The Largest Minority

May 13th, 2007 by Calypso

A report by Traffic, the wildlife trade monitoring network run by WWF and World Conservation Union (IUCN), has revealed that illegal ivory trading is increasing with East Asian lawbreakers importing ivory from Africa.

The main sources for the ivory are the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, and Nigeria. Mainland China remains the biggest market followed by Thailand, the Philippines, and other Asian countries with about 92 illegal ivory seizures per month. Large hauls over 1 ton increased too, which “demonstrates greater sophistication, organization, and finance” according to Dr Sue Lieberman, the global species program director at the WWF who is responsible for running Traffic with the IUCN. The report will be discussed in a meeting at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in hopes of pressuring governments to take action.

“The relevant question is whether CITES is going to crack down or not, whether governments are going to show some political will,” Lieberman continued. “The Asian market is the key. It is thriving again in Thailand, and a lot of Chinese businesses have moved into Africa, for example timber companies, which means more ivory is coming out.”

On the other hand, Ethiopia was praised for restricting and monitoring their domestic ivory market as advised by CITES 4 years ago.

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May 8th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

After refusing to support a resolution to deploy UN peacekeepers into Darfur and failing to exercise leverage over one of its major suppliers of oil, China is finally supporting a UN plan to deploy peacekeepers, sending about 300 of its own engineers.

China has previously used its veto power at the UN to block international intervention, which would stop the genocide in Darfur. The UN estimates that over 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced since the violence began in 2003.

The US state department has called the decision a “positive development”. A press officer for the department said the Chinese engineers will help prepare for the arrival of a hybrid force, consisting of 3,000 United Nations and African Union peacekeepers. Although the Sudanese government has yet to agree to it, the UN plans to send another 17,000 troops after the smaller initial deployment.

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April 21st, 2007 by Manila Ryce

Let’s talk about yet another under-reported situation that we have our hands in shall we?

UN officials say that Somalia is currently facing a humanitarian disaster, stating that about 200,000 people have abandoned their homes in the capital of Mogadishu. This is due to the increasing conflict between Ethiopian forces backed by the Somali government and Islamic Court fighters. America too is actively involved in the fighting, and has backed groups also opposed to the Islamic Courts. It is thought that in Somalia, much like in Iraq, the efforts of the occupying forces may be counter-productive in actually fueling the insurgency.

The increase in violence has made it virtually impossible for the UN to deliver aid to the displaced. Most of the displaced are women and children who are in need of food and water. Cholera and diarrhea have caused hundreds of deaths already.

The fighting on Friday came after at least 20 people died when the Ethiopian convoy mined 20 kilometers of the road that lead from Mogadishu to Afgooye. People that were the eyewitnesses of the explosions said that they heard a sound of detonation at the complex of Ethiopian army south of the city.

None of the correspondents was able to explain what was the cause of Thursday morning’s fighting in the city. Hassan Ibrahim, the driver of a minibus with wounded people that drove to the hospital, said that there were 6 consecutive missiles that killed and wounded a lot of people.

Although last December Ethiopia helped the government forces in ousting an Islamist group from Mogadishu, the violence in the region has continued.

Agencies providing aim to people in the region say that women and children have abandoned Mogadishu and now it seems that the city serves as home only for soldiers, militia and men who continue protecting their property.

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March 12th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

A documentary aired on Israel’s Channel 1 network by journalist Ran Adelist claims that Israeli Special Forces killed 250 Egyptian Prisoners of War during the Six Day War in 1967. Edward Rali, head of the Egyptian parliament’s Committee for Human Rights, called for an urgent meeting to discuss the documentary with his committee over the alleged execution of POW’s. Rali said the incident would represent “a serious violation of human rights and international law.” Foreign Affairs Committee head Mustafa al-Faki, denounced the “massacre of helpless Egyptian soldiers,” saying “Israeli hands are drenched in the blood of Egyptian prisoners.”

Egyptian officials have since threatened to take the issue to the International Court at The Hague for prosecution. Israel’s infrastructure’s minister Ben Eliezer, who was commander of the Israeli Special Forces unit responsible for the incident, told an Egyptian newspaper that the documentary was inaccurate and that the dead soldiers were actually Palestinians. Last week Egypt’s Intelligence Chief Omar Suleiman told Eliezer not to come to Egypt to discuss natural gas imports because he could be arrested.

Khalil al-Haya, head of the Hamas faction in the Palestinian Legislative Council, said the execution of 250 POWs, be they Palestinian or Egyptian, has now become an obstacle to the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit. However, he said “contacts have not ceased” and that Schalit’s release would ultimately depend on the successful establishment of the Palestinian unity government. The Jerusalem Post reported an agreement had been reached over the number of Palestinian prisoners Israel would swap in return for Schalit.

Israel has strongly denied the 1967 executions since the film aired earlier this month. Due to the diplomatic row with Egypt, the Israeli documentary maker responsible for the film, Ron Edelist, has said he misidentified the dead soldiers as Egyptians. Edelist claims he subsequently received documents showing that the commando unit consisted of Palestinians technically under the auspices of the Egyptian army.

In 1995, Israeli military researcher Aryeh Yitzhaki claimed that Israeli troops massacred about 1,000 Egyptian POWs in several incidents in 1967. The Israeli government has since denied systematically killing POWs at the end of the war.

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February 24th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

While speaking via satellite at a three-day national convention hosted by the Nation of Islam, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir told attendee’s that the US is exaggerating the situation in Darfur. Al-Bashir claims the United States simply wants to control Sudan as it has done with Iraq, and that the claims of genocide and ethnic cleansing are false.

Back in reality, there have been at least 200,000 deaths and 2.5 million people forced from their homes in Darfur since 2003. Al-Bashir is refusing to let UN peacekeepers in the country, saying that letting them in would give the UN troops “the same position as coalition forces in Iraq.” He claims that Darfur is “quite calm” and reports are inflated. A peacekeeping force of 7,000 from the African Union (AU) has been trying to quell the violence, but is underfunded and ill-equipped. Al-Bashir claimed the AU force was “doing fantastically well.”

Louis Farrakhan’s son-in-law and Chief of Staff, Leonard Farrakhan Muhammad, who invited the Sudanese president to speak to Nation members, declared that “Whatever happens in Africa is the business of black people.” The bigoted Muhammad continued. “Don’t you dare suggest this is beyond the business of the Nation of Islam.”

Contrary to Muhammad’s racially based suggestion, black people across Africa have expressed their concerns over Darfur, particularly those being slaughtered. The African Union has been trying their best to control a problem Al-Bashir claims is minor, Kofi Annan and the President of Nigeria have both expressed their concern over the situation being genocide, and Minority Rights Group criticized the UN for not taking stronger actions, saying that few lessons were learned from their ineptitude during the Rwandan Genocide.

If you disagree with the Nation of Islam and would like to stop the genocide in Darfur, you can help by donating here.

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February 10th, 2007 by Manila Ryce

Development commissioner for the European Union Louis Michel has announced that the EU will be opening job centers across Africa. The move is an attempt to give Africans jobs in their native countries and increase legal migration to fill gaps in the EU labor market, thus reducing illegal immigration. In 2006, 31,000 Africans made the hazardous sea crossing to the EU illegally, with some 6,000 dying on the way. “You can’t manage migration flows by simply having tougher border controls,” says IOM spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy. “If you’re trying to undercut the people smugglers, the best way is to open up legal opportunities (for migrants).” The jobs offered at the EU-run centers will be in the agriculture, building, and cleaning sectors.

France and Spain are already offering seasonal vacancies in their countries. The centers will also help people get the necessary papers, including visas and residence permits. “If migrants leave with proper contracts and visas, this makes them less vulnerable to exploitation,” says Mr Chauzy. Speaking on the flow of money into poor countries via circular and temporary migration, Chauzy added, “Someone who’s worked for a few years in the EU may have accumulated some capital and can identify opportunities in their country of origin where that capital can be invested and create wealth.”

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February 2nd, 2007 by Manila Ryce

Abdel Kareem Nabil could face up to 11 years in prison for criticizing his country’s religious authorities. During Thursday’s court session, the Egyptian blogger pleaded innocent to charges of insulting Islam, harming the peace, and insulting President Hosni Mubarak. From within the defendant’s cage, Nabil said, “I don’t see what I have done. I expressed my opinion…the intention was not anything like these [charges].” 22 year-old Nabil has often denounced Islamic authorities and criticized President Mubarak on his Arabic-language blog. He was expelled from Al-Azhar University because of his critical writings. The university then pressed authorities to put him on trial.

On Thursday Amnesty International called for Nabil’s “immediate and unconditional release.” Malcolm Smart, the group’s Washington-based Middle East and North Africa Program director, said in a statement, Nabil “is being prosecuted on account of the peaceful expression of his views about Islam and the al-Azhar religious authorities.”

A team of Islamist lawyers volunteered to serve as the “representatives of the people,” which is an arrangement allowed under Egyptian law. The government’s state prosecutors, who drew up the legal case, were not present. One of the prosecutors, Mohammed Dawoud, called Nabil an “apostate” and urged the judge to give him the maximum punishment. Dawoud also asked that a fourth charge of “insulting a sect” be added, which is punishable by an additional five years in prison.

Shouts from the defense lawyers were made in response, and a heated exchange ensued until the judge demanded order. Nabil’s defense lawyers focused on technical aspects rather than their client’s right to write about Islam. The defense raised further questions over whether the internet server was even based in Egypt, hoping for a technical argument that no crime was committed in the country. One defense lawyer argued that crimes related to the internet were uncharted territory, and that the current penal code could not cover them.

“I want him [Nabil] to get the toughest punishment,” Prosecution lawyer Dawoud told the Associated Press. “I am on a jihad here … If we leave the likes of him without punishment, it will be like a fire that consumes everything.” The judge said he would announce his verdict on February 22.

Last year, several bloggers were arrested, usually for their ties to democratic reform activists. Nabil is the only one to deal with the topic of religion, and is now the only blogger who has not been released. In his blog, Nabil was a fierce critic of conservative Muslims and was particularly critical of his own university, denouncing it as “the university of terrorism”.

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January 22nd, 2007 by Manila Ryce

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is currently making a bid to become the next president of the African Union, the very same international organization which is trying to stem the violence in Darfur. Since 2003, rebels in Darfur have been in opposition to the government. Rather than send the military to engage the rebels, al-Bashir gave governmental support and money to the Janjaweed, militias which have carried out ethnic cleansing and led to the death and displacement of millions of Darfuris. President al-Bashir has been reluctant to cooperate with humanitarian and international organizations despite calls from President Bush and Kofi Annan to lift restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Darfur.

Earlier this month, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson brokered an agreement between al-Bashir and several rebel factions in Darfur to a 60-day ceasefire. However, with allegations of breaches on all sides, the ceasefire never became effective. SaveDarfur.org is currently contacting President Bush to do more to end the ethnic cleansing in Darfur, and prevent President al-Bashir from taking control of the African Union. If Bashir is successful, the violence may never end.

Visit SaveDarfur.org to send a letter to Bush.