Opinion: Why democracy in Africa needs a rethink

In light of a fresh wave of coups, DW’s Abu-Bakarr Jalloh writes that Africa needs to reexamine its relationship with democracy — and the West should reexamine its relationship with democratic-turned-autocratic leaders.

    

A Burkina Faso newspaper announces the coup that overthrew President Roch Marc Christian Kabore

The year 2021 went down in history as the year when military coups returned to Africa.

In just a few months, the African continent witnessed dozens of coups and attempted coups in Mali, Guinea, Sudan and Chad. So far, 2022 has been no different. Last week, a military junta took power in Burkina Faso.

For people who were around in the '60s, '70s and '80s — the heyday of coups across the continent — it feels a bit like deja vu.

The reason for the coups? People's patience has run out.

Western double standards

Many in Africa are questioning the tenets of democracy and are asking whether it's still relevant in the continent today.

Abu-Bakarr Jalloh is an editor from Sierra Leone with DW's English for Africa service

Across different social media platforms, I've come across many anti-democracy and anti-Western sentiments. Much of the frustration seems to be directed at democratically elected leaders who were hiding an autocratic streak, living extravagant lifestyles despite their poorer populaces. It's not uncommon for these leaders to change their constitutions for political gain and shutter civic space to block dissenting views.

This is all happening under the watchful eyes of the pioneers of democratic governance — Western Europe and North America. But, instead of taking action, these Western nations legitimize the dirty habits of these democratic-turned-autocratic rulers by prioritizing their own economic interests over rights abuses and corruption.

On the one hand, Europe and North America pour billions into the continent to promote good governance and support the fight against poverty and corruption. But, on the other hand, they also offer financial backing to Africa's dictatorial leaders in exchange for unfettered access to natural resources.

Yoweri Museveni has ruled Uganda for 36 years and has been accused of human rights abuses and stifling opposition voices

The United States, France, Germany and Norway openly criticize the arbitrary arrests of opposition politicians in Uganda and police brutality in Cameroon, Kenya and Nigeria. But they continue to import their raw materials from those countries. The Democratic Republic of Congo is embroiled in a protracted war in which the biggest victims are civilians. But that's no problem for the West — as long as the supply of cobalt and coltan continues to flow and power their smartphones, smart cars and smart homes.

These double standards have consequences. After 60 years of development aid, Africa remains the poorest continent in the world and still suffers the highest number of protracted civil wars.

I know: It's better to work with the devil you know than the angel you don't, right?

But many Africans are growing sick and tired of this line. They've finally lost their patience. So they're making their voices heard with the biggest and most influential tool at their disposal: the internet. Politically ambitious military colonels have heard their cries, and they're responding.

The search for benevolent dictators

African scholars such as former International Monetary Fund executive Dambisa Moyo and the continentally renowned Kenyan political professor Patrick Loch Otieno (PLO) Lumumba have lauded the benefits of strongman leadership unbound by terms or age limits.

A benevolent dictator, if you like.

Against the backdrop of failed multiparty democracies across the continent, this idea has fallen on attentive ears.

Some of the world's most famous strongman leaders — from Russia's Vladimir Putin to Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan — have become political rock stars among African millennials, despite their utter disregard for human rights and their routine silencing of journalists and opposition politicians.

Young Africans are taking to the streets — in some cases to demand longer terms for sitting junta governments as in Mali

Amid this resurgence of coups, I believe that democratic governance is more needed than ever in Africa. Not benevolent dictators. People should be able to make fun of a president's funny hat without getting thrown in jail. As someone who grew up in Sierra Leone in the 1980s, I knew all too well what would happen if you even mentioned dictator Joseph Saidu Momoh's name in simple conversation.

From communism to monarchy, the very fabric of modern-day nations hinge on the nuance of politics. With all its flaws, democracy has emerged as a strong global system.

Nearly all African states have tried this form of governance after their independence from colonial Europe. But generation after generation has achieved little since.

Untie the stalemate

The existing regional economic bodies have failed to deliver to or meet the interest of Africans. The African Union is not held in high regard either. In fact, many now view these institutions as support clubs for dictatorial regimes. 

Western nations also lost their moral high ground when they chose to "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil." 

But all is not lost. I believe that the coup trend can be bucked and democratic governance can return to Mali, Guinea, Chad, Sudan and Burkina Faso.

But African elites need to rethink what multiparty democracy means for them and what form it should take in order for it to prevail on the continent.

Western nations must also be ready to form new partnerships with African leaders that are visibly helping their people. They must also be prepared and willing to cut ties with leaders who fail their nations. Even if that hurts their political and economic interests.   

Edited by: Ineke Mules

Bottom of gender rankings, Iraqi women defy critics to work




Safa al-Saeedi, 29, is one of just 180 women among the 5,000 employees of Iraq's Basrah Gas Company, a joint venture with Shell and Mitsubishi 

(AFP/Hussein Faleh)

Laure Al Khoury
Sat, January 29, 2022

Each working morning, oil engineer Safa al-Saeedi dons a safety helmet and heads into a gas complex for another day challenging conservative prejudices by being a professional woman in Iraq.

"Society does not accept that a girl can live outside the family home," said 29-year-old Saeedi, who works in Iraq's southern oil and gas fields around Basra.

Saeedi, one of just 180 women among the 5,000 employees of the Basrah Gas Company, sees herself as a change maker and encourages other women to join the industry.

For many, a single woman working away from home in a male-dominated sector is frowned upon, and it is a hard task for women to break out of the role of wife and mother traditionally assigned to them.

"I often hear them say to me: 'You are almost 30, you will miss the boat! You will end up single,'" said Saeedi. "It makes me laugh, but I do not answer."

The female labour force participation rate in Iraq is "one of the lowest in the world" at 13 per cent, according to a joint report last year by UN Women, the agency working for gender equality, and the UN Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA).

At 13 percent, the female labour force participation rate in Iraq is one of the lowest in the world, according to a report by UN agencies published last year (AFP/Hussein Faleh)

- 'Discriminatory' -

The 2021 UN report said surveys had found that "most Iraqis agree that university education is equally important for both sexes".

But it also reported that "attitudes toward equal rights in employment are discriminatory against women".

The World Economic Forum ranked Iraq bottom in women's economic participation and opportunity, and put it 152nd overall out of the 153 nations assessed in its 2020 Global Gender Gap Index.

Saeedi, who graduated in 2014 after studying engineering at university in Basra, was immediately employed by oil giant Shell -- a job that "required spending some nights away from home".

Her mother opposed the job because she was "afraid of what people will say, and that it will affect my reputation and my chances of getting married", Saeedi said. "It was a challenge," she added.

But Saeedi pressed on, rising through the ranks to become a team leader in the Basrah Gas Company, a joint venture majority-owned by the Iraqi government, with Shell and Mitsubishi.

Chemical engineer Dalal Abedlamir, 24, says that when she started work, her first feeling was fear, but now her job has taught her never to doubt her abilities (AFP/Hussein Faleh)

- 'Powerful and brilliant women' -

Her job requires her to live on site for a month at a time, staying in company accommodation. After work, she plays sport, or jogs around the huge gas storage tanks.

On leave, she returns home to Basra -- if she is not indulging in her passion for travel, which has taken her so far to some 30 countries.

"I hope to reach a management position, because you rarely see women in these positions, even though Iraq has many powerful and brilliant women," Saeedi said.

It is a tough path to follow.

"I was initially overwhelmed with fear, because I was in a purely male environment," said chemical engineer Dalal Abdelamir. The 24-year-old works on the same site as Saeedi.

"At the beginning, I thought that I was inferior, that I would never have the required level. I was even worried to ask questions," she said.

"But this job and this position has taught me not to be afraid, not to hesitate and not to fear that I cannot do it, but to believe that I can."

Abdelamir joined the company via a graduate programme which hired 20 men and 10 women.

"We didn't go to Basra University saying we wanted to recruit women," said Malcolm Mayes, managing director of Basrah Gas Company.

"We went there saying we wanted the brightest students".

lk/gde/tgg/pjm/kir

Mexican town hopes pelicans will help tourism take off



A flock of white pelicans is seen on the shore of the Chapala lagoon in Cojumatlán de Regules, Mexico

 (AFP/ULISES RUIZ)


Sat, January 29, 2022, 

A town in western Mexico where thousands of American white pelicans migrate is hoping to turn the birds into a global tourist draw -- and recoup losses from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Petatan Island, located on Lake Chapala in Michoacan state, plays seasonal host to the birds, which head south in search of warmth and food.

Many locals note that the migration pattern is similar to the renowned monarch butterfly and takes place at the same time of year -- between October and April -- though they highlight the role they play in feeding these birds.

"Petatan is an island of fishermen, the fishermen go to the lagoon, collect the fish, extract the fillet and the bone... it is what serves as food when the pelicans are in season," explains Ana Lilia Manso, mayor of Cojumatlan de Regules, the town that includes Petatan.

The community welcomes the American white pelicans' arrival, which attracts tourists from nearby towns. They fill restaurants and pay for boat rides to get an up-close look at the flocks that adopt this region as their home for six months.

A man feeds fish to a group of white pelicans on the shore of Chapala lagoon in Cojumatlan de Regules, Mexico (AFP/ULISES RUIZ)

"We want the pelican phenomenon to be known at the state level, nationwide and around the world, because wherever you go they know the monarch butterfly phenomenon, but the pelican phenomenon is a bit forgotten," says Manso.

The birds, which can measure 1.75 meters (5.7 feet) long and up to three meters wide with outstretched wings, are characterized by the yellow color of their beaks and their white plumage.

Enrique Martinez, who filets the fish that are caught in the lake, estimates that daily they collect between one and two tonnes of backbones that end up becoming a delicacy for the pelicans, even though the winter months have the lowest volume of fishing.

He stresses that the island's population takes care of the birds and cares that they have food.

"It doesn't bother us at all, we like having them here," says Martinez, 41. But the town wants "people to come see them, so that there is more publicity."

Last year, Covid-19 forced the closure of the island of Petatan due to the high number of infections and deaths, while this year a regional festival scheduled for February was postponed due to the rebound in cases from the Omicron variant.

Yet Mayor Manso trusts that once the virus cases are under control, the event can be held again.

str-jla/mdl/bfm

PORTUGAL ELECTIONS

Portugal's PM Antonio Costa, a pragmatic Socialist


Prime Minister Antonio Costa led his Socialists to victory in 2019 (AFP/PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA) (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA)


Thomas CABRAL
Sat, January 29, 2022, 11:38 PM·3 min read

Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa, whose Socialists face a close-fought snap election on Sunday, is a pragmatic tactician who came to power with the support of the hard-left.

The former mayor of Lisbon took the reins in 2015 following a ballot in which his Socialists finished second behind a centre-right coalition that had overseen a harsh EU-imposed austerity programme.

In a surprise move, he convinced two smaller hard-left parties to support a minority Socialist government, the first time this had been tried in Portugal.

Many analysts predicted the government -- dubbed the "geringonca" or "contraption" -- would last six months at most, but it completed its four-year mandate.

Costa then led his Socialists to victory in the next election in 2019, although they fell short of an outright majority.

"Antonio Costa is a very experienced and very ambitious politician. In some contexts there are characteristics that are good qualities, in others they can be seen as flaws," said University of Lisbon political scientist Jose Santana Pereira.

- 'Annoying optimism' -

Riding the wave of the global economic recovery and a tourism boom, Costa, 60, managed to undo some of the austerity measures imposed by his predecessors even as his government balanced the books.

On his watch, Portugal in 2019 posted its first budget surplus in 45 years of democracy although the Covid pandemic has since caused the public deficit to balloon once again.

But in October 2021, Costa failed to secure budgetary support from the two smaller far-left parties propping up his government, prompting the snap polls that will be held on Sunday.

Although he has pledged to step down if his Socialists do not come out on top, he has again signalled his willingness to form alliances if his party wins but falls short of a majority again.

"Everyone knows I am a man of dialogue and compromise," the white-haired leader said earlier this year.

Portugal's conservative President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who was Costa's professor at law school in Lisbon, once called the premier out for his "chronic and slightly annoying optimism".

- Family from Goa -

Born in Lisbon on July 17, 1961, Costa was raised in the intellectual circles frequented by his parents, Orlando da Costa, a communist writer descended from a family from Goa, Portugal's former colony in India, and Maria Antonia Palla, a journalist and women's rights advocate.

Nicknamed "babush", a term of endearment for a little boy in Konkani, a Goan dialect, Costa joined the youth wing of the Socialist Party in 1975 when he was just 14, a year after a coup ended a decades-long right-wing dictatorship.

After earning a law and political science degree, Costa was in 1995 named secretary of state for parliamentary affairs -- a key role in the Socialist minority government of Antonio Guterres, the current UN secretary general.

He was promoted to justice minister four years later.

Following a brief stint as a member of the European Parliament, he was appointed interior minister in 2005 in the government of Jose Socrates.

He stepped down after two years and made a successful run for mayor of Lisbon. He was re-elected to the post in 2009 and 2013.

The move to municipal politics allowed Costa to distance himself from Socrates, who stepped down as premier in 2011 after negotiating Portugal's international bailout.

Socrates was arrested in 2014, accused of corruption and tax evasion.

A fan of Lisbon-based Benfica, Portugal's most successful football team, the married father-of-two likes to relax by doing jigsaw puzzles.

bur-tsc/ds/pvh

EXPROPRIATE PRIVATE NURSING HOMES

French retirement home group Orpea fires chief amid allegations of patient abuse
FRANCE 24 

The chief executive of major France-based elderly care home group Orpea was dismissed on Sunday, the company board said in a statement following allegations of patient abuse and hygiene negligence.

© Alain Jocard, AFP

Orpea boss Yves Le Masne will leave the company with immediate effect, the statement said, without stating a reason but noting the non-executive chairman would replace him.

The company appointed the current non-executive chairman, Philippe Charrier, as new chief executive officer, it said in a statement.

"Mr. Charrier's mission will be to ensure, under the board’s control, that the best practices are applied throughout the company and to shed full light on the allegations made," the statement added.

Book reveals systematic mistreatment

The homes came under scrutiny following the publication of the book, "Les Fossoyeurs" (The Gravediggers) by independent journalist Victor Castanet, which cites employees and relatives claiming that residents are at times left for hours with soiled underwear or go days without care as managers seek to maximise profit margins.

Food and care products in an Orpea home in a wealthy neighbourhood close to Paris were being rationed although the residents paid monthly fees of several thousand euros, the book revealed.

The scandal has drawn widespread condemnation from officials and calls for inspections of the upscale Orpea homes by the authorities.

Orpea has contested the claims as "untruthful, scandalous and injurious". But under massive pressure from both the French government and shareholders, the company said last week it would hire two firms to look into mistreatment claims. These were still in the process of being designated, it said.

It also denied a claim by Castanet that he was offered €15 million ($17 million) by an "intermediary" to drop his investigation.

Orpea operates nearly 1,200 homes worldwide, with around 350 of them in France.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

IN PICTURES: Magical but messy Rome scares off its starlings

AFP/The Local
ben.mcpartland@thelocal.com
@mcpben
30 January 2022
EnvironmentRome

A murmuration of starlings is seen over pine trees and the equestrian statue of King Vittorio Emanuele II as night falls over Piazza Venezia in central Rome. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP)

As the sun sets over central Rome, five figures in white overalls move under the trees. They wave speakers emitting a mix of sharp cries, and the birds rise into the air.

Every winter, the skies over Italy’s capital are filled with the mesmerising sight of thousands of starlings swooping and diving in unison.

But when they stop to rest on the trees, their droppings coat the pavements and cars below — prompting the city authorities, every year, to try to scare them away.

“We act on their fear reflex by using their own alarm call,” said Marianna Di Santo, clad head-to-toe in white protective clothing and heading towards the birds gathered in trees around Termini central train station.

“It’s as if they were warning each other that this is a dangerous place and they should move away,” said Di Santo, whose company, Fauna Urbis, is hired by the Rome authorities to disperse the starlings.


Members of the association Fauna Urbis carry out a wintering starlings removal operation on January 14th, 2022 at Piazza dei Cinquecento by the Termini railway station in downtown Rome, as part of the the capital’s removal programme, which is coordinated by the department of the environment. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP)

Up to one million

Between October and February every year, millions of starlings migrate from northern Europe to Italy in search of warmer temperatures for the winter.

Their synchronised ballets — murmurations — over the Eternal City’s centuries-old churches, palaces and ruins entrances passers-by.

“I’ve never seen such a thing in my life. It’s spectacular,” said Spanish tourist Eva Osuna, taking out her phone to capture the magic.

The glossy dark-feathered birds, which measure up to 20 centimetres each, spend the day feeding in rural areas before heading back into town to sleep, explains ornithologist Francesca Manzia from Italy’s League for Bird Protection (LIPU).

“In the city, the temperatures are higher and the light helps them find their way around, and protects them from predators,” she told AFP.


Starlings fly over the Altare della Patria monument in Rome. (Photo by Tiziana FABI / AFP)

Warmer temperatures in northern European caused by climate change have shortened the starlings’ stay in Italy, but their sheer numbers make them a force to be reckoned with.

Between 500,000 and one million are believed to be in Rome this year, according to one expert.


Naturally “gregarious”, according to Manzia, they stick together at night, creating collective dormitories in the trees.

She insisted the starlings “do not carry diseases” but pose problems “because of their droppings, which make the roads slippery and smell very strong”.

In their nature
Such is the problem that, even on a clear day, it is not uncommon to see Romans walking along tree-lined streets with umbrellas as protection against the birds.

City authorities use sounds and also lights not to chase the birds out of the city, but to split them up into smaller, more manageable groups.


Members of Fauna Urbis hold speakers, which emit a mix of sharp cries, to encourage the birds to rise into the air. (Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP)

Sounds are “the most simple and effective” way of moving the birds on, said Valentina de Tommaso from Fauna Urbis.

She works two or three times a week near Termini, which — with its lights and shelter from the wind — is a “comfortable” place for the birds to rest.

“We play recordings for about 10 minutes, with breaks in between so they do not get used to the noise” — a tactic that aims to be annoying but harmless, she said.


A murmuration of starlings as night falls over the Ancient Forum in Rome. (Photo by VINCENZO PINTO / AFP)

The piercing noise draws a small crowd, some of them approving, others less so.

“They pose lots of problems. Walking around under flocks of starlings is not really ideal,” said Francesco Fusco, a 55-year-old engineer.

“They are magnificent,” counters 16-year-old Alessio Reiti, saying he does not understand why they need to be scared away.

“It’s in their nature. We are not going to make them wear nappies!” he said, laughing.

Game of stones: Scottish island sweeps up Olympic curling

Stuart GRAHAM
Sun, January 30, 2022


The curling stones to be used at the Beijing Winter Olympics are handmade in Mauchline in Scotland

 (AFP/ANDY BUCHANAN)

In a factory outside Ayr in southwest Scotland, James Wyllie carefully lifts and caresses a curling stone, as well-used drilling and polishing machines grind in the background.

The 40-pound (18 kilogram) stone is made from unique granite rock harvested on Ailsa Craig, about 16 kilometres (10 miles) over a wild stretch of sea to the west of the mainland.

Wyllie, 72, is the retired owner of Kays Curling, which has been making curling stones since 1851 and has the exclusive right to harvest granite from the remote volcanic island.

The stones from his factory will be used at the Beijing Winter Olympics, which start with a mixed doubles event between Great Britain and Sweden on Wednesday.

"Ailsa Craig for probably almost 200 years now has been a unique source of granite for curling stones," Wyllie told AFP at the factory in Mauchline, 12 miles from Ayr.

"There has been no equivalent type of granite found anywhere else in the world so far which is suitable for the purpose of a curling stone.

"There have been one or two other sources tried with varying degrees of success but none of them has proved to be nearly as good as the Ailsa Craig stone."

- 'Paddy's Milestone' -

Ailsa Craig is known to locals as "Paddy's Milestone" for being a resting spot across the sea between Glasgow and Belfast.

It was a haven for Catholics fleeing persecution by Protestants during the Scottish Reformation in the 16th century.

Today it is uninhabited, serving as a nature reserve for colonies of gannets, puffins and seals, which watch over the granite quarries.

Kays Curling, which harvests the rock intermittently, has been involved in providing curling stones for the Winter Olympics since the Chamonix Games in 1924.

The quarries hold two types of granite ideal for the sport, which is believed to have first been played on iced-over ponds and lochs in Scotland around 500 years ago.

Blue Hone non-porous micro-granite, formed by volcanic eruptions 60 million years ago, has low water absorption, which prevents repeatedly freezing water from eroding the stone.

Ailsa Craig Common Green is more resistant to heat transfer, helping it to cope better with condensation and it does not splinter after contact with another stone in play.

The Blue Hone insert -- which is the part of the curling stone that makes contact with the ice -- is fitted to the Ailsa Craig Common Green stone body, in a technique called "Ailserts".

The bottom surface of the stone has to be extremely hard as ice can be very abrasive, says Wyllie.

Durability is vital in a sport in which players slide stones across sheets of ice about 150 feet (46 metres) long towards a target area of four concentric circles.

Curlers sweep the ice in front of the travelling stones with brooms to help them reach the intended target.

- Precision and harmony -

Precision and the granite's harmony with the ice are everything.

Even the slightest of bumps could mean the stone slipping off course and the difference between a gold medal and bitter disappointment.

"The running surface of the stone can wear out, believe it or not," Wyllie says.

"And in addition to that it has to be impervious to absorbing moisture.

"If moisture from the ice gets into the surface of the stone, then eventually that can freeze and expand and causes damage to the running surface."

Kays Curling managing director Jim English says the curling stones are exported to 70 countries.

Demand for stones, which each take five hours to produce, is growing, he says.

"Canada, America, certainly the Swiss, Austria and Europe itself," he says of the market.

"But we sell as far as South America, all the way down to South Korea, Afghanistan and Nigeria."

In the yard outside the factory, a short distance from the home once owned by Scotland's national poet Robert Burns, Wyllie inspects a row of rejected curling stones that are destined to be used as garden planters.

"I have no doubt curling will grow in popularity after the Beijing Olympics," he says. "Demand for the stones is sure to be high in the months ahead."

As always, Wyllie will be watching the curling events at the Winter Olympics closely.

"Curling is simply too much fun to miss," he says with a smile.

srg/phz/jw/gj

North Korea confirms most powerful missile test since 2017

PROVING THEY HAVE ULTRA HIGH EXPOSIVES 

(NOT NUKES)

A combo picture released from North Korea's state-media KCNA shows the test-fire of a Hwasong 12 intermediate-range ballistic missile 

(AFP/STR)


Sunghee Hwang, Cat BARTON
Sun, January 30, 2022, 9:11 PM·3 min read

North Korea confirmed Monday it had fired its most powerful missile since 2017, capping a month-long blitz of launches that has raised the spectre of leader Kim Jong Un restarting nuclear tests.

Pyongyang conducted a record seven weapons tests in January, the most ever in a calendar month, as it threatened to abandon a self-imposed moratorium on launching long-range and nuclear weapons, blaming US "hostile" policy for forcing its hand.

North Korean state media said Monday that the country had test-fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile, last launched in 2017, which is powerful enough to put the US territory of Guam in range.

The test "confirmed the accuracy, security and effectiveness of the operation of the Hwasong 12-type weapon system under production," the official Korean Central News Agency said Monday.

The test was conducted in a manner that ensured the "security of neighbouring countries," KCNA said.

State media released images purportedly taken by a warhead-mounted camera while it was in space, and others showing the missile blasting off from land. There was no mention of whether leader Kim attended the launch.

South Korea said the Sunday test was of an "intermediate range ballistic missile" that flew around 800 kilometres (497 miles) and reached a maximum altitude of 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles).

With the launch, Pyongyang has "come close to destroying the moratorium declaration," South Korean President Moon Jae-In said after an emergency National Security Council meeting Sunday.

Moon noted the North was showing a "similar pattern" to 2017, when it raised regional tensions by launching intermediate range missiles and following them up with intercontinental ballistic missile tests.

In 2017, the launch of the Hwasong-12 was quickly followed by the test-firing of the Hwasong-15, an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) which is powerful enough to hit the US mainland, said Hong Min of the Korea Institute for National Unification.

With the Sunday launch of the Hwasong-12, North Korea is "signaling the possibility of an ICBM launch and an imminent destruction of the moratorium," he said in a note.

- 'Addicted' to weapons -

With peace talks with Washington stalled, North Korea has doubled down on Kim's vow to modernise the regime's armed forces, flexing Pyongyang's military muscles despite biting international sanctions.

Domestically, North Korea is preparing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the birth of late leader Kim Jong Il in February, as well as the 110th birthday of founder Kim Il Sung in April.

With reports of soaring food prices and worsening hunger, an economically-reeling Pyongyang may be looking for a quick win, said Lim Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul.

"He's addicted to advanced weapons," he said, referring to Kim Jong Un.

"He sees success in the military sector as the best weapon to restore his pride and elevate his status as a leader and of the nation to the highest level," he said.

North Korea was trying to build up its advanced missiles and weaponry to the extent that the US would be forced to "surrender" to Pyongyang's demands, he said.

"This is completely different from the past pattern of trying to create a favourable dialogue by attracting Washington's attention," he added.

The string of launches in 2022 comes at a delicate time in the region, with Kim's sole major ally China set to host the Winter Olympics next month and South Korea gearing up for a presidential election in March.

sh-ceb/ssy

Vaccines: two centuries of scepticism

AFP - Monday

Wariness and outright hostility to vaccines did not start with Covid-19 but date back to the 18th century when the first shots were given.

From real fears sparked by side effects to fake studies and conspiracy theories, we take a look at anti-vax sentiment over the ages:

- 1796: First jab, first fears -

Smallpox killed or disfigured countless millions for centuries before it was eradicated in 1980 through vaccination.

In 1796 the English physician Edward Jenner came up with the idea of using the milder cowpox virus on a child to stimulate immune response after he noticed milkmaids rarely got smallpox.

The process -- coined "vaccinus" by Jenner (from cow in Latin) -- was successful, but from the outset it provoked scepticism and fear.

One cartoon in 1802 showed vaccinated people turning into monsters that were half man, half cow.

Before Jenner, a riskier method of inoculation known as "variolation" existed for smallpox, introduced to Europe from Ottoman Turkey by the English writer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu.

Dried smallpox scabs or fluid from pustules were injected or rubbed into cuts on the skin. The resulting infection was usually mild but gave the person immunity.

- 1853: Mandatory shot -

Britain became the first world power to make the smallpox vaccine compulsory for children in 1853, following the example of Bavaria and Denmark, who introduced mandatory jabs more than three decades before.

Just like today, it triggered strong resistance.

Opponents objected on religious grounds, raised concerns over the dangers of injecting animal products, and claimed individual freedoms were being infringed.

Such was the clamour that a "conscience clause" was introduced in 1898 allowing sceptics to avoid vaccination.

- 1885: Pasteur and rabies -

At the end of the 19th century, the French biologist Louis Pasteur developed a vaccine against rabies by infecting rabbits with a weakened form of the virus.

But again the process sparked mistrust and Pasteur was accused of seeking to profit from his discovery and for creating a "laboratory rabies".

- 1920s: Vaccines' heyday -

Vaccines flourished in the 1920s -- shots were rolled out against tuberculosis with the BCG (1921), with vaccines for diphtheria (1923), tetanus (1924) and whooping cough (1926) also developed throughout the decade.

It was also when aluminium salts began to be used to increase the effectiveness of vaccines.

But more than half a century later these salts became the source of suspicion, with a condition causing lesions and fatigue called macrophagic myofasciitis thought to be caused by them.

- 1998: Fake autism study -

A study published in top medical journal The Lancet in 1998 suggested there was a link between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella shot -- known as the MMR vaccine.

The paper by Andrew Wakefield and colleagues was revealed years later to be a fraud and retracted by the journal, with Wakefield struck off the medical register.

Despite subsequent studies demonstrating the absence of any such link, the bogus paper is still a reference for anti-vaxxers and left its mark.

Wakefield's study re-emerged in the United States in 2016 in a controversial conspiracy theory film called "Vaxxed".

Measles killed 207,500 people in 2019, a jump of 50 percent since 2016, with the World Health Organization warning that vaccine coverage is falling globally.

- 2009: Swine flu scare -

The discovery in 2009 of "Swine flu", or H1N1, caused by a virus of the same family as the deadly Spanish flu, caused great alarm.

But H1N1 was not as deadly as first feared and millions of vaccine doses produced to fight it were destroyed, fuelling mistrust towards vaccination campaigns.

Matters were made worse by the discovery that one of the vaccines, Pandemrix, increased the risk of narcolepsy.

Of 5.5 million people given the vaccine in Sweden, 440 had to be compensated after developing the sleep disorder.

- 2020: Polio conspiracy theories -

Eradicated in Africa since August 2020 thanks to vaccines, polio is still a scourge in Pakistan and Afghanistan where the disease -- which causes paralysis in young children -- remains endemic.

Anti-vaccine conspiracy theories have allowed it to continue to destroy lives.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban were against vaccine campaigns, calling them a Western plot to sterilise Muslim children.

However, when they returned to power last year they decided to cooperate with the WHO and UNICEF.

ot-eab/fg/imm/rbu

FLANNEL MILLIONAIRE REACTIONARIES

Canadian truckers cause chaos in second day of anti-vaccine protests

Sun, 30 January 2022, 


A “Freedom Convoy” of trucks joined by thousands of demonstrators brought Ottawa to a virtual standstill for a second day Sunday to protest Canada’s vaccine mandates, as other sympathetic truckers blocked a border highway into the United States.

The chaos clogged the capital’s downtown near parliament throughout the weekend and brought criticism from officials including Ottawa’s mayor.

“This afternoon, a large presence of police continues throughout the downtown core and the movement of protestors and trucks continues to be managed,” the Ottawa police said in a statement.

“These high-risk situations were de-escalated and resolved with no arrests,” the authorities said, adding that “police resources are fully stretched” in dealing with the obstruction, which appeared to involve hundreds of trucks.

The boisterous protests threatened to disrupt business Monday, with authorities stating that City Hall will remain closed, traffic will be disrupted and some other services stalled.

The protest originated last week in western Canada, where dozens of truckers organized a convoy to drive from Vancouver to the Canadian capital to demonstrate against Covid-related restrictions, particularly a recent vaccination requirement for truck drivers crossing the long US-Canada border.

Multiple convoys began arriving in Ottawa on Friday, and were joined by thousands of other anti-vaccination protesters.

In solidarity with the convergence on Ottawa, truckers Sunday staged what police described as a “complete blockage” of Highway 4 in Canada’s western Alberta province along the US border. The road is a major artery for commercial goods between the nations.

“As of right now... the port of entry remains open technically speaking, however nobody would be able to get to them except on foot,” Curtis Peters, a spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Alberta, told AFP, adding that some 100 trucks were blocking the roadway.

In Ottawa, the desecration of a war memorial and harassment of some city officials and NGO volunteers sparked an angry response, and the police said they had launched “several investigations.”

“I am sickened to see protesters dance on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and desecrate the National War Memorial,” Wayne Eyre, chief of the country’s Defense Staff, said on Twitter.

“Those involved should hang their heads in shame.”

‘Show some respect’

Barricades were installed Sunday to block vehicle access to the area around the war memorial, after several illegally parked vehicles were towed away.

And an organization advocating for the homeless, Shepherds of Good Hope, said its workers had been “harassed” by protesters demanding meals on a particularly cold weekend.

It said it had briefly given free meals to some demonstrators in an effort to defuse tensions, but added, “This weekend’s events have caused significant strain to our operations at an already difficult time.”

With protesters gathering, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family were moved Saturday to an undisclosed location in Ottawa, Canadian media reported.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson fumed over what he called “threatening” behavior by some of the protesters, particularly against the media.

“Stop the bully tactics and show some respect to fellow Canadians,” he said on Twitter.

Later, in an interview with the CBC, Watson said it was time for protesters to “move on” so Ottawa can return to normal.

“Quite frankly, (residents) feel they’re prisoners in their own home,” he said.

(AFP)

Hundreds of truckers block Ottawa in ‘Freedom Convoy’ to protest vaccine mandates

Issued on: 30/01/2022



Hundreds of trucks and thousands of people blocked the streets of central Ottawa on Saturday as part of a self-titled “Freedom Convoy” to protest vaccine mandates required to cross the US border.

Flying the Canadian flag, waving banners demanding “Freedom” and chanting slogans against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the truckers were joined by thousands of other protesters angered not only by Covid-19 restrictions but by broader discontent with the government.

An enormous clamor rang out as hundreds of big trucks, their engines rumbling, sounded their air horns non-stop.

Closer to Parliament, families calmly marched on a bitterly cold day, while young people chanted and older people in the crowd banged pots and pans in protest under Trudeau’s office windows.

Canadian media said the prime minister and his family had been escorted out of their home and taken to a secret location in the capital, with much of the protesters’ wrath directed at Trudeau

“I want it all to stop – these measures are unjustified,” said one demonstrator, 31-year-old businessman Philippe Castonguay, outside the Parliament building.

He had driven seven hours from northern Quebec province to make his feelings known: “The vaccination requirements are taking us toward a new society we never voted for,” he said.

The protest originated last week in western Canada, where dozens of truckers organized a convoy to drive from Vancouver to Ottawa to demonstrate against Covid-related restrictions, particularly a vaccination requirement for truck drivers.

Both Canada and the United States imposed that requirement in mid-January, affecting drivers who cross the 5,500-mile (9,000-kilometer) border – the world’s longest.

The movement rapidly gained steam as the original cross-country convoy was joined by others en route to the federal capital.

Their rallying point was Parliament Hill, in the heart of Ottawa.
Government ‘intrusion’

Stephen Penderness, an unvaccinated 28-year-old trucker from Ontario, said he was protesting for all Canadians, not just his fellow drivers.

“It’s actually for every single person... everybody on the road,” he said. “It’s all about your free choice.”

Angela Bernal, a 67-year-old retired teacher said she wanted “governments to lift the measures,” adding that “maintaining the restrictions is useless.”

With a strong police presence around the federal capital the protest went off without major incident despite initial fears there could be violence.

The zone around Parliament was closed for the weekend, and Ottawa police chief Peter Sloly described the situation on the ground as “unique, fluid, risky and significant.”

Police said they fear some demonstrators will stay beyond the Saturday protest, snarling traffic further.

Trudeau, who is currently in isolation after a Covid exposure, on Wednesday defended the vaccination mandate, noting that 90 percent of drivers are already vaccinated.

He called the truckers headed for the city a “small fringe minority” who do not represent the majority of Canadians.

Trudeau said Friday that the truckers’ views – which he described as anti-science, anti-government and anti-society – posed a risk not only to themselves but to other Canadians as well.

The leader of the Conservative opposition, Erin O’Toole, urged the protesters to remain peaceful. He has promised to meet with the truckers.

The movement received an endorsement Thursday from Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who tweeted, “Canadian truckers rule.”

To date, 82 percent of Canadians aged five or older have been vaccinated against Covid-19. Among adults, the figure is 90 percent.

The Canadian Trucking Alliance, a major industry group, said the vast majority of the country’s truck drivers are vaccinated. It has “strongly disapproved” of the gathering in Ottawa.

(AFP)