DR Congo: M23,.. The Rwandan Genocide was regrettable.

Congo DRC News reports. ( This is a M23 website and should be treated accordingly. Believe nothing. )

Bill CLINTON DEFENDS RWANDA :”Where were those human rights groups criticizing Rwanda today…

 

Kenneth Roth who has absolutely nothing to do with this story other than he is the head of Human Rights Watch. I guess they couldn't find a picture of Clinton to use.

It seems it has become fashionable to criticize Rwanda, never mind the incredible progress the country has made in the last 19 years since the Genocide against Tutsi in 1994. So, it is refreshing, and reassuring, when a former U.S. President defies the critics and calls them on the facts.

Opposing the behaviour of the Rwandan Government and its actions in the DR Congo isn't a matter of fashion. As for the facts, well that is something that this story seems to lack. 

True, the Genocide broke out in 1994 when Bill Clinton was President, and in the wake of the debacle in Somalia, the U.S. did not have the heart to intervene. It was a political calculation that is regrettable, but understandable. True to himself, however, Bill Clinton has expressed deep remorse for his administration’s inaction, and did go to Kigali to deliver his apology. Not only that, his Foundation has taken a leading role in aiding several projects in Rwanda and has committed millions of dollars. Clinton has put his money where his mouth is.

" It was a political calculation that is regrettable, but understandable."  I am afraid I don't understand the failure of the West to intervene in 1994. I think 800,000 people murdered is rather more serious than " regrettable ". It was and remains a disgrace that we all should feel ashamed of. However that doesn't mean that we can ignore the deplorable behaviour of Rwanda today. 

Speaking on the international human rights organizations attributing the problems in the DRC to Rwanda, and to President Kagame, Clinton pointed out that these same organizations were noticeably silent during the Genocide against Tutsi. Leading the choir with un-proved allegations and bogus reports is Human Rights Watch (HRW) that many have inappropriately dubbed “Hutu Rights Watch.

Speaking to BBC recently, Clinton posed a rhetorical question: “Where were those human rights groups criticizing Rwanda when Hutus were slaughtering Tutsis?” Indeed, where were they.

I have had a look at the story published by the BBC and the above Clinton quote isn't there. However it is a bit difficult to explain this, which is quite probably why the above Clinton quote was not in the BBC article. 

"The Rwanda genocide began in April 1994; within a few weeks, nongovernmental organizations there were estimating that 100,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus had been massacred."

Nongovernmental organisations are usually the human rights groups that it is alleged did nothing in the so called Clinton quote.  Dr Gregory Stanton of Genocide watch reported.

" In March 1993, four human rights groups led by Human Rights Watch and the International Federation of Human Rights issued a report on mass killings in Rwanda."  

So it would seem we have, a quite possibly made up quote and the Human Rights Watch organisation criticised above as " Hutu Rights Watch " issuing a warning to the world that the genocide was about to get underway in March 1994. Sometimes in April.

Responding to the allegation that there is no free media in Rwanda, Clinton pointed out that a free media in 1994 helped Hutus incite violence that led to the mass slaughter of innocent people.

“All those people who talk about that, where were they when the Hutus went crazy in 1994? They had a free press that was venomous, hate-filled radio that urged people to go out and commit mass murder.”

The above quote is not from the BBC interview. 

Clinton added; “Look, I believe in a free press. When I was President I helped to keep the press free that made a living out of feasting on my bones everyday. I think we have to be a little sensitive to the fact that if you are Rwandan, you don’t necessarily hear it that way because you remember that an alleged free press helped push Rwanda into a boiling Colden of butchery …”

Again the above quote is not from the BBC interview.  It is however available on a pro Rwandan blog  when googled also purporting it to come from a BBC interview. The other above quote and indeed this story come from that blog, despite the effort being made to suggest they come from a BBC interview. I suspect they are bullshit.  "... boiling...Colden of butchery …” . Go figure.

Referring to the FDLR, the former U.S. President pointed out that Eastern Congo ” is full of people who perpetrated the Genocide, who have spurned the President’s (Kagame) offer to come home and not go to prison … and you can’t get around the fact that the economic and social gains in Rwanda have been nothing short of astonishing under Kagame, and he says he is going to leave when his time is up.”

Clinton expressed disappointment that ” some people in the human rights community believe that every good thing that has happened in Rwanda should be negated by what they allege they (Rwandans) have done in the eastern Congo.”

These quotes do come from the actual BBC interview. They make up a tiny portion of the story that is broad spectrum interview covering Africa. I am sure there are some people who fit into that category both in the human rights community and outside of it. I blogged just the other day about one such fool. Most do not. They just will not look the other way this time or infact ever again.

None of the above seems to me to be an endorsement by Clinton of the crimes that Rwanda has been systematically carrying out in the Eastern DR Congo or a denial of them. Clinton obviously is one of the guilty international players when the genocide in Rwanda occurred. 

Surely, little Rwanda cannot be held responsible for lack of leadership in Kinshasa. Lack of an infrastructure to speak of. A dispirited and worn out population. A nation without a vision and hope. Truth be known, the DRC needs Rwanda as a partner if it is to recover from its debilitating malaise that is as old as time.

Remember this article appeared in Congo DRC News. As I warned it is an M23 site but the last paragraph says it all. Fortunately the fools who published this forgot or just are not very bright and have given us the raison d'être not only for the site but M23 and the Rwandan policy towards the Eastern DR Congo. This is the M23 / Rwandan attitude;

 "... its debilitating malaise that is as old as time." 

It is stupid, it is racist and it it is wrong. 

The truth is that Rwanda to maintain the economic gains it has made needs to keep on exploiting the mineral wealth of the Eastern DR Congo. Truth be known the DRC needs Rwanda not one jot. Congo DRC News is a rather pathetic Rwandan / M23 propaganda publisher, that somewhat entertainingly can't even manage to maintain the fiction it is Congolese and even better can't remember that a hidden agenda is not something you publish. 

I guess keeping your agenda straight when you are constantly lying is difficult but from my perspective at least, hilarious.

Rwanda: I don't believe them this time either.

The BBC reports

Rwandan Pascal Manirakiza found 'tortured' in Uganda

                                                                           Picture: Rwanda - Land of the Lost 

A Rwandan refugee who went missing in Uganda last week has been found tortured and unconscious, a Ugandan official has said.

Pascal Manirakiza's abductors had "dumped" him at a cemetery near the capital, Kampala, the official said.

Mr Manirakiza was one of four Rwandans who told the BBC last month that they were seeking asylum in Uganda.

They accused the Rwandan army of forcibly recruiting them to fight in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The army dismissed their claim, saying they must have made up their stories to get asylum.

Last week, the UN called for an investigation into the "disappearance or abduction" of three Rwandan refugees from Uganda.

Rwanda denied any involvement in the abductions.

" He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells lies without attending to it, and truths without the world's believing him. This falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions " -  Thomas Jefferson

And that is the situation Rwanda finds itself in.  It is standard Rwandan practice to recruit forcibly  kidnap  for their proxy   M23. 

'Extradition blocked'

Police found Mr Manirakiza, 23, in an unconscious state after he was "dumped" at a cemetery by unknown men, said Douglas Asiimwe, the senior protection officer in the Ugandan prime minister's office.

"He was full of blood... He has torture marks in the back," Mr Asiimwe said.

Mr Manirakiza was being guarded at a hospital where he was receiving treatment, he said.

It was hoped that he would regain consciousness in a few days and that he would be able to shed light on who had abducted him, Mr Asiimwe said.

Last week, another of the refugees about whom the UN had expressed concern, Joel Mutabazi, an ex-Rwandan presidential guard, was placed under the protection of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's office.

He had earlier been arrested by Ugandan police on a warrant issued by Rwanda.

The UN strongly protested against his arrest and demanded that Uganda guarantee the safety of refugees.

Uganda's government then rejected a request by Rwanda to extradite him.

One of the refugees is still missing, Mr Asiimwe said.

Mr Manirakiza last month told the BBC he had been a student in Rwanda when he was forcibly recruited to fight with the M23 rebel group in DR Congo.

He managed to flee and sought asylum in Uganda, he said.

So he was a student who according to Rwanda decided to make up a story and flee Rwanda for the life of hell that refugees experience. That doesn't add up, or as Jefferson reminds us lies become habitual.

The UN and DR Congo government have repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing the M23, an allegation it denies.

In 2010, Rwanda's ex-army chief Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa fled to South Africa.

He accused Rwanda of a failed attempt to assassinate him later that year, after he was shot and wounded in Johannesburg. Rwanda denied any involvement.

The shooting strained diplomatic relations between South Africa and Rwanda.

" Never believe anything until it has been officially denied. " - Claud Cockburn

Johannesburg Christmas

The BBC has some great African pictures of the week up. Really liked this one.

A vendor selling Christmas decorations waits for customers by a roadside in Johannesburg.

Might try and track a few more shots of Christmas across Africa over the next few days.

Kenya proposing laws that won't work

The BBC reports 

Kenyan bid to ban bride-price payments

Kenya's government plans to ban bride-price payments, legalise polygamy and consider couples co-habiting for more than six months to be legally married.

The controversial proposals were approved by the cabinet, but will not become law until passed by parliament.

The cabinet said the bill aimed to offer legal protection to all forms of marriages in the country - Christian, Islamic, Hindu, civil and traditional.

I am far from convinced that this is an area that government can have a major effect on the practices on the ground. I have no issue with getting rid of bride prices they are as pointless as dowries in western culture. I suspect co-habitation being considered a form of legal marrage after 6 months is an attempt to deal with irresponsible fathers. The head shaker is the legalisation of polygamy. The reality is that none of the above rules will make a damn of difference to what happens the polygamy change is probably attemting to normalise the current situation but far better to just ignore it and wait for the custom to die out.  

It is intended to give women and children protection under the law.

I can think of far better legislative ways of achieving that.

'Come-we-stay' relationships

The BBC's Muliro Telewa in the capital, Nairobi, says the decision to stop the age-old custom of bride price is one of the most contentious of the proposals to harmonise the East African nation's marriage laws.

Bride prices are commonly paid by most of Kenya's more than 40 ethnic groups.

Current customary law stipulates that a marriage is not considered legal unless a bride price has been paid, usually in the form of cows.

Even couples married in a religious or civil ceremony will often not be considered bound in the traditional sense by their families unless a payment is made.

That sort of sums up the problem.

Under the new proposals, co-habiting couples in what are known in Kenya as "come-we-stay" relationships will be considered married after a six-month period.

Our correspondent says many couples, among them college students, are in such relationships.

In most of these cases, people live together for convenience and can decide to go their separate ways without any future commitment, he says.

This is verging on insanity. If after 6 months or for that matter years of co-habitation people decide to stop shagging each other and move on what the fuck has that got to do with the state ?

However, in some cases men have been known to walk out if children are born.

Wow. Amazing. There are dead beat dads in Kenya as well as the rest of the world. " Come-we-stay relationships being formalised into marriage will make no difference what so ever.

If the proposals became law, in rural areas chiefs would have to register "come-we-stay" relationships by issuing marriage certificates and ensuring that in the event of a break-up, maintenance is paid to spouses and any children.

I just don't see this working at all. Chiefly authority is constantly being erroded. The outside world is arriving you can fence your self in but you can't fence the world out to paraphrase Tolkien 

'Against tradition'

The proposals on legalising polygamy are intended to bring civil law - where a man is only allowed one wife - in line with customary law where some cultures allow for multiple partners.

Despite allowing polygamy, the cabinet says men and women should have equal status within all marriages with regards to property and inheritance.

How the hell does that work with regard to polygamy ?

Gay marriages would not be allowed as they are banned under Kenya's constitution, and the proposals would not affect communities which allow women to marry each other if the older partner is infertile, as these partnerships are usually to do with property inheritance.

Governments have no place in citizens bedrooms.

Our reporter says the proposals have caused a big stir on social media sites because many people say some of the changes go against traditional and religious values.

As 90% of MPs are men, their past performance on issues of custom and tradition suggests they are likely to oppose sections of the bill, he says.

Probably there are issues of far more import that the politicians of Kenya should be worring about.

DR Congo: Dr Mukwege's failed assassination and clandistine clusterfucks

The BBC reports

Denis Mukwege: DR Congo anti-rape doctor attacked

                                          Dr. Denis Mukwege

Unknown gunmen have tried to kill a Congolese doctor widely praised for his work helping rape victims, he has told the BBC.

When asked whether he had been targeted because of his work, Denis Mukwege noted that the attackers had not asked for any money.

One of his security guards was shot dead in the attack in the Democratic Republic of Congo town of Bukavu.

Dr Mukwege has won several awards for his work.

Human rights campaigners have accused several armed groups operating in eastern DR Congo of using rape as a weapon of war.

Last week, one hospital in the region said it had recorded 5,000 cases of rape this year.

In 2010, UN special representative on sexual violence in conflict Margot Wallstrom said the country was the "rape capital of the world".

Four armed men broke into Dr Mukwege's home and waited for him to return home, says PMU, a Swedish religious organisation which works with the Panzi hospital founded by the doctor.

They then shot at and narrowly missed the gynaecologist before fleeing in his car, which they soon abandoned.

"They wanted to kill me," Dr Mukwege told BBC Afrique, adding that his work had angered some people in the region.

"It upsets them when we denounce their crimes," he said.

Numerous armed groups have been operating in eastern DR Congo for almost 20 years.

The latest unrest broke out in April and has forced some 500,000 people from their homes.

Amnesty International is unhappy to say the least.

“This atrocious attack is one of a number of recent attacks by unknown armed men targeting humanitarian workers and human rights defenders in North and South Kivu,” said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International’s Deputy Africa Director.

The United Nations is equally pissed off.

27 October 2012 – The United Nations envoy on sexual violence in conflict has voiced her outrage at the attack against a doctor in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) widely admired for his work with rape survivors, and called on the Government to bring the perpetrators to justice.   “I am appalled and outraged by the cowardly attack against Dr. Denis Mukwege and his family,” Zainab Bangura said in a statement, referring to the incident which took place on Thursday night and which was also condemned by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.


“Not only a skilled surgeon who has treated tens of thousands of survivors of sexual violence, Dr. Mukwege is also a role model and advocate in his own country and internationally who has courageously and tirelessly dared to speak out against the horrific crime of sexual violence,” she added.   The Special Representative called on the Government of the DRC to spare no effort to keep Dr. Mukwege and his family safe and to swiftly bring those responsible to justice.

“Not only a skilled surgeon who has treated tens of thousands of survivors of sexual violence, Dr. Mukwege is also a role model and advocate in his own country and internationally who has courageously and tirelessly dared to speak out against the horrific crime of sexual violence,” she added. The Special Representative called on the Government of the DRC to spare no effort to keep Dr. Mukwege and his family safe and to swiftly bring those responsible to justice.

“Not only a skilled surgeon who has treated tens of thousands of survivors of sexual violence, Dr. Mukwege is also a role model and advocate in his own country and internationally who has courageously and tirelessly dared to speak out against the horrific crime of sexual violence,” she added. The Special Representative called on the Government of the DRC to spare no effort to keep Dr. Mukwege and his family safe and to swiftly bring those responsible to justice.

Physicians for Human Rights are shocked.

" Physicians for Human Rights has been shocked to learn of a violent attack today at the home of our close colleague and friend, Dr. Denis Mukwege, in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. We fear for the safety of Dr. Mukwege, a world-renowned obstetric surgeon who is founder and medical director of Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he and his staff have helped treat over 30,000 survivors of sexual violence."

The question of course is why ? I am having a great deal of difficulty believing that the doctor was targeted by a Congolese rapist on the grounds  that he objects to sexual violence. It is reasonable to assume that this is a political crime. 

Nicholas Kristof blogs at the New York Times .

" Dr. Mukwege presumably was targeted because of a strong speech he gave at the United Nations last month, denouncing mass rape in Congo and the impunity for it. President Kabila has long been angry at Dr. Mukwege, and the UN speech can’t have helped. Meanwhile, Dr. Mukwege has also offended Rwanda with his denunciations of Rwanda’s role in the slaughter and rape in eastern Congo."

Kabila and Kagame are offended. Good on one level insofar as if either of them was behind this atrocity then they can chalk up another failure to the long list each man has been accumulating.

Who ever was responsible has made  a huge stuff up. Until I read Alex Engwete blog today ( link below ) I had never heard of Dr Mukwege. The man is a saint. I have no doubt this man will win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Enough Project details some of his past awards.

" Mukwege is the recipient of numerous international awards, including the U.N. Human Rights Prize, African of the Year, King Baudouin International Development Prize, the Olof Palme Prize, and the Clinton Global Citizen Award. He has been nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize."

This guy is a Sir Edmund Hillary, Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela all rolled into one a combination, any criminal who knew who he was would have given him a mile wide birth.  Africa is a big place but I doubt it would be big enough to hide in for your everyday garden variety criminal had they killed Dr. Mukwege. I think Dr Mukweghe's account rules out stupid criminals and smart ones would be steering clear.

The evidence circumstantial though it is at this stage looks to be pointing away from attempted murder and towards attempted assassination and there is a huge distinction between the two.  

One would expect an assassination to be carried out competently that this was a total clusterfuck would usually rule out a nation state. Fortunatley for Dr Mukwege if it turns out  to be a nation state it will be either Rwanda or the DR Congo both nations that seem to excel in clandistine clusterfucks.  
Hat Tip Alex Engwete 

More Bat Shit Crazy from Zimbabwe

The BBC reports

Synchronised toilet flush held in

 Zimbabwe's Bulawayo

Many residents of Zimbabwe's second city have simultaneously flushed their toilets, as part of an official attempt to prevent blocked sewage pipes.

Bulawayo Mayor Thaba Moyo told the BBC the "big flush" would keep pipes wet and so prevent them getting clogged up.

Local government it would seem provides entertainment the world over.

A severe drought and years of poor maintenance have meant Bulawayo residents often go without running water for three days at a time.

The first synchronised flush took place at 19:30 local time (17:30 GMT).

So more synchronised flushes to come.

'A joke'

Council workers had visited townships warning people that they risked a fine if they failed to take part.

Mr Moyo said the lack of water in the sewage pipes had already led some to burst.

Not sure how that works but I have always suspected that there is something in the Zimbabwe air that causes insanity and I guess bursting is the pipes equivalent although that would be insanitary.

Many of the city's million residents are believed to have flushed at the appointed hour.

No fines for them.

"I made sure my wife and children flushed the toilet at 19:30 to avoid blocking our own toilet. So far, the flushing of toilets was a success here in Cowdray Park township," one resident, human rights activist Dumisani Mpofu, said.

I kind of like the mental picture I have of Mrs Mpofu and the kids collectively flushing the toilet.

According to the Associated Press, the synchronised flush will now take place at the same time twice a week - on Mondays and Thursdays - though residents will of course be able to flush their toilets at other times too.

I wonder what they do for entertainment in Bulawayo on other days of the week.

The BBC's Thabo Kunene, in Bulawayo, says that most houses in the city, even in townships, do possess toilets which flush, unlike in many African countries.

But he says that due to a lack of water, many people have been using buckets of water instead.

Sensible approach if you think about. In a drought pore water into the sewage. 

The proposal has had a mixed reception in the city.

"Our leaders are a joke," said Petros Ncube. "What they should be doing is finding money from donors to buy new sewer pipes," he said.

Thank you Petros Ncube.

As you can see from the top image Zim dollars are not good for the pipes and unfortunately pretty much useless when it comes to buying new pipes as well 

Nigerian Bribes and British Jails

Life imitates reality in a strange way this from the BBC

African viewpoint: Scramble for Nigeria's $15m 'bribe'

                   James Ibori (in white, second on the right) used to be a very powerful governor

In our series of viewpoints from African journalists, Sola Odunfa in Lagos wonders about the fate of $15m (£12m) deposited in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2007.

Somewhere in the vaults of the CBN a bag containing $15m has lain untouched for the past five years. It was taken there by an altruistic 47-year-old public servant who said he had been given the money as a bribe.

At the time of the deposit the story was incredible: The amount in Nigerian currency was far beyond the imagination of a majority of Nigeria's 150 million people; who was the Nigerian so mindlessly rich to dash away such money or who would reject it under any circumstance?

Well not beyond the imagination  of all Nigerians. This from Scam Watch.

 " A ‘Nigerian’ scam is a form of upfront payment or money transfer scam. They are called Nigerian scams because the first wave of them came from Nigeria, but they can come from anywhere in the world. The ‘4-1-9’ part of the name comes from the section of Nigeria’s Criminal Code which outlaws the practice.

The scammers usually contact you by email or letter and offer you a share in a large sum of money that they want to transfer out of their country. They may tell you about money trapped in central banks during civil wars or coups, often in countries currently in the news. Or they may tell you about massive inheritances that are difficult to access because of government restrictions or taxes in the scammer’s country.

Scammers ask you to pay money or give them your bank account details to help them transfer the money. You are then asked to pay fees, charges or taxes to help release or transfer the money out of the country through your bank. These ‘fees’ may even start out as quite small amounts. If paid, the scammer make up new fees that require payment before you can receive your ‘reward’. They will keep making up these excuses until they think they have got all the money they can out of you. You will never be sent the money that was promised."

Back to the BBC article

The depositor was indeed a Nigerian - and a Nigerian police officer to boot. He was Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, then head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

When he took the cash to the CBN in 2007, he said that it was a bribe given to him by James Ibori, then governor of the oil-rich Delta state, to stop the investigation of allegations of monumental corruption against him. Of course, Ibori denied it.

Mr Ribadu was undaunted. At the end of investigations he slammed a charge of 170 counts of corruption at the Federal High Court on Ibori, who was now out of his gubernatorial chair. The charge included the alleged attempted bribery.

Ibori was not only a state governor when he committed the alleged crimes, he was also a powerful member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) and a financier of the presidential campaign of President Shehu Yar'Adua, now late. Which court in Nigeria would touch him?

The charge was struck out wholesale. Ibori walked tall from the court, cheered on by hundreds of party supporters and officials of the state government.

Mr Ribadu is a rare public servant I would suspect in any jurisdiction that he did the right thing in a country as corrupt as Nigeria is to be doubly applauded. 

Dog fight

They danced too soon. Mr Ribadu had filed complaints with the Metropolitan Police in Britain and they were stalking Ibori.

Efforts were made by the Nigerian government to stop the investigations abroad, but in vain. Mr Ribadu had given London all the evidence needed to prosecute the case.

Coincidentally Mr Ribadu fell out of favour with the government at about the same time, and he was dismissed from office. Now, remember that the $15m alleged bribe remained in the CBN. Ibori could not retrieve it because he had denied giving it.

Not an unusual outcome unfortunately.

The Metropolitan Police eventually caught up with him in Dubai, had him extradited to the UK and charged him with fraud and money laundering. Five months ago Ibori was convicted and sentenced to 13 years in prison.

A very welcome and unusual outcome well done Mr Ribadu.

Now, a dog fight has started in Nigeria to claim the $15m. The Nigerian government which shielded Ibori wants it. Delta State which said Ibori did not steal while serving as governor has staked a claim.

A faceless politician and a former adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo have joined in with a claim that they gave the money to Mr Ribadu for a different purpose.

Have they all no shame? Hail, Mallam Ribadu, wherever you may be now!

A good South African Law

From the BBC

Israel anger at S Africa 'Occupied Territories' labels

Israel and Jewish groups have protested after South Africa's cabinet approved regulations to label goods made in Israeli settlements as being from the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Israel's foreign ministry said the requirement was "totally unacceptable" and "blatant discrimination".

South African government spokesman Jimmy Manyi told reporters: "This is in line with South Africa's stance that recognises the 1948 borders delineated by the United Nations and does not recognise occupied territories beyond these borders as being part of the state of Israel."

I agree the UN is very clear on the 1948 borders.

'Racist nature'

But in a statement, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said: "What is totally unacceptable is the use of tools which, by essence, discriminate and single out, fostering a general boycott.

"Such exclusion and discrimination bring to mind ideas of racist nature which the government of South Africa, more than any other, should have wholly rejected."

South Africa would be guilty of hypocrisy on a grand scale if it took any other stance

" The South African Jewish Board of Deputies also criticised the new measures, calling them "discriminatory" and "divisive".

"They are believed to be motivated not by technical trade concerns but by political bias against the state of Israel," the group said in a statement."

Of course there is no discrimination in Palestine ? 

" An international boycott of South Africa helped to bring down the apartheid regime in the 1980s, with Israel being one of the last countries to sign up to the campaign.

In 2009, the European Union ruled that goods made in Israeli settlements in the West Bank would no longer be eligible for the preferential trade terms enjoyed by other Israeli producers."

Israel human rights record is abysmal and South Africa is correct to lead the charge on this. New Zealand should follow although not much chance of that under the current NZ Government. 

" About 500,000 Jews live in more than 100 settlements built since Israel's 1967 occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The settlements are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this."

The purpose of course being to stop the creation of a Palestinian State. Well done South Africa.

Swings and roundabouts in the Congo. Alex was right

From the BBC and confirming Alex's blog of two days ago.

DR Congo conflict: Kagame 

and Kabila fail to agree on force

Regional leaders have failed to agree at a summit in Uganda on deploying a new force to tackle militia groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

We will meet again in four weeks," Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said, the AFP news agency reports."

How many thousands will die in that 4 weeks ?

" Last month, the African Union called for a force to be established within weeks, as conflict escalated.

Meanwhile, gunmen have attacked the airport in the southern Congolese mining city of Lubumbashi.

At least one soldier was killed in a shoot-out that lasted several hours.

The government blamed a similar attack on the airport last year on armed men linked to secessionists in the south-east."

There seems to be no urgency amongst these so called leaders.

'Neutral force'

In the separate conflict in eastern DR Congo, nearly 250,000 people have been displaced since April following a rebellion launched by renegade General Bosco Ntaganda, the UN says.

Gen Ntaganda's M23 rebel movement - which has been active in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu - is accused by the UN and DR Congo government of receiving military backing from Rwanda.

The leaders of DR Congo and Rwanda - Joseph Kabila and Paul Kagame respectively - attended the summit in Uganda in an effort to resolve the conflict.

But there was no clear agreement on the deployment of a force or to take other measures to achieve peace, correspondents say.

Instead, a post-summit statement issued by the leaders said defence ministers should come up with "actionable steps to ensure that fighting stops completely" and provide details on the "operationalisation of the neutral international force".

The UN has more than 20,000 troops in DR Congo and the AU says it should be bolstered by a regional force.

Last month, Mr Kagame told AFP that he and Mr Kabila agreed "in principle" on a neutral force.

Eastern DR Congo has been plagued by fighting since 1994, when more than a million ethnic Hutus crossed the border into DR Congo following the Rwandan genocide, in which some 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed.

Rwanda has since twice invaded its much larger neighbour, saying it was trying to take action against Hutu rebels based in DR Congo."

The problem seems to be that Rwanda will not give up it's territorial ambitions. If the international community will not act then I predict a terrible outcome.