Wednesday, November 06, 2024

 

Royal Moroccan Navy Stops Migrant Attempt to Hijack Cargo Ship

Moroccan patrol boat
Moroccan navy vessel Rais Charkaoui (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Published Nov 5, 2024 10:46 AM by The Maritime Executive

 


The Royal Moroccan Navy is reporting that it thwarted an attempt by migrants to take control of a cargo ship and divert it to the Canary Islands. The incident took place off the southern coast of Morocco and is the latest in an increasing flow of Africans attempting to reach the Spanish islands.

The cargo ship which was only identified as being registered in Liberia issued an alert on Monday, November 4, which was received by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Rabat. The ship reported it was in the Atlantic approximately 68 miles west of Tan-Tan, in southern Morocco. 

According to the statement from the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, the ship was being threatened by a group of migrants. It is unclear if they had been rescued and taken aboard, but the navy reported they were demanding to be taken to the Canary Islands. They said the migrants planned to divert the ship.

 

 

Two Royal Navy units with a commando team on board were dispatched. They boarded the unidentified vessel and were able to free the crew without incident. The report said a total of 54 migrants were taken into custody and handed over to the Royal Gendarmerie for processing in the Port of Tan-Tan.

It is the latest incident in an increasing flow of migrants from Africa into the Canary Islands. Spanish officials reported in October over 32,000 migrants had reached the Canary Islands so far in 2024, up almost 40 percent over the same period in 2023. Charities estimated to Reuters as many as 150,000 people were preparing to make the trip. It is believed that many of them are attempting to use the Canary Islands as a means of gaining entry into Europe.

The flow of migrants to the Canary Islands is reported to be the fastest-growing route although the total numbers remain far below those attempting to cross the Mediterranean into southern Europe. The distance between Tan-Tan and the Canary Islands is just 120 nautical miles, and authorities said favorable sea conditions in the Atlantic fueled a surge in the attempts to reach the islands this fall.

Morocco reports it has increased its efforts to combat human trafficking and irregular migration and to protect its long Mediterranean and Atlantic coastlines. The Navy reports it is cooperating with other countries including Spain to prevent illegal and unsafe migration.

Fat Leonard Sentenced to 15 Years for U.S. Navy Bribery and Fraud

Fat Leonard Francis
During his scheme, Leonard Francis weighed over 300 pounds earning him the now famous nickname "Fat Leonard"

Published Nov 5, 2024 6:52 PM by The Maritime Executive


Nine years after his first guilty plea and 11 years after he was first arrested, Leonard Francis, aka “Fat Leonard” pleaded guilty for the second time in his now notorious bribery and fraud scheme that had wide-reaching and lasting repercussions on the U.S. Navy. The case made frequent headlines as it grew to involve top-ranking officers as well as sailors in the U.S. Navy and salacious reports of the depth of Francis’ efforts to win help from many individuals.

U.S. District Judge Janis Sammartino handed down the sentence bringing to a close a case prosecutors called unprecedented in the depth and scope of the bribery scheme. The sentencing had been delayed for two years because, in a final act, Francis attempted to flee the United States on the eve of his prior sentencing date. He cut off his ankle monitors while under house arrest and fled first to Mexico. He was captured weeks later in Venezuela as he was attempting to board a flight bound for Russia. In a rare moment of cooperation, Venezuela detained him and in December 2023 returned him to the United States.

After two guilty pleas, including for failing to appear for his prior sentencing date, Leonard Francis, now age 60 and still listed as a Malaysian citizen living in Singapore, was sentenced to a total of 180 months (15 years) which consists of 164 months on the bribery and fraud charges and an additional 16 months for failing to appear. The judge however gave him credit for 2,333 days served between 2013 and 2017 as well as time spent in custody in Venezuela. Francis has an estimated 8.5 years remaining on his sentence.

Francis was also ordered to pay $20 million in restitution to the U.S. Navy and forfeit an additional $35 million in “ill-gotten” grains from his crimes. The court also imposed a $150,000 fine on Francis while his company GDMA was ordered to pay a $36 million fine. GDMA was also sentenced to five years probation.

“Mr. Francis’ sentencing brings closure to an expansive fraud scheme that he perpetrated against the U.S. Navy with assistance from various Navy officials,” said Kelly P. Mayo, the Director of the U.S. Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS). “This fraud conspiracy ultimately cost the American taxpayer millions of dollars and weakened the public’s trust in some of our Navy’s senior leaders. Mr. Francis’ actions not only degraded the 7th Fleet’s readiness but shook the fleet’s trust in its leadership who furthered his corrupt practices.”

Francis was enticed to travel to San Diego in September 2013 where he was arrested and quickly admitted to a multi-year plot while provided detailed information about hundreds of sailors, from petty officers to admirals, and turned over financial records, photographs, receipts, and Navy contracting documents. 

In 2015 in his first sentencing, Francis admitted to giving and spending millions of dollars in bribes including more than a half million dollars in cash. Today, prosecutors also cited hundreds of thousands of dollars for prostitutes, and hundreds of thousands of dollars for travel including luxury hotels, spas, and first class airfares. Francis also spent lavishly on entertainment and they released a long list of luxury gifts provided to Navy personnel. They said he gave everything from watches and pens to Kobe beef, Spanish suckling pigs, and even Cuban cigars and hand-made ship models.

The long-running investigation, supported by Francis reached widely within the fleet and operations and included the conviction of former Navy officers. Four convictions however were later vacated due to a finding of “prosecutorial misconduct” and “flagrant misconduct” including withholding information from defense lawyers. The four senior officers ultimately pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and each paid a $100 fine.

 

Plans Launched to Develop Floating Hydrogen Import Terminal in France

floating hydrogen terminal
Concepts will be developed for a floating hydrongen import terminal similar to the LNG facilities in Europe (Hoegh)

Published Nov 5, 2024 7:38 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

As efforts continue to focus on the transition to new energy, Höegh Evi a leader in floating energy infrastructure announced plans for leveraging the experience with LGN to launch possibly one of Europe’s first hydrogen import terminals. Working with officials developing the new deep-water French Mediterranean port of La Nouvelle, a memorandum of understanding has been signed to study the development of the floating hydrogen import facility.

“With its strategic location and well-established marine infrastructure, Port-La Nouvelle is ideally positioned to become a key entry point for hydrogen and low-carbon fuels. Together we are driving the energy transition forward by establishing a crucial hub for clean energy in Europe,” said Erik Nyheim, President & CEO of Höegh Evi.

Located in the Occitanie Region, the second-largest region in France, efforts are underway for the development of the new port. Construction is expected to be completed and the port to begin operations in early 2026. Uniquely, it will be France’s first privately managed port developed by SEMOP and energy is one of its key target markets.

The current construction project calls for expanding the port from 60 to 210 hectares and increasing the water depth to 16 meters (52.4 feet) to accommodate ships up to 80,000 deadweight tonnes. It will be France’s third-largest Mediterranean port with new terminals, an area devoted to offshore floating wind turbine assembly, and heavy lift quay. 

 

First phase of the expanded Mediterranean port is due to enter service early in 2026 (SEMOP Port La-Nouvelle)

 

The addition of a hydrogen terminal at Port-La Nouvelle they said will accelerate the shift to clean energy in Europe and has the potential to become a vital hub for importing large volumes of hydrogen. The plan expects the hydrogen will be imported from producers located in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Americas.

In collaboration with European projects such as the HySoW Hydrogen and the gas pipeline operator Teréga, Hoegh and SEMOP also envision the floating import terminal will connect Port-La Nouvelle to major hydrogen transport infrastructures, thereby strengthening the industrial and energy attractiveness of the Occitanie region and promoting job growth.

“The port of Port-La Nouvelle is eager to accommodate new types of traffic,” said Hans Kerstens, CEO of SEMOP Port-La Nouvelle. “In recent years, the port of Port-La Nouvelle has made significant investments to expand and prepare the port for the future. Our focus is to become an enabler in the green energy transition.”

The terminal will facilitate the import of up to 210,000 tonnes of hydrogen per year as early as 2030, according to the project timeline and dependent on the readiness of France’s hydrogen pipeline. The partners are now collaborating on a feasibility assessment and design of the infrastructure solution within the port.

 WWIII

Philippine Troops Practice Seizing Island as S. China Sea Tensions Simmer

File image courtesy Philippine Marine Corps
File image courtesy Philippine Marine Corps

Published Nov 5, 2024 10:42 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

The Philippine military is carrying out a rare drill to simulate capturing an island in the South China Sea, a maneuver that might be used in the event of a hypothetical conflict in the Spratly Islands. 

"This year’s exercise will . . . simulate our territorial defense plan Bantay Kalayaan alongside a Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept (CADC)," AFP chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. said at an opening ceremony Monday. 

Brawner referred to the service's new focus on defending the Philippines from an external threat, rather than the internal security threats that the AFP has focused on for decades. While the threat was not named explicitly, China has steadily encroached on the archipelago to the west of the Philippines' home islands, and has spent an estimated $50 billion on military infrastructure around the South China Sea. 

"This Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept is an indication that the government is finally taking our external defense challenges seriously," defense expert Prof. Renato de Castro of De La Salle University commented earlier this year. "The big challenge is this external security threat [China] that is really actively taking our waters and our natural marine resources. If they are not stopped there, it is certain that in the future they will enter our interisland waters and our resources."

China will be watching the exercise, and its forces have been especially active during the run-up. Last week, the PLA Navy conducted its first-ever two-carrier exercise with the flattops Liaoning and Shandong, a visual display of its growing naval ambitions. The carrier Shandong left the Philippine Sea and returned to the South China Sea on Monday night, according to an intelligence briefing released by Japanese officials.

The Chinese carriers Shandong and Liaoning operate together in China's first dual-carrier exercise, October 2024 (PLA) 

At the same time as the start of the AFP exercise, Manila's National Economic and Development Authority Board announced that it has approved a $440 million program to buy 40 fast patrol craft for the Philippine Coast Guard, with financial support from the French government. The PCG is the nation's front-line agency in the Spratly Islands, and is involved in most of the major confrontations with Chinese forces. 

The Armed Forces of the Philippines has also deployed troops to prepare for the arrival of Typhoon Marce, which is expected to hit Cagayan province on Thursday night. The storm could affect more than 20 million people, and residents in particularly vulnerable areas have been advised to evacuate. Soldiers have been put on alert to get ready for the post-storm recovery, and relief aid supplies have been stockpiled nearby. 

 

China's Navy Could Use Peru's New Mega-Port

RTG cranes delivered to the newly-built port of Chancay, 2024 (China COSCO)
RTG cranes delivered to the newly-built port of Chancay, 2024 (China COSCO)

Published Nov 5, 2024 11:08 PM by The Maritime Executive

 



COSCO Shipping is about to commence a soft opening of its newly-constructed container terminal in Chancay, 50 miles north of Peru’s capital Lima. Despite attempts to frustrate this by Peru’s government, COSCO is set to be the sole operator. The terminal is more than 90% complete, initially with four operating berths.

The port is expected to be formally opened by Chinese President Xi Jinping on 14 November, when he is scheduled to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. For security reasons the Chinese president will open the port remotely via video link from the safety of the Chinese Embassy in Lima.

COSCO intends that the port will act as a distribution node for trans-Pacific trade, with smaller ships taking containers onwards to Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and other ports on South America’s west coast.  There are even hopes that it will cater to areas of Brazil that are too far inland to be effectively served by ports on the Atlantic.

In its start-up phase, COSCO or its Ocean Alliance partners will operate two 14,000 TEU container ships per week, direct to Shanghai. COSCO intends that when fully developed, Chancay will be able to handle larger vessels handling 24,000 TEU containers.

The project has been financed by a consortium of Chinese banks, with the investment totalling US$3.5 billion when fully complete.  It appears likely to be one of the more successful deliverables of the faltering Belt and Road Initiative, which elsewhere has seen host countries saddled with debts which the Chinese have been reluctant to reschedule, with the Chinese then taking full ownership and control of the facilities instead.

The imminent opening of the port has attracted comment from General Laura Richardson, Commander of US Southern Command, who has expressed concern that the deep-water characteristics of the new port will make it suitable for Chinese naval deployments, in particular as a base for forward-deployed intelligence-gathering activities. The port will also be useful in continuing attempts by China to establish a monopoly position in the rare earth minerals trade, which it is seeking to consolidate by buying stakes in mining companies in South America. Chinese attempts to also establish an operating footprint in Ushuaia in southern Argentina appear to have been thwarted after General Richardson visited Ushuaia in April this year.

 HUMAN SACRIFICE

U.S. Soldier Injured in Gaza Aid Pier Accident Has Died

A sealift ship offloads trucks with aid cargoes at a receiving barge off Gaza, May 2024 (USN)
A sealift ship offloads trucks carrying aid cargo at a receiving barge off Gaza, May 2024 (USN)

Published Nov 5, 2024 11:29 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

One of the soldiers who was injured in a mishap on the Gaza emergency sealift operation earlier this year has died of his wounds, the U.S. Army has confirmed. 

Sgt. Quandarius Davon Stanley, 23, was one of three soldiers who were injured in an accident on May 23. The other two soldiers received minor injuries and returned to duty after a checkup. Stanley was badly injured, and he was taken to a hospital in Israel for treatment. In June, he was transferred to Brooke Army Medical Center; he did not recover, and on October 25, the Army medically retired him due to his injuries. He died six days later. 

"Sgt. Quandarius Stanley was an instrumental and well respected first line leader in the 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary, especially during the mission to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza," brigade commander Col. John "Eddie' Gray told Army Times in a statement. "Our entire unit mourns alongside his family."

Stanley and his unit were deployed in support of a Joint Logistics Over the Shore (JLOTS) operation, an expeditionary sealift capability that provides a connection between deep-draft cargo ships and an unimproved beachhead. The largest and most visible elements of the system are a floating receiving barge that can "berth" a ro/ro ship - known as a roll-on/roll-off discharge facility, or RRDF - and a floating pier structure anchored to shore. 

The mission was designed to provide emergency food relief to northern Gaza, where civilians were largely cut off from terrestrial aid supplies due to border control policies. After a multi-month effort to transport pontoon barges and other gear from Virginia to Israel, a joint Army-Navy team assembled the floating pier structure and affixed it to shore for the first time on May 17. On May 23, Stanley was critically injured while he was working aboard the RRDF, according to USNI News. The nature of the accident was not disclosed, but it was not related to enemy action. 

JLOTS is a complex system designed to provide heavy military logistics in areas without port improvements; however, it is not designed for operation in open-ocean conditions. Its service window is restricted to Sea State 3 and below, ruling out even moderate swells. The pier was installed on an unprotected beachhead, and was damaged by poor weather in late May. It had to be removed and repaired on multiple occasions, delaying cargo deliveries. On July 10, after just 23 days of active operation and 8,100 tonnes of aid delivery - one-tenth of one Panamax bulker - the Pentagon suspended the mission.  

After heavy congressional criticism of the project, the Inspectors General of the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Agency for International Development both launched independent investigations to review its performance. 

 

Trump's Victory Boosts Energy Stocks, But Sends Ocean Carriers Plummeting

Hapag-Lloyd's stock fell 10 percent after news of Trump's electoral victory (file image)
Hapag-Lloyd's stock fell 10 percent after news of Trump's electoral victory (file image)

Published Nov 6, 2024 12:08 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

The decisive electoral victory of future President Donald Trump has sent energy stocks soaring, while the initial investor reaction for the rest of the industry appears mixed. Ocean carriers might face headwinds ahead, based on early trading for Maersk, Zim and Hapag-Lloyd, among others. 

Trump has promised to open the floodgates for oil and gas companies, pledging a "drill, baby, drill" orientation towards regulation. U.S. petroleum production is currently at an all-time high, and the market showed expectations that it could go even higher if producers faced fewer restrictions. At the same time, his promises to pursue tighter sanctions on Venezuela and Iran could reduce net global oil exports, noted analysts at Goldman Sachs - keeping energy prices high while raising American output. 

In early trading Wednesday, U.S. energy, drilling and tanker firms showed strong performance. Offshore drilling leader Transocean jumped nearly three percent; inland barge operator Kirby rose more than six percent; Chevron rose three percent; and Exxon was up by 1.5 percent. 

Shell, BP and Equinor - all active players in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's oil patch - fell in early trading, including a four percent drop for Equinor. 

Trump has also promised to radically increase tariffs on imported goods, particularly from China. If carried out, that campaign pledge could hamper containerized freight volumes, especially on transpacific trade lanes. Publicly-listed container carriers' stocks fell in early trading, led by Maersk (down eight percent), NYK (nine percent) and Hapag-Lloyd (10 percent).

 INDIA

How Hindu Festivals Are Being Abused to Spark Violence and Hate


Ram Puniyani 




Two recent books chart the intensity and increase in communal violence and hatred since 2014, particularly during religious yatras.

File photo of violence in Bihar Sharif during Ram Navami in 2023.

Communal violence has been the bane of Indian society with increasing intensity. While in the pre-colonial era, it was an occasional ethnic strife, from the period of British rule, it started to become a regularly occurring phenomenon. The communal historiography, looking at history through the prism of religion of the ruler, introduced by the British, was the solid base of the emergence of narratives that formed the ground for various communal streams, Muslim and Hindu.

These streams devised their own mechanisms to create a ‘social common sense’ and instigate violence in the communities, based on religion. While this phenomenon has seen an exponential rise during the past three decades, scholars, journalists, activist-researchers have made serious efforts to understand the newer mechanism to communalise the majority community and also the newer ways of initiating violence.

A dogged journalist, Kunal Purohit, in a path-breaking book, H-Pop- Inside the Secretive World of Hindutva Popstars, brings to our notice how popular culture is being shaped by songs that are spreading hatred against the heroes of the national movement, such as Gandhi, Nehru, in particular, and against Muslims. He warns us that Hindutva pop stars are adding intense hatred, particularly in the North Indian scenario.

Another important book is Weaponization of Hindu Festivals, by Irfan Engineer and Neha Dabhade (Pharos Media). Both these activists-researchers are part of the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, by legendary Asghar Ali Engineer. This centre has constantly been monitoring and studying the nature and intensity of communal violence.

In the wake of the violence being orchestrated around Hindu festivals, particularly Ram Navami, the author duo has focused on the mechanism as to how festival celebrations have been made intimidatory and aggressive to the Muslim community, mostly leading to violence and polarisation.

As far Hindu festivals and their celebrations are concerned, from centuries they have assumed a sort of culturally integrating character. The major example of this is that most Hindu festivals were celebrated not only in the Mughal courts but were also jointly celebrated with Muslims. I do recall the Ram Navami procession in my childhood was a time to be joyous and go around the city in a procession in a festive mood.

This book is based on an in-depth inquiry into the violence instigated by religious processions as a part of celebrations of festivals, Ram Navami in particular in 2022-2023. It seriously analyses the incidents following the inquiry by the teams in which they participated. The violence covered in the book relates to Howrah and Hooghly (2023), Sambahji Nagar (2023), Vadodara (2023), Biharsharif and Sasaram 2023, Khargone (2022), Himmat Nagar and Khambat (2022) and Lohardagga (2022).

This book is relevant, as its observations can be of great help in preventing this violence by ensuring that the pattern which is coming into being should be prevented for maintaining peace among communities.

Irfan Engineer, in the introduction, points out, “Even a small Group of Hindu nationalists masquerading as ‘religious procession’ could insist on passing through minority inhabited area and provoke some youth using political and abusive slogans and playing violent songs and music, hoping that a reaction, a stone would be thrown at them. The state would do the rest by arresting a large number of members of a minority and demolishing their homes and properties within days without any judicial procedure.” (Page 24)

What needs to be understood for prevention (of violence) is that most of the time these processions, which are well armed; deliberately decide to pass through Muslim majority areas, with loud music and provocative and abusive slogans. It has become a pattern that someone will climb over the mosque and replace the green flag with saffron flag and the crowds down below dance and applaud.

Such a phenomenon has seen a boost particularly after 2014 with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government coming to power at Centre. The Khargone incident is very revealing in this regard. A minster of the Madhya Pradesh government said stones were thrown on the procession, which came from Muslim households, so these households are to be turned into stones. Now these hooligans and organisers of such programmes feel that ‘it is their government’ as the popular phrase says, “Sainya Bhaye Kotwal to dar Kahe ka” (If your husband is chief police officer, why be afraid of anything).

In addition to Ram Navami, other local religious yatras (processions), Ganga Aarti, (prayer for river Ganges), satsangs (religious meetings) and other religious programmes are being started with similar goals. The example of Kanwad Yatras (the holy pilgrimage to collect Ganges water and to be offered to Lord Shiva) is another example where the participants become aggressive.

To add salt to the injury, the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand government (both BJP-ruled) issued orders that all stalls and eateries on the path of the Kanwad Yatra should display the name of the owner on the boards so that the Kanwadiyas (participants in the pilgrimage) can avoid those owned by Muslims. Fortunately, the Supreme Court put a stay on the orders.

Such violence is intensifying the prevailing fear in the Muslim community. It is deepening polarisation and aggravating the atmosphere of fear. Festivals, times to enjoy and celebrate, are being used to instil fear and violence. The book is very relevant as it calls upon the State to take measures by anticipating the moves of communal organisations planning such processions. Carrying arms and use of loud music with songs abusive to the minority communities have to be stopped by administration. This is very much within the law, as we have laws to punish those spreading hatred. The use of DJs can be prohibited. The State has a crucial role to play in preventing this ghastly rise in denigrating religious festivals.

A proper inquiry and suitable punishment to culprits is a must in addition to compensating the victims. Finally, we need to start community programmes for unity and amity, through cultural programmes and popularisation of films and videos promoting harmony. In the foreword to the book, Tushar Gandhi, great grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, emphasises that we need to reach the messages of Mahatma Gandhi time and over again to bring sanity to our society. This is so pertinent and crucial in present times. 

The writer is a human rights activist, who taught at IIT Bombay. The views are personal.


LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Hinduism Is Fascism

 

Blockade on Cuba is Failed Policy, But Still Has Bipartisan Support, Says José R. Cabañas

Zoe Alexandra 




Trump oversaw severe tightening of the US blockade on Cuba that Biden did nothing to reverse. Will a Trump or Harris victory change things? A talk with the Director of the Centre for International Policy Research and former Cuban Ambassador to the US.

Revolution Plaza in Havana, Cuba. Image Credit: Anja Disseldorp

As the people of the United States await the outcome of the polls, people across the world are left to wonder how a Donald Trump or Kamala Harris victory will impact their countries, given the global hegemon’s central role in geopolitics. This is especially true in the socialist Republic of Cuba, which for over 65 years, has faced a comprehensive economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the US government and maintained continuously by different Democratic and Republican administrations.

As Dr. José R. Cabañas, the director of the Center for International Policy Research and former Cuban ambassador to the United States, told Peoples Dispatch, “The position towards Cuba of the different US governments that have alternated in power since 1959 responds to a State policy, which has been shaped by successive executive and legislative decisions.” However, he adds that, “it is not necessary to say that one party or another has been more or less inclined to establish one type or another of relationship with Cuba.”

This consistent policy, he argues, has been based on the ideological imperative “to defeat a sovereign social project that does not bow to Washington’s interests.”

The blockade costs Cuba an estimated USD 5 billion annually and seriously restricts the country’s ability to purchase vital items such as fuel, food, medicine and medical equipment, spare parts for machines, and other goods necessary for the maintenance of daily life and production.

While this policy has bipartisan support, there have been distinctions in how both parties approach the issue, and this nuance can often mark an important difference.

From thawing to tightening

In the second term of Democratic President Barack Obama, the US administration began the “thawing” process of relations between the two countries from 2014-2016, opening up historic avenues of dialogue and collaboration. In 2016, Obama became the first US president to visit Cuba since 1928, and the normalization process saw the lifting of restrictions on travel, on sending remittances, and on financial interactions between the two countries. While the blockade was still firmly in place, in those years, it seemed that an end to the blockade may have been on the horizon.

How was this possible? For the Cuban diplomat and researcher Dr. José Cabañas, those advances, “were the result of many historical trends that occurred in parallel in time and that have to do with projections from both the US society and the different levels of government in that country. But the main thing is that there was an understanding and a willingness at the highest executive level to manage bilateral relations with Cuba in another way, based on the fundamental criterion that what had been done previously had not served any purpose of US foreign policy.”

Dr. Cabañas, who himself played a central role in the historic process, reflected that, “Particularly in its policy towards Latin America, it was the United States, not Cuba, that isolated itself. In the eyes of the world, Washington was a mighty giant that was unable to subdue a small country without great material or financial resources. Most of the negotiations that were undertaken at that time had positive results for both parties because they were discussed on the basis of equality and mutual respect. Twenty-two MOUs (memorandum of understanding) were signed that are in force today, although not fully implemented, which are the basis for any future relationship between the two countries.”

Then, Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential elections and in his words, he, “canceled Barack Hussein Obama’s deal with the Cuban dictatorship and reimposed tough sanctions on the regime.” During his time as president from 2017 to 2020, Donald Trump imposed 243 new sanctions against Cuba, included it on the state sponsors of terrorism (SSoT) list, and implemented Title III of the Helms-Burton Act which allows Americans to sue companies doing business with Cuba, which every previous president had waived. These moves, plus the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, which cut Cuba off from its primary source of income: tourism, plunged the island into its most serious crisis since the special period.

Biden’s betrayal

Despite promising to reverse Trump’s policies on Cuba, when Obama’s former VP Joe Biden became president, he maintained the majority of the 243 additional sanctions imposed by Trump as well as the inclusion of Cuba on the SSoT list. Only two years into his presidency, faced with mounting popular pressure, did Biden begin to lift some of the Trump-era restrictions such as eliminating the USD 1,000 limit on sending remittances, facilitating family reunification, and the resumption of regular and charter flights to Cuban provinces.

Cuban diplomat and researcher Dr. Cabañas told Peoples Dispatch that Biden’s betrayal to his campaign promise was because Biden’s “national ‘security’ team assumed the thesis of his predecessors that Cuba had entered a dead-end crisis caused by the combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the tightening of the blockade, which is why it was only necessary to sit back and wait for the fall of the Cuban government.” The July 2021 protests “were used to foster such hope”, but ultimately, years later, the Cuban government has faced further tests and still stands strong today.

As Biden’s term comes to an end, part of his troubled legacy will be having applied an identical policy on Cuba as his sworn enemy and someone he considers a fascist (Donald Trump). Biden’s policy, according to Dr. Cabañas, “has not meant the slightest benefit for his country, nor for his constituents. The recent vote against the blockade of Cuba in the United Nations confirms that Washington is isolated in its intentions and that it only receives the support of a genocidal government like that of Israel.”

Trump vs. Harris

When looking at the Trump vs. Harris match-up, while Harris has not given a clear direction of where she stands, it is certain that Donald Trump would resume a belligerent and aggressive policy towards the island and attempt to take his sanctions and measures against Cuba even further than he did in his first term.

In various campaign events, the hard-line conservative has lamented that Biden “lift[ed] sanctions on Cuba” and stated, “I had sanctions in Cuba to a level that they were willing to make a deal at any time…If that election [in 2020] were a legitimate election, we would have had a deal with Cuba.”

He also remarked, “Nobody ever did more for Americans who love Cuba than a gentleman named Donald J. Trump when he was president. We had it going beautifully. We are going to be taking it over very quickly, and then they blew it. What they’ve done is so terrible in the last three years with respect to Cuba, we had it just where we wanted it. It was all set to go, and they blew it. They blew it so badly.”

If one is to assume that Harris’ position would in some way reflect her predecessors Biden and Obama, a possible worst case scenario is that she does not lift any more sanctions against Cuba, and the best case scenario is that she could move towards the Obama-era policy.

In a 2020 survey conducted by the Tampa Bay Times, the Harris campaign was asked “Would you end or continue the trade embargo with Cuba?”, they responded, “Senator Harris believes we should end the failed trade embargo and take a smarter approach that empowers Cuban civil society and the Cuban American community to spur progress and freely determine their own future.” While many of her 2020 positions have since shifted, this response reflects the global consensus which is that the blockade is a failed policy.

According to Dr. Cabañas, “It is an increasingly widely shared opinion that this policy, in 65 years, has not achieved the desired results, beyond impoverishing the lives of the Cuban people and creating undesired migratory flows to the United States.”

He maintains that, “Any future presidential administration that considers that this attitude has been one of the most evident fiascos of the country’s foreign policy and that is willing to [sacrifice] the occasional gains in campaign funds and some votes from specific localities, will be in a position to evaluate other options.”

Ultimately, Trump’s policies on Cuba, like the policies of all US presidents since 1959, have failed in their main objective to break the resolve of the Cuban people and of the tens of millions across the world who stand with the Cuban revolution. These policies have caused tremendous difficulties and challenges for the Cuban people, like the recent nation-wide blackout, or the immense challenges of responding to a pandemic or natural disaster whilst under blockade. Yet, these recent events have given more impetus to the international campaign to end the blockade and clarified the immoral and stubborn position of the United States. Last week, 187 countries voted for a resolution to end the US blockade, with only the US and Israel voting against it.

Within the US, the grassroots movement in solidarity with Cuba and against the US blockade has also grown, as people increasingly see the deep injustice of not only blockading their neighbour but also how their own rights are restricted.

As Dr. José R. Cabañas told Peoples Dispatch, “No next US president will be able to affirm before his people that it makes no sense to fight cancer or diabetes together with Cuban experts, that it is not a realistic purpose to protect the well-being of the Caribbean Sea from the inclemencies of climate change, that it is not necessary to exchange information with Cuban authorities on the multiplicity of threats to US national security from international criminal organisations, that without communication with Cuba, air safety in the region can be preserved, and many other examples. The planet is one and neighbouring states have special responsibilities that cannot be avoided.”

Whether it is Trump or Harris, the fundamental shifts in US policy on Cuba, will be produced by pressure from below.

Courtesy: Peoples Dispatch

Indian-occupied Kashmir’s legislative assembly demands restoration of partial autonomy

KASHMIR IS INDIA'S GAZA


AFP Published November 6, 2024
Indian security personnel stand guard outside the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly as it holds the first session amid a series of militant attacks in Srinagar on November. — Reuters

Indian-occupied Kashmir’s (IoK) legislative assembly passed a resolution on Wednesday demanding that New Delhi restore the Muslim-majority territory’s partial autonomy, cancelled in 2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.

New Delhi cancelled IoK’s special status in 2019, a sudden decision accompanied by mass arrests and a months-long communications blackout.

It has been ruled by a governor appointed by New Delhi since.

But last month the territory also elected its local legislative assembly, with voters choosing a government in opposition to Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).


“This assembly calls upon the Government of India to initiate dialogue with elected representatives of people of Jammu and Kashmir for restoration of special status,” the resolution read, passed by a majority vote.

The 29 BJP members in the 90-seat house opposed the non-binding resolution, which requires the approval from the federally appointed governor.

“The assembly has done its job,” chief minister Omar Abdullah told reporters.

The resolution said it “reaffirms the importance of the special and constitutional guarantees, which safeguarded the identity, culture and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir”.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since partition at the chaotic end of British rule in 1947, and both countries claim the territory in full.

About 500,000 Indian troops are deployed in the region, battling a 35-year separatist movement in which tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and Kashmiri fighters have lost their lives, including dozens this year alone.

The 2019 constitutional amendment imposing direct rule also downgraded held-Kashmir from a federal state to a “union territory”.

Modi has promised to restore that, without giving a timeline.