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ICC judges delay confirming Gbagbo charges

3 juin 2013 by Le Magazine de la Diaspora Ivoirienne et des Ami(e)s de la Côte d’Ivoire

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – International Criminal Court judges have delayed a decision on whether to put former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo on trial for alleged involvement in deadly post-election violence and told prosecutors to beef up their case.

The ruling is another blow to prosecutors at the court, who in recent months have seen a Congolese suspect acquitted and had to drop charges against a senior Kenyan official due to lack of evidence.

Judges criticized evidence presented by prosecutors at a hearing earlier this year to establish whether their case was strong enough to merit putting Gbagbo on trial.

Monday’s written decision criticized prosecutors’ extensive use of reports by media and non-government groups, saying such evidence « cannot in any way be presented as the fruits of a full and proper investigation. »

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Palm Oil: Truth and Lies as Dr Oz Becomes latest Target in RAN’s Campaigns

3 juin 2013 by Le Magazine de la Diaspora Ivoirienne et des Ami(e)s de la Côte d’Ivoire

YouTube has a mixed bag of talent to say the least. But more and more frequently some talented individuals are using it as a platform to share their gifts with the world. At times you could end up losing many hours trawling through hundreds of entertaining, educational, and downright funny videos. Sometimes you see a video that just seem to resonate instantly with certain issues at hand.

Take the song entitled “The Truth and Lies”, written and performed by a great budding musician on YouTube. This song clearly has nothing to do with palm oil or the green NGOs and their continuous attempts to make people believe that oil palm production is damaging the planet. Indeed this is a love song, and a good one at that, but one particular line from the song did seem to somehow resonate with the current situation with the NGO campaign.

The singer on YouTube sang “sometimes we search for the truth, but the lies are easier to find”, words that can quite easily be applied to pretty much every aspect of the unsubstantiated campaign against palm oil. Groups such as the Rainforest Action Network use every opportunity to try a further their cause such as those that oil palm cultivation is destroying the world’s rainforests and threatening to drive orangutans to extinction.

These are the grounds for attacking the palm oil industry and of course Dr. Oz, which would be very reasonable enough, if the claims were true!

The truth is hard to find when it is buried deep within layers of hype and misguided claims, so will palm oil be responsible for the deforestation of the world, the extinction of the orangutan and the eventual collapse of our environment? Certainly not!

Oil palm is cultivated in tropical climates such as Africa, South America and Asia. Indonesia and Malaysia are responsible for the lion’s share of the world’s production of palm oil, accounting for around 85% of production. Approximately 50 million tonnes of palm oil is consumed worldwide in one form or another each year. It is by far one of the most popular and efficient oilseeds in the world.

Despite this the land area occupied for cultivation of oil palm is just over a miniscule 0.23% of the world’s agricultural lands. In addition to that it is the only vegetable oil to have a crop-specific sustainable certification standard, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). It has a higher yield per hectare of up to ten times over other edible oils such a sunflower, soya and rapeseed, is competitively priced against these other oils, and has better nutritional values than most.

Why would these NGOs want to bury these truths in amongst their over-hyped claims? Well for the very reasons described above. These NGOs are nothing more than hired muscle in the shameless protectionism racket set up to protect the edible oilseed industries in places like Europe where the hyper yield and competitive price of palm oil is just too much to handle.

The truth is certainly out there and civil libertarian groups such as Libertiamo are doing a great deal of work to bring it to light. They are the ones who brought attention to the fact that several European NGOs have been receiving increasing amounts of funding from the European Commission in line with their sustained campaign against palm oil. Over the last five years alone the EC have handed over upwards of €11 million to various NGOs, with RAN receiving €2 million in the last two years alone.

One thing seems to be clear in all this, and that is these NGO will not make it very easy to find the truth. There claims are built on hype, underhand tactics and a blatant disregard for the facts.

Note: Deforestation Watch aka Melbourne Zoo Watch was originally established to drive green issues on palm oil mainstream. However, Deforestation Watch has in the course of its existence evolved into Melbourne Zoo Watch and now considerable time and energy is spent on exposing the sly misdeeds and devious schemes of the Melbourne Zoo in using palm oil to surreptitiously raise funds for the zoo.

www.deforestationwatch.org

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Ivory Coast Leader: ‘Germany Should Also Send Troops to Mali’

22 janvier 2013 by Le Magazine de la Diaspora Ivoirienne et des Ami(e)s de la Côte d’Ivoire

In an interview, Alassane Ouattara, president of the Ivory Coast and chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), urges Germany’s leaders to engage more in the fight against Islamists in northern Mali. In addition to logistical aid, Berlin should also send troops, he argues.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Germany has promised two transport planes for the international mission against Islamists in Mali. Is that enough?

Ouattara: Mali is occupied by terrorists, it’s a very dangerous situation for a whole host of states in the region, including Ivory Coast. We welcome the French mission. During my visit to Berlin last week, I explained to the chancellor, the president and many others that Germany should be more engaged.SPIEGEL ONLINE: What exactly do you mean?

Ouattara: Germany is one of the most important countries fighting against international terrorism. It should be present in Mali with humanitarian and logistical aid, but also with troops. Germany has soldiers in Afghanistan, it has the capacity to send some to Mali as well.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: France is the former colonial power. Shouldn’t Paris be restraining itself?

Ouattara: I think it’s natural that France has taken over leadership. Mali is a francophone country, the French know the region. But Paris should not stand alone. The ECOWAS countries will send more than 3,000 people, and other countries in the region are taking the threat very seriously too. Chad will send 700 soldiers. We want a massive, robust contingent in order to solve the problem in Mali quickly.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: The Islamists have been in control of the north for nine months now. Why are the Africans just now responding?

Ouattara: We needed time. We in ECOWAS have met eight times. On top of that we wanted a United Nations resolution so that our mission would be internationally legitimate.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Is the conflict in the north even possible to solve through purely military means?

Ouattara: No, we also have to negotiate.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: With the Muslim fanatics?

Ouattara: No, with the various ethnic groups. The conflict began as a rebellion of the Tuaregs. They had the feeling of being pushed to the sidelines in Mali, not being allowed to contribute to political decision-making, profiting too little from economic growth. It’s with the Tuaregs, especially, that we have to get together.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: How long will the mission last?

Ouattara: What’s certain is that the international troops cannot fight back the Islamists and then just leave. The terrorists would come back immediately. They will have to stay longer, but just how long remains to be seen.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Europe and America fear a new Afghanistan, an endless military mission without recognizable steps toward democracy. Is there a threat of disaster in Mali?

Ouattara: I don’t see any parallels. In Mali, there’s only a small number of terrorists. Most of them are foreigners. The fundamentalism has no support from the people. Another advantage is that no neighboring country supports the Islamists at home.

SPIEGEL ONLINE: Like Pakistan and the Taliban?

Ouattara: To the contrary, all countries fear the Islamists. Think of Nigeria with Boko Haram.SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mali is not just threatened from terrorists abroad, but also from within. Soldiers deposed the government in a coup. Is that going to be largely ignored amid the fight in the north?

Ouattara: A transitional government is in power in Bamako. It is not legitimate. We’re going to be pushing for new elections. Mali needs a new democratic start.

Interview conducted by Jan Puhl – spiegel.de

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Francafrique back on

19 janvier 2013 by Le Magazine de la Diaspora Ivoirienne et des Ami(e)s de la Côte d’Ivoire

France and Mali: An ‘ironic’ relationship

By Hugh SchofieldBBC News, Paris

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The French President Francois Hollande has this week sent more soldiers into Mali, despite his previous promise to downsize their military presence there. The situation reflects France’s complex with the West African country.

For as long as I have been covering French news, which is more than 20 years now, there has been a constant refrain that it is time to move away from the old idea of what they call here La Francafrique.

La Francafrique was the network of interests that France left behind in Africa when it pulled out as a colonial power.

At its best, it was a benign attempt to extend the benefits of trade and development, and keep French-speaking Africa part of France’s cultural sphere.

At its worst, it was a rotten system that served established interests – in France as well as in African states – with, at its heart, a devil’s bargain: you stay tame and send us your minerals, and when we need it, under-the-counter cash. In return, from time-to-time, we will send in French troops to save your presidential mightiness from the mob.

As I said, for the last 20 years it has been the cry of every government that this system was immoral and outdated and had to come to an end.

Jacques Chirac was a dyed-in-the-wool Gaullist, and La Francafrique was in its essence a Gaullist enterprise, but even Chirac paid lip-service to the notion that times had changed.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, a would-be iconoclast, went further and explicitly set out to rewrite the contract. He started scaling back French troop contingents in Africa, and in a famous speech gave deep offence on the continent, when he basically said it was time Africans started doing things for themselves.

Sarkozy being Sarkozy, the message came out all wrong and tactless – but the direction of his thought was sound: that the old cosy contacts with France were holding Africa back.

And now we have Francois Hollande, who as a good socialist has drunk deeply of the anti-colonialist potion and genuinely feels embarrassed about much of France’s past involvement on the continent.

Only a couple of weeks ago he was in Algeria and actually got applauded by the Algerian parliament for coming as close as any French leader ever has to saying sorry for taking the place over in 1830.

So yes, now we have a socialist leader, a man who has promised to keep downsizing the military commitment in Africa. A man who has made it a point of honour that France will not any more be regarded as the gendarme of Africa, as it was for so many years.

And what is he doing, this harbinger of change, this paragon of post-colonial international egalite?

What he has been doing this week is sending soldiers back in to Africa. To do what? To help a not-especially-democratic regime in Mali.

Single-handedly (because yes, allies from West Africa are going to help, but let us be honest, they are not there yet and even when they are, who knows if they will be any good?) taking on an Islamist rebel army in territories once occupied by romantic white-kepied officers from the Foreign Legion operating out of Beau Geste mud-brick fortresses.

I am afraid, though he will hate to admit it, very much being once again the policeman (or – why not? – the gendarme) of this benighted, impoverished corner of the world.

And the kicker of the tale is that throughout the momentous events of the last few days with France in effect walking back into its former backyard – the one it gave back to its rightful owners 50 years ago – no-one has said: « This is neo-colonialism in the garb of the politically-acceptable. » No-one has said: « You French, any excuse and you are back in your old haunts, protecting your special friends. »

As far as I can see, just about everyone is behind the French on this one: the Americans, the Europeans, the Africans, even the Algerians.

Of course, none of them is actually doing very much – with the honourable exception of the UK and its C17 transport plane that broke down on day one.

But they are all cheering France on from the sidelines, and broadly saying: « Thank goodness one of us still has forces pre-positioned in Africa and a good knowledge of the terrain… and the experience and the backbone to put one in the eye for Aqmi, Mujao, Ansar Dine and the rest of the Sahel’s Islamo-narco-terrorists. »

All of which simply goes to show that history is full of ironies.

Where a few years ago the notion of France sending in troops to fight a war in a former colony would have provoked howls of contempt – not least from the French Left – today with the rise of Islamism and the threat we all face, the rules have been re-written.

For honourable reasons, modern France wants to get away from La Francafrique. For honourable reasons, modern France finds itself going back in.

The world has changed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21065970

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Cote d’Ivoire: UN Official Calls for Justice in Wake of Human Rights Violations, Warns of Renewed Violence

3 décembre 2012 by Le Magazine de la Diaspora Ivoirienne et des Ami(e)s de la Côte d’Ivoire

At the end of a visit to Côte d’Ivoire, a senior United Nations human rights official today warned that failure to quickly bring perpetrators of serious human rights crimes to justice could lead to recurrent violence in the West African nation.

The remarks of the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ivan Simonovic, followed a visit to Nahibly, a remote camp near the town of Duekoue in the country’s west that was the scene of an attack on displaced people on 20 July

« The tragic incident at Nahibly reminds me of the scenes in Duekoue on my last visit in 2011. Bodies were being exhumed from mass graves. The victims of those crimes are still waiting for justice. Such impunity – the failure to hold the perpetrators of horrendous crimes accountable – creates a grave risk of continuous violence, » Mr. Simonovic said, while also stressing the urgency of completing investigations into the incident and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The Government has launched investigations into the Nahibly attack, which left at least eight people killed and many more unaccounted for, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The UN official last visited Côte d’Ivoire in April 2011, at the height of the political crisis that followed its disputed 2010 elections.

Local officials and aid workers told Mr. Simonovic that the fragile security situation and fear of reprisals are hindering investigations – he said that quick, thorough and credible investigations were essential for the sake of not only justice, but also reconciliation and prevention of future attacks.

In Man, Guiglo and Duekoue in the west, civil society representatives and community members expressed concern to the UN official about unresolved land disputes, illicit circulation of arms and activities of Dozos, traditional hunters that have become a paramilitary group.

Mr. Simonovic noted that these concerns have the effect of denting confidence in the authorities and could fuel conflict, and urged the Government to continue efforts to reform the security sector despite the challenges posed by armed attacks on military positions and state facilities in parts of the country.

« It is essential to continue with security sector reform, in particular to strengthen the police and gendarmerie to take back their law and order functions from the army and paramilitary groups, » the Assistant Secretary-General said. « It is equally important to take all necessary measures to prevent and to punish cases of arbitrary detention and torture. »

While in the city of Abidjan, Mr. Simonovic held meetings with a range of Government officials and political representatives, and others, including President Alassane Ouattara and Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan. « I was encouraged by their commitment to accountability no matter the ethnicity, religious or political affiliation of the perpetrators, » he said.

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Reducing Tension in the Middle East By Dr. David Orme-Johnson and Dr. David Leffler

27 novembre 2012 by Le Magazine de la Diaspora Ivoirienne et des Ami(e)s de la Côte d’Ivoire

A statement released by the Jewish-American group J Street says: « Military force alone is inadequate as a response to the broader strategic challenge Israel faces. Only a political resolution to the century-old conflict with the Palestinians resulting in two states living side by side can end the conflict » (« For Israel, it’s different this time » November 19, 2012).

While we agree with this wise advice, history shows that political resolutions cannot be achieved while tensions remain high. Deep-rooted ethnic and national stresses embedded in the collective consciousness of the region are at the basis of the Israel and Hamas conflict, as in all other conflicts worldwide. Unless these stresses are rooted out, destruction and killing will continue, as they have for millennia.

Now there is hope because a proven technology of consciousness to create peace is available. This novel approach establishes a filter of coherence and order in collective consciousness in the present, which is capable of transforming the flow of negativity from the past into a more harmonious future.

This technology is group practice of an advanced form of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique. Over 600 scientific studies show that TM practice reduces stress in the physiology, mind, and behavior of the individual. Even a small fraction of individuals in the population engaging in its advanced practice has been found to reduce stress in cities, states, nations, and the world, as seen by reduced war deaths, terrorism, and crime and increased cooperation, cultural exchanges, and creativity.

An experiment conducted during the peak of the Israel-Lebanon war in the 1980s found that on days when the numbers of meditators were largest (and also on the subsequent day), levels of conflict were markedly reduced—by about 80 percent overall. Moreover, the quality of life in Israel improved, as indicated by reduced crime, auto accidents, and fires; a rise in the national stock market; and improved national mood. These results were published in Yale University’s Journal of Conflict Resolution (1988, 32:776–812), and were later replicated on seven different occasions over an 821-day period when such groups were formed in Israel, in Lebanon itself, and at locations throughout the Middle East, Europe, and other parts of the world (Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 2005, 17(1):285-338). Subsequent analyses showed that the effects could not be accounted for by social, political, or climatic events at the time (Journal of Scientific Exploration, 2009, 23(2):139-166).

Another notable intervention study conducted in 1993 in Washington, D.C.—then called the “crime capital of the world” because of its high crime rate—found that violent crime declined 23 percent below the predicted level. This outcome, like those in the Middle East studies, was predicted in advance, with research monitored by an external project review board. Temperature, weekend effects, and previous trends in the data failed to account for these changes (Social Indicators Research, 1999, 47: 153-201).

Another study, using data provided by the Rand Corporation, found that global terrorism decreased 72% and international conflict decreased 32% when groups of over 7,000 meditators were in place (Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 2003, 36(1-4): 283-302).

In all, over 50 studies have demonstrated statistically and socially significant effects of this approach to reducing conflict and improving the quality of life in society. Although the causal mechanism is not completely understood, studies have shown that TM practice increases EEG coherence and serotonin levels of other individuals in the environment (International Journal of Neuroscience, 1989, 49(3/4):203-211; Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 2005, 17(1):339-373). Both these biological effects predict reduced stress and increased harmony in individuals, even at a distance from the meditators.

The military in Mozambique used this strategy to end its civil war in the 1990s. Today, many Latin American countries are successfully implementing this approach in military and education settings. In the Middle East, responsible people from any country in any sector of society, public or private, could create peace-keeping groups in the military, in prisons, among retirees, or wherever such groups are practical.

Modern unified field theory supports the perennial philosophy of all major cultural traditions that there exists a transcendental field at the most fundamental level of natural law, which can be directly accessed as the silent transcendental level of the human mind. Hundreds of studies have shown that experience of transcendental consciousness breaks the chain of conditioned reflexes coming on from past behavior, as seen in reduced addictive behaviors of all kinds, decreased prison recidivism, and reduced behavioral problems in inner-city children.

Are we as nations to go on like rats trapped in a conditioning cage, reacting the same way decade after decade? Or shall we step out of the cage into the transcendental level of our own consciousness and grow up into enlightened human beings, rather than continuing to resort to destroying and killing? This is the choice we have right now.

We are not suggesting that politicians drop what they are doing. They would never be able to do so, nor would that be wise. What we are suggesting is that the military of Israel, or any organization, establish such coherence- creating groups to quickly reduce tensions in the Middle East’s collective consciousness. The military is traditionally the most organized aspect of society and by itself could quickly create such a group. The international classic, Sun Tzu’s Art of War, advises that it is better to win without fighting. A proven technology now exists that takes recourse to the most powerful level of natural law to enable the military to succeed—by preventing the birth of an enemy. Its implementation could be a scientific experiment, using objective measures and independent, outside observers. The predicted outcome is accelerated progress towards a just, equitable, lasting peace.

About the Authors:

David Orme-Johnson, Ph.D., is one of the principal researchers in the world on meditation and its effects, having over 100 publications. He has traveled to nearly 60 countries to speak about the research on meditation to scientific conferences, the public, the press, program directors, government officials, members of Congress, parliaments, heads of state, and the United Nations, and he has served as an expert on meditation for two NIH technology assessment conferences.

David Leffler, Ph.D., a United States Air Force veteran, received his doctoral degree in Consciousness-Based Military Defense from The Union Institute & University. He served as an Associate of the Proteus Management Group at the Center for Strategic Leadership, US Army War College. Dr. Leffler has published articles in over 400 locations worldwide about the strategic military advantages of applying the TM technique and its advanced practices. Currently, he is the Executive Director at the Center for Advanced Military Science (CAMS). Dr. Leffler is available as a certified teacher of the TM program at:http://www.StrongMilitary.org.