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THURDAY DECEMBER 1, 2016 • T H I S D AY
INTERNATIONAL
email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com
Rwanda Probes Role of French Officials in Genocide
Rwanda has launched an inquiry into the possible role of at least 20 French military and other officials in the 1994 genocide, the prosecutor general said on Wednesday, a move that will deepen already strained relations with Paris. Rwanda has frequently had diplomaticrows with France since the genocide,
when about 800,000 mostly ethnic minority Tutsis and moderates from the Hutu majority population were killed. Rwandan officials have long accused France of supporting the former government of President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu whose death when his plane was shot down in 1994 sparked the bloodbath.
Kigali temporarily broke diplomatic ties in 2006 with France when a French judge called for the trial of Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, a Tutsi whose rebels halted the genocide in 1994, over the death of Habyarimana. Kagame denies any role and has accused France of training soldiers who led the massacre. “What we announced is the beginning of an inquiry into the role that some of the French officials could have played in the events that took place here in 1994 in the genocide,”Rwanda’s prosecutor general Richard Muhumuza government prepare to retake the told Reuters. northern port town of Qandala He said the inquiry would from a group that has splintered from al Shabaab and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group. Qandala is about 70 km to the east of Bosasso and has been under the control of Abdiqadir Mumin, a Somali insurgent leader, for about a month. “We are also evaluating the situation and we shall attack the IS as soon as possible,”Jamac Mohamed Khurshe, the mayor of Qandala told Reuters on Tuesday. Hundreds of pro-government militia began moving towards Qandala on Monday. Somalia has been riven by civil war for more than 25 years. Al Shabaab, which has ties to al Qaeda, is fighting the government to impose their own strict version of Islamic law but has lost much of the territory they used to control. Mumin’s group, which renounced al Shabaab in favour of Islamic State, is not thought to number more than a couple of hundred fighters. It has no publicly known operational links to Islamic State in the Middle East.
Bomb Kills Four Somali Soldiers Islamist insurgents killed four progovernment Somali soldiers and injured 11 others when a roadside bomb destroyed a military pickup in the north of the country on Tuesday, the military said. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack in the Galgala hills, an insurgent stronghold about 30 km (20 miles) to the southwest of Bosasso, the largest city in the region. “A roadside bomb destroyed our pickup as we drove from Galgala hills today. We lost four soldiers, including a female soldier, and 11 men from our forces were injured,” Major Mohamed Ibrahim, a military officer in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, told Reuters. Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman told Reuters by telephone: “We completely destroyed the military pickup outside Bosasso - none escaped - all 17 soldiers on board perished.”The insurgency routinely exaggerates the number of casualties killed in its attacks. The deaths come as hundreds of forces allied to the Western-backed
examine the possible role of 20 military and other officials, but he did not name them.“Up to now, we cannot say that we already have something sufficient to make charges on those people. This is why we need to talk to them and hear their version of the story,” he said, adding he hoped those named would agree to be questioned. He said he had been in contact with the French government in the past two or three weeks, but did not give details. French officials had no comment on Wednesday, but referred to remarks made on Nov. 16 by Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, when he
criticised a possible Rwandan probe into French officers. “To affirm that the French army took part in genocide is a despicable lie that I will not tolerate,” the minister said then. In a document dated Oct. 31, Rwanda’s National Commission for the Fight against Genocide listed 22 French officers it accused of having a role in the build-up to and during the genocide, including top advisers to France’s thenpresident, Francois Mitterrand. The commission also said cases being pursued by the French judiciary into whether Kagame’s rebel force had a role in bringing down Habyarimana’s plane in April 1994
were motivated by a desire to mask the role French officials played. “The refusal to end the judicial investigation (into downing the plane) and pronounce a dismissal against Rwandan leaders who ended the genocide is an attempt (at) concealing their responsibilities,” the commission said. Rwanda, a former German and Belgian colony, had strong ties with France until 1994. Under Kagame, the government has forged close lnks with the United States and Britain. In 2009 Rwanda joined the Commonwealth which mostly groups former British colonies. It has also switched the official.
Trump Picks Loyalists DESPERATE MOMENT Korea to Launch Rice Processing Center for Economic Posts in Bida People fight while they assail a truck to try to get food after Hurricane Matthew hit Jeremie, Haiti…recently
President-elect Donald Trump yesterday chose a former Goldman Sachs banker and a billionaire investor to steer economic policy in his administration and a fierce Obamacare critic to dismantle President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare program. Trump, a Republican, is expected to name Steven Mnuchin, a former Goldman Sachs partner and Hollywood financier, as his nominee for Treasury secretary, a source said, putting a Wall Street veteran in the top U.S. economic Cabinet post. Mnuchin, who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs before leaving in 2002 to launch a hedge fund, served as Trump’s campaign finance chairman. Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, known for his investments in distressed industries, is expected to be named commerce secretary, a source said. The announcements could come as early as Wednesday. The flurry of picks showed Trump, a real estate tycoon with no governing experience, rewarding loyalists and established Washington veterans as he rounds out his circle of top advisers. Republican U.S. Representative Tom Price, an orthopedic surgeon
from Georgia, will be Trump’s health and human services secretary, and SeemaVerma, the founder of a health policy consulting company, will lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which is part of Health and Human Services and oversees government health programsfor the poor and the elderly and insurance standards. Trump also announced his choice of Elaine Chao, labor secretary under President George W. Bush, to serve as secretary of transportation, saying in a statement that her expertise would be an asset“in our mission to rebuild our infrastructure.” While Trump made decisions on his economic team, he continued to mull over who should serve as his top diplomat. He dined with former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, a one-time critic, at a French restaurant in New York on Tuesday night. Trump cast Price and Verma as a “dream team” to help him once he takes office on Jan. 20 with his campaign pledge to repeal Obamacare, the health law formally known as theAffordable CareAct.Since its enactment in 2010, it has been a target of Republican attacks.
Says annual trade volume exceeds $4.4bn
Alex Enumah in Abuja As parts of efforts at contributing its quota to the development of Nigeria’s agriculture and the economic development of the country, the Republic of Korea is set to launch a rice processing center in Bida to boost rice production. The gesture is among the numerous assistance that South Korea has been rendering to Nigeria, through her agency, Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Noh Kyu-duk, made the revelation during an interaction with newsmen in Abuja, on the celebration of this year’s South Korea’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) Day – the day the Republic of Korea transformed itself from been an aid recipient country to a donor country by joining the inter-governmental Economic Organization – Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
He disclosed that the Korean Government has provided Nigeria with ODA since 1991, mostly in the form of project aid in the areas of ICT, agriculture, education and vocational training. “To name a few large scale projects, my Embassy is building primary and junior secondary model school in Abuja and is implementing a project to strengthen the electronic-Government system for the Federal Government. “The rice processing complex in Bida is almost completed awaiting official handover in coming December”, he said. The Ambassador revealed further that his country would continue to make efforts to provide more grant aid to Nigeria in the years to come, especially to the Northeast region which has suffered by the terrorist insurgency. Speaking on development in Nigeria, Kyu-duk remarked that the most memorable moment for the country was the inauguration of
President Buhari after the peaceful elections which resulted in the power transfer between different political parties last year. He also commended the relentless efforts the administration has made in the fight against terrorism, restoration of transparency in governance and diversification of the economy. “I sincerely believe Nigeria will successfully achieve massive economic growth in the near future on the basis of its unlimited growth potentials. For the development of a nation, I think the dedication and contribution of the people is the most important factor among everything. You have the largest population in Africa and your population is young and full of potentials. And they have very resilient, perseverant and peace-loving character. With this very patriotic 170 million people, I believe, this country will become a great and prosperous nation”, the ambassador stated. While stating that there are
several Korean companies working in Nigeria’s key business sectors such as oil and gas, electricity, electronics and automobiles he said, “Our annual trade volume exceeded 4.4 billion USD in 2014, making Nigeria-Korea’s 26th biggest import market and the 52nd largest export market”. He disclosed that in the 1950s, Korean government’s budget depended heavily on foreign aid but with great determination the country was able to transform from aid recipient to donor and now wants to help Nigeria and other developing countries achieve similar feat. He said, “With the assistance from the international community, Korea was able to do the restoration works right after the Korean War. Korea wants to return this development assistance to our friends in the developing world. They say “If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you should go together.”