LONDONERS PROTEST POLICE BRUTALITY IN NIGERIA

Londoners Demonstrate Against Police Brutality in Nigeria - Video

© Photo : YouTube/ruptly

WORLD

14:05 GMT 21.10.202

Media reported earlier that Nigerian security forces opened fire on protesters in the south-western city of Lagos on Tuesday, killing several people and leaving many others injured.

A live broadcast from London shows demonstrators holding a rally against police brutality in Nigeria after reports emerged from Lagos of protesters having been shot by Nigerian soldiers.

The police reportedly started shooting protesters on Tuesday night after the authorities in south-western Lagos State, of which Lagos is the capital, imposed a 24-hour curfew to try to curb criminal activities under the umbrella of ongoing protests against police violence.

The End Special Anti-Robbery Squad (End SARS) or #EndSARS rallies across Nigeria kicked off after a number of allegations were made that the country's SARS police unit was responsible for acts of killing, torture and blackmail. The department was disbanded by the authorities and replaced with the Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) squad. Nevertheless, the rallies went ahead protesting against other forms of police violence.

  

Lagos locked down, army under scrutiny after civilians fired on


By Angela Ukomadu, Alexis Akwagyiram, Libby George

LAGOS (Reuters) - Police enforced a round-the-clock curfew in Nigeria’s biggest city on Wednesday a day after soldiers reportedly opened fire on civilians protesting against alleged police brutality.

Fires burned across Lagos and residents of Ebute Mette, Lagos Island and Okota districts reported hearing gunfire on Wednesday as President Muhammadu Buhari appealed for “understanding and calm”.

Police - some armed, some wearing body armour and many in plain clothes - set up roadblocks in Lagos, witnesses said.

Tuesday night’s incident at a toll gate in Lekki district was the most serious yet in nearly two weeks of nationwide protests fueled by anger at alleged systematic abuses by police, although details of what happened and the number of casualties remained unclear.

The Lagos state governor said 30 people were hurt in the shooting at the gate, a focal point of the protests. One man had died in hospital from a blow to the head, he said, but it was not known if he was a protester.

The United Nations secretary-general said there had been “multiple deaths” and he urged authorities to de-escalate the situation. Amnesty International said it was investigating “credible but disturbing evidence” of excessive use of force in which protesters had been killed.

Four witnesses said soldiers had fired bullets and at least two people had been shot. Three witnesses said the gate’s lights were turned off before the shooting began. One said he saw soldiers remove bodies. [L8N2HB6WI]

The Nigerian Army said no soldiers were at the scene

Nigeria's Lagos governor says one dead after shooting

Nigerian president appeals for calm after soldiers fire at protesters

POVERTY, PANDEMIC, POLICE

Thousands of Nigerians, many driven closer to poverty by economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic that has infected killed 1,125 and triggered lockdowns, have demonstrated since early October in protests that initially focused on a police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)

The unit - which rights groups have long accused of extortion, harassment, torture and murder - was disbanded on Oct. 11 but the protests have persisted with calls for law enforcement reforms.

Authorities imposed the curfew on Lagos - Africa’s largest metropolis and the commercial capital of OPEC-member Nigeria - on Tuesday after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the protests had turned violent.

Witnesses described being shot at by soldiers at the Lekki toll gate, where people had gathered on Tuesday evening in defiance of the curfew

Inyene Akpan, 26, a photographer, said more than 20 soldiers arrived and opened fire as they approached the protesters.

Witness Akinbosola Ogunsanya said the lights suddenly went out around 6:45 P.M. (1745 GMT), plunging the gathering into darkness and causing confusion.

Minutes later soldiers in uniform walked towards the crowd, shooting as they walked, he said. He saw about 10 people being shot and soldiers removing bodies, he said.

Another witness, Chika Dibia, said soldiers hemmed in people as they shot at them.

Henry Kufre, a television producer, said the atmosphere was peaceful and people were singing the national anthem before the site was plunged into darkness and the shooting began.

He said some people chose to kneel and wave flags while others ran. “I had to run for my life,” he said.

A Nigerian army spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.

COMMITTED TO JUSTICE

President Buhari said on Wednesday he was committed to providing justice for victims of brutality, and that the police reforms demanded by the demonstrators were gathering pace. He did not refer to the shooting at the toll gate.

Sanwo-Olu posted pictures of a hospital visit to victims of what he referred to as the “unfortunate shooting incident” in Lekki. He said 25 people were being treated for injuries and two were in intensive care.

“I recognise the buck stops at my table and I will work with the FG (federal government) to get to the root of this unfortunate incident and stabilise all security operations to protect the lives of our residents,” Sanwo-Olu said.

On Wednesday, witnesses saw youths trying to get through some checkpoints and reported protesters gathering in some areas. Local broadcaster Arise TV showed dozens of charred buses on the Lagos mainland.T

In South Africa, hundreds of Nigerians carrying placards demanding “a new and better Nigeria” marched to the Nigerian High Commission (embassy) in Pretoria. Protesters also rallied outside the Nigerian embassy in London.

Nigeria sovereign Eurobonds fell more than 2 cents on the dollar on Wednesday. One analyst said the protests might trigger a resumption of attacks on the country’s oil facilities, potentially hitting its main source of foreign earnings.

“The Niger Delta militants...have reportedly shown support for the (protest) movement. Should the protests escalate, we could see attacks resume on the oil and gas facilities,” said Janet Ogunkoya, senior research analyst at Tellimer Research.

Reporting by Angela Ukomadu, Alexis Akwagyiram and Libby George in Lagos; additional reporting by Olivia Kumwenda in Johannesburg, Nneka Chile in Lagos and Karin Strohecker in London; writing by John Stonestreet; editing by Libby George

SARS: Why are tens of thousands of Nigerians protesting?

Tens of thousands of Nigerians have been taking to the streets for more than two weeks to protest against police brutality.

The hashtag #EndSARS has been trending not just in Nigeria but across the world for several days [Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP]

21 Oct 2020

For two weeks Nigeria has been rocked by protests that erupted against police violence and evolved into broader anti-government demonstrations led by the country’s youth, leading to a deadly crackdown.

Young people mobilising through social media began staging demonstrations calling for the abolition of the federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), which has long been accused of unlawful arrests, torture and extrajudicial killings.
KEEP READINGSARS: Lagos protesters break curfew amid gunfire, chaos

Nigeria deploying anti-riot police as curfew imposed in Lagos

The Nigerian protests are about much more than police violence

The hashtag #EndSARS has been trending not just in Nigeria but across the world for several days.

What is SARS?

SARS was a special police unit set up in 1984 as Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, battled rising levels of crime and kidnappings.

Initially, it was successful in reducing cases of violent crime but more recently the unit had been “turned into banditry”, according to Fulani Kwajafa, the man who set up SARS.


In June 2020, Amnesty International released a report that documented at least 82 cases of torture, ill-treatment and extrajudicial execution by SARS between January 2017 and May 2020.

What triggered the protests?

The protests were sparked by a viral video allegedly showing SARS officers killing a young man in the southern Delta state. Authorities denied the video was real.

The man who filmed the video was arrested, provoking even more anger.

What are the demands?

Tens of thousands of Nigerians have been taking to the streets for more than two weeks to protest against police brutality. The demonstrations, headed by the country’s youth, evolved into broader anti-government protests that were met with a deadly crackdown.


Their demands include structural police reforms and better pay for officers so they can be compensated for protecting lives, accountable government, respect for human rights, end of corruption release of all arrested protesters and justice for all victims of brutality and compensation for their families.

Many demonstrators are also calling for more wide-sweeping change in Nigeria, which has the largest number of people living in extreme poverty in the world and a massive youth unemployment rate.

People protest against alleged police brutality near to the Lekki toll gate [Sunday Alamba/AP]

“It became very clear very quickly that the protest cannot just be about SARS, because the kind of abuses that are documented with SARS squad are also something that has become part of everyday life of Nigerians in their contact with figures of authority across the board,” Annie Olaloku-Teriba, Nigerian affairs analyst, told Al Jazeera.

“The gross inequality which we’ve seen has meant that the young people going out on streets feel like it is a fight for survival for young people who’ve been given very little opportunity. The government’s response has just been open fire on protesters and they are experiencing that brutality is just making their demands of the protests broaden.”

Despite massive oil wealth and one of Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria’s people have high levels of poverty and lack of basic services, as a result of rampant corruption, charge rights groups.

How did the government respond?

With no signs of protesters backing down, President Muhammadu Buhari stepped in and disbanded the unit.

“The disbanding of SARS is only the first step in our commitment to extensive police reform in order to ensure that the primary duty of the police and other law enforcement agencies remains the protection of lives and livelihood of our people,” Buhari said.

Last week, Muhammed Adamu, inspector general of police, said all SARS officers would be redeployed to other police commands, formations and units.

On October 13, thousands of people take to the streets in a string of cities, bringing traffic to a standstill in economic hub and largest city Lagos.

Two days later in a statement, the military issues a warning to “troublemakers” and says it “remains highly committed to defend the country and her democracy at all cost”.

How many people have died in protests?

In recent days, the protests have turned violent with shots fired at demonstrators.

On Tuesday, Amnesty International said there was “credible but disturbing evidence” that security forces in Lagos, the country’s commercial capital, had shot at protesters, killing them.

Amnesty estimates at least 15 people have died since demonstrations started, including two police officers.

Authorities have imposed a 24-hour curfew in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, as moves are made to stop growing violence [AP/Sunday Alamba]On October 20, protests turned violent in a string of cities including Lagos and Abuja.

A round-the-clock curfew was imposed in Lagos and anti-riot police units were deployed nationwide.

That evening more than 1,000 people defied the curfew and gather at Lekki tollgate in Lagos, the epicentre of the demonstrations.

The Lagos governor initially said 25 people were wounded but that there were not fatalities. He later said the authorities were investigating the death of one person who suffered “blunt trauma” to the head.

Have the protests spread across the world?

The #EndSARS protests have taken place in several cities across the world including, London, Berlin, New York and Toronto.

Several celebrities like Kanye West, John Boyega, Diddy and Rihanna and Manchester United footballer Odion Ighalo have voiced their support for the protesters online.


On Tuesday, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on President Buhari and the Nigerian army “to stop killing” protesters.

SOURCE : AL JAZEERA

Europe’s hidden biodiversity crisis

A damning new report reveals the grim decline of nature in the European Union. The member states have the opportunity this week to begin to repair the damage.

This week the European Environmental Agency (EEA) released its State of Nature in the EU report. The grim news should alarm us all: four-fifths of habitats are in poor condition and the trends are mostly downwards. Species and habitats are increasingly under threat, from unsustainable farming and forestry, urban sprawl, pollution and climate change.

The EEA concludes that only 15 per cent of habitats are in good shape. More than half of dune, bog, mire and fen habitats, which have the capacity to store a lot of carbon, are in poor condition. Moreover, the situation for about 35 per cent of species and habitats is deteriorating, while less than a tenth of habitats with poor or bad conservation status show improvements. 

Laura Hildt

Patrick ten Brink

There are, though, a few success stories. The Agile Frog in Sweden and the Bearded Vulture across Europe are showing improvements and the Natura 2000 network of protected areas is generally having a positive effect on species and habitats.

Caught as we are in a pincer movement between multiple crises—the Covid-19 pandemic, the associated economic downturn and the climate emergency—many are likely to miss or dismiss the bad tidings contained in the report from the EU agency. This is grim news, many will think, for those who like bugs and birds but nothing for the rest of us to worry about as we go about our daily business.

Yet we are part of the natural world, not apart from it. Our economies depend on natural ecosystems, as do our food and farming, health, wellbeing and medicine. Healthy natural systems also play a vital role in regulating the climate and providing humanity with a cushion against future pandemics. And there is the intangible value of nature—the ‘wow’ moment of seeing an otter in the wild—which future generations are in danger of forfeiting.

If 80 per cent of habitats are in poor condition, that means four-fifths of humanity’s life-support system is itself in need of life support.

While it is tempting to despair, the first step to repairing the damage is to understand what is causing the crisis. The State of Nature report concludes that industrial farming, which destroys biodiversity and pollutes habitats, is the most common pressure on nature across the EU. Urbanisation, forestry activities and pollution of air, water and soil are other major drivers.

This makes the EU’s failure radically to rethink the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)—which is worth €358 billion over seven years and subsidises many of the destructive farming practices erasing biodiversity—a costly and expensive folly neither we nor nature can afford.
Fundamental changes

Although the situation is dire, it is not hopeless. The EU report highlights that ecosystems can be restored and species can come back from the brink of extinction.


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Safeguarding the health and resilience of Europe’s nature however requires fundamental changes to the way we produce and consume food, use forests and manage water. These efforts need to be coupled with better implementation and enforcement of environmental policies and a focus on nature restoration—as well as increasingly ambitious climate action.

In May, the commission published the new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and the Farm to Fork Strategy, core elements of the European Green Deal. The Biodiversity Strategy aims to strengthen and enlarge the network of protected areas. It envisages a new law to restore nature and ensure that ecosystems are healthy, resilient to climate change, rich in biodiversity and able to deliver the range of services essential for citizens’ wellbeing.

EU environment ministers, meeting this Friday, need to give full support to the EU’s plan and get on board with its implementation. The first step would be to hammer out the details of key actions, such as strictly to protect 10 per cent of the EU’s land and sea area, including remaining old-growth forests. Given that one of the lessons learnt from the failure to meet the 2020 biodiversity targets at global level was that delays in implementation hinder progress, these processes must be carried out swiftly to make the most of the coming decade, vital to the future of the natural world.
Ambitious restoration

Endorsement of the Biodiversity Strategy and the steps to follow must be supported by environmental legislation being enacted and compliance secured. As with the Climate Law, there is an urgent need for member states to welcome, and co-operate in drafting, an ambitious restoration law as anticipated under the Biodiversity Strategy. This law should set targets to restore at least 15 per cent of the EU’s land and sea areas, as well as to make 15 per cent of rivers free-flowing again, by 2030.

The EU and national governments must find the funding to implement the strategy by harnessing all the financial instruments at their disposal. These currently do not earmark funding for biodiversity—this is worrying and a missed opportunity. For example, at least 10 per cent of the EU budget should be allocated to boosting biodiversity and nature should be placed at the core of Europe’s post-pandemic recovery fund: investing in the resilience of nature is investing in the resilience of society.

Reflecting the fact that intensive farming is the main driver of biodiversity loss and degradation, the Green Deal must be fully integrated into the new CAP, which otherwise will continue to destroy biodiversity, even though more sustainable farming practices exist and are feasible.
Not too late

Again, it is not too late to fix this, if political representatives and leaders will it. Sadly, the EU’s agriculture ministers and the European Parliament missed the opportunity to make the broken CAP compatible with the Green Deal. Member states have the chance this week to repair some of the damage by fully endorsing the Biodiversity Strategy. Moreover, in keeping with the ‘do no harm’ principle, the European Commission must withdraw the current CAP proposal and come up with a better blueprint to put to member states and the European Parliament.

Almost all heads of governments, and the EU as a whole, have already signed the Leaders Pledge for Nature. Biodiversity is now recognised politically as an existential crisis, on a par with climate change. But lofty words are not enough. The Biodiversity Strategy must now be translated into solid commitments and actions. Failure to do so would not only be inconsistent but would threaten the very survival of our societies.

Ultimately, biodiversity is not just about random birds and bugs but the very future of life—including our own.

Laura Hildt is associate policy officer for biodiversity and EU affairs at the European Environmental Bureau. Patrick ten Brink is director of the EU policy unit of the EEB.

Bangkok protests continue apace — is Thailand the next Hong Kong?

By James Massola October 21, 2020 SMH

Thousands of people have been protesting on the streets of Bangkok, Thailand's capital, for months now demanding a new constitution, the dissolution of parliament, reforms to the monarchy and more.

Though the actions have organisers and figureheads, much like the rolling protests in Hong Kong, these are protests driven from the ground up and inspired by ideas.

In tactics reminiscent of the "be water" strategy adopted by Hongkongers, Thai youth are using social media such as Twitter and Facebook and encrypted apps such as Telegram to organise quickly, decide next steps, converge on a site, then melt away.

Pro-democracy activists gather in Central Pinklao, suburbs of Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday.

CREDIT:AP

Instead of occupying prominent locations in the capital and making themselves easy targets for security forces, this allows protesters to stay one step ahead of authorities.
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"Social media is a critical tool for rapid mobilisation, allowing a rapid shift of plans and location of protests. This fluid style of protests is in stark contrast to the 2010 protests when the Red Shirts occupied a major intersection for months," the Australian National University's Thailand expert Greg Raymond says.

Protests and coups in Thailand are not uncommon. Depending on how you count them, there have been at least 13 coups or coup attempts since the 1930s, including coups in 2006 and 2014, as well as political unrest in the intervening period.

Protesters are hit with water canons as police try to clear an area in Bangkok on Friday, October 16.

CREDIT:AP

Not alone: Pro-democracy activists in Bangkok on Monday.

CREDIT:AP

The country has had something like 20 constitutions put in place (including temporary documents) in the same time frame.

But the demonstrations playing out now are different to the Red Shirt protests that flared up between 2006 and 2014, which supported former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and then his sister, former Yingluck Shinawatra, both of whom were removed from power.

Rather than rallying to a leader, people take to the streets now to rally behind a set of ideas and principles and demanding systemic change.

The singling out of the King and demand that his vast wealth and power be brought to heel is unprecedented in a country with strict lese majeste laws and a deep respect for the monarchy.

Riot police face off against pro-democracy protesters during an anti-government rally in Bangkok, Thailand, last week.

CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES

Raymond says the drivers of discontent include anger that military junta leader Prayut Chan-o-cha remained Prime Minster after a questionable election in 2019; anger at the current constitution which heavily favours the ruling elite; poor economic conditions — exacerbated by COVID-19 which has hit the tourism-dependent economy hard — and the dissolution of the Future Forward party after the 2019 poll, which had attracted huge support from young Thais.

Bloomberg reported that on Monday protest organisers used Facebook to ask supporters if they should hold rallies that evening. Supporters replied with the "Care" emoticon to signal "rest for one day," or the "Wow" emoticon to "keep going!"

The majority of supporters on Facebook chose to continue the protests. A similar poll was also done on Twitter, using the like and retweet buttons for the vote.

Pro-democracy protesters check their phones for a 6pm "big announcement" from protest leaders on October 20 in Bangkok

.CREDIT:GETTY IMAGES

These tactics have kept the police off balance. Rallies have been held each day since Prayut issued an emergency decree to ban large gatherings and left the government scrambling.

Human Rights Watch in Thailand accuses the government of misusing its emergency powers to target Voice TV and three online news sites with shutdown notices for reporting on the protests.

Raymond says there are range of scenarios that could play out in the weeks and months ahead, including Prayut being removed (a move that would likely not go far enough for the protesters), constitutional reform (which would satisfy some but not all of those on the streets), and an eventual violent crackdown to bring protests to an end.

RELATED ARTICLE

ANALYSIS
PROTEST No magic trick as monarchy grievances aired in rare Thai protest 

Reforms to the monarchy appear less likely, at least for now.

"This is not about a particular dynasty [the Shinawatras], this is about principles — and that is significant," he says.

The protests in Thailand are making history

For the first time in decades, people are openly defying the authority of the monarchy.


Claudio Sopranzetti
21 Oct 2020

Thai pro-democracy activists flash the three-fingered salute during a demonstration at Victory Monument in Bangkok on October 21, 2020 [AP/Sakchai Lalit]

For days now, tens of thousands have taken to the streets of Bangkok to demand the resignation of General Prayuth Chan-ocha’s government, a new constitution and the legal, political, and economic reform of the Thai monarchy.

At the beginning of the summer, when this mobilisation started, the protest was mostly a student affair, organised through social media, with a focus on memes and political performances, and a harsh critique of the government’s performance.

The anger of this young generation, which grew up under the stranglehold of a military government, was initially directed against Prayuth. His government came to power through a coup d’état in 2014, won an election of questionable legitimacy in 2019, and failed to respond to an economic crisis that only worsened when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Largely ignored by the authorities, the movement evolved and its demands began to change in August, when Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, a 21-year-old student, read in front of a crowded square a document destined to make history.

“There was fear lurking inside me, deep fear of the consequences,” Panusaya told BBC News Thai, thinking back to the moments before going on stage. “I knew my life would never be the same again.”

Panusaya read a series of unprecedented demands: to take away the monarch’s legal immunity, to eliminate the lese-majeste law (which punishes any criticism of the monarchy with imprisonment), to cut the monarchy’s funds, to make its investments transparent and taxable, to prohibit members of the royal family from expressing political opinions, to suspend all forms of monarchic propaganda, to investigate the disappearance in recent years of various critics of the monarchy and to make it illegal for the monarch to support a coup d’état.

A public statement of this magnitude questioning the monarchy had not been heard in Thailand since the 1930s, when a group of young bureaucrats, who the young protesters today see as an inspiration, put an end to the absolute monarchy, with the support of large portions of the military forces. Today, instead, the military leadership are perched around the monarchy and see the preservation of its power as indispensable for the maintenance of their own. Based on this transformation and the legal consequences of any criticism of the monarchy, Panusaya’s fear was more than legitimate. Yet, it proved to be unfounded.

The 10 demands, instead of alienating supporters from the movement, galvanised it and broadened its base far beyond the students, attracting blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, people of various generations and social classes, including some former activists in the red shirts, a popular movement that had filled the streets of Bangkok in 2010 but remained largely dormant after the coup in 2014.

As a sign of this expansion, on October 14, tens of thousands of people stood in front of the government building asking for Prayuth’s resignation. The general, determined to let the protesters run out of steam without accepting their demands, responded the next day by declaring a state of emergency prohibiting any gathering of more than five people, arresting the leaders of the protest, including Panusaya, and threatening violent repression.

Today the protests continue, both in Bangkok and around the county, despite the emergency decree, the arrests, and the authorities’ intimidation techniques, which include reminding the protesters that anybody can die at any moment, discouraging them from trifling with Matjurat, the local deity of death, and attacking them with water cannon and tear gas.

Day by day, the protests are becoming more radical and direct in attacks against the monarch, who has now become, together with Prayuth, the main target of the mobilisation. Seen from abroad, this could seem like an obvious, and almost natural, conclusion of the last two decades of political struggle in Thailand in which the Thai monarchy has always taken the military’s side in the struggle between democratic and authoritarian forces. Yet, in the Thai context, this is an epochal change, a sudden and profound transformation that many people find hard to grasp.

During the demonstrations on October 14, seemingly as a provocation, the royal family drove through the protest and, for the first time in Thai history, their yellow Rolls-Royce was surrounded not by a cheering crowd but by hundreds of people shouting, insulting and reminding the royals that their car is paid for with people’s taxes.

The next day, during another protest in violation of the state of emergency imposed by Prayuth, thousands of people shouted insults out loud against the king, words that embarrassed local journalists who were forced to interrupt their live broadcast, record the same segments multiple times, or mute the background audio, in an awkward attempt not to broadcast them, due to the risk of being accused themselves of sedition or inciting unrest.

After a week of daily protests springing up across Bangkok and the rest of the country, what happens next is uncertain. Regardless of what the short-term consequences of these mobilisations will be, those verbal attacks against the monarch, which have become the new normal, represent an epochal shift for the country. It entails the surprising and sudden disintegration of monarchic hegemony, a political ideology that has dominated Thailand since the Cold War.

Now, much like the Berlin wall which once symbolised that cold conflict, the whole edifice of monarchical authority is coming down, reminding us that even a seemingly stable political structure can collapse at any moment.

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

Claudio Sopranzetti
Claudio Sopranzetti is an Assistant Professor in Anthropology at the Central European University.

Thailand shuts down online TV channel, as protests continue

Voice TV has broadcast anti-government protests live on social media and was one of four outlets under investigation

Pro-democracy protesters give the three-finger salute outside a station in Bangkok as rallies continued [Lillian Suwanrumpha/ AFP]

21 Oct 2020

Thai protesters raised three-finger salutes to the national anthem at public places across Bangkok on Tuesday as anti-government rallies continued and the government ordered an online TV channel to close over its coverage of the demonstrations.

The authorities imposed emergency measures banning gatherings of more than four people last Thursday amid growing protests against the government and monarchy.

But protests have only grown despite a crackdown in which dozens have been detained.

Two protest leaders – Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak and Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul – were arrested on Tuesday on new charges as soon as a court freed them bail in relation to a previous set of charges.

“This is not a leaderless protest, but everybody is a leader,” Tattep “Ford” Ruangprapaikitseree told reporters at the Siam Paragon mall, where dozens of people gave the salute borrowed from The Hunger Games.

“It’s not anarchy. Everybody has judgement and will do what is reasonable,” said Ford, who has already been arrested twice since the protests began.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s cabinet agreed to an emergency session of parliament next week because of the crisis, but he has said he will not quit – as the protesters have demanded. Prayuth’s supporters have a majority in parliament.

Protesters also want changes to the constitution and a reduction in the powers of the monarchy under King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

The emergency measures only appear to have stoked public anger, but Tuesday turned out to be the quietest day on the streets since the decree was imposed with only a few hundred gathering.


Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said they would be filing a suit with six students and other human rights groups on Wednesday to revoke the declaration and seek an injunction to prevent government crackdowns.

Voice TV silenced

Earlier, a court ordered the suspension of Voice TV, an online broadcaster critical of the government.

Voice TV had been found to have breached the Computer Crime Act by uploading “false information,” digital ministry spokesman Putchapong Nodthaisong said.

Editor-in-Chief of Voice TV Rittikorn Mahakhachabhorn said it would continue broadcasting until the court order arrived.

“We insist that we have been operating based on journalistic principles and we will continue our work presently,” he said.

Voice TV was one of four media organisations under investigation for their coverage of the continuing protest movement. Many have been reporting the protests live on Facebook and other social media platforms.

The channel is part-owned by the Shinawatra family of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister Yingluck, who was overthrown by Prayuth in a 2014 coup. Both fled Thailand to escape corruption cases they branded political.

The demonstrations have been largely led by students and young people in contrast with 10 years of street violence between supporters of Thaksin and conservative royalists before Prayuth seized power.

The prime minister on Tuesday accused media outlets of spreading false news.

“Media freedom is important but in some cases there are some media outlets disseminating distorted information that is inciting unrest,” he said after a court order following a complaint from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society.

The court ruling comes a day after the same ministry said it had flagged more than 325,000 messages on social media platforms that violated the Computer Crimes Act, which critics say is used to muzzle dissent.

Amnesty International accused the authorities of “scare tactics” by ordering the closure of Voice TV.

“The harassment of media outlets is just one facet of the Thai authorities current assault on communications channels, alongside threats to block the messaging platform Telegram and use of the Computer Crimes Act, among other laws, against people for what they post and share online,” Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah said in a statement.

Human Rights Watch said the closure of Voice TV was a misuse of the emergency decree and noted that the channel had been a target of censorship more than any other TV station in the country.

“The crackdown is part of a bigger effort to bully and control the media into becoming a government mouthpiece,” the group’s Asia Director, Brad Adams, said in a statement.

The Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand expressed deep concern that the Royal Thai Police was investigating Voice TV, along with online media outlets Prachatai, The Reporters and The Standard.

“A free media is an essential element in any democratic society and bona fide journalists should be allowed to report important developments without the threats of bans, suspensions, censorships or prosecution hanging over them,” the club said.

The court has yet to announce its decision on the other three media organisations.

VIDEO

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/21/thailand-shuts-down-online-tv-channel-as-protests-continue

SOURCE : AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

Thai PM backs down on protest ban, protesters say he must go


By Patpicha Tanakasempipat, Panarat Thepgumpanat

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha backed down on Wednesday over emergency measures he imposed last week to stop three months of protests, but demonstrators said it was not enough and demanded he resign within three days.

Pro-democracy protesters march towards the Government House during an anti-government protest as they march in Bangkok, Thailand October 21, 2020. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha

Tens of thousands of people marched to his offices at Government House. The protesters have been demonstrating for months against Prayuth and to demand curbs to King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s powers.

In a televised address, Prayuth said he was ready to lift measures banning political gatherings of five or more people and publication of information deemed to threaten security.

“I will make the first move to de-escalate this situation. I am currently preparing to lift the state of severe emergency in Bangkok and will do so promptly if there are no violent incidents,” Prayuth said.

“We must now step back from the edge of the slippery slope that can easily slide to chaos,” he added, saying talks should go to parliament - where his supporters have a majority.

At his office, demonstrators handed over a mock resignation letter. They claimed success after an official took it inside.

“But our fight isn’t over as long as he doesn’t resign. If within three days he doesn’t resign, he will face the people again,” protest leader Patsaravalee “Mind” Tanakitvibulpon told the crowd.

The protests have become the biggest challenge to Thailand’s establishment in years and have drawn the most open opposition to the monarchy in decades despite lese majeste laws setting jail terms of up to 15 years for insulting royalty.

WATER CANNON

Most demonstrations have been peaceful so far, but police used water cannon against protesters last Friday, further fuelling the anger of government critics.

In his speech, Prayuth said “terrible crimes had been committed against the police using metal rods and huge cutting implements” on that day, although witnesses reported no such thing the time. But he also said Thailand would not “get to a better society through the use of water cannon”.

Riot police only briefly held up Wednesday’s march at one point before letting the crowds through.

Protesters say Prayuth rigged an election last year to keep hold of power he seized in a 2014 coup. He says the election was fair. Protesters accuse the monarchy of enabling years of military domination.

The palace has a policy of making no comment to media.

Prayuth said protesters should wait for next week’s emergency session of parliament, whose entire upper house was appointed by his former junta.

“The protesters have made their voices and views heard,” Prayuth said. “It is now time for them to let their views be reconciled with the views of other segments of Thai society.”

Scores of Thai royalists and anti-government protesters earlier confronted each other at Ramkhamhaeng University.

The yellow-shirted royalists advanced on student protesters and the two sides shouted abuse at each other. Some threw water bottles and other objects before the students pulled back and police stepped in to separate the sides.

“I beg you, do what you will, but do not touch the monarchy,” one of the royalists, Sirimongkol Ruampan, 24, told Reuters. “I don’t believe in violence. I beg again, don’t bring the monarchy into politics.”


Additional reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Writing by Matthew Tostevin; Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Angus MacSwan, Andrew Cawthorne and Peter Graff

Thai protesters use emoticons to stay ahead of police

Although Thailand has long dealt with street protests, these tactics are all new in Bangkok.

PHOTO: REUTERS PUBLISHED OCT 21, 2020, 

BANGKOK (BLOOMBERG) - In Thailand's democracy, emoticons and retweets are becoming the new ballots.

On Monday (Oct 19), protest organisers asked supporters on Facebook whether they should hold rallies that evening: The "Care" emoticon signalled "rest for one day," while the "Wow" emoticon was a vote to "keep going!" The majority on Facebook chose to continue the protests. A similar poll was also done on Twitter, using like and retweet buttons for the vote.

DIRECT DEMOCRACY
Platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Telegram have emerged as the backbone of the youth-led movement posing an unprecedented challenge to King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Thailand's royalist establishment. Mirroring the "Be Water" tactics mastered by protesters in Hong Kong last year, the decentralised movement is using online forums to ask supporters to vote on when and where to rally - sometimes choosing multiple locations at once.

The moves have kept the police off balance: Authorities last week shut down parts of Bangkok and some mass transit stations in an unsuccessful bid to stop protesters from gathering. They've now held rallies each day since Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha issued an emergency decree to ban large gatherings.

And while police have arrested more than 70 people, including prominent leaders, others are lined up to take their place as protesters push for Prayut's resignation, a more democratic constitution and more accountability for a monarchy that holds more power and wealth than any institution in Thailand.

LEADERLESS SELF ORGANIZATION = ANARCHY
"We're already creating a headache for the government just by doing leaderless rallies to show them that people are against them," Arthitaya Pornprom, one of the protest organisers, said in a phone interview.

"We're showing them that even though the leaders are gone, the movement continues. Everybody's a leader."

POP-UP PROTESTORS

On Friday, protesters were able to use social media to gather at a new location within an hour after police thwarted their initial plans. Since then they've been regularly popping up at various locations for a short period of time before dispersing quickly to avoid crackdowns.

Although Thailand has long dealt with street protests, these tactics are all new in Bangkok. In previous years, police had to contend with demonstrators backed by major political figures who occupied streets or strategic locations like the international airport for days or weeks.

Now the movement is based in cyberspace, and authorities are struggling to stop it. The government on Monday asked internet and phone service providers to block access to messaging application Telegram, used by the protesters in recent days to coordinate plans.

Last month, a Cabinet minister filed a complaint against some social media platforms for non-compliance with requests to take down content that the government deemed "inappropriate."

Prayut, who has said the government's key task is to "protect the monarchy," on Tuesday ordered police to reconsider censorship of media outlets, a day after authorities said they would probe four news outlets that may have violated the emergency decree.

"Our job is to protect the country and eliminate ill-intentioned actions aimed at creating chaos and conflict in the country," Prayut told reporters after a cabinet meeting. It approved a special Parliament session starting Oct 26 to discuss the protests, though it still needs the King's approval to go ahead.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Any ban on platforms like Facebook would upset more than 50 million active users in Thailand - equivalent to more than 70 per cent of the population - who use social media to chat, shop and follow current events. Past government threats to take legal action against social media giants haven't materialised, even though some posts and pages have been removed or blocked.

"The government has found it hard to suppress this kind of leaderless, cyber-organising movement," said David Streckfuss, a scholar of Southeast Asian politics and an author of a book on Thailand's lese majeste laws.

"They could shut down social media - they have the power to do that. But it'll come at a price. The current economic situation is bad enough, and many businesses rely on social media. They'd make the economic situation even worse, prompting more movement against it."

The protests have already weighed on the country's stocks and currency as concerns mount that a prolonged standoff may erode company earnings and delay an economic recovery. The benchmark stock index, the worst performer in Asia this year, closed near a six-month low on Tuesday while the baht fell 0.3 per cent to 31.271 to a dollar, extending losses this year to 4.2 per cent.

For their part, protest organisers like Arthitaya are set to keep going.

"We're gaining momentum for the movement more than before so we have to keep holding rallies," she said.

"The anger from the protesters will continue to increase. If the government keeps stepping up its crackdown, more people will come out."

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CRIMINAL CAPITAL$M 

OxyContin maker Purdue reaches plea deal in opioid probe: sources

By Mike Spector



NEW YORK (Reuters) - Purdue Pharma LP has reached an agreement to plead guilty to criminal charges over handling of its addictive prescription opioid OxyContin, in a deal with U.S. prosecutors that effectively sidesteps paying billions of dollars in penalties and stops short of criminally charging its executives or wealthy Sackler family owners, people familiar with the matter said.

In a far-reaching agreement set to be unveiled on Wednesday, Purdue has formally admitted to criminal conduct related to distribution of its painkillers and agreed to pay $225 million to resolve U.S. Justice Department investigations.

Prosecutors are preparing to impose significant penalties exceeding $8 billion against Purdue, though the lion’s share will go largely unpaid, the people sai

Purdue has agreed to pay $225 million toward a $2 billion criminal forfeiture, with the Justice Department foregoing the rest so long as the company completes a bankruptcy reorganization transforming itself into a “public benefit company” or similar entity that steers the unpaid portion to thousands of U.S. communities suing it over the opioid crisis.

A $3.54 billion criminal fine and $2.8 billion civil penalty are likely to receive cents on the dollar as they compete with trillions of dollars of other claims from those communities and other creditors in Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings, the people said.

Members of the billionaire Sackler family who own Purdue have agreed to pay a separate $225 million civil penalty for allegedly causing false claims related to the company’s opioids to be made to government healthcare programs such as Medicare, the people said.

Neither the Sacklers nor any Purdue executives are expected to be criminally charged. The agreement does not release any individuals associated with Purdue from potential criminal liability. A separate Justice Department criminal investigation scrutinizing individuals remains ongoing, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Purdue conspired to engage in criminal conduct over the years that kept medically questionable prescriptions of its opioids flowing, prosecutors are expected to allege. The Stamford, Connecticut-based company has agreed to plead guilty to three felonies, two of them violations of a federal anti-kickback law and another charge under the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the people said.

Representatives for Purdue, its Sackler family owners and the Justice Department had no immediate comment or did not immediately respond to requests.

Reporting by Mike Spector; editing by Edward Tobin

Purdue Pharma to pay $8.3bn, plead guilty to settle opioid probes

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma pleads guilty to three felony charges and agrees to pay $8.3bn to settle federal probes into its role in fuelling the US opioid crisis.

In a far-reaching agreement unveiled on Wednesday, Purdue formally admitted to criminal conduct related to the distribution of its painkillers including OxyContin [File: George Frey/Reuters]

21 Oct 2020

Purdue Pharma LP agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges over the handling of its addictive prescription opioid OxyContin, in a deal with United States prosecutors that effectively sidestepped paying billions of dollars in penalties and stopped short of criminally charging its executives or wealthy Sackler family owners.

In a far-reaching agreement unveiled on Wednesday, Purdue formally admitted to criminal conduct related to the distribution of its painkillers and agreed to pay $225m to resolve US Justice Department investigations.

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Prosecutors imposed significant penalties exceeding $8bn against Purdue, though the lion’s share will go largely unpaid.

Purdue agreed to pay $225m towards a $2bn criminal forfeiture, with the Justice Department foregoing the rest if the company completes a bankruptcy reorganisation dissolving itself and shifting assets to a “public benefit company,” or similar entity that steers the unpaid portion to thousands of US communities suing it over the opioid crisis.

A $3.54bn criminal fine and $2.8bn civil penalty are likely to receive cents on the dollar as they compete with trillions of dollars of other claims from those communities and other creditors in Purdue’s bankruptcy proceedings, according to court documents and people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters news agency.

Members of the billionaire Sackler family who own Purdue agreed to pay a separate $225m civil penalty for allegedly causing false claims for OxyContin to be made to government healthcare programmes such as Medicare, according to court records.

Neither the Sacklers nor any Purdue executives were criminally charged. The agreement does not release any individuals associated with Purdue from potential criminal liability. A separate Justice Department criminal investigation scrutinising individuals is continuing, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Purdue conspired to engage in criminal conduct over the years that kept medically questionable prescriptions of its opioids flowing, prosecutors said. The Stamford, Connecticut-based company has agreed to plead guilty to three felonies, two of them violations of a federal anti-kickback law and another charge of defrauding the US and violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Representatives for Purdue, its Sackler family owners and the Justice Department had no immediate comment or did not immediately respond to requests.

Opposition

The settlement had already come under fire before its unveiling from Democrats on Capitol Hill calling for Purdue and its Sackler family owners to face more severe consequences for their alleged roles in the opioid crisis, criticism that followed Reuters reporting details of the looming agreement.

Dozens of state attorney-generals, meanwhile, oppose a plan that would essentially put government litigants in charge of a restructured company continuing to sell OxyContin.

Purdue reaped more than $30bn from sales of OxyContin over the years, enriching Sackler family members while funnelling illegal kickbacks to doctors and pharmacies, US and state officials have alleged.

The cases against Purdue and the Sacklers reflect an attempt by officials to hold accountable alleged perpetrators of an epidemic that has killed more than 400,000 people since 1999, prompting the administration of US President Donald Trump to declare it a public health emergency.

Purdue’s misconduct included paying illegal kickbacks to doctors and to a vendor called Practice Fusion that created a software alert designed to push the drugmaker’s opioids on physicians, prosecutors said. Practice Fusion earlier this year entered a deferred prosecution agreement and admitted that it received kickbacks from an opioid company, which Reuters reported was Purdue.

Purdue also ignored doctors suspected of improperly prescribing opioids that were flagged by its internal controls, and failed to report OxyContin prescriptions from these physicians to the Drug Enforcement Administration as legally required, officials said.

Purdue, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year under an onslaught of litigation, has proposed settling thousands of lawsuits in a deal it values at more than $10bn. That is contingent on donations of opioid reversal and addiction treatment medications it has under development and a $3bn cash contribution from the Sacklers. The Sacklers would cede control of Purdue.

The part of that plan reshaping Purdue as a public benefit company is no longer assured, said people familiar with the matter. Attorney-generals from two dozen states and Washington, DC, last week said it would improperly entangle them with a restructured Purdue’s continued OxyContin sales while they attempt to hold alleged perpetrators of the opioid crisis accountable.

Purdue asked its bankruptcy judge on Wednesday to approve the plea agreement, including the $225 million payment it owes.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx grabs rocks from asteroid in historic mission

This NASA file image obtained August 11, 2020 shows an artist's rendering of the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft descending towards asteroid Bennu to collect a sample of the asteroid's surface. 

File: NASA/Goddard/Arizona State University / AFP]

21 Oct 2020



A NASA spacecraft touched down on the rugged surface of the Bennu asteroid on Tuesday, grabbing a sample of rocks dating back to the birth of the solar system to bring home.

It was a first for the United States – only Japan has previously secured asteroid samples.
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The so-called “Touch-And-Go” manoeuvre was managed by Lockheed Martin Space in Denver, Colorado, where at 6.12pm (22:12 GMT) on Tuesday an announcer said: “Touchdown declared. Sampling is in progress,” and scientists erupted in celebration.

Seconds later, the Lockheed mission operator Estelle Church confirmed the spacecraft had eased away from the space rock after making contact, announcing: “Sample collection is complete and the back-away burn has executed.”

The historic mission was 12 years in the making and rested on a critical 16-second period where the minivan-sized OSIRIS-REx spacecraft extended its 11-foot (3.35-metre) robotic arm towards a flat patch of gravel near Bennu’s north pole and plucked the sample of rocks – NASA’s first handful of pristine asteroid rocks.

The probe will send back images of the sample collection on Wednesday and throughout the week so scientists can examine how much material was retrieved and determine whether the probe will need to make another collection attempt.


  

This mosaic image of asteroid Bennu was composed of 12 PolyCam images collected on December 2, 2018 by the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft from a range of 15 miles (24 km) [NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona/Handout via Reuters]Scientists want at least 2 ounces (60 grams) and, ideally, closer to 4 pounds (2 kilogrammes) of Bennu’s black, crumbly, carbon-rich material – thought to contain the building blocks of the solar system. The asteroid is located more than 200 million miles (321.9 million kms) from Earth.

NASA’s science mission chief, Thomas Zurbuchen, likened Bennu to the Rosetta Stone: “Something that’s out there and tells the history of our entire Earth, of the solar system, during the last billions of years.”
‘Exactly perfect’

If a successful collection is confirmed, the spacecraft will begin its journey back towards Earth, arriving in 2023.

“Everything went just exactly perfect,” Dante Lauretta, OSIRIS-REx principal investigator from the University of Arizona, Tucson, said on a NASA live feed from Lockheed’s mission support building. “We have overcome the amazing challenges that this asteroid has thrown at us, and the spacecraft appears to have operated flawlessly.”

The robotic arm’s collection device, shaped like an oversized shower head, is designed to release pressurised gas to kick up debris.


The spacecraft launched in 2016 from Kennedy Space Center for the journey to Bennu. It has been in orbit around the asteroid for nearly two years preparing for the Touch and Go manoeuvre.

Bennu, which is more than 4.5 billion years old, was selected as a target because scientists believe it is a small fragment of what was once a much larger space rock that broke off during a collision between two asteroids early on in the history of the solar system.

“Asteroids are like time capsules floating in space that can provide a fossil record of the birth of our solar system,” Lori Glaze, NASA’s director of Planetary Science, told Al Jazeera. “They can provide valuable information about how planets, like our own, came to be.”

Thanks to data collected from orbit, the NASA team has determined two key discoveries: first, that between 5 and 10 percent of Bennu’s mass is water, and second, that its surface is littered with carbon-rich molecules. Atomic-level analysis of samples from Bennu could help scientists better understand what role asteroids played in bringing water to the Earth and seeding it with the prebiotic material that provided the building blocks for life.

Studying that material could also help scientists discover whether life exists elsewhere in the solar system, as well.

“If this kind of chemistry is happening in the early solar system, it probably happened in other solar systems as well,” Lauretta, OSIRIS-Rex’s principal investigator, told Al Jazeera in an interview ahead of Tuesday’s breakthrough. “It helps us assess the likelihood of the origin of life occurring throughout the galaxy and, ultimately, throughout the universe.”

Japan expects samples from its second asteroid mission – in the milligramMEs at most – to land in the Australian desert in December.