They say there are no tribes in the United Kingdom. That is not true. The British Embassy in Kenya accuses Kenyans of being tribal dependent and yet now in a show of hate and tribal mindedness the British soldiers in Kenya fought one another vigorously.

According to the Kenya Daily Nation Online, – An argument among British Army troops at a Nanyuki hotel degenerated into a vicious fight between Irish and Scottish soldiers at the weekend. Initial reports indicated that one died after he was thrown out of a window on the first floor and landed head first on the concrete ground. While their army chief of staff Maj James Clark agreed that “tribal” utterances caused the fight, he denied that there was loss of life. – ““The incident hurt the image of the British Army in Nanyuki. It was a scenario similar to the one in Kenya where people from different tribes may disagree when drunk. Investigations are being conducted. We will come up with recommendations,” Mr Clark said.”

Even in Norway, one finds the British people walking in separate directions in their social lives. The few bars in Oslo bears the identity of the Irish, Scottish and the English not British unity as they would like to portray. Because they look down upon one another, you will find that those who are Irish go to the Irish bars, while those who are Scottish only go to the Scottish bars, and so do the Englishmen and women.

The British, therefore, should not be lecturing Kenyans on how they should behave towards one another  as long as the Kenyan tribes are not at war with one another.

There is nothing wrong for one to be proud of his or her tribe. One did not ask to be born to a certain tribe.

End

Public Prosecutors and Federal Judge cite violations of indigenous peoples’ rights guaranteed by Brazilian Constitution and international law

Brasilia, Brazil – A federal judge in Brazil has suspended the construction license of the Teles Pires hydroelectric dam in the Brazilian Amazon, citing violations of the rights of the Kayabi, Apiaká and Mundurucu indigenous peoples whose livelihoods are seriously threatened by the project. Célia Regina Ody Bernaedes, a federal judge in the state of Mato Grosso, ordered the immediate suspension of all activities in dam construction, “especially explosions of boulders in the region of “Sete Quedas” (Seven Waterfalls)” cited as an area considered sacred for the Kayabi, Mundurucu and Apiaká peoples.

The dam with an estimated installed capacity of 1,820 MW has been under construction since August 2011 on the Teles Pires River, a major tributary of the Tapajós River in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. The dam is one of six large hydro-projects planned for the Teles Pires River, bordering the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. In her decision, Judge Bernardes concluded that prior to greenlighting dam construction, the federal environmental agency (IBAMA) failed to consult with affected indigenous communities, despite serious threats to their “socioeconomic and cultural well-being,” constituting a violation of the Brazilian Constitution and ILO Convention 169, which Brazil signed in 2004.

The decision to suspend dam construction was based on a lawsuit filed earlier this month by state and federal public prosecutors from Mato Grosso and Pará that argued the existence of “imminent and irreversible damage to the quality of life and cultural heritage of indigenous peoples of the region,” including flooding the series of rapids on the Teles Pires River known as Sete Quedas. “The rapids of Sete Quedas are the spawning grounds of fish that are very important to us, such as the pintado, pacuú, pirarara and matrinxã. In addition, Sete Quedas is a sacred place for us, where the “Mãe dos Peixes” (Mother of Fish) and other spirits of our ancestors live – a place that should not be messed with,” argues a recent declaration by local indigenous people cited in the lawsuit.

In addition to its importance for their physical survival, Sete Quedas is also fundamental for the cultural survival of local indigenous peoples. The lawsuit argues that the dam construction site is “a sacred area relevant for the beliefs, customs, traditions, symbolism and spirituality of indigenous peoples. As a cultural heritage site, it is protected by the Brazilian Constitution and international agreements.”

Other threats to indigenous peoples provoked by dam construction cited by the lawsuit include conflicts associated with a massive influx of migrants to the region, land speculation, illegal deforestation, predatory fishing and illegal exploitation of mining resources. The prosecutors argued that, given a delay of almost 20 years in the demarcation of the Kayabi territory, such threats are even more severe.

According to Taravy Kayabi, a leader of the Kayabi people, “while the federal government stalls in implementing laws that protect the rights of indigenous peoples, it is pressuring us to accept the dams. But we know the compensation they are offering will never substitute places that are sacred to us, such as Sete Quedas, that hold the cemeteries of our ancestors and that should be preserved. Sete Quedas is also the spawning grounds of fish that are an important source of food. They talk about fish ladders, but where have these ever worked? The government needs to look for alternative ways to generate energy that don’t harm indigenous peoples and their territories.”

Civil society groups and leaders of the Kayabi community welcomed the news of the the suspension of dam construction, but warned against a possible overturning of Judge Bernardes’ restraining order. “What we’ve seen over and over again, in cases such as Belo Monte, is that the President’s office politically intervenes in regional federal courts to overturn decisions against violations of human rights and environmental legislation, using false arguments, such as an impending blackout if the dams aren’t immediately constructed. This is ludicrous. Indigenous peoples and human rights groups in Brazil and around the world are calling on the Dilma government to change course and respect the country’s constitution and rule of law,” stated Brent Millikan, Amazon Program Director at International Rivers.

End

source. International Rivers

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NIGER: Nassamu Malan, “This year is also looking bad”

Photo: Celeste Hicks/IRIN

Nassamu Malan, the Foudouk village chief in Niger

FOUDOUK,  – Years of successive drought in the Sahel have driven millions of people to despair and death. Even the normally adaptive nomads, who range this southern fringe of the Western Sahara Desert, are finding life extremely difficult.

In Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, Nassamu Malan, chief of Foudouk village in the northern region of Agadez, told IRIN how his village is struggling to cope.

“Our village, Foudouk, was founded in 2001. There are 315 families here. We are Peul [Fula] and by nature nomadic, which means we have many cattle. But we have decided to settle in one place, although now and again we must move with the cattle to look for pasture.

“Our village depends on livestock. We can’t engage in farming because the water table is very deep in the Agadez Region. In some places it is 80-100m deep so it is impossible to dig a well.

“The good years were 2003-2005, before the drought. At that time a rich family would have 150 animals. Now nobody has that many. I believe the village lost 70 percent of its animals in the 2010 drought. We suffered very badly that year.

“This year is also looking bad. Normally at this time of year, before the rains, there is still some pasture available, but this year it’s gone already. If you take your animal to market these days no one wants to buy. A goat normally sells for about 20,000 CFA francs [US$40]; today it sells for 1,500. [$3]. Sheep used to cost 25,000 CFA francs [$49] now they cost 10,000 francs [$20]. The reason is because there is no pasture, so people don’t want to buy an animal for which they have to pay feed.

“We heard that the government says it will vaccinate animals. We would like to see that in our village so that they don’t die.

“When there are food shortages in the south we hear about projects to help them, but we don’t see anything here.

“There is nothing for young people to do here, no jobs, no way to make money. At least 150 of our young men have gone to Nigeria to look for work. Sometimes they send money to their families here.

“I think a cereal bank for millet would be a good idea now that we don’t move so much, as well as extra food like cotton grains for the animals. A lot of the village stock was eaten in 2010 – two of our stores are completely empty now.

“People forget that when the rains fail that also affects us. The land in our region is becoming very poor. The animals need good pasture and when it doesn’t rain they over-graze. I know lots of other people are struggling. We try to do our best.”

ch/oss/cb
source www.irinnews.org

Guatemala deposits its instrument of accession to the Rome Statute of the ICC at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 2 April 2012 © UN/Win Khine

On 2 April 2012, the United Nations received from the Government of the Republic of Guatemala its instrument of accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Rome Statute will enter into force for Guatemala on 1 July 2012, bringing to 121 the total number of States Parties.

The ICC welcomed Guatemala’s accession to the Rome Statute. The ICC President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, stated: “I am delighted that the statements made by Guatemala at the Review Conference of 2010 as well as the latest Assembly of States Parties concerning its intention to join the ICC have now fully materialised. With the historic step now taken by Guatemala, only two countries in Central America – El Salvador and Nicaragua – remain outside the Rome Statute system, and I hope they too will actively consider acceding to the treaty in the near future”
The President of the Assembly of States Parties, Ms Tiina Intelmann, commented: “The accession by Guatemala is a testament to the will and steadfast determination of its people and its leaders to strengthen the rule of law and to contribute to the international endeavour to end impunity for egregious crimes”.

end

source: ICC