Paul Kagame

The small central African nation of Rwanda held a presidential election in mid-August 2010 that was considered transparent and efficiently run. Incumbent president Paul Kagame was re-elected with 93 percent of the vote. His victory was considered well-deserved by many outside observers because of his fine work in economic development. The country is stable and secure. Kigali, the capital, is clean and full of brand new buildings. Growth rates are between 6 and 10 percent.

And yet, Rwanda appears to be a troubled place. During the election some potential opposition candidates were not allowed to run. Indeed, somewere accused of being “genocide deniers” and placed under house arrest. One critical newspaper editor was mysteriously killed in an automobile “accident” with his head almost severed. An opposition politician was shot dead in front of his house.

In addition to the election restrictions and political assassinations, there appears to be a major quarrel underway within the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front party. Several of Kagame’s top associates, who started the overthrow of the former genocidal regime of President Juvénal Habyarimana with him in 1990, have gone into exile. Those who defected have been targets of assassination attempts in other countries like South Africa and Kenya — they have accused Kagame of hiring the hit men. Kagame has denied the accusations. The former “band of brothers” is disintegrating.

Journal of International Peace Operations
Volume 6, Number 1 – July/August 2010

Government of South Sudan President, Salva Kiir Mayardit.

THE year 2011 will undoubtedly be momentous for the Sudan, Africa’s largest country by area. It will be the sixth and final year of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2006 (CPA) signed by the central Government of Sudan and the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM). The latter is the political movement that engaged in a 30-year insurgency against the central government through its Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA). The SPLM/SPLA represents the 8 million Africans living in the southern third of Sudan. Their insurgency was motivated by central government repression, violence and the imposition on the mostly Christian southerners of Islamic practices in education, language and law.

The CPA, which was brokered largely by the Bush Administration, is a complex document, but the main points are as follows:

Journal of International Peace Operations
Volume 5, Number 5, March-April, 2010

The attempted bombing of a Delta/Northwest flight over Detroit on Christmas Day 2009 throws an unfortunate spotlight on sub-Saharan Africa.

A few years ago, the president of the Republic of Mali spoke at the National Defense University. During the question period, President Amadou Toumani Touré was asked if the 500 million Muslims in the African countries south of the Sahara constituted a potential terrorist problem for the United States.

ATT, as the Malian president is called, was not offended by the question. As a devout Muslim himself, the president understood what was behind the question. His reply was interesting:

“In Black Africa, Islam is ‘tropicalized’. We are very tolerant of other religions. In West Africa, Muslims celebrate Christmas. We have a lot of mixed families. When ‘missionaries’ come visiting from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia with their Salafist teachings, we tell them they are wasting their time. African Muslims are devout in their religion, but they are not interested in mixing religion with politics.”

Journal of International Peace Operations
Volume 5, Number 4, January – February 2010

ON September 28, 2009, a major tragedy occurred in Conakry, capital of the West African Republic of Guinea. Armed military gunned down and perpetrated atrocities against unarmed civilians who had gathered for a peaceful political demonstration. Sadly, for those of us who have followed Guinea over the years, this terrible event did not come as a surprise.

Guinea has not been a happy place since it obtained independence from France in 1958. Among France’s 13 colonies in sub-Saharan Africa, only Guinea failed to experience a smooth transition to independence. Indeed, Guinea and France had a nasty divorce, with Paris pulling out all of its support personnel and as much of the infrastructure as it could carry.

In addition to the void left by France, Guinea’s first civilian government was a ruthless Marxist regime under President Sékou Touré. Opposition and intellectuals with any promise of leadership were assassinated, imprisoned or chased into exile. Economic policy prohibited even “mom and pop” type private businesses. The population sank into abysmal poverty.