Spotlight on Africa

The UN Security Council has voted to extend the mandate of the UN mission in Western Sahara, one of the world’s longest-standing territorial disputes. Sahrawi refugees have been installed in camps in western Algeria for more than 40 years, while the UN has been trying to broker a settlement between Morocco and the pro-independence Polisario Front for more than two decades.

Last week saw another extension to the United Nations Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) which has been in place since a UN brokered ceasefire in 1991 to end fighting that broke out when Morocco sent its forces to the territory in 1975.

The Moroccan government claims the former Spanish territory it as its own, but the Polisario Front, which represents the Saharawi people, wants independence.

For the majority of African governments, the Western Sahara is one of the leftovers from unfinished decolonisation and the African Union regional bloc recognises an independent Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

African countries only supported the most recent extension of the UN mandate if certain conditions were fulfilled.

Ismael Abraao Gaspar Martins, Angola’s representative to the UN:

"First: the Security Council is really committed to the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. Second: that the Security Council is committed to ending the current impasse and to the achievement of progress towards a political solution. Third: the Security Council recognises that achieving a political solution would contribute to stability and security in the Sahel region. And fourth: the Security Council encourages the parties to demonstrate further political will towards a solution, to continue the process of negotiation and recognises that the consolidation of the status quos is unacceptable."

Progress on resolving the dispute over the Western Sahara has been slow. And France has often been accused of backing Morocco in order to maintain the existing state of affairs, especially since it holds considerable sway as a permanent veto-wielding member of the Security Council.

Alexis Lamek, France's deputy representative to the UN:

"The resolution that we've just adopted unanimously, gives necessary impetus to the political process. The text indicates clearly that maintaining the status quo is not acceptable and that the parties must be more resolutely involved and show greater political will, realism and spirit of compromise to move towards a fair, lasting, mutually acceptable political solution."

The last real negotiations between the parties in 2007 failed. Morocco submitted a plan for the autonomy of Western Sahara which the Polisario Front rejected. For them, anything less than a referendum for independence was unacceptable.

Omar Hilale, Morocco’s representative to the UN:

"Concerning commitment to the political process – yes, we are committed to go forward in the political negotiations and of course as far as the UN is taking a neutral position, respecting principles, respecting parameters and looking at the political solution - we are in this framework and we will go till the end. As far as the referendum is concerned, for us, the referendum is already in our initiative [on automony]. It means that any agreement, any political agreement will be presented to the population. The population in the Sahara will have the right to accept it or to refuse it. This is the legal and legitimate process of consulting the population about their opinion and about their future also."

Western Sahara’s rich natural resources complicates the dispute – it has phosphate reserves, plentiful fishing and French, British and American firms have all secured licenses from the Moroccan government for oil exploration.

Meanwhile, as the political impasse continues and others benefit from the Western Sahara’s resources, Saharawi refugees continue to languish in the desert. Some of them have never known their homeland and were born in the camps in Tindouf, in western Algeria.

International non-governmental organisation Oxfam has completed a report marking the anniversary, 40 years of exile: Sahrawi refugees abandoned by the international community. It calls the situation an unknown humanitarian disaster.

Liesbeth Goossens, report co-author, Oxfam:

"The situation is very difficult, very precarious. The first thing one should keep in mind is that the refugee camps are situated in very harsh desert and isolated environment where the opportunities for self reliance are very remote. So the refugees are highly dependent on international aid and the conditions have worsened since the beginning of this year because the funds have declined. So we see that diseases like hypertension and diabetes are widespread, anaemia as well. 62 per cent of the people drink water that has risk of carrying diseases and so it’s very difficult from a humanitarian point of view. Added to that is the lack of socio-economic opportunities for the refugees because more and more refugees have studied, to have an education, and of course they want to exercise they talents. But there are no opportunities for that. Then last is the lack of perspective that their situation will change anytime soon. Their new generations were born and have grown up in these camps and they don’t see an end or they don’t see any perspective that their situation will change soon."

The extension of the UN mandate is valid for another year. The Saharawi people will be waiting to see whether next year’s review of the UN resolution maintains the status quo, what the Saharawis call "the April lie", or whether there will be a renewed push to settle the dispute.

Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza will not back down on his bid for a third term in office, despite three days of protests. At least five people have died in clashes with police since Sunday when the ruling CNDD-FDD chose him as its candidate for June’s presidential elections. Burundi’s opposition has yet to throw their support behind the protests but they say another term for Nkurunziza would violate the constitution. The Senate has called on the constitutional court to rule on the issue. Some 25,000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring Rwanda, seeking refuge.

Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza will not back down on his bid for a third term in office, despite three days of protests. At least five people have died in clashes with police since Sunday when the ruling CNDD-FDD chose him as its candidate for June’s presidential elections. Burundi’s opposition has yet to throw their support behind the protests but they say another term for Nkurunziza would violate the constitution. The Senate has called on the constitutional court to rule on the issue. Some 25,000 Burundians have fled to neighbouring Rwanda, seeking refuge.

Looking ahead to June's elections

Yolande Bouka, Burundi expert, Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi:

"In terms of legitimacy and transparency, the ruling party is shooting itself in the foot. Last elections it was mostly the opposition that made a tactical mistake by boycotting the elections. And this time around with the CNDD-FDD it’s creating an environment that will be very difficult for the international community and international observers to say ‘This is a free and fair election’. You’re making it impossible for one of the important pillars of democracy - which is civil society and the press - to push back against potential abuse and question some of the government’s behaviour. That being said, there hasn’t been any similar repression, at the moment, of the political opposition."

Role of the security forces

Christoph Vogel, Great Lakes specialist, University of Zurich:

"For now it seems that especially the police seem to be pretty much in line with the government as we’ve seen in the past couple of days. But, even before, the police have recently always been the favourite strategy of Nkurunziza to crackdown on protests. For the army it’s much more difficult, it’s kind of a patchwork construction in post-war Burundi. It’s mainly made up of CNDD-FDD rebels on the side of the current government but also of the former armed forces in Burundi. There are definitely some fault lines within the army and there are also some tendencies - they might not even want to interfere in the current political struggle. And, as a last point, it’s also important to note that Burundi’s army has also been hailed as a major success of post-war security-sector reform."

Opposition backing the protests?

Yolande Bouka, Burundi expert, Institute for Security Studies in Nairobi:

"One of the main reasons is arguably, [opposition leader Agathon] Rwasa’s decision not to get involved in the protests and I think on his part it’s probably because he’s seen what happened to the MSD [opposition party] and it’s leader following protests last year - mass incarcerations, de facto disqualification from running [in elections], you can’t run when you’re in hiding. So I think, maybe being aware of the legal consequences for him, should he engage in the protests. Now the question is, he hasn’t said anything about other people. So the reason why the FNL [Rwasa's party] or people associated with the organisation have chosen not to enter the protests, maybe because their waiting on his call. Maybe because they’re not ready to enter, there’s a possibility that Rwasa may be negotiating, he’s talked about wanting to negotiate with the ruling party. We’re not quite sure what there is to negotiate at this point."

Regional implications

Christoph Vogel, Great Lakes specialist, University of Zurich:

"The historic ties between Burundi and Rwanda are that strong that basically no major negative development that we’ve seen in post-colonial history happened without the inclusion of the brother or sister country or vice versa. Again Congo is a key factor since it has been unwillingly serving as a rear base for many different Burundian armed actors, in the past CNDD-FDD benefitted from attacks they could launch from Congolese territory during the civil war but more recently also the armed opposition notably FNL who has one splinter faction still maintaining important bases in eastern Congo. But on the other side I’d like to stay a little bit optimistic, also offering a scenario where increasing opposition against Nkurunziza and as it seems, the current stand of the army, that the army doesn’t seem to be really willing to step in in favour of the president, could if things go well also lead to a rather peaceful kind of transition process in the end."

Displaced people

Frederic Ntawukuriryayo, spokesman, Rwanda's Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs:

"The refugees are first of all entering through different entry points, then the ministry of disaster management and refugee affairs has established some transit centres, three transit centres, where refugees are taken from the border to be received there and registered and they’re given basic humanitarian assistance. And then from these transit centres we have now established a camp where big numbers can be hosted. Then refugees are transported from those transit centres to the new refugee camp established in the eastern province. As the days go by, the number of those received on a daily basis is increasing. So actually we are expecting more in the coming days."

A new documentary film shown in Paris this month sheds light on the struggle of Chadian opposition leader Rose Lokissim who died at the hands of Hissene Habre’s regime. Talking About Rose reveals how she risked her life to tell the outside world about the brutality of Habre’s prisons. The film is especially poignant given Habre’s eagerly awaited trial in Senegal.

A new documentary film shown in Paris this month sheds light on the struggle of Chadian opposition leader Rose Lokissim who died at the hands of Hissene Habre’s regime. Talking About Rose reveals how she risked her life to tell the outside world about the brutality of Habre’s prisons. The film is especially poignant given Habre’s eagerly awaited trial in Senegal.

“It’s like a message in a bottle,” Reed Brody tells RFI before the Paris screening of Talking About Rose. “Her mission was to let people know what was going on in Hissene Habre's prisons. With this film, with the trial, that mission is actually coming to pass,” the Human Rights Watch lawyer adds.

Talking About Rose, narrated by French actress Juliette Binoche, examines the life and death of Rose Lokissim and the years she spent in a notorious N’djamena prison called the Locaux (Premises).

She was a central figure to many of her fellow political prisoners, who respected her for her courage and determination. Rose gathered scraps of cigarette paper, writing down the names of the prisoners who had died or disappeared, helping to create a record so that they would not be forgotten.

Brody subsequently discovered the discarded archive of Habre’s political police during a HRW investigation in 2001. It included files on Rose detailing her interrogation, torture and eventual death after she was betrayed and the regime discovered that she was smuggling notes out of prison.

“In that file, Rose says ‘I don't care what you do to me, my country will thank me and history will talk about me’,” says Brody, describing Rose’s last moments as recorded by Habre’s political police.

“The fact she really wanted her death to be meaningful, that's very, very touching for me,” says Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet.

Talking About Rose is not the first time Coixet has worked with torture victims in her documentaries, but she finds Rose’s story particularly moving.

“Listening to all the stories about her, all the family talking about her and how this person really had this conscience about her legacy,” Coixet tells RFI, referring to the testimonies she gathered.

Some of the most powerful stories during the documentary come from the women who spent time locked up with her. During one scene the audience is shown a woman closing her eyes and physically recalling as if she is still behind bars being assaulted by one of Habre’s henchmen.

The release of Talking About Rose coincides with the long-awaited trial of Habre expected to take place in Dakar, Senegal in the coming months.

After a long battle bringing Habre to justice, the victims and human rights activists will finally see Habre take responsibility for alleged crimes against humanity.

“We know that people disappeared, but in which way, we don't know exactly. The film allows us to place this,” says Jacqueline Moudeina, a Chadian lawyer for some of the victims.

“For an international audience it's truly arrived at the right moment,” Moudeina says. “People don't think that we had these atrocities in Chad but we talk of 40,000 people dead,” she adds.

Talking About Rose was shown at Paris’ Cinema le Balzac on 10 April.

It has been a year since more than 200 Nigerian school girls were kidnapped by Boko Haram militants in a late-night raid. The leader of Boko Haram, Aboubakar Shekau, claims that all of the girls have since been converted to Islam and married off. While the exact number of girls remains unknown   with estimates between 259 to 276   57 have managed to escape their captors and recount what has happened. Nigerian and world leaders, meanwhile, continue to face criticism for failing to rescue the remaining girls.

Two groups are sitting in circles in the grass in Simbi village, outside of Butare, Rwanda's second city. The men and women are counting money and talking, and they obviously know each other very well - it’s a friendly atmosphere. But 21 years ago, the scene wasn’t so idyllic. Rwanda marks the commemoration of the beginning of the genocide that killed some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. People were killed by machete by extremist Hutus, but in many cases, by their own neighbors.

Two groups are sitting in circles in the grass in Simbi village, outside of Butare, Rwanda's second city. The men and women are counting money and talking, and they obviously know each other very well - it’s a friendly atmosphere. But 21 years ago, the scene wasn’t so idyllic. Rwanda marks the commemoration of the beginning of the genocide that killed some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. People were killed by machete by extremist Hutus, but in many cases, by their own neighbors.

This week's edition of Spotlight, RFI's William Niba examines the coalition campaign to prevent a massacre in Libya and regional efforts to resolve the standoff in Côte d'Ivoire.

A look at reactions to Libyan leader Moammer Kadhafi's attempt to block a UN imposed no-fly zone over his country to protect civilians who have rebelled against the regime in Tripoli.