The Israel Defense Forces recently completed a military exercise on the island of Cyprus. The exercise involved some 500 soldiers from the Commando Brigade, including the Egoz Unit (which specializes in operating on rough terrain, fieldcraft, camouflage, and counter-guerrilla warfare); teams of dog handling soldiers; combat engineering soldiers; and another 200 air force personnel. Reports indicated that the exercise included flying the forces from Israel’s Nevatim Air Base in C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, joining up with Black Hawk helicopters in Cyprus, and from there flying to an ongoing exercise in the Trodos Mountains. The soldiers practiced incursions, land and urban warfare, taking control of areas from which rockets are fired, and tunnel warfare. The reports also stated that IDF forces were joined in the exercise by 100 fighters from the special forces of the Cypriot National Guard.

For several years the IDF has carried out joint exercises with foreign armies in friendly countries, such as the Red Flag aerial training that takes place in the United States. Most of the participants and equipment used in these exercises are from the air and marine branches. In addition, the Israeli Air Force holds a series of joint training exercises with the Greek Air Force, which enable it to practice long range missions and capabilities when facing a system of Russian-made S-300 anti-aircraft missiles, such as possessed by the Syrian and Iranian armies.

Ground forces were first involved in this activity about 6 months ago, when the Maglan Unit, also part of the Commando Brigade, carried out a smaller training exercise on the Greek island of Crete. Press reports of the training in Cyprus provide a glimpse of the development of IDF training methods and the advantages of training in neighboring countries, in both military terms and strengthened regional ties.

One IDF commander told the press that the advantage of training on foreign territory was its unfamiliarity to all the solders and commanders. The commander of the Egoz elite unit said, “We landed deep in enemy territory and received our mission on the plane on the way to the destination. We had a range of enemy scenarios and many different type of terrain for fighting.” The Cypriot Air Force even deployed anti-aircraft systems to simulate a real threat to the IAF helicopters.

Although the commanders of the exercise did not refer to this specifically, the topographic outline of Cyprus is clearly similar to that of the Lebanese mountains. Training in unfamiliar territory, and particularly when it resembles areas beyond the border where the troops may well have to operate, is highly important. The training areas within Israel are very limited, which makes it very difficult to create an environment that meets the IDF needs for training ground fighting against Hezbollah in the north and Hamas and jihad organizations in the south. Landing by helicopter, maneuvering, navigating, and fighting in unfamiliar territory far from home create a significant challenge for the commanders and the troops, and an opportunity to develop campaign knowledge and fighting capabilities.

The decision to strengthen the commando element of the army reflects a further understanding. MK Ofer Shelah, a former Paratroopers company commander, describes the importance of incursions as a means of dealing with the current IDF threat references in his book, Dare to Win. In his view, “Building the IDF as an attacking, initiating force in the 1950s and the pattern of the IDF’s actions led over the years to the concept of the incursion. Contrary to automatic connotations, an incursion is not just a nighttime raid by a small force that returns home at dawn. Rather, it is the whole concept of operating the force in mobile actions of various sizes, in order to undermine the enemy and create a surprise, a sense of being chased and vulnerable, after which they go back over the border.”

Although there were no public statements to this effect, the exercise presumably created tension with Turkey, which chose to hold a training exercise for the Turkish Navy south of Paphos. In spite of the reconciliation agreement between Israel and Turkey signed in 2016, and the return of ambassadors to Ankara and Tel Aviv, Turkey continues to maintain close ties with Hamas. Turkey houses a headquarters of the Hamas military wing, which in 2014 was the element that instructed Hamas activists to kidnap and murder three teenagers in Gush Etzion, which ultimately led to the war in the Gaza Strip (Operation Protective Edge). Although the reconciliation agreement requires Turkey to prevent any terrorist or military activity against Israel from its territory, including fundraising, Ankara has failed to comply fully with this clause. The senior figure in the military wing, Saleh al-Arouri, has left the country, but military activists continue to operate against Israel from Turkish territory. The Erdogan government has ignored Israeli protests about this.

Israel’s cooperation with Cyprus is not limited to military activities. The countries have signed an agreement to provide assistance in emergencies. Indeed, Cyprus was the first to send firefighting planes to Israel during the Carmel fire disaster in 2010. In 2016, when a giant fire broke out in the town of Paphos, Israel in turn sent an aid delegation, including three firefighting planes and an IDF transport plane. The Israel Navy has also held a number of joint exercises with the Cypriot Navy. Ties between Israel and Greece grew stronger following the deterioration of relations with Turkey, and the process accelerated after the Marmara incident in 2010, which was perceived by the Greeks and the Cypriots as an expression of Turkish assertiveness. As a result, in 2011 the Greek government stopped about a dozen ships from leaving Greek ports for another protest flotilla to the Gaza Strip.

In 2016 there was a summit meeting in Nicosia between the leaders of Greece, Israel, and Cyprus with the aim of creating a new geopolitical bloc in the Eastern Mediterranean, partly also as a counterweight to Turkey. The third trilateral meeting between the government heads took place earlier this month in Greece. At the last meeting in Saloniki, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that if the countries succeeded in implementing the idea of the East-Med pipeline (an ambitious idea to build a gas pipeline with a length of 2,000 km reaching Italy and passing through Cyprus and Greece), it would be a “revolution.”

The disclosure of the joint activity to the media likely lies in the desire by Israel – as well as Cyprus, and Greece – to send messages to countries and non-state organizations in the region at this time. The first message concerns the drive to exploit the potential of the gas reserves in the Mediterranean, which is a top priority for all the countries involved and is a source of tension between Greece and Cyprus on one hand, and Turkey on the other. In addition, the close ties between Turkey and Qatar and Hamas, the tension due to the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip, and the belligerent rhetoric from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in recent months may all have prompted Israel to publicize the exercise. This exercise joins a series of sudden exercises conducted by Israel recently in both the north and the south, including with the Galilee Division and with reserves formations, designed to strengthen the forces’ readiness for unexpected escalation.

From the military aspect, the exercise highlights the importance of more intensive training in unfamiliar territory, including for additional ground units, and even for integrated fighting involving infantry, armored corps, artillery, and engineering units. There is a process in the IDF for operational thinking and building the force with the aim of returning maneuvers on the ground to the center of attention as an important tool for reaching a decisive victory in the next round of hostilities. The special operations and training of the Commando Brigade could support the main effort in the campaign, but could not replace it. Therefore it is extremely important to extend and upgrade training for the IDF’s main ground troops and develop models for joint training exercises for these forces overseas, in spite of their high cost relative to the cost of training in Israel. It is these forces that bear the main burden of the effort to maneuver, whose purpose is to strike the enemy, capture territory, limit fire from captured territories into Israeli rear territory, seize and destroy military infrastructures, and undermine the survival of the enemy government.

This article wa0 written by Guy Golan and  previously published on IsraeliDiplomacy . The Article is available is available here.

From Tel Aviv to Calcutta , through Paris and Washington, Young Diplomats team will organize exceptional Geopolitical Debates and Conferences in Universities throughout the World. 

Hot and passionating Topics  will be discussed : 

• Global Warming : Was Trump right to leave the Paris Agreement?
• India-Pakistan : Is peace achievable?
• Israel-Palestine : Geopolitical or religious conflict?
• Qatar : Was Saudi Arabia and GCC countries right about isolating them?
• Asia : What are the fastest emerging countries?
• India : Should India remain in the Commonwealth?
• World : How can we make the World better?
• Environment : How could we improve the sustainability of our planet?

For now, Turkey’s college bathrooms remain gender-specific

It was a couple of years ago when one of my students suggested there should be no gender category on any official forms. My courageous student said, “Some days I feel like a man; some days a woman. Your categories aren’t sufficient for me.”

“Trans” is an umbrella term that covers several different identities beyond the common binary definitions. People can define themselves as neither male nor female, or as a combination of both at times.

The transgender rights movement is shaking our common truths and norms.

Are you happy to use the bathrooms that match your “biological gender” assigned at the time of birth? All around the world, demands for gender-neutral bathrooms are leading to change. For example, pioneer cities in California have passed laws requiring single bathrooms to be declared gender neutral. Colleges, as centers of freedom of expression for young people, followed suit in different cities throughout the Western world.

In Turkey as well, LGBTQ groups have been struggling since 2014 to make room for gender-neutral bathrooms on campuses. In February 2016 they achieved their goal in a limited way at Istanbul’s revered Bogazici University. At the time, this did not cause a commotion in Turkey. But on June 20, Twitter users began posting that Middle East Technical University (METU) had abolished gender segregation. One user showed a sign apparently posted at the university that read, “At the request of 400+ students, all restrooms in this building have become gender-neutral.”

The very next day, the METU administration announced that despite the reports, no such request for gender-free bathrooms had been approved. But it was too late. Before the university responded, the news became a trending topic on social media. The majority of comments were quite offensive and coarse, including not only overtly explicit but also rather gross visuals and words. Some of the milder examples include the following:

“The Prostitution Department has been opened at our university now.”

“Foreign colleges are making [scientific] discoveries, while METU is [concerned with] toilets …”

“METU should be destroyed and a toilet must be built in its place.”

On live TV, pro-AKP presenter Erkan Tan told his viewers, “Let’s shut down METU and establish a real university in its place.”

It’s ironic. METU is one of the best public universities in Turkey, with a commendable global reputation. Some of the world’s top colleges respect LGBTQ students and provide gender-neutral bathrooms.

On other social media platforms as well, such as Eksisozluk, a popular public information-sharing network, most commentators were against the idea for different reasons, though almost none of them had to do with the LGBTQ issue. The men were convinced they couldn’t use a bathroom with a woman in the vicinity, and the women were disgusted by the idea of using the same stalls as men of questionable hygiene. After reading 40 pages of commentary, I could not help but ask myself, “Have these people never used a toilet after the opposite gender in their homes or other spaces?”

Murat Korkmaz, an LGBTQ activist and undergraduate student in the Department of Psychology at METU, told Al-Monitor, “Even though METU may seem like a progressive college, indeed transphobia is quite persistent on its campus. To raise consciousness about the presence of trans and queer students on campus, we started a signature campaign to have one bathroom at the humanities building as gender-neutral. We finally prepared a request with 420 signatures and initiated negotiations with the administrators. They kept delaying the decision for over two months, so we said, ‘Unless you give us answer we will declare all bathrooms gender-neutral in the building.’ Our protest was presented in the press in a wrong way, so we told everyone it would be [just] one bathroom. After that, unfortunately, the chancellor’s office presented rather transphobic statements saying it disapproves of gender-neutral bathrooms. LGBTQ students and our suffering, along with the support we received from our friends, was ignored altogether.”

Korkmaz was clear about how difficult it is for gender-nonconforming students to be acknowledged or just to figure out which bathroom would be a safer place for them. The concerns and fears of LGBTQ students are quite universal: If they use the women’s bathroom they could face verbal and even physical harassment, while in the men’s bathroom it could be physical and sexual abuse. Korkmaz and several others at METU believe they are not safe, even though the campus is known as a secular and progressive domain. Why could the college administrators not assign a couple of bathrooms in each building as gender-neutral, knowing there is widespread support among the student body?

Not one academic from the humanities or social sciences came out to speak in defense of the students’ demands or the urgency of providing gender-neutral and sufficiently private bathrooms for students with disabilities or those who identify as LGBTQ. It was a sad coincidence that the Pride March scheduled for June 25 was again banned by the Istanbul Municipality. Despite the ban, hundreds marched and were brutally attacked in Istanbul.

Al-Monitor spoke with a handful of Islamists who were willing to engage in discussion. The conversation developed along these lines: “So if a few students demand halal food and a mosque in which to pray in a non-Muslim-majority country, do you think they should be accommodated?” They all answered, “Yes, of course.” So then why couldn’t there be a gender-neutral bathroom, which these Islamists would not be obliged to use — one that is optional, just like ordering halal food on an American carrier? Most of the Islamists, young and older alike, were not pleased about this part of the conversation, and finally the answer came down to the fact that religious freedom needs to be respected, but being trans is a disease. Trans people need to be in a hospital, not on a college campus, they said. Sadly, there was no tolerance, let alone acceptance, among these Islamists.

In the meantime, the Official Gazette published the news that all new schools will be required to have gender-segregated prayer and ablution rooms. When added to the skyrocketing number of religious schools, the ban on teaching evolution and the scary rise in random violence against women and children, the silence of METU academics and the suffering of LGBTQ students can be understood better.

In Turkey, authoritarianism and arbitrary bans have permeated every level of society, and the most progressive corners — college campuses, which should stand as symbols of freedom of expression — suffer the most. Turkey has become an example of how the most narrow-minded minorities have tacitly managed to have their cake and eat it too while starving others.

Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2017/06/turkey-gender-neutral-bathrooms-anger-islamists.html#ixzz4lIxTrhDY

The Syrian Civil War that is lasting since now 2011 , might soon come to an end. Indeed Bashar Al-Assad and its allies have made impressive gains this last months on all Syrian Battlefields. 

The regime has found an amazing tactic to supress Rebels pockets throughout Syria : Promising them safe passage for the fighters and their family toward the Idlib Region , which is the only remaining rebels stronghold.

In the North : 

Besides the impressive reconquest of Aleppo.,The regime managed to suppress the biggest threat to its power – The Euphrate Shield Operation- launched by Turkey. Following the capture of Al-Bab , the Turkish Government stopped its support for its Free Syrian Army Proxy. This permitted the Regime Special Forces “The Tiger Force” to open a new battlefield against ISIS and conquer vast areas in Eastern Aleppo.

The Tiger Forces managed to  conquer the ISIS stronghold of Dayr Hafir , the Jirah Airbase and hundreds of villages. Most ISIS troops having withdrawn from the Area to protect Raqqa, It is only a matter of time before the tiger force reconquer the entire region.

The regime is also benefitting from being a buffer state between Kurdish Territory and FSA territory (supported by Turkey). FSA forces are directed toward the Kurds rather than Bashar’s troops.

Therefore on the Northern Front, everything is calm. The regime and the FSA even agreed to a ceasefire after the regime gave back the Tadif City next to Al-Bab. Since then, a ceasefire has been observed and respected between the two parts.

The North which is home to the “Idlib Stronghold” the biggest rebel area, has not shown particular agressive attitude toward the regieme forces from Aleppo to Hader. Very few incident have occured and the rebels seems to be on the defensive, mainly become there are now heavy infightings between the different rebel factions (HTS, Ahar Al-Sham and the Free Syrian Army).

The Central Front : 

In April 2017, HTS, the largest rebel group (Previously known as Al-Nusra) launched a large scale offensive on Northern Hama Region.

This blitz offensive was devastating for the regime forces, with the rebels taking successively the cities of Khattab, Suran and other villages leading directly toward Hama.

Still, after a huge effort and coordination between Hezbollah and Russia. Iranians militias and Hezbollah troops stopped the rebels offensive at Qimhana (Northern Hama) and launched an impressive counter attack.

The counter attack from Governmental troops was even more devastating, they reconquered all the lost territory and pushed further. The rebels lost all their stronghold in the region (Muhradah, Halfaya and Tayyibat Al Imam) in a matter of weeks after hundreds of Russians airstrikes. The regime even pushed further and captured large areas.  The Regime was stopped by the rebels in the Lataminah Region.

Since then the rebels are largely on the defensive on the region and have shown and inability to coordonate on the long term and to hold the territory they capture. They are extremely vulnerable to regime counter attacks . Rebels weakness is that it take them too long to organize a line of defense in newly captured territories.

The other Central Front is the Rastan pocket, which has been extremely calm these recent months. Additionally The Rebels suffered heavy blow when they lost the Homs Pocket to Governmental troops.

The Central Front is where the Russian and Syrian Air Force have been the most active , with thousands of bombings every month. This explains why the rebels are constantly on the defensive.

The Damascus Front : 

This is one of the front where the regime has been the most successful. The Damascus region is the most populated area of Syria, therefore highly strategic.

The regime managed to eliminate the Zabadani, Madaya and the Wadi Pockets. Recently the powerful Qaboun pocket was also securized.

What remains is only the Eastern Ghouta pockets which is hold by Jaysh Al-Islam Rebels. The Army is currently pushing hard to divide this pocket in two by attacking on the flanks on the Bayt Naim Area.

Southern Front :

On the Southern Front the Regime has litterally demolished the Rebels and ISIS.

In the South East , they captured thousands of kilometers of desert from ISIS and FSA. Palmyra has become totally secure , and they are about to encircle two rebels pockes in the Rif Dimashk.

The regime forces are closing to controlling the entire region , they almost captured Al-tank FSA headquarters in the region. They have claimed they are now ready to launch a large scale offensive to regain the entire desert with the two strategic goals of securing the Jordanian border and reaching Deir Ez-Zor.

The Russian and Druze support have been crucial for the regime to regain these territories.

However in the Daraa’ area the regime is clearly in difficulty against FSA rebels. The regimes has lost few houses and battlefield headquarters in the recent months.

Recent reports suggests that many infiltrations of Government troops failed and that the casualties are heavy for the government in this area.

A key factor for the regime in this region would be to avoid direct confrontation with offensive Israel. Israel has not hesitated in the last months to attack Hezbollah,NDF and Government troops in the region through airstrikes and drones.

The member countries of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) adopted in 2007 a strategic integration plan dubbed the Vision (2025), which fundamentally look up to transform the region into a sanctuary of peace, balanced development, solidarity and free movement of goods, people and services. The essential objective pursued by the Community is to strengthen and promote harmonious cooperation, dynamic, balanced and self-sustaining development.

Strategic vision of the Region

Some studies indicate that ECCAS’ strategy is symmetrical with the Central African Economic and Monetary Community CEMAC’s Regional Economic Program (REP 2009-2015) whose objective is to build a competitive regional environment to attract substantial private investment to growth sectors.

Gonga Koyang Feouda, former Chad National Focal Point to the ECCAS, says that the group has ambitious goals to reach in the next few years. He believes that even though CEMAC is more active and productive than ECCAS, yet, during the first eight years of ECCAS’ inception; the Community adopted a program of trade liberalization that has been implemented the gradual reduction of tariff rates and the removal of non-tariff barriers on intra-regional trade.

“I believe that together we will get there by 2030.” Feouda stressed.

Mahamat Adoum Gock, economist and former officer of CEMAC, doesn’t see any incompatibility between CEMAC and ECCAS, he believes that both community objectives are the promotion of trade, bringing a common market in the region. He argues that CEMAC countries already share a common financial, legal structure, and maintain a common external tariff on imports from non-CEMAC countries, which is good to lead us for a better future by 2025.

Harmonizing the ECCAS and CEMAC

It is clear that ECCAS and CEMAC visions are mutually consistent and complementary. Both seek towards regional integration.

Gock thinks that there are serious integration difficulties within the Central African region, especially when it comes to free movement of people, however, CEMAC encompasses regional integration projects related to macro-economic policy convergence and regional financial sector integration as well. Therefore, CEMAC and ECCAS have integration and expansion relationship.

It is quite obvious that Central Africa region has prepared its socio-economic development strategies in medium and long-term. These strategies reflect the region’s determination to get the wheel of development.

Feouda confirmed that there are many ongoing projects in the region; security and stability, infrastructure, land and air transport, and energy. ECCAS is implementing trade facilitation programs, including the construction of one-stop border posts.

Rich resources but poor

Many reports say that Central Africa gives a home to great economic development potential, vast mineral and metal deposits, oil reserves from the Gulf of Guinea to Chad and Cameroon, massive water resources in the Congo Oubangui-Sangha basin, the Lack Chad basin, and the second largest tropical forest area deemed to be the second lung of the planet. Despite all these, we wonder why the region stills the poorest in the continent, slowest of the sub-regions in terms of economic growth.

Feouda explains the reason behind the region poverty that the French colonization has had a negative impact on the region, and most of the region current leaders are corrupted.

“We are not poor, we’ll be the richest”

Gock took a different view from Feouda, he said that the region seems to be poor because it is rich with natural resources that lead to laziness, and people don’t need to work in order to get their essential food, contrary to the peoples of the desert.

He continued by saying that the region occupies a strategic position in the continent, the only one sharing boundaries with all regions of the continent, the region maintains economic and political ties with other African regional organizations. Angola is a member of SADC, Burundi a member of COMESA and EAC, DRC a member of SADC and COMESA, Burundi and the DRC are members of CEGPL, Chad and CAR and are members of CEN-SAD. Thus, the region ensures the physical continuity of African spatial integration.

“So don’t tell me that Central Africa region is poor, we are not poor, we’ll be the richest region that holds the entire continent” Gock said.

Wide fluctuations in oil prices have played an important economic change in numerous African oil-exporting nations. According to Mo Ibrahim Foundation study reported by some media, African oil exporters wasted economic opportunity, including, Sudan, Angola and Nigeria. Non-oil exporters had a much better decade, improving in several categories from human rights to human development and participation.

Mahamat Gadam Gadaya, Chadian National Representative of the African Petroleum Producers’ Association (APPA), told media that oil exporting countries have been hit hard by the sharp decline in the oil price, but during Abuja declaration in Mars 2015; the APPA has taken some serious measures in order to diversify the national economy of its member states.

A painful effect

Currency weakness, falling investments, public spending cuts, and rising inflation, point to a weaker panorama for the region’s oil-exporting countries.

Muhammadu Buhari has said that falling oil prices are having “a painful effect” on the country’s economy. Such statements left many observers wonder where the money went all this decade.

On the other side, corruption and bureaucracy have got worse in Africa, with 33 of the continent’s 54 countries going backwards, the study referred Rwanda as the most improved, reflecting the development priorities of Paul Kagame.

An opportunity for non-oil exporters

The beneficiaries of declining oil prices are likely to be the oil-importing countries. The impact of low oil prices on exporters depends on the contribution of oil exports to each country’s GDP and revenue. Naturally; growth in economies in countries such as Chad, Nigeria and Angola are highly dependent on oil exports. That’s why many economists suggest diversifying the economy away from oil can help in the long term, and ensures economic stability.

By contrast, oil-importing Sub-Saharan African countries like Kenya and Uganda considered being the big winner of the decline in prices, as these Eastern African countries will become oil exporting countries by 2017 thanks to the rapid oil discoveries.

Hope that oil prices will rise

At first glance, it sounds like there is no reason to be optimistic about a recovery in oil prices in the foreseeable future. However, there is a glimmer of hope that the price is now hovering around $55 per barrel and analysts remain optimistic for further recovery.

“If you look at the current uptick on oil price; we’re entering a period of oil supply confidence. I am confident that oil price will rise above $100 per barrel again by the end of 2018.” Gadaya said.

An opportunity for reforms

Jean-François Dauphin, heads the Maghreb division in the Middle East and Central Asia department of the IMF and is the mission chief for Algeria. Said to press in Algiers that Algeria can exploit the current oil crisis as “an opportunity” to review and diversify its economy growth model – rather than relying on oil and gas reserves that will potentially be exhausted in twenty years.

“We have wasted many economic opportunities before the current oil crisis. Many national projects have been shut down, unemployment rate ticked up, we have a budget crisis, and sates can’t pay salaries. Now is the right time to diversify our economies, review public spending, invest in energy and implement good governance.” Gadaya said.

Falling oil prices could mean rising global conflict

Some reports indicate that some African countries will experience economic risks due to the continuing decline in oil prices, because of its dependence on oil exports. Oil prices falling drive not just economics, but geopolitics instability in these oil-producing states, which can quickly produce shocks all over the world. “Such fluctuations in oil prices may lead to some dangerous recessions and even regimes collapsing.” Said Gadaya.

Governments will have to adjust their expenditures, or reduce their currency value, which could lead to higher inflation. However, both measures can be dangerous for social unrests, especially when such measures affect some fast segments of civil society organizations as students and trade union groups.

Latin America: A Region Shaped by Conflict : Before the emergence of independent Latin American states, the region saw roughly 300 years of Iberian colonization. Near the end of the 19^th century, things started to look promising and Latin America experienced a major period of economic growth, brought on by international demand of raw materials.

Between the late 1800s up until the 1930s, Latin America saw its first export boom. The demand for Latin American resources spiked, and tremendous amounts of money began to pour into Latin American countries. The wealth, however, was unevenly distributed and mostly wealthy elites benefited. The money that was coming into the nations allowed “caudillos” to emerge. These were essentially wealthy landowners who had gangs and political influence.

They could be understood as modern-day warlords. There was a certain level of disorder brought on by the emergence and competition between caudillos. At the time, there was no proper or well-organized authority to control this chaos and disorder. The wealth from the export boom also played a role in changing this, as it allowed Latin American countries to build up and bolster their national armies as well as their national police forces. Military experts and advisors were hired from Europe, specifically France and Germany, to train the armed forces and develop them into capable defence and law enforcement bodies. These national military and police forces, now more advanced and experienced, were able to bring order and stability to Latin American countries and establish themselves as a centralized authority.

Many Latin Americans felt that their economies were not able to prosper under capitalism, and after years of feeling betrayal and exploitation they turned to socialism. In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrew the pro-American Batista government in a socialist revolution.

Castro immediately aligned Cuba with the Soviet Union and denounced the United States for problems that they had caused in Latin America. Castro strong anti-imperialist and anti-American rhetoric resonated well with many Latin Americans, and eventually led to many embargoes and decades of tension between Cuba and the United States. Castro sent revolutionaries to other Latin American countries and even sent many abroad, particularly to Angola and Mozambique.

Latin America was a major battleground during the Cold War, as the United States and the USSR competed to establish ideological influence. Between 1970 and 1980, many Latin American countries were military regimes and successfully prevented revolutionaries from taking power. In 1979 however, the Sandinistas overthrew the Anastasio Somoza government in Nicaragua another socialist Revolution. The Latin American Military regimes were very nationalistic and most were pro-American. The United States promoted and supported many of these regimes. It is well known that the Nixon administration was adamantly against the Salvador Allende government, and supported the 1973 coup that brought Augusto Pinochet into power.

For the United States, the main adversaries were the pro-Soviet Marxist revolutionaries who envisioned a socialist Latin America. Many took up arms and attacked national armies and government buildings. This resulted in widespread violence and civil disarray. As government forces clashed with Marxists to suppress these socialist uprisings, many civilians were caught in the crossfire and killed. Several of these Marxist rebel groups resorted to kidnapping, extortion, and drug trafficking as a means of earning income, which resulted in further chaos throughout the region.

Many of these revolutions were unsuccessful, especially in Central American nations. This is because the United States Southern Command was strategically stationed in Panama, near the Panama Canal. They trained and supplied 16,000 counter-revolutionaries to suppress and prevent the spread of socialist revolutions that were inspired by Castro’s Cuban Revolution. Many governments and paramilitary organizations were aided and trained by the United States to support the nationalistic military regimes throughout Latin America and prevent USSR-backed socialist revolutionaries from successfully taking power, which would have attested to Moscow’s tightening grip in the region.

When we delve into the history of South Asia’s agriculture, it can be observed that agriculture has witnessed a gradual shift from the traditional and labour-intensive farming to capital intensive commercial farming. Around 51 per cent of South Asia’s 1.6 billion people are directly engaged in agriculture, and 42 per cent of South Asia’s landmass is under agricultural operation as per the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

Agriculture holds an important role in coping with the basic needs of the majority of the people in developing countries like Nepal. Hence, agricultural development is an integral part of overall economic development. Agriculture contributes 33 per cent of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nepal, according to the Economic Survey of the Ministry of Finance.

Since the past few years, however, the agriculture sector has not been able to show much progress. There have been mounting concerns regarding food security due to low production. Moreover, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the global hunger index of Nepal was 22.2, indicating a serious problem of food security.

A few days back, while undergoing research on the nation’s agriculture sector, I was saddened by the fact that rice farming (22 per cent out of total agriculture’s contribution to GDP) was not able to meet the nation’s demand. Moreover, last year’s paddy production in Nepal dropped, and the country had to import rice and paddy worth Rs. 24.75 billion, a net increase of 44.3 per cent from the previous year.

Paucity of agricultural labour, lack of knowledge about variety, poor distribution of seeds among farmers, depleting soil organic matter and water resource and mass urbanisation are major hurdles in the downfall of paddy production.

So the plight of the farmer can be different when they are aware about the climate smart rice developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Such varieties of rice are drought, flood and saline soil resistant, and yield 40 per cent more rice compared to traditional varieties. At the local level, many Nepalese farmers are unaware about the varieties of seeds available and also their distribution.

On the one hand, we have two principal ways of increasing production. First, increase the area of cultivable land. Second, increase the production by boosting efficiency. The latter principle, no doubt, holds great prospects for Nepal. On the other hand, the problem is not just about increasing productivity to ease the plight. The co-existence and high probability of both production and price risks are the hardest challenge for the farmers.

Foreign Direct Investment in agriculture has some positive aspects. They are a) capital inflows; b) technology transfer leading to innovation and productivity increase; c) exploitation of agro-business opportunities and promotion of new value chains; d) quality improvement and employment creation; e) an increase in food supply for the domestic market and for export.

Agriculture modernisation is a major contributor to economic growth in under developed countries. So the government should promote the use of machines and equipment to promote agriculture development and commercial farming. To prepare for the future, it is important to draw lessons from the past. So the government should act swiftly to overcome such challenges in the days to come. There is a lot of work to be done in this area.

This article writen by Sudarshan Ananta Nepal was initially published by The Rising Nepal and can be found at http://therisingnepal.org.np/news/11651.

The Chadian government’s decision to close the country’s lengthy northern border, on the 5th of January, may be good to prevent Islamic State fighters’ crossing over. However, the calculus behind the decision will absolutely have a disastrous economic impact on men, women and children in the northern side of the country.

Chadian Prime Minister Albert Pahimi Padacké has ordered the closure of his country’s long border with Libya to prevent Islamic State fighters’ crossing over. The government declared the area a military zone because militants are threatening to cross into its territory, according to the government.

“There have been systematic reports in Libya of the militants moving south following their defeat in Sirte, Libya. Hence, Chad worried that fighters will flee south across the border, and the country would take immediate action” Padacké said in a statement on Thursday, 5^thJanuary.

 “Closing the border has a terrible impact”

Nadjibe Eric, economist and national expert in public finance, argued that Chad is a landlocked country, and Libya is one of Chad’s most important trading partners, especially for the north side that imports most of its needs from Libya, and exports live animals to Libya including cattle. However, the decision is expected to have negative economic impacts on the Northern areas of the country.

“Closing the border with Libya already has a terrible impact on the regions of Kanem and Barh El Gazel, commodity prices doubled just a week after closing the border,” said Mahamat Zen Kassim, associate trader.

Opportunity for Cameroon and Sudan

Historically, Chad has been a country of traders. The ancient kingdoms of Kanem, Borno, and Wadai built their power on trade with Egypt, Sudan and Libya, during the colonial period. Trade increased recently with Libya. Therefore, the economy of much of northern Chad, which depends exclusively on Libya, will certainly be harmed if there is lasting instability in the Chadian-Libyan borders.

Eric considers Libya as a bridge to the Middle East markets for the Chadian cattle exporters, particularly camels’ exporters. That Chadian Merchants will absolutely head to other alternative bridges which definitely would be Sudan and Cameroon for merchandise.

“As Chadian importers; there is no other way for us at the moment but doing business with Sudan. Extended family and tribal connections across borders encouraged traders to maintain long-range African financial and commercial networks.” Kassim said.

Production possibility

Following the closure of the Chadian Nigerian borders, businesses in Chad have lost 50% of their revenue, the Honorary Consul in Chadian Consulate in Kano, Abubakar Assair has said, in an interview with Daily Trust in Yola, Nigeria.

On the other hand, many northerners still economically identified more closely with south Libya than with N’Djamena. Nevertheless, all these events have led us to an amazing question and not a simple one in conjunction with the government’s decision to close its border with Libya; will such decisions eventually force the Chadian government to produce locally?

Long-term investment

Eric argued that it’s the right time for the government to diversify our national economy, produce locally and invest in national public goods.

“We need access to long-term financing, in financing long-term investment will give way to more productive and diversified system.” Eric said.

N’Djamena is apprehensively observing the unfolding of events that will decide the future of its most important neighbor and partner, and seems to be aware that lasting instability in Libya could prove dangerous economic consequences, and both domestic policy and regional geopolitics.

The CFA Franc: A Promising Future or Anachronism?

Many voices and numerous statements have been raised on the African continent, from politicians, journalists, economists, to ordinary citizens are questioning the CFA franc that mobilizes the monetary system in the francophone zone of Africa; since the independence. The CFA zone is consisting of 14 African states, eight of them in West Africa (WAEMU) and six others in Central Africa make up the (CEMAC); including Chad.

Currency devaluation

Experts recently pointed out that the “West and Central African francs that have not been adapted and reviewed to the international standards are outdated and need to be reviewed.” Other analysts in the continent argued that the CFA should be devalued to encourage growth in the region. Some even went further that the CFA franc should be abandoned. On the other hand; and during a recent extraordinary CEMAC summit in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé; Central African leaders have refused to devalue the CFA franc.

Nditson Tamkiro Ndilira, an economist at Chad’s Ministry of Finance and Budget, views the devaluation unnecessary and risky for the moment; it’ll add inflation and place new demands on government resources, especially for oil exporting countries in the region. That devaluation should take place gradually. “We should not repeat the mistake of 1994, we need to diversify our economies first, and then we can think of currency devaluation.” Ndilira said.

Advantages and disadvantages

Many economists and financial analysts say that the CFA zone exports will be the first beneficiaries from the devaluation of the CFA.  But on the other hand, CFA zone imports will be negatively affected by foreign imported goods, which will increase in prices, especially for non-oil importers in the CFA zone.

Monetary cooperation between the CFA franc zone and France is ruled by some essential principles; as a convertibility guarantee by France, the holding of each country’s foreign reserves by the French, a fixed peg to the euro and an unlimited transfer.

The linkage between the CFA franc and the euro zone

Some authors argue that the CFA franc zone won’t benefit from the euro zone unless there are some new reforms; they think that CFA economies have lower economic growth because of its linkage to the Euro zone economy and exchange rate system.

An official at Chad’s ministry of finance and budget, who spoke on condition of anonymity, thinks that the CFA fixed peg to the euro is beneficial for the CFA zone. He explains that the currency linkage is an internal French budgetary issue; it is not a monetary matter that would include France’s euro partners, the French Treasury has taken a single responsibility for guaranteeing convertibility of CFA francs into Euros, without any monetary policy implication for the Bank of France. “So why do we need to worry about this now?” He said.

On the other side, Nditson Ndilira wonders why each central bank in the CFA zone keeps 50% of its foreign reserves with the French treasury. He considers the CFA peg to the euro as a punishment to the CFA zone; he argued that the CFA should be unpegged from the euro zone, because it is a powerful, awkward force which retards development in the CFA zone.

Towards a single currency for Africa

Many statements have been raised on the continent for monetary union projects; including the African Union that plans to create an African Monetary Fund in Cameroon and an African Central Bank in Nigeria to pave the way for a common currency for the whole continent by 2021.

According to Ndilira; Africa is not ready yet for a common currency for the whole continent, especially the CFA region. He explains that it is impossible for the moment, because it cannot happen without real scarifications and serious regional integrations.

“There’s something called – reality – stands between political speeches and actions.” Ndilira added.