Ghana a lesson in African democracy
The inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama on Monday January 7th 2013 followed a peaceful presidential election held in early December. Mahama, who was the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), narrowly defeated his main rival Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party, in a December 7vote, pledged to focus on development and unity of Ghanaians. The West African state is often seen as a model democracy in the coup-prone region.
The inauguration of the President-elect was attended by among others, former President John Kufuor , whose party the New Patriotic Party (NPP) narrowly lost in the elections and has since filed a writ at the Supreme Court challenging the results.
Mali crisis escalates
Islamist fighters in Mali have seized a town in government-controlled territory amid a military intervention by France targeting to push the al-Qaeda linked groups out of the centre of the country. The town Diabaly, 250 miles from the capital, Bamako, was taken by the rebels in a counter-attack on Monday.
US military planners are now preparing to support a multi-national African force to intervene in northern Mali in an attempt to roll back al-Qaeda in the region. Pentagon officials are working with African nations ahead of possible international military action against al-Qaeda-linked groups in northern Mali. The Obama administration, has however maintained that US involvement will be limited to helping with military planning, working alongside partners in ECOWAS, the 15-member Economic Community of West African States, and the African Union.
The rebels’ preferences to violent strategies threaten not only the rule of law in Mali but also regional peace and security. This has prompted international concern over Mali’s north which was taken by rebel fighters following a coup in Mali last year. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA), a Tuareg rebel grouping pushing for control and independence of the North, a region it calls Azawad and Islamist Ansar Dine suspected to have close ties to al-Qaeda's North Africa branch are the two major rebel groups involved in the takeover of the north of Mali.
Central African Republic (CAR) ceasefire signed
Rebels fighting the government in the Central African Republic signed a formal ceasefire on 11th January 2013 following three days of fruitful talks in Gabon's capital Libreville mediated by neighbouring countries.
The rebels had seized at least two more cities in the week preceding the negotiations. The insurgents calling themselves "Seleka," which means "alliance" in the Sangho lingua franca had demanded that the administration in Bangui, led by President Francois Bozize, abide by the rules of previous peace agreements. Those accords, formalized between 2007 and 2011, aimed to absorb the insurgents into the national army and pay them accordingly, but rebels claim the administration has not held up its end of the bargain. Seleka had also demanded that the President resigns for failing to spur development in the country, which is poverty-stricken despite CAR’s wealth of natural resources, including diamonds, gold, oil, timber, and uranium.
Under the agreement, a Prime Minister from the opposition bloc shall be appointed to form a Government of National Unity ahead of legislative elections that would be held in 12 months. The government of national unity will be headed by the Prime Minister, who will also be head of government in charge of reforms including especially in the economic and social sectors. The government will also be tasked with re-organising the security forces and reforming the judicial system.
DR CONGO’s M23 rebels declare ceasefire
THE M23 rebels have declared unilateral ceasefire ahead of the second round of negotiations with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government in Kampala, Uganda. This raises hope that the eastern DRC conflict may come to a peaceful resolution that has been backed by leaders of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region.
M23's Executive Secretary and chief rebel negotiator Francois Rucogoza, on 8th January 2013, told reporters in the Ugandan capital Kampala that they would go on with the peace talks with or without the DRC signing a ceasefire. Clusters that compose the agenda for the dialogue include review of the March 23, 2009 agreement (that ended an earlier rebellion), security issues, social, economic and political matters as well as the mechanism for implementation of various resolutions.
Nigeria captures top Boko Haram figure
Nigeria's military has captured a leader of Boko Haram, the Islamic militant group blamed for the killings of hundreds of civilians in the West African country. The militant, Mohammed Zangina, was captured on January 13th 2013 and is being held for questioning. This comes only a few days after former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo on January 8, 2013 issued fresh appeals to the government of Nigeria to adopt a dual-track approach rather than just cracking down on the group. In an interview with CNN, Obasanjo suggested the current government should adopt a carrot and stick approach by reaching out to the militant Islamist group Boko Haram to find out what leads it to carry out acts of violence without compromising the security of the nation.
The militant group, whose name means "Western education is forbidden," is fighting to impose a strict version of Sharia law in the northern part of the country. International rights group Human Rights Watch says Boko Haram has killed more than 2,800 people. In a report published late last year, Amnesty International condemned the increasingly brutal attacks carried out by Boko Haram since 2009.
Nigeria has almost equal numbers of Christian and Muslims, with the south predominantly Christian. Boko Haram and other Muslim groups say the north has been starved of resources and marginalized by the government of Jonathan, a Christian.