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Congo government buying Chinese arms: opposition
Brazzaville (AFP) Dec 30, 2008 Opposition parties in Congo on Tuesday accused the Brazzaville government of buying weapons and military equipment in China, but a government spokesman denied the allegation. The "weapons and military craft are shipped to Congo under contracts signed between the officials in Brazzaville and the government in Beijing," some 20 opposition groups said in a joint statement read before the press by their spokesman Christophe Ngokaka. The opposition did not say how much Congo paid for the alleged transaction or when the materiel would be delivered at Pointe-Noire, the country's southern economic and oil capital. Government spokesman Alain Akouala Atipault told AFP the allegations were based on "fallacious information". "We formally deny (this).... The opposition is losing it. It should rather present a credible project in the interest of the Congolese people," said Akouala Atipault, who is also communications minister. But he added: "The government, in normal times, must fulfill its sovereign missions which include the security of goods and people." Congo has seen a number of civil wars over the last decades that claimed thousands of lives and destroyed its economy with disastrous consequences for its social life. These conflits are widely seen linked to the country's election process. Congo-Brazzaville's presidential election will be held in July, and the government is conducting a "revision of electoral lists". Several opposition parties have asked that the revision be suspended and a population census be held first. At least five candidates have already announced that they will run in the presidential polls. President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who began a seven-year term in 2002, is widely expected to run for the presidency again, although he has not yet been listed as an official candidate. Legislative elections were last held in 2007, marked by irregularities and allegations of fraud, and contested by African Union observers and opposition parties. Related Links Africa News - Resources, Health, Food
Malta rescues migrants as Italian immigration debate heats up
Valetta (AFP) Dec 29, 2008A Maltese patrol boat on Monday rescued a boatload of 139 would-be immigrants, including 10 pregnant woman, from rough seas off the coast of the Mediterranean island, an armed forces spokesman said. |
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