Monday, September 29, 2025
Home Blog Page 362

Pointing fingers

admin
-
0
Pointing fingers

Some time ago I was travelling in the country side over a rather rough terrain. The driver was really stepping on the gas and the drive was becoming uncomfortable. I didn’t feel in safe hands anymore. Suddenly there was a hump in the road and the vehicle was air born for a moment before it bounced back hard to the surface. The driver worked very hard to keep the vehicle on the road. I had enough though and told him to slow down. I was very surprised when he answered loudly, while hanging on desperately to the steering wheel: “It is not me, it is the road!” I couldn’t believe what he had just said.  What did he mean “It is not me …”, of course it was him! At the next opportunity to take a break, stretch our legs and have a coffee, I took the car keys off him and decided to drive the next part of the journey myself.

I am often reminded about this incident when I observe similar responses of people to the circumstances they find themselves in. There seems always to be something or someone else to blame when things are not going well. Some other person or condition is causing the situation we are in.

On the road it is the other drivers, at school it is the teacher or the test, at home it is the husband or the wife or the children. And in the business? It is the workers, or the administrator, or the tax collector, or the importer, the exporter, the forwarder, the government, the policy, the regulations, the internet, etc. Really? Is it normally somebody or something else or could it be that we ourselves are part of the problem? Let us look at this issue a bit closer. Could it be a cultural thing that we say that things happen to us instead of recognising that we play an active part in the situation? If that is so, we may need to change something here. I am not saying that culture is bad and needs to be abandoned, not at all. But if culture is standing in the way of us reaching our most important goals, assuming we have set our goals of course, then we may want to stop for a moment and try and see if things couldn’t be done in a more effective way.

In any case, many business people blame their problems on other persons or external circumstances. They are not to blame themselves, they think. They think of themselves working so hard, shouting their instructions so loud, sweating so much. They find it difficult to accept that they may be making a mistake, that they are part of the problem themselves, that they are responsible.

Having responsibility is an intriguing concept. It literally means “having the ability to response”. Response to other people, to circumstances, to anything that comes our way. That ability to response is a skill that can be developed. Yes, the way we react is determined for a great deal by our culture and the way we have been brought up, the role models provided by our parents, teachers, bosses, leaders. But that does not mean that is the only way or necessarily the best way to response. Just because somebody else reacts in a certain way, doesn’t mean we have to repeat that behaviour, certainly not when it doesn’t seem to be effective, when it doesn’t change the situation for the better.

In other words, we are in a position to choose the way we response and following the articles of the past two weeks on setting priorities, if we base our responses on certain values and on principles, the chance is higher that our responses will have better results.

Responsibilities in running a business are many. The ability of the business owner or manager to response to the internal and external environment of the business will in the end turn the business into a poor, mediocre or successful business. There are choices to be made. How to respond for instance to developments in the market, policy changes, suggestions from workers, demands from clients? This is where you have the opportunity to set the standards and lead the company where you want it to go. To illustrate the point I quote a poem from Ella Wheeler Wilcox:

One ship drives east and another drives west

With the self same winds that blow

“Tis the set of the sails

And not the gales

That tells us the way to go.

Like the winds of the sea are the ways of fate;

As we voyage along through life,

“Tis the set of a soul

That decides its goal,

And not the calm, or the strife.

Ton Haverkort

Does the Transitional Justice Initiative Suffer from Anachronism?

admin
-
0
Does the Transitional Justice Initiative Suffer from Anachronism?

I mean no disrespect to the distinguished Group of Experts who have been diligently working to ensure the project serves a meaningful purpose. However, it appears they may soon regret becoming involved in this ill-fated venture. It is unfortunate that they were swept away by the euphoria of the ‘Transition,’ much like any impassioned social media activist. Before producing the Draft Policy, they should have clearly addressed some difficult questions, such as whether there is genuinely a Transition in the legal sense of the term. There hasn’t even been a change of government, for crying out loud!

I do not support the idea of revisiting three decades of atrocities. This particular Initiative arose from the movement that culminated in the 2018 change of Administration. It would be unrealistic to expect it to extend far beyond the events of 2012 or 2013, when protests gained momentum.

The 1995 FDRE Constitution remains the uncontested supreme law of the land. The Prosperity Party’s manifesto clearly states that it is a continuation of, rather than an opposition to, the EPRDF. The current Prime Minister assumed power as the Chairman of the EPRDF, having been duly elected by the 180-member Council of the EPRDF, which continues to govern in various capacities. Consequently, the policies and systems that prompted the protests are validated, except for isolated instances that can always be prosecuted through the regular justice system.

Exactly what Transition are we discussing here? The Group of Experts has considered alternatives dating back to 1991, including 1995 and 2018 as possible transitions. However, the rest of the country and the international community have a significantly different time frame—post-2018.

It is no surprise that the Initiative’s foreign sponsors are openly saying it will amount to nothing, and its fate will likely mirror that of the Commission established to determine Identity and Inter-State Boundaries, as well as the Reconciliation Commission. In fact, some of us previously proposed to the Dialogue Commission that the Transitional Justice Initiative be abrogated and disbanded, as it is fraught with anachronism, disorientation, and insincerity, resulting in a waste of limited resources.

Moreover, I can see that the donors are beginning to ask some uncomfortable questions, which led to the recent symposium intended to ease their concerns. Intimidated by the Americans and the latest UN Agency report, the Ministry of Justice has audaciously announced the launch of an auxiliary Special Prosecution Office under its auspices (but accountable to the House of Peoples’ Representatives) within a month, along with the establishment of a corresponding Special Bench by the Federal Supreme Court to handle the cases. I sincerely doubt this will happen. The timing of the symposium, coinciding with the American delegation’s extended African tour, speaks volumes about who truly owns the Initiative.

In fact, the delegation was not impressed. With diplomatic finesse and courtesy, they bluntly conveyed to the world that the project is a failure. Who could blame them? Even donors are held accountable and must produce follow-up reports to Congressional Committees. Moreover, the fact that the Transitional Justice Initiative is primarily instigated and supported by the donor community makes it fundamentally rootless.

  1. Establish a Cut-off Date

Auditors emphasize the importance of a cut-off date in the executive summary of an audit report. This date is defined with precision, as it is crucial for determining accountability for any breaches in the system. Without a clearly established milestone, the audit findings fail to identify who is responsible for financial losses and cannot provide credible recommendations.

Similarly, the first step for a Transitional Justice Initiative should be to determine an appropriate cut-off date, along with the rationale behind it. The Initiative aims to mark the beginning of a new era, serving as a means to “break with past traditions of atrocities and injustice,” as indicated in the Draft Policy document. The Office cannot afford to meander through three decades of atrocities at its convenience, as this could put EPRDF’s Special Prosecution Office under scrutiny.

When the Dergue suspended the Revised 1955 Constitution and overthrew the so-called “3000-year-old Solomonic Dynasty,” it established a clear cut-off date. In its own way, the Dergue attempted to address Transitional Justice issues, as no revolutionary government could ignore. The National Advisory Council, formed under Proclamation 2/75, had the potential to function as a Transitional Justice Office due to the diverse composition of its members.

Similarly, when the EPRDF came to power in 1991, it suspended the 1987 PDRE Constitution and later established the Special Prosecution Office, led by Girma Wakjira, through Proclamation number 22/92.

In both cases, the legal frameworks not only permitted but necessitated Transitional Justice, although their implementation led to another cycle of severe systemic atrocities.

One would expect a significant milestone or fundamental change to justify the introduction of Transitional Justice in 2018. However, the Draft Policy merely cites “political reform unveiled in 2018” as its rationale. This is surprising, considering that during its 27-year tenure, the EPRDF “unveiled” seven major political reforms of a similar nature. What makes this one different?

In a manner that undermines its credibility, the Draft document seeks legitimacy by pointing to the issuance of amnesty, the establishment of a Reconciliation Commission, and an Identity and Inter-State Boundary Commission. It is important to note that both commissions no longer exist, and their dissolution highlights the mortis causa state of the Transitional Justice Initiative. Even if they were still functioning, it would give the impression that definitive Transitional Justice measures were already in place, leaving the Office in a state of irrelevance.

The Policy Document submitted by the group of experts fails to provide a convincing temporal scope. In this unclear context, I question what procedures the Special Prosecutors Office plans to implement and when it is intended to be dissolved. Reports indicate that the Office is intended to be permanent, with new offenses excluded from the Revised Penal Code of 2004 defined within its mandate. In retrospect, it seems unfair to have condemned the Dergue for enacting a Special Penal Code without considering the prevailing circumstances.

At any rate, it appears we are destined to exist in a perpetual state of Transitional Justice ad infinitum!

  • Which Transition, if I may ask?

While the Transitional Justice project office is sluggishly procrastinating, an unexpected wave of ‘Transition’ has ironically caught up with it. I nearly laughed out loud when I heard that the recent American delegation demanded the government hold EDF officers accountable for wrongs committed during the Tigray War through the Transitional Justice mechanism currently under consideration.

I understand that when the Americans arrived, they believed they were reviewing the state of Transitional Justice as part of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed in 2022. However, the Ministry of Justice and the Ethiopian government had a different transition in mind. They intended to promote the eclectic Draft Policy prepared by the Group of Experts and submitted to the government in 2023.

Although the Draft Policy aimed to address recent developments, where the government in power is the alleged sponsor of the atrocities, it was primarily established to cover crimes from the pre-2018 EPRDF era. It was nothing short of professional dishonesty to include post-2018 atrocities insincerely, especially when the alleged perpetrator remains in power and continues to control the narrative.

God Bless.

You can reach the writer via estefanoussamuel@yahoo.com

The Interplay Between Contraband Trade and the Army: A Complex Dynamic

admin
-
0
The Interplay Between Contraband Trade and the Army: A Complex Dynamic

Contraband trade, smuggling and the illegal movement of goods, has long been a challenge for governments worldwide. From illicit drugs and weapons to rare commodities and human trafficking, contraband undermines national economies, destabilizes regions, and fuels criminal enterprises. The military, as a critical state actor, plays a dual role in this narrative. Often positioned at the forefront of securing borders and maintaining stability, armies can act as both adversaries to and enablers of illicit trade.

This interplay is shaped by factors such as corruption, weak governance, and the strategic exploitation of power. In some contexts, the military becomes complicit in contraband trade. This complicity may stem from systemic issues within the armed forces or the broader environment in which they operate.

In underfunded or poorly paid armies, corruption can take root. Soldiers and officers might accept bribes to overlook contraband activities or actively participate in smuggling operations. Economic desperation in war-torn regions often exacerbates this dynamic, as military personnel seek alternative sources of income.

Armies stationed along borders, trade routes, or in conflict zones have direct access to areas critical for smuggling operations. In some cases, military checkpoints, ostensibly designed to curb contraband, are used to tax or facilitate the movement of illicit goods.

In regions where military units hold significant sway, they may establish protection rackets for contraband traders. For a price, smugglers gain safe passage, while the army profits from the trade it is tasked to suppress. This dynamic has been documented in areas ranging from conflict zones in Africa to drug trafficking corridors in Latin America.

On the other side of the spectrum, armies are frequently deployed to curb contraband trade, especially when it poses significant threats to national security or governance. The military is often the primary enforcer at borders, tasked with intercepting smuggled goods and preventing their entry. This is particularly evident in countries combating drug trafficking, such as Mexico, where the army has been deployed to address the narcotics crisis.

In regions where contraband trade finances insurgent groups or organized crime, the military is essential in dismantling these networks. For instance, in Afghanistan, U.S. and allied forces targeted opium production, a significant revenue source for the Taliban. In fragile states, contraband trade often thrives due to weak governance. The military’s role in establishing control and rebuilding state institutions can help reduce the prevalence of smuggling.

The relationship between contraband trade and the army becomes particularly complex in conflict zones and areas with limited state authority. Here, the lines between suppression and participation are blurred. In regions like the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the military has been implicated in the illicit trade of minerals such as gold and diamonds. These resources fuel both local and international markets, prolonging conflicts and enriching a small elite while the broader population suffers.

In many cases, contraband trade serves as a lifeline for insurgent groups. For example, in South America, guerrilla groups like the FARC used drug trafficking to finance their operations. While militaries are deployed to combat these groups, individual units may exploit the trade for personal gain, further complicating the situation. In areas where the military operates with little oversight, contraband trade often becomes intertwined with their operations. Whether through direct involvement or turning a blind eye, weak accountability mechanisms create an environment ripe for exploitation.

The interplay between the army and contraband trade is not limited to any one region or type of conflict. Examples abound from across the globe. In countries like Colombia and Mexico, the military’s role in combating drug cartels has been complicated by accusations of corruption and collusion with traffickers. In Sierra Leone and Liberia, “blood diamonds” were smuggled with the involvement of military actors during the height of civil wars. Similarly, in the DRC, the army has been implicated in the illicit mineral trade. Smuggling routes in Afghanistan and Syria are critical for the trade in narcotics and weapons, often involving military personnel on all sides of the conflict.

The Interplay between Contraband Trade and the Army has several implications. Military involvement in contraband trade erodes public trust in state institutions and undermines the rule of law. This dynamic can create a vicious cycle where corruption and illegality become entrenched. Contraband trade disrupts legitimate markets, reduces government revenue, and often benefits only a small elite. This deprives nations of resources needed for development and exacerbates inequality. The funding of insurgent groups and criminal organizations through contraband trade perpetuates violence and instability. Military complicity further complicates efforts to restore order and peace.

To mitigate the negative impacts of the interplay between contraband trade and the army, governments and international organizations must take a multi-faceted approach which includes strengthen oversight and Accountability: Independent monitoring and transparency in military operations are critical to curbing corruption. Ensuring fair wages and benefits can reduce the economic pressures that lead to complicity in contraband trade. Military, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies must collaborate to address the complex networks of contraband trade. Efforts to combat contraband trade must include broader strategies for economic development, governance reform, and conflict resolution.

To conclud, the interplay between contraband trade and the army reveals the complexities of governance and security in modern states. While militaries are essential to combating smuggling and stabilizing fragile regions, their involvement in contraband trade, whether through corruption or complicity, can undermine these efforts. Addressing this dual role requires systemic reforms, international cooperation, and a focus on strengthening state institutions. Only then can the cycle of exploitation and instability be broken.

CRIME EVERYWHERE

admin
-
0
CRIME EVERYWHERE

In late modernity widespread crimes have become one of the major preoccupations of nation states. To be sure, states themselves commit plenty of hideous crimes and they do so by leveraging their monopolistic position on ‘legal violence’. They conduct covert and overt operations routinely, with the help of specialized institutions created for the purpose. Well-organized non-state actors, with subversive political agenda, are also visible in our world system. These include the likes of ISIS, etc. These violently operating entities are customarily called ‘terrorist’ organizations. At times, the labeling can be quite arbitrary, depending on the position of the declarer in the prevailing hierarchical interstate system. For example, the USA recently declared the ‘Iranian Republican Guard’ a terrorist organization, even though it is a bona fide arm of the Iranian state!
Disgruntled and sick individuals bent on committing mass murders are also in the ascendance, not only in the USA, where it is more or less an everyday affair. Unfortunately, the root cause behind such atrocities is one topic not to be discussed in polite company. To some extent, mass shooting is a mere upgrade on the background homicide rate, facilitated by the ever-increasing sophistication of killing weapons. In many countries where homicide is relatively high, mass murders follow suit. Mexico is another example. The mass shootings that are happening in the USA is of a different breed. By and large, it has no perceptible purpose, except mere satisfaction that accrues to the criminally inclined from the very act of killing other human beings! Whatever the reasons that propel one to commit such socially (may be not psychologically) puzzling crime, the availability of weapons to all and sundry, is certainly another major culprit behind the scene. But the question still remains: what lies behind the increasing number of people who are determined to committing very cold-hearted crimes, particularly in such rich nations?
At least in the case of the traditional crime syndicates, the major reason behind their criminal activities is quite clear. Here, the message is: ‘don’t stand on our way; if you do, we will get rid of you’! While these entities seem to be receding in the west, (core countries of the world system) they are gaining significant grounds in South America, Africa and Asia. To a large extent, these are entities obsessed with making quick and beaucoup money, using all kinds of means, legal or otherwise. When a state fails to have a convincing integrity system with transparent, accountable and participatory mode of governance, the tendency amongst the impatient sheeple (human mass) is to take matters in its own hands. Moreover, in such societies the large majority gradually develops stoic apathy, with unappetizing consequences that are bound to be detrimental to the future of the country!
Those who do not use extreme violence, but are essentially in the same camp with that of the traditional organized crime (fixated on making fast/plenty of money) are running the world financial systems, by extension, the global economy! They do so, mostly by manipulating existing laws and buying influence; like bribing lawmakers, corrupt judges as well as elements of the executive organ. Thanks to the states, these quietly operating criminal syndicates have already setup intergovernmental institutions to protect their various cartels that span the whole world. The most these accomplished manipulators get for their callous crimes is a slap on the wrist, so it seems. If truth be told, the globalization we gullibly/ignorantly talk about is essentially the making of these concocted institutions at the service of these ‘legal criminals’. These people masterminded the financial crisis of 2008, which has destroyed the lives of millions. Soon there will be more devastating crises to come! To add insult to injury, these white-collar criminals have been rewarded for their evil deeds. Policies like QE (quantitative easing) is tailor made to make these criminals even richer.
In Africa it is mostly those affiliated with the ruling elites that commit such intricately massive crimes. As in the core countries, these individuals also revert to physical force/violence, if and when they deem situations demand it! Amongst the various means of criminal accumulation pursued by the Africa’s parasitic elites, we can mention government tenders, transfer of state assets to cronies under various pretexts, including privatization, favoring cronies in the state’s procurement processes, the facilitation of massive bank credit, relative to the underlying, usually front/phony business operations, etc., etc. However, there is always a catch in our context. It is; unlike the strong states of the industrially advanced countries, popular resentments in the weak states of Africa usually result in accelerated mass uprisings, to be followed by generalized destabilization. Unfortunately, ‘It Is Our Turn To Eat’ (Michela Wrong) remains a powerful guiding light to the perennially parasitic African polity. Nonetheless and at the end of the day, ignorance and corruption, fuelled by the ideology of identity politics, will bring neither lasting peace nor sustained prosperity! The cul-de-sac ideology of identity politics only incentivizes comprehensive mal-governance. Elections after elections have not given a glimmer of hope, let alone deliver salvation, to the majority of Africans. This old ‘rinse and repeat’ tactic only benefits the few at the expense of the many. Yet, this dead-end cycle to nowhere continues, until it doesn’t, resulting in state collapse. How many African countries are on the verge of becoming ‘failed states’, mostly on the account of criminal transgression and apparent intransigence on the part of the ruling elites? Refreshingly, traditional antidotes might make a comeback.

This was first published in September 2019.

1...361362363...4,122Page 362 of 4,122

EDITOR PICKS

POPULAR POSTS

POPULAR CATEGORY

ABOUT US

 

Capital is the longest-established private English newspaper in Ethiopia

Contact us: info@capitalethiopia.com

+251911637862 | +251944732300 | +251116183253
 

FOLLOW US

© Newspaper WordPress Theme by TagDiv