AFRICOM Related News Clips January 31, 2011

8/7/2019 AFRICOM Related News Clips January 31, 2011

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office31 January 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

U.S. Army Africa commander attends second annual Marrakech Security Forum(USArmy Africa)(Morocco) Dozens of scholars, politicians and soldiers gathered in Marrakech,

Morocco, Jan. 20-22 for the second annual convocation of the Marrakech SecurityForum. U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, attendedthe event, which was hosted by the African Federation for Strategic Studies (FAES) withsupport from the Moroccan Center for Strategic Studies (CMES).

U.S. praises Egyptian military's "professionalism" (Reuters)(Egypt) The highest-ranking U.S. military officer praised the "professionalism" ofEgypt's armed forces in a phone call with a top Egyptian commander on Sunday, asEgyptian troops refrained from a crackdown on protesters.

US calls for 'orderly transition' in Egypt (AFP)(Egypt) The United States called Sunday for an "orderly transition" to a newgovernment in Egypt but stopped short of demanding President Hosni Mubarak stepdown as protests engulf his regime.

U.S to train Algerian army anti-terrorism units, watches Somalia (Suna Times)(Algeria) According to Algeria's Al-Watan newspaper, David R. Hogg, commander ofAFRICOM's land forces, acknowledged Algeria had a "leadership role" in the fightagainst terrorism in the Sahel region, as his body launched an anti terrorism training forthe Algerian army.

It's official: South Sudan set to secede with a 99.57 percent vote (Christian ScienceMonitor)(Sudan) South Sudan's long-awaited independence referendum produced anoverwhelming turnout of 99 percent among voters in the south, one of the poorest andleast developed regions on earth.


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USAID Sees Huge Development Challenges for South Sudan, Pledges Continued

Aid (Devex Newswire)(Sudan) After a referendum held earlier this month indicated wide support for itssecession, South Sudan will face enormous development challenges and highexpectations, according to the U.S. Agency for International Developments top official

in Sudan.

Tepid response on Tunisia costs U.S. goodwill (Philadelphia Inquirer)(Tunisia) Not only are Tunisians perplexed by the U.S. government's mild response tothis month's overthrow of the 74-year-old Ben Ali, but many Americans are alsoconcerned. Many regard our government's reaction to events in North Africa as tokenbows to democratic principles, mostly rhetoric.

Thousands greet Islamist leader's return from exile to Tunisia (The Independent)(Tunisia) The leader of Tunisia's largest Islamist movement returned from exile in

Britain yesterday to be greeted by thousands of supporters celebrating the arrival of the"lost leader".

AU says African force to have naval component (Xinhua)(Pan Africa) The African Union (AU) envisions to install a naval component into theAfrican Force in order to fight the rampant pirates along the coastline of the continent,M. Ramtane Lamamra, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, announced here onSunday.

Eq. Guinea's Obiang named new AU chairman (AFP)

(Pan Africa) Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema was Sundayappointed the African Union's new chairman at a summit at the bloc's headquarters inAddis Ababa.

African Union concerned over protests (Financial Times)(Pan Africa) As Tunis smouldered and Cairo burnt, the spectre of contagion haunted asummit of the 53-member African Union which began on Sunday in Addis Ababa, andlent an air of urgency to efforts to resolve political upheavals south of the Sahara.

Protesters Call for Ouster of Sudanese President (Wall Street Journal)(Sudan) Student protesters in Khartoum clashed with police on Sunday and called forthe ouster of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, in a movement organizers said wasinspired by the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Websitey Ban voices UN readiness to help Tunisia hold credible elections


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y Cte d'Ivoire: UN and African blocs must remain united to ensure respect of pollresults Ban

y Ban reiterates concern overCte d''Ivoire crisis at meeting with West Africanofficials

y Darfur: UN-AU mediator welcomes movements'' commitment to Doha peaceprocess

y DRCongo: UN reports more alleged rapes over past month-------------------------------------------------------------------------UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday, February 1, 2011, 5:30 pm; New America FoundationWHAT: Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop GenocideWHO: Rebecca Hamilton, Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation, Author,Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop Genocide; Juan E. Mndez,UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment

or Punishment, Visiting Professor, Washington College of Law; Andrs Martinez,Director, Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program, New America FoundationInfo: http://www.newamerica.net/events/2011/fighting_for_darfur

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, February 2, 2011, 10:00 am; US Institute of PeaceWHAT: Perspectives on Sudans ReferendumWHO: Linda Bishai, Senior Program Officer, US Institute of Peace; Jok Madut Jok,Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow, US Institute of Peace; Timothy Luccaro, ProgramSpecialist, US Institute of Peace; Jon Temin, Moderator, Director, Sudan ProgramUS Institute of Peace

Info: http://www.usip.org/events/perspectives-sudans-referendum

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, February 2, 2011, 12:30; Johns Hopkins School ofAdvanced International StudiesWHAT: Looking Beyond Gbagbo: Can the Ivory Coast Recover its Political andEconomic Status?WHO: Dwayne Woods, Purdue University; Paul Melly, Associate Fellow ChathamHouseInfo: http://www.sais-jhu.edu/academics/regional-studies/africa/events/10-11events.htm

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday and Wednesday, February 8-9, 2011; National DefenseIndustrial Association, Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington, DCWHAT: Defense, Diplomacy, and Development: Translating Policy into OperationalCapabilityWHO: Keynote Speakers include ADM Michael Mullen, USN, Chairman, Joint Chiefsof Staff; BG Simon Hutchinson, GBR, Deputy Commander, NATO Special Operations


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Forces Headquarters; ADM Eric T. Olson, USN, Commander, U.S. Special OperationsCommand; Gen Norton A. Schwartz, USAF, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air ForceInfo: http://www.ndia.org/meetings/1880/Pages/default.aspx----------------------------------------------------------------------------------FULL ARTICLE TEXT

U.S. Army Africa commander attends second annual Marrakech Security Forum (USArmy Africa)

VICENZA, Italy Dozens of scholars, politicians and soldiers gathered in Marrakech,Morocco, Jan. 20-22 for the second annual convocation of the Marrakech SecurityForum.

U.S. Army Africa (USARAF) Commander, Maj. Gen. David R. Hogg, attended theevent, which was hosted by the African Federation for Strategic Studies (FAES) with

support from the Moroccan Center for Strategic Studies (CMES).

Prof. Mohammed Benhammou of FAES, the event organizer and moderator, welcomedparticipants and turned the floor over to Pieter de Crem, the Belgian Minister ofDefense.

Hogg spoke next, describing the structure and mission of USARAF and its higherheadquarters, U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), and discussed the threats allcountries face from terrorist movements to their stability and well-being.

Following the initial plenary session, participants broke up into discussion groups.Hogg attended a session that focused on redefining the threats and security risksagainst stability and development in Africa in general, and the Sahel region inparticular.

The discussion provided considerable, high quality food for thought, said Lt. Col. UliCalvo, North Africa Desk Officer, Security Cooperation Directorate, USARAF.

The conference was focused on the developing threat of AQIM (al-Qaida in the IslamicMaghreb) in the trans-Sahel region in Africa, and just basically terrorism around theworld, he said.

For instance, a Belgian participant presented a synopsis of responses to terroristactivities in Indonesia during the past decade, and a Mexican delegate discussed theevolution of the war waged there against narcotics networks.

That was the primary focus, Calvo said.


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A second plenary session focused on Algeria, which Hogg had recently visited. Thetheme was From the GSPC (Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat) to AQIM: Thetransformation of the Algerian terrorist group to a branch of al-Qaida. A range ofscholars and government representatives made presentations on the subject of thegroups evolution, which also proved very interesting, he said.

Among the discussions were two competing views of how terrorism evolves, Calvosaid.

One view sees terrorist organizations and activities as driven by poverty, while anotherview ascribes the motivation to political injustice.

I think that the conventional wisdom is that poverty is the root cause of terrorism,Calvo said. But the problem with that is that youre criminalizing the poor. There areregions in Africa, and around the world, where poverty is widespread but instances of

terrorism are statistically insignificant.

The debate continues.

Other themes over the course of the three-day forum included discussions of AQIMsactivities and strategic objectives; its evolution from jihad to narcoterrorism; theinterconnections among illegal trafficking, terrorism and political conflict; AQIMsaccommodation with criminal gangs; connections between regional terroristmovements and global organizations; and the development of regional strategies forcombating terrorism in the Sahel.

Throughout the course of the forum, Hogg was continually greeted by participants hehad met on previous trips to the continent and by individuals who had heard of himand wanted to make his acquaintance, the great majority of them from sub-SaharanAfrica, Calvo said.

Hogg also spoke with reporters from RTM (Radiodiffusion-Television Marocaine) and2M TV, the official government television channels, and to Radio Africa 1, a Frenchradio network with a wide reach across the continent.

General Hoggs response to reporters, the main thing he stressed was internationalcooperation that countries with experience and expertise in responding to terrorismshould help nations in the trans-Sahel build their own capacity to deal with it, saidCalvo.

Sharing their experience and lessons learned should help individual countries deviselocal solutions to local problems, he said.


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Hogg also had to reiterate that neither U.S. Army Africa nor AFRICOM have any plansto establish a headquarters on the African continent, a notion that remains current inAfrican perceptions and African media despite consistent clarification to the contraryfrom American officials over the past several years.

Hogg and his party had the opportunity while in Marrakech to take a cultural tour andgain a first-hand insight into the power of tourism as a bulwark of the Moroccaneconomy, said Calvo.

I think this visit was beneficial to the CG (Commanding General) in a couple of ways,said Calvo. First, it exposed him to new developments having to do with AQIM andcounterterrorism. And secondly, he was able to get a taste for Morocco in advance of hisfirst formal visit there later this year.--------------------U.S. praises Egyptian military's "professionalism" (Reuters)

WASHINGTON The highest-ranking U.S. military officer praised the"professionalism" of Egypt's armed forces in a phone call with a top Egyptiancommander on Sunday, as Egyptian troops refrained from a crackdown on protesters.

Egypt receives about $1.3 billion a year in U.S. military aid, assistance that could bejeopardized if the army joined last week's harsh police crackdown. Police used rubberbullets, tear gas and water cannons against protesters calling for President HosniMubarak to step down.

The unrest has killed more than 100 people.

The Pentagon urged restraint from Egypt's military last week in face-to-face talks inWashington with one of its top officers -- Lieutenant General Sami Enan, chief of staff ofthe armed forces.

Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke on Sunday withEnan, who provided him an update, a spokesman said.

"The Chairman expressed his appreciation for the continued professionalism of theEgyptian military," said Capt. John Kirby. "Both men reaffirmed their desire to see thepartnership between our two militaries continue, and they pledged to stay in touch."

The top U.S. diplomat, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, on Sunday also commendedEgyptian military restraint, saying it was "working to try to differentiate betweenpeaceful protesters -- who we all support -- and potential looters and other criminalelements who are obviously a danger to the Egyptian people."


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It remains to be seen if the Egyptian armed forces, considered the most powerfulinstitution in the country, will seek to keep Mubarak in power in the face of massprotests, or decide he is a liability.

Egypt's military -- the world's 10th largest with more than 468,000 members -- have

been a central force in politics since army officers staged an overthrow of the monarchyin 1952.

All four Egyptian presidents since then have come from the military, now led byMohamed Hussein Tantawi, whom Defense Secretary Robert Gates also spoke to overthe weekend.

The Pentagon declined to provide details on Gates' conversation with Tantawi.

The Egyptian military has deep ties with the U.S. armed forces, staging large-scale joint

exercises. There are some 625 U.S. military personnel stationed in Egypt.

The U.S. has also provided F-16 jet fighters, tanks, armored personnel carriers, Apachehelicopters, anti-aircraft missile batteries and other equipment to the Egyptian military -- equipment it does not want to see used against peaceful protesters.

"We have sent a very clear message that we want to see restraint, we do not want to seeviolence by any security forces. And we continue to convey that message," Clinton toldABC television.--------------------

US calls for 'orderly transition' in Egypt (AFP)

WASHINGTON The United States called Sunday for an "orderly transition" to a newgovernment in Egypt but stopped short of demanding President Hosni Mubarak stepdown as protests engulf his regime.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hammered home the US position with appearances onfive cable news shows and President Barack Obama had used the same language intelephone calls to regional leaders, the White House said.

Mubarak has appointed military intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as his first ever vicepresident and named a new premier to try to assuage his people's thirst for politicalchange, but Clinton said he must go further.

"That is the beginning, the bare beginning of what needs to happen, which is a processthat leads to the kind of concrete steps to achieve democratic and economic reform thatwe've been urging," she told ABC News.


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As the anti-government revolt raged into a sixth day with opposition leader MohamedElBaradei addressing protesters in Cairo, Clinton said the Egyptian people should beallowed to pursue "real democracy" through "national dialogue."

The Obama administration has performed a delicate balancing act over the past week,

backing reform but at the same time refusing to cut off vital support for Mubarak'sregime.

"There is no discussion as of this time about cutting off any aid," Clinton said, rowingback on earlier suggestions that Washington was reviewing $1.3 billion of annualmilitary funding.

The White House issued a statement saying that Obama had telephoned the leaders ofIsrael, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on Saturday to discuss the crisis and ask for theirassessment of the situation.

"During his calls, the president reiterated his focus on opposing violence and calling forrestraint; supporting universal rights, including the right to peaceful assembly,association, and speech; and supporting an orderly transition to a government that isresponsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people," the statement said.

Obama spoke on Sunday with British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose officeissued more details about their conversation.

"The prime minister and president Obama were united in their view that Egypt now

needed a comprehensive process of political reform, with an orderly, Egyptian-ledtransition leading to a government that responded to the grievances of the Egyptianpeople and to their aspirations for a democratic future," a statement said.

The Obama administration has taken flak from critics who accuse it of being moreconcerned about protecting a key regional security ally than in supporting an oppressedpeople's pleas for democracy.

Clinton betrayed US concern that Islamists might fill the power vacuum when she toldjournalists on board a plane for Haiti that Washington did not want to see a new regimethat would "foment violence or chaos" in the region.

Egypt has been a cornerstone of Arab-Israeli peace and a fulcrum of US Middle Eastpolicy for decades, and Mubarak has been a steadfast partner in Washington's globalanti-terror campaign and efforts to contain Iran.


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"We want to recognize: Egypt has been our partner," Clinton told Fox News Sunday."They've been our partner in a peace process that has kept the region from war for over30 years, which has saved a lot of lives."

ElBaradei, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning former head of the UN's nuclear watchdog,

who told a sea of protesters in Cairo on Sunday that a new era was beginning, hit out atthe United States for continuing to sit on the fence.

"The American government cannot ask the Egyptian people to believe that a dictatorwho has been in power for 30 years will be the one to implement democracy," he toldCBS from Cairo.

"You are losing credibility by the day. On one hand you're talking about democracy,rule of law and human rights, and on the other hand you're lending still your supportto a dictator that continues to oppress his people."

The United States, like a raft of other countries, has authorized the departure ofembassy families and advised its nationals to avoid travel to Egypt.

With fears of insecurity rising and a death toll of at least 125, thousands of convictsbroke out of prisons across Egypt overnight, fueling the country's state of lawlessness.--------------------U.S to train Algerian army anti-terrorism units, watches Somalia (Suna Times)

According to Algeria's Al-Watan newspaper, David R. Hogg, commander of

AFRICOM's land forces, acknowledged Algeria had a "leadership role" in the fightagainst terrorism in the Sahel region, as his body launched an anti terrorism training forthe Algerian army.

Units from the National People's Army (ANP) that specialize in particular in the fightagainst terrorism will benefit from a training programme that will be provided, in thisyear, by the experts from AFRICOM's (the US army's command for Africa) land forcescommand's experts.

The latter will be spread out across several months and will deal, among other things,with homemade explosives and long-range reconnaissance. The programme in questionhas also scheduled a visit by Algerian soldiers to the United States and to Vicenza, inItaly, where the headquarters of AFRICOM's land forces command is located. Theannouncement was made yesterday by Major-General David R. Hogg, the commanderof AFRICOM's land forces, during a press conference held on the sidelines of his veryfirst visit to Algiers.

No Foreign Interference


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The American military official further indicated that in 2013 the ANP will take part inmanoeuvres in the Mediterranean as well as exercises focused on managing naturaldisasters.

On the topic of his two-day "mission" in Algiers, Major-General David R. Hogg - whohas just been recently appointed to head up AFRICOM's land forces command (it wasonly five months ago that he joined AFRICOM) - indicated that he had come to"strengthen the excellent cooperation between Algeria and the United States in themilitary and security area."

His visit, he added, was an opportunity for him to "reaffirm the support of the UnitedStates for the efforts made by Algeria in the fight against terrorism."

Maj-Gen Hogg met with Kamel Rezzag-Bara, the adviser to the president of the

republic, on issues of terrorism; with the commander of land forces, Maj-Gen AhceneTafer; and also with the secretary-general of the [National] Defence Ministry [MND],Maj-Gen Ahmed Senhadji.

The American official, who was willing to engage in questions and answers with thepress, not without having added beforehand, with a note of humour, that he would notanswer "any question related to WikiLeaks," insisted nevertheless on categoricallydenying the news report according to which the CIA (the American intelligence agency)had established a base in Algeria several years ago.

Benchmark In Afghanistan

To the recurrent question of knowing whether American officials have decided to moveto Africa the headquarters of AFRICOM's general headquarters, which is in Germany,the speaker also responded in the negative. But in all his answers, Maj-Gen David R.Hogg insisted in particular on the notion that AFRICOM's mission was not to intervenein a theatre of operations but rather to develop partnerships and training programmeswith the countries of the continent.

The speaker further added that "there could not be any unilateral Americanintervention." In plain language, that means that the United States cannot intervene onthe continent without a request coming from the countries.

On the subject of the issue about terrorism in the Sahel, AFRICOM's commander of landforces explained that this involved "a regional problem" while at the same timeacknowledging Algeria had a "leadership role" in the fight against terrorism in theregion.


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The American position on the issue should certainly reassure the Algerian authorities,who remain opposed to any form of foreign interference in the region. "The situation inthe Sahel is a regional matter and Algeria is playing a leadership role in the fight againstthe terrorism in that region. We are impressed by the progress that has been achieved inthis area," he stated, before emphasizing that "of course, work still remains to be done."

Regarding the continent, Maj-Gen Hogg showed he was worried about the situationsprevailing in Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Cote d'Ivoire. Before assuming his positionas AFRICOM's commander of land forces, Maj-Gen David R. Hogg, readers arereminded, was the deputy commander of the combined command for the transition ofthe security agencies in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom). In particular hisvisit to Algiers was preceded, in November 2009, by that of AFRICOM's commander-in-chief, General William E. Ward.--------------------It's official: South Sudan set to secede with a 99.57 percent vote (Christian Science

Monitor)

South Sudan's long-awaited independence referendum produced an overwhelmingturnout of 99 percent among voters in the south, one of the poorest and least developedregions on earth.

Cheers and spontaneous dancing broke out as the first official announcement of resultsfrom South Sudans independence vote was made in the oil-rich regions capital bymembers of commission that organized the referendum held earlier this month.

"The vote for separation was 99.57 percent," said Justice Chan Reec Madut, head of thesouthern bureau of the Referendum Commission, after reading the vote tallies forunity and secession for each of the souths 10 states. Mr. Madut was referring to theresults for the south, while Mohamed Ibrahim Khalil, the head of the Commission,announced the results from polling in northern Sudan and in eight countries that heldvoting for South Sudans far-flung diaspora population.

Six of the ten southern states registered a 99.9 percent vote for separation, with thelowest vote in favor of secession came in at 95.5 percent in Western Bahr al-Ghazalstate, which borders Darfur. The long-awaited referendum produced an overwhelmingturnout of 99 percent among voters in the south, one of the poorest and least developedregions on earth.

In northern Sudan, voter turnout was only 60 percent, and a modest 58 percent of voters southerners who live in the north were in favor of the oil-rich south breaking away.Many southerners opted to leave their lives and work in the north to move home aheadof the referendum, and the United Nations says it expects another 100,000 southernersto make the north-south journey within the next month. More than 190,000 southerners


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have flooded back into the south since early October, though the most recent arrivalswere not able to participate in the referendum, since they had not registered to vote ineither the north or the south.

Diaspora voters

In the eight countries, including the United States and Egypt, where southerners castvotes, 99 percent chose independence for their homeland. In the US, 99 percent of the5,800 voters voted for secession, at polling stations set up in Boston, Seattle, Omaha, andWashington, among other locations.

Before announcing the numbers for the ten southern states, Madut said that his fellowsoutherners consider self-determination the centerpiece of the 2005 peace deal thatended more than two decades of north-south war.

Mr. Khalil, a 90-year old northern Sudanese lawyer, had a noticeably somber tone has

he announced the results, particularly in comparison to Madut, a southerner who is thedeputy chief justice of the souths Supreme Court. In his remarks, Khalil focused on thefuture relations between north and south.--------------------USAID Sees Huge Development Challenges for South Sudan, Pledges ContinuedAid (Devex Newswire)

After a referendum held earlier this month indicated wide support for its secession,South Sudan will face enormous development challenges and high expectations,according to the U.S. Agency for International Developments top official in Sudan.

The potential 54th African state will need to address huge gaps in maternal health,education, health care, water and sanitation, infrastructure and livelihoods, accordingto Bill Hammink. South Sudan will also need to prepare for the possible influx ofreturnees from the north as well as improve its capacity to manage oil revenues and therest of its economy.

South Sudan has made important strides in terms of the number of roads, peoplewith access to clean water and children receiving primary education, Hammink toldAllAfrica in a recent interview. But the region is such a large area that its smallcompared to the overall needs, he added.

USAID, he said, will continue to focus its efforts in helping South Sudan improvegovernance, health care, education, water and sanitation services, conflict management,and agriculture.

We will improve our coordination, working under a development plan that thegovernment of southern Sudan is now putting together, and working under sector


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strategies which will allow much better harmonization and alignment of donorresources, Hammink said.--------------------Tepid response on Tunisia costs U.S. goodwill (Philadelphia Inquirer)

The coup, indeed, was bloodless, a marvel to behold in our modern age of violence. Itwas easy evicting a sick, old revolutionary in a declining mental state, in the Arabworld, no less.

But, the mild-tempered Tunisians did it, accepting the surprise, quiet action. I wasimpressed - the world was impressed - by the events. A young, albeit untested, militaryman, Gen. Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, had made deposing President Habib Bourguibaappear a mere act of mercy, the transporting of an old, infirm relative to a nursinghome. Tunisians accepted the change with resignation, fully aware that Bourguiba waslosing it.

The November 1987 coup was my first visit to Tunisia as Madrid bureau chief for theNew York Times. The territory included Spain, Portugal, and all of North Africa, themost volatile part of the beat, by far. Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa; ona map showing the internal body, it would be the appendix compared with other large,major organs.

Tunisians' ho-hum attitude toward the coup was reinforced by the rhetoric of Ben Ali,who aided his cause by making all the right moves. He said the media were free tocriticize the government. He promised to make the constitution more democratic, for

example, ridding it of the title "president for life" assumed by Bourguiba, and to openelections to opposition parties. He freed Islamic fundamentalists from jail and allowedothers to return from exile (as is occurring now, again). He allowed the theologicalschool at the University of Tunisia to reclaim its old name, Zitouna. Held under housearrest, Bourguiba's son, who was later released, met with and became a supporter ofBen Ali.

In other words, Ben Ali called for sweeping changes that led Tunisians to believe hewas a different kind of leader, a dash of democratic hope, fresh political air in a regionof despots, dictators, and kings who, to put it mildly, shunned such notions asdemocracy. It was all a lie. He turned out to be no different from other dictators, maybeworse than some as he unabashedly divvied up state resources among his family andfriends.

Which meant, similarly to all other leaders in the region, Ben Ali ignored the realproblem that was evident at the time of his takeover and that continued to expand anddeepen with time: the youthful majority population that was smart, ambitious,


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educated, and anxious, but above all, restive and restless because they had no jobs andno futures.

I was shocked by the numbers of young people whose aspirations far exceeded thepossibilities. I talked to them in their homes, at coffee shops and restaurants, and on the

streets, from Laayoune in the western Sahara and Casablanca in Morocco to Algiers andTunis, and their situations were the same. I could only smile when young men trying tooverthrow the government in Algeria told me they were in such dire straits that theyhad degrees but still lived at home and could not have proper dates with girls becausethey had neither the money nor any place to take them. The rioting in Algeria lefthundreds dead.

There were pockets of plenty, or appearances of plenty. The ritzy suburb of Corniche,outside Casablanca, and the homes in the hills above Algiers and some neighborhoodsof Tunis can leave the impression of widespread luxury. Many of the youngsters I

interviewed resembled typical American youths, in their rip-off of American designers,jeans, sweaters, sneakers, fostering a misimpression that maybe those kids were doingOK. But the North Africans were much poorer than their American counterparts.

The misimpressions went beyond dress. The anti-American sentiment, I found, wasdirected at American government policies that always favored repressive North Africanregimes. I was told many times - truly, I did not have to be reminded - that peoplesporting Western dress, gulping down American food, and loving American culture didnot hate American people and culture, but did hate administrations that overlookedtheir plight and supported their despotic governments.

Even today, not only are Tunisians perplexed by the U.S. government's mild responseto this month's overthrow of the 74-year-old Ben Ali, but many Americans are alsoconcerned. Many regard our government's reaction to events in North Africa as tokenbows to democratic principles, mostly rhetoric. Ben Ali might have been a despot andsuppressed his people (as is the case around the world), but he was our despot. Andwhen despots and kings, or whoever, claim they're with us on terrorism, welcome tothe club, boys.

Where to now? Another Ben Ali? No one knows at this point. Certainly not the"experts" who are usually wrong in their analyses of North African events. Is Tunisiathe start of something big and transformative? The revolt has had an impact onsurrounding nations as well as afar, as a few people have emulated the self-immolationthat ignited Tunisia, and some have taken to the streets in various Arab states. Butnothing on the scale of Tunisia's uprising.

And where is our government as democracy is banging on the door in an unexpectedplace? I, for one, am not an optimist.


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--------------------Thousands greet Islamist leader's return from exile to Tunisia (The Independent)

The leader of Tunisia's largest Islamist movement returned from exile in Britainyesterday to be greeted by thousands of supporters celebrating the arrival of the "lost

leader".

Rached Ghannouchi raised his arms in triumph and cried out "Allahhu Akbar" as hewalked off the flight from Gatwick at Carthage airport as the crowd sang religioussongs and presented him with flowers and the Koran.

Mr Ghannouchi, who had been sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for allegedterrorist offences, had been away from his country for 23 years. He had said in Britainthat he was waiting for the right time to go home after the overthrow of President Zineel-Abedine Ben Ali on 14 January.

Now, with protests surging across the Middle East and the near-collapse of Egypt, hiscolleagues say he felt the moment had arrived when real change could be obtained.

"When I return home today, I am returning to the Arab world as a whole," said MrGhannouchi as he set off on his flight. After arriving in Tunis, the 69-year-old formerteacher insisted that he had no plans to run for the presidency, and would instead helpto "anchor a democratic system, social justice and to put a limit to discriminationagainst banned groups. We are taking part so we can move from a one-party system toa true multi-party system without corruption or oppression."

Mr Ghannouchi's followers formed an escort around him after expressing fear that thepolice might try to arrest him. However, the state security apparatus has steadilyunravelled since the fall of the regime of Mr Ben Ali and there was no attempt to stopMr Ghannouchi by the handful of uniformed staff on duty.

A smaller group of men and women held up banners reading: "No Islamism, notheocracy, no sharia and no stupidity." Members of Mr Ghannouchi's party, Ennahda,claimed that the counter-demonstrators had been duped by the "Godless Ben Ali" andstarted their own chant of "No to extremism, yes to moderate Islam!" and "No fear ofIslam!"

Since independence from France, governments in Tunisia had followed a broadlysecular path with periodic crackdowns on what they perceived as Muslim extremism.Mr Ghannouchi, who studied in Cairo and Damascus, returned to his country towardsthe end of the 1960s and said that he was perturbed by the strength of the secularistmovement and the extent of female emancipation.


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He was accused of making inflammatory speeches and served six years in prisonduring the rule of Habib Bourgiba, before being freed in an amnesty by his successor,Mr Ben Ali. However, he soon fell out with the new administration and fled to Algeriaand then the UK in 1989.

Mr Ghannouchi's return means that almost all the key players in the opposition to MrBen Ali are back in Tunisia. Moncef Marzouki, a human rights activist and the founderof Congress for the Republic, returned from Paris two weeks ago, and other exiles havefollowed.

But what will happen next remains unclear. Leaders of leftist factions such as NajibChebbi, Mustafa ben Jaafar and Ahmed Ibrahim, who had remained in the countryunder the regime, have been offered posts in the interim government by the PrimeMinister, Mohammed Ghannouchi. There is no indication that they will be prepared toform an alliance with Islamist groups in the elections due to be held soon.

Apprehension about Islamism remains in Tunis and other main cities. An attempt by agroup of Saudi-inspired hardline Salaafists to hold a meeting at a Tunis mosque 10 daysago drew three times as many opponents as adherents.

Despite Mr Ghannouchi's assurance that he does not want to impose sharia law inTunisia, many remain sceptical of his motives. In the city centre, Naima Ali, a middle-aged woman in a veil, said: "Many people were imprisoned because of him, youngpeople lost their future. No one is happy about his return. He lived the good life inLondon while others paid a heavy price."

Ibrahim ben Jasim, a doctor, said "His kind of extremist should stay in London, where Ihave seen a lot of people like him. It does not belong in the Tunisia we are trying tobuild."--------------------AU says African force to have naval component (Xinhua)

ADDIS ABABA - The African Union (AU) envisions to install a naval component intothe African Force in order to fight the rampant pirates along the coastline of thecontinent, M. Ramtane Lamamra, AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, announcedhere on Sunday.

"We intend to give the African Force a naval component in order that the territorial seasare protected, as well as the exclusive economic zone," M. Lamamra told the press onthe first day of the 16th AU summit.

Apart from the fight against pirates, the naval component will also tackle the problemsof illegal fishing and play a role of "environmental police" against the dumping of


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trashes into the seas along the African continent, by ships "usually from developedcountries", he added.

As to the pirates attacks in the Somali seas, the commissioner reiterated that actionsmust be taken to deal with the roots of the phenomenon, which lie in the Somali land.

"It concerns the end of conflict, the restoration of State, the democracy and thedevelopment. In this regard, the AU is ready to strengthen its cooperation with theinternational community," he said.

A mission of 8, 000 troops (AMISOM) has been dispatched into Somalia to help thecountry to get out of about 20 years of sociopolitical chaos. The troops are alsoresponsible for the maritime navigation control along the Somali coast.

As to the African force, the AU has decided to form the force with five pre-positioned

brigades in each of the sub-region. In October 2005, Douala, the port in Cameroun, hasbeen chosen as the logistic center of the force.--------------------Eq. Guinea's Obiang named new AU chairman (AFP)

ADDIS ABABA Equatorial Guinea's President Teodoro Obiang Nguema was Sundayappointed the African Union's new chairman at a summit at the bloc's headquarters inAddis Ababa.

"May I take this opportunity to congratulate the new members of the (AU) bureau and

in particular his excellency Mr Teodoro Obiang Nguema," the body's outgoingchairman, Malawian President Bing wa Mutharika, said before leaving his chair toNguema.

Observers have criticised Nguema's AU presidency, citing his poor human rights recordat home which they say stands at odds with the democracy aspirations of the 53-member pan-African bloc.

Nguema took power in a 1979 coup and has ruled his central African country with aniron fist.

"It is the first time in the history of the AU that a Spanish-speaking country takes thepresidency of the union," said Nguema in his acceptance speech.

"We accept this huge responsibility with humility and as a challenge. We will work toincrease the economic development, unity and peace in the continent.


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"The concept of democracy, human rights and good governance are not new to Africa,but they should be adapted to the African culture," said Nguema.

The African Union's presidency rotates among heads of state and government for aterm of one year and alternates between the continent's five sub-regions.

The candidature of a given country must be approved by the other nations in its region.The other AU members simply sign off on the region's decision.

The holder of the post does not however have much sway on the bloc's policies, withthe most important decisions made by heads of state and government of its membernations.--------------------African Union concerned over protests (Financial Times)

As Tunis smouldered and Cairo burnt, the spectre of contagion haunted a summit ofthe 53-member African Union which began on Sunday in Addis Ababa, and lent an airof urgency to efforts to resolve political upheavals south of the Sahara.

Colonel Muammer Gaddafi, the Libyan leader who habitually uses the annual summitin the Ethiopian capital to harangue African leaders on the need for a pan-African state,cancelled his attendance due to events in Egypt, diplomats said. Abdelaziz Bouteflika,Algerias president and another stalwart of the organisation was also absent.

On Sunday, as protesters took over central Cairo on the sixth day of a popular uprising

against Hosni Mubaraks regime, student demonstrations broke out in Sudan, whippedup over the internet and mimicking on a much smaller scale those in neighbouringEgypt. Police surrounded universities in Khartoum and Omdurman and used teargasand batons to suppress anger against president Omar al-Bashirs 21 year old regime.

Further south, several thousand demonstrators took to the streets of Libreville, capitalof the oil rich state of Gabon, in support of an opposition candidate who last weekproclaimed himself president before rushing for refuge in a UN office.

Asked if the winds of change blowing from Tunis to Cairo might head south where with a few exceptions there has been a steady recent reversal in democratic gains, AliBongo, Gabons president, told the FT with a smile: I dont want to get intopredictions. I am not very good at that game.

While most sub-Saharan African countries are freer than the Arab states, they also sharesome of the social tensions, political frustrations and high levels of unemployment thathave proved so explosive in the north.


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There was a sense in the meetings that shortcomings in the political evolution of manystates across the continent risk undermining the strong economic recovery ascommodity prices boom and investment flows.

Dominating the proceedings was the crisis in Ivory Coast, where Laurent Gbagbos

refusal to concede defeat in the November elections has brought the worlds leadingproducer of cocoa back to the brink of war.

The crisis has become emblematic of the need for more effective continental diplomacyto push the governance agenda, with Mr Gbagbos efforts to hang on to powerthreatening to set a dangerous precedent in a year when as many as 17 countries aredue to hold elections.

Until recently, African countries seemed resolute in supporting opposition leaderAlassane Ouattaras victory, which was certified by the UN. But South Africa and

Nigeria, two diplomatic heavyweights, have appeared increasingly at odds as to theway out of the impasse, with West Africa taking a much stronger line against MrGbagbo.

The summit decided to name a panel of five African leaders to review the causes of thecrisis and find a legally binding settlement to break the deadlock within a month. JeanPing, the AU chairman, said military force, which West African countries led by Nigeriahave threatened, would be a last resort.--------------------Protesters Call for Ouster of Sudanese President (Wall Street Journal)

Student protesters in Khartoum clashed with police on Sunday and called for the ousterof Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, in a movement organizers said was inspired bythe uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

A succession of rallies and demonstrations, in Egypt, Jordan, Yemen and Algeria havebeen inspired directly by the popular outpouring of anger that toppled TunisianPresident Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. See how these uprising progressed.

Communicating via the social networking site Facebook, organizers called for a streetdemonstration on Jan. 30 to protest Sudan's poor economic climate and politicaloppression. The date was chosen to coincide with the announcement of preliminaryresults for the south's referendum on whether to secede from the north. Over 99% ofvoters chose secession, according to those results, in line with overwhelming supportfor independence in southern Sudan.

A handful of demonstrations sprang up at various locations in Khartoum, includingthree of the main universities, and around the country. In Khartoum participants


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reported via twitter that police had attempted to disperse the crowd with teargas andtasers. Images posted by a Sudanese website showed police clad in riot gear apparentlyhitting people with long batons.

Southern Sudanese celebrated the announcement of preliminary referendum results in

the city of Juba.Ahmed Musa, a police officer in Khartoum, said that students started protesting oncampuses and attempted to move to the streets, but that police had stopped them. "Thestubborn students wanted to start chaos," Mr. Musa said. "They sung songs praisingprotests in Tunisia and Egypt They threw stones at the police, but we controlledthem." Mr. Musa estimated about 120 students were involved in the protest and fivehad been arrested.

Samira Hassan, a political activist who participated in the protests, said that about 500people, who included students and other civilians, gathered on a main street in

Khartoum. Ms. Hassan said police beat them and arrested about 100 from the crowd.

"The police and security forces hit me and broke my hand, and others were badlybeaten--they were beating people viciously," she said, adding that one hospital that isaffiliated with the police had refused to treat her because she had been involved in theprotests.

At one of the universities, Omdurman Ahlia University, Ms. Hassan said that studentshad been beaten for protesting. A professor at the university, who declined to give hisname for fear of reprisals said that a group of armed students affiliated with Mr.

Bashir's ruling party roamed the campus to keep students inside the school and awayfrom the protests. "They were chasing other students and carrying knives, iron rods andother weapons of intimidation," the professor said. "The university security could notstop it because they know these organizations are backed by the government."

The professor said the university would be closed for two weeks.

By Sunday, a Facebook page that called for the demonstrations -- and features an imageof an angry, hooded protester -- had gained more than 16,000 followers.

A translation of the page, which is written in Arabic, said the protesters wanted tooppose "the high cost of living, corruption, nepotism, unemployment and all practicesof the ruling power." It added: "It is about time we show what we're really made of, it isabout time we restore or lost honor, it is about time we fight for our god given rights.Our brothers in Tunisia did it and so did our brothers in Egypt. It is about time for us."

A military strongman who has ruled Sudan since 1989, Mr. Bashir has shown beforehe's not afraid to crush dissent.


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Until a peace deal was signed in 2005, Mr. Bashir's government fought the south in acivil war. In 2003, government-backed militias burned villages, raped and massacredcivilians in the western Darfur region after rebels from that area demanded moreresources and representation in government.

Mr. Bashir is now wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for warcrimes and crimes against humanity for his alleged role in ordering massacres ofcivilians in Darfur. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on his regime for sponsoringterrorism, although it has agreed to consider removing Sudan from its list of state-sponsors of terrorism now that a peaceful referendum has occurred.

The demonstrations on Sunday followed protests earlier this month elsewhere innorthern Sudan after the government slashed subsidies on fuel and curbed imports as itbraced for a reduction in its oil revenue after southern Sudan secedes. Police quickly

scattered those protesters and arrested a handful of those involved.

Protest organizers for Sunday's event said in a statement that they weren't affiliatedwith opposition parties, whom they said had failed to offer a credible response to Mr.Bashir. "We would like to be clear that this is a call for removal of this government," itsaid.--------------------UN News Service Africa BriefsFull Articles on UN Website

Ban voices UN readiness to help Tunisia hold credible elections30 January Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for support for theestablishment of an inclusive interim government in Tunisia, telling the summit of theAfrican Union that the United Nations is willing to help the North African country holdcredible elections.

Cte d'Ivoire: UN and African blocs must remain united to ensure respect of poll results Ban29 January Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today outlined the principles he saidshould guide efforts to resolve the political crisis in Cte d''Ivoire, including thedemand that outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo step down to allow the formation of a

national unity government by president-elect, Alassane Ouattara.

Ban reiterates concern overCte d''Ivoire crisis at meeting with West African officials29 January Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today in Addis Ababa met with adelegation of the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) andunderlined his deep concern over the continuing post-election crisis in Cte d''Ivoireand the deadlock''s impact on security and development prospects for the country.


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Darfur: UN-AU mediator welcomes movements'' commitment to Doha peace process29 January The African Union-United Nations chief mediator for Darfur todaywelcomed a joint statement by the main armed movements in the western Sudaneseregion in which they, for the first time, expressed their commitment to the internally-

facilitated peace talks hosted by the Government of Qatar.

DRCongo: UN reports more alleged rapes over past month28 January United Nations officials in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)today reported another 53 alleged cases of rape in the conflict-rife eastern part of thecountry, bringing to 120 those reported since the beginning of the year and attributed toall sides, including the national army.

AFRICOM Related News Clips January 31, 2011

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