It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, October 05, 2022
Wife of Vietnamese lecturer says she doesn’t believe he refused a defense lawyer
Other political prisoners had similar experiences, Dang Dang Phuoc’s wife says.
By RFA Vietnamese 2022.10.05
A file photograph of lecturer Dang Dang Phuoc, who was arrested on Sept. 8.Facebook: Dang Dang Phuoc
The wife of a music lecturer arrested in early September on charges of "conducting anti-state propaganda" says she does not believe local police claims he refused legal assistance.
On Sept. 14 the Security Investigation Agency of Dak Lak province’s Police Department sent Dang Dang Phuoc’s family a notice issued two days earlier which stated:
“During the interrogation of the accused, the Security Investigation Agency explained the rights and obligations of the accused under Article 60 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2015… and Dang Dang Phuoc did not ask for a defense [lawyer] but [chose to] protect his own interests during the investigation process.”
His wife, Le Thi Ha, told RFA she doesn’t believe the contents of the notice and said other political prisoners have also been denied lawyers with the same excuse.
“My husband told me to hire a lawyer for him before he was arrested,” she said. “But six days after he was detained, the Security Investigation Agency issued a written notice of legal refusal and said he had changed his mind.”
“I have talked with many other families of political prisoners and learned that every family received a notice of refusal of a lawyer but when they talked to the prisoner [they discovered] the truth is not like that.”
Phuoc, 59, is a music lecturer at Dak Lak Pedagogical College in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. He often writes on Facebook about issues including education problems, human rights violations, corrupt officials and social injustice.
Police arrested him on Sept. 8 and said they would hold him for four months at least. They searched his house the same day. Phuoc was charged with "making, storing, spreading or propagating information, documents and items aimed at opposing the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” which carries a sentence of between seven and 20 years.
State media reported that Dak Lak Provincial Police documents said: "Since 2019 until now, Dang Dang Phuoc has taken advantage of the Facebook social network to regularly compile and publish many articles and video clips containing propaganda content that distorts and opposes the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”
Phuoc's family invited lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng from the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association to defend him. Mieng said he completed procedures to act as Phuoc’s lawyer at Dak Lak province’s police headquarters on Sept. 12.
Mieng told RFA that while a case related to national security was being investigated the local chief procurator could decide to deny the defendant a lawyer in order to ensure the investigation's secrecy.
Phuoc’s wife said the police have not been following official procedures.
“When they arrested Phuoc, they read the arrest warrant and searched the house but did not show me or give me the arrest warrant or search warrant,” Ha said.
It is common in political cases in Vietnam to deny defendants access to their families and lawyers during the investigation, which can last at least four months. Relatives are also prohibited from seeing prisoners of conscience until the case goes to court.
Ha said she was only allowed to send blankets and warm clothes to her husband. She said the investigator in charge of the case, Hua Quoc Thuan, told her she was not allowed to provide food for her husband, even if she bought it at the detention center canteen
RFA called the number of the Security Investigation Agency provided by Thuan but no one answered.
Keep it or toss it? ‘Best Before’ labels cause confusion
By DEE-ANN DURBIN
today 1 of 20 A customer looks at refrigerated items at a Grocery Outlet store in Pleasanton, Calif.,. on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. "Best before” labels are coming under scrutiny as concerns about food waste grow around the world. Manufacturers have used the labels for decades to estimate peak freshness. But “best before” labels have nothing to do with safety, and some worry they encourage consumers to throw away food that’s perfectly fine to eat. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
As awareness grows around the world about the problem of food waste, one culprit in particular is drawing scrutiny: “best before” labels.
Manufacturers have used the labels for decades to estimate peak freshness. Unlike “use by” labels, which are found on perishable foods like meat and dairy, “best before” labels have nothing to do with safety and may encourage consumers to throw away food that’s perfectly fine to eat.
“They read these dates and then they assume that it’s bad, they can’t eat it and they toss it, when these dates don’t actually mean that they’re not edible or they’re not still nutritious or tasty,” said Patty Apple, a manager at Food Shift, an Alameda, California, nonprofit that collects and uses expired or imperfect foods.
To tackle the problem, major U.K. chains like Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer recently removed “best before” labels from prepackaged fruit and vegetables. The European Union is expected to announce a revamp to its labeling laws by the end of this year; it’s considering abolishing “best before” labels altogether.
In the U.S., there’s no similar push to scrap “best before” labels. But there is growing momentum to standardize the language on date labels to help educate buyers about food waste, including a push from big grocers and food companies and bipartisan legislation in Congress.
“I do think that the level of support for this has grown tremendously,” said Dana Gunders, executive director of ReFED, a New York-based nonprofit that studies food waste.
The United Nations estimates that 17% of global food production is wasted each year; most of that comes from households. In the U.S., as much as 35% of food available goes uneaten, ReFED says. That adds up to a lot of wasted energy — including the water, land and labor that goes into the food production — and higher greenhouse gas emissions when unwanted food goes into landfills.
There are many reasons food gets wasted, from large portion sizes to customers’ rejection of imperfect produce. But ReFED estimates that 7% of U.S. food waste — or 4 million tons annually — is due to consumer confusion over “best before” labels.
Date labels were widely adopted by manufacturers in the 1970s to answer consumers’ concerns about product freshness. There are no federal rules governing them, and manufacturers are allowed to determine when they believe their products will taste best. Only infant formula is required to have a “use by” date in the U.S.
Since 2019, the Food and Drug Administration — which regulates around 80% of U.S. food — has recommended that manufacturers use the labels “best if used by” for freshness and “use by” for perishable goods, based on surveys showing that consumers understand those phrases.
But the effort is voluntary, and the language on labels continues to vary widely, from “sell by” to “enjoy by” to “freshest before.” A survey released in June by researchers at the University of Maryland found at least 50 different date labels used on U.S. grocery shelves and widespread confusion among customers.
“Most people believe that if it says ‘sell by,’ ‘best by’ or ‘expiration,’ you can’t eat any of them. That’s not actually accurate,” said Richard Lipsit, who owns a Grocery Outlet store in Pleasanton, California, that specializes in discounted food.
Lipsit said milk can be safely consumed up to a week after its “use by” date. Gunders said canned goods and many other packaged foods can be safely eaten for years after their “best before” date. The FDA suggests consumers look for changes in color, consistency or texture to determine if foods are all right to eat.
“Our bodies are very well equipped to recognize the signs of decay, when food is past its edible point,” Gunders said. “We’ve lost trust in those senses and we’ve replaced it with trust in these dates.”
Some U.K. grocery chains are actively encouraging customers to use their senses. Morrisons removed “use by” dates from most store-brand milk in January and replaced them with a “best before” label. Co-op, another grocery chain, did the same to its store-brand yogurts.
It’s a change some shoppers support. Ellie Spanswick, a social media marketer in Falmouth, England, buys produce, eggs and other groceries at farm stands and local shops when she can. The food has no labels, she said, but it’s easy to see that it’s fresh.
“The last thing we need to be doing is wasting more food and money because it has a label on it telling us it’s past being good for eating,” Spanswick said.
But not everyone agrees. Ana Wetrov of London, who runs a home renovation business with her husband, worries that without labels, staff might not know which items should be removed from shelves. She recently bought a pineapple and only realized after she cut into it that it was rotting in the middle.
“We have had dates on those packages for the last 20 years or so. Why fix it when it’s not broken?” Wetrov said.
Some U.S. chains — including Walmart — have shifted their store brands to standardized “best if used by” and “use by” labels. The Consumer Brands Association — which represents big food companies like General Mills and Dole — also encourages members to use those labels.
“Uniformity makes it much more simple for our companies to manufacture products and keep the prices lower,” said Katie Denis, the association’s vice president of communications.
In the absence of federal policy, states have stepped in with their own laws, frustrating food companies and grocers. Florida and Nevada, for example, require “sell by” dates on shellfish and dairy, and Arizona requires “best by” or “use by” dates on eggs, according to Emily Broad Lieb, director of the Food Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School.
The confusion has led some companies, like Unilever, to support legislation currently in Congress that would standardize U.S. date labels and ensure that food could be donated to rescue organizations even after its quality date. At least 20 states currently prohibit the sale or donation of food after the date listed on the label because of liability fears, Lieb said.
Clearer labeling and donation rules could help nonprofits like Food Shift, which trains chefs using rescued food. It even makes dog treats from overripe bananas, recovered chicken fat and spent grain from a brewer, Apple said.
“We definitely need to be focusing more on doing these small actions like addressing expiration date labels, because even though it’s such a tiny part of this whole food waste issue, it can be very impactful,” Apple said.
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Associated Press writers Kelvin Chan and Courtney Bonnell in London and Associated Press video journalist Terry Chea in Alameda, California contributed to this report.
'It doesn't mean you will get cancer': Carcinogen-free food is not easy to come by, experts say. How worried should consumers be?
Laboratory tests commissioned by the Post have found several types of potentially cancer-causing chemicals in several popular snacks, and while experts say the risk to consumers is limited, they should pay close attention to their cooking methods, watch how much they eat of such products and consider diversifying their diets.
Ensuring food was completely free of carcinogens would prove difficult, some academics acknowledged, as the chemicals were often the result of high heat used during manufacturing or cooking. But consumers could take steps to minimise the risks, they said.
The checks, carried out by an established food testing laboratory, found 10 out of 18 samples of cooking oil, soy sauce, biscuits and crisps readily available on supermarket shelves contained types of cancer-causing substances.
But the tests all found lower levels of these harmful substances, namely glycidol, 3-MCPD (3-monochloropropane-1, 2-diol), acrylamide, arsenic and 4-methylimidazole, than what the Consumer Council recorded in its screenings carried out between 2016 and 2021.
Traces of glycidol, an organic compound, were detected in Quaker Oat Cookies with Raisins, Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Cookies Original and a sample of cooking oil, Yuwanjia Peanut Oil.
Most food safety guidelines, such as those from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the Joint Food and Agriculture Organisation/World Health Organisation Expert Committee on Food Additives do not include recommended intake limits for glycidol.
While scientists have not determined what constitutes a dangerous amount of glycidol in food for humans, consuming any amount presented a risk, warned Chan Tsz-chung, a lecturer at the department of health and life sciences at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education in Chai Wan.
Chan Tsz-chung, a lecturer at the department of health and life sciences at the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education in Chai Wan. PHOTO: South China Morning Post
"It doesn't mean you will get cancer, but it just increases the risks for it," he said.
But Dr Fong Lai-ying, an associate professor at the department of food and health sciences at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong, advised residents not to be too concerned, noting the total amount of glycidol present in 1kg of food samples measured in just micrograms. The chemicals were easily digested and degraded by the body, she added.
The commissioned tests found 103 micrograms per kilogram of glycidol in the sample of Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Cookies, less than the 570 micrograms per kilogram recorded by the council in 2019.
But 42-year-old father Lam Siu-ki, was unconcerned when told of the numbers. The biscuit brand was a family favourite, an inexpensive, convenient snack that could also be offered to guests, he said.
Marks & Spencer All Butter Cookies with Pistachio Nuts and Almonds, Chips Ahoy Chocolate Chip Cookies and Quaker Oat Cookies were tested for carcinogens. PHOTO: South China Morning Post
"These snacks are the best. They can be stored in my snack drawer for a long time," said the logistics worker, adding he was always on the lookout for deals when shopping for food for himself, his 37-year-old wife and their three-year-old daughter.
"My daughter and I can always munch on them when we are watching television or between meals," he said. "[The biscuits] are not expensive and taste pretty good. You can put them on a plate when guests visit. I love the fact that they are crunchy and not many brands have chocolate chips on top of the cookies."
Lam said he did not fret about consuming the carcinogens because he believed such chemicals were practically ubiquitous.
"You won't have choices if you are scared of the substance and ingredients in pre-packaged food. Chemical reactions are something you cannot control when it comes to food manufacturing," he said. "Even if that group [the council] can test every product on the market, people might still ignore its findings.''
Still, he conceded he would cut down on the number of the cookies his daughter ate.
A spokeswoman for the manufacturer, Mondelez Hong Kong, acknowledged the lab results but did not comment further.
A consumer says she will continue to use Yuwanjia Peanut Oil because its price suited her budget. PHOTO: South China Morning Post
The Post also tested Yuwanjia peanut oil and found it contained 417mcg/kg of glycidol and 380mcg/kg of 3-MCPD, an organic chemical compound and suspected carcinogen in humans that formed at high heat during the cooking process.
But again those levels marked an improvement over what the council found in 2017. It previously recorded 1,100mcg/kg of glycidol and 6,800mcg/kg of 3-MCPD.
Retiree Kam Mei-Lan, 71, who has two children and two grandchildren, said she had used Yuwanjia peanut oil and had no issues.
"I tend to use cooking oil generously when deep frying chips and nuggets for my grandchildren," she said. "The more oil I use for cooking, the better the smell of the food."
Kam lives in Tseung Kwan O, where several brands of cooking oil are available in nearby supermarkets such as ParknShop, Wellcome and U-Select, but she put price above all else when choosing which one to buy.
"I don't care about brands of cooking oil," she said. "It all depends on what supermarkets are closest to me or which brand is the cheapest."
A recent check in late August at stores run by the three chains in the neighbourhood found a pack of three 900mL bottles of Yuwanjia peanut oil cost HK$97.90 (S$17.80), while the same volume of the Lion and Globe brand and Yu Pin King one cost HK$104.90 and HK$100, respectively.
"There is nothing to be worried about," Kam insisted. "We just need oil for cooking. Any brand or even those imported ones could have bad stuff too. Affordability is one of my most important considerations."
But in a small concession to health perhaps, Kam has in the past few months started to use an air fryer to crisp up food, a cooking method that requires far less oil.
The Post presented the lab results to the manufacturer of Yuwanjia Peanut Oil, China Resources Vanguard (Hong Kong), and when asked for a comment it said the product was legal to sell locally.
The levels of 3-MCPD detected in the oil were still considered safe by experts, but the Centre for Food Safety advised residents to reduce their exposure to the compound and glycidol by cutting consumption of refined fats and oils, as well as related products, such as margarine.
Similarly, the government department advised food companies to follow the relevant industry code of practices contained in the Codex Alimentarius to ensure levels of 3-MCPD and glycidol in edible fats and oils were reduced as much as possible.
The Codex is a collection of international standards and guidelines to protect consumer health and ensure fair practices in the food trade, with the suggestions widely adopted around the world.
One way consumers can protect themselves is by keeping the heat low when cooking with oil, according to Fong at the Technological and Higher Education Institute. She recommended that when cooking food in oil, the heat be less than 150 degrees Celsius. A spokesman for the centre advised the public not to cook food at high temperatures for too long.
The Post also found small amounts of acrylamide, another organic compound, in four food product samples: Luke's Organic White Truffle & Sea Salt Potato Chips, Marks & Spencer All Butter Cookies with Pistachio Nuts and Almonds, Wise Cottage Fries Potato Chips Hot & Spicy Flavour and Nissin Koikeya Karamucho Hot Chilli Flavour Potato Chips.
The United States Department of Health considers acrylamide to be "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen", but experts such as Fong and Chan said the levels found in the lab tests were still safe to consume. Acrylamide, which is also found in cigarette smoke, can be an unintentional by-product of cooking certain foods at high temperature.
Consumers can choose to boil or steam instead to reduce the formation of acrylamide, Fong said, adding they should closely follow the manufacturer's instructions on the package to avoid overcooking.
"All these carcinogens are not added purposely by the manufacturers, they will come naturally throughout the cooking process with high temperatures," she said. "It's very difficult to avoid or reduce them to zero.
"It is better to have guidelines than to have a law that stops the production of these types of carcinogens in those foods."
Chairman of the Hong Kong Food Council Thomas Ng. PHOTO: South China Morning Post
Thomas Ng Wing-yan, chairman of the Hong Kong Food Council, shared a similar opinion, saying there was only "relative safety, but not absolute safety".
"Even if you are careful about what you eat, it doesn't mean if you buy one product over the other then you are considered safe. It's not possible because everything has substances, so does that mean you don't eat at all?" he said.
Experts noted that people's bodies absorb certain chemicals at different rates, and the level depends on physical fitness and other health factors, making it difficult to establish a universal standard that could be recommended for everyone.
Ng advised residents to eat in moderation and alter the variety of foods consumed – coffee one day and apple or orange juice the next, for example.
The Post tested the sodium levels of Brilliant Hot & Spicy Flavour Prawn Crackers, Select Original Prawn Crackers and Papatonk Original Indonesian Premium Shrimp Crackers. PHOTO: South China Morning Post
The Post also examined the level of sodium in three crispy snacks. The product with the highest amount was Select Original Prawn Crackers with 1,400 milligrams per 100 grams of sodium, up slightly from the 1,320 milligrams per 100 grams detected by the council two years ago.
The other two crispy snacks, Brilliant Hot & Spicy Flavour Prawn Crackers and Papatonk Original Indonesian Premium Shrimp Crackers, had 1,260 milligrams per 100 grams and 1,090 milligrams per 100 grams, slightly higher than what the watchdog found in August 2020.
But Fong said the elevated sodium levels should not be a cause for concern among most adults, as they generally did not eat such snacks regularly. But parents should monitor how many salty snacks their children consumed, she warned, as they might have less self-control and binge.
She advised manufacturers to offer their snacks in smaller sizes, such as selling 20 gram portions instead of 100 gram packets, so consumers could more easily regulate their sodium intake.
According to the centre, adults should consume no more than 2,000 milligrams of sodium daily to reduce the risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, stroke and coronary heart disease. Consumers are also advised to read the nutrition labels when buying pre-packaged food and choose ones with less sodium.
As the 27th Conference of State Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) draws near, African leaders are speaking with perhaps the loudest voice on why Africa’s needs should be prioritised given the unprecedented effects of climate change on the continent in spite of its inconsequential contribution to global carbon emissions.
In this interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Egypt’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Ihab Awab, outlines the several strategies being put in place by Egypt which will host the COP in November. Excerpts
PT: COP27 is nicknamed Africa’s COP. What should Africa expect from Egypt, given that it is playing host, in terms of putting Africa’s interest first?
Mr Awab: It is true that the Sharm El-Sheikh Conference of State Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, otherwise known as COP27, is Africa’s COP.
It is taking place at a very significant juncture of our worlds, of course, with all the challenges facing the world now, economically, recovery efforts from the Covid19 pandemic; the implications of the conflict in Ukraine and also the very clear indications that the world is not doing enough to combat climate change. But at the same time, the whole narrative around climate change has been developed outside Africa, it is time now to use the Sharm El-Sheikh conference to bring Africa’s voice to the forefront of the discussions on what can be done in order to combat the impact of climate change on the future of our continent.
Our continent is basically the least contributor to carbon emission, not more that four per cent, and at the same time it is a continent that is developing, that is growing, a continent that has adopted and took upon itself to implement and achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2030 on sustainable development and the road is very long; the challenges to meet those goals are enormous. Some of them must be prioritised vis-a-vis other commitments in climate change, simply because since we as a continent are not the primary contributor, then we should not be taking up extra commitment on ourselves that might stifle or hinder our development aspirations. So this is basically the main tenet of how Egypt’s incoming presidency of COP27 is thinking about Africa’s stance.
Africa’s voice needs to be very clear that we are all in the same boat and it is essential for there to be joint effort to combat climate change. But at the same time, we have our development aspirations and this is something I believe the Egyptian presidency during its Pre-COP consultations within Africa and with the rest of the world has been very clear about.
The other thing about the Sharm El-Sheikh conference is that we will like to call it the implementation conference. Many of the pledges made in previous conferences regarding support to the developing countries especially in Africa, or how the transition to renewable energy for example should take place without undermining our development/growth aspirations, is yet to materialise. The aspect of financing some of the projects is a key priority for the incoming Egyptian presidency of COP27 and it is something that all African countries agree that COP27 should and must actually come out with practical actions and we at the same time do realise that the moment may be a little challenging because of the cost of the conflict in Ukraine, the incomplete recovery of the global economy after covid19. There are competing priorities for finance all over the world. If we are serious about combating climate change and also equally serious about achieving the SDGs, then this is the conference and this is the kind of discussion that needs to take place in Sharm El Sheikh.
So that is why we believe in the opportunity for Africa to speak with one voice on the issues that matter the most for the future of Africa and for the issues that challenge Afrca in terms of climate and economic development.
PT: You said Africa needs to speak with one voice and Egypt by virtue of being the next COP president, has assumed a leadership position. How is Egypt mobilising and organising other African Heads of State to make sure we are speaking with one voice?
Mr Awab: The consultations at different political levels have been ongoing as well as consultation at the technical level. First of all, Africa has a group of negotiators that have been established a long time ago to participate and represent Africa’s common position at the expert technical level. This group has been mobilised and through that group, we go a step up to the African Council of Ministers of Environment, which is also the higher political level of ministers of environment which is also a very important configuration to discuss what is coming out of the expert level.
President El-Sisi of Egypt has invited other African leaders to a segment of the Sharm El-Sheikh conference called the leaders summit. He has prioritised inviting African leaders to be present at COP27 to the extent possible in big numbers and in order for the concerns of Africa to be voiced not only jointly in one meeting but also in the various bilaterals that are expected to take place around Sharm El-Sheikh.
World leaders will be there and African leaders will be there. And of course there is hope that we synchronise and synergise our messages at that highest political level so that the message does not come only in declarations that we are planning to put together but also in the messages of the various leaders and ministers among themselves and other ministers and leaders all over the world.
So this is how we try to mobilise/formulate the message. There are levels of formulating the messages, putting the priorities and the leaders will be there, hopefully in numbers, to make sure that those messages come across at the highest political level.
PT: At the Africa Adaptability Summit in Rotterdam, we saw that leaders of western countries did not show up at the meeting. How does that impact climate action?
Mr Awab: As I mentioned, we do recognise the challenging moment that the world is living in. Our preparations and close coordination with the outgoing presidency -UK- is focusing on the fact that, despite the fact that there are various challenges, the world cannot afford not to act. We still have a few weeks until COP27, we are receiving indications that world leaders, especially from developed countries and industrial countries, they do recognise that we cannot walk back from the commitments we have made in previous conferences.
Most recently, there was an IPCC report that said the world is in a very serious situation when it comes to emission and there was a lot of doubt on whether we will be able to reach the target of reducing emission and also temperature.
That came as a wake up call to all of us, that while we are experiencing these challenges, there is no turning back. So we do hope and we are confident that world leaders will still show up but not showing up only, which is a sign of commitment itself, but hopefully they are also showing up with readiness to make commitments and pledges for the implementation of previous commitments that were made.
There are diplomatic efforts ongoing to make sure we are able to get the best outcome in these circumstances.
PT: Are there specific roles other big players in Africa can play at COP27?
Mr Awab: Absolutely. And this is a very good segue to highlight the important role of Nigeria. Nigeria has been very vocal about the tenet of the African position and interest especially in the particular area of just energy transition. There is no development without energy and there is no development without access to energy and it is one of the 17 SDGs.
Egypt Ambassador to Nigeria, Ihab Awab with Premium Times reporter
Nigeria has been very vocal about it; President Buhari is a major champion of how Africa should mobilise itself to maintain its fair share of energy access and how access to energy and combating climate change should not necessarily be two contradictory goals for humanity.
Nigeria plays a major role within Africa, thanks to President Buhari’s very vocal and very clear position but also Vice President Osinbajo who has been very vocal; his writings in major publications, his most recent visit to the US and his presentation in Washington.
He is one of the champions to one of the most important African positions and aspirations which is just energy transition and this is shared widely across Africa and it is very important that countries such as Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Senegal, Morocco, Algeria and many of the big economies in Africa are able to really mobilise within their respective subregions but also to be able to speak with one and to be very vocal about the priorities of Arica and that is why we work very closely with Nigeria and there is a very good synergy on many of the main priorities before Sharm El Sheikh.
PT: Could you quickly outline some of these priorities aside from just the energy transition which of course is very important. What other priorities are we looking at Africa speaking to with one voice?
Mr Awab: The question of adaptation, how developing countries could adapt to the transition to green economies, green energy, and renewable energy.
This is a very important aspect. We do recognise as Africa that this is a goal that we need to achieve. But at the same time, we know that this is going to cost… the international community has the responsibility to aid Africa in its transition to this kind of energy which is still not very affordable to all the economies. So the technology needs to be available and there is a lot of effort, commitment and political will that needs to be demonstrated by the international community in that particular direction.
It is not only the adaptation of energy, it is how our economies can be transformed into a green economy. It is not a button that you are going to push and you all of a sudden transform social and economic traditions and realities. We are talking about clean cooking in Africa; how are we going to make a transformation to clean energy for the regular household in the villages and small towns of Africa.
These are breaks for the future of the continent, the developing world and the global economy itself. If the majority of the population of the world that lives in the developing world is unable to make that transformation, then our goal towards combating climate change but also towards ending poverty will not be attained. So we are very clear that ending poverty and attaining the goals for preserving our earth and combating climate change should not be in contradiction.
PT: What specific demands should we look out for at the negotiation table at COP27?
Mr Awab: As I mentioned, it is not only government to government that will be solving our problems. The role of the private sector and business to business investment in that transformation is going to be key. If the larger title is financing, and the issue of financing is key because developing countries cannot do it alone and also I need to remind that developing countries are not the largest emitters especially African countries.
We are talking about financing that will have to come from governments, international financial institutions, investment funds, but also private sector and companies that are able to transfer the technologies needed at a cost effective rate. This is the main asks that will be presented at Sharm El-Sheikh that cuts across the various aspects of the agenda of the conference from adaptation to mitigation to compensation to risks and all of the agenda items.
PT: What role can the media play in spotlighting, highlighting and sending out the African message?
Mr Awab: I think there is a very important role for the media. By virtue of the several participations expected at COP27, it is not just about what the government says or agrees to. This is about how all levels of our society is able to achieve together and this is where the media’s role is key; synthesising societies; synthesising business; putting forward the accountability dimension of what we can achieve, whether in Sharm El Sheikh or in the follow conferences. I think this is where the media can be able to highlight the ending poverty, combating climate change and how they should not be in conflict and what that really means for human commitments.
Beyond governments in the developed countries, there are people in those countries who really care about the future of our earth and the more the media is able to present the kind of challenges we are facing in order to be part of our common drive. This is a major role the media can play.
This is the first of the two-part interview. In the second part, the ambassador talks about the 2013 unrest in Egypt, fighting terrorists, trade between Nigeria and Egypt and other matters. Stay with PREMIUM TIMES for the second part.
Chika Igba assisted with transcribing this interview.
Chiamaka Okafor is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
MILITARY OCCUPATION 'Inevitable': Views on US bases shift in Japan's Okinawa
Mathias CENA Tue, October 4, 2022
For decades, residents of Japan's Okinawa have strongly opposed the US military bases that dot the region but a subtle shift is under way, driven by Chinese sabre-rattling and economic challenges.
The bases are often seen as a disproportionate burden for Japan's sub-tropical southernmost region.
Okinawa comprises 0.6 percent of the Japanese archipelago's territory but contains 70 percent of the land used for US bases, and over half the 50,000-strong troop presence.
Base-related crime, accidents and pollution are potent irritants for Okinawa's 1.5 million residents.
But with Okinawa now a front line in the burgeoning confrontation between China and regional US allies, the bases are increasingly important for American and Japanese defence strategies.
"Okinawa has been given an excessive burden," said 39-year-old Ryo Matayoshi, a municipal councillor in the Okinawan city of Ginowan.
But "if we think about the security of Japan and of east Asia, the presence of bases on Okinawa is inevitable in a way," he told AFP.
"A lot of people of our generation recognise that reality."
Japan has long been wary of China's growing military, but the stakes have risen as Beijing hardens its rhetoric on Taiwan and riles Tokyo with incursions around disputed islands.
In August, Chinese drills in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan spotlighted the issue, with several missiles landing in waters near Okinawa.
"China's reaction to the Pelosi visit and the Russian invasion of Ukraine... have elevated the threat perception," said Yoichiro Sato, a professor and foreign affairs expert at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.
- Crime, noise, pollution - Anti-base opposition is deeply rooted in Okinawa, which was an independent kingdom before Japanese annexation in the 19th century.
Tokyo used it as a buffer to slow US forces during World War II and over a quarter of the population died in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa.
US occupation only ended in 1972, under a mutual treaty that left American bases in place.
And persistent flight noise, pollution and crime have kept anti-base sentiment strong, according to 82-year-old politician and peace activist Suzuyo Takazato.
Between 1972 and 2020, Okinawa's government recorded 582 violent crimes involving base residents, and the kidnap and rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US soldiers in 1995 drew more than 80,000 protesters. The treaty governing US forces limits Japanese legal oversight -- a persistent sore point, said Takazato. "When a helicopter crashed in the Okinawa International University, US soldiers surrounded it and wouldn't allow any inspection," she said. In recent years, opposition has crystallised around the planned relocation of Futenma air base in Ginowan, sometimes called the world's most dangerous base because of its proximity to homes. The government wants it shifted north to the less-populated Henoko, but base opponents want it removed altogether.
That is the position of governor Denny Tamaki, a prominent anti-base politician who was recently re-elected.
But at the local level, candidates backed by the pro-base Liberal Democratic Party, Japan's ruling party, are gaining ground, including in the areas where Futenma and Henoko are located.
- 'Economic realities' -
The shift reflects security concerns, but also financial challenges, said councillor Matayoshi.
"More than just focusing on the question of the bases... people are concentrating on economic realities."
Okinawa is Japan's poorest prefecture and its tourist-dependent economy was hit hard by the pandemic.
Polling before Tamaki's re-election found the economy was most voters' top concern, and the share calling the bases their main priority went from 45 percent in 2014 to 32 percent this year.
The bases contributed just six percent to Okinawa's GDP in 2017 but they bring lucrative government subsidies.
Conservatives woo Okinawan voters by telling them the LDP "brings those benefits from the mainland," Sato said.
Politician Takazato points out that "three generations have grown up" with the US presence, which is now so established that some think "they have no choice but to accept it".
But Matayoshi sees real ties being built, thanks to US military outreach and friendships between Okinawans and troops.
"We are becoming good neighbours," he said.
Traditional anti-base sentiment makes it "hard in Okinawa to say publicly that you accept their presence".
The sudden mass exodus last week of Russian men fleeing military service is a positive development. It is a sign of shifting political momentum in Russian society against the war.
So why have Finland and other European governments barred Russians from entering as tourists, which is the quickest and easiest way to escape the war? Rather than close the doors to those who refuse to fight for Putin, Western states should welcome them and encourage even more Russians to leave.
The scale of the recent exodus is enormous. Nearly 100,000 Russians entered Kazakhstan in the week following Putin’s military call-up, and large numbers entered Turkey and Armenia. More than 50,000 crossed into Finland before the border was closed, double the rate of previous weeks.
The sudden flight of so many reflects deep unease with the war. When combined with evidence of low morale and disaffection among Russian troops in Ukraine, it exposes Putin’s vulnerabilities and creates new opportunities for attempting to undermine the war.
The experience of Russians avoiding war in Ukraine echoes what many of us in the United States faced during the Vietnam War. Hundreds of thousands refused the draft, with tens of thousands fleeing to Canada and Sweden. Others like myself entered the military but spoke out against the war from within. Morale and discipline deteriorated, desertion rates soared, and combat effectiveness eroded. The situation in Russia is not identical, but the rush to escape conscription shows widespread unwillingness to fight.
From the beginning of the conflict Russian forces experienced significant morale and disciplinary problems. News sources have reported incidents of dissension, desertion, and refusal to fight among some units, including members of the elite Russian National Guard. A senior British intelligence official spoke of Russian troops refusing to carry out orders and sabotaging their own equipment. Radio Free Europe reported a combat refusal in July by 78 soldiers in an Air Assault Brigade near Luhansk. Family members of soldiers have spoken up on social media to ask when the war will end.
In August, paratrooper Pavel Filatyev went public with a 141-page journal describing the ordeal his unit faced during combat in Kherson and Mykolaiv, declaring, “I will not participate in this madness.” He told a reporter:
I am not afraid to fight in war. But I need to feel justice, to understand that what I’m doing is right. And I believe that this is all failing not only because the government has stolen everything, but because we, Russians, don’t feel that what we are doing is right.
Military recruitment offices have come under attack. Newsweek reported in May that a dozen attacks occurred in the early weeks of the war, quoting a senior official of the Russian General Staff that “arson attacks on military registration and enlistment offices have become a constant feature of life in Russia.” Additional fires at recruitment centers and administrative buildings were reported in response to Putin’s recent call-up. An independent Russian media site claimed there were 18 attacks in the days after the mobilization was announced, with a total of 52 incidents since the war began. The Washington Postreported anger and panic among recruits and their families as the mobilization started. Videos on social media showed shouting matches and fighting at some locations.
Given the censorship in Russia and pervasive information campaigns emanating from both sides in the war, it’s impossible to verify all the claims of military unrest and disaffection. What’s undeniable, though, is that Russia’s vaunted army has performed poorly in its campaign to subjugate Ukraine. Low morale and discontent in the ranks have likely contributed to that result.
Research shows that defections and loyalty shifts among members of security forces can be crucial to campaigns for political change. When recruits and members of the military are unwilling to cooperate, the power of corrupt authority erodes, and policy begins to change. Putin’s war cannot succeed if recruits avoid service and soldiers refuse to fight.
Western policy can help by encouraging and aiding Russian dissent. Under international law and European Union regulations, those who face punishment for refusing to participate in illegal acts such as Putin’s war qualify for legal status as refugees. The United States and European governments should open their doors and allow tourist visas for potential recruits and soldiers who refuse to serve in Ukraine, making it easier for opponents of the war to apply for asylum and refugee status.
Civil society groups can help by setting up networks of counseling and hospitality in frontline states. Some are doing so already, offering sanctuary and legal and other support services for Russian recruits and soldiers seeking to escape the war.
During the Vietnam era, American antiwar activists created the Pacific Counseling Service and established military counseling centers near U.S. bases in the Philippines, Okinawa, and Japan. This helped conscientious objectors in the ranks and provided vital aid for service members seeking to avoid the war.
Encouraging and supporting those who refuse to participate in unjust missions has been an effective strategy against militarism in the past. It deserves greater attention now as a potential means of countering Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.
Over the past fortnight, millions of people have faced a great deal of uncertainty after it was revealed that Optus, one of Australia’s largest telecommunications providers, had been hit by a successful hack.
Ever since it announced the breach, the corporation has engaged in a damage control exercise aimed at minimising its liability. Information about the hack has been drip fed to customers and the population, meaning that much remains unknown about the nature of the hack and the extent of the material that has been compromised.
Screenshot of Optus Facebook page [Photo by Optus]
What is known, however, is highly concerning. On Monday, a week-and-a-half after the breach was reported, Optus revealed that the personal identification details of more than two million customers had been breached. The expired details of another 900,000 people were also hacked.
The night before, Optus had sent text messages and emails to some current and former customers, indicating that they had been impacted by the breach.
The belated character of Optus’s announcements means there is every possibility that the details of all ten million of its customers may be caught up in the hack. That would amount to almost 40 percent of the population.
The information that has been hacked includes passport and driver’s licence details, as well as Medicare and other social security information. Email addresses, full names, dates of birth and even residential statuses are in the data that has been pilfered.
Experts have warned that those affected could be victimised by a range of different type of fraud. At the low end, this could include increased phishing attacks, involving emails and texts containing harmful links aimed at stealing further details. At the high end, some people could be targeted for identity theft, as well as the opening of fraudulent bank and mobile phone accounts.
Already, the details of some 10,000 Optus users have been posted to an online forum. The information of other customers could be being traded on the black market.
The company’s response has prompted widespread anger. Optus customers have complained on social media over the delayed and uninformative communications from the corporation.
Many are unclear about whether they need to engage in the onerous, time-consuming process of changing their drivers’ licence numbers and passport details to protect themselves. Optus has given undertakings to pay the related fees for those who are affected. In a number of states, however, the exact processes by which this will occur, and which customers will be eligible, remain vague.
More broadly, the hack has pointed to the dangerous consequences of for-profit corporations controlling vast swathes of data, and a key social utility, i.e., telecommunications. There is a clear conflict between the privacy interests of ordinary people and the commercial impulses of such companies to retain as much data as possible, while seeking to minimise the costs required to protect it.
At the same time, ever-greater government surveillance imposes requirements on such corporations to retain information for extended periods, even if it is not needed for the service requirements of customers.
When it reported the breach, Optus claimed that it had been the victim of a “sophisticated” hack. That assertion has been rejected by the federal Labor government, the country’s digital security agencies and independent experts.
The Information Security Media Group (ISMG), an intelligence firm, reported early last week that the hacker had taken the data by accessing an unsecured Application Programming Interface (API)—software that is used to share data between computer programs and devices.
This was later confirmed to ISMG by the hackers. Calling themselves “Optusdata,” they wrote in a message: “No authenticate needed. That is bad access control. All open to internet for any one to use.” In other words, the information was connected to the Internet and was not protected in any way.
Other aspects of the hack have led cybersecurity experts to speculate that “Optusdata” is not a sophisticated hacking organisation. It demanded a payment from Optus of $AU1.5 million in return for the data, an unusually low sum. It later posted messages to an online forum in childish English, apologising for the inconvenience caused by the hack and expressing contrition.
If the data breach had occurred in Europe or the United States, Optus would be liable for government-imposed financial penalties that could reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
In Australia, there is no such liability. Under the legislation that governs data protection in the sector, penalties for company violations of general security provisions are capped at $250,000 per infringement. Fines for corporations that breach privacy obligations are capped at $2.2 million.
Prior to the hack, there had been plans for Optus to be floated on the Australian Stock Exchange. Estimates of its valuation had ranged from eight to twelve billion Australian dollars. Optus has an operating revenue of over $7 billion. Singtel, Optus’ parent company, reported a net profit of $1.95 billion in the last financial year.
The extent of the Optus leak has resulted in a substantial degree of publicity, but there is every indication that massive data breaches are occurring frequently, with the corporations involved facing minimal consequences.
The Australian Financial Review reported yesterday that freedom of information requests to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) revealed at least 11 such breaches in the first six months of the year, each of them affecting 10,000 or more customers.
A report on the Pearls and Irritations website cited a 2019 report by the OAIC, also obtained under freedom of information laws. It stated that “overall, the response system [to data breaches] is either non-existent or performing poorly from a citizen’s perspective.” The report “observed significant deficiencies in response standards, formal reporting channels of Government, and meaningful protection for consumers.”
While successive governments have presided over a lax regulatory framework, they have increased requirements for corporations to retain data, in line with a broader surveillance regime.
Australian legislation, bolstered in 2015, requires companies to retain all data they acquire, through the life of a contract and for two years afterward. Justified on the basis of combating terrorism and serious crime, the draconian data retention framework is part of a broader onslaught on democratic rights, with intelligence and other government agencies granted ever-expanding powers to spy on the private information and communications of citizens. The real target is mounting social and political opposition within the working class.
The Labor government has demagogically condemned Optus and adopted a pose of frustration with its response, but Labor, no less than the Liberal-National Coalition, is responsible for both the lax regulatory framework that imposes virtually no penalties for such breaches, and the intrusive data retention requirements.
Prominent legal firms are floating the possibility of class actions, which, given the number of customers affected, could be among the largest in history. Government officials are also flagging possible, as yet unspecified, regulatory changes.
Whatever these outcomes, however, the Optus saga highlights the incompatibility between the needs and interests of ordinary people in a complex modern society, and the domination of critical infrastructure by vast corporations whose only motive is to maximize profits and shareholder returns. It is another reason to place telecommunications, along with the banks and big business, under public ownership and the democratic control of the working class, as part of a broader socialist transformation of society.
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