AFRIKAN WORLDVIEW NEWS ROUND-UP
Below are the major political developments in the last month in six of the eight most pressing security issues on the Afrikan continent. We will cover the other two – Mali and D R Congo - in future issues.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
CAR’S new president is Catherine Samba-Panza, a businesswoman and corporate lawyer, who had previously been appointed the mayor of Bangui by the interim government. With heightened religious tensions Ms Samba-Panza, who is a Christian, is seen as politically neutral and chaired a previous national dialogue during a previous crisis in 2003. She was born in Chad to a father from Cameroon and a mother from CAR, giving her influence and connections at home but also in some of the influential neighbouring countries.

About a million people - 20% of the population - fled their homes during months of religious violence. About 1,000 people were killed in December alone, leading to warnings of a genocide. France, the former colonial power, has 1,600 troops in CAR, working with 4,000 from Afrikan countries. EU foreign ministers agreed to deploy another 500 troops but Mrs Samba-Panza said more were needed. She said that the violence between Christian and Muslim groups had its roots in poverty. CAR has a Christian majority and a minority Muslim population.

The former President Michel Djotodia, who seized power in a coup in March 2013, resigned following peace talks between the various armed factions including the Muslim-dominated Seleka rebels who started the uprising and the Christian-dominated anti-Balaka in neighbouring Chad.

CAR has huge deposits of gold, diamonds, uranium and other minerals but has seen a succession of coups and rebellions since independence from France in 1960, leaving most of its people living in poverty. The late Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi saw the CAR as being part of its southern hinterland and within its sphere of interest in central Africa. Successive Central African leaders would try to bolster their unstable power base by bargaining between Libya and France – and latterly Idriss Déby’s Chad.
It was the Chadian decision to put its forces (already in the CAR) behind the Séléka rebel alliance which enabled the movement to quickly overthrow the government of Francois Bozize and install Djotodia.

EGYPT
Jan 25 marked three years since the final push began to oust the former President Hosni Mubarak on Feb 11 2011, However as the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ stretched out there has been growing instability and the marginalisation, incarceration and mass killing of the major forces that led the initial ouster. At the time of writing 30 people have been killed in demonstrations marking the revolution among supporters of the revolution, the deposed elected President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of the coup plotters led by General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Arrests have been made in Cairo and Egypt's second city, Alexandria - not just of Islamist supporters of deposed President Morsi, but secular opponents of the military government. The Anti-Coup Alliance, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, called for 18 days of protests beginning on Saturday, mirroring the 18 days of protests that three years ago led to Mr Mubarak stepping down.

In the run-up to Jan 25 there were a series of bombings of police stations, business and cultural venues carried out by Islamist rebels wanting independence or greater autonomy for the Sinai region. The blast outside Cairo's police headquarters left four people dead and wounded at least 76. The nearby 19th Century Islamic art museum was also damaged. Hours later, a second explosion occurred in the Dokki district of the capital. One person was killed and 15 were wounded in a blast that, according to one report, targeted police vehicles near the metro station. A short while later, a third device was set off beside a police station near the Giza pyramids. No-one was hurt. Some hours later, there was a fourth explosion outside a cinema in the Giza district of the city. One person was killed, officials said. The day before five policemen were killed and two others injured in an armed attack on a checkpoint in Beni Suef province, some 100km (62 miles) south of Cairo. An army helicopter crashed in the restive Sinai peninsula, with an unconfirmed report that its crew of five soldiers was dead. A large car bomb exploded near a police building in Suez, at the southern entrance of the Suez Canal.

This has played into the hands of the supporters of General Al-Sisi who are wrongly blaming the Muslim Brotherhood and using it as an excuse to extend their crackdown. Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Champions of Jerusalem), an Al-Qaeda-inspired Salafist jihadist group based in Sinai, have claimed the attacks. They are ideologically opposed to the Muslim Brotherhood and regard the current interim-backed government an apostate regime. It claimed responsibility for recent deadly attacks around Egypt, and rocket attacks on Israel and the bombing of a police station in Mansoura in Dec 2013 which killed 16 people. The Egyptian military are also threatening the Palestinian Hamas government in the neighbouring Gaza Strip claiming they are allies of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups. This is a return to the days of Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak when the Egyptian military were the biggest allies of the Israeli regime in the region and were keen to do their bidding.

The referendum on the new constitution attracted only 33% of the voters reflecting an extensive boycott not just by the hardcore activists but the Egyptian population in general. The outcome was that 90% supported the changes which put oversight of the military budget and their actions outside of civilian control. It retains a provision allowing civilians to be tried in military courts, and it gives the military control over the appointment of the defence minister for the next eight years. On the first day of voting nine people died in clashes involving Mr Morsi's supporters. Over 400 people were arrested over the two days for disrupting the vote.

The referendum could never have been regarded as fair with so many people in jail, exile, hospital or the cemetery. People were arrested for putting up ‘No’ posters and there was little support expressed in either state run or private TV and radio while the airwaves were flooded with endorsements of the new constitution. Those who voted ‘Yes’ effectively supported the violent removal of President Mohammed Morsi. The Muslim Brotherhood is now classed as a terrorist group and simply attending one of its protests can result in a three-year jail term. A schoolboy was arrested for having their symbol on a ruler and victorious sportsmen have had their medals and trophies confiscated and been banned from travelling and competing for expressing support for the Muslim Brotherhood. More than 1,400 people have died in violence since Mr Morsi's overthrow in July, including 250 members of the security forces. The constitutional referendum will be followed by presidential and parliamentary elections in the coming months and it now seems certain that General al-Sisi will run for president thus negating all the effort and gains of the revolutionaries,

More than 40 journalists and editors have signed a statement demanding the immediate release of three al-Jazeera colleagues accused of helping the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Peter Greste, Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed were detained by Egyptian authorities on 29 December. The men are accused by prosecutors of belonging to an illegal terrorist group - the Muslim Brotherhood - and helping promote its objectives, using unlicensed equipment, broadcasting false news and possessing fake footage. The letter calls for an end to their arbitrary imprisonment and also for the release of fellow journalists. At least five other journalists have been detained for over five months in Egypt, says the Committee to Protect Journalists - Metin Turkan of Turkish Radio and Television Corporation; Abdullah Al-Shamy and Mohamed Badr of al-Jazeera; Mahmoud Abdel Nabi of Rassd Online News; and freelance photographer Mahmoud Abou Zeid. Egyptian authorities have accused al-Jazeera of bias in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood since the army overthrew President Mohammed Morsi in July.

LIBYA
Libya's Deputy Industry Minister Hassan al-Droui was shot dead during a visit to his hometown of Sirte, east of the capital Tripoli by unknown gunmen. The motive behind his killing is unclear but it is the first assassination of a member of Libya's transitional government. Mr al-Droui was a former member of the National Transitional Council, the political arm of the 2011 uprising. He was appointed to his role by the transitional government's first prime minister and kept his position when Ali Zeidan took over.

At least five Egyptian embassy personnel have been kidnapped in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the Libyan Foreign Ministry reported. Among the Egyptian embassy staff seized was the cultural attache.

On Friday a Libyan militia commander was arrested in Egypt. Shabaan Hadiya is the leader of the Revolutionaries' Operation Room, one of the militias that sprang up during the fight to topple Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. A high-ranking member of the Operation Room denied any involvement in the Egyptians’ kidnapping. The presidency of the General National Congress, Libya's highest political authority, ordered their ambassador in Cairo to demand an explanation of Shabaan Hadiya's arrest. This follows on from the kidnap and release of a Korean trade official. Han Seo-woo, who leads the Libya unit of South Korea's Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, was abducted on his way home from work but later freed in Tripoli by the security forces. The arrested kidnappers were thought to be members of a minor armed rebel group, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said. Two Italian construction workers are missing in the eastern city of Derna. Earlier in January, the bodies of a British man and a woman from New Zealand were discovered near the coastal area of Mellitah, in the west of the country. And in December last year, an American teacher was shot dead while out for a run in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Libya has been struggling to assert itself over up to 1,700 different armed militias, each with their own goals, following Col Gaddafi's death. At least 19 people were killed in clashes between rival tribes in the southern city of Sabha. The fighting was reportedly sparked by the killing of a bodyguard protecting the city's militia leader, a member of the Awlad Suleiman tribe. Fellow tribesmen accused the rival Toubou of murdering the leader. The violence is the worst between the tribes since they struck a ceasefire agreement in March 2012. The Toubou have complained of not being treated as equals by Arabs from the coastal cities of the north, who tend to dominate the country's government and security forces. Many of the clashes between tribes there are rooted in competition over smuggling routes.

Gen Sir David Richards, a former head of the British armed forces has warned that Britain needed to learn from what it had done and failed to do in Libya. He also questioned whether the NATO operation against Libya in 2011 was the right thing to do, suggesting it may have contributed to the spread of arms and growth of Al-Qaeda in the region. By intervening in the Libyan war, the Western countries were determined to topple the Gadaffi regime, rather than fighting for democracy and humanity as they claimed. Western countries have created the myth of humanitarian intervention and taken advantage of the ‘Arab Spring’ to engineer regime change in Libya, which has sowed the seeds of mistrust and internecine armed conflict.

NIGERIA
Nigeria is marking the centenary of its ad hoc ‘creation’ by the British colonialists led by Lord and Lady Lugard. While there are extensive celebrations planned to mark we know not what the Nigerian, political, religious and business class continues to sew confusion accepting corporate theft and mismanagement while failing to end resource and employment imbalances and Boko Haram continues its murderous campaign across the northern region.

Boko Haram has been waging a four-year insurgency in Nigeria. More than 1,200 people have been killed in Islamist-related violence since Mr Jonathan imposed a state of emergency in three northern states in May 2013, giving the military wide-ranging powers to end the insurgency. However, Boko Haram has continued with its campaign of violence - including attacks on two military barracks and an air base last month. Last week the group carried out a car bomb attack in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, killing at least 17 people.

President Goodluck Jonathan (pictured, right) has sacked his military high command. Air Marshal Alex Badeh replaces Admiral Ola Ibrahim as the new chief of defence staff, the most senior post in the military. He also appointed a new chief of army staff, replacing Lt Gen Azubike Ihejirika with Maj Gen Tobiah Minimah. Rear Admiral Usman Jibrin takes over from Vice Admiral Dele Joseph Ezeoba as chief of naval staff and Air Vice Marshal Adesola Nunayon Amosu takes over from Air Marshal Badeh as chief of air staff.

A close ally of President Jonathan, Bamanga Tukur, has resigned as chairman of the governing People's Democratic Party (PDP). He had been under pressure to resign after the defection of several powerful PDP governors to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) party. The crisis in the PDP has centred around Mr Jonathan's undeclared intention to contest elections in 2015. Last month, the PDP lost its majority in the lower chamber of parliament when 37 of its MPs defected to the opposition. This followed the defection in November of an influential faction of state governors, leaving the PDP with fewer governors than the opposition.

Floor-crossing by its legislators has wiped out the PDP's majority in the House of Representatives and although the party retains its dominance in the Senate the president cannot pass any bill into law without co-operation by opposition party members. This is one reason why this year's federal budget is sitting unattended in the assembly. This means that, because the governors control their legislatures, President Jonathan cannot get through any amendments to the constitution as under Nigeria's federal system, two-thirds of state parliaments must approve any such changes.

The APC has called on its MPs to block all legislation including the 2014 budget. This would remain the case until the rule of law was restored in oil-rich Rivers state and Nigeria in general. Nigeria is one of the world's biggest oil producers, with Rivers state supplying about 40% of all the country's oil, according to business information firm Ngex. The row between Rivers state Governor Rotimi Amaech, who defected to the APC, and President Jonathan's supporters has paralysed politics in the state, with the police stopping the local state assembly from meeting in its building. The APC accuses the state police chief of taking sides and exacerbating tensions - it wants his removal, as demanded by Nigeria's federal House of Representatives last year. If the budget is not passed within the next couple of months, it will start to affect government business as there will be no money for salaries and other projects. Yet another political bombshell was delivered by the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. He alleged that nearly $50bn (£30bn) was unaccounted for from crude oil receipts taken by the national petroleum corporation. About $10bn was yet to be accounted for.

SOMALIA
More than 4,000 Ethiopian troops, which have been operating in Somalia for eight years, have been formally absorbed into the African Union force in Somalia (Amisom). They will be responsible for security in the south-western regions of Gedo, Bay and Bakool, the AU said. Ethiopia's contribution takes the AU force to the 22,000-strong level mandated by the UN Security Council. Last year, the UN chief Ban Ki-moon asked for a surge of extra troops for Amisom, fearing reversals in advances made over the last few years. The Ethiopians will be based in Baidoa, 300km (185 miles) north-west of Mogadishu. The Ethiopian deployment will permit Burundian and Ugandan forces to move into parts of Lower and Middle Shabelle. Amisom troops are hit almost daily by al-Shabab roadside bombs, ambushes and rocket attacks and Islamist fighters still hold sway over many small towns and much of rural Somalia where they have imposed a strict version of Islamic law.

There is a wider global concern that with the British government set to make khat illegal many Somalis -both inside Somalia and its diaspora - will lose a guaranteed source of income as Britain is the biggest export market. Although some traders expect lucrative rewards for the higher prices that ‘illegal’ khat can command this will leave many at the mercy of whoever can offer them an income and some sense of fulfillment in life and there are fears this will be Al-Shabab. This is similar to what happened with the fishing crisis when bigger foreign ships started to dominate the trade and there was also the dumping of toxic waste in Somali waters which led to the rise of piracy as Somalis were again denied legitimate means of earning a living. It follows on from the threat last year by the last guarantor of the money transfer system to withdraw their support which would have made all remittances into Somalia subject to such draconian anti-money laundering checks that it would have been virtually impossible to send money into the country. Fortunately, the threat was withdrawn at the last moment but the Somalis are now well aware how fickle the international world of finance can be.

SOUTH SUDAN
One estimate says nearly 10,000 people have been killed in South Sudan in the recent fighting between troops loyal to the South Sudan President Salva Kiir and followers of his former deputy Riek Machar. UN Human Rights fact finder Ivan Simonovic said both government soldiers and rebels had committed atrocities. He said there had been reports of "mass killings, extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, widespread destruction and looting of property and use of the children in conflict". The UN's World Food Programme said on Friday that more than 3,700 tonnes of food, enough to feed 220,000 people for a month, had been stolen from its warehouses during the fighting. President Kiir accused the UN peacekeeping mission of acting like a parallel government in his country claiming they were hiding rebels and guns at their camps. More than 70,000 civilians are seeking shelter at UN bases across South Sudan. Around 500,000 people have been displaced and the UN deployed an extra 5,500 peacekeepers to bring its forces up to 12,500.

The conflict between rebel and government forces broke out on 15 December when President Kiir accused Riek Machar of plotting a coup and arrested some of his allies. The dispute has seen killings along ethnic lines - Mr Kiir is a member of the Dinka community, the country's largest, while Mr Machar is from the Nuer ethnic group. An interim peace agreement has now been reached which is thought to address the issue of 11 detainees whom the rebels wanted freed before they would agree to a truce. The talks have now been adjourned and are due to continue on 7 February. But already Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang, a spokesman for the opposition, has accused government forces of attacking rebel positions in Unity state and Jonglei state earlier on Friday.

The strategic South Sudanese town of Bor has been recaptured from rebel forces. Government forces had defeated more than 15,000 rebel troops in Bor, the capital of Jonglei state which has changed hands several times in the month-long conflict. The South Sudanese army also says it has recaptured the key town of Malakal after days of heavy fighting, though this is disputed by the rebels.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni confirmed Ugandan troops were now fighting alongside government forces against the rebels. Army spokesman Lt Col Paddy Ankunda said Uganda has about two battalions, or 1,600 soldiers, in the country. Uganda has set up a rapid response centre to get soldiers operational as soon as possible to intervene in regional conflicts. Col Felix Kulayigye, political commissar for the Ugandan army, said the intention was for its forces to be a "provider of peace in the region" by deploying within 14 days to trouble hotspots. He said the rapid response centre had been built so the region did not have to wait for Europe or the United States to do the deployment when Afrikans are dying. Uganda recently had troops in the Central African Republic tracking down members of the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army rebel group.

FORTHCOMING NUBIART PROFILES
NUBIART: Focus on arts, business, education, health, political developments and the media.

JAN PROMOS

~ ‘SOUTAK’ - Aziza Brahim‏ [Glitterbeat Records - Out 10 Feb] Aziza was born in 1976 in a Saharawi refugee camp on the border of Algeria and Western Sahara, where her mother had settled in late 1975 having fled the advancing Moroccan occupying armies. At the age of 11, Aziza received scholarships to study in Cuba, but later on was unable to pursue a university degree in music. She returned to the refugee camps in 1995, pursuing her musical career there before moving to Spain.

These life experiences influence an album on which Aziza Brahim has written all the songs and plays the tabal (the traditional Saharawi hand-drum), as well as rhythm guitar. Poems that she had heard from her grandmother El-Jadra Mint Mabruk, known as the poet of the rifle in the Sahrawi refugee camps, have also been used as lyrics on the album. The first track ‘Gdeim Izik’ is about the ‘Camp of Dignity’ which was destroyed by the Moroccan-backed authorities with many deaths, injuries and arrests. The song ‘Julud’, is a moving tribute dedicated to Aziza's mother and reflects her unyielding faith in the Saharawi political struggle. The light Latin groove of ‘Lagi’ (‘Refugee’) with its Spanish guitar to the fore is about Aziza’s life spent mainly in refugee camps and for all the other refugees from across Afrika. ‘Aradana’ is a strongly percussive track about the men missing from exile, incarceration and those who have passed away. ‘La Palabra’ is a desert blues of the kind that the Glitterbeat label is specialising in.

Aziza says of the album 'Soutak' (‘Your Voice’): "I wanted to further explore the range of possibilities found in the Haul, the Saharawi's traditional rhythmic sources, played on the tabal and a source of inspiration for the Desert Blues."

~ ‘MALAGASY BLUES SONG’ - Lala Njava [Riverboat Records / World Music Network – Out Now] From the other end of the continent but in a similar vein Madagascar-born Lala Njava drops a 10-track album imbued with her deep, warm, trance-like voice with its rich timbre. Growing up she was surrounded by antsa, the traditional musical style from her home area which was mainly played in ceremonies for the purposes of entrancing its participants and he learnt her singing style from Mama Sana, a local shaman. Having previously performed with her family group Lala’s first solo album ‘Malagasy Blues Song’ is grounded deeply in Malagasy music tradition.

The album kicks off with ‘Soa Gnanay’ where Lala recalls the beauty of Madagascar and invites people to visit. ‘Dinako’ means ‘Promise’ and is her reflections and her desire to give something back to her island and people. On ‘Pardon à l’Afrika’ she condemns Europe for the fact it has never genuinely apologised for the colonisation of Africa. The title track allows Lala to draw on all her musical influences. The final track ‘Mosera’ is a condemnation of the child sex tourism that some perverts and unscrupulous merchants are inflicted on the island.

The Madagascan accordion player Régis Gizavo, well known for his work with Cesaria Evora, Lura and Manu Dibango, lends a hand. Almost all songs are written, arranged and produced by Lala and her brothers Maximin, Pata and Dozzy who are also in her live band. Lala founded the NGO Dames d’Amour in 2003 with her sisters Monika and Nicole to support Malagasy children and women. In Brussels they opened the D’âme d’amour shop selling Madagascan handcraft and helping families with small loans or communities to build new roofs for schools or water supply wells. On top of the ongoing political instability that has dominated Madagascar life for the last few years an outbreak of the deadly pneumonic plague has been reported in the country in the last few months. Lala is donating some of the revenues from this CD to the NGO Graine de Vie to support the planting of trees on the island.

NUBIART LIBRARY – JAN MEDIA
We will only review books we have read and DVDs we have seen and that are available at reasonable prices online or in shops or libraries. However, given the nature and current state of Afrikan publishing and film production there may be books and films on this list that are worth the extra effort to track down.

~ ‘UTOPIA’. Dir: John Pilger & Alan Lowery [Dartmouth Films & Secret Country Films]

“We lost all control and we feel useless because of that...They classed us as flora and fauna so they wouldn’t have to negotiate with us.” – Bob Randall, songwriter and Aboriginal cultural activist

John Pilger’s powerful film exposes the ongoing genocide against the Aboriginal / First Nations population by white Australia. Pilger returns to a community he first visited as a reporter for ‘The Secret Country’, nearly three decades ago to see what, if any, changes there have been. He finds the poverty is just as stark, the racism continues, the incarceration rate and deaths in custody continue with new prisons being built exclusively to warehouse (‘rack and stack’) Aborigines. It comes as no surprise to hear repeatedly throughout the film that the Australian state of Queensland was one of the models for South African apartheid. Only apartheid was more visible with its official separate taps, seats, residential areas and cultural denigration whereas the Australians do it by default and continue with the policy to this day. The current Aboriginal incarceration rate is 6-8 times what it was for Afrikans in the final years of apartheid.

The Aborigines even compare their situation unfavourable to that of other First Nations who have faced similar colonisation challenges. Whereas others in Canada or America signed treaties with the invaders that they can use to claim certain land rights the Aborigines never signed any of those ‘forked tongue’ treaties making it difficult to enforce indigenous land and cultural claims. Land such as the tourist areas of Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Botany Bay and the mineral rich Northern Territory should be providing an income for Aborigines to rebuild their communities, improve housing and the infrastructure, provide education and meaningful employment and training instead white Australia continually denies them the means to improve their situation and instead constantly oppose and denigrate any Aboriginal attempts at self-improvement.

Another assault on Aboriginal culture and family life was ‘The Intervention’ when politicians and their operatives perpetrated a disgusting lie that paedophile rings operated across Aboriginal communities with elder men passing children around between them. There was absolutely no evidence for that from anyone concerned with Aboriginal issues yet even the Australian PM used it as an excuse to bring in draconian laws that only affected Aborigines and allowed even more child removals. It is telling that more children are being removed from families now than during the years of ‘The Stolen Generation’ with $80m being spent on surveillance and removal and only $500,000 on support to keep families together.

The bonus on the DVD is over 4 hours of extended interviews with many of the contributors where the true horrors of Aboriginal life are fleshed out even more graphically. This DVD is essential viewing for all concerned about the welfare of some of the earliest Afrikan migrants in a part of the diaspora that doesn’t get enough of our attention.

Nubiart Diary

~ PETRIE MUSEUM PRESENTS ‘STONES AND SYMBOLISM: ANALYSING VALUES IN EGYPTIAN ROCKS’. Stones, their sources, and why some were valued over others, is an aspect of royal and elite consumption of these materials that receives least attention. This seminar aims to address issues of stone preferences during antiquity, the power of source and symbolism, technology and crafting through an object handling session. On Wed 29 Jan at 6-7.30pm at The Rock Room, UCL Earth Sciences, 1st Floor, South Wing Corridor, Wilkins Building, London, WC1E 6BT. Adm: Free.

~ 'Barack Obama and the Myth of a Post-Racial America' Book Launch. Discussion of how the book examines the historical, cultural and political dimensions of race in the United States, using an interdisciplinary analysis that incorporates approaches from history, political science, and sociology. They also consider the controversial issues addressed in the book, notably whether Obama can be considered an African-American president, whether his presidency actually delivered the kind of deep-rooted racial changes initially prophesied, and whether Obama has abandoned his core African-American constituency in favour of projecting a race-neutral approach designed to maintain centrist support. On Thurs 6 Feb at 5.30pm at Institute of the Americas, University College London, 51 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PN. Web: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/americas/ia-events/postracial-america

~ AFRO SUPA HEROES ‘FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE - SUPA WORLD’. An immersive experience to celebrate the Afro Supa Hero display with performances; a comic and action hero salon; a hands-on pop-up archive of childhood comics and characters; create a personal graphic novel supa-star; share the passions of comic and action hero fanatics and US 'badass' personalities. On Fri 7 Feb at 6.30-9.45pm at V&A, Museum Of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, Bethnal Green, London, E1. Adm: Free. Web: http://www.museumofchildhood.org.uk/whats-on/events-and-activities-calendar/friday-night-live-supa-world

~ ‘AFRO SUPA HERO’. This exhibition of Jon Daniel's action figures, comic books and games offer an insight into the experience of a boy of Afrikan Caribbean heritage growing up in 1960s and 1970s Britain, in search of his identity. Born in East Sheen in southwest London Jon Daniel found his positive role models in the Caribbean culture of his family and the Afrikan-American culture of the US. In his late twenties, Jon began collecting primarily 1970s action figures, feeling that they most strongly embodied the era of his childhood. In the display Meteor Man, Mr T and Lieutenant Uhura stand alongside real-life icons Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. Also on show are games and comics including ‘Black Lightning’, ‘The Falcon’ and ‘Lobo’, one of a two-issue series featuring the first leading Afrikan American character in the genre. Until Sun 9 Feb 2014 at 10am-5.45pm at the Museum of Childhood, Cambridge Heath Road, London, E2. Adm: Free. Web: www.museumofchildhood.org.uk

~ AFRICAN ODYSSEYS FILM PROGRAMME* DOUBLE SCREENING

- ‘Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia Abu-Jamal’. Dir: Stephen Vittoria.

With Alice Walker, Cornel West and Angela Davis. Dur: 120min. On Sat 8 Feb at 1pm. Before he was convicted of murdering a policeman in 1981 and sentenced to die, Mumia Abu-Jamal was a gifted journalist and brilliant writer. Now after more than 30 years in prison and despite attempts to silence him, Mumia is not only still alive but continuing to report, educate, provoke and inspire. Stephen Vittoria's new feature documentary is an inspiring portrait of a man whom many consider America's most famous political prisoner - a man whose existence tests our beliefs about freedom of expression. Through prison interviews, archival footage, and dramatic readings, and aided by a potent chorus of voices including Cornel West, Alice Walker, Dick Gregory, Angela Davis, Amy Goodman and others, this riveting film explores Mumia's life before, during and after Death Row - revealing, in the words of Angela Davis, "the most eloquent and most powerful opponent of the death penalty in the world...the 21st Century Frederick Douglass."

- ‘Let the Fire Burn’. Dir: Jason Osder. Dur: 95min. On Sat 8 Feb at 3.35pm. This impressive debut documentary investigates the tragic 1985 stand-off between the Philadelphia police force and a small radical organisation known as MOVE. In 1985 a stand-off between the Philadelphia police force and a small radical organisation known as MOVE ended in tragedy with the death of 11 people and 61 houses burned to the ground. 'Let the Fire Burn' were the fateful words that gave the police carte blanche to wait over an hour before extinguishing the blaze. MOVE, whose members were predominantly African-Americans, was seen as visionary by some and as a dangerous cult by others.

Both screenings at BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, London, SE1 8XT. Adm: £6 or £10 (joint ticket). Box Office: 020 7928 3232 (11.30am-8.30pm daily).

~ ‘HISTORICISING SLAVERY AND ENGAGING THE YOUNGER GENERATION’. The Legacies of British Slave-ownership project has developed an online database which uses the compensation records, a listing of all of those who received money when slavery was abolished in the 1830s, to highlight Britons’ connection to slave-ownership. Of those listed, over 3000 were absentees, men and women who lived in Britain – many of whom never visited the Caribbean. The project team is now tracing the development of estates in the Caribbean held by these absentees in order to further understand how their estates were managed and transferred over time. Kristy Warren, Research Associate, UCL, one of the Research Associates on the project, completed her PhD at the University of Warwick in 2012. Her thesis investigates the extent to which the positions taken by Bermudian politicians and social commentators, concerning the question of independence in the British Overseas Territory, are informed by their lived experiences and understandings of the island’s past. Prior to starting the PhD, she worked at The National Archives in Kew on a Heritage Lottery Funded cataloguing and outreach project entitled Your Caribbean Heritage. She is interested in the ways in which people remember, interpret, and value the past. This talk will show how the database can be used. On Tues 11 Feb at 1-2pm at Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, Wilkins Building, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, Web: http://events.ucl.ac.uk/event/event:vc-hobm246s-e5f2a4/historicising-slavery-and-engaging-the-younger-generation

~ BBM/BMC PRESENT ‘LOOK HOW FAR WE'VE COME...?’ Book & DVD documenting Afrikan British histories from the context of racism and racial equality policies launch. On Tues 25 Feb at House of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1. E-mail: editor@BritishBlackMusic.com Web: www.BritishBlackMusic.com www.LookHowFar.eventbrite.com

~ BUNDU DIA KONGO (BDK). Afrikan cultural and spiritual group working towards the spiritual and psychological growth and development of Afrikans all over the world. Let us make a positive change now. Learn about Afrikan prophets, Afrikan history and Afrikan spiritual practices at our weekly Zikua.

- Sun at 1.30–4.30pm at Chestnuts Community & Arts Centre, 280 St Ann’s Road, Tottenham, London, N15 5BN. Tel: Makaba - 07951 059 853.

- Sun at 12.30–3.15pm at Malika House, 81 George Street, Lozells, Birmingham, B19 1Sl. Tel: Mbuta Mayala – 07404 789 329.

~ THE AUSAR AUSET SOCIETY GI GONG CLASSES. Every Monday at 7.30–9pm at Hazel Road Community Centre, Hazel Road, Kensal Green, London, NW10 5PP. Adm: £5 per class. Tel: 07951- 252-427. E-mail: Tauinetwork.europe@gmail.com

~ ROYAL MUSEUMS GREENWICH PRESENT YINKA SHONIBARE MBE AT GREENWICH. The series of works include a new site-specific commission and sculptures never before seen in the UK. The works respond to the historic surroundings of the Queen’s House, National Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory Greenwich, while also exploring themes of Britishness, trade and empire, commemoration and national identity, which are central to both Shonibare’s work and the Museum’s collections. There will be works referencing the life and death of Admiral Lord Nelson including The Fake Death Pictures series, Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, Wind Sculpture and Cheeky Little Astronomer, The exhibition will be supported by a full programme of events including curator’s tours, talks and debates. Until Sun 23 Feb 2014 at 10am-5pm at National Maritime Museum, Queen’s House and Royal Observatory Greenwich, Romney Road, Greenwich, London, SE10. Adm: Free (except Flamsteed House at the Royal Observatory). Tel: 020 8312 6565. Web: www.rmg.co.uk

~ ‘AUTOGRAPH ABP PRESENTS CONGO DIALOGUES: ALICE SEELEY HARRIS AND SAMMY BALOJI’. A rarely seen archive dating from 1904, created by English missionary Alice Seeley Harris in the Congo Free State. These pioneering photographs publicly exposed the violent consequences of human rights abuses at the turn of the century, and are exhibited alongside newly commissioned work from acclaimed contemporary Congolese artist Sammy Baloji. ‘Congo Dialogues’ marks the 175th anniversary of Anti-Slavery International and the invention of photography. The Alice Seeley Harris archive was last shown to the public 110 years ago. Until Fri 7 Mar at Rivington Place, London, EC2A 3BA. Adm: Free.

- ‘Curator’s Exhibition Tour’. On Sat 1 Feb at 2-3pm. Adm: Free, no booking required.

- ‘Keynote Lecture & Roundtable: Photography and Violence’. On Thu 6 Feb at 6.30-8.30pm. Adm:
Free, booking essential.

- ‘Panel Discussion: Politics of the Congo, Now and Then’. On Thu 13 Feb at 6.30-8.30pm. Adm:
Free, booking essential.

- ‘Film Screening & Q+A, Sven Augustijnen: Spectres’. On Mon 24 Feb at 6-8.30pm. Adm: Free, booking essential.

- ‘Film Screening & In Conversation, Sammy Baloji: Mémoire’. On Thu 27 Feb at 6.30-8.30pm. Adm: Free, booking essential.

- ‘Curators' Gallery Talk’. On Sat 1 Mar at 2-3pm. Adm: Free, no booking require

All events at Rivington Place, London, EC2A 3BA.

~ ‘BEN OKRI ON AYUBA SULEIMAN DIALLO: A DIALOGUE ACROSS TIME’. The eighteenth-century portrait of Ayuba Suleiman Diallo is the earliest known British portrait of a freed enslaved Afrikan. Fascinated with Diallo's enigmatic story, poet Ben Okri responds to the subject in a new poem, 'Diallo's Testament', as part of his involvement in the portrait's tour of partner venues around the UK. Until Sun 16 Mar 2014 at the National Portrait Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2. Adm: Free.

Contact: Kubara Zamani, Afrikan Quest International, PO Box 35165, London, SE5 8WU. Tel: 07811 494 969. E-mail: afrikanquest@hotmail.com Web: www.southwark.tv/quest/aqhome.asp