Saturday 17 December 2016

Saudi Arabia To Build Military Base In Djibouti

Djibouti’s Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said a deal to build a Saudi military base in the country will happen “very soon.”
“The security, military and strategic draft of the accord is ready and the coastal areas that could host the base, be it military or naval, have been identified after Saudi military officers and officials explored some of the Djibouti areas. “We have agreed on the base, and the accord is still valid,” the minister said in an interview with London-based Saudi owned Al Sharq Al Awsat daily on Sunday.
The deal was initially discussed in March earlier this year. readmore
“There are no hesitations on the deal and the delay is purely technical as such matters do take some time, and there are no political reasons behind it,” the minister said

Where are African scholars in African studies?

Many postcolonial regimes are still mired in protracted civil wars and violence, struggling economies, corruption, bad leadership, broken social and economic infrastructure and famine.  It is rather dishonest for a country whose main university could be closed for months by presidential decree, whose professors strike year in year out over emoluments, to complain about an overwhelming European or American presence in their studies.
A white European friend tells a story of a panel on ‘African sexuality’ he attended in London sometime in 2005.  Among other things, the panel discussed intimacy, sexual pleasure, anal sex, marital rape and genital beautification or mutilation—all from what was considered the vantage point of the African. Not only was the panel exclusively white, a large section of the audience was also white. With whiteness symbolically read as being European or North American, it translated not only into foreignness to the topics being discussed, but also privileged grandchildren of colonial masters gazing at Africans.  Where were the African academics, at least, marked by their shiny dark or brown skins? Were they invited but failed to get transport? Did these European and North Americans really understand, and accurately and objectively bring out the intricate and many secret details of ‘African sexuality’? These questions sparked off a long-winded conversation, which, despite its liveliness, left one key question unanswered: Where were the African scholars?
With the exception of a few celebrity names—who actually make quite a list—African studies remain dominated, discursively and institutionally, by non-African scholars: African studies associations are not only headquartered in European and North American universities, but also hold their annual conferences in Europe and North America. During these conferences, it is very common to find specific country caucuses (Ugandan, Kenyan, Nigerian or Somali) with majority scholars of European and North American descent.  Part of the explanation for this is that African scholars cannot afford to travel to Europe and North America for these sessions.  Location may not necessarily be the issue, but the numerical superiority of whiteness in these plenaries (and in publications) has been concern for many non-white academics and their students as they grumble under their breath bemoaning the continued colonization, marginalization and scholarly misrepresentation. 
It is also true that ‘leading journals’ in African studies are not only headquartered in Europe and North America, but many are mostly edited by European and American academics. Many times, the contributions to these journals reproduce similar patterns.  On the other hand, there are only a few African studies associations or journals on Africa, based on the African continent, managed, contributed to and edited by African hands.  The problem is then framed with whiteness being not just a timeless symbolism of continued colonial domination and marginalization of Africans, but also of biased, unrepresentative, inaccurate, and epistemologically flawed scholarship.
Our conversation unfolded against the above backdrop, with the bells of decolonization and the rise of the “African intellectual” ringing nearby.  As a self-reflective white male, he was visibly guilty of their continued ‘crimes’ to African studies but did not see a clear exit.  Should he back off and let African studies to Africans, or start co-authoring all his pieces with ‘African’ co-authors?  Exactly, in the age of decolonization and the rise of the African university, why do white people, these grandchildren of colonial masters, continue to speak for, write about formerly colonized peoples to the point of dominating disciplines? This often translates into defining the terms of the discipline, which are often, the charge goes, Eurocentric.  Why don’t they let the Africans write, represent and speak for and about themselves especially on ‘inner’ subjects such as sexuality? Why don’t white folks sit back and listen and learn? How accurate is this knowledge produced by foreigners about people they barely know? In other words, why don’t they heed Spivak?
There are three assumptions behind these charges:  First, there exists a world stage of ‘competitive scholarship’ where continents, countries, nationalities, special groups such as women and ‘minorities’ seek not only accurate representation, but also equal participation.  Accurate representation and active participation are taken as not only signifying but also granting access to power (respect, resources, pride etc.), which is the envy of the world.  It then follows that inaccurate representation, and the absence of participation translates into, symbolically and practically, denial of power and substantive existence, as colonialism defined. 
Secondly, presence and participation guarantees not just a leveled playing field, but also objective scholarship, that is, neutral, representative or even accurate.  The ‘native’ has to be listened to, since nobody understands them like themselves.  Without seeming to essentialize nativity or indigeneity, it is agreeable that there is a certain sensibility, an awareness that comes with belonging, and inhabiting the particular space under study.
The third assumption is that white scholars have actively sidelined African scholars just the way their grandparents who colonized the continent did. In other words, just like their grandparents, white scholars still patronize the native to speak about themselves.  An equal presence of Africans in intellectual spaces, with perhaps equal power and learning, will not only point in the direction of complete liberation but also acknowledgement of the African as a free and thinking subject. readmore

Sudan detains human rights defender Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam, again


Dr Mudawi Ibrahim Adam is in detention again in Khartoum. He was taken by the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) from the University of Khartoum on 7th December and is being held without access to his lawyer or his family. He has previously been detained on several occasions, for over a month in 2010 and earlier for a total of 18 months in several spells during 2003-2005.
Dr Mudawi is an award winning human rights defender and someone who has dedicated his life to peacefully working for social development and the rights of all people in Sudan.
He was the founder and Chairperson of SUDO, the Sudan Social Development Organization, which was the largest Sudanese organization providing support to internally displaced people and other vulnerable communities until it was closed down by the authorities in 2009. That closure was subsequently ruled to be illegal by the Sudanese courts but SUDO has still not been allowed to restart operations within the country.
Ironically, Dr Mudawi was criticised by some people this year for agreeing to take part in the Sudanese Government sponsored National Dialogue. His arrest puts in question the sincerity of the Government’s efforts to find a peaceful resolution of the country’s many problems. His detention coincides with an ongoing clampdown on human rights defenders and peaceful protest.
Dr Mudawi is a Professor of Engineering at the University of Khartoum and runs his own successful engineering company. A significant part of his professional work has been focused on bringing clean water and sanitation to communities across Sudan.
In 2005 Dr Mudawi was the inaugural winner of the Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk. In the same year he also received the prestigious Human Rights First Prize.
In 2010 the Sudanese authorities fabricated charges of financial mismanagement against Dr Mudawi, but were unable to bring any credible evidence to court. It seems they are again seeking to manufacture evidence against him. His driver Adam El-Sheikh was also detained on 7th December. Nora Abaid, the accountant at Dr Mudawi’s engineering company, was detained by the NISS on 12th December. Both are being held without access to lawyers or family and are considered to be at risk of torture.
It seems that this soft-spoken man of the deepest integrity is a threat to those who seek to maintain their brutal power in Sudan.
Dr Mudawi has spoken out about human rights abuses by all parties in Sudan; he has criticised the Government and armed opposition groups when the facts justified this. He has been measured and refrained from joining the exaggerated claims of some. He has consistently advocated for peace.
His ability to work with people from all backgrounds, his unswerving commitment to truth and justice, and his international connections and credibility are seen by the ruling elite as dangerous qualities.
His detention and the efforts of the NISS to fabricate a case against him says more about the Sudanese Government than it does about Dr Mudawi and his peaceful advocacy of human rights and respect for all source   http://www.pambazuka.org/advocacy-campaigns/sudan-detains-human-rights-defender-dr-mudawi-ibrahim-adam-again

Inside Story - Is China exploiting Africa?

Eritrea – evidence of shoot to kill policy as group gunned down

Pasted on a wall in the capital, Asmara: an announcement every family fears – the death of a loved one.
But this invitation for friends and family to pay their respects does not carry the usual announcement of where and when the funeral will take place. There was none.
This evidence was smuggled out of Eritrea by the underground resistance.
The network: Arbi Harnet or Freedom Friday, risk their lives in this most closed society to get the story published.
Martin

Eritrea: Border Patrol officers shoot and kill young people fleeing to Sudan
(Asmara 12/12/2016)
On 22nd of October a light pickup truck left the city of Asmara carrying 7 young people and 3 children.
Each had paid $5,500 to be smuggled across the Eirtrea – Sudan border.
Seven of those aboard the truck were absconding national service recruits (5 women and 2 men).
The three children (accompanied by an uncle) were on their way to join their mother who had previously fled from the country.
At the town of Hykota, a short distance from the border, they were ambushed.
The truck was hit by a hail of bullets in a co-ordinated attack ordered by a senior divisional commander.
Many were killed outright; others fatally wounded.
Among the dead was a young woman, Yohana Kahsay. Just 26 years old, she had one of the three small children on her lap.
Yohana was a member of the 26th round of national service recruits who had been conscripted into the army. She had served with the 74th mechanised division for over two years.
Following the carnage the wounded were loaded back on a truck, while soldiers went to hunt down those who had fled for their lives.
No attempt was made to try to care for the wounded.
Residents of Hykota report that the soldiers even stopped at a local teashop on their way to the hospital, by which time everyone was pronounced dead.
Families of the victims were not informed and they were hurriedly buried.
It took each family weeks to piece together what had happened.
Without the bodies of their loved ones they were left to grieve without the comfort of a normal funeral and the associated rituals.
These killings have shaken the residents of Asmara where all the people were from, and where their fateful journey began.
This report was compiled by Freedom Friday () activists stationed in the vicinity of the incident.
They have a complete picture of the massacre including the name of the officer in charge of the operation.
This information will be passed to relevant authorities to hold them to account.
 SOURCE https://martinplaut.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/eritrea-evidence-of-shoot-to-kill-policy-as-group-gunned-down/

CIA admits role in 1953 Iranian coup

The CIA has publicly admitted for the first time that it was behind the notorious 1953 coup against Iran's democratically elected prime minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, in documents that also show how the British government tried to block the release of information about its own involvement in his overthrow.
On the 60th anniversary of an event often invoked by Iranians as evidence of western meddling, the US national security archive at George Washington University published a series of declassified CIA documents.
"The military coup that overthrew Mosaddeq and his National Front cabinet was carried out under CIA direction as an act of US foreign policy, conceived and approved at the highest levels of government," reads a previously excised section of an internal CIA history titled The Battle for Iran. readmore

Ethiopian Beauty Pageant Some History Some Problems

Emperor Haile Selassie Receiving Wossene Hailu the Miss Addis Ababa of 1968 at the palace. The Haile Selassie University students at this time refered to the vice president as Kubet Humphrey. Kubet in Amharic means dried cow dung. Most of the students were radicalized Marxist oriented protesters against the feudal government readmore

Tales of an Eritrean fighter-photographer

Seyoum Tsehaye fought in and photographed Eritrea's war of liberation, but for the past 14 years he has been in prison.

Dreams lost and found  
As a child, Seyoum dreamed of becoming a journalist. But as he learned of the atrocities committed by the Ethiopian government against Eritrea, he knew he would have to put his ambitions aside. 

Eritrea had been declared an autonomous part of the Ethiopian Federation in 1952. But, 10 years later, Ethiopia's Emperor Haile Selassie had dissolved the federation and annexed Eritrea. 
In 1977, as a 25-year-old university student, Seyoum joined the fighters of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front. 

The EPLF had split from the Eritrean Liberation Front during the 1970s. At points in the conflict, the two groups would turn their guns on each other, but both well understood the importance of documenting their struggle. They each trained some of their fighters to use still and film cameras and, after four years fighting on the front lines, Seyoum received orders to report for training as a cameraman.  
In photographing and filming the conflict, Seyoum found his calling. And the liberation movement found one of its most effective witnesses READMORE