Deep inside the Naxal heartland to bring out the truth about child soldiers

Source: The weekendleader

By Kavita Kanan Chandra   Mumbai07 May 2011

Posted 06-May-2011 Vol 2 Issue 18 A Maoist stronghold is not a place that journalists normally visit. But after taking an arduous journey into the deep forests of Saranda in the Jharkhand-Orissa border and meeting the military commander of People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), 25-year-old Neha Dixit of Headlines Today came out with a chilling story. Her interview with a child warrior of the Naxals went like this: Q : What made you join the Bal Sangathan? Girl: Police had set our house on fire and took away my father with them. Some sangathan (organization) people were present around at that time. So I came along with them. Q: How many children have come here in the last 2-3 months? Girl: Four batches of 30-40 kids have come. Neha, who recorded the activities in the Naxal training camps with a spycam at great personal risk, laments the loss of innocence of children as young as six, who are trained in guerrilla warfare. In a span of 3 months, 400 children (ages 6-16) have been recruited in Bal Sangathan, she says. Caught between police atrocities and coercion by Naxals, the deprived children in the villages of Maoist belt have little choice. After entering the Maoist hub in the Dandakarnya range - covering parts of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh – Neha trekked through a difficult terrain in dense green forests with hillocks and wildlife for more than 40 km. The sharp looks of Naxals, their frisking and checking did not deter her from carrying the hidden camera. Bold journo: Neha Dixit is a former Tehelka reporter, whose investigative skills has been an asset to any organisation she works with  Caught in a crossfire between the Andhra Police (Greyhounds) and the Maoists, separated from the cameraperson, sleeping under a tree in pitch dark with the Naxals and watching a wild bear having a feast of ‘mahua’ flowers a few feet away were some of the chilling moments of Neha’s adventurous journey. But then this Lucknow bred girl was always sure of herself. She had to face stiff resistance for her choice of career in journalism from her family. Yet, after her graduation from Miranda college in Delhi, Neha managed to do a course in Convergent Journalism from Jamia Millia Islamia. Three years at Tehelka magazine and now with Special Investigation Team of Headlines Today, Neha has found her calling in investigative reporting. Neha’s first glimpse of a child warrior was a six-year-old Abhishek who acted as a courier between her and a Naxal. “Children of different age groups are trained and assigned different roles. The new entrants (6-12 years) are first used as spies and couriers. They roam around in the neighbouring villages collecting information about meetings organized by local politicians. They are trained in basic drills and armed with .303 rifles,” says Neha. “Children above 12 years of age are deployed as fighters to engage in hostilities against the security forces, to make and plant landmines and bombs, to gather intelligence and for sentry duty. One group of 10 children all above the age of 12 were being trained in basic physical exercise by three white men with an accent. Their identity was not revealed,” says Neha. Neha has done some noteworthy investigative stories earlier that include one on illegal mining in Aravalli hills. In another report on honour killings in Haryana, she exposed the role of cops in such murders. Neha’s boss, Editor (Investigations) at Headlines Today, Harinder Baweja, herself an intrepid investigative reporter, says: "Neha is a fearless reporter; she has many skills which include large portions of tenacity so essential to investigative reporting." Neha says she derives her strength from her mother and Harinder, whom she calls her mentor. Awards and accolades have already come the way of this young and promising journalist. She has won the Anupama Jayaraman award (2009), Laadli Media Award for best investigative feature (2009-10) and the New Television award for best investigative feature.

IM, SIMI and now Naxals besiege Pune

Source: mid day

After banned outfits like SIMI and Indian Mujahideen made it their domicile and target, Pune is now abode to another anti-state ensemble, that of the Naxalites

The red corridor, dominant in the jungles on the western borders of the state, has made a foray into its eastern, urban centres, to set base in Pune. That the cultural capital of the state is now a hub for the Naxalite movement came to light after six alleged Naxals were arrested by the state Anti-Terrorism Squad. Worse, the ATS suspects many more Maoists of taking shelter in the city. This, however, is not the first signpost that marks out Pune as the axis of anti-social or anti-national agents. Earlier, a number of terrorists from the Indian Mujahideen and the Students' Islamic Movement of India were found to be residing in the city and were arrested by authorities. 

Nabbed: Mansoor Peerbhoy, a web-based engineer who was the IM's 

whiz-kid, was a Pune resident. File pic

Why Pune 

Other than the demographic, it is the geography of the city that draws them. Rakesh Maria, ATS chief, said, "The Naxals were targeting the youth of the city. They set up their base here as there is a huge population of students and labour, facilitating the recruitment of large numbers." A second, more geo-strategic, reason is its proximity to urban centres. "Pune gives them easy access to Mumbai, Nasik, Nagpur and other such cities. This enables them to get more people into the group." 

The police had found that the Naxals had formed their base in Pune as early as February 2008 -- around the same time that Pune's SIMI module was unearthed -- and have exploited it since. The Naxals had got in touch with a cross-section of students and labour to make them part of their anti-state campaign. They set up a base here to get more people into their outfit from urban areas from Mumbai, Pune Surat, Ahmedabad and nearby areas. Two years later, the IM was found to have laid siege to the city, what with the German Bakery blasts in February 2010. Few of the outfit's members were Pune residents, abusing the city as their meeting point. 

More in hiding 

According to police sources investigating the case, there are more in the city that they are yet to expose and nab. In the backdrop of the arrest of two Naxal cadres -- Angela Sontakke (42), secretary of the Naxal-founded Golden Corridor Committee, from Thane, and her aide, Sushma Ramteke (27), from Pirangut, by the state ATS on April 28, the developments pose a systemic threat. 

Mumbai as a base camp is not feasible for terror outfits, sources revealed, as it is always on alert. A number of Naxals have been arrested from Mumbai in the past. As such, it does not offer them the safety of being inconspicuous. 

Asked about IM's rationale for choosing Pune, Maria said, "Again, the reason is the huge student population that comes to the city for education, who the IM could easily get in touch with. They indoctrinated and enlisted them in the group."  People like Mansoor Peerbhoy, a web-based engineer with an annual salary of Rs 19 lakh who was the IM's whiz-kid, and others like Mohsin Chowdhary and his brother were all from Pune.

Ban warns Sudan rivals over oil region tensions

(AFP) – 12 hours ago

UNITED NATIONS — UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned Friday that new deadly clashes in the disputed oil region of Abyei risk undermining relations between the rival north and south Sudan governments as they head for permanent separation.

Scores have been killed in recent clashes in the frontier region where both sides have staged a significant military buildup and Ban demanded that they "refrain from provoking each other," his spokesman said.

"The secretary general is deeply concerned by the continued tension in the Abyei area and underscores that the military stand-off is unacceptable," said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.

Ban urged the north and south "to immediately implement the short-term containment measures" agreed in January and March to reduce tensions. The rival governments agreed then to keep their troops apart and to hold talks to settle Abyei's future.

"The resumption and conclusion of the negotiations on Abyei must now be a matter of priority," Ban said, according to his spokesman.

After voting massively to break away in a January referendum, the south's draft constitution explicitly put Abyei in South Sudan. In response, the north's President Omar al-Bashir said his government would not recognize the south when it formally declares independence on July 9 if it claims Abyei.

Another 14 people were killed in the latest clashes in the territory at the weekend, according to UN officials. And Khartoum envoys have warned there could be a new north-south war.

Ban called on Bashir's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in the north and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the south "to refrain from any unilateral declarations regarding the ownership of the Abyei area as it jeopardizes the search for a peaceful resolution," said his spokesman.

"The parties must refrain from provoking each other or engaging in any military confrontation in Abyei as this could result in further loss of life and significantly affect the future relationship between North and South."

The north and south have repeatedly accused each other of sending troops into Abyei, in breach of their January truce. Fighting has repeatedly flared since January. Abyei did not take part in the self-determination referendum because the two sides could not agree who was eligible to vote.

Pro-PKK Party Supports Opposition in Kurdistan

Source: rudwa

Former head of PCDK Fayaq Gulpi. Photo courtesy of PCDK.

ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan – Members of the pro-PKK Democratic Solution Party (PCDK) have recently been arrested in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for supporting demonstrations. The PCDK called on the KRG to release demonstrators and the security forces to leave the streets.

On April 21st, Fayaq Gulpi, a member of the KNK, and former head of PDCK was arrested in a security checkpoint in the province of Sulaimani and allegedly tortured. Also PCDK-members Ebubekir Mecit and Kemal Said Sadik Kadir were arrested for supporting demonstrations. The detentions came after the KRG decided to ban the demonstrations.

The next day, the Kurdistan National Congress asked the Kurdish authorities to release the arrested PCDK members. Most of them were released after 8-10 hours, but Kadir was jailed for 10 days for supporting protests in the border town of Penjwin, said PCDK-member Emir Star. On May 5th yet another PCDK member named Sivan Muhammed was arrested in Sulaimani by the security forces and beaten, but later released.

Although the rebels of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are fighting the Turkish state for more cultural rights for the Kurds in that country, they supported the demonstrations against the Kurdish government in Iraq. It is said that members of the PCDK had participated in the protests and supported calls by Kurdish opposition parties for early elections.

Offices of the PCDK were closed in the Kurdistan region and the party was banned from participating in both the Iraqi and local Kurdish elections in the last two years after pressure from Turkey and the U.S.

The PKK and its Iranian offshoot, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) called on the Kurdish government to respect the will of the people and show more democracy and that unwanted interference upset the Kurdish authorities.

PKK spokesperson Roj Welat told Rudaw that the PKK leader had called on the government of the Kurdistan region to listen to the demands of the people.

In early March, just days after the start of protests in Kurdistan, pro-PKK slogans could be heard in the streets of Sulaimani, with some protestors shouting ‘long live leader Apo’, the nickname of the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in Turkey.  The pro-PKK TV-station Roj TV also took airtime to cover the demonstrations. 

“Although there are three opposition parties here, we are not allowed to be in parliament,” said PCDK-member Najida Omar, speaking from the Sara Square, Sulaimani’s central square during the protests, which is now under the control of Kurdish security forces. “Otherwise we would support the opposition parties here. We need a new system in place to support democracy.” she said.

The PCDK had a list of 6 demands including calls for early elections, return of all party-occupied property to the government, a new constitution, more services (water, roads, electricity) and a project to attach the disputed territories to the Kurdistan region.

The PKK-leader Abdullah Ocalan, says Najidi Omar, thinks that no system can survive without full support of the people and without democracy.

“Therefore this current system here is not democratic nor does it listen to the people’s demands. It needs to be changed and he [Ocalan] fully supports the protestors.”

PKK spokesperson Roj Welat confirmed by telephone that the PKK thinks the Kurdish government should listen to the people, but denied that the PKK was directly involved in demonstrations.

“There are a lot of problems here in Iraqi Kurdistan and the government needs to tackle them and develop some level of democracy to solve these issues.” he said.

Kurdish journalist Rebwar Karim Wali believes that instability in the Kurdistan region benefits the PKK.

“They can do what they want. They have more liberty, freedom of movement for everything. Because the government and [ruling] political parties are busy with this internal issue, they forget the PKK.” said Wali.

Cengiz Candar, a Turkish writer and former government adviser, who has recently traveled to Syria, Iraq and Iran with Turkey's top leaders, told Rudaw that the PCDK has its own policy. 

“They [PKK] don’t have much a foothold in Kurdistan. Through this they might broaden their popular support.”

Candar added that it could also be because of the growing relationship between Turkey and Erbil that they try to use as a counterbalance.

Demonstrations against the Kurdish authorities started in Sulaimani on February 17th and lasted more than two months until they were quelled by the deployment of hundreds of heavily armed troops. The PCDK called on the authorities to normalize the situation, release demonstrators and withdraw the security forces from the streets.

Anwar al-Awlaki targeted in US military attack in Yemen

Anwar al-Awlaki was reportedly the intended target in a US military attack that left at least two suspected al Qaeda militants dead in Yemen.

• 

Anwar al-Awlaki is seen in a video released by SITE Intelligence Group on Nov. 8, 2010. Al-Awaki was reportedly the intended target of a US drone attack in Yemen, Friday.

SITE Intelligence Group/AP/File

By Todd Eastham, Reuters / May 7, 2011

The U.S. drone aircraft attack that killed two midlevel al Qaeda militants in Yemen on Thursday was targeting the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, a U.S.-born radical known for encouraging attacks on the United States, U.S. media reported.

Skip to next paragraph

Related Stories

• The Monitor's View: The killing of Osama bin Laden: Was capture really an option?
• Bin Laden's death puts exclamation point on Al Qaeda's demise
• How Osama Bin Laden's death will affect Al Qaeda in Yemen

CBS News and The Wall Street Journal, citing Yemeni and U.S. officials, said on Friday that Anwar al-Awlaki was not hit when a missile was fired at a car in southern Yemen on Thursday, killing two brothers believed to be al Qaeda militants.

RELATED: Four fresh twists in the bin Laden story

"We were hoping it was him," a U.S. official told CBS News.

The U.S. Defense Department declined to comment on the reports.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, is estimated to number about 300 fighters with strongholds in remote mountain regions in the provinces of Shabwa, Abyan, Jouf and Marib. It is thought to be behind numerous attacks on government targets.

The group is said to have inspired attacks by Muslims inside the United States -- including the Fort Hood, Texas, shootings in which an Army psychiatrist is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32 -- and twice smuggled explosives aboard aircraft headed to the United States.

Yemen's Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday's drone attack had killed two al Qaeda militants, identifying them as brothers Musa'id and Abdullah Mubarak al-Daghari.

Washington considers the Yemen-based al Qaeda branch the world's most active terror cell.

With the killing in Pakistan earlier this week of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, some officials believe Awlaki's group now represents the gravest danger to the United States and other Western nations.

36 die in Syria 'Day of Defiance': rights group, army

(AFP) – 17 hours ago

DAMASCUS — Syrian security forces shot dead at least 26 protesters as thousands rallied on a "Day of Defiance" against the Syrian regime, a rights group said, with authorities accusing "terrorists" of killing 10 security personnel.

The violence came as the European Union agreed to impose sanctions on 13 Syrian officials involved in the regime's brutal crackdown on protests and will meet Monday to discuss whether to target Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as well, diplomats said.

The United States warned it would take "additional steps" against Syria if it continues its crackdown, a week after imposing tough sanctions on the Arab nation.

The Syrian rights group, Insan, put the day's toll at 26 killed but said it expected this to rise.

"Death toll for today is 26," Insan said in a statement received by AFP in Nicosia. The toll included 16 protesters killed in the central city of Homs, six in Hama, north of Damascus, and two in Jableh on the Mediterranean.

It did not specify where the other two deaths occurred.

"We have a list of 27 more names. We are verifying at the moment," the brief statement said.

Rights activist Najati Tayara, speaking to AFP from Homs, said security forces opened fire to disperse protests after weekly Muslim prayers in the central city, killing eight people and wounding several, some seriously.

Tanks entered the industrial city earlier and also rolled into other protest centres across Syria.

"Dozens of people were arrested in several districts of the city during the night between Thursday and Friday," Tayara said.

Using loudspeakers, security forces ordered protesters to voluntarily go to police stations "to avoid being arrested and punished" and ordered businesses to close and residents to stay indoors, activists said.

The military announced that 10 soldiers and policemen were killed in Homs by "armed terrorist groups", and said the bodies of some of them were mutilated by the assailants.

Prominent dissident and former MP Riad Seif, 64, was arrested in Damascus, the London-based Observatory reported. Amnesty International said he was seized while leaving a mosque.

Seif had been imprisoned twice since 2001, serving in total more than seven years in jail for seeking reforms and constitutional changes in autocratic Syria.

According to Amnesty "human rights activists involved in pro-reform protest in Syria have been forced into hiding after receiving threats from Syrian authorities."

Those identified by Amnesty include human rights lawyer Haytham al-Maleh, veteran dissident Walid al-Bunni and Suheir al-Atassi, who had been arrested when the protest movement erupted in mid-March and released in early April.

"The United States believes that Syria's deplorable actions toward its people warrant a strong international response," the White House said in one of its strongest statements yet since the outbreak of unrest there.

It warned that unless Assad's government halted its repression of peaceful pro-democracy protests, "the United States and its international partners will take additional steps to make clear our strong opposition to the Syrian government?s treatment of its people."

The Syrian Revolution 2011, a Facebook group that has been a driving force of the protests, called for the "Day of Defiance" demonstrations, saying "Liberty is close."

Tens of thousands rallied across the country, including in the Kurdish areas of Amuda and Derbassiye in northeast Syria, in the coastal city of Banias, Kafar Nubbol in the north, Al-Bukamal near the border with Iraq and in Deir Ezzor in the east, activists said.

Thousands also swarmed Saqba, near Damascus, where 300 people were rounded up on Thursday.

The new troop deployment came as the army pursued its withdrawal Friday from the southern town of Daraa following a 10-day lockdown, during which the army said 600 were arrested.

On Thursday hundreds of troops withdrew from Daraa, the epicentre of Syria's protest movement which erupted March 15.

"Throughout the night, they withdrew from Daraa and this is continuing today. The troops' departure is gradual," General Riad Haddad, the military's political department chief, told AFP.

Human rights groups say that more than 600 people have been killed and 8,000 jailed or gone missing in the crackdown on protesters since demonstrations erupted in mid-March.

Friday's protests coincided with the Martyrs' Day public holiday in Syria, which Assad marked by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Damascus, according to official news agency SANA.

In a concession that failed to dampen the protest movement, Assad decreed an end to five decades of emergency rule on April 21, but his forces have continued to use deadly force and carry out arbitrary detentions.

The International Press Institute on Friday demanded that Syria release Al-Jazeera television journalist Dorothy Parvez, detained since she flew in to Damascus on April 29.

Washington said it was seeking diplomatic access to Parvez, who holds US, Canadian and Iranian citizenship.

16 killed in Christian village in northern Nigeria: police

(AFP) – 12 hours ago

KANO, Nigeria — At least 16 people were killed in a pre-dawn attack Friday in a Christian village in northern Nigeria beset by ethnic and sectarian violence, police told AFP.

Unidentified gunmen attacked the farming village in Bauchi state, one of the worst hit states by post election riots last month, killing 16 residents and burning 20 houses.

"There was an attack on Kurum village by unknown gunmen and from reports reaching me 16 people have been killed and 20 houses burnt in the attack," Amama Abakasanga, Bauchi state police commissioner, told AFP by telephone from Bauchi.

The area which came under attack is in Borogo local government area and along the border with violence-wracked Plateau state, whose capital Jos has been a flashpoint of sectarian unrest.

Police have deployed in the area to prevent escalation of violence in this region, notorious for clashes pitting predominantly Christian farmers and Fulani Muslim nomads.

Bauchi state is predominantly Muslim but neighbouring Bogoro and Tafawa Balewa districts are inhabited by mainly Christians of the Sayawa tribe. Muslim Fulani nomads are in the minority there but ethnic and religious tensions and animosity between the two groups have remained high.

In January a billiard dispute between a Christian owner and a Muslim player in Tafawa Balewa led to bloody clashes that left over 30 people dead and saw the destruction of 50 houses and a mosque.

Fulani residents fled the area and resorted to nocturnal attacks on Sayawa villages in reprisals which drew revenge attacks by the Sayawa on neighbouring Fulani villages and settlements.

Police said no arrests had been made yet over the latest attack.

"We are yet to identify the attackers but the problem of the people in the area is that they are not willing to live in peace," Abakasanga said.

INSIGHT:The challenges of democracy in Africa

By Dr Jean Ping

Africa’s destiny will be shaped by how much Africa constructs a sense of common identity based, not on the narrow lenses of state, race or religion, but constructed on Africa’s belief in democracy, governance and unity as the most viable policy option to mediate, reconcile and accommodate our individual and collective interests. 

Events in North Africa, despite providing hope and mixed results, remind us that no matter the difference in the colour of our eyes, skin, religion, wealth and geography, we all yearn for liberty and equality, something more consequential and bigger than “big and strong men.” 

What are the possibilities of the contagion effect of the situation in North Africa? What policies can the AU develop to respond to the situations? Do these events mark the end of the history of the political evolution in Africa? While not entirely neglecting these very important questions, I would like to address the broader democracy and governance challenge facing Africa and the role of the AU in addressing them.

The principal governance challenge facing Africa is how to enhance a self-nourishing relationship between authority, accountability and responsibility. This is important in reconstituting African politics from being a zero sum to a positive sum game, characterized by reciprocal behaviour and legitimate relations between the governors and the governed.

Democracy building and consolidation is contingent on strong institutions. Democracy and elections are processes, not events, and the key element in building democratic culture in Africa is anchoring the ongoing practices in unambiguous and predictable processes and strong institutions supported by popular participation. The challenges of electoral conflicts and political violence reflect the problems of transitions to democracy associated with managing elections and building institutions of competition that are widely accepted by winners and losers.

Building strong institutions and political processes, such as election, is critical in ensuring that if a politician looses today, it will be rational and cost effective for him to trust the political system to afford him another chance in the future.

Institutions that get involved in elections and other political processes exhibit weaknesses, for example, election management bodies that lack capacity, public trust and legitimacy; political parties that have weak internal processes and lack internal democratic system; acrimonious inter-party relations and  weak Civil Society involvement in the electoral cycle.

Democracy is much more than electing leaders periodically through competitive elections. It is about acceptance of a culture that institutionalizes certain basic freedoms and liberties: freedom of association, assembly, expression of ideas, political organization; and property rights. Democracy is about affording the individual the possibility and hope of change, that is, change they can trust in.

In this regard, Constitution and constitutionalism in Africa need to be strengthened. Civilian control of the security apparatus of the state and peaceful constitutional transfer of power need to be promoted and encouraged.

The promotion and protection of fundamental freedoms and human rights, taking into account their universality, interdependence and indivisibility is imperative. Popular participation must therefore be encouraged. There is need for legislative and administrative measures to guarantee the rights of women, ethnic minorities and others.

As much as democracy is an end in itself, it is also a means to an end. When access and control of state power becomes the only viable mode of resource accumulation and distribution, election becomes “war by other means” amongst the political elite. 

There is need for improved service delivery and socio-economic development to boost confidence in democratic institutions and to reverse election fatigue. Since the establishment of the African Union, AU Member States have demonstrated a commitment towards a regional and collective approach to democracy building and consolidation. As a result, in matters of Democracy and Governance, the AU has a broad mandate to facilitate the emergence of the necessary environment to engender democracy in member States.

In responding to this mandate, the AU has established the African Governance Architecture as the overall political and institutional framework to facilitate and promote governance. The Architecture constitutes a set of legal instruments and institutions which seek to complement, encourage and coordinate efforts by Member States towards Democracy building and consolidation. 

The role of regional organizations in promoting democracy must be that of support. The role of regional organisations is not to bind themselves to watch over the preservation of the native tribes, and to care for the improvement of the conditions of their moral and material well-being by bequeathing them civilization. Regional organizations must not arrogate to themselves the prerogative to export or impose values and practices. 

Thus, even as there is an emerging consensus on the principle of the Responsibility to Protect as embodied in article 4 (h) of the Constitutive Act of the AU, the principle should not be perceived as opening the floodgate for “humanitarian intervention” which is coercive military intervention for humanitarian purposes. Responsibility to Protect is about effective preventive action based on the principle of “sovereignty as a responsibility.”

Democracy building should be a consented indigenous process driven, shaped and influenced by the principal beneficiaries..

The African Governance Architecture should be seen as providing an opportunity to engage and develop appropriate capacity and responses to Africa’s governance challenges. A coordinated and integrated approach is no substitution for the primary responsibility of AU Member States in democracy, governance and human rights. The Architecture is premised on complementing the primary responsibility of States and the need to engage with the global political community.

In a globalising world where policy is increasingly being made at multilateral fora, I cannot but argue that addressing Africa’s governance challenges is the primary but not the sole responsibility of the African Union and its Members States. As we engage with our external partners, we must recognise that the outcomes that we establish from our engagements are not, in essence, collective outcomes, but are reflections of the power asymmetric of the “partnerships.”

The marginalisation of Africa in important multilateral fora such as the United Nations Security Council is evidence that while there is wide recognition that we live in a time and a world where the governance values we espouse are intertwined with the values and rights of all others across the globe, enhancing Africa’s voice in multilateral institutions is important in moving forward the continent’s governance agenda. The full impact of the African Governance Agenda will never materialise in so far as Africa is at the periphery of the global governance architecture.

Allow me to restate the following issues that are of primary importance to the AU Commission: Firstly, one of the major opportunities to address Africa’s governance challenges is enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of collective response. It is important that we give the 2012 as the year of Shared Values in Africa some operational importance by individually and collectively supporting the African Governance

 Agenda. Secondly reforming the global governance architecture, such as the UNSC, is imperative in optimising AU response to addressing governance challenges; and thirdly what can the AUC learn from other regional organizations in the promotion of democracy building and consolidation? We in Africa believe that when the African Charter on Democracy, Governance and Elections come into force, Africa too will change!

Dr Jean Ping is Chairperson, African Union CommissionExcerpted from remarks made during the XLIV OAS Lecture of the Americas: “Inter-Regional Dialogue on Democracy: Celebrating Ten Years of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.”

Defence to review 'risk' of social media

Defence Minister Stephen Smith. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Defence Minister Stephen Smith has warned the use of social media by Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel could put the military's reputation at risk.

The defence minister's warning came a day after charges were laid against a former ADF member over the setting up of a gay-hate Facebook page.

Mr Smith today announced an external consulting company would head a review into the use of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, in light of ADF values.

Advertisement: Story continues below

The social media review is part of a raft of studies looking at the defence force, including the use of alcohol and leadership opportunities available to women.

Mr Smith said the review would raise awareness among ADF employees that the information they share on social media often becomes public.

"That which people [post on social media], which becomes public, particularly if they are representing Australia or representing the ADF, potentially can have seriously adverse consequences," he said.

"It's very important that members of the ADF, whether they're onshore or offshore, understand that at all times they are representing the defence force and representing the nation.

"As a consequence, inappropriate behaviour, effectively, in uniform can lead to very serious reputational damage."

A former ADF member was charged yesterday over alleged threats to a senior army officer and creating a Facebook page which encouraged violence against homosexuals.

The review, to be led by Rob Hudson from George Patterson Y & R, is due to provide an interim report by the end of July.

Meanwhile, the Independent Advisory Panel on Alcohol will examine the impact of alcohol use at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and the adequacy of current policies and strategies.

"Often, inappropriate conduct and abuse of alcohol go hand in hand," he told reporters in Perth.

"The objective here is to advise ADFA on the current organisational arrangement so far as use of alcohol is concerned and whether there's anything more we can do or learn."

The panel, to be chaired by Professor Margaret Hamilton, will include drug and alcohol experts as well as the Commander Joint Health, Major General Paul Alexander, and is due to report back at the end of July.

Other reviews will examine ways to improve the leadership representation rates of women in defence and the management of complaints.

The independent Inspector General of the ADF, Geoff Earley, will head the review of how incidents and complaints are managed, focusing on the treatment of victims and the relationship between military disciplinary investigations and civil or criminal matters.

"Sometimes that inter-relationship has led to delays and lack of a timely response in those issues," Mr Smith said.

The reviews follow the Skype sex scandal, in which a male cadet allegedly use a live webcam to stream video of him having sex with a female cadet to his colleagues without her knowledge.

Police have since charged two other cadets with related offences.

Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick is heading a review into the treatment of women in the ADF and the ADFA following the scandal.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/defence-to-review-risk-of-social-media-20110506-1ebpp.html#ixzz1LKLzqTNy