United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

21 October 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

U.S. backs calls for more AU troops for Somalia (Reuters)

(Somalia) The United States supports proposals to raise more African Union troops for
Somalia and the U.N. Security Council will likely debate the matter within 30 days, a
senior U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday.

US Ambassador Lured Me to NRM - Water Minister (New Vision)

(Uganda) I was wooed to the NRM party by the US Ambassador to Uganda, water and
environment minister Maria Mutagamba has said. Mutagamba, formerly the secretary
general of the Democratic Party (DP), said the envoy whom she declined to name,
became a major factor before she denounced her party to join the NRM.

U.S. Govt Injects Sh15 Billion Into Tourism (New Vision)

(Uganda) The US government has invested $6m (about sh15b) in the development of
sustainable tourism in Uganda, a top official disclosed last week. Suudi Bamulesewa,
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) team leader in
Uganda, explained that the investment would run for five years.

US Renews Travel Warning for Ivory Coast (Voice of America)

(Ivory Coast) The United States has renewed its travel warning for Ivory Coast because
of what it says is the increased probability of demonstrations and unrest before and
after the scheduled October 31 presidential election.

Sudan's Bashir pledges no return to war (AFP)

(Sudan) Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir vowed on Wednesday that there will be no
return to civil war with the south as an independence vote for the region looms.

Looming Attack Museveni's Strategy That Could Tilt the War Against Al-Shabaab
(The Independent - Kampala)
(Somalia) In recent weeks, the Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers in Mogadishu
have put the Islamist rebel group Al-Shabaab, which is fighting the Somali government,
on the defensive.

Somali Gunmen Free British Aid Worker (Voice of America)

(Somalia) A British aid worker kidnapped by Somali gunmen last week has been
released.

Rwanda is no US when it comes to press freedom – but it's also no Somalia (Christian
Science Monitor)
(Rwanda) The press freedom index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is bound to
cause a stir among Rwanda-watchers. The Paris-based group called Rwanda among the
10 worst violators of press freedom in the world, right along with North Korea, Burma
and Iran.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 UN force handing over security tasks to Chadian units ahead of departure
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, October 27, 12:00 p.m.; Council on Foreign Relations

WHAT: A Conversation with Senator Richard G. Lugar
WHO: Senator Richard G. Lugar, Ranking Member, Committee on Foreign Relations,
U.S. Senate
Info: http://www.cfr.org/

WHEN/WHERE: Friday, November 5, 9:30 a.m.; U.S. Institute of Peace

WHAT: Women in War Conference: The Trouble with the Congo
WHO: Severine Autesserre, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Barnard College,
Columbia University; Raymond Gilpin, Associate Vice President, Sustainable
Economies, Centers of Innovation, U.S. Institute of Peace; Christine Karumba, Women
for Women International; Howard Wolpe, Woodrow Wilson International Center for
Scholars; Diane Orentlicher, Deputy Director, Office of War Crimes, U.S. Department of
State
Info: http://www.usip.org/events/woman-and-war
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

U.S. backs calls for more AU troops for Somalia (Reuters)

WASHINGTON – The United States supports proposals to raise more African Union
troops for Somalia and the U.N. Security Council will likely debate the matter within 30
days, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday.

Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson said Uganda and other countries had been
pressing to increase 7,200-strong AMISOM mission, which is struggling to stabilize
Somalia in the face of an insurgency by the al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab militia.
"In principle we support the increase in the number of troops on the ground, but do not
take a position on what that number should be," Carson, Washington's top diplomat for
Africa, told an audience at a Washington think tank.

"This issue is likely to be discussed and debated in the U.N. Security Council in the next
30 days," he said.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said this month that the U.N. Security Council
was considering more funding for an expanded AU peacekeeping mission, and that
Uganda was ready to provide all of the 20,000 soldiers thought necessary to squelch the
raging insurgency in the Horn of Africa country.

Uganda provides the bulk of the forces already on the ground, with a lesser number
coming from Burundi, and Museveni has been urging greater effort to stabilize the
country after al Shabaab claimed responsibility for twin bomb blasts in Uganda in July
that killed nearly 80 people.

The presence of foreign AMISOM troops gives Somali militants a reason to pose as
nationalist champions and wins them easy recruits and financial support at home and
from Somalis abroad, analysts say.

Carson said the United States would continue to improve ties with Somaliland and
Puntland -- two semi-autonomous regions in Somalia that are seen as relatively stable --
while working to buttress the Western-backed Transitional Federal Government, which
controls only a part of the capital Mogadishu.

He said the international community, including Arab states, should do more to turn the
tide in Somalia, which he described as an increasingly global threat to security and
trade as pirates prowl the seas off the Horn of Africa.

Carson said the United States, which has donated $229 million to support the AU
peacekeeping effort as well as more than $200 million in unilateral humanitarian and
development assistance, would have to remain involved if the threat posed by Somalia's
collapse is to be contained.

"It's always nice to have a clear road map to an exit," Carson said, while quickly saying
that no such easy answers exist for the situation in Somalia.

"This is going to be a long, sometimes uncertain, difficult process," he said.

--------------------
US Ambassador Lured Me to NRM - Water Minister (New Vision)

Kampala — I was wooed to the NRM party by the US Ambassador to Uganda, water
and environment minister Maria Mutagamba has said. Mutagamba, formerly the
secretary general of the Democratic Party (DP), said the envoy whom she declined to
name, became a major factor before she denounced her party to join the NRM.

"As Uganda was making preparations to receive US President Bill Clinton, that US
ambassador called me to his office and told me the truth about politics," Mutagamba
said.

She added that while in his office, the ambassador challenged her to mention what was
in DP's constitution that the NRM government had not done. "From that day, I made up
my decision to join the NRM since my goal was to serve the people of Uganda,"
Mutagamba said.

She was on Sunday receiving 100 youth from Kyotera town council in Rakai district
who crossed to the NRM from the DP and Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

The youth, under Agali Awamu Kyotera Youth Association led by Medi Sembatya, told
Mutagamba that they had remained in opposition for a long time because they had not
benefited from the current government.

Sembatya asked the minister to make arrangements for them to meet President Yoweri
Museveni so that they hand over to him their former party cards.

Sembatya said they would work with the Government to fight the HIV/AIDS scourge,
idleness, poverty and illiteracy.
--------------------
U.S. Govt Injects Sh15 Billion Into Tourism (New Vision)

Kampala — The US government has invested $6m (about sh15b) in the development of
sustainable tourism in Uganda, a top official disclosed last week. Suudi Bamulesewa,
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) team leader in
Uganda, explained that the investment would run for five years.

This, he pointed out, was in addition to the over $30m his agency had already invested
in conservation projects. "The US government wants to make Uganda's tourism vibrant.

"For the next five years it has committed $6m for sustainable tourism development,"
said Bamulesewa. He was speaking during the closure of the Big Birding Festival at the
Kingdom Katomi Resort in Entebbe over the weekend.

Bamulesewa disclosed that the US government, through tourism, wanted to increase

incomes of the rural poor who have not benefited from the resources that are paid by
tourists after visiting the national parks and game reserves.
He noted that sustainable tourism development had the potential to drive the economy
since the country is ranked among the best top 10 in the world in terms of bio-diversity.

James Rutaro, the director of conservation in the tourism ministry, who represented
minister Maj. Gen Kahinda Otafiire, said the Government would set up a tourism
satellite account to capture all data on the sector.

"The truth is that we have been missing enough data in the tourism sector. "But soon we
shall set up a tourism satellite account to ensure that all data is collected and stored
safely," Rutaro pointed out.

He said the Government would prioritise birding as one of the key elements in tourism
to generate more revenue. Rutaro said statistics showed that Uganda received just over
840,000 tourists last year, most of whom were conference attendees and birders.

Stephen Masaba, the Uganda Wildlife Authority business development manager, told
the participants that Ugandans were keenly picking interest in tourism, a good sign for
the development of domestic tourism.
--------------------
US Renews Travel Warning for Ivory Coast (Voice of America)

The United States has renewed its travel warning for Ivory Coast because of what it
says is the increased probability of demonstrations and unrest before and after the
scheduled October 31 presidential election.

The warning calls the situation tense and unpredictable and says political
demonstrations can turn violent.

It says security conditions in the north and west can deteriorate without warning.
Foreign visitors are at high risk for muggings, robberies, burglary, and carjacking.

Visitors should avoid traveling outside the capital, Abidjan, after dark.

Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa grower, has been split in half since a 2002 failed
coup led to an armed uprising.

Rebels are in control of the north while President Laurent Gbagbo controls the south.

Presidential elections have been postponed seven times since 2005, mostly because of
disputes over voter eligibility.
--------------------
Sudan's Bashir pledges no return to war (AFP)
KHARTOUM – Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir vowed on Wednesday that there
will be no return to civil war with the south as an independence vote for the region
looms.

Just a week after saying that the only outcome he would accept from the landmark
referendum due in January was a vote for unity, Bashir insisted his government was
working for peace.

"There will be no return to war," the official SUNA news agency quoted Bashir as
saying. "The government is working to keep the peace.

"The referendum result will not be the end of the world," he added.

The January referendum on independence for the south is the centrepiece of a 2005
peace deal which brought an end to Africa's longest-running civil war in which an
estimated two million people died.

"Despite our commitment to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, we will not accept
an alternative to unity," Bashir had told MPs in Khartoum on October 12.

On Tuesday, Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein hinted that the
referendum could be delayed in the face of persistent wrangling between northern and
southern leaders about the demarcation line between the two regions.

Southern leaders have warned that if there is any major delay by the Khartoum
government in organising the referendum, they will go ahead and hold a vote of their
own.
--------------------
Looming Attack Museveni's Strategy That Could Tilt the War Against Al-Shabaab
(The Independent - Kampala)

Kampala — On Friday, August 27 it was a scene of mayhem as an attack by Somali

militants, the al-Shabaab, sent government soldiers and civilians fleeing from the city.

A short distance away, UPDF soldiers who make up most of the 7000-strong African
Union peacekeeping force AMISOM desperately guarded parliament building. This
was government turf and the al-Shabaab attack was an affront on AMISOM's ability to
protect the fledgling Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia.

Earlier, on the morning of Aug. 24 the al-Shabaab had struck Hotel Muna, right next to
the Presidential Villa killing 31 people. The attackers, disguised in government army
uniforms moved from room to room at the hotel, killing residents with bullets and
grenades. After, they blew themselves up.
It is on this same road that the al-Shabaab fired mortar shells on a convoy carrying the
Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in February. Two people were killed.

But the worst attack on Maka al-Mukarama was on Sept. 22. On that day, the Al-
Shabaab attacked. Chanting cries of "allahu Akbar", according to eye-witnesses, they
fired ferociously for two days. Government soldiers and other allied militia abandoned
their positions and fled.

The UPDF commander told journalists after the fighting: "When they ran, they exposed
us and made our positions more vulnerable, we had to move to take tactical
advantage."

The UPDF must not let Maka al-Mukarama fall under al-Shabaab control. It is the
lifeline of the AMISOM mission used to enter and exit and deliver supplies to them in a
city controlled by the al-Shabaab despite recent advances.

In recent weeks, the Ugandan and Burundian peacekeepers in Mogadishu have put the
Islamist rebel group Al-Shabaab, which is fighting the Somali government, on the
defensive.

Areas near Mogadishu's Bakara Market, like the Taribune Square, the former military
hospital, Taleh Hotel and others are now under AMISOM control.

Unidentified helicopters have also been sniping at Al-Shabaab positions. In a major

attack, residents of Roobow village in Barawe district, an area controlled by al-Shabaab
about 150 miles south of Mogadishu say the attackers killed Saleh Ali Nabhan, 28, a
leader of Al-Shabab.

Witnesses on the ground said military helicopters attacked a car carrying Nabhan,
killing some passengers and wounding others. The helicopters landed and took the
wounded men, and possibly Nabhan's body, with them, witnesses said. The Americans,
EU, and AMISOM deny any involvement in the chopper attacks.

Internally, Al-Shabaab is battling divisions along clan lines and a fight for command
between Somalis and their external backers.

Al-Shabaab's deputy commander-in-chief, Mukhtar Robow, is reported to have quit

Mogadishu to form anew group and possibly fight his former allies.

But a journalists who has been to Somalia recently told The Independent that the sound
of gunfire and explosion can be heard all day and night in the volatile city. The sense of
insecurity is pervasive. Civilians moving in vehicles carry military gear like mortars
ready to repulse any attack. Soldiers accompany civilians as they move around places
considered most insecure. Visitors are advised not to move outside the AMISOM camp.
"It is the UPDF and Burundian soldiers on the frontline all the time as the government
soldiers are greatly demoralised," says the journalist.

Since 2007 when Uganda first deployed there, at least 30 UPDF soldiers have died in
Somalia. The death toll keeps rising. Another 80 people were killed in Al-Shabaab
attack on Kampala city in July.

The cost, in men, material, and money, of the Somalia war has become an issue since
President Yoweri Museveni announced in September that he is ready to deploy another
12,000 and 20,000 UPDF troops to Somalia to bolster the 7000-strong contingent already
there.

The big question is whether sending more troops to Somalia will help stabilise the
country which has borne the brunt of war for the last 20 years. Museveni is conscious of
this.

The intervention of the UPDF and other foreign forces may not obviously translate into
total stability in Somalia, he concedes, but says it could save the country from becoming
a terrorism hub. Citing the Ugandan example, he says, the country did not become
completely stable after the removal of Idi Amin in 1979 by about 45,000 soldiers of the
Tanzanian army.

The UPDF Spokesperson Felix Kulayigye is more laconic. "Do you expect soldiers are
going for tea party when they are deployed in a war zone? It is a just cause even when
they die," he says.

He says regardless of how much it may cost Uganda the mission in Somalia is a just one
that requires the participation of "fellow African brothers".

This is not the first time foreign forces are deploying in Somalia since it was plunged
into chaos in 1991. Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Ethiopian, and American forces have been
there under the UN. They failed.

America has sought to understate its involvement in the fighting in Somalia since the
1993 debacle in which America soldiers were killed and their bodies were dragged
along the streets of Mogadishu. However, it is no secret that President Barack Obama's
administration has provided military and financial support to Museveni's Mogadishu
mission.

America's interest, based on a statement attributed to the Association of American

Petroleum Geologists, claims that based on published and unpublished data, the
geology of Somalia, "proves that oil and gas have been generated with favourable
reservoirs, as well as structural and stratigraphic traps. Moreover, continuation of these
basins across the gulf, matching the hydrocarbon-producing Marib-Hajar and Say'un-Al
Masila basins of Yemen, raises the hydrocarbon prospect of northern Somalia."

When the US government in February 2007 established a unified combatant command

called African Command (AFRICOM), it was accused of moving to protect the oil. It
countered by saying its interest in Somalia was all about fighting terror.

When The Independent sought the opinion of the leaders of the Somali community in
Uganda about the UPDF intervention, the reactions were mixed. However, many spoke
about negotiation and propaganda and less about intensifying the war.

"Anyone who has been to Somalia and witnessed the suffering the people of Somalia
are undergoing will appreciate that sending more soldiers will help improve the
situation," said Ali Mohammed, Secretary General of the Somali Community
Association in Uganda (SCAU).

But he added: "The AMISOM forces need to understand that using the radio and
television stations explaining to the Somalis the reasons why they are in Somalia will
greatly help better the situation as many have been brainwashed and told lies they are
fighting a holy war."

He says because most Somalis are illiterate and live in rural areas rearing camels, the
Al-Shabaab have taken advantage of them by spreading harmful propaganda that the
Christian forces (AU forces) have invaded Mogadishu and must be fought. "Most
Somalis listen to radio, if the AMISOM used it to emphasis their ideology it would help
even more in addition to sending more troops," says Mohammed.

Abdulahi Hassan Roble, vice chairman of SCAU told The Independent that Somalia's
Transition Federal Government (TFG) should initiate negotiations with the groups that
are willing to talk peace as a way of achieving total stability for Somalia.

Observers argue that Uganda will pay a big price for deploying its forces in Somalia as
some Somalis look at the AU forces in their country as an occupation force.

Museveni has vowed not to let the Al-Shabaab, which controls most of Somalia, take
over power.

Along the way he has suffered some setbacks. When he hosted the 15th AU Summit in
Kampala a few days after the terror bombings in July, he had hoped that it would
endorse his plans for increased deployment. His resolve was thwarted when the
African Union member states, some of whom had promised troops but later reneged on
their commitment, resolved that such a big number would require the approval of the
United Nations.
Recently, however, Museveni's military campaign looks to be falling into place. A
number of envoys from the western countries have flown into the country to express
their support for the war against terror in Somalia.

This month, Uganda assumed the rotating presidency of the powerful UN Security
Council.

Uganda's representative at the UN in New York, veteran politician Dr Ruhakana

Rugunda moved quickly to put Somalia on the UN agenda.

When on Oct. 3, Rugunda led a United Nations Security Council delegation to a

meeting with Museveni at State House in Entebbe, two issues were top on the agenda; a
pledge from the UN for support to Uganda's mission in Somalia and increased scrutiny
of the upcoming referendum in Southern Sudan.

Museveni told the UN team that Uganda's contribution of peacekeepers in Somalia

under the AU Mission is proof of the history of solidarity among Africans. He said it
would be disastrous for the international community to let the Al-Shabaab take over
Somalia and spread terrorism in the region and beyond.

In the same week, Museveni hosted 27 members of the European Union's top military
organ to rally efforts against the resurgent Al- Shabaab.

The EU generals also were to visit a training camp for Somali soldiers in southwest
Uganda.

In the same month, the security chiefs of states in the Great Lakes region were in
Kampala. The fight against terrorism dominated their agenda.

These high profile delegations are aimed at salvaging the fledgling Somali government
of Sheikh Ahmed Sharif that is bedeviled by internal power struggles following the
recent resignation of the prime minister.

But they are also designed to stamp Museveni's position as the world superpowers'
footman in the fight against terrorism and guarantor of peace in the Great Lakes region.

Museveni, who has been in power for 24 years, needs to re-invent himself. Unbridled
corruption, nepotism, and a breakdown in social services have made his government
lose popularity at home. As a reaction, Museveni has muzzled free expression in the
media and other public spaces and clawed back the little democratic space his
government previously let citizens enjoy. The demand for democracy has become more
incessant at home and abroad.
Unwilling to open up at home, Museveni has sought to assuage international donor
opinion by pandering to the whims of the western powers. Whatever they ask he gives.

He has deployed forces in Sudan, the DR Congo, and Somalia. Uganda has also offered
her military air base in Entebbe to serve as the logistics base for the UN missions in
African countries like Chad, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

When he attended the UN General Assembly late last month in New York, Museveni
met with US President Barack Obama on the sidelines of the summit to discuss the
Somalia situation and the pending referendum in Sudan under the 2005 Comprehensive
Peace Agreement that ended Sudan's 22-year old rebellion.

Museveni's biggest impediment to increasing the number of troops in Somalia is the

funding and other logistical support for the additional troops. "We can raise any
number which our brothers and sisters ask us to raise. But they must bring the money
and the equipment. We have the human beings, we have the experience, we have the
training, but we cannot provide the money," Museveni told the press recently.

He said money is needed to procure military hardware and related supplies and to
meet operational costs like wages for the troops, which are required to launch and
sustain a full-scale offensive against the Al-Shabaab.

Uganda is lobbying for attack helicopters and armoured vehicles that will be used to
launch an offensive to rout the Somali insurgents who control most of the country.

Museveni asked the Security Council delegation to commit more money for his
increased deployment but they were noncommittal. However, they gave him something
the AU Summit in Kampala had denied him; a promise to review the mandate of the
African Union peace keeping forces in Somalia, which could shift from being peace
keepers to peace enforcers. This would allow the AU forces to attack the Al-Shabaab
without waiting to fire back in self defence. Museveni is known to take unilateral
positions if consensus seeking fails him. For now, however, he is waiting. But it will not
be for long.
--------------------
Somali Gunmen Free British Aid Worker (Voice of America)

A British aid worker kidnapped by Somali gunmen last week has been released.

Local authorities say Frans Barnard, who works for the British charity Save the
Children, was freed overnight Tuesday some 250 kilometers from Abado, the town
where he was abducted.

Save the Children spokesperson Anna Ford confirmed the news.

"He is safe and well," Ford said. "He is in good spirits. He said it is marvelous that he
has been released and we look forward to seeing him soon."

Barnard was kidnapped near the Somali-Ethiopia border, along with a Somali colleague
who was released unharmed soon after the abduction.

Ford says no ransom was paid for the release.

"I think it is important to point out that it was actually the clan elders and the local
administration that negotiated his release," she said.

Ford says the men were in Adado to survey the area in preparation for a new program
to help children who are sick and malnourished.

London-based think tank Chatham House analyst, Roger Middleton, says the
kidnapping may create problems for the aid group.

"This raises a number of problems for them. The area where the consultant was looking
at was considered a place that might be an area that would be suitable for some new
activities for Save the Children. This will obviously make them think about that very
seriously," Middleton said.

He says it is very difficult for charities to carry out work in Somalia because there is
very little security.

"Many groups like al-Shabab and some of the other Islamist groups have effectively
banned them from operating in their areas," Middleton said. "And that is especially
true for international NGOs [non-governmental organizations], so the famous ones that
we are familiar with here [in Britain], some smaller Somali-based ones, they are able to
operate still but it is a very, very difficult environment in the south and in central
Somalia."

Barnard told VOA's Somali Service that the international focus should be on releasing a
British couple, Rachel and Paul Chandler. They have been held for more than a year in
the same area where he was kidnapped.
--------------------
Rwanda is no US when it comes to press freedom – but it's also no Somalia (Christian
Science Monitor)

The press freedom index of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is bound to cause a stir
among Rwanda-watchers. The Paris-based group called Rwanda among the 10 worst
violators of press freedom in the world, right along with North Korea, Burma and Iran.
It’s also the third-worst in Africa; only Eritrea, where there basically aren’t any
journalists who aren’t in jail, and Sudan are worse. Even Somalia ranks better than
Rwanda.

I’m not sold. Here’s why.

Let’s get the genre objections out of the way first. I’m not a big believer in indices. They
usually feel more like media gimmicks than analytical tools to me. But everybody loves
lists – and sometimes, people like to be on them. Show me a list with an air-tight
methodology, and I’ll call you a liar. (The RSF methodology seems to me pretty
wanting, but if you’re the same kind of nerd as I am, you’ll check out their
questionnaire, scoring sheet, and sparse methodological explanation and decide for
yourself if you’re satisfied.)

But let’s talk specifics.

RSF alleges that in Rwanda, "journalists are fleeing the country because of the
repression, in an exodus almost on the scale of Somalia's.” I’m no naïf, but this is
laughable. Journalists fleeing Somalia are fleeing very real, dangerous and ongoing
violence. Also, by the by, what’s going on in the media space for journalists who stay in
Somalia? “The two leading Islamist militias, Al-Shabaab and Hizb-Al-Islam, are
gradually seizing control of independent radio stations and using them to broadcast
their religious and political propaganda.” That is to say, a ongoing and overt seizure by
a fundamentalist religious government of all media space in order to push propaganda.
Remember when they also banned music on the radio in Mogadishu? Yeah, me too.

Whatever you think of Kagame, Kigali is no Mogadishu. Even exiled journalists who
don’t like the current government concede that 40 percent of the media here is privately
owned. What RSF’s press materials don’t talk about – and what its methodology does
not convince me it has any idea how to measure (even though it claims to account for
this) – is self-censorship. But because the variable is far from robust (which is really too
bad), I’m going to ignore it.

RSF points out that the deputy editor of an independent paper was killed here before
the elections. That’s true, and awful. But in Russia, it’s a public health hazard to be a
journalist: The country has a long-proven pattern of killing journalists who dare to
investigate things its elite doesn’t want anyone to know – 313 of them between 1993 and
2009, according to the International Federation of Journalists.

Meanwhile, Rwanda’s neighbor to the south, Burundi, looks a lot nastier for journalists
(though not exclusively for journalists). Jean Claude Kavumbagu was tossed in jail for
treason in July after he dared to report that Bujumbura wasn’t to defend itself against
an attack by Somalia’s music-hating, journalist-repelling Al Shabaab. He’s still there; his
pre-trial detention has been extended indefinitely, and no date for a trial set. Chances
are the authorities in Burundi, a country known for torture, are not being that nice to
him, either.

It's not just Kavumbagu they don't like either. Two journalists at the popular
independent radio station Radio Africa Publique receive death threats and others are
held by the government's shady intelligence services.

Burundi is 108 on the Index – 61 places higher than Rwanda. (Is it me, or is this starting
to feel like the days when Libya chaired the UN Human Rights Council?)

Yes, Rwanda banned two “opposition” (a word that has come here to mean not-run-by-
Kagame’s-dudes) newspapers before this year’s presidential election. Yes, during a
presidential election there was more media scrutiny and more pressure. Also, the pope
is still Catholic.

I’m not saying it’s easy to be a journalist in Rwanda. I’m saying I don’t trust the RSF
index, for all the reasons above – and for one more. It’s easy, and tempting, to make the
media a main proxy character in the anti-Rwanda story that caught so much
international attention this summer, leading up to the election. It’s hard to be a
journalist here, sure. But it doesn’t do anyone any favors – and least of all the journalists
living and working here – to blow the situation out of proportion. So let’s not confuse
press freedom for political freedom, and let’s not try to lance the latter by invoking the
former. After all, journalists have to work hard enough around the world not to be
political tools as it is.
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

UN force handing over security tasks to Chadian units ahead of departure

20 October – The head of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Chad, which also
has a mandate for the Central African Republic (CAR), said today that the force is
handing over its tasks to local military units that will assume security responsibilities in
Chad when blue helmets leave at the end of this year.