Saturday, September 12, 2020

US democratic indicators plummet amid racial justice protests and pandemic

by University of Rochester
Placed in a longer-term context, the experts' ratings of US democratic performance have fallen the furthest since Bright Line Watch's inception in 2017 for the following five items: the judiciary can limit the executive, protests are tolerated, agencies do not punish, the constitution limits the executive, and the legislature can limit the executive. Credit: Bright Line Watch

The health of democracy in the United States has reached its lowest point since an academic watchdog group of political scientists began tracking its performance in 2017.


Results of the August 2020 survey from Bright Line Watch—a political science research project of faculty at the University of Rochester, the University of Chicago, and Dartmouth College—show a small but perceptible drop in the experts' rating of the overall quality of US democracy.

During the first two years of Bright Line Watch expert surveys, from February 2017 to March 2019, average scores were generally in the high 60s on a 0-100 scale, with a decline in the period before the 2018 midterm elections and then an uptick afterward in March 2019. Since then, however, three consecutive expert surveys have shown successive declines, driving ratings of US democracy to a new low of 61 on the Bright Line Watch scale in their latest survey.

While there are a few bright spots in the latest report, the overall picture is cause for consternation, notes Gretchen Helmke, professor of political science at the University of Rochester.

Since February 2017, the nonpartisan group of political scientists, which includes Helmke and Mitchell Sanders '97 (Ph.D.) of Meliora Research, has been surveying the American public, as well as colleagues in academia, in an effort to gauge the relative well-being of the nation's democracy.

"It is concerning that there has been so much erosion across the board on so many principles," says Helmke. "We have been seeing growing gaps for a while between how important a principle is and how it is performing, particularly in areas related to institutional limits on the government and accountability. But the latest survey showed us just how much ground has been lost since March."

In one way or another, COVID-19 has touched billions of lives around the globe and cast a pall over US politics. To date, more than 185,000 people have died in the US alone. Campaigns for the presidency, Congress, and other public offices are taking place in a largely virtual medium. At the same time, since Memorial Day, when George Floyd died while in the custody of Minneapolis police officers, protests over Floyd's death and the government's response to the protests have highlighted challenges to democratic governance. The survey was completed before the police shooting of Jacob Blake on August 23 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.


In its 11th survey of experts, the academic watchdog group asked political scientists across the country how US democracy fared during the pandemic.

The 776 responding experts, polled between July 27 and August 17, see the overall quality of US democracy continuing on its downward trend, reaching the lowest point since Bright Line Watch began its surveys in early 2017.

Key findings of Bright Line Watch's August 2020 survey
Performance declines since March 2020 are greatest for protections of free speech, toleration of peaceful protest, and protection from political violence.
Experts see considerable declines since 2017 in the performance of democratic principles concerning limits on government power and accountability for its misuse.
Experts are concerned about the state of American elections. Although relatively few express significant concerns about fraud, the majority does not believe that elections are free from foreign influence. Two-thirds of the experts do not think that citizens have an equal opportunity to vote, or that all votes have equal impact.
The gap between expert assessments of the importance of numerous principles and performance on those principles has widened. In the past, importance and performance ratings were highly correlated; experts perceived stronger performance for more important principles. That relationship has weakened.

Performance on democratic principles

Bright Line Watch asked experts to gauge how well the US "fully meets," "mostly meets," "partly meets," or "does not meet" standards for 28 democratic principles.

Overall, experts rate the US as performing well on questions related to rights and freedoms—such as political parties, opinions, and speech. They rate the US as performing poorly on dimensions associated with civility and behavior—such as patriotism, compromise, and facts, and electoral dysfunction—such as biased districts, campaign contributions, and inequality of votes. Experts express more mixed judgments on items involving accountability of officeholders and institutions.

"The most alarming findings, though not particularly surprising, are the steep declines in government protection for peaceful protest and the prevention of political violence," says Helmke. "This is really a new and quite worrisome trend, and, of course, our polling for this survey took place even before the events in Kenosha."

Specifically, since March, experts perceive substantial declines in government protection for peaceful protests (-31 percentage points), prevention of political violence (-16.7 percentage points), and protections for free speech (-12.4 percentage points). According to Bright Line Watch, those decreases can be attributed to the administration's responses to protests and demonstrations, including the use of nonlethal weapons against protestors and the deployment of federal agents in Portland and Washington, DC.

Expert ratings also declined for the principles that government statistics and data not be influenced by political considerations(-14.3 percentage points), that investigations of public officials remain free of political interference (-10.9 percentage points), and that voter participation in elections is generally high (-9 percentage points).

The only significant improvement in performance is on the principle that the judiciary can effectively limit the executive, which rose from 44 percent to 58 percent of experts saying that the US "mostly" or "fully" meets this standard. This increase might reflect recent Supreme Court decisions that prevented President Trump from blocking the release of his financial records and overturned his decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, according to the Bright Line Watch team.

The long view

When placed in a longer-term context, the experts' ratings of US democratic performance have fallen the furthest since Bright Line Watch's inception in 2017 for the following five items:
Government protects individuals' right to engage in peaceful protest
Executive authority cannot be expanded beyond constitutional limits
The legislature is able to effectively limit executive power
The judiciary is able to effectively limit executive power
Government agencies are not used to monitor, attack, or punish political opponents


Explore furtherPerception of US democracy tanks after Trump impeachment
Provided by University of Rochester

 

About 10 thousand women march across Minsk in peaceful protest

Simultaneously with the beginning of the action, arrests began on the Freedom square.

Women’s March. September 12, Minsk. Photo: Belsat.eu

After the Women’s March was over, the security forces detained the participants and bystanders.

The store on Independence Avenue welcomes the participants of the peaceful Women’s March. Minsk, September 12. Photo: Belsat.euЖенский марш

Women’s March in Minsk. September 12, 2020. Photo: Alyaksandr Vasyukovich / Vot-tak

The participants in the march drove the journalists of the Russian channel RT, who worked also for the Belarusian State Television, to the other side of the road.

The Independence Avenue. Only public transport was running. Women’s March, September 12, Minsk. Photo: Belsat.eu
The girls stopped the public transport so that everyone could move together, and then thanked the drivers. Women’s March, Minsk, September 12. Photo: Belsat.eu

Viasna reports about almost 30 people detained today in Minsk.

The girls stopped the public transport so that everyone could move together, and then thanked the drivers. Women’s March, Minsk, September 12. Photo: Belsat.eu

One of the main slogans of the women’s march today was “Where is our Masha?”

Women’s march in Minsk, September 12. Photo: Belsat.euAmong the detained are Belsat journalists Katsyaryna Andreyeva and Maksim Kalitouski, who were broadcasting live. They wore vests with the words “Press”. Andreyeva wrote on her Facebook: “Maks Kalitouski and I have been detained, during the arrest they threatened to handcuff me. We are in the Kastrychnitski district police department. They’ve seized the camera and phone, if we do not give it back, we can be charged with article 23.4,”. Come here everyone, especially a lawyer.”

Women’s march to Freedom Square. The girl tore off the mask from the security officer, he hit her. Minsk, September 12. Photo: Belsat.eu

Women’s march at the Freedom Square. Minsk, September 12. Photo: Belsat.eu
Women’s march at the Freedom Square. Minsk, September 12. Photo: Belsat.eu
Belarus police arrest dozens of protesters at anti-Lukashenko rally

Issued on: 12/09/2020 -
  
Law enforcement officers block demonstrators during a women's rally against police brutality following protests to reject the presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, September 12, 2020. via REUTERS - TUT.BY

Belarus police detained dozens of protesters on Saturday as thousands of people gathered in the capital Minsk demanding the release of a jailed opposition leader, the latest in a wave of mass protests following a disputed election.

Maria Kolesnikova, 38, has emerged as a key opposition figure after others were either jailed or forced out of the country, including Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya who challenged President Alexander Lukashenko in the presidential election.

Protesters say the Aug. 9 election was rigged to hand Lukashenko a phoney landslide win and that Tsikhanouskaya - who has since fled to Lithuania - was the real winner. Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years, denies this and has said foreign powers are behind the protests.

At least 5,000 protesters, many of them women, gathered in central Minsk on Saturday, chanting "Go away!" in reference to Lukashenko, and "Masha" - a common alternative for Maria - in support of Kolesnikova, a Reuters witness said.

"Sveta is my president, Masha is my queen," read one of the slogans held up in the crowd.

Police starting detaining people shortly after the protests started at 1200 GMT, putting at least 40 into police vans in the first hour of the rally alone, according to the witness.

Kolesnikova was driven to the Ukrainian border earlier last week after being seen snatched off the streets of Minsk and into a van by masked men.

According to two allies who were with her, she prevented being expelled from Belarus by tearing her passport up into small pieces and throwing it out of a car window. She is now detained in Minsk, and faces a potential long prison term over accusations of trying to seize power illegally.

Tsikhanouskaya,who stood against Lukashenko in place of her better-known husband who was detained before election, called on Saturday for the police to stop cracking down on dissent.

"Violence you are putting on women is disgraceful," she said in a statement. "Anyone who commits a crime against peaceful protesters will be called to answer."

(REUTERS)

  

Belarus: Women attacked and detained as protests persist

Demonstrations against the embattled regime of Alexander Lukashenko have continued in Minsk despite ongoing repression. Female protesters were kettled and attacked by masked men not wearing insignias.



Belarusian riot police on Saturday violently detained several dozen women demonstrators, as President Alexander Lukashenko's regime continued to resort to violence against its own people to cling to power.

Clashes broke out in Minsk's Freedom Square as men in blackface masks and green uniforms without insignia shoved and kettled the women protesters, as was visible in footage broadcast by Belsat TV channel and Tut.by, a Belarusian independent outlet.
Confrontation with authorities

Some protesters pushed back and tried to unmask the uniformed men.

Another video showed riot police officers roughly throwing the women into police vans. The Viasna rights group said at least 45 people were detained.

Unprecedented demonstrations have erupted in recent weeks after the president defeated opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and won re-election with 80% of the vote on August 9. 

Tsikhanouskaya's supporters dispute the result, and the candidate is currently in exile in Lithuania.
Lukashenko told to 'Go away!'

Reuters reported that many of the 5,000 protesters present on Saturday chanted "Go away!" in reference to Lukashenko, and "Masha" — a common alternative for Maria — in support of opposition activist, Maria Kolesnikova.

The 38-year-old is one of several of Lukashenko's opponents who have been jailed or detained over recent weeks.

Kolesnikova was detained after she resisted forced expulsion from the country by ripping up her passport.

Read more: Maria Kolesnikova, musician and Lukashenko opponent

On Saturday, Kolesnikova was moved to a new location northeast of the Belarusian capital. The opposition wrote on Twitter that they had not been told the reason for the move.

Belarus opposition politician remains in police custody

Kolesnikova is a close ally of Tsikhanouskaya and the pair are members of the 7-person Coordination Council, which the election candidate set up to demand new elections in the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million people.

bk/mm (dpa, Reuters, AFP)


Belarus: dozens of peaceful female protesters thrown into vans by riot police
Rally in Minsk against disputed re-election of Lukashenko was attended by thousands

Police officers block protesters during an opposition rally in Minsk on Saturday protesting against the presidential election results. Photograph: Misha Friedman/AP


Agence France-Presse in Minsk
Sat 12 Sep 2020

Belarusian riot police detained several dozen women demonstrators and threw them into vans, as thousands took to the streets of the capital to protest against police violence and electoral fraud.

Before a massive protest expected on Sunday, columns of female protesters gathered in central Minsk for a peaceful women’s protest. Some beat saucepans with ladles and others chanted “Bring back our Masha”, referring to opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova by her diminutive name.

Kolesnikova, 38, was jailed this week after she resisted forced expulsion by ripping up her passport.
Opposition activist Nina Baginskaya, 73, tries to remove the mask of a riot police officer during a rally in Minsk on 12 September. Photograph: TUT.BY/AFP/Getty Images

But scuffles broke out in Freedom Square in central Minsk as men in black masks sought to detain some women protesters and they pushed back, footage broadcast by Belsat TV channel and Tut.by, a Belarusian independent outlet, showed.

Another video showed riot police officers roughly throwing female protesters into police vans.

The Viasna rights group said 30 protesters had been detained.

The spokeswoman for the interior ministry, Olga Chemodanova, told AFP that “women had been detained” but could not say how many or provide other details.

Belsat, a Warsaw-based opposition television channel, said on Telegram that two of its journalists covering the protest had also been detained.

Unprecedented demonstrations broke out in Belarus after strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the ex-Soviet state for 26 years, claimed to have defeated opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya and won re-election with 80% of the vote on 9 August.

On Monday, Lukashenko is to hold talks with Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, in Sochi, with the two due to discuss plans to further integrate their countries.


Masked Men Detain Female Protesters in Belarus
By VOA News
September 12, 2020 

An elderly woman rips the mask off a police officer during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sept. 12, 2020.



Thousands of Belarusians demonstrated Saturday in Minsk to demand the release of opposition leader Maria Kolesnikova, who was jailed this week after she resisted expulsion from the country.

Video broadcast by Polish-funded satellite TV channel Belsat and independent outlet Tut.by showed masked Belarusian riot police violently detaining at least 40 women who were thrown into vans as scuffles erupted in the city’s central Freedom Square.
A woman wears a T-shirt with a sign of an old Belarusian flag during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, Sept. 12, 2020.

Saturday’s protests were a precursor to a massive women’s rally expected on Sunday to protest police violence and allegations of electoral fraud. Some of the women protesters chanted “Bring back our Masha,” referring to Kolesnikova, while others beat saucepans.

Kolesnikova, who has been in a Minsk jail since Monday, has been accused of undermining national security as part of a criminal investigation against leaders of the Coordination Council, which was formed last month to negotiate a transition of power after President Alexander Lukashenko won a sixth term in office.

Opposition parties, the United States and the European Union allege the August 9 election was rigged.

Lukashenko, who denies the voting was fraudulent, accuses council members and activists of colluding with Western nations to try to create a parallel government.

Thousands of people have been detained over five weeks of protests triggered by the contested August 9 election. At least three people have been killed and hundreds hurt as police have aggressively dispersed peaceful protesters with rubber bullets, clubs and stun grenades.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said the U.S. and other countries are considering bringing sanctions against "those involved in human rights abuses and repression in Belarus."
QANON COVIDIDIOTS 

Protests against virus restrictions in Germany, Poland


Issued on: 12/09/2020 - 
Around 8,000 people marched in Munich, according to police Christof STACHE AFP



Munich (Germany) (AFP)

Several thousand people protested in German cities on Saturday against measures imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, while hundreds marched in the Polish capital Warsaw.

Some 8,000 people marched in the southern German city of Munich, according to a police estimate, most of them ignoring a city ordinance requiring the wearing of masks.

At least a thousand turned out in Hanover, central Germany and there was another demonstration in the western city of Wiesbaden.


Tens of thousands turned out for similar demonstrations last month in Berlin.

The movement is made up of a number of different groups, from self-declared "free thinkers" to anti-vaccine campaigners, conspiracy theorists and far-right activists.

Although clashes marred the last protest in Berlin late in August there have been no reports of trouble so far on Saturday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a statement on Saturday that she understood why some people had a problem with the restrictions being imposed. She acknowledged that people were free to criticise government policy in peaceful protests.

And in what appeared to be a response to some protesters' claims of being censured, she pointed out that many people envied Germany for the freedom accorded people to publicly disagree and demonstrate.

In the Polish capital Warsaw meanwhile, several hundred people joined a similar protest that marched through the city centre.

Others placards denounced the Microsoft billionaire turned philanthropist Bill Gates -- the target of conspiracy theories about the virus -- opposed any new lockdown, or called for the resignation of the government.

© 2020 AFP

Dalai Lama calls for unified global action on climate change




Issued on: 12/09/2020 - 
Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama (pictured 1996) said in a video message to a virtual G7 meeting that people have more of a sense of shared interest in saving the planet David HANCOCK AFP/File

Washington (AFP)

Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama called on world leaders Saturday to join forces in fighting climate change.

"Now we should pay more attention about global warming," the exiled leader said in a video message to a virtual meeting of Group of Seven parliamentary leaders.

The session was hosted by the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, a longstanding advocate for the Himalayan region.

National leaders have been meeting less frequently with the Dalai Lama due to pressure from China.

In his video address, the Dalai Lama said people today have more of a sense of shared interest in saving the planet.

"If you look (at) past history, too much emphasis individual nation, individual religion, including color," the 85-year-old Buddhist leader said, according to a statement from the International Campaign for Tibet.

"So it creates a lot of problem. Basically, you see, they are selfish, self-centered attitudes," the 1989 Nobel peace laureate said.

Climate change is affecting some of the world's least powerful people, the Dalai Lama added.

"Due to global warming, too much rain some area. Some area dry. So these people suffer,” the Dalai Lama said. "Particularly like in Africa and some area in India and China also."

The impact along economic lines is also imbalanced, he added.

"The rich people, big hotel, not much serious sort of feeling,” the Dalai Lama said. “But poor people, they really face serious problem."

Saturday's meeting brought Pelosi together with counterparts from Britain, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

© 2020 AFP

 

Thousands protest in Mauritius over giant oil spill

  
The oil spill has inflicted untold damage on the Indian Ocean archipelago Fabien Dubessay AFP


Mahébourg (Mauritius) (AFP)

Mauritians on Saturday marched for the second time in a month as public anger festers over the government's handling of a devastating oil spill off the coast.

A sea of colourful demonstrators waving flags and chanting slogans descended on Mahebourg on the southeast coast, where a cargo ship ran aground in July and leaked more than 1,000 tonnes of fuel into the pristine sea.

Police said 25,000 attended but organisers estimated the turn-out was at least double that.

The spill has inflicted untold damage on the Indian Ocean archipelago of 1.3 million people that depends on its fabled coastline for fishing and ecotourism.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and his government have been accused of not acting fast enough to prevent the worst environmental crisis in the country's history.

Demonstrators thronging the coastline at Mahebourg, many with painted faces, chanted "He Must Leave!" and waved placards calling for the government to resign over the disaster.

"We are here to call on the government to pack their things and go. The people no longer trust this government," said Marie, a protester who only gave her first name.

It was the second major rally over the spill after tens of thousands marched in the capital Port Louis on August 29 in the biggest demonstration witnessed in Mauritius in 40 years.

"We will keep up the pressure on the unpopular government of Pravind Jugnauth," said Ashok Subron, one of the protest organisers

- 'Criminal negligence' -

The MV Wakashio crashed off Mauritius on July 25 with 4,000 tonnes of fuel aboard but did not begin leaking oil for more than a week.

By the time Jugnauth issued an urgent appeal for international help the slick had reached the shore, coating mangrove forests, fragile ecosystems and coral reefs.

An army of volunteers scrubbed the coastline but the stricken bulker kept leaking, even after salvage crews declared the last of the fuel aboard having been removed on August 12.

"The MV Wakashio (incident) illustrates the incompetence of this government," said Bruno Laurette, another protest organiser.

"Criminal negligence has had an impact on the flora and fauna of our country. Enough. They have to be put out of harm's way."

The ship eventually split and the larger piece was towed out to sea and sunk, further angering conservationists. The smaller section remains stranded on the reef and is visible from Mahebourg.

The washing ashore of nearly 50 dead melon-headed whales only spurred further outrage, as did the death of two sailors involved in the salvage process when their tugboat collided with a barge.

The Japanese owner of the MV Wakashio pledged this week to pay at least $9.4 million to help fix the damage caused by the spill.

It is still unclear why the Wakashio was so close to shore when the accident occurred. Jugnauth has commissioned a formal investigation and promised a full and transparent inquiry.


Around 50 feared dead in DR Congo mine flooding

Issued on: 12/09/2020 -
 
No bodies have been recovered so far STRINGER AFP

Bukavu (DR Congo) (AFP)

About 50 people are feared dead after an artisanal gold mine flooded in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after torrential rain, a provincial governor said Saturday.

The accident in the makeshift mine occurred on Friday in the town of Kamituga, in South Kivu province, about 270 kilometres (170 miles) southwest of the regional capital Bukavu.

DR Congo's mineral-rich but volatile east faces regular attacks from a plethora of militias and rebel groups which operate freely in the region.

South Kivu governor Theo Ngwabidje Kasi deplored "the tragic deaths of 50 people, most of them young".

However, Kamituga mayor Alexandre Bundya said "we are not yet sure of the exact number" of victims.

No bodies had been recovered so far, he said, adding that "19 families have come to look for their relatives".

A local resident at the scene, Jean Nondo Mukambilwa, told AFP only one body had been found so far.

Torrential rain had flooded a river close to the mine, and dismissed an earlier report that the mine had caved in, he said.

"It was not a collapse. It was because of the rains that the accident happened," he explained.

"Water went into the three tunnels. When people tried to get out, there was no way as the water was flowing strongly, with high pressure."

Hundreds of people gathered at the entrance to one of the tunnels, a video sent to AFP by the witness showed.

Men using shovels were trying to clear the entrance to the narrow passageway, as Red Cross workers stood waiting.

The mayor decreed two days of mourning and called on locals to help extract the bodies from the ground.

"Investigations must be carried out to find out the causes of this disaster," said a representative of civil society, Nicolas Kyalangalilwa.

"The authorities must take responsibility instead of taxing" these miners.

Accidents in DR Congo's makeshift mines are common and often deadly.

- Illegal mining rampant -

In June 2019, at least 39 men died when a copper mine in Kolwezi, in the southeastern Katanga region, partially collapsed.

Because many such mines are in remote areas however, the accidents are under-reported. DR Congo has huge reserves of gold, cobalt, copper and coltan.

It is the world's largest producer of cobalt, crucial for making the batteries used in mobile phones and electric vehicles.

The illegal miners sell what they find to local traders, who sell it on to large foreign companies and are usually paid a pittance.

Mining hardly benefits DR Congo's more than 80 million people. The World Bank said in 2018 that 72 percent of the population lived on less than 1.9 dollars a day.

According to a report by London-based specialist firm Darton, up to 16 percent of the cobalt extracted in the mineral-rich Katanga province came from illegal miners.

© 2020 AFP



French Yellow Vests tussle with police as protests resume




Issued on: 12/09/2020 - 
Yellow Vests marching in Paris, September 12, 2020. © Alain Jocard, AFP
Text by:NEWS WIRES


French police fired tear gas and arrested more than 250 people in Paris on Saturday as they tussled with "yellow vest" protesters seeking to revive an anti-government movement curbed by a coronavirus lockdown this year.
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The "yellow vests", named after motorists' high-visibility jackets, emerged in late 2018 in protest against fuel taxes and the cost of living, posing a major challenge to President Emmanuel Macron as demonstrations spread across France.

By midday on Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators had gathered at the starting points of two authorised marches in Paris.

While one cortege proceeded without incident, the other march was aborted as police clashed with groups who left the designated route and set fire to waste bins and a car.

Some protesters wore black clothes and carried the flag of an anti-fascist movement, suggesting the presence of radical demonstrators dubbed "black blocks" often blamed for violence at street marches in France.


The police repeatedly used tear gas to counter small groups of roaming protesters, before they dispersed towards the end of the afternoon.


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Police had made 256 arrests by 6 p.m. (1600 GMT), with many for carrying items like tools that could be used as weapons.

A heavy police presence notably worked to prevent protesters reaching the Champs-Elysees. The famous shopping avenue was the scene of rioting at the height of the 'yellow vest' movement, and many stores there were boarded up on Saturday.

The return of the protests comes as France grapples with a resurgence in coronavirus cases that set a daily high on Thursday at nearly 10,000.

Police had called on Saturday's demonstrators to respect coronavirus measures in Paris, which is among France's high-risk "red zones" and where it is compulsory to wear a face mask in the street.

(REUTERS)

The return of the Yellow Vests provide a challenge to France’s new government



Issued on: 12/09/2020 - 

A man holds a placard reading "Tomorrow the sky will be yellow" as protesters wearing face masks gather to take part in a Yellow Vests demonstration on September 12, 2020 in Paris. © AFP - Alain Jocard


After pausing for the coronavirus lockdown and summer holidays, the Yellow Vests are bringing their anger back to the streets for a series of protests in Paris and a number of other French cities on Saturday.

In France, the schools are back and so too are the Yellow Vest protests. The first Yellow Vest protests since March in Paris and in several large provincial cities is a test for the government under its new prime minister, Jean Castex.

There is the fear of another outbreak of violence on the Champs-Elysées where all gatherings have been banned. Shopfronts have been boarded over and barricades erected even though no protests are officially allowed.

Second Covid wave or not, the Gilets Jaunes (yellow vests) plan a mass return to French streets and roundabouts today. By 11am there had been 68 pre-demo arrests in Paris, mostly for carrying weapons or missiles. Marches are also planned in provincial cities. 1/7— John Lichfield (@john_lichfield) September 12, 2020

2,300 people indicated that they still intended to take part in the rally on the Champs-Elysées, and 7,000 showed interest, according to the event's Facebook page.

According to police sources, 4,000 to 5,000 demonstrators are expected in Paris, including potentially violent ‘black bloc’ protesters.

The French capital of #Paris awaits today one of the biggest turnouts of the #GiletsJaunes movement.

Some preparations already underway for fear of the Black block which recently spreads destruction during nationwide protests. pic.twitter.com/rENLxac5H2— ISCResearch (@ISCResearch) September 12, 2020

Two demonstrations have been authorised to take place in Paris at a distance from the Champs-Elysees by the Paris Police Prefecture (PPP): one from the Place de la Bourse, in the centre of the capital; the other from the Place Wagram, in the west.

"There can be no destruction and chaos on the Champs-Elysées," police prefect Didier Lallemant said on BFMTV, calling for "calm" as the activity of the shops on the avenue has been severely disrupted during previous editions of these demonstrations, which were marred by violence and destruction.

According to the PPP, there had been 200 arrests in Paris by 3pm on Saturday.

#12septembre | A 15h00, ce sont 2⃣0⃣0⃣ interpellations et 3⃣5⃣ verbalisations qui ont été effectuées par les forces de l'ordre en marge des manifestations du jour. pic.twitter.com/bGKJQ5obVp— Préfecture de Police (@prefpolice) September 12, 2020

While other rallies are also planned in the provinces, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, presented on Friday an outline of the government's new doctrine for maintaining order, which should make it possible to guarantee both security and the right to demonstrate. From this Saturday, the forces of law and order will use a new defensive grenade known as GMD. It is said to be less dangerous than the previous one used and its use will be supervised. This weapon’s primary purpose is to break up groups of people.

The French government's stick is outlined here. Government forces may use a sub-lethal projectile firing gun (LBD) subject to the consent of a supervisor. They may also use a new hand grenade (GMD) to disperse people. So that's good! NOT! https://t.co/2FhfoAgc3p— S.C. (@sallycopper) September 11, 2020


The Yellow Vests, named after the high-visibility jackets they wear, protested every Saturday for 70 weeks until the lockdown. The movement emerged late in 2018, triggered by fuel tax rises, and swelled into a revolt against Macron’s government.

Their last major protest was on March 14, 2020, on the eve of local elections. This was just three days before the country went into lockdown for Covid-19. They were in defiance of a ban from President Macron over mass gatherings.

It is almost two years since the first Yellow Vest protest on November 17, 2018. Their numbers at first soared and then ebbed. The question now is whether they will rise again like a Phoenix from the ashes as social dissension grows over Covid restrictions.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

Police say 100 arrested as clashes mark Chile coup anniversary

A demonstrator is hit by a jet from a water cannon during a protest in homage to the victims of Chile's 1973 military coup, in Santiago, September 2020 Martin BERNETTI AFP

Santiago (AFP)

Chilean police said Saturday that more than 100 people were arrested after clashes marking the 47th anniversary of the coup d'etat that overthrew the leftist government of Salvador Allende.

Sixteen police officers and two civilians were wounded in the clashes that erupted after ceremonies commemorating Allende, who died in the coup that ushered in 17 years of military rule under General Augusto Pinochet.

Police general Ricardo Yanez said three police barracks had come under attack, his forces had been targeted by "several attacks with incendiary devices" and vehicles had been torched.

Most of the disturbances took place in the capital Santiago, after a march to the La Moneda presidential palace to pay tribute to Allende. The clashes continued through the night and into early morning.

The date is marked annually by violent incidents between protesters and police, with residents in some neighborhoods erecting barricades.

Yanez said the number of violent incidents had increased this year but that they were less intense than previously.

Interior Minister Victor Perez told a press conference that "it is clear that there are violent groups whose only capacity is to destroy" and that needed to be confronted and brought to justice.

Most the clashes occurred in Santiago, especially around the central Plaza Italia square which was the epicenter of months of social protests that erupted in October last year and left around 30 people dead and thousands wounded.

Allende committed suicide by shooting himself during the September 11, 1973 coup, having vowed not to be taken alive as Pinochet's troops stormed the presidential palace.

 

Lebanese rally near presidential palace to demand justice over port blast


Beirut (AFP)

Hundreds of Lebanese marched Saturday on the presidential palace to denounce a lack of progress in a probe by authorities into a monster blast that ravaged swathes of the capital 40 days ago.

Some marchers carried black versions of the Lebanese flag in a sign of mourning for the more than 190 people who were killed in the August 4 explosion at the Beirut port, and others demanded the president resign.

Twenty-five suspects are in custody over the tragedy that occurred when hundreds of tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser that had been left unattended in a port warehouse exploded.


The blast, which wounded thousands and destroyed homes and businesses across large parts of Beirut, was one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions ever.

The government resigned in the wake of the disaster, but Lebanon has rejected an international investigation, saying it would carry out its own probe aided by foreign experts.

Saturday's march set off from the justice palace in Beirut to the hillside presidential palace, where there were also hundreds of supporters of President Michel Aoun and heavy army deployment.

Troops fired warning shots into the air as brawls between rival demonstrators broke out, AFP correspondents said.

"It is not possible that no one has been put on trial after an explosion like the one that happened on August 4," anti-government protester Layal Tohme said.

"The country is collapsing," she added.

Darine Hourani, a supporter of Aoun, said the president "cannot be held to account each time something wrong takes place" in the country.

"He is the president and we must respect him," Hourani added.

But Carla Moukahal, a critic of Aoun, said the president must step down.

"I came here to bring down this corrupt political system. We want to oust Michel Aoun. Enough is enough," said the 19-year-old.

The army said in a tweet that it had formed a cordon to separate the rival protests and that soldiers "fired into the air after some demonstrators pelted soldiers with stones and beat them with sticks".

A protest movement that erupted in October last year has been revived since the blast, which rekindled smouldering rage against official neglect and a political class accused of corruption.

The explosion, Lebanon's worst peace-time disaster, was followed by a fire on Thursday at the Beirut port, and came as Lebanese were already reeling from the country's worst economic crisis in decades.

Among those arrested by authorities as part of the investigation into the blast are top port and customs officials, as well as Syrian workers who allegedly carried out welding work at the port hours before the explosion.

No high-ranking political official has been arrested as part of the probe.

© 2020 AFP