Deutsche Bank 'cuts ties with Donald Trump': US media

The Frankfurt-based lender is to stop doing business with the outgoing US president, according to reports by the New York Times and Bloomberg. The Trump Organization owes the bank some €280 million in loans.



US media reports say Deutsche Bank executives are uneasy about the negative publicity surrounding the US president after his fradulent claims that the election was stolen.

Deutsche Bank will refuse to do business with President Donald Trump or his companies after his supporters' deadly Jan. 6 assault on the US Capitol, media reports said on Monday.

The New York Times and the Bloomberg news agency, citing company sources, said the German lender had ruled out any future ties with the billionaire real estate mogul once he leaves office.

Watch video 04:13 David Enrich on Trump and Deutsche Bank

The president's umbrella company, the Trump Organization, owes the Frankfurt-based institution about $340 million (€280 million) in loans.

Neither Deutsche Bank nor the White House has commented on the reports.

Trump has been a longtime client of the Frankfurt-based lender

Christiana Riley, the head of the bank's US operations, took to professional networking site LinkedIn last week to condemn the violence.

"We are proud of our Constitution and stand by those who seek to uphold it to ensure that the will of the people is upheld and a peaceful transition of power takes place," she wrote.

Trump’s longtime banker at Deutsche Bank resigned last month. Rosemary Vrablic, who worked in the private banking division, helped arrange hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to Trump’s company over a number of years.

That relationship subjected the lender to pressure from lawmakers and prosecutors for information during Trump's presidency.

The reports follow similar decisions by other companies to cut ties with the president after he encouraged attendees at a rally to march on the Capitol.

Facebook and Twitter have banned Trump from their platforms, while the Professional Golfers' Association of America has stripped one of his New Jersey courses of the right to host its 2022 tournament.

The march turned violent last week when Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol Building and interrupted the certification of the electoral college vote. At least five people died in the unrest and its immediate aftermath.

jf/msh (AP, Reuters)

#NIMBY

Memorial of Utoya massacre angers Norwegian neighbours

Issued on: 13/01/2021 - 

'We are trying to move on,' says Terje Lien. 'But every time we look in that direction we will be haunted by these memories' Pierre-Henry DESHAYES AFP

Hole (Norway) (AFP)

He rescued terrified youths fleeing the bullets of a fanatical killer. Ironically, a decade later Terje Lien is fighting to stop a memorial to the victims.

Lien and a handful of neighbours are battling to change its location, fearing the construction honouring the 77 people killed in Anders Behring Breivik's 2011 attack will make them hostages to a constant reminder of the trauma.

"We have been given a cemetery-like memorial: 77 three-metre-high (10-feet) bronze columns that will stand 75 metres (yards) from our house," Terje Lien tells AFP.


"The first thing we'll see when we look out of the kitchen window will be these columns," he adds.

Consisting of 77 columns, the memorial is set to stand on the bank facing the island of Utoya, where 69 people perished on July 22, 2011. The other eight victims died earlier in Oslo.

Most of those killed were teenagers attending a camp organised by the youth league of the country's Labour Party.

Disguised as a police officer, right-wing extremist Breivik tracked and gunned down the youths, shortly after killing eight people in a bombing outside a government building in Oslo.

Called Utoyakaia -- or "Utoya Dock" where the ferry departs for the island 600 metres away -- the site of the memorial in the village of Hole is next door to the home of the Lien family, which has lived here for four generations.

- 'Re-traumatisation' -

The 75-year-old retiree still has a vivid memory of the grey summer Friday afternoon, which was coincidentally his birthday.

At first he mistook the bangs for "firecrackers", and as he saw people diving into the water to escape he thought he was witnessing a "swimming contest".

Then his grandson came running, shouting: "They are shooting on Utoya."

The two quickly took off in their family boat; 28 youths were rescued from the cold waters and they also brought a policeman out to the island.

"When we came out there were bodies floating all over the bay, there were bodies on land and many wounded and bleeding," Lien recalls.

For their bravery, he and other residents who helped were awarded medals and met Norway's King Harald -- but he feels the government is not taking their feelings into account.

"We are trying to move on," he says.

"But every time we look in that direction, we will be haunted by these memories," he adds, pointing towards Utoyakaia where construction machines are rumbling.

Sixteen local residents have taken the state and youth league to court demanding the memorial be moved, with proceedings currently underway.

The plaintiffs say they fear a permanent "re-traumatisation," citing a report from a private psychiatric clinic which states that they face a risk of psychological disorders due to the presence of the memorial.

In a country eager to find closure, they have been accused of being selfish and sometimes greedy for holding up the construction.

Lien, for his part, says he offered, free of charge but in vain, another piece of land a bit further away for the installation.

- 'Hierarchy of mourning' -

A previous project planned in the vicinity failed in 2017, in the face of opposition from the neighbourhood.

Families can already visit a memorial on Utoya itself, but the new memorial will be open to all.

"For us, it is very important that the memorial is erected at Utoyakaia because that is where almost everything happened" on the day of the tragedy, Lisbeth Kristine Royneland, president of the victims' family support group who also lost her 18-year-old daughter on Utoya, tells AFP.

"This is where the participants in the summer camp travelled to Utoya from, this is where the perpetrator arrived on July 22 and this is also where a large part of the rescue operations were organised," Pal Martin Sand, the lawyer representing the youth league at the trial, says.

Psychologists arguing for the relatives of the victims claim there is a "hierarchy of mourning" which would prioritise the sentiments of those closest to the victims and the survivors.

In any case, since the work has already begun it could very well be finished by the time the legal procedures are exhausted.

Authorities hope the memorial will be ready for the 10th anniversary of the attacks this July.

Much to the chagrin of Anne-Gry Ruud, another resident who also remembers the shooting, the sound of helicopters and the bodies of dead children lying on Utoya "as if a bag of colourful sweets had been emptied on the island."

"So I would have to live every day of my life with a memorial linked to terrorist attacks, and all that that entails in terms of tourists, visitors and the atmosphere of mourning?"

© 2021 AFP

CRIMINAL CAPITALI$M

WHERE TO SPEND BITCOIN

'Largest illegal darknet marketplace' DarkMarket taken offline

Authorities say the darknet platform had half a million users, where drugs, counterfeit money, stolen credit card data, anonymous SIM cards and malware were traded. The suspected operator was arrested in Germany

   

Authorities say it could be the biggest darknet marketplace bust

German prosecutors in the cities of Koblenz and Oldenburg said on Tuesday that they had shut down what was "probably the largest illegal marketplace on the Darknet" called DarkMarket and arrested the man believed to operate it near Germany's border with Denmark. 

The detained man, believed to be DarkMarket's operator, is a 34-year-old Australian national.

Authorities say drugs, counterfeit money, stolen credit card data, anonymous SIM cards and malware were all traded on the site, which had a half a million users and transacted business in cryptocurrencies equivalent to a value of €140 million ($170 million). 

Oldenburg police said the raid took place over the weekend. "Investigators were able to shut down the marketplace and turn off the server on Monday," prosecutors said.

International probe

DarkMarket's bust was not the first for German authorities, which have found illegal platform operators on German soil in recent years. In 2019, Koblenz prosecurots announced the discovery of darknet servers hosted from a former NATO bunker in a sleepy German town.

Authorities say the probe that uncovered DarkMarket involved a months-long international law enforcement operation.

US agencies like the FBI, DEA narcotics law enforcement division and IRS tax authority all contributed to the investigation, along with police from Australia, Britain, Denmark, Switzerland, Ukraine and Moldova, with Europol playing a "coordinating role."

"A total of at least 320,000 transactions were carried out via the marketplace, with more than 4,650 Bitcoin and 12,800 Monero - two of the most common cryptocurrencies - changing hands," Oldenburg authorities added.

At the time of its closure, DarkMarket had more than 2,400 vendors.

jcg/msh (AFP, dpa)

 

Iran: Facebook deletes Press TV page

Iran's state media Press TV wrote on Twitter that Facebook has deleted its main page "without any warning or explanation."

Press TV's Twitter page

Iranian state media said Tuesday it had been removed from Facebook.

Press TV wrote on Twitter about the move, saying Facebook deleted their page "without any warning or explanation."

The Press TV Facebook page had close to "4 million followers" prior to its removal.

The move came amid increasing tensions between Iran and the US, but it is unclear what prompted the social media giant to delete Press TV's page.

Suspending state-media accounts

In June last year, Facebook labeled Iran's Press TV, Russia's Sputnik, and China's Xinhua news agency as "state-media," saying it would later block them from running advertisements in the US.

In 2018, Facebook targeted hundreds of accounts tied to Iran and Russia under the pretext of fighting "misinformation" campaigns.

India: Supreme Court puts contentious farms laws on hold

India's Supreme Court formed a committee to resolve a standoff between the government and farmers over three agriculture laws. The farmer unions say they will only settle for a repeal of the laws.


Watch video 01:30 India's top court blocks implementation of farm laws

India's Supreme Court on Tuesday temporarily suspended the new agriculture laws that are at the heart of the massive protests by farmers outside the national capital New Delhi.

"We are going to suspend the implementation of the three farm laws until further orders," Chief Justice Sharad Bobde said in a decision that comes as a major blow to the government.

The court-ordered stay may "assuage the hurt feelings" of the protesting farmers and encourage them to come to the negotiating table with confidence and in good faith, Bobde said.

The court said it wanted to facilitate mediation between the government and the protesting farmers. The two sides have held eight rounds of talks, all of which have been inconclusive. Another one was scheduled for mid-January.

The farmers' unions have maintained that they want the laws rolled back — a demand firmly rejected by the government which has instead offered to amend the laws.

Thousands of farmers have camped near the border of New Delhi since November 26 in hopes of pressuring the government into repealing the laws.
What was the court's solution?

The Supreme Court added that it would form a four-member committee of agricultural experts that would take over negotiations and try to end the protracted dispute that emerged as a major challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Every person who is genuinely interested in solving the problem is expected to go before the committee," the court said. "The committee will not punish you or pass any orders. It will submit a report to us."

The committee will hold its first meeting in 10 days from Tuesday and will submit its report within two months, the court said.

What was the farmers' response?

While the farmers' unions welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to freeze the implementation of laws, they refused to participate in the consultation process of the committee which they criticized as "pro-government."

"We think the government is bringing this committee through the Supreme Court. The committee is just a way to divert attention," Balbir Singh Rajewal of the Bhartiya Kisan Union told DW.

Rakesh Tikait, another farm leader, told DW that the protests will continue. "We are not satisfied with the stay on the implementation of the laws. The protests will continue and we are even preparing to sit here till the summer months."

"We don't accept this committee, all the members in this committee have been pro-government and these members have been justifying the laws," one of the farmers' unions was quoted as saying by NDTV.

"Suspending the implementation of the laws as an interim measure is welcome but is not a solution and the farmer unions have not been asking for this solution, given the fact that the implementation can be reinstated," another union was quoted as saying by the Indian Express newspaper.

"It is clear that the court is being misguided by various forces even in its constitution of a committee. These are people who are known for their support to the three laws and have actively advocated for the same," they said in a statement.

The unions also said that they would only settle for a complete rollback of the laws.
What are the farm laws about?

India enacted three controversial agriculture laws aimed at liberalizing the country's farm sector.

The government has argued that the new laws will give freedom to farmers to sell their produce outside regulated markets and enter into contracts with buyers at a pre-agreed price.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) insists that the laws will fetch better prices and free farmers from traditional middlemen who dominate the trade.

The government hopes that its new policy will double farmers' income by 2022.

Farmers' associations say the legislation does not guarantee the acquisition of farm produce through state-run organizations that guarantee a minimum support price (MSP).

They fear this would leave them at the mercy of big corporations that will enter the country's troubled farming sector and squeeze them for profit, destroying their livelihood.

"The moment private companies come in, they will have a monopoly. Farmers will have little say, and large corporations will dictate terms," Sabaran Singh, a farmer from Punjab, told DW.

Opposition parties and even some allies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi have called the laws anti-farmer and pro-corporation.

AFP and Murali Krishnan from New Delhi contributed to this report

INDIAN FARMERS CONTINUE PROTEST AGAINST NEW DELHI
No concessions
The central government in New Delhi has refused to budge over the farmers' demands. Roads leading to the Indian capital have been blocked to prevent the protesters from entering the city.
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NGOs accuse France of climate inaction in landmark court case

Issued on: 13/01/2021 -

NGOs want the French government to be held responsible for climate inaction

 JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER AFP/File

Paris (AFP)

A Paris court will begin hearing a complaint brought by NGOs backed by two million citizens on Thursday accusing the French state of failing to act to halt climate change.

The NGOs want to the court to hold the state responsible for ecological damage and say victory would mark a symbolic step in the fight to persuade governments to do more.

An international accord signed in Paris five years ago aims to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5 degrees.

But experts say governments are far from meeting their commitments and anger is growing among the younger generation over inaction, symbolised by the campaigns of Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg.

The French case is part of a mounting push from climate campaigners across the world to use courts against governments.

In 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court ordered the Netherlands to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 after a case brought by an NGO.

The French case began in December 2018 when four NGOs accused the government of failing to reduce emissions in a formal complaint backed by more than two million people in an online petition -- a French record.

Unsatisfied with the response, the NGOs, including Greenpeace France and Oxfam France, then filed their legal complaint in March 2019 seeking symbolic damages of just one euro ($1.21) from the state.

- Exceeding carbon budgets -

"We are full of hope for this hearing and the decision that will follow," Jean-Francois Julliard, director of Greenpeace France, told AFP.

Julliard said he wanted the court to recognise that the state was not doing enough.

"The icing on the cake would be a decision to urge the state to do more to put France back on the trajectory of the Paris Agreement", he said.

While France has committed to reducing its emissions by 40 percent by 2030 compared with 1990, the NGOs say it is exceeding the carbon budgets it pledged.

They also complain of shortcomings in the energy renovation of buildings or development of renewable energy, saying this is having a daily impact on the health and quality of life of the French.

- Natural disasters 'increasing' -

The NGOs have presented 100 testimonies from individuals with their case, after collecting more than 25,000 online.

"For me, climate change -- with the increase in the frequency of natural disasters, the rise in sea temperatures and the progression of coastal erosion -- is a reality now," said Jean-Francois, a producer of mussels on the island of Oleron in western France.

The government rejects accusations of inaction, pointing to the energy-climate law of 2019 that "reinforces the climate goals" by aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050 or a 40 percent drop in the use of fossil fuels by 2030.

In its defence sent to the court, the government also rejected the request for compensation over ecological damage, arguing that the French state cannot be held solely responsible for climate change when France represents around 1 percent of global emissions.

Julliard acknowledged the case could be a double-edged sword for the NGOs.

"If we lose, then it will be easy for the state to say: 'We won in court, so stop your incessant demands,'" he said.

© 2021 AFP

High cost to wildlife from shark nets protecting S.Africa beaches


Issued on: 13/01/2021 -

A black-tip shark is seen swimming during a baited shark dive in Umkomaas near Durban, South Africa   Michele Spatari AFP


Umkomaas (South Africa) (AFP)

"They're basically curtains of death," said shark diver Walter Bernardis as he reached over the side of his zodiac inflatable boat to pull up a net bobbing in eastern South Africa's subtropical waters.

The 200-metre (-yard) stretch of mesh is meant to protect swimmers basking on the eastern coast's palm-lined beaches from shark attacks.

But conservationists say the nets trap any large animal that swims too close to shore, making no distinction between sharks, dolphins, dugongs, sea turtles and whales.

"They're a passive system that has been put in the water and everything that puts its head in that net dies," said Bernardis, who quit a teaching job to bring tourists face-to-face with sharks and set the record straight about the fish.

The predators gained a bad name in the 1950s, when a string of deadly attacks prompted people to desert the popular white sand beaches in KwaZulu-Natal province, which now draws more than six million visitors each year.

Steven Spielberg's 1975 thriller "Jaws" compounded fears by gripping the public imagination with incorrect representations of sharks as human flesh-eaters.

Alarmed, the provincial tourist industry set out to keep sharks away from skittish beachgoers.

Today 37 beaches are lined with nets and baited drum lines, spread over more than 300 kilometres (190 miles) north and south of the provincial capital Durban.

- No taste for humans -

The barriers have successfully reassured holidaymakers.

Throngs of people spend the southern hemisphere summer in KwaZulu-Natal, packing the beaches with tents and parasols -- although access was limited this year due to coronavirus.

Not a single lethal shark encounter has been reported in protected areas in more than 67 years, according to the publically-funded KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) sharks board.

Yet figures suggest the predators rarely strike humans, regardless of whether they are separated by nets.

Only around 100 shark attacks were reported globally in 2019, according to records compiled by the University of Florida.

Human flesh is not usually part of a shark's diet, consisting mainly of smaller fish and other animals such as seals and squid.

Only five out of hundreds of shark species are considered threats to man, including the aggressive bull and tiger sharks.

Keeping them away from people, however, has other costs.

At least 400 sharks suffocate each year after being trapped too long by nets and baited hooks, says the KZN sharks board.

- 'False' security -

"In 2019 we caught 690 animals," said Matt Dickens, head of research at the KZN sharks board, which defends the barriers.

"Many of those were released alive," he added, noting that commercial fishing in South Africa catches 10 times more.

Shark diver and guide Gary Snodgrass was forced to change the name of one of his tours a few years ago because sightings of certain species had become rare.

"We can't call it a tiger shark dive any more because we're seeing them so seldom... they have decreased in number dramatically."

Global shark populations are threatened by habitat destruction, overfishing and the lucrative shark fin trade.

Humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks annually, according to scientific findings published in 2013, and eight species are now protected by CITES.

Still there is little public sympathy for creatures associated with vicious gaping jaws and razor-sharp teeth.

But scientists and conservationists stress the animals are important for the ecosystem and key to regulating marine populations.

They also note that shark barriers are barely effective, especially against large species.

In fact, divers have noticed that most animals can swim under the mesh, which is only six metres deep, and often get stuck on their way back from the shoreline, rather than on the way in.

Nets and drum lines give swimmers a "false" sense of security and signal "to people that sharks are dangerous", said Jean Harris, head of South African conservation group Wild Oceans.

What needs to change, she added, is "people's minds".

Africa dominates top 10 forgotten crises of 2020

"These 10 crises received 26 times less attention — in terms of online news articles — than the launch of PlayStation 5" 

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only sapped media attention from global humanitarian crises, but it has also made them worse, NGO CARE International has warned.


Central African Republic has been on the list of unreported crises for several years

As the coronavirus pandemic dominated headlines across the world throughout 2020, major humanitarian crises went unreported, relief agency CARE International said on Tuesday.

In an annual report titled "Suffering in Silence," the NGO highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic not only diverted attention away from humanitarian crises but has also helped exacerbate them.

CARE called out media organizations for not prioritizing populations from Guatemala to Malawi who are in dire need and how this affects humanitarian response.

CARE analyzed and ranked the 10 humanitarian crises with the lowest number of online news articles mentioning them, starting with the emergency that received the least amount of media attention at number one.

"These 10 crises received 26 times less attention — in terms of online news articles — than the launch of PlayStation 5," CARE said.

Burundi tops the list

Six African countries made the list, sharing a list of malaise ranging from internal displacement, hunger and malnutrition, and chronic poverty.

Burundi, the fifth-poorest country in the world, topped the list with 2.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. The country has one of the highest rates of chronic malnourishment in the world, the report said. 

The crisis of internally displaced persons in Madagascar has not been remedied for years

"The Central African Republic (CAR), Madagascar, Mali and Burundi have appeared on the list across multiple years, yet the people in these countries don’t get sufficient media attention," the report said, highlighting a number of African nations on the list.

The suffering is particularly acute for those living in the Central African Republic, a country whose "perennial" massive crises go largely underreported each year.

"Despite its significant mineral deposits that include gold, diamonds and uranium, as well as rich arable land, CAR sits at second last on the 2019 Human Development Index," the report added. 

Climate change and conflict converge

Non-African countries on the list also share an urgent need for aid amid food insecurity, but they also face conflict and climate change as structural factors fueling their humanitarian crises.

Pakistan, ranked seventh on the list and the world's fifth most populous country, has been plagued by the intersection of conflict, the effects of climate change, and pervasive poverty.


Pakistani farmers were helpless in 2020 amid swarms of locusts

In 2020, "Pakistan suffered its worst locust plague in history, forcing the government to import wheat for the first time in six years," the report said. This was followed by extreme flooding which destroyed crops, food supplies and livestock.

Madagascar is another underreported nation particularly ravaged by climate change, CARE highlighted. The island nation suffers from "recurrent, protracted droughts, and an average of 1.5 cyclones per year — the highest rate in Africa."

The report stressed that an estimated one fifth of Malagasy people, some 5 million, are directly affected by recurring natural disasters, including cyclones, floods and droughts. 

Three straight years of drought have led to water scarcity in Madagascar

Pandemic worsens humanitarian crises

The pandemic has not only sapped international attention away from these humanitarian crises, but it has also helped to worsen them, CARE said.

"The effects of COVID-19, coupled with the growing impacts of climate change, have increased the number of people in need by 40% — the single largest increase ever recorded in one year," the report read.

The NGO also noted a marked decrease in bilateral development aid as donor governments, typically richer and developed nations, have diverted their resources to address the economic and social fallout of COVID-19 at home.

Ukraine, the only European country on the list, is one such example. Years of conflict in its eastern regions have lost relevance in today’s media landscape, CARE said. The elderly and women have been left most vulnerable.

"The stress associated with the conflict has been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions, which have limited people’s ability to cross the contact line, access basic services and markets, and receive the humanitarian aid they normally rely on," the report read.

CARE called on news media to improve reporting of humanitarian crises in 2021. The NGO warned that amid continued focus on the coronavirus pandemic and the diversion of major donor resources, increased media attention could help keep humanitarian lifelines afloat.

'Uganda election feels like a war': human rights lawyer

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has confirmed a social media blackout during the election period amid calls to uphold human rights. The government has sent a massive military presence to "maintain order."


The deployment of security personnel in Uganda's 2021 election is unprecedented

As Ugandans prepare to cast their ballots in what observers consider one of the most competitive elections in Uganda's political history, President Yoweri Museveni confirmed that social media has been switched off ahead of the polls on Thursday, January 14.

"The government has closed social media. This is unfortunate but it's unavoidable," Museveni said in a national address on Tuesday.

While working on this article, the author was unable to communicate with DW correspondents or rights activists in Uganda via WhatsApp. There were also considerable difficulties calling people in Uganda directly over standard mobile phone networks.

Netblocks, an organization that tracks internet connectivity, reported that most social media networks were down as of Tuesday, including Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Viber.


"The internet is very slow. The network is not good at all," Madina, a resident of Uganda's capital, Kampala, told DW. "We can't download anything from Facebook. We can't download anything. So we are in that situation."

She said the social media blackout would have a big impact because "for us, we use our phones to see what is going on in Uganda or other countries. ... They [the authorities] don't want us to know or get what will take place on January 14. That is what they are avoiding maybe."

The heavy security presence in Uganda has been compared to a war — not an election

Heavy army presence in the capital

The social media shutdown is adding to what is already a tense election atmosphere in urban centers where Museveni has deployed the military, fearing riots that could overwhelm the regime.

The military presence is particularly heavy in Kampala, where scores of armored vehicles with mounted guns are patrolling the capital.

"It doesn't feel as though the country is going into an election," said Nicholas Opiyo, a renowned Ugandan human rights lawyer. "It feels as though the country is at war."

He described the mood in Kampala as apprehensive, telling DW that many people he knew had sent their families out of the country or to the countryside because they were scared.
Internet access a basic human right

The social media shutdown will make it more difficult though for independent monitors and journalists to report on violence and any other issues that may hinder the elections.

In a letter addressed to the Ugandan government, the Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday joined 54 other organizations calling on President Museveni to keep the internet connected during and after Thursday's polls.

The letter stresses that any disruption to the internet will impede journalists from effectively reporting and also infringe on citizens' rights to gain essential information at a critical moment.

The letter also expressed concern over a request from Museveni's government to Google that asked the tech giant to shut down opposition figures' YouTube channels.

Opposition presidential candidate for the National Unity Platform, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, warned on Twitter that the government had denied many international journalists accreditation to cover the election.

Controversial social media tax

President Yoweri Museveni in 2018 complained that young people spend too much time on WhatsApp and other online applications — and were responsible for spreading false information.

Later that same year, Uganda's government introduced the "over-the-top" tax — commonly known as the social media tax — for online services such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter.

Since then, social media users in Uganda have to pay an additional USh200 ($0.05, €0.04) to access social media platforms.

This led to technically savvy Ugandans taking to Virtual Private Networks, or VPNs, to evade payment.

For many young Ugandans critical of the government, boycotting the tax has become a way to rebel against the Museveni and his National Resistance Movement party.

Election observers from IGAD, East Africa's regional body, are among those who will monitor the polls

The added advantage is that those who are already using VPNs are able to easily get around this latest social media blackout.

"Since [Monday], we have been having a problem with the internet, especially those people who are using [the social media tax]. They have found it so challenging but with people who had already downloaded VPN, they are okay," Gerald Sengelo, a Kampala resident, told DW.

Uganda is now the the 15th country in Africa to restricted social media access due to elections since 2015, according to the privacy protection company Surfshark.

Ugandans have to pay a social media tax to access platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter

The 'Facebook controversy'

On Monday, Facebook took down several accounts linked to President Museveni's administration.The social media giant alleged that some of the profiles were fake and manipulated public opinion to favor the government while attacking the opposition.

The government rejected the accusations and blamed Facebook for "meddling in the country's election."

It has since demanded that those deleted accounts be reinstated.

"Uganda is ours. It's not anybody's. There is no way anybody can come and play around with our country to decide who is good, who is bad," President Museveni said in response to Facebook's takedown orders.

Rights activist Nicholas Opiyo said he was not surprised by the tech giant's move.

"We saw it a long time coming because the Ministry of Information had created a group of people to abuse others online," Opiyo said. "They [Ugandan government] created a system that would manipulate public conscience and public debate. And gladly, Facebook was able to identify and block these accounts."

According to the award-winning lawyer, Facebook should have blocked those accounts a long time ago because they distorted the quality of the political debate.

"They create an artificial debate online to try and paint a picture that is not the truth. So I'm really happy that Facebook took that step," Opiyo added.
Paying the ultimate price

Opiyo spent time in jail after facing charges of money laundering and is now out on bail.

He described the allegations as a continuation of a pattern targeting civil society leaders. "It left me more emboldened to continue doing what we were doing," Opiyo said.

President Yoweri Museveni is aiming for a sixth term in office

"It might be difficult to do it, but we'll try as much as we can, using all means and resources to continue doing what we do to defend human rights because our work is most needed in times such as this."

The Ugandan government has cracked down on opposition politicians and activists, as well as journalists. It accuses the opposition of flouting COVID-19 prevention rules.

"When the authorities seek to abuse rights. When they seek to silence people, then we should seek them more. So we will continue doing what we do. And I'm happy to pay the ultimate price."

Uganda elections disrupt stretched economy

Wambi Michael contributed to this article.

This article was updated on 13.01.20 to reflect news developments.

Uganda prepares to vote in general election marred by 'repression'

Issued on: 12/01/2021

President Yoweri Museveni and singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine are the main contenders in Uganda's presidential elections on January 14, 2021. 

AFP - SUMY SADURNI,YASUYOSHI CHIBA

Text by: Tom WHEELDON  

VIDEOS AT THE END

Uganda will vote on Thursday in presidential and parliamentary elections marred by political repression as singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine challenges President Yoweri Museveni’s 34-year rule.

The most prominent of the 10 opposition candidates is the National Unity Platform’s Bobi Wine – a 38-year-old ragga star who has used his popularity with Uganda’s youthful population to defy the 76-year-old president and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

On December 26, the government banned campaign rallies in the capital Kampala and 15 other counties, citing the risk of spreading Covid-19.

This is despite Uganda recording just 301 coronavirus deaths. Its population is regarded as one of the least at-risk because it is the world’s second-youngest, with more than 48 percent of Ugandans aged under 15.

‘A staged event’

Wine (whose given name is Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu) said at a press conference on January 7 that he “expected a live bullet targeted at me any time”, and announced that he had asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Museveni and senior officials for human rights abuses dating back to 2018 – namely “widespread use of shoot to kill, beatings and other violence”.

One of Wine’s bodyguards was killed and two journalists injured in confrontations between security forces and his supporters on December 27. Wine said his bodyguard died after an army vehicle ran him over. He added that the bodyguard was helping an injured cameraman who was reportedly shot in the head in an earlier altercation. The army said the bodyguard died from injuries caused by falling out of a car.

The following day, Patrick Oboi Amuriat, presidential candidate for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, collapsed and was hospitalised after police pepper-sprayed him in the eyes as he tried to join supporters at a rally.

'Clear manipulation of public debate'

November had seen a much higher death toll. Wine was arrested for breaking Covid-19 restrictions at a rally – sparking unrest across the country, with protesters blocking roads in Kampala. The security forces cracked down with tear gas and bullets. At least 54 people were killed and more than a thousand arrested.

“This is no longer really an election,” said Nic Cheeseman, professor of democracy and international development at Birmingham University. “It is a staged event to try to legitimate Museveni’s presidency and the ruling party.”

“Violent repression is nothing new in Uganda,” added Eloise Bertrand, an expert on Uganda at Warwick University. But “repression appears to have intensified this time and to target more stakeholders”.

Museveni declared that “the overall security posture of Uganda is robust” and that “it was definitely a miscalculation for the schemers to imagine that they could use such anti-people techniques” in a televised address on November 30.

The Ugandan president then appointed his son, a general, as head of the special forces on December 17. “It’s clear that this is about ensuring control of the most effective element of the military,” said Ben Shepherd, a former adviser on the Great Lakes region at the British Foreign Office, now a consulting fellow at the Chatham House Africa Programme.

‘Sanitised from quacks’

The government has cracked down on the media and civil society as well as opposition candidates and their supporters. “You are insisting you must go where there is danger,” the head of the Ugandan police Martin Okoth Ochola told journalists at a press conference on January 8. “We shall beat you for your own sake to help you understand that you do not go there.”

Ali Mivule, one of the two cameramen injured at the December 27 Wine rally, told Voice of America that after he was “fully identified as a journalist”, the police commanding officer “pointed the tear gas gun at me and shouted ‘collateral damage’”.

Authorities unsuccessfully demanded on December 9 that Google shut down at least 14 YouTube channels that support Wine and most of which livestream his campaign events – accusing them of relaying “extremist or anarchic messages”.

The state-run Media Council announced on December 10 that both Ugandan and foreign journalists would be forbidden from covering the elections unless they gained accreditation. Foreign reporters who had already been certified were told to renew their accreditation requests.

The next week, the regulatory body said in a Facebook post that it was registering journalists to ensure that reporting is “sanitised from quacks” – adding that journalists enjoying “recognition by state players” would get a “safe pass to cover events”.

Three journalists from Canada’s CBC News were arrested and deported from Uganda in late November, despite having been accredited.

Museveni’s government has also cracked down on Ugandan civil society. Armed police arrested and blindfolded prominent human rights lawyer Nicholas Opiyo and his dining companions – three other lawyers and a Wine staff member – at a restaurant on December 22.

“Any group that questions the authorities is being brutalised,” he told FRANCE 24’s Leela Jacinto in November. “I don’t feel safe, but this is my home and I’m not going anywhere.”

Opiyo’s arrest came after the state in October closed down National Election Watch Uganda – an umbrella bloc of civil society organisations intending to scrutinise the elections – accusing two NGOs in the group of “financing terrorism”.

“Attempts to monitor the elections have been cut off and stymied at every turn,” Cheeseman put it.

At the same time, the Ugandan government has been active on social media in support of Museveni, according to Facebook, which on January 11 closed a network of accounts linked to officials on the grounds that they “used fake and duplicate accounts to manage pages, comment on other people's content, impersonate users, re-share posts in groups to make them appear more popular that they were.”

Which way for Uganda? Bobi Wine takes on longtime incumbent Museveni

‘A structural change in Ugandan politics’

Museveni and the NRM were hailed as forces of stability after his seizure of power from dictator Milton Obote in 1986, the culmination of a five-year guerrilla war.

“Museveni remains popular among large sections of the rural population, especially older voters who remember positive things that happened during his presidency in the 1990s and 2000s such as big improvements to internal security and impressive economic growth,” Shepherd said.

But Museveni faced amplifying criticism after Uganda’s constitution was changed in 2005 to abolish presidential term limits – before a further amendment removed age limits in 2017.

The president’s main challenger in the 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016 elections was Kizza Bisegye, Amuriat’s predecessor as leader of the FDC. The 2006 elections went to court, where judicial review found evidence of extensive vote-rigging to benefit Museveni. Bisegye was charged with treason in 2016 and has repeatedly been arrested and attacked. He is not standing in this year’s elections.

After becoming an MP in 2017, Wine supplanted Bisegye as Uganda’s major opposition leader by using Afrobeat music to appeal to the country’s youthful electorate. Wine has dubbed his polemical ragga songs “edutainment” – education through entertainment.

The opening lines of his 2016 hit Situka (meaning “Rise up” in the Luganda language) exemplify this approach: “When leaders become misleaders, and mentors become tormentors, when freedom of expression becomes a target of suppression, opposition becomes our position.”

“Wine is a charismatic, engaging and effective speaker”, Cheeseman said. “He has also shown particular bravery, and this has made him a kind of living martyr in Uganda.”

“Bobi Wine is categorically different from Kizza Bisegye as a threat to the Ugandan establishment; Bisegye represents the old school of politics to much of Uganda’s huge population of young people,” Shepherd said. “Many of them – largely thanks to the country’s relative developmental achievements earlier in Museveni’s tenure – are well-educated and well-connected to the outside world, but lack opportunities.”

“That’s created a structural change in Ugandan politics that elites have been aware of but don’t really know how to deal with,” he concluded.

 

Uganda bans social media ahead of critical vote

Issued on: 12/01/2021 - 

Posters of the candidates for Uganda's Jan. 14 presidential election 

along a street in Kampala, January 6, 2021. AFP - SUMY SADURNI

Text by: NEWS WIRES

VIDEO AT THE END 

Uganda banned social media and messaging apps on Tuesday, two days ahead of a presidential election pitting Yoweri Museveni, one of Africa'slongest-serving leaders, against opposition frontrunner Bobi Wine, a popular singer.

Users complained on Tuesday that they were unable to access Facebook and WhatsApp, social media platforms being widely used for campaigning by all sides ahead of Thursday's election in the East African country.

In a letter seen by Reuters to internet service providers dated Jan. 12, Uganda's communications regulator ordered them to block all social media platforms and messaging apps until further notice.

Campaigning ahead of the vote has been marred by brutal crackdowns on opposition rallies, which the authorities say break COVID-19 curbs on large gatherings. Rights groups say the restrictions are a pretext for muzzling the opposition.

>> Read more on Uganda's election campaign marred by violence

At 38, Wine is half the age of President Yoweri Museveni and has attracted a large following among young people in a nation where 80% of the population are under 30, rattling the ruling National Resistance Movement party.

Wine is considered the frontrunner among 10 candidates challenging Museveni, the former guerrilla leader who seized power in 1986 and brought stability to a country after the murderous reigns of dictators Milton Obote and Idi Amin.

While security forces have intimidated the opposition at previous elections, the run up to this year's vote has been especially violent. In November, 54 people were killed as soldiers and police quelled protests after Wine was detained.

On Tuesday, Wine said soldiers raided his home in Kampala and arrested his guards while he was giving an interview to a Kenyan radio station. He also said a team member who works mainly as a mechanic was shot dead by the military overnight.

Reuters was not immediately able to verify the claims and a military spokesmen did not respond to a call seeking comment.

Patrick Onyango, police spokesman for the capital Kampala, denied Wine's home had been raided or that anyone was arrested, saying: "We were just rearranging our security posture in the area near his home, specifically removing some checkpoints."

'Unacceptable breaches'

A source in Uganda's telecom sector said the government had made clear to executives at telecoms companies that the social media ban was in retaliation for Facebook blocking some pro-government accounts.

Neither Ibrahim Bbossa, Uganda Communications Commission spokesman nor government spokesman Ofwono Opondo answered calls requesting comment. An aide to Minister of Information Judith Nabakooba said she was unable to comment at the moment.

The U.S. social media giant said on Monday it had taken down a network in Uganda linked to the country's ministry of information for using fake and duplicate accounts to post ahead of this week's election.

A Facebook spokeswoman said the company had no comment on reports users were facing difficulties accessing the platform.

"Any efforts to block online access to journalists or members of the public are unacceptable breaches of the right to information," the International Press Institute, a global media watchdog, said in a statement.

Wine has been using Facebook to relay live coverage of his campaigns and news conferences after he said many media outlets had declined to host him. Most radio and TV stations are owned by government allies and Uganda's leading daily is state-run.

Museveni, 76, has won every election since the first under his presidency in 1996, though they have been tarnished by intimidation of the opposition and accusations of vote rigging.

Uganda is a Western ally, a prospective oil producer and is considered a stabilising force in a region where war has plagued some neighbours. It also contributes the biggest contingent of an African Union force fighting Islamist insurgents in Somalia.


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Museveni said on Twitter that he would address the nation at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Tuesday.

I will address the country today ahead of Thursday's Presidential and Parliamentary elections. pic.twitter.com/GSBpMUMSbc— Yoweri K Museveni (@KagutaMuseveni) January 12, 2021

The European Union is not deploying election observers as advice from previous observers about how to make the polls fair went unheeded, the bloc's ambassador to Uganda has said. The African Union will deploy observers.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Wine and two other opposition candidates - Patrick Amuriat and Mugisha Muntu - urged Ugandans to turn out and "protect their vote" by staying at polling stations to observe counting.

(REUTERS)