Burkina Faso: Bloody end to Bobo Dioulasso mutiny

BBC News, 4 June 2011

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At least seven people including a young girl have been killed in an exchange of fire as pro-government forces quelled a mutiny in Burkina Faso.

President Compaore sacked his security
chiefs in April

The deaths came as elite forces engaged the rioting mutineers for the first time, encircling them at their military base in second city Bobo Dioulasso.

Their intervention comes after several days of looting and shooting by the mutineers in the commercial centre.

Disgruntled soldiers have been protesting violently for higher wages.

President Blaise Compaore responded to the protests, which began in February, by promising them a range of benefits, and sacked his security chiefs in April.

The mutiny, along with demonstrations by trade unions and civil society groups against the escalating cost of living, was seen as the biggest challenge to Mr Compaore's rule since he took power in a coup 24 years ago.

Market 'ransacked'

Residents say calm has now returned to the city.

Justice Minister Jerome Traore, quoted by Reuters news agency, said 57 soldiers had been arrested, adding that 25 civilians and eight soldiers were wounded in the fighting.

Pro-Compaore forces arrived in the south-western city Bobo Dioulasso after the government promised to take measures "to re-establish the authority of the state".

The mayor of Bobo Dioulasso, Salia Sanou, said part of the market had been ransacked by the mutineers.

The former colonial power, France, said it remained "vigilant" about the situation in Burkina Faso, where many of its nationals lived.

It said Mr Compaore's government should enter into dialogue with all parties to pave the way for reforms and to restore order.

African summit calls for action on rainforests

BBC News, By Thomas Hubert, Brazzaville, 3 June 2011

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Representatives of 18 rainforest countries have met to strengthen co-operation between the three main forest regions in the world.

Deforestation is just one of the threats
facing the world's rainforests

The heads of state and government ministers met in Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo.

They called for more international funding for forest conservation in the fight against climate change.

However, they failed to agree on a formal structure to co-ordinate forestry policies around the Equator.

All the pomp of African summits was on display to show the world that rainforest conservation is now a top diplomatic priority for the 35 South American, African and South-East Asian countries invited to take part in this week's summit in Brazzaville.

But only half of them - mostly African nations - sent high-level envoys to Friday's final meeting.

Participants insisted that their forests provided international services such as carbon sequestration [removing carbon from the atmosphere] as well as opportunities to reduce poverty for the estimated 1.5 billion people who make a living from the forests.

One example discussed over the past week was food production from giant snails in the Cameroonian jungle.

Many countries sent ministers instead of heads of state

According to a report prepared by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation for the summit, deforestation has gone down by a quarter in the past 10 years but forests are still being depleted at an alarming rate.

Countries with rainforests agreed to hold regular ministerial meetings and co-ordinate their positions before a fresh round of international climate change and environment talks scheduled for December in South Africa and next year in Brazil.

They made it clear that they are not happy with the financial assistance received from developed nations so far, as expressed by Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo, who was appointed by the summit to act as roving ambassador for the three tropical forest basins.

"In the Copenhagen accord, $10bn ($6bn) was pledged per annum," he said.

"The developed world, in their interaction with us, is saying 'this money is being disbursed'. For us, we don't see any evidence of this disbursement. So where is this money going?"

Most countries from the Amazon and Borneo-Mekong basins did not attend the summit and others sent ministers instead of heads of state.

As a result, the signature of a draft pact circulated here to establish a permanent co-operation body for the world's three largest rainforest basins was postponed until next year.

However, NGO representatives and diplomats seemed pleased with the outcome of the meeting. One delegate said that he would have expected its message to be much more watered down.

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More than 1,000 dead in Syria since mid-March, U.N. chief says

CNN News, By the CNN Wire Staff, June 3, 2011

'Chilling' details on Syrian boy's death

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• "Violent repression by security and military forces must end immediately," Ban says
• A London-based Syrian group says at least 34 are dead Friday
• Protesters in Syria dedicate Friday's marches to children
• Children have died during the demonstrations, groups say

(CNN) -- More than 1,000 people have died in Syria since the conflict there started in mid-March, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday, a grim milestone that reflects his alarm over the "escalation of violence" in the authoritarian Arab country.

The unrest, which started percolating in the southern city of Daraa and then spread to the rest of the country, claimed more lives Friday in Hama, the city known for a 1982 government massacre against the civilian population.

At least 34 were killed Friday and many more were wounded, according to Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an entity in regular touch with activists in the country.

He said all of the deaths came from indiscriminate gunfire toward demonstrators, reviving memories of the decades-old crackdown.

Report: 'Rampant torture' in Syria Zakaria: Obama 'being too soft on Syria' Child a symbol of Syrian uprising Syrian boy's torture rallies protesters

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One witness, a dentist, told CNN he was taking part in the demonstrations when marchers were "surprised" by the military and the shabiha, armed pro-regime elements, opened fire in what he called an "intense" situation.

The witness provided the names of nine slain people, whose bodies were seized by pro-regime people, and estimated the number of casualties at around 100.

Another witness there reported at least one demonstration in which tens of thousands of people took to the streets.

The witness said people were heading toward a square in the center of town and chanted, "Freedom, freedom! National unity! Christians and Muslims are one! Leave, leave" and, "The people want the fall of the regime."

That same witness later reported small demonstrations in some areas, with protesters burning tires amid intermittent gunfire.

Rahman said the wounded were being treated in private clinics, and while he's unclear about the situation at the city's main hospital, he said the medics he was talking to were in tears.

CNN can't independently confirm the accounts.

The Baathist government of Hafez al-Assad, who once ruled Syria, crushed the 1982 revolt in Hama against the Sunnis, who are the majority religious group in Syria.

Estimates put the death toll then at between 10,000 and 30,000 people; the exact number was never known. The government has been dominated by the al-Assad family's Alawite community, a minority religious group that is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

The Hama protests erupted after this week's Friday Muslim prayers, which were dedicated to the children who have taken part in the persistent and angry uprising against the Syrian government.

At least 51 children have been killed by security forces since the anti-government protests started in mid-March, according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria.

They include Hamza Ali al-Khateeb, the 13-year-old Daraa boy whose killing has captured the world's attention, and a 4-year-old shot in Rastan, a town in restive Homs province.

The overall death toll in Rastan has reached 80, the coordination group said, and an activist near Rastan said he heard the sounds of gunfire and artillery overnight.

An eyewitness in Rastan said there wasn't a call to prayer Friday, people could not leave their homes and there were no demonstrations because security personnel promptly shelled gatherings when they saw them.

Demonstrations after Friday prayers have energized the opposition in Syria and every week there have been different protest themes. The focus on children dovetails with the outcry over Hamza's death.

Ban reflected the worldwide outrage toward the Syrian regime when said he is "deeply troubled by the continued serious violations of human rights, including disturbing reports of the deaths of children under torture, live ammunition and shelling." He also said that many people have been injured and thousands arrested over nearly three months.

While noting the "announcement by the Syrian authorities of an amnesty and the establishment of a committee to establish a national dialogue," Ban emphasized that "violent repression by security and military forces must end immediately for a genuine and inclusive dialogue to take place and lead to the comprehensive reforms and change called for by the Syrian people."

UNICEF, the U.N. children's agency, said this week that since mid-March, "reports of children injured, detained, displaced and at times killed have been increasing."

It said the use of live ammunition on demonstrators has reportedly killed at least 30 children, but it hasn't been able to independently verify casualty figures and the "circumstances of their death."

It said Syria is a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and "has an obligation to ensure children's right to life" their safety and other human rights, such as freedom of expression.

"We are particularly disturbed by the recent video images of children who were arbitrarily detained and suffered torture or ill-treatment during their detention, leading in some cases to their death. We call on the government to thoroughly investigate these reports and ensure that perpetrators of such horrific acts are identified and brought to justice," the agency said.

Another group caught in the middle of the discord in Syria is the Iraqi refugee community, an estimated 1 million people, according to the International Organization for Migration. They fled to Syria during the war in Iraq.

The organization said Friday that there is "growing concern" of an influx of people returning to Iraq. It is working with government authorities and other humanitarian groups to prepare for immediate and long-term help for those people and the communities hosting them.

There have not been "significant" increases in returns, but "smaller-scale returns have been reported, primarily in Anbar and Baghdad," the group said.

Migration organization monitors in Baghdad last month learned that "126 families had returned from Syria due to violence and instability. Interviews are currently being conducted with these and other returnee families to better understand their reasons for return and their future intentions."

"With nearly one million Iraqis still displaced within the country, the possibility of a major increase in returns from Syria poses a considerable challenge to Iraq's stability," said the International Organization for Migration's Iraq chief of mission, Michael Pillinger.

"IOM remains committed to working with the government to closely monitor the return situation and, if necessary, provide immediate assistance to vulnerable returnees," he said.

Sudanese president says new constitution to be formulated

English.news.cn 2011-06-03

KHARTOUM, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Thursday announced that a new constitution for Sudan would be formulated after official separation of south Sudan on July 9, and that the new constitution would be presented for a popular referendum to approve.

"We will work to formulate a new constitution for Sudan and we are working to involve all the Sudanese political forces in formulating it. The document of the constitution will be presented for a popular referendum to approve," said al-Bashir when addressing a meeting of the Shura (consultation) Council of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) here Thursday.

He expressed the NCP's willingness to expand the base of participation in the government and involve all the Sudanese political parties, saying that "we will work to form a broad-based government. We maintain dialogue with all the political forces."

"We are ready to avail the opportunity for participation to all the political parties and organizations which are willing to participate. We will not exclude any party," he added.

Al-Bashir's announcement of formulation of a new constitution came contrary to the NCP previous position when the party insisted to amend the current constitution, which was rejected by the opposition.

Viewpoints of the opposition parties varied regarding the dialogue with the Sudanese government to participate in the broad- based government which was called for by the Sudanese president.

The Sudanese political parties and organizations authority has earlier demanded the government to restructure the constitutional revision commission and involve all the political forces in the task of formulating a new constitution for the country.

The NCP earlier said the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir would not run again in presidential elections, within a package of reforms to institute for democracy in the country.

According to the current constitution, the coming presidential elections are scheduled to be conducted in four years.

Al-Bashir, 67, who assumed power in Sudan in 1989, has achieved a sweeping victory in the recent general elections, held in 2010, which was boycotted by many opposition parties.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Palestinians mobilizing support for statehood

The Jakarta Post, Edith M. Lederer, Associated Press, United Nations | Thu, 06/02/2011

The Palestinians hope to mobilize countries, political leaders and millions of supporters to back their demand for recognition as an independent state in September, the Palestinian's top U.N. diplomat said Wednesday.

Riyad Mansour told a group of reporters Wednesday that the Palestinian people are ready to take to the streets peacefully as they did in 1987, and follow in the footsteps of Tunisians and Egyptians earlier this year, to demand an end to Israel's occupation and independence.

The United States, Israel's ally, is the main stumbling block to U.N. recognition of a Palestinian state because of its veto power on the Security Council. The 15-member council must recommend statehood, and only then can the 192-member General Assembly vote on membership, which must be approved by a two-thirds majority.

Mansour indicated that a key Palestinian goal in the coming months is to increase the number of states recognizing Palestine from 112 at present to 130 or 140, more than the two-thirds required, and to increase pressure on President Barack Obama's administration.

"I need to mobilize the largest number of forces, whether in the ground or in the political front or in the recognition, where I make it possible to prevail on our agenda in September," Mansour said. "This battle is not a battle of a few diplomats and a few politicians. This is a battle of the entire Palestinian people."

He said the readiness of the Palestinian people "is extremely high - it's exactly like the Egyptians, the Tunisians and other Arabs who are taking their cause in their hands."

Mansour wouldn't say exactly what would happen between now and September in the Palestinian territories, but he indicated that there could be protests that spread elsewhere.

"If hundred of thousands of Palestinians are in the streets for weeks and weeks before D-day in September expressing their desire to end occupation and seek independence - and to be supported by millions of Arabs in the Arab capitals and cities, and maybe millions of supporters from all the way to Indonesia and in the United States and Europe - then what would be the argument of President Barack Obama in trying really to disregard this wish, not only of the Palestinian leadership but the entire Palestinian population?," he asked.

Mansour said if diplomacy and peaceful protests aren't sufficient, "we have other tactics that we can use in order to flex additional muscles in order to make it very, very difficult for anyone to obstruct our effort." But he refused to elaborate on what those tactics might be.

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Oxfam calls for radical rethink of world food system

Deutsche Welle, 2 June 2011

In sub-Saharan Africa, 32 percent
are undernourished

International aid organization Oxfam says world demand for food will skyrocket over the next few decades, while production capacity will decline. It has launched a campaign to change the globe's approach to food.

International aid group Oxfam has released a report on hunger around the world that paints a bleak picture of the global food supply and calls for a restructuring of a "broken" food system, which has resulted in almost one billion people going hungry.

On June 1, Oxfam launched its global GROW campaign, which aims to lobby world leaders to change policies around food subsidies, promote sustainable agricultural methods and strengthen regulations on speculation in the international food market.

The campaign also aims to make consumers in rich countries aware of the consequences of their habits on the world's poor and the environment.

Time for reflection

"Our goal is to radically change the global food system, the way we use and share and consume in order to make it sustainable," Marita Wiggerthale, an expert on trade and food security for Oxfam Germany, told Deutsche Welle.

The report offers a sobering picture of current and future world hunger levels, saying nearly 925 million people - one out of seven – now face hunger every day.

Climate change, including increased
periods of drought, will exacerbate
the hunger problem

While food prices have skyrocketed since 2007, the price for staples such as maize will continue to rise, nearly doubling in the next 20 years, which will push the number of hungry people even higher, Oxfam says.

As global population grows, so will the demand for food, the report adds. By 2050, the demand for food will have increased by 70 percent, even though the ability to increase food production is declining due to flat crop yields and weak harvests caused by a range of factors including environmental problems such as water scarcity and climate change.

"Peak food production has already been reached because there is increased competition between food, fuel and feed," Wiggerthale said, pointing to biofuel production that diverts 15 percent of the world's corn to engines and the world's growing appetite for meat, which pushes farmers to grow food for animal feed at the expense of other food crops.

Poor record on hunger

The global record for tackling hunger is not a particularly good one. In 1995, a UN food summit set a goal to reduce the number of hungry people – then at 820 million – by half. That goal has not been met.

A 2008 spike in food prices pushed an additional 100 million people into poverty. The number stabilized somewhat in the second half of that year, but has been rising again.

The largest number of the world's hungry live in Asia-Pacific region

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says food prices are higher than they have been in the last 20 years, surpassing the 2008 price spike that set off food riots in cities around the world.

Most of the world's hungry are in Asia, and particularly on the Indian subcontinent. However, Africa is the continent where the largest percentage of the population faces hunger. In 2010, some 239 million, or 30 percent, faced hunger there.

"In most African countries, there is not enough long-term investment made in the agricultural sector," Tobias Reichert, a senior advisor on trade and food at the NGO Germanwatch, told Deutsche Welle.

EU policy making it worse

That is a result, at least partly, of European Union agricultural policy, he said. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the EU changed from a net importer to a net exporter of food, especially when it came to wheat and other grains as well as animal products such as beef, milk, pork and chicken.

"The EU focused on exporting to developing markets such as Africa, which ended up hurting local producers who couldn't compete," he said. "It gave local governments the signal that they didn't need to invest in their own agricultural sector since the products were cheaper on the world markets."

But when world food prices started going up, at first slowly, then dramatically, developing countries couldn't react quickly enough. The long neglect of their own infrastructure meant they could not increase domestic production to offset rising import prices.

The low import prices also had an impact on local food customs as people began to use imported wheat and corn for cooking instead of locally grown crops such as millet and sorghum. That hurt local farmers who saw their markets shrink.

Many of those who tried to switch to wheat or corn found that the soil or local climate wasn't suited to the cultivation of those crops, Reichert said.

Speculators

Other analysts place some blame for growing hunger on increased speculation in commodities markets, which has led to food price volatility.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, lobbying by investment banks and hedge funds led to weaker regulations on food speculation. Key financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs and Barclays Capital created new investment products to help financial companies make money on food prices.

Oxfam's GROW program is pushing
to give women the same rights to land
as men

This speculation, betting that food prices would rise, ended up pushing the prices to much higher levels than would have been expected otherwise.

"It has had a devastating impact on people around the world," Murray Worthy, a policy officer at the World Development Movement in London, told Deutsche Welle. "It's forcing millions of people into poverty."

His group and others are calling for new regulations that would bring more transparency to financial markets and limit the amount of food that can be held and traded by banks and investment funds.

"Food is a fundamental right, it shouldn't be traded with at the whim of bankers and other financial speculators," he said.

Oxfam says that the world is actually capable of feeding all of the world's people, but that short-term thinking, failed government policies and vested interests - including 300 to 500 powerful companies who "benefit from (the current system) and lobby to maintain it" – has exacerbated the problem of hunger, which hits the world's poorest the hardest and threatens to affect millions of more men, women and children.

Oxfam's Wiggerthale said she was heartened by the fact that hunger was high on the agenda of this November's meeting of G20 leaders. There, they will decide whether and how to manage food prices and regulate markets to protect against future price volatility and food crises.

"We want to put pressure on governments so they really act," she said. "We are in an urgent situation and if we can't manage to effect change in the next few years, the situation will be much worse."

Author: Kyle James

Editor: Nathan Witkop

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Is Africa getting tough on China?

CNN News, CNN Correspondent, Robyn Curnow

Strolling around my neighborhood high street in Johannesburg, one is struck by a disproportionate number of décor shops.

On just our small street there are at least five shops selling “French provincial” furniture and design accessories. Wedged between one of those shops and the DVD rental store is another design store selling “Balinese” furniture and gifts.

Of course, not much of this furniture actually comes from France or Bali. Instead, most seems to originate in China. Hopefully, most people buying from these stores realize they are paying for a “look” and not the real deal.

The proliferation of Chinese goods is not new. Neither is China’s growing business presence on the African continent.

What does seem to be changing is the terms of the relationship between Africans and the Chinese.

African leaders - and I’ve interviewed a number of them in recent weeks - all seem to be making tougher contractual demands on their Asian counterparts.

Whether or not the rules of the game are actually changing is one thing, however, there is at least a public shift in the dialogue, with the Africans pushing for a less “one-sided relationship.” South Africa’s Business Day newspaper recently ran a headline that said: “Zuma seeks ‘fair deal’ in Africa’s ties with China.”

South African President Jacob Zuma echoed what many other business and political leaders are saying on the continent. They seem determined to ensure that Chinese business deals in Africa are more equitable in terms of long-term investments, infrastructure maintenance, job creation and skills transfer.

Even though Africans are favorable towards this relationship there are serious questions being asked by leaders like President Zuma. “How do we trade with China in a way that benefits us as well as them?’ he recently said.

So it seems Africans are pushing back and insisting on tougher terms on contracts. One Rwandan I had a conversation with said that some other African leaders had been “stupid” when negotiating with the Chinese and that the Rwandan business elite had been “cleverer” when constructing their deals with China.

In other parts of the continent, people are questioning why they aren’t getting more for the mineral riches that lie in abundance beneath Africa’s soil.

There is a growing political pressure to leverage Africa’s wealth better and for Africans to rewrite the terms of their relationship with Chinese investors.

Ever sensitive to the image of the African with his arms outstretched, palms turned upwards, looking for handouts, many on the continent want to make sure that they aren’t thrown the scraps when it comes to apportioning the massive opportunities that lie ahead.

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Syrian unrest: Inquiry into Hamza al-Khatib's death

BBC News, 1 June 2011

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The Syrian authorities have announced a full inquiry into the death of a 13-year-old boy who has become a symbol for the continuing uprising against President Bashar al-Assad.

Hamza al-Khatib's death has given the
protests a new focus

Opposition activists say the boy, Hamza al-Khatib, was abducted and tortured to death by security forces.

The authorities insist he was shot dead during a demonstration.

Meanwhile a UK-based rights group says more than 500 political prisoners have been released.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said that among those freed were people arrested for taking part in anti-government protests.

Announcing an amnesty on Tuesday, Syrian state TV said it would cover members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, which led an uprising against Mr Assad's father Hafez in 1982.

Martyr to all

Hamza al-Khatib is being compared to the Tunisian market-seller Mohamed Bouazizi and Iranian pro-democracy protester Neda Agha Soltan whose deaths galvanised anti-government campaigns.

He is also being called a martyr by the Syrian authorities.

Hamza went missing after a demonstration at an army barracks near Deraa in the south at the end of April.

Activists say he was captured and tortured to death, and that his mutilated body was handed back to his family four weeks later.

The Syrian authorities are trying to minimize
damage caused by the boy's death

The government says he received three fatal gunshot wounds during the protest and died on the spot, but there was a delay in handing over his body because he was not identified.

Syrian state TV aired a programme about the teenager on Tuesday night in which a judge said death was due to "a number of bullet wounds without any indication of torture or beating on the body".

Coroner Akram al-Shaar blamed the state of the body on decomposition, adding: "There are no marks on the surface of the body that show violence, resistance or torture."

State TV said the teenager's father and family were invited to meet President Assad, and they were quoted as saying he "engulfed us with his kindness and graciousness".

A man who identified himself as Hamza's father said: "The president considered Hamza his own son and was deeply affected."

But the BBC's Jim Muir in neighbouring Lebanon says the authorities' efforts have not stopped Hamza's death giving a new focus to the continuing revolt.

It has also given ammunition to critics of the regime, he adds.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she hoped the death would persuade Syria to begin a transition to real democracy.

Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said such incidents had robbed Mr Assad of any legitimacy and urged the the UN Security Council to refer him to the International Criminal Court.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report on Wednesday that said "systematic killings and torture by Syrian security forces" in Deraa could qualify as crimes against humanity.

Activists say more than 1,000 people have died in weeks of protests.

Iran: Haleh Sahabi dies at funeral of Ezatollah Sahabi

BBC News, by Mohsen Asgari, Tehran, 1 June 2011

An Iranian opposition activist has died after scuffles with security forces at her father's funeral.

Ezatollah Sahabi was a member of the interim
government installed after the revolution

Haleh Sahabi, 55, had been allowed out of prison to attend the funeral of Ezatollah Sahabi, a former Iranian MP and prominent dissident.

Her son, Yahya Shamekhi, said she had become upset after security officials tried to stop the ceremony and is thought to have had a heart attack.

Funerals involving other opposition figures have also been broken up.

Three months ago, the funeral ceremony of Mir Esmaeil Mousavi, father of leading opposition figure Mir Hussein Mousavi, was halted, and two members of the Mousavi family were arrested.

Mr Shamekhi described what had happened at Ezatollah Sahabi's funeral.

"When we took the body of my grandfather out for the funeral ceremony, officials tried to stop the ceremony - that made the atmosphere very agitated," he said.

"Finally they forcefully grabbed the body and took it away. Then my mother fell down and become unconscious. The doctor told us she died because of a heart attack."

Another witness told the BBC: "Following the uprisings in the Middle East, the Iranian government is very nervous about people's gatherings for any reasons, particularly if it is related to an opposition figure."

Ms Sahabi, a member of the "Mothers for Peace" group and a campaigner for women's rights, was one of a group of government critics who were arrested in front of the parliament during President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's swearing-in ceremony. She was sentenced to two years in prison.

Ezatollah Sahabi was a member of the interim government installed after the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, which resigned in protest over the takeover of the US embassy in Tehran.

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