Category: Politics

NAIROBI – The United States says it is sending a special envoy to Ethiopia as the fast-moving conflict in the Tigray region has spread into neighboring regions and Ethiopia’s government this week called on all able citizens to stop the resurgent Tigray forces “once and for all.”

The widening war in Africa’s second-most populous country, with 110 million people, is also a growing humanitarian crisis. Millions of people in Tigray remain beyond the reach of food and other aid as the United Nations and U.S. say Ethiopian authorities allow just a small fraction of what’s needed. And hundreds of thousands of people in the Amhara and Afar regions are displaced as Tigray forces move in, vowing to go to the capital, Addis Ababa, if needed to stop the fighting and remove the blockade on their region of 6 million people.

“It’s one of these cases where we’ve run out of words to describe the horror of what civilians are being inflicted,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters this week. “More conflict can only lead, sadly, to more civilian pain.”

Here’s a look at the latest in the nine-month war and what pressure the U.S. special envoy might apply.

What Is The U.S. Seeking in Ethiopia?

The U.S. announced overnight that special envoy Jeffrey Feltman would travel to Ethiopia, neighboring Djibouti and the United Arab Emirates, a key Ethiopia ally, starting on Sunday. This is a “critical moment,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted. “Months of war have brought immense suffering and division to a great nation, that won’t be healed through more fighting. We call on all parties to urgently come to the negotiating table.”

That seems highly unlikely. Ethiopia’s government this year declared the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which dominated the government for nearly three decades before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018, a terrorist group. The Tigray forces have set several preconditions for talks and say Abiy no longer has the legitimacy to govern. They retook much of the Tigray region in June in a dramatic turn in the war as Ethiopia’s military retreated.

What began as a political dispute has now killed thousands of people.

Discussing what pressure the U.S. could apply to encourage negotiations, a congressional aide told The Associated Press that “I understand all options are on the table, from Global Magnitsky (sanctions over human rights violations) to an executive order on sanctions, to removal from (the African Growth and Opportunity Act), to more restrictive measures on assistance,” as well as ways to block Ethiopia’s efforts to get cash from international financial institutions. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on policy discussions.

Officials and lawmakers in Washington have signaled impatience as Ethiopian officials deny widespread human rights abuses such as gang-rapes and forced expulsions of ethnic Tigrayans or blame the Tigray forces.

The Ethiopian government’s prickly dismissal of a new Amnesty International report on shocking sexual violence against Tigrayan women during the war “reflects the tone-deafness with which the government is handling the multiple conflicts and humanitarian crises across the country,” Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member Sen. Jim Risch tweeted on Thursday.

What Does Ethiopia’s Government Say?

Ethiopia’s government has repeatedly expressed frustration, alleging without evidence that the U.S., U.N. and others are taking the side of the Tigray forces or supporting the fighters with aid. It has asserted that disproportionate attention is paid to the Tigray people and not enough is done to address alleged abuses by Tigray forces in the Amhara and Afar regions.

The most urgent allegation was raised by the U.N. children’s agency, which cited “credible information from partners” about deadly attacks last week on a camp for newly displaced people in Afar. A U.N. team plans to assess the scene as soon as security allows, the agency said Thursday. Ethiopia’s government has blamed the Tigray forces, whose spokesman Getachew Reda denied it but said they’re willing to cooperate in an independent investigation.

In the Amhara region, humanitarian groups are having trouble reaching their colleagues in Woldiya, one center of the fighting, amid a communications blackout. Now the Tigray forces have formed a military alliance with the Oromo Liberation Army, also designated by Ethiopia as a terrorist group.

On Thursday the prime minister’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, told reporters that the government’s call to arms this week, signaling an end to a unilateral cease-fire, meant that Ethiopians are urged to stop the Tigray forces by “all means necessary.” She said this is not a result of the military’s inability to take on the Tigray forces, and asserted that “in the millions, people are taking this call.”

What About The Fate of Everyday People?

Caught in the middle are civilians, and efforts to reach them with aid are increasingly challenging because of the Ethiopian government’s concern that it will end up helping the Tigray forces.

Just 10% of the aid needed for Tigray reached the region in recent weeks, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, told reporters after a brief Ethiopia visit last week in which the prime minister did not meet her. USAID has estimated that up to 900,000 people in Tigray face “man-made” famine conditions while phone, internet and banking services remain cut off.

The U.N. World Food Program on Friday said at least 30 trucks a day must enter the region to address the need and what has arrived so far is a “drop in the ocean.”

Meanwhile, Ethiopia’s government has suspended the operations of two major international aid groups, the Dutch section of Doctors Without Borders and the Norwegian Refugee Council, accusing them of spreading “misinformation.” This has further deterred many humanitarian workers from speaking openly, worried about retaliation. It also means efforts to respond to the crises in the Amhara and Afar regions could be affected.

“Some humanitarian organizations may now alter their public messaging campaigns or self-censor to avoid facing suspension. This would further contribute to Ethiopia’s closing civic space,” the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote on Thursday.

That means even less knowledge about conditions on the ground as many journalists face government-imposed restrictions, it said, adding that “civilians will suffer.”

Source: Voice of America

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Zambia’s electoral commission called on candidates to be patient Friday as election workers tallied general election results in 10 provinces.

Observers reported a massive turnout Thursday at polling stations across the country, including the capital, Lusaka.

Zambia election officials promised they would announce the results within 72 hours after the last citizen voted.

Electoral commission spokesperson Patricia Luhanga said the commission was pleased with the large turnout.

“The numbers we’ve seen are quite unprecedented,” she said. “And for us as a commission, this gives us a sense of pride. Because we look at the total number of registered voters that is slightly above 7 million and we look at the queues that we have experienced on poll day. We have nothing but a sense of pride.”

Zambians voted to choose a new president, parliament and local representatives in an election that analysts said was a test for one of Africa’s pillars of democracy.

President Edgar Lungu, 64, faced his fiercest competition from a familiar challenger, Hakainde Hichilema, 59, one of 15 opposition candidates.

Analysts predicted a tight race to determine the country’s political future, and a second round could result if no candidate receives more than 50% of the ballots cast.

Officials said they would give regular updates to keep the country informed about the tabulation.

But social media tools such as WhatsApp, a crucial form of communication in the provinces, have been curbed. The government has not commented on outages on the internet.

‘Unblock the internet’

Opposition presidential candidate Hichilema accused the ruling party on Twitter of orchestrating the social media disruptions. He said he wanted telecom regulators to “unblock the internet so citizens can follow the electoral process and continue with their lives unhindered.”

Clashes between supporters of the governing Patriotic Front (PF) and partisans of the main opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) alliance left two people dead in one constituency in Lusaka earlier this month.

But officials of the African Union Poll Observer Mission said representatives of political parties at the polling stations they visited had no problems and were pleased with how the elections were administered.

Former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Bai Koroma, who led the AU observers, told VOA he was pleased with how Zambians behaved during voting.

Koroma commended the patience and decorum of the large crowds at the polling stations he visited. He also praised the professionalism of the electoral commission staff at the polling stations as well as the police there to maintain the peace.

“Personally, I have been impressed with what I have seen so far,” Koroma told VOA. “Even at 6 a.m., you have long queues lined up. It shows a lot of enthusiasm and excitement on the part of the Zambians to exercise their civil responsibility. It’s very impressive.”

Before election day, Koroma met with many candidates, including Lungu, Hichilema and others.

“We have cautioned them, even those that have concerns, that … we will address the concerns,” he said. “It is all part of building the democratic process, [and] we will continue to engage.”

Source: Voice of America

NAIROBI – Political analysts and rights groups have welcomed reports that Sudan may hand former president Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court. Bashir is wanted by the court for alleged crimes in the Darfur region.

Various Sudanese officials suggested this week that Sudan is ready to turn former president Omar al-Bashir over to the court. However, the final decision rests with Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council, which consists of military and civilian leaders.

Hassan Khannenje, head of the Horn Institute for Strategic Studies, says sending Bashir to the ICC would help move the country forward.

“It’s going to play a role and enhance some confidence, especially when it comes to the victims and the rebels,” Khannenje said. “Part of the agreements with the rebel groups was to hold those people who committed the crimes to account and I think it’s going to go a long way in building confidence perhaps in reducing future tensions and potential conflict in the years to come.”

The ICC indicted Bashir in 2009 on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity on people living in the Darfur region. Bashir denies the charges.

The crimes were allegedly committed as Khartoum attempted to crush an insurgency in Darfur that began in 2003. Bashir ruled Sudan for 30 years until the army ousted him in 2019 after months of mass protests. He was convicted of corruption and still faces other charges related to his seizure of power through a military coup in 1989. The former ruler is currently in a Kharotum prison.

ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, who visited the Sudanese capital this week, said Thursday the government needs to cooperate with the court.

“Regarding an individual former president Omar al-Bashir, I have not discussed dates. I had discussions with the various parts of the government which they are aware of, they know their responsibilities and announcements will be made when decisions are taken that become public,” Khan said. “In terms of the Rome statute I mentioned, I was informed that a meeting of the joint council is scheduled for next week, We will see what that brings. Ultimately the decision to cooperate and how to cooperate is one to be decided by Sudan not by me.”

Sarah Jackson is the deputy regional director of Amnesty International East Africa. She says surrendering Bashir to the court would go a long way toward providing justice to the victims in Darfur.

“We are waiting to see if survivors and victims of the atrocities in Darfur will get the opportunity to see justice done,” Jackson said. “This will be a very important moment for victims, for survivors and for their families in Darfur.”

The transitional government in Khartoum reached a peace deal with the rebels in the Darfur region last October, but the region continues to witness violence.

In December, the U.S. government took Sudan off the list of state-sponsored terrorist nations and pledged to economically support the transitional government.

Source: Voice of America

CAIRO – As unusually hot weather persists over parts of Northern Africa, new forest fires reportedly have broken out in Tunisia and Libya during the past 24 hours, in addition to many that are still burning in Algeria.

The presidents of Algeria and Tunisia are accusing arsonists of setting many of the fires, while Algerian media said 22 alleged arsonists have been caught.

Amateur video showed a forest fire raging out of control near the Libyan city of Bayada in the Jebel Akhdar region, east of the country, overnight. Libya’s 218 TV network reported that fire crews in the region were trying to put out the blaze.

A number of fires also broke out in Tunisia Thursday near the border with Algeria.

Algerian TV reported that 40 of the nearly 100 fires that were burning in 17 provinces of the country had been extinguished by Friday morning. Some Algerian media reports put the death toll from the fires at more than 70 people killed.

Algerian President Abdel Medjid Tebboune said in a televised address that many of the fires were deliberately set. He said conscientious citizens had caught and arrested nearly two dozen alleged arsonists.

The majority of these fires, Tebboune said, have what he called a “criminal hand” behind them, and ordinary citizens have caught 22 men suspected of setting the fires, including 11 in Tizi Ouzo, 2 in Gigell, 1 in Ain Defla, 3 in Medea and 4 in Annaba. Hopefully, he insists, proof of their guilt will surface.

Tunisian President Kais Saied, whose country is battling a series of forest fires near its border with Algeria, told Tunisian state TV the country’s security forces are helping to battle the fires, and he insists many of them were set on purpose:

Kais said that some wicked people have cut drinking water in some areas and told residents to go to the president to get their water. They cut water on the people, and this is a crime, he said. Some of the fires are caused by high temperatures during the summer, but there also are fires that have been deliberately set, and these people will get burned themselves.

Analyst Amin Said tells VOA that time and investigations will tell if the accusations of arson turn out to be true.

“Now we get official statements from the Algerian president and the head of the forest authority in Tunisia and others talking about arson, and some defendants in Algeria were arrested and that raises a lot of questions: who is behind it, how did he do it and who is really supporting them?” Amin said. “So, we have to wait and see what the Algerian investigation would reveal and those arrested, what are their motives and who pushed them to do [what they did].”

Libya analyst Aya Burweila, visiting lecturer at the Hellenic National Defense College, tells VOA that “the recent wave of fires in North Africa, from Algeria to Tunisia to Libya, appears to have been caused by a combination of high temperatures, asymmetric threats carried out by arsonists, as well as deforestation and poor law enforcement in areas where burning and cutting down trees is prohibited.”

Source: Voice of America

Opposition lawmakers in Ghana are pushing President Nana Akufo-Addo into a tight spot by promoting an anti-LGBT law widely condemned by critics for undermining rights but applauded by many Ghanaians.

Gay sex is already illegal in the highly religious West African nation, but while discrimination against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people is common, no one has ever been prosecuted under the colonial-era law.

A proposal that includes criminalizing LGBT advocacy, requirements to denounce “suspects”, advocates for conversion therapy and imposes longer jail sentences was introduced in parliament earlier this month.

The international community has joined activists in condemning the “promotion of proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values bill” drafted by eight lawmakers, mostly from the opposition party.

“Adopting the legislation in its current or any partial form would be tantamount to a violation of a number of human rights standards, including the absolute prohibition of torture,” a group of UN experts said in a statement.

“It will not only criminalize LGBTI people, but anyone who supports their human rights, shows sympathy to them or is even remotely associated with them.”

If the text is passed by parliament, the president can either decide to ignore critics and sign it, or veto it — something analysts and diplomats say he may be unwilling to do, given widespread support for anti-LGBT legislation.

Nearly 90 percent of Ghanaians said they would approve of a decision by the government to criminalize same-sex relationships, according to research group Afrobarometer using 2014 data.

Knowing how popular it would be, “the opposition party is using this a major political tactic to get the current government to take a position one way or the other for political reasons,” said Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher Wendy Isaack.

‘Demagogic’ bill

Akufo-Addo, who won a second term in office in December, has said publicly that same-sex marriage would not become legal under his watch.

But the British-educated former rights lawyer with a cosmopolitan reputation has nothing to win from this proposed bill, analysts and diplomats say.

“There is nothing in it for him… it’s not his bill, he didn’t initiate it,” said Henry Kwasi Prempeh, director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development.

A western diplomat who asked to remain anonymous said it was “quite obvious he (the president) is not very fond of this bill… but it’s a delicate issue, they can see the general public opinion.”

The opposition has a “red carpet to surf on a homophobic wave and come up with a law that is particularly demagogic,” another senior diplomat said.

Lawmakers pushing for the bill argue that homosexuality is foreign to Ghanaian culture.

“We need to protect our children who are currently being targeted by these LGBTQ+ people making them believe that it’s the new way of life,” one of its main sponsors, Samuel Nartey George, told AFP.

“Our culture should not be destroyed.”

Activists like Davis Mac-Iyalla, director of the Interfaith Diversity Network of West Africa, have widely criticised that cultural argument.

“To tell me that it’s not part of our culture and that these people don’t exist, I would say it’s a blunt lie, people know LGBT in their communities, in high places,” said Ghana-based Mac-Iyalla.

The debate is coming at an inconvenient time for the president who wants to attract African-Americans and the Ghanaian diaspora through his program “The Year of Return”.

With a reputation for stability and respect for the rule of law, Ghana has also attracted businesses like Twitter who said it would open its first Africa office in the country.

“If we’re getting the accolades we get, it’s not for anything else but because we are a free society,” said Prempeh.

“If this is where you get your influence… and you’re going to attack that, it makes really no sense.”

Increased homophobia

Most people don’t really believe he will sign it,” said Danny Bediako, director of human rights organization Rightify Ghana, “but it’s difficult, because religious institutions are very powerful here.”

Activists worry Ghana will follow the same path as Nigeria and Uganda, where similar bills were passed in recent years.

“When countries legislate prohibitions around association and freedom of expression, which are fundamental human rights that are protected under international law,” said Isaack, this “gives members of the public the authority, the tools, to perpetrate violations.”

“People are attacked on the streets, people don’t get medical treatment… people are kicked out of schools, people are kicked out of their homes.”

Bediako and Mac-Iyalla both say they personally know LGBT people in Ghana who are already thinking about leaving the country.

“The sad situation is that it has really led to an increase in homophobia in Ghana,” said Bediako.

“Many are already in serious dilemma,” said Mac-Iyalla, and “there’s a high interest in fleeing Ghana already, because of the threat coming.”

Source: Voice of America

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has acknowledged rampant corruption within his ruling African National Congress party under former President Jacob Zuma. Addressing a judicial inquiry on graft this week, Ramaphosa said a line had been drawn in the sand and said the party is going to be very serious in dealing with corruption.

Better late than never — that’s what President Ramaphosa told a graft inquiry about his party beginning to clean up years of corruption.

The judicial commission is investigating the looting of the state’s coffers under former president Jacob Zuma, in which Zuma’s business associates allegedly won state contracts and undue influence over government.

Ramaphosa was deputy president under Zuma for four years before succeeding him in 2018.

He told the commission the ANC party is changing its ways.

“We are prepared to hang out our linen in the open and now having drawn a line in the sand we are going now to be very serious dealing with corruption,” he said. “You may say why didn’t you do so over a period of so many years but it’s better late than never.”

But after widespread riots last month that were fueled by frustrations over the state’s failures and worsening poverty, political analysts say better late may not be good enough.

Leaza Jerberg is an independent international relations expert in Johannesburg.

“Civil society would like to see my stronger condemnations and actual action. I think that’s the biggest frustration is not that we think that Ramaphosa is pro-corruption. I think we all confident that he is anti-corruption, but there needs to be more actual prosecution and action,” she said.

Ramaphosa claims to be in the dark about many corrupt dealings and kickbacks to politicians and their associates during the Zuma administration.

He also said he chose to stay in politics and move up the ranks in order to bring about positive change.

Narnia Bohler-Muller, a professor with South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council, says he is living up to his word.

“He’s done a lot in the sense of fixing institutions, and that’s so important when it comes to fighting corruption. So he’s made really good appointments, strengthen the SIU,” she said.

The SIU, the Special Investigations Unit, looks into claims by whistleblowers.

However, Jernberg says many South Africans see the long-ruling ANC as synonymous with corruption.

“It’s really hard to disentangle these connect these corruption networks within the ANC. The other concern is that obviously, the ANC itself has become completely embedded within the state and the state within the ANC. So there’s no clear delineation anymore between party and state,” she said.

Lawyers at the inquiry have tried to determine where the party’s influence over government decisions begins and ends, and how party loyalty contributed to corruption being swept under the rug.

Bohler-Muller says Ramaphosa needs to be clear about his priorities going forward.

“He has to make a choice, really, he has to decide with who’s going to be acting in the interests of South Africa and South Africans, or if he’s going to continue to protect the bad apples in the ANC,” she said.

After holding more than 400 hearings, the inquiry is due to close at the end of September.

Presiding Judge Raymond Zondo will issue his findings and the country is waiting to see if the so-called bad apples will finally be prosecuted.

Source: Voice of America

Zambians head to the polls Thursday to choose a new president, Parliament and local representatives in a general election that analysts say will be a test for one of Africa’s pillars of democracy.

President Edgar Lungu, 64, faces his fiercest competition from a familiar challenger, 59-year-old Hakainde Hichilema, one of 15 opposition candidates. Analysts predict a tight race to determine the country’s political future, and a second round could result if a candidate does not receive more than 50% of the ballots cast.

Security concerns have risen amid violent clashes in recent weeks between supporters of the two major parties — the ruling Patriotic Front and the opposition United Party for National Development. One of the confrontations left two people dead.

Police officers have been deployed to maintain law and order and prevent any violence during the polls.

But opposition groups say the deployment of the military is meant to intimidate and harass their supporters before the elections, an accusation denied by police spokesperson Esther Katongo.

“It is not about intimidation, because from the time the military personnel were deployed, we have not heard any adverse report to say that people are being intimidated,” she said.

The Council of Churches, a prominent religious group in Zambia, is urging an end to the violence ahead of the elections.

“We believe peace is necessary for you to have free, fair and credible elections,” the Reverend Emmanuel Chikoya, general secretary of the Council of Churches, told VOA.

The electoral commission said it is prepared to manage transparent and credible elections despite recent challenges. Officials say they are ready to administer an election runoff if none of the 16 presidential candidates reaches the threshold to be declared winner in the first round.

Ballot papers were being distributed Wednesday across the country, according to electoral officials.

In an interview with VOA, Antonio Mwanza, spokesperson for the Patriotic Front, said the party will respect the election results, regardless of the outcome.

“We have participated in elections since 2001, and we have always accepted the will of the people,” he said. “The will of the Zambians is what matters, and whatever the outcome, the Patriotic Front is committed to uphold that.”

In June, Amnesty International released a report condemning what it called “an increasingly brutal crackdown on human rights” by the ruling party since Lungu took power.

Amnesty said opposition leaders, journalists and activists have become targets for brutal crackdowns on dissent and free speech. They have accused authorities of using excessive force, enforcing arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings.

Lungu assumed the presidency in 2015 in a snap election following the death of President Michael Sata. He narrowly won the poll against rival Hichilema, who claimed Lungu stole the election.

Zambia, one the world’s most indebted countries, also faces massive economic challenges after it defaulted on its sovereign debt late last year.

The main parties in the running are promising to fix the economy, which has been reeling from the impact of COVID-19.

“The economic crisis has gone hand-in-hand with significant amounts of pain, and that has caused considerable discontent,” Nic Cheeseman, a professor of politics at the University of Birmingham, told The Associated Press.

In addition to the pandemic’s toll, the economy has struggled as the price of copper, the country’s main export, fell, and its international debt has risen sharply.

“I think that creates a window of opportunity for the opposition to win, not just that the economy is bad, but that people don’t have confidence in President Lungu to be able to turn it around,” Cheeseman said.

Source: Voice of America