By api

http://www.africanpress.me API copyright: William Ruto in the Hague during ICC confirmation of charges hearing

The court in the Hague has denied the appeal launched by the Ocampo four and directed that the case file be transferred to the trial chambers and the registrar has been ordered to facilitate a meeting not later than the 9th of May that will set up the trial calendar in the case.

The only remaining thing now is the appeal on jurisdiction.

If the four were to win that appeal, then the case will be terminated.

The appeal court has stated that the case can start before the determination of the jurisdiction appeal and has given the ICC president to appoint judges from the trial Division to hear the case.

http://www.africanpress.me API Copyright: Uhuru Kenyatta (right) and Kenya's Director of Public Prosecution Mr Keriako Tobiko during the Confirmation of charges hearing at the ICC (Hague) having a chat at the end of the day's hearing

The commencement of the trial will disrupt Kenya’s presidential candidates’ Uhuru Kenyatta’s and William Ruto’s presidential campaigns.

No doubt this will also cause problems for the other candidates aiming to occupy the State House after President Kibaki.

This year’s general elections has attracted many presidential candidates, but the two men, William Ruto and Uhuru Kenyatta are among the few with huge support in the country and are expected to get many votes. If Ruto and Uhuru are hindered from fielding their candidacy by the ICC process, it is expected that they will encourage their followers to support someone they trust. It will be a difficult pick for them.

The two men will, however, not give that chance to the Prime Minister Raila Odinga who they blame to be behind their problems. They accuse him of doing deals with the ICC in order to lock them up so that he gets and easy road to the Presidency.

http://www.africanpress.me API copyright: Francis Muthaura in the Hague during ICC confirmation of charges hearing

Francis Muthaura, who until recently was the head of the civil services and secretary to the cabinet in Kenya has had a bad health after a by-pass operation. A trial will most probably cost more damage to his health.

After the confirmation of charges hearing late last year in September/ October many analysts thought Muthaura stood a chance to be freed by the ICC. As it turned out, it was not to be. Many now say, it is probably done because he is the man who was the closer to President Mwai Kibaki.

This past week it emerged that the British Foreign Secretary William Hague is working behind the scenes to have Kibaki indicted after he retires from the presidency later this year.

This will be done, according to the experts, by using the prosecution evidence from witness number 4, the man who through his written statement told the pre-trial court that Francis Muthaura and Uhuru Kenyatta held a meeting and funded Mungiki with Kibaki’s blessings, an accusation the president has denied vigorously.

http://www.africanpress.me API Copyright: Joshua Sang (right) with Kenyan supporters living in the Hague during the Confirmation of charges hearing at the ICC (Hague)

For Joshua Sang, a Radio journalist – things are complicated. He is accused of broadcasting coded statements asking the Kalenjins to kill those from other tribes who had not voted for ODM. The Kalenjins, at the time, supported ODM party who had Raila Odinga as the Presidential candidate. The support by the Kalenjins was availed due to William Ruto’s appeal because he was Deputy Party leader of the party at the time.

Ruto has since parted ways with Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the ODM party, resulting in the founding of United Republican Party that will field him as the Presidential candidate in the coming elections.

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by api

On Thursday, 8 March 2012, the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) Outreach Programme in Kenya organised an Outreach session with over 80 women to mark International Women’s Day, which is celebrated annually in different parts of the world. The participants represented various national and local women’s organisations from Uasin Gishu County and nearby villages.

During the session, in addition to providing an overview of the Court, the Outreach staff explained that the Rome Statute is the first international treaty to recognise a range of sexual and gender-related crimes among the most serious crimes under international law. The crimes discussed included rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage, forced pregnancy, forcible prostitution and gender-based persecution.

During the session, participants discussed the current judicial phase in the two Kenya cases, related to the 2008 post-election violence, and emphasised the need for the ICC to continue investigating rape and gender-related alleged crimes

In her closing remarks, a member of FIDA-Kenya, the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya, thanked the ICC Outreach Programme for providing them with valuable information that helped to address and clarify issues about the work of the Court. She urged the Outreach Programme to expand its reach to other groups in the community “who have not had access to such beneficial information”.

The ICC’s Outreach Programme  is mandated to interact with and provide information to communities affected by crimes brought before the Court and it aims to cultivate awareness and understanding of judicial proceedings within these communities. This, in turn, engenders greater local community participation and dialogue, and allows the Court to hear and address the communities’ concerns and counter misperceptions.

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By api

http://www.africanpress.me - API Copyright: Uganda's David Nyiekorach Matsanga outside the ICC in the Hague during Kenya case 2 confirmation of charges hearing, now wants to be enjoined in the Kenya case : What is the purpose behind such a wish? A hidden agenda?

David Nyekorach Matsanga, the man who represented LRA and Kony during the Juba peace talks that failed to result in the signing of an agreement is now on the Kenya case and the ICC wants to arrest him after being accused of interfering with the witnesses in the Kenya cases.

Kony, the ICC hunted man is the same man who appointed David Nyiekorach Matsanga to be his lead negotiator during the Juba (South Sudan) peace talks between his LRA and the Ugandan government is now a man the whole world wants brought to book.

Matsanga resigned as LRA lead negotiator when the negotiations produced no results – the failure to  sign an agreement after Kony refused to accept the deal reached by Matsanga’s group. After the failure to reach a final deal, Kony has continued to commit crimes against humanity and now he is getting the heat from the international community that has become tired of his crimes.

• ICC indicted Lord’s Resistance Army Commander Joseph Kony and the Invisible Children

Matsanga – a Ugandan national, while negotiating for LRA versus Uganda government, demanded that for the negotiations to bear results, the International Criminal Court had to lift the warrant of arrest on Kony. This condition put on the table by Matsanga and those with him during the negotiations caused the failure to sign the final agreement because the ICC was not ready to lift the arrest warrant on Mr Kony.

It is not known whether Matsanga had promised Mr Kony that he will manage to convince the ICC to lift the arrest warrant if he (Kony) agreed to come to the peace negotiating table. Matsanga is now a very angry man who says he hates the Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo.

• “I Hate Luis Moreno-Ocampo!” – David Matsanga.
• Matsanga: I resigned for the truth

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Mr Uhuru Kenyatta.

http://www.africanpress.me API Copyright. Mr Uhuru Kenyatta at the ICC Confirmation of charges hearing

Now Matsanga wants to be enjoined in the Kenya case, after being accused by the ICC Chief Prosecutor Ocampo of interfering with witness nr 4 in Kenya case nr 2.

Matsanga says the witness (now hiding in the US) contacted him for help to withdraw his testimony against Uhuru Kenyatta and Francis Muthaura who are indicted by ICC of crimes against humanity. Matsanga’s intentions are not known when he says he wants to be enjoined in Kenya case nr 2. He has told Moreno Ocampo that he does not fear him and his warrant of arrest threat. He has also told Ocampo that he has not been paid by any Kenyan to do what he is doing. Therefore, understanding him when he says he is fighting for justice is something the readers should analyse for themselves before making any conclusions left and right in blame games directed to any person.

http://www.africanpress.me API Copyright. Mr Francis Muthaura at the ICC Confirmation of charges hearing

Mr Francis Muthaura>

The witness whose testimony during the Confirmation of charges hearing was relied on by the court when making a ruling on whether or not to confirm the charges against Mr Kenyatta and Mr Muthaura, according to Matsanga, says he was lured to lie about Mr Kenyatta’s and Mr Muthaura’s involvement in the 2007/ 2008 post-election violence.

The Kenya parliament this week was alerted to the fact that the British Foreign Secretary William Hague is working behind the scenes to have President Kibaki indicted and that he wants Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto locked up while awaiting their trial to commence.

If true, this will cause chaos in Kenya during this election year 2012. The same document circulated in the Kenya parliament revealed that the British would like to see Prime Minister Raila Odinga getting the presidency because they believe they can easily cooperate with him in getting Kibaki arrested and taken to the ICC after he retires from the presidency this year.

• Matsanga wants to be enjoined in Hon Uhuru Kenyatta’s ICC case, but Chief Prosecutor Ocampo instead reacts by threatening to have him arrested
• Chief-prosecutor-moreno-ocampo-is-incompetent-and-unfit-for-office-says-dr-matsanga/

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Posted by api

On Thursday, 15 March 2012, at 11:00 (The Hague local time), the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, will hold a press conference in relation to the decision on the guilt or innocence of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, that will be announced in a public hearing the day before.

Webstreaming:
The press conference will be broadcast live, with no delay, at 11:00 on the following ICC website links:

English: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc5.asx <http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc5.asx>

French: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc6.asx <http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc6.asx>

 Satellite broadcast:

Satellite feed will be available free of charge. Information on frequencies and updates can be found here <http://www.icc-cpi.int/Menus/Go?id=9dc68616-318c-4539-8ca6-dfc4c1a5d9eb&lan=en-GB> .
 

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by api

Get updated about the Killer machine that has taken many lives of Uganda’s children by watching the film below:

• ICC indicted Lord’s Resistance Army Commander Joseph Kony and the Invisible Children

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Posted by api,

We all know that Joseph Kony’s days are numbered. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court to answer for crimes committed against humanity.

It is not going to take long before he is either netted or killed because the ICC with the help of the Americans are hunting for him in the bush where he is with his followers.

Some of his own men tired of the war reportedly, according to reliable sources, are ready to kill Kony if granted conditional surrender thereafter by the ICC.

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PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Poor eye care worsens rural suffering

Photo: David Swanson/IRIN

Eye care still elusive for most rural residents, including PNG’s children

PORT MORESBY,  – Serious eye problems are affecting tens of thousands across the half-island Pacific nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and exacerbating suffering in rural areas, say health workers.

“The need for treatment must be prioritized in this country as the number of people suffering from blindness or low vision is high and the problem is growing,” the country’s chief ophthalmologist, Simon Melenges, told IRIN.

Almost 200,000 people nationwide have poor eye-sight or no vision; many go without treatment due to inadequate eye-care facilities, specialists, surgical supplies and drugs.

The state estimates it will cost nearly US$8 million to provide eye care to those in need in 2012, with the cost expected to double by 2016 – this in a country where almost nine out of 10 people live in rural areas and are dependent on erratic farming income.

For children unable to get into one of the country’s seven special education programmes for blind children, in which 6,000 are enrolled, blindness consigns them to a life of begging to survive when they are unable to support their family in the fields or find other income sources, said Arnold Koima, a local special education expert.

“People with vision problems or who are blind and living in rural areas do not get all the support they need. Many adult[s] are left to suffer in silence and wait to die.”

Widowed and living alone, Kuragl Ambu, over 60 years old, was doing fine in her village in the Highlands Province of Chimbu, 450km from the capital, Port Moresby.

Until she lost her vision.

“I could make my own garden, collect my own firewood and look after my pigs but because I could not see, I stayed at home. I could not go anywhere.”

The mountainous topography and population concentration in rural areas make eye care all the more critical in a country where rural healthcare and income are already precarious, noted recent research by the NGO CARE Australia conducted in a community 50km from Ambu’s.

In Obura-Wonenara District of Eastern Highlands Province, of the 262 surveyed families, more than 60 percent earned less than $100 the previous month through coffee sales, comprising most of their income and 75 percent of those surveyed reported problems obtaining enough food.

“This is exacerbated by isolation, the lack of alternative income sources, and the lack of options afforded to them through their low levels of education,” wrote the authors of CARE’s report.

“We have a very sad situation here. In most of the cases, it’s just the need for a pair of glasses. People in this country live with blindness not only because they can’t access [medical care] but because they can’t afford it,” said Eileen Tagum of the local NGO, PNG Eye Care.

One-third of surveyed patients over the age of 50 in a study published in 2006 were visually impaired and 8.9 percent were completely blind.

Cost factors

A pair of prescription eyeglasses can cost from $150 to $250. There is no health insurance or sliding-scale payment plan for the country’s poor. Cataract surgery costs up to $40 plus the cost of the hospital stay.

Uncorrected refractive error and cataracts are the leading causes of vision impairment, followed by corneal infections, pterygium (growth of scar tissue and blood), uveitis (eye inflammation), trauma and eye disease complications from diabetes, said Melenges.

Nationwide, there are seven functioning eye clinics partially funded by the Australian government; almost all lack sufficient stocks of drugs to treat eye infections, surgery supplies or prescription glasses, PNG Eye Care says.

The country needs 60 eye specialists to treat the 6.9 million population, but there are only 18 ophthalmologists practising, according to the government.

“The government needs to do more for eye-care services in the country,” said Melenges.

Working with the National Department of Health to address poor eye care are local NGOs such as Callan Services and PNG Eye Care; Fred Hollows Foundation New Zealand; Australia-based International Centre for Eye Care Education; St. John Association for the Blind; and Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.

“Eye-care NGOs are coordinating more to spread our services. We are increasing our presence in the community. The need is there,” Tagum said.

Practitioners wrote and submitted the country’s first National Eye Plan – covering 2011-2015 – to the National Department of Health in April 2011.

“It is now up to the department to take it up with government for funding,” Melenges said.

pk/pt/mw
source www.irinnews.org

In Brief: Avalanches kill 37 in Afghanistan

Photo: Mohammad Popal/IRIN

Children are exposed to cold weather in a makeshift settlement in Kabul

KABUL,  – Avalanches killed 37 people and injured six in a remote part of the northeastern Afghan governorate of Badakshan on 5 March, according to Abdul Marouf Rasekh, a spokesperson for Badakhshan’s governor.

The governor, who was visiting the area at the time, was trapped for hours before a helicopter rescued him. He was taken to the other side of the border in Tajikistan.

“Right now 20 houses are completely covered with snow in Shirinazm village of Shekai District and hundreds of other people are at risk of being trapped or killed by avalanches,” Rasekh told IRIN, adding that Nesay District, close to the Tajik border, was also at risk.

“Right now we are having an emergency meeting in the provincial capital, Faizabad, to find a way of helping the people in those remote districts,” said Rasekh, adding that they would definitely need help from the UN and international aid organizations, though access would have to be by helicopter or via Tajikistan.

mp/cb
source www.irinnews.org