In this week’s address, US President Barack Obama honored US nation’s veterans, who have served and sacrificed in defense of their country. This past week, Americans came together on Veterans Day to pay tribute to those men and women in uniform who have risked their lives to protect our freedom. In recent years we’ve worked to reduce the veterans’ unemployment rate to 3.9 percent and slash the disability claims backlog at the VA by nearly 90 percent from its peak. But there is still more that can be done. Since day one of his Administration, the President has remained committed to serving the brave men and women who have served us. And in his address, he reminded us that we all have a role to play in ensuring that veterans have the opportunities and support they deserve.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
November 14, 2015

Hi, everybody. This week, America came together to salute our veterans – to express our appreciation to all who served so that we might live free. But our gratitude should extend beyond what our veterans have done for us in the past. It should remind us of our responsibility to serve them as well as they have served us. It should compel us to keep our veterans central to the ongoing work of this nation.

In recent years, we’ve made historic investments to boost the VA budget, expand veterans’ benefits, and improve care for our wounded warriors. We’ve now slashed the disability claims backlog by nearly 90 percent from its peak. We’re reducing the outrage of veterans’ homelessness and we’ve helped tens of thousands of veterans get off the streets. The veterans’ unemployment rate is down to 3.9 percent – even lower than the national average.

Of course, we’re not satisfied. We’ve still got more work to do – and I’ve directed my Administration to keep doing everything it can to fulfill our promise to our veterans. But this isn’t just a job for government alone. We all have a role to play. Less than one percent of Americans are serving in uniform. So it’s true most Americans don’t always see and appreciate the incredible skills and assets that our veterans can offer. But every American should know that our veterans are some of the most talented, capable people in the world. They’ve mastered skills and technologies and leadership roles that are impossible to teach off the battlefield. They know how to get stuff done.

And as our veterans will tell you themselves, they’re not finished serving their country. They’re teachers and doctors, engineers and entrepreneurs, social workers and community leaders. They serve in statehouses across the country and in Congress. As I tell small business owners and CEOs on a regular basis, if you want to get the job done, hire a vet. Every sector, every industry, every community in this country can benefit from the incredible talents of our veterans.

Our troops and veterans give us their very best. That’s what a soldier named Captain Florent Groberg proved. Three years ago, on patrol in Afghanistan, Flo saw a suicide bomber coming toward his unit. Without hesitating, Flo grabbed him by his vest and helped push him to the ground. When the bomb went off, Flo was badly injured, and four of his comrades were killed. But many more were saved because of Flo’s sacrifice. Flo represents the very best of America – and this week, I was proud to present him with the Medal of Honor for his actions.

Veterans like Flo, they deserve our undying gratitude. They deserve the chance to keep serving the country they risked everything to defend. And so we must come together to keep giving them that chance, not just on Veterans Day, but on every single day of the year. May God bless all those who serve and all who have given their lives for our country. And may God bless the United States of America.

By Shebonti Ray Dadwal

As the P5+1 prepares to roll back the nuclear-related sanctions on Iran in accordance with the July 2015 accord, the question that springs to mind is whether this will bring about a revival of energy ties with India. More pertinently, once sanctions are rolled back, which way will Iran go? Will Tehran prefer to focus on the more lucrative European energy market, particularly market for natural gas, or will it focus on Asia? Undoubtedly, Iran will be looking at its oil to bring in the much-needed revenue to its cash-starved economy; however, it is Iran’s potential as a gas supplier that is likely to play a bigger role in realising its ambition of becoming a regional as well as geopolitical power, based to large extent on its energy reserves.

Many European countries, including the European Commission, desperate to find a viable alternative to the Russian gas, believe that Iran could become a major source of natural gas for Europe. However, there is a huge and growing demand for natural gas in Asia too, particularly as indigenous reserves in the region decline. Asia currently accounts for 75 per cent of the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports, with demand expected to grow from the current 240 million tons per year to 360 million tons per year by 2025, with much of it presently coming from East and Southeast Asian countries.1 In such a scenario, the Asian gas market may prove to be more attractive for Iran in both near and long term. However, since most of this demand is expected to be met by countries that have gas liquefaction technology, it will be a while before Iran can cater to the demand.

But South Asia is another matter.

With two large energy-starved nations, viz., Pakistan and India next door, Iran is keen to revive the gas projects that have languished for decades due to the sanctions. The Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project had succumbed to the sanctions regime as well as fierce opposition from the US, with Washington pushing for the rival Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project. However, despite progress on TAPI being reported from time to time in the media – the latest being that the Turkmen President has ordered the construction of the Turkmen sector of the pipeline — the project remains mired with concerns over the continuing turbulence in Afghanistan.

On the other hand, after the July 2015 breakthrough in the Iranian nuclear deal, Pakistani leaders have been making periodic statements about resuming the IP project. In fact, in April, Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi even stated that the Chinese-funded LNG terminal at Gwadar and the pipeline linked to it as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) can actually double up as the IP gas pipeline.2

In comparison, India is yet to recommit to the IPI project per se. However, there have been statements from the Indian Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan suggesting that India is keen to import Iranian LNG.3 Given that Iran is yet to gain access to liquefaction technology, India may be looking at importing either piped gas or as LNG through a third country with the requisite technology.

In late September 2015, Iran and Oman signed an agreement to study two projects — a sub-sea pipeline as well as an onshore one — for carrying Iranian gas worth $60 billion over the next 25 years to Oman, scheduled to commence in two-and-a-half years. While part of the exported gas will be used by Oman, the rest will be used for LNG production. Interestingly, as per the agreement, Iran will own the LNG and will be in charge of its marketing. The Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has stated that gas exports to Oman and entry into its retail market will make it possible to sell the Iranian natural gas to the region, especially Asian countries.4

Iran and India could therefore resume their gas trade by reviving the Oman-India sub-sea pipeline, with gas sourced in Iran. The pipeline, which was known as the Middle East to India Deepwater Pipeline (MEIDP) project, was originally proposed in the 1990s. This would allow India to bypass Pakistani territory, which was one of the major concerns of India. The proposal for the gas pipeline project, known as South Asia Gas Enterprise (SAGE), could see over 31 million cubic metres of gas per day delivered from Chabahar on the southern coast of Iran and Ras Al-Jafan on the Oman coast to Porbandar in the western Indian state of Gujarat via a deep sea pipeline under the Arabian Sea.

However, the proposal may not be possible in the wake of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) decision of March 2015 to extend Pakistan’s seabed territory by an additional 150 km from the original 200 nautical miles, giving Islamabad special rights, including energy production, in the area under its jurisdiction.5

There is, however, another option which can be explored – that of a gas swap between India, Iran and Turkmenistan. Tehran has been importing piped gas from Turkmenistan for its energy-starved northern provinces, and could deliver an equal amount to India through its southern ports, thereby allowing India to do business with both Iran and Turkmenistan. The gas could then be brought to India directly through a sub-sea pipeline once the sanctions are lifted, or in the form of LNG via Oman.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had stated during his July 2015 Ashgabat visit that although India was committed to the TAPI project, multiple options were being pursued, including a land-sea route through Iran. While he did not elaborate further, a swap deal between Turkmenistan, Iran and India is an option via the SAGE project in exchange for Turkmen gas sent to Iran.6 Recently, Iran has proposed a similar deal with Russia, wherein Iran would receive natural gas, oil and oil products from Russia through its northern terminals, and sell equivalent volumes of the same products to Russia’s clients through its southern terminals.7 The same could be considered with India being the recipient.

There are certainly several options that could be thought of in order to bring West Asian/Iranian gas to India. However, the biggest hurdle to any such project would be the domestic gas market itself. Although the country’s latent demand for natural gas is enormous, with consumption growing at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about six per cent between 2000 and 2008, there was a fall in gas imports due to the difference in price between imported and domestically-produced gas as well as the highly subsidised price of fertilisers, one of the main gas-consuming sectors. Moreover, gas-based power being higher than coal-based power, gas–based generators had few takers. Nevertheless, the demand for gas has increased recently, with India contracting more LNG imports due to the fall in oil-indexed gas.

Moreover, according to the annual report of the oil ministry, the demand for natural gas is projected to increase to 10 per cent in 2014-15 and more than 12 per cent in 2018-19. The report suggests that despite an expected rise in output the demand will continue to outstrip supply. Interestingly, the report also states that LNG imports will remain at the core of the changes in the natural gas sector in the near future.8

Under these circumstances, India needs to capitalise on the emerging Iranian gas supply market and the current low price scenario, before rival consumers snap up Iranian exports or prices go up.  Iran is reported to have offered gas to India at $2.95 per million British thermal unit (mmBtu), albeit for supply to a planned urea plant to be set up by India at Chabahar, which is less than half the rate at which India currently imports LNG from the spot or current market. In contrast, long-term LNG supplies from Qatar are four times the Iranian price.9 Given that the Chabahar Port is part of India’s larger regional policy, developing broader relations that entail incorporating gas supplies from Iran would give India greater leverage at a time when other countries in South Asia, including Pakistan and Bangladesh, are emerging as key gas importers.

Views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDSA or of the Government of India

• 1. Sally Bogle, “Australian LNG: Cost deflation offsets low prices”, Petroleum Economist, 82 (8), October 2015, p. 17.
• 2. “China to build Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline: report”, The Express Tribune, April 09, 2015
• 3. “India keen to buy LNG from Iran: Dharmendra Pradhan”, The Economic Times, August 12, 2015
• 4. “Iran, Oman sign deal to study sub-sea gas pipeline”, Times of Oman, September 22, 2015
• 5. Amitav Ranjan, “Stuck in the pipeline: A $4-billion deep-sea gas project” The Indian Express, May 13, 2015
• 6. “PM Narendra Modi pitches for early implementation of TAPI gas pipeline project”, The Indian Express, July 11, 2015
• 7. “Iran Proposes to Swap Oil, Gas with Russia”, Natural Gas Asia, October 24, 2015
• 8. Sanjeev Choudhary, “India’s natural gas output projected to rise 60 % in 4 years”, The Economic Times, June 02, 2015
• 9. “Iran offers gas at $2.95, India to invest Rs 1 lakh crore: Nitin Gadkari”, The Economic Times, September 23, 2015

Originally published by Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (www.idsa.in) at http://idsa.in/idsacomments/DefenceBudget2015%2520-16_sdadwal_101115

This commentary discusses the importance of preventive and preparedness actions and inclusive participatory collaboration with all stakeholders to sustain the efforts of a transboundary haze-free ASEAN beyond 2020.

By Raman Letchumanan*

To sustain the efforts of a transboundary haze-free ASEAN, it is important to remain vigilant and be prepared early enough to prevent any occurrence of fires. This calls for better early warning systems and swift deployment of fire-fighting resources even before the fires starts.

In the longer term, preventive activities should be intensified, through effective collaboration with various stakeholders at the local, national and international levels.

Enhance monitoring and surveillance actions

Currently, incidences of forest fires and weather conditions are monitored and reported by the ASEAN Specialised Monitoring Centre (ASMC) which provides hotspot information and weather and climate forecasts for the ASEAN region. Although hotspot data is useful, it can only inform past incidences. Furthermore, the accuracy of the hotspot information is important to identify actual locations and origins of fires.

ASEAN Member States (AMS) should consistently report and share fire-related information with the ASMC to validate the accuracy of hotspot information and refine hotspot algorithm. The accuracy of the hotspot information is important to ensure quick response to genuine fires. This would allow fire-fighters to suppress incipient fires quickly while its scale is still manageable and to facilitate effective management of fire-fighting resources.

Efforts to enhance the Fire Danger Rating System (FDRS) – which indicates the potential of fires occurring based on weather and ground conditions – at both the national and regional level should be continued. A predictive FDRS that is capable of providing forecasts will be very useful in making advance preparations to pre-position necessary fire-fighting assets in the fire prone areas.

Work on haze trajectory modelling should be revived on a regional collaborative basis among relevant experts, to forecast the movement of transboundary haze, so that preparations can be made early enough to mitigate the impact of haze.

ASEAN has adopted the Haze Monitoring System (HMS) proposed by Singapore to identify perpetrators of fires for monitoring and enforcement purposes. However, its implementation has stalled because of the difficulties expressed by governments to share digitised maps of concession areas. AMS should immediately operationalise the HMS, through maps available from governments and other reputable sources, as it can serve as a strong deterrent to potential violators.

Shift towards better prevention and preparedness

The Haze Agreement contains extensive provisions on national emergency response, and joint emergency response and assistance in case an affected country is not able to tackle forest fires on its own. ASEAN has developed a very comprehensive SOP for joint emergency response. While there had been exchange of fire-fighting resources before, it is regrettable that Indonesia has long delayed the acceptance of such offers this time. It is important that in future such joint emergency response should be readily deployed well before the fires get unmanageable through the fully functioning ASEAN Centre for Transboundary Haze Pollution Control.

The Panel of ASEAN Experts should be fully utilised to assist affected countries in assessing the situation on the ground and to advise their own governments on the necessary assistance required as a pre-emptive measure before fires get out of control.

Nevertheless, as required under the Agreement, it is the responsibility of the respective AMS to control any fires within their territory. AMS should be properly prepared based on a possible worst case scenario. Land and forest fires can flare up and spread widely and quickly, most of them in remote and inaccessible places. In such case, urban fire-fighting equipment or techniques are ineffective. Therefore, fires are best put out early before it gets out of control.

The communities in remote areas should be trained and provided with the necessary appropriate fire-fighting equipment. Of course, communities should be discouraged from using fires; and the provision of small farm equipment on a collective basis could help them to clear land without fires, and to put out fires quickly as they occur.

Private enterprises, especially plantation companies should not only focus on mitigating fires in their own concessions, but also prepare and assist the communities around them to suppress fires or to clear land using the appropriate land clearing equipment.

Proactively and effectively involve all stakeholders

The Haze Agreement, through Article 3(5), mandates Parties, in addressing transboundary haze pollution, to involve, as appropriate, all stakeholders, including local communities, non-governmental organisations, farmers and private enterprises.

As far as haze is concerned, almost everyone has been affected and is clamouring for action to end this long standing problem. Governments can mobilise these stakeholders in an effective manner to create a proactive partnership that allows them to mutually assist each other in resolving the problem.

For it to happen, governments have to be transparent and build trust among stakeholders. Media communication ought to reflect the ground situations correctly. There should be wider dissemination of new initiatives such as the Singapore Transboundary Haze Pollution Act and Indonesia’s One Map Policy so that there is better appreciation of its impact on preventing fires.

The public is increasingly turning the heat on those recalcitrant plantation enterprises which have the capability and resources to prevent fires in their concessions. These enterprises should follow strictly their declared environmentally sustainable practices and corporate social responsibility to ensure no fires occurs within their jurisdiction or vicinity.

The most affected community are those in the vicinity of fires. Their fundamental concern is to earn a livelihood and not about fires that cause haze. The ASEAN Peatland Project has demonstrated that a win-win situation can be created if proper farming practices are adopted by the communities in and around the peatlands. The communities not only gain sustainable livelihood, but also protect the peatland eco-system.

Nexus between haze agreement and global accords

Fires and haze are just symptoms of a larger issue concerning not only the environment, but also the broader social, economic and political dimensions. Wild fires release huge amount of greenhouse gases, especially fires from peatlands which is essentially carbon-rich soil. Wild fires can wipe out huge tract of forests and destroy biodiversity and unique ecosystems such as peatlands.

Therefore, the Haze Agreement does contribute directly towards achieving the objectives of several global accords such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the recently adopted UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Sadly, there is a general feeling among AMS, and more so among the global community, that fires and haze are rather unrelated to these global issues. Hence the ownership of and the commitment to the implementation of the ASEAN Haze Agreement is rather lukewarm or unenthusiastic.

Hopefully, the ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution will get fresh vigour and due recognition as the primary means to realising an ASEAN transboundary haze-free region by the year 2020, after this current prolonged record-breaking haze crisis.

*Raman Letchumanan is a Senior Fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. The views expressed here are strictly his own. Dr Raman was the person-in-charge of fire and haze issues, among others, at the ASEAN Secretariat from 2000-2014, and prior to that in the Malaysian Government. This is part of a new series on the haze issue.

By Elena Tiralongo*

Presidential elections should be an opportunity for ordinary citizens to have a say in the future of their country. The period before an election is a time for citizens to hear what presidential candidates have planned for their country and to decide which of them represents his or her best interests. In Haiti, presidential elections represent for some a chance to run for office and therefore the opportunity to get a secure job; yet, for many Haitians the elections represent nothing, because they feel that nothing will change. In fact, Haitians participating in the first voting round of the parliamentary elections comprise only 18 percent of the registered voters while 54 candidates ran for President.^{[1] [2]} This article aims to explain such low political participation and analyzes the reasons why Haitians have little trust in the democratic process.

In order to ensure fair and transparent democratic elections, the United States and the international community provided over 30 million USD to the Conseil Electoral Provisoire (CEP) for the 2015 elections.^[3] However, there were two main obstacles that may have prevented legitimate electoral outcome. First, Haitians were often paid to participate in rallies or to vote. Therefore, election results may not be dictated by Haitians’ desire to witness a change in their country, but rather by their need for money to stave off hunger. Second, according to a report published on August 25 by the three civil society groups Reseau National de Defense de Droits Humain (RNDDH), the Conseil National d’Obesrvation des Elections (CNO), and the Conseil Haitien des Acteurs Non Etatiques (CONHANE), the elections and the pre-election period have been plagued by killings, intimidation, and violence. ^[4]

Overall, Haitians have seen that even though the international community has provided money and deployed troops in order to support Haiti’s economic, political stability, and development, these efforts have not always translated into positive results. This has resulted in a lack of trust in Haitian leaders and the international community, which has consequentially discouraged Haitians from engaging in the democratic process. Therefore, in order to better grasp what drives Haitians away from a robust political life, it is also important to understand Haiti’s current status and its struggles towards authentic development.

Haiti’s Current Economic and Social Situation

Haitians are discouraged to participate in political life partially due to low socio-economic development in the country. In fact, many Haitians struggle to come out of poverty and social inequality as they have little opportunities to change their situation. The devastating 2010 earthquake stalled Haiti’s development once again. However, since 2010, Haiti has experienced an increase in per-capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from $669.19 USD to $846 USD in 2014. Nevertheless, 59% of Haitians currently survive on less than $2.42 USD per day, which is below the poverty line, and 24 percent of them live on $1.23 USD per day, which is below the extreme poverty line.^[5]

The Human Development Index (HDI) ranks countries according to social and economic aspects such as health, education, and standard of living, ranging from a scale of 0 to 1. In 2014 Haiti ranked 168 out of 187 countries with an HDI of 0.471. (For context, in 2014, Norway had the highest HDI in the world at 0.944). Haiti suffers 57 infant deaths per 1,000 births, compared with two in Norway. In Haiti, 42 percent of children lack basic immunization and average just below 5 years of schooling. As for child labor, slightly over 24 percent of children between 5 and 14 years old are engaged in the work force.^[6]

The International Community and Haiti

Haiti, among the world’s most impoverished countries today, was once the pearl of the Antilles. Haiti has been taken over multiple times throughout history. The country has been a treasure for its colonizers who brought slavery and oppression to the country.^[7] After obtaining its independence from France in 1804, Haiti struggled to achieve stability after decades of coups d’état, dictatorships, and internal fights, not to mention a series of natural disasters. Outside interventions have continued into the 21st century. These interventions have at times aimed to contribute to Haiti’s development, while other times, made matters worse. Ineffective international assistance, lack of political leadership, and repeated failures to hold parliamentary elections have created a vicious pattern. In fact, the international community cannot operate without effective infrastructures, which at the same time cannot be built without international intervention. This vicious cycle has tended to contribute to Haitians’ mistrust in the system and therefore perpetuates low political participation.

The European Union: In recent years, the EU has established development collaborations with Haiti. This includes both the bilateral relations that each EU member state has had with Haiti, as well as donations from the European Development Fund. After the 2010 earthquake, the Country Strategy for 2008-2013 was revised to focus on transport infrastructure, governance, state building, and cross-border cooperation with the Dominican Republic. To support Haiti’s development, the EU donated more than €500 million Euros between 2000 and 2010. After the earthquake, the EU donated another €522 million Euros in humanitarian aid to help the natural disaster’s victims rebuild their country. Additionally, the EU has provided civil protection and helped with economic and social development by supporting education and civil society aiming to promote human rights and democracy. In 2012, the EU member states and Caribbean nations formed the Caribbean-European Union Partnership Strategy, which strengthens relationships between the two regions on areas such as Regional Integration, Haiti Reconstruction, Climate Change and Natural Disasters, Crime and Security, and Join Action regarding Multilateral Fora.^[8] On a regional level, it is important to note that in 2008, the Caribbean region (Haiti included) signed the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the regional organization CARIFORUM (of 15 Caribbean nations)^[9] and the European Union. This agreement was meant to encourage trade, investments, and development assistance by promoting regional integration.^[10]

While Europe as a whole has shown interest in contributing to Haiti’s development, France has a higher moral obligation to help Haitians due to their bitter shared colonial past. After Haiti achieved independence from France in 1804, Paris demanded that Haiti pay 150 million gold francs (10 times the country’s annual revenue) to compensate losses suffered by French plantation and slave owners as a consequence of Haiti’s independence. Those 150 million gold francs may be worth roughly $17 billion USD today. When French President Francois Hollande visited Haiti in May, he stated that France would repay its moral debt to Haiti and that it would do so by contributing to Haiti’s development. However, President Hollande has not specified if or when the $17 billion USD will be repaid, and many in Haiti believe that France should do much more.^[11]

UN Member States with IMF and World Bank Group: A Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for 2014-2016 was prepared in cooperation with stakeholders and development partners to establish a three-year investment program to help Haiti achieve economic growth and reduce poverty. The plan aims to help Haiti reach its goal of becoming an emerging country by 2030. After the 2010 earthquake, the international community prepared the Action Plan for the Recovery and Development of Haiti (PARDH), which would attempt to turn the Haiti’s natural tragedy into an opportunity to rebuild the country from its foundations up. The long-term development plan has 32 separate programs, 150 subprograms, and focuses on four main areas: territorial reform, economic reform, social reform, and institutional reform. The territorial reform focuses on urban and rural development, environmental protection, water sanitation and watersheds correction, transportation, and communication. The economic reform comprises the support for internal or external private investment, revival of the Haitian economy through the modernization of farming, fishing, and animal husbandry, and the development of manufacturing and tourism, all achieved through sustainable development. The social reform aims to modernize education and healthcare systems while treasuring Haiti’s cultural assets. The institutional reform will revise Haiti’s legal and judiciary framework, modernize security services, and strengthen local governments and civil society. Overall, these reforms should create jobs and promote economic growth.^[12] The World Bank Group proposed a Country Partnership Framework (CPF) from 2016 to 2019. This program should aim to help Haiti reach its development goals by 2030.^[13]

The United Nations: UN involvement in Haiti began in the 1990s with the overthrow of the first elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Several UN peacekeeping operations were aimed to promote stability after civilian turmoil erupted in the aftermath of the anti-Aristide military coup d’état. In 1994 the Security Council deployed the Multinational Interim Force (MIF) to restore stability in the country. In 2004, this duty was extended to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH mandate).^[14] At that point, MINUSTAH’s goal was to support political stability. However, MINUSTAH has not been able to leave the country owing to Haiti’s inability to build a self-sufficient and stable structure. At the same time, MINUSTAH won new responsibilities in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, even though many in Haiti blame the organization for the spread of cholera due to low hygienic standards in camps. Additionally, some of the troops were accused of sexual assault and forced to leave the country. As a result, many Haitians want MINUSTAH to leave.^[15] However, the UN Security Council has just extended MINUSTAH’s mandate until October 2016 and will evaluate this year’s presidential elections in order to judge if Haiti has made enough progress to retain stability and security on its own. ^{[16] [17]}

The United States and Haiti

U.S.-Haitian relations are at least 100 years old, during which Haitians have not seemed to develop a meaningful trust in the U.S.’ intentions. Throughout this long relationship, the United States, together with the international community, has often contributed to Haiti’s political sphere. For example, when President Aristide was overthrown in a 1991 military coup supported by the Haitian elite, the Organization of American States (OAS) placed economic sanctions and embargos on Haiti, limiting economic relations with most of the hemisphere in efforts to bring back Aristide.^[18] Aristide returned in 1994 and served as president again from 2001 to 2004, when he was forced into exile by a popular uprising. In 2006 The New York Times interviewed Haitians during a rally and many of those interviewed believed that President Aristide had been kidnapped. His supporters wanted him back as the only hope for a better future in a country that has been suffering hunger for 200 years. President Aristide’s removal spurred anti-American feelings among Haitians due to alleged U.S. involvement.^[19]

Later in 2010, the U.S. Embassy in Haiti condemned the first round of election results amid widespread allegations that President Préval and Pierre-Louis Opont, director of the Election Commission, were involved in altering the original results and were accused of being in favor of Jude Celestin, who came second before Michel Martelly.^[20] In late January 2011, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton travelled to Haiti to make sure that the votes of the Haitians were being tabulated. In the end, with the recommendation of the OAS, Michel Martelly was awarded a position in a run-off election, officially replacing Celestin, who had dropped out of the race despite his performance in attracting a number of votes. After the second-round contest and an exceptionally low turnout, Martelly was elected Haiti’s president. Email correspondence between former U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten and key State Department officers in Haiti, as well as his communications with Michel Martelly’s campaign staffers, revealed instances of U.S. intervention in the processes that accompanied the disputed elections of 2010.^{[21] [22]}

Moreover, documents released through the Freedom of Information Act revealed that in 2011, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) allocated $100,000 USD to the Mouvement Tét Kale (MTK), which was a political organization that had backed Martelly’s election. The USAID branch Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) funded the MTK candidate through a for-profit organization called Chemonics International. USAID policy says funding is supposed to be distributed equally to all political groups in Haiti on a non-partisan basis. Nevertheless, as per stipulated contract with USAID, Chemonics specifically aims to protect U.S. foreign policy interests. Additionally, the 2009 Congressional Research Service says OTI operations have been shown to have “political entanglements that may have diplomatic implications.” One question revolves around the extent to which USAID funds influenced the 2011 election results and ultimately facilitated Martelly’s ascension into the presidency. This election period was characterized by discontent and turmoil and put the U.S. under the spotlight, particularly by critics who questioned Washington’s ultimate intentions in pursuing its political agenda in Haiti.^[23]

Additionally, in October 2012, former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, President Martelly, Prime Minister Lamothe, and the President of the Inter-American Development Bank opened the Caracol Industrial Park in Haiti.^[24] This project was a centerpiece of U.S. reconstruction efforts in Haiti after the earthquake. The Industrial Park primarily targets the creation of light manufacturing industries and was expected to immediately create 65,000 jobs by 2020, as well as become a new source of investment in rural Haiti outside of Port-au-Prince. So far, the Korean manufacturer Sae-A Trading Ltd, anchor tenant of the Caracol Industrial Park, has committed to a $78 million USD investment and currently employs some 4,500 Haitians. The Company wants to hire 20,000 additional workers, which is still very much below the final goal of 65,000 jobs by 2020.^[25]

Additionally, U.S. foreign policy towards Haitian immigrants has not been consistent. In the past, the US would welcome Haitian refugees on grounds of economic difficulties and political oppression. However, in the most recent years, Haitians refugees had encountered major difficulty being accepted in the United States. This change in attitude towards Haitians shows an enormous discrepancy on how the US has been willing to treat Cuba’s immigrants, who can obtain asylum in a much easier manner. Despite creating an expanded definition of the refugee law in 1980, the US also created Executive Order 12807, which states that those asylum seekers who are stopped in the sea do not qualify for refugee protection. This Order clearly bypasses the intention of the laws that were created to protect refugees. Moreover, the United States’ immigration policy shows immigrants are welcomed based on certain characteristics. Welcoming immigrants on humanitarian grounds may depend on nationality and interest-based factors. For instance, the US is more willing to accept immigrants coming from a country with anti-American politics or rivalry. This happens because accepting these immigrants shows that these citizens prefer the US to their country of origin. The U.S.-Haiti relationship is a perfect example of the saying, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” turning Haitians as a political tool in U.S. tactics. U.S. immigration policy towards Haiti has shown little regards for refugees themselves. ^[26]

In order to be accepted to the United States, the Coast Guard uses a “shout test,” which aims to pick only the loudest ones for an asylum interview, based on the idea that those who are capable of “screaming” show that they need more help than those who are not sufficiently loud. Also, the Coast Guard does not need to have an interpreter; therefore, many Haitians do not even understand their rights when these are explained to them. In other words, Haitians’ application for refugee status is very difficult compared to other refugee groups. In contrast to Cuban asylum seekers, Haitian refugees are completely disregarded in the high seas. For example, the number of Cubans offered asylum in the US in 2004 was 6,360, while the number of Haitians given asylum was only eight. Many of the Haitian refugees were turned around without even the chance of applying for asylum, also thanks to Executive Order 12807.^[27]

National security concerns might explain why Haitians have demonstrably more difficulty in being accepted to the United States. According to the U.S. government, stopping immigrants in the sea is a legitimate method of reducing smuggling issues. Also, traffickers or terrorists may pose as Haitians in order to entry in the United States. However, the question should be raised as to why Haitian nationality is more an indicator of being a smuggler or a terrorist than a Haitian refugee. ^[28]

Final Assessment

In its decision to extend the MINUSTAH mandate, the UN Security Council stated that Haiti is at a turning point in the democratization process. On one hand, political leaders as well as stakeholders need to compromise some of their expectations and goals for the sake of stability. On the other hand, Haitians should take greater responsibility for the status of their society.^[29]

However, natural disasters aside, the Haitians have seen military dictatorships, presidents forced into exile, and invasions by foreign powers come and go. Even when their country was not directly invaded, foreign interventions often made the difference as to who should run the country and how. Additionally, never-ending peacekeeping operations have at times worsened Haitians’ lives. With these realities in mind, it is difficult to blame eligible voters for completely distancing themselves from their nation’s political life.

In order to carry out rigorous economic reforms and counteract inefficiencies in the public sector, Haiti needs a stable, functioning, and trustworthy government. That is also the recipe for attracting foreign investment and creating jobs. The U.S. and the international community should help Haiti develop politically through the fight against corruption by also denying support to political figures, which were known for being involved in illicit markets. Additionally, countries involved in Haiti, including the United States, should set aside narrow national interests for the sake of creating a better Haiti; a safer, stable, and more prosperous Haiti is the only likely way for Haiti’s investors to guarantee profit as well as the only way for Haitians to regain confidence in both their leaders and international community.

For the elections of October 25, the OAS deployed a large electoral observation mission composed of 125 international experts from 27 countries.^[30] According to the Head of the OAS observation mission, former Brazilian Minister Celso Amorim, the October 25th election was a step forward and generated a greater voter turnout compared to the August 9 elections.^[31] Prime Minister Paul Evans said that the outcome of Election Day was satisfactory. It is too early to see who won in the elections. According to the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) it may take until the end of November to release final results.^[32] At the same time, in order to ensure the election’s ultimate success, Haiti’s National Police of Haiti was forced to arrest 234 people, impound 13 firearms, as well as seize 4 vehicles.^[33] As of October 26, the day after the second round of Presidential elections, many Haitians were still doubtful any change could be brought by the elections. One week before the October elections, rival gangs supporting different political campaigns disseminated violence and intimidated citizens. Isaih Jenty lost his 7-months-pregnant-wife due to one of these gangs’ assaults. Mr. Jenty, just as many other Haitians, wants a real change that can only come about eliminating criminality.^[34] Seeing a real positive change may encourage Haitians to regain a certain sense of confidence in their leaders and hope for a better and brighter future. This may finally spur Haitians’ desires to take more responsibility in the country’s success through their more intense political participation.

*Elena Tiralongo with collaboration from Gvaram Khandamishvili, Research Associates at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs

Notes:
^[1] Conseil Electoral Provisoire, Resulats Preliminaires Legislatives.

http://www.cephaiti.ht/Resultats-Preliminaires-Legislatives-2015.html

^[2] Reynolds, Rob, “Haitians prepare to vote in long-overdue elections,” Aljazeera, 9 August, 2015,

http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/americas/2015/08/haiti-wild-elections-poll-politics-port-au-prince-150807230758121.html

[3] Bureau des Avocats Internationaux, Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, “Republic of Haiti: The Right to Vote,” Review of Haiti’s Report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 112th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, October 8 & 9, 2014

http://www.ijdh.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/HRC_Right-to-Vote_Sept-12.pdf

^[4] Haiti Libre, October 7, 2015, “Haiti – Elections : Electoral Observation, the Civil Society preoccupied” http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15384-haiti-elections-electoral-observation-the-civil-society-preoccupied.html

^[5] The World Bank, “Overview,” 2015, http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/haiti/overview

^[6] United Nations Development Program, Human Development Reports, “Haiti,” http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/HTI

^[7] PBS, “Haiti’s History,” http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/12/haiti_belos_sonlinks.html

^[8] European Union External Action, “EU Relations with Haiti,” 2015, http://eeas.europa.eu/haiti/index_en.htm

^[9] European Union External Action, “Summary of Treaty,” http://ec.europa.eu/world/agreements/prepareCreateTreatiesWorkspace/treatiesGeneralData.do?redirect=true&treatyId=7407

^[10] European Union External Action, “EU Relations with Haiti,” 2015, http://eeas.europa.eu/haiti/index_en.htm

^[11] Tharoor, Ishaan, “Is it time for France to pay its real debt to Haiti?” The Washington Post, May 13, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/05/13/does-france-owe-haiti-reparations/

^[12] International Monetary Fund, “Haiti: Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper,” June 2014, https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2014/cr14154.pdf

^[13] World Bank. 2015. Haiti – Country partnership framework for the period FY16-FY19. Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2015/10/25010671/haiti-country-partnership-framework-period-fy16-fy19

^[14] United Nations, “MINUSTAH: United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti,” http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping/missions/minustah/background.shtml

^[15] New York Times, “Building a Safer Haiti,” Op Ed, September 19, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/opinion/building-a-safer-haiti.html

^[16] Haiti Libre, “Haiti – Security : The UN Security Council extends for one year the mandate of the Minustah,” October 15, 2015, http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15461-haiti-security-the-un-security-council-extends-for-one-year-the-mandate-of-the-minustah.html

[17] United Nations, “Adopting Resolution 2243 (2015), Security Council Renews Haiti Mission Mandate for One Year at Recommended Troop Levels,” Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, October 14, 2015, http://www.un.org/press/en/2015/sc12078.doc.htm

^[18] French, Howard W., “Haiti’s Divisions Deepen Over Aristide’s Removal,” International New York Times, November 3, 1991, http://www.nytimes.com/1991/11/03/world/haiti-s-divisions-deepen-over-aristide-s-removal.html

^[19] Thompson, Ginger, “Exiled Aristide Still Affects Haiti Voters,” The New York Times, 2006, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/06/international/americas/06haiti.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

^[20] Haiti Democracy Project, “Tabulation Center Originally Eliminated Célestin, not Martelly,” July 13, 2015, http://haitipolicy.org/2015/07/tabulation-center-originally-eliminated-celestin-not-martelly

^[21] Haiti Democracy Project, “U.S. Policy Toward Haiti Elections Faltering Badly,” July 13, 2015, http://haitipolicy.org/2015/07/u-s-policy-toward-haiti-elections-faltering-badly

^[22] Center for Economic and Policy Research, “Clinton Emails Reveal ‘Behind the Doors Actions’ of Private Sector and US Embassy in Haiti Elections,” October 8, 2015, http://www.cepr.net/blogs/haiti-relief-and-reconstruction-watch/clinton-emails-reveal-behind-the-doors-actions-of-private-sector-and-us-embassy-in-haiti-elections

^[23] Johnston Jake, “Revealed: USAID funded group supporting Haitian president in 2011,” July 15, 2015, http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/15/usaid-funded-group-supporting-haitian-president.html

^[24] Clinton Foundation, “Caracol Industrial Park,” https://www.clintonfoundation.org/our-work/clinton-foundation-haiti/programs/caracol-industrial-park

^[25] O’Grady, Mary Anastasia, “Hillary’s Half-Baked Haiti Project,” The Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2015, http://www.wsj.com/articles/mary-anastasia-ogrady-hillarys-half-baked-haiti-project-1421018329

^[26] Daniels, Kaitlin, “The Haitian Dilemma: The Relationship between Politics and Asylum,” Writing 20 (Spring 2008): Framing the Immigration Debate Professor Elizabeth Drogin, Duke University,

https://twp.duke.edu/uploads/assets/Daniels.pdf

^[27] Ibid

^[28] Ibid

^[29] New York Times, “Building a Safer Haiti,” Op Ed, September 19, 2011, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/opinion/building-a-safer-haiti.html

^[30] Organization of American States, “The OAS Deploys 125 Observers to Haiti for October 25 Elections,” October 20, 2015,

http://www.oas.org/en/media_center/press_release.asp?sCodigo=E-315/15

^[31] LatinNews Daily Briefing, “Electoral violence fails to materialize in Haiti,” October 26, 2015

^[32] The Washington Post, “Polarized Haiti Votes in Presidential Election,” October, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/polarized-haiti-votes-in-presidential-election/2015/10/25/6e490c04-7b7b-11e5-837b-2c3f2478487e_story.html

^[33] Haiti Libre, “Haiti – Elections : 234 arrests Sunday,” http://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-15576-haiti-elections-234-arrests-sunday.html

^[34] Partlow, Joshua, “Haitian voters try to turn page on turmoil,” The Washington Post, October 26, 2015, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/haitian-voters-try-to-turn-page-on-period-of-political-turmoil/2015/10/25/b61b34f8-7b26-11e5-837b-2c3f2478487e_story.html

Iran’s foreign ministry announced that President Hassan Rohani’s official trip to Italy and France has been postponed in view of the attacks carried out by the extremist group ISIS in France.

ISIS took responsibility for the several attacks carried out in Paris on Friday night November 13 which has so far left 127 dead and 250 wounded.

Hassan Rohani in a message to his French counterpart has condemned the attacks and extended his sympathies to the people of France.

France has announced three days of mourning and prohibited any form of gathering until November 17 as the French President has announced a state of emergency. Hollande has also announced that he will not be attending the G20 meeting on Sunday taking place in Antalya, Turkey.

Meanwhile Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that he is traveling to Vienna today Saturday to attend “the meeting about Syria and the fight against ISIS and the dangers of extremism”.

Prior to the attack Zarif was to travel to Italy, Vatican and France together with the Iranian president. The Vienna meeting was to be attended by his Deputy Hossein AmirAbdollahian. Now Zarif will attend the meeting in Vienna in person.

Iran’s foreign minister was quoted as saying: “It is time to turn this catastrophe into a chance for optimum international coordination to fight against terrorism.”

Meanwhile Iran’s embassy in France announced that no Iranian nationals were among the victims of the Paris attacks.

Iran has committed to a four-percent decrease in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and says that the removal of sanctions could let the country increase that commitment.

Following the Iranian cabinet’s approval of the National Partnership to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the head of the Department of the Environment announced on Saturday November 14 that Iran aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by four percent by 2030, adding that it will be in a position to reduce it by another eight percent with the complete removal of international sanctions.

Massoumeh Ebtekar said the plan needs the complete cooperation of all executive bodies in order to succeed.

The Iranian government had said earlier that its participation in the UN climate change initiatives depended on the elimination of all economic, technological and fiscal restrictions on the country and the ending of “the unfair sanctions against Iran”.

The low level of commitment by the Iranian government regarding greenhouse gas emissions has been discouraging to environmental activists in Iran.

Iran is considered to be among the world’s top 10 producers of greenhouse gas emissions.

When Bernie Sanders, in preparation for Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate, considered how he should field questions on ISIS in the wake of the Paris attacks, one point must have been obvious: he shouldn’t make President Obama’s blunder of talking about containment.

Instead, Sanders opted for a revised version of George Bush’s declaration right after 9/11: “My administration has a job to do and we’re going to do it. We will rid the world of the evil-doers.”

Replace “my administration” with America leading the world, and switch “evil-doers” for ISIS and you get from Sanders: “Together, leading the world, this country will rid our planet of this barbaric organization called ISIS.”

If after 9/11 many Americans were too traumatized to think straight and thus hesitated to dismiss Bush’s impossible promise, Sander’s audience already aware that he’s unlikely to win the Democratic nomination, let alone become president, couldn’t have been too surprised about being offered this kind of empty rhetoric.

After all, when it comes to his inability to present a credible policy on how to deal with ISIS, Sanders is far from alone.

Consider, for instance, the “expert” opinion of political scientist, Stephen Walt, less than six months ago:

Despite its bloodthirsty and gruesome tactics, the Islamic State is not, in fact, a powerful global actor. Its message attracts recruits among marginalized youth in other countries, but attracting perhaps 25,000 ill-trained followers from a global population of more than 7 billion is not that significant. It may even be a net gain if these people leave their countries of origin and then get to experience the harsh realities of jihadi rule. Some of them will realize that the Islamic State is brutal and unjust and a recipe for disaster; the rest will be isolated and contained in one spot instead of stirring up trouble at home.

That kind of assessment, along with overly optimistic reports from his own field commanders, led Obama — just hours before ISIS let loose mayhem across Paris — to assert:

From the start our goal has been first to contain, and we have contained them.

Clearly, the containment strategy isn’t working.

The fact that containment could even be presented as an option is indicative of the fact that too often, what is presented as strategy in Washington, is too often little more than branding.

By a process of what could be called rhetorical logic, a tried and tested solution — the Soviet Union was successfully contained — gets repackaged for ISIS, a much smaller power. Containment worked then, so it can work now — so goes the logic.

But for containment to work, the Soviet Union and ISIS would by nature if not size, need to be comparable entities — which obviously they are not.

ISIS is a shapeshifter. As a fledgling state it might be contained, but as an inspirational force it penetrates the globe.

Almost exactly a year ago, ISIS issued the following warning:

This is a message to all the enemies of Islam and specifically France…. As long as you keep bombing you will not find peace. You will even fear travelling to the market. I call my brothers in France who have not made Hijra, those who are unable to make Hijra, and those who do not possess the means to make Hijra. Know that Jihad in this time is fard-‘ayn (obligatory on all).

Terrorism is a threat to the future of all countries, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a speech at G20 Leaders Summit, TRT Haber TV channel reported Nov.15.

He also said, unfortunately, international community still did not give necessary reaction about danger of terrorism.

The G20 summit began in the resort town of Belek, in the Turkish province of Antalya, on Nov. 15. The summit will last for two days.

The G20 is a leading forum for discussing global economic and financial cooperation. The G20 brings together the largest developed and developing economies in the world, accounting for some 85 percent of world GDP.

Russia presided over the G20 in 2013, Australia in 2014, and Turkey is currently hosting the 2015 summit.

(RFE/RL) — Police investigating a wave of terror attacks in Paris have issued an international arrest warant for a man they believe might have helped organize the deadly assaults with two of his brothers in Belgium.

Police said they were seeking a Belgian-born man, Abdeslam Salah, in connection with the attack, describing him as “dangerous.”

French police issued a photo of the suspect on November 15 after police in Belgium issued the arrest warant.

The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the November 13 coordinated suicide bombings and shootings that killed 129 people and wounded about 350 people in the deadliest terrorist attack in Europe since the 2004 Madrid bombings.

“The abject attacks that hit us on Friday were prepared abroad and mobilized a team in Belgium that benefited…from help in France,” French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve told reporters after meeting his Belgian counterpart in Paris.

Belgian officials said they had arrested seven people in Brussels after two Belgian-registered cars were discovered in Paris, both suspected of being used by the attackers.

“I do not want any preachers of hatred on Belgian soil! There is no place for them in Belgium,” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Twitter.

A judicial source said Salah, a 26-year-old French national, had rented one of the two cars, a Volkswagen Polo, that was found not far from the Bataclan concert hall, the site of the bloodiest attack.

Only one of the attackers has been named — Ismael Omar Mostefai, a 29-year-old who lived in the city of Chartres, southwest of Paris.

He was identified by the print from one of his fingers that was severed when his suicide vest exploded.

German officials said a man arrested in the southern state of Bavaria earlier this month after guns and explosives were found in his car may also be linked to the attacks.

The Serbian Interior Ministry said the holder of a Syrian passport found next to the body of one of the attackers outside the Stade de France stadium “was registered on the Presevo border crossing on October 7 this year, where he formally sought asylum.” The Presevo border crossing separates Serbia from Macedonia.

Greek authorities had confirmed that the document had been used to travel through the island of Leros on October 3.

Meanwhile, France has begun three days of national mourning.

President Francois Hollande has imposed a state of emergency and canceled his plans to attend a summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies starting in Turkey later on November 15.

A special service for the families of the victims and survivors will be held at Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral.

Luxembourg, which currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, announced that EU interior ministers would meet on November 20, saying the emergency talks would “strengthen the European response” to the attacks.

Speaking on November 15 in Turkey, where he arrived for a G20 summit, U.S. President Barack Obama described the assaults as “an attack on the civilized world” and said the United States would work with France to hunt down those responsible.

Meanwhile, the head of the world’s top Islamic body condemned “in the strictest terms” the Paris gun and bomb attacks and called for “a concerted joint action to combat the scourge of terrorism which has become the arch enemy of humanity at large.”

Iyad Madani, the secretary-general of the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation, voiced his “firm rejection of any terrorist act” that undermines “universal human values including the values of freedom and equality that France has consistently promoted.”

Zouhair, a security guard of immigrant background, was one of several security officers, who on Friday prevented three of the Paris suicide bombers from entering the city’s Stade de France stadium. The bombers were forced to blow themselves up outside the stadium and at nearby McDonald’s.

Little is publicly known about the background of Mr. Zouhair who described toThe Wall Street Journal what happened at the stadium where French President Francois Hollande was among 80,000 people watching a friendly between France and Germany.

What is clear however, is that Mr. Zouhair represents a significant view among members of France’s Muslim community, even if many migrants feel side lined, marginalized and hopeless in a country that has yet to come to grips with becoming an immigration society.

Like Ahmed Merabet, the police officer killed in Paris in January when two brothers attacked Charlie Hebdo, the satirical magazine that at times mocked his religion, Mr. Zouhair was standing guard for a symbol, the French national soccer team, that disillusioned Muslim youth have come to reject as not representing them.

Instead, they often support the national teams of Algeria and Morocco and in some cases of other African states. Their rejection is akin to notions among militant soccer fans in Egypt who in the past refused to support their national team because it was ousted President Hosni Mubarak rather than Egypt’s squad.

The juxtaposition of Mr. Zouhair, the security guard, and the three Muslim suicide bombers, suggests that the Stade de France was chosen as one of several targets for Friday’s attacks not simply because of the large number of people present. The juxtaposition was further thrown into sharp relief with an announcement by French midfielder Lassana Diarra that his cousin had been killed in the IS attacks while he was playing in the stadium

The targeting of the stadium fit the goals of the Islamic State (IS), which has claimed responsibility for the attacks, of polarizing communities, exacerbating social tensions, and driving the marginalized further into the margins.

Stade de France is one of ten French stadia slated to host next year’s Euro 2016, the first major international soccer tournament in France since the 1998 World Cup.

By focusing almost exclusively on stepped-up security and declaring war against the backdrop of mounting anti-Muslim sentiment in the wake of the Paris attacks on an Islamist group with which France and Europe were already at war for more than a year, European leaders risk becoming the Islamic State’s unwitting helpers.

By failing to adopt social and economic policies at home that would undermine IS’s attraction to disaffected youth who feel they have little to lose, they exasperate the very divide between Mr. Zouhair and the suicide bombers that has turned the French national soccer team, a reflection of France at both its best and its worst, into a divisive symbol.

Some analysts suggest that the Paris attacks may mark IS’s beginning of the end with calls for a far more robust military confrontation of IS in Syria and Iraq. The problem is that the battlefield stretches far beyond IS’s bases in the Middle East and would not be resolved by simply defeating the jihadist group.

The struggle against what IS represents needs to be waged as much in its Syrian capital of Raqqa as in the dismal banlieues or satellites of French cities that furnish the jihadists with the largest contingent of European foreign fighters; the populous neighbourhoods in Tunisia that account for the single largest group of foreign fighters in Syria and Iraq; in Saudi Arabia, whose citizens account for the second largest number of foreign fighters and whose decades-long effort to propagate a puritan, intolerant, interpretation of Islam has been a far more important breeding ground for jihadist thinking than the writings of militant Islamist thinkers like Sayyid Qutb; and in Western capitals led by Washington who view retrograde, repressive regimes like those of Saudi Arabia and Egypt as part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

The fallout of the failure of French governments to wage war on discrimination and marginalization at home as fervently as Mr. Hollande is likely to wage war against IS in the wake of the Paris attacks is reflected in the ups and downs of the French national team. When the team made up of a majority of players with an immigrant Muslim background won the 1998 World Cup, it was feted as a model of successful French multiculturalism. The team’s success was celebrated by Frenchmen irrespective of their cultural and ethnic background.

Little was left of that success little more than a decade later when the team became an embarrassment for France during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Its players revolted, refused to train, and ultimately were denounced as having shamed France at the very moment that their German soccer rivals captured the crown of successful European multiculturalism.

In the 12 years between victory and humiliation, France witnessed its worst race riots in the heavily Muslim populated banlieues of major cities. Zinedine Zidane, widely viewed as one of his generation’s best players, was given the red card during the 2006 World Cup for head butting another player who had allegedly insulted the Prophet Mohammed. Last year’s celebrations in France of Algeria’s defeat of Russia in a 2018 World Cup qualifier sparked riots that prompted National Front leader Marine Le Pen to demand the reversal of a law that allows French citizens to have dual nationality.

“In this climate of terror, it is important for all of us who represent our country and its diversity to speak out and stay united in the face of a horror that has neither colour, nor religion. Let us together defend love, respect and peace,” Mr. Diarra said. His appeal is as much incumbent on Muslim leaders as it is on Mr. Hollande and European leaders in an environment of mounting Islamophobia and anti-migrant and anti-foreigner sentiment.

With implementation of Right to Education Act (2009), the population of school going children in India is increasing. The majority of children go to the state-run government schools, but these schools are barely able to provide basic infrastructure, there is lack of safe drinking water, hygienic sanitation and clean toilets especially for girls, the buildings are also poorly maintained. While there has been a mushrooming of privately-run schools (with primary motive of profit-making), the situation in these schools also is no better due to constraints of space and other infrastructure problems, and it is often observed that such schools compromise gravely with respect to safety norms. There is a debate on school safety and how to make schools a safer place for the children all over the world. India has also taken steps in this regard, and the “Making Schools Safer Series” has been developed by the All India Disaster Mitigation Institute as one of the key activities of the Training and Learning Circle.

Squelch (2001) defines a safe school as one that is free from danger and possible harm, where non-educators, educators and learners can work, teach and learn without fear or ridicule, intimidation, harassment, humiliation or violence. According to the Quarterly Bulletin of Central Board of Secondary Education (2009) safety is freedom from danger or harm and prevention is an important element of safety; everyone in the school needs to know how to act safely and responsibly in unsafe situations. Therefore, ‘Safe and supportive schools’ refers to the provision of an environment that protects the emotional, psychological and physical well-being of students. It is the responsibility of our schools to have a comprehensive perspective towards creating safe environment. Every school should have a plan for escaping from the school building in case of fire or natural disaster. Safety should be considered in all the student activities, whether it is learning hobbies or conducting experiment in the laboratories.

Guiding Principles

• United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, Article 19,
• The Indian Constitution
• National Policy for Education 1992, which emphasizes child centric approach and prohibits corporal punishment in schools.
• National Policy for Children, 2013 – Guiding Principles X: safety and security of all children is integral to their well-being and children are to be protected from all forms of harm, abuse, neglect, violence, maltreatment and exploitation in all settings
• WASH in Schools is a UNICEF 2009 programme to bring “Equity in School Water and Sanitation: Overcoming Exclusion and Discrimination”. It helps fulfil the universal right to education and health and meets its role in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals”.
• The Supreme Court’s order in a Directive on School Safety Norms in India says that no new government or private school would be given affiliation if the building did not have fire safety measures and earthquake resistant structure. It has become imperative that safety measures as prescribed by the National Building Code of India, 2005, be implemented by all government and private schools functioning in our country.
• The Directions of State Government also states that all existing government and private schools shall install fire extinguishing equipment’s, school buildings are to be kept free from inflammable and toxic material or stored safely, evaluation of structural aspect of the school building must be carried out periodically, and school staff must be well-trained to use the fire-extinguishing equipment.
• The School Safety Programme was led by the National Disaster Management Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India. The goal of the Programme is to – “promote a culture of disaster preparedness in the school community”. Basic Components were; Promoting Awareness and Education Activities, Demonstrating Disaster Risk Management, Training and Capacity Building and Annual Safety Assessment. This Programme works on two operational fronts: district level and school building level. The district-wide programme targets education departments, administrators, emergency officials, teachers, students and the wider community. The school building-level programme focuses on school specific measures.
• The National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) of the Government of India also puts direct and full emphasis on “providing universal access to quality basic education”. Unsafe schools adversely affect the quality and reach of education in schools in poor and low-income areas. Education itself should include safety awareness. Small preparedness measures can make a great difference in areas that are at risk. The school safety audit can guide stakeholders to prepare and implement school based safety initiatives according to vulnerability and capacity of the schools.
• The Central Board for Secondary Education in India has introduced Disaster Management as a separate curriculum for standard VIII from the academic year 2003-2004, IX from 2004 – 2005 and standard X from 2005-2006. The various activities taken up by the Board for achieving the target included- Module Development, Circular on school safety, Awareness generation in form of painting competitions, exhibitions, debates and essay competitions, Development of Standard VIII, IX and X textbooks.

The above guiding principles have been identified as important area of intervention by researchers and policy makers. These guidelines would help in promoting and enabling schools to create a safe environment, a renewed focus on school safety education in primary and secondary Indian schools is becoming a trend now.

Dimensions of Safe Schools

According to the WHO, there are various dimensions of safety in schools; physical, emotional and social aspects, the infrastructural aspect, prevention and interventional aspect. Emotional and psychological safety comes from the trusting relationship nurtured by a teacher. The experiencing of a ‘trusting relationship’ with their teacher is psychologically significant for pupils and can help overcome any emotional issues or problems confronting them. Our teachers need to step up their role as the guardian of the students.

The development of trust and respect are a fundamental pedagogic responsibility of the teacher, as they help to establish ‘conditions of learning’ in the classroom. Infrastructural aspects may refer to the security of school building and prevention and intervention aspects may include; awareness of parents, assigning duties to teachers, school discipline policies, programs of in-service training of staff to prevent unsafe situations, curriculum with safety related topics, parent and community involvement, mock drills and finally annual review or evaluation of safety policy in schools. In the process of dealing with safety issues school authorities should include students as partners, preparedness should be initiated from the early years of school education as it is an age where children are most adaptable. Thus it is necessary to increase their awareness and understanding of threat from different quarters.

Development of School-Based Policies and Practices

The Guidelines to Support the Development of School-Based Safe School Education Policies and Practices are provided to assist schools and school authorities to develop their own policies. The schools must keep the school values at center before developing safe education policy. It is important that the policy must be linked to a whole school approach which emphasizes the promotion of resilience, linked to the beliefs and values of the school community. The Central Board of School Education has given guidelines to assist CBSE schools all over India. Board has advised schools to formulate safe school education programs for the students, this will help develop opportunities to acquire knowledge and skills for responsible decision-making, interacting, communicating, problem solving and critical thinking. The following figure-1, shows how safe school policy in schools can be formulated keeping the school values at the center. Schools have parent communities who work in partnership with them on wellbeing and safety issues. Leadership teams must work hard to involve the parents and make them feel welcome. Thus with parent involvement the safe school policy can formulated.

Figure 1: The School Safety Education Policy

The inner most circle in the diagram has aschool mission statement that should be a base for the safe school policy. The second circle is teaching learning context and parent partnership, and the outermost circle shows the safe school environment policy. Schools must incorporate their own specific value framework within a whole school approach to safe education with involvement and support of parents and wider community. It is the role of policymakers, government representatives, citizens and parents, to make sure that that every child receives the safe and secured environment in Schools.

A Whole School Approach

A whole-school approach is reflected in school policies and documentation, and the consistency between the perceptions of staff, students, parents and the leadership team. Whole school approaches are strategic, comprehensive and embedded rather than fragmented. A whole school approach for managing safe school environment requires all the members of the school community to work together, it focuses on: Prevention of safe and supportive environments and Intervention to provide appropriate support for student’s safety. Safety issues should be approached within the context of a school’s student discipline policy. The whole school approach provides a systematic and practical framework which schools can use to manage safety issues and ensure that the well-being and individual needs of all students is supported. The National Healthy school programme identified 10 elements for the development of an effective whole school approach (NISS 2004)

1) Leadership,
2) Management and management change
3) Policy development
4) Curriculum planning and resources
5) Teaching and learning
6) Culture and environment
7) Provision of support services
8) Staff professional development needs health and welfare
9) Partnership with parents and community
10) Assessing recording and reporting

Figure 2: A whole school approach to safe school environment education incorporating education and management strategies

The above Figure 2, presents a whole school approach in creating a safe school environment by incorporating education and management strategies in the school. There is an interconnection of three elements; the school ethos, curriculum inputs and partnerships and supervision for creating a whole school approach for school safety.

Let us discuss how these three elements are interconnected and can be used in arriving at whole school approach.

School Organization & Ethos

The responsibility of development of school ethos is the responsibility of a school leader. The ethos of a school is the culture felt across all aspects of the school. Factors such as connectedness and belonging, values and beliefs, fairness, justice, and success at school promote resilience in students.

The school ethos encompasses resilience of students. The school ethos can be seen and felt when staff look at and talk to each other and to children of school; the type of and range of school furniture, access to toilets and drinking water; whether and what type work is displayed, and how; whether and how students play a role in decision making and that is managed; and the type and range of emotional academic and extracurricular support and opportunities available for students in the school. For creating a safe school environment all the members of the school should be involved and the policies and procedures addressing school safety must be clearly communicated and understood by students, staff and parents.

Curriculum Inputs

Safe education planning needs to occur across the whole school curriculum. The curriculum refers to both the formal teaching and learning program in the school and the informal curriculum component. This provides students with an opportunity to gain knowledge and skills, and to develop attitudes and values that enable them to make informed decisions relating to safety

Partnerships & Services

Schools need to work collaboratively with parents and community agencies, to manage school safety. Schools have a significant role to play in providing information to parents about safety related issues through parent teachers meet, the school counselor and the school newsletter/magazine. Involvement of parents enhance the effectiveness of a school safety education program. It is essential for schools to establish meaningful links with community agencies.

Leadership Commitment in creating a Safe School Environment

Safe schools are most effectively developed when leadership teams have a vision for a strategic whole-school approach in which student wellbeing is a high priority and there is a focus on prevention as well as management. School Leadership must have a clear vision and take the responsibility for the development and maintenance of a safe, supportive and respectful learning environment in schools and also make an effort to communicate it across the school community. For this there should be plans in place to ensure that the vision is sustained for the longer term, with a clear understanding of the school’s current capacity to enhance the wellbeing and safety of its students and actions that need to be taken to enhance that capacity. Schools must be well equipped with the data about any unsafe incident occurring in and outside the school, may it be harassment, aggression, violence or bullying. This data should be time and again assessed to support the development and maintenance of a safe and supportive school. In prevention and intervention of safety related issues role of school leaders is important. The leaders must identify and support the key staff with specific responsibilities for student safety and wellbeing.

Critical Reflections

In India, unfortunately there is a lack of policy on student safety in large number of schools. There are no safety mechanisms in place nor any awareness or sincere efforts from the school management or the government to create a safe environment. The only efforts for safety in schools are various circulars time and again issued by the school boards that keep advising schools to ban corporal punishment and use confidence building and positive strokes to improve the performance and behavior patterns of the children. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBOSE) has brought out free of cost manuals on school safety with a checklist for different dimensions of safety which all schools can use as a ready reckoner to map their schools and plan ahead. But it is observed that schools often ignore the mandatory norms of safety made by educational boards and education departments. To add to the situation there is lack of effective quality assurance systems which make it easier for school managements to ignore school safety norms, they are even capable of getting all clear certificates for the schools from inspectors.

School leadership plays a vital role in planning, development, maintenance and setting the direction for safe schools. But the tragedy is that the large number of existing leaders are not equipped with the essential elements of good leadership. There are not many capacity building/leadership development programmers from government in place. Though the Central Board of School Education has taken initiatives like induction courses for first generation principals, strategic leadership courses in collaboration with leading business schools in India, specific contextualized training courses arranged with help from National University of Education and Planning, (NUEPA). But all these training programs are announced with a Fee amount ranging from Rs. 8000/- to 10,000. How many private school management would take initiative to send their principals for paid training programs? Such initiatives will work only if it is made mandatory by the board both the Central and the State Boards of education. Effective leadership development programs can ensure more and more schools to become vibrant learning communities under the direction of outstanding leaders. It is responsibility of the school boards to make holistic approaches towards curriculum and various educational programmes and make explicit process for building capacity of leaders at all levels. There is now an emphasis by Indian schools on prevention as well as intervention, this has happened because of changing social attitudes the society. Many high achieving/performing private and government schools have worked on school safety concerns, and made efforts to ensure physical and psychological safety of all students and staff by providing guidance for teachers and students. But so far there is no such evidence that these schools have shared their experiences or good practices with schools that need to create safe environment.

Conclusion

It is a fact that children spend maximum hours in school or on school property, a sense of security therefore is indispensable to bring out the hidden potential of each child to allow them to grow. Schools meet with many fatal accidents like; fire, building collapse, school bus accidents, injury in school labs and sports ground, brutal treatment inflicted by teachers or other unreported cases of bullying and violence. Such incidents have many serious psychological impact on the young minds Therefore educationists, whether they belong to government Institution or private Institution must be duty bound to protect every child from any form of harm or abuse in the schools. There must be immediate and speedy response to any kind of actual or perceived harm or abuse to children.

Mainstreaming safety concerns into school curricula in a whole school approach aims to raise awareness and provide a better understanding of safe environment for children, teachers and communities. There is evidence that students of all ages can actively study and participate in school safety measures, and also work with teachers and other adults in the community towards minimizing risk before, during and after any disaster events. Our teachers also have high levels of interest in making schools safe, but the constraints in time and resources hinder this many a times.

Our school leaders must identify safety related problems in schools, analyze them and make necessary changes, they have to be alert on the fact that as they find successful solutions to one set of problems, new challenges may arise. Along with school leaders equal role must be played by policymakers, government representatives, local citizens and parents in creating safe schools and go for regular follow up activities. All the schools must pay attention to the safety of its environment and evolve and adapt to changing circumstances while not losing the sight of primary objective of educating their students.

In 1931, the Soviets imposed a Latin script on the Buryat language, and in 1939, a Cyrillic-based one. But today increasing numbers of Buryats are studying their ancient vertical script which links them with the larger Mongol world of which they are a part – they were called Buryat Mongols until 1958 — and with Tibetan Buddhism and especially with the Dalai Lama.

“In contemporary Buryatia,” one Buryat blogger says, “in the framework of religious rebirth and interest in its own past, there is a great interest in the study of the Old Mongol language. It is curious,” he says, that [that] language often is understood not as a separate language … but as a writing system for Buryat; that is, the border between the two language systems is not felt.”

The blogger adds: “This is a quite interesting socio-linguistic phenomenon,” one that has analogues with the situation in Greece. And today “courses for the study of ‘Old Mongol writing’ exist in large numbers, in datsans [Buddhist religious shrines] and in [nominally secular] language schools” (buryaad-oronda.livejournal.com/696.html).

Only three Mongol languages have official status: Khalka Mongol in Mongolia itself and Buryat and Kalmyk in their respective republics inside the Russian Federation. Other Mongol languages – and there are about a dozen—are spoken in Chinese Inner Mongolia, and there people still use the Vertical script, albeit unofficially.

Until the 1930s, the Buryat blogger writes, the Buryat language was “officially called Buryat Mongol and lost the second part of its name in the course of a pitiless [Soviet] struggle with all possible pan movements, in this case with pan-Mongolism.” The change in name and writing system cut the Buryats off from other Mongols.

The ancient Vertical script, he continues, had been converted over time “into a certain analogue of Latin for medieval Europe or let us say classical Arabic for Arabs and the Islamic world, Persian for several Iranian peoples, and Old Church Slavonic for Orthodox Slavs,” a common literary language from which speakers in different regions increasingly diverged.

The Vertical Mongol script because of its religious ties to Tibetan Buddhism was also used by other peoples who had their own languages but used the Mongol one for religious purposes. Among these peoples are present-day Altays and Tuvins, both of which are Turkic peoples.

The Buryat language, the Buryat blogger says, thus has a different status from many of the languages of peoples of the Russian Federation: It has its own ancient script, its own lexical riches, and it has the ability to find words in ancient Mongol rather than have to take them from Russian when something new appears, must as modern Greeks do with classical Greek.

The Soviets tried to break this tradition in order to “destroy the single cultural space of the Mongol peoples” must as they had done with the Tajiks and Persians. But they went even further in their linguistic engineering: the Soviets chose to build modern Buryat around the dialect most distance from Khalka Mongol.

It is true that a large share of Buryats speak that dialect or one close to it, but there exists “an alternative literary language,” one based on a southern dialect which is “linguistically much closer to Khalka Mongol.” That dialect is now being revived by the current Khambo Lama Damba Ayusheyev, “for whom this dialect is native.”

Thus both the efforts of the leader of the Traditional Sangkha of Russia and of ordinary Buryats interested in their past are contributing to a growing sense of “the unity of a single cultural space for the Mongol peoples,” the foundation for the re-emergence of the pan-Mongol ideas Moscow has tried so hard to wipe out.

By Rasheed Abou-Alsamh

The horrific terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday night that left around 127 people dead, and more than 200 wounded, was a bloodbath of epic proportions. The Bataclan Theater, where a heavy metal concert was in progress when terrorists burst in firing with semi-automatic weapons, was the scene of the worst violence. According to survivors, the gunmen ran in shouting “This is for Syria!” and continued shooting into the crowd of spectators, reloading their guns several times as they ran out of bullets.

A couple of suicide bombers also blew themselves up outside the National Stadium in northern Paris while France played a friendly match against Germany. Two loud bangs could be heard by spectators of the game, but except for a short pause the game itself continued and the crowd was not informed of what was happening.

French President Francois Hollande was watching the match in the stadium, but after the explosions outside the venue he was quickly whisked away by his security. French police say that eight attackers were killed or blew themselves up around Paris in Friday’s carnage.

A French journalist speaking on BBC TV noted that three things important to French citizens were attacked on Friday night: Sports, music and cafés. Some misguided people blamed the Paris attacks on the Syrian refugees that have been flooding into Europe.

US Rep. Jeff Duncan, a Republican congressman for South Carolina’s third congressional district, tweeted “How’s that Syrian refugee resettlement look now? How about that mass migration into Europe? Terrorism is alive & well in the world. #No.”

The Palestinian journalist, Rula Jebreal, rebutted this accusation, saying: “Even before victims’ bodies cool, disgraceful politician exploits horrific #ParisAttack to blame desperate refugees.”

Other commentators on Twitter were quick to blame a radical interpretation of Islam as the prime motivation for the attacks. Kenneth Rapoza, a journalist who writes for Forbes magazine, in a series of tweets said he believed that all single Muslim men should be kept out of Europe as a way of keeping potential terrorists out. Many regurgitated the old accusation that Saudi Arabia was in any way funding terror outfits. This is an absurd accusation that they regularly bring up.

While some misguided Saudis may have given money to and even joined terror groups, this certainly does not mean that the Saudi government aids any terrorist organization. This is a crazy anti-Saudi accusation with no evidence to back it up, and is thrown about by people whose anti-Muslim and anti-Arab feelings are kept barely under the surface.

The terrorists certainly want to scare the French government into stopping their bombing of Daesh positions in Syria and Iraq, and to make the French fear for their lives as they go about their daily lives doing the things they love most. Hopefully the Parisians will bounce back from these terrible attacks, and continue going to cafés, concerts and watch football games in stadiums as usual.

Likewise, I hope that French authorities and the public at large do not fall prey to anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hatred because of these attacks. France has the largest Muslim population of any European country, an estimated 4.7 million, or 7.5 percent of the total population. It would be a great shame if the French moved back on their great traditions of liberty, equality and fraternity. The openness and freedom of western societies is one of their biggest strengths, and it would be terrible if these were to suffer because of the attacks. It is obvious that security measures and intelligence gathering need to be beefed up in France, especially when it was only 10 months ago that the deadly attacks on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket took place in Paris. But the spirit of freedom and welcoming refugees should not be lost in a fit of anti-Muslim and anti-Arab hysteria unleashed by these latest attacks.

That is exactly what the terrorists want to provoke. Let’s not give them that pleasure, and instead show the world that Muslims and Christians, Arabs and Europeans, can live together in peace and respect. We owe it to the world and to ourselves.

By Robert M. Cutler*

The Baltic States see Russia as an existential threat. Among the Nordic countries, NATO non-members Finland and Sweden have lately been subject to numerous Russian military incursions, both air and maritime. In 2014 Russian planes threatened to violate NATO airspace in the Nordic-Baltic region on average more than once daily.^[1] Many times they actually violated NATO airspace, before being escorted away. In perhaps the greatest provocation, last year Russian agents crossed the Estonian border to abduct an Estonian internal security officer sentenced to 15 years in a Russian prison before being released back to Estonia in early October.^[2] Cyber-attacks on several area governments have been traced to Russia, providing further evidence of hostility. Can Nordic-Baltic cooperation help provide a common defense?

Background^[3]

After the Baltic States achieved independence from the Soviet Union, the Baltic Assembly was created to institutionalize cooperation between the Baltic countries’ parliaments. Throughout the early 1990s, the Baltic Assembly remained a stand-alone organization: it promoted the foundation of the Baltic Council of Ministers (BCM) in 1993, but the latter did not hold its first meeting until 1994; and it declined to participate in the Baltic Assembly’s own April 1995 meeting.

During the last decade, however, the Baltic Assembly has been increasingly superseded by cooperation among the national executive branches, which reported directly to their respective national parliaments.^[4] In 2010 the highly influential “NB8 Wise Men Report” recommended embedding Baltic Assembly cooperation with the Nordic Council in a broader institutional framework that unites Baltic and Nordic officials.^[5] Inter-parliamentary cooperation was superseded by inter-executive and foreign-affairs coordination.

Patterns and Implications

There have been thee stages to the evolution of Nordic-Baltic cooperation since the end of the Cold War. Change has been driven by internal and external factors. In the first phase, Nordic-Baltic cooperation tended to be bilateral, involving pairs of states from different groupings. In the second phase, each region consolidated its own internal cooperation. In the third phase, the Baltic and Nordic countries have consolidated their mutual cooperation and sought to address external challenges.^[6]

In more detail: During the first stage, from the mid-1990s until about ten years ago, while the Baltic States were trying to re-establish their own mutual diplomatic cooperation, they also cooperated with the Nordic countries to prepare for EU membership. Mainly on the basis of historical and cultural ties, Finland informally became the Estonian “lobby” (propelled by similar language origins, tourism, and investment) and Sweden the Latvian lobby (historical ties back to the Swedish Empire plus Latvian diaspora in Sweden), while non-Nordic Poland became the Lithuanian lobby (harking back to their historical Commonwealth and more recent geopolitical common interests).^[7]

In the second stage, following the Baltic States’ accession to both the EU and NATO in mid-2004, they sought over the course of the following decade, to rationalize their cooperation as a group, including inside the EU. The creation of the Nordic-Baltic 6 (NB6) group complemented the Baltic States’ accession to the EU. The EU and the EP provided the Baltic States many opportunities to constitute themselves as an informal group and to encounter other such informal regional groupings as the Nordic countries also acting as a group. So inter-regional cooperation within the European context became a new focus.

The third stage of this evolution is in evidence since 2014. External circumstances have driven the Baltic and Nordic groups to coordinate common perspectives, positions, and actions not just regarding regional or EU questions, but also regarding Russia. This stage includes a southward enlargement of Nordic-Baltic cooperation to include explicitly the Visegrád group, comprising Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. Interestingly, this development has led to the BA’s mild renaissance by expanding the universe of its potential partners.

One would expect the same to occur in the future regarding Baltic cooperation more generally, as the region becomes institutionally better networked with other neighboring regions. This phenomenon occurs in the context of the ongoing consolidation of post-Cold War geo-economics, often strongly influenced by international energy flows and cooperation, of which the EU’s Energy Union initiative is only the most striking recent example. In particular, the newly renovated program of “Trans-Europe Networks: Energy” (TEN-E) includes significant projects to enhance integration of inter-Baltic and Nordic-Baltic gas pipeline and electricity distribution networks.

Conclusion and Prospects for the Future

The scope of Nordic-Baltic cooperation in the NB8 format began to deepen only in the years following 2000, when a joint foreign-ministerial meeting hosted by Denmark decided on a new format. Denmark is the only Nordic member of both NATO and the EU, and also the only one having, through its geography, security interests in both the Arctic Sea and Baltic Sea. One might suppose, therefore, that Denmark would be an ideal “hinge” for swinging the Nordic countries and the Baltic States into a real cooperative venture.

Notwithstanding Denmark’s diplomatic prestige, its size does not give the weight for creating great momentum. Nevertheless, it was Denmark that catalyzed the transformation of “5+3” cooperation into the NB8. This year Denmark has succeeded in further catalyzing the cooperation between the NB8 and the V4, begun under Swedish impetus in 2013. The addition of the V4 as a third “pole” of cooperation could mollify conflicting interests between the Nordic and Baltic groups, particularly as regards preoccupation with Arctic vs. Baltic Sea issues. Poland, the only V4 country with a coast on the Baltic Sea, is the natural geo-strategic link from the V4 to the Baltic region and the Arctic region.

Against this background, Nordic-Baltic defense-coordination questions enjoyed a first renaissance following the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia. A succession of ad hoc post–Cold War adaptations coalesced by 2009 into the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO), comprising NATO members Denmark, Iceland, and Norway plus non-NATO members Finland and Sweden.^[8] NORDEFCO was from the beginning limited only to logistics cooperation and resource sharing. Even with respect to those limited goals, however, one report found in 2013 that “many of the cooperation proposals investigated did not meet established cost and efficiency criteria.”^[9]

The question of Swedish or Finnish accession to NATO is not for the moment a prospect. Swedish government circles continue to cling to the image of neutrality or non-alignment inherited from their Cold War-era diplomatic profile. A growing minority of Swedish public opinion does, however, seem to favor the idea. However, for historical reasons of Finnish deference to Russia (it was part of the Tsarist Empire and pursued “Finlandization” during the Cold War), Finland will not consider joining NATO until at least Sweden has done so. A recent German analysis has nevertheless concluded that even if “Nordic-Baltic military integration in the direction of collective defense [is] severely limited,” still it could be a “role model” for Visegrád-group or Black Sea security cooperation.^[10]

About the author:
*Robert M. Cutler is Senior Research Fellow, Institute of European, Russian & Eurasian Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa. He is also Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Coherence and Emergence (Boston), and Non-Resident Scholar, Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (Dubai). He has held research and teaching appointments at major universities in the United States, Canada, France, Switzerland and Russia.

Source:
This article was published by FPRI.

Notes:
[1] David Mardiste and Jonathan Saul, “NATO scrambles jets 400 times in 2014 as Russian air activity jumps,” Reuters, 20 November 2014, at http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/20/us-ukraine-crisis-nato-stoltenberg-idUSKCN0J41H520141120#EE4rmzoFRdqSmRxZ.99 Not every one of these incidents was a response to an actual violation, although they helped to prevent incursions. For a list of roughly twice-weekly incursions from early November 2014 through mid-March 2015, see Thomas Frear (comp.), “New incidents following the publication of ELN report Dangerous Brinkmanship, November 2014 to 12 March 2015,” European Leadership Network, [13 March 2015], at http://www.europeanleadershipnetwork.org/medialibrary/2015/03/11/4264a5a6/ELN%20Russia%20-%20West%20Full%20List%20of%20Incidents.pdf.

Paris on Friday (Nov. 13) night suffered a series of simultaneous assaults, which left at least 129 people dead and around 350 wounded. They included a mass shooting at a concert hall, several shootings at bars and restaurants, and several bomb detonations, including more than one near France’s national stadium, where a soccer match between the French and German national teams was in progress. It was a brutal attack intended to sow mayhem and terror.

According to the Paris prosecutor, Francois Molins, the attackers were all armed with heavy weaponry and suicide vests. Their assault began at 9:20 p.m. Friday, when one of the attackers detonated a suicide bomb outside the gates of the soccer stadium on the northern outskirts of Paris. It ended at 12:20 a.m. Saturday when the authorities stormed a concert hall, the Bataclan. One attacker there was killed; two others detonated suicide vests.

According to officials in France and Belgium, 3 of the seven suicide bombers killed in the Paris attacks were French citizens of which 2 of them had been living in the Brussels area and the other in a suburb of Paris. Three other assailants presumably had false passports – one from Syria and two from Turkey. We are also informed that two rented cars from Belgium were used for the attacks and that an eighth assailant might have escaped.

A day earlier on Thursday, in central Beirut – the stronghold for the Hijbullah – 43 persons were killed and 230 wounded in twin suicide attacks, apparently caused by Daesh (an Arabic acronym for ISIS/L) supporters. [As usual, the western media barely mentioned the carnage in Beirut.] On Thursday US drone attack in Raqqa had also hit the Daesh positions that may have killed its intended target – the so-called Jihadi John.

Was the Paris attack a revenge? I doubt it.

The French casualties included people of all faiths. The assaults came as France, a founder member of the U.S.-led coalition waging air strikes against Daesh, was on high alert for terrorist attacks, raising questions about how the attacks were able to occur.

President Francois Hollande called the attacks an “act of war” carried out by Daesh. In a live address on Saturday morning in France, Hollande said, “It’s an act of war perpetrated by a terrorist army, Daesh, against France, against a free country.” “These attacks were prepared, planned from the outside, with internal complicity.”

Daesh claimed responsibility for the attacks in an apparent statement released on social media in Arabic and French, calling Paris “the capital of prostitution and obscenity,” and said that France’s actions in Syria were a factor in the decision to target the country.

What is surprising is the level of sophistication in planning and execution that had not been seen since the 2008 attacks in Bombay, India. It was the worst attack on a European city since the Madrid bombings in 2004, when 190 people were killed and more than 1,800 wounded, in four coordinated attacks on commuter trains.

The assaults in Paris took place against the background of two major ongoing international crises: the Syrian conflict and the war against Daesh, and the refugee crisis that now besets Europe. No wonder that they have sparked a cycle of blame and outrage that has become bleakly familiar. The possibility that one of the attackers was a Syrian migrant or had posed as one is sure to further complicate the already vexing problem for Europe of how to handle the unceasing flow of people from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. It could also lend weight to the xenophobic arguments of right-wing extremists like Marine Le Pen, the leader of the National Front party, who on Saturday held a news conference to declare that “France and the French are no longer safe.” “Islamist fundamentalism must be annihilated, France must ban Islamist organizations, close radical mosques and expel foreigners who preach hatred in our country as well as illegal migrants who have nothing to do here.”

The anti-immigrant right-wing politicians in Europe are already exploiting the tragedy in Paris to create an atmosphere of Islamophobia. Deliberately missing in their narratives is the fact that many of the national soccer players playing for both Germany and France are Muslims, and that some of the victims in the indiscriminate shootings also included Muslims, and that the assailants included native French nationals. Lest we forget, most of the victims of Daesh attacks throughout the Middle East have been Muslims – Sunnis and Shi’as alike. Nor should one be oblivious of the ugly truth that Daesh’s meteoric rise owes it to the civil unrest in Iraq and Syria, and in all likelihood would not have its illegitimate birth had Iraq been not attacked in 2003 in an illegal war by war criminals like Bush and Blaire. Nor should we forget that the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have only brought misery and tragedy to the people there and are intrinsically related to the conflicts and the instability of the region.

The right-wing extremists also don’t tell that mass immigration has been a boon to Western Europe. It has brought great economic benefits and helped create societies that are less insular, more vibrant and more cosmopolitan.

Regrettably some western leaders continue to say that Paris attacks were against western values. These are absurd claims since those terrorists did not target symbols of the French state, or of French militarism. They did not even target tourist spots. They targeted, rather, the areas and the places where mainly young, anti-racist, multi-ethnic Parisians (including Muslims) hang out. The cafes, restaurants, bars and music venue that were attacked – Le Carillon, La Belle Equipe, Le Petit Cambodge, and the Bataclan – are in the 10th and 11th arrondissements, areas that, though increasingly gentrified, remain ethnically and culturally mixed and still with a working-class presence.

The other venue attacked was the Stade de France, the national football stadium. France and Germany were playing a game there on Friday night, and French President was in attendance. As noted by Kenan Malik, a British author, the Stade de France, like France’s national football team, also “has great cultural resonance. ‘Les Bleus’ – as the team is known – are seen by many as an embodiment of multicultural France, a team consisting of ‘noir, blanc, beur’ (black, white, Arab) players. It was in the Stade de France that Les Bleus, led by Zinedine Zidane, a French Muslim of Algerian descent, famously won the World Cup in 1998.”

What happened in Paris last Friday and elsewhere across Europe earlier are pure nihilistic activities by terrorists who are angry for a plethora of reasons. Finding connection with religion is a silly exercise. “Such attacks are not about making a political point or achieving a political goal but are expressions of nihilistic savagery, the aim of which is solely to create fear. This is not terrorism with a political aim, but terror as an end in itself,” says Malik.

As of writing this piece, not much is known about the terrorists except that they were speaking about France’s presence in Syria, and that one yelled “Allahu Akbar” before opening fire in a crowded concert hall.

The Qur’an forbids such acts unequivocally saying that “if any one slew a person – unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land – it would be as if he slew all mankind: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind” (5:32).

Muslims around the world, from religious leaders and politicians to ordinary people, meanwhile, are condemning the attacks.

In an official statement, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said, “In the name of the Iranian people, who have themselves been victims of terrorism, I strongly condemn these crimes against humanity and offer my condolences to the grieving French people and government.”

Indonesian president Joko Widodo condemned the “violence that took place in Paris,” and called for more international cooperation to fight terrorism.

Leaders of Arab states called the attacks immoral and inhumane. Qatar’s foreign minister Khaled al-Attiyah denounced the “heinous attacks,” adding, “these acts, which target stability and security in France are against all human and moral values.” Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah called the attacks “criminal acts of terrorism which run counter to all teachings of holy faith and humanitarian values.” The Saudi foreign ministry called for global cooperation to “root out this dangerous and destructive plague.”

The head of Sunni Islam’s leading seat of learning, Egypt’s Al-Azhar, condemned the “hateful incident” and urged “the world to unite to confront this monster”.

The top religious authority in Saudi Arabia, the council of senior ulama (religious scholars), said the attacks were “contrary to Islam and its principles”.

Bassem Naim, head of the Islamist Palestinian movement Hamas’s Council of International Relations, called the attacks “acts of aggression and barbarity”.

In the social media, a British Imam Mansoor Ahmad Clarke tweeted, “I am a British Imam and I condemn these barbaric attacks. I pray to God for all the victims and their families.”

A British author Ayisha Malik tweeted, “Gunmen were heard shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ but I did the same tonight, in my room, praying for those killed & their families.”

So, what’s next?

After the attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris earlier this year, dozens of mosques in France were attacked, and Muslim-owned businesses threatened. Friday’s terror attack may spawn another wave of anti-Muslim violence.

Many of the European states are closing borders ignoring the fact that refugees and migrants are often attempting to flee just the kind of carnage that came to the streets of Paris on Friday. (As rightly noted in a Twitter account, “Over 200,000 people have died in Syria in the past 4.5 years. That’s a Paris attack EVERY SINGLE DAY. That’s what refugees are fleeing.”)

And far from waving migrants across Europe’s borders, the EU has spent 25 years building a fortress against migration, protected by militarised border controls. Still the inevitable happened! Paris imploded.

Mr. Hollande vowed to “be unforgiving” with those who were behind the attacks. It is understandable that in the wake of a horror such as that in Paris, he would like to seek quick solutions. But the problem of terrorism is more complicated than that. If he really wants to address the issue of terrorism he ought to address the complexities, too.

He must start with introspection and recognize that the Paris attacks have been the work of home-grown nihilists who have no respect for anyone’s life – Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Pointing the finger at ‘radical’ Muslims or refugees would not only sidestep the problem of home-grown nihilism, but it would also foment more Islamophobia and anti-immigrant hatred, further polarizing European societies.

Our world leaders must recognize that in our age of information superhighways, it is easy for many youths to get self-radicalized and perceive nihilism as the alternative to deal with the problems that they face and the double-standards that they regularly see. Many are confused and fall prey to propaganda.

Many of the third generation European Muslims, born and raised there, are still considered outsiders in those societies. They are denied citizenship. Many face widespread discrimination and harassment. Rather than getting integrated within the society, European pseudo-multiculturalism has failed them miserably. This needs to be corrected for the greater good of Europe.

The fascist and Islamophobic parties have made major electoral gains by stoking fears about multiculturalism. Mainstream politicians have joined in, too, providing a wrong signal to all.

If we want a world in which human dignity is to be respected and honored, and human rights protected, our world leaders must learn to walk their talk. When they are silent about the horrible terrorist attacks in Turkey (that left approximately 128 people dead and 500 injuredand in October) and Lebanon and are all agog about Paris, they send a wrong message. When they categorize Paris attacks as attacks on ‘civilization’, are we to interpret that the attacks in Beirut and Ankara were not against civilized people? Do French lives matter more than Lebanese, Turkish, Kurdish, and Yemeni ones? Were these not, too, “heinous, evil, vile acts”?” When they define Israel’s war-crimes on Gaza as acts of self-defense that is like mocking history, an insult to the memory of the thousands of dead Gazans, including hundreds of children, killed by the Israeli army. When their drone attacks against targeted individuals (the alleged terrorists) kill mostly unarmed, innocent civilians from Pakistan to Somalia, what they are committing are war crimes. Pure and simple! It is also an act of hypocrisy from a country that claims to be a firm defender of human rights and accountability.

Like many of the other colonial enterprises, the French society is imploding. Like the British and U.S. governments, it used the “civilizing” and “liberalizing” narrative to deny sovereignty, justify the colonization process and build an empire. Under Sarkozy, it defended the fallacy of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq to support an illegal war. These “civilizing”, “liberalizing” or “national security” justifications were wrongful foreign policy narratives that have brought extensive suffering and had disastrous and long-term implications not only for the ‘other’ people in ‘liberated’ countries but also their own societies. As Malcolm X would say, the chickens have now come home to roost.

As long as the powerful governments fail to learn from its past mistakes they will likely perpetuate the long-lasting injustice of the area, obviate further atrocities, and prolong the suffering of entire populations. There is no escape from this sad outcome.

With an aim to brainstorm the effective ways to organize the First World Islamic Spiritual Summit in Delhi, an apex body of Sufi Sunni Muslims in India, All India Ulema & Mashaikh Board (AIUMB) hosted a preparatory meet at Centrum Hotel, New Friends Colony, New Delhi.

With a number of Islamic scholars, clerics, imams, Sufi mashaikh, writers and journalists, university graduates, social activists and grassroots workers, this pre-summit event was aimed at finding newer ways of spreading the Islamic message of peace and tolerance as a counterattack on the ideological extremism that seems to be growing faster in the world, including the Indian subcontinent too.

The meeting was part of a broad agenda of AIUMB to foster global peace and Islamic spirituality and pluralism by countering extremist ideologies. The agenda is to determine how the Board can further contribute to reducing the deleterious impact of religious extremism, doctrinal conservatism, and theological radicalism penetrating into the mindset of the global Muslim community in general and the new generation of Indian Muslims in particular.

It also discussed the global threat of ISIS extremism disturbing the global peace and finding ways to penetrate into our country.
At the very outset, AIUMB national secretary, Syed Hasan Jamee, briefed the participants about the aims and objectives of the upcoming World Islamic Spiritual Summit. They can be summarised into the following:

• To present “Sufi Islam” as a rival to religious terrorism and extremism.
• To acquaint the governments of India particularly and the world in general, media and non-Muslims with the fact that the majority of Indian Muslims believe in the Sufism that teaches peace and tolerance.
• To give a practical shape to the unity of the Sufi ideologues, moderate Islamic scholars, intellectuals and heads of Sufi shrines (Mashaikh).
• To promote cultural, religious, ideological and academic relations between Indian Sufi scholars and mystics (Mashaikh) and those of the other parts of the world.

In a nutshell, the summit aims to focus on universal harmony as enshrined in the spiritual Islamic teachings and values for individual, social and cosmic well being. Its central premise is to bring about solidarity, peace, prosperity and welfare in the world through the agency of Islamic spirituality.

In his remarks, Founder-President of AIUMB, Syed Ashraf Miyan Kichauchawi explained the AIUMB plan to organise “the First World Islamic Spiritual Summit” what can be called an International Sufi Conference. Speaking in detail about the summit, he stated that “Sufi Ulama, Mashaikh, Imams and muftis from Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, USA, Europe (particularly Egypt, Morocco, India, Bosnia, Pakistan, UAE and war-torn Syria), all have come out to tackle the onslaught of religious extremism now”. He said that “It was the first time that an Indian apex body of Sufi Sunni Muslims, Ulama & Mashaikh Board (AIUMB) had gathered millions of mainstream Muslims and intellectually demolished the ideology and theology of Al Qaeda and like-minded groups. The misguiding ideas of extremist elements were sabotaged.”

However, he said, one conference is not enough. We need a much larger platform to contain the dangers of the extremists’ movements. Keeping this in view, we are going to organise an international Sufi conference or Religious Leaders’ Summit in the beginning of next year (2016). “This conference will illustrate that mainstream Sufi-Sunni Muslims have the beautiful spiritual ideas and energetic drive to eradicate the cancer of extremism and intolerance in the name of Islam”.

Syed Mohammed Mehdi Miyan Gaddi Nashin Dargah Ajmer Shareef (Astana-e-Gareeb Nawaz), Chief Patron of AIUMB, said that “presenting the spiritual narrative of Islamic faith and practices is the pressing need today. “Sufi Hospices are very nice epitomes of Islam-based practises that foster peace and unconditional love for humanity.” Notably, he is a counted as a renowned spiritual master of Chishti Sufi order today.

He further said, “Sufi ideology is based on peace, brotherhood and tolerance through which the message of peace and harmony is being circulated to the entire world. In the rapidly changing arena of the world, we should present Islamic mysticism as the only school of thought which represents the true spirit of Islam”.

Maulana Syed Tanweer Hashmi (President, AIUMB Karnataka branch) said: “At a time when Islam is being presented as a religion of terror in the world, it has been proved that those who are involved in terrorism have no ideological link with peaceful Sufi doctrines and Islamic mysticism”. “We have to categorically state that the bearers of this peaceful ideology are the mainstream Muslims the world over, and they are in overwhelming majority in India too. Therefore, we urgently need to revive the teachings of Islamic mysticism and spread the Sufis’ messages of universal love and brotherhood, because it is the only Islamic ideology which can ensure global peace, national unity and religious harmony”, he said.

Maulana Abdul Moid Azhari, AIUMB office secretary informed the media that the event will comprise of an international seminar and a large-scale massive conference. They will be respectively organized in Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan and Ram Lila Maidan on March 17, 18, 19 and 20. He intimated that Sufi clerics and scholars representing different spiritual traditions (Sufi Silsilas) will come and address both the seminar and conference.

Some the most notable foreign Sufi guests and speakers will be: Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyab (Chancellor Jamia Azhar, Cairo, Egypt), Naqibul Ashraaf Syed Ahmad Zafar Gilani (Sajjada Nasheen, Khanqahe Qadria, Baghdad, Iraq), Sheikh Sabah Ahmad Ibrahim (U.A.E), Sheikh Yousuf Hashim Rifayee (U.A.E), Sheikh Hazim Abu Ghazala (Oman), Sheikh Halabi Ahmad (Syria), Sheikh Habib Ali Al-Jifri (Yemen), Sheikh Abdul Basit Al Azhari (Tajikistan) and many other eminent Sufi Ulama and Mashaikh from different parts of the world. Besides, majority of the Sajjadagan (heads of the Sufi shrines), scholars, writers and Ulama will take part in it. In this meet, a number of Muslim students from Jamia Millia Islamia, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, Jamia Hamdard University and Delhi University as well as young activists and Urdu journalists participated and came up with helpful ideas.

*Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, English-Arabic-Urdu Writer, Columnist, Translator, Speaker & Trainer and Doctoral Research Scholar, Centre for Culture, Media & Governance (JMI University); NET Holder in Arab Culture and Islamic Studies; M.A in Comparative Religions & Civilisations; M.A in Islamic Studies; and Alim and Fazil (Classical Islamic Scholar).

By Fikrejesus Amahazion*

Food insecurity is one of the most pressing humanitarian issues in the Horn of Africa, and the situation is expected to deteriorate further over the coming months. Ethiopia, in particular, is faced with a massive crisis. According to the European Commission, “[t]he situation in Ethiopia is at present the most alarming, where the number of food insecure people has increased from 2.9 million at the beginning of the year to 8.2 million by early October. It is foreseen that these numbers will further rise up to 15 million by the end of 2015.

Rates of acute under-nutrition are well above emergency thresholds in many parts of the country, while the response to this situation is hampered by an important shortage of nutrition supplies. In the worst affected areas in the Northern, Central and Eastern regions hundreds of thousands of livestock deaths are reported.” Moreover, UNICEF warns that a large number of those facing hunger will be children; approximately 5 million children will “require relief food assistance during the last quarter of 2015,” with hundreds of thousands urgently requiring treatment for acute severe malnutrition.

The crisis is largely being attributed to the El Niño weather phenomenon and the underperformance of two consecutive rainy seasons, which have combined to negatively affect the country’s agricultural harvest cycle. During the last two months, prolonged, erratic and insufficient rainfall has led to poor vegetation conditions in southern Ethiopia, and widespread drought, which has severely impacted ground conditions.

However, although environmental factors have been significant, it is important to examine the crisis within a broader framework. The roots of hunger are multidimensional and complex; beyond immediate environmental causes, hunger involves a variety of factors including, amongst others, socio-political and governance dynamics. According to scholar Tim Hitchcock, “famines aren’t about the lack of food in the world. They aren’t about the lack of aid. We know that the harvest is going to fail in Eastern Africa once every 12 to 15 years. If you have a working state and your harvest fails, you raise the cash and you buy food and ship it in, and you make sure it is distributed. You don’t allow people to starve.” In Ethiopia, “[hunger and] food insecurity stems from government failures in addressing major structural problems” (Siyoum, Hilhorst, and Van Uffelen 2012).

The European Union (EU) has provided over €1 billion in humanitarian aid to the Horn of Africa since 2011, much of which has gone to Ethiopia. Annually, Ethiopia receives hundreds of millions of dollars in aid from a variety of bilateral and multilateral sources; across the 2004-2013 period, the country was the world’s 4th largest recipient of foreign assistance, receiving nearly $6 billion, while in 2011 alone, its share of total global official development assistance – approximately 4 percent – placed it behind only Afghanistan. However, even while it has long-been one of the leading recipients of foreign, humanitarian, and food aid in the world, the country continues to face crises. Why?

One influential factor is the debilitating mix of domestic corruption and poor governance. According to prominent development scholar and international economist Dambisa Moyo (2009), aid is often closely linked to corruption and poor governance, and “aid flows destined to help the average African…[get] used for anything, save the developmental purpose for which they were intended.” Moreover, “a constant stream of ‘free’ money is a perfect way to keep an inefficient or simply bad government in power.”

In the 1980s, during widespread famine and drought, Ethiopia’s brutal Dergue regime, led by Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam, diverted millions in humanitarian aid to the military, while under the despotic rule of Meles Zenawi, aid was frequently utilized as a political tool of manipulation and repression. Several months ago, leaked emails revealed that the Ethiopian regime, which is now making appeals for aid and external support, was paying the Italian surveillance firm, Hacking Team, to illegally monitor journalists critical of the government.

Corruption and poor governance remain deeply embedded within Ethiopia’s socio-political structure, and the country consistently scores extremely poorly on the World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators, especially within the areas of corruption, rule of law, and governance (Kaufmann, Kraay, and Mastruzzi 2010; World Bank 2014). The indicators, based upon a variety of perceptions-based data sources, provide measures for various states, with scores ranging from around –2.5 (low) to around 2.5 (high). Table 1 illustrates that corruption, rule of law, and governance are significant problems within Ethiopia.

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Another area of considerable concern is democracy and civil liberties. Ethiopia has been consistently criticized by an array of international rights groups for its broad range of human rights abuses including its harsh repression of minorities and journalists, press censorship, draconian anti-terror laws that are utilized to silence all forms of dissent, and brutal crackdowns upon opposition groups and protestors.

According to the Polity IV Project (Marshall and Gurr 2013), which is widely used in international comparative analyses of democracy, governance, and human rights practices, Ethiopia is one of the most authoritarian, autocratic states in the world. The Polity IV Project codes the political characteristics of states, using an array of data sources, to rank states from –10, representing least democratic and most autocratic states, to 10, representing most democratic states. Table 2 displays that Ethiopia’s scores place it within the autocratic, authoritarian category.

The applicability of this categorization is underscored by the fact that, mere months ago, the government in Addis Ababa won 100 percent of parliamentary seats in a widely discredited national election that involved massive irregularities and intimidation, crackdowns, and arrests of the opposition.

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Importantly, scholars and analysts have pointed to the existence of an intricate relationship between democracy, civil liberty, and hunger or famine. According to internationally renowned development and human rights scholar Amartya Sen, “no democracy has ever suffered a great famine” (1999: 180-181). Specifically, Sen notes that throughout history famines have been avoided in democratic states because these states’ promotion of political and civil rights afford people the opportunity to draw forceful attention to their general needs and to demand appropriate public action through voting, criticizing, protesting, and the like. Authoritarian states, which curtail democracy and a free press, sustain much less pressure to respond to the acute suffering of their people and can therefore continue with faulty policies. Sen’s discussion of many of the great famines within recent history – including those in Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, China, the former USSR, and North Korea – helps emphasize the fundamental relationship between democracy, civil liberties, and widespread famine and hunger (Sen 1999).

Ironically, while Ethiopia is facing a hunger crisis and making urgent appeals for aid, tonnes of food are actually leaving the country. This illogical development is due to the fact that the regime in Addis has sold large tracts of arable land to a range of foreign investors and corporations in transactions described as “land grabs.” The process also involves “villagization,” a government-led program which entails the forcible relocation of indigenous communities from locations reserved for large, foreign-owned plantations. Reports by rights groups list a plethora of human rights violations, including murders, beatings, rapes, imprisonment, intimidation, and political coercion by the government and authorities.

A report by the Oakland Institute (OI), a prominent international human rights organization, vividly describes how via “strongarm tactics reminiscent of apartheid South Africa, the Ethiopian regime has moved tens of thousands of people against their will to purpose-built communes that have inadequate food and lack health and education facilities to make way for large, foreign-owned commercial agricultural projects.”Notably, the program has also led to food insecurity, a destruction of livelihoods and the loss of cultural heritage of ethnic groups.

Essentially, the Ethiopian regime’s participation in “land grabs” represents a dire lack of leadership, prioritization, and proper governance. It has caused terrible disruption to local communities and greatly harmed food security in the name of economic development. Such failure is reminiscent of previous humanitarian crises in the country. As described by Mosse (1993), during the 1960s and 1970s, the nomadic Afars of Ethiopia were displaced from their pasturelands in the Awash valley. The Awash River was controlled in the 1960s to provide irrigation for Dutch, Israeli, Italian, and British firms to grow sugar and cotton. Consequently, the annual flooding of the river, which covered the valley with rich soil and provided grazing lands for the Afars, was disrupted. The Afars went in search of new pastures and attempted to make a living on the ecologically fragile uplands, which were poorly suited to their nomadic lifestyle. Cattle found less to eat and the Afars began to starve. Subsequently, when drought struck Ethiopia’s Wollo region in 1972, between 25 and 30 percent of the Afars perished. The problem was not due to particular inadequacies of the Afars – who had flourished for centuries; rather, the problem was with the attempt to develop the Afar lands and bring them into the mainstream economy, without any regard for their actual needs. Ultimately, the pursuit of economic growth or development, if not sensitive or responsive to local needs, can so damage existing local populations and communities that substantial harm, poverty, deprivation, and hunger are created as a result (Mosse 1993).

Ethiopia’s hunger crisis is an important humanitarian issue meriting immediate attention and concern. In order to fully understand the crisis it is imperative to recognize that while the environment has been an important contributing factor, a range of other structural socio-political and governance dynamics, including corruption, the lack of rule of law or democracy, poor governance, failures in long-term planning, and misplaced national and development priorities have also been highly influential.

* Fikrejesus Amahazion, PhD is a Horn of Africa scholar focusing on African development, human rights and political economy.

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter and French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian discussed the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Sunday morning during the second phone call between the two defense leaders since the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said.

“This was an opportunity to share actions that both governments are taking in the wake of the attack,” Cook said in a statement summarizing the call. “They agreed on concrete steps the U.S. and French militaries should take to further intensify our close cooperation in prosecuting a sustained campaign against ISIL.”

Carter reiterated the firm commitment of the United States to support France and move together to ensure ISIL is dealt a lasting defeat, the press secretary said, adding that they agreed to continue to remain in close contact in the days ahead.

A study appearing in Science magazine shows a vast ice sheet in northeast Greenland has begun a phase of speeded-up ice loss, contributing to destabilization that will cause global sea-level rise for “decades to come.”

A team of scientists, including a researcher from the University of Kansas-based Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS), found that since 2012 warmer air and sea temperatures have caused the Zachariæ Isstrøm ice sheet to “retreat rapidly along a downward-sloping, marine-based bed.”

By itself, the Zachariæ Isstrøm glacier holds enough water to trigger a half-meter rise in ocean levels around the world.

“The acceleration rate of its ice velocity tripled, melting of its residual ice shelf and thinning of its grounded portion doubled, and calving is occurring at its grounding line,” the authors wrote.

“Ice loss is happening fast in glaciological terms, but slow in human terms — not all in one day or one year,” said John Paden, associate scientist for CReSIS and courtesy associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at KU, who helped analyze data about the thickness of the glacier’s ice for the study.

Paden’s collaborators include J. Mouginot, E. Rignot, B. Scheuchl, M. Morlighem and A. Buzzi from the University of California Irvine, along with I. Fenty and A. Khazendar of the California Institute of Technology.

“Within a few generations, ice loss could make a substantial difference in sea levels,” Paden said. “When you add up all the glaciers that are retreating, it will make a difference to a large number of people. Sea level has increased some over the last century, but only a small number of people have been affected compared to what is likely to come.”

Paden crunched data acquired by CReSIS during NASA’s Operation IceBridge and previous NASA flights over Greenland, including decades-old measurements of Zachariæ Isstrøm. The sensor development and data processing tools used to do this were funded through National Science Foundation and NASA grants, with the support of many CReSIS collaborators.

“There are several other sources of data, but one of them is the Landsat satellite imagery that goes back to 1975,” Paden said. “With that, you can look at what the ice shelf is doing, how it’s shrinking over time. Satellite optical and radar imagery were used to measure surface-velocity changes over time and to measure the position of the grounding line based on tidal changes.”

Paden said the “grounding line,” or the boundary between land and sea underneath a glacier, is a zone of special interest.

“The grounding line is where the ice sheet starts to float and is where the ice flux was measured,” Paden said. “The grounding line is a good place to determine thickness across the ice. The terminus of Zachariæ Isstrøm is now at the grounding line — the ocean is right up against the grounded part of the glacier.”

While air temperatures have warmed, causing boosted surface runoff, Paden said ice loss from calving off the front of the glacier into the ocean accounts for most of the ice mass reduction from Zachariæ Isstrøm.

“Ice floating out into the ocean and melting is greater than the ice lost from surface melting,” he said.

A neighboring glacier with an equal amount of ice, named Nioghalvfjersfjorden, is also melting fast but receding gradually along an uphill bed, according to the researchers. Because Zachariæ Isstrøm is on a downslope, it’s disappearing faster.

“The downward slope combined with warming ocean temperatures is what seems to be causing the acceleration now and why we predict it will continue to accelerate over the next few decades,” Paden said. “Until its grounding line is pinned on an upslope bed, then the dynamic effect is expected to decrease.”

Together, the ice in Zachariæ Isstrøm and Nioghalvfjersfjorden represent a 1.1-meter rise in sea levels worldwide. According to the KU researcher, the team’s work is intended to inform people in coastal areas who need to make choices about the future.

“From a societal standpoint, the reason why there’s so much focus on ice sheets is because predicted sea level rise will affect nearly every coastal country — the United States for sure, and low-lying countries with limited resources are likely to be the worst off. Mass displacements of potentially millions of people will affect countries that have no coastlines. We study this to have an understanding of how soon things are likely to happen and to help us use our limited resources mitigate the problem.”

(EurActiv) — Prosecutors on Sunday disclosed a growing Belgian connection to the Paris attacks as Premier Charles Michel conceded that a Brussels neighbourhood is a “gigantic problem” given its past links to international terrorism.

Belgian prosecutors cooperating with their French counterparts said two assailants killed in Friday’s attacks were Frenchmen who had lived in Brussels, that two cars tied to the attacks found in Paris were rented in Belgium, and Belgian police have detained seven people.

At least one of the dead assailants and five of the people arrested in raids on Saturday had spent time in the poor immigrant Brussels neighbourhood of Molenbeek, officials said.

The results of the probe so far highlight how Molenbeek has for two decades lodged Islamist extremists who have fought or supported wars in Algeria, Afghanistan and Bosnia as well as the current ones in Syria and Iraq, analyst Claude Moniquet told AFP.

Militant ‘hotbed’ in Molenbeek

“It’s not the only one in Belgium, it is certainly not the only one in Europe, but it is a hotbed for jihadism,” Moniquet said.

Belgium as a whole has spawned nearly 500 jihadists for Syria and Iraq from a population of only 11 million, giving it the highest figure per capita in the European Union, security services said.

What is striking is that Belgium and more specifically Molenbeek remain a haven for jihadists despite the toughening of anti-terrorist legislation as well as the dismantling of recruitment networks and militant cells since the 1990s.

“Europe no longer has borders and it is therefore logical that (militants) benefit too,” Brussels mayor Yvan Mayeur said Sunday.

“But we must stop being a base for those who make war in Europe,” he said.

Molenbeek, where a large Muslim community lives, including a radical minority, is more than ever in the eye of the storm.

“Among this small minority, there are figures known at the European and international levels,” according to Moniquet, CEO of the Brussels-based European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center.

They lure people using the Internet, he added, comparing the neighbourhood’s influence to that of Finsbury Park in London about 15 years ago.

Part of the reason Molenbeek became such a hotbed is because the local politicians failed for years to face up to the extremism in its midst in order to keep “social peace” and continue getting elected, Moniquet said.

Belgium’s Premier Charles Michel acknowledged the problem on Sunday.

“I have noticed there is almost always a link to Molenbeek, that there is a gigantic problem there,” he said.

“In the last few months, many initiatives have been launched in the fight against radicalisation, but there should be a greater crackdown,” Michel added.

“We are going to work more intensely with the local authorities. The federal government is ready to provide more means,” the premier said.

‘Anonymity easier’ in Molenbeek

In 2001, it was in Molenbeek where the assassins of Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance Ahmad Shah Massoud had stayed.

It was also home for a while for Hassan El Haski, who was found guilty of being one of the masterminds of the 2004 Madrid attack.

Mehdi Nemmouche, the main suspect in the Jewish Museum attack in Brussels iBrusselsst year, also stayed there.

Ayoub El Khazzani, the perpetrator of the foiled attack in August on the Paris-bound train from Amsterdam,Amsterdamed in Molenbeek with his sister before boarding the locomotive in Brussels.

Brusselslso established links between Molenbeek and the militant cell that police smashed in the eastern Belgian city of Verviers.

“They do not all come from here, and most of the time, they are just travelling through,” according to Molenbeek Mayor Francoise Schepmans, a member of Michel’s party MR.

“In some districts, the population is very dense, with 80% of the people from north African origin. Anonymity is easier for people passing through with very bad intentions,” she said.

“They also land in districts which are breeding grounds for radicalisation,” she said, before taking a dig at her socialist predecessor: “One should have been firmer from the start.”