Millennial Challenges: Accountable Journalism in the face of another humanitarian crisis- the case for balanced reporting

Global Strategic Enterprises, Inc for Peace and Prosperity- www.globalbelai4u.blogspot.com;www.SolomonicCrown.org

Dear Patriotic Global Citizens and friends of Ethiopia:

This is a very interesting report following a series of disinformation campaign coordinated between the regional terrorists (ONLF- Altihad-Alqaeda Network, etc) and collaboration of the Red Cross International and New York Times and International Herald Tribune.

What a tragedy of unusual collaboration reminiscent of the Afgan-Russian wars and the Alabania-Serbia wars. Both times the west enabled nascent terrorist agents as international jihadists and now global terrorists.

Here is another series of regional terrorist enablers coming forward as human right campaigners such as the so called "human rights's watch" who seem dedicated to protect the human rights of terrorists against the total regional populations.

What a conscience? Another prelude to the 9/11 days where all intelligence was ignored to promote short sighted and treasonous policies that is currently bogging the giant democracies of the West where Prime Minister Blair lost his government and now they are forcing the Bush administration in the same direction.

History is repeating itself like the Cold War days and the international community should be vigilant not to allow the same error being repeated again and again.

At one stage it looked part of a bigger global picture that is conflict of interest between the energy consumers of the east and the west. The International energy crisis forcing the West's globalisation effort in Africa or being challenged by the East's m this time China's expanding advance and Africa seemed to be in the center of global energy real estate competition! The Global Corporations in the West were using its organized NGOs such as the Red Cross International and Media corporations such as IHT and New York Times on the fist line of offense posing as independent charities and selfless private media groups.

The usual camouflage we have been used to so often in the cold war days coming back again with a new zeal in a new part of the world?

Unfortunately, we have been there before in the Horn of Africa when the Cold war was actively being waged against our people with surrogate strongmen. The active surrogate fools here were the two military officers of hte region, Colonel Mengistu and General Said Bare. Both were incompetent military officers who betrayed the future of their people to have access to momentary privileges which they acquired by putting their people and the region as a sacrifice.

First send ICRC and HRW to begin the disinformation, create a serious moral crisis followed by humanitarian fiasco and have a group of Irish Singers ready for Christmas to practice "We are the world" and then create a massive diplomatic and miltary offensive that will put the region back to the Ice Age.

However, that was 1970s and it is now 2007; where the public has access to You tube, IPhone, Google, yahoo, blog spots and pal talks and easy access to instantaneous visual, audio and digital communication side by side with the the old rather outdated print media dominated by the geriatrics of yester years.

The current political climate in US and Europe needs some feeders for upcoming young candidates to flaunt around as their foreign policy drama, just before the elections. The documentaries will follow suit to provide the much needed informatics for the analysts and the international media anchors. Then you have a crisis in the making that only the west can solve. First the insurgents and then the famine, then the civil war and then you have Bagdad- Schok and Awe with no Exit Strategy. This was the old game and the new one is different as you have Alqaeda on the Gounod.



The young, educated and creative policy makers have alternative sources of communicating with the public and with the reality and the United Nation Media is one source that the Global Corporate and Non Profit world dominated.

So, the story of the Horn has a very interesting evolution where the die hard old corrupt editors of newsgroups are fast loosing the ground to multicultural savvy and interactive media outlets. Mind you this is a level playing field and can promote what is planned and not planned on the ground.

Please read an alternative account of what was attempted as "Strategic population starve outs' is now being converted into a strategic alliance of regional terrorists with IRC, HRW and IHT and New York journalists cum counter-intelligence appearing national security trailblazers who are abused by narrow minded criminals posing as well meaning corporate and charitable citizens.

The interesting thing is how close the terrorist media campaign followed the ICRC press release and New York Times and International Herald Tribune editorials and special rep rots by the same Gentleman that was deported from Ethiopia for conduct unbecoming of an intelligence agent posing as a tourist and journalist.

Some one would have sent him there with all these covers that was unmasked in Addis after his assignment was complete.

All the same, it is critical for us to have access to balanced accounting and to see how international organizations use the daft and incompetent media outlets of "from reliable sources" or "sources that do not want to be identified, etc" much abused notion and camouflaging strategy series is used to push highly incompetent and rather dangerous allegations that coud spark another crisis that will impact negatively the lives of millions to be sacrificed by callous, detached inter-mediaries of global terrorism.

Who is using or abusing whom? is the real question here!

It is time to be vigilant and not allow the world of Pre-9/11 to return.

Here is another story of the Horn that needs the world's immediate attention.

with regards

Dr B of GSE for PP




ETHIOPIA: ETHIOPIA: Government denies looming humanitarian crisis in Somali region
26 Jul 2007 13:26:28 GMT




Background
Somalia troubles

More NAIROBI, 26 July 2007 (IRIN) - The Ethiopian government has denied blocking aid and trade to parts of its southeastern Somali region but analysts and aid agencies say humanitarian access is limited and rising prices of food are evidence of security-related restrictions.

"It is a lie. It is far from the truth. There is no humanitarian operation we have banned. We are not closing any route of humanitarian operation; however, we closed the illegal trade routes crossing the border," Jama Ahmed Jama, vice-president of the Somali regional state, told IRIN.

Since May, analysts and media reports say the government has stepped up security operations to combat the rebel Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), including tightening controls on the flow of goods and people within the region, with neighbouring Somalia and with the rest of Ethiopia.

The Ogaden area is in the southern part of the Somali region. Ethiopian security forces have been accused of a range of serious human rights abuses in the operation. Peter Takirambudde, Africa director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), is quoted in a 4 July report saying: "Ethiopian troops are destroying villages and property, confiscating livestock and forcing civilians to relocate. Whatever the military strategy behind them, these abuses violate the laws of war."

The alleged relocation of civilians, said a regional analyst speaking to IRIN from the UK, was part of a "classic counter-insurgency" campaign to deny rebels access to support from the civilian population. HRW said: "The attacks on villages and the economic blockade may be part of a strategy to force thousands of people from rural areas to larger towns and deny the ONLF a support base."

Media access has also been restricted, with New York Times journalists reporting in the region detained and questioned for five days in May.

Warnings of 'crisis'

The combination of restrictions on trade and movement, the high risk of flooding between July and September reported by the National Meteorological Agency and the progression of the dry season, means there is a high risk that the food security situation could deteriorate into a severe humanitarian crisis in the second half of 2007, according to a statement issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Five zones in the Somali region - Fik, Degehabur, Warder, Korahe and Gode (in the Ogaden) - are under "military operation", according to UN reports. Restrictions on food aid to those zones were lifted in principle on 21 July, according to an announcement by the regional state authorities, said OCHA, but not yet realised.

Food aid is being distributed to three of the region's nine zones.

Emergency food aid allocations are based on estimates of 530,000 people in need across the Somali region. Food and other humanitarian needs are being reassessed by aid agencies and the government in a joint process following the Gu season rains.

Only a few humanitarian agencies are active in the Ogaden region. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was given seven days' notice to leave the area this week, and issued a statement on 26 July "deploring" the decision and underlining all parties' "obligation to comply with international humanitarian law, in particular with that law's prohibition of attacks against people not or no longer taking direct part in hostilities and the right guaranteed by that law to civilians to receive the humanitarian assistance essential to their survival".

The Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS Net) said in a 19 July report that markets had been affected since mid-June, with food prices doubling in Warder and Korahe from May to June. As an example, 50kg of rice had risen to 500 Ethiopian birr (US$55) in June from 220 birr ($24) in May.

The region, which has faced conflict, drought and floods over recent years, is poor and vulnerable: "Even small shocks can quickly result in extreme food insecurity," said FEWS Net.

The largely pastoralist region depends on livestock for barter and trade. "At the same time, because the normal market for livestock in these areas is outside the areas where movement is restricted, herders are unable to access the markets and sell their livestock," reported FEWS Net.

Rebel allegations

The ONLF accused the government of using food as a weapon.

ONLF spokesman Abdirahman Mahdi told IRIN on 24 July there was a total blockade of the region by the Ethiopian government. "Nothing is entering the region whether it is commercial or aid. The situation is most desperate in Warder, Korahey, Dagahabur, Fik, Dhuxun and Gode."

He alleged the Ethiopian military was taking or destroying what little food stocks the people had. "Villages and nomadic homes have been torched by the Ethiopian forces. They want to starve the people into submission. Food donated by western taxpayers is being used as weapon of war by the Ethiopian regime."

He called on the international community, particularly the UN, "to act now to avert a catastrophe or they will be complicit in the crimes being committed by the Ethiopian government in the Ogaden".

Vice-president Jama, however, denied there was any food crisis in the region. "The food aid is currently in distribution. We do not have any report on hand that showed any type of food crisis in the region.

"We are trying to alleviate our people from poverty not push them into suffering," he added.

ah/bp/mw

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