Tigrayan forces in northern Ethiopia have started handing over heavy weapons in line with a peace deal to end a brutal civil war.

The African Union (AU) said it was « a step in the right direction » to end the two-year-long conflict.

Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have died from starvation, a lack of medical care, and fighting.

The conflict broke out following a massive fall-out between the regional and federal governments.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controlled the region, of seizing military bases and launching an attempt to overthrow his government.

Tigrayan forces advanced towards the federal capital, Addis Ababa, in 2021, but were pushed back.

TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda said he hoped that the handover of weapons would « go a long way in expediting the full implementation of the agreement ».

Armoured tanks, rockets and mortars were among the weapons transferred to the federal army on Tuesday, the Ethiopian military’s Lt-Col Aleme Tadele was quoted by local media as saying.

A team of AU monitors confirmed that weapons had been given up, suggesting that the peace deal is sticking,

Basic services, like electricity and banking, are slowly resuming in Tigray after being cut off during the conflict.

A major sticking point is the presence of Eritrean troops in the area, as well as forces from Ethiopia’s Amhara region.

They intervened in the conflict on the side of the federal government, and the TPLF is demanding their withdrawal.

World Opinions – BBC News

L’article Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict: TPLF forces hand over weapons in peace move est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Fondateur du journal russe Novaïa Gazeta, anticonformiste, indépendant, qui dénonce sans complaisance les failles de la société russe, Dmitri Mouratov a reçu le prix Nobel de la paix ce vendredi 8 octobre avec la Philippine Maria Ressa. Le comité loue “ses efforts  visant à défendre la liberté d’expression”. Félicité par le Kremlin pour “son talent et son courage”, salué par ses confrères, il entend continuer son combat, souligne la presse russe.

BREAKING NEWS:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.#NobelPrize #NobelPeacePrize pic.twitter.com/KHeGG9YOTT

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 8, 2021

Dmitri Mouratov, 59 ans, colauréat du prix Nobel de la paix, est philologue de formation. Fondateur du journal russe Novaïa Gazeta en 1993, il est, depuis 1995, son rédacteur en chef. Il était également animateur d’émissions sociopolitiques à la télévision russe entre 1997 et 2000.

Le vainqueur a dédié son prix aux six journalistes de son journal “tués pour leur activité professionnelle” entre 2000 et 2009, dont Anna Politkovskaïa, écrivait Novaïa Gazeta dès l’annonce de la décision du comité Nobel. Sous la direction de Mouratov, Novaïa Gazeta a suivi “la guerre en Tchétchénie, les problèmes de corruption en Russie et dans le monde, les violations des droits de l’homme”, rappelle le titre, avant d’ajouter que ses journalistes sont soixante fois titulaires de différents prix professionnels, dont le prix Pulitzer.

Olav Njølstad, Secretary to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, calling @mariaressa minutes before announcing her and Dmitry Muratov as the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureates. #NobelPeacePrize @NobelPrize

📷: The Norwegian Nobel Institute pic.twitter.com/H8lKwPlvjo

— Nobel Peace Center (@NobelPeaceOslo) October 8, 2021

Dans un entretien accordé au site russe Podiom News, Mouratov a avoué qu’il “ne s’y attendait pas” et qu’avec ce prix Nobel les journalistes de sa rédaction vont “poursuivre [le combat] pour le journalisme russe qu’on tente de réprimer et aider les gens considérés comme des ‘agents de l’étranger’ et qu’on persécute”.

“En Russie, il existe du journalisme indépendant”

Le Kremlin a, pour sa part, félicité le journaliste, par l’intermédiaire du porte-parole du président Vladimir Poutine, comme le rapporte le journal Vzgliad : “Nous pouvons féliciter Dmitri Mouratov pour ce prix Nobel de la paix : il est fidèle à ses idéaux, talentueux et courageux.”

Alexeï Venediktov, rédacteur en chef de la chaîne radio anti-Kremlin Ekho Moskvy, a confié au journal moscovite Kommersant que ce prix représente “la reconnaissance du fait qu’en Russie liberté de la parole et journalisme indépendant existent”. Il a aussi rappelé qu’aux côtés de son activité professionnelle, Mouratov est impliqué dans l’aide aux enfants atteints de maladies rares, via la fondation Kroug Dobra (“Cercle de la bonté”) qu’il a contribué à cofonder en 2021.

Troisième Russe titulaire du prix

Mouratov est titulaire de six autres récompenses : l’ordre de l’Amitié et l’Ordre de l’honneur russes, un prix international pour la liberté de la presse et celui du Comité de la défense des journalistes, la Légion d’honneur française, l’Ordre de la Croix Sainte-Marie estonien et la Plume d’or de la liberté.

“C’est le troisième Russe lauréat du prix Nobel de la paix, après le physicien [pacifiste] Andreï Sakharov et le premier et dernier président de l’Union soviétique Mikhaïl Gorbatchev”, fait observer le site russe Lenta.

"Without media, you cannot have a strong democracy."

Following the announcement of this year's #NobelPeacePrize to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov we spoke to Berit Reiss-Andersen, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, about the prize.#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/wPxlVCVsF4

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 8, 2021

Par Alda Engoian – courrierinternational.com+ World Opinions

L’article Vu de Russie.Qui est Dmitri Mouratov, Prix Nobel de la paix avec Maria Ressa ? est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

As the Afghan government and the Taliban continue their struggle over who will control Kabul, they ignore the fact that they will not wield any legitimacy unless the Afghan people grants it to them. The Afghan people are the sole sovereign over the country and as such, the power is in their hands.

The current Afghan administration and the Taliban should remember that, unlike in the Middle Ages, today, holding political power does not mean being a ruler but rather being a servant to the people. When it comes to all matters of the country, including war and peace, governance, resource exploitation, the final word belongs to the people.

During the past year, the talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban have stalled, as the civilian casualties have mounted, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, infrastructure has been destroyed, the economy has been suffering, and food production and supply have been disrupted by hostilities. This has put the lives of millions of citizens in serious jeopardy. This must stop now.

The Afghan people can clearly see that the government and the Taliban share a sense of indifference to the life, property and wellbeing of civilians. They demand that the warring sides prove their devotion to faith and patriotism by putting their trust in Allah Almighty and choosing peace over violence, the national interest over narrow individual and party interests. They demand that both sides acknowledge the inalienable right of the Afghan people to determine their own destiny.

By now, the United States, NATO, the international community, the people of Afghanistan, and the warring parties have realised that there is no military solution to the conflict. The continuation of war and relying on military means will only result in more bloodshed and violence. An immediate ceasefire should rank first among all priorities.

Without a political solution, peace-building, and reconciliation, the country will continue to suffer from economic underdevelopment, dysfunctional political infrastructure, factionalism, lawlessness, and rampant corruption.

After the signing of the Doha Agreement between the US and the Taliban, the Afghan people were hoping for speedy positive developments. After a year of non-substantive meetings between the government and the Taliban, the talks for an intra-Afghan peace agreement have stalled. It is evident that without third party mediation, the negotiating parties are unable to break the deadlock, overcome their differences, and move the peace process forward.

The deadlock in peace talks cannot be overcome unless the two sides are ready to sacrifice their narrow interests.

This was to be expected. The 25 years of animosity between warring factions, the losses each side has sustained, and the investment each side has made in military victory rather than in peace can produce no other outcome. No conflict of this severity has ever been resolved without the mediation of a neutral third party anywhere in the world.

One of the main sticking points is that the Taliban wants an interim authority to replace the government of President Ashraf Ghani and the immediate release of several thousand incarcerated Taliban combatants. The president and government officials, on the other hand, are concerned that such an unconstitutional change could trigger the collapse of the state and the dismantling of the Afghan security forces. Disagreement on the way forward has resulted in a deadlock.

This is where the Peace Mediation Team (PMT) can come in and lead the way out of this impasse. The PMT has arrived at a holistic approach to negotiations after extensive research and consultation with highly qualified conflict resolution experts, powerful tribal leaders, influential religious scholars, sources close to the Taliban movement, women and youth organisations, and human rights activists.

The PMT would like to advise the government of Afghanistan that it should be prepared to make sacrifices for the national interests and put an end to the devastating war that is causing senseless loss of life and misery.

The PMT would like to warn the Taliban movement that a collapse of the Afghan state will have dire consequences for Afghan citizens, and will inevitably result in chaos and economic ruin. If the Taliban returns to power by brute force rather than a peace process, it will likely face international isolation.

The members of the PMT are credible individuals with significant influence and reach who can convince the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban movement that the sensible way out of the current crisis is through a peace process owned and led by Afghans.

The PMT believes the agreement between the US and the Taliban signed on February 29, 2020, has created a window of opportunity for peace in Afghanistan following decades of military coups, Soviet occupation, civil strife, rigid rule by the Taliban, and the US’s “war on terrorism”. The Peace Agreement has also generated regional and international consensus to end the war through negotiations.

The PMT sees the regional and international support of the peace process for resolving the war in Afghanistan as essential. It hails the role the state of Qatar has played in the negotiation of the US-Taliban agreement and is grateful to Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for facilitating the talks. It also calls on Pakistan to use its diplomatic influence over the Taliban movement to convince it to approach the peace talks in good faith.

Only with the help of regional and international actors, and with a true commitment to peace from the warring sides, can the current crisis be resolved and the stability and prosperity of Afghanistan secured.

Taj Ayubi Senior member of the Peace Mediation Team – Aljazeera

L’article Afghanistan: Peace demands sacrifice est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.