United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

4 May 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

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

Libya's Gaddafi still alive, U.S. spy chief says (Reuters)

(Libya) U.S. intelligence officials believe Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who has not
been seen in public since a NATO missile attack reportedly killed his son, is still alive,
CIA Director Leon Panetta told NBC television on Tuesday.
"(The) best intelligence we have is that he's still alive," Panetta said in an interview with
NBC News.

Libyan refugees flee fighting by land and sea (Reuters)

(Libya) Fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi is forcing
thousands of refugees to flee western Libya on foot to the Tunisian border and by boat
to Europe, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

UN Asks West for Help with Libyan Refugee Crisis (VOA)

(Libya) What inevitably follows the breakout of war is the movement of masses of
people across international borders. The United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees reports that hundreds of thousands of refugees are moving out of Libya,
mainly into Tunisia and Egypt, countries fresh with the instability of their own
revolutions.

Zimbabwe Journalists Mark Press Freedom Day With Push for Open Airwaves
(VOA)
(Zimbabwe) Zimbabwean journalists marking World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday in
Harare told Information Minister Webster Shamu the country must open up its
airwaves and repeal repressive laws under which Zimbabwe remains a difficult
working environment.

Shadow of Idi Amin raised amid Ugandan crackdown on protests (CNN)

(Uganda) A violent reaction by Ugandan authorities to ongoing protests against high
food prices has put a spotlight on President Yoweri Museveni's 25-year rule over the
East African country and raised the fear of a return to the brutal days of Idi Amin.

'Many dead' in south Sudan tribal clashes: official (AFP)

(Sudan) Clashes in south Sudan have left many dead in separate cattle raids and rebel
attacks, officials said on Tuesday, as the soon to be independent state struggles to
contain bloody violence.

South Sudan Faces Numerous Challenges Ahead of Independence (VOA)

By Mariama Diallo
May 3, 2011
Tensions are rising in Sudan ahead of the official separation of Africa's largest nation
into separate countries. Many issues - citizenship, border disputes, oil revenues,
internal clashes - still remain unresolved. This raises questions about whether solutions
can be found before South Sudan officially declares its independence on July 9.

Indonesian army kills 4 pirates; 20 hostages freed (AP)

(Somalia) Indonesian forces killed four Somali pirates in a gunfight after a ship and 20
Indonesian hostages held nearly two months were freed, the military said Tuesday.

Spain sentences Somali pirates to 439 years' jail each (BBC)

(Somalia) A Spanish court has sentenced two Somali pirates to 439 years in jail each for
their role in the hijacking of a tuna fishing boat. The two men have been detained in a
Madrid jail since they were caught after the attack in late 2009.

State of strife (Frontline-India's National Magazine)

(Nigeria) Goodluck Jonathan, from southern Nigeria, wins another four-year term, but
bloody clashes follow his re-election.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
 UN voices concern after 14 killed in fresh clashes in Sudan’s disputed Abyei
region
 UN and African officials discuss role of agriculture in rural development
 Humanitarian situation in Côte d’Ivoire remains alarming, warns UN agency
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Thursday, May 5th; DOD Intelligence Systems Support Office, Brian
Hibbeln's Conference Room, 2231 Crystal Drive, Suite 900, Crystal Park 3
WHAT: Cyber Security Form Initiative (CSFI) Briefing on Libyan cyber vulnerabilities.
Discussion of "Project Cyber Dawn"
WHO: Paul de Souza, Director of Cyber Security Form Initiative
Info: No website available; call 703-746-1200
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

Libya's Gaddafi still alive, U.S. spy chief says (Reuters)

By Unattributed Author
May 3, 2011 10:49pm GMT
WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence officials believe Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi,
who has not been seen in public since a NATO missile attack reportedly killed his son,
is still alive, CIA Director Leon Panetta told NBC television on Tuesday.
"(The) best intelligence we have is that he's still alive," Panetta said in an interview with
NBC News.

Gaddafi, who seized power in a 1969 coup, has not been seen in public since a NATO
missile attack on Saturday struck a house in his compound in Tripoli. Libyan officials
said Gaddafi survived, but his youngest son and three grandchildren were killed.

NATO could not confirm the reports that Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, had been
killed.

More than a month after Western powers began an air assault on Libya, fighting is
dragging on between forces loyal to Gaddafi and poorly equipped rebels who had
hoped to quickly force him from power.

Critics say NATO has already overstepped its mandate with Saturday night's attack on
the Tripoli house. NATO insists it targets only military installations and was not
attempting to assassinate the Libyan leader.
-----------------------
Libyan refugees flee fighting by land and sea (Reuters)
By Lin Noueihed
May 3, 2011.
TRIPOLI - Fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi is forcing
thousands of refugees to flee western Libya on foot to the Tunisian border and by boat
to Europe, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

Rebels said that over 40 Grad rockets had hit the rebel-held town of Zintan in the
Western Mountains late on Tuesday, and aid deliveries to the western port of Misrata
have been hindered by artillery fire and mines near the harbor entrance.

Rebel spokesmen said fighting had flared again in Misrata's eastern suburbs, but that
intense air strikes by NATO planes appeared to have won the port, the city's lifeline, a
respite in shelling by forces loyal to the Libyan leader.

In Tripoli, witnesses heard two loud explosions late on Tuesday but there was no
explanation of their cause.

Gaddafi, who seized power in a 1969 coup, has not been seen in public since a NATO
missile attack on Saturday on a house in Tripoli, which killed his youngest son and
three grandchildren.
Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said Gaddafi was alive and in good health and
had "not at all" been hurt in the NATO strike. "He met today a number of tribal leaders,"
Kaim said.

Asked when Gaddafi would appear publicly amid questions over whether he survived
the blast, Kaim said "This is up to him, his security people ... He has been targeted four
times."

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, in his strongest public comments yet on the
power struggle in Libya, said "Gaddafi should step down right away and leave the
administration to Libyan people."

"Libya is not the property of a single person or family," Erdogan told a news conference
in Istanbul, appealing to Gaddafi to realize how his people were suffering. Erdogan has
been urging Gaddafi to quit since early March.

EXODUS FROM MOUNTAINS

The U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said an exodus from the Western Mountains region
had resumed, with Libyan families fleeing into southern Tunisia.

"This past weekend, more than 8,000 people, most of them ethnic Berbers, arrived in
Dehiba in southern Tunisia. Most are women and children," UNHCR spokesman
Adrian Edwards told a news briefing in Geneva. Tens of thousands have already fled.

The Dehiba crossing point has changed hands several times in the last week, with
fighting spilling over onto Tunisian soil.

A violent sandstorm that battered the area had made the situation more difficult. "The
storm has destroyed hundreds of tents and two huge portable warehouses," Edwards
said.

"Most of the Libyan refugees are leaving Libya in tribal groups. Many are choosing to
stay in the camps for a few days before moving on to stay with Tunisian families," he
said.

Meanwhile, more people have been fleeing Libya by sea to Italy, after a 10-day break
due to bad weather.

While a few rebel pockets such as Zintan and Misrata resist Gaddafi's forces in western
Libya, in the largely rebel-held east the most pressing need is for cash to try to restore
infrastructure and establish a viable administration.
Rebels said they expected billions of dollars in credit soon from Western governments
to feed and supply their territories in the east and support their campaign against
Gaddafi.

Ali Tarhouni, head of the rebel national council's finance committee, said he expected
France, Italy and the United States to extend credit secured against frozen Libyan state
assets.

ECONOMY IN TATTERS

With Libya's economy in tatters after more than two months of civil war, funds to pay
for food, medicine and the state salaries on which most people depend are running low.

"We are still discovering different segments that need to be paid that we thought were
paid," Tarhouni told reporters in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

"At every single moment another need arises in terms of food, medicine and people
who are injured," he said. "I need about $2-3 billion and we are hoping to get most or all
this."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the countries in the Libya 'contact group'
would discuss establishing a temporary financial mechanism at talks in Rome this
week.

British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament there were "opportunities for
tightening sanctions over things like oil and oil products to make sure this regime ...
realizes it cannot go on terrorising its own people."

President Nicolas Sarkozy told the French weekly L'Express that France planned to
organize a conference of "friends" of Libya, including defectors and various political
groups, to try to build a political solution.

The insurgents had hoped for a swift overthrow of Gaddafi but his better-trained and
better-equipped forces halted the westward rebel advance from their stronghold of
Benghazi and forced a stalemate in the fighting.

The International Organization for Migration said an aid ship was still waiting off
Misrata for mines to be cleared before it delivered supplies and evacuated foreigners
and wounded Libyans. NATO said its minesweepers had destroyed two mines laid by
government forces and were searching for a third.
-------------------------
UN Asks West for Help with Libyan Refugee Crisis (VOA)
By Laurel Bowman
May 3, 2011
What inevitably follows the breakout of war is the movement of masses of people
across international borders. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
reports that hundreds of thousands of refugees are moving out of Libya, mainly into
Tunisia and Egypt, countries fresh with the instability of their own revolutions.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called
on Western nations to help.

Clashes between opposition forces and those supporting embattled Libyan leader
Moammar Gadhafi have killed thousands in Libya. NATO forces aim to protect
civilians threatened by government troops.

But people whose lives were disrupted are on the move, traveling by car and foot,
mainly into neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, and also to Niger, Algeria and Chad.

At a U.N. camp on the Tunisian border, these refugees described the mounting chaos
they fled. “Some people die, die every day, 20 people, 100 people, 50 people continue to
die," said one man.

“We saw children being violent. They attacked us, took our phone and money as
well,"said another man.

For others it is the boredom that overwhelms them. This camp on the Egyptian border
houses migrant workers who left as their work dried up.

“We are not interested in playing cards, just wasting time, you know, we try and kill the
time," said one man in the camp.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres told a Washington
audience Tuesday that more than 650,000 people have left Libya, mostly for Egypt and
Tunisia. He praised those nations for their hospitality. “In a world where more and
more countries tend to close their borders, Tunisia and Egypt opened their borders and
did so without any restrictions and not only opened their borders but I have witnessed
myself poor families namely close to the Tunisian border coming to the border and
looking at those who were entering without anything and sharing their resources," he
said.

Guterres called on the international community to provide financial support to these

two nations’ resettlement efforts.

And he asked Western Europe to adapt a more positive and pro-active migration
policy, especially toward younger refugees looking for economic opportunity. “I know
these are difficult moments but Europe needs migration. Europe as a demographic
evolution as you know with fertility indexes that are very low in many countries, below
1.5, which means migration is an essential component," he said.

UNHCR wants the United States, the world’s largest re-settler of refugees, to consider
taking Somalis, Eritreans and Iraqis fleeing Libya. Many of these refugees cannot be
repatriated to their native lands. He says he would like Australia and Canada to do the
same.
-------------------------
Zimbabwe Journalists Mark Press Freedom Day With Push for Open Airwaves
(VOA)
By Sandra Nyaira & Tatenda Gumbo
May 3, 2011
Washington - Zimbabwean journalists marking World Press Freedom Day on Tuesday
in Harare told Information Minister Webster Shamu the country must open up its
airwaves and repeal repressive laws under which Zimbabwe remains a difficult
working environment.

Journalists attending the event organized by the new Zimbabwe Media Commission
said that while there has been some improvement on the print side with the licensing of
independent dailies, they still feel targeted by authorities for reporting the truth.

Media professionals and officials representing the Information Ministry discussed

media issues. Information Minister Shamu echoed a statement by President Robert
Mugabe on Monday that journalists should not be hindered in their work - but should
also not focus on the negatives side of the government and the nation's political parties.

Journalists for their part asked Shamu to assure them that their fellow professionals
now in exile would be protected should they decide to return to Zimbabwe to work.

Media Commissioner Mathew Takaona told VOA Studio 7 reporter Sandra Nyaira that
in a bid to liberalize the airwaves, his commission has decided to accelerate its efforts to
find ways to promote the issuance of independent broadcasting licenses.

Zimbabwe National Students Union President Tafadzwa Mugwadi said foreign-based

media have become more important as journalists have emigrated under pressure. He
Tatenda Gumbo that exiled journalists should be protected if the come home.

US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray said that although parts of the media have
been liberalized, the working environment for journalists remains legally perilous
which leads some media houses to practice self-censorship.

The US-based, federally funded think tank Freedom House said press freedom in
Zimbabwe is on a par with that in Russia, ranking it 173 out of 196 nations.
Deputy Information Minister Murisi Zwizwai, noting that observances of Press
Freedom Day were overshadowed by the grievances of journalists, assured VOA that
independent broadcasters would be operating in Zimbabwe before the next elections.
--------------------
Shadow of Idi Amin raised amid Ugandan crackdown on protests (CNN)
By Nkepile Mabuse
May 3, 2011
Kampala, Uganda - A violent reaction by Ugandan authorities to ongoing protests
against high food prices has put a spotlight on President Yoweri Museveni's 25-year
rule over the East African country and raised the fear of a return to the brutal days of
Idi Amin.

Museveni's various police units and military are deployed around the country to keep a
watchful eye on an increasingly impatient nation.

With pistols and AK-47s, men wearing uniforms in various shades of blue can be seen
on every street corner and sidewalk in the capital, Kampala. It's extremely confusing for
a visitor to determine their purposes.

Locals explain that the "Black Mambas" are special forces, sometimes called the
presidential guard, while riot police wear a dark blue uniform. Sporting red berets are
the military police, the ones people say are notorious for using live ammunition on
civilians. Several other units wear various camouflage uniforms. The ones in khaki are
the "proper police," people say.

At least 10 people have been killed in Uganda in recent weeks as these various
government security forces quash what many have described as one of the biggest
challenges yet to Museveni's rule.

In a recent television interview, the 66-year-old leader scoffed at suggestions his

administration is behaving like that of former dictator Idi Amin, whose 1971-1979
regime was known for massive human rights violations.

"Do you know what Amin used to do?" he asked the interviewer. "Murder them and
throw them in (the) River Nile for the crocodiles. I have not heard of (Kizza) Besigye's
body floating for the crocodiles to eat."

Besigye is the president's former physician turned bitter political rival who since April
11 has been leading a "walk to work" campaign against the rising cost of living. He was
brutally arrested late last week in Kampala.

Policemen, some in plain clothes, armed with pistols and AK-47s, broke Besigye's car
window and sprayed him with copious amounts of pepper spray before pushing him
into the back of a police truck. It was the fourth time in three weeks he has been
arrested. He was later let out on bail, and was in need of medical attention.

That evening, independent news channel NTV broadcast the whole episode to the
nation. The next morning local papers, including the government-controlled media, led
with the story. The reaction was swift, fierce and chaotic.

While driving downtown on Friday morning, a group of journalists suddenly heard in

the distance the sound of shooting -- rubber bullets, it turned out -- and saw hoards of
people run for cover.

"The people are unhappy about what happened to Besigye," a local journalist remarked.

As the bells of Westminster Abbey in London tolled in anticipation of Catherine

Middleton's arrival to marry Prince William in what was labeled the fairytale wedding
of the century, Kampala and its surroundings were boiling. Fearless protesters
barricaded roads, confronting police in a clear display of anger at what many see as
unnecessary brutality against a man who is simply highlighting the plight of all
Ugandans.

By the time the prince had kissed his new bride for the second time, four Ugandans
were dead, some 200 were injured and more than 300 were behind bars.

Such scenes have been playing out in Uganda for weeks and the situation appears to be
escalating.

Museveni blames the food crisis on drought and high oil prices, while Besigye believes
the mismanagement of the country's economy over the past quarter of a century is at
the core of the problem.

Since Museveni's National Resistance Army seized power in 1986, Uganda has seen
relative peace and economic growth. The country is the third-strongest economy in East
Africa after Kenya and Tanzania.

But Museveni, once seen as a new brand of African leader by the West, has over the
years tightened his grip on power. He changed the constitution that limited presidential
terms to two so he could run for a third term, and then a fourth one this year. His
military and police are on standby waiting to crush any sign of dissent or rebellion.

Some have predicted an Egyptian-style revolution in Uganda. It was, after all, economic
circumstances that lit the splinter that became the uncontainable bonfire some call the
North Africa revolution. Whether Uganda could be next remains to be seen.
So far, the violent response to the protests has not appeared to deter a people who say
they are fed up with poverty for the majority and prosperity for a few.
---------------------
'Many dead' in south Sudan tribal clashes: official (AFP)
By Unattributed Author
May 3, 2011
JUBA, Sudan — Clashes in south Sudan have left many dead in separate cattle raids
and rebel attacks, officials said on Tuesday, as the soon to be independent state
struggles to contain bloody violence.

"There has been on-off fighting between the young men," said David Duop Lam, the
security minister for troubled Jonglei state.

Lam said a series tit-for-tat raids broke out in late April in Jonglei's Pibor county
between rival gunmen from the Murele and Lou Nuer ethnic groups, sparked by
arguments over cattle.

"There have been many attacks and many casualties but no confirmation of exactly how
many have died," Lam added.

"One group have made attacks, and the other has responded in revenge."

Lam, speaking just after returning from the affected area, said extra troops from the
southern army were being deployed in the area to stop the fighting.

Over 1,000 people have died in violence and at least 100,000 forced from their homes
since a largely peaceful independence referendum in January, according to UN and
official figures.

United Nations sources and the southern army confirmed the cattle raids but could not
verify exact casualties in the remote area.

Clashes between rival ethnic groups in south Sudan are common, often sparked by
cattle rustling and disputes over natural resources.

But the region is also reeling from a series of violent rebellions, with at least seven
separate militia groups battling the southern government, souring the mood ahead of
full international recognition in July.

On Tuesday morning, a fresh attack by rebels seeking to overthrow the southern

government left a further eight people dead in oil-producing Unity state, officials and
rebels said.
"Eight people were killed and four were wounded in the attack," said Charles Kuol,
commissioner of Unity's Mayom county, the site of heavy fighting last month between
the army and general turned rebel Peter Gadet.

At least a 100 people died in the fighting there, which forced oil workers out the volatile
area and caused production to drop.

"It is worrying to have the rebels attack again, because people are already struggling
having left their homes from the last attacks," Kuol added.

But rebel spokesman Bol Gatkouth threatened more attacks in coming days.

"We are just warming up," he told AFP by telephone. "This was a small attack compared
to what will come."

The scale of violence in the south is raising concern for the plight of civilians, as the
region gears up for independence.
----------------------------
South Sudan Faces Numerous Challenges Ahead of Independence (VOA)
By Mariama Diallo
May 3, 2011
Tensions are rising in Sudan ahead of the official separation of Africa's largest nation
into separate countries. Many issues - citizenship, border disputes, oil revenues,
internal clashes - still remain unresolved. This raises questions about whether solutions
can be found before South Sudan officially declares its independence on July 9.

About 100 young people gathered recently in Juba to discuss South Sudan's upcoming
independence. They used drawings and poems to express how they would improve life
in their new nation.

"I will add more schools to the already built schools by (Southern Sudan President)
Salva Kiir, and hospitals. I will also help the poor by providing them with shelter," said
participant Sumaya Ismail.

But two months before the official birth of what would be the newest African country, a
number of issues remain unresolved. Johnnie Carson is the U.S. Assistant Secretary of
State for African Affairs. "A political resolution on the Abyei situation is absolutely
essential and so is the resolution of the issue of wealth sharing and oil, as is the issue of
demarcation and delimitation of boundaries in five different spots along the north-
south boundaries, the issue of citizenship," he said.

The U.N. reports that 800 people have died in internal clashes since January 9, when
voters in southern Sudan decided on independence. In a radio interview, South Sudan
Vice President Riek Machar accuses the military in the north of arming militias in the
south - an accusation the north denies. "It is the military intelligence that gives arms to
groups that say they are against the government of Southern Sudan and I am hoping by
the 9th of July, these should be stopped because they’ll be supporting insurgencies," he
said.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said recently his government will not recognize
South Sudan as an independent state if it claims the contested region of Abyei. His
warning follows the circulation of a draft constitution for South Sudan claiming Abyei
as part of its territory.

Abyei is home to both the indigenous southern Ngok Dinka people and the northern
Misseriya, who rely on Abyei as grazing land for their cattle. The region also contains
significant oil deposits. Under a comprehensive peace agreement signed in 2005,
Abyei's future with either north or south is supposed to be determined by a still-
unscheduled referendum.

While in Washington, Justice Chan Reec Madut, chairman of the Southern Sudan
Referendum Bureau, praised Mr. Bashir for his support of southern independence. He
also says problems are being addressed. "The violence happening in the south is
restricted to very few areas and I believe the government of South Sudan is in a position
to address the issue. On Abyei, it’s a political issue at this point of time. The ruling party
- NCP and the SPLM in the south - have committees which are addressing the issue of
Abyei among other outstanding issues including citizenship," he said.

But for Abyei specifically, time is running out. "We are left with only May and June and
if you see the situation you cannot be sure if this issue will be addressed before July
9th," he said.

Whatever the outcome, Ambassador Carson offers this advice. "These are two states
that are very much in the same boat. If one falls over, it’s likely that the other one would
also fall over. We want to see a South Sudan that is strong and stable and we want to
see a north Sudan that is also strong, democratic and stable and economically growing,"
he said.

He says America wants strong relations with both north and south, Juba and Khartoum.
----------------------
Indonesian army kills 4 pirates; 20 hostages freed (AP)
By Unattributed Author
May 3, 2011
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian forces killed four Somali pirates in a gunfight after
a ship and 20 Indonesian hostages held nearly two months were freed, the military said
Tuesday.
About 35 pirates left the MV Sinar Kudus in groups Sunday after they received a
requested ransom, Rear Adm. Iskandar Sitompul said. A special joint military squad
made sure no more pirates were still on the ship and then pursued the groups, catching
up with and killing four pirates in an exchange of gunfire.

He refused to discuss the ransom, which media reported was between $3 million and
$4.5 million.

The Sinar Kudus was seized in the Arabian Sea on March 16. Soon afterward, the
pirates used the hijacked ship to attack another cargo ship nearby, but private security
repelled them, the EU Naval Force said.

Somalia has not had a functioning government in two decades, and piracy has
flourished off its coast. International confrontations with pirates have grown more
violent, and countries have arrested and taken steps to prosecute suspects.

Two Somalis were sentenced Tuesday in Spain to 439 years in jail each for the 2009
hijacking of a Spanish fishing boat in the Indian Ocean.

The court also said Spanish government-linked bodies paid the ransom, but Foreign
Minister Trinidad Jimenez quickly denied that government paid to secure the release of
the ship named the Alakrana.

The tuna fishing boat with 36 crew was seized off Somalia in October 2009 and held for
47 days. A reported $3.3 million ransom was paid. Spain says it does not pay ransom,
but in the Alakrana case, the government said the day of the ship's release that it did
what it had to do. It did not elaborate.

Spanish commandos captured two men as they sailed away from the boat during the
hijacking drama and they were brought to Madrid for trial. The National Court
identified them as Cabdiweli Cabdullahi and Raageggesey Hassan Aji.

Jimenez told reporters Tuesday "the government did not pay ransom in the Alakrana
case" and insisted this is what officials had said all along.

However, the 50-page court verdict says the trial "had shown beyond a shadow of a
doubt that it was not the ship's owner but public organizations linked to the Spanish
government which paid for the release of the crew and the ship."

Pirates hold more than two dozen ships and hundreds of crew members.
---------------------
Spain sentences Somali pirates to 439 years' jail each (BBC)
By Unattributed Author
May 3, 2011
A Spanish court has sentenced two Somali pirates to 439 years in jail each for their role
in the hijacking of a tuna fishing boat.

The two men have been detained in a Madrid jail since they were caught after the attack
in late 2009.

The court said government-linked bodies had paid to have the vessel freed, but the
government has insisted it does not pay ransoms.

The vessel and 36 crew members were held off Somalia for 47 days.

The Somalis were found guilty of 36 counts of illegal detention and robbery with
violence, but absolved of charges of terrorism, membership in an organised crime
group and torture.

Maximum sentence

The National Court identified them as Cabdiweli Cabdullahi and Raageggesey Hassan
Aji, according to the Associated Press.

Under Spanish law, they will serve only a maximum of 30 years in jail, regardless of the
sentence.

They were also ordered to pay 100,000 euros to each person detained.

During the trial, the suspects said they had been fishing and were themselves seized by
the pirates who later hijacked the vessel.

The court said "public organisations linked to the Spanish government" had paid for the
release of the crew.

Spain's Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said the government did not pay ransoms.

Piracy is a highly lucrative trade in Somalia, where gangs can often demand millions of
dollars in ransoms.
--------------------------
State of strife (Frontline-India's National Magazine)
By John Cherian
May 7, 2011
Goodluck Jonathan, from southern Nigeria, wins another four-year term, but bloody
clashes follow his re-election.
THE month-long elections held in Nigeria to the posts of President and State Governors
and to Parliament were generally hailed as the most peaceful in the country's history.
Incidents of violence and attempted booth-capturing were reported. The elections held
four years ago were marred by widespread vote-rigging and mismanagement.

President Goodluck Jonathan had promised the Nigerian people and the international
community that this time around the elections would be transparent and clean. Despite
some initial hiccups, which included the postponement of the parliamentary elections
by a week because of the non-arrival of ballot papers in the capital, Abuja, the
democratic process was given the thumbs up by the international observer groups that
were present in strength in the country, Africa's most populous.

But things have taken a bloody turn after the result of the presidential election was
declared. Jonathan, a Christian from the south of the country, won a decisive victory,
polling more than 57 per cent of the votes, over his closest rival, Muhamaddu Buhari, a
former military man who was briefly President in the mid-1980s. General Buhari got
only 31 per cent of the votes. The rest of the votes were divided among other
candidates. Jonathan polled heavily in the southern, Christian-dominated States. In his
native Delta region, Nigeria's oil-producing area, the turnout was over 80 per cent,
giving the incumbent President a huge majority. In the southern States, Jonathan got
more than 90 per cent of the votes polled. In Abwa-Ikom State, his home base, his vote
share was cent per cent.

In the Muslim-dominated north of the country, the turnout was much lower. Although
Buhari swept the polls in the north, that did not boost his overall tally significantly.
Buhari and his party, the Congress for Progressive Change, were quick to allege fraud
despite the endorsement of the elections as clean by international observers. Days after
the announcement of the election results, northern Nigeria erupted in flames.

By the end of the third week of April, more than 200 people were killed in the cities of
Kano and Kaduna. Houses and shops owned by southerners and places of worship
were randomly attacked. In recent years, Nigeria, which has a population of 150
million, has been routinely wracked by communal and sectarian strife. Radical Islam
has struck root in the northern part of the country, while evangelical Christianity is fast
displacing the traditional churches in the south. A radical Islamist group called the
“Boko Haram” has been held responsible for many acts of terror in the past year and a
half. In the central Nigerian city of Jos, a melting pot of Muslims and Christians,
communal riots have increased in frequency in the past decade and claimed hundreds
of lives.

In the eyes of many northern Nigerian politicians, Jonathan broke the unwritten
understanding that the presidency should rotate every eight years between the north
and the south. According to them, a candidate from the north should have been the
candidate of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP). They view Jonathan as an
accidental politician. He was picked up from virtual obscurity to be the running mate of
Umaru Yar'Adua, who won the presidency in the 2007 elections. A WikiLeaks report
quoted an American diplomat as saying that Jonathan had an “underwhelming
personality”. WikiLeaks also quoted a Nigerian Governor as claiming that Jonathan
voted four times in the much maligned 2007 elections when he was the candidate for
Vice-President.

Buhari carved out a niche for himself in Nigerian politics when he presided over a
military government. At that time, he launched a “war against corruption”. Unlike
previous military rulers, Buhari is not known to have enriched himself at the expense of
the country's exchequer. Another presidential hopeful, the anti-corruption crusader
Nuhur Ribadu, who had taken on the previous government and exposed high-level
corruption, won only around 5 per cent of the votes.

The Nigerian people, despite being mired in poverty, seem to have taken corruption
among their politicians for granted. A significant chunk of Nigeria's huge oil revenues
has since independence found its way into the pockets of politicians, the military and
bureaucrats. Unemployment is rife. The majority of the people are under 35, and most
of them live on less than $1 a day. Nigeria has one of the highest infant mortality rates
in the world. It ranks 88 out of 108 countries listed in the United Nations human
development scale. Nigeria pumps out oil worth $2.2 million a day, yet many parts of
the country are bereft of basic educational or medical infrastructure. Since
independence, the country has had a serious shortfall in electricity supply. The promise
of a proper electricity grid was, in fact, Jonathan's main poll plank.

Four years ago, he would not have dreamt of becoming the first Ijaw (his ethnic group)
from the Delta region to hold the country's highest office. Even when President
Yar'Adua became incapacitated soon after taking over the presidency, Jonathan was not
given any meaningful role. It was only last year, when Yar'Adua was on his deathbed,
that Jonathan was allowed to exercise the powers of the President. After Yar'Adua's
death in May, Jonathan formally assumed the presidency. Many in his party had
expected him to make way for a politician from the north in deference to the unwritten
rule in Nigerian politics. Olusegun Obasanjo, a Christian from the south, was in power
for two terms before Yar'Adua. (As a concession to the political heavyweights from the
north, Jonathan has pledged not to run again after his new term ends four years from
now.)
Once in power, Jonathan did not waste much time in consolidating his hold over his
party. The burgeoning price of oil in the international market had filled up the
government's coffers. (Around $150 million from the government's surplus oil revenues
was unaccounted for in recent months.) President Jonathan was in a position to dole out
many favours to the regional satraps and power brokers of the PDP. He easily won his
party's endorsement in the primaries to run for the presidency. In the run-up to the
elections, all opinion polls pointed to a sweeping victory for Jonathan and the PDP.
Therefore, the election results should not have come as a surprise for the opposition.
But the highly polarised nature of Nigerian politics seems to have ensured a new
conflagration, something the country cannot afford. Nigeria is already battling a serious
insurgency in the Delta region, where the indigenous people have been demanding a
greater slice of the country's oil wealth, along with autonomy. Nigeria was among the
first independent African countries to witness a long and bloody civil war: the Biafra
war (1966-70), fought when the south attempted to secede, left more than a million
dead. Jonathan said that the post-election violence brought back memories of that war.

Buhari took his own time to condemn the riots that have swept across the States of
Katsina, Kaduna and Zamfara. Thousands have been forced to flee their homes. Buhari
initially stated that the people “had just reacted to the results” and that he was not
aware of the other factors that ignited the widespread violence. He has now issued a
statement calling on people to desist from violence, especially the burning of churches
and mosques. “Needless to say, this act is worse than the rigging of elections,” he said.

“No one's political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian,” President Jonathan
said in a statement immediately after the post-election riots broke out.

Buhari and his party keep harping on the rigging that they say marred the elections.
“What is being exhibited to the world is not collated from polling units but from the
state headquarters where we believe a lot of manipulations had taken place,” the party
said in a statement. Buhari, who contested the 2003 and 2007 elections, had repeatedly
stated that Nigerians would not accept the results of rigged elections this time around.
He said that he would not personally challenge the results of the elections. All the same,
his party has gone to court challenging them.

Jonathan had appointed a well-known, non-partisan figure, Attahiru Jega, to head the
Independent National Electoral Commission. An “open secret ballot system” was
adopted, which encouraged voters to register at polling booths on election day and
remain outside until the counting was over. He also got the ballot papers printed
outside Nigeria. The electoral rolls, according to reports, have only 15-20 per cent
“ghost voters”. In the last elections, the majority of the votes cast for the ruling party
were of dubious origin. Ballot boxes were stuffed with impunity.

With the international community wholeheartedly supporting the electoral outcome,

President Jonathan is all set for another four years in office. The Nigerian military,
which has a well-known propensity to stage coups, is for the moment solidly behind the
civilian government. More importantly, the Obama administration and the big oil
companies had indicated before the elections that Jonathan was their preferred
candidate. A WikiLeaks cable said that the Shell oil company had penetrated every
level of government and that oil from the Delta region was stolen by gangs financed by
politicians rather than the rebels fighting there. United States Assistant Secretary of
State for Africa Johnnie Carson, who was in Nigeria when the election results were
announced, was quick to congratulate Jonathan and the Independent National Electoral
Commission.

The Obama administration wants Nigeria to play a more robust role as the regional
peacekeeper in coordination with AFRICOM (the United States Africa Command).
Though Nigeria remains opposed to the establishment of U.S. military bases on the
continent, it remains receptive to the idea of cooperation with Washington in so-called
“counterterrorism” missions. Only five African countries have been resolutely opposing
AFRICOM. One of them is Libya.
--------------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

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