Vietnam's President Phuc reportedly ousted by party rivals

David Hutt
JAN. 17,2023

Pro-Western President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has purportedly been forced out of office in a reshuffle that is set to empower Vietnam's oppressive security services.

Vietnam's President Nguyen Xuan Phuc announced his "resignation" to the party's elite decision-making Politburo last week, Vietnamese sources told DW.

The Western-orientated leader took up the largely ceremonial presidency in 2021, after five years as prime minister. He is seen as one of the main technocrats within the ruling Communist party, and he had developed close connections with Western capitals during his time in office.

His likely dismissal comes just weeks after several other experienced foreign policy hands were booted out of the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party for alleged corruption. The reshuffle is expected to cement the power of the country's security elite.

A diplomatic source told DW that the party's Central Committee will meet on Tuesday for a special session to discuss Phuc's successor, as he is set to formally announce his resignation to the National Assembly, the country's legislature, Wednesday.

What do we know about Phuc's ouster?

Le Hong Hiep of the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute research center in Singapore speculated that corruption might be the reason Phuc was pushed out, according to an article published in the analysis outlet Fulcrum.

There have long been rumors that the president's wife was involved in the so-called Viet A corruption scandal that last month resulted in Nguyen Thanh Long, the former Minister of Health; and Chu Ngoc Anh, the former Minister of Science and Technology, being expelled from the Communist Party.

If the reports are true, Phuc would be the highest-ranking official yet to be caught up in the widespread anti-graft campaign launched by Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2016. Hundreds of senior officials and businesspeople have already been dismissed or jailed because of the campaign.

It is unclear what reason Phuc will give for his resignation tomorrow, but Zachary Abuza, a professor at the National War College in Washington, sees it as a "total power play" by his enemies in the party.

Who stands to benefit from Phuc's departure?

Phuc's likely successor will be To Lam, the Minister of Public Security, who has gained Trong's trust in directing anti-corruption probes. Lam was originally expected to leave his office by April due to informal term limits on ministers.

A swift promotion to the presidency would allow Lam to remain in a powerful position while also trying to maintain control over the security ministry from the largely ceremonial presidential office, Abuza said.

Other senior Communist Party members would also benefit from Phuc's departure. Though the next National Congress won't be held until 2026, jostling for the top jobs starts early.

The Communist Party has faced problems with electing its leaders in the past. At the last National Congress in 2021, party chief Trong remained in office for a near-unprecedented third term because the party couldn't agree on a successor.

Hiep of the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute noted that National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue also stands to win big if Phuc departs, as he would emerge as the "only viable candidate to replace General Secretary Trong" in the 2026 reshuffle.

Abuza reckons that apart from Hue, Phuc was the only other Politburo member who had the acumen to become party boss next year. Phuc's departure opens a straight path for Hue, who happens to be Trong's protege.

Le Hong Hiep adds that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is unlikely to get a promotion next time around, may also be at risk.

According to Hiep, he could face trouble because of his alleged relationship with Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, the chairwoman of Advance International Corporation, a firm at the center of another major corruption scandal. Nhan, who is on the run, was last month sentenced in absentia to 30 years in prison.

How will the reshuffle effect Vietnam's foreign policy?

Phuc considerably improved Vietnam's ties with the US and the EU as prime minister between 2016 and 2021. The much-touted EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement was signed and ratified under his watch, and the 68-year-old politician is believed to be among Vietnam's most trusted leaders for foreign diplomats and investors.

His departure comes on the heels of dismissals of numerous technocratic and Western-leaning officials.

Pham Binh Minh, the former foreign minister and a deputy prime minister, was last month "allowed" to resign from his current posts. Another Western-educated deputy prime minister, Vu Duc Dam, was also dismissed.

Hunter Marston, a researcher on Southeast Asia at the Australian National University, said it seems that "Trong and his Ministry of Public Security are pushing out the more progressive or internationally-minded senior officials who had advanced the US-Vietnam relationship."

The reshuffling of officials is unlikely to radically change Vietnam's foreign policy, although it is "good for China and Russia," said Abuza from the National War College in Washington.

Le Hong Hiep from Singapore doesn't see drastic changes on the horizon either.

"All these personnel changes are more about Vietnam's domestic political dynamics," Hiep told DW. "I don't think they have anything to do with Vietnam's foreign policy."
What is Vietnam's stance on China and the West?

China remains Vietnam's largest trading partner, but historical and geopolitical tensions, especially over disputed territory in the South China Sea, means Hanoi will continue to see Beijing as a threat.

Also, Vietnam's business and political relations with Western states have massively improved in recent years. In November, Olaf Scholz became the first German chancellor to visit Vietnam for 11 years.

But Vietnamese Communist apparatchiks remain skeptical of Western intentions. Many of them fear that Western democracies are aiming for regime change in the one-party state and they rankle at foreign organizations lecturing the government over human rights.

Those dynamics are not likely to change but analysts say foreign governments and investors should expect a more inward-looking and potentially less stable political situation in Vietnam.

The ascendant public security apparatus is arguably most wary of interactions with Western democracies. At the same time, foreign diplomats are quickly losing their most trusted conduits within the party, the sort of officials who informally provide information and support.

And although Vietnam's economy grew at 8% last year, according to the government, purges of senior, competent officials may weaken the country's political stability. Trong's anti-corruption crusade shows no signs of slowing down, with Phuc its biggest scalp to date.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic

FIELD HOCKEY NOT ICE HOCKEY

Hockey's World Cup has no problem with rainbow armbands
Jörg Strohschein
18 hours ago18 hours ago

At the field hockey World Cup in India, the German national team is setting an example. Captain Mats Grambusch's choice to wear a rainbow armband to promote acceptance and tolerance has received a positive response.

There was no sign of protest at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar. On the contrary, the fact that Mats Grambusch wore a rainbow-striped captain's armband during the German national field hockey team's first match at the field hockey World Cup against Japan caused no displeasure at all. And the Germans won 3-0.

The colorful symbol for the worldwide LGBTQ+ community was accepted without complaint from either the spectators on site or by the World Hockey Federation (IHF), who were forewarned by the German Hockey Federation (DHB) of their intentions.

"I do believe that you can transport values into society through sport," Grambusch told DW in the run-up to the game. "We would have done the same if the World Cup were held in the Netherlands, Germany or Qatar. We stand for these values and want to embody that at the World Cup."

Symbol of hope and solidarity

There is no question of the problems that occurred at the football World Cup in Qatar, which ended last December. World football's governing body FIFA strictly forbade the wearing of the "One Love" armband due to the hosts feeling unfairly treated.

When it comes to the field hockey players and their World Cup in India, it’s the complete opposite with the DHB’s request met with an overwhelmingly positive response from the local community.

"There’s certainly power in visibility, especially when a leading sportsperson openly takes up the cause of LGBTQ+ inclusion," LGBTQ+ activist Anish Gawande tells DW. "However, such a 'message of tolerance' should not be seen as a radical act meant to give voice to some notion of a 'voiceless' LGBTQ+ community in India. I would be more keen to see this as a symbol for a wider acceptance of queer and trans people in sports as a whole."

Acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community has grown in recent years in India

Ayush Chopra/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/picture alliance

"Everyone deserves the right to express themselves unabashedly," activist Harish Iyer explained to DW. "The rainbow is a symbol of hope and solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. We should celebrate it. The question should not be 'why are you wearing it', but rather 'why the hell not'."
Landmark rulings by India's Supreme Court

Yet even in the South Asian nation, social recognition of the LGBTQ+ community has been a long, ongoing process. It wasn't that long ago that homosexuality was no longer a criminal offense in India. In a decision hailed as historic, the country's Supreme Court in 2018 overturned a more than 100-year-old ban that criminalized homosexual acts between adults.

Yet members of the LGBTQ+ community often continue to live in the shadows, rejected by their families or society. Activists like Anish Gawande and Harish Iyer are helping them become more visible. "Despite significant progress over the course of the last two decades, the LGBTQ+ community in India continues to face significant challenges," Gawande says.

Then, last summer, the same court ruled that same sex couples are entitled to the same social benefits as traditional families. Another step toward "normalcy." There have since been further efforts by the community, with the help of petitions, to bring further measures around equality into law.
Criticism from politics

However, there are political parties in India that have a hard time with this. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, for example, has called same-sex marriages incompatible with Indian culture and religion. "The community is facing oppression all over the world," laments activist Iyer.

Grambusch believes people's sexuality shouldn't come into question in modern society

Image: Sukhomoy_ Sen/Eyepix Group/IMAGO

Indian society, which is often still quite conservative, has already become more accepting. In a 2019 survey by the US-based Pew Research Center, it is clear that a societal transformation has begun. The survey found that between 2013 and 2019, society's acceptance of homosexuality increased by 22%.
Grambusch: "Must become complete normality"

"The supreme court of india has decriminalized consensual sexual relations between all adults and recognizes people who identify as transgender," Iyer says. "We need to do more, but we have taken the first major step."

Hockey team captain Mats Grambusch is also aware that the issue of homophobia is not exclusive to India. "This issue needs to be more mainstreamed in different societies. It has to become complete normality that people have different sexualities and that is not questioned in any way," Grambusch said.

This article was translated from Germa

Egyptian activists: We need to talk about abortion

Diana Hodali
DW

 JAN 17,2023

Abortions are illegal in Egypt unless they are necessary to save a married woman's life. But that doesn't stop local women from having one. Egyptian society needs to acknowledge this, activists say.

The memory of that day is still very painful for Noura. She was in Cairo's City Stars Mall when she suddenly felt cramps, accompanied by heavy bleeding: "I sat down on the toilet. I felt something heavy flowing from my uterus. I put my hand under me to catch the blood."

Noura is not using her real name here. She had an unplanned pregnancy at the age of 23 while in an extramarital relationship with a man called Khaled.

After they realized she was pregnant, her boyfriend obtained abortion pills through friends. "It was too early for me to get married and become a mother," Noura remembers. Since abortions are forbidden in Egypt and punishable by law, she could only talk about it with her boyfriend and her roommate.

She witnessed the abortion of her embryo sitting on the shopping mall's toilet. "It was an incredibly brutal moment," she says, one she will never forget.

Talking about a taboo

Experiences like that had by Noura are what prompted feminist activist Ghadeer Ahmed Eldamaty to write them down. In her book "Abortion Tales — Women between Family, Love and Medicine," which was published in Arabic in late December 2022, she explains the circumstances in Egypt, describes the legal and medical situation and also lets numerous women like Noura speak openly.

"I want other women who have gone through an abortion, or are still facing one, to know that they are not alone," she says. "Motherhood is emphasized in our society, yet the topic of abortion is completely avoided. It is forbidden."

Eldamaty, now 32, demonstrated against the former regime in Cairo's Tahrir Square back in 2011. Women's rights were especially important to her, and over the years her interest in the issue of abortion grew.

Author and feminist Ghadeer Ahmed Eldamaty published her book 'Abortion Tales' in late December 2022

Image: ACSS/E7na Summit

Egypt's restrictive abortion laws

The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Alliance for Realizing Sexual and Reproductive Justice describe Egypt as being one of the most restrictive countries in the world when it comes to abortion.

Egyptian law does not allow abortion, nor does it allow survivors of rape or incest to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. Only danger to the life of the expectant mother or fetus is a legal justification for terminating the pregnancy — and even this is only if the woman is married.

Articles 260 to 264 of the penal code stipulate penalties for women, doctors, midwives and pharmacists who perform or assist in illegal abortions or who sell abortion-inducing drugs. In Egypt, abortions were first criminalized in 1883 during the era of Muhammad Tawfiq Pasha, following the French criminal code of that time.

Abortion laws are strict in the Middle East and North Africa

"These laws reflect the attitude toward women's bodies. Women have no say about whether they want to get pregnant or not, or whether they want to have an abortion," Azza Soliman told DW. She is a lawyer, feminist and chair of the board of trustees of the Center for Egyptian Women's Legal Assistance (CEWLA). Soliman has been fighting for women's rights for years and was arrested for this in 2016.

Protesters demonstrated in 2012 to support Samira Ibrahim, who accused a doctor of forcing her to take a 'virginity test'

Image: Mohammed Hossam/AFP/Getty Images

Bans don't prevent abortions

However, the fact that abortions are banned in Egypt does not prevent women from having one, whether they are married or not.

Research by the World Health Organization has shown that abortion bans or restrictions do not reduce the number of procedures. Rather, they lead to more women undergoing dubious or dangerous procedures that can endanger their lives.

"If something happens to a woman or there are medical errors, you can't take action against the doctor," Eldamaty says. There is also no follow-up care, she adds. Women are left alone with their pain and the possible consequences. In addition, "abortion is only possible if you have the financial means. They are often very expensive," she told DW.

According to WHO figures, about 39,000 women worldwide die each year as a result of unprofessional abortions. About 60% of these happen on the African continent, and 30% on the Asian continent. Reliable statistics on unsafe abortions in Egypt are not available.

"Unreliable statistics on unsafe abortion in nations where access to safe abortion is limited or non-existent prevents adequate research on the effects of abortion laws on women's health in the Middle East and North Africa area," Washington-based gender studies expert Habiba Abdelaal told DW.

Egypt is no exception to this rule. In all Middle Eastern and North African countries, abortions are permitted only if the life of the pregnant woman is in danger. Some countries, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Morocco and Oman, for example, also allow abortions if there is a risk to the physical health of the pregnant woman.

Cover of the book 'Abortion Tales' by Ghadeer Ahmed Eldamaty

Almaraya for Arts and Culture

Abortions and local women's movements

In 1990, September 28 was proclaimed Safe Abortion Day. It is the international day of action for the right to safe and legal access to abortion. Eldamaty says that in the 1990s, the issue of sexual health and also abortion was taken up by several organizations in Egypt. But that has changed now, she says.

Abdelaal agrees. "Abortion is rarely at the top of local women's movements' agendas," she said. "This is probably due to a fear of retribution from conservative social groups that often attempt to regulate and constrain women and girls to fit stereotyped gender roles in society."

There are also frequent attempts to justify abortion bans on religious grounds, she said.

CEWLA's Soliman hopes that in the future the issue of abortion will be discussed more and in a wider context. "On a legal level, it is clear that the law needs to be changed," she said. "Abortions should not be banned. But we also need to talk more about women's sexual and reproductive rights on the medical and social level, and educate about the topic."

After her traumatic abortion, Noura had to pretend that everything was fine. The fear of social stigma or possible punishment was too great. A short time later, Khaled and she broke up.

Jennifer Holleis contributed to this article.

This article was originally published in German.

Philippines court acquits Maria Ressa of tax evasion

Ressa had pleaded not guilty in the case. She became the first Filipino to win a Nobel Prize in 2021.

A court in the Philippines on Wednesday acquitted Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa of four tax evasion charges, alongside her online government-critical news site Rappler.

Ressa had pleaded not guilty in 2020.

The tax case is one of several government lawsuits that she and Rappler are facing, sparking press freedom concerns in the Southeast Asian country.

Ressa, the CEO and executive editor of Manila-based Rappler, received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in 2021. The award also made her the first Filipino to win a Nobel Prize.

'Truth wins. Justice wins.'

Addressing reporters outside the court on Wednesday, Ressa said it was "emotional" for everybody, describing the charges as "politically motivated" in an attempt to stop journalists from doing their jobs.

"It took four years and two months," she said, in reference to the trial. "But today, facts win. Truth wins. Justice wins."

In a statement on the court decision, Rappler described it as "the triumph of facts over politics." The website thanked the court for "recognizing that the fraudulent, false and flimsy charges" were baseless.

The renowned journalist and her website still face three other criminal cases, most notably a cyber libel conviction that is now under appeal. If the conviction is upheld, Ressa could face nearly seven years in prison.

'There's a reason why we were targeted'  03:04

Why was Rappler accused of tax evasion?

Ressa founded Rappler to combat misinformation and document human rights abuses carried out by former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, including during his deadly war on drugs.

Her site, launched in 2012, is one of the most popular in the country. Philippines authorities ordered the website shut in June last year, affirming a 2018 order.

The order to shutter the website and the tax charges were based on accusing Rappler of violating a constitutional provision which bans foreign ownership and control of media companies in the Philippines.

The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Rappler of the violation after receiving funds from foreign investors including Omidyar Network and North Base Media.

However on Wednesday, the tax court ruled that the financial papers through which the funds were paid were non-taxable.

The legal fate of Rappler, however, remains unclear.

rmt/wd (AFP, Reuters)

Davos 2023: Young 'Global Shapers' hungry for change

Manuela Kasper-Claridge

DW in Davos, Switzerland

January 16, 2023

A few dozen young people have been invited to this year's World Economic Forum. They are just some of the 10,000 members of the Global Shapers network and want to make their voices heard as they demand change.

https://p.dw.com/p/4MDpl

"I saw a man walking toward my school. He was wearing worn-out shoes. Then I realized it was my father and suddenly I was incredibly proud. Because I knew that he had invested everything he had in my education."

Wanjuhi Njoroge sits wrapped up in a thick quilted coat in a Davos hotel as she tells this story. It is cold and snowing outside. She is a member of the Global Shapers Community network and has come to Switzerland from Nairobi to attend the World Economic Forum (WEF). The environmental and education activist grew up in a small Kenyan village. Her father was a farmer and her mother was a teacher.

 

Snow covered Davos, Switzerland, where global shapers and the powerful come together

Image: Gian Ehrenzeller/KEYSTONE/picture alliance

Programming in the countryside

For the family getting their children a good education was a priority. Still, Njoroge only learned how to use a computer in high school. But she realized very early on that access to technology means access to education. Now through her advocacy she is making sure that more and more young people from rural areas of Kenya are learning to work with computers. She wants them to have the opportunities it took her a long time to find.

Another important issue for her is reforestation and rescuing Kenya's indigenous trees. #SaveOurForestsKE is the name of the campaign she launched in 2018. And in that short time she says "it led to a total ban on forest harvesting" in Kenya. But then she hesitates for a moment. It's as if she has a vision of devastated forests and says, "I have seen the impact of climate change."

Global Shapers meet world leaders in Davos

But what do Kenyan trees have to do with the World Economic Forum? Wanjuhi Njoroge thinks they have a lot to do with it. The WEF offers a unique platform for exchange. It is a place where people can learn from each other, share and discuss projects, and come up with action plans. First of all the young Global Shapers can get together among themselves. They additionally have the opportunity to sit with the decision makers who attend the WEF.

"I meet African presidents here, something that would otherwise hardly be possible," Njoroge says. With her work and her presence in Davos she wants to promote change by shaking things up. She is determined to keep climate and environmental protection a top priority for world leaders.

 

Roman Smolynets wants to make sure world leaders don't forget about the war in Ukraine

Image: Privat

Young Ukrainians and the consequences of war

Roman Smolynets has come to the meeting with something completely different in mind. His face betrays the hard work of the last few weeks and months. The 24-year-old Ukrainian is from Lviv where he works as an anesthetist in the largest hospital in Western Ukraine.

He doesn't know how many victims of the Russian war of aggression he has seen in the operating room. But some of the images he just can't seem to get out of his head. Among them is a 6-year-old girl who lost both of her legs in a missile attack. "I saw terrible things during my work," he says in a reflective voice.

It took Smolynets two days of traveling to get to Davos. He is also a member of the Global Shapers Community network. For months, besides his normal job at the hospital he made sure that much-needed medical supplies were donated to Ukraine. He worked with Support Ukraine Now!, a project that was initiated by the two Global Shapers Community hubs based in Ukraine. Now he wants to ensure that the war and its consequences are back at the top of the WEF's agenda.

"I need to be the voice of Ukraine," he says proudly and plans to take part in as many discussions as he can in Davos over the next few days. He is worried that the world's attention span is waning and support for Ukraine may waver. "We have war in Europe, there can't be fatigue," he emphasizes, putting on his rather thin coat.

Tariq Al-Olaimy is ready to have tough conversations to make a better future

Image: privat

While Smolynets heads out into the snow for his next meeting, Tariq Al-Olaimy from Manama, Bahrain, also part of the Global Shapers Community, sums up the young people's mission in one sentence. "We are the next leaders, we aim for diversity and we need to have a more radical conversation."

This article was originally written in German.

The British government wants to hand police unprecedented powers to handle protesters. Human rights activists say it's an affront to democracy

Story by Luke McGee • 16h ago

The British government wants to hand new powers to police that would allow officers to take stronger action against people engaging in peaceful, political protest.

Video: Activists deface King Charles III wax figure, Monet painting

Charles was defaced. At least two protesters smeared chocolate cake

Duration 0:39 View on Watch

Human rights activists have accused the government of trying to suppress freedom of speech, while opposition politicians claim that Downing Street is simply trying to distract from the myriad of things going wrong in the United Kingdom at the moment.

The government issued a statement on Sunday night, in which it said it would table amendments to legislation that is already passing through Parliament called the Public Order Bill. This has already been the subject of huge controversy due to the extent to which it curbs protest.

Specifically, the bill nakedly targets groups such as Black Lives Matter, Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, all of which have used disruptive tactics in their protests against the government.

The bill would criminalize long-standing protest tactics such as locking on (where protesters physically attach themselves to things like buildings) and tunneling (literally digging tunnels), and could force people who protest regularly into wearing electronic tags. The new amendment would also give police the power to shut down protests before any disruption even occurs.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “We cannot have protests conducted by a small minority disrupting the lives of the ordinary public. It’s not acceptable and we’re going to bring it to an end.”



Activists from the Just Stop Oil climate campaign group hold a banner at Barons Court in west London as they block a major road as part of a series of actions on October 18, 2022.

- Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images

The head of London’s Metropolitan Police Service, Mark Rowley, also issued a statement, in which he made clear that the police had not asked the government for more powers to curb protests.

Adam Wagner, a leading human rights lawyer, thinks this might be due to the fact there is actually very little to be gained in all of this for the police.

“The police already have to decide which protests to get involved with and which to leave alone. Whatever they do, they will get criticized and ideally they would probably rather have less to do with policing protests and the bad publicity that comes with it,” Wagner told CNN.

Critics of the government’s move point out that officers already have the ability to handle protests that get out of hand and are disruptive.

“The police have been very clear that they have the power to adequately deal with protests and manage protests when they are going to cause unjustified disruption and that’s been the case for decades,” Yasmine Ahmed, UK director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), told CNN.

“Our right to protest is fundamental, especially at a time when we are in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, a climate crisis and our public health service is on its knees. Instead of helping people who are below the poverty line – people who are in work, including nurses – the government is wasting time crushing dissent,” Ahmed added.

Wagner believes that the bill could lead to the government being taken to court over allegations of breaching human rights law.


Just Stop Oil activists glue their hands to the frame of John Constable's "The Hay Wain," which was also covered by posters reimagining the scene, in London's National Gallery on July 4, 2022. 

- Carlos Jasso/AFP/Getty Images

“(In) breaking up peaceful protest you are getting right to the core of human rights law. Direct action groups like Black Lives Matter and Extinction Rebellion are not doing much different to what we saw in the civil rights movement or from the Suffragettes. To get some issues on the national agenda you have to be disruptive and people who do that should be tolerated as they are protected in law,” he said.

Conservative MPs are on the whole publicly supporting the government, but privately some concede that making amendments to make the bill even stronger could have something to do with the fact that the Conservative Party is trailing in opinion polls.

This allegation has been made of the government on a number of policies, such as its controversial plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda, its efforts to make it harder for unions to declare strike action and a law that protects statues and national monuments.

“It is politically convenient to put the opposition on the side of all these other issues and remind the public that Labour (the official opposition) is funded by the unions,” a senior Conservative told CNN.

While issues like these might be controversial, just being willing to have the argument is something that could help the Conservative Party as it tries to rebuild its base before the next general election.

Multiple polls suggest that the public generally opposes disruptive protest and the Conservative Party has become very good over the past few years at weaponizing wedge issues, such as Euroskepticism, immigration and protecting statues of Winston Churchill.

A statue of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill is seen defaced in Parliament Square, central London, after a demonstration in June 2020 to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. - Isabel Infantes/AFP/Getty Images

There is no doubt that these issues put Labour in a tricky spot. On one hand, to have broad appeal they have to support the police and not appear to be on the side of disruptive protesters. On the other, they still have to oppose the government.

Sarah Jones, Labour’s shadow minister for policing, said in a statement that the police “have powers to deal with dangerous, disruptive protests and Labour backs them to use those powers… But the Prime Minister has spent more time talking about protest than he has the epidemic of violence against women and girls or his government’s shameful record prosecuting criminals.”

This might be a fair criticism of the government and prime minister, but is a less clear and clean message than simply saying “protests are bad and we will stop them.”

It’s not clear that the government will receive much of a boost from cracking down harder on demonstrators, especially if the new legislation leads to lots of messy scenes where peaceful protesters are being hauled away by an increasingly unpopular police force.

But beyond the politics, this Public Order Bill has left Ahmed, of HRW, questioning what sort of a country Britain really wants to be in 2023.

“When people argue that the government have a right to stop protests, well that’s what China says, that’s what Russia says, that’s what Myanmar says,” she said. “We wouldn’t live in the democracy we have today if people didn’t have the right to protest and disrupt things.”

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com

FEMICIDE

Mexican Mom Faces Loss, Corruption And Impunity In ‘A Nation That Kills Ladies’

Jan 17, 2023



Based on the United Nations, excessive charges of femicide, mixed with a poor monitor report in bringing perpetrators to justice – notably the wealthy and highly effective – have made Mexico probably the most harmful nation for ladies in Latin America. However a grieving mom is set to seek out justice for her murdered daughter, in opposition to the chances.

At 8:35 p.m. on June 18, Saturday, Patricia Garcia acquired a name telling her that her daughter, Frida Santamaria Garcia, had been injured and was within the hospital.

Frida had spent the day working in a reception corridor the place a christening was happening, her mom recounted in a cellphone interview from Sahuayo, a metropolis within the western Mexican state of Michoacan.

“I instantly known as her relative, who labored along with her, to ask if he knew something. He known as my daughter’s cellphone, nevertheless it was her pal, Juan Paolo N., who answered,” García mentioned.

When she arrived at Santa María Sahuayo Hospital, García realized her daughter had been shot. She is instructed that Frida was left for lifeless after her cellphone was stolen. The bullets pierced the younger girl’s lung and liver.

“It was probably the most horrible second of my life,” mentioned Garcia. “A couple of minutes later, the physician instructed me that my daughter had died.”

Frida, at 24, nonetheless had her complete life forward of her when she was brutally quick with a firearm.

Her grieving mom mentioned, “She was a really humble particular person with an enormous coronary heart. She cared for the well-being of her household and pals. She was unconditional and dependable. She was distinctive.”

Frida’s pal denied involvement in her loss of life. However on December 15, Juan Pauls abruptly retracted his denials and admitted that he shot his girlfriend, saying it was not supposed.

His retraction and the delay in his confession prompted the Jequilpan Regional Public Prosecutor’s Workplace to cut back the fees in opposition to him to homicide.

This gave the accused the best to a abstract authorized trial and he was sentenced to a few years’ imprisonment with the opportunity of parole. The punishment for involuntary manslaughter in Mexico is rather more lenient than for these accused of femicide.

On this nation of almost 127 million individuals the place, in line with the authorities, greater than 10 girls are murdered day-after-day, the Frida Santamaria García case is one other instance of the challenges households of the victims face of their pursuit of justice.

Frida’s relationship with Juan Paulo started three or 4 months earlier than her homicide, in line with her cousin, Samantha Morett García. “She discovered about their affair solely every week earlier than she was shot,” Samantha revealed in a cellphone interview from Jiquilpan.

Whereas the Garcia household was grieving the sudden lack of Frida on the night of the tragedy, Juan Paulo had already left town and fled to Guadalajara, the capital of the neighboring state of Jalisco.

It was the start of a harrowing authorized impediment course for the sufferer’s household. The case file submitted within the days following her homicide on the Public Prosecutor’s Workplace in Jiquilpan didn’t advance the case. “He did not even inform me I had a proper to see a sufferer counselor,” García mentioned, revisiting the agonizing days when the household, shocked and agonized by their sudden loss, first confronted the restrictions of Mexico’s justice system.

The companies of a personal legal professional wouldn’t be sought till 5 weeks had elapsed, lastly permitting the investigation to proceed. “We realized that the investigation was not completed correctly, neither in substance nor in kind,” mentioned the sufferer’s mom.

The household finally sought the assistance of NGOs, together with the feminist group MAPAS, who suggested the household to talk to the press and arranged demonstrations calling for justice for Frida. The group denounced the shortage of correct police studies or witness statements. In the meantime, the Public Prosecutor’s Workplace insisted on treating her case as a attainable suicide.

When the suspect is the son of a former mayor within the Frida case, there may be one other necessary reality that can not be ignored: the accused, Juan Paolo, is the son of the previous mayor of town of Sahuayo, Alejandro Amezcua Chavez. Alfredo Annaya’s son-in-law, former Secretary for Financial Improvement within the authorities of the Governor of Michoacan State.

Mapas was fast to denounce the “cynicism” with which the judiciary is dealing with the case in opposition to a well-connected suspect.

“Till January 1, Santamaria Garcia’s household and the feminist group MAPAS believed that the state legal professional normal’s workplace was working to get justice for Frida,” mentioned Sofia Blanco, a spokeswoman for the group.

“We now know that since December 20, she has been working to reclassify this feminine homicide as ‘manslaughter’, with out informing the household or their lawyer, in order to not give them time to problem the choice earlier than the listening to scheduled for January 4,” she mentioned. .

The Feminist Affiliation additionally denounced the silence surrounding the case. Neither the legal professional normal nor the governor of Michoacán state has spoken out in favor of the decision [classifying this crime as] Blanco mentioned.

When the suspect is the son of a former mayor

It additionally denounced the Michoacán State Superior Court docket for failing to “make sure the sufferer due course of” and for doing nothing to forestall the prosecution from decreasing the fees.

In a press launch tracing the authorized twists and turns of the case, García’s household famous that “At present, in Mexico, an individual convicted of femicide can obtain a jail sentence of as much as 50 years; within the case of manslaughter, he faces three years in jail with Risk of parole.”

“We subsequently perceive why Juan Paulo’s father and son-in-law acted with impunity and corruption, to redefine and cut back the fees associated to this crime.”

Per week after it was introduced that the fees for her daughter’s killer had been diminished, García mentioned she had appealed the choice, regardless of the threats the household and several other witnesses confronted, and regardless of makes an attempt to torpedo the case by individuals associated to the suspect.

‘Whole injustice’ Mexico’s worsening disaster of gender violence and the state’s failure to reply has led protesters and activists to dub the nation the ‘femicide nation’.

Based on official figures, about 3,750 girls had been murdered and almost 100,000 disappeared in Mexico in 2021. Of those murders, just one,004 have been investigated as “femicide.” This failure has been denounced by NGOs corresponding to Amnesty Worldwide, who say the shortage of prosecutions leads to “violations of girls’s human rights to life, bodily integrity and their households’ rights to judicial safety”.

Mexico’s Nationwide Fee for the Prevention and Elimination of Violence In opposition to Ladies (CONAVIM) has estimated that 94% of those courtroom instances have been dismissed.

“Investigations are usually not carried out in line with the intercourse of the sufferer, they aren’t adopted up, and corruption prevents the killers from bringing the killers to justice,” Blanco defined.

On January 4, demonstrators gathered outdoors a courthouse in Morelia, the capital of the state of Michoacan, declaring that each homicide of a lady that goes unpunished is one other instance of Mexico being a “femicide nation.” They demanded the utmost sentence for Frida’s alleged killer, and all different victims of the ladies’s murders.

“The Jiquilpan Public Prosecutor’s Workplace and the Public Prosecutor’s Workplace most popular to guard Juan Paulo’s security,” Frida’s mom mentioned at a press convention that day. “Now he could be launched on parole. It is a full injustice.”

A protester in Mexico Metropolis holds an indication that reads, in Spanish, “Mexico isn’t a rustic, it’s a mass grave with a nationwide anthem” protesting violence in opposition to girls on March 8, 2021. © Rebecca Blackwell, AP’s 

“Cotton Subject” challenge

 Regardless of the shortcomings of the Though there is no such thing as a public prosecutor’s workplace or the judicial system, femicide convictions in Mexico do exist. “In terms of killing girls by individuals whose households have political energy, all the pieces will get sophisticated,” Blanco mentioned, referring to the 2020 case of Jessica González Villasenor, who was murdered and whose alleged killer, Diego Orek, was from a rich household. with political connections.

The younger man, who was 18 on the time of the crime, lived within the rich Altozano neighborhood of Morelia. SinEmbargo, a Mexican information web site that makes a speciality of investigating hyperlinks between energy and arranged crime, describes him as a “mirrey,” a slang time period used to explain a younger man from a rich household who lives a lifetime of luxurious, partying, and extra. The sufferer was a instructor from a working class household.

On January 11, Aurick pleaded not responsible. The decision is anticipated on January 27. If discovered responsible, he might resist 50 years in jail. If not, he will likely be launched.

“He has already taken all the pieces from us, and no punishment will carry my sister again to us,” Cristo Villasenor, the sufferer’s brother, instructed El Heraldo de Mexicodaily. Nevertheless, he famous, if the utmost sentence had been to be handed down, it might set a precedent.

“It must be a mannequin for society, particularly for misogynistic males who assume they’ll take girls’s lives with out paying the implications,” he mentioned.

Corruption and impunity are the 2 principal causes for the excessive charges of femicide, in addition to the variety of disappearances, for ladies in Mexico. In 2009, the Inter-American Court docket of Human Rights issued a landmark ruling condemning the nation’s negligence in investigating the deaths of eight ladies who had been tortured, raped, and murdered and located a vacant lot in Ciudad Juárez, a metropolis in northern Mexico that has been known as the femicide capital of the world.

The decision of what grew to become referred to as the “Cotton Subject” affair included a powerful rebuke to the Mexican authorities, forcing it to take motion. Since then, a number of committees have been set as much as get rid of violence in opposition to girls and a particular public prosecutor has been appointed.

However as said within the January 2020 report, “Can a regulation finish femicide in Mexico?” , regardless of “praising a brand new regulation designed with a gender perspective, which ensures a life freed from violence for all girls… it’s being perpetrated with impunity throughout the nation. Authorities and police establishments proceed to look the opposite method, or in some instances are themselves concerned on this new kind of criminality.

Mexico is probably the most harmful nation for ladies in Latin America and holds the unlucky report for the very best variety of femicides within the area, in line with the United Nations. However again in 2007, Mexico pioneered the inclusion of femicide in its penal code, stating: “The crime of femicide is dedicated by anybody who deprives a lady of her life for causes of intercourse.”

The Latin American Mannequin Protocol for the Investigation of Gender-Associated Homicides of Ladies recommends that each one violent deaths of girls attributable to felony motives, suicide, and accidents be analyzed from a gender perspective to find out whether or not or not there are gender-related causes. Explanation for loss of life.

After the loss of life of Frida Sahoyo, family and pals of Juan Paulo requested, amongst different issues, {that a} gender perspective not be utilized to the investigation.

“What’s ‘gender-neutral’ justice on earth? Justice for all besides girls?” requested Blanco, of the MAPAS group, in feedback to native media.

“We characterize half the inhabitants!”

This text has been translated from the unique in French.

European investigators quiz Lebanese over central bank chief

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh poses during a studio photo session in the capital Beirut, on December 20, 2021 - Joseph EID
Agence France-Presse

January 17, 2023 — Beirut (AFP)

European investigators questioned witnesses for eight hours in Beirut Tuesday as part of a probe into Lebanon's central bank governor Riad Salemeh and his brother, a judicial official told AFP.

Investigators from France, Germany and Luxembourg began hearing witnesses Monday as part of the case of suspected financial misconduct including possible money laundering and embezzlement.

The long-serving central bank chief is among top officials widely blamed for monetary policies that have led to a Lebanese economic crisis that the World Bank has dubbed one of the worst globally in modern history.

Investigators heard evidence for more than eight hours from Ahmad Jachi, a central bank vice governor from 2003 to 2008, as well as Marwan Kheireddine, who heads Al Mawarid Bank, the official said on condition of anonymity because they cannot speak to the press.

Kheireddine, who has close ties to Salameh, is also a former state minister who ran unsuccessfully for a seat in parliament last year.

The investigators questioned former vice governor Saad Andary on Monday and are also set to hear evidence from Raed Charafeddine, another former vice governor, on Wednesday, although Salame is not among them.

"To my knowledge, so far he has not received a summons," Salame's French lawyer, Pierre-Olivier Sur, told AFP.

The questioning of the vice governors had so far focused on the central council's past decisions, the source said.

Bank owners and directors were asked about the bank accounts of the governor's brother, Raja Salameh, as well as "money transfers to the brothers' accounts abroad", the source added.

The investigators also examined the central bank's ties to Forry Associates Ltd, a Virgin Islands-registered company that lists Raja Salameh as its beneficiary.

Forry is suspected to have sold treasury bonds and Eurobonds issued by the Lebanese central bank at a commission, which was then allegedly transferred to Raja Salameh's bank accounts abroad.

France, Germany and Luxembourg in March seized assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a move linked to a probe by French investigators into 72-year-old Salameh's personal wealth.

Lebanon also opened a probe into Salameh's wealth last year, after the office of Switzerland's top prosecutor requested assistance with an investigation into more than $300 million allegedly embezzled out of the central bank with the help of his brother.

Salameh and his brother both deny any wrongdoing.

The investigators also plan to question Lebanese bankers as well as current and former employees of the central bank as part of their probe.

Peru peasants march to Lima, vowing to give lives for change

Patrick FORT
Tue, January 17, 2023


Not even a police blockade could prevent around 200 members of Peru's Chanka indigenous group from reaching Lima to join an imminent anti-government protest.

They are among thousands of demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the dissolution of parliament and immediate fresh elections.

"Listen Dina, the Chankas are coming," chanted the members of this ethnicity with a reputation for being warriors. Some say they will stop at nothing to make their voices heard.

"If a Peruvian is not able to give his life for his country, then he's not Peruvian," said Abdon Felix Flores Huaman, 30, an unemployed psychologist and father of a small daughter.

"Some brothers have already lost their lives. We're also ready to give ours... so that my child has better opportunities, so she is not a marginalized Indian."

The Chankas began their journey on Sunday afternoon from the mountain city of Andahuaylas in the southern Apurimac region.

A day into their journey, police blocked them in the city of Humay, still some 200 kilometers (120 miles) south of Lima.

They eventually managed to reach the capital at dawn on Tuesday after a journey that had lasted 40 hours.

They are now waiting for the protest to begin.

Thousands of protesters, mostly from the south of this Andean country, have been arriving in Lima in recent days to lend their weight to a social mobilization that began on December 7 following the ousting of former president Pedro Castillo, himself of indigenous origin.

The subsequent clashes between protesters and security forces have left 42 people dead while the government has declared a state of emergency in parts of the country, including Lima, in a bid to calm the unrest.

- 'Traitor! Murderer!' -

In Humay, police had clearly been given orders to slow down demonstrators heading to Lima.

A line of police wearing helmets and carrying riot shields prevented cars from passing, others guarded the local police station.

The Chankas' four drivers were stopped for problems related to "vehicle insurance and missing technical controls", said police commander Alex Escalante Salazar, who denied trying to delay the demonstrators and insisted he was doing his best to speed up the process.

As the law requires, a photo of Boluarte is hung on the wall of the station.

"The police are unfairly preventing us from going to Lima," complained farmer Julian Huaman, 30, while holding the flag of the Apurimac region.

"Clearly the putschist ordered them to attack us on route," he added in reference to Boluarte.

"It's not the first time," added Flores Huaman. In their mountain city, police had"checked every backpack... but we're not carrying anything illegal. Our hands are clean."

In December, at least two people were killed in Andahuaylas, one of the epicenters of the protest movement.

Support for the demonstrators is high.

"In the communities, everyone has given one or two soles (26-53 US cents). With this money, we're going to Lima," said Flores Huaman.

It's a far cry from authorities claiming demonstrators are financed through "illegal mining exploitation and drug trafficking."

In Humay, protesters shouted slogans denouncing the "traitor" and "murderer" Boluarte.

She was the vice-president under Castillo and is from the same left-wing party.

But she succeeded Castillo when he was arrested after attempting to dissolve parliament and rule by decree as he sought to fend off an impeachment vote.

He has been the subject of several corruption investigations since coming to power in June 2021.

- City against provinces -

"Boluarte said she wanted to see us in Lima, well she will see us in Lima," wrote Anastasia Lipe Quispe, 63, dressed in traditional indigenous clothing.

"We have our corn and our cheese," she said, vowing to reach Lima "by foot if we have to."

The police blockade was eventually lifted around midnight on Monday.

The political and social crisis shows the rift between the capital and the poor provinces that support Castillo and who saw his election as revenge against contempt from Lima elites

"It's a struggle for the Chanka nation. It is a struggle of Quechuas and Aymaras against a state that after 200 years of being a republic continues to marginalize us. This is a fight against racism," said farmer German Altamirano, 75.

The Andean provinces often feel economically neglected by the rich capital.

They accuse multinationals, especially mining companies, of "pillaging" the country without investing back into their regions.

"Life is tough in Peru. It's very chaotic at the moment, "said Flores Huaman.

pgf/pz/lab/ybl/bc/bgs

Peru peasants arrives in Lima for major anti-Boluarte protest

"Listen Dina, the Chankas are coming," chant members of Indigenous group with reputation for being warriors as they await thousands of other rural Peruvians to march in capital against new government of President Dina Boluarte.

People say goodbye to demonstrators as they depart to Lima to protest against the government of Peruvian President Dina Boluarte in the city of Ilave, Puno. (AFP)

Around 200 members of Peru's Chanka Indigenous group have arrived in capital Lima to join an imminent anti-government protest.

They are among thousands of demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the dissolution of parliament and immediate fresh elections.

"Listen Dina, the Chankas are coming," chanted the members of this ethnicity with a reputation for being warriors.

Some say they will stop at nothing to make their voices heard.

"If a Peruvian is not able to give his life for his country, then he's not Peruvian," said Abdon Felix Flores Huaman, 30, an unemployed psychologist and father of a small daughter.

"Some brothers have already lost their lives. We're also ready to give ours ... so that my child has better opportunities, so she is not a marginalised Indian."

The Chankas began their journey on Sunday afternoon from the mountain city of Andahuaylas in the southern Apurimac region.

A day into their journey, police blocked them in the city of Humay, still some 200 kilometres south of Lima.

They eventually managed to reach the capital at dawn on Tuesday after a journey that had lasted 40 hours.

They are now waiting for the protest to begin.

Thousands of protesters, mostly from the south of the Andean country, have been arriving in Lima in recent days to lend their weight to a social mobilisation that began on December 7 following the ousting of former president Pedro Castillo, himself of Indigenous origin.

The subsequent clashes between protesters and security forces have left 42 people dead, while the government has declared a state of emergency in parts of the country, including Lima, in a bid to calm the unrest.

In the city of Humay, protesters shouted slogans denouncing the "traitor" and "murderer" Boluarte.

She was the vice president under Castillo and is from the same left-wing party.

But she succeeded Castillo when he was arrested after attempting to dissolve parliament and rule by decree as he sought to fend off an impeachment vote.

He has been the subject of several corruption investigations since coming to power in June 2021.

READ MORE: Peru declares state of emergency in Lima over protests

Take Lima 'peacefully'

"We know they want to take Lima, given everything that is coming out on social media, on the 18th and 19th (Wednesday and Thursday)," Boluarte said in a speech at Peru's Constitutional Court.

"I call on them to take Lima, yes, but peacefully and calmly. I am waiting for them in the seat of government to discuss their social agendas."

But she warned that "the rule of law cannot be hostage to the whims" of a single group of people.

Demonstrators from all over Peru have arranged to meet in the capital to protest together, but despite various announcements, it is still difficult to determine how many people will arrive in Lima.

Protesters have maintained almost 100 roadblocks throughout eight of Peru's 25 departments.

Security forces cleared one roadblock on the Panamericana Norte motorway in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Boluarte said other roadblocks would be dismantled in the coming hours.

The political and social crisis shows the rift between the capital and the poor provinces that support Castillo and who saw his election as revenge against contempt from Lima elites.

"It's a struggle for the Chanka nation. It is a struggle of Quechuas and Aymaras against a state that, after 200 years of being a republic, continues to marginalise us. This is a fight against racism," said farmer German Altamirano, 75.

NO HONOUR AMONG THEIVES

Suspected ringleader in EU graft probe cuts deal for lighter sentence

Issued on: 17/01/2023

01:28     Italian Pier Antonio Panzeri speaks during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on March 26, 2019. 

Text by: NEWS WIRES| Video by:  Vedika BAHLF

The alleged ringleader of a European Union cash-for-influence corruption scandal linked to Qatar and Morocco has decided to reveal information about the affair in exchange for a lighter sentence, Belgian prosecutors said Tuesday.

Pier Antonio Panzeri, who was charged last month with corruption, money laundering and membership of a criminal organization, and his lawyers have signed a memorandum in which he repents for his acts, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

According to a Belgian arrest warrant issued for his wife and daughter, who are living in Italy, Panzeri “is suspected of intervening politically with members working at the European Parliament for the benefit of Qatar and Morocco” in exchange for payment. Both countries have denied the allegations.

Panzeri, a former Socialists and Democrats lawmaker at the European Parliament, set up a campaign group dubbed Fight Impunity that was believed to have been a front for the scheme. Fight Impunity was involved in a number of conferences with parliamentarians in recent years.

In the memorandum created under a little-used legal article, Panzeri pledges to tell investigators how the scheme worked, what financial arrangements were made with other countries, how the money was moved around, who was behind the plan and what they stood to gain, as well as the names of others who might be involved.

The scandal came to public attention in early December after police launched more than 20 raids, mostly in Belgium but also in Italy. Hundreds of thousands of euros were found at a home and in a suitcase at a hotel in Brussels. Mobile phones and computer equipment and data were seized.

The legal deal means that “a limited sentence is provided for Panzeri,” prosecutors said. “The punishment includes imprisonment, a fine and the confiscation of all assets acquired, currently estimated at one million euros (dollars),” it said.

Panzeri, his former assistant Francesco Giorgi, Greek lawmaker Eva Kaili and the head of an aid group were taken into custody after the raids. They are believed to be at the heart of one of the biggest scandals to hit the parliament - the EU’s only publicly-elected institution. Kaili and Giorgi are partners.

Lawmakers suspended work on all Qatar-related files after the arrests and vowed to toughen lobbying and parliamentary access laws.

Earlier Tuesday, Panzeri’s lawyers appeared in court but abandoned an attempt to win his release from custody ahead of his trial. One of his team, Laurent Kennes, complained about media leaks in the case that he said were undermining his client’s case, but he gave no other details.

On Monday, an appeals court in northern Italy gave the go-ahead for his daughter, Silvia Panzeri, to be transferred to Belgium as part of the corruption probe dubbed “Qatargate.” But Italy’s top criminal tribunal, the Court of Cassation, will have the final say on whether she actually is sent to Belgium.

Belgian prosecutors are also seeking the transfer of his wife, Maria Dolores Colleoni.

(AP)