Pakistan PM Imran Khan Paying the Price for Being Disobedient to Washington, Says Russia

On Monday, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said despite pressure from the US to cancel his visit to Moscow, Khan went ahead with his trip. (File pic/Reuters)

Khan met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on February 24, the day the Russian leader had ordered a special military operation against Ukraine
PTIISLAMABAD
LAST UPDATED:APRIL 05, 2022,

Russia has criticised the US for making “another attempt of shameless interference into the internal affairs of Pakistan and asserted that Prime Minister Imran Khan was paying the price for being disobedient to Washington and being punished for visiting Russia in February this year. Khan met Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on February 24, the day the Russian leader had ordered a special military operation against Ukraine.

In doing so, he had also become the first Pakistani premier to visit Russia in 23 years after former premier Nawaz Sharif travelled to Moscow in 1999. On Monday, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said despite pressure from the US to cancel his visit to Moscow, Khan went ahead with his trip. Immediately after the announcement of the working visit of Imran Khan to Moscow on February 23-24 this year, the Americans and their Western associates began to exert rude pressure on the Prime Minister, demanding an ultimatum to cancel the trip," Zakharova said in a commentary on the controversy over Khan’s allegation that the US was trying to effect a regime change in Islamabad. This is another attempt of shameless interference by the US in the internal affairs of an independent state for its own selfish purposes.

The above facts eloquently testify to this, Zakharova said. The US-led West has imposed a series of crippling sanctions on Russia since it invaded Ukraine and has been pressing other nations to reduce their dependence on Russian oil and other products.

The senior Russian diplomat said that the sequence of events left no doubt that Washington had decided to punish a disobedient Imran Khan, which also explained why a number of members from Khan’s ruling coalition decided to switch sides and shift their allegiances ahead of the April 3 no-trust vote. Khan, 69, stunned the Opposition on Sunday by recommending snap elections within three months, minutes after a no-confidence motion against him was dismissed by the deputy speaker of the National Assembly.

Khan then got Pakistan President Arif Alvi to dissolve the 342-member National Assembly. Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the hearing on the deputy speaker’s decision to reject the no-confidence motion against the premier, who had lost majority in the lower house of Parliament.

Khan had named senior US diplomat Donald Lu as the person who was allegedly involved in the foreign conspiracy to oust his government through a no-confidence vote tabled by the Opposition. Pakistan’s Opposition leaders have ridiculed Khan’s allegation, and the US has dismissed these claims.

Zakharova said Moscow was keenly watching the events unfolding in Islamabad over the last three days as well as the events preceding it. In her commentary, she exuded hope that the Pakistani voters would be well-informed about these circumstances when they come to vote in the elections that are scheduled to be held 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly.

He defines himself as a philosopher and an artist: As the unconventional British filmmaker Peter Greenaway turns 80, here's a look back at his career.

Provocative aesthetics: British director Peter Greenaway at 80
PETER GREENAWAY'S MOST IMPORTANT FILMS
The camera's friend and foe
"A film must separate itself from the camera if it wants to liberate itself from slavery," Greenaway once said in a statement that was as bewildering as it was typical for him. After all, he did accomplish some unusual things in his artistic career — except one thing, and that was a particular film with which the masses could have identified on a permanent basis.
123456789101112

The 1980s were Peter Greenaway's golden era. Between 1982 and 1989, he directed five films which received a lot of attention and acclaim and established him as a star director. Cinephiles were fascinated by the audacious and unconventional ideas of the British filmmaker.

It all seemed to be over quite suddenly. During the following decade, he appeared to leave the international stage just as quickly as he had made it to the top.

It wasn't that Greenaway stopped directing films, but rather that they suddenly ceased to be en vogue. The same critics who had once hailed him suddenly rejected his works for being too intellectual. And subsequently, his audiences drastically shrank.


Peter Greenaway and his wife, Dutch director Saskia Boddeke, in front of their installation at Berlin's Jewish Museum in 2015

Hardly any other film director in the post-war era has enjoyed such a high degree of popularity within a particular time frame, only to then lose it so quickly.

Greenaway himself might see things differently.

After all, he very consciously turned his back to what he termed "conventional cinema." But what precisely did he define as "conventional"? After all, even his hits including "The Draughtsman's Contract," "The Belly of an Architect," and "The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover" were anything but conventional. The highly original British filmmaker never even tried to please mainstream audiences.
Curious about the versatility of film

Born on April 5, 1942, in Newport, Wales, Peter Greenaway was always interested in the versatility of film, its vocabulary and its future, taking into account technical developments and the older techniques that would become outdated as a result.


Peter Greenaway at the Berlinale accompanied by actors Elmer Bäck and Luis Alberti who starred in his Eisenstein film

After predicting the end of film as a medium, the director went on to present his own ideas on art, where film only played a minor role. Through his elaborate installations, combining art and film, painting and music, traditional culture and modern techniques, the conceptual artist Greenaway created some total works of art.
Film comeback

At that point, most film fans took for granted that the highly philosophical artist wouldn't be returning to film, having found a new niche international audience through his art.

He nevertheless surprised the film world in 2015, by presenting his movie "Eisenstein in Guanajuato" at the Berlin Film Festival, an homage to Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, best known for his 1925 film "Battleship Potemkin."

Because Greenaway addressed Eisenstein's alleged homosexuality in his film, the Russian State Film Archive withdrew its support. Greenaway then criticized President Vladimir Putin at the Berlinale for promoting homophobia.

Despite this dispute, Greenaway worked that same year on a project about Russia's past and future under the working title "Volga" — financed by the Russian oligarch and Putin confidante Gennady Timchenko, who was already on the US sanctions lists at the time. In the end, the film didn't materialize.

In 2017, Greenaway, who lives in the Netherlands, released the documentary "Luther and His Legacy," which draws parallels between pictorial representations of Martin Luther and the profusion of digital image production today.

Now, as he turns 80, a new trailer for his upcoming drama "Walking To Paris" has been released. The biopic centers on modernist Romanian artist Constantin Brancusi.

According to trade magazine Variety, Greenaway is working on three more projects: "Lucca Mortis," scheduled to be filmed late winter 2022; as well as "Bosch" and "The Food of Love," planned for 2023.



Update: This article was updated on April 5, 2022, for the 80th birthday of Peter Greenaway

Documentary 'The Forest Maker' portrays a reforestation pioneer

"Tin Drum" director Volker Schlöndorff's new film is about "alternative Nobel" winner Tony Rinaudo, an Australian scientist who helped reforest many parts of Africa's Sahel region.

A scene from 'The Forest Maker'

"They said he would grow whole forests without planting a single tree. That's how I noticed him and wanted to know more about his work," states German filmmaker Volker Schlöndorff in his new film, "The Forest Maker."

The Oscar winner's new documentary is about Australian agronomist Tony Rinaudo, who in 2018 was honored with the the Right Livelihood Award, often referred to as the "alternative Nobel prize."

Contrary to Schlöndorrf'sfilm adaptations of novels, in this film, the director directly shares his personal views on the important topic.

As the filmmaker told German public broadcaster BR, he felt it was important to publicize Rinaudo's method to allow it to be adopted more widely around the world.

Through the agronomist's approach, which he developed 40 years ago in the West African country of Niger, he manages to grow trees in dry and degraded lands.


A scene from 'The Forest Maker': Tony Rinaudo at a village meeting

The discovery of an underground forest

Rinaudo works for World Vision, an organization that helps protect children by empowering communities. The agronomist's mission is to regenerate vegetation in landscapes affected by desertification: in other words, to grow forests and develop fertile soil that can be used for farming.

His method, which is based on a chance discovery, helps create livelihoods in arid locations, such as in the Sahel region, where desertification has spread to many areas.

NATURAL CAPITALI$M

"When the land is freed of vegetation, it becomes bad and less productive. Your ability to grow plants reduces and it is less profitable. People's frustrations increase," Rinaudo told DW in 2019. "There is, thus, a close relationship between land degradation and conflict and soil degradation and migration."

Deforestation is an important cause of vegetation loss.

In Niger, forest clearings leached the soil to such an extent that saplings could not take root and began shrinking, as Rinaudo realized at the beginning of his work there. But then, he discovered a network of roots under the earth that brought forth new seedlings and which only needed to be protected, for example, from grazing goats.
Natural regeneration is possible

Rinaudo's concept is based on natural regeneration which is to be managed by local farmers. The abbreviation FMNR stands for Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration.

The concept is applied in more than 20 African countries, giving hope that Rinaudo's goals — reducing world hunger and mitigating climate change — can actually be achieved in the future.

For his film about Rinaudo, which premieres on April 5 and hits cinemas in Germany two days later, Volker Schlöndorff went to visit the expert in the Sahel.

In Niger, they were accompanied by an armed escort to protect them from extremists — a stark contrast from the days when Rinaudo visited the villages "so freely."


Regrowing forests in the Sahel

The film shows how Rinaudo is fondly welcomed at a meeting with the locals, bringing together old and young, male and female villagers. Together, they remember a time before the reforestation, when a sandstorm would make it impossible to have a meal. Now, the trees protect them against the problem, as Rinaudo learns at the meeting.
A 'humble' everyday hero

Rinaudo is an "everyday hero," Schlöndorff said in the BR interview, adding that the agronomist helps people understand how "the root networks in the earth, which belonged to trees that stood all over before being cut, can be switched on again like an energy reactor."

"The beautiful thing about Tony as a hero is that he is a humble hero," Schlöndorff pointed out. "He is not someone who beats his chest and is proud, although he'd have good reason to do that, but he always plays it down and has a great sense of humor." For Schlöndorff, Rinaudo is thus "the ideal protagonist."

Schlöndorff (left) with Tony Rinaudo

Schlöndorff's film also portray's Rinaudo life story. In Australia, he was inspired by works of the British tree activist Richard St. Barbe Baker from the 1940s.

Rinaudo then began working on reforestation projects in African countries at the beginning of the 1980s.

From St. Barbe Baker, he learned that "when forests vanish, water vanishes too, and so do fish, wild animals, the harvests and the herds. Fertility is lost. And then all the spirits of the past revisit quietly, one after the other: floods, drought, fire, hunger and pestilence."

Filming documentaries in his 80s

Even though "The Forest Maker" is not Schlöndorff's first documentary, the 83-year-old director is best known for his feature films based on literary works, most notably his Oscar-winning film adapted from Günter Grass' novel "The Tin Drum" (1979).

Even before this film, which told the story of Oskar Matzerath — the little drummer who didn't want to grow up — Schlöndorff made adaptations of books like Robert Musil's "Young Törless" (1966), Bertolt Brecht's drama "Baal" (1970) and Heinrich Böll's "The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum" (1975).

Watch video 05:07 Volker Schlöndorff speaks about the German election and environmental politics

Schlöndorff is a political filmmaker, as is evident from his film based on Heinrich Böll's novel as well as his projects in the years after the far-left terrorist group Red Army Fraction wreaked havoc in West Germany in the 1970s and the 1980s.

"The Forest Maker" and the method of reforestation it portrays is another political film that can inspire forest regeneration work not only different African countries, says Schlöndorff, but should also be applied in Indonesian rain forests and the former collective fields in Brandenburg, around Berlin. The topic is global.

Why Southeast Asia continues to buy Russian weapons

Russia is Southeast Asia's leading arms supplier, but the region's governments are facing a dilemma amid the Ukraine war and an ever-growing list of alleged Moscow-inflicted atrocities.

Indonesia said in December 2021 that it will not proceed with the purchase of 

Russia-made Sukhoi Su-35 combat aircraft

Myanmar's military generals gathered in Naypyidaw for the annual Armed Forces Day on March 27, a bullish parade of tanks, truck-mounted missiles, and troops on horseback.   

However, there was one setback — Myanmar's junta was left without a foreign dignitary. Russia's deputy defense minister, Alexander Fomin, who attended last year's event months after the junta forcibly took power in a bloody coup, didn't make it this year despite an invite.

Russia has been one of the few supporters of the junta since its coup in February 2021, a partnership that has included the delivery of a considerable quantity of Russian-made weapons.

In return, Myanmar's junta has been one of the few Asian governments to praise Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling it an "appropriate action."

Russia is Southeast Asia's top defense exporter

Russia is Southeast Asia's leading arms supplier, selling around $10.7 billion (€9.75 billion) worth of defense equipment to the region between 2000 and 2019, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Most of that was to Vietnam; almost 80% of Vietnam's military equipment has been provided by Russia since 2000. Between 2015 and 2021, Russia also sold $247 million worth of arms to Myanmar, $105 million worth to Laos, and $47 million worth to Thailand, according to SIPRI data.

Hunter Marston, a researcher on Southeast Asia at the Australian National University, said some military hardware from Russia is probably still scheduled to arrive in Myanmar. "I am fairly certain more is on the way," Marston said.

"At some point, the [military] needs Russian technical experts to repair its helicopter fleet, and it's not clear how they do so if Russia's defense industry is all focused on Ukraine," he noted.

'A cautious wait and see posture'

On March 9, the Philippine government said it will proceed with a deal to purchase 17 military transport helicopters from Russia that was signed and partially paid for before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

"Military affairs watchers were disappointed with the purchase of Russian hardware even before the invasion," said Joshua Bernard Espena, a Manila-based defense analyst.

But Southeast Asian governments face a dilemma as the Ukraine war enters its sixth week, amid an ever-growing list of alleged Russian atrocities and as Western leaders call on Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, to be prosecuted for war crimes.

Arms procurements and bilateral exercises with Russia "will remain highly sensitive even after the war in Ukraine ends," said Carl Thayer, an emeritus professor from the University of New South Wales in Australia.

The political atmosphere will be "poisoned" if the US and its allies try to punish Putin's Russia for war crimes and demand hefty reparations from Moscow to assist reconstruction in Ukraine.

"Most regional states and ASEAN itself will adopt a cautious wait and see posture in order not to raise tensions or incur punitive sanctions with the US and European states," said Thayer.

Reliance on Russian weapons

The European Union, for instance, could sanction Russian suppliers of arms to the Myanmar military, said Kristina Kironska, a Bratislava-based academic who specializes in Myanmar. Yet it's questionable if that would have any impact. "I am sure Russia and Myanmar will find a way to cooperate," she said.

The US could likely do more. In 2017, it introduced the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) that threatens sanctions on foreign governments that purchase weapons from Russia.

However, the likes of Indonesia and Vietnam, as well as India, received waivers from Washington on the proviso that they were reducing their dependency on Russia.

The reason explains why Russia is an important arms dealer in Southeast Asia, and not just because of the apparent affordability or lethality of its weapons.

The region is now at the heart of the US-China superpower rivalry, while several of the states, notably Vietnam and the Philippines, are engaged in heated territorial disputes with Beijing over the South China Sea.

Hedging between China and the US

The Southeast Asian response has been to "hedge" in order to cooperate with both superpowers at the same time as diversifying relations with other countries. 

If Southeast Asian governments bought weapons from the US, it would frustrate Beijing. Buying weapons from China, as the likes of Thailand and Cambodia have done, frustrates Washington. But buying weapons from Russia was deemed acceptable to both superpowers.

If the region's governments were to strike new weapons deals with Russia once the Ukraine war is over, and the US responds with sanctions on them, it could be "counterproductive," Espena said.

Indonesia was negotiating the purchase of Russia-made Su-35 fighter aircraft but the threat of CAATSA sanctions reportedly caused a rethink in Jakarta. The Indonesian government said in December 2021 that it will not proceed with the purchase of the jets. Instead, it signed an $8.1 billion deal with France in February to purchase Rafale jets.

Nonetheless, Indonesia didn't sever its military relations with Russia. Last December, Jakarta hosted the first Russia-ASEAN joint maritime exercise.

Diversifying away from Russian arms not easy?

Although Vietnam has considerably improved relations with Washington in recent decades, including on the security front, it knows that purchasing munitions from the US would ring alarm bells in Beijing

Watch video 18:36 Making a Killing: Who profits from the global arms trade?

Le Hong Hiep, a senior fellow at the Vietnam Studies Program at the ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute, reckons Hanoi will try to diversify away from Russian arms.

But that won't be easy, he added. Russian weapons are generally seen as more affordable. Many senior Vietnamese military officials were trained in the Soviet Union and Russia, so they keep close contacts.

And adapting their existing Russian weapon platforms with newer, non-Russian equipment will be challenging. This compatibility issue, Hiep said, will mean that Vietnam will probably wean itself off of Russian military equipment in phases.

Even if there is a slow phase-out, Southeast Asian militaries already reliant on Russian equipment will at some point need to buy spare parts or hardware upgrades.

But because major Russian banks have been excluded from the SWIFT global payments network, it will be difficult for the two sides to settle payments, Hiep noted.

What are the region's options?

Much depends on how long the Ukraine war lasts and how long Western governments keep their sanctions on Russia's economy.  

Thayer reckons countries like Vietnam have three options. They could acquire spare parts from countries that are off-loading Russian weapons. They could continue to co-produce some Russian weapons and equipment.

Or, he said, they could turn to India, another major arms supplier to the region.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment: Search results for PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY 

Somalia: Women struggle to make their voices heard in politics

Although Somalia now has a quota system for female lawmakers, women are frequently held back from pursuing leadership roles due to pervasive cultural and social barriers.

Women still represent a minority in Somalia's parliament

It's not easy being a female politician in conflict-ridden Somalia.

Men have long dominated national and local leadership roles in the Horn of Africa nation, largely due to deeply ingrained traditional prejudices.

Somalia has established a 30% seat quota for female lawmakers. But the Somali Women Association has accused regional clan presidents of overlooking or turning down potential candidates, leaving the quota unfilled.

Amino Dhurow knows this struggle all too well. The Mogadishu-based politician is also disabled and says discrimination looms large in Somali society — even though the country's provisional constitution includes measures intended to protect women seeking roles within the government.

"I am one of many Somali women with disabilities and I advocate for the rights of people with disabilities," Dhurow told DW. "I tried my best to run for a seat in the ongoing parliamentary elections. I hoped to quality and get support from other Somali women."

Fawzia Yusuf H. Adam (center) broke barriers to become Somalia's first female Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister — but its a difficult path for many

But things didn't go to plan.

"Unfortunately it did not happen because I was rejected by my clan elders who refused to allow me to represent them in parliament," she explains. "This means that women with disabilities have no political representation at all and we are not even part of the 30% quota. This is discrimination and inhuman.

Overcoming traditional barriers

Dhurow's experience isn't unique in Somalia, where the clan-dominated system makes it very difficult for women to succeed in politics.

In Somalia's conservative society, both men and women with disabilities are also generally viewed as powerless and unfit to hold such positions.

And despite often being the primary income providers, women are typically marginalized from the decision-making processes of their communities. For many, these cultural and social barriers mean their political dreams end before they even have a chance to begin.

Amina Mohamed Abdi was killed in a bomb attack in March while campaigning for re-election

Some do forge ahead despite the odds: Amina Mohamed Abdi — one of the Somali government's most vocal critics — won her first seat in parliament in 2012 at the age of 24. She repeatedly defied clan elders throughout her political career and repeatedly accused authorities of trying to stop her from running.

Abdi was tragically killed on March 23 in a series of bomb attacks claimed by militant group al-Shabaab while campaigning in rural Somalia ahead of long-delayed parliamentary elections.

Women's participation a 'fundamental issue'

For young Somali women determined to make a difference, change begins with better representation of women in the executive branch of the government.

"Women's political participation is a fundamental issue," political science graduate Hamdi Adam told DW. "Our constitution protects women's direct engagement in public decision-making and maintaining equal rights in a positive way which shapes democracy and good governance. Women should be strongly motivated to [pursue] more political participation."

Women in Somalia are fighting for greater freedoms in all areas of society

Only four women hold ministerial positions within Somalia's current federal government, while 14 women hold seats on the upper house and 51 in the lower house.

Somalia's Minister for Women and Human Rights Development, Hanifa Mohamed Ibrahim, says these numbers need to increase amid ongoing elections in the country.

"Previously we had 67 seats in the lower house and we know that 20 more seats in the house are yet to be elected, so we are looking to have our share," she told DW.

"As women in Somali politics, we have to move our agenda forward and get more political representation in all sectors of the government."

Germany closes Russian darknet market Hydra

Federal police say they have shut down the German servers for the darknet hub, which saw its sales skyrocket during the pandemic.

Investigators said on Tuesday that they had shut down the German servers for Hydra, a Russian darknet marketplace that was used to sell drugs, forged documents, intercepted data, and other illegal digital services.

They also seized bitcoin worth €23 million ($25 million).

Unknown individuals are also being investigated for "operating criminal trading platforms on the internet on a commercial basis," selling narcotics, among other things, federal police said in a statement.

What is 'Hydra?'

According to prosecutors, Hydra had some 19,000 registered vendors and 17 million customer accounts. The platform had sales of at least 1.23 billion euros in 2020.

Cyber security publication CPO magazine reported that Hydra saw an astonishing 634% growth from 2018 to 2020, coming to account for 75% of illegal transactions made online.

It has also attracted "high-profile cybercriminals, including the DarkSide gang responsible for the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack," in the United States.

The pandemic saw Hydra's business boom as more illegal transactions moved online.

Last year, a German-led police sting also last year took down the notorious darknet marketplace DarkMarket, which had nearly 500,000 users and more than 2,400 vendors worldwide.

Ethiopia: Tigray civilians targeted in 'crimes against humanity,' says report

Tigrayans are being targeted with ethnic cleansing in the contested Western Tigray zone, according to a new report by human rights groups. The onslaught of rape and killings amounts to "war crimes," they added.



Rape has been used as a weapon of war, according to the report


Tigrayans in Ethiopia are facing a relentless campaign of ethnic cleansing being carried out by security forces from the neighboring Amhara region, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.

The two rights groups in a joint report released Wednesday detailed how Tigrayan civilians in the disputed Western Tigray Zone of the country are allegedly being killed and subjected to various forms of sexual violence and abuses, including rape.

Some of these Tigrayans also faced mass detentions and forcible movements, a campaign that — along with the other reported abuses mentioned — "amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity," said the rights groups in a statement.

The report also alleged that newly-appointed officials in Western Tigray and the security forces from the neighboring Amhara region had some support and possible collaborations from the Ethiopian federal forces to carry out the alleged atrocities.

A Tigrayan refugee rape victim, who fled the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray, sits for a portrait in eastern Sudan in March 2021

Laetitia Bader from Human Rights Watch told DW in a phone interview, "This report looks at the last 17 months of abuses in the Western Tigray Zone, which is along contested area at the border with Tigray with Sudan and with Eritrea and the Amhara region."

More than 400 people, including Tigrayan refugees in Sudan, were interviewed by researchers from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Tigrayan and Amhara residents who suffered or witnessed abuses were also interviewed.

According to the new report, researchers consulted medical and forensic reports with court documents, satellite imagery, and photographic and video evidence corroborating accounts of grave abuses.

Bader explained that the researchers "looked at the first waves where there were war crimes committed including by the Ethiopian federal government."

They then "looked at a whole range of abuses including widespread of sexual violence, massive incarceration and horrific life-threatening detention conditions, deprivation of people's means of survival," she added.

How 'ethnic cleansing' was carried out

According to the rights groups in several towns across Western Tigray, signs were displayed ordering Tigrayans to leave, and locally appointed administrators discussed at open meetings how to remove Tigrayans.

The report quoted a Tigrayan woman from Baeker town describing how members of Fanos, an irregular Amhara militia "kept saying every night, 'We will kill you… Go out of the area'."

Another Tigrayan woman told researchers that while she was being gang-raped by men, a militia member told her: "You Tigrayans should disappear from the land west of [the Tekeze River]. You are evil and we are purifying your blood."

The report alleged that there were also pamphlets giving Tigrayans 24-hour or 72-hour ultimatums to leave or be killed.

A 63-year-old farmer from Division village told the rights groups that he watched as a group of men destroyed his home. One of the men told him: "This is not your land. You have nothing to claim here."

Tigrayans who failed to leave the region were then arrested to face long-term detention and abuse in overcrowded facilities, the report said.

Ethiopian security forces patrol at street after the Ethiopian army took control of Hayk town of Amhara city from the TPLF in Ethiopia on December 16, 2021

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said they believe thousands of Tigrayans are still held in life-threatening conditions today.

According to the report, Amhara militia have also been arresting local residents of the town of Adi Goshu for detention.

Members of the Amhara Special Forces are detailed in the report as having rounded up and summarily executed about 60 Tigrayan men by the Tekeze River.

According to witnesses who spoke to the rights groups the few men who survived believed the killings were a revenge attack after the Amhara forces suffered heavy losses during fighting with Tigrayan forces the previous night.

"When they shot at us, I fell first and then I saw also when the others in front of me were shot and fell," said a 74-year-old survivor was quoted in the report to have said. "And the people behind me fell on me and covered me… After that, they said, ‘The Tigrayans don't die easily, shoot again'."

Who is behind the 'ethnic cleansing' campaign?

The report specifically mentioned the local authorities in Amhara region as the main force driving the alleged ethnic cleansing campaign in the Western Tigray region.

"Our report finds that the ethnic cleansing campaign was led by the Amhara regional government forces administration with the complicity and often in the presence of federal government forces," Bader said.

She also explained that their findings implicate some Eritrean forces involved in some of the targeted arrests of the Tigrayan civilians.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are calling for high-level officials who led this campaign to be brought to book and punished for violating international humanitarian laws.

The conflict in the Tigray region broke out in November 2020 when the federal government army in Addis Ababa started fighting forces from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

For the last 17 months, there has been no signal of the war ending with the resultant humanitarian crisis worsening.

Ten semi-autonomous federal states make up Ethiopia but they are organized along ethnic lines. Ethnic violence has been on the rise in recent years and the current conflict has heightened tensions.

Last November, a report by Amnesty International alleged that TPLF fighters carried out killings and gang-rapes targeting women.

That same month, a joint investigation by the UN and Ethiopia said all sides fighting in the conflict committed a range of human rights violations thatmay amount to war crimes.

Ethiopian officials deny claims

The report said both Ethiopian federal forces and Amhara authorities have denied allegations of ethnic cleansing in Western Tigray.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are calling on the Ethiopian federal government and its international and regional partners to take concrete steps to protect all communities in Western Tigray.

They are calling for the immediate release of Tigrayans arbitrarily detained there, and also allow for protection monitoring.

"The response of Ethiopia's international and regional partners has failed to reflect the gravity of the crimes that continue to unfold in Western Tigray," said Agnes Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, in a statement.

"Concerned governments need to help bring an end to the ethnic cleansing campaign, ensure that Tigrayans are able to safely and voluntarily return home, and make a concerted effort to obtain justice for these heinous crimes.”

On March 24, the government announced a humanitarian cease-fire. The rights groups said regardless of any truce or ceasefire, Ethiopia's federal and regional authorities should allow unhindered, independent, and sustained humanitarian assistance.

Isaac Mugabi contributed to this article.

Edited by: Stephanie Burnett

Peru suspends Lima curfew

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo has ended a curfew in two Peruvian cities seven hours earlier than previously announced. The curfew was imposed amid mass protests sparked by skyrocketing fuel and fertilizer costs.

Authorities say the protests have caused roadblocks and 'acts of violence'

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo announced the end of the a curfew in the capital city, Lima, and the port city of Callao seven hours earlier than expected.

"I would like to announce that, as of this moment, we are overtuning the curfew," Castillo said, while urging Peruvians stay calm amid protests.

Following the announcement, Peru's interior ministry released a statement calling on citizens to protest "peacefully"  and to avoid "disturbing public order."

Why did Castillo impose a curfew?

Peru's Castillo had on Tuesday imposed a curfew in the two cities in an attempt to curb ongoing protests in the country.

People have been demonstrating against rising fuel and fertilizer costs brought on by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Authorities said the protests have erected roadblocks and carried out "acts of violence," as toll booths were burned, shops were looted, and some demonstrators clashed with the police.

Protesters had also set fire to tires and blocked the Pan-American Highway, Peru's most important north-south transport and traffic route.

At least four people have been killed, the government said. 

In a televised speech, Castillo said that "in view of the acts of violence" a "declaration of citizen immobility" would last from from 2:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, April 5. 

Peru is also experiencing increased food prices

Peru is currently also experiencing a rise in food prices. It has issued an emergency declaration for its agricultural sector due to the rising fertilizer prices.

What sparked the protests?

Over the weekend, Peru's government announced it would remove a fuel tax. However, protests continued on Monday, with truckers and passenger carrier drivers demonstrating on the streets in Lima and some regions in the north. 

Castillo also issued a decree approving a 10% increase in the monthly minimum wage.

However, the General Confederation of Peruvian Workers, a union, said the hike was insufficient. The organization has called for another protest march on Thursday. 

Peru has been struggling with a longtime economic crisis. In March, inflation hit a 26-year high, driven by rising fuel and food prices.

The protests pose a new challenge to Castillo, who survived a second impeachment attempt by Congress last month during his eight-month tenure. 

tg, sdi/wmr  (AFP, Reuters)

BAN BLSPHEMY LAWS

Nigeria sentences atheist to 24 years for blasphemy

A FREE THINKER

Mubarak Bala, in detention for two years, pled guilty to 18 charges of blasphemy. Activists in the country called the sentence, "a sad day for human rights in Nigeria."

Mubarak Bala has spent two years in solitary confinement awaiting trial over 'blasphemous' Facebook posts in Nigeria

A Nigerian court on Tuesday sentenced Mubarak Bala, an atheist, to 24 years in prison for blasphemy.

"This court hereby sentences Muhammad Mubarak Bala to 24 years … This will take into consideration the time he served awaiting trial," said Judge Faruk Lawan in Kano, Nigeria.

Bala, a former Muslim and the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was arrested in April 2020 for what authorities said were social media posts blasphemous toward Islam. 

"The Humanist community in Nigeria is utterly shocked by the sentencing of Mubarak Bala for 'blasphemy.' It is utterly disgraceful that a court in this 21st century could convict an individual for making innocuous posts on Facebook," wrote Leo Igwe, a board member of the organization Humanists International.

"Today is a sad day for humanism, human rights and freedom in Nigeria. The sentencing of Mubarak Bala is a stark violation of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief. We urge the authorities in Nigeria to ensure that this judicial charade does not stand," Igwe added.

The supposed crime of blasphemy typically involves the perceived insult of a deity or deities. Its place in Nigeria's legal code, as in multiple countries around the world, dates back to British imperial rule.

Bala could have faced execution at Sharia court

Prosecutors in the West African country's predominantly Muslim northern state of Kano said Bala had insulted the Prophet Muhammad and Islam in Facebook posts which they claimed sought to, "cause a breach of the public peace."

Bala had long maintained his innocence but surprised his legal team Tuesday by pleading guilty to 18 charges of blasphemy.

The presiding judge halted the trial to grant counsel the opportunity to speak to Bala to "be sure he was under no influence or intimidation" and understood "the implication of his plea."

Bala told the court he was "pleading for mercy and leniency," adding: "The intention of the posts was not to cause violence but I have realized they are capable of causing violence. I will take care in the future."

Supporters fear he was coerced by Nigerian authorities and questioned the state's motives, raising issues of a flawed process.

During his nearly two years in detention, Bala was reportedly put in solitary confinement where he was denied health care and forced to "worship in the Muslim way," according to his lawyer.

Authorities in Kano insist the trial was fair, stating that Bala is welcome to appeal its decision.

The trial was conducted in a secular court. Had he been tried in one of Nigeria's Islamic Sharia courts he could have faced the death penalty.

Friends of Bala voiced continued support for him, his wife Amina and their young son Sodangi

'A day of shame' for Nigerian authorities say humanists

Humanists and atheists in Nigeria are now "potential criminals who can easily be thrown in jail just for expressing their views. Humanists have become endangered citizens of Nigeria," Leo Igwe said.

"The thoughts of the whole global humanist movement are with our friend Mubarak, his wife, and his baby son. This is a day of shame for the Nigerian authorities, who have imposed an unthinkable punishment on an innocent man," wrote Andrew Copson, president of Humanists International.

"For two years Mubarak's fundamental rights to liberty and a fair trial have been consistently violated," Copson continued. "He has been charged and found guilty of offenses that amount to no more than expressing a non-religious opinion. We call on the Nigerian authorities to quash this completely unjust and entirely disproportionate conviction, and release our innocent friend and colleague."

OUTLAW HYPERSONIC WEAPONS
US, UK, Australia announce collaboration on hypersonic weapons

COLD WAR 2.0
The AUKUS alliance vowed closer cooperation on hypersonic weapons and "electronic warfare capabilities." The move is an attempt to counter China's military influence in the Pacific region.

Hypersonic missiles are maneuverable and harder to detect.

The United States, Britain and Australia said on Tuesday they would collaborate on hypersonic weapons and "electronic warfare capabilities."

The announcement was made by US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison as part of the new AUKUS alliance, which was formed last September.

A joint statement said the countries committed to "commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as to expand information sharing and to deepen cooperation on defence innovation."

The move comes amid growing concern among the US and its allies about China's growing military influence in the Pacific region.

"As our work progresses on these and other critical defense and security capabilities, we will seek opportunities to engage allies and close partners," the statement said.
What are hypersonic missiles?

Hypersonic missiles can fly at more than five times the speed of sound. They, like ballistic missiles, are used to deliver nuclear weapons.

Unlike ballistic missiles which fly high into space in an arc to reach their target, a hypersonic weapon flies on a trajectory low in the atmosphere, potentially reaching a target more quickly.

A hypersonic missile is also maneuverable, making it much harder to track and defend against.

SOME TESTS MORE SUCCESSFUL THAN OTHERS 

NOONE HAS PROVEN YET THEY ACTUALLY HAVE THIS TECH.

The US, Russia, China and North Korea have all tested hypersonic missiles. Moscow announced it had launched them for the first time in its war on Ukraine.

In October last year, General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed that China had conducted a test of a hypersonic weapon system.

France, Germany, Australia, India and Japan have been working on hypersonic weapons. Iran, Israel and South Korea have also conducted basic research on the technology.

tg/wd (AFP, AP)