How the Russian Orthodox Church is vying for influence in Africa

DMYTRO HORYEVOY
1 DAY AGO

Russia is strengthening its presence in the continent through the church, which operates in line with Moscow's foreign policy.

Late in 2021, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) decided to establish an exarchate in Africa. Two dioceses were established: one in North Africa, with its centre in Cairo, and the other in the south of the continent, with a see in Johannesburg.

Bishop Leonid Gorbachev, the head of the new exarchate, also runs the recently established Armenian diocese of the ROC.

This was an unprecedented decision by the canons of Orthodoxy, where there is fairly strict adherence to territorial jurisdiction: the borders of a church region, province, or a whole patriarchate are considered inviolable and those who violate them are liable to trial.

The Patriarchate of Alexandria currently oversees the entire continent of Africa. Its mission in the equatorial part of the continent is relatively young and dates back to the second half of the last century.

One hundred years ago, the Phanar and the Patriarchate of Alexandria struck a deal — recognising the former's responsibility for the Orthodox diaspora throughout the world in exchange for the responsibility of the church in Africa for the latter. The Russian Orthodox Church had always acknowledged this.

But now, the ROC insists that the Patriarchate of Alexandria has never extended its jurisdiction beyond Egypt.

The territory of the Patriarchate of Alexandria is twice protected by church law: by general principles of inviolability and a specific canon. A violation of these principles is akin to a gross violation of international law. This has the potential to open a Pandora's box of interchurch relations, endangering the entire architecture of modern Orthodoxy.

Russia's Africa ambitions

What was the reason for such a violation of the canons and the common Orthodox ethics of behaviour? The ROC hasn't made it a secret that its move is in response to the Patriarch of Alexandria recognising the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine (OCU).

But the Patriarchate of Alexandria had recognised the OCU in early November 2019, more than two years ago.

Gorbachev also stated that the Moscow Patriarchate would not leave Africa, and the church would only "strengthen and expand".

That is, even in the case of a hypothetical withdrawal of recognition of the OCU by Alexandria and, therefore, the elimination of the root cause of the conflict (according to the Russians), it would not be enough to end the Russian presence.

Thus, it is possible that Ukraine was only a pretext for church expansion. It is more likely that it is about the ROC's role within Russia's neo-colonial ambitions in Africa.

Moscow, which has established relations with African countries from the Soviet era, has signed a memorandum of understanding on space cooperation with Zimbabwe. State-backed corporations are extracting minerals, and various private military companies are protecting friendly regimes.

It is highly likely that the decision to establish an exarchate was agreed upon — or at least discussed — with the foreign ministry.

In this context, the church serves as a source of soft power; Russia is strengthening its presence in Africa with the informal institution of the church, which, nominally separate, is operating in line with the national foreign policy.

The Moscow Patriarchate has a whole range of activities in Africa, including includes the promotion of Russia in the region, building its positive image as well as denigration of the "collective West". Its role may also include spiritual support to various Russian mercenaries and lobbying in places where the Kremlin fails to achieve its goals.

The ROC is also using finances to support its mission. Orthodox priests used to receive a salary of about $100 from the Patriarchate of Alexandria, a reasonable sum by local standards. Moscow has doubled the salary. By the end 2020, 102 priests allegedly — the ROC has not published any names, personal records, or documents, keeping these priests secret — joined the ROC.

Consequences

The Patriarchate of Alexandria, a victim of Moscow's aggression on its ecclesiastical jurisdiction, asked Patriarch Bartholomew to convene the Synaxis of Pentarchy, a special council of the ancient Eastern Patriarchates, which can condemn the actions of the ROC.

There are three scenarios for sanctions against the Russians. The first two are personal sanctions that would be applied to different members of the clergy, from ordinary clerics (ROC priests in Africa — Andrei Novikov and Georgy Maximov) to members of the Synod and Patriarch Kirill himself. They could be stripped of their ministry for violating the canons.

The toughest scenario calls for institutional sanctions: the abolition of Moscow Patriarchate and liquidation of the ROC by annulling its autocephaly.

This could be done in the following way.

The fundamental document that established patriarchy in Moscow and recognised the autocephaly of the ROC was the charter of 1593, signed by the four Eastern Patriarchs. The modern Eastern patriarchs (or some of them) can simply revoke the signatures of their predecessors under this document, due to violations, and it will automatically become invalid.

Three of the five representatives of the Pentarchy have already recognised the OCU and been sanctioned by the ROC, meaning they have motives to condemn the ROC.

The other two — the Antioch (Syria and Lebanon) and the Jerusalem (Palestine, Jordan) — are neutral on the Ukrainian issue but may take a different stance on the ROC's moves in Africa.

The Bishops' Council of the OCU is scheduled to take place on May 24, but is unlikely to make any major decisions. Moscow is also planning to hold its own Bishops' Council, which it postponed from its scheduled date in May to autumn or winter. Formally, this is because of European sanctions, making it difficult for bishops to visit Moscow. But Patriarch Kirill of the ROC is also wary of facing rather uncomfortable questions from Ukrainian bishops.

The Russian Orthodox Church has instrumentalised the independence of the Ukrainian church and has shown that it is willing to do anything to attain its goals. Because of this, world Orthodoxy is entering a severe crisis that brings the threat of a new global schism.

A version of this article first appeared in TRT Russian.

Status of Non-Russians within Russian Federation has Deteriorated Since Putin Launched His War in Ukraine, Experts Say

Paul Goble

Tuesday, May 24, 2022

            Staunton, May 9 – The Reforum project has surveyed five experts both from within Russia and now residing abroad, and they concur that since the start of Putin’s war in Ukraine, the status of the non-Russian peoples within the current borders of the Russian Federation has deteriorated, sometimes sharply.

            Gasan Guseynov, an ethnic Azerbaijani who teaches at Riga’s Free University, says that the idea of a Russian world is not inherently imperialist but is being used by the Kremlin to suppress non-Russians (reforum.io/blog/2022/05/09/pochemu-rossiya-voyuet-s-naselyayushhimi-eyo-narodami/).

            With its insistence that the ethnic Russians are “the state-forming nation,” he says, Moscow has “declared war on all its minorities which cannot do anything to oppose that idea” because anyone who tries is immediately subject to harsh repression. The wars in Chechnya show just how far the center is prepared to go.

            Aleksandra Garmazhanova, head of the Free Buryatia Foundation, says that the Russian authorities are doing everything they can to make the non-Russians ashamed of their identity and to think that Russians are “’a higher race’” membership in which is something that they should aspire to.

            “We talk about the defense of Russian in Ukraine, but who is defending Udmurt I Russia? We are indigenous peoples and much closer to the Ukrainians than to the imperial idea of the Russian world.” As a result, many non-Russians feel they have no choice but to leave Russia.

            She says that she and others have formed the Buryats Against the War movement and continue to demand the formation of a genuine federation because “in fact no Russian Federation exist now … The majority of Buryats want change and feel that it is abnormal not to know one’s native language.” And she says that ever more Buryats feel that way, including many officials.

            Sergey Yerofeyev of Rutgers University and the Polish Institute of Advanced Studies, says bluntly that “present-day Russian nationalism is racism. Racism can lead not only to gas chambers.” And the fact that this has not happened in Russia does not mean that the predominant ideology there is not racist.

            Vasily Gatov of the Reforum group says that “Russian racism is very specific” in a horrific sense: “People are not so much boosting the Russian people as denigrating others.” There is nothing wrong with Russians being proud of being Russians but there is something very wrong in their not doing that but rather seeking to lord it over others.

            Dmitry Berezhkov, editor of the Russia of Indigenous Peoples portal, argues that “Russia is not the remnant of an empire: it was and is an empire and now is beginning to lose its colonies.” Moscow seeks to hide and block this by creating pocket officials who will mouth its line, but that only delays the inevitable.

            Putin’s war in Ukraine has hit minorities in Ukraine and Ukrainians in general the hardest, but “the indigenous peoples of Russia are also suffering from this situation.” One way that has hit them is that Western firms understood environmental protections but now that they have left, the Russian, Chinese and Indian replacements do not.

            The Kremlin has created a situation in which the indigenous peoples are afraid to speak out in their own defense. At present, he continues, many of them have decided that their only choice is to leave, a trend that will only intensify as the war in Ukraine and repression at home intensifies.

            Since the start of the war, Berezhkov says, “the indigenous peoples have completely lost the opportunity to present any opinion which diverges from that of the powers that be. We want to “return this possibility to them” and a month ago established an international committee of the indigenous peoples of Russia to do so.

            The new diasporas of non-Russians and Russians must act as “a third front” in the current war and is opposed by the peoples of the Russian Federation. Only if they do so, he suggests, will there be any possibility to achieve needed change in their country.

Russian “Special Military Operation” and the Language of Empire


24.05.22 |
[Kostia Gorobets is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Transboundary Legal Studies at the University of Groningen.]

The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine that has caused enormous human suffering and destruction has also produced conflicting narratives. Or instance, the fact that Russian authorities and state media are so careful in trying to avoid using the word “war,” and speak of a “special military operation” instead, is quite remarkable. Many casually brush off this term as a silly piece of Russian newspeak, as though not worthy of attention. However, Russia has not chosen to name its war in this way randomly. The language it uses is not of a mere academic interest; paying attention to it may reveal a lot in terms of Russian political long-term aims and plans. These plans, of course, have nothing to do with prevention of genocide or protection of Russian-speaking population in Ukraine (which suffers most from this war). Russia is trying to rebuild its empire, and the language of “special military operation” is a reflection of this goal.

The language and logic of empire relies on inequality and subordination. There can be no equal relations between the empire and its constitutive parts. And so, there is no place for war within the empire, because the very concept of war assumes equality in status: one state (or empire) is at war with another state (or empire). This is precisely why Vladimir Putin and Russian state media are so persistent in claiming that it is the West, NATO, the US, the neo-Nazis, the Anglo-Saxons, or some other worthy enemy who they are really at war with. It is these mighty adversaries who are equal in status and whom Russia wants to speak and fight with. To be great, you need to have great enemies.

What war can there be with Ukraine? Within the logic of empire, it can in no way have a status equal to imperial Russia’s; it is but a colony and so it only deserves a “special military operation.” Unlike war, a “special military operation” does not imply equality of status. In fact, this term utilizes the logic of inequality, as when state authorities conduct a police or anti-terrorist operation thus exercising their monopoly on the use of force. The narrative of a “special military operation” is imperialistic precisely because it assumes that Russia is using force within its own domain, of which Ukraine is but a part. This involves an element of doublespeak. On the one hand, Ukraine is technically a separate independent state with its own government. On the other hand, Russian authorities consider it to be a fake country invented by some destructive forces, and so it is actually part of Russia, as Putin argued in his infamous article. This is why there is really nothing puzzling about Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s statement that Russia never attacked Ukraine. How can you attack and invade a territory that is yours to begin with?

The narrative of a “special military operation” thus uses the language of policing, not of genuine military confrontation. Note the resemblance in the Russian way of naming the use of its armed forces: “operation on the restoration of the constitutional order in Chechnya” (the First Chechen War), “counter-terrorist operation on the territory of Northern Caucasus region” (the Second Chechen War), “peace enforcement operation” (the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008), and now “special military operation.” Russia does not fight wars, it conducts “operations,” because wars can only be fought with equals.

What does all this reveal about Russia’s invasion? First, it explains why Vladimir Putin has been so reluctant to hold any direct negotiations with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, despite the fact that the Ukrainian President has called for such negotiations, not only since the start of this phase of the conflict, but already since the moment he became a presidential candidate. Obviously, any direct negotiations with Zelenskyy would place him symbolically as Putin’s equal. This is unthinkable and intolerable within the logic of empire. Putin wants talks with Zelenskyy only if such talks would in fact be an act of subjugation and humiliation. Any other scenario would mean Putin’s defeat and Zelenskyy’s victory, and it would also mean the destruction of the imperial narrative.

Second, given how strong and consistent this imperialistic narrative has become, I am somewhat sceptical about intelligence reports that Putin is getting ready to declare war against Ukraine (which he did not do on 9 May, as some expected). Such reports make perfect sense within the logic of an armed conflict between formally equal belligerent parties; it is becoming more and more obvious that declaring the martial law and initiating mobilization is the only way for Russia to keep the war going. But this is not the logic within which Russia operates, and so these reports seem to miss the point. Not only the declaration of war would confirm the fact that Russia’s professional army has failed, but it would also elevate Ukraine to the status of an equal adversary, which would obviously ruin the whole carefully crafted imperialistic narrative. If Putin ever officially initiates a general or partial mobilization (in addition to current unofficial efforts to recruit “volunteers”), it would have to fit the rhetoric of confronting the true enemy. And even that would unlikely solve Russia’s military and political problems. If you declare war on the West, you must live up to the task and fight it. Capturing Kramatorsk, Slovyansk, and Sievierodonetsk in the Donbas would hardly look like crushing victories against the powerful West.

Finally, Western intellectuals in the US, Germany, and elsewhere, must stop calling upon their governments to negotiate peace with Russia, or offer it an off-ramp. Such appeals only reinforce Putin’s narrative that Russia is in fact at war with the West, and not with Ukraine. They also give credence to the imperialistic thinking about Ukraine as an imperial holding or a commodity whose status can be negotiated by “great powers.” By calling the West to negotiate with Russia, these intellectuals are strengthening the imperialistic narrative, which is quite strong in academia as well, by taking part in it.

Language matters. Words that we use to describe things constitute those very things. The language of empire is no exception. It does not merely describe the subjugation and domination, it generates it. Can Russia manage to maintain and prolong its narrative of “special military operation”? This seems less and less likely. The death of any empire begins with the erosion of its imperial narrative. Ukraine’s mission in this war, then, is not merely to survive, but, through preserving and strengthening its agency, to hit the last nail into the coffin of Russian imperialism.

Civil society to Amazon: Terminate your contract to host dangerous U.S. DHS biometric database

24 MAY 2022 | 6:00 AM

Today, Access Now, Immigrant Defense Project, Just Futures Law, and over 35 human rights organizations sent a letter to Amazon Web Services calling on the company to end its agreement to host the United States Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) database. The letter was sent in coordination with a protest to be held today outside Amazon’s annual Amazon Web Services (AWS) Summit against the corporation’s growing surveillance network, led by For Us Not Amazon, La ColectiVA, MediaJustice, and the Athena Coalition.

According to a new report from Mijente, Just Futures Law, and the Immigrant Defense Project, HART Attack: How DHS’s Massive Biometric Database Will Supercharge Surveillance and Threaten Rights, DHS intends to use HART to collect vast amounts of biometric data within the U.S. and abroad, including facial recognition, DNA, iris scans, fingerprints, and voice prints. Anyone who seeks entry into the U.S., applies for immigration benefits, or is stopped by U.S. immigration authorities could have their biometric data stored in HART once it comes online.

“With its harmful biometric data collection practices, slurping up everything from DNA to voice prints and iris scans, the U.S. DHS criminalizes Latino communities,” said Ángela Alarcón, Latin America and the Caribbean Campaigner at Access Now. “This is an assault on human rights and must be stopped. The HART data-sharing with governments in Latin America and the Caribbean will increase their monitoring capabilities, exacerbating discrimination against already marginalized communities.”

Once HART comes online, it will be one of the largest biometric databases in the world, teeming with privacy, security, and human rights risks. It will aggregate data from U.S. federal agencies, local and state police, and foreign governments. As stated in HART Attack, even DHS itself has acknowledged the unmitigated and serious data sharing concerns.

“HART is a terrifying tool of mass surveillance and state violence, built on invasive and racially-biased data on hundreds of millions of people. We have already experienced the widespread harm of DHS policing practices at the border, within the United States, and globally, and HART will only make them worse,” said Mizue Aizeki, Director of the Surveillance, Tech and Immigration Policing Project at the Immigrant Defense Project. “There is no reforming HART. If Amazon wants to uphold its commitments to human rights, it must immediately end its hosting and support for HART.”

“Amazon’s continued support of HART will directly lead to more deportations and arrests in Black and brown communities. HART can and will be weaponized,” said Paromita Shah, Executive Director of Just Futures Law. “As long as DHS’ shadowy HART database remains active, our human rights and our privacy will be threatened.”

Read the full letter.

Biden advisers in Saudi Arabia for secret oil, Israel normalisation talks: report

White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk and State Department energy envoy Amos Hochstein reportedly arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks on energy and the potential normalisation of Riyadh's ties with Israel.

The New Arab Staff
25 May, 2022

The Biden administration has softened its approach to relations with Saudi Arabia [Getty-archive]

Two of US President Joe Biden's senior advisers have reportedly paid a secret visit to Saudi Arabia for talks on energy and potential normalisation of Riyadh's ties with Israel.

White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk and State Department energy envoy Amos Hochstein arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday for talks with senior Saudi officials, American news outlet Axios reported, citing three current and former US officials as sources.

The meeting is a precursor to a potential visit to Saudi Arabia by Biden himself late next month, Axios said.

Relations between the US and Saudi Arabia have been strained since Biden took office in January 2021.

While running for president, Biden called Saudi Arabia a "pariah" for its alleged role in the death of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi Arabia has denied it played any role in Khashoggi's murder.

The US has pressed oil-producing nations to step up production since energy-rich Russia invaded Ukraine in February, to provide countries dependent on energy exports with options other than Moscow an suffocate the Russian economy.

Saudi Arabia has been reluctant to increase its production and aggravate Russia, a key OPEC co-member.

The Biden administration has been quietly mediating between Egypt, Israel and Saudi Arabia to encourage Riyadh to normalise its ties with Tel Aviv, Axios said.

RELATED

US 'brokering deal' between Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel

MENA

The New Arab Staff

While on a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan did not rule out full diplomatic ties with Israel in the future.

"We have always seen normalization as the end result for a path. Normalisation between the region and Israel will bring benefits but we won’t be able to reap those benefits unless we are able to address the issue of Palestine," bin Farhan said.

Biden's softening in his stance towards Saudi Arabia has angered some Democrats, who have said Riyadh's poor human rights record and close ties with China and Russia are of concern.

Four Arab states - Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and the UAE - signed the Abraham Accords brokered by former US president Donald Trump in 2020.

Other Arab nations have in recent weeks discussed legislation that could make normalisation of ties with Israel illegal.

Report: U.S. secretly mediating deal between Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Egypt

Citing five U.S. and Israeli sources, Axios says deal would see Egypt transfer to Saudi Arabia two Red Sea islands located at a sea passage leading to Israel's port of Eilat; U.S. wants to reach deal during Biden's Mideast trip in June

i24NEWS,Ynet|

Published: 05.24.22, 

The U.S. administration is secretly negotiating a deal between Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Egypt that might lead to a normalization of relations between the Saudi kingdom and the Jewish State, the Axios news outlet reported on Monday.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter

Citing five U.S. and Israeli sources, the report said the U.S. took the leading role in solving the issue of transferring two strategic islands in the Red Sea, Tiran and Sanafir, from Egypt to Saudi Arabia.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House

(Photo: EPA)

In 1950, Saudi Arabia handed over the control of the islands to Egypt, however, they became demilitarized as part of the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, the daily reported. Today, the two islands in the Red Sea control the Straits of Tiran – a strategic sea passage to the ports of Aqaba in Jordan and Eilat in Israel.

The negotiations among the different parties continues, and no agreement has yet been signed. One of the key issues is the question of a multinational force of observers, the sources told Axios.

Saudia Arabia agreed to keep the islands demilitarized and maintain full freedom of navigation for all ships, however, it wanted to end the presence of multinational observers. Additionally, Israeli officials agreed on ending the observers' presence but required similar security arrangements as seen today.

The flags of the United States, Israel, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain projected in Jerusalem's in honor of the Abraham Accords

(Photo: Reuters)

Please Advise! Big Games in Alberta and Florida, No?

Indeed, we’re on the eve of desperate showdowns. There’s also some hockey being played.

Steve Burgess

17 May 2022

TheTyee.ca
Steve Burgess writes about politics and culture for The Tyee. 

Read his previous articles.

Let the battles begin! Who can withstand this onslaught of belaboured hockey metaphors? 

Photo via Wikimedia.


[Editor’s note: Steve Burgess is an accredited spin doctor with a PhD in Centrifugal Rhetoric from the University of SASE, situated on the lovely campus of PO Box 7650, Cayman Islands. In this space he dispenses PR advice to politicians, the rich and famous, the troubled and well-heeled, the wealthy and gullible.]

Dear Dr. Steve,

Finalists are named for Canada’s prestigious National Magazine Awards and Digital Publishing Awards.

The Battle of Alberta is about to begin, as is the Battle of Florida. Can you offer a preview?

Signed

Old Sport


Dear Sporty,

That depends. The Battle of Alberta, pitting Edmonton against Calgary, will be hard-fought and closely scrutinized by professional referees who will ensure the rules are respected and fairness results. But that’s just if you mean hockey. Otherwise the Battle of Alberta will be like a prison fight with homemade knuckle dusters and shivs made of sharpened toothbrushes. A hockey game is a pillow fight by comparison.

Representing Calgary in this true Battle of Alberta is Premier Jason Kenney who faces a UCP leadership review on Wednesday. Votes are in the mail but already a video review is in the works.

Elections Alberta has received a complaint of bulk ballot-buying, with over 4,600 UCP memberships being purchased using only eight credit cards. However this is not unusual, if you are a seahorse. Seahorses can give birth to as many as 2,000 offspring at a time and whether they are picking up a quick snack at Gilly’s Krill Grill or buying UCP memberships, it’s Mom and Dad who foot the bill. (Some will point out that you don’t see many seahorses in Alberta, to which a seahorse might answer, “Yes, and at these aquarium prices you won’t see many more.”) Anyway, enough quibbling about who is bulk-buying from whom. The real issue is creeping socialism.

To belabour the hockey metaphor — and that’s what we do here — Wednesday’s vote isn’t really the equivalent of the Flames–Oilers face-off. That’s still to come with Rachel Notley suiting up for Edmonton in the next provincial election. Wednesday is more about whether to fire the coach. Unlike the Flames, Kenney won’t be able to claim a narrow victory with a thrilling overtime goal either. If the result is not lopsided, he could find himself facing a player’s strike. Some of his team could even end up playing for Buffalo — that is, the newly formed Buffalo Party of Alberta. The, umm, chips are down.

Hockey-wise it’s been an interesting season. The Calgary Flames just won a tough series against the Dallas Stars, which had to be difficult for Premier Kenney. Surely his loyalties must have been torn — Kenney has got to be a secret Texan. He probably downloaded the Gov. Greg Abbott filter on Instagram. It’s traditional for political leaders to make a friendly bet on the outcome of such contests, with the loser agreeing to wear the winner’s team jersey or something.

Kenney probably wanted to swap jobs instead. How the Alberta premier must sigh as he contemplates running a state where the governor can first pose like a defiant Spartan on the Mexican border, and then fight the greedy migrant babies stealing milk from the mouths of helpless American children. Paradise.

Then there’s the Battle of Florida, which on the ice means the Florida Panthers against the Tampa Bay Lightning, and off the ice means Gov. Ron DeSantis against Mickey Mouse — or for that matter Gov. DeSantis vs. 21st century concepts of human dignity.



So Kenney Just Noticed He Has Too Many ‘Kooky People’ in His Party

READ MORE

Ron DeSantis is like a cat who has figured out how to work door knobs and realizes that everything is now possible. In the penumbra of the Trump era, DeSantis has come to understand that there are no depths too low for Republican voters. Today he fights Disney for refusing to countenance homophobia; tomorrow perhaps for failing to segregate drinking fountains. Who knows? For Florida Republicans it appears there is no bottom (except the one you have to kiss at Mar-a-Lago).

In such times playoff hockey comes as a blessed relief. It’s wonderful to relax into that familiar world where the home team’s goals are announced like the discovery of insulin and the opposition’s like the disclaimers at the end of prescription drug commercials, a world where transgressions have consequences and the numbers on the scoreboard actually mean something. Not to mention a world where you can find ice in Florida — proof, as Gov. DeSantis might say, that climate change is just another liberal myth. Close the drapes and enjoy the game.

Canadian ice hockey star responds to racist and Islamophobic abuse after win

Nazem Kadri said the 'hurtful' attacks against his family needed to stop

A St Louis Blues fan can be seen sticking out his middle finger at Nazem Kadri 

at a game between the Blues and Colorado Avalanche (AFP)

By MEE staff
Published date: 25 May 2022 

Canadian ice hockey star Nazem Kadri has received death threats and Islamophobic abuse on social media following an accidental collision with another player in the second round playoffs of the Stanley Cup.

Kadri, who plays for Colorado Avalanche, received a deluge of abuse on Saturday after he was involved in a collision in Game Three which led to the injury of St Louis Blues starting goalkeeper Jordan Binnington.

Following the collision, for which he was not penalised, Kadri received a flood of abuse on social media which his wife shared on her Instagram page following Game Four, on Monday.

"Great game tonight, very proud of Nazem. But I want to shine light on what the last 48 hours has looked like for us as a family," Kadri's wife wrote on top of screengrabs of messages from apparent Blues fans. The messages included death threats and derogatory comments about Kadri's Muslim faith.

"This behavior doesn't belong in sports, or anywhere. If you are not condemning racism, then you are tolerating it," she wrote.

Kadri was booed every time he touched the puck in Game Four at St. Louis, where there was a heightened police presence due to the situation.

The NHL told the Associated Press news agency that it was working with the St Louis Police Department to implement enhanced security measures at the arena and in the team hotel.

Killing of Muslim family shows Canada is not a multicultural haven, experts say

Read More »

"For those who hate, that was for them," Kadri said after Game Four - which saw him score a hat trick in a 6-3 win. That victory put Avalanche just one win away from the Western Conference finals. Game Five is scheduled for later on Wednesday.

"I know what was said isn’t a reflection on every single fan in St Louis. I understand that, and I want to make that clear," Kadri said in a post-game press conference. "But for those that wasted their time sending messages like that, I feel sorry for them.

"People need to be aware that this stuff still happens and it's hurtful. It's hurtful," he said. "At the end of the day I'm a good hockey player and I just try to provide for my team and try to put all of that aside. I just worry about some people that maybe aren't as mentally tough as I am and have to go through that scrutiny and that criticism. So I want to do the best I can to help."

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar was full of praise for Kadri, calling him "a big boy, a tough guy, and a resilient guy".

"We're proud of him as a group and we have a task that we're trying to complete, and Naz understands that - and it's unfortunate he has to deal with it and he knows that we're all with him and that’s what we care about."

Muslim communities across Canada are facing a rising wave of anti-Islam sentiment, with a spate of break-ins and vandalism targeting mosques across the country.

Four members of a Muslim family were killed in a "premeditated" attack in July, when Nathaniel Veltman mounted the curb and ploughed his truck into the Afzaal family.

In 2020, a report submitted to the UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief showed that more than half of Canadians believed Muslims could not be trusted, while 47 percent supported banning headscarves in public - compared with 30 percent of Americans - and 51 percent supported government surveillance of mosques, compared with 46 percent of Americans.

The study also found that 46 percent of Canadians believed the discrimination faced by Muslims was their own fault.

Muslims number slightly more than 1 million, or 3.2 percent of Canada's population, according to the country's last census, more than double any other visible minority.

ABOLISH THE DEATH PENALTY

Egypt issued highest number of death sentences worldwide in 2021

Middle East and North African countries carried out most global executions last year, Amnesty International said

People take part in a demonstration against death penalties in Egypt in front of the Egyptian consulate in Istanbul in March 2019 (AFP)

By MEE staff
Published date: 25 May 2022

Egypt sentenced at least 356 people to death in 2021, becoming the world’s top issuer of death sentences, Amnesty International said in its annual report.

The British rights group documented 520 executions in seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa, out of a total 579 recorded globally, with an increase of 19 percent compared to 2020.

China is believed to have carried out the most known executions in the world last year, followed by Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

The data does not include executions carried out in China, believed to have carried out hundreds, or from North Korea and Vietnam, as these countries do not release data on the death penalty, Amnesty said.

The death sentences in the Middle East were mostly issued following proceedings that lacked due process, Amnesty said.

Iran executed the highest number of women globally (14) followed by Egypt (8) Saudi Arabia (1) and the US (1).

Iran executed at least 314 people (up from at least 246 in 2020), its highest number of executions since 2017, the report added. In Saudi Arabia, recorded executions increased from 27 to 65.

By the end of 2021, more than two thirds of the world’s countries had abolished the death penalty in law or practice, Amnesty said.

Iran's execution rate is followed by Egypt (at least 83) and Saudi Arabia (65) – accounting for 80 percent of executions worldwide.

Iran used the death penalty disproportionately against minorities, for charges such as “enmity against God” and “as a tool of political repression,” Amnesty said.

The death penalty in Egypt continued to be imposed on the basis of testimonies extracted after torture, the report said.

Israel arrested 1,228 Palestinians in April: report

Qassam Muaddi
West Bank

24 May, 2022

Around 4,650 Palestinians are held in Israeli jails,

 including 170 minors and 32 women according to

 human rights groups. 

[Qassam Muaddi/TNA]


Israeli forces arrested 1,228 Palestinians in April, including 156 minors and 11 women, Palestinian prisoners' support organizations said in a joint statement on Monday.

The month of April witnessed the highest rate of arrests by Israeli forces since the beginning of the year, the statement released by the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, Addameer Association for Prisoners' Support, the Palestinian Higher Commission for Prisoners Affairs and the Wadi Hilweh Information Centre in Jerusalem said.

The statement specified that during the same period, Israeli forces issued 68 new administrative detention orders and 86 renewal orders of current administrative detentions.

"This can be explained by the escalation of events in April, especially in Jenin and Jerusalem," Ayah Shreiteh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Prisoners' Club told The New Arab.

"The number includes the hundreds of Palestinians arrested during the Israeli settlers' storming of the Al-Aqsa compound in the holy month of Ramadan," Shreiteh noted.

Israeli police arrested 781 Palestinians during the month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa compound, according to figures released by the Israeli Knesset earlier in May.

The Palestinian detainees' Families' Committee in Jerusalem had previously told The New Arab that over half of the detainees at Al-Aqsa during Ramadan have been released.

On Monday, the Israeli army announced that it had arrested 11 Palestinians during several raids across the West Bank. Palestinian sources also documented 11 injuries.

"Two youngsters were injured in their backs by rubber bullets," Mahdi Hamdan, a local resident of the village of Jifna, north of Ramallah, told The New Arab.

"The Israeli army also confiscated several security cameras but did not arrest anyone in the village, but continued their way to Birzeit [1km away] and arrested a university student," Hamdan added.

Abdallah Allolu, an undergraduate student at Birzeit University, was among the detainees, the Prisoners' Club affirmed.

Israeli forces also arrested two Palestinians in their twenties in the villages of Rummanah and Zababdeh near Jenin, after confrontations with local youth, in which one Palestinian was injured.

Further arrests were carried out in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, in the village of Taqwa, near Bethlehem, and in southern Hebron.

Over one million Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli forces since 1967. Currently, around 4,650 Palestinians remain in Israeli jails, including 170 minors, 32 women and 600 administrative detainees, held without charges, according to human rights groups.

Joint Statement - Justice for Salah Hamouri

On the morning of March 7th, 2022, the Israeli army penetrated the home of French-Palestinian lawyer Salah Hamouri and placed him under administrative detention.


Click to expand Image
Salah Hamouri. © Elsa Lefort

May 24, 2022 

For the past 20 years, Salah Hamouri has been persistently harassed by the Israeli authorities, suffering multiple detentions, restrictions on his freedom of movement and separation from his wife and children.

Today, he is held without charge and faces forcible deportation from his homeland.

Amnesty International France, ACAT-France, the FIDH, Human Rights Watch and many other civil society organisations, call upon the French authorities to join them in defending this French citizen.

We must act to terminate his administrative detention.

We must act to prevent his deportation from Jerusalem, his city of birth and residence.

We must act to enable his wife, banned from entering Israeli territory until 2025, to visit her husband and communicate with him.

We must act to ensure that the Israeli Ministry of Interior examines their family reunification request, submitted repeatedly, to allow this family to live together.

And finally, at the start of a new presidential term, we must act to demonstrate France’s attachment to human rights.

The harassment of Salah Hamouri and his family must end! We count on the French authorities to ensure that the rights of this French citizen, lawyer, and human rights defender, are no longer violated.

Signatories : ACAT, Amnesty International France, CFDT, CGT, Confédération paysanne, FIDH, Fédération Syndicale Unitaire (FSU), Human Rights Watch, Plateforme des ONG Françaises pour la Palestine, Solidaires, Syndicat des avocats de France (SAF), Union nationale des étudiants de France (UNEF)