The RCMP have 'let down' Indigenous fishers facing violence in Nova Scotia: minister

OTTAWA — The RCMP in Nova Scotia have failed to properly protect Indigenous people embroiled in an ugly dispute over lobster fishing, Canada's Indigenous services minister said Monday

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© Provided by The Canadian Press

Marc Miller was one of four federal cabinet ministers who took part in a news conference that followed a turbulent weekend in the southwestern corner of the province, where a lobster pound was burned to the ground and police accused one person of assaulting a Mi'kmaq leader and another of setting fire to a van owned by an Indigenous fisherman.

"Indigenous people have been let down by the police, those who are sworn to protect them," Miller said as he opened the news conference in Ottawa. "The protection of people on both sides has to prevail, and clearly that has not been the case up until now."

Miller said even though Indigenous people have experienced discrimination throughout Canada's history, the Indigenous fishers in Nova Scotia have stood up for their rights without resorting to violence.

"It is a testament to who they are that they do so peacefully," Miller said. But he said he fears the violence could lead to loss of life, adding, "We must reach a resolution."

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said the Mounties are doing their job. "The police are, in fact, acting," he said. "I'm absolutely confident that the RCMP know their job."

Blair said additional officers had been deployed to respond to the increasingly violent dispute, which started Sept. 17 when the Sipekne'katik First Nation launched a self-regulated commercial fishery outside of the federally designated fishing season.

The public safety minister said Nova Scotia RCMP are now able to draw on RCMP resources from other provinces within the Atlantic region to counter "reckless violence and racist threats." And he said an RCMP boat was in the area, along with a vessel from the Canadian Coast Guard.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office issued a statement Monday saying he had spoken with Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil on Sunday, and they "condemned the appalling violence" and agreed that respectful dialogue was key to resolving the dispute.

During an emergency debate Monday night on the dispute, Trudeau told the House of Commons the violence "is unacceptable, it is shameful and it is criminal."

He said his government will uphold Indigenous fishers' inherent right to pursue a "moderate livelihood," but also promised that conservation of lobster stocks, which commercial fishers fear are being compromised, will underpin its decisions in the dispute.

Trudeau was blamed by opposition leaders for allowing the dispute to spiral into violence.

Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole pointed out that he raised the escalating tensions directly with the prime minister a month ago, yet he said the government has done nothing.

"These things don't go away. They require leadership and we have a government that prefers photo ops over followups, hashtags over real work. Hoping that problems will go away is not leadership," O'Toole said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh similarly accused the government of inaction, although he blamed past Liberal and Conservative governments alike for letting the problem fester for more than two decades.

He called the violence "terrorism" against Indigenous people and he said the failure of police to protect them is "evidence of systemic racism."

The lobster dispute is a sensitive issue for the Trudeau government, which has made reconciliation with Canada's Indigenous people a top priority.

The decision to dispatch more officers to Nova Scotia follows complaints from Indigenous leaders who have pointed to images on social media that appear to show Mounties standing by while protesters vandalized property and allegedly assaulted Sipekne'katik Chief Mike Sack last week.

Sack could not be reached for comment Monday.

Miller made it clear that Ottawa will be taking action to ensure the Mi'kmaq can exercise their constitutionally protected treaty right to earn a moderate livelihood from fishing.

"The acts of violence we have seen in the past days and weeks are disgusting, unacceptable and racist in nature," he said.

Miller also stressed that the new Indigenous fishery represents a tiny fraction of the traditional lobster fishery in St. Marys Bay, where the Sipekne'katik First Nation is now fishing.

The Sipekne'katik band has awarded 11 lobster fishing licences to 11 boats working in St. Marys Bay, each with a maximum of 50 traps aboard. By contrast, the commercial fishery in the bay allows for 90 vessels carrying up 400 traps each. That total includes three commercial vessels operated by the Sipekne'katik band.

In recent weeks, some non-Indigenous fishers in Nova Scotia have staged protests to highlight the fact that even though the Supreme Court of Canada has affirmed the treaty right to fish, hunt and gather for a moderate livelihood, the court also said Ottawa retains the right to regulate the fisheries for conservation purposes.

They say Indigenous fishers should not be allowed to fish outside the federally regulated season because that could harm lobster stocks.

Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan, who represents a rural fishing community in Nova Scotia, said conservation "underpins everything we do," adding that the lobster stocks in Nova Scotia remain healthy.

"We will never move forward with a plan that threatens the health of the species," she said.

Jordan did not answer when asked if the treaty right to fish for a moderate livelihood extended to fishing outside the regular season.

When the dispute erupted in September, Jordan made it clear that Ottawa was opposed to fishing outside the season.

As for the definition of what constitutes a moderate livelihood, Jordan said that must be determined by negotiations with each First Nation. She said a blanket definition was not an option. "It's a very complex issue and it varies between communities," she said. "We can't tell First Nations what a moderate livelihood is."

Jordan also confirmed that a "ministerial representative" would soon be named to facilitate discussions with non-Indigenous commercial fishermen.

In Ottawa, NDP critic Charlie Angus also took aim at the RCMP. "What's really disturbing is the lack of action by the RCMP," he told a news conference. "The federal government needs to send a clear message that we have to be willing to protect Indigenous treaty rights."

On another front, Blair confirmed that the suspect accused of assaulting Sack on Oct. 14 had been released from custody with conditions.

Sack has criticized the RCMP for being "useless" in the face of violence. And on the weekend, he called on Ottawa to send in the military to keep the peace.

Blair dismissed that request Monday, saying the incidents in Nova Scotia require a police response, not a military operation.

"It is a peacekeeping operation and it is the responsibility of the police," he said.

— With files from Michael MacDonald in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2020.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press

Donald Trump's latest message to suburban women? I fixed the dishwasher!

President Donald Trump is getting desperate. He knows he is losing the 2020 presidential election to former Vice President Joe Biden. And he knows that suburban women have fled from him in droves over the last four years -- and he needs them back (or at least some of them) if he wants to have a serious chance of pulling off a come-from-behind victory on November 3.

© Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images Signage is displayed on a Whirlpool Corp. Maytag brand dishwasher machine at the Valley Appliance Sales store in Peru, Illinois, U.S., on Friday, July 20, 2018. Whirlpool Corp. is releasing earnings figures on July 23. Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Which brings me to a Trump campaign rally on Sunday night in Nevada. And Trump's latest attempt to convince suburban woman that he is their guy. Here's the pitch:

"Go buy a dishwasher. I said what's wrong with this thing? It doesn't clean the dishes right. The women come up to me, the women who they say don't like me -- they actually do like me a lot. Suburban women, please vote for me. I'm saving your house. I'm saving your community. I'm keeping your crime way down."

OK, so. The logic behind this argument goes like this.

1.Suburban women are the ones who do the dishes in their households

2. Dishwashers make doing the dishes easier

3. Trump made the water pressure in dishwashers better

4. Dishwashers now work better

5. Suburban women must vote for Trump

Yes, really. That's the logic.

That Trump would even put voice to such a ridiculous argument reveals that he is still existing in a "Mad Men" sort of world, in which women are frazzled housewives who are focused solely on making sure the laundry is done, the dishes are washed and there's a warm meal on the table before their husband gets home from his exhausting day of earning the family's keep at work.

It's a stunning -- and unintentional -- admission by Trump about how he a) regards women and b) what he believes will sway their votes. He made dishwashers work better! He's "saving your house," ladies! Come on.

That warped view of what women -- including housewives -- do and value comes after Trump has spent weeks trying to scare suburban women into voting for him.

Here's Trump riffing on how he saved suburban women, from a rally last week in Pennsylvania:

"They talk about the suburban women. And somebody said, 'I don't know if the suburban woman likes you.' I said, 'Why?' They said, 'They may not like the way you talk,' but I'm about law and order. I'm about having you safe. I'm about having your suburban communities. I don't want to build low-income housing next to your house."

"Suburban women, they should like me more than anybody here tonight because I ended the regulation that destroyed your neighborhood. I ended the regulation that brought crime to the suburbs, and you're going to live the American dream. So can I ask you to do me a favor? Suburban women, will you please like me? I saved your damn neighborhood, OK?"

He saved your damn neighborhood, ladies! From crime! And "low-income housing"! (If you are wondering, Trump is referring to his rollback of an Obama-era policy that was aimed at banning racial discrimination in housing.)

The message here is pretty simple: If you vote for Biden this fall, you will have gangs roaming your streets, "low income" housing next door to you and a dishwasher that doesn't effectively clean the dishes. Chaos will reign! Dishes will go unwashed!

Stunningly, there is very little evidence, whether anecdotal or statistical, that suggests that Trump's appeals to suburban women are working.

Among white women with college degrees -- not a perfect overlay of "suburban women" but as close as we can usually get in polling -- Biden was at 68% to Trump's 31% in a recent NPR/PBS/Marist national poll.

One woman living in the Pittsburgh suburbs and who voted for Trump in 2016 described her response to Trump's argument that Biden will "destroy" the suburbs this way to CNN's Kate Bolduan: "At the time, I laughed. It irritates me that he thinks that I and other people like me are stupid enough to believe that. It's insulting."

Yeah. That about covers it.

Health Canada recalls counterfeit hand sanitizer found at Dollarama in Ontario

© Health Canada / Provided The agency said the recalled product was sold in a 250 mL container, and has a lot number of 6942 and an expiry date of May 2023.

Health Canada is recalling another hand sanitizer amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, saying the product has been determined to be counterfeit.

In a recall notice issued on Sunday, Health Canada said a counterfeit version of Daily Shield hand sanitizer was found for sale at a Dollarama location in Thunder Bay, Ont.

Read more: Health Canada adds 5 hand sanitizers to recall list, cites potential health risk

The agency said the recalled product was sold in a 250 mL container, has a lot number of 6942 and an expiry date of May 2023.

"As the counterfeit version of Daily Shield hand sanitizer is unauthorized and made with an unknown formulation, it may not be effective at killing bacteria and viruses, and may pose serious risks to health," the notice reads.

The counterfeit product is also suspected to contain methanol, an ingredient that is not authorized for use in hand sanitizers.

The agency said methanol "could cause severe adverse reactions or death when ingested."

According to Health Canada, the product may have been sold at Dollarama stores across the country.

"Health Canada is confirming the complete list of locations where the product was sold," the notice reads.

Dollarama has agreed to stop selling the product at its stores in Canada while the investigation continues.

The agency said anyone who has purchased this product should stop using it "immediately."

"Consult your healthcare provider if you have used this product and have any health or safety concerns," the notice said.

Alaska earthquake triggers small tsunami

The magnitude 7.5 earthquake near Sand Point, Alaska, generated a tsunami, Scott Langley with the National Tsunami Warning Center said Monday afternoon.

© Michael A. Armstrong/Homer News/AP

 A line of traffic leaves Homer, Alaska, after a tsunami evacuation order was issued for low-lying areas.

Langley said the tsunami sent two waves, each measuring 130 centimeters (4 feet, 3 inches) high. But observers onshore reported the waves appeared to be 1.5 feet (45.7 centimeters) and 2 feet (61 cm) over high tide.

The center is monitoring harbors in a 500-mile area along the Alaska coastline, he said.

A tsunami warning had been issued after the earthquake struck but it was downgraded to an advisory Monday afternoon.

The advisory was for the Alaska Peninsula and South Alaska, according to the tsunami warning center in Palmer, Alaska.

Langley said earlier the area subject to the warning and advisory is "pretty remote."

"For other US and Canadian Pacific coasts in North America, there is no tsunami threat," the center said.

The earthquake's epicenter was recorded less than 60 miles from Sand Point, near the Aleutian Peninsula in the southwestern part of the state.

"We did feel it," Sand Point Clinic employee Lorna Osterback said of the quake. "This is a big one."

Osterback said residents of the town would be heading to higher ground away from the shoreline as they wait out the tsunami threat.

"We expect we will have another one in about half an hour," noted Osterback. "We're right on the fault line. I grew up here and it's kind of normal."

Jeanette Piniones Navales moved her family from Kodiak Island to higher ground on Pillar Mountain when the tsunami alerts sounded Monday. She said she has lived in Kodiak since 2014 and this is her sixth time experiencing a tsunami warning.

"I got nervous and immediately convinced my family to move (to) high ground to be safe," she told CNN.

Candace Nelson, her kids and dogs hid under the table as the earthquake shook Cold Bay, about 90 miles west of Sand Point.

"My kids are all doing good. Brooke, Wilder and Scout all huddled under our kitchen table till the shaking stopped," she told CNN as the family waited for more news about the tsunami. "The dogs were more concerned as to what the heck we were doing under the table."

Residents of Homer could also be seen driving to higher ground after being given evacuation orders.

Several aftershocks, including one with a magnitude of 5.9 and one that was 5.8, struck in the hour after the big quake.

By Steve Almasy, Dave Alsup and Andy Rose, CNN 

Video depicting violent arrest of N.L. Indigenous man 

shows systemic racism: council

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The president of a Labrador Indigenous council says he is disgusted and angry following the release of a video depicting a municipal enforcement officer throwing a handcuffed Indigenous man to the ground

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© Provided by The Canadian Press

Todd Russell, president of the NunatuKavut Community Council, which represents about 6,000 Inuit in south and central Labrador, says the footage is an example of systemic racism in Canada and is calling for an investigation.

"It is a manifestation of the bias and discrimination that is within the law enforcement systems within this country and certainly within the justice system in this country," Russell said in an interview Monday. "And these are facts. These are not debatable any more."

The footage, a copy of which was posted to social media Friday, appears to show an officer holding an Inuk man against the hood of a Happy Valley-Goose Bay municipal enforcement vehicle.

The man's hands are behind his back and the officer is grabbing the man by the back of his hooded shirt. As the man turns slightly to his right, toward the officer, the officer swiftly throws him onto the ground.

Russell said he wants an investigation into the incident, into the protocols of Happy Valley-Goose Bay municipal enforcement officers, and into whether there have been previous complaints about officers' use of force.

"I think what's surprising is that you have a municipal enforcement officer who's supposed to be enforcing municipal bylaws actually handcuffing people, taking them into custody," Russell said.

Russell said he understands the officer was equipped with a body camera and that there could be footage of the incident taken by the device. The Newfoundland and Labrador privacy commissioner's office confirmed Monday the town introduced a body cam policy for its enforcement officers a few weeks ago.

On Monday, a spokesman for the town would not give any information about the investigation or whether the officer was equipped with a body camera.

The town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay issued a statement Saturday stating the officer in the video had been put on administrative leave and that it was seeking an independent agency to conduct an investigation. The release did not say what agency the town will approach.

Labrador Progressive Conservative member Lela Evans posted the video of the arrest, which Russell viewed. She said a friend had sent it to her.

"I'm really cautious about posting videos ... But when I saw this video, I thought, 'Okay, this is a huge issue,'" she said in an interview Monday.

Both Evans and Russell said the incident happened Friday. The man in the video is Inuk and homeless, Evans said, adding the incident took place in a public area of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, which has a population of around 8,000 people.

Evans said she has been told the man in the video is doing well. But, she said, he was hurt when he was thrown to ground. "Just imagine now, being thrown head first into the ground with no way to protect yourself."

She said she supports an investigation into the arrest but stopped short of stating that the footage is an example of systemic racism.

"If we've got a rogue cop, a racist cop, it's singular ... I'm saying that his behaviour from an authority perspective, needs to be investigated."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2020.

Sarah Smellie, The Canadian Press

UCP narrowly passed a private-health-care resolution at its party convention. What that means for Alberta

Tyler Dawson 

© Provided by National Post United Conservative Leader Jason Kenney outlines his party's health platform ahead of Alberta's 2019 election campaign, in Edmonton on Feb. 20, 2019.

EDMONTON — Delegates at Alberta’s United Conservative Party’s annual general meeting over the weekend narrowly endorsed a controversial proposal in favour of privately managed and funded health care.

The meeting, held via Zoom, saw some 1,400 delegates attend, who considered 30 policy resolutions, some on health care, others on energy politics and others still on labour law.

Of the 793 who voted on the health-care resolution, 53 per cent of them voted in favour of a private-tier system where people could pay a user fee for services. The proposal, brought forward by the Calgary-Varsity constituency, argues a two-tier system would help tackle ballooning health-care costs and wait times, while solving problems of physician pay that have been plaguing the provincial government.

“This could help the economy recover more efficiently by creating choices, for both physicians and patients, in time and public costs to the Public Health System,” the resolution says. The economic benefit to government and the society is a health budget that will not grow excessively for Public Provincial Healthcare that in itself delays accessibility.”

The policy proposals that came up at the convention will be used to inform the UCP’s next election platform.

The private health-care resolution wasn’t especially popular among delegates, with one cabinet minister, Nate Glubish, Minister of Service Alberta, openly opposing it.

“I understand that the health-care system needs significant reforms,” said Glubish on Friday. “If we approve this policy, it is going to cause a ton of grief for all MLAs who are working hard to deliver you results.”

Alberta outsourcing health-care services, axing 11,000 jobs as part of multi-year plan to control spending

Alberta United Conservative leader wants to explore private health-care options

Out of all 30 resolutions adopted, the health-care resolution passed with the slimmest margin. Premier Jason Kenney, speaking on a Calgary radio station Monday, said the party remained committed to public health care.

Kenney said his read on what the party members asked for on the weekend was for the government to explore more options for the delivery of medical services.

“Health care should be based on what’s in the best interest of the patient, not on ideology or special interest groups,” he said.

Health care has been a touchy subject for Kenney’s United Conservatives. Throughout the 2019 election campaign, the New Democrats attacked them on the privatization issue.

Health care has become more sensitive, still, during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the UCP continues to find cost savings within the health-care system.

The New Democrats wasted little time seizing on the policy resolution: “Jason Kenney’s UCP is now committing itself to imposing an American-style health-care system on Albertans in the midst of a deadly pandemic,” thundered David Shepherd, the NDP’s health critic, in a press release Sunday.

The UCP does, in fact, have a policy position that would see some privatization of the health-care system. As part of the overall strategy for reducing costs of the nearly $21 billion health-care budget, the UCP is looking at private surgical facilities and day clinics to clear out the backlog of those awaiting certain procedures, such as orthopaedic surgeries.

In August, the province announced a privately funded $200 million private orthopaedic hospital, which would perform all non-emergency orthopaedic surgeries in the Edmonton region.

Saskatchewan has similarly experimented with private surgeries, and saw 98 per cent of surgeries done within six months, though more recently those wait times have climbed back up, which the province says is due to an aging population.

Other jurisdictions in Canada have experimented with two-tier systems. Quebec, for example, has private medical imaging. Other health-care spending across the country, such as dentistry, long-term care and prescription drugs, are also privatized.

Colleen Flood, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and the university research chair in health law and policy, said it’s not surprising that an “aging and relatively wealthy population” wants more from the public health-care system, and that alternatives come up when the public system seems unable to cope.

“We have a big mix of public and private,” said Flood. “Of course there is a private tier, it’s just that Canadian governments have to date tried to limit the amount of two-tier that there is.”

Multiple other nations around the world have some form of public-private medical care. But piecemeal privatization in Canada isn’t necessarily moving the country towards a new health-care system, Flood said.

Another controversial UCP policy measure, that Alberta become a “right-to-work” jurisdiction — essentially, an employee cannot be forced into a collective bargaining unit — passed with 81 per cent voting in favour.

That the resolutions passed does not mean they become party policy. The UCP has, in the past, rejected policy recommendations from conventions, most notably in 2018, when the party grassroots wanted parental notification for topics such as sex in school.

With files from the Edmonton Journal and the Calgary Herald

Quebec town of Abestos votes to change name to Val-des-Sources

ASBESTOS, Que. — The Quebec town synonymous with the cancer-causing fibre asbestos has voted for a new name: Val-des-Sources.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

During a livestreamed council meeting Monday night, Mayor Hugues Grimard announced that Val-des-Sources beat five other proposed names with 51.5 per cent of the vote after three rounds.

"It's a name that represents our area, and especially, it's inspiring for the future," he said.

The 7,000-person town of Asbestos, located about 130 km east of Montreal, had been looking to shed its association with the toxic mineral. Political and business leaders in the town complained for years the name attracted ridicule and disgust in the rest of the country and internationally.

Asbestos, Que., helped make Canada one the world's leaders in asbestos exports. The Jeffrey mine, once Canada's largest, closed in 2012.

Asbestos residents over the age of 14 and local property owners were eligible to cast their votes among six proposed names: L'Azur-des-Cantons, Jeffrey-sur-le-Lac, Larochelle, Phenix, Trois-Lacs and Val-des-Sources.

Grimard said the new name reflects "the landscape and our roots." The word "source," he said, describes how the town is located at the confluence of three lakes. And it's a symbol, he said, of what the town wants to become.

"Together, we will be the source of the development of our city."

Long used in building materials such as ceiling tiles and cement, asbestos is now banned in many countries.

The name Val-des-Sources was officially adopted by council and Grimard said it will be proposed to the provincial government for approval. He said there is no prescribed deadline for the Department of Municipal Affairs to accept or reject the proposed new name.

In total, 2,796 people voted between Oct. 14-18, representing about 48 per cent of eligible voters.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2020.

The Canadian Press

Obamacare premiums decline for 3rd year in a row as Trump seeks to take down the landmark law

Even as the Trump administration seeks to kill the Affordable Care Act, it is taking credit for making it more attractive to consumers. 

© Alex Brandon/AP This May 2017 file photo shows the Healthcare.gov website on a laptop computer in Washington.

By Tami Luhby, CNN 

The average premium for the benchmark plan will drop by 2% next year in the 36 states using the federal exchange, the third year in a row of declines, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Monday. Premiums have declined a total of 8% since 2018.

Also, many consumers will have a greater choice of plans. Some 22 more issuers will offer coverage next year, when considering states that are also participating in the federal exchange this year. That brings the total to 181. The share of counties with only one participating insurer will drop to 9% next year, down from 50% in 2018.

The trend is a marked turnaround from the early days of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, which launched in 2014. Many insurers underestimated the health needs of enrollees and priced their plans too low, causing them to suffer big losses. Some left the market, while others raised rates by double digits to stem the bleeding.

Also, President Donald Trump's efforts to undermine the health care law in the first year of his administration were a factor in carriers raising the average premium for the benchmark plan by 37% in 2018.

Since then, the market has stabilized and become more attractive, drawing insurers back into the exchanges and prompting new carriers to offer policies. In addition, the Trump administration has approved more than a dozen state requests to enact reinsurance programs, which lower premiums by shielding insurers from high-cost patients.

The average monthly cost of the benchmark plan next year will be $379 for a 27-year-old and $1,486 for a family of four. However, those who qualify for federal subsidies will pay less than 10% of their income. Some 88% of enrollees on Healthcare.gov receive assistance.

For next year, an individual earning less than $51,040 and a family of four making less than $104,800 are eligible for subsidies.

Open enrollment starts November 1 and runs through December 15 in the states using the federal exchange. Pennsylvania and New Jersey are leaving Healthcare.gov next year, joining 12 other states and the District of Columbia in running their own exchanges.

About 11.4 million people signed up for coverage on the exchanges for 2020, down from a high of 12.7 million in 2016.

The Affordable Care Act remains in effect while its future is decided in the courts. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case seeking to overturn Obamacare on November 10.

Retirees rally in Belarus against authoritarian president


KYIV, Ukraine — About 3,000 retirees rallied in the Belarusian capital of Minsk for a third straight Monday to demand the resignation of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko as mass protests of a disputed election continue to roil the country.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

They marched through the streets of Minsk carrying flowers and chanting for Lukashenko to “Go away!” after the Aug. 9 balloting that was widely seen as rigged.

“How many grandmas should it take to oust one grandpa?” said one banner held by the protesters, referring to the 66-year-old president.

Pro-Lukashenko pensioners also rallied in the capital. Some 2,000 people — many of whom were men in military and security forces uniforms — came to Independence Square with national flags and banners that said, “For peace, prosperity and traditional values." Local media reported that some had been bused to the rally in what appeared to be an organized effort.

Lukashenko, who has run the country for 26 years, was declared the winner of the election with 80% of the vote. His main opponent, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, got only 10% and refused to recognize the results as valid, saying they had been manipulated.

Tens of thousands have been regularly protesting in Minsk and other cities since the vote, demanding that Lukashenko step down, with the largest rallies drawing up to 200,000 people.

The authorities tried to disperse the mostly peaceful crowds with truncheons, stun grenades and water cannons, and they have made mass detentions. On Monday, the country’s Interior Ministry threatened to use firearms against them “if need be,” saying the rallies “have become organized and extremely radical.” However, the demonstrations have continued despite the crackdown.

More than 50,000 people gathered in Minsk on Sunday for a traditional anti-government march, according to the Viasna human rights centre, and smaller protests also took place in other cities. The Interior Ministry reported that 280 demonstrators were detained on Sunday, 215 of them in Minsk. The ministry estimated the crowd in the capital at 7,000.

According to Viasna, nearly 14,900 people have been detained since the election, and 91 of them have been declared political prisoners.

Several journalists who covered the protests for Belarusian online media outlets were sentenced Monday to 13-15 days in jail.

Tsikhanouskaya, who is in exile in Lithuania after leaving the country in fear for her safety, has threatened to call a nationwide strike unless Lukashenko resigns, releases political prisoners and stops the crackdown on protesters.

“If our demands aren’t fulfilled by Oct. 25, the entire country will peacefully take to the streets,” she said in a statement last week. “On Oct. 26, a national strike of all enterprises will begin, all roads will be blocked, sales in state-owned stores will collapse.”

She said authorities have released Ilya Salei, a lawyer for her top associate, Maria Kolesnikova, from detention.

Kolesnikova was jailed last month on charges of undermining state security, which could bring a five-year prison term if convicted. Salei also was detained on the same charge.

On Monday, authorities released from jail Vitaly Shklyarov, a Russian political consultant who also holds Belarusian citizenship, and Lilia Vlasova, a prominent member of the opposition's Coordination Council formed to push for a transition of power. Both were detained earlier this year and will remain under house arrest.

The council, whose prominent members were either arrested or forced to leave the country, said in a statement that all those recently released “remain political prisoners” because the charges against them haven't been dropped.

“Only freeing of all political prisoners and ending persecution of people for their political views can be a step towards the beginning of resolving the political crisis,” the statement read.

“The authorities are trying to mobilize their supporters and divide the opposition by ramping up repressions against some and releasing the others,” independent political analyst Alexander Klaskousky said.

Neither approach works, he added.

“For the third month, the protests are not dying down and the political crisis deepens still, leaving the authorities less room to manoeuvr,” Klaskousky said.

The Associated Press


BETA

Chile police arrest 600 after protests as referendum looms
AFP

Police arrested nearly 600 people after demonstrations to mark the anniversary of Chile's social protests turned violent as rioters torched two Catholic churches, the government said Monday.  

© PABLO COZZAGLIO Aerial view of the church of the Assumption in flames after violence broke out during protests in Santiago Sunday

Police stations were attacked as the authorities recorded 107 serious incidents nationwide while violence continued overnight, interior ministry undersecretary Juan Francisco Galli told reporters.

© Martin BERNETTI Demonstrators clash with a riot police vehicle as protests marking the October 18 anniversary of the social movement turn violent

The demonstration came just a week before Chileans vote in a referendum on whether to replace the dictatorship-era constitution -- one of the key demands when the protest movement began in October 2019

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© MARTIN BERNETTI Aerial view of a demonstration with a banner reading “We will overcome” as marchers mark the first anniversary of Chile's social protests on October 18 2020

Galli said streets were barricaded amid "looting and attempted looting" of stores.

The violence erupted after around 30,000 protesters flocked to Santiago's central Plaza Italia for a peaceful demonstration, the government said.

But as the afternoon wore on, clashes broke out on the periphery of the square, more than 300 meters from the main, peaceful, demonstration.

The official said there was a "very clear distinction in how the day evolved" after it began with a peaceful demonstration but ended with serious acts of violence.

The most serious incidents occurred when hooded men attacked two churches and set them alight.

One church close to Plaza Italia was burned to the ground as hooded protesters cheered, while a second place of worship was looted and also suffered fire damage.

The small Church of the Assumption, which was destroyed in Sunday's violence, is known as the "artists' parish," according to local press. The building dated back to 1876.

- Nationwide clashes -

Clashes also occurred in other neighborhoods of Santiago and in cities around the country, resulting in 580 arrests, 287 in the capital alone, Galli said.

"In these events, there is no demonstration, there is no demand that is acceptable," he said.

Firefighters managed to get that blaze under control.

There were clashes between groups of football hooligans in one Santiago neighborhood, while protesters in Plaza Italia doused a statue with red paint.

Interior and Security Minister Víctor Perez, said on Sunday that the violence had come from a "minority" of protesters.

The images of the blazing churches was a stark reminder of the months of violent protests that broke out in Santiago last October 18, initially over a rise in metro fares.

The unrest quickly broadened into generalized protests against the country's stark inequalities and left some 30 dead and thousands wounded.

Demonstrators on Sunday also called for their countrymen to vote to "approve" the proposed constitutional change.

"This is the opportunity to say 'enough!' We're here and we're going to vote for 'Approve,'" Paulina Villarroel, a 29-year-old psychologist, told AFP.

On October 25, more than 14 million Chileans will decide whether to amend the constitution.

The referendum to decide whether to change the constitution established under the military rule of General Augusto Pinochet (1973-90) was originally due to take place in April but had to be postponed as the country of 18 million reeled from the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

For those supporting a yes vote -- notably the leftist opposition -- a new constitution would allow for the establishment of a new and fairer social order in one of the Latin American countries most marked by economic and other forms of inequality.

pa/dga/db/ft