Blog Entries 1 to 10 of 65
Two days ago, President Kabila removed Major-General Gabriel Amisi as head of the Congolese land forces, one of the most powerful positions in the military. Amisi, aka Tango Four, was a well-known racketeer, who had made a fortune from kickbacks and embezzlement in the army, and who has also been cited for grave human rights abuses, including the May 2002 Kisangani massacre. Yesterday, he named Lieutenant-General Francois Olenga as his replacement.
The rot in the Congolese army runs deep; naming a new commander will not change the way things are done. But we should still ask - who is Olenga?
[view whole blog post
]
As the M23 crisis has unfolded in the eastern Congo, the US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has emerged as a holdout within American foreign policy, a sort of minority report to the prevailing criticism of Rwanda and the M23.
The first indication of this emerged in June, when Rice delayed the publication of UN Group of Experts' interim report, insisting that Rwanda be given a chance to see the report first and respond. While these UN investigations are supposed to give the accused the opportunity to respond and explain--the Group says it was refused meetings by the Rwandan government, which Kigali denies--they rarely allow them to see the entire report before publication. In any case, the Group finally did brief a Rwandan delegation in New York in June in New York ...
[view whole blog post]
New Times ( Rwanda ) reports
10 Presidents expected in Kampala for DRC talks.
[view whole blog post]
While the US fawns over Mohamed Mursi's mediation role with Gaza, Egypt's new president secures a tentative deal for a huge IMF loan and votes himself sweeping judicial powers. Also: the fall of Goma, why Cameron is putting himself in the firing line over Europe's budget, and the implosion of France's opposition.
[view whole blog post]
While the US fawns over Mohamed Mursi's mediation role with Gaza, Egypt's new president secures a tentative deal for a huge IMF loan and votes himself sweeping judicial powers. Also: the fall of Goma, why Cameron is putting himself in the firing line over Europe's budget, and the implosion of France's opposition.
[view whole blog post]
(Photo: Prez Paul Kagame, Yoweri Museveni, and Joseph Kabila at press
[view whole blog post]
