France to return Benin artworks by 2021: minister

Yahoo – AFP, December 16, 2019

President Macron pledged last year to hand back 26 artefacts "without delay" in
a landmark decision that has piled pressure on other former colonial powers to
restore looted artworks to their countries of origin (AFP Photo/GERARD JULIEN)

Cotonou (AFP) - France will return artworks taken from Benin during the colonial conquest of the region by the start of 2021, culture minister Franck Riester said Monday on a visit to the West African country.

President Emmanuel Macron pledged last year to hand back 26 artefacts "without delay" in a landmark decision that has piled pressure on other former colonial powers to restore looted artworks to their countries of origin.

The pieces -- including a royal throne -- were seized by French troops over a century ago and have been housed at the Quai Branly museum in Paris.

Riester said the artworks would be returned "in the course of 2020, perhaps at the beginning of 2021" as he met with Benin's president Patrice Talon in Cotonou.

Benin has welcomed France's decision to return the objects, but has warned against doing so too quickly as it works to build a proper facility to showcase the heritage.

Benin's culture minister Jean-Michel Abimbola told a joint press conference that the two countries had agreed that the artworks would be handed back "in several stages".

He welcomed "the commitment of the French President to return these works" and "the opening of a broader discussion" concerning other artefacts.

The Kingdom of Dahomey -- in what became modern-day Benin -- reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries and became a major source of slaves for European traders before conquest by Paris in the 1890s ended its rule.

Nigerian contemporary art booms and prices soar

Yahoo – AFP, Célia LEBUR, November 2, 2019

Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu's work entitled 'Tutu' - the African Mona Lisa -- was
one of the works that captured the emergence of Nigeria's art market (AFP Photo/
BEN STANSALL)

Lagos (AFP) - First there was Tutu, the "African Mona Lisa" sold last year for 1.5 million dollars. Then a second portrait by revered Nigerian painter Ben Enwonwu, called Christine, sold in mid-October, for 1.4 million dollars.

Both record sales of famous works by the late "father of African modernism", captured the emergence of Nigeria's art market.

A decade ago, major African artists were largely absent from international auctions. But the continent is now a major attraction in contemporary and modern art.

Since his death in 1994, Enwonwu's star has only risen, epitomising the growing industry and value for art.

His two masterpieces, were sold by two of London's most prestigious auction houses, Bonhams and Sotheby's.

"Africa is one of the fastest growing markets in the art world today, and Nigeria is equal on the top with South Africa," Giles Peppiatt, director of African art at Bonhams, told AFP.

His auction house was one of the first in Europe to bet big on the continent with "Africa Now" beginning in 2007, auctioning African art as a stand alone sale.

In the vibrant commercial capital of Lagos, with 20 million people, its cultural season, awash with literary fashion and art festivals, culminates this weekend with the international fair "ART X".

Three years after it began, the fair has emerged as one of the premier art events on the continent, exhibiting the rich array of African modern and contemporary art.

Nigerian artist Queen Nwaneri paints during the Art X event in Lagos (AFP Photo/

EMMANUEL AREWA)

The famous Tutu, "lost" for almost 40 years and spectacularly found in 2018, almost by chance, in a London apartment, was the surprise attraction of the last edition, drawing several thousand attendees.

A show-reel of Nollywood's actresses, traditional leaders, wealthy collectors and artists trooped to the painting of the mysterious Yoruba princess.

At the end of the year, Nigeria's economic-hub becomes awash with glamor and arts.

Thousands of visitors rush from one exhibition to another, from ART X to the Lagos Biennale of contemporary art, Lagos fashion week and LagosPhoto, all of which take place between October and November.

But alongside the art, is an increasing market and appetite amongst investors and collectors.

New galleries like Art Twenty One have opened in recent years.

And the auction house Art House Contemporary Limited, whose turnover is more modest than that of its European peers, regularly exhibits the most notable artists in the region: Enwonwu, Yusuf Grillo, El Anatsui or Peju Alatise.

Collectors or investors?

This year, some twenty galleries and more than 90 artists will be represented at ART X, with representatives from Tate Modern (London) and Smithsonian (Washington) expected to attend.

Creative audio installations by renowned artist, Emeka Ogboh, based between Berlin and Lagos, will grace the background of the anticipated fouth edition of the fair.

If the appetite for contemporary African art continues to grow, apart from outliers that exceed one million dollars, the majority of works are still sold at "reasonable" prices in comparison with the rest of the world: "between $10,000 and $60,000," Peppiatt says.

This year, some twenty galleries and more than 90 artists will be represented at 

ART X, with representatives from Tate Modern and Smithsonian expected to

attend (AFP Photo/EMMANUEL AREWA)

"Events like Art X are changing the game, they enable cities like Lagos to shine and attract many enthusiastic collectors," he explains. "This is a very exciting moment."

The West African oil giant and largest economy on the continent has a growing middle class of rich bankers and industrialists, with a burgeoning appetite for purchasing contemporary art.

The biggest bids still take place in Europe, where the market is better structured, and better protected against fake works.

Yet collectors increasingly fly to buy works in London or New York and then bring them back to Africa, says Jess Castellote, director of the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art, a private museum that will open next year in the suburbs of Lagos.

"There are collectors, art lovers who want to reconnect with their culture, their legacy," he says, explaining that as well as art enthusiasts, serious investors have taken interest in art.

In Nigeria, as in South Africa, multi-million dollar investment funds have sprung up to acquire works and resell them as dearly as possible, again betting on a rising demand for art.

"Rich Nigerians who used to spend 250,000 pounds ($320,000) on a watch or a luxury car now prefer to invest in a painting or a sculpture," Castellote says.

Germany pledges to speed return of colonial-era loot

Yahoo – AFP, March 14, 2019

Germany has agreed to speed up the return of human remains and artifacts from
its former African colonies. (AFP Photo/John MACDOUGALL)

Berlin (AFP) - Germany has agreed to speed up the return of human remains and artwork from former African colonies where the country carried out brutal massacres and pillaged indigenous heritage.

The German culture and foreign ministries as well as regional and local cultural authorities signed a pledge late Wednesday committing museums and scientific institutions to completing an inventory on their "ethnology, natural history, art and cultural history holdings" from the colonial era.

The aim is to determine which "were acquired in a way that legally or ethnically would no longer be acceptable today" and work toward their restitution.

"The priority in this work are the human remains dating from the colonial period" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the signatories said.

The commitment comes after a study commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron in November 2018 recommended returning African treasures held by French museums -- a radical policy shift seen as putting pressure on other former colonial powers.

Germany is unique among the powers in having large holdings of African human remains at museums, universities and in private collections that were used in pseudo-scientific studies.

"Research" carried out by German professor Eugen Fischer on the skulls and bones resulted in theories later used by the Nazis to justify the murder of Jews.

Germany has on several occasions repatriated human remains to Namibia, where it slaughtered of tens of thousands of indigenous Herero and Nama people between 1904 and 1908.

The German government announced in 2016 that it planned to issue an official apology for the atrocities committed by German imperial troops.

But it has repeatedly refused to pay direct reparations, citing millions of euros in development aid given to the Namibian government.

Beyond German South West Africa (present-day Namibia), the German empire held colonies from Togoland (now Togo) and what was then Kamerun (Cameroon) in the west, across to the far slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanganyika (Tanzania) in the east, as well as Pacific islands.

Germany this year earmarked 1.9 million euros ($2.2 million) to research the provenance of holdings acquired by museums during the colonial period.

The project will be spearheaded by the German Lost Art Foundation, which also studies the provenance of art suspected of having been looted by the Nazis.

Haunted by colonial past, Belgium's Africa museum reopens after revamp

MSN – Yahoo, Dave Clark, Matthieu DEMEESTERE , 8 Dec 2018 

The reopening comes amid debate about returning stolen African artefacts (AFP)

Belgium's Africa Museum reopened on Saturday after a five-year restoration to repackage its looted treasures with a critical view of the country's brutal colonial past.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander De Croo hailed a "historic moment" and said it would open "a new chapter" in Belgian-African relations.

The reopening of the former Royal Museum for Central Africa in the Tervuren Palace outside Brussels comes amid a renewed European debate about returning stolen artefacts.

Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to return 26 cultural artefacts to Benin "without delay", a move likely to put pressure on other former colonial powers to return African artworks to their countries of origin.

Macron said the decision should not be seen as an isolated or symbolic case and proposed a conference in Paris next year to discuss an "exchange policy" for African treasures.

"Restitution should no longer be taboo," De Croo said on Saturday adding, however, that any returns should be dependant on certain conservation conditions being met.

"It is clear that this implies a respectful attitude on the part of the African authorities with regard to this artistic heritage," he said.

Before it closed for refurbishment in 2013, visitors to the Belgian museum were greeted by a statue uncritically depicting white European missionaries "bringing civilisation to Congo".

The museum's research team insists the exhibits will now take a much more critical approach to the depredations of King Leopold II and his agents in Congo.

With the help of multimedia displays and detailed captions, visitors will be encouraged to take a critical view and to see colonialism through African eyes.

The museum's academic experts say there is no attempt to cover up the past, but rather to use the collection of 125,000 ethnographic objects more educationally.

Despite the new approach more in keeping with Belgium's multicultural present, the revamp has not been without controversy.

Activists are demanding a proper memorial to seven Congolese who died in 1897 after being brought to Belgium as living exhibits. They are buried near the Tervuren estate.

Paula Polanco told AFP her group, Intal-Congo, wanted them to be recognised as "victims of a colonialist crime".

Belgium's current king, Philippe, meanwhile declined an invitation to the reopening.

The Belgian colonies, run as a private royal estate by Leopold II, covered lands now included in independent Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These countries have suffered a turbulent modern history and for European experts, in DR Congo's case at least, lack premises to properly house a national history collection.

DR Congo's President Joseph Kabila, however, has said he plans to formally request the return of art and records before his country's own museum opens next year.

Restitution of African art from France: "We need this memory"

Yahoo – AFP, Sophie BOUILLON, with African bureau, November 24, 2018

Benin's artefacts from the era of the Kingdom of Dahomey, including these royal
statues, are among 70,000 African objects kept at the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques
Chirac in Paris -- but France says it plans to return 26 works plundered in 1892
"without delay" (AFP Photo/GERARD JULIEN)

Lagos (AFP) - The debate over the restitution of thousands of African cultural artefacts from France has become heated, but in West Africa conservators prefer to call it "collaboration" and are preparing for their return.

The French presidency announced on Friday night that it was restoring "without delay" 26 works plundered by the French army in 1892 and claimed by the authorities in Benin.

The recommendations come with the delivery of a non-binding report that proposes a change in legislation and urges the return of museum artefacts to Africa from France.

Alain Godonou, a Beninese conservator responsible for heritage at the new national agency for tourism promotion in Benin, has been working on this issue for more than 30 years and says now is the time for reflection.

The small West African country of Benin, formerly Dahomey, was home to the kingdom of Abomey (1600-1894) and priceless wealth.

But instead of sitting in the capital of Porto-Novo, the throne of King Glele from 1858 is one of the centrepieces of the 70,000 African objects kept at the Musée du quai Branly-Jacques Chirac in Paris.

"To keep war booty in countries that are now friends and collaborate doesn't make sense," Godonou told AFP.

"It's a relief but it's only the beginning. There is still so much to be done so that our youth can access this heritage that will make them proud."

Several African countries including Benin, whose pictured 

funerary crown of the Kingdom of Dahomey is in Paris, 

are either planning new museums or looking to inaugurate 

venues already built to house their artistic heritage (AFP 

Photo/GERARD JULIEN)

Sensitive question

"We don't want them to have our objects just for the sake of it," Godonou continues.

"The cultural education of African youth is important and these objects will help to root them."

This includes a rehabilitation of museums. For years, Europeans have justified keeping the treasured artefacts by arguing that African countries didn't have the facilities to take care of their cultural heritage.

But in many countries -- including Senegal, Ivory Coast, Gabon and Benin -- plans are underway new museums have been built and plans are underway for yet more.

Beninese President Patrice Talon, whose goal is to make tourism one of the pillars of the national economy, has approved the sites for five museums that will open in 2020 to honour the kings of Abomey and the Amazons, the all-female military regiment in Dahomey.

The country's minister of foreign affairs Aurelien Agbenonci told AFP on Saturday the government is "delighted" with the decision, which he said was "an invitation to get to work quickly."

Ousmane Aledji, in charge of heritage for the Benin presidency, welcomed the "new form of cultural exchange" with France.

"We're not for a violent claim, but we want to put in place measures for progressive restitution," he says.

His sentiment was echoed in Abidjan, where the director of the museum of civilisation of Ivory Coast Silvie Memel Kassi said "it's not a bad thing in itself that they were preserved and indexed in France."

French President Emmanuel Macron, during a visit to 

Burkina Faso last year, said "Africa's heritage cannot just 

be in European private collections and museums"

(AFP Photo/ludovic MARIN)

"Ancestral pieces"

The national museum of Abidjan was renovated last year, but a larger museum is sill in the works.

In this case, said Kassi, "we could start talking about a definitive restitution."

She added that "the important thing is to work together, we want to have access to these objects, we need this memory, these objects are a memory."

In Dakar, the museum of black civilisation, whose inauguration is scheduled for December 6, will be ready one day to house the objects, pledges Kassi.

"We have operational reserves that can accommodate such objects," said the Senegalese museum director Hamady Bocoum, stressing the works may not necessarily end up in museums and could go back to communities who may "decide to put them in the altars of the ancestors."

"These works came from our ancestors," said Taho Toubo, a traditional leader from Ivory Coast.

"I pray for the ancestors that their pieces are returned."

Obama opens new African American Museum amid national racial strife

Yahoo – AFP, Shahzad Abdul, September 24, 2016

US President Barack Obama speaks during the opening ceremony for the
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
September 24, 2016 in Washington, D.C. (AFP Photo/Zach Gibson)

Washington (AFP) - President Barack Obama hailed Saturday the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a long-awaited institution dedicated to the many threads of black suffering and triumph in the United States.

The first black president of the United States cut the ribbon to inaugurate the striking 400,000-square-foot (37,000-square-meter) bronze-clad edifice before thousands of spectators gathered in the US capital to witness the historic opening, at a time of growing racial friction.

"Beyond the majesty of the building, what makes this occasion so special is the larger story it contains," said Obama -- just a few months before he leaves office -- at the star-studded public ceremony that included the likes of Stevie Wonder and Oprah Winfrey.

"African-American history is not somehow separate from our larger American story. It's not the underside of the American story," he said. "It is central to the American story."

The Smithsonian's 19th addition to its sprawling museum and research complex is the first national museum tasked with documenting the uncomfortable truths of the country's systematic oppression of black people, while also honoring the integral role of African-American culture.

"A clear-eyed view of history can make us uncomfortable," Obama said. "It is precisely of that discomfort that we learn and grow and harness our collective power to make this nation more perfect. That's the American story that this museum tells."

Guests of honor on stage included four generations of a black family called the Bonners, led by 99-year-old great-grandmother Ruth, the daughter of a slave who went on to graduate from medical school.

After Obama declared the museum "open to the world," it was she -- stooped in stature but smiling broadly -- who tugged on a rope to ring an antique bell from an historic black church, sealing the inauguration.

"I feel a sense of pride and a sense of humbleness because of all the sacrifices that so many people made to make this happen," said audience member Karmello Colman, who trekked halfway across the country for the ceremony from Kansas City, Missouri.

"I feel honored because it is highlighting the accomplishments of my ancestors, who were probably slaves, and those of so many others."

Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith attend the opening ceremony for the 

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

 (AFP Photo/Zach Gibson)

Deteriorating race relations

Elected in a wave of optimism in 2008, Obama pledged to unify, often repeating that he is not the president of black Americans but of all Americans.

But as his presidential mandate ends polls show that the overwhelming majority of Americans see US race relations as "generally bad."

The recent fatal police shootings of black men in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Charlotte, North Carolina laid bare yet again the country's racial disquiet.

Obama delivered his Saturday address amid these ever-heightening tensions, as national outrage grows over the spate of deaths of black men at the hands of police, prompting mass protests.

The president emphasized that a museum alone cannot solve the ills of a country still struggling to overcome a dark legacy of slavery and racial prejudice, but said it "provides context for the debate of our times."

"Perhaps it can help a white visitor understand the pain and anger of demonstrators and places like Ferguson and Charlotte," Obama said.

"It can also help black visitors appreciate the fact that not only is this younger generation carrying on traditions of the past, but within the white communities, across the nation, we see the sincerity of law enforcement officers and officials who, in fits and starts, are struggling to understand."

"And are trying to do the right thing," he said.

Protesters hold signs in front the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department 

during a demonstration in Charlotte, North Carolina (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm)

'Hallowed ground'

The dramatic building -- set in a prime location near the White House and the Washington Monument -- features three inverted-pyramid tiers sheathed in bronze-painted filigree panels that house more than 34,000 objects, nearly half of them donated.

Obama noted that the building reaches 70 feet below ground -- "its roots spreading far wider and deeper than any tree on this mall" -- a crypt of historical galleries that wind from slavery to civil rights to Black Lives Matter, ascending into upper floors that include testaments to African-American cultural contributions.

"I'm so happy to see that so many people of color are coming out together just to celebrate themselves and one another," said 50-year-old Derek Jones, who ventured from New York to attend Saturday's celebration that included music, poetry and dancing.

"It's amazing to get this opened by the end of Obama's eight years," Jones said, adding that he is "proud that he's still president during the opening -- it's really profound."

Ringing up to $540 million -- half of which was raised from private donations -- the museum shows "that this country born of change, this country born of revolution, this country of we the people, this country can get better," Obama said.

"It is a monument, no less than the others on this mall, to the deep and abiding love for this country and the ideals upon which it is founded. For we, too, are American."

Ghana government called upon to save historical sites

Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Ghana every year. But experts warn that revenue from tourism could suffer if attractions are neglected. Some sites are already crumbling and it may be too late to save them.

Deutsche Welle, 28 March 2016

Ruins of the demolished Sea View Hotel

James Town in Ghana’s capital Accra is home to many historical edifices. Ghana’s first hotel, the C.V. Hotel, was built here. It housed the Queen of England, Elizabeth II, during her historic visit in 1961 to the first country south of the Sahara to achieve independence. But there are more Ghanaian landmarks in this part of town. They include the Ussher Fort, one of the oldest in Ghana, as well as a lighthouse, the main fishing harbor of James Town and James Fort Prison.

Tour guide Nice-One knows his way around the tourist attractions in this community. Although happy about his job, he is saddened by the current state of decay of many of these historical sites. He says the disappearance of the C.V. Hotel to make way for the building of a charismatic church is downright shocking: "A few days ago the owners of the land just came and demolished it and sold the land to the church people."

Fort James in Accra was built by the British as a trading post in 1673

Residents complain

The residents are unhappy too. One of them, Clinton Ofori, told DW that he never expected this to happen: "It is pitiful, because this was the first hotel in Ghana, and now the building has been demolished."

A lighthouse situated close to the sea, in an area notorious for slave trading in the past, is also being left to rot. The tower hasn’t seen any maintenance for years. The same goes for the Ussher Fort, which was built by the Dutch in the 17th century. Eventually it became a prison for Ghana’s first president Kwame Nkrumah and other prominent freedom fighters, turning it into a site of great historical significance.

Tourism expert Nii Kwatey Boi Quatey is appalled by the neglect of these facilities because they are also important for tourism: "It is so unfortunate for us to see James Fort prison being neglected. There is no tourism here and things are not going well." Quatey calls on those in charge in Ghana to sit up and take notice.

The historical Rex Cinema, built on the initiative of first President Kwame Nkrumah

Lights out at the Rex Cinema

Nearby is Rex Cinema, one of the oldest movie theaters in the country. It was established by Ghana’s first president after independence. It was meant to boost the national film industry. But such hopes have now faded and the younger generation may soon not even have the chance to see this dilapidated edifice. There is an ongoing campaign to save the building but its future is far from certain.

The country is hoping to rake in $8.3 billion (7.4 billion euros) yearly from tourism by 2027. This is based on an estimate of 4.3 million international tourist arrivals. But for the tourists to come, the attractions must be properly maintained.

Abigail Hagan of the University of Ghana Business School leads a team of researchers who study the tourism sector in Ghana. She says the government has to step in to save the collapsing buildings: "It’s like a gold mine for us as a nation. We must study what others have done and then try to emulate that. Government needs to come to the aid of the people," she says, noting that the historical buildings "can be a source of revenue for both the government and the inhabitants of this town."

This colonial-era lighthouse in Accra

Ghana’s Museums and Monument Board, which is reportedly facing budget problems, stands accused of doing nothing to save the landmarks. The hope now lies with initiatives by the Ghanaians themselves to encourage their leaders to step in and save the monuments.

German foreign minister seeking 'anchors of stability' in Africa

Germany's Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier is seeking to intensify ties between Germany and Africa. Berlin is particularly interested in countries that foster regional stability.

Deutsche Welle, 23 Feb 2015

German Foreign Minister Steinmeir with kenyan President

Steinmeier's four-day trip took him to three countries - the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Kenya - and its purpose is to forge new partnerships for Germany.

There were occasional glitches. At the Nairobi museum, the minister was shown the start of a film with sound, but no pictures.

But such mishaps did not stop the high-level cultural and scientific delegation from Germany engaging in a lively debate with Kenya's cultural elite about new forms of cooperation with Africa. Such cooperation is expected to acquire tangible shape at a newly created Humboldt Forum in Berlin starting in 2019.

Cultivating a new relationship with Africa was the main goal of the foreign minister's four-day tour. In spite of the ongoing crises in Ukraine, the Middle East and Greece, Steinmeier went ahead with his Africa tour, the fourth in twelve months, to promote Germany's new Africa policy.

"We have to look at Africa in a new way," Steinmeier said. Germany still tends to view Africa as the continent of crises and conflicts. "But this is no longer true for all of Africa, because there are also anchors of stability in which we are particularly interested," the German minister said.

Rwanda accuses MONUSCO commanders of doing too little in the
fight against the FDLR rebels

'Where is Germany?'

Steinmeier said one anchor of stability in the region was Rwanda, despite deficits in democratic governance and its tense relationship with its neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

But Rwanda is not satisfied with the work of the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO to which Germany contributes more than 100 million euros (US$ 113 million) every year.

Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said FDLR Hutu rebels were still active in the border region where they were spreading "ethnic poison." They have to be "eliminated," the Rwandan minister said bluntly. She blamed the head of MONUSCO Martin Kobler - who otherwise enjoys an excellent reputation - for the FDLR's continued presence in the region.

Mushikiwabo wants Germany to take on a far bigger role in the region. Currently only France, the UK and Belgium are active there."Where is Germany?" she asked, "We want more German presence here seen in the region, and across the continent."

Anchors of stability are rare in Central and East Africa. A few days ago, German President Joachim Gauck added Tanzania to the list.

Kenya, the last leg of Steinmeier's tour, is not one of them. The Somali terrorist militia group al-Shabab has repeatedly carried out attacks in the country and the internal political situation is considered fragile. But Steinmeier noted to Kenya's credit that it is the country that is promoting regional cooperation within the framework of the East African Community (EAC).

Steinemeir described Rwanda as an anchor of stability despite
 'deficits in democratic governance'

East Africa - a dependable partner

Steinmeier believes East Africa could develop into a politically strong and economically stable region. A customs union encompassing Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda, would create an internal market of at least 160 million consumers. During this trip Steinmeier referred cautiously to "a region of growing political and economic stability."

Some members of the younger generation of East Africans, whether in DR Congo, Rwanda or Kenya, are apparently pinning their hopes on Germany.

In surveys or comments on Facebook, young people say wish German companies could help boost the recovery of their respective national economies. They would also like German politicians to act as act as a counterweight to their often corrupt and patriarchal elites.

"Young people want change," said, Mukazi Ndekezi, a student of international relations from Rwanda. Mukazi, who is a youth ambassador, seeks to promote the interests of young people at the EAC. Not surprisingly, she believes regional cooperation will succeed. Young people between the ages of 17 and 35, she notes, account for two thirds of the population of the EAC region.

"They're really done with conflicts," she said of the under-35s. "And I have seen a positive impact of the regional integration. Like students, they collaborate, they talk, they discuss, and they share their views, their ideas. And then they understand each other."

Germany's foreign minister - who she can only see from afar in Kigali - would have readily welcomed such sentiments.

Sudan death row's Meriam Ibrahim released after international outcry

Campaign triggered after woman imprisoned for marrying a Christian was sentenced to 100 lashes and hanging for apostasy

The Guardian, Harriet Sherwood, Monday 23 June 2014

Meriam Ibrahim, 27, with Martin, her 18-month-old son, holds her newborn
baby girl she gave birth to in a Sudan jail. Photograph: Uncredited/AP

A Christian woman on death row in a Sudanese prison has been released on the orders of a court in Khartoum following an international outcry over her sentence and treatment.

Meriam Ibrahim, 27, had been sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery and to be hanged for apostasy after refusing to renounce her faith. Her case triggered an international campaign, drawing in political and religious leaders, celebrities and human rights organisations.

Demands for her release accelerated after Ibrahim gave birth while shackled to the floor of her prison cell at Omdurman women's prison. Her newborn daughter, Maya, and her toddler son, Martin, were incarcerated with her.

"I'm so happy," Ibrahim's husband, Daniel Wani, a US citizen, told the Guardian by phone from Khartoum on Monday. He said his wife and their two children were in relatively good condition, and he hoped that the family would soon be able to start a new life in the US. Elshareef Mohammed, Ibrahim's lawyer, said that she was "fine and very happy" but had been taken to a safe house amid fears that the family could be at risk of attack.

The case against Ibrahim was triggered by allegations made by men claiming to be relatives, although Ibrahim denied knowing them.

The news of her release was broken by the Sudanese state news agency, Suna, which said: "The appeal court ordered the release of [Ibrahim] and the cancellation of the [earlier] court ruling." Judges had been hearing an appeal against Ibrahim's convictions for the past two weeks. Her lawyers argued that the case was based on weak and inconsistent claims and contravened Sudan's interim constitution.

Jehanne Henry, of Human Rights Watch, said: "Obviously this is good news and it shows that the appeals court sought to uphold rights. This is the outcome we were hoping for because there was a clear legal basis for releasing her." Ibrahim's conviction and sentences were "such a blatant disregard of fundamental human rights that it provoked quite an outcry", she said. "It's quite possible that international pressure had an influence."

Ibrahim was convicted of apostasy after the court insisted she was a Muslim because her father was a Muslim, even though Ibrahim said she had been brought up as a Christian after her father abandoned the family when she was six. Following her conviction last month, she was given three days to renounce her faith or face a death sentence.

Then eight months pregnant, she was told that her death sentence would be deferred for two years to allow her to nurse her unborn baby.

The leaders of Britain's three political parties backed a campaign to get Ibrahim released. David Cameron said he was "absolutely appalled" by her sentence. "The way she is being treated is barbaric and has no place in today's world. Religious freedom is an absolute, fundamental human right," the prime minister said. The US state department said it was "deeply disturbed" by the case and called on Khartoum to respect the right to freedom of religion.

Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair, Jesse Jackson and Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, were among high-profile international figures calling for the sentence to be dropped.

A demand by Amnesty International for Ibrahim's release won the support of more than 1 million people worldwide. Thousands rallied to a Twitter campaign, #SaveMeriam. The actor Mia Farrow urged her followers to "bombard" the Sudanese embassies in London and Washington with demands for Ibrahim's release, supplying the relevant phone numbers.

Sarah Jackson of Amnesty said yesterday: "Today's ruling is a small step to redressing the injustice done to Meriam. However, she should never have been prosecuted. Meriam was sentenced to death when eight months pregnant for something which should not be a crime. Furthermore, her abhorrent treatment, including being shackled, violated international human rights law against ill-treatment."

Amnesty urged the Sudanese authorities to repeal provisions that criminalise acts of apostasy and adultery, and to establish a moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolishing the death penalty.

The US government is now likely to come under pressure to allow Ibrahim to settle in the US by granting asylum or citizenship on the basis of her marriage. Ibrahim and Wani were married in a Khartoum church in December 2011. Under Sudanese law, it is forbidden for a Muslim woman to marry a Christian man. However, Ibrahim claimed in court that she had been brought up as a Christian by her mother after her Muslim father left the family. She had attended church regularly. Wani – who is originally from South Sudan – said that she was more committed to her faith than he was.

A statement signed by Father Mussa Timothy Kacho, episcopal vicar for Khartoum, said Ibrahim had "never been a Muslim in her life". The couple had business interests in Khartoum including a hair salon, a mini-mart and agricultural land.

In 2013, a man who claimed to be Ibrahim's brother alerted the Sudanese authorities to what he believed was an unlawful union.

In May, the court declared the marriage invalid, and Ibrahim guilty of adultery. She was sentenced to a public whipping, and to be hanged for apostasy. Ibrahim was held in what human rights organisations described as atrocious conditions with limited access to medical care and legal representation. Wani was permitted only brief visits to his family. He said his wife and children were being held in inhumane conditions. Hopes for Ibrahim's release were raised three weeks ago when a Sudanese foreign ministry official said she would be freed imminently. The Sudanese government swiftly issued a statement saying Ibrahim could only be freed on a court order, not as a political decision.

Timeline

August 2013 Ibrahim is arrested

15 May 2014 Ibrahim appears in court charged with apostasy and adultery and is sentenced 100 lashes then to death by hanging

22 May Ibrahim's legal team files an appeal, saying the verdict contradicts the country's 2005 constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion as well as international rights agreements to which Sudan is a signatory

27 May Ibrahim gives birth to a daughter at the women's prison in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman

10 June The EU is among those to press Sudan to free Ibrahim

23 June Ibrahim is released

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