Pentagon Protester of the Week Update

NOTE:  For those who don't know,  every Monday morning the Pentagon allows only the biggest idiots best and brightest dissenters to post up on the grassy area by the Metro entrance escalators and display their signs. 

Nothing to report.  Unfortunately, the protesters still are refusing to bring some 'brand new flava'...and the dude with the mickey mouse ears...still (extra) creepy and weird.

Defunding USAID Article in Foreign Policy

I can't believe this...

http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/20/165_house_republicans_endorse_defunding_usaid

This article was brought to my attention by Abu Muqawama's excellent blog:
http://www.cnas.org/blogs/abumuqawama/2011/01/what-some-conservatives-dont-yet-get.html

A Great Resource for Insight by ACSS

Please click on the title to check out the link.

The Africa Center for Strategic Studies puts out some great studies and there is some useful information on their website.  Of note I would like to highlight the a superb article by August Vogel which examines whether Africa needs developed Navies or Coast Guards...personally, I am hard-pressed to find a valid arguement for the overwhelming majority of african nations to have navies at this point in time.  However, the development of robust national and regional coast guards would precisely answer the current maritime security shortcomings.

http://africacenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/AfricaBrief_2.pdf

FAO Book List updated!

I am still working on the aesthetics and links but I added a ton of new africa books!

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/p/foreign-area-officer-fao-book-list.html

New List: FAO Places: World Bank Bookstore!

I happened upon this incredible resource quite by accident yesterday as I was coming back from a meeting downtown.

WOW.

Hundreds, I say again, hundreds of books about Africa!  Fiction, history, and analysis.  As I am sure most  africa afficionados know, finding books on Africa in most bookstores is a monumental task.  And more often than not, there only ends up being a smattering of useful books.

You do not have to worry about that here.

If you are a FAO of any type and you are in DC for any period of time, a half an hour of your time will be well spent there.  (their selection is even more robust for other regions).

The InfoShop is located at 701 18th Street N.W., Washington, D.C.  The entrance is at the corner of 18th St. and Pennsylvania Ave.  Farragut North and Farragut West are the closest Metro stations.  We are open to the public from 9am - 5pm, Monday - Friday.

When Achebe writes, I read. So should you! (from the NY Times)

Nigeria’s Promise, Africa’s Hope

By CHINUA ACHEBE

AFRICA has endured a tortured history of political instability and religious, racial and ethnic strife. In order to understand this bewildering, beautiful continent — and to grasp the complexity that is my home country, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation — I think it is absolutely important that we examine the story of African people.....

Zanzibar Chest Chronicles Continue

My complete notes are here.

p.131

Denard was particularly fond of the scent of ‘ylang-ylang’ which was a plant used to make perfume.

Hartley recounts climbing a volcano in Comoros and looking down on the island: “the beauty made me catch my breath.”

p.132

Rwanda account.  ‘Kidogo’ means child soldier.  After arriving at the front line in Rwanda in Oct 1990 Hartley comments “This has to be the biggest story in the world.”

p.133

“No story is worth dying for.”  Jonathan Clayton to Aiden in Ethiopia, March 1991. 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3765582.ece

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article752604.ece

Jonathan is Hartley’s first mentor in the journalism trade and from the links above, he is still at it. 

p.134

In speaking about the rebellion to overthrow the tyrant Mengistu Haile Mariam, he said they were inspired by (among other people) Orde Wingate, a British guerilla warfare expert who led the WWII invasion against the fascists in Abyssinia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orde_Wingate

Some interesting sounding books on the Wingate mentioned above. 

http://www.amazon.com/ORDE-WINGATE-Man-Genius-1903-1944/dp/184832572X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294802926&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Night-Wingate-Burma-Ethiopia/dp/0375500618/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294802948&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Warfare-Irregular-Twentieth-Stackpole/dp/0811734978/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294802981&sr=1-4

p.135

Issayas Afeworki and Meles Zenawi come out on top amongst the rebels in Ethiopia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaias_Afewerki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meles_Zenawi

“wat”  is a hot chile sauce eaten with pancakes of sour “injera” bread.  Injera is made out of the local “teff” grain.

p.137

Gibbon writes in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that Ethiopians had “slept a thousand years, forgetful of the world by whom they were forgotten.”

http://www.amazon.com/History-Rasselas-Prince-Abissinia-Classics/dp/019922997X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294803497&sr=8-1

FAOA Luncheon 10 FEB 2011 Information

Upcoming event information:

FAOA Luncheon: Dr. Soner Cagaptay, Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Director, Turkish Research Program Ft McNair Officer's Club

Date: 10 February 2011, Thursday 11:30 AM

Dr. Soner Cagaptay received a Ph.D. in history from Yale University in 2003. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on Turkish nationalism. Besides English and Turkish, his research languages include French, German, Spanish, Bosnian, Hebrew, Azerbaijani, and Ottoman Turkish. Among his honors are the Smith-Richardson, Mellon, Rice, and Leylan fellowships, as well as the Ertegun chair at Princeton.  He has been the instructor for courses on the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Eastern Europe at Princeton and Yale. His spring 2003 course on modern Turkish history was the first offered by Yale in three decades. From 2006 to 2007, he was Ertegun Professor at the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University. At present he is a visiting professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is the author of many op-ed pieces and regular columnist. He also currently serves as chair of the Turkey Advanced Area Studies Program at the State Department's Foreign Service Institute. He is the author of

Soner Cagaptay's biography at The Washington Institute

Soner Cagaptay's blog

Soner Cagaptay on Twitter

The Venue (click on link for more info):

Ft McNair Officer's Club

More information and online registration at the FAOA website, www.faoa.org : FAOA Luncheon: Dr. Soner Cagaptay, Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Director, Turkish Research Program  

2 Good articles: One of elections on the continent and one on corruption there.

At the start of one of Africa’s busiest political seasons – more than 17 elections are due this year – the deepening crisis in Côte d’Ivoire sends a brutal reminder of the limits of electoral politics...
http://allafrica.com/stories/201101120225.html


Corruption in Africa: Where Does the Buck Stop?

Corruption is an endemic cancer that has devastated African societies and impoverished millions. According to the Africa Union (AU) around $148 billion are stolen from the continent by its leaders and civil servants every year. The 2006 Forbes' list of most corrupt nations had 9 out of the first 16 countries coming from Africa.
http://www.modernghana.com/news/311705/1/corruption-in-africa-where-does-the-buck-stop.html

Foreign Area Officers: How We're Trained and What We Do: Matthew Brown | Army Strong Stories

Great article! I can't say how much I appreciated! it (even though it's targeted toward Army FAOs). Well worth the ten minutes it takes to read.

Foreign Area Officers: How We're Trained and What We Do: Matthew Brown Army Strong Stories

The Zanzibar Chest Chronicles Continues

p.131

Denard was particularly fond of the scent of ‘ylang-ylang’ which was a plant used to make perfume.

Hartley recounts climbing a volcano in Comoros and looking down on the island: “the beauty made me catch my breath.”

p.132

Rwanda account.  ‘Kidogo’ means child soldier.  After arriving at the front line in Rwanda in Oct 1990 Hartley comments “This has to be the biggest story in the world.”

p.133

“No story is worth dying for.”  Jonathan Clayton to Aiden in Ethiopia, March 1991. 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article3765582.ece

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article752604.ece

Jonathan is Hartley’s first mentor in the journalism trade and from the links above, he is still at it. 

p.134

In speaking about the rebellion to overthrow the tyrant Mengistu Haile Mariam, he said they were inspired by (among other people) Orde Wingate, a British guerilla warfare expert who led the WWII invasion against the fascists in Abyssinia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengistu_Haile_Mariam

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orde_Wingate

Some interesting sounding books on the Wingate mentioned above. 

http://www.amazon.com/ORDE-WINGATE-Man-Genius-1903-1944/dp/184832572X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294802926&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Fire-Night-Wingate-Burma-Ethiopia/dp/0375500618/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294802948&sr=1-2

http://www.amazon.com/Guerrilla-Warfare-Irregular-Twentieth-Stackpole/dp/0811734978/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294802981&sr=1-4

p.135

Issayas Afeworki and Meles Zenawi come out on top amongst the rebels in Ethiopia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaias_Afewerki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meles_Zenawi

“wat”  is a hot chile sauce eaten with pancakes of sour “injera” bread.  Injera is made out of the local “teff” grain.

p.137

Gibbon writes in The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that Ethiopians had “slept a thousand years, forgetful of the world by whom they were forgotten.”

Zanzibar Chest Chronicles continues (endorsement)

Strong endorsement for The Zanzibar Chest.

Zanzibar Chest is a magnificent book. I met Hartley briefly when we were both reporters in Mogadishu. I was immediately struck by his force of personality and inner turmoil (I asked where he was from and he told me he was a white African). ...I grabbed his book as soon as it was published.

- Vince Crawley, U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs

The Zanzibar Chest Chronicles Continue

Again, my comments are in bold.

p.116

-Victorian England in the 19^th century was preoccupied with news of the abolition of the Arab slave trade.   They also followed closely David Livingstone’s Lake Tanganyika meeting with H.M. Stanley after Livingstone had gone missing.

These are two stories that I’d like to read more about.  As Americans we know a lot (relatively speaking) about the slave trade to the US and Britain.  However, I am woefully ignorant on the history of the Arab Slave Trade.  The second story regarding this meeting and Livingstone’s adventures sound intriguing. 

p.123 “Africa is the place of our lost hopes and our broken dreams.  But I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”  -Julian Ozanne of the Financial Times

Julian was one of the author’s main buddies.   Some quick googling research turned up that he married Gillian Anderson (Scully of X-files) in 2004.  And that he made a film about Brett Easton Ellis (one of my favorite authors)

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/how-we-met-bret-easton-ellis--julian-ozanne-1079089.html

http://people.famouswhy.com/julian_ozanne/

p.124  “In 1989 people began to talk of Africa’s “second winds of change”—the first having been the independence from colonialism some three decades before.”

This timeline undercores the fact as to just how young most African nations are!  Their development and growth is not something that can occur overnight…how was the United States doing in 1825? !

p.124-6  Good background information on Kenyan leader, President Daniel arap Moi.  “Fear and hopelessness lay like a blanket of poisonous smog on Nairobi.”  Compared to Nicolae Ceaus,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolae_Ceauşescu

Hartley captures how this dictator literally overwhelmed and engulfed every part of life there in Nairobi. 

p.127  Mentions Alice Lakwena’s Holy Spirit Movement in Uganda and how the state of things continued to deteriorate with Liberian president Samuel Doe being captured by rebel Prince Johnson who tortured and executed him on film. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Auma

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord%27s_Resistance_Army
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Forces_for_the_Liberation_of_Rwanda

The Holy Spirit Movement is not to be confused with the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) of Uganda led by madman and murderer Joseph Kony which is not to be confused with the evil FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda).  I confused them in a blog posting back in August on the mass rapes in the DRC:

http://fuuo.blogspot.com/2010/08/secretary-clinton-speaks-out-on-mass.html

If you want to see something disturbing check out the only known video interview that’s been done with Herr Kony: http://www.rocketboom.com/rb_06_aug_16/

“More often than not, Africans chose war rather than the ballot box to sweep away the old dictatorships.” 

I would add that often enough, the United States or USSR funded that war.  Case in point in the quote below.

“Ten thousand dollars and a satellite phone.” Marxist Congolese rebel leader Laurent-Desire Kabila response when asked what’s need to start a guerilla war. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurent-Désiré_Kabila

This is a very revealing portion of the novel as the murky grey area between politics and criminal behavior is discussed. 

“With that box of matches, with our necklace, we shall liberate this country.” –Winne Mandela

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie_Madikizela-Mandela

“Necklacing” was when the ANC rebels would soak a tire in gasoline, sling it around an enemies neck and light it on fire….wow, I was not aware of this.  Again, the whole history there is an area that I am woefully ignorant.  But it sure doesn’t sound they were messing around.

p.128  “The appetite grows as you eat”  -Milla, Cameroon Striker after they beat Columbia in the World Cup quarter finals. 

Hartley writes about after this happened at the start of the 90’s there was a feeling of hope in Africa.  This was of course in direct conjunction with the end of the Cold War and the ‘superpower’s proxy wars” in Africa. 

p.129

South Africa’s BOSS was their equivalent of our CIA. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Bureau_of_State_Security

Zanzibar Chest Chronicles Continue

p.115

-“Ex Africa Semper Aliquid Novi:  Out of Africa always comes something new” –Pliny the Elder

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pliny_the_Elder

A great quote which summarizes why I am so excited to be an Africa FAO.  More than any other AOR, the untapped resources (and by this I mean namely the people) are limitless.   If the infrastructure is able  to be developed cohesively and responsibly, their power on the ‘world stage’ very well might eclipse that of nearby Middle East and East Asian powers later in the 21^st century. 

            Not get off on too big of a tangent but I strongly believe that the FAO community (especially the young Navy FAO community) must write, must publish, must SHARE.  And I don’t mean only about their experiences overseas (but definitely those) but also their experiences in learning (from an academic and intellectual point of view) about their AOR. 

Writing about the experiences overseas though would be hugely useful.  For instance, it’s hard to find good information about the nuts and bolts of moving overseas.  How did shipping your car work?  How about finding a place to live?  What’s your place look like?  How was the hiring process for maids, nannies, guards and guardeners?  How about grocery shopping?  Ideally, there would be a huge repository of information for the different countries where FAOs have been stationed. 

If I was headed to Ghana for instance, I could tap into the files and papers for the past FAOs (and their spouses!) that have been stationed there.  How much richer could your awareness be if you had that exposure prior to arriving in country.  It would be great to click on Ghana and see an evolving list (with email/phone numbers) of past personnel assigned to that country (or at least those that consented for their information to be made available) that went back 40 or 50 years.  This would be especially useful in Africa where the majority of information is unclassified.  

Poet of the Week from Malawi: Frank Chipasula

Poet of the Week from Malawi: Frank Chipasula


I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming Sudan secession vote (I guess it's probably going on right now actually) which I realize is weird but when I read this poem I immediately associated it with the situation in Sudan (and the hopes certain groups have) but also the myriad issues stemming from haphazardly drawn borders.  But that's a whole other ball of wax...and admittedly one which I haven't studied enough to make more than one-off smart aleck remarks...so without further ado.  

 A Love Poem for My Country 

I have nothing to give you, but my anger
And the filaments of my hatred reach across the border
You, you have sold many and me to exile.
Now shorn of precious minds, you rely on
What hands can grow to build your crumbling image.

Your streets are littered with handcuffed men
And the drums are thuds of the wardens' spiked boots.
You wriggle with agony as the terrible twins, law and order,
Call out the tune through the thick tunnel of barbed wire.

Here, week after week, the walls dissolve and are slim
The mist is clearing and we see you naked like
A body that is straining to find itself, but cannot
And our hearts thumping with pulses of desire or fear
And our dreams are charred chapters of your history.

My country, remember I neither blinked nor went to sleep
My country, I never let your life slide downhill
And passively watched  you, like a recklessly driven car,
Hurrying to your crash while the driver leapt out.

They days have lost their song and salt
We feel bored without our free laughter and voice
Every day thinking the same and discarding our hopes.
Your days are loud with clanking cuffs
On men's arms as they are led away to decay.

I know a day will come and wash away my pain
And I will emerge from the night breaking into song
Like the sun, blowing out these evil stars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Chipasula

Some of my favorite poetry books:

Zanzibar Chronicles Continue

A great book is one which refuses to leave you alone.  Instead it urges you to explore further, pushing you onto other journeys, delving into wandering paths, down rivers, across continents and into other books, authors and articles  .  The Zanzibar Chest is a great book.  Below are some of the books mentioned in TZB.

Kim by Kipling

The Story of the Gadsbys by Kipling   

First Footsteps in East Africa by Sir Richard Burton

In Darkest Africa by Stanley

Through Masai Land by Joseph Thompson

A Hunter’s Wanderings in Africa by Frederick Courteney Selous

The Land of Zinj by Captain Stigand

In the Heart of Africa by Duke Adolphus Frederick of Mecklenburg

A Naturalist in Lake Victoria by G.D. Hale Carpenter

Man-Eaters of Tsavo by J.H. Patterson

The Uganda Protectorate by Sir Harry Johnston

JOURNALIST PLUS PLUS CHAPTER

This chapter covers  Hartley’s time in Dar es Salaam or “haven of peace.”  

Buchi is Buchizya Mseteka, a stringer for Reuters.   Incidentally, in June 2002 Mseteka was suspended by Reuters following revelations that he had been receiving payments from Zambian intelligence services.

http://cpj.org/2003/03/attacks-on-the-press-2002-zambia.php

http://www.leribarisk.com/keyplayer%20buchizya%20mseteka.htm

http://www.afdb.org/en/aec/participants/mseteka-buchizya/#

Buchi befriends Hartley and ensures his survival during his initial foray into journalism on Dar es Salaam when he invites Hartley to live with him.    They loved to drink Tusker. 

p. 85-6

-Tusker is the oldest beer brewed in East Africa.  It’s named after the elephant that in 1912 killed one of the company’s founders. 

-Buchi warbling in his melodic Bantu voice the tune that was on every pair of lips at the time in Africa about how “we will sing our own song.”   

Hartley had the unique fortune to be living and reporting in Africa as the various countries gained their independence.  Despite all of the nations gaining their independence from their colonial masters, the Cold War Era effectively muzzled the vast majorities of countries seeking to ‘sing their own song.’  The stifling after-effects linger on today as many African nations’ struggle to free themselves from aid-dependent economies, corrupt governments and mal-intentioned foreign intervention and  ‘investment’.    

The Zanzibar Chronicles continues

My consolidated notes are here.

Continuing series on my journey through The Zanzibar Chest by Aidan Hartley.  For the sake of clarity my comments are those in bold.

From time to time, God causes men to be born—and thou art one of them—who have a lust to go abroad at the risk of their lives and discover news—today it may be of far-off things, tomorrow of some hidden mountain, and the next day of some nearby men who have done a foolishness against the state.  These souls are very few; and of these few, not more than ten are of the best. 

-Kim,

I love Hartley’s opening quote.  If there were ever an engraving to be mounted on the wall of my hypothetical office it would be this .  Part of the path to achievement is often began just by the act of writing your goal down:  to be one of the ‘ten best’ FAOs, foreign policy experts, africanists. 

BEYOND THE RIVERS OF ETHIOPIA

p. 1

My father was the closest thing I knew to the immortal.

This book is largely a story about father s and the sons who remain eternally fascinated with them.  My father was a Marine Corps FAO when I was young and I can remember soaking in every detail and word he spoke about his trips (or that I overheard him telling my mother) with an idol-like attentiveness. 

p.9

Isaiah 18:  “Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia…Go ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down.”

In the book, Aiden likens himself and other intrepid journalists to these swift messengers, but I think in many ways FAOs (especially those in Africa) could do the same—being swift messengers in diplomacy in down-trodden, oft-forgotten nations.

TAKE ME HOME TO MAMA

p. 58

Emperor Haile Selassie- medieval dictator toppled soon after BBC pictures and film shown.  They came because of a message sent by Aidan’s Dad. 

Poem by his Dad describing the aftermath of starvation in Ethiopia (but also sums up Africa in the 20^th century Hartley comments)

The camps lie broken down on hill and plain,

Skulls, bones and horns remain,

No shouts, no songs of fighting, or of love,

But from the bare thorn tree above,

So sadly calls the mourning dove… Was this your ravaged land,

The work of God, or was it Man’s own hand?

In the book, Aiden describes how his father delivered the news of the devastation  via a runner who took his hand-written message to be cabled to London.  The poem that his usually stoic father wrote afterwards aptly captures the emotional connection of a man to the land.  Aiden’s additional supposition that it also captures Africa’s plight in the 20^th century is especially poignant as much of the death and destruction in Africa has often supposedly been conducted in the name of one God or Allah or another, but more likely these ‘Gods’ have been exploited my despotic politicians and warlords (man’s own hand). 

Following ADM Stavridis' advice on writing. The Zanzibar Chest chronicles...

I am doing my best to follow ADM Stavridis’ advice on writing and productivity, I am going to provide periodic updates on my thoughts and/or good quotes from books as I read them.  Hopefully from these short updates I will better be able to write the book reviews that I’d like to get published.  The last three books that I read (The Ultimate Weapon is No Weapon by Shannon Beebe and Mary Kaldor, The Shadow of the Sun by Kapuscinski and The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell) I will have to almost reread in their entirety in order to give them a coherent review. 

So without further ado:

Currently, I am reading  The Zanzibar Chest: A Story of Life, Love and Death in Foreign Lands by Aidan Hartley.  These are the memoirs of his time/life in Africa.  So far it’s an incredible book that reads more like an adventure novel.  A few months ago I was at a reception for POLADs (Political Advisors) at the State Department and I was speaking with one gentlemen headed back to the continent.  We started discussing books, and he said that The Zanzibar Chest was his favorite book on Africa.  Already I can see why.

It’s always great to research the author and following are a few links on him. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aidan_Hartley

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreported_World

Si tu veux pratiquer votre Francais!

Allez-vous à http://www.africacenter.org/ pour encore!

Revue de presse du CESA(ACSS): 6 janvier 2011

               

Explosion devant l'ambassade de France au Mali

Un homme a lancé mercredi un engin explosif sur l'ambassade de France au Mali, blessant deux personnes, ont rapporté des témoins. Le ministère français des Affaires étrangères a confirmé une explosion à Bamako. Reuters

Ouattara espère prendre le pouvoir 'dans les prochains jours'

Alassane Ouattara, reconnu président de la Côte d'Ivoire par la communauté internationale mais contesté par le président sortant, Laurent Gbagbo, s'est dit 'confiant' de prendre le pouvoir 'dans les prochains jours', dans un entretien jeudi sur Europe 1. Le Monde

Alassane Ouattara : «Laurent Gbagbo partira dès ce mois de janvier»

A Abidjan, voilà cinq semaines qu'Alassane Ouattara est retranché à l'Hôtel du Golfe sans pouvoir en sortir. Ses adversaires l'appellent ironiquement le « président de la République du Golfe ». Quel est son état d'esprit ? Combien de temps pourra-t-il tenir ? Le président ivoirien reconnu par la quasi-totalité de la communauté internationale répond aux questions de Christophe Boisbouvier. RFI

Les difficultés d'une intervention armée en Côte d'Ivoire  

La Communauté économique des Etats d'Afrique de l'Ouest (Cedeao) menace le président sortant ivoirien Laurent Gbagbo d'une intervention armée s'il persiste dans son refus de céder le pouvoir à Alassane Ouattara à la suite de l'élection du 28 novembre. Mais une entrée en scène de l'Ecomog, la force d'intervention de la Cedeao, reste tributaire de nombreux facteurs susceptibles de retarder son engagement, quelle que soit la détermination des milieux politiques. L'Express

Ouattara préfère une solution pacifique en Côte d'Ivoire

Alassane Ouattara, reconnu par la communauté internationale comme le président élu de la Côte d'Ivoire, a dit mercredi préférer une solution pacifique à l'option militaire pour sortir son pays de la crise. Reuters

L'émissaire de l'UA réitère l'offre d'amnistie en échange d'un départ pacifique de Gbagbo  

L'émissaire de l'Union africaine (UA), le Premier ministre Kenyan Raila Odinga, a réitéré mercredi que le président sortant de la Côte d'Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, pourrait bénéficier d'une amnistie s'il acceptait de céder pacifiquement le pouvoir. Xinhua

L'ONU demande 1 000 à 2 000 casques bleus de plus en Côte d'Ivoire  

Le chef des opérations de maintien de la paix des Nations unies, Alain Le Roy, a déclaré mercredi 5 janvier qu'il allait demander l'envoi de 1 000 à 2 000 casques bleus supplémentaires en Côte d'Ivoire, en proie à une grave crise politique. Le Monde

Côte d'Ivoire : le sentiment anti Françafricain monte sur le web  

Depuis plusieurs années, avec la présidence de Laurent Gbagbo, il y a quelque chose de cassé entre la France et une partie des Ivoiriens. La crise post-électorale a creusé un peu plus le fossé entre les anciens amis, entre l'ancienne colonie et son colonisateur. Le gouvernement français, comme l'ensemble de la Communauté internationale, reconnaît l'élection d'Alassane Ouattara. Sur le net, de nombreux appels sont lancés pour une « non ingérence » dans les affaires de la Côte d'Ivoire. Parfois diplomatiques, souvent virulents, les messages envoyés par ces idéologues d'un nouveau genre ont tous une même connotation : «Dehors la France » ! TV5

Une manifestation contre la flambée des prix dégénère à Alger  

Des émeutes ont éclaté mercredi soir dans le quartier populaire de Bab el Oued à Alger où des dizaines de jeunes ont manifesté contre la flambée des prix et affronté les forces de l'ordre à coups de pierre, a-t-on appris auprès de témoins. Le Monde

Béchir accepterait la sécession du Sud-Soudan

Cette région pétrolière pourrait choisir l'indépendance lors d'un référendum organisé ce dimanche. Le président Omar el-Béchir a affirmé qu'il respecterait le résultat du référendum d'autodétermination organisé au Sud-Soudan dimanche même s'il débouchait sur la sécession, à l'occasion d'une rare visite mardi dans cette région. L'Express

Rabat annonce l'arrestation de 27 terroristes

Les autorités marocaines ont annoncé l'arrestation de 27 membres d'un réseau terroriste, dont un membre d'Al-Qaïda au Maghreb islamique (Aqmi). Jeune Afrique

Ben Ali face à la révolte de la rue tunisienne

Que se passe-t-il en Tunisie? Pas encore une révolution, mais plus qu'une révolte. Cela fait maintenant deux semaines et demie que le pays couve comme un volcan en phase de réveil. Le président Ben Ali, qui règne d'une main de fer sur le pays depuis 1987, a cru y mettre fin par un discours télévisé de père (fouettard) de famille, dans lequel il a expliqué comprendre les manifestants mais ne plus tolérer de troubles. Deux ministres et trois gouverneurs ont été débarqués pour l'exemple. Le Temps

RDC: 70 anciens militaires arrêtés

Des anciens membres des Forces armées zaïroises sous Mobutu sont soupçonnés d'être entrés dans le pays illégalement pour y lancer une insurrection. Ils ont été interpellés dans la région de Tshela, à 300 km à l'ouest de la capitale Kinshasa, en provenance du Congo-Brazzaville voisin. BBC

RDC: L'opposition dit non à un scrutin à un tour  

L'ancien président de l'Assemblé nationale de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) et l'actuel président de l'Union pour la Nation congolaise (UNC), Vital Kamerhe a dénoncé mercredi la décision du gouvernement congolais et de partis membres de l'Alliance de la majorité présidentielle (AMP) d'organiser le scrutin à un tour pour la prochaine présidentielle du pays. Sous Le Manguier