21stcenturywire--2019-10-10--‘Egyptian Spring’ Reboot: US Fueling Latest Wave of Protests

When the West’s leading media organizations attempt to convince audiences they know nothing about where Mohammed Aly – a Spanish-based Egyptian protest leader – came from, the first thing one can be sure of is they are being lied to.  Protests have begun to spread again in Egypt after nearly a decade of frustration in Washington over its inability to coerce Cairo into serving its regional and global designs.  Protesters have allegedly been stirred up by economic turmoil still plaguing Egypt, however familiar US-backed organizations used in the past to destabilize Egypt are turning up at the center of protest venues including the Muslim Brotherhood which has served a pivotal role in other regional US projects including filling the ranks of militant forces fighting the government in Syria.  The Western media’s feigned ignorance over self-proclaimed protest leader Mohammed Aly is meant to obfuscate his political ties and those of the organizations and enterprises he is associated with.  The New York Times in its article, “Egypt Protests Came as a Total Shock. The Man Behind Them Is Just as Surprising,” claims:  The New York Times also claims:  No mention is made by the New York Times regarding the Project on Middle Eastern Democracy (POMED) – a Washington DC-based front funded by the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED) which served as a propaganda nexus during the 2011 US-fuelled “Arab Spring” and is again promoting rhetoric to support ongoing protests in Egypt today.  POMED fails to disclose its funding and associations on its own website, but NED in a 2017 “Grantee Spotlight” titled, “BRAINSTORMING FOR DEMOCRACY IN THE MENA REGION,” reveals:  That the deputy director of POMED – funded by NED – is unaware of who Mohammed Aly is and the US government-funded networks he is associated with is difficult to believe.  Aly claims to be an Egyptian contractor turned ‘whistleblower’ after witnessing government corruption – but reports indicate he was only part of a family-owned contracting firm led by his father who has denounced him and his “activism.”  The BBC in its article, “Mohamed Ali: The self-exiled Egyptian sparking protests at home,” would report:  Of Aly himself – the BBC would note:  Not mentioned is that “The Other Land” was jointly-produced and filmed in Spain. Involved in marketing the film was MAD Solutions – a firm linked to USAID, US-European government-funded nongovernmental organizations, Western media such as Forbes, as well as Arab production companies across the MENA region.  Among MAD’s partners includes the Ana Hunna Network – a German-based front posing as women’s rights advocates. The network is in turn made up of various US-European funded fronts including USAID-funded International Development Support and Consulting (IDSC).  MAD is also partnered with the Arab language satellite TV channel Alhurra which is based in the US and is funded directly by the US government (Arabic) via the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), formerly the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).  USAGM/BBG is also responsible for the US State Department’s global-spanning propaganda network including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Asia.  While documented evidence of Mohammed Aly working directly for the US government or its allies in the Middle East is still forthcoming – it surely is no coincidence that he has become a “sudden” and “unexpected leader” of protests aimed at coercing Egypt back on a pro-Western footing, promoted by the Western media all while his obvious ties to agents of US influence are being covered up by those very agents themselves.  Aly’s role in a politically-charged film produced and promoted by pro-Western fronts – and a film jointly produced and filmed in Spain – is also no coincidence. The ties and networks that led him through that process are now hosting him as he begins his next performance as an influential protest leader.  While it is clear he is but the public face of a much more sinister effort by the militant and extremist Muslim Brotherhood to fill Egypt’s streets with growing chaos – the Western media has gone through great efforts to deny this.  DW – for example – in its article, “Muslim Brotherhood or el-Sissi rivals: Who is behind Egypt’s protests?,” would attempt to claim:  The Muslim Brotherhood is a massive region-wide organization complete with political parties, armed wings, and of course immense state-sponsorship including from the United States, Western Europe, and the West’s partners particularly in the Persian Gulf and Turkey.  If the Muslim Brotherhood lacks “any sort of capability to organize on such a scale” inside of Egypt, who has more capability to do so?  The DW article suggests there may be a rift within Egypt’s ruling elite – but no evidence, names or even a theory is put forth as to who among Egypt’s elite might be involved or why.  Conversely, the substantial evidence indicating US interference and the Muslim Brotherhood’s role – together with the fact the US and its allies have not only repeatedly destabilized other nations around the globe through similar tactics – but have destabilized Egypt itself in 2011 through similar tactics – points the finger squarely at Washington and its allies.  US-funded protests overthrew the Egyptian government led by Hosni Mubarak in 2011.  US-Turkish-Saudi nominee – Mohamed Morsi – rose to power and immediately set out to transform the large North African nation into an obedient servant of Western interests.  This included severing ties between Egypt and the Syrian government of President Bashar al-Assad while arming, funding, and recruiting militants being funnelled onto the battlefield within Syria itself.  Later in 2013, Egypt’s powerful military regrouped, managing to oust Morsi from office.  The subsequent government headed by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi incarcerated Morsi, restored ties with Syria, and began steering Egypt back toward a more neutral foreign policy.  Commentators have cited Egypt’s role in the US-led war in Yemen as evidence that el-Sisi’s government also serves US interests – but it should be noted that Egypt’s commitments were symbolic, short-lived, and a result of paying back Persian Gulf monarchies who financially bailed out Egypt’s flagging economy in the wake of 2011’s instability.  For a nation like Egypt whose foreign policy, economic ties, and relations have straddled East and West for decades, “choosing sides” is not a simple matter.  Egypt’s fragile economic, social, and political balance has been repeatedly targeted by Western interests both directly and through militant proxies armed and backed by Persian Gulf states following attempts by Cairo to rebuild ties with Russia or to build closer ties with China.  The presence of the so-called “Islamic State” – the same militant force serving as proxies in Washington’s war on Syria – in Egypt’s Sinai region serves as a constant source of pressure attempting to coerce Cairo to pivot Westward.  Recent protests are also aimed at adding to this pressure.  As to why Egypt is facing such pressure now – we need only look at Washington’s recent escalation with Iran. Egypt under Morsi sought to weaken Syria as part of Washington’s wider conflict with Iran. Efforts to coerce Egypt into joining the US-led war in Yemen was also aimed at eliminating Iranian allies and further isolating Iran itself.  Key to any US foreign policy victory over Iran will be the creation of a regional, united front against Tehran – with nations – willingly or not – enlisted to play a role however small in isolating and undermining Iranian stability internally, regionally, and globally.  Should protests pick up sufficient momentum in Egypt – the prospect of Washington introducing demands in exchange for momentary relief from street violence will undoubtedly follow.  In the days and weeks ahead – Egypt’s ability or inability to contain the protests and resist US efforts to drag Cairo into another round of regional violence and instability – will in turn help indicate the wider prospects of peace or war in the region as Washington struggles to reassert itself at any cost.  ***   Author Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher, writer and special contributor to 21st Century Wire. Over the last decade, his work has been published on a number of popular news and analysis websites, and also on the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.


activistpost--2019-01-09--Belgrade Protests Against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic Escalate to Nationwide Demos

Belgrade Protests Against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić Escalate to Nationwide Demos

Mass protests against human rights violations by the government of Aleksandar Vučić have entered a fifth consecutive week, with thousands joining in from five Serbian cities beyond the capital Belgrade.  Demonstrations began after Borko Stefanović, president of the political party Serbian Left and a founder of opposition coalition Alliance for Serbia, survived an assassination attempt on November 23, when thugs wielding metal bars beat him and two other Serbian Left party activists in the city of Kruševac in Central Serbia.  Protests intensified following another assassination attempt against journalist Milan Jovanović on December 11.  Every Saturday since late November, thousands of people have braved sub-zero temperatures and taken to the streets of Belgrade under the slogan “stop bloodying shirts” ( STOPkrvavimkošuljama). The slogan came about following a press conference in which Sefanović displayed his bloodied shirt at a rally following the November 23 attack. January 5 was the first time large demonstrations were held in Novi Sad, Niš, and Kragujevac, three major cities in Serbia, as well as in smaller Kuršumlija and Požega.  Another protest slogan, “one in five million” ( 1od5miliona), refers to Vučić’s recent declaration that he won’t fulfill any demands even if five million people show up on the streets. Serbia has a population of around six million.  For the first time since the 1990s, protests have united both left-leaning and right-leaning opponents of the ruling government under shared fears that it is descending into dictatorship and fascism.  The events’ resemblance to those that ousted the government of Slobodan Milošević (whose cabinet included Vučić, then a right-wing radical, as minister of information) in 2000 wasn’t lost on many people, among them journalist Biljana Stepanović, who tweeted this set of photos:  Another slogan spotted both in the streets and on social media says “it has begun” ( počeloJe), a cry of hope that the protests would grow into a country-wide movement similar to that of the late 1990s.  In the past decade, Aleksandar Vučić has re-branded himself as a moderate centrist by paying lip service to Serbian integration into the European Union, something his opponents claim is mere camouflage of both his growing authoritarian tendencies at home and his servility to the Kremlin.  So far, he has shrugged off the protests. While government-controlled media has attempted to minimize their size and importance, Vučić himself has dared his opponents with talks of a snap election which near-total party control over state institutions and media would likely hand him victory. Opposition leaders have said they would boycott such a move.  Speaking with Balkan Insight, protests’ organizers say their biggest gain is to have “awakened the Serbian youth from apathy” while not directly campaigning for the opposition as a replacement for the current government. The opposition has been markedly low-key in the protests for fear of alienating party-neutral citizens or civil society activists.  Meanwhile, the public has ridiculed official attempts at disinformation. With internet access, people can see what is happening for themselves through live videos and photos taken on site.


activistpost--2019-07-25--After Two Straight Weeks of Protests Puerto Ricans Force Governor to Resign

After Two Straight Weeks of Protests, Puerto Ricans Force Governor to Resign

The governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló, has resigned after two weeks of massive protests and intergenerational civil unrest. In the absence of a secretary of state, Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez will become governor. Rosselló’s resignation is effective as of 5:00 p.m. on August 2.  This self-convened and growing national movement erupted as a result of an intricate corruption scheme and a leaked Telegram chat containing sexist, misogynistic, homophobic and body-shaming language, along with the discussion of public policy among members and non-members of Rosselló’s cabinet.  The leaked Telegram chat was preceded by the federal arrests of high-ranking members of Rosselló’s administration, including the former Secretary of Education, Julia Keleher, on charges which include money laundering, wire fraud and theft, among others.  The 14 consecutive days of demonstrations included daily protests at the governor’s mansion. The protests soon spread to many other municipalities of Puerto Rico. The largest was held on July 22, estimated to have attracted as many as 600,000 people in San Juan alone.  But the activity wasn’t limited to Puerto Rico. Several protests were convened in countries where Puerto Ricans are residents, including Spain, Argentina, Slovenia, France, The Netherlands and the United States.  The protests also included cultural and artistic interventions. Journalist Victoria Leandra created a Twitter thread that highlights some of the creative ways Puerto Ricans found to protest:  The police have been accused of using excessive force, violating the police reforms ordered by Federal Courts. It must be said that the protests in Puerto Rico have been exceptionally peaceful, as pointed out by cultural anthropologist and essayist Rima Brusi on Twitter:  Protesters also returned the following day to areas where protests were held to help clean up:  But several days before the news broke of Rosselló’s resignation, Xiomara Torres Rivera, a columnist writing for the jounalism project Todas, reminded readers that the real work would start once the governor left office: Today we are the focus of the world’s attention because we dared to turn words into action, to transform our anger into mobility. To demand [the governor’s] resignation is only the beginning. We have before us a lot of reflecting to do to be able to take other decisions and not look back. To dare to demand the country that we deserve. A citizen audit, a cancellation of the [public] debt, an education with gender perspective, decent healthcare and retirement and a government with individuals who put the needs of the people first. Global Voices will continue to cover this developing story. Ángel Carrión — Musician and blogger from Caguas, Puerto Rico. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and a Master’s Degree in the History of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean from the Centro de Estudios Avanzados de Puerto Rico y el Caribe. He is passionate about music, books, and the right to free speech. Once upon a time, Ángel blogged at dialogolibre.blogspot.com. This article was sourced from GlobalVoices.org Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Follow us on Minds, Twitter, Steemit, and SoMee. Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.


activistpost--2019-10-09--Ecuador’s President Moves Government Operations From Capital to Escape Protests

Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno announced late Monday that he had temporarily moved government operations out of the capital of Quito following days of nationwide protests led by unions and Indigenous groups against austerity measures unveiled last week, including the end of decades-old fuel subsidies.  The gas and diesel subsidies, which cost the government close to $1.4 billion per year, were scrapped as part of Moreno’s effort to honor a $4.2 billion loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) finalized earlier this year. Moreno’s moves to slash government spending have caused a spike in fuel prices and provoked six days of protests thus far, with a national strike planned for Wednesday.  Jaime Vargas, president of the Confederation of Indigenous Nations in Ecuador (CONAIE), an umbrella organization for local Indigenous groups, said Monday that 20,000 protesters marching toward Quito would be in the capital for the strike.  Reuters noted Monday that “Indigenous-led protests brought down three presidents” before Moreno’s predecessor and one-time mentor, Rafael Correa, who now lives in self-imposed exile in Belgium. Correa, an outspoken critic of the current president’s political shift to the right on economic policy, tweeted Monday night that “Moreno is finished” and called for elections.  [In] a defiant national television address on Monday evening, after protesters reached Quito’s historic center, Moreno said he would not back down on the fuel price hike in the face of what he called a “destabilization plan” orchestrated by Correa and leftist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. “They are behind this coup attempt, and they are using and instrumentalizing some Indigenous sectors,” Moreno said, flanked by military officials and Vice President Otto Sonnenholzner. He added that he had temporarily moved government operations to the southern city of Guayaquil, the financial capital. “What has happened is not a manifestation of social discontent in protest of a government decision. The lootings, vandalism, and violence show there is an organized political motive to destabilize the government.”  Correa responded on Tuesday by denying the coup charges, for which Moreno did not provide any evidence. “They are such liars,” said Correa. “They say I am so powerful that with an iPhone from Brussels I could lead the protests.” Referring to the austerity measures, the former president added, “People couldn’t take it anymore, that’s the reality.”  Moreno has declared a two-month national emergency in response to the protests—some of which have turned violent.  “Images from Quito showed protesters hurling petrol bombs and stones, ransacking and vandalizing public buildings as well as clashing with the police in running battles late into the night,” reported The Guardian. “Rioters in Quito forced their way into the comptroller general’s office and vandalized the assembly building on Monday. It followed days of violence in which protesters burned military vehicles, destroyed dozens of rose farms, a dairy, and an oil production facility. The outnumbered security forces have been unable to prevent much of the destruction.”  Over the past six days of demonstrations, two dozen police officers have been injured and 570 protesters have been detained, according to Moreno’s government. Additionally, a man in the Andean province died after he was hit by a car and roadblocks in the area prevented an ambulance from reaching him.  “About 50 police officers have been taken hostage in various locations,” BBC News reported Monday. Police have responded to protests with tear gas and armored vehicles.  CONAIE, on Saturday, declared a “state of exception in Indigenous territory of Ecuador before the brutality of military forces,” warning that “military and police who approach our territories will be held and subjected to Indigenous justice.”  Indigenous groups—who took the lead in the protests after a two-day strike by transport unions—promised to maintain pressure on the Moreno government in statements to the media this week.


activistpost--2019-12-08--Hong Kong Protests Attract Massive Crowds, Estimated 800k March In Financial District

With zero signs of abating, hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters lined the streets around Hong Kong’s financial and shopping districts on Sunday, demanding the Beijing-backed Hong Kong government fulfill their demands, reported Reuters.  The semi-peaceful protest, a drastic change from violent ones in the last several weeks that have been raging for at least six months, plunged the city into a dangerous recession in Nov., attracted at least 800,000 participants on Sunday, according to protest organizer Civil Human Rights Front. Though Hong Kong police said that approximately 200,000 showed up.  Reuters quoted protest chants as some said, “Fight for freedom! Stand with Hong Kong!,” while they marched across Victoria Park in the city’s shopping district and financial area.  A protester, by the name of Lawrence,23, told Reuters that, “It’s Christmas time soon, but we’re not in the mood to celebrate anymore.”  The Wall Street Journal spoke with Johnny Tung, 41, who joined the march with his two sons. He said, “as a Hong Konger, it’s my duty to be here today. Our people have tried protesting peacefully, we’ve done it more violently, but again and again, we’ve been ignored. I just want the government to please just respond to the people so society can return to peace.”  China has become more vocal about Western powers interfering in the Hong Kong protests since the US signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act HKHRDA) into law last month. This allows Washington to impose sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong leaders responsible for human rights violations during the protests.  Beijing was furious when the US lawmakers passed HKHRDA, which they have vowed to retaliate with a no-entry list for US lawmakers behind drafting the bill, along with other government officials, though the true extent of the retaliation remains a mystery.  On Saturday, we noted that the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong was detained and then denied access to the neighboring Chinese city of Macau.  Protesters on Sunday had five demands for the unpopular Beijing-backed Carrie Lam government. Some of the requests include a complete withdrawal of the extradition bill from the legislative process, release and pardon of arrested protesters, and resignation of Lam.  Thousands on social media accounts documented the massive march with tons of video showing hundreds of thousands of protesters walking the streets.  The latest acceleration in social-economic turmoil in Hong Kong suggests that more unrest is coming for 1Q20. If China starts losing control of the city, then Beijing could be inclined to deploy PLA troops. It seems that this worst-case scenario might be realized sometime in 2020 if the escalation continues.  The question everyone is asking: With the Hong Kong bill passed into law — when do US lawmakers start sanctioning China and Hong Kong leaders over human rights violations?  This article was sourced from ZeroHedge.com  Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Become an Activist Post Patron for as little as $1 per month at Patreon. Follow us on SoMee, Flote, Minds, Twitter, and Steemit.  Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.


activistpost--2019-12-16--Internet Blocked as Protests Intensify in Northeast India against the Citizenship Amendment Act

Soon after India finalized the Citizenship (Amendment) Act on 12 December 2019 to allow refugees of six different faiths from the neighbouring Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, violent protests opposing the Act erupted in the northeastern states of Assam, Tripura and Meghalaya. While the Act has been criticized for anti-Muslim bias, most in Assam have been protesting it for fear that it will open the door to Hindu refugees from Bangladesh, and affect the local language and culture.  At least three protesters have died in suspected police firing. Protesters in major cities of Assam and Tripura have been flaming torches and setting car tires and cardboards ablaze. The internet has been blocked since 11 December in Assam and Meghalaya.  The amended Act segregates the identification of refugees on the basis of their faith. It adds new clauses to the 1955 Citizenship Act allowing the Indian State to provide citizenship to six communities — Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jains, Parsis and Sikhs — who are fleeing from religious and minority persecution from India’s three neighboring countries. Assam is a province with 33 million people with multiple ethnicities — including many indigenous ones — and religions. Among many other complexities and historical incidents that have led to this protest is Assam Accord, a 1985 Memorandum of Settlement that provided a framework on how to deal with immigrants from Bangladesh.  What is the Assam Accord?  Assam saw a massive influx of refugees from Bangladesh since its formation in 1947 through the 1950s until the 1980s. From 1980–1984, the then Indian government led by Indira Gandhi of the Indian National Congress (INC) party engaged with those who were protesting against this influx. After the assassination of Gandhi in 1984, the Indian government led by Rajeev Gandhi initiated a Memorandum of Settlement that was signed in the presence of parties from both the federal and provincial governments and representatives from the protesting unions. The Accord brought the six-year-long Assam Movement to an end which arose with a goal to identify and expel refugees from Bangladesh. The Accord made it clear that any refugee irrespective of their religious faiths who entered India before 31 December 1965 would be given citizenship and the ones who entered after this date would be illegal. The ongoing protests in Assam also highlight the alleged violation of this Accord since the recently passed Citizenship (Amendment) Act now legalizes the aforementioned refugees who entered India before 31 December 2014.  What is the National Register of Citizens (NRC)?  Tensions and emotions are already running high as Assam is in the process of updating 33 million citizen records to detect and deport undocumented immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. Approximately 1.9 million people are now facing the possibility of becoming stateless in the northeastern Indian state of Assam after being excluded from the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC).  The NRC is a government register containing the names and relevant information for the identification of all Indian citizens.  After the protests became violent on 11 December, local authorities ordered the shut down of the internet in Assam and Meghalaya to stop the spread of rumors. This also affected online mobile transactions and mobile internet connections.  The shutdown in Assam is reported to be in effect until 16 December. The NetBlocks Internet Shutdown Observatory that monitors internet shutdowns worldwide has reported that both mobile and fixed line connections are cut off leading to an information blackout and taking down of media coverage and free expression. It is important to note that access to the internet is officially banned in the Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (formerly an Indian state) since 5 August after the abrogation of the Article 370 of the Indian Constitution that provided the region with a special provincial status.  The Press Information Bureau of India is tweeting about the implications of the Citizenship Amendment Bill focusing on the Indian northeast:  Amid this conflict, the Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal has appealed to the people of Assam to maintain peace and harmony. Meanwhile, the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has shared a video on Twitter promising that the languages and indigenous cultures of northeast India will be respected after the Citizen (Amendment) Act takes effect.  This article was sourced from Global Voices.  Subhashish Panigrahi — Long time community manager and documentary filmmaker. Worked at Internet Society, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation and Centre for Internet and Society. Digitally-documenting endangered languages with a National Geographic Explorer hat. Online News Association’s 2017 MJ Bear Fellow under 30. Views expressed in my Global Voices articles are my own and do not necessarily reflect the organizations I work for or am affiliated to. Connect on Twitter @subhapa.  Top image: Protest against Citizenship Amendment Act in Assam. Screenshot from YouTube video by DW News.  Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Become an Activist Post Patron for as little as $1 per month at Patreon. Follow us on SoMee, Flote, Minds, Twitter, and Steemit.  Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.


activistpost--2019-12-20--Protests Banned Across India After All Hell Breaks Loose

Tens of thousands of people in at least 15 cities across India Thursday defied a government ban on protests after violent demonstrations last week sent the country into chaos following the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), reported Bloomberg.  CAA is a measure that the Modi government passed into law last Wednesday that allows amnesty to only non-Muslim illegal immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The result of the controversial new citizenship law considered by many to be discriminatory against Muslims led to violent protest late last week and through the weekend.  Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and Parsis from the three eligible countries can now receive citizenship if they have illegally entered India though Muslims from the same countries cannot.  The protest ban is a police order that prohibits more than four people from assembling. Still, tens of thousands of people ignored the government’s call to stand down and have been demonstrating this week, especially in regions of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Patna, Chandigarh, and Delhi.  Telecom companies and internet service providers in high protest regions shut down data service this week, likely on government orders, to squash coordination efforts of organizers who were responsible for assembling thousands of people into the streets via social media.  While Thursday’s protests have been relatively calm—here’s what happened last weekend:  Indian markets have ignored the social unrest as equities hit record highs for a third straight day. Sovereign bond yields have inched lower since the start of the uprising, while the rupee was calm.  Bloomberg notes that CAA “is seen as a precursor to the government’s plan to implement nationwide citizens register to weed out illegal migrants.”  Last Sunday, we noted the epicenter of the unrest was in Assam, a region of 1.9 million, with most of them Muslim — and some of them risk losing Indian citizenship after the state-enforced new citizens register in August.  “Our paranoid rulers in Delhi are fearful. Our Home Minister would not dare allow a peaceful protest,” Modi critic Ramachandra Guha said after police detained him at a protest in Bangalore. “Everyone should stand up; the entrepreneurs of Bangalore should stand up. Do they want this image to go around, that we are a quasi-dictatorship? We are here to assert our democratic rights.”  With the Indian economy quickly decelerating – the passage of CAA triggering social unrest can now allow the Modi government to scapegoat protesters as the reason why the economy is faltering.  Saxo Bank’s Christopher Dembik, global head of macro research, provides some color on the slowdown that is expected to roll well into 2020. Dembik warns: “All the leading indicators point out it will get worse.”  This article was sourced from The Mind Unleashed.  Subscribe to Activist Post for truth, peace, and freedom news. Become an Activist Post Patron for as little as $1 per month at Patreon. Follow us on SoMee, Flote, Minds, Twitter, and Steemit.  Provide, Protect and Profit from what’s coming! Get a free issue of Counter Markets today.


21stcenturywire--2019-02-12--SYRIA 70 Civilians Killed and Injured in Latest Coalition Massacre Near Deir Ezzor

SYRIA: 70 Civilians Killed and Injured in Latest Coalition Massacre Near Deir Ezzor

Despite repeated announcements by Donald Trump that the US would be withdrawing its military assets from their illegal occupation in northeastern Syria, the civilian death toll at the hands of US-led Coalition continues to mount.  This week, it has been revealed that a further 70 civilians, many of them women and children, have been killed and injured by another Coalition bombing raid.  One of the regular techniques employed by western governments and their media functionaries to successfully deflect any public criticism for illegal operations in Syria – has been to frame Coalition bombing campaigns as “targeting ISIS controlled areas.”  This especially includes the framing of the US-led Coalition’s relentless firebombing of Raqqa in northeastern Syria in 2017. Far from destroying ISIS in Raqqa, the US and its proxy militias, the Kurdish SDF forces – had already allowed hundreds of the top ISIS terrorist militants and officers to escape the city – even allowing them to take their arms with them. This was even admitted by the BBC. After this operation was complete, the US Coalition waged the bulk of their bombing campaign on the city, proceeding to slaughter at least 3,000 Syrian civilians in the process, including entire families who were wiped out by Coalition carpet munitions. The media turned a convenient blind eye at the time by following the US State Dept dictates that the US was simply “bombing ISIS.”  To this day, the US are still in denial about their reckless operation and mass civilian slaughter in Raqqa.  The pattern continued this week, as Coalition continue to claim it’s sole mandate is ‘eliminating ISIS.’ In reality, they are attempting to bait Damascus and Moscow into a fight, as any retaliation by the Syrian or Russian armed forces in Syria against the US would give Washington and Tel Aviv the pretext they so desperately need to escalate tensions and war in the region.  Deir Ezzor, SANA- Warplanes of the US-led “International Coalition” on Tuesday continued aggression on the Syrian territories through shelling al-Baghouz town in Deir Ezzor countryside claiming the lives of scores of civilians and injuring others, mostly women and children.  Local sources in Deir Ezzor told SANA that at least 70 civilians were martyred or injured, mostly women and children on the outskirts of al-Baghouz town in airstrikes launched by warplanes of the “International Coalition”.  SEE ALSO: Details of ‘Preliminary Agreement’ Between ISIS and US-led Coalition  The sources indicated that the coalition’s airstrikes targeted a camp that embraces hundreds of civilians who fled the shelling by the coalition and the terrorism of Daesh (ISIS), indicating that the number of martyrs is more likely to rise due to the critical conditions of some of the injured and the difficulty of hospitalizing them due to the continued shelling.  This massacres comes just hours after warplanes of the “International Coalition” committed another massacre in al-Baghouz village as 24 civilians were martyred mostly women and children.


activistpost--2019-08-07--Wars and Domestic Massacres

Wars and Domestic Massacres

This past weekend, 22 people were killed in El Paso, Texas and 9 in Dayton, Ohio. There have been a number of other mass shootings in the past two decades or so; the largest was in Las Vegas in 2017, with 58 killed. This is sad, but it is a drop in the bucket compared to the real perpetrators of death in America—-the US military.  It is been well-said that “it’s time for America to reckon with the staggering death toll of the post 9-11 wars.”  “Brown University’s Costs of War Project this month released a new estimate of the total death toll from the U.S. wars in three countries: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The numbers, while conservatively estimated, are staggering. Brown’s researchers estimate that at least 480,000 people have been directly killed by violence over the course of these conflicts, more than 244,000 of them civilians. In addition to those killed by direct acts violence, the number of indirect deaths — those resulting from disease, displacement, and the loss of critical infrastructure — is believed to be several times higher, running into the millions.  The report, which uses data spanning from October 2001 to October 2018, compiles previous analysis from nongovernmental organizations, U.S. and foreign government data, and media reports. In a statement, the report authors said the figures still just ‘scratches the surface of the human consequences of 17 years of war.’ Due to challenges human consequences of 17 years of war.” Due to challenges in data collection, their total estimate is an undercount, they added.”  If we want to end mass killing, this is what we should be trying to stop. Instead, the military is glorified. Deaths in war are downplayed, but when a mass shooting happens in an American city, the media saturates us with propaganda calling for gun control.  This is ironic not only because of the enormous disparity between the numbers killed by the military and those killed in mass shootings. It is also ironic because many of the mass shooters are people the military has trained to become mass killers. In the aftermath of yet another mass shooting in the United States, the internet and broadcast news alike are inundated with commentary about why this keeps happening in America.  But one commonality among numerous mass killings in the United States remains absent from these conversations. It is always reported when details of the shooter are published, but the widespread connection is rarely acknowledged: A mounting number of mass shooters have ties to the military. The United States has indulged in a culture of ‘patriotic’ militarism for decades, glorifying this institutionalized violence as a sign of strength and morality.  Indeed, this glorification of violence bleeds over into the United States’ unique problem of individuals committing acts of mass violence. Here is a brief sampling of perpetrators of some of the most high-profile mass shootings in recent years. Many were either members of the military at some point, were rejected by the military (but clearly wanted to join), or came from a military family:  Other shooters, like Paul Ciancia, Adam Lanza, and James Holmes showed up to their shootings donning battle gear, and while this does not implicate a direct tie to the military, their decision to show up to a massacre of innocent people in tactical outfits (most commonly associated with the military and police) arguably demonstrates their mentality: one of battle, which is constantly glorified in American culture.  Ii is hardly surprising that Connor Betts, the shooter in Dayton, Ohio, showed up in body armor.  Instead of ending foreign wars, the greatest single contribution we could make to ending killing and violence, the power elite plays up mass shootings as part of its dual campaign to take away our guns and impose cultural Marxist mind control on us, in the guise of opposing “racism”.  As part of this agenda, the FBI and CIA spy on us and plan to ship dissenters to concentration camps.


activistpost--2019-09-19--The Price of Freedom US Drone Massacres Dozens of Afghan Farmers as They Slept

The Price of “Freedom”? US Drone Massacres Dozens of Afghan Farmers as They Slept

Jalalabad, Afghanistan — Imagine for a moment that you had just finished a long day’s work with two hundred other farmers. You were settling down to relax for the night, when out of nowhere, Hellfire missiles rain down from drones in the sky and blow up dozens of your coworkers, maiming and tearing limbs from dozens more. Imagine if this happened inside the United States. Imagine the reaction from politicians and the US war machine looking to right this wrong.  Would you, as an American citizen sit idly back and accept the excuse given by the country who carried out that attack? Would you accept the wholesale slaughter of your fellow citizens by the dozen if the country who led the attack said it was a mistake and we did it to “help” you? What if it was one of your children killed in the attack? Or your brother, sister, father, mother, or grand parent? Would you simply accept that this slaughter was a mistake and the “help” you are receiving from this country is worth it?  Well, that is exactly what the United States is asking Afghanistan to do right now after a drone strike Wednesday night slaughtered 30 innocent civilian farmers as they rested from a long day’s work picking pine nuts. The attack also left 40 others maimed and mangled.  “The workers had lit a bonfire and were sitting together when a drone targeted them,” tribal elder Malik Rahat Gul told Reuters by telephone from Wazir Tangi.  According to Reuters, a survivor of the drone strike said about 200 laborers were sleeping in five tents pitched near the farm when the attack happened.  “Some of us managed to escape, some were injured but many were killed,” said Juma Gul, a resident of northeastern Kunar province who had traveled along with laborers to harvest and shell pine nuts this week.  Naturally, the US is responding to the situation with a canned response and refusing to accept responsibility.  “U.S. forces conducted a drone strike against Da’esh (IS) terrorists in Nangarhar,” said Colonel Sonny Leggett, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. “We are aware of allegations of the death of non-combatants and are working with local officials to determine the facts.”  Residents of the Nangarhar province spoke publicly Thursday and demanded the U.S. take responsibility for this murder.  “Such mistakes cannot be justified. American forces must realize (they) will never win the war by killing innocent civilians,” said Javed Mansur, a resident of Jalalabad city.  This slaughter comes on the heels of a rather disturbing report released by the United Nations in April detailing how in the first part of 2019, US forces and their allies killed more civilians than the Taliban and other terrorist groups.  According to the most recent UN data, Afghan civilians were killed in greater numbers by NATO and pro-government security forces in the first three months of 2019 than by armed militants. Half of those slaughtered by allied troops were women and children.  In spite of countless drone bombs raining down from the skies, Hellfire and Tomahawk missiles flattening buildings, and mass graves filled with collateral damage, the US has absolutely nothing to show for it except physically and psychologically damaged veterans and a massive trillion dollar debt.  The Congressional Research Service, for example, concluded in 2015 that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have cost U.S. taxpayers $1.6 trillion. However, according to a report from TIME magazine last year, that number is a gross underestimate.  As TFTP previously reported, according to an analysis from the “Costs of War Project” from Brown University’s Watson Institute, by the end of 2018, the U.S. War on Terror cost America taxpayers more than $5.6 trillion, which is an average of $23,386 per taxpayer.  As The Nation noted, that estimate does not include several factors such as “the psychic costs to the Americans mangled in one way or another in those never-ending conflicts. They don’t include the costs to this country’s infrastructure, which has been crumbling while taxpayer dollars flow copiously and in a remarkably—in these years, almost uniquely—bipartisan fashion into what’s still laughably called ‘national security.’”  After 18 years, there is no sign that the War on Terror is ending anytime soon, but surely the United States is finally close to defeating Al Qaeda—right?  Unfortunately, the opposite is true. A report from the Los Angeles Times noted that in 2018, “Al Qaeda may be stronger than ever,” and instead of destroying the group, “U.S. policies in the Mideast appear to have encouraged its spread.”


bbc--2019-02-19--Viewpoint Should Britain apologise for Amritsar massacre

Viewpoint: Should Britain apologise for Amritsar massacre?

Hundreds of Indians attending a public meeting were shot dead by British troops in the northern Indian city of Amritsar in 1919. Historian Kim Wagner sifts fact from fiction as the UK House of Lords prepares to debate the massacre, including if Britain should apologise.  On 13 April 1919, Sergeant WJ Anderson witnessed first-hand the brutal massacre of hundreds of Indian civilians at Jallianwala Bagh, a public garden in Amritsar city.  "When fire was opened the whole crowd seemed to sink to the ground, a whole flutter of white garments, with however a spreading out towards the main gateway, and some individuals could be seen climbing the high wall," Anderson later recalled.  "There was little movement, except for the climbers. The gateway would soon be jammed. I saw no sign of a rush towards the troops."  He had served as the bodyguard of Brigadier General RH Dyer, who had rushed to Amritsar a few days earlier to quell what he believed to be a major uprising.  The crowd of more than 20,000 people, however, were not armed rebels. They were local residents and villagers from the surrounding countryside who had come to listen to political speeches or simply to spend a few hours in the gardens.  It was also the day of the Baisakhi festival, which marked the anniversary of the creation of the Khalsa, or Sikh community, and annually attracted thousands of visitors and pilgrims.  The crowd comprised Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. Most were men and young boys, including some infants; only a few women were present.  When Gen Dyer ordered his troops to cease firing, Jallianwala Bagh resembled a battlefield strewn with corpses. Between 500 and 600 people were killed, and probably three times as many wounded. The exact numbers will never be known for certain but the official death count, reached months later, was just 379.  In recent years, much of the public debate has focused on calls for a formal British apology - the demand has been led by, among others, Indian politician and author Shashi Tharoor.  Queen Elizabeth II visited the memorial at Jallianwala Bagh in 1997 and then Prime Minister David Cameron visited in 2013 - both showed their respect yet carefully avoided making an actual apology.  In December 2017, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, nevertheless urged the British government to make just such a gesture during his own visit to Amritsar.  "I am clear that the government should now apologise, especially as we reach the centenary of the massacre. This is about properly acknowledging what happened here and giving the people of Amritsar and India the closure they need through a formal apology," he said.  Exactly what happened at Jallianwala Bagh, however, remains unclear, and a century later, the actual circumstances of the massacre are still shrouded in myth and misconceptions.  There are, for instance, people, often with a nostalgic attachment to the Empire, who still insist that Gen Dyer only opened fire as a final resort when the crowd ignored his warning to disperse - even though the general himself was quite clear that he gave no such warning.  Similarly, the idea that the shooting was necessary and prevented much worse violence conveniently ignores the fact that Indian riots in April 1919 were in each and every case precipitated by British actions.  Factual inaccuracies are also to be found at the Jallianwala Bagh memorial today. Among other things, a sign claims that 120 bodies of the victims of the massacre were recovered from what has become known as the Martyrs' Well. It's believed that many people jumped into the well to escape the bullets.  But there is no evidence for this story, which appears to be based on a mix-up with the infamous well at Kanpur city, where the bodies of British women and children were disposed after a massacre in 1857.  Visual depictions of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre also show machine guns being used, when the historical record is quite clear that the shooting was carried out by 50 Gurkha and Baluchi troops armed with rifles.  Gen Dyer also did not orchestrate the massacre, and deliberately trap the crowd inside the gardens, as some popular accounts have it.  In fact, it was British panic and misreading of the political turmoil in India that was at the root of the violence.  While Indian nationalists were looking forward to political reforms and greater self-determination after the end of World War One, the British were still haunted by the spectre of the 1857 "mutiny", an uprising that is often referred to as India's first war of independence.  So, when riots broke out in Amritsar on 10 April - and five Europeans and dozens of Indians were killed - the authorities responded with immediate and indiscriminate force. Three days later, Gen Dyer entered what he mistakenly perceived to be a war zone.  Where popular depictions show a peaceful crowd of locals quietly listening to a political speech, Gen Dyer instead perceived a defiant and murderous mob, which had only days before run rampant through Amritsar. When he ordered his troops to open fire, it was an act of fear, spurred on by a disastrously flawed threat assessment.  None of this exonerates Gen Dyer or detracts from the sheer brutality of the massacre - nor does it justify the subsequent torture and humiliation of Indians under martial law. The indisputable violence of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre hardly requires any embellishment. Nevertheless, facts matter if we are to pay our respect to those who died rather than simply perpetuate politically convenient fiction. And to understand is not the same as to condone.  Apologies and centenaries, which are essentially about the present rather than the past, are rarely conducive to an honest and nuanced reckoning with history.  An apology from a British government in the throes of Brexit, at the moment, seems highly unlikely. It it indeed doubtful whether an official acknowledgement of the massacre would be construed as more than an act of political expediency.  The question thus remains whether an apology without a genuine understanding of the past can ever provide the "closure" that so many seek.  Kim Wagner is the author, most recently, of Amritsar 1919: An Empire of Fear and the Making of a Massacre (Yale University Press) and Jallianwala Bagh: An Empire of Fear and the Making of the Amritsar Massacre (Penguin India).


bbc--2019-04-18--Bangka Island The WW2 massacre and a truth too awful to speak

Bangka Island: The WW2 massacre and a 'truth too awful to speak'

In 1942, a group of Australian nurses were murdered by Japanese soldiers in what came to be known as the Bangka Island massacre. Now, a historian has collated evidence indicating they were sexually assaulted beforehand - and that Australian authorities allegedly hushed it up.  "It took a group of women to uncover this truth - and to finally speak it."  Military historian Lynette Silver is discussing what happened to 22 Australian nurses who were marched into the sea at Bangka Island, Indonesia, and shot with machine guns in February 1942. All except one were killed.  "That was a jolt to the senses enough. But to have been raped beforehand was just too awful a truth to speak," Ms Silver says, speaking of claims she details in a new book.  "Senior Australian army officers wanted to protect grieving families from the stigma of rape. It was seen as shameful. Rape was known as a fate worse than death, and was still a hangable offence [for perpetrators] in New South Wales until 1955."  Nurse Vivian Bullwinkel was shot in the massacre but survived by playing dead. She hid in the jungle and was taken as a prisoner of war, before eventually returning to Australia.  She was "gagged" from speaking about the rapes at the Tokyo war crimes tribunal in the aftermath of World War Two, according to Ms Silver, who researched an account Ms Bullwinkel gave to a broadcaster before she died in 2000.  "She was following orders," Ms Silver says. "In addition to the taboo, there was probably some guilt from the Australian government - senior officers knew Japanese troops had raped and murdered British nurses when the Japanese invaded Hong Kong in 1942, but were tardy in calls to evacuate the Australian nurses from Singapore."  According to the Australian government, the perpetrators of the massacre remain unknown and "escaped any punishment for their crime".  An Australian Defence Force spokesperson says a decision on whether a new investigation into these sexual assault claims will commence is up to the government, but that "new historic allegations can be reported by family" to a unit which investigates such crimes.  The other women whose work has revealed evidence of these alleged sexual assaults are broadcaster Tess Lawrence and biographer Barbara Angell.  Ms Angell did forensic work into the mismatching thread and bullet holes in Ms Bullwinkel's nurse's uniform.  It indicated that buttons had been ripped off her bodice and sewn on in a different colour thread (after her death, when it was put on display), and the only way the bullet entry and exit holes lined up was if her bodice was open at the waist and down at the front.  Ms Lawrence reported in 2017 that, before she died, Ms Bullwinkel confided in her that "most of" the nurses were "violated" before being shot, and that she'd wanted to reveal this but couldn't - a secret, she said, that "tortured" her.  The Australian historian also cites an account of a Japanese soldier who was being treated for malaria nearby on Bangka Island, which is off Sumatra. He told an Australian investigating officer that he heard screams and was told soldiers were "pleasuring themselves on the beach and it'd be the turn of platoon next".  In addition, Ms Silver discovered that part of a page detailing what happened to the nurses in a key account had been ripped out, in what she believes was an act of censorship.  The account was by Jean Williams, wife of Major Harold Williams, about investigations he conducted for the Australian War Crimes Section.  Peter Stanley, a military history professor at University of New South Wales, says Ms Silver's account doesn't surprise him: "I've been waiting for this story to come out - it has been alleged for years, including by ex-servicewomen who knew Vivian Bullwinkel and told me. It correlates with on-the-record sexual assaults by Japanese WW2 soldiers in Hong Kong, the Philippines and Singapore."  Before the massacre, Ms Silver says the Australian nurses had "a carefree, happy life" in Singapore until the end of 1941.  "They were wined and dined - the darlings of the army," she says. "They were just dealing with the usual complaints you get in army peacetime - accidents in training, car accidents, malaria."  When the Japanese attacked on 8 December 1941 - a few hours before Pearl Harbor - their lives changed, she says: "They were overwhelmed with battle casualties. Even houses in Singapore were transformed into hospitals."  Ms Silver says she sees it as important to speak the "unsanitised truth" that Vivian Bullwinkel had wanted to tell in 1945 and 1946.  "If I didn't tell this secret, I'd be part of the culture of silence and the government clampdown, and protecting the perpetrators," she says. "These nurses deserve to have their story told - that's their justice."  She has recently received emails from people who personally knew the nurses. "I was slightly concerned people might say I should let sleeping dogs lie, but I haven't received a single derogatory remark," she says.  Ms Silver now wants the Australian War Memorial (AWM), which already includes the story of the massacre, to tailor its tours to include this account of the alleged sexual assaults.  AWM director Dr Brendan Nelson tells the BBC: "We don't deny or downplay these allegations; indeed, it's known rape and sexual assault are used as weapons in war. Nevertheless, as the sole survivor the incident, Lt Col Bullwinkel, passed away nearly 20 years ago, we do not, nor can ever categorically know what took place."  Ms Silver draws parallels with the #MeToo movement: "The same social mores are at play - whereby women felt compelled to wait before they could say anything. As victims, they're made to feel responsible. I think #MeToo would've given Vivian Bullwinkel the confidence to finally speak up."  "Female history writers are generally more interested in the human element than how many guns there were. As a female, you have empathy."  She said it was revealing that it was three female historians who uncovered the evidence for this story: "I've heard of history being told as 'his-story'. This was the opposite of that."


21stcenturywire--2019-04-26--Intl Monitors US Coalition Killed Over 1600 Civilians During Bombing of Raqqa Syria

Int’l Monitors: US Coalition Killed Over 1,600 Civilians During Bombing of Raqqa, Syria

According to a new report issued by an independent conflict monitoring group, the US-led bombing campaign waged in 2017 to ‘liberate’ the Syrian city of Raqqa from the Islamic State (ISIS), ended up killing more than 1,600 civilians – a figure that is 10 times as high as the number of dead claimed by the US-led coalition.    These numbers are according to reports submitted by Amnesty International, and Airwars, a London-based conflict monitoring group formed in 2014 to study the impact of the US-led air campaigns against target nations. After 18 months of researching civilian deaths, including two months on the ground in Raqqa, the group have finally released their findings, and are urging that the US-led coalition “end almost two years of denial” about the true death tolls resulting from their bombing runs in Syria, and Iraq.  “Our conclusive finding after all this is that the US-led coalition’s military offensive [US, UK and French forces] directly caused more than 1,600 civilian deaths in Raqqa,” said researchers.  Previously, US officials downplayed, and were likely lying – about having taken “great care to avoid civilian casualties” and also made the erroneous claims that they investigate any accusations regarding their lack of precision when seeking out their alleged “ISIS targets.”  Back in 2017, a spokesperson for U.S. CENTCOM told UK newspaper The Independent, “The Coalition takes all allegations of civilian casualties seriously and assesses all credible allegations of possible civilian casualties. Coalition forces work diligently and deliberately to be precise in our airstrikes.”  They added, “Coalition forces comply with the law of armed conflict and take all reasonable precautions during the planning and execution of airstrikes to reduce the risk of harm to civilians.”  “The Coalition respects human life and is assisting partner forces in their effort to liberate their land from Isis while safeguarding civilians. Our goal is always for zero civilian casualties.”  Those statements now appear to be patently false, based on the review of the new data and a lack of any visible due diligence by the Pentagon. More crucially, for the last 2 years, the western mainstream media never seriously challenged any of the US military’s spotty claims, nor were the media interested in mounting any investigation into what now appears to be bona fide international war crimes.  Since 2014, an international coalition led by the US has been giving military support to both the Iraqi government and their own illegal paramilitary creation a Syrian, a Kurdish-led confab called the “Syrian Democratic Forces” (SDF), who managed to re-captured Raqqa in late 2017 after a five-month air bombing campaign led by the US.  It was known by Amnesty last year that evidence existed that the US-led coalition’s air and artillery strikes in Raqqa had violated international law by killing civilians in large numbers, but no major estimate was given until now.


airwars--2019-12-24--More than 220 civilians likely killed in Turkish invasion of northern Syria

Despite October ceasefires, the violence has continued with atrocities alleged on both sides.  Eleven weeks on from the October 9th launch of a Turkish-led offensive against Kurds in northern Syria, known as ‘Operation Peace Spring’, fighting continues to rage with civilians still encountering significant violence.  Since the beginning of the latest clashes, Airwars researchers have overall monitored between 244 and 312 reported civilian deaths resulting from air, artillery and ground action by both sides, as well as the wounding of between 705 and 924 civilians.  See our searchable database of reported Turkish civilian harm events in Syria  The recent conflict between Turkish-led forces and the Kurds has also seen a sharp rise in reported atrocities from both sides, which could be considered war crimes according to international law.  While the majority of civilian deaths tracked by Airwars resulted from actions by Turkey and its proxies, around one in four fatalities were however reportedly caused by Kurdish strikes – a significant change from Afrin.  Between 172 and 225 civilian fatalities and between 419 and 553 civilian injuries were attributed by local sources to Turkey and its proxy forces in Syria across 117 incidents, which are presently graded as fairly reported by Airwars. This means that two or more credible, uncontested sources have reported civilian harm blamed on a specific belligerent.  Meanwhile, between 55 and 64 civilian fatalities and between 208 and 260 injuries were attributed to Kurdish armed groups in 35 civilian harm incidents for which Airwars has assessed the reporting as fair.  The offensive, which Turkey had been preparing for since July 2019, followed the chaotic initial withdrawal of US forces from Syria in a bid by President Trump to deflate US-Turkish tensions. The assault by Ankara is the latest in a long history of hostilities between the Turkish state, and Kurdish separatists affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).  However, more recent tensions began after the PKK-affiliated Syrian Kurdish Protection Units (YPG), operating under the broader umbrella of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), began to grow in prominence in northern Syria during their successful campaign against ISIS, with the support of the United States and the international Coalition.  The SDF’s growing strength despite thousands of losses in the war against ISIS – and the significant territory it now controlled in northern Syria – reportedly elevated fears in Ankara that an autonomous administration dominated by the YPG on its restive border could inspire separatist sentiments amongst Kurds in southern Turkey.  The apparent purpose of this incursion, therefore, was both to weaken the YPG, and to create a buffer zone along the Syria-Turkey border, by driving out the local Kurdish population and replacing it with forcibly returned Syrian refugees, a policy which some academics and commentators have described as displaying the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing.  The beginning of the recent campaign saw Turkish forces and their proxy allies on the ground bombard key towns and urban settlements under the control of the SDF. such as Ras al-Ain in Hasakah province; Tal Abyad in Raqqa province; and Kobani in Aleppo province, as well as numerous other civilian-populated areas of northern Syria. The SDF in turn hit back, targeting Turkish forces and affiliated groups’ positions in Syria as well as towns in southern Turkey.  In stark contrast to Turkey’s Afrin campaign in January 2018 – when the SDF had also been embroiled in their major campaign against ISIS in northeastern Syria, leaving them vulnerable to Turkey’s offensive – Kurdish forces appeared more prepared this time. The proportion of Kurdish counterstrikes to Turkish attacks in this campaign are significantly higher than previous campaigns, as evidenced by Airwars monitoring. In the Afrin campaign, there were 4.75 Turkish incidents for every Kurdish incident, while in comparison during this latest confrontation, there have been three Turkish incidents for every Kurdish incident.  While supposed ceasefires between the warring parties were reached on October 17th and October 22nd, mediated by Washington and Moscow respectively, the violence did not cease and civilians continued to be caught in attacks. Since October 18th, following the implementation of the ceasefire, 57 additional civilian harm event allegations have been levelled against Turkey and 25 such allegations against Kurdish forces.  The worst reported event since October 17th occurred just one day after the ceasefire was announced in the village of Zirgan, close to the city of Ras al-Ain, where between 12 and 19 civilians were killed, including four children, in what Kurdish media sources described as a massacre.  The ineffectual ceasefire also failed to protect humanitarian workers from harm. On November 3rd, a Doctors Without Borders convoy was targeted by an alleged Turkish mortar strike, killing Zau Seng, a member of the Free Burma Rangers and injuring three others.  Diplomatic negotiations between Ankara, Moscow and Washington gave the Kurds time to withdraw their forces 30km back from a 120km long strip along the Turkey-Syria border – at least partially granting Turkey its ‘safe zone’.  However, this was achieved at the expense of a humanitarian crisis in northern Syria. Beyond the disastrous loss of life, hundreds of thousands have been forcefully displaced as a result of the fighting. According to Refugee International, over 215,000 people have so far been driven from their homes as a result of the offensive, compounding an already bleak humanitarian situation in northeast Syria, where, according to the United Nations, 1.3 million people were already in need of humanitarian assistance.  Civil society activists, human rights groups, medical personnel and journalists have all accused the Turkish military and Turkish-backed groups of committing war crimes and human rights violations over the course of the offensive. These abuses have taken various forms. Local sources have for example reported numerous cases of summary execution of civilians and public officials.  The most notorious case was the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army’s (SNA) execution of Hevrin Khalaf of the Syria Future Party and the mutilation of her body, which was captured on camera. Numerous other cases have emerged of Turkish-backed forces summarily executing civilians and combatants alike. The M4 highway, which runs parallel with Syria’s northern border with Turkey has become synonymous with summary executions and extrajudicial killings. A plethora of videos have emerged showing Turkish-backed forces taunting victims before killing them and mutilating their bodies.  However, there is also ample evidence to indicate that atrocities have been carried out by both sides of the conflict. In one case, on October 20th, YPG forces reportedly handcuffed and executed seven civilians, including three from the same family in Ras al-Ain on charges of conspiring with Turkish-backed forces in the region. The fact that these atrocities have been so widespread from both sides points to an unprecedented level of brutality in this campaign, that was absent even from the Afrin offensive in 2018.  Additionally, reports have emerged of indiscriminate shelling by Turkey of medical facilities in Ras al-Ain and Tal Abyad, as well as civilian-populated neighbourhoods of major cities such as Qamishli.  Turkish backed forces have also been accused of looting and pillaging the property of civilians, with numerous reports emerging over the course of the conflict suggesting that the SNA had allegedly ransacked homes, shops, businesses and farms belonging to civilians in northern Syria.  Finally, the suspected use of prohibited weapons, allegedly by Turkey, has been well documented by journalists and medical personnel. According to a report by Dr Abbas Mansouran, a senior member of the medical staff at the main hospital of Hasakah, approximately 30 victims, mostly civilians were admitted to the hospital with severe and unusual burns and injuries, which he believes were caused by chemical weapons use, specifically the use of white phosphorus munitions.  According to Dr Mansouran, Turkish forces may have used dense inert metal explosive (DIME) bombs, which have similar chemical properties to white phosphorus. • Airwars reached out for comment from both Turkish and YPG military authorities for this article, though had received no response at time of publication.


bbc--2019-07-26--Syria war World shrugs as 103 civilians killed in 10 days

Syria war: 'World shrugs' as 103 civilians killed in 10 days

More than 100 people, including 26 children, have died in air strikes on hospitals, schools, markets and bakeries in north-west Syria in the past 10 days, a top UN official says.  Human rights chief Michelle Bachelet blamed the attacks in rebel-held areas on the government and its allies.  But the attacks were met with "apparent international indifference", she said.  Syria and its ally Russia have both denied targeting civilians in air strikes in the Idlib region.  Speaking to reporters, Ms Bachelet criticised the "failure of leadership by the world's most powerful nations".  The rising death toll in Idlib had been met with a "collective shrug" and the conflict had fallen off the international radar, while the UN Security Council was paralysed, she said.  She said the civilian targets were unlikely to have been accidental and warned that those carrying out the attacks could be charged with war crimes.  "Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes, and those who have ordered them or carried them out are criminally responsible for their actions," Ms Bachelet said.  Idlib province, along with the north of Hama province and western Aleppo province, is one of the last opposition strongholds in Syria after eight years of civil war.  It is supposedly covered by a truce brokered in September by Russia and opposition-backer Turkey that spared the 2.7 million civilians living there from a major government offensive.  Last week, the UN said more than 350 civilians had been killed and 330,000 forced to flee their homes since fighting escalated on 29 April.  But that figure has now been revised, adding 103 extra deaths in the past 10 days alone. The estimate for the number displaced stands at more than 400,000.  The government - which is backed by the Russian air force - said the increase in attacks was due to repeated truce violations by jihadists linked to al-Qaeda who dominate the opposition stronghold.  Russia has denied reports earlier this week that it carried out airstrikes on a market and residential areas which left at least 31 civilians dead.  Even before the conflict began, many Syrians were complaining about high unemployment, corruption and a lack of political freedom under President Bashar al-Assad, who succeeded his father, Hafez, after he died in 2000.  In March 2011, pro-democracy demonstrations erupted in the southern city of Deraa, inspired by the "Arab Spring" in neighbouring countries.  When the government used deadly force to crush the dissent, protests demanding the president's resignation erupted nationwide.  The unrest spread and the crackdown intensified. Opposition supporters took up arms, first to defend themselves and later to rid their areas of security forces. Mr Assad vowed to crush what he called "foreign-backed terrorism".  The violence rapidly escalated and the country descended into civil war.  Read more: Why is there a war in Syria?


fortruss--2019-05-31--Washington ADMITS to killing more than 1300 civilians in Syria and Iraq figure likely much higher

U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles taxi the runway after landing at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, November 12, 2015. Six F-15Es are deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve and counter-ISIL missions in Iraq and Syria. Picture taken November 12, 2015. REUTERS/USAF/Tech. Sgt. Taylor Worley/Handout via Reuters THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - RTS6UJ3  Washington ADMITS to killing more than 1,300 civilians in Syria and Iraq – figure likely much higher  WASHINGTON DC – May 31, 2019 – US-led forces killed at least 1,300 civilians as a result of fighting terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq, the military said.  Joint Task Force Combined – Operation Inherent Resolution ( CJTF-OIR ) published on Friday the monthly assessment of casualties. According to the report, during the operation against the Daesh [ISIS], Syria and Iraq were killed 1,302 civilians.  “The Coalition conducted 34,502 strikes between August 2014 and the end of April 2019. During this period, based on information available, CJTF-OIR assesses at least 1,302 civilians have been unintentionally killed by Coalition strikes since the beginning of Operation Inherent Resolve. This report includes three credible reports that had not been previously reported in monthly CIVCAS releases,” the report says.  “In the month of April, CJTF-OIR carried over 122 open reports from previous months and received seven new reports. CJTF-OIR completed 18 civilian-casualty allegation assessment reports. Out of the 18 completed casualty allegation reports, three reports were determined to be credible and resulted in five unintentional civilian deaths. The remaining 15 reports were assessed to be non-credible. One hundred and eleven reports are still open, including three that had been previously closed but were reopened due to the availability of new information,” the report continues.  Last month, the coalition published comparable figures, according to which 1,291 people were killed unintentionally as a result of the operation against terrorist groups.  At the same time, the human rights organization Amnesty International has reported over 1,600 civilians killed by coalition forces from June to October 2017 as a result of the Raqqa offensive.  Based on the history of such reporting, it would stand to reason that the actual civilian death toll inflicted by the U.S is substantially higher.  The United States and its allies have been involved in the military operation against terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq since 2014. While the Iraqi government has approved the presence of foreign units, the Syrian authorities have not given permission for the coalition to carry out military activities in its territory, the UN Security Council did not authorize it either.


nationalreview--2019-05-02--Pentagon US Military Operations Killed 120 Civilians in 2018

Pentagon: U.S. Military Operations Killed 120 Civilians in 2018

The Pentagon has revealed that 120 civilians lost their lives as a result of American military operations in 2018.  In a report released Thursday, the Defense Department said that 42 civilians had been killed in Iraq and Syria, 76 had been killed in Afghanistan, and two had been killed in Somalia. The report said that there had been no “credible” claims of civilian casualties caused by U.S. operations in Libya and Yemen.  “All DoD operations in 2018 were conducted in accordance with law of war requirements, including law of war protections for civilians, such as the fundamental principles of distinction and proportionality and the requirement to take feasible precautions in planning and conducting attacks to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and other persons and objects protected from being made the object of an attack,” said the annual report, which is required by Congress.  Watchdog groups say the Pentagon vastly underestimates the number of civilian deaths its operations cause each year. A report by Amnesty International and Airwars last month claimed that 805 such deaths had occurred in Iraq and Syria alone in 2018.  The Trump administration was criticized in March for scrapping an Obama-era requirement that intelligence officials release an “unclassified summary of the number of strikes” and “assessments of combatant and non combatant deaths resulting from those strikes.” Administration officials said the requirement was redundant because of the annual Defense Department report.  “Although CIVCAS [civilian casualties] are a tragic and unavoidable part of war, no force in history is more committed to limiting harm to civilians,” the DoD report said.


bbc--2019-01-27--Taliban talks Will negotiations lead to peace in Afghanistan

Taliban talks: Will negotiations lead to peace in Afghanistan?

The "significant progress" said to have been made during six days of talks between US officials and the Afghan Taliban suggests that both sides are serious about trying to find a peaceful solution to a 17-year conflict that has scarred Afghanistan.  But with the Taliban currently refusing to hold direct talks with Afghan officials, and negotiations relating to "unsolved matters" still to continue, what has actually been agreed during the meetings in Qatar?  Secunder Kermani, the BBC's Afghanistan correspondent, and senior Afghan journalist Sami Yousafzai, look at what we know so far about the talks, and what it could mean for the future of the country and the foreign forces operating there.  Both the Taliban and US officials have said "progress" was made in the latest set of talks in Qatar, and despite continuing violence on the ground in Afghanistan, there seems to be a growing momentum to the peace negotiations.  Leading analyst Ahmed Rashid told the BBC the talks were "enormously significant" and that "we've never been as close… to an end to the civil war in Afghanistan".  The talks lasted for six days - longer than any of the other previous set of discussions that have been held during recent months.  In the middle of the talks last week, the Taliban announced one of the group's founding members, Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader, would be appointed the new head of the Taliban's political office in Qatar, after recently being released from detention by Pakistani authorities.  Mr Rashid said Mullah Barader "had a record of wanting peace and stability" and could help persuade grassroots members to accept any deal that is reached.  The "progress" made seems to relate to two key issues:  A senior Taliban official who attended the talks told the BBC that both sides had agreed to form two committees to draw up detailed plans on how to implement agreements in principle on these topics.  The Taliban leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the committees would "identify routes for the withdrawal, and how much time is needed. We suggested six months, but are flexible".  He said the committees would also produce concrete proposals on how the Taliban can sever any links to al-Qaeda, and would start work within the next week. The Taliban source added that another meeting with the US would likely take place in early February.  Another source in the Taliban told the BBC that once an agreement had been drawn up, they would attempt to get other countries or international organisations to act as guarantors for it.  Both sides have said further talks are necessary to resolve outstanding issues.  What remains unclear is how a ceasefire fits into current discussions. The Taliban position seems to be one that can only be declared once a withdrawal date for international forces has been agreed.  A separate high ranking Taliban official suggested that the group was nervous about agreeing to a ceasefire before having established a firm settlement, as it could be difficult to convince grassroots fighters to take up arms again, after having laid them down.  The other crucial issue is when the Taliban will agree to begin talking directly to the Afghan government. The Taliban official said the "committees" due to be established would also produce recommendations on this.  So far, the insurgents have only engaged with the US, dismissing the administration of President Ashraf Ghani as "puppets."  In pointed comments at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland earlier this week, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said 45,000 members of the Afghan security forces had lost their lives since he took office in 2014.  "It shows who is doing the fighting," he said.  When asked about the progress of talks in Qatar, President Ghani responded tersely that the aim of the meetings was "to bring the Afghan government and the Taliban into face-to-face discussions and negotiations... then, the larger issues of the US presence and other international issues will be addressed".  Many analysts have interpreted those comments as revealing a concern amongst Afghan authorities that they are being excluded from the discussions amidst the rush to bring the conflict to an end. US President Donald Trump is believed to be growing increasingly frustrated by the continued US presence in the country.  Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation who has led talks for the American side, seemed aware of these concerns when he tweeted he was travelling to Kabul to brief President Ghani and said that any deal "must include an intra-Afghan dialogue."  The discussions between the Afghan government and the Taliban are likely to be even more complicated and delicate than the discussions that have been held so far.  They would have to include agreements on the role of women's rights and democracy in an Afghanistan where the ultra-conservative Taliban are a significant part of the political mainstream.  Previous attempts at peace have failed in their early stages.  In 2015, talks between Afghan officials and the Taliban in Pakistan broke down after news emerged of the death of the Taliban leader Mullah Omar - with whose authority the Taliban team was supposedly meeting.  Whilst in 2013, talks in Qatar were cancelled when the then Afghan President Hamid Karzai was angered by the presence of a Taliban flag at the group's offices in Qatar, and felt his authority was being undermined.


osce--2019-03-13--OSCE Chairperson-in-Office offers further support to ongoing reforms discusses current issues in pe

OSCE Chairperson-in-Office offers further support to ongoing reforms, discusses current issues in peace negotiations during visit to Armenia

YEREVAN, 13 March 2019 – OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák emphasized the importance of creating perspectives for peace during his visit to Armenia today. He welcomed the commitment to reforms and discussed the ongoing work and next steps in the negotiations for a peaceful solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as well as the OSCE’s longstanding engagement with and in Armenia.  “Armenia is undergoing a series of political and economic reforms. In close co-operation with the Armenian authorities we are ready to deepen our engagement to support their efforts,” Lajčák said, welcoming Armenia’s reform agenda and the implementation of related programmes.  Accompanied by his Personal Representative on the Conflict Dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Lajčák met with the political leadership in Yerevan, including President Armen Sarkissian; Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan; Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan; the President of the National Assembly Ararat Mirzoyan; as well as representatives of the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh.  Lajčák highlighted the importance of maintaining the stable context for contact between the sides and working towards a peaceful and fair solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict respecting all principles, while calling on the sides to avoid hostile rhetoric.  “I welcome the significant decrease in ceasefire violations and reported casualties over the past six months,” the Chairperson-in-Office said. “For peace to take hold, it needs to be accepted and owned by the people. And it requires that our efforts extend beyond politicians. The preparation of populations for peace is an important and complex matter, and deserves our full support.”  Recalling the long-term interest and engagement of the international community, he also expressed his full support for the efforts of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, as well as for the work of his Personal Representative.


sottnet--2019-09-17--After stalled negotiations with the US Taliban delegation visits Iran to discuss peace deal

After stalled negotiations with the US, Taliban delegation visits Iran to discuss peace deal

A delegation of the Taliban movement has travelled to Iran amid the decreasing prospects for signing a peace deal with the United States, a Taliban spokesman, Suhail Shaheen, said Tuesday.According to the spokesman,The delegation was led by the deputy political head of the Taliban, Abdul Salam Hanafi, the spokesman added.On Friday, a Taliban delegation visited Moscow to meet with the Russian president's special representative for Afghanistan , Zamir Kabulov. During the talks, the sides emphasized the need to resume talks between the movement and the United States.Washington and the Taliban have been negotiating a peace deal for about a year. The sides were close to announcing the long-awaited agreement in early September, but the efforts were undermined following a series of terrorist attacks carried out by the Taliban in the Afghan capital of Kabul, which killed dozens of civilians and a US serviceman.US President Donald Trump said the talks were "dead" and put the blame for sabotaging the negotiations on the Taliban.The deal envisaged a gradual withdrawal of foreign troops in exchange for the Taliban's guarantee that the country would not become a haven for terrorists and the movement would sever all ties to terrorist organizations.


unian--2019-11-18--FM Prystaiko sees deployment of peacekeepers to Donbas as alternative to Minsk agreements

The minister says several options are foreseen if the Minsk deal fails.  Ukraine's Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko says that the deployment of a peacekeeping mission to Russia-occupied Donbas could be an alternative to the Minsk peace agreements.  The Foreign Ministry has got "a folder with Plan B in case Plan A does not work," he told the Ukrainian news agency RBC-Ukraine in an interview.  Read alsoOSCE's Sajdik says UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas unrealistic at the moment (Video)  "I have said many times this could be a peacekeeping operation. It is not foreseen by the Minsk process at all. And even when it is discussed by the leaders, a fair question arises: Are we going to withdraw from the Minsk deal? That is, I did not say anything 'anti- Minsk.' On the contrary, the leaders have long been discussing the possibility of changes that provide for the possibility of a peacekeeping mission," Prystaiko said.  At the same time, the minister noted that if this option does not work, for example, if Russia blocks a UN Security Council decision and no peacekeepers are deployed, the diplomatic system will probably offer Plan C.  "And we have a few more options in stock that have already been outlined to the president in general terms," Prystaiko added.  As UNIAN reported earlier, Foreign Minister Prystaiko said that Ukraine could withdraw from the Minsk agreements in case of the failure of a Normandy summit, which is expected to take place before the end of the year.


abcnews--2019-11-06--UN urges South Sudan warring parties to fulfill peace deal

The U.N. Security Council is calling on South Sudan's warring parties to publicly reaffirm their commitment to fully implement a peace deal signed over a year ago that calls for a coalition government to be formed on Nov. 12.  The U.N.'s most powerful body expressed concern in a statement Wednesday that during its recent visit to South Sudan, its members "did not observe substantive progress on implementation of key elements of the peace agreement."  Under the agreement, opposition leader Riek Machar is to return to the capital of Juba on Nov. 12 and once again serve as President Salva Kiir's deputy. That is part of a power-sharing deal aimed at pulling the country out of a five-year civil war that has killed almost 400,000 people.


bbc--2019-08-16--North Korea snubs peace talks with South Korea over war drills

North Korea has rejected any further talks with South Korea, calling its decision "completely the fault of South Korea's actions".  It issued a statement in response to a speech by South Korea President Moon Jae-in on Thursday.  Meanwhile, early on Friday North Korea test-fired two missiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean military said.  It is the sixth such test in less than a month.  The two "unidentified projectiles" were fired about 08:00 (23:00 GMT Thursday) and travelled 230km (140 miles) reaching an altitude of 30km (18 miles), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.  Six days ago, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan/East Sea.  The series of tests comes after US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed during a meeting in June to restart denuclearisation negotiations.  North Korea has faced international sanctions for its development of nuclear weapons.  In a speech marking Korea's liberation from Japanese rule, President Moon vowed to unite the Korean peninsula by 2045.  Korea divided into two countries at the end of World War Two.  President Moon said the goal of achieving denuclearisation on the Korean peninsula was at its "most critical juncture", as talks between North and South appear deadlocked.  "A new Korean peninsula, one that will bring peace and prosperity to itself, east Asia and the world, awaits us," he said in the televised speech.  In a statement, the North questioned the meaning of dialogue when "even at this moment, South Korea continues its joint military exercise and to speak of a peaceful economy or a peaceful regime. It has no right to do so."  In an extended attack on President Moon, the statement continued: "We even question if his thought process is sound when he mentions 'talks' between North and South while playing out war scenarios that plan to destroy most of our armies in 90 days.  "He truly is a shameless man."  North Korea has expressed anger over the US-South Korean military drills currently taking place, stating that they violate agreements reached with US President Donald Trump and President Moon.  It has previously described them as a "rehearsal for war".  In a recent letter to Mr Trump, North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un is said to have complained "about the ridiculous and expensive" military exercises.  The deadlock in denuclearisation talks is entirely the fault of South Korea's decision to hold the drills, the North's reunification spokesman said.  "We have no more words to talk with South Korean officials," the official said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.  Ouch. Some of these words have got to sting.  The North Korean spokesman describes the South Korean president as "shameless" and his remarks on reunifying the Korean peninsula as so preposterous they would "make the boiled head of a cow laugh".  But what might hurt the most is the sound of the diplomatic door being closed on Seoul.  By refusing to sit down with the South, the North is signalling that it prefers to deal directly with the United States. This is a cruel snub for a South Korean leader who helped facilitate talks between Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un.  Pyongyang might be calculating that it is getting nothing from its neighbour, no concessions without Washington's approval. And now that Kim Jong-un has a direct line to the White House, and a means of getting those "beautiful letters" to Mr Trump, he might be thinking it's best to deal with him.  The Trump administration has also given Pyongyang a free pass to act in this way. At no point after the last six short-range missile tests has the US strongly condemned the testing of missiles which could threaten its ally.  Mr Trump has also made it public in tweets that he too wants to pressure Seoul to pay more to host US troops, and described the current joint military drills as expensive.  All is not lost, by any means. This could all just be bluster. But it doesn't look like President Moon will be hosting Kim Jong-un in Seoul any time soon.


france24--2019-08-01--Mozambiques former civil war foes sign landmark peace deal

Mozambique's former civil war foes sign landmark peace deal

Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi and the leader of the main opposition party Renamo on Thursday signed a permanent ceasefire agreement, designed to put an end to almost half a century of hostilities that killed over 1 million people at their peak.  Renamo and Nyusi's ruling party fought on opposing sides of a 16-year civil war before a ceasefire ended the bloodshed in 1992, however violence has flared up sporadically in the years since then.  Thursday's agreement is one step in a process that will culminate in the signing of a broader agreement in the country's capital Maputo next week, expected to occur amid much fanfare but whose effectiveness remains to be seen.  In a marquee set up on a packed football field in Gorongosa, Renamo's heartland in central Mozambique, the crowd cheered after Nyusi and Renamo leader Ossufo Momade, signed the agreement. The two leaders shook hands and embraced amid the din.  Nyusi said Mozambique was opening a new, more promising chapter free from the war and conflict that had slowed its development. "Gorongosa is no longer associated with violence," he told the crowd.  Nyusi is keen to sign a final peace treaty ahead of presidential, parliamentary and provincial elections in October. Polls have historically been a trigger for violence, and delivering peace would also shore up his support among voters and backing from international investors.  For Renamo – which will be able to stand in provincial elections for the first time, and looks set to win a number of provinces – a peace treaty would help affirm its status as a legitimate political party.  "The key event is 15th of October – the elections and the results of that," said Alex Vines, research director for risk, ethics and resilience and head of the Africa programme at Chatham House. "It will be the... initial litmus test of the sustainability of this process."  Previously, accusations of fraud in elections have knocked the peace process off course.  Renamo fighters also still need to be successfully disarmed and reintegrated, with some to be placed in positions in the police or military. However a small group of fighters have in recent weeks disavowed Momade, and said they would not hand over the weapons while he is in charge.  Momade, who was due to travel with Nyusi in the presidential plane back to Maputo, said the party was now committed to making sure the elections are free, fair and transparent.  "Peace is here to stay," he told the crowd of over 1,000 people, including international peace brokers and experts, prominent politicians and officials and locals.


bbc--2019-02-02--Central African Republic agrees peace deal with rebel groups

A peace deal between the government of the Central African Republic (CAR) and 14 rebel groups has been struck after talks in Sudan, officials say.  The deal was announced by the UN mission in CAR, known as Minusca, and the African Union (AU), which both sponsored the talks in Khartoum.  "This is a great day for Central African Republic and all its people," said AU commissioner Smail Chergui.  The government said the peace deal would be signed in Bangui soon.  Details of the agreement have not been released and analysts caution that previous peace deals have all collapsed.  CAR, which has been unstable since gaining independence from France in 1960, was plunged into turmoil in 2013 when Muslim rebels from the Seleka umbrella group seized power in the majority-Christian country.  A band of mostly Christian militias, called the anti-Balaka, rose up to counter the Seleka.  Thousands have been killed in the violence and more than one million internally displaced. An estimated 570,000 people have fled abroad.  "We have finalised a peace agreement in Khartoum, enabling the people of Central African Republic to embark on a path of reconciliation, agreement and development," Mr Chergui tweeted on Saturday.  The government of President Faustin-Archange Touadera also confirmed the agreement on Twitter.  "This agreement should be initialled tomorrow (Sunday) and its signing will take place in Bangui in a few days," the tweet added.  A spokesman for the FPRC armed faction said consensus had been reached on sticking points which included an amnesty for militia fighters and an inclusive government.  "We were able to agree on what is essential for the Central African Republic - peace. We hope this agreement will bring back social cohesion to the country," Abakar Sabom said.


cbsnews--2019-11-29--Will peace talks with the Taliban lead to a deal?

Millions are bracing for the impact of dangerous weather