At six in the morning, the city is already awake. Buses idle at taxi ranks, traders sweep dust from their stall fronts, and water runs in thin streams along the roadside. Overnight, the president has been removed by his own guards. By dawn, little appears to have changed, except that the soldiers are now stationed where traffic police once stood. They occupy intersections with rifles slung loosely at their sides, watching. On the radio, an announcer delivers a short statement: borders are closed, institutions dissolved, and calm urged. By mid-morning, the African Union had issued its condemnation, and a regional…
Richard Chelin
Africa: security Terror and violence are increasingly working together, and Africa will need a coordinated response to combat them By Richard Chelin During the Cold War era, terrorist groups could depend on state sponsorship because their objectives were frequently defined by Cold War ideology—for example, anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism. Following the end of the Cold War, however, they could no longer rely on the rivalry between superpowers, the US and the USSR, as leverage for obtaining funds for their operations. And needing funds, they soon found that criminal activities were an efficient means of acquiring them. This was paralleled by a…
Côte d’Ivoire: Ivoirité versus inclusion Citizens must decide whether a constitutional amendment is required to deal with ethnicity and citizenship By Richard Chelin In October 2016 Côte d’Ivoire will hold a referendum on constitutional reforms. While President Alassane Ouattara perceives this as an opportunity to modernise the constitution, opposition party members have condemned the move as anti-democratic and illegitimate. The opposition parties’ concerns arise from recent attempts by leaders of other African countries to amend their constitutions to extend their stay in power. In some instances this has resulted in violence, as exemplified in Burundi in 2015. Under Ouattara’s leadership…
Côte d’Ivoire: Ivoirité versus inclusion Citizens must decide whether a constitutional amendment is required to deal with ethnicity and citizenship By Richard Chelin In October 2016 Côte d’Ivoire will hold a referendum on constitutional reforms. While President Alassane Ouattara perceives this as an opportunity to modernise the constitution, opposition party members have condemned the move as anti-democratic and illegitimate. The opposition parties’ concerns arise from recent attempts by leaders of other African countries to amend their constitutions to extend their stay in power. In some instances this has resulted in violence, as exemplified in Burundi in 2015. Under Ouattara’s leadership…
