Hong Kong adopts contentious law giving government more power to quash dissent

Issued on: 19/03/2024 

01:29
Video by :Catherine CLIFFORD

Hong Kong's legislature unanimously passed a new national security law on Tuesday ( March 19), introducing penalties such as life imprisonment for crimes related to treason and insurrection, and up to 20 years' jail for the theft of state secrets.

 

Hong Kong tightens control with new national security law

Article 23 of the Basic Law gives the Hong Kong government more power to crush dissent. The law, which mirrors Beijing's 2020 measures, aims to outlaw treason, sabotage, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage.

Hong Kong's lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously passed a proposed national security law on top of a similar law imposed by Beijing four years ago that has already largely silenced opposition voices.

"Today is a historic moment for Hong Kong," said city leader John Lee, who added that the law would come into effect on March 23.

The vote was held in special session one day before the regular Wednesday meeting of the Legislative Council.
Government's desire to fast-track legislation

The bill was unveiled on March 8. The legislature, which is packed with Beijing loyalists, accelerated debate after Lee called for the law proposal to be pushed through "at full speed."

During Tuesday's meeting, lawmakers expressed strong support for the bill. Legislative Council President Andrew Leung said he believed all lawmakers were honored to be part of this "historic mission."

"I fully agree with what the Chief Executive said: the sooner the legislation is completed, the sooner national security will be safeguarded," he said.

Beijing's ever-tightening grip on Hong Kong


The new legislation paves the way for the government to gain more power to crush dissent in the semi-autonomous southern Chinese city. The law is widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that followed pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The proposed law threatens harsh penalties for a wide range of actions that the authorities call threats to national security, with the most serious, including treason and insurrection, punishable by life imprisonment.

Lesser offenses, including possession of seditious publications, could result in several years in prison. Some provisions allow prosecution for acts committed anywhere in the world.

Critics fear the new law will further erode civil liberties that Beijing promised to preserve for 50 years when the former British colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

UN human rights chief Volker Türk decried the "rushed" passage of the new law on Tuesday, labeling it "a regressive step for the protection of human rights."

The United States said the new law could further erode citizens' rights in Hong Kong.

"We believe that these kinds of actions have the potential to accelerate the closing of Hong Kong's once open society," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said. "We are alarmed by the sweeping and what we interpret as vaguely defined provisions" in the law, he said.

Pro-democracy protesters push barricades toward police during a stand-off outside the Legislative Council in 2019

Image: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Crackdown on dissent

Since the massive street protests in 2019 that challenged China's rule over the semi-autonomous territory and led to the imposition of Beijing's national security law, Hong Kong's political scene has changed dramatically.

Many leading activists have been prosecuted. Others have fled abroad. Influential pro-democracy media outlets such as Apple Daily and Stand News have been shut down. The crackdown has caused disillusioned young professionals and middle-class families to flee to the United States, Britain, Canada and Taiwan.

Hong Kong is required by its mini-constitution, the Basic Law, to enact a homegrown national security law. A previous attempt in 2003 sparked massive street protests that drew half a million people. The legislation was forced to be shelved.

There have been no such protests against the current bill, largely because of the chilling effect of the existing security law.

dh/fb (AP, DW sources)

China blasts critics of new Hong Kong security law

By AFP
March 20, 2024

China has slammed criticism of the new security law passed by Hong Kong's rubber stamp legislature Tuesday night - Copyright AFP Bertha WANG

China lashed out against critics of Hong Kong’s new national security law on Wednesday, accusing the British government of having the “mindset of a coloniser” and condemning the EU’s “hypocritical” position.

Hong Kong, a former colony of Britain before the 1997 handover back to China, on Tuesday passed a security law commonly referred to as Article 23 to punish five crimes after a fast-tracked legislative process.

British foreign minister David Cameron said it was a “rushed” process for a law that would “further damage the rights and freedoms enjoyed in the city”.

In response, China’s de facto foreign ministry in Hong Kong blasted Britain as being “hypocritical and exercising double standards” in an apparent reference to London’s own national security laws.

“The United Kingdom has been making inflammatory and irresponsible comments on Hong Kong’s situation… it’s all due to the deep-rooted mindset as a coloniser and preacher,” the foreign affairs commissioner said in a statement Wednesday.

“We urge the UK to set its position right, face the reality, and give up on the fantasy of continuing its colonial influence in Hong Kong.”

Responding to the EU’s criticism, the commissioner’s office expressed “strong disaffection and opposition” to its comments.

“We urge the EU to envisage the strong appeal for the legislation in Hong Kong, and abandon its hypocritical double standards and prejudice,” the statement said.

As part of Britain’s handover agreement to China, Hong Kong was guaranteed certain freedoms, including judicial and legislative autonomy, for 50 years in a deal known as “one country, two systems”.

The accord cemented the city’s status as a world-class business hub, bolstered by a reliable judiciary and political freedoms distinct from the mainland.

But 2019’s massive and at times violent democracy protests — which saw hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers take to the streets to call for more autonomy from Beijing’s rule — drew a swift response from authorities.

Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 focused on punishing four crimes — secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces.

Since its enactment, nearly 300 people have been arrested under the law, while dozens of politicians, activists and other public figures have been jailed or forced into exile, and civil society has largely been silenced.

– ‘Grave concern’ –

The newly passed law, which punishes treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets and espionage, sabotage, and external interference, will work in tandem to plug up “gaps” left by Beijing’s legislation, Hong Kong’s leader John Lee has said.

The government has argued its creation was a “constitutional responsibility” as outlined under Article 23 of Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, which has governed the city since the handover.

But Cameron said the fast-tracked legislation undermined the Sino-British Joint Declaration, an internationally binding agreement signed in 1984 in which China agreed to run Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” principle.

“I urge the Hong Kong authorities to… uphold its high degree of autonomy and the rule of law and act in accordance with its international commitments and legal obligations,” he said.

His statement also drew a rebuke from the Chinese embassy in Britain, which called it “a serious distortion of the facts”.

The embassy said the law, which imposes life imprisonment for crimes related to treason and insurrection, “fully safeguards the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents”.

“We urge the UK to cease its baseless accusations… refrain from interfering in China’s internal affairs under any pretext,” it said.

The United States, United Nations, European Union and Japan have also publicly criticised the law.

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Tuesday that the United States was “alarmed by the sweeping and what we interpret as vaguely defined provisions” in the law.

UN rights chief Volker Turk called the law and its “rushed” adoption “a regressive step for the protection of human rights”.

The EU criticised not only the expected impact of the law on the city’s freedoms overall, but specifically said it had the “potential to significantly affect the work of the European Union’s office”, European consulates and EU citizens in Hong Kong.

“This also raises questions about Hong Kong’s long-term attractiveness as an international business hub,” the EU said in a statement Tuesday.

Japan on Wednesday added to the chorus, saying it attached “great importance to upholding a free and open system and ensuring the democratic and stable development of Hong Kong.

Japan “reiterates its grave concern about the passage of (Hong Kong’s national security law), which will further undermine the confidence in the “One Country, Two Systems” framework,” it said.

FEMICIDE

Gambia postpones vote to repeal FGM ban

Kate Hairsine | Sertan Sanderson

DW

Women's rights remain under threat in Gambia after parliament decided to postpone a vote on upholding the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM).

Dozens of women picketed parliament to stop the ban on femal genital mulitation being reversed

Hadim Thomas-Safe Hands for Girls/AP/picture alliance

Female genital mutilation (FGM) remains illegal in Gambia — for now. A decision in Gambia's National Assembly on whether to overturn the ban on FGM has been postponed for at least three months.

The divisive issue led MPs to ask for more consultation on the matter, referring the bill to a parliamentary committee which will examine it for at least three months. The bill will then be returned to parliament.

According to the AFP news agency, hundreds of people were seen protested outside parliament on Monday, with most supporting a repeal of the ban on FGM.

The tiny West African nation had explicitly criminalized FGM, also called cutting or female circumcision, in 2015, making the practise punishable with up to three years in prison or a fine of 50,000 dalasi ($736 or €678), or both.

In cases where FGM causes death, the law calls for life imprisonment.

FGM involves the partial or total removal of the female external genitalia, often involving the removal of the clitoris or labia. It has no health benefits and is proven to harm girls and women in many ways.

The private bill to scrap the law outlawing FGM, which was proposed by individual members of parliament, argues that the current prohibition violates citizens' rights to practice their culture and religion.

Renewed debate around criminalizing FGM

The debate around FGM in Gambia flared up in mid-2023 after three women were convicted of the practise under the law. They were ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 dalasi or serve a year in jail for carrying out female genital mutilation on eight infant girls, aged between four months and one year. However, an imam paid the fines for all three women,

These were the first convictions under the law. Prior to this, only two people had been arrested and one case brought to court, according to UNICEF, and no convictions or sanctions had been handed down.

This is despite nearly three out of four girls and women, or 73%, having undergone female genital mutilation in Gambia, according to official figures.

Parliamentary reporter Arret Jatta told DW that she wasn't surprised that the pro-FGM bill has come before parliament, given the heated discussions in recent months:

"Almost all the National Assembly members are in support of the law being repealed, especially the female National Assembly members," she said.

Different interpretations of Islam

Most of the small African country's population are Muslim, and many believe that FGM is a requirement of Islam. The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council issued a fatwa (religious decree) last year, declaring FGM "one of the virtues of Islam."

However, Isatou Touray, former vice president and founder of the anti-FGM organization GAMCOTRAP, strongly refutes this interpretation.

"Who has the right to interfere in what Allah had created, and who has the right to define how a woman should look?" Touray told Gambian media organization Kerr Fatou.

Supporters of FGM meanwhile believe it can "purify" and protect girls during adolescence and before marriage.

"When it comes to the social aspect, they'll even tell you, 'Oh, it is to ensure that you stay a virgin because if you have the clitoris then … you would want to have sex,'" woman's rights advocate Esther Brown said in an interview on DW's AfricaLink radio program earlier in March.

Human rights violation

The practice of FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women, finds the World Health Organization.

As well as severe bleeding, FGM can cause a variety of severe health problems, including infections, scarring, pain, menstruation problems, recurrent urinary tract infections, infertility and complications in childbirth.

One study on the health consequences of FGM in Gambia found women who were cut are four times more likely to suffer complications during delivery, and the newborn is four times more likely to have health complications if the mother has undergone FGM. 

Africa's slow progress toward zero tolerance against FGM    01:35

But for Fatima Jarju, an FGM survivor who sensitizes women in Gambia to the harms of the procedure, the ongoing debate on the issue is causing further damage to women's rights:

"I think it's a big setback ... looking at our human rights standards as a country and also the commitment from the government to protecting the rights of women and girls of this country," she told DW.

Legislation not always effective against FGM

The Gambia is among 28 sub-Saharan nations where FGM is practiced. Six of these nations lack a national laws criminalizing the procedure (see map below). The Gambia could soon join them.

Many anti-FGM activists stress, however, that legislation alone is insufficient to tackle FGM, especially when it lacks enforcement, as is the case in Gambia.

Rugiatu Turay in Sierra Leone, one of the six African nations without a law against FGM, has gained international recognition for her work combating FGM.

The strategies she uses include the development of rites of passage for girls that don't involve cutting, finding alternative livelihoods for the cutters and intense community engagement.

She isn't convinced that legislation is the best way to tackle the issue.

"Generally, in Africa, people make laws to satisfy their donor partners. But when it comes to implementation, they are not implemented," she told DW.

To change cultural attitudes, she says, more community-based initiatives are needed that involve everyone from regional chiefs, local headmen and religious leaders to the cutters and the mothers making decisions for their daughters.

"If every sector in our country speaks about the cut and the scar — and its consequences — I tell you, we will end FGM," she said.

Anti-FGM campaigners march to end the practice in Sierra LeoneI

mage: Saidu Bah/AFP

Sankulleh Janko in Banjul, Eddy Micah Jr. and George Okach contributed to this article.

This article was first published on March 7, 2024 and was updated on March 19, 2024 to reflect the postponement of a vote to repeal the FGM ban.

Edited by: Rob Mudge

Amid threats by powerful religious leaders, Gambian MP's have 'moral obligation' to maintain FGM ban

Issued on: 19/03/2024 - 

Video by: Nadia MASSIH

Lawmakers in Gambia are debating on a repeal of the 2015 ban on the widely condemned practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Gambian activists fear a repeal would overturn years of work in the largely Muslim country to better protect women and girls as young as 5 years old. It can cause childbirth complications and have deadly consequences, yet it remains a widespread practice in parts of Africa. As Gambia lawmakers consider a repeal of the ban, under heavy pressure from powerful religious leaders, FRANCE 24's Nadia Massih is joined by renowned Gambian activist Jaha Dukureh, Regional UN Women Ambassador for Africa and CEO / Founder of the NGO “Safe Hands for Girls” providing support to African women and girls who are survivors of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

05:07

 

Gambian parliament debates bill to reverse ban on female genital mutilation

Issued on: 19/03/2024 - 

NAKBA 2

Rafah displaced shiver as thunder and rain lash tent camp

Rafah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – Torrential rains lashed a tent camp for displaced people in Gaza's southern city of Rafah, where frightened Palestinian children can no longer distinguish between thunder and Israeli bombardment.


Issued on: 19/03/2024 - 

Men and boys gather to inspect a destroyed vehicle following overnight Israeli bombardment at the Rafah camp in southern Gaza 

© SAID KHATIB / AFP

The storm fell overnight Monday to Tuesday in the southernmost Gaza Strip city, adding to the anguish of Palestinians who fled the war between Hamas and Israel, many without warm clothes, blankets or proper footwear.

Oum Abdullah Alwan said her children "screamed in fear" because "we can't tell the difference between the sound of rain and the sound of shelling".

"'It's shelling, Mum, we have to run,'" one of the children told Alwan, who was displaced from Jabalia further north, and now lives with more than a dozen family members in a tent in the makeshift camp.

She asked her son: "Is that the sound of shelling?" He told her it was thunder.

The rain, accompanied by biting winds, soaked foam mattresses and the meagre belongings of the camp's residents.

"We are 14 people living in a tent and we cannot find a single dry mattress to sleep on, or even a dry blanket. We have been soaked in rainwater all night," said Alwan.

Like other parents, she said she huddled with her children, embracing them to quell their shivers and "feel a little warmth".

"How much longer will we live in this torment? How much longer?," she cried out.

The war, now in its sixth month, has devastated vast swathes of Gaza and pushed hundreds of thousands to flee their homes seeking safety.

Many have flooded into Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to launch a ground offensive as he hunts Hamas militants.

Rafah now houses 1.5 million people, most of them displaced and living in a massive camp of makeshift tents © SAID KHATIB / AFP

The war broke out after an unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7 resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Militants also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.

Israel retaliated with relentless air, ground and sea bombardment on the Gaza Strip that has killed at least 31,819 people, mostly women and children, the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory says.

Hundreds of thousands of people are now also on the brink of famine, the United Nations and international aid groups have warned.
'Tired of living in a tent'

An estimated 1.5 million Palestinians now live in Rafah, most of them displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip and living in a sea of makeshift tents.

In the camp, a group of children walked past the tents wearing sandals or even barefoot.

"I've told you many times not to play here," an old man shouted at them. "It's (the water is) dirty. You'll get sick."

Residents complained that rainwater was seeping through the tents, drenching them and their belongings and making them ill.

Torrential rains added to the misery of camp residents 

© SAID KHATIB / AFP

Many tried to patch up their improvised homes with whatever they could find.

Mahmoud Saad gathered sand and pushed it against the edge of his family's tent to stop the water, with help from his daughter Aya.

"Winter is usually a blessed season, but not for Gaza," said Aya.

Further away, Akram al-Arian, who is displaced from Khan Yunis, said when the rain fell he too was confused, thinking it was another Israeli bombardment.

"I held my children close to me like a hen protecting her chicks," Arian said.

"I didn't know what to do. I'm tired of living in a tent."

Abir al-Shaer, also originally from Khan Yunis, said her children had "developed a psychological obsession with rockets".

"Every sound is a rocket sound to them, even when the tent flap flutters in the wind, they think it's the sound of a rocket."

© 2024 AFP

'Destroyed': Gaza family erects shelter on home's ruins

Jabalia (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – The makeshift shelter sits atop the ruins of the Kahlout family's shattered Gaza home, which took them 30 years to build but was destroyed in moments by war.

Issued on: 19/03/2024 -

Heavy bombardment has destroyed swathes of Gaza 

© JACK GUEZ / AFP

They were shocked to return to rubble after fleeing fighting around their house in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, yet they had to decide what to do next.

"We pitched a tent over the rubble and we are staying here. Where to go? There's no where to go, there's no shelter," said 60-year-old Oum Nael al-Kahlout.

"It's our memories, our house which we worked hard to build and we spent 30 years building it," she added.

Over five months into the war sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, the heavy bombardment has flattened swathes of the densely populated Palestinian territory.

At the Kahlout's shelter, concrete blocks serve as stairs and a garland of red pennants hang limply from the roof of sheet metal. There are no windows and the walls are about waist-high.

The structure -- which houses a couch, some cooking utensils and a bed -- is surrounded by a desolate landscape of shattered concrete that used to be buildings.
'We eat nothing'

The bloodiest ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas's attack resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Militants also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in the Gaza Strip, including 33 who are presumed dead.

Israel has responded with a relentless offensive against Hamas that Gaza's health ministry says has killed at least 31,819 people, most of them women and children.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said the destruction in Gaza has created 23 millions tonnes of debris in the narrow coastal territory.

"It will take years to clear the rubble & unexploded ordnance," UNRWA wrote on social media on Friday.

Yet for people like Kahlout, who shares the shelter with her husband Saed Ismail al-Kahlout, food is the most pressing need.

Half of Gazans are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, with famine projected to hit Gaza's north by May unless there is urgent intervention, a UN-backed food assessment warned Monday.

The situation is particularly dire in the north, where the United Nations says there are about 300,000 people and where famine was "imminent... projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May".

"We don't receive any aid. We eat ground weeds, when we find mallow weed. We cook it in water and drink it as soup," said Oum Nael, referring to an edible herb.

Her husband added that seeking help from charities had made little difference: "Hopefully we receive a plate of mallow weed or something. It's always mallow weed, we eat nothing."

© 2024 AFP

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Prominent DR Congo journalist Stanis Bujakera freed from jail after six months

A prominent DR Congo journalist was released from prison late Tuesday after spending six months behind bars, a colleague announced.


Issued on: 20/03/2024 - 

Screenshot of a video showing Stanis Bujakera with his lawyer during his sentencing by Congolese justice on March 18, 2024 

© AFP TV

Stanis Bujakera, 33, was sentenced Monday to six months in prison for allegedly incriminating in an article the country's military intelligence in the murder of an opposition politician, Cherubin Okende.

He was detained in September and held in pre-trial custody.

The unsigned story was published in the Jeune Afrique magazine and based on an alleged confidential memo from a separate intelligence agency. Congolese authorities have said the memo is a fake.

Although Bujakera's lawyer earlier on Tuesday said that he would remain in jail pending an appeal of his sentence by the public prosecutor's office, Patient Ligodi, head of the online Actualite.cd newspaper, told AFP that the journalist was free.

"The public ministry has withdrawn its appeal. He (Bujakera) is free, he is in the car, I'm taking him home," said Ligodi.

A Kinshasa court found Bujakera guilty of charges including forgery and "spreading false rumours", and ordered the six-month sentence along with a fine of one million Congolese francs ($400).

Prosecutors had asked that Bujakera be jailed for 20 years.

As Bujakera had already spent six months in detention, he was due to be released on Tuesday after his employer paid the fine and all court costs.

But "the order for Stanis to be freed came down around 1800 (1700 GMT), accompanied by an appeal by the public ministry," Ligodi said earlier on Tuesday.

Bujakera was arrested after a Jeune Afrique article was published in late August 2023, suggesting that Congolese military intelligence had killed Okende the month before.

Okende, a former minister and spokesman for the opposition party Ensemble Pour la Republique ("United for the Republic"), disappeared on July 12 last year.

His bullet-riddled body was found in his car in Kinshasa the following day.

(AFP)

Finland is world's happiest country for 7th year while US drops out of top 20

Finland remained the world's happiest country for a seventh straight year in an annual UN sponsored World Happiness Report published on Wednesday.


Issued on: 20/03/2024 - 

And Nordic countries kept their places among the 10 most cheerful, with Denmark, Iceland and Sweden trailing Finland.

Afghanistan, plagued by a humanitarian catastrophe since the Taliban regained control in 2020, stayed at the bottom of the 143 countries surveyed.

For the first time since the report was published more than a decade ago, the United States and Germany were not among the 20 happiest nations, coming in 23rd and 24th respectively.

In turn, Costa Rica and Kuwait entered the top 20 at 12 and 13

The report noted the happiest countries no longer included any of the world's largest countries.

"In the top 10 countries only the Netherlands and Australia have populations over 15 million. In the whole of the top 20, only Canada and the UK have populations over 30 million."

The sharpest decline in happiness since 2006-10 was noted in Afghanistan, Lebanon and Jordan, while the Eastern European countries Serbia, Bulgaria and Latvia reported the biggest increases.

The happiness ranking is based on individuals' self-assessed evaluations of life satisfaction, as well as GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom, generosity and corruption.

Growing inequality

Jennifer De Paola, a happiness researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland, told AFP that Finns' close connection to nature and healthy work-life balance were key contributors to their life satisfaction.

In addition, Finns may have a "more attainable understanding of what a successful life is", compared to for example the United States where success is often equated with financial gain, she said.

Finns' strong welfare society, trust in state authorities, low levels of corruption and free healthcare and education were also key.

"Finnish society is permeated by a sense of trust, freedom, and high level of autonomy," De Paola said.

This year's report also found that younger generations were happier than their older peers in most of the world's regions -- but not all.

In North America, Australia and New Zealand, happiness among groups under 30 has dropped dramatically since 2006-10, with older generations now happier than the young.

By contrast, in Central and Eastern Europe, happiness increased substantially at all ages during the same period, while in Western Europe people of all ages reported similar levels of happiness.

Happiness inequality increased in every region except Europe, which authors described as a "worrying trend".

The rise was especially distinct among the old and in Sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting inequalities in "income, education, health care, social acceptance, trust, and the presence of supportive social environments at the family, community and national levels," the authors said.

(AFP)

Israel war undermining top UN court, S.Africa says

Washington (AFP) – South Africa's top diplomat on Tuesday accused Israel of setting a precedent for leaders to defy the top UN court, as she again alleged a campaign of starvation in Gaza.


Issued on: 20/03/2024 - 

South Africa's Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor speaks in Pretoria on March 5, 2024 

© Phill Magakoe / AFP/File

South Africa has hauled Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to allege genocide in the war triggered by the October 7 Hamas attack, infuriating Israel and drawing US criticism.

Naledi Pandor, South Africa's foreign minister, said Tuesday that Israel had defied a January interim ruling by the ICJ that it should take action to prevent acts of genocide as it fights Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

"The provisional measures have been entirely ignored by Israel," Pandor said at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace during a visit to Washington.

"We're seeing mass starvation now and famine before our very eyes," she said. "I think we, as humanity, need to look at ourselves in horror and dismay and to be really worried that we have set an example."

Pandor added that Israel's actions may mean other nations believe that "there's license -- I can do what I want and I will not be stopped."

She said that South Africa's post-apartheid democracy -- in going through international institutions -- was "merely practicing what is preached to us every day" by the West.

"The ICJ has not been respected. And the day an African disrespects (it) I hope we don't go to that leader and say 'Listen, you're out of bounds -- because you're an African, we expect you to obey,'" she said.

South Africa has again petitioned the court in The Hague to order measures for Israel to stop "widespread starvation" triggered by its Gaza offensive.

Israel denounced the South African plea as "outrageous" and "morally repugnant," pointing to its initiatives, including humanitarian pauses in fighting.

A UN-backed food security assessment determined that Gaza is facing imminent famine, with around 1.1 million people -- about half the population -- experiencing "catastrophic" hunger.

Zelensky expected

President Joe Biden's administration has called the genocide case "meritless," in its latest row with South Africa.

Last year the US ambassador in Pretoria accused South Africa of violating its stated neutrality in the Ukraine war by letting a Russian vessel dock to load military supplies, an allegation later walked back by Washington.

Pandor said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would visit South Africa in the coming months.

"We always wanted to have a situation where we would be able to be a facilitator" between Ukraine and Russia, she said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin skipped a summit last year in Johannesburg of the BRICS bloc of emerging economies. Putin is the target of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court, which South Africa as a court member would in theory be expected to enforce.

While the Biden administration has voiced hope of maintaining cooperation with South Africa despite disagreements, Congress is reviewing a bill that would reevaluate the entire relationship.

Introducing the legislation last month, Republican Representative John James said South Africa has been "building ties to countries and actors that undermine America's national security and threaten our way of life," naming China, Russia and Hamas.

Pandor said US lawmakers had failed to consult South Africa and that democracies should allow differences of opinion.

"To seek to punish South Africa because there's a disagreement on particular policy areas is the most unfortunate response," she said.

© 2024 AFP

Bolivian lawyer defends Indigenous women in their language

Issued on: 20/03/2024

Bolivian Aymara indigenous lawyer Bertha Aguilar is currently handling 40 cases, from women in divorce proceedings to property conflicts -- all in her local Aymara language

 © Aizar RALDES / AFP


El Alto (Bolivia) (AFP) – Bertha Aguilar is harvesting potatoes on the shores of Lake Titicaca when her phone rings.

On the line, a woman speaking in the Indigenous Aymara language explains that she was beaten up by her brothers-in-law in a land dispute and needs a lawyer.

Aguilar, Aymara herself, is on the case.

The 56-year-old mother-of-two is one of the rare lawyers in Bolivia who represents women who only speak Aymara, the country's third most-used language after Spanish and Quechua.

"It's different when you speak to them in Aymara, they are better able to tell you what happened to them," Aguilar says as she tucks her phone away and returns to her harvest.

The Aymara represent 9.6 percent of Bolivians. And although the country counts 36 recognized languages, court proceedings are only held in Spanish and there is no obligation to provide an interpreter.

For the 41 percent of the population who identify as Indigenous, some of whom speak only their mother tongue, this is a barrier to justice.

"We would like to know how many judges and prosecutors speak an Indigenous language," said Lucia Vargas of the Women's Coordinator group of feminist NGOs.

"If the Aymara do not understand Spanish, they have greater difficulty understanding the complexity of a judicial process that is in Spanish."
'All kinds of bruises'

Aguilar proudly dons the traditional shawl, hat, and pollera -- a long woolen skirt -- worn by Aymara women, even when she is in court.

The mother-of-two is one of few lawyers who represent women in gender violence cases who can only speak Aymara, Bolivia's third most-spoken language

© Aizar RALDES / AFP

Most of her clients are women, many seeking her counsel after experiencing a wide range of sex-based violence.

"I have seen all kinds of bruises, punches in the eye, in other words, all kinds of abuse," she told AFP.

Although there are no statistics on Indigenous victims of gender-based violence, "the Aymara world... is part of a national reality where there is a strong tradition of machismo since time immemorial," said historian Sayuri Loza.

In 2023, Bolivia registered 51,000 complaints of physical, sexual, psychological and economic abuse against women. The cases include 81 femicides, according to data from the prosecutor's office.

'They defended the man'

Aguilar decided to become an attorney after experiencing stigma and discrimination at home and within the legal system.

Only 10 percent of the almost 800,000 women who identify as Aymara in Bolivia access higher education, according to a study by the Catholic University 

© Aizar RALDES / AFP

She suffered physical violence and economic abuse at the hands of her ex-husband, a descendant of the Aymara people who grew up in the city and was university educated.

He and his family would often insult her, she said, using derogatory terms aimed at Indigenous women.

They separated in 2005, but it was a struggle to find a lawyer who would handle her divorce.

She said she spoke to "about four, but I couldn't make myself clear... and they defended the man."

Aguilar herself only learned to speak Spanish informally after moving to La Paz at the age of 16 from her home in Chachapoya, 170 kilometers (105 miles) away.

A few years after her divorce, she entered the Public University of El Alto, a city adjacent to the Bolivian capital, where she obtained her law degree in 2012, studying in Spanish.

Only 10 percent of the almost 800,000 women who identify as Aymara in Bolivia access higher education, according to a study by the Catholic University.
Divorce to property spats

Now, Aguilar has a small office in front of the El Alto Court of Justice, with a sign outside reading: "If I am not in, call."

When she is not at work as a lawyer, Bertha Aguilar spends time in her corn and potato fields on the shores of Lake Titicaca 

© Aizar RALDES / AFP

When she is not litigating, she tends to her small farm in Chachapoya, but she never rejects an incoming call.

"In the courts ... there are many women who cannot speak Spanish," she said.

She is currently handling 40 cases, from women in divorce proceedings to property conflicts, among others.

"Nayax aka divorciox doctorat mistunap munta" -- (I want that divorce to come through), client Silveria Palle, 57, says in Aymara, desperate to escape a partner who has beaten her for years.

Aguilar has the same message for all of her clients: "If I escaped the abuse... why can't you?

© 2024 AFP

SPORTS RITUALS

'Curse of the Colonel' KFC statue disposed of in Japan

Tokyo (AFP) – A plastic statue of Kentucky Fried Chicken's founder Colonel Sanders that was a lucky charm for superstitious Japanese baseball fans has been "disposed of" 15 years after being dredged out of an Osaka river, the firm said.


Issued on: 20/03/2024 

A statue of Colonel Sanders after it was recovered from the sludge of a river in Osaka, Japan on March 11, 2009 

Jubilant supporters of Osaka's Hanshin Tigers, known for being Japan's most passionate baseball fans, flung the effigy -- and themselves -- into the dirty Dotonbori river in 1985 after winning Japan's version of the World Series.

But as the years went by and the Tigers' fortunes faltered, a belief took hold among fans dubbed the "Curse of the Colonel" that success would only return if the life-sized doll was recovered.

The bearded statue was finally found during construction work in 2009 and salvaged, covered in sludge and missing his glasses and left hand. It was cleaned up, blessed by a priest and put on display.

The alleged jinx took some time to be exorcised, but finally last year the Tigers won the Japan Series again after a 38-year wait, prompting wild celebrations and more jumping into the river.

KFC said on Tuesday that the statue was now "too dilapidated to maintain" and would be disposed of.

But first, a ritual "showing our gratitude" was held at a temple and attended by KFC's Japan president Takayuki Hanji, who offered Japanese sake along with the chain's signature fried chicken.

© 2024 AFP

SPIRIT ANIMAL

Thai PM meets $500,000 albino buffalo in 'soft power' push

Bangkok (AFP) – Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin took the bull by the horns Wednesday as he welcomed an unusual visitor to his offices -- an enormous white buffalo that recently sold for $500,000.


Issued on: 20/03/2024 

Bulky bovine Ko Muang Phet, who recently sold for about $500,000, was welcomed to Thailand's Government House 

© Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP

The bulky bovine, named Ko Muang Phet, was renowned in Thai farming circles as a stud animal but hit the mainstream last week with its big-ticket sale, and earned a trip to Government House to meet Srettha.

Standing 1.8 metres (six feet) tall, the four-year-old albino from western Phetchaburi province weighs 1.4 tonnes -- almost three times more than the average buffalo.

Ko Muang Phet has already become a minor TV star, featuring in an episode of the hugely popular "Sound From The Field Of Love" soap opera.

Srettha -- no shorty himself at 1.92 metres tall -- went nose-to-nose with the horned celebrity in front of Government House.

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"I had no idea we had such beautiful buffalo," Srettha told gathered reporters, gingerly patting one of the creature's huge curved horns.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin praised the albino buffalo as 'beautiful' 

© Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP

"Are there more like this?"

Water buffalo are ubiquitous in the Thai countryside, prized as sturdy and reliable farm animals, and albino specimens are particularly valuable because of their rarity.

And big bulls are big business -- last year a farmer in northern Phitsanulok province reportedly sold his 1.4-tonne bull for more than $1.45 million.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Srettha said the Thai Buffalo Breeding Association had asked the government to promote the animals as a tool of "soft power".

Ko Muang Phet's delighted owner Jintanat Limtongkul was all for the idea.

"I want people to get the know buffalo more. Thai people used to be close to agriculture and buffalo, but our lifestyle nowadays has distanced us," he told reporters at Government House.

Water buffalo are ubiquitous in the Thai countryside, prized as sturdy and reliable farm animals

 © Lillian SUWANRUMPHA / AFP

He pledged to bring four giant buffalo to meet tourists at Bangkok's backpacker hotspot of Khao San Road next month for Songkran -- the Thai new year festival which sees thousands of revellers soak one another in the streets in a mass water fight.

© 2024 AFP

SPACE

Creeping ice clouding vision of Europe space telescope Euclid

Paris (AFP) – Scientists are trying to melt a thin layer of ice that is increasingly clouding the vision of the "dark universe detective" space telescope Euclid, the European Space Agency said on Tuesday.

Issued on: 19/03/2024 - 

Stars sparkle in one of the first images taken by Euclid -- but ice is clouding the space telescope's vision

 © Handout / ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/AFP/File

It is the latest of several technical setbacks for the wide-eyed telescope, which blasted off into space in July on a mission to chart a third of the sky.

By doing so, the ESA hopes Euclid will reveal out more about the nature of dark matter and dark energy, which are thought to make up 95 percent of the universe but remain shrouded in mystery.

During checks in November, the team on the ground first noticed that they were losing a little light coming into the telescope's visible light imager, Euclid instrument operations scientist Ralf Kohley told AFP.

After digging into the data, they believe the problem is a layer of ice -- thought to be just the width of a strand of DNA -- that is building up on the telescope's optical surfaces.

"It's a big problem," Kohley acknowledged.

But researchers have been working on it, Kohley said, adding that he had no doubt Euclid would be able to finish its mission.

Ice clouds observations by Europe Euclid telescope © / AFP

Keeping out water is a common problem for all spacecraft.

Despite best efforts on the ground, a tiny amount of water absorbed during a spacecraft's assembly on Earth can smuggle its way to space.

Faced with the cold vastness of space, the water molecules freeze to the first surface they can -- in this case, some may have landed on the Euclid's mirrors.
Thin ice

Shortly after the telescope launched, scientists used its on-board heaters to heat up everything on the spacecraft, hoping to blast out any potential water.

This could be done again.

"But heating out everything is very disruptive for the mission," Kohley said.

Because heat expands most materials, warming up the whole spacecraft involves careful recalibration.

One of the first images released from Euclid, which depicts the Horsehead Nebula 

© Handout / ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA/AFP

It would take at least a month to get the telescope back to its job surveying the sky, Kohley said.

So last week, the ESA started warming just two of the telescope's mirrors, turning the temperature up just enough to hopefully melt away the ice.

This "minimally invasive" partial warming will last until Thursday, Kohley said.

The scientists may not know if it works until mid-April.

Part of the problem is that the scientists do not know exactly where the ice is accumulating -- or how much there is.

And even if the scientists do manage to melt the ice, it could come back over time, Kohley warned.

If the partial warming plan fails, the ESA will have to heat up the whole spacecraft.

If the team have to do this every year during the telescope's planned-six year mission it could result in a six-month delay, Kohley said.

The Euclid spacecraft seen in France before it was launched last year

 © Valery HACHE / AFP/File

"But that's all speculation," he said.

"For the moment, we have to wait and see -- and hope we can rid of this problem in a more elegant fashion."

It is not the first problem for Euclid.

Cosmic rays previously confused the spacecraft's fine guidance sensor, which required a complicated software update.

Some unwanted sunlight also interfered with its observations, a problem solved by slightly rotating the telescope, Kohley said.

However nothing can be done about particularly strong solar flares occasionally projecting X-ray images on the visible imager.

Euclid, which the ESA calls its "dark universe detective," officially started its survey last month.

Its first images, released in November, revealed swirling galaxies bursting with colour in the distant cosmos.

© 2024 AFP