GUESS WHO IS NOT INVITED TO DINNER

Canada will follow ICC warrant and arrest Netanyahu, Gallant if they enter country, Trudeau says

"We are one of the founding members of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. We will abide by all the regulations of the international

 court," he said.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

NOVEMBER 23, 2024 

Canada's Justin Trudeau tours the Toronto Holocaust Museum in North York, Ontario, Canada, May 5, 2024(

photo credit: REUTERS/COLE BURSTON)

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the country would abide by the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for his Israeli counterpart Netanyahu and Israel's former defense minister Yoav Gallant and will arrest the two should they enter the country, he told reporters on Thursday at a press conference.

"It's really important that everyone abide by international law. This is something we've been calling for since the beginning of the conflict," he said. "We are one of the founding members of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. As Canadians, we will abide by all the regulations and rulings of the international court."

US President Joe Biden rejected the ICC's decision to issue the warrants, saying that "whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence — none — between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security." The United States, however, is not one of the States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, unlike Canada.

Canada is among 124 countries that are States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Hamas on Thursday welcomed the arrest warrants. "We call on the International Criminal Court to expand the scope of accountability to all criminal occupation leaders," it said in a statement

.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shakes hands with members of Canadian Armed Forces in Toronto, Ontario, Canada February 24, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/CARLOS OSORIO)
Student protests across Canada the same day

The same day as Trudeau's comments on the ICC warrant, the Canadian province of Quebec saw about 85,000 students across over a dozen college campuses going on strike for two days, demanding their schools divest from Israel.

The main protest took place at Concordia University in Montreal but was joined by students from McGill and Dawson College.

Joanie Margulies, Danielle Greyman-Kennard, Mathilda Heller, and Reuters contributed to this report.

ICC warrants are binding, European Union cannot pick and choose, EU's Borrell says

Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country.

By REUTERS

NOVEMBER 23, 2024

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell attends a press conference on the day of EU-Ukraine Association Council in Brussels, Belgium March 20, 2024.(photo credit: REUTERS/YVES HERMAN)


European Union governments cannot pick and choose whether to execute arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against two Israeli leaders and a Hamas commander, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Saturday.

The ICC issued the warrants on Thursday against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri (Mohammad Deif) for alleged crimes against humanity.

All EU member states are signatories to the ICC's founding treaty, called the Rome Statute.

Several EU states have said they will meet their commitments under the statute if needed, but Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has invited Netanyahu to visit his country, assuring him he would face no risks if he did so.

"The states that signed the Rome convention are obliged to implement the decision of the court. It's not optional," Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said during a visit to Cyprus for a workshop of Israeli and Palestinian peace activists.

THE INTERNATIONAL Criminal Court in The Hague. (credit: PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/REUTERS)

Those same obligations were also binding on countries aspiring to join the EU, he said.

"It would be very funny that the newcomers have an obligation that current members don't fulfill," he told Reuters.

While Borrell welcomes ICC ruling, US rejects decision

The US rejected the ICC's decision, and Israel said the ICC move was antisemitic.

"Every time someone disagrees with the policy of one Israeli government - (they are) being accused of antisemitism," said Borrell, whose term as EU foreign policy chief ends this month.

"I have the right to criticize the decisions of the Israeli government, be it Mr Netanyahu or someone else, without being accused of antisemitism. This is not acceptable. That's enough."

In their decision, the ICC judges said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for acts including murder, persecution and starvation as a weapon of war as part of a "widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population of Gaza."

The warrant for Mohammad Deif lists charges of mass killings during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. Israel says it has killed Deif.

The International Criminal Court decided to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, based on “reasonable grounds” that they bear responsibility for a war crime and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Global reactions have been mixed. The United States fundamentally rejected the court’s decision. The U.K. reiterated its support for the court but stopped short of saying whether it would arrest Netanyahu if he visited. Donatella Rovera, senior crisis adviser at Amnesty International, answered France 24's question

As Biden and Trump Teams Attack ICC, Tlaib Says Netanyahu 'Must Be Arrested'


"Today's historic arrest warrants cannot bring back the dead and displaced," said U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, "but they are a major step towards holding war criminals accountable."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) holds a sign that reads "War Criminal" as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of Congress on July 24, 2024.
(Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
Nov 22, 2024
COMMON DREAMS

The lone Palestinian American in the U.S. Congress said Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "must be arrested" in compliance with warrants issued by judges on the International Criminal Court, a response that contrasted sharply with that of the Biden administration and allies of President-elect Donald Trump.

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), one of Congress' most outspoken opponents of Israel's war on Gaza, said in a statement that the ICC warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant were "long overdue" given the gravity of the accusations against them.

The ICC panel that approved the warrants on Thursday said it found "reasonable grounds to believe" Netanyahu and Gallant are guilty of "the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare" and the "crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts."

The ICC also approved an arrest warrant for Hamas military leader Muhammad Deif, whom Israel claims to have killed in an airstrike in southern Gaza last month.


Tlaib said Thursday that the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant represent a signal that "the days of the Israeli apartheid government operating with impunity are ending" and condemned the Biden administration's continued military and diplomatic support for Israel's catastrophic assault on the Gaza Strip, where most of the population is now displaced and at growing risk of starvation and disease.

The Democratic congresswoman said the "historic arrest warrants cannot bring back the dead and displaced, but they are a major step towards holding war criminals accountable."

"If the world does not uphold international law, we will descend into further barbarism."

Tlaib was among a number of progressive U.S. lawmakers who backed the ICC's decision as the Biden White House, Republican and Democratic lawmakers, and likely members of the incoming Trump administration lashed out at the court and threatened retaliation—underscoring the country's outlier status as its allies affirmed their support for the ICC and said they would abide by its warrants.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Thursday that the ICC's decision represents "an important step to hold these war criminals accountable for their grave crimes against humanity and war crimes."

"I express my sincere admiration for the victims of the atrocities in Israel on October 7th and the victims of the war crimes that have and are currently taking place in Gaza who provided their testimony to the prosecutor's office to make these arrest warrants possible," said Omar. "Just as I have said for months, the ICC must continue to work independently without interference."

Omar denounced bipartisan calls for sanctions against the ICC as "shameful" and praised the court's staff for pushing to "uphold human rights, accountability, and the rule of law."

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) also voiced agreement with the ICC's decision to issue the warrants, saying late Thursday that the court's charges against Netanyahu, Gallant, and Deif "are well-founded."

The ICC formally issued the warrants just hours after Sanders forced a historic U.S. Senate vote late Wednesday in an effort to block American arms sales to Israel. The Sanders-led effort failed as an overwhelming majority of senators from both parties voted against halting the weapons transfers.

In his statement Thursday, Sanders said that "Netanyahu, Gallant, and Deif have all launched indiscriminate attacks against civilians, and all three have caused unimaginable suffering within the civilian population."

"If the world does not uphold international law," the senator warned, "we will descend into further barbarism."

'War Criminals Are Not Welcome': Dearborn Mayor Says He Would Arrest Netanyahu


"Our president may not take action, but city leaders can ensure Netanyahu and other war criminals are not welcome to travel freely across these United States," said Major Abdullah Hammoud.

Abdullah Hammoud, mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, speaks during a press conference on February 28, 2024.

(Photo: Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Julia Conley
Nov 21, 2024
COMMON DREAMS 

The Biden administration on Thursday said it "fundamentally" rejected the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Israel's prime minister and ex-defense minister—but the Dearborn, Michigan mayor who has been an outspoken critic of U.S. support for Israel in recent months said he would join the majority of countries in recognizing the court's jurisdiction, and would carry out the warrants if given the chance.

"Our president may not take action, but city leaders can ensure [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and other war criminals are not welcome to travel freely across these United States," said Mayor Abdullah Hammoud on the social media platform X.

Hammoud said Dearborn authorities would arrest Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant if they set foot within city limits, and called on other cities across the United States to do the same.

The ICC said Thursday that it had found "reasonable grounds" to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant for "crimes against humanity and war crimes," more than 13 months after Israel began its bombardment and near-total blockade on Gaza. The court also issued a warrant for Hamas leader Mohammed Deif, who was killed in an airstrike in July. The ICC said it could not confirm Deif's death.

In May, President Joe Biden said ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan's application for arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant was "outrageous."

On Thursday, a White House National Security Council spokesperson said the Biden administration was "deeply concerned by the prosecutor’s rush to seek arrest warrants."

The U.S. is joined by powerful governments including those of China, Russia, Israel, and India in refusing to recognize the ICC's jurisdiction; 124 countries are parties to the Rome Statute, which established the ICC as a court that prosecutes individuals accused of war crimes.

Gaza officials say the death toll in the enclave has passed 44,000 since Israel began its assault, with Gallant saying he had "released all the restraints" on the military. Nearly 70% of deaths verified by the United Nations in Gaza have been among women and children. Israel also faces a case at the International Court of Justice in which South Africa and several other countries have accused it of genocidal acts.


The Irish Foreign Ministry on Thursday called on all governments to respect the ICC's "independence and impartiality, with no attempts made to undermine the court."

Progressive U.S. advocacy group RootsAction urged "people everywhere to perform a citizen's arrest of Netanyahu wherever he can be found, including in Washington D.C."

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), a U.S.-based human rights group, noted that "Article 25(3)(c) of the Rome Statute outlines clear criminal liability for aiding and abetting war crimes, which applies to individuals in non-member states like the U.S. when their actions enable violations under ICC jurisdiction."

"By continuing to provide military assistance to Israeli officials," said DAWN advocacy director Raed Jarrar, "despite credible accusations of war crimes by the ICC, U.S. leaders—including President Biden, Secretary [Antony] Blinken, and Secretary [Lloyd] Austin—are exposing themselves to personal liability under international law."

The ICC Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu Is Also an Indictment of US Policy and Complicity

Ultimately, this is the story of how the Israel lobby undermined America, wrecked the Middle East, and set a series of international crimes against humanity in motion.


Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint meeting of the United States Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol March 3, 2015 in Washington, D.C.
(Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Jeffrey D. Sachs
Nov 21, 202

4Common Dreams

It’s official now. America’s closest ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the one accorded more than 50 standing ovations in Congress just months ago, is under indictment by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes. America must take note: the U.S. Government is complicit in Netanyahu’s war crimes and has fully partnered in Netanyahu’s violent rampage across the Middle East.

For 30 years the Israel Lobby has induced the U.S. to fight wars on Israel’s behalf designed to prevent the emergence of a Palestinian State. Netanyahu, who first came to power in 1996, and has been prime minister for 17 years since then, has been the main cheerleader for U.S.-backed wars in the Middle East. The result has been a disaster for the U.S. and a bloody catastrophe not only for the Palestinian people but for the entire Middle East.

These have not been wars to defend Israel, but rather wars to topple governments that oppose Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people. Israel viciously opposes the two-state solution called for by international law, the Arab Peace Initiative, the G20, the BRICS, the OIC, and the UN General Assembly. Israel’s intransigence, and its brutal suppression of the Palestinian people, has given rise to several militant resistance movements since the beginning of the occupation. These movements are backed by several countries in the region.

The obvious solution to the Israel-Palestine crisis is to implement the two-state solution and to demilitarize the militant groups as part of the implementation process.

Israel’s approach, especially under Netanyahu, is to overthrow foreign governments that oppose Israel’s domination, and recreate the map of a “New Middle East” without a Palestinian State. Rather than making peace, Netanyahu makes endless war.

What is shocking is that Washington has turned the U.S. military and federal budget over to Netanyahu for his disastrous wars. The history of the Israel lobby’s complete takeover of Washington can be found in the remarkable new book by Ilan Pappé, Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic (2024).

Rather than making peace, Netanyahu makes endless war.

Netanyahu repeatedly told the American people that they would be the beneficiaries of his policies. In fact, Netanyahu has been an unmitigated disaster for the American people, bleeding the U.S. Treasury of trillions of dollars, squandering America’s standing in the world, making the U.S. complicit in his genocidal policies, and bringing the world closer to World War III.

If Trump wants to make America great again, the first thing he should do is to make America sovereign again, by ending Washington’s subservience to the Israel Lobby.

The Israel Lobby not only controls the votes in Congress but places hardline backers of Israel into key national security posts. These have included Madeleine Albright (Secretary of State for Clinton), Lewis Libby (Chief of Staff of Vice President Cheney), Victoria Nuland (Deputy National Security Advisor of Cheney, NATO Ambassador of Bush Jr., Assistant Secretary of State for Obama, Under-Secretary of State for Biden), Paul Wolfowitz (Under-Secretary of Defense for Bush Sr., Deputy Secretary of Defense for Bush Jr.), Douglas Feith (Under-Secretary of Defense for Bush Jr.), Abram Shulsky (Director of the Office of Special Plans, Department of Defense for Bush Jr.), Elliott Abrams (Deputy National Security Advisor for Bush Jr.), Richard Perle (Chairman of the Defense National Policy Board for Bush Jr.), Amos Hochstein (Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State for Biden), and Antony Blinken (Secretary of State for Biden).

Netanyahu has been an unmitigated disaster for the American people, bleeding the U.S. Treasury of trillions of dollars, squandering America’s standing in the world, making the U.S. complicit in his genocidal policies, and bringing the world closer to World War III.

In 1995, Netanyahu described his plan of action in his book Fighting Terrorism. To control terrorists (Netanyahu’s characterization of militant groups fighting Israel’s illegal rule over the Palestinians), it’s not enough to fight the terrorists. Instead, it’s necessary to fight the “terrorist regimes” that support such groups. And the U.S. must be the one to lead:
The cessation of terrorism must therefore be a clear-cut demand, backed up by sanctions and with no prizes attached. As with all international efforts, the vigorous application of sanctions to terrorist states must be led by the United States, whose leaders must choose the correct sequence, timing, and circumstances for these actions.

As Netanyahu told the American people in 2001 (reprinted as the 2001 foreword to Fighting Terrorism):
The first and most crucial thing to understand is this: There is no international terrorism without the support of sovereign states. International terrorism simply cannot be sustained for long without the regimes that aid and abet it… Take away all this state support, and the entire scaffolding of international terrorism will collapse into dust. The international terrorist network is thus based on regimes—Iran, Iraq, Syria, Taliban Afghanistan, Yasir Arafat’s Palestinian Authority, and several other Arab regimes, such as the Sudan.

All of this was music to the ears of the neocons in Washington, who similarly subscribed to U.S.-led regime change operations (through wars, covert subversion, U.S.-led color revolutions, violent coups, etc.) as the main way to deal with perceived U.S. adversaries.

After 9/11, the Bush Jr. neocons (led by Cheney and Rumsfeld) and the Bush Jr. insiders of the Israel Lobby (led by Wolfowitz and Feith), teamed up to remake the Middle East through a series of U.S.-led wars on Netanyahu’s targets in the Middle East (Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Syria) and Islamic East Africa (Libya, Somalia, and Sudan). The role of the Israel Lobby in stoking these wars of choice is described in detail in Pappe’s new book.

The neocon-Israel Lobby war plan was shown to General Wesley Clark on a visit to the Pentagon soon after 9/11. An officer pulled a paper from his desk and told Clark: "I just got this memo from the Secretary of Defense's office. It says we're going to attack and destroy the governments in 7 countries in five years—we're going to start with Iraq, and then we're going to move to Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran."

In 2002, Netanyahu pitched the war with Iraq to the American people and Congress by promising them that “If you take out Saddam, Saddam’s regime, I guarantee you that it will have enormous positive reverberations on the region[...] People sitting right next door in Iran, young people, and many others, will say the time of such regimes, of such despots is gone.”

A remarkable new insider account of Netanyahu’s role in spearheading the Iraq War also comes from retired Marine Command Chief Master Sargent Dennis Fritz, in his book Deadly Betrayal (2024). When Fritz was called to deploy to Iraq in early 2002, he asked senior military officials why the U.S. was deploying to Iraq, but he got no clear answer. Rather than lead soldiers into a battle he could not explain or justify, he left the service.

The neocon-Israel Lobby teamwork has marked one of the greatest global calamities of the 21st century.

In 2005, Fritz was invited back to the Pentagon, now as a civilian, to assist Under-Secretary Douglas Feith in the declassification of documents about the war, so that Feith could use them to write a book about the war. Fritz discovered in the process that the Iraq War had been spurred by Netanyahu in close coordination with Wolfowitz and Feith. He learned that the purported U.S. war aim, to counter Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction, was a cynical public relations gimmick led by an Israel Lobby insider, Abram Shulsky, to garner U.S. public support for the war.

Iraq was to be the first of the seven wars in five years, but as Fritz explains, that follow-up wars were delayed by the anti-U.S. Iraqi insurgency. Nonetheless, the U.S. eventually went to war or backed wars against Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Lebanon. In other words, the U.S. carried out Netanyahu’s plans—except for Iran. To this day, indeed to this hour, Netanyahu works to stoke a U.S. war on Iran, one that could open World War III, either by Iran making the breakthrough to nuclear weapons, or by Iran’s ally, Russia, joining such a war on Iran’s side.

The neocon-Israel Lobby teamwork has marked one of the greatest global calamities of the 21st century. All of the countries attacked by the U.S. or its proxies—Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Syria—now lie in ruins. Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s genocide in Gaza continues apace, and yet again the U.S. has opposed the unanimous will of the world (other than Israel) this week by vetoing a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution that was backed by the other 14 members of the U.N. Security Council.

The real issue facing the Trump Administration is not defending Israel from its neighbors, who call repeatedly, almost daily, for peace based on the two-state solution. The real issue is defending the U.S. from the Israel Lobby.

Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.


Jeffrey D. Sachs is a University Professor and Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he directed The Earth Institute from 2002 until 2016. He is also President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and a commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development. He has been advisor to three United Nations Secretaries-General, and currently serves as an SDG Advocate under Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Sachs is the author, most recently, of "A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism" (2020). Other books include: "Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair, and Sustainable" (2017) and "The Age of Sustainable Development," (2015) with Ban Ki-moon.
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Trump National Security Advisor Pick Threatens ICC Over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant

Republican Rep. Mike Waltz declared that the International Criminal Court, which is recognized by more than 120 nations including major U.S. allies, "has no credibility."


U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz speaks at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on July 17, 2024.
(Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

Jake Johnson
Nov 21, 2024
COMMON DREAMS

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's pick for national security advisor on Thursday threatened the International Criminal Court with "a strong response" after the body formally issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's former defense minister, and Hamas' military chief, accusing the three of grave war crimes.

Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), a vocal supporter of Israel's assault on Gaza, wrote on social media that the ICC "has no credibility," even though the court is recognized by 124 countries around the world—including Germany, the United Kingdom, and other major U.S. allies.

Waltz added that the ICC's "allegations have been refuted by the U.S. government," alluding to the Biden administration's widely rejected assessment that Israel's conduct in Gaza has been lawful.

"Israel has lawfully defended its people and borders from genocidal terrorists," Waltz wrote, vowing that the Trump administration would take action against supposed "antisemitic bias" at the ICC and United Nations.

Waltz's response to the arrest warrants offered a glimpse of the hostile approach the incoming Trump administration and the Republican Congress intend to take toward international efforts to hold the Israeli government to account for war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip—many of which have been carried out with U.S. weaponry.

"It is reasonable to expect that once Trump comes in, he will go after the ICC and the [International Court of Justice] in ways that profoundly damage the multilateral system," said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

"It is important to remember, however, that so did Biden," Parsi added.

After the ICC's chief prosecutor filed his applications for arrest warrants against Netanyahu, Gallant, and members of Hamas' leadership in May, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement questioning the legitimacy of the requests and reiterating the administration's view that the court "has no jurisdiction over this matter."

Blinken earlier this year also signaled support for potential sanctions against the ICC, a punitive step that Republicans—including the incoming leader of the GOP Senate majority, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.)—have demanded.

Neither the U.S. nor Israel recognizes the ICC, but the court has said it has jurisdiction over Israeli actions in Gaza given that Palestine is an ICC member. The Biden administration has been accused of hypocrisy on the issue of ICC jurisdiction given that it welcomed the court's arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

As of this writing, the U.S. State Department has not responded to the ICC warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri. The department canceled its daily press briefing for Thursday.

"The European Union and other major democratic powers should immediately put in place measures to protect the safety and integrity of the International Criminal Court and its staff."


Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), said in a statement Thursday that the ICC's arrest warrants "are a milestone for justice and accountability, and just about the only thing that stands a chance of saving international law at a moment of U.S.-backed genocidal Israeli impunity."

"Every member state of the International Criminal Court—and even its erstwhile champions like the U.S.—has a duty to swiftly arrest Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Gallant at the first opportunity they get," said Whitson.

Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, DAWN's director of research for Israel-Palestine, added that "in light of the threats already made by President-elect Trump and existing U.S. legislation known as the ' Hague Invasion Act,' the European Union and other major democratic powers should immediately put in place measures to protect the safety and integrity of the International Criminal Court and its staff."

The ICC has no police force of its own, making it reliant on member states to execute arrest warrants.

Josep Borrell, the European Union's top diplomat, said Thursday that the ICC's warrants must "be respected and implemented."

"This decision is a binding decision on all state parties of the court, which includes all members of the European Union," Borrell added.

Afghan women turn to entrepreneurship under Taliban


By AFP
November 23, 2024

Many Afghan women have launched small businesses to meet their own needs and support other women - Copyright AFP Wakil KOHSAR

Aysha Safi

When Zainab Ferozi saw Afghan women struggling to feed their families after Taliban authorities took power, she took matters into her own hands and poured her savings into starting a business.

Two-and-a-half years after putting 20,000 Afghanis ($300) earned from teaching sewing classes into a carpet weaving enterprise, she now employs around a dozen women who lost their jobs or who had to abandon their education due to Taliban government rules.

Through her business in the western province of Herat, the 39-year-old also “covers all the household expenses” of her family of six, she told AFP from her office where samples of brightly coloured and exquisitely woven rugs and bags are displayed.

Her husband, a labourer, cannot find work in one of the poorest countries in the world.

Ferozi is one of many women who have launched small businesses in the past three years to meet their own needs and support other Afghan women, whose employment sharply declined after the Taliban took power in 2021.

Before the Taliban takeover, women made up 26 percent of public sector workers, a figure that “has effectively decreased to zero”, according to UN Women.

Girls and women have also been banned from secondary schools and universities under restrictions the UN has described as “gender apartheid”.

Touba Zahid, a 28-year-old mother-of-one, started making jams and pickles in the small basement of her home in the capital Kabul after she was forced to stop her university education.

“I came into the world of business… to create job opportunities for women so they can have an income that at least covers their immediate needs,” Zahid said.

Half a dozen of her employees, wearing long white coats, were busy jarring jams and pickles labelled “Mom’s delicious homecooking”.



– Growing number of businesses –



While women may be making the stock, running the shops in Afghanistan remains mostly a man’s job.

Saleswomen like Zahid “cannot go to the bazaar to promote and sell their products” themselves, said Fariba Noori, chairwoman of the Afghanistan Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AWCCI).

Another issue for Afghan businesswomen is the need for a “mahram” — a male family member chaperone — to accompany them to other cities or provinces to purchase raw materials, said Noori.

After 40 years of successive conflicts, many Afghan women have been widowed and lost many male relatives.

Despite these challenges, the number of businesses registered with AWCCI has increased since the Taliban takeover, according to Noori.

The number went “from 600 big companies to 10,000” mainly small, home-based businesses and a few bigger companies, said Noori, herself a businesswoman for 12 years.

Khadija Mohammadi, who launched her eponymous brand in 2022 after she lost her private school teaching job, now employs more than 200 women sewing dresses and weaving carpets.

“I am proud of every woman who is giving a hand to another woman to help her become independent,” said the 26-year-old.

Though businesses like Mohammadi’s are a lifeline, the salaries ranging from 5,000 to 13,000 Afghanis, cannot cover all costs and many women are still stalked by economic hardship.

Qamar Qasimi, who lost her job as a beautician after the Taliban authorities banned beauty salons in 2023, said that even with her salary she and her husband struggle to pay rent and feed their family of eight.

“When I worked in the beauty salon, we could earn 3,000-7,000 Afghanis for styling one bride, but here we get 5,000 per month,” said the 24-year-old.

“It’s not comparable but I have no other choice,” she added, the room around her full of women chatting as they worked at 30 looms.



– Women-only spaces –



The closure of beauty salons was not only a financial blow, but also removed key spaces for women to socialise.

Zohra Gonish decided to open a restaurant to create a women-only space in northeastern Badakhshan province.

“Women can come here and relax,” said the 20-year-old entrepreneur.

“We wanted the staff to be women so that the women customers can feel comfortable here.”

But starting her business in 2022, aged 18 was not easy in a country where the labour force participation for women is 10 times lower than the world average, according to the World Bank.

It took Gonish a week to convince her father to support her.

Aside from helping their families and having space to socialise, some women said work has given them a sense of purpose.

Sumaya Ahmadi, 15, joined Ferozi’s carpet company to help her parents after she had to leave school and became “very depressed”.

“(Now) I’m very happy and I no longer have any mental health problems. I’m happier and I feel better.”

The work has also given her a new goal: to help her two brothers build their futures.

“Because schools’ doors are closed to girls, I work instead of my brothers so they can study and do something with their lives.”

BALOCHISTAN IS A COUNTRY

Military option

DAWN
Editorial 

November 21, 2024 


CONSIDERING that Balochistan has been experiencing a steady wave of terrorist violence over the past few months, particularly involving Baloch separatist groups, it is no surprise that the state has decided to use armed force to quell the insurgency.

Using the platform of the Apex Committee, the civil and military leadership said on Tuesday that an operation would be launched to counter terrorism and separatist violence in the province, while Nacta would be revitalised under the vision of Azm-i-Istehkam. The meeting also announced that a National and Provincial Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre would be created and a “whole-of-system approach” adopted.

It is clear why the state has to take firm action to restore peace in Balochistan. In August, terrorists launched a coordinated series of attacks in different parts of the province; such incidents have been occurring since then with disturbing regularity. They include the massacre of miners in Dukki in October, as well as the bombings in Mastung and at the Quetta railway station earlier this month. In fact, the railway station atrocity, in which a large number of civilians were martyred along with security personnel, may have played a decisive role in the state’s decision to launch a military operation.

Apart from these incidents, there have been numerous grisly murders of non-Baloch workers, as well as the suicide bombing in October outside Karachi airport in which two Chinese nationals were killed. The latter incident threatened to imperil Pakistan’s relationship with Beijing. All these violent acts have been linked to Baloch separatists.

Yet it should be remembered that although Balochistan has witnessed numerous military operations over the decades, they have largely failed to bring long-lasting peace to the province. This time, with Nacta on board, things could be different. While the state goes after terrorists, innocent people should not be hauled away and there must be transparency regarding the operations. If relatives of the insurgents, especially women and children, are targeted in the name of tackling terrorism, it will be counterproductive and breed more disaffection.

As this paper has said before, while restoring peace is essential, addressing Balochistan’s socioeconomic deprivation is equally important as terrorists exploit poverty and underdevelopment in the resource-rich province to turn people against the state. Moreover, the state will need to keep channels open with the Afghan Taliban to ensure that Baloch insurgents are not able to find sanctuary in their country.

Better ties with Kabul can help thwart the malignant designs of the “hostile foreign powers” that the Apex Committee identified. Some regional states, such as India, are deepening relations with the Afghan Taliban. For peace in Balochistan and elsewhere in the country, Pakistan cannot afford to ignore these developments and must keep the lines open with Kabul.

Published in Dawn, November 21st, 2024

PAKISTAN

Protests sweep the country as Kurram toll rises to 43

Javed Hussain 

Published November 23, 2024 

DAWN

People mourn over the graves of relatives who were killed after gunmen opened fire on a convoy of passenger vehicles, in the Shalozan area of Kurram district, on Friday.—Reuters

• Curfew imposed, mobile services suspended; schools, markets remain shut across Parachinar

• Senior official describes situation in region as ‘extremely tense’

• Protesters slam govt inability to protect citizens

KURRAM: The death toll from Thursday’s attack on passenger vehicles in Khyber Pakhtun­khwa’s Kurram district area rose to 43, authorities said on Friday as they imposed a curfew and suspended mobile service in the remote mountainous district.

Businesses, educational institutions and markets remained closed across Parachinar and surrounding areas in Kurram, a district near the Afghanistan border with a history of sectarian violence

Thousands of people took to the streets in various cities on Friday.

The convoy of around 200 vehicles, carrying Shia passengers between Peshawar and Parachi­nar, came under heavy gunfire in the densely populated Bagan town.

According to witnesses, the vehicles were ambushed from four sides. Muhammad, a 14-year-old survivor, told Dawn that the assault lasted around 30 minutes.

Authorities said that the victims included seven women and three children, with 16 others injured — 11 of whom are in critical condition.

Sajid Kazmi, a leader of Majlis-i-Wahdat-i-Muslimeen (MWM), condemned the attack, accusing law enforcement agencies of negligence. He alleged that despite the convoy being escorted by police from Thal to Alizai, the forces failed to protect passengers. Mr Kazmi demanded the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the massacre.

Kurram Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud confirmed the death toll, adding that efforts were underway to restore normalcy. He told Dawn that a grand jirga would be convened to find a viable solution to the unrest.

PROTESTERS hold placards during a demonstration against the terrorist attack in Parachinar outside the Peshawar Press Club on Friday.—PPI


Protests and funerals

The attack has sparked outrage across the district, with demonstrations held in various locations, including outside the Parachinar Press Club. Thousands of people participated in a sit-in in Parachinar, where protesters criticised the government’s failure to protect civilians.

Funerals for the victims, including journalist Janan Hussain, a member of the Parachinar Press Club, were held in their respective villages before Friday prayers. Mr Hussain had recently returned from Malaysia.

An administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP news agency that mobile signals across the district had been shut down, describing the situation as “extremely tense”.

“A curfew has been imposed on the main road connecting Upper and Lower Kurram, and the bazaar remains completely closed, with all traffic suspended,” the official said. After the funerals, the youth gathered, chanted slogans against the government and marched toward a nearby security checkpoint, resident Muhammad Ali told the news agency.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that “some broke CCTV cameras at the checkpoint… burned tyres and caused damage to property”, before the situation de-escalated.


Mourners pray for victims of a gun attack on passenger vehicles in KP’s Kurram District that killed more than 40, outside the Parachinar Press Club on November 22. — via author



Several hundred people also demonstrated in Lahore, according to AFP.

“We are tired of counting the bodies. How long will this bloodshed continue?” Khanum Nida Jafri, a 50-year-old religious scholar protesting, said. “We are demanding peace for our children and women. Are we asking too much?”

Hundreds also demonstrated in Karachi.

Sectarian violence

Thursday’s ambush is the latest in a series of sectarian clashes between Sunni and Shia tribes in Kurram. Previous clashes in July and September claimed dozens of lives and were resolved only after tribal councils brokered ceasefires.

The latest violence drew condemnation from officials and human rights groups. “The frequency of such incidents confirms the failure of the federal and provincial governments to protect the security of ordinary citizens,” the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said in a statement.

“We demand immediate and decisive steps from both governments to permanently break this cycle of violence,” it said.






‘She died in my arms’

Danish Turi, a survivor of the deadly ambush, described the attack as “horrifying”. He witnessed a vehicle ahead of his being struck by a rocket launcher, leaving the passengers and the vehicle in ruins, according to a BBC Urdu report.



Mr Turi, the chairman of Parac­hinar Youth Council, recounted the chilling moments when gunfire erupted on the road connecting Peshawar to Parachinar. Travelling in a passenger coach with mostly women onboard, he was seated in the front when the attackers struck.

“When we reached the Mandori area, the convoy from Peshawar to Parachinar arrived, and within moments, heavy firing started,” Mr Turi recalled, according to the report.

He and several other passengers sought refuge in a nearby stream surrounded by dense trees. “I was carrying an eight-year-old girl, trying to move her to safety when a bullet hit her. She died in my arms.”

Mr Turi said the “vehicle in front of us, a Fielder car, was hit by a rocket, causing a massive explosion. We were terrified, thinking any moment could be our last.”

He helped evacuate around 10 to 12 women to safety. “But I couldn’t save the innocent girl who passed away in my arms.”

Journalist’s life cut short

The family of Janan Hussain, a journalist from Parachinar who was among the victims, went through the anguish of searching for him throughout the day, only to receive his body late at night.

Mr Hussain had recently returned from a trip to Malaysia. Known for his charitable work with his organisation, Mr Hussain was also working on community-focused journalism.



His cousin, Rizwan Hussain, shared how Janan had informed his wife during the journey that he was on his way home. “We were hopeful he was safe, but then his body arrived at 11pm, plunging the family into grief.”

Ali Afzal, a fellow journalist, recalled that Janan Hussain “often talked about how far the world has progressed while we remain entangled in conflicts”.

Mr Afzal told BBC Urdu that Janan had sent him a video from Malaysia with beautiful views saying that people lived there “like they were in a paradise”. “We will get heaven only after death,” Janan said in the video.

The attack also claimed the life of Gulfam Hussain, a taxi driver who had travelled to Pesha­war to meet acquaintances. A father of five young children, Mr Hussain had planned to return to Parachinar with the convoy.

“We learned in the evening that Gulfam was among those injured in the attack. He later succumbed to his wounds,” said his uncle, Ali Ghulam.

With input from agencies

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2024

Kurram atrocity

DAWN
Editorial

November 22, 2024 

WITH the situation in KP’s Kurram tribal district already volatile for the past several months, the murderous violence witnessed on Thursday has not come as a surprise.

At least 38 people were killed when a convoy of vehicles was attacked in an act of terrorism in Lower Kurram, in what is one of the biggest single mass-casualty attacks this year. The convoys consisted mostly of members of the Shia community. In this part of KP, militancy, tribal disputes and sectarianism, which has claimed both Shia and Sunni lives, have created a powder keg.

Sadly, the state has ignored the situation for years, or made only half-hearted efforts to address it. This year, a land dispute between two tribes metastasised into something uglier, with over 80 people killed since July, many of them while travelling by road. The people of Kurram took to the streets two weeks ago, demanding peace and safety on the roads. As yesterday’s atrocity showed, the state was unable to provide these.

Unfortunately, the centre and KP government are both so embroiled in politicking that the security situation of Kurram and other parts of the province fails to attract their attention. Statements are issued, promises are made, but the people of KP are left to fend for themselves as bloodthirsty terrorists ravage the province. Security institutions have also failed to flush out militants threatening peace in KP.

Kurram is particularly sensitive, due mainly to its sectarian dynamics and proximity to Afghanistan, in addition to the presence of militant groups and heavy arms. Yet the state has been unable to deweaponise the area, or judiciously resolve the tribal disputes that can spiral into communal bloodletting.

It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram. Instability can easily spread to the adjoining districts if not contained, and vested interests can exploit sectarian differences in the region to create communal discord across Pakistan. The first duty of the state is to track down and punish the elements responsible for the latest attack. It cannot be business as usual after this brutal episode, and all state institutions must come up with solid plans to protect Kurram’s people, and other vulnerable populations in KP.

A multiparty conference to discuss law and order in KP has been scheduled for next month. Considering the latest outrage, this conclave should be held earlier. Moreover, along with state functionaries, the ulema and tribal elders must also work to defuse the situation and ensure a retaliatory spiral of violence does not ensue.

The state has dithered over Kurram’s security long enough. It is time to provide justice to the victims of violence, while terrorists and their facilitators must be tracked down and made to answer before the law.

Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2024

Killing fields

Aasim Sajjad Akhtar 

November 22, 2024

DAWN

WHILE the PTI-run government in KP continues to depict itself as the last remaining bastion of democracy in the country, pitched against the governments at the centre and other federating units, many parts of the province have once again become killing fields.

Target killers roam free in Bannu, Waziristan and other Pakhtun regions. Attacks against political workers, security personnel and ordinary civilians have become an almost daily affair. Religiously inspired militants sometimes acknowledge responsibility, but there is an eye-catching number of perpetrators in the now familiar category of ‘unknowns’.

Bloodletting in Kurram district reached unprecedented proportions a couple of weeks ago as local property disputes were instrumentalised by militant elements to stoke sectarian tensions at will. And yesterday, a bus of civilians was fired upon near Parachinar resulting in over 30 deaths.

In such cases, neither the chief minister of KP nor the prime and interior minister at the centre provide the general public with any meaningful information let alone chart out a strategy to deal with what, by any account, is a situation spiralling completely out of control.

There are important organic factors in the re-emergence of militants.

All we get are tired condemnations of ‘terrorism’, with none of our civilian political leaders ever saying openly that the resurgence of militancy might have had to do with the state’s previous backing of the Taliban in Kabul.

Neither is anyone willing to antagonise any of Pakistan’s big external patrons, namely the US, Gulf kingdoms and China, all of whom are part of the geopolitical games that underlie both current and previous waves of violence in Pakhtun regions

There are also important organic factors in the re-emergence of the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups. They are entrenched economic players in border trade, or what is routinely called smuggling. They extort money from transporters and shop owners in many of the Pakhtun tribal districts. I noted above that they take advantage of property disputes, particularly over agricultural land. Finally, these players have also developed big stakes in the extraction of a host of natural resources, including pine nuts, timber, mineral deposits, etc.

Geopolitical wranglings amongst all the big players in this sordid story also revolve around the desire to either exclusively control economic flows, or to at the very least ensure that competitors do not establish monopolies in trade, mining, construction and other sectors.

In Pakistan we are used to hearing that the only thing that matters is national security, but anyone with even cursory knowledge of the current violence in KP understands that this is just a handy catchphrase for a power game that is largely about social control and economic resources.

The contraband trade across the Pak-Afghan and Pak-Iran borders implicates states, militants, and a host of other economic players. Simply decrying ‘smuggling’ and putting up a fence here and there protects the big profiteers while destroying the livelihoods of the large number of small operators reliant on this trade. Political violence is then both cause and consequence of the deliberate reduction of this complex political economy to ‘national security’.

The PML-N and PPP have shown that they will do everything to appease those higher above them in the political food chain, both at home and abroad, so they are not about to bell the cat. But if the anti-establishment posture of the PTI — and the otherwise firebrand KP chief minister — is more than just a façade, we should expect more critical ref­lection on the epidemic of violence in Pakhtun tribal and other distr­i­cts. Indeed, the chief minister him­self hails from D.I. Khan, which is at the crossroads of so many recent attacks.

The underlying problem is the militarised and imperialised structure of power in this country. The power of the religious right — and militant groups especially — is a direct offshoot of this structure. The somewhat absurd spectacle of one federating unit’s official state apparatus engaging in mass protests against the centre should not distract us from the fact that the prevailing structure of power is floundering badly.

An anti-establishment politics is not about displacing those currently at the helm so that the next player can lurch towards yet another crisis of what is fundamentally an anti-people and anti-nature system.

Such a politics must be based on a programme for lasting peace, centred on economic redistribution, dismantling the establishment-centric political order, and a non-aligned foreign policy that privileges mutual cooperation with our neighbours.

The writer teaches at Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2024

SYRIAN KURDISTAN









Kongra Star: Together, we are writing a new chapter in the history of resistance

Kongra Star released a message of solidarity on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, saluting every woman who stands up against injustice: “Let us make this century the century of women’s freedom and empowerment."


ANF
NEWS DESK
Thursday, 21 November 2024, 15:19

The Democratic Political Alliances and Relations Committee of the Kongra Star, the umbrella organization of women in North-East Syria, sent a message of solidarity to women's movements and feminist movements around the world on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, November 25.

The message released by the Kongra Star Democratic Political Alliances and Relations Committee on Thursday includes the following:

“To all women’s movements and feminist movements around the world,

On this day when women’s voices unite to defend their dignity and their right to a safe and free life, we write to you with a spirit of resilience and struggle.

On November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we wholeheartedly salute every woman who stands up against injustice – whether in her home, on the streets, behind prison bars or on the front lines of resistance. We salute the women who are defending freedom all over the world: from Palestine, where women are resisting the brutality of occupation, to India, where they are fighting for equality, from war-torn Sudan, where women are bearing the brunt of conflict and injustice, to Iran and Eastern Kurdistan, where women are holding up the flag of resistance despite oppression.

Systematic violence against women stems from the patriarchal mindset, which is at the root of all forms of violence – be it exploitation, forced occupation, enslavement or massacre. Therefore, the fight against this violence must aim to overcome the patriarchal system itself. This system, which is reinforced and perpetuated by the state, continues to reproduce violence against women at all levels.

The patriarchal system wages a special kind of war against women. Targeting their achievements and hard-won rights, it seeks to incorporate women’s movements into its framework, depriving them of leadership and denying them true liberation.

We live in the shadow of an undeclared Third World War in which women are the main targets of a multi-layered struggle that threatens their existence and seeks to silence their voices. The Third World War is not just a military conflict, but a systematic war that is directed against life in all its aspects. It destroys culture, nature and fundamental human values. Faced with this global threat that endangers our existence as individuals and peoples, it is our duty as women to oppose this organized violence that is directed against life, identity and hope.

Under the slogan “With the philosophy of women, life, freedom – protect yourself”, we stand today in Rojava and in North and East Syria and affirm that the present moment calls for unity and increased solidarity among women. It is now more important than ever for women’s movements worldwide to unite and build self-protection mechanisms to counter the attempts of oppressive forces.

The women’s revolution in Rojava/North and East Syria is an evolving process that continues despite numerous challenges. This revolution, in which women are an important and leading force, is under constant attack – especially from the fascist Turkish state, which positions itself as the enemy of women and aims to crush this movement striving for freedom and equality. They want to destroy everything we have built, but we know that a revolution led by women is a revolution that cannot be defeated. It will continue until its goals are achieved.

This call is a renewed commitment to the path of struggle – a pledge to work hand in hand to create networks of support and solidarity that challenge oppression and ensure that women’s voices remain powerful and unyielding. We pledge to stand with every woman who stands up against injustice, every woman who resists oppression, and every woman who demands her rights in a just society and a dignified life.

As Kongra Star, we know that protecting the women’s revolution requires strengthening independent organizations and self-defense mechanisms. We believe that this moment is a historic opportunity to forge a global alliance that resists all attempts at subjugation and highlights the fact that the voice of women is stronger than the forces of darkness.

To all revolutionary women, to all women who cling to their dreams despite oppression, and to all who confront violence in every corner of the world, we assure you that you are not alone. Together, we are writing a new chapter in the history of resistance, striving to build a future where women’s freedom and dignity are inviolable rights.

Let us continue the struggle, strengthen our unity, and make this century the century of women’s freedom and empowerment.”

YPJ Central Headquarters for Women’s Protection inaugurated in Heseke

“As we approach November 25th, women need the knowledge of women’s science and defense more than ever. Without knowledge, struggle, and protection, we cannot safeguard our existence,” said YPJ General Commander, Rûhalat Afrin.


ANF
HESEKÊ
Thursday, 21 November 2024

The Central Headquarters for Women’s Protection was inaugurated with a grand military ceremony attended by the mothers and families of martyrs, leaders of the Syrian Democratic Forces, Asayish forces, representatives of the Autonomous Administration, the Star Congress, Women’s Core Protection Forces, along with our Armenian and Assyrian comrades, as well as fighters and leaders of the Women’s Protection Forces (YPJ).

During the fourth conference of the Women’s Protection Units, one of the most significant decisions made was to rebuild anew. Based on this decision, the Central Headquarters for Women’s Protection was inaugurated in a military ceremony that began with a moment of silence in honor and respect for the martyrs of the freedom revolution. General Commander of the Women’s Protection Units, Rûhalat Afrin, delivered a speech during the ceremony.

In her speech, Rûhalat Afrin congratulated Leader Abdullah Öcalan, the martyrs of the revolution, and all peoples, women, and fighters. She stated: “Important decisions were made at the fourth conference of the Women’s Protection Units. One of these decisions was to centralize the operations of women’s protection. All women urgently need to organize themselves against all forms of occupation, violence, and oppression. They must unite under the banner of defense and, with the philosophy of ‘Women, Life, Freedom,’ strengthen themselves in all areas of defense.”

Rûhalat Afrin also highlighted the efforts of the revolution’s martyrs, saying: “In the 13 years since 2011, we have witnessed hundreds of heroic epics. The struggle and sacrifices of the martyrs have stood firm against occupiers and have established a tremendous legacy for women and martyrs. Women must organize and protect themselves based on this great legacy.

We are currently experiencing a third world war at its highest intensity in the Middle East. In the face of this war, we must adopt a strategic perspective on the tasks of defense and protection. With women leading the way based on self-defense principles, all peoples must organize themselves and fulfill their responsibilities.

As we approach November 25th, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, women need the knowledge of women’s science and defense more than ever. Without knowledge, struggle, and protection, we cannot safeguard our existence.”

She further explained the role of the Central Headquarters for Women’s Protection, stating: “The headquarters will undertake the mission of protection for all components of northeastern Syria and all women. On this basis, women will be organized under the umbrella of legitimate defense. In this context, we will share our experiences and knowledge with women in the Middle East and worldwide. We will escalate the struggle to protect the values and gains of the revolution, regardless of the cost.”

In conclusion, Rûhalat Afrin addressed the increasing internal and external attacks, particularly the growing threats from ISIS mercenaries, Al-Nusra, and the occupying Turkish state in recent times. She stated: “We will prepare ourselves at all levels and intensify our legitimate resistance until we achieve certain victory. On this basis, we call on all women and peoples to join the ranks of steadfast resistance.”

After the military ceremonies, celebrations began, where mothers of martyrs, including the mother of martyr Jindar (Hamida Koti) and the mother of martyr Khabat Turkman (Khola Mohammed), spoke. They congratulated all women on the inauguration of the Central Headquarters for Women’s Protection and emphasized that women of all ages would take on the mission of protecting the homeland.

Messages of congratulations were read during the celebration, and the cultural group Hilal Zirîn (Golden Crescent) stirred enthusiasm with their beautiful and heartfelt performances. The celebration concluded with the traditional dances of the brave female fighters.

WE NEED SUCH A MOVEMENT IN AFGHANISTAN AGAINST THE TALIBAN