SAUDI PRESS BLAMES HOUTHI

Five Bln Dollars Needed to Rehabilitate Yemen’s Transport Sector, Ports and Airports

Friday, 10 June, 2022 

Yemeni youths commute on donkeys carrying plastic cans

 in the southern city of Aden on September 16, 2020. Photo: AFP

Aden - Wadah al-Jalil

The financial needs for the recovery and reconstruction of the transport sector in Yemen range between $363-443 million over five years, an estimate that could reach $2.1-4.1 billion, to rebuild the country’s major ports and airports.

A recent Yemeni study said that the Houthi coup has caused significant loss in the transport sector, destroying roads, bridges, ports and airports. It added that 29 percent of the total road network within cities was severely damaged, and 511.1 km of roads were totally destroyed.

According to the study prepared by the Yemeni-based Center for Studies and Economic Media, at least 50 percent of the road network in the cities of Al-Hazm, Taiz, Saada and Marib was damaged.

The war caused the closure of the highway between Sanaa and the city of Marib, which stretches along 173 km and links the country’s capital to the important oil and gas fields in the east.

The Houthi expansion also led to the closure of a number of important strategic 928 km roads, including the 200 km long road between the cities of Mocha and Hodeidah on the western coast of the country, the Aden-Bab al-Mandab Road in Mocha (350 km), and the Taiz-Mocha Road (100 km).

The militias are besieging the city of Taiz, causing the closure of all the main roads linking it with its surroundings and the rest of the governorates, which is leading to severe economic losses to public and private institutions and increasing burdens on the citizens, according to the study.

Moreover, the study noted that the Houthi militia planted mines in a large number of vital roads linking the most important cities of the country, such as the Sanaa-Marib road, east of the capital and the Taiz-Aden highway.

According to the World Bank estimates, the damage in the roads and bridges infrastructure is estimated at $500 million.

In addition, the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and Mocha were severely damaged, as the Houthi militia exploited them to import weapons and divert their resources to the war effort. The ports of Aden and Mukalla need approximately $49.5 million to maintain their dilapidated equipment.

The war also affected the normal operation of air transport, while airports in Sanaa, Taiz, Aden and Al-Hodeidah stopped working or operated at a very low capacity, according to the study.

According to the statistics of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, losses incurred by the airports amount to $2 billion, including damage to infrastructure, navigational and technical equipment, radars, and the suspension of travel.

No Matter How Ukrainian Crisis Ends, China’s Arms Giants are Always Winners?

June 11, 2022
By Valerio Fabbri


Russia’s military operation in Ukraine has changed the recent fortunes of the weapon industry, enabling it to make huge profits. The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has been going on since February 24, has witnessed a massive growth in defence spending. In April, the U.S. had stated that it will send an additional 800 million U.S. dollars in weapons, ammunition and other security assistance to Ukraine. The European Union recently announced that it would buy and deliver 450 million U.S. dollars of arms to Ukraine. According to rough estimates, the U.S. and NATO have sent 17,000 anti-tank weapons and 2,000 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, for instance.

So, arms industry across the globe is looking at the Russia-Ukraine conflict as the golden opportunity rather than a crisis. Chinese arms manufacturers are no different here. China’s arms industry is no different. Although no information is available regarding new sales opportunities for Beijing, experts claim that heavy demand for Chinese arms and ammunitions is expected from several countries including Middle-Eastern and African countries. The ongoing conflict has compelled several countries to increase their budget on defence and security, while China sees it as an opportunity to sell arms and ammunitions and make money, given that several countries are set to spurn Russia to avoid consequent sanctions and may look at China for arms supplies.

China is currently the fourth-largest military equipment exporter in the world, increasing not only its arms sales, but also military training and investment in Africa’s infrastructure projects, which are giving Beijing a foothold on the continent. “The trend is clearly upward and what that arms sales diplomacy gives China is a lot more influence, a lot more power, over those African states,” said Dylan Lee Lehrke, a lead analyst at Jane’s: “It’s a military dependency.” Nearly 70% of the 54 countries on the African continent possess Chinese armoured military vehicles, and nearly 20% of all military vehicles in Africa are imported from China, according to the new analysis by Jane’s, a company known for its publications on global weapons. The study shows sharp increases over the past two decades in Chinese military equipment sales to Africa, compared with the continent’s traditional benefactor, Russia. Countries like Tanzania, Nigeria, Sudan, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Gabon, Algeria, Namibia, Ghana and Ethiopia are among the top importers of Chinese arms.

China’s footprint in the entire Middle East has been widening rapidly ever since the announcement of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. China’s focus has been on clinching major BRI-connected economic investment deals, mainly infrastructure and connectivity projects in Middle East, Beijing has taken note of the lucrative defense markets of the Middle East. The developing geopolitics in the region, and also uncertain policies on the part of the United States, seem to have prompted China to reorient its strategies. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)’s recent report China has sold 4.6% of international weapon exports from 2017-21. Interestingly, this compared to China’s 6.4% share of the global arms market in the preceding five-year period. This represented a 31% drop for China in terms of global arms sales, considerably lower than the 4.6% drop in global arms sales in 2017-21 compared to 2012-16. China has trailed behind the U.S., Russia and France from 2017-21 but remained ahead of traditional heavyweights such as Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Thailand are China’s clients for arms and ammunitions. The report stated that nearly half of Chinese weapon exports – 47%, in fact – went to closest ally Pakistan, while Beijing’s next largest clients were Bangladesh and Thailand at 16% and 5% respectively.

When it comes to military equipment, China has clients mostly in Asia. According to available information, some 79% of Chinese arms exports were destined for Asia in the period between 2017 and 2021, with as many as 48 countries procured Chinese equipment. Given the relative strength of China’s position on the arms export table, it is perhaps surprising that China also appeared fifth in the international list of arms importers, behind India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Australia. As far as arms imports are concerned, China soaked up 4.8% of global arms imports from 2017 to 2021, compared to 2012-16 when it imported 4.4%. SIPRI reported that 81% of China’s most recent imports came from Russia, while 9.1% emanated from France and 5.9% from Ukraine. SIPRI has noted that Chinese arms imports remained stable between 2012-16 and 2017-2021, and mainly came from Russia in both periods. However, China’s arms imports are likely to decrease in the next few years as its industry is now capable of producing most types of major arms.

China has been a supplier of affordable and functional military equipment, including small arms, armoured vehicles, artillery, naval vessels, aircraft and missiles. It has sold 36 J-10C fighters to Pakistan, and delivered HQ-22 (FK-3) surface-to-air missiles (SAM) to Serbia. Experts however said that a lot of countries have little or no faith in Chinese companies because of poor after sales support. China has a bad reputation of not providing aftersales support, and equipment can rapidly decline into non-functional machinery. The more sophisticated the equipment it sells, the more maintenance support it will require from China. Available reports suggested that Jordan put its Chinese-manufactured CH-4 armed drones up for sale less than two years after buying them. Countries like Morocco, Nigeria and Turkmenistan have preferred drones from Turkey rather than China.

A RAND Corporation study in 2021 clearly pointed lacuna in Chinese defence contracts, stating there is a lack of transparency and accountability. China itself is under American and European military sanctions, and these certainly affect exports. Thailand awaited its first S26T submarine from China, with delivery delayed, first by COVID-19, and then by the fact that Germany refused to sell diesel engines to China for the vessel. Also, China lacked the ability to manufacture highly sophisticated parts as it is still not considered as first-rate developer and producer of state-of-the- art military material. In short, while Chinese military capabilities are limited vis-à-vis Western technologies and developments, Bejing’s assertive policy in terms of arms sales and presence around the world should raise some cautionary eyebrows.

From our partner RIAC

SEE

https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/06/global-arms-industry-getting-shakeup-by.html

 LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine: What Does Russia Stand To Gain Through Its Maritime Operations? – Analysis

 

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends the Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg on July 25. Photo Credit: Kremlin.ru

 June 11, 2022  Eurasia Review 

By Michael van Ginkel

Russia’s recent military operations against Ukraine have expanded its control over critical Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOC) in the Black Sea. SLOC give the region international economic importance by forming a conduit for trade between Europe, the Greater Middle East, and the Russian Federation.

In addition to facilitating transshipments, Black Sea littoral countries are major contributors to the global supply chains of several important commodities, including metals, hydrocarbons, and food. While the long-term status of territories and assets seized by Russia following its invasion on February 24th remains ambiguous, if left under Russian control they could considerably bolster Russia’s geopolitical position.

Russia’s Economic Interest in the Black Sea

The Black Sea already has significant economic importance for Russia, especially in regards to grain and hydrocarbon exports. Russia relies heavily on its Black Sea deep water ports to transport grain, 90 percent of which it exports through the maritime domain. Major Black Sea terminals in Novorossiysk, Tuapse, and Taman allow Russia to retain its position as one of the world’s leading grain exporters. Russia has continued to invest in Black Sea export capacity over recent years. The inauguration of a new deep-water berth at Novorossiysk in July 2021 has upgraded the grain terminal carrying capacity from 50,000 tons to 7 million tons per year, the second largest transhipment volume in Russia.

The Black Sea also plays a major role in the exportation of Russian hydrocarbons to markets in Europe. The majority of hydrocarbons transit the Black sea as gas through two underwater pipelines, BlueStream and TurkStream, which are responsible for a combined 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually. Hydrocarbons are also transported by tankers across the sea as refined and crude petroleum. The CPC terminal near Novorossiysk shipped roughly 60.7 million tons of oil across the Black Sea in 2021. Direct control over the SLOC in the Black Sea allows Russia to protect and expand on its economic interests.

Russian Black Sea Operations

By seizing Ukrainian ports along the coastline and controlling access to shipping lanes, Russia stands to make tangible gains from its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has already occupied several important Ukrainian ports along the Black Sea and Sea of Azov and continues to advance down the Ukrainian coastline. According to statements made by Russia’s high command, the occupation of the entire Ukrainian coastline remains a strategic objective. Combined, the cargo capacity of Ukraine’s 13 ports hovers around 230 million tons per year. Ukraine’s reliance on these ports has grown exponentially over recent decades. From 2013 to 2019, the amount of commodities exported through seaports increased by 85 percent. By controlling Ukraine’s access to the sea, Russia is greatly enhancing its own export capacity while delivering a crippling blow to Ukraine’s economy.

Russia has also expanded its influence over SLOC through its occupation of Snake Island. Despite its acquisition through illegal annexation, Russia could lay claim to the island’s maritime zones. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, islands give sovereign nations jurisdiction over a territorial sea that extends 12-nautical miles from the shoreline. The key shipping lanes connecting the major Ukrainian ports of Odesa, Mykplaiv, and Kherson to international markets pass through or near Snake Island’s territorial waters. Although foreign ships are normally entitled to innocent passage, countries can still regulate the movement of foreign vessels. Russia’s unilateral decision to cut off traffic through the Kerch Strait and along Russian occupied coastlines in the recent past demonstrates its willingness to enforce economic blockades.

Changing the Status Quo

In terms of geopolitical leverage, Russia’s military operations enhance Putin’s ability to place pressure on local and regional economies. Snake Island’s close proximity to the Danube Delta also means the island is strategically located to potentially regulate trade along the Danube River, which functions as a major transport corridor for the European Union. Altogether, by occupying coastal or island territory near the Danube, Volga, Dnipro, and Dnister deltas, Russia can threaten the major rivers transporting commerce into the Black Sea. Only the Turkish Straits, controlled by Turkey via the Montreux Convention, would offer an alternative waterway for maritime transport attempting to access harbors in the Black Sea.

Russia’s maritime operations also directly impact international markets. In the short-term, the invasion of Ukraine continues to affect the prices of high-demand commodities produced in the Black Sea region, including grain, coal, iron, steel, aluminum, neon, platinum, and nickel. Plans by Russia to compile a list of export bans in retaliation to Western sanctions can further exacerbate strain on the global economy moving forward. In the long-term, Russian occupation of Ukrainian coastal territories along the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea would give Putin control over major production centers for commodities like steel and iron. Although the permanent occupation of Ukrainian territory would require a significant amount of funds to rebuild and hold, the coastal areas could potentially become an asset to the Russian economy in the future.

Conclusion

Russia is consolidating its control over major SLOC, seaports, and coastal territories around the Black Sea. Occupying the associated maritime access points and production centers allows Russia to expand its influence over regional markets. Although Ukraine is actively defending its territory, Russia continues to make incremental gains along the coastline. If permanent, the territorial losses would not only significantly impact the Ukrainian economy, but also threaten the security of major global supply chains.

Michael van Ginkel is a senior visiting Fellow at the Institute for Foreign Affairs and Trade and an Honorary Fellow at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia.

Lobbyists In US Play Key Role In Turkish-American Relations – OpEd

June 11, 2022 
 Arab News
By Sinem Cengiz*

The US political system enables pressure groups and lobbies to access the policymaking process and exert their influence on foreign policy. Through their activities, these groups aim to become powerful political players. In this regard, four major lobbies — namely Armenian, Greek, Jewish and Turkish — play a significant role in shaping Turkish-American relations. Despite them pursuing different agendas, these four lobbies have one common goal: To protect the interests of their homeland by getting the US on their side.

Since Turkey has recently engaged in a reconciliation process with both Israel and Armenia, the position of the Jewish and Armenian lobbies in the US has been questioned. During a recent panel on Turkish-American relations organized by a prominent Turkish university, I raised this question with one of the panelists: Prof. Kemal Kirisci, a non-resident fellow at Brookings and an expert on Ankara-Washington ties. He closely follows the activities of these lobbies. Kirisci said the influence of these lobbies had significantly declined and this was due to several reasons related to Turkey’s relations both with its previous foes and with Washington.

Before touching on how these lobbies gained their considerable influence on Turkish-American relations, it is important to briefly explain their agendas and relations with Ankara. Countries interested in the political decision-making process in the US and which seek to influence Congress or the White House achieve their goals mainly through lobbying. In this regard, the Armenian, Greek and Jewish lobbies pay particularly close attention.

The Armenian lobby’s attention is concentrated on the issues concerning Turkey and Azerbaijan. It used to actively affect US politics and even caused the tension in Turkish-American relations seen in the 1980s.

The Greek lobby focuses on issues in Turkish-Greek relations, such as the Aegean Sea continental shelf dispute and the Cyprus conflict. Since the 1980s, the Greek lobby has also been actively lobbying against US arms sales to Turkey. Since both Athens and Ankara are NATO members, giving them geostrategic value in the eyes of US policymakers, their lobbying activities receive a great deal of attention. The Turkish lobby is a relative latecomer to the US arena and therefore is lacking some experience.
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In recent decades, there has been considerable cooperation between the Greek and Armenian lobbies in the US. This is not only due to their common concerns related to Turkey, but also their shared adherence to the Orthodox Church. These two lobbies have turned into important allies in the US political arena.

The Jewish lobby groups, which have been supportive of Turkish interests in the US, especially by adopting a pro-Ankara position on the issue of the Turkish-Armenian conflict, traditionally countered the Greek-Armenian alliance.

However, this situation started to change following the deterioration of Turkish-Israeli relations after 2009. The support of Israeli lobbies dramatically declined as a result of the Mavi Marmara incident in May 2010, when Israeli commandos attacked a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for Gaza, killing nine people. This incident and subsequent developments not only strained Ankara-Tel Aviv relations, but also incited the Israeli lobby in the US to act against Turkey’s interests.

This situation automatically paved the way for the Greek and Armenian lobbies to have the upper hand and exert further influence on US politics. One of the most significant examples of this was in 2010, when the Jewish groups stepped back from actively lobbying against a congressional resolution declaring the events of 1915 as genocide. The tragic events that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians are a greatly controversial matter for Ankara and Yerevan, as Armenians describe the events as genocide while Turkey rejects that description and says both Turks and Armenians were killed.

Turkey has repeatedly urged US presidents not to use the word “genocide” during their speeches on the memorial day every April 24. The Jewish lobbies were effective in influencing the White House and pressing lawmakers not to advance a bill that would recognize the events as genocide. However, US President Joe Biden’s use of the term last year was welcomed by some Jewish groups that had lobbied against recognition in 2007. Turkey condemned Biden’s statement, saying that it was made due to the pressure of certain lobbyists.

Now, things seem to have changed again. Turkey and Armenia have recently appointed special envoys to restore diplomatic relations, which have been interrupted since the early 1990s, and to open a border crossing. Meanwhile, Isaac Herzog visited Ankara in March, becoming the first Israeli president to visit Turkey in 14 years. There is an ongoing dialogue between the two countries that is supported by the US.

There is a general understanding in Ankara that Turkey’s rapprochements with Israel and Armenia may have a substantial impact on the Armenian and Jewish lobbies in Washington. More importantly, this rapprochement may even play a constructive role in Turkish-American relations in general, despite the existence of several structural problems between the two sides.

• Sinem Cengiz is a Turkish political analyst who specializes in Turkey’s relations with the Middle East. Twitter: @SinemCngz

Canada and Denmark reportedly reach settlement over disputed Arctic island

  11/06/2022 

Canada and Denmark have reached a settlement in a decades-old border dispute over Hans Island, a 1.3-square-kilometre rock in the Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, The Globe and Mail reports, citing its sources.

The Inuit name for the island is Tartupaluk – describing its kidney-like shape – and under the agreement, a border will be drawn across the island, dividing it between the Canadian territory of Nunavut and the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland.

The Canadians and Danes plan to unveil the settlement June 14 and celebrate it as an example of how countries can resolve border disputes peacefully even as Russia ignored the rules-based international order and launched a full-scale military assault on Ukraine, the sources say. The Globe and Mail is not identifying the sources because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The dispute over tiny Hans Island dates back to the early 1970s when the countries were negotiating their maritime boundary; they left the status of the islet for future negotiations.

Aluki Kotierk, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the legal representative of the Inuit of Nunavut on native treaty rights and treaty negotiation, said the dispute has never troubled the Inuit. But she nonetheless hailed the deal.

“The dispute between Canada and Denmark over Tartupaluk or Hans Island has never caused issues for Inuit. Regardless, it is great to see Canada and Denmark taking measures to resolve this boundary dispute,” Ms. Kotierk said in a statement.

“As geographic neighbours with family ties, Inuit in Nunavut and Greenland recognize the significance of working together toward our common future. NTI expects this long-standing relationship between Inuit in Nunavut and Greenland to be a symbol of continued co-operation between Canada and Denmark.”

She also noted the fundamental role that the Inuit play in cementing Canada’s authority over its Arctic territory. “Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic is only possible because of Inuit use and occupancy,” Ms. Kotierk said.

The crew of Danish warship Vedderen carry out a flag-raising ceremony on the uninhabited Hans Island off northwestern Greenland, on Aug. 13, 2002.

The Canadian Press

Canada and Denmark have reached a settlement in a decades-old border dispute over Hans Island, a 1.3-square-kilometre rock within the Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, sources say.

The Inuit title for the island is Tartupaluk – describing its kidney-like form – and underneath the settlement, a border shall be drawn throughout the island, dividing it between the Canadian territory of Nunavut and the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland.

The Canadians and Danes plan to unveil the settlement June 14 and have a good time it for example of how nations can resolve border disputes peacefully whilst Russia ignored the rules-based worldwide order and launched a full-scale army assault on Ukraine, the sources say. The Globe and Mail shouldn’t be figuring out the sources as a result of they weren’t approved to talk publicly on the matter.

The dispute over tiny Hans Island dates again to the early Seventies when the nations had been negotiating their maritime boundary; they left the standing of the islet for future negotiations.

Aluki Kotierk, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the authorized consultant of the Inuit of Nunavut on native treaty rights and treaty negotiation, mentioned the dispute has by no means troubled the Inuit. However she nonetheless hailed the deal.

“The dispute between Canada and Denmark over Tartupaluk or Hans Island has by no means induced points for Inuit. Regardless, it’s nice to see Canada and Denmark taking measures to resolve this boundary dispute,” Ms. Kotierk mentioned in an announcement.

“As geographic neighbours with household ties, Inuit in Nunavut and Greenland acknowledge the importance of working collectively towards our widespread future. NTI expects this long-standing relationship between Inuit in Nunavut and Greenland to be an emblem of continued co-operation between Canada and Denmark.”

She additionally famous the elemental function that the Inuit play in cementing Canada’s authority over its Arctic territory. “Canada’s sovereignty within the Arctic is barely potential due to Inuit use and occupancy,” Ms. Kotierk mentioned.

Michael Byers, an Arctic skilled and political scientist at College of British Columbia, applauded information of a deal. He mentioned 2022, when Russia is violating Ukraine’s sovereign territory, is an ideal alternative for Canada and Denmark to “clear up their very own yard and ship a sign to different nations.”

Tussles over Hans Island date again many years.

Again in 1983, Canada issued a land-use allow to a Canadian petroleum firm to ascertain a scientific camp on Hans Island that may research how sea ice may have an effect on drilling rigs, Prof. Byers mentioned. In 1984, Tom Hoyem, then the Danish minister for Greenland, flew to Hans Island by helicopter and planted a Danish flag, prompting the Canadian authorities to situation a diplomatic protest, he added.

Further Danish flag vegetation – and Canadian protests – adopted in 1988, 1995, 2002, 2003 and 2004, Prof. Byers mentioned. In 2000, a crew of geologists from the Geographical Society of Canada visited the island, mapped its location and took geological samples.

In 2004, the Wall Avenue Journal quoted Peter Taksoe-Jensen, authorized adviser to the Danish international minister about how each nations maintained a way of humour all through the dispute: “When Danish army go there, they go away a bottle of schnapps. And when [Canadian] army forces come there, they go away a bottle of Canadian Membership [whisky] and an indication saying, ‘Welcome to Canada.’ ”

In 2005, then-defence minister Invoice Graham visited Hans Island to claim Canada’s declare. His journey got here shortly after Canadian army personnel visited the island and planted a Canadian flag and constructed an Inuit stone marker referred to as an inukshuk.

Mr. Hoyem, the previous Danish minister, responded by writing a column in The Globe the place he asserted that, “Hans Island has been used for hundreds of years by Greenlandic Inuit as a super vantage level to get an summary of the ice scenario and of the searching prospects, particularly for polar bears and seals. The Canadian Inuit have by no means used the island.”

Prof. Byers mentioned Canadians ought to do not forget that the Inuit in Greenland and Nunavut “are the identical individuals and they didn’t have boundaries and borders previous to Europeans arriving.”

He mentioned he thinks that the actual fact Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not made Arctic sovereignty a part of his political model has helped create a scenario the place a deal could possibly be struck.

“It’s an excellent instance of how whenever you dial down the political temperature, you may resolve factors of friction.”

The settlement signifies that for Canadians who can afford the various 1000’s of {dollars} it will value to achieve this islet, Hans Island presents them a singular Canadian land border with Europe.

“It is possible for you to to go to Hans Island and step from Canada into Europe and again into Canada. I can’t think about there shall be any border official there,” Prof. Byers mentioned.

He mentioned the settlement to his information has no impression on surrounding maritime rights as a result of Canada and Denmark settled these issues in 1973.

SOUNDS LIKE FLORIDA

Russia seeks to militarize schoolchildren and censor textbooks amid war

Kremlin security chiefs are making radical changes in how history is taught


By Robyn Dixon
June 11, 2022 

Schoolchildren enter the Museum of the Great Patriotic War (also known as the Victory Museum) in Moscow on March 17.

RIGA, Latvia — As President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine drags on, Russia’s teachers are being turned into front-line soldiers in an information war designed to mold children into loyal militarized nationalists. The nation’s powerful security chiefs, leading propagandists and parliamentary hard-liners are pushing radical changes to the education system, as the Education Ministry takes a back seat.

Schools have been ordered to carry out “patriotic” classes parroting the Kremlin line on the war, and teachers who refuse to give the classes have been fired. Textbooks are being purged of almost all references to Ukraine and its capital, Kyiv.

Russia’s parliament rejected as unsatisfactory the Education Ministry’s plan on how it would review history textbooks, calling this a matter of “national security” and requesting the head of Russia’s foreign spy service to take charge.

And the powerful chief of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, a close Putin ally, has demanded sweeping changes to education, as part of a whole-of-government effort to shape loyal citizens from cradle to grave.

Anton Litvin, a Moscow father of two, had a nice home and good job, but when the government began using schools for propaganda in the war against Ukraine, he quit and left the country. He said he was revolted by the thought that his children could be brainwashed by lessons about “patriotism” and Putin’s take on history. The breaking point came when teachers sent home brochures urging him to sign his 8-year-old son up for summer camp with the Young Army, a military youth group launched by the Defense Ministry in 2015.

“I don’t want my kids to join the regime at this young age and to be someone’s soldiers to fight against peaceful people,” said Litvin, who sacrificed his job at a prominent Moscow aeronautics company and is now a stay-at-home dad in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, looking for a new job.

Since 2013, Putin has driven changes to the teaching of history as part of a campaign to build a national identity based on the Soviet Union’s role in defeating the Nazis in World War II. But after the invasion of Ukraine, the tempo of change in schools was “like a waterfall,” Litvin said.

“Everything is getting worse. It’s like it’s going back to the Soviet Union,” he said. “Children are taught that war is good, actually, from the perspective of our government.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with families awarded Orders of Parental Glory via a video link on June 1. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia’s efforts to militarize students underscores the Kremlin’s long-term ambitions: not just cementing Russian support for the war but also building a generation of youth loyal to Russia’s increasingly totalitarian regime — unlike many Russian millennials today who oppose the regime and the war.

Putin constantly plays on Russian nostalgia for past Soviet power to justify the war, but his “is not a new Soviet regime. It is much closer to a fascist regime and what they’re doing now is a different sort of propaganda,” said Grigory Yudin, professor of political philosophy at the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences. “They’re trying to actively militarize children to engage them in this war, to engage them in support for this war.”

Patrushev, the Security Council chief, last month demanded a major overhaul of Russia’s education system to develop a new “patriotic” generation. He urged the adoption of a comprehensive system to “implement the state’s program at all stages of a person’s maturation and formation as a citizen.”

A key proponent of the invasion known for his anti-Western rhetoric, Patrushev said teachers were at the forefront of a “hybrid war being waged against Russia.” But many of them, he complained, “manipulated” children and distorted history. He criticized the history curriculum and lamented that textbooks did not cover Soviet heroism in World War II properly.

A participant of a public event holds a flag displaying the symbol Z in support of Russia's armed forces involved in a military conflict in Ukraine, in central Saint Petersburg, Russia, on May 27. A sign on a flag reads: "We don't abandon our people." (Anton Vaganov/Reuters)

Then, amid complaints that the Education Ministry had fallen short, Russia’s upper house of parliament asked on Thursday that Sergei Naryshkin, head of the Foreign Intelligence Service and chairman of the Russian Historical Society, take charge of reviewing history textbooks, because “the current situation requires a special attitude” to teaching.

“Today, it is one of the components of the country’s national security,” said Ekaterina Altabayeva, deputy chairwoman of the Science, Education and Culture committee.

The main impact of changes to textbooks and curriculum is expected after the summer break.

“There’s a whole revolution going on now in the Russian education system, because it’s been rapidly changing since February,” Yudin said. He added, “They want to get back control over young minds, and they also need these people as cannon fodder.”

While the Education Ministry has ordered teachers to give patriotic lessons that reflect the Kremlin’s line on Ukraine, they have been a hard sell at times.

One history teacher in a Moscow high school, for example, failed to persuade several students in his class, including a 17-year-old named Nikita.

“I don’t trust my history teacher. He is more of an overly-patriotic propaganda man,” Nikita said, adding students paid no attention to the patriotic lessons. The student declined to give his surname to avoid problems at school. “I just stood up and left the classroom. Two others did the same.”

But many students were wary of openly opposing the war, he added. “My friends do not support the war. We try to be careful. For instance, I don’t want my classmates to know what my thoughts are.”

For some, the mandatory sessions on the war are an onerous but unavoidable duty.

“Both teachers and students, I think, understand that it’s not a real lesson. It’s not about learning. It’s something else, an obligatory event,” said a Moscow history teacher, Alexander. He said teachers were given guidelines on teaching history, “but what we say is not officially regulated.”

But officials seem determined to curb teachers’ freedom to decide how they teach history. Just days after the February invasion, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova summoned teachers to meetings where they were ordered to toe the government line on the war.

Russian female cadets, members of the Young Army movement, march during Victory Day Parade rehearsals on May 7 in Moscow. (Getty Images) (Contributor/Getty Images)

Some teachers who refused to teach the patriotic lessons were fired. Patrushev has warned that authorities could target school heads whose students did not have books about World War II or could not name Russian war heroes from past centuries.

“History is a subject that the authorities are always trying to use for propaganda purposes,” said Dmitry, a teacher from provincial Russia, where most people support the war. “History teachers are much more vulnerable than other teachers.”

Textbook publishers, meantime, are carrying out a Soviet-style purge of almost all references to Ukraine. After the invasion, management at Russia’s main text book publisher Prosveshchenie — meaning Enlightenment — ordered editors to slash references to Ukraine and Kyiv, according to a report by the independent Russian media Mediazona in April, based on interviews with three editors.

One editor said that “we have a task to make it look as if Ukraine simply does not exist,” the outlet reported.

Russian textbooks have just a page about the millions of people shot or jailed illegally in Soviet times, according to Marina Agaltsova, a lawyer with Memorial, a renowned nonprofit dedicated to exposing Soviet-era repression that was shut down by authorities last year.

“If you have only one small stain on the big, glorious history of the Soviet Union, of course you would think that the Soviet Union is a great state, and we all have to get back to that state,” she said.

Memorial historian Nikita Petrov said Russia’s insistence that students unquestioningly accept the Kremlin’s version of history was “dangerous.”

In late 1970s, Petrov, then a chemistry student, had got his hands on a smuggled copy of British historian Robert Conquest’s “The Great Terror” about the Stalin-era purges. Smuggled books on Soviet history were like gold to him, he recalled. He decided that becoming a historian was more important than being a chemist.

“In the Soviet Union, history did not exist as a science. Facts were hidden and not revealed. And people did not know historical facts. They knew only what they were told,” he said.

He spent years uncovering the Stalin-era execution of his great-grandfather. Lawsuits seek to bury the evidence.

Russia’s ‘foreign agent’ law now threatens rights group that survived even Soviet pressures

Putin’s war propaganda becomes ‘patriotic’ lessons in Russian schools

‘Drag queens aren’t going into schools to shoot kids’: Drag Queen Story Hour hits back at GOP ban attempts


The flamboyant LGBT+ education charity described Republican attacks as ‘smoke and mirrors’ to distract from gun control

Io Dodds
San Francisco

A Drag Queen Story Hour at a bookshop in Riverside, California in June 2019
(Frederic J Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

Republican proposals to ban drag shows for children are "just smoke and mirrors" to distract from the party's failure to prevent gun massacres, the head of Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH) has said.

The embattled LGBT+ education charity, which organises children's book readings by drag queens in schools, libraries, and book shops, has become a major flashpoint for social conservatives and been forced to cancel some events after receiving violent threats.

On Monday a GOP state legislator in Texas said he would file a bill to ban all drag shows "and other inappropriate displays" in the presence of minors, while on Friday Florida's Republican governor Ron DeSantis suggested he might ask child protection officials to investigate parents who take their children to drag events.

But in an interview with The Independent, DQSH's executive director Jonathan Hamilt shot back: "All this is just smoke and mirrors to distract us from what's really happening.

"You know, 19 students just got shot in Texas, and Texas legislation wants to ban minors from going to drag shows. It makes zero sense. It's a sad, sorry excuse... [for] the lack of gun control, and that's the real issue.

"Drag queens aren't going into schools to shoot kids... when did we decide that it's appropriate to teach kids how to hide under desks and not to talk about LGBT people and histories?"

Mr Hamilt, who also performs drag under the name Ona Louise, pointed to research by the gun control campaign group Everytown for Gun Safety, which found 96 incidents of gunfire on American school grounds in 2022 so far, resulting in 40 deaths and 78 injuries.

"There's been like 40 deaths [in school shootings] this year, and no children have been killed or hurt by anybody who attended a Drag Queen Story Hour, or at any Pride event," Mr Hamilt said. "If people really wanted to protect children, it wouldn't be banning LGBTQ education, it would be banning guns."

Asked on Friday whether his comments about Texas also applied to Florida, Mr Hamilt indicated that they did, saying: "This is part of a coordinated campaign to deny the rights of LGBTQ people, who already endure disproportionate rates of suicide and homelessness, and legislate us out of existence.

"Any attempt to criminalise our work is rooted in tired homophobic and transphobic hate and misinformation, and we refuse to give in to politicians who are too bigoted and boring to comprehend our vision for a world in which every child can be safe fully expressing who they are."

Texas and Florida politicians move to ban children’s drag shows

The proposed bills in Texas and Florida came after videos of children dancing with and tipping drag performers at a "family-friendly" midday show at a gay bar in Dallas went viral among conservatives.

The event, which was unaffiliated with DQSH, was a Pride-themed spin-off from the bar's regular afternoon drag brunches, starting earlier than usual and without the usual event's age restrictions. DQSH organises more sedate book reading events often hosted by public buildings.

Both types of events have been claimed by right-wing media and online influencers as evidence that the LGBT+ rights movement is a threat to children, echoing a recent surge in baseless claims of "grooming" against LGBT+ people that appears to have inspired street harassment and violence.

Last week a DQSH reading in North Carolina was cancelled due to violent threats, while another DQSH event at a US military base in Germany was pulled after US senator Marco Rubio accused the charity of exposing children to "sexually charged content".

Opponents claim that drag is inherently sexual and not appropriate for children, while advocates argue that drag is an art like any other and that child-friendly drag events can teach kids about LGBT+ culture and gender nonconformity.

"The events of this past weekend were horrifying and show a disturbing trend in which perverted adults are obsessed with sexualising young children," said Bryan Slaton, the Texas representative who proposed the drag show ban, referring to the Dallas bar event.

On Thursday, Florida representative Anthony Sabatini promised a similar bill to "terminate the parental rights of any adult who brings a child to these perverted sex shows".

Asked by reporters whether he would back that bill, Mr DeSantis said he had instructed his staff to consider the idea. "We have child protective statutes on the books; we have laws against child endangerment," he said. "It seems like there’s a concerted effort to be exposing kids more and more to things that are not age appropriate."

It comes amid a concerted push by Republican state politicians to ban discussions of LGBT+ life from school classrooms, as with Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, and criminalise gender transition healthcare for transgender children.

‘Do you bring your kids to an R-rated movie? I hope not’

Mr Hamilt said threats are "nothing new" for DQSH, which was founded in 2015 in San Francisco and has faced growing hostility in red states since 2017, including at least one bomb threat.

"'Groomer' is one of the nicer words," he said. "I receive a bunch of personal death threats and hate mail and tonnes of different attacks on a daily basis... that's something shocking to a lot of people, but people tend to forget that the queer community faces this adversity and pushback on a daily basis."

However, he said the torrent of threats can be overwhelming for local officials, who are not always confident answering back and advocating for the events, meaning story hours are sometimes cancelled even though there is no credible danger.

Responding to Republicans' claims, Mr Hamilt described drag as simply a way of highlighting and exaggerating the way all people "perform" different personas in daily life, and likened the difference between a drag event for adults and one for children to that between R-rated films and children's films.

"I'm not going to lie and say drag is never sexualised, because drag is an art form and it can be sexual like anything else can be," he said.

"Drag with adults in an adult setting could be sexual, sure. Is it sexual at a Drag Queen Story Hour? No! Do you bring your kids to an R-rated movie? I hope not. There are actors in R rated movies, and those same actors can be in a family friendly comedy that's rated G...

"Someone who is bigoted or doesn't want to do the research, they're not going to understand that an adult drag show at an adult bar, in the evening, with alcohol, is different from a Drag Queen Story Hour nonprofit event at 11am at a public library.

"Obviously, all adults act differently when they're around children and when they're not. Every schoolteacher has a private life outside of working with children, and you act appropriately around children. That's just a normal thing that all adults do, no matter who you are – gay or straight, drag queen or not."


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UN human rights experts urge China to allow them ‘full access’

10 June 2022

Dozens of independent UN human rights experts on Friday urged the Chinese Government to “cooperate fully” with the UN human rights system over abuse allegations, and grant them “unhindered access – particularly to prisons and detention centres.

“Strengthening engagement with independent human rights experts and Human Rights Council Opens in new window mechanisms is crucial to full and transparent enforcement of China’s human rights obligations,” the group of more than 40 experts said, ahead of the Council’s landmark 50th session, which begins on Monday.
Systemic violations

In a statement Opens in new window, they recalled the Government’s high-level engagementOpens in new window with the High Commissioner during her recent visit Opens in new window to the country, and stressed the value of constructive dialogue, with all UN human rights entities.



The experts stressed that those meetings should not be a substitute for the “urgent need” to carry out a complete assessment of the human rights situation in the country, and especially in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), the Tibet Autonomous Region, and in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

“The Government of China must address specific and systematic human rights violations,” they said, calling on authorities in Beijing to ensure full and transparent cooperation with the entire UN human rights system.

 
Catalogued concerns

The rights experts renewed the calls made by 50 UN Special Rapporteurs and human rights experts in a June 2020 joint statement Opens in new window, that catalogued concerns over the treatment of ethnic minorities in XUAR and Tibet, alleging excessive force against protesters, as well as in Hong Kong, and reports of retaliation against people voicing their concerns publicly over COVID-19Opens in new window pandemic policies.

The statement highlighted the need to protect fundamental human rights in China, including freedoms of expressionOpens in new window, cultural rights, peaceful assemblyOpens in new window and association, religion or beliefOpens in new window, and non-discriminationOpens in new window; to prevent forced labourOpens in new window in the formal and informal economy, protect journalists and healthcare workers; and to promote women’s freedom from sexual violence.

The independent experts also called on the Government to ensure sexual and reproductive health rightsOpens in new window are equally guaranteed to all women and girls, regardless of ethnic or religious identity.

“Since 2017, we have repeatedly raised concerns about widespread violations of the rights of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on the basis of religion or belief and under the pretext of national security and preventing extremism,” the experts said.

“Deep concerns also persist about the rights of religious and ethnic minorities in the Tibet Autonomous Region and other parts of the country.”

 
Concerns continue

The UN experts noted previous serious concerns they have expressed over the alleged harassmentOpens in new window, enforced disappearancesOpens in new window, arbitrary detentionOpens in new window and undue prosecution and sentencingOpens in new window of lawyers and human rights defenders including women human rights defenders, business-related human rights abuses and of trafficking for purposes of forced labour and other purposes of exploitation.

“UN Special ProceduresOpens in new window experts continue to voice their concerns over the absence of protection for the right to privacy, reported use of mass surveillanceOpens in new window including in the XUAROpens in new window, entrenched censorship and consolidation of anti-terrorism and seditionOpens in new window law applied to Hong Kong,” they stated.

The experts reiterated recommendations made in the June 2020 joint statementOpens in new window, urging the Human Rights Council to convene a special session on China; consider the creation of a Special Procedures mandate; and appoint a UN Special Envoy or or a panel of experts to closely monitor, analyse and report annually on the human rights situation in China.
Consistent approach

They emphasized the value of a consistent UN approach in assessing China’s human rights obligations and commitments.

“Upholding the same standards and their equal application to all States, big and small, is important to maintaining the integrity, credibility and moral authority of Human Rights Council and UN systems for human rights enforcement around the world,” the experts said.

Special Rapporteurs and independent experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to examine and report backOpens in new window on a specific human rights theme or a country situation. The positions are honorary and the experts are not paid for their work.

Click hereOpens in new window for the name of all the experts who participated in this statement.

HEY GEN Z TREE HUGGERS 

Young people wanted in UK forestry amid critical shortage of tree surgeons

Institute of Chartered Foresters says 70% more staff must be recruited to meet current tree planting targets

The New Forest. Experts say there are not enough trees available to meet planting targets. 

Photograph: David Clapp/Getty Images

Sandra Laville

Sat 11 Jun 2022 07.00 BST

When Kevin Martin was a child he spent days beneath the canopy of Hampshire woodlands while his father, a tree surgeon, scaled the heights of oak and ash above him.

Twenty years later, with a degree and with research for a master’s under way, Martin is in charge of tending to the 14,000 trees at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. With trees at the forefront of UK strategies to reach net zero by 2050, Martin and others like him are key professionals on the frontline of the fight to mitigate the impact of climate change and adapt to the changing conditions.

But the army of tree experts needed to fulfil the government’s promise to increase tree planting to 30,000 hectares a year (90m-120m trees) by the end of 2024 is nowhere to be seen. Skills shortages in arboriculture and forestry are at critical levels, and a new generation is not being recruited to take over from an ageing workforce. A report from the Institute of Chartered Foresters says the industry needs to recruit 70% more people to meet planting targets set by government and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (IPCC)

“We need to have a big campaign using social media, public billboards, television, to start recruiting to fill this skills shortage,” said Martin. “It needs to come from industry, but it also needs to be addressed in education when kids are starting to choose what subjects they are interested in. We need to change the culture in education, which is very much that you only go into land-based industries if you are thick – which is absolutely not the case. Everyone needs to be involved in this.”

Within the industry there is a degree of soul-searching going on to understand why young people are not coming through to the profession. Outdated stereotypes of male “lumberjacks”, need to be addressed, according to John Healey, a professor of forest sciences at Bangor University, as do questions of diversity. “There is a shortage of young men wanting to come into the profession, but that is even more acute amongst young women.”

It was at Bangor where in 1916 Mary Sutherland became the first woman in the world to graduate with a forestry degree, he points out, which makes the university even more aware of the need to bring women in.


Free tree for every Welsh household in climate initiative

“It has been a distinguished career that many women since have taken up, but the profession clearly still suffers from the kind of macho image of a lumberjack cutting down trees, whereas it is all about an environmental ethos of expanding woodlands, biodiversity and green space. We spend a lot of time communicating that, but it doesn’t register sufficiently.”

The Committee on Climate Change, a government advisory body, laid out the target of 30,000 hectares a year of forests and woodland by 2024 in its net zero report. The CCC says increasing forest cover to “at least 17% of the UK’s land area”, along with improved woodland management, would sequester an additional 14m tonnes of CO2 each year.

But the workforce to grow, plant and care for these trees is in short supply both in forestry and within arboriculture, which involves tree care ranging from looking after urban trees to running nurseries to produce the new saplings. John Parker, the chief executive of the Arboriculture Association, said: “The trouble is that people do not know what arboriculture is. Schoolchildren don’t say ‘when I grow up I want to be an arboriculturalist’. We need to change that.”

He said the government needed to address the shortages in the workforce. “Trees are so high up the political agenda at the moment, but if we want to have all these wonderful trees doing all these wonderful things for us, we have to have tree professionals to work on them. There is no point planting millions and millions of trees if you are not going to look after them.

“We also need to produce the trees in the first place. We haven’t got enough trees available to meet the planting promises that are being made. It takes time to produce trees of the size we need, it has to start years in advance of when they are required.”


Scotland hopes to save wild salmon by planting millions of trees next to rivers

Many of the next generation of tree experts will come from places such as Myerscough College in Lancashire, which offers foundation as well as undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in arboriculture, tree management and urban forestry. But student numbers remain stable, with no sign of the increases that will be required to fill the skills gap. Alex McKelvie, the head of green space and creative studies, said: “There is a struggle to get young people to know about the industry and to recruit and keep them. So we are lacking a skilled workforce at a critical time.”

The college works hard to attract young women into the profession, he said. “There is nothing in this profession that a girl cannot do rather than a boy; in fact, girls make phenomenal tree climbers and the industry is working hard to attract more young women.”

It is not just among the ranks of school leavers that the industry is seeking to recruit its future experts. Healey said there was a noticeable rise in mature students joining the forestry master’s programme at Bangor. “The students are significantly older,” he said. “Some have been in other careers – for example, working in the City of London – and want to do something quite different,” he said.

The attractions of a career with trees, Healey believes, are numerous. “The work really matters,” he said. “It is fulfilling to do a job that makes an important difference to the world in terms of the biodiversity crisis and climate change.

“Choosing this career means you are right in the midst of an intriguing and exciting challenge. There are no easy solutions, there is practical challenge and there is intellectual stimulation to decide how we get this right.”

Ms: The first magazine owned, run, and written by women

 

It's 50 years since feminist campaigner Gloria Steinem co-founded the first magazine in America to be owned, run, and written by women. Ms. covered issues such as equal rights, abortion, and domestic violence in a way that no other magazine had before. With its glossy covers it helped bring feminism into the mainstream. BBC Witness History spoke to co-founder Gloria Steinem.