Friday, April 01, 2022

Palestinians in Gaza call for right of return on Land Day


Demonstrators waved Palestinian flags and condemned the ongoing Israeli occupation.
Palestinians in Gaza participate in a rally commemorating Land Day
 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]
By Maram Humaid
Published On 30 Mar 2022

Gaza City –  Palestinians in Gaza gathered at the besieged territory’s seaport to mark Land Day, an event that emphasises Palestinian resistance to Israel.

Wednesday’s demonstration saw participants chanting slogans calling for their right to return to the land they were displaced from in 1948, when Israel was created on the majority of historic Palestine.

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Palestinians commemorate Land Day on an annual basis, dating back to March 30, 1976, when six unarmed Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during protests against the Israeli government’s decision to expropriate large tracts of Palestinian-owned land.

Women wave Palestinian flags in land day
Palestinian women in Gaza joined the mass protests of Land day [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

Land Day demonstrations in Hamas-run Gaza are usually large, with many residents of the besieged territory originally coming from towns and villages that are now in southern Israel.

Although they are only a short distance away, the vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza have never been able to travel to them.

This year’s event comes at a tense time, with three attacks carried out in just over a week by Palestinians that have killed 11 Israelis.

Maher Mezher, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine attending the event, said that Land Day was part of a wider phenomenon of Palestinians, both inside Israel and in the occupied West Bank and Gaza, reaffirming their national identity.

“The latest wave against Israel in 1948 territories [Israel] reflects the accumulated anger among the Palestinians there, due to Israel’s continued violations against them, and the demolition and confiscation of lands and homes,” Mezher said.

A Palestinain woman holds the flag and the return key.
Umm Musab Abdel-Al, a 45-year-old mother of seven children, joined the protest to affirm their right of return [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

“The land is ours”

Umm Musab Abdel-Al, a 45-year-old mother of seven, told Al Jazeera that she joined the protests with her children to strengthen their attachment to Palestine.

“The land is our land and we will stick to it until the last drop of blood in us,” Abdel-Al said.

Abdel-Al also made reference to Diaa Hamarsha, a Palestinian gunman who killed five Israelis in an attack on Tuesday in the Israeli town of Bnei Brak, before being shot dead by Israeli police.

“Greetings to all our people in the West Bank, in the 1948 territories, and in the Naqab [Negev], and a salute for the soul of the martyr Diaa Hamarsha,” she said.

For his part, Muhammad Baraka, a member of the Palestinian National Committee, said in a speech to the crowds that Palestinians continued to suffer under the occupation.

“The Gaza Strip groans under siege, the West Bank is divided by settlements, and Jerusalem witnesses daily Israeli attempts to assassinate its Arab, Islamic and Christian identity,” Baraka said.

Baraka also called upon Palestinian politicians to end the divisions between them, calling it the “darkest chapter in Palestinian history.”

A man holds the Palestinian flag among the masses.
Abu Muhammad Salah, 65 years old, said, ‘Every year my belief increases that our return to our homes is close’ [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]

“Our return is close”

Waving the Palestinian flag, Abu Muhammad Salah, 65 years old, said that he commemorates Land Day every year.

“Every year, my belief increases that our return to our homes is close, and that the end of the Israel occupation is near,” Salah said.

Although this year’s event passed by without any violence, Land Day in Gaza in past years has erupted in clashes at the border fence with Israel

In 2018, Palestinians in Gaza used the day to begin a series of mass protests dubbed the Great March of Return, which lasted two years.

The protests saw major bloodshed with more than 260 Palestinians killed, mostly by Israeli sniper fire.

Nearly 7,000 others were shot and wounded, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Ni’ma Abu Alomarin was one of those injured. The 22-year-old said that she was supposed to travel to a hospital in Jerusalem for treatment, but was banned from entering.

Despite that, Abu Alomarin attended this year’s event.

“On this day I feel the land is ours,” she said. “Even with my injury, I will not stop, and I will remain faithful to the defence of our cause.”

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
Palestinians mark annual Land Day protests in 'difficult atmosphere'
Organiser says annual demonstration of resistance will go ahead despite 'bloodshed' of past week

A Palestinian argues with Israeli soldiers near the Israeli settlement of Migdalim, south of Nablus, during demonstrations to mark Land Day, on 29 March 2022 (AFP)

By MEE staff
Published date: 30 March 2022 

Palestinians have taken to the streets for the annual Land Day protests in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, with tensions running high after 11 Israelis were killed in the past week.

Land Day has been commemorated since 1976, when Israeli police shot dead six Palestinian citizens of Israel who were protesting against the expropriation of Palestinian land in northern Israel for Jewish settlers.

Mohammed Barakeh, chair of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee (HAMC), announced that the demonstrations would go ahead despite the "difficult atmosphere and the bloodshed".

Five Israelis were shot dead in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening by a Palestinian gunman. It followed a number of other killings of Israelis earlier in the week. The killings prompted widespread arrests of Palestinians and threats of reprisal from far-right Israeli groups.

What is Palestinian ‘Land Day’? Read More »

Speaking to Haaretz, a member of the HAMC said it would not be letting the attackers "dictate the agenda".

“We will continue with the events even if [participation] is limited," the spokesperson said, speaking anonymously.

"We condemn the attacks; the assailants not only hurt innocent people, they also pour fuel on the incitement against Arab citizens ahead of Ramadan.”

The demonstration is due to begin in the Palestinian-majority city of Sakhnin in northern Israel, following the laying of wreaths at a memorial to those killed in 1976. Protesters will then continue to the city of Arabeh and then to Deir Hanna, where the main rally is scheduled to take place.

Speaking at the wreath laying in Sakhnin, Ahmed Khalayleh, whose brother Khader was one of those killed in 1976, said their quest for justice would remain peaceful.

"The martyrs are the sons of the entire Palestinian people, and we will continue their path through the peaceful struggle and the preservation of our existence and our land, and we reject the methods of the [Islamic State] struggle," he said. "Rather, we will remain loyal to the blood of the martyrs who paved the way for us by preserving our land."

Demonstrations are also planned in besieged Gaza, though unlike in previous years they will be taking place at Gaza Port rather than at the border fence with Israel. The border fence has in recent years been the scene of hundreds of deaths, with Israeli security forces shooting dead Palestinian protesters.

According to Haaretz, officials in Hamas - which controls the Gaza Strip - decided on the change of location so as not to further inflame tensions in the region.

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What do Syrians think about the welcome for Ukrainian refugees?


Although they have the same enemy, Syrians in Germany say they did not enjoy the same open-armed embrace when their country’s war erupted.
Thousands of Syrians arrived in Germany as the civil war escalated but many 
faced hostility as they attempted to start new lives
 [File: Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters]
By Gouri Sharma
Published On 31 Mar 2022

Berlin, Germany – Germany won praise and criticism for welcoming Syrian refugees in 2015 and is now opening its borders for Ukrainians fleeing war.

Of the four million people who have fled the Russian invasion, more than 150,000 have arrived in the German capital Berlin and more are expected in the coming weeks.

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But while the public is largely in support of hosting Ukrainian refugees, the same cannot be said of the attitude towards people who arrived from Syria or Iraq, who have in past years been viewed as a burden on society.

Reflecting on the new refugee crisis and these comparisons, Syrians now living in Germany shared their thoughts with Al Jazeera.

‘We were treated like criminals’

Jawad Aljeblawy, 34, arrived in Berlin via Turkey in 2016.

“The difference is more at the political level [rather than among civil society]. We were treated like criminals by the government and the media, not as people fleeing war in our home country.

“It’s great that Ukrainians are being looked after at the political level in this way, but the message that I see is that there is a difference between those who are Europeans with blond hair and blue eyes and non-European Arabs and Muslims.”

‘When the media says “they look like us”, it makes you feel bad’

Ahmad Kalaji, 35, a journalist and master’s student from Damascus, now lives in Berlin.

Ahmad Kalaji,
Ahmad Kalaji says media coverage of the Ukrainian crisis has unveiled a double standard [Courtesy: Ahmad Kalaji]

“What has been bad for me to see is the way some reporters have been covering this. We know exactly how it feels for the Ukrainians because we suffer from exactly the same thing – Russia destroying entire infrastructure and bombing hospitals and schools. We have experienced all of this.

“When the media decides to bring people from Syria or Iraq into it, and say things about how similar the Ukrainians are to them as reporters – ‘they drive like us, look like us, even read the same newspapers as us’ – it just makes you feel very bad.

“These tragedies are very big, we don’t need to be brought into this in this way.”

‘Solidarity should be granted to everyone’

Damascus native Ameenah A Sawaan, 31, is a justice and accountability campaigner at the Berlin-based Syria Campaign group.

Ameenah A. Sawaan, taken by Jan-Niklas Kniewel
Ameenah A Sawaan says she has noticed a different welcome for Ukrainians at the political level [Jan-Niklas Kniewel]

“Authorities should do better with the Ukrainians because they should have learned something from [the 2015 refugee crisis]. Communities are still welcoming and supportive but I think it is about how politics is playing a role. What politicians are doing and how they’re reacting to welcoming newcomers – that may be a bit different than before.

“The response that Ukrainian refugees have been receiving has been great – and should be the normal human and political reaction to any human tragedy. Going forward, welcoming refugees, regardless of where they’re coming from, should be the norm.

“They should be supported at every step and this is what we should be trying to keep in our minds while pressuring European countries to have a better, more open-minded and supportive role when dealing with migration from places that have horrific wars. Solidarity should be granted to everyone.”

‘We both have the same enemy’

Yasmin Merei, 38, is from Homs. She founded and heads the Berlin-based Women for Common Spaces, a civil society association for refugee Arab women.

Yasmin
Yasmin Merei has called for ‘real political action’ to help refugees [Courtesy: Yasmin Merei]

“It’s very important to support refugees with things like accommodation and food but these efforts don’t solve the fundamental issue, which is that people have been forcibly displaced. While messages of solidarity with Ukrainian flags and colours across buildings and online are nice, real political action is what is needed.

“I only hope that the Ukrainians can go back to their country as soon as possible and that there is peace in both Ukraine and my country Syria, since we both right now have the same enemy.”

These interviews were slightly edited for clarity and brevity.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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Hungary’s parliamentary elections: All you need to know

Hungarians go to polls on April 3 to choose between ‘more autocratisation or re-democratisation’, analysts say.
Orban greets his supporters during a campaign rally in Bekescsaba, Hungary 
[File: Benko Vivien Cher/EPA]
By Tim Gosling
Published On 31 Mar 2022

Hungarians are set to go to the polls on April 3 that will see 199 MPs elected to the National Assembly for four-year terms.

Under the Hungarian election system, 106 single-mandate constituencies are decided by first-past-the-post voting.

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The remaining 93 MPs will be elected from a single nationwide constituency mostly by proportional representation.

Who’s in the race?

Prime Minister Viktor Orban is seeking a fourth consecutive term. His nationalist conservative Fidesz party has enjoyed a super-majority, allowing him to change the constitution, for much of the past 12 years.

Having moved steadily to the right, Orban has arranged to run a referendum on his anti-LGBTQ policies.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban greets supporters
Orban greets supporters attending a rally in Budapest [File: Marton Monus/Reuters]

In the opposite corner stands United for Hungary – an awkward alliance of opposition parties including the far-right, the traditional left, greens, and liberals.

This alliance was designed, say the parties, to save the country from Orban’s increasingly corrupt and authoritarian rule.

Conservative independent Peter Marki-Zay was selected as the bloc’s candidate for prime minister in October.

What are the main campaign issues?

Fidesz planned the referendum as the centrepiece of its campaign to mobilise its conservative electorate.

It has also concentrated on linking the united opposition with figures such as American philanthropist George Soros and other members of what it says is a globalist liberal elite determined to destroy Hungary’s sovereignty, flood the country with migrants, introduce “gender madness“, and throw out Fidesz’s populist economic policies.

United for Hungary, meanwhile, planned to concentrate on claims that Orban has organised a widespread network of corruption to steal European Union funds and rigged the justice and electoral systems to help him get away with it.

Promises to raise investment in health and education are aimed at highlighting Hungary’s poor management of the coronavirus pandemic and strike action by teachers.

Hungary's prime ministerial candidate Peter Marki-Zay addresses his supporters
Peter Marki-Zay addresses his supporters during a rally in Budapest [File: Zsolt Szigetvary/EPA]

However, the war just across the border in Ukraine has overwhelmed all issues to dominate the campaign.

Orban is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest EU ally. Although the government has not blocked EU sanctions against Moscow, it has refused to reduce Hungary’s heavy reliance on Russian energy and refuses to let weapons headed to Ukraine transit the country.

United for Hungary has tried to turn the election into a referendum on whether Hungary should be part of the East or West.

It has also taken aim at the government’s populist economic policies, which include generous benefits and capped energy prices, claiming that the economic spillover from the war will make these policies unsustainable.

Fidesz has reacted by promoting Orban as a guarantor of peace and stability. The opposition has been branded warmongers for calling for stronger support for Ukraine and accused of planning austerity.

The opposition strategy is not working, said Mariann Ory, senior editor at pro-government daily Magyar Hirlap.

“Polls show that for most people the priority is to keep Hungary out of the war and protect its energy security,” she said.

Is the election race free and fair?

Many claim a free and fair election is not possible in Hungary.

It is estimated that under Orban’s rejigged election system the united opposition needs a margin of victory of at least 6 percent to secure a majority.

The control of the media landscape that Fidesz has built over the past 10 years or so is also an issue, say analysts, allowing the party to limit the narratives to which many voters are exposed.

“The ruling party’s campaign is more effective, because it has a machine dominating the public sphere,” said Robert Laszlo from Budapest-based think-tank Political Capital.

These worries have persuaded the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor the vote.

It has expressed concern not only over Fidesz’s domination of the media market but also the misuse of administrative resources, the blurring of state and political party roles, and campaign financing.

Local organisations, meanwhile, have raised an army of 20,000 volunteer poll observers.

But Fidesz spokesman Zoltan Kovacs says such action is unnecessary, and the result of bias against Orban’s illiberal views.

“It’s going to be a completely free election,” he told Al Jazeera. “The OSCE comes from a world that is against us.”

However, even the Fidesz-funded Center for Fundamental Rights admitted that the OSCE’s “sending of a full election monitoring mission [is] … an unprecedented step for an EU member state”.

What do the opinion polls say?

Amplified by his media machine, Orban’s narrative around the war in Ukraine appears to be working.

Even the efforts of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to push Budapest to show greater solidarity seem to have had little effect.

Fear of the war appears to be stronger in Hungary than anger at Putin’s aggression, say analysts. And as the pressure rises, United for Hungary’s unity and experience is being tested.

“The opposition needs to mobilise its electorate and change the narrative in the coming days,” said Milan Nic, a senior fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Opinion polls in December last year suggested there was little to choose between Fidesz and the united opposition. But surveys taken since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine suggest Fidesz has opened a small but potentially decisive lead of five points or more.

“I only see defeat,” a senior official from the United for Hungary told Al Jazeera on condition of anonymity. “Eighty seats would be a reasonable result for us. Fidesz won’t get another super-majority.”

Why do Hungary’s elections matter?

Despite Hungary’s small size, the election is being closely watched.

Although a member of the EU and NATO, under Orban the country has become a key player in the populist attack on the Western democratic order.

His state capture and attacks on the rule of law and minority rights have severely tested the EU’s democratic credentials.

Budapest’s geopolitical ambivalence has also generated suspicion that Russia and China see Hungary as a weak link regarding NATO security.

Orban has often wielded his veto in the twin Western institutions to support the interests of the Eastern giants, including obstructing Ukraine’s Western trajectory.

Orban’s role as an icon for the global far right adds to the vote’s importance.

A defeat for the Hungarian strongman, on the back of former President Donald Trump’s demise in the US and other recent setbacks for illiberals, would bolster suggestions that mainstream unity can fight populism.

Another four years for Orban could help reinvigorate the global drift towards authoritarianism.

“The outcome … will determine [Hungary’s] short-term stability and long-term political direction, toward either more autocratisation or re-democratisation,” said Daniel Hegedus, a fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

“The elections will also be of strategic importance for the European Union and Hungary’s transatlantic partners,” he said.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
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Qatar’s human rights record takes centre stage at FIFA Congress

Norway’s football chief lashes out at FIFA and Qatar while the World Cup hosts and the sport’s governing body both point to labour reforms made in the country.
The 72nd FIFA Congress taking place in Doha on Thursday [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
By Al Jazeera Staff
Published On 31 Mar 2022

Doha, Qatar – Questions and concerns over Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers took centre stage as the 72nd FIFA Congress kicked off in the capital Doha, a day ahead of the final draw for the 2022 World Cup.

Thursday’s meeting was the first in-person Congress of football’s world governing body since 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers and its human rights record have been under the spotlight since it was awarded the hosting of football’s 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, delivering the opening remarks at the Congress, said the country was “looking forward to hosting everyone”.

72nd Fifa Congress 2022, Doha Qatar, 31 March 2022 [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]
FIFA President Gianni Infantino pointed to the World Cup acting as a catalyst for change in Qatar [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

“We will be representing not only our country but also the Arab world, opening a window to help the entire world see the potential of the region, looking forward to building bridges between our culture and the culture of the world,” Al Thani said.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino pointed to “the changes that have happened in this country” as a positive sign towards Qatar being awarded the World Cup.

“The human rights, workers rights, all this wouldn’t have happened without the World Cup being here,” Infantino added.

Qatar’s record questioned

Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness took to the stage during the Congress and termed the awarding of the tournament to Qatar in 2010 “unacceptable”.

”In 2010, World Cups were awarded by FIFA in unacceptable ways with unacceptable consequences,” said Klaveness.

“Human rights, equality, democracy, the core interest of football, were not in the starting eleven until many years later. These basic rights were pressured on to the field as substitutes, mainly by outside voices.

“FIFA has addressed these issues, but there is still a long way to go. The migrant workers injured or families of those who died in the build up to the World Cup must be cared for. FIFA, all of us, must take all necessary measures to really implement change.”

Hassan Al Thawadi is the Secretary General of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy
Hassan al-Thawadi, chief of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, said labour reforms achieved by Qatar have been “historical” [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

Her speech was followed by remarks from Hassan al-Thawadi, chief of Qatar’s World Cup organising committee, who said labour reforms achieved by Qatar have been “historical” and the event would leave “truly transformational social, human, economic and environmental legacies”.

“Through taking time to understand complexities on the ground and a shared commitment, once adversaries have now became our allied partners,” al-Thawadi said.

“We have showcased to the world what a tournament being hosted in a country can achieve. Legacy is being delivered as we speak. Going forward, organisations will look towards us as a benchmark on how to utilise these tournaments to leave a legacy.

“What we say is what we’re offering them, providing a safe World Cup, a welcoming World Cup for everybody. And this is the opportunity for everybody to sit down and build relations.”

In August 2020, Qatar announced landmark changes to the labour law, including scrapping the need for an NOC – employer’s permission to change jobs – that rights activists said tied workers’ presence in the country to their employers and led to abuse and exploitation.

Qatar’s Government Communication Office (GCO) has told Al Jazeera in the past that the country “has made substantial progress on labour reforms and it continues to work with NGOs… to ensure that these reforms are far-reaching and effective”.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA
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Ethiopia: Supreme Court upholds bail for journalist

The top court has upheld the order to release the journalist, who has been imprisoned for four months without charges.
Freelance video journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro, who works with The Associated Press, poses for a photograph at his wedding in October 2021 in Ethiopia [AP Photo]
Published On 31 Mar 2022

Ethiopia’s Supreme Court has upheld the order to release on bail journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro, who has been imprisoned for four months without charges, rejecting a police effort to block his bail.

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed the appeal by police against bail that had been granted by a lower court earlier this week for Kiyaro, an Ethiopian video journalist accredited to The Associated Press.

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That ruling said Kiyaro should be freed on bail while prosecutors determine whether or not to press charges against him.

The bail of 60,000 Ethiopian birr, about $1,170, has been paid, but Kiyaro remained in custody Thursday while police processed the bail paperwork before his expected release, according to his lawyer.

Kiyaro, 30, was detained on November 28 in Addis Ababa under the country’s war-related state of emergency powers.

He is accused of “serving the purposes” of what the government has classified as a “terrorist” group by interviewing its officials, according to reports by Ethiopian state media, which cited federal police. Local journalist Thomas Engida was arrested at the same time and faces similar charges. Ethiopia’s Supreme Court also ruled that Engida should be released on bail.

If the journalists are found guilty of violating Ethiopia’s anti-terrorism law or the state of emergency law, they could face sentences of seven to 15 years behind bars, federal police inspector Tesfaye Olani has told state media.

Despite the granting of bail after four months of police investigation and detention, it still remains uncertain whether prosecutors will proceed to press charges against Kiyaro.

The state of emergency was lifted in February as the government cited changing conditions in the deadly conflict between Ethiopian forces and those of the northern Tigray region.

“We are relieved that journalist Amir Aman Kiyaro has again been granted bail,” Julie Pace, the AP’s executive editor, said. “However, Ethiopian authorities continue their investigation against him. We urge the Ethiopian authorities to drop their baseless investigation against Amir, an independent journalist targeted for his work.”

Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders urged Ethiopian authorities to immediately release Kiyaro and Engida and to not press any charges against them. “They should be freed with no further delay and the case be dropped!” said the group in a tweet.

SOURCE: AP
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