UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Sudan’s president on Tuesday to fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court if it decides to issue an arrest warrant over for his alleged role in atrocities in Darfur.
The world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal is expected to announce its decision soon on last year’s request by the court’s chief prosecutor for an arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir.
The decision will likely coincide with the first peace talks between al-Bashir’s government and one of the two main rebel groups in Darfur that got under way Tuesday in Doha, Qatar, seeking an end to a six-year rebellion in the vast region of western Sudan.
“Whatever the circumstances or decisions of the ICC may be, it will be very important for President Bashir and the Sudanese government to react very responsibly,” Ban said. “… And he should fully cooperate with whatever decisions that the ICC makes.”
Ban said he discussed the “safety and security” of the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur and the “implications of ICC issues” with al-Bashir at the recent AU summit in Ethiopia, but he refused to disclose any details.
Ban said he understands the African Union and the Arab League will try to get U.N. Security Council support for a resolution that would delay action on any arrest warrant for a year. The statute that set up the tribunal allows the council to defer prosecution of a case.
Al-Bashir’s government has been accused of encouraging Muslim militias to commit atrocities against ethnic Africans in Darfur since a rebellion broke out there early in 2003. U.N. officials say up to 300,000 people have died in the conflict and 2.7 million have fled their homes.
By TODAY’S ZAMAN
ANKARA — Foreign minister of the tribalist dictatorship in Ethiopia has urged the International Criminal Court to postpone a decision on issuing an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his alleged role in atrocities in Darfur, calling for a political solution instead.
“I certainly believe that this decision should be postponed,” said Seyoum Mesfin in Ankara after talks with his Turkish counterpart, Ali Babacan, late on Monday, when asked about the court’s expected ruling. “The Darfur crisis is a political one. Therefore, it requires a political solution,” said Mesfin, calling for the decision to be postponed for at least one year.
The world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal is expected to announce its decision soon on the warrant requested last year by the court’s chief prosecutor. The announcement comes as talks between the Sudanese government and one of the two main rebel groups in Darfur got under way Tuesday.
“Such a postponement would help Sudan achieve peace. A possible arrest warrant would benefit no one,” said the Ethiopian Woyanne foreign minister.
Babacan, for his part, did not touch on the expected decision from the court, but said Turkey backed the territorial integrity and political unity of Sudan, a veiled statement of support for al-Bashir. “We support the international community’s efforts in Darfur,” he said.
The government has received criticism for supporting the al-Bashir administration despite widespread accusations regarding genocide and war crimes perpetrated against the population of Darfur. The criticism surfaced again recently when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan walked out of a Davos panel after a heated exchange with Israeli President Shimon Peres over a deadly Israeli operation in Gaza, which left more than 1,300 Palestinians dead. Hailing his courageous criticism of Israel, critics said, however, Erdoğan would have seemed more consistent had he leveled similar criticism against Sudan as well.
The al-Bashir government has been accused of encouraging Muslim militias to commit atrocities against ethnic Africans in Darfur since a rebellion broke out there early in 2003. UN officials say up to 300,000 people have died in the conflict and 2.7 million have fled their homes.
The African Union is expected to start talks with the United Nations to get the Security Council’s support for a resolution that would delay action on a warrant for a year. Turkey has been a nonpermanent member of the 15-seat UN Security Council since January. Mesfin said African leaders hoped that the UN Security Council would hear their call for a delay on a warrant.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The flower exporters are destroying Ethiopia’s fertile land by using fertilizers that are toxic. It would be good if they all get bankrupt and out of business. Ethiopia’s fertile land need to grow food, not flower.
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – Income from Ethiopian flower exports has reached only 60 percent of a targeted $298 million over the last 18 months as the global recession hits the sector, a senior government official said on Tuesday.
The Horn of Africa nation earned $177.6 million during the period from the sale of some 1.5 billion stems, Girma Gelelcha, an expert in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, told Reuters.
“Unless the global financial situation shows some improvement, it may also be difficult for Ethiopia to earn the targeted $207 million … in (calendar year) 2009,” he said.
Ethiopian horticulture officials expressed fears at the end of last year that the worldwide economic crisis could hit their industry as European consumers cut back on luxury purchases.
On Tuesday, a source at the state-owned Development Bank of Ethiopia said two Israeli-owned flower farms had been put up for auction in recent weeks after failing to service bank loans.
The source said three more farms were in a similar position and might be put up for sale soon.
The government has offered tax breaks to attract investment in flowers. More than 100 local and foreign firms have been drawn to the sector, and the country hopes exports will overtake coffee within five years to be worth $1 billion annually.
An Ethiopian-American human rights advocacy group writes a letter to former President Bill Clinton expressing its concern about a large donation made to the Clinton Foundation by a high-profile member of the brutal dictatorship in Ethiopia.
The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton
55 West 125th Street
New York, N.Y. 10027
Dear Mr. President,
We are writing regarding potential conflict of interest between the Clinton Foundation and the government of Ethiopia. We appeal to you to look into this matter immediately and dissociate your name and the name of your foundation from a repressive government.
We are particularly concerned about a $20 million donation to your foundation by Sheikh Mohammed Al-Amoudi, a businessman closely allied with Ethiopia’s rulers. As you may be aware, Mr. Al-Amoudi’s name has been mentioned in connection with the 9/11 tragedies.
We have reason to believe that the huge donation to the Clinton Foundation was made on behalf of the Ethiopian government. Ethiopia’s rulers have deployed tremendous resources to ensure the continuation of the Bush administration’s policy of unquestioning US support for their controversial rule.
Surprisingly, Sheikh Al-Amoudi, along with the Gates Foundation and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is among the top five donors to your organization.
Although we believe in philanthropy, there is something troubling with this picture. By all accounts, Sheikh Al-Amoudi, the owner of Ethiopia’s famous Sheraton Hotel, is not known for much philanthropy. He has had pet projects where he lavishes cash on soccer players. Beyond that he is known more for throwing extravagant parties and weddings.
Local AIDS organizations that appealed to the billionaire for paltry sums were turned down. So why would a wealthy man from one of the poorest countries in the world say no to organizations in his country and yet easily cough up $20 million for an American organization 10,000 miles away? Is this just a coincidence that the donation was made at the start of US presidential elections?
We have strong reasons to believe Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s government is behind Sheikh Al-Amoudi’s unprecedented donation.
Mr. Zenawi stole the 2005 elections, destroyed all opposition, muffled the press, banned advocacy for human rights and made a mockery out of the rule of law. Following the elections, his troops shot and killed 193 people who protested electoral fraud, massacred innocents in Gambella and the Ogaden. They had also bombed civilians in Somalia on many occasions.
Mr. Zenawi’s government has been one of the worst violators of human rights in Africa. But it escaped any sanctions because it was a friend of the Bush Administration; it successfully exploited the administration’s preoccupation with the war on terror.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Genocide Watch International, US Department of State, among others, have extensively documented war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Mr. Zenawi’s government.
Ethiopia’s rulers understand that their very survival depends on the continued financial and diplomatic support of the United States. A brutal minority regime deeply hated by its own people cannot last long without outside protection.
The Zenawi folks understand that they need the continued protection of the United States to stay in power and to avoid justice. They have taken money from the mouth of the starving and spent millions on Washington lobbyists and other policy influencers. They need the legitimacy and respectability bestowed by a US administration and by people like you.
We are appreciative of all the good work done by the Clinton Foundation to alleviate suffering caused by HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. We are particularly grateful for the work your foundation is doing to arrest transmission of the virus from mothers to children.
Mr. President,
The work of the Clinton Foundation in Ethiopia is closely intertwined with government operations. We urge you to go beyond the government and to seek out independent community organizations that are closely working with the poor.
While we laud your AIDS work, we are disappointed that you have never spoken up against egregious human rights violations. We are disappointed Prime Minister Zenawi, a human rights abuser and a war criminal, has been given a forum and respectability at many of your Foundation’s gatherings.
A bad government backed by Western money and using the names of well-meaning people like you have created a hell on earth for 80 million Ethiopians.
In closing, we ask you do the right thing: to speak up on behalf of the poor and the oppressed and not enable a nation’s tormentors. We ask that you speak up against human rights violations in Ethiopia, distance yourself from the Ethiopian regime and disclose all funding from the regime and its allies.
Sincerely,
Ethiopian Americans for Justice
New York, NY
[email protected]
Cc:
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, US Department of State
Ethiopia Desk, US Department of State
Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, US Embassy in Ethiopia,
By Mark Gomez | Mercury News
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – San Jose police say the death of a man whose body was found in a South San Jose neighborhood early Monday morning has been ruled a homicide.
Police identified the victim as Fisaha Isaac Gebremichael, 25, of San Jose. He died of a gunshot wound, according to police.
The slaying does not appear to be gang-related, according to police.
It is the city’s fourth killing this year and the second investigated by police in a span of 36 hours. Early Sunday morning, a 29-year-old San Jose man was shot and killed after a verbal argument at a house party on the East Side, according to police.
Gebremichael’s body was discovered lying on the curb at about 5:30 a.m. by a resident who lives in the neighborhood of the 600 block of Braxton Drive, located south of Hellyer Avenue. Police have not released any other details about the slaying.
When fire paramedics arrived, they determined Grebremichael was dead. It’s unclear how long he had been dead or how long to body was at the curb.
