First results posted in DR Congo

Polling stations in the Democratic Republic of Congo have begun posting interim results, after the first multi-party election in 40 years. Full results of Sunday's polls are not expected for weeks. The elections were aimed at ending a long civil war, with 32 candidates, including incumbent Joseph Kabila, contesting the presidency.

Over 9,000 candidates stood for parliament. Some 25m voters were protected by 17,000 UN peacekeepers. It is still far from clear whether a second round will be required, or whether a candidate will gain the 50% of the votes needed to win outright, the BBC News website's Joseph Winter reports from Kinshasa. The RCD party, led by former rebel and Vice-President Azarias Ruberwa, told our correspondent there had been "widespread fraud".

RCD Secretary General Kabasu Babu Katulondi said RCD representatives had been chased out of polling stations when counting started, while ruling PPRD officials had been caught trying to vote more than once. "The delay is one of Kabila's tricks to manipulate the figures," he said. Results from several polling stations seemed to back up pre-election predictions that former rebel leader and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba would win most votes in Kinshasa.

However President Kabila was expected to win more votes in eastern DR Congo, where he is credited with ending the war. Thomas Luaka, a spokesman for Mr Bemba's MLC party said that while he "deplored some incidents, overall, the elections went well". Earlier, Mr Bemba's supporters had demonstrated on the streets of the capital, Kinshasa, saying they were cheated. Independent Electoral Commission official Carole Kabanga Kaoy said she could not comment on the allegations of fraud until she had received official reports, at which point each party would be free to provide evidence of irregularities.

Mr Kabila, who came to power unelected in 2001, has told the BBC he will accept the result of Sunday's presidential elections, even if he loses. "It would have been the verdict of the people and of course we will definitely accept the verdict of the people," he said.

Opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi and his UDPS party boycotted the vote. There were reports of violence on election day in Mr Tshisekedi's stronghold, the south-eastern Kasai region. But a United Nations official said he was "relieved" and "delighted" with how the voting had gone. "All indications that we have, not just from Kinshasa, but across the country is that the population has responded fairly substantively," UN envoy Ross Mountain said. "The number of incidents have been absolutely minimal. The security hasn't been a problem and it has been an extraordinary day for Congo."

BBC world affairs correspondent Mark Doyle says the real test of the elections will be the acceptance of the results by all of the former warring parties. The presidential candidates include the four vice-presidents who took office in 2003 in terms of a transitional power-sharing deal. Three of the four vice-presidents are the leaders of former armed factions. Some opposition candidates accuse Mr Kabila of being backed by the international community, and are already unofficially complaining about what they say are irregularities in the voting, our corresponent says.

Source: BBC

The Hague: Liberian Appears In Court

Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president and warlord, made his first appearance before a special United Nations-backed war crimes tribunal since being flown here from Africa last month. He did not speak during the 50-minute hearing, intended to pave the way for his trial on war crimes charges, but his lawyer complained that the deposed leader was locked in his cell for up to 16 hours a day, had limited access to telephones and was being served "Eurocentric" food.

Mr. Taylor faces 11 counts of charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the war in Sierra Leone from 1991 to 2000 in which 50,000 people were killed and thousands more had limbs hacked off. Prosecutors had hoped to start the trial early next year, but Mr. Taylor's lawyer, Karim Asad Ahmad Khan, said that was unlikely. "For a case of this size and magnitude, particularly given the geographical displacement of this court from Sierra Leone, I do think that the earliest this trial can properly start is around July of next year," Mr. Khan said.

Source: New York Times

Statement by the G-8, the leaders of Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa,

We are outraged by the barbaric terrorist acts, carried out on 11 July 2006 in Mumbai and other parts of India. We stand in solidarity with the Government and the people of India and express our deepest condolences to the victims and their families.

We are determined to continue the fight against terrorism by all legitimate means. We express our readiness to undertake all necessary measures to bring to justice perpetrators, organizers, sponsors оf these and other terrorist acts, and those who incited the perpetrators to commit them. We shall do it in accordance with our obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law, refugee law and humanitarian law.

We are united with India in our resolve to intensify efforts to fight terrorism which constitutes a threat to each of our country, as well as to international peace and security.

Source: G8 Summit 2006, St.Petersburg, 17 July, 2006

Russia's G8 presidency event of the year – Foreign Ministry

One of the main foreign political events of 2006 was Russia's first presidency of the Group of Eight, according to a report on the Foreign Ministry's work in 2006 posted on the Russian government's website on Monday.

This will be the first time that Russia will chair this respected international forum. I hope that the experience we have accumulated since joining the G8 will ensure respect for tradition and consolidation of our efforts.

Russia, as the presiding country, regards it as its duty to give a fresh impetus to efforts to find solutions to key international problems in energy, education and healthcare.

This year, we plan to urge our partners to redouble efforts to ensure global energy security. We believe that today, it is crucial to find a solution to a problem which directly influences the social and economic development of all countries, without exception.

I am convinced that our efforts towards attaining this goal should be comprehensive and must stimulate stabilization of the global energy markets, development of innovation technologies, use of renewable energy sources and protection of the environment. We believe that today, we must think very seriously about ways to bridge the gap between energy-sufficient and energy-lacking countries.

The spread of all kinds of epidemics in the world emphasizes the need to step up the fight against infectious diseases. We are convinced that the creation of a global system to monitor dangerous diseases, the development of regular interaction between experts from different states, and broader exchange of research information about dangerous viruses will have a major positive influence on the solution of these serious problems.

In addition to the current agenda, we also plan to raise the issue of education in the G8. In our opinion, the time has come to focus on ways to improve the quality and effectiveness of national education systems and professional training. We must find tools for encouraging the international business community to increase investment into this sector.

Other major international issues we will concentrate on during Russia’s Presidency are counterterrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the settlement of regional conflicts, the development of the global economy, finance and trade, as well as protection of the environment.

I hope that the official site of Russia’s G8 Presidency will help you to get your bearings in the multitude of questions and problems facing us, as well as to learn more about the efforts of G8 member states to solve them in order to promote the sustainable development of humankind.

Source: G8 Summit 2006

Prayer for Sylvia Melodie

"The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father. Who has ears to hear, let him hear."

"Nothing is covered that will not be uncovered. Miracles happen when we bring what is within out into the world."

G8 Update on Africa

Since the late 1990s, G8 Summits have given Africa a high priority. At Gleneagles last year the G8 agreed to a further set of measures to reduce poverty and support sustainable development in Africa.

We are continuing to work in partnership with Africa, in particular in support of the AU and NEPAD, with a special focus this year on infectious diseases, education and energy security.

This report reviews progress on G8 commitments on Africa since the last G8 Summit, while respecting the critical role of African ownership of the reform process.

Source: G8 Summit 2006

Letter to Zuma over his threat to sue media that don’t pay within 14 days

African National Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma told a number of South African news media on 3 July that he would bring lawsuits against them if they did not pay him a total of 125 million rand (13.6 million euros) in damages within 14 days. He claims he was defamed by their coverage of a trial in which he was acquitted of rape.

Mr. Jacob Zuma
Deputy President
African National Congress
8 Epping Road, Forest Town
Johannesburg 2000
South Africa

Paris, 7 July 2006

Dear Mr. Zuma,

Reporters Without Borders is amazed by the manner in which you have demanded damages from the newspapers The Star, The Citizen, Sunday Sun, Sunday Times, Sunday Independent, Sunday World and Rapport, from radio Highveld Stereo and from cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, who uses the pen name Zapiro.

If you think you have been defamed, then it is entirely legitimate that you should seek compensation. But in our view you have not chosen the right way to go about it, and you are liable to do further harm to your image rather than restore it.

The exorbitant amounts in damages that your are demanding from the media seem more like an attempt to intimidate them than the response of an injured party. This approach will only encourage the privately-owned press to turn their sights on you, and will in no way help you obtain reparation for any wrong you may have been done.

We are disconcerted by the way this case is developing and the extent of its impact. We are also worried about the effect that such an unprecedented lawsuit against the press could have if it were successful, as this is a country which, probably more than any other in Africa, knows the high price that must sometimes be paid to win independence and freedom.

If the mechanisms that ensure pluralism and free expression were to seize up in South Africa, the peacemaker and development model for all of southern Africa, it would put the entire region’s press in danger. A successful lawsuit by you would give a blank cheque to Africa’s authoritarian regimes, which would use your example to attack their own press.

The independent press uses its right to free expression but also gives you the right of reply. We urge you to support the independent press by engaging it in a dialogue rather than brandishing the threat - one that is out of all proportion for a political leader at the national level - of financial and judicial penalties that would prove fatal for all the media concerned.

We hope you will be convinced by our arguments.

Respectfully,

Robert Ménard
Secretary-General

Source: Reporters without Borders

Zuma lawsuit 'will harm African media'

The Paris-based Reporters without Borders has warned Jacob Zuma that he was setting a bad example for African dictators with his defamation lawsuit against the media. "A successful lawsuit by you would give a blank cheque to Africa's authoritarian regimes, which would use your example to attack their own press," the organisation said on Tuesday, quoted in an open letter it had written to the former deputy president.

Reporters without Borders defends journalists facing prosecution for doing their work and fights to reduce the use of censorship and opposes laws designed to restrict press freedom, according to its web site. It has a network of over 100 correspondents around the world.

Secretary-General Robert Menard said his organisation, based in France, had told Zuma that should the mechanisms that ensure pluralism and free expression seize up in South Africa, it would put the entire region's press in danger. This was because South Africa was seen as "the peacemaker and development model for all of southern Africa", Menard added.

Zuma is suing media owners, publishers, editors, reporters, cartoonists and newspapers over reports during his recent rape trial. He was found not guilty. "The exorbitant amounts in damages that you are demanding from the media seem more like an attempt to intimidate them than the response of an injured party," read an open letter to Zuma from the organisation. "This approach will only encourage the privately-owned press to turn their sights on you, and will in no way help you obtain reparation for any wrong you may have been done."

Menard pointed out to Zuma that the independent press used its right to free expression but also gave him the right of reply. "We urge you to support the independent press by engaging it in a dialogue rather than brandishing the threat - one that is out of all proportion for a political leader at the national level - of financial and judicial penalties that would prove fatal for all the media concerned." The letter added: "Reporters Without Borders is amazed by the manner in which you have demanded damages from the newspapers The Star, The Citizen, Sunday Sun, Sunday Times, Sunday Independent, Sunday World and Rapport, from Radio Highveld Stereo and from cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro, who uses the pen name Zapiro."

Source: IoL

'Please don't shoot me'

Police have arrested a man in connection with the death of 72-year-old Sylvia Barkhuizen at the weekend.

André Barkhuizen, who farmed Kruisement with his mother, said: "This is very, very difficult." Barkhuizen said several relatives of the arrested man had worked on the farm for years.

Source: Zapiro

The Long Shadow of Chernobyl

Twenty years after a nuclear reactor exploded, blanketing thousands of square miles with radiation, the catastrophe isn't over.

Twenty years ago this month, life in Pripyat came to a shuddering end. Before dawn on April 26, 1986, less than two miles south of what was then a city of 50,000, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant's number four reactor exploded. Thirty people died in the blast and fire or were exposed to lethal radiation. The destroyed hulk burned for ten days, contaminating tens of thousands of square miles in northern Ukraine, southern Belarus, and Russia's Bryansk region. It was the worst nuclear accident the world has ever seen.

Source: National Geographic

Britain and South Africa accused of ‘rendering’ terror suspects

A growing body of evidence suggests that the British and South African governments are directly implicated in ‘rendition,’ a practice whereby foreign nationals accused of terrorist involvement by a given government have been kidnapped and sent overseas to be interrogated, often tortured and sometimes ‘disappeared.’

Source: World Socialist web

Congo president on military rapes: 'Unforgivable'

Confronted with atrocious accounts of rape committed by members of the Congo military, Congolese President Joseph Kabila at first was silent -- then found his voice, saying "It's shocking. These kinds of acts are simply unforgivable." The father of a young girl, Kabila was commenting after watching an exclusive CNN report from last week in which women, children and a doctor described an array of sex crimes by the Congolese military -- some of whom used knives to rape their victims.

Kabila, a former military man, appeared shaken after the report. He watched it and watched it again, shifting uncomfortably in his seat each time he heard a victim's horrific story, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes. Locals say soldiers from one ethnic group are systematically raping and mutilating women from another group, with the intention, they say of destroying their child-bearing capabilities. Kabila was quick to acknowledge that more than 300 former soldiers have been convicted and jailed for sexual crimes, but admitted that is not enough. "We clearly need to do more for our citizens," he said. "But just imagine for a moment a country as large as all of Western Europe with few roads and little infrastructure. It's a difficult terrain to police and Congo doesn't have an effective policing system. But after the election, all this will change. If elected, I will make this one of my first priorities."

Kabila is the transitional president, appointed to the job after the assassination of his father in January 2001. He hopes to be the first democratically elected leader since Congo gained independence in 1960. A U.N. report earlier this month found that physical violence against civilians by members of the security forces is "reported wherever army and police are deployed." The report went on to say that rapes and other sexual violence against women and girls are occurring throughout the country, with the "main perpetrators being army and police officers." How can such crimes be happening with such impunity under his presidency? "It's shameful that soldiers anywhere are allowed to do such things," he said. "That's why I want to be president. I want to change this. I want to make security one of my first priorities so that these and other acts come to an end once and for all."

Five years ago, Kabila was catapulted to power after his father, then-President Laurent Desire Kabila, was assassinated in an attempted coup. Joseph Kabila was then 29 years old and the army chief of staff, having spent half his life in the military. He saw a peace deal signed more than three years ago attempt to halt a bloody war that began in 1998 and drew in no less than six other African countries in what Africa analysts dubbed the continent's First World War. That conflict killed an estimated 3.9 million people, and despite the accord, fighting and lawlessness abounds. Now, at 34, Kabila is running for election at the end of July. The West hopes the first democratic elections in more than 40 years will bring an end to the nation's infighting. Kabila is considered the favorite among a field of 33 candidates. "This election is extremely important for the Congolese people," he said. "It's been a long time coming, and we need this to get back into the fold of the community of nations."

Kabila spoke to CNN in the town of Lubumbashi in the country's south, a province as large as Texas and mineral-rich in everything from copper to cobalt to uranium. He appeared relaxed and at ease at first, dressed in a pin-striped suit, sky-blue shirt and striped tie. But that changed when he was shown the report on victims of sexual violence in Bukavu. "I've spent most of my life in the military," he said. "This isn't the way soldiers are supposed to behave. If elected, I will do everything I can to rectify this problem and help make our people feel safe again."

In its 2006 report on human rights in the Congo, Amnesty International said that "slow progress was (being) made in building security, justice and respect for human rights after nearly a decade of war." However, the group also noted that "Despite systematic violations of human rights, hardly any suspected perpetrators were brought to justice."

Source: CNN

NATIONAL CREDIT ACT 34 OF 2005

The purpose of the National Credit Act is to promote a fair and non-discriminatory marketplace for access to consumer credit and for that purpose to provide for the general regulation of consumer credit and improved standards of consumer information; to promote black economic empowerment and ownership within the consumer credit industry; to prohibit certain unfair credit and credit-marketing practices; to promote responsible credit granting and use and for that purpose to prohibit reckless credit granting; to provide for debt re-organisation in cases of over-indebtedness; to regulate credit information; to provide for registration of credit bureaux, credit providers and debt counselling services; to establish national norms and standards relating to consumer credit; to promote a consistent enforcement framework relating to consumer credit; to establish the National Credit Regulator and the National Consumer Tribunal; to repeal the Usury Act, 1968, and the Credit Agreements Act, 1980; and to provide for related incidental matters.

The Act comes into operation with effect from 1 June 2006 unless otherwise indicated. It is important to note that in Government Gazette No 28824 dated 11 May 2006 The President of the Republic of south Africa issued a Proclamation, No 22 of 2006, the effect of which is that some section of the Act come into effect on 1 June 2006, others on 1 September 2006 and others on 1 June 2007.

The Proclamation can be found here.

Source: SABINET

South Africa: Factional war intensifies between Mbeki and Zuma supporters in ANC

On May 8, Jacob Zuma, former deputy president of South Africa, was acquitted of the charge of rape in the Johannesburg High Court. The accusation against him was made last December, causing him to step down from the office of vice president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) until a verdict was reached.

Source: World Socialist Web

Former Political Enemies Join in Exile to Push for Change in Syrian Leadership

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, May 22 — One was the right-hand man to Syria's dictators, the other counted himself among the country's most wanted. The elder successfully maneuvered within the secular Syrian Baath Party; the younger worked with the Muslim Brotherhood for decades to change the government and its party.

They were about as far apart as possible on the Syrian political spectrum.

But now, as exiles, Abdel Halim Khaddam, Syria's former vice president, and Ali Sadreddin al-Bayanouni, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria, are partners in a long-term plan to bring change to Syria. "Oppression has united us," said Mr. Bayanouni, a lanky man with understated charisma. "We are all sons of the same land, and it turns out we have all been suffering from the same condition."

After a slow, careful exchange of contacts, the men tied their fates together in March, forming the National Salvation Front, an unlikely political alliance with the dual goals of unifying Syria's fractious opposition and reassuring insiders fearful of change.

That each claims a following and influence in different parts of Syrian society gives the alliance a unique potential that Syria's opposition has never had, many experts agree.

Mr. Khaddam, 74, and Mr. Bayanouni, 67, both say they hesitated before making such a leap, meeting in Belgium for two days to discuss their regrets and hopes, until they were certain they saw eye to eye on Syria's future and had a basis of mutual trust.

"At the end, I felt like I knew him for many years," Mr. Khaddam said of Mr. Bayanouni, who concurred.

Mr. Khaddam spoke on condition that his present whereabouts not be disclosed because of security concerns and growing sensitivity by some European governments over his political work.

For years the Syrian opposition was made up of a ragtag band of leftists, Arab nationalists and Islamists with competing interests and divergent strategies. With the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, in February 2005, opposition figures came into the spotlight as fingers pointed at the Syrian government and international pressure grew. (A preliminary report by United Nations investigators found a state role in the killing, but President Bashar al-Assad has strongly denied the allegations.)

Mr. Bayanouni and Mr. Khaddam are cagey about exactly what their alliance is doing other than lobbying, largely because they are concerned over security. They have planned a general meeting in early June to gather opposition figures and outline their charter.

They spend much of their time on the telephone, seeking to lure others, even as Syria has begun a crackdown on opposition figures, especially those who have been suspected of meeting with either of the two men. Some critics say Mr. Khaddam became allied with Mr. Bayanouni more for his own future than for Syria's.

"It is a marriage of convenience," said Ammar Qurabi, a spokesman for Syria's National Organization for Human Rights. "Khaddam needs a party to have credit inside Syria and get himself back into political life. The Muslim brothers are also in need of a strong person with important files inside the regime."

But in any case, Mr. Khaddam promises to bring the opposition a new degree of clout. With a war in Iraq, and fear of Islamists growing throughout the region, Syria's neighbors and other nations have been loath to support the Muslim Brotherhood.

By joining politically with the Brotherhood, Mr. Khaddam ostensibly sends a reassuring message that other members of the government would not face retribution if it fell, and that a stable government would be built soon after.

"What happened in Iraq will never happen in Syria," he insisted. "We will protect the army and maintain the institutions of government."

Such comments are a measure of how far each man has come.

After the current president's father, Hafez al-Assad, took control in a coup in 1970, the Syrian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood — the Islamist group founded in Egypt — became one of several parties pushed underground.

The group and numerous splinter elements violently resisted the rule of Mr. Assad and the Baath Party in the mid-1970's.

When the Brotherhood rose up in the town of Hama in 1982, Mr. Assad sought to crush it for good, sending in the army and virtually razing the city, killing thousands of the group's members and jailing many others.

For many Syrians, the Brotherhood became synonymous with Muslim extremism; for the group's members, Hama is a permanent reminder of the brutality of the Assad era.

Mr. Bayanouni, who says he had no role in any violence during the turbulent 70's and 80's, fled to exile in Jordan. In 2000, the Jordanian government asked him to leave under Syrian pressure, he said. He was granted asylum by Britain, and has continued to lead the Syrian branch of the Brotherhood from London.

Mr. Khaddam, on the other hand, was a rising star in Syrian politics in the 1960's, ever at the side of Hafez al-Assad, serving in various government positions before becoming foreign minister, and later vice president.

But when the elder Mr. Assad died in 2000, and his son succeeded him, Mr. Khaddam was gradually forced out of his areas of influence.

Mr. Khaddam says he began reaching out to the opposition years ago — even as vice president — initially to include opposition members and help strengthen the government, later to bring it down.

In late 2003, he secretly sent an emissary to London to meet Mr. Bayanouni and tell him of his intention to break with Mr. Assad.

"The messenger told me that Khaddam would be going against the regime, but that it is going to take some time," Mr. Bayanouni said. "I sent word back that it should happen soon."

Last summer Mr. Khaddam resigned in a speech before a conference of the Baath Party, warning his comrades of the threat to the state caused by growing corruption, he said. He quickly left for exile in Paris, where he has lived in an opulent house.

In late December he gave a hint of his ambitions by accusing Mr. Assad and other Syrian officials of having a hand in Mr. Hariri's assassination, setting off an international firestorm in the process. The stern vice president became the most senior member of the Syrian inner circle to publicly break ranks with Mr. Assad.

Months later Mr. Khaddam sent another messenger to Mr. Bayanouni in London, suggesting that they combine forces, setting off a deep debate among the upper ranks of the Brotherhood leadership.

It proved to be an excruciating moment for the Muslim Brotherhood, but also a chance to heal old wounds and enter a world that it never could before.

"It was a difficult decision to make," Mr. Bayanouni said. "We knew he was a partner to everything that has happened in Syria."

But Mr. Bayanouni and other Brotherhood leaders agreed that Mr. Khaddam had little role in the internal politics of the country, and had no actual blood on his hands, Mr. Bayanouni said.

So they arrived at a compromise: Mr. Khaddam had to apologize.

"Today his stance is one of regret, and he is very serious about democracy in Syria," Mr. Bayanouni said. "There is a death sentence against him. He is being chased now like they chased us. He does have some responsibility for what has happened in the past, but it is clear he has changed."

Syria recently asked Interpol, the international police organization, to arrest Mr. Khaddam and turn him over to Syria.

He faces charges of sedition and has been expelled from the Baath Party. Many of his children's assets have been seized.

The government has also begun a wave of arrests of major opposition figures in Syria.

Still, Mr. Bayanouni emphasizes that not all is forgotten. When a new government is in place, he said, a court will be able to decide whether Mr. Khaddam was guilty of anything. But in the meantime, he said, Mr. Khaddam will be a critical piece of the opposition.

Source: New York Times

HRH Princess Stella Margaret Nomzano Sigcau

HRH Princess Stella Margaret Nomzano Sigcau, born 14th January 1937 at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, educated at Lovedale Institute (Teachers Diploma, 1954), and University of Fort Hare (BA degree, 1959), worked as a teacher at a number of schools in Natal 1960/1968, entered politics during the 1968 elections in Transkei, winning Lusikisiki seat.

HRH has held the portfolios of Public Works and Education, Interior (which included Trade and Tourism) and Posts and Telecommunications prior to the granting of independence to Transkei, Transkei’s Minister of Interior Affairs (retaining responsibility for Posts and Telecommunications) with Transkeian independence, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications of Transkei 1981, Leader of the Transkei National Independence Party 1987, third Prime Minister of the Transkei in 1987, Minister of Public Enterprises in the South African Government 1994/1999, Minister of Public Works in the South African Government 17th June 1999 to 7th May 2006, Executive member of the Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (Contralesa), currently serving as head of its Projects Division, Member of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL), Natal Executive Council Chairperson of the ANCWL, Transkei;

HRH married 1962 Ronald Shabalala and had issue.

HRH died 7th May 2006 at St Augustine hospital, Durban and was buried at Kwa-Nandi, Qaukeni Farm, Lusikisiki, in the Eastern Cape on 16th May 2006.

Source:

Stella Sigcau dies

Public Works minister Stella Sigcau has died at Durban's St Augustine Hospital, ministerial spokesperson Lucky Mochalibane said on Monday. He said Sigcau, 69, who was appointed public enterprises minister in the first post-apartheid government in 1994, died of a recurring heart problem on Sunday. Sigcau was appointed Minister of Public Works on June 17, 1999. It was unclear when Sigcau was admitted at the hospital, Mochalibane said.

Sigcau the third prime minister of the former Transkei for three months in the late 1980s before Major General Bantu Holomisa ousted her. She was born at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape on January 4, 1937 and was a widow when she died. In 1954, she obtained a teachers diploma from the Lovedale Institute and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Fort Hare in 1959. She was a teacher at several schools in the erstwhile Natal administration, entered politics during Transkei's 1968 election and won a seat for Lusikisiki.

Sigcau became Transkei's interior affairs minister after that homeland's independence. She led the Transkei National Independence Party for 13 years until 1990, when she disbanded the party.

Source: IoL

Mbeki names 'perfect spy' as new NIA chief

While former spy boss Billy Masetlha fights his dismissal in court, President Thabo Mbeki has moved swiftly to appoint his successor as National Intelligence Agency director-general.

Manala Manzini, who had been acting as the NIA director-general since October last year when Masetlha was suspended, has been appointed to the post with immediate effect for three years. This was confirmed by government spokesperson Joel Netshitenzhe. He said the decision to appoint Manzini was not cocking a snook at the legal process, given that Masetlha had instituted court action against the president. Netshitenzhe said the Constitution and relevant legislation made it clear that the president appoints the head of the intelligence services.

In a statement issued on Wednesday night, Netshitenzhe said Mbeki and the cabinet wished Manzini well in his new position "and they are confident he will acquit himself with distinction in the professional service of our country and its people".

Masetlha on Tuesday served court papers on the president challenging his dismissal as D-G last week. His lawyer, Imraan Haffegee, said on Wednesday that Manzini's appointment in the face of a court challenge by his client was news to him. He was not in a position to comment further.

Manzini was among the country's security, intelligence and defence chiefs who issued an unprecedented statement at the weekend backing the findings of Intelligence Inspector-General Zolile Ngcakani relating to the hoax email saga. But apparently the 51-year-old Manzini prefers to stay away from the limelight. When he was appointed acting D-G in October last year, Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils described him as the "perfect spy". Manzini himself told reporters: "I like working in the background - that was until the minister and the president gave me the new challenge."

A father of four who lists music, football and swimming as his hobbies, Manzini is also a polyglot. Under languages, his official CV lists English, Zulu, Russian, Swazi, Xhosa, Sotho, Shangaan and Kiswahili. He matriculated in Meadowlands in Soweto in 1975 and left the country in 1976 for exile in Zambia. In addition to supporting Kaizer Chiefs, Manzini also admits to enjoying a glass of whisky now and again and playing golf to relax. He holds a BA in politics and public administration from the University of Zambia and a masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Liverpool.

In 1993, Manzini was assigned to the office of ANC president Nelson Mandela at the party's then Johannesburg headquarters, Shell House. He was part of the team that negotiated the new intelligence dispensation under the then Intelligence Services minister Joe Nhlanhla and in 1995 was appointed general manager: corporate services for the NIA. In 2000, he was posted to the South African embassy in Washington.

Source: IoL

Liberian Seized to Stand Trial on War Crimes

Charles G. Taylor, the warlord who became Liberia's president, was captured Wednesday after a dramatic 24 hours in which he disappeared from the villa in Nigeria where he had lived in exile and then was recognized at a remote outpost as he tried to leave the country.

He was brought here to face war crimes charges for his role in a brutal decade-long civil war in Sierra Leone, one of a series of conflagrations that he set off, killing at least 300,000 people. He is the first African head of state to face such charges in an international court. Mr. Taylor's arrival by helicopter under extraordinary security capped a saga that began nearly three years ago, when he fled his nation in the face of a rebel onslaught. He was captured Wednesday morning after a customs official recognized him as he tried to escape into Cameroon.

He arrived unshaven and dressed in a white tunic covered by a bullet-proof vest, tan pants and slip-on shoes. His appearance was in stark contrast to his dapper look in his last public appearance, in 2003, when he went into exile after a 14-year civil war that killed a quarter million of his countrymen, defiantly declaring, "God willing, I will be back." He did return to Liberia, briefly, on Wednesday, but only to be handed over to United Nations troops who promptly flew him here, where he was read the indictment from a United Nations-backed court dealing with war crimes in Sierra Leone — 11 counts of crimes against humanity — then jailed.

Desmond de Silva, the prosecutor who will try the case, said Mr. Taylor's arrival "sends out the clear message that no matter how rich, powerful or feared people may be, the law is above them." The trial is sure to resonate on a continent where dictators have ruled with ruthless impunity. From Idi Amin, the soldier whose murderous rule in Uganda gave way to comfortable exile in Saudi Arabia, to Haile Mengistu Mariam, whose 14-year Communist rule in Ethiopia brought political purges that killed more than a million people but who is now living quietly in Zimbabwe, African leaders who brutalize their citizens have faced few consequences. "The current perpetrators of serious human rights crimes should be put on notice that international courts take the crimes they commit very, very seriously," said Corinne Dufka of Human Rights Watch.

Mr. Taylor's arrival here was a dramatic turn in the already complicated saga of the effort to bring him to justice after he ignited a series of civil wars in the 1990's that engulfed much of West Africa. In the early 1980's, Mr. Taylor was a senior government procurement officer in Liberia. Charged in 1983 with embezzling nearly $1 million, he fled. He was arrested in Massachusetts in 1984, then escaped from jail in 1985. He resurfaced in Liberia in 1989 as a Libyan-trained warlord, leading a rebel force. He was elected president in 1997, in a vote overshadowed by fears of what might happen if he lost.

A warrant for his arrest was issued in March 2003. But as part of an agreement to remove him from power and halt a bloodbath in Liberia, Nigeria offered him asylum and refused to hand him over to the court in Sierra Leone, where he was accused of fomenting a civil war. Though under intense pressure by the United States to arrest him, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria had insisted he would hand over Mr. Taylor only to an elected Liberian government. Earlier this month, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia's new president, herself facing pressure from the United States, made the request, and Mr. Obasanjo agreed. But Nigeria insisted that it was Liberia's responsibility to go and arrest him, with Mr. Obasanjo's spokeswoman declaring that Mr. Taylor was "not a prisoner," which seemed almost to taunt Mr. Taylor into trying to escape from his lightly guarded compound in Calabar.

Late Monday night the Nigerian government said he had vanished. He was found more than 600 miles north, in an ash-colored Land Rover with a large quantity of dollars, in the company of a woman and a driver, Haz Iwendi, a spokesman for the National Police, said by telephone. A customs official spotted Mr. Taylor, whose vehicle had diplomatic license plates, early Wednesday morning in the border town of Ngala, Mr. Iwendi said.

The escape was an acute embarrassment for Mr. Obasanjo, who arrived Tuesday in Washington for a visit to the White House to discuss security in the volatile Niger Delta, where attacks by militants on oil facilities and kidnappings have slashed output. Nigeria is the United States' fifth-largest supplier of oil. Outraged American lawmakers called on President Bush to cancel his meeting with Mr. Obasanjo, with whom Mr. Bush has had a warm relationship, based in part on their shared Christian faith and bolstered by Mr. Obasanjo's role as a regional problem solver. But internal problems have eroded the Nigerian's status. Militants in the Niger Delta, sectarian violence that killed more than 100 people last month and a political crisis stemming from plans to try to extend his rule to a third term have roiled Nigeria.

Mr. Bush met with him on Wednesday, and at a joint news conference, hailed the arrest of Mr. Taylor. "The fact that Charles Taylor will be brought to justice in a court of law will help Liberia," Mr. Bush said, "and is a signal, Mr. President, of your deep desire for there to be peace in your neighborhood."

Mr. Taylor was flown on a Nigerian government jet from Borno State, in northeastern Nigeria, where he was captured, to Monrovia, Liberia's capital. There he was handed over to Liberian officials, who promptly turned him over to United Nations peacekeepers, who arrested him. After a brief medical checkup, he boarded a helicopter for Sierra Leone. The reaction to Mr. Taylor's arrival here was muted and fearful.

J. B. Jenkins-Johnson, a human rights lawyer in Freetown, worried that Mr. Taylor's arrival would cause unrest in a country still reeling from the long civil war. "Let them not bring that man here," Mr. Jenkins-Johnson said. "This man will bring us nothing but problems." Indeed, many Sierra Leoneans wonder if the court's work will do much to help them improve their lives. "The Taylor case doesn't have a lot of resonance," said Olu Gordon, a political analyst and journalist in Freetown. "It is abstract, while the problems they face are concrete: what to feed their children, how to pay for school, and so on."

The loudest calls for Mr. Taylor's arrest came not from his victims but from the United States, which has backed the international court here financially and diplomatically. Ms. Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian leader, had been hesitant to act on Mr. Taylor, saying that the peace in Liberia was still fragile and that any action could stir up his allies, several of whom hold seats in Liberia's new legislature. Several of his commanders remain in Liberia, and news of Mr. Taylor's arrest caused immediate fears of a coup attempt. But removing him from the scene could also help stabilize the region, said Mike McGovern, an analyst for the International Crisis Group, by demoralizing Mr. Taylor's supporters. "The arrest closes an ugly chapter in Liberian history and gives people the confidence to look to the future," Mr. McGovern said in an interview in Monrovia. "A lot of people are still sitting on the fence. Once they have a clear idea of where Taylor is and what's likely to happen to him, they're likely to really turn their backs on that period and move forward."

In Liberia, human rights advocates exulted in the news. "This is a great day," said Jerome J. Verdier Sr., head of the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. "It's a fundamental triumph for the rule of law both in Liberia and the sub-region."

Source: New York Times

Nigeria Will End Asylum for Warlord

Nigeria said Saturday that it would end the asylum of the deposed Liberian dictator Charles G. Taylor and turn him over to the Liberian government for trial. Mr. Taylor, a warlord-turned-president, spawned a bloody cycle of civil wars that killed 300,000 people across West Africa in the 1990's. He was indicted by the United Nations-backed Special Court here in Sierra Leone in 2003 for war crimes and crimes against humanity during this country's decade-long insurgency.

But the court has been unable to arrest Mr. Taylor, who left Liberia as rebels narrowed in on him in 2003. Instead, he went into exile in Nigeria, where authorities agreed in an internationally brokered deal to grant him safe haven in order to end 14 years of civil war in Liberia. "God willing, I will be back," the flamboyant Mr. Taylor said as he bid farewell to his country.

Since agreeing to accept Mr. Taylor, the Nigerian government has rebuffed many attempts to put him on trial before the international court, saying it was awaiting a request from an elected Liberian government. Liberia's new president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, raised the issue this month with President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, describing it as an important part of bringing stability to Liberia. "Liberia's peace is fragile," she said this month after announcing her extradition request. "There are many loyalists in our country to Mr. Taylor."

In Sierra Leone, where a cell has sat empty awaiting Mr. Taylor's arrival, there was fear and awe of the man who let loose so much misery in a nation smaller than South Carolina and home to five million people. "We are very afraid of Charles Taylor coming here," said Jerry Nyuma Bongay, a 25-year-old student in Freetown. "But we want him to face justice. He hurt us too much."

Desmond De Silva, the chief prosecutor for the Sierra Leone court, hailed the announcement. "This is a remarkable day for justice," he said. "This is very important because it is all part of the fight against impunity." In a statement on Saturday, Mr. Obasanjo said Liberia was free to take Mr. Taylor into custody. Although he is not under indictment in Liberia, United Nations peacekeepers there have been authorized by the Security Council to transfer him to Sierra Leone.

The statement gave no date or details for the transfer, but Mr. Obasanjo said he had never been against surrendering Mr. Taylor to a democratically elected government in Liberia. Ms. Johnson Sirleaf was sworn in as Liberia's president in January, becoming Africa's first woman to be elected head of state. Mr. Taylor was forbidden from leaving Nigeria during his exile, but he continued to meddle in his former country's affairs from his government guest house in Calabar, on Nigeria's southern coast, using some of the millions of dollars he is accused of stealing from Liberia's coffers.

Security around Mr. Taylor's villa has been lax, said Corinne Dufka, a researcher for Human Rights Watch based in Dakar, Senegal, prompting fears that Mr. Taylor may try to escape. "We are calling on Nigeria to tighten security around Taylor," Ms. Dufka said. "I think there will be a great sense of relief when Charles Taylor is actually in the custody of the special court."

The court, set up in 2000, had issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Taylor on 17 counts in 2003 but Nigeria ignored it. Mr. Obasanjo had said that he would honor a request by Liberia's government to relinquish Mr. Taylor, but until this year Liberia had only transitional leaders. With the backing of Libya and other regional powers, Mr. Taylor unleashed his horrific brand of warfare across the region for the better part of two decades, dragooning young boys into combat, first with violence, then with drugs, money and sex.

In Sierra Leone, he is accused of training and arming Sierra Leone's rebels in a bloody conflict left tens of thousands of people dead.

Source: New York Times

The rise and fall of spy chief Billy Masetlha

When the highly embarrassing espionage operation involving fabricated intelligence reports emerged, it tore apart a close-knit relationship between a head of government and his director-general of intelligence - and the spy chief bit the dust. This was in 1997, when the long-standing amity between the-then Israeli prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu and director-general of Mossad, Danny Yatom, broke down irreparably because a katza (spy) manufactured top secret reports for two decades. Netanyahu gave Yatom a lashing in his office in October, the same month President Thabo Mbeki gave the booted director-general of National Intelligence Agency Billy Masetlha a dressing down nine years later.

Similarly, compounding Yatom's quandary was the scandal's leakage to the media in the same way Masetlha's embarrassing operations were broken by Independent Newspapers in October last year. Yatom resigned while Masetlha was fired. But their spying careers both ended in March while they were in their early 50s, after each had spent two years in the job.

The irony of these espionage incidents is that one of the key issues that led to Masetlha's downfall involves the so-called hoax e-mails that, among other things, claim to associate intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils with Mossad. The irony is how close confidants - Mbeki and Masetlha - turned against each other overnight, leading to Mbeki exercising his presidential powers and firing his spy chief. Given how easily upset the president can be, the firing of Masetlha came as no surprise after the suspended NIA director-general accused Mbeki - in papers lodged at the Pretoria High Court - of lying to save his job.

In an interview, Mbeki was visibly angry, accusing some of his intelligence agents of "manufacturing intelligence" and lying to please him. "The president as head of state and head of government is the principal client of civilian intelligence … Now you can imagine what would happen if the president is fed false information. "I am saying it is very dangerous and you cannot allow any compromise about quality of intelligence and its truthfulness, you can't afford a situation where people manufacture intelligence," Mbeki said last month.

Masetlha is blamed by intelligence inspector-general Zolile Ngcakani, and also by intelligence sources, for:

# Authorising the unlawful surveillance of ANC executive and businessman Saki Macozoma under the pretext that the he was involved with foreign intelligence. It was revealed that this has much to do with the succession battle in the ANC following Macozoma's implication in the e-mails since declared by Ngcakani to be hoaxes.

# Being involved in the fabrication of the e-mails that purport to implicate senior government and ANC officials in a plot to sideline and incriminate embattled former deputy president Jacob Zuma.

# Being highly involved in party political squabbles by colluding with politicians in the divisive succession battle that has polarised the ruling party between Mbeki and Zuma camps.

# Abusing intelligence and state resources for personal or political gain.

# Acting ultra vires in bugging and intercepting individuals' communications for the same purpose, which could have contributed to the fabrication of the e-mails.

# Fighting a bitter battle with Kasrils to win the heart of the president. This emerged at the October meeting where Masetlha wanted to brief Mbeki about the minister, but was suspended by Kasrils the following day. Masetlha accused Kasrils of being close to the British foreign intelligence agency - MI6.

# Fomenting divisions in the intelligence and security agencies, as exposed during the Khampepe commission to determine the future of the Scorpions. Masetlha accused Scorpions officials of colluding with foreign intelligence, including the US Central Intelligence Agency. He was censured by cabinet, while he became a hero in the Zuma camp for giving the former deputy president's "foes" a pounding.

But if this is true, it remains puzzling how Masetlha - who holds the president in high esteem - could allow professional rivalry to sacrifice his career and tilt towards the losing Zuma camp. Had he miscalculated the impact of his fight with Kasrils? Masetlha did not return messages left for him and his lawyer is said to be out of the country.

A senior spy who worked closely with him said Masetlha could have been motivated by "something serious" pushing him this far. But those who worked with him at the SA Secret Service, where he was also director-general, accuse him of recklessness. They say this was the same reason that forced him to quit Home Affairs after fighting with former minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi. However, all agree that Masetlha is an Alexandra-born street-fighter and, like Yatom, a hands-on spymaster. Even when he called him a liar, he trusted Mbeki and hoped for reconciliation, another intelligence source said. The trust had been mutual. Mbeki asked him in the winter of 2001 to form the controversial presidential intelligence unit, a clear indication that the president did not trust anyone but Masetlha. How this trust broke down (the main reason why he was fired), is a mystery.

Masetlha was the president's eyes and ears and defended him when Mbeki was pummelled at the ANC's national general council last winter, while security figures such as former defence force general Siphiwe Nyanda were openly rejoicing at Zuma's coming in from the cold. Masetlha's career revolved around Mbeki, having worked as the president's security adviser and his counsel on the DRC and Rwandan peace agreements. Mbeki appointed him to the sensitive key post of director-general of Home Affairs after serving, with the president's approval, as head of the secret service. In the winter of 2002, Mbeki recalled Masetlha from Home Affairs after his spat with Buthelezi and announced that the spy chief would reinforce security in the presidency.

Although it might seem his career is over and that the long-standing relationship between him and Mbeki is now something of a broken love affair, Masetlha is likely to intensify his confrontation with the president. He has nothing to lose. As former spymaster and presidential security adviser, he knows more about the president than anyone else. But it remains a poser how he would exploit this to his advantage. However, this could be countered by Ngcakani handing over his report to the SA Police Service with a view to charging Masetlha - either with treason or a lighter charge.

He might bounce back when the ANC's national executive committee triggers another skirmish over the e-mails, for secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe and some NEC members have made it clear they do not accept Ngcakani's report. If they prevail (which seems unlikely), Masetlha might come back as adviser to another president, just as Yatom later became adviser to another Israeli prime minister - Ehud Barak.

Source: IoL

Mbeki gives Masetlha the boot

President Thabo Mbeki has terminated the services of suspended National Intelligence Agency (NIA) head Billy Masetlha with immediate effect. Briefing the media at Parliament following Cabinet's fortnightly meeting at Tuynhuys on Wednesday, government communications chief Joel Netshitenzhe said this followed Mbeki's determination that the relationship of trust between himself and Masetlha had irreparably broken down.

During its meeting, Cabinet had been briefed on the investigation by the Inspector General of Intelligence Services (IG) Zolile Ngcakani into the authenticity of allegedly intercepted "e-mail communication" among public figures. "The meeting noted the findings of the IG that these 'e-mails' were fabricated mock-ups that were not and could not have been communicated over the world-wide web. Overwhelming evidence, supported by independent expert testimony, points to the fact that the 'e-mails' and chat-room conversations were patently fraudulent," Netshitenzhe said.

Cabinet had agreed all relevant administrative, legal and policy issues deriving from the report should be followed up and, where required, Cabinet would be briefed on progress in this regard. The meeting was also informed that Mbeki had decided to terminate Masetlha's services with effect from Wednesday, March 22. "This decision, Cabinet was informed, derives from the President's determination that the relationship of trust between him and the head of NIA had irreparably broken down."

The IG and Intelligence Services Minister Ronnie Kasrils would brief Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence, the management and personnel of the intelligence agencies, and the media on the details of the findings in due course, Netshitenzhe said. Masetlha would be paid out the balance of his contract, the extent of which was not known at this stage. Netshitenzhe would not be drawn on whether criminal charges, if any, would follow. The IG's investigation sought to establish the veracity and source of the e-mails.

Kasrils suspended Masetlha and two other senior officials last year, pending a probe into claims of "serious misconduct" allegedly related to the surveillance of politician-turned-businessman Saki Macozoma. The suspension of Masetlha, his deputy Gibson Njenje and NIA general manager Bob Mhlanga, followed an initial probe by the IG at Kasrils' instruction. This followed a complaint from a member of the public, believed to be Macozoma. The matter has been linked in the media to a succession battle in the African National Congress between Mbeki and former deputy president Jacob Zuma. Macozoma is said to be a Mbeki loyalist. The e-mails were purported to have been authored by top government officials and senior politicians.

Source: IoL

NIA boss Masetlha fired

President Thabo Mbeki has terminated the services of suspended national intelligence agency (NIA) head Billy Masetlha. Briefing the media after the cabinet's fortnightly meeting meeting at Tuynhuys on Wednesday, government communications chief Joel Netshitenzhe said this was with immediate effect. Netshitenzhe said it followed Mbeki's determination that the relationship of trust between himself and Masetlha had irreparably broken down.

During its meeting, the cabinet had been briefed on the investigation by the inspector-general of intelligence services, Zolile Ngcakani, into the authenticity of allegedly intercepted "e-mail communication" among public figures. "The meeting noted the findings of the IG that the 'e-mails' were fabricated mock-ups that were not, and could not, have been communicated via the worldwide web. Overwhelming evidence, supported by independent expert testimony, points to the fact that the 'e-mails' and chat-room conversations were patently fraudulent," Netshitenzhe said.

The cabinet had agreed all relevant administrative, legal and policy issues deriving from the report should be followed up and, where required, cabinet would be briefed on progress in this regard. Netshitenzhe said the IG and Intelligence Services Minister Ronnie Kasrils would brief parliament's joint standing committee on intelligence, the management and personnel of the intelligence agencies, and the media on the details of the findings in due course.

Masetlha would be paid out the balance of his contract, the extent of which was not known at this stage. Netshitenzhe would not be drawn on whether criminal charges, if any, would follow. The IG's investigation sought to establish the veracity and source of the e-mails. Kasrils suspended Masetlha and two other senior officials last year, pending a probe into claims of "serious misconduct" allegedly related to the surveillance of politician-turned-businessman Saki Macozoma. The suspension of Masetlha, his deputy Gibson Njenje and NIA general manager Bob Mhlanga, followed an initial probe by the IG at Kasrils' instruction. This followed a complaint from a member of the public, believed to be Macozoma. The matter has been linked in the media to a succession battle in the ANC between Mbeki and former deputy president Jacob Zuma.

Macozoma is said to be a Mbeki loyalist. The e-mails were purported to have been written by top government officials and senior politicians.

Source: Mail & Guardian

Milosevic found dead in his cell

Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević has been found dead in the detention centre at The Hague tribunal. The tribunal said an autopsy would be conducted to establish cause of death, but there was no indication of suicide. Zdenko Tomanovic, a lawyer for Mr Milosevic, says the autopsy should take place elsewhere as his client said he was being poisoned in the jail. Mr Milosevic, 64, had been held at the UN war crimes tribunal for genocide and other war crimes since 2001.

"Milosevic was found lifeless on his bed in his cell at the United Nations detention unit," the tribunal said in a statement. "The guard immediately alerted the detention unit officer in command and the medical officer. The latter confirmed that Slobodan Milosevic was dead."

Source: BBC

'NPA won't be intimidated'

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) won't allow itself to be intimidated by anybody, national prosecutions head Vusi Pikoli said on Wednesday. Recent statements by individuals and groups have undermined public confidence in the institution, he told Parliament's justice portfolio committee.

Many unfair allegations have been levelled against the authority in the past year. "We've been accused of all sorts of things," Pikoli said in a report to the committee. This led to the undermining of the NPA image and integrity and couldn't be allowed, Pikoli said. The NPA was working very hard to ensure it had a clean image. It has to be regarded as impartial so as to protect the rule of law.

The NPA's offices were open and any complaints of impropriety would be investigated fully, said Pikoli. But it would not take heed of any attempted intimidation. "We will not be intimidated by anybody. We will do our job and base decisions on the facts, on the law," Pikoli told the committee.

Source: News 24.com

MILAN BABIC FOUND DEAD IN DETENTION UNIT

At 18:30 hours on Sunday 5 March 2006, Milan Babić, a detained witness, was found dead in his cell at the United Nations Detention Unit in Scheveningen.

The Detention Unit Medical Officer confirmed Milan Babic's death shortly after his body was found. The Dutch authorities were called immediately. After conducting an investigation, they confirmed that the cause of death was suicide. Pursuant to his authority under the Tribunal's Statute and Rules of Detention, the Tribunal President, Judge Fausto Pocar, has ordered an internal inquiry.

Source: International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

White SA struggles with African identity

Generations too late to be classified as Europeans, white South Africans are fighting for the right to be seen as African amid doubts about their loyalty, fuelled by a growing white diaspora.

In his "I am an African" speech, delivered at the launch of the country's Constitution in 1996, then-deputy president Mbeki said: "The Constitution whose adoption we celebrate constitutes an unequivocal statement that we refuse to accept that our Africanness shall be defined by our race, colour, gender or historical origins."

Source: Mail & Guardian

Mass grave unearthed in Iraq city

A mass grave has been discovered in the predominantly Shia city of Karbala south of Baghdad, Iraqi police said. Dozens of bodies have reportedly been found, apparently those of Shia rebels killed by Saddam Hussein's army after its defeat in the 1991 Gulf War. The Shia revolt was crushed and as many as 30,000 people were killed, many of them buried in mass graves.

The remains were uncovered by workmen digging a new water pipe in the centre of the city known for its Shia shrine. They called the police, who cordoned off the area. Clothing found with the bodies indicated that they included men, women and children. "The remains of dozens of victims were found in the pit - some 500 metres from the mausoleum of Imam Hussein," Abdul Rahman, a Karbala police spokesman, told news agency AFP. Shia pilgrims converge on Karbala twice a year to mark the death of Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, 1,300 years ago. Several mass graves containing thousands of bodies have been uncovered since the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003, notably in the Shia south and Kurdish north. However, there have been concerns that most useful evidence from the graves has been destroyed as relatives tried to recover the remains of their loved ones.

The former Iraqi leader and seven members of his regime are currently being tried for the killing of 148 people in Dujail in 1982. They all deny responsibility. Other charges are expected, including ones relating to the suppression of the 1991 uprisings, which were encouraged by the United States following the liberation of Kuwait, but not supported by coalition forces. The elite Republican Guard was able to crush the rebellion and tens of thousands of Shia across the south were imprisoned, tortured and killed.

The holy shrines in Karbala and Najaf were smashed by the tanks and artillery of government forces. They were, however, quickly restored by the government.

Source: BBC

Government Responsibility for International Crimes in Darfur

This 85-page report documents the role of more than a dozen named civilian and military officials in the use and coordination of “Janjaweed” militias and the Sudanese armed forces to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur since mid-2003.

Omar al-Bashir, as commander-in-chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces, played a pivotal leadership role in the military campaign in Darfur. His public statements were precursors to military operations and to peaks in abuses by Sudanese security forces. There are indications that they echoed the private directives given to civilian administration and military and security services. For instance, on December 30, 2003, al-Bashir announced that: "Our top priority will be the annihilation of the rebellion and any outlaw who carries arms." A few days later, in January 2004, the Sudanese security forces began an offensive that used systematic force in violation of international humanitarian law to drive hundreds of thousands of people from rural areas in Darfur. The methodological use of aerial support to target civilians in the military campaign, despite protests from air force officers, also appears to reflect the involvement of high-level officials in Khartoum.

Human Rights Watch concluded that beginning in May 2002, even before the more devastating phases of the conflict, al-Bashir was very likely aware of abuses committed by the security forces in Darfur. By mid-2004, reports of tens of thousands of displaced people and information from dozens of police complaints, press accounts, and reports by numerous organizations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, made it clear that massive abuses were taking place in Darfur. Apart from this specific information, the government's previous use of ethnic militias in the southern Sudan conflict provided ample warning that such forces invariably targeted civilians and committed other war crimes.

Source: Human Rights Watch

Africa's Game of Follow the Leader

For brutal honesty on the causes of Africa's woes, it's hard to beat Chinua Achebe's The Trouble with Nigeria. Written during the country's rowdy 1983 election campaign, the book, just 68 pages long, is an outpouring of frustration at Nigeria's problems. You only have to read the contents page to tap into Achebe's angst. The author — best known for Things Fall Apart, a powerful work of fiction that almost half a century after its release still tops lists of Africa's greatest novels — uses blunt prose to deliver the message in Trouble. Chapter headings telegraph his views: "False Image of Ourselves"; "Social Injustice and the Cult of Mediocrity"; "Indiscipline"; "Corruption." Achebe lays out his case in the book's very first sentence: "The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership."

Many Nigerians agreed, and Africans across the continent reached similar conclusions about their own countries. Which is why, in the mid-1990s, when a new generation of leaders emerged, Africans dared to hope that things could finally be changing. People like Issaias Afewerki in Eritrea, Laurent Kabila in Democratic Republic of Congo, Paul Kagame in Rwanda, Yoweri Museveni in Uganda and Meles Zenawi in Ethiopia promised a new style of leadership that focused on building economies and democratic nations instead of shoring up their power by force and ensuring that they and their friends got rich. When President Bill Clinton visited Africa in 1998, he touted this generation as Africa's great hope.

The reality has rarely matched the hype. Within months of Clinton's visit, Rwanda and Uganda had invaded Congo, and Eritrea and Ethiopia had gone to war with each other. While some leaders — notably Museveni and Zenawi — still did enough to remain darlings of Western donors, even they have now begun to slide. In Ethiopia, Zenawi has sent troops onto the streets to stop opposition supporters protesting the results of a general election last May. In Uganda, an increasingly dictatorial Museveni announced two weeks ago that he will run for office again, following Parliament's decision to scrap term limits that would have forced him to retire. That long-expected bulletin came just days after his main opponent was thrown in prison on charges — vehemently denied — of treason and rape. Demonstrations have been temporarily banned.

So, Achebe's lament still holds true, then? No. Fixing Africa was never as simple as changing its leaders. And that's why the fall from grace of Museveni and Zenawi may prove a positive thing, even if they hurt their own countries in the short term. It's a reminder, especially to Western countries that invested so much in Africa's new leaders, that strong institutions are far more important than personalities. Good leaders can turn bad if they stay in office long enough: faults become obvious; people compromise to hold onto power; supporters get frustrated with the inevitable slow pace of change. It's not just Africa. There are plenty of erstwhile supporters of Tony Blair who would be happy to see the back of him. The same goes for one-time fans of Jacques Chirac and George Bush. A key difference is that the institutions in the countries those men lead — parliament, the judiciary, the press — are bigger than any one person and counterbalance the worst excesses. That's still not a given in Africa.

Take Zimbabwe. Even five years ago, the country boasted one of the best judiciaries in Africa. Voters could make their voices heard, as they did in 2000 when they rejected a new constitution backed by President Robert Mugabe. The independent press was amongst the feistiest on the continent. Over the past few years, though, Mugabe and his henchmen have bludgeoned the opposition into near submission, rigged elections, closed down the independent press and forced most of the country's best judges into retirement. Mugabe, once hailed as a great new African leader himself, has proved more powerful than his country's institutions.

There is progress, of course. Kenyans last week rejected a new constitution backed by lackluster President Mwai Kibaki — elected just three years ago in a wave of reformist zeal — because of concerns that the proposals vested too much power in his office. (Kibaki promptly sacked his entire Cabinet.) Voters in Ghana, Senegal and Zambia have all elected opposition parties since the turn of the century. Such peaceful shifts prove that institutions in some countries are becoming strong enough to survive change and are not merely dependent upon, or at the mercy of, whoever sits in the presidential palace. Ethiopia and Uganda are also vastly better off than they were before Zenawi and Museveni took power; the backsliding hasn't wrecked all the good work the men have done. But their tainted legacies are a lesson. "A leader's no-nonsense reputation might induce a favorable climate but in order to effect lasting change, it must be followed up with a radical program of social and economic reorganization," writes Achebe in The Trouble with Nigeria. In other words, good leaders are good, but strong institutions are even better.

Source: Time

A celebration of 20 exceptional years in journalism

On June 14 1985, just six weeks after the death of the Rand Daily Mail, the first edition of The Weekly Mail rolled off the presses. The brainchild of journalists Anton Harber and Irwin Manoim, formerly of the Rand Daily Mail and The Sunday Express, it was “rather thin, had no colour and pictures as sharp as murky ponds”. As the distribution company consisted of one man and his son, copies were scarce.

Though changed in many ways, the M&G is in essence the same newspaper that first saw the light on June 14 1985. Its mission is still to promote freedom, justice, equality and the unity of humankind. It aims to create space for debate and diversity, to fight restrictions on the free flow of information and to combat racial, political and religious prejudice. It is patriotic but not blindly so, taking as its lodestar the values of our new Constitution. It continues to take “the worm’s eye view”, regarding authority with deep suspicion and instinctively siding with the powerless and vulnerable. With its financial affairs at last on a sound and sustainable footing, it looks forward to another 20 years of striving for a freer, fairer and more compassionate South Africa.

Source; Mail & Guardian

In First for Africa, Woman Wins Election as President of Liberia

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Harvard-educated economist and former World Bank official who waged a fierce presidential campaign against the soccer star George Weah, emerged victorious on Friday in her quest to lead war-torn Liberia and become the first woman elected head of state in modern African history. "Everything is on our side," said Morris Dukuly, a spokesman for Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf. "The voters have chosen a new and brighter future."

With 97 percent of the runoff vote counted on Friday, Ms. Johnson- Sirleaf achieved an insurmountable lead with 59 percent, compared with Mr. Weah's 41 percent, in a nation where women make up more than half the electorate.

Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf's victory propels her into an old boys' club unlike any other. From the Cape to Cairo, from Dar es Salaam to Dakar, men have dominated African politics from the earliest days of the anticolonial struggle. "There are so many capable women," said Yassine Fall, a Senegalese economist and feminist working on women's rights in Africa. "But they just don't get the chance to lead." Indeed, when supporters of Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf, 66, a onetime United Nations official and Liberian finance minister, marched through the broken streets of Monrovia in the final, frantic days of the campaign for Liberia's presidency, they shouted and waved signs that read, "Ellen - she's our man."

Mr. Dukuly said Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf held off formally declaring victory because Mr. Weah, who won the first round of the election last month and enjoys broad support among Liberia's huge youth population, had alleged that the results were tainted by fraud. Mr. Weah told reporters in Monrovia that he had submitted a formal complaint to the Supreme Court, which will investigate. International observers said that while there were some minor irregularities, they were too small to change the outcome.

Mr. Weah, speaking Friday to a crowd of supporters at his campaign headquarters, appealed for calm, but hundreds of supporters wielding branches marched through the streets in protest, chanting, "No Weah, no peace!" They threw stones at police officers in front of the National Elections Commission, and United Nations peacekeepers fired tear gas to keep protesters from storming the United States Embassy, according to Reuters.

Mr. Weah, whose base was the young, discontented population who idolized him for his exploits on the soccer field and his rags-to-riches life story, was seen as a favorite because young voters make up 40 percent of the electorate. But the women's vote appears to have been stronger. There were slightly more women registered to vote in Liberia, and while there were no reliable surveys of voters leaving the polls, women appeared to be a strong presence.

Political strategy played a role as well. In the final weeks of the campaign, Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf formed crucial alliances with parties whose candidates had lost in the first round, which winnowed the field of 22 presidential contenders to 2. The impact of her victory went well beyond Liberia, a nation still trying to recover from more than a decade of civil war.

The history of the continent rings with the names of heroes like Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela and Jomo Kenyatta, fathers of the modern African states they helped form, and villains like Mobutu Sese Seko, Idi Amin and Sani Abacha, the despotic "big men" who ruled ruthlessly over their subjects, enriching themselves along the way. Despite the large role women played in many national struggles for independence, they were largely relegated to the sidelines in the post-colonial era. The most ambitious women often went abroad, and some, like Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf, rose to prominence in international organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank. But in recent years, African women have gained power and visibility. In 2004 a Kenyan environmentalist, Wangari Muta Maathai, won the Nobel Peace Prize, while Nigeria's finance minister and feared corruption fighter, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has emerged as one of that country's most respected officials.

Women have also made gains at the ballot box. The prime minister of Mozambique, Luísa Dias Diogo, is widely seen as a likely future president. In Rwanda, there is a greater proportion of women serving in Parliament than in any other nation; they occupy nearly half the seats. Indeed, Africa leads the developing world in the percentage of women in legislative positions, at about 16 percent, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an organization of parliamentary bodies worldwide. Yet having more women leaders does not necessarily bring decisions that benefit women. While women generally make decisions that favor women and children, they often gain political power as an embattled minority that feels it must follow men's lead in order to maintain power, said Geeta Rao Gupta, president of the International Center for Research on Women, a Washington-based research group. "When there is a critical mass of women leaders, they gain confidence over time and are more likely to exhibit diversity of experience as women in their decisions," Ms. Rao Gupta said. "It takes a few cycles to really sink in."

Liberia's presidential election came two years after the nation emerged from a brutal civil war that claimed more than 200,000 lives and displaced a third of the population. Pushed from power by rebels, Charles Taylor, the warlord who became Liberia's president and fomented bloody wars that racked the region for more than a decade, went into exile in 2003 and is now in Nigeria.

He left behind a nation shattered by war, with the entire infrastructure, from roads to electric wires to water pipes, rotted away or looted. Despite its natural wealth in gems, rubber and timber, Liberia is one of the poorest nations. Ms. Johnson-Sirleaf, who has been known as Liberia's Iron Lady since she ran against Mr. Taylor for president in 1997 and was jailed for more than a year under the former dictator Samuel Doe, will have no trouble fitting into the all-male club of African heads of state, said Ms. Fall, the economist, who has known her for years. "She is fearless," Ms. Fall said. "No men intimidate her."

UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 11 (Reuters) - The Security Council voted unanimously on Friday to authorize peacekeepers to arrest Charles Taylor, the former president, if he returns to Liberia and turn him over to a special tribunal in Sierra Leone. Mr. Taylor, in exile in Nigeria, was indicted in Sierra Leone in March 2003 on 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In addition to calling for Mr. Taylor's arrest, the resolution referred to his stay in Nigeria as temporary, which rights activists said could clear the way for Nigeria to turn him over for trial in Sierra Leone.

Source: New York Times

NIA official held for 'abuse of resources'

A top National Intelligence Agency manager has been arrested in the latest clampdown aimed at cleaning up the spy organisation of those who allegedly abuse state resources for political objectives. He is the fourth top manager in the NIA to fall into the political quagmire that has already resulted in the suspension of its director-general, Billy Masetlha, deputy director-general Gibson Njenje and counter-intelligence chief Bob Mhlanga. This comes after ANC businessman Saki Macozoma was found to have been placed under illegal surveillance.

The Star was reliably informed that Funi Madlala, a manager in the NIA cyber unit, was arrested on Wednesday and appeared secretly in the Pretoria regional court. Because of the sensitivity of his case, which could amount to treason, his bail application hearing was held in camera. He was given bail of R3 000. It is believed that Madlala has either illegally intercepted email communications of top government officials, including in the presidency, or is a source of or had contributed to the fabrication of the hoax emails currently in circulation. Investigations into the veracity of the emails is continuing, but whether they are genuine or fake, intelligence agents will have to account if their interception or fabrication emanated from the NIA.

Intelligence inspector-general Zolile Ngcakani, who is conducting investigations into the origin of the emails and whether intelligence facilities or agents were used, has referred Madlala to the police, after evidence pointed to the fact that he allegedly knew about the emails or their origin. 'The nature of the offence relates to the withholding of information'

It is believed that Ngcakani is probing the entire cyber unit of the NIA and this has included examining computer hard drives of officials, including Madlala's. Sources told The Star Madlala was either working for or had allegedly colluded with Masetlha. Madlala apparently initially refused to co-operate with Ngcakani, withholding information from him after the inspector-general traced the hoax emails to one of his computer drives. His refusal to co-operate is a contravention of the Intelligence Services Act, which carries a five-year prison sentence.

Ngcakani referred his case to the South African Police Service. His office confirmed the incident but refused to give more details. Imtiaz Fazel, chief executive of the inspector-general, said: "A senior member of the National Intelligence Agency was charged and appeared in the Pretoria regional court this morning, the 9th of November 2005. He faces charges of contravening the disclosure provisions of the Intelligence Services Oversight Act (Act 40 of 1994). "These provisions relate to the unreasonable withholding of information (from) the inspector-general of intelligence which is required for the performance of his functions. Bail was not opposed and the member was released with stringent conditions attached to his bail. "The matter was adjourned pending further investigations. The nature of the offence relates to the withholding of information that is required by the inspector-general as part of his extended investigations into the legality of certain intelligence operations carried out by the NIA."

The arrest comes after an investigation by Ngcakani into the Macozoma surveillance, which was later widened to include the hoax emails that implicated several politicians, government officials and business people in an alleged conspiracy against embattled ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma.

Source: IoL

Brett Kebble 'killed by rare bullets'

Mining magnate Brett Kebble, who was shot dead in Johannesburg in September, was probably hit by rare, "low velocity" bullets used by bodyguards and anti-terrorist operatives, the Sunday Times reported. The newspaper said an autopsy performed three days after the murder found that the muzzle of a gun was rammed into Kebble's jaw with such force that it had produced a deep black bruise and "contusions". "The bullets were probably a rare, 'low velocity' type used by bodyguards and crack security operatives," the newspaper said. "Experts said the purpose of this type of bullet - which requires a specially adapted pistol - was to hit assassins and terrorists without passing through their bodies and hitting bystanders or hostages."

Kebble's body was found slumped in the driver's seat of his Mercedes in the suburb of Melrose around on September 27, about 400 metres from a road where at least one gunman shot him through an open window. The bullets were "full copper jacket" 9mm projectiles.

Source: News 24.com

State to tighten information security

The Intelligence Ministry plans to crack down on the theft of confidential state information by tightening up laws and policies relating to information security in government.

Safety and security minister Charles Nqakula acknowledged on Wednesday that a lot of government information was being stolen. "One of the biggest headaches that any government anywhere in the world has is that a lot of information is stolen from the government. We have similar problems," he told reporters during a briefing by the justice, crime prevention and security cabinet cluster.

Nqakula said there were guidelines, called the minimum information security standards, but many departments were failing to adhere to them. "Some of the information is available from our technical equipment, such as computers. There are many people who have been able to hack through those systems and have therefore been able to lay their hands on the information we have."

Governments worldwide reviewed their standards on information security "to ensure they are able to beat all those who want to break through the system they have and to gain illegal access. "That is why they are doing it. There are many examples in South Africa where there has been a breach: it is a matter that necessarily the government needs to deal with on an ongoing basis."

Nqakula denied that the review was prompted by the latest saga to hit the Intelligence Ministry, including whether there were breaches of government's firewalls in relation to what intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils has called "hoax emails". The origin of the emails - and whether they are in fact bogus - are the subjects of an investigation by Inspector-General Zolile Ngcakani as part of his probe into the country's three top spy bosses, who have been accused of illegal surveillance.

Source: IoL

Intelligence law to be reviewed

Legislation and procedures governing intelligence services will be reviewed in a bid to avoid "future abuses", Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils said on Wednesday. This was aimed at determining "whether there are any gaps or ambiguities that need tightening up", the minister said in a statement. "I intend reviewing the legislation, internal regulations and operating procedures that currently govern the intelligence services," Kasrils said. "In light of the recent events, it is important to look at interventions necessary to prevent any future abuses occurring in the intelligence community."

Kasrils said the country's intelligence services were required to perform their functions in defence of the national interest and in terms of the constitution. "In addition, I will be developing a civic education programme aimed at entrenching a culture of political non-partisanship and constitutionalism throughout the intelligence services." His spokesperson, Lorna Daniels, said a review team had yet to be set up. It was not known by when the exercise would be concluded.

Kasrils recently suspended national intelligence agency director-general Billy Masetlha and two other senior officials pending an ongoing probe into claims of "serious misconduct". This reportedly related to the unauthorised surveillance of politician-turned-businessman Saki Macozoma. The matter has been linked in the media to a succession battle in the ANC between President Thabo Mbeki and his axed corruption-accused deputy Jacob Zuma.

Source: Mail & Guardian

South Africa: nearly one million farmworkers evicted since 1993

A recently released survey revealed that evictions from South African farms have accelerated under the African National Congress (ANC) government. Between 1993 and 2004 a total of 942,303 people were evicted, whereas under the apartheid regime, from 1984 to 1993, 737,114 people were evicted.

Source: World Socialist Web

The man who watches over SA's spies

The all-powerful inspector-general of intelligence, Zolile Ngcakani, bared his teeth this week. In a week when South Africa was rocked by allegations that senior intelligence officers had abused their official positions, Ngcakani came to the fore, acting decisively in an exercise designed to calm fears among citizens of this country.

In his first high-profile case, Ngcakani's work has led to the removal from office of three high-ranking intelligence officials: Billy Masetlha, Gibson Njenje and Bob Mhlanga. It took Ngcakani just under three weeks to investigate and present reports to Ronnie Kasrils, the intelligence minister, which showed that the National Intelligence Agency had undertaken illegal surveillance of Saki Macozoma, businessman and politician.

Ngcakani, who was appointed in January last year, could not have wished for a more high-profile case to highlight the work of his office. South Africa had been without an inspector-general for two years after the resignation of Faizel Kader. Kasrils uses superlatives when he speaks of Ngcakani. In introducing him to the media on Friday, the minister emphasised the power that the office of the inspector-general wields. "His role is to supervise the work of the intelligence community in toto, from the NIA, the South African Secret Service and the National Intelligence Co-ordinating Committee to crime and military intelligence. He ... can investigate any [cabinet] minister. He reports to parliament through the joint standing committee on intelligence," Kasrils said.

On the Macozoma probe, Ngcakani said his terms of reference were to investigate whether such an operation had taken place and whether it was authorised and done within the rules and regulations of the NIA. "Our findings were that the operation did take place in the manner Macozoma described. It was authorised by the deputy director-general [Njenje] and not disclosed to Kasrils. We found the operation was unlawful and illegal. Its legitimacy was not supported by intelligence information they had," Ngcakani said.

Kasrils was clearly angry that he had not been informed by Masetlha of the decision to put Macozoma under surveillance. He said the first time he knew about the matter was when Macozoma complained and subsequently submitted a lawyer's letter to back up his claim.

Ngcakani, 68, is no newcomer to intelligence. Between 1996 and 2001 he was head of ministerial services in the intelligence ministry. He provided management and administrative services in support of the ministry's role of control, supervision and superintendence of the intelligence services. During that period he led several commissions and task teams, such as one to review conditions of service for the intelligence community. Before that, he played a leading role in the establishment of a national communications centre, which provides secure communication services to government as well as an interception office.

Ngcakani is a highly qualified engineer. He has a master's degree in engineering science from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, as well as a master of science degree from the University of Nairobi in Kenya. He is also a water expert, having designed industrial waste water treatment facilities, and has provided advisory services on water quality and water pollution. Ngcakani's political career started at the University of Fort Hare in the late 1950s. He joined Umkhonto weSizwe, the armed wing of the ANC, and was subsequently based in Zambia and East Africa. He is married to Pulane and has five children - three girls and two boys.

Source: IoL

FF charges unions with hate speech

The Freedom Front Plus has laid charges with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and the police against Nehawu, Cosatu and the ANC for hate speech.

The charges were laid following chants of "kill the boer, kill the farmer" by protesters at the Potchefstroom Agricultural College while pointing to white students recently, FF Plus Northwest provincial leader, Pieter Groenewald said.

"This slogan has already been declared hate speech by the HRC and these actions are therefore a transgression," he said.

Source: IoL

Fugitive billionaire Radovan Krejcir launches counterattack from the Seychelles

The case of the fugitive Czech billionaire Radovan Krejcir has taken a new twist. From his hideout in the Seychelles the man whom the police claim was the ringleader of a dangerous gang has taken a swipe at the ruling Social Democrats, claiming that he loaned the party 60 million crowns back in 2002 in return for special favours.

Conspiracy to murder, money forgery, tax evasion, extortion, abduction - those are just some of the crimes that Radovan Krejcir is wanted for in the Czech Republic. In recent days the Czech police arrested five people who are believed to be his closest accomplices in a dangerous crime-ring which Krejcir allegedly headed or still heads. The head of a special police squad for fighting corruption and economic crime Jiri Novak said the police had plenty of evidence to nail all members of the gang. "We believe that we got all the big fish here. My team has been working on this case since last November - and the information and documents we have collected look pretty convincing. They convinced us and we hope they'll convince the state attorney."

Safe from his hideout in the Seychelles with his family around him and a Seychelles passport in his pocket, Radovan Krejcir dropped his bombshell-accusing the ruling Social Democratic Party of having accepted a 60 million crown bribe from him back in 2002 - officially a loan, but one that was never meant to be repaid in return for special favours. Speaking to reporters, Krejcir said he intended to write a book that would give the Czech Republic its own Watergate scandal and he hinted that the Czech authorities knew all along that he would never be extradited from the Seychelles. "I am certain that the present political leadership and the police knew I was beyond their reach the minute they heard I was in the Seychelles. All their media statements about trying to get me extradited were just a smoke screen for the public. I consider myself innocent."

Here in Prague Krejcir's accusations elicited an angry response from finance minister Bohuslav Sobotka who said the fugitive billionaire was telling absurd lies in order to get his revenge on the ruling Social Democrats for breaking up his crime ring and continuing in their efforts to see him brought to justice here in the Czech Republic.

If Radovan Krejcir really wanted to get revenge he timed his story well. It hit the headlines less than 48 hours after a Transparency International report suggested that the Czech Republic was the third most corrupt state in the EU. It is not clear how the opposition will treat the accusations but, even if they don't add fuel to the fire, the fact that the claims have been splashed across today's front pages will not help the Social Democrat's image ahead of next years general elections.

Source: Radio Prague