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INSIDE AFRICA

Spotlight on Africa`s Unresolved Conflicts

Aired May 5, 2007 - 12:30:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ISHA SESAY, HOST: Hello, I'm Isha Sesay. This is INSIDE AFRICA, your weekly look at life and issues on the continent.
Today, we're going to follow up on some of Africa's unresolved conflicts. In Somalia, the capital is finally quiet after fighting sparked the worst humanitarian crisis in the country's recent history. But how long will peace last this time?

And in Zimbabwe, while no longer in the headlines, a new report says the crackdown on opposition members and supporters continues unabated.

But first, Sudan. Activists around the world gathered this past week to protest what they call the world's indifference to genocide in Darfur. This comes also as the International Criminal Court issues its first arrest warrant in the case. So, four years into the conflict, some observers say things are getting worse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM CLANCY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From Britain to Israel .

CROWD: United Nations in Darfur!

CLANCY: . Italy and Germany, they marched, rallied and protested in more than 30 cities all around the world this week, to bring attention to what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian disaster.

JOSEPH LAPID, ISRAEL'S YAD VASHEM COUNCIL: The world cannot sit behind and just hear about 300,000 being murdered, and more than a million homes being destroyed, about daily dying children, women, about horrible circumstances in which the survivors live, not to speak of those who have been already killed. How can we sit silently and watch this?

CLANCY: During a Global Day for Darfur, activists said the world was sitting by, watching another genocide take place, and doing nothing.

MIA FARROW, ACTRESS AND ACTIVIST: President Bush has asked for more time. Tell it to the mother whose children are on fire today! Ban Ki-moon has told we need patience. Tell it to the women being raped today!

CLANCY: Sudan's government says it's unable to stop the Janjaweed militia from committing the atrocities. The government itself is accused of backing the militia.

While there has been plenty of international diplomacy, experts admit little has changed. In fact, some say it's getting worse.

LORD DAVID TRIESMAN, BRITISH FOREIGN COMMONWEALTH OFFICE: My Lords, the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur and eastern Chad continues to deteriorate. In Darfur, 100 and 7,000 (ph) people have been displaced since January, the total number now rising to 2.1 million displaced, and 4 million are dependent on aid. Insecurity, lack of access and attacks on humanitarian agencies continues to hamper severely the delivery of aid. In Chad, violence and cross-border attacks have left hundreds of thousands of people vulnerable and dependent on aid.

CLANCY: So far, the United States and Britain have held off imposing sanctions against Sudan, because Khartoum says it agrees in principle to accept the joint African Union-U.N. peacekeeping force. Security Council members China and Russia have huge trade deals with Sudan, and getting them to go along on sanctions is another sticking point. Organizers behind the Global Day for Darfur say enough excuses. Every second counts. Action is needed now.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. HIGH COMM. FOR REFUGEES: Without a peace agreement, it will be very difficult for things to improve. With a peace agreement, I have no doubt that then we can start solving the problem. But it's not only the political problem. It's also the need for tribes, some herders, some farmers, some nomads, some sedentary, that have been able to live together for centuries, but in a context of diminishing resources, have started - have started to fight each other, and, of course, the political dimension, as to a certain extent strongly contributed for this kind of conflict.

CLANCY: There are many constants in this crisis. Among them, that Darfur remains for the foreseeable future the world's worst humanitarian disaster.

Jim Clancy, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: The International Criminal Court this week issued its first arrest warrant in the conflict. The court says the evidence support 51 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. They've been filed against Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister, Ahmad Muhammad Harun, and the Janjaweed militia's so-called colonel of colonels, Ali Kushayb.

Sudan is so far refusing to arrest them, and in this case waiting for justice will likely be a trial in patience as much as it will be for justice.

Meantime, is there anything you can do to change the status quo in Darfur? Well, that's the topic of a new book by actor Don Cheadle and International Crisis Group's John Prendergast. The book is "Not on Our Watch." Earlier, Jim Clancy spoke to the two of them about Darfur and why they wrote the book.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON CHEADLE, ACTOR AND ACTIVIST: I would say every third letter was asking me about either Rwanda or Darfur and what can be done, and what can the average citizen do. And John and I had traveled to the region together, and clearly, it was something that was a passion for him. And it had become one of mine, and I wanted to answer those questions in - in a document that, you know, was not didactic and over people's heads, but was very simple and could be broken down with, you know, sections that would be (inaudible) Darfur, what people could do that moment if they were having these questions, and just try to get this grassroots sort of collective going. Because I know a lot of people look at this tragedy and want to become involved, and just don't know how to do that.

CLANCY: John Prendergast, in some ways, yes, the book is a map for action to stop the violence, the death in Darfur. But at the same time, doesn't it seem to be saying that governments - the people that hold the responsibility are not doing enough? They're not doing anything.

JOHN PRENDERGAST, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: We know what needs to be done to resolve the crisis, to bring a solution to the horrors of Darfur. But the United Nations Security Council and the governments that compose it are not stepping up, and the United States, being the lead country on the Security Council for matters related to human rights -- people look generally to the U.S. to take the lead role on this - has not stepped up, and that's why citizens across the United States are now increasingly -- you're seeing this in Europe -- are saying -- demanding that their governments step up and take the kind of actions necessary to end the crisis in Darfur.

CLANCY: John, one Sudanese refugee that I talked with said the Chinese and the Russians are drinking the blood of my people. What do oil fields and arm sales have to do with Darfur?

PRENDERGAST: Well, the investment capital, which has fueled the rapid growth of Sudan's oil sector, has largely come from China. Billions of dollars have been invested by the Chinese in the southern Sudan's oil fields.

The money that the government of Sudan has earned in their commercial partnership with Beijing, has largely gone to purchase weapons, primarily from Moscow, from the Russians, to undertake the kinds of policies, the military tactics that they have, that have led to half a million people dead, and 2.5 million people displaced in Darfur. So the Chinese and the Russians are direct contributors to the mayhem and destruction in Darfur, and I think have a particular responsibility for it.

CLANCY: There is other things people can do. Writing a letter -- this book lays out what, six strategies?

CHEADLE: Yes. And we do that throughout the book, and we have seen - - you know, we've been talking now about this book for a couple of weeks now, and we've been trying to get people to exchange information. One - a great thing that we have that we didn't have when we were growing up is MySpace, and we've seen these conversations begin online, and they can become viral. And it really takes these people connecting to one another, first to realize that they're not alone, they're not sitting there in their house by themselves saying this is terrible but nobody else cares, there is many people who care.

We just have to start reaching and connecting, and once we see that collective and that din reach a level that is - cannot be ignored, I think we will see change. There is - there is legislation that's pending right now, a plan B that is - potentially will be in front of president for him to sign, that will give teeth to this movement, that will have targeted sanctions, and assets - freezing assets and travel bans and things of this nature, that will really make a change in Darfur. And we need the people to get behind that and press our leadership to do the right thing now, while these things are pending.

CLANCY: Don Cheadle, John Prendergast. The book is "Not on Our Watch." It is the mission to find - to end genocide in Darfur and beyond. I want to thank you both for being with us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: That was Jim Clancy with the authors of the book a little earlier.

So, here is a quick look at the six main strategies they lay out in the book. Number one, raising awareness, by staying informed and informing others about what's going on in Darfur.

Raising funds, either by organizing or hosting fundraisers, or by selling t-shirts, setting up donation boxes, or simply buying "Save Darfur" coalition wristband.

Number three, write a letter to your elected officials, asking them to take action to stop atrocities in Darfur.

Call for divestment. The Web site of the Sudan Divestment Task Force has a wealth of information about such campaigns, and how to start a new one if you like.

Join an organization or start one if none exists in your area.

And finally, lobby the government. Find out your personal representatives' record on Darfur and challenge them to do more.

You can find out much more about the book on the Web site, notonourwatchbook.com -- that's notonourwatchbook.com.

When we come back, Somalis return to their homes in the capital after some of the worst fighting the country has seen in 60 years. But how long will peace last? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Namibia's Cancer Association has sold a record one million apples in its annual fundraiser. Schools, businesses and people around the country pitched in about 30 cents per apple to help the cause.

The price of maze meal in Zimbabwe has gone up by almost 600 percent, from about 50 U.S. cents to more than $3 a bag. The increase could make the staple food unaffordable to people in the country where the average monthly salary is just $20 a month. Zimbabwe has been battling record inflation of about 2,000 percent.

And fighting in Somalia has displaced almost a third of Mogadishu's population, resulting in price increases for rental property, transport, water and basic food items. Prices are said to have increased anywhere from 30 to 70 percent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Welcome back. You're watching INSIDE AFRICA, this week we're following up on some of Africa's unresolved conflicts. In Somalia, the United Nations and other aid agencies are stepping up their efforts to deliver food and shelter to the hundreds of thousands displaced by fighting. Many have nothing but trees to shelter them from the rain, and now aid workers say cholera is becoming an added concern.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: Mogadishu, quiet after the storm. The United Nations says fighting here has sparked the worst humanitarian crisis in Somalia's recent history. Up to 400,000 people have fled the city, and the rotting bodies said to be littering the streets because it was too dangerous to pick them up.

In the last two weeks of April alone, more than 400 people were reported killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's hard to make exact comparisons between one situation and another, but in certainly in present circumstances, I say our assessment is this is the most dangerous place to operate for aid workers. And of course, particular dangerous for civilians.

SESAY: Islamic insurgents have been battled allied Ethiopian and Somali government forces for control of the city since late March. But now, Somali refugees, many of them living in the open, struggling to provide and protect themselves and their children, are returning to Mogadishu, hoping they've seen the last of war.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): (AUDIO GAP). We decided to go back. The place where we had fled to was not conducive for us. Life was difficult.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (through translator): We would like to go back, but we are worried about the security in Mogadishu.

SESAY: Most have good reason to worry. Recent history tells them that in Mogadishu, peace is merely temporary. Since 1991, the country has seen nothing but war, anarchy and a complicated play of characters and interests.

It began when Somali warlords, widely believed to be backed by the United States, ousted dictator Siad Barre. Then, in 2004, then main clans, armed groups and politicians set up a transitional government, with the help of the United Nations, and supported by the African Union and Ethiopia. But the government has been struggling to exert its authority, and claims very little popular support.

Last year, a third party, the Union of Islamic Courts, entered the stage and seized Mogadishu from the warlords. Critics describe the Islamic Union as the Taliban of East Africa. But some say they provided Somalis with what they most needed - a sense of security.

Today, the Somali government says they've regained control of Mogadishu from the Islamic Union and their supporters, but for how long? Both insurgents and the Somali interim government vowed to keep fighting until the end. And while there is talk of possible U.N. peacekeepers heading to Somalia, the memory of the 1992 U.S.-led mission gone terribly wrong keeps the West reluctant to commit peacekeepers to any mission there.

Hopes had been pinned on the African Union, but Uganda's 1,500 troops made little difference during recent fighting, and other African nations are shying away, saying they have no resources to spare.

For now at least, there is still no guarantee of lasting peace for Somalia's war-weary residents.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: For more on the situation, I spoke earlier to Christopher Eads, Africa analyst with "The Economist" magazine. I asked him how clans were complicating the conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER EADS, THE ECONOMIST: The clan situation in Somalia is hugely complex, and it can be a black hole trying to get into it too much. I mean, the Union of Islamic Courts that was running the majority of the country there for a while, they were dominated by the Hawiye clan, and there certainly was a clan element running in parallel to the Islamist element before. So, I think the emergence of clan tensions now is more - not so much that they were not there before, but they're now kind of more at the forefront of what people are talking about.

SESAY: Give me some context to this ill feeling for the Ethiopian forces. Certainly some of these insurgents have put out statements, saying, you know, calling on the people of Somalia to stand up against the colonizers. What exactly is behind the sentiment?

EADS: The tensions between the two go back very long ways. The idea that Ethiopian troops are now in Somalia is -- there is a feeling of kind of occupation, and they - the insurgents are trying to tap into that preexisting anti-Ethiopian sentiment to try to boost their numbers and to gain support.

SESAY: Now, you said that peace won't hold - the cease-fire won't hold without a boost to those African Union troops. What sign is there that more troops - more boots will be on the ground sometime soon?

EADS: To be honest, there hasn't been many signs lately that there's been a lot of progress made by the A.U. on that front. There is currently severe (ph) problems in Darfur, and now expanding into Chad and Central African Republic. It definitely makes - putting a big drain on A.U. resources.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: That was Christopher Eads with "The Economist," speaking to me a little earlier.

There is more to come on INSIDE AFRICA. Just ahead, out of the headlines, but still in a crisis. We get an update on the situation in Zimbabwe. Stay with us.

(C0MMERCIAL BREAK)

SESAY: Welcome back. You're watching INSIDE AFRICA.

The group Human Rights Watch this week urged South African President Thabo Mbeki and other African leaders to put more pressure on the Zimbabwean government to end human rights violations. The organization's new report says that the violence crackdown on political activists has grown worse since the beating of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, propelling the issue onto the world's headlines in March. The 39-page report, "Bashing Dissent, Escalating Violence and State Repression in Zimbabwe," is based on first-hand accounts of what is said to be widespread and systematic abuses.

The Zimbabwean government has said it's responding to an opposition campaign of violence and terror in the country, and has accused opposition members of conducting attacks on police camps around the country.

A little earlier, Jim Clancy spoke to the acting director of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and to a member of Morgan Tsvangirai's Zimbabwe Opposition Party about the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLANCY: The movement for democratic change has long represented the opposition in Zimbabwe. You have participated in the elections, elections that have been certified by the African Union and by others that have come in there and looked at it. At one point, you were within eight seats in Zimbabwe's parliament of the ruling party.

But you've decided at different times to boycott elections and you have not fared as well at the polls. Why that strategy?

GRACE KWINJEH, MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE: Elections in Zimbabwe are not an event, but a process. If you look, for instance, right now, the pattern of violence is repeating itself.

I will tell you that as we speak right now, I have colleagues, half of the national executives leadership of the MDC in remand prison, half of the staff members in remand prison. They have been denied bail several times. Five of them are critical. They've been tortured badly, like I was tortured..

And our appeal to the international community is that this is not a Zimbabwe problem alone, this is not a (inaudible) problem alone, this is not an African Union problem alone. But the whole international community has to work together.

CLANCY: Otto Saki, some would say South Africa maybe celebrating, but they're not supporting the opposition struggle in Zimbabwe.

OTTO SAKI, ZIMBABWE LAWYERS FOR HUMAR RIGHTS: The have not been very of - much of help to the Zimbabwean struggle. Mostly, though, in light of the fact that what's the ordinary person in Zimbabwe is aspiring for is a situation where we live in peace and prosperity, where the basic rights that they in South Africa are currently enjoying. The greatest, I think, gift that the South Africans can give in their current mediation is to read the bill of rights of the South African Constitution to our Zimbabwean president, and compare that. I think that will be the best that they can give us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SESAY: That was Otto Saki and Grace Kwinjeh, speaking to Jim Clancy earlier.

It's almost time for us to go, but first, we want to get some African perspective on the crises in Somalia and Darfur. Here's a look at a few editorials from around the continent.

Kenya's "The Nations" reads: "The only way out of the Somali quagmire is an inclusive system involving all shades of society, in a genuine search for peace. This must be done under strict international supervision."

On Darfur, the paper reads, "Talks and treaties will not bring peace to Darfur. Only force will end the conflict."

Nigeria's "Daily Champion" reads: "Sudanese President Bashir has made impossible the attainment of cease-fire. The only option left for the U.N. is sanctions."

Uganda's "New Vision" writes: "Too many promises have been made to the people of Darfur, mostly by Western governments paying lip service about not allowing another Rwanda to happen. But, if investors pull out and sanctions bite, Sudan may finally be forced to read the writing on the wall."

Thank you for watching. That's it for this week's program. But there is much more to come next week. So, please let INSIDE AFRICA be your window to the continent. Take care.

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