Fifteen representatives of ALN members parties met in Dar Es Salam, Tanzania, 2-4 August 2008 in order to decide on the best ways of increasing the effectiveness of the Network and to agree an action plan for the next 2 years. The points discussed during the meeting included redefining the roles and responsibilities of office bearers, and of the different bodies within the ALN structure, and reviewing the procedures for admission of new members. The constitutional amendments were officially adopted during the ALN General Assembly which took place on Monday 4 August, together with an action plan for the next 2 years which stressed, among other things, the importance of increasing electoral support to member parties during elections. A new Exectuive Committee was also elected. Mamadou Lamine Ba from PDS Senegal, adviser to President Wade and LI Vice-President, was elected as the new ALN President, together with 5 regional Vice-Presidents and a Treasurer.

Despite UN Resolution 1291 establishing the UN security mission in the DRC, MONUC (30th of november 1999), the citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have not yet enjoyed peace and security, two prerequisites for freedom and sustainable development.
Noting the persistent climate of violence in the DRC and the current government’s inaction in securing peace for its citizens, the Africa Liberal Network:
1- Calls for an assessment of the role of MONUC;
2- Calls on the UN Security Council to take responsibility for bringing peace to the people of the DRC;
3- Calls on the government of the DRC to protect the population of the country;
4- Expresses its support for all the people of the DRC;
5- Condemns all forms of violence committed by government forces or other armed groups;
6- Calls on the international community to consider the establishment of an International Tribunal Court for the DRC;
7- Calls on the National Assembly of the DRC to pass legislation to put an end to the impunity with which the armed groups operate;
8- Calls for the disarmament of all foreign and national armed groups on DRC soil;
9- Calls on the government of the DRC to take all the necessary steps to ensure political parties can exercise their rights in a peaceful and free electoral environment
10- Condemns the assassination of late Daniel Bolethi, vice president of the provincial assembly of Kinshasa,Member of the Movement of Liberation of Congo(MLC) and asks for a full investigation of this murder;
11- In view of foreign involvement in the DRC conflict, calls on neighbouring countries such as Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, and Uganda to honour their commitments to the people of the DRC in order to find a lasting solution;
12- Calls on the President of the African Union and the UN Secretary General to play a more active role in finding a lasting solution to the conflict in the DRC.
15 July 2008

Malgre la Résolution 1291 du Conseil de Sécurite de l’ONU qui a crée la mission des Nations Unies en RDC, MONUC a la date du 30 Novembre 1999, le peuple ami et frère de la RDC n’a toujours pas la paix et la sécurité, conditions indispensables pour un developpement harmonieux.
Constatant la persistance de la violence et l’inertie du pouvoir en place dans sa mission de garant de la nation, le Réseau Liberal Africain:
1- S’interroge sur le rôle de la MONUC;
2- Demande au conseil de sécurité de l’ONU de prendre ses responsabilités;
3- Interpelle le gouvernement de la RDC sur son rôle qui consiste a assurer la sécurité des personnes et leurs biens sur l’ensemble du territoire national;
4- Apporte son soutien au peuple ami et frère de la RDC;
5- Condamne toutes formes de violences commises par les forces gouvernementales et les groupes armées
6- Souhaite la mise sur pied d’un tribunal pénal international pour la RDC
7- Demande a l’Assemblée Nationale de la RDC de faire voter des lois en vue de mettre fin a l’impunité;
8- Souhaite que les groupes armés étrangers et nationaux soient neutralisés;
9- Souhaite que le gouvernement de la RDC prenne toutes les dispositions en vue de permettre aux partis politiques d’oppositions d’exercer leurs activités dans un climat de paix et dans un environnement démocratique
10- Condamne l’assassinat de M.Daniel Bolethi, vice president de l’Assemblée provinciale de Kinshasa, Membre du Mouvement de Liberation du Congo(MLC) et demande l’ouverture d’une enquête indépendante en vue de situer les responsabilités de ce crime crapuleux.
11- Eu égard a l’implication des puissances étrangères dans le conflit de la RDC,invite les pays voisins tels l’Angola, La namibie, le Zimbabwe, le Rwanda, et l’Ouganda de respecter les engagements pris devant le peuple congolais et la communauté internationale en vue d’une paix durable dans ce pays.
12-Invite le Président en exercice de l’Union Africaine et le Secrétaire général de l’ONU de s’impliquer davantage dans l’avénement d’une paix durable en RDC.
15 Juillet 2008

The former Congolese Vice-President, Jean-Pierre Bemba, has appeared at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for the first time. Mr Bemba, who fled the Democratic Republic of Congo last year, was arrested in Belgium in May.
He is accused of atrocities allegedly committed by his forces during a coup attempt six years ago in the Central African Republic. The former rebel leader has always denied the charges against him.
Correspondents say Mr Bemba appeared at the initial hearing dressed in a dark suit, and waved to his wife in the public gallery as guards led him into the courtroom. He confirmed that he was born in 1962 and gave his profession as “senator”. He also complained about his conditions. “The conditions aren’t the best, not what I had hoped for,” he said.
Coup attempt
Mr Bemba went into exile after being accused of high treason in his home country for refusing to disarm his militia after his defeat in presidential elections in 2006. The successful businessman was one of four vice-presidents in a transitional government in the war-torn African nation between 2003 and 2006. He was leader of a rebel group, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo, which later became a political party.
In 2002, the former president of the Central African Republic, Ange-Felix Patasse, asked Mr Bemba’s group to help put down a coup attempt. While there, Mr Bemba’s forces were accused of widespread rights abuses.
The case comes at a time of crisis for the ICC as the case against another Congolese warlord risks collapse, the BBC’s World Affairs correspondent Mark Doyle reports. On Wednesday, the court ordered the release of Thomas Lubanga, a former militia leader, after judges said he would not be given a fair trial. A prosecution appeal over his release is due to be heard next week.

The Africa Liberal Network would like to react to the resolution of the African Union on the crisis in Zimbabwe. The said resolution proposes that a dialogue be established between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai in order to promote peace and stability in the country and calls for the creation of a government of national unity and continued mediation by SADC.
-Given the fact that UN Security Council members Russia and China continue to block sanctions against the ZANU-PF government
-Given the continued suffering of the people of Zimbabwe
-Given the fact that members of the MDC are still subjected to brutality and violence perpetrated by the Mugabe regime
-Noting that the situation in Zimbabwe constitutes a serious threat to stability and democracy in Africa, in so far as it can set a dangerous political precedent in the region
The Africa Liberal Network
-States that the elections in Zimbabwe were not transparent nor democratic
-States that Robert Mugabe cannot be considered a legitimate president as the results of the run off elections do not reflect the will of the Zimbabwean people
-Condemns the acts of violence committed by ZANU- PF against the people of Zimbabwe
-Expresses concern that this travesty may set a dangerous political precedent in Africa
-Believes that a government of national unity, within the current framework, does not resolve the fundamental issues in Zimbabwe
Further, the Africa Liberal Network
-Proposes that concrete measures be taken by the AU and SADC that promote first and foremost the interests of the people of Zimbabwe
-Calls for the replacement of President Thabo Mbeki by another mediator or an ad hoc committee
-Calls on the international community to use all means possible to stop this travesty, establish democracy in Zimbabwe and end the suffering of the Zimbabwean people
-Proposes that a government of national unity must only be agreed within the framework of transparent and democratic elections
3 July 2008

The Mozambican police on Friday afternoon forced the cancellation of a demonstration in central Maputo in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, on the grounds that not enough policemen were available to guarantee the security of the demonstration.
At very short notice a few dozen people gathered at Robert Mugabe Square on the Maputo seafront intending to march to the Zimbabwean embassy, in protest at the state-sponsored violence that reduced the second round of the presidential election to a bloodstained charade.
The demonstration was perfectly legal, since the organizers, the Mozambican Human Rights League (LDH) and the Centre for Mozambican and International Studies (CEMO), had informed the authorities of their intentions in good time. Nonetheless, the police said that the march could not go ahead, because the Maputo City Police Command was already providing security for a second demonstration elsewhere in this capital.
AIM was unaware of any other demonstration planned to coincide with the LDH/CEMO march. If such a demonstration took place, it escaped the notice of journalists, since there is no mention of it in Saturday’s issue of the Maputo daily “Noticias”. The police were unable to inform the protestors in Robert Mugabe Square of the nature of the second demonstration.
Possibly they were referring to a march by former workers of the port and rail company CFM, demanding further compensation from the company. But that took place on Friday morning, and so there was no clash of times.
The police told the organizers that, since the route of the march took it along busy central Maputo streets, and past embassies, and sensitive public buildings such as ministry’s and the office of President Armando Guebuza, it needed more policemen than were available to guarantee security and order.
Faced with this situation, the LDH and CEMO felt they had no alternative but to accept the police instruction, and ask the demonstrators to disperse.
“Our demonstration was not against the Mozambican authorities, and it was not against the Zimbabwean Embassy”, said LDH jurist Custodio Dumas. “It was a demonstration to say we are feeling what the Zimbabwean people are going through at this moment. We wanted to say to the Zimbabweans that what is happening to them also affects us, and we see no reason why a demonstration of this sort should not be authorized”.
A press release from CEMO pointed out that, because of the wave of violence gripping Zimbabwe, the United Nations, the African Union, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had all urged that the second round of the presidential election be postponed. CEMO itself had held two public debates in Maputo which had concluded that the conditions for holding a genuine election in Zimbabwe did not exist.
Some of the demonstrators, interviewed by Mozambican television stations, called for Robert Mugabe Square to be renamed. The square was given Mugabe’s name in 1981, during his first official visit to Mozambique (then as Prime Minister, under the Lancaster House constitution). At the time, Mugabe was regarded as the man who, with Mozambican backing, had liberated Zimbabwe: no-one in 1981 imagined what would happen 27 years later.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in the Hague have charged two Congolese militia leaders with war crimes.
Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui are accused of planning and ordering an attack, in which more than 200 villagers were allegedly killed.
Reports say some of the victims were burned to death, and many women were forced to become sex slaves.
This is only the second case to be launched by the court, set up in 2002. The first trial, of another Congolese militia leader, Thomas Lubanga, has been suspended over concerns that evidence was withheld from the defence.
Decision
Mr Lubanga, who was on the other side of the Ituri conflict, may be released over concerns that the defence was denied access to some evidence.
Defence lawyers for Mr Katanga and Mr Ngudjolo have asked judges to suspend the case against them as the prosecution is using the same evidence.
However, the court has decided to go ahead with the hearing, as the proceedings are not as advanced.
A “confirmation of charges” is now set to take place at which evidence will be presented to support the charges, which include war crimes and crimes against humanity. These include murder, sexual slavery, rape, inhumane acts and recruiting child soldiers.
At the end of this process the court will have 60 days in which to decide whether or not to go to trial.
“Over 200 children, women, elderly and civilian men were killed,” in the north-eastern village of Bogoro, said Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda.
The Ituri conflict, which raged well after a wider peace accord officially ended Congo’s 1998-2003 war, pitted foreign-backed militias from the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups against one another.
Mr Katanga headed the Patriotic Forces of Resistance of Ituri (FRPI), while Mr Ngudjolo led the allied Front of Nationalists and Integrationists (FPI) militia.
The ICC, based in The Hague, was set up in 2002 as the world’s first permanent war crimes court.
It was designed to end the need for various ad hoc war crimes courts – including the chambers created to deal with war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and the genocide in Rwanda.

The Africa Liberal Network has issued the following statement in relation to the current crisis in Zimbabwe.
Having won the first round of the presidential elections in Zimbabwe with 48% of the votes against incumbent President Robert Mugabe-43%, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, announced on Sunday the 22nd of June that he would not contest the second round of presidential elections scheduled for the 27th of June.
In order to stop the violence initiated by the Zanu-PF, led by Robert Mugabe, the MDC leader opted not to ask the voters of Zimbabwe to put their lives at risk on the 27th of June.
Considering that the regime of Robert Mugabe is against freedom and is increasingly oppressive
Considering the reign of terror perpetrated by followers of the Zanu-PF and the militias of President Mugabe
Considering the ineffective role played by President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa
Considering the suffering of the people of Zimbabwe
Considering the fact that SADC has not taken a firm stance on the issue
Considering the inaction of the African Union
Considering the lack of leadership of the UN Security Council
The Africa Liberal Network demands:
1- The cancellation of the run-off election of the 27th of June in Zimbabwe
2- The stopping of violence and acts of intimidation committed against the people of Zimbabwe by the Zanu-PF government
3- A resolution by the African Union condemning the regime of President Mugabe
4-That resolutions be taken in order to ensure the safety of opposition members and the population as a whole
5- A resolution by the UN condemning the regime of President Mugabe
6-The appointment of a new mediator to replace President Thabo Mbeki
Further, the Africa Liberal Network:
1- States its strong support for Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC, and the people of Zimbabwe
2- Calls upon the European Community to take a strong stance against the Mugabe regime
3- Calls for a quick negotiation between Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai
4- Calls upon SADC to take greater responsibility in this matter
5- Calls upon all those who champion freedom and human rights to denounce this appalling situation and support the people of Zimbabwe
24 June 2008

Madagascar has signed a series of environment agreements to protect unique forests and support local communities as part of a commitment by the government to ramp up environmental protection on the Indian Ocean island.
In its largest ever debt-for-nature swap, Madagascar signed a deal with France this month, in which US$20 million of debt owed to the former colonial power was put into a conservation fund, the Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity (FPAB).
“Thanks to this, the money will go into the protection of the Malagasy environment instead of to France,” Nani Ratsifandrihamanana, the environment director of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) told IRIN.
Her organisation played a crucial role in brokering the deal that will help protect Madagascar’s forests, home to many of the world’s most fascinating creatures. Nearly all the island’s land mammals, over 90 percent of its reptiles and 80 percent of its plants are found nowhere else.
In a separate deal, Madagascar committed itself to selling nine million tons of carbon offsets to help protect its forests. The money will be used to protect the vast Makira forest, one of several under threat as a result of the poverty of the overwhelmingly rural population.
Scientists say deforestation in the tropics contributes to about 20 percent of all carbon dioxide emissions and that reducing deforestation is one of the quickest ways to fight climate change. Deforestation in Africa is twice as high as anywhere else in the world, where some 13 million hectares of forest are cleared every year.
Thanks to this, the money will go into the protection of the Malagasy environment
Conservation International (CI), a non-profit environmental group, said the main drivers of deforestation in Madagascar were slash-and-burn agriculture, charcoal production for use in towns and cities, mining, and the conversion of forest to plant maize.
Reducing deforestation is a hard battle to win because more than 75 percent of the island’s 18 million people are rural and depend on land and natural resources.
The new carbon credit deal, managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), based at the Bronx Zoo in the US, represents an innovative way to tackle the problem.
Offset schemes allow polluters to pay for emission cuts in other countries, while providing a source of precious foreign currency to developing countries.
The Malagasy government has had some success in forest protection in recent years and has been able to increase the number and size of protected areas. According to environmentalists, the rate of deforestation has been dramatically cut in some of these areas.