Osaka hails Hashimoto appointment as boost for equality


Issued on: 18/02/2021 - 

Naomi Osaka has welcomed Seiko Hashimoto's appointment as Tokyo Olympics chief 

ROB PREZIOSO TENNIS AUSTRALIA/AFP

Melbourne (AFP)

Japanese tennis superstar Naomi Osaka Thursday welcomed the resignation of gaffe-prone Tokyo Olympics chief Yoshiro Mori and his replacement by a woman as a big boost in the drive for equality.

Mori, 83, quit last week over widely condemned sexist remarks after saying that women "have difficulty" speaking concisely, "which is annoying".

It sparked a chorus of criticism from sports stars and politicians, including three-time Grand Slam winner Osaka who condemned the remarks as "ignorant".

Japan's Olympic minister Seiko Hashimoto was named as his replacement Thursday, barely five months before the virus-postponed Games, with public opinion in Japan still largely against holding the massive event.

Osaka, a leading face of the Games in her home nation, said the appointment of the seven-time Olympian, who was also minister for gender equality and women's empowerment, was a positive move.

"I think for me, what it means is that there's a lot of things I think people used to accept, the things that used to be said, but you're seeing the newer generation not tolerate a lot of things," she said in Melbourne.

"I feel like it's really good because you're pushing forward, barriers are being broken down, especially for females.

"We've had to fight for so many things just to be equal. Even a lot of things, we still aren't equal. Yeah, I thought that was a good thing," added the 23-year-old after blasting past Serena Williams and into the Australian Open final Thursday.

Osaka, the world's top-earning female athlete, emerged as a potent voice on social issues last year when she wore facemasks highlighting victims of racism and police brutality at the US Open.

She remains keen to compete at the Olympics, which start in July, but has said public approval was crucial for them to go ahead.

© 2021 AFP

Virus delay, sexism row: Tokyo's turbulent Olympic timeline

Issued on: 18/02/2021 -

The Tokyo Games have had a rocky ride, and there's still no guarantee they will go ahead

 CHARLY TRIBALLEAU AFP

Tokyo (AFP)

From a historic coronavirus postponement, to a sexism row prompting its top organiser to resign, the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have faced many hurdles.

As the pandemic rages, with just over five months until the Games begin, it's still uncertain what this summer's event will look like -- if it happens at all.

Here, AFP chronicles Tokyo's Olympic journey:

- 2013: Tears of joy -

News presenters shed tears and crowds erupt in delight in September as the International Olympic Committee names Tokyo host of the 2020 Games.

Thoughts turn to the victims of Japan's devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami, with the Olympics seen by some as a chance to rebuild.

- 2015-16: New stadium, new logo -

Proposals for a new national stadium go back to the drawing board in July 2015 following public anger over the $2 billion price tag.

The following year, a new "snake-eye" logo is unveiled following a plagiarism scandal and immediately derided as "dull".

The original logo by designer Kenjiro Sano had to be ditched eight months earlier following allegations it too closely resembled that of a theatre in the Belgian city of Liege. Sano denied plagiarism.

- 2019: Payments probe -

French magistrates charge the head of Japan's Olympic committee, Tsunekazu Takeda, as they probe payments totalling $2.3 million made before and after Tokyo's nomination.

Takeda protests his innocence but later steps down from the role.

In October, the IOC shifts the Olympic marathon to northern Sapporo to avoid the capital's sweltering summer heat -- a surprise move that infuriates Tokyo officials.

- March 24, 2020: Historic postponement -

With Covid-19 spreading rapidly worldwide, Japan and the IOC postpone the Olympics in a historic decision.

A new date is announced for the opening ceremony -- July 23, 2021 -- but the event will still be called Tokyo 2020.

Organisers say in April there is "absolutely no" chance of postponing the Games a second time.

- September 2020: Games to happen 'with or without Covid' -

IOC vice-president John Coates tells AFP the Olympics will go ahead, regardless of the pandemic, as the "Games that conquered Covid".

Preparations continue as top athletes put the new 60,000-seat stadium through its paces behind closed doors.

- December 2020: Extra costs, new rules -

Anti-virus measures and other delay-related costs add 294 billion yen ($2.8 billion) to the price tag, which has ballooned to at least 1.64 trillion yen ($15.8 billion) -- making Tokyo 2020 potentially the most expensive Summer Olympics in history.

Organisers outline plans for holding the event safely, with athletes facing regular testing and restrictions on mingling, and spectators spared quarantine but banned from cheering.

The IOC says it will try to ensure as many participants and spectators as possible are vaccinated, but jabs will not be obligatory.

- January 2021: Virus surges, support drops -

Japan declares a virus state of emergency in the Tokyo region just over six months before the Olympics are due to open, with other parts of Japan later added and the measures extended for a second month.

Polls show around 80 percent of people in Japan say the event should be cancelled or postponed again.

But organisers and the IOC insist the Games will be held, and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga says they will be "proof of mankind's victory over the virus".

- February 2021: Sexism furore -

Yoshiro Mori, chief of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, resigns after his claims that women talk too much in meetings spark a firestorm of criticism.

"When you increase the number of female executive members, if their speaking time isn't restricted to a certain extent, they have difficulty finishing, which is annoying," the gaffe-prone 83-year-old said.

He is replaced by Olympic Minister Seiko Hashimoto, 56, a seven-time Olympian who is one of just two women in Japan's cabinet.

© 2021 AFP

Swan song nears for 'unacceptable' Paris bird market

Issued on: 09/02/2021

A person carries a parakeet at the bird market in Paris on the Île de la Cité on May 6, 2018. 

© Gerard Julien, AFP

The chirp-chirping of budgies on Sundays under the glassy ironwork canopies of Paris's Île de la Cité will soon be no more. The city decided last week to shut down the iconic weekly bird market, a stone's throw from Notre-Dame Cathedral in the heart of the French capital, citing animal rights' concerns and chronic irregularities.

Held alongside the island's daily flower market on the Place Louis Lépine, the bird market has similarly been a mainstay for generations of Parisians dating back to the 19th century. The City Hall decision to shutter the bird sellers comes as the adjoining market – officially the Queen Elizabeth II Flower Market since it was renamed in tribute during the British monarch's visit in 2014 – looks forward to a €5 million renovation from 2023 to 2025.

For some, the cacophonous stalls of birds, burlap sacks of seed, stacks of cages, fish tanks and a miscellany of other small animals exude the charm of old Paris. But for animal rights activists, the site is a callous relic, a "vestige of another time", and has to go.

"Imprisoning birds is cruel and archaic," one such group, PAZ (Paris Animaux Zoopolis), said in a petition it drew up against the bird market that collected more than 2,500 signatures. "It deprives them of their liberty and their most elementary behaviour, that of flying. Moreover, the vast majority of birds sold on the Île de la Cité are exotic. They aren't used to our climates and are very vulnerable to outdoor exposure (draughts)," PAZ contended. It said the market's presence also encourages "breeding and in some cases the illegal capture" of birds.

City Hall argued that the market, which stands across a cobbled forecourt from Paris police headquarters, had become a hotbed for illegal trade in the feathered creatures despite repeated efforts to put a stop to it.

An investigation by France's National Office for Hunting and Wildlife (ONCFS) in 2013 led to the arrest of seven people at the market. Forty-six goldfinches were seized during that operation. The birds are prized for the beauty of their song and were selling for up to €150 each.

"It had been known for several years that this market had become the epicentre of a bird-trafficking racket" in the region, Paris Deputy Mayor Christophe Najdovski said during the debate at City Hall. "And yet, despite a number of actions taken, that trafficking persists today."

Najdovski, whose portfolio includes animal welfare, said the birds are put on display at the market in a manner that is "unacceptable in view of the animal welfare standards required today". His Europe Ecologie Les Verts – the Green Party, which is allied with Mayor Anne Hidalgo's Socialists – had lobbied for the ban. The city seized on the opportunity of the flower market renovation to amend the regulations that govern the site.

For the moment, 13 businesses are authorised to operate at the bird market, although the city says only seven of those still sell birds. The market also attracted unregistered street peddlers who would regularly set up shop on the site despite a 2004 city bylaw that banned them from selling birds. The city has pledged to provide support to the established merchants who will be affected when the market closes.

Some bird fans had bristled at the prospect of the shutdown. "These activists and ecologists describe us as poachers and talk about animal abuse, but we're enthusiasts. We take care of our birds, we love them. And we do not raise protected species!," Issam Akrouti, who heads the Cercle Ornithologique Lutétien, a Paris-area bird enthusiast group, told Le Parisien newspaper in January.

"Of course you shouldn't shut away wild birds in cages, but our canaries and budgies wouldn't survive two days if we released them into nature," Akrouti told the daily. "This is a battle the Parisian bobos [a slang term referring to urban “bourgeois-bohemians”] are waging against rural life: They want to cut humans off from contact with animals." The entrepreneur explained that, while the birds are displayed in cages when they are at the market, they generally live in aviaries or fly free inside people's homes, with their cages serving only as "bedrooms" for them to use.

Kittens, puppies, dolphins, minks

The bird market's closure is the latest effort by the city of Paris, and France generally, to improve their animal rights record.

During the same Paris City Hall assembly that greenlighted the bird market closure, the city called on the French government to ban the sale of kittens and puppies under the age of six months in pet shops from 2022. It also asked city police to put a stop to angling with live bait or barbed fishhooks in the French capital's waterways.

In January, France's lower-house National Assembly passed a bill to put an end to the use of wild animals in circuses across the country and to ban the captivity of dolphins and orca whales in marine parks. While lawmakers were debating that legislation, Parc Astérix, an amusement park northeast of Paris, announced it was closing its 32-year-old dolphin aquarium and dispatching its eight animals elsewhere in Europe, leaving only two marine parks with such creatures in France. The new legislation also aims to ban the raising of minks for fur and reinforce rules on pet sales and the penalties for animal abuse.

The City of Paris had already decided to quit authorising circuses that feature entertainment using live animals from 2020 onwards.

Meanwhile, the fight continues for Paris Animaux Zoopolis. The group's active campaigns include lobbying for a France-wide ban on fishing with live bait. It also wants angling forbidden entirely in Paris, "to avoid gratuitously inflicting great suffering and agony on many fish". PAZ argues that since consuming the fish caught from the city's polluted waterways isn't allowed, fishing allows the creatures to be cruelly treated like toys.

Cambodia sets up China-style internet firewall

STALINIST STATE NEO LIBERAL ECONOMY

Issued on: 17/02/2021 -

Cambodian Premier Hun Sen's government has intensified a crackdown on online dissent 

TANG CHHIN Sothy AFP/File

Phnom Penh (AFP)

Cambodia's government moved to exert near-total control over the country's online life Wednesday, setting up a national internet gateway which activists say will stifle freedom of expression and block content via a China-style firewall.

Cambodia has seen a rapid increase in internet use in recent years, and Premier Hun Sen's government -- which dissolved the main opposition party in 2017 -- has intensified a crackdown on online dissent.

A government spokesman dismissed concerns over the gateway (NIG), a system which will funnel all international internet connections through a single entry point, saying it would prevent online crime and promote "national interests".


But Phay Siphan also told AFP the authorities "will destroy those (internet) users who want to create rebellion" against the government.

A sub-decree signed by Hun Sen and obtained by AFP on Wednesday stated that the NIG would control web connections in order to enhance "national revenue collection, to protect national security and preserve social order".

It instructed the gateway's operator to work with Cambodian authorities "to take actions in blocking and disconnecting any network connections" that were deemed to contravene these goals, or to violate "morality, culture, traditions and customs".

The operator will be required to submit reports about internet traffic regularly to authorities.

Chak Sopheap, executive director of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights, said the NIG would facilitate mass surveillance, through the interception and censorship of digital communications and the collection of personal data.

"The establishment of the NIG is of grave concern for the future of fundamental human rights in Cambodia," she said, adding that "it will become another instrument for the Royal Government of Cambodia to control and monitor the flow of information in Cambodia".

Ith Sothoeuth, director of the Cambodian Center for Independent Media, said the vague language in the document bestowed the power to block comments critical of the government.

"It's worrisome," he said.

Comparisons have been drawn to China's "Great Firewall", which deploys a vast and sophisticated surveillance state to scrub the internet of dissent, and prevents citizens from accessing international social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Internet subscriptions in Cambodia have soared over the last decade, from 5 million in 2014 to 20.3 million last year, according to government statistics.

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in Cambodia with nearly 11 million users.

Hun Sen is one of the world's longest-serving leaders, maintaining a 36-year grip on power with methods that critics say include jailing political opponents and activists.

© 2021 AFP

New WTO chief's pile of problems


Issued on: 17/02/2021 - 

New World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala will have a full inbox to deal with when she starts her job next month 

Bastien INZAURRALDE AFP


Geneva (AFP)

The coronavirus pandemic, log-jammed trade talks and a long-delayed meeting of member states are just a few of the crises awaiting Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as she takes the helm of the World Trade Organization next month.

The WTO needs a kiss of life -- and fast -- and the first female and first African director-general of the global trade body will have to hit the ground running as she takes on the job in the middle of a major global recession.

Here are the four main challenges the former Nigerian finance minister will face when she starts in Geneva on March 1:

- Revive the ministerial conference -

The WTO's top decision-making body meets once every two years, usually at the end of the year.

Many countries use it as a deadline to get trade negotiations moving forward.

After the December 2017 conference in Buenos Aires, the next meeting should have taken place in Nur-Sultan in June 2020 -- having been put back six months to avoid the bitter winter in Kazakhstan's capital.

But the Covid-19 pandemic forced it to be postponed indefinitely.

Okonjo-Iweala wants the meeting held before the end of the year, but the WTO's 164 member states will have to reach a consensus on the date and location, most likely during the WTO general council meeting on March 1 and 2.

- Reboot stalled trade talks -

For years, the WTO has made virtually no progress on major international trade agreements.

Negotiations on cotton and fishing subsidies are stalling, while others such as electronic commerce, launched in January 2019, are struggling to take off -- all of which risks leaving the WTO looking like an institution stuck in yesteryear's problems.

"I think the WTO is too important to allow it to be slowed down, paralysed and moribund," she told AFP in an interview. "That's not right."

Okonjo-Iweala, 66, has raised environmental issues and has made the fishing subsidies talks one of her immediate priorities, to show that the WTO can still produce results.

Her predecessor Roberto Azevedo watched on helplessly as trade hostilities brewed between the United States, China and the European Union.

Washington and Brussels are urging the WTO to revise China's status in the organisation, with the United States accusing Beijing of taking advantage of its developing economy classification to motor ahead.

Some hope Okonjo-Iweala's more political interpersonal skills rather than trade background can help inject some confidence back into the system.

"She can contribute to strengthening multilateralism by using her influence," Peter Ungphakorn, a former WTO secretariat staff member, told AFP.

- Fix the dispute settlement system -

Azevedo could not stop the United States bringing the Appellate Body, the WTO's dispute settlement system, to a grinding halt.

The seven-member body can uphold, modify or reverse a panel's legal findings.

But it has been out of action since December 2019 because Washington blocked the appointment of any new judges.

Okonjo-Iweala hopes to get the problem resolved before the next ministerial conference.

US criticism of the appeal court predates former president Donald Trump, although he cranked up hostilities to new levels.

His administration accused the body of exceeding its powers by issuing judgements it thought violated national sovereignty.

"It was a common mistake to identify WTO problems with president Trump," Hector Torres, a former legal counsel at the Appellate Body secretariat, told AFP.

"It would be equally wrong to believe that if President Joe Biden unblocked the selection of new appellate body members, this would reinstate confidence in WTO's current set of trade rules."

- Tackle the pandemic -

The coronavirus crisis has exposed divisions at the WTO, with members split over a proposed intellectual property rights exemption for Covid vaccines and treatments, which was put forward by India and South Africa and supported by a hundred countries.

Okonjo-Iweala aims to resolve the issue quickly.

More generally, she hopes to give the WTO a role in the pandemic fightback, in particular by lending support to Covax, the global vaccine programme that ensures access for poorer countries.

Drawing on her 25 years of experience as a development economist at the World Bank, and as chair of the Gavi vaccine alliance from 2016, she also wants to see developing countries produce more anti-Covid jabs themselves to overcome the shortage.

Her background "makes her uniquely positioned to steer the WTO through the gravest sanitary crisis in its history", said Pablo Bentes, a former legal officer at the Appellate Body secretariat.

© 2021 AFP

Myanmar youth sound off against military coup


Issued on: 17/02/2021 

Dance troupes and orchestras have joined Myanmar's anti-coup protests, bringing a creative flare to the popular dissent

 Ye Aung THU AFP

Yangon (AFP)

From a classical orchestra playing a revolutionary song to viral breakdancers performing Michael Jackson anthems -- young Myanmar anti-coup protesters are using music as a weapon against the country's generals.

Since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, big cities and isolated villages alike have mounted a revolt.

Across the country, people have chanted and drummed pots and pans in a daily chorus of dissent, while young composers, choreographers and musicians have expressed their junta resistance creatively.

In downtown Yangon this week, a large rebel youth orchestra of violin, cello, trombone, percussion players and an arched Myanmar harp, calling themselves "Generation Z MM", debuted a new protest song called "Revolution".

For 25-year-old vocalist Pan, performing with the orchestra is cathartic at a time of high stress and anxiety over her country's future.

"The meaning of the song we were playing is 'With the flesh and blood of our young people, we will try to end the military dictatorship'," she told AFP.

"Music can pierce through everybody's heart at any time. I believe that everyone who was listening to our performance will be inspired."

Myanmar has a long history of protest songs, which often feature in satirical folk art called "thangyat" in Burmese. While typically humorous, these performances expressed political commentary and vented against injustices small and large.

But most protest songs were banned following the 1988 uprising, which the military quelled by gunning down thousands of protesters on the streets.

The song, "Kabar Ma Kyay Bu", or "We Won't Forget Until the End of the World" became emblematic of those protests, and has recently made a comeback.

Adapted from Kansas' 1977 classic "Dust in the Wind", Myanmar's version calls for revolution and is once again being sung in defiance of the junta.

In the commercial district of Yangon, dancers have dabbed and stomped to the beat.

After a group routine under a busy flyover, b-boys spun, flipped and froze. Another dancer twerked.

"People are asking: 'Are you guys happy dancing?'," one male dancer told AFP. "No, we're not happy. We're just venting our boiling emotions and just letting our compulsion take control while we dance."

A YouTube video clip of a Yangon flash-mob performing to Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us" has garnered nearly 40,000 views in five days.

Another musical protest clip shows a performance by punk rockers "Rebel Riot" showing off their mohawks and tattoos, interspersed with footage from mass protests.

They sing: "Are you ready everybody, fight for your right, fight for your life."

© 2021 AFP

Ecuador suspends recount in presidential election

Issued on: 17/02/2021 

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Yaku Perez, pictured February 12, 2021 greeting his supporters during a demonstration in front of the National Electoral Council in Quito, has alleged electoral fraud in the first round of voting 

Cristina Vega RHOR AFP/File

Quito (AFP)

Ecuador's National Electoral Council has suspended the recount in the first round of the presidential election requested by left-wing indigenous candidate Yaku Perez, who has alleged fraud denied him a place in the run-off.

The count was put on hold after the five-member council could not reach a majority in favor of Perez's request after holding a vote late Tuesday, with two for, one against, one abstention and another absent.

"This plenary session of the National Electoral Council, unfortunately, does not respond to the request, nor does it approve or deny the report presented in the technical area" on the request for a recount, council head Diana Atamaint said.

Perez, a 51-year-old environmental lawyer, had formally submitted the request for a recount in 17 of the country's 24 provinces.

The recount would involve about six million ballots, representing about 45 percent of Ecuador's registered voters.

Perez won 19.38 percent of the vote in the February 7 election, just 33,000 votes behind his second-placed rival, right-wing former banker Guillermo Lasso, 65, who has also called for a recount.

Economist Andres Arauz, a 36-year-old protege of former socialist president Rafael Correa, won 32.7 percent, which was not enough to win outright, and the race is now on to see who will face him in the April 11 run-off.

Perez alleges there was fraud to keep him out of the run-off after he was narrowly displaced by Lasso from second to third place in the middle of the count.

"They are not going to defeat us, they are not going to annihilate us, the resistance continues. Today (the electoral council) has just made a decision that is left in limbo," Perez, the son of farmworkers, said after the council's announcement.

Indigenous groups supporting Perez have called for rallies on Wednesday and a march to Quito to denounce alleged electoral fraud against their candidate.

Incumbent President Lenin Moreno's term in office ends on May 24.

DESPITE HIS NAME HE WAS A NEO LIBERAL REACTIONARY

The Organization of American States has urged the council to "guarantee compliance with the electoral calendar" to ensure that the April run-off takes place as scheduled.

© 2021 AFP

OAS expresses concern, calls for transparency over Ecuador's electoral process

Issued on: 16/02/2021 -

Quito (AFP)

The Organization of American States expressed "concern" Monday over Ecuador's election, and urged the country's top electoral body to "provide guarantees of certainty and transparency" to the political parties involved.

It comes after Ecuador's National Electoral Council (CNE) announced Friday it would conduct a partial recount of the February 7 presidential vote, which finished with the candidates for second place tied neck-and-neck.

One, environmental lawyer Yaku Perez, has since alleged wrongdoing.

"The Electoral Observation Mission (EOM) of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Ecuador expresses its concern about the lack of definition by the electoral authority and is paying close attention to the latest developments in the electoral process," the OAS said in a statement on Twitter.

The recount was requested by Perez and his rival, right-wing ex-banker Guillermo Lasso, after the former received 19.38 percent of the vote, with Lasso on 19.74 percent.

The result means it is unclear who will face leftist economist Andres Arauz in a runoff election -- the 36-year-old protege of former socialist president Rafael Correa got 32.7 percent, which is not enough to win outright.

Pre-election polls had placed Lasso comfortably in second place, but Perez performed far better than expected: he initially appeared in second place as votes were first being counted, only to fall to third behind Lasso.

Since the first round of presidential and legislative elections, indigenous and leftist groups have held several peaceful rallies supporting Perez, who is indigenous, in front of the electoral authority headquarters in capital city Quito and Guayaquil, a large port city in the southwest.

On Monday, two indigenous groups called for a march on Quito to denounce alleged electoral fraud against their candidate.

In its statement, the OAS called for "public demonstrations to be carried out in a peaceful manner and for political parties to settle their differences via institutional channels."

Incumbent President Lenin Moreno's term in office ends on May 24.

The OAS also urged the CNE to "guarantee compliance with the electoral calendar" for the April run-off vote.

© 2021 AFP

Malaysian durian trade battered as lockdown bites
Issued on: 17/02/2021 -

The 'king of fruits' is loved by fans for its bittersweet flavour and creamy texture, 

though critics say it smells like rotting garbage 

Mohd RASFAN AFP

Raub (Malaysia) (AFP)

Durians falling from trees are collected in nets on a farm in Malaysia, where a long lockdown has slowed domestic demand and left traders more reliant on China's appetite for the world's smelliest fruit.

Grown across tropical Southeast Asia, fans love the "king of fruits" for its bittersweet flavours and creamy texture although critics compare its odour to rotting garbage, and it is banned from many hotels and on public transport.

A first lockdown in Malaysia did not do too much damage to demand but a serious Covid-19 resurgence has prompted authorities to re-impose curbs for a longer period, hitting the economy again and hammering the durian industry.

With the roadside stalls where people usually eat the fruits largely empty of customers, sales have plummeted.

"Compared to last year, the local sales are not as good," Eric Chan, a trader and managing director of Dulai Fruits Enterprise, told AFP.

On the farm in Raub, outside Kuala Lumpur, some of the precious fruits are caught in nets stretched out under trees to ensure they don't suffer any damage.

Many are destined for China, where the virus emerged but which has largely tamed its outbreak and is once again recording economic growth.

"If there are no exports, or when there is no stock for the export, I think (such a scenario) will collapse the whole industry," said Top Fruits managing director Tan Sue Sian.

The trade in durians has exploded over the past decade, largely driven by China's growing appetite, with prices of the once cheap fruit selling for 60 ringgit ($14) or more a kilo.

The fruit was once exported to China only as pulp and paste but in 2019 officials there allowed the shipment of frozen whole fruits, in a further boost to the industry.

Durians can be found in Malaysia at all times of the year, though the fruit has bumper harvests at certain times.

© 2021 AFP

'We just want to play': Iran gamers battle reality of US sanctions

Issued on: 17/02/2021 - 

US sanctions do not directly target Iran's gaming industry, but the risk of punitive measures prevents companies from offering services to Iranians

ATTA KENARE AFP

Tehran (AFP)

Iran's millions-strong legion of gamers revel in online worlds, but they have to fight daily real-life obstacles imposed by US sanctions in their quest to level up and keep playing.

"It's a problem between governments and a pain for the consumer," said 24-year-old gamer and game journalist Amir Golkhani.

"We have no political demands. We just want to play," he told AFP.

Sanctions reimposed in 2018 by former US president Donald Trump do not directly target the gaming industry.

But the risk of punitive measures prevents companies from offering services to Iranians.

At shops near central Tehran's Imam Khomeini square, the situation appears normal -- shelves are stocked with the latest games and consoles.

Surprisingly, both the Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X can be found on sale, even though they are nearly impossible to acquire in many countries since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted global supply chains.

But neither company is officially present in the Islamic republic due to Washington's punishing sanctions, and their products are imported or smuggled into Iran from countries nearby.

Iran's blacklisted banking system also means players, with no access to internationally recognised credit cards, need to use fake identities and addresses -- and sometimes middlemen in other countries -- to register accounts and make online purchases.

There are at least 32 million gamers among Iran's population of 80 million, according to a September report by the Iran Computer and Video Games Foundation.

It found that the most popular games in Iran were Pro Evolution Soccer, Clash of Clans, FIFA, Call of Duty and PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds).

"Gaming is one of the few things helping me escape life's realities," said Farshad Rezayi, a 32-year-old chef and avid gamer.

Sanctions have almost deprived him of that outlet too, he added.

- 'Same game but cheaper' -

One way for Iranians to cheaply and easily access games is a local spin on the "gameshare" function found on most consoles and computer platforms.

Iranian shops use VPNs or other methods to mask their locations and create accounts seemingly from abroad.

They then purchase games for those accounts using overseas credit cards or gift cards, and sell the access to several gamers, who share what's locally known as a "capacity account", referring to usage -- online, offline or both.

For the hugely popular PlayStation 4, for instance, shops sell access to single-game accounts for between 20 and 60 percent of the regular price, according to use.

The store makes a profit by peddling one account to several people, while the player avoids shelling out the full cost of owning the game -- usually $60 or more in the unregulated Iranian market, according to the game, demand and level of hype.

That's in a country where the minimum monthly wage is 25 million rials -- currently around $100 at the unofficial exchange rate.

A quick search on Divar.ir -- the Iranian response to Craigslist -- shows hundreds of ads for "capacity accounts".

"It's too much to pay 18 million or 28 million rials for a new FIFA game. I'll just get the (shared) account," said 31-year-old Ashkan Rajabi, who owns a gaming shop in Tehran.

"Same game, same feeling, but cheaper."

Gamer Rezayi said he had used this method exclusively since 2018, and also expressed support for respecting game copyright.

Foreign products are not protected by Iran's limited copyright laws -- Microsoft Windows copies are almost always pirated, Netflix shows are downloaded with a single click, and video games for PC are usually counterfeit versions.

Capacity accounts are the "moral" alternative to almost zero-cost game pirating, Rezayi said.

- 'Always looking for workarounds' -

"I have to support the developer who is helping me have fun. They'd give up if everyone just pirated things," Rezayi added.

Omid Sedigh Imani, a Tehran-based video game critic and streamer, echoed such feelings saying he considered hacked accounts and pirating to be "theft".

Still other gamers have found ways to purchase games on their own accounts by using a go-between.

"We need middlemen in another country like Russia, Turkey," said Sadegh Kia, a 25-year-old aspiring professional gamer, fresh off a competitive match at a gaming centre in Tehran.

He said the go-between sold gift cards that allowed players to top up their accounts and make online purchases.

Iranian consumer culture is "always looking for workarounds", critic Imani said.

While endorsing shared accounts for gamers on a budget, Imani advocated using services like Xbox Game Pass -- a subscription that offers hundreds of games for $10 a month.

But to sign up, Iranians have to go through a middleman for payment, and fake their location and account details.

"I can't tell Xbox support that I'm an Iranian," game journalist Golkhani said, adding that Iranians pretended they were foreigners because Xbox servers reject users connecting from Iran, and accounts that are detected are likely to be banned.

"We're forced to use VPNs, to set different DNSs" to bypass the restrictions, he said, referring to different methods to mask users' locations.

But doing so often meant connection quality was poor, he said.

Critic Imani claimed some companies were "softer" on Iranians and "definitely know what is happening".

Industry giants including Microsoft, Epic Games and Riot Games have blocked Iranians from using their gaming services, often without explanation.

Coupled with Iran's broad internet censorship, it means gamers have few options.

"We haven't done anything wrong. It's just the same old story of being Iranian," Imani said.

"And politics is out of our hands."

© 2021 AFP

Canada-led declaration calls arbitrary detentions 'immoral'

The declaration did not single out any country by name.

Ottawa however has frequently drawn attention to the case of two Canadians it says are being held in "arbitrary detention" in China. Beijing did not sign the declaration.

Issued on: 16/02/2021

The Canadian embassy in Beijing in 2019. Among the 58 nations signing the declaration was the US GREG BAKER AFP/File

Ottawa (AFP)

Canada unveiled a declaration signed by dozens of other countries Monday targeting the arbitrary detention of foreign nationals, a practice Ottawa says China has deployed against Canadian citizens.

Foreign ministers from 58 countries signed the "declaration against arbitrary detention in state-to-state relations" during a virtual ceremony in Canada's capital.

"This illegal and immoral practice puts citizens of all countries at risk and it undermines the rule of law," Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement. "It is unacceptable and it must stop."

The declaration did not single out any country by name.

Ottawa however has frequently drawn attention to the case of two Canadians it says are being held in "arbitrary detention" in China. Beijing did not sign the declaration.

Michael Kovrig, a former diplomat working as a senior advisor for the International Crisis Group, and businessman Michael Spavor were first detained on December 10, 2018 and later charged with spying.

Their arrests were widely perceived in the West as retaliation for Canada's arrest of Meng Wanzhou, a top executive for Chinese tech company Huawei, though China denies these allegations.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Embassy in Canada said it was "fact-distorting and ill-intentioned" to allow a representative from non-governmental group Human Rights Watch to "accuse China of 'arbitrary detention'" at the launch.

It reiterated China's position that Meng's arrest was "completely political", and said: "The Canadian side's attempt to pressure China by using 'Megaphone Diplomacy' or ganging up is totally futile and will only head towards a dead end."

Relations between Ottawa and Beijing have deteriorated since the detentions.

Among the 58 countries -- as well as the European Union -- signing the declaration was the United States, which described arbitrary detentions as "an affront to international diplomatic norms."

"When they are used, as too many nations do, to try to obtain leverage in state-to-state relations, they are a heinous act against the human rights of the individuals in question," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Garneau said that with a "multilateral approach," Canada and the other signatories aimed to build up momentum for the initiative, in the same way as it had for its 1997 treaty against the use of anti-personnel mines, which has since been ratified by 133 states.

© 2021 AFP