Gully Foyle's African News Thread

[politicus]

Robert Mugabe yesterday publicly asked his supporters to dump VP Joice Mujuru and her supporters at the December 2-7 ZANU-PF party congress.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201410310112.html

[politicus]

Power struggle between rival military factions in Burkina Faso:

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/11/power-struggle-burkina-faso-president-flees/

The second in command in the presidential guard Lt. Colonel Isaac Zida has established himself as the leader of a group of young army officers and tries to take over claiming army chief General Navere Honore Traore is "Blaise Compaore’s henchman".

[politicus]

Lt. Colonel Zida is now in full control after an agreement with General Traore.

Blaise Compaoré has arrived to the Ivory Coast according to military sources speaking to AFP. He is staying in the luxurious (and ironically named in this context...) President Hotel in Yamoussoukro.

[politicus]

Four Tanzanian opposition parties have signed an agreement of cooperation, including fielding a joint presidential candidate for the 2015 general elections. The new cooperation will start with the local elections on December 14, 2014.

The parties forming the coalition are Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA), Civic United Front (CUF), NCCR-Mageuzi and National League for Democracy (NLD), which have agreed to harmonise their policies and use common arguments.

The parties aim to "jointly raise public awareness" and convince Tanzanians to vote against the governments proposed constitution, which fails to implement a more federalist structure and instead increases presidential powers. Tanzanians vote on the new constitution in a referendum in April next year.

The four-party coalition emphasize that they support and will protect the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar without creating conflict of interests between Zanzibaris and mainlanders, as they believe the proposed constitution will.

CUF Secretary General and Zanzibar First Vice-President Seif Sharif Hamad: "Zanzibaris are against the proposed constitution, which deserves to go into the dustbin."

The background is that Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and its predessor TANU (which merged with the Zanzibarian Afro-Shirazi Party in 1977 to form CCM) has ruled Tanzania since independence in 1961 and is the longest reigning party in Africa.

http://www.dw.de/tanzanias-opposition-unites-ahead-of-elections/a-18024239

[politicus]

Opposition parties and civil society groups are calling for a mass rally against Zida and reject the idea of a transitional military government.

http://www.dw.de/burkina-faso-opposition-parties-reject-military-takeover/a-18034674

In a statement, they warned the military against enacting a coup, demanding instead a "democratic and civilian transition."

"The political opposition and civil society organizations reaffirm that the victory from the popular uprising - and consequently the management of the transition - belongs to the people and should not in any way be confiscated by the army," they said in a statement issued following talks on Saturday.

"Our consultation reaffirmed that this transition should be democratic and civilian in character," it said.

They also called for a new mass rally in the capital, Ouagadougou, on Sunday at the site where over a million people gathered earlier this week to demand the resignation of former President Blaise Compaore.

So big rally today - and a possible clash with the army...

[Famous Mortimer]

Who becomes president under the constitution? I would assume it's the head of the parliament, that's usually the way it works. That would be someone from the Compaore's party. Military seems better. Although there was also talk of appointing some old defense minister who led a failed coup. That also seems extra-constitutional and kind of military-tinged.

[politicus]

I suppose the opposition is going for a government of opposition parties and civil society leaders.

[Bacon King]

the leader of a group of young army officers

Why is it that coups are almost always led by cabals of junior officers? Like is it a psychological thing, like they're all ambitious and accustomed to being in charge? Is a general's rank too cushy to risk over treason?

[politicus]

DRC gynecologist Denis Mukwege (59) gets the 2014 Sakharov prize for helping rape victims in wartorn Eastern Congo, where he founded the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, South Kivu in 1998 to help women and girls who had been raped during the conflict raging in DRC.
Denis Mukwege will collect the prize in Strasbourg next month.


Denis Mukwege

Mukwege said in a statement:

"The Sakharov Prize is a strong signal, telling the women they have not been abandoned to a barbaric fate. It tells them that the world listens to them".

"It is a message of encouragement and hope for all those who struggle for their human rights, for peace and democracy in the DRC and all over the world".

http://allafrica.com/stories/201410230995.html

[politicus]

Protesters where not allowed to occupy Place de la Nation in Ouagadougou or take the national TV-station RTB Television. Saran Sereme and 100 of her PCD supporters dispersed. Shots fired, but apparently only warning shots.


Saran Sereme

http://news.yahoo.com/gunfire-rings-state-tv-headquarters-burkina-faso-141748668--finance.html

http://news.yahoo.com/burkina-faso-opposition-parties-african-union-reject-army-000143772--finance.html

[politicus]

It turns out Saran Sereme apparently tried a coup by declaring herself President on live television!

http://allafrica.com/stories/201411031426.html

"Opposition politician Saran Sereme had planned to declare herself president while on camera, according to eyewitness. However, the arrival of former Defense Minister and army chief Kouame Lougue reportedly interrupted Sereme's alleged plan to take power. News agency AFP also reported that technicians had staged a walk out to purposely interrupt the transmission. Military guards on the scene dispersed demonstrators from the state broadcaster."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The US government now joins AU and ECOWAS in urging the military to hand over power to a civilian government.

[politicus]

AU has given the military in Burkina Faso two weeks to return power to a civilian government, otherwise they will implement economic and diplomatic sanctions according to the head of AU's Peace and Security Council, Simeon Oyono Esono.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29888244

[politicus]

The army in Burkina Faso now says it will hand over power to a civilian "consensus government".

http://allafrica.com/stories/201411040577.html

[politicus]

Nice piece on the dangers of the situation in Burkina Faso from Daily Maverick, drawing up parallels to North Africa.

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2014-11-04-burkina-faso-is-the-cure-more-dangerous-than-the-disease/#.VFkZ_8lARSc

"When it comes to improving the lives of average citizens; creating and maintaining political stability; and kickstarting stagnant economies, coups and revolutions don't seem to work all that well."

[politicus]

Transition deal agreed in Burkina Faso.

Representatives from Burkina Faso's army, political parties and civil society groups have agreed that the country's transitional period should last one year until elections can be held in November 2015. A civilian interim government will also be installed.

The presidents of Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal flew to Ouagadougou yesterday to broker the transition deal.

From DW:

"I have confidence and I believe that in days, rather than weeks, the people will come out with an interim leader," Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, currently the head of the West African ECOWAS alliance, said after the talks."

Mahama mediated the talks together with Macky Sall of Senegal and Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan.

[politicus]

Following its congress Zimbabwe's leading opposition party MDC-T has recalled 15 MPs and 3 Senators, who are now members of the splinter MDC Renewal Team.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201411070312.html

[politicus]

Lt. Colonel Zida has refused to follow AU's  time schedule for relinquishing power to a civilian government (= doing it in two weeks).

[politicus]

Leaders of opposition parties, civil society, religious bodies and traditional rulers have drawn up a draft transition charter whose final copy has been forwarded to the military.

The charter defines the transition organs such as the Presidency, National Assembly and a transition government and their missions. The charter provides for a 25-member cabinet whose composition has to take into consideration women, youth, trade unions and Burkina Faso citizens in the diaspora.

The document proposes the creation of a National Reconciliation and Reforms Commission with the mission to restore and strengthen social cohesion and national unity. The proposed transitional period has to be 12 months that will culminate in the presidential and legislative elections in November 2015.

The military has promised to incude those wishes in a "synthesis document" that will be presented this week.

[Simfan34]

lol

[Simfan34]

Continuing the continental tragedy:

Dozens killed in school bombing in Yobe State

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Meanwhile Uganda just won't quit:



Uganda planning new anti-gay law despite opposition

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Way to focus on the important things. I wonder if Salim Saleh will take over.

[politicus]

Botswana's High Court has ruled that the authorities have to register the country's LGBT organization LEGABIBO despite homosexual conduct being illegal in Botswana. This will allow LEGABIBO to operate and campaign freely.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201411142019.html

[Sol]

Botswana's High Court has ruled that the authorities have to register the country's LGBT organization LEGABIBO despite homosexual conduct being illegal in Botswana. This will allow LEGABIBO to operate and campaign freely.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201411142019.html

Isn't Botswana's anti-gay law basically non-enforced?

[Frodo]

Amidst all the hubbub over climate change, this seems to have slipped under everyone's radar:

Chinese officials accused of smuggling ivory during state visit to Tanzania

By Simon Denyer
November 6

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[politicus]

Botswana's High Court has ruled that the authorities have to register the country's LGBT organization LEGABIBO despite homosexual conduct being illegal in Botswana. This will allow LEGABIBO to operate and campaign freely.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201411142019.html

Isn't Botswana's anti-gay law basically non-enforced?

People are not thrown in jail for being gay, but gay conduct being illegal means that all sorts of discrimination is legal and the government used the ban on gay conduct as their argument for not registering LEGABIBO. If an NGO isn't registered it can't legally collect money, own property of any kind, hold public meetings/campaigns etc.

[politicus]

The candidate of the army Foreign Minister Michel Kafando (72) has been chosen as interim President of Burkina Faso by a committee with representation of traditional leaders, religious groups, civil society NGOs, the political opposition and the army. He will now appoint an interim Prime Minister, who in turn will appoint a 25-member temporary government. The interim leaders will not be allowed to stand in the November 2015 elections.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201411170779.html