PEOPLES DAILY, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012
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ICC trials main threat to Kenyan polls: electoral commission Ethiopia PM accuses Eritrea of kidnappings
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thiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi accused Eritrea yesterday of abducting dozens of Ethiopian miners from the country's northwest, in a potential escalation of tension between the archenemies. Ethiopian troops crossed into the Red Sea state last month and attacked what they said were military bases used by rebels to stage raids, including a January attack that killed five Western tourists in Ethiopia's remote Afar region. These attacks were the first on Eritrean soil that Ethiopia has admitted to since the end of a devastating 1998-2000 border war, sparking concern that their unresolved frontier spat could escalate into a full-scale war. "They (Eritrean government) recently kidnapped more than 100 young miners who were mining gold in our country's northwest. And in the northeast, they killed some tourists and kidnapped others," Meles said, the latter referring to the January raid. "We have taken proportional measures in both locations," he told lawmakers in response to a question on relations with Eritrea. Meles did not specify when and exactly where the abductions in the country's northwest Tigray region took place, nor the measures his country had subsequently taken. Eritrean officials were not immediately available for comment, but they often dismiss their rivals' allegations as a ploy to harm Eritrea's reputation. Ethiopia routinely accuses Asmara of supporting Ethiopian separatist groups. It blamed an Afar rebel movement for the kidnapping of Westerners in its northern Afar region in 2007, and again for the attack in the same area earlier this year. Gunmen killed two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian in a dawn attack on a group of tourists in the remote Afar region on January 17, and seized two Germans and two Ethiopians. A rebel group in the Afar region said in February it had freed the two Germans, although there has been no official confirmation of the release. After the border war, the Haguebased Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission ruled that the flashpoint town of Badme belonged to Eritrea but the village remains in the hands of its neighbour, which is calling for negotiations to implement the ruling. Asmara blames the international community for the impasse, and President Isaias Afewerki last month accused the United States of plotting the Ethiopian raids. Ethiopia is Washington's biggest ally in the Horn of Africa region and has deployed troops in lawless Somalia to fight al Qaeda-linked insurgents in Somalia.
Kikuyu tribe members during post-election violence in Kenya, January 28, 2008.
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he possible trial of Kenyan politicians for election violence is the biggest threat for a repeat of unrest at next year's vote, the country's electoral head said, hoping reforms and new technology will ease a "pressure cooker" of tensions. Next March's election will be the
first since a disputed poll in 2007 that triggered a politically-fuelled ethnic slaughter in which more than 1,220 people were killed. Any trouble in Kenya could hit investment, trade and transport in the east African economic powerhouse's land-locked neighbours, especially Rwanda
and Uganda, which rely on Mombasa port for imports of food, consumer goods and fuel. "As we move towards the election, it will become a pressure cooker," said Ahmed Isaack Hassan, head of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that will oversee the vote.
"The issue of the International Criminal Court (ICC) process may bring some tensions. This is the only thing which stands out, we have to wait and see how it will impact the elections." Leading presidential contenders Uhuru Kenyatta, the former finance minister and son of Kenya's founder president, and William Ruto a former higher education minister, face charges of directing ethnic mobs to murder after the 2007 election, along with other crimes against humanity. The charges against Kenyatta, Ruto and two others have shaken a country where the political elite was once seen as almost above the law, and there is concern that, if the presidential hopefuls stand trial and are blocked from running for office, it may trigger fresh violence. In January, the ICC ordered Kenyatta, Ruto, radio presenter Joshua Arap Sang and the head of the civil service, Francis Muthaura, to stand trial for instigating the violence. The four deny the charges and have appealed the ICC's right to try them. Kenyatta and Ruto have forged an alliance against Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who leads in the race according to pollsters, to replace outgoing President Mwai Kibaki.
Sudan parliament calls South an “enemy�
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udan's parliament branded South Sudan an "enemy" yesterday and called for a swift recapture of a disputed oil-producing region, as rising border tensions pushed the old civil war foes closer to another full-blown conflict. South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan last July, seized the contested Heglig oilfield last Tuesday, prompting its northern neighbor to vow to recapture the area by "all means." The oilfield is vital to Sudan's economy, producing about half of the 115,000 barrel-per-day output that remained in its control after South Sudan's secession. Addressing the Khartoum parliament, speaker Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir accused the South's ruling party - the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) - of posing a security threat
It accused Khartoum on Sunday of reducing the oil facility "to rubble" in an air strike, an accusation denied by Sudan. "If any damage has occurred in Heglig it may have been on the part of the army of South Sudan,"
Sudanese Information Minister Abdallah Ali Masar said. Both sides regularly make conflicting claims. Limited access to the remote region makes it difficult to independently verify their statements.
to the north. "We declare that we will confront the SPLM until we end its rule of the South, and will work to gather our resources to realize this aim," he said. "We are in a battle that does not finish with the recovery of Heglig, but with an end to the danger that comes from South Sudan." The assembly went on to adopt a resolution describing the SPLM government as "an enemy," but it did not spell out the full implications of the decision. South Sudanese Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin called the decision "ludicrous." "How can they call us an enemy?" he said. South Sudan insists Heglig is rightfully part of the South and says it will not withdraw its troops unless the United Nations deploys a neutral force to monitor a cease-fire.
Armed soldiers stand guard at Talodi in South Kordofan, about 50 km from Sudan's ill-defined border with South Sudan.
Gaddafi's regime in more than seven months of fighting last year. The longtime leader was finally caught and executed by rebels in October. Gaddafi's wife, daughter and two of his sons fled in September and took refuge in Algeria. His outspoken daughter Aisha has spoken several times to Arab media and denounced Libya's new government. In November, she called on Libyans in an interview with a Syrian TV to overthrow their new rulers. Abdel-Jalil said he appreciates "the humanitarian
position of Algeria in welcoming the family," but added, "I remain convinced Algeria would never host those who would pose a threat to Libya." "We agreed what constitutes a threat to Libya, whether by financing or subversion, would not have a place on Algerian territory," he said in the statement, reported by the Algerian state news agency. Abdel-Jalil also said the aim of the visit was to reinforce ties between the two countries, and that they discussed improving security on the borders. Algeria's foreign minister
Libya, Algeria leaders discuss Gaddafi family
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ibya's interim leader said yesterday that he and Algeria's president have agreed that the wife and children of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi who are now living in Algeria should not do anything that threatens Libya. Libya's Mustafa Abdel-Jalil arrived in Algeria on Sunday for a two-day visit and met with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in an effort to mend ties strained by Algeria's close ties with Gaddafi. Libyan rebels backed by NATO airstrikes overthrew
Mourad Medelci said there was a "strong political will" and a "clear vision" by the two countries to develop bilateral cooperation and that the visit by Abdel-Jalil allows for the "opening of new horizons." Algeria has been very vocal in the past year over the threat of Libyan arms going to smugglers and militants that roam the Sahara desert in the south of the two countries. During Libya's civil war, weapons became readily available in the country and many were taken into neighboring nations.