Top stories from the Development and Aid World News Service–DAWNS Digest.
Gadhafi’s Internationally Wanted Spy Chief is Nabbed. Now Everyone Wants a Piece of Him
The late Muammar Gadhaffi’s intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi, who has been on the run since the downfall of the regime, was arrested in Mauritania this weekend. The battle is now over who is going to get first crack at putting the notorious former spy chief on trial.”In a short statement issued by the Mauritanian state news agency, officials said the 62-year-old ex-Libyan intelligence chief was carrying a fake Malian passport when he arrived in the country’s capital, Nouakchott, on a Royal Air Maroc flight from Casablanca…Authorities from Libya, France and the International Criminal Court at The Hague quickly announced their resolve to have Mr. Senussi turned over to their jurisdictions. Each are focused on different prosecutions, making Mauritania’s decision over extradition politically sensitive and legally significant. Mr. Senussi stands accused of a chilling list of crimes, dating back decades and underscoring the repressive policies that Gadhafi used to stay in power. Victims of alleged crimes include thousands of Libyans, as well as hundreds of French, American and British citizens. In the wake of the Middle East revolutions last year, Arabs are eager to see legal verdicts against their former dictators and security officials responsible for repressing them for so long, and many victims despair of ever seeing justice.” (WSJ http://on.wsj.com/yezZET)
African Union Still Stymied over Selection of Next Chairperson
The AU is having a very hard time selecting its next chief. “Leaders of eight African Union countries failed on Saturday to break a deadlock over the leadership of the 54-member body, highlighting divisions that have repeatedly stymied its decision-making. The talks in the Benin port of Cotonou were called after neither of the two front-runners for the AU commission chairman post – former South African foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and incumbent Jean Ping of Gabon – managed to secure an outright majority during a voting contest in January…South African President Jacob Zuma’s failure to secure a majority for Dlamini-Zuma, his ex-wife, after Ping’s much criticised tenure was a blow to South Africa, which regards itself as an emerging power championing African causes, but is seen by some other states as out of touch with global affairs.” (Reuters http://bit.ly/yzkgMY)