Americas: On World Refugee Day, states must prioritize the human rights of those seeking protection in the Americas


Photo © Lucas Aguayo Araos/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

June 19, 2024

On the occasion of World Refugee Day, Amnesty International has issued an open letter to the States parties to the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees, who are currently meeting in Bogotá, urging them to put human rights at the heart of their new regional plan of action for the coming decade.

“Every year, we see hundreds of thousands of people in the Americas forced to leave their homes, fleeing violence, the effects of climate change and massive human rights violations. In the face of this painful and growing reality, the new roadmap being prepared by the signatories of the Cartagena Declaration for the period 2024-2034 must renew the unequivocal commitment to protect refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons in our region,” said Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.

Every year, we see hundreds of thousands of people in the Americas forced to leave their homes, fleeing violence, the effects of climate change and massive human rights violations.Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.

On 19 and 20 June, the states parties to the Cartagena Declaration on Refugees will be meeting in Bogotá for the third thematic consultation meeting of the year, with a view to the adoption in December of the Chile Declaration and Plan of Action, which will provide a framework for action for the next decade. Discussions will focus on the situation of persons displaced by the effects of climate change and other disasters in the region. Previous consultations, held in Mexico in April and in Brazil in May, focused on the protection of people on the move and stateless persons, as well as their inclusion and integration through alternative, comprehensive and sustainable solutions.

In this context, Amnesty International’s open letter focuses in particular on the challenges that remain in ensuring the protection of Venezuelan and Haitian nationals fleeing the devastating humanitarian and human rights crises in their countries of origin. It also highlights the opportunities offered by the Cartagena Declaration to provide protection to people displaced by the effects of slow onset or sudden onset climate change and disasters.

Amnesty International welcomes the fact that a significant number of states in the region have incorporated the definition of a refugee contained in the Cartagena Declaration into their national legislation. However, the organization regrets that in practice, the authorities in most of these countries rarely use this definition to protect persons in need, leaving millions of people devoid of protection and in a situation of great vulnerability. In contrast to the setbacks in countries such as Chile or Peru, states parties must regain the global leadership on refugee protection that the signing of the Declaration represented 40 years ago, especially for women refugees. Amnesty International urges states to act in accordance with their national and international protection and human rights obligations, and to incorporate an intersectional, antiracist and gender perspective.

“Now is the time for states in the Americas to rise to the occasion and commit to protecting the most marginalized population groups in the region. Today, more than ever, we expect states to provide coordinated and lasting solutions that respect the dignity of those who seek and are in need of protection. Recognizing and fully implementing the Cartagena Declaration would be a step in the right direction,” added Ana Piquer.


Today, more than ever, we expect states to provide coordinated and lasting solutions that respect the dignity of those who seek and are in need of protection. Recognizing and fully implementing the Cartagena Declaration would be a step in the right direction.Ana Piquer, Americas director at Amnesty International.
Background information

The 1984 Cartagena Declaration on Refugees is one of the most important legal, political and strategic instruments on issues of protection in Latin America and the Caribbean in recent decades. Since 2004, the region has adopted ten-year action plans –specifically the Mexico Plan of Action and the Brazil Plan of Action– to address the evolving challenges of displacement. Amnesty International has for many years relied on this instrument to call for international and complementary protection for persons in need of protection in the Americas.

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the Cartagena Declaration and the launch of the Cartagena+40 process, hosted by the government of Chile with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in which countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have pledged to produce: three regional consultations between April and June, one for each thematic area; negotiations leading to the adoption of a Political Declaration and the Chile Plan of Action 2024-2034, to be held in Geneva between September and November; and a ministerial event, to be held in Chile, under the auspices of the ECLAC, on 11 and 12 December 2024, to finalize the process.

 

Afghan, Iranian women launch campaign on recognition of ‘gender apartheid’

• By Amu TV
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Women’s protest in Kabul. File photo.

A group of women from Afghanistan and Iran has launched the campaign “End Gender Apartheid,” calling for it to be recognized as a crime against humanity.

These activists are urging countries to confront and end the “gender apartheid” enforced by the Iranian government and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

The campaign began on social media on Tuesday, June 18, with activists sharing their photos using the hashtag “End Gender Apartheid.”

They are also calling on nations to classify gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.

In their messages, the women’s rights activists express solidarity with women in Afghanistan and Iran and encourage countries to criminalize gender apartheid.

They are urging nations to respond to the “oppression and discrimination” against women in Afghanistan and Iran.

Participants in the campaign aim to have gender apartheid included in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which is currently under review by the U.N. Legal Committee.

Many prominent women’s rights figures and female artists from Iran and Afghanistan, including Masih Alinejad, Nazanin Boniadi, Habiba Sarabi, Mitra Mehran, Yalda Royan, Fawzia Koofi, Shirin Ebadi, Golshifteh Farahani, Azita Ghanizada, and Banafsha Yaqubi, along with dozens of women’s rights activists from both countries and around the world, have joined the campaign.

Simultaneously, Richard Bennett, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, presented details of his latest report at the 56th session of the Human Rights Council on Tuesday, June 18.

Bennett emphasized the issue of “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan, stating that violence against Afghan women is pervasive and severe. He highlighted the systematic and institutionalized discrimination in the country and the exclusion of women by the Taliban, urging it to shock the conscience of humanity.

 

Czech government says two investors are interested in taking over Liberty Steel’s insolvent Czech operations

Liberty Ostrava entered insolvency proceedings last week. / bne IntelliNews

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By Albin Sybera June 19, 2024

Two investors are reportedly interested in taking over Liberty Ostrava, the largest Czech steel mill, which entered insolvency proceedings last week.

Czech Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Marian Jurecka said he know of two "very seriously interested” investors, adding that “it cannot be ruled out that next week or the week after another will appear”.

Online news outlet Seznam Zpravy (SZ), reported earlier that defence and heavy industry conglomerate Czechoslovak Group (CSG), financial group Creditas and and local regional metals company Trinecke zelezarny are among the potential investors into Liberty Ostrava.

The steelworks, owned by struggling British-based Liberty Steel,  part of industrialist Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, has shuttered most of its production since the end of last year when its key energy provider Tameh Czech stopped supplies to the plant over missing payments.

Employees have been on paid leave since then and the company management pursued a reorganisation plan which was backed by the majority of creditors under a court moratorium protecting Liberty Ostrava against creditors.

However,  without any warning, last Friday Liberty Ostrava appeared in the insolvency registry, with stated liabilities exceeding CZK5bn.  

Liberty Steel later said that,  "given the ongoing material risks and uncertainties facing Ostrava, Liberty has decided the right course of action is to initiate a sale of Ostrava’s operations and withdraw the preventative restructuring plan in order to enter into a judicial reorganisation under the Insolvency Act".

The company said the reorganisation would  "provide the time and protection to undertake the sales process and further restructuring measures to stem losses".

The company blamed market conditions – namely global oversupply and historically high imports into Europe from countries which face much lower regulatory and decarbonisation costs. Soaring energy and coal prices and falling steel demand and prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have hurt a sector already struggling to adapt to European Union environmental rules that reduced competitiveness compared to Asian rivals. 

It also pointed to the Czech goverment's failure to transfer emission permits to Liberty Ostrava. Relations between the British-based group and the Czech government have all but broken down, with Czech ministers accusing the indebted group of failing to communicate and of moving money out of the company to other operations.

The government has refused to run to the aid of Liberty Ostrava and now appears determined to transfer its operations to a domestic investor.

SZ’s commentator Petr Holub and editor-on-chief of Reporter magazine, Petr Holub, have pointed out that for a potential takeover, the insolvency court would first have to turn down Liberty Steel's proposed reorganisation, which could take  “weeks or months”.

Jurecka made his comments after a meeting with Liberty Ostrava’s labour unions and representatives of the labour office on Tuesday, June 18, where state aid to Liberty Ostrava’s employees was discussed.  “If the plant is to re-start again then we need to keep the people, and not have them quit en masse,” Jurecka told the media.

“We view positively that strategic investors are appearing. I firmly believe that we will maintain as many workplaces as possible,” head of the labour union KOVO Roman Druco was quoted as saying by Czech Television (CT), which also cited the general director of the country’s Labour Office, Daniel Kristof, as saying that 437 employees had filed a request for salary remuneration as of Monday. Under Czech law the state can cover missed salary payments in the event of company insolvency.  

Kristof said that his office could start with the salary payments next week and estimated the costs to be around CZK1bn (€40mn). Before entering insolvency, Liberty Ostrava had around 5,000 employees, according to the reports in the Czech public media.  Unions say up to 30,000 jobs in total are dependent on the plant in what is one of Czechia’s poorest regions.

Poland clamps down on hospitals refusing to perform abortions

19 June 2024 - 

BY BARBARA ERLING

Hospital.


Polish authorities have imposed a significant fine on a hospital for denying an abortion to a woman whose pregnancy may have endangered her life, marking a shift in a country with some of the strictest termination rules in Europe.

Poland's previous nationalist government introduced a near-total ban on abortion in 2021 and embedded conservative social values in law during its eight-year rule.

Abortion issues have sparked mass protests in recent years and women's rights played a key role in the 2023 election campaign that brought a pro-European coalition government to power.

The 41-year-old woman, who was 14 weeks pregnant, sought an abortion at Pabianice Medical Centre.

“The woman presented a certificate from a psychiatrist, which clearly stated that continuing this pregnancy was a threat to her health or life,” Antonina Lewandowska of Federa, the Foundation for Women and Family Planning told Reuters.

Despite this, the hospital requested additional documentation and refused to perform the abortion. She ended up getting it at a different hospital.

The National Health Fund deemed the refusal unlawful and fined the hospital 550,000 zlotys (R2.45m). The Medical Centre plans to appeal the decision.

Andrzej Troszynski, a spokesperson for the fund, said that audit proceedings concerning two other medical facilities were being carried out. Health minister Izabela Leszczyna said both proceedings were nearing completion and could result in penalties.

“We have reached a situation where those hospitals that follow the law are celebrated as something special. This is a situation turned on its head. We hope that the decision to punish this hospital will be the beginning of the end of this trend,” said Lewandowska.

DE FACTO BAN

The de facto ban introduced in 2021 allowed terminations only in cases of rape, incest or threats to the mother's health or life. However, even in these situations, women often faced the “conscience clause”, permitting doctors to refuse abortions on moral grounds.

To address this, Prime Minister Donald Tusk's government recently introduced a regulation to penalise publicly funded medical centres that refuse legal procedures with fines up to 2% of their funding.


“The regulation that has now (late May) entered into force indicates that a medical entity must organise its work in such a way that there is always a doctor in this entity who will be able to perform the legal termination,” says Urszula Rygowska-Nastulak from the office of the patients' rights ombudsman.

However, the issue remains divisive even within the ruling coalition, which includes both left-wing legislators and Christian conservatives.

In April, parliament sent four bills to liberalise abortion laws to a bipartisan committee, showing co-operation within Tusk's coalition despite deep splits over the issue.

The process may extend until a new president is elected next year, with current President Andrzej Duda expected to veto any changes to abortion legislation.

Reuters

Oldest wine ever discovered in liquid form found in untouched Roman tomb

The liquid was a white wine similar to fino wines produced in the same region today. (Daniel Cosano / Juan Manuel Román / Dolores Esquivel / Fernando Lafont / José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola via CNN Newsource)

Jack Guy
CNN
Digital
Published June 19, 2024 

A 2,000-year-old funerary urn unearthed in southern Spain has been shown to contain the oldest wine ever found still in liquid form.

Discovered during home renovations at a property in Carmona in 2019, the contents of the urn were analyzed by a team of scientists from the University of Cordoba in a study published Monday.

Study lead author José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola, a professor of organic chemistry at the university, told CNN that the urn was found to contain cremated remains, burned ivory thought to come from a funeral pyre and around 4.5 litres (1.2 gallons) of reddish liquid.

“When the archaeologists opened the urn we almost froze,” he said. “It was very surprising.”

The team then carried out a chemical analysis of the liquid and found that it was wine.

This was a big surprise, because wine normally evaporates quickly and is chemically unstable, Ruiz Arrebola said.

“This means it is almost impossible to find what we have found,” he said, explaining that the wine had been preserved by a hermetic seal that prevented it from evaporating, but it is not clear how the seal formed.

Further chemical analysis allowed the team to identify the liquid as a white wine, as it didn’t contain syringic acid, a substance only present in red wines, Ruiz Arrebola said.

The urn containing the wine was one of six funerary urns found in the mausoleum. 

(Daniel Cosano / Juan Manuel Román / Dolores Esquivel / Fernando Lafont / José Rafael Ruiz Arrebola via CNN Newsource)

It also has a similar mineral salt composition to the fino wines produced today in the region, he added.

“It’s something unique,” said Ruiz Arrebola. “We have been lucky to find it and analyze it – it’s something you only see once in your life.”

The researchers believe their discovery dethrones the current holder of the record for oldest wine in a liquid state, the Speyer wine bottle, found in Germany, which is thought to be around 1,700 years old. However, the age of the Speyer bottle has not been confirmed by chemical analysis.

The vessel was one of six funerary urns containing remains found in the mausoleum.

The discovery of a gold ring and other valuable artifacts suggest it was built by a family of considerable wealth, Ruiz Arrebola said.

However, little else is known about their lives, because cremation would have destroyed any DNA, he explained, adding that this means it is impossible to say whether the six people were related.

Ruiz Arrebola now plans to try to work out whichmodern-day local wine it was most similar to, although there are hundreds to work through.

The study was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

Israel was aware of Hamas' plan three weeks before the 7 October attack

Public media; KAN, revealed that Israeli intelligence learned less than three weeks before the 7 October attack that Hamas was planning an attack aimed at capturing "200 to 250 hostages".


ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 19 June 2024

Less than three weeks before the deadly attack on 7 October 2023 in which nearly 1,200 people were killed, Israel's public broadcaster Kan reported that military intelligence was aware of a Hamas plan to take several hundred hostages in Israel.

According to the report, Unit 8200, the unit responsible for interception activities, prepared a report on 19 September detailing the training of Hamas elite units to raid military positions and kibbutzes in the south of the country.

The media outlet said that intelligence officials within the Southern Military Command responsible for the Gaza Strip were aware of the report, citing unnamed security officials.

The memo from Unit 8200 states that Hamas fighters' training includes attacking military bases and "transferring captured soldiers to company commanders". The memo describes a series of exercises carried out by the Islamist group's elite forces, including mock raids on Israeli towns and border crossings, as well as training on how to take civilians and soldiers hostage and hold them captive. The targets of the attackers are also detailed: synagogues, outposts or soldiers' residences.

The document states that Islamist Hamas aimed for "200 to 250 hostages". On 7 October, Hamas finally kidnapped 251 people. According to the Israeli military, 116 of them are still being held in the Gaza Strip and 41 are dead. On Monday, a senior official involved in negotiations with Hamas said "with certainty" that dozens of hostages are still alive in the Palestinian territory. The official added that Israel would not stop its attacks until all hostages were released under an agreement. According to the latest figures from the Hamas Health Ministry, the war has claimed 37,396 lives and injured 85,523 people, mostly civilians, in less than nine months.

The Israeli military had previously been accused of receiving advance warning that Hamas was planning an attack on its territory. In November, the New York Times revealed that Israeli officials had obtained a document detailing the Islamist movement's plan more than a year before the attack. However, the officials allegedly decided that the scenario was "too ambitious" for Hamas' capabilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has steadfastly refused to set up a formal commission of inquiry into 7 October before the current war in Gaza ends.

vi (L), Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar (C) and Mossad head David Barnea (2nd R) attend a ceremony for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism at Jerusalem's Mount Herzl military cemetery, May 13, 2024. (Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)


More Evidence Reveals Israel’s Failure To Pre-empt Hamas Attack

KEREN SETTON
06/19/2024


The IDF Gaza division had warned of Hamas’ planned attack, including forecasting 250 hostages being taken. The document was written three weeks before the attack and was apparently circulated among intelligence officers

Israel’s failure to foresee and preempt Hamas’ surprise offensive carried out on Oct. 7 has been on the minds of many Israelis ever since.

During the attack, approximately 1,200 people were killed, thousands more were injured, and around 250 were kidnapped by the Gaza-based terrorist organization. The assault stunned Israel on the morning of a Jewish holiday when hundreds of terrorists stormed the border, attacking military posts and tranquil communities. The army had not been on high alert, and many soldiers were on holiday. It seemed as if the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had completely let its guard down on the border with Gaza, making Hamas’ infiltration attempt a glaring success in their eyes. The immediate response by the army was disorganized and painfully slow, fueling public criticism.

As the dust settled and the scope of the attack became evident, there were increasing reports and testimonies that the army and other intelligence agencies were at least partially aware of Hamas’ intentions and preparations.

On Monday, Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan, revealed a document that showed that the IDF Gaza division had warned of Hamas’ planned attack, including a shuddering forecast of 250 hostages being taken by Hamas. The document was written three weeks before the attack and was apparently circulated among intelligence officers, including at least one high-ranking officer. The IDF did not directly respond to the report but said it was in the process of a general investigation into the failures that led to the disaster.

For Roni Eshel, a surveillance soldier who was killed on Oct. 7 by Hamas terrorists who stormed her base, these revelations are too late.

The feeling that something was going to happen was in the air for a long time. Roni told us, as did other soldiers who told their families, that things weren’t working. Broken surveillance cameras weren’t repaired, holes in the barrier wall with Gaza were left unattended.

“The feeling that something was going to happen was in the air for a long time,” Eyal Eshel, her father, told The Media Line. He has since embarked on a mission to oust the senior military commanders who, he said, ignored warnings from soldiers on the ground. “Roni told us, as did other soldiers who told their families, that things weren’t working. Broken surveillance cameras weren’t repaired, holes in the barrier wall with Gaza were left unattended.”

“When you connect all the dots, it is clear the soldiers were ignored, abandoned, and mostly disregarded by the military echelon. This was a very clear failure,” Eshel added.

The head of the IDF military intelligence unit announced his resignation in April this year as a result of what he said was his responsibility for the failure, which will be remembered as one of Israel’s darkest moments.

Various documents and reports leaked to the media in the aftermath of the attack, as well as witness testimonies, contained warnings of an impending attack. It is still to be determined where these warnings stopped, whether it was an intelligence blunder that misread the signals or whether the intelligence passed on to the army’s more operative ranks did not act upon the warnings.

According to media reports, Hamas exercises that surveillance soldiers saw on the border were dismissed by more senior commanders as being exercises that would never materialize into an actual attack. The sentiment among the defense echelon was that Hamas was deterred and had a vested interest in retaining its power in the Gaza Strip rather than risk a war with Israel that could endanger its hold on the territory.

“From the very beginning, the problem was not with regard to the information, which was there,” Professor Kobi Michael from the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy and the INSS told The Media Line. “The problem was about the interpretation and the analysis of the information.”

“The sad joke among Roni and her friends was who would be on shift the day the raid happens,” Eshel said, adding that his daughter’s direct commanding officers had, themselves, put them on alert for an imminent raid.

Roni Eshel was killed in the Nahal Oz military base, in which more than 60 soldiers were killed, and over a dozen members of the adjacent kibbutz were also murdered. The base has since become a symbol of the Oct. 7 failure, a testament to everything that went lethally wrong.

In the level of the Gaza division, things were known in such a detailed manner. It is very annoying and frustrating that the information was there, and we were not there with the information.

“In the level of the Gaza division, things were known in such a detailed manner,” Michael said. “It is very annoying and frustrating that the information was there, and we were not there with the information.”

Roni Eshel. (Courtesy)

Many of the members of the small Kibbutz Nir Oz, another border community, were killed by over 150 Hamas terrorists who stormed it at 6:30 in the morning. Eighty residents were kidnapped during the attack. Israeli forces arrived on the scene in the afternoon, another bloody testament to the military failure.

“It is not only a question of intelligence but also a question of the operational level,” Michael added. “Why wasn’t the IDF prepared enough and what took so long to reach the areas to provide them with military assistance?”

According to Michael, there are “layers” of responsibility, which include the political echelon.

ENVIRONMENT  Too Hot for Peace: Desertification, Global Warming Fueling Middle East Unrest
06/17/2024


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who led Israel successively from 2009 to 2021, with a brief pause until he resumed office at the end of 2022, was a major part of Israel’s policy towards Hamas. The Israeli leader aided in perpetuating the internal Palestinian rift between Hamas in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, reportedly saying that keeping Hamas in power in Gaza would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state. Hamas was treated as an asset that could keep Gaza quiet, as Israel ignored the gradual strengthening of the terrorist organization. However, it grew into a monstrous army, which proved its prowess on Oct. 7.

Netanyahu and his political allies have brushed off calls for a national inquiry committee. They claim that wartime is not a time for investigations. But as the Israeli military continues to fight, there is room to learn lessons on the go.

“We are still deep in the sin of hubris, the same since Oct. 7,” said Eshel. “Nothing has been learned, no conclusions have been reached, and there is no inquiry committee yet, and no investigation has begun. We are treading in quicksand.”

Hamas’ threats against Israel were not concealed. In its doctrine, its main aim is to destroy Israel. In the months leading up to its surprise attack, it continued to make explicit threats against the Jewish state, threats that were disregarded by Israel, which thought the organization was deterred.

“Israel has to learn to take its enemies very seriously,” said Michael. “They will build their capacities, and they will build the option for realizing their vision.”

Ever since the initial shock wore off and as the war continues to drag on, there has been increasing pressure from the Israeli public to form an inquiry committee even before the war ends. The army has reportedly already begun at least a partial investigation into the events as an organization that is experienced in reviewing its own actions.

“This is not something that can replace a state-level investigation, which should investigate not only the IDF but also the political echelon, and not only from Oct. 6 but also from the last decade and all the policy, the doctrine, the strategy of Israel vis a vis Hamas, vis a vis the Palestinian arena, and not to blame people…but to find out the failures to draw the right lessons so we can be more prepared for the future,” Michael summarized.

Rojava: Drip irrigation against desertification

Agriculture is one of the main causes of desertification due to its massive water consumption. In Northern and Eastern Syria, attempts are being made to stop the desertification process through drip irrigation.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Tuesday, 18 June 2024, 07:50

Northern and Eastern Syria are known for the fertility of their soils and the abundance of their water resources. But due to man-caused climate change, ongoing drought, war, the use of water as a weapon by the Turkish state and the lowering of the groundwater level through excessive use of deep wells, agriculture and nature are threatened and a process of desertification is setting in. Large agricultural areas can no longer be cultivated due to the high water requirements of traditional irrigation methods.

Solar energy is a major challenge due to the embargo

To counteract this process, more and more farmers and agricultural cooperatives are switching to modern methods of irrigation. Mohammed Said Ismail is one of them. In one step, he switched the pumps used to irrigate his fields from diesel to solar energy. This achievement should not be underestimated, as each solar cell has to be transported across borders closed by various embargoes. Said Ismail has been cultivating around six hectares of land near Amûdê for 20 years. Since agriculture still relies on deep wells, attempts are being made to reduce the amount of water extracted to the bare minimum. Like many others, Said Ismail uses drip irrigation.

Ismail told ANHA news agency that the drip irrigation system is more suitable than the old methods in terms of protecting groundwater, avoiding fuel waste and protecting the environment: "Those responsible in the region can implement new strategic plans for agriculture. They can also support the agricultural sector by lending the farmers money to introduce new irrigation methods."

Ahmed Ramadan al-Khalaf has been a small farmer for 25 years. He has around 1,500 square meters of agricultural land, which he has been cultivating for 25 years. He has also been using solar energy for irrigation for five years.

Al-Khalaf stressed that he is happy that with solar energy he no longer uses fuel and no longer has problems with the generators. However, he has not yet been able to switch to drip irrigation. However, he is aware that the classic irrigation methods use far too much water.

The old irrigation system is only 50 percent efficient

Agricultural engineer and environmental activist Mohammed Said explained: "There are two methods for irrigation: the method used since the invention of agriculture and the new modern irrigation system. The old methods involved filling the fields with water, but the efficiency of this method is low and does not exceed 50 percent. This method uses a large amount of water. Even the roots of the plants cannot use so much water. Therefore, the water either flows away or disappears."

Agricultural engineer warns of desertification

Said pointed out that the flow of water washes away the surface layer of the soil and weakens the soil over time: "The use of this method and the neglect of the soil's mineral needs, fertilization and incorrect crop rotation lead to a decline in water resources. Desertification will occur in these regions in the foreseeable future."

"Business as usual" endangers food security

Said warned that business as usual would endanger food security, explaining that this depends on water security, that water is the lifeblood of agriculture, and that reducing surface and underground water resources would have a negative impact on agriculture and thus on food security. Modern irrigation methods could reduce water requirements by around 40 percent and increase harvests: "This method reduces excessive water consumption and also reduces the risks of desertification. With this method, water resources can grow again, soil fertility and agricultural productivity can be improved. At the same time, soil moisture is increased, thus preventing soil erosion and desertification."

Campaign for environmentally friendly energy for Rojava

There is currently an international fundraising campaign for environmentally friendly energy production in Rojava. The energy supply is generally on the verge of collapse due to Turkish attacks. Electricity often has to be produced in a decentralized way, using diesel generators that emit noise and toxic substances. This also has a massive impact on agriculture, which is dependent on pumps. The campaign aims to raise one million euros for a decentralized solar energy supply in Rojava. This will provide municipal facilities, hospitals, schools and women's shelters with electricity.

The fundraising campaign can be found at

https://www.solardarity-rojava.org/en/campaign/.

Lower Saxony minister wants to end deportation of Yazidis

Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) called for a broad stop to deportations of members of the Yazidi minority to Iraq.


ANF
NEWS DESK
Tuesday, 18 June 2024

Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) called for a broad stop to deportations of Yazidis from Germany to Iraq. She told "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" that she will work for a nationwide uniform solution at the Interior Ministers' Conference in Potsdam, which will begin tomorrow, Wednesday.

At the same time, Behrens criticized the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), "because although the Bundestag has recognized ISIS crimes against the Yazidis as genocide, it continues to regularly reject asylum applications from Yazidi people from Iraq as unfounded."

Beherns said that it is "highly unsatisfactory" that the federal states forced to find their own regulations to prevent deportations.

A few days ago, Behrens imposed a corresponding deportation ban for women and minors who belong to the Yazidi religious community in Lower Saxony. The regulation applies to the entire so-called nuclear family of those affected, and therefore usually also to fathers. However, criminals and people with extremist ties as well as those who stubbornly refuse to help clarify their identity are exempt from this.

Behrens now wants to promote this approach among her 15 other departmental colleagues. She will also campaign for the BAMF to "appropriately acknowledge the considerable dangers for Yazidis in Iraq" when accepting asylum applications. Women and girls of the Yazidi faith in particular are still at risk of terrible acts of violence, forced prostitution and abduction in Iraq, said the SPD politician.

74 genocides in Yazidi history

The Islamic State overran large parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 and established a reign of terror. The jihadist militia proclaimed a "caliphate" across national borders. On 3 August 2014, ISIS attacked the main Yazidi settlement area of ​​Shengal in northern Iraq with the aim of wiping out the Kurdish-speaking religious community, which had been persecuted for centuries as "devil worshippers." Through systematic massacres, rape, torture, expulsion, enslavement of girls and women, and the forced recruitment of boys as child soldiers, the Yazidis experienced what they call the "Ferman" - the 74th genocide in their history.

According to United Nations estimates, at least 10,000 people fell victim to the massacres in Shengal. More than 400,000 people were driven from their homes, and over 7,000 women and children were abducted. To date, around 2,700 of those kidnapped are still in the power of their captors, most of them women and children. The women and young girls are still systematically raped and kept and sold as slaves. Therefore, this genocide in its form also represents a femicide.

In January 2023, the Bundestag recognized the systematic persecution and murder of Yazidis in northern Iraq by ISIS as genocide.

TURKISH KURDISTAN

‘Usurpation of Hakkari Municipality is a grave violation of the constitution’

115 names, including writers, artists and journalists, denounced the seizure of Hakkari Municipality, saying, "A blow is being struck against the peace and prosperity of the country."


ANF
NEWS DESK
Wednesday, 19 June 2024, 13:17

The Hakkari Municipality won by the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in the 31 March local elections was usurped by a government-appointed trustee on 3 June. Co-Mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış, who was removed from office by the decision of the Turkish Ministry of Interior, was arrested with a prison sentence of 19 years and 6 months in a case that has been ongoing for 10 years.

As reactions against the seizure of Hakkari Municipality continue, 115 personalities, including artists, writers and journalists made a joint written statement, saying: "It is a violation of the right to elect and be elected of all citizens, including the people of Hakkari, and a grave violation of the constitution.”

The statement said: "The appointment of a trustee to Hakkari Municipality is a violation of the right to elect and be elected of all citizens, including the people of Hakkari, and a grave violation of the constitution. We find unacceptable the statements that the trustee practices, which are deemed unlawful by almost all segments of society and which deal a blow to the country's hope of living in peace and prosperity, will gain continuity. The right to elect, which is an inviolable right that all citizens have equally according to the constitution, must be respected, the trustee appointed to Hakkari must be withdrawn immediately, and all trustee practices that are incompatible with democracy and law must be ended."

The signatories of the statement are as follows:

"Abidin Parıltı, Adnan Özyalçıner, Afşin Kum, Ahmet Erkam Saraç, Ahmet Güneş, Ahmet Telli, Ahmet Ümit, Akif Kurtuluş, Algan Sezgintüredi, Alper Canıgüz, Altay Öktem, Asuman Susam, Ayfer Tunç, Ayşe Sarısayın, Ayşegül Devecioğlu, Ayşen Şahin, Başak Canda, Başar Başarır, Başar Yılmaz, Bekir Yurdakul, Belma Fırat, Berivan Kaya, Bilsen Başaran, Bülent Tekin, C. Hakkı Zariç, Cenk Güray, Cenk Kolçak, Çerkes Karadağ, Defne Suman, Deniz Durukan, Deniz Yüce Başarır, Duygu Kankaytsın, Elif Sofya, Enes Kurdaş, Ercüment Akdeniz, Erdoğan Aydın, Ertan Meyan, Fatih Gezer, Fatih Polat, Fergun Özelli, Figen Şakacı, Gaye Boralıoğlu, Gonca Özmen, Gönül Kıvılcım, Gürel Sürücü, Haden Öz, Halide Yıldırım, Halil İbrahim Özcan, Hasan Öztoprak, Hatice Meryem, Haydar Ergülen, Hayri K. Yetik, Hicri İzgören, Hülya Deniz Ünal, İnanç Avadit, İsmail Güzelsoy, Jaklin Çelik, Kadir Akın, Kamil Tekin Sürek, Kerem Fırtına, Latife Tekin, Levent Karataş, Mehmet Bilal Dede, Mehmet Said Aydın, Menekşe Toprak, Mine Soysal, Murat Gülsoy, Murat Özyaşar, Murat Uyurkulak, Murat Yalçın, Murathan Mungan, Mustafa Eroğlu, Mustafa Güçlü, Mustafa Köz, Mustafa Yelkenli, Muzaffer Kale, Müge İplikçi, Namık Kuyumcu, Nayim Gül, Nesimi Aday, Neslihan Önderoğlu, Neslihan Yalman, Neşe Yaşın, Nevzat Süs, Nuray Önoğlu, Nurhan Suerdem, Nursen Yiğit, Onur Bütün, Orhan Alkaya, Orhan Pamuk, Oya Baydar, Ömer Türkeş, Özgün Bulut, Özlem Akıncı, Özlem İşbilir, Polat Özlüoğlu, Rıdvan Hatun, Rıfat Mertoğlu, Sema Kaygusuz, Semih Çelenk, Semih Gümüş, Sevim Erdoğan, Süreyyya Evren, Şebnem İşigüzel, Şevket Karakış, Taçlı Yazıcıoğlu, Tarhan Gürhan, Tülin Dursun, Ümit Kıvanç, Vecdi Erbay, Yaprak Zihnioğlu, Yasemin Özek, Yavuz Ekinci, Yücel Aysal, Zeynep Oral."

Prisoners continue their protest demanding "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan"

Prisoners continue to refuse to appear in court and to boycott phone calls and family visits, demanding "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a solution to the Kurdish question."


ANF
NEWS DESK
Monday, 17 June 2024

Political prisoners continue the actions they started on 27 November 2023, demanding "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question". The prisoners, who took their alternating hunger strike actions to a new stage as of 4 April, decided to boycott the courts and not have phone calls or family visits. The protests in prisons have reached the 204th day.

The prisoners made the following statement on the 130th day of the hunger strike: "Our hunger strike action needed to evolve to a new stage. Therefore, as of 4 April, the birthday of our Leader (Öcalan), we decided to start boycotting hearings and refusing family visits and calls. As prisoners, we are faced with the Kurdish reality, which is one of racist, discriminatory and fascist features. We condemn this policy and decided to boycott the colonial courts, which do not even recognize their own laws when it comes to Kurds. We also decided not to use our weekly phone calls and family visits."

Hatip Dicle: The specter of Apoism is haunting the world

Hatip Dicle spoke of the growing global importance of Abdullah Öcalan's ideology and called for the freedom campaign to be expanded. He underlined the importance of the action days "Dialogues with Öcalan - ideas cannot be imprisoned".


SERKAN DEMIREL
BRUSSELS
Saturday, 15 June 2024, 

There has been no sign of life from Abdullah Öcalan for more than three years. 

Öcalan has been imprisoned for 25 years under the most severe solitary confinement conditions on the prison island of Imrali. 

While this isolation system violated every law from the beginning, the incommunicado detention of the past 39 months took that violation to the extreme. Neither lawyers nor relatives can visit him, and other means of communication such as telephone or letters have been forbidden to Öcalan since his imprisonment. Turkey is thus violating both national and international law. However, the responsible European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) is not taking action, thus strengthening the Turkish state in its system of white torture on Imrali.

Since 10 October, an international campaign has been taking place under the motto "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question". Thousands of prisoners are carrying out actions and protests are taking place all over the world.

As part of the freedom campaign, a series of actions and events under the name "Dialogues with Öcalan - Ideas cannot be imprisoned" will take place from today to 22 June in more than 50 cities in over 15 countries, including France, Germany, Catalonia, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, Colombia, Cyprus, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Poland and Kenya.

In this ANF interview, the Kurdish politician in exile and spokesperson for the campaign "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question", Hatip Dicle, talked about the importance of such initiatives.

"Öcalan exposes capitalism"

How did the idea of ​​the "Dialogues with Öcalan" action days come about? What is the goal behind it? Who organizes the whole thing?

There is a campaign that has been running since 10 October 2023. We are constantly discussing the question of how we can spread this campaign, how we can create even more publicity, and our search for new ways continues. In this context, the idea of ​​the "Days of Dialogue with Abdullah Öcalan" was born. But not only that. The international conspiracy and the system of absolute isolation in Imralı was not only directed against Abdullah Öcalan as a political personality and political representative of the Kurdish people. This isolation was also directed against Öcalan as a pioneer and philosopher of democratic socialism of the 21st century. Because Öcalan developed an alternative theory of modernity to capitalist modernity by developing the paradigm of democratic modernity and the sociology of freedom. Therefore, it is no coincidence that he wrote: "I am deeply aware that an anti-capitalist is being judged here in my person." This is also the main reason for the international dimension of the Imralı system and the continued silence of the international community and its institutions. The defense speeches he wrote in Imralı expose the capitalist system and offer alternative solutions to societies. Although the system of imprisonment and isolation aims to keep Öcalan's ideas away from society, there is a lively "dialogue" between him and activists and intellectuals from various social movements around the world. The impact of his defense speeches and especially his manifesto for a democratic civilization shows that Öcalan's ideas have long since overcome prison walls and that ideas cannot be locked up. The Days of Dialogue, which will take place from today to 22 June, are intended to demonstrate the impact of Öcalan's political philosophy. Events and actions will be organized in more than 50 cities on different continents to discuss Öcalan's ideas. For example, there will be book launches of defense writings, public readings, information stands, artistic actions, theater, educational seminars and other formats.

So far, events are planned in Kenya, Colombia, Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Catalonia, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Cyprus, Belgium, Great Britain, Slovenia and Poland. Actions and events are also being organized in other countries. They are organized by democratic, socialist, ecological, feminist, solidarity and student groups and Kurdish institutions.

"Öcalan offers concrete ways out of the impasse"

Previously, a series of events were organized under the name "Öcalan Reading Days". Various social groups from many parts of the world who took part in these reading days drew attention to the paradigms of Abdullah Öcalan. What do you think Öcalan's paradigms offer these groups, and why do they resonate so strongly?

One dimension of the campaign "Freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question" is undoubtedly the effort to convey the paradigm for building a democratic, ecological society based on women's liberation, also outside of Kurdistan. For this reason, the “Days of Dialogue with Öcalan” can also be defined as a continuation and deepening of the “Global Öcalan Books Day!” in December 2023. They refer to various movements, circles and intellectuals who make the political philosophy of Leader Öcalan the basis of their own practice. Because the crisis of capitalist modernity is present everywhere and is constantly worsening. However, while the democratic and socialist forces do not organize the necessary ways out in this period of chaos, right-wing and fascist movements - as we saw in the recent European Parliament elections - exploit and manipulate society's fears. Abdullah Öcalan offers the socialist forces concrete solutions to overcome the theoretical and practical crisis. In this context, Öcalan points out the need for a radical intellectual, moral and political renewal of the opposition to the system. There are aspirations and efforts to broaden the points highlighted by Öcalan. Of course, there are shortcomings, but we strive to overcome them. The social movements lack a holistic theory that can bring together the various struggles. Today, the theory of democratic modernity offers perspectives on fundamental questions for the left, the socialist, progressive, democratic forces, the women's movements, the environmental movement and all progressive forces that are searching. We strive to spread this approach to solutions and to ally ourselves with those who are also searching.

"More than solidarity has emerged"

With the freedom campaign for Öcalan, we see that an international solidarity network is developing. Can and should this growing network become an international movement?

The Kurdistan Freedom Movement, with its guide Öcalan, the architect of this revolution, is also playing a pioneering role in the development of democratic modernity in the international context with its resistance and the structures it has created. With the revolution in Rojava, which is based on the idea of ​​democratic confederalism, an international solidarity movement has developed. The term solidarity does not fully cover the meeting of these circles, because we are increasingly seeing how different circles around the world are trying to apply Abdullah Öcalan's ideas and concepts in their own social contexts and struggles.

The saying "A specter is haunting Europe - the specter of communism" shows a dialectical development towards the discourse "The apoist specter is haunting the world". The power of this specter is much greater than the currently organized force.

The current situation affects large circles, but is not reflected in a corresponding concrete organization. The question of internationalism is one of the main themes that Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] addresses in his defense writings. While he describes the World Economic Forum in Davos as the "club of the rich", he calls the left forces that come together in platforms such as the World Social Forums "the club of the poor".

It turns out, however, that these forums are far from grasping and overcoming the chaos of capitalist modernity. Abdullah Öcalan's proposal for global democratic confederalism offers concrete perspectives on these issues, and we can increasingly see that this proposal is being accepted as a concrete basis by various forces.

“Every Kurd must work like a diplomat”

Do you think that these activities and the freedom campaign have been able to put pressure on the Turkish state and the institutions that have so far remained silent about the isolation in Imralı?

These events are only one dimension of the freedom campaign. They represent an important standard for deepening relations with broad social circles and spreading Öcalan's ideas despite the conditions of isolation and conveying his importance as a philosopher and thinker to the public. However, all of this must take place in parallel with other directions in order to be able to exert sufficient pressure on political decision-makers. The legal fight against the violation of the law is a central dimension. In addition, diplomatic work must be intensified with the involvement of a broad public.

The aim of the campaign is the physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan. To achieve this, we must be constantly active. Our friends are very active and that is good. Our people attach great importance to the campaign and are involved in it. We must strengthen this even more. The recent letters to the CPT have called on this institution and the Council of Europe to act. Such efforts should be carried out everywhere and locally. For example, in every town and municipality, press organisations, parties, civil society organisations and social movements should be visited, and this campaign should be put on the agenda of these institutions. Every Kurd should work like a diplomat for us to succeed. Every patriot, every person who is aware of the importance of democratic confederalism must take action. The defences must be widely disseminated, they must be passed on to those who are interested, interest must be aroused and organised.