Remembering Tim Hetherington (Opinion/Blog)

- by Sue Turton 

Tim Hetherington - photographer and filmmaker We were at the eastern gate to the Libyan city of Ajdabiya 10 days ago trying to figure out which way the frontline was going when I first spotted Tim Hetherington out here. 

He came bounding over, grinning broadly, cameras dripping from his neck. I teased him about his huge success with 'Restrepo', his gritty documentary about life embedded with a US unit in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. 

"So what's fame and fortune like big man?" 

His grin broadened even wider. "Well, clearly I've come direct from the red carpet!"

He commented on my light blue flak jacket: "always looking glamorous on the frontline Sue". 

It was typical Tim, switching the conversation away from himself, always humble, never crowing about his amazing talent or the recognition it had gotten recently. 

I first met him in a 'greasy spoon' cafe next to the ITN studios in central London. We were about to head to Liberia together for Channel 4 News, his first assignment as a cameraman as opposed to a stills photographer. Tim was very tall and very skinny but he quickly demolished a full English breakfast at top speed. After all, he was freelance and ITN was paying.

He talked about this West African country that he knew intimately, having lived there for many years, embedded with the rebels in the dirt as they advanced on Monrovia. It was clear from that first meeting that he had great affection for its people.

In Monrovia, Tim checked us into a hotel far from the one the rest of the press pack stayed at. But this was where the local politicians ate and Tim knew the Lebanese owner who was well briefed to sound the alarm bells back with the newsdesk if we didn't call in at certain times. And the Lebanese meze was great - food always a priority.

One afternoon we headed deep into a rubber plantation to try to talk to some of the child soldiers. The further into the jungle we went the more nervous I got. It was a shocking road, all pot holes and rocks, and I kept glimpsing faces in the undergrowth. 

Zubin, our local fixer, who was sitting next to me in the back of our old pick-up truck, suddenly produced a very large knife from his trouser leg and laid it on his lap. Now I was quietly thinking "where the hell did I put our medical kit?"

We rounded a tight bend and pulled up sharpish. The road was blocked by a very old and shot-up Landrover with four serious-looking, AK-47-wearing dudes sitting inside. Tim got out of the front seat and walked towards them. Their driver turned to say something to his buddies. Rubin shuffled in the backseat, hand gripping his knife a little tighter. I said a very quick prayer. The driver flung open the door and jumped out of the Landy and yelled, "Mister Tim...how are you brother?"

Close shave

We laughed a lot on that trip. At one point we went into the Executive Mansion, Charles Taylor's former pad, to try to get permission to film. As we were taken deep into this cavernous building Tim joked that Taylor had kept a tiger in the basement and fed it on his political opponents. He roared loudly as we walked down one hollow corridor, frightening the life out of me.

Permission was denied but we decided to film the mansion anyway. Our old pick-up pulled up in front, midway between two army checkpoints and we darted out to record me quickly talking to the camera. Once in the can we leapt back into the truck and yelled the driver to move - the soldiers had spotted us and were running at us from both ends of the street. The driver turned the key. Silence.

He turned the key again. Again silence. Our trusty pick-up had decided to break down in the worst place imaginable. Twenty seconds felt like two hours as again the vehicle refused to spark into life. Fourth time lucky. We skidded away, laughing nervously at such a ridiculously close shave. 

We went back to Liberia after Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected president, the first ever female African president. The country still had a long way to go to recover from such a devastating civil war but it was a fitting conclusion to the years Tim had devoted to that country. We both warmed to Ellen. Her reputation wasn't squeaky clean but her heart was in the right place. 

When 'Restrepo' was released I told him that I'd watched it in Kabul with a bunch of former SAS blokes and they were blown away by his footage. His immediate response wasn't to bask in the compliment but to ask if it was on sale in the supermarkets in Kabul and whether it was a blackmarket copy. Most filmmakers would see that as a bad thing as it would reduce their profits. Not Tim. He was chuffed that the bootleggers were copying his film.

Tim cared about the people he filmed or photographed and it showed in his work. We've lost one of the world's greatest photojournalists and one of the industry's nicest guys. God bless you mate. 

by Sue Turton - originally published by Al-Jazeera on April 21, 2011 under Creative Commons Licensing 

As IOM Rescue Operation for Migrants Stranded in Misrata Continue, Many Thousands More Migrants Need Urgent Help Elsewhere (NEWS BRIEF)

(April 20,2011) A third IOM-chartered boat bringing more humanitarian aid into the besieged city of Misrata is due to arrive in the port later today with the aim of rescuing more stranded migrants.

The boat, the Ionian Spirit, left Benghazi on Tuesday night carrying 500 tons of food, medical supplies, hygiene kits and non-food items donated mainly by the Libyan private sector with some aid provided by Qatar and the U.A.E. Red Crescent. 

A Libyan non-governmental organization Libaid has donated the hygiene kits, medical supplies, hospital wheelchairs and four generators for hospital use.

Also on board are a team of 13 doctors with differing specializations. Two of the doctors who will relieve colleagues working in the hospital in Misrata will also refer critical but stable cases to IOM for evacuation to Benghazi.

"The presence of a large group of doctors with different specializations means greater capacity and more flexibility to assist those critically wounded or sick on board for the return journey to Benghazi," said IOM operational leader Jeremy Haslam as the boat departed.

However, the main focus of this third IOM operation to rescue stranded migrants in Misrata is to bring as many migrants as possible to safety.

In particular, the Organization is hoping to target a large number of migrants from Niger. Of the estimated 5,000 migrants around the port area, more than 3,200 are believed to be Nigeriens. 

"We don't know whether we will be able to reach them, however. If they are not close to the port, then it will be extremely hard to access them given the security conditions in the city," Haslam added. 

In two previous missions funded by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Office (ECHO), IOM has rescued more than 2,100 people from Misrata, nearly 100 of them Libyans. 

New funding of one million Euros from the German government and £1.5 million (US$2.4m) from Britain's Department for International Development (DFID) will allow IOM to continue its rescue operations from Misrata where about 5,000 migrants are still believed to be stranded, to the eastern port city of Benghazi.

However, a critical shortage of funds means that while the migrants are brought to relative safety in Benghazi, they will remain stranded there without additional means.

"Taking the migrants out of the line of fire is life-saving, but by not being able to take them out of Libya and safely home means their plight has simply been transplanted to another location," says IOM Director of Operations and Emergencies, Mohammed Abdiker. 

"This is true for all the migrants who we need to help inside Libya and for those who have managed to cross Libya's borders with its neighbours."

More than 5,000 migrants on the Egyptian, Tunisian and Nigerien borders with Libya are still in need of evacuation to their home countries.

Among the many identified groups of migrants needing urgent evacuation from inside Libya are a group of nearly 30,000 Chadians, including women and children, marooned in Gatroun. IOM is in discussions with the Libyan and Chadian authorities on accessing the group.

It comes as the number of Chadians crossing into Chad from Libya has dramatically increased with a growing number of the migrants stranded in northern towns such as Faya and Kaliyit. The migrants are all dehydrated, extremely tired and in need of food.

An IOM transit centre at Faya, where UNHCR has provided tents to accommodate arrivals, which has a capacity of 750 people is now overflowing.  

"An airlift to Ndjamena is the only option. But again this is a costly operation," Abdiker states. "We are in a position where we have beefed up our operational presence at the Chadian border points to cope with the number of arrivals but we have no money to evacuate the migrants from these isolated desert areas to the Chadian capital."

Working with various Embassies, an IOM operation begun some weeks ago to evacuate stranded migrants in Tripoli by bus to the Tunisian border will be difficult to continue.

Only yesterday, 19 April, IOM evacuated a group of 100 Beninois migrants from the Libyan capital, including women and infants. 

IOM appealed for about US$160 million dollars for its response to the Libyan crisis with much of the funding to provide evacuation assistance from both inside and outside Libya. The Organization has received to date US$65 million, all of it except the new funding spent on operations that have helped return more than 115,000 migrants return to their home countries and evacuate many thousands from inside Libya to Egypt and Tunisia.

- Source:  International Organization for Migration 

Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan Re-elected Amidst Riots in Some Northern States (NEWS BRIEF)

A polling station in Nigeria. Courtesy: EU Observer Mission- by Josephine Kamara in Kano

(HN, April 19, 2011) - An uneasy calm has returned to some northern Nigerian states after security quelled demonstrations by irate youths, protesting the outcome of last weekend’s presidential election.

The incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan, a politician from the mainly Christian south, received more than 25 per cent of the votes in at least two-thirds of the states - a requirement to avoid a run-off between him and his main challenger, ex-military ruler Muhammadu Buhari. 

According to the Nigerian Red Cross, about 17,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in eight northern states. About 360 are being treated for injuries.

“I appeal to those involved in the riots to stop this unnecessary and avoidable conduct”, Jonathan said, “More so at this point in time when a lot of sacrifice has been made by all the citizens of this great country in ensuring the conduct of free and fair elections.”

President Jonathan has also called on "all our political leaders, especially the contestants, to appeal to their supporters to stop further violence in the interest of stability, peace and the well-being of this great country". 

Young supporters of Muhammadu Buhari, who is popular in the north, have been clashing with the police and military. They feel that the elections have been rigged in some areas of the south.

In Kano, the largest city in the north, homes displaying posters of Mr. Jonathan were set ablaze, and enraged young men roamed the streets shouting "Only Buhari!"

In Kaduna, where a 24-hour curfew has been declared, election monitors say shops were closed and people were fleeing to their homes through streets barricaded with burning tires. Youths clashed with police and the military in areas to the north and south of the city, with the security forces firing tear gas and live ammunition. 

Some eyewitnesses spoke about deaths, maiming and burning of homes, churches and mosques in Kano.

President Jonathan’s party, the PDP has won presidential elections since 1999 – that’s when Nigeria returned to civilian rule. Pre-election polls expected the PDP to win, as the opposition appeared to command support in less than 15 states.

Jonathan, 53, is the first president from the main oil-producing Niger Delta region. He occupied the post after the death of the country's elected Muslim leader, President Musa Yar’Adua.

According to the Independent National Election Commission (INEC), the final vote count for the two front-runners is 12,214,853 for Buhari and 22,495,187 for Jonathan.

The elections for Parliament, the Presidency and some state governors have been staggered over three weeks, with the latter scheduled for April 26.

With about 150-million people, the oil-producing nation of Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa.

HUM correspondent Josephine Kamara is based in Abuja

Presidential Election in Nigeria Held as Attacks on Media Increase - Watchdog Group (NEWS BRIEF)

Campaign posters in Abuja. Credit: HUMNEWS(HN. April 18, 2011) - As Presidential elections were held this weekend in Africa's most populous nation, the US-based watchdog group, Reporters Without Borders, voiced concern about a crackdown on journalists in Nigeria.

The group has recorded more than 30 attacks on media freedom so far this year, despite reforms and the promises of incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure the free flow of news during the campaign for the delayed 9 April parliamentary elections and this past weekend’s presidential election.

Nigeria has one of the poorest media freedom ratings in Africa and is 145th out of 178 countries in the 2010 Reporters Without Borders worldwide Press Freedom Index. It is a dangerous place for journalists to work.

The country does have a diverse media and a flourishing Internet scene - in fact it is one of the few African countries without laws governing the Internet -  however and the senate passed a law last month giving public access to official information as long as it does not affect national security. But threats, intimidation, physical attacks and unlawful arrests of journalists have remained at an alarming level since the beginning of this year.

For the most part, foreign journalists working in Nigeria are spared from intimidation but still are at risk, especially if they are critical of powerful state governors. Last year, a Lagos-based correspondent for the BBC World Service, Fidelis Mbah, said his wife and son received a letter threatening to kill them.

The country’s State Security Service (SSS), which was on the Reporters Without Borders worldwide list of predators of press freedom for several years until being taken off it in 2010, is still a repressive body, which targets and arrests journalists.

One recent example was the case of US-Nigerian journalist Okey Ndibe, who was arrested and interrogated at Lagos airport on 8 January this year and his passports seized for two days.

Political parties and state governors also threaten and harass the media, according to Reporters Without Borders. Journalists who criticise the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are sometimes prevented from reporting on political activities.

Ehigimetor Igbaugba, of The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), was unable to cover the senate primary elections in Auchi (in the southern state of Edo) on 8 January after being detained by PDP officials who criticised articles he had written about the party.

Intimidation of accredited journalists sharply increased when polling stations opened on 9 April for the parliamentary elections. African Independent Television cameraman Tamunoemi Kingdom and another crew member were beaten in Ozoro (Delta state) by PDP officials who objected to the filming of them harassing a man entering a polling station. The camera and the windscreen of the journalists’ vehicle was damaged. Aisha Wakaso, of This Day newspaper, and Afeyinwa Okonkwo, correspondent of NAN in Enugu state, were hounded by police who prevented them reporting on the voting.

Analysts say that Nigerian journalists are east targets by polticians, as they are poorly-paid and receive little training and support. Said one Lagos-based foreign correspondent in a 2010 blog posting: "Many senior journalists have now adopted a loose lifestyle of selling their influence to government officials and businessmen in exchange for cash and gifts without the slightest concern for any conflict of interest."

Reporters Without Borders has fought for press freedom on a daily basis since it was founded in 1985. 

- Reporters Without Borders, HUMNEWS staff

A Big Test for Nigeria (Opinion/Blog)

- by Barnaby Phillips

Voter registration point in Abuja,Nigeria PHOTO CREDIT: HUMNewsNo Nigerian president has ever been removed from office in an election. This, sadly, does not mean that Nigeria has been blessed with unusually competent or popular leaders these past 50 years.

It is more a consequence of the country's history of shaky democracy, punctuated by military coups and rigged elections.

Nigeria is now on the eve of another presidential election. History suggests that whether or not the incumbent, Goodluck Johnathan, is the best man for the job, his rivals face an uphill battle to unseat him.

Ideally, Nigerians would be making their choice in a free and fair election. Again, past experience will lead many Nigerians to conclude that is not likely.

Let's see what happens in the coming days.

It's true that last week's parliamentary vote was a big improvement on the 2003 and 2007 Nigerian election.

A cynic might say that is damning with faint praise. President Johnathan's supporters argue that it shows his commitment to a more transparent democracy.

Maybe he deserves the benefit of the doubt. But every Nigerian knows that it is the Presidential and Governorship elections which are the acid test. These are the big prizes, with big money at stake.

I have heard many Nigerians say something new in recent days; that they don't care where a candidate comes from, or whom he prays to, but only whether he (because there is barely a she in sight) is competent and honest.

If more and more people are thinking along these lines, then Nigeria's democracy, and sense of national identity are becoming stronger.

But, as ever, it has been an election campaign dominated by personality, and with little detailed analysis of policy or issues (beyond extravagant promises from all the candidates to tackle the chronic problems of unemployment, electricity shortages, environmental degradation, and crumbling infrastructure).

Here are a couple of good articles highlighting that, and the importance of regional and ethnic loyalties.

The first looks at the situation in Lagos, whilst the second draws some conclusions from the results of theparliamentary elections.

One thing is very clear; Nigeria cannot afford to mess up again. This is a country that aspires for leadership in Africa, and wants its voice to be heard across the world.But Nigeria's moral and political authority is undermined by its own weak democracy.

Let's hope this potentially great country turns over a new leaf during the next two weeks.

- by Barnaby Phillips - originally published by Al-Jazeera on April 15, 2011 under Creative Commons Licensing

Deployment of Solo TV News Crews to Foreign Conflict Zones Problematic (REPORT)

TV news crews are frequently finding themselves as targets: news crew near Tahrir Square in Feb 2011. M Bociurkiw/HUMN(HN, April 16, 2011) - With foreign journalists under siege in many parts of the world, especially in ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, news agencies may need to think twice before deploying solo video journalists to conflict zones.

The issue of precautions for so-called all-platform journalists or multi-media journalists came up a a panel at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) this week in Las Vegas.

Also called 'backpack journalism' (BPJ), the trend of downsizing news teams is emerging in more TV markets, both big and small. Smaller cameras and ubiquitous connectivity - as well as budget slashing at news operations - are making media proprietors far more keen on the all-platform journalist model.

While the trend has worked fairly well in developed economies, such as the US and Canada, it is still too early to tell whether conditions allow for mass deployment of one-man videographer teams in danger zones overseas.

"When it comes to folks working by themselves you don't have someone watching your back," said Kevin Benz, a broadcast journalism veteran and award-winning news photographer. "When you are staring down that lens you are in complete tunnel vision and you don't have anyone watching for you."

Benz said that in conflict zones, larger crews may be more conspicuous but they allow for more protection.

"If you go off to dangerous places - whether it's in our cities or in other countries - by yourself there should be significant ethical consideration in our newsrooms that we make sure that we are keeping our journalists safe. If we know that we are sending them into something that is dangerous that we are sending them with support. That's being smart about being safe," said Benz.

On the other hand, there are benefits to a lean deployment to the field. The "intimidation factor" of interviewing subjects drops dramatically with smaller equipment, said Stacey Woelfel, an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism and the news director for KOMU-TV, the University of Missouri-owned NBC affiliate for central Missouri.

"Smaller equipment does lend some stealth to the operation that we didn't have before," said Woelfel. "There is a trade-off there as our journalists will be able to work more secretly."

The issue of the safety and security of journalists has become more prominent in recent weeks as protests have rocked numerous countries in North Africa and the Middle East. Earlier this month a team from The New York Times was detained for several days by pro-Gadaffi elements in Libya. And in February, CBS News '60 Minutes' correspondent Lara Logan was assaulted in Cairo while covering the uprising in and around Tahrir Square.

CNN correspondents Anderson Cooper and Hala Gorani, and CBS News anchor Katie Couric were shown on-air being pushed around while covering the uprisings in Tahrir Square. All were accompanied by at least one crew member when they became the target of unruly crowds.

As news gathering drifts into a task done by many - including freelancers and citizen journalists - sufficient vetting of user-generated content streaming into newsrooms needs to be a major consideration. One panelist said that with more new sources sending stories and tweets into newsrooms from far-off locations, fact verification has to be part of the news work flow. "You want to be sure these people are legitimate."

Benz cited the Prague-based Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) as an institution that has pioneered fact verification in often difficult circumstances. The service uses contributors in country where freedom of information is severly restricted. "They have developed very, very strong systems to verify information."

Benz said whether at home or abroad, leaner news operations means that "fewer people are working faster" to gather the news. "Give journalists time to verify the facts," he said.

- Reporting by Michael Bociurkiw in Las Vegas

Thailand: The Calm Before the Storm? (Analysis)

-by International Crisis Group

Photo courtesy of ICG(April 15, 2011) -- Nearly a year after the crackdown on anti-establishment demonstrations, Thailand is preparing for a general election. Despite government efforts to suppress the Red Shirt movement, support remains strong and the deep political divide has not gone away.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s roadmap for reconciliation has led almost nowhere. Although there have been amateurish bomb attacks carried out by angry Red Shirts since the crackdown, fears of an underground battle have not materialised.

On the other side, the Yellow Shirts have stepped up their nationalist campaigns against the Democrat Party-led government that their earlier rallies had helped bring to power. They are now claiming elections are useless in “dirty” politics and urging Thais to refuse to vote for any of the political parties. Even if the elections are free, fair and peaceful, it will still be a challenge for all sides to accept the results.

If another coalition is pushed together under pressure from the royalist establishment, it will be a rallying cry for renewed mass protests by the Red Shirts that could plunge Thailand into more violent confrontation.

The Red Shirt demonstrations in March-May 2010 sparked the most deadly clashes between protestors and the state in modern Thai history and killed 92 people. The use of force by the government may have weakened the Red Shirts but the movement has not been dismantled and is still supported by millions of people, particularly in the North and North East. Arresting their leaders as well as shutting down their media and channels of communication has only reinforced their sense of injustice.

Some in the movement’s hardline fringe have chosen to retaliate with violence but the leadership has reaffirmed its commitment to peaceful political struggle. The next battle will be waged through ballot boxes and the Red Shirts will throw their weight behind their electoral wing, the Pheu Thai Party.

The protracted struggle between supporters of the elite establishment – the monarchy, the military and the judiciary – and those allied with ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra began with the formation of the “yellow-shirted” People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) in 2006. The September 2006 coup removed Thaksin from power but prompted the emergence of a counter movement: the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) or Red Shirts.

The PAD’s campaigns to close down Bangkok airports in 2008 created deadlock that was resolved by a court ruling that removed Thaksin’s “proxy” party – People Power Party – from power. This led to the formation of the Democrat-led coalition government, backed by the military. Two years later, the ultra-nationalist Yellow Shirts have apparently split from their former allies and are protesting outside Government House against Abhisit’s alleged failure to defend “Thai territory” in the Preah Vihear border dispute with Cambodia. The PAD’s call for a “virtuous” leader to replace the prime minister has raised concerns that it is inviting the military to stage a coup.

Abhisit has stated he will dissolve parliament in the first week of May after expediting the enactment of legislation to revise key electoral rules. He is moving quickly towards the elections amid rumours of a coup. With the new rules and pre-poll largesse, the Democrat Party hopes to secure more seats and position itself to lead another coalition.

Thaksin is still popular with much of the electorate and there is a strong possibility that his de facto Pheu Thai Party could emerge as the largest party. The formation of the government is likely to be contentious. The UDD has threatened to return to the streets if Pheu Thai wins a plurality but does not form the government. Obvious arm bending by the royalist establishment to this end is a recipe for renewed protests and violence. Should the opposite occur, and Pheu Thai has the numbers to lead a new government, the Yellow Shirts might regain momentum; they are unlikely to tolerate a “proxy” Thaksin government.

While elections will not resolve the political divide and the post-election scenarios look gloomy, Thailand nevertheless should proceed with the polls. A well-publicised electoral code of conduct and independent monitoring by local and international observers could help enhance their credibility and minimise violence during the campaign. If installed successfully, the new government with a fresh mandate will have greater credibility to lead any longer term effort to bring about genuine political reconciliation.

- International Crisis Group, Bangkok/Brussels 

China Opens to Brazilian Pork (News Brief)

(Courtesy: cupcakesandcrablegs.com)-by Danilo Macedo Reporter Agência Brasil

One of the concrete results to come out of the visit to China by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is the opening of the Chinese market to Brazilian pork.

The Chinese have authorized the imports from three Brazilian meatpakers. The Minister of Agriculture, Wagner Rossi, told reporters that the announcement was a victory in Brazil’s efforts to increase exports of higher aggregate value to China.

The president of the Brazilian Pork Producer and Exporter Association, Pedro de Camargo Neto, who was also in China as part of the presidential mission, declared that permission for three meatpakers represetned the opening of the Chinese market and that the task ahead was to expand this further.

China is the world’s leading producer and consumer of pork. Negotiations to have access to the Chinese market have been ongoing since 2009, although some Brazilian pork does already reach continental China through Hong Kong, where the Brazilians have a strong foothold.

China is also currently the largest importer of Brazilian chicken; in 2010, exports of chicken to China were worth almost $220 million. In addition total Brazilian farm produce exported to China was worth $11 billion, up from $3.5 billion in 2007.

With the opening of pork exports to China there will be an effort to increase meat exports to China in general declared Camargo Neto.

 - Originally published by Agência Brasil April 13, 2011 under Creative Commons Licensing   

France's Fight at the UN (Opinion/Blog)

- by Kristen Saloomey

Nicholas Sarkozy, PHOTO CREDIT: Downing Street/FlickrBeing sceptical is part of being a journalist.

Especially at the United Nations, where every action - and every failure to act - is influenced by the political interests of countries who sit on the Security Council. This is  particularly true of the permanent five members, all of whom have the power to veto any resolution that comes their way.

So it is impossible not to ask: What is motivating France in aggressively championing international military intervention in Libya and Cote D'Ivoire?

The Security Council resolutions authorising the use of force in these two domestic conflicts, the first written by France and the UK, the second by France and Nigeria, were justified by the need to protect civilians who were increasingly being targeted in both domestic conflicts.

But why choose these two countries to make a stand when civilians fighting for democracy are under fire in Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, and elsewhere?

Where was the UN Security Council when peaceful Egyptians stood up to tanks in Tahrir Square? Or when thousands of Tamils were caught in the crossfire of Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009?

"Frankly, we did it because we could," France's ambassador to the UN, Gerard Araud, told me when we sat down for an interview recently at the French mission.

Domestic affairs

In Libya, the support of former Libyan officials and the Arab League were key to winning over countries like Russia and China, which are generally reluctant to intervene in domestic affairs that are not necessarily a threat to international peace and security, said Araud. And no one was willing to stand up for Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.

"First, it was the urgency," said Araud of Security Council Resolution 1973. "If Gaddafi had taken Benghazi, it would have been a bloodbath. Secondly, we had the request of regional organisations, so there was the emotion of world public opinion. And Gaddafi was really the bad guy, so we could do it."

Resolution 1973 set the stage for 1975, authorising unusually robust UN action in Cote D'Ivoire. UN and French helicopters took out heavy weapons which they said were being used against civilians and peacekeepers.

Doing so allowed forces loyal to internationally recognised president, Alessane Outarra, to finally unseat former president Laurent Gbagbo from power, but also opened the door to critics like Russia's freign minister, Sergei Lavrov, who accused the UN of picking sides in an internal dispute.

Some experts believe France is acting in its own self-interest in Libya and Cote D'Ivoire.

Arthur Goldhammer, a writer and translator at Harvard University's Minda de Gunzberg, argues in Foreign Policy magazine that France's aggressive posture in Libya is due to "Nicolas Sarkozy’s misguided quest for glory".

With waning popularity at home, the French president may have believed that leading a high-minded intervention could help him in next year's election.

He may also have wanted to cover up his government's embarrassing response to pro-democracy demonstrations in Tunisia, which led to the resignation of his former foreign minister, Michele Alliot-Marie.

 In addition to some questionable personal dealings with cronies of dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Alliot-Marie had offered to send French riot police to train Tunisian counterparts in crowd-control techniques.

"Sarkozy likes to stress the humanitarian motive, which is perfectly legitimate, and 'shared democratic values', which the rebels may or may not in fact hold," Goldhammer  writes. "But he also hoped to draw a veil over earlier disarray in his government's response to the 'Arab spring'."

Economic motive?

What about Cote D'Ivoire, is there an economic motive?

"The French trade, with all of Africa, it's two per cent of our trade," said Araud, who insists it was simply the right thing to do.

"It's simply that we are the former colonial power - which means that in France we have people that care about Cote d'Ivoire, we have an Ivorian community in France, and we have a French community in Abidjan. So it's not a question of interest, it's a question of trying to avoid the worst in a country that we know very well."

Araud points out that France and the UK had called for Security Council action in other emergencies, like Sri Lanka where, without the support of regional groups like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) they were rebuffed.

In 2005, in the wake of massacres in Rwanda and Bosnia, the UN's member states agreed that the UN had a responsibility to protect civilians from mass atrocities when their own government will not.

Until now, it has been an agreement in theory - not practice.

"I hope it is a precedent ... but I don't know if it is possible because we are living in the real world," Araud said.  "It's three steps forward, two steps back."

Already, some members of the Security Council have expressed concern that it is overstepping its bounds.

But for those who believe in the responsibility to protect civilians, the French - whatever their motives - have been leading the way.

- by Kristen Saloomey - originally published by Al-Jazeera on April 11, 2011 under Creative Commons Licensing 

In Ivory Coast: Former President Laurent Gbagbo Captured (News Brief)

(Video of Gbagbo's arrest on Ivory Coast TV)

(HN, 4/11/11) -- UPDATED 2030GMT The legally elected leader of the Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara today prevailed over his rival, entrenched former President Laurent Gbagbo who refused to leave power or admit defeat since November’s Presidential election.

The recalcitrant strong man was finally taken into custody in a joint mission by French troops and Ouattara’s forces, after months of brutal violence in the West Africa coastal nation. United Nations forces assisted by using heavy fire to knock out weapons and ammunition controlled by forces loyal to Gbagbo.

(Courtesy: MyJoyOnline.com. Gbagbo, r.; Outtara, l.)Gbagbo is being detained at the Presidential palace with his wife Simone and his son Michael, after a week long standoff which saw the former head of state retreat to the bunker located underneath the house. He was later taken to the Golf Hotel, which Mr. Ouattara has been using as his temporary government headquarters and armed camp along with his forces and UN peacekeepers.

Sources told HUMNEWS UN police are present to protect Gbagbo at the request of President-elect Outtara.

On a brief appearance this evening on pro-Outtara television, a weary Gbagbo called for a cessation in hostilities.

The capitol of the country, Abidjan where Mr. Gbagbo was arrested, is still partly controlled by Gbagbo forces and includes most of the downtown business districts.

It is believed that fighting may continue for several days as forces loyal to both sides remain entrenched. A reliable source told HUMNEWS that the Canadian ambassador’s residence was sacked and pillaged along with some other residences of Canadian diplomats.

The cocoa-rich nation has been experiencing a debilitating humanitarian crisis in the wake of conflict since the election took place last year.  Food has become scarce and expensive; mass graves have been found and more than 1 million people are thought to be displaced in the country and over 100,000 others have fled to Liberia for safety. There are many corpses still in the streets.

The UN is warning of a potential threat of cholera in the violence ravaged capital and the resource pressures on weaker neighbouring countries and cash-strapped aid agencies is beginning to take its toll.

The ICRC has tried to pick up a few dead bodies, but the security situation has not allowed for a large-scale operation. The lack of a secure humanitarian corridor significantly limits the humanitarian operations in Abidjan. Outside Abidjan, humanitarian work progresses. 

Once things settle. Ouattara is expected to receive "enormous help of the international community for reconstruction," according to a western diplomatic cable shared with HUMNEWS. The United States and the European Union have already indicated they would extend significant assistance.

It is unclear what will happen now to Gbagbo, who has held power since 2000 – whether he will be allowed to stay in the country, allowed to leave on his own accord, or possibly be held for potential crimes either by his own nation or by the international community. Sources indicated that he will be moved to another location in Ivory Coast.

UNOCI is reportedly receiving many offers of surrender from Gbagbo generals; hundreds of his troops have surrendered in the run-up to today's dramatic capture. UNOCI trying to manage these surrenders and focus on re-establishing security.

Analysts say that in order for stability to return, Outtara needs to reach out quickly to Gbagbo supporters. More than 40 percent of Ivorian voters cast ballots for Gbagbo's in last year's troubled elections.

(In a statement released today, US President Barack Obama hinted at the long road ahead: ""For President Ouattara and the people of Côte d'Ivoire, the hard work of reconciliation and rebuilding must begin now. President Ouattara will need to govern on behalf of all the people of Côte d'Ivoire, including those who did not vote for him. All militia groups should lay down their weapons and recognize an inclusive military that protects all citizens under the authority of President Ouattara.")

The UN Security Council met in closed consultations this morning to discuss the significant developments in Ivory Coast. Undersecretary General LeRoy briefed members on the operations conducted by UNOCI and France on Sunday and Monday; and on the arrest of Gbagbo.

According to information shared with HUMNEWS, some members of the Council, in particular Russia and South Africa, suggested "more time should have been give for the political track." It is understood there was no specific criticism of UNOCI or France for  their implementation of Security Council mandates.

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court at The Hague has begun a preliminary investigation to see if crimes committed are serious enough to come under its jurisdiction.

(Courtesy: ModernGhana.com. Refugees fleeing Ivory Coast to Ghana)Human Rights Watch has accused both sides of committing massacres during the violence and hundreds have been killed or raped in the western Cote d’Ivoire town of Duekoue.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's office said the French leader had a telephone call with Alassane Ouattara shortly after Gbagbo was arrested. Ouattara is a former deputy head of the International Monetary Fund, whose forces were working closely with French troops for weeks.

The deep involvement of French forces in recent days has stirred controversy, especially since almost have of the country's voting-age population supports Gbagbo and after reports emerged that Outtara forces were also behind some of the atrocities committed in recent days.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also said on Monday that the new government of Ivory Coast of Ouattara is one he will support, and UN Peacekeepers, rebels and French troops worked together since an attack by forces loyal to Gbagbo on a UN installation on Saturday.  On Sunday, UN and French helicopters retaliated on forces loyal to Gbagbo twice to stop them from firing on civilians in the capital city of Abidjan.  

Ban said he personally ordered the bombardment to take out heavy weapons being used to fire on the hotel headquarters of Ouattara.  "This is an end of a chapter that should never have been," Ban said. "We have to help them to restore stability, rule of law, and address all humanitarian and security issues."

The UN Security Council will be briefed on the human rights and humanitarian situation on Wednesday.

-        HUMNEWS staff

Ivory Coast Crisis: Violence Continues as Aid Agencies Struggle (REPORT)

This displaced family from Man temporarily takes shelter in a public school of Danané. An estimated 16,000 people displaced by post-election violence and inter-ethnic fighting are in Danané, Duékoué and Man in Western Cote D'Ivoire. CREDIT: IOM(HN, April 10, 2011) - Efforts to neutralize Laurent Gbagbo encountered fierce resistance over the weekend as violence-plagued Ivory Coast plunged deeper in what appears to be a protracted crisis.

In the latest developments Sunday, Gbagbo demonstrated he is still able to resist efforts to remove him from the heavily fortified bunker located in the Presidential Palace in Abidjan - even as UN and French forces launch new military operations.

Moreover Gbagbo is still able to communicate with loyal forces - and appear on air to rally his supporters.

According to reliable sources in Abidjan, HUMNEWS has learned that Gbagbo is using a mobile transmitter - in the form of two mobile vans supplied by the UN mission, also known as ONUCI. The former UN chief in Ivory Coast is understood to have supplied the vans seven years ago.

More than one million people are estimated to be displaced within the country and over 100,000 others have fled to Liberia for safety. The increasing pressure on weaker neighbouring countries and cash-strapped aid agencies is beginning to take its toll.

Observers say forces loyal to Gbagbo have taken advantage of a lull in fighting brought about by cease-fire talks last week to re-group and launch fresh assaults. This weekend the UN forces launched another assault on Gbagbo, alongside Forces Républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire (FRCI), after the ostracized strong man tried to launch an assault on the Golf Hotel, the base of the newly elected and internationally recognised leader, Alassane Ouattara.

"They are not quite finished , but he (Gbagbo) will have absolutely no capacity in the morning," one well-placed source in Abidjan told HUMNEWS.

An indication of the spreading violence is the number of corpses that are being found in Abidjan - where some of the worst fighting has taken place - and other cities. The UN has reportedly found 60 bodies in one incident and 40 in another - some of them burned alive. There are also reports of mass graves being found, and of innocent civilians being raped and abused.

International observers and others suggest that forces loyal to Outtara are under suspicion of carrying out some of the murders, as well as those of his opponent, Gbagbo. The latter is hiding out in an underground bunker in the heavily-damaged Presidential Palace. Over the weekend, his men have managed to re-capture new ground in Abidjan.

Charles Ble Goude, Laurent Gbagbo's fiery youth minister, is said to be hiding in the Angolan Embassy. Angola is believed to be Gbagbo's last major ally.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned Gbagbo of severe consequences if he continues to defy demands to surrender: "This is his last opportunity to gracefully exit from this. It is absolutely necessary at this time, that before too late, he has to cede his power to a democratically elected leader."

Ban also said the international community "will continue to protect the innocent civilians and we will try to bring those who commit mass atrocities to justice."

Addressing the need to use heavy weaponry against Gbagbo forces, Ban said today: "I am particularly concerned about the humanitarian situation across the country and about human rights abuses. Civilians are bearing the brunt of the violence. The fighting must stop.  Mr. Gbagbo needs to step aside immediately."

Meanwhile, health care, sanitation and other vital services have virtually collapsed while food and water supplies are shrinking. The UN warned today that supplies of clean water in the commercial capital of Abidjan would run out Sunday.

Moreover, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said civilians in Ivory Coast are "at grave risk as targeted political and sexual assaults increase, tension escalates and an already massive humanitarian crisis worsens."

One former western diplomat based in Abidjan told HUMNEWS that even if Gbagbo is captured quickly, tensions have progressed to the point where the country could be plunged into a protracted civil war.

“What we have now in Ivory Coast is an explosive mix of political, economic and ethnic tension that’s boiling over into incidents like the killings in Duékoué,” says Louis Falcy, the IRC’s country director in Ivory Coast. “Even if the political and military showdown in Abidjan ends today, we’re concerned that looting, hostility, bloodshed, reprisal killings and sexual assaults will escalate in communities across the country.”

Separately, sources close to HUMNEWS said western diplomats have reported concerns about Gbagbo, an evangelical Christian, being under some sort of mystical hold that he must remain waiting for a sign from God.

In the US, several key evangelical leaders - including Oklahoma senator Jim Inhofe, an evangelical Christian with close links to the Gbagbo regime - have been openly voicing support for Gbagbo, claiming that he was the rightful victor of the November election and billing him as a Christian bulwark against the spread of Islam, according to The Guardian newspaper in the UK.

- HUMNEWS staff

Recent Fighting in Somalia Displaces 33,000 People Says UNHCR (NEWS BRIEF)

Somali refugee camps in Dadaab PHOTO CREDIT: UN News(HN, April 8, 2011) Some 33,000 people have been displaced in the past six weeks due to fighting in southern and central Somalia between government forces and Al-Shabaab militants.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) more than half of these are people who have been displaced in Mogadishu – the Somali capital already shelters about 372,000 of the more than 1.4 million people displaced people in this African nation.

Adrian Edwards, the agency’s spokesperson in Geneva told a news conference that the “UNHCR is monitoring a deteriorating situation in south and central Somali where sporadic fighting has continued to be reported in the towns of Doolow, Bulo, Hawo, Luug, Elwaag, Dhoobley, Diif and Taabdo”

He went on to say “We are again urging all armed groups and forces in Somalia to avoid targeting civilian areas and to ensure that civilians are not being placed in harm’s way.”

“According to local sources, the town and its surrounding areas remain tense. Pro-Government forces have been consolidating their control of the town, which they took earlier this week,” said Mr. Edwards.

Many of the most recently displaced people are people who have fled shelling in their towns.

In Bulo Hawo, a Somali town across the border from Mandera in north-western Kenya, people are in desperate need of shelter. UNHCR staff report that 150 permanent shelters and some 400 to 500 temporary structures were destroyed during recent shelling. The market area has also been destroyed and many people are sleeping outside.

Mr. Edwards said that, security and access permitting, UNHCR hopes to have its staff, as part of joint UN assessment missions, visit these areas and plan distributions of aid.

Meanwhile, UNHCR said the number of Somalis arriving in Kenya has been growing over the past three months, with over 31,000 having arrived this year alone. Kenya hosts more than half of the 680,000 Somalis who live as refugees in neighboring countries. 

- HUMNews Staff, UN News Center

Last of Foreigners Evacuating From Abidjan as Gbagbo Holds Out (BREAKING)

(Courtesy: Magellan Geographics) (HN, April 7 2011) - Foreign governments scrambled to evacuate the last of their nationals and diplomats from civil war-torn Abidjan today amid violence triggered by attempts to flush out a recalcitrant incumbent President, Laurent Gbagbo.

According to communications from Abidjan shared with HUMNEWS, Canadian and French diplomats and others were ordered to evacuate today as violence surge in and around the commercial capital of Ivory Coast.

A sense of chaos and fear has taken over. One source told HUMNEWS the Canadian Embassy had only 15 minutes to evacuate. A Canadian convoy that left the Novotel Hotel to an undisclosed safe haven is said to have included not only Canadians, but several French and other nationalities as well.

Most embassies in Abidjan have only skeleton staff after non-essential staff were ordered to leave several weeks ago.

Late yesterday, French forces had to rescue the Japanese ambassador near the presidential palace after Liberian mercenaries from that spot took over his residence to use it as a location for firing - and in the process - pillaged it.

As reported by Abidjan.net in French, last night two jeep loads of soldiers from Gbagbo’s palace tried to enter the next door French ambassador’s residence.   French helicopters immediately destroyed them.

The rush to evacuate diplomats - even as Gbagbo appears near defeat - suggests that a protracted civil war could take hold, said one former western diplomat based in Abidjan.

"What is happening now tells me that even if Gbagbo dies, the situation with - so many armed groups - is such that security will be impossible to provide," said the source.

According to the Voice of America, forces loyal to Gbagbo held off fighters backing the internationally-recognized President Alassane Ouattara late Thursday, supported by heavy weapons inside the presidential compound. About 200 troops are defending the compound, where Gbgabo is holding out in a bunker, refusing to acknowledge that he lost November's presidential election, VOA said.

Royal Air Maroc, Air France and military aircraft may be mobilized to evacuate the entire foreign community. French forces took control of Abidjan International Airport several days ago however with the shelling it is not clear whether commercial airlines will want to take the risk to land in Abidjan. 

The battle for control of Abidjan is in its seventh day. About one million people have been displaced in Abidjan alone so far.

- HUMNEWS staff

7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Japan - Tsunami warning for Miyagi (Breaking News Brief)

(Source: USGS) (HN, April 7, 2011) -- A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the North East coast of Japan in Miyagi prefecture on Thursday, shortly after 11:30  p.m. local time, triggering a tsunami warning for one prefecture, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

This is the same area where the now infamous 9.0 earthquake struck on March 11, 2011 killing more than 16,000 and damaging homes, shattering lives and where the continuing troubled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant run by TEPCO sits. 

Public broadcaster NHK reported a tsunami warning for Miyagi prefecture, saying people in that area should evacuate away from the shore to a safe place. NHK also reported a tsunami advisory for Iwate prefecture, saying a tsunami is expected to arrive in coastal regions there as well.

A one meter wave has been confirmed ashore in the region; and as of 12:30pm the Japanese authorities have cancelled the tsunami warning.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said based on all available data, "a destructive Pacific-wide tsunami is not expected and there is not a tsunami threat to Hawaii."

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered 41 miles (66 kilomemeters) from Sendai -- one of the areas worst hit by last month's 9.0-magnitude quake -- and 73 miles (118 kilometers) from Fukushima, where a crisis has been under way at the nuclear plant since last month's tsunami.

Workers at the Fukushima nuclear plant have been evacuated; and the power supply has been cut to 2 of 3 lines at the Ongawa nuke plant in Miyagi prefecture because of the quake.

The quake was centered 207 miles (333 kilometers) from Tokyo where teh quake was felt as buildings shook, and it was 15.9 miles (25.6 kilometers) deep according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

---HUMNEWS

Why People-Smugglers Aren't All Bad (Opinion/Blog)

- by Andrew Thomas

Asylum seekers, Christmas Island/ CREDIT: Safecom.org(April 7, 2011) Last week was not a good one for Australian attempts to establish a pan-Asia framework for assessing asylum applications.

At a conference in Bali, prime minister Julia Gillard’s plan for a processing centre on Timor-Leste failed to gain traction.

A "regional co-operation framework" with a "centre or centres" was cited as an aspiration. Nothing, though, was fixed.

Promises of a centre somewhere, one day, do not convey the urgency the Australian government claims it has. Politically in Australia, the consensus is that quick action is needed.

Boats full of asylum seekers keep arriving. A fortnight ago, the detention centres on Christmas Island burned after riots over application delays and overcrowding; hundreds of detainees temporarily roamed loose.

Opposition parties used the images to claim policy towards asylum seekers was broken. When I saw the images, I was reminded of the five days I spent on Christmas Island in the wake of the sinking of a boat, just off it, which killed around 50 in December last year.

In fact, "sinking" is too bland a term to describe what happened to that vessel and its passengers. After the boat’s engines failed it was pushed towards razor-sharp cliffs then pummeled against them by five metre waves.

Once the boat was smashed, the passengers were hammered direct – some straight against the rocks, others caught between what remained of their boat and the cliffs.

They were pounded by waves and planks on one side, their bodies shredded by rocks on the other.

One Christmas Island local – long deep scratches down his legs where he’d been ripped while still on land – told me he was second man on a rope trying to haul up survivors: "The closest we got to saving anyone was seeing a man’s face come up just over the lip of the cliff. Then another massive wave came in and swept him away".

And yet, even with such tragedy I thought then, and still think now, that much of the rhetoric around asylum policy in Australia is misguided.

Disregard to human life

Take something that everyone seems to agree on - that those who organise such voyages are "evil".

This is what Julia Gillard said in the wake of the disaster: "The people smugglers who ply this evil trade, who seek to profit on human misery with callous disregard to human life ... are responsible" she said, "The government, of course, is responding to this evil trade".

But wait a moment. Like all industries that turn a profit – and people-smuggling by boat to Christmas Island is a growing one – business sustainability depends on a ready supply of customers.

Representatives from the department of immigration and from charities on Christmas Island were all quick to tell me how potential customers were misled: how the marketing for these voyages was false: passengers "cruise" to Australia on sophisticated vessels, goes the pitch, (not lurch across high seas in wooden buckets, liable to tip at any time).

Friendly Australian navy boats meet, then escort passengers to their new home (not line them up in rows and make them sit cross-legged on a barge), asylum applications are processed quickly – and always favourably – with customers ready to start their new lives Down Under in days (not wait months in cramped detention camps, in 30 degree heat, and 90 per cent humidity, deal with endless bureaucracy and agencies before facing the very real possibility of being flown, minus savings, from whence they’d come).

"Australia – a sophisticated land of dreams and we can get you there" ... for just $5,000, or $25,000, or $50,000. No one quite seems to agree on the going rate.

"Life savings" seems the established price. But who wouldn’t jump at that? If only customers knew the truth, is the mantra.

If only the evil smugglers were frank about their trade. But just consider for a moment if they were.

Here are some stats. For the financial year June 2009-June 2010, 118 boats made it to Christmas Island carrying a total of 5,592 people to shore alive. Two boats did sink killing 17.

Nevertheless, 99.7 per cent made it in one piece, just three in every thousand drowned.

For 2010 as a calendar year, including the December sinking, around 140 boats made it to shore carrying around 6,500. Even taking into account the 50 who died so horribly, around 99 per cent survived.

And what rewards for those who do. Over the last decade between 70 per cent and 97 per cent of those arriving by boat to Christmas Island have ultimately been assessed as valid refugees and been granted full protection visas – the first step to citizenship, and all the benefits of a new life in Australia that that brings.

Let's assume for a minute that people smugglers are unbelievably honest salesmen, and see whether their honest pitch would persuade: "Give us all your money and we will almost certainly deliver you safely – though perhaps not comfortably - to Australia.

Asylum politics

There, after what will be – we admit – a rough few months in a place akin to a prison, you'll very likely be given a pass to spend the rest of your lives living and working in one of the most pleasant countries on Earth.

No guarantees, and like all purchases it might not be for everyone ... but what do you say?"

Imagine you went to your (expensive) doctor with a major complaint and he said he could give you an operation.

It won't be pleasant, but it cures between 70 and 97 per cent of those that have it, and the worse your existing condition, the better your odds.

However, in a very small proportion of cases - less than 1 per cent - the operation kills. You'd probably take your chances.
If the condition was bad enough, you certainly would. And you wouldn’t label the doctor "evil" for trying.

It speaks volumes that it's thought many who've been granted asylum and now live and work in Australia are sending money back to relatives at home to pay for them to make the same voyage.

They know the deal: they've lived the honest pitch, yet still encourage others to do the same.

If an evil trade is one where the perpetrators negligently – willfully – put people in danger in pursuit of profit then perhaps people-smuggling is one.

But if an evil trade is one which promises one thing and then delivers something completely different, and where the "customers" would never sign up if they knew the evil truth, then I'm not sure people-smuggling counts.

A nasty trade, certainly, a risky one, no doubt. But evil? Most customers walk away having had the core service as promised.

In fact, what's arguably "evil" is getting asylum cases wrong and denying asylum to those that genuinely need it.

There is evidence that those who are ultimately refused asylum in Australia end up being murdered once they've been sent home.

In that sense, what matters far more than where claims are assessed is how they are: the rhetoric shouldn't concentrate on the place of the decision, but on the decision itself.

It never will of course. That, after all, is politics.

- by Andrew Thomas - originally published by Al-Jazeera April 3, 2011 under Creative Commons Licensing