SADC Regional Fund Vital for Development

September 2, 2016
Opinion & Analysis
Roselyne Sachiti, Features Editor
Zimbabwe Herald

In her book “Dead Aid”, Zambian-born economist Dambisa Moyo spells out how Africa and other third world countries continue to be underdeveloped because of an over-reliance on aid from the West. Moyo illuminates the way in which this has trapped developing nations in a vicious cycle of aid dependency, corruption, market distortion, and further poverty, leaving them with nothing but the “need” for more aid.She even argues that aid is a form of neo-colonialism.

News that SADC could soon establish a fund to drive its major development programmes and open a technical vocational education university to bolster industrialisation trajectory is most welcome given the challenges that countries in the bloc face.

Countries in the SADC region face severe challenges in the provision of basic needs such as health and education, to their population and most funding to cover these areas comes from international donors.

In most instances, there are strings attached to these donor funds.

With foreign aid accounting for at least 5 percent of national education and health budgets, on average in most African countries, such an initiative if implemented well, would be in the right path for SADC to free itself from the shackles of donor aid.

Newly appointed SADC Chair King Mswati III of Swaziland’s pledge to put all his energies in raising funds to drive the major development programmes that are stalling due to a lack of funding can be interpreted in many ways, one being that Africa is ready to break the shackles of donor aid.

But for this to happen, every SADC member state should show commitment by contributing to the fund that will serve as start-up capital for programmes and projects.

SADC countries have a rich natural resource base and can easily commit a certain percentage of mineral earnings to the fund.

The region also boasts a huge wildlife population which attracts tourists. It has rich soils and vast arable land and farming projects whose proceeds can be channelled towards the development fund.

This can only be attained if commitment starts from the heads of state.

An example is President Mugabe who in February this year donated 300 head of cattle to the African Union Foundation to demonstrate his desire for self-reliance.

This fund is meant to benefit all of the AU.

SADC states face almost similar challenges that are social, developmental, economic, trade, educational and health among others. Some of these cannot be tackled effectively by individual members.

Droughts, poor education and health facilities, unemployment know no boundaries. For example, lack of proper health facilities in one country can suck in its neighbours and damage their economies.

Thus the industrialisation agenda set by President Mugabe during his tenure as SADC Chair (August 2014-August 2015), shows that industrialisation is not a luxury but a necessity.

Industrialisation will result in employment creation in Africa and less brain drain. Industrialisation may also result in less exploitation of third world countries by rich nations which extract raw minerals from the poor countries and add value in their countries thereby creating employment there.

The rich nations also drain skilled workers from third world nations.

Why the need to self fund?

Past experiences have shown that aid comes at a high price for developing countries.

If funded by international organizations, donors exert outside control in policy making as a consequence. In addition to that, outside control often comes in forms which detract from the capacity of governments to manage their own service sectors effectively, make it hard for them to budget realistically, and weaken their accountability to their own citizens for the performance of those sectors.

Conventional donor-driven projects are usually targeted at specific areas, which are not always of priority to the regional bloc.

Outside funding has proved not to be reliable as in the past project specific funding has had its objectives and planning in conflict with SADC’s vision.

As a consequence, there usually is minimal regional bloc ownership.

Such projects usually cease after the end of donor funding since SADC won’t have the capacity or intention to inherit them.

This can be to the detriment of citizens in the case of health projects.

Because of lack of funding, western powers end up dictating the pace and direction of events.

When NEPAD was mooted by African leaders, the G8 immediately came in offering money. When the AU decided to establish a stand-by force, France quickly moved in with an offer to train and equip the force. All these offers were meant to weaken the initial objectives.

Challenges

One significant challenge that has resulted in SADC nations failing to own up to their commitments is that member states also participate in other regional economic cooperation schemes and political and security blocs that may compete with or undermine each other.

For example, South Africa and Botswana belong to the Southern Africa Customs Union, Zambia is a part of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and Tanzania is a member of the East African Community.

Another challenge is a lack of political will from member states. Some SADC countries such as the DRC and Madagascar, have signed less than half of the 43 SADC protocols and declarations.

One of the key protocols on the Facilitation of Movement of Persons, which is instrumental to the Free Trade Area and attainment of a common passport, had only been ratified by Mozambique and signed by less than half the SADC membership.

It is clear that without political will all planned projects may just remain talk show.

The time is now for SADC to take the first baby steps to self funding its development projects and move away from too much reliance on donors.

Zanu-PF Youth League Convenes

September 3, 2016
Tendai Mugabe
Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe Herald

The Zanu-PF Youth League is meeting today in Harare to discuss the state of the party and the country’s economic situation. The meeting is in fulfilment of the party’s constitution that requires the youth wing to meet at least twice a year and would be addressed by President Mugabe in his official capacity as the party’s First Secretary and President.Zanu-PF deputy secretary for Youth Affairs Cde Kudzai Chipanga yesterday confirmed the meeting.

He said delegates to the meeting were members serving at provincial and national levels of the party’s youth wing.

“We are going to discuss several issues and among them is the issue of the state of the party, issues to do with discipline, social issues and the economic situation in the party and the country,” he said.

“This is our first national assembly meeting for this year and we hope to have another one before the end of the year.

“This particular meeting was scheduled for the month end of August, but we have to postpone it due to other commitments.”

On the women quota in the presidium Cde Chipanga said: “We have not deliberated on that matter as the Youth League. Possibly, there might be individual members in the league who may have their personal views in that regard, but as the Youth League, we have not discussed it and it is not on our agenda. That issue was raised by the Women’s League during the Victoria Falls conference.”

Cde Chipanga said all was in place for the high profile meeting that would define the direction of the party’s youth wing.

The Youth and Women’s leagues are critical arms of the revolutionary party.

Zanu-PF has come up with a number of initiatives to empower the youths. The party, through the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing, has allocated residential stands to the young people in various towns.

So far youths in Harare, Bulawayo and Masvingo have already benefited from the residential stands and plans are afoot to expand the programme to other cities and towns.

The party is also making concerted efforts to ensure that the youths are incorporated into national projects such as road construction.

Egypt Sees Opening to Become Largest African Economy

Though the top three seem to be in a constant back and forth, Egypt’s future growth prospects put it in a better position than the current continental leaders

 Nicholas Mehling
August 23, 2016

South Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt continue their competition for the status as the largest economy in Africa, with South Africa recently moving back to first place among the three, according to recalculated International Monetary Fund (IMF) data. South Africa had previously fallen to rank third after Egypt moved up to second according to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook report for April.

The US dollar value of South Africa’s GDP stands at $301bn, while Nigeria’s GDP stands at $296bn and Egypt’s at $270bn. The relative ranking between the three changes depending on exchange rate movements, and all three economies have seen their national currency depreciate against the dollar—by 50% for the South African rand, 61% for the Nigerian naira, and 25% for the Egyptian pound.

While the differences in exchange rate prove a pedantic exercise in comparison, the real difference came when Nigeria moved to include a large portion of its informal sector into the formal economy, including 13 new factories, which resulted in its rapid rise as the largest economy in Africa.

According to the Egyptian Centre for Economic Studies (ECES) the informal sector in Egypt is estimated to be 65-70% of the formal economy—accounting for EGP 1.2-1.7tn across 18m establishments and 40,000 factories, as well as an estimated EGP 300bn in lost tax revenues for the government.

Investment decisions, or policy, are not dictated by the top economy in Africa ranking—what matters to investors are the future economic prospects of each country, the potential for growth, and the GDP per capita increase indicating an increase in the standard of living.

South Africa has not yet recovered from the 2008 financial crisis. Its economic growth is expected to be less than population growth until the end of 2018, and its GDP per capita is expected to contract for the next two years. While South Africa is easily more developed with a more diversified economy, domestic issues threaten to deepen the country’s recession, and future growth is looking increasingly more unlikely—growth for 2016 is expected at just 0.6%.

Meanwhile Nigeria also faces future problems. It recorded its sixth straight month of contraction in the private business sector, and a budget deficit due to the fall in oil prices. Oil accounts for 70% of Nigerian government revenue and 95% of exports. Militants from the Niger Delta Avengers and Boko Haram have accounted for a 24% reduction in oil production due to sabotage, and 2.2 million people being internally displaced. The economy could shrink by 1.8% in 2016.

Despite soft business sentiment, foreign currency shortage, and a severe tourism contraction, Egypt is expected to see a 4.4% growth this year on the back of strong domestic demand according to the World Bank report “Global Economic Prospects” for June. Egypt also retained its position as the top destination for capital investment with $14.4bn recorded in 2015, followed by $8.6bm in Nigeria, and $4.7bn in South Africa. If the recovery in Egypt takes hold in 2017 as expected, it could lead to a shift in African economic leadership.

South Africa Says Minister, Not Cabinet, Asked for Gupta Accounts Inquiry

ANC leader Jacob Zuma greets supporters during his election campaign in Atteridgeville, South Africa July 5, 2016. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

By James Macharia | JOHANNESBURG

South Africa's presidency said on Friday that a minister not a cabinet team had asked for a judicial inquiry into why banks cut ties with a company belonging to the Gupta family, conflicting messages from a government which appears increasingly divided.

On Thursday, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane had said the inter-ministerial team, set up by the cabinet in April and led by him, had cabinet backing for its proposal to set up such an inquiry to consider legal action against the banks.

That could trigger further turmoil after markets were rocked by a police investigation of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.

South Africa's Treasury is also in public rows with state-owned companies over their dealings with firms linked to the Guptas, who have been accused of holding undue sway over the President Jacob Zuma.

The statement from Zwane's team said the banks that had closed Gupta-owned Oakbay Investments' accounts were influenced by "innuendo and potentially reckless media statements".

The prominent business family is accused by the opposition of being behind Zuma's abrupt sacking of former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene in December, a move that rattled investor confidence and triggered calls for Zuma's resignation.

The Guptas have denied using their friendship with Zuma to influence his decisions, including on cabinet appointments, or to advance their business interests.

The president has acknowledged the Guptas are his friends but denies any improper behaviour based on that.

REGRET OVER CONFUSION

On Friday evening, presidency spokesman Bongani Ngqulunga said in a statement that the proposals by Zwane, which had drawn criticism from political commentators, were not the views of the inter-ministerial team, nor the cabinet.

Ngqulunga said the presidency regretted the confusion caused by Zwane's statement, which "was issued in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the task team or Cabinet".

As part of its recommendations, Zwane said his team also urged Zuma to set up a state bank and called for new banking licences to be issued to end the "oligopoly" in the industry.

He also said that although Gordhan was one of the cabinet team's members, he did not take part in its meetings.

Asset manager Futuregrowth said earlier this week it had decided to stop lending money to six state-owned companies because of the swirling political uncertainty.

Gordhan said on Friday that Futuregrowth's decision was a "very concerning development".

Speaking to the SABC news broadcaster in China, where he has accompanied Zuma for a G20 meeting, Gordhan said "we in the Treasury have been warning both political figures and people who run some of our institutions to be careful ... and make sure your governance is right".

"Don't think that the world is not watching us in some of the things that are happening in some of these SOEs (state-run enterprises). Those people are not obliged to lend us money."

Gordhan is embroiled in a separate investigation into whether he used a tax service unit to spy on other politicians - something he denies - and that has also put markets on edge about the fate of Africa's most industrialised economy.

Several banks and companies had cut ties with Oakbay, including South Africa's top four: Standard Bank, Nedbank, Barclays Africa's Absa and First National Bank (FNB), part of FirstRand.

In April, Oakbay approached government departments including the presidency to express "deep disappointment" over the account closures, saying this made it "virtually impossible" to do business in South Africa.

A family spokesman for the Indian-born businessmen, who moved to South Africa in the early 1990s, said any inquiry would not change plans announced on Saturday for the Guptas to exit their South African businesses this year.

Although the Guptas' relationship with Zuma has been a source of controversy for years, it burst into the open in March when senior political figures went public to say the family had exerted undue sway, including offering cabinet positions.

(Additional reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Kasserine: Killed Fighters Named

By Aineb Ben Taieb
September 2, 2016

The two suspected militants killed on Tuesday by security forces have been named as Oussama Mahmoudi and Jihed Mbarki.  A sixteen year old youth was also killed during the exchange of fire in Cité Karma in Kasserine

According to military sources, both men are thought to be members of Uqba Ibn Nafaâ Katibat, a Tunisian group allied to Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and considered by Tunisian authorities to be responsible for last year’s attack at the Bardo Museum that claimed the lives of 21 people.

Military sources report that at 3am, the National Regiment of Rapid Intervention (BNIR) attacked three houses in Cité Karma where members of the group thought responsible for the ambush earlier this week were located. A sixteen year old boy, said to have been watching the exchange of fire was killed at the scene.

One man is reported have been killed shortly after the attack commenced, with the other killed during later exchanges of fire. According to the MosaiqueFM, the teenager was killed by Islamist fighters after he and others gathered to support the army. A security agent involved was injured in the knee.

A number of arms were seized, including two rifles and an unstated amount of ammunition. A bomb-belt, several grenades, a sword and three mobile phones plus a motorcycle were also confiscated.

Speaking to Tunisia Live, former spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior, Mokhtar Ben Nasser said that “the residents of Cité Karma have been very helpful. They told the military units about the location of the terrorists…  The military were then able to surround the place and stop them and kill them.”

According to Ben Nasser, militant groups operating in Tunisia receive logistical support and arms from smuggling operations, despite the military units’ controls.

African Union Expresses Concern Over Situation in Ethiopia

TVC NEWS

The African Union, has finally spoken on the protests in Ethiopia, calling for restraint on the parties involved.

Chairperson of the Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, said the AU has been following the socio-political situation in Ethiopia with great concern.

Security officials however disrupted the protest which was largely instigated by the social media.
After protests in Amhara, several others were staged in parts of the country including the capital Addis Ababa, the AU headquarters.

Those protests were also largely clamped down by security officials.


Dutch, Israeli Farms in Ethiopia Attacked by Protesters

William Davison
Bloomberg
September 1, 2016 — 7:56 AM EDT

A Dutch-run flower farm in northern Ethiopia was among a series of foreign-owned plantations attacked by anti-government protesters as unrest in the country spreads.

A “large group” of people invaded Esmeralda Farms Inc.’s farm 13 kilometers (8 miles) south of Bahir Dar city in the Amhara region on Aug. 29, causing about 7 million euros ($7.8 million) of damage, country manager Haile Seifu said by phone Thursday. Flower farms in the area owned by Israeli, Italian, Indian and Belgian companies were among nine commercial properties damaged in the protests, which continued on Aug. 30, he said.

“They were so aggressive, there were also soldiers who couldn’t control them, so we just ran away, as it’s life or death,” he said from the capital, Addis Ababa. “They came actually at once through our compound, through our fence, through our main gate, so everybody left.”

Start your day with what’s moving markets.

Authorities in Ethiopia have killed more than 500 people since June, according to human-rights groups, to suppress protests by the two most populous groups, the Oromo and Amhara. Analysts say the demonstrations present the biggest challenge to the government’s authority since it came to power a quarter of a century ago. The economy grew faster than any other in Africa over the past two years, International Monetary Fund data shows.

Nigusu Tilahun, a spokesman for the Amhara government, said he wasn’t immediately available to comment, while a call to Communications Minister Getachew Reda wasn’t answered.

Militias Clashing

Militias are also clashing with the army in parts of Gojam and Gondar areas of Amhara, with 10 people dying Wednesday in Metemma on the Sudan border, and four in Debark to the north of Gondar city, said Yared Hailemariam, executive director for the Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia, which is based in Belgium.

The military is also patrolling Bahir Dar and shooting at protesters, he said by phone from Brussels.

Unless the government changes its approach, the unrest may worsen, he said.

“In both Oromia and Amhara region people are saying enough is enough,” Yared said. “They are demanding regime change.”

Who is the US-designated 'Terrorist' Leading ISIS in Somalia?

2016-09-02 18:45

Nairobi - A middle-aged Somali-born cleric with a bright orange beard was this week put on a US terror list, accused of heading the Islamic State group in East Africa.

The US State Department on Wednesday said Abdulqadir (also Abdiqadir) Mumin is "the head of a group of ISIL-linked individuals in East Africa," using another term for ISIS, and branding him a "global terrorist".

Here's what we know about the man, and the threat he poses.

British links

Mumin was born in the semi-autonomous Somali region of Puntland and lived in Sweden before moving to the UK in the 2000s, where he was granted British citizenship.

In London and Leicester, he developed a reputation as a firebrand preacher at extremist mosques and in videos posted online.

Monitored by MI5, Britain's domestic intelligence agency, Mumin is thought to have known Mohamed Emwazi, the ISIS executioner nicknamed 'Jihadi John', and Michael Adebolajo, one of two people convicted over the 2013 murder of British soldier Lee Rigby in London.

In 2010, Mumin travelled to Somalia to join the Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-aligned militant group - which both Emwazi and Adebolajo had tried to do, but were unsuccessful.

On arrival, he reportedly burned his British passport then served as a Shabaab propagandist and imam - "an ideologue not a commander", according to Matt Bryden, director of Sahan Research, a Kenya-based think tank.

Defection to ISIS

Mumin was dispatched to mountainous eastern Somaliland on the border with his home region of Puntland in 2012 to bolster the fervour of fighters under the command of local Shabaab leader and Warsengili clan militia leader Mohamed Said Atom.

Atom surrendered to the Somali government in 2014 and Mumin eventually took control of the Puntland faction which, separated from the bulk of the Shabaab in Somalia's south, has always been an orphan group.

Largely abandoned in the inhospitable Golis mountains, Mumin reimagined himself as a commander, despite lacking any experience on the battlefield, and announced his defection to IS, along with a handful of fighters, in an audio message last October.

In the following months, his small group of fighters was harried and attacked by the Shabaab loyalists with local Puntland media describing him as being "on the run".

Little support

Mumin's motivations remain opaque.

In a briefing note, the International Crisis Group think tank suggested his departure may have been "a pre-emptive attempt... to lay claim to the spiritual leadership of a future ISIS franchise in Somalia".

The switch to ISIS has not won him much support - neither in manpower, money nor material - with most observers believing he has between 20 and 100 followers, predominately from his own Majerteen clan.

Washington said Mumin has "expanded his cell of ISIL supporters by kidnapping young boys aged 10-15, indoctrinating them, and forcing them to take up militant activity."

Even so, as a bid to take over Shabaab territory, Mumin's gambit appears to have failed dismally.

A video released in April showed Mumin at a small training camp with a handful of supporters in headscarves and grey tunics carrying a variety of assault rifles, grenade launchers and machine guns.

Expansion prospects 'limited'

The remoteness of the Golis mountains has so far saved Mumin from the fate of other defectors who were hunted down and killed, or chased into exile, by the Amniyat, the Shabaab's intelligence unit that has crushed ISIS attempts to take control of the East Africa jihad.

In an article published this week by the Washington-based Hudson Institute think tank, researchers Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Nathaniel Barr described ISIS as having "only a small and tenuous foothold in Somalia" under Mumin's leadership.

Arguably, Mumin's biggest successes is his designation by the US as a serious terrorist threat - making him the potential target of a drone strike.

Despite his less-than-impressive performance, analysts say it would be wrong to dismiss his nascent group.

"Its prospects for expansion are limited," said Bryden. "But there is potential."

Somalia: 3,000 Dadaab Refugees Stuck As Jubaland Blocks Their Entry

Shabelle Media

An estimated 3,000 Somali refugees yesterday were stranded at the Dadaab camp and at the Kenya-Somali border after the Jubaland administration blocked their return.

Conditions are reported to be "very bad". The refugees were to be resettle in Jubaland, following Kenya's announcement to close Dadaab.

Yesterday, independent journalist Mohammed Baruud in Dadaab said the refugees' shelters were demolished in anticipation of their relocation to Somalia. At least 1,200 refugees, mainly women and children, are displaced at the Dhobley point after Jubaland police denied them entry.

Dhobley is in Baardheere district in Lower Juba along the Kenya-Somali border. "Those at the camp remain displaced. Those who moved are stopped. They remain in a very bad state of affairs," he told the Star on the phone from the camp.

Halima Hassan, a mother of six, said she is frustrated. She said they packed their belongings but cannot go back to Somalia. All buses to Somalia were suspended, following the order by Jubaland.

The refugees have also been struck off the UN refugee agency's database, meaning they are likely to be left without food rations and other essentials.

On Tuesday, Jubaland minister for Interior Mohamed Darwish, said his administration would not take more refugees, citing inadequate humanitarian support and "security risk". "We have decided to suspend the returnees' movement because thousands who are already in cities like Kismayo port town, the region's main city, are facing severe humanitarian problems," he said.

Reached for comment, UNHCR's senior external relations officer at Dadaab Julien Navier said he was in a meeting. He had not communicated by press time.

Truck Bomb Kills 15 in Somalia; Shabab Claim Responsibility

By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN and HUSSEIN MOHAMED
New York Times
AUG. 30, 2016

Emergency personnel and soldiers gathered at the scene of a truck bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia on Tuesday. The attack killed at least 15 people. Credit Mohamed Abdiwahab/Agence France-Presse —

NAIROBI, Kenya — The Shabab militant group continued its relentless campaign against civilians on Tuesday, detonating a large truck bomb near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, Somalia, that killed at least 15 people.

The Shabab, who have sworn allegiance to Al Qaeda, have slaughtered thousands of civilians in recent years in a string of bombings and mass shootings.

On Tuesday morning, witnesses said, a truck loaded with heavy explosives blew up in front of the popular SYL Hotel, which is near Villa Somalia, the presidential palace. Government security officials were meeting inside the hotel at the time of the attack.

The bomb ripped through the hotel’s concrete facade and sent up a plume of white smoke that could be seen for miles.

In a radio broadcast soon after, the Shabab said they had carried out the attack, which also wounded many people, including two government ministers. It does not appear that the bomb damaged the presidential palace or killed any senior government officials.

Somalia’s fledging government, which relies heavily on African Union peacekeepers to protect it, seems powerless to stop the string of bombings. Just last week, Shabab fighters set off a car bomb in front of a popular beachside restaurant and then stormed it, killing 10.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Somalia have been killed by conflict, famine and disease since the central government collapsed in 1991. The United States military has staged many airstrikes against the Shabab but Somalia continues to be plagued by Islamist militant groups.

Soon after the bombing on Tuesday, images of destruction and dazed survivors standing amid the rubble appeared on social media. Some pictures showed a column of smoke rising above an otherwise idyllic scene of tropical palm trees under a blue sky.

“Another senseless attack and another killing of innocent people but one fact reminds — the sheer determination of Somali people,” Abdi Barud, the executive director of Global Somali Diaspora, wrote on Twitter.

AU Calls for Joint Efforts to Fight Youth Radicalization in Somalia

September 2, 2016
Geesska Afrika Online

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has called on community members and youth to cooperate with police to fight radicalization and enhance peace and stability in the Horn of Africa nation.

AMISOM Chief Inspector John Marete told a community sensitization meeting on countering violent extremism in Beletweyne town that terrorism is the greatest threat to the Somali government’s efforts toward peace and stability, and keeping communities safe is the responsibility of both security agencies and the local residents.

The meeting, held Wednesday by AMISOM Police, is part of a series of meetings aimed at raising awareness of the importance of countering violent extremism ahead of an upcoming electoral process, which begins this month.

The meeting was attended by representatives of the business community, youth and women groups and the civil society. Plans are also underway to hold similar meetings in other parts of the country.

AMISOM Assistant Superintended of Police Cecilia Appiah Ampofo said the meeting would also give youth a clearer understanding of the negative impact of radicalization and violent extremism.

“Our aim is to interact and encourage community members to share information with the police and encourage collaboration in fighting crime,” Ampofo said.

America’s Approach To Somalia Has Failed: It Now Has Two Options

Steven Metz
World Politics Review
Friday, Sept. 2, 2016

One of the most momentous decisions the United States made after 9/11 was to go on the offensive against violent extremists, seeking to cut them off at their source. This was to be done by helping governments in the Islamic world provide prosperity, security, justice and a sense of national identity.

While sound in theory, this forced the U.S. to work with deeply flawed partners and repeatedly crashed against three problems. First, extremists, appropriating or misappropriating religious themes and local grievances, are often deeply ingrained in the societies where they operate, whether by ethnicity, clan, tribe or religion. Second, political elites and security forces in the troubled nations that produce violent extremists are hindered by parochialism and corruption despite exhortations from their American advisers. And third, neighboring states with their own security concerns often complicate things by intervening or providing sanctuary for extremists.

For Americans versed in global affairs, the depiction of these problems immediately brings to mind Afghanistan. Problems are indeed stark there, but they also occur in other places where extremism grows. Nowhere better illustrates this than Somalia, where the U.S. and its partners are struggling to craft a viable course to sustainable security.

The U.S. first became involved in Somalia during the Cold War, to counter Soviet influence in neighboring Ethiopia. Then in 1991, the Somali national government collapsed, setting off militia warfare and a massive humanitarian crisis. The U.S. joined an international relief mission in 1993 but eventually slid from from humanitarianism to peace enforcement with disastrous results. Following the death of 19 U.S. servicemen in what became known as the Battle of Mogadishu, President Bill Clinton withdrew American military forces. With international peacekeepers gone, Somalia devolved into a nation without a state ruled by competing and often warring militias.

Years of effort by the United Nations, the African Union and an international support group have helped Somalia create a fragile national government and security force. But this remains precarious as most economic, political and military power remains with local leaders and forces rather than national ones. To make things even worse, militant salafi jihadism took root during Somalia’s decades of fragmentation and became particularly violent after a group called Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahedeen, or simply al-Shabab, split off from an organization known as the Islamic Courts Union.

In 2012, al-Shabab pledged allegiance to al-Qaida and began blending Somalia’s complex internal power struggles with transnational Islamic extremism. Foreign fighters joined local militants and took on leadership positions as al-Shabab orchestrated terrorist attacks in neighboring states like Uganda and Kenya to punish them for participating in the African Union’s peacekeeping mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM. If this wasn’t enough, the so-called Islamic State has now established a presence in Somalia.

Washington and its international partners have not found a way to deal with al-Shabab’s deep roots in Somali society.

During the past few years, forces from AMISOM drove al-Shabab out of Mogadishu and other major cities, but the militants still control pockets of the countryside and launch terrorist attacks on AMISOM supply lines and other soft targets, such as hotels and restaurants used by foreigners and officials of the Somali national government. Earlier this week, al-Shabab set off a massive car bomb near the presidential palace in Mogadishu, killing at least 10 people.

While AMISOM has led the fight against al-Shabab, the U.S. and nations from Europe and the Persian Gulf have provided important assistance to the Somali national government and security forces in the hope that they will become effective enough that most foreign troops can withdraw. But there’s the rub. Washington and its international partners have not found a way to deal with al-Shabab’s deep roots in Somali society; its appeal to angry young men; the ineffectiveness, corruption and competing loyalties of the Somali political elite and security forces; and concerns from neighboring states about extremism growing from the inability of the Somali government and security forces to control all of their territory. At this point, the strategy seems to be to ignore these problems and press onward with creating national political and security structures that lack unity and coherence and have a slim chance of survival.

Today there are few signs that what Americans consider the political norm—a central government committed to the national interest and a national military that reflects and represents the entire nation—will take root in Somalia. Despite massive amounts of money from foreign donors, the Somali National Army may not be able to keep al-Shabab at bay, much less defeat it, as AMISOM disengages. Local, clan-based elites and militias remain more important than the national government and security forces. But the U.S. simply does not have strategic concepts to handle dispersed, localized power structures.

This has long been a recurring problem when political powers based on centralized authority become involved in tribe- or clan-based cultures where power and authority are decentralized. Outside powers that succeed find local allies, rather than trying to create a national power structure. Yet in Somalia, as in Afghanistan, the U.S. has not yet reached this point and sticks doggedly to the idea that with its allies, it can help create an effective centralized system.

Eventually realism must set in. For the U.S. there are only two possible futures in Somalia: Washington and its partners can exercise influence through clan-based power structures, recognizing that while this may prevent al-Shabab from outright victory, it is likely to tie America to some unsavory Somali characters and actions. Or the U.S. can simply disengage altogether, knowing that Somalia may once again face large-scale internal war and humanitarian disaster. Neither option is desirable, but all indications are that they are the only viable ones.

Steven Metz is the author of “Iraq and the Evolution of American Strategy.” His weekly WPR column, Strategic Horizons, appears every Friday. You can follow him on Twitter@steven_metz.

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Request for life-saving anti-viral medication rejected on technicality
Judge finds Pennsylvania protocol for inmates out of line with constitution

 Mumia Abu-Jamal, third from the left, in a picture taken last April after his medical emergency with supporters Abdul John, Pam Africa and Johanna Fernández. Photograph: Courtesy of Johanna Fernandez

Renée Feltz
@reneefeltz
Guardian
Thursday 1 September 2016 11.40 EDT

The internationally known imprisoned former Black Panther and journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal has had his request for a life-saving hepatitis C treatment denied by a federal judge.

Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death for the 1981 killing of a Philadelphia police officer, but maintained his innocence and Amnesty International says he was denied a fair trial. After 30 years on death row, his sentence was overturned on constitutional grounds. He is now serving life without parole, and his supporters have shifted their focus to his access to medical care.

Abu-Jamal sued the state of Pennsylvania to receive anti-viral medication for hepatitis C after he was hospitalized in critical condition last year. Officials told him he was not sick enough to be eligible for the treatment, which has a 90-95% cure rate but costs $1,000 per dose, and is taken once a day for 12 weeks.

On Wednesday US district court judge Robert Mariani said Abu-Jamal’s lawsuit wrongly targeted the warden and the prison system’s medical chief, and should have named the four members of the state’s hepatitis C committee instead. Abu-Jamal’s lawyers say the committee did not exist at the time the lawsuit was filed.

One of the members was later added as a defendant: Dr Paul Noel, chief of clinical services for the state’s department of corrections. The judge cited his testimony that the state’s protocol is designed “to identify those with the most serious liver disease and to treat them first, and then … move down the list to the lower priorities”.

He said prisoners with esophageal varices, or enlarged veins in the throat that have begun to bleed would “move on to immediate treatment, and if they don’t have varices, they can wait”.

In court filings, a lawyer for the Pennsylvania’s prison system wrote “there simply is not enough money to treat every individual” with chronic hepatitis C and that treating all of them “would cost approximately $600m. Such an expense would effectively cripple the department”.

Even as the judge denied Abu-Jamal’s request he still found that the evidence and testimony presented in the case demonstrate that Pennsylvania’s hepatitis C protocol for inmates fails to meet constitutional standards.

Newly obtained evidence in Abu-Jamal’s case revealed that Pennsylvania treats just about five of more than 6,000 prisoners who are infected with hepatitis C. The details will probably be used in an unrelated class action lawsuit filed by other Pennsylvania prisoners seeking similar treatment for the disease.

Hundreds who have been moved to the prison infirmaries are “dying in isolation, often chained to their beds” says Noelle Hanrahan, a supporter of Abu-Jamal who monitors prison conditions and records his commentaries for Prison Radio.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hepatitis C has infected three million people in the United States, including more than 700,000 in prison nationwide.

Other states have responded to the health crisis differently. In the last two years New York increased spending on drugs for prisoners infected with the disease by more than 350%. California is also treating prisoners with hepatitis C on a large scale.

Judge Mariani wrote that Pennsylvania’s “treatment protocol as currently adopted and implemented … prolongs the suffering of those who have been diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C”. He added that it “allows the progression of the disease to accelerate so that it presents a greater threat” of related liver disease, cancer and death.

Abu-Jamal’s lawyers called the decision a partial setback.

“We are frustrated he won’t get the treatment that the rest of the judge’s opinion makes clear he is entitled to,” said Bret Grote of the Abolitionist Law Center. “But the judge’s ruling makes clear that if what he considers the proper defendants were in front of him, he was prepared to strike down the protocol and order that my client be treated in accord with proper medical standards.”

UN Secretary-General 'Deeply Concerned' at Reports of Violence in Wake of Gabon Elections

31 August 2016 – Taking note of the official announcement of provisional results of Gabon's presidential election, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today expressed deep concern about reports of arson and clashes between protesters and security forces in the country's capital, Libreville.

According to a statement issued by Mr. Ban's spokesperson, the UN chief also called on all concerned actors to refrain from further acts of violence that could undermine peace and stability of the country.

“He also calls on the authorities to ensure that the national security forces exercise maximum restraint in their response to protests,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “He reiterates his call on all political leaders to address their differences peacefully and to address any disputes they may have through existing constitutional and legal channels.”

Yesterday, in telephone conversations with the Gabonese leaders vying for the country's presidency, the Secretary-General had voiced his concerns over early calls on the polls results, outside of any official process and had urged them to impress upon their supporters the need to exercise restraint.

The statement today also noted that the UN chief has asked his Special Representative for Central Africa, Abdoulaye Bathily, to accompany Gabon's political stakeholders in their efforts to calm the situation and to peacefully resolve the contentious issues emanating from the electoral process. It added that the Secretary-General will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Black Lives Matter Activists Chain Themselves To Cambridge City Hall In Housing Protest

August 31, 2016 4:00 PM

Black Lives Matter protesters chained themselves to the doors of Cambridge City Hall to protest rising housing prices. (Kim Tunnicliffe/WBZ NewsRadio 1030)

CAMBRIDGE (CBS) — Four Black Lives Matter protesters chained themselves to the front doors of Cambridge City Hall Wednesday morning to protest the lack of affordable housing in the city.

As chants of “What do we want? Public housing! When do we want it? Now!” rang out, firefighters removed the four protesters from the doors.

The protesters were part of a larger rally in protest of what they say are skyrocketing housing prices in Cambridge.

“People are disappearing from the city of Cambridge,” said Stephanie, one of the protest organizers. “Our neighborhood is completely deprived of people of color, of low-income people. We had to take an extreme step, and this is how we are going to get them to listen.”

Right now, level of affordable housing in the city is around 12 percent.

“We want them to pledge 25 percent affordable housing,” Stephanie said. “We need more affordable housing in Cambridge. Gentrification has kicked out poor, low-income, immigrant, black people. We are demanding that we get to stay.”

Statement by the Revolutionary Government of Cuba

The Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Cuba strongly rejects the parliamentary and judicial coup d’état perpetrated against President Dilma Rousseff

Cubaminrex | internet@granma.cu
August 31, 2016 15:08:25

The Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Cuba strongly rejects the parliamentary and judicial coup d’état perpetrated against President Dilma Rousseff.

The Government’s estrangement from the President, without presenting any evidence of corruption or crimes of responsibility against her, as well as from the Workers’ Party (PT) and other left-wing allied political forces, is an act of defiance against the sovereign will of the people who voted for her.

The governments headed by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff implemented a socio-economic model that made it possible for Brazil to take a step forward in areas such as production growth with social inclusion, the creation of jobs, the fight against poverty, the eradication of extreme poverty among more than 35 million Brazilians who previously lived in inhumane conditions and income increases for another 40 million; the expansion of opportunities in the areas of education and health for the people, including those sectors who had been previously marginalized.

During this period, Brazil has been an active promoter of Latin American and Caribbean integration.

The defeat of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), the holding of the Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development (CALC) which led to the creation of CELAC and foundation of UNASUR are transcendental events in the recent history of the region which show the leading role played by that country.

Likewise, Brazil’s approach to the Third World nations, particularly Africa; its active membership in the BRICS Group (made up by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa); and its performance at the United Nations, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); and the World Trade Organization, among others, are an acknowledgement of its international leadership.

Equally praiseworthy has been Brazil’s performance under the Workers’ Party governments in crucial international issues for the defense of peace, development, the environment and programs to combat hunger.

The efforts made by Lula and Dilma to reform the political system and organize the funding of parties and their campaigns as well as in support of the investigations launched against corruption and the independence of the institutions responsible for such investigations are also well known.

The forces that are currently exercising power have announced the privatization of deep water oil reserves and cuts to social programs. Likewise, they are promoting a foreign policy favoring relations with global powers. Quite a few among those who are impeaching the President are being investigated on corruption charges.

What happened in Brazil is another expression of the offensive of imperialist forces and the oligarchy against the revolutionary and progressive governments of Latin America and the Caribbean which threatens the peace and stability of nations and is contrary to the spirit and the letter of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, signed at the Second CELAC Summit in January, 2014, in Havana by the Heads of State and Government of the region.

Cuba reiterates its solidarity with President Dilma and comrade Lula as well as with the Worker’s Party, and is confident that the Brazilian people will defend the social achievements that have been attained and will resolutely oppose the neoliberal policies that others may try to impose on them and the plundering of their natural resources.

Havana, August 31, 2016.

A Popular Celebration In Cuba

On behalf of the people of Granma province, citizens of the city of Bayamo, joyously received the news of the territory’s selection to host the main activities for the 56th anniversary of the CDRs

Jesús Jank Curbelo | informacion@granma.cu
August 31, 2016 09:08:18

Citizens of Bayamo joyfully received the news. Photo: Martínez Arias, Rafael

The national directorate of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution selected the province of Granma as National Vanguard of the organization, given broad and effective popular mobilizations across all its municipalities.

According to Orestes Llanes Mestre, CDR national deputy coordinator, other key achievements of the province include the widespread presence of revolutionary promotional materials in neighborhoods; a commitment to combating crime, illegalities and social indiscipline; and outstanding contributions to the homeland and voluntary blood donations.

During a press conference held August 30, which saw the participation of Carlos Rafael Mi­ran­da, CDR general coordinator, Llanes Mestre highlighted similar results in the provinces of Cien­fuegos, Pinar del Río, and Las Tunas.

In regards to capital cities, he likewise emphasized efforts by CDRs in Pinar del Río, Bayamo and Guantánamo, to mobilize the population around neighborhood tasks.

Seeking to Understand the Brain

According to many scientists we are currently living in the age of brain research

Orfilio Peláez | orfilio@granma.cu
August 31, 2016 12:08:46

Dr. Pedro Valdés Sosa, deputy director of the Neurosciences Center of Cuba. Photo: Yaimí Ravelo

According to many scientists we are currently living in the age of brain projects. Suffice it to mention the astronomical budgets that developed countries dedicate to understanding the most complex organ to have emerged from the human evolutionary process, which remains a mystery despite efforts undertaken to date to fully comprehend how it works.

As such, Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Canada are all vying to dominate this field in a competition similar to that waged in the sphere of biotechnology.

According to Doctors of Science Mitchell and Pedro Valdés Sosa, director and deputy director of the Cuban Neurosciences Center (CNEURO), respectively, their justifications for spending such large amounts of taxpayer’s money on these projects are compelling and two-pronged.

"From the perspective of health, population aging is contributing to an alarming growth in the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases. Suffice it to mention that dementia and other cognitive disorders affect 3% of the world's population, which is why the World Health Organization has declared such illnesses a health emergency of international concern. As such, brain research attempts to understand and develop a cure for these diseases."

However, an equally if not more important consideration is money. According to both experts, the European Union is investing over one billion euros in an attempt to create neuromorphic computers able to function like a human brain. The project's core goal is to give European brain research an edge over its U.S. rivals. Meanwhile, the U.S. is looking to develop techniques allowing a glimpse into the machinery of the human mind, and create novel procedures able to simultaneously record the activity of thousands of neurons.

Increasingly high resolution neuroimaging (Brain Mapping) and novel nanotechnological tools are key elements to these projects. To this must be added the development of wearable sensors, daily, user-friendly accessories which measure the functioning of the brain, heart and other organs.

Meanwhile, the urgent need to deal with the astonishing amount of information generated by such research led to the emergence of a new discipline, neurocomputing, a mix between computing, mathematics, physics and neurosciences.

China became involved in brain science projects later, but arrived with a 20-year plan to overtake all other countries. Research in this field is set to become the fourth most funded within the Asian nation's science and technology sector over the next 15 years.

Speaking to Granma, Dr. Pedro Valdés Sosa noted that Cuba was one of the pioneers of Brain Mapping when, in 1969, it began to use computers – such as the Cuban-developed CID-201 minicomputer and creation of the MEDICID device – to research electrical brain activity, efforts supported from the outset by Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro.

These achievements saw the country insert itself and begin to chart its own path in the field of electrical brain tomography. Such efforts eventually saw CNEURO assume the management of national Mind Mapping projects from the 1990 onward. Some of the institution’s most noteworthy results include having characterized the cortical thickness and brain connections of the average Cuban.

Today, the institute develops technologies for the timely diagnosis of dementia and strokes, through the use of state-of-the-art equipment including a high-resolution 3 Tesla MRI Scanner.

Such achievements have seen Cuba recognized as a global leader in the field of brain mapping. The island's ability to undertake large-scale basic research to benefit the health of its people, a goal constantly promoted by Fidel, led the World Health Organization to propose that the CNEURO co-direct the Brain Projects and Global Health meeting, held in Geneva Switzerland, last July 1.

A LOOK AT PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY

These brain projects gave new life to an old specialty known as psychophysiology, a branch of psychology responsible for studying how thought and emotion affect the interface of mind and body.

Neural mechanisms of addiction; brain placidity during neuropsychiatric treatment; and the effects of aging on the brain, feature among some of the most important areas of psychophysiology.

Modern psychophysiology was developed in Cuba by Dr. Mitchell Valdés, through the use of MEDICID. His work group obtained important scientific results, such as determining how the brain codifies abstract concepts. They also developed projects to detect and treat hearing loss and learning difficulties.

It comes as no surprise therefore that Cuba is set to host the International Organization of Psychophysiology (IOP) World Congress, taking place August 31 through September 4, in Havana's Meliá Hotel.

Sponsored by the IOP, the Cuban Neurosciences Society and Neurosciences Center of Cuba, around 370 specialists from Japan, China, France, Canada, Italy, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, among other countries, are scheduled to attend the event.

In this regard, IOP President, professor Giuseppe Chiarenza, sated: “I happily recall the unanimous response when I proposed Cuba to host the event. The scientific prestige of the Neurosciences Center of Cuba is unparalleled in Latin America."

According to Dr. Mitchell Valdés Sosa, now is the time for Cuba to expand efforts in human brain research and its application, as well as neurotechnology.

Now, just as it did back then as one of the first nations to develop its biotechnological industry, Cuba has the unique opportunity to make a significant contribution to the national economy with its achievements in brain science and above all, help to alleviate the suffering of people affected by brain conditions and unable to enjoy life to the fullest.

International Students Express Their Support for Cuba’s Struggles

“We know that you are not only excellent brigadistas, but are also training to be good professionals, because to develop our countries we need human beings who offer unconditional support, but especially humanism”

Nuria Barbosa León | internet@granma.cu
August 29, 2016 12:08:06

The 8th Student Solidarity with Cuba Brigade is composed of more than one hundred international students from more than twenty Third World countries. Photo: Orlando Perera
Kenia Serrano Puig, president of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP), described the more than one hundred young people from some twenty Third World nations making up the 8th Student Solidarity with Cuba Brigade as enthusiastic and committed to the causes of the Cuban Revolution.

In the first official act of the brigade, Kenia, who is also a deputy of the National Assembly of People's Power, urged the youths to continue the fight against the criminal economic, financial and commercial blockade maintained by the U.S. government despite the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, describing the policy as unjust, cruel and genocidal and calling for its complete elimination.

“We know that you are not only excellent brigadistas, but are also training to be good professionals, because to develop our countries we need human beings who offer unconditional support, but especially humanism,” she stated and invited the students to thoroughly research the complex process of the normalization of Cuba-U.S. relations, which also implies the return of the territory illegally occupied by the U.S. naval base in Guantánamo.

Staying at the Julio Antonio Mella International Camp, located in the municipality of Caimito, Artemisa province, August 17-24, the brigadistas undertook volunteer work in agricultural areas, visited centers of historical and cultural interest and received talks on the key documents approved at the Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, subject to broad discussion by Cuban society.

Activities were dedicated to the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, in honor of his 90th birthday, August 13. The program included meetings with leaders of Cuban youth organizations, and with Palestinian and Sahrawi students studying on the island, to learn of and strengthen solidarity with the anti-colonial struggles of these two peoples.

Congolese students Joellevic Okombi, Paloma Carmencita Tchimbakala and Mariam Esite, agree that life on the Caribbean island is very different from their African homeland. They noted that studying medicine in Cuba has posed challenges, which they have overcome through perseverance, in the first instance, coupled with the support of their professors and Cuban friends, who have welcomed them as family.

The three highlighted the warmth, open communication and friendliness of the Cuban people toward visitors, regardless of cultural differences. They also described sharing a dorm with students from other countries as a very positive experience, as they could exchange information about their places of origin.

The brigade also offered the opportunity to discuss various topics with students of different nationalities studying at various universities on the island, resulting in a beneficial exchange to unite in the interests of youth struggles across the world.

John Mathiang Chuol, from South Sudan, expressed a similar opinion: “The brigade allows us to meet with compañeros from other medical schools studying in the upper or lower years. It is a meeting point that fosters friendship and knowledge of the various regions of the world. We receive information on Cuban history and reality, which enhances our general knowledge.”

The 24 year old, from the city of Warrap, just completed his second year of study at the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM). He noted that he likes the methodology used to teach medicine in Cuba, due to the link between theory and practice in patient care and the guidance provided by professors.

“I have learned in Cuba that we can all be supportive without seeking anything in return,” he stressed, adding, “I do not mean only material aid but the efforts of people to provide company, information and affection. It really angers me that there is an interventionist policy of blockade imposed by the United States. I have suffered from it as I have had serious difficulties in communicating with my family by telephone.”

His friend Toscani Mbainsissem, from Chad, said Cubans ask him about his home country and are interested in learning about the political system, geography, lifestyle, culinary arts, dance and music. He referred to the social inequalities stemming from a capitalist system that can not provide health care coverage for the entire population.

The 23-year-old from the city of Moundou explained that he decided to study to be a doctor as his mother suffers from several illnesses and he wants to be able to help her, as well as any others who could use his knowledge. He hopes to practice cardiology because he is aware of the shortage of professionals in this field in Africa.

The African student spoke of various enriching experiences in the past two years as a student at ELAM, both in the academic sphere and through his participation in cultural galas and sports tournaments, which have fostered a patriotic feeling and an unconditional love for his homeland.

The International Student Solidarity with Cuba Brigade began in 2009, as one of the many initiatives undertaken by the students of other nationalities on the island to join the campaign for the return of the Cuban Five unjustly imprisoned in U.S. jails for fighting terrorism. To date, over 1,000 students from 42 countries across the world have participated as brigadistas from the School of Medical Sciences, and the universities of Havana, Artemisa, Mayabeque and other provinces.

Cuban Students Debate 7th Party Congress Documents

Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, spoke with members of the FEU National Council on August 29

Lauren Céspedes Hernández | informacion@granma.cu
August 30, 2016 10:08:48

Students carried out a thorough analysis of transformations vital to the continuation of the Cuban revolution. Photo: Anabel Díaz

A dialogue characterized by reflection, questions and proposals regarding the documents approved during the 7th Party Congress (the Draft Conceptualization of the Cuban Economic and Social Model and the National Economic and Social Development Plan through 2030), marked the second and last session of the Federation of University Students (FEU) National Council, which saw the participation of Party Political Bureau member Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, also first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba.

An analysis of the texts included corrections to their format, style and syntax and revealed several issues such as the need to include specific concepts, clarify terminologies and clearly explain ideas, in order to make the documents more understandable and as such contribute to the future effective implementation of the transformations outlined in the texts.

For example, student leaders proposed the inclusion of a glossary of definitions such as what is meant by "fundamental means of production, property, property rights;" as well as clearly outlining activities which will no longer fall under state control, when for example an entity is referred to as being "removed from direct administration of certain activities to focus on its key functions." (Chapter 1, point 131).

Also discussed during the meeting were ways to combat possible distortions which, in the future, the recognition of private property could inadvertently introduce into the country's socio-economic model; and how to articulate private property to complement that of the state in order to ensure that it doesn’t enter into conflict with the principles of a socialist society.

Yenny S. García, a member of the organization, highlighted paragraph 115 of the Conceptualization document, regarding the development of cadre policy which, she noted, should include or clearly outline the training and support process for young people who have finished their studies and are set to enter into the workforce "because it is in this process where most potential leaders and cadres are lost, due to a lack of planned follow-up in the majority of cases." Meanwhile, Josué Hernández Pozo suggested that paragraph 223 be reviewed, because even when the general comprehensive development of territories' - on the basis of their own potential - is underway or has been achieved, it's difficult to overcome key disparities among them as the paragraph highlights.

Díaz-Canel Bermúdez reflected on all these issues and emphasized the usefulness and contribution of these spaces of popular discussion; in particular the FEU National Council which he described as a demonstration of the level of responsibility and maturity reached by Cuban youth, thus reaffirming his confidence in the future potential of the country.

Also presented during the debate was the Special Edition of the magazine Verde Olivo, dedicated to Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro, in honor of his 90th birthday.

Likewise, outstanding individuals who have made an important contribution to the work of the organization were recognized, while the new members of the FEU National Secretariat were announced, during which the organization's President, Jennifer Bello, was ratified in the position.

Also participating in the event were Olga Lidia Tapia, a member of the Party Central Committee Secretariat and Susely Morfa, UJC National Committee first secretary.

Consensus to Combat the Right Wing Counteroffensive

Tribute to the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, in the closing session of the Meeting of Communist and Revolutionary Parties of Latin America

Prensa Latina(PL) | internet@granma.cu
August 29, 2016 11:08:54

The meeting took place August 26-28, in Lima. Photo: Atilio Borón

Lima.—During its closing session this Sunday, August 28, of the Meeting of Communist and Revolutionary Parties of Latin America, participants paid tribute to the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, and his concept of revolution, following his 90th birthday, celebrated August 13.

José Ramón Balaguer, member of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) Secretariat and head of its International Relations department, spoke on the concept of revolution as defined by Fidel, which he noted would live on beyond the man himself.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Patria Roja Communist Party, Rolando Breña, stressed that the event, which brings together left wing parties from across the region, would have been incomplete without a tribute to the historic Cuban leader.

The closing day of the event saw a rich exchange of points of view regarding the Consensus of Our America, a document which establishes the foundations of a common program of action. Delegates highlighted the contribution of the Cuban delegation to the drafting of the text which, according to Balaguer, promotes analysis and discussion on the threats currently posed to progressive movements, in order to positively advance, while reiterating the importance of concepts such as independence, sovereignty, democracy and socialism.

Ramiro Cabezas, representing the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, praised the document as a huge contribution to these struggles and stressed that the name – Consensus of Our America - was particularly apt, as the text represents the counter position to the Washington Consensus, which the U.S. continues to attempt to impose on Latin America.

Maduro Confident That the Venezuelan People Will Defeat Coup Attempt

President Nicolás Maduro urged Venezuelans to maintain their revolutionary and organizational awareness to defend national sovereignty

International news staff | informacion@granma.cu
August 31, 2016 09:08:32

Maduro spoke during a gathering in defense of peace and support for the Bolivarian Revolution, in the capital’s Plaza Caracas. Photo: AVN

CARACAS.— President Nicolás Maduro called on the Venezuelan people to unite in order to defeat the latest coup attempt promoted by the Venezuelan right wing, and continue peacefully building the Bolivarian Revolution, which currently faces the challenge of transforming the national economy.

Speaking during a gathering in defense of peace and support for the Bolivarian Revolution, in the capital’s Plaza Caracas, Maduro stressed that the destabilizing plans of the right, supported by the U.S., are intended to hinder the productive development of the economy through the Bolivarian Economic Agenda.

He urged Venezuelans to maintain their revolutionary and organizational awareness to continue the struggle to defend national sovereignty.

He recalled that it was popular consciousness that secured the victory of April 13, 2002, restoring democracy two days after the coup against Hugo Chávez, organized by right wing sectors and backed by the U.S. He noted that this moment marked the beginning of the social revolution and resulted in the socio-economic missions to benefit the Venezuelan people.

The head of state warned of the destabilizing plans of the right wing party, Voluntad Popular (Popular Will), which has called for opposition demonstrations across Caracas this September 1. (With information from AVN)

Latin America's Left Reacts to Brazil Coup

Ousted Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa | Photo: Reuters

Published 31 August 2016
Telesur

For its part, Venezuela said it has decided “to freeze all political and diplomatic relations with a government that emerged from a parliamentary coup.”

The governments of Bolivia and Venezuela recalled their ambassadors and Ecuador recalled its representative to Brazil on Wednesday after the country's Senate voted to oust suspended President Dilma Rousseff from office in a move widely condemned as a coup.

In return, Brazil's Foreign Ministry said it will recall its ambassadors to both countries, according to a diplomatic source quoted by Reuters.

In a statement, the Ecuadorean government also condemned the Senate decision to oust Rousseff – who was elected president to a second term with a popular mandate of 54 million votes in 2014 – and announced plans to recall its representative in Brazil.

"Given these exceptional facts, the government of Ecuador has decided to call for consultations the charge d'affaires to the Republic of Brazil," the statement continues.

The statement dubbed Rousseff's removal from office a "spurious" process that failed to fulfill the constitutional requirement of proving that the president committed "crimes of responsibility" to justify impeachment. It also noted that Ecuador's government "cannot ignore the fact that many of the decision-makers in Rousseff's impeachment are being investigated for serious acts of corruption." Installed President Michel Temer, now-Foreign Minister Jose Serra, chief impeachment leader Eduardo Cunha and several other high-profile figures behind Rousseff's impeachment are embroiled in massive corruption scandals.

On his Twitter account, President Rafael Correa criticized the news of the coup immediately following the 61 to 20 vote to impeach Rousseff over charges of manipulating the budget and reiterated the country's condemnation of the decision.

For its part, Venezuela said it had decided “to freeze all political and diplomatic relations with a government that emerged from a parliamentary coup.”

"All solidarity with @dilma and the people of Brazil, we condemn the right-wing oligarchic coup, those who fight will prevail!"  said  Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Twitter.

"Never again will we lend legitimacy to these practices, which remind us of the darkest hours of our America," he wrote. "All of our solidarity goes out to our comrade Dilma, with Lula, and all of the Brazilian people."

The Ecuadorean government statement also warned that the widely condemned "soft coup" signals a threat to regional integration amid the reconsolidation of the right-wing with underhanded tactics after the socialist "pink tide" swept South America over a decade ago.

"These unfortunate events, unacceptable in the 21st century, pose a serious risk to the stability of our region and constitute a grave setback in the consolidation of democracy."

Ahead of the final impeachment vote, Bolivian President Evo Morales wrote on his Twitter account Tuesday that the South American country would also recall its embassador to Brazil.

"If the parliamentary coup against the democratic government of Dilma Rousseff is successful, Bolivia will summon its embassador," he wrote. "We defend democracy and peace."

In the wake of the vote in the Senate in May to suspend Rousseff from office to make her stand trial on route to the impeachment, Ecuador, Venezuela and El Salvador summoned their ambassadors to Brazil for consultations in protest of what they called a coup, while several other Latin American countries criticized the impeachment bid and expressed support for the suspended president.

US State Department Announces Support for Ousting Rousseff

U.S. State Department spokesperson John Kirby (L) and Brazil's unelected president, Michel Temer |
Published 31 August 2016

Telesur

The U.S. is confident that it will continue its strong bilateral relations with Brazil after the Senate's vote to oust Rousseff, a spokesperson said.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday that Brazil's democratic institutions had acted within the country's constitutional framework, a defense of a process to remove the country's last elected president that critics have likened to a parliamentary coup.

Kirby said in a press release that the United States expects to continue having good relations with Brazil after today's vote installed former Vice President Michel Temer as president until Dec. 2018.

"We’ve seen reports that the Brazilian Senate in accordance with Brazil’s constitutional framework has voted to remove President Rousseff from office," Kirby said. "We’re confident that we will continue the strong bilateral relationship that exists between our two countries as the two largest democracies and economies in the hemisphere."

Meanwhile, the governments of Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela recalled their ambassadors to Brazil, protesting the Senate’s decision and the imposed new government in the country.

Venezuela said it had decided “to freeze all political and diplomatic relations with a government that emerged from a parliamentary coup."

The Ecuadorean government condemned the Senate decision to oust Rousseff, who was elected president to a second term with a popular mandate of 54 million votes in 2014. Ecuador's government "cannot ignore the fact that many of the decision-makers in Rousseff's impeachment are being investigated for serious acts of corruption."

Installed President Michel Temer, now-Foreign Minister Jose Serra, chief impeachment leader Eduardo Cunha and several other high-profile figures behind Rousseff's impeachment are embroiled in massive corruption scandals.

"These unfortunate events, unacceptable in the 21st century, pose a serious risk to the stability of our region and constitute a grave setback in the consolidation of democracy," said Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa on Twitter.

Majority of Senate That Impeached Rousseff Under Investigation

People walk next to an official photo of Brazil's suspended President Dilma Rousseff, at a camp in support of Rousseff, in Brasilia, Brazil, August 28, 2016. | Photo: Reuters

Published 31 August 2016
Telesur

49 of 81 Brazilian senators who ousted the president for corruption charges are themselves the targets of criminal inquiries.

More than half of the Senate voting to impeach Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff Wednesday are themselves facing legal proceedings on charges of corruption.

According to news reports and official sources, 49 of Brazil's 81 senators face crimes ranging from money laundering to illicit enrichment and electoral fraud.

By a margin of 61 to 20, the Senate voted Wednesday to remove the twice-elected Rousseff from office for doctoring the federal budget to influence voters in her successful 2014 election campaign. The contentious impeachment hearings had to be postponed following several altercations between senators, who each have accused each other of corruption and even drug use.

Rousseff is not accused of corruption or embezzlement. Instead, she was forced to step down over allegations that she cooked the federal budget books in the runup to her 2014 reelection to hide a government shortfall and woo voters. However, a June Senate report proved the allegations were false.

Conservative senators are trying to prove that she committed a “crime of responsibility,” the only charge for which a president can be impeached, but the president’s defenders consider that the predominantly opposition-held senate has no moral authority to judge her. Of the 13 Senators linked to Brazil's "Operation Car Wash" scandal involving the state-owned oil company, Petrobas, 10 voted to impeach Rousseff Wednesday.

Many of the 81 senators have already spoke, most of them against Rousseff. The trial was resumed on Wednesday morning for the final vote on removing her.

Testifying in her own defense, Rousseff recalled how she had endured torture as a dissident fighting the military dictatorship to articulate her belief in democracy. She had committed no impeachable offenses, she said, and urged the Senate to uphold their constitutional duty and vote against her impeachment.

She will be replaced by the interim President Michel Temer, who led the parliamentary coup and will continue to govern until 2018, despite his broad unpopularity with the electorate and pending corruption charges of his own.

Democracy Is Dead in Brazil

By Maria Luisa Mendonça
Telesur

A protest sign during a rally against Rousseff's impeachment during the president's visit to New York, April 22, 2016. | Photo: Reuters

Published 31 August 2016

The successful execution of this coup, which masqueraded as a legitimate impeachment trial, sets a dangerous precedent for Latin America.

The impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff represents a parliamentary coup by right-wing politicians who face serious corruption charges and have not been able to win presidential elections since 2002.

The alleged basis for the impeachment was her use of a common financial mechanism of borrowing funds from public banks to cover social program expenses in the federal budget.

Recently, the federal prosecutor's office concluded that the budget deficit served to subsidize interests rates in governmental loans in order to provide credit for low-income housing and agriculture.

The federal prosecutor stated that this mechanism cannot be considered a crime.

Other national and local administrations have used this same mechanism, including her predecessors Lula da Silva and Fernando H. Cardoso, as well as 16 current state governors.

The senators who voted for the impeachment ignored the decision of the public prosecutor, who should be the main authority to determine if the accusations had legal basis. The main strategy of the interim government of Michel Temer, who is banned from running for office for eight years due to violating election laws, was to create a de facto situation, so the result of the trial against President Rousseff was a foregone conclusion, even before she presented her defense.

The impeachment votes in the Senate and in the Lower House were predictable, since most lawmakers expressed their opinions previously. Most House members declared that they were supporting the impeachment in the name of God, or their families. One member even praised a former military commander who tortured Rousseff during the military dictatorship, which lasted from 1964 until 1985.

These are key facts to understand why Brazil is experiencing a parliamentary coup.

Several Congress members in favor of the impeachment face serious corruption charges. Former House Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who initiated and conducted the impeachment vote on April 17, has since been forced to step down on charges of corruption and maintaining illegal Swiss bank accounts. The Supreme Court had received evidence against Cunha at least six months before the vote in the Lower House, but conveniently let him orchestrate the impeachment approval.

De facto President Temer, along with seven ministers appointed by him, are also under investigation for corruption charges. Temer has been acting very fast to push neoliberal reforms and austerity cuts to social programs, including education, health care and retirement plans, which will create more economic and social instability. These austerity measures will increase economic inequality and unemployment. His Cabinet consists of the most conservative sectors of the political spectrum, representing an agenda that has been rejected by Brazilian voters in consecutive elections since 2002.

Mainstream media in Brazil has played a major role in the impeachment process by creating the idea that Rousseff's removal from office was needed to solve the economic crisis. For more than a year, the main television stations called for demonstrations against her government. At the same time, the demonstrations in defense of the democratic process that re-elected Rousseff in 2014 were mainly ignored by mainstream media.

The international community needs to support democracy in Brazil. Before U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry traveled to Brazil for the opening ceremony of the Olympics, 43 House Democrats sent him a letter expressing serious concerns about the U.S. role in undermining democracy in Brazil. At that time, Secretary Kerry avoided a meeting with Temer, but met with the interim minister of foreign relations, Jose Serra, who has been accused of receiving millions of dollars in illegal campaign contributions.

Latin American countries have experienced traumatic regime change coups in recent years, in Honduras, Paraguay and now in Brazil. Acceptance of an illegitimate government sets a dangerous precedent for the whole region, and the risk of undermining democracy can have traumatic impacts for many years.

Maria Luisa Mendonça is co-director of Rede Social de Justiça e Direitos Humanos (Network for Social Justice and Human Rights) in Brazil. She has a PhD in Philosophy and Social Sciences from the University of Sao Paulo (USP).