AUHIP suspends Sudan’s pre-dialogue meeting in Ethiopia

pril 1, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) announced that it has indefinitely suspended the pre-dialogue preparatory meeting that was scheduled to take place this week after the government and its affiliated political parties refused to attend.

Photo - AU mediator Thabo Mbeki (AP)

The panel led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki had invited parties participating in the national dialogue process launched by Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir last January as well as non-participants that include rebel groups.
In a statement, AUHIP recalled that it consulted with all stakeholders including the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the 7+7 mechanism of the national dialogue.
Initially the 7+7 was comprised of the NCP and allied political forces including the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), former Darfur rebels from one side and the opposition National Umma Party (NUP), Popular Congress Party (PCP) Reform Now Movement (RNM) and Just Peace Forum (JPF).
However, three opposition forces - NUP, RNM and JPF - suspended their participation in the national dialogue mechanism to protest the refusal of the ruling party to implement a number of measures related to the creation of a conducive environment for the process.
“On the basis of those consultations, the AUHIP invited the stakeholders for the meeting in Addis Ababa on 30 and 31 March, and proposed an agenda which focused solely on the procedural and process issues” the AUHIP statement reads.
“Despite initially indicating that they would respond positively to the Panel’s invitation to participate in the Addis Ababa meeting, key representatives of the “7+7 mechanism” later cited several impediments their attendance of the meeting”.
The 7+7 told AUHIP that several of its members are occupied with the upcoming general elections and also expressed concern that the meeting might be used by some participants “to raise other matters outside of the agreed agenda on process issues”.
“The Panel responded to these concerns by reassuring the stakeholders that the agenda for the meeting was indeed restricted to process issues; that the meeting would be attended only by representatives of the key stakeholders who had agreed to participate in the National Dialogue; and, that the parties were at liberty to compose their delegations as they saw fit”.
“Regrettably, the Panel’s assurances and interactions with the stakeholders did not result in a change of heart by the group”.
AUHIP emphasised “without the full participation of all the key stakeholders, particularly the governing party, it is simply not possible to hold inclusive and credible preparations for the Dialogue as initially envisaged”.
“Consequently, and regrettably, the AUHIP has had no choice but to suspend the holding of the pre-Dialogue meeting”.
MBEKI MEETS OPPOSITION DELEGATION
However, Mbeki held discussions with the delegates of Sudan Call forces who arrived in Addis Ababa including NUP chief al-Sadiq al-Mahdi and chairman of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) Malik Agar.
Agar said that they conveyed to Mbeki their full support for peaceful resolution of the conflict in Sudan through "dialogue and debate" and expressed their "disappointment" over the government’s refusal to participate in the meeting.
"We discussed that holding elections before the national dialogue would be the end of AUHUP work over the [last] four years and there must be new ways to address the issues of Sudan," Agar said.
He said that all this depends on Mbeki’s report to the UN Security Council (UNSC) on the peace process in Sudan.
The SRF chairman said they were willing to contribute to changing the situation by announcing the possibility of discussing ceasefire for humanitarian issues and opening corridors to deliver aid and stopping aerial bombardment as a priority.
Agar said that the old way of mixing political and security issues resulted in poor conditions of civilians in war zones that are deteriorating thus require decoupling political and security tracks.
He also said they are prepared to discuss the issues of public freedoms on the basis of their contribution to the creation of a favourable environment for dialogue.
For his part, al-Mahdi, commended AUHIP for not allowing any party "to veto the peace process in Sudan".
He said that he presented a proposal to Mbeki to transition from the current framework to a new one but he did not elaborate.
Al-Mahdi said the meeting is an opportunity to confirm that "mo matter how the NCP position is twisted, our position is commitment to a political solution and we believe that any attempt to resolve these issues militarily as does the NCP will fail".
Yasser Arman, secretary-general of the Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N), blamed the NCP for failure of the AUHIP meeting.
"The National chose war over peace and chose to continue its totalitarian and solitary approach rather than dialogue" Arman said.
AUHIP said it will also hold consultations with representatives of the international community before considering its next steps.
Last week, the office of US Vice President Joe Biden said that he called Mbeki and discussed with him "the importance of establishing one nation-wide approach to ending the conflicts in Sudan" and "the urgent need for continued pressure on the Sudanese government and opposition leaders, as well as civil society groups, to begin the process of a national dialogue".
"The Vice-President emphasised that African Union leadership will be crucial to promoting inclusive governance, ensuring respect for human rights, and urgently bringing the conflicts in Blue Nile, Southern Kordofan, and Darfur to a peaceful end. They agreed to continue closely coordinating African Union and U.S. efforts".

Ethiopian activists, JAFI clash over Passover Seders

Ethiopian immigrants throughout the country have been left without invitations to communal Passover Seders, community activists complained to the media on Wednesday, while a spokesman for the Jewish Agency said that arrangements were in place for all the Ethiopian olim residing in the organization’s absorption centers.

“We heard that there will not be a Passover Seder for olim in the absorption centers just yesterday, only three days before Passover,” Hana Elazar Legesse, spokeswoman for the Israel Association of Ethiopian Jews, told The Jerusalem Post.

“We immediately inquired with the Absorption Ministry, who responded that this was the responsibility of the Jewish Agency. We repeatedly tried to contact them for answers, but did not receive any response,” she explained.

A ministry spokesman likewise referred the Post to the agency.

According to Elazar Legesse, the association received a response from the agency only following media coverage of the matter, when the agency said it would like the olim to become more independent and learn to hold the Seder on their own. As such, she said, the olim were granted vouchers totaling some NIS 150 to NIS 300 for the holiday and were given tutorials on how to host a Seder.

“In Kiryat Gat and Ayelet Hashahar in the North, the olim were able to organize a last-minute Seder in the absorption centers. But there are olim all over the country, some without any family, and unfortunately it seems that they will simply not hold a Seder this year,” she explained.

Asked about the reports and Elazar Legesse’s statement, agency spokesman Avi Mayer said that “Ethiopian immigrants residing in Jewish Agency absorption centers were informed more than three weeks ago that there would not be communal Passover seders for veteran immigrants, in accordance with the organization’s established practice.

“In the interim, he added, “absorption center staff members have been working with each family to ensure that they are able to fully celebrate the holiday, either with their extended families residing outside of the absorption center— as in the vast majority of cases—or in their own family settings on-site. Families that choose to hold their own seders within their absorption centers have received the full support and accompaniment of Jewish Agency staff. We would never permit a situation in which families were left without seder plans mere days before the holiday.”

Mayer added that “something that was never scheduled to take place cannot be canceled.

Nothing that would otherwise have taken place has been canceled.

We do not generally hold communal Seders for veteran immigrants from Ethiopia or from any other country.”

While it has long been his organization’s practice to hold communal Seders for recently arrived Ethiopian immigrants in the absorption centers, once they are in Israel for more than a year “and develop greater independence, we encourage them to hold their own Seders or to join their families for the holiday,” he explained.

Elazar Legesse was skeptical of such explanations, however, telling the Post that “if they want the olim to be independent, they need to help them leave the absorption centers and not just tell them to hold a Seder by themselves at the last minute – this is a ridiculous response.”

She said that the Ethiopian immigrants believe that the cancellation of the Seders by the agency was intended as a response to protests held last week in Kiryat Gat over their living conditions in the absorption centers, and that this incident is indicative of a much deeper problem facing Ethiopian olim in absorption centers.

Ethiopian immigrants comprise some 80 percent of olim living in absorption centers in Israel, explained Elazar Legesse.

“They are living in horrendous conditions – the physical structures are very old and unsanitary, not to mention overcrowded. In one small room you can find a full family with children, or a couple who have to share a room with a single young man,” she said.

According to Elazar Legesse, these horrible living conditions are maintained in an effort to motivate the Ethiopian immigrants to leave the absorption centers.

The centers are meant to assist the immigrants for a period of up to two years, after which they are granted a housing grant and encouraged to leave and build a new life in Israel.

The problem, however, is that many immigrants are simply unable to do so and remain in the absorption centers for years.

“There are elderly immigrants or single young men without families that come to Israel.

They can’t leave after two years, they can’t afford to buy an apartment, they are simply stuck in these absorption centers – some already for 10 years,” she explained.

“The notion that a policy in place for years was meant to penalize immigrants for their actions last week is logically deficient,” Mayer countered, saying that the agency “will gladly assist immigrants unable to hold their own Passover Seders for any reason.”

“The State of Israel has accommodated recently arrived immigrants in absorption centers throughout its existence. This temporary housing solution has worked for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from around the world, and it continues to be instrumental to many immigrants’ absorption today. That some immigrants may encounter challenges integrating into Israeli society after their housing eligibility expires is a matter to be addressed on a societal level, not by feeding immigrants and journalists false information and leveling baseless accusations at the organization doing more than any other to successfully absorb immigrants into their new homeland.”

Court Rejects Allegation By Orchid Against Yonas Kassahun Over Three Bobcat Trucks

Yonas, who had been set free two months ago from jail for cyber crime, has a counter action for compensation still in court

The Lideta Federal High Court rejected a suit filed by Orchid Business Group Plc (OBG) against Yonas Kassahun demanding the transfer of ownership of three Bobcat trucks and compensation for time the trucks had been suspended from use.
Yonas had also filed a cross action claiming ownership of the trucks and a compensation for the service the trucks had rendered to Orchid. The cross-action is what remains with the court now, as the court has thrown out Orchid's claim.
Orchid, a business group composing different investment companies, is engaged in the business of transport, machinery rental, transit, construction, horticulture and other businesses. Owned and managed by Akiko Seyom, the company had been previously involved in litigation, both civil and criminal, with Yonas Kassahun, a Diaspora investor holding German citizenship.
Orchid had conditionally won an auction to participate in a petroleum extraction project at Kobye area in the Southern Regional State. One of the conditions Orchid had to fulfill for its auction with the project was supplying three Bobcat trucks, which led to a deal between Orchid and Bobcat Bensheim GmbH in Germany.
Due to deficit of foreign currency, Orchid could not discharge its contractual payment in a timely manner, as indicated in the statement claim. Yonas Kassahun, Akiko's friend at the time agreed to get the trucks to Ethiopia using his duty free status, Orchid claimed; this arrangement caused the legal litigation between the two.
Orchid alleged in its claim filed on March 4, 2013, that the trucks had been delivered to it in the name of Yonas after Soldan International Plc, a sister company of Orchid based in Dubai, paid 106,000 euro to the supplier in Germany.
To transfer the trucks into its name, Orchid said that it had concluded a sale contract worth 1.9 million Br with Yonas, but Yonas had refused to transfer the vehicle ownership and he ordered the trucks to be suspended from work at the project. Thus, Orchid asked the Court to order forced performance of the contract and asked four million Birr compensation for the damages it incurred due to the suspension.
Objecting that Orchid could not sue him to be forced to transfer the trucks, as they are already in the hands of Orchid, and claiming that it is not up to the courts to decide on issues related to transferring ownership, Yonas himself instituted a cross action on Orchid and his own agent Yared Fikre at the same lawsuit, on April 15, 2013. Decision about ownership transfer is an administrative function, Yonas claimed.
In his cross action, Yonas alleged that his agent, Yared Fikre, had concluded three contractual agreements for the transfer of the heavy trucks to Orchid, exceeding the agency duties given to him by Yonas and law of the agency. Reminding that he did not even receive the sales proceeds, Yonas asked the Court to order the handing over of the trucks to him and refund the money gained by Orchid so far as it was renting the trucks.
Orchid objected the cross action by saying that Yonas had no grounds to sue because beyond the contract signed between Orchid and the agent, there is an actual contract for the sale of the trucks between Orchid and Yonas himself. Yared on his side defended that he signed the sale contract because he had acquired an agency right to do so from Yonas himself.
The Court rejected the forced performance claim of Orchid by saying that Orchid had clearly provided in its allegation that the three trucks are in its hands and there is nothing that the defendant had not fulfilled.
On the transfer of the name of the trucks, the Court had also rejected the allegation by referring the transfer as the prerogative of an administrative organ not the courts. Rejecting the preliminary objections of Orchid, the Court decided to continue with the hearing of the counter action instituted by Yonas and made an appointment for the next hearing on July 15, 2015.
Yonas had been set free two months ago from jail for cyber crime after the High Court's decision of six month imprisonment on suspension.

Health Benefits of Eating Carrots

Lower cholesterol - Carrots contain high amounts of soluble fiber, largely from pectin, which could be the reason they've been shown to lower cholesterol.
Reduce risk of cancer - The alphacarotene and bioflavonoids in carrots have been associated with lower risks of cancer, particularly lung cancer. But stick to those carotenoids rather than beta-carotene supplements, which could be harmful to smokers.
Keep your vision sharp - If your parents told you to eat your carrots for better eyesight, they were on to something. Carrots won't cure preexisting vision problems, but they can protect against sight issues caused by vitamin A deficiency.
Stop memory loss - Middle-aged people who ate the lowest amount of root vegetables showed more than three times as much cognitive decline as those who ate the most, according to a Netherlands study.
Prevent diabetes - Carrots contain beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant associated with lower diabetes risk. In one study, those with the most beta-carotene in their blood had 32 percent lower insulin levels than those with lower levels of beta-carotene.
Bolster your bone health - Carrots also contain small amounts of other vital nutrients such as vitamin C (5 milligrams per 1 cup serving) and calcium (96 milligrams per 1 cup serving). Many people, especially post-menopausal women, don't get enough calcium, so while carrots might not contain much, "every little bit helps," Fisher says.
Slows down aging - The high level of beta-carotene acts as an antioxidant to cell damage done to the body through regular metabolism. It help slows down the aging of cells.
Promotes healthier skin - Carrots are used as an inexpensive and very convenient facial mask. Just mix grated carrot with a bit of honey.
Helps prevent infection - Carrots are known by herbalists to prevent infection. They can be used on cuts - shredded raw or boiled and mashed.
Cleanses the body - Vitamin A assists the liver in flushing out the toxins from the body. It reduces the bile and fat in the liver. The fibers present in carrots help clean out the colon and hasten waste movement.
Prevents stroke - From all the above benefits it is no surprise that in a Harvard University study, people who ate more than six carrots a week are less likely to suffer a stroke than those who ate only one carrot a month or less.
Protects teeth and gums - It's all in the crunch! Carrots clean your teeth and mouth. They scrape off plaque and food particles just like toothbrushes or toothpaste. Carrots stimulate gums and trigger a lot of saliva, which being alkaline, balances out the acid-forming, cavity-forming bacteria. The minerals in carrots prevent tooth damage.
(honlait.com)