Transition Flash 14 May 2010

Our unit aims to release a transition flash monthly to give a brief overview of events unfolding in the countries that we currently focus on – Burundi, DRC, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

The aim is to either profile significant news on the country in question or use the flash to highlight work being done to strengthen and support democratic change in the country in question.
 
Please click on the links to read the full article.
 
In this issue:
Burundi
DRC
Swaziland
Zimbabwe

 

 

On May 21, Burundi begins a four month election session, the country's first elections following the end of a nearly 16-year civil war in 2009. Five distinct elections—municipal (communal), presidential, parliamentary, senatorial and local (collinaire) —are slated to take place by September 7. Burundi's recent history has been marred by political violence. This threatens to continue, and even intensify, if the government, political, security and judicial officials—all of whom have failed to respond effectively to violent incidents during the past year—do not take urgent action to discourage such crimes and prosecute those who appear to have committed them. Since September 2009, Human Rights Watch has identified acts of violence initiated by supporters of several political parties, most often by members of their youth wings, which include large numbers of ex-combatants from the country's civil war. They are often persuaded—sometimes with party money—to intimidate political rivals with verbal threats, vandalism, and physical assaults. Weapons include sticks, rocks, hoes, machetes and grenades.

 

After decades of ethnic war in which hundreds of thousands of people died, Burundi has the chance to set a new standard with its upcoming elections for peace and democracy in the broader region despite significant challenges, the top United Nations envoy in the Central African country said today. “This is a historic moment for Burundi and the region, marking the end of its transition,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Executive Representative Charles Petrie told the Security Council. “In 2005 Burundi held elections that led to the installation of a democratically-elected Government. “Now, in 2010, Burundi is set to give an extraordinary example of political maturity. A country until recently embroiled in internal violence is now hopefully on the verge of demonstrating how one democratically-elected government cedes place to another,” he added, stressing the need for security and warning against violence and intimidation.

 

 

US lawmakers called on President Barack Obama Thursday to quickly sign legislation mandating his administration develop a strategy for battling Uganda's rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). "Congress is committed to ending the LRA's reign of terror," said Democratic Senator Russell Feingold, a key author of the measure, which cleared the House of Representatives late Wednesday. "I urge President Obama to sign this bill into law and quickly develop a plan to stop Joseph Kony and the LRA from committing further atrocities by bringing a lasting resolution to this conflict," he said, citing the group's leader. The legislation demands the Obama administration craft a comprehensive strategy to help regional governments disarm the LRA and protect civilians, and calls for increased humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict. "We must continue to work for a lasting peace. I am hopeful that the president acts quickly to sign this bill into law," said Republican Senator Sam Brownback.

 

In the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, many families have been battered by war, rape, poverty and a lack of education.  However, a humanitarian group says there’s a way to help families not only deal with the issues, but rise above them. The eastern DRC has become synonymous with war and rape.  In recent years, various rebel groups have attacked and looted villages, driving civilians into the bush to escape.  Attempts by government forces and U.N. troops to defeat them have often made matters worse for civilians, as militias launch retaliatory strikes against villagers.  But many aid groups working in the region have blamed all warring parties for attacks on civilians.

Swaziland

 

Trade unionists are furious after "the suspicious death" and alleged "killing" in custody of Sipho Jele, an activist of the Swaziland Agriculture and Plantation Workers' Union (SAPWU). Unions are the core of opposition in Swaziland. According to South Africa's powerful trade union COSATU, Swazi unionist Sipho Stephen Jele has died in prison in Mbabane under "suspicious" conditions. Mr Jele is member of the Swazi SAPWU trade union and the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Swaziland's largest opposition party, which was banned and is being relentlessly persecuted under the government's notorious Suppression of Terrorism Act. Swaziland has been living under a State of Emergency since 1973. Mr Jele was arrested on 1 May. On that day, the workers' celebrations held at the Salesian Sports grounds in Manzini, Swaziland's main industrial town, were violently interrupted by the police, who were insisting on the removal of all guests whom they considered not to be workers.

 

The postmortem on the body of Sipho Jele, the PUDEMO member who died at Sidvwashini Correctional institution in an apparent suicide last week, will be conducted today. A post-mortem is the examination of a corpse to determine the cause of death. The postmortem, to be conducted at Mbabane Government Hospital, is expected to be also attended by a South African based pathologist who represents the interests of Jele’s family. The family’s lawyers have been asked to facilitate in the issue of engaging the pathologist and they confirmed to the Swazi Observer that the exercise will proceed today. The post-mortem will determine the cause of death of Jele following raging controversy and conflicting statements around the matter. “We are working on the matter and more information will be known in due course,” said Attorney Leo Gama, who represents the family. He said details would be publicised after the exercise. The post-mortem coincides with a march where labour organisations will deliver a petition at the cabinet offices.

Zimbabwe

 

Zuma, the Southern African Development Community's chief mediator on Zimbabwe, said that country's political rivals had agreed to establish a human rights commission, an electoral commission and a media commission, and that the commissioners - who were respected by most Zimbabweans - had been sworn in. President Robert Mugabe's Zanu-PF, the Movement for Democratic Change led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and a breakaway faction of the MDC had also agreed on an equitable model for the sharing of the nine provincial governorships. Zuma noted that a multiparty team had been set up to lobby Western governments to drop sanctions targeting Mugabe and his acolytes. Further, the parties were considering proposals to resolve other obstacles bedevilling the troubled unity government.

 

Zimbabwe's MDC party is to convene a meeting of its supreme decision making body - the national council this weekend. This comes amid fresh tensions in the country’s unity government. The meeting will consider among others the MDC’s response to prosecutors appealing a High Court ruling that had cleared party treasurer Roy Bennett of terrorism charges. The MDC accuses President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu-PF of pulling the strings in the prosecution in an attempt to sideline Bennett. 

For a moment, it seemed the Roy Bennett chapter was finally closed. A High Court judge affirmed his innocence paving his way into the unity government. "On Monday, the country’s top prosecutor had no qualms with the ruling - justice has been done. The Court had decided. That’s binding - we should all accept that,” says Attorney General Johannes Tomana. But then something happened to change his mind. On Tuesday, Zanu-PF’s legal guru was quoted as saying the judgment is appealable.  By Wednesday, Tomana was knocking on the Supreme Court’s door.