Can Thailand unite ASEAN to pile pressure on Myanmar?

Tommy Walker

12/20/2024

DW

Myanmar's bloody civil war has intensified over the past year, with ethnic-minority rebels seizing vast swathes of territory from the military junta.

Millions of Myanmar citizens have been internally displaced by the bloody conflict and the country's economy lies in tatters

Image: Kokang online media via AP/picture alliance


Thailand this week hosted two separate regional meetings in an attempt to tackle the political and security crisis in Myanmar.

The first gathering involved Myanmar's ruling military junta and its neighbors, including China, Bangladesh, Laos and India, while the second included the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

All neighboring countries agreed that direct engagement and dialogue with Myanmar is "critical" and "necessary," Thailand's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nikorndej Balankura said at a press conference in Bangkok.

"They see the value of meeting regularly," Balankura added. "And they share the same understanding, more so than other countries, because they are direct neighbors directly impacted by the situation in Myanmar."

New push for Myanmar peace plan at ASEAN summit 04:01

Talks doomed to fail?

Myanmar's foreign minister on Thursday briefed participants on the outline of the junta's political roadmap and plans toward holding an election.

Critics have dismissed the election plans as a sham.

David Scott Mathieson, an independent analyst working on conflict and human rights issues on Myanmar, said the talks are unlikely to produce any results.

"Unless the Myanmar military is serious about peace, these talks will be extremely limited. You can't approach any diplomacy on Myanmar without a clear understanding that the military is the root cause of all the problems," he told DW.

Mathieson stressed that the junta's claims to hold elections shouldn't be taken seriously.

"No one should be taking these claims seriously. This is a trap of diplomacy. If any interlocutor takes election preparations seriously, they have doomed the country to prolonged conflict," he underlined.

Things are not going well for Myanmar's military government: Kyle Matthews, Concordia University Montreal 04:12

What did ASEAN tell Myanmar junta?

Thailand said it had conveyed to Myanmar's junta that ASEAN members would want the elections to be free and fair.

"If there is an election, ASEAN would want an inclusive process that included all stakeholders," Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa said in a group interview in Bangkok, after meetings with his ASEAN counterparts and senior diplomats.

The bloc is still awaiting details of the polls from the Myanmar side, Thai officials said.

"The neighboring countries said we support Myanmar in finding solutions but the election must be inclusive for various stakeholders in the country," Maris said, stressing that Myanmar's neighbors would advise, but not interfere.

What's the current situation in Myanmar?

Myanmar has been in a state of political turmoil since the military toppled the democratically elected government in February 2021.

Young men and women flee Myanmar's military conscription  01:42

The coup sparked mass protests, which evolved into a major anti-junta uprising, particularly in regions dominated by ethnic minorities.

Those opposing the military regime have formed alliances comprising ethnic groups and civilian-led defense forces.

The civil war is estimated to have claimed the lives of over 5,000 civilians since 2021.

Millions have been internally displaced and the country's economy lies in tatters.

The conflict in the country has intensified over the past year, with ethnic-minority rebels seizing vast swathes of territory from the junta, particularly near the border with China.

Underpaid and overworked: Myanmar migrants in Thailand  08:55

Can Thailand exert influence on Myanmar junta?

Thailand and Myanmar have a close but complicated history. Both share cultural and religious ties, as well as a 2,400-kilometer (1,490-mile) land border.

Since the February 2021 coup, many Myanmar citizens have fled to Thailand in search of a better life.

Thailand is currently home to an estimated 2 million Myanmar migrants.

Pravit Rojanaphruk, a veteran journalist and political observer, said that Thailand is the country in the region most affected by the civil war and instability in Myanmar.

"Bangkok will need to be more engaged and assertive, not just with regard to humanitarian crisis but also to help push Myanmar back on track towards peace and democracy," he underlined.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru


Tommy Walker Reporter focusing on Southeast Asian politics, conflicts, economy and society.@tommywalkerco

Sahel juntas make life more difficult for human rights NGOs

Nikolas Fischer

12/20/2024

DW

NGO's are a thorn in the side of West Africa's military regimes. Their critical reports on human rights are inconvenient for the junta leaders. In return, the military say such reports damage national security.

The heads of state of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso formed the Alliance of Sahel States in Niamey to break away from what they call Western influence

Image: Mahamadou Hamidou/REUTERS

Niger's military junta says that recent reports published by global human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International seek to discredit the country. Niger's armed forces claim that such reports by are one-sided and that they do not reflect efforts to reconcile security and fundamental rights.

Numerous NGOs continue to regularly denounce human rights violations in Niger, particularly in the area of political repression and the handling of terrorist threats in the Sahel region. But how much truth is there to that criticism?

Niger has upped its fight against insurgents since the military takeover — but at what cost?Image: Gazali Abdou Tasawa/DW

No official ban — yet

Some media recently reported that the work of HRW and Amnesty had been banned in Niger on account of displeasing the military rulers of the country, who claim their biggest focus is to protect human rights through their ongoing fight against terrorist groups.

However, both non-governmental organizations (NGOs) confirmed with DW that no official ban had yet been imposed on them.

It is important to highlight that HRW and Amnesty do not have their own offices in Niger but work together with local informants instead. They also stated that they plan to continue to do so in future.

However, since the coup d'etat in Niger in July 2023, when General Abdourahamane Tiani seized power, the military government has already suspended around 200 local and international organizations for allegedly violating rules.

The Nigerien branch of the NGO Transparency International, which fights corruption worldwide, says it is not surprised by these restrictive attitudes.

"Those in power do not want to be informed about what is going on in their countries. They prefer to remain silent," Transparency International Secretary Wada Maman told DW.

"It is not true that human rights are protected and that the international laws signed by Niger are accepted."

Working for and not against each other

However, the pro-government group Debout Niger sees things differently, stating that the junta's criticism of NGOs is justified.

The leader of the organization, Ismael Mohamed, told DW: "These groups are discrediting Niger," adding emphatically that "all organizations and countries in the world should know that anyone who tries to interfere in Niger's affairs will be thrown out of the country."

This is why NGOs still working on the ground in Niger have become extremely cautious: Abdoul Aziz from the youth education NGO Mojedec thinks that the government and NGOs should talk to each other in order to find common ground and avoid disputes: "No things that defame our country (should) be written. Both sides should be listened to."

"We urge the government of Niger to work with the NGOs."

Reports of arbitrary arrests

One of the reasons why HRW and Amnesty are currently in the spotlight is the fact that they have been denouncing the arrest of Nigerien activist Moussa Tiangari at the beginning of December, which they have decried as being arbitrary

Tiangari, who is the secretary general of the organization "Alternatives Espaces Citoyens" (AEC), known for its critical stance towards the military authorities, was arrested in the capital Niamey by armed men who reportedly were posing as police officers.

"They forced their way into our house," HRW quoted Tiangari's wife as saying. To protect her safety, her name was not given.

"They ordered him to follow them quietly because they didn't want anyone to know what was going on," the wife added, according to HRW.

Drissa Traore, the secretary-general of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), stressed that people like Tiangari do "not belong in prison, nor do several other Nigeriens, who were unjustly arrested by the government, including former president Mohamed Bazoum and his wife."

Mali's junta on November 21, 2024 named military officer General Abdoulaye Maiga as the country's the new prime minister

Image: Fanny Noara-Kabrè/AFP

Repression throughout the Sahel

In neighboring Mali, there are also mounting accusations of critical voices being silenced through such arbitrary arrests.

A close confidant of the regime-critical imam Mahmoud Dicko, named Youssouf Daba Diawara, was also recently imprisoned on charges of "resisting legitimate authority" after taking part in an unauthorized opposition demonstration. He was then released at the beginning of October.

Others, however, aren't as fortunate: Opposition politician Oumar Mariko was forced to leave the country, telling DW that "forcing someone into political exile because of their freedom of expression is simply a criminal act."

"Exile is hard, but there is no sacrifice too great for the fatherland," he said.

But silencing free speech is not contained to each individual Sahel nation currently under military rule: Most recently, Malian opposition politician Issa Kaou Djim was arrested in November after the Supreme Council for Communication in neighboring Burkina Faso accused him of insulting the military junta there.

Burkina Faso appears to deal with critical individuals in one of two ways. If they aren't sent to prison, they could be sent to the front to fight against terrorists. Former minister Ablasse Ouedraogo is one of many who were forcibly recruited into the military by the junta — even though he is already over 70 years of age.

Burkina Faso's opposition leader Ablasse Ouedraogo was forced to fight on the forntline by the juntaImage: STR/AFP/Getty Images

Attacks on human rights throughout restive region

There are also worrying trends of similar proportions in nearby military-led in Guinea: Human rights activists Mamadou Billo Bah and Oumar Sylla were abducted from their home by hooded men earlier this year in July 2024. They have not been heard from since.

Guinean authorities have assured the public that they had nothing to do with the case, but questions remain.

Meanwhile, the list of violently suppressed critical voices in the region also includes Yaya Dillo in Chad, who was killed during an army operation in March. The leader of the Socialist Party without Borders (PSSF) was seen as the most important opponent of the Chadian junta.

Though his death is officially not regarded as a targeted assassination, the fact that he was killed on the premises of his party makes his family describe his death as "murder."

NGOs more needed than ever

Dany Ayida, the head of the US National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) in the DR Congo, says that these abductions, arbitrary arrests and detentions across the Sahel confirm the authoritarian nature of the military regimes.

These instances "call into question the promises of these rulers to bring more freedom, more dignity to public administration," Ayida told DW. "The rulers of these countries value their image, and allow no dissent."

However, this is precisely why the work of international NGOs like HRW and Amnesty is needed throughout the region: With growing repression, they remain the only organizations that can continue to raise objections when freedoms are restricted and human rights are violated.

Adapted from German by Martina Schwikowski

Edited by: Sertan Sanderson

Nikolas Fischer Reporter and editor

Volkswagen plant closures, layoffs averted, says union

The German automaker had floated plans to shut as many as three factories and carry out mass job cuts.

Thousands of Volkswagen workers went on strike earlier this month to protest against plans to close three plants

Image: IMAGO/HärtelPRESS



The German union IG Metall said Friday it had reached a deal with Volkswagen to avoid involuntary redundancies and plant closures at the carmaker's production sites in Germany until 2030.

Union representatives have been negotiating for weeks with the company — Europe's largest automarker — over cost-cutting measures, including plans to close three plants, cut wages and slash jobs.

"We have succeeded in finding a solution for employees at Volkswagen sites that secures jobs, safeguards products in the plants and at the same time enables important future investments," union negotiator Thorsten Gröger said in a statement.

"No site will be closed, no one will be laid off for operational reasons and our company wage agreement will be secured for the long term," said Volkswagen's works council chief Daniela Cavallo.

Volkswagen said the deal also included provisions to cut more than 35,000 jobs in "socially responsible" ways by 2030.

Marathon talks

Friday's breakthrough in the northern city of Hannover came after a marathon negotiations lasting 70 hours — the longest in the carmaker's history.

Gröger said that under the agreement, workers will have job security until 2030 but will have to forego wage increases in the coming years and bonuses will be cut.

He said the package "includes painful contributions from employees, but at the same time creates prospects for the workforce."

VW's proposed plant closures, wage cuts and layoffs had already led to thousands of workers across the country going on strike twice in the past month.

The union had threatened further walkouts in the new year if a deal was not struck before the Christmas holidays.

German automaker Volkswagen faces unprecedented crisis  01:47

What did Volkswagen say?

"After long and intensive negotiations, the agreement is an important signal for the future viability of the Volkswagen brand," group CEO Oliver Blume said in a statement.

The company said the agreement with the union would allow savings of €15 billion ($15.6 billion) a year in the medium term. It will also reduce technical capacity at its German sites by 700,000 vehicles.

"We had three priorities in the negotiations: reducing excess capacity at the German sites, reducing labour costs and reducing development costs to a competitive level," said VW brand boss Thomas Schäfer. "We have achieved viable solutions for all three issues."

The company cited competition from China, sluggish demand in Europe and slower-than-expected adoption of electric cars as reasons why it needed to cut costs.

nm/kb (AFP, Reuters, dpa)

Lucky bustards: rare birds' habitat saved as French judges block mega-basins

A French court has halted plans to build four large water reservoirs in western France, ruling that they would threaten the survival of the little bustard, an endangered bird species.

Little bustards grow to between 42 and 45cm long with a 90-110cm wingspan. They weigh around 830g and feed on seeds, insects, rodents and reptiles. © Wikimedia Commons

By: Paul Myers

Issued on: 20/12/2024 - 

RFI

The French government gave the green light for the construction of 16 water reserves – known as mega-basins – for agricultural use in the Marais Poitevin, north of La Rochelle.

But 10 environmental campaign groups, including Nature Environnement 17 and the Ligue de protection des oiseaux ("Birds' Protection League", LPO), opposed the decision and took the case to the Bordeaux Administrative Court of Appeal.

On Wednesday, the court ruled that four of the 16 mega-basins are likely to destroy all or part of the habitat of the little bustard.

"The authorisation granted is illegal because it does not provide for a 'protected species' exemption," the judges said.

They ruled that building work on the reservoirs should be halted, and added that the water stored in the Sainte-Soline reservoir – the only one of the four built so far – can be used next summer by nearby farms.

Violent clashes

The mega-basins have divided opinion, with supporters saying they are a way to use water efficiently because it is pumped from the underground water table in the winter and stored for use in the dry summer months.

Critics argue they are too big and favour large farms, while activists claim water is a common good and that farmers are effectively stealing it rather than moving towards less water-intensive and more sustainable agricultural practices.

Protest convoy against government irrigation scheme reaches Paris after 8 day march

Tensions between the two sides led to violent clashes around the site of the Sainte-Soline reservoir in March 2023.

"Biodiversity was the forgotten issue," said LPO director Régis Ouvrard. "The mega-basins perpetuate a system of intensive agriculture responsible for the decline in biodiversity, and endangering populations of endangered species such as the little bustard."

More than half of endangered species in France are not protected: report

Little bustards grow to between 42 and 45cm long with a 90-110cm wingspan. They weigh around 830g and feed on seeds, insects, rodents and reptiles.

"The bustard is a species on life support," Ouvrard added. "It lost 94 percent of its numbers between 1978 and 2000. The four reserves targeted by this ruling will have a direct impact on 5 percent of the total bustard population."

The government said it had taken note of the court's decision.

International rescuers join search for Vanuatu quake survivors

Port Vila (AFP) – Overseas rescuers joined a hunt for survivors in the rubble of shattered buildings in earthquake-struck Vanuatu on Thursday, with officials saying the toll of nine dead is set to rise.

Rescue workers search for survivors in the Vanuatu capital Port Vila after an earthquake killed at least nine people. © STR / AFP

By: RFI
Issued on: 19/12/2024 

More than 100 personnel, along with rescue gear, dogs and aid supplies, were being flown on military transport planes from Australia and New Zealand to the capital Port Vila.

The 7.3-magnitude quake struck off the Pacific nation's main island on Tuesday, flattening multi-storey concrete buildings, cracking walls and bridges, damaging water supplies and knocking out most mobile networks.

Vanuatu has declared a seven-day state of emergency "due to the severe impacts", along with a curfew from 6 pm-6 am.

Civilians joined in the immediate rescue effort despite multiple aftershocks shaking the low-lying archipelago of 320,000 people, which lies in the quake-prone Pacific Rim of Fire.





AFP photos showed rescuers working with mechanical diggers at night to save people in one large building, all its floors pancaked into a flat pile of concrete.

Rescuers were focused on searching for people in two collapsed buildings in Port Vila, said Glen Craig of the Vanuatu Business Resilience Council.

"We know people are trapped and some have been rescued, and there have also been fatalities," he told AFP.

"My good friend that was killed in the earthquake – the funeral is at 2 pm today – but I have also got to think about the other 300,000 people in Vanuatu," Craig said.

Australia's government flew in a 64-person disaster response team equipped with two dogs, along with six medics, nine police and emergency response managers.
Death toll set to rise

"Australia's emergency crews are now on the ground in Vanuatu following the devastating earthquake," said Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

An Australian air force transport plane carries Australians out of earthquake-devastated Vanuatu 

© Handout / AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE/AFP

A government-organised flight has also repatriated 148 Australians, she said.

New Zealand is flying in 37 people, mostly search-and-rescue specialists, government officials said. A separate C-130 military transport plane with 18 personnel, rescue equipment and disaster supplies landed on Thursday.

Nine people have been confirmed dead by Port Vila's hospital and that number is likely to rise, according to the latest update by Vanuatu's disaster management office.

Two of the dead were Chinese citizens and one French, their embassies have said.

The quake caused "major structural damage" to more than 10 buildings including the main hospital, it said, while also hitting three bridges, power lines, water reserves and mobile communications.

The shipping port is closed following a "major landslide".

French engineers have declared Port Vila's airport runway operational, although it has not re-opened to commercial flights.

The death toll will "definitely go up", said Craig, of the Vanuatu business council.

However the country and its people depended on tourism and agriculture, he warned.

Small island nations lead fight for climate justice at UN's top court
'People need to come back'

"We can't have an economic disaster on top of a natural disaster," Craig said, urging a quick restart of the tourism business.

"The runway is in great condition and it has been a huge focus for the government to get that terminal open by tonight or latest tomorrow for commercial flights," he said.

"People need to come and go, it brings normality back."

Rescue teams from Australia and New Zealand are joining the serach for survivors after an earthquake killed at least nine people in Vanuatu 

© Handout / AUSTRALIAN DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE/AFP

Craig said he had visited four resorts, which were using generators for electricity and hoping for tourists to return next week.

"Generally, they are okay, there are some cracks and some tiles have popped out, but there is not bad damage."

Basil Leodoro, an emergency doctor in Vanuatu with Respond Global, said landslides blocked airfields on some surrounding islands, raising concerns about food supplies.

Water supplies, including wells and storage systems, were damaged on some islands, he told AFP.

Earthquake injuries were only being reported on the main island of Vanuatu, however.

"As expected, we are seeing open fractures, wounds and closed fractures, soft tissue injury as a result of the earthquake," Leodoro said.

He said he was helping to organise medical support from Fiji and Solomon Islands to relieve exhausted teams in Vanuatu.

"That is the burden we are seeing – it is not unexpected in these crisis situations."

EU mobilises for cyclone-ravaged Mayotte as Macron hits back at angry crowds

The European Union has responded to France's request for assistance for its overseas territory of Mayotte, devastated by Cyclone Chido, as President Emmanuel Macron told angry locals they would be "10,000 times" worse off if they were not in France.

A boy carries a sheet of roofing across the beach in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido, in Passamainty, Mayotte on 20 December, 2024. REUTERS - Gonzalo Fuentes

By: RFI
Issued on: 20/12/2024 - 

The cyclone, which hit the island on Saturday, 14 November, destroyed infrastructure and flattened many of the makeshift dwellings in its large slums.

Thirty-one people have been reported dead, although the death toll is expected to rise significantly.

Almost one week on, there are still food and water shortages and electricity is yet to be restored in some areas, in the aftermath of Mayotte's worst storm in nearly a century.

Angry exchanges

On Thursday, President Emmanuel Macron arrived on the Indian Ocean archipelago, along with four tonnes of emergency aid. But residents say this is far from enough, and there were angry exchanges with the president.

Macron hit back at a jeering crowd: "If this wasn't France, you'd be 10,000 times more in the shit. There is no other place in the Indian Ocean where people have received this much help. That’s a fact.”

As the French president visited a neighbourhood in Tsingoni on Mayotte’s main island Grande-Terre – where people still have no access to drinking water or phone service – one man shouted: "Seven days and you’re not able to give water to the population."

“I understand your impatience. You can count on me,” Macron replied, adding that water would be distributed at city halls.

France and Comoros clash over migrants lost in Mayotte cyclone disaster

Macron later announced that France would observe a day of national mourning on Monday, 23 December. He also said a special law suspending the usual regulations would be passed to speed up reconstruction, based on the model used for the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral.

The president left Mayotte – France's poorest department – on Friday, after spending some 24 hours meeting locals and officials.

Mayotte cyclone lays bare the fragility of France’s 'forgotten' territory

French soldiers work to clear a road in the aftermath of Cyclone Chido, in Mayotte. via REUTERS - Etat-major des armees

EU response

In a statement issued on Friday, the European Union said it had responded to “France’s request for assistance”, providing emergency shelters, hygiene kits and medical tents.

Belgium, Germany, Italy and Sweden have offered the shelters and other items via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, it said.

Neighbouring Comoros, which gained independence from France in 1974, said it was ferrying 250 tonnes of bottled water to Mayotte on Friday.

The EU said it had also provided Mozambique with €900,000 in emergency humanitarian funding to help affected communities there. Seventy-three people were reported dead in northern Mozambique and 13 in Malawi, according to the authorities.

Cyclone Chido leaves 34 dead and devastates Mozambique

People queue to fill containers with drinking water in Doujani, Mayotte on December 18. REUTERS - Yves Herman

Sweden ends UNWRA funding, boosts Gaza aid through alternative channels

Sweden announced it would cease funding the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) after Israel decided to ban its operations from January, citing alleged links to the October 7, 2023 attacks. Instead, Sweden said it will increase humanitarian aid to Gaza through other UN and international organisations.


Issued on: 20/12/2024 - 

By: NEWS WIRES

File photo taken November 27, 2023 of a heavily damaged UNWRA school after Israeli strikes in the village of Khuzaa in southern Gaza. © Saïd Khatib, AFP

Sweden will no longer fund the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) and will instead provide increased overall humanitarian assistance to Gaza via other channels, the Nordic country said on Friday.

Israel, which says it will ban UNRWA operations in the country from late January, accuses the agency of being involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel that triggered the 14-month-old war in Gaza.

Sweden's decision was in response to the Israeli ban, as it will make channelling aid via the agency more difficult, the country's aid minister, Benjamin Dousa, said.

"Large parts of UNRWA's operations in Gaza are either going to be severely weakened or completely impossible," Dousa told Reuters. "For the government, the most important thing is that support gets through."

Dousa said Sweden "in no way" supported Israel's law and had repeatedly expressed its criticism. "Israel must do much more to ensure humanitarian access to Gaza," he said.

The new Israeli law does not directly ban UNRWA's operations in the West Bank and Gaza but it will have a severe impact on UNRWA's ability to work. Top U.N. officials describe UNRWA as the backbone of Gaza's aid response.

Read more

After banning UNRWA, Israel has yet to propose alternative aid structure for Palestinians

Sweden plans to lift its overall humanitarian aid to Gaza next year to 800 million Swedish crowns ($72.44 million) from 451 million spent this year, the foreign ministry said.

Aid will flow via several organisations including the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP), the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF), the U.N. Populations Fund (UNFPA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the ministry added.

The Palestinian embassy in Stockholm said in a statement: "We reject the idea of finding alternatives to UNRWA, which has a special mandate to provide services to Palestinian refugees." The refugee population relies on UNRWA healthcare, education, emergency relief and humanitarian assistance, it said.

The U.N. General Assembly threw its support behind UNRWA this month, demanding Israel respect the agency's mandate and "enable its operations to proceed without impediment or restriction".

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on X: "Defunding UNRWA now will undermine decades of Sweden’s investment in human development including by denying access to education for hundreds of thousands of girls and boys across the region."


Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel thanked Dousa for a meeting they had this week and for Sweden's decision to drop its support for UNRWA.

"There are worthy and viable alternatives for humanitarian aid, and I appreciate the willingness to listen and adopt a different approach," she said.

The U.N. has said nine UNRWA staff may have been involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack and had been fired. A Hamas commander in Lebanon - killed by Israel - was also found to have had an UNRWA job.

(REUTERS)

Italian court aquits Vice Premier Salvini in migrant rescue ship case


A Sicilian court on Friday acquitted Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini of illegally detaining 100 migrants aboard the Open Arms rescue ship in 2019, when he was interior minister.


Issued on: 20/12/2024 - 
By: NEWS WIRES

Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini at the Bunker Courtroom in Palermo, Sicily, on December 20, 2024. © Alberto Pizzoli, AFP

A court in Sicily Friday found Vice Premier Matteo Salvini not guilty of illegally detaining 100 migrants aboard a humanitarian rescue ship when he was interior minister.

The court dropped all the charges against Salvini in relation an incident in 2019, when he refused to allow the migrants to leave the Open Arms rescue ship at Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa.

Verdicts in Italy are only considered final once all appeals are exhausted, a process that can take years.

Now transport minister in Premier Giorgia Meloni’s far-right-led government, Salvini has always defended himself, saying he acted to protect Italy’s borders.

(AP)

After Building Progressive Power Among House Democrats, Jayapal Passes the Torch

 to Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) 

The outgoing CPC leader is proud of empowering the caucus to fight for "an economic agenda that worked for working people and poor people."

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on December 5, 2024.
(Photo: Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Jessica Corbett
Dec 20, 2024
COMMON DREAMS

After six years at the helm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, dedicated to "building the infrastructure" necessary to effectively fight for key policies on Capitol Hill, term-limited Rep. Pramila Jayapal is determined to ensure that the CPC's incoming leaders "are as successful as possible."

Jayapal (D-Wash.) spoke with Common Dreams on Wednesday about her time leading the caucus of nearly 100 lawmakers whose legislative priorities include "comprehensive immigration reform, good-paying jobs, fair trade, universal healthcare, debt-free college, climate action, and a just foreign policy."

She was elected first vice chair of the CPC in June 2017, just months into her freshman term in Congress. Explaining her foray into leadership, Jayapal affectionately said, "I blamed it all on Keith Ellison," a Minnesota Democrat who was then a congressman and caucus leader and is now his state's attorney general.

"He was very encouraging," she said of Ellison. "He knew that the whole reason I was running, because he had heard me talk about it on the campaign trail... was because I wanted to strengthen the power of the progressive movement inside Congress and figure out how we could be more effective working on the inside and the outside, which I was coming from."

Jayapal, who was born in India and came to the United States as a teenager for college, founded the immigrant advocacy group Hate Free Zone—which later became OneAmerica—after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Residents of the Seattle area elected her to Congress in 2016, during her first term in the Washington State Senate.

In politics, Jayapal has shared stories from her own life with the world, publicly writing and speaking about her experiences as an immigrant woman of color, a woman who had an abortion, and a mother to her trans daughter. She has welcomed the mentorship of Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), the first woman of color to co-chair the CPC and, as Jayapal put it on Instagram earlier this week, "one of the most courageous and effective progressive leaders I have had the privilege to know."



U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) talk with reporters in Washingotn, D.C. on May 31, 2023. (Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

Backed by leaders like Ellison and Lee—who is leaving Congress after this session—Jayapal jumped into the CPC hoping to transform it into "a caucus that could really have the power to stand up for working people and deliver." In 2018, she was elected co-chair with Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), and following 2020 caucus rule changes, she became a solo chair.

"What I realized when I came in is that we didn't really have the infrastructure we needed to support us to be powerful as a bloc of votes," said Jayapal, who utilized the skills and connections she developed as an organizer in the role she is now preparing to leave.

"I was able to come in and not only think about how you build power on the inside, but also how you coordinate with the outside," she said. "And that inside-outside strategy, and the trust I had, and the relationships I had, were really critical to my success in building the infrastructure here in Congress and sort of coalescing the movement around a set of priorities that we were then able to fight for and stand up for."

Jayapal recognized the need to hire staff and reform CPC rules to boost meeting attendance and caucus cohesion. She explained that "I felt very strongly about leadership transition to build the bench, and so I put in term limits for the CPC chair as well."

Thanks to that policy, she will pass the torch to Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) early next month. Jayapal, who will be chair emerita, told Common Dreams, "I'm just really proud to have built an infrastructure that I can pass on to the next chair that just wasn't there before and will continue to get better, of course, with new leadership."

The 35-year-old incoming chair will be joined by Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) as deputy chair and Jesús "Chuy" García (D-Ill.) as whip. They will face a Republican-controlled Congress and the second administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

"I'm honored to build on the legacy of Chair Jayapal," Casar said after the caucus election earlier this month. "I've fought back against extremist, egocentric autocrats in Texas for my entire adult life. The Democratic Party must directly take on Trump, and it'll be CPC members boldly leading the way and putting working people first."

Related: New Progressive Caucus Chair Ready to 'Fight Billionaires, Grifters, and Republican Frauds'


Trump won his first presidential contest the same day Jayapal was initially elected to Congress. On that night in November 2016, before the White House race was called, Jayapal described her victory as "a light in the darkness" and told supporters that "if our worst fears are realized, we will be on the defense as of tomorrow," according toThe Seattle Times.

After four years of fighting the first Trump administration, CPC members kicked off 2021 with a fresh opportunity to advance progressive policies: Although the Senate was divided, Democrats controlled the House of Representatives and President Joe Biden was sworn in—despite Trump contesting his 2020 loss and inciting an insurrection.

During Biden's term, which ends next month, the Jayapal-led caucus has successfully encouraged the Democratic president to pursue various executive actions promoting access to contraception, climate action, corporate accountability, higher wages, lower costs for essentials, and relief for immigrants from countries in crisis, among other priorities.

The caucus also played a significant role in enacting major pieces of Democrats' Build Back Better agenda. In the summer of 2021, Jayapal made clear to Congress and the president that House progressives would withhold votes from what became the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law—also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—unless they also passed legislation on the climate emergency and social issues.

Biden signed the infrastructure bill in November 2021—followed by the Inflation Reduction Act in August 2022. The delay was largely due to obstructionist then-Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), who ditched the party in the aftermath and are both leaving Congress at the end of this session.

Although Jayapal wishes the second bill would have passed sooner, and tackled the country's childcare and housing crises, she said that she is still "particularly proud" of what the caucus was able to accomplish with that battle. As she told Common Dreams, "There would be no Inflation Reduction Act without Build Back Better, and there would've been no Build Back Better without the CPC."


Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) speaks at a "Go Bigger on Climate, Care, and Justice" rally on July 20, 2021 in Washington, D.C.

 (Photo: Shannon Finney/Getty Images for Green New Deal Network)


Those two legislative packages were "about changing the way that we thought of government's ability to fight for working people," she continued. They "were about delivering results to people that would matter, whether it was in terms of great jobs, whether it was in terms of taking on climate change, whether it was in terms of driving down the cost of prescription drugs, [or] unrigging the tax system so that the wealthier began to pay their fair share."

"All of those things were kind of fundamental and core to an economic agenda that worked for working people and poor people," said Jayapal, who has personally championed legislation including the College for All Act, Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act, Housing Is a Human Right Act, Medicare for All Act, Transgender Bill of Rights, and Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act—partnering with Senate progressives such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the founding chair of the CPC.

While the Congressional Progressive Caucus will have new leadership next year, Jayapal plans to remain engaged by providing advice and support as chair emeritus and by co-chairing the CPC Political Action Committee with Casar and Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.). Under the PAC's current heads—Jayapal, Pocan, and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)—it "has grown from a $300,000 budget in the 2016 election cycle to raising $12 million over the past three election cycles," the group said Wednesday.

Jayapal told Common Dreams that she is "really proud of the fact that we've had an incredible record" for CPC PAC endorsements. Over the past decade, a majority of pre-primary backed candidates have won their general election races—often "pushing back on big money that came in, dark money that came in, sometimes in the millions," she said, pointing to Reps. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) as examples.

Lee, Ramirez, and Jayapal were all reelected last month, but overall it was a devastating cycle for Democrats, who failed to win control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. The outgoing CPC chair is among those who have responded to the results by urging the Democratic Party to reject super PACs and uplift working-class voters going forward.

In a memo earlier this month, Jayapal, Casar, Frost and fellow CPC member Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.) called on the next Democratic National Committee chair, whoever it is, to "create an authentic... brand that offers a clear alternative and inclusive vision for how we will make life better for the 90% who are struggling in this economy, take on the biggest corporations and wealthiest individuals who have rigged the system, expose Trump's corporate favoritism, and create a clear contrast with Republicans."

Noting Republicans' aim to use their forthcoming federal trifecta to pass another round of tax cuts for the rich, Jayapal said that "when we fight against the tax cuts, the Trump tax scam 2.0, we should tie it to this: The Democratic Party is not beholden to corporate PACs and dark money. We are fighting for the people."

"There's a clear contrast between Trump and his billionaires... and Democrats who are fighting for the vast majority of Americans, the 99% of Americans who are out there struggling every day," she added. "That's the contrast we need to be able to draw."



In her final days as CPC chair, Jayapal is highlighting that contrast by slamming Trump and the billionaires who have his ear, like Elon Musk, for risking a government shutdown—which could begin Saturday—by derailing a bipartisan spending bill this week.

"The past 24 hours is the clearest demonstration yet of what Trump 2.0 will entail: The president of the United States allowing his unelected billionaire friends to control the government and enrich themselves at the expense of working people," she said in a Thursday statement. "We cannot succumb to a government by billionaires, for billionaires."

DR. QUACK AND FOR PROFIT HEALTHCARE

Watchdog Says Dr. Oz Push for 'Medicare Advantage for All' Is Disqualifying

"Oz's deep ties to the private healthcare industry make his nomination to lead our nation's current healthcare system totally egregious," said Public Citizen healthcare advocate Eagan Kemp.


Dr. Mehmet Oz was pictured at an event in New York City on November 21, 2024.
(Photo: Fatih Aktas/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
Dec 20, 2024
COMMON DREAMS

The watchdog group Public Citizen said Thursday that lawmakers should reject President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Medicare privatization advocate Mehmet Oz to lead a key health agency and instead move toward a publicly run single-payer system that would cover all Americans at a lower cost than the status quo.

In a new brief, Public Citizen warned that Medicare privatization efforts—particularly via an expansion of Medicare Advantage plans run by for-profit insurance companies—would likely "move into overdrive" if the Senate confirms Oz as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Ahead of his 2022 Senate bid, Oz backed a plan he described as "Medicare Advantage for All," under which privately run plans would cover non-seniors and "all Americans who are not on Medicaid"—effectively eliminating traditional Medicare.

Public Citizen warned such a plan "would mean huge corporate profits while patients continue to struggle to get the healthcare they need," noting that Medicare Advantage plans are notorious for denying necessary care and overbilling the federal government to the tune of tens of billions of dollars per year.

"Policymakers should pass Medicare for All to guarantee care for everyone in the U.S., bring down costs for working families, and generate savings for the country as a whole."

"Further privatizing Medicare would increase healthcare costs systemwide by adding further administrative bloat to our healthcare system," the new brief argues. "Our healthcare system is already made up of thousands of health insurance plans offered by numerous insurers as well as state and federal programs that all play some role in paying for healthcare."

"By spending healthcare resources on corporate profit or administrative waste, privatized Medicare would mean Americans pay even more for healthcare than they already do," the brief adds. "We already spend far more than comparably wealthy countries, over $12,500 per capita, compared with peer nations that are spending around half, per capita."

Oz's plan would also benefit companies in which he has invested tens of millions of dollars, according to financial disclosures.

"Dr. Oz owned between $280,000 and $600,000 in shares in UnitedHealth Group, a major Medicare Advantage insurer, and between $50,000 and $100,000 in shares of CVS Health," Public Citizen noted Thursday, citing the filings.

Eagan Kemp, a healthcare advocate at Public Citizen, said in a statement that Oz's "Medicare Advantage for All" proposal "is dangerous to all patients, especially seniors and people with disabilities, many of whom have not received the care they need under Medicare Advantage."

"Healthcare is a right, not a commodity," said Kemp. "Oz's deep ties to the private healthcare industry make his nomination to lead our nation's current healthcare system totally egregious. Congress should reject Oz's nomination and any proposal to further privatize Medicare."

"Instead," he added, "policymakers should pass Medicare for All to guarantee care for everyone in the U.S., bring down costs for working families, and generate savings for the country as a whole."

Public Citizen's brief came as Oz's nomination faced increasingly close scrutiny from congressional Democrats, who have raised similar concerns about the former television personality's promotion of Medicare Advantage and ties to the private insurance industry.

"As CMS administrator, you would be tasked with overseeing Medicare and ensuring that the tens of millions of seniors that rely on the program receive the care they deserve, including cracking down on abuses by private insurers in Medicare Advantage," a group of Democratic lawmakers led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote in a letter to Oz last week. "The consequences of failure on your part would be grave. Billions of federal healthcare dollars—and millions of lives—are at stake."

"Given your financial ties to private insurers, combined with your view that the traditional Medicare program is 'highly dysfunctional' and your advocacy for eliminating it entirely," the lawmakers added, "it is not clear that you are qualified for this critical job."