KUWAIT: The Immigration Department is currently preparing a g statistical study based on detailed official information concerning health hazards reportedly threatening Kuwait from certain Asian and African laborers. A department official alleged that at least 30 percent of these individuals, whether visitors or residents, are infected with serious diseases.
The official said that a special memo concerning the issue would be submitted to higher authorities to express the department’s dissatisfaction with the violations committed by some government establishments which they said have ignored the dangers posed by allowing Ethiopian and other high-risk workers into the country.
This was done, said the official, despite an earlier decision banning their admission due to a fear of infection from dangerous contagious diseases.
The official said that the Ministry of Health previously requested a ban on Ethiopian workers entering Kuwait. Only ten days after it was imposed, however, they were again allowed to come into the country, he said, which was a clear violation of the Cabinet’s recommendations and the Interior Ministry’s health and education committees’ guidelines.
In another development, Fenais Al-Ajmi, the secretary of the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training’s (PAAET) workers’ union has revealed that it is preparing for comprehensive industrial action over pay. All the union’s members have been informed of the strike action, he explained, and it has formed committees to coordinate the strikes at colleges and other education institutes.
Al-Ajmi said that the strikers’ principal demand was the improvement of 1,200 administrative staff members’ salaries. He pointed out that the PAAET currently employs 5,000 male and female teaching staff in its five colleges and ten other educational institutions which serve 40,000 students. Al-Ajmi added that he and other union members have already met with some MPs, who support the union’s demands.
On another issue, the director of the Capital Education Zone (CEZ), Muna Al-Lugani, said that the current shortage of cleaning workers is a widespread public problem, with most government authorities and institutions suffering the same difficulties,. The senior official emphasized, however, that the CEZ has exerted great efforts to ensure that all the schools in the area have the necessary complement of staff.
During a meeting with the zone’s school principals, Al-Lugani revealed that the CEZ has signed a contract with a company to supply their schools with cleaning workers, whereby a minimum of 10 cleaners will be assigned for each school. She asked principals not to hire domestic helpers to clean schools or to ask teachers to clean certain things, warning that any principal violating these instructions would be penalized. She emphasized that no male workers should be hired for girls’ schools and asked that two security guards be posted to every school, reported Al Watan.
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) may sanction Ethiopian Airline in Nigeria in reaction to the inhuman treatment meted out on Nigerian passengers on the airline’s flight ET 601 operated on August 26 this year on the Dubai -Addis-Ababa- Lagos route.
This brings to mind the British Airways March 27, 2008 incident in which some Nigerians were denied boarding on a Lagos-bound flight by some crew of the mega carrier from London Heathrow Airport .
According NCAA, “A diplomatic row is imminent between Nigeria and Ethiopia over the inhuman treatment meted to seven Nigerians on ET flight from Dubai-Ethiopia-Lagos on 27 August 2008.”
Reacting to the incident, Dr. Harold Demuren, Director General of NCAA has summoned officials of the airline in Nigeria to explain the circumstances surrounding the incident. Also, the airline had been asked to apologise to the affected Nigerians in some national newspapers.
It is reported that the Nigerians were said to have complained of the aircraft’s faulty cooling system in Dubai as the aircraft was about to make its journey to Nigeria enroute Addis Ababa from the Dubai International Airport .
They were said to have been handed over to the police, who allegedly locked them up for four days.
NCAA in a statement signed by Sam Adurogboye, Media Assistant to the Director General stated:”The Director General of the authority, Dr. Harold Demuren had received a report about the ill treatment meted out to six Nigerian plus two other nationals and promptly summoned the officials of the affected airline in Lagos to a meeting.
He specifically directed officials of the airline to forward written apology to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the affected passengers, with commensurate compensations.
The Airline has however, complied just when this statement was about being released.”
Efforts to get the airline’s reaction failed as none of the officials could be reached at the airline’s office at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.
Meanwhile, workers of the British Airways has suspended their strike and the airlines has appealed to them to return to work to get back to work after the three days of strike that has affected its Nigerian operations.
John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator
3 September 2008 – The effects of rising food costs in Ethiopia, where prices have increased up to 500 per cent over the last year, was the focus of discussions between key local and international officials and the United Nations humanitarian chief, who today wrapped up a three-day visit to the country.
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes chaired a meeting in Addis Ababa with the head of the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange, World Bank representatives, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on the crisis, which – combined with drought – has left some 4.6 million people in need of food aid.
“Ethiopia presents a glaring example of the challenges posed by rising food prices,” said Mr. Holmes, who is also UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.
He noted that prices have increased up to 500 per cent in some parts of the country over the past year. Wheat and maize prices, for example, have risen an estimated 171 per cent.
The price surge has been driven by a number of factors, including a growth in demand, as well as a drop in crop production due to droughts.
“Given the complexity of issues, there is a need for strong partnership among all relevant stakeholders to ensure the most comprehensive and coordinated policies to respond to both the challenges and opportunities resulting from food price rises,” he added.
Mr. Holmes chaired today’s meeting in his capacity as the Coordinator of the High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis, set up by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in April to promote a unified response to the challenges posed by the issue.
Over the course of his visit, Mr. Holmes had the opportunity to talk with Government officials, relief groups and individuals on the humanitarian situation in the country. Yesterday, he visited the Somali region, which has been hard-hit by drought, high food prices and ongoing conflict. At a refugee screening centre, he met Somali refugees and Ethiopians desperately seeking aid.
He noted that the absence of humanitarian assistance has driven many Ethiopians to adopt the status of asylum-seekers, in the hope of obtaining food, shelter and medical care.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Woyannes are at odds with every one, including an international football body. They are a bunch of boneheads who argue with U.N. officials about the existence of famine in Ethiopia.
(APA) ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia Bonehead Woyannes on Wednesday rejected FIFA’s roadmap, introduced to resolve the dispute gripping the management of Ethiopian football, APA learns here.
Accordingly, the Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) said that the general assembly of the federation is the only legal body to pass any decision regarding the Ethiopian football management, including electing a new president for the federation.
FIFA has suspended Ethiopia from any international competition in July 2008 following the appointment of a new president by the EFF.
FIFA rejected the appointment of EFF’s new president and other administrative staff, which it says is illegal and unacceptable.
However, the federation, which holds an emergency meeting on the issue on Wednesday said in its resolution that FIFA’s roadmap, which demands the return of the former president is unacceptable.
EFF also asked FIFA to lift its suspension and allow Ethiopia to participate in the ongoing African Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers.
“Both FIFA and CAF are not on the right way regarding the Ethiopian football situation. We ask them to reconsider their decision and follow fair and legal means,” EFF said. “The current management was elected legally and is the only legal body of the federation.”
It is to be recalled that last week, FIFA banned the second game of Ethiopia against Morocco as part of its suspension.
Ethiopia will remain barred from participating in any game, including the on-going World Cup and African Nations Cup qualifiers.
Ethiopia is becoming increasingly authoritarian and potentially faces a convergence of challenges that will stretch the regime’s capacity to manage multiple crises. The ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) party weathered the immediate domestic crises that followed contentious national elections in 2005. Non-competitive local elections in April and the promulgation of a draft proclamation to restrict civil society organizations in July indicate that the regime is intent on deepening its control. Across the strife-torn Horn of Africa, Addis Ababa faces an extraordinarily tense and militarized border with Eritrea as the debilitated Algiers peace process that brought their 1998-2000 war to an end has collapsed. Eritrea remains intensely militarized and totalitarian, and recently clashed with Djibouti over their border. The December 2006 intervention into Somalia in support of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) has left the Ethiopian military bogged down in Mogadishu, unable to withdraw, yet provoking a violent reaction. The interlinked conflict within the Ogaden region has developed into a massive humanitarian disaster where brutal military tactics have left large areas depopulated. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has been in power since 1991, and he and his party have demonstrated resiliency and the capacity to outmaneuver rivals in the past. If internal and regional conflicts escalate simultaneously, however, this convergence may destabilize Ethiopia and the broader region.
The Bush administration has viewed Ethiopia as a strategic ally in the war against terrorism, but Meles has ignored Washington on questions of democratization, human rights, and the need to implement the Algiers Agreement. Furthermore, the close links between Washington and Addis Ababa associate the United States with a sometimes brutal regime as well as its regional conflicts in Somalia, in the Somali-inhabited Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia, and with Eritrea. The next administration will need to balance interests in retaining a strategic partner in an increasingly dangerous neighborhood with interests in democratization, human rights, and regional stability. In particular, Washington should look for opportunities to encourage both the EPRDF government and the full range of opposition parties to initiate talks to re-create the opportunities for peaceful political competition in the period leading up to the 2010 national elections.
The prospects for meaningful electoral politics in Ethiopia has declined sharply since the 2005 elections. In contrast to boycotted elections in 1992, 1995, and 2000, the 2005 elections presented the Ethiopian people with a meaningful choice. Two large opposition associations, the Coalition for Unity and Democracy (CUD) and the Union for Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF), contested the ruling party, swept the urban areas and won significant votes across the major regions. A chaotic counting process and allegations of fraud, however, generated demonstrations that ended in violence and mass arrests. Despite increasing the number of opposition seats in parliament from 12 to 172 key CUD leaders boycotted the parliament. This decision represented a historic miscalculation that has cost the opposition dearly. In November 2005, top CUD politicians along with journalists and civil society leaders were arrested and charged with genocide and treason. In July 2007 the CUD leaders were convicted but then pardoned and released. The damage, however, had been done: the opposition coalition was shattered, civil society was silenced, and many activists despaired that peaceful change through the ballot box was not possible.
While the opposition had been marginalized, by its own decisions as well as by official repression, the EPRDF continued to face fundamental challenges in relating to two large constituencies that are essential for any Ethiopian regime to govern successfully. First, the EPRDF’s Oromo wing, the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization, has failed to develop a significant base of support among the Oromo people and remains in power through intimidation and ever more pervasive systems to monitor the population. Second, the May 2005 elections saw an almost complete sweep by the CUD in Addis Ababa and the other main cities. Without a firm basis for support in these two key constituencies, the EPRDF’s ability to govern is inherently precarious and must rely upon force, which in turn alienates more of the population.
Cynicism and disillusionment with electoral politics has replaced the hope and optimism that characterized the period leading up to the 2005 vote. Disenchanted with nonviolent strategies, some now argue that “all kinds and means of struggle” are necessary to remove Meles. A 2007 poll conducted by Gallup found that only 13 percent of Ethiopians have confidence in the honesty of their elections, 25 percent have confidence in the judiciary, and 28 percent have confidence in national government. These numbers are approximately 30 percent points lower than the (very low) average for sub-Saharan Africa and suggest that the population has acquiesced to—but not endorsed—the regime’s authority. The 2005 elections demonstrated high levels of opposition, but failed to usher in an orderly transition based on peaceful multiparty competition.
The outcome of local and by elections in April 2008 suggest that the EPRDF plans to increase its level and extent of control over the population and restrict political and civil liberties. The opposition only managed to register some 16,000 candidates for the nearly 4 million posts up for election. The EPRDF won 137 of 138 council seats in Addis Ababa, despite the opposition sweep in 2005, and in many areas ran unopposed. Even those parties such as the UEDF and Oromo Federal Democratic Movement that participate in the national parliament found it impossible to identify candidates or to campaign, particularly in the Oromo region. According to numerous reports, opposition supporters faced harassment, arrest, and physical violence when they tried to run against the ruling party.
In addition to restricting political space, the ruling party used these elections to deepen its control over the the smallest, subcommunity level of administration, the kebelle councils. While kebelles are quite small, some of the councils have up to 300 members. As a result, some 4 million Ethiopians in a country of 75 million—1 in 20—are now part of an EPRDF-controlled council. The EPRDF, always an extraordinarily effective party, is now ubiquitous and entrenched throughout the country.
The “Charities and Societies Proclamation” under consideration in July 2008 also indicates that the lesson the EPRDF learned from the 2005 elections is that more control is needed. The government argues that the proclamation will increase NGO accountability. Its restrictions on organizations engaged in human rights activities and organizations that accept foreign funding, however, seem designed to direct and monitor civil society organizations and punish those who challenge the ruling party. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch argue that the draft proclamation represents an “assault on civil society.” The arrest of civil society leaders in the aftermath of the 2005 elections already had a chilling effect and the proposed regulations will make civil society organizations bound to the government in ways that will further stifle independent voices.
Unless this creeping authoritarianism is reversed, Ethiopia is likely to face a political crisis in the run up to the next national elections in 2010. Under current conditions, the opposition will almost certainly boycott. The main opposition parties in parliament have consistently demanded reforms to the National Electoral Board, allocation of time on state controlled media, international electoral observation, and most fundamentally an end to harassment, arrests, and violence against their supporters in order for them to participate. The 2008 elections have underlined these essential political liberties. Some opposition leaders, particularly those in the diaspora, are increasingly convinced that the ruling party will not be removed through the ballot box. As opportunities to operate as a nonviolent opposition party or as an independent member of civil society disappear, opposition will increasingly move toward more violent options with potentially violent and destabilizing consequences.
As the EPRDF seeks to increase domestic control, it faces regional conflicts along its border with Eritrea, in Somalia, and in the Somali-inhabited Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia. The Algiers Agreement collapsed in 2008, as the Eritrea Ethiopia Border Commission (EEBC) closed its doors without delimiting the border on the ground, the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea withdrew from Eritrea after Asmara cut off fuel supplies, and Eritrean troops re-occupied the Temporary Security Zone. Ethiopia remains in control of areas that the EEBC’s demarcation placed on the Eritrean side of the border, notably the symbolically important town of Badme, and Ethiopian and Eritrean troops are just a few hundred meters apart. Despite these alarming tensions, the underlying stalemate remains stable. Asmara and Addis Ababa both believe time is on its side and that there is no need to act immediately. More likely sites for escalation are in Somalia or through increased support for neighboring insurgent groups. If domestic and regional conflicts converged it will be difficult for Addis Ababa to manage the multiple threats.
Washington feels it needs a close relationship with Ethiopia in order to pursue its strategic interests in the Horn of Africa. This relationship, however, comes with costs. As with other pivotal states in difficult regions such as Pakistan and Egypt, these sometimes awkward bedfellows receive U.S. support for security reasons but then pursue their own, sometimes brutal, agendas regardless of pressure from Washington. Addis Ababa and Washington both opposed the Islamic Courts in Somalia, for example, but for very different reasons. Ethiopia worries about the assistance these groups provide to the regime’s enemies in Eritrea and among Oromo and Somali insurgent groups, while the United States is concerned with links to al-Qaeda. This linkage furthermore undercuts U.S. policy toward democratization and human rights in Ethiopia and Washington’s support for the implementation of the Algiers Agreement. If the growing domestic and regional pressures converge and destabilize Addis Ababa, an uncontrolled and potentially very violent transition is possible.
The next administration needs to unravel its cooperation in pursuit of common counter-terrorism goals from policies where the two states have less agreement. Washington should speak plainly about its concerns regarding democracy, human rights, and humanitarian issues in Ethiopia. The United States should press Ethiopia to implement the EEBC border decision and remove its forces from Badme and other areas. Finally, Washington should pressure both the government and the broad range of opposition parties to engage in discussions so that the 2010 elections are not another missed opportunity to promote democratization and stability.
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Terrence Lyons is Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution with George Mason University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution.
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) may sanction Ethiopian Airline in Nigeria in reaction to the inhuman treatment meted out on Nigerian passengers on the airline’s flight ET 601 operated on August 26 this year on the Dubai -Addis-Ababa- Lagos route.