Politics

Military junta not in hurry to leave in Guinea, lists 10 prerequisites for handing over

Published

2 years ago

April 16, 2022

In response to the ultimatum given to it by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the military junta in Guinea has announced ten prerequisites for its handing over to a constitutional government.

The condition was listed among 10 other prerequisites amongst which:

“administrative census for civil status purposes”, the publication of” voter registration lists”, the “drafting of the new Constitution”, “organization of the referendum ballot”, “drafting of organic laws”, then, the “organizing local elections” followed by legislative elections, the “establishment of national institutions resulting from the new Constitution” and eventually “a presidential election”.

In December 2021, Leaders of the West African bloc ECOWAS called on Guinea’s military junta to provide a timetable for elections that would lead to a return to civilian rule. The bloc’s leaders issued a statement saying it remained “very concerned that three months after the coup d’etat, a timetable for the return of constitutional order is yet to be issued”.

Last September, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya led mutinous soldiers in the West African nation of Guinea to detain President Alpha Conde after hours of heavy gunfire rang out near the presidential palace in the capital, then announced on state television that the government had been dissolved in an apparent coup d’etat.

Doumbouya has been adamant and deaf to ECOWAS’s calls for a precise timetable for a civil government, he insists the timetable would be set by the National Transitional Council (CNT), an assembly that acts as a legislative body. Its 81 members were appointed in February.

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Politics

Again, Rwanda denies it attacked displaced persons in DR Congo

Published

3 days ago

May 4, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

For the sixteenth time, Rwanda refuted US charges on Saturday that its troops attacked a camp for internally displaced persons in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), placing the blame instead on militants it claimed were backed by the military of the Congo.

The US State Department released a statement in which it vehemently denounced the incident that claimed at least nine lives on Friday.

There have been persistent accusations against Rwanda of providing support to the armed organizations, which has resulted in diplomatic tensions between the neighbours in East Africa.

Citing the threat that Rwanda’s surface-to-air missile systems posed to civilians, U.N. and other regional peacekeepers, aid workers, and commercial aircraft operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the US demanded in February that Rwanda remove its systems and all of its armed forces from the DRC immediately. Rwanda denies providing any assistance to the rebels.

According to the U.S. statement, the M23 rebel group, which Rwanda supports, and the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) held the positions from which the attack was launched. The United States is “gravely concerned about the recent RDF and M23 expansion” in eastern Congo.

Speaking on behalf of the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo refuted claims that the RDF was responsible for the attack, blaming instead rebels backed by the Congolese military.

“The RDF, a professional army, would never attack an IDP (displaced persons). Look to the lawless FDLR and Wazalendo supported by the FARDC (Congolese military) for this kind of atrocity,” she said in a post on X.

Wazalendo is a Christian sect, while the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a Hutu organization that was founded by Hutu officials who left Rwanda after planning the 1994 genocide.

Thousands of people from the surrounding areas have fled to Goma in eastern Congo as a result of the M23 rebels’ two-year offensive, which has advanced toward the city in recent months.

Politics

Liberia: President Boakai signs order to create war crimes court

Published

3 days ago

May 4, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

To provide long-overdue justice to those who suffered grave injustices during the two civil wars that raged in Liberia, President Joseph Boakai has signed an executive order to establish a war crimes court. Boakai granted his final approval and congratulated the lawmakers for their effort in the legislation.

Many atrocities, such as rape, massacres, and the use of child soldiers, occurred during the wars that lasted from 1989 to 2003. A special court was eventually ordered to be established to try those who were deemed to be at fault by the Truth and Reconciliation Committee.

President Boakai proposed a resolution to create a special court, which was later backed by Liberia’s lower house and senate.

“The conviction that brings us here today is that, for peace and harmony to have a chance to prevail, justice and healing must perfect the groundwork,” Boakai said in a special address.

Activists and civil society organizations that have demanded greater justice for crimes committed during the conflicts that claimed the lives of almost 250,000 people have praised the initiative.

With support from global organizations like the UN, the court would function in Liberia under international norms once it was operational. Economic offences will also be handled by it.

Meanwhile, some in Liberia are against its development, arguing that it could weaken the amnesty law that was already in place and cause old grievances to resurface. This helped put a stop to the violence.