First sight: Letekidan Micael in Heart of Fire film….

Letekidan Micael in Feuerherz (Heart of Fire)

Cath Clarke

The Guardian, – 21 August 2009

Article history

An Eritrean girl who was 10 years old when she was cast as a child soldier in Heart of Fire (out on 25 September) by Italian director Luigi Falorni.

What about ‘Never work with animals or children’?

You wouldn’t say that if you saw Micael in action. Her rich, lively performance lights up this film, which is set during Eritrea’s war of independence against Ethiopia. She plays Awet, a steely little thing with a cheeky smile, whose father gives her to a guerrilla group where she finds herself endlessly in trouble.

How so?

She’s the sort of kid who just won’t be told: full of questions, with a strong sense of justice. Falorni says it was his biggest stroke of luck finding her, which was in short supply when making this film.

Why? What happened?

The movie is loosely based on the autobiography of Eritrean-born German singer Senait Mehari, who has since been accused of fabricating parts of the book. (Senait denies it.) The film-makers also fell foul of the Eritrean authorities, who say child soldiers did not fight in the struggle. When his actors started dropping out (reportedly after receiving threats), Falorni recast his film in a refugee camp in Kenya five days before shooting.

And what next for Letekidan?

Now here we have a happy ending. Her family has been granted political asylum in Europe, where she was reunited with her mum. “She looks very confident,” says Falorni. “She attends school and knows already that she wants to go to university.”

Who is she?

1. Heart Of Fire

2. Production year: 2008

3. Country: Rest of the world

4. Runtime: 92 mins

5. Directors: Luigi Falorni

6. Cast: Letekidan Micael, Seble Tilahun, Solomie Micael

7. More on this film

September 1st 1961, turning points in our history…

Awate is the first Eritrean revolutionary and leader...

30/08/09

By Adal voice

The great day of September 1st 1961, which remains as one of the most important turning points in our history.

Awate, the man of history, occupies special place in our hearts and memories. He was the guardian, the defender and above all father and the founder of the Eritrean revolution. While Awate’s name was a source of terror and intimidation to the enemy’s ear and its collaborators, it was causing a sense of great hope for Eritreans, a feeling of protection, defiance, and confidence in the inevitability of the ultimate victory of their legal and just struggle.
Awate is the first Eritrean revolutionary and leader who fired thefirst bullet of Eritrean armed struggle with 13 other pioneers in the historic battle of Adal. He dedicated his life serving the cause of his people and demanded no less than the liberation of the man and the land.

History

Eritrea was part of the first Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum until its decline in the 8th century. It came under the control of the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, and later of the Egyptians. The Italians captured the coastal areas in 1885, and the Treaty of Uccialli (May 2, 1889) gave Italy sovereignty over part of Eritrea. The Italians named their colony after the Roman name for the Red Sea, Mare Erythraeum, and ruled it up until World War II. The British captured Eritrea in 1941 and later administered it as a UN Trust Territory until it became federated with Ethiopia on Sept. 15, 1952. It was made an Ethiopian province on Nov. 14, 1962. A civil war broke out against the Ethiopian government, led by rebel groups who opposed the union and wanted independence for Eritrea. Fighting continued over the next 32 years.

In 1991, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front deposed the country’s hard-line Communist dictator Mengistu. Without Mengistu’s troops to battle, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front was able to gain control of Asmara, the Eritrean capital, and form a provisional government. In 1993, a referendum on Eritrean independence was held, supported by the UN and the new Ethiopian government. Eritrean voters almost unanimously opted for an independent republic. Ethiopia recognized Eritrea’s sovereignty on May 3, 1993, and sought a new era of cooperation between the two countries.

Isaias Afewerki ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ; born 2 February 1945), is the first and current President of Eritrea,

Isaias Afewerki was the leader of the EPLF, which eventually won Eritrea its independence from Ethiopia. In April 1993 a United Nations-supervised referendum on independence was held, and the following month Eritrea was declared independent. The EPLF renamed itself the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice in February 1994 as part of its transformation into Eritrea’s ruling political movement.The PFDJ is the only legal political entity in Eritrea.

The cooperation did not last long. Following Eritrea’s independence, Eritrea and Ethiopia disagreed about the exact demarcation of their borders, and in May 1998 border clashes broke out. Both impoverished countries spent millions of dollars on warplanes and weapons, about 80,000 people were killed, and refugees were legion. The war essentially ended in a stalemate, and a formal peace agreement was signed in Dec. 2000.

Eritreans at a Martyrs’ Day ceremony who died in the 30-year

for independence from Ethiopia.

UN : Ban Ki-moon said “nation-building has not been easy”……

28/08/2009

UN – NEWS

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has congratulated Timor-Leste on the tenth anniversary of the historic referendum, which determined its independence from Indonesia.

Timor-Leste anniversary of popular consultation

In a video message the Secretary-General said nation-building has not been easy, but the resilient Timorese people and their leaders have risen to meet their challenges.

“In just over seven years since the restoration of independence, your country has established all its major democratic institutions. Now we must strengthen them. Timor-Leste’s progress also shows yet again the power of peaceful means in changing the course of history.”

Mr. Ban said the United Nations attaches the highest importance to its partnership with Timor Leste and will continue to support its efforts to build a prosperous, inclusive society.

Bissera Kostova, United Nations.

(duration: 53″)

Sound bites

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Cut

“In just over seven years since the restoration of independence, your country has established all its major democratic institutions. Now we must strengthen them. Timor-Leste’s progress also shows yet again the power of peaceful means in changing the course of history.”

Duration: 00:00:20

Ethiopian athletes two women and two men still missing….

28/08/09

MSN Indonesia

Four Ethiopian athletes have gone missing during a visit to Britain for an international athletics event, officials said.

Four Ethiopian athletes have gone missing during a visit to Britain for an international athletics event, officials said.

The athletes, two women and two men, fled their hotel in London on Tuesday and failed to make a connecting flight to Edinburgh ahead of the Falkirk Cup athletics event, the officials said.

“My colleague actually tried to restrain two of them but they ran off,” said Dagmawit Amare, an official with the Ethiopian team management, on Tuesday.

“This is such a sad thing to happen for my country and the sport.”

Scottish Athletics chief executive Geoff Wightman said the incident had been reported to authorities.

“We invited them, so it’s our duty to report it to the authorities,” he said.

The missing athletes are said to be women’s 200m runner Betelhem Shewatatek, Feleke Bekele (women’s 400m hurdles), Hagos Tadesse (men’s 400m) and Tirehas Haileselassie (men’s 400m hurdles).

War in Sudan’s Darfur ‘is over’….

Many displaced Darfuris live in camps across the border in Chad

BBC NEWS

28/08/09

The six-year war between forces loyal to Sudan’s government and rebels in Darfur has effectively ended, the UN’s military commander in the region says.

General Martin Agwai, who is leaving his post this week, said the vicious fighting of earlier years had subsided as rebel groups split into factions.

He says the region now suffers more from low-level disputes and banditry.

The UN says 300,000 people have died in Darfur, but the Sudanese government puts the figure at 10,000.

Almost three million people are said to have been displaced by the fighting.

Oppression claims

Gen Agwai, who led a joint UN and African Union peacekeeping force known as Unamid, said the region now suffered more from “security issues” than full-blown conflict.

DISPLACED IN DARFUR 2006: 547,420 people fled their homes 2007: 302,794 2008: 317,000 2009 (first six months): 137,000 Total to date: 2.7m Source: UN humanitarian agency Ocha In pictures: Portraits of Darfur Q&A: Sudan’s Darfur conflict

“Banditry, localised issues, people trying to resolve issues over water and land at a local level. But real war as such, I think we are over that,” he said.

Gen Agwai said only one rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem), posed a real threat but even it no longer had the ability to conquer and hold territory.

Sudan analyst Gill Lusk said his comments were “unhelpful” because they could lead people to believe that Darfur’s problems had been solved.

“There has been a large decline in fighting in Darfur, and that is undoubtedly a good thing for the people,” she told the BBC.

“But it is the government that turns the tap on and off – they can restart the violence whenever they want.”

An aid worker in Sudan also questioned Gen Agwai’s statement.

“If that is true, why do some parts of Darfur remain out of bounds, even for Unamid?” she asked.

‘Strong foundation’

Gen Agwai insists the real problem now is political.

BBC Sudan correspondent James Copnall says that view is shared by many within Sudan.

Although the intensity of the violence has reduced, there is still little prospect of a peace deal.

Last week, US envoy to Sudan Scott Gration said the existence of 26 different rebel factions was a major obstacle to reaching a peace agreement with the government.

He brokered talks which led to four groups agreeing to work together, calling the deal a “very strong foundation for rebel unification”.

The war broke out in the arid and impoverished region early in 2003 when rebel groups including Jem attacked government targets, accusing Khartoum of oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs.

Pro-government militiamen hit back with brutal force, which the US and some rights groups have labelled genocide.

Khartoum denies supporting the militias, but the international court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant earlier this year for President Omar al-Bashir accusing him of war crimes.

For the first time Exim Bank extends USD 20 mn LoC to Eritrea….

Clik to see and to Learn more……

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SamayLive.com

^{Published: Wed, 26 Aug 2009 at 20:23 IST}

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Mumbai, Aug 26 Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) today said that it has extended a USD 20 million Line of Credit (LoC) to the Eritrea Government to finance agriculture and educational projects.

This is the first LoC extended by Exim Bank to Eritrea, a country in the north-east of Africa.

“Exim Bank will reimburse 100 per cent contract value to the Indian project exporter(s) upfront upon the shipment of goods / provision of services,” the bank said in a release here.

The Eritrean economy is agriculture-based with 80 per cent of the population involved in farming and herding.

India exports sugar, pharmaceutical products, rubber-manufactured products, machinery and instruments among others to Eritrea.

With Letter of Credit to Eritrea, Exim Bank has now 118 LoCs in place covering 95 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the CIS with credit commitments of over USD 3.87 billion, the release said.

Live Better Longer!..I’m sure you know how bad smoking is for you….

28/08/09

Quit smoking, and cut back on alcohol and red meat, and get more exercise. Need proof? These are some of the habits of groups who have the highest concentrations of centenarians.

Two Ethiopian religious leaders Seek asylum in Eritrea…

Asmara, 27 August 2009

Shabit.com – NEWS

Two Ethiopian religious leaders arrived in Eritrea opposing the prevailing conflict and anarchy within the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (EOC) that was instigated by the clique headed by Abune Paulos.

Moreover, they took the move in order to save their lives from the acts of conspiracy being weaved by the clique.The two religious leaders are Melake Tsehai Aba Abiy Yohannes who used to serve at the Lideta Church in Addis Ababa, and priest Tibebu Asefaw who used to serve at the Silasie Monastery administered by the Addis Ababa Synod. They pointed out that the politics of the TPLF being pursued by Abune Paulos under the guise of religion is fomenting tribalism, theft and anarchy within the EOC, besides jeopardizing the lives of many senior religious leaders. As a result, a numbers of priests and church staff are abandoning the monasteries and churches to save their lives, they added.

Indicating that Abune Paulos who was not elected through the rules and regulations of the Patriarchate but rather by the TPLF regime in the first place is pursuing a path different from that of spiritual life, the religious leaders explained that bribe and corruption are now rampant in all sections of the EOC from top to bottom. They further disclosed that the picture of Abune Paulos is being displayed in various churches and monasteries more than saints’ images.

The two religious leaders went on to say that the Patriarch is snatching a lot of illicit money, in addition to being escorted by the TPLF regime’s security personnel, thus attesting to the fact that he is totally isolated from the faithful he claims to be providing leadership.

They further noted that continued attempts have been made to dismiss Abune Samuel, Vice Patriarch and Bishop of the Addis Ababa Synod, who is widely acclaimed by members of the Synod, religious leaders and the faithful, simply because he criticized and opposed the Patriarch. Worried by the opposition from Abune Samuel, Abune Paulos resorted to dividing the Addis Ababa Synod into 5 units so that Abune Samuel would be left in control of a single unit. However, such a move ended in utter failure as it was rejected by members of the Synod, and that this remains to be the root cause of the prevailing conflict, they added.

Moreover, Melake Tsehai Aba Abiy Yohannes and Priest Tibebu Asefaw explained that contrary to the spiritual mission, Abune Paulos often preaches the public to be cautious about the “Amharas” which practice amply demonstrates that he is preoccupied with politics. They elaborated that the Patriarch is also involved in the conspiracies of killing of senior religious leaders in various Ethiopian churches and monasteries. The faithful are also very much annoyed by Abune Paulos’ decision preventing the conduct of prayer service for the late priest Ayalew Tamiru who was a well-known and respected religious figure, they added.

It is to be noted that a number of religious leaders fled the country opposing the corrupt practices within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church headed by Abune Paulos under the sponsorship of the TPLF.

73 Eritrean migrants included three pregnant women died at sea…

27/08/09

Economist.com

27 year-old Eritrean

FROM her hospital bed, Titi Tazrar, one of only five migrants who survived a crossing from Libya, described how 73 other passengers had died. They included three pregnant women who aborted at sea. “Some died because they fell into the sea at night,” said the 27 year-old Eritrean. “The pregnant women aboard suffered the most. We didn’t know how to help or comfort them. But soon after losing their children they too died.”

On the very day when Ms Tazrar gave her account, a game designed by Renzo Bossi, son of the Northern League’s leader, Umberto Bossi, called “Bounce back the clandestine migrant”, was removed from his Facebook site. A failure to block enough boats led to a message: “Try again…next time you’ll manage to show you’re a true Leaguer!”

Since May Italian vessels finding migrants in international waters have returned them to Libya instead of taking them to Italy where (whether or not they won asylum) most have tended to remain or else travelled to another EU country. The rescue of the 12-metre craft on which Ms Tazrar was found on August 20th triggered the biggest row yet. The church has been critical: the head of the Vatican’s migrants department, Antonio Maria Veglio, is locked in an acrimonious dispute with a leading Northern League figure, Roberto Calderoli. This matters, for history suggests that Italian governments at odds with the church do not last long. And Mr Berlusconi is already in bad odour with the clergy over his private life.

et some of the opprobrium heaped on his government’s immigration policy is misguided. The real objection is that the new approach prevents migrants from applying for asylum even if they are entitled to humanitarian protection (typically around a third of Mediterranean boat people qualify, according to the Italian government). It then forces them back to Libya, an undemocratic state whose leader scoffs at notions of human rights.

But there is no evidence that Italy is actually ignoring the plight of those, like Ms Tazrar, who manage to reach its territorial waters. Officials insist that she and her fellow passengers were rescued by a coastal patrol as soon as it was alerted to their presence. Since June 1st almost 500 people have been taken in by Italy (although, under the new law, they now risk prosecution for illegal immigration).

Graver doubts hover over Malta. Ms Tazrar and her fellow-survivors say that two days before their rescue their dinghy was approached by a patrol boat whose crew gave them fuel and life-jackets and even “turned on the motor because we were too weak”. Malta accepts that its men found the Eritreans, but says the migrants were in good health and rejected an offer of rescue because they wanted to reach Italy. As a prosecutor in Sicily began investigating the incident, Italy’s foreign minister, Franco Frattini, outraged the Maltese government by suggesting that it should limit Malta’s territorial waters because it could not patrol them properly.

Continuing illegal immigration across the Mediterranean cries out for a co-ordinated EU response. Carl Bildt, the foreign minister of Sweden, which holds the EU presidency, said new proposals from the European Commission would be discussed by foreign ministers in October. But he added that such a complex problem could not be solved at one meeting.

David Cronin – guardian.co.uk,

Article history

The EU should protect asylum seekers

We shouldn’t automatically label immigrants ‘illegal’, but tell that to the EU, especially when it comes to Italy’s accord with Libya

If I could delete just one term from the English language it would have to be “illegal immigrants”. The notion that it is a crime to risk one’s life fleeing poverty in search of a better life abroad is an affront to the most elementary tenets of justice. And yet politicians and journalists (myself included, in the past) routinely designate such people as illegal without a second thought.

This even occurs at moments of great tragedy. Several news reports this week have informed us that Italy is seeking a new EU blueprint on illegal immigration. This followed the discovery that 73 Eritreans died because the ship bringing them from Libya to Sicily drifted for 20 days due to lack of fuel without receiving assistance from passing vessels (except one fishing boat). The inference that these victims were flouting the law was made despite prima facie evidence suggesting they would have had solid reasons to claim asylum in Europe; Amnesty International’s latest annual report describes Eritrea as a state where virtually no opposition to its autocratic president Issayas Afewerki is tolerated.

It is difficult to have any confidence that the EU is going to improve the situation, at least in the short term. On paper, the union is fully committed to international law, particularly the 1951 refugee convention. Yet none of its governments have raised any audible protest against Italy’s signature of an accord with Libya that came into effect in May as part of a dubious buddying-up exercise between Silvio Berlusconi and Muammar Gaddafi. Under it, asylum seekers can be automatically sent back to Libya (a key transit country for Africans trying to reach Europe) without their applications receiving any attention on this continent.

Almost certainly, this agreement is depriving refugees of the protection that international law has theoretically guaranteed them for over half a century. The European Council for Refugees and Exile (ECRE), an alliance of human rights organisations, estimates that over half of the asylum seekers arriving in Italy qualify for refugee status.

There was much alarm – most of it contrived – among the political establishment in June when the BNP and other racist parties performed well in the European parliamentary elections. Rather than being outraged by their hate-filled manifestos, the European mainstream have been pandering to the far right for ages. International law has been shunted aside as if it is an optional extra by EU initiatives over recent years.

Frontex, the union’s agency for managing its external borders, has paid no real heed to asylum issues since it began operating in 2005, viewing the number of foreigners it can help keep out of the EU as a barometer of its success. In pursuit of these ignoble aims, it has taken part in operations during which naval officers have aimed their guns directly at terrified asylum seekers.

Boasting two far-right parties in its ruling coalition – Alleanza Nazionale (National Alliance) and Lega Nord (Northern League) – Italy has gone the furthest of all EU countries in criminalising asylum seekers. But its callous inhumanity is by no means unique. Denmark, for example, is so eager to expel a group of Iraqis to whom it has denied asylum that it arrested them while they sheltered in a church earlier this month and is now restricting their access to lawyers. Concerns that the Iraqis’ lives could be in danger if they are forced to return home have not pricked many consciences in the supposedly liberal-minded Danish government.

Contrary to some claims, the EU is not swamped with refugees. The UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) last year requested help with resettling over 120,000 people. Only 7,000 of these refugees were accepted in EU countries. It is this lack of compassion that must be tackled if Europe is to have a fair system of asylum, rather than one that treats victims as criminals.

From Reagan’s ‘mad dog’ to Berlusconi’s best friend….

27/08/09

Malta Today – NEWS

On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Great Revolution, last week’s release of convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi crowns Gaddafi’s rehabilitation in the international community.
Once shunned as a dangerous pariah, Colonel Muammar Al Gaddafi is now regarded as a sort of eccentric partner who can offer lucrative contracts to Western energy and military companies.
Back in the 1980s – a time when Saddam Hussein was still regarded as a useful friend in the war against Iran – he was the United States’ number one enemy. Now, not only has Gaddafi outlived the Iraqi dictator but Western leaders now seem to be in open competition with each other to secure Libyan contracts.
Megrahi’s release comes just in time for Gaddafi to crown the legitimisation of his regime, as September will also see celebrations marking the 40th anniversary of the ‘Bloodless Coup’ that overthrew King Idris in 1969. The Libyan leader will also chair an African Union summit and address the UN general assembly next month.
Just a few days after personally welcoming Megrahi as a national hero, Gaddafi will be hosting Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of the former renegade’s main international sponsors.
Berlusconi has promised to provide US$200 million a year over the next 25 years through investments in infrastructure projects in Libya, in a secret agreement in whose aftermath Italy started to forcibly repatriate migrants back to Libya.
Berlusconi’s visit to Libya is expected to seal his new friendship with Italy’s right wing government despite the international embarrassment caused by Megrahi’s hero welcome. But the new axis between Berlusconi and Gaddafi has prompted criticism from human rights groups.
In June, Amnesty International expressed concern about Libya’s alleged collusion with Italy in the mistreatment of economic migrants and asylum-seekers.
“Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Muammar al-Gaddafi are building their friendship agreement at the expense of people from other countries whom both regard as expendable,” said Bill Frelick, refugee policy director at Human Rights Watch. “It looks less like friendship and more like a dirty deal to enable Italy to dump migrants and asylum seekers on Libya and evade its obligations.”
Ironically, while Libya was celebrating the release of Megrahi, a boat carrying five Eritrean survivors managed to reach the Italian coast after a 20-day ordeal in which 73 migrants lost their lives. Eight bodies were sited by Frontex patrols in Libyan territorial waters.
Libya is not a party to the United Nations Refugee Convention, and has no asylum system. It has a dismal record of abuse and mistreatment of migrants caught trying to flee the country by boat, and cannot seriously be regarded as a partner in any scheme that claims to protect refugees.
Amnesty International’s 2008 report on human rights in Libya is a brisk reminder of what kind of leader Western powers are engaging with. Independent political expression and group activity remains banned and those who peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association may face the death penalty.
Prisoner of conscience Fathi el-Jahmi continues to be held at the Tripoli Medical Centre. Arrested in March 2004, after he called for political reform and criticized the Libyan leader in international media interviews, he was declared mentally unfit when taken before a court in September 2006. In March 2008 he was examined by an independent medical doctor on behalf of the US-based NGO Physicians for Human Rights, who assessed him as showing no signs of mental incapacity but found him to be in poor health and in need of surgery.
Idriss Boufayed and 11 others were tried before the State Security Court, a court created in August 2007 to try individuals accused of unauthorized political activity and offences against state security and whose proceedings do not conform to international fair trial standards. Idriss Boufayed and 10 others were sentenced to prison terms of up to 25 years after being convicted on vaguely worded charges, including “attempting to overthrow the political system”, “spreading false rumours about the Libyan regime” and “communication with enemy powers”.
According to AI, the authorities failed to address the long-standing pattern of impunity for perpetrators of gross human rights violations. No public information was made available about the investigation into events in 1996 at Tripoli’s Abu Salim Prison in which hundreds of prisoners were allegedly killed.
The authorities took no steps to address the legacy of gross human rights violations committed in earlier years, notably the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, including the enforced disappearance of hundreds of critics and opponents of the government. Many are feared to have died or been killed in custody.
There were also persistent reports of torture and other ill-treatment of detained migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers; the latter were not afforded protection, as required by international refugee law. On 15 January 2008, the authorities announced their intention to deport all “illegal migrants”, and subsequently carried out mass expulsions of Ghanaians, Malians, Nigerians and nationals of other countries. At least 700 Eritrean men, women and children were detained and were at risk of forcible return despite fears that they would be subjected to serious human rights abuses in Eritrea.
Despite his abysmal human rights record and his lack of remorse for past misdeeds, Gaddafi has surely gone a long way from the 1980s when he was locked in confrontation with the West, accused of supplying weaponry to the IRA, of bombing a Berlin discotheque packed with American servicemen, and of supporting terrorism.
In 1986 the Reagan administration, which dubbed him “Mad Dog Gaddafi”, launched air strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi in an attempt to kill him. The turning point in relations with the West came in 2003 when Gaddafi scrapped his presumed weapons programme, opened Libya’s facilities to inspection, and signalled a new era of collaboration with the west. In return, UN sanctions were lifted, Britain and other EU countries dispatched trade missions, focusing in particular on Libya’s under-developed oil industry, and in 2004, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair offered him “the hand of friendship”.
Although Britian denies any commercial interests in Megrahi’s release, insisting that this was a decision of the Scottish government, business has played an important part in the rapprochement with Libya.
BP has invested roughly $1bn in oil and gas exploration. In the energy field Britain has to compete with countries like France which have promised to help Libya develop nuclear energy.
And perversely the international pariah of the cold war days is now being supplied missiles and air defense systems by Britain.