THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Charles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, is on trial again today after a six-month delay.  Taylor is accused of controlling militia that killed and raped thousands in Sierra Leone.  Taylor is the first ex-African head of state to face a trial before an international war crimes tribunal. 

Video of mutliated Sierra Leonean victims was shown today and the first witness gave testimony regarding conflict diamonds.  The expert, Ian Smillie, testified as to the key role diamonds play in funding conflicts in countries that lack hard currency. 

Taylor is accused of arming, training, and controlling the notorious Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels in exchange for an unknown amount of diamonds.  The conflict in Sierra Leone resulted in the death of 120,000 and the mutilation of thousands. 

Taylor’s trial before the Special Court for Sierra Leone was moved to The Hague from Freetown due to fears over security and the threat of destabilization.  The trial opened in June, but was initially boycotted by Taylor, and was postponed after Taylor fired his first lawyer.  In August Taylor accepted a new lawyer and received a $100,000 a month defense budget, with the trial being postponed to give the new defense team time to prepare. 

For more information, please see:

BBC News – Shocking footage at Taylor trial – 7 January 2008

AFP – War crimes trial of Liberian ex-president Taylor resumes – 7 January 2008

Guardian Unlimited (UK) – Taylor war crimes trial begins – 7 January 2008

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has promised more rallies and once again rejected the president’s offer to establish a unity government.  Odinga claims President Kibaki rigged the 27 December election and says that mediation is necessary, rather than a unity government, and that Kibaki cannot offer them anything ‘because he did not win the election.”

Odinga said in a news conference on Saturday “there cannot be peace without justice” and that he would only sit down for talks with Kibaki in the presence of an international mediator.  He stated they want a properly negotiated settlement rather than a coalition government.  US diplomat Jendayi Frazer flew in on Friday and has been working to broker a solution to the crisis.  A senior US official has said that both parties are prepared to meet with the African Union to find a solution.

Kenya has been a hotbed of ethnic violence since the disputed election and more than 300 people have died.  Kibaki’s Kikuyu people have been pitted against Kenya’s other tribes, which has brought chaos to this country of 34 million people. 

The violence throughout the country has forced some 250,000 people from their homes.  While the violence eased over the weekend, there were isolated ethnic clashes and police involvement in the coastal tourist town of Mombasa.  Thousands fled their homes in the countryside under fear of continued ethnic attacks.

The increasing number of displaced people who have been cut off from supplies from the country has led to a massive shortage of food.  The crisis caused shops and transport across the country to be shut down and what little food is available is now triple the price. The UN tried to help on Sunday, sending 20 truckloads of grain, pulses, and vegetable oil that had been held up by vigilante roadblocks and other insecurity.

The Kenyan Red Cross has asked for $15.4 billion in aid for those people forced from their homes due to the crisis.  The World Food Program has said it is working with the Red Cross to provide food to the 100,000 people displaced in the northern Rift valley, in the remote areas that are difficult to get food to.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Odinga rejects power-sharing offer – 6 January 2008

AP – Opposition Rejects Unity Gov’t in Kenya – 6 January 2008

AFP – US mediates Kenya crisis as opposition rejects govt offer – 6 January 2008

BBC News – Kenya food effort gets under way – 6 January 2008

AllAfrica.com – Kenya: Food, Fuel Crisis Looms Over Post-Poll Violent Protests – 5 January 2008

NAIROBI, Kenya – More than 100,000 Kenyans have been displaced since the fighting began after the 2007 presidential election. According to a UN official in Nairobi, about 500,000 people are in urgent need. Many have sought refuge in police stations and churches but neither is equipped for the alarming humanitarian demand.

Since last weekend, hundreds have been killed, thousands are homeless and hungry and several children have died from exposure. The International Committee of the Red Cross has appealed for more than £7m of aid and the UN World Food Programme said it was struggling to get food to 100,000 hungry people.

The December 27 results, which re-elected President Mwai Kibaki over opposition rival Raila Odinga, has unleashed a wave of ethnic violence. Odinga, his Orange Democratic Movement party and his Luo tribe claims the voting was rigged and is demanding that Kibaki stand down as president and wants a new presidential election within three months. According to Alfred Mutua, spokesman for President Kibaki, Kibaki is willing to accept a re-vote only if it is ordered by a court.

Meanwhile, the mass rally schedule by Odinga to take place today was canceled after massive security forces halted the demonstration and many protestors failed to march on central Nairobi.

South African Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu has met with both sides and reports that Kibaki has agreed to a coalition government. Also, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jendayi Frazer arrived in Nairobi overnight in an attempt at mediation in Kenya, which was once seen as one of the continent’s most stable democracies.

Britain, the US and France have all expressed belief that the election was rigged.

For more information please see:

BBC- Kenya’s Humanitarian Crisis Grows – 4 January 2008

Reuters: Africa – Kenya Government Ready for New Vote if Ruled By Court – 4 January 2008

Reuters: Africa – US Envoy in Kenya for Talks to End Crisis – 4 January 2008

PUNTLAND, Somalia – The two female staff workers for the Medicins sans Frontieres (MSF) were released by their abductors on Wednesday. Spanish doctor Mercedes Garcia and Argentine nurse Pilar Bauza were kidnapped last Wednesday in Bosasso while driving to a hospital.

Although the kidnappers demanded a ransom, officials claim none was paid for the women’s freedom.  According to Spain’s Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, there were a lot of negotiations and persuasion. Witnesses report that the women appeared tired but in good spirits.

The women are currently in a hotel in Bosasso and hope to return to Mogadishu to continue their mission.

Their abduction occurred one day after kidnapped French journalist, Gwen Le Gouil, was released by Somali gunmen. For precaution, MSF Spain withdrew its foreign staff from southern and central Somalia on Tuesday.

For more information please see:

BBC- Two MSF Workers Freed in Somalia – 2 January 2008

Reuters: Africa – Somali Kidnappers Free Foreign Aid Staff – 2 January 2008

By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa

NAIROBI, Kenya – Genocide Watch called a Genocide Alert Tuesday in Kenya, claiming that genocidal massacres are taking place daily in Kenya in the wake of the disputed election of President Mwai Kibaki.  President Kibaki is a member of the ethnic Kikuyu ethnic group, and his opponent Mr. Raila Odinga is a member of the Luo ethnic group. 

Ethnic riots have broken out in numerous places throughout Kenya and hundreds of people have been murdered.  On Tuesday a church in Eldoret was locked and the people inside were burned to death by the mob.  According to Genocide Watch, people “have been pulled from their cars and their identification cards checked for their names, which symbolizes their ethnic identity, and then killed if they belong to groups being targeted.” 

While Kenya has not yet descended into an actual genocide, Genocide Watch claims the ethnic massacres are an indicator that a genocide could be in the preparation stage.

President Kibaki has accused his political opponent of organizing and unleashing the genocide. Mr. Odinga’s supports, on the other hand, blame the violence on Mr. Kibaki, saying he provoked the incidents by “stealing” the election on 27 December. 

While Kibaki’s Kikuyu tribe was immediately targeted, retaliatory killings by the Kikuyu are on the rise in the mayhem.  Rights groups say the violence has been exacerbated by a police crackdown on rioting and looting. 

The international community has placed pressure on surrounding countries and the African Union to mediate between Kibaki and Odinga.  Odinga has plans for a mass rally on Thursday, which has been banned by the government on security grounds. 

Kenya has been a largely stable country and is an important ally to the West in its counter-terrorism efforts.   Kenya is usually the peacemaker in African hot spots such as Somalia and Sudan, rather than the conflict focus.  Independent from Britain since 1963, the Kikuyu have dominated the political and business life in East Africa’s biggest and fastest-growing economy.   However, many of Kenya’s 42 tribes accuse the Kikuyu of shutting out others from business and politics, an accusation the Kikuyu deny. 

For more information, please see:

Genocide Watch – Genocide Watch: Kenya – 1 January 20008

Reuters Africa – Kenya government denounces “genocide” as toll hits 300 – 2 January 2008

Telegraph (UK) – Kenya on the brink amid ‘genocide’ claims – 2 January 2008

International Herald Tribune – Gangs of Nairobi’s slums turn political dispute ethnic; concerns politicians can’t bring calm – 2 January 2008

BBC News – Kenyans plead for end to violence – 2 January 2008