Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Uncertainty surrounds PNG landslide death toll as relief supplies begin arriving at disaster zone

By foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic and Hilda Wayne

In short: The death toll from a catastrophic landslide in PNG's Enga province remains uncertain, with one local official estimating 162 people have died.

Aid is slowly arriving in the disaster zone, including supplies delivered by the Australian Defence Force.

What's next: PNG's defence force is still working on clearing the main road to the devastated settlements.

Vast uncertainty surrounds the final death toll from last week's catastrophic landslide in Papua New Guinea's Enga Province with a local official saying he believes 162 people have been killed in the natural disaster — far fewer than estimated by the United Nations or the country's government.

PNG's Prime Minister James Marape has also spoken publicly about the landslide for the first time since it struck on Friday, saying "nature threw a disastrous landslip", submerging people while they slept.

The growing confusion over the number of casualties from the catastrophe comes as aid begins to flow slowly into the Highlands villages hit by the landslide.

On Sunday evening the United Nations gave a preliminary estimate of 670 people missing presumed dead in the landslide.

Papua New Guinea's government issued a much higher figure on Monday, saying more than 2,000 people had been "buried" in the catastrophe.

But neither the UN nor PNG's government has issued an updated estimated death toll since then, and contradictory information about the number of missing people has been swirling for days.

Local councillor and the chairman of Mulitaka Disaster Committee Jaman Yandam told the ABC that after conducting another head count of those missing, village leaders now believed the death toll was actually over 160.

Villagers are trying to recover people buried in the massive landslide that struck Yambali village on Friday.(AFP / UN Development Programme)

He said many of those killed were from nearby settlements who had gathered with locals to drink and relax when the building they were in was buried by vast amounts of debris.

Both the UN and PNG's government relied on local officials when issuing their initial estimated death toll — but Mr Yandam suggested that there might have been confusion in communications.

"Two thousand is an estimate of people who had various injuries from the landslide," he said.

"The confusion is where it hit, because it's a pub area with lots of people from other villages including illegal miners.

"But the total confirmed dead from my local level government is 162. Since the landslide, seven bodies were retrieved … 155 are still buried underground."

Grief has descended on Yambali village after the landslide.(Juho Valta/UNDP Papua New Guinea via AP)

PNG's Defence Minister Billy Joseph said according to local government rolls, 3,000 people live in the disaster-affected area, and that visitors from other parts of the country would've been present during the landslide.

Authorities are working to confirm the estimated number of people buried, he said.

One source involved with the international response to the crisis said they did not believe that two or three thousand people could have been killed in the landslide — while stressing that the shifting figures did not detract from the horror of what occurred, nor from the personal tragedy endured by those who lost loved ones.

"Whatever the final figure, it's clear there has been very substantial loss of life and this is a terrible tragedy for Papua New Guinea," they said.

"The international community has a responsibility to respond and help."

Mr Marape told PNG's parliament today: "Our people in that village went to sleep for the last time, not knowing they would breathe their last breath as they were sleeping peacefully.

"Nature threw a disastrous landslip, submerged or covered the village."

He said natural disasters have cost the country more than 500 million kina ($196 million) this year, before the landslide at Enga.

"This year, we had extraordinary rainfall that has caused flooding in river areas, sea level rise in coastal areas and landslips in a few areas," he said.

MPs held a minute's silence for the victims.

On Tuesday evening the UN in Papua New Guinea said that 150 structures had been buried in the landslides and that six bodies had been pulled from the rubble so far, although it said that figure would increase "as retrieval efforts continue amidst challenges due to unstable landslide conditions."
Australian teams head to disaster zone

Australia has sent 750 family sized shelters to the affected area, as well as a 16-strong team of disaster relief specialists to help with the recovery effort.

The Pacific Minister Pat Conroy told the ABC's 7.30 that the team would provide "technical assistance around geohazards" — with some local officials fearing that fresh landslides could soon be triggered in the area.

"They'll also be equipped with drones to map the site and identify, quite frankly, at this stage, more likely to be bodies rather than people living," he said.

Villagers continue to search through the debris at Yambali village.(Juho Valta/UNDP Papua New Guinea via AP)

"But those drones will be very valuable in obviously mapping the site. And we stand ready to move and build on the $2.5 million of assistance we've provided."

Australia's High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea John Feakes this morning said the first Australian Defence Force flight to the disaster zone would carry relief supplies, including tarpaulins, household kits, water purification tablets, kitchen utensils and hygiene kits.

"Expect over the new few days to see a very comprehensive response by Australia and our partners in support of Papua New Guinea's efforts to respond to this crisis," he said.

Authorities fear a second landslide and a disease outbreak are looming at Yambali village.(Juho Valta/UNDP Papua New Guinea via AP)

The UN says that the affected population is almost 8,000 people.

Many of those are in other villages that may need to be evacuated or relocated because of the threat of further landslidesPNG's Defence Force is still working on clearing the main road to the devastated settlements, with the UN warning on Tuesday evening that a bridge had collapsed in the province, which had "complicated the situation and disrupted communication between Enga and the rest of the Highlands".
PNG's political leaders nowhere to be seen after a devastating landslide struck

As one of Papua New Guinea's remote villages grapples with one of the worst natural disasters in its history, the prime minister is busy attending to his own political crisis.

Aid reaches Papua New Guinea landslide site

This handout photo taken on May 28, 2024 and released on May 29, 2024 by World Vision shows locals digging at the site of a landslide. — AFP pic/World Vision

Wednesday, 29 May 2024

PORT MORESBY, May 29 — Supplies of food and medicine are beginning to arrive at the scene of a deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea today, with aid workers discovering children rendered mute by the shock of the disaster.

Papua New Guinea’s government estimates that 2,000 people may be buried underneath a massive landslide that struck a thriving highland settlement in Enga province in the early hours of May 24.

After days of frantic digging with makeshift tools, only six bodies have been pulled so far from the mountain of churned-up earth.

But with rescue teams abandoning hope of finding survivors under the metres of mud and rubble, the community has started to count the emotional and physical cost.

Mourning locals have started carrying the dead away in immense “haus krai” funeral processions, collective outpourings of love and grief that can last for weeks.

Images showed a group of men carrying a wooden casket down the forested valley on their shoulders, as scores of mourners trailed behind them, wailing with despair.

Many children are also thought to have been caught up in the tragedy.

“What we are hearing is that, because of what they saw and experienced, many of the children have stopped talking,” Justine McMahon from CARE Papua New Guinea told AFP.

Niels Kraaier from Unicef Papua New Guinea said the landslide had orphaned nine children.

Unicef said it had started distributing hygiene kits of buckets, jerrycans and soap, while World Vision said food, shelter, blankets and mosquito nets remained immediate needs.

Full-scale rescue and relief efforts have been severely hampered by the site’s remote location, nearby tribal violence and landslide damage that has severed major road links.

Supplies of food and medicine are beginning to arrive at the scene of a deadly landslide in Papua New Guinea today. — Reuters pic

Simmering frustration

For days, the Papua New Guinea military has struggled to access the site with heavy earth-moving equipment.

The collapse of a wooden bridge along a major route has forced lengthy detours for some aid convoys.

Difficulties trucking supplies into the site — and the speed of the government response — has stoked simmering frustration among those on the ground.

Provincial leaders have implored the government to declare a national emergency, drawing attention to their plight and freeing up resources.

“I am not equipped to deal with this tragedy,” provincial administrator Sandis Tsaka told AFP.

Prime Minister James Marape is yet to visit the remote pocket of Enga province more than five days after the landslide.

He has stayed in the capital Port Moresby, where his government is trying to fend off a no confidence motion that could see them swept from power.

There are concerns this political manoeuvring has drawn attention away from what could be one of the country’s worst-ever natural disasters.

“On the night of the 24th of May our people in the village went to sleep for the last time not knowing that they would breathe their last breath as they were sleeping peacefully,” Marape told parliament on Wednesday.

“Nature, through a disastrous landslip, submerged or covered the village and from our initial estimation over 2,000 people would have perished in this disaster.”

Lawmakers held a minute’s silence for the victims.

‘Digging with hands’

Authorities have been coordinating the mass evacuation of impacted communities across two districts.

More than 1,000 people have already been displaced by the catastrophe, aid agencies have estimated.

Many residents have refused to leave at-risk areas because they were holding out hope of finding friends and family.

Satellite images show the enormous scale of the disaster.

A 600-metre-long smear of yellow and grey debris can be seen cutting through once verdant bushland.

“This was an area heavily populated with homes, businesses, churches and schools, it has been completely wiped out. It is the surface of the moon — it is just rocks,” said Tsaka.

“People are digging with their hands and fingers,” he said, expressing anguish at the government’s powerlessness in the face of the challenge. — AFP

Fears rise of a second landslide and disease outbreak at site of Papua New Guinea disaster

01:49
CTV National News: Desperate search for survivors

01:05
Drone video shows scale of landslide

Rod Mcguirk
The Associated Press
Staff
Published May 28, 2024

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA -

Authorities fear a second landslide and a disease outbreak are looming at the scene of Papua New Guinea's mass-casualty disaster because of water streams and bodies trapped beneath the tons of debris that swept over a village. Thousands are being told to prepare to evacuate, officials said Tuesday.

A mass of boulders, earth and splintered trees devastated Yambali in the South Pacific nation's remote highlands when a limestone mountainside sheared away Friday. The blanket of debris has become more unstable with recent rain and streams trapped between the ground and rubble, said Serhan Aktoprak, chief of the International Organization for Migration's mission in Papua New Gu

Lenovo

Lenovo Group Limited, trading as Lenovo, is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in designing, manufacturing, and marketing consumer electronics, personal computers, software, business solutions, and related services. Products manufactured by the company include desktop computers,...Wikipedia

Rare spat shows China, North Korea still at odds on nuclear weapons

Euractiv.com with Reuters
May 28, 2024

A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows a test fire of a tactical ballistic missile at an undisclosed location, North Korea, 17 May 2024. [Handout photo/EPA/EFE]

North Korea’s rare swipe at China this week underscored how Beijing and Pyongyang do not entirely see eye-to-eye on the latter’s illicit nuclear weapons arsenal, despite warming ties in other areas, analysts and officials in South Korea said.

The North condemned China, Japan and South Korea on Monday (27 May) for discussing denuclearisation of the peninsula, calling their joint declaration after a summit in Seoul a “grave political provocation” that violates its sovereignty.

China's premier hails 'new beginning' with US-allied South Korea, Japan

Chinese Premier Li Qiang praised a restart in relations with Japan and South Korea as he met their leaders for the first three-way talks in four years on Monday, striving to revive trade and security dialogues hampered by global tensions.

Even though Beijing helped tone down the statement by advocating mention of the peninsula rather than the North specifically, that was enough to raise its neighbour’s hackles, one analyst said.

“It is notable that North Korea criticised a joint statement that China had signed onto, even after Beijing helped water down the statement,” added Patricia Kim, of the Brookings Institution in the United States.

In their remarks, the three nations “reiterated positions on regional peace and stability, denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula” but unlike the last such statements in 2019 and earlier, did not commit to pursue denuclearisation.

Since international talks with the United States and other countries stalled in 2019, North Korea has moved to reject the concept of ever giving up its nuclear weapons.

“This is about North Korea emphasising its stance that any diplomatic rhetoric suggesting Pyongyang should eventually denuclearise is unacceptable,” said Tong Zhao, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“After enshrining its nuclear status in the constitution and reprimanding anyone who questions it, North Korea is raising demands for formal international recognition as a nuclear-armed country.”

Queried about the North’s criticism at a press briefing on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said “China’s basic position on the Korean peninsula issue remains unchanged,” but did not mention denuclearisation.

A South Korean foreign ministry official said there were significant differences of opinion on the North Korean issue among the three countries at the summit, adding that China had not used the term “denuclearisation” since last year.

“Considering the current geopolitical situation, I think it would be difficult to get China to agree to something like previous agreements on the issue,” the official said in a briefing.

But the talks suggested that despite the weaker language, China’s fundamental position on denuclearisation had not changed, the official added, calling the declaration’s formal use of the term “meaningful”.
North Korea messaging

China is North Korea’s only military ally, and by far its largest trading partner.

North Korea’s failed launch of a spy satellite just hours after the Seoul summit was not a coincidence and should be seen as part of its messaging to China, researcher Rachel Minyoung Lee wrote.

“The North’s relations with China have looked to be cooling over the last year, but this is the first time in recent years any signs of trouble have broken into the open,” she wrote in a report for the Washington-based 38 North programme.

Brookings’ Kim agreed that the North’s actions showed its ties with China were not as warm as may appear from the outside.

“Even as the two sides have kept up a steady pace of official exchanges and Beijing continues to shield Pyongyang from international pressure, longstanding mutual suspicion and disdain … limits the depth of their alignment,” she said.

Now that Pyongyang has strengthened ties with Russia, it probably believes it has greater leverage in relations with China and can afford to be less deferential to it, she added.

Washington-based Zhao said China had some reservations on the North’s deepening military co-operation with Russia, which could undermine Beijing’s near monopoly of influence on Pyongyang.

China is also careful not to create a perception of a de facto alliance among Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang that could work against practical co-operation with key Western nations, he added.

But the North’s criticism does not necessarily indicate growing troubles in its ties with China, Zhao said.

“The China-North Korea bilateral relationship appears to be moving at a gradual and stable pace toward greater co-operation,” he added.

The art project aiming to keep Australia’s Indigenous people out of jail

Aboriginal people make up a third of all people in Australian prisons, but The Torch is working to change that.

Stacey Edwards was able to buy a flat with her earnings from art sales and eliminate the high risk of homelessness after leaving prison [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

By Ali MC
Published On 29 May 2024

Melbourne, Australia – More Indigenous people are behind bars in Australia than ever before, making them the world’s most imprisoned people.

Despite making up 3.8 percent of the national population, Indigenous Australians make up 33 percent of the prison population and are 17 times more likely to be jailed than non-Indigenous people.

In Australia’s southeastern state of Victoria, a group of artists is working to break the cycle.

The Torch is a community-led organisation that works with Indigenous inmates to teach artistic skills and reconnect prisoners with their cultural heritage. Inmates also generate income selling their work in galleries and to private collectors nationwide, with the money being saved in a trust, ready for their release.

The results have been startling – inmates engaged with the programme have a return-to-prison (recidivism) rate of 17 percent for First Nations prisoners compared with the national average of more than 70 percent, according to The Torch.

“Before I went to prison, I was in domestic violence and I was on the verge of being homeless,” Stacey Edwards, a former inmate, told Al Jazeera. “My Torch fund helped me put a deposit on a house and now I’ve got a routine and a structure. I’m OK with who I am and my place in the world.”

What experts call the “hyper-incarceration” of Indigenous people in Australia is a legacy of colonisation and its racism, as well as successive governments’ focus on law and order. In particular, the trauma of the Stolen Generations – the forced removal of Indigenous children from their families – continues to reverberate.

In the state of Victoria, where the Torch programme operates, about half of all Indigenous people have been directly affected by the assimilation policies, which only ended in the 1970’s

Protests have continued to raise awareness of the mass incarceration and deaths in custody of Indigenous Australians [Ali MC/AL Jazeera]

Edwards, of the Taungurung and Boonwurrung nations, is one of them, telling Al Jazeera that the legacy of trauma underscored her descent into drug use and eventually, jail.

Stacey, now 43, grew up in a poorer neighbourhood. She told Al Jazeera her grandfather had been forcibly taken away and placed in white-run institutions, a separation that scarred her mother’s life.

“My mum’s ability to parent was impacted, she had her own addiction problems too,” she said. As a child, Stacey also felt the intergenerational trauma.

“I didn’t have the emotional tools to self-regulate and get myself together,” she said. “I think that’s all pain, all the challenges and struggles and the hurt and pain being passed down over generations.”
Colonial legacy

Indigenous women – many of them mothers – are the fastest growing group of prisoners in Australia, largely due to domestic violence and experiences of homelessness.

But the economic benefit of the Torch – which ensures inmates have a source of funds on their release – helps break that cycle.

Indigenous Australians come from more than 500 nations in what is now known as Australia, which was colonised by the British in 1788.

Genocidal practices, historical discrimination and ongoing racism have fuelled inequality across all social indicators, including homelessness, unemployment and poverty, which are also factors that underscore imprisonment.

Kent Morris, of the Barkindji nation, was one of the founding organisers of the Torch in 2011. He told Al Jazeera that the economic model was crucial to the programme’s success and that one of the big questions, when it began, was how artists could earn income from their work while stuck inside prison.

“How can the skills and talents of a mob in prison who are creating art and exploring culture – how can that translate into some economic support, so they’re not facing the same circumstances that leads them back to prison? This is what the programme was built around,” he said.

In Australia, inmates can earn some income while participating in prison programmes and training, but since the Torch model allows them to sell their work in galleries outside of the prison walls, it is unique.

In 2023, more than 1 million Australian dollars ($665,785) was returned to 494 participants through the sale and licensing of their artwork, with the earnings either saved or used to assist inmates’ families, such as ensuring their children go to school.
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Roey, a former prisoner and from the Warumungu and Yawuru Nations, told Al Jazeera that the Torch programme meant he could continue to support his children despite being jailed.

“To be able to support my kids whilst being in prison was probably one of my biggest achievements,” he said. “Supporting my kids and being able to practise my culture in that process and feeling good about myself.”
‘Perfect storm’

Along with the economic benefit, the Torch programme also reconnects artists with their Indigenous culture, language and heritage, a link that was often broken due to colonisation.

Sean Miller, of the Gamileroi nation, told Al Jazeera that the Torch helped him find a sense of identity.

“I really wanted to learn more about my culture,” he said. “It’s something that’s built into you; you strive to find out where you come from, what your people are about, what our culture, and our language is. Because of colonisation that was taken from us. To be able to have the opportunity to learn all that, I’m so proud of that.”

Miller has exhibited his works nationally and is one of seven former inmates now working on the Torch programme. In 2018, he returned to prison to deliver the programme to other inmates.

“It gave the brothers and sisters inside prison a little bit more comfort to know that I was an ex-prisoner,” he told Al Jazeera. “They can relate to me and they can also see that they too can be successful with their art as well.”

Sean Miller, of the Gamileroi nation, was once on the Torch programme and now goes back into jail to work with other inmates [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

Ash Thomas said that without the Torch programme, he would be dead [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

Despite the success of the Torch, the programme only operates in the state of Victoria and has not yet been rolled out elsewhere. It is not funded by the federal government in Canberra and relies largely on philanthropy and state government grants.

Experts say recent government decisions at the federal and state levels – such as the Queensland Labor government suspending human rights protections to lock up Indigenous children in adult jails – are exacerbating the incarceration crisis.

“The key causes of the mass and unprecedented imprisonment of First Nations people is state policy and practice,” Thalia Anthony, a criminologist with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), told Al Jazeera. “The statistics do not show higher levels of crime. Expanded police powers and tougher bail, sentencing and parole laws that have contributed to the growth. When you combine these policy drivers with the systemic racism in the penal system, it is a perfect storm for the hyper-incarceration of First Peoples.”

In 1991, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody tabled a report in parliament that showed unequivocally that the high rate of Indigenous deaths in prison correlated with the high numbers of Indigenous prisoners.

The report made 339 recommendations with a key focus on reducing the incarceration of Indigenous peoples. However, many of the recommendations were never implemented and the number of Indigenous prisoners has risen exponentially in the years since. Recent data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that between 1994 and 2021, the number of Indigenous people in jail increased by 10,241, from 2,798 to 13,039 inmates.

Over that period, more than 550 Indigenous people have died in prison. In 2022-2023, 21 Indigenous inmates died in custody, the highest since records began.
Policy change needed

Josh Kerr – a former Torch participant – was one of them. He died in Victoria’s Port Phillip Prison.

A coronial inquest heard that the 32-year-old, of the Yorta Yorta and Gunnaikurnai nations, reportedly called out “I’m dying” and remained unresponsive for 17 minutes before medical assistance was provided, despite being seen on CCTV by prison staff.

Kerr’s artwork produced as part of the Torch programme was shown at the entrance to the court.

“At the recent inquest into Joshua Kerr’s death in custody, we honoured Joshua by including his Torch portfolio into the coronial brief and displaying his artwork outside the courtroom,” Ali Besiroglu, the principal lawyer for the case, told Al Jazeera. “Joshua’s mother, Aunty Donnis Kerr, believed this was crucial to showcase his profound talent, deep cultural connection, and to humanise his memory beyond the forensic documents which commonly consume the coronial brief.”

In response to questions submitted by Al Jazeera, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney acknowledged the severity and pervasiveness of the problem.

“More than 30 years on from the Royal Commission, deaths in custody continue to have a devastating impact on First Nations families and communities,” Burney said in an email. “We know that the key to addressing this national shame is reducing the rate at which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people enter the criminal justice system.”

Donnis Kerr (right), the mother of Josh Kerr, a former Torch participant who died in custody, speaking at a protest in 2023 [Ali MC/Al Jazeera]

In this month’s budget, the Australian government announced justice reinvestment strategies, which aim to address the underlying cause of criminal behaviour before it occurs, along with prison-to-employment programmes.

“These projects are designed to address the factors that increase First Nations people’s risk of contact with the criminal justice system,” Burney said. “Importantly, these justice reinvestment projects are community-led in each individual community.”

While it is Australia’s state governments that largely control legislation over the justice and prison systems, UTS criminologist Anthony says policymakers across the country need to change the way they look at law and order issues, and see prison as the last resort.

“Any option other than prison would be better than prison,” she said. “Prison is traumatising. It cuts people off from family, homes, jobs and support. The Torch is a great example of building peoples’ skills in prison and providing support upon release.”

Kent Morris agrees and hopes that the Australian government will instead provide leadership and funding to roll out programmes like The Torch on a national scale.
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“So much of our community are behind bars. And we know how much potential our community has,” he told Al Jazeera. “We need to free them from the criminal legal system.”

Editor’s note: Details regarding crimes and lengths of sentences have been omitted at the request of interviewees. Such details can affect parole, job prospects and relationships.

KEEP READING

Police in Australia apologise for role in stealing indigenous children

Taiwan’s parliament passes bill pushing pro-China changes

Thousands protested outside Taiwan’s parliament after reforms seen as reducing the president’s power were passed.

Lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) try to block plastic bags, some with a text reading 'trash', that were thrown by rivals from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the parliament chamber

[Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters]

IRONY THE KUOMINTANG ARE THE PARTY THAT OPPOSED MAO CCP, AFTER LOSING POST WWII CIVIL WAR THEY TOOK OVER TAIWAN AND DECLARED IT THEIR RIGHT WING DOMAIN

Published On 28 May 2024

Taiwan’s opposition-controlled legislature has ignored massive protests to push through controversial legislative changes seen as favourable to China.

The laws, adopted on Tuesday, pushed through by the opposition nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) and smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), give lawmakers the power to require the president to give regular reports to parliament and answer lawmakers’ questions. It also criminalises contempt of parliament by government officials.

Critics argued the legislation was vague and lacked the checks and balances necessary to prevent abuse.

The bill also hands the legislature increased control of budgets, including defence spending. The legislature will also be able to demand that the military, private companies or individuals disclose information deemed relevant by parliamentarians, but some fear could risk national security.

The opposition parties are seen as more friendly to Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its goal of unification.

They took control of the legislature with a single-seat majority after elections in January, while William Lai Ching-te, who was sworn in last week, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidency.

A supporter of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) holds a sunflower and a poster with the slogan, ‘My Taiwan. I Protect’, in front of the legislative building in Taipei [Chiang Ying-ying/AP Photo]

Rubbish bags and paper planes

Thousands of people have been protesting for days against the legislation, and on Tuesday they gathered again outside the legislature. The legislative chamber was festooned with banners promoting both sides in the dispute while arguments on the floor broke into shouting and pushing matches.

DPP legislators accused deputies from the KMT and the TPP of undermining Taiwan’s democracy, arguing the reforms were forced through without proper consultation and their content was either vague or an overreach of power.

Lawmakers from the governing party threw rubbish bags and paper planes at their opposition counterparts as the vote on the bill went through.

“You can seize parliament, but you cannot seize public opinion,” DPP parliament leader Ker Chien-ming said in an address to the chamber, adding that Beijing had influenced Taiwanese politics.

Opposition lawmakers, holding sun-shaped balloons, shouted: “Let sunlight into parliament.”

China sends planes and ships near Taiwan on a daily basis in a campaign of intimidation aimed at wearing down Taiwan and pressuring its defences. The United States is the territory’s strongest political ally despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties.

On Tuesday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said three Chinese warplanes and 11 naval and coastguard ships were detected in the past 24 hours – down from the 21 aircraft and 15 ships it reported on Monday.

Beijing launched large-scale war games around Taiwan last Thursday in a show of force following Lai’s inauguration on May 21.

Kuomintang - Wikipedia

From 1949 to 1987, the KMT ruled Taiwan as an authoritarian one-party state after the February 28 incident. During this period, martial law was in effect and civil liberties were curtailed as part of its anti-communism efforts, with the period known as the White Terror. The party oversaw Taiwan's economic development, but experienced diplomatic setbacks, including the ROC losing its United Nations seat and most countries, including its ally the US, switching diplomatic recognition to the CCP-led People's Republic of China (PRC) in the 1970s. In the late 1980s, Chiang Ching-kuo, Chiang Kai-shek's son, lifted martial law and the ban on opposition parties. His successor Lee Teng-hui continued democratic reforms and was re-elected in 1996 through a direct presidential election, the first time in the ROC history. The 2000 presidential election ended 72 years of KMT's dominance in the ROC. The KMT reclaimed power from 2008 to 2016, with the landslide victory of Ma Ying-jeou in the 2008 presidential election, whose presidency significantly loosened restrictions on economic and cultural exchanges with the People's Republic of China. The KMT lost the presidency and its legislative majority in the 2016 election.

Russian diplomat labels European foreign ministers ‘US agents’ for marching with protesters in Georgia

Leonid Martynyuk
POLYGRAPH

Demonstrators gather at the Parliamentary building during an opposition protest against the foreign agent bill in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Tuesday, May 28, 2024.

(AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Dmitry Polyanskiy

Deputy Russian Ambassador to the United Nations

"Nothing extraordinary – foreign (US) agents are leading the demonstrations abroad against the law on foreign agents."

Source: X, May 15, 2024

MISLEADING

On May 28, Georgian lawmakers overrode a presidential veto on the controversial “foreign agent” law fueling months-long mass protests in the capital Tbilisi. Critics saying the bill resembles Russia’s notorious foreign agent law, which the Kremlin uses to restrict press freedom and civil society. The law was introduced by the ruling Georgian Dream Party, which also controls the country’s legislature.

EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Josep Borrell warned in a post on X on May 28 that the foreign agent law “will impact Georgia's EU path” as it “is not in line with EU values.”

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili on May 18 vetoed the law, as the opposition fears it could become a tool of political oppression in the hands of the governing party.

Addressing the protesters in Tbilisi on May 26, Georgia’s Independence Day, Zurabishvili said “the ghost of Russia” was standing between her nation and its Western allies, a partnership with which “is a true way to maintain our independence, peace and strength.”

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who represents the ruling party and backs the foreign agent law, described the opposition and the president’s pro-Western policies as “betrayal.” Georgia faces “existential threats,” because of "series" of such "betrayals," he claimed in his Independence Day speech.

Kobakhidze’s rhetoric echoes the narratives of Russian propaganda and disinformation claiming that the United States, not the Georgian people, are driving the protests.

When a video appeared May 15 on social media, showing the foreign ministers of Latvia, Estonia, Iceland and Lithuania marching among the protesters in Georgia, a Russian diplomat seized an opportunity.

Deputy Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Dmitry Polyanskiy reposted the video on X with a comment:

“Nothing extraordinary – foreign (US) agents are leading the demonstrations abroad against the law on foreign agents. We all recall the same picture in Ukraine and know how it ended and how Ukrainian interests were trampled on. Hopefully the Georgians have learned this lesson.”

That is misleading.

No U.S. representatives can be seen in the video, and it is unclear why Russia’s U.N. diplomat would potentially breach diplomatic protocol and label foreign ministers of four independent European nations as “US agents.”

As for who leads the protests in Georgia – the Georgian political opposition along with the president are leading the rallies.

The U.S. and other Western nations have publicly expressed support for the Georgian protesters and criticized the bill, citing its similarities with the Russian law, its conflict with EU values and potential negative effect on Georgia's status as a candidate country.

Russia claims these concerns are only a pretext to stage yet another “color revolution,” and Polyanskiy’s comment fits the typical Kremlin disinformation narrative for pro-democracy rallies worldwide.

Over the years, Russia has accused the United States of staging “color revolutions” in Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Ukraine, Hong Kong and throughout the Middle East and Africa.

The Kremlin criticizes the legitimacy of popular movements that advocate democracy, anti-corruption and reform, claiming that the United States is behind them. According to Moscow, human rights NGOs and independent media have neither freedom of action nor ambitions but are being manipulated and financed by the West.

In 2003, the series of nonviolent public uprisings in Georgia called the Rose Revolution forced veteran Communist Eduard Shevardnadze and his Citizens' Union of Georgia Party to resign from presidency and give up control over the country.

The new government of President Mikheil Saakashvili focused on building a democratic pro-Western Georgia, resolving secessionist conflicts with Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and seeking NATO membership.

Moscow opposed the reforms and attempted to destabilize Georgia and topple Saakashvili.

In 2006, Russia introduced a sweeping embargo on Georgian agricultural products, including the most important of Georgia’s exports – wine. Moscow not only prohibited the import of Georgian wine but implemented confiscation and destruction of all Georgia-made products across Russia. Russian state TV broadcasted daily the footage of thousands upon thousands of bottles of Georgian wine bulldozed into the ground.

In the fall of the same year, Moscow began the mass deportation of Georgian citizens from Russia. It was common to hear people at the transportation hubs screaming “I am not Georgian!” while being dragged away by law enforcement. In 2014 the European Court of Human Rights ruled Russia’s deportation of the Georgians illegal.

In August 2008 Russian troops invaded Georgian territory, and after an eight day war Russia established full control over the Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia) and Abkhazia, which make up 20% of Georgian territory.

Moscow’s active measures against President Saakashvili involved a massive disinformation campaign, portraying him as a U.S. “puppet” and trying to dehumanize and humiliate him.

Western media reported Russian President Vladimir Putin’s notorious animosity toward Saakashvili and credited the Kremlin for the reverse of Georgian foreign policy after Saakashvili’s departure in 2012.

Moscow supported the takeover by Russian-Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili and his Georgian Dream Party in Georgia, followed by the country’s distancing from the West and returning to the Russian “sphere of influence.”

The U.S. condemned Georgia’s foreign agent law, saying its enforcement would jeopardize bilateral relations. On May 23, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced visa restrictions for Georgian officials involved in drafting and adopting the bill and those who participated in the use of violence against protesters.

Additionally, the chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Republican Representative Joe Wilson introduced legislation offering a significant boost of U.S. economic and security support to Georgia, if the authorities in Tbilisi abandon "the enactment of the recent Russian-style foreign agent legislation."

U$ Lobbyists for AI-related issues surged in 2023: report

BY REBECCA KLAR - 05/29/24

The number of lobbyists working on issues related to artificial intelligence (AI) surged in 2023 compared to the previous four years as the federal government considered AI regulation, according to a report released by the advocacy group Public Citizen on Wednesday.

Both the number of clients lobbying on AI-related issues and the number of lobbyists hired by clients to lobby on AI-related issues significantly increased in 2023 compared to relatively stagnant amounts between 2019 and 2022, the report found based on analysis of all lobbying disclosures from 2019 to 2023.

The number of clients lobbying on AI-related issues increased by 120 percent from 2022 to 2023, up to 566 clients in 2023 compared to 272 in 2022.

The number of lobbyists hired by clients to lobby on AI-related issues also increased by 120 percent from 2020 to 2023, up to 3,140 compared to 1,552 in 2022.

Public Citizen expects lobbyist engagement to continue rising in 2024 as federal agencies work to enact actions directed by the Biden administration under the executive order released in October and Congress considers proposals related to AI.

“We’re reaching a point where the policies that are going to shape AI policy in the next 10 years are really being decided now,” said Mike Tanglis, research director at Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division.

“From our perspective, having the leading voices on an issue being those that stand to make billions of dollars is generally not a good idea for the public,” Tanglis added.

The number of lobbyists engaging with the White House rose dramatically even within the course of 2023, based on the report. The number ticked up each quarter, jumping 188 percent from 322 reported in the first quarter to 931 by the fourth quarter of the year.

The sharp rise in 2023 coincided with the release of the Biden administration’s executive order on AI and led to an increase in lobbying of both the White House and other agencies that were directed to take action under the executive order, the report found.

Based on the report, lobbying on AI-related issues spanned across industries — beyond the tech sector alone.

The tech industry was the most active in AI lobbying but still only accounted for 20 percent of lobbyists. Other industries with lobbyists for AI-related issues included financial services, education, transportation, defense, media and healthcare.

Tangled said, “We shouldn’t just revert back to something that we’ve done many times in the past,” which is defer to the industry regulating itself.

“That has worked out horrendously for us in the past. And I think we shouldn’t make that same mistake when it comes to AI,” Tanglis said.

Interior secretary reverses memo on National Park employees attending Pride events in uniform

BY ZACK BUDRYK - 05/28/24

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland confirmed in a Friday memo that National Park Service (NPS) staff will be permitted to participate in LGBTQ Pride Month activities in uniform, reversing an NPS memo from earlier this month that sparked fierce backlash.

In the memo, shared with The Hill, Haaland did not directly name Pride Month but wrote that in addition to the “Special Emphasis Months” observed within the Interior Department, some outside activities and events can be considered in service of the same goals. LGBTQ Americans are among those listed as covered by the Interior Department’s Special Emphasis Programs.

“I am directing Bureau leaders or their designated officials to determine how and when bureaus should participate in these externally organized events,” she wrote. “This could include marching units in parades, booths at parades, events etc. This would allow employees to participate in uniform representing their respective bureau. This direction takes effect immediately.”

The initial, unsigned May 17 memo stated “requests from employees asking to participate in uniform in a variety of events and activities, including events not organized by the NPS,” are not in keeping with NPS policy. LGBTQ advocates vocally criticized the move, including Pattie Gonia, an environmentalist and drag queen who marked LGBT History Month with Haaland last year. She wrote “This is NOT what allyship looks like” in an Instagram post last week.

LGBTQ rights organization GLAAD praised Haaland for reversing the decision.

“Our National Parks and the public servants who work there are treasures valued by every American. Employees should be able to express support for Pride and all celebrations that bring people together to reflect the beautiful diversity of our country and people,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement.

“We owe thanks to Park Service employees who spoke up about the discriminatory policy and who work every day to make all feel welcome to enjoy the parks that belong to all of us.”

The Stonewall National Monument, the New York City bar that was the site of the 1969 uprising considered the start of the modern LGBTQ rights movement, is maintained by NPS.

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Wednesday, May 29, 2024

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Dmitry Polyanskiy

U$ Lobbyists for AI-related issues surged in 2023: report

Interior secretary reverses memo on National Park employees attending Pride events in uniform

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