Giving Saudi a free pass undermines universal human rights

Kourosh Ziabari
02 Jul, 2022

Kourosh Ziabari warns that the lack of international criticism and accountability towards Saudi, especially following the execution of 81 people, means other nations like Iran feel no sense of obligation towards the defence of universal human rights.


Amongst the 81 people executed in a single day, 41 were Shia Muslims, eight were Yemeni citizens and one was a national of Syria. [GETTY]

Only a few months have rolled by since Saudi Arabia pulled off its largest campaign of mass execution by beheading 81 people in a single day, and it seems the scandalous misadventure has been clouded by the passage of time.

Corporate media’s coverage of the Middle East has barely been affected by that travesty, and human rights advocacy organisations appear to be preoccupied with other things, including their unvarying Iran fixation.

Even by the standards of Saudi, one of the most profligate practitioners of capital punishment, such a large-scale execution is rare. In fact, it has been recorded as the largest in the kingdom’s modern history.

Of those sent to the gallows, 41 people were Shia Muslims, eight were Yemeni citizens and one was a national of Syria.

The disproportionate number of Shia people sentenced to death against the backdrop of the nation’s slender minority of Shias making up only around 12% of the population, and the action taken against nine non-Saudis cast doubt on the authenticity of the legal procedures resulting in the verdicts.

But even when the alarming cruelty unfolded, it wasn’t perceived as an anomaly or a surprise story meriting exclusive attention. There were sporadic references to the chilling execution spree in the media, and human rights organisations issued generic statements denouncing the beheading of an inordinate number of convicts whose custody and trial circumstances were debatable.

''The Saudi leadership has now recognised that its ironclad partnership with the US and other Western powers has insulated it from critical investigation over its transgressions. This is not simply favouritism, but duplicity in upholding a set of principles that are supposed to be applied coherently and integrally.''

That was pretty much it. Saudi was not singled out for scrutiny at the UN Human Rights Council, mainstream broadcasters didn’t spend hours chewing over a gross violation of human rights by an autocratic government, world leaders didn’t bombard Mohammed bin Salman with castigatory messages, and economic sanctions weren’t brandished to penalize Saudi’s excess.

Just days after the executions, British PM Boris Johnson travelled to Saudi Arabia to court the oil-rich nation to boost crude output in a bid to kick Russia out of the global energy market. There, he generously lavished praise on the royal family for their progress on human rights protection.

Iran International, a Saudi-funded London-based broadcaster that airs news and entertainment for the Persian-speaking audiences in Iran and abroad, delicately brushed aside the shocking story. It made a few cursory mentions sans the typical sentimental outcries it kicks up over imprisonment and execution reports trickling out of Iran.

Reactions to Riyadh’s rights abuses and its conduct overseas evoke valid questions around the consistency of the enforcement of human rights benchmarks and the solidity of international law.

When the murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 prompted a media frenzy and a reckoning was in the offing on the viability of a strategic partnership with the Saudis, the Trump administration, faced with unrelenting public pressure, erred on the side of safeguarding billions of dollars’ worth of arms deals that were being negotiated. He toiled away at keeping the fiasco under the wraps and avoided discomfiting MBS by speaking out against his ghastly elimination of a noted dissident. Accountability became the casualty of corporate interests.

In defiance of Congress, Trump had championed a whopping $8 billion arms deal with Saudi in 2019, which even the most optimistic ideologues of his Middle East policy contested. It came right after a contract in 2017 between the two governments when MBS set his sights on a deal to purchase weaponry from the United States valued at $110 billion.

Trump’s transactional logic persuaded him to mince words on Khashoggi’s assassination – a multibillion arms deal obviously outmatched any human rights nicety.

In the same vein, the international community has found it expedient to shrug off the years-long carnage in Yemen crafted by Saudi, the outcome of which is some 150,000 victims, including at least 15,000 civilians so far. The reasons shouldn’t be too difficult to decipher: Saudi is an essential component of an alliance that determines the balance of power in the Persian Gulf and the broader Middle East, so its military campaigns, however deadly, can be explained away.

Human rights advocacy represents an instance of Riyadh being cherry-picked for special treatment. The status of prisons, dominance of cruel punishment forms, curtailment of free speech and extreme gender inequities have produced a tapestry of overt human rights abuses that leave no room for defence of the kingdom.

Between 2010 and 2020, Saudi has executed at least 1,175 convicts, and even though the numbers cannot be precisely confirmed, some 3,000 political prisoners are languishing in jails. These are some of the reasons to be sceptical of the reforms that are promised to be rolled out. And, why the establishment must be challenged for paying lip service to the rule of law and right to life.

But the very governments and organisations that tend to be characteristically meticulous in documenting abuses internationally and denouncing the “regimes” that perpetrate them, have acquiesced to giving Saudi a free pass so that their ally doesn’t feel mortified when it tramples the universal values and indulges in cruel treatment of its citizens.

The US sanctions aimed at punishing those involved in such violations are unambiguous and already being implemented against individuals or entities within the governments of China, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia and Syria.

Since 2009 until April 2021, a total of 1,791 individuals and entities were sanctioned by the US over human rights violations and corruption. This long-winded list includes only 22 Saudi entities and individuals.

The Saudi leadership has now recognised that its ironclad partnership with the US and other Western powers has insulated it from critical investigation over its transgressions. This is not simply favouritism, but duplicity in upholding a set of principles that are supposed to be applied coherently and integrally.

One of the critical "what ifs" Iranians are asking these days, is what would have been the reaction by the international community had the Islamic Republic gone on a similar analogous rampage as Saudi?

In comparison to the kingdom, Iran has faced a hard time in the recent decades justifying its human rights failures to global audiences.

As long as states such as Saudi Arabia are given a carte blanche to suppress the civil society and extinguish the rights of their people, countries like Iran will continue to dismissively downplay the global efforts to push for accountability over human rights. They will push ahead with their own agenda, namely, arbitrary executions, imprisonments and crackdowns, because these standards are seen to be implemented disingenuously.

Kourosh Ziabari is an award-winning Iranian journalist and reporter. He is the Iran correspondent of Fair Observer and Asia Times. He is the recipient of a Chevening Award from the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office and an American Middle Eastern Network for Dialogue at Stanford Fellowship.
Follow him on Twitter @KZiabari

BEING COY BEFORE THE PROM
Resistance and trust issues as US, Israel push for defence pact with Arab states

The idea, which would use Israeli technology, could gain momentum during President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East.

Thursday 07/07/2022

The Arab Weekly

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington. (Reuters)


RIYADH -

The United States and Israel are seeking to lay the groundwork for a security alliance with Arab states that would connect air defence systems in order to combat Iranian drone and missile attacks in the Middle East, four sources familiar with the plan said.

The idea, which would use Israeli technology, could gain momentum during President Joe Biden’s stops in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Saudi Arabia on a July 13-16 trip, said two of the sources who were briefed on the plans.

As regional tensions have grown over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and parts of Iraq have come under UAV or missile strikes claimed by or blamed on Iranian-backed militias.

Discussions are still at an early stage and have already met resistance from several Arab countries who refuse to do business with Israel, the four sources said.

But Israel’s defence minister Benny Gantz last month said an emerging US-sponsored air defence alliance was “operative”‌ and could be boosted by Biden’s visit. The apparatus has already foiled attempted Iranian attacks, he added.

Speaking to media on condition of anonymity, an Israeli official said partner countries were synchronising their respective air defence systems through remote electronic communication, rather than using the same physical facilities.

Israel in recent years has offered defence cooperation to US-aligned Arab states which share its concerns about Iran, although the US assessment is that Gantz appeared to have overstated how far such security cooperation has advanced.

For their part, Gulf Arabs have been publicly reticent on the idea.

One person in Washington familiar with the matter said that while Biden will discuss wider regional security coordination, including with close ally Israel, at a Saudi-led Gulf Arab summit next week, no announcement of a formal pact is expected.

The plan would be to build a network of radars, detectors and interceptors between Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan and Egypt, with the help of Israeli technology and US military bases, three of the sources said.

Isolating Iran

That would allow those countries, especially Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to detect aerial threats before they cross their borders.

Israeli officials introduced the idea of a regional defence system at a US Central Command meeting attended by military officials from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE and Egypt in Sharm El Sheikh in March, one of the sources said.

“The proposal is for a joint detection system, where each country that signs up notifies the others of a detected attack,” added one of the sources, who declined to be identified.

A senior Israeli official in Washington previewing Biden’s trip described the efforts to form an alliance as “a goal that is set.”

“There’s a long way to go and the US is supportive of that.”‌

Washington hopes more cooperation would help further integrate Israel in the region and isolate arch-enemy Iran.

The regional defence plan coincides with months of deadlock in talks on reviving a 2015 deal that limits Iran’s nuclear activities. Washington says Iran’s uranium enrichment, a potential pathway to nuclear weapons, has made alarming progress. Iran denies seeking atomic weapons.

Israel’s worries about the outcome of the nuclear negotiations and its threats to take unilateral military action against Iran, carry weight in Western capitals.

Iran, armed with one of the region’s biggest missile systems, has said joint military activities of Israel and some Arab countries in the Gulf are done “out of desperation.”


Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system fires to intercept a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, as seen from Ashdod, Israel. (Reuters)

US push and Arab caution

But the US push for anti-Iran cooperation also faces resistance from some Arab states such as Iraq, Qatar and Kuwait.

“There are different views in different capitals,”‌ a senior Biden administration official said on condition of anonymity.

“We are not trying to create some top-down structure. We are trying to build upon the relationships that exist, some of them above-board, some of them below the surface,”‌ the official said.

Iraq is a prime example of the difficulties of signing up some Arab countries to an alliance. Iran has wide sway in the country through Shia militias and politicians and would certainly block any attempts to join a security pact.

In May, Iraq’s parliament approved a law that will ban normalising relations with Israel, at a time when several Arab countries have established formal ties.

Iraq has never recognised the state of Israel since its establishment in 1948 and Iraqi citizens and companies cannot visit Israel. However, the new law goes further, specifically criminalising any attempts to normalise relations with Israel.

A senior Iraqi security adviser said no official plan has been presented to Baghdad to enter a pact that includes Israel and opposes Iran, so the alliance is out of the question.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also treading carefully, to preserve nascent relations with Tehran, said the sources.

Trust issues

The UAE government said it is not party to any regional military alliance against any specific country and is not aware of any formal talks. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, Egypt and Jordan did not respond to requests for comment.

Washington hopes more regional security cooperation could pave the way for more normalisation deals with Israel, which established ties with the UAE and Bahrain in 2020.

Israel’s top prize would be Saudi Arabia, which says normalising its own ties to Israel would need the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. US officials say Israeli-Saudi normalisation is far off.

Saudi and Israeli cooperation might also help mend US-Saudi relations, strained by the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Yemen’s war and high oil prices.

In an ideal world for Israel, an alliance would lead to missile defence sales to the Gulf, including its Iron Dome and David’s Sling systems which could work with the US Patriot missile batteries long used by Gulf states, experts say.

Jeremy Binnie, Middle East defence specialist at Janes, said Gulf coast radars would give Israel additional early warning of attack, probably making it the main beneficiary of any alliance.

In Israel, Biden will visit Palmachim air base to inspect defence systems including Arrow, David’s Sling, Iron Dome and a laser interception weapon, Israel’s defence ministry said.

Yasmine Farouk at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said the idea of integrated missile defence goes back years and successive US administrations had tried to overcome mistrust between Gulf states in sharing intelligence.

She said increasing threats from Iran and its Yemeni Houthi allies might now take priority over “trust issues” among Gulf Arab states.

“But it is a work in progress,” she added.

This salt plant in northeastern Alberta is closing, taking jobs and tax revenue with it

NATIONALIZE IT!

UNDER WORKER/COMMUNITY CONTROL!

Community leaders in the County of St. Paul, Alta., are concerned about losing jobs and tax revenue after next month's closure of a salt plant that has operated continuously for more than 70 years.


© Submitted by Jacob Bialik/Morton Salt

This salt plant in the County of St. Paul, Alta., is set to close this month after operating since 1948.

Dennis Kovtun - CBC

The Windsor salt plant, near the hamlet of Lindbergh, 235 kilometres northeast of Edmonton, is set to close in early August.

The owner of the facility is closing it for financial reasons and plans to tear the building down. Thirty-six of 47 employees will lose their jobs when the plant is shuttered. The others will be let go over the next one to two years.

Parrish Tung, the mayor of Elk Point, 20 kilometres west of the plant, said it has provided employment to generations of workers in the area, many of whom live in his town.

"Fathers and sons work there one after another generation," Tung said this week. "I just hope that all the residents who are affected by the closure of the plant, that they will be able to find employment within our region and choose to stay in our town."

The plant is part of the community fabric, said Terri Hampson, president of the Elk Point and District Chamber of Commerce.

"If you walk down the street and you say, 'Oh, a salt plant!' — probably, somewhere in somebody's life, they've worked there," she said.

"We already have salt plant employees and their families making arrangements to leave our community because now they have to go find this specific work elsewhere."
Plant built in 1948

The plant is owned by Quebec-based Windsor Salt, which is a part of Morton Salt, headquartered in Chicago.

Built in 1948 on top of a natural salt deposit, it produces table salt, water softener, agricultural salt and ice melt. The products are mainly sold in Alberta and Saskatchewan, with some also going to Ontario.

The plant produces salt from naturally occurring rock salt underground. Water is pumped underground and the salt dissolves in it. The brine solution is brought back to the surface where the water is evaporated.

Jacob Bialik, evaporative operations and project portfolio management leader at Morton Salt, said the decision to close the plant was made on June 1, but it had been under evaluation for several years.

It was strictly financial, Bialik said. The plant has not been not profitable for the past few years, and rising inflation and high transportation costs made its continuing operation no longer viable, he said.

BULLSHIT ITS A PAID OFF OPERATING PLANT MEANS ITS PURE PROFIT 

Bialik said employees who are being let go will receive severance, but he declined to discuss the terms.

The plant pays about $600,000 per year in county taxes, said Sheila Kitz, chief administrative officer for the County of St. Paul. That entire amount will not be immediately lost when the plant stops operations because some of it is tied to the plant's buildings. But when the plant is torn down, the tax revenue will go with it, Kitz said.

Bialik said the decision to demolish the plant was made because of its limited ability to serve any other function and "the condition of the operation." Materials will be recycled as much as possible, he said.
Truckers, nearby hamlet to feel impact

Kitz, the county's CAO, said the trucking industry in the county is likely to be affected by the closure. There are no rail lines in the county, so all the produced salt had to be transported by road.

The small hamlet of Riverview, about one kilometre southwest of the salt plant, is a former company community. Some of its residents still work there.

The salt plant has its own power plant, natural gas wells and water treatment facility and has provided infrastructure and services for the hamlet, including gas, water and wastewater services.

The county has been easing the hamlet away from its dependency on the salt plant. Water cisterns and holding tanks for wastewater were installed in each house last year.

The plant's owners have promised not to disconnect the hamlet from natural gas when the plant stops operating. The local gas supplier is working on providing supply to Riverview in the future.

"Once that is available, there is no reason that the residents in that community cannot stay in their homes," said Kitz.

She hopes that the esthetic qualities of Riverview and the County of St. Paul will attract new residents, even with the salt plant gone.

"It's a beautiful little community, actually. It's right along the North Saskatchewan River. It's quite a scenic place to live."

Q&A | Top WHO official on how they limited the recent Ebola outbreak in DRC

Lenin Ndebele

The Democratic Republic of Congo has declared an end to Ebola outbreak. (Isaac Kasamani, AFP)

• The last Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had a 100% fatality rate because of late detection.
• In recent epidemics, there has been a resurgence from persistent virus in survivors, meaning more outbreaks can be expected.
• Conflict does not directly affected the fight against Ebola in the DRC.

---

The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced the end of the 14th Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Monday.

News24 spoke to Dr Mory Keita, WHO's incident manager for the Ebola outbreak, about how they managed to end the recent cycle, the challenges, and what the future holds for the fight against the disease that was first detected near the Ebola River in 1976.

Lenin Ndebele: Compared to the previous outbreak, which had 130 confirmed cases and 50 deaths, the most recent one was very small. What do you attribute that to?

Dr Mory Keita: This latest outbreak was brought under control in approximately two months, with a total of five cases reported from two health zones.

This is a great achievement when compared to the previous one in the same province, which lasted about five months and had a total of 130 cases reported from 13 health zones.

This is attributable in large part to the early detection of the first confirmed case. In the previous epidemic, there was a long delay in the detection of the first confirmed case, which occurred only after several probable deaths, facilitating the spread of the virus in several health zones.

Ndebele: The DRC has had 14 Ebola outbreaks since 1976. What is the likelihood of having more outbreaks?

Keita: The likelihood of having more outbreaks is almost certain. The question is perhaps how soon. If we take the last three outbreaks in Équateur province, we had a frequency of two years (2018, 2020, and 2022).

Nationwide, we have at least one outbreak every year, referring to the five past years (six epidemics between 2018 and 2022). So, the latest resurgence was not unexpected given the fact that the Ebola virus is enzootic (found in animals) and present in animal reservoirs in the DRC and in the region.

READ | Democratic Republic of Congo declares end to Ebola outbreak

A resurgence from a persistent virus in survivors has also been described in recent epidemics. This means that the risk of re-emergence through exposure to an animal host or from a persistent virus cannot be excluded.

Ndebele: Why are we seeing more infectious diseases jumping from animals to humans and impacting large urban areas in the DRC?

Keita: It is important to note that more than 60% of infectious diseases in humans globally originate from animals.

The DRC's ecosystem is favourable to several infectious diseases, which makes it one of the most affected countries by infectious disease outbreaks in the WHO African region.

This can partly be explained by the over-urbanisation of most African countries, including the DRC. The "One Health" approach, therefore, appears to be an essential component of the strategy to combat infectious disease epidemics.

Ndebele: What did the swift response entail?

Keita: Building on skills and materials from the 2020 outbreak allowed for rapid detection of the first case in 2022.

The deployment of the ministry of health's rapid response teams and partners and the rapid shipment of vaccines were determinants.

The time frame between the declaration of the epidemic and the beginning of vaccination was halved compared to the previous epidemic – four days compared to seven.

Other important elements to note include the fact that this latest epidemic was declared a few days after the launch of a REDISSE (Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement) project funded by the World Bank.

Ndebele: Are any vaccine outreach programmes under way?

Keita: Vaccination with the ERVEBO vaccine (Ebola Zaire vaccine) was stopped just before the declaration of the end of the epidemic.

Consequently, there are no ongoing outreach programmes for this vaccine. However, the National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) is planning to implement a vaccination programme with Johnson & Johnson in some of the health zones in the coming weeks or months.

This will necessarily require vaccine outreach programmes before the official launch.

Ndebele: Does conflict in the DRC affect the fight against Ebola and other diseases?

Keita: The ongoing conflict in the DRC has not directly affected the Ebola response as the area affected by the epidemic (Équateur province) is not a conflict zone.

An indirect impact on funding for infectious disease outbreaks and responses cannot be excluded as the conflict may affect the overall economic situation of the country.

Ndebele: From the families and communities where deaths occurred, how long would surveillance work be under way?

Keita: This outbreak that just ended had a 100% case fatality rate (five cases-five deaths). Three deaths occurred in the community and two at the Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC). It should also be noted that these two cases were also admitted late to the ETC, reflecting weakness in early case detection.

Surveillance must be continuous (before, during, and after the epidemic). Although the end of the outbreak has been declared, the community must continue to be attentive and to report promptly any unusual event such as the death of bush animals, and the death of at least two people in the same household within two to three weeks (event-based surveillance).

In addition to this, indicator-based surveillance from health facilities should also be maintained on a continuous and systematic basis.

Ndebele: Is there anything you want people to know about Ebola in the DRC?

Keita: Investing in preparedness is important to shorten and quickly control possible future outbreaks. An easy example is a hotline. Permanently funding a hotline for community alerts would be one of the most cost-effective interventions for managing outbreaks.

---

The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.

Is reforestation of the rainforest possible?

Ten years ago, 74 member countries of the United Nations gave themselves an enormous task: to restore 3.5 million square kilometers of the world's rainforests by 2030. But how exactly will that be possible?

 

ECO INDIA

Solar power - Off the Grid on the Money

India's state grid is notoriously unreliable. This is particularly problematic for large and small businesses. In Karnataka's state capital, private companies are stepping up to fill the vacuum with decentralized solar power.

Sri Lankans ditch cars for bicycles to ride out economic crisis

By Uditha Jayasinghe 

© Reuters/DINUKA LIYANAWATTE Sri Lankans turn to bicycles as fuel crisis worsens

COLOMBO (Reuters) - For the last two weeks, Sri Lankan doctor Thusitha Kahaduwa has left his car in the garage and done his patient rounds by bicycle, spending hours each day criss-crossing the commercial capital Colombo.

© Reuters/DINUKA LIYANAWATTE Sri Lankans turn to bicycles as fuel crisis worsens

The 41-year-old is among countless thousands, many of them middle-class professionals, who have switched to two wheels for everything from work commutes to grocery shopping after the country - mired in its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948 - all but exhausted its fuel supplies.

© Reuters/DINUKA LIYANAWATTE Sri Lankans turn to bicycles as fuel crisis worsens

"First, it was two or three hours in a petrol queue," Kahaduwa told Reuters. "Last time, about three weeks ago, I was in a petrol queue for three days.

"Buying a bicycle was an act of desperation."

Sri Lanka's hard currency reserves are close to zero, meaning imports of fertiliser, food and medicine for its 22 million population have also slowed to a trickle.

No oil shipments have arrived for about two weeks and the government - which has closed schools, told public employees to work from home and restricted fuel to essential services - has not said when the next ones are due..

As a consequence, the number of bikes on Colombo's streets has soared and, with stocks limited and demand rocketing, prices of new and used machines have more than doubled, three retailers said.

Spare parts and accessories like bike helmets and locks are also in short supply.

One shop owner, Victor Perera, said that he sold about 20 cycles a month up until May, when sales increased tenfold.

"Because of the petrol problem, everyone is asking for bicycles," he said.

New supplies are limited because authorities have restricted imports to basic necessities to conserve what foreign exchange remains for as long as possible.

© Reuters/DINUKA LIYANAWATTE Sri Lankans turn to bicycles as fuel crisis worsens

"The importation of bicycles is banned. So, the importers sold their stocks at high prices," Perera said. "Now there are no more bicycles."

The government is due to present a debt restructuring plan to the International Monetary Fund in August and then continue talks on a possible $3 billion bailout package, suggesting the crisis is far from over.

© Reuters/DINUKA LIYANAWATTE Sri Lankans turn to bicycles as fuel crisis worsens

So Kahaduwa and many others are settling in for a long ride.

"I don't think our country's problems will be resolved anytime soon," he said, "At least I get plenty of exercise now."

(Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe, Editing by Devjyot Ghoshal and John Stonestreet$)

Canada’s Acquisition of Robotic Mine-Hunting System Faces Delay


Canadian military vessel. Photo: Royal Canadian Navy

 JOE SABALLA 

DEFENSE NEWS

 JULY 7, 2022

Canada is experiencing partial delays in acquiring new robotic mine-hunting systems for the Canadian Navy, according to a report by Ottawa Citizen.

The first batch of robots that detect and dispose of underwater mines was supposed to be delivered to the navy by the end of the year.

However, industry officials told the media outlet that defense procurement officials are bungling the $35-million project.

The Department of National Defence has confirmed the delays in the acquisition process. However, it said that the interruption has been caused by the need for further discussions with the defense industry.

It also revealed that the delays were caused by the country’s refocusing of internal resources to prioritize equipment donations to Ukraine.

Apart from the mine-hunting systems, the DND said no other projects are affected by the prioritization of equipment purchases for Kyiv.

Remote Mine-Hunting and Disposal System

The Remote Mine-hunting and Disposal System, or RMDS, is a modular, stand-off naval mine countermeasure device designed to improve underwater domain awareness.

It is capable of detecting, classifying, and disposing of sea mines that pose a threat to the Canadian Navy and impede the conduct of maritime operations.

The RMDS would reportedly leverage commercial off-the-shelf unmanned systems and autonomous underwater vehicle technology.

The robots will be integrated into the Canadian Navy’s Kingston-class vessels.

The procurement process started in 2017, with bids requested in mid-2021.

Focus on Ukraine

Weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, Western countries including Canada pledged their support for Kyiv.

Earlier this year, Ottawa sent weapons to Kyiv to help it defend against Moscow’s aggression.

It also offered 500 million Canadian dollars ($393 million) to bolster Ukraine’s defense capabilities.

Additionally, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his country would provide Ukraine with 39 armored vehicles originally earmarked for the Canadian military.

IRONIC

POLAND

Sanctuary for ‘Rainbow Youth’

Safe houses in Poland offer shelter to homeless and persecuted LGBTQ youth.

Transitions magazine
Posted in Poland
by Anna Gmiterek-Zablocka
05 Jul 2022

The Equality March in Czestochowa, Poland in 2019.

Nineteen-year-old Kamil (not his real name) suddenly found himself on the street. His parents had kicked him out of the family home after he told them he was gay. They did not want to have such a son, they told him, and didn’t care where he went.

Kamil left with literally nothing but what he had on him. “I know now that it was good that happened,” he says a few months later. “Yes, I was left ‘out in the cold’ — for a while I was homeless — but it was worth it.”

After staying with a friend for a few days, he found information online about a safe house set up for people like him — homeless people from the LGBTQ community.

There is one such crisis center — located in an apartment — operating in Warsaw at present, run and fully funded by three NGOs: the Po Drugie Foundation, the Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH) and the My, Rodzice (We Parents) Association. When Kamil contacted the foundation, “They said they would do everything to help,” he says.

“After coming out, a young person often loses all their family’s support. They become an enemy, a liability, an embarrassment. Our activities aspire to offer them a sense of security and self-reliance,” said Ewa Miastkowska from We Parents when the shelter was opened.

The apartment-based center, which was launched in March 2021, can host four people at once. They must be at least 18 years of age and no more than 29. Along with young people kicked out by their parents, it has also provided shelter to trans people and gay people who were former residents of children’s homes. They learn to be responsible and work together, for example by cooking communally.

Residents who find a job make a symbolic contribution to the rent — generally a small amount, no more than 500 zloty (106 euros). The point is to teach young people the value of feeling responsible.

Kamil lived in the apartment for two months. During that time he began working in catering while also seeing a psychologist and applying — successfully — to go to college. He now lives in regular lodgings and is trying to fix things up with his parents. “The apartment really helped me, as it gave me somewhere to sleep,” he says.

The safe house has a set of rules. “Consumption of alcohol and the use of drugs are not allowed,” explains Agnieszka Sikora from the Po Drugie Foundation. “Since the apartment opened, 17 people have found a roof over their heads here. When one moves out, another moves in. There are no excessive demands. If we decide that someone’s situation is difficult, dramatic, we help.”

LGBTQ people in Poland often experience various forms of violence. The situation has been worsened by a witch hunt from the ruling party and church — such as one archbishop’s reference to a “rainbow plague.”

Parents often do not accept that their child is gay or trans. In some cases, they lock their son or daughter at home, refuse to let them meet with other people, take away their mobile phone or internet access, and cut them off from money or food — all as a punishment.

POLAND LGBTQ PRIDE MARCH

As a result, Poland has for the last three years been ranked as the worst country in the European Union for LGBTI people in the annual “Rainbow Index” published by the NGO ILGA-Europe.

In December 2021, KPH published a report, “The social situation of LGBT people in Poland,” based on research by the University of Warsaw’s Center for Research on Prejudice. One of its findings was that young people are increasingly less likely to be able to count on support from their families because the level of acceptance has fallen. Just 61% of mothers who were aware of their children’s non-heteronormativity accepted it (down from 68% in 2017). The figure is even lower for fathers, at 54% (as compared to 59% in 2017).

Domestic violence towards and homelessness among young LGBT people are widespread problems. A 2020 study by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights showed that as many as one in five LGBTQ people in Europe experience homelessness during their lives.

The KPH report revealed a similar tendency. [DJ1] One in six, almost 17%, of the LGBTQ people surveyed had experienced at least one episode of homelessness, with 10% of cases lasting more than a year.

Sikora explains that those who arrive in the safe house do not always face transphobia or homophobia at home. “As a rule, these people have more than one problem to deal with, including addiction. They stop [attending school] and have emotional, family and personality problems,” she says.

The maximum initial stay in the apartment is 12 months, though this can be extended. Residents receive individual support from a mentor — a “kind soul” who provides them with day-to-day help and keeps an eye on them (making sure there are no alcohol or drugs, for example).

They also receive psychological support (individual or group therapy, depending on their needs) or assistance from a lawyer, for instance in cases where they have experienced violence. A therapist works with those with addiction problems.

There is also a career adviser. This role is especially important as these are young people, without much life experience, who are usually struggling to find their way in the job market. They frequently have no idea what they want to do and which field they can train in, and they lack skills in preparing a CV or in showcasing their strengths. They do not know how to be assertive or self-disciplined.

Importantly, they are given a support network. They meet people for whom they are not “freaks” or “deviants.” People who can advise and help, whom they can call, or if need be, can simply give them a hug when things are hard. They learn what friendship, self-dependence, and keeping one’s word means.

‘AN APARTMENT LIKE THIS CAN BE A SPRINGBOARD’

Psychologist and psychotherapist Jan Swierszcz helps run a Warsaw therapy and development center called Dobrze, że jesteś (It’s good that you’re here). Among the people he helps are those from the LGBTQ community. Swierszcz has no doubt that creating safe places for such people is extremely necessary, adding that such spaces were lacking in Poland.

“An apartment like this can be a springboard for young LGBT people that allows them to break out. They can receive community and social support, and through that, also resources for coping in life: what to sort out and how, where to go, how to get out of a crisis,” the psychologist explains.

A person experiencing violence can try to get back on track only after escaping the cycle of violence. The pain felt by a teenager discriminated against and persecuted by their family because of the youth’s sexual orientation or gender identity is the same pain felt a woman experiencing violence from an abusive husband, according to Renata Durda, the head of Niebieska Linia (Blue Line), the Polish Emergency Service for Victims of Domestic Violence, which has been operating since 1995.

“The experience of humiliation, hurt, and pain is the same, although attempts to escape might vary,” Durda says. “This is why a safe place where LGBT people can live is so important for them.”

The crisis apartment is not the only place. Since September 2001, Warsaw has also boasted another form of support for people experiencing homelessness in the form of a hostel for LGBTQ people. This was opened thanks to authorities in the capital, who set up a three-year project to fund its work.

In 2021, the Lambda Association which runs the hostel received 261,800 zloty (55,500 euros) and it will get 255,500 zloty (54,200 euros) each year in 2022 and 2023.

Warsaw’s deputy mayor, Aldona Machnowska-Gora, says that the city decided to open the hostel because it could not just stand by and watch the problems LGBTQ people were facing.

“We have a wave of calculated and planned attacks on people from the LGBT community, a wave of hate towards this group in some media, [and] anti-LGBT zones, but there have also been brazen personal attacks, for example on people wearing rainbow emblems on the streets,” she says.

Machnowska-Gora explains that the city had also received information about hateful symbols and slogans being left on the doors of same-sex families’ homes. This was what led to the decision to sign the Warsaw LGBT+ Declaration and to open the hostel. People wishing to stay there can get in contact by email or phone.

“We guarantee a stay in the hostel up to three months — which can be extended,” says hostel coordinator Sulimir Szumielewicz. “It’s important for us that people leave with the social skills to become as independent as possible.”

Who comes to the shelter? One young person showed up at the door recently carrying only a shopping bag with a toothbrush, a shirt, and a few other small items.

The hostel had operated in Warsaw previously in 2015–2016, when it was the first such facility in Central and Eastern Europe. More than 70 people stayed there at the time, including a high school student who took his final exams while living at the hostel. Unfortunately, the center was forced to close due to lack of funds.

“I came to the hostel by chance. I lived there for a few months,” says Michał (not his real name). He has no doubt that such support is a “lifesaver” for many young people and is happy it has reopened. “I found work, I started earning money — today my life has sorted itself out, somehow,” he says.

Representatives of the LGBTQ community would like to open more such hostels or apartments for “rainbow youth” in other cities. A safe house has now been launched in Poznan, run by the Stonewall Group with support from city authorities amounting to 60,000 zloty (12,700 euros). The Equality March Association from Lublin also wants to open a safe house, but as yet has no concrete plans.

In addition to the need to find funding, the other major problem is gaining the support of local authorities. The witch hunt that has taken place in recent years against the LGBT community in Poland — “anti-LGBT ideology” zones throughout the country and homophobic statements by government politicians — causes mayors to be reluctant to fund these kinds of activities out of concern about how that support might affect their election results.

The idea that led to the hostel and safe house is in fact a simple one. It is about LGBTQ people knowing that, despite their homophobic families or teachers, there are also people who are willing and able to help them. When they cannot count on their families, such support networks can be crucial.

…

Anna Gmiterek-Zablocka is a journalist at Radio TOK FM, specializing in social issues including migration, domestic violence, and challenges faced by people with disabilities. She received the Grand Press Award for 2010.

Reprinted with permission of Notes from Poland; edited for style. Photo by Silar via Wikimedia Commons.

ETHIOPIA'S WAR OF AGGRESSION 

FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
Ethiopia's leader admits military losses in insurgencies

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says his government's police and soldiers are dying on a “daily” basis as the country grapples with insurgencies in Oromia and elsewhere

By Associated Press
July 07, 2022, 8:35 AM

NAIROBI, Kenya -- Ethiopian police and soldiers are dying on a “daily” basis as the country grapples with insurgencies in Oromia and elsewhere, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Thursday.

Abiy in a parliamentary address repeated a vow to destroy the Oromo Liberation Army, a rebel group his government blames for two recent massacres targeting members of the Amhara ethnic group.

“As a government, the fact we are not able to prevent the acts they committed, we feel quite sad,” Abiy said. “Daily police officers die, security forces die” while fighting the Oromo rebels, he said.

In a rare admission of government losses, Abiy also said that “hundreds” of district officials have been killed in attacks.

The increase in violence in Oromia comes as the 20-month-long conflict with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front appears to be reducing. Last month Abiy revealed a committee has been set up to negotiate with the TPLF, but if the talks fail he suggested his government is ready to renew military efforts.

“The unity and the interests of our country, if it becomes difficult to secure it peacefully, we will pay sacrifices with our lives,” Abiy told lawmakers. “Outside of that, we believe there is hope. Our door will remain open for peace.”

In Oromia, the latest killings occurred on Monday, resulting in the deaths of an unknown number of civilians in the unstable West Wellega area. It followed a separate attack in the region last month that witnesses said killed hundreds.

The Oromo Liberation Army, or OLA, an outlawed group that the government refers to as Shene, denies carrying out the killings.

In response to the violence, regional and federal forces have stepped up their offensive against the OLA. Abiy said counterinsurgency efforts have been “95%” successful in saving civilian lives and compared the recent ethnic-based killings to gun violence in the United States.

“The security forces serve the country at a high cost, so the parliament should recognize their efforts,” Abiy said, describing the mass killings as “inhumane acts” perpetrated by “destructive, evil forces.”

On Wednesday Ethiopia’s parliament set up a special body to investigate the killings in Oromia, where regional government forces have also been accused of human rights abuses.

Human Rights Watch in a statement this week said a “culture of impunity” has “emboldened unaccountable security forces” that it says are responsible for a spate of extrajudicial killings in Oromia.

The killings are putting pressure on Abiy’s government to do more to protect civilians as waves of ethnic unrest persist in Africa’s second-most populous country with a population of 115 million people. Ethiopia has more than 90 different ethnic groups, according to its census. The Oromo are the largest group with an estimated 34% of the population followed by the Amhara with 27%.

Violence between various ethnic groups has increased in recent years as a result of longstanding rivalries.

New York Denies Air Quality Permit to a Cryptocurrency Mining Facility, Citing Sabin Center White Paper

BY JACOB ELKIN |JULY 7, 2022

The Greenidge Generation power plant in Dresden, NY. Photo: Brian Kahn

On June 30, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation denied Greenidge Generation LLC’s application to renew a Title V air quality permit for the Greenidge Generating Station. The facility, previously permitted as a natural gas-fired “peaker” plant, has recently ramped up its power generation to provide behind-the-meter power to Greenidge’s proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining operations.

The denial cites a white paper published by Columbia Climate School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law in March 2022. The paper argues that the New York Executive Branch has the legal authority to implement a moratorium on the permitting of fossil fuel power plants that are providing behind-the-meter energy to proof-of-work cryptocurrency miners. As the paper discusses in more detail, proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining requires significant energy consumption and thus produces large quantities of greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers have recently estimated that Bitcoin mining is responsible for 65.4 megatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Other estimates put Bitcoin’s annualized carbon footprint at 72.05 megatonnes of carbon dioxide, comparable with that of Greece, with a single Bitcoin transaction generating 805.77 kilograms of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the emissions generated by 1,785,864 VISA transactions.

In order to power such operations, a trend has arisen of former coal power plants transitioning to natural gas generation to deliver behind-the-meter power to mining facilities. Greenidge Generation is one such facility, operating as a coal-fired power plant in the 1930’s before ceasing operations in 2011, then receiving a new permit to restart operations as a natural gas-fired plant in 2016. When applying for that 2016 permit, Greenidge indicated that it would operate solely to provide power to the grid in a “peaking” capacity, but since 2020, Greenidge has begun utilizing the energy it produces to power an on-site cryptocurrency mining operation. As a result of this change in function, Greenidge’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased considerably, with Greenidge predicting its emissions will continue to increase going forward. Greenidge’s permit renewal application has thus drawn a significant amount of attention state- and nation-wide.

Read the rest of the article on the Sabin Center website.