The number of allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation made by and about United Nations personnel in 2004 was more than double the number reported in 2003, a development that is deeply distressing, even though contributing factors include clearer reporting procedures and new response measures, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says in a report to the General Assembly. "The total number of 121 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse registered in 2004 was more than double the 53 allegations reported in 2003. The increase in allegations is deeply troubling," he says.

In the run-up to last week's general elections that saw the ruling Labour party maintain a diminished majority, some asylum seekers and refugees in the United Kingdom said they were concerned about the heightened focus on immigration and asylum during the campaigning, saying it fed negative sentiments towards foreigners rather than a better understanding into the reasons why people are forced to seek asylum.

I want to make brief comments on World Press Freedom day in relation to Zimbabwe. No matter how Shabir Shaik may have misconstrued his sentence or remarks on him from the media to justify what happens in Zimbabwe as a result is an insult to humanity and the dignity that we talk of in freedom.

To say Mugabe may have gotten up one morning and say enough is enough, for who through? If it was enough for him then he should resign and let someone else run the affairs of the country rather than assign oneself the role of a monarch. I think, irrespective of who Shaik is and where he comes from, his sentiments underline our greater problem of SELF is bigger than EVERYBODY.

Mugabe cannot argue with everybody in Zimbabwe to say he is the best and no one is better than him. That is what lack of freedom to the press means in Zimbabwe, Mugabe taking everything arround him including what to say and when by citizens. It is the freedom of the press, in my opinion, which brings with it the willingness of those in power to bow down to the wrongs committed while in office and resign. Denying press freedom, as is alluded by Shaik, is saying the opposite: Leave us in power and mind your own business. But we say how can we mind our business when our lines of communication cross with yours and yet you do not want us to go and repair the lines in order that we mind our business. How sincere then is the statement mind your own business?

We concede to the fact that some of these business men who fly across Africa are champions in seeding corruption and kill, virtually kill tenets of freedom of the press when they bribe their way into the heart of governance in Africa. This undermines freedom and we mean it sincerely when we say in Zimbabwe Mugabe's action on the media are the last kicks of a dying horse.

We are grateful of what the international community is doing in the fight for World Press Freedom and want to draw their attention to atrocities that took place immediately after the stage-managed-2005 elections, and are still taking place in Zimbabwe. We are loosing count of loss of human life and barbaric action taken against others by Zanu malice directed as vindictive and punitive assaults on freedom against association and belonging. We condemn these.

I consider that any defendant (Shaik) has a right to present his defence to the court prior to the information being publicised in the Press. Also that highly derogatory comment on an individual on trial be left until after the court has made it's findings. It is right that you plead for freedom of the press. On the other hand, if the press acts irresponsibly then it must expect to be criticised and in the worst case to be muzzled. Suggest it might be good thing if the press looked to reporting accurately within legal and ethical norms - not continously focus on reporting sensational news which may or may not be accurate with a view to expanding own circulation.

Your publication is a real eye opener.

I recently bought a copy of the Pambazuka book "African Voices on Development and Social Justice", and just wanted to let you know what a thought-provoking, interesting and above all motivating book it is! I am a recent anthropology graduate and hope to pursue a career in social justice/development after gaining some further experience and a further postgraduate degree.

The African Union should immediately increase the number of troops deployed in Darfur, Human Rights Watch said this week in a letter to members of the pan-African organization's Peace and Security Council. The African Union's current force in Darfur remains too small, and the projected rate of deployment of more troops too slow, to protect civilians and reverse ethnic cleansing in the western Sudanese region.

The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program at the Washington, DC-based National Endowment for Democracy welcomes applications from candidates throughout the world for fellowships in 2006-2007. Established in 2001, the program enables democracy activists, practitioners, scholars, and journalists from around the world to deepen their understanding of democracy and enhance their ability to promote democratic change.

As parliamentary elections approach, the Ethiopian authorities have established new institutions that suppress speech and political activity in the country's most populous region, Human Rights Watch said in a report released this week. At the same time, officials have continued to detain and harass perceived political opponents. The 44-page report, "Suppressing Dissent: Human Rights Abuses and Political Repression in Ethiopia's Oromia Region," documents how regional authorities and security forces have used exaggerated concerns about armed insurgency and "terrorism" to justify the torture, imprisonment and sustained harassment of their critics and even ordinary citizens in the central region of Oromia.

EDITORIAL: World Press Freedom Day: Freedom of expression is the basis on which societies should be built
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS: Issa Shivji discusses the possibility of a Federation of the Great Lakes
LETTERS: Pambazuka News readers debate emancipation in South Africa and the difference between the old Kenya under Moi and the new Kenya under Kibaki
CONFLICT AND EMERGENCIES: Chevron Texaco admits its policies have contributed to violence in Nigeria
HUMAN RIGHTS: Zimbabwean NGOs release statements on the situation in that country to the Africa Commission on Human and People's Rights
REFUGEES AND FORCED MIGRATION: Thousands flee Togo after election chaos
ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE: Election news from Burundi, Lesotho and Tanzania
DEVELOPMENT: Government cancels launch of anti-poverty campaign
HEALTH AND HIV/AIDS: EPAs pose a threat to affordable medicines access
ENVIRONMENT: Activists tell Newmont to clean up its act
AND...The latest fundraising and useful resources, courses, jobs and books

Issa Shivji examines the possibility of Federation of the Great Lakes Region consisting of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC. Such a federation, he states, would boost a genuine Pan-Africanism and contribute towards peace in the region.

The East African Federation is again on the horizon. The timetable is out. The Federation that was much talked about over forty years ago by the nationalist leaders may just come to fruition but under very different conditions. All the peoples of East Africa must debate these new conditions. This time around we should not leave it simply to the states and politicians to unite us. Only if we unite as a people, can we ensure a sustained unity. And as a people we have to widen our horizons to take into account new conditions and possibilities.

There are two new conditions that I would like to raise. First, the original four countries – Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika and Zanzibar – which were supposed to be part of the Federation in the early 1960s have contracted to three as Tanganyika and Zanzibar are now Tanzania. As we know, the Union question itself has been a subject of much discussion among us. Do we need to resolve this issue as we enter the Federation?

Secondly, the number of potential members of the Federation has expanded to five. Rwanda and Burundi have not only shown interest but want very much to be part of the process right from the beginning. This is a welcome sign. But we have to go beyond.

We have to think in terms of a Federation of Great Lakes Region (FGLR). The Federation of Great Lakes Region would include the Democratic Republic of Congo. There are many very good reasons why we should think in terms of a greater federation.

The DRC shares longest borders with at least four East African countries, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. It is the richest country in Africa holding the world’s biggest deposits of copper, cobalt and cadmium. DRC has seen no peace as its riches are coveted by imperial powers. Even neighbouring countries like Uganda and Rwanda did not spare DRC. The wars in DRC invariably spill over to the neighbouring East African countries whether this is in the form of hundreds of thousands of refugees as in Tanzania or armed conflicts as in Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.

Both peace and prosperity in this part of the world depend strategically on peace, stability and prosperity in the DRC. It is not possible to secure peace without the DRC being part of a larger political entity.

Within the FGLR, Tanzania can play a stabilizing role while at the same time helping to curb what looks like territorial ambitions on the part of Rwanda. The Great Lakes Region is becoming one of the most militarized zones in Africa as Western powers (including, unfortunately, South Africa) continue to pump arms into the region. Within a larger political grouping, it is perhaps easier and more feasible to control civil wars which have been transformed into border wars between countries.

Within the FGLR, given different sizes and resources of the countries concerned, co-operation is likely to be complementary rather than competitive. First, no single country within FGLR has the potential of becoming a political or economic hegemon, unlike, for example, if DRC were to be sucked into the Southern African orbit. Secondly, culturally we can build on the common linguistic foundation of Swahili as the language is widely spoken in the Great Lakes Region. Thirdly, the uneven industrial development among the potential members of FGLR is not as intense as to pose a threat to a mutually advantageous development. Fourthly, the great lakes, the railways and the harbours on the Eastern seaboard provide an excellent web of transport both within the region and with the outside world. Finally, at this stage, a larger federation which includes DRC is to the mutual advantage of both the East African countries, as traditionally categorized, and the DRC.

As a matter of fact, such a project resulting in peace in this region of Africa would dramatically boost genuine Pan-Africanism and bring the dream of African Unity closer.

Finally, the FGLR would be formidable enough to protect itself from the ravages of imperial exploitation while at the same time pausing no expansionist or military threat to its neighbours.

Conversely, an East African Federation as presently conceived with Rwanda-Burundi in and DRC out, has the potential of dragging in the relatively peaceful East African countries into DRC/Rwanda/Burundi conflicts, in the process weakening both East Africa and DRC. Truly, history has not left us much choice: we either federate and create hopes for peace and prosperity or consume ourselves in incessant fratricidal wars.

The vision of FGLR is feasible. Will our leaders rise to the occasion?

* © Issa Shivji. Shivji is Professor of Law at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

World Press Freedom Day was marked on May 03. In many countries in Africa journalists continue to be intimidated and jailed for the work that they do. If Africa’s many problems are to be overcome, there must be a recognition that active participation of citizens in shaping policy and decision making is essential to healthy societies.

World Press Freedom Day is usually an occasion where speakers promote the ideas of press freedom, freedom of expression and association. But at his fraud and corruption trial, Durban businessman Shabir Shaik, who is accused of bankrolling South African deputy president Jacob Zuma for his own financial benefit, broke the good tradition and expressed his own particular views on press freedom.

Shaik, angered by weekend newspaper reports that splashed his closing argument on the front pages before his legal team had presented it in court, said he had always wondered why Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe was so negative towards the press. Shaik concluded that after 10 to 15 years of being presented as a demon in the press, Mugabe probably woke up one morning and said “enough is enough”. Referring to Mugabe’s draconian media laws, Shaik said: “As long as you continue with your rubbish all the time I'll be the first to vote for that law.”

Shaik’s statements on press freedom could be easily dismissed as those of a man prone to showboating and with an apparent insatiable hunger to see his name in print. It might be easy to dismiss them if it weren’t for the fact that Shaik is close to the corridors of power and an influential member of his community, even if this influence turns out to be for all the wrong reasons. People with public platforms should know better than to undermine hard won freedoms, especially on a continent where press freedom is in such a shoddy state.

So what exactly is the state of press freedom in Africa on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day 2005? As usual, a host of reports lamenting the poor state of press freedom globally were released by media rights organizations on May 03. The International Federation of Journalists, the world's largest journalists' group, released a report detailing how the four-year old "war on terrorism" is having a devastating impact on civil liberties.

The report said media and independent journalism were not immune from a "pervasive atmosphere of paranoia", leading to dangerous levels of self censorship, while at the same time dissent inside and outside the media were being restricted. The report says governments are increasingly working together through international fora such as the G8 to circumvent national resistance to attacks on civil liberties. Increased police powers and data collection and surveillance "on an unprecedented and global scale have granted extensive new powers to the state."

The authors claim these powers undermine democratic standards, "because they are introduced in covert processes which are largely secret and outside the orbit of parliamentary accountability. At the same time they are leading to the creation of a surveillance society in which the citizen is increasingly accountable to the authorities and the state." The report dubs this process "policy laundering."

These observations make clear that journalists globally now have to cope with new and more insidious threats to their independence. They point to an enormous transfer of power to the ‘security state’ in order to combat a largely fictitious threat under the name of terrorism. Combined with a sycophantic press in many countries, driven by the dictates of commercial interests and mostly reflecting unashamedly a particular type of free market ideology, the danger is that in the face of these new forces, the press will become increasingly more ineffectual and irrelevant.

In Africa, the Committee to Protect Journalists spells out the often desperate situation in which journalists operate on the continent. The overall context is described as being one where there is weak rule of law in many countries, with journalists regularly battling threats and harassment. Journalists who write about corruption or mismanagement are silenced through repressive legislation. “If fewer journalists were killed or imprisoned in Africa than in some other regions in 2004 - two were killed and 19 were behind bars for their work at year's end - the problems they face are insidious and ongoing,” said the CPJ. War and violence remain a major threat to journalists in countries such as Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, Burundi, Central African Republic (CAR), and even Nigeria. Some of the cases of abuse that took place on the continent in 2004 include:

- In the Gambia, veteran journalist and press freedom activist Deyda Hydara was killed in a drive-by shooting in December, just days after the country adopted repressive media legislation that he had opposed.
- In Ivory Coast, reporter Antoine Massé was fatally shot while covering violent clashes between French peacekeeping troops and demonstrators in the western town of Duékoué in November.
- French and Canadian investigative reporter Guy-André Kieffer was feared dead after he disappeared from the Ivoirian commercial capital, Abidjan, in April.
- Eritrea remained Africa's worst jailer of journalists, with 17 held in secret prisons.
- One journalist was jailed in Cameroon and another in Sierra Leone at year's end

Africa is currently facing a multitude of problems. An HIV/AIDS epidemic is having a devastating impact on the lives of millions of Africans. While it is recovering in parts, the continent suffers from the effects of violent conflict. Hunger and famine are widespread. Maternal and child mortality rates are amongst the highest in the world. The list can go on, but on nearly every social and economic indicator it is Africa that is capable of producing the horrifying statistics which reflect a deep human suffering.

In this context, it is also important to realize that bringing an end to Africa’s problems involves a multi-faceted recognition of the rights of citizens, not least to freedom of expression and freedom of association. These rights are not something that should be instituted once a utopian country or continent is created. They are tied up in solving the problems facing the continent and creating an egalitarian society where the rights of citizens are respected.

As a 2003 petition to African Union Heads of States by a variety of media groups stated: “Active participation of citizens in shaping policy and decision making of their countries is impossible if their own governments continue to deny them the rights necessary to ensure such participation. These include the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, association and political participation, as well as media freedom to facilitate a free exchange of information, ideas and opinion.”

* Please send comments to

Press Freedom Links:

http://www.rsf.org/
http://www.cpj.org/
http://www.misa.org/
http://www.article19.org/
http://www.fxi.org.za/
http://www.rap21.org/
http://www.mfwaonline.org/
http://www.jhr.ca/index2.html
http://mediawatch.clickpost.com/
http://allafrica.com/stories/200505030615.html
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/2f3284ed5a4b8b6834eb6a4484212169.htm
http://allafrica.com/stories/200505040274.html

Students, researchers, professors and leaders of community projects, representatives from government agencies and the private sector will gather in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, from May 16 until May 18, 2005 for a symposium on the theme of linking research on information and communication technologies (ICT's) to development.

Although the Group of 7’s promise this year to make Africa its pet cause looks good on paper - cutting debt, increasing aid and alleviating suffering from disease - the issue of foreign aid is stirring intense debate in at least one country. Uganda is already wrestling with the sheer volume of foreign money pouring in to fund programs such as those combating AIDS and other diseases - and the subsequent negative impact on its currency, the private sector and future economic growth. Read this analysis from World Press Review by visiting their website.

Tanzania's ruling party has nominated Foreign Minister Jakaya Kikwete as its presidential candidate for the general election on 30 October. The Chama Cha Mapinduzi party's choice is widely expected to become the next president, replacing Benjamin Mkapa. Mr Mkapa is stepping down after serving two five-year terms, the maximum allowed under the constitution.

Despite the opposition of the United States, 49 of 53 countries recently voted in favor of a resolution which requests the UN Secretary-General to appoint a Special Representative on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, with an initial two-year mandate. Visit the website of Choike, a global portal on civil society, for more information.

President-General of Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Mrs Peace Obiajulu, has said the anti-strike clause in the new labour act would not prevent workers from going on strike when they wanted to do so. Obiajulu, speaking in Lagos during a rally organised by the congress to mark the May Day celebrations, said she was ready to go to jail for going on strike for the sake of Nigerian workers. "Strike or no strike, that clause makes no difference to the Nigerian worker. If I have reason to go on strike, I will do so. I'm ready to be locked up, they will help immortalise my name," she said.

In writing the above article, Mukoma Ngugi comes across as very partisan and exercising selective amnesia. He does not live out the very impartiality he expects from the people writing the Kenyan constitution to exercise. In spite of the misrule and deterioration of the economy, security and quality of life in the last 10 years of former President Moi's rule (and not the entire 24 years of his political life), there are various facts that Kenyans cannot ignore.

1. That President Moi historically will be remembered as the 2nd President of Kenya.

2. That the current FRUITS of peace in the Sudan and Somalia, not to mention the Great Lakes regions, were largely a result of Moi's efforts. The current government or any genuine historian cannot ignore this.

3. That during the course of multi-party elections, Mr Moi never lost a single election. The defeat of KANU in 2002 cannot be counted as a defeat of Moi, but a defeat of Uhuru Kenyatta and KANU. Moi ran his full term, out-foxed the entire opposition and continues to enjoy a lot of popularity in Kenya (yes, people want him to address them etc, but he has asked people to build the nation under Mr Kibaki). Mr Kibaki's acceptance speech at Uhuru park during his inauguration as Kenya's third President cannot have been said to be graceful or state manly both to the office of the presidency and to the man he served under as VP. Moi remains a true statesman. You have to differentiate Moi the man, from Moi the politician.

4. That the same people who clamoured for "no constitution no election" prior to the 2002 are the same people who are forestalling the review process. Most of these people were in KANU and some are still life members of KANU (yes, President Kibaki still has his life membership with KANU!)

5. The Kenyan press online has continued to highlight that the present NARC government has performed worse than the KANU government in just two years of its existence, in ALL of the areas surveyed, EXCEPT for free education. But free education, if you will recall, is nothing new. At independence, Kenyatta promised and implemented free education and so did Moi in 1978/9, but slowly and surely, cost-sharing is creeping in, and worse still under NARC the standards of public primary school education have plummeted! If you live in Kenya (and not in some safe sterile environment where you only hear pre-processed news, or still live on old bitter perceptions) then you will know that the morale of Kenyans is at an all time low, with respect to the NARC government's running of affairs. It is not just the in-fighting, it is the insecurity in the country, the deteriorating sense of worth, the blatant abuse of office not to mention the total distrust of the current government. Who would have thought they would even woo Biwott ? (not to say he is bad, there surely has been no proof in court, but if perception is anything to go by, what is the difference between old KANU and NARC?)

6. You imply that the KANU government got away with misrule yet enjoyed support in foreign aid. Again this is selective use of information. The KANU government earned itself 10 years of no foreign AID at least from the IMF and World Bank, and SOME Kenyans praised the Bretton Woods Institutions for that, while the bulk of the people bore the burden!! We survived ten years! We need to re-think the "foreign aid" and "foreign investor" nonsense. Read the recent comments by Dr Mukhisa Kitui (Kenya's Trade Minister, and champion against WTO "imperialism").

7. The judiciary is still largely corrupt and sympathetic to the powers of the day. There are no systems and of course no one wants such things. There is no genuine desire to bring surgical and radical change!! The thinking of Kenyans and politicians is still the same as it was in 1972.

8. I put it that there was no "debate" on health: the president simply did not SIGN the bill that was PASSED BY PARLIAMENT. There was pressure to re-discuss the bill in parliament, and of course you know that the members of the house were treated to a "holiday" in Mombasa before they could warm up to this. While President Kibaki rightly exercised his powers in not signing the health bill, you should recollect the facts more accurately. It is your responsibility to paint the country in balanced light, and not be bogged down by your own idiosyncrasies.

Finally, the problems Kanya is facing are POLITICAL. Initially people were driven by a preoccupation to "REMOVING MOI". The constitutional changes suggested before the 2002 elections were all geared towards "containing" Moi, reducing his powers etc etc, even when it was clear to all, that he was NOT going to run for elections. The problems of Kenyan politics is the selective amnesia on the ills of the Kenyatta government. The rot in Kenya begun at Independence. We must re-examine our journey from back there.

In January 2003, Kenyans were a united nation, under NARC, having removed KANU from government. Change was needed then and the politicians provided a united front that had been elusive all along. Kenyans did not elect a Kikuyu, or Luo, or Luhya or....(fill in whatever tribe). They wanted change and progress. A very optimistic people bequeathed the NARC government a lot of good will and grace. They were patient when the NARC government begun reneging on its election promises, saying that they needed time to understand the "rot" that had accumulated. Rightfully, there was a lot of rot after 24 years of one party. Well and good. But soon, people begun to realize that the country was going back to the situation that it was in the late sixties and early seventies. The issue of tribes begun to surface again!! Right now there is a lot of bitterness and distrust towards the "Mt Kenya community". The PEOPLE of Kenya have themselves to blame. They complain a lot and don’t do anything about the situation. Kenyans, and NOT politicians will save their own country.

Thank you.

MUKOMA NGUGI responds:

It seems to me that Jinha's response is largely caught up in a nowhere place. Used to the certainty of the Moi dictatorship, Jinha is unable to deal with the uncertainty of the movement towards democracy. So in a lot of ways, Jinha wants to vindicate Moi since even though his rule has been thoroughly discredited, it was certain and predictable. We know that a lot of people during Kenyatta's dictatorship would sigh for the days of colonialism. But did they mean it? Or should such statements have been read as an indictment of the Kenyatta government?

But it is this uncertainty, an uncertainty at once positive and yet negative to the extent that NARC is still caught up in the legacies of the Moi’s misrule that I was seeking to address in my article. In short, if our project is liberation, then we simply must find the space to make nuanced arguments in uncertain times and time of change – otherwise, we end up with a dictatorship of views and broad generalizations that deny the truth of both the past and the present and are hence of no use when it comes to constructing a future.

I really do not want to take up much time attending to Jinha’s defense of Moi. But nevertheless, Pambazuka Editor, let me address the concerns raised point by point. I do this with the hope that I will not disappoint or even insult those who have spent their entire lives opposed to both the Kenyatta and Moi governments; who understand the full magnitude of what it is to live under a dictatorship and why we must seize the moment and once and for all put Kenya on a road towards irreversible change (to use terms from the anti-apartheid struggle).

For Ngugi's full response, please click on the link below.

A lack of security is threatening the voter registration process in former rebel areas in northern Liberia. Election workers say they have been powerless to stop hundreds of Guineans registering for October's polls after receiving a number of threats.

Calls for debt relief to be awarded to African countries have become "de rigueur" in non-governmental circles and a good many news publications. But is it sufficiently important to crowd out sports talk amongst people riding mini-bus taxis on their way to work? That's exactly what 'Get on Board' is discovering at the moment. Under this initiative, a group of activists aboard a 14-seater bus is traveling around Africa, collecting the views of rural and urban populations on Africa's debt problem, international aid and trade rules.'Get on Board' forms part of a campaign by the 'Global Call to Action Against Poverty' (GCAP).