It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Trump invites China's Xi Jinping to attend inauguration, CBS News reports
US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands ahead of their bilateral meeting during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. PHOTO: Reuters file
December 11, 2024
WASHINGTON — US President-elect Donald Trump has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend his inauguration next month, CBS News reported on Wednesday (Dec 11), citing multiple sources.
The invitation to the Jan 20 inauguration in Washington occurred in early November, shortly after the Nov 5 presidential election, and it was not clear if it had been accepted, CBS reported.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump said in an interview with NBC News conducted on Friday that he "got along with very well" with Xi and that they had "had communication as recently as this week."
Trump has named numerous China hawks to key posts in his incoming administration, including Senator Marco Rubio as secretary of state.
Trump has said he will impose an additional 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods unless Beijing does more to stop the trafficking of the highly addictive narcotic fentanyl. He also threatened tariffs in excess of 60 per cent on Chinese goods while on the campaign trail.
In late November, China's state media warned Trump that his pledge to slap additional tariffs on Chinese goods over fentanyl flows could drag the world's top two economies into a mutually destructive tariff war.
Canada sanctions 8 Chinese officials for human rights violations
The measure comes at a time when Western governments are increasingly using sanctions to hold violators to account.
By RFA Tibetan and by Gulchehra Hoja for RFA Uyghur2
024.12.11
Chen Quanguo, Communist Party secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, speaks at the meeting of the Xinjiang delegation on the sidelines of the National People's Congress in Beijing, March 12, 2019. (Jason Lee/Reuters)
Canada imposed sanctions on eight former and current senior Chinese officials on Tuesday, citing their involvement in grave human rights violations in Tibet and Xinjiang and against Falun Gong followers.
The sanctions attempt to freeze the assets of the individuals by prohibiting Canadians living inside and outside the country from providing financial services to them or engaging in activities related to their property.
“Canada is deeply concerned by the human rights violations in Xinjiang and Tibet and against those who practice Falun Gong,” Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said in a statement. “We call on the Chinese government to put an end to this systematic campaign of repression and uphold its international human rights obligations.”
Joly visited China in July and met with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to discuss relations, human rights and global and regional security issues.
The announcement comes at a time when Western governments — particularly Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union — are increasingly turning to sanctioning individuals in China involved in the persecution of Tibetans in Tibet, Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang and practitioners of Falun Gong, a religious group banned in China.
Probably the most prominent of those sanctioned is Chen Quanguo, Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of Tibet Autonomous Region from 2011 to 2016 and of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region from 2016 to 2021.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly speaks during a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 2, 2024. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)
Also sanctioned was Wu Yingjie, Communist Party Secretary of Tibet from 2016 to 2021.
Wu, 67, was expelled from the Chinese Communist Party and removed from other public positions for disciplinary violations following a corruption probe, Chinese officials announced Tuesday. They said he failed to implement the Central Committee’s strategy for governing Tibet, and intervened in engineering projects allegedly for personal gain, according to an article in the state-run China Daily.
Others who were sanctioned include:Erkin Tuniyaz, deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xinjiang Committee and chairman of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Shohrat Zakir, chairman of Xinjiang and deputy secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xinjiang Committee from 2014 to 2021 Peng Jiarui, vice chairman of Xinjiang and vice chairman of the Xinjiang Regional Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, who previously served as commander of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a paramilitary organization Huo Liujun, party secretary of Xinjiang’s Public Security Department since March 2017 Zhang Hongbo, former director of Tibet’s Public Security Bureau You Quan, former director of the United Front Work Department and a former secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Communist Party
‘Ongoing atrocities’
The Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project based in Canada submitted the names of six of the individuals to the Canadian government for sanctions consideration in December 2022, said Mehmet Tohti, the group’s executive director.
Tibetan and Falun Gong organizations provided the other two names, he said.
Adrian Zenz, senior fellow at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation in Washington, said the measure was long overdue.
“Great to see Canada do this,” he said. “The Europeans are now far behind; they have not even sanctioned Chen Quanguo yet.”
“Sanctioning Tuniyaz is very important in terms of showing to the world that the atrocities in the Uyghur homeland are ongoing,” said Zenz, who is an expert on Xinjiang.
The most prominent individual is Chen Quanguo because he was the person behind China’s suppression of Uyghurs and other Turkic minorities in Xinjiang that first drew international attention in 2017, said Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat who worked in China.
Wang, who is retired, has said he no foreign assets, family abroad or desire to travel, so the sanctions are symbolic but not substantive, Burton said.
The same likely applies to the others who played a part in the repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang, including Erkin Tuniyaz, Peng Jiarui, Huo Liujun and Shohrat Zakir, he said.
Wu Yingjie, Communist Party secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Region, attends the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in Beijing, Oct. 19, 2017. (Aly Song/Reuters)
“But Canada’s action sends out a clear signal of support for Uyghurs in the PRC and their families in Canada and elsewhere,” Burton added, referring to the People’s Republic of China. “It also makes clear to Chinese Communist Party officials that they will be held accountable for their complicity in violations of international law.”
‘False allegations’
On Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the Canada government “made false allegations against China in the name of human rights and imposed illicit sanctions on Chinese personnel.”
“This is gross interference in China’s internal affairs and a serious violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations,” she said. “China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this.”
RFA contacted Canada’s foreign ministry for additional comment, but had not received a response before publication time.
The United States previously imposed sanctions on all eight officials for their connections to serious human rights violations.
The Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project welcomed the move.
“This decision by Canada is a significant step toward accountability for the architects of mass repression in East Turkistan,” Omer Kanat, the group’s executive director, said in a statement, using Uyghurs' preferred name for Xinjiang.
“Targeted sanctions send a clear message that perpetrators of atrocity crimes cannot act with impunity.”
Translated by Mamatjan Juma for RFA Uyghur. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster. China urges Canada to cease interfering in its internal affairs
Xinhua, December 11, 2024
China urges Canada to reflect on its own situation and cease its interference in China's internal affairs, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Wednesday, referring to recent Canadian sanctions on Chinese personnel.
Mao made the remarks at a regular press briefing when asked to comment on sanctions levied against certain Chinese individuals for alleged human rights violations that Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly announced on Tuesday.
"Without any factual basis, the Canadian government has made false allegations against China in the name of human rights and imposed illicit sanctions on Chinese personnel," Mao said.
She noted that this constitutes gross interference in China's internal affairs, and is a serious violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations. China firmly opposes and strongly condemns Canada's actions, she said.
The Chinese government follows a people-centered development philosophy and attaches absolute importance to respecting and protecting human rights, Mao said. The fact is that China has achieved enormous progress in the field of human rights and made important contributions to the global human rights cause, and this is impossible to deny without bias, she stressed.
She indicated that Canada is facing its own list of human rights issues, and that its human rights record is far from spotless. Even today, Canada's indigenous population faces systemic racial discrimination and unfair treatment.
"Instead of dealing with this, Canada has chosen to slander and vilify other countries, and is spreading lies about China's alleged human rights issues. This move is like a thief crying 'Stop, thief!' and will not convince the world," Mao said.
The facts have laid bare Canada's double standards and hypocrisy, she said. Canada is in no position to lecture others on human rights or point fingers at human rights situations in other countries, and it does not have any right to act as a judge and impose sanctions arbitrarily.
China strongly urges Canada to reflect on its own situation, cease interfering in China's internal affairs, stop undermining China's interests and image under the pretext of a human rights cause, end its crude political stunt, and lift its unlawful sanctions on relevant Chinese personnel immediately, Mao stressed.
"We will take all necessary measures to defend our sovereignty, security and development interests firmly," she said.
Video game bosses gather at ‘darkest hour’ for industry
By AFP December 11, 2024 Only the toughest will survive: A character from the video game 'HALO 4' at a Los Angeles gaming conference - Copyright AFP AIZAR RALDES
Kilian FICHOU
The movers and shakers of the video game industry will gather Thursday in Los Angeles to celebrate the annual Game Awards, the sector’s equivalent of the Oscars.
But no amount of glitz and glamour can put a sheen on what has been one of the worst years in the industry’s history, marked by waves of layoffs and studio closures.
“Game industry continues to be just incredibly bleak behind the scenes,” Mike Bithell, who heads a small British studio, posted on the Bluesky social network this month.
“Ecosystem is in free fall. Doubt there’ll be an easy solution, or a quick one. This darkest hour has dragged out to a darkest couple of years.”
At least 14,500 people in the sector were laid off worldwide in 2024, up from 10,500 in 2023, according to the Game Industry Layoffs website.
Many studios have also closed their doors.
In recent months, French giant Ubisoft announced it would close its branches in San Francisco and Osaka.
Sony-owned US studio Firewalk — behind this year’s spectacular flop “Concord” — met a similar fate in October.
Yet the market is still growing and generated $188 billion in revenue in 2024, according to Newzoo analyst firm.
The problem is further up the chain.
Studios and publishers are struggling to raise funds as investors flock to sectors they view as more profitable like artificial intelligence.
As a result, the big fish in the sector are looking to diversify.
Nintendo has had success in cinemas with “Super Mario Bros. the Movie”, which was the second biggest box office hit of 2023.
Others are pushing for a small screen audience with series such as “Fallout” or “Secret Level”.
– Big turkeys, breakout hits –
The industry still has its share of surefire winners — the latest “Call of Duty” was hailed as the best in the franchise so far by its publisher Activision Blizzard.
Older titles like “Fortnite”, “Minecraft” and “Grand Theft Auto” are still big winners for their publishers.
“It’s difficult for new games to break into what is a very established marketplace,” said Daniel Ahmad, an analyst at Niko Partners.
But strong name recognition does not always guarantee success.
Hotly anticipated games like the second part of the remake of “Final Fantasy VII” and “Star Wars Outlaws” suffered disappointing sales this year.
And there are still occasional indie hits.
“Palworld”, nicknamed “Pokemon with guns”, did stellar business.
“Helldivers 2”, an intergalactic war game paying homage to the film “Starship Troopers”, also broke through.
The biggest sensation came from China with the runaway success of the action game “Black Myth: Wukong”.
Ahmad said the game had sold some 25 million copies worldwide, though 70 percent of its business was in China.
Even so, “Black Myth”, an adaptation of the classic 16th-century Chinese novel “Journey to the West”, is well positioned to be the biggest selling game of the year.
– China takes lead –
Ahmad said the breakout game marked “a great moment” for China’s industry.
The country benefits from lower development costs than in the United States or Europe, and is home to industry giants such as Tencent and NetEase.
More than 700 million Chinese play games, nearly a quarter of the world market.
And they are more accustomed to mobile games and free-to-play titles — games with no upfront costs that feature optional in-game purchases.
“We’re still in the very early stages of this big push from Chinese game companies to release AAA games,” said Ahmad, using an industry term for games with the biggest budgets.
He said he expected more attempts at blockbusters from Chinese firms in the coming years.
And after a bruising 2024, some analysts see a global recovery on the horizon.
“Next year should see the sector rebound,” said Charles-Louis Planade, an analyst at Midcap Partners.
The spectacular number of studios crashing in the past two years came after an unprecedented boom in the sector during the pandemic, when millions were ordered to stay in their homes to stop the spread of infection.
Planade said he expected “the end of the haemorrhage” of studios next year.
“Those who survive will benefit from a much more favourable competitive environment,” he added.
Next year is also expected to see some major product launches.
Nintendo is expected to unveil the successor to its all-conquering Switch console.
And “Grand Theft Auto VI” will hit the shelves in the autumn.
Gamers will have waited more than a decade for the latest edition in the franchise, and its release is likely to give the entire industry a shot in the arm.
Japan's Nissan reshuffles management to fix its money-losing business
Embattled Japanese automaker Nissan has tapped Jeremy Papin as its chief operating officer in a major management reshuffle billed as key to a turnaround
ByYURI KAGEYAMA
AP business writer December 11, 2024
TOKYO -- Embattled Japanese automaker Nissan has tapped Jeremy Papin, who was overseeing its U.S. operations, as its chief operating officer in a major management reshuffle billed as key to a turnaround.
That was a reversal from the 190.7 billion yen profit recorded the same quarter a year ago. Sales for the quarter through September fell to 2.9 trillion yen ($19 billion) from 3.1 trillion yen.
“These executive changes reflect the experience and urgency needed to get the company back on track,” Uchida said in a statement. “Nissan will continue to focus on future growth and steadily execute these turnaround efforts to ensure sustainable profitability.”
Papin will steer a recovery, given his experience in strategy, business development and investment banking, according to Nissan, which makes the Leaf electric car, Rogue SUV and Infiniti luxury models.
As part of the moves, effective Jan. 1, Christian Meunier, the former chief executive of Jeep, returns to Nissan as chairman of the Americas Management Committee.
Asako Hoshino will continue to oversee the customer experience, while Shohei Yamazaki, China Management Committee chairman, takes over a part of her role and will oversee the Japan-ASEAN region.
Last month, Fitch lowered its outlook on Nissan from stable to negative, citing its performance in the North American market, noting it may lower its ratings if weakness continues.
Nissan’s stock price has declined steadily over the last half year from about 500 yen ($3.30) to about 360 yen ($2.40).
The appointment of Guillaume Cartier as chief performance officer, a key figure in coordinating the managerial shifts, took effect Dec. 1. He previously oversaw Nissan’s operations in Africa, the Middle East, India, Europe and Oceania.
More changes are coming in April, according to Nissan, “to build a slimmer, flatter management structure that can respond flexibly and swiftly to changes in the business environment.”
Syrian rebel leader says will dissolve fallen regime forces, close prisons
Syria's rebel leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said the now-toppled regime security forces will be dissolved, and the country's notorious prisons will also close.
The New Arab Staff & Agencies 12 December, 2024 HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said he would also investigate the regime's chemical weapons depots [Getty/file photo]
His forces swept across Syria in a lightning offensive that overthrew 50 years of Assad family rule, replacing it with a three-month transitional government of ministers that had been ruling a rebel enclave in Syria's northwest.
The military command affiliated with his group, which is known as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, already said they would grant an amnesty to military conscripts.
He would now also "dissolve the security forces of the previous regime and close the notorious prisons," Sharaa said in a statement shared exclusively with Reuters by his office.
Syrians have flocked to the infamous prisons where the Assad regime is estimated to have held tens of thousands of detainees, desperately looking for their loved ones. Some have been released alive, others were identified among the dead and thousands more have not yet been found.
Sharaa, better known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, also said he was closely following up on possible chemical weapons depots and coordinating with international organisations to secure them. The group had already announced it would not use those weapons under any circumstances.
He reiterated that he would form a government of technocrats. The current transitional government is set to rule until March 2025, according to a statement by his group.
Earlier, the United States said it welcomed the comments made by the rebel leader about securing potential chemical weapons sites, but would wait to see what actions are taken, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
"We welcome this type of rhetoric but... actions have to meet words as well," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.
The fall of the Assad regime comes after the HTS rebels captured the capital city of Damascus on Saturday, following the rapid offensive which swept through large swatches of the country, seizing the key cities of Aleppo, Homs and Hama.
New Syria PM says all religious groups’ rights ‘guaranteed’
AFP Damascus
Published on December 12, 2024
A man waves a Syrian opposition flag at the Citadel of Aleppo in northern Syria, on Wednesday.
Syria’s new prime minister said the alliance that ousted president Bashar al-Assad will “guarantee” the rights of all religious groups and called on the millions who fled the war to return home. Assad fled Syria after a lightning offensive spearheaded by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and its allies, which brought to a spectacular end five decades of brutal rule by his clan. Syrians across the country and around the world erupted in celebration, after enduring a stifling five decades that saw anyone suspected of dissent thrown into jail or killed. With Assad’s overthrow plunging Syria into the unknown, its new rulers have sought to assure members of the country’s religious minorities that they will not repress them. “Precisely because we are Islamic, we will guarantee the rights of all people and all sects in Syria,” said Mohammad al-Bashir, whom the rebels appointed as the transitional head of government. Asked whether Syria’s new constitution would be Islamic, he told Italian daily Corriere della Sera that “we will clarify all these details during the constituent process”. Bashir, whose appointment was announced Tuesday, is tasked with heading the multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian country until March 1. After decades of rule by the Assads. Syrians now face the enormous challenge of charting a new course as they emerge from nearly 14 years of war. Roaming the opulent Damascus home of Assad, Abu Omar felt a sense of giddy defiance being in the residence of the man he said had long oppressed him. “I am taking pictures, because I am so happy to be here in the middle of his house,” said the 44-year-old. “I came for revenge. They oppressed us in incredible ways,” he added.
‘FREE COUNTRY’ The war has killed more than 500,000 people and forced half the population to flee their homes, with six million of them seeking refuge abroad. In his interview with Corriere della Sera, which was published on Wednesday, Bashir called on Syrians abroad to return to their homeland. “Mine is an appeal to all Syrians abroad: Syria is now a free country that has earned its pride and dignity. Come back,” he said. “We must rebuild, be reborn and we need everyone’s help.” He also said that Syria’s new rulers would be willing to work with anyone so long as they did not defend Assad. “We have no problem with anyone, state, party or sect, who kept their distance from the bloodthirsty Assad regime,” he said. Assad was propped up by Russia, where he reportedly fled, as well as Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group. On Wednesday, the Kremlin said it wanted to see rapid stabilisation in Syria, as it criticised Israel over hundreds of air strikes it conducted on its neighbour over the past two days. “We would like to see the situation in the country stabilised somehow as soon as possible,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Russia was continuing to discuss the fate of its military infrastructure in the country with Syria’s new leadership, he added. Iran, meanwhile, upheld its view that Assad’s overthrow was a “product of a joint US-Israeli plot”. While Assad had faced down protests and an armed rebellion for more than a decade, it was a lightning offensive launched on November 27 that ended up forcing him out of power. The rebels launched their offensive from northwest Syria on the very same day that a ceasefire took effect in the Israel-Hezbollah war in neighbouring Lebanon. That war, which killed thousands in Lebanon, saw Israel inflict staggering losses among Hezbollah’s ranks. Assad’s fall raises the question of how Hezbollah will ever recover, given that it had long relied on Syria as a conduit of weapons and supplies from Iran. Qatar on Wednesday said it would reopen its embassy in Damascus “soon”, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected in Turkiye tomorrow to discuss developments in Syria. Robert Ford, the last US ambassador to Syria, helped spearhead the terrorist designation of HTS in 2012, but said that in the past few years the group has not attacked US or Western targets and has instead fought Al-Qaeda and Islamic State group forces. Ford also pointed with hope to post-victory statements by rebel chief Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, including welcoming international monitoring of any chemical weapons that are discovered. “Can you imagine Osama bin Laden saying that?” said Ford, now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. “I’m not saying ‘trust Jolani.’ He’s obviously authoritarian. But I sure as hell want to test him on some of these things,” he added.
'Leaked documents' suggest secret dealings between Assad regime and Israel
Documents found following Bashar al-Assad's fall show warnings from Israel regarding Iranian and Hezbollah's movements
A series of reportedly leaked documents found following Bashar al-Assad's regime collapse have revealed a covert channel of communication between Syria and Israel.
Although the papers have not been independently verified, they bear the official Syrian Arab Republic letterheads and intelligence branch stamps.
The contents of the reported documents challenge the long-standing narrative that the Assad government was a steadfast opponent of Israel, instead portraying its alleged complicity in Israeli military operations against Iranian targets. Israeli warnings to Syria
Among the alleged leaked documents is a letter from Israel urging Syria to curb the flow of Iranian and Hezbollah military assets.
An operative, codenamed "Moses" communicated directly with former Syrian Defence Minister Lt. Gen. Ali Mahmoud Abbas, relaying specific warnings about Hamas activities and their implications. The messages were then reportedly forwarded to the former National Security Bureau head Ali Mamlouk, according to the leaked documents.
In an alarming message dated 8 April 2023, the official reported that Hamas had launched rockets from the Golan Heights, demanding that Syria halt such preparations or face dire consequences.
Israel's warnings escalated, stating that previous measures were merely a "warning shot", and that if Syrian cooperation with Iran continued, retaliatory actions would follow, according to the documents. Coordinated military operations
On 7 May 2023, Israeli forces targeted weapon depots linked to Syrian command structures, as part of a strategy to dismantle Iranian military capabilities in Syria.
The documents state that Assad's regime not only received intelligence from Israel but also actively coordinated attacks against Iranian positions.
"Supporting Hezbollah’s air defence capabilities is an act against Israel. This only serves Hezbollah’s interests, while causing harm to your military," a letter in the documents said.
While Assad's government has long positioned itself as a "resistance" leader in the Arab world, these documents exposed that the regime was sharing intelligence with Israel and even facilitating military operations against Iranian militias.
This duplicity raises questions about the true nature of Syria's alliances and the extent of its cooperation with Israel.
Iran's post-Assad strategy
While Iran's future relations with Syria remain uncertain, Tehran has expressed a desire to maintain ties, but its success may hinge on the approach of opposition groups towards Israel.
Iranian officials have called for respect for Syria's sovereignty, emphasising the importance of distancing from Israeli influence.
Iran said it wants to maintain relations with Syria after the fall of major ally Bashar al-Assad, but that opposition groups’ approach towards Israel would be crucial.
Teheran has not commented on reports about a direct line of dialogue with the armed groups that toppled the Assad regime.
On Tuesday, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani called for “respect for Syria’s territorial integrity” and said the Syrian people should decide their own fate.
Commenting on Iran’s future relations with Syria, she said that “their distance from the Zionist regime” would be an important deciding factor.
Fall of Syrian government part of joint US, Israel plan says, Iran's supreme leader
Khamenei also rejected speculation by analysts who have said that Iran will be weakened by the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government
Our Bureau And Agencies Tehran Published 11.12.24,
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in a meeting in TehranAP/PTI
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says the recent events in Syria, including the fall of its government, were part of a joint plan by the United States and Israel.
“There should be no doubt that what has happened in Syria is the result of a joint American and Zionist plan," Khamenei said in a speech in Tehran on Wednesday that was broadcast on state TV. “We have evidence, and this evidence leaves no room for doubt.”
The Supreme leader added: “A neighbouring state of Syria has played a clear role in this matter, and it continues to do so. Everyone can see this.”
Khamenei also rejected speculation by analysts who have said that Iran will be weakened by the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government.
“Those ignorant analysts are unaware of the meaning of resistance. They think that if resistance weakens, Islamic Iran will also weaken. But I say, with the help and power of God — by the will of Almighty Allah — Iran is powerful and it will become even more powerful," he said.
Syrian refugees in Europe fear being forced home after Assad's fall Syrians Najem Al Moussa, 36, his wife Bushra Al Bukaai, 30, and their five children, Mira, 13, Tzias, 9, Eman, 7, Eyas, 5, and Oday, 3, joke while posing in their home in Athens, Greece, Dec 10, 2024.
PHOTO: Reuters
December 11, 2024
ATHENS/BERLIN — Najem al-Moussa was delighted when news of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's overthrow first beamed from the television in his tiny Athens apartment.
Then came a dreaded thought: what if Assad's fall meant he and his family would be forced to return to the devastated country they had fled nine years before?
Events in Syria took a seismic turn on Sunday (Dec 7) when rebels poured into Damascus after a lightning offensive that forced Assad into exile in Russia and raised hopes of an end to a 13-year civil war that has left the country in ruins.
Now, as European countries rethink their asylum policies for Syrians in the light of developments, many fear they will have to go back.
"I consider my life to be here. Not just me but my children," said al-Moussa, a lawyer by training who works as a cook in Athens and has been transfixed by the television news for days. "The life that was provided in Greece, my country was not able to offer."
Syrian refugees, Najem Al Moussa, 36, his wife Bushra Al Bukaai, 30, and their youngest son, Oday, 3, watch news on the events in Syria in their apartment in Athens, Greece, Dec 10, 2024. PHOTO: Reuters
Hundreds of thousands of people have died in Syria's war, which began in 2011 and pitted Assad's army against various rebel groups. Whole cities have been flattened by bombing. Millions fled or are in need of humanitarian assistance.
Thousands of civilians who moved to neighbouring Turkey and Lebanon rushed back into Syria this week, their cars filled with people, luggage, and hope of a peaceful homecoming.
But 10 Syrian refugees who spoke to Reuters in Europe and the United Kingdom thought differently. Returning would mean an end to a new life they have risked everything to build.
Al-Moussa and his wife Bushra al-Bukaai fled Damascus in 2015 after the birth of their second child. They spent everything they had on a two-year journey that took them to Sudan, Iran, Turkey and eventually Greece.
They now have five children who are all in school and speak fluent Greek. None speak the Arabic of their parents' homeland
.
Syrian Mira, 13, checks her phone while her siblings do their homework in their home in Athens, Greece, Dec 10, 2024.
"When we talk, they ask: 'Daddy, can we really go back to living in these areas? How did you live there before?'," Al-Moussa said.
His wife agrees. "I cannot imagine my children building their future in Syria. Not at all," she said, their youngest son in her lap.Syrian Najem Al Moussa, 36, talks next to his wife Bushra Al Bukaai, 30, and their youngest son, Oday, 3, while watching news on the events in Syria in their home in Athens, Greece, Dec 10, 2024. PHOTO: Reuters Joy and despair
First-time asylum applications by Syrians to the EU were highest in 2015 and 2016 — more than 330,000 in each of those years — before dropping off significantly in the next three years, EU data show. But applications trebled between 2020 and 2023 after a devastating earthquake and as violence and economic hardship persisted.
Thousands of those applications are now on hold after several European countries including Greece this week suspended asylum applications from Syrians while they consider if Syria is safer now that Assad has gone.
It is not clear if asylum seekers will be forced home. ProAsyl, a German NGO providing legal help to asylum seekers, said cases would be in limbo until the foreign ministry publishes its updated security assessment report on Syria, which could take months.
ProAsyl spokesperson Tareq Alaows told Reuters the decision could face legal challenges as authorities in Europe must decide on asylum applications within three to six months of their submission.
Still, Al-Moussa's Greek residence permit is up for renewal and he is worried. He is not alone.
Syrian vet Hasan Alzagher was in a German language class in the city of Erfurt on Monday when he heard that his asylum application for Germany, which he hoped would be finalised by the end of the year, was put on hold.
Syrian refugee Najem Al Moussa, 36, watches news on the events in Syria in his apartment in Athens, Greece, Dec 10, 2024. PHOTO: Reuters
"This is mentally devastating. It's difficult that after you set your mind to live here, build a new life here, learn the language and integrate in this country, you now have to return to your homeland where basic necessities are still missing," he told Reuters by phone.
In fear of being recruited into the army or a militia group, Alzagher, 32, said he fled the city of Raqqa in 2018. He spent time in Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey before heading to Germany in 2023.
"The fall of Assad is a huge joy for all Syrians, but we who came here and went into debt to finance this journey, every time we arrive in a new place, we have to start over again. It's difficult to think about returning to Syria now."
Alzagher's worries were echoed by Syrians in the United Kingdom, which has also paused decisions on asylum claims.
Syrian refugee Zafer Nahhas applied for a British PhD programme just two days before the fall of the Assad regime. Nahhas, 34, from Aleppo, said he was a wanted man in Syria after participating in an anti-government protest there. His grandfather was jailed for 13 years and many of his friends have been detained and tortured, he said.
He has been granted asylum in the UK, but is nervous now, especially as his wife is pregnant.
The "possibility that they (UK authorities) could blindly reverse some decisions without any personal circumstances being factored in" was worrying, he said by phone.
"It's a whirlwind of thoughts, uncertainties and unnecessary additional concerns in our lives."
Russia urged Assad to leave after determining he'd lost the war
Assad fled Damascus without telling any advisors out of fear that they would betray him.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visit the Hmeymim air base in Latakia Province, Syria December 11, 2017.(photo credit: SPUTNIK/MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/ VIA REUTERS)
Russia arranged for Syrian president Bashar Assad to leave Syria via a Russian airbase as rebels advanced on Damascus, Kremlin sources told Bloomberg in a report published on Wednesday.
The Kremlin feared for its longtime ally and convinced him that he would lose the lightning offensive led by the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The Kremlin offered him and his family safe passage if he left immediately, three unidentified sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Russian intelligence coordinated the escape, two sources told Bloomberg, and smuggled Assad out of a Russian airbase on the coast of Syria.
According to reporting from the Telegraph, Assad fled Damascus on his private jet without telling any of his advisors in case he was betrayed.
Assad's jet flew with its transponder off to Russia’s Khmeimim air base on the Syrian coast. Afterward, Assad flew to Moscow, reportedly on a Russian military plane.
A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter takes off at the Russian military base of Hmeimim, located south-east of the city of Latakia in Hmeimim, Latakia Governorate, Syria, on September 26, 2019. (credit: Maxime POPOV / AFP)
Russia in limbo
Despite personally approving the plans, Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly still does not have any intentions of meeting Assad, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov.
"There is no such meeting in the official schedule of the president," Peskov told Russian media. "We have nothing to say about Assad's whereabouts. Such decisions cannot be made without the head of state. It's his decision. In this case, I have nothing to say."
The Kremlin has not yet made any official comments about the collapse of Assad's government, which has reportedly enranged and humiliated Putin. One source close to the Kremlin with information on the situation told Bloomberg that the Kremlin Chief is ordering to know why Russian intelligence didn't see HTS's threat to Assad's regime sooner. His fall comes after years of heavy Russian financial and military support in the Syrian Civil War and nearly half a century of Assad family rule in Damascus.
The Jerusalem Post previously covered Russian media reports that the Kremlin granted Assad and his family political asylum on humanitarian conditions. The Russian Foreign Ministry told NBC News that Assad's security within Russia "shows that Russia acts as required in such an extraordinary situation."
Russian defense experts told Bloomberg that Russia's reasoning for helping Assad flee was based on fears for its military bases in the region, the country's only bases outside of former Soviet territory.
“This was damage control,” Ruslan Pukhov, head of the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, told Bloomberg. Puhkov said it was “very logical” for Russia to urge Assad to give up in order to avoid a death similar to the mob killing of Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi's death in 2011.
Business Insider reported on Monday that Russian warships pulled out of the Kremlin's only warm-water naval base, located in Tartus, after Assad fled.
The Russian military has yet to fully withdraw its forces from Syria. Peskov said on Monday that "everything is being done now that is necessary and everything that is possible in order to get in touch with those who can deal with security. And, of course, our military is also taking all necessary precautions."
Satellite images show Russian forces still at Syrian air base, navy anchored offshore
Russia has moved its naval ships out of harms way. They are anchored off the Syrian coast, but satellite images appear to show that most of its airforce remains at the Russian-controlled Khmeimim airbase.
By bne IntelliNews December 11, 2024
Syrian rebels Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have rapidly taken control of the whole country in only 11 days, but they are treading cautiously when it comes to the naval and airports under Russian control.
Satellite images released on December 10 show that Russian forces remain in the airbase of Khmeimim and the naval port of Tartus, although many of Russia’s ships have been moved out of harm’s way and are currently anchored some 7-13 km offshore, according to different reports.
A nervous ceasefire has been called while negotiations begin between the new leadership in Damascus and Moscow to thrash out a new relationship following the ousting of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad at the weekend.
New satellite photos from satellite provider Maxar of the Tartus naval base show Russian Navy ships anchored off the coast. They also show destruction of Syrian Navy missile boats at the base that were very likely hit by an intense wave of Israeli airstrikes across the country that has destroyed most of what was left of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF).
According to Maxar, three Russian Navy guided-missile frigates, amongst the most modern surface ships in the Russian fleet, and at least two support ships were in port in Tartus on December 5, but as of December 10 the ships had left port and at least two of the Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates were anchored off the coast. The ships are capable of firing Russia’s long-range Kalibir land attack missile as well as the new Tsirkon hypersonic anti-ship missile. There were also reports of a single Russian submarine moored at the port, which has now left.
Previously Russia had five surface ships and one submarine at Tartus, according to an analysis of satellite imagery by BlackSky and Planet Labs, Business Insider reports. All six vessels departed between December 6 and 9, according to the new satellite images.
Tartus has become a crucial naval base for Russia in the last years and has allowed Russia to rebuild its naval power in the Mediterranean again posing a threat to much of the EU. The loss of Tartus would drive Russia’s navy back to the only other warm water ports in the West in the Baltic Sea or Murmansk, Russia’s northern port in the western part of the country. There are restrictions on warships passing through the Bosphorus making Russia’s naval bases in the Crimea less attractive.
The decision to send Russia’s warships out of the port comes as Israel launches an intense bombardment of SAAF military assets across the country, including naval assets at the Tartus naval base. Russian commanders wanted to get their ships clear of Syrian ships in the port which have been largely destroyed.
Khmeimim airbase
Other satellite images from December 9 show Russian aircraft, helicopters, and military equipment still at the Khmeimim airbase. The images also suggest that the bulk of Russian personnel have remained at the airbase near the coastal city of Latakia, although the region around it is now under HTS control.
Russia has removed some of its planes, but others remain parked on the runway and have been left untouched by both HTS and Israeli airstrikes. At the adjacent civilian Bassel Al-Assad International Airport, lots of activity was seen in the images.
A large number of people and cars around the main administrative buildings can be seen in the images, presumably the Russian staff at the base.
The airbase provides key logistical support for both Russia’s African operations as well as the launching pad for Russian airstrikes on Aleppo that were launched last week during HTS’ advance, the first sorties that Russia had flown since the civil war came to a temporary halt four years ago.
Ukraine's military intelligence agency reported on December 9 that Moscow was airlifting weaponry out of the Khmeimim base that is near to the Tartus port.
Russian foreign minister spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on December 10 that Russia’s military personnel were still present at both the port and the airbase and denied reports that the Kremlin had been driven out by HTS forces.
Israeli bombardment
The Israel Defense Force (IDF) has launched over 400 strikes on targets inside Syria in the last three days, destroying some 70-80% of the SAAF military capability.
A Syrian ammunition storage facility near Al Salamiye was destroyed completely, likely by Israeli strikes. Other locations hit included anti-aircraft batteries, Syrian air force airfields, naval bases and dozens of weapons production sites in Damascus, Homs, Tartus, Latakia and Palmyra, which resulted in the destruction of Scud tactical-ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, surface-to-sea, sea-to-sea, surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, UAVs, fighter jets, attack helicopters, ships, radars, tanks, hangars and more.
The IDF has also occupied the so-called Buffer Zone on its border with Syria for reasons of “national security” but a government spokesman denied reports that Israeli tanks had crossed the border into Syria proper and were outside the capital Damascus.
Russia hopes for deal on bases in Syria
Russia hopes for deal on bases in Syria / bne IntelliNews
By bnm Gulf bureau December 11, 2024
Russia is seeking to secure agreements with Syria's new authorities regarding its military facilities in the country following the sudden overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad's government, senior Russian officials said on Wednesday, 11 December 2024.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov struck a cautious tone about immediate negotiations on military bases, saying that Syria's new leadership needs time to establish control.
"The power hasn't even changed hands yet, and you're asking about the status of various facilities. Things don't happen that quickly," Ryabkov told reporters in Moscow. "Those who have now come to the levers of power need to deal with the basic needs of the people."
The developments follow a dramatic weekend that saw Assad flee to Moscow after Syrian rebels announced his overthrow on state television on December 8.
According to Bloomberg, citing three sources familiar with the situation, Russian intelligence officers orchestrated Assad's escape through the Khmeimim Air Base, with the aircraft's transponder deliberately switched off to avoid tracking.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that President Vladimir Putin personally granted Assad political asylum, while emphasising the necessity of engaging with Syria's new power structures.
"Obviously, we cannot avoid contact with those who control the situation on the ground, because, I repeat again, we have our facilities there, our people first and foremost," Peskov said, according to Vedomosti newspaper.
The situation is particularly sensitive for Moscow as the armed opposition now fully controls the Latakia province, home to Russia's Khmeimim Air Base and its naval facility in Tartus.
Tartus has become a crucial naval base for Russia in the last years and has allowed Russia to rebuild its naval power in the Mediterranean so that it again poses a threat to much of the EU. The loss of Tartus would drive Russia’s navy back to the only other warm water ports in the West in the Baltic Sea or Murmansk, Russia’s northern port in the western part of the country. There are restrictions on warships passing through the Bosphorus making Russia’s naval bases in the Crimea less attractive.
Mohammed al-Bashir, reported to be aligned with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has been named interim Prime Minister until March 2025. The former head of the Syrian opposition delegation at peace talks, Mohammed Alloush, told TASS that decisions about Russian military bases would be made based on "the benefits and interests of the Syrian people."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova outlined Moscow's position, calling for an inclusive political process "in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254" while emphasising the protection of Russian assets and personnel.
"We advocate for the swift establishment of an inclusive political process, which should be carried out by Syrians themselves on a platform of broad national dialogue," Zakharova said at a briefing on 11 December.
The Kremlin claims to have received security guarantees for its military installations, though the rapid power shift has left questions about the long-term status of Russia's military presence in Syria, which has been a crucial foothold in the Middle East since Moscow's military intervention in 2015.
The Bloomberg report suggests that Russian officials had concluded Assad's position was untenable, offering him "immediate" safe passage out of Syria after convincing him he could not win against the opposition forces.
The developments mark a significant shift in the Syrian conflict, which has lasted over a decade, and signal potential changes in the regional power balance as Russia moves to protect its strategic interests under Syria's new leadership.
Police charge Kurdish people in British state crackdown
The Kurdish community is angry at being labelled terrorists, facing violence from the British state on behalf of Erdogan's regime
Kurds demand and end to police repression (Photo: Guy Smallman)
The police have charged six Kurdish people who were arrested last month. They were accused of being supporters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a proscribed organisation in Britain.
On 27 November, police raided the KCC in north London and arrested seven people across the capital.
Police barricaded the KCC and kept the seven Kurds under arrest.
Following the charges, five have been released but one remains on bail as they are an asylum seeker. Those charged could appear in court as early as 20 December.
Days before the changes Kurds and their supporters rallied against police repression last Sunday in north London’s Wood Green.
The Kurds on the march chanted the Iranian slogan “women, life, freedom”, and ‘Turkish state—terrorist’’. They are incredibly angry at being depicted as terrorists when the Turkish state has a long history of repression, terrorism and torture.
Yet the Turkish government, headed up by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is supported 100 percent by the British state.
The most recent raid and arrests are part of that support. A police leaflet repeated the terrorist slurs and caused great anger. As a result, the Haringey Labour Council leadership got involved and backed the Kurdish protesters.
Members of the community centre recently conducted a hunger strike and 2,000 people marched through central London.
Ibrahim Avcil of the Turkish and Kurdish migrant organisation Gik-Der said, “To my surprise, the local authority has been very good both in terms of criticising the police and the actions they have taken.
“They’ve also stood with those that were protesting in front of the Kurdish Community Centre for over nine days. And they also produced a leaflet for the hunger strikers on how they could look after their health,” he added.
“The whole labour movement needs to take up the Kurds’ slogan, ‘Britain—stop supporting the Turkish state’.”
UK
By Backing Public Ownership, We Can Tackle the Rise of the Far-Right – Ben Chacko
“We need a mass campaign offering the answer here. One which places the question of public ownership back at the heart of political debate.”
Leading Campaigners and voices for public ownership took part in the Arise Festival event: ‘Public Ownership and Control – Key to Tackling the Crises we Face’ on 3 December. You can read Ben Chacko‘s contribution published below or watch the event in full.
WATCH: ‘Public Ownership and Control – Key to Tackling the Crises we Face’. Hosted by Arise Festival on 3 December 2024.
Public Ownership is necessary. On a global scale, the scandals engulfing the last two UN climate summits, Cop28 and 29, with conference presidents and hosts striking oil and gas deals at the summits themselves, show what happens when you task the people who profit from an existing system with overhauling it.
Exactly the same problems arise when we expect a privatised, profit-making National Grid to prioritise a transition to cheap, clean and green energy. Or foreign-owned water companies to prioritise infrastructure maintenance, water safety and the environment over dividends and shareholder returns.
As we’ve seen, privatisation has landed us with the least reliable and most expensive trains in Europe, closed thousands of bus routes or run them down to be so infrequent they are no longer convenient to use (again while ramping up prices), removed our ability to control energy prices, gutted Royal Mail and fuelled a destructive reliance on outsourcing in essential services that worsens quality and workers’ pay and conditions. In the NHS, reliance on outside contractors and a privatised supply chain has been wasteful, inefficient and corrupt.
Despite the Thatcherite mantra, it has not driven innovation or improvements in efficiency. An article in the Financial Times this morning named 1980 as the year British and European labour productivity, having shown strong growth since the 1950s, began to fall behind the rest of the world. Britain has the lowest level of private-sector investment in the G7. CEOs only accountable to shareholders seeking short-term returns have not modernised or improved services, they have attacked wages, siphoned money out in unsustainable quantities and loaded up debt that we either have to take on publicly or risk the collapse of services millions rely on.
Public ownership is also popular. We Own It regularly updates us on the results of surveys and they are remarkably consistent in showing broad backing for public ownership of what were once considered the “commanding heights” of the economy: water, energy, transport including buses as well as trains, health and social care, often by big majorities. Labour’s abandonment of this agenda since 2020 is billed as part of a strategy to make it electable but this doesn’t stand much scrutiny. Labour has been seeking to make itself acceptable to big business, not to voters.
I want to focus today on the political dangers of this approach. We know that the British public want change.
Keir Starmer’s government claims both to have won a mandate for that change with its election win in 2024, and to be on course to deliver it. I think it had better deliver it, precisely because its popular mandate to be in power at all is so weak.
We saw in the last decade that political momentum has been with whoever represents a break with the status quo, which is unsurprising given the long-term decline in living standards with wages flatlining as the cost of living rises.
We saw it in the Brexit vote. We saw it too in the Corbyn movement from 2015, which official British politics wants to put behind us, but which is particularly important for us because it created a genuine mass movement of hundreds of thousands of people, and won the biggest increase in the Labour vote in 70 years, precisely on a programme of extending public ownership and redistributing wealth.
For a few years at least, this people-powered opposition changed the political narrative (forcing the Conservatives to abandon support for austerity, for example) despite the overwhelming hostility of the media and the political class. If we’re to change the narrative on public ownership, which the public wants but the political elite don’t, we need to pull off something similar just to get it on the agenda.
When it was defeated, it was defeated paradoxically by making the existing Conservative government look like the break with the status quo, by framing departure from the EU in those terms. It was Get Brexit Done which delivered the big Conservative majority of 2019.
The period since then has seen a really thorough clear-out of socialist policies, and a good number of socialists, from the Labour stable. Starmer still prides himself on this, regularly boasting of having changed the Labour Party and made it electable.
But removing popular policies from the political menu doesn’t mean people start supporting whatever they’re given. I think politicians underestimate the extent to which their artful suppression of Corbynism has driven alienation and disillusionment from the political system itself.
The 2024 election looks great for Labour in number of seats won, but it’s a castle built on sand. Its vote was half a million lower than at the disastrous election of 2019, more than two million lower than at the Corbyn surge election of 2017. The Conservatives, presiding over collapsing services and falling living standards, could not avoid being the main victim of the anti-status quo feeling in the country, but Labour only gained by default, not in actual support from real people. Its vote fell because people saw it as part of the status quo too and were not willing to vote for more of the same.
In that election itself, we saw a huge rise in the vote for a populist right-wing that looks and talks like a break with the system: Reform UK. Shortly afterwards we saw fascist violence spread across many of our towns. Mass mobilisations saw that off for the time being, but the sorry tally of council by-election results and most polls show a continued shift towards Reform UK among voters, most prominently among people who used to vote Labour.
The combined Reform-UK and Tory vote last summer was higher than Labour’s. Polls show Labour has lost its summer lead over the Tories, while Reform UK’s projected share of the vote keeps rising. Labour cannot, as it did under Blair, get more unpopular in government while maintaining power. It has to get more popular, and that means delivering improvements in public services. We know that these improvements depend on public interest being prioritised over private profits: on public ownership.
So in a way the left and trade unions need to find a way to save this Labour government from itself. Left to its own inclinations it will fail to make any tangible difference to the problems in public services, continue to lose popular support and collapse before an insurgent and increasingly racist hard right in a few years.
We need a mass campaign offering the answer here. One which places the question of public ownership back at the heart of political debate.
Not only can we put pressure on government, but this is terrain the far right can be beaten on. Farage is no break with the status quo, he is a tool of turbo-charged Thatcherism, an acceleration of the same privatising policies that have done so much damage in recent decades. Forcing discussion onto the role of the private sector in the NHS, in education, in water and energy systems, helps expose that.
The huge and resilient Palestine solidarity movement shows that this country is not politically apathetic. But the street and community campaigning for an economic alternative that we saw in the early 2010s, through the Coalition of Resistance and then the People’s Assembly, has become weaker.
Unions need more persuading to get behind such a movement under a Labour government than a Tory one, but only through such a movement can we apply the political pressure we need to win back working-class support and defeat the far right. We need to win the argument that protesting and organising for change is still something that needs to come from below, and can’t be left to discussions with ministers. As has been indicated, the NHS can be a unifying cause in this process.
Take back control was a slogan that resonated because people feel they have lost that control over the political and economic forces that shape our lives. But to control this country we need to own it.
‘Public Ownership & Control – Key to Tackling the Crises We Face’ was hosted by Arise Festival on 3 December 2024. You can watch or listen back on the Arise podcast.
Syrian Najem Al Moussa, 36, talks next to his wife Bushra Al Bukaai, 30, and their youngest son, Oday, 3, while watching news on the events in Syria in their home in Athens, Greece, Dec 10, 2024. PHOTO: Reuters
