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WORLD NEWS Monday 12 March 2018

Trump administration’s words, deeds on Africa are colliding

By JOSH LEDERMAN it,” said Paula Kahumbu, an
Associated Press elephant expert and CEO
NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK, of Wildlife Direct, a lead-
Kenya (AP) — On the out- ing Kenyan environmental
skirts of a sprawling reserve group. She said past U.S.
of Kenyan grasslands where support for banning the ivo-
endangered animals roam ry trade has pushed China
wild, U.S. Secretary of State and other nations to act as
Rex Tillerson lavished praise well.
on an American-funded “To then say, ‘Oh, but we
forensics lab that tracks have a special case for
down elephant-poachers some of our people, they
for prosecution, and urged should be allowed to have
aggressive action in Africa ivory,’ it totally undermines
on conservation. the U.S. leadership role.”
Yet earlier this month, the American leadership has
Trump administration qui- been repeatedly ques-
etly lifted the U.S. ban on tioned since Trump took
importing African elephant office in January 2017 as
trophies, to the dismay of Washington pulls back
environmental groups who from past commitments to
said it sends precisely the NATO, to the United Na-
wrong message. tions and to aid programs
U.S. words and deeds are U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks with a survivor at Memorial Park on the site of the that form the core of U.S.
colliding as Tillerson trav- deadly 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing in Nairobi, Kenya, March 11, 2018. “soft power” diplomacy.
els across Africa. On trade (Jonathan Ernst/Pool Photo via AP) Tillerson’s trip to Kenya was
policy, HIV/AIDS and hu- Service from lifting the such as elephant and rhi- sis.” The U.S. agency said it designed in part to high-
manitarian aid, the United Obama-era ban on tusks noceros parts was fueling chose that course of action light the success of PEPFAR,
States at times seems at imported from Zambia and the international trafficking to comply with a court rul- the 15-year-old HIV/AIDS
odds with itself, muddying Zimbabwe. Trump took to trade. ing that said the Obama program that has saved
efforts to show it wants the Twitter to call the practice “That’s really the key, is to administration failed to fol- millions of lives and helped
continent to flourish and is a “horror show.” shut it all down,” Tillerson low proper procedure in see the continent through
here to help. At the forensics lab at Nai- said. enacting the original ban. an epidemic that once
In the case of the ele- robi National Park, the only But three months after In Kenya, where the el- threatened to wipe out a
phants, conservationists such lab in east and cen- Trump’s move to keep the ephant population has whole generation. More
appeared to have a pow- tral Africa, Tillerson agreed ban in place, his admin- plummeted to roughly one- than 13 million people with
erful ally in President Don- Sunday when famed con- istration reversed course fifth of what it was in the HIV in Africa are on life-
ald Trump, who intervened servationist Richard Leakey again, saying elephant tro- 1970s, the new Trump poli- saving antiretroviral drugs
personally last year to stop warned that the “huge in- phies could be imported cy fell flat. thanks to PEPFAR, the U.S.
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife terest” in wildlife products on a “case-by-case ba- “The whole world is against has said.q
Ethiopia command post says 9 civilians killed by mistake

By ELIAS MESERET up in the border area to were killed by security forc- the rights group. Ethiopia rorist groups, obstructing
Associated Press take measures against the es in the restive Oromia re- imposed the state of emer- transport services, carrying
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) Oromo Liberation Front mili- gion since the beginning of gency following months of weapons in specified areas
— Ethiopian security forces tants mistakenly attacked the month, the Association unrest in some parts of the and obstructing educa-
mistakenly killed nine civil- civilians that resulted in the for Human Rights in Ethio- country that tarnished the tional institutions.
ians in Moyale, located on deaths of nine people,” pia said on March 9.“We country’s image as one of U.S. Secretary of State Rex
the country’s southern bor- said a statement issued by also received information Africa’s best performing Tillerson said on March 8
der with Kenya, according the command post, add- that hundreds of people economies. during a visit to Ethiopia
to a command post estab- ing that 12 other civilians were arrested for violating Security forces are now that the United States be-
lished to oversee Ethiopia’s were also injured in the in- the (latest) state of emer- instructed to take mea- lieves the answer to the
state of emergency. cident. gency, a few weeks after sures against any threats to country’s demonstrations is
Five members of Ethiopia’s Since Ethiopia’s govern- the government released them, a move that many greater freedom, not less.
National Defense Forces ment declared a state of thousands of prisoners, in- fear may lead to the killing Ethiopia’s Prime Minister
involved in the killings have emergency in mid-Febru- cluding high profile political of civilians and peaceful Hailemariam Desalegn re-
been disarmed and are ary the security forces have prisoners . protesters. cently resigned amid the
under investigation, the killed several other people, They have not been The emergency effectively protests and a new leader
command post stated. according to a human charged and their current bans contacting parties is expected to be inaugu-
“A special armed unit set rights group. Seven people location is unknown,” said and individuals labeled ter- rated in the coming days.q