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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: E who wrote (10917)	4/10/2001 3:24:54 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

<<APRIL 10, 12:27 EST Rwanda Seeks Trial of Former PM By RODRIQUE NGOWI Associated Press Writer KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Rwanda delivered an international arrest warrant to the United States for former Prime Minister Pierre-Celestin Rwigema, who is wanted in connection with the 1994 genocide, prosecutors said Tuesday. Rwigema, 47, was forced to resign from office in February 2000 after a parliamentary vote of no-confidence over allegations of corruption and mismanagement. He then fled to the United States and sought asylum, claiming persecution by the government. ``A warrant has been issued against him to face charges of genocide and crimes against humanity,'' Rwanda's chief prosecutor Gerard Gahima told The Associated Press. There has been no response yet from U.S. authorities, he said. Rwigema, from the mainly Hutu Democratic Republic Movement, became prime minister in the Tutsi-dominated government of national unity in 1995 under a 1993 power-sharing agreement. He was member of an opposition Hutu political party during the 1994 genocide, when the former extremist Hutu government ordered and orchestrated the massacres of more than 500,000 minority Tutsis and politically moderate Hutus. But some genocide survivors say Rwigema, as the head of security in the Kigali neighborhood of Biryogo, did not do enough to prevent the killings. Other survivors and genocide convicts accused him of distributing weapons to Hutu Interahamwe militia, who carried out most of the carnage. Rwigema purged his own party of Hutu extremists and political opponents of the Rwandan Patriotic Front, the former Tutsi-led rebel movement that won power and ended the killings in July 1994. He later joined the government of national unity. >> wire.ap.org

To: E who wrote (10917)	4/10/2001 3:35:09 PM
From: Tom Clarke	Respond to of 82486

He is either very weak or someone pulls his strings.

To: E who wrote (10917)	4/10/2001 4:34:17 PM
From: Tom Clarke	Respond to of 82486

Geez, even the NY Post is wishing Sharpton well. AN AFRICAN PILGRIMAGE By ROBERT A. GEORGE April 10, 2001 ZURICH THE Rev. Al Sharpton departed this European city yesterday en route to strife- torn Sudan, where he expects this morning to observe a harsh African reality that would test the faith of many. He intends, he says, to participate in the purchase and emancipation of slaves. It's hard to imagine that chattel slavery still exists in the world. But it does. In its present form, it is quite common in Sudan - where the going rate for a healthy woman or child reportedly is about $50. Many tens of thousands of slaves have been taken during an off-again, on-again civil war that has claimed more than 2 million Sudanese lives. The captives are, for the most part, women and children - taken from black Christian and animist tribes living in the south of Sudan, Africa's largest nation. The captors are, for the most part, soldiers from the largely Muslim north. This morning, in the harsh Sudanese desert, Sharpton is meant to link up with Christian Solidarity International, a Swiss-based group whose members have been involved in slave retrieval for more than a decade. What will happen next isn't quite clear. The Swiss missionaries say they intend to purchase slaves from "intermediaries" who have captured them from members of the Muslim majority in the north. Presumably, CSI will then emancipate the captives - and it is this process which Sharpton means to witness. He won't be the first. In fact, the oppression visited upon Christians in Sudan has made for some odd bedfellows. The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of evangelist Billy Graham, has made Sudanese relief a priority. Several congressional delegations have visited Sudan in recent months, including such members as Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who heads the Senate's Africa subcommittee, and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. But what does this mean for Al Sharpton? This morning he will be far away from the cameras which he covets, having traveled to a land that knows neither Tawana Brawley nor Amadou Diallo. In truth, Sudan primarily knows mostly hunger, war and grinding poverty. So why has Al Sharpton - perhaps New York's best-known opportunist - come calling? "To confirm for myself that slavery still exists," Sharpton said on the eve of departure. "I think it's outrageous that no nationally known civil-rights group has gone over to Africa to criticize what is happening there." No "nationally known civil-rights group"? What does that mean? Sharpton mentions no names specifically, but the implicit criticism of the Rev. Jesse Jackson is clear enough. After all, didn't Bill Clinton name Jackson America's "Special Envoy to Africa?" Every perceived controversy - including the Florida presidential recount - has become the "new Selma" to Jackson. But why seek new Selmas when an age-old practice - one that has particular salience for African-Americans - is still being practiced? For that matter, what of the role of the "first black president," Bill Clinton? He visited Africa in a much- publicized tour just two years ago - almost to this very week. Then, the talks concerned trade and economic development - clearly worthy subjects - but even as they proceeded, the man who felt everyone's pain managed to turn a blind eye to slavery in Sudan. No small irony, then, that the very Christian religious right that Sharpton and his allies have demonized in the past is pushing hard to get a Republican administration involved in Africa. Sharpton says he received a briefing on the situation in Sudan from National Security Council Africa experts. Clearly, he has managed to get interest and tacit support for his trip from the Republican administration. And Sharpton makes no bones about the fact that he plans to make use of the lessons he learns from this trip: "I hope to shape U.S. policy and the U.N. human rights commission on this to stimulate debate." But it's always hard to take Al Sharpton at face value. Is this trip just for the publicity? If so, it's a risky stunt. Sudan is a dangerous place. The civil war pitting the Arab Muslim north against the black Christian and animist south is bloody and seemingly without end. As for the risk, Sharpton is philosophical and spiritual. "I must be willing to take risks to make things better." Maybe more to the point, Sharpton notes, fairly, that "I don't have to put myself at risk for publicity." Is it possible that perhaps the Rev. Al Sharpton is sincere about what he is trying to do? Perhaps. Who knows exactly what Al Sharpton may learn during his time here? Besides, this is Holy Week - a time for rebirth and redemption. And, notably, miracles. nypost.com