FOREIGN: RUSSIA'S UNDERWEAR TRADE BAN - MORAL OR POLITICAL?

Panty riot: Eurasian women protesting the lingerie ban. 

Last week, Russia with her economic allies under the "Eurasian Union" trade bloc announced a bizarre trade directive banning importation of lacey lingerie.

The ban, if it goes into effect on July 1 as stated, will outlaw any underwear made of non-natural material that does not meet a 6 percent absorption threshold, that is, underwear containing less than 6 percent of cotton will be banned from being imported, made, or sold in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. However, there has been tremendous consumer outcry against the ban. Women and men alike rallied in protest to the law. Several photos comparing the modern sexy lingerie and archaic Soviet types are been circulated on social networks in attempt to garner support against the changes.

Russia sells more than $4 billion worth of underwear within her borders annually, according to the country's textile business union, of which 80 percent are foreign made and imported. Experts said that the ban if not revised with force the dumping of about 90 percent of Russia's stock.

MY COMMENT:

So, what motivated this trade ban? On the surface it seems like a fight based on moral grounds (not like Russia really care about dress code, or should I say underwear code, anyway), but on a closer look, this is a step aimed at paving the way towards the rise of a Soviet-like empire for Russia and it's old Soviet states.

Eurasian Union: Present and Future

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAU) is a proposed economic union of post-Soviet states first put forward by the President of Kazakhstan in 1994 as a concept, but was brought to attention in 2011 by Vladimir Putin. Although Vladimir Putin stated that the union would be built on the "best values of Soviet Union", critics, however, view the move as a drive to restore the former Soviet empire, perhaps the rise of another Cold War era. The union, if it achieves the integration of the post-Soviet colonies, would put the politics of Europe and Middle East into a very tensed mode. As China, a very powerful and important ally of Russia as well as its Communist comrade, is already pushing its economic and political relations in the region, it will bring about the same political ideology that existed in Europe during the Socialist-Communist vs Capitalist era.

This bizarre underwear regulation is a political move to unite the economies of the post-Soviet states and cut down western influence in the region. Meanwhile, the Eurasian Economic Commission has declined to comment on the underwear ban. Many critics see the ban as yet another example of the misguided economic policies that have become a trademark of many post-Soviet countries.

BACK ON THE WALL

Dear readers,

Africa Unpainted is back on the wall. Expect more news, commentaries and updates covering more areas.

Keep reading.

Cheers.

SOMALIA: CLASHES IN CAPITAL AS ETHIOPIANS LEAVE TOWN

At least 15 people were killed and 40 were wounded in fighting in the capital, Mogadishu, between a group of Islamist insurgents and Ethiopian forces, which began pulling out of bases there on Tuesday. The fighting began when a hard-line Islamist group, El Shabab, attacked an Ethiopian convoy that was withdrawing from Mogadishu Stadium, residents said. El Shabab, which the United States has listed as a terrorist organization, seeks to turn Somalia into an Islamic state. In a news conference in Mogadishu, Sheik Muktar Robow Abu Monsur, El Shabab spokesman, warned Somalis not to give any support to the Ethiopians, vowing that the group would continue fighting until all foreign troops withdrew from the country.

Many Western diplomats and other Somalia analysts have warned that once all the Ethiopians are gone, the various Islamist factions will unleash their considerable firepower on one another in a scramble to take over the country. Some of that fighting has already kicked off, with dozens of people killed in the past week in combat between moderate and radical Islamist factions.

American officials, who had supported the Ethiopian intervention, have been pushing to replace the African Union troops with a larger, better-trained United Nations peacekeeping force. So far, though, there is broad reluctance among members of the United Nations to take the lead role in such an operation.

http://nytimes.com


MY COMMENT:

The Ethiopian troops stormed into Somalia in 2006 to oust an Islamist movement that briefly controlled much of the country and to help shore up Somalia’s weak transitional government.
It did not go as intended. The Ethiopian intervention set off a bitter guerrilla war, killing thousands of civilians and driving nearly one million people out of Mogadishu. [nytimes.com]

“I am happy they finally left our neighborhood,” said Fadumo Mohammed Jimale, an 18-year-old whose family had been displaced by intense urban street fighting. “They killed my father.”

Hundreds of cheering Somalis lined the streets to watch the dozens of Ethiopian military trucks rumbling out of Mogadishu, Somalia’s bullet-pocked capital.

Fadumo M. J and many other Somalians will be quick to express joy on the exit of the Ethiopians. I clearly see Fadumo’s view point and why he wants them to leave. Wait, before you say anything, here is another excerpt:

On Tuesday, gunmen from one Islamist faction rushed into an old pasta factory in central Mogadishu that the Ethiopians had been using as a base. The Islamists were quick to take credit for the Ethiopian withdrawal.

“We drove the Ethiopians out by means of muscle and bullet,” announced Sheik Yusuf Mohammed Siyad, an Islamist leader. “Today, we got the victory we were expecting. We will restore order in this neighborhood.”

“We are ready to unite with our brothers now, since the enemy is leaving,” he added.

Well, I can’t say I’m surprised at this action; this is exactly what I anticipated. The insurgents will quickly occupy the vacuum and unleash more terror on the Somalians. They have already begun attacking the withdrawing troops; this should give you an insight of what lies ahead. The situations in the country will definitely get worse; these groups will make the civilians pay for their losses.

The Islamist movement wants to turn Somalia into an Islamic country by brute force. This is their main aim, the reason for all the fighting. Why should people be forced to belong to a particular sect or religion or group in the 21st century? The Islamist insurgent in Somalia if not checked and stopped will become like the Taliban group in Afghanistan.

In their regime, the Taliban banned music and dancing, shut down movie theaters and television stations, destroyed public works of art that depicted living beings, and forbade the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Men were ordered to grow full, untrimmed beards (in accordance with orthodox Islam) and were rounded up and beaten with sticks in an effort to force prayer in the mosques. The Taliban strongly enforced the ancient custom of purdah, the veiling and seclusion of women from men. Women were ordered to cover themselves from head to toe in burkas (long, tentlike veils). Girls’ schools were closed, and women were forbidden to work outside their homes. As a result, hospitals lost almost all their staffs and children in orphanages were abandoned. In a country where hundreds of thousands of men had been killed in warfare, widows found themselves unable to work to provide basic necessities for their families. (Microsoft Encarta)

Same thing will happen in Somalia – my prediction – if these insurgents are not stopped now.

Few days ago Somalia was confirmed as a piracy capital. This restoration and reformation must start from somewhere.

DRC: THOUSANDS DISPLACED BY LATEST LRA ATTACK

Thousands of civilians have been displaced in another deadly attack by suspected Lord’s Resistance Army rebels in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, according to local sources.

“The population of Sambia fled to nearby Tadu and Tora; others sought refuge in the gold mining pits,” said Félicien Balani, chairman of the civil society organisation in Haut Uélé district.

Residents in the gold-mining village of Sambia, 130km east of Dungu, Orientale Province, put the number of dead at between five and 30, and said almost 10,000 people had fled following the 8 January attack. Another 10,000 civilians displaced from the town of Niangara have fled to Bangadi because of LRA activity in the area.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that some 70,000 civilians in Haut Uélé had been displaced since armed forces from DRC, Uganda and Southern Sudan began joint operations against the LRA in northeastern DRC in mid-December 2008.

Humanitarian access to many of these people remains problematic.

http://irinnews.org


MY COMMENT:

I wonder the day these wars will end in Africa. War has now become the headline in Africa. Almost every country has one rebel group or another. Some of them even setup branches like banks or companies. When will these stories end? Everyday is war; everyday people fight and kill one another. When the world looks for news stories on war they turn to Africa. We now make headlines not positive headlines but devastating stories. We have the resources to heal our land but instead we use them to kill each other. Is there a curse on us? Is it something we have done or what? Every part of the continent is engaged in one fight or another. We are not in chains but we are still in bondage. If we continue like this we will be the very cause of our extinction; we will cease to exist and the lands that we fight for will be laid to waste. Africans let’s come together and stop this war, let’s end this ..…. this curse that has tormented us for years, and is still tormenting us. Let’s stop killing ourselves and our children. AFRICA UNITE!

NIGERIA'S GAS PROFIT UP IN SMOKE

The latest deadline set by the Nigerian government to stop flaring natural gas from oil wells in the Niger Delta has passed without stopping the flames, which campaigners say are poisoning local people.

"Sometimes you can't tell whether it's the dawn breaking or the flame," says one activist in the region. She says doctors have reported higher rates of cancer, children with asthma and a suggestion that the burning gasses may be making residents infertile.

Everyone agrees gas flaring wastes billions of dollars in useful gas. Campaigners say it causes huge environmental damage and according to doctors, it is responsible for causing chronic health problems among people who live in the Delta.

But the government and the oil companies are blaming each other.

Nigeria flares the second largest volume of gas of any producer, behind Russia. About 40% of Nigeria's gas is flared as it is produced. Nigeria also accounts for 12.5% of the world's gas flaring. These flaring exercises take place from thousands of well heads in an area the size of Britain. (Source: NNPC, Shell)

The flames also light up the sky 24 hours a day, and the noise that comes from them is a continuous roar like a jet aircraft taking off.

Royal Dutch Shell, the largest operator of onshore wells, has not commented on the claims that gas flaring affects the health of local residents.

Now experts believe Nigeria is burning billions of dollars of gas from its aging wells, letting potential profits go up in smoke. Even more ironically, campaigners say, the biggest need for that gas is in Nigeria. Nigeria is in the grip of a power generation crisis and the gas that is being burned could go a long way towards providing the electricity the country desperately needs in order to develop its economy.

The government and the oil companies agree they want to end gas flaring. Shell says it has reduced the amount of gas flared by more than 30% since 2000. Shell officials also said it is the government's fault that gas flaring still happens. A lot more pipelines would have to be built to collect all the gas. The government isn't keeping up its end of the funding agreements, preventing more investment, they say. Also the government can't guarantee oil workers' security in a region patrolled by armed gangs who kidnap oil company employees.

The government oil regulators seem unable to get tough with the companies who operate the wells. Two deadlines have been set and passed without making any difference.

http://bbc.co.uk


MY COMMENT:

The issue of gas flaring in Nigeria is something that has been overlooked by the government and the oil companies with the local residents bearing the burden. The oil companies blame the government and the government blames the oil companies, nobody is willing to accept. These oil companies when in their own country in America or Europe will never attempt this type of damage because they would not want to mess up their environment, but whenever they come to Africa they become very unruly and negligent. Shell being a British company will never try this in Europe or anywhere else; this will tell you that all these foreign companies care less about Africa; they just come to reap us off and go, see the case of Madagascar (see post on ‘Madagascar land deal’), the increasing presence of foreign countries in Africa is really disturbing, especially Asian countries. They come here claiming to render assistance to us when they truly want to destroy our continent and go, they contribute absolutely nothing to the people and environment, all they care about is their profit. We need to put an end to this, our leaders should wake up and see what is happening to us, they should stop being puppets for these companies and countries. They should stand up and talk like men, not fidget like sissies. They give way to these rubbish attitudes, that’s why Africans are being treated like trash wherever they go. This has to stop!

DR CONGO'S BEMBA ACCUSSED OF RAPE

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague have accused Jen-Pierre Bemba, a former rebel leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, of ordering mass rapes.

At a hearing on Monday to decide if Bemba will face trial, the prosecutors said he had used rape to terrorise civilians suspected of supporting rivals in the Central African Republic.

Bemba, who also served as vice-president in DR Congo's post-civil war transitional government, faces three counts of crimes against humanity and five counts of war crimes.

"Bemba's men went from house to house, pillaging and raping mothers, wives and daughters," Petra Kneuer, the prosecutor, said. The troops were instructed to "traumatise and terrorise" the population to prevent them from supporting any resistance to Ange-Felix Patasse, the Central African Republic president, the prosecution said.

A representative of victims told the hearing that a district chief in the capital of Bangui was raped for four hours in front of his wife and children before troops turned to them.

Bemba's defence lawyers argued that he was not responsible for the campaign of torture, rape and murder between 2002 and 2003 as his Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) forces were operating under the command of Patasse.

Bemba was arrested in Belgium last May. He fled DR Congo for Portugal in 2007 saying he feared for his life after his fighters had battled the presidential guards of Joseph Kabila on the streets of Kinshasa, the capital, following his defeat in presidential elections.

The MLC was formed to overthrow Laurent Desire Kabila, Joseph's father and DR Congo's former president, during the 1998-2006 war in DR Congo.

http://aljazeera.net


MY COMMENT:

There goes another war criminal. These are men that have committed atrocious acts against their people, against humanity. A man that resorted to raping and terrorizing people is no longer a human, that man is seriously possessed. To rape a fellow man in front of his family is indeed diabolic. The number of reported rapes in Africa is on the increase, demonic people now see it as a way of oppressing people. Especially in the war-stricken zones, the number is continuously on the rise. And this man adopted it as a weapon against his people; this is very atrocious and inimical. I suggest they gather his troops and colleagues as well, they all should be charged the same. None of them should be spared even those acting on order; they are all guilty and should face the same fate.

NEW GHANA PRESIDENT SWORN IN

John Atta Mills, Ghana's new president, has taken office following a peaceful but tense election that secured the country's status as one of the continent's few stable democracies. Atta Mills won a run-off election last month with over 50 per cent of the vote.

The closest election in the country's history marked the second time power in Ghana has been transferred from one legitimately elected leader to another.

Analysts say the handover proves democracy in the country has matured after an era of coups and dictatorship in the 1970s and 1980s, but tensions still ran high during the election and some had feared violence could erupt.

Most Ghanaians remain among the world's poorest people, earning an average of $3.80 a day. Ghana is the world's second largest cocoa producer and the recent discovery of oil is eventually expected to bring in between $2bn and $3bn a year.

But Atta Mills will have to struggle with the effects of a global economic downturn, and the poor are already complaining that wealth is not trickling down.

http://aljazeera.net


MY COMMENT:

KUDOS TO GHANA! THUMBS UP! This is one of the minute elections that have been reported as being fair and legitimate in Africa. The issue of election rigging and corruption has always been in the fore front of African elections, at some point it kind of seemed like a curse or something but Ghana has demonstrated that it is really possible and can be achieved. Kudos to them once again! Congratulations President Atta Mills on your new office.

To say that most Ghanaians live on average of $3.80 a day is actually high when compared to other African countries living on less than $1.00 a day. Ghana, although still among the world’s poorest countries, is really moving by general African standard. I pray they regulate the oil very well (oil being volatile commodity in Africa).

Cheers Ghana! Cheers Mr. President!

TUTU: 'USE FORCE TO REMOVE MUGABE'

The South African archbishop says force may be needed to remove Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, from power.

Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace prize winner, told BBC radio that he hopes members of the African Union can be persuaded to issue Mugabe an ultimatum. Tutu described the situation inside Zimbabwe, which has been crippled by hyper-inflation and a protracted battle for political power, as "desperate".

"All of us want to see a resolution of what is just an awful situation and I don't think you can have any real solution unless Mugabe steps down," he said. "They can ask him to step down and if he steps down, OK, and if he doesn't, maybe he should be forced down."

Tutu also accused South Africa of betraying its legacy of struggling against apartheid by failing to take action against Mugabe. South Africa had strong historic links with Mugabe, who provided support during the struggle against apartheid.

Amid the political stalemate, Zimbabweans continue to sink deeper into poverty, and more people have died from a cholera epidemic that threatens to spread to neighbouring South Africa.

http://aljazeera.net


MY COMMENT:

I totally agree with Tutu, no solution can be proffered in Zimbabwe unless Mugabe steps down. The people have been oppressed to an extent that they cannot even speak for themselves again. I’m very sure more than 2/3 of the population wants him out but can’t or do not know how to set off.

As long as he is on that seat nothing can be done, the situation in Zimbabwe will continue to fester and the people will continue to suffer.

ETHIOPIAN TROOPS WITHDRAWS FROM MOGADISHU

Ethiopian troops have withdrawn from two of their main bases in the Somali capital two years after they intervened in Mogadishu to oust Islamist forces. Some fear that the Ethiopian withdrawal could lead to a power vacuum, others say it could pave the way for peace.

Some 16,000 civilians have been killed in the conflict between Somalia's transitional government and the Islamists, and a million more have been forced from their homes.

A small African Union peacekeeping force remains in Mogadishu but analysts say it is not strong enough to withstand the Islamists, who once more control much of southern Somalia. At least 25 people were killed few days earlier in fighting between two armed opposition groups in central Somalia, witnesses said. Fighters from the al-Shabaab movement clashed with members of the Ahlu Sunna Wal-jama'ah in Guriel, about 500km northeast of the capital Mogadishu on Sunday.

Uganda, Burundi and Nigeria are willing to send extra troops but the African Union has no money to pay for them and is wary of taking on an open-ended commitment.

Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991, since when various militias have been battling for control. They are also in danger of descending into famine while the world's attention is focused on the problem of piracy off its coast, the Red Cross has warned.

There have been nearly 100 pirate attacks in Somalian waters this year, despite the presence of several foreign warships.

http://bbc.co.uk


MY COMMENT:

Somalia currently has too many stones in their bread to eat. First, with the withdrawal of the Ethiopian armed forces, which to some locals is a relief even though it is not really a good idea right now, the stage is now clearing for the Islamist insurgents to take over. The insurgents are still in control of a large portion of southern Somalia, the Ethiopian and other peacekeeping forces are controlling the northern part. So this exit of the Ethiopians who constitute the major part of the forces just doesn’t sound nice at all.

Secondly, the food shortage in the country is seriously deepening. They are in danger of ‘total famine’ says one report.

Thirdly, the pirates patrolling their waterways are slowing down trade and food supply. Not forgetting to mention that their president resigned few weeks ago (the first African president to actually resign because the cards on the table are just too much to handle). Men! This is really plenty to fit into one plate at a time, I really understand the president’s decision to quit, it’s not just working. Peacekeeping is indisputably not an easy task especially in another man’s land, but I think it would be best if the Ethiopians can hold on a little longer since the AU is broke in terms of sponsoring other countries willing to send troops into the region, at least to maintain some sought of calmness in the northern part and also keep the general tempo on check.

RBZ UNVEILS $20BN, $50BN NOTES

THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has introduced new $20 billion and $50 billion notes as part of measures to increase convenience to the banking public.

The introduction of the new notes is also expected to coincide with the withdrawal of full salaries by workers upon production of a pay slip.

Consumers have, over the past few months, watched helplessly as businesses increased prices each time higher denomination notes were introduced.

http://herald.co.zw

Newsweek reports that Zimbabwe residents are going through severe hardships yet surviving it with humor. The reporter found a fast-food joint was selling burgers and fried chicken, and a double cheeseburger cost 50 billion Zimbabwean dollars. And if you order a full meal with fries and a Coke, it cost 80 billion Zimbabwean dollars.

http://digitaljournal.com


MY COMMENT:

"... Introduced new $20 billion and $50 billion notes as part of measures to increase convenience to the banking public." How considerate and thoughtful of Mugabe. What a joke. "... to increase convenience to the banking public" He might as well turn their pay slip into a legal tender. I really wonder if they have an economist in the whole country at all.... If he wants to be considerate and thoughtful, he should vacate that seat immediately.

And how about that, the world's most expensive fast-food. That should be the food to eat. Eat up and you'll never go hungry again ...lol!. I wonder what's next.