States and Power in Africa - I first realized I wanted to be a political scientist while reading this book for the second time. Stresses imposed borders, population density and the problem of "broadcasting" authority as key challenges to African political development. 
This photo is from Mental Acrobatics. I don't know if the media is still operating under a blackout, but at least they're working together now to articulate what must be every Kenyan's collective wish: "Save Our Beloved Country." Read an amazing piece of citizen journalism from Mental Acrobatics, who braved the empty, boarded up streets to document the planned rally by Odinga supporters in Nairobi yesterday.
The post-election violence in Kenya is having devastating effects throughout East Africa as fuel shipments from Mombasa, the region's largest port, ground to a halt.
Enter the Ugandan army.
Joseph Karoki writes that Ugandan troops have entered Nyanza Province in Western Kenya to help secure safe passage of oil trucks bound for Kampala:
Last night I recieved news that there were reports of Ugandan militia in or around Nyanza Province and Western Province. I waited utill I got confirmation from the ground. After several late night phone calls, I did confirm that Ugandan Forces were indeed within Kenyan borders. Just within the last hour Ugandan Army Spokesman, Major Felix Kulayigye, confirmed the deployment of the troops on Tuesday, saying “it is to forestall possible spill over of violence in Kenya”...
...So if we do have Ugandan militia in Nyanza province, many of you might ask why? Well, here is a simple answer. Uganda is a landlocked country that relies heavily on the political stability of Kenya for imports and exports through the Mombasa Port on the Indian Ocean and is dependent on the the safe passage of goods through Kenya.The political instability has had devastating effects on Uganda’s economy. Uganda, fuel prices have risen from USh2,400 (Sh100) to USh5,000 (Sh225). Most oil importing companies have reported that they have not replenished their stocks after their reservoirs dried up. So there is motive as to why Uganda would get involved.
His Kenyan readers are not too happy.
The Monitor newspaper says Uganda was woefully unprepared:
[Energy Minister Daudi Migereko] had a hard time explaining to the media how the country could suffer crippling scarcities almost immediately after the Kenyan turmoil began, and why the nation's reserves could not even last days.
Both the Monitor and New Vision report price gouging and long lines at the few stations in Kampala that haven't run out of petrol. The Ugandans are trying to redirect shipments through Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), but are facing major logistical problems, i.e., ships to carry fuel across Lake Victoria. Moreover, because of the higher transport costs associated with that route, importing via Dar would not normalize prices.
Continuing west, government officials say Rwanda, which (surprise surprise) still has several days of reserves, may be facing its own crisis unless it can start importing fuel again.
I can't imagine what the situation must be like in Eastern Congo.
There's been a lot of coverage of Western pressure on Kibaki (well, minus the Americans of course, who found in him a staunch "War on Terror" ally). But I imagine that today, it's Museveni and Kagame who are really giving him hell.
OK, not like I'm mourning or anything, but according to Reuters, Hinga Norman has just died on an operating table in Darkar.
Mr. Norman for those of you who are unfamiliar with his work, was a former leader of the Sierra Leonean government's Civil Defense Forces during the civil war, and presided over a special militia of Kamajor fighters who were accused of slaughtering civilians believed to be rebel sympathizers and consuming their remains. Norman was standing trial at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and I have a number of friends and acquaintances who were involved in his case, in one way or another.
His prosecution was highly controversial since many Sierra Leoneans believed the government - whatever the atrocities they may have committed - ultimately protected them from the rebels and brought piece to the country.
Rest in peace, Hinga Norman. And may the tens of thousands who died in that war do the same.
Conakry, capital of the francophone West African country of Guinea, is bracing for a new round of violence following last month's general strike which left at least 59 dead and 1400 injured. The strikes were organized by Guinea's powerful labor unions to pressure President Lansana Conte, an aging dictator, to appoint a prime minister without ties to the current regime and devolve some of his considerable powers. On January 28, after an 18-day standstill, Conte and the unions reached a deal.
However, union leaders are unhappy with President Lansana Conte's choice of prime minister, and are planning to go ahead with a second round of strikes, due to start tomorrow. In the last few days, 8 civilians have already been killed, including two in an incident were presidential security forces opened fire on youths throwing stones (Fr) at the president's motorcade.
By all accounts, the unions have considerable support among the Guinean people, who also want Conte to share power or step down.
Western countries argue that China is undermining its efforts to force the Sudanese government to end the genocide in Darfur. Sudan currently sells more than half of its oil to China, and bids for all rights always include aid, loans, infrastructure and...weapons.
French newspaper Le Monde reports an anonymous source who claims that the Bush administration is considering (or has considered) air strikes against Sudanese military installations to inhibit their ability to conduct attacks in Darfur.
des "frappes chirurgicales" sont "bel et bien considérées", et permettraient "à la communauté internationale de gagner du temps pour monter une réponse plus solide aux réticences soudanaises".
Leur objet serait de détruire, au moins partiellement, les moyens aériens soudanais, de façon à empêcher les bombardements des civils et d'entraver le ravitaillement des renforts de l'armée soudanaise au Darfour, qui y a massé près de 30 000 hommes supplémentaires.
"surgical strikes" have been "considered time and again," and would allow "the international community to win some time to mount a more solid response to Sudanese reluctance to cooperate."
Their object would be to destroy, at least partially, Sudanese air capabilities to prevent strikes on civilians and to hinder the Sudanese army from sending reinforcements to Darfur, where nearly 30,000 additional men have already amassed.
I did a search of the 1000 feeds I have stored in my Feed Demon program (yes, my computer hates me everyday for them) and I found not one other mention of the story. I'm going to assume that Le Monde is overstating whatever attention the Bush administration may have given to this option, and that the title for the article ("Washington studies airstrike option against the Sudan") is an ill-considered attempt to grab attention.
Still, I've given the Bush administration the benefit of the doubt and been proven wrong before. Who knows what crazy ideas can be hatched in the minds of people so woefully out of step with the rest of the world even as they have their tentacles absolutely everywhere in it?
A lot of happenings this week on the Darfur front. I have a roundup at my World News site which you can read there.
My takeaway? I love how the entire Bush administration is mobilizing to "Save Darfur" even as it has worked to bury proposed legislation that is the centerpiece of a divestment campaign that would force American investors to pull money out of any company doing business in Sudan.
I suppose words are cheaper than turning one's back to one's oil buddies.
The less cynical voice in my head wonders if U.S. divestment would be enough to push the Khartoum's hand and agree to allow UN peacekeepers into the country. (I don't have all the figures so I cannot even begin to guess, although apparently the equity at stake is reportedly in the tens of billions.) Maybe the Bush administration is just waiting and seeing if it can convince the Chinese to use their "moral suasion" (i.e., soaring oil demand) to get the Sudanese government on board, and divestment might only piss the Chinese off.
Oil companies that would be affected by American divestment include: PetroChina, Sinopec, ABB, Alstom, Siemens, Schlumberger, Tatneft of Russia, Italy's Finmeccanica, Weir Group of the UK, and Shell.
Yup...on second thought, my vote is on the oil vote.
A lot of happenings this week on the Darfur front. I have a roundup at my World News site which you can read there or see my takeaway.
The comment below I drafted in response to: U.S.-China Relations: An Apology of Sorts I've decided to post the comment here instead as Bill's original thread has nothing to do with the Sudan and I was going completely off-topic. I don't offer a solution to any of the previous discussions on Jewels in the Jungle and Chippla's Weblog - Thoughts and Issues, just some ideas that I hope will spur more discussion.
First, I apologize for my absurdly slow repsonse.
I'm not sure how to defend the Chinese government's actions in the Sudan, but nor do I think that just because I have a more neutral view on the issue of Chinese involvement in Africa (i.e., that there are aspects that are both promising and troubling) that I have to. And if I did, it would get me started on a long tangent about the history of immorality in the pursuit of oil and other natural resources that would lead me to the conclusion that again, China is not the devil, it's Europe circa the mid-19th century, Japan circa 1940 or the United States circa right about now.
Continue reading "China in Africa: China is Not the (Only) Devil" »
Nigerian newspaper Daily Sun reports that the Nigerian government is seeking military assistance from China, apparently having grown impatient of waiting for calls for US assistance to protect oil facilities from militants in the Niger Delta to be answered.
This is a prime example of one of the aspects of the China-Africa relationship that I find most interesting: how China's involvement on the continent might influence African governments' decisions by presenting alternatives to Western diplomacy.
Continue reading "Nigeria looks to China for military assistance" »
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