Massive rally in Chile
PHOTO ESSAY
SANTIAGO, CHILE - DECEMBER 30 : A protester runs from a water cannon vehicle during a massive rally for the permanent defense of human rights and for a new constitution in Santiago, Chile on December 30, 2019. ( Cristobal Venegas - Anadolu Agency)

Protesters at US embassy in Baghdad gear up for sit-in
Demonstrators demand end to US 'intervention', as Iraqi protesters elsewhere distance themselves from embassy tensions.

by Arwa Ibrahim
31 Dec 2019 19:01 GMT

Hundreds of protesters surrounded the United States embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday to demand an end to US "intervention" in the country.

Raising flags of the powerful paramilitary group Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces), the crowds chanted "down, down USA".

Tuesday's rally was completely distinct from the recent, months-long protest movement which has seen tens of thousands of Iraqis demonstrate against the political establishment.

Most at the US embassy, supporters of the Hashd Al-Shaabi, were dressed in army fatigues as they gathered around the heavily fortified embassy in the Green Zone, where government buildings and foreign embassies in Baghdad are based, arguing in favour of a state-backed militia.

Within hours, dozens had broken into the embassy compound after smashing a main door and setting fire to the reception area, according to witnesses.

More:

Protesters storm US embassy compound in Baghdad

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Protesters told Al Jazeera that they stormed the embassy in response to US air attacks over Kataib Hezbollah positions in Iraq and Syria.

At least 25 members of Kataib Hezbollah forces, which belongs to the PMF, were killed and 51 others were injured in the attacks on Sunday.

The US said it launched the air attacks in retaliation to a rocket attack on Friday near Kirkuk - a raid that killed an American civilian contractor, and that Washington blamed on Kataib Hezbollah.

"We are the Hashd and we are here to take revenge," said a protester in his 40s, who refused to give his name for security reasons.

"We [are] protesting here to condemn the US strikes on the Hashd," said Haydar, a protester in his 20s. "The Hashd are the ones who protected Iraq against terrorism."

The Iran-backed Shia paramilitary group was aligned with the Iraqi government in its battle against the ISIL (ISIS) group. It was formally incorporated into the Iraqi military in July 2019.

As the sun set on Baghdad, members of the crowd told Al Jazeera they would try to erect tents for the night and that they were prepared to launch an open-ended sit-in around the embassy until they saw action taken to "end US presence and intervention in the country".

"We call on the Iraqi parliament to take action against the US. We want the Americans out," said Haydar.

Ali, who described himself as a PMF supporter, said: "We came to mourn the people who died as a result of the US strikes in Qaim and to condemn the source [US] of all evil in Iraq since 2003.

"We are here because we are against US presence in Iraq and its targeting of the Hashd al-Shaabi and we won't leave until parliament and the government puts an end to that."
Distinct crowds

The escalation in the Iraqi capital comes on the heels of months-long anti-government protests that have gripped Baghdad and Iraq's south since early October, with demonstrators calling for basic services, employment opportunities and an end to corruption.

The protesters' calls quickly developed into demands for a complete overhaul of the political system, which they view as corrupt and sectarian.

At least 470 protesters have been killed and more than 20,000 others were injured in a crackdown on the movement.

Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House in London, said it was important to distinguish between the protest movement and the crowds that gathered in the Green Zone on Monday.

"Although the protesters in Tahrir Square are against US interference, they represent a generation of young, disenfranchised Iraqis that stand against the ruling elite, the militias and armed groups," said Mansour.

"On the other hand, the protesters outside the US embassy support the PMF and their allied forces.

"Rather than being anti-establishment, they support the Iraqi ruling elite."

Mansour said that the tensions around the US embassy in Baghdad might affect the protest movement across Iraq.

"The risk of this development is that it may divert focus from what are legitimate concerns ... to a focus on US intervention and demands for a withdrawal of American forces from Iraq."
'They don't represent us'

Meanwhile in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the protest movement in Baghdad, protesters distanced themselves from the crowds near the US embassy in the Green Zone.

"Demonstrations at [the] US embassy are a natural response to the US strikes over Hashd positions in Iraq," 27-year-old Ali Khraybit told Al Jazeera.

"We, the protesters of Tahrir Square, condemn the strikes of course, whether it be Iran or the US who was responsible for them," said Khraybit. "But we are staying here in the hub of the peaceful protest movement.

"The crowds in the Green Zone do not represent us. We want peaceful change," he added.

Khraybit said he worried the escalation would lead to chaos in Baghdad.

"We all know the Hashd has weapons. If the security forces try to disperse the crowds, we might see a lot of blood," he said.

Noor al-Araji, a 30-year-old protester in Tahrir Square said: "The protesters in the Green Zone do not represent us. They belong to and represent the Shia parties that we want overhauled."

"We condemn the spilling [of] blood and we stand against foreign intervention in Iraq. These escalations are due to an ongoing conflict between Iran and the US and we want to stay out of it.

"The world doesn't realise that the people in the Green Zone are not the same as the protesters in Tahrir Square. We are peaceful and that's why we've stayed away from the Green Zone today."

Abdallah al-Salam contributed to this report from Baghdad


SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=IRAQ

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=IRAN



SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2006/09/us-war-on-capitalism-in-iran.html

CHILE'S DECADE OF INDEPENDENT MUSIC SCENE 

Written by Richard Villegas | 2 weeks ago

At the top of the 2010s, Shakira’s “Waka Waka” was a chart-topping World Cup anthem, Calle 13’s Calma Pueblo was giving Latin American hip-hop a conscientious thesis statement, and rising superstars like Carla Morrison, El Guincho and Bomba Estéreo were still finding their critical and commercial footing. At the same time, a handful of Chilean musicians began quietly crafting a blueprint for indie pop nirvana armed with little more than synthesizers and adolescent angst. Up until the new millennium, Chile was best known as the cradle of the 1960s Nueva Canción movement by virtue of folk icons Violeta Parra and Victor Jara. Later, in the 1980s, the country became more closely associated with political strife – a central theme in the lore of rock en tu idioma revolutionaries, Los Prisioneros. However, over the past decade, the remote South American nation has experienced an artistic renaissance that completely overhauled its standing in the international community.

Seeds that have blossomed into some of the finest pop records in the country’s history can be traced back to 1988, when General Augusto Pinochet’s bloody and insidiously oppressive 17-year regime was ousted via a landmark plebiscite that ushered a gradual return to democracy two years later. Steady economic growth and a slow cultural thaw followed, bearing fruit through a generation that grew up in the shrinking shadow of the dictatorship while enjoying unprecedented freedom of expression. By the time these artsy, counterculture kids started making noise, social media had become an innovative marketing tool and rising independent publications like Club Fonograma and Remezcla (yes, we’ve been on the ground since Day One) were feverishly documenting the vibrant new wave.



“In those days, the underground scene was really prolific,” folk-revival trailblazer Gepe told Remezcla in a 2016 interview. “I remember instances where Javiera Mena would play with a 10-piece orchestra, followed by an experimental pianist and then a rap group.” Beyond avant explorations, Chile’s pop golden age was characterized by inexplicably relatable storytelling, subversive queer edge, orchestral arrangements influenced by disco and chamber pop, and bass lines designed for packing hipsters onto dance floors. In a later interview, foundational producer Cristián Heyne described the tightly knit network of local artists as a “workshop,” highlighting Chilean indie’s modest beginnings and the constant collaboration that spurred rapid maturity and increasingly polished releases. Heyne is often regarded as the architect behind the scene’s distinctly glossy sound, with production credits on emblematic records by Gepe, Javiera Mena, Alex Anwandter and Dënver – a creative pseudo-monopoly that led to criticisms of sonic homogenization.

Keep in mind your favorite stars were far from the only forces reshaping the Chilean indie landscape. As Heyne described, it was a collective effort. Venues like Bar Loreto, Cine Arte Alameda, Blondie and defunct DYI haven Espacio Cellar allowed kooky experimentation and raucous performances to thrive and proliferate. Small but influential imprints like Quemasucabeza, Cazador and Discos Pegaos exported the diverse sounds brewing in the underground, which extended far beyond synthpop with acts like Ana Tijoux, DJ Raff and Ases Falsos. A visual signature also began to emerge, with director Bernardo Quesney and production house Enciclopedia Color creating cinematic clips and designs to accompany each new evocative release. Even festivals like Fauna, Neutral, Fluvial and Feria Pulsar prospered thanks to the bevy of readily available homegrown talent. In fact, Mexico’s NRMAL was notably ahead of the curve when their 2012 edition featured scene pioneers such as Astro, Adrianigual and Javiera Mena, doubling down the following year with a follow up showcase that included MKRNI, Fakuta and Alex Anwandter.

Chile remains a musical powerhouse to this day, though in recent years popular trends have evolved in a more urbano oriented direction. Many of the scene’s standard bearers have also disbanded, most notably Dënver, Miss Garrison and Astro, while others simply left the nest, like Javiera Mena who spends most of her time in Spain, Alex Anwandter who’s lived in Los Angeles and New York City, and (Me Llamo) Sebastián who morphed into a one-man gypsy caravan. Now, as we enter a new decade, Chile faces the most challenging socio-political chapter of it’s post-dictatorship history.

Before fully diving into this brave new world, we wanted to take one final look back at some of the artists that defined one of Latin America’s most swoon-inducing musical chapters in recent memory. Don’t worry; it’s Ok to get swept up in the nostalgia. We won’t judge you.

Check out our playlist of Chilean Indie pop’s golden era here:

Javiera Mena

The first resounding star to emerge from the Chilean indie pop explosion, Javiera Mena captured our hearts with the clammy-handed earnestness of her 2006 debut, Esquemas Juveniles. But it was later albums like Mena (2010) and Otra Era (2014) that anointed her as Chile’s undisputed disco goddess – each new production stacked with robust synth-driven walls of sound and enough dramatic disco strings to make Donna Summer jealous. 

Alex Anwandter

Chile’s crowned prince of political pop first stepped into the spotlight fronting hitmaking rock band Teleradio Donoso – later breaking out on his own with the sublime dystopian soundscapes of his cryptic electronic solo project Odisea. However, with his albums Rebeldes (2012) and Amiga (2016), which were released under his own name, Alex Anwandter finally cemented himself as a pop wunderkind with an incisive, critical voice, ready to take on archaic political institutions on record and the dance floor.

Gepe

One of the most fascinating musical trends to take hold of Latin America in recent years is the folk revival wave that has integrated roots music with catchy pop songwriting and modern production techniques. In Chile, no one stretched the margins of tradition further than Gepe – a force of nature that seamlessly collides Andean music and nueva canción with everything from reggaeton to merengue and hip-hop. Check out his albums Audiovison (2010) and GP (2012) for some of the most refreshingly inventive fusions of the decade.

Dënver


The embodiment of star crossed lovers as twee pop idols, Dënver were possibly the most musically voracious band to emerge from this scene. From the folky minimalism of their 2008 debut, Totoral, to the melancholy chamber pop of 2010’s Música, Gramática, Gimnasia, and the extraordinary cinematic world building of 2013’s Fuera de Campo, every new Dënver album was a master class in artistic evolution with a hefty dose of romanticism. 

Astro

Not until bands like Föllakzoid and The Holydrug Couple came around did psych become a major topic of conversation in Chilean indie. But when rowdy space cadets Astro first broke out, we were treated to a delightfully mind expanding wormhole of surrealist lyrics and titillating sonic journeys. Their self-titled 2012 debut album remains a monument to the eclectic originality of the time, proving that oddball humor and Andres Nusser’s cartoonishly high voice can be as intoxicating as any hallucinogenic.

Ana Tijoux

Brazen and unflinching, Ana Tijoux was a much-needed shock to the Chilean musical system. After parting ways with influential hip-hop crew Makiza, Tijoux became one of Chile’s principal purveyors of artistic dissent – unraveling patriarchal oppression, capitalist violence and post-dictatorship trauma across riveting albums like La Bala (2012) and Vengo (2014). Tijoux was also one of the first Chilean indie artists to gain stateside attention when her politically searing hit song “1977” was featured on popular TV drama Breaking Bad.

Francisca Valenzuela

Francisca Valenzuela has always been poised for pop greatness – a charismatic performer with catchy and incisive self-penned tunes and movie star good looks. And yet, unyielding creative control and her formidable body of work helming feminist music festival Ruidosa have canonized her as an indie patron saint. We highly recommend checking out her excellent 2011 album Buen Soldado and recent singles “Ya No Se Trata de Tí” and “Héroe” to grasp the full extent of Valenzuela’s winding artistic journey.

Ases Falsos

Cristobal Briceño is one of the most prolific minds in Chilean music, paving riveting yet completely different career paths with Ases Falsos (formely Fother Muckers), Los Mil Jinetes and as a solo performer. The first is no doubt his longest and most beloved venture, completely reshuffling the band’s name, sound and mystique with the release of 2012’s absolutely perfect Juventud Americana, and its possibly better follow up Conducción (2014). Power chords, classic rock hooks and an unmistakable falsetto all make Ases Falsos a band of legend.


Fakuta 

When Fakuta came on the scene with her 2011 debut Al Vuelo, the architect turned pixie-voiced pop ingenue seemed like an uncharacteristically timid new player entering the fray. That all changed with her 2014 follow up Tormenta Solar, a bold maelstrom of crashing synth melodies, abrasive percussion and head-turning features from buzzy contemporaries such as Bronko Yotte, Coiffeur and Violeta Castillo. And for the savvy fans at home, we guarantee your stomach still flutters every time the opening bass lines of “Juntapena” hit your eardrums.

Adrianigual

With a weighty co-sign from Alex Anwandter and underground dance pop hits “Arde Santiago” and “Me Gusta La Noche,” the hyperbolic proclamation of Adrianigual’s sophomore album Exito Mundial (2011) seemed entirely possible. However, music videos, festival appearances and Latin American tours weren’t enough to keep the deliciously disparate pairing of vocalist Diego Adrian and multi-instrumentalist Nacho Aedo together for long. That doesn’t mean they were any less fun to watch.


Kali Mutsa

Chile’s high priestess of bizarro pop first boggled minds with her 2011 debut Ambrolina and its hair-raising lead single “Tunupa,” which was directly influenced by Roma culture and pre-colonial folk legends. After that, the curve balls just kept coming. From the psychedelic cumbia and bangra-soaked diatribes of 2016’s Mesmer, to Imaab’s aggressive ballroom production on 2017’s La Devoración, and the ghostly Japanese tinges of this year’s Madre del Agua, which she has declared her final album – Kali Mutsa will be forever remembered as a shapeshifting human collage of art history and global wonder.


synthpop. Friday, December 20, 2019 at 10:24 AM EST

WOMEN ARE THE PROLETARIAT WOMEN LEAD THE REVOLUTION
'Won't leave': Women lead protest in India capital's Muslim area

Women in New Delhi's Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood stand out for leading protest against 'anti-Muslim' citizenship law.

by Ashish Malhotra
31 Dec 2019 10:36 GMT

New Delhi, India - As Shahin Kausar steps down from the makeshift stage set up in the Muslim enclave of Shaheen Bagh in the Indian capital of New Delhi, it is difficult to hear her speak.

Her words are no longer amplified through a sound system, and the man now holding the microphone is drowning her out with boisterous slogans.
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It doesn't help that Kausar herself is also on the verge of losing her voice from weeks of shouting. But she is clear why she is in Shaheen Bagh.

"When I saw in front of my eyes, the passion in the people here, they were outraged... That's why I had to come and join," says the 44-year-old activist.

For more than two weeks now, protesters, such as the ones in Shaheen Bagh, have taken to the streets across India to oppose the passing of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which critics say discriminates against Muslims and violates the country's secular constitution.

Kausar at the protest site in New Delhi's Muslim neighbourhood

 of Shaheen Bagh [Ashish Malhotra/Al Jazeera]
Protest led by women

In the Indian capital, the protesters of Shaheen Bagh - especially women such as Kausar - have stood out.

For 16 days now, these women have occupied a part of the main highway, blocking traffic between the capital and Noida, a satellite city. And they don't plan on going anywhere.

"We are here to fight for our rights, our concerns," says 53-year-old Tarannum Begum at the sit-in. "Until they take back their [policies], this will go on."

Away from the limelight of protests in Central Delhi - dominated largely by English-speaking protesters from higher socioeconomic backgrounds - Shaheen Bagh has become a symbol for more vulnerable communities on the fringes of the city.
Until they take back their [policies], this will go on.

TARANNUM BEGUM, PROTESTER

Police have cracked down brutally on many protests, particularly in Muslim areas and universities, vandalising homes, using tear gas and batons even on children, and opening fire on peaceful protesters.

At least 26 people have been killed across India, with most deaths reported from Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state governed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The majority, if not all, of those killed were Muslim. Thousands have been detained, mostly in Uttar Pradesh, whose hardline chief minister had vowed revenge on the protesters.

But the demonstration at Shaheen Bagh has remained peaceful, even as protesters remain resolute in opposing Modi's Hindu nationalist government.
NRC fears

At the heart of the unrest is the CAA, which provides a path to citizenship to refugees who arrived in India before 2015 from three neighbouring countries, as long as they are not Muslim.


Muslims fear the CAA is a precursor to a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC), as repeatedly indicated by India's powerful Home Minister Amit Shah.

Recently, the NRC process in the northeastern state of Assam excluded 2 million people, many of them Muslims, effectively rendering them stateless. They now fear either detention or deportation.

Meanwhile, several detention centres operate and are in the works across Assam and in other parts of the country to detain undocumented migrants, triggering fears among Muslims of mass incarceration.

A nationwide NRC would force all Indians to prove their citizenship with documentation, something India's mostly impoverished people of all religions lack.

But women say they are particularly vulnerable.

"I don't have a husband, and us ladies don't even get property papers," says Begum, a widow. "Everything is in the name of the husband, so how will a woman prove [citizenship] through her papers?"

Women such as Begum say they are more vulnerable if

 the state orders a citizenship test [Ashish Malhotra/Al Jazeera]
Violence at Jamia Millia Islamia

At Shaheen Bagh, the chilly air caused by New Delhi's record winter has a mix of both anxiety and determination.


For 16 days and despite biting cold, crowds have gathered here non-stop, with a legion of volunteers running the show. Protesters huddle over bonfires with free snacks and tea, while women sit in an enclosure next to the stage.

Evenings are particularly busy, with a variety of activities taking place - candlelight vigils, late-night singing, spirited slogans and speeches by activists.

Many women, mostly housewives such as Kausar and Begum, say they have not gone home for days.

"I've been wearing the same set of clothes for the past three days… I have only managed to go home once," says Begum.
I have nothing to prove [my status], I am just a poor man.

MAQSOOD ALAM, PROTESTER

Shaheen Bagh is barely 2km (1.2 miles) from Jamia Millia Islamia, a predominantly Muslim university, which was the site of a brutal police crackdown on December 15.

Over 100 students were injured when police stormed the campus with tear gas and batons following clashes at an area close to the university.

Police ransacked the campus, broke windows in the library and even fired tear gas inside a reading room. Many of the students injured and detained had not been involved in the protest.

The Jamia crackdown catalysed the protest at Shaheen Bagh, with a large number of its students having links to the community.

Daily protests also take place at Jamia, but they generally end up moving to Shaheen Bagh by the end of the day.


"The protest started the day female students at Jamia were brutally attacked and beaten up. Their hair was pulled," says Kausar.

In light of the Jamia crackdown and similar attacks in Muslim enclaves elsewhere, protesters in Shaheen Bagh worry that with every passing day that their sit-in might also get broken up.

"The authorities are rattled because they are facing problems because of us. Almost 150,000 cars [usually] pass through here every day," says Kausar. "They want us to give way to one side of the road."
'They woke us up, we were sleeping'

But with New Delhi currently in the midst of an unusually cold spell, Kausar has bigger worries.

"What I am concerned about are the women and children, they are on the road in this biting cold. Some have kids who are 2-3 months old. If something happens to them, who will take responsibility?"

"It's not a small thing to sit on these highway roads… [But] until someone comes and convinces us that our demands have been heard, we aren't going anywhere."


Begum is equally adamant. "They woke us up, we were sleeping," she says.

"It is better to die here [protesting] than be put in detention camps."

However, many in this Muslim neighbourhood remain fearful of what lies ahead.

As the night wears on, the crowd gathers around a projector to watch a documentary about what the government's citizenship policies mean for them.

India has witnessed massive protests since the citizenship 

law was passed earlier this month [Ashish Malhotra/Al Jazeera]

A clip from one of Modi's recent speeches beams from the screen.

"Those who are creating violence can be identified by their clothes itself," says the prime minister, his voice booming across Shaheen Bagh through loudspeakers.

Many in the crowd are wearing traditional clothes - men in skullcaps, women in burkas. Modi is speaking in innuendo, but he is talking about people like them.

It is one of the many comments made by BJP leaders and government officials, suggesting Muslims do not belong.

For 48-year-old Maqsood Alam, it couldn't be further from the truth. "We were born in India. India is our soil. We love India," he says.

Yet, having to prove that he belongs is a frightening thought for Alam. Like many Muslims in this part of the capital, his status as a migrant worker only makes documentation more complex.

As a result, the father of five seems resigned to a fate of not passing a potential citizenship test.

"The future of our kids is at risk. We went to such lengths to allow them to study. Now where will they live, where will we live?" he asks.

"A child is like a tree, it takes time and effort to grow," says Alam, breaking down as he finishes his sentence.

"They are asking for papers that go back years. I have nothing to prove [my status], I am just a poor man."


INSIDE STORY

Is Narendra Modi undermining secularism in India?

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

The child who taught me what it means to hope
How, after Nepal's 2015 earthquake, a father's words and a boy making his way to school offered a lesson in resilience.

by Omar Havana
31 Dec 2019 

'He showed me how to smile and to keep walking forward. 

I will always be grateful to him.' [Omar Havana/Al Jazeera]


Not many photos have changed my life, but there is one that changed me as a person, hopefully for the better.

April 25, 2015 is a day that I will never forget. It was the day I lived through my first earthquake in my then home in Kathmandu, Nepal. I was sleeping on what should have been a lazy Saturday, when my wife woke me up. The house was moving.

When it started to shake even harder, we decided to run. We lived on the sixth floor of a 12-storey building. We ran downstairs wearing only our pyjamas. On our way down, the walls in the stairwell chipped off, and from the windows, we could see huge waves pour out of the swimming pool.

I ran without being sure of what had happened, but when I reached the street and saw the fear on people's faces, I realised it had been a huge earthquake. From that moment, the earthquake in Nepal became for me not just an event to photograph, but the story of a country I love.

For the first few days, we slept on the streets of Kathmandu along with the many who had lost their houses or were afraid of returning home as dozens of aftershocks continued to rock the country. Two Nepali colleagues, Niri Shrestha and Navesh Chitrakar, became family during those days. We walked together for hours through the damaged zones. The smell of death came from the debris. Every street that we passed was a scene of horror as neighbours and police dug through the rubble looking for life, working against the clock.

From the second day, I focused on Bhaktapur, a city just outside Kathmandu, where just a couple of weeks earlier I had photographed Bisket Jatra, a festival of joy. Its beauty was captivating. In the days after the earthquake, however, Bhaktapur resembled a war zone. The streets were covered in debris. Processions of bodies were taken to the hospitals to be identified by family members. Then the bodies were brought to the cremation site for families to pay their last tributes to their loved ones.

Sadness and frustration occupied my thoughts. I had to leave as my wedding was taking place in France on May 22 and there was no way I could delay it. From thousands of kilometres away in France, I could not stop following the news, speaking to my friends in Nepal. The international media started to forget about Nepal.

A month later, when I returned to Kathmandu, it was as if the earthquake had just struck. But something was changing. There was hope again, life was returning to normal and a message started to be heard around the country: "We will rise again."

I felt that the people of Nepal were giving the world a lesson about life, but that no one was listening. I wanted to tell this story. Little by little, this became a project - and a personal journey - which I called Endurance.

I photographed Endurance for a total of seven months, although the project lasted four years. I have thousands of photographs, but there is one that makes my heart beat even today - it is of a young boy walking to school the day it reopened.

To go to school, this child had to cross a square in Bhaktapur where 27 people had died in buildings that fell in the earthquake. For me, this picture represents the strength of the Nepalese people, walking through the rubble of a disaster towards a future full of hope. And it captures what a father in that square once told me about his child's role in rebuilding Nepal.
A square in Bhaktapur

The square in Bhaktapur became the centre of my project. I grew close to the people there and listened to their stories. Before the earthquake, it was a typical square where children played, and elderly people sat and chatted. But in the months after the earthquake, it was hard to find a square metre without rubble.

Residents tried to salvage what they could from the ruins of their homes. Day after day, I saw the same people working hard while their frustration grew due to the lack of help from the authorities. But there was no time to lose. Neighbours joined forces to demolish houses, risking their lives. Nepal needed to be rebuilt.
I have lost members of my family, my house. I have lost everything in the earthquake, but I have a child of nine years, and she is the future of Nepal. The reconstruction of this country is her education and as a father, I risk my life to recover the books and notebooks from the ruins of my house. This country won't be rebuilt with brick. Nepal can only be rebuilt with education

A FATHER IN NEPAL

One day, I was smoking a cigarette when I saw a man coming out of a tiny hole, no more than a metre in diameter, from the remains of his home. The ruins could collapse again, but he went in and out without stopping, taking out papers, notebooks and books. I saw him do this several times, before I ran to him to tell him he was crazy for doing this and that he could die if the rubble moved. But he smiled at me calmly and said: "Nepal has to be rebuilt, and everybody is focusing on the buildings, on the bricks. That's a mistake. Nepal has many problems, and the earthquake is just one of them, but if we want to rebuild this country, we need education.

"I have lost members of my family, my house. I have lost everything in the earthquake, but I have a child of nine years, and she is the future of Nepal. The reconstruction of this country is her education and as a father I risk my life to recover the books and notebooks from the ruins of my house. This country won't be rebuilt with brick. Nepal can only be rebuilt with education."
Walking to school through rubble

On July 20, at least two schools in Bhaktapur reopened. Where before there had been mostly silence, the streets were now filled with the happy sound of children's voices preparing for school.

I photographed children heading to school. Finally, there were happy photos to take. When I decided I had enough material, I was walking out of the square to have a coffee with my driver before heading back to Kathmandu when something stopped me.

There was a boy of about seven years of age, carrying his backpack and walking quietly on his way to school. He was alone in the square and something very fragile in the way he walked caught my attention. There was something special about his calm steps. In my eyes, he represented the happiness and hope felt by Nepalese as schools restarted. And he reminded me of the father's powerful words about reconstructing through education. I wanted to show that Nepal was rising again, despite the huge obstacles in the way. I followed him for a few metres, taking photos.

Afterwards, I wanted to see his face, partly for reassurance that everything would be OK for us both. So I ran in front of him and smiled at him. I did not take a photo then, but I will never forget his beautiful smile.

I now keep a copy of this photo above my desk so that I do not forget that despite life's problems to never lose hope. He showed me how to smile and to keep walking forward. I will always be grateful to him.

The hope that the Nepalese had, politicians stole; many have not received the help promised by the government. People with money today have better houses, but the poor lost everything. As that father taught me, hope for Nepal lies in education. I hope that children will be the ones to make the country a better place for everyone.

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.

20 years of Putin: From political unknown to dominant force

New Year's Eve marks two decades since Vladimir Putin's ascent to power.

by Mansur Mirovalev 

31 Dec 2019 

Putin has radically reshaped Russian foreign and domestic

 policy [File: Aleksey Nikolskyi/Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters]

Twenty years ago on December 31, Russian President Boris Yeltsin "stole the millennium".

The ailing, alcoholic and unpopular leader interrupted the New Year's Eve celebrations by resigning and proclaiming his new prime minister as "acting president" before a snap vote in March 2000.

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Is Vladimir Putin creating a new reality on the ground in Crimea?

Can Russia's internet survive being shut out of the world wide web?

Putin talks Trump impeachment, climate in annual conference

The premier was a political unknown - a media-shy ex-KGB colonel named Vladimir Putin who wore oversized, old-fashioned suits and briefly worked as a taxi driver before becoming a city hall official in his native St Petersburg.

The political Cinderella man had a fairy godmother - omnipotent oligarch Boris Berezovsky, who lobbied for Putin.

In 2013, Berezovsky, then an exile, was found hanged in his house outside London - shortly after beseeching Putin to let him return to Russia.

Critics say Putin reversed the democratic reforms of last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

At the dawn of his rule, Putin looked up to Western leaders, volunteered to help the United States's offensive in Afghanistan, and told US President Bill Clinton in 2000 that Russia should join NATO.

But Western counterparts never treated him like an equal partner, and Putin gradually changed.

"He is Russia's best ruler in many centuries," Dmitri Kiselyov, a TV presenter who heads RT, a state-backed outlet that broadcasts news in dozens of languages, said in February.

Kiselyov lauds Putin's revival of "traditional values" and lambasts the West.

Yegor Zhukov, a 21-year-old political blogger, has a different perspective.

Russian journalists arrested over fabricated charges

"The only traditional institution the current Russian state respects and strengthens is its autocracy that never hesitates to break the lives of anyone who sincerely wants to benefit their motherland," he told a Moscow court that handed him a three-year suspended sentence in early December for participating in protests in July.

In 2018, the nation that stretches from the Baltic to the Pacific had been shaken by protests over municipal elections, rubbish disposal, construction of churches in parks and redistribution of regional borders.

Each protest became politicised and was punished with arrests, convictions and draconian fines.

Some analysts, however, believe protests embolden Putin.

"The protests are strengthening Putin's ratings because it consolidates around him the public groups that stand against any violent change of power," Alexey Mukhin, a Moscow-based analyst, told Al Jazeera.

Failing economy, falling popularity

Critics note that after two decades in power and despite a windfall of petrodollars, Putin and his allies failed to address Russia's most fundamental problems - its dependence on energy exports, plummeting birth rates and industrial production, brain drain, an HIV/AIDS epidemic and corruption.

Several cities saw mass rallies against pension reforms 

in 2019 [File: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters]

"Corruption in Russia stopped being a problem, it became a system," opposition leader Boris Nemtsov wrote in his 2011 analysis, concluding that Russia's annual "corruption turnover" amounted to $300bn, a quarter of gross domestic product.

Four years later, Nemtsov was shot outside the Kremlin's walls. 

The 2014 annexation of Crimea disrupted economic ties with Ukraine and brought Western sanctions that further hobbled Russia's economy and affected its most vulnerable demographic - that also happens to be Putin's support base - the elderly.

"To a Russian grandma, the sanctions mean less opportunities for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, of course, if she wants them to live in a modernised country, not in a besieged fortress," Alexey Kushch, a Ukrainian analyst, told Al Jazeera.

But Vladimir Evseyev, a 67-year-old pensioner in the central city of Tver, told Al Jazeera: "Putin wants to preserve peace, but if someone wants to mess with us - he will respond. It's OK if our pensions are 15,000 rubles ($250), but we don't want war." 

According to a December survey by independent pollster Levada, 68 percent of Russians support Putin - far lower than the 86 percent approval rating he enjoyed after annexing Ukraine's Crimean peninsula.

Saving Bashar al-Assad

In 1999, Russia's presence in the Middle East was reduced to a navy outpost in the Syrian port of Tartus.

Today, Putin plays regional kingmaker.

Russia's involvement in the Syrian conflict helped save Bashar al-Assad's rule.

Russia has supported al-Assad during his country's brutal

 civil war [File: Mikhail Klimentyev/Sputnik/Kremlin via Reuters]

"Assad's regime is saved and, moreover, somehow strengthened. Even in the Arab world, it is unofficially acknowledged," Aleksey Malashenko, a Moscow-based analyst, told Al Jazeera.

Putin has also shielded Iran from sanctions, supplied it with arms and helped Tehran complete the Bushehr nuclear power station.

And he is reportedly trying to boost renegade Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar as the war-torn North African nation's leader - with the help of hundreds of mercenaries.

Reviving a Soviet ghost

Putin's pet project is the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), a Moscow-led free-trade bloc. It includes Central Asia's economic powerhouse, Kazakhstan, its impoverished neighbour Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Belarus.

Uzbekistan, Central Asia's most populous nation, is eyeing membership.

It recently let Russia use its airspace, backed Moscow's anti-Ukrainian United Nations resolutions and signed up for a Russian-built nuclear power plant.

"All these trends make one wonder whether Uzbekistan is giving up its political independence," Alisher Ilkhamov, a London-based Central Asia expert, told Al Jazeera.

The determination of Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych to join the Union led to the Euromaidan protests that toppled him in 2014.

Putin responded with Crimea's annexation and the backing of separatists in southeastern Ukraine in what Ukrainians see as a bigger challenge to the existing world order.

"This war was not declared only on Ukraine. It was declared on the collective West," Crimea native and Ukrainian observer Pavel Kazarin wrote in late December.

The Kremlin "is not hiding its final goal - to break old rules and create new ones. The ones that will determine another position of a once-defeated empire."

INSIDE STORY

Is Vladimir Putin creating a new reality on the ground in Crimea?

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

Protesters at US embassy in Baghdad gear up for sit-in

Demonstrators demand end to US 'intervention', as Iraqi protesters elsewhere distance themselves from embassy tensions.

by Arwa Ibrahim
31 Dec 2019 

Hundreds of supporters of the Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi gathered
around the US embassy in Baghdad to denounce US strikes over 
Kataib Hezbollah positions [Khalid Mohammed/The Associated Press]

Hundreds of protesters surrounded the United States embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday to demand an end to US "intervention" in the country.

Raising flags of the powerful paramilitary group Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces), the crowds chanted "down, down USA".

Many were dressed in army fatigues as they gathered around the heavily fortified embassy in the Green Zone, where government buildings and foreign embassies in Baghdad are based.

Within hours, dozens had broken into the embassy compound after smashing a main door and setting fire to the reception area, according to witnesses.

More:

Protesters storm US embassy compound in Baghdad

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Are the US and Iran heading for a confrontation on Iraqi soil?

Protesters told Al Jazeera that they stormed the embassy in response to US air attacks over Kataib Hezbollah positions in Iraq and Syria.

At least 25 members of Kataib Hezbollah forces, which belongs to the PMF, were killed and 51 others were injured in the strikes on Sunday.

The US said it launched the air strikes in retaliation to a rocket attack on Friday near Kirkuk - an attack that killed an American civilian contractor, and that Washington blamed on Kataib Hezbollah.

"We are the Hashd and we are here to take revenge," said a protester in his 40s, who refused to give his name for security reasons.

"We protesting here to condem the US strikes on the Hashd," said Haydar, a protester in his 20s. "The Hashd are the ones who protected Iraq against terrorism."

The Iran-backed Shia paramilitary group was aligned witht the Iraqi government in its battle against ISIL. It was formally incorporated into the Iraqi military in July 2019.

As the sun set on Baghdad, members of the crowd told Al Jazeera they would try to erect tents for the night and that they were prepared to launch an open-ended sit-in around the embassy until they saw action taken to "end US presence and intervention in the country."

"We call on the Iraqi parliament to take action against the US. We want the Americans out," said Haydar.

Ali, who described himself as a PMF supporter, said: "We came to mourn the people who died as a result of the US strikes in Qaim and to condemn the source [US] of all evil in Iraq since 2003.

"We are here because we are against US presence in Iraq and its targeting of the Hashd al-Shaabi and we won't leave until parliament and the government puts an end to that."

Distinct crowds

The escalation in the Iraqi capital comes on the heels of months-long anti-government protests that have gripped Baghdad and Iraq's south since early October, with demonstrators calling for basic services, employment opportunities and an end to corruption.

The protesters' calls quickly developed into demands for a complete overhaul of the political system, which they view as corrupt and sectarian.

At least 470 protesters have been killed and more than 20,000 others were injured in a crackdown on the movement.

Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq Initiative at Chatham House, said it was important to distinguish between the protest movement and the crowds that gathered at the Green Zone on Monday.

"Although the protesters in Tahrir Square are against US interference, they represent a generation of young, disenfranchised Iraqis that stand against the ruling elite, the militias and armed groups," said Mansour.

"On the other hand, the protesters outside the US embassy support the PMF and their allied forces.

"Rather than being anti-establishment, they support the Iraqi ruling elite."

Mansour said that the tensions around the US embassy in Baghdad might affect the protest movement across Iraq.

"The risk of this development is that it may divert focus from what are legitimate concerns ... to a focus on US intervention and demands for a withdrawal of American forces from Iraq."
'They don't represent us'

Meanwhile in Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the protest movement in Baghdad, protesters distanced themselves from the crowds near the US embassy in the Green Zone.

"Demonstrations at US embassy are a natural response to the US strikes over Hashd positions in Iraq," 27-year-old Ali Khraybit told Al Jazeera.

"We, the protesters of Tahrir Square, condemn the strikes of course, whether it be Iran or the US who was responsible for them," said Khraybit. "But we are staying here in the hub of the peaceful protest movement.

"The crowds in the Green Zone do not represent us. We want peaceful change," he added.

Khraybit said he worried the escalation would lead to chaos in Baghdad.

"We all know the Hashd has weapons. If the security forces try to disperse the crowds, we might see a lot of blood," he said.

Noor al-Araji, a 30-year-old protester in Tahrir Square said: "The protesters in the Green Zone do not represent us. They belong to and represent the Shia parties that we want overhauled."

"We condemn the spilling blood and we stand against foreign intervention in Iraq. These escalations are due to an ongoing conflict between Iran and the US and we want to stay out of it.

"The world doesn't realise that the people in the Green Zone are not the same as the protesters in Tahrir Square. We are peaceful and that's why we've stayed away from the Green Zone today."

Abdallah al-Salam contributed to this report from Baghdad

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA NEWS

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=IRAQ

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=IRAN



SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2006/09/us-war-on-capitalism-in-iran.html

Chile protests 2 months on: 'We're ready to continue to very end'
Government concessions have failed to satisfy protesters who've vowed to stay in the streets until their demands are met

by Sandra Cuffe
18 Dec 2019

A woman waving a Chilean flag during a protest against 

Chile's government in Santiago, Chile

 [File: Andres Martinez Casares/Reuters]

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Antofagasta, Chile - Wednesday marked two months since anti-government protests against structural inequality began in Chile.

Government officials are advancing a variety of measures in response to the demands of demonstrators, but protests are expected to continue as are crackdowns and alleged abuses by security forces.
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Bid to impeach Chile's Pinera over protest handling rejected

As the government attempts to quell the protests, here are five things to know:
1. Why are people still protesting?

Secondary student protests on October 18 in the capital, Santiago, and the ensuing militarisation sparked broader nationwide mass protests against the country's political and economic model.

Marches, rallies and diverse actions continue on a daily basis.

"I think it is going to be difficult, but we are ready to continue to the very end," said Alberto Mamquepan, an Indigenous Mapuche dockworker in Antofagasta, 1,400km (860 miles) north of Santiago.

"We can achieve something here," he told Al Jazeera.

Protests continue amid concerns that security forces

 have committed human rights abuses [Ricardo Moraes/Reuters]

Chile earned an international reputation for stability and prosperity following its return to democracy after General Augusto Pinochet's 1970-1990 dictatorship, but the country's economic growth has obscured high levels of income inequality and discontent.

Roughly two-thirds of Chileans think protests should continue, according to recent polls. An overhaul of the pension, health and education systems remain top priorities.

From day one, many protesters have also been calling for President Sebastian Pinera's resignation.
2. How has the government responded?

Over the course of the past two months, Pinera, a conservative billionaire, has presented a myriad of policies and proposals to address the situation, ranging from militarisation to poverty alleviation.

"They are like little aspirins," Martin, a metallurgist who requested only his first name be used, said of the measures announced by Pinera.
READ MORE
Chile protests: The students 'woke us up'

"Conditions are untenable," he told Al Jazeera. "We need to transform the whole model."

Pinera's announced pension increases and a subsidy that would top up the monthly minimum wage from $396 to $460 fall far short of union and social movement proposals for 500,000 pesos ($657) as both the monthly minimum wage and the minimum pension payment.

Chile's presidents of the House and Senate met the minister secretary-general of the presidency on Tuesday to request that Pinera withdraw his pension bill from consideration, arguing deeper structural reform is needed.
3. Who will write the new constitution?

Last month, ruling alliance and opposition politicians announced an agreement in response to widespread demand for the replacement of the dictatorship-era constitution, under which Chile operates, with a new one written by citizens.

A referendum will be held on April 26, 2020, to ask citizens if they want a new constitution and, if so, whether they would prefer a constitutional convention comprised of only elected citizens or a mixed citizen-legislator convention.

VIDEO
Chile consultation: Majority want to scrap constitution (2:30)

More than two million citizens voted last week in a non-binding consultation held in 225 of the country's 345 municipal districts. The preliminary results were clear: 92.4 percent of voters support a new constitution and 73.1 percent favour an all-citizen constitutional convention.

Legislators voted Wednesday on a bill that details the process, but rejected gender parity for a constitutional convention, as well as guaranteed representation for Indigenous peoples, amounting to roughly 12 percent of seats.

Eighty of 155 legislators voted in favour of gender parity and Indigenous representation, but the floor vote needed a 3/5 majority to pass and move on to the Senate. The results will likely generate significant fallout.
4. How are security forces responding?

Security forces have been repeatedly condemned for alleged human rights violations during crackdowns on protests. Pinera acknowledged abuses and has promised perpetrators will be investigated and punished.

Prosecutors are investigating 26 deaths in the context of the unrest, including deaths in police custody and killings by members of the military during a nine-day state of emergency in October, when the armed forces were deployed.

Legislators have been considering reforms proposed by Pinera that would redeploy the military to protect critical infrastructure. The government estimates arson, looting and property destruction have caused three billion dollars in damages.

A mural in Antofagasta uses police pellet projectiles 

responsible for eye injuries to spell the word 'dignity'

 in braille [Sandra Cuffe/Al Jazeera]

To date, the National Human Rights Institute, an autonomous public institution, has filed nearly 700 legal actions against authorities, primarily the Carabineros police force, for torture, sexual violence and other crimes.

The institute has visited 3,461 injured patients, more than 10 percent of whom were hospitalised for eye injuries. The majority of those injuries were caused by police projectiles. At least two people have been completely blinded in both eyes.

OPINION
What is behind state violence in Chile?

by Michael Wilson-Becerril
&

by Rodrigo Espinoza-Troncoso

"Violence is very institutionalised," said Natali Flores, a coordinating member of Antofagasta's Emergency and Protection Committee, a grassroots initiative that organises medical, legal and other support efforts for local protests.

"It unleashed the fury of the population," she told Al Jazeera.

The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and international NGOs Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have all recently released reports documenting and condemning alleged human rights violations.
5. Will protests hold in the new year?

Protests are expected well into the new year but will likely continue to somewhat subside over Christmas and the ensuing summer holidays in the southern hemisphere.

Many protesters, however, foresee a renewed surge in March, after the summer holidays end. Students at the helm of many protests will be back at school, or back occupying their schools, and campaigns will likely heat up in advance of the April referendum.

"We are in it with everything until it is over," muralist Raul Navarrete told Al Jazeera while dozens of Antofagasta residents worked on a nearby 200-foot-long mural he designed, depicting the protest movement.

"One way or another, we have to win," he said.

Inuk singer Kelly Fraser died by suicide amid ‘hard’ fight with PTSD, family says


BY JOSH K. ELLIOTT GLOBAL NEWS
Posted December 30, 2019 



WATCH: Kelly Fraser died in her current home city of Winnipeg, Man., on Christmas Eve.

Inuk singer Kelly Fraser spoke openly about her personal traumas and channelled her pain to help others before she died by suicide at age 26 on Christmas Eve, her family said in a statement. 

“She was fiercely open with her fans in the hopes that sharing her personal struggles might help them know they were not alone,” Fraser’s mother, Theresa Angoo, and her six siblings said in a statement on Monday, nearly a week after her death.

READ MORE: Inuk singer Kelly Fraser dies at 26

They said Fraser died by suicide in Winnipeg on Dec. 24 following a long struggle with PTSD “as a result of childhood traumas, racism and persistent cyberbullying.” The circumstances of her death were unclear when it was first reported last week.

“She was actively seeking help and spoke openly about her personal challenges online and through her journey,” Fraser’s family said. 

“We are still in complete shock and our hearts bleed for our sister.”TWEET THIS

Fraser was an acclaimed singer-songwriter who blended English and Inuktitut in her pop- and hip hop-inspired songs. She was born in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, and launched her singing career in 2013 with an Inuktitut-language version of Rihanna’s Diamonds, followed by her debut album Isuma the next year.

Her Diamonds video has been watched more than 300,000 times since her death. 

Fraser’s second album, Sedna, earned her a Juno Award nomination for best Indigenous music album in 2017.

She received the Indspire Award in 2019 for using her music and her own personal struggles to strengthen and promote Inuit culture and language, particularly among young Indigenous people in Canada.

“Kelly brings hope to Indigenous youth who are struggling like she has,” her Indspire Award profile says.

READ MORE: Are you experiencing abuse? Here’s how to get help

Fraser died while working on her next album, Decolonize. She had hoped to raise $60,000 through a Kickstarter campaign to fund the album, which would have been recorded in early 2020.

A GoFundMe campaign to support Fraser’s siblings through their grief has raised more than $39,000 since Friday.

Fraser should be remembered for her “generosity, honesty, passion and love of life,” her mother and siblings Mellow, Maxine, Jessie, Rachel, Christopher and Oliver said in their statement.

“Kelly fought so hard to be well,” they said. “We know that she would want us to continue to do our very best to take care of ourselves.”

Fraser’s relatives are planning to hold memorials for her in Winnipeg and Iqaluit. They’re asking for privacy while they grieve her loss.

If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.

The Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, Depression Hurts and Kids Help Phone 1-800-668-6868 all offer ways of getting help if you, or someone you know, may be suffering from mental health issues.

You can also call the Nunavut Kamatsiaqtut Helpline toll-free at 1-867-979-3333.

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