From Volume 37, Issue 43 of EIR Online, Published Nov. 5, 2010
Africa News Digest

International Court Targets Sudan and Kenya for Destabilization

Oct. 27 (EIRNS)—The British-run International Criminal Court (ICC) yesterday made public its demand to the Kenyan government that it arrest Sudan President Omar al-Bashir when he arrives for an Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) meeting originally scheduled to take place there on Oct. 2.

The IGAD is a regional grouping of nations in the greater Horn of Africa area. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the January 2011 referendum in southern Sudan for unity with or separation from Sudan.

The ICC initiative is a direct threat to ongoing negotiations between North and South Sudan over 1) a settlement over Abyei, and 2) the future of relations between Sudan and South Sudan if the South votes to secede.

The ICC move has created a crisis in Kenya, South Sudan's neighbor, because, on a previous visit by Bashir, the Kenyan government had refused to arrest him, despite the fact that Kenya is a signatory of the ICC, and is theoretically obligated to do so.

The British financial empire is escalating political tensions in Kenya because the ICC is expected to soon charge a number of high-ranking Kenyans for the post-election violence that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 Kenyans in 2007-08. The election was held in late 2007.

Kenya's refusal to arrest Bashir is an indication that it will also refuse to deliver the individuals who will be charged by the ICC. As a result, the ICC is creating a controversy before making the new charges in Kenya.

As a result of the ICC intervention over Bashir's attendance, the African leaders decided to change the venue of the meeting from Kenya to Ethiopia, which is under no treaty obligation to arrest Bashir.

Kenyan Foreign Minister Moses Wetang'ula said Kenya's interests would always come first: "Our strategic interests are more important than the ill-founded criticism that people level at us."

Cholera Hitting Nigeria and Several Neighboring Countries

Oct. 26 (EIRNS)—More than 1,500 people have died from cholera in Nigeria this year, according to reports from the UN, WHO, Red Cross, and government agencies. Nearly 40,000 have been infected in Nigeria.

The combination of heavy rains and the lack of clean water and sanitary facilities—classic issues resulting from the lack of development—have contributed to the spike of needless deaths, the worst toll since 1991.

The killer waterborne disease has spread to Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Benin, all neighbors of Nigeria.

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