Category Archives: Sudan

“The Reckoning”–The ICC in Mississippi and Kenya

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For the first time, I have an occasion to post about something taking place right here “on the ground” in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Last night my daughter and I attended a screening of the film “The Reckoning”, the documentary story of “the battle for the International Criminal Court”, at our town’s arts and culture center. We both found it inspiring and greatly enjoyed getting to meet and talk with Director Pamela Yates who was accompanying the film on a “Southern Series”.

The film website has been on my links to the right since about the time I started this blog and I would highly recommend it. It gives background for the Court concept dating back to the Nuremberg trials and has lots of coverage of the development of the cases in Northern Uganda and Eastern Congo, as well as Darfur. Good insight on Ocampo and the prosecutors working with him. Ms. Yates is deeply engaged and knowledgeable–and she and her colleagues are following the proceedings before the Court in Kenya.

Her previous film, “State of Fear” involved the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission in Peru.

For more information on the ICC–including news from the Kenya inquiry–and citizen activism to support it, go to IJCentral:

Skylight Pictures and the International Center for Transitional Justice Productions (ICTJP) are producing a 3-year campaign to build a global grassroots movement to support an effective international justice system, with IJCentral at its core. By joining the IJCentral global community, you will be kept informed about developments with the ICC and other international justice cases, and your voice will be heard by our leaders and policy makers, letting them know that we want perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide to be held to account.

Corruption and Geopolitics

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The Economist has highlighted the ongoing competition in Africa, including in Kenya, between Iran and Israel: “A Search For Allies in a Hostile World“.  In the East Africa/Greater Horn region, Sudan is Iran’s key ally and Ethiopia is Israel’s.

With diplomatic battles approaching over sanctions for Iran’s nuclear program in the context of all of the existing competition for influence, resources and business opportunities, the leverage for existing African players to extract corrupt rents are likely to increase. The Kenya Publicity Tour to Washington last week invited the US to once again move away from a strong stand on corruption and move on with greater government to government support and incentives for investment without waiting to see actual reforms in light of the 2007 election debacle.

To date we haven’t seen accountability for the multi-year theft of public education funds that triggered first the UK and then the US to freeze a small amount of education assistance.  While the PM and others are pressing for the resignation of the Education Minister, the funds have gone missing each year of the first Kibaki Administration as well, as indicated in the report from Transparency International.  Removing the current minister (who presumably would remain a Member of Parliament and, if patterns hold, soon enough get another ministerial appointment in another agency) is not a substantive answer.

Likewise, action on the Rift Valley Railroad concession remains elusive and deferred.  And accounting for the “Internally Displaced Funds” associated with the “Internally Displaced Persons” from the post-election violence remains outstanding. And the bills continue to come due, literally, from the Anglo Leasing scandal (you may remember this as the scandal that was supposedly caught in time to prevent major loss to the taxpayers–doesn’t seem to be working out that way).

Key players, at least, in the US government supported Kibaki’s re-election in 2007 in spite of the corruption concerns. Is Kenya better off now? What US interests were actually advanced? In particular, how is the situation in Somalia better now than it was in the fall of 2007? Let’s “don’t get fooled again” and maintain a focus on helping Kenyans who share the values to which we aspire to build a stronger and more prosperous country–by maintaining a strong and steady focus on improved governance and fighting corruption. We have a bad record on the geopolitical gamesmanship in Kenya, in my estimation, and values aside, I don’t think it has worked very well.

Kenya To Launch Publicity Campaign In The US [Mwakilishi.com] and Denies Reports it is Arming Southern Sudan [VOA]

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Kenya To Launch Publicity Campaign In The US | Mwakilishi.com

VP Kalonzo Musyoka and Speaker Marende to New America Foundation and to visit IRI and NDI in Washington.

Meanwhile, the Kenyan Government denies reports it is helping to arm Southern Sudan, including reports that the tanks brought to Mombasa on the M/V Faina in 2008, after being held by pirates, are now in Southern Sudan.

Updated: Some other African presidential election developments

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In Sudan, BBC reports that former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi is entering the April race for President against Bashir.  Al-Mahdi promises action on Darfur.  This should be interesting.  BBC’s take is that this raises prospects for the legitimacy of the election (in which the SPLA chose not to offer its strongest challenge).  Maybe.  It might also raise the stakes for Bashir–is he willing to lose an election and leave office based on how the votes are actually cast?  While under ICC indictment?

Across the continent, perhaps the West’s and America’s very favorite African president has–wait for it–announced that she is running for a second 6 year term in next year’s election despite having pledged originally that she would only serve one term.

Good business for Johnson-Sirleaf’s American lobbyists and consultants anyway–hope it is good for Liberia.  Perhaps this is a positive development from a gender equality angle anyway:  maybe women are just as inclined to hang on to power, and just as disinclined to leave the presidency as men.

When Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was running for office, she boldly told this programme that once elected into office, she would only serve one six year term.

But a week in politics is a long time and 5 years is an eternity.

Yesterday, president Johnson-Sirleaf made a major U-turn when she announced that she will seek a second six-year term in next year’s elections.

And The Economist reports that “worries about Ethiopia’s election, due in May, are growing” while noting that “most Western governments seem keen to downplay Mr. Mele’s human-rights record, hoping his re-election will keep his country stable.”

Sudan Divestment

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From Roubini Global Economics:

Pressure on China to Divest from Sudan

  • In early 2010, TIAA-Cref, which manages funds for many U.S. pensions, sold its stake in PetroChina, several other Chinese oil companies, and the Indian National Oil company that operate in Sudan. TIAA-Cref had tried to convince the companies to cut their ties with the country, arguing that the agreements prop up the Sudanese government, which has contributed to human rights violations.