Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Reko Diq deal

Editorial
Published March 23, 2022 -

IN what is being described as a breakthrough, Barrick Gold Corp has agreed to restart the suspended Reko Diq mine project in Balochistan’s Chaghi district, following a settlement with Pakistan on the framework to reconstitute the agreement after 10 years of legal battles and negotiations. The reconstituted agreement allows the Canadian company’s Chilean partner, Antofagasta Plc, to exit the project by withdrawing from its claim of $3.9bn in place of a payment of $900m. The two companies have won an award of around $11bn from an international arbitration court against Pakistan’s decision denying their joint venture a licence to develop Reko Diq. The government claims that the agreement will help it avoid the penalty, besides bringing in an investment of $10bn and creating 8,000 new jobs in the province. Under the new arrangement, Barrick gets half the project while Balochistan and federal state-owned firms will each hold 25pc of the remaining half. Barrick will get a mining lease, an exploration licence and surface rights. The project, once it enters the production stage five to six years from now, is billed to be potentially the world’s largest gold and copper mine, with deposits capable of producing 200,000 tons of copper and 250,000 ounces of gold a year for more than half a century. The government contends that Pakistan will benefit for “over 100 years from this project and the total worth is estimated to be over $100bn”.

Indeed, the new agreement seems to be an improvement from the past when international investors held 75pc of the project. But questions remain. For instance, the details made public so far don’t inform us if the investor plans to set up a refinery at Reko Diq for exporting precious metals or intends to take minerals out of the country in their raw form like the Chinese operator in Saindak. In case Barrick decides to export the metals in their raw form, do we have the capacity for determining the quantity extracted and moved out of the country, and to verify the exact revenue? Will there be a cap on the quantity of minerals to be excavated annually? Will Barrick and Pakistan share the anticipated investment equally according to their shareholding? If yes, where will $5bn come from for investment in five to six years? The government owes it to the people of Balochistan as well as the rest of Pakistan to make all the details public for the purpose of transparency.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2022

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BALOCH

At UN, Baloch activist raises concern about rights violation in Pakistan

Munir Mengal, a Baloch political and human rights activist on Tuesday raised concerns about the violation of the ongoing rights against minority communities in Pakistan.

ANI | Geneva | Updated: 23-03-2022

Munir Mengal, a Baloch political and human rights activist on Tuesday raised concerns about the violation of the ongoing rights against minority communities in Pakistan. Speaking at the 49th session of UN Human Rights Council, Munir said, "No amount of violence and no amount of brutality, no amount of regression can crush the people's desire for the basic right to freedom. Since 1948, Pakistan with a colonial mindset has unleashed a might on the people of Balochistan who refuse to surrender their most basic right --- the right to regain their sovereignty on their land."

The Baloch rights activist said the brutality of the Pakistani state has led to an unending tragedy for the people of Balochistan. "The family members, the civil society representatives and students are continuously rallying at press clubs at Quetta, Karachi and Islamabad for the safe release of victims of enforced disappearances," he added.

Citing the reports of the human rights group, Munir said thousands of Baloch are victims of enforced disappearances including Baloch women and infants. "The practice of disappearing by force, extrajudicial killings and target killing are done in Balochistan systematically on daily basis with impunity." Notably, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) earlier had expressed alarm over reports of a fresh wave of enforced disappearances in Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan, including most recently, Hafeez Baloch, a postgraduate student at the university in Islamabad.

Experts believe that the missing persons may be dead or their mutilated bodies dumped into ditches and may be locked in some detention centers. The 49th regular session of the Human Rights Council started on February 28 and will continue till April 1.

(ANI)

Baloch activists seek UN intervention to stop human rights violations in Balochistan

The Baloch political and human rights activists have demanded immediate intervention by the United Nations to stop gross human rights violations in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.

ANI | Geneva | Updated: 17-03-2022 22:55 IST | Created: 17-03-2022 22:55 IST

Baloch activists seek UN intervention to stop human rights violations in Balochistan. Image Credit: ANI

The Baloch political and human rights activists have demanded immediate intervention by the United Nations to stop gross human rights violations in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.The Baloch Human Rights Council organised a demonstration at Broken Chair during the 49th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday.

They shouted slogans like "Stop human rights violations in Balochistan", "We Want Freedom" and "Terrorist State Pakistan". The banners at the demonstration highlight the ongoing genocide and rising cases of enforced disappearances in the province.The protesters alleged that thousands of youth have been forcibly displaced in Makkuran, Jhalawan, Dera Bugti, and Kohlu regions of Balochistan and the perpetrators of human rights violations are given impunity by the military-controlled legal system in Pakistan.

Samad Baloch, General Secretary of Baloch Human Rights Council said, "We are requesting the United Nations, the international community and the so-called civilised world to intervene in Balochistan as they have done in Ukraine. Russia has invaded a sovereign nation Ukraine, similarly, in 1948 Pakistan has invaded and forcibly annexed Balochistan."He added, "It is the high time that they show their moral, political responsibility and duty to intervene in Balochistan and help the people of Balochistan to gain their sovereignty to live in peace, security and stability with honour and dignity in their own soil."Hassan Hamdam, Vice President of Baloch Human Rights Council said, "We are here to highlight the gross human rights violations happening across Pakistan. Balochistan is having the worst human rights violations these days as the Pakistan Army takes some actions against the Baloch people. They are creating a heinous crime against humanity."He added, "It is unfortunate that the Pakistan Army picks young Baloch from their houses and their mutilated bodies found in mountains. They are disappearing like ghosts. These ghosts are from the Pakistani intelligence agencies."Hassan said, "We are here to request the international community if there is a state who is killing its people then who is going to protect us? When the state fails to provide security and justice to the people, then there must be someone who is responsible to take action. It is the United Nations that brings us here to highlight these issues." (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

SEE LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for BALOCH

WATER IS LIFE

Surface water availability becoming limited: Unesco

Amin Ahmed

Published March 23, 2022

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations World Water Development Report has projected that while water use is projected to grow by roughly one per cent per year over the next 30 years, overall dependence on groundwater is expected to rise as surface water availability becomes increasingly limited due to climate change.

Released by Unesco, on the occasion of World Water Day, the report points out the low use of water is not due to a lack of renewable groundwater, but rather by a lack of investments in infrastructure, institutions, trained professionals and knowledge of the resource.

The report says groundwater accounts for 99pc of all liquid freshwater on Earth. However, this natural resource is often poorly understood and consequently undervalued, mismanaged and even abused.

It says in order to meet global water and agricultural demands by 2050, including an estimated 50pc increase in food, feed and biofuel demand relative to 2012 levels, it is of critical importance to increase agricultural productivity through the sustainable intensification of groundwater abstraction, and decreasing the water and environmental footprints of agricultural production.

Regions heavily reliant on groundwater for irrigation, and in South Asia, 57pc of the areas equipped for irrigation use groundwater.

Asia-Pacific is the largest region in the world in terms of both area (28 million kilometres) and population (4.7 billion). The region is the largest groundwater abstractor in the world, the report says.

The critical driver of groundwater development in the region is rising demand for water due to growing populations, rapid economic development and improving living standards.

Utilisation of groundwater resources has provided numerous benefits for irrigation, industrial activity, domestic use, drought resilience and livelihood enhancement, according to the report.

These socio-economic benefits have been particularly crucial for the agricultural sector — a sector that is key to economic development in many developing countries in the region, and that accounts for an estimated 82pc of total water withdrawals.

Additionally, groundwater quality is under threat due to a variety of anthropogenic and geo-genic drivers that further contribute to water stress in the region.

It is estimated that agricultural pollution has overtaken contamination from settlements and industries as the major factor in the degradation of inland and coastal waters.

Nitrate, from chemical and organic fertilisers, is the most prevalent anthropogenic contaminant in groundwater globally. Insecticides, herbicides and fungicides, when improperly applied or disposed of, can pollute groundwater with carcinogens and other toxic substances.

Evidence suggests that laws and regulations to prevent or limit groundwater pollution from agriculture, and especially their enforcement, are generally weak. Policies addressing water pollution in agriculture should be part of overarching agriculture and water policy framework at the national, river basin and aquifer scale.

In terms of climate change adaptation, the capacity of aquifer systems to store seasonal or episodic surface water surpluses can be exploited to improve year-round freshwater availability, as aquifers incur substantially lower evaporative losses than surface reservoirs.

Published in Dawn, March 23rd, 2022

South Korea sued to stop deep-sea gas pipeline

By Vivienne Nunis
Business reporter, BBC News

Image caption,
Tiwi Islanders Francisco Babui and Daniel Munkara say the gas project will impact their way of life

Aboriginal people from northern Australia have filed a lawsuit aimed at stopping South Korea funding a proposed deep-sea gas field.

They say a 300km gas pipeline threatens their way of life and risks harming turtles near their Tiwi Islands home.

The Barossa gas field, located in seas north of Darwin, was partially approved by Australia's offshore energy regulator last week.

The gas giant Santos plans to begin drilling wells in the next few months.

If the project is given full approval, Santos wants to construct an undersea gas pipeline alongside Bathurst Island, the western-most island in the Tiwi archipelago. At its closest point, the pipeline will be 6km from shore.

Image caption,
Environmentalists say the gas project risks damaging the Tiwi's pristine marine environment

Aboriginal groups from the Tiwi Islands, located in the Timor Sea north of Australia, say they were not properly consulted about the project.

The legal challenge aims to prevent South Korea from lending approximately A$950m (£530m) to Santos via the state-owned Export-Import Bank of Korea and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation.

Lawyers filed an injunction in the Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday under a law known as the Korean Civil Execution Act.

It seeks to prevent potential damage - either to the environment or to South Korea's future financial position if the investment fails - by prohibiting the financing from going ahead.

If the legal action is successful, lawyers say the financial viability of the entire project is at risk.

Jikilaruwu Tiwi Island clan leaders Francisco Babui and Daniel Munkara have accused Santos and the previous owner of the project, ConocoPhillips, of disregarding the islanders' concerns.

"Under Australian law and in accordance with Aboriginal tradition, the Jikilaruwu clan is the owner of the sea country where that gas pipeline will go through. We are the decision makers for that sea country," Mr Munkara said in a statement released by the Stop Barossa Gas Campaign group.

"We were told briefly about the pipeline in 2018 and we said 'no' to the project. They said it wasn't happening. Now we find out Santos wants to lay the pipeline through our sea country without our consent."

Santos declined to comment.

'Wild frontier'

Environmental campaigners in Australia have long criticised the Barossa plan.

They say the proposed gas field and pipeline will damage the unique marine environment in the Timor Sea, including turtle nesting areas.

"You've got this massive continental shelf that extends off northern Australia, and that continental shelf is covered in big drowned river valleys, which means there's a real diversity of habitat," said marine biologist Jason Fowler from the Environment Centre Northern Territory, which is supporting the legal fight.

Image caption,
Olive Ridley sea turtles are the most common species nesting on the Tiwi Islands

"The Timor Sea is quite warm and shallow and muddy - it's dominated by sponges, not corals," he said.

"There are over 900 species of sponges out there, some of them are undiscovered. We've only mapped about 10% of this area. So it's very much a wild frontier, that we are only just beginning to understand."

The pipeline Santos proposes would pass through an area designated as as a "habitat protection zone" in the Ocean Shoals Marine Park.

Under Australian government rules for the management of marine parks, gas pipelines can be constructed within such zones under license.

Those rules were approved by Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg when he was the minister for energy and environment in 2018.

Mr Fowler said he lobbied Mr Frydenberg at the time, and asked him to introduce stronger protections for marine parks, but that the minister had "ignored the science and listened to the oil and gas industry".

"When you build a gas pipeline across the sea floor, it's like building a railway line across the country," he said.

"You've got to build bridges over valleys, you've got to dredge out areas of high ground, you've got to try and make it as flat and even as possible, because you don't want your pipeline going up and down. So there's a lot of habitat modification."

Tiwi Islander Francisco Babui echoes those concerns.

"The pipeline is too close to Cape Fourcroy [on the islands' western tip]. There is a reef there with lots of turtles and dugongs," he said. "The turtles lay their eggs on that beach and we go hunting in that area. We use that coastline for camping and fishing.

Image caption,
Tiwi Islanders say their way of life depends on healthy seas

Other critics of the Barossa plan have questioned the viability of drilling for gas that contains a relatively high proportion of carbon dioxide.

John Robert, a chemical engineer with 40 years' experience in the oil and gas sector, said that means carbon emissions from Barossa will be especially high.

"The Barossa project would produce about one and a half tonnes of CO2 for every tonne of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) it produces, so it would in fact be a CO2 factory with an LNG by-product," he said.

"And that's before you transport it, turn the LNG back into natural gas, and then burn it in a power station. So it's going to be about the dirtiest LNG around. But unfortunately Santos seems very determined to move ahead with it."

Mr Frydenberg and ConocoPhillips declined to comment.

Australia's offshore energy regulator, the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority, said a range of environmental and safety approvals need to be granted before gas extraction or production can begin at the Barossa field.

Women’s tennis: World No.1 Ash Barty announces shock retirement

The Australian won 15 titles, including the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the French Open and was the sport’s top player for 121 weeks.

Ashleigh Barty of Australia waves as she holds the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Danielle Collins of the United States in the women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia on January 29, 2022. In a shock announcement Wednesday, March 23, 2022, No. 1-ranked Barty announced her retirement from tennis [File: Andy Brownbill/AP]

The world’s top women’s tennis player Ashleigh Barty has stunned the sport by announcing her early retirement at the age of just 25.

“Today is difficult and filled with emotion for me as I announce my retirement from tennis,” she said in a video posted on Instagram.

KEEP READING

Australian Open: Barty beats Collins to lift women’s tennis title

Barty wins Wimbledon women’s singles final against Pliskova

Injured Djokovic leaves Tokyo Olympics empty-handed

The Australian leaves the sport less than two months after becoming the country’s first home-grown Australian Open champion in 44 years, and winning a Grand Slam tournament on three different surfaces.

Barty has won 15 titles, including Wimbledon, played on grass, and the French Open, played on clay.

“I know how much work it takes to bring the best out of yourself … I don’t have that in me any more,” she said in the video.

“I don’t have the physical drive, the emotional want and everything it takes to challenge yourself at the very top level any more. I am spent.”

Barty previously walked away from the game as a teenager in late 2014 after becoming disaffected by the Tour.

She returned in 2016 and rose rapidly through the rankings, earning global acclaim for her brilliant tennis and winning the affection of fans for her unfailing sportsmanship.

She spent a total of 121 weeks as the world’s best and appeared destined for more success.

“Thank you for being an incredible ambassador for this sport and for women around the world,” the Women’s Tennis Association tweeted. “We will miss you so much, Ash.”

Barty made no secret of her dislike for the touring life and her battles with homesickness.

“Ash Barty, the person, has so many dreams she wants to chase after that don’t necessarily involve travelling the world, being away from my family, being away from my home, which is where I’ve always wanted to be,” she said on Instagram where she was speaking to her close friend and former doubles partner Casey Dellacqua.

“I’ll never, ever stop loving tennis, it’s been a massive part of my life, but I think it’s important that I get to enjoy the next part of my life as Ash Barty the person, not Ash Barty the athlete.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic halted elite tennis in 2020, Barty took nearly a year off from the game to spend time with family rather than rejoin the circuit after it resumed.

“I know I’ve done this before, but in a different feeling,” she said.

“I’m so grateful for tennis, it’s given me all of my dreams, plus more, but I know the time is right now for me to step away and chase other dreams and to put the racquets down.”

She bows out after having earned nearly $24m in career prize money and as a national hero – the second Aboriginal Australian to win a Grand Slam title – following in the footsteps of Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

Barty’s bombshell news triggered tributes from players and officials.

“Happy for @ashbarty, gutted for tennis,” said Briton Andy Murray. “What a player.

The Women’s Tennis Association chair Steve Simon said Barty always led by example “through the unwavering professionalism and sportsmanship she brought to every match.

“With her accomplishments at the Grand Slams, WTA Finals, and reaching the pinnacle ranking of No1 in the world, she has clearly established herself as one the great champions of the WTA.”

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

Turkish women losing faith in government determination to effectively tackle gender-based violence
By Turkish Minute
- March 23, 2022

Women’s rights activists have said since Turkey withdrew from the İstanbul Convention, an international treaty to combat violence against women, many women have lost faith that the authorities will protect them when confronted with violence, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported.

Speaking to Deutsche Welle Turkish service (DW), Selime Büyükgöze from the Mor Çatı Women’s Shelter, said the convention emphasized the equality of genders. “The government’s new proposal to tackle gender-based violence will be ineffective because it does not acknowledge gender equality,” she said.

The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, better known as the İstanbul Convention, is an international accord designed to protect women’s rights and prevent domestic violence in societies and was opened to signature of member countries of the Council of Europe in 2011.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sparked outrage in Turkey and the international community after he issued a decree in March 2021 that pulled the country out of the international treaty, which requires governments to adopt legislation prosecuting perpetrators of domestic violence and similar abuse as well as marital rape and female genital mutilation.

Conservatives within the ruling party have argued the treaty’s principles of gender equality undermine traditional family values.

“The arguments put forward by government officials and the president that men and women are not equal have led to an immense loss of faith among women that authorities are sincere in their promise to tackle femicide and gender-based violence,” said Büyükgöze.

According to Selin Nakipoğlu, from the Women’s Platform for Equality (ESIK), had the convention been implemented properly since it went into force in August 2014, several protective measures would have been put into place.

“A nationwide phone line for women who were subject to violence was supposed to be launched. Moreover, rape crisis centers and a commission for gender equality were supposed to be established,” said Nakipoğlu.

She added that the convention was also important for imposing the necessary punishment on perpetrators of violence and femicide.

A new government proposal to combat gender-based violence has been harshly criticized by activists for being lenient on perpetrators of violence and not acknowledging gender equality.

According to the proposal that was put forward by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and sent to parliament for debate, if the perpetrator of violence shows remorse, they can benefit from a reduced sentence.

SCF releases new report on Rule of Law(lessness) in Erdoğan’s Turkey

By Turkish Minute
- March 23, 2022

The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) on Tuesday released its latest report, “Rule of law(lessness) in Erdoğan’s Turkey: Violation of the principle of legality and no punishment without law in post-coup trials,” a study that focuses on how the criminal prosecutions and trials conducted on charges of terrorism since a coup attempt in Turkey in 2016 are devoid of any legal grounds, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported.

The principle of “legality” and “no punishment without law” aim at clearly ascertaining the conduct that constitutes a crime prior to its commission so that an individual knows which acts and omissions will make him criminally liable. Yet, in an attempt to demonstrate the connection of individuals to the Gülen movement, a faith-based group inspired by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, Turkish judicial authorities have been using daily activities involving the exercise and enjoyment of fundamental rights as evidence of terrorist activity. These include having an account at a certain bank, sending children to private schools affiliated with the movement and using a specific messaging app.

“As confirmed by the European Court of Human Rights in its cases, this principle is an essential component of the rule of law that may not be derogated from even in times of emergency under Article 15 of the European Convention on Human Rights,” said Dr. Merve R. Kayıkcı, research director at the Stockholm Center for Freedom. “Unfortunately criminal prosecutions and trials in Turkey have been carried out in violation of this principle since 2016.”

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, there has been a sharp increase in the use of so-called ‘terrorism’ charges under Article 314 of the Turkish Criminal Code (TCK) in the aftermath of the coup attempt. While 8,416 charges were filed under Article 314 in 2013, the number soared to 146,731 in 2017, 115,753 in 2018, 54,464 in 2019 and 33,885 in 2020. More than 265,000 individuals were sentenced under the same article between 2016 and 2020.

The report discusses the legal elements required for the existence of an “armed terrorist organization” under Turkish law. It then considers the legal components for the existence of a membership relation between an individual and an armed terrorist organization. The report further elaborates on how the principle of legality and no punishment without law is violated in the post-2016 coup attempt trials.

“Turkey has the highest incarceration rate among the Council of Europe countries due to the unlawful criminal proceedings and trials. While the number of people who were put behind bars has dramatically increased, there has been a record rise in the number of prisons constructed in recent years in a sign of the Turkish government’s plans to continue its crackdown on critical groups in the country,” Dr. Kayıkcı said.

About the Stockholm Center for Freedom

SCF is a non-profit advocacy organization that promotes the rule of law, democracy and human rights with a special focus on Turkey.

Committed to serving as a reference source by providing a broad perspective on rights violations in Turkey, SCF monitors daily developments, documents individual cases of the infringement of fundamental rights and publishes comprehensive reports on human rights issues.

SCF is a member of the Alliance Against Genocide, an international coalition working to exert pressure on the UN, regional organizations and national governments to act on early warning signs and take action to prevent genocide.

Author Confronts Canadian FM for “escalating” Russia-Ukraine War

The West is "provoking" a world war by using Ukraine as a "proxy" against Russia, writer Yves Engler shouted as he hijacked the minister’s speech

by RT / March 22nd, 2022

WATCH author confront Canadian FM for ‘escalating’ Russia-Ukraine war

Writer and activist Yves Engler interrupted a speech by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, accusing the authorities in Ottawa of escalating the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and increasing the risk of it turning into a global confrontation.

Engler shared a clip of himself confronting the foreign minister on Twitter on Tuesday.

It showed the leftist writer entering the conference hall and walking towards the stage, shouting: “Stop escalating the war. Stop sending arms to Ukraine… You’re going to push us to World War III.”

Canada, which along with the US and other Western nations backs Ukraine in the ongoing conflict, has sent so many rocket launchers, grenades, and other equipment to Kiev that it has “exhausted” its own military’s stockpile of weapons, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand said last week.

“Why didn’t you push Kiev to sign the Minsk accords?” Engler asked, addressing Joly.

The Minsk agreements, which were signed with the mediation of Russia, Germany, and France in 2014, were designed to regulate the status of the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk as part of Ukraine.

However, shortly before Russia launched its military operation in February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the accords “incompetent” and made it clear that Kiev wasn’t going to fulfill them.

“Stop using Ukraine as a proxy against Russia,” the author said, repeating some of his statements in French and then managing to flee the room before security could apprehend him.

In an article published on his website on Monday, Engler condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine, but pointed out that NATO’s eastward expansion had increased the likelihood of an armed conflict between the two nations. A declaration of Ukraine as a neutral state which will never join the US-led military bloc has been one of Moscow’s key demands during the ongoing peace talks with Kiev.

“Peace minded Canadians should redouble our efforts to get Canada out of NATO,” he said.

Engler, who is the author of a dozen books, also actively protested the involvement of Canada in the coup in Haiti in 2004. At the time, he crashed a press conference by then-Canadian Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew and poured cranberry juice on him, symbolizing the blood of the Haitian people.

He is also a strong supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, which calls for measures against Israel over its occupation of Palestinian lands.