Category: Key Issues

ABUJA, NIGERIA — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on his first visit to Nigeria, delivered a key speech on U.S.-Africa policy to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). At the meeting, the top U.S. diplomat announced that the United States will host a summit of African leaders to further deepen ties with the continent.

Blinken made the announcement Friday at the ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital — his second stop since he began his three-nation Africa tour this week

Blinken said “the U.S. president intends to host the U.S.-Africa leaders’ summit to drive high-level diplomacy and engagement that can make effective cooperation possible.”

He gave no details on when or where the summit may occur.

On Thursday, after a meeting with Nigerian President Muhamadu Buhari and top government officials, Blinken and Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister signed an agreement for the U.S. to give Nigeria $2.1 billion to support health care, education, agriculture and good governance.

Blinken also discussed renewed cooperation with Nigerian authorities to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, security, and human rights concerns.

“The engagements that I’ll have throughout my time here in Nigeria reflect the depth of this partnership, now more than six decades, and the way that our cooperation is viable and maybe more viable than ever in tackling sheer challenges and actually delivering results to our people, which is what our responsibility really is,” Blinken said.

Nigeria has seen increasing waves of violence and a declining human rights record in the last few years.

This week, more than a year after bloody protests against police brutality, a Lagos panel report accused security agents of using excessive force to disperse protesters last October, leading to the death of at least 11 people.

Blinken also met with members of Nigerian’s civil society groups on Friday. While praising the panel’s investigation, Blinken said the government must be more accountable.

“We anticipate and look to the state and the federal government’s response to the findings and expect those to include steps that ensure accountability and address the grievances of the victims and their families,” he said.

The secretary of state’s visit comes amid concerns about China’s growing influence in Africa and the increasing debt that many African countries owe Chinese companies. On Friday, Blinken said the U.S. engagements with Africa have “no strings attached.”

Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama said, “There was just a huge infrastructural deficit that we’re facing in this country and we saw a great opportunity with the Chinese. They’re used to a lot of these huge capital projects and infrastructure projects. We would have gone with anybody else that was providing something at a competitive rate for us.”

Blinken began his Africa tour Wednesday in Nairobi and will end it with a visit to Dakar, Senegal, where he will meet with President Macky Sall.

Source: Voice of America

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday the situation at the border between Poland and Belarus is “deeply concerning” and the alliance stands ready to help its allies involved.

Stoltenberg made the comments in Berlin, where he met with outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the issue and others facing NATO member nations.

Poland and the EU accuse the government of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of “weaponizing” migrants, largely from Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan, by inviting them to enter Belarus and shepherding them to the Polish border, sometimes by force. Belarus denies the claim.

Polish troops have clashed several times with the migrants as they attempted to force their way across the border in recent weeks. Polish security officials have said there could be as many as 12,000 migrants in Belarus camped near the Polish frontier.

Speaking to reporters, Stoltenberg said NATO is concerned not only about Poland’s border with Belarus, but also with the borders of NATO allies Lithuania and Latvia, which have also experienced issues with migrants, though not to the extent that Poland has.

The NATO chief said the Lukashenko regime’s use of vulnerable people to put pressure on other countries is “cynical and inhumane.” He said NATO stands in full solidarity with Poland and the other directly affected allies.

Stoltenberg did note what he called some “steps in the right direction,” as Iraq has stopped the flights bringing people from Iraq to the border of Belarus and Poland and has taken people back.

Stoltenberg also said NATO is watching with concern as Russia builds up significant force near the border with Ukraine, and in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory of Crimea. He called on Russia to be “transparent on what they do. We call on Russia to de-escalate to prevent escalation and to reduce tensions.”

Source: Voice of America

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday the United States sees African countries as equal partners as it seeks to bolster its influence on a continent that receives much of its foreign aid from U.S. rival China.

“The United States firmly believes that it’s time to stop treating Africa as a subject of geopolitics — and start treating it as the major geopolitical player it has become,” Blinken said in Abuja, Nigeria, outlining the Biden administration’s policy toward Africa.

The continent needs billions of dollars annually for massive infrastructure projects such as building roads, railways and dams. Over the past decade, China has provided much of the infrastructure funding Africa has received.

‘We do things differently’

Without mentioning China, Blinken vowed the U.S. would agree only to transparent and voluntary global infrastructure agreements that produce tangible benefits on the continent.

“Too often, international infrastructure deals are opaque, coercive; they burden countries with unmanageable debt; they’re environmentally destructive; they don’t always benefit the people who actually live there,” Blinken said. “We will do things differently.”

Blinken is nearing the end of a five-day, multination visit to Africa, his first as secretary of state. He said Friday his trip is aimed at fostering cooperation on global health security, battling the climate crisis, expanding energy access and economic growth, revitalizing democracy and achieving peace and security.

The trip is part of the Biden administration’s effort to strengthen alliances in Africa after four years of a unilateralist approach under former U.S. President Donald Trump. It comes amid worsening crises in Ethiopia and Sudan. While in Kenya, Blinken called for ending the violence in Ethiopia, combating terrorism in Somalia and reviving Sudan’s transition to a civilian government.

Despite large contributions of money and vaccines to contain COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, the U.S. has had little success in gaining influence on the continent.

Improved relations the goal

Nevertheless, Blinken said U.S. President Joe Biden would continue to work to improve relations with African countries.

“As a sign of our commitment to our partnerships across the continent, President Biden intends to host the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit to drive the kind of high-level diplomacy and engagement that can transform relationships and make effective cooperation possible,” Blinken said.

The top U.S. diplomat did not say when the summit would take place.

Hours after his speech in Nigeria, Blinken arrived in Senegal, the last stop on his trip to Africa that also took him to Kenya. Blinken will meet in Dakar with Senegalese President Macky Sall “to reaffirm the close partnership between our two countries,” the U.S. State Department said earlier this week.

Source: Voice of America

WASHINGTON — When Myanmar’s military seized power earlier this year, it quickly set about arresting journalists, cutting internet access and revoking media licenses.

For Aye Chan Naing, executive director and chief editor of the independent Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), the coup signaled a return to exile.

The veteran journalist is currently living in Norway, where DVB broadcasts via satellite into Myanmar.

On Thursday, his efforts to keep Myanmar informed despite the risks to DVB’s journalists were recognized with an International Press Freedom Award.

Presented by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, Naing was honored alongside journalists from Guatemala, Mozambique and Hong Kong.

“The mere act of doing journalism, especially accountability journalism, journalism that threatens people in power, is inherently dangerous,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “So we want to recognize both the work they’re doing and the risk they’re taking.”

Challenging environments

For Naing, the biggest challenge of reporting from exile is depending on second- and thirdhand sources.

“It’s very hard for us to be on the ground, so we have to depend on witnesses,” he told VOA.

“The military have arrested over 100 journalists. And about 50 people are still being detained in prison.”

Myanmar this week released American journalist Danny Fenster, after 176 days in prison. But many local journalists remain incarcerated or at risk of arrest, including those working for DVB.

I think this award will highlight the plight of our journalists on the ground, who are in prison, but also who are still struggling to report, risking their life, risking their future,” Naing said.

CPJ also honored Matías Guente, executive editor of Mozambique news outlet Canal de Moçambique.

Arsonists set fire to the investigative news outlet’s offices in August 2020, and its staff members have been harassed and threatened or faced legal action over the years.

Guente told VOA that all journalists in Mozambique face challenges.

“Mozambican journalism is very politicized … and when journalists want to address this, they are regarded as biased, and end up victims of verbal or physical violence,” Guente said.

“The very same work that wins awards abroad is not very welcome here,” Guente said, adding that while the legal framework in his country “is one of the best in Africa, in practice it is not.”

Guatemalan journalist Anastasia Mejía has also faced legal challenges. The Xolabaj Radio co-founder was detained in 2020 shortly after covering a protest in her hometown of Joyabaj.

“I was deprived of my liberty for 36 days; the hearings were postponed in order to delay the process,” she told VOA.

A court later dismissed the charges filed against her. But Mejía is still afraid. “If I keep talking, they will kill me, they will destroy my family.”

Mejía said that her government’s attempts at silencing her will not keep her from speaking out.

“With this award, I will continue to raise my voice, and I will continue to speak for others — for the oppressed, for the persecuted,” she said.

‘Extraordinary achievement’

CPJ on Thursday presented its Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award to Jimmy Lai, the jailed founder of pro-democracy news outlet Apple Daily.

Named in memory of veteran American broadcaster Ifill, the award is presented each year to an individual who has shown extraordinary and sustained achievement in the cause of press freedom.

This year, it was presented to Hong Kong’s Lai by CPJ board member and former VOA director Amanda Bennett. The Biden administration last week announced Bennett as its nominee to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA.

Lai could face life in prison in Hong Kong. His arrest was one of the first under Hong Kong’s national security law. His outlet was shuttered in June and several of its executives have been detained.

Declining rights

The state of press freedom around the world is dire, CPJ’s Simon said.

In his 25 years with CPJ — 15 as head of the nonprofit — Simon has overseen the release of hundreds of imprisoned journalists.

“The environment for independent journalism has changed everywhere, including in the United States,” he told VOA. “The challenges are greater. That period of profound optimism that existed when I started this job 25 years ago, unfortunately, that’s no longer the case.”

“We’re in a period where repressive leaders have the upper hand, unfortunately, and we’re going to continue to see record numbers of journalists in prison around the world,” Simon said. “And we’re going to see significant challenges for journalists trying to cover stories in repressive societies.”

Simon advocates for stronger leadership by example, on the part of the U.S.

“The one thing we can certainly do, that’s really critical, is the United States has to be in a position to assert global leadership. And it isn’t currently,” he said.

Simon said that despite the challenges, he is guardedly optimistic.

“My optimism stems not from examining the current reality, but from a recognition of what’s at stake,” he said. “Many people around the world recognize that. They ultimately support independent journalism, they ultimately recognize the value of what journalists do, and they’re ultimately willing to fight for it.”

Myanmar’s Naing no doubt regards himself as one of those fighters and is also cautiously optimistic.

“More than 10 months after the coup, the military [is] never really able to silence the country and silence the people, and we’re getting tons of information from around the country,” he said.

The military banned Facebook, censored the internet and limited the use of mobile phones, but still the numbers of followers on DVB’s Facebook and YouTube platforms “have almost tripled” since the coup.

“The first time I left Burma in 1988 it took 20 years before I could go back. … And my hope is this time around, it won’t take that long.”

Source: Voice of America

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Thursday that six U.N. staff members had been released but five others, along with one of their dependents, remain in detention in Addis Ababa.

At least 16 U.N. staff and dependents were detained earlier this month amid reports of widespread arrests of ethnic Tigrayans.

“Further ethnic profiling can only deteriorate this serious dynamic and can lead to a situation for which we have alarming precedents,” said Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the U.N. special adviser of the secretary-general on the prevention of genocide.

In a press release on Wednesday, Nderitu reiterated her concern over the “deteriorating situation” in Ethiopia and strongly condemned “the intensification of profiling and arbitrary arrests of ethnic Tigrayans, including United Nations staff.”

“The region has experienced the evil of inter-ethnic violence spiraling down to the commission of genocide,” she said. “All possible action must be taken as a matter of utmost urgency to prevent further escalation.”

Police have denied making ethnically motivated arrests, contending they are only detaining backers of the rebel Tigrayan forces fighting the Ethiopian government.

Nderitu voiced her concerns the day before the U.S. special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, and the African Union’s high representative for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo, returned to Ethiopia with hopes of reviving peace talks and negotiating a cease-fire in the yearlong conflict.

Nderitu warned during an online event earlier this month of the risk of the war spilling across borders and “becoming something completely unmanageable.” She also warned that ethnic-based militias are “so dangerous in this context.”

The war began a year ago when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deployed troops to the northern regional state of Tigray in response to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s seizure of military bases. The ensuing conflict has killed thousands of people, displaced several million from their homes and left 400,000 residents of Tigray facing famine, according to a July estimate by the U.N.

A joint investigation by the U.N. and the government-created Ethiopian Human Rights Commission published a report in early November concluding that all sides in the conflict have committed human rights violations, including torturing civilians, committing gang rapes and arresting people based on ethnicity.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has said some of those abuses may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Source: Voice of America