the disease primarily strikes stigmatized populations like illegal drug users in the poor and developing countries contaminated medical equipment or procedures infect millions and in developed countries like the us unscreened blood transfusions and needles can spread the virus and when it comes to the latest virus pandemic covert 19 this year's nobel winners offer hope for finding a cure one like this should humble us and recognizing that doing good against viruses that are going to be associated with a lot of stigma that's what science is about science is about defending those who feel stigmatized and oftentimes don't pursue that here because of that stigma and shame because of the pandemic the nobel announcement ceremony was virtual and with no covert vaccine the celebration of other medical discoveries continues on line to harding al-jazeera.

this is al-jazeera these are the headlines what has press secretary kelly mcinerney is the latest member of president donald trump's in circle to test positive for corona virus over the weekend she gave several press briefings with a mosque. riot police in kyrgyzstan capital have dispersed protesters angers at the early results of sunday's election protests are stopped from storming the parliament in bishkek at least 16 people have been injured child stratford was in the middle of those confrontations between protesters and police and sent us this update. security forces a call into the square there for in church that's the sound of calls from the people of the other was this was the. be the world appears a lexus or the your boy the government seems

a prostration either to see. racing. get precinct. as a crackdown english 30. 9 days into the conflict between armenia and azerbaijan both sides are stepping up a still sees over the disputed region of nagorno-karabakh stefana karats the disputed regions largest city has come under sustained bombardment will azerbaijan says forces have attacked a number of their cities with missiles in iran almost the entire country has been put on a coronavirus red alert after a rise of cases 235 people have died in the past day stay with us and al-jazeera inside stories next.

is paul to feel about to break away lead is in the region of 2 grey wall they've stopped recognizing the national government in the capital addis ababa it's the latest challenge to the federal system that stitches if you will be as a tiff the last ethnic groups into a nation this is inside story. welcome to the program. in doha. one if you p.s. prime minister came to power 2 years ago that promised an end to authoritarianism

and the start of the transition to full democracy but his plans have met resistance nowhere war then into gray in the northern region where a recent election was held in defiance of the federal government to grey leaders warned the stop recognizing the leadership in that's going to fears that if europe could break up as the prime minister deals with growing calls from other regions for more autonomy the feud between the federal government. and the greys regional leaders lated last month when they went ahead with the elections for the 2 gray parliament it was an act of defiance against the federal leadership in the capital which blamed the coronavirus emergency for postponing all elections the region's governing party that's a great people's liberation front accuse prime minister ahmed of holding the polls to stay in power until recently the typical lath has been part of

a coalition of the likely based parties each in control of their own region they've since birth into prime minister prosperity party of a typical left refused to join live in it without influence in federal government mohamed atta's sets up our discussion from nairobi in neighboring kenya the standoff between the to grab a region of north an ethiopian and the government the federal government and that this is depending with the leadership of the region now threatening that that will stop recognizing the prime minister until he holds elections elections was slated for august but the prime minister postponed them citing the quote on a biased condemning he says he's committed to holding elections but yet has not given a date when these elections will be held that to grow the region and its leadership . i've been a thorn in the flesh of the prime minister of assisi came to power in 2008 and with

a regional. leader us who the former ruling elite and members of the to great people's liberation front which is only 3 appear formal almost 30 is to say that the prime minister has been cutting out swift reforms rescinding some of the progress them achieved in the almost 3 decades they've been in power the prime minister only spot sais that giving freedom to the people of ethiopia was necessary and that he was not going to remain hostage to the party of course the tea p.l.f. was quit the ruling coalition that also attack and then members out of the government of prime minister ahmed they have been secluded in mckennitt the regional headquarters in the north some of the leadership of the t.p.s. are being sought for crimes supposedly committed while in office and for all intents and purposes have cut ties with the government for almost the last 2 years they are surrounded by the federal forces of ethiopia but that is the opium prime

minister has got to go to can he stated that he was not going to use military mince to resolve the standoff between him and the leadership of thought region of course is still just to get some issues with the prime minister obviously o.p.'s some other regions also unhappy about his disposal off the constant pieties of the former ruling party or coalition that the european people are sort of pollution a democratic front and they say that the creation of just one patito only $30.00 pm is an affront to the federalism system. that in ethiopia in the early ninety's mohamed i don't i'll just see it for inside story. let's bring in our guests in frank for in germany said earlier lemma editor in chief of the artist's stand the newspaper and if the o.p.'s capital william davis

and sr if the european and international crisis group welcome to the program said ali is there any concern here that if your could break up well it is a considerable concern given that since right now internet state is not backing down in its demands and that the government to crack kept referring to it at current situation as a potential recipe for a theocracy disintegration and so it causes a serious because it may not be a reality it is a very concerning definitely and william other to grow a determent about the need to move forward establish a state of their own or do you think this is just an act of brinkmanship for more political pressure on the government. well we're certainly not at the stage jets

where a push for succession is a reality of course secession is actually legal under ethiopia's constitution so it is always as a last resort for regional state that is not happy with the federal government but instead it is more as you describe it looks like an act of brinksmanship. he said. the ruling party integrates and the region is by no means backing down from its position it's actually calling the federal government in a judgment as you know saying that it will not fully cooperate with the federal government and respect towards so this seems to be pushing the federal government further into a corner and the action that the federal government takes in response may in turn elicit a response from the great and we could be down. of. a cycle of deterioration

which could eventually lead to conflict so dolly the to grow a regional government went ahead with the regional elections advance and that you won't deal with the government and youth what i'm van't you want to recognize or extend the mandate of the federal parliament and also the government of that from. the fear if they want to recognize the legitimacy of prime minister at the moment that that's a serious threat to the federal establishment. it is it indeed it is that the more concerning issue is the way the further government kept on downplaying these i think their understanding of this is that there are a few discriminant members of that live up in the north and neck and it making it outrageous to me and i do not think the federal government is taking this threat

serious the president has just delivered her opening speech at the joint parliament city which commences the beginning of the new working year for the incumbent went to great britain has further taken other measures in which that they have announced that today they're pulling all of their representatives was from the house of representatives and the house and or some other elected offices leg the council of ministers they don't have or hasn't that ever symbolically that sets up so i do not seek to grab it in one state what endowments do mines because that would mean they would have to overturn the election is that they have more than 2.7 need to grant have participated you know they would have to overturn record that election if they needed to make any compromise in the demands of the federal government or the federal government had to recognise that election or end it is their weight

a middle ground had to be found but i did not see this coming from the federal government i did not seek to grant we're tearing down steel mines all right so this is where we are now and to release it it was ethnic divisions have been political 4th lines for decades in a few apia one of a prime minister ahmed dawes in in the coming days would make significant impact on the outlook of the nation what do you think he can do to bridge the ethnic divide enough. well i mean that yes ethiopia has many. political problems some of them go back decades even centuries so there's nothing that can be done in the short term to resolve those problems what we're seeing with regards to degree region and its

dispute with the federal government is an argument over the constitution it's a dispute about the decision to delay the election and both sides accusing the other of now lacking legal legitimacy so this is clear indications of a federation that is facing the most extreme strains and as you refer to there are always there are also a number of other very serious political problems notably in our media where it's believed that the federal government has lost a considerable amount of support among its most populous regional states what this all amounts to is a need for serious concerted comprehensive political negotiations in the theater now many actors of the knowledge that many actors are pushing for that but you know whether it's some hardline preconditions that have been set up by the government or talks to occur or whether it's the fact that some opposition leaders have recently

been arrested or whether it's doubts about the federal government's commitment to those types of negotiations there are some serious obstacles in the way but it is an absolute must that some form of inclusive comprehensive political negotiations take place to address all of these outstanding issues said dolly the the which is the dominant political force in the region says that is has been betrayed by the establishment in particular by prime minister. because the political landscape has always been dominated by the ruling coalition which is the it p.r. d.f. now there were. somehow marginalized by the prime minister and their political influence started to wane and they said if we're going to lose the only option left for us is to move backwards towards our own play and dictate our own

terms. well you know the grievous descriptives from the t.p. has its foundation from and maggie standing from the way the prime minister has a stent now 2 major things one is when he does not and the e-card if it's. 2 to salvage his own party which is more now the prosperity party. what he did that to pave was not an argument was that they say that this was not what we have agreed also establishing a single patsy out of the choir lucian was always in the corridor in the act and there so they disagreed with that and that's where they walked out of the the new formation of the prosperity party i think that this was preceded by another fortnight in man descending when the prime minister begun to singlehandedly prosecute t.p.a. of members for all the mistakes that were done in the last 27 years in which the

prime minister himself has apologized for that if your 'd people in the parliament but then soon after that he started you know persecuting is government started going after t.p. live seeing it readership and others who are you know i got it so this has really caused some serious concern some serious grievances. and they didn't want to join the party that he stabbed so this to what lengths have exacerbated that disarmament between the federal government and the t.p.m. if that's what made the t.p.a. live to you know want to get there and and not get itself into crime which has created a physical distance as it is and also the political program distance between the 2 so that created a significant strain in the relationship between the 2 today william v. by dismantling the e.p. r.d.f.

and establishing his own. the party of the people of the prosperity party which he considers to be the the only option to bring the nation together is the prime minister genuine about bringing the nation together do you think this is a political move to further consolidate his political clout. no i think the prosperity party. was in many ways. that that type of move to replace the coalition was necessary because the e.p. idea if it had a very long rule it was widely accused of of oratory and practices the t.l.'s was considered to be overly dominant within the e.p.a. and ultimately. the authorities were fighting against each other and so there was an absolute need to move on from the e.p. idea and i think that was the prime motivation for the creation of prosperity party but you're absolutely right there's already also been

a desire understandably to some extent from the prime minister to distance himself from the legacy of the. left and also to some extent the ethnic politics in the ethnic federation that characterized that era now moving ahead with the prosperity party the problem has been you know at the root of the political dysfunction are these disagreements about the type of federal system and particularly the degree of autonomy that regional states have and whether it's even correct in the 1st place for those regional states have an ethnic character now with the creation of prosperity party many of the prime ministers opponents from the ethno nationalist camp they believe that this is the 1st step to undermining that ethnic basis so the regional states and their autonomy and that's one of the main reasons that it's led to these continuing chronic problems so dolly the prime minister has been promoting . other togetherness within the diversity of ethiopia it's quite fascinating that

even in his boss to like all mia he doesn't seem to be really selling very notion to the people and he seems to be losing ground even among his own supporters. and it is i think the way the political tragic story today that is being overseen by the prime minister has very little to do was the legacy lasley that he passionately introduced to this even people you know meant demmer as a state. the way he stablished the prosperity party is i think at the root cause of the problems that he's facing even in europe yet because what is happening was it was a organizational structure if there is one of the disparity patty today is the consolidation of power of the very few people and. that is of course the prime minister he is the president of the prosperity pact but he's also seen hiring for example

a center coming to member in a manic or sad not on behalf of the prosperity party but on behalf of the prosperity artist or romania branch this shows you that the party structure lacks currents and that the prime minister das as he wishes to 'd and there has not been any consent it didn't even thorough the procedures that are outlined on the prosperity package manifest so this is an indication that power as we consolidate and is been consolidated out of the things it prime minister is and that in that in the meeting of these so this has been very clear to the people in the media it's very clear to the people in it and it works at the south as it sounds and nations you know there is no. there is no structure that's governing this house what we see is the prime minister's leash to even an entire zone an administration as we have seen in or lighten up and so there has been that kind of inconsistent organization

and structure being presided by the prime minister today so this is at the root cause of peace you know losing the ground so boarding or mia and sounds and s. where it's what you have it's become. extremely difficult to sell the notion of federalism in a place like if you appear with the rise of ethno nationalist activists basically in all the major bridges just to give you an example the why of the to graham's for example are adamant about the need for self determination in the future the oromo people for example the already a classic party has been advocating the notion of on the as a special interest in the suburbs as their own stronghold when we know the other minority there compared to the harder. to the i'm harder isn't this conducive to further disintegration in the near future unless there is a miracle. well i just want to play to pick you up on something that i mean i don't

think it's this the idea of a federal system that's been discredited in ethiopia the alternative to that is some form of unitary structure that did not work in the past in ethiopia in the civil war and the federation was a creation of that but of course there is very strong opposition to the ethnic nature of the regional states and the degrees of autonomy as we've discussed but at the same time pushing hard against that ethnic basis and that regional autonomy would also probably lead to some of the stabilization so there is a serious you know there's a very tricky balancing act that leaves the town undoubtedly there is also a problem with elements of ethnic nationalism also with elements of the design of the federal system and as you correctly point to the issue of this and what's described as army is interest in it is an outstanding issue but that can be worked through through legislative processes through compromise to some form of power sharing revenue sharing other mechanisms but at the moment we are not seeing that

sort of consensual compromise politics instead we're seeing not 0 sum politics we have this fundamental divide over the federation they also have these different competing ethno nationalisms the country needs to get past that arise starts looking for ways to address its problems let's see how how to move forward said ali i mean ethnic nationalism is always driving a populist agenda and the lesson people learned from the ethnic federalism in yugoslavia is that the moment you have similar discontent that could just degenerate into a full blown civil war what do you think. should prime minister do in the near future to stop this crisis do it does he have to tackle ethnicity or move forward 'd and reform of the constitution. well you know if there is a country that has always been ethnically divided this ethnic group was simply sort of this word around but this this close up of ethnic politics did not enter if you

can 'd spot it here because by the politics in the last 27 years it has always been there what is what is highlighted in the last 27 years is that region and the state because there is no in the stick around there is not you know we haven't looked at the creation of the region that states such as me and it's not a state or i'm having tonight when forward we are at a political deadlock. and there are increasing course for for an inclusive national debt look there's a troubling aspect of understanding for the ruling party whenever this word is mentioned about the national debt and that then are students in a way a power sharing arrangement i do not think that current supporting for that of course there are parts that are calling for a transition of government to. it's a belief itself and spoiling the national debt or that or so instead which lead to particular credit government which just agreed of course i want to step one but

even if it's also calling on the release of political interest as it was a national debt or can we had a beastly risky step underspin bust so this is the court and the extraordinary court was also made by the patrick received an orthodox ladder church in his address on the eve of mescal separation where he can hear me outlined for political elites to put their differences aside and come in one room and negotiate and discuss i don't think any other way out of this and as we go i hate us whether we want an attic friends or whether we want a unitary system this cannot be gent was that would have been an inclusive or rounded diana it was all state quarters and this is the only way out i see at the moment william. i think it would be very naive to assume that you can tackle ethnic divide when the continent itself has been lost by the byte by the ethnic

divide and if this it's woven into the political social and cultural fabric of the continent but what about building democratic institutions because this is where the has failed in a sense or another he came about with this vibrant call for genuine transparency and democracy still doesn't that does not seem to be the case what we've had what we've had during the premiership is continuing political volatility plenty of violent episodes so that really hasn't allowed the space for any kind of signal significant democratic reforms to take place we do still have a very significant appointee is in charge of democratic institutions whether it's a superior court human rights commission the electoral board so there is still plenty of reason for hope but at the root of ethiopia's problems as we've been discussing is these fundamental political divides so and so the country. conducts

somes form of national dialogue to address the fundamental issues as part of that dialogue sets the conditions to hold some form of free and fair election then we are likely to have continuing political turbulence whilst we have that continuing political turbulence the federal government will be fire fighting there will still be rivalry between regional states there will be a host of other problems and essentially there will not be the space so that time of institutional development the growth of autonomous institutions that the country needs so really the 1st the 1st order problem is to sort out the politics and then address these deeper lying issues. it's a nation at a critical moment aver calls for a politically inclusive dialogue that could diffuse the tension or bracing for more uncertainty sedalia lemme william davison i really appreciate your insight looking forward to talking to you in the near future thank you for watching you can see the program again any time by visiting our website dot com for further discussion go to

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leave is evidence that you have fully cleaned some mystery wanted to give an exit and i would expect from started speaking about the rogue in the book before even the saudi government if i would just have jamal khashoggi murder in a saudi consulate on al-jazeera a face can tell a story without uttering a single word the unconventionality of life is what inspires us. to witness documentaries on out is there on the river nile river a vital source of source to us to the countries it flows through this new thing called who can lay claim it would be for the good given the resources we found both great but with this comes a destabilizing rivalry countries suspicious of each other's intentions in the battle for control of the record transporting food and consultation was not open to the contras because of some unknown fear struck a little bit on al jazeera. we understand the differences on the similarities of

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