Russia and Africa: Joining efforts for peace, progress and successful future

In July 27-28, St Petersburg will host the Second Russia-Africa Summit and Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum. On the eve of these large-scale representative events which will bring together heads of states and governments, entrepreneurs, academia and public figures, I would like to share my vision of the development of Russia-Africa relations with the readers of The Ethiopian Herald on the African continent, outlining priority cooperation areas for the coming decades of the 21st century.

The partnership relations between our country and Africa have strong, deep roots and have always been distinguished by stability, trust and goodwill. We have consistently supported African peoples in their struggle for liberation from colonial oppression. We have provided assistance in developing statehood, strengthening their sovereignty and defence capability. Much has been done to create sustainable foundations for national economies. By the mid-1980s, with the participation of our specialists, over 330 large infrastructure and industrial facilities have been built in Africa, such as power plants, irrigation systems, industrial and agricultural enterprises, which are successfully operating to this day, and continue to make a significant contribution to the continent’s economic development. Tens of thousands of African doctors, technical specialists, engineers, officers and teachers have received education in Russia. I would like to specifically mention the traditionally close cooperation on the world stage, the firm and consistent advocacy rendered by the USSR and then Russia to African countries at international fora. We have always strictly adhered to the “African solutions to African problems” principle, standing in solidarity with Africans in their struggle for self-determination, justice and their legitimate rights. We have never tried to impose on partners our own ideas about the internal structure, forms and methods of management, development goals and ways to achieve them. Unchanged remains our respect for the sovereignty of African states, their traditions and values, their desire to independently determine their own destiny and freely build relationships with partners. We highly value the honestly-gained capital of friendship and cooperation, traditions of trust and mutual support that Russia and African countries share. We are brought together by a common desire to shape a system of relations based on the priority of international law, respect for national interests, indivisibility of security, and recognition of the central coordinating role of the United Nations. Today, the constructive, trustful, forward-looking partnership between Russia and Africa is especially significant and important. Major centres of economic and political power and influence are emerging in the world, which are asserting themselves more and more insistently, demanding that they be reckoned with. We are sure that a new multipolar world order, the contours of which are already seen, will be more just and democratic. And there is no doubt that Africa, along with Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, will take its worthy place in it and finally free itself from the bitter legacy of colonialism and neo-colonialism, rejecting its modern practices. Russia welcomes the rising international authority of individual states as well as Africa as a whole, their desire to make their voices strongly heard and to take the continent’s problems into their own hands. We have always supported the constructive initiatives of our partners. We stand for granting African countries their rightful place in the structures that determine the world’s fate, including the UN Security Council and the G20, as well as for reforming the global financial and trade institutions in a way that meets their interests. Regrettably, we see that the situation in the world today is far from stable. The long-standing conflicts that exist in nearly every region are deepening, and new threats and challenges are emerging. And Africa feels the burden of global challenges like no other part of the world. In such a challenging environment, we look forward to working with our African partners to shape a non-discriminatory agenda for cooperation. The strategic areas of our interaction are set by the decisions of the first Russia-Africa Summit held in Sochi in late October 2019. The Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was established for their effective implementation. We have set up bilateral intergovernmental commissions for trade, economic, scientific and technological cooperation with many countries of the continent, and the network of Russian embassies and trade missions in Africa will be expanded. Further instruments are being actively developed to better structure economic relations and make them more dynamic. I would like to note with satisfaction that Russia’s trade turnover with the African countries increased in 2022 and reached almost 18 billion US Dollars. However, we are all well aware that the potential of our trade and economic partnership is much higher. Russian companies are interested in working more actively on the continent in the sphere of high technologies and geological exploration, in the fuel and energy complex, including nuclear power, in the chemical industry, mining and transport engineering, agriculture and fishery. The changes taking place in the world require the search for solutions related to the establishment of new transport and logistical chains, the formation of a monetary and financial system, and mechanisms of mutual settlements that are safe and free from unfavourable external impacts. We understand the importance of uninterrupted food supplies for the socio-economic development and political stability of the African states. On this basis, we have always paid great attention to issues related to the supply of wheat, barley, maize and other crops to African countries. We have done so both on a contractual basis and free of charge as humanitarian aid, including through the United Nations Food Programme. Thus, in 2022, Russia exported 11.5 million tonnes of grain to Africa, and almost 10 million tonnes more were delivered in the first half of 2023 – despite the sanctions imposed on our exports, which severely hamper the supply of Russian food products to developing countries, complicating transport logistics, insurance arrangements and bank payments. Many have probably heard of the so-called “grain deal,” whose initial purpose was to ensure global food security, reduce the threat of hunger and help the poorest countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America – the reason why Russia undertook the obligation to facilitate its implementation in the first place. This “deal,” however, while it was publicly advertised by the West as a gesture of goodwill that benefited Africa, has in fact been shamelessly used solely for the enrichment of large US and European businesses that exported and resold grain from Ukraine. Judge for yourselves: in almost a year, a total of 32.8 million tonnes of supplies were exported from Ukraine under the “deal,” with over 70 percent of the exports ending up in high- and upper-middle-income countries, including in the European Union, whereas such countries as Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia, as well as Yemen and Afghanistan, received less than 3 percent of the supplies, i.e. less than one million tonnes. In the meantime, none of the “deal” provisions relating to the exemption from sanctions of Russian grain and fertiliser exports to world markets were fulfilled. Moreover, barriers have been mounted even to our attempts to supply free of charge mineral fertilisers to the poorest countries in need. Of 262,000 tonnes of goods blocked in European ports, only two shipments were delivered – one of 20,000 tonnes to Malawi and one of 34,000 tonnes to Kenya. The rest is still unscrupulously held by the Europeans. And this is a purely humanitarian initiative we are talking about, which should be exempt from any sanctions as such. Considering all these facts, there is no longer any use in continuing the “grain deal” as it has failed to serve its original humanitarian purpose. We argued against further extending the “deal,” which terminated as of July 18. I want to give assurances that our country is capable of replacing the Ukrainian grain both on a commercial and free-of-charge basis, especially as we expect another record harvest this year. Notwithstanding the sanctions, Russia will continue its energetic efforts to provide supplies of grain, food products, fertilisers and other goods to Africa. We highly value and will further develop the full spectrum of economic ties with Africa – with individual states as well as regional integration associations and, naturally, with the African Union. We welcome this organisation’s strategic course towards further economic integration and the formation of the African Continental Free Trade Area. We are ready to build pragmatic, mutually beneficial relations, including within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. We are also willing to step up cooperation with other regional integration organisations on the continent. In keeping with the existing tradition, we intend to continue providing assistance to African states in building their national human resource capacity. There are currently about 35 thousand students from the continent in Russia, more than 6,000 of them receive Russian government scholarships. Each year we increase the number of scholarships, promote paid higher education options and facilitate inter-university ties, which have gained significant momentum in recent times. Bringing humanitarian, cultural, sports and mass media cooperation to a whole new level would serve our common interests. I would like to seize this opportunity to invite our young African friends to the World Youth Festival, which will take place in Sochi, Russia, in March 2024. This large-scale international forum will bring together more than 20,000 participants from more than 180 countries for an informal, friendly and open dialogue that is free from ideological and political barriers, racial and religious prejudice and would consolidate the young generation around the ideals of lasting and durable peace, prosperity and creative spirit. In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that we attach great importance to the upcoming the Second Russia–Africa Summit. We expect that the Summit would adopt a comprehensive Declaration, a number of joint statements and approve the Russia – Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan to 2026. We are working to prepare an impressive package of intergovernmental and inter agency agreements and memoranda with individual states as well as regional associations of the continent. I am looking forward to welcoming the African leaders in St. Petersburg and stand committed to a fruitful constructive dialogue. I firmly believe that the decisions adopted at the Summit and Forum, coupled with continuous diversified joint work will contribute to further development of Russian African strategic partnership for the benefit of our countries and peoples. BY VLADIMIR PUTIN President of Russian Federation Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 25 JULY 2023

 

Majority knocking on cockpit door to operate global politics

BY WORKU BELACHEW

The push for reforming the global bodies and correcting the way their system functions is gathering momentum with calls for pragmatic changes peaking over the last two months. Though raised in different parts of the world, the voices are one and the same—the world should heed to the voices made both in Europe and Central Asia. 

The capital of Kazakhstan, Astana 

Most recently, on the heels of a Summit for a new global financing pact that France hosted on June 22 and 23, 2023, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) tweeted as problems are being stockpiled in Africa. 

The Prime Minister eventually recommended applying reforms. He said “We can only tackle cocktails of interconnected crises that we face—cost-of-living crisis, financial crisis, growth crisis and climate crisis—head-on if we implement reforms to strengthen the global financial architecture.  

Similarly, Kenyan President William Ruto boldly had argued in a panel discussion that French Pres. Emmanuel Macron moderated and whose video is available at a We Love Africa Facebook post. It seems that Ruto wants to see a global financial system that middle and small powers can reserve their own say. “We need a financial transaction tax at the global level where even countries like Kenya pay. We don’t want anything for free. You pay bigger because you have bigger economy, and we will pay commensurate to our economy. We want those resources not controlled by IMF and the World Bank, because you have the final saying. We want another organization of equals.”

What is more, Kazakhstan’s geostrategic location in Central Asia seems to have opened a window of opportunity for it to play a different role in international politics. This was manifested as the country’s President Kassim Jomart Tokayeve proposed a new track for world politics urging major powers to heed to the voice of ‘Middle powers’ at Astana International Forum (ASF) 2023 earlier in June.

Though lacking a precise definition as to which countries could exactly fall in the list of middle powers, it at least gives a clue that superpowers or the winner camp of WWII represent only a minority of the world’s population. But, whether one likes it or not, they have a profound influence in the world’s politico-economic activities. 

For instance, their actions are bringing about a seemingly divided world these days. Worse still, regions like Africa could suffer the most due to various reasons.

Kazakhstan and other like-minded countries believe that they are able to build a bridge to help humanity cross the gulf. Another instance to such middle power politics could be the African leaders peace mission headed to Kyiv and Moscow. Africans show indifference in matters that affect them directly and indirectly. 

The world had seen a similar diplomatic approach from mid-50s onwards. A figure counted countries were able to sense that the international community’s landscape had started to crack and they sat together in Bandung in April 1955, eventually bringing to the fore what was then called the “non-aligned movement”.     

It is good that the AIF brings to attention to the world leaders that “a cold-war-like” crisis is haunting humanity’s civilization— and they are trying to show that there is a way to curtail the eminent danger lying ahead of us.  

Astana entitled a panel discussion held at the capital’s magnificently architected conference hall as; ‘acting when others can’t: Middle power diplomacy in challenging times’. There is no doubting the fact that “others” are the superpowers. It is much symbolic that a country that implemented Non-Proliferation Treaty, Kazakhstan, has started pushing for the effectuation of alternative global diplomacy.  

The panel discussion held on the sidelines of AIF attracted the attention of many foreign journalists, and almost all seats at the venue were taken.   

Danny Qua, a professor of Economics at the National University of Singapore had been crystal clear when he articulated his thoughts. 

He argued that if democracy is the rule of the majority, then middle and small powers represent 80 percent of the world’s population. Therefore, according to him, the majority must decide the fate of humanity. He was epitomizing it that the “zero-sum game” of superpowers that represents 20 percent of the pie, has posed a a great danger on the doorsteps of humanity. 

The professor stressed; however, as middle powers should be “extra clear’ in what they want to achieve.  “We need to shake the shackles of realism. Realism comes with the idea that the great powers do what they will, and the rest of us suffer what we must.”

He furthered the concept as he went on to say, “We don’t want a world where trade opportunities are removed, sanctions cobble our economic prosperity. Trade conflict and techno nationalism, as IMF managing director, suggested could result in a seven percent reduction in the global economy. 

Per Worldometer’s available data (2017), the global GDP is as big as over 80 trillion USD, losing seven percent could be slashing approximately 5 to 6 trillion USD—an equivalent of Japan’s economy. The same argument was made by WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in Astana Forum.

Danny was bold enough to say that the middle powers should not take either the sides. “We don’t want to be dragged into other people’s conflicts.”

He strongly argued that middle powers have a concrete role to play.

The Ottawa Arms Treat of the 1990s which is still relevant into 2000s was made by a collection of third-world and small nations to get rid of the world from landmines. Great powers disagreed first. Eventually, Joe Biden also agreed. 

Reports show that the landmine treaty was signed first by countries like Mauritius, Ireland and Canada. Ethiopia as well signed and ratified this document in 1997 and 2004 respectively.  

 Similarly, the Vienna Declaration of Human Rights of 1993 was a movement by middle powers and small nations to get great power in a way to acknowledge human rights around the world. And superpowers have come on board to be part of it. 

Danny argued that middle and small nations to at least be non-aligned to either side. 

Most African countries including Ethiopia remained non-aligned during the cold war being parties to the Bandung principles of course. But panelists like Amb. Thomas Greminger, Director of the Geneva Center for Policy since May 2021, seems to have perceived that the dividing lines have already haunted the world.

He called it a cold war 2.0 that visibly surfaced on the heels of the Ukraine-Russia war. “The cold war 2.0 comes with different confrontation, but with the same similarly, like the Cold War 1.0, having similar repercussions.” 

He cited the fact that there is an emerging ideology and breakdown of dialogue and cooperation. North America and Western Europe are taking the Western camp while some remaining multi-vector policies, and others still unable to decide—countries in the global south including Africa seem to have been waiting as to what could happen in the power competition among the superpowers. 

What next?

Middle and small powers have proven that they could put their impact to shape a better world. What is the missing link then?

The answer, as many would agree, is the lack of a fair and inclusive international system. This Link completes the international political and economic machinery so that it operates for all. No doubt, the Link cannot come by simply because we simply talked about it. Actors such as leaders of Africa should continue to get the nerve to demand their rights. 

Particularly, there is a need to make the UN look like its members. Today’s UN resembles, by and large, the superpowers. It is their interests that ultimately take center stage. Middle and small powers are only bystanders, to say the least. Or at least, they should sway to this or that side to make their interests protected even if they don’t like to.

Let this writer conclude with what President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in his speech at the Plenary Session of AIF: “For it to survive, the global system must work for everyone, promoting peace and prosperity for the many/ rather than for the few. 

 The Ethiopian Herald June 29/2023

Published on Majority knocking on cockpit door to operate global politics – Ethiopian Press Agency

Ethiopia’s AU-facilitated Peace Accord Signing

November 12, 2022   

In the lens of Pan-African media practice

BY WORKU BELACHEW

Part I

The African-Union-led Permanent Cessation of Hostility Agreement (PCHA) formally signed on November 2, 2022, would not only set the way for peace to reign in Ethiopia, but the entire process has once again branded Africa as a continent that is gifted with the wisdom and capability to translate the buzzword ‘African solution to challenges facing the continent.’

The critical questions here are: To what extent have African media houses that have a relatively wide online circulation practiced Pan-African journalistic practices to eventually achieve the aspirations of Africans? And do African media approach sensitive issues such as peace and security in a different way as compared to so-called global media? This piece of work attempts to give a bird-eye view of news reporting of some global media and certain notable African media houses concerning their framing of news stories on the PCHA event.

The news items of the media houses that also have high online visitors are observed in relation to some key aspects that have also become patterns in the media reporting of the conflict in Ethiopia. For instance, the phrases “unhindered access,” “communication shutdown,” and “starvation” have been appearing in most media reporting of the conflict. On the other hand, “African solution to an African problem,” “AU-led peace talks,” and “Silencing the guns” have frequently been mentioned. Many mention the latter in the context of fulfilling Africa’s aspirations expressed resolutely in Agenda 2063.

It requires a rigorous study to determine as to why the patterns appear in the media outlets but let’s see some theories related to issue in discussion.

Mass communications theory have it that media houses make conscious decisions in choosing what to report and how to report a kind of event which take us to the concept of “Media framing”. They frame a kind of event deliberately to influence public opinion, as to available literature, see more on https://masscommtheory.com. But one cannot overgeneralize the fact that the framing is the sole decision of the media houses.

A comparative media study by Hallin and Mancini (2004) suggests that there are four “dimensions” that play a part in influencing the media’s decision. Hallin and Mancini’s dimensions are: Political parallelism, Journalistic Profession, Media market and Role of the State. Political parallelism has to do with whether there is link between media houses and political parties or journalists political affiliations and so on. Journalistic Professionalism on the other hand is about the degree of autonomy of the journalists. According to their study, there are internal and external forces that exert influence on the journalists, not to mention journalists’ ethics …: What is more, Media Market delves into the circulation of newspapers or the outlets. Last but not least is the role of the state – restrictive or supportive.

The Pan-African aspirations

It is important to attempt to see what the aspirations of Africans are clearly and succinctly. Of course, some of them are expressed in black and white in the popular document of Agenda 2063. The rest comes under various topics. As regards the latter, the Pan-African Vision of 2063 says it all: “An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena. Here one can easily see that we Africans have a vision of achieving peace through the efforts of our own citizens.

The document, Agenda 2063, #8, also under ‘African Aspiration for 2063’ states the confidence in the people of Africa in dealing with conflicts using African wisdom. Part of the aspiration reads: to “realize her [Africa’s] full potential in development, culture and peace and to establish flourishing, inclusive and prosperous societies.”

Concepts such as “peace” and “realize […] full potential” may stand out in the aspiration. And this tells us that Africans have the determination to unlock their full potential and take peace and other matters into their own hands. Or put it this way, though war and conflicts are not unusual in Africa, the initiative and practice of acting proactively and reactively to deal with the problems should be a matter of Africans and their institutions. This calls for the struggle to lessen, if not completely avoid, foreign meddling. Often, people use the catch-all phrase “African solution and African problem”—a term that African scholars are highly debating on claiming that it fails to properly reflect the challenges Africa has been facing. Somehow, the “African Solution” works despite the direct and indirect influences on the decision of Africans and their institutions.

But the term “African problem” raises many questions. Do African problems really originate only from the conflict of interest among people of a given nation? Yes, conflicts are unavoidable. But there are potential causes of conflicts. Say for instance, interstate border wars in Africa, in most cases, are related to colonial demarcations. Geopolitical interests and actions to dominate the big market and other resources of Africa at least play a great part as well. Last but not least, aspiration #4 of Agenda 2063 explicitly argues and puts mechanisms to fend off potential and actual challenges of peace and security in Africa.

ASPIRATION 4. A peaceful and secure Africa

Mechanisms for the peaceful prevention and resolution of conflicts will be functional at all levels. As a first step, dialogue-centered conflict prevention and resolution will be actively promoted in such a way that by 2020 all guns will be silent. A culture of peace and tolerance shall be nurtured in Africa’s children and youth through peace education.

How some global media framed PCHA

The 10-day peace talks held between the delegation of the GoE and TPLF started on October 24/25, 2022. The world had eagerly been waiting for whether the talks resulted in closing the two-year deadly chapter of war in Ethiopia. November 02, 2022, was the date scheduled by the African Union Panel to announce the results. Media houses representing both international and domestic ones were on the alert to break the news, no matter what. But the announcement scheduled at 4:00 in the afternoon was postponed by a few hours. Time had been ticking and the scheduled hour finally came. On and after the conclusion of the event, media houses reported about the PCHA in various ways but two frames were highly observable— the so-called “pressure frame” and the “pan-African frame”.

CNN- Its headlines read ‘Warring parties in Ethiopia agree on ‘permanent cessation of hostilities. The story was published on November 3, 2022. CNN’s story properly named the parties as the “GoE” and “TPLF.” The first paragraph of the story that media practitioners rather call it as a “lead sentence” is framed from the perspective of Disarming, Demobilizing and Reintegrating (DDR).

“Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels will eventually “disarm” and “reintegrate” with national forces, according to the statement. “We have also agreed on a detailed program of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration for the TPLF combatants, taking into account the security situation on the ground,” it read. The phrase “will eventually” is important here. It is a public knowledge that the CNN has not been impartial in the two-year war in the north. And maybe, “eventually” could mean, after all the bloody events, the result is “DDR”. For anyone who contemplates the CNN’s barrage of disinformation campaign, it wages against Ethiopia, the final Pan-African solution of resorting to peace might not be welcome. The story actually quoted the statement made by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa Olusegun Obasanjo. Obasanjo’s statement is —minutes long. But only the “DDR” perspective was picked by the CNN.

On the same day, the accord was signed, Aljazeera published a story headlined: ‘Ethiopia: Government, Tigrayan forces agree to end two-year war’. The organization of the story that the media used was just a mix of “DDR” and “pressure-framing”. Here is its lead story: “The parties in the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray have agreed on a “permanent cessation of hostilities”, the African Union mediator said, just more than a week after formal peace talks began in South Africa.”

It continues: the parties agreed on “orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament” along with “restoration of law and order”, “restoration of services” and “unhindered access to humanitarian supplies”. The usage of the frame, whether intentionally or unintentionally tells us that most media are more interested in reporting on the dichotomy of winner/loser.

One can get a relatively different framing in a report published by Reuters. While it broke the news of the signing of the PCHA, describing it as a “dramatic diplomatic breakthrough.” it also highlights the fact that the process was an AU-led one—a fact that other media outlets shied away from mentioning.

In the second paragraph of its story, Reuters wrote this: “Just over a week after formal peace talks mediated by the African Union (AU) began in the South African capital Pretoria, delegates from both sides signed an agreement on a “permanent cessation of hostilities”.”.

Yet, DW’s news presentation seemed to have zoomed in on the “Pan-African framing. “The first three paragraphs of the news story, not to mention the lead story, in one way or another, had mentioned the role of the African Union. Both the headline and the lead sentence attempted to give due credit to the AU-led efforts.

CGTN’s news story as well could be described as a “Pan-African framing” of the event. The presentation of the entire story is quite mesmerizing for any reader who wants to get a different perspective, the writer believes. Let’s have an overview of the news story. The media house itself has a motto that goes: ‘See the difference. But, is there really a big difference?

The news is headlined ‘Ethiopian government and TPLF sign peace agreement in South Africa and presented with a nine-paragraph story highlighting some key concepts that have become a pattern in the media reporting of the northern conflict. Some of these are; “Cease hostilities;” “African Solution to African Problem;” “orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament;” along with “restoration of law and order,” “restoration of services;” and “unhindered access to humanitarian supplies;” “AU High-level Panel;” “communications shutdown of internet and telephone services in Tigray region has been among world’s longest”.

One can irrefutably say that only two phrases or patterns appear as pan-African issues—“African solution to African problem;” and “AU High-Level Panel”. The rest of the five phrases/terms are often used by most western media houses and one middle-eastern media mentioned above.

If we take a look at one of the terms, we can infer the purpose of the framing, whether or not the media house did it intentionally is still debatable. But the news story tells us this: “…communications shutdown of internet and telephone services…” The thing is that the story informs the reader that the government has shut down communication and the internet at all. The argument is exactly the “blame term” that most western media and rights-based institutions have widely used. On the flip side, the government of Ethiopia says communications infrastructure was damaged by the antagonist force in what could be described as a strategic move to weaken the central government’s capacity to control the tragic event.

For its part, TRT World published a story under the headline of ‘A New Dawn.’ It also did a follow-up story of ‘Excellent News’. In both stories, the media house neither reproduced the western media narrative nor did it have a Pan-African perspective.

The Ethiopian Herald November 12/2022

Also posted by https://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2022/11/ethiopias-au-facilitated-peace-accord.html

 

Are External Forces Emboldening the TPLF to Launch “Permanent War” Against Ethiopia?

BY WORKU BELACHEW 

Lawrence Freeman is a well-known Political-Economic Analyst for Africa, who has been involved in economic development policies for Africa for over 30 years. He is a teacher, writer, public speaker, and consultant on Africa. Over the years, he has been an outspoken critic of western intervention in Ethiopian internal political affairs, he is known for his strong commentary and opinion in relation with the TPLF-provoked war in Ethiopia. The political and economist analyst has sat down with The Ethiopian Herald’s Worku Belachew on WhatsApp, to talk about Ethiopia’s current and wide-range of affairs. The following is the excerpt of the full interview.

I really appreciate your willingness for this interview. Previously, the terrorist TPLF confiscated humanitarian trucks and they used it for war purposes. But the international community’s response seems very weak. What do you comment on this?

 

 

 

See more on https://lawrencefreemanafricaandtheworld.com/2022/09/03/are-external-forces-emboldening-the-tplf-to-launch-permanent-war-against-ethiopia/

 

 

Imperialism in humanitarian, security cloak

BY WORKU BELACHEW

The pretext of humanitarianism is often raised by the officials of the Biden administration to justify their unwarranted pressure against Ethiopia.

Biden’s September 17, 2021, executive order is one in a series of instruments that are sugarcoated with humanitarianism and the protection of US national security. The latter in particular begs the question; the preamble of the executive order says that the conflict poses: “extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

The situation in Ethiopia is purely an internal matter— also as some permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) at various times make it crystal clear. But the question is: why has the Biden administration remained stubborn not to treat the issue as an internal matter to Ethiopia?

In this writer’s assessment to understand the matter, among the chief reasons that are making the Biden administration bog down in a policy that is against the 100+ million people of Ethiopia and at the cost the centuries’ old Ethiopia-US relations can be his and his advisors’ far-fetched ambition to impose their imperialistic will on a sovereign state, and later to expand the practice on a continental level in Africa.

Available literature shows that there are various arguments as to how powers such as the US advance their imperialistic ambitions either subtly or forcibly. But in our case, two of them seem to hold water. Actually, one of the arguments is premised on “moral ground”. This one looks like a resurgence of a subject that was put to play to justify colonialism in Africa in the late 19th C-early 20C. The colonial powers marched to Africa in the fig leaf of “Christianizing” and “Civilizing” the people of Africa.

At this very time, the Biden administration and its western allies are fabricating stories after stories through their agents that work under the cloak of humanitarianism. In today’s world, by and large, imperialism is reviving being encapsulated with humanitarianism—as many would agree. At face value, the sympathy the Biden administration shows to some people in Ethiopia appears to have sort of humanitarian element but the ultimate goal is to advance its illegitimate interests in a seemingly legitimate way.

In Ethiopia, the lives of close to seven million people is affected in all states of Tigray, Amhara and Afar, but the Biden administration and his allies are lax on demonstrating sympathy to the people of Amhara and Afar. This speaks for itself, doesn’t it?

The second track that the US and its allies employ to advance imperialism can be analyzed through the prism of “the protection of national interests in faraway geo-strategic places”.

What we have witnessed thus far is that the US and its allies choose short-sighted approaches than sustainable ones. Regarding the former, the powers have opted for supporting client states to remain on the helm of government or resorted to giving every life-support even to a dying group that advances their interests. As far as the client states are protecting the interests of, say the US and its allies, they keep lubricating the state machinery with aids and donations, and whether or not human rights abuses are rampant, corruption deepens media freedom stifled, they just don’t care. In the words of late Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah this is the worst form of imperialism “power without responsibility”— neo-colonialism if you like.

Now that the frontiers of superpowers are expanding beyond their terrestrial and aquatic boundaries, the Horn of Africa has already become a hub for their military buildup in faraway geo-strategic locations— a matter with a visible threat to the sovereignty of countries of the region in particular and the entire continent in general.

It is now plausible to argue that the military buildup in the region must be checked and countered in some way to avert the imminent danger. A November 12, 2021, BBC report first headlined as US Force Ready ‘to respond’ to Ethiopia crisis quoting Maj. Gen. William Zana at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti furnishes enough reason as the US has the ambition to promote its interests against the wills of the millions of people and their sovereignty.

The Biden administration, its allies and the western media altogether are supplying political, diplomatic and other key supports to the rebel terrorist TPLF force, on one hand. And they publicly brag to militarily intervene in a UN member country, Ethiopia, on the other. Humanitarianism and the protection of security or whatever interests are now found to be sugarcoated pretexts; inside these are the bitter imperialistic ambitions that Africans should check sooner than later.

Africans, the black population all over the world and all who seek justice, equality and fraternity to prevail must closely look into the current situation in Ethiopia. The current model—i.e., trying to destroy a legitimate government by force using an internal rebel is likely to be exported to other African countries. The necessary condition for this is, as we are practically witnessing it here, determination to chart out one’s destiny by oneself. When any African country starts to develop its natural resources, formulate home-grown policies, then the model would be put to play.

The model is worse in its entirety. But it becomes worst for Ethiopia as a country that boasts for having the oldest democracy like the US is attempting to restore a group chased away by popular unrest.

The people of Ethiopia have elected their representatives marching in droves to polls which the US’s two institutions verified.

The International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) on their joint report on the June 21, 2021 as part of a Limited Election Observation Mission for Ethiopia released on August 9, 2021 indicated this very matter.

For instance, NDI President Derek Mitchell said there were important improvements over past elections, particularly relating to the national election body and election monitoring by political parties and civil society.

The report also acclaimed “reforms that allowed civil society and political parties to emerge as actors of the electoral process. It also noted the reforms that allowed for NEBE to be more independent as well as important positive efforts made by Ethiopian individuals and institutions, including NEBE, citizen election monitoring, and voter education groups.”

Obviously, this does not mean that Ethiopia conducted one of the rarest elections. But the improvement has been tremendous as compared to the previous ones.

As every cloud has a silver lining, the approach by the US and its allies towards the current situation in Ethiopia holds important lesson to all people of Africa, the black community on the globe and all justice-seeking people of the world. The attempt is like a knockout game where these forces want to mess up the lives of non-western people and protect what they call “their national interests” at the cost of millions of people, particularly in the developing world. It is high time to all who stand for justice to prevail to stop these devilish forces.

The current path of the Biden administration and its allies is totally against the interests of the people of the respective countries. It is a path of destroying centuries-old cooperation. Of course, there is no proof that the entire people in the west back such imperialistic policy that exposes millions of souls to death and destruction. But there is proof that a substantial number of western people stand for truth and justice. One can see the number of black and white people of citizens in the western countries that are supporting Ethiopia by publically defending the Ethiopian cause. This has also been evident in the past. While the fascist Italian aggressor invaded Ethiopia, good people like Sylvia Pankhurst were standing for truth. Sylvia also went as far as establishing a newspaper dedicated to revealing the truth in her New times & Ethiopia news.

Published in The ETHIOPIAN HERALD NOVEMBER 30/2021

 

Adwa AU’s big task ahead to relight forebears’ spirits

 The African Union (AU) has the responsibility of taking a measure to uphold and hand down the spirits of the victory of Adwa, says pan-African experts and scholars alike as Ethiopia is set to mark the 124th Victory of Adwa on Monday.

The victory that is a landslide black people’s achievement had sent an enduring message to all the oppressed on the fact that the myth of European superiority was able to defeated; hence, the experts and scholars say the continental organization should no longer ignore this remarkable heritage.
Ayele Bekerie is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of a Ph.D. Program in Heritage Studies at Mekelle University. He argues that the Victory of Adwa goes way beyond Ethiopia.
“The victory is not limited to an outcome of a battle between two warring countries. The central message of the victory at the Battle of Adwa is that colonialism was wrong, and under any circumstance, it cannot be acceptable.”
The victory at Adwa provided the spark for fellow African brothers and sisters to determinedly fight against colonial subjugation, he says.
“It is true that the end of colonialism was in Africa and the historic contribution of Ethiopia had been marked by establishing the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. While the gesture was significant, I would argue that AU should take another critical step by declaring Yekatit 23^rd as African day.”
 The continental bloc looks like to turn its heads to glorify the history of the continent, particularly in recent years.
The Union has put up the statues of the founding fathers—of the precursor of AU, the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The Ghanaian independent leader Kwame Nkrumah and Ethiopia’s last Emperor Haile Selassie’s statues have now been gracing the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa. There is also Julius Nyerere Peace and Security Building which was funded by the government of the Federal Republic of Germany on the premises of AU.
But the victory of Adwa which is said to have inspired the founding fathers themselves, and an event that dismantled the myth of African inferiority for good, has not got its deserved place at the continental bloc.MORE ON https://www.press.et/english/?p=19543#