Egypt crisis: President Hosni Mubarak resigns as leader

Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down as president of Egypt.

Vice-President Omar Suleiman made the announcement in a brief statement on state TV.
It came as thousands massed in Cairo and other Egyptian cities for an 18th day of protest to demand Mr Mubarak's resignation.
Protesters responded by cheering, waving flags, embracing and sounding car horns. "The people have brought down the regime," they chanted.
Mr Suleiman said Mr Mubarak had handed power to the high command of the armed forces.
"In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country," he said.
"May God help everybody.

EU freezes assets of Tunisia's ousted President Ben Ali

 

The European Union has frozen the assets of ousted Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his wife.

The sanctions were approved by EU foreign ministers, after a request from Tunisia's new interim government.
Mr Ben Ali fled Tunisia earlier this month after a series of protests against poverty and corruption, ending his 23 years in power.
He and his family are accused of having enriched themselves over many years at the country's expense.
Tunisia generally enjoyed steady economic growth under Mr Ben Ali, but many - including the young men who launched the protests in December - remained poor.
The president's family and his associates are believed to have controlled a large portion of the country's economy.
A number of associates of the deposed president may face similar sanctions, EU officials said.
The EU is looking at resuming talks, begun with Tunisia while Mr Ben Ali was in power, on improving trade terms with the country.

President Obama Expresses concern on the Crisis in Egypt

The SDF wants Supreme Court to Declare ELECAM Unfit To Organise Transparent Elections

The opposition SDF party has urged the Supreme Court, sitting in for the Constitutional Council, to declare that Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, is unfit to organise free, fair and transparent elections in Cameroon.
The SDF request was made by the SDF lawyers to the Supreme Court on the January 13. The SDF claims that since ELECAM is relying on electoral registers established by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, MINATD, it has proven that it is not competent to organise free and fair elections. According to the SDF, ELECAM can only gain some credibility if it establishes its own electoral registers, instead of simply revising what MINATD left. It is well known that the MINATD electoral register is full of irregularities ranging from selective registration to multiple registration.
The SDF petition is hinged on section 41 of law No. 2006/011 of December 29, 2006, setting up and laying down the organisation and functioning of ELECAM. Section 42 reads: "Where Election is duly established as incompetent by the Constitutional Council, the President of the Republic shall, under article 5 of the constitution, take the requisite corrective measures." The SDF therefore claims that by failing to established its own voters' registers, ELECAM has demonstrated its limitations and cannot organise free and fair elections.
The petition, signed by the SDF Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi, insists that the right of Cameroonians to have free and fair elections can be guaranteed if and only if ELECAM establishes its own electoral lists and ensures that voter registration is hitch-free. The opposition party takes great exception to the electoral registers drawn up by MINADT, saying t and non-selective. The whole exercise is mired in fraud. Such registers, the SDF maintains, still carry names of dead people.
In the motion, the SDF argues that ELECAM has the competence to establish new voters' registers as provided for by Section 22 of the law creating it. Citing that section of the law, SDF lawyers said: "the Director General of Elections at ELECAM is responsible for all election operations and referenda under the supervision and control of the Electoral Board."
Thus, the responsibilities of the Director General of Elections, Mohaman Sani Tanimou, include: the drawing up, managing, updating and keeping national voters' register as well as election documents. He also procures and distributes election materials and documents; draws up and publishes voters' cards. It is also the responsibility of the Director General of Elections to organise and supervise the training of electoral personnel as well as prepare the annual draft budget of Elections Cameroon and draft elections budgets and implement the budget of ELECAM.
The SDF wants ELECAM to establish new voter registers and voters' cards within the context of a biometric system of elections. The party equally proposes that political parties be involved at all levels of the electoral process. They are calling for the institution of a two-round presidential election and a stop to civil servants and administrative officials carrying out electoral campaigns.

Ben Ali: Tunisia Issues an International Arrest Warrant for the Self-Exiled Ex-President

Tunisia has issued an international arrest warrant for ousted President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family, the nation's justice minister has said.

Lazhar Karoui Chebbi said Tunisia had asked Interpol to detain Mr Ben Ali, who fled to Saudi Arabia earlier this month amid mass street protests.
Mr Chebbi said Mr Ben Ali should be tried for property theft and transferring foreign currency.
He was speaking as anti-government protests continued in the country.

Wikileaks: France To Intervene In Cameroon And Gabon In Case Of Internal Unrest

                               Original Article by: Aloysius Agendia
In another secret diplomatic cable of US Embassy in Paris, France, dated September 9, 2008, and released on January 9, 2011, by Wikileaks, it has been revealed that France has the obligation to intervene militarily to defend the neo-colonial Government and secure its interests under the France-Afrique secret deals signed with Cameroon in 1960 and later modified in 1974 and that which was signed with the Gabonese Government in 1960.
The cable titled "France's Changing Policy in Africa part III", states, "Equally troublesome and outdated are certain "secret" portions of some of the Agreements. According to Marechaux, the Defense Agreements with Cameroon and Gabon, for example, contain "absurd" provisions obligating France, upon request, to provide internal security in case of domestic unrest in those countries."
Though the document further notes that President Nicholas Sarkhozy of France had promised to put an "end" to the funny neo-colonial France-Afrique exploitative agreement and bring up new ones based on equality and partnership, the truth remains that the Sarkhozy rhetoric is far from the reality on ground.
Proof of this is that as tension mounted in Gabon following the alleged rigging of elections to impose Ali Ben Bongo on Gabonese, the French secretly flew in 300 special paratroopers to quell down any opposition and protect French interest.  The BBC was the lone western media organ which wrote about this. The Wikileaks cable also reveals that, according to the France-Afrique documents, "some of the Agreements contain "secret" clauses giving France monopoly rights to exploit natural resources in the countries concerned." It also admits that some countries like Ivory Coast had increasingly become hostile over such colonial agreements.
This is certainly true reason and why the French have become very hostile toward any regime that fails to respect the agreements. Their hostility towards Ivory Coast and Rwanda are examples though not mentioned in secret diplomatic notes. Paradoxically, Ali Bongo is quoted though not in the cable, as saying the law suits filed against him and some president in Paris is because some French politicians do not want to admit that some African leaders want to totally break with the colonial past.
It should be noted that another cable published on December 31, 2010, revealed how the colonial administration in the Central African sub region CEMAC, in collaboration with the regional Bank BEAC and in connivance with their political master in France embezzled several billions of African tax payers' money to fund French politics and French politicians. Sarkhozy himself who pioneered the rhetoric against the neo-colonial France-Afrique agreements was a beneficiary of the stolen funds.
In 2004, French soldiers shot and killed over 100 unarmed Ivoirian civilians who were protesting against too much French meddling into their affairs and the French attempt to "kidnap" their president, Laurent Gbagbo. The French who initially denied the report, later admitted to killing "only 20" people. Since then, those who claim to speak for the international community have never uttered a word against France nor have those who order the killings been brought to justice.
The French equally blamed the Government of Ivory Coast for the mysterious bombing of French base in Bouake during which nine French soldiers were killed. It has never been established if the military of Ivory Coast was really the one behind the bombing. It is widely beliefed that it was a smokescreen by the French military to destroy the air force of Ivory Coast which was launching an assault against the French backed northern rebels in bid to reunite the country.
Given the increasing hostility of Africans against too much French interest and interference in the continent, reliable sources say France has opted for a diplomatic offensive and serious lobbying both in the African and in the western world to strangle regimes which are hostile to its influence. The same source equally says French intelligence help regimes favourable to interest by sharing strategies on how to bring down any internal opposition. The current situation in Ivory Coast is therefore a test of French influence on Africa.

Tunisia's interim government holds first meeting

Troops fired warning shots as protesters marched in central Tunis

Tunisia's new interim government is holding its first cabinet meeting, nearly a week after the fall of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

The meeting had been postponed amid opposition calls not to give key posts to members of Mr Ben Ali's RCD party.
Earlier, the RCD dissolved its central committee after its members on the interim cabinet quit the party.
On Thursday, troops fired warning shots at crowds who had massed near RCD headquarters in the capital, Tunis.
Reports said some protesters had tried to scale a wall at the building.
Spreading protests
Judges also staged a demonstration in Tunis demanding the resignation of all judges who worked for the ousted president.
There were also reports of protests on Thursday in the towns of Gafsa and Kef - the first demonstrations outside Tunis since Mr Ben Ali and his family fled to Saudi Arabia last week.
He left with his family last Friday after mass protests over unemployment, poverty and corruption.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Together we can write a new page in the history of our country”

End Quote Fouad Mebazaa Tunisian interim leader

Despite his departure, protests have continued, with demonstrators and opposition leaders demanding that all members of the RCD party be excluded from any future administration.

Earlier, it was announced that more than 30 members of the former president's family had been arrested.
It was not clear which members of Mr Ben Ali's family had been held. However, state television showed what it said was gold and jewellery seized during raids on their properties.
The official statement said those being held were suspected of crimes against Tunisia.
Exclusion demands
Political wrangling had delayed the inaugural meeting of the interim cabinet. Hours before it was due to start, a minister who had belonged to the RCD announced he was pulling out of the government.
"I am stepping down for the higher interests of the country in this delicate situation to try to bring the country out of crisis and ensure a democratic transition," the official Tap news agency quoted Zouheir M'Dhaffar, minister of state in the prime minister's office, as saying.
Four opposition ministers quit the cabinet the day after it was formed, demanding the exclusion of RCD ministers.
Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi and interim President Fouad Mebazaa - former speaker of the lower house of parliament - have also quit the RCD to try to distance themselves from Mr Ben Ali.
Swiss officials estimate Tunisian government officials have put about $620m (£387m) into Swiss banks, the Associated Press news agency reports.
On Wednesday, Switzerland said it had frozen any assets of Mr Ben Ali and "his entourage" held in the country.
Schools closed
In a televised address on Wednesday, Mr Mebazaa promised to deliver a complete break from the past.

The interim government must arrange a date for future elections

He hailed "a revolution of dignity and liberty", saying that the government's top priority would be an amnesty for political prisoners. He also promised media freedom and an independent judiciary.
"Together we can write a new page in the history of our country," he said.
Although the situation across Tunisia remains tense, authorities have shortened the hours of curfew.
A state of emergency is still in place and the army is still deployed in the capital Tunis. Schools and universities remain closed.
The interim government has pledged free and fair elections within six months but has given no dates.
Under the Tunisian constitution, a new presidential election should be held within two months of Mr Ben Ali's departure.
The US has urged Tunisia to move to a true democracy, and promised assistance.
State department spokesman PJ Crowley tweeted: "The people of Tunisia have spoken. The interim government must create a genuine transition to democracy. The United States will help."