Congo-Kinshasa: State Forces Kill 500 Over Two Years, Says Rights Group

Security forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo have killed some 500 political opponents over the past two years, with the full knowledge of the highest echelons of power, according to Human Rights Watch. The Kinshasa government rejected the allegations.A 96-page report, ‘We Will Crush You’: The Restriction of Political Space in the Democratic Republic of Congo, also reported the detention of 1,000 people and claimed many of these had been tortured.”The brutal repression against perceived opponents began during the 2006 elections that carried President Joseph Kabila to power, and has continued to the present,” said Anneke van Woudenberg, senior researcher in the Africa Division of Human Rights Watch, at the report’s launch in Kinshasa.

Zimbabwe: Go! Tsvangirai Tells Mbeki

Zimbabwe’s Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has publicly repudiated the mediation of South Africa’s former president, Thabo Mbeki, in the country’s crisis, while Botswana has suggested President Robert Mugabe could be forced from power by a blockade of his borders.MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai said in a statement issued Wednesday that the MDC’s relationship with Mbeki – the Southern African Development Community (SADC) facilitator of talks on Zimbabwe – had irretrievably broken down.Mbeki “does not appear to understand how desperate the problem in Zimbabwe is, and the solutions he proposes are too small,” Tsvangirai said.”In addition, his partisan support of [Mugabe's] Zanu-PF, to the detriment of genuine dialogue, has made it impossible for the MDC to continue negotiating under his facilitation,” Tsvangirai added.

South Africa: New Party Reads Signs of the Times

South African political leaders who have broken away from the African National Congress (ANC) in the ruling party’s biggest split in half a century are to form a new party – probably to be called the Congress of the People (COPE) – next month. Zubeida Jaffer, who has covered South Africa’s liberation movements since the early 1980s, reports on a recent meeting which was held to discuss the move.The atmosphere at the recent national convention in Johannesburg called by leaders who have broken away from the African National Congress was festive. Small South African flags, placed on the chairs in the hall, were waved about happily. Young people wore yellow T-shirts with the word “Volunteer” printed in large letters across their backs. They were polite and courteous and many said they had never been part of a political organisation.

Zimbabwe: Mbeki Letter ‘Angers’ Tsvangirai

TALKS to end the deadlock in Zimbabwe’s power-sharing agreement got off to slow start yesterday amid reports that the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) had taken offence at the tone of a letter written to Morgan Tsvangirai by the mediator, former president Thabo Mbeki.Party insiders said the letter, dated November 22, had so upset the MDC that officials had sought an audience with President Kgalema Motlanthe, who is also current chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

South Africa: 330,000 Lose Lives Due to ARV Delay – Harvard Study

More than 330,000 lives were lost to HIV/AIDS in South Africa between 2000 and 2005 because a feasible and timely antiretroviral (ARV) treatment program was not implemented, according to researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health.The study was published online by the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS). In addition, an estimated 35,000 babies were born with HIV during that same period in the country because a feasible mother-to-child transmission prophylaxis program using nevirapine (an anti-AIDS drug) was not implemented, the authors write.

Africa: No More Excuses on Gender Violence

As the world marks the twenty-seventh International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, United Nations figures indicate that in the course of her lifetime, one in every three women is beaten, coerced into sex or abused, by a relative or acquaintance.In Africa , concerns continue to be raised over poor legislation and enforcement to protect women and girls from harm.At the African Development Forum, held in Addis from Nov. 19-21, it emerged that many women do not report cases of violence, particularly those involving intimate partners, for fear of reprisal, which may include economic deprivation, physical abuse, or losing custody of their children.”There is a deep culture of silence where women do not tell about their husbands or partners beating them; they fear that they may stop being provided for, particularly if the man is the bread winner,” says Auxillia Ponga, a gender advisor with the Commonwealth Secretariat.

South Africa: Families of Apartheid Victims Fight Prosecution Policy

South Africa : THEMBI Nkadimeng, whose sister was tortured and murdered by apartheid special forces, said yesterday she had forgiven the murderer but “looked forward to his prosecution”.”I would forgive him. In fact, I forgave him long ago. But he would still have to face the consequences of his actions,” she said, telling Business Day about her family’s feelings regarding the death of her sister, Nokuthula Simelane.

Her body has never been found – 20 years after she disappeared.Widows of Matthew Goniwe, Sicelo Mhlauli, Sparrow Mkhonto and Fort Calata — known as the “Cradock Four” — and Nkadimeng are being represented by the Legal Resources Centre in a case to have an amendment to the government’s prosecution policy declared unconstitutional.

Zimbabwe: ‘Collapse’ Warning as Harare Talks Resume

ZIMBABWEAN negotiators are due to meet in SA today in another bid to salvage their power-sharing deal, amid a warning by President Kgalema Motlanthe that the deteriorating humanitarian situation “will get worse and implode or collapse altogether”.Motlanthe warned that a representative government would have to be formed soon, while a delegation of the group of Elders described the situation in Zimbabwe as fast declining.

Motlanthe, speaking after meeting with a delegation of the Elders, said the humanitarian and political crises were two sides of one coin and needed to be addressed simultaneously.The Elders, comprising former United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, former US president Jimmy Carter and human rights campaigner Graca Machel, yesterday urged the ruling Zanu (PF) and two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to urgently implement the power-sharing deal they signed in September.

Liberia: Amid Challenges, Children Are Eager to Learn

From the sky, the huts dotted along unpaved roads leading to the port city of Harper resemble those in rural areas in Liberia. But while life in Harper resembles village life in many ways, several features set the city apart.Most roads here are paved in concrete, and many of the city’s public buildings are constructed from fine architectural designs. Gentle breezes from the Atlantic cool the city.Residents tout Harper and (surrounding) Maryland County’s beauty, but they say you can’t live on appearance alone. They want better schools, more access to health care and roads to connect them to the rest of Liberia.Harper lies in Liberia’s southeastern corner, bordering the Atlantic to the south and Côte d’Ivoire to the east. Maryland is Liberia’s seventh most populated county.

Kenya: Judiciary Issuing Bouncing Cheques

Concern over the government budget deficit is likely to intensify with the news that the Judiciary appears to be financially strapped and is not meeting all its obligations.The parlous state of the Judiciary finances came to light after several bond refund cheques issued by the judiciary on its Central Bank account number 010101026 bounced.The cheques were released in October and November bounced because the account did not have funds.The banks returned the rejected cheques with the following comments attached: “We advise that the attached cheques have been returned with the reason that the account does not have funds.”Last week many angry people went to the Nairobi Law courts demanding to know why their cheques bounced. However, officials just stonewalled and promised to issue counter cheques.