ETHIOPIA: massacres, arrests prompt EU call for sanctions

European parliamentarians are calling for "targeted sanctions" against the Ethiopian government unless the human rights situation in the country improves significantly.

Members of the European Parliament are urging the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union (EU), and the European Council, made up of European heads of government and state, to consider imposing targeted sanctions against members of the Ethiopian government following the political violence that has recently gripped the country.

In a landmark 15-point resolution passed unanimously in Brussels last week (Dec. 16), EU lawmakers called for "the immediate establishment of an independent international commission of inquiry, under U.N. responsibility, to investigate the human rights abuses and to identify and bring to justice those responsible."

The resolution is the third voted by the European Parliament since last July. MEPs expressed their concerns about the situation in Ethiopia and the violations of human rights against those who survived the massacres committed by the regime%u2019s security forces in June and early November.

The parliament said it was "disturbed by recent news of large-scale human rights abuses following a massive and unprecedented crackdown, in which political leaders, human rights defenders, independent journalists, NGO workers and young people were arrested in Addis Ababa and in different parts of the country."

Full report (Brussels IPS/ST) 20 Dec 2005.

ETHIOPIA/ERITREA - International tribunal finds Eritrea responsible for war against Ethiopia

The Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission finds Eritrea responsible for the 1998-2000 war against Ethiopia exposing it as the aggressor.

According to a statement the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent to the official ENA, in its awards made public on Monday, 19 December 2005, the commission decided that Eritrea was liable for starting the two-year war with Ethiopia.

Full report 21 Dec 2005 (ENA/ST)

ETHIOPIA: Food security improving - FEWS Net

Food security in Ethiopia is improving thanks to a good harvest, rising coffee prices in the world market and better aid distribution, a famine early warning network said on Thursday.

Full report (IRIN) 15 Dec 2005.

ActionAid urges Ethiopia for release of anti-poverty campaigners

The international charity ActionAid has urged the Ethiopian government to release two anti-poverty activists who are facing possible treason charges.

Full report (IRIN) 16 Dec 2005.

Myethiopia

Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and one of the oldest in the world, more than 3000 years old. Coffee is Ethiopia's gift to the world. The word coffee was derived from a region called Kaffa. Ethiopia is the only nation in Africa that defeated a colonial power. Many African countries adopted Ethiopian flag colors as a symbol of independence. Ethiopia is the only country in Africa with its own unique script, Ethiopic.

[via Tadias: Ethiopian Commentators weblog, an Ethiopian blog dealing with current issues in Ethiopia]



Please see more pointers and links at myethiopia Information, News and Publications, Weblogs and Websites.

Ethiopia's PM says Eritrea girding for new war

Ethiopia on Tuesday accused rival Eritrea of deliberately ratcheting up tension for a second border war as Eritrean officials refused to meet UN envoys trying to ease the deteriorating situation.

In a speech to parliament, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Eritrea was attempting to provoke a new conflict but stressed Addis Ababa would take deterrent measures to dissuade Asmara from resorting to a new war.

"The Eritrean government is making efforts to worsen the situation around the border," he told lawmakers. "If the Eritrean government believes that it can ensure victory there is no doubt it will do what it can to wage a war."

"The only alternative is to show the Eritrean government they will not win anything if a war is started," Meles said.

"In this respect, we have to show that there is proportional force and until a lasting peace has been secured this will continue," he said, confirming that Ethiopia would pull back troops from the border in line with UN Security Council demands.

Full report (AFP/ST) Dec 13, 2005.

Britain's minister for Africa, Lord David Triesman on urgent mission to Ethiopia, Eritrea

EU is to send urgent diplomatic mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea aimed at cooling border tensions and averting a new war between the two East African nations, reports AP 12 Dec 2005:

Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said there was 'profound concern' in the EU over the rising tension between the two countries.

He said the EU would send a special mission Dec. 17, led by Britain's minister for Africa, Lord David Triesman to visit both governments.

In a statement the EU foreign ministers called on both nations 'to refrain from any threat or use of force against each other and to contribute to de-escalation.'

The EU ministers urged 'immediate, concrete steps' by Ethiopia to demarcate a permanent border 'without delay,' and denounced Eritrean demands that European and North American observers be withdrawn.

International concerns have been mounting in recent weeks that war could again erupt between the two African nations, which fought a 1998-2000 war for territory that claimed tens of thousands of lives and cost both countries "two of the world's poorest" an estimated US$1 million a day.

Their competing territorial claims were never resolved and in recent months both countries have been massing troops near the border and Eritrea has been restricting the work of U.N. peacekeepers. - (AP/ST) Dec 12, 2005 (BRUSSELS)

Further reading:

Ethiopia's redeployment of troops: A publicity or a move for peace? authored by Agazi Meckonen, an American of Ethiopian origin. Email: AgaziYemane@HotMail.Com

Ethiopia 'to reduce' border force

Ethiopia 'to reduce' border force (BBC) 10 Dec 2005.

Sudan's Bashir, Ethiopia's Zenawi to meet in Khartoum

Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, and the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi will hold a joint mini summit in Khartoum next Thursday 15 December to discuss issues regarding the African continent, and bilateral ties.



Photo: Ethiopian PM Zenawi welcomes Sudanese Pdt El Bashir at Addis Ababa airport on February 2, 2003 (AFP) Full report (ST) 10 Dec 2005.

Scientists say new ocean in formation in Ethiopia

Ethiopian, American and European researchers have observed a fissure in a desert in the remote northeast that could be the 'birth of a new ocean basin,' scientists said Friday.

Researchers from Britain, France, Italy and the U.S. have been observing the 60-kilometer (37-mile) long fissure since it split open in September in the Afar desert and estimate it will take a million years to fully form into an ocean, said Dereje Ayalew, who leads the team of 18 scientists studying the phenomenon.

Full report (AP/ST) 10 Dec 2005.

Ethiopia to link Sudan via optic fiber telephone line

Ethiopia and Sudan, two of the world's poorest and least-wired nations, want to expand information and communication technologies coverage to the respective country in the future.

The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), the country's only state-owned information and communication technologies provider, said Friday it has begun activities to link Ethiopia and Sudan with optic fiber telephone line along the Gondar-Gelabat border road.

Some six towns and rural kebeles along the optic fiber installation line would also get telephone service.

Farmers living along the cable installation route have been taking part in the digging of cable burying canal.

Some 25 km of the cable burying canal has so far been dug, while the remaining work is expected to be fully finalized during the current budget year.

Full report (Xinhua/ST) 10 Dec 2005.

Eritrea expels US, European, Canadian UN staff - Officials

Eritrea has ordered the expulsion of U.S., Canadian, Russian and European staff of the U.N. peacekeeping mission that monitors the tense border with neighboring Ethiopia, U.N. officials said Wednesday.

In a letter sent to the U.N. Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, the staff have 10 days to leave the Horn of Africa nation, said a Western diplomat who saw a copy of the letter. No reason was given for the expulsion.

Two weeks ago the U.N. threatened to impose sanctions if Eritrea fails to ease restrictions imposed on peacekeepers.

Full story (AP/ST) 7 Dec 2005.

Ethiopia willing to pull troops from Eritrea border - UN

Ethiopia has indicated willingness to comply with a U.N. resolution demanding it and neighboring Eritrea reverse a military buildup on their shared border, a senior U.N. official said Thursday. See full report Dec 1, 2005 by AP at ST.

Note, the report explains 'Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but the border between the two was never formally demarcated. The border war erupted in 1998 and has claimed tens of thousands of lives while costing both countries an estimated $1 million a day.

A December 2000 peace agreement provided for an independent commission to rule on the position of the disputed border while U.N. peacekeepers patrolled a 24 kilometer buffer zone. But Ethiopia refused to accept the panel's April 2002 decision, which awarded the town of Badme to Eritrea.'

Ethiopia and Eritrea Prepare For War?

From Greg Fisher's first hand account at Greg's Africa Thoughts:

"In preparation for the war, Eritrea continues its relentless persecution of evangelical and pentecostal Christians. Up to as many as 1,800 Christians were arrested by the government on the 3rd of November according to a BosNewsLife report. This includes over 200 people -- men, women, and children -- arrested at a wedding. This is the most severe crack-down on evangelicals and pentecostals since the Eritrean government ordered the closure of all churches not belonging to the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or Lutheran denominations.

According to published reports, the relief and development program of the Kale Haiwot Church have been closed by the government. I, personally, know the leaders of the Kale Haiwot church in Asmara, and I have grave concern for the safety of those leaders who are now in prison." Read full post.

Rumours of war

Ethiopundit writes about Rumors of War and concludes by saying: "We're not buying any of the rumors of war - the issue of war is a sideshow to distract from the real issues that Ethiopians and Eritreans have to deal with."

"There will always be tensions between the countries but the timing of the recent rumors of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea is suspect. The Eritrean government wants attention from the West because it is going broke and because it faces rising internal opposition. The potential for conflict has provided the government with its raison d'etre and has justified endless general mobilization since then along with the lack of political rights.

The Ethiopian government wants Western interest to change subjects from the collapse of the pretense of democracy onto the more manageable topics of law, order and regional security issues dear to the hearts of donor nations. Rumors of war provide just such an opportunity."

Sudan: Chad Government ready to send troops into Darfur

Chad has announced it is ready to cross into neighboring Sudan in the pursuit of renegade soldiers aiming to topple the president. Chad has accused authorities in Darfur of harboring the rebels.

Chad's Defense Minister Bichara Issa Djadallah accused local authorities in Sudan's troubled western Darfur province of being allied with a new armed group seeking to overthrow Chadian President Idriss Deby.

Full report (VOA) 2 Nov 2005.

Ethiopia 2nd day of clashes - at least 33 protestors killed

Ethan notes eyewitness accounts of violence in Addis Ababa and Nazret's special blog section reserved for visitors from Ethiopia to post their first hand accounts.

Clashes between hundreds of riot police and protesters over disputed elections erupted in gunfire and grenade explosions Nov 2, with police killing 33 people, a rights group said. Security forces swept through streets littered with burning tires to arrest young men, sometimes dragging them out of hospitals.

At least 150 civilians were wounded, including a 7-year-old boy who was shot in the hip, according to doctors at five hospitals said. The doctors said 23 dead bodies were brought to the hospitals.

The violence followed clashes Nov 1 between protesters and police that killed another eight people and wounded 43.

Full report (AP/Guardian) 2 Nov 2005.

More on this news through Global Voices' link to Friends of Ethiopia blog.

Ethiopia and Eritrea move troops and tanks towards Horn frontier

A source at the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (Unmee) told journalists Nov 2 that both countries have moved more troops and tanks towards the border in the past two or three weeks.



Diplomats in Asmara are waiting to see the final version of the latest UN Security Council resolution, which will probably be finalised in about a week.

Full report (BBC) 2 Nov 2005.

Chad's Deby disbands bodyguard after mutinies

Chadian President Idriss Deby disbanded the Republican Guard, an elite military unit tasked with his protection, in the wake of an incident of mutiny and desertion, a decree said Saturday. Full report.

Chad is a corrupt nation - Sudan believe SCUD is working with Darfur rebels

The Family Feud via StrategyPage.com:

October 29, 2005: The government is trying to get control of several hundred million dollars in oil profits that, via an agreement with the World Bank, it has placed in a London bank account for future development projects. Chad is a corrupt nation, with tribal loyalties, all too often, coming before national ones. Chad's dozens of major tribes don't trust each other when it comes to spending the new oil revenue. For that reason, oil wealth has tended to be something of a curse in Africa, benefiting only a few, and causing unrest, and even civil war. It's happening in Chad as well.

October 26, 2005: The Chadian army has chased nearly all members of SCUD into Sudan, and is asking the Sudanese to disarm the group. The Sudanese would like to do that, because they believe SCUD is working with Darfur rebel groups. The problem is that Darfur is a large place, and a few hundred SCUD gunmen have plenty of hiding places.

October 22, 2005: The umbrella group for Chadian rebel groups, ANR (Alliance Nationale de la Resistance), declared it had nothing to do with the latest armed rebels to oppose president Deby. ANR declared that the latest rebel faction, who were members of the Presidential Guard, had nothing to do with ANR, and were involved in a "family feud" (since the Presidential Guard is recruited from the president's tribe, the Zagawa.) It is believed that the current rebellion is, literally, a family feud, with Doussa Deby, the brother-in-law of the president, behind the current problems in the Presidential Guard. The new rebel group calls itself SCUD (Platform for Change, National Unity and Democracy), and is led by Yahia Doli, who claims he has several hundred armed men. The government says only 40 troops deserted the Presidential Guard to join SCUD, and this is probably correct. That's because SCUD is less a bunch of Chadian rebels, then it is a group of Chadian volunteers going off to help the Zagawa clans that live across the border in Darfur. Like many of Africa's 700 or so tribes, the Zagawa does not live in just one country. When the national boundaries were drawn up in the 19th century, some Zagawa ended in up in Chad, and some in Sudan's Darfur region. As black Africans, the Zagawa have been suffering from the attacks of Sudanese Arab tribesmen, armed and urged on by the Sudanese government. What complicates the matter is that the president of Chad, Idriss Deby, came out on top in the recent civil war, largely because he was backed by Sudan. That conflict is not completely over, with various, tribe based, factions still providing armed opposition to the government in various parts of the country.

Eritrea says UN lies to cover up failure over Ethiopian border

Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki has accused UN chief Kofi Annan of lying about humanitarian conditions in his country to "cover up" the United Nations' failure to deal with soaring border tensions with Ethiopia.

Full report AFP via ST 28 Oct 2005.

Darfur's SLA leaders operate out of Chad, Europe and Eritrea

Once seen as fighting for the rights of brutalised people, Darfur's biggest rebel movement SLA have become part of the problem, reports BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher in Khartoum 28 Oct 2005.

Note the report reveals SLA leaders left Darfur in 2004 and attempted to direct operations from different hotels in the Eritrean capital, Asmara.

Also, see fascinating Washington Post report May 17 2005 by Emily Wax about the Janjaweed, the militarised town of Marla and how "amid the amulet pouches hanging from Tarjab Jalab's belt loop is a Thuraya satellite phone in a small leather case. In theory, the commander in Muhajara uses it to communicate with the SLA's higher-ups in Chad, Europe and Eritrea."

Oct 28 Reuters report by Opheera McDoom says some rebel delegates expected to attend a unity congress Oct 29 are from the United States, Italy, and England.

Eastern Chad: Something Strange Is Going On ...

Greg reports Something Strange Is Going On ...

"We have received several reports of some kind of opposition to the Chadian government building up in Eastern Chad. Reuters is confirming what we have heard: That rebellious soldiers in Eastern Chad--at Hadjer Hadid--were attacked by government soldiers. Some sources on the ground report that soldiers have not been paid for nearly 8 months, and that was possibly the reason for the rebellion.

Most of what we have heard is unconfirmed at this moment...but, we will update this blog as we are able to confirm."

World Bank mulls withdrawal from Chad oil pipeline

Note Reuters report Oct 28, 2005: The World Bank may withdraw from a high-profile oil pipeline investment in Chad and halt lending to the government if it changes a law to access a larger share of oil profits, officials said on Thursday.

Three different crises in Sudan affects neighbouring countries

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres has said that the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan is once again deteriorating sharply, and warned that a further calamity could take place there very soon, which might have "a devastating impact" on neighbouring countries as well as on the situation in other parts of Sudan.

Situation in Darfur seriously degenerating, says Guterres Oct 24:

"You have three different crises at the moment," he said. "South Sudan, where peace was established based on the sharing of oil revenues; you have Darfur, and you have eastern Sudan, where the implications are also in relation to the neighbours and the problem between Eritrea and Ethiopia."

FT op-ed: Eritrea and Ethiopia 'sliding into war'

Five years after United Nations peacekeepers deployed to Ethiopia and Eritrea to help end their devastating border conflict, the mission has been rendered virtually impotent and there are increasing concerns the two countries could return to war.

Read the full story by Andrew England and Mark Turner at FT.com October 24 2005.

Note, a discussion on this at Nazret.com EthioBlog.

Sudan says Eritrea withdraws many border troops

Oct 20 Reuters (Khartoum) report excerpt:

Sudan has accused Eritrea of arming and supporting rebel groups from both the east and western Darfur region. The groups have offices in the Eritrean capital Asmara, but Eritrea denies the existence of any Sudanese armed men on its soil.

Note, eastern Sudan contains Sudan's only port, Port Sudan, the main oil pipeline which carries Sudanese crude exports and Sudan's largest gold mine.



Rebels from Sudan’s Eastern Front parade during a conference held by the Front north of Kassala town, near the Eritrean border. (AFP).

Oct 24: Sudan's eastern rebels in first talks with govt next month.

Oct 22 Curzon at ComingAnarchy notes One neighbor's troop withdrawal is another neighbor's military buildup.

Further posts at Sudan Watch re Eritrea.

Ethiopia says Eritrea building up troops on border

Oct 19 Reuters (Addis Ababa) report - Ethiopia says Eritrea building up troops on border.

Oct 22 Curzon at ComingAnarchy notes One neighbor's troop withdrawal is another neighbor's military buildup.

Eritrea rejects UN flight request

Snippets from BBC correspondent Elizabeth Blunt's report today:

If Ethiopia and Eritrea go to war again, Eritrea would almost certainly lose, and yet it is Eritrea which provoked the present crisis.

Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of secretly moving troops to the border, while Eritrea says Ethiopia is not to be trusted.

Eritrea is suffering from a prolonged humanitarian catastrophe, the UN says, with 2.3 million people facing a lack of food.

More than 3,000 UN troops patrol the border zone under the terms of the December 2000 peace plan that followed a two-year border war.

Eritrea has rejected a plea from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to lift a ban on peacekeeping flights along its tense border with Ethiopia.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki told Mr Annan: "You cannot claim the legal, political, moral or humanitarian high ground on matters of law."

Eritrea banned UN helicopter flights in its airspace on 5 October.

Mr Annan has warned that the UN may have to pull its troops out if the flight ban remains in place.

Note, Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993, after Ethiopian and Eritrean rebel movements overthrew the Derg regime in Addis Ababa.

Ethiopia/Eritrea: UN vacates half its monitoring posts

The UN operation monitoring the increasingly tense border between Ethiopia and Eritrea said Monday that Asmara's ban on helicopter overflights would force it to vacate nearly half its posts on Eritrean territory.

The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said the ban had led it to conclude that it could no longer staff 18 of the smallest and most isolated of its 40 observation posts as well as one larger base it runs in Eritrea.

Eritrea has repeatedly warned that a new conflict is looming because of Ethiopia's refusal to accept a binding 2002 border delineation from an international panel set up as part of the pact that ended the war.

Full report (AFP/ST) 17 October 2005.

Sudan: Chadian soldiers form new rebel group

This report, via Sudan Tribune, is posted here at Ethiopia Watch for ease of reference:

The last week Chadian deserter soldiers said they say they are determined to drive out President Idriss Deby from power, and they formed a new political movement, Radio France Internationale reported.

The dissident soldiers, who refuse to be referred to as deserters, have presented themselves as a structured movement that they have called SCUD, as a Platform for Change, National Unity and Democracy.

The deserters affirm that they are 370 in number.

Yahya Dilo a former officer of the Chadian army and former member of the Chadian ruling MPS party, is the leader of the dissident soldiers members of SCUD.

Full report Oct 16, 2005 (PARIS)

Note, the above report mentions Libya. Libyan leader met with Egyptian leader today in an unscheduled meeting that included discussions on Sudan's Darfur crisis.

http://www.newkerala.com/news.php?action=fullnews&id=36896

Submissions Welcomed For Spotlight On Darfur 2

If you wish to contribute a blog entry for Spotlight on Darfur 2, please contact Eddie Beaver at Live From The FDNF in time for 16 October 2005 deadline.

Jim Moore, co-founder of Sudan: Passion of the Present, recently posted a note from Eddie on this initiative with an important PINR report from Michael Weinstein.

Note, Catez Stevens in New Zealand initiated and hosted Spotlight on Darfur 1 round up of posts authored by 14 different bloggers from around the world. Jim Moore, in praise of this, writes:

"In my view this work is so fine as to be almost historic. It combines the literary quality of a small, carefully edited book, with the global accessibility of works on the web."



Last May, Catez also produced The Darfur Collection.

Image courtesy Tim Sweetman's post Let Us Weep.

Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa allthings2all aid bloggers Live 8 Live From The FDNF Darfur Collection Spotlight on Darfur

Sudan to start supplying oil to Ethiopia in January

Sudanese and Ethiopian government officials announced this week that Ethiopia will start importing benzene, kerosene and other petroleum products as of January.

Sudan, Ethiopia End Border Dispute.

UN say foreign investment increases in Ethiopia

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flow to Ethiopia has shown an increase.

See Full report (ENA/ST) October 4, 2005.

China Provides 150,000 USD for Ethio-Sudan Border Demarcation

The Chinese government has provided a 150,000 USD for the demarcation of the Ethio-Sudan border.

Full story at Sudan Activism blog.

Tags: Ethiopia Sudan Africa China

Volkswagen-Stiftung offer of scholarships for a research project about Southern Sudan

Message from Warnews Blogs September 15, 2005:

Dear All,

The Volkswagen-Stiftung is sponsoring a research project at the University of Bremen, Germany on "Governance and Social Action in Sudan after the Peace Agreement of 2005: local, national, and regional dimensions" (Politische Steuerung und soziales Handeln im Sudan).

As part of the research project 10 research scholarships are being offered, which are aimed at applicants from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya.

Attached you find the research proposal and further details about the scholarships.

Further details can be found on www.iwim.uni-bremen.de

It would be greatly appreciated if you could forward this email to anyone who might be interested in applying for a scholarship.

Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa Ethiopia Kenya Bremen Volkswagen

Sudan: Spotlight on Darfur 1 and The Darfur Collection

Huge thanks to Catez Stevens in New Zealand for initiating and hosting Spotlight on Darfur 1, a great round up of posts authored by 14 different bloggers from around the world.



Catez also produced The Darfur Collection last May.

Please email Catez at Allthings2all if you have a post for the next Spotlight on Darfur 2 or 3.

Picture courtesy Tim Sweetman's post Let Us Weep.

Thanks to Global Voices for their third post and links to my blog Congo Watch promoting this initiative.

Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa allthings2all aid bloggers blogburst

Katrina aid - Blogbursts - Spotlight on Darfur 1 and Darfur Collection

Further to an earlier post here below, I have just received word from Catez saying Spotlight on Darfur has been put forward to 5 September as the blogosphere has had planned blogbursts on Hurricane Katrina aid.

This means bloggers can email Catez with posts until Sunday 4 September.

Thanks to Global Voices for picking up on my post at Congo Watch publicising the initiative.

Tags: Darfur Sudan Africa allthings2all Hurricane Katrina aid bloggers blogburst Global Voices

Ethiopian PM attacks EU monitor

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi accuses the EU's chief election monitor of behaving like a "colonial viceroy".

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/1/hi/world/africa/4205370.stm

Spotlight on Darfur 1 and The Darfur Collection

Last May, Catez Stevens at Allthings2all in New Zealand kindly put together The Darfur Collection.

Now, Catez is initiating and hosting Spotlight on Darfur 1 starting September 1. It will feature posts on the current Darfur situation from various bloggers. If you are a blogger and would like to send in a post for inclusion in the Spotlight on Darfur please email Catez for details.

Eugene Oregon at Coalition for Darfur helpfully writes Reminder: Spotlight on Darfur 1.

Note, Catez is planning a regular series of Spotlight on Darfur. If you have missed Darfur 1, there is still plenty of time to prepare a post for Spotlight on Darfur 2 or 3 or 4 ...

EU criticises Ethiopian elections - 'Votes for sale' - Ethiopia's new Parliament

Copy of a report by the BBC today:

The European Union's chief election observer in Ethiopia has said recent elections failed to meet international standards in several key respects.

Ana Gomes criticised the way charges of electoral fraud were dealt with after the parliamentary elections.

"Solid evidence" of irregularities presented by the opposition had been dismissed, she said.

The coalition led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi retained its majority but the opposition gained many seats.

Several days of violence followed the 15 May poll and around 40 people were killed when police fired on crowds of protesters.

Last Sunday, repeat elections were held in 31 seats, as well as in the Somali region.

"The EU Observation Mission regrets [that the election process] did not live up to the international standards and to the aspirations of Ethiopians for democracy," Ms Gomes said.

She especially criticised the elections in the Somali region, saying they were "poorly organized, full of irregularities, including ballots being sold in the black market."

The results from Sunday's elections have not yet been released.

She also said there had been human rights abuses, such as the arrest of opposition activists and the intimidation of witnesses.

The main opposition Coalition for Unity and Democracy has refused to accept the official results and welcomed the EU statement.

"I think it was a good, honest report and now we need dialogue to resolve the current deadlock," said CUD vice-chairman Berhanu Nega.

Information Minister Bereket Simon dismissed the EU report as "biased".

ETHIOPIA'S NEW PARLIAMENT

EPRDF: 296
EPRDF allies: 22
CUD: 109
UEF: 52
Others: 13
Re-runs: 31
Still to be held: 24
Source: National Electoral Board

Ethiopia in partial vote re-run

Excerpt from a BBC report today:

Voters in Ethiopia are casting their ballots in a partial re-run of the disputed general election held in May.

Voting is taking place in 30 seats where there had been complaints of fraud or other irregularities during the initial poll.

About 40 people protesting against the alleged fraud were killed when police opened fire on a crowd after the poll.

Voting is also taking place in Ethiopia's Somali region, three month's later than the rest of the country.

The music of a Somali war song dating back to the conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia nearly 30 years ago has been used by some candidates in the hope of attracting support in the Somali region.

It is one of the poorest parts of the Horn of Africa.

Attacks on press freedom in East Africa

Note Ethan's post on Ethiopia and Uganda concerning more attacks on press freedom in East Africa.

Tag: Ethiopia

Ethiopian PM Meles Zenawi wins disputed poll

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has won May's bitterly disputed elections, official results show.

Meles Zenawi will enjoy a majority in parliament.

Full Story at BBC news online August 9. 2005.

Ethiopian electoral board rules poll re-run in 69 constituencies

Aug 5, 2005 report by ENA via Sudan Tribune:

The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) has given decisions on Friday on 69 constituencies where the investigation process has been completed.

Press and information department with NEBE told Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) that at a meeting the board held on Friday decided to hold re-run elections partially or entirely in 14 constituencies. It approved the provisional results of 55 constituencies.

The Complaint Investigation Panels (CIPs) recently passed recommendations to hold re-run elections in 15 constituencies.

NEBE decided to hold re-run elections partially or entirely in 29 constituencies, including the 15 constituencies out of which re-run elections would be held entirely in four constituencies. Accordingly, the department said re-run elections would be held entirely in Denbiya 01 and Eteya constituencies in the Amhara Regional State as well as Basketo Special and Basketo constituencies in the South Ethiopia Peoples State [Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples%u2019 State].

The re-run elections would be held in some polling stations in the 25 constituencies. While re-run elections would be held partially in Bugna constituency in North Welo, Gonder Zuria in North Gonder Zone and Chiliga 02 constituency. Re-run elections would be held in some polling stations in Bati, Alibuko and Dewa Chefa constituencies in South Welo Zone.Also in some polling stations in Gunji constituency in West Gojam, in Alem town in North Shewa and Amanuel and Mota constituencies in East Gojam.

The department said re-election would also be held in some polling stations in Efeson constituency in North Shewa Zone in the Amhara Regional State. Re-run elections would also be held in some polling stations in Addis Alem and Weliso 02 constituencies in West Shewa and Southwestern Shewa zones respectively in the Oromiya Regional State.

While re-run elections would be held in some polling stations in Kokosa in Bale Zone and Kuyu in North Shewa in the state. Some polling stations in Tula, Arbegona, Guguma and Bursa constituencies in Sidama Zone, as well as Wonago 01 constituency in Gedeo Zone in the South Ethiopia Peoples State would also host re-run elections. The re-run elections would also be held in some polling stations in Zara Deramalo Male Special constituency in Gamo-Gofa in the state, the department said.

Some polling stations in Lemo 02 and Soro 02 in Hadiya Zone would hold re-run elections, it said.

There are five constituencies where decisions have not passed, as the investigation process has not finalized yet.

No election campaign is allowed during the re-run elections, the board underscored.

Sudanese VP Dr John Garang DeMabior, 13 Others Die in Plane Crash

More news on the tragic death of Dr Garang at Sudan Watch: Sudan's first VP and former rebel leader killed.

Tags: Garang Ethiopia Darfur Africa

Spiegel interview with African economics expert James Shikwati: "For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"

Not sure what to think about Der Spiegel Interview July 4, 2005 with African Economics Expert: 'For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!'

The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.

[via INCITE: Aid to Africa: Please Stop - with thanks]

Africa's digital future - Kenya pilots Pocket PC education: The Eduvision pilot project

Note this copy of a BBC report today about an extraordinary experiment aimed at using technology to deliver education across the continent.

Kenya pilots Pocket PC education
By Richard Taylor
Editor, BBC Click Online

In the final report of Click Online's Africa season, we visit Kenya where a trial project using handheld Pocket PCs could help reduce the costs of education in poor communities.

Mbita Point, on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria, hosts a small rural community.

A few minutes walk from the main town lies the local primary school, housed on the campus of a renowned research institute.

As the only school in the area with access to electricity, Mbita Primary enjoys a relatively privileged location.

This aside, it suffers from the same problems encountered by other public schools.

Since the Kenyan government introduced free primary school education two years ago, the resulting influx of kids has meant that resources are spread as thinly as ever.

In the future the students will be able to complete their assignments on these books and send them to the teacher.

Classrooms are crowded, and the all-too-familiar scenario of children sharing outdated textbooks is still very much in evidence.

However, in Class Five, things are just a little bit different. Fifty-four 11-year-old students are willing guinea pigs in an extraordinary experiment aimed at using technology to deliver education across the continent.

In the Eduvision pilot project, textbooks are out, customised Pocket PCs, referred to as e-slates, are very much in.

They are wi-fi enabled and run on licence-free open source software to keep costs down.

"The e-slates contain all the sorts of information you'd find in a textbook and a lot more," said Eduvision co-founder Maciej Sudra.

"They contain textual information, visual information and questions. Within visual information we can have audio files, we can have video clips, we can have animations.

"At the moment the e-slates only contain digitised textbooks, but we're hoping that in the future the students will be able to complete their assignments on these books and send them to the teacher, and the teacher will be able to grade them and send them back to the student."

Pocket PCs were chosen in place of desktops because they are more portable, so the children can take them home at night, and also because they're also cheaper, making them cost-effective alternatives to traditional methods of learning.

Eduvision co-founder Matthew Herren says families pay upwards of $100 a year for textbooks.

"Our system is something that we hope will be sustainable, and the money that they use towards textbooks could be used to buy e-slates instead, which can last more than a year, thereby reducing the cost of education."

Moreover, the potential offered by e-slates is enormous. The content stored on them can be dynamically updated wirelessly, hence the need for wi-fi.
This means that they could include anything from new textbooks which have just come on stream, to other content like local information or even pages from the web.

The team have also devised a rather neat system for getting the information onto the devices.

First off, content is created and formatted for use on the e-slate.

A central operations centre distributes the material over a cheap satellite radio downlink to a satellite radio receiver in the school.

The information passes through a base station which beams it out wirelessly to the students. And so a new and enjoyable way of learning is born.

"I like using [the] e-slate because I can take it home to use it at night and I can use it because it has [a] battery," said Viola, a pupil at Mbita Primary.

Fellow pupil Felix had a few problems: "At first I found it difficult, but when our teacher, Maureen, told me to go in early to teach me, I went. The next day I found it easy."

Potential pitfalls

Although the kids are certainly enthralled by the novelty of the hi-tech gadgetry, their teachers are a little more realistic.

"There are too many drawbacks," said Robert Odero, a teacher at the school.

"One is the lack of electric power in most of our schools, and since the machine needs constant recharging for it to be effectively used this would affect the users as well as the teachers.

"Another thing is the delicate nature of the machine. Given the rugged terrain of our country and the paths our kids use on their way to school, these things could easily fall on the way."

According to Eduvision co-founder Matthew Herren, the e-slates are fragile because the project is in a pilot stage.

"In any implementation in the future that's on a larger scale we will have them custom made to our specifications and coated in rubber and made much hardier," he said.

"At the same time, with textbooks there's no reason why a student couldn't drop all of their books into a pail of water and damage them as well."

There are plenty of concerns which have given pause for thought during the 18 months the pilot's been running.

The Eduvision team says all the issues can be solved and that the technology could be rolled out across countries and even extended beyond education.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of sceptics who believe it will never make it off this campus.

Kenya's Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technology believes the project's flawed not just in design, but in its very conception.

"We need to be careful that we don't bring about too many experiments, and this is another such experiment being done without ensuring that we have the right environment for it to be assured of success," said Kilemi Mwiria.

"I think it's a big leap, a big giant leap for schools, students and communities that don't even know what a desktop computer is, as well as what you can use computers for.

"I think to suddenly bring even more advanced technology is being a bit unrealistic."

Few people could deny that this project is both novel and enterprising, and even while it's still in testing, Eduvision concede that they themselves have still got a lot to learn.

But they are convinced it will play a part in Africa's digital future.

Windmills in Ethiopia - Peasants must become freehold owners of their land

An email for Sudan Watch yesterday contained an opinion piece on Africa by Matthew Parris at Times Online 2 July 2005.

The piece, entitled "We must all sneer and scoff at the corrupt, cruel jackasses of Africa", contains interesting information about windmills and Ethiopia.

Note what Thabo Mbeki's brother, Moeletsi Mbeki, says about windmills - and this excerpt from the piece:

"Peasants must become freehold owners of their land, he said, and I agree. This nascent class of producers must be empowered to make their work worthwhile and their voices heard. But all across the continent, traditional tribal values, Western-style collectivist ideologies and the greed of political elites have joined in a murderous embrace to stop this."

Five killed, 31 injured in hand grenade attacks in eastern Ethiopia

July 25 (AFP) -- At least five people have been killed and 31 injured in a series of hand grenade attacks in eastern Ethiopia that may have been politically motivated, police and diplomats said Monday.

The attacks took place late Sunday at several bars and a private home in the town of Jijiga, about 720 kilometers (450 miles) east of Addis Ababa in Somali state where parliamentary elections are to be held next month, they said. Full Story.

Despite good rains many remain hungry in Ethiopia

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 19, 2005 (PANA) -- Despite the markedly eased food insecurity trends in Ethiopia, many at-risk pastoralists and vulnerable subsistent peasants would require food assistance until the end of the year, according to local and UN agencies monitoring the situation.

Improved rainfall, increased food distributions and non-food aid pledges over the past months have helped ease extreme conditions, the agencies said in their latest Food Security Update on Ethiopia.

According to a pre-harvest preliminary assessment, based on the current rainy season, the number of people in need of emergency assistance may increase by between 2.5 and 3 million in the second half of 2005.

"While this will not change the peak number of 3.8 million emergency beneficiaries that was estimated in May, it does mean that these people will need to continue receiving food aid for a longer period of time than originally estimated," explains the multi-agency assessment report.

Additional beneficiaries would translate into an estimated additional emergency food aid requirement of close to 200,000 tonnes.

The whole food aid pipeline and emergency food security reserves appear to be sufficient till the end of the year.

However, irregular and delayed distributions were likely to result in serious nutritional consequences, especially in drought and flood affected areas in Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR) and in the pastoral regions of Somali and Afar.

The agencies have urged the government and donors to ensure that pledged resources are delivered in a timely and well-targeted way to highly food insecure households.

According to the multi-agency pre-harvest assessment, conducted between 23 June and 6 July 2005, the season was generally good, despite excessive rains in some areas and erratic and late rains in others.

"Despite the relatively good 'belg' rainy season, humanitarian assistance will continue to be necessary in a number of areas throughout the country during the remainder of the year," says the report.

This is attributed to, among other factors, inability to recover from the previous season's poor pasture and water availability in pastoral areas, under-utilisation of inputs (due to price increases), high malnutrition rates compounded by inadequate public health services and ethnic-based conflicts in southern Oromiya and Afar regions.

Water shortages and inadequate public health services, especially in pastoral areas, have exacerbated the crisis.

In general, Ethiopia's food and non-food aid needs are expected to remain at their peak levels from July through September.

20 year old Brett Thalman who authors Canadian Liberal @ Penn and lives in Philadelphia, USA is a junior (3rd year) at the University of Pennsylvania studying Political Science and business at The Wharton School.

He is an active Young Liberal both federally and provincially in Ontario and describes himself as "a proud Canadian Liberal's perspective on Canadian Politics, Ontario Politics and an outsider's perspective on American Politics.."

Africa: Niger children starving to death

This morning, I received an email from someone together with the following message and link to Hilary Andersson's report at BBC News online:

** Message **
Another one for you to worry over. As we shall increasingly discover, very many people are living in the wrong place, and shouldn't have been born, anyway. The great fear amongst Niger's neighbours is that these starving folk will move across over their borders, in search of food. What is your solution?

** Niger children starving to death **
Children are dying of hunger in feeding centres in Niger where 3.6m people face food shortages, aid agencies warn.
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It is difficult to know what to say. My first reaction to Andersson's news on Niger is that it seems to have come out of the blue. The way the aid agencies sound in the report you would think they had shouted it from the rooftops and nobody responded. I receive daily email alerts on Africa but this is the first I've heard of such a crisis in Niger.

Hilary Andersson, a first class reporter, says little foreign aid has gone into Niger to deal with the crisis so far; aid agencies in the country predict the situation will get worse in the coming months and say the world has responded too late.

"The crisis in the south of the country has been caused by a drought and a plague of locusts which destroyed much of last year's harvest. Aid agency World Vision warns that 10% of the children in the worst affected areas could die. Niger is a vast desert country and one of the poorest on earth. Millions of people, a third of the population, face food shortages.

"There are children dying every day in our centres," says Milton Tetonidis of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders). 'We're completely overwhelmed, there'd better be other people coming quickly to help us out - I mean, the response has been desperately slow.'"

Note, the report clearly states

"the hunger in Niger was predicted months ago - but that did nothing to prevent the present disaster - a severe drought last year, combined with a plague of locusts, destroyed much of the crop that was needed to feed the people and the cattle they rely on".

The report says the "international community" has reacted too late to the crisis. I guess the "international community" comprises the UN and donors from 191-member states. What became of all the donations and aid pledged over the past year - not to mention the public outcry on behalf of Africa and intense lobbying on Darfur? Where are all the African voices shouting about Niger? And all those who complained about white-man helping Africa with global campaigns such as Make Poverty History and Live 8? It is sickening to know about Niger at such a late stage. What has the African Union and its neighbours - and massive number of church goers - done to avoid such a terrible crisis in Niger? Once again, the onus appears to be on the West to come to the rescue - when will it end? How much longer do we have to stomach getting criticised by Africans for coming to Africa's aid?

Going by what happened in Darfur last April [the UN admitted, when put under to pressure to answer questions later on, that it failed to respond to the world's worst humanitarian crisis quickly enough] one has to conclude the UN is not on the ball and fails to act proactively. The report says "UN bodies and NGOs are appealing for donations through their websites" - when are the African fatcats who were educated in the West going to get a grip and start doing something constructive. We cannot keep going on like this. Even the head of the African Union recently said that if Africa is not sorted within the next 27 years, by which time its population will double, Africa will not be manageable for the rest of the world. It's food and aid needs will be too great.

Sorry to admit it is emotionally draining blogging about African politics and Africa's crises. I'm afraid I cannot take on blogging about Niger right now unless I get some helping hands. If any blogger would like to co-author Sudan Watch, Congo Watch, Uganda Watch, Ethiopia Watch [and possibly Niger Watch], please make contact. In the meantime, if any blogger can put together news items/summaries/round-ups and/or blog round ups for any of those sites, please email me and I will publish them asap with full credit and blog link. Depending on suitability of content, some posts could appear at more than one blog. Thanks.

Note these snippets from Hilary Andersson's report on Niger:

A severe drought last year, combined with a plague of locusts, destroyed much of the crop that was needed to feed the people and the cattle they rely on.

Now, across the windswept plains of the Sahel, carcasses of cattle litter the landscape.

Rains have come - but so late they are now a curse, bringing malaria and other disease.

Families are roaming the parched desert looking for help. One family we came across did not even know where they were going.

"I'm wandering like a madman," the father said. "I'm afraid we'll all starve."

They were hundreds of miles from the nearest food distribution point.

Aid agencies estimate that tens of thousands of children are in the advanced stages of starvation.

Children are dying daily in the few feeding centres there are, where their place in the queue could make the difference between life and death.

Amina is so starved she cannot eat even if she wants to.

"She vomits as soon as I give her food or water," says her mother.

"As far as I'm concerned, God did not make us all equal - I mean, look at us all here. None of us has enough food."

Tags: Live 8 Niger G8 Sudan Congo Uganda Ethiopia Gleneagles Tony Blair Hilary Andersson Bob Geldof Make Poverty History Corruption Africa malaria starvation One Campaign Joe Trippi BBC Doctors Without Borders World Vision UN NGO

Live 8 global concerts underway

Concerts are taking place around the world to put pressure on political leaders to tackle poverty in Africa.

Three billion people are watching. So far, 1.5 million people have added their name to the message being delivered to the Group 8 leaders on Wednesday in Scotland, UK. No matter where you are in the world, please add your name to The LIVE 8 List and visit Make Poverty History if you have not already done so.

Japan kicked off the first concert.



Photo: Japanese band Rize started proceedings in Tokyo (Material and photos courtesy BBC)

The biggest concert, in London's Hyde Park, has opened with Sir Paul McCartney singing with U2 in front of an audience of up to 200,000. Bill Gates and Kofi Annan made a surprise appearance on stage to say a few words for the cause. Click here for line-ups of other Live 8 concerts.



Photo: Great performance by Bono and U2

Mariners begin Sail 8 round trip

The first of the boats answering Bob Geldof's call to ferry people from France for the G8 protests has left Portsmouth harbour. Full report.



Photo: Geldof wants protesters to collect their 'French cousins' (BBC)

Thousands flock to poverty march



Thousands of protesters are taking part in a Make Poverty History march in Edinburgh, Scotland as musicians perform in Live 8 concerts around the globe.

Early estimates are of about 100,000 people involved in the event to highlight their message to G8 leaders meeting at Gleneagles on Wednesday.

1.5 million turned up for Live 8 in Philadelphia.

Tags: Live 8 Sail 8 G8 Technorati Live Aid Italy Tony Blair Gordon Brown Gleneagles Bob Geldof Make Poverty History Germany George W Bush Kyoto Johannesburg Tokyo London Paris Toronto Philadelphia Rome Spain Edinburgh Scotland Georgia Soweto Freetown Senegal CAP AIDS GCAP White Band Uganda Corruption Africa sustainable development environment European Union Sydney Australia Sierra Leone One Campaign One Blog Joe Trippi Nelson Mandela Nick Lezin AOL Music Buzztone U2 Destiny's Child Coldplay Dave Matthews Band Tim McGraw Madonna Sting BBC

New Statesman threatens a blogger - Defending Oxfam and Barbara Stocking's rebuttal

This afternoon, I contacted American blogger and journalist Curt Hopkins after receiving an email from Kathryn Corrick, Online Manager at the New Statesman (a UK magazine on political, cultural and current affairs) telling me to cut the majority of a post entitled "In Darfur, Sudan 700,000 people rely on Oxfam to survive" published at my blog Sudan Watch 2 June 2005.

Curt is director of the Committee to Protect Bloggers. They have good connections with Media Bloggers Association which has as its General Counsel the Coleman Law Firm.

The email from the New Statesman does not explain what they propose to do if I ignore it, so I emailed Curt at the address given at his blog Morpheme Tales.

See the post NEW STATESMAN THREATENS BLOGGER that Curt published today in response. I would have liked to have written a more in-depth post on this but will have to make do for now with posting just the link to Curt's post. I've overdone my time online today and am over tired.

By the way, the folks that do great petitions for the Committee to Protect Bloggers are at Sudan Activism Blog



Tags: Curt Hopkins Morpheme Tales Committee to Protect Bloggers Technorati Media Bloggers Association USA Sudan Activism Blog Kathryn Corrick New Statesman Copyright Infringement Coleman Law Firm Oxfam Barbara Stocking Blogger

Joe Trippi's blog announces ONE blog is alive

American readers might like to follow ONE Blog which covers the Live 8 event in America. Just like Live Aid concert 20 years, Live 8 is being held on the east coast of America, in Philadelphia.

[via Joe Trippi's Blog ONE is alive with thanks]
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Great links and images at Live 8 Concert - live 8 - with thanks to Live 8 Concerts for sharing the pointer in the comments at Congo Watch post entitled "The Greatest Show on Earth July 2: Geldof's Live 8 concerts to promote G8 Summit and Make Poverty History Campaign."
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Buzztone promotes Live 8: The world's largest interactive event

A few minutes ago I received an email from Nick Lezin of Buzztone saying he is working on promoting Live 8. Buzztone, The Change Agency, is smart looking marketing firm with a perfect sounding pitch.

Nick says, on Saturday, Live 8 will become the largest interactive event the world has ever seen:

"Worldwide concerts featuring the biggest names in music-U2, Destiny's Child, Coldplay, Dave Matthews Band, Tim McGraw, Madonna, Sting and more-along with one million spectators and millions of viewers. All coming together with one purpose-to make poverty history. You can check out all of your favorite performances, on-demand throughout the summer-available to everyone, only at AOL Music.com

Make sure to check it out and add your name to the live 8 petition. If you would like to help spread the word about this great cause, go to http://www.buzztone.com/live8 for a variety of Live 8 content that you can host on your blog or website. We have banners, blurbs about Live 8, and the official press release available."

If you are a blogger and can put something up, please send Nick [nick AT buzztone DOT com] a link so he can check it out. Thanks.

Note, a BBC news report June 23, 2005 says AOL which has exclusive rights to broadcast the Live 8 event on the internet, also licensed it to North American TV and radio stations. Also, the report says AOL will screen the five main concerts on the internet and make them available for download six weeks after the event.

Tags: Live 8 Sail 8 G8 Technorati Live Aid Italy Tony Blair Gordon Brown Gleneagles Bob Geldof Make Poverty History Germany George W Bush Kyoto Johannesburg Tokyo London Paris Toronto Philadelphia Rome Spain Edinburgh Scotland Georgia Soweto Freetown Senegal CAP AIDS GCAP White Band Uganda Corruption Africa sustainable development environment European Union Sydney Australia Sierra Leone One Campaign One Blog Joe Trippi Nelson Mandela Nick Lezin AOL Music Buzztone U2 Destiny's Child Coldplay Dave Matthews Band Tim McGraw Madonna Sting BBC

Africa Calling Live 8 at Eden in Cornwall, England, UK

The Eden Project in Cornwall, England is to stage a major Live8 concert on 2nd July under the banner of "Africa Calling" presented in association with WOMAD and its co-founder Peter Gabriel, together with Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour.

The evening itself will be hosted by Peter Gabriel, who has championed World Music for the past 25 years. Youssou N'Dour and Peter Gabriel have invited many of their favourite African artists to perform at the event.



The concert will be held on the stage in the Eden arena with the world's biggest greenhouses providing a spectacular backdrop in the crater.

This outstanding line-up will bring the spectacular Eden site alive with unbeatable African party spirit. Transmissions will be made from the event by the BBC as part of the Live8 celebration.

Tags: Live 8 Sail 8 G8 Technorati Live Aid Italy Tony Blair Gordon Brown Gleneagles Bob Geldof Make Poverty History Germany George W Bush Kyoto Johannesburg Tokyo London Paris Toronto Philadelphia Rome Spain Edinburgh Scotland Georgia Soweto Freetown Senegal CAP AIDS GCAP White Band Uganda Corruption Africa sustainable development environment European Union Sydney Australia Sierra Leone One Campaign Joe Trippi Nelson Mandela

This Week's Good Idea - Send a message to the G8

Snippets from Keith's insightful post:

Next week is the MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY festival in Edinburgh before the start of the G8 summit. Even if you can't go, you can send a message to the G8 leaders.

When you live around people who are struggling to provide for their families day by day, much of the political posturing, and criticism of Live 8, "Saint Bob", and stuff is really hard to listen to. There is injustice in the status quo, resulting in millions of people dying. The answer can never be charity alone, if we don't address the fundamental injustices. How can we not fight to change it? We need to recognise that for the poor to get a good deal, we need to be willing to pay a price, and that international structures and decisions should reflect this. Surely this is an expression of righteousness - to help others at our own cost. You too can send a message to the G8 leaders to tell them you want them to act for the poor.

Tags: Live 8 Sail 8 G8 Technorati Live Aid Italy Tony Blair Gordon Brown Gleneagles Bob Geldof Make Poverty History Germany George W Bush Kyoto Johannesburg Tokyo London Paris Toronto Philadelphia Rome Spain Edinburgh Scotland Georgia Soweto Freetown Senegal CAP AIDS GCAP White Band Uganda Corruption Africa sustainable development environment European Union Sydney Australia Sierra Leone One Campaign Joe Trippi Nelson Mandela

Global Call to Action Against Poverty July 1 - International White Band Day

July 1, the first Global White Band Day will see people around the world wearing their white bands and wrapping public buildings in white to send a message to the G8 world leaders that they demand action on trade justice, debt cancellation, and more and better aid. International White Band Day will prove to be one of the largest global actions ever taken.

Below are just some of the White Band events planned. More will be announced soon. For more information or to get in touch with national coalitions, please visit the GCAP Country Coalitions section.


Source: GCAP - United Kingdom Coalition against Poverty: Make Poverty History.

Massive white bands will be wrapped around buildings across the world, including:

- The Soweto township of Johannesburg, South Africa, a group of shacks will be wrapped in a white band, to symbolise perpetuating poverty in Africa.
- In Freetown, Sierra Leone, the famous cotton tree, planted by freed slaves when the nation was founded, will be draped in a white band.
- In Senegal, the slavery archway will be wrapped in a white band.

From June 30 to July 14 the Sydney Harbour Bridge, in Australia, will be wrapped in a white band, with the Australian coalition's slogan "Make Poverty History" across it.

- The Coliseum in Italy.
- The Brandenburger Tor in Germany.
- In Paris, France, the Trocadero's buildings which sit either side of the Eiffel Tower, will be wrapped with two white bands.
- In Spain, bridges will be wrapping on the main highways of Spain.
- In Georgia all the trees along the Central Avenue of the capital, Tbilisi, will be wrapped in white bands.

[via White Band Blog with thanks]

Tags: Live 8 Sail 8 G8 Technorati Live Aid Italy Tony Blair Gordon Brown Gleneagles Bob Geldof Make Poverty History Germany George W Bush Kyoto Johannesburg Tokyo London Paris Toronto Philadelphia Rome Spain Edinburgh Scotland Georgia Soweto Freetown Senegal CAP AIDS GCAP White Band Uganda Corruption Africa sustainable development environment European Union Sydney Australia Sierra Leone One Campaign Joe Trippi Nelson Mandela

The Greatest Show on Earth: Geldof's Live 8 concerts July 2 to promote G8 Summit and Make Poverty History campaign

50,000 people are dying, needlessly, every day of extreme poverty. Everyday, poverty kills 30,000 children in Africa alone. Another 100 will have died in the time that it takes you to read this post.



Image: Live Aid concerts were staged on 13 July 1985 to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. It is estimated the concerts reached an audience of 2 billion people, raised $140 million and saved 1-2 million lives.

Once again, the ball is rolling on tackling extreme poverty and after many years of hard work by the British Government, Sir Bob Geldof (of Live Aid fame), Bono (leader of the Irish rock band U2) and many others involved in the Commission for Africa things are starting to come to fruition that could, eventually, lead to the scrapping of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

With only eight days left before the Live 8 concert is beamed to billions of people around the globe on July 2, things are hotting up here publicity wise in Britain. The countdown is beginning to the greatest concert on Earth.

There are just 13 days to go before the G8 Summit takes place at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, UK July 6-8.



This year, the UK -- as well as holding the presidency of the European Union (EU) for the second half of the year starting next week -- holds the presidency of the G8, which is why the summit is hosted in Britain with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the chair.



Tony Blair has travelled to the countries of the G8 leaders to garner support for initiatives on the environment and to help make poverty history.



Photo: Mr Blair last year in Ethiopia at a meeting of his Commission for Africa

Britain's Chancellor, Gordon Brown, was born in Scotland, UK where the G8 summit is to be held July 6-8 at the famous Gleneagles Hotel. He and Tony Blair have spent several years lobbying hard to help countries such as Africa. They have worked closely with Bob Geldof, Bono and many others on the Commission for Africa which, after initial meetings in Ethiopia chaired by Mr Blair, produced its first report 11 March 2005.



Photo of Bono by Barry Brecheisen. [See article "Bono Assembles an Army" and Bono's DATA campaign website Debt AIDS Trade Africa.]

Britain's Make Poverty History campaign brings together a cross-section of over 100 charities, campaigns, trade unions, faith groups, church leaders and celebrities who are united by a common belief that 2005 offers a unprecedented opportunity for global change.

At last year's G8 summit, Tony Blair came close to getting Britain's proposal for cancelling the debts of the world's poorest nations accepted, but US President George W. Bush rejected it. This year, the historic proposal succeeded. On June 11, 2005, following a meeting of G8 finance ministers held at Gleneagles, Scotland, Gordon Brown announced the world's richest countries had agreed to write off the debt owed by 18 mainly African countries. This is just the beginning.



Photo: Nelson Mandela and Gordon Brown [see below copy of Mandela's poverty speech given ahead of the meeting of G8 finance ministers June 11, 2005]

On Saturday 2 July, as the leaders of the G8 summit gather, tens of thousands of people will attend a rally in Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland, to demand trade justice, debt cancelling and more and better aid for the world's poorest countries.

Bob Geldof and friends have generated global publicity for Live 8, G8 summit and Make Poverty History campaign, sponsored by America Online, BBC, Nokia Nseries, 95.8 Capital fm, O2.

British TV news reports say the British police, coastguards and security forces were alarmed when Geldof used the media to call for one million people to turn up in Edinburgh. He launched Sail 8 and called for those with access to a boat to set sail on July 3 and recreate D-Day to be part of the Long Walk to Justice. He even called for sailors to bring over as many French as possible to support the protest action against poverty.



Photo: Bob Geldof calls for sailors and boat owners, to form a massive flotilla across the English Channel in July as part of the global call for action against poverty (GCAP). Dame Ellen MacArthur is supporting the Make Poverty History campaign and international transport and travel companies have pledged their support by providing planes, trains, coaches to get people to Edinburgh by Wednesday 6 July when world leaders arrive for the G8 meeting.

Henry Northover of Make Poverty History says:

"It is imperative that thousands turn out on the streets of Edinburgh on 2 July to demand action from the G8 that they fulfill their promises to halve poverty by 2015."

Bob Geldof, with the help of some great supporters, is chief organiser of the Live 8 concerts. Unlike Live Aid in 1985, Live 8 is not about raising funds for charity, it is about raising awareness of extreme poverty and the G8 Summit 2005. Live 8 aims to reach as many people around the world as possible. Geldof has spent the last few months browbeating top names in the rock business to participate. Groups like The Who and Spice Girls may reform for the special event that will be beamed by satellite all over the world and reach an audience of 2 billion. There is even talk of Status Quo, the band that opened Live Aid with "Rockin' All Over the World".

The aim of the global Live 8 concerts is to fight world poverty. Live 8 will take place on July 2, ahead of the G8 summit July 6-8 . So far, the latest concert locations are: Johannesburg, Tokyo and Toronto which add to a growing list of venues that includes London, Philadelphia, Paris, Rome, Berlin and Cornwall. According to the BBC, Geldof, who originally co-ordinated five main concerts in Europe and the US, said he decided to arrange more after the European Union agreed to double its development aid to poorer nations. He said he hoped former South African president Nelson Mandela - who has also campaigned for the alleviation of poverty in Africa - would head the Live 8 Africa concert.

British blogger and journalist Stephen Pollard, in a May 23 article in the Times, suggests activists campaign for property rights and the rule of law - in other words: for better governance which is what I have said here in many previous posts. Another point he made is for campaigns to focus on:

"...not to abolish free trade but to extend it - attacking, for instance, the EU Common Agricultural Policy and its immoral tariff barriers against the developing world. The EU spends EUROS 2.7 billion a year subsidising farmers to grow sugar beet; at the same time it imposes high tariff barriers against sugar imports from the developing world. And the EU’s agricultural tariffs average 20 per cent, rising to a peak of 250 per cent on certain products. The European market remains barely open to the majority of low-cost textiles from the developing world."

The Live 8 concerts around the globe on July 2 will mark the start of The Long Walk To Justice. It will be watched and listened to by more than 2 billion people.

Find out more, including where the concerts are taking place, how to get tickets and who is performing: www.live8live.com. Apparently, there may be arrangements to allow hundreds of thousands more into the London concert at Hyde Park on the day.
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Educ8 The G8

Does your school want to hold a MAKE POVERTY HISTORY day or week of events during the G8 summit? You can dowload lesson plans to introduce the G8 here. The lessons are suitable for a variety of subjects, and help pupils critically engage with the concept of the G8, as well as the themes of Africa and Climate Change.

Understanding the G8 - Lesson Plan1 (suitable for ages 10 to 13)
Understanding the G8 - Lesson Plan 2 (suitable for ages 13 to 16)
Assembly ideas and suggestions for getting involved.
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Live 8 List

Wherever you are located in the world, you can add your name to The Live 8 message addressed to the 8 most powerful leaders in the world:

"At this year's G8 summit meeting, it is within your power to put an end to this tragedy. It is an extraordinary opportunity which it would be shameful to ignore. We urge you to take these 3 steps to make extreme poverty history...

- double the aid sent to the world's poorest countries,
- fully cancel their debts,
- change the trade laws so that they can build their own future."

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Bloggers talking about Live 8

See Joi Ito's post Technorati Live 8 launches re tags, badges and tracking what bloggers are saying.
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Make Poverty History Campaign

What is Make Poverty History campaign? BBC explains about the campaign that bids to end poverty trap.

Click here to get the code for a whiteband on your website and here for white bangles.
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Mandela's poverty speech

Via BBC News online: the full text of Nelson Mandela's speech in London's Trafalgar Square for the campaign to end poverty in the developing world.
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Quotation

'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world'. - Nelson Mandela
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Photo: ONE is a new effort by Americans to rally Americans - ONE by ONE - to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. The campaign was launched at a rally in Philadelphia with the help of U2's Bono.

Readers, especially those from America, might like to follow the ONE Campaign and Joe Trippi's blog.

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