http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/304/blogs_01_zeleza.gifPius Adesanmi of writes an open letter to France’s new president, Sarkozy with particular reference to the commonalities i.e. both share 'common roots in immigration'. However unlike Pius, Sarkozy goes to 'inhuman lengths to deny his origin'.

'These differences in our attitudes to our mutual roots in the third world notwithstanding, I am saying that we understand each other not because as Minister of the Interior, you rampaged and hounded Arab and Black African immigrants with unequaled inhumanity; not because you abused them from the roof tops; not because you are one of the most hated “westerners” in the communities of dregs from the global south who litter the beautiful metropoles you are trying to keep spick and span; we understand each other because you are one of us! We understand each other because, every time you see your Dad or your brothers and sisters, the mirror shows you the immigrants you just hounded off the streets of Paris for the day. Your visceral hatred of the very conditions of your own emergence is not something we should discuss here.'

Pius goes on to warn Sarkozy not to get ahead of himself over the congratulatory messages from various right wing leaders and politicians around the world and end up a poodle of George Bush. Because unlike Sarkozy’s France – in the US you cannot go around calling

'predominantly hopeless Arab and Black African youths “racaille” (scum), no problem! Since race, racism, and discrimination are not allowed to exist in the République, no one can be injured! Call Azouz Begag, novelist, public intellectual of Algerian origin, and until recently your fellow minister, a “sale connard” (stupid idiot), no problem! There is no discrimination in the République. Call Africans moving to France “toute la misere du monde” (all the world’s misery), no problem. There can be no injury. Call gays and lesbians names that my North American context of political correctness won’t allow me to repeat here, no problem. There can be no harm done on account of things that do not exist. Call Arabs dirty people who keep “moutons dans la baignoire” (sheep in the bath tub), no problem. Again there can be no injury.'

Cairo Freeze posts a cartoon showing Sarkozy’s support for Israel.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/304/blogs_02_africamedia.gifAfrica Media reports on a study that says African women are portrayed more positively in the magazine Marie Claire. However AM writes:

'Despite certain positive images, the study confirms that the magazine does include some stereotypical portraits of suffering of African women. In addition, the magazine also infrequently includes coverage of visits to the continent by movie stars such as Drew Barrymore who sobs over the horrors of Africa. (What, she couldn't find a baby to take home as a souvenir?)'

The full report will be published later this month but it sounds more of the same sobs over the horrors of Africa.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/304/blogs_03_timbuktu.gifTimbuktu Chronicles has report on the construction of a wind pump in rural Kenya made from “old bicycle parts and roofing materials” which is being used to power the water supply from wells.

'Evidence suggests that in rural development, initiatives often take a stronger root when they have been “discovered” locally, rather than introduced from elsewhere. That shouldn’t mean an end to the propagation of sustainable technologies, but it does perhaps suggest that stimulating people to solve their own problems may lead to more lasting solutions.'

It also shows what can be done with a creative mind and using recyclable materials, one more thing that the West can learn from Africa.

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/304/blogs_04_kubatana.gifhttp://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/304/blogs_06_jontyfisher.gifThe Fishbowl comments on the latest addition to the list of potential ANC presidents in 'The big men roll in'.

'As we near the ANC AGM, the big guns are starting to roll into town. Tokyo Sexwale has officially "announced" his arrival on the presidential nominations board...expect more to follow...Cyril Ramaphosa, paging Cyril Ramaphosa.'

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/304/blogs_07_ekbensahinghana.g…Trials and Tribulations of a Freshly-Arrived Denizen..of Ghana asks why 'Ecowas officals lost their lives' on the Trans West African Highway which is fast becoming the Trans West African road to death.

'In effect, the so-called Trans-West African Highway Network has been comprehensively completed since last week, prompting joys that the ECOWAS link-up is becoming more of a reality.

Sadly, it's coming at a cost, as exemplified by last Thursday's eerie accident that involved two articulators travelling at top speed in opposite directions; the helping of Ghanaian motorists of passengers of an overturned bus (comprising West Africans from Cote d' Ivoire, Liberia, Benin, Nigeria and Togo) resulting in their deaths as the second articulator hit them at top speed (after having lost control). Altogether, seven vehicles were involved in the very sad loss of lives that claimed 40 people.'

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/304/blogs_08_blackstar.gifBlack Star Journal is one of the few bloggers to consistently report on the conflict in Guinea (Conakry)

'Disaffected soldiers in Guinea have erupted in an orgy of rioting and looting in recent weeks…Soldiers claim that wages have been withheld since 1996, when an army mutiny-cum-attempted coup costs hundreds of lives, and wants the re-integration of troops who were sacked after those events…Over the weekend, soldiers went on the rampage in Conakry, causing panic in the capital…The head of state, Gen. Lansana Conté, conceded to the demands of the mutineers by sacking the army chief and the defense minister. But troops continued to run amock.'

http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/304/blogs_09_sokwanele.gifhttp://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/304/blogs_10_sudanreeves.gifSudan Reeves writes an open letter to Darfur activists and advocates on China and the 2008 olympic games.

'The full-scale launch of a large, organized campaign to highlight China's complicity in the Darfur genocide appears likely to begin soon. But it's past time to start thinking about how to tap the creative power of students and other Darfur advocates in this critical initiative. Enough of selling green bracelets and writing letters to those who are content with posturing or avoiding the central challenge of the moment: changing the international diplomatic dynamic in ways that will result in deployment of an international peace-support operation to Darfur, one that can provide adequate protection to civilians and humanitarians.

It's time, now, to begin shaming China-demanding that if the Beijing government is going to host the premier international event, the Summer Olympic Games of 2008, they must be responsible international partners. China's slogan for these Olympic Games- 'One world, one dream'-is a ghastly irony, given Beijing's complicity in the Darfur genocide (see the website for China's hosting of the Olympic Games at http://www.pambazuka.org/images/articles/304/blogs_11_naijaman.gifIjebuman's Diary More excellent satire from ID. This week it’s 'Naija DemoCrazy for DUMMIES'.

'A friend wanted to know about naija's democracy, so i've decided to do a dummies style tongue-in-cheek explanation of democracy naija style.

According to the 1999 constitution (which is sometimes used as a "guide" and is probably used as a door stopper in the presidential villa) Nigeria is a "democracy" and operates a presidential system of government where there's a true separation of powers (i.e Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary)...'

* Sokari Ekine is online editor of Pambazuka News and author of Black Looks blog (on a recess).

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org

Zambia will seize funds and properties belonging to ex-president Frederick Chiluba and his associates if they fail to pay back $46 million siphoned from the Treasury, a minister said on Wednesday. Chiluba said last week that a British judge's order that he personally return $41 million stolen while he was in office "bordered on racism". Chiluba has denied the charges.

The directory of development organizations, listing 51.500 development organizations, has been prepared to facilitate international cooperation and knowledge sharing in development work, both among civil society organizations, research institutions, governments and the private sector.

To those of you who care about human rights, the rule of law and human decency:

I was one of the lawyers assaulted by Mugabe's thugs in Harare on 8 May 2007.

Our crime: we sought to present to the minister of justice and commissioner of police a petition by Zimbabwe lawyers protesting the unlawful arrest and detention of two of our colleagues, and the defiance by the police of court orders requiring their release and declaring their arrest and detention unlawful.

We assembled outside our high court. Before we could exercise our constitutional right, we were ordered by a senior police officer to disperse - or else. We sought to comply. As we were trooping away some of the police thugs in plain clothes said we were moving too slowly and in the wrong direction.

In actual fact we were going to our offices. They then set upon us with rubber truncheons and baton sticks. I tried to assist one of the female lawyers as she was close to being hit. For my chivalry, I was singled out.

I was hit twice on the head and back, and four times on my arms by a female who seemed to relish assaulting an unarmed defenceless lawyer. I ended up with a swollen head and badly bruised and marked arms and back.

Other of my legal colleagues were hit in varying degrees. The president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe Mrs Beatrice Mtetwa was arrested with three others, driven away in an open truck, and assaulted severely. She needed medical attention. By comparison, I probably got off lightly though I am still in pain.

None of us were charged with any offence, for we committed none. All we wanted was to assert the rule of law and persuade the Mugabe regime to respect laws and the rights of citizens.

For our efforts we were violated and humiliated. But we cannot give up on our country. We cannot yield to a despot or succumb to this lawlessness. While we do not plan to be martyrs, we will nevertheless stand for what is right.

For all its brutality, the government of Mugabe and its instruments of oppression have lost the battle of ideas and values. They rely on brute force to assert themselves. In the long term this is not sustainable, as history amply demonstrates.

Some of you may ask: how can we help? Well I have no great ideas in this regard. The least you can do is pray for the people of this land and for good to triumph over evil. You may also also document these atrocities so that those responsible may know that they will one day be required to account for their misdeeds. You may assure us you care about our battles.

I suspect that I might get into trouble for this email. But others in my country have made greater sacrifices than any I have so far contemplated.

Regards and many thanks for reading this.

This is an exciting opportunity to become involved in a global programme to increase the effectiveness of microfinance in reducing poverty. The Imp-Act Consortium has launched a three-year programme to scale up social performance management (SPM) in the microfinance industry. Deadline for applications is June 5 2007.

In Parliament on the 10th of May 2007, the MP for Ntonyiri, the Hon Maoka Maore tabled copies of what are or appear to be Irrevocable Promissory Notes, issued by the Treasury on behalf of the Government of Kenya. These Irrevocable Promissory Notes, (IPNs) were issued in respect of a contract signed on 29th September 2003 – or about 9 months after the current government came to power. This is detailed in press release by Civil Society.

African leaders are to meet in Ghana for an African Union summit at the end of next month to discuss ways of working towards a "United States of Africa", the bloc said in a statement on Friday. The summit, from June 25 to July 3, will be devoted to a "grand debate on the union government", the statement said.

Fifteen years of multiparty democracy in Mali has failed to galvanise voters in the poverty-stricken west African nation, who enjoy the dubious honour of being the world's most ballot-shy electorate. Last week's presidential election garnered a turnout of around 36% -- actually a comparatively high figure given Mali's past record.

The African Union should play a vanguard role in upholding human rights on the continent, its chairperson, Ghana president John Agyekum Kufuor, said on Monday. Addressing the opening session of the seventh session of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) in Midrand, he said the situations in Sudan and Darfur had exposed limitations of the AU.

The United Nations and African Union expressed cautious optimism on Thursday over the prospects of a political breakthrough in the troubled Darfur region of western Sudan. UN envoy Jan Eliasson and AU envoy Salim Ahmed Salim said they were encouraged by the increase in regional initiatives, including the government of south Sudan's latest effort to find a political solution for Darfur.

United Nations envoy to Somalia Francois Fall arrived in Mogadishu on Friday for his first visit since the end, two weeks ago, of some of the deadliest fighting in the city's history. Fall was due to meet Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi and to visit Ugandan troops from an African Union peacekeeping mission.

A bill establishing the Nigerian National Information Technology Development Agency has been signed into law by the President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo. Called the National Information and Technology Development Act 2007, the law empowers the agency to oversee the development of IT in Nigeria.

A London High Court Judge, Peter Smith, on Friday found the former Zambian President, Frederick Chiluba, guilty of stealing US $46 millions from the public coffers. Mr Chiluba was tried in absentia, but his assets might be frozen. The civil suit was brought against him by Zambia’s Attorney General.

Nigeria’s President-elect, Umaru Musa Yar’ adua, began his maiden tour in Africa on Monday. He had already toured Togo, Benin and Niger. The tour, the first since his controversial election win last month, is meant to enable the new leader to strengthen bilateral relations with other African states. Observers and opposition candidates cited several cases of election fraud, violence, stealing, and other malpractices in the polls.

Human Rights Activist Network Provides a link to Internships, Employment, Volunteering and Travel Opportunities in Human Rights and Development on their website.

WITNESS uses video and online technologies to open the eyes of the world to human rights violations. We empower people to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools for justice, promoting public engagement and policy change. The Development Department works to generate funding for the organization’s programs via foundation proposals, outreach to individual donors and benefit events. Please send applications by May 15.

Awaaz notes with concern the recent re-emergence of racial conflict in Uganda.

 
It is indeed sad that the South Asian community in Uganda as a whole has paid the price for the recklessness of a few South Asian leaders who have once again collaborated with the ruling class; this time to rape the country of its natural resource and continue the exploitation of the Ugandan people.

It is the story of the South Asians in East Africa since the advent of independence in the territories. These business tycoons are single mindedly determined to make money in collaboration with the ruling elites. In doing so they portray the entire South Asian community as the ‘visible enemy’; and thus undermine the positive roles that ordinary South Asians have played, and are playing, in the colonial and independent histories of the East African countries.
 
It is indeed disappointing that president Museveni considers environmental conservation a ‘luxury’! We in Kenya are grappling with trying to replace our lost environmental resources and are already suffering from the consequences.

Surely Uganda’s South Asian industrialists should understand this global concern. Their complete inability in Uganda to learn from history and chart a new path of national inclusion and reconciliation, instead of exacerbating the myth of exploitation, is shocking, to say the least.

It is reckless and irresponsible for the Mehta Group to attempt to plunder the resources of Uganda in complete violation of the wishes of the Ugandan people and of international environmental standards.

We do applaud the sentiments of the general Ugandan South Asian community in condemning the move by the Mehta group. They need to link up with the rest of the Ugandan community and struggle for a just, democratic and environmentally secure country.
 
Awaaz once again reiterates that it stands for:

-  The need for the South Asian communities in East Africa to get involved politically and cast their lot with the masses of the three countries. As Awaaz has shown, history is replete with examples of individuals who have participated in the political processes in the region. Some notable individuals are:

-   Uganda: Sugra Visram – MP, 1963 - 1966
-   Kenya:  Pio Gama Pinto – socialist, freedom fighter
-   Makhan Singh - founder of the trade union movement
-   Manilal Desai – party organiser and freedom fighter
-   Tanzania:  Sophia Mustafa – MP, 1958 - 1965
-   Amir Jamal – minister of finance
 
The community has to get involved in the day to day political processes be it at parliamentary or civic levels. We in Kenya have once again the opportunity of getting representation in the body politic during the upcoming 2007 election.
 
Finally we stand in solidarity with the Ugandan people and the Ugandan South Asian community as they struggle against dictatorship and political repression. We have to stand up and be counted - history will judge us accordingly!
 
Further reading:
The Daily Nation - p.17, Friday 13 April 2007
The Daily Nation - 'Africa Insight' report: Friday 20 April 2007

Despite Angola's poor human rights record, a widening gap between rich and poor, and a reputation for world-class corruption, an elite U.S. group is calling for Washington to strengthen ties -- including military ties -- with Luanda, Africa's second-biggest oil exporter.

For the first time in seven years, Morocco and the Western Sahara will engage in direct talks over a 30-year-old territorial dispute, but the two sides come to the negotiating table with very different plans for the region's future.

FEATURES: Carl Bloice on the hidden war for oil in Somalia
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS:
- Henning Melber – on the G8, Nepad and prospects for Africa at the forthcoming summit in Germany
- Mahmood Mamdani – on the Asian question in Uganda
- Johanna Kehler – on the impact of the Zuma rape trial for women in South Africa
BLOGGING AFRICA: the Kenya plane crash; monitoring the Kenyan parliament; and silencing your blog in protest against apathy
BOOKS AND ARTS: Alex Vines from Chatham House reviews Poisoned Wells by Nicholas Shaxson
AFRICAN UNION MONITOR: Civil society submisssion to the pan-African parliament
Podcasts: Sokari Ekine interviews Niger Delta activists

PAN AFRICAN POSTCARD: Tajudeen warns that popular pariticipation in deciding on African unity is needed
WOMEN AND GENDER: SADC to finalize consultations on Gender Protocol
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Nigerian group promises to renew pipeline attacks
HUMAN RIGHTS:
- LRF issues statement on arrest of Zimbabwean lawyers
- AU calls for upholding of Human Rights
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: New report on internal displacement
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: African troops for Comoros poll
AFRICA AND CHINA: China appoints African envoy for Darfur
CORRUPTION: Ex-leader guilty of graft
DEVELOPMENT: G8 asked to keep its promises
HEALTH AND HIV/Aids: Second helping of ARVs no longer an issue
EDUCATION: Zambian children receive assistance
ENVIRONMENT: African ecologists unite for environment
LAND & LAND RIGHTS: Tales of resettlement
MEDIA AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Egyptian blogger forced offline
NEWS FROM THE DIASPORA: The role of Kenyans in the diaspora
INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY: NEPAD e-schools launched in Mauritius
PLUS: e-newsletters and mailings lists; fundraising and useful resources; courses, seminars and workshops, jobs and books and publications

*Pambazuka News now has a Del.icio.us page, where you can view the various websites that we visit to keep our fingers on the pulse of Africa! Visit