BUEN RIDDANCE FASCISTA
Brazilian writer, guru to rightwing Bolsonaro, dead at 74

Handout picture released by the Brazilian Presidency showing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (R), next to ultra-right wing guru Olavo de Carvalho (C) and former Brazilian Foreign Minister Ernesto Araujo (L) during a meeting in Washington DC, United States, on March 17, 2019 (AFP/Alan SANTOS) (Alan SANTOS)

Tue, January 25, 2022

Olavo de Carvalho, a writer and philosopher who was considered a guru to President Jair Bolsonaro and others in Brazil's far right, has died at age 74, his family said Tuesday.

De Carvalho died Monday night in the US state of Virginia, where he had lived since 2005. The cause of death was not given but the writer had dealt with several health issues over the past year and on January 16 he announced he had tested positive for Covid-19.

De Carvalho was known for fiery conservative rhetoric that made him a hero to the far right in Brazil

He had millions of followers on social media and gave paid online lectures that were a cocktail of philosophy and politics.

The fierce anti-communist was, like Bolsonaro, skeptical of the danger of the coronavirus.

The writer was highly influential around the time Bolsonaro came to power in 2018. Several of the people that Bolsonaro named as cabinet ministers had been suggested by de Carvalho.

But in recent times he distanced himself from the president and has said Bolsonaro's drive for re-election this year is "a lost cause."

Bolsonaro remembered him fondly anyway, calling him "one of the greatest thinkers in the history of our country."

"Olavo was a giant in the fight for freedom and a beacon for millions of Brazilians," the president tweeted.

Steve Bannon, a leader of the so-called alt-right in the United States and former adviser to ex-president Donald Trump, once called de Carvalho one of the world's greatest living intellectuals.

jm/yow/dw/mlm

SCHADENFREUDE

Divisive Brazilian right-wing philosopher, provocateur dies

By Diane Jeantet

The Associated Press
Tue., Jan. 25, 202

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Olavo de Carvalho, a leading light of Brazil’s conservative movement who stirred passions among both devotees and detractors, has died, according to a statement published Tuesday on his official Twitter profile. He was 74.

De Carvalho died Monday night in Virginia, where he had been living for over a decade, the family’s statement read.

The statement didn’t mention the cause of death, but the Brazilian media, including newspaper O Globo, widely reported that the thinker had been diagnosed with COVID-19 on Jan. 16. His daughter Heloisa, who was publicly at odds with him, said on her Twitter account that he had died of the disease.

De Carvalho’s books and online courses helped reinvigorate the country’s political right ahead of the 2018 presidential election when he called on his followers to back then-candidate Jair Bolsonaro.

He became a deeply divisive figure, exalted by a segment of the right that viewed him as a clear-eyed philosopher, and despised by much of the left and the intellectual elite. He repeatedly downplayed the severity of COVID-19 and used social media to promote conspiracy theories and spread skepticism about the need for vaccines to end the pandemic.

Bolsonaro was a fervent supporter of de Carvalho, even displaying one of his books during his victory speech on election night in 2018, along with the Bible. On Tuesday, the president mourned the loss of “one of the greatest thinkers in the history of our country.”

“Olavo was a giant in the fight for freedom and a beacon for millions of Brazilians. His example and his teachings will mark us forever,” Bolsonaro said. The official Twitter profile of Bolsonaro’s government also praised his “monumental legacy.”

Bolsonaro also declared a national day of mourning, an honor he has seldom bestowed since assuming office. There were no days of mourning for bossa nova pioneer João Gilberto, samba legend Elza Soares or comedian Paulo Gustavo.

De Carvalho published several books expounding his ideology, relentlessly warning against domination by the political left and against “cultural Marxism.” He argued that media, universities, scientists and artists had foisted communist ideology onto the nation.

De Carvalho, who once worked as an astrologer, enjoyed being provocative. He once questioned whether the planet is, in fact, round: “To me, this flat-earth issue is like any other: No one is certain of a damn thing. Sensible people are amused by the investigation, neurotics are offended by the question,” de Carvalho said on Twitter in 2019.

Much like Bolsonaro, who spent nearly three decades preaching his conservative ideas to a small audience as a federal lawmaker, de Carvalho long remained a marginal figure.

But with Bolsonaro’s 2018 victory, his thinking penetrated the highest ranks of government, particularly the education and foreign ministries. Several cabinet ministers and other government appointees proudly advertised their intellectual debt to the conservative guru, earning them the nickname of “Olavistas.”

His ideas somewhat resembled those that came to the fore in the U.S. during the administration of former President Donald Trump. De Carvalho has drawn comparisons to Rush Limbaugh and Steve Bannon, and had met with the latter.

Many “Olavistas” have since left Bolsonaro’s government and de Carvalho’s influence has waned, at least in public discourse.

In a Folha de S.Paulo newspaper column on Tuesday, Igor Gielow wrote that de Carvalho’s influence cast a light on figures who emerged from the shadows and, for a period, held the levers of power.

“Olavo now disappears at the moment when ‘Bolsonarismo’ ends its cycle with the implosion of the supposed cohesion of the ideological group,” he wrote.

Since the pandemic began, de Carvalho railed against those who sought to introduce restrictions aimed at limiting the spread of the virus, measures Bolsonaro also opposed.

In July 2020, months after the virus spread globally and had killed hundreds of thousands, de Carvalho asked on Twitter: “When will the so-called ‘conservatives’ stop using the term ‘pandemic’?”

Following the announcement of his death, legions of devotees were mourning his passing on social media, while some of his opponents cheered his demise.

“He leaves behind many orphans, teachings and admirers,” one Facebook user identifiying as Ana Tabet wrote.

Sen. Renan Calheiros, author of a congressional report accusing the Bolsonaro administration of mismanaging the COVID-19 crisis, posted that de Carvalho had “denied the virus, mocked the dead, did not get vaccinated, died of the virus.”

De Carvalho’s estranged daughter Heloisa de Carvalho wrote on Twitter: “May God forgive him for all the evils he committed.“

Isabel Allende: In Chile, the 'old fogeys' need to go


Chilean writer Isabel Allende, pictured as she presented one of her many books in Madrid on October 13, 2015, is welcoming a new political era in Chile with open arms (AFP/Pierre-Philippe MARCOU) (Pierre-Philippe MARCOU)


Gerard MARTINEZ
Tue, January 25, 2022,

The "old fogeys" of Chilean politics must go, says Isabel Allende -- a stance that is true to form for the novelist, whose latest book "Violeta" is a sweeping epic depicting the transformation between past and present.

A new generation has taken power in Chile, and Allende, perhaps the most popular Spanish-language writer on the planet, is welcoming the dawning political era with open arms.

"In Chile, the old fogeys of the political and financial world have got to go home -- or to an asylum!" the Chilean author tells AFP during a recent video interview.


Gabriel Boric, a leftist who was elected Chile's youngest-ever president at age 35 last month, is already unsettling markets and turning traditional Latin American politics upside down by unveiling a young, women-majority cabinet.

Allende is cheering him on.

"It is a young generation that is taking power," she says.

She applauds his cabinet choices -- and also notes that this young government will have to implement a new Constitution in Chile.

"And that... is an opportunity for us to ask ourselves what sort of country we want," she says.

The changes make her hopeful, especially as they point towards equality for women and Indigenous people.

"And we must try to ensure that all this is part of the country without damaging the economic system, which has made progress in Chile but is very badly distributed, creating such terrible inequality that people are furious," she says.

- 'Broader vision' -

Change, the journey between the past and the present, has long been a theme of Allende's nearly 30 books, which have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold some 70 million copies.

In her new novel "Violeta," she tells the story of an independent woman who was born during one pandemic and dies during another.

Along the way, she witnesses the many transformations of a South American country that seems very much like Chile.

"The idea came to me after the death of my mother. She died shortly before the (Covid-19) pandemic, and she was born as the Spanish flu was coming to Chile, in 1920," Allende says.

The novel takes place during her mother's lifetime, which she describes as "a period in the 20th century of wars, depressions, dictatorships in Latin America, revolutions.

"I created a protagonist who resembles my mother in many ways, but who is not her and who had a much more interesting life."

The difference, she says, is that "Violeta can support herself, which gives her great freedom. My mother depended first on two husbands, and then on me."

In the novel, Violeta and her family leave the capital and move to the south of the country, where they live alongside people of more humble backgrounds.

It was important for Allende to show those class differences, she says, describing a "caste system" in Latin America "which in some places is quite impenetrable."

"And Chile is a country with many class prejudices, more than other countries, perhaps in part because there was little immigration in its early days.

"So Violeta, if she had remained in her social class, if she had lived the corresponding life, would never have gained a broader vision of the country, and of life."

- Stranger in a familiar land -

That kind of "broader vision" is reflected in Allende's own life also.

The author was born in Lima in 1942 -- but she has been abroad for many years, and now lives near San Francisco in the United States.

She describes a sensation familiar to anyone who has lived far from home for a long time, of being a stranger wherever she goes.

Whenever she returns to Chile, she says, "The first week I am happy, but then I realize that I am a foreigner there, too. It is my destiny.

"In the United States, I speak English with an accent. Anyone who sees me on the street knows that I am a Latina and that I am an immigrant.

"And in Chile, I have lived abroad for 40 years, and the country has changed a lot.

"In my head and in my heart is a country that no longer exists."

- Why stop? -

The journey between the past and the present is also reflected in her writing process, she says.

Some things don't change, such as the date she begins writing.

"I start all my books on January 8, so on the seventh I have to take nerve pills," Allende explains.

"The nerves have never left me, but I've learned that if I show up with discipline before the keyboard each day, something comes out."

She has also become "a little more relaxed," she says -- and she has learned that it is "no good" to have an outline.

"That paralyzes me and I lose all inspiration. I let the story change," she says.

"I enjoy writing so much. People tell me: 'You shouldn't have to write any more, you're getting too old for that.'

"But I love it. Why would I want to stop?"

gma/bbk/st/sw

California City Votes To Become First In US To Mandate Gun Insurance

"While the Second Amendment protects every citizen's right to own a gun, it does not require taxpayers to subsidize that right"


By AFP News
01/26/22 

The city of San Jose voted Tuesday to pass a law that will compel gun owners to take out insurance to cover any damage caused by their weapon, a move its mayor said was the first of its kind in the United States.

The plan, voted on by the city council, will also require weapons owners in the Californian city to pay an annual fee that will fund a non-profit group to help victims of gun violence.

"Tonight San Jose became the first city in the United States to enact an ordinance to require gun owners to purchase liability insurance, and to invest funds generated from fees paid by gun owners into evidence-based initiative to reduce gun violence and gun harm," Mayor Sam Liccardo said in a statement on Twitter.

The proposed ordinance, which must pass a second reading on February 8 before it becomes law in August, is also intended to cut down the costs to taxpayers.

"We have seen how insurance has reduced auto fatalities over several decades, for example, by incentivizing safer driving and the purchase of cars equipped with airbags and antilock brakes," Liccardo said ahead of the vote.

"Similarly, gun liability insurance available today on the market can adjust premiums to encourage gun owners to use gun safes, install trigger-locks, and take gun safety classes."

Firearms are prevalent in the United States, where around 40 percent of adults live in a gun-owning household, according to the Pew Research Center.

Tens of thousands of people die in the United States every year after being shot 

Photo: AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY

Almost 23 million firearms were sold across the country in 2020 and 40,000 people die from gunshots annually.

Despite the horrific toll and the fact that a majority of Americans favor the tightening of gun control rules, repeated attempts to limit gun ownership have failed, with opponents arguing controls are an infringement of individual liberties.

A press release from San Jose city council said gun violence costs the city nearly $40 million a year, including for emergency police and medical response, health care, and investigations.

"While the Second Amendment protects every citizen's right to own a gun, it does not require taxpayers to subsidize that right," said Liccardo.

The $25 annual fee will help to fund programs aimed at reducing gun violence, as well as mental health counseling and addiction treatment.

Ahead of the vote, the National Foundation for Gun Rights, an advocacy group, described the proposed law as "a blatantly unconstitutional scheme."

"This is just as unthinkable as imposing a 'free speech tax' or a 'church attendance tax.'

"The National Foundation for Gun Rights is preparing a lawsuit to challenge this gun ownership tax in federal district court."

WAY TO GO NEIL
Neil Young demands Spotify remove his music over Joe Rogan 'disinformation'

Neil Young, shown here performing in Quebec in 2018, is taking Spotify to task over its popular podcast that he says spreads vaccine disinformation 

(AFP/Alice Chiche) (Alice Chiche)

Tue, January 25, 2022,

Neil Young demanded in an open letter to Spotify to remove his music from the platform he said is spreading vaccine disinformation via the popular podcaster Joe Rogan.

"I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines -- potentially causing death to those who believe the disinformation being spread by them," wrote the legendary singer behind "Heart of Gold" and "Harvest Moon."

"I want you to let Spotify know immediately TODAY that I want all my music off their platform," Young, 76, continued.

"They can have Rogan or Young. Not both."

The letter, which has since been removed from Young's website, was first reported by Rolling Stone late Monday.

Spotify has not replied to an AFP query regarding the musician's request. As of Tuesday Young's music is still on the platform.

Rogan's podcast racks up millions of listens -- he signed a reported $100 million deal with Spotify last year -- but critics say it is a platform for peddling conspiracy theories and disinformation, particularly over Covid-19.

Rogan has discouraged vaccination in younger people and promoted the off-label use of the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin to treat the virus.

In December 270 doctors, physicians and professors signed an open letter to Spotify asking the service to "moderate misinformation on its platform."

"It is a sociological issue of devastating proportions and Spotify is responsible for allowing this activity to thrive on its platform," read the letter.

Young, citing sound quality issues, removed much of his music from Spotify in 2015 but later relented, saying "that's where people get music."

He has his own online archive of all of his music that fans can subscribe to.

mdo/mlm

POLITICIZING THE OLYMPICS 

China restricts activists' social media ahead 

of Olympics




Multiple Chinese activists have seen their WeChat accounts restricted or disabled entirely in the lead-up to the Winter Olympics in Beijing (AFP/Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV)

Laurie CHEN
Tue, January 25, 2022, 

Human rights activists and some academics in China have had their WeChat messaging app accounts restricted in recent weeks, multiple people affected have told AFP, as Beijing cracks down on dissent before the Winter Olympics.

China hopes to make next week's Games a soft power triumph, although the lead-up has seen some Western powers launch a diplomatic boycott over Beijing's rights record and cybersecurity firms warn athletes of digital surveillance risks.

For China's ever-dwindling community of activists, the imminent arrival of the world's best athletes has triggered a familiar clampdown.

Eight individuals told AFP that their WeChat accounts had been restricted in some form since early December, with some unable to use their accounts entirely and forced to re-register.

The restrictions came as authorities detained two prominent human rights activists, lawyer Xie Yang and writer Yang Maodong, while a third rights lawyer missing since early December is believed by relatives to be in secret detention.

"This storm of shuttering WeChat accounts is too strong and unprecedented," said veteran journalist Gao Yu, whose account had features like group chat messaging permanently disabled for the first time on December 20.

China routinely suppresses the social media accounts and physical movements of dissidents during politically sensitive periods such as Communist Party gatherings in Beijing or key anniversaries like the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.

A major Party Congress will take place towards the end of this year when President Xi Jinping, China's most authoritarian leader in a generation, is expected to further cement his rule with a third term.

The arrival of the Winter Olympics has presaged a clampdown similar to those surrounding other major events.

"The government now wants to make sure that people don't cross the line online to poke the facade of a perfect Winter Olympic Games," said Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch.

- Ubiquitous app -

Tencent's app WeChat is a mainstay of daily life in China, with users relying on it for a range of services including payments and scanning health codes that permit entry to public venues.

"I know many people who've been banned from posting in group chats or posting WeChat Moments lately," a Beijing lawyer whose account was restricted last month said on condition of anonymity.

Beijing-based writer Zhang Yihe said her WeChat group chat and Moments functions -- similar to Facebook's Wall or Instagram Stories -- were restricted on January 8.

Tsinghua University sociology professor Guo Yuhua confirmed her account was permanently blocked the same day, while prominent legal scholar He Weifang said he encountered the same on January 9.

"Isn't this equal to removing an individual from a public space?" said Zhang, adding she can now only send WeChat messages to individual users.

"Before and during the Olympics is a major sensitive period," added a Beijing-based activist whose account was restricted twice in the past two months.

Tencent, the owner of WeChat, did not respond to a request for comment.

- Offline crackdown -

In recent weeks, Chinese police have detained two prominent rights activists on suspicion of "inciting state subversion", according to official notices shared with AFP.

One of them, Yang Maodong, was unable to reunite with his wife in the United States before her death in early January.

Relatives of Tang Jitian, a human rights lawyer who vanished last month en route to an EU Human Rights Day event in Beijing, told AFP they believe he is being held under a form of secret detention commonly used against dissidents, possibly in his home province of Jilin.

"We don't know where he is. I've reported him missing to the police but with no result," said a relative who did not wish to be identified for fear of reprisal.

"They said it doesn't meet the requirements for filing a (missing persons) case and that he had scanned the Jilin province health code."

People arrested for national security offences in China can disappear for months at a time into incommunicado detention before authorities charge them or reveal their fate.

Both Jilin and Beijing's public security bureaus did not respond to requests for comment.

The International Olympic Committee said in an emailed response that it "has neither the mandate nor the capability to change the laws or the political system of a sovereign country", adding that it "must remain neutral on all global political issues".

Beijing Games organisers told AFP they "oppose the politicisation of sports" and were "not aware of these matters".

Meanwhile, those still free lament mounting restrictions on speech under the current political climate.

"The space for public discourse is getting smaller and smaller," said He.

su-lxc/jta/cwl/lb/ser

Making smartphone data anonymous no longer enough: study


The researchers say people can now be identified with just a few details of how they communicate with an app like WhatsApp (AFP/WANG Zhao) (WANG Zhao)

Joseph BOYLE
Tue, January 25, 2022

Privacy measures that are meant to preserve the anonymity of smartphone users are no longer suitable for the digital age, a study suggested on Tuesday.

Vast quantities of data are scooped up from smartphone apps by firms looking to develop products, conduct research or target consumers with adverts.

In Europe and many other jurisdictions, companies are legally bound to make this data anonymous, often doing so by removing telltale details like names or phone numbers.


But the study in the Nature Communications journal says this is no longer enough to keep identities private.

The researchers say people can now be identified with just a few details of how they communicate with an app like WhatsApp.

One of the paper's authors, Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye of Imperial College London, told AFP it was time to "reinvent what anonymisation means".

- 'Rich' data -

His team took anonymised data from more than 40,000 mobile phone users, most of which was information from messaging apps and other "interaction" data.

They then "attacked" the data searching for patterns in those interactions -- a technique that could be employed by malicious actors.

With just the direct contacts of the person included in the dataset, they found they could identify the person 15 percent of the time.

When further interactions between those primary contacts were included, they could identify 52 percent of people.

"Our results provide evidence that disconnected and even re-pseudonymised interaction data remain identifiable even across long periods of time," wrote the researchers from the UK, Switzerland and Italy.

"These results strongly suggest that current practices may not satisfy the anonymisation standard set forth by (European regulators) in particular with regard to the linkability criteria."

De Montjoye stressed that the intention was not to criticise any individual company or legal regime.

Rather, he said the algorithm they were using just provided a more robust way of testing what we regard as anonymised data.

"This dataset is so rich that the traditional way we used to think about anonymisation... doesn't really work any more," he said.

"That doesn't mean we need to give up on anonymisation."

He said one promising new method was to heavily restrict access to large datasets to just simple question and answer interactions.

That would get rid of the need to classify a dataset as "anonymised" or not.

jxb/gw

FOR SALE CIA DARK SITE

‘You could do whatever you wanted’: Lithuania to sell CIA ‘interrogation’ site – TSWT

By The Switzerland Times

-January 25, 2022


A site formerly used by the CIA to detain and interrogate suspected terrorists near the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on January 20, 2022. © Reuters

In the Lithuanian countryside near the capital Vilnius, an innocuous-looking steel barn hides a dark secret. Behind its walls are windowless rooms with soundproof doors where CIA terrorist suspects were once held for questioning, under the notorious “rendition program” run by the US intelligence agency at the height of the war. against terrorism. Now, however, the site may soon have a new owner, with the Lithuanian government putting it up for sale at an undisclosed price.

PLAGUE SHIP
Covid-hit Australian aid ship to dock in virus-free Tonga despite risk



Members of the Australian Defence Force board the HMAS Adelaide in Brisbane earlier this month, before setting sail for Tonga. (AFP/CPL Robert Whitmore)


Tue, January 25, 2022

A coronavirus-hit Australian warship will dock in Tonga Wednesday, delivering desperately needed aid to the volcano-and-tsunami-struck nation under strict "no-contact" protocols.

Tonga's Health Minister Saia Piukala said the crew of the HMAS Adelaide would follow drastic health rules to ensure the remote Pacific kingdom remains one of the few places on the world still free of coronavirus.

"The ship will berth and no contacts will be made. Australians from the ship will unload their cargoes and sail from port," he told reporters.


The Adelaide was deployed as part of an international aid effort after the January 15 eruption that generated huge tsunami waves and blanketed the island nation in toxic ash.

The warship is carrying about 80 tonnes of relief supplies, including water, medical kits and engineering equipment.

Despite all crew members testing negative before departure from Brisbane, officials in Canberra on Tuesday said 23 Covid-19 cases had been detected on the vessel.

Piukala said the number had increased to 29 by Wednesday.

The ship's 600-plus crew are fully vaccinated and the Australian Defence Force said Tuesday that the initial 23 patients were asymptomatic or only mildly affected.

It said the ship has a 40-bed hospital, including operating theatres and a critical care ward.

Piukala said contactless protocols were being applied to all relief supplies, including the HMAS Adelaide, meaning all goods offloaded from foreign planes or ships were left in isolation for three day before Tongans could handle them.

Tonga closed its borders in early 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic swept the globe.

Since then, the nation of 100,000 has recorded just one case of Covid-19, a man who returned from New Zealand in October last year and has since fully recovered.

However, the devastating blast from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, which lies about 65 kilometres (40 miles) north of the capital Nuku'alofa, has created what the Tongan government describes as an "unprecedented disaster".

Entire villages were washed away by tsunamis, while ash has poisoned water supplies and destroyed crops.

Remarkably, there have been only three reported fatalities, which the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said was thanks to effective early warnings issued by the Tongan government.

OCHA said communications severed when the volcano blew were slowly being restored and assessment teams were visiting hard-to-reach areas to gauge the full scale of the disaster.

It said 85 percent of Tonga's population had been affected, with access to safe water, ash clearance and food supplies the main priorities.

str-ns/arb/mtp

ECOCIDE

Peru considers imposing sanctions on energy firm Repsol over oil spill
26/01/2022

© Pilar Olivares, Reuters

Peru‘s Prime Minister Mirtha Vásquez said on Monday the government was looking at sanctioning a major local refinery owned by Spanish energy firm Repsol after an oil spill last week, and did not rule out suspending operations at the facility.

Vásquez said some political parties were calling for the government to cancel the Pampilla refinery’s contract or even expropriate it over the disaster, but said options were still being looked at.

“We are evaluating the legal aspects, we still cannot say whether a license is going to be suspended or not,” she told local radio station RPP.

“That will depend a lot on the evaluation we make of the legal terms under which the company is operating and what type of sanctions or infractions were committed.”

The oil spill, blamed on unusual waves triggered by a volcanic eruption in Tonga over a week ago, has affected an area of up to 9 million square meters, the government has said. It has been termed an “ecological disaster“.

Repsol’s Pampilla refinery accounts for over half of Peru‘s refining capacity.

Vásquez said that aside from sanctions against Repsol and the demands to restore the affected areas, prosecutors were investigating the case for alleged environmental crimes and the state was evaluating compensation for those affected.

“They cannot argue they are not responsible. They are, and therefore they have to think about the consequences,” she said.

The President of Repsol Peru, Jaime Fernández-Cuesta, said on Sunday night that the refinery could have reacted faster and that only the day after the spill did they learn the full magnitude of the disaster.

Hundreds of people marched on Sunday in protest against Repsol over the spill, reaching the vicinity of the refinery in the Ventanilla district, located north of the city of Lima.

(REUTERS)

93 potential graves found at Canada school site


Demonstrators honor Canada's missing Indigenous children during the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Parliament Hill in September 2021 (AFP/Lars Hagberg) (Lars Hagberg)

Tue, January 25, 2022, 11:30 PM·2 min read

An Indigenous community in Canada has identified nearly 100 "potential" graves at a residential school site, months after the discovery of hundreds of children's remains at former boarding schools rocked the country.

The Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) community said on Tuesday that a geophysical survey revealed "93 reflections" with characteristics "indicative of potential human burials" at the former St. Joseph's Mission residential school in British Columbia.

Investigators "surveyed approximately 14 hectares of the broader 480-hectare site", which is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Kamloops -- where the remains of 215 children were found in May.

Since May, more than 1,000 anonymous graves have been found near former "Indian residential schools" run by religious groups, shedding light on a dark chapter in Canadian history and its policy of forced assimilation of First Nations people.

Thousands of Indigenous children attended St. Joseph's Mission between 1886 and 1981 when it operated as a residential school run by various religious sects as part of a Canadian government system, according to WLFN, a community of around 800 people.

"There is much more work to do on the St. Joseph's site, and we have every intention of continuing with this work," WLFN Chief Willie Sellars said in a statement.

In early January, Ottawa announced $1.9 million Canadian dollars ($1.5 million) in funding for the investigation at St. Joseph's mission.

"To date, $116.8 million has been committed to support First Nation, Inuit and Metis Survivors, their families and communities and go toward locating and commemorating missing children who attended residential schools," the government said in a statement at the time.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that the news of the potential graves "brings a lot of distressing emotions to the surface."

"My heart breaks for the members of the community, and for those whose loved ones never came home."

Numerous investigations into former residential schools are underway across the country, with between 4,000 and 6,000 children believed to be missing, according to authorities.

In total, about 150,000 Indigenous children were enrolled from the late 1800s to the 1990s in 139 of the residential schools across Canada, spending months or years isolated from their families, language and culture.

A truth and reconciliation commission concluded in 2015 the failed government policy amounted to "cultural genocide."

ast/dax/sw/dva