NEWS – Page 18 – Gondaronline.com

AFTER BURUNDI, WHICH OTHER AFRICAN STATES COULD ABANDON THE ICC?

Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza took another step towards becoming a global outlier on Tuesday.

The controversial leader signed a decree to quit the International Criminal Court (ICC), following a parliamentary vote to that effect earlier in October. The decree retracted Burundi’s participation in the Rome Statute, on which the court’s authority is founded. The Burundian presidency announced on Tuesday that it would come into immediate effect, although the Rome Statute states that any decision to withdraw becomes active a year after giving notice to the United Nations secretary general.

The move makes Burundi the first country ever to pull out of the court, which is based in The Hague and was established in 1998 to deal with high-level crimes, including genocide and crimes against humanity.

ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda opened a preliminary investigation into the situation in Burundi in April. Bensouda said she was investigating events since April 2015, when Nkurunziza announced his intention to run for a third term as president. The decision sparked widespread violence, a failed coup, and a brutal crackdown on opposition. The chief prosecutor said when opening the investigation that more than 430 people had been reportedly killed. More than 300,000 Burundians have also fled the country since the violence began, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency.

Protesters in Burundi run towards police lines. Protesters run towards police lines in Bujumbura, Burundi, May 4, 2015. Burundi plunged into conflict after President Pierre Nkurunziza announced his decision to run for a third term in April 2015.PHIL MOORE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

The decision irked Nkurunziza, and the Burundian government has been further infuriated by a U.N. report in September that claimed to have verified 564 executions in Burundi since April 2015, mostly carried out by security forces on people perceived to be opposition supporters. The Burundian government rejected the report and has since banned three U.N. investigators from the country.

But while Burundi may be the first country to leave the ICC, it may not be the last. Other African leaders have also railed against a perceived bias in the court. All four of the suspects convicted for crimes against humanity and/or war crimes by the ICC are African—most recently Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi , a Malian jihadi sentenced to nine years imprisonment in September for destroying historic shrines during the northern Mali uprising in 2012. Another, Congolese politician Jean-Pierre Bemba—sentenced to 18 years in prison in June for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Central African Republic—is appealing his sentence. All three of the court’s ongoing trials involve Africans, and nine of the 10 situations currently being investigated by the court prior to a possible trial involve African states.

So after Burundi, who could be next to abandon the ICC?

Sudan

The highest profile suspect on the ICC’s agenda is Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president. The court first issued an arrest warrant against Bashir in March 2009, the first time it had indicted a sitting head of state. Along with several other suspects, the ICC charged Bashir with being indirectly responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. The conflict in Darfur, which began with a rebellion of ethnic Africans against the Arab-led government in 2003, is estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands, with Amnesty International alleging recently that government forces had used chemical weapons against civilians, something the Sudanese mission to the U.N. denied.

Omar al-Bashir Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir greets supporters upon his return from Ethiopia, Khartoum, July 30. Al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for his role in the Darfur conflict.ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Bashir has dismissed the charges against him and described the ICC as a “politicized tribunal” in April. Other African countries have appeared to disregard the ICC’s arrest warrant and welcome Bashir as a visitor. Most notably, Bashir went to South Africa in June 2015 for an AU conference and was allowed to leave freely, despite a South African court ruling that he should be detained.

Kenya

Besides Bashir, the court’s other high-profile suspects have included the current president and deputy president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto. The court issued summonses for six prominent Kenyans in 2010, including Kenyatta and Ruto—then the deputy prime minister and minister of higher education respectively—on grounds of crimes against humanity allegedly committed during violence that followed Kenya’s elections in December 2007. More than 1,200 Kenyans were killed during two months of inter-ethnic violence following the vote, which was criticized as not free and fair by the international community.

Kenya's Deputy President William Ruto speaks at the Hague. Kenya’s Deputy President William Ruto addresses the media in the Hague, the Netherlands, on October 15, 2013. The ICC threw out the case against Ruto in April.PHIL NIJHUIS/FILES/REUTERS

The ICC prosecutors withdrew the charges against Kenyatta in December 2014, saying that the Kenyan government had refused to hand over vital evidence. The court also threw out the case against Ruto in April, but the decisions have not ended Kenyan animosity to the court. Kenya made a proposal at an AU summit in January for the continental body to “develop a roadmap for the withdrawal of African nations,” which received widespread support among other states party to the Rome Statute.

Uganda

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, one of the continent’s elder statesman, has been a vocal advocate for abandoning the Netherlands court. Following the withdrawal of the case against Kenyatta, the 72-year-old president—who has held power in Uganda since 1980—said that the ICC was a “tool to target” Africa by Western leaders. Museveni pledged to bring a proposal to leave the institution. “Then they can be left alone with their court,” he said in December 2014. The mass withdrawal of African countries would leave the ICC diminished—34 of the countries party to the Rome Statute are African, the largest continental bloc out of a total of 124 states.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni is pictured at his inauguration ceremony in Kampala, May 12. Museveni has long been a critic of the ICC.EDWARD ECHWALU/REUTERS

While he has not been successful in his mission so far, Museveni prompted outrage among Western diplomats by branding the court “useless” in May, during his inauguration for a fifth consecutive term as president. The statement prompted officials from the European Union, United States and Canada to walk out of the ceremony.

Why is Ethiopia in a state of emergency?

EPRDF’s list of banned activities for Ethiopians

(CNN)Ethiopia has imposed severe regulations under a new six-month “state of emergency” as it faces unprecedented levels of unrest across the country, a first in the government’s 25-year rule.

The government says the state of emergency was put in place to prevent further loss of life and property, but many activists worry the new rules serve as a way to limit criticism and allow the government to use a heavy-handed approach to opposition.

The measures, announced October 16, cut across rights of communication and assembly, and have been criticized by human rights activists. Amnesty International said they “are so broad they threaten basic human rights that must not be curtailed.”

In the last month, 1,000 people have been arrested, said a mayor of a town close to Addis Ababa, according to state-affiliated media outlet FBC.

Unrest began in Ethiopia as two of the country’s largest ethnic groups, the Oromo and Amhara, demonstrated against sustained marginalization.

The tension hit a peak earlier this month, when at least 52 people were killed in a stampede at a religious festival in the Oromo-dominated area of Bishoftu. The government disputed opposition reports that police fired live rounds into the crowd, saying all deaths stemmed from a stampede caused by “troublemakers.”

These are some things that are now illegal in Ethiopia:

Posting on social media

The new rules ban the use of social media, mobile devices or any means of communication to send messages the government deems will “create chaos, suspicion or discord among people.”

While the Internet and social media have often been blocked across the country throughout the unrest, people within Oromia have used social media during the protests to share videos and coordinate activities, and discuss new information.

Crossing wrists above one’s head

In what has become a symbol of solidarity with the Oromo people, crossing wrists above one’s head as if in handcuffs is now banned in the country.

The symbol became internationally recognizable after Olympic silver medalist Feyisa Lilesa made the gesture while crossing the finish line at the Rio Olympics.

Diplomatic travel

Diplomats are prohibited from traveling more than 40 kilometers outside the capital Addis Ababa without authorization.

Addis Ababa is home to many international organizations, including the African Union, United Nations offices and embassies.

Curfew

After a series of attacks on foreign-owned firms, including a textile firm and a cement factory, the government has enforced a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew around “economic pillars, infrastructural projects and investments.”

Ethiopia has touted itself as a site of foreign investment and boasted of double-digit economic growth, growth that advocates say has not spread equally across the population.

Watching ‘terrorist media’

Foreign-based television stations, Ethiopia Satellite Television and Oromia Media Network, were forbidden after being defined by the government as “terrorist organizations.”

Ethiopia ranks low on the World Press Freedom Index (at 142 out of 180 nations) for “using terrorism charges to silence the media.”

“Government continually uses the ‘terrorism’ narrative to stifle independent voices, as many of the dozens of journalists, opposition politicians, and activists convicted under the anti-terrorism law can attest to,” said Felix Horne Ethiopia, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Too often those that are associated with the ‘opposition’ are labeled as ‘terrorists.'”

‘Ethiopia must end crackdown on peaceful opponents’ – US envoy to UN

Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban

ETHIOPIA

Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the United Nations has called on the Ethiopian government to end the crackdown on peaceful opponents.

She also called for an end to mass arrests citing particularly the rearresting of Blen Mesfin, a member of the opposition who was first detained in April last year.

Mrs Powers took to her twitter handle to make the call, adding that the government was not going to succeed with the clampdown because it was sel defeating. She joins several western diplomats who have expressed worry about the use of repression by the government under new curfew rules.

According to humanrights.gov, Blen Mesfin was arrested along with Meron Alemayehu, and Nigist Wondifraw. The three were among a number of opposition party members and others arrested and charged with inciting violence in Addis Ababa in April 2015.

#Ethiopia must end crckdwn on peaceful oppo. Mass arrests, incl rearresting Blen Mesfin, show cont’d backslide on rts & are self-defeating. pic.twitter.com/C89aNlaSgD

— Samantha Power (@AmbassadorPower) October 18, 2016

Ethiopia is currently under a 6 month state of emergency where anti government protests are banned. There have bee restriction on movement and on the use of social media and some conventional media.

Blen, Meron, and Nigist are said to be leading members of Ethiopia’s Blue Party, which advocates peacefully for democratic principles and has faced numerous obstacles in exercising freedom of association and assembly both in the build-up to May 24 parliamentary elections, and thereafter.

All three were arrested in Addis Ababa in the days following the April 22 protests and charged with inciting violence at the rally. Alemayehu and Wondifraw were released from prison in November 2015 while Mesfin is still imprisoned.

Gondar Strike against TPLF Continuous

Image result for gondar protest

Ethiopian activists in the northern city of Gondar have called for a three-day stay-away, the Ethiopia opposition channel Esat is reporting.

The strike started on Monday and Esat reports that schools, businesses and transportation have been paralysed, the BBC’s media monitoring service says.

This comes a week after the government declared a state of emergency in the face of a wave of deadly protests.

Political activities “likely to cause disturbances, violence, hatred and distrust among the people” are one of the things that have been banned.

BBC Monitoring says that several other opposition news services are mentioning the stirke, but a government official told the VOA’s Amharic service that the strike had not been heeded.

Gondar was the scene of anti-government protests in August.

Eprdf limits foreign diplomats’ movements

New restrictions are part of a six-month state of emergency declared by the government eight days ago.

Ethiopia has also banned access to foreign-based opposition media [Tiksa Negeri/Reuters]

Ethiopia has restricted foreign diplomats’ travel, in new provisions of a state of emergency as part of its response to an unprecedented wave of anti-government protests.

Inside Story – What’s fuelling protests in Ethiopia?

New restrictions published in local media state that foreign diplomats are forbidden from travelling more than 40km outside the capital, Addis Ababa, “for their own security”.

“This is a state of emergency and we expect repressive measures,” a Western diplomat told AFP news agency on condition of anonymity on Monday.

OPINION: The ‘Ethiopia rising’ narrative and the Oromo protests

“But we also expect an opening of the political space for the opposition as stated by the president in front of the parliament. This is not what seems to be happening,” the diplomat added.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is following developments in Ethiopia “with concern”, his spokesman said on Monday.

The UN chief urged Ethiopian authorities to uphold human rights and called for calm and “inclusive dialogue to resolve all grievances.”

Internet access cut

The new measures include a 6pm to 6am curfew around factories, farms and government institutions, which have come under attack from protesters in recent weeks.

They also include a 50km “red zone” adjacent to the country’s borders in which it is illegal to carry firearms. The areas around several key roads have also been declared red zones.

Why is Ethiopia under a state of emergency?

Political parties are “banned from giving press statements that incite violence” and religious leaders are forbidden from making political statements.

Security forces are banned from going on holiday or resigning their jobs.

The measures also make it illegal to watch television stations set up by the diaspora ,such as Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) and the US-based Oromia Media Network (OMN).

Posting links from these organisations’ websites onto social media has also been declared a “criminal activity”.

Cellphone internet access has been cut for almost three weeks in most parts of the country, including the capital.

“There is a pressing concern that the Ethiopian authorities will need even less of a pretext to prevent foreign journalists from doing their work during the state of emergency,” said Will Davison, head of the Foreign Press Association, an informal gathering of foreign correspondents in Ethiopia.

The death toll from unrest and clashes between police and demonstrators over the past year or more runs into several hundred, according to opposition and rights group estimates. At least 500 people have been killed by security forces since anti-government protests began in November, New York-based Human Rights Watch group said in August.

The government says such figures are inflated and has denied that violence from the security forces is systemic. In August, it rejected a United Nations request to send in observers, saying it alone was responsible for the security of its citizens.

The anti-government demonstrations started in November among the Oromo, Ethiopia’s biggest ethnic group, and later spread to the Amhara, the second most populous group.

Though they initially began over land rights, they later broadened into calls for more political, economic and cultural rights.

Both groups say that a multi-ethnic ruling coalition and the security forces are dominated by the Tigray ethnic group, which makes up only about 6 percent of the population.

The government, though, blames rebel groups and foreign-based dissidents for stoking the violence.

Abdirahman Mahdi: ‘Ethiopia is now boiling’ – Talk to Al Jazeera

Source: News Agencies

‘Africa Rising’? ‘Africa Reeling’ May Be More Fitting Now

A protest in Bishoftu, Ethiopia, on Oct. 2. No place exposes the cracks in the narrative of Africa’s rising better than Ethiopia, which is one of the continent’s fastest-developing but most repressive nations.

NAIROBI, Kenya — For decades Africa was eager for a new narrative, and in recent years it got a snappy one.

The Economist published a cover story titled “Africa Rising.” A Texas business school professor published a book called “Africa Rising.” And in 2011, The Wall Street Journal ran a series of articles about economic growth on the continent, and guess what that series was called?

“Africa Rising.”

The rise seemed obvious: You could simply stroll around Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, or many other African capitals, and behold new shopping malls, new hotels, new solar-powered streetlights, sometimes even new Domino’s pizzerias, all buoyed by what appeared to be high economic growth rates sweeping the continent.

For so long Africa had been associated with despair and doom, and now the quality of life for many Africans was improving. Hundreds of thousands of Rwandans were getting clean water for the first time. In Kenya, enrollment in public universities more than doubled from 2007 to 2012. In many countries, life expectancy was increasing, infant mortality decreasing.

But in recent months, as turmoil has spread across the continent, and the red-hot economic growth has cooled, this optimistic narrative has taken a hit. Some analysts are now questioning how profound the growth actually was.

“Nothing has changed on the governance front, nothing has changed structurally,” said Grieve Chelwa, a Zambian economist who is a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard.

“Africa rising was really good for some crackpot dictators,” he added. “But in some ways, it was a myth.”

No place exposes the cracks in the “Africa rising” narrative better than Ethiopia, which had been one of the fastest risers.

Ethiopia is now in flames. Hundreds have been killed during protests that have convulsed the country.

The government, whose stranglehold on the country is so complete that not a single opposition politician sits in the 547-seat Parliament, recently took the drastic step of imposing a state of emergency.

Many of the Ethiopia’s new engines of growth — sugar factories, textile mills, foreign-owned flower farms — now lie in ashes, burned down in a fury of anti-government rage.

At the same time, a report by the McKinsey Global Institute, an arm of the consulting firm McKinsey & Company, just listed Ethiopia as the fastest growing economy on the continent from 2010 to 2015. The Democratic Republic of Congo, which is also rapidly sliding toward chaos — again, was second.

Political turmoil on the one hand, rosy economic prospects on the other. Can both be true?

“It comes down to how sustained the turmoil is,” said Acha Leke, a senior partner at McKinsey.

In Ethiopia’s case, the unrest appears to be just beginning. Videos show demonstrations of hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians chanting antigovernment slogans, giving a sense of the depth of discontent. The protesters hail from Ethiopia’s two largest ethnic groups, a population of more than 60 million, leading many analysts to predict that this is no passing fad.

It seems the continent as a whole is heading into a tough period. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, faces its gravest economic crisis in years because of low oil prices. At the same time, it is trying to fight off Boko Haram, one of the most bloodthirsty insurgent groups on the planet.

South Africa, the continent’s most developed nation, has been wracked by waves of unrest. Troops with assault rifles stomp around college campuses, trying to quell student protests. The country’s currency, the rand, hovers near a record low.

South Sudan, which topped The Economist’s list in 2013 of the world’s fastest-growing economies, is now a killing field, the site of one of Africa’s worst civil wars.

Mr. Leke, one of the authors of the McKinsey report, says that political turbulence can drag down any economy, and that the growth of recent years has not been shared among the people nearly as widely as it could have been. According to a recent report by the African Development Bank, unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa remains close to 50 percent and is a “threat to social cohesion.”

As Mr. Leke said, “You can’t eat growth.”

Still, he says, there have been fundamental — and positive — changes on the continent, like increases in disposable income for many African consumers.

Mr. Chelwa, the Zambian economist, has a different view. The fundamentals of African economies have not changed nearly as much as the “Africa rising” narrative implied, he said, with Africa still relying too heavily on the export of raw materials and not enough on industry.

“In Zambia, we import pencils,” he said.

He also points out that some of the fastest-growing economies, like Ethiopia, Angola and Rwanda, are among the most repressive. These governments can move ahead with big infrastructure projects that help drive growth, but at the same time, they leave out many people, creating dangerous resentments.

In Ethiopia, that resentment seems to be growing by the day.

The trouble started last year when members of Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group, the Oromo, began protesting government land policies. Soon Ethiopia’s second largest ethnic group, the Amhara, joined in, and the protests have now hardened into calls to overthrow the government, which is led by a small ethnic minority.

If you track the news coming out of Ethiopia, you would not be a fool to think it is two totally different countries. One day, there is a triumphant picture of a new electric train, with Chinese conductors standing next to shiny carriages (China remains a huge investor in Ethiopia.) The next, there are grisly images of dead bodies that witnesses said were people gunned down by police.

Several witnesses said the security forces might be beginning to split, with some officers taking off their uniforms and joining the protests.

The most recent economic data shows Africa’s growth slowing because of political instability and a global slump in commodity prices. Morten Jerven, a Norwegian economic historian who has studied statistics from across Africa, argues that the growth was never as robust as had been believed.

He said that the economic indicators for many African economies in the 1990s and early 2000s were inaccurate, and that the economic progress in the last five to 10 years that appeared to have been sudden was, in fact, gradual.

In other cases, Mr. Jerven said, African governments made bold economic assumptions or simply used fake numbers to make themselves look good. “The narrative had been too rosy,” he said.

Africa Yearning or Africa Struggling might be a more apt characterization, but neither of these is especially new. Whatever narrative emerges should include what Mr. Chelwa calls the continent’s “ghastly inequality,” and the sharp increase in the number of people who are now better equipped with technology and information and are demanding more from their governments.

Of course, it is difficult to apply a sweeping narrative to all 54 countries in Africa, where analysts agree that the picture is mixed. For instance, Rwanda remains stable with new businesses and floods of tourists while its neighbor, Burundi, teeters on the edge of chaos.

Some of the same economic factors that investors cite as grounds for optimism, like Africa’s growing cities, cut both ways. According to Mr. Jerven, rapid urbanization in Africa often leads to sprawling slums, low wages and legions of disenfranchised youth.

“All the economic variables for turmoil are there,” he said.

Progress in Ethiopia can come only from unity, not ethnic rivalry

Demonstrators chant slogans while flashing the Oromo protest gesture during Irreecha, the thanksgiving festival of the Oromo people, in Bishoftu town, Oromia region, Ethiopia, on Oct. 2. (Tiksa Negeri/Reuters)

The Washington Post

The October 11 World article “Ethiopia imposes state of emergency amid unrest” highlighted the widespread and proactive dissent that the undemocratic government is facing and the desperate measures it is taking. The situation is a consequence of the ruling party’s 25 years of dominance and its brutal suppression of human rights and political opposition.Every segment of Ethiopian society, regardless of ethnic affiliation, has been victimized by the government’s unfair and misguided policies. The people of Ethiopia, therefore, in unison, are saying enough to a quarter-century of abuse. That is the reason there are active opposition movements throughout the country. This should not overshadow, however, the destructive presence of secessionist groups and liberation fronts that will further threaten Ethiopia’s unity and stability. Such groups and their agendas will add only unmanageable chaos to the situation.

The current popular movement can become effective only if it is channeled through a unifying, not a separatist, leadership. The people of Ethiopia are demanding that type of leadership to bring a sustainable, democratic change to their nation. Promoting and fighting for the interests of a single ethnic group will never be the solution for Ethiopia’s persistent political problems. Unity is the key to establishing freedom, equality and justice.

Tewodros Abebe, Accokeek

Where Does Religion Come From?

If we were to ask a priest where religion originated, his response would most likely be rooted in his theology. The same would hold true for a rabbi, imam, yogi and so forth. We believe that the roots of our personal faith provide an answer to questions of creation. As Arthur Schopenhauer put it, “Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world.”

Yet we often associate spiritual practices with limitlessness, similarly to how we assume that a ‘soul’ resides inside our flesh until it’s released. Death, in fact, has often been regarded as a prime suspect hovering around at the foundation of religion. The rituals and beliefs of an afterlife provide an antidote to requiring too much responsibility during this one.

This is potentially a relatively recent development. Religious historian Karen Armstrong also assumes the culprit to be death, though perhaps not in a way that we’d expect. In her latest book, Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence in the World, she writes,

Much of what we now call ‘religion’ was originally rooted in an acknowledgement of the tragic fact that life depended on the destruction of other creatures; rituals were addressed to helping human beings face up to this insoluble dilemma.

It is interesting to note that this dilemma developed due to the murdering of our prey, not other human beings. As our ancestors evolved ethics in growing societies, living in larger and more diverse groups, our paradoxes could not be veiled. While we created bonds by helping our families and friends we also regularly took the lives of other animals, many of whom, in their own ways, were doing the same.

How could this bipedal animal that had gained an advantage through the development of a neocortex grapple with the realization that as much as they craved security in an uncertain world, they also enjoyed the act of eating other sentient life? That it is a biological inheritance is unquestionable. Yet another question persisted: how could one hand help create life while the other so frequently took it?

Remember the crude instruments these hunters used to kill. There was no ease of gunpowder or hunting parks for wealthy tourists. As Armstrong notes, ancient arrows could barely pierce skin. It would take the poison dabbed onto the tip hours to be effective, during which time the hunters tracked and waited. It appears it is that moment that this thing we now call religion was born.

As the animal lay dying, the hunters would gather around it, stroking its head and singing songs. When it cried out in pain, they cried to empathize. They recognized the cycles of life as a sacrifice helping them live their own. Our ancestors knew they were part of a process, not separate from it. Ritual was born.

I would never claim that life was easier at any moment other than now; I’m not a romantic of bygone eras. As Armstrong writes, early humans liked the hunt. Many continue that trend today. It’s as much part of our DNA as are the emotions and ideologies we’ve developed to help us cope with the fact that we, like those animals, are all going to die.

But the modern disconnection from the cycles of the natural world is disconcerting. When religion is predominantly presented as a building you go to or a specific time of year that needs recognition—and that only involves one species—something special is lost

Armstrong argues throughout her book that our understanding of what we now call ‘religion’ is a relatively modern invention, fostered by secular advancements in Europe and America over the last 200 hundred years. And while I’m personally a fan of such advancements, I understand her point: there was no separate thing called ‘religion’ teased apart from daily life. The cosmic and mundane spun together.

It’s hard to imagine this connection when your meat is shrink-wrapped and boneless. It’s even harder to comprehend in a park where you’re guaranteed bounty simply by standing a hundred yards away and pulling a trigger. This isn’t an argument about skill or convenience. It’s about empathy, an emotion lacking when we’re so far removed from our origins.

In his classic work on the topic, Patterns in Comparative Religion, Mircea Eliade wrote,

What I think more useful than the classifying of myths and seeking for their possible ‘origins,’ is the study of their structure and the part they play in the spiritual experience of primitive man.

Creation stories are essential: they ground us. Knowing where a tradition arises helps us trace the twists and turns our ideologies have taken over the millennia. Sometimes this is good; we all know the biblical, quranic and other theological passages regarding slavery and the subjugation of women that (should) play no role in our world today. We’ve evolved, for the most part, and that’s a positive development.

But sometimes old wisdom has value. Our ancestors understood that to take something meant to give something back. Rituals, odd as some may seem today, were attempts at doing so. This is a direct contradiction to the free market, where humans are numbers crunched for efficiency and value to consistently cut costs and increase profits.

I might be a fan of secularism and would never argue that policy be derived from texts, but the complete disconnection from our spiritual practices in governance and society is equally dangerous. Armstrong argues this throughout her book. While I don’t agree with all of her points—I do believe that religion is culpable for much of the pain we experience today, not just power grabs and policies—on this point regarding the origins of the religious, we might consider paying closer attention if we want to understand the spiritual experience of modern man.

Image: ArtHeart/shutterstock.com

For more Bigthink

EU chief tasks Ethiopian PM to initiate inclusive political dialogue quickly

Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban with EUROPEAN UNION EXTERNAL ACTION

ETHIOPIA

The High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, has tasked the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn to respect democratic principles and civil rights in the country.

Mogherini, who is also Vice-President of the European Commission said there was the need to initiate an inclusive political dialogue within the shortest possible time. The dialogue ‘‘will require space, not restriction,” an EU statement said.

She further underlined the need for transparency and determined engagement by the government to respond to the grievances of the population. The EU said it expected the opening up of the democratic space, and respect of fundamental freedoms.

The two leaders, spoke in a phone call, where they discussed developments in the country – particularly the recently imposed six-month state of emergency.

The EU chief expressed concern over the curfew imposed on October 9 and its possible effect on democratic principles and civil rights of citizens. The Prime Minister on his part assured that the state of emergency will not breach human rights protected by the Ethiopian constitution.

The PM had earlier this week assured that plans were underway for electoral reforms and the EU further urged that necessary political reforms are conducted to achieve this goal.

Mogherini also emphasized that talks between the government and opposition if done expeditiously will provide an inclusive economy with benefits for all, notably the youth.

Under the Radar: Foreign investors under attack in Ethiopia

By Jeremy Luedi

Mounting violence in Ethiopia has seen over 500 killed, as protests against the government’s economic and human rights policies continues. The tensions at the heart of the crisis are systemic ones, yet what makes the violence particularly worrisome is that foreign investors have become prominent targets. Foreign businesses are being systematically attacked in protest of the government’s development-centric approach, with protesters citing land grabs and unfair competition as key issues.

Foreign investors under attack

Government estimates claim that around 40,000 workers at foreign companies have been affected by the disruptions; as cement, textile, flower, and agribusiness firms have been attacked. Popular sentiments that the benefits of growth are not being felt by all, combined with worries about foreign goods undercutting local producers has made Ethiopia a verydangerous investment locale.

In recent weeks, eleven factories have been burned, and 90% of flower farms between Ziwag and Hawassa, in Oromia have been attacked. This has already led to one American flower firm pulling out of the country. Similarly, the Dutch owned, 2,000 worker, fruit farm of Africa Juice BV was set alight in September, with other Dutch and Israeli firms also attacked.

Moreover, Angela Merkel is in Ethiopia to discuss issues of trade and migration, and has expressed concerns about German interests in the country, as Germany constitutes one Ethiopia largest export destinations. Specifically, Germany consumes 30% of Ethiopia coffee production – a major cash crop and source of foreign currency. These exports could be threatened as unrest in agricultural areas continues, and protesting farmers continue to hinder the movement of goods to the capital.

Add to this attacks on Turkish textile factories in Sebeta and on holiday lodges at Lake Langano, and Ethiopia’s plight becomes even direr.

Anuradha Mittal, executive director of the Oakland Institute sums up the state of affairs in Ethiopia:

“If I am a foreign investor, I look for opportunities. I understand that there are risks but in the face of this growing unrest where foreign companies have been targets, given all that has happened in terms of displacement of people and their lands given away to foreign investors, it would be astute to not go into a country like that.”

Ethiopia’s uneven response hurts investor confidence

Alongside the unrest, the government’s response has only further unsettled foreign investors, as a whole week of silence followed the October 2nd uptick in violence, with the government only belatedly issuing a state of emergency. This occurred after the country’s state-run internet service was shut off for two days in August to disrupt protests. This move only further damaged investor confidence, and mainly hurt businesses, not protesters. In a country where a third of the population lives on less than $1.90 per day, most protesters do not have internet access, as support for the movement is largely located in rural areas. Shutting off the internet only further compromised the position of foreign companies in Ethiopia.

Despite the delay, communications minister Getachew Reda highlighted the impact on business as part of the reason for the government’s October 9th state of emergency declaration. “The kinds of threats we are facing, the kind of attacks that are now targeting civilians, targeting civilian infrastructure, targeting investment cannot be handled through ordinary law enforcement procedures” noted Reda. This echoes statements by PM Hailemariam Desalegn, who has also warned of the danger to the country’s infrastructure projects, projects such as the newly unveiled $3.4 billion, Chinese backed, railway from Addis Ababa to Djibouti.

These projects, alongside foreign businesses are prime targets as protesters are angered about the focus given to development over human rights, and the favouritism shown to the capital, whose growth is leaving the rest of the, largely agrarian, country behind. The protests began in November 2015, in response to plans to expand the capital, plans which were later abandoned, yet which hit a nerve among a population angered about land grabs and inequality.

Likely inspired by the success of the Chinese Communist Party, Ethiopia has sought to strongly push development, in the hope that growth will distract from the country’s human rights abuses. Unfortunately for the government, Ethiopia does not have Beijing’s clout or hard power, and faces are far more divided and diverse country.

Unsurprisingly, the government has sought to blame foreign influences on the the unrest, seeking to claim the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) is behind what is clearly a grassroots movement. To this end Ethiopia haspicked a fight with Egypt – claiming that Cairo is aiding the OLF – something which Egypt denies. The two countries are already at odds over Ethiopia’s plans to construct the 6,000 MW New Renaissance Dam on the Nile, which would severely impact downstream water resources in the Sudans and Egypt.

Throw in the obligatory accusation to Eritrea as well and this sloppy reaction is par for the course for the Ethiopian government.

This ham-fisted and belated response from the government only further undermines Ethiopia’s image in investment circles. This is especially unfortunate given that Ethiopia had, until recently, been a regional darling, citing double-digit growth and earning the moniker of ‘Africa’s Lion’. These days are gone as Ethiopia’s growth prospects have seen a significant drop, as domestic unrest grows, commodity prices have sunk, and regional growth slows.

This problem is here to stay

The problem for investors going forward is that the current unrest is based on longstanding, systemic problems at the heart of the Ethiopian state. While last week saw the imposition of Ethiopia’s first state of emergency in 25 years, this state of affairs has direct links to the last state of emergency a quarter of a century ago. In 1991, the historically dominant Amhara ethnic group was ousted from power by the Tigrayans, a group that comprises only six percent of the population. In the last 25 years, the Tigrayans have solidified their hold on the government, resulting in a state of affairs in which the Oromo and Amhara – sixty percent of Ethiopia’s nearly 100 million people – are underrepresented and marginalized.

Consequently, the economic focus on the capital and its pet development projects is seen as further favouritism towards the ruling Tigrayan governing elite who comprise the main governing party – Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) – which focuses on urban centres, and neglects the countryside.

This explains why the protests are centered in Oromia, yet it also warns of further escalation. Oromia produces much of Ethiopia’s food, and any disruption there could have serious impacts on national food security. Up to 18 million Ethiopians rely on food handouts, and unrest in Oromia threatens not only domestic food production, but attacks on foreign agribusiness also deprive the government of the foreign reserves needed to purchase additional food.

To make matters worse, Ethiopia has suffered from severe El-Nino related drought since September 2015. The timing of the drought and the first protests in November is likely no mere coincidence. While so far the government has been able to respond to the drought, unrest in Oromia could be the tipping point that disrupts national food distribution. If events do take a turn for the worse, Ethiopia is likely to find little foreign assistance, as donor fatigue has only increased in recent years. The international community is already distracted by Syria and other humanitarian issues, and Ethiopia’s drought has largely gone unnoticed.

The EPRDF was created out of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which took control in 1991 from the Derg regime. The Derg used famine as a weapon against the TPLF and other restive elements, leading to the infamous 1983-1985 famine. This famine in turn undermined the Derg regime and led to its downfall. The current regime is well aware of the risks of famine, which will likely result in a heavy-handed response to quell unrest and prevent wider instability. The problem is that this could easily back-fire as economic issues reignite lingering ethnic tensions, plunging Ethiopia into greater civil unrest.

Under the Radar uncovers political risk events around the world overlooked by mainstream media. By detecting hidden risks, we keep you ahead of the pack and ready for new opportunities.

Under the Radar is written by Jeremy Luedi.