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Kofi Annan

Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 1938 – 18 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1997 to December 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder and chairman of the Kofi Annan Foundation, as well as chairman of The Elders, an international organization founded by Nelson Mandela.

Annan studied economics at Macalester College, international relations at the Graduate Institute Geneva, and management at MIT. Annan joined the UN in 1962, working for the World Health Organization's Geneva office. He went on to work in several capacities at the UN Headquarters including serving as the Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping between March 1992 and December 1996. He was appointed the Secretary-General on 13 December 1996 by the Security Council, and later confirmed by the General Assembly, making him the first office holder to be elected from the UN staff itself. He was re-elected for a second term in 2001, and was succeeded as Secretary-General by Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2007.

As the Secretary-General, Annan reformed the UN bureaucracy; worked to combat HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa; and launched the UN Global Compact. He was criticized for not expanding the Security Council and faced calls for his resignation after an investigation into the Oil-for-Food Programme, but was largely exonerated of personal corruption. After the end of his term as UN Secretary-General, he founded the Kofi Annan Foundation in 2007 to work on international development. In 2012, Annan was the UN–Arab League Joint Special Representative for Syria, to help find a resolution to the ongoing conflict there. Annan quit after becoming frustrated with the UN's lack of progress with regards to conflict resolution. In September 2016, Annan was appointed to lead a UN commission to investigate the Rohingya crisis.

Early years and education

Kofi Annan was born in the Kofandros section of Kumasi in the Gold Coast (now Ghana) on 8 April 1938. His twin sister Efua Atta, who died in 1991, shared the middle name Atta, which in the Akan language means 'twin'. Annan and his sister were born into one of the country's Ashanti and Fante aristocratic families; both of their grandfathers and their uncle were tribal chiefs.

In the Akan names tradition, some children are named according to the day of the week on which they were born, sometimes in relation to how many children precede them. Kofi in Akan is the name that corresponds with Friday. Annan said that his surname rhymes with "cannon" in English.

From 1954 to 1957, Annan attended the elite Mfantsipim school, a Methodist boarding school in Cape Coast founded in the 1870s. Annan said that the school taught him that "suffering anywhere, concerns people everywhere". In 1957, the year Annan graduated from Mfantsipim, the Gold Coast gained independence from the UK and began using the name "Ghana".

In 1958, Annan began studying economics at the Kumasi College of Science and Technology, now the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology of Ghana. He received a Ford Foundation grant, enabling him to complete his undergraduate studies in economics at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, in 1961. Annan then completed a diplôme d'études approfondies DEA degree in International Relations at The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1961–62. After some years of work experience, he studied at the MIT Sloan School of Management (1971–72) in the Sloan Fellows program and earned a master's degree in management.

Annan was fluent in English, French, Akan, and some Kru languages as well as other African languages.

Career

In 1962, Kofi Annan started working as a budget officer for the World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations (UN). From 1974 to 1976, he worked as a manager of the state-owned Ghana Tourist Development Company in Accra. In 1980 he became the head of personnel for the office of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. In 1983 he became the director of administrative management services of the UN Secretariat in New York. In 1987, Annan was appointed as an Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management and Security Coordinator for the UN system. In 1990, he became Assistant Secretary-General for Program Planning, Budget and Finance, and Control.

When Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali established the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) in 1992, Annan was appointed to the new department as Deputy to then Under-Secretary-General Marrack Goulding. Annan was subsequently appointed in March 1993 as Under-Secretary-General of that department. On 29 August 1995, while Boutros-Ghali was unreachable on an airplane, Annan instructed United Nations officials to "relinquish for a limited period of time their authority to veto air strikes in Bosnia." This move allowed NATO forces to conduct Operation Deliberate Force and made him a favorite of the United States. According to Richard Holbrooke, Annan's "gutsy performance" convinced the United States that he would be a good replacement for Boutros-Ghali.

He was appointed a Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the former Yugoslavia, serving from November 1995 to March 1996.

Criticism

In 2003, retired Canadian General Roméo Dallaire, who was force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, claimed that Annan was overly passive in his response to the imminent genocide. In his book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda (2003), Dallaire asserted that Annan held back UN troops from intervening to settle the conflict, and from providing more logistical and material support. Dallaire claimed that Annan failed to provide responses to his repeated faxes asking for access to a weapons depository; such weapons could have helped Dallaire defend the endangered Tutsis. In 2004, ten years after the genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed, Annan said, "I could and should have done more to sound the alarm and rally support."

In his book Interventions: A Life in War and Peace, Annan again argued that the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations could have made better use of the media to raise awareness of the violence in Rwanda and put pressure on governments to provide the troops necessary for an intervention. Annan explained that the events in Somalia and the collapse of the UNOSOM II mission fostered a hesitation among UN Member states to approve robust peacekeeping operations. As a result, when the UNAMIR mission was approved just days after the battle, the resulting force lacked the troop levels, resources and mandate to operate effectively.

Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997–2006)

Appointment

In 1996, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali ran unopposed for a second term. Although he won 14 of the 15 votes on the Security Council, he was vetoed by the United States. After four deadlocked meetings of the Security Council, Boutros-Ghali suspended his candidacy, becoming the only Secretary-General ever to be denied a second term. Annan was the leading candidate to replace him, beating Amara Essy by one vote in the first round. However, France vetoed Annan four times before finally abstaining. The UN Security Council recommended Annan on 13 December 1996. Confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly, he started his first term as Secretary-General on 1 January 1997.

Due to Boutros-Ghali's overthrow, a second Annan term would give Africa the office of Secretary-General for three consecutive terms. In 2001, the Asia-Pacific Group agreed to support Annan for a second term in return for the African Group's support for an Asian Secretary-General in the 2006 selection. The Security Council recommended Annan for a second term on 27 June 2001, and the General Assembly approved his reappointment on 29 June 2001.

ActivitiesRecommendations for UN reform

Soon after taking office in 1997, Annan released two reports on management reform. On 17 March 1997, the report Management and Organisational Measures (A/51/829) introduced new management mechanisms through the establishment of a cabinet-style body to assist him and be grouping the UN's activities in accordance with four core missions. A comprehensive reform agenda was issued on 14 July 1997 entitled Renewing the United Nations: A Programme for Reform (A/51/950). Key proposals included the introduction of strategic management to strengthen unity of purpose, the establishment of the position of Deputy Secretary-General, a 10-percent reduction in posts, a reduction in administrative costs, the consolidation of the UN at the country level, and reaching out to civil society and the private sector as partners. Annan also proposed to hold a Millennium Summit in 2000.After years of research, Annan presented a progress report, In Larger Freedom, to the UN General Assembly, on 21 March 2005. Annan recommended Security Council expansion and a host of other UN reforms.

On 31 January 2006, Annan outlined his vision for a comprehensive and extensive reform of the UN in a policy speech to the United Nations Association UK. The speech, delivered at Central Hall, Westminster, also marked the 60th Anniversary of the first meetings of the General Assembly and Security Council.

On 7 March 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his proposals for a fundamental overhaul of the United Nations Secretariat. The reform report is entitled Investing in the United Nations, For a Stronger Organization Worldwide.

On 30 March 2006, he presented to the General Assembly his analysis and recommendations for updating the entire work programme of the United Nations Secretariat. The reform report is entitled: Mandating and Delivering: Analysis and Recommendations to Facilitate the Review of Mandates.

Regarding the UN Human Rights Council, Annan said "declining credibility" had "cast a shadow on the reputation of the United Nations system. Unless we re-make our human rights machinery, we may be unable to renew public confidence in the United Nations itself." However, he did believe that, despite its flaws, the council could do good.

In March 2000, Annan appointed the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations to assess the shortcomings of the then existing system and to make specific and realistic recommendations for change. The panel was composed of individuals experienced in conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace-building. The report it produced, which became known as the Brahimi Report, after Chair of the Panel Lakhdar Brahimi, called for:

renewed political commitment on the part of Member States;

significant institutional change;

increased financial support.

The Panel further noted that in order to be effective, UN peacekeeping operations must be properly resourced and equipped, and operate under clear, credible and achievable mandates. In a letter transmitting the report to the General Assembly and Security Council, Annan stated that the Panel's recommendations were essential to make the United Nations truly credible as a force for peace. Later that same year, the Security Council adopted several provisions relating to peacekeeping following the report, in Resolution 1327.

Millennium Development Goals

In 2000, Annan issued a report entitled: "We the peoples: the role of the United Nations in the 21st century". The report called for member states to "put people at the centre of everything we do. No calling is more noble, and no responsibility greater, than that of enabling men, women and children, in cities and villages around the world, to make their lives better".

In the final chapter of the report, Annan called to "free our fellow men and women from the abject and dehumanizing poverty in which more than 1 billion of them are currently confined".:77

At the Millennium Summit in September 2000, national leaders adopted the Millennium Declaration, which was subsequently implemented by the United Nations Secretariat as the Millennium Development Goals in 2001.

United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS)

Within the "We the Peoples" document, Annan suggested the establishment of a United Nations Information Technology Service (UNITeS), a consortium of high-tech volunteer corps, including NetCorps Canada and Net Corps America, which United Nations Volunteers would co-ordinate. In the Report of the high-level panel of experts on information and communication technology (22 May 2000) suggesting a UN ICT Task Force, the panel welcomed the establishment of UNITeS, and made suggestions on its configuration and implementation strategy, including that ICT4D volunteering opportunities make mobilizing "national human resources" (local ICT experts) within developing countries a priority, for both men and women. The initiative was launched at the United Nations Volunteers and was active from February 2001 to February 2005. Initiative staff and volunteers participated in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva in December 2003.

The United Nations Global Compact

In an address to The World Economic Forum on 31 January 1999, Secretary-General Annan argued that the "goals of the United Nations and those of business can, indeed, be mutually supportive" and proposed that the private sector and the United Nations initiate "a global compact of shared values and principles, which will give a human face to the global market".

On 26 July 2000, the United Nations Global Compact was officially launched at UN headquarters in New York. It is a principle-based framework for businesses which aims to "Catalyse actions in support of broader UN goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)". The Compact established ten core principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption, and under the Compact, companies commit to the ten principles and are brought together with UN agencies, labour groups and civil society to effectively implement them.

Establishment of The Global Fund

Towards the end of the 1990s, increased awareness of the destructive potential of epidemics such as HIV/AIDS pushed public health issues to the top of the global development agenda. In April 2001, Annan issued a five-point "Call to Action" to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Stating it was a "personal priority", Annan proposed the establishment of a Global AIDS and Health Fund, "dedicated to the battle against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases" to stimulate the increased international spending needed to help developing countries confront the HIV/AIDS crisis. In June of that year, the General Assembly of the United Nations committed to the creation of such a fund during a special session on AIDS, and the permanent secretariat of the Global Fund was subsequently established in January 2002.

Responsibility to Protect

Following the failure of Annan and the International Community to intervene in the genocide in Rwanda and in Srebrenica, Annan asked whether the international community had an obligation in such situations to intervene to protect civilian populations. In a speech to the General Assembly on 20 September 1999 "to address the prospects for human security and intervention in the next century," Annan argued that individual sovereignty—the protections afforded by the Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter of the UN—was being strengthened, while the notion of state sovereignty was being redefined by globalization and international co-operation. As a result, the UN and its member states had to consider a willingness to act to prevent conflict and civilian suffering, a dilemma between "two concepts of sovereignty" that Annan also presented in a preceding article in The Economist, on 16 September 1999.

In September 2001 the Canadian government established an ad-hoc committee to address this balance between state sovereignty and humanitarian intervention. The International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty published its final report in 2001, which focused on not on the right of states to intervene but a responsibility to protect populations at risk. The report moved beyond the question of military intervention, arguing that a range of diplomatic and humanitarian actions could also be utilized to protect civilian populations.

In 2005, Annan included the doctrine of "Responsibility to Protect" in his report Larger Freedom. When that report was endorsed by the UN General Assembly, it amounted to the first formal endorsement by UN Member States of the doctrine of Responsibility to Protect.

Iraq

In the years after 1998 when UNSCOM was expelled by the government of Saddam Hussein and during the Iraq disarmament crisis, in which the United States blamed UNSCOM and former IAEA director Hans Blix for failing to properly disarm Iraq, former UNSCOM chief weapons inspector Scott Ritter blamed Annan for being slow and ineffective in enforcing Security Council resolutions on Iraq and was overtly submissive to the demands of the Clinton administration for regime removal and inspection of sites, often Presidential palaces, that were not mandated in any resolution and were of questionable intelligence value, severely hampering UNSCOM's ability to co-operate with the Iraqi government and contributed to their expulsion from the country. Ritter also claimed that Annan regularly interfered with the work of the inspectors and diluted the chain of command by trying to micromanage all of the activities of UNSCOM, which caused intelligence processing (and the resulting inspections) to be backed up and caused confusion with the Iraqis as to who was in charge and as a result, they generally refused to take orders from Ritter or Rolf Ekéus without explicit approval from Annan, which could have taken days, if not weeks. He later believed that Annan was oblivious to the fact the Iraqis took advantage of this in order to delay inspections. He claimed that on one occasion, Annan refused to implement a no-notice inspection of the SSO headquarters and instead tried to negotiate access, but the negotiation ended up taking nearly six weeks, giving the Iraqis more than enough time to clean out the site.

During the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Annan called on the United States and the United Kingdom not to invade without the support of the United Nations. In a September 2004 interview on the BBC, when questioned about the legal authority for the invasion, Annan said he believed it was not in conformity with the UN charter and was illegal.

Other diplomatic activities

In 1998, Annan was deeply involved in supporting the transition from military to civilian rule in Nigeria. The following year, he supported the efforts of East Timor to secure independence from Indonesia. In 2000, he was responsible for certifying Israel 's withdrawal from Lebanon, and in 2006, he led talks in New York between the presidents of Cameroon and Nigeria which led to a settlement of the dispute between the two countries over the Bakassi peninsula.

Annan and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad disagreed sharply on Iran's nuclear program, on an Iranian exhibition of cartoons mocking the Holocaust, and on the then upcoming International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust, an Iranian Holocaust denial conference in 2006. During a visit to Iran instigated by continued Iranian uranium enrichment, Annan said "I think the tragedy of the Holocaust is an undeniable historical fact and we should really accept that fact and teach people what happened in World War II and ensure it is never repeated."

Annan supported sending a UN peacekeeping mission to Darfur, Sudan. He worked with the government of Sudan to accept a transfer of power from the African Union peacekeeping mission to a UN one. Annan also worked with several Arab and Muslim countries on women's rights and other topics.

Beginning in 1998, Annan convened an annual UN "Security Council Retreat" with the 15 States' representatives of the Council. It was held at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) Conference Center at the Rockefeller family estate in Pocantico Hills, New York, and was sponsored by both the RBF and the UN.

Lubbers sexual-harassment investigation

In June 2004, Annan was given a copy of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) report on the complaint brought by four female workers against Ruud Lubbers, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, for sexual harassment, abuse of authority, and retaliation. The report also reviewed a long-serving staff member's allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct against Werner Blatter, Director of UNHCR Personnel. The investigation found Lubbers guilty of sexual harassment; no mention was made publicly of the other charge against a senior official, or two subsequent complaints filed later that year. In the course of the official investigation, Lubbers wrote a letter which some considered was a threat to the female worker who had brought the charges. On 15 July 2004, Annan cleared Lubbers of the accusations, saying they were not substantial enough legally. The internal UN-OIOS report on Lubbers was leaked, and sections accompanied by an article by Kate Holt were published in a British newspaper. In February 2005, Lubbers resigned as head of the UN refugee agency, saying that he wanted to relieve political pressure on Annan.

Oil-for-Food scandal

In December 2004, reports surfaced that the Secretary-General's son Kojo Annan received payments from the Swiss company Cotecna Inspection SA, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN Oil-for-Food Programme. Kofi Annan called for an investigation to look into the allegations. On 11 November 2005, The Sunday Times agreed to apologise and pay a substantial sum in damages to Kojo Annan, accepting that the allegations were untrue.

Annan appointed the Independent Inquiry Committee, which was led by former US Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, then the director of the United Nations Association of the US. In his first interview with the Inquiry Committee, Annan denied having had a meeting with Cotecna. Later in the inquiry, he recalled that he had met with Cotecna's chief executive Elie-Georges Massey twice. In a final report issued on 27 October, the committee found insufficient evidence to indict Kofi Annan on any illegal actions, but did find fault with Benon Sevan, an Armenian-Cypriot national who had worked for the UN for about 40 years. Appointed by Annan to the Oil-For-Food role, Sevan repeatedly asked Iraqis for allocations of oil to the African Middle East Petroleum Company. Sevan's behavior was "ethically improper", Volcker said to reporters. Sevan repeatedly denied the charges and argued that he was being made a "scapegoat". The Volcker report was highly critical of the UN management structure and the Security Council oversight. It strongly recommended a new position be established of Chief Operating Officer (COO), to handle the fiscal and administrative responsibilities then under the Secretary-General's office. The report listed the companies, both Western and Middle Eastern, which had benefited illegally from the program.

Nobel Peace Prize

In 2001, its centennial year, the Nobel Committee decided that the Peace Prize was to be divided between the UN and Annan. They were awarded the Peace Prize "for their work for a better organized and more peaceful world," having revitalized the UN and for having given priority to human rights. The Nobel Committee also recognized his commitment to the struggle to containing the spread of HIV in Africa and his declared opposition to international terrorism.

Relations between the United States and the United Nations

Annan defended his deputy Secretary-General Mark Malloch Brown, who openly criticized the United States in a speech on 6 June 2006: "[T]he prevailing practice of seeking to use the UN almost by stealth as a diplomatic tool while failing to stand up for it against its domestic critics is simply not sustainable. You will lose the UN one way or another. [...] [That] the US is constructively engaged with the UN [...] is not well known or understood, in part because much of the public discourse that reaches the US heartland has been largely abandoned to its loudest detractors such as Rush Limbaugh and Fox News." Malloch later said his talk was a "sincere and constructive critique of U.S. policy toward the U.N. by a friend and admirer."

The talk was unusual because it violated unofficial policy of not having top officials publicly criticize member nations. The interim U.S. ambassador John R. Bolton, appointed by President George W. Bush, was reported to have told Annan on the phone: "I've known you since 1989 and I'm telling you this is the worst mistake by a senior UN official that I have seen in that entire time." Observers from other nations supported Malloch's view that conservative politicians in the U.S. prevented many citizens from understanding the benefits of U.S. involvement in the UN.

Farewell addresses

On 19 September 2006, Annan gave a farewell address to world leaders gathered at the UN headquarters in New York, in anticipation of his retirement on 31 December. In the speech he outlined three major problems of "an unjust world economy, world disorder, and widespread contempt for human rights and the rule of law", which he believed "have not resolved, but sharpened" during his time as Secretary-General. He also pointed to violence in Africa, and the Arab–Israeli conflict as two major issues warranting attention.

On 11 December 2006, in his final speech as Secretary-General, delivered at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri, Annan recalled Truman's leadership in the founding of the United Nations. He called for the United States to return to President Truman's multilateralist foreign policies, and to follow Truman's credo that "the responsibility of the great states is to serve and not dominate the peoples of the world". He also said that the United States must maintain its commitment to human rights, "including in the struggle against terrorism."

Online access to Kofi Annan's archives

The United Nations Archives and Records Management Section (UNARMS) provides full text access to Kofi Annan's declassified archives while he served as Secretary-General of the United Nations (1997-2006)Search Kofi Annan's Archives

Post-UN career

After his service as UN Secretary-General, Annan took up residence in Geneva and worked in a leading capacity on various international humanitarian endeavors.

Kofi Annan Foundation

In 2007, Annan established the Kofi Annan Foundation, an independent, not-for-profit organization that works to promote better global governance and strengthen the capacities of people and countries to achieve a fairer, more peaceful world.

The organisation was founded on the principles that fair and peaceful societies rest on three pillars: Peace and Security, Sustainable Development, and Human Rights and the Rule of Law, and they have made it their mission to mobilise the leadership and the political resolve needed to tackle threats to these three pillars ranging from violent conflict to flawed elections and climate change, with the aim of achieving a fairer, more peaceful world.

The Foundation provides the analytical, communication and co-ordination capacities needed to ensure that these objectives are achieved. Annan's contribution to peace worldwide is delivered through mediation, political mentoring, advocacy and advice. Through his engagement, Annan aimed to strengthen local and international conflict resolution capabilities. The Foundation provides the analytical and logistical support to facilitate this in co-operation with relevant local, regional and international actors. The Foundation works mainly through private diplomacy, where Annan provided informal counsel and participated in discreet diplomatic initiatives to avert or resolve crises by applying his experience and inspirational leadership. He was often asked to intercede in crises, sometimes as an impartial independent mediator, sometimes as a special envoy of the international community. In recent years he had provided such counsel to Burkina Faso, Kenya, Myanmar, Senegal, Iraq and Colombia.

Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation Process (KNDR)

Following the outbreak of violence during the 2007 Presidential elections in Kenya, the African Union established a Panel of Eminent African Personalities to assist in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis.

The panel, headed by Annan, managed to convince the two principal parties to the conflict, President Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity (PNU) and Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), to participate in the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation Process (KNDR). Over the course of 41 days of negotiations, several agreements regarding taking actions to stop the violence and remedying its consequences were signed. On 28 February, President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga signed a coalition government agreement.

Joint Special Envoy for Syria

On 23 February 2012, Annan was appointed as the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria, in an attempt to end the civil war taking place. He developed a six-point plan for peace:

commit to work with the Envoy in an inclusive Syrian-led political process to address the legitimate aspirations and concerns of the Syrian people, and, to this end, commit to appoint an empowered interlocutor when invited to do so by the Envoy;

commit to stop the fighting and achieve urgently an effective United Nations supervised cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties to protect civilians and stabilise the country.To this end, the Syrian government should immediately cease troop movements towards, and end the use of heavy weapons in, population centres, and begin pullback of military concentrations in and around population centres.As these actions are being taken on the ground, the Syrian government should work with the Envoy to bring about a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties with an effective United Nations supervision mechanism.Similar commitments would be sought by the Envoy from the opposition and all relevant elements to stop the fighting and work with him to bring about a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties with an effective United Nations supervision mechanism;

ensure timely provision of humanitarian assistance to all areas affected by the fighting, and to this end, as immediate steps, to accept and implement a daily two-hour humanitarian pause and to co-ordinate exact time and modalities of the daily pause through an efficient mechanism, including at local level;

intensify the pace and scale of release of arbitrarily detained persons, including especially vulnerable categories of persons, and persons involved in peaceful political activities, provide without delay through appropriate channels a list of all places in which such persons are being detained, immediately begin organizing access to such locations and through appropriate channels respond promptly to all written requests for information, access or release regarding such persons;

ensure freedom of movement throughout the country for journalists and a non-discriminatory visa policy for them;

respect freedom of association and the right to demonstrate peacefully as legally guaranteed.

On 2 August, he resigned as UN and Arab League joint special envoy to Syria, citing the intransigence of both the Assad government and the rebels, as well as the stalemate on the Security Council as preventing any peaceful resolution of the situation. Annan also stated that the lack of international unity and ineffective diplomacy among the world leaders had made the peaceful resolution in Syria an impossible task.

Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security

Annan served as the Chair of the Global Commission on Elections, Democracy and Security. The Commission was launched in May 2011 as a joint initiative of the Kofi Annan Foundation and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. It comprised 12 eminent individuals from around the world, including Ernesto Zedillo, Martti Ahtisaari, Madeleine Albright and Amartya Sen, and aimed to highlight the importance of the integrity of elections to achieving a more secure, prosperous and stable world. The Commission released its final report: Democracy, a Strategy to Improve the Integrity of Elections Worldwide, in September 2012.

Rakhine Commission (Myanmar)

In September 2016, Annan was asked to lead the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State (in Myanmar) – an impoverished region beset by ethnic conflict and extreme sectarian violence, particularly by Myanmar's Buddhist majority against the Rohingya Muslim minority, further targeted by government forces. The commission, widely known simply as the "Annan Commission", was opposed by many Myanmar Buddhists as unwelcome interference in their relations with the Rohingya.

When the Annan commission released its final report, the week of 24 August 2017, with recommendations unpopular with all sides, violence exploded in the Rohingya conflict – the largest and bloodiest humanitarian disaster in the region in decades – driving most of the Rohingya from Myanmar. Annan attempted to engage the United Nations to resolve the matter, but failed.

Annan died a week before the first anniversary of the report, shortly after an announcement by a replacement commission that it would not "point fingers" at the guilty parties – leading to widespread concern that the new commission was just a sham to protect culpable Myanmar government officials and citizens from accountability.

In 2018, before Annan's death, Myanmar's civilian government, under the direction of State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi, made a gesture of acceptance of the Annan commission's recommendations by convening another board – the Advisory Board for the Committee for Implementation of the Recommendations on Rakhine State – ostensibly to implement the Annan commission's proposed reforms, but never actually implemented them. Some of the international representatives resigned – notably the panel's Secretary, Thailand's former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai, and former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson – decrying the "implementation" committee as ineffective, or a "whitewash."

Other activities

Corporate boards

In March 2011, Annan became a member of the Advisory Board for Investcorp Bank B. S. C. Europe, an international private equity firm and sovereign wealth fund owned by the United Arab Emirates. He held the position until 2018.

Annan became member of the Global Advisory Board of Macro Advisory Partners LLP, Risk and strategic consulting firm based in London and New York, for business, finance and government decision-makers, with some operations related to Investcorp.

Non-profit organizations

In addition to the above, Annan also became involved with several organizations with both global and African focuses, including the following:

United Nations Foundation, member of the board of directors (2008–2018)

University of Ghana, chancellor (2008–2018)

School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University, global fellow (2009–2018)

The Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University, fellow

Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore (NUS), Li Ka Shing Professor (2009–2018)

Global Centre for Pluralism, member of the board of directors (2010–2018)

Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, chairman of the prize committee (2007–2018)

Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), chairman (2007–2018)

Global Humanitarian Forum, founder and president (2007–2018)

Global Commission on Drug Policy, founding commissioner. The commission had declared in a 2011 report that the war on drugs was a failure. Annan believed that, since drug use represents a health risk, it should be regulated, comparing it to the regulation of tobacco which reduced smoking in many countries.

Annan served as Chair of The Elders, a group of independent global leaders who work together on peace and human rights issues. In November 2008, Annan and fellow Elders Jimmy Carter and Graça Machel attempted to travel to Zimbabwe to make a first-hand assessment of the humanitarian situation in the country. Refused entry, the Elders instead carried out their assessment from Johannesburg, where they met Zimbabwe- and South Africa-based leaders from politics, business, international organisations, and civil society. In May 2011, following months of political violence in Côte d'Ivoire, Annan travelled to the country with Elders Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson to encourage national reconciliation. On 16 October 2014, Annan attended the One Young World Summit in Dublin. During a session with fellow Elder Mary Robinson, Annan encouraged 1,300 young leaders from 191 countries to lead on intergenerational issues such as climate change and the need for action to take place now, not tomorrow.

"We don't have to wait to act. The action must be now. You will come across people who think we should start tomorrow. Even for those who believe action should begin tomorrow, remind them tomorrow begins now, tomorrow begins today, so let's all move forward."

Annan chaired the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. As Chair, he facilitates coalition building to leverage and broker knowledge, in addition to convening decision-makers to influence policy and create lasting change in Africa. Every year, the Panel releases a report, the Africa Progress Report, which outlines an issue of immediate importance to the continent and suggests a set of associated policies. In 2014, the Africa Progress Report highlighted the potential of African fisheries, agriculture, and forests to drive economic development. The 2015 report explores the role of climate change and the potential of renewable energy investments in determining Africa's economic future.

Memoir

On 4 September 2012, Annan with Nader Mousavizadeh wrote a memoir, Interventions: A Life in War and Peace. Published by Penguin Press, the book has been described as a "personal biography of global statecraft".

Personal life

In 1965, Kofi Annan married Titi Alakija, a Nigerian woman from an aristocratic family. Several years later they had a daughter, Ama, and later a son, Kojo. The couple separated in the late 1970s, and divorced in 1983. In 1984, Annan married Nane Lagergren, a Swedish lawyer at the UN and a maternal half-niece of diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. She has a daughter, Nina, from a previous marriage. His brother, Kobina Annan served as Ghana’s ambassador to Morocco.

Death and state funeral

Annan died on the morning of 18 August 2018 in Bern, Switzerland, at the age of 80 after a short illness. António Guterres, the current UN Secretary-General, said that "Kofi Annan was a champion for peace and a guiding force for good." The body of Kofi Annan was returned to his native Ghana from Geneva in a brief and solemn ceremony at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, on 10 September 2018. His coffin, draped in the blue UN flag, was accompanied by his widow Nane Annan, his children and senior diplomats from the international organisation.

On 13 September 2018, a state funeral was held for Annan in Ghana at the Accra International Conference Centre. The ceremony was attended by several political leaders from across Africa as well as Ghanaian traditional rulers, European royalty and dignitaries from the international community, including the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Prior to the funeral service, his body lay in state in the foyer of the same venue, from 11–12 September 2018. A private burial followed the funeral service at the new Military Cemetery at Burma Camp, with full military honours – the sounding of the Last Post by army buglers and a 17-gun salute.

Memorials and legacy

The United Nations Postal Administration released a new stamp in memory of Kofi Annan on 31 May 2019. Annan's portrait on the stamp was designed by artist Martin Mörck.

#04/08 #08/18

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political-affairs · 11 years

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Kofi Annan

Kofi Atta Annan (pron.: /ˈkoʊfi ˈænən/; born 8 April 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations, from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for his founding of theGlobal AIDS and Health Fund to support developing countries in their struggle to care for their people.

From 23 February until 31 August 2012, Annan was the UN–Arab League Joint Special Representative for [2] Syria, to help find a resolution to ongoing conflict there.[3] Annan quit after becoming frustrated with the UN's lack of progress with regard to conflict resolution,[4] stating that "when the Syrian people desperately need action, there continues to be finger-pointing and name-calling in the Security Council."

Early years and education

Kofi Annan was born in Kumasi in the Gold Coast on 8 April 1938. His twin sister Efua Ataa, who died in 1991, shares the middle name Atta, which inFante and Akan means 'twin'. Annan and his sister were born into one of the country's aristocratic families; both their grandfathers and their uncle were tribal chiefs.[5]

In the Akan names tradition, some children are named according to the day of the week on which they were born, and/or in relation to how many children precede them. Kofi in Akan is the name that corresponds with Friday.[6]

Pronunciation: Annan has said his surname rhymes with "cannon" in English.[7]

From 1954 to 1957, Annan attended the elite Mfantsipim school, a Methodist boarding school in Cape Coast founded in the 1870s. Annan has said that the school taught him "that suffering anywhere concerns people everywhere".[8] In 1957, the year Annan graduated from Mfantsipim, the Gold Coast gained independence from Britain and began using the name "Ghana".

In 1958, Annan began studying economics at the Kumasi College of Science and Technology, now the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology of Ghana. He received a Ford Foundation grant, enabling him to complete his undergraduate studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States, in 1961. Annan then did a DEA degree in International Relations at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1961–62. After some years of work experience, he studied at the MIT Sloan School of Management[9] (1971–72) in theSloan Fellows program and earned a Master of Science (M.S.) degree.

Annan is fluent in English, French, Akan, some Kru languages and other African languages.[10]

Early career

In 1962, Kofi Annan started working as a Budget Officer for the World Health Organization, an agency of the United Nations (UN). From 1974 to 1976, he worked as the Director of Tourism in Ghana. In the late 1980s, Annan returned to work for the UN, where he was appointed as an Assistant Secretary-General in three consecutive positions: Human Resources, Management and Security Coordinator (1987–1990); Program Planning, Budget and Finance, and Controller (1990–1992); and Peacekeeping Operations (March 1993 – December 1996).

The Rwandan Genocide took place in 1994 while Annan directed UN Peacekeeping Operations. In 2003 Canadian ex-General Roméo Dallaire, who was force commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, claimed that Annan was overly passive in his response to the imminent genocide. In his book Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda(2003), General Dallaire asserted that Annan held back UN troops from intervening to settle the conflict, and from providing more logistical and material support. Dallaire claimed that Annan failed to provide responses to his repeated faxes asking for access to a weapons depository; such weapons could have helped Dallaire defend the endangered Tutsis. In 2004, ten years after the genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were killed, Annan said, "I could and should have done more to sound the alarm and rally support."[11]

Annan served as Under-Secretary-General from March 1994 to October 1995. He was appointed a Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the former Yugoslavia, serving for five months before returning to his duties as Under-Secretary-General in April 1996.

Secretary-General of the United Nations

Appointment

On 13 December 1996, the United Nations Security Council recommended Annan to replace the previous Secretary-General, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt, whose second term faced the veto of the United States.[12][13] Confirmed four days later by the vote of the General Assembly,[14] he started his first term as Secretary-General on 1 January 1997.

#United Nations #Syria #Nobel Peace Prize #Kofi Annan #Government #Ghana #Arab League #Annan

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ericfruits · 8 years

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Cyprus can be reunified, if Turkey’s president allows it

TREAD carefully through the building sites that litter Paphos, testament to the city’s preparations for its stint as 2017 European Capital of Culture, and you eventually find your way to the enclave of Mouttalos. Thousands of Turkish-Cypriots once lived here, before intercommunal fighting, reprisal killings and Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974 drove their exodus to the island’s north. George Pachis, a local Greek-Cypriot, sometimes helps those who fled find the graves of relatives. Recalling one brings him close to tears. Accompanying an old widow through the cemetery recently, rather than the single tomb he expected, he found a gravestone listing nine names, including a two-year-old girl. All had been shot dead by Greek-Cypriot irregulars.

The scars of Paphos bear witness to the traumas of Europe’s last divided country. Cyprus’s cleavage may be peaceful today, but it is deeply entrenched. Its artefacts—barbed wire, rusting military outposts—are scrawled artlessly across the UN “buffer zone” that divides Nicosia, the capital. Checkpoints allow easy travel between north and south, but the two peoples lead separate lives; 48% of Greek-Cypriot students have never visited the north, and 43% “rarely” go. Cyprus’s rifts keep the island poorer, hinder the return of refugees, embarrass the European Union (Cyprus joined as a divided island in 2004, but only the Greek-Cypriot republic enjoys international recognition) and act as a regional spoiler, hampering EU-NATO co-operation and the EU’s relationship with Turkey.

In this section

The island has been formally split since Turkish troops occupied its northern third in 1974. Reunification schemes have come and gone, most recently in 2004, when the Greek-Cypriot majority rejected a plan devised by Kofi Annan, then UN secretary-general. But more recently Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci, respective presidents of the Greek- and Turkish-Cypriots, have brought a settlement within grasp. The two men, who enjoy a strong personal rapport, seek agreement on a “bizonal, bicommunal federation”, with a weak central government overseeing two autonomous communities. Hopes are high, despite the failure of a recent summit in Switzerland. If a deal is reached in the weeks ahead, a new constitution will be drawn up while the leaders drum up support for the double referendum that will follow. But that will take time, and not much is left: Mr Anastasiades faces elections in February that he may not win.

The outline of a deal has long been clear, and left alone the two men might have found agreement by now. But Cyprus has long been a pawn in the chess games of others. Today, unhappily, the island’s fate lies largely in the hands of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s authoritarian president. Under the provisions of Cyprus’s 1960 independence settlement, Turkey, along with Greece and Britain, maintains a right to military intervention if the island’s constitutional order is threatened. The Greek-Cypriots (and Greece itself) insist on scrapping those guarantees, and on the eventual removal of Turkish troops, several thousand of whom remain in the north. But despite fresh ideas from the UN to allay Turkish-Cypriot fears, such as a multinational police force stationed on the island, Mr Erdogan has so far refused to budge.

The security guarantees are at the heart of the Cyprus problem. Fix them, and you might unlock solutions to other outstanding issues, notably on territory and power-sharing. Only 1% of the island’s land mass remains disputed, and a compromise looks possible: the Turkish-Cypriots relinquish their claim to Morphou, a contested town in the north, in exchange for a rotating presidency, ensuring that Turkish-Cypriots run the federal state for part of the time.

But crossing red lines is hard when you feel the other lot’s guns trained on you. “In Cyprus we don’t fight facts, but ghosts,” says Harry Tzimitras, director of the PRIO Cyprus Centre in Nicosia, a research outfit. Memories of the violence of the 1960s make Turkish-Cypriots loth to give up their protector. Greek-Cypriots balk at the idea of mortgaging their security to Turkey. “It is like asking Latvia to accept a Russian security guarantee,” says Mr Anastasiades. Mr Erdogan’s frequent outrages at home are well noted by the many enemies of a settlement on the Greek-Cypriot side.

Will Mr Erdogan move? No one can be sure. His priority is winning a referendum on constitutional reforms, probably in April; some say he can compromise only after that. Others divine a willingness to help sooner, perhaps to get a piece of the hydrocarbon riches beneath Cypriot waters (and to wean the north off the subsidies it gets from the Turkish treasury). Two planned visits to Ankara by European leaders—Theresa May, Britain’s prime minister, on January 28th, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, five days later—will sound the president out.

Nervous in Nicosia

Even a deal will leave difficult referendums to be won. Neither leader will sign an agreement he cannot sell at home. But that job gets harder every year. Younger Greek-Cypriots, raised on a diet of Hellenic nationalism at school and with memories of nothing other than division, are the least likely to support reunification. Nor can support from the Turkish-Cypriots, who backed the Annan plan, be assumed, in part because Mr Akinci’s government is split. Tahsin Ertugruloglu, the Turkish-Cypriot foreign minister, describes the negotiations as a “total failure”.

If that seems unfair, caution is certainly in order. The Cyprus dispute is a repository of dashed hopes and broken dreams. Veteran island-watchers remain almost uniformly sceptical. (The expiry of the Obama administration, which quietly nudged both sides towards a deal, will not help.) It is noble to hope for a resolution to this wretched problem, and the courage of Messrs Anastasiades and Akinci has brought a deal tantalisingly close. But to bet on a reunified Cyprus implies a faith in Mr Erdogan’s statesmanship that the Turkish president has done little to warrant.

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businessweekme · 6 years

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Former UN Leader Kofi Annan Dies at 80

Kofi Annan, the soft-spoken Ghanaian diplomat who served as the first United Nations secretary-general from sub-Saharan Africa, has died.

Annan died Saturday after an unspecified short illness, according to a statement from his family and the Kofi Annan Foundation. He was 80.

Current UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Annan was a guiding force for good. “In many ways, Kofi Annan was the United Nations,” he said. “He rose through the ranks to lead the organization into the new millennium with matchless dignity and determination.”

Annan devoted almost his entire working life to the UN, navigating through multiple wars in the Middle East, the Balkan breakup, African genocides and a raft of other crises over a career that spanned more than five decades.

He was the co-recipient, along with the UN, of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, to recognize “work for a better organized and more peaceful world.” His opposition to the Iraq War in 2003 endeared him to antiwar groups and drew sharp criticism from U.S. conservatives, including John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the UN who became national security adviser to President Donald Trump.

Admiration, Criticism

Although broadly admired as a bureaucratic reformer and quiet insider, Annan was often assailed as ineffective. He was criticized for his handling of UN peacekeeping operations at the time of the genocide of Rwandan Tutsis in 1994 and the killing of Muslims from the Bosnian town of Srebrenica the following year. His reputation was tainted further by a corruption scandal that touched his family and a failure to help resolve the Syrian crisis in 2012, when it was in its infancy.

“A lot of his time as secretary-general was devoted to redeeming both the UN’s battered reputation and his own,” said Richard Gowan, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Annan and his advisers managed to nurse UN operations back to life, and launch new blue missions in trouble spots like Congo and Liberia. If Annan hadn’t pushed the UN back into peacekeeping in Africa, the organization would be even less credible in global security than it is today.”

Following his two terms as secretary-general, Annan became a member of the Elders, an elite group of retired liberal leaders, including Nelson Mandela and Jimmy Carter, partly financed by Richard Branson to resolve conflicts around the world through informal counsel.

In February 2012, Annan was appointed the first UN special envoy to Syria in an attempt to end the civil war that had broken out the previous year. He resigned six months later, citing intransigence of both government and rebels. He called for UN peacekeeping troops to be deployed, but world powers could not agree to such a plan.

In his 2012 memoir, “Interventions: A Life in War and Peace,” Annan wrote that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s response to the popular uprising “confirmed my more troubling suspicion that he was a man beholden to a small group of Alawite security officers and willing to employ any means to retain power.”

Nonetheless, Annan maintained his stature in world diplomacy and in 2016 was appointed to head a UN commission to investigate the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar.

Leaders React

Tributes poured in Saturday from world leaders expressing their sadness at the news of Annan’s death.

Ghanaian President Nana Okufo-Addo said on Twitter that Ghanaian flags would fly at half-staff for a week starting Monday. He called Annan “an ardent believer in the capacity of the Ghanaian to chart his or her own course onto the path of progress and prosperity.”

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said of Annan on Twitter that as “a great leader and reformer of the UN, he made a huge contribution to making the world he has left a better place than the one he was born into.”

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter, “France pays homage to him. We will never forget his calm and determined demeanor, nor the force of his efforts.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences in a message to Guterres, according to an emailed statement from the Kremlin. “I sincerely admired his wisdom and courage, and the ability to make informed decisions even in the most difficult, critical situations,” Putin wrote.

Gro Harlem Brundtland, deputy chairwoman of the Elders, said the group was “devastated” by his death. “Kofi was a strong and inspiring presence to us all, and the Elders would not be where it is today without his leadership,” she said.

South African Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, whom Annan succeeded as chairman of the Elders in 2013, said in a statement, “We give great thanks to God for Kofi Annan, an outstanding human being who represented our continent and the world with enormous graciousness, integrity and distinction.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa paid tribute to Annan in an emailed statement as “a great leader and diplomat extraordinaire” who had advanced the African agenda within the United Nations and had “flown the flag for peace” around the world.

Gold Coast

Annan was born on April 8, 1938, in Kumasi, Gold Coast, which later changed its name to Ghana. He attended an elite boarding school in Cape Town before studying economics at the Kumasi College of Science and Technology. He received a Ford Foundation grant to complete his studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota.

After graduation in 1962, Annan joined the World Health Organization, a UN agency, as a budget officer before leaving to earn a master’s degree in management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971.

Annan returned to the UN as head of personnel for the UN High Commission for Refugees in Geneva before moving to New York to become an assistant secretary-general. In 1992, after Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali established the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, Annan became its head.

In January 1994, Annan failed to authorize UN peacekeeping troops to seize a Hutu arms cache to preempt plans for mass killings in the capital. Annan ordered the local commander not to take any action and failed to keep the Security Council informed even as the genocide had started.

Accepts Responsibility

In his memoir, Annan accepts responsibility, and writes that the UN “had no genuine, deep expertise on the country.”

Months after the Rwandan massacre, UN troops stood by as more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Serbian paramilitary units in the town of Srebrenica. Annan later apologized.

Annan was appointed secretary-general in 1996 after the U.S. said it would veto a second term for incumbent Boutros-Ghali of Egypt.

Annan’s rise to head the UN was “a moment of joy and pride for me, all of us, his mates, the school, Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa,” said Nana Nsaful, 76, a school friend.

During the buildup to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Annan called on the U.S. and the U.K. not to attack without the support of the UN. He later called the invasion illegal.

Toward the end of his tenure, Annan became embroiled in charges that his son, Kojo Annan, had received payments from the Geneva-based Cotecna Inspection SA, which had won a lucrative contract under the UN’s oil-for-food program for Iraq.

Volcker’s Inquiry

An inquiry led by former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker found in September 2005 that Annan knew about Saddam Hussein’s corruption of the almost $70 billion program and did little to stop the illegal activity.

Annan “maintained a passive attitude and made no serious effort to curtail the surcharge scheme,” the report said. His response to the smuggling “reveals a pattern of inaction and inadequate disclosure.”

He finished his term at the end of 2006, succeeded by Ban Ki-moon of South Korea.

After the UN, Annan, set up the Kofi Annan Foundation, which works to promote good global governance and peace.

In 1984, Annan married Nane Lagergren, a Swedish lawyer at the UN and the niece of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary. His son, Kojo, and daughter, Ama, were from an earlier marriage. Nane Annan has a daughter, Nina Cronstedt de Groot, from a previous marriage.

The post Former UN Leader Kofi Annan Dies at 80 appeared first on Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

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#Politics #Kofi Annan #obituaries #UN

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euroman1945-blog · 6 years

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The Daily Thistle

The Daily Thistle – News From Scotland

Wednesday 15th August 2018

"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…. The Middle of the working week, for those engaged in gainful employment…for the others, it’s just another day.. For me, it’s just back from the first walk of the day with Bella done under star filled sky, through the streets of Estepona… I enjoy the quiet of the early morning, solitude and silence, just the sound of our feet as together we move towards home…..

ARCTIC CONVOY MUSEUM PROJECT GIVEN FUNDING BOOST…. A museum dedicated to the Arctic convoys of the Second World War is among the recipients of a £1.9m award from the Scottish Land Fund. The Russian Arctic Convoy Project will receive £72,820 towards the purchase of a former butcher shop and accompanying land in Aultbea in the Highlands to build an exhibition centre. The Scottish Government fund offers grants of up to £1m to help communities take ownership of land and buildings for the benefit of the local area. Volunteers hope to establish a permanent exhibition centre around Loch Ewe, a Second World War trail and a memorial garden to honour those who served in the Arctic convoys to and from Russia between 1941 and 1945. George Milne, honorary president of the group, said: "We are currently commemorating the 75th anniversaries of these years and are delighted and grateful to have been awarded this grant from the Scottish Land Fund to enable us to buy our premises which is currently rented." In Aberdeen, Bonnymuir Green Community Trust has received £164,750 to purchase the former Bonnymuir bowling green and the accompanying pavilion building. The group has plans for a market garden and a community building with a cafe, meeting space and retail space for locally-grown produce. Friends of Leadburn Community Woodland in Midlothian will purchase 23 acres of woodland from Forestry Enterprise Scotland after receiving an award of £41,000. The group has plans to improve access to the site, develop new paths and expand the range of volunteering activities on offer to local people. Scottish Land Fund chair, John Watt, said: "With community acquisitions of woodlands, shops and land for housing, this funding shows just how creative, forward-thinking and committed local groups are in their ambitions of turning their community ownership project ideas into reality." Land Reform Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said the projects would be major assets to their communities for years to come. She said: "Working with partners such as the Big Lottery Fund, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the independent committee that oversees the Scottish Land Fund, this government is driving forward land reform in Scotland more than ever before."

SOLDIER DIED AS RIFLE DISCHARGED AFTER RESTING CHIN ON GUN…. A soldier died after his rifle discharged as he rested his chin on the weapon during a training exercise in Scotland. Lance Corporal Joe Spencer, of 3rd Battalion The Rifles, died at RAF Tain in the Highlands. A report by the Defence Safety Authority said the 24-year-old from Hampshire died when his rifle discharged as he rested his chin on the weapon. It said a "series of errors, shortfalls and poor judgement" led to the death of a young soldier on November 1, 2016. The report concluded his death was an "avoidable accident". It said: "Whilst resting his chin on the weapon's suppressor, equipment or clothing most probably snagged the rifle's trigger inadvertently, resulting in its discharge. "That his weapon was in an unsafe condition with a round chambered was extremely likely to have been caused by an incomplete unload drill being carried out earlier that day." The report added: "Whilst the initiative shown by the SNCOs (senior non commissioned officers) in wanting to conduct an SOC (Sniper Operators' Course) is commendable, a series of errors, shortfalls and poor judgement conspired and ended in the death of a capable and highly-regarded JNCO (junior non commissioned officer)." It said poor supervision and a failure to follow mandated procedures were themes of the service inquiry report and added that the "post-accident response fell short in a number of areas". His family said they were "disappointed" at the report's findings.

HUNDREDS STRANDED ON FERRY FOR HOURS AFTER POWER FAILURE…. Nearly 300 hundred people were stranded on a ferry for three hours after it suffered a power failure. The Loch Seaforth became stuck in the middle of the Minch, the area of water which separates the Western Isles and mainland Scotland. The ferry, which departed Ullapool bound for Stornoway at 10.30am, got back under way at about 2.30pm. She was expected to arrive in Stornoway at about 4.30pm with 299 passengers aboard. A spokesman for ferry operator CalMac said: "Following a technical issue the MV Loch Seaforth is now making her way steadily towards Stornoway. "Once she has arrived in port we will undertake a full assessment."

ANNAN FARMER BANNED FROM KEEPING CATTLE FOR FIVE YEARS…. James Moffat admitted failing to take steps to ensure the needs of the small herd. Animal health officers, who visited Parkneuk Farm at Brydekirk, were particularly concerned with one animal which had protruding bones. Moffat also admitted obstructing officers who were attempting to take the cattle from the farm. He further admitted assaulting a man, by hitting him on the head. All the animals have now been sold, and Moffat - who also works as a lorry driver to keep the farm running - told Dumfries Sheriff Court that he did not intend to keep cattle again. In addition to the ban, he was made the subject of a community payback order with a condition that he carries out 75 hours of unpaid work.

INVERNESS TEENAGER WINS THREE GOLD MEDALS AT GAMES…. A 15-year-old girl from Inverness has won three gold medals at the Special Olympics GB in Stirling. Eve Grant, a pupil at Culloden Academy, won the front crawl, back crawl and relay swimming competitions. She was one of the youngest competitors. She is among a number of young people from the Highlands competing at the games. Her father, Nigel, said Highland Disability Sports and her school supported her development as a swimmer. He said: "From an early age Eve had low muscle tone and swimming has been a great help to her in walking and building stamina. Eve said she was "very pleased" by her medal haul and was looking forward to taking them to school after the end of the summer holidays.

On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today,

Our look at Scotland today is of another beautiful sunset - captured by Amy Harkins at the Forth Bridge on the longest day.

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Wednesday 15th August 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus #Scotland #News #Spain #Bella

#robertmcangus #robert mcangus #scotland #spain #bella #news #blog

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newstfionline · 7 years

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Headlines

Philippines Says Some Militants May Have Slipped Out of Embattled City (Reuters) The Philippines military said on Friday that some of the Islamist militants who stormed Marawi City in the south of the country last month may have mingled with evacuees to slip away during the battle that has raged for nearly four weeks.

Poland Plans Trump-Era Defense Spending Splurge, Critics Say ‘Unrealistic’ (Reuters) Poland’s new plans to nearly double defense spending and add a further 100,000 personnel to its armed forces seem, on paper, to be just what NATO allies need to counter U.S. President Donald Trump’s charge that Europe does not pay enough for its security.

Chinese Kindergarten Blast Attacker Had Neurological Disorder: Officials (Reuters) The man who set off a self-made explosive device outside a Chinese kindergarten killing eight people and injuring 65 others on Thursday had a neurological disorder and had scrawled words for death on the walls of his home, officials said on Friday.

African Leaders Say Election Delays Spell ‘Grave Danger’ for Congo (Reuters) Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and nine former African presidents have warned that the future of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is in “grave danger” due to the failure to organise an election to replace President Joseph Kabila.

Macron Camp Talks Up Electoral Reform Plan as Scale of Likely Landslide Grows (Reuters) New French President Emmanuel Macron’s government reaffirmed on Friday its plan for electoral reform as the scale of the likely parliamentary majority it is set to win grew and predicted voter turnout shrank.

Small Explosive Device Wounds One in Thai Capital: Police (Reuters) A small “ping pong” bomb hidden in a plastic bag exploded in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, on Friday wounding one person, police said, after a spate of small bombs in the capital raised speculation about opposition to military rule.

At Least 65 People Missing or Feared Dead in London Fire: The Sun (Reuters) The Sun newspaper on Friday listed 65 people who it said were still missing or feared dead in a London tower block fire which police said has left 17 people dead with the death toll expected to rise.

Trump to Clamp Down on Cuba Travel, Trade, Curbing Obama’s Detente (Reuters) President Donald Trump on Friday will announce plans to tighten restrictions on Americans traveling to Cuba and clamp down on U.S. business dealings with the island’s military, rolling back parts of former President Barack Obama’s historic opening to Havana.

Central American Leaders Facing U.S. Aid Cuts Pledge to Do More (Reuters) Facing deep cuts to foreign aid by the Trump administration, Central American leaders pledged on Thursday to take more responsibility to battle organized crime and curb illegal immigration from the region.

Russia Claims It Has Killed IS Leader Al-Baghdadi (AP) Russia claimed Friday it killed the leader of the Islamic State group in an airstrike targeting a meeting of IS leaders just outside the group’s de facto capital in Syria.

Greece Gets Enough to Avoid Another Bailout Trauma (AP) Greece avoided another potential brush with bankruptcy after striking a deal with European creditors to tide it over for the rest of the year and gained assurances that its repayment burden will be eased when it can stand on its own after nearly a decade on financial life support.

#headlines

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porchenclose10019 · 7 years

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Trump Could Start World War III With Another Syria Airstrike

My latest article in Counter Propa talks about the end of the world. Literally.

President Trump possibly starting World War III with another Syria airstrike isn’t hyperbole.

Russia has 7,300 nuclear warheads.

The U.S. has 6,970 nuclear warheads.

CNN reported on April 8 that “Russia suspends communications hotline w/US aimed at deconflicting US & Russian forces on ground & in the air in Syria.”

Two former Cold War adversaries possess thousands of nuclear weapons, and are now without communication while fighting a proxy war in Syria.

What could go wrong?

Russia dropped its “No First Use” nuclear policy in 1993. Therefore, both the U.S and Russia reserve the right to use nuclear weapons first; without an adversary launching the initial strike.

Pertaining to the next nuclear apocalypse, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists states we’re closer to Doomsday than ever. Regarding the Doomsday Clock, “The probability of global catastrophe is very high, and the actions needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be taken very soon.”

Keeping Bashar al-Assad in power is Russia’s primary objective in Syria. Vladimir Putin is fully committed to this goal.

CNN highlights Russia’s military commitment in a piece titled “Russia’s military in Syria: Bigger than you think and not going anywhere” and states “There are no reliable numbers on Russian troop levels in the country but it appeared to us that there were at least several thousand troops on the ground along with modern weaponry and infrastructure.”

Vladimir Putin has vowed to “immediately destroy” any threat to Russian forces in Syria.

For Russia, Syria correlates directly to its national interest, with decades of close military and political ties. Aside from Iran, Syria is Russia’s closest ally in the Middle East.

The U.S. doesn’t have these bonds with Syria, which means Russia will never allow Trump or any other president to forcibly remove Bashar al-Assad.

Also, Russia would never have allowed Hillary Clinton or any other American leader to defend a no-fly zone.

According to The Daily Beast, Russia Is Launching Twice as Many Airstrikes as the U.S. in Syria and “With Russian jets providing cover, regime ground forces are steadily pushing back against ISIS and rebel fighters in western and north-central Syria.”

According to The Los Angeles Times, Russian national interest is directly tied to Syria and early on “Moscow deployed dozens of bombers and fighter jets and up to 4,000 military personnel.”

President Trump faces a Democratic Party that thinks he worked with Russian hackers to undermine Clinton. Thus, his motivation for the recent Syria airstrike is likely domestic politics; bombing Syria removes the “Putin puppet” label. Most Senators support Trump’s Syria airstrike and his approval rating is higher after the military intervention.

Though not the fault of the brave men and women who fight the wars Bush, Obama and Trump have sent them to fight, America has lost every major war since 9/11 because of shortsighted and selfish politicians. Both the GOP and Democratic Party have become enamored with George W. Bush’s failed neoconservative philosophy. It’s almost as if American media and Congress are oblivious to any lessons learned from catastrophic U.S. attempts at regime change.

Despite the fact over one million American soldiers have been injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, along with thousands of Americans who’ve lost their lives (suicide has caused more American casualtiesthan both wars), America’s political establishment finds numerous incentives to promote devastating military conflicts.

America’s neoconservative interventionists failed in Iraq.

America’s neoconservative interventionists failed in Afghanistan.

America’s neoconservative interventionists failed in Libya.

America’s neoconservative interventionists apparently think Syria will be different, with Russian nuclear weapons as the world’s Sword of Damocles.

In terms of U.S. national security, Syria is not a big oil producer nor can it threaten the United States militarily. Therefore, the only reason we’re interested in Syria is because it’s a way to battle Russia, without firing shots directly at the Kremlin.

But what about Assad’s use of chemical weapons?

Before you remark on the humanitarian aspect of Trump’s airstrike, read a Guardian piece titled West ‘ignored Russian offer in 2012 to have Syria’s Assad step aside.’ Then, read a Huffington Post article by Jeffrey Sachs titled Hillary Clinton and the Syrian Bloodbath:

In 2012, Clinton was the obstacle, not the solution, to a ceasefire being negotiated by UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan. It was US intransigence – Clinton’s intransigence – that led to the failure of Annan’s peace efforts in the spring of 2012, a point well known among diplomats. Despite Clinton’s insinuation in the Milwaukee debate, there was (of course) no 2012 ceasefire, only escalating carnage. Clinton bears heavy responsibility for that carnage, which has by now displaced more than 10 million Syrians and left more than 250,000 dead.

It’s never been about the Syrian people for Clinton, Obama or Trump. It’s only been about removing Assad; even if hundreds of thousands died and millions were forced to become refugees.

President Trump could start World War III with any further missile strikes or attempts at regime change. Any further escalation could lead to unintended global consequences, especially since Democrats have used “Russian hackers” as a therapy session for Clinton’s epic defeat.

Despite the risks, Trump is open to more strikes against Syria, even though Russia has already warned of “extremely serious” consequences.

Nobody has a plan for any post-Assad world and few in America’s dreadfully ignorant “intelligentsia” have learned any lessons from all the wars fought since 9/11.

In terms of leading politicians opposing the next war, only Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has enough courage to question the legitimacy of Trump’s airstrike.

Congresswoman Gabbard called for an independent investigation into whether Assad used chemical weapons, causing outrage from a Democratic Party that cheated Bernie Sanders and supports regime change.

Disgruntled neoliberals like Neera Tanden and Howard Dean apparently love failed wars as much as failed presidential campaigns. As for Bush’s neocons, they’re overjoyed with another failed war on the horizon.

Neoconservatives like Max Boot, Robert Kagan and other hawks still feel the Iraq War was a good thing. However, this time it’s different. Syria represents a standoff with Russia. Bill Kristol won’t be able to write articles titled “We were right to fight in Iraq” (written in 2015) if Trump’s Syria intervention results in Russia retaliating with nuclear weapons.

Right and left in this country have united on war. The goal of Hillary Clinton and other establishment Democrats for years has been Syrian regime change.

George W. Bush’s neoconservatives even raised money and supported Clinton politically. Their goal, after years of failed military interventions from Iraq to Libya and Afghanistan, is another quagmire in Syria.

For this reason, Democrats and most media outlets have provided a surprising level of support for Trump’s Syria airstrikes. Trump’s recent military intervention was welcomed with open arms by even staunch critics. They’re caught between defending Clinton’s foreign policy and hating Trump; a position that ultimately gravitates towards supporting endless conflict. NBC’s Brian Williams even had the audacity to describe Trump’s missile strike as beautiful. I explain my thoughts on describing warfare as beautiful in the following YouTube segment.

Trump seems willing to give Democrats like Clinton and neocons like Max Boot another chance at destabilizing the Middle East. They want Assad out of power and the only thing stopping them is Putin.

Russia wants Bashar al-Assad to remain at all costs, and stated in clear terms that Russian national interest is directly at stake.

Do you trust President Trump to do the right thing and stay out of nuclear confrontation with Russia?

When Democrats cheated Bernie Sander in 2016, they left America with two hawkish candidates. Now Russia is once again an adversary, yet this time we don’t have a JFK, or even a Bernie, to oppose the advice of war hawks. According to the Doomsday Clock, IT IS TWO AND A HALF MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. Sleep well, knowing that Trump, Clinton and Robert Kagan have a stellar track record in advocating peaceful solutions to protracted conflicts.

H. A. Goodman is the creator of Counter Propa and the thoughts above are inspired by his new publication. Follow Counter Propa on Twitter and Facebook. Follow H. A. Goodman on Twitter.

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kyreniacommentator · 5 months

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Embargoed: How the UN, EU and the world was cheated by the Republic of Cyprus

Introduction bt Chris Elliott…. Having received a copy of the April 2024 Embargoed Newsletter, I decided to share this with CyprusScene worldwide readers as the Cyprob Issue is in full focus again and shows how the interlocutors trying to resolve the Cyprus dispute whilst Talking the Talk of an equitable settlement and satisfactory conclusion failed to Walk the Walk which allowed the …

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#Annan Plan failure #Cyprob issue #Embargoed News Letter #RoC EU membership #Tassos Papadopoulos changes policy

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exfrenchdorsl4p0a1 · 7 years