Sources: Junta representatives, leaders of rebel group in talks in China

Negotiations between the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the military began on Sunday in Kunming.

By RFA Burmese

2024.12.16

Myanmar’s junta chief Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, left, and Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army leader Peng Daxun, right. (AP Photo/The KoKang)

Representatives of the military junta and leaders of an insurgent army have been holding talks in China’s Yunnan province as Beijing leans on both sides to find a resolution to Myanmar’s civil war, sources close to the junta and the ethnic armed group told Radio Free Asia.

The negotiations in Kunming began Sunday, according to the sources who requested anonymity for security reasons. Neither the junta nor the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, have made any statements on the talks.

Lieutenant Gen. Ko Ko Oo represented the junta, along with a brigadier general and office staff, a junta source told RFA.

The talks come more than a month after junta leader Min Aung Hlaing traveled to Kunming to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of a regional summit. The Nov. 6 trip marked the junta chief’s first trip to China since Myanmar’s military seized power in a February 2021 coup d’etat.

In August, the MNDAA captured Lashio, northern Shan state’s biggest city and the location of the junta’s northeast military command. Since then, Beijing has pressured the rebel army to withdraw from the city, an important commercial gateway near the Chinese border.

Over the last year, the MNDAA has also seized control of more than a half dozen towns in the area that serve as significant border trading hubs.

In October, the group’s leader, Peng Daxun, traveled to Yunnan for medical treatment and to meet with Deng Xijun, China’s special envoy for Asian Affairs.

Sources close to the MNDAA told RFA last month that he was prevented from returning to Myanmar after the meeting as a way of pressuring the group to withdraw its troops from Lashio.

A source close to the junta regime told RFA that Peng was being held at a hotel in Yunnan that’s owned by his father. China’s foreign ministry denied that he was under house arrest.

The MNDAA, which has been fighting for autonomy since before the 2021 coup, declared a cease fire on Dec. 3 and announced that it would send a high-level delegation for talks with the junta. Peng’s status or location wasn’t mentioned in the announcement.

Aim to reopen trade crossings

Discussions will likely focus on continuing the ceasefire and the reopening of border trade gates, political analyst Phoe Wa said.

“Pressure for either side to withdraw from their territories will not be accepted,” he said. “Instead, both sides are likely to reinforce their commitments to their current stronghold positions. The minimum possible agreement could involve easing the trade ban.”

The junta could request the release of soldiers captured by the MNDAA during the fight for Lashio, a former military officer and political analyst told RFA.

“The rebels have detained a significant number of junta troops, which poses a heavy burden for them,” the analyst said. “Given their limited territory and budget, providing adequate food for the prisoners of war is challenging.”

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Political analyst Than Soe Naing said the junta may also ask that it be allowed to dispatch troops in towns along the Muse-Mandalay trade route, as well as in Kunlong, a border town seized by the MNDAA in November 2023.

“I believe the junta will aim to maintain control in these areas,” he told RFA. “If they can secure Kunlong, they would likely consider that sufficient. They may propose a joint administration with the local population to solidify their rule.”

RFA attempted to contact junta spokesman Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Htun and a spokesperson for the MNDAA for comment but didn’t receive a response.

RFA also didn’t immediately receive a reply to an emailed request for comment sent to the Chinese embassy in Myanmar on Monday.

Translated by Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.

How Myanmar’s junta is suppressing data about a hunger crisis

 | REUTERS

SABRE RATTLING PREPPER

Russia to prepare for war with NATO

Putin warned that Western help for Ukraine is reaching a “red line” for Russia.


“The Ministry of Defense of Russia must be ready for any development of events, including a possible military conflict with NATO in Europe in the next decade,” Andrei Belousov said. | Pool photo by Grigory Syosev/Sputnik/EPA-EFE

December 16, 2024 
By Veronika Melkozerova

POLITICO EU

Russia has to prepare for war with NATO as well as complete its war against Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov told the Defense Ministry on Monday in a joint meeting with President Vladimir Putin.

“The Ministry of Defense of Russia must be ready for any development of events, including a possible military conflict with NATO in Europe in the next decade,” Belousov said.

The Russian comments come as United States President-elect Donald Trump called for a rapid end to the fighting, saying on Monday: “We’re trying to get the war stopped, that horrible, horrible war that’s going on in Ukraine, Russia, Ukraine. We’re going to get a little progress, it’s a tough one, it’s a nasty one, it’s nasty.”

Trump added that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "should be prepared to make a deal."

But Moscow shows no sign of giving up the fight it launched over two years ago.

Belousov said that Russia has taken the initiative in the fighting and aims to fully conquer Ukraine's Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Donetsk regions by next year. He claimed that Ukrainian troops are exhausted and the Russian army has been rapidly advancing on all fronts.

He added that Russia has managed to recruit more than 427,000 troops this year — or an average of 1,200 a day.

He also warned that Russia has to prepare to fight NATO due to the threat posed by the alliance.

“This is evidenced by the decisions that were taken at the North Atlantic alliance summit held in July this year. It is also reflected in the doctrinal documents of the U.S. and other NATO countries,” the minister added.

At the same time, Putin blamed the U.S. for “scaring people with a mythical Russian threat” while sending “instructors” to help Ukraine; there is no evidence of Ukraine's allies sending instructors into the country.

“Due to this, Russia is approaching the red line, through which it can no longer retreat and begins to respond," Putin said.

He put the blame for tensions with the West on NATO.

“NATO countries increase military spending and presence near Russian borders. The number of American servicemen in Europe has already exceeded 100,000,” Putin said.

In South Korea, Democracy and Human Rights Prevail

Democracies around the world are increasingly under attack from autocratic forces seeking to rule by fiat. In South Korea, ordinary people rose up to defend the systems that protect their human rights.

Published in:The Diplomat

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Hye Jung Han
Researcher and Advocate, Children's Rights Division

techchildrights

techchildrights

John Sifton
Asia Advocacy Director



Click to expand Image
Protesters rally to demand South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment outside the National Assembly in Seoul, December 14, 2024. © 2024 Lee Jin-man/AP Photo

The South Korean National Assembly’s December 14 vote to impeach President Yoon Suk-yeol, 204 to 85, in response to his rejected imposition of martial law on December 3, has reinforced democratic rule and checks and balances in South Korea. It is a fitting and proper response to Yoon’s shocking acts late on the night of December 3.

Yoon’s December 3 martial law decree, banning all political activities and suspending freedoms of speech and assembly, was an extraordinary attack on human rights and the rule of law. Yoon’s claims that it was justified – due to opposition efforts to impeach members of his cabinet and obstruct the government’s budget, and unspecified threats from “North Korean communist forces” – were ludicrous. In his telling, the political turmoil of his administration was as grave a situation as war.

The people of South Korea immediately rejected his gambit on December 3. Thousands of people raced from their homes into the freezing night to the National Assembly, where military special forces were assembling under orders to arrest political leaders and to stop lawmakers from voting to lift the martial law decree. Citizens spontaneously formed groups to block soldiers from entering the National Assembly, tightly clasping hands in a human chain to buy time for lawmakers to vote. Scuffles ensued.

In one widely shared video, Ahn Gwi-ryeong, an opposition party spokesperson, grabbed the barrel of a soldier’s assault weapon pointed at her and pushed it away, yelling, “Have you no shame? Have you no shame?” The crowds blocked military vehicles as they arrived at the National Assembly. One man stopped an armored vehicle by stepping in its path and refusing to move, shouting, “Over my dead body!” in an echo of the lone man near Tiananmen Square in 1989 who for a moment stopped Chinese military tanks. Unlike that incident, however, others quickly joined him.

190 lawmakers were ultimately able to gather inside the assembly – including members from Yoon’s own party – and they voted unanimously to reverse the martial law decree. A few tense hours later, Yoon reversed course and lifted the order. His attempt to impose martial law barely lasted six hours.

The courageous people who assembled at the National Assembly on December 3 understood the threats posed to their hard-won freedoms. Yoon’s announcement triggered many Koreans’ collective trauma from the country’s brutal past under martial law in the 1980s. Under martial law imposed by the military dictator Chun Doo-hwan, who came to power through a coup d’etat in 1979, the military massacred hundreds of pro-democracy student activists in the southwestern city of Gwangju in 1980 and used arbitrary arrests, torture, and executions to ensure Chun’s rule.

“I experienced martial law in 1979,” Lee Hyun-gyu, a 63-year-old retired teacher, told a local reporter. “I spent three and a half hours at the rally to block this from happening again to the next generation.” A woman in her 70s was overheard telling fellow protesters that older people should place themselves at the front of the scrum if the military began shooting, to protect the younger generation, to sounds of assent from the crowd. Kang Seon-gyong, 29, who stayed vigil all night at the National Assembly, said, “Even though I have to go to work in the morning, I’m going to hold my position in case I need to block the military and their armed vehicles from coming again. If I’m not here, democracy could fall.”

Yoon’s martial law order was as dangerously overreaching as Chun’s in the 1980s. In addition to suspending protests and civil gatherings, it placed the media under military rule and outlawed “fake news, public opinion manipulation, and false propaganda.”

Like the lawmakers, the media did not comply. Major news networks and newspapers immediately dispatched reporters to the National Assembly and provided live coverage all night. After Yoon’s announcement, editors and staff at the two largest local newspapers in Gwangju, the site of the 1980 massacre, barricaded their newsrooms and rushed to finalize and print copies to throw out their windows into the square below in the event that military paratroopers invaded their offices, as they had in 1980.

The head of South Korea’s police, Cho Ji-ho, later testified in the National Assembly that the military had asked the police on December 3 to help locate and detain 15 key opponents, including the leaders of opposition political parties. He also said that several hours before declaring martial law, Yoon ordered him to occupy the newsrooms of several media organizations, including MBC, one of South Korea’s largest broadcasters and a repeated target of criminal defamation charges by Yoon and his allies.

Another official testified that he was ordered to arrest a broadcaster and a union official, as well as several political leaders. Martial law troops also occupied the National Election Commission’s offices and confiscated the phones of five election officials.

A special police investigation team arrested Yoon’s former defense minister, Kim Yong-hyun, on December 8, charging him with insurrection. On December 11, the team arrested Cho on the same charge, along with another senior police official.

The historic resonance of the events of December 3 is undeniable. Democracies around the world are increasingly under attack from autocratic forces seeking to rule by fiat. The events that unfolded in South Korea on December 3 and 4 show that checks and balances in a democratic system are crucial to help stop abuses of power. But blocks on the misuse of power can only fully come into play – and democracy prevail – when ordinary people rise up and defend the systems that protect their human rights.

The Korean people who put their safety and lives at risk on December 3 should be lauded not just as heroic, but as inspirational.

Travellers and Roma face most prejudice of any ethnic group in Ireland – report


Women and young people (aged between 16-20) were more tolerant towards Travellers and Roma than men and older age groups, research found (Paul Faith/PA)

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, 

PAToday 

Travellers and Roma face the highest levels of prejudice of any ethnic group in Ireland, according to new research.

The study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found people living in affluent areas were less comfortable with having Travellers as neighbours or in a relationship with their child than those living in disadvantaged areas.

Previous ESRI research found the opposite was the case for immigrants.

The report examined the factors associated with attitudes to a range of social, ethnic and religious groups, using a representative survey of 3,008 adults carried out in spring 2023.

It also outlined the socio-economic situation of Travellers and Roma communities based on the latest Census data.

The ESRI research found people were most comfortable having Travellers and Roma in their child’s class in school, less comfortable with having them as neighbours and least comfortable with having them in a relationship with their child.

People finding it more difficult to make ends meet, those living in social housing and those living in disadvantaged communities are generally more comfortable with TravellersReport author Frances McGinnity

It found that while positive attitudes to Roma were in some cases associated with positive attitudes to a broader range of ethnic and national groups, this was not the case for Travellers.

Women and young people (aged between 16-20) were more tolerant towards Travellers and Roma than men and older age groups, according to the research.

Those who described themselves as “middle class” were less comfortable with Travellers and Roma than those who described themselves as “working class”.

More educated respondents were generally more comfortable with Travellers and Roma compared to less well-educated respondents, and homeowners were less tolerant of Travellers and Roma than renters or people in social housing.

People who volunteered in the past year were more positive to both Travellers and Roma, which researchers said suggested that civic engagement is associated with tolerance.

The ESRI said the most substantial factor in different attitudes towards the two groups were what region they are in.

Residents of the border region and Dublin were most tolerant of both groups, people living in the West and Midlands were least tolerant of Travellers, whereas people in the South West and Midlands were least tolerant of Roma.

The study notes that Irish Travellers are much less likely to report their health as good or very good (67%) than white Irish (88%) or Roma (86%).

It also pointed out that 3% of Irish Travellers and 26% of Roma aged over 15 had a third-level degree, compared to 34% of the white Irish population.

Report author Frances McGinnity said the findings highlighted “high levels of both prejudice and disadvantage”.

“In some ways, factors associated with higher levels of comfort towards Travellers and Roma are similar to migrant minority groups, for example, having third-level education,” she said.

“Yet people finding it more difficult to make ends meet, those living in social housing and those living in disadvantaged communities are generally more comfortable with Travellers, in contrast to findings for migrant groups, suggesting anti-Traveller racism may be distinct from other forms of prejudice in Ireland.”

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which was part of the programme behind the ESRI research, said it builds on an Ipsos survey published in June 2023 which reported “disappointing attitudes [amongst the wider population] towards members of the Traveller community and the Roma community”.

“That survey reinforced the need for revised national equality strategies to address the attitudes that give rise to discrimination,” the department said in a statement.

“To this end, the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy II 2024 – 2028 was launched in July 2024. The new ESRI research provides welcome new insight into perspectives and prejudices, and so will greatly assist in the delivery of actions under the strategy.”

INDIA / BENGAL

'We thought it was a ball' - the bombs killing and maiming children

Soutik Biswas, Nupur Sonar & Tanushree Pandey
BBC World Service
Reporting from West Bengal

Ronny Sen for the BBC
Puchu was nine when he struck what he thought was a ball, causing a deadly explosion

Over the last three decades, at least 565 children in the Indian state of West Bengal have been injured or killed by home-made bombs, a BBC Eye investigation has found.

So what are these deadly devices and how are they linked to political violence in West Bengal? And why are so many Bengali children paying the price?

On a bright summer morning in May 1996, six boys from a slum in Kolkata, the capital of India's West Bengal state, stepped out to play cricket in a narrow alley.

Their shantytown, nestled in the middle-class neighbourhood of Jodhpur Park, thrummed with life. It was a holiday - voting day in a general election.

Nine-year-old Puchu Sardar, one of the boys, grabbed a cricket bat and quietly slipped past his sleeping father. Soon, the cracking noise of bat meeting ball echoed through the alley.

A ball batted out of the boundaries of their makeshift pitch sent the boys searching for it in a small garden nearby. There, in a black plastic bag, they found six round objects.

They looked like cricket balls someone had left behind, and the boys returned to the game with their spoils.

One of the "balls" from the bag was bowled at Puchu who struck it with his bat.

A deafening explosion tore through the alley. It was a bomb.

As the smoke lifted and neighbours rushed outside, they found Puchu and five of his friends sprawled on the street, their skin blackened, clothes scorched, bodies torn.

Screams pierced the chaos.

Seven-year-old Raju Das, an orphan raised by his aunt, and seven-year-old Gopal Biswas died of their injuries. Four other boys were wounded.

Puchu narrowly survived, having suffered serious burns and shrapnel wounds to his chest, face and abdomen.

He spent over a month in hospital. When he came home he had to use kitchen tongs to remove shrapnel still lodged in his body because his family had run out of money to pay for any more medical care.

Puchu and his friends are part of a long, tragic list of children killed or maimed by crude bombs, which have been used in West Bengal for decades in a bloody battle for dominance in the state's violent politics.

There are no publicly-available figures on the number of casualties in West Bengal.

So the BBC World Service went through every edition of two prominent state newspapers - Anandabazar Patrika and Bartaman Patrika - from 1996 to 2024, looking for reports of children injured or killed by these devices.

We found at least 565 child casualties - 94 deaths and 471 injuries - as of 10 November. This means a child has fallen victim to bomb violence, on average, every 18 days.

However, the BBC has found incidents in which children were wounded by these bombs that were not reported by the two newspapers, so the real number of casualties is likely to be higher.

More than 60% of these incidents involved children playing outdoors - gardens, streets, farms, even near schools - where bombs, typically used during elections to terrorise opponents, were hidden.

Most victims the BBC spoke to were poor, the children of house-help, odd-jobbers, or farm workers.

The revolutionary history of bombs in West Bengal


West Bengal, India's fourth-largest state with a population of more than 100 million, has long struggled with political violence.

Over the years, since India's independence in 1947, the state has cycled through different rulers - the Congress party for two decades, the Communist-led Left Front for three, and the current Trinamool Congress since 2011.

In the late 1960s, the state was wracked by armed conflict between Maoist rebels – also called Naxalites – and government forces.

A common thread across all governments and rebel conflicts since then has been the use of bombs as tools of intimidation by political parties to silence opponents, especially during elections.

"Bombs have been [used to settle scores]. This has been happening in Bengal for a long time, more than 100 years," Pankaj Dutta, a former Inspector General of West Bengal police, told us.

Ronny Sen for the BBC
Today's crude bombs in West Bengal are bound with jute strings and stuffed with shrapnel-like nails, nuts and glass

Bomb-making in Bengal has its roots in the rebellion against British rule in the early 1900s.

Early efforts were crude and accidents were common: One rebel lost a hand and another died testing a bomb.

Then a rebel returned from France armed with bomb-making skills.

His book bomb - a legal tome loaded with explosives hidden in a Cadbury cocoa tin - would have killed its target, a British magistrate, if he had opened it.

The first explosion rocked Midnapore district in 1907, when revolutionaries derailed a train carrying a senior British official by planting a bomb on the tracks.

A few months later, a botched attempt to kill a magistrate in Muzaffarpur with a bomb hurled into a horse-drawn carriage claimed the lives of two Englishwomen.

The act, described by a newspaper as a "tremendous explosion that startled the town," had turned a teenage rebel called Khudiram Bose into a martyr and the first "freedom fighter" in the pantheon of Indian revolutionaries.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak, a nationalist leader, wrote in 1908 that bombs were not just weapons but a new kind of "magical lore," a "witchcraft" spreading from Bengal to the rest of India.

Today, Bengal's crude bombs are known locally as peto. They are bound with jute strings and stuffed with shrapnel-like nails, nuts and glass.

Variations include explosives packed into steel containers or glass bottles. They are used primarily in violent clashes between rival political parties.

Political activists, particularly in rural areas, use these bombs to intimidate opponents, disrupt voting stations, or retaliate against perceived enemies.

They are often deployed during elections to sabotage polling booths or to assert control over areas.

Ronny Sen for the BBC
Poulami Halder had been picking flowers when she found what she thought was a ball

Children like Poulami Halder bear the brunt of such violence.

On an April morning in 2018, the-then seven-year-old was picking flowers for morning prayers in Gopalpur, a village in the North 24 Parganas district dotted with ponds, paddy fields, and coconut trees. Village council elections were barely a month away.

Poulami saw a ball lying near a neighbour's water pump.

"I picked it up and brought it home," she recalls.

As she stepped inside, her grandfather, sipping tea, froze at the sight of the object in her hand.

"He said, 'It's not a ball - it's a bomb! Throw it away!' Before I could react, it exploded in my hand."

The blast shattered the quiet of the village. Poulami was struck in the "eyes, face, and hands" and fainted, as chaos erupted around her.

"I remember people running towards me, but I could see very little. I was hit everywhere."

Villagers rushed her to the hospital.

Her injuries were devastating – her left hand was amputated, and she spent nearly a month in hospital.

An ordinary morning routine had turned into a nightmare, forever altering Poulami's life in a single, shattering moment.

Ronny Sen for the BBC
Sabina Khatun struggles to perform simple daily tasks because of her injuries

Poulami is not alone.

Sabina Khatun was 10 years old when a crude bomb exploded in her hand in April 2020 in Jitpur, a village flanked by rice and jute fields in Murshidabad district.

She had been taking her goat out to graze when she stumbled upon the bomb lying in the grass. Curious, she picked it up and began playing with it.

Moments later, it detonated in her hands.

"The moment I heard the explosion, I thought, who's going to be disabled this time? Has Sabina been maimed?," her mother, Ameena Bibi, says, her voice heavy with anguish.

"When I stepped outside, I saw people carrying Sabina in their arms. The flesh was visible from her hand."

Doctors were forced to amputate Sabina's hand.

Since returning home, she has struggled to rebuild her life, her parents consumed by despair over an uncertain future. Their fears are not unwarranted: In India, women with disabilities often face social stigma that complicate their prospects for marriage and jobs.

"My daughter kept crying, saying she would never get her hand back," says Ameena.

"I kept consoling her, telling her, 'your hand will grow back, your fingers will grow back.'"

Now, Sabina grapples with the loss of her hand and the struggle with simple daily tasks. "I struggle with drinking water, eating, showering, getting dressed, going to the toilet."
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The children of the bombs

In the Indian state of West Bengal, children are routinely maimed, blinded, or killed by home-made bombs. BBC Eye investigates the political violence that underlies this tragedy and asks why the carnage is allowed to continue.

 watch on YouTube

Maimed by bombs yet lucky to survive, these children have had their lives changed forever.

Poulami, now 13, received an artificial hand but couldn't use it - too heavy and quickly outgrown. Sabina, 14, struggles with failing eyesight.

Her family says she needs another operation to remove bomb debris from her eyes, but they cannot afford it.

Puchu, now 37, was pulled out of school by his fearful parents and spent years refusing to step outside, often hiding under his bed at the slightest noise.

He never picked up a cricket bat again. His childhood stolen, he's now scraping by with odd construction jobs and bears the scars of his past.

But all hope is not lost.

Poulami and Sabina have both learned to ride a bicycle with one hand and continue to go to school. Both dream of becoming teachers. Puchu hopes for a brighter future for his son, Rudra, five, - a future in uniform as a policeman.

Ronny Sen for the BBC
Sabina, like Poulami, has learned to ride a bike one-handed and dreams of becoming a teacher

Despite the terrible toll it inflicts, there is no sign of crude bomb violence in West Bengal ending.

None of the political parties admit to using bombs for political gain.

When the BBC asked the four main political parties in West Bengal whether they were involved, directly or through intermediaries, in manufacturing or using crude bombs, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did not respond.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) strongly denied being involved, saying it was "committed to upholding the rule of law…and that when it comes to protecting rights and lives, children are of the utmost concern".

The Indian National Congress (INC) also strongly denied using crude bombs for electoral advantage, and said it had "never engaged in any violence for political or personal gain".

Although no political party will admit responsibility, none of the experts who spoke to the BBC is in any doubt this carnage is rooted in Bengal's culture of political violence.

"During any major election here you will see the rampant use of bombs," Pankaj Dutta told us. "Extreme abuse of childhood is going on. It is a lack of care on the part of the society." Mr Dutta passed away in November.

Poulami adds: "Those who planted the bombs are still free. No one should leave bombs lying around. No child should ever be harmed like this again."

'Look what they have done to my son'


But the tragedy continues.

In May this year in the Hooghly district, three boys playing near a pond unknowingly stumbled upon a cache of bombs. The explosion killed Raj Biswas, nine, and left his friend maimed, missing an arm. The other boy escaped with leg fractures.

"Look what they have done to my son," Raj's grieving father sobbed as he caressed the forehead of his dead child.

As Raj's body was lowered into a grave, political slogans crackled through the air from a nearby election rally: "Hail Bengal!" the crowd chanted, "Hail Bengal!"

It was election time. And once again, children were paying the price.
India

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau considers resigning over tariff threat: report

Sarah K. Burris
December 16, 2024 

RAW STORY

FILE PHOTO: Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during news conference with Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 31, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reportedly considering submitting his resignation after a public battle over the economy amid U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's tariff threats.

Sources told CTV News that Trudeau told his cabinet that he was considering prorogation or resignation and potentially planning to address Parliament this afternoon.

Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland quit Monday morning in a surprise move after disagreeing with Trudeau over the threats. In a post on X, she said that she was offered a different position, but upon reflection just assumed she'd leave.

"Our country today faces a grave challenge. The incoming administration in the United States is pursuing a policy of aggressive economic nationalism, including a threat of 25 percent tariffs. We need to take that threat extremely seriously," Freeland wrote in her resignation letter.

"That means keeping our fiscal powder dry today, so we have the reserves we may need for a coming tariff war," she continued. "That means eschewing costly political gimmicks, which we can ill afford and which make Canadians doubt that we recognize the gravity of the moment. That means pushing back against 'America First' economic nationalism."

CTV's official pollster Nik Nanos called the ordeal a disaster for Trudeau.

"Justin Trudeau just learned what it's like to be thrown under the political bus," said Nanos in an interview. "I can't envision what Justin Trudeau can do right now to fix this."

By Monday afternoon, Trudeau's party was in disarray, with leaders debating whether or not they had confidence in his leadership. Meanwhile, conservative leaders called the country "out of control."

Last week, Trump mocked Trudeau on TruthSocial in a late-night post where he continued his mockery at Canada. Trump told Trudeau that Canada should simply decide to become the 51st state of the United States.

"It was a pleasure to have dinner the other night with Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada," Trump posted at 12:06 a.m., degrading the prime minister's office and his nation's autonomy.

The prime minister warned that a 25 percent across-the-board tariff would devastate the Canadian economy and create "real hardship for Americans."

"Americans import 65% of their crude oil from Canada, significant amounts of electricity," Trudeau said. "Just about all the natural gas exported from Canada goes to the United States. They rely on us for steel and aluminum. They rely on us for a range of agricultural imports. All of those things would get more expensive.”

Argentina at a crossroads: A trade union perspective of one year of Milei’s policies

As trade unionists, we represent the workers whose labour sustains the economy, the families who aspire to a better future, and the communities who depend on collective strength for survival.

09-12-2024

One year into Javier Milei’s presidency, Argentina faces a reprehensible situation: his policies have plunged workers and vulnerable populations into deeper hardship.

Despite the prominence his anarcho-capitalist plan in mainstream media, with promises of a thriving economy and reduced inflation, the social costs of Milei’s economic shock therapy are undeniable.

The social fabric under strain

Milei’s administration has undermined the very foundations of Argentina’s social contract around labour and civil rights. By slashing public expenditures, criminalising dissent, and empowering corporate interests, his government has deepened inequality.

Cuts equivalent to 4% of GDP targeted pensions, public sector wages, social protection programs, and public works – the lifeblood of communities reliant on infrastructure and social services. The near-total elimination of infrastructure spending has not only halted essential maintenance but also destroyed hundreds of thousands of jobs in construction and related industries.

Pensions, once a critical safety net, lost 22% of their purchasing power in just one year. Public education and science, transportation, and energy subsidies – essential for millions of households – were drastically reduced. Meanwhile, these cuts were paired with tax breaks for the wealthiest Argentinians, further widening the gap between rich and poor.

Poverty and inequality

Since Javier Milei assumed office in December 2023, poverty has risen sharply. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC), 52.9% of the population was living below the poverty line in the first half of 2024, an increase of 11.2 percentage points from 41.7% in the second half of 2023.

Those impacted by extreme poverty, meaning they were unable to afford basic food, represented 18.1% of the population during the same period.

Income distribution in Argentina has become alarmingly unequal. The richest 10% now control 33% of the national income, while the poorest 10% barely survive on 1.8%. The Gini coefficient, a key measure of inequality, increased from 0.417 to 0.436 over the course of a year, highlighting the widening chasm between the privileged few and the marginalised majority.

This polarisation extends beyond economics, fracturing society along lines of opportunity, access, and hope.

For young workers, the outlook is bleak. Youth unemployment has risen, forcing many into informal jobs or platform work that lacks stability or protections. Families who once aspired to upward mobility now send spouses and teenagers into the workforce just to make ends meet.

Workers under siege

Unemployment has risen to 7.6%, while underemployment climbed to 20%, forcing many to juggle multiple precarious jobs just to survive. Real wages have plummeted, with the minimum wage now covering less than 30% of basic living expenses and 50% of basic food needs.

A small number of workers in export-oriented industries may see modest gains, but these benefits exclude the majority employed in sectors decimated by austerity.

Labour reforms introduced through the controversial “Basis Law” have eroded decades old, hard-won rights. These changes include extending probation periods, reducing severance protections, and encouraging the rise of “independent collaborators” – a euphemism for workers stripped of labour rights.

These measures are a clear attempt to weaken unions and undermine collective bargaining, leaving workers more vulnerable to exploitation.

The criminalisation of dissent

Milei’s administration has not only marginalised workers but actively suppressed their right to protest. New laws impose severe penalties for organisers of social protests, including potential prison sentences of up to six years.

Police have been authorised to disperse demonstrators and threaten them with the withdrawal of social assistance by the authorities if they resist. Meanwhile, internal security budget has increased significantly. These actions form part of a broader attack on labour unions, with leaders targeted by smear campaigns and institutional harassment.

This repression, amplified by a parallel army of social media trolls, is a stark reminder that Milei’s government prioritises the interests of capital over the rights of people. By stifling dissent, it seeks to silence the voices that speak for fairness, equity, and justice.

The toll of inflation and creative accounting

While the government claims progress in reducing inflation, the reality for workers tells a different story. Inflation remains a daily burden, particularly for essentials like food and utilities, which have experienced the sharpest price increases. The administration’s reliance on outdated inflation metrics obscures the true extent of this crisis, further eroding trust in public institutions.

Creative accounting extends to fiscal policy as well. Announced surpluses exclude billions in unpaid obligations, offering no real relief to the workers whose incomes continue to lose value.

What’s at stake?

Milei’s economic experiment represents a stark departure from Argentina’s traditions of social solidarity, commitment to workers’ rights and empowerment. His policies dismantle mechanisms that once supported broad-based growth, replacing them with a narrow focus on market-driven efficiency, while praising monopolies as “heroes”.

But who does this efficiency benefit? Workers struggling to feed their families? Pensioners whose life savings are worth a fraction of what they once were? Young people entering a labour market devoid of opportunity?

History shows that such experiments rarely succeed. Argentina has seen similar attempts at neoliberal restructuring, which have failed and left lasting scars: rising poverty, weakened institutions, and diminished social cohesion.

The Milei administration’s focus on short-term gains for the elite, while relying on international financial speculation, ignores the long-term damage being inflicted on the very fabric of the society.

The path forward?

As unionists, we must present an alternative vision rooted in equity, inclusion, and dignity. We must advocate for:

•  Restoring labour rights: Protecting collective bargaining and ensuring every worker is treated with respect and fairness.
•  Rebuilding public services: Investing in education, science, health, and infrastructure to create jobs and improve living standards.
•  Addressing inequality: Implementing fair taxation and redistributive policies to close the gap between rich and poor.

Argentina’s three main labour unions are denouncing the government’s violation of ILO Conventions (C87 and C98) and constitutional norms before the ILO’s Committee on Freedom of Association.

The fight for workers’ rights is a fight for Argentina’s foundation. We cannot allow Milei’s presidency to leave a legacy of broken families, shattered dreams and lost opportunities.