France investigates report of bodies 'left to rot' at Paris research centre

French investigating magistrates will probe claims that human corpses donated for science were left to rot and be eaten by rats at a university research facility, the Paris prosecutor's office said Thursday
Issued on: 10/07/2020 -

Paris-Descartes University, in the French capital, has been accused of "serious ethical breaches". © Wikimedia creative commons

Text by:NEWS WIRES

A probe into "violations of the integrity of a corpse" was handed over to the magistrates by prosecutors who handled the initial phase of the investigation after l'Express magazine reported the scandal last November.

The newspaper said the remains of thousands of people who donated their bodies for research were discovered in abhorrent conditions at the Centre for Body Donations (CDC) of the Paris-Descartes University in the French capital.

Bodies were strewn around naked, dismembered, piled one on top of the other, with even a severed head lying on the floor, l'Express reported, describing the scene photographed in 2016 as resembling a mass grave.

Some body parts were decomposing, others lay there chewed by rats amid overflowing garbage bags containing pieces of flesh.


Sept mois après les révélations de L'Express sur le fonctionnement du centre du don des corps de l'université #ParisDescartes, "le charnier de Paris-Descartes", une #enquete de l'Inspection générale des affaires sociales a été publiée mi-juin pic.twitter.com/fNQdyJSmGE— FRANCE 24 Français (@France24_fr) June 18, 2020

"This is very good news," Frederic Douchez, a lawyer for families who pressed charges, said of Thursday's announcement by the Paris prosecutor's office.

Investigating magistrates, he said, have much wider powers to get to the bottom of the affair.

Nearly 80 complaints have so far been lodged.

The revelations caused the French government to order the shuttering of the centre and an administrative inspection by a panel which said in June the university was guilty of "serious ethical breaches" in its management of the CDC.

The centre, opened in 1953, was the largest of its kind in Europe and, until its closure, received hundreds of donated bodies every year.

(AFP)

Seoul's mayor found dead in presumed suicide after #MeToo allegation


The mayor of Seoul, a former human rights lawyer and potential South Korean presidential candidate, died in an apparent suicide a day after being accused of sexual harassment

Issued on: 09/07/2020

Police officers stand guard in front of the residence of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon as rescue workers conduct a search operation in Seoul, South Korea, July 10, 2020. © Kim Hong-Ji, REUTERS

Text by:NEWS WIRES|

Video by:FRANCE 24 AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE

The death of Park Won-soon, whose body was recovered early Friday on a mountain in the capital, is by far the most dramatic end to a #MeToo case in South Korea, a highly patriarchal society where the women's movement has brought down scores of prominent men in multiple fields.

If Park does prove to have killed himself he would be the highest-profile South Korean politician to do so since former president Roh Moo-hyun, who jumped off a cliff in 2009 after being questioned over corruption allegations involving family members.

There were no signs of foul play, police said, and according to Yonhap news agency Park was presumed to have taken his own life.

He had been reported missing by his daughter on Thursday, who said he had been unreachable after leaving a message that sounded like "last words".

A heavyweight figure in the ruling centre-left Democratic party, Park ran South Korea's sprawling capital -- home to almost a fifth of the national population -- for nearly a decade.

He won three elections while promoting gender and social equality, and did not shy away from expressing his ambitions to replace incumbent President Moon Jae-in in 2022.

But his death came a day after his former secretary filed a police complaint -- said to involve sexual harassment -- against him.

South Korea remains male-dominated despite its economic and technological advances, but the country has seen a widespread #MeToo movement in the last two years, sparked by a prosecutor who publicly accused a superior of groping her at a funeral.

The perpetrators have included a former provincial governor who sought the presidency in 2017 but was jailed last year for sexual intercourse by abuse of authority after his female assistant accused him of repeatedly raping her.

According to a document purporting to be the statement of Park's victim, who worked as his personal secretary from 2015, he committed "sexual harassment and inappropriate gestures during work hours", including insisting she hug him in the bedroom adjoining his office.

After work, she said, he sent her "selfies of himself in his underwear and lewd comments" on a messenger app.

"I brainwashed myself, bearing tremendous fear and humiliation, that all of this was in the interest of Seoul City, myself, and mayor Park," she said, according to the document.

The police confirmed a complaint had been filed but declined to confirm the details.

Park's death means the investigation will automatically be closed.

Jailhouse to courthouse

Park was a student activist in the days of South Korea's military dictatorship -- he was jailed for taking part in a rally against then-president Park Chung-hee -- and later became a human rights lawyer.

He defended many political activists and in the 1990s won South Korea's first sexual harassment conviction, in a landmark judgement.

He helped launch the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, an influential NGO pushing to reform the conglomerates that dominate South Korean business.

Park also founded the Beautiful Foundation -- a philanthropic group that promotes volunteerism and community service.

It grew into one of the largest non-profit organisations in South Korea and launched the Beautiful Stores, a chain of charity shops modelled after Britain's Oxfam shops.

Reactions were mixed on Friday, including both condolences and criticism that he killed himself to avoid punishment.

There was an outpouring of grief from his supporters, some of whom wailed at Seoul National University Hospital as his body was brought in.

"Mayor Park, you were an excellent politician," one poster wrote on Daum, the country's second-largest portal site.

"But a twist of fate put an end to your journey. I hope you are at ease in heaven."

Others were more critical of the 64-year-old, accusing him of exploiting his power to harass a subordinate and then taking his own life to "avoid the fallout".

"The victim must have had painful times in the run-up to the filing of the complaint," wrote one user. "I hope Park reflects on his misdeeds and atones in the afterlife."

The Seoul city government said a memorial altar will be set up in front of the city hall for citizens to pay respects.

(AFP)

Decades on, 'hidden children' forced into orphanages of colonial France remain traumatised

Issued on: 10/07/2020 -

REPORTERS © FRANCE 24
By:Caroline DUMAY|Thaïs BROUCK|Sam BRADPIECE

During the French colonisation of West Africa, several thousand children born of relations between French colonialists and African women were abandoned by their father and taken from their mother. Owing to a decision by the Governor General of French West Africa, these mixed-race children were separated from the rest of society and placed in orphanages. Through a series of exclusive testimonies on what was long a taboo subject, FRANCE 24 retraces the forgotten history of these hidden children of France, deprived of their parentage and demanding recognition.

It all started in 1903, when Governor Ernest Roume, head of French West Africa, decided to create dedicated orphanages for children born to French fathers and "indigenous" mothers, youngsters sometimes known as the "bastards of the republic". In what was then the colony of Ivory Coast, the "Mixed-race Home" was set up in the majestic former Governor's Palace in Bingerville.

One of the first residents was André Manket, now 90. He has tears in his eyes when recounting his kidnapping. "They came to look for me in my fishing village of Anono and took me by force. I was seven years old. My auntie was crying," the old man told us. He remembers arriving in Bingerville surrounded by two colonial guards. They said, "Guerard, the name of your father, is finished. From now on, you will take the name of your mother."

André was also given a number: the 39th. This meant that before him there were 38 boys and girls, whose only thing in common was the colour of their skin: mixed-race.

Trauma

As for Maurice Berthet, he still does not understand. He is not French, but he owns land in France that he inherited from his father. "My father never abandoned me! But he didn't know what to do. He cut wood and lived in the forest," he explained.

They may be over 80, but the trauma is still very much alive. "We were everyone's laughing stock. Our mothers were treated like prostitutes," recalled Monique Yace.

"We were treated like bastards," added Philippe Meyer. "They knew what they were doing. They had legalised a system: have children, then send them to the home."

All of these "hidden children" today see themselves as "victims of colonisation".

Ivorians now want France to be inspired by Belgium, which in April 2019 officially apologised to mixed-race children born in its former colonies. Auguste Miremont, a former communications minister to longtime Ivorian president Félix Houphouët-Boigny and who also grew up in the Mixed-race Home, believes "it's now time to calmly put this debate on the table".

>> Watch our special edition: African advancement and the consequences of colonialism

A LOOK BACK

1960: A wave of independence sweeps across Africa

Issued on: 09/07/2020 -

Leader of the Congolese national movement Patrice Lumumba is welcomed at Brussels airport on January 27, 1960, before attending a conference. Former Belgium Congo (now DR Congo) became independent on June 30, 1960. © AFP

Text by:FRANCE 24

VIDEOS AT THE END

Between January and December of 1960, no fewer than 17 countries in sub-Saharan Africa gained independence from European colonial powers, including 14 former French colonies. FRANCE 24 takes a look back at a watershed year in the modern history of the continent.

The events of 1960 – with so nations many gaining independence in a short span of time – were partly the result of a long process following the tumult of World War II.

In the post-war period, Africans involved in pro-independence movements put pressure on the colonising powers, reminding them of the promises they had made to secure African support for the war effort. The Europeans, urged on by the United States, were ultimately obliged to let go of their colonies.

Speaking in the Congolese capital Brazzaville in 1944, General Charles de Gaulle suggested the time had come for France to follow "the path of a new era". Two years later, France's colonial empire was replaced by the French Union, which in turn became the French Community in 1958.

In quick succession, Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan, Ghana and Guinea won their independence, while unrest in Algeria continued to exhaust the French and damage France's reputation.

Cameroon – January 1, 1960. A former German colony divided between France and the United Kingdom in 1918, Cameroon acquired its independence thanks to armed movements. Less than a year after the United Nations announced the end of French control, French Cameroon proclaimed its independence. A year later the southern part of the country, under British control, merged with the north. On May 5, 1960, Ahmadou Ahidjo was elected as the country’s first president.

Togo – April 27. A former German colony, Togo subsequently fell under French and British mandates in the aftermath of World War I. The part of the country administered by the French held the status of an “associated territory” of the French Union established in 1946. The country became an autonomous republic – albeit within the French Union – by referendum in 1956. In February 1958, victory for the Togolese Unity Committee, a nationalist movement, in legislative elections opened the way to full independence. Sylvanus Olympio, elected first president of the new republic, was later killed in a January 1963 coup d’état.

Madagascar – June 26. A French overseas territory as of 1946, the island was proclaimed an autonomous state within the French Community, an association of mainly African former French colonies, in 1958. In 1960, President Philibert Tsiranana succeeded in convincing General de Gaulle to grant Madagascar total sovereignty and, in doing so, became the first president of the republic.


Madagascar celebrates the 60th anniversary of its independence

Democratic Republic of the Congo – June 30. In January 1959, under the leadership of Patrice Lumumba, riots broke out in Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) in what was then known as the Belgian Congo. Belgian authorities summoned Congolese leaders to Brussels and decided to withdraw from the country, fearing a war of independence similar to the one that was ravaging Algeria at the time. Renamed Zaire in 1971 under former leader Mobutu Sese Seko, the Democratic Republic of the Congo reverted to its former name when Mobutu was deposed by Laurent Kabila in 1997.


Congo celebrates 60 years of independence

Somalia – July 1. A former Italian colony, Somalia merged with the former British protectorate of Somaliland on the day it became independent in 1960 to form the Somali Republic. Somaliland had itself gained its full sovereignty five days earlier. The objective was to reconstitute the pre-colonial era “Greater Somalia”, which had included Kenya, Ethiopia and the future nation of Djibouti, which was at that time under French control.

Benin – August 1. A referendum on September 28, 1958, proposing a plan for a French-African Community paved the way for the independence of what was then the Dahomey two years later, when power was transferred to President Hubert Maga. The country, renamed Benin in 1975, has had a tumultuous political history in recent years, with critics saying the current leadership is undermining the country’s democratic traditions.

Niger – August 3. Niger had been the subject of French colonial interest since 1899 despite fierce resistance from the local population. A 1958 referendum propelled the country's first president, Hamani Diori, to power and the Republic of Niger was first proclaimed on December 18 of that year. Independence was officially declared on August 3, 1960. Diori was subsequently overthrown by a coup d’état in 1974.

Burkina Faso – August 5. A French protectorate, the Republic of Upper Volta was proclaimed on December 11, 1958, but remained part of the French Community before gaining full independence on August 5, 1960. The country took the name Burkina Faso in 1984 during the presidency of Thomas Sankara, who was assassinated in 1987.

Ivory president Felix Houphouet Boigny (R) and Senegalese President Leopold Sedar Senghor parade in the official car, on August 10, 1961 in Abidjan, during the first Independence day anniversary. © AFP

Ivory Coast – August 7. A 1958 referendum resulted in the Ivory Coast becoming an autonomous republic. Two years later, in June of 1960, the pro-French Félix Houphouët-Boigny proclaimed the country’s independence but maintained close ties between Abidjan and Paris. The Ivory Coast subsequently became one of the most prosperous West African nations.

Chad – August 11. Two years after becoming a republic, Chad won independence on August 11, 1960. The prime minister at the time, François Tombalbaye, became the first president of a country that deteriorated rapidly into civil war between the Muslim north and the Christian-majority south.

Central African Republic – August 13. Under French control since 1905, Ubangi-Chari became the Central African Republic on December 1, 1958. Poised to become the nation’s first president was Barthélémy Boganda – a national hero, committed pan-Africanist and anti-colonialist who presided over French Equatorial Africa (a federation joining colonial territories Chad, Congo-Brazzaville and Gabon) for two years, working for the emancipation of Africans. But Boganda died in a March 1959 plane crash and when independence was proclaimed in 1960, it was a relative, David Dacko, who became president.


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The Republic of the Congo – August 15. Ninety-nine percent of the Congolese people voted to join the French Community in a 1958 referendum that also made the country an autonomous republic. The following year violence broke out in Brazzaville, triggering a French military intervention. On August 15, 1960, Congo gained full independence with Fulbert Youlou serving as president until 1963.

Gabon – August 17. Criticised by opposition parties for being anti-independence, Prime Minister Léon M’Ba nevertheless proclaimed Gabonese independence on August 17, 1960. He would have preferred that Gabon become a French department but had to back down when General de Gaulle refused.

Senegal and Mali – August 20 and September 22. The independent republics of Senegal and Mali were born from the ashes of the short-lived Federation of Mali – established on January 17, 1959 – made up of Senegal and what was then French Sudan. The two countries initially intended to form a union but after significant differences between Léopold Sédar Senghor, the Senegalese president of the Federal Assembly, and Modibo Keita, his Sudanese prime minister, the authorities in Dakar withdrew from the federation and declared independence on August 20. Authorities in Bamako followed suit a month later.

Rosemary Anieze, wearing the sash of "Miss Independence," is popular as she parades outside the National Stadium in Lagos, Sept. 28, 1960, after winning the title from 15 other contestants in Nigeria. © AP Photo

Nigeria – October 1. Divided into a federation of three regions – North, East and West – by the Lyttleton Constitution of 1954, Nigeria, with its population of 34 million, was already considered the giant of the African continent. As soon as independence was declared on October 1, the former British colony was forced to confront its deep ethnic and religious divisions, which quickly became the cause of political instability.

Mauritania – November 28. Mauritania proclaimed its independence despite opposition from Morocco and the Arab League. The country’s constitution, established in 1964, set up a presidential regime with Prime Minister Ould Daddah becoming president. He remained in power until 1978.

Mali protesters demand president's resignation over jihadist conflict, economy



Issued on: 10/07/2020 - 20:52Modified: 10/07/2020 - 20:57

Protesters demanding the resignation of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on July 10, 2020, in Bamako, Mali. © Matthiew Rosier, REUTERS

Text by:FRANCE 24

A mass protest in Mali against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita descended into violence on Friday as protesters blocked main thoroughfares, attacked the parliament and stormed the premises of a state broadcaster.

One person was killed during the protest in the capital Bamako, officials said.

The protest, organised by a new opposition coalition, is the third such demonstration in two months – significantly escalating pressure on the embattled president.

Thousands initially gathered in a central square to demand the president resign over the country's long-running jihadist conflict and economic woes.

They then rallied outside the parliament and in the courtyard of a state broadcaster.

The anti-Keita protest has alarmed the international community, which is keen to avoid the fragile West African state sliding into chaos.

Led by influential imam Mahmoud Dicko, the so-called June 5 movement is channelling deep-seated frustrations, heaping pressure on Keita, who unsuccessfully floated political reforms this week in a bid to appease opponents.

Many protesters on Friday carried placards bearing anti-government slogans and blowing vuvuzela horns, AFP reporters saw.

"We don't want this regime any more," said one of the demonstrators, Sy Kadiatou Sow.

Protesters later erected barricades and set tyres alight on two of the main bridges across the river Niger that runs through Bamako, according to AFP journalists, and entered the courtyard of state broadcaster ORTM.

National guardsmen also fired tear gas at protesters hurling stones at the parliament building.

Mali has been struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency that first emerged in the north in 2012, before spreading to the centre of the country and to neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger.

Thousands of soldiers and civilians have been killed, and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes.

New judges

Friday's demonstration follows an attempt by Keita on Wednesday to appease growing opposition to his government by offering to appoint new judges to the constitutional court.

The court has been at the centre of controversy in Mali since April 29, when it overturned the provisional results for March's parliamentary poll for about 30 seats.


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That move saw several members of Keita's party elected to the parliament and triggered protests in several cities.

It is also widely seen as having ignited the country's latest political crisis.

Keita suggested on Wednesday that appointing new judges would mean that the constitutional court could revisit its earlier decision.

However, opposition leaders had been demanding that the 75-year-old dissolve the parliament and form a transition government.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

UPDATED
Fourth day of virus protests in Serbia as virus cases spike
Issued on: 11/07/2020

Some demonstrators also threw firecrackers and chanted nationalist slogans, according to AFP journalists ANDREJ ISAKOVIC AFPBelgrade (AFP)

VIDEOS AT THE END

Thousands protested for a fourth day Friday across Serbia over the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic as officials condemned the demonstrations and announced a record jump in cases.

Some demonstrators threw firecrackers and chanted nationalist slogans, according to AFP journalists.

The protests were held as the Balkan nation announced a record daily death toll from COVID-19.


Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said earlier Friday the Balkan state recorded 18 fatalities and 386 new cases over 24 hours in what she described as a "dramatic increase".

At the same time, Brnabic condemned as "irresponsible" protests held in Belgrade and other cities on Thursday, after demonstrations in the capital on the previous two days had spilled over into violence.

"With regard to the demonstrations, there is no more irresponsible behaviour right now," said Brnabic.

"We shall see the results of the protests in three to four days," she said and called on people to respect measures to restrict the spread of the virus.

President Aleksandar Vucic condemned the actions of demonstrators who had blocked the main road into the second-largest city of Novi Sad as "pure terrorism", speaking on national TV.

Vucic added, "we are in this situation because of the irresponsibility of those who are calling for people to be on the streets".

"I am begging people not to protest because they will end up seeking medical help," he said, adding the demonstrations were unlawful.

Protesters have given vent to their frustration with Vucic, who is seen by many as having facilitated a virus second wave by lifting an initial lockdown so that elections could be held on June 21 and which his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) largely won.

The first demonstration on Tuesday was triggered after Vucic announced the return of a weekend curfew to combat a second wave of coronavirus infections that has overwhelmed hospitals in Belgrade.

The president later backtracked on his plan, but the protests continued, turning into a general rebuke of his handling of the health crisis.

On Thursday, the government formally dropped the curfew plan and announced restrictions on public gatherings of more than 10 people -- effectively barring protests.

A wave of new infections came after a number of sporting events were allowed to go ahead amid minimal social distancing.

These included a tennis tournament organised by multiple grand slam champion Novak Djokovic, who tested positive for coronavirus along with three other participants at his ill-fated Adria Tour.

Several senior politicians also tested positive in the wake of SNS celebrations of its election triumph.

To date, Serbia has logged 370 coronavirus deaths and almost 18,000 cases.

Neighbouring Croatia and Bosnia likewise posted 24-hour records for new virus cases Friday -- 116 and 316 respectively.

Virus Unrest Turns Violent As Serbs Protest Being "Lied To For Political Ends"

by Tyler Durden

Fri, 07/10/2020 - ZEROHEDGE

Social unrest has rocked Belgrade and other cities in Serbia this week in response to President Aleksandar Vucic's reintroduction of government-curfews over surging coronavirus cases.

Serbian police fired tear gas and were dressed head to toe in riot gear, as demonstrators, mostly young people, assaulted police on Tuesday and Wednesday. The New York Times said the unrest was some of the first in Europe since the pandemic began - also indicating the severity of the unrest was worst since the rule of Slobodan Milosevic in the 1990s. 

July 8 Belgrade riot chaos. h/t Reuters

Young Serbs quickly took the streets on Tuesday after Vucic announced Belgrade would be placed under a new order restricting movement in the region for three days to mitigate the spread of the second coronavirus wave. Many were infuriated by the re-implementation of the lockdown after coming out of some of the strictest ones in Europe to allow the general election last week.

"We don't mind staying home for another three days — that wasn't the problem," said Dragana Grncarski, 45, who has been protesting this week. 

"However, they're playing with our minds and with the truth," Grncarski added. "When it suits them to do elections, there is no corona. They organized football matches and tennis matches, and because of that we have a situation where the hospitals are full."

"Citizens have been constantly deceived and lied to for political ends," said Tena Prelec, a political expert on Southeast Europe at the University of Oxford.

BREAKING - All hell breaking loose in Serbia's Belgrade amid protests over the government's handling of #COVID19 for the second day.pic.twitter.com/3JnxJG3BiJ

— Disclose.tv 🚨 (@disclosetv) July 8, 2020

Jelena Vasiljevic, an expert on Balkan unrest at the University of Belgrade, said the expiration of the lockdowns for election purposes - then re-implementation of the lockdowns took the population "from one extreme to another." 

Vasiljevic said the "excessive use of force" by the government to combat rioters hasn't been seen since the days of "Milosevic in 1996 or 1997." Milosevic led Serbia through the Balkan Wars and was later charged for war crimes. 

Demonstrators stormed the Serbian parliament building in Belgrade after President Aleksandar Vucic announced stricter measures, including the lockdown of the capital, over the weekend to halt the spread of the coronavirus https://t.co/dFlIVgyOkG pic.twitter.com/3E24L77ftv

— Reuters (@Reuters) July 8, 2020

Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin was convinced the demonstration against the re-implementation of the lockdowns in Belgrade and other cities were "carefully planned" - and aimed at igniting a civil war. 

"We have terrible violence on the streets, we have an attempt at a coup, we have an attempt to seize power by force and an attempt to provoke a civil war in Serbia. It cannot be described and explained differently. There is no reason, there is no reason to set fire to the Assembly, to set fire to the City Hall in Novi Sad, to attack the police, to beat people on the streets, to endanger life and to endanger the property of Serbian citizens ," said Vulin, a guest on the show Novo jutro on TV Pink, was asked to comment on the events in the previous two evenings. 

"There were indications of foreign involvement, and some criminal faces were there, too," Vucic said on Wednesday afternoon. He added that virus cases will likely flare-up because of the mass unrest. 

"I wonder who will be responsible for the fact that hundreds and thousands of people became infected yesterday and the day before yesterday," he said

Vucic has also backtracked on the curfew after several days of unrest -  instead, the government is expected to impose restrictions on public spaces and possibly limit business hours. There's also talk of fining people for not wearing masks. 

When it comes to outside forces meddling in Serb domestic affairs, Russia came out on Thursday, denying it had any involvement. 

Russian Times caught some of the unrest on video earlier this week. Young Serbs can be seen clashing with riot police in front of government buildings

Lebanon’s neo-liberal wheels sped to a dream future, but the past applies the brakes


Issued on: 10/07/2020

File photo taken June 13, 2020 of Lebanese anti-government protesters in Beirut participating in a symbolic funeral for the country. AFP - ANWAR AMRO

Text by:Leela JACINTO

For decades, Lebanon was a poster child of the triumph of private enterprise, its failure to close its civil war chapter overlooked in the hopes that prosperity would overcome the weakness of the state. But now that the current economic crisis has ripped the neo-liberal band-aid, can the Lebanese confront the wounds of the past?

The trains in Lebanon are an unfortunate metaphor for the state. They’re going nowhere. In fact, they haven’t budged since the national rail system ground to a halt during the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war.

But they live in the public memory, an object of yearning and a testimony to the limitations of private enterprise. Artists put up shows offering sepia-tinted nostalgia of a heritage service. Newspapers feature profiles of “Lebanon’s last living train driver”. NGOs raise awareness, via songs and video clips, hoping it will lay the groundwork for a modern railway system linking cities as they did under Ottoman and colonial rule.

The wheels of the dream however are stuck, like the country’s trains going rusty in yards roamed by packs of wild dogs.

Meanwhile, Lebanon has a Public Transport and Railway Administration – or Office des Chemins de Fer et des Transports en Common (OCFTC) in French. The department is staffed by civil servants and has a budget of more than $8 million a year.

But the OCFTC’s only transportation offering is a fleet of public buses with a grand total of 35 vehicles officially running nine routes nationwide. In reality, many OCFTC bus drivers never get behind a wheel. Some confess they haven’t driven for years because they’re afraid of being attacked by the drivers of private minibuses, who dominate Lebanon’s public transport sector.

Transport regulation services, meanwhile, range from corrupt to non-existent. Red registration plates necessary for public transport vehicles are issued by the Transport and Vehicle Management Authority (TVMA) under the Interior Ministry. But they can be bought and sold or simply forged, with the number of red plate vehicles on the streets far exceeding TVMA-issued registrations.

But Lebanon nevertheless kept moving, its estimated 4 million citizens – famed for their enterprise, resilience and business acumen – getting where they needed to somehow. The rich and upper middle classes in their cars maneuvered traffic snarls, the less fortunate hailed minibuses or “service” – Lebanon’s celebrated shared taxis.

The money also flowed, with Lebanese banks – the historic “jewel” of the country’s economy” – offering high interest rates, attracting currency from local and regional depositors as well as the large Lebanese diaspora across the world.

“Little Lebanon” has long been the hailed liberal island in an autocratic Arab neighbourhood. After the civil war, it turned into a neo-liberal dream, the absence of effective state services, it was believed, could be filled by private enterprise, mirroring the post-Soviet zeitgeist of privatisation against the sin of “bloated” governments. International attention instead was focused on Lebanon’s precarious political equilibrium in a volatile region. The Lebanese, it was believed, could manage finance.

But the neo-liberal bubble has burst with deadly consequences. A spiraling economic crisis driven by a currency collapse is driving the state and its people into destitution. The Lebanese pound in recent days fetched more than 9,000 to the greenback on the black market, hyper-inflation has wiped meat off many Lebanese tables – including the army’s menu – and the desperation has triggered a spike in suicides.

Four Lebanese killed themselves last week in suicides apparently linked to the economic downturn.

In one case, a 61-year-old man shot himself before a Dunkin’ Donuts shop in the heart of capital, Beirut. A suicide note on his chest quoted a line from a popular song, “I am not a heretic. But hunger is heresy,” according to local media reports.


IMF as ‘defenders of widows and orphans’

Meanwhile talks between Lebanon and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an emergency bailout have stalled over the country’s inability to overhaul its entrenched patronage systems.

Two members of Lebanon’s negotiating team resigned last month, including one of the main architects of the government’s rescue plan. Alain Bifany, the top civil servant in the Lebanese finance ministry, told a news conference he “refused to be part of, or witness to, what is being done”.

A blame game has since dominated the Lebanese airwaves. But it hasn’t changed the facts on the ground. The collapse of talks was not due to differences between Lebanon and the IMF, the two negotiating parties. It was sparked by infighting within the Lebanese team, pitting civil servants against bankers and politicians over the extent of losses accrued by the banks, particularly Lebanon’s central bank.

The government’s assessment of central bank losses of around $50 billion – equivalent to more than 90 percent of Lebanon’s 2019 total economic output – was rejected by the central bank governor and some parliamentarians who maintained the amount was lower, according to the Financial Times. The IMF is more in line with Lebanese civil service figures, estimating losses of over $90 billion.

The collapse of IMF talks “is really disappointing. Basically, there is no plan B and it was the last hope to inject badly needed foreign currency which could offer a respite to the economy,” said Karim Emile Bitar, senior fellow at the Paris-based Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS) and director of the Institute for Political Science at St. Joseph University, Beirut.

While IMF bailouts, with the accompanying austerity and belt-tightening measures, tend to be unpopular across the world, the reverse is true in Lebanon, Bitar explained.

“The irony in Lebanon is that there’s such a degree of egregious corruption, political clientelism and kleptocracy that the IMF ended up being seen as defending the widows and orphans,” said Bitar in a phone interview with FRANCE 24 from Beirut. “This is one of the very few cases when the IMF is seen on the side of social justice against political elites in cahoots with private interests, banks and big depositors – the few who have over $10 million each [in bank deposits] and don’t want to contribute to a fair solution.”

The IMF bailout of around $5 billion in aid – after Lebanon for the first time defaulted on its sovereign debt – would pave the way for contributions from France, the EU, and Gulf states keen to rescue the country, but wary of pouring money into the morass.

But overhauling Lebanon’s entrenched patronage systems has proved to be easier said than done. “You would not think this would be difficult,” a senior European diplomat told the Guardian. “We have been begging them to behave like a normal state, and they are acting like they are selling us a carpet.”

Beautiful, but threadbare national carpet

The Lebanese national carpet though is a structurally threadbare tapestry of sectarian divides that has been historically managed – more often mismanaged – by feudal lords, warlords and their families and friends.

The carpet is ripped in times of war, but when the conflict ends – with an invariable division of spoils – the fabric of the nation is rarely strengthened. The country’s once warring elites and weary populace instead place their hopes on the magic of the market and the memory of the last bloodbath as a deterrent against future man-made disasters.

The roots of the current crisis lie in the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war and the country’s failure to effectively close that historical chapter by addressing existential issues. The lessons of the past are important not just for Lebanon, but also for other countries in the region, such as Syria and Iraq, grappling with sectarianism and strife.

Lebanon’s brutal civil war between internecine sectarian groups backed by regional powers ended with the Taif Accord. The agreement reached in the mountainous Saudi city of Taif ended the fighting, but failed to effectively secure the peace. Instead of abolishing colonial era divide-and-rule policies, imperative for newly independent democracies, the parties merely updated the confessional equation.

Post-conflict justice and reconciliation was avoided in favour of national amnesia, encapsulated by the dictum “la ghalib, wa la maghloub” (no victors, no vanquished). The old system of zaims, or feudal overlords, providing protection and services in exchange for patronage survived with a few nomenclature tweaks: warlords became politicians, their funding sources switched to international business and finance, territories turned into ministries, and profiteering proceeded at usual unregulated levels.

>> Read more: Lebanon’s modern zaims, or feudal lords-turned-candidates

‘Mr Lebanon’ rebuilds corruption

The postwar healing focused on obliterating the visual signs of the conflict, particularly in Beirut with its bombed out buildings and pockmarked concrete carcasses.

But the national reconstruction, which was essentially a construction boom, soon became a symbol of the ailments infecting the state.

The country’s first postwar prime minister, Rafik Hariri, led a reconstruction that set the bar for politico-business enrichment. A businessman tycoon with close Saudi ties and dual citizenship, Hariri was the largest stakeholder in Solidere, a joint stock company that snagged most of his government’s reconstruction projects. Hariri also owned Lebanon’s largest private construction company, whose director was appointed the head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction, leading an architect to explain to the Washington Post that “the agency that the government used to control private development has now reversed its role.”

The fact that Hariri was not a warlord and had the drive and pockets to rebuild his country made him a popular figure in Lebanon. The corruption was evident – Hariri was called “Mr. Lebanon” – but it was tolerated as the price of Lebanon’s “reentry in the world” as the businessman-prime minister repeatedly proclaimed.

Critics of his rebuilding – particularly architects and heritage groups bemoaning the demolition of historic sites – were brushed aside. Downtown Beirut turned into a glitzy giant shopping mall financed by debt on the detritus of Lebanon’s past, a perfect symbol of the reemerging nation.

File photo from May 2001 shows construction in downtown Beirut. AFP - RAMZI HAIDAR

“We were sold a myth, that many had an interest in telling, that there was no need for a strong state, Lebanese resilience would always come on top. Today, those truly resilient are the oligarchs, ruling class and corrupt elites while average citizens are no longer capable of making ends meet,” said Bitar.

The construction and reconstruction boom was financed by borrowing, increasing the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio to recent peaks of nearly 150 percent, putting Lebanon in the world’s top three most-indebted countries. Interest payments, meanwhile, covered more than a third of the government’s annual spending.

But the banks, which own most of the debt, happen to be controlled by politicians and their families and friends who are sinking Lebanon.

Toward a zaim-less state

The “Mr. Lebanon” template for the state could be negotiated, with wry humour, by the affluent and upper middle classes. But it was never amusing for the less fortunate, who were driven to their communities – Hezbollah for the Shiites, modern day zaim-politicians for others – to survive. This entailed non-state patronage networks that often exploited the state.

The defunct railways was just one of several departments staffed by salaried cadres who secured jobs by wasta (influence) but did precious little. The system, at the very least, managed to prop a middle-class. But the current crisis has pulled the rug on that. “The country had a solid middle class. Today, the middle class has all but vanished. Many are thinking of leaving the country,” said Bitar.


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The Lebanese, acutely aware of the brewing problem, have been trying to do something about it. Grassroots movements have included the 2015 “You Stink” protest campaign against the garbage collection problem. In the 2018 parliamentary elections, a record number of civil society figures, under an umbrella coalition called Kuluna Watani, stood for the long-delayed polls. But while that fired up hopes on the campaign trail, it did little to change the post-election power dynamic since electoral rules ensured the survival of the old guard.


Anti-government protests once again broke out in October, with demonstrators demanding an end to the system. They got, instead, a change of government with Prime Minister Saad Hariri’s resignation, but nothing changed. Ministry posts are still doled out on patronage terms, the trains are still stuck.

The only silver lining of the current crisis is that this time it’s so serious, the Lebanese will not be hoodwinked by a bailout band-aid on the national wound.

“There must be a rejection of the old clientelist system. Many aspire to a new Lebanon based on citizenship rather than community affiliations,” said Bitar. “They want rights from the state without having to go begging to sectarian leaders begging for jobs, asking for money for medicine. Today, Lebanon needs a new social contract.”

MODERN SLAVE AUCTIONS IN LIBYA

Liverpool addresses its slave trade past

Issued on: 11/07/2020

Councillor Anna Rothery, the Lord Mayor of Liverpool, says its links to the slave trade amounts to "an awful, wicked history for the city" OLI SCARFF AFP

Liverpool (AFP)

Anna Rothery is the first black woman to hold the position of Lord Mayor of Liverpool, a largely ceremonial role for elected councillors to promote the interests of the city.

But she finds hard one aspect of Liverpool's past that made the city what it is today -- its links to the international slave trade.

"It's an awful, wicked history for the city," the city council member told AFP, pointing to a street sign named after one of Liverpool's leading slave-trading dynasties.


"Earle Street depicts a family that expanded over a century in terms of dealing with ships, slavery, working with plantations, transporting goods from Virginia," she said.

At the junction of Cunliffe Street and Sir Thomas Street, she points out that both were named after owners of the first registered slave ships to leave the city in northwest England.

"Everybody from around the world comes to the city to visit because they want to understand the role that Liverpool played in the transatlantic slave trade," she went on.

"And it was a huge role."

- Apologies -

The death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, during a US police arrest sparked outrage across the world and a wave of anti-racism protests.

In Britain, as elsewhere, it also sparked heated debate about whether prestigious buildings and streets should still be named after people at the forefront of the slave trade.

Statues erected to honour slave traders have been torn down or cautiously removed by councils in response to the public mood.

For visitors, Liverpool is football, the Beatles and its so-called "Three Graces" -- the imposing Liver Building, Cunard Building, and Port of Liverpool Building.

But for locals, Rothery said "everybody recognises where the finance came from" to develop the port and grand buildings dating from the 18th and 19th centuries that still stand.

The city is coming to terms with its past: the International Slavery Museum opened in 2007 in Royal Albert Dock, yards from where slave ships were fitted out and repaired.

Liverpool University is planning to rename a student hall of residence named after the former prime minister William Gladstone because of his family's links to slavery.

But Rothery said "in 2020 you look around the city, you will see very few black people employed", denouncing "systemic racism".

University College London recently published a database of leading British institutions and companies that profited from slavery.

Included on the list were the Church of England, the Bank of England, insurers Lloyds of London, and the Greene King brewery chain.

Recognising the public mood, they apologised but the debate has not subsided, with discussion centred on the extent to which the British economy benefited from the practice.

A 2018 report by Klas Ronnback, professor of economics at the University of Gothenburg, estimated that in 1800, the slave trade accounted for 11.1 percent of Britain's economic output.

After Britain's abolition of slavery in 1833, damages were paid either directly or indirectly to thousands of former slave owners for the loss of "property".

In all, £20 million was paid -- a colossal sum for the time.

- Damages -

Today, it is damages to descendants of victims of slavery that are under discussion.

Some oppose such a move, arguing that descendants are impossible to identify or that organisations with links to the slave trade are not responsible for what happened 200 years ago.

Others, like Rothery, want money to fight inequality and give black people a fairer chance in society and the workplace.

"We must not only move forward on the question of statues and street names but also on the lack of economic opportunities for the black population," she said.

Joe Anderson, the city's directly elected mayor, has acknowledged Liverpool "hasn't done anywhere near the amount of things it should have done".

That included in the workplace and political representation.

UCL historian Keith McClelland, who works on the slavery database, believes funding scholarships for black students from disadvantaged backgrounds and donations to anti-racist associations would be a good way of addressing the issue of reparations.

This is already happening, with Greene King and Lloyds committed to offering "significant" payments to support black and ethnic minority communities, and improve racial diversity in their businesses.

© 2020 AFP

Bella Hadid says ‘proud to be Palestinian’ after Instagram deletes story showing her father's birthplace

July 8, 2020

Palestinian-American supermodel Bella Hadid

July 8, 2020

Bella Hadid has hit out at Instagram after the site deleted a Story post of her father’s expired passport, which listed his place of birth as Palestine, saying she’s “proud to be Palestinian”.

Hadid, 23, shared the picture last week, writing, “My baba and his birthplace of Palestine”, but revealed yesterday Instagram had removed the post for violating “community guidelines”.





The 23-year-old supermodel, who is of Dutch and Palestinian descent, explained yesterday why the Story had been removed, writing: “Instagram removed my story that only said, “My baba And his birthplace of Palestine”, with a photograph of his American passport. @instragram exactly what part of me being proud of my fathers birth place of Palestine is “bullying, harassment, graphic, or sexual nudity”?”.

Adding, alongside a screenshot of the notification from Instagram:

Are we not allowed to be Palestinian on Instagram? This, to me, is bullying. You can’t erase history by silencing people. It doesn’t work like that.

“Do you want him to change his birthplace for you? I am proud to be Palestinian”, Hadid added alongside a repost of the picture of her father’s expired passport.

READ: Gigi Hadid’s dad and his childhood home in Palestine

It was not immediately clear the exact reason Hadid’s post was removed under Instagram’s “community guidelines on harassment or bullying”, but the supermodel’s fans were quick to show their support on Twitter.

One user praised Hadid, writing: “Too many Arabs allow society/Hollywood/social media to shut them down & then they participate in their own erasure. You said, “not today.” And the rest of us say, “Not ever.”

Thank you @bellahadid for being a visible & vocal advocate of Palestine. Too many Arabs allow society/Hollywood/social media to shut them down & then they participate in their own erasure. You said, “Not today.” And the rest of us say, “Not ever.” #FreePalestine 🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/NBFp6vVAFH
— Philistine Ayad 🇵🇸 Free Palestine (@PhilistineAyad) July 8, 2020

While another wrote: “I am absolutely here for a young woman as prominent and influential as Bella Hadid openly discussing Palestine and the struggles of the Palestinian people. She’s the only “A-lister” I’ve seen do it”.

Bella Hadid, along with siblings Gigi, Anwar and father Mohamed, have been vocal advocates of Palestinian rights for years, using their platforms to promote the cause.

In December 2017, the 23-year-old reportedly spontaneously joined a Palestinian solidarity march in London. While, in the same month, the supermodel condemned the US’ recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, writing on Instagram: “Watching the news and seeing the pain of the Palestinian people makes me cry for the many many generations of Palestine… the treatment of the Palestinian people is unfair, one-sided and should not be tolerated. I stand with Palestine”.

bellahadid

Verified

💔I've been waiting to put this into perfect words but I realized there is no perfect way to speak of something so unjust. A very very sad day.Watching the news and seeing the pain of the Palestinian people makes me cry for the many many generations of Palestine.

Seeing the sadness of my father, cousins, and Palestinian family that are feeling for our Palestinian ancestors makes this even harder to write. Jerusalem is home of all religions. For this to happen, I feel, makes us take 5 steps back making it harder to live in a world of peace.

The TREATMENT of the Palestinian people is unfair, one-sided and should not be tolerated. I stand with Palestine.

There is no hate against anyone... There are no sides... All religions living side by side.. Now it is Just one man..it has always been a factor of trying to bring peace... Where is the hope..?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcaCVA-n3Yl/?utm_source=ig_embed