“Jasmine Revolution”
Symbol of peace: Flowers placed on the barrel of a tank
in very much calmer protests than in recent days in Tunisia

'The Protester' - Time Person of the Year 2011

'The Protester' - Time Person of the Year 2011
Mannoubia Bouazizi, the mother of Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi. "Mohammed suffered a lot. He worked hard. but when he set fire to himself, it wasn’t about his scales being confiscated. It was about his dignity." (Peter Hapak for TIME)

1 - TUNISIA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)


How eyepatches became a symbol of Egypt's revolution - Graffiti depicting a high ranking army officer with an eye patch Photograph: Nasser Nasser/ASSOCIATED PRESS

2 - EGYPT Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)


''17 February Revolution"

3 - LIBYA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)

5 - SYRIA Democratic Change / Freedom of Speech (In Transition)

"25 January Youth Revolution"
Muslim and Christian shoulder-to-shoulder in Tahrir Square
"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -
(Subjects: Egypt Uprising, Iran/Persia Uprising, Peace in Middle East without Israel actively involved, Muhammad, "Conceptual" Youth Revolution, "Conceptual" (without a manager hierarchy) managed Businesses, Internet, Social Media, News Media, Google, Bankers, Global Unity,..... etc.)
"The End of History" – Nov 20, 2010 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll)
(Subjects:Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael, Muhammad, Jesus, God, Jews, Arabs, EU, US, Israel, Iran, Russia, Africa, South America, Global Unity,..... etc.) (Text version)

"If an Arab and a Jew can look at one another and see the Akashic lineage and see the one family, there is hope. If they can see that their differences no longer require that they kill one another, then there is a beginning of a change in history. And that's what is happening now. All of humanity, no matter what the spiritual belief, has been guilty of falling into the historic trap of separating instead of unifying. Now it's starting to change. There's a shift happening."


“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."



African Union (AU)

African Union (AU)
African Heads of State pose for a group photo ahead of the start of the 28th African Union summit in Addis Ababa on January 30, 2017 (AFP Photo/ Zacharias ABUBEKER)

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela
Few words can describe Nelson Mandela, so we let him speak for himself. Happy birthday, Madiba.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Ivory Coast bans cocoa exports

UN-backed parallel government stops exports, claiming chocolate revenue buys arms to support ousted president Laurent Gbagbo

guardian.co.uk, Pauline Bax in Abidjan and Graeme Wearden in London, Tuesday 25 January 2011 10.08 GMT

Exporters in the port of Abidjan: Ivory Coast is the world's largest exporter of|
cocoa beans, supplying 40% of the world's output. Photograph: Luc Gnago/REUTERS

Chocolate consumers in Europe have been warned that major cocoa companies are effectively providing the Ivory Coast president, Laurent Gbagbo, with money to buy weapons.

Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner of last November's disputed presidential election, announced a one-month suspension on exports of cocoa yesterday.

Ouattara said anyone flouting the blockade would be considered to be "financing the illegitimate regime" of Gbagbo, who is refusing to leave office.

An official in Ouattara's parallel government, which is working from a hotel in Abidjan, claimed: "Chocolate consumers in Europe may not be so happy to realise the big cocoa companies are providing Gbagbo with money for weapons."

Cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate, is Ivory Coast's single biggest source of revenue, providing about $1bn (£629m) per year according to some estimates. By temporarily halting exports, Ouattara hopes to starve Gbagbo of the financial muscle to keep clinging to power.

Ivory Coast is the world's largest supplier of cocoa, contributing around 40% of global output. The cost of a tonne of cocoa jumped by 6.2% to $3,393 (£2,133) yesterday, the highest level since January 2010. Cocoa prices have been rising steadily since the election, and analysts have predicted that they could continue to escalate unless the deadlock is resolved.

But cocoa exporters in Ivory Coast said they were confused about the ban, which does not apply to beans that have already been declared for export. Shippers can continue to buy beans from farmers in the interior of the country, according to the Ouattara government official, who did not wish to be named.

Ouattara has repeatedly accused Gbagbo of buying arms and ammunition to crack down on his opponents and launch a new civil war. While the export ban is meant to starve Gbagbo of cocoa revenues, the Ouattara government has no means of enforcing the ban, the official said.

"Exporters can choose not to listen to us and export their beans anyway, but we are trying to appeal to their conscience," he said.

The export ban prompted US-based Cargill, which buys about 15% of Ivory Coast's crop, to suspend purchases of the bean indefinitely. But confusion reigned in the offices of other exporters, who said they were waiting for instructions from headquarters in Europe or the US.

"All exporters are in the same situation," said a European industry official in Abidjan. "We are caught between the hammer and the anvil. But every exporter is going to have to decide for themselves."

The statement from Ouattara came on the heels of an EU trade ban that has left many exporters scrambling for answers as to how to conduct business with Ivory Coast. The EU sanctions apply to people, institutions and businesses seen as loyal to Gbagbo, including the country's two ports, several banks, and the national petroleum company.

Ivory Coast's lucrative cocoa sector has been plagued by corruption since the World Bank-led privatisation of the sector in 1999. Gbagbo had several senior executives of state-controlled cocoa agencies detained on charges of fraud after a 2007 government probe into corruption.

The industry is run by a provisional national cocoa management committee headed by Gilbert Anoh, a Gbagbo ally, who is on the EU sanctions list. The EU sanctions have made it more difficult and more expensive to charter ships, the European cocoa exporter said. "Our ability to export also depends on the arrival of ships from Europe. We had been expecting vessels by the end of January, but it all seems to depend on the EU guidelines now."

Cocoa and coffee exports fuelled Ivory Coast's economic success during the 1970s. Millions of African immigrants staked out small plots of land in the lush interior to plant cocoa and coffee trees.

Despite ageing plantations and years of government neglect of the agricultural sector, the country remains the biggest cocoa grower in the world.


Related Article:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.