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A strong East African Standby Force is expected to start operations in 2015 after being established in 2013.

It’s against this background that today April 23, Rwanda Defense Force is hosting a meeting of 11 countries from the Eastern Africa region, to discuss about appropriate logistics required for the regional force EASF meant to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts in the region.

In a meeting held at Sports View Hotel- Kigali, members of the military forces from 11 countries are discussing how the combined force will be managed determining its budget and logistics needed.

Colonel Al Said Omar, from Djibouti -the chief of Staff in the activities of forming this Force said, the force will be meant to Prevent, manage, and solve conflicts but mainly treat the crisis beforehand, at any occurrence, in the region.

In his remarks, Major General Jacques Musemakweri, noted that he understands the shortage of logistics that occurred during a Field Training Exercise in Khartoum in 2011.

However, he added that The region is undertaking workshops of this kind as a result of the recommendations that were made during the after Action Review of the Field Training Exercise.

Maj. Gen. Musemakweri also said, “Some difficulties and challenges of course may arise but it is worth nothing that we will get through them as a region.”

Rwanda is slated to benefit from Israel assistance aimed at addressing the issue of food security.

International development agencies in Israel and America last week signed a memorandum of understanding to increase cooperation on food aid to Africa.

The MOU allows for closer cooperation on the issue of food security in four countries: Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda.

The assistance will include help with food production and crop cycles, as well as addressing environmental issues that go beyond the agricultural sector.

The MOU between USAID and Mashav (the Israel Agency for International Development Cooperation in the Foreign Ministry) was the first of its kind, according to Mashav head Daniel Carmon, “this MOU is not the start of the relationship; it’s the continuing and the strengthening of the relationship.”

Carmon noted that development – alongside diplomacy and security – was one of the pillars of Israel’s foreign policy and said that increasing cooperation with USAID was not only “the right thing to do but the smart thing to do.”

Former UN secretary General Kofi Annan faces yet again the the shadow of past international failures in Bosnia and Rwanda as efforts to deal with Syria’s President Bashar Assad continue to get problematic.

Annan, who is expected to brief the Security Council about the Syria crisis again on Tuesday, was head of the UN peacekeeping department from 1993 to 1996 – the dark years of the Bosnia war and the Rwanda genocide.

The butchering of 8 000 Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica in 1995 “will forever haunt the history of the United Nations”, he once said. Annan also said he could have “done more” to stop the slaughter of 800 000 people in Rwanda in 1994.

Senior diplomats quote the former UN secretary general as saying he is determined to avoid a repetition of those failures.

“These are episodes which have marked his life,” said one UN diplomat who has had contact with Annan over the Syria mission.

Praise

“If someone fires on the observers or there are massacres, it will not be like Bosnia – we will not act as though nothing has happened,” the diplomat quoted Annan as saying.

“Annan considers that his main weapon in this showdown is his prestige, his credibility, and he could lose that if there are one or two or three ceasefires which don’t work, as there was in Bosnia,” added a western envoy.

“There is a certain déjà vu quality” to the war in Syria, Annan’s spokesperson, Ahmad Fawzi, told US media chain McClatchy Newspapers last week. Annan, like the UN-backed negotiators in Bosnia, cannot order force if Assad does not keep his commitments.

The UN-Arab League envoy is earning praise for the way he has kept the international powers behind the six-point peace plan agreed with Assad – while at the same time keeping pressure on the Syrian leader.

But the UN envoys who in public have spoken so strongly in favour of Annan are now wondering how much longer his mission can go on and what future action can be taken.

The UN Security Council voted on Saturday to send 300 unarmed observers to Syria to monitor a fragile ceasefire. But the US has already said it may not support the renewal of the mission after the first 90-day mandate.

The US, Britain and France have called for sanctions if the observers cannot work. That will put them on a collision course with Russia, Syria’s last major ally, which fiercely opposes sanctions.

Dim prospects

“I’m sure it’s going to be a lengthy, painful and difficult process, but there is no alternative. The alternative is a further deterioration of the situation, further bloodshed,” said Russia’s UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin when appealing for all countries to “work very doggedly in support of Kofi Annan”.

Given the dim prospects for the observer mission and the likelihood that Russia would veto any UN sanctions, many western capitals are already asking – what next?

“Annan is a prisoner of his own mediation. He is not likely to say, ‘I am stopping because of Syria’,” the UN diplomat said.

“There has to be a time when we say, ‘Mr Annan, it is not working.’ But the question is when? We cannot say that the Annan mission has failed as long as we have not gone to the end of the road. That will be a political decision,” the diplomat added.

Tony Blair, the international Middle East conflict mediator and former British prime minister, says that efforts to reach a negotiated solution have to be given a chance.

He told CBS television that he does not expect to see foreign troops in Syria.

“But I do expect that if Assad reneges on his commitments and they carry on killing the civilians, then I think we will see a gradual build-up of additional actions like corridors that allow help to get in, possibly secure zones that will protect the Syrian people and Syrian refugees.”

A senior UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said all these ideas are being considered in “contingency plans” – along with the best ways to get UN observers out of Syria in a hurry.

Wire Story

Rwanda National Police has instructed motorcycle Taxi operators to supply head covers to passengers to wear under helmets or face disciplinary action for failure to protect passengers from skin related diseases.

The instruction was issued by Chief Superintendent Celestin Twahirwa, the Traffic Police commander to more than 1000 motorcyclists while meeting them at the Nyamirambo Stadium on Saturday.

“The Ministry of Health clearly states that no passenger should board a motorcycle without a smart cover in order to be protected from skin infections that could arise from sharing the helmet,” CSP Twahirwa said.

“If we all agree that these smart covers are really important, you must from now on adopt and use them to avoid police disturbing you” CSP Twahirwa added.

Mayor of Kigali City, Fidele Ndayisaba, “We have procured companies that provide headgears for as little as Frw 39 therefore they should be not sold for more than Frw 40,” Mayor Ndayisaba said.

Smart cover headgears were introduced late last year, by the Ministry of Health initiative to prevent people from contracting skin diseases from sharing helmets.

Police in Kayonza district has arrested Ndagijimana Théogène 32 found in posession with fake Rwandan currency notes worth Frw 102,000.

The suspect is currently held at Mukarange police station.

Ndagijimana was arrested after a tip off from residents when he attempted to buy phone credit using a fake paper note of Frw 1000.

Police later discovered Eight fake paper notes of Frw5000, four fake paper notes of Frw2000 and 54 fake paper notes of Frw1000.

Ndagijimana told police that he was given fake currency money worth Frw 102000 by Hakizamungu James in return for genuine Frw60,000.

“I acquired this money with full knowledge that it was fake and I intended to make quick profit. I had planned to purchase small items which I would resell and make genuine money”.

The Police spokesperson Supt. Theos Badege urged citizens to refain from indulging in such illegal activities saying fake money harms the economy.

Prisoners at Karubanda prison in Huye District have cited among others the problem of spouses of some prisoners (wives or husbands) who allegedly mismanage their property back home.

This was during the visit at Karubanda prison by Huye district officials who were at the facility to assess prisoners’ problems but also to find solutions.

This was agreed during the district security meeting held in Karubanda prison, to talk about prisoners’ problems and find solutions to them.

Executive Secretaries of all sectors in Huye district, the Army and Police engaged in discussions aimed at finding solutions to prisoners’ problems Karubanda prison facility.

Kayiranga Muzuka Eugene, the mayor of Huye district promised district intervention and find a solution.

Prisoners mentioned also highlighted that some of them were detained without trial (before appearing in court) and that later when the courts of law decide on their sentences, the previous year’s served in jail have been ignored.

The mayor of Huye said that in collaboration with courts, the district is going to work on this to regularize it.

Prisoners appreciated the visit, and the Mayor said they will keep visiting them in order to talk about their problems and finding solutions.

While the 18th commemoration of the 1994 genocide against Tutsis continues in Huye district, residents are urged to provide information about areas where bodies of genocide victims might be so that they could be reburied with honour.

The message was sounded on 18th April while during the commemoration of genocide at Simbi sector.

Hon. Jacqueline Mukakanyamugenge who had joined the district in commemoration said it should be better if all genocide victims are well buried, because survivors feel well when their relatives are honorably buried.

She observed that everyone should be involved in giving information of places where bodies of victims can be found.

All guest speakers at the ceremony encouraged genocide survivors to keep remembering victims of the 1994 genocide while working hard to attain a brighter future.

During the commemoration at Simbi, two bodies were reburied with honour and people living in the area were told to keep on searching for other bodies since there are other people whose loved ones have not yet been found.

The staff of the Office of the President this past weekend shared a message of hope with genocide survivors in Nyarubuye, Kirehe District.

As part of the 18th commemoration of the Genocide against Tutsi, the Urugwiro Staff Association visited “Cooperative de couture de Nyarubuye, COOCOUNYA”, a tailoring group composed of 25 women, all genocide orphans and widows.

During this first visit, Urugwiro staff donated material for the cooperative’s sewing business and made a commitment of long term support to the workshop.

Hon. Venantia Tugireyezu, Minister in the President’s Office who led the delegation said, “We are inspired by the work that you doing together. We are honoured to show our solidarity with you and will continue to support you in your efforts to not only improve your lives, which also contributes to the reconstruction and development of our nation…”

The head of the cooperative, Theopiste Mukanoheri, said the group had made tremendous strides in putting the past behind them, and thanked President Paul Kagame and the government for helping create opportunities that have significantly improved the lives of genocide survivors countrywide.

The Urugwiro staff also visited Nyarubuye Genocide memorial in Kirehe District to pay their respects to the victims of the genocide against the Tutsi.

Each spring, thousands of government officials, the private sector,journalists, civil society representatives, and other interested observers gather in Washington DC for the Spring Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

At the heart of the gathering are meetings of the IMF’s International Monetary and Financial Committee and the joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, which discuss progress on the work of the IMF and the World Bank.

Also featured are seminars, regional briefings, press conferences, and many other events focused on the global economy, international development, and the world’s financial markets.

This year, Hon. Minister John Rwangombwa was one of the featured guest speakers at the “Global Agriculture Food Security Program” (GAFSP) forum.

GAFSP is a multilateral mechanism who’s objective is to address the underfunding of country and regional agriculture and food security strategic investment plans already being developed by countries in consultation with donors and other stakeholders at the country-level.

During his discussion, Hon. Minister Rwangombwa shared Rwanda’s positive experience through GAFSP stating how the program has impacted the livelihood of its citizens.

Through the program, Rwanda has been able to stabilize its food security for the past 3 years. Moreover, the Hon. Minister was also part of a panel discussion titled, “Catalyzing Change for results in Africa- The Role of Capacity Development.

Amongst the panelist were the Chief Economist of the World Bank Africa Region, Dr. Shantayanan Devarjan, Executive Director of Femmes Africa Solidarite, Dr. Bineta Diop to name a few.

He noted, in his remarks, that Rwanda’s experience has shown a focus on capacity building as an essential part of development for post conflict countries and a necessary ingredient for African’s development goals.

Improving capacity development is critical so that capacity is a means to advance change, not a barrier to change. He also attributed the positive results for Rwanda is because of, “political will, a clear framework for capacity building, innovative approaches and the support of development partners”.

Additionally, he also encouraged the importance of peer learning across Africa as it also plays a critical role in continuous growth for the Continents as a whole.

Throughout the coming days, Rwanda continued to be highlighted for its increasingly promising example as a country that is successfully building programs, to protect poor populations during systemic crises as well as in good times.

Through initiatives such as the “Safety Net and Social Protection” programs, Rwanda has been able to build effective and affordable systems to protect its citizens.

Hon. Minister Rwangombwa shared Rwanda’s cutting-edge knowledge and experiences to help implement this critical agenda to other African countries.

In a videotaped remark,US President Barack Obama has sent an important and very clear message to the people of Sudan and South Sudan: conflict is not inevitable.

The people of Sudan and South Sudan still have a choice, a chance to avoid being dragged back into war.

Sudan needs to halt all military actions, including aerial bombardments; give aid workers unfettered access to people in need; and end support for armed groups. Similarly, South Sudan must end its support for armed groups inside Sudan and cease its military actions across the border.

All parties fighting – including in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile States – must recognize that the only way to achieve real and lasting security is to resolve their differences through negotiation.

President Obama is gravely concerned by the situation in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, especially as the violent clashes continue along the shared border with South Sudan.

He continues to urge all sides to exercise maximum restraint and to emphasize the importance of finding peaceful solutions for Sudan and South Sudan.

The President is deeply committed to seeing Sudan and South Sudan become two economically prosperous states living side-by-side in peace.

The people of Sudan and South Sudan have endured extraordinary hardship over years of war. But in recent years, against great odds, they have made tremendous progress toward a future of peace.

The future of Sudan and South Sudan belongs to them and, as President Obama makes clear in his remarks, those who have the courage to walk the path of peace will have a strong and steady partner in the United States of America.

Grant Harris is the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs