Monday, January 20, 2020

Several killed as protesters battle security forces in Baghdad

Issued on: 20/01/2020

An anti-government protester flashes the victory gesture as he stands before flaming tires at a make-shift roadblock during a demonstration in the central Iraqi city of Najaf on January 19, 2020. AFP - HAIDAR HAMDANI

Text by:NEWS WIRES

Three Iraqi protesters were killed in the capital as thousands of anti-government demonstrators sought to shut streets across the country on Monday, their deadline for authorities to implement long-awaited reforms.

Rallies have rocked Iraq since October but fearing they would lose momentum amid spiralling regional tensions protesters last Monday told the government it had one week to meet their demands or they would escalate their demonstrations.

Protesters sought to ramp up pressure on the government on Monday with pop-up rallies away from their main gathering place in Baghdad's iconic Tahrir (Liberation) Square.

Hundreds descended on nearby Tayaran Square, where they clashed with security forces who fired tear gas and live rounds to disperse them, an AFP journalist said.

Three protesters were killed, medics told AFP, two of them by live rounds and the third by a tear gas canister that pierced his neck.

More than 50 other people were wounded, the medics said.

Young men wearing helmets and gas masks in an attempt to protect themselves from flying gas canisters erected barricades to try to push riot police back.

Protesters have called for early elections under a new voting law, an independent prime minister to replace outgoing premier Adel Abdel Mahdi and for all corrupt officials to be held accountable.

Late Sunday young protesters began sealing off highways and bridges across the capital Baghdad and Iraq's south, torching tyres and setting up makeshift barricades.

They tried to do the same early Monday in the capital but security forces acted fast, with the military saying it had reopened a major Baghdad thoroughfare and arrested nine young men who had attempted to seal it off.

Protests slam 'procrastination'

Fearing widespread rallies, provincial authorities across southern Iraq announced an official holiday on Monday.

But young people hit the streets in the southern cities of Kut, Nasiriyah, Baqubah, Amara and the holy city of Najaf, setting tyres on fire.

In the protest hotspot of Diwaniyah, they shut key roads both inside and leading out of the city.

"The procrastination of the government and the political class for more than three months now has prompted us to take escalatory steps to pressure them to meet our demands," Mohammad Faeq, a 28-year-old protester, told AFP.

Since October, around 460 people have lost their lives to protest-related violence and another 25,000 have been wounded, according to an AFP count.

Authorities do not provide updated casualty figures.

Demonstrators have feared their movement would be eclipsed by the geopolitical storm brewing between neighbouring Iran and the United States, both close partners of Iraq.

A US drone strike near Baghdad's airport on January 3 killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, prompting Iranian rocket strikes on an Iraqi base housing US troops and triggering fears of a wider conflict.

Iraqi political figures have since ramped up their calls for foreign forces -- including some 5,200 US troops -- to leave the country.

UN warns of 'foreign interference'

On Monday, the United Nations' top official in Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said ignoring the demands of protesters would only fuel "anger and distrust".

"Any steps taken so far to address the people's concerns will remain hollow, if they are not completed," she said in a statement.

"Domestic unity, cohesion and determination are urgently necessary to build resilience against narrow partisan interests, foreign interference and/or criminal elements which actively seek to hinder Iraq's stability," she added.

Protesters also worry that a mass rally to be organised Friday by firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr to demand the ouster of US troops could drown them out.

Last week, Sadr urged Iraqis to hold "a million-strong, peaceful, unified demonstration to condemn the American presence and its violations".

While protesters have criticised the US, they have directly accused Iran of hindering Iraq politically and economically.

Tehran holds major sway in Iraq, building up close ties with a variety of political and military players over decades.

Protesters say Iran's overreach has contributed to rampant corruption and poor services.

The World Bank says one in five people lives below the poverty line in Iraq, which is OPEC's second-biggest crude producer.

While the rallies initially railed against the economy, they quickly escalated to demand a total overhaul of government.

Protesters scored one win in December with the resignation of Abdel Mahdi but he has stayed on in a caretaker role and political parties have thus far failed to agree on a successor.

Demonstrators have publicly rejected names circulating as possible replacements and are furious that other sweeping reforms have not been implemented.

(AFP)

Children go missing as Central American migrants clash with Mexican police

Issued on: 21/01/2020

Migrants, part of a caravan travelling to the U.S, cross the Suchiate river from Tecun Uman, in Guatemala, to Ciudad Hidalgo, as seen from Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, January 20, 2020. © REUTERS/Jose Torres

Text by:NEWS WIRES

Mexican security forces fired tear gas at rock-hurling Central American migrants who waded across a river into Mexico earlier on Monday, in a chaotic scramble that saw mothers separated from their young children

The clashes between hundreds of U.S.-bound Central Americans and the Mexican National Guard underscores the challenge President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador faces to contain migration at the bidding of his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.

The mostly Honduran migrants numbered around 500, according to Mexico's National Migration Institute (INM). They were part of a group of several thousand people that had set off last week from Honduras, fleeing rampant gang violence and dire job prospects in their homeland.

Video footage showed scattered groups of migrants throwing rocks at a few members of the National Guard militarised police who were on the banks of the river attempting to thwart illegal crossings, while hundreds of others ran past into Mexico.

Five National Guard police were injured in the clashes, the INM said.

"We didn't come to stay here. We just want to cross to the other side," said Ingrid, 18, a Honduran migrant. "I don't want to go back to my country because there is nothing there, just hunger."

A Reuters witness spoke to at least two mothers whose young children went missing amid the chaos, as the migrants on Mexican soil scattered in an attempt to avoid being detained by Mexican officials.

The INM said it had detained 402 migrants and transferred them to immigration stations where they will receive food, water and shelter. The INM will return them to their home countries via airplane or bus if their legal status cannot be resolved.

A spokeswoman at the INM said the institute had no reports of children going missing amid the clashes.

The Reuters witness said that several kilometers from the border, Mexican immigration authorities had filled a bus and pickup trucks with detained migrants.

The Honduran Ambassador to Mexico, Alden Rivera, said that Mexican authorities have some 1,300 Hondurans in migration centers and will start deporting them back home by airplane and bus on Tuesday.

Trump has threatened to punish Mexico and Central American countries economically if they fail to curb migrant flows, resulting in a series of agreements aimed at making good on Trump campaign promises to curb immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Wading across the river

Over the weekend, at least 2,000 migrants had been camped in the Guatemalan border town of Tecun Uman, opposite Ciudad Hidalgo on the Mexican side.

The migrants appeared to grow impatient on the bridge over the Suchiate River that connects the two countries, after some were denied permission to cross by assembled Mexican migration officials.

The INM said it informed the migrants it could not allow them to cross into Mexican territory to "transit" through and blamed the group's organizers for "ignoring the risk to minors and at-risk people" by crossing the river.

Mexico has offered migrants work in the south, but those who do not accept it or seek asylum will not be issued safe conduct passes to the United States, and most will be deported, the interior ministry said.

Mexican authorities had already received nearly 1,100 migrants in the states of Chiapas and Tabasco, the ministry said on Sunday.

According to Guatemala, at least 4,000 people entered from Honduras since Wednesday, making for one of the biggest surges since three Central American governments signed agreements with the Trump administration obliging them to assume more of the responsibility for dealing with migrants.

(REUTERS)

Anti-establishment Thai party survives first dissolution bid

Issued on: 21/01/2020

Bangkok (AFP)

A stridently anti-military Thai party survived a first legal attempt to disband it Tuesday over alleged sedition -- including links to the Illuminati, a secret group conspiracy theorists say is seeking global domination.

The Constitutional Court ruled Future Forward -- a pro-democracy party which vehemently opposes the army-aligned establishment -- had not shown any intent to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.

Dismissing the charge, a judge on the nine-member bench said there was no sign key executives and the party "had taken actions against the constitutional monarchy".

The ruling sparked jubiliation at party headquarters, with supporters cheering "long live democracy" and "hell to dictatorship".

But FFP -- Thailand's third largest party which draws on a deep well of youth support -- still faces further threats of dissolution.

It is loathed by the pro-military establishment for its criticism of the army's role in politics and for pushing policies such as an end to conscription and a cut in defence spending.

The same court is still considering a second charge over alleged illegal loans by its charismatic billionaire founder Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, who also faces a barrage of cases against him.

"We believe those cases are politically motivated," Thanathorn said to cheers at a press conference after the ruling.

He vowed to push for amendments to the 2017 army-scripted constitution, which analysts say tilted last year's election in the favour of military-backed parties.

Calling an end to the "legal war" against Future Forward, secretary general Pitabutr Saengkanokkul said dissolving parties was "not useful to Thailand's democracy".

Thailand's recent political history has been shaped by the courts, which routinely abolish parties and unseats premiers in what critics say are politically motivated cases.

The kingdom has disbanded five parties since 2007 -- a move that "kicks out political talent", analyst Thitnan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University told AFP.

The court considered allegations that speeches by senior FFP members were seditious, as well as a spurious claim the party was linked to the Illuminati, a secret society whose existence has never seriously been proven.

That part of the complaint centered on whether the party logo -- an upside-down triangle -- resembled the symbol of the alleged republican-leaning group traced back to 18th-century Europe.

Thailand's ultra-wealthy monarchy is at the apex of power and is buttressed by harsh royal defamation laws and the backing of the army.

The kingdom remains in a political quagmire with the country split over the arch-royalist government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, a former army chief who seized power in a 2014 coup.

Newly formed Future Forward only came onto Thailand's political scene in 2018, drawing the support of millions of mostly young Thais weary of pro-establishment forces in government.

burs-apj/dhc/fox

© 2020 AFP
Thai court acquits opposition party of attempting to overthrow monarchy

Issued on: 21/01/2020

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit (C), leader of the opposition Future Forward party, sits with party officials at their headquarters in Bangkok on January 21, 2020, to watch the ruling by Thailand's Constitutional Court on whether the party carried out "actions" against the constitutional monarchy. AFP - ROMEO GACAD

Text by:NEWS WIRES

Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Tuesday acquitted the country’s third-biggest political party of seeking the overthrow of the country’s constitutional monarchy, a case that had highlighted ongoing political divisions in the Southeast Asian nation.

The court ruled that the Future Forward Party showed no intention of committing the offense, and that the complaint had not been filed according to the correct legal procedure.

The party still faces the threat of dissolution under another pending charge of breaking election laws by taking a large loan from its leader. The party was founded in 2018 during military rule, and takes progressive positions that are anathema to Thailand’s royalist ruling elite.

The party’s surprising finish in an election last year and its popularity among young people rattled the government, which is led by the same people who staged a military coup in 2014.

The case drew special attention because the complaint had sought to link the party to the mythical conspiracy own as the Illuminati, which is alleged to be an elite organization seeking world domination.

The complaint, filed last year by lawyer Natthaporn Toprayoon, listed statements by party officials supposedly critical of Thai traditions, and pointed out that its logo is an inverted triangle, which if turned right-side up resembles the alleged symbol of the Illuminati. It claimed the Illuminati had sought to overthrow European monarchies and influence the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

The case was one of a series filed against the party and its leader, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkrit. In November, the Constitutional Court stripped Thanathorn of his lawmaker status, ruling that he violated a regulation on media ownership.

Critical of the military

There is a widespread belief that one way or another, the party will end up being disbanded, with its leaders banned from political office for several years.

The party has taken positions explicitly critical of the military for its interference in politics. It also seeks to amend the constitution, drafted after the 2014 coup, to make it more democratic.

The party’s initial support came from youth and young professionals, but it proved to have wider appeal in many parts of the country.

The army staged coups in 2006 and 2014, allowing an election last March after five years of military rule. While in power, it amended the constitution and other laws to try to ensure that pro-democracy parties could not take power.

The military and the courts are the two main pillars of the Thai establishment, and have consistently acted to curb threats to the status quo.

The court’s ruling on Tuesday ordered Future Forward to revise its regulations to be clearer in order to comply with the constitution’s stating that any political party must not oppose the constitutional monarchy.

The opposition party’s popularity was underlined last month when several thousand of its supporters rallied in Bangkok, the nation’s capital, in one of the largest political demonstrations since the 2014 coup.

“I think it shows that people will not tolerate dictatorship anymore,” Thanathorn said at the time of the large turnout.

(AP)

Thai court acquits opposition party of opposing monarchy

The ruling means major Thai opposition Future Forward Party will not be banned on charges of sedition. However, the party still faces several more legal challenges that could yet see it dissolved.

THE KING IS WEARING A COWBOY HAT OZZIE STYLE

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday found the opposition Future Forward Party not guilty of seeking to overthrow the monarchy.

The party, led by Thanathon Juangroongruangkrit, showed no intention of committing the offense, the court ruled.

The court did find that the party should revise the wording in its constitution so it clearly states it does not oppose the constitutional monarchy.

"This should not have been a case in the first place. I would like to stress that neither Thanathorn, myself, nor the party, want to undermine the constitutional monarchy," said Piyabutr Saengkanokkul, the party's secretary-general.

Lawyer alleged Future Forward violated the constitution

The case was brought by lawyer Natthaporn Toprayoon who charged the leaders of the party in July 2019 with violating section 49 of the constitution. This section forbids actions seeking to overthrow the constitutional monarchy.

He also charged that the party had links to the Illuminati due to a symbol in its logo.

"I have no intention of wanting to see the party disbanded," said Natthaporn before the court ruling.

"I want people to recognize that we are all Thais and we should protect the monarchy because we are able to live today because of the monarchy" he added.

However, the party could still be banned under another pending charge of breaking election laws by taking a loan from its leader.

Read more: Opinion: Thailand's democratic dictatorship

What is the Future Foward Party?

The progressive party was formed in 2018 on a platform calling for an end to the military's influence on Thai politics, including seeking to reform the constitution which was drafted after a military coup in 2014. Future Forward came third in national elections last year, winning 6.2 million votes from a mainly younger electorate.

Its leader, the auto-parts billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkrit is facing a number of allegations, including that Future Forward Party accepted loans from Thanathorn, breaking electoral laws governing party funding.

The Constitutional Court also disqualified Thanathorn from acting as lawmaker last year, ruling he violated a regulation on media ownership.

Read more: Thailand election highlights a divided society

kmm/rt (Reuters, dpa, AP)

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Keywords Thailand, Future Forward Party, constitutional monarchy

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4K protest run in Thailand highlights popular discontent 12.01.2020

In Thailand's capital of Bangkok, thousands took part in a four-kilometer race to show their discontent with the government. The event, dubbed the "Run against Dictatorship," is in response to a move by authorities to ban the opposition Future Forward party.

Thailand: HRW slams oppressive media laws 14.01.2020

Thais are facing increasingly fewer freedoms of expression, according to the Human Rights Watch World Report. 2019 saw a rise in applications of SLAPP suits, defamation charges and other efforts to quash dissent.

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The struggle continues for Thailand's opposition 13.01.2020

Rumblings of discontent against Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha are growing louder less than a year after a disputed election saw the junta chief return as head of government. His critics are now getting creative.

Morales announces his candidate for Bolivian presidential race

Issued on: 20/01/2020

Bolivian president Evo Morales (L) and Economy Minister Luis Arce Catacora during a ceremony at the Palacio Quemado presidential palace in La Paz to launch USD 500 million in bonds on October 23, 2012. AFP - AIZAR RALDES
Text by:NEWS WIRES

Luis Arce, credited with steering Bolivia through years of economic growth, will be a presidential candidate in May elections, Bolivia’s exiled former leader Evo Morales said on Sunday.

Bolivians will choose a new president May 3, more than six months after a disputed ballot sparked violent street protests and the resignation of Morales, who fled to Mexico and then Argentina.

Bolivia’s interim government has banned Morales himself from standing and has issued a warrant for his arrest should he return.

Arce, 56, who also fled his homeland after Morales’s downfall, was a major part of successive Morales governments after 2006 that slashed the poverty rate and presided over rapid economic growth fuelled by gas exports.

Bolivia became one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies, but Arce had to temporarily step aside in 2017 for health reasons.

He will be backed in the election by Morales’s Movement for Socialism (MAS) party, the former leader said in Buenos Aires.

Arce’s vice presidential candidate running mate will be former foreign minister David Choquehuanca, 58, Morales said.

'Continuation of process of change'

Arce is “a combination of the city and the countryside to continue the process of change,” said Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president.

“Our peasant movement does not exclude people and does not marginalize people.”

He led the country for almost 14 years until his resignation on November 10, but in December said he was convinced his party would win the next ballot.

Recent polls have shown the MAS has about 21 percent support, followed by centrist former president Carlos Mesa with about 14 percent.

Morales, a socialist, told AFP on December 24 that he was forced from power by a US-backed coup d’etat aimed at gaining access to the South American country’s vast lithium resources.

The government of interim President Jeanine Anez said it would launch a corruption probe into nearly 600 officials of Morales’s administration, including ministers.

(AFP)

Bolivian Congress to vote on Morales' resignation

Issued on: 21/01/2020

La Paz (AFP)

Bolivia's Congress is to convene Tuesday to debate the validity of ex-president Evo Morales' resignation, with a vote expected on whether to accept or reject it, a leading lawmaker said.

Senate speaker Eva Copa, a member of the former president's Movement for Socialism party MAS, summoned lawmakers from both houses of Congress to "consider the resignations of Evo Morales and Alvaro Garcia Linera from the posts of president and vice-president."

The congress is constitutionally bound to examine the resignation to decide on its validity.

MAS senator Omar Aguilar told journalists that Congress would vote "whether to accept or reject the resignations."

Morales resigned under pressure from the armed forces on November 10 after rioting greeted his re-election following contested October 20 polls.

The Organization of American States (OAS) later pointed to widespread irregularities. The right-wing interim government has scheduled a new election for May 3.

Morales, who is living in exile in neighboring Argentina, insists he is still president until Congress declares otherwise.

Morales' five-year term officially runs until Wednesday.

© 2020 AFP

David Olney death: Nashville singer dies on stage from apparent heart attack after ‘apologising to audience’

Fellow musicians who were sharing a stage with Olney gave moving accounts of what happened

Roisin O'Connor @Roisin_OConnor

Nashville singer-songwriter David Olney has died during a performance on stage.

The Americana artist, whose music was recorded by Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Young and others, died of an apparent heart attack while performing at the 30A Songwriters Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

According to fellow singer-songwriter Scott Miller, who was performing with Olney, the 71-year-old stopped in the middle of a song, said “I’m sorry”, and “put his chin to his chest”.

“He never dropped his guitar or fell [off] his stool,” Miller wrote on Facebook. “It was as easy and gentle as he was.”

Amy Rigby, who was also on stage with Olney at the time, wrote a separate Facebook post with her own moving account of what happened.

“He was very still, sitting upright with his guitar on, wearing the coolest hat and a beautiful rust suede jacket... I just want the picture to be as graceful and dignified as it was, because it at first looked like he was just taking a moment,” she wrote.

“We all lost someone important last night.”

Olney became a key member of Nashville’s music scene after moving there from his native Rhode Island in 1973. Regarded as an “Americana pioneer”, he produced more than 20 albums, including 2018’s This Side or the Other.

A festival producer Russell Carter wrote: “David was loved and highly respected by all who knew him, including his fellow musicians and his multitude of fans."

Olney is survived by his wife and two children.

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I'm the 'teacher of the year' who took a knee at the football game attended by Trump. This is why I did it

As a gender-nonconforming lesbian, I know what it feels like to be discriminated against. But I know I have more to learn — and I know that teachers need to be more than just allies

Kelly D Holstine Minnesota

Getty Images

As the first notes of the National Anthem were ascending into the stands of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in New Orleans at the College Football Championship game last Monday night, I followed in the footsteps of so many incredible advocates and activists before me and dropped to one knee. And even though my leg was shaking, it felt like taking this opportunity to stand up (or kneel, in this case) for marginalized and oppressed humans was the right thing to do. As a country, we are not serving the needs of all of our inhabitants, and I believe that complacency and inaction will not bring about the change that we so desperately need

The 2019 State Teachers of the Year were hosted by the College Football Playoff Foundation (an incredible program that “is dedicated to elevating the teaching profession by inspiring and empowering teachers”) and were honored on the field.

At the rehearsal, we were given the choice to either put our hand over our heart or to stand quietly. But these choices didn’t feel like enough to me. Not everyone is given the same opportunity to have a voice and platform in the way that State Teachers of the Year are, and I take that responsibility seriously.

By taking a knee, I stood up for people who are harmed due to their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and/or their status as a citizen; I stood against political leaders who are xenophobic, homophobic, racist, trying to take away the rights of women, and failing to protect our animals and environment; and I stood with all of the educators who are diligently trying to decrease the educational equity gap in our country.

Many have reached out with messages of support and hope. However, I also have received violent threats and angry messages that are similar in tone to the ones I received after I protested a visit with the President last May. My belief remains that those who are trying to isolate me, shame me, and coerce me into being quiet must be terrified of losing all the ways they benefit from existing systems of oppression. They are furious with me for advocating for the very people that they need to stay oppressed.

Standing up against the words and actions of the current administration does not make me anti-American. People seem to be confusing patriotism with (white) nationalism when they say this. I care deeply about where we have been in this country and where we are going. And I am grateful that I can legally exercise my First Amendment rights in order to communicate that we still have a lot of work to do.

US cheerleader takes a knee during national anthem

As a gender-nonconforming lesbian, I know what it feels like to be discriminated against. But I do not know what it feels like to be a black person, an indigenous person, or a person of color. And I will admit that my confidence in anti-racist work is not as strong as it is with my LGBTQ+ advocacy work. But I believe passionately that it's not enough for educators to just be allies; they need to be advocates, too.

I need to be willing to step into my fear of making mistakes and remain open to learning. And as Minnesota’s Commissioner of Education, Mary Cathryn Ricker, says, “We can’t expect [humans] to conform to our comfort.” As LGBTQ+ humans, we need heterosexual and cisgender advocates to stand with us while we fight for our rights. People of the Global Majority also need white people to stand with them. And we all need to be advocating for intersectional equity. Additionally, I deeply respect that the symbolism of taking a knee is deeply rooted in the civil rights movement and I want to honor that history.

I would not have had the courage to participate in this protest without the support of 2020 Minnesota State Teacher of the Year, Jess Davis. She helped me to process, research, and make the decision to kneel. She even kneeled with me in solidarity from her home in Minneapolis. Jess was willing to pay the cultural tax (that so many people of color have to pay) to help me, a white person, to understand the nuances of anti-racist work. And for her support and brilliance, I am grateful.

There are a myriad of ways that people are “taking a knee” in their own lives. Whether it is subtle and private or overt and visible, it all matters. When we are willing to step into our personal discomfort and “take a knee” as a way to stand up against prejudice and discrimination, then, and only then, can we build a country that truly supports every single heart.

---30---

Panama begins exhuming remains of victims of 1989 US invasion

Issued on: 21/01/2020

Panama City (AFP)

Authorities in Panama on Monday began exhuming a mass grave containing the remains of unknown civilians killed during the 1989 US invasion of the Central American country.

The move follows a decades-long effort by families of missing people to identify remains buried in a common grave in the capital's Jardin de Paz cemetery.

"Finally, after 30 years, it is possible by judicial means, to recover unknown bodies buried in a common grave," said Jose Luis Sosa, who heads a commission investigating human rights violations committed during the invasion.

"Families have been looking for their relatives for the past 30 years and the state has not given them an answer," Sosa said.

The exhumations follow the reopening of investigations into the circumstances in which civilians were killed during the December 20, 1989 invasion.

Officials said the exhumations would be carried out to identify the remains and determine the cause of death. The work is likely to last about two months.

Then-US President George H.W. Bush sent 27,000 US troops into Panama on December 20, 1989 to capture Manuel Noriega, the country's military dictator, who had been indicted in the United States for drug trafficking.

More than 500 people were killed in the invasion, according to official figures, though some organizations put the number of dead in the thousands.

© 2020 AFP

After an asylum seekers’ camp in northern Paris was cleared last November, France plans to continue to break up others across the country. Although the number of places in shelters has doubled, with over 108,000 beds available for asylum seekers, makeshift camps are still scattered around the capital's ring road, where several thousand people are living in squalid conditions. FRANCE 24’s team reports.

FASCISTS MARCH IN VIRGINIA

Virginia rally: Gun rights protesters warn of ‘chaos’ if Democrats push for further firearms reform

Gun-toting activists refuse to comply with new laws while demanding four more years of president

Chris Riotta Richmond, Virginia @chrisriotta

Tensions flared as activists carried semi-automatic weapons through the streets of Virginia’s capital city during a major gun rights demonstration, calling for a repeal of newly-passed gun control measures – and four more years of Donald Trump.

The annual Lobby Day event attracts Virginians from all over the state, who spend the day “lobbying” for a range of causes just outside of the legislative capitol building, bringing colourful signs and a tangible energy that fill the streets of Richmond.

This year saw its biggest turnout of gun rights demonstrators in recent history, after Democrats – who took over both houses in the state legislature for the first time in nearly 25 years – successfully passed a series of bills establishing mandatory background checks and limiting the purchasing and carrying of firearms. Rather than a joyful day of activism, many feared the event would turn into a possible second Charlottesville, the deadly white supremacist rally in 2017. There have been no reports of a violent clash at Monday’s rally, however.

Still, protesters appeared ready for a battle, chanting “We will not comply!” and chiding Virginia governor Ralph Northam after he declared a state of emergency over the Lobby Day rallies, citing “credible intelligence from our law enforcement agencies of threats of violence surrounding the demonstration” in a statement. Militia members were seen wearing masks and carrying semi-automatic rifles during the protest.

The Virginia Citizens Defence League (VCDL), which organised the gun rights demonstrations, blamed the governor for the heightened anxiety ahead of the rally in an interview with The Independent.

Gun rights rally in Virginia THIS IS WHAT WHITE PRIVILEGE LOOKS LIKE
Show all 32

“The governor has declared war on law-abiding gun owners,” said Philip Van Cleave, president of the VCDL. “We’re protecting our right for people to protect themselves.”

He also lambasted the billionaire 2020 hopeful Mike Bloomberg and the Democratic Party, adding: “We shouldn’t have to be protecting civil rights from either party, but the Democrats – because Bloomberg is paying them off – they’re all marching with money in their pockets to go against the constitution.”

Other demonstrators described the state of emergency as unnecessary, despite the FBI arresting three suspected neo-Nazis days before the event who had reportedly discussed opening fire at the demonstrations and were anticipating a possible race war to begin.

Thomas Speciale, one of the demonstrators attending the event, described the official designation as “BS”, adding: “There was no threat ... It wasn’t a state [of] emergency, Northam created this emergency.”

The decision by Democrats to pass the relatively minor gun laws would have a resounding effect at the ballot box in 2020, said Mr Speciale, who is running for US Senate against the Virginia Democratic incumbent, Mark Warner.

“In November, ultimately what happened was we got complacent,” he said, referring to the Democratic takeover in 2018, as demonstrators carrying Glock handguns and other weapons stopped to cheer and listen. “But the best members of our team right now are the Democrats, because they continue to poke the bear. We could not have done this without them.”

Perhaps the hottest commodity at the event – besides the guns themselves – was merchandise and clothing supporting the president’s 2020 re-election campaign. One vendor who asked not to be identified said his table of Trump gear sold like “hot cakes” while noting the overlap of gun rights activists and supporters of the Republican president.

Mr Trump tweeted his support for the event as the demonstrations were underway, writing: “I will NEVER allow our great Second Amendment to go unprotected, not even a little bit!”

The president also said the new gun laws in Virginia were the result of the Democratic Party “working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights” in a tweet leading up to the rally, adding: “This is just the beginning. Don’t let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!”

Josh Hawthorne, a demonstrator who attended the event on Monday, also suggested Republicans would show up in droves to vote out Democrats for implementing new gun laws.

“This has organised and brought people together,” he said. “If they continue trying to take away our guns, there’s going to be chaos.”

Gun control activists meanwhile called for calm during the event, and many said they stayed home to avoid a potential clash with the thousands of armed demonstrators convening outside of the capitol grounds on Martin Luther King Jr Day.

In a statement to The Independent, Amnesty International said Lobby Day was “creating a climate of fear”, adding: “The vile decision to hold such a rally on a day when our country recognises the life of Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr, a peaceful civil rights leader whose life ended in gun violence, is particularly troubling.”

But not all gun control activists stayed home. Thomas Freeman said he attended the event because “people are dying” and “it’s time to fix that”.

Holding a sign that read “gun laws save lives”, Mr Freeman said: “Traditionally on this day a lot of folks come to lobby, including gun rights activists, but they don’t feel safe.”

Mr Freeman added: “Since I look like most people here, I feel it might be easier for me to come and represent the other side ... We’re not trying to say ‘no guns’, we’re trying to say that some gun laws might be helpful.”

Thousands attend pro-gun rally in Virginia, protest peaceful despite tensions

Issued on: 21/01/2020 - 00:18

Text by:NEWS WIRES

Several thousand gun rights supporters rallied peacefully Monday near the Virginia state Capitol under heavy security to protest new proposed gun control legislation.

The rally took place without incident under a state of emergency declared by the governor over fears of violence by far-right groups.

Dressed in hunting jackets and caps, rally-goers were checked for weapons as they passed through tight security before entering a fenced off area of Richmond's Capitol Square for the so-called "Lobby Day" event.

Many more gathered in the streets surrounding the Capitol building, some bearing sidearms or long guns, which was permitted outside the designated rally area.

They carried US and Virginia state flags and a huge banner emblazoned with the image of an assault rifle and the legend: "Come and Take It."

Brooks, a 24-year-old Richmond resident who would not give his full name, came with a group of friends, including one with an AR-15 assault rifle, "to support the Second Amendment."

"It's our constitutional God-given right to arm ourselves. Having a gun is for peace of mind. It's a protection thing," he told AFP.

The rally was organized by the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), which opposes gun control laws proposed by state Democrats who control the Virginia government.

The VCDL has condemned what it considers a breach of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution, which states that "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." The amendment has proved controversial over the years and has been subject to many different interpretations.

The Supreme Court has ruled that individuals have the right to keep firearms in their households, but left it to states to determine how the weapons could be transported.

President Donald Trump, a major ally of the pro-gun lobby, sent words of encouragement to the protesters via Twitter on Monday.

"The Democrat Party in the Great Commonwealth of Virginia are working hard to take away your 2nd Amendment rights," he said. "This is just the beginning. Don't let it happen, VOTE REPUBLICAN in 2020!"

Many of those massing near Capitol Square wore "Trump 2020" or "Make America Great Again" hats in support of the conservative president. Some chanted "four more years" or "USA, USA."

Richmond was a capital of the pro-slavery Confederacy, and Virginia has traditionally leaned conservative.

But the state, which borders the capital Washington, flipped in November and passed into Democratic hands. State Democrats promised to tackle what they considered the laxity surrounding firearms carrying laws, particularly after a May 2019 shooting in Virginia Beach that left 12 dead.

The new laws under consideration would prohibit magazines with more than 10 rounds, the purchase of more than one weapon per month, and permit judges to seize weapons from individuals deemed dangerous.

A backlash to the restrictions has spread throughout the state, and more than 100 counties and localities have declared themselves Second Amendment sanctuaries, threatening not to apply the new laws.

Justin Dorton, a 38 year old from North Carolina who was dressed in military camo attire, showed off an AR-15 rifle and said, "there should be nothing wrong with this. Nothing to be scared of. It's just a tool."

"This is just exercising my rights," he told AFP.

"Everybody in the crowd is armed and no crime is being committed. Gun laws are not going to affect criminals."

Far-right, paramilitaries

At the end of last week, the FBI arrested seven alleged members of the white extremist group "The Base" suspected of trying to create trouble at the rally.

Democratic Governor Ralph Northam on Wednesday declared a state of emergency for the rally site, which has been in effect since Friday and will continue through Tuesday evening.

Carrying firearms, normally allowed in the streets, is prohibited, as are dangerous objects such as baseball bats and chains.

"The VCDL (organisers) have intended this to be a peaceful event, but they have unleashed something much larger that they might not be able to control," Northam said.

The governor said they have seen "credible and serious threats" of "violence, armed confrontation and assault on our Capitol (from) groups with action plans."

The groups include out-of-state militias and hate groups, he said.

"No one wants to see an incident like the one we saw in Charlottesville," Northam said, referring to another Virginia city where clashes between white supremacists and anti-racist demonstrators in August 2017 resulted in one dead and dozens wounded.

(AFP)

Inside the Virginia pro-gun rally, I saw a perfect reflection of modern America

Demonstrations like this show just how far we are from achieving the 'American dream' — and how willing we are to continue fighting for our respective visions of it

Chris Riotta New York @chrisriotta

Two signs were hanging at the entrance of the Sam Miller oyster bar in Richmond, Virginia as thousands of guns rights activists descended on the state capitol for a major demonstration. One, placed above a rainbow flag, read: “Everyone is welcome here.” The other, featuring a cartoon handgun that had been struck through in a bold, red circle, stated: “No firearms allowed on premises.” Both felt necessary.

Approaching the demonstration, the first chants I heard were attacks against media personnel as they set up television shots on a patch of grass near the capitol grounds, where Virginia Governor Ralph Northam had declared a state of emergency. Armed activists screamed: “Fake news! Fake news!” I quickly tucked away my reporting gear as I got closer to the crowd. It felt like a justified precaution, being as I was unarmed in a sea of semi-automatic weapons attached to unsympathetic owners.

Nevertheless, for the most part, I found folks were happy to speak with reporters like myself, who had come from all over the country to document a potentially historic day.

The Virginia state legislature — which, for the first time in nearly 25 years, has been taken over by the Democratic Party — just passed a series of “controversial” gun laws. In reality, the more contentious bills were killed before they ever came up for a vote in the Virginia Senate, while three bills typically considered “common sense gun reforms” were passed. Those bills — SB70, SB 69 and SB 35, to give them their official categorizations — establish statewide mandatory background checks, limit the purchasing of firearms to once a month, and provide local governments the ability to ban firearms from public events, respectively. But none of that mattered by Monday, when demonstrators were already riled up by what they described as a “declaration of war against law-abiding gun owners.”

A lot of the activists who arrived to demonstrate in opposition to gun control on Martin Luther King Jr Day were angry — some of them would say “pissed off” — and weren’t afraid to show it. I was happy to discuss their cause with those who agreed to speak civilly with me — but not everyone was keen for a chat.

As I snapped photos of a line of armed demonstrators, I could hear a group of men with thick southern accents behind me.

“Another journalist,” one said.

“Fake news f****t,” his buddy replied.

It wasn’t the only time I heard the phrase “fake news f****t” directed at me: As I walked past the state’s court of appeals, which faces the capitol grounds, an older man smoking a cigar said it as well. I forgot I had taken out my reporters' notepad — a thin, blue pad that almost anyone would assume belongs to a journalist — a while earlier to interview a Republican running for US Senate in Virginia against Democratic incumbent Mark Warner.

I slipped the notepad back into my jacket, feeling a sense of both dread and shame. I couldn’t be sure if that shame came from being gay, or a being a journalist — or a combination of them both. Regardless, I felt too seen for my own good, and aimed to slip back into obscurity. As a cisgender white male, I knew I was privileged to be able to do just that at an event like this, which was dominated by cisgender, straight white folks: Folks who look like me on the surface.

Gun control activists who come from all walks of life expressed concern to me about attending the events ahead of time, with many of them saying they would stay away out of fear of a possible clash with the heavily armed demonstrators at Virginia’s capitol.

Thomas Freeman, one gun control activist I spoke to at the event, told me: “Traditionally on this day a lot of folks come to lobby, including guns rights activists, but [today] they don’t feel safe."

In many ways, the demonstrations perfectly reflected modern America: We are one of the most complicated and divided countries in the world right now, and more so over gun rights than any other issue. From the nationwide gun control protests in the wake of the Parkland school shootings to the Black Lives Matter marches and the Lobby Day demonstrations held on Monday in Virginia, it’s clear that our ideological views on guns and their place in society run the gamut. Those who take to the streets don’t always have the answers — but they certainly want to be heard.

While Lobby Day proved to be a mostly peaceful event, the rally could have erupted into a second Charlottesville at any given moment. And yet thousands of Americans were provided the space and ability to practice their First and Second Amendment rights. There is so much work to be done until we’re all given a seat at the table and figure out how to move forward as a united front. But sometimes, in the thick of such difficult challenges, it’s helpful to remember that America has always been an idea, and remains something to fight and strive for.

Virginia will soon implement tougher gun restrictions as the law of the land. Perhaps gun owners will continue to protest in opposition to those measures, and, in some cases, they may very well be successful in their fight. The other side will undoubtedly continue to fight as well. At the end of it all, I cling to hope: Hope that we will find a common middle ground, where each citizen is given the space, freedom and safety to voice their own opinions without fear of retribution. That is, after all, the American dream.

The Independent