Noa-Lynn van Leuven: Against all odds at Ally Pally

Andreas Sten-Ziemons | Alima Hotakie

December 17, 2024

DW

Noa-Lynn van Leuven is the first transgender person to compete at the World Darts Championship. This has seen van Leuven become the subject of social-media abuse, but the Dutch native is not without supporters.

Noa-Lynn van Leuven is the first transgender darts player to compete at the World Championship

Image: Godfrey Pitt/Action Plus/picture allianc

Which sporting competitions transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in has long been the subject of debate. What conditions are fair, and where should a line be drawn?

Such questions were hotly debated in the run-up to the World Darts Championship, where Dutch player Noa-Lynn van Leuven became the first transgender player to take to the world's biggest darts stage — at Alexandra Palace in North London, the legendary Ally Pally.

Transition completed in 2022

On the way to the world's most prestigious darts tournament, the 28-year-old faced many hurdles and sometimes massive resistance — in addition to a lot of support and enthusiasm.

Noa-Lynn van Leuven's transition was completed in 2022

Image: Vincent de Vries/PRO SHOTS/picture alliance

Van Leuven was born a man. She first described herself as transgender at the age of 16 and began her transition from male to female, which she completed in 2022. Van Leuven has been competing in international darts tournaments since 2021.

Van Leuven qualified for the World Championship due to strong performances in the Women's Series and it is precisely this that is now sparking criticism, some of which has taken the form of abuse on social media. There have even been death threats.

'Is somebody watching me?'

"Someone wrote to me: If you follow my girl into the ladies' room, I will kill you," van Leuven told the Sport1 podcast "Checkout."

"Messages like that made me ask myself at the airport the other day: Okay, is someone maybe watching me? Could this person be somewhere nearby? That's terrible."

Players have to contend with a heated atmosphere at Alexandra Palace

Zac Goodwin/PA Wire/picture alliance

It hasn't stopped van Leuven, but it is troubling.

"I've had panic attacks, and my depression has worsened — all because of social media, and that's so wrong," the player told Focus.de.

"Of course, sometimes I think: Okay, is it all worth it? Especially after my teammates withdrew from the Dutch team, I received so many hate messages on social media."

Criticism and boycotts from competitors

In fact, two teammates, Anca Zijlstra and Aileen de Graaf, resigned from the Dutch national team in protest.

"I respect their stance of not wanting to play in a team with a trans woman," van Leuven said. "But the issue became so huge, the media made it even bigger."

Other competitors also felt that van Leuven's participation robbed them of their chance to take part in the World Championship.

Deta Hedman, who has competed at the World Championship in the past, declined to face van Leuven in a match.

"People can be whoever they want in life, but I don't think biologically born men should compete in women's sport," she wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Deta Hedman believes that van Leuven has an unfair advantage when competing against women

Image: Steven Paston/PA Wire/picture alliance

Biological arguments

The Englishwoman explained her boycott in more detail to DW.

"Absolutely no issues with Noa playing at Ally Pally, Noa was brilliant in winning a Challenge Tour earlier in the season and is an awesome player," she said.

"My only problem is Noa qualified through the Ladies Series, and it's my belief that transitioned players should not be allowed in the women's section of our sport."

Hedman justifies her stance with biological arguments.

"There (have) been studies on skeletal differences that point to advantages for male born players," she said.

"Also, men have bigger heart and lungs, this helps in reoxygenating blood cells which helps recover quicker than women from fatigue!"

Endurance plays an important role in major tournaments, as players sometimes spend as many as 10 hours at the venue.

According to Hedman, however, the most serious complaints are those that only people born as biological females suffer from.

"Now imagine being on your menstrual cycle or suffering from women's only symptoms of peri menopause, menopause, fibroids, endometriosis etc. with the accompanying symptoms that include headaches, brainfog, irritability, stomach cramps, extreme sweats etc," she said.

"That affects your standard in a precision sport and a transgender will never suffer from any of these."

PDC, world champion back van Leuwen's participation

Professional Darts Confederation ( PDC), organizers of the World Championship, do not take such considerations into account. According to PDC guidelines, van Leuven's participation was fine, as her transition was completed in 2022.

Luke Humphries and Michael van Gerwen have expressed support for van Leuwen's participation

Image: Thomas Schröer/Geisler-Fotopress/picture alliance

"The scum that has been hurledat Noa-Lynn is completely unacceptable," said Matt Porter, CEO of the PDC, as van Leuven was increasingly being subjected to public hatred. He added that the PDC had a duty to ensure "that she is mentally well."

Many male colleagues have also expressed support for van Leuven.

"She can play damn good darts. Let her!" said Dutch former world champion Michael van Gerwen.

"She is in the competition. She has not broken any rules. She is doing what she is allowed to do," defending World champion Luke Humphries told the English daily "The Independent."

"It would be nice if people let her get on with it and play. But yeah, I wish her all the best. Hopefully she gets a win and it's good for her."

For all the abuse directed at van Leuven, her participation amounted to a windfall for the World Darts Championship. Her becoming the first trans woman at Ally Pally brought a wealth of added attention to an event that is already booming. Just like the debut of the then-16-year-old teenager Luke Littler last year or Fallon Sherrock's first win by a woman in 2019.

This article was originally published in German.

Andreas Sten-Ziemons Editor and reporter

Alima Hotakie DW's Alim

BOYCOTT BACARDI

New US law ends decades long Havana Club trademark battle

Andreas Knobloch

December 19, 2024

DW

Cuba's struggling economy faces another blow. A new law passed by the US Congress in December could result in the loss of trademark rights held by the Cuban government to the Havana Club rum brand in the US.

The Havana Club trademark has been at the center of a decades long legal dispute between Cuba and the Bacardi company

Image: SOPA Images/picture alliance

New legislation, signed into law by the outgoing US President Joe Biden in early December, prohibits US courts from recognizing trademarks that were "illegally confiscated" by the Cuban government since 1959 without the original owners' consent.

In 1959, Fidel Castro's revolutionary forces overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista and established a socialist state. During the revolution, US companies and citizens were expropriated, prompting the United States to respond with a lasting embargo against Cuba.

Now, the No Stolen Trademarks Honored in America Act of 2023 introduces a new twist to the long-standing legal battle between spirits manufacturer Bacardi and the Cuban government over the Havana Club trademark.

Previously, US courts had upheld Cuban ownership of the Havana Club brand. However, under the new legislation, Cuba's state-owned enterprise Cubaexport and its French partner, beverage giant Pernod Ricard, would no longer be permitted to assert trademark rights to Havana Club in the US.

Cuban trademarks and international law

Havana Club, the leading Cuban exporter of alcoholic beverages, generates millions of dollars annually for the island. The law's signing is a significant blow to Cuba's rum industry, and reactions from Havana were swift and pointed.

Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla called the legislation "an aggressive measure against Cuba" in a post on X (formerly Twitter), accusing it of "opening the door to the theft of Cuban trademarks legally registered in the country, in violation of international law."



Johana Tablada de la Torre, deputy director for US affairs at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted in her own X post that nearly 6,500 US trademarks are registered in Cuba, with over 1,000 more in the application process.

She emphasized that all these US trademarks are "protected by Cuba's Industrial Property Office," contrasting this with the US government's stance under the No Stolen Trademarks Act, which she said could just as well be called the "Bacardi Act."
The 'Bacardi Act'

The bill, introduced in Congress in March 2023 by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, aims to resolve the Havana Club controversy and "prevent anyone from using US authorities to profit from intellectual property stolen from rightful owners," according to a report by the House Committee on the Judiciary. It explicitly supports Bacardi's claims.

Bacardi, founded in Cuba in 1862 and now based in Bermuda, asserts it acquired the Havana Club trademark and recipe from the descendants of the original founders. The company argues that Cubaexport and Pernod Ricard have no legitimate claim to the brand.

After President Biden signed the law, Bacardi expressed satisfaction in an emailed statement to DW, saying it was "pleased" about the legislation as it would "prevent the Cuban government or third parties from profiting in the United States from trademarks linked to assets confiscated by the Cuban government."

Bacardi has been forced to sell its Havana Club brand as rum made in Puerto Rico for years

Image: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

California Congressman Darrell Issa, a Republican who co-authored the bill, said in a press release that the law addresses a "historic injustice" and declared that "the bond between the American people and their intellectual property is sacred."

In contrast, Pernod Ricard voiced disappointment in comments to the European beverage industry magazine, The Drinks Business. The company said the law undermines its "longstanding rights to the Havana Club brand in the United States — a trademark that Pernod Ricard and its joint venture partner Cubaexport have legitimately owned since 1976."

A long legal battle over a name

The battle over Havana Club between Bacardi and Cubaexport has spanned three decades. In the 1950s, Havana Club was Cuba's second-largest rum brand after Bacardi.

Following the 1959 revolution, Cuba nationalized rum distilleries, and the Havana Club brand owners, the Arechabala family, fled to Spain. The Bacardi family also left the island but continued producing rum at facilities in Puerto Rico and Mexico.

In 1973, the Arechabala family failed to renew the US trademark for Havana Club, allowing the Cuban government to register the brand in 1976. In 1993, Cubaexport partnered with Pernod Ricard to market Havana Club internationally — except in the US, where an embargo prohibited sales.

Don Jose Arechabala who was born in 1878, created his now famous Havana Club rum in 1934

Image: Alan Diaz/AP/picture alliance

One year later, the Arechabala family sold the Havana Club trademark and recipe to Bacardi, which began producing its own version in Puerto Rico. Bacardi argues that the Arechabala family had never relinquished their rights, making the sale legitimate.
Expired licensing rights and Puerto Rico

In 1999, significant lobbying efforts by Bacardi secured the passage of a US law dubbed the "Bacardi Bill" that made it illegal for Cuban-linked companies to renew expired US trademarks or register trademarks confiscated by the Cuban government without compensation.

Pernod Ricard and Cubaexport held US rights to the Havana Club trademark until 2006 when these rights expired. The Bacardi Bill prevented renewal, prompting Pernod Ricard to sue Bacardi, claiming that selling rum under the Havana Club name in the US was misleading.

A Philadelphia court eventually ruled in favor of Bacardi, allowing the company to market Puerto Rican rum under the Havana Club name. When the US Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2012, the long-running dispute appeared resolved in Bacardi's favor.
A short-lived thaw in US-Cuba relations

However, in January 2016, during President Barack Obama's thaw in US-Cuba relations, the US Patent and Trademark Office unexpectedly restored Havana Club's US trademark to the Cuban government.

Trademark rights are granted for 10-year periods. With the next renewal due in 2026, Johana Tablada de la Torre suspects the new US law "aims to block Cubaexport's renewal efforts and strip it of its rights."



Since the law prevents Cubaexport's renewal, Bacardi may seek to register the Havana Club trademark in the US. Currently, Bacardi sells its rum in the US under the label "The Real Havana Club," marketed as Puerto Rican rum.

This article was originally written in German.

Boycott Bacardi

Bacardi is the world’s largest rum company and one of the biggest producers of spirits in the world, with sales valued at over $5 billion per year. But is its popularity deserved?

Bacardi regularly markets itself as an authentic Cuban rum, emphasising the fact that it was established in Cuba in 1862. However, Bacardi is neither produced nor consumed in Cuba and since the revolution in 1959, the Bacardi company has consistently acted to reinforce the United States’ blockade of Cuba.

In his exposé of the company’s campaign against the revolution, the Colombian journalist, Hernando Calvo Ospina, showed how Bacardi has devoted millions of dollars of its profits over the years to the destabilisation of the country, including critical support for the Helms-Burton Act of 1996.

So, if you want to drink an authentic rum from Cuba, order a Cuban brand such as Havana Club. Not only does it taste better, you’ll also be demonstrating your solidarity with Cuba.

Did you know?

• The Bacardi company is worth over $3 billion but not a penny of its sales goes to the Cuban economy. The rum they sell is made elsewhere and their HQ is in Bermuda, not in Cuba
• In 1994, Bacardi wrote to all foreign drinks firms, including British brewers, warning them not to invest in their former companies in Cuba
• In 1996, senior Bacardi officials were instrumental in support for the Helms Burton Act. This law made it an offence for foreign firms to invest in properties nationalised by the revolutionary government, including Bacardi’s former properties. In US congressional circles the legislation was referred to as the ‘Bacardi bill’.
• In 1998, Bacardi lobbied for another law, known as Section 211, which has had the effect of derecognising Cuba’s nationalisation of the trademark ‘Havana Club’. Bacardi has marketed a rum called ‘Havana Club’ in the USA, however it is made in Puerto Rico, not Cuba.
• Bacardi used Section 211 to try and force EU countries to recognise that it is the owner of the ‘Havana Club’ brand name. This has been denounced as piracy by the Cuban government.
• In 2016, following the thaw in Cuba-US relations during the Obama administration, the US government awarded a trademark for ‘Havana Club’ to the Cuban state-owned ‘Cubaexport’ and Pernod Ricard, their international distribution partner
• Bacardi are currently engaged in attempts to challenge the trademark, however a lawsuit brought against the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) was defeated in a US federal court in April 2022.
• For over fifty years, Bacardi has devoted millions of dollars of its profits towards destabilising the sovereign Cuban government. This has included funding assassination attempts and terrorist attacks. See Bacardi – The Hidden War for more information.

What can you do?

• Boycott Bacardi and buy authentic Cuban rum such as Havana Club
• Order copies of the Boycott Bacardi leaflet to distribute outside bars, clubs and venues that have a Cuban theme but stock Bacardi instead of authentic Cuban rum. Email campaigns@cuba-solidarity.org.uk for more information
• Ask your local supermarket, off-licences, pubs and clubs to stock authentic rum from Cuba
• Raise this issue with your friends, college or university bar and ask them to drink or stock authentic Cuban rum. In the past, Warwick University, SOAS and Sheffield University have all passed motions in favour of banning Bacardi on campus. If you’d like to do the same, you can download a model motion below.

THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK. BOYCOTT BACARDI

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Resources

• Download the Boycott Bacardi leaflet 
• Download the Boycott Bacardi model motion 
• Read Bacardi: The Hidden War

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Bacardi: The Hidden War

Colombian journalist Hernando Calvo Ospina's exposé of the anti-Cuba activities of the Bacardi company is full of revelations, including how Bacardi's boss once plotted to assassinate Fidel Castro, the company's role in promoting laws that strengthened the US blockade and how Bacardi men were at the heart of the Bush administration

Buy the book now from the Cuba Solidarity Campaign.

 

Syphilis: Did Christopher Columbus bring the STD to Europe?

Fred Schwaller

December 18, 2024

DW

The sexually transmitted disease originated in the Americas 8,000 years ago. But there's evidence that 15th-century colonialists spread Syphilis worldwide.

Syphilis infections could severely disfigure people before the invention of antibiotic treatments in 1943

Image: Gemini Collection/IMAGO

Syphilis and Christopher Columbus have more in common than you might think. Both touched down on new continents and colonized local inhabitants at the end of the 15th century: Columbus the indigenous Americans, syphilis the Europeans. Both also sought a route to Asia.

Syphilis first erupted in Europe in 1494 in a French army camp, a year after Columbus returned from a voyage to America . The disfiguring disease spread between soldiers and their sexual partners, causing sores on their genitals, rectums or mouths.

Within just five years, syphilis had spread through all of Europe. Soon after, it spread to India, China, and Japan. Sex, although not the only route of transmission, is an effective disease spreader.

This so-called "Columbian hypothesis" argues that syphilis was brought over to Europe by sailors returning from their colonization of indigenous Americans. The idea is that new diseases were exchanged between Europeans and Americans as new goods were: Gunpowder for tomatoes; smallpox for syphilis.

A new study published December 18, 2024, in the journal Nature gives credence to this hypothesis.

Kirsten Bos, an anthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, ran a genetic analysis of five skeletons found in South America. The analyses led Bos and her colleagues to believe a precursor to syphilis-causing bacteria had circulated in the Americas 8,000 years ago.

"Four of the five skeletons [we analyzed] are dated before 1492, meaning that this pathogen diversity was already present in the Americas at the time of [Chrisopher] Columbian contact," said study author Bos.


Syphilis originated in America 8,000 years ago

To test the Columbian hypothesis, Bos and her colleagues performed a genetic analysis on bacteria in bone lesions in the five skeletons, which came from Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Mexico.

Their bacterial samples included three subspecies of the treponemal bacterial family, which are responsible for different treponemal diseases. One subspecies, T. pallidum, causes modern syphilis.

Bos compared the genetic differences of older treponemal subspecies with modern syphilis samples. That data allowed the team to extrapolate the time it took for the bacteria to evolve, and estimate when the pathogen emerged.

Their analysis seemed to confirm that the syphilis-causing bacteria T. pallidum emerged from the 8,000-year-old precursor around the time of Columbus.

"Our model suggests syphilis first appeared on the scene around 500 or 600 years ago, either in the Americas, or in Europe (or elsewhere) from a [bacterial] strain introduced from the Americas," said Bos.

How did syphilis spread around the world?

The study provides compelling evidence that T. pallidum was widely circulating in the Americas before the arrival of Columbus from Renaissance Europe. Yet, it doesn't conclusively prove that syphilis was brought to Europe from the Americas.

"[It shows that] that the Americas acted as a reservoir where [syphilis-causing bacteria] were widely circulating. It could still have come to Europe from elsewhere or have already been there," said Mathew Beale, a genomics expert at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK. Beale was not involved in the study.

Studies show that treponemal diseases may have been endemic in Northern Europe around the same time as Columbus's voyages or possibly even earlier.

The exact origins of syphilis are difficult to trace, said Kerttu Majander, an archeogeneticist at the University of Basel in Switzerland.

One hypothesis is that treponemal diseases have always been around, piggybacking onto humans as they migrated from Asia to the Americas, some 12,000 years ago.

"Another theory is that they're zoonotic, meaning [precursors of syphilis] jumped from animals to humans in America. But we haven't found evidence of animals with treponemal diseases yet," said Majander.

It's also unclear what caused modern syphilis to emerge as a highly transmissible sexually transmitted infection 500-600 years ago.

"It could be that something caused treponemal bacterial species to recombine and cause more aggressive forms of syphilis, but we don't know," said Majander.

What makes it even more complicated is that syphilis and gonorrhea were often confused in historical records, and only formally recognized as separate diseases around 200 years ago.

"There is still historical debate about whether the ‘syphilis' outbreak described in the 15th Century was really caused by T. pallidum," Beale said.

Crew on Chritopher Columbus' ships may have been responsible for spreading syphilis from America to the rest of the world, starting in 1493Image: CPA Media/AGB Photo/IMAGO
Antibiotic-resistant strains of syphilis are a problem today

Untreated, syphilis once disfigured people's bodies and caused paralysis, blindness, attacks of pain and even death.

The development of the antibiotic penicillin in 1943 eradicated the dangerous symptoms of syphilis, if not the disease itself.

But syphilis lives on. Sexual transmission causes over 8 million new cases each year, while congenital syphilis causes around 200,000 stillbirths. Cases are rising in young adults, too, and research suggests this could be linked to a rise in unprotected sex.

Antibiotic-resistant strains exist for T. pallidum, too, meaning deadlier syphilis infections are re-emerging.

That's why studies like this are relevant, said Majander, especially if we want to eradicate syphilis: "[The study shows] that syphilis has the capability of adapting to any environment. It raises the question whether other treponemal diseases existed before, and whether new, more aggressive diseases could emerge in the future."

Edited by: Zulfikar Abbany

Sources:

Barquera, R., et al. Ancient genomes reveal a deep history of Treponema pallidum in the Americas. Nature (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08515-5

Majander, K., et al. Redefining the treponemal history through pre-Columbian genomes from Brazil. Nature 627, 182–188 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06965-x




Fred Schwaller Science writer fascinated by the brain and the mind, and how science influences society@schwallerfred

Imprisoned Intelligence: Thomas M. Disch’s Camp Concentration

By Jo Walton|
Published on December 31, 2009



Thomas M. Disch was an absolutely brilliant writer who wrote incredibly depressing but brilliant books. Camp Concentration (1968) is original, compelling, funny, and about as grim as possible. It is my favourite of his books, and certainly the one I read most frequently. Disch was one of the New Wave writers of the sixties and seventies, along with Delany, Le Guin and Zelazny and his prose has the same kind of sparkle, his ideas have the same kind of freshness, as if they’re new ideas nobody has ever thought before. In Disch’s case, it’s as if his stories are etched in a newly developed acid.

Camp Concentration is a satire about intelligence amplification and the ethics of experimenting on willing or unwilling human subjects. It’s written in first person journal form, set in the near-future US. Louis Sacchetti is a rather unlikeable Catholic poet and conscientious objector against a Vietnam-style war with a draft. He finds himself imprisoned in an unusual facility where he is expected to report on an intelligence amplification experiment in progress.

Writing about very smart people is always challenging, because it requires the author to be just as intelligent. Writing about people becoming more intelligent is even harder. Disch was very intelligent himself, and smart enough to know that intelligence doesn’t necessarily make you popular or happy. Unlike Flowers for Algernon where Charly starts off very dumb and goes on up through normal, Disch started with people of normal intelligence and shoots them off into the stratosphere—but like Flowers for Algernon it can’t last. The amplification kills the subjects in about nine months.

This is one of those dystopian books about how awful people can be, but it transcends that. I like it. I like it as a take on Faust. I like Sacchetti, not so much an unreliable narrator as one the reader can always see through—his vanity, his greed, his obliviousness. I like Mordecai Washington, the presiding genius and deus ex machina, the black guy from an army prison who claims he can turn lead to gold but whose actual achievement is much cooler. (And good for Disch having a wholly admirable major black character in 1968. There are gay characters too.) I like the hints of what’s going on in the wider world outside the prison, where President Robert Macnamara is using tactical nukes but people are still publishing poetry reviews. I love Disch’s audacity in having Sacchetti write a verse play called Auschwitz: A Comedy. The prose (and occasional poetry) all through is wonderful, spare, sparkling, evocative. It has totally chilling moments and impressive reversals, which I’m trying hard not to spoil.

Camp Concentration is very short, 158 pages in my edition, but it’s one of those books with far more heft than its wordcount. The characters and situations come back to you, the satire keeps on biting. The experience of reading it might be like an icy shower, but it’s certainly memorable. Disch was a major writer and this is one of his best books.

Jo Walton is a science fiction and fantasy writer. She’s published eight novels, most recently Half a Crown and Lifelode, and two poetry collections. She reads a lot, and blogs about it here regularly. She comes from Wales but lives in Montreal where the food and books are more varied.

THE NOVEL IS BASED ON HOW SYPHILIS INCREASES YOUR INTELLIGENCE BEFORE YOU DIE OF MADNESS LIKE NIETZCHE

German arms exports: Churches question license

Nina Werkhäuser

December 19, 2024
DW

German arms exports have risen sharply, including to the Middle East. Both major churches are calling for stricter licensing rules.

German-made weapons, such as Iris-T anti-aircraft missiles manufactured by Diehl Defense, are much sought after around the world

Image: Christoph Schmidt/dpa/picture alliance

At more than €12 billion ($12.6 billion), licenses for German arms exports reached a new high in 2023. This was mainly due to arms exports to NATO and EU partners, as well as Ukraine. Not only that, arms were also exported to countries that had not been supplied in the past. Both major churches have, therefore, criticized Germany's policy on arms exports.

The German government has "moved away from its declared goal of a strict policy on arms exports," explained Max Mutschler from the Bonn International Centre for Conflict Studies (BICC) in Berlin this week. Together with representatives of the Protestant and Catholic Churches, Mutschler presented the latest arms export report of the Joint Conference Church and Development (GKKE).

The arms export policy of the now collapsed center-left coalition government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Greens, and the neoliberal Free Democratic Party (FDP) did not score well with the GKKE. The main reason for this is the group of states that received arms.

If a German arms company wants to sell weapons abroad, it must obtain approval from the German government. According to arms expert Mutschler, the government approved exports to "highly problematic countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar" in the first nine months of 2024. He said that these exports need to stop.

"Arms exports to these dictatorships contribute to the internal repression of the populations of these countries and fuel the arms race in the entire region — with negative consequences for Israel's security," the report said.

Germany approves Eurofighter delivery to Saudi Arabia 02:09

Germany: 'Important arms partner for Israel'

The committee also took a close look at German arms exports to Israel, noting "ambivalence in its own position." In 2023, arms deliveries to Israel had risen sharply to €326.5 million. This was around 10 times more than in 2022 and included 3,000 handheld anti-tank weapons and 500,000 rounds of ammunition for small arms. Many of the licenses were granted after the Islamist terrorist organization Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

"Germany is an important arms partner for Israel, especially for ships and submarines that strengthen Israel's defense capabilities," explained Prelate Karl Jüsten, the Catholic chairman of the GKKE. The committee emphasized "Germany's special responsibility for Israel's security and its right to self-defense."

But Israel must also comply with international humanitarian law. It stipulates that civilian targets may not be attacked. Jüsten warned that the German government must not approve arms exports to Israel if there is any suspicion that German weapons will be used to commit serious violations of international humanitarian law.

"Arms such as tank ammunition must not be exported to Israel if the Israeli government does not give a significantly higher priority to the safety of the civilian population in Gaza."

German arms deliveries to Israel have been the subject of several national and international court cases. Nicaragua accused Germany of aiding and abetting genocide in Gaza through its arms deliveries to Israel and filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court in The Hague. At the end of April, the judges rejected the urgent request for an immediate halt to German arms exports to Israel.

Several requests before German courts to stop the approval of German arms exports to Israel have also failed. On December 16, 2024, the Administrative Court in Frankfurt rejected the expedited request of a Palestinian from Gaza.

According to the court, German foreign trade law — the legal basis for export licenses — offers "no protection for foreigners abroad." The plaintiff, therefore, had no standing to challenge the arms exports.

The court also argued that it was not apparent that the German government had "carelessly and arbitrarily" approved the export. On the contrary, it had obtained assurances from Israel that "the delivered armaments would be used in accordance with international law."

Israeli airstrikes hit school-turned-shelter in central Gaza  02:12

Policy reversal for exports to Turkey

The GKKE is also critical of the increase in arms deliveries to Turkey. This year, the German government has approved more than €230 million worth of arms exports to Turkey, more than at any time since 2006.

Since Turkish troops entered Syria in 2016, the German government has largely taken a cautious approach to orders from Turkey. The government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz has deviated from this course, as evidenced by the export of German-made torpedoes and missiles, among other things. During his visit to Istanbul in October, Scholz said it was "self-evident" that the NATO partner Turkey would receive German weapons.

Mutschler argued that weapons should not be supplied to NATO partners if they are used for acts of war or the violation of human rights. Turkey's operations on the border with Syria and northern Iraq are "attacks that violate international law, especially in the Kurdish regions," including against civilian targets. "This is why we are also very critical of these arms exports," he said.

There are two further points on which the GKKE bases its negative assessment of Germany's record on arms exports: the government has neither passed the arms export control law it promised nor made any effort to ensure transparent and timely reporting on the exports approved. In this respect, it even scored lower than the previous government led by Chancellor Angela Merkel. In fact, the cabinet only approved the report on arms exports for 2023 on Wednesday — much too late, in the churches' view.

This article was originally written in German.

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY

German politicians criticize Musk backing for far-right AfD

Published 12/20/2024

DW

After Elon Musk posted his support for Germany's far-right AfD, the party's leader Alice Weidel expressed her gratitude. Other German lawmakers have criticized "interference" in the country's upcoming federal elections.

Musk has the biggest account on X, that he owns, with over 200 million followers

Image: Evan Vucci/dpa/picture alliance

The leader of Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Friday welcomed a social media post by Elon Musk in which the American tech billionaire expressed support for her party.

Musk, a prominent supporter of US President-elect Donald Trump, opined on his platform X (formerly Twitter) on Friday morning that "Only the AfD can save Germany."

Alice Weidel, who is running for chancellor as co-leader of the AfD, responded to Musk an hour later, saying:

"Yes! You are perfectly right! Please also have a look into my interview on President Trump, how socialist Merkel ruined our country, how the Soviet European Union destroys the countries [sic] economic backbone and malfunctioning Germany!"



What is the AfD?

The AfD is currently polling at around 19% ahead of the German federal election in February, second only to the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) at around 33%.

But all the other parties currently in the German parliament have ruled out forming a coalition with them.

The AfD is officially suspected of being an extreme-right organization by Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesverfassungsschutz or BfV).

In the eastern German states of Saxony and Thuringia it is officially categorized as such.

In January 2024, AfD figures including Weidel's former political aide Roland Hartwig were reported to have attended a clandestine meeting of European extreme-right figures including Austrian identitarian Martin Sellner at which a "masterplan" for the deportation of millions of people with migratory backgrounds, including naturalized German citizens, was discussed.

How have other German politicians responded?

Asked about Musk's comments, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: "Freedom of expression also applies to multi-billionaires, but it also means that you're allowed to say things which aren't correct, and aren't good political advice."

Other German lawmakers from across the political spectrum criticized both Musk's post and Weidel's response, slamming "interference" and insisting that no other party will form a government with "fascists bought by billionaires."

"I was a bit surprised because we usually hear that Elon Musk is this gifted wunderkind, but when I hear these comments, I have to doubt that," the CDU's Alexander Throm told DW in Berlin.

"Change can only be made by those who govern. And the AfD will not govern. Because no other party will form a government with them."

Clara Bünger from the Left Party told DW she had no doubt that Musk's comments constituted "interference" but insisted: "It remains the case that he's not really contributing to anything policy-wise, and that he doesn't really know how political discussions work in Germany."

Anton Hofreiter from the Green Party called the AfD "traitors bought by billionaires" and "a band of fascists who have not only been bought by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin but are now being supported by a multi-billionaire-turned-right-wing-extremist."

In 2019, a German court ruled that Björn Höcke, the leader of the AfD in the regional state parliament in the eastern state of Thuringia, may legally be described as a "fascist," based on a "verifiable factual basis."

Calls for EU to sanction Elon Musk for 'interference' 03:05

Musk: support for Trump, Farage and now the AfD?

It's not the first time that Musk has addressed the AfD. At the start of June, he posted: "They keep saying 'far right,' but the policies of AfD that I've read about don't sound extremist. Maybe I'm missing something."

After backing President-elect Trump's reelection campaign in the United States this year, Musk has also expressed support for the United Kingdom's far-right "Reform UK" and its populist leader Nigel Farage.

This week, Farage told the BBC that his party is in "open negotiations" with Musk regarding a potential donation, which The Times has reported could be as high as £78m ($100m, €96m), by the far the biggest political donation in British political history, sparking calls for the UK to tighten its electoral rules.

In Germany, state security services have warned that the upcoming federal election could be targeted by disinformation campaigns not only from Russia, but also from the United States.

Meanwhile, the leader of Germany's neoliberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), Christian Lindner, sparked controversy this month when he appeared to praise the political views and activities of Musk and right-wing populist Argentinian President Javier Milei.

"Both Milei and Musk represent views which are in part extreme, absurd and even disturbing," he wrote in the Handelsblatt financial newspaper. "Yet it has to be said: behind the provocations is a disruptive energy which is lacking in Germany."

On Friday, replying to Musk on X, he claimed that he had "initiated a policy debate" with his comments, but cautioned against supporting the AfD.

"While migration control is crucial for Germany, the AfD stands against freedom [and] business – and it's a far-right extremist party," he said. "Don't rush to conclusions from afar. Let's meet, and I'll show you what the FDP stands for."



mf/lo (AFP, dpa)

GERMANY

Fact Check: Far-right AfD supporters spread false survey

Kathrin Wesolowski

December 19, 2024

DW

German parties and their supporters have started campaigning ahead of the federal elections. Some supporters of the German far-right AfD party have spread a false survey.

 A DW fact check.

Alice Weidel is running for chancellor for the far-right AfD

Image: Carsten Koall/dpa/picture alliance

Germany's political parties have begun presenting their draft election manifestos before the upcoming snap election in February 2025. This is earlier than originally planned (here's why), and the election campaigns of the major parties have also begun on social media. One survey spread by supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) went viral with more than 370,000 views on TikTok. DW fact-checked the claim made in the posts.

Claim: The poll in this TikTok video allegedly shows a current survey (December 16), which indicates that most respondents in Germany would vote for the AfD in the upcoming federal elections, locally known as the Bundestagswahl.

DW Fact check: False.

The survey is old and is not related to the upcoming federal elections

Image: TikTok

The TikTok video was posted by a pro-AfD account with more than 20,000 followers. The video shows a photo of Alice Weidel, AfD's leading candidate for chancellor, and beneath it a survey, allegedly from December 16, 2024. The survey claims that 28 percent of respondents would vote for AfD, while 25 percent would vote for the Social Democratic Party (SPD), 16 percent for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), and 14 percent for the left-wing Sarah Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).

However, the poll has no connection to the upcoming federal elections and is not current either. The figures come from the Institute for New Social Answers (INSA), a German institute that conducts political and market research, and are related to the Brandenburg state election in September 2024. It was first published on September 17, 2024, before the Brandenburg state election.

This screenshot shows the original survey within the context of the Brandenburg state election

Image: RTL Aktuell/Facebook

The screenshot shown in the TikTok video was taken from a Facebook post of the German private media outletRTL. The source and original date were cropped out in the TikTok video.

According to the latest INSA poll results for the German federal election on December 16, 2024, 31.5% of respondents would vote for the CDU, while 19.5% would vote for the AfD and 16.5% would vote for the SPD.


Edited by: Rachel Baig

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)