Burundi: We've played this scene before.

A statement from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.


UN experts call for determined Security Council action to prevent mass violence in the Great Lakes region


GENEVA (16 July 2015) – A group of United Nations human rights experts* today urged the Security Council to take immediate action to prevent Burundi from sliding back into violent conflict ahead of presidential elections, a crisis which will not leave the other countries in the region, including Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, unaffected. Thus far, 145,000 persons have fled to neighbouring countries in fear for their lives.

This is something that should scare the shit out of the whole world. Once again we are seeing the Great Lakes Region of Africa descend into chaos and once again the world is looking away. Six million lives have been lost in the DR Congo since 1998 and lets not forget the genocide in Rwanda and a further 800,000 lives. 


“The world is witnessing an escalating pattern of politically motivated violence in Burundi, enabled by the country’s decades-long tradition of impunity,” the experts warned. “The international community must not simply stand by and wait for mass atrocities to unfold, thereby risking a major conflict of regional proportions before it finally decides to act,” the Special Rapporteurs added, pointing to repeated cycles of mass violations that Burundi and the Great Lakes region have witnessed in recent history.

New Zealand is the currently president of the Security Council as we were when the Rwandan Genocide occurred and once again the Security Council is dithering. The difference being the last time we held the presidency we acted with honour.

" As the death count grew, our Ambassador, Colin Keating, pressed hard for the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda to be strengthened, and for the Council to declare this atrocity as genocide.

As the Council’s President in April 1994, we even had to threaten to hold a public debate to shame certain countries for their refusal to acknowledge what was happening.

In the end, mainly because of the unwillingness of some of the Council’s permanent members, those efforts were unsuccessful and 800,000 innocent people were butchered – many with jungle knives."

For fucks sake our ( NZ ) official position is that we oppose the great power Security Council veto. Yes we failed Rwanda but we tried. We may fail again...we will certainly fail if we don't try. The world voted us onto the Security Council not the vested interests of the west.

The situation in Burundi has already involved serious human rights violations. “It is accumulating the well-known and visible marks of a society which previously suffered divisions leading to grave violence. This can escalate into major conflict through the use of outright repression against, and intimidation of, the population at large, the instrumentalization of the police, the closure of independent media, as well as the detention of the opposition and other civic leaders. We also witness efforts to coerce the judiciary, some of whose highest members have fled the country claiming their lives were at risk. In the meantime, armed militias, with the collaboration of authorities, exercise violence against civilians. In these circumstances, it is not surprising that the results of the 29 June elections have generally not been endorsed,” the experts raised alarm. 

In short we have all the ingredients for another ethnic conflict that like the rest will engulf the the Great Lakes Region with potential consequences that don't bare thinking about except that we will have to do a lot more than think about them if   when they come to pass.



“The absence of independent media and a climate of repression and fear to exercise civil rights and express opinions, notably by peacefully taking to the streets, have marred the recent elections and will also be defining the forthcoming presidential elections, now scheduled for 21 July. The postponement by six days of the presidential elections does not remedy this blatant deficiency,” the mandate-holders stated.

It might be time for the world as represented by the Security Council to remind certain African dictators of a supposedly African proverb popularised by American President Roosevelt.

" Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far,"  


“If the government persists in holding presidential elections under the current circumstances – something even the former first Vice-President objected to after also having fled the country – they will in no way confer any legitimacy on the to-be-elected authorities. On the contrary, the elections are highly likely to result in major instability and confrontations in Burundi, with the potential to spread to the region,” the experts warned.

The big and forever unanswered question being who will benefit from the instability ? Oh of course the West, instability is opportunity.... just look at the illegal exploitation of resources multi-nationals have achieved in the DR Congo....and the cost... six million Congolese lives.  


On 9 July, the situation on Burundi was most recently discussed by the Security Council. The seven independent experts strongly echoed the call made by the High Commissioner for Human Rights to immediately disarm the youth militia Imbonerakure which is spreading major violence and intimidation among the population. The experts join the High Commissioner in recalling that the people of Burundi “have a right to go about their lives peacefully, in freedom, equality and dignity; without fear, and with equitable access to their country's many resources and opportunities.”

The Imbonerakure are targeting Tutsi communities and it would seem are predominantly a Hutu organisation.To quote Marrilion's Fish " You've played this scene before ".  


“The Security Council has a unique role for peace and security and for preventing conflicts worldwide. This is a crisis that is eminently preventable – everyone can see the risks. What is lacking is action,” underscored the independent experts. “Given the painful history of Burundi and the region, the long engagement of the United Nations in the country to re-build peace, the Security Council must be all the more alerted to the increasing potential of an escalation of massive violence,” the experts added.

And New Zealand as the current the president of the Security Council have failed enormously. We have failed our own legacy... even worse we have failed the trust the world mandated us with. 


“Burundians, who live in the world’s third poorest country must be spared another cycle of violence, with the misery and destruction that violence always leave on its wake. They look to the Security Council to live up to its unique role in the prevention of mass atrocities,” the experts urged.

I am ashamed to be a New Zealander today. John Key a new flag will not disassociate us from a genocide we did nothing to prevent. If our old brand has more honour than our new brand it would be better to abandon the exercise.

Africa: " Dream coins for the fountain or to cover your eyes "

Press TV reports

US using Ebola to advance its imperialist agenda in Africa: Azikiwe

The United States is using the epidemic of the Ebola virus to advance its imperialist agenda in West Africa, a civil rights activist and journalist in Detroit says.

Azikiwe is talking shit. I would suggest the so called "civil rights activist " is using the Ebola nightmare occurring in West Africa to advance his personal agenda, quite how denying the Ebola victims and those at risk of becoming victims assistance from America does that is beyond me on a moral level. Clearly Azikiwe has a domestic USA goal and doesn't give a shit how many African lives are lost due to his political gamesmanship.

Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, made the remarks in a phone interview with Press TV on Tuesday while commenting on President Barack Obama’s announcement that the US military will be involved in tackling the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, arguing that it represents a serious national security concern.

The US military are probably the best organisation in the world to react to this. No they are not doctors but they understand bio-warfare in a way no other military or civilian organisation does. Sure lets get as many health professionals as we can on the ground but that is an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. We stop Ebola by stopping human interactions. It is brutal and without humanity it is also the only way.

"I believe this is just another means for the United States military intelligence’s deeper penetration of the African continent. Already the United States has military presence in Libya, in Sierra Leone, as well in the west African state of Nigeria, all of which have been... impacted by the epidemic of the Ebola virus,” Azikiwe said.

That statement is worthy of a Darwin Award, next the fool will be arguing that the USA perpetrated the Ebola outbreak. Idiots like this often forget the logistics.

"The only way in which this disease can be tackled is through the proliferation of medical personnel, trained doctors, nurses, the development of the field hospitals and clinics, and it’s through this process that the disease can be arrested," he added.

The best way of tackling it is to reduce to a minimum human interactions. Bodies of the dead need to be disposed of in such a way that the dead can't infect the living. Doctors and nurses are not trained in this way. 

"The reason why this disease is having such a traumatic impact on Africa... is the fact that there are not adequate healthcare facilities in these various countries -- adequate research facilities -- so this disease can be tackled both through research as well as through medical treatment," the civil rights activist noted.

The reason this virus is killing is that it is a virus we have no immunity too. If it escaped into the population in New Zealand it would kill at the same levels it does in Africa. Has this fool never heard of AIDS ? Research by all means, there is no proven medical treatment available therefor you isolate. I hate the TINA ( There Is No Alternative ) theory but it is our best option and AFRICOM is probably the best placed outfit to oirganise this.

"This treatment will be designed to contain a virus and also to eliminate it. But it's not a military solution, it's a medical solution, and the medical solution is definitely related to the lack of the development, the lack of resources inside the region," he stated.

"...and the medical solution is definitely related to the lack of the development, the lack of resources inside the region," I am not arguing with the fact that third world health is a bloody disaster it is. I just don't see that that is a reason to sign up to a suicide pact. This clown reminds me of Jim Jones.

"Jonestown" was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project formed by the Peoples Temple, an American religious organization under the leadership of Jim Jones, in northwestern Guyana. It became internationally notorious when on November 18, 1978, 918 people died in the settlement, at the nearby airstrip in Port Kaituma, and in Georgetown, Guyana's capital city.

"The Ebola cases that have been sent to the Unites States for treatment have gotten very positive results. That is directly related to the level of medical facilities and healthcare professionals [in the US] that can address this issue," Azikiwe said. "But it's not a military issue, it's a medical issue, and the medical issue is definitely related to the question of development in West Africa."

Bullshit. Just watch the footage. The Ebola victim got out of the ambulance and walked into the clinic. He was not suffering from Ebola.

"[T]his is the only way of which there will be a long-term solution for this crisis. The disease at this point is a threat for West Africa; but it's also an international threat because there's no way it can be contained strictly in the West African region," he emphasized.

Oh please save me from fucking stupid people. You contain it by using draconian measures. We are not signing up to a suicide pact.

He added that “there have been some cases in the northern region of Democratic Republic of Congo. Although they are claiming the outbreak is unrelated to the outbreak in West Africa, still we go back to the question of adequate medical facilities and adequate medical personnel.”

Well he clearly doesn't read this blog. Yes there have and isolation is and remains the only cure.

“So this is the real solution and [regarding] AFRICOM - the United States Army Command for the Africa Region - these military intuitions are not established for the purposes of healthcare. They are established for the purpose of carrying out the United States' imperialist foreign policy in Africa and this is just another mechanism for Barack Obama to move in that direction,” Azikiwe concluded.

I might suggest he has a look at AFRICOM a serious look. Then he might understand why I am laughing at him. 

DR Congo: " You've finished playing hangman, you've cast the fateful dice"

The Security Council  has announced

SECURITY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENT ON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, GREAT LAKES REGION

                                                            FDLR criminals

The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Mark Lyall Grant ( United Kingdom):

On 7 August, the members of the Security Council heard briefings by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), Martin Kobler, the outgoing Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region, Mary Robinson, and the Minister for Defence of Angola, João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, in his capacity as representative of the Chair of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR). The members of the Security Council welcomed the nomination of Said Djinnit as Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region.

So the only thing worth noting from that is that Said Djinnit is / is to be / might be / the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General. Somewhat at odds with his bio. in Wikipedia.

" Said Djinnit (Arabic: سعيد جينيت‎) (born June 7, 1954) is an Algerian diplomat who has been Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General for the Great Lakes region in Africa since 2014. Previously he served as the Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA)."

On the whole I think Wikipedia is more likely to be correct than Mark Lyall Grant, who either clearly can't read or has the ability to alter the decisions of the UN Secretary General from this blog July 20.  

" To continue building on her work, the UN Secretary General recently announced the appointment of Said Djinnit, former Special Representative of the Secretary General for West Africa, to succeed Robinson. Ambassador Djinnit's appointment is a reassuring and welcomed sign of the UN's sustained commitment to the Great Lakes."

This blog has long argued for Security Council reform, this whilst minor is yet another example of an organisation that is out of all touch with reality. 


The members of the Security Council welcomed the progress against armed groups, including the military defeat of the 23 March Movement (M23), the signing of the Nairobi Declarations by the Democratic Republic of the Congo Government and M23, and the significant weakening of the Allied Democratic Forces—National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF-NALU), but regretted that no significant progress was made towards the neutralization of the Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR). They noted the initial efforts made by the Democratic Republic of the Congo Government and the Governments of the region towards fulfilling the commitments made under the Peace Security and Cooperation Framework, including the development of national and regional benchmarks. The members of the Security Council welcomed the efforts of regional organizations, in particular the role of the ICGLR, including that of President José Eduardo dos Santos as Chair, as subsequently demonstrated by the holding of two Heads of State and Government Mini-Summits in Luanda ( Angola) on 25 March and on 14 August.

For fucks sake M23 were defeated last year. The Nairobi Declarations signed by the Congolese Government were not the same declarations that were signed by M23 and for some reason Mark Lyall Grant seems unaware that there was in fact a third declaration signed in Nairobi. All had different text and all are totally meaningless.


" So we have three documents; according to the United Nations, Banda and Museveni signed one set, we appear to have photographic evidence to back this up.

Then we have Bertrand Bisimwa signing something that that says M23 is finished as a military force, something I would have thought was fairly self evident. At the same time the government of the DR Congo is signing a third set of papers that seem to bear no relationship with the previous two sets of documents and making matters even worse this is all just speculation on my part as I have not been able to track down the text of any of the documents."

As for the weakening of the Ugandan rebels ADF that is progress. Bloody slow progress but progress. The FDLR, my gut feeling is that they will not comply with the six month time frame to disarm. If MONUSCO and its component part the Intervention ( Africa ) Brigade want to maintain credibility they should be preparing a devastating response to be visited on the FDLR the day they go over the deadline. Genocidal killers deserve no respect. In the interests of avoiding unnecessary deaths, the FDLR have had ample time to demobilise.

The members of the Security Council reaffirmed their support for the swift neutralization of FDLR, as a top priority in bringing stability to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region. They recalled that leaders and members of FDLR were among the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, during which Hutu and others who opposed the genocide were also killed, and recalled that FDLR is a group under United Nations sanctions, operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and which has continued to promote and commit ethnically based and other killings in Rwanda and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They expressed deep concern regarding the sustained domestic and regional threat posed by FDLR, including recent reports of continued human rights abuses by members of FDLR and continued recruiting and training of combatants, including children, and stressed the importance of disarming and ending the threat caused by this illegal armed group.

As I said above if the FDLR think they can play games with the world it is time they reflected upon the fallacy of that position and if they do so from the perspective of watching the grass grow above them so be it.

The members of the Security Council took note of ongoing ICGLR and Southern African Development Community (SADC) diplomatic efforts to harmonize views and approaches on the neutralisation and unconditional disarmament of FDLR. They further took note of the six-month timeframe for the voluntary surrender of FDLR from 2 July and the review of progress after three months, as set out by the joint ICGLR-SADC meeting of Ministers of Defence on 2 July. They expressed concern about reports by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo that FDLR has interpreted this six-month timeframe as a call to stall previously scheduled demobilizations. They noted that the disarmament process should be concluded swiftly, have a clearly defined end state and be supported by credible military action. Meanwhile, they encouraged the Democratic Republic of the Congo Government, in coordination with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), to actively pursue military action against those leaders and members of FDLR who do not engage in the demobilization process or who continue to carry out human rights abuses. They underlined MONUSCO’s mandate to neutralize all armed groups, in line with resolutions 2098 (2013) and 2147 (2014), and further underlined their support for an effective disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reintegration and resettlement programme, paying a particular attention to women and children, as part of the demobilization process.

That is a Security Council authorisation for MONUSCO to neutralise kill the bastards. They deserve it.

The members of the Security Council took note of the technical missions carried out by the Democratic Republic of the Congo Government-led delegations to Uganda and Rwanda in April and July, respectively, to assess and process amnesty requests for former M23 combatants, in preparation for the repatriation of those eligible for reintegration, and underlined the need to fast-track and conclude their return to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in accordance with an agreed timetable. In this regard, they encouraged the parties to speed up the implementation of the Kampala Dialogue/Nairobi Declarations in order to ensure the permanent demobilization of M23.

What fucking dreamland are the Security Council living in ? Security Council President Mark Lyall Grant is a bloody fool. M23 have not gone away and will not go away " ...the permanent demobilization of M23." As I said we need Security Council reform. Mark Lyall Grant is an idiot.
The members of the Security Council called for the full and swift implementation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s national commitments under the Peace and Security Council Framework, including the restoration of State authority and the wider governance, economic and security sector reforms needed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to consolidate the progress made so far. They noted in this context the particular importance of security sector reform, including the establishment of a rapid reaction force. They stressed that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo bears primary responsibility for security, protection of civilians, national reconciliation, peacebuilding and development in the country.

Nothing unreasonable there, other than how ? Easy let's repatriate to the DR Congo all the receipts of all the wealth stolen from them... yup billions upon billions of dollars. America you are fucked and the UK with you your economies just failed due to debt failure.

Or we could do what we are doing now and a lot more... not just leave the DR Congo to spend another century in hell.

The members of the Security Council commended the work of Special Representative of the Secretary-General Kobler and outgoing Special Envoy of the Secretary-General Robinson, and underlined the continuing crucial role of MONUSCO in protecting civilians and promoting peace and stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They stressed the importance of the troop-contributing countries’ role in the implementation of the Mission’s full mandate, including the neutralization of all armed groups through its Intervention Brigade, in support of the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, either unilaterally or jointly with the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC), and in cooperation with the whole of MONUSCO. They further emphasized the importance for MONUSCO to support and work with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to arrest and bring to justice those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. They also stressed the need to continue to increase the effectiveness of the Mission, and looked forward to the outcome of the forthcoming Strategic Review of MONUSCO and the wider United Nations presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Gobbledygook at its best.

The members of the Security Council encouraged the United Nations, the African Union, ICGLR, SADC and other relevant international and regional organizations to continue to work together to support the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Governments of the region towards the full implementation of the national and regional commitments under the Peace and Security Council Framework.

New Zealand is running for a seat on the Security Council and I think we might get it. I hope we don't. The last thing the world needs right now is us.

DR Congo: " Venomous verbs of ruthless candour plagiarise assassins fervour "

Congo DRC News alleges I have translated this from French using Google Translate and then attempted to clean up the result ( against what most people would call good
judgement ). Congo DRC News is an M23 Facebook page. 

All translation mistakes are mine. 

Official Statement of Management of the Movement of March 23. 

We are totally distressed, dismayed, frustrated after new reports of 

summary execution of prisoners of war by the department military Intelligence 

DRC in Kinshasa. 

These are serious allegations. The problem is that they are being made by Bertrand Bisiimwa who is the head of what remains of M23. To call the management of M23 pathological lairs would be being generous.

The executions occurred between the months of July and August 2014. Those executed were soldiers from the National Congress for the Defense of the People, Acronym CNDP, which were integrated into the Government Army to seal the Peace Agreement signed March 23, 2009 between the CNDP and the DRC Government. They were part of the hundred military personnel who were arrested in Goma, Masisi and Beni between May 2012 and August 2013 for the suspicion of belonging to the Movement of March 23. 

The CNDP was the predecessor organisation to M23. The M23 acronym comes from the failure of the integration of the CNDP in the Congolese army ( FARDC ). I don't think it would be unreasonable for the Government of the DR Congo to hold suspicions about former CNDP rebels having connections with M23. Acting on those suspicions without proof and one must assume without judicial process would fall into the category of war crimes. The question remains did it actually happen ?

There are soldiers whose situation remains unknown. They were sent to Kinshasa and kept in different jails with no accessible services under the jurisdiction of FARDC Military Intelligence and subjected to atrocious torture and constant degrading treatment seriously damaging their health.

None of those fitting this category appear to be named. The dead can wait if there are soldiers fitting this designation they should be named, that they haven't been makes me very suspicious. 

Ten of them were summarily executed between the months of 

July and August 2014, They are: 

1 Basanganira Donatien 

2 Mahoro Faustin 

3 Nzirasanaho Emmanuel 

4 Hakizimana Richard 

5 BISENGIMANA Martin 

6 Kivamussa Simpenzwe, 

7 Hakizimana Fidel 

8 Bonane, 

9 Aliete Ndibindela, 

10 Molisho Safari. 

Under international criminal law, the execution of prisoners War is described as
war crime. Nations committing war crimes are liable to appropriate jurisdictions. 

I have had to clean up this a lot to make any sense of it. I assume the point Bisiimwa is trying to make is that the DR Congo government may be accountable to the Hague for these executions if they happened, or they happened without due process. 

Therefore, we are strongly concerned about the fate of other Prisoners of war on the list submitted to the Government for release. Their fate remains unanswered, eight months after signing. ( Nairobi agreement )

As for the " signing "

" So we have three documents; according to the United Nations, Banda and Museveni signed one set, we appear to have photographic evidence to back this up. Then we have Bertrand Bisimwa signing something that that says M23 is finished as a military force, something I would have thought was fairly self evident.  At the same time the government of the DR Congo is signing a third set of papers that seem to bear no relationship with the previous two sets of documents and making matters even worse this is all just speculation on my part as I have not been able to track down the text of any of the documents."

We have as far as I can see no mutually agreed document signed by M23 and Kinshasa. Those who are alleged to have been executed do not fall into the prisoners of war category they according to this article are former CNDP members who had joined the Congolese Army. The failure of Bisiimwa to distinguish again adds huge credibility questions to this report.

Statements of Nairobi. 

It is the same with respect to members Movement of 23 March who returned to the country in response to the many  messages initiated by DR Congo. Despite the Government  commitment to the amnesty. those who returned have been arrested in their homes by the security services and placed in detention without any judicial process. 

As far as I am aware the Congolese Government hasn't encouraged any of the M23 rebels to return. Bisiimwa's credibility as usual is stretched beyond breaking point. The Nairobi agreement is meaningless. M23 have in effect accepted an unconditional surrender and unconditional means just that.

In the city of Goma, we were able to identify 19 cases including 14 at the Central Prison Munzenze: NDAMWENGE BYENDA Daniel KAMBALE MBUSA Felix KAKULE TASI Mark Rwamanywa HABIPFURA, BIAITU FESTO, SEMPEZWE on, SENGIYUMVA Samuel BAHATI Bahari Roger Kalimunda Gerard Kazimoto Desire hamuli RWAMAKUBA Kaigo, Bonane BINEY, BAKUNZI Steve KAYEMBE Ally; 5 to Dungeon the National Agency for Information, ANR acronym Kabasha Olivier Bwira Eugene, Murhula Patrick jeanjacques PRINCE Andrew and SIBOMANA. 

I think we in New Zealand can assume our future head of state is not in gaol in Goma.

We recall that about 100 prisoners of war from CNDP, beneficiaries of the Amnesty agreement of 2009 that the DRC government had asserted to have released and transported in planes to the East are so far still missing. The subject was discussed at the talks in Kampala without agreement. Kinshasa has been criticized for not having delivered the prisoners to the Leadership of the CNDP as stipulated in the agreement.

Five years is a long time.

We denounce and condemn these acts of murder. We just to request from the 

ICGLR and SADC international inquiry to get to some light on this issue 

with similar facts have always legitimized specifications movements 

insurgency. 

Allegations without evidence sums this up. M23 need to provide some hard evidence. I think it reasonable that should the DR Congo government face ICC action over these allegations of war crimes then the M23 should also be held to account for the many Crimes Against Humanity that they are accused of.

Made in Kampala, August 17, 2014 

The President of the Movement of March 23.

New Zealand: " With the jester on the sidelines in a cast "

Keeping Stock blogs .

David Cunliffe has a bit of a dilemma here. Labour has clearly selected a candidate for Rangitata who has extreme views about the Prime Minister, which he is not shy in putting into the public domain. That in itself is a recipe for catastrophe.

But by pledging a campaign focusing on policies rather than personalities, David Cunliffe has painted himself into a corner here. Either he throws the Sledge Pledge out the window and endorses a candidate with clear anti-Semitic views, or he is forced to order that the candidate be deselected. Whichever path he chooses, it's yet another distraction Labour could do without.

Yesterday Labour's Big Red Positive Bus was rolled out in downtown Auckland. Today however, a wheel has fallen of the Bus of Positivity.


FOOTNOTE: If you don't get the anti-Semitism here, this may help you.

If Gibson is still a Labour candidate when the sun that will soon rise over NZ set's again I will be astonished.  It matters not, tonight Labour lost the election. There is no way I will cast a party vote for a party that fields such  a candidate. Keeping Stock further reports in the comments 

"Quite so QH - he's apologised for the "Shylock" reference, claiming ignorance of Shylock being derogatory and anti-Semitic. But interestingly, he hasn't apologised for any of the rest of his angry rant.

David Cunliffe has every right to be incandescent with anger; Steve Gibson has taken the gloss of Labour's campaign launch yesterday."

"...claiming ignorance of Shylock being derogatory..."   

Yes well one of course look at the ... sorry is this clown really  the candidate ? "

Uganda: " Are we trigger happy ? Russian roulette in the waiting room "

New Vision reports

Police to recruit over 5,000

The Uganda Police Force is to recruit 5,000 officers in a one-week exercise  starting September 1. 

The Kampala Metropolitan Police Commander, Andrew Felix Kaweesi, said the recruitment drive is to bolster the Force to ensure effective policing of the 2016 general elections. 

It is hard to comment on this without knowing the size of the Ugandan Police Force ( UPF ) but the New Zealand police force has about 8000 officers for a population of a bit over four million extrapolating that figure out the Ugandan police force for a population of about 35 million would be about 70,000 officers, I suspect it is far higher. By New Zealand standards this is a huge increase in man power. If as Commander Kaweesi says this is to police a general election then the legitimacy of the Museveni regime has some serious question marks.

“The last elections were marred with incidents of violence. And recently we have got information that the opposition with some civil society organizations are plotting to block the general elections through violence. The recruitment will enable us counter all those threats,” Kaweesi explained. 

Violence is something the UPF seems to specialise in, from the Guardian. 


" The worst part of John's life is the punishment meted out to him and his friends by the very people whose duty it is to protect them. They are accused of being criminals and chokora (scavengers), and beaten. "They cane us, the police. Big boys cane us. They use sticks and they [punch] us," says John, who is about 15. This usually happens at weekends, he says. "

The Kampala Police chief made the revelation at the passing out of a total of 1,000 crime preventers from areas of Mukono, Kira Division, Nagalama, Jinja Road Police Station and Kira Road Police Station who had gathered at Kira Road Police Station play grounds on Sunday. 

The police in Uganda get playgrounds ? Again from the Guardian


" We eat leftovers. I don't sleep very well – it's not very comfortable. We live badly," he says, before huddling together with about 30 children on a shop verandah, opposite a nightclub. "

Batshit crazy ? Cops get playgrounds and kids get... well apart from beatings from the police it would seem nothing.

Kaweesi also noted that there is a group of people led by Kampala Retired Bishop Zac Niringiye planning to disrupt peace in the city in a demonstration dubbed ‘Walk To Freedom’. 

" Walk To Freedom " Is it possible that Zac Niringiye is making a point ? Is it conceivable that Commander Kaweesi and the UPF has totally missed the point ? Yup.

“A move to block the general elections is fighting the constitution, something our job does not allow, so we have to be prepared. 

Really ? Ignoring the constitution doesn't seem to bother your elected representatives.


" A couple of points, one has to wounder why there was no quorum given this was an issue that is supported by all peoples on the African continent. Clearly Ugandan Parliamentarians can read even if their Speaker can't count. The other point that should be made is why President Museveni signed this bill into law if the President of Uganda has such a disregard for the constitution Uganda has some very dark days ahead."

We allowed the opposition leaders and civil society organizations to go round the country over the electoral reforms; they are now planning to misuse that liberty to cause unrest. We are ready to suppress them, the way we did in their first attempts,” he said. 

The UPF allowed people to exercise their democratic rights but an election is happening next year so those rights are now proscribed. 

He said the recruitment will also help reduce rampant incidents of crime in the country and improve police to population ratio. 

A ratio I would like to know but can't find.

“We hope that the recruitment will help plug the attrition in the police force which stands at over 1000 annually as a result of death, retirement, desertion and dismissal of personnel,” he said. 

Hang on. " 1,000 crime preventers " just passed out according to this article and 1000 leave per year, it would seem Uganda is increasing its police numbers by far more than the attrition rate. Why ?

Kaweesi said the applicants must be Ugandan citizens with the minimum qualification of Senior Six or its equivalent. 

Additionally, they must not have a criminal record and be ready to work long hours. 

Guess I am not going to qualify as a Ugandan police officer.

“Application in triplicate filled in own handwriting and accompanied by photocopies of academic transcripts and certificates, curriculum vitae, three recent passport size photographs and recommendation letters from LC1, LC2, LC3 and RDC should be brought in person at the recruitment centers,” he said.

I am screwed my handwriting might get me past the first hurdle but I have never met any of the LC's and I have no friends at the RDC. 


He called upon the interested candidates to obtain application forms from secretaries to district service commissions or the public service commission adding that they should also fill in the Uganda Police recruitment bio-data forms from the offices of the district commanders. 

The regional centers are the Police Training School Kibuli, regional Police headquarters at Jinja, Wakiso, Masaka, Mpigi, Moroto, Gulu, Arua, Hoima, Fort Portal, Masaka, Mbarara, Mbale and Soroti.

Police states scare the shit out of me.

DR Congo: " The child before they broke his heart Our heart, the heart that I believed was lost "

Esther Nsapu at Rafiki blogs: Another African blog and even better from Goma. You can't know how happy that makes me. This is a translation from French and cleaned up by me. All translation errors are mine. As this is Esther' blog I have not made any comments as per my practice with Charly Kasereka and Chantal Faida's blogs.

Shasha: Space "friend to children" Shaping the future of underprivileged children

                           

Child soldiers, victims of war and orphan's studying free courtesy of the  friend child Shasha network. In addition to the lessons learned in the classroom they are also trained in dressmaking and design; we have to prepare a better future.

They are about 500 children from the territories of Walikale, Masisi, Rutchuru aged from 4-16 years. They live, study and are supported by free to friend child space (SAEP) at Shasha, a locality thirty kilometers to the west of Goma, North Kivu, DRC.

Most of these children have lost their parents in the recurrent wars of the region. Some are the result of rape and others are former soldiers conscripted into armed groups. " I feel better here. Here after a few months I can read and write " reports Bonane Bazimaziki, 14, former militiaman.

At the age of 13, K. Baeni like most children accommodated in "Space " , could not count or hold a pen. "His integration was not easy but we are proud of him as of all the others  , " said Clarisse Kasaza the manager of SAEP.

Included in this number, nearly 200 girls are taught the skills of cutting and sewing, while boys learn drawing and painting. " I am proud to be able to sew clothes but also to weave carpets , " says FT, a girl born as a result of rape, never having known her parents and abandoned at birth. 

Even the locals are included 

Although this SAEP project is designed to supervise the children victims of war, the work of this organisation also benefits the local people. Included in the school, there is  ten local children. George Bazibuhe, chief of the town of Shasha observes, this organization is also very beneficial as giving the poor village children the opportunity to study for free.

He is proud and encourages developers and managers of this structure for children. " I can hardly pay my rent and my income does not allow me to educate my three children. Fortunately this center exists if not, I would seem irresponsible "explains Nsimire, who sells mangoes in the village.

According to Clarisse Kasaza since the center was established there two years ago, the progress has been significant: " children who were violent became docile. Tomorrow they will become honest and responsible citizens thanks to the education they have acquired.  " But the fact remains that the stresses on parents are large and numerous a fault authorities of the country are powerless to fix so the center must respond.

OK sort of breaking my comments rule but as I was working on this a friend
Kalume Jon mentioned what he was currently doing.

"...in Northern Uganda where Lord Resistance Army operated by Joseph Kony,... now am in evaluation of children's situation, orphans and child soldiers and vulnerable women affected by war. "

From a global perspective these issues should and are to some degree addressed by the UN. Rehabilitation should become a UN Security Council responsibility, the way out of messes like this is to break the cycle of violence. From a New Zealand perspective we need to win a seat on the council in September and getting Helen Clark into the job as UN Secretary General should be a national priority. We may only be four million people at the bottom of the world but that is not a weakness it is our strength. The NZ Government is by virtue of our size close to constituents. 

In 1994 while New Zealand held the presidency of the UN Security Council the Rwanda genocide happened. We attempted to stop it but we were over ruled by permanent council members.  Most New Zealander's didn't  and don't know the Rwanda genocide happened. Had they known, had they mobilised who knows what the international community would have been forced to do, remember the Springbok tour of '81 and we were divide then. New Zealand is almost unique in the world, when we collectively want our government to do something they had better do it or start looking for new jobs. That is our size advantage, that is our ability to change the world.

New Zealand: " Degraded and alone, raped and still forlorn Betrayed on a lizard's bed We chameleon, ..."

Rodney Hide in the New Zealand Herald opines,

At the risk of pissing some people off I have to say that I admire Rodney Hide. We are politically poles apart..... well at least at different ends of the centre spectrum. If I was a National Party person and I am not, I would be tempted to enroll him, it couldn't possibly work out as badly as ACT recycling Banks, Brash etc. In fact it would probably work out very well. 

It was once suggested to me by a prickly persona based in Hong Kong that I should dump Labour and suport ACT. I haven't laughed that much since someone explained the TINA Theory to me many years ago. The suggestion was made when Hilary Calvert was an ACT MP.  

Rodney Hide: Hilarious Dotcom drama is riveting

Harawira trumpets Mana and His People but that's not stopping him using his electorate to coat-tail Dotcom's party into Parliament. Photo / Brett Phibbs

I used to think politics was all about achieving good government. That proved invariably disappointing. These days, politics is no longer my responsibility. I'm happy if it just proves interesting.

That's why I am for the Internet-Mana Party. They're the best entertainment in years. If they were a parody they would be too improbable to be believed.

My thoughts exactly.

Maori nationalist Hone Harawira calls Pakeha the rudest of names and the wrong colour to date his daughter. But he's jumped into bed with whiter-than-white Kim Dotcom.

Just for the record  " white mother fuckers " is the term Rodney is looking for.

Harawira trumpets Mana and His People but that's not stopping him using his electorate to coat-tail Dotcom's party into Parliament. His price? $3 million.

It's easy to accuse Harawira of hypocrisy but he has a ready reply: it's a lot of money. At $3m his double standard is good and high.

" Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world. But for Wales" Robert Bolt.

Laila Harre wasn't elected leader of the Internet Party. She was hired. She's been selected and paid for by Dotcom. The former coffee picker for the Sandinistas is New Zealand's first corporate-hire political leader.

A mate rang after Harre's appointment splitting his sides, "All they need now is Pam Corkery". Corkery was appointed press secretary that day.

That is funny. Pam Corkery is about as out of touch with anything verging on reality as it is possible to get. 

" Ms Corkery, a former MP and broadcaster, is planning to start a brothel for women. It would start as a TV reality series, but continue to operate after filming was completed. "

Pam as far as I recall isn't blonde but hell she should be, as cunning plans go that is right up with anything Baldrick ever came up with.

Willie Jackson considered standing but wanted $250,000. That's his price for standing up for his principles.

Fair enough. Hell offer me $250,000 and I will invent new principles.

The recycled 1990s Alliance Party is promising a digital future. But they're technophobes and Luddites. Harre declares herself well-qualified because her children are the internet generation and her husband uses a computer at work.

Yup. Corkery is even worse. I am in my forties and trust me Corkery is out of touch with generation X, it really is time for the " baby boomers "  to just piss off.

She also believes Dotcom is funding her to help the poor and downtrodden with 1970s socialism. It's nothing to do with his extradition to face criminal charges. The left don't talk about truth. Rather, it's the narrative. Harre is the only person buying her narrative.

Wrong. Lots of people, at least as many as I have fingers buy it. They are part of a club. For them clubbing has political overtones though... they don't support the clubbing of seals ... neither do I, but I wonder what the Mana position on that is ? That is not an idle question.

Next up, Annette Sykes. Her driving force? The Treaty and economic equality. Nothing about Dotcom's over-the-top lifestyle and opulence suggests Treaty concerns or a share-the-wealth mentality.

Actually I disagree, it is about getting those " WMF " that drives Annette or rather getting their wallets contribution after they have paid tax. 

Someone isn't being upfront about their political aims and aspirations. The gulf between Dotcom and his politicians is altogether too yawning.

Yawning ? I thought Mr Hide was laughing.

Then we have veteran campaigner John Minto. His promise? That Mana is coming after the rich. Capital gains taxes, financial transaction taxes, inheritance taxes and a more progressive tax system are all part of his campaign.

He's targeting the "parasites" and their "unearned income". In the meantime, he's more than happy taking the fat cat's money. That's the money the FBI are accusing Dotcom of not earning.

I remember Minto.    

" To my astonishment, and dismay, John Minto, who was there, hectored the great man for not kicking private enterprise and transnational companies out of South Africa after apartheid ended. A bewildered Mandela asked Minto how he expected people to find work if their employers were banished. It was at that moment I realised Minto was not driven by opposition to racism but by opposition to the entire capitalist system."

Dotcom set out to destroy Banks for not rushing to rescue him from Mt Eden Prison. He expected a minister to jump for a $50,000 political donation. That's his character. Imagine what he expects for $3m.

And imagine how he will perform when he doesn't get it. Pure entertainment.

Probably not an issue that is troubling Harawira , Sykes, Harre, Corkery or Minto, lets face it Dotcom isn't going to be any trouble at all if he wins his extradition battle and if he fails to win he sure as hell won't be able to do much in a federal cell in the USA.