Jailed ex-Chad dictator Habre ordered to compensate victims

Yahoo – AFP, Malick Rokhy Ba, July 29, 2016

Hissene Habre led Chad from 1982-1990, his rule marked by fierce repression of
opponents and targeting of rival ethnic groups (AFP Photo/Dominique Faget)

Dakar (AFP) - Former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre, sentenced to life in May for crimes against humanity, was ordered Friday to pay what could amount to tens of millions of euros to his thousands of victims.

A special African Union court ruled he should give up to 30,000 euros ($33,000) to each victim who suffered rape, arbitrary detention and imprisonment during his abusive 1982-1990 rule, as well as to their relatives.

"We will spare no effort to locate and seize Habre's assets and make sure the victims are compensated," said Human Rights Watch lawyer Reed Brody, who spent 15 years trying to bring him to justice.

Habre was sentenced to life in jail on May 30 by the court set up to try him a quarter century after he fled to Senegal following his 1990 ouster by Chad's current president Idriss Deby.

The landmark conviction was seen by rights campaigners as a victory in the fights against impunity.

It set a global precedent as the first time a country had prosecuted the former leader of another nation for rights abuses. It was also the first such trial by the African Union.

Hissene Habre led Chad from 1982-1990, his rule marked by fierce repression of 

opponents and targeting of rival ethnic groups (AFP Photo/J-M.Cornu/S.Ramis/

A.Bommenel, jj/)

Friday's financial compensation order was issued by the court's presiding judge, Burkina Faso's Gberdao Gustave Kam, who did not detail how many people would win redress.

But the main lawyer for victims of Habre's rule, Jacqueline Moudeina, told journalists that 4,733 civil plaintiffs were involved in the case.

Of those, 1,625 were direct victims of regime brutality, having been jailed without trial or taken prisoner of war. Around a dozen women could claim for rape or sexual abuse, she said.

The court ordered Habre "to pay each of the victims of rape and sexual slavery the sum of 20 million CFA francs (30,490 euros), to each victim of arbitrary detention, or prisoners of war ... 15 million CFA francs; and to indirect victims, 10 million," Kam said.

One of the civil plaintiffs, jeweller Abdourahmane Gueye who says he was jailed for several months on charges of spying, said the compensation was far too low.

"I lost more than 30 million," he said.

'Africa's Pinochet'

"Money will never bring me back my friends," said former detainee Souleymane Guengueng. "But it helps to heal the wounds, to support those who became poor and it shows we have rights that must be recognised."

The 73-year-old former leader, who refused to recognise the court throughout the nine-month trial, did not attend the hearing. His court-appointed lawyers said they would appeal.

A group of Habre victims, including lawyer Reed Brody, said they estimated total compensation at around 53 billion CFA francs, almost 80.8 million euros.

The court has already frozen some of his assets, including a house in an upscale Dakar neighbourhood thought to be worth about 680,000 euros as well as some small bank accounts. But Habre is thought to have much more extensive assets.

Chadian dictator Hissene Habre gesturing as he leaves a Dakar courthouse after 

an identity hearing on June 3, 2015 (AFP Photo/Seyllou)

Often known as "Africa's Pinochet", Habre was accused of the deaths of 40,000 people, charges he denied.

Witnesses recounted the horror of life in Chad's prisons, describing in graphic detail abusive and often deadly punishments inflicted by Habre's feared secret police, the Documentation and Security Directorate (DDS).

Victims were subject to electric shocks and waterboarding while some had gas sprayed in their eyes or spice rubbed into their genitals, the court heard.

Habre's defence team unsuccessfully sought to cast doubt on the prosecution's argument that their client was an all-knowing, all-powerful head of the DDS, suggesting he may have been unaware of abuses on the ground.

For more than 20 years, the former dictator lived freely in an upmarket Dakar suburb with his wife and children.

Brody said in May that the conviction was a warning.

"The days when tyrants could brutalise their people, pillage their treasury and escape abroad to a life of luxury are coming to an end," Brody said in a statement.

Surprise as veterans join growing anti-Mugabe movement

Once considered some of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s strongest supporters, war veterans have joined a growing chorus of people speaking out against the long-serving president.

Deutsche Welle, 22 Jul 2016

In a statement released on Thursday (21.07.2016), the Zimbabwe Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) described the 92-year-old president as a dictator and announced that they would no longer support his rule.

"[Mugabe's] leadership has presided over unbridled corruption and downright mismanagement of the economy, leading to national economic ruin for which the effects are now felt throughout the land," the veterans said in the statement, issued after a seven-hour meeting of its leaders.

The veterans fought alongside Mugabe during the country's war for independence (in 1980) and continually supported the president during previous campaigns, sometimes violently.

"We note, with concern, shock and dismay, the systematic entrenchment of dictatorial tendencies, personified by the President and his cohorts, which have slowly devoured the values of the liberation struggle," the statement continued .

Mugabe is the head of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU–PF) party, which he has led since independence in 1980. He rose to power as the leader of a rebel group which fought in a guerilla war against white minority rule of then Rhodesia. He has been the president of Zimababwe since 1987.

Protests and counter-protests

The release of the statement by the war veterans comes after weeks of organized protests against the ruling party in Zimbabwe. Some of the protests were spontaneous while others were planned using social media.

Pastor Evan Mawarire took to social media this year to complain about the economic situation in Zimababwe. His posts led to a campaign under the hashtag #ThisFlag asking Zimbabweans to take pictures of themselves wearing the country's flag in a sign of protest against corruption, injustice and poverty in the country.

With his #ThisFlag movement, Pastor Evan Mawarire has become the face
of government opposition

The #ThisFlag campaign took off and the pastor used its popularity to protest the government by asking people to "shut down" the country by staying home for one day. The protests led to Mawarire being briefly detained before the case was thrown out by the court. Mawarire has stated that he is considering future actions to continue to put pressure on the Mugabe government.

A demonstration in support of President Mugabe and ZANU-PF by the party's youth wing was also held this week. Unlike previous demonstrations which were violently suppressed by the police and security forces, this protest was guarded and protected by the police.

"The youths may provide him with the muscle he needs right now, but they don't command any meaningful political stock," political analyst Gabriel Shumba, chairman of the South Africa-based Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, told the AFP.

Such events tend to attract many young men although the majority of Zimbabwean youth remain unemployed. According to some estimates by independent economists, up to 80 percent of Zimbabweans are unemployed. The government puts the figure at 11 percent, arguing that most people are employed in the informal sector. Recent graduates are planning a demonstration against Mugabe next week after he failed to deliver on his promise last year to create two million jobs.

Is change coming?

Over the past couple of months, the number of protests against the President Mugabe and his government has been increasing. The absense of the war veterans from this week's march in support of the ruling party and their subsequent statement denouncing Mugabe has raised the question of whether support for the long-serving president is falling to levels which could lead to political change in the country.

"The people of Zimbabwe are not taking the situation into their own hands in registering their displeasure with the government," said Alexander Rusero, a political analyst in Harare. "We also have a government that is clueless in terms of what to do to alleviate the poverty or to calm the disgruntlement that has gripped the citizens of Zimbabwe."

Many of the protests are in response to the failing economic situation in the country. Once the breadbasket of Africa, Zimbabwe is in crisis as the country's economy deals with hyperinflation and a currency shortage. Most civil servants are yet to be paid for June or July and even the country's military has not been paid on schedule this month.

Proposed civil servants pay dates for July out. pic.twitter.com/ZnLyGAFfsC

— Privilege Musvanhiri (@Musvanhiri) July 21, 2016

"This is really uncharted water for Zimbabwe," said Wilf Mbanga, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper The Zimbabwean which is published outside of the country. "So many people are prepared to confront the government and they all now agree that this government must go."

But Mbanga was cautious in predicting whether the latest protests would lead to political change in Zimbabwe.

"Mugabe has a very strong army which is solidly behind him but this month they have not been paid," he said. "Will they now be prepared to fight for a government that is failing to pay them?"

Morocco wants to rejoin African Union: king

Yahoo – AFP, July 18, 2016

Moroccan King Mohammed VI, pictured in February 2016, says his country
want to rejoin the African Union (AFP Photo/Fadel Senna)

Rabat (AFP) - Morocco wants to rejoin the African Union, 32 years after quitting the bloc in protest at its decision to accept Western Sahara as a member, King Mohammed VI said Sunday.

Morocco maintains that Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, is an integral part of the kingdom even though local Sahrawi people led by the Polisario Front have long campaigned for the right to self-determination.

"For a long time our friends have been asking us to return to them, so that Morocco can take up its natural place within its institutional family. The moment has now come," the monarch said in a message sent to an AU summit taking place in Kigali, the MAP Moroccan news agency reported.

Morocco has occupied the sparsely populated Western Sahara area since 1975 in a move that was not recognised by the international community.

Morocco quit the AU in protest in 1984 when the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) was admitted as a member.

But although Morocco left the club, "it never quit Africa", King Mohammed said in his message to AU leaders as they began a two-day meeting in the Rwandan capital.

"Through this historic act and return, Morocco wants to work within the AU to transcend divisions," he added.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI wife Princess Lalla Selma, front right, welcomes

 U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, front left, and daughters Malia, rear right, and 

Sasha at Menara Airport in Marrakech, Morocco, Monday, June 27, 2016. The

 first lady is on a visit to Morocco to promote eduction for girls. (AP Photo/ 

Abdeljalil Bounhar)

In 1991, the United Nations brokered a ceasefire between Moroccan troops and Sahrawi rebels of the Algerian-backed independence movement the Polisario Front but a promised referendum to settle the status of the desert territory has yet to materialise.

Earlier this year Morocco expelled several UN staff members who were part of the MINURSO mission in Western Sahara in angry retaliation over UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's use of the term "occupation" to describe the status of the territory.

In his address to the African Union, King Mohammed urged the bloc to rethink its position on the "phantom state" of Western Sahara, saying that a political solution was being worked on under the auspices of the UN.

"The recognition of a pseudo state is hard for the Moroccan people to accept," he said.

The SADR is not a member of the UN or the Arab League, the king went on to note, adding that "at least 34 countries" do not recognise it.

"On the Sahara issue, institutional Africa can no longer bear the burden of a historical error and a cumbersome legacy," the monarch said.

Morocco's return to the AU would need to be validated by a vote.

Africa's progress in the fight against HIV/Aids

The South African city of Durban is the venue for the 2016 World Aids Conference. Sub-Saharan Africa will feature prominently on the agenda, a region where the infection rate has decreased by over 40 percent since 2000.

Deutsche Welle, 15 July 2016

Which strategies are most effective in the battle against HIV/Aids? DW looks at how four African countries are responding to the challenge.

Ethiopia: Free medicines

Ethiopia is regarded as a model in the fight against the virus HIV and the disease Aids. Between 2001 and 2011, the number of new infections in the East African nation dropped by 90 percent, more than in any other African state. During the same period, the number of people who died of Aids also declined by more than half.

The decreasing infection and mortality rates are mainly due to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. ARVs prevent the HIV virus from spreading and damaging the body's immune system and also allow people to live a largely normal life with the disease. Since 2005, the drug has been distributed across Ethiopia free of charge.

In remote villages, trained medical staff ensure every HIV patient takes his or her medication. Nearly 2,500 health clinics offer care and support to pregnant women to prevent mother-to-children transmission. In addition, between 2013 and 2014 some 9.6 million people - one in ten Ethiopians - were tested forr Aids.

Kenya: compulsory HIV/Aids education

Fewer than six percent of Kenyans live with HIV/Aids. That's about 1.5 million people. The number of new infections also fell significantly in recent years. In 2005, 28.3 percent of infected mothers transmitted the virus to their children. Five years later, that figure had gone down to 8.5 percent.

Meanwhile, more than 90 percent of all pregnant Kenyan women go for Aids tests. In 2000, there were only three health facilities where Kenyans could consult medical practitioners and get tested for HIV. In 2010, the number of health facilities offering HIV consultations had increased to more than 4,000.

The main reason for the reduction in the HIV/Aids prevalence in Kenya is the supply of ARVs. In 2003, only 6,000 people had access to the medication. Ten years later, that figure increased to more than 600,000.

The Kenyan government also regards voluntary male circumcision as a weapon in the fight against AIDS. This reduces the risk of infection among men by about 40 percent, according to studies. Since 2003, HIV/Aids education has been a compulsory element in school curriculums. About 70 percent of the cost in fighting HIV/Aids in Kenya is footed by external donors.

Burkina Faso: support fund for the sick and orphans

In most of western Africa, the percentage of HIV infection was far less than in eastern and southern Africa. In 2000, Burkina Faso had a prevalence rate of around six percent, one of the highest in the region.

Today, according to estimates by UNAIDS, only 0.8 percent of the population is infected with the virus. The government responded early and showed its determination to fight the epidemic.

In 1987, the Burkinabe government implemented its first action plans. Together with international donors, the private sector and local communities, it invested large sums in ARVs, opened a support fund for HIV/Aids infected people, and started training thousands of health workers. In addition, the government began a massive behavioral change campaigns and distributed condoms.

Uganda: 'Abstinence, faithfulness and condoms'

In Uganda, the Aids epidemic reached its peak in the 1990s. Approximately 18 percent of the population was infected with the virus. The Ugandan government and international aid agencies launched ambitious and expensive educational programs with the slogan "Abstinence, faithfulness and condoms."

The campaign was a success. In 2000, only five percent of the population was HIV-positive. But, in the meantime, a contrary trend is emerging. The number of new infections in Uganda is rising again for the first time in ten years. The HIV prevalence rate in the country is now about seven percent of the population.

Surprisingly, a major reason for this is the widespread usage of ARVs and the circumcision of men. Many Ugandans believe that the ARV therapy can cure the disease completely and that male circumcision rules out any risk of infection - as a result, more people are abandoning the use of condoms.

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"The End of History"- Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) - (Text-Version)

" .... Africa

Let me tell you where else it's happening that you are unaware - that which is the beginning of the unity of the African states. Soon the continent will have what they never had before, and when that continent is healed and there is no AIDS and no major disease, they're going to want what you have. They're going to want houses and schools and an economy that works without corruption. They will be done with small-minded leaders who kill their populations for power in what has been called for generations "The History of Africa." Soon it will be the end of history in Africa, and a new continent will emerge.

Be aware that the strength may not come from the expected areas, for new leadership is brewing. There is so much land there and the population is so ready there, it will be one of the strongest economies on the planet within two generations plus 20 years. And it's going to happen because of a unifying idea put together by a few. These are the potentials of the planet, and the end of history as you know it.

In approximately 70 years, there will be a black man who leads this African continent into affluence and peace. He won't be a president, but rather a planner and a revolutionary economic thinker. He, and a strong woman with him, will implement the plan continent-wide. They will unite. This is the potential and this is the plan. Africa will arise out the ashes of centuries of disease and despair and create a viable economic force with workers who can create good products for the day. You think China is economically strong? China must do what it does, hobbled by the secrecy and bias of the old ways of its own history. As large as it is, it will have to eventually compete with Africa, a land of free thinkers and fast change. China will have a major competitor, one that doesn't have any cultural barriers to the advancement of the free Human spirit.. ...."


Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear Kryon, as the Universe transforms in this period of ascension/transition, why does it appear that little spiritual attention is focused on the African continent? While there has certainly been a religious awakening largely due to the circumstances that souls choose (for example, poverty, HIV/AIDS, etc.), this is being translated quite slowly into spirituality (my perception).

What is your information on the state of spiritual awakening on the African continent?

Answer: Dear one, this question is perhaps the best one you could have asked for your time. Indeed, it appears that the African situation is dichotomous to an awakening Earth. For a full explanation, you have to go back to information we presented 12 years ago [Kryon Book One, 1989]. We told you back then that there was a potential that showed that in order for your planet to move forward at the rate it was appearing to, up to one percent of the population might have to leave. This was startling information to most of you, and some wondered how and where this might begin. A disaster, perhaps? A comet strike? Now, as you know, the Humans on the African continent are currently losing their lives by the tens of millions. In addition, the life expectancy is bleak for at least the next decade . . . perhaps the next full generation! Your disease called AIDS is seemingly fulfilling this prophecy.

What this might mean to you is that the prediction given to you about your transition is now upon you, and all you can do is sit back and watch it occur in horror. What we have channelled to you recently, however, is that nothing could be further from your reality, or your 2001 potential. Instead, we have reported to you that since the 1989 potentials, you have far exceeded the energy for the year 2001 beyond that which was expected. What this means is that now the prophecy does not have to occur at all! What you are seeing, however, is the setup for the old potential still in progress, without knowledge that it is not needed.

Remember that death of any kind is abhorrent to you. We don’t expect you to understand how such a thing could have helped Spirit or Earth, but on a grander scale, it would have. An entire generation of Humanity came in with this expectation and knowledge, and they had agreements to leave early. It is this African family that you may now turn your attention to, for they have the opportunity to void this entire contract and remain in health.

This African continent is not in a state of spiritual awakening. They are instead in survival mode, plowing through an outdated spiritual potential. What can you do? Visualize the change in this scenario! You just changed the very time frame of Earth itself, so changing the energy of this one place is well within your ability! Visualize them happy, with families intact, fed, healthy, with the potential for life and joy. The energy you can develop in these visualizations can nullify the scenario that is there . . . totally! You can change the leaders’ minds, quicken the ability for science to reach those it needs to, and even change the reality of the disease itself. All these things we tell you, lightworker, since this is the work that you have asked to do. Your visualizations create a light that shines into the dark places of consciousness, or science, and of hope itself. You still don’t understand the potential of your energy! Is it worth two minutes a day? Perhaps three? Each day, consider this.

Blessed indeed is the awakening lightworker who is free from worry about death and who is not constantly hungry. For this Human has the ability to use his energy to help those who are ready to blossom into their own spiritual awakening, but who are currently consumed with an old contract of death and disease. The few may help the many, and the many may remain to help the earth in other ways. This is what family does for family. Believe it!