The five billion birr Unity Park was inaugurated in the presence of head of governments of the region at a ceremony held at the historical mansion of Atse Minilik II on October 10, 2019.
Unity Park
The five billion birr Unity Park was inaugurated in the presence of head of governments of the region at a ceremony held at the historical mansion of Atse Minilik II on October 10, 2019.
Peaceful Pride
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed become the first Ethiopian to win the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve peace with neighboring Eritrea.
He was awarded the prize Friday for his; “efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation and for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea.” PM Abiy worked with Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki on the peace agreement, to end the two-decade long conflict.
“An important premise for the breakthrough was Abiy Ahmed’s unconditional willingness to accept the arbitration ruling of an international boundary commission in 2002,” the Nobel Institute said in statement.
During PM Abiy’s first 100 days as Prime Minister he has also “granted amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, discontinuing media censorship, legalizing outlawed opposition groups, dismissing military and civilian leaders who were suspected of corruption, and significantly increased the influence of women in Ethiopian political and community life.”
A statement from the office of Prime Minister Ahmed said since coming to power in 2018 he had made “peace, forgiveness and reconciliation key components of his administration.”
“This victory and recognition is a collective win for all Ethiopians, and a call to strengthen our resolve in making Ethiopia – the New Horizon of Hope – a prosperous nation for all,” the statement added.
“I am so humbled and thrilled … Thank you very much. It is a prize given to Africa, given to Ethiopia, and I can imagine how the rest of Africa’s leaders will take it positively to work on the peace building process in our continent,” PM Abiy said. “I am so happy and I am so thrilled for the news … Thank you very much, it is a big recognition,” the PM said while talking to Olav Njølstad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee shortly after the announcement of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.
Responding to the announcement that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Kumi Naidoo said “this award recognizes the critical work Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has done to initiate human rights reforms in Ethiopia after decades of widespread repression. Since assuming office in April 2018, it has reformed the security forces, replaced the severely restricting charities and society law, and agreed to a peace deal with neighboring Eritrea to end two decades of hostile relations. He also helped broker an agreement between Sudan’s military leaders and the civilian opposition, bringing an end to months of protests.”
“However, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s work is far from done. This award should push and motivate him to tackle the outstanding human rights challenges that threaten to reverse the gains made so far. He must urgently ensure that his government addresses the ongoing ethnic tensions that threaten instability and further human rights abuses. He should also ensure that his government revises the Anti-Terrorism Proclamation which continues to be used as a tool of repression, and holds suspected perpetrators of past human rights violations to account.”
“Now more than ever Prime Minister Abiy must fully espouse the principles and values of the Nobel Peace Prize to leave a lasting human rights legacy for his country, the wider region, and the world,” Naidoo said.
The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa also congratulated PM Abiy on being the 100th recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his “…efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation and his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea.” The embassy said in a statement that they joined all Ethiopians as they celebrate this proud moment for Prime Minister Abiy and the people of Ethiopia.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg had been the favorite to win. Abiy Ahmed, elected leader in 2018, was the bookmakers’ second favorite to win. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was also a contender, lauded for her response to the Christchurch shooting earlier this year.
This year’s peace prize was the 100th to be awarded. According to the Nobel Institute there were 301 nominees in the running for this year’s peace prize, the fourth highest on record. The record was 376 candidates in 2016. However, the list of nominees is only revealed 50 years after the prize is awarded.
Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and human rights activist Nadia Murad were joint winners in 2018 for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
POLARIZATION INTENSIFIED
It seems polarization is increasing within each nation state of the world system. In the world of the rich, this has become quite pronounced, as can be witnessed in the countries of Western Europe. In those core countries where economic wellbeing is gradually receding, conditions for harmonious collective existence are deteriorating. In the early years of this 21st century, Empire’s position in the world system is also weaning. Brexit and the future of the UK might well become one of the most important happenstances in this generalized decline of the west. The United Kingdom, alias the ‘British Empire’ (of the 19th century) seems to be on its way to becoming the ‘Disunited Kingdom’ of inconsequential significance. Polarization within the current hegemon/USA is also in the ascendance. The behavior of its ruling elites has also taken a twist towards the comical and is becoming quite the entertainment! See the articles on page 46.
The components of the current global polarization in play include, not only the familiar culprits of economics and politics, but also the increasingly dangerous one of culture! Obsessive cultural essence, the rhetoric goes, is delineated by the words ‘us’ and ‘them’! Obviously, the ‘them’ connotes otherness. The word preferred by the Americans is ‘aliens’! Be that as it may, these two words are not used interchangeably, by no means. The world of alienation is not completely detached from the world of ‘aliens’. The dangerous outcomes arising from the notions of ‘us’ and ‘them’ are obvious. Late modernity is playing with this social fire and consequences can be unforgiving!
From the vantage point of learned analysis, one can describe the “Yellow Vests’ movement of France as trying to challenge comprehensive polarization. The movement wants to redress more than mere economic grievances. The unspoken hidden truth is; the French activists are demanding good governance via ‘direct democracy’! Electoral democracy, they reckon, has outlasted its stay. Elected officials, almost invariably, renegade on their campaign promises once they are in office. They are quick to engage in activities that have been neither mandated nor warranted by the populous. These officials, in collaboration with the unelected bureaucracy, can decide to wage wars or implement economic policies detrimental to the welfare of the people. This, the ‘Yellow Vests’ reckon, is an abrogation of the critical element of democracy! Brexit, to some extent, is the manifestation of such sentiment by the forgotten deplorable, to use a word coined by the privileged politicos. By and large, ‘Trumpism’ is also a repudiation of old politics as played by traditional politicos!
In the world of the poor, polarization between the haves and the have-nots continues to create disturbances in modern existence. Failing to satisfy the basic necessities of organized life, the politicos of the poor seem to have resorted to the externalization of their shortcomings on to others and otherness. This tendency is already giving rise to the more dangerous element of cultural polarization! In the global south, particularly on the continent of South America, where situations tend to be more topsy-turvy than anywhere else, including Africa, conditions seem to have dangerously deteriorated. Ecuador, after going through turbo neoliberalism in a very short period of time is now in chaos. Rioters, demanding the ouster of the government, are now in charge of the uprising. Brazil’s hard right government, pathetically posed to fulfill the interests of dominant transnational capital is throwing people in jail so that they cannot run for elections. The former president Lula is one such victim. See the article next column. In South America economic, political and cultural polarization has increased since the progressives ‘socialists were overthrown by the machination of entrenched interests. Venezuela is suffering the massive sanctions imposed on it by empire. By empire we usually mean the triad; the USA, EU and Japan. Nonetheless, Venezuela is trying to hold its own, despite the various blatant aggressions and subtle offensives targeting it! Like Cuba, and unlike the likes of Brazil, Argentina, etc., the notion of sovereignty, independence and self worth seems to have taken a more deeper root.
“The problem isn’t so much that we are driven into a state of fear. When you’re being driven to extinction by sociopathic oligarchs, it is natural to have some survival bells ringing. The problem is that we’re manipulated into directing our fear at everyone except those responsible.” Caitlin Johnstone. Good Day!
