Analysis: How real are Myanmar’s reforms?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9uTLDCXncGdHQIvlZUtjxqxW-EJu70wzH7bKmjwS58pTWIURPtpXFPG-F4hMMuSOoZrbySS2g2MS9VkjEPOndIt3LKlRijDpBJt4lBER1m2vFuOC4aM8MvKG2vZctuZF_GSpdeaQrz0/s1600/201210311502060404.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9uTLDCXncGdHQIvlZUtjxqxW-EJu70wzH7bKmjwS58pTWIURPtpXFPG-F4hMMuSOoZrbySS2g2MS9VkjEPOndIt3LKlRijDpBJt4lBER1m2vFuOC4aM8MvKG2vZctuZF_GSpdeaQrz0/s1600/201210311502060404.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/film" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">IRIN Film</span></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fighting continues in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kachin</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place><o:p></o:p></span></div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">LONDON</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (IRIN) - The visit of <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> President Barack Obama to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region> on 19 November has renewed international interest in the country’s democratic reforms, but also skepticism about their impact on the lives of ordinary Burmese.<br /> <br /> Since <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s reform-minded President Thein Sein came to office in March 2011, hundreds of political prisoners have been released, freedom of assembly has been allowed, media censorship has eased, and the country’s cabinet has been reshuffled.<br /> <br /> “Ministers regarded as conservative or underperforming were moved aside, and many new deputy ministers appointed. There are now more technocrats in these positions and the country has its first female minister,” Jim Della-Giacoma, <st1:place w:st="on">South East Asia</st1:place> project director for the International Crisis Group (ICG), told IRIN.<br /> <br /> But analysts and observers argue that economic hardship, ongoing ethnic conflicts and a history of media censorship will prove more serious challenges to reform in this former pariah state.<br /> <br /> According to an ICG report entitled <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>: Storm Clouds on the Horizon, much of the government’s attention will need to be focused on controlling the country’s multiple internal ethnic conflicts - a real threat to national stability.<br /> <br /> “Containing and resolving the inter-communal conflict that has engulfed <st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype>, and reaching a ceasefire in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kachin</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>, are the government’s main immediate problems,” said the 12 November report.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /> <b>Economic hardship<o:p></o:p></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /> While the headline-grabbing democratic reforms are welcome, resulting in millions of dollars in international development and humanitarian assistance, many believe they fail to address the economic hardships of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s 58 million people.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /> Maung Zarni, founder of the Free Burma Coalition and a fellow at the London School of Economics, says Thein Sein’s reforms “are largely geared towards creating a `late developmental state’ along the lines of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Vietnam</st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">China</st1:place></st1:country-region>… Sadly, the West and the rest alike are choosing to overlook the apparent pitfalls of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>'s reforms, ignoring the cries of the wretched of a new <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>.”<br /> <br /> Sein Win, managing editor of New Delhi-based Mizzima News, (founded by <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region> exiles), agrees. “Change is happening in the upper levels of government... but the lives of the people are largely the same as before,” he said.<br /> <br /> And while there are high hopes that the recent easing of international sanctions will change things, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region> remains one of the poorest countries in <st1:place w:st="on">Southeast Asia</st1:place>.<br /> <br /> Ordinary people see little tangible improvement in their day-to-day lives, and inflation is having an adverse effect on the lives of many Burmese.<br /> <br /> According to the UN’s most recent Integrated Household Living Conditions Assessment, the average proportion of total household budget spent on food is 68 percent (74 percent for the poorest 30 percent of the population).<br /> <br /> Almost one third of the country’s population lives below the poverty line, according to the World Bank, which recently approved a US$245 million development package to the country.<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We want the people of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region> and the poor in particular to see the reform can lead to real benefits,” said Kanthan Shankar, the World Bank’s country manager for <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /> <b>Internal conflict<o:p></o:p></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /> But the path to reform will be difficult given long-standing ethnic conflicts, many of which date back to independence from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Britain</st1:place></st1:country-region> in 1948, analysts say.<br /> <br /> While the government over the past year has forged a number of tentative ceasefire agreements with many non-state armed groups which have been fighting for greater autonomy in the east, fighting in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region>’s northern <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Kachin</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place> between government forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), continues unabated.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /> Since the collapse of a 17-year-old ceasefire in June 2011, some 75,000 people have been displaced and humanitarian needs are growing, reports the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).<br /> <br /> At the same time, more than 100,000 people, nearly all Rohingyas, have been displaced in western <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Rakhine</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">State</st1:placetype></st1:place>, after inter-communal violence between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims erupted in June.<br /> <br /> The conflict is a major test for the Thein Sein government, say activists, who are calling on Obama to make it clear that the attacks on the Rohingya need to stop if the government wants to avoid renewed international sanctions.<br /> <br /> “This is crunch time because <st1:country-region w:st="on">Burma</st1:country-region>’s failure to contain sectarian violence in Arakan [Rakhine] State and hold accountable those responsible calls into question the Burmese government’s stated goal of becoming a rights-respecting, multi-ethnic state,” said Brad Adams, <st1:place w:st="on">Asia</st1:place> director at Human Rights Watch (HRW).<br /> <br /> According to HRW, Burmese security forces have restricted the access of international humanitarian agencies to the area, while aid workers say international donors are failing to deliver.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /> <b>Upcoming elections<o:p></o:p></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /> And then there is the future role of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party and its iconic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who have been on the frontline of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s fight for democratic reform for decades.<br /> <br /> Political leaders have conflicting views about how power should be shared under the constitution as well as after the 2015 election; while many believe what is needed now is moral leadership to calm tension and seek compromises if divisive confrontation is to be avoided.<br /> <br /> An NLD landslide “may not be in the best interests of the party or the country, as it would risk marginalizing three important constituencies: the old political elite, the ethnic political parties and the non-NLD democratic forces. If the post-2015 legislatures fail to represent the true political and ethnic diversity of the country, tensions are likely to increase and fuel instability. The main challenge the NLD faces is not to win the election, but to promote inclusiveness and reconciliation,” the ICG report says.<br /> <br /> The NLD could support developing a system that would give a greater say in politics to marginalized minority groups under the current “first past the post” system, says ICG.<br /> <br /> Alternatively, the government could form an alliance with other parties, particularly with ethnic parties, and agree not to compete against them in certain electorates.<br /> <br /> “Finally, the government could support an interim `national unity’ candidate for the post-2015 presidency. This would reassure the old guard, easing the transition to an NLD-dominated political system. Critically, this option could also build support for the constitutional change required to allow Aung San Suu Kyi to become president,” says ICG.<br /> <br /> <b>“Window dressing”<o:p></o:p></b></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><br /> Although Thein Sein has spearheaded unprecedented change in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>, some critics remain cynical about his motives for allowing Aung San Suu Kyi to run for election.<br /> <br /> “The government is using her image as a democracy icon to promote and protect their way of reform. Their strategy is one of using your enemy's good name to reach your own objective,” says Sein Win of Mizzima News.<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The impetus behind the government’s democratic reforms, he adds, goes beyond just promoting foreign trade.<br /> <br /> Some accuse the government of carrying out “window-dressing” reforms to please Western governments and enable the lifting of sanctions.<br /> <br /> “The dictatorship hurt the nation's pride. But they also want to lead the change. There will be less electoral fraud in 2015, but at the same time they will be smarter and will effectively use their political framework to weaken opposition. Of course, monitoring from the UN and international community is essential,” Sein Win adds.<br /> <br /> He believes that Western countries can help <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region> by permanently lifting sanctions, which proved to be extremely harsh on the majority of the non-political classes.<br /> <br /> Derek Tonkin from the NGO Network <st1:country-region w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:country-region> says that sanctions are potentially a valuable diplomatic weapon, noting, however, that over the past two decades they damaged <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s economic development and badly affected the lives of ordinary Burmese.<br /> <br /> <b>New press and social freedoms<o:p></o:p></b></span></div> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br /> Meanwhile, Mark Farmener, director of the London-based Burma Campaign <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">UK</st1:place></st1:country-region> describes the reforms to date as “top down and skin deep”.<br /> <br /> Censorship laws have not been repealed, though how they have been applied has been changed, he said, adding that while there is currently more freedom for certain subjects to be reported, others, such as ethnic issues, remain banned. “Media are still not allowed to criticize the government,” he said.<br /> <br /> Sein Win agrees: “I haven't seen any reports by Burmese journalists exploring the how and why about what happened in the conflict between Buddhist Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities… Will the government and local authority tolerate it if someone exposes the truth? Will the concerned communities tolerate someone's independent reporting on the conflict? I don't think so.”<br /> <br /> According to a recent report entitled Virtuality, Perception and Reality in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s Democratic Reform by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), self-censorship continues as many journalists are unsure what they can write about without fear of government reprisal.<br /> <br /> The report says internal factions in the government are delaying reforms: “There is an internal power struggle [in the government], at minimum between the government and the military and potentially between the president and his supporters and potentially with more hardline factions in the government.”<br /> <br /> “The long-term outlook is not positive,” Farmener warns. “There are more civil liberties in the cities but these are not guaranteed in law, and human rights abuses have actually increased in the past year. However, the changes so far have been enough to persuade the international community to rush to relax pressure and normalize relations.”<br /> <br /> He said 2016 would be a critical year for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Myanmar</st1:place></st1:country-region>. “That’s when a new parliament dominated by the NLD will push for genuine constitutional change, and the military will either agree or block it.”<br /> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--></span></div>

Analysis: How real are Myanmar’s reforms?

Photo:  IRIN Film Fighting continues in Kachin State LONDON (IRIN) - The visit of US President Barack Obama to Myanmar on 19...

Read more »

INDIA: "Jan Lokpal Envisaged By Kejriwal Too Draconian"

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW DELHI</span></st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-PTI) -- Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court A P Shah, who was named by Arvind Kejriwal as an internal Lokpal of India Against Corruption (IAC), has termed the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by erstwhile Team Anna as "too draconian".<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Addressing a conference of state Lokayuktas in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Delhi</st1:place></st1:city>, Shah favoured setting up of a strong Lokpal to contain corruption in the country but criticised the Jan Lokpal Bill saying certain provisions of it were not within limits of the Constitution.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"We should have a strong Lokpal. There is no doubt about it. But I am not suggesting something like the Jan Lokpal as envisaged by Kejriwal because it was too draconian and most of the provision I personally feel are not within the limits of the Constitution," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Kejriwal last month had announced setting up of a three-member panel of retired judges to probe allegations of wrongdoings against prominent IAC members Prashant Bhushan, Mayank Gandhi and Anjali Damania. Besides Justice Shah, other two members of the panel are Justice (Retd) B H Marlapalle of the Bombay High Court and Justice (Retd) Jaspal Singh of the Delhi High Court.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In his address, Justice Shah said the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011, which was passed by the Lok Sabha, has several lacunae and it will not help in effectively dealing with corruption. A Rajya Sabha Select Committee is currently examining the Bill and is likely to give its report in the Winter session of Parliament.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Giving an example of the shortcomings in the Bill, he said as per a provision the preliminary investigating wing of the Lokayukta will carry out a preliminary inquiry upon receiving complaint against a government officer or a minister and comments will be sought against the respondent. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Suppose the Lokayukta receives information that a particular bureaucrat has stashed money abroad or kept unaccounted money in some bank account. In that case is he going to be called and asked what is your explanation?" he asked.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Shah said powers vested with most of the existing Lokayuktas are recommendatory in nature. He asked the anti-corruption watchdogs to approach court if their orders are not followed by the state governments.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">At the conference, a number of Lokayuktas including those from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand spoke about further strengthening the institution to deal with increasing cases of graft. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Though the Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta and Up-Lokayuktas Act is one of the "weakest" legislation comparing to Lokayukta acts of other states, yet he successfully managed to force resignation of eight ministers in Mayawati government, Uttar Pradesh Lokayukta NK Mehrotra said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"In the last regime, the earlier Chief Minister accepted my eight recommendations by removing eight Cabinet ministers...it was the media who made it as a breaking news that Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh have got sacked eight ministers. The public became aware about corruption," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"...It is because of the media pressure that the earlier Chief Minister was forced to accept all the recommendations and eight ministers were removed and vigilance inquiry for their prosecution under Prevention of Corruption Act were initiated," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Mehrotra said as Mayawati did not reject his recommendations, current Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will find it difficult to refuse his recommendations. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Now this Chief Minister cannot have the courage to refuse my report because the earlier Chief Minister was accepting (the recommendations)," he said. --NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">An elderly lady is escorted to a polling booth to cast her vote, at a polling booth of Theog, Distt. Shimla, during the Himachal Pradesh Assembly Election on November 04, 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></div> </div>

INDIA: "Jan Lokpal Envisaged By Kejriwal Too Draconian"

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- Former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court A P Shah, who was named by Arvind Kejriwal as an internal Lokpal of In...

Read more »

Analysis: Catch-22 for Syrian migrants in Lebanon

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnbXZAINPWdiyJ54dLc2BGblplXd4JmtDNqp-huWunIDaasF4Goso-jDGfMVV6Wih8W03rRHd1DpvKT1jdC3_8TsRW-vPMNXbZdXPe0edxwkPFwNkJBTy95oqGDGOpaDOW9_09_lbGXk/s1600/200812175.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnbXZAINPWdiyJ54dLc2BGblplXd4JmtDNqp-huWunIDaasF4Goso-jDGfMVV6Wih8W03rRHd1DpvKT1jdC3_8TsRW-vPMNXbZdXPe0edxwkPFwNkJBTy95oqGDGOpaDOW9_09_lbGXk/s640/200812175.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Photo: <a href="http://www.irinnews.org/photo.aspx"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">Hugh Macleod/IRIN</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">Syrian migrants in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> have been<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">associated with the atrocities committed<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">by Syrian troops during their 29-year<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 10pt;">occupation of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">BEIRUT</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (IRIN) - Syrians in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> are increasingly coming under attack as lingering anti-Syrian sentiment intensifies amid the current conflict next door. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Syrian imbroglio has polarized various sects and factions in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>. While Sunni Lebanese in the north have welcomed tens of thousands of Syrian refugees in the last year and a half, Lebanese of other sects and in other parts of the county are less welcoming. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On the streets of <st1:city w:st="on">Beirut</st1:city>’s Christian neighbourhood of Geitawi, a stronghold of the Lebanese Christian right, their intolerance of Syrian migrants, who have worked in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> for years, is palpable: <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Syrians ruled us for 30 years, how can we like them?” protested Kamal Sa’ad, 48. “God willing, the war will kill them all. They’re an Arab people; we [Lebanese Christians] are Europeans.” <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Residents of the neighbourhood have gathered around 60 signatures demanding the governor of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city> take “the necessary security and legal measures” against Syrian workers who are perceived to pose a threat. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“We are sending this letter to warn the authorities that if they don’t intervene, we will organize ourselves and solve the situation through violence,” warned Cesar, a local butcher who preferred not to divulge his second name. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Drunken Syrian workers are always around harassing women at night,” said Charbal Issa, 29. “You know what we will do? [Impose] a 6pm curfew for Syrians, so that they work and sleep - nothing else.” <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Military raids and mob violence <o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The estimated 300,000 Syrian seasonal workers in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region> before the Syrian uprising began in March 2011 were often the object of anti-Syrian sentiment - a legacy of <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region>’s 29-year occupation of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region>, starting in the 1970s. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Following the Syrian withdrawal from <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> [in 2005], each bombing blamed on the Syrian regime was followed by the beating of some Syrian workers,” said Yara Chehayed, a member of the Beirut-based Anti-Racism Movement. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But since the conflict in neighbouring Syria, when Syrians started fleeing to Lebanon in large numbers, fears that the Syrian opposition will use Lebanon as a base for its own struggle - the way Palestinians did in the lead-up to the Lebanese civil war - have intensified pre-existing xenophobia. Military raids are now increasingly replacing the usual mob violence. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On 7 October, the Lebanese Army raided the apartments of around 70 Syrian, Egyptian and Sudanese workers living in Geitawi and another Christian neighbourhood in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city>, Mar Mikhael, late at night. One week earlier, on 1 October, soldiers stormed a construction site where migrants worked and slept in the adjacent Ashrafieyeh neighbourhood, according to residents who told Human Rights Watch (HRW) they “heard screams from the building”. Several `mukhtars’, administrators of the neighbourhood, reportedly issued a statement encouraging more such raids. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">On 17 October, in the coastal neighbourhood of Ramlet al-Baydah, a mob of more than 20 Lebanese men attacked Syrian workers with knives and sticks, injuring 10 people. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Targeting Syrian Sunni dissidents? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The military defended its operation in Geitawi, claiming it was responding to increased complaints about sexual harassment and crimes committed by foreign workers. Lebanese residents in the area blame Syrian workers for thefts, sexual harassment, fights and even murders. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">God willing, the war will kill them all. They’re an Arab people; we Lebanese Christians are EuropeansBut according to HRW, the evidence against them is scarce and the military operation looked more like collective punishment than proper policing. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“No clear investigation has been carried out. Why didn’t the army look for specific suspects?” said Beirut-based Nadim Houry, deputy director of the Middle Eastern division of HRW. “We advocate the rule of law and police enforcement, not this kind of mob violence.” <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The army also argued it was checking work permits, but Syrians are allowed to work in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> without papers, as per a longstanding unwritten agreement. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ahmad*, a Syrian tailor in his thirties, who arrived from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hama</st1:place></st1:city> several years ago, said not a single Syrian was arrested on specific charges. Instead, he said, soldiers beat the Syrians, including minors, for nearly five hours, using electric shock batons until 2am. “They didn’t allow us to talk and started beating us straight away,” he said. He still bears the scars of the beating, a large haematoma covering half of his back. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Sectarian motives? <o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Syrians say they believe they were victims of a factional and sectarian army. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“While they were beating us, they asked us: ‘Don’t you know these punishments from the time you served in the Syrian army? Or are you with the [rebel] Free Syrian Army?’” said Ahmad. “They even checked our names to single out the Sunnis and, judging from their dialect, we suspect they were Alawis from Jebel Mohsen,” he said, referring to a neighbourhood in the northern Lebanese city of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tripoli</st1:place></st1:city> inhabited by people of the same sect as Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The Lebanese military [intelligence] leadership is controlled by Christians and Shias and both sects are worried by the growing presence of the Syrian Sunni opposition in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region>,” explained Khaled*, a Syrian activist from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Hama</st1:place></st1:city>, who arrived at the building just after the 7 October raid to check on friends. “The operation was a message to Syrians: ‘Don’t think you’re protected; we know where you are’.” <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ahmad said the army took notes about where the migrants worked and for whom. “The army came with the intention of recording our names and checking if there was someone wanted in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>,” he suggested. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Politics are always behind these aggressions, even if they tell you it was all about harassments,” said Chehayed, of the Anti-Racism Movement. She compared it to an incident last November, when Lebanese Armenians assaulted Syrian Kurds in an Armenian majority neighbourhood in the suburbs of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city> for their role, she said, in the Armenian genocide under the Ottomans. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Others dispute this version of events, saying the army did indeed round up suspects and ask Lebanese women to identify those who were guilty of harassment. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The army said it detained 11 people, but HRW only witnessed the arrest of African migrants who presumably did not have legal residency documents. The army has not confirmed who was arrested or why. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Nevertheless, observers are more hesitant to confirm a political agenda. “Two months ago we documented an instance where the army rounded up Syrian workers, looking for someone who had purchased a satellite device,” admitted HRW’s Houry, “but I think in Geitawi, it was more of a provocation than a political interrogation: if it was purely political they wouldn’t have rounded up also Egyptians and Sudanese.” <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Syrians, Ahmad and Khaled, disagreed, saying the round-up of other nationalities was “a cover for the real aim of the operation.” <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Double-victims <o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Some residents of Geitawi show no prejudice against Syrians and they reject the fabrication of an easy scapegoat. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“There is no problem with Syrians. The scoundrels [responsible for theft and harassment] come from all sorts of countries: <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sudan</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">Sri Lanka</st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region>,” said Rami al-Abyad, a barber in his sixties. “Not all the migrants are bullies.” <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Even Ahmad, the Syrian tailor who was beaten, pointed to the good relations he has always had with his Lebanese landlords: “The house-owners were upset by the military operation and they even hid some Egyptians in their apartments.” Others don’t conceal their politically biased racism against Syrians. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The irony is that many of these workers support the Syrian opposition,” said HRW’s Houry. “They have always been double victims: the regime didn’t offer them job opportunities and in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:country-region> they were seen as part of the Syrian occupation, even if <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Beirut</st1:place></st1:city> has been rebuilt on cheap Syrian labour.” <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Local landlords are also profiting from the increased Syrian presence, Lebanese residents admitted. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The untouchable army <o:p></o:p></span></b></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">HRW is calling for a transparent investigation into the 7 October raid, but the army said any possible violation would be dealt with internally. The Ministry of Defence did not respond to IRIN’s request for information. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“There is a [lack of] accountability of all security forces, including the army,” said Houry. As the only respected security force in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lebanon</st1:place></st1:country-region> amid many sectarian militias, the army is considered something of a sacred, less-easily criticized institution. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Syrian workers who appeared on TV to comment on the raid say they have been threatened by the military, but feel they have no recourse, given the links between large parts of the Lebanese government and their ally in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Damascus</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Since the revolution started, no one defends us and I cannot go to the Syrian embassy to complain about what happened,” said Ahmad. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">*not a real name<o:p></o:p></span></div> </div>

Analysis: Catch-22 for Syrian migrants in Lebanon

Photo:  Hugh Macleod/IRIN Syrian migrants in  Lebanon  have been associated with the atrocities committed by Syrian troops during ...

Read more »

INDIA: Institution of Lokayukta is an ally to Good Governance Not an Obstruction to Development, Says President

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW DELHI</span></st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (PIB) --- The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that the institution of Lokayukta is an ally to good governance not an obstruction to development. He was addressing the inaugural function of All India Lokayukta Conference 2012 on November 2, 2012 in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">New Delhi</st1:place></st1:city>. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The President advised the Lokayuktas to remember that their duty is not just to indict public functionaries when they are guilty but also to protect them when nothing is found wrong with their conduct and to correct wrong perceptions about them with equal force and earnestness. It must be ensured that in the name of checking corruption, vilification campaigns are not carried out to defame or destroy reputations, he said. The President stated that false allegations aimed at impugning reputations are bad. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The President also said that Institutions are the visible pillars of our Constitution, and if they crack then the idealism of our Constitution cannot hold. Our institutions may have suffered from the weariness of time. The answer is not to destroy what has been built, but to re-engineer them so that they become stronger than before. Institutions are the ultimate guardians of our liberty. All these must strengthen existing institutions of accountability not displace them or undermine them. We must also distinguish bonafide errors of judgment from graft and corruption, civil wrong from criminal intent and the need to have swift and effective sanctions against corruption from the imperative of protecting the innocent, he added.<o:p></o:p></span></div> </div>

INDIA: Institution of Lokayukta is an ally to Good Governance Not an Obstruction to Development, Says President

NEW DELHI (PIB) --- The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said that the institution of Lokayukta is an ally to good governan...

Read more »

Kenya Has No Proper System to Support County Governments: World Bank Report

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <br /> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">By O'Brien Kimani<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NAIROBI (NNN-KBC) -- Kenya does not have a proper financial and technical system to support the county governments it proposes to establish less than six months before it is due to adopt a devolved system of governance, according to a World Bank report launched here.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The report says that the government should develop a county financial management system to eliminate corruption and misappropriation of funds at the county level although it commends the government for laying out a clear transition framework.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The report, entitled "Devolution without disruption", is the first comprehensive study to be conducted on the challenges and opportunities facing the country as it gears for the devolved system of government. It cites the lack of a financial management system at the county level and the lack of clear policy on equal distribution of resources.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">World Bank Country Director Johannes Zutt said at the launch of the report here Wednesday that although <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Kenya</st1:place></st1:country> had a qualified human resource, there was no clearly defined mechanism on how public servants would be seconded to the county administrations and which supervisory authority they would come under.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">So far, the government has allocated the devolution process 35 billion shillings (one USD = about 85.15 shillings) to help in setting up offices and the support staff for county officials. <o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The report says that the 5.5 billion shillings set aside for the equalization fund is still very small and there should be a framework on how the fund will be distributed from the central government.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Zutt also commended the revenue-sharing mechanism developed by the Commission for Revenue Allocation, saying that it was likely to spur growth and direct resources where it was needed most.<o:p></o:p></span></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The World Bank has committed to helping the government with technical and financial support in the devolution process. -- NNN-KBC<o:p></o:p></span></div> </div>

Kenya Has No Proper System to Support County Governments: World Bank Report

By O'Brien Kimani NAIROBI (NNN-KBC) -- Kenya does not have a proper financial and technical system to support the county govern...

Read more »

LEBANON-SYRIA: The Refugee Minefield

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YrRdB1J0V4H62aytsyMFdRxEFv-I-prw0JD5aftA724qSvE-PKnM151VUrnrCyiFgPXJnK97AEQv-bcCfFMgI3_2cytdzE7XXdLZ-GotVlRPalk7bINfyqvQzqpVAhjY97V4Xwj444w/s1600/201209031325160916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-YrRdB1J0V4H62aytsyMFdRxEFv-I-prw0JD5aftA724qSvE-PKnM151VUrnrCyiFgPXJnK97AEQv-bcCfFMgI3_2cytdzE7XXdLZ-GotVlRPalk7bINfyqvQzqpVAhjY97V4Xwj444w/s1600/201209031325160916.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/syriafreedom/6903398592/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Courtesy of Freedom House</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Syrian refugees have taken shelter at a makeshift <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">tent camp set up for Syrian seasonal <o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">labourers in Al Qaa, Lebanon<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr> </tbody></table></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">BEIRUT (IRIN) - Progress in terms of providing more and better aid to the steady influx<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableLightShadingAccent3" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent3; mso-border-top-alt: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent3; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 380px;"><tbody> <tr style="height: 22.5pt; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: -1;"> <td style="border-bottom: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; height: 22.5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent3; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent3; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 7.5pt;" valign="top" width="10"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 5;"><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/roundbullet.gif" id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_i1030" style="height: 6.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 6.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="roundbullet" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> <td style="border-bottom: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; height: 22.5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent3; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent3; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 1;"><b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">At least 41,494 Syrian refugees in Lebanon<o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 22.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; height: 22.5pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent3; mso-background-themetint: 63; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 7.5pt;" valign="top" width="10"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 68;"><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><v:shape alt="http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/roundbullet.gif" id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_i1029" style="height: 6.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 6.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="roundbullet" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> <td style="background: #E6EED5; border: none; height: 22.5pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent3; mso-background-themetint: 63; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 64;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Numbers hotly disputed<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 22.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;"> <td style="border: none; height: 22.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 7.5pt;" valign="top" width="10"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 4;"><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><v:shape alt="http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/roundbullet.gif" id="Picture_x0020_3" o:spid="_x0000_i1028" style="height: 6.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 6.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="roundbullet" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> <td style="border: none; height: 22.5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Fears that political situation will destabilize<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr> <tr style="height: 22.5pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="background: #E6EED5; border-bottom: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; border: none; height: 22.5pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent3; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent3; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 7.5pt;" valign="top" width="10"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 68;"><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><v:shape alt="http://www.irinnews.org/images/design/roundbullet.gif" id="Picture_x0020_4" o:spid="_x0000_i1027" style="height: 6.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 6.75pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="roundbullet" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.gif"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span></b><b><span style="color: #76923c; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent3; mso-themeshade: 191;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div></td> <td style="background: #E6EED5; border-bottom: solid #9BBB59 1.0pt; border: none; height: 22.5pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent3; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent3; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;" valign="top"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-yfti-cnfc: 64;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Political concerns hinder relief<o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr> </tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is being held back by government indecision stemming from fears that the ongoing violence in Syria may destabilize the country’s fragile politics.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Sectarian clashes in the northern city of Tripoli in recent weeks have left at least 15 dead and 120 wounded, and while politicians on all sides have pleaded for calm, many view the refugees as a security threat.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Gen Ibrahim Bachir, secretary-general of the High Relief Commission (HRC), an aid agency in the prime minister’s office (originally set up to coordinate post-war reconstruction in 2006), said his first priority was “keeping this country safe”.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Tension in Lebanon is high: Michel Samaha, a former minister of information with close ties to Damascus, was arrested on 9 August on charges of plotting bomb attacks in the north, including one</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">targeting the Maronite patriach.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Nevertheless, all major parties seem to have an interest in keeping the situation stable. Some analysts are even cautiously optimistic. Rami Khoury of the American University of Beirut told IRIN: “The major spillover from Syria has already happened, I do not expect much more. We have seen these effects from Syria, like the shootings and kidnappings and this will continue, but I do not think that things will get much worse.”</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Syria, which withdrew its army from Lebanon only in 2005, has long treated Lebanon as a client state, and many Lebanese political factions can be characterized as either generally pro- or anti-Syrian government. The March 8th alliance is a coalition of pro-Syrian forces such as the Shiite Hizbullah and Amal and the mainly Christian Free Patriotic Movement led by Michel Aoun. On the other hand, the March 14th alliance, made up of the Sunni Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces and independents, is an anti-Syrian front.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">The government has to steer a fine line when implementing its refugee support operations. “We prefer to deal with this problem smoothly and quietly without any problem that might create [a] new civil war in Lebanon,” Bachir said.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Providing refugees with official registration cards or setting up camps would be detrimental, Bachir told IRIN.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Aid workers who spoke to IRIN on condition of anonymity said areas where Syrian refugees are sheltering in the north are being shelled by the Syrian army (in retaliation for rebels firing on them at night). To enter these areas aid organizations need a permit from the Lebanese Armed Forces, indicating that the government’s priority may be to prevent Lebanese infiltration of the area and the arming of the refugees, rather than ensuring their safety.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Lebanon is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, so the country is not bound to recognize refugees, whom the government simply refers to as “visitors”. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) confirms that the government is undertaking its own relief efforts and that the border remains open to Syrian refugees.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Palestinian syndrome</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /> <span class="apple-style-span">No stranger to refugees, Lebanon already hosts 455,000 Palestinians in 12 camps. The influx of armed Palestinian groups in the 1970s changed the balance of power among sects and led to an arms race between the different militias, culminating into a bloody civil war (1975-1990) and leaving at least 150,000 dead. Even today, Palestinian refugees are deprived of many of their basic rights in Lebanon, and the refugee camps have grown into slums, reliant on basic services provided by the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA). Clashes between extremist groups from the camps and the Lebanese army occur regularly.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background: #AABBDC; border: solid #336699 1.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: -.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #336699 .75pt; mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-table-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-table-bspace: 6.0pt; mso-table-left: right; mso-table-lspace: 8.25pt; mso-table-rspace: 8.25pt; mso-table-top: middle; mso-table-tspace: 1.5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 220px;"><tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="border: none; padding: 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt;"> <div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 8.25pt; mso-element-frame-vspace: 1.5pt; mso-element-left: right; mso-element-top: middle; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shape alt="''" id="Picture_x0020_5" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" style="height: 13.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 17.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="''" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span><b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;">We prefer to deal with this problem smoothly and quietly without any problem that might create [a] new civil war in Lebanon</span></b><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shape alt="''" id="Picture_x0020_6" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 13.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 17.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="''" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span><span style="color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr> </tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">“The government is afraid that the same might happen with the Syrians, that it will become a lasting thing and people will not go back,” Simon Faddoul, president of Caritas Lebanon, told IRIN.</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Many fear that the Palestinian refugee camps could be used as staging posts for the Syrian rebels.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Establishing official refugee camps might put the Lebanese government at odds with the Asad regime in Syria and would be a risk the March 8th government is not willing to take, Faddoul believes. Political interference is affecting relief efforts: until July HRC was not allowed to work in the Beqa’a valley which currently shelters many of the Syrian refugees.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Meanwhile, refugees have started to erect makeshift camps in some locations, but these lack proper sanitary facilities. Aid workers from an international NGO who preferred anonymity told IRIN that the discussion around alternatives to camps, i.e. putting up single non-permanent structures, is continuing - and decisions are needed as winter is approaching.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Wadi Khaled and the Beqa’a Valley, where most of the refugees reside, are among the coldest regions in Lebanon. Fifty-three percent of the refugees in the north have found shelter with Lebanese relatives or in other private houses, according to a recent assessment by the UN Development Programme. But in the Beqa’a, a predominantly Christian and Shiite area, the refugees (mainly Sunnis) do not have the same degree of family ties. While some refugees can afford to rent apartments and rooms in hotels, others live in derelict mosques and schools.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">Caritas’s Faddoul told IRIN there could be serious accommodation problems if the refugee influx were to continue. “Numbers are growing very rapidly and space is getting scarce.”</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <strong><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Numbers game</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">UNHCR Lebanon has registered 41,949 refugees from Syria. However, HRC told IRIN these figures are not accurate, as many refugees came into the country to avoid the worst fighting, but went back, and that many of those registered have been in the country as seasonal workers for a long time. Faddoul also disputes the official numbers, saying many have not registered out of fear their names could be given to the Syrian authorities.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">“We all know we have well over 150,000 refugees. We already had 300,000 Syrian seasonal workers in Lebanon before the war. How many of them come from the areas of Homs, Aleppo and Damascus, and how many have now called their families to come to Lebanon? There are thousands more who have rented hotels and apartments. They are not registered because they have the means to survive on their own. How many thousands have come and are living with their relatives? Whether we like it or not, we have to count these people as refugees,” said Faddoul.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><br /> <br /> <span class="apple-style-span">HRC is trying to find alternative funding sources for its relief operation, as government money is tight and major international donors do not to channel their funds through HRC. There has been a debate as to whether, and how, the Ministry of Social Affairs might take over some aid efforts, but divisions within the government have thwarted any clear decisions so far, international aid officials told IRIN on condition of anonymity.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></span><br /> </div>

LEBANON-SYRIA: The Refugee Minefield

Photo:  Courtesy of Freedom House Syrian refugees have taken shelter at a makeshift tent camp set up for Syrian seasonal labourers in Al ...

Read more »

ETHIOPIA: Food security and the Meles' legacy

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyseGhl7cHspDJBgs6hdheOymPFj5MlP96VS0fIfX-baJB5-1OYB_eDbTvlfM03gTokhhgMmcCrp2mSlme8tgG_OnxeM4y6cX0sXMw4oRP6wupEciNiQAuNjn4Oforp09o3r0x_CoE-Q/s1600/201208221358340295.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyseGhl7cHspDJBgs6hdheOymPFj5MlP96VS0fIfX-baJB5-1OYB_eDbTvlfM03gTokhhgMmcCrp2mSlme8tgG_OnxeM4y6cX0sXMw4oRP6wupEciNiQAuNjn4Oforp09o3r0x_CoE-Q/s320/201208221358340295.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Photo: World Economic Forum<o:p></o:p></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meles Zenawi at the World Economic Forum on Africa<o:p></o:p></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>held in Addis Ababa earlier this year</span></td></tr> </tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">JOHANNESBURG (IRIN) - During his two decades in power, Meles Zenawi committed himself to ending Ethiopia’s dependence on food aid. With his death, IRIN looks at his legacy in promoting food self-sufficency and fighting rural poverty in a country historically associated with drought and environmental stress.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Food security<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meles' regime is credited with having pioneered schemes designed to protect the poor such as the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP – see below), a Social Cash Transfer Pilot Programme and a commodity exchange.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Between 1998 and 2012 the average number of Ethiopians in need of food assistance fluctuated between 3 million and 14 million.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Under Meles, Ethiopia's economy, in which agriculture generates 45 percent of GDP and 90 percent of exports, became one of the fastest growing in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The country spends about 17 percent of its public money on agriculture, which employs 85 percent of the population.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ethiopia’s close partnership with key western nations helped ensure it received considerable external funding – it was the fourth largest recipient of official humanitarian aid in 2010 and in 2009 it received the equivalent of 14 percent of its gross national income (GNI) as aid (ODA).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The country has consistently featured among the top 10 recipients of humanitarian aid since 2000, according to data compiled by the UK-based NGO, Development Initiatives.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"There are other African countries who have comprehensive and sound plans to make their people food secure in the long-term like Ghana and Saheilian countries like Niger but unfortunately they have not attracted the same amount of funding as Ethiopia has," said Frederic Mousseau, a food security expert and policy director at the US-based Oakland Institute, a think-tank.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another food security analyst, who sought anonymity, cautioned that data pointing to the success of schemes such as the PSNP need to take into account "the absolute control over assessments [food security-related], information about the number of people in need, nutritional status etc.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The narrative is that the corner [as far as food security is concerned] has been turned, but that is a narrative carefully controlled by the government. Time will tell."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The 2000 food crisis<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There were at least three major droughts during Meles' tenure: 1999/2000, 2002/2003 and 2009/2010. Many food experts regarded the 1999/2000 crisis as a full-fledged famine, but Meles allegedly chose to prioritise a border war with Eritrea. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The donors were angry about it so they didn't respond quickly either - and the result was a famine that could easily have been prevented," said one humanitarian expert, who did not want to be named.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The then UK Secretary for International Development Clare Short was reported by the Guardian as saying, "I do not believe anyone in the UK believes we should be providing long-term assistance to a country which is increasing its spending on arms, year on year" after she was criticized for reducing aid to Ethiopia.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An estimated 19,900 people died in Gode zone alone, in Ethiopia's Somali region, according to a paper by Stephen Devereux and Paul Howe, both researchers at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Productive Safety Net Programme<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Meles always stressed his commitment to making Ethiopians food self-sufficient, said Eleni Gabre-Madhin, a former World Bank economist and the outgoing CEO of the country's first commodity exchange. Out of this was born the idea the PSNP in 2004 - to make families secure enough to be able to produce or buy their own food.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The narrative is that the corner [as far as food security is concerned] has been turned, but that is a narrative carefully controlled by the government. Time will tellThe PSNP aimed to provide support to chronically food insecure families for several months either in the form of cash or food for up to five years, building their resilience and ability to withstand shocks. The families were then considered self-sufficient and would graduate from the programme.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"There is little doubt that the Productive Safety Net Programme was a pioneering effort to redress the food insecurity that long characterized many areas of Ethiopia," said Daniel Maxwell, an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in the US. "It was one critical component of the effort to reduce chronic poverty in Ethiopia."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Christopher Barrett, who teaches applied economics at Cornell University, said: "When<o:p></o:p></span></div><table align="right" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="background: #AABBDC; border: solid #336699 1.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 6.0pt; margin-right: 6.0pt; margin-top: -.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid #336699 .75pt; mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-table-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-table-bspace: 6.0pt; mso-table-left: right; mso-table-lspace: 8.25pt; mso-table-rspace: 8.25pt; mso-table-top: middle; mso-table-tspace: 1.5pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 220px;"><tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="border: none; padding: 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt 3.75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL" style="mso-element-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-element-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-element-frame-hspace: 8.25pt; mso-element-frame-vspace: 1.5pt; mso-element-left: right; mso-element-top: middle; mso-element-wrap: around; mso-element: frame; mso-height-rule: exactly;"><span dir="LTR" style="color: white; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="''" id="Picture_x0020_43" o:spid="_x0000_i1026" style="height: 13.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 17.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="''" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span><b><span dir="LTR" style="color: white; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">The narrative is that the corner [as far as food security is concerned] has been turned, but that is a narrative carefully controlled by the government. Time will tell</span></b><span dir="LTR" style="color: white; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-no-proof: yes;"><v:shape alt="''" id="Picture_x0020_44" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 13.5pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 17.25pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="''" src="file:///C:\Users\GHAZAN~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></span><span dir="LTR" style="color: white; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></td> </tr> </tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Horn of Africa experienced a horrendous drought last year, it wasn’t Ethiopia that experienced famine. The productive safety nets programme launched by his [Meles’] government has generally done a good job of improving standards of living for the least well off Ethiopians and is being studied and emulated by other countries in the region. While there remains much to be done, the progress in Ethiopia during his rule is very palpable and will hopefully continue through a peaceful transition to new leadership."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, in 2008 food prices soared beyond the point of affordability for those enrolled in the PSNP and the numbers on food aid ballooned.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"One of the flaws of the PSNP was that the cash being offered to the people was too small to help them graduate from the programme," said Mousseau. "The other was it was not supported by other investments needed to help uplift the people from poverty such as infrastructure and access to markets to make any significant impact on their livelihoods."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This opened in 2008 with the aim of helping small farmers gain access to market information and bring buyers and sellers under one roof.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Mr Meles believed that we had to be transparent and not cater to any narrow interest of big commercial farms," said Gabre-Madhin. The exchange, which trades in four commodities - maize, coffee, sesame and beans - provides real-time market information to farmers via a mobile phone text message service and a free phone-in facility.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to Gabre-Madhin, farmers’ share of the final export price of coffee rose from 35-38 percent to 65-70 percent.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Land “grabs” and forced relocations<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The government dismissed critics of its large scale land-leasing policy – part of a five year Growth and Transformation Plan - insisting the millions of dollars of foreign investment involved would create jobs, improve domestic agricultural expertise and reduce both poverty and the country's chronic food insecurity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">According to a paper by the Oakland Institute, the policy led to the forcible relocation of indigenous communities to villages in the Gambella and Benishangul regions, where they were told they would be taught new techniques to produce food. Their land is being leased out by the government to multinationals in Saudi Arabia and India. The Institute's research showed that more than three million hectares of land had been leased out to investors.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"In recent years, the Meles regime has shifted its focus to big commercial enterprises at the cost of the local indigenous communities and even the pastoral population in the Afar region," said Mousseau.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This prompted an Ethiopian economist, Aklog Birara, living in the US to lodge a protest with the Indian government in May this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Today, Ethiopia is an 'empty womb'. Millions of hectares of its most fertile farmlands and the waters and rivers that give them sustenance are given away in a scheme that we can only characterize as ‘farmland colonization by invitation.’ Indian companies are taking over for 25 to 99 years duration at the invitation of Mr Meles’ government,” he wrote.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dawit Alemu, an agricultural economist with the Ethiopian Institute for Agricultural Research believes commercial farming has contributed to the country's booming growth. "Moreover, huge irrigation projects linked with hydropower are under implementation, which are expected to ensure food security in the very near future.” But such projects have also come under fire from activists who claim they threaten the livelihoods of thousands of people.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Now, the question is whether we will have a person who will ensure the implementation and finalization of all these efforts that have started," added Dawit.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

ETHIOPIA: Food security and the Meles' legacy

Photo: World Economic Forum Meles Zenawi at the World Economic Forum on Africa   held in Addis Ababa earlier this year JOHANNESBURG (IRI...

Read more »

India to Give Free Medicines to Nation's Poor

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /> <div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Anjana Pasricha<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI — India plans to provide free medicines to the nation's poor, marking a major step forward in improving access to life-sustaining drugs. India’s public healthcare system is unable to cope with the needs of the country’s vast population.      <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bharat Tiwari, 68, is despondent because doctors at a government-funded hospital in New Delhi have deferred surgery needed to treat his heart ailment. Such deferments are not unusual at the overstretched facility.    <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tiwari says he has been told to return after two months. He has had medicines costing thousands of rupees in recent months, and worries about how to sustain the expenses.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His son, who has brought him from a distant village in Uttar Pradesh for treatment, says the $100 spent every month on his father’s medications adds up to a quarter of the family income. He was hoping a surgery would reduce the expenses on drugs.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tiwari’s problems may lessen once the government implements a $5.4-billion plan to provide free generic drugs to all patients. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The initiative is seen as a huge leap forward in a country where drugs account for a major part of out-of-pocket healthcare expenses. Most Indians choose private medical treatment because government hospitals and clinics that provide free care are overcrowded and understaffed, and do not give free medicines. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, President of Public Health Foundation of India in New Delhi, says the cost of medicines in India, compared to per capita income, is very high. As a result many patients cannot afford them, particularly when they are needed for illnesses that require long-term treatment such as cancer or diabetes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“It increases the out of pocket expenditure markedly and can even impoverish them to the extent of driving them below the poverty line. Even for cardiovascular diseases for example in Kerala, where we conducted a study with some of our collaborators, at least 14 percent of the patients had to give up life saving medicines because they could not afford them," Reddy said. "This could be a problem elsewhere too and we know that many of the patients, who cannot afford medicines, do have interrupted treatment.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The medications will be provided by India’s thriving generic-drug industry, which produces medicines for a fraction of the cost of branded drugs. Initially about 350 generic medicines will be dispensed - these include expensive drugs needed to treat AIDS, cancer and heart ailments. All these diseases are on the rise in India.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, concerns have been expressed about implementing such a system in a country where many initiatives targeted at the poor have been mired in corruption. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">George Mathew, chairman of New Delhi’s Institute of Social Sciences, says the intention is good. But he is not certain it will work effectively.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“This is a very important concern, how this will reach the target group. Unless a very, very good system is worked out, this will create a lot of problem," he said. "And this can end up in another scandalous scheme.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Optimists point to Indian states - Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, which have already begun distributing free medicines. The Tamil Nadu government says about half the state’s population is taking advantage of the scheme. The numbers are on the rise in Rajasthan as well.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This has made healthcare experts like Dr. Reddy hopeful that the plan can be implemented successfully. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“In Rajasthan, in fact, which is the most recent entrant into the scheme, we have seen that patient attendance at primary health centers has started going up once the free medicines have been distributed - which means that the confidence of the people in the public system is being progressively restored now that they know that the public system is much more responsive,” he stated.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, there are often long lines and lengthy waits for doctors to prescribe the medicines and collect the drugs. At public hospitals in Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, corridors and stairwells often fill with people waiting their turn. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a result, patients like 31-year-old Hemant Sharma are skeptical whether they will ever get the free drugs. He has been braving long lines at a New Delhi government hospital to be treated for a liver ailment.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He points out that the wait for doctors and treatment is long and tedious. He fears the wait for the medicines could be a similar struggle and a sick man may never manage to get hold of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Despite the skepticism, there is hope that the move could help millions of Indians who cannot afford to fund their healthcare and move the country toward universal health coverage. Officials say the plan will begin implementation nationwide from October, and about half the nation will have access to free drugs by 2017. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India to Give Free Medicines to Nation's Poor

By Anjana Pasricha NEW DELHI — India plans to provide free medicines to the nation's poor, marking a major step forward in improving ...

Read more »