, 2015 01:07
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my dad posted:Why must this thread be so depressing. Its a thread about sub-Saharan Africa?
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Sep 21, 2015 01:03
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quote:Burkina Faso's army has reached the capital Ouagadougou to seek the surrender of the presidential guard who staged a coup last Thursday. Not really sure I'm understanding the full picture here but it seems the coup leaders want a negotiated step down done by ECOWAS. The Burkinabe police seem to just want everything to be done peaceably and the french keep making vague comments about how unhappy they are.
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Sep 22, 2015 07:41
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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34321961quote:Burkina Faso's coup leader has defied an ultimatum to step down, saying his forces will retaliate if attacked.
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Sep 22, 2015 13:53
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quote:Ouagadougou (AFP) - Burkina Faso's interim president Michel Kafando, who was deposed last week during a coup staged by presidential guards, will be returned to office on Wednesday, putsch leader General Gilbert Diendere told AFP on Tuesday. http://news.yahoo.com/deposed-burki..._medium=twitter what a girly coup
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Sep 22, 2015 23:36
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quote:"Theoretically, it is me who will welcome them (at the airport) tomorrow and Kafando will go with them after that," said Diendere Yes I'm sure they all be overjoyed at seeing your smiling face welcoming them home 
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Sep 23, 2015 06:02
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African militaries are so advanced they're actually doing coup exercises now 
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Sep 23, 2015 14:23
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Transitional president of Burkina Faso back in power, coup officially a failure. gg President Nguesso of the DRC has promised a referendum over whether or not he can run for another term. This will probably not placate the opposition.
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Sep 23, 2015 23:09
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Jagchosis posted:Transitional president of Burkina Faso back in power, coup officially a failure. gg Don't you mean Kabila?
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Sep 23, 2015 23:15
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Badger of Basra posted:Don't you mean Kabila? Actually, he means Denis Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo.
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Sep 23, 2015 23:17
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You can't expect me to keep track of all the variously named presidents of the variously named Congos looking to extend their terms.
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Sep 23, 2015 23:18
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Badger of Basra posted:Don't you mean Kabila? Effectronica posted:Actually, he means Denis Nguesso of the Republic of the Congo. gently caress I mixed them up because Kabila is also milling a run for another term. e: Badger of Basra posted:You can't expect me to keep track of all the variously named presidents of the variously named Congos looking to extend their terms.
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Sep 23, 2015 23:18
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Central African Republic has been racked with religiously motivated violence this weekend. It started when a Christian militia abducted and murdered a Muslim taxi driver for whatever reason, which has prompted reprisal violence that has left at least 24 dead and 100 wounded in the capital. French peacekeepers have been criticized for failure to stop the violence.
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Sep 28, 2015 00:31
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Jagchosis posted:French peacekeepers have been criticized for failure to stop the violence. Some major déjà vu here.
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Sep 28, 2015 16:59
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Ianiniho posted:Some major déjà vu here. CAR is a huge mess and has been since decolonisation, i'm not convinced the peacekeepers could've done much without actually shooting, and they are really not supposed to do that
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Oct 11, 2015 03:57
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Jagchosis posted:Central African Republic has been racked with religiously motivated violence this weekend. It started when a Christian militia abducted and murdered a Muslim taxi driver for whatever reason, which has prompted reprisal violence that has left at least 24 dead and 100 wounded in the capital. French peacekeepers have been criticized for failure to stop the violence. If we go off past history, the peacekeepers were all but abandoned, and they're just a convenient scapegoat for a lack of political will supporting the overall mission.
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Oct 11, 2015 04:47
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So everyone complains about this, but nobody posts. Over 50 people dead in Nigeria since Tuesday in at least two bombings: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34852971 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34859527 Aand "[Security advisor] Dasuki 'stole $2bn' from anti-Boko Haram fight", apparently: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-34855695 I don't really have any commentary besides that that's hosed up.
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Nov 18, 2015 20:27
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I do have to ask, is there anything positive Goodluck Jonathan actually achieved in office?
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Nov 18, 2015 20:36
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Tesseraction posted:I do have to ask, is there anything positive Goodluck Jonathan actually achieved in office? You mean, other than leaving it without causing an incident?
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Nov 18, 2015 20:38
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my dad posted:You mean, other than leaving it without causing an incident? Well, that's more failed to cause as opposed to an achievement.
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Nov 18, 2015 20:40
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Tesseraction posted:Well, that's more failed to cause as opposed to an achievement. When everyone around him burns the country on their way out it arguably is an achievement.
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Nov 19, 2015 00:02
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I CANNOT EJACULATE WITHOUT SEEING NATIVE AMERICANS BRUTALISED!
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blowfish posted:When everyone around him burns the country on their way out it arguably is an achievement. True, still, you'd think at least one of his flagship policies wouldn't crash and burn, but then I suppose the kind of shitbag who lets his defence minister siphon off $2bn is probably not the kind of guy to improve the lives of ordinary citizens. #BringBackGoodluck or w/e that terrible hashtag idea was pretty 
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Nov 19, 2015 00:16
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