Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 13 November 2008 — Page 16

Page 16 • The Muncie Times • November 13, 2008

AFRICAN BRIEFS

European blacks excited about Obama candidacy (IPS)—European society may be ready for a black candidate, says Christiane Taubira, a member of Parliament from French Guyana who ran in France’s 2002 presidential election and won 2.32 percent of the vote. "I think, very sincerely, given my own experien. e in 2002, that Frc i society is ready to joy the beautiful adv ure that (Barack) Ob; a has offered to Americans," Taubira said in an interview in Paris. "That's not to say that there's no racism in France. There is racism, the are racists and the 's discrimination based on racial prejudic There is that, but I thi that France is reaoy for this adventure ' The only black woman in France's current cabinet, human rights minister Rama Yade, agreed. "The French themselves are ready, “she told Le Figaro last week, “but our political system would stop an Obama appearing... Not because he's black, but because he comes from a background of recent immigration.

Here, integration is much more difficult." Jean-Leonard Touadi, who was in 2008 elected Italy's first and only black MP, said he thought the European left's love of Obama was based more on wanting end to Republican rule than on enthusiasm for racial integration. Asked whether he could imagine a European Obama, the Congolese-born 49-year-old said: "Going on how many blacks are currently in political parties here, we're going to have to wait a while. A recent poll showed French voters prefer Obama against his Republican rival John McCain by a factor of 8 to 1, Germans, Spaniards and Italians by 7 to 1 and the British by 5 to 1. But this apparent enthusiasm for a candidate running for office across the Atlantic, is not yet matched by any great success for minority politicians on the Old Continent. In multicultural Britain, where 8 percent of the population is from an ethnic minority, only 15 out of 645 or 2.3 percent of members of Parliament, are people of color. Rebels launch vicious

raids into the Congo (GIN)—Tutsi insurgents loyal to renegade Gen. Laurent Nkunda launched a major offensive on Sunday, advancing to within 12 miles of Goma, destroying two U.N. armored vehicles and forcing thousands of civilians to flee south towards Goma town. Some 17,000 U.N. peacekeepers have begun - packing their bags to leave, angering local people who blame them for failing to prevent the rebel advance. Riots were reported at the U.N. base in Goma on Monday. Crowds shattered windows, damaged cars and one person was killed. Nkunda claims he is defending Tutsis from Rwandan Hutu renegades who fled into the Congo after their military defeat in neighboring Rwanda in 1994. In that year, some half a million Rwandan Tutsis were slaughtered by Hutu militia in what has become known as the Rwandan Genocide. Rwanda's now dominant Tutsi rulers fear these renegades could threaten genocide again. A ceasefire between the government and Nkunda signed in January failed to hold and new fighting is

underway with Nkunda declaring he will "liberate" all of Congo, a country the size of Western Europe with vast reserves of diamonds, gold and other resources. Congo's vast mineral wealth helped fuel back-to-back wars from 1997-2003. According to the U.N., more than 200,000 people have been forced from their homes in the last 2 months, joining 1.2 million displaced in previous conflicts in the east. Outbreaks of cholera and diarrhea have killed dozens in camps, compounding the misery. Ethiopia plans exit from Somalia (GIN)—Pulled into an unsuccessful war against Somalia's Islamist government by the United States 2 years ago, Ethiopia is now looking at a negotiated settlement to pull its forces out of that country. This week, Ethiopia's foreign minister cast blame on the transitional rulers they helped bring to power for the failure to restore tyAccording to Minister Seyoum Mesfin, Somalian President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and his successive

prime ministers had "not managed to create any institutions of governance to speak of" since they came to power in December 2006. "In all honesty, the international community can hardly be proud of its record in Somalia," Seyoum said. Parallel peace talks this week in Djibouti and Nairobi appear to have reached agreement for a ceasefile and an Ethiopian troop pullback to begin next month. Meanwhile, Western news sources are reporting that a 23-year-old Somali woman accused of adultery was stoned to death in a widely attended public execution. The execution reportedly took place in Kismayu, Somali's southern port. West African court frees, compensates ex-Niger slave (GIN)—Following a ruling by a West African criminal court, the nation of Niger will have to pay $20,000 to a young woman who spent nearly half her life as a slave. The breakthrough decision may benefit some 40,000 people abused as slaves in that country. The case was filed for