npr--2019-02-07--Zimbabwe Remains In Turmoil After Unrest And Reports Of Heavy Crackdown

Zimbabwe Remains In Turmoil After Unrest And Reports Of Heavy Crackdown  Human rights groups in Zimbabwe estimate that security agents have killed more than a dozen Zimbabweans and wounded and arrested hundreds more in a sweeping crackdown after three days of protests and labor strikes against a fuel price hike last month.  The protests have subsided, but Zimbabwe's problems are still spiraling.  Anger against the state is palpable, and with the rising cost of goods and a drawn-out cash shortage, there could be more civil unrest ahead for the southern African nation of about 16.5 million.  At the heart of Zimbabwe's problems are a failing economy and the opposition's continued challenge to President Emmerson Mnangagwa's legitimacy. He narrowly won the presidential election last July, promising to deliver economic reforms and democratic freedom after almost four decades of Robert Mugabe's oppressive rule. But critics say the new administration has so far failed to resolve the economic woes it inherited, and its security forces have launched brutal repression of the public.  "The real issue is that [Mnangagwa] is trying to reform the economy while he is maintaining an authoritarian system — that is not going to work," said Dumisani Muleya, the editor of private business newspaper The Zimbabwe Independent. "He must stick to the agenda of total reform."  One reform triggered major upheaval. On Jan. 12, President Mnangagwa announced a 150 percent increase of the price of gas, saying it was needed to secure the nation's fuel supply. That angered citizens already struggling with annual inflation estimated at more than 235 percent, according to Steve Hanke, an economist at Johns Hopkins University.  Activists and labor unions called for a national shutdown and, on Jan. 14, Zimbabweans responded: shops and businesses closed, workers stayed away from work and students stayed out of school across the country.  Protesters put stones and makeshift barricades in the streets to stop traffic. Within hours, demonstrations escalated into violence, as police tried to disperse the crowds with tear gas. Angered by the police clampdown, people broke into stores thought to be linked to members of the ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front. The looting spread from one neighborhood to another. The state responded to the three-day chaos with nighttime house raids by security forces.  Henry Dube, a 54-year-old entrepreneur, was grazed by a bullet, tear-gassed and described being beaten by security forces the day the anti-fuel price protests began. He said the government was behaving like a military dictatorship. "The people who lead us are dictators, they rule by command and everything a soldier does is by command and order," he told NPR.  After investigating the incidents, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission concluded that the army and police "instigated systematic torture" of suspected looters and protesters. Another group, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, said the "systematic and sustained nature of the violations raises fear that this is becoming a case of crimes against humanity."  In a series of tweets, Mnangagwa said that "violence or misconduct by our security forces is unacceptable" and warned that "heads will roll" in the ranks if they acted wrongly. But he later dismissed condemnation of the security agents' crackdown and said the use of force was justified to stop protesters from looting and destroying property.  The leader quickly returned from a foreign investment trip — and skipped the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland — to deal with the unrest.  On Wednesday, the president called for a national dialogue with his opponents, but the leading opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance, rejected the invitation. In a statement, the party listed "minimum conditions" the administration should fulfill for talks to begin, such as releasing jailed activists and protesters and disclosing the real number of civilians killed during and following the unrest. Local human rights groups allege as many as 17 people have been killed, while police put the number at three.  Yet many Zimbabweans are skeptical about prospects for fair dialogue.  "The government doesn't seem to understand dialogue. That's why people have resorted to strikes. This situation will never be OK unless there is dialogue," said Dube.  Piers Pigou, a senior consultant for southern Africa at the International Crisis Group, believes dialogue between the government and opposition could be a way forward, but without clear demonstration of goodwill from Mnangagwa toward activists in jail and in hiding, there is little hope for resolution.  "The country is polarized on multiple fronts. Ideally, the government would commit to supporting the development and implementation of some form of national reconciliation strategy to at least start to heal these divisions," Pigou said. "For now, however, such a strategy is not even part of political discourse."  Pigou expects neighboring South Africa could help mediate in the predicament, as it has in Zimbabwe's past crises. Many, including South African opposition parties, are irked that President Cyril Ramaphosa has not spoken out on the issue.  "Change is a faraway dream for Zimbabwe, because even the African leaders around us who should help are silent," said Dube. "They have adopted a system of quiet diplomacy, as if they don't see what's happening here. Countries like South Africa are letting the situation carry on as if everything is normal, but it's not."  Shops, banks and factories reopened after the three-day shutdown late last month, but basic goods such as bread, cooking oil and medicines are costly and in short supply.  Meanwhile, armed soldiers and police have set up security checkpoints in cities and are sometimes deployed to gas stations to maintain order in the long lines. Reports of alleged security abuse continue in the low-income areas of Harare and the city of Bulawayo.  As Zimbabwe sinks deeper into economic crisis, the prospect of more protests against the government's austerity measures is strong, which could lead to more government crackdowns.  This week, Mnangwaga reportedly accused Western powers, including the United States, of stoking opposition and unrest in Zimbabwe.  The U.S. has routinely urged Zimbabwe to implement democratic reforms, as a condition to dropping targeted sanctions against the government. Zimbabwe has been slow to change a 2002 public safety law the leadership has often used to empower the police and the military to crush revolts.  On Aug. 1, 2018, soldiers fired live rounds at demonstrators in the capital who were protesting against delays in announcing the presidential election. At least six people were killed and 23 injured, according to a commission set up to investigate the incident.  "Before last year, the standard response of the [Mugabe] state was not the use of live ammunition and the use of the military on the street for security purposes," said the International Crisis Group's Pigou. "This development is deeply problematic and a reflection of the growing influence of the military in the governance of Zimbabwe."  Mnangagwa would need to take swifter measures toward meaningful political dialogue, pass effective economic reform and rein in the security forces, analysts say, to stop tensions between the public and the state from boiling over once again.


npr--2019-02-15--Do Not Travel To Haiti US Tells Citizens Citing Violent Unrest

'Do Not Travel To Haiti,' U.S. Tells Citizens, Citing Violent Unrest  "Do not travel to Haiti due to crime and civil unrest," the U.S. State Department says, urging Americans to avoid the country that is wracked with violent protests against President Jovenel Moise. The State Department is pulling all nonemergency U.S. personnel and their family members from the country.  The U.S. advisory comes one week after anti-corruption protests intensified, reflecting fury over a court report that alleges billions of dollars in development money from Venezuela's Petrocaribe fund were diverted or misused. The accusations include Moise and a company he headed before he took office in 2017.  At least seven deaths have been reported, and large demonstrations have paralyzed much of Haiti, with barricades and roadblocks and the threat of roving criminals. Until Thursday night, Moise had not spoken at length publicly about the situation, but he broke his silence in a national address that was aired on TV and streamed on Facebook.  "I hear you," Moise told the country in Creole, echoing remarks he made when protests roiled the country last July. He acknowledged the crisis has grown more serious since then — but the president rejected the idea of resigning, saying he wanted to work on behalf of regular people.  "I will not leave the country in the hands of armed gangs and drug traffickers," he said, according to Agence France-Presse.  His critics say Moise is a symbol of the mismanagement and profiteering that take place at the highest levels while Haitians watch their country sink deeper into poverty. In recent years, Haiti's already bad economy has unraveled, bringing double-digit inflation and high prices for essential goods.  The demonstrations against Moise are widespread and unpredictable, the U.S. said, citing incidents of burning tires and roadblocks. The U.S. is urging any Americans who are in Haiti to "strongly consider" leaving as soon as they can.  "Protests, tire burning, and road blockages are frequent and unpredictable. Violent crime, such as armed robbery, is common," the State Department said in a recent security update. "Local police may lack the resources to respond effectively to serious criminal incidents, and emergency response, including ambulance service, is limited or non-existent."  Amid the chaos, inmates staged a mass breakout at a prison, with 78 prisoners escaping from a facility in Aquin.  Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere; it's deeply in debt and is still struggling to recover from 2010's devastating earthquake. Its infrastructure also was ravaged by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.  Commercial flights are still operating in and out of international airports in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien — but the State Department said traveling to or from those hubs also poses a unique security risk.  "Travelers are sometimes targeted, followed, and violently attacked and robbed shortly after leaving the Port-au-Prince international airport," the State Department said. "The U.S. Embassy requires its personnel to use official transportation to and from the airport, and it takes steps to detect surveillance and deter criminal attacks during these transports."  The State Department says anyone trying to reach the airports would need to be mindful of pop-up demonstrations, debris, rock-throwing and roadblocks — which should be avoided by simply turning around.  The unrest follows similar scenes last July, when deadly clashes and large protests brought the resignations of the prime minister and more than a dozen Cabinet members. That crisis was sparked by fury over a spike in gas prices, after the government agreed to let fuel prices rise as part of economic reforms set by the International Monetary Fund.  Last month, Haiti took a surprising stand against Venezuela's current government, joining the U.S. in refusing to recognize the legitimacy of Nicolás Maduro's new term as president, in a vote at the Organization of American States. It was a stark reversal of Haiti's stance one year earlier, as Haiti Liberte reported.  Haiti has kept fuel prices artificially low since 2010, trying to ease the pressures of recovering from that year's earthquake. But when the government abruptly tried to raise them — seemingly hoping to use an engrossing match during last year's World Cup as a distraction — the public acted out. The decision was quickly reversed, but Moise's political crisis has continued.


rferl--2019-07-18--Thirteen Arrested In Armenia After Violent Unrest Over Logging Ban

YEREVAN – Police in Armenia made 13 arrests early on July 18 after clashing overnight with residents of the northern Tavush Province who were protesting a government logging ban in the area.      Several hundred protesters on the previous day blocked a highway leading into the provincial capital of Ijevan and called on authorities to let them cut and sell wood from nearby forests.      They said logging is their sole source of income.      Riot police used force after the protesters refused to unblock the highway that also heads toward the main Armenian-Georgian border crossing.      Police officers were pelted with stones and hit by sticks during the clashes. Eleven were hospitalized, a spokesman for the Armenian police said.      At least one injured civilian also received medical treatment.      Traffic through the busy road resumed after police reinforcements arrived.      The national police chief, Valeri Osipian, also rushed to the scene on July 17 and stayed there until the following afternoon.      A spokeswoman for Armenia’s Investigative Committee, Naira Harutiunian, said dozens of people were taken for questioning after the clashes. Thirteen of them were placed under arrest on suspicion of hooliganism and for resisting law enforcement authorities, while six others signed written pledges not to leave their places of residence pending investigation, Harutiunian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.      One of Osipian’s deputies, Vartan Movsisian, said the police are now trying to track down and arrest other violent protesters.      Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian condemned the unrest in Ijevan, his hometown, as he chaired a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan.      “Those responsible for yesterday’s events, as well as the organizers of illegal logging, must be strictly punished,” said Pashinian.      “We will be halting illegal logging in the most resolute manner,” he said.


russiainsider--2019-09-17--Unhinged Neocon Ogress Applebaum on Board of NGO Stoking Hong Kong Unrest

September 10, 2019 (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - The US continues to deny any involvement in ongoing unrest in China's special administrative region of Hong Kong.  However, even a casual look at US headlines or comments made by US politicians makes it clear the unrest not only suits US interests, but is spurred on almost exclusively by them.  However, even US policymakers have all but admitted that the US is funnelling millions of dollars into Hong Kong specifically to support "programs" there. The Hudson Institute in an article titled, "China Tries to Blame US for Hong Kong Protests," would admit:  The article would then quote Pillsbury as saying:  A visit to the NED's website reveals an entire section of declared funding for Hong Kong specifically. The wording for program titles and their descriptions is intentionally ambiguous to give those like US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plausible deniability.     However, deeper research reveals NED recipients are literally leading the protests.     The South China Morning Post in its article, "Hong Kong protests: heavy jail sentences for rioting will not solve city’s political crisis, former Civil Human Rights Front convenor says," would report:  The article would omit mention of Johnson Yeung Ching-yin's status as an NED fellow. His profile is - at the time of this writing - still accessible on the NED's official website, and the supposed NGO he works for in turn works hand-in-hand with US and UK-based fronts involved in supporting Hong Kong's current unrest and a much wider anti-Beijing political agenda.     Johnson Yeung Ching-yin also co-authored an op-ed in the Washington Post with Joshua Wong titled, "As you read this, Hong Kong has locked one of us away."       Wong has travelled to Washington DC multiple times, including to receive "honors" from NED-subsidiary Freedom House for his role in leading unrest in 2014 and to meet with serial regime-change advocate Senator Marco Rubio.      It should also be noted that the Washington Post's Anne Applebaum also sits on the NED board of directors.       This evidence, along with extensively documented ties between the United States government and other prominent leaders of the Hong Kong unrest reveals US denial of involvement in Hong Kong as yet another willful lie told upon the international stage - a lie told even as the remnants of other victims of US interference and intervention smolder in the background.     The direct ties and extreme conflicts of interest found under virtually every rock overturned when critically examining the leadership of Hong Kong's ongoing unrest all lead to Washington. They also once again reveal the Western media as involved in a coordinated campaign of disinformation - where proper investigative journalism is purposefully side-stepped and narratives shamelessly spun instead to frame Hong Kong's ongoing conflict in whatever light best suits US interests.     What's worse is big-tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Google purging thousands of accounts attempting to reveal the truth behind Hong Kong's unrest and the true nature of those leading it. If this is the level of lying, censorship, and authoritarianism Washington is willing to resort to in order for Hong Kong's opposition to succeed, it begs one to wonder what this so-called opposition is even fighting for. Certainly not "democracy" or "freedom."


sluggerotoole--2019-11-28--Soapbox: Why Northern Ireland’s leaders should take the unrest rocking the Middle East as a warning

Dan Haverty is a Washington-based journalist. He holds an MA in International Relations from University College Cork, where he spent two years conducting research on the peace process in Northern Ireland and has bylines in History Ireland (upcoming) and the Irish Echo.  It’s been a turbulent few weeks. Anti-government protests erupted across Latin America, forcing the resignation of Bolivian President Evo Morales, and pushing Chilean President Sebastián Piñera to implement widespread reform. In the Middle East, protests against fuel hikes are shaking Iran to its core, anti-government demonstrations in Lebanon brought down the administration of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, and in Iraq, Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi’s rule looks increasingly precarious.  It is these last two cases that are of particular importance to Northern Ireland because of the striking similarities between the fundamental structures of their societies, and between the grievances, protesters are pushing forward.  In Lebanon, protesters are demonstrating against a rigidly sectarian governing system that was instituted in the aftermath of the civil war, rewarding Christian, Shiite, and Sunni elites but leaving little space for nonsectarian interests. Similarly in Iraq, protesters are demanding change to a government that is constrained by competing Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish factions, where those seeking a politics that transcends those divides are largely left out.  These types of systems can function when there is minimal external pressure, but in an era of extreme economic uncertainty and protracted regional conflict, the public demanded responsive, efficient governance. Instead, they got inadequate social services, bloated bureaucracies, and leaders who focus more on their narrow sectarian rivalries than the immediate needs of the people they serve. This will sound depressingly familiar to the people of Northern Ireland  One should be cautious about essentializing issues (and especially responses to those issues) in one place and using them to gauge attitudes in another. Outbreaks of public unrest are always multifactorial and much of a single population’s behaviour can be discerned by its unique historical and cultural experience. And, of course, the conditions that breed unrest in one place do not necessarily make unrest inevitable elsewhere.  Still, it is clear that the events unfolding in the Middle East are part of a global trend, and national actors are very often influenced and inspired by world events. Such a tradition has existed in Ireland since at least the late 18th century. For that reason, Northern Ireland’s political leaders should take the unrest rocking the Middle East as a warning, because the fundamental issues over which protesters are taking to the streets in Iraq and Lebanon are the same ones fuelling an underlying sense of discontent in Northern Ireland.  Northern Ireland has been without its devolved government for more than 1,000 days. The Executive collapsed in January 2017 after Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness resigned over a botched heating initiative. Gaps between the positions of Sinn Féin and the DUP proved unbridgeable, preventing its restoration after the Assembly elections in March of that year.  Negotiations trudged along through the months that followed. At times it seemed like there was simply no path to an agreement, while at others it looked like a deal was imminent. A major breakthrough did seem close in March 2018 before the DUP pulled out at the eleventh hour. Then Brexit heated up and consumed the nation’s attention, putting Stormont negotiations on the backburner.  Westminster was reluctant to impose direct rule, partly because of the inevitable controversy it would create but also because no one in the British government had the appetite to stomach Northern Ireland with Brexit on their plate. Northern Ireland was thus left in political purgatory—none of its parties have made a major decision for the country in almost three years, and London is doing little more than writing its checks. Professional civil servants are the ones holding things together, but with no civil or budgetary oversight, social services are beginning to crumble.  In June, a Chartered Accountants Survey showed that 94 percent of the public felt that the lack of a functioning executive has had a negative effect on the provision of public services. This was followed-up in early November, when Westminster’s Northern Ireland Affairs Committee produced a report concluding that in lieu of a long-term funding strategy, the country’s health services risked “deteriorating to the point of collapse.”  Nurses have waited long enough. Members of the Northern Ireland branch of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which has over 435,000 members across the whole of the United Kingdom, voted overwhelmingly to go on strike to advocate against low pay and understaffing. The strike will last a single day on December 3, but the RCN said further strikes are planned into the new year if their demands are not met. With little hope of Stormont being functional again in the near future, more industrial action appears likely.  A healthy, prosperous, and stable population might be able to withstand even a few years without proper services, but the social situation in Northern Ireland has significantly worsened in recent years. Suicide rates continue to rise—especially among young people—and a drugs epidemic has left hundreds dead and thousands more in need of serious medical attention. This is occurring against the backdrop of the growing threat paramilitaries pose to public safety and immense economic uncertainty due to Brexit.  Much of this could be mitigated by effective governance from Stormont, but the rigidly sectarian power-sharing structure has only entrenched disagreement and prevented any movement on these issues. Critics have always pointed out that the Good Friday Agreement’s glaring flaw was that it institutionalized sectarianism by allowing only parties that self-identified as ‘nationalist’ or ‘unionist’ to sit on the Executive, encouraging voters to choose those parties and effectively locking the doors of power to unaligned parties like Alliance. This guaranteed that all political life would continue to flow through a sectarian lens, and those parties that espoused the most sectarian politics would be rewarded.  That’s precisely how Sinn Féin and the DUP monopolized power in the early 2000s, but recent evidence suggests that voters are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with this sectarian system of government.  Alliance had an historic showing at the local elections in May, extending its seat total from 32 to 53, while the nonsectarian Greens and People Before Profit also saw modest gains. None of the main nationalist or unionist parties gained any seats, and, conversely, most of them saw losses. A recent opinion poll by LucidTalk indicates that those results will be replicated in the Westminster elections next month. Support for both Sinn Féin and the DUP has dropped significantly since 2017, and Alliance looks poised to have its best electoral performance ever.  But election data is only a measure of those members of the public that still have faith in the system. Though turnout shot upwards at the 2017 Assembly election, there had been a downward trend at every prior election since 1998, and it notched just over 50 percent in 2016. The latest Northern Ireland Life and Times survey now suggests that a full 24 percent of people don’t support any party—sectarian or not—and that feeling is felt across confessional lines. Voter participation is often used to gauge the confidence a population has in its democracy, and a low turnout tends to bely dissatisfaction with the entire system.  The combination of these factors paints a grim picture that eerily resembles that which existed in Lebanon and Iraq on the eve of their protests. The social situation is rapidly deteriorating and deep-rooted sectarianism has paralyzed the government, gutting the only effective means by which the country can avoid a freefall. This state of affairs has turned the public away from the old sectarian way of doing politics, and voters are looking across traditional religious divides to seek allies in new places. Then there’s the substantial minority that’s totally disenchanted, rejecting the system in its entirety.  Nonsectarianism and anti-government sentiment are the hallmarks of the Iraqi and Lebanese protests, and those attitudes are growing at an unmanageable rate in Northern Ireland. The country’s leaders should take seriously a global trend that is placing their like on the side of Saad Hariri, Adil Abdul-Mahdi, and other elites, and work to institute deep and far-reaching institutional change, lest they suffer the same fate as their Middle Eastern counterparts.  “SYRIA-CRISIS/GORAN TOMASEVIC/REUTERS” by a.anis is licensed under CC BY-ND


sputnik--2019-03-28--US Orders Personnel to Evacuate Comoros Due to Unrest - Embassy Alert

"The Union of the Comoros is experiencing gunfire, political unrest, and infrastructure disruptions", the alert said. "US Government personnel have been ordered to depart the country".  The embassy warned citizens to avoid crowds and demonstrations, have evacuation plans that do not rely on US government assistance and review personal security plans.  According to the embassy, the Union of the Comoros has experienced demonstrations, civil unrest, and roadblocks impacting travel since the 24 March elections.  "Chief of Mission official and personal travel to Comoros is restricted until further notice except for mission-critical travel deemed essential by the Deputy Chief of Mission", the US Embassy said.


theguardianuk--2019-10-19--Catalan president calls for talks with Spain's government after unrest

Catalonia’s president, Quim Torra, has called for talks with the Spanish government after Friday’s huge, peaceful march held in protest at the jailing of nine pro-independence Catalan leaders was followed by a fifth consecutive night of violent unrest in Barcelona and others parts of the region.  Speaking on Saturday morning, Torra again condemned the violence of recent days, adding: “Violence has never been our flag.”  He urged talks with Spain’s acting government “to open a dialogue to find a democratic solution and a political and democratic” way out of the crisis over regional independence.  The pro-independence regional president has been criticised for his delay in condemning the violence – and for calling for civil disobedience before sending police forces in to quell it.  His call for talks came two days after he suggested another unilateral independence referendum should be held in response to the imprisonment of nine leaders over their roles in the failed push for secession two years ago.  Friday’s violence in Barcelona was centred on the headquarters of the national police force on Via Laietana.  Black smoke rose above the city as protesters set fire to rubbish bins and a newspaper kiosk. Thousands gathered in the surrounding streets chanting: “The streets will always be ours!”  Police struggled to control the situation, firing rubber bullets, teargas and, later in the night, a water cannon was deployed against demonstrators for the first time since it was bought from Israel in 1994.  Officers from both national and regional forces have been criticised for their heavy-handed actions and a journalist from El País was arrested while covering Friday’s skirmishes. Other members of the Spanish media have been intimidated and targeted by some independence supporters.  Fifty-four people were arrested and 182 received medical treatment on Friday night.  Ada Colau, the mayor of Barcelona, said the violence could not continue. She criticised both the throwing of objects by protesters and the police’s use of rubber bullets as well as “the attacks on media professionals”.  She added: “Unfortunately, we endured some very serious moments of violence last night in a peaceful city that believes in dialogue.”  The city council says the violence this week has cost the city more than €2m (£1.7m) – much of it lost by the burning of more than 1,000 rubbish bins. Many Barcelona residents woke up on Saturday to find there was no where to put their garbage.  Hundreds of council workers were on the streets on Saturday trying to clean up from the previous night.  Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, travelled to Barcelona on Saturday to meet his Catalan counterpart and to visit national police officers injured in Friday’s violence.  The march that had preceded the unrest had been overwhelmingly peaceful. According to Barcelona police, about 525,000 people congregated in the city, many of them having marched there from around Catalonia.  A radical movement of young Catalan separatists, Arran, has called for a new demonstration “against repression” in central Barcelona on Saturday afternoon.  Spain’s government has promised a firm, united and proportionate response to the violence but has said it will not fall into the trap of further inflaming tensions.  “The only hope of those violent groups is that we’ll make mistakes and become overexcited and divided,” the acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, said on Wednesday.  Sánchez’s caretaker government has already said it could activate article 155 of the constitution, which would allow it to suspend the regional government and assume direct rule of the region.  The socialist prime minister’s rightwing opponents are calling for the government to take a hard line on the latest eruption of the regional independence crisis. Spain is due to hold its fourth general election in as many years on 10 November.  Although Sánchez has taken a more conciliatory approach to the Catalan question than his predecessor, he has ruled out any referendum on Catalan independence and insisted any negotiations will have to respect the Spanish constitution, which stresses the “indissoluble unity” of the country.

Stephen Burgen in Barcelona and Sam Jones in Madrid


theindependent--2019-01-04--Police officers put on standby for no-deal Brexit unrest in Northern Ireland

Hundreds of English and Scottish police officers could be deployed to combat unrest in Northern Ireland after a no-deal Brexit.  The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has started drawing up plans to call in reinforcements from across the Irish Sea.  Authorities in Belfast fear that their 6,600-strong police force could be overwhelmed should a no-deal Brexit in March lead to the border with Ireland being hardened.  Northern Irish leaders have repeatedly warned that returning to a hard border could provoke civil unrest and even violence.  The former chief constable of the PSNI, Sir Hugh Orde, has previously said failing to keep the border open would “play into the hands of those who are still determined to destroy the relative peace that we have enjoyed through close co-operation and effective policing since the Good Friday agreement”.  Border controls and new facilities could be easy targets for dissident republican paramilitaries, others have warned.  George Mitchell, a former US senator who was a key broker of the peace process, said last year a hard border could turn the clock back on decades of progress.  “The real danger is if you reinstate a hard border, you go back to the days where stereotyping resumes, demonisation resumes and people turn inward as opposed to outwards.”  Training for officers who could be deployed to Northern Ireland is expected to begin this month, The Guardian reported.  In a statement, Chief Superintendent Simon Walls from the PSNI said his force was “working closely with other UK policing partners in our Brexit planning processes”.  “Mutual aid would only be sought if absolutely necessary, however sensible precautionary preparations for it do form part of our ongoing planning work.”  Police forces in Britain regularly lend officers to other organisations to cover short-term needs, a process known as mutual aid.  The PSNI has previously requested extra manpower from British forces to help them police Northern Ireland’s contentious marching season.  During the 2011 riots as many as 1,000 specialist riot-trained officers from across Britain were sent to other jurisdictions to support embattled local forces.  A statement from the National Police Chiefs Council said: “Police forces continue to prepare for possible eventualities as exit from the European Union draws nearer.  “As it stands, we have not received a formal request for mutual aid support from Police Service Northern Ireland.”  The assistant chief constable of Northern Ireland, Mark Hamilton, tried to downplay the likelihood of the PSNI having to call for mutual aid in a later statement.  “At the present time, we do not have any reason to believe we will need to request mutual aid during 2019, but putting precautionary procedures in place for it is part of a sensible planning process,” he said.  “Normally the plans are in place for the summer months, but this year, additional resources will be available from the date of the EU Exit at the end of March, in line with national contingency planning.  “Our view is that it is better to have precautionary plans in place and not use them, than find we may need additional police support but cannot have it because we have not alerted the National Police Coordination Centre [NPCC] in advance.”  But the possibility of large numbers of English and Scottish officers patrolling streets in Northern Ireland is likely to inflame community tensions.  The province voted to remain in 2016’s referendum with a majority of 56 per cent, and border communities in particular have complained about being forced out of the EU against their will.  But others are less perturbed. A poll conducted last summer found 33 per cent of Northern Irish people think the “unravelling of the peace process” would be a price worth paying to leave the EU.  This figure rises to 87 per cent among those who voted Leave.  However, the communities who live along the border tended to vote Remain and are also more likely to be republicans who favour a united Ireland.  Currently, there is no infrastructure or border controls when crossing between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, but if Britain quits the bloc without a deal, goods moving between the two territories will be leaving and entering the EU’s single market and customs union and will need to be checked.  Theresa May met with senior figures in the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) on Thursday in a vain effort to get the Northern Irish party – which has been propping up her minority government – to back her proposed deal with the EU.  But the DUP has said it still will not vote for the prime minister’s deal, mostly because of the Northern Irish backstop.  Nigel Dodds, the party’s Westminster leader, denied there would need to be a hard border even if the UK fails to secure a deal by Brexit day on 29 March.  This is widely contradicted by experts who have said that both London and Dublin would have no choice under international law but to reimpose a hard border.  The party’s Brexit spokesman, Sammy Wilson, dismissed the news of the PSNI’s preparations as “old tactics” being used to create unnecessary alarm over a no-deal Brexit.  “It is important that people do not needlessly create alarm. From the secretary of state to Michael Gove and anyone else the government can persuade, we are subjected to a daily diet of how cataclysmic it would be to reject the prime minister’s withdrawal agreement,” he said.  “Such tactics are as fruitless as they are transparent. They didn’t work before Christmas and they won’t fool parliament now either.”  Other police forces have signalled a no-deal scenario would put them under serious strain.  Kent Police have already confirmed none of their officers are allowed to take any leave for a month after 29 March.  There are fears a no-deal Brexit would cause huge traffic jams across Kent as freight lorries heading to the continent through Dover backed up, and possibly even disorder at ports amid the chaos.  A leaked document prepared by the NPCC revealed there was a “real possibility” that police forces would have to call on the military to help deal with civil unrest caused by a no-deal Brexit.


theindependent--2019-07-05--Sudanaposs military and opposition forge power-sharing deal to end months of unrest

Sudan's military and opposition forge power-sharing deal to end months of unrest

Sudan’s opposition and ruling military junta agreed to a political power-sharing deal early on Friday morning, designed to end months of political unrest that toppled the country’s longtime dictator and left scores of civilians dead.  Word of the deal sparked celebrations in the capital, Khartoum.  “It is a turning point that will usher in a new dawn in the country,” opposition Sudanese Congress Party leader Omar al-Degair was quoted as saying by state radio.  Under the terms of the deal, Sudan’s Transitional Military Council and the opposition Freedom and Change will contribute equally to a 10-person council that will rule over the country, with each side rotating in the leadership for three years or longer before the end of elections.  They also agreed to a joint investigation of the 3 June massacre of peaceful opposition protesters at the hands of shadowy pro-regime militiamen.  Lawyers for the two sides are writing up the agreement, which will be signed by both sides a few days after it is complete, Siddig Yousif, one of the civilian negotiators, told BBC World Service.  “This is the first step for building a democratic Sudan,” he said.  The deal, brokered by the African Union, leaves a fragmented military backed by regional Arab dictatorships firmly entrenched. But it also dissolves the Transitional Military Council that has been in charge since the toppling of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir, a military man.  It comes after nearly eight months of protests that began in a rural enclave over bread price rises and culminated in a vast, peaceful movement led by a network of Sudanese lawyers, doctors, engineers and educators.  Sudan has struggled to throw off the yoke of military rulers for decades. But civilian-led administrations were quickly toppled by the armed forces, who have dragged the country into repeated and disastrous civil wars.  Mr Bashir’s militarism cost the country its oil-rich south, which broke away and became the Republic of South Sudan in 2011. The country’s ongoing civil wars in the Darfur region and elsewhere make it one of the largest producers of refugees in the world.  Mr Yousif acknowledged to the BBC that opposition leaders would have to convince hundreds of thousands of activists and protesters that the deal is worthwhile. They defiantly flooded the streets of Khartoum on 30 June in a mass protest against the military, despite the threat of violence by pro-regime gunmen and a clampdown on the internet.  The deal falls short of the demand for an end to the pervasive power of the military rule demanded by opposition activists and ordinary Sudanese. It appears to keep the leader of the junta, a onetime militia commander named Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, firmly in charge of the security apparatuses, which could easily reverse any democratic gains.  The security forces have refused to lift internet restrictions or release hundreds of political prisoners held in jail.  The military will assume leadership of Sudan for the first half of the transition period, yielding power to civilians under the deal after 21 months.  Some are sceptical that Sudan’s armed forces would ever give up the reins of power, or that armed forces’ Egyptian, Saudi, and Emirati patrons would ever allow a civilian-led democratic Arab government to flower on the Red Sea.  “It’s open to question whether the military is ever going to step down,” Joseph Siegle, director of research at the Washington-based Africa Center for Strategic Studies, told The Independent.  “It’s very consistent with Sudanese politics to make promises and concessions and appear moderate at one point, and then as time passes, to renege on that.”  But the deal may be the best the civilian activists can hope for. The military, which provides Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with ground forces for their four-year war against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, has the firm financial and diplomatic support of the Gulf monarchies as well as the dictatorship in neighbouring Egypt.  In a surprise move, the US vocally called out the meddling by its Gulf allies in Sudan. That, along with African Union pressure on Mr Burhan, may have prompted the military to compromise. The country is also in dire economic straits, with foreign debt at $55bn, inflation running at over 70 per cent, and food and fuel prices tripling in recent months. “Since the beginning there are all these fundamental problems that had sparked the protests to begin with,” said Mr Siegle. “The military is not a position to solve them.”  The deal may also provide some breathing space for the civilian protest movement to continue protests and demand further reform, H.A. Hellyer, a Middle East and north Africa specialist at the Atlantic Council and the Royal United Services Institute, told The Independent. “The deal is not what many in the protest movement will have hoped for, while there will also be those who consider it the least bad of all options,” he said.  Mr Yousif admitted that the deal was a gamble. “We think this will pave the way for an end to military rule in Sudan,” he said, expressing a cautious optimism.


themoscowtimes--2019-08-01--5 Mass Unrest Suspects Detained After Moscow Opposition Rallies

5 ‘Mass Unrest’ Suspects Detained After Moscow Opposition Rallies

Five people have been detained as part of criminal proceedings into mass civil unrest related to last weekend’s opposition protest in Moscow, with more apprehensions expected, Russian investigators said. Police detained more than 1,300 people in central Moscow on Saturday, some violently, at a march in support of fair local elections this fall. Observers have compared the civil unrest case to the aftermath of mass anti-Kremlin demonstrations in 2012, when dozens of activists were prosecuted and jailed.  Authorities suspect 10 or more participants of “taking the most active part in organizing and conducting the mass riots,” the Moscow branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee said Thursday.  Five people have been detained so far, the Investigative Committee said. Those detained include activists Alexei Minyailo, Kirill Zhukov and Ivan Podkopaev. On Friday, Zhukov and Podkopaev were arrested for two months until Sept. 27, the police-monitoring OVD-Info website cited the Investigative Committee as saying.  “We plan a number of detentions of citizens involved in mass riots and violence against law enforcement and Russian National Guard representatives during the unauthorized rally,” investigators said. Earlier this week, investigators raided the homes of at least two activists in connection with the criminal case. The charges for organizing mass riots carry a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.  Several opposition candidates to the 45-seat Moscow City Duma have been jailed as organizers press ahead with new rallies this weekend.  Lyubov Sobol, a rejected candidate who has been on hunger strike for more than two weeks, called on supporters to gather along central Moscow’s Boulevard Ring for a “peaceful march” Saturday.


thetorontostar--2019-08-05--The Latest Lam says she has no plans to resign over unrest

The Latest: Lam says she has no plans to resign over unrest

HONG KONG - The Latest on the protests in Hong Kong (all times local):  Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says she has no plans to resign over the civil unrest targeting her administration.  Lam said she took responsibility for problems as chief executive and was determined to see the situation resolved.  She spoke at a news conference Monday as protesters blocked morning trains and called for a citywide strike. More than 100 flights were cancelled.  Lam said the latest protests had moved from extradition legislation, which her administration had shelved, and now were operating with “ulterior motives” targeting Hong Kong’s prosperity and security.  Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam says recent protests have pushed the city to the “verge of a very dangerous situation” but the government will be resolute in ensuring public order.  A tired looking Lam delivered the remarks at a news conference Monday morning that follows weeks of daily marches and demonstrations that have frequently devolved into violent confrontations, with police deploying tear gas rubber bullets and other crowd control measures.  Lam said the violence and disruptions were creating anxiety among citizens and now was the time to set aside differences and “rally together.”  Protesters were blocking trains during the morning rush hour and called for a citywide strike by workers. More than 100 flights were cancelled at the city’s airport, and Hong Kong media say that the airport express train service has been suspended.  Hong Kong’s leader will speak to the media as protesters block morning trains and call for a citywide strike by workers.  The office of Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she would hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Monday.  The strike has already taken hold at the airport, where 100 flights have been cancelled. Hong Kong media say that the airport express train service has been suspended.  Protesters used a now-familiar tactic of blocking train doors from closing to disrupt the morning commute.  The actions follow a weekend of clashes between protesters and police. The protesters are demanding the dissolution of the legislature, an investigation into police use of force at protests and full democracy for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.  Hong Kong media say more than 100 flights have been cancelled at the city’s airport as a general strike called to support pro-democracy protests gets underway.  Public broadcaster RTHK said Monday that domestic carriers such as Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines were the most affected.  A citywide strike and demonstrations in seven districts in Hong Kong have been called for Monday afternoon. They follow a weekend of clashes with police on the streets.  Hong Kong has seen protests all summer. A movement against an extradition bill that would have allowed residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial has expanded into demands for an investigation into alleged police abuse at protests and the dissolution of the legislature.  Protesters in Hong Kong have snarled the morning rush hour by blocking train and platform doors to prevent trains from leaving stations.  Subway and train operator MTR said Monday that service had been partially suspended on four lines because of a number of door obstruction incidents.  It’s the third time in three weeks that protesters have disrupted train service. The action followed a weekend of clashes with police on the streets and ahead of a general strike and more demonstrations called for Monday afternoon.  Hong Kong has seen protests all summer. A movement against an extradition bill that would have allowed residents to be sent to mainland China to stand trial has expanded into demands for an investigation into alleged police abuse at protests and the dissolution of the legislature.


thetorontostar--2019-11-22--Colombia president orders curfew in capital following unrest

BOGOTA - Colombian President Iván Duque ordered a curfew in the nation’s capital Friday amid continuing unrest following a massive march a day before that brought tens of thousands to the streets in a strong message of rejection against his conservative government.  The president announced on Twitter that he has requested that Bogota’s mayor enforce a curfew beginning at 9 p.m. in all of the city of 7 million after police pushed back thick crowds of protesters banging pots and pans in the storied Plaza Bolivar.  “They kicked us out with tear gas,” said Rogelio Martinez, 38, a construction worker. “They didn’t want the people to show their discontent.”  The curfew comes one day after an estimated 250,000 people took to the streets in one of the nation’s biggest marches in recent history. While the protest started out peaceful, it ended with scattered clashes between protesters and police. Three people were killed in what authorities described as violent looting incidents overnight.  Clashes continued in part of Bogota and in the southwestern city of Cali on Friday as volunteers wiped graffiti off historic buildings and swept up shattered glass.  The upheaval comes as Latin America is experiencing a tide of discontent, with massive demonstrations in countries including Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador where citizens frustrated with their political leaders are taking to the streets.  The protests defy easy categorization and it remains unclear if Colombia’s will persist.  Defence Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said that as of Friday morning, 98 people had been detained and 151 police and military officers injured, as well as 122 civilians, most of whom suffered minor injuries and tear gas inhalation.  The minister said two individuals were killed in the port city of Buenaventura after police were attacked while responding to looting at a mall. A third died in Candelaria after police said a group looting a supermarket shot at officers.  The names and cause of death of those killed were not released.  Duque convoked a special meeting with his ministers Friday but did not immediately respond to protesters’ demand for meeting. In an address after the protest, the president said he had heard the day’s outcry and supported talks with all sectors.  “Duque recognizes there is plenty to do,” his defence minister said.  Protest organizers urged Duque to establish a dialogue with indigenous, student and labour groups to discuss potential reforms and criticized him for not directly addressing demonstrator complaints in a late-night address.  “If they don’t decide to govern in favour of the majority, the discontent will continue accumulating,” student leader José Cárdenas said.  Recent polling indicates Duque has a 26% approval rating 15 months into his administration as the nation grapples with implementing a complicated peace process with leftist rebels, ongoing violence between illegal armed groups and long-simmering tensions over issues like corruption and inequality.  “Colombia is facing a set of complex problems that are as difficult as any in its recent history,” said Cynthia Arnson, director of the Latin America program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “I think any political leader faced with this array of problems would have a difficult time.”

Christine Armario And CesáR GarcíA - The Associated Press


thetorontostar--2019-12-07--Lebanon’s journalists suffer abuse, threats covering unrest

BEIRUT - Lebanese journalists are facing threats and wide-ranging harassment in their work — including verbal insults and physical attacks, even death threats — while reporting on nearly 50 days of anti-government protests, despite Lebanon’s reputation as a haven for free speech in a troubled region.  Nationwide demonstrations erupted on Oct. 17 over a plunging economy. They quickly grew into calls for sweeping aside Lebanon’s entire ruling elite. Local media outlets — some of which represent the sectarian interests protesters are looking to overthrow — are now largely seen as pro- or anti-protests, with some journalists feeling pressured to leave their workplaces over disagreements about media coverage.  The deteriorating situation for journalists in Lebanon comes despite its decades-old reputation for being an island of free press in the Arab world. Amid Lebanon’s divided politics, media staff have usually had wide range to freely express their opinions, unlike in other countries in the region where the state stifles the media.  The acts of harassment began early in the protests. MTV television reporter Nawal Berry was attacked in central Beirut in the first days of the demonstrations by supporters of the militant group Hezbollah and its allies. They smashed the camera, robbed the microphone she was holding, spat on her and kicked her in the leg.  “How is it possible that a journalist today goes to report and gets subjected to beating and humiliation? Where are we? Lebanon is the country of freedoms and democracy,” Berry told The Associated Press.  Outlets like MTV are widely seen as backing protesters’ demands that Lebanon’s sectarian political system be completely overturned to end decades of corruption and mismanagement.  Rival TV stations and newspapers portray the unrest — which led to the Cabinet’s resignation over a month ago — as playing into the hands of alleged plots to undermine Hezbollah and its allies. Many of those outlets are run by Hezbollah, President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement and the Amal Movement of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. These media regularly blast protesters for closing roads and using other civil disobedience tactics, describing them as “bandits.”  For Berry, the media environment worsened as the unrest continued. On the night of Nov. 24, while she was covering clashes between protesters and Hezbollah and Amal supporters on a central road in Beirut, supporters of the Shiite groups chased her into a building. She hid there until police came and escorted her out.  “I was doing my job and will continue to do so. I have passed through worse periods and was able to overcome them,” said Berry, who added she is taking a short break from working because of what she passed through recently.  Hezbollah supporters also targeted Dima Sadek, who resigned last month as an anchorwoman at LBC TV. She blamed Hezbollah supporters for robbing her smartphone while she was filming protests, and said the harassment was followed by insulting and threatening phone calls to her mother, who suffered a stroke as a result of the stress.  “I have taken a decision (to be part of the protests) and I am following it. I have been waiting for this moment all my life and I have always been against the political, sectarian and corrupt system in Lebanon,“ said Sadek, a harsh critic of Hezbollah, adding that she has been subjected to cyberbullying for the past four years.  “I know very well that this will have repercussions on my personal and professional life. I will go to the end no matter what the price is,” Sadek said shortly after taking part in a demonstration in central Beirut.  Protesters have also targeted journalists reporting with what are seen as pro-government outlets. OTV station workers briefly removed their logos from equipment while covering on the demonstrations to avoid verbal and physical abuse. The station is run by supporters of Aoun’s FPM.  “The protest movement has turned our lives upside down,” said OTV journalist Rima Hamdan, who during one of her reports slapped a man on his hand after he pointed his middle finger at her. She said the station’s logo “is our identity even though sometimes we had to remove it for our own safety.“  Television reporters with Hezbollah’s Al-Manar and Amal’s NBN channels were also attacked in a town near Beirut, when they were covering the closure of the highway linking the capital city with southern Lebanon by protesters. In a video, an NBN correspondent is seen being attacked, while troops and policemen stand nearby without intervening.  “This happens a lot in Lebanon because some media organizations are politicized. No one sees media organizations as they are but sees them as representing the political group that owns them,” said Ayman Mhanna, director of the Beirut-based media watchdog group SKeyes.  “The biggest problem regarding these violations is that there is no punishment,” Mhanna said. Authorities usually fail to act even when they identify those behind attacks on journalists, he added.  Coverage of the protests also led to several journalists resigning from one of Lebanon’s most prominent newspapers, Al-Akhbar, which is seen as close to Hezbollah, and the pan-Arab TV station Al-Mayadeen, which aligns closely with the policies of Iran, Syria and Venezuela.  Joy Slim, who quit as culture writer at Al-Akhbar after more than five years, said she did so after being “disappointed” with the daily’s coverage of the demonstrations. She released a video widely circulated on social media that ridiculed those who accuse the protesters of being American agents.  Sami Kleib, a prominent Lebanese journalist with a wide following around the Middle East, resigned from Al-Mayadeen last month. He said the reason behind his move was that he was “closer to the people than the authorities.”  “The Lebanese media is similar to politics in Lebanon where there is division between two axes: One that supports the idea of conspiracy theory, and another that fully backs the protest movement with its advantages and disadvantages,” Kleib said.


france24--2019-12-07--Turmoil continues in France as nationwide strike extends through weekend

The most serious nationwide strike to hit France in years caused new weekend travel turmoil on Saturday, with unions warning the walkouts would last well into next week.  The challenge thrown to President Emmanuel Macron over his plans for radical pension reform has seen hundreds of thousands take to the streets and key transport services brought to a standstill.    The strikes, which began on Thursday, have recalled the winter of 1995, when three weeks of huge stoppages forced a social policy U-turn by the then-government.    Unions have vowed a second series of mass demonstrations nationwide on Tuesday after big rallies on Thursday and there is expected to be little easing of the transport freezes over the coming days.    The strikes could prove to be the biggest domestic challenge yet for Macron, who came to power in 2017 on the back of promises to radically reform France and has sought a prominent place on the international stage as Europe’s number one statesman.    Macron was widely believed to have ridden out the challenge posed by the “yellow vests” whose weekly Saturday protests against inequality in France had shaken the government over the last year.    But the yellow vests have also sought to utilise the momentum of the strike movement and are expected to hold protests across France this Saturday.    Government stands firm    With Macron seeking for now to rise above the fray, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe insisted that the government would not abandon the plan even if it was prepared to bring it in more gradually.    He said the government would work with trade unions to introduce a single points-based pension scheme that would require the French to “work a bit longer” and replace dozens of more advantageous plans currently enjoyed by public-sector workers.    But the premier emphasised that the changes, which he said would be unveiled on Wednesday, were going to be introduced “progressively, without harshness”.    The SNCF rail operator has warned that disruption at the weekend will be at the same level as the last two days with just 10-15 percent of high-speed and regional trains running.    The Paris metro will remain severely disrupted with nine lines entirely shut, five only partially and just the driverless 1 and 14 lines working normally.    Many cancellations are also expected on the international Eurostar and Thalys services.    Air travel, which has been less impacted by the strikes, was returning closer to normal with air traffic restrictions now dropped by civil aviation authorities.    Museums, opera closed    Tourists in Paris may also face some disappointments: the world-famous Louvre Museum said it could open later Saturday with some rooms closed due to the strikes, while the landmark exhibition of painter El Greco at the Grand Palais was closed.    The Paris Opera has also cancelled its performances over the last days due to the strike.    Businesses also feared that the lack of transport would affect shopping activity on a key weekend for the consumer economy just two weeks before Christmas.    The walkout is the latest test of Macron’s mettle after months of protests from teachers, hospital workers, police and firefighters, capping a year of social unrest triggered by the yellow vest movement.    Unions say Macron’s proposal for a single pension system would force millions of people in both the public and private sectors to work well beyond the official retirement age of 62.    At least 800,000 took part in rallies around the country on Thursday, according to the interior ministry—one of the biggest demonstrations of union strength in nearly a decade.    Another day of strikes and rallies has been called for Tuesday, a day after union leaders are to meet again with government officials over the pension reform.    While most of the rallies Thursday were peaceful, police fired tear gas to disperse dozens of black-clad protesters smashing windows and throwing stones during the Paris march, with one construction trailer set on fire.    (AFP)


sputnik--2019-12-27--Yellow Vests Losing Steam One Year on, Likely to Be Overshadowed by Pension Reform Strikes

The weekly protest movement, whose symbol became the highly-visible safety jackets that French drivers are required to have in their cars, has recently marked its first anniversary with a loss of public support as it is gradually being replaced by another vast wave of protests against a government pension reform plan.  Beginning of the Movement, Demands of Protesters  The people from the poorer regions in eastern France began the protests by blocking roads and wearing the fluorescent yellow vests. Many of the French living there have jobs in neighbouring Luxembourg and must drive sometimes hundreds of kilometres every day to get to work, an already costly routine in terms of fuel.  The protests soon grew into a full-scale social uprising with people taking to the streets every Saturday across the whole of France. Almost 300,000 people across the country took part in the first wave of demonstrations.  French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said soon after the unrest began that the government would abandon its plans to raise the fuel tax but the protesters continued to hit the streets demanding fewer taxes, wage hikes and even the resignation of President Emmanuel Macron, whom the protesters have repeatedly dubbed as "the president of the rich."  One year on, the yellow vest movement is now seen by the French as a protest against all forms of social injustice.  Daniel Boy, who is a senior researcher at the same centre, said that the French public, in general, supported the yellow vest protesters.  Seeing that abandoning the initiative to raise the fuel tax was no longer enough, Macron urged the French to take part in a nationwide debate as thousands of yellow vest protesters took to the streets across the country for the ninth consecutive weekend.  The president also wrote a letter to the French to mark the opening of the three-month debate, which focused on taxes, public spending and environmental reform.  However, the debate brought little results and finished without any compromise reached.  In September, Macron said that the yellow vest movement, called gilets jaunes in French, was beneficial for him, in a sense, and taught him ways to improve the remaining part of his presidential mandate.  However, political analysts believe that Macron has not changed the way he governs at all.  Policar added that the yellow vest movement appealed to the conscience of the French regarding social difficulties, which are evident but also which the government refuses to see, such as, for example, the debate around pension reform.  The yellow vest movement started as a peaceful manifestation, but the protests subsequently became violent, regularly causing multiple injuries among all sides involved — police officers, demonstrators and even the press.  In the wake of the protests, the French government came up with a so-called "anti-riot" bill aimed at ensuring the security of public gatherings and manifestations. The legislation largely polarised French society, triggering waves of discussions. While interior minister Christophe Castaner hailed the "law for protection, for journalists, police, public, for the Republic and its institutions," the critics branded it as a tool for "liberticide," fearing that the legislation could severely curb civil liberties.  One of the most controversial aspects of the bill is the right of local authorities to bar anyone who represents "a serious threat to public order" from joining the demonstrations. Those who have committed violent acts, injured people or damaged property during previous rallies may be banned from attending similar events in the future. Violations would result in a fine or six months in jail.  Michel Thooris, the secretary general of labour union France Police - Policiers en colere (Police in Anger), says that the law would bring nothing in terms of security, as it was merely "demagogy aimed to make the French believe that the government is doing something against the violent protesters, but in fact, nothing concrete is being done."  Eric Roman, the national secretary of the same labour union believes that the officers who were called to quell the demonstrations also suffered an immense load.  According to Roman, the police officers initially shared the yellow vests’ views because the rallies raised the problems of the poor.  The Reporters Without Borders (RSF) freedom of press advocacy organisation published a report stating that at least 54 journalists were injured during the first six months of the demonstrations throughout various cities in France. The organisation said that the injuries included burns, cuts and bruises received as a result of being hit by police batons and being shot at with rubber bullets. At least 12 journalists received serious injuries, including bone fractures.  The RSF is now calling for the police to be given clear instructions on dealing with media workers, including a directive ordering them to respect media activities during protests and observe the obligation to allow reporters to cover the demonstration.  In December 2018, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that the French authorities were looking into media reports about Russia's alleged involvement in the rallies. Moscow, in turn, said that the yellow vest protests were France's internal affair, calling the claims slander.  However, experts believe that these speculations can be classified as conspiracy theories and an attempt to place the blame for the French society’s internal problems on someone else.  Patrick Kamenka, a member of the French National Union of Journalists (SNJ-CGT), said that the allegations against Russia were far from reality and were being used to promote the use of the controversial "fake news" law.  In late November, the French National Assembly passed a law envisaging measures to fight against the manipulation of information and empowering French judges to order the removal of "fake news" from websites during election campaigns. Before being adopted by the lower house of the French parliament, the law was rejected twice by the upper house.  Kamenka pointed to the fact that no proof of Russia's involvement in the protest movement had been found so far.  A year of continuous protests has resulted not only in a decline in the numbers of participants but also in a decrease in the level of support for the movement. According to opinion polls from December 2018, the yellow vests had the support of 70 percent of French citizens. However, in February 2019, more than half of the respondents — 56 percent — voiced support for the demonstrations to end.  May and June saw the lowest number of participants. The 29th action of the yellow vests on 1 June was the least attended since the movement's launch in November 2018, gathering around 9,500 people, according to the French Interior Ministry.  With some 282,000 people joining the marches a year ago, only 28,000 people gathered for the demonstrations on the one-year anniversary of the movement.  Experts suggest that the protesters, who have paralyzed traffic and disrupted the work of shops and enterprises every weekend for more than a year, have faced fatigue. Moreover, the experts do not believe that the movement will last any longer.  The analysts point to the lack of organisation within the movement, which makes things difficult both for the authorities and for the protesters, as the latter cannot put forward a harmonised agenda and act as one negotiating body.  In addition to the lack of support already being realised, the year-long yellow vest movement is also likely to be overshadowed by the vast protest against the pension reform plan.  On 5 December, a nationwide strike in response to the government's plans to replace 42 different pension schemes with a universal, points-based system paralysed France. The decision has angered train workers, teachers, police and other public service employees.  The Interior Ministry put the nationwide turnout at 615,000, while the GTF trade union tweeted that over 1.8 million people took part in more than 250 demonstrations across the country.


theguardianuk--2019-10-18--Catalonia general strike brings Barcelona to standstill

Workers downed tools, shops closed and activists blocked roads in Catalonia on Friday in a general strike called in protest at the jailing of nine pro-independence leaders over their roles in the failed push for secession two years ago.  Tens of thousands of people who have marched from across the region began converging in Barcelona on Friday afternoon to protest against the Spanish supreme court’s verdict and to call for the leaders to be freed.  Their presence brought the city to a standstill before a massive demonstration that began at 5pm local time.  The entrance to the Catalan capital’s most famous landmark – the Sagrada Familia church – was blocked by pro-independence protesters and 57 flights were cancelled at Barcelona-El Prat airport.  On Friday morning, the Spanish football federation announced that the Barcelona-Real Madrid game due to be played in the Catalan capital on 26 October had been postponed because of the unrest.  During the afternoon the atmosphere in the city was quiet and there were few incidents. However, there were police charges and two arrests on Via Laietana, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, after objects were thrown at officers guarding the headquarters of the national force by a large crowd of students.  Marchers entering Barcelona were also pelted with stones as they passed through the working-class neighbourhood of Santa Coloma de Gramenet.  The militant Committees for the Defence of the Republic (CDR) called for an indefinite protest camp to be set up at the key city centre junction of Gran Via and Passeig de Gràcia as of 6pm on Friday. Blocking this junction would paralyse traffic across a large swathe of the city.  Meanwhile a judge at Spain’s highest criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional, ordered police to shut down the website and social media accounts of Tsunami Democràtic, the pro-independence organisation that has used apps to co-ordinate and control protests. The group was behind Monday’s attempts to occupy Barcelona airport.  Peaceful protests, which have long been the hallmark of the pro-independence movement, have been eclipsed this week by violent unrest and running battles between protesters and police.  Barcelona had its worst night of violence on Thursday as pro-independence supporters clashed with police and rightwing groups in skirmishes that lasted into Friday morning.  After another large demonstration broke up, protesters fought police, throwing stones and at least one petrol bomb in an apparent attempt to reach the seat of the Spanish government in the city. A clothing shop was set on fire and a bank vandalised.  One pro-independence protester was badly beaten by a group of rightwing supporters while once again the streets were acrid with the smell of bonfires of burning rubbish. Numerous injuries were reported.  As the unrest continued, Catalan TV and the main Barcelona TV channel ceased broadcasting news, as did at least one of the online dailies, in support of the general strike.  The supreme court’s decision to jail the nine leaders for secession and misuse of public funds over their roles in the failed push for independence has provoked uproar among many Catalans.  Among those heading towards Barcelona on Friday morning was Anna Parella, a hospital worker from the coastal town of Calella. She had joined the march with colleagues to call for independence and the release of the jailed leaders.  “A lot of people have joined us as we’ve gone along and the mood is really nice and festive,” said Parella.  She said the marchers were all peaceful but added that some people had grown sick of the situation and begun to go about things the wrong way.  “I’m against the violence and we can’t have people starting to think we’re all violent,” she said. “Our calls will lose their force if they do.”  Also on Friday, Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan president who led the failed bid for independence two years ago, handed himself in to judicial authorities in Belgium in response to the reactivation of an international arrest warrant against him this week. His extradition hearing has been scheduled for 29 October.  Catalonia’s pro-independence regional president, Quim Torra, has been criticised for being slow to condemn the violence – and for calling for civil disobedience while sending in Catalan riot police to restore order.  Speaking on Friday morning, Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, said 16 people had been arrested overnight and 10 police officers injured. He repeated the government’s assertion that while people had a right to protest, any violence would be dealt with firmly.  Asked about reports that violent groups from the Basque country, France and Germany were planning to travel to Catalonia to take part in any forthcoming disturbances, he said such participation had already been anticipated by the authorities.  “We know that these kinds of radical, violent people – people with varying ideologies – have been present in Catalonia, particularly Barcelona,” he said.  “They tend to turn up for the kind of events we’re seeing in Barcelona.”  Reports have already emerged of some of the violent protesters speaking neither Catalan nor Spanish.  Despite the simmering tensions, Torra has suggested that another unilateral referendum on Catalan independence should be held.  “If we have been sentenced to 100 years in prison for putting out the ballot boxes, the response is clear: we’ll have to put them out again for self-determination,” he told the regional parliament on Thursday.


theguardianuk--2019-12-04--Colombia: thousands take to the streets in third national strike in two weeks

Colombians have taken to the streets for a third national strike in two weeks, piling more pressure on the unpopular rightwing president, Iván Duque, and his proposed tax reforms.  Thousands thronged the streets of Bogotá, the capital, shutting down much of the city’s historic centre, indicating that the unrest will continue while Duque engages in a “national dialogue” with strike organisers.  “We’ll be out on the streets until Duque listens to us,” said Andres López, a student at a gathering on one of Bogotá’s main commercial streets. “We’re not scared of the government.”  Hundreds of thousands of people joined the first national strike on 21 November, and have turned out in daily demonstrations since then, initially sparked by proposed cuts to pensions.  Though that reform was never formally announced, it became a lightning rod for widespread dissatisfaction with the government of Duque, whose approval rating has dropped to just 26% since he took office in August last year.  Protesters are also angry at the lack of support for the historic 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), which formally ended five decades of civil war that killed 260,000 and forced more than 7 million to flee their homes.  Others are protesting in defense of indigenous people and rural activists, who continue to be murdered at alarming rates. A recent airstrike against a camp of dissident rebel drug traffickers left at least eight minors dead, adding to protesters’ fury.  While most of the protests have been peaceful, some property was vandalised when the demonstrations first broke out. Police have often responded with teargas and “less lethal” bean bag rounds and flash bangs.  One 18-year-old protester, Dilan Cruz, was killed by riot police after being shot in the head with a bean bag on 23 November. The incident infuriated demonstrators and led strike organisers to demand the dismantling of Esmad, Colombia’s feared riot police squadron, who they accuse of readily using excessive force.  Four others have also died across the country in connection with the protests.  The rage could be felt on Wednesday as protesters shouted “murderers” as they marched past police officers.  Strike organisers are also demanding the scrapping of proposed economic reforms and that the government honour the peace deal.  Despite the ongoing demonstrations, some analysts suspect that Christmas could offer Duque a much-needed reprieve.  “The protests will take a break for the holiday season, unless something egregious happens, and are likely to pick up in the new year,” said Sergio Guzmán, the director of Colombia Risk Analysis. “The big risk is if the protests transcend their urban nature and spill over into rural areas.”


thetorontostar--2019-10-04--Ecuador president declares state of emergency over strike

QUITO, Ecuador - Ecuador’s president declared a state of emergency Thursday to confront rowdy street protests and a nationwide transport strike over his decision to end government fuel subsidies and relax labour protections.  At least 19 people were reported arrested during street clashes unrest in major cities that continued into the night.  Protesting transport workers blocked streets and highways and attacked some colleagues who tried to continue working. Police used tear gas to disperse crowds.  Public transport in major cities and between provinces was virtually shut down, forcing many people to walk long distances to get to work.  In Quito, university students tried to march to the government headquarters in the historic part of the city. Some wielded clubs and threw stones at police, who blocked their advance.  The decree by President Lenín Moreno suspends some civil rights and allows authorities to commandeer public or private property. He said he acted because of violent incidents meant to “damage and destabilize” his government.  Moreno said there was no possibility he would back away from the measures announced Tuesday that will raise fuel prices across the country. He said fuel subsidies had done “too much harm to the country.”  The price of regular gasoline has increased by about 24% to $2.30 a gallon (3.7 litres), while diesel has more than doubled to $2.27 a gallon. Even with the price increases, Ecuador has some of the cheapest fuel prices in the world.  Moreno also announced tax breaks for companies and other measures that he said would stimulate an economy burdened by high debt.  Gabriel Quinteros, a university student, said he left his home early Thursday morning because he had an academic test. There was no public transport and private taxis were too expensive, he said.  “I have no choice but to walk,” he said.  Get more of the Star in your inbox Never miss the latest news from the Star. Sign up for our newsletters to get today's top stories, your favourite columnists and lots more in your inbox Sign Up Now


breitbart--2019-09-27--Thousands of Iranian-Americans Rally Against Rouhani in New York

The bipartisan protest, dubbed the “No to Rouhani” rally and put on by the Organization of Iranian American Communities, was attended by members of the Iranian-American community, supporters of the Iranian opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).  Prominent voices and speeches at the event, which occurred across the street from the United Nations, included opposition leader Maryam Rajavi; former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; retired four-star general and former vice chief of staff of the U.S. Army, Jack Keane; and former U.S. vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman.  “Your gathering in New York is a resounding ‘No!’ to the policy of appeasement, to the policy of buying chances for a moribund regime, and to the policy of inaction toward a regime that preserves its power through warmongering, terrorism, and suppression,” Rajavi said.  “If one can topple this regime without an organization and leadership, without overcoming thorny trials, and without paying the price and making sacrifices, we say: Please, go ahead, don’t delay,” she continued.  “The mullahs’ regime is weak and at an impasse. Its adventurism and evil acts in the region are expanded only because no other party has stood up to it,” Rajavi added. “At the same time, the people of Iran are the regime’s primary victims.”  Chants of “terrorist Rouhani out of U.N.” could be heard as regime change supporters gathered in the designated area. Protest signs read, “Iranians want regime change,” and, “Iran hangs kids. Stop Iran’s murder regime.”  “The regime is seeing something that many are perceiving here in the west,” Giuliani said to the crowd. “They are seeing signs that they may be coming to an end. … This is the sign of a regime that’s crumbling.”  “I am speaking in my individual capacity,” Giuliani added. “I am for regime change. Down with the tyrants in Iran. Down with the ayatollah and the mullahs and all the crooks.”  Giuliani also praised Rajavi for her efforts regarding regime change in Iran, calling her a “great woman.”  “The regime’s aggressions still continues — our policies won’t change the behavior,” Lieberman said in regards to the Iranian regime. “It’s regime change that can solve the Middle East bloodshed. The NCRI’s ten-point plan is a guarantee for a prosperous, democratic and nuclear-free Iran. The NCRI has the broadest support in the U.S. and around the world.”  Keane took the stage where he also echoed Giuliani and Rajavi’s remarks in advocating for regime change in Iran.  “For almost forty years now, Iran has destabilized the Middle East with their maligned and aggressive behavior and after looking at it for almost four decades the only way that this is going to change, the mullahs are not going to change,” Keane told Breitbart News. “The regime has to change and likely that change will have to come from within.”  “What this administration is doing is finally beginning to break the foundation of the regime in terms of currency devaluation, inflation, civil unrest, drying up all their oil exports,” Keane added. “Iran is in a weaker place than they’ve been in nearly forty years, and they’re making desperate, stupid decisions as a result of it.”  Several Iranian youth were also in attendance for the rally as they gathered to protest against Rouhani’s presence at the United Nations General Assembly and “echo the people’s voice for regime change.”  In June, thousands of Iranian-Americans also gathered in the streets of Washington, DC, to march and voice their support for those seeking regime change in Iran, an issue that past presidential administrations have seemed to avoid.


drudgereport--2019-12-08--Hong Kongers mark half year of protest with mammoth rally...

Hundreds of thousands snaked their way through the financial hub's main island under crisp winter skies in the biggest turnout for months (AFP Photo/Anthony WALLACE)  Hong Kong (AFP) - Vast crowds of democracy protesters thronged Hong Kong's streets on Sunday in a forceful display of support for the movement as it marks six months with organisers warning the city's pro-Beijing leaders they had a "last chance" to end the political crisis.  Hundreds of thousands snaked their way through the financial hub's main island under crisp winter skies in the biggest turnout for months, a vivid illustration of the hostility that still seethes towards the government after half a year of unrest.  As night fell the crowds switched on their mobile phone torches, creating a glittering carpet of lights that stretched far into the distance, their chants bouncing off the towering skyscrapers above.  The rally, which received rare police permission, came two weeks after pro-establishment parties got a drubbing in local elections, shattering government claims that a "silent majority" opposed the protests.  Many of the black-clad attendees voiced anger and frustration that chief executive Carrie Lam and Beijing have ruled out any further concessions despite the landslide election defeat.  "No matter how we express our views, through peacefully marching, through civilised elections, the government won't listen," said a 50-year-old protester, who gave his surname Wong. "It only follows orders from the Chinese Communist Party."  "I don't know how long the fight will be," added another protester, who gave his first name as Kelvin. "So far I can't see the end but we won't back down."  A fruit trader, who gave his surname Leung, was handing out free punnets of strawberries to protesters.  "I wanted to bring something sweet for Hong Kong's people who have lived a very difficult half year," he told AFP.  Semi-autonomous Hong Kong has been battered by increasingly violent demonstrations in the starkest challenge the city has presented to Beijing since its 1997 handover from Britain.  Millions have marched in protests fuelled by years of growing fears that authoritarian China is stamping out the city's liberties.  The last fortnight has seen a marked drop in violence and vandalism after the landslide win by pro-democracy candidates.  Police took the unusual step of allowing the Civil Human Rights Front (CHRF) to hold Sunday's march -- the first time the group has been granted permission since mid-August -- but they warned they would have zero tolerance for violence by radicals.  The movement's demands include an independent inquiry into the police's handling of the protests, an amnesty for those arrested, and fully free elections.  "Our rally today is to gather everyone in Hong Kong to defend our city," the CHRF said in a statement.  Earlier, the group's leader Jimmy Sham said the march was Lam's "last chance" to listen to the people.  The protests were initially sparked by a now-abandoned attempt to allow extraditions to the mainland but have since morphed into a popular revolt against Beijing's rule.  The CHRF, which advocates non-violence, has been the main umbrella group behind record-breaking rallies earlier in the summer that saw huge crowds regularly march in searing heat.  Authorities have repeatedly banned major rallies in recent months citing the risk of violence from hardcore protesters.  Large crowds have simply ignored the bans, sparking near-weekly tear gas and petrol bomb clashes that have upended Hong Kong's reputation for stability and helped tip the city into recession.  Hours before the march was due to start, police displayed weapons, including a pistol and knives, they said had been found during overnight raids where eleven people were arrested.  Monday marks the six-month anniversary of the protests during which some 6,000 people have been arrested and hundreds injured, including police.  Online forums used to organise the movement's more radical wing have vowed to target Monday's morning commute if there is no response from Lam.  Years of huge, peaceful democracy marches have made little headway, leading to increased radicalisation among some Hong Kong protesters and a greater willingness to embrace violent tactics.  But there is little sign Lam is willing to budge, leading to fears the lull in street clashes will be temporary.  In a statement released ahead of the march, Hong Kong's government said it had "learned its lesson and will humbly listen to and accept criticism." But it announced no concrete measures or concessions.  Since the local elections the city's chief executive has remained steadfast in her opposition to further concessions and Beijing has stuck by her even as she languishes with record low approval ratings.  The police force's reputation has also taken a hammering.  Police have defended their handling of the protests and say their force has matched rising violence from hardcore protesters.


eveningstandard--2019-12-08--Hong Kong protests: Hundreds of thousands fill streets in first police-approved rally since August

Vast crowds of black-clad demonstrators filled the streets of Hong Kong on Sunday for the first protest approved by authorities since August.  The Civil Human Rights Front - organiser of million-strong marches earlier in the year that paralysed the Asian finance centre - estimated turnout of 800,000 while police said 183,000 attended.  Chants of "Fight for freedom! Stand with Hong Kong!" echoed as demonstrators, from students to professionals and the elderly, marched from Victoria Park in the bustling shopping district towards the financial area.  Some protesters spray-painted anti-Beijing grafitti on a Bank of China building meanwhile riot police stood on guard, restrained as protesters yelled "dogs" and "cockroaches."  The former British colony of 7.4 million people reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.  It is governed under a "One Country, Two Systems" formula guaranteeing freedoms not allowed in mainland China, but many fear Beijing is tightening the screws.  "It's Christmas time soon but we're not in the mood to celebrate anymore," said Lawrence, a 23-year-old student.  He held a poster saying: "My 2020 wish is universal suffrage", a reference to demands for an open vote on the city leader, currently the unpopular Beijing-backed Carrie Lam.  China blames the six months of unrest on interference by foreign governments including the United States and Britain.  On Saturday, two leaders of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong were denied entry to the neighbouring Chinese city of Macau, without explanation.  Meanwhile Ms Lam says she has heard the people but has not offered concessions despite a resounding win for pro-democracy parties in local elections two weeks ago.  They secured almost 90 per cent of 452 district council seats in a record turnout.  At Sunday's protest, chants of "five demands, not one less" rang out, referring to demands ranging from Lam's resignation to an amnesty for detainees.  "I will fight for freedom until I die because I am a Hong Konger," said June, a 40-year-old mother dressed in black seated on the grass in Victoria Park.  Police said they arrested another 11 people, aged 20 to 63, confiscating weapons including army knives, firecrackers, bullets and a semi-automatic pistol, the first seizure of a handgun during the protests.  Once rare for Hong Kong, violence has escalated throughout the year, as protesters have torched vehicles and buildings, hurled petrol bombs, dropped debris from bridges onto traffic and vandalised shopping malls. Police have responded with tear gas, water cannon and, at times, live fire.  Protests coalesced in June over a now-shelved extradition bill that would have allowed people to be sent to mainland China for trial, then evolved into broader democracy calls.  There was no comment on Sunday from Hong Kong's government, though the day before it pledged to "humbly" listen and accept criticism.  The new police boss promised a flexible approach to protests, with "both the hard and soft approach."  Since June, Hong Kong has seen more than 900 demonstrations, processions and public meetings, many ending in violent confrontations. Nearly 6,000 people have been arrested.  There has, however, been relative calm since the Nov. 24 vote. While demonstrations pop up on an almost daily basis, at times disrupting businesses, schools and transport, life for most goes on as normal.


france24--2019-03-22--Hundreds of thousands of Algerians rally to demand Bouteflikas resignation

Hundreds of thousands of Algerians rally to demand Bouteflika's resignation

Ryad Kramdi, AFP | Mouad Bouchareb, party member of Algeria's FLN member and speaker of the lower house of the country's parliament, speaks during a party campaign rally calling for the re-election of President Bouteflika in Algiers, February 9, 2019.  Hundreds of thousands of Algerians braved heavy rains on Friday to take to the streets again demanding the resignation of longtime President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.  Hundreds of thousands of Algerians rallied on Friday to demand the immediate resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is fighting for his political survival in the face of relentless protests and the desertion of long-time allies.  In heavy rain, protesters brandished Algerian flags and pamphlets. Police trucks were deployed but there were no reports of clashes between security forces and crowds that packed downtown Algiers.  “We stay here until the whole system goes,” said Mahmoud Timar, a 37-year-old teacher.  Bouteflika, 82 and rarely seen in public since suffering a stroke [in 2013], bowed to the protesters last week by reversing plans to stand in elections for a fifth term and promising reforms to make the political system more inclusive.  But he stopped short of quitting and said he would stay on until a new constitution is adopted, effectively extending his present term. The move further enraged Algerians, and many of Bouteflika’s allies turned against him.  “We are close to victory. The system is divided,” said restaurant owner Rachid Zemmir, 55, at Friday’s rally.  >> From peacemaker to recluse: Bouteflika’s two decades at the helm  Bouteflika has a track record of consolidating power by outmanoeuvring anyone seen as a threat. First elected president in 1999, he wrested power from the secretive military-based establishment known as “le pouvoir” (the power).  In 2015, Bouteflika sacked powerful intelligence chief Mohamed Mediene, dubbed “Algeria’s God”. Last year he dismissed about a dozen top military officers.  In the most significant development in a month of demonstrations, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah threw the army’s weight behind the protesters on Wednesday, saying they had expressed “noble aims”.  That was a major setback for Bouteflika, who bolstered his position over the years with the help of the army and oligarchs who funded his election campaigns.  “The people and the army are brothers,” protesters chanted on Friday.  Soldiers have stayed in their barracks through the unrest.  The generals have intervened in the past at momentous times, including cancelling an election which Islamists were poised to win in 1992, triggering a civil war in which an estimated 200,000 people were killed.  Some members of the ruling National Liberation Front party, known by its French acronym FLN, have also sided with the protesters. But Algerians want to dismantle the entire moribund political system.  In the past, Bouteflika and his inner circle of fellow veterans of the 1954-1962 war to end French colonial rule, FLN officials and the military skilfully managed crises.  Algerians complain that Bouteflika, who joined the struggle against France in the 1950s at the age of 19, is out of touch and living in the past.  Algeria is a major oil and gas producer, and when the “Arab Spring” revolts toppled autocrats in neighbouring countries, Bouteflika used oil revenues to secure loyalty.  Algerians with dark memories of the civil war in the 1990s set aside the same frustrations that triggered revolts elsewhere, giving Bouteflika breathing space.  But the price of crude oil has dropped over the years and the young are desperate for jobs, and an end to nepotism.  Bouteflika said in a speech in 2012 that it was time for his generation to hand over to new leaders. Many Algerians believe his brother Said is now effectively running the show.  Even if Bouteflika quits, it is not clear if the swelling protest movement can take on the secretive network of ruling party leaders, business tycoons and army generals long regarded as omnipotent.  These figures may be happy to see Bouteflika go but are likely to resist any major changes, as they have done before.