A shortage of tents and an overseas trip taken by Ahmadinejad has sparked criticism of the Iranian government’s response following the devastating earthquake which hit the country

On Saturday afternoon, two earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.4 and 6.3 hit the East Azerbaijan province of Iran. Entire villages were flattened instantly, 360 people were killed and thousands were injured and displaced in the surrounding towns. Less than 24 hours later, officials announced that search and rescue operations had finished and all survivors had been freed from the rubble.

However, those who know the area well insist that it would have been impossible to finish the rescue mission so soon. Locals explain that some villages are unreachable by car and so it would have taken time to get to there and assist those trapped. This, as well as the shortage of tents for the displaced, has sparked criticisms of the Iranian government’s response to the crisis.

These criticism have led some to speculate that the poor government response was due to the fact that those affected were mainly Azeri Turks, an ethnic minority in the northwest of Iran. President Ahmadinejad also left Iran on Monday morning to attend an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting which is expected to focus on the crisis in Syria.

In an editorial titled “Mr. Ahmadinejad, where have you gone?” Asr-e Iran criticized his decision to leave the country with his closest advisers less than two days after the quakes. “In every other part of the world, the tradition is that when natural disasters happen, leaders will change their plans and visit the affected areas in order to show their compassion … and observe rescue efforts,” Asr-e Iran wrote.

However, the Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi flew into the region and said he was there to show his sympathy for those affected by the quakes and that the government “shares their pain”.

Reuters also reported that Alireza Manadi Safidan, a legislator representing Tabriz, which is the nearest provincial capital in the earthquake-hit region, said: “Even though (on Saturday night) hundreds of people were under the rubble, on the television broadcasts … there was no mention of the disaster… (State television) was busy counting how many medals Iran won in the Olympics. They didn’t have any reaction to this event.”

According to the UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Iranian officials have reported that up to 17,000 people have been displaced or are in need of shelter. Iran has a long history of  earthquakes. In March 2006, at least 70 people were killed in a 6.0 magnitude earthquake in Lorestan; in  2005 more than 500 people were killed by a quake in the Kerman province and in 2003, a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in the ancient city of Bam killed more than 25,000 people.

: Image – Rescue teams search for victims in the earthquake-stricken village of Varzaqan near Ahar, in the East Azerbaijan province, August 12, 2012. 
REUTERS/Arash Khamooshi/ISNA

:Reuters

For more on news from Iran see:

It’s Official- Iran has the most Polluted Cities in the World

Iranians Turn to Aubergine, Chicken for the Poor

Iranian Warden Fined for Shooting Poacher in Foot

The post Iran Criticized For Response to Earthquake which Killed 306 appeared first on Green Prophet.

Last week BBC News reported that 70,000 indigenous people have been forced to relocate in the western Gambella region of Ethiopia to new villages that lack adequate resources for their survival. The land has been signed over to foreign investors, including Saudi Star Agriculture Development Plc, a company owned by Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi.

Felix Horne of the Oakland Institute recently authored Understanding Land Investment Deals in Africa – a succinct analysis of the perils of land grabs in Ethiopia. He told Green Prophet that Saudi Star has begun rice cultivation on 10,000ha of land in Gambella and a 10,000ha irrigation project along the already-compromised Alwero River. Only grain that does not meet export requirements will be sold locally.

Nothing is Voluntary

The BBC reports, “The government in Addis Ababa has said in the past that all the moves are voluntary, the new villages will have adequate infrastructure and everyone who moves will be given assistance to help their transition to a new livelihood.”

Land grabs have also been defended under the pretext that arable land is “unused,” that Environmental Impact Assessments would be required, and that local communities would benefit from foreign investment.

But the Oakland Institute and Human Rights Watch warn that what is actually happening is very different than government claims. To date, no mechanism to improve food security for Ethiopians has been implemented, contracts between investors and the Ethiopian government provide incentives to export food instead of feeding locals, and not a single government official or investor has been able to provide an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Violent reprisals

“Several small villages (including Oriedhe and Oridge) within the Saudi Star lease area have been relocated across the Alwero river to Pokedi as part of the villagization program currently underway in Gambella,” OI reports, adding that “Villagers often used the now-cleared forest in the Saudi lease area during times of food insecurity for gathering food, fuelwood, and medicines.”

American resident Magn Nyang told the BBC that his mother was forcibly re-settled from a village close to Gambella town to a camp. “When the investors came in they took over the land and they [the villagers] were kicked out,” he said.

The army beat another man with sticks and the butt of a rifle when he refused to leave. He later died, and his family blames the violent beating he received.

Although Saudi Star has admitted that the Alwero River can only provide irrigation for 1,800 ha of rice, 30 kilometers of irrigation channels are currently being built and villagers worry about how they will feed their children.

Humans and animals are losing their land

The company is also infringing on land perceived to be a part of the Gambella National Park. The Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA), according to OI, estimates that 438,000 ha of land have been leased to various investors in the vicinity of the park, all without Environmental Impact Assessments.

The park is home to “69 mammal species, including 58 large mammals. The park also contains valuable wetland habitat, hundreds of bird species, and 92 fish species, representing 69 percent of all fish species in Ethiopia,” OI reports.

Saudi Star’s owner Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi is listed by Forbes as the 63rd wealthiest person on earth. He is also the richest person in Ethiopia, where at least 39% of the population lives below the poverty line, and the second richest Saudi citizen in the world.

Only rice that does not grow longer than 7mm will be sold locally, while the rest will be exported – with Saudi Arabia expected to be a huge benefactor, according to Bloomberg News. Eventually, Saudi Star hopes to lease up to 500,000 ha of Ethiopian land.

Land grabs in Ethiopia are well underway, and given lack of genuine government oversight comprise nothing less than a humanitarian disaster.

images via Felix Horne

More on Ethiopia and Land Grabs:

Global Land Grabs: Benefits, Emerging Dangers, and Growing Anxieties

Egypt to Grab Sudanese Land to Meet its Wheat Needs

Ethiopia’s New Solar-Powered Cell Phone Charging and Water Service

The post Saudi Star Among Firms Behind Thousands of Forced Relocations in Ethiopia appeared first on Green Prophet.