SINGAPORE

New psychological first aid training programme launched for SGSecure Responders

Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling said at the launch that the use of psychological first aid had helped to connect survivors with necessary resources. 

PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

Samuel Devaraj

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Red Cross (SRC) launched its inaugural psychological first aid training programme for SGSecure Responders on Saturday.

It equips participants with skills and strategies to handle emotions, thoughts and reactions triggered by stressful situations, such as a terror attack, and SRC hopes to train 1,500 responders over three years.

During the first training session on Saturday, about 20 participants from religious organisations learnt the theory of psychological first aid training before undergoing various role-play scenarios.

For instance, they were given a scenario of a traffic accident and how they could help victims.

For subsequent sessions, other groups including private security officers and public transport workers will undergo the training for which Temasek Foundation has provided a grant of about $200,000.

While SRC has been providing public psychological first aid training since 2016, the training for SGSecure Responders is tailored with relevant SGSecure content and specific scenarios.

There are currently more than 135,000 SGSecure Responders.

Speaking at the programme’s launch, SRC council member Steve Lee said psychological first aid is an important component of community resilience.

He said there was a twofold increase in enrolment for psychological first aid courses during the Covid-19 pandemic, which had exacerbated mental stress in the community, including among the isolated elderly, lower-income households and youth.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Sun Xueling, who was at the launch, noted that psychological first aid is widely considered by specialists to be a comprehensive and realistic, but non-intrusive strategy in dealing with major trauma.

She said in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, one recommendation was the establishment of walk-in disaster mental health clinics for the public, survivors and their families.

She said the use of psychological first aid had helped to connect survivors with necessary resources, including medical care, legal services and mental health support.

“Hence, the more people trained in psychological first aid, the stronger the community psychosocial support in peacetime emergencies or crises,” she added.

Mr Kua Soon Khe, 70, chief executive of the Singapore Buddhist Federation, was at Saturday’s session.

He said: “For religious organisations, we are well immersed in the community network. In times of a crisis, if we are prepared, we can better help victims.”

Little things mean a lot: 

The world’s microbiome under threat

By Kurt Cobb, originally published by Resource Insights

May 7, 2023

Among the most visible species threatened with extinction are leopards, tigers, elephants, orangutans, gorillas and rhinoceroses. What may be of even greater consequence, however, are the millions of species we cannot see, the microbiome of the Earth which is essential to the life of plants and animals worldwide. As the Sixth Great Extinction proceeds, our attention ought to turn as much to these tiny creatures as to the ones who make good television commercials because we can relate to them and because they are such large and grand products of evolution on our planet.

In a recent paper, scientists outline the stakes:

Microbes regulate the major biogeochemical cycles on Earth, to the extent that signatures of microbial biogeochemical activity underpin efforts to discover extraterrestrial life. By regulating global nutrient cycles, greenhouse gas exchange, and disease transmission and protection, the Earth microbiome provides an essential life-support system to our planet. A functioning Earth without a functioning microbiome is nearly unimaginable.

Back in 2017 I asked, “Which species can we do without?” I provided a preliminary but not very helpful answer: “The answer so far is the ones that have already gone extinct while we humans have been around on the planet.” But that leaves unanswered which of the remaining species we could do without. I observed:

If you consider that the broader world with which we interact has millions of species of which we are not aware, it becomes apparent that the Sixth Great Extinction is a rather clumsy and thoughtless way to play Russian roulette with human existence. We could easily cause an organism essential to our survival to go extinct without even realizing it.

Humans have complex dependencies on microorganisms—in our bodies, in the soil in which our food and fiber crops grow, and in the sea from which we take food. The very cycles of the Earth are in part governed by these organisms, so it is hard to see how we could get along without them.

But, are their number and dominance so great that we don’t need to worry about their survival? The authors of the paper cited above tell us that there are “6 million to 8 million terrestrial fungi and up to 1 trillion species of prokaryotes [organisms having cells without a nucleus].” (Eukaryotes, by contrast, are organisms having cells with nuclei and include “all animals, plants and fungi.”) Visual Capitalist compares the total weight of various types of life on Earth. The numbers would make you reasonably believe that the dominate form of life on the planet is plants with 450 gigatons (Gt) of total mass (based on carbon content). Bacteria come in at 70 Gt. Fungi weigh 12 Gt. Humans, however, weigh a mere 0.06 Gt in aggregate. How could we be a threat to these other types of life?

Obviously, our total weight is not the problem. It is our ability and willingness to take over vast stretches of habitat and remake them for our purposes—which always leads to a dramatic reduction in the diversity of life within that habitat. The authors of the paper cited above report that:

A century of monitoring shows a remarkable 45% decline in mushroom-forming mycorrhizal fungi across Europe, probably due to land conversion and intense nitrogen pollution. Anecdotal reports of fungal species extinctions around the world are increasingly pervasive but require additional and repeated monitoring efforts. One example includes the link between extensive forest harvesting in Norway and extinctions of key wood-decay fungi. Furthermore, microbes, which can evolve extremely specialized symbiotic networks of interactions with their plant hosts, are threatened by accelerated co-extinction, as their hosts face increasing population declines.

It’s hard to imagine life on Earth without fungi. Plants collaborate with fungi to survive on land. And, without land plants it’s difficult to imagine human society at the scale we see today or at any scale, actually. Even viruses—the vast majority of which are not pathogenic to humans—play an important balancing role that maintains biodiversity in the ecosphere.

It shouldn’t be surprising that “wild” soils contain much richer biodiversity and that farmers are already “transplanting” such wild soils into their fields to take advantage of that biodiversity. Why? Because as the paper authors point out: “Plants growing with wild microbes generally outperform those that are not. Importantly, past work has shown that the effects of natural soil microbiome transplants far outweigh those associated with commercially available soil microbial mixtures.”

They add: “It would be incredibly valuable to develop ways to introduce wild microbial communities without destructive soil excavation.” Disturbing the soil in the ways modern agriculture requires is part of the cause for the loss of soil biodiversity.

Are there other reasons we should prefer natural soil biodiversity? Not surprisingly, the authors offer additional reasons:

[S]ystems with incredibly low ecological and genetic diversity are more susceptible to extreme climate events. This is worrying as these events are becoming increasingly frequent in the face of global climate change. Monoculture systems are likewise more susceptible to pathogens and pests, creating a need for regular and substantial applications of pesticide to remain viable.

The authors further note:

As we erode this biodiversity, we close doors on novel ways to support our managed food and forest landscapes. More profoundly, we lose billions of years of evolutionary insight.

Think of this last statement as an admission that the microbes of the world are much smarter than we are at maintaining and optimizing conditions for life. If we are serious about protecting biodiversity, we should consider starting with the smallest among us.

Image: Collage of Bacteria (3 September 2022). By 148LENIN via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bacteria_collage.jpg . See that page for list of organisms.

Kurt Cobb

Kurt Cobb is a freelance writer and communications consultant who writes frequently about energy and environment. His work has appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Common Dreams, Le Monde Diplomatique, Oilprice.com, OilVoice, TalkMarkets, Investing.com, Business Insider and many other places. He is the author of an oil-themed novel entitled Prelude and has a widely followed blog called Resource Insights. He is currently a fellow of the Arthur Morgan Institute for Community Solutions.

Palestine present at Roger Waters concert in Paris
Roger Waters played in Paris as part of his 'This Is Not a Drill' tour. During the concert, the phrase 'Palestinian Rights' played a role on the very large screen of the Accor Arena.
May 7, 2023 

As US gets drawn deeper into the Ukraine conflict, it should remember the lessons of the Iraq War

There is no end in sight to the war between Ukraine and Russia – nor Washington’s role in it.

Patrick James, The Conversation

US President Joe Biden. | White House/AFP

Leaked Pentagon papers showed in early April that the United States is allegedly following the inner workings of Russia’s intelligence operations and is also spying on Ukraine, adding a new dimension to the US involvement in the Ukraine war.

While the US has not actually declared war against Russia, the documents show that it continues to support Ukraine with military intelligence as well as money and weapons against the Russian invasion.

There is no end in sight to the war between Ukraine and Russia – nor to US involvement. While it is far from the first time that the US became a third party to war, this scenario brings the Iraq War, in particular, to mind.

I am a scholar of international relations and an expert on international conflicts. A comparison with the Iraq War, I believe, offers a useful way to look at the case of Ukraine.

The Iraq and Ukraine wars have notable differences from a US foreign policy perspective – chiefly, thousands of American soldiers died fighting in Iraq, while the US does not have any ground troops in Ukraine. But assessing the Iraq War, and its long aftermath, can still help articulate concerns about the United States getting involved in intense violence in another faraway place.

Here are three key points to understand.

An image of Saddam Hussein printed on copper, part of Iraqi valuables seized by law enforcement agents, at the Iraqi Cultural Center in Washington in 2011. Credit: Reuters

1. Intervention doesn’t guarantee success

Around the time former President George W Bush announced the US would invade Iraq in 2003, Osama bin Laden, the wealthy Saudi Arabian Islamist who orchestrated the September 11, 2001, attacks, remained at large. While not obviously connected, the fact that bin Laden continued to evade the US contributed to a general sense of anger at hostile regimes. In particular, Saddam Hussein defied the US and its allies.

The Iraqi dictator continued to evade inspections by the United Nations watchdog group the International Atomic Energy Agency, giving the impression that he had weapons of mass destruction. This proved maddening to the US and its allies as the cat and mouse game dragged on.

Bush reportedly had intense concerns about whether Saddam could use alleged weapons of mass destruction to attack the US, causing even more harm than 9/11 did.

A US-led coalition of countries that included the United Kingdom and Australia invaded Iraq in March 2003. The “coalition of the willing”, as it became known, won a quick victory and toppled Saddam’s regime.

Bush initially enjoyed a spike in public support immediately after the invasion, but his polls shortly after experienced a downward trajectory as the war dragged on.

However, the US showed very little understanding of the politics, society and other important aspects of the country that it had taken the lead in occupying and then trying to rebuild.

Many decisions, most notably disbanding of the Iraqi Army in May 2003, revealed poor judgment and even outright ignorance because, with the sudden removal of Iraqi security forces, intense civil disorder ensued.

Disbanding the army caused insurgent militant forces to come out into the open. The fighting intensified among different Iraqi groups and escalated into a civil war, which ended in 2017.

Today, Iraq continues to be politically unstable and is not any closer to becoming a democracy than it was before the invasion.

2. Personal vendettas cannot justify a war

During his 24-year regime, Saddam lived an extravagant lifestyle coupled with oppression of civilians and political opponents. He engaged in genocide of Kurdish people in Iraq. Saddam was finally executed by his own people in 2006, after US forces captured him.

Putin is equally notorious and even more dangerous. He has a long track record of violent oppression against his people and has benefited from leading one of the world’s most corrupt governments.

He also actually possesses weapons of mass destruction and has threatened multiple times to use them on foreign countries. Saddam and Putin have also both been the direct targets of US political leaders, who displayed a fixation on toppling these foreign adversaries, which was evident long before the US actually became involved in the Iraq and Ukraine wars.

The United States’ support for Ukraine is understandable because that country is fighting a defensive war with horrific civilian casualties. Backing Ukraine also makes sense from the standpoint of US national security – it helps push back against an expansionist Russia that increasingly is aligned with China.

At the same time, I believe that it is important to keep US involvement in this war within limits that reflect national interests.

Demonstrators rally in front of the US Capitol calling for an end to the war in Iraq, in Washington in 2007. Credit: Reuters.

3. It can divide the country

The Iraq War resulted in a rise in intense partisanship in the US over foreign policy. In addition, recent opinion polls about the Iraq War show that most Americans do not think that the invasion made the US any safer.
ADVERTISEMENT


Now, the U.S. faces rising public skepticism about getting involved in the Ukraine war, another expensive overseas commitment.

Polls released in January 2023 show that the percentage of Americans who think the US is providing too much aid to Ukraine has grown in recent months. About 26% of American adults said in late 2022 that the U.S. is giving too much to the Ukraine war, according to Pew Research Group. But three-fourths of those polled still supported the U.S. engagement.

The average American knows little to nothing about Iraq or Ukraine. Patience obviously can grow thin when US.support for foreign wars becomes ever more expensive and the threat of retaliation, even by way of tactical nuclear weapons, remains in the realm of possibility. Aid to Ukraine is likely to become embroiled in the rapidly escalating conflict in Washington over the debt ceiling.

On the flip side, if the US does not offer sufficient support for Ukraine to fend of Russian attacks and maintain its independence, adversaries such as Russia, China and Iran may feel encouraged to be aggressive in other places.

I believe that the comparison between the wars in Iraq and Ukraine makes it clear that US leadership should clearly identify the underlying goals of its national security to the American public while determining the amount and type of support that it will give to Ukraine.

While many people believe that Ukraine deserves support against Russian aggression, current policy should not ignore past experience, and the Iraq War tells a cautionary tale.

Patrick James is Dornsife Dean’s Professor of International Relations, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.

This article was first published on The Conversation.

The Disconnect on Undersea Cable Security

By Joseph B. Keller Sunday, May 7, 2023

A sign warns boaters of an underwater cable that crosses the Lane Cove River in Linley Point, New South Wales, Australia. Photo credit: ~~ItsJegh~~/Wikimedia; CC BY 2.0

Editor’s Note: The fiber-optic submarine cable sector is a vital, but often ignored, part of the world’s critical infrastructure. Many members of Congress and the U.S. government, however, see the risks to subsea cables quite differently than cable owners and manufacturers. My Brookings colleague Joseph Keller examines this disconnect, suggesting ways that the policy community can protect and advance this critical industry.

Daniel Byman

***

Geopolitical tension is climbing steadily in the fiber-optic submarine cable sector. Cables are an invaluable critical infrastructure that transmit 99 percent of all intercontinental digital traffic and more than $10 trillion worth of financial transactions each day. The U.S. Congress is in the process of passing legislation to curb foreign cable construction, highlighting a key difference in the perception of security risk to subsea cables between U.S. government officials (and security analysts) and industry owners, operators, and manufacturers.

Industry stakeholders have prioritized common security risks endangering commercial competition, revenue, and network integrity but have been less engaged on the potential for cyberattacks and other vulnerabilities that could be exploited by malicious actors. By contrast, U.S. officials and the intelligence community have focused almost exclusively on the acute national security threats posed by tampering and espionage, without lending comparable weight to infrastructure protection and resilience. These independent and contrasting motivations may imperil the global information chain and hinder technological innovation, presumably mirroring the often inharmonious ambitions of government and private industry.

To avoid future constraints on global telecommunications caused by this disconnect, stakeholders must bridge the gulf between them. Developing public-private partnerships, building consensus around shared standards of submarine cable risk and protection, and increasing U.S. prioritization of federal subsea communications cable activities will reduce potential disruptions—an essential foundation for international stakeholder collaboration supporting a resilient wide area network.

Geopolitical Pressure Prompts Cable Security Concerns

In April 2020, the Trump administration signed an executive order formalizing the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Services Sector, informally known as Team Telecom, which was officially tasked with bolstering the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) capacity to evaluate foreign participation in U.S. telecommunications activities. The order punctuated the government’s efforts to address national security concerns associated with licenses for the landing and operation of undersea cables on U.S. soil.

The United States avoids both direct and indirect association with China around telecommunications. Regulators view preventing interconnection with foreign adversaries as an essential measure in defending communications and data transmitted through cables from adversaries. They contend that shared cable infrastructure with foreign ownership and untrusted equipment tied to China introduces risks to citizens’ privacy and the potential for foreign intelligence agencies to intercept sensitive information. U.S. security officials have required concessions on business agreements on national security grounds to eliminate partnerships with Beijing-backed players, referencing the threats posed by their involvement.

The committee’s initial mandate was to evaluate applications for new cable systems that would connect to the United States from another country and instances in which foreign ownership exceeds 10 percent, and it has recommended denying applications with ties to political regimes deemed in misalignment with U.S. values. Since the committee’s establishment just three years ago, the number of permit applications has surged and the committee’s practices have become increasingly mired in bureaucracy. Team Telecom now reviews all applications even in situations without foreign ownership and takes much longer to process recommendations. At its inception, estimates cited the expectation of a 120-day process, but now multiple stages of questions and screening can occur even before that 120-day clock begins, extending decision timelines by more than nine months. The burden of compliance weighs heavily on the applicant and often at a significant financial cost. The committee justifies this more thorough inspection by stating that it further protects data transmitting over undersea cables, a concern that is seen largely as being driven by increasing friction between the United States and China.

Team Telecom specifically targets Chinese-owned submarine cables and equipment, taking steps to block or reroute Chinese cables, restrict ownership of cables by Chinese companies, and prohibit use of some Chinese equipment and services. The committee has recommended that licensees diversify cable interconnection points across Asia to avoid a direct linking to Hong Kong, among other decisions. Other Chinese telecom operators have felt compelled to withdraw their involvement from submarine cable projects, sensing an impasse produced by escalating opposition.

In March, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Undersea Cable Control Act, which, if passed by the Senate, would prohibit the export of cable technologies and equipment to China in an attempt to prevent foreign adversaries from acquiring the means to build and operate subsea communication cables. The legislation may fragment the internet ecosystem—China recently announced plans to develop a $500 million subsea cable system that would circumvent connections with the United States to link Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. It and other similar proposals may perpetuate economic and political roadblocks between the United States and China, with implications for other countries and to the potential detriment of international connectivity.

Industry Safeguards Against Expected Hazards

Industry stakeholders have expressed concerns about cable protection and resilience, but they don’t perceive the same security risk to cables as policymakers in Washington. The subsea cable industry landscape includes a broad cast of characters: state governments, industry associations, fiber manufacturers, small private cable companies, local telecom companies, and cloud service providers such as Google, Amazon, and Meta. These communities steer the planning, funding, building, and maintenance of 1.4 million kilometers of cable globally.

Leaders in the fiber-optic cable sector acknowledge the vulnerabilities of cables and want to safeguard their investments and deliver for their customers. Data consistently shows that cable disruptions have been caused almost exclusively by natural susceptibilities and accidents involving humans. Fishing- and anchoring-related activities pose the main threat, accounting for approximately 70 percent of the more than 200 cable faults each year (though this varies by geography and region).

International frameworks and standards have shaped this industry perception by focusing predominantly on guarding the physical integrity of cables. The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) suggests best practices in protection and security of undersea cables. The United Nations has proposed good practices for responsible state behavior and protection of critical infrastructure against attack, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) offers guidance for the governance of infrastructure. These organizations have not dedicated much public effort to concerns about cyber vulnerabilities.

Government Regulators Versus Bad Actors

Meanwhile, the U.S. national security community and intelligence researchers have outlined extensive and valid risks to subsea cables from malign actors. Their analyses point to the threat of authoritarian influence, vulnerabilities to cyberwarfare, and the need to join allies in countering potential dangers posed by Russia and China. The federal government acknowledges threats to undersea telecom cables and has developed a series of actions to protect against security vulnerabilities. But some observers still believe that the United States has fallen short in fortifying the undersea communications cable system.

Undersea cable networks are now seen as a principal component of U.S.-China technological competition, which has been reinforced by declining diplomatic relations that, for some observers, foreshadows a new cold war. The protection and resilience of the global internet could become collateral damage in this great power competition. At the same time, it appears that little to no dialogue occurs among U.S. security, regulation, and industry communities. Avoiding policies and practices that stunt or fragment global connectivity will be a challenging task in this competitive geopolitical environment, but it will be next to impossible without clear and open discussion among these stakeholders.

Bridging Security Echo Chambers

Complications stemming from a lack of engagement between U.S. government regulators and industry actors are bound to reach a breaking point. With the growing global population, the digitization that has resulted from the coronavirus pandemic, and a booming business ecosystem, the number of cables is expected to double by 2030. What’s missing at this moment is a shared sense of common ground, and this lack of consensus and collaboration may jeopardize global network expansion. Overly stringent regulation and protocols can impede investment projects. Instead, engagement and collaboration must unite industry and government.

To support the advancements of a global internet, the United States must recognize its weakening centrality in international cable capacity and expand relations with submarine cable communities across the globe. There are concrete steps that U.S. regulators and policymakers can take toward this end.

Convene an interdisciplinary group of government regulators, security experts, and industry leaders. A joint task force, with regular interaction and dialogue, should be created as a forum for stakeholders across industry, security, and regulatory sectors. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), which brings together cyber practitioners worldwide, may serve as a model for building a security-minded group that encompasses subsea owners, operators, and manufacturers in order to improve U.S. cable security and operations. JCDC convenes organizations and operators from across the public and private sectors, including state, local, and international government participants. Additionally, it operates with existing information-sharing hubs and groups to ensure the rapid dissemination of actionable information across the broader community. Independent of, but connected to this cross-sector group, the Communication Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council—a federal advisory committee—has advised the FCC to convene an interagency working group to improve oversight and coordination of cables and tech. Appointing a clear point of contact on both the industry and federal sides would also simplify communication between parties.

Collaborate on enhanced security measures, developing shared risk management and mitigation frameworks. It’s necessary for stakeholders to define and agree on approaches to manage and mitigate risk to undersea cables. Collectively, U.S. regulators and industry representatives must draft a mutually agreeable set of cable risks and vulnerabilities with corresponding best practices for cable network protection and resilience. Activities could include conducting regular audits of cables with industry and security experts, offering education and security training for submarine networks, and establishing an information sharing and analysis center for subsea cable networks similar to the organization that monitors financial services networks. Stakeholders should circulate promising research and foundational best practices from the ICPC, OECD, and UN, and this guidance could be integrated by U.S. federal agencies like the National Institute of Standards and Technology for cable protection and security baselines.

Demonstrate deeper commitment to industry actions to provide security for undersea cables. Prioritizing resources, improving bureaucratic efficiency, and increasing the predictability of federal cable operations will facilitate industry progress and innovation while preserving security protocols. Team Telecom has acquired a reputation for being inflexible and lacking industry perspective, and the U.S. security review procedure comes across as a “black box” to many—including the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which called the process “opaque” and some decisions “arbitrary.” Reforming these review processes can improve the transparency of cable permitting and licensing. Team Telecom should hire staff with technical knowledge, as the evaluation process would benefit greatly from individuals with engineering proficiency. Greater regulatory clarity would also repair the erosion of trust, improve predictability, and decrease anxiety that is harming U.S. competitiveness. Delays in timelines for approval undercut efforts to create a rigorous yet efficient pipeline for cable permitting. Congress also has a role to play. It must better prioritize fiber-optic cable activities and should consult industry experts when drafting legislation. Congress can also delegate authority to a lead agency to coordinate cable security with industry leaders, establish a formal regulatory framework to improve cable security, increase U.S. investments in cable repair vessels and the U.S. Cable Security Fleet, and support cyber research to advance cable protections.

***

Subsea cables are a growing U.S. national security risk, but collaboration among stakeholders will help confront the challenges that keep policymakers and industry stakeholders up at night. The U.S. government aspires to balance diplomatic, economic, and national security interests with the international growth of a robust and resilient submarine cable ecosystem. They can’t do it alone. Industry actors—from local governments, to private cable companies, to cloud computing giants—will be necessary partners in achieving these interrelated objectives.

Turkey elections: Kurds endorse Erdogan's secular rival despite bitter history

Disillusioned with president's 21-year-long rule, Kurdish voters seek a fresh start with CHP

A potential voter passes Diyarbakir's historical Sur castle, where a banner depicts Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, amid HDP campaign flags on 1 May 2023 (Reuters)

By  Yusuf Selman Inanc in Istanbul, Turkey
Published date: 7 May 2023

Huge crowds welcomed Turkey's opposition presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu last week in the Kurdish-majority cities of Agri and Van.

It is a scene that until recently would have been almost unheard of in the country's eastern provinces, where Kilicdaroglu's Republican People's Party (CHP) traditionally received no love from the Kurdish minority.

But frustration at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan among Kurds, who make up nearly 20 percent of the population, has pushed many to support his main rival in the presidential election next Sunday.

"The nationalist and pro-security stance adopted by the current government has mobilised the Kurdish constituents to send Erdogan away," said Roj Girasun, director of Diyarbakir-based research centre Rawest.

Last month, Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and its political allies officially endorsed Kilicdaroglu.

Stay informed with MEE's newsletters
Sign up to get the latest alerts, insights and analysis, starting with Turkey Unpacked

The HDP had decided not to field its own presidential candidate in a bid to boost the opposition's chances of defeating Erdogan by putting its weight behind a single candidate.

Now, the Kurdish vote is widely seen as a decisive factor in determining the outcome of the election.

"Kurdish voters will play a key role in changing the balance in favour of Kilicdaroglu," Girasun told Middle East Eye.

However, Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a deputy candidate of the pro-Kurdish Party of Greens and the Left Future (YSP) is more reserved in his assessment.

He believes that, while the Kurdish vote will give Kilicdaroglu an edge, it's unlikely to lead to a definitive victory.

"A win in the first round is not certain," Gergerlioglu told MEE.

"The suggestion that the government is suffering huge losses in its constituencies does not reflect the reality on the ground."
Bitter history

For many people in Turkey, Kurdish votes going to a CHP leader is nothing short of strange.

The CHP, established in 1923 by the republic's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, is historically one of the least favoured political parties in Kurdish regions.

During the one-party rule from 1923 to 1950, the CHP adopted a policy that denied the existence of the Kurdish nation, claiming that the Kurdish tribes were originally Turks, living in the mountains.

Long associated with Turkish nationalism, the CHP harshly suppressed two major Kurdish rebellions in 1925 and 1938, which resulted in the death of thousands of people and the forceful migration of prominent families.

The use of the Kurdish language in public and schools was also prohibited.

'It is a fact that CHP is a controversial political party... to its harsh policies against religion and ethnic identities'

- Vahap Coskun, academic at Dicle University

As such, Kurdish voters always viewed the CHP bitterly.

"It is a fact that the CHP is a controversial political party in the eyes of religious people and Kurds due to its harsh policies against religion and ethnic identities during the [period of] one-party rule," Vahap Coskun, an academic at Diyarbakir-based Dicle University, told MEE, referring to a period that ended in 1945.

But such attitudes have started to shift in recent years, Coskun said, mainly due to the inclusive rhetoric adopted by Kilicdaroglu.

Gergerlioglu of the YSP party said: "If we are stuck in history, we can't move forward. Kilicdaroglu has been taking positive steps. We should support him so that the democratisation process in the country can be accelerated."

In fact, Kurdish voters showed similar flexibility towards the CHP in the 1970s, when then prime minister Bulent Ecevit promised democratisation, according to Rawest centre director Girasun.

"Today, we are facing a similar situation," Girasun said.

"The support for Kilicdaroglu is above the support for the CHP. Kurdish voters have developed sympathy for him with the hope that he would bring an end to the 21-year-old rule of the current government."

Changing attitudes

Kurds have fallen out with Erdogan in recent years over what they see as his increasingly nationalist position, especially since the collapse of peace talks with Kurdish groups in 2015.

The 69-year-old president enjoyed support from many in Kurdish areas in 2002 when his Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the elections, promising more inclusive governance.

A poll published on Sunday shows how attitudes toward Erdogan have changed since, with overwhelming support for Kilicdaroglu recorded in the Kurdish-majority cities of Diyarbakir, Mardin, Sanliurfa and Van.

Leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaking at an election rally in the Turkish city of Van on 2 May 2023 (Anadolu Agency)

The poll, conducted by Rawest Research in late April, showed the support percentage for Kilicdaroglu in these cities standing at 76, 66, 40, and 73 percent respectively.

The average support for the opposition candidate in the region amounts to 62.4 percent, while Erdogan receives 34.5 percent.

In contrast, Erdogan received 42.3 percent of votes from the Kurdish cities in the 2018 presidential elections, while the CHP candidate Muharrem Ince received 6.4 percent. The HDP candidate, Selahattin Demirtas, who is now in jail, received 49.3 percent of the votes.

Promises

While the increased support from the CHP candidate is rooted in disappointment with Erdogan's increasingly nationalist tone, Kilicdaroglu's outreach to Kurdish voters has played a major part in the shift, according to Coskun.

Under Kilicdaroglu's leadership, the party established an "East Desk" dedicated to finding economic and social solutions for people in the Kurdish regions.

The desk also said the "Kurdish question" would be addressed and resolved in parliament.

Additionally, Kilicdaroglu promised to release former HDP chairman Demirtas, imprisoned since 2016 over various terrorism-related charges, citing a 2020 European Court of Human Rights judgement that said the conviction was unlawful.

'We will see if Kilicdaroglu is loyal to his promises'

- YSP party member

Oguz Kaan Salici, CHP's deputy chairman, said that, unlike the current government, his party recognises the "Kurdish question" and will work to resolve it.

"The Kurdish question will be solved in the parliament. The government will talk to each party without harming Turkey's unitarian structure," Salici told MEE.

Salici was also confident the CHP would do well in Kurdish areas in the parliamentary elections, as well as with the presidential vote.

"We know that YSP voters may hardly change their mind. But previous AKP constituencies will vote for us this time. As a result, we will have deputies from the cities of Agri, Van, Diyarbakir and Sanliurfa," he said.

A YSP member, who asked for anonymity due to his ongoing trial in a court, said Kilicdaroglu saw an opportunity after the AKP "turned its back to the region" and his efforts are bearing fruit.

However, much like others in the region, he remains sceptical about the CHP.

"We will see if Kilicdaroglu is loyal to his promises," he said.

"Otherwise, in the local elections, we will have a chance to demonstrate our disappointment."

AFGHANISTAN

McCaul and Meeks urge UN to ‘oppose male-only humanitarian aid implementation’

• By Amu TV
• \

\\\http://\http://Li\nkedInW\ha\tsappPr\intShare

US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks have called on the United Nations to take a stand against their male-only humanitarian aid implementation following the Taliban’s ban on local women working for the organization.

In a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, McCaul and Meeks said the Taliban’s ban on local women working for the UN was unprecedented and that their response to the ban could jeopardize the UN’s credibility.

“Never before has a regime banned women from working for the UN. This ban violates the fundamental human rights of Afghan women and jeopardizes much-needed humanitarian efforts throughout Afghanistan. The UN’s response to these orders contravening the UN charter will have a lasting impact on Afghanistan and on the UN’s credibility,” the two congressmen said in their letter.

The letter comes amid ongoing restrictions against women in Afghanistan, who were banned from getting a university education in December and a few days later from working for non-governmental organizations. Then in April, the Taliban banned local women from working for the UN in Afghanistan.

“Following the Taliban’s December 2022 edict, the group issued an April 2023 order banning Afghan women from working for the UN in Afghanistan, completely cutting women out of all humanitarian aid implementation in the country,” the letter stated.

McCaul and Meeks said that they encourage the UN “to continue its support for Afghan women by opposing and rejecting male-only humanitarian aid implementation.”

“As you know, in December 2022, the Taliban banned Afghan women from working for NGOs. In the months following, criticism mounted against the fractured approach that aid implementers took in response to the edict, and we were gravely concerned to see reports of male-only implementation from some UN agencies in Afghanistan.

“Male-only humanitarian aid implementation contributes to the Taliban’s oppression of Afghan women and girls and further erases them from public life. Without female aid implementers, Afghan women may be unable to receive life saving humanitarian aid and children are more likely to suffer. Women are also critical to the oversight, evaluation, and monitoring efforts of humanitarian aid in Afghanistan and are a necessary component of all facets of humanitarian aid programming, especially for ensuring safety of vulnerable populations,” the letter stated.

The congressmen said in conclusion that they strongly urge the UN “to emphatically oppose male-only humanitarian aid implementation. Women are essential to any principled humanitarian response and any credible humanitarian assistance effort in Afghanistan must include the full and safe participation of women and men.”

Belarusian Opposition Blogger Klimovich Dies In Prison, Says Rights Group

Belarusian blogger Mikalay Klimovich (file photo)

Belarusian blogger Mikalay Klimovich, who was imprisoned for posting an online caricature of the country’s authoritarian ruler, Alyaksandr Lukashenka, has died in a penal colony in the Vitebsk region, the Minsk-based Vyasna (Spring) human rights center reported on May 7. Klimovich had suffered a stroke and had heart surgery before being sentenced to one year in prison on February 28. Lukashenka’s regime instituted a crackdown on dissent following a disputed presidential election in August 2020 that handed him a sixth term in office. Opposition leaders and Western governments have said the poll was rigged.

Chile holds vote to elect new body to rewrite constitution


By AFP
May 7, 2023

For the second time in two years, Chile is electing a body to rewrite its dictatorship-era constitution - Copyright AFP Rizwan TABASSUM

Chileans voted on Sunday to elect the 50 members of a committee that will write a new constitution to replace the dictatorship-era one that has been in vigor for more than 40 years.

It is the second time that Chileans have been called to take part in the rewriting of the 1980 constitution adopted under the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.

In September, a previous text produced by a constitutional assembly made up mostly of political independents was rejected by 62 percent of voters.

More than 15 million Chileans are eligible to vote but the buildup to the election was met with widespread apathy.

There are 350 people hoping to be elected to the 50-member constitutional committee.

Polling booths opened at 8:00 am (1100 GMT) and are due to close at 6:00 pm.

The new committee will be given a preliminary text, drawn up by experts, that includes 12 essential principles that cannot be modified.

The committee must then come up with a new constitution that will be put to a public vote in December.

The government of conservative former president Sebastian Pinera had agreed to hold a referendum on a new constitution in a bid to ease mass protests that broke out in October 2019 against social inequality.

“As a country we have a historic opportunity to reconcile ourselves after the fractures we’ve lived through and to advance toward a developed and inclusive country,” said leftist President Gabriel Boric, who at age 35 rode the wave of public discontent to be elected Chile’s youngest ever leader in late 2021.

Unlike the previous constitutional assembly, elected in May 2021, only candidates of political parties were allowed to stand.

The final committee must be made up of 25 men and 25 women.

There are no spots reserved for indigenous people, who make up about 13 percent of the population.

In the constitutional assembly they were guaranteed 17 of the 155 seats.

According to polls, only 31 percent of Chileans are interested in the process for writing a new constitution.

Robert Kennedy Jr. blames CIA for JFK assassination, fueling controversial claim

Carl Campanile
May 7, 2023

Democratic White House contender Robert Kennedy Jr. blames the CIA for the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy — proclaiming it “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Kennedy made the bombshell accusation about a murder that’s spun many conspiracy theories during an interview Sunday with John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM’s “Cats Roundtable.”

“There is overwhelming evidence that the CIA was involved in his murder. I think it’s beyond a reasonable doubt at this point,” Kennedy said of JFK’s assassination in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas.

“The evidence is overwhelming that the CIA was involved in the murder, and in the cover-up.”

Robert Kennedy Jr. blames the CIA for the Nov. 22, 1963, assassination of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy.

Bettmann Archive

Kennedy Jr. cited James Douglas book, “JFK and the Unspeakable” as compiling the most evidence on the topic — and labeled denials of the CIA’s role as a “60 year coverup.”

The US government’s official investigation, The Warren Commission Report, concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted as a lone wolf in the fatal shooting, and that there was no credible evidence he was part of a conspiracy to assassinate the 35th president. The report was released Sept. 24, 1964.

Robert Kennedy Jr. cited James Douglas book, “JFK and the Unspeakable” as compiling the most evidence on the topic.Christopher Peterson / SplashNews.com

The US government’s investigation found no merit to the claim.

REUTERS

The Central Intelligence Agency’s own website references an article calling claims of the spy agency’s role in JFK’s murder a “lie.”

MORE ON:ROBERT KENNEDY

Robert Kennedy Jr. says Biden ‘should have closed borders’ amid immigration ‘crisis’

Robert Kennedy Jr. opposes allowing trans women to compete in female sports

Outspoken anti-vaxxer RFK Jr. announces Democratic 2024 presidential bid

Aaron Rodgers appears to endorse Robert Kennedy Jr. as he runs for president