ISRAEL

'THEY WANT TO TURN IT INTO A THOUGHT POLICE'

Report: Shin Bet chief refused ministers’ demand to act against protesters

Security agency will not ‘become a secret police,’ Ronen Bar said to have told ministers Levin, Ben Gvir, who accused him and other officials of ‘selective enforcement’

By TOI STAFF

Today

Times of Israel

File - Ronen Bar, head of the Shin Bet security agency, attends a Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at the Yad Vashem memorial in Jerusalem, May 5, 2024. (Chain Goldberg/Flash90)


National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Justice Minister Yariv Levin have reportedly demanded that the Shin Bet use its tools against activists in anti-government protests and were refused by the security agency’s chief Ronen Bar, who said it would “not become a secret police.”

According to a report published by the Haaretz newspaper on Thursday, Bar made the comment at a recent meeting that was also attended by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, State Prosecutor Amit Aisman, and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai. Bar reportedly responded to the ministers’ demand by saying it was the police’s job to maintain public order.

Throughout the meeting, Haaretz said, the ministers berated the law enforcement officials for “selective enforcement” in favor of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s detractors.

Demonstrations against Netanyahu have roiled Israel since 2020, when protesters began demanding he resign over corruption allegations. The protests intensified in 2023 after Netanyahu’s current government presented its plan to overhaul the judiciary.

The protests were somewhat muted after the Gaza war began on October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 252 hostages. In recent months, however, anti-government protests have resumed — often in conjunction with protests in favor of a truce-hostage deal — calling for new elections due to the government’s failure to forestall the shock assault.

An official who was present at the meeting was quoted as saying, “In internal meetings, they express an expectation that the Shin Bet use its tools against parts of the protest [movement]… They want to turn it into a thought police.”

Illustrative: Anti-government protesters march from Begin Street towards Democracy Square in Tel Aviv, May 25, 2024. (Eitan Slonim/Pro-Democracy Movement)

The article also quoted a senior official as saying that Bar has been strongly advised, by his predecessors among others, not to resign from his post over the failings of October 7 until after the prime minister has left his role, “for fear that Netanyahu will appoint a collaborator instead.”

Referencing months of tensions between Ben Gvir and the heads of the police and prison service, the senior official was quoted by Haaretz as saying, “The horror going on in the police and the prison service could happen there, too.”
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Ben Gvir announced on Tuesday that he would pursue Shabtai’s ouster in the government this week, after Baharav-Miara declared unlawful a dismissal hearing to which the minister had summoned the police commissioner.

File – National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir (right) and Police Chief Kobi Shabtai at the funeral of Border Police officer Sgt. Shay Germay at Karmiel military cemetery on January 7, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)

Hebrew media has reported that Ben Gvir is unhappy with the police chief’s decision to guard Gaza-bound trucks of humanitarian aid, which Jewish extremists have violently attacked. Ben Gvir summoned Shabtai for dismissal after police officers violently dispersed a crowd of ultra-Orthodox Jews who had illegally gathered in Meron to light a traditional bonfire on the holiday of Lag Ba’Omer on Sunday.

Haaretz reported earlier this week that police were hesitant to launch an investigation, ordered by Baharav-Miara, into allegations that Ben Gvir’s staff had illegally arranged for the extremist minister’s supporters to receive diplomatic passports and firearms. The newspaper quoted senior figures in the police as saying the hesitancy stemmed from fears the investigation would lead to the minister himself.

Tight race as Iceland elects new president


AFP
June 1, 2024

Jakobsdottir served as the head of a left-right government from 2017 until April when she stepped down to run for president - Copyright AFP Halldor KOLBEINS

Iceland goes to the polls Saturday in a presidential election that looks set to be a close race between three women, including former prime minister Katrin Jakobsdottir.

Iceland’s president holds a largely ceremonial position in the parliamentary republic, acting as a guarantor of the constitution and national unity.

He or she does however have the power to veto legislation or submit it to a referendum.

The hugely popular Gudni Johannesson, who has held the job since 2016 and was re-elected in 2020 with a whopping 92 percent of the vote, announced earlier this year that he would not seek re-election.

No one central issue has dominated the election campaign, where candidates traditionally run as independents without party affiliations.

In addition to the former prime minister, the main candidates in the field of 13 include a political science professor, a comedian, a businesswoman and an Arctic and energy scholar.

In the country of 380,000 people, any citizen gathering 1,500 signatures can run for office.

Jakobsdottir, who served as the head of a left-right coalition government from 2017 until April when she stepped down to run for president, has had to fend off criticism that she is too political for the job.

“I actually think that knowing the political environment doesn’t make you less qualified to handle the job of president,” the 48-year-old said Thursday during a televised debate, when asked if her political career would be a hindrance for her as president.

“On the contrary… I believe that I can rise above all party politics,” she said.

The televised debate saw the candidates trade barbs on topics ranging from the country’s NATO membership, weapons for Ukraine, the possible sale of Iceland’s national power company and the use of presidential veto powers.

– Women in the lead –


Jakobsdottir and two other women — Halla Tomasdottir and Halla Hrund Logadottir — have been leading in opinion polls.

Tomasdottir is a 55-year-old businesswoman who came second in the 2016 presidential election, while Logadottir is a 43-year-old environmental, Arctic and energy expert and currently adjunct professor at Harvard University,

A poll published in daily Morgunbladid on Friday put Jakobsdottir in the lead with 26 percent, trailed closely by Tomasdottir with 24 percent and Logadottir with 19 percent.

Jakobsdottir, party leader for the Left Green Movement from 2013 until her presidential bid, has been hailed for her handling of the resurgence in volcanic eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula since December.

The five eruptions, including one on Wednesday, have sparked a series of evacuations as well as the state’s acquisition of homes from residents evacuated from the threatened fishing town of Grindavik.

But political observers noted that Jakobsdottir’s background as prime minister could work against her, and said the race remained wide open.

A woman president would not be a first in Iceland.

In 1980, Vigdis Finnbogadottir became the world’s first woman democratically elected as head of state.

The election results are expected early Sunday.

European Parliament election is next month.
What’s at stake?

June 01, 2024 
By Associated Press

European flags fly outside the European Parliament on Feb. 7, 2024, in Strasbourg, eastern France.

BRUSSELS —

Around 400 million European Union citizens go to the polls next month to elect members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, in one of the biggest global democratic events.

Far-right parties are seeking to gain more power amid a rise in the cost of living and farmers' discontent, while the wars in Gaza and Ukraine are on the minds of voters.

One of the biggest questions is whether European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will remain in charge as the most visible face of the EU.

Here is a look at the upcoming election and the biggest issues at stake:

When is the vote?

EU elections are held every five years across the 27-member bloc. This year marks the 10th parliamentary election since the first polls in 1979, and the first after Brexit.

The vote takes place from June 6-9. First results can only be revealed on the evening of June 9, once polling stations have closed in all member states.

How does voting work?

The elections start on a Thursday in the Netherlands and finish on a Sunday, when most countries hold their election. The voting is done by direct universal suffrage in a single ballot.

The number of members elected in each country depends on the size of the population. It ranges from six for Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus to 96 for Germany. In 2019, Europeans elected 751 lawmakers. Following the United Kingdom's departure from the EU in 2020, the number of MEPs fell to 705. Some of the 73 seats previously held by British MEPs had been redistributed to other member states.

After the election, the European Parliament will have 15 additional members, bringing the total to 720. Twelve countries will get extra MEPs.

Elections are contested by national political parties, but once they are elected, most of the lawmakers then join transnational political groups.

Who is voting?

People under 18 are allowed to vote in some countries. In Belgium, a law adopted in 2022 lowered the minimum voting age to 16. Germany, Malta and Austria are also permitting 16-year-olds to vote. In Greece, the youngest voting age is 17. In all other member states, it's 18.

A minimum age is also required to stand for election — from 18 in most countries to 25 in Italy and Greece.

What about turnout?

European Union elections usually don't bring a huge turnout, but there was a clear upturn in public interest in the 2019 election. At 50.7%, the turnout was eight points higher than in 2014 after steadily falling since 1979, when it reached 62%.

In April, the latest edition of the European Parliament's Eurobarometer highlighted a surge of interest in the upcoming election. Around 71% of Europeans said they are likely to cast a ballot.

What are the main issues?

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine is at the forefront of citizens' minds, with defense and security seen as key campaign issues. At national level, the EU's defense and security was mentioned first in nine countries.

The economy, jobs, poverty and social exclusion, public health, climate change and the future of Europe are also featuring prominently as issues.

What do EU lawmakers do?

The European Parliament is the only EU institution to be elected by European citizens. It's a real counterpower to the powerful EU's executive arm, the European Commission.

The parliament doesn't have the initiative of proposing legislation. But its powers are getting bigger. It is now competent on a wide range of topics, voting on laws relating to climate, banking rules, agriculture, fisheries, security or justice. The legislature also votes on the EU budget, which is crucial to the implementation of European policies, including, for instance, the aid delivered to Ukraine.

Lawmakers are also a key element of the check and balances system since they need to approve the nomination of all EU commissioners, who are the equivalent of ministers. And it can also force the whole commission to resign with a vote by a two-third majority.

What's the current makeup of the parliament?

With 176 seats out of 705 as of the end of the last plenary session in April, the center-right European People's Party is the largest political group in the European Parliament.

Von der Leyen belongs to the EPP and hopes to remain at the helm of the EU's executive arm after the election.

The second-largest group is the S&D, the political group of the center-left Party of European Socialists, which currently holds 139 seats. The liberal and pro-European Renew group holds 102 seats ahead of an alliance made up of green and regionalist political parties that holds 72 seats.

Far right looks to make gains

Two groups with far-right parties, the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) and Identity and Democracy (ID), could be headed to becoming the third- and fourth-largest political groups at the European Parliament. The two groups have many divergences and it's unclear to what extent they could team up and affect the EU's agenda, especially the EU's efforts to support Ukraine against Russia in the war.

The EPP and S&D are expected to remain stable. Liberals and greens could both take a hit after they made big gains at the previous election.

What happens after the election?

Once the weight of each political force is determined, MEPs will elect their president at the first plenary session, from July 16-19. Then, most likely in September after weeks of negotiations, they will nominate the president of the European Commission, following a proposal made by the member states.

In 2019, von der Leyen won a narrow majority (383 votes in favor, 327 against, 22 abstentions) to become the first woman to head the institution. Parliamentarians will also hear from the European commissioners before approving them in a single vote.

Von der Leyen has good chances to be appointed for another team, but she needs to secure the support of enough leaders. She has also antagonized many lawmakers by suggesting she could work with the hard right depending on the outcome of the elections.

Pandemic agreement talks could continue for another year

By

 AFP

Negotiations towards a global agreement on how to handle future pandemics seemed on course Friday to be extended for up to a year as countries try to bridge their differences.

Nations meeting at the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva have been trying to work out the way forward, after two years of talks concluded last week without a deal.

In December 2021, spooked by the devastation caused by Covid-19 — which killed millions of people, shredded economies and crippled health systems — the WHA commissioned the drafting of an accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

The ambitious deadline was before the start of this week’s WHA, the gathering of the World Health Organization’s 194 member states and the UN agency’s top decision-making body.

On Tuesday, the assembly tasked South Africa’s Precious Matsoso and Roland Driece of the Netherlands, who co-chaired the two years of talks, to lead efforts to stake out the next steps. 

Matsoso updated the assembly late Friday, saying the wording for an extension had effectively been agreed.

“It is text that was greened”, meaning approved, “agreed to this morning”, she said.

Matsoso said that once additional operative paragraphs were finalised, the group would “present it formally as a resolution” on Saturday, the assembly’s final day.

– One more year –

Green-highlighted text seen by AFP showed countries had agreed “to extend the mandate” of the talks to finish “as soon as possible”, with the outcome submitted to the 2025 WHA, or earlier to a WHA special session, “if possible in 2024”.

During Tuesday’s debates, African countries wanted to seize the growing momentum and get the agreement finished in the coming months, while Washington urged more time to reach the best possible deal, saying up to two years might be needed.

The drafting group appeared to have managed a balancing act between those positions, NGOs said Friday.

“There is a decision which is basically postponing the negotiations for a year, because the deadline is to conclude by 2025,” K.M. Gopakumar, senior researcher with the Third World Network, told the UN correspondents’ association.

“The compromise is a reasonable one, given the differences.”

James Love, the director of Knowledge Ecology International, said it appeared negotiators “give themselves, depending on how things go, all the way until next year” at the next regular WHA.

The draft pandemic agreement, as it stands, has 34 articles, of which 17 have already been approved by countries.

“We need to retain the momentum, but at the same time allow for substantive discussion on some fairly complex and technical issues that still remain,” Norwegian ambassador Tormod Cappelen Endresen told AFP this week.

“It’s in everyone’s interest to have a more fair and equitable system for preparedness,” he said.

Love said many of the original ambitions in the agreement had been weakened over time with caveats. 

He urged strong provisions on transferring the technology to make counter-pandemic products to developing countries, to avoid another Covid-style “Hunger Games” scramble for vaccines, “bringing out the worst in everyone”.

“It’s one thing for people to say we’re going to hoard products, but it’s another thing for them to say we’re going to hoard the manufacturing know-how… when people’s lives are at stake,” he said.

– Revamped rules for emergencies –

Parallel talks have also taken place on revising the International Health Regulations, which are very close to completion.

First adopted in 1969 and last updated in 2005, the IHR constitutes the existing, legally binding framework for responding to public health emergencies.

But Covid-19 exposed flaws in the system, with countries failing to jolt into action when the WHO sounded the IHR’s highest available alarm in January 2020.

The proposed amendments include reforming the alert system so there are more, and clearer, levels of alarm, including adding a pandemic emergency level.

“We are on track for finalising the package,” IHR negotiations co-chair Ashley Bloomfield told the assembly late Friday.

“It’s the final few tricky issues but there is enormous hard work going on, great good will and great progress being made, and we’re celebrating every gain we make,” he said.

by Robin MILLARD

South African parties jostle to set terms of coalition talks

By

 AFP

South African parties jostled Friday to set out their stalls ahead of talks on sharing power, with the ruling ANC on course to lose the absolute majority it has enjoyed for three decades.

With more than 85 percent of the votes from Wednesday’s election counted, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s African National Congress had only 41.12 percent support, a catastrophic slump from the 57.5 it won in 2019.    

This marks an historic turning point for South Africa as the party has enjoyed an absolute majority since 1994, when liberation leader Nelson Mandela led the nation out of white-minority rule and into democracy.

The African National Congress (ANC) is now all but certain to have to seek a coalition partner to secure enough backing to name a president and form a government.

“We have been talking with everybody even before the election,” ANC’s deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane told AFP, saying the party’s decision-making body would set the course to follow after final results are announced. 

“Anything must be based on principles and not an act of desperation.” 

As votes continued to be validated, data from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) showed the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) held second place with 21.95 percent.

But it was not a surge by the DA that cut into the ANC’s vote share. 

In third place was former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) on 12.6 percent, a surprise score for a party founded just months ago as a vehicle for the former ANC chief.

The radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) was in fourth with 9.4 percent. 

The final results are expected at the weekend, but with the trends clear, politicians and pundits were turning their attention to the prospects of an ANC-led coalition.

– No pardon, no party –

The ANC has dominated South Africa’s democracy with an unbroken run of five presidents from the party, but if  President Cyril Ramaphosa is to remain at the helm he will have to decide whether to seek allies on his right or left.

There will be resistance within his movement to a tie-up with the second-placed DA, under white politician John Steenhuisen, whose free market programme of privatisations and an end to black economic empowerment programmes sits at odds with the ruling party’s traditions. 

Mandela’s grandson, Mandla Mandela, an outgoing ANC lawmaker, told AFP the DA held “different ideals” making it too difficult to partner with.

The radical left groups led by former ANC figures: firebrand Julius Malema’s EFF or Zuma’s MK, were more likely bedfellows, he said. 

But these options might also meet resistance within the more moderate sections of the ANC.  

Analyst and author Susan Booysen, said the EFF was perceived as “too erratic” and “unpredictable” in its demands. 

And the rift between Ramaphosa and Zuma — who has long been bitter about the way he was forced out of office in 2018 — was “too far reaching” to mend, she said. 

MK spokesman Nhlamulo Ndhlela seemed to agree. 

At a packed convention centre north of Johannesburg where the IEC is announcing the results, he said the MK “would not engage in a discussion with the ANC”, as long as Ramaphosa was leader.

“We will engage with the ANC but not the ANC of Cyril Ramaphosa,” he said.

Any coalition partner should be willing to amend the constitution to enact radical reforms and grant Zuma, who has been declared ineligible over a contempt of court conviction, a pardon, he said.

“We will bring President Zuma back in his National Assembly (and) put him back as president, as simple as that,” he said.

– Ramaphosa at risk? –

That could pile  pressure on Ramaphosa. Some observers believe his position and authority within the ANC are in doubt. 

“His power is gone within the ANC,” said political analyst and business leader Sandile Swana. 

But Mokonyane dismissed the notion that Ramaphosa’s leadership was at risk, saying he “did very well” for the party.

“In the ANC we don’t work that way. It’s not a presidential election. It was an election that the ANC went in as a party and we are happy with it,” she said at the IEC conference centre, wearing green trousers and a yellow shirt — the party colours. 

The ANC retains the loyalty of many voters for its leading role in overthrowing white minority rule and its progressive social welfare and black economic empowerment policies are credited by supporters with helping millions of black families out of poverty.

But over three decades of almost unchallenged rule, its leadership has been implicated in a series of large-scale corruption scandals, while the continent’s most industrialised economy has languished and crime and unemployment figures have hit record highs.

by Umberto BACCHI

EU has no evidence of China supplying weapons to Russia

TEHRAN, Jun. 01 (MNA) – The European Union does not have evidence of Chinese weapons supplies to Russia, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at a forum in Singapore.

"China has committed not to supply arms [to Russia] and we don't have evidence that this is happening," he said, taking questions from participants in the Shangri-La Dialogue forum. "But there is not a clear border between arms and non-arms because there are things which can be dual-use," he added, TASS reports.

However, Borrell alleged that components made in Western countries, including the United States, Europe, and Great Britain, may be used in the production of Russian military equipment. "But the problem is not only China," he explained.

Beijing noted earlier that Washington’s shifting the blame for igniting the Ukraine conflict will not resolve the current crisis. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin has refuted accusations that China has been supplying weapons to Russia. "China has always handled the export of military products in a prudent and responsible way, and strictly controls the export of dual-use articles," he emphasized.

MNA/PR

ICC Men's T20 World Cup

CRICKET? CRICKET! WHO KNEW

PS THIS IS A FIRST IN NORTH AMERICA

Preview: USA vs Canada – ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 opening match

History, reputation and bragging rights will be on the line as USA host Canada in the opening match of the T20 World Cup in Dallas.

Monank Patel will lead USA in their debut ICC World Cup tournament when they co-host the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 [Robert Cianflone/Getty Images via AFP]

Published On 1 Jun 20241 Jun 2024

Who: USA vs Canada
What: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Group A match
When: Saturday, June 1 at 7:30pm local time (03:30 GMT, June 2)
Where: Grand Prairie Stadium, Texas, United States

It’s finally here.

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Meet Jomboy – the American baseball pundit making cricket fun for newbies

list 4 of 4

USA earn shock series win over Bangladesh ahead of T20 World Cup

end of list

The long-awaited arrival of cricket’s biggest party in North America is now hours away, and who better to kick things off than the two teams that played the first recorded international cricket match in history.

When USA host Canada in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in Dallas, Texas on Saturday, a lot more than revenge for a century-old loss will be on the line.

ICC World Cup debutants USA will look to build on their recent dominance over their northern neighbours and get their tournament off to a winning start.

Canada, who have previously participated in ICC’s 50-over World Cup, will also make their debut in the T20 version of the tournament.

It is a landmark moment for the USA team to be in an elite competition after decades of being stuck in minor tournaments.

“We’ve been speaking over the last couple of years about playing in World Cups, about taking USA cricket to higher heights,” USA’s vice-captain Aaron Jones said ahead of the opening match.

“Playing [in] a World Cup is probably the highest height [so far].”

(Al Jazeera)

USA seek support from American born and raised fans

Jones says his team is determined to play a “fearless” brand of cricket.

There is pressure on the USA, as tournament co-hosts, with the West Indies, to deliver a strong showing on home soil.

The explosive, short format of the game is seen by cricket’s leaders as being the perfect version to capture the imagination of mainstream American sports fans and Jones says the team doesn’t want to be afraid of going on the attack.

“Fearless cricket, positive cricket, smart cricket. I think that’s what we’re really and truly trying to do,” Jones told a press conference.

“We don’t want to regret anything. If we come out on top, it’s great. If we don’t come out on top, that’s how cricket goes sometimes. But we don’t want to regret anything,” he added.

Jones was born in New York but raised in Barbados, which he represented earlier in his career, before moving back to the USA to be part of the team.

He acknowledges that the team has the added responsibility of being ambassadors for the sport when they play games in Texas, Florida and New York.

“What you do on the field is very important, but off the field stuff is very important as well, especially being a country that don’t really know much about cricket,” he said.

“We want to get the fans up; we want to get a lot more support from the American born and raised people and I think we could only do that by playing good and interacting with the fans or the growing fans off the field as well.”

Canada ready for ‘tough competition’

Meanwhile, Canada’s captain Saad bin Zafar believes his team are not under pressure and are equally excited to express themselves.

“Everybody’s itching to go, everybody’s in the performance mood,” Zafar told reporters on the eve of the match.

USA have had an upper hand over Canada in recent meetings and Zafar wants his team to come out on top in the tournament opener.

“We are rivals, we tend to play against each other a lot,” he said.

“There are a lot of friendships between the two countries as well at the same time,” Zafar added.

“And right now, because it’s a World Cup, it’s a grand stage, both countries want to have the best of them over their opponent.

“I believe we’re going to have a really good and tough competition and both teams will entertain the crowd.”

Head to head

The North American rivals have faced each other seven times in T20 matches, where USA have come on top on five occasions and Canada have won twice.

Four of these wins came in their recent five-match T20 series, which saw one match abandoned due to bad weather.

Form

USA enter the T20 World Cup on the back of a stunning 2-1 series win over Bangladesh, who were packed with big names such as Shakib al-Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto.

Canada’s last T20 outing was against USA in the five-match series that they lost 4-0 and will look to set things right.

USA: L W W W W

Canada: L L A L L

(

Al Jazeera)

USA team news

The co-hosts go into the match riding on the wave of the success of their series win and will not be looking to tinker with the XI that brought them the 2-1 series win.

USA squad: Monank Patel (captain), Shayan Jahangir, Andries Gous, Nitish Kumar, Steven Taylor, Harmeet Singh, Corey Anderson, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Ali Khan, Jessy Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar, Nosthush Kenjige.

Canada team news

Having only completed one of their two pre-tournament warm-up matches, Canada will hope the side that beat Nepal last week will put on an improved performance against their North American neighbours and get off to a winning start.

Canada squad: Saad bin Zafar (captain), Navneet Dhaliwal, Aaron Johnson, Ravinderpal Singh, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Shreyas Movva, Dilon Heyliger, Dilpreet Bajwa, Harsh Thaker, Jeremy Gordon, Junaid Siddiqui, Kaleem Sana, Nicholas Kirton, Pargat Singh, Rayyan Khan Pathan.

(Al Jazeera)

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIE

Dbeibah Stresses China’s Important Role in Reconstructing Libya

NATO'S ORPHAN, CHINA'S ADOPTEE

Dbeibah is seen at the opening of the inaugural Chinese-Libyan economic forum in Beijing. (GNU)

Cairo: Jamal Jawhar
1 June 2024 AD ـ 24 Thul-Qi’dah 1445 AH

Head of Libya’s interim Government of National Unity (GNU) Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah called on Chinese companies to complete their suspended projects in his country, underlining Beijing’s role in the reconstruction process underway in Libya.

Dbeibah was speaking at the opening of the inaugural Chinese-Libyan economic forum in Beijing. The GNU said on Friday that the meeting was attended by representatives from 84 Chinese companies.

According to a statement from his office, Dbeibah stressed the need to work with Chinese companies, saying that would mark the first phase in joint cooperation and noting that over 23,000 Chinese workers were currently in Libya – a leap from just 5,000 years ago.

The forum made several recommendations, including underscoring the importance of maintaining political and technical communication between Libya and China to address challenges that may impede the “complete return of Chinese” companies to the North African country.

It was agreed to hold the second edition of the forum in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, in October.

The GNU also said Dbeibah discussed with Chinese officials the reopening of Beijing’s embassy in Tripoli.

In Beijing, he met with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

They discussed cooperation between their countries and ways to bolster it. They also tackled efforts to restore stability in Libya and hold presidential and parliamentary elections there.

‘Minority exclusion’: Are Indian Muslims facing voter suppression?

Claims of voter suppression are rising – from names missing from electoral rolls to physical violence and constituencies redrawn to reduce Muslim clout.

A Muslim woman arrives to cast her ballot at a polling station in Hyderabad [File: Noah Seelam/AFP]

By Arbab Ali and Nadeem Sarwar
Published On 1 Jun 2024

New Delhi, India – Daily wage worker Mustagir Qureshi decided to cast his vote early in the morning to avoid queuing up under the scorching sun in Uttar Pradesh state’s Sambhal district in northern India.

But as he reached the school-turned-polling station in his native Obri village on May 7 for the third phase of the staggered election, he saw dozens of men wearing skull caps and women in burqas fleeing to avoid blows from policemen carrying batons

Moments later, he heard from his neighbours that his 70-year-old father Raees Qureshi, who had rushed to the booth upon hearing of the commotion, was lying injured in front of the school. He had been hit on his chest by a police baton and had collapsed.

As Mustagir carried his injured father home, videos of the incident went viral on social media. In one of the videos, Mustagir and his younger brother, Alam, were seen carrying their wounded father as they argued with the police over the baton charge. At one moment, Mustagir puts Raees down on the road demanding an answer from the authorities.

‘They threatened to shoot me’

Three hours later, when Mustagir returned to the booth to cast his vote, a police officer summoned him. “They seized my voter slip and Aadhar card and tore it into pieces,” he alleged. A voter slip is issued to voters by the authorities to inform them of their nearest booth, while Aadhar refers to India’s biometric identity card, carrying of which is mandatory for a voter along with the voter identity card.

Mustagir, 30, said at least six police officers shoved him into a van as his younger brother Alam recorded a video of the detention on his mobile phone. He claimed he was beaten and abused inside the vehicle as the officers took him to Sambhal’s Asmauli police station.

“They said: ‘Mullah, you’ll vote for cycle?'” he told Al Jazeera. Mullah is a common pejorative term for Indian Muslims. The bicycle is the election symbol of the Samajwadi Party (SP), the main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous and politically crucial state that sends 80 members to the lower house of parliament, the most by any state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rules the state, as well as nationally.

Mustagir said he was taken to a nearby jungle and forced to record a video claiming he was misled by the villagers about the baton charge and that the police officers did not assault him or his father. “They threatened to shoot me in an encounter. I was kicked and punched, forced to say all that on camera. I made the video under their pressure,” he told Al Jazeera.

Later that day, that video was shared by the police on X to deny allegations of voter suppression and assault on the villagers in Obri. Yet, similar incidents of police attacks on voters were also reported from at least three other villages in Sambhal, about 187km (116 miles) from the national capital New Delhi.

Zia ur Rahman Barq, a member of the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly and the SP candidate from Sambhal, alleged that the local administration had colluded with the police to intimidate and stop Muslims from exercising their vote to help the BJP.

“I saw serious head injuries, fractured arms, and old men as well as children mercilessly beaten by the police,” Barq told Al-Jazeera. “They rained batons on the people lined up to cast their vote, snatched their ID cards and voter slips, and arrested many of our polling agents.”

Al Jazeera reached out to five senior police officers in Sambhal, but only one of them responded. “I have already given my statement in writing,” said Anuj Kumar Chaudhary, circle officer for the Sambhal subdivision, before disconnecting the call. Further attempts to contact him were unsuccessful. Barq accused Chaudhary of intimidating election officials and taking away voter lists from at least four polling stations

The Sambhal incident is only one among a series of allegations of vote suppression of India’s largest minority in the country’s mammoth election, which comes to an end with the final phase of voting on Saturday, June 1. Votes will be counted on June 4, when results will also be announced.

As India began voting on April 19 in the seven-phase election, there were several reports from across the country of Muslim names allegedly deleted from the list of voters, of attempts to disenfranchise them through intimidation, or of using the law to draw constituencies in a manner that dilutes the impact of the Muslim vote in areas where the community resides in large numbers.
‘My vote has become useless’

In the northeastern state of Assam, where nearly a third of the 35 million residents are Muslim, the demographic profile of several parliamentary constituencies has been altered through a process called delimitation. That refers to the process of election authorities redrawing the boundaries of some seats according to changes in the population.

The BJP has been in power in Assam since 2016.

Sanwar Hussain, a bus driver by profession, used to be a registered voter in Barpeta constituency. Now his name has been added to the voter list in Dhubri, about 130km (80 miles) from his home.

“Why should I have to vote for a place that is this far from my home? I have always been in Barpeta,” the 43-year-old told Al Jazeera.

The delimitation in Assam raised the number of Muslim voters in Dhubri but reduced it in Barpeta from 61 percent to 30 percent, according to Indian media reports. Chenga, a state assembly seat with more than 76 percent Muslims, used to be a part of the Barpeta parliamentary seat, but now falls under the redrawn Dhubri constituency.

Delimitation has similarly affected two other parliamentary seats in Assam: Kaziranga and Nagaon.

“I feel that my vote has become useless,” Barpeta resident Abdul Jubbar Ali told Al Jazeera.

Aminul Islam of the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), the state’s third-largest party after the BJP and the Congress, said delimitation has “ensured no Muslim candidate can win in the future”.

“It is meant to cheat Muslim voters,” Islam told Al Jazeera.

Pabitra Margherita, BJP spokesman in Assam and a member of the upper house of India’s parliament, told Al Jazeera the delimitation process was a routine exercise by the election commission and not aimed at impacting the influence of the Muslim vote to help the BJP win.

“Such allegations and this kind of propaganda,” he said, “hampers the social fabric of the state of Assam.”

Al Jazeera reached out to Assam’s chief electoral officer, Anurag Goel, for his response to the allegations by opposition parties and some voters that the delimitation exercise had rendered the Muslim vote in the state less relevant. He did not reply.

Political scientist Gilles Verniers described the Assam delimitation as “a case of minority exclusion”. He said the effect of such manipulations on the electorate is “compounded by a growing distress and distrust” the voters feel towards the election commission.

“What is really missing is a response from the election commission on these allegations and appropriate action to find solutions and to remedy them,” he said.

‘Our Muslim identity had a role to play’

In Modi’s home state of Gujarat on the other side of the country, Jukub Patel said he failed to get his voter slip despite repeated attempts.

Patel was among 600 Muslim fishermen whose homes in Navadra village in the coastal district of Devbhoomi Dwarka were razed by the state’s BJP government in March last year following allegations they were illegally built. Soon, his name was also allegedly deleted from the voter list.

Patel now lives about 50km (30 miles) away from his lost home.

Al Jazeera wrote to JD Patel, deputy district election officer of Devbhoomi Dwarka, on the alleged deletion of Muslim fishermen’s names from the voting lists, but received no response.

Manish Doshi, spokesman for the opposition Congress party in Gujarat, accused the BJP of exerting pressure on the administration to manipulate the election. He alleged that BJP workers threatened Muslim voters in the Muslim-majority localities of the main city of Ahmadabad, where many voters were not provided with voter slips. “This is how the BJP always wins the elections in this state,” he told Al Jazeera.

Al Jazeera reached out to five BJP politicians to seek their response to the allegation but did not receive a reply.

Verniers said the election commission is responsible for ensuring that citizens are not deleted from the voter lists and that there was sufficient history of the body being proactive in getting people registered. But, he added, that did not seem to be the case in Gujarat.
Bureaucratic hassles

Gujarat’s chief electoral officer, P Bharathi, told reporters that an objection should have been raised by the Muslim fishermen before them and new applications for a new voter ID card should have been made.

However, rights groups say that the process of getting new voter IDs at an applicant’s new address can be punishing, especially for people whose documents have been misplaced during the demolition of their homes. A local rights group, the Minority Coordination Committee (MCC), also wrote to the election commission on behalf of the fishermen but received no response.

“If the government pursues a policy of displacing Muslims from their land, citizens will be deprived of their fundamental rights,” said Verniers. “There are bureaucrats who are eager to do the bidding of the ruling party.”


The denial of voting rights can also happen because of reasons such as misspelled names on ID cards. But many Muslims said unlike them, their neighbours belonging to other religions did not seem to have a problem in getting their voter slips.

Mohammad Sabir, 78, a resident of Gali Ahiran in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura constituency, said his family of eight people could not vote during the second phase of the election on April 26.

“My wife went to the polling station. Her photo was there on her Aadhar card and her name was correct on the voter slip, too. But they refused to allow her to vote, saying her name and photo don’t match,” he told Al Jazeera. Sabir himself could not vote because he did not get his voter slip.

Syed Khalid Saifullah, a Hyderabad-based IT expert and activist, said the government has all the means and guidelines in place to ensure that citizens are not excluded from the voter list. Saifullah runs an app called Missing Voters, which helps get eligible voters back on the electoral list if they find that their names have been dropped.

“Almost everyone has access to a phone in their household. An automated call alerting them about their name being removed from the voter list shouldn’t be much of an effort,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that the state has enough resources to tackle such issues.


“There are enough booth officers who can go house to house, and in due time, verify any discrepancies and ensure people are able to exercise their right to vote,” he said.
Alleged threats, detentions in Kashmir

But what happens in regions where the state suffers from a particularly high level of distrust from the population?

In Indian-administered Kashmir, where mainly Muslim voters in its valley areas have long boycotted India’s elections, this year was different as many thought casting their vote against the BJP was their only way to protest their loss of partial autonomy in 2019, when the region’s special status was scrapped.

But both major pro-India political parties in the disputed region – the National Conference and the People’s Democratic Party – have accused the police of detaining and intimidating their workers and suppressing the votes of the people.

Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, the National Conference candidate in the main city of Srinagar, told Al Jazeera the police attempted to slow down voting by threatening voters at booths where people were voting for his party.


“Sometimes they would make excuses about how crowded the polling booth was and try to force voters to leave before voting. They were checking their IDs, which is the responsibility of the booth officer, not the police,” he said.

The police admitted to the detentions, saying its action was “regardless of any party affiliation” and targeted “miscreants and potential offenders with a background of linkages to terrorism and separatism”.

India has long considered a rebellion against New Delhi’s rule in Indian-administered Kashmir as a form of terrorism and has deployed millions of its soldiers in the region for decades. New Delhi claims the region as an integral part of the country.
‘Horrors and heartbreaks’

Down south, Madhavi Latha, a BJP candidate in Hyderabad, capital of Telangana state, was booked by the police on May 13 after a video of her allegedly intimidating Muslim voters went viral.

In the video, Latha was seen telling Muslim women to remove their veils as she checked their documents without any authority to do so.


Being a candidate, Latha argued, she had a right to verify the identity of voters. But election rules depute such duties to designated polling officers. They also recommend setting up an enclosure with female staff to verify the identity of women covering their faces.

M Aruna, the election officer at the booth, told Al Jazeera that in her decade-long experience overseeing election procedures, Latha’s was the first instance of a candidate entering a polling station and asking women to reveal their faces.

In the police report accessed by Al Jazeera, Aruna said one female voter left the polling station without casting her vote after being told to do so by Latha.

Jagdeep S Chhokar, founder of the Association for Democratic Reforms, which works on electoral and political reforms, said the opposition has complained of vote suppression in this election, but the election commission’s response had been “extremely subdued if it at all ever came”.

Back in Sambhal, Mustagir said the election, often called a “festival of democracy”, has been one of horrors and heartbreaks.


“I still have the fear that if I speak up, they might do something worse to me,” he told Al Jazeera.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA

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