U.S. companies face boycott threats, mounting pressure to take sides in America’s voting rights battle

Emma Newburger 

CNBC

4/4/2021


U.S. corporations face growing pressure to oppose GOP election laws in Georgia and other states that critics say harm the voting rights of Black Americans.

The opposition intensified on Friday when Major League Baseball announced it would no longer hold the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta this summer.

Civil rights groups and activists are targeting some of Georgia's biggest firms, including Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola, which did not publicly oppose the GOP election law prior to passage.

American Airlines and Dell have spoken out against a proposed election law in Texas.

© Provided by CNBC Protesters gather outside of the Georgia State Capitol to protest HB 531, which would place tougher restrictions on voting in Georgia, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. March 4, 2021.

U.S. corporations face growing pressure and threats of boycotts to publicly oppose Republican-backed election legislation in Georgia and other states that critics say harm the voting rights of Black Americans.

The opposition intensified on Friday when Major League Baseball announced it would no longer hold the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta this summer, with commissioner Robert Manfred saying the league "fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box."

GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp last week signed an election overhaul bill into law that adds new identification requirements for absentee voting while giving the state legislature increased oversight on how elections are run.

The legislation prohibits third-party groups from giving food or water to voters who are waiting in line and places strict guidelines on the availability and location of ballot drop boxes. It also mandates two Saturdays of early voting leading up to general elections. Only one day was previously required.

Civil rights groups and activists have pressured some of Georgia's biggest corporations, including Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola, to oppose the law. Coke and Delta did not vocally oppose the legislation prior to its passage, but their CEOs have since condemned the law.

Following the bill's passage, pressure on companies started to increase after Merck CEO Ken Frazier and other Black executives organized a public campaign to urge firms to call out the legislation. Many companies had taken broad stances in support of voting rights but sought to avoid taking specific positions on the Georgia law.

It's unclear whether a business community backlash will change the outcome in Georgia, where the law has been passed. Civil rights groups have challenged it in court and President Joe Biden said the U.S. Justice Department would examine the law, which he called an "atrocity."

Coke CEO James Quincey told CNBC on Wednesday the company had "always opposed this legislation" and called it "wrong."

"Now that it's passed, we're coming out more publicly," Quincey said.

Coca-Cola CEO calls Georgia voting law 'unacceptable' and a 'step backwards

Delta CEO Ed Bastian initially said the legislation had "improved considerably" and offered broad support for voting rights. He reversed course Wednesday in a memo to employee, saying the "final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta's values." Delta is Georgia's largest employer.

Bastian also ripped Republican lawmakers' motivation for the law, suggesting the "entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie: that there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections."

In November, Biden became the first Democrat since 1992 to win Georgia. Voters also elected two Democrats to the Senate, Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, in runoff elections in January. Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have falsely claimed there was rampant voter fraud in Georgia's elections last year.

AT&T is based in Texas but gave money to Kemp's campaign and cosponsors of the legislation. The company's CEO John Stankey told CNBC in a statement:

"We understand that election laws are complicated, not our company's expertise and ultimately the responsibility of elected officials. But, as a company, we have a responsibility to engage. For this reason, we are working together with other businesses through groups like the Business Roundtable to support efforts to enhance every person's ability to vote."

Georgia Gov. Kemp responds to backlash against its new voting restrictions

In an interview Wednesday on CNBC's "Closing Bell," Kemp dismissed the corporate backlash over the state's election legislation and said he's "glad to deal with it." He added, "I would encourage these CEOs to look at other states that they're doing business in and compare what the real facts are to Georgia."

Voting rights activist and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams this week urged critics not to boycott Georgia's major companies yet over their failure to oppose the election law. Instead, Abrams said companies should have a chance to publicly oppose the law and support federal election legislation before getting met with a boycott.

"The companies that stood silently by or gave mealy-mouthed responses during the debate were wrong," Abrams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "What people want to know now is where they stand on this fundamental issue of voting rights."

Some faith leaders in Georgia have called for an April 7 boycott of Coke, Delta and Home Depot, according to the AJC. However, the religious leaders have suggested the boycott could be avoided if the companies take further stands, like calling on lawmakers in other states to pull legislative proposals that they say would restrict voting access.
Texas election bills face scrutiny

While Georgia's law has been signed, election bills in a number of other states are beginning to face scrutiny, particularly in Texas. When pressuring companies to speak up, Merck's Frazier contended Georgia is "the leading edge of a movement all around this country to restrict voting access."

There have been 361 bills in 47 states that include provisions that would restrict voting access, as of March 24, according to an analysis from the Brennan Center for Justice.

The proposals in statehouses across the U.S. come as Democrats in Washington seek to advance legislation called the For the People Act. Proponents say it would make it easier to register and vote, while also preventing gerrymandering and reforming campaign finance rules. Some Republicans who oppose the legislation say it would result in federal overreach into state elections.


'The right to vote is fundamental:' Black business leaders urge corporate response to voting laws

Last month, the U.S. House passed their version of the For the People Act without a single Republican vote in favor. Its future in the Senate is uncertain since it needs at least 10 GOP votes to overcome a filibuster and move to a final vote.

Powerhouse corporations in Texas are also taking aim at bills that voting rights advocates argue would make voting in Texas more difficult.

Senate Bill 7 was approved by the upper house of the state legislature Thursday. In the Texas House of Representatives, another bill known as House Bill 6 has been under consideration.

American Airlines, which is based in Fort Worth, Texas, opposed Senate Bill 7 in a statement on Thursday. "To make American's stance clear: We are strongly opposed to this bill and others like it," the airline said.

Dell CEO Michael Dell — whose tech firm is based near Austin, the state capital — wrote in a tweet that the company did not support House Bill 6.

"Free, fair, equitable access to voting is the foundation of American democracy. Those rights — especially for women, communities of color — have been hard-earned," Dell wrote. "Governments should ensure citizens have their voices heard. HB6 does the opposite, and we are opposed to it."

Banning natural gas in homes will increase the consumption of natural gas

Ognjen Miljanić, opinion contributor 

THE HILL

4/3/2021`


Since 2019, several dozen U.S. cities - beginning with Berkeley, Calif., and expanding to other liberal strongholds - have prohibited natural gas hookups in new residential (and some commercial) construction. Instead, these cities are mandating the use of electricity for heating

.

© Getty Images 

Banning natural gas in homes will increase the consumption of natural gas

This shift is part of a larger push to phase out fossil fuels in the residential energy consumption sector. Since 2000, the residential energy consumption sector has also seen the smallest drop in its carbon emissions, especially compared to the sharp lowering of emissions in the electricity generation sector.


While proposing the elimination of natural gas may seem environmentally sound, it will likely lead to an increase in carbon emissions in most jurisdictions and - counterintuitively - it will increase in natural gas consumption.

Heating homes with natural gas is straightforward and efficient. The gas is piped into the house and then burned in a furnace with efficiency exceeding 90 percent in modern models. This means that 90 percent of the energy contained in the natural gas ends as useful heat for the home's residents. However, that use - as all fossil fuels - produces carbon dioxide emissions.

An electric heater can be just as efficient and produces no emissions. But what about the electricity used to run it? When natural gas is being burned in a power plant, only about 45 percent of the energy contained in it will be converted into electricity. As that electricity is transported and distributed, additional 6 to 10 percent is lost; and the amount of electrical energy delivered to a house is typically just one-third of the energy contained in the natural gas fuel. Consequently, the overall efficiency of a gas heater is almost three times as high than that of its all-electric counterpart.

Of course, electricity can be produced from sources other than natural gas, including emission-free wind, solar, hydro or nuclear power. But the U.S. is not doing that at scale today. As the price of natural gas plummeted during the fracking revolution, it became a dominant player in U.S. electricity production. According to the New York Times, it provides 38 percent of all electricity in the U.S., 39 percent in California, 53 percent in Texas and almost 90 percent in Delaware. In fact, the overall lowering of carbon dioxide emissions in the electricity generation sector has less to do with renewables and more with the switch from coal to natural gas: per unit of energy, natural gas emits just half the carbon dioxide from coal. The reason why residential carbon emissions have not dropped much is twofold. First, the sizes and amenities of the newly built houses are continuously increasing. Second, while natural gas could displace coal in electricity generation, it could not in residential heating - since it was already established in that sector decades ago.

With the current state of electricity generation, increasing electricity consumption means increasing natural gas consumption, which is ill-advised when using electricity for heating. Making electricity is hard and using it for heating is a waste akin to carving a beautiful wooden sculpture and then burning it to boil water for soup.

A broader lesson behind these policies is that politicization of energy leads to bad decisions - both on the political left and right. Energy issues are always complex and the two-party U.S. political landscape tends to treat most choices as binary. They are not - and nowhere is that clearer than in the case of natural gas. It is a carbon-emitting fossil fuel, on one hand. On the other hand, it is cheap, much cleaner than coal and produced domestically. It has evolved into the transitional fuel of our time, allowing the U.S. to quickly ditch coal while giving renewables time to expand to the scale needed to power the entire electricity-hungry country. Once those renewables have reached that scale, banning natural gas in residential construction starts making environmental sense. Until then, these proposals are ultimately increasing our carbon footprint.

Ognjen Miljanić is a professor of chemistry at the University of Houston, where he teaches about energy and sustainability.

Training opens ‘a window of hope’ for Albanian rug-weavers

By LLAZAR SEMINI

4/4/2021

1 of 6

Hate Ora, 64, or 'Aunt Hate' as everyone knows her, weaving a carpet in Kukes town, northeastern Albania, Friday, March 12, 2021. Albania once had 13 former state-run factories that produced carpets, rugs, fez hats, felt folk costumes and other handicrafts. Kukes, a town northeast of the capital, Tirana, alone employed more than 1,200 women as weavers. When the country's communist era ended in 1990, the local factory closed. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

KUKES, Albania (AP) — Hate Ora has been weaving carpets and rugs for more than half a century, since learning the craft as a child by sneaking into her aunt’s workshop.

Ora, 64, is now teaching the methods she picked up and perfected to her daughter, nieces and other younger women to ensure there is another generation of artisans to continue the tradition.

Albania once had 13 former state-run factories that produced carpets, rugs, fez hats, folk costumes and other handicrafts. Kukes, a town northeast of the capital, Tirana, alone employed more than 1,200 women as weavers. When the country’s communist era ended in 1990, the local factory closed.

Ora built herself three looms and bought a big supply of wool fibers and other needed tools in the chaotic aftermath. Today, she is one of only a few Albanians still doing weaving work, which doesn’t bring in much money. Kukes, a town of about 60,000 residents, is one of the poorest in Albania, which itself is one of the poorest countries in Europe.

Many of the town’s young people, especially the young men, have emigrated to Western Europe in search of jobs. Women often remain unemployed at home, waiting for remittances from their husbands, brothers and other male relatives.

“Resuming this tradition would be an added value, increasing employment and having a direct social and economic impact on the people’s lives” along with preserving a piece of Albanian culture, Deputy Mayor Majlinda Onuzi said.

A non-governmental organization, Social Development Investment, has received money from German and Swiss development agencies to train 125 women in wool production and weaving. Founder Elias Mazloum said the purpose is to “open a window of hope for unemployed people” in the Kukes area and to keep the tradition of handmade carpet-making alive.

As part of the program, Ora is both teaching young people how to weave wool from the area’s Ruda sheep into carpets and other items using Persian knots, the local method preferred over Turkish-style knots. She herself is learning how to clean, wash, comb and color the wool with vegetable and other natural dyes.

Ora said other efforts to revive the carpet industry have failed in Kukes “because to be successful they have to employ all the qualified women and find the market for our products.”

“Unless the whole carpet-weaving industry resumes, me, or any other like me, can hardly attract individually Tirana’s attention, where all business and the market is located,” she said

Mereme Pepa, 68, spinning the wool in Nange village, northeastern Albania, Friday, March 12, 2021. Albania once had 13 former state-run factories that produced carpets, rugs, fez hats, felt folk costumes and other handicrafts. Kukes, a town northeast of the capital, Tirana, alone employed more than 1,200 women as weavers. When the country's communist era ended in 1990, the local factory closed

Mazloum said the new program trains participants to produce product for which there already is a buyer. At least half of the women in the program have started wool-working at home, he said.

“It’s a very difficult job, but it is not priced with the real value. It’s underpriced, if you take into consideration the time and how difficult this job is,” Mazloum said.

Blerina Kolgjini, an associate professor of textiles and fashion at Albania’s Tirana University, points out the artistry in the rugs and other products displayed at a gallery in Kukes: the quality of the Ruda sheep wool found only in that area, Kosovo and Croatia, the density of the knots, the thread thickness and the attention to detail “not much different from worldwide painters’ work.”

Hate Ora or 'Aunt Hate', 64, as everyone knows her, holds a carpet in Kukes town, northeastern Albania, Friday, March 12, 2021. Albania once had 13 former state-run factories that produced carpets, rugs, fez hats, felt folk costumes and other handicrafts. Kukes, a town northeast of the capital, Tirana, alone employed more than 1,200 women as weavers. When the country's communist era ended in 1990, the local factory closed. (AP Photo/Hektor PustinPustina)

Kolgjini says carpets and other wool products were Albania’s second-most exported goods before communism ended. The items produced there were of such high quality that an Italian company would buy and resell them in Europe for 10 times the price while saying they were made in Iran, a country prized for its carpetmaking, she said.

“Shepherds produce the wool, and craftswomen weave its threads. What Albania is now missing is the in-between step of yarn processing, the spinning mill,” she said.

A study by Mazloum’s NGO found that 85% of the country’s sheared wool is thrown away, creating a potential annual loss of 20 million euros ($24 million). In the village of Nange, not far from Kukes, 68-year old Mereme Pepa is the only one still spinning the wool she uses to crochet sweaters, blouses and socks.

Her grandson, Ernest, and a few of his high school classmates, are taking part in the Social Development Investment training program. At first, they attended for fun, but some of the girls enjoyed it enough to want to learn the craft, “not wanting it to be lost and let foreigners do what we can do ourselves,” said the teenager.

 

Blerina Koljini, an associate professor of textile and fashion, shows a carpet in Kukes town, northeastern Albania, Friday, March 12, 2021. Albania once had 13 former state-run factories that produced carpets, rugs, fez hats, felt folk costumes and other handicrafts. Kukes, a town northeast of the capital, Tirana, alone employed more than 1,200 women as weavers. When the country's communist era ended in 1990, the local factory closed. (AP Photo/Hektor Pustina)

Ora excitedly described how she learned to weave by “stealing” her aunt’s methods and how she helped support her parents during the communist era by making carpets and then her own family of five during the still-difficult post-communist years.

Even before the training program started, she taught her daughter to make carpets, too. Ora’s daughter-in-law, a nurse, helps out part-time as her main assistant. A 23-year-old niece who is studying industrial chemistry also assists and sometimes brings friends and women she knows from school who are eager to learn from Aunt Hate, the name (pronounced HAY-tee) that everyone in the town calls Ora.

It takes the experienced weaver three months to complete a rug with an image of Mother Teresa or an elaborate arrangement of Albanian symbols.

“Why doesn’t a businessman or the government turns the eyes on us,” she pleads. ”We do artwork, don’t we?”

___

This story corrects name to Mother Teresa, not Theresa.

Netanyahu's favours were 'currency', prosecutor says as corruption trial starts

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli prosecutors accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of treating favours as “currency” on Monday at the opening of a corruption trial which, along with an inconclusive election, has clouded his prospects of remaining in office.

Netanyahu, who denies all wrongdoing in the three cases against him, came to Jerusalem District Court in a dark suit and black protective mask, conferring quietly with lawyers as his supporters and critics held raucous demonstrations outside.

He left before the first witness was called to testify.

Meanwhile, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin began consulting with party heads on who might form the next coalition government - a toss-up after an inconclusive March 23 ballot gave neither the rightist Netanyahu nor his rivals a clear mandate

“The relationship between Netanyahu and the defendants became currency, something that could be traded,” prosecutor Liat Ben-Ari said in presenting so-called Case 4000, concerning the premier’s alleged relationship with the owners of a news website.

“This currency could distort a public servant’s judgment.”

Netanyahu, who is charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust in the first such trial of a sitting Israeli prime minister, has described himself as the victim of a politically motivated witch-hunt.

THE ANARCHY OF THE CAPITALIST MARKET

U.S. puts J&J in charge of plant that botched COVID vaccine, removes AstraZeneca


By Shubham Kalia 

4/4/2021

(Reuters) - The United States has put Johnson and Johnson in charge of a plant that ruined 15 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine and has stopped British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc from using the facility, a senior health official said on Saturday


J&J said it was “assuming full responsibility” of the Emergent BioSolutions facility in Baltimore, reiterating that it will deliver 100 million doses to the government by the end of May.

In a separate statement late Sunday, Emergent said it expects to align with the U.S. government and AstraZeneca to ramp down manufacturing for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine at its Baltimore plant.

The Department of Health and Human Services has also increased Emergent’s order by $23 million for expansion of production specific to J&J’s vaccine doses, Emergent added.

“The $23 million will be used for the purchase of biologics manufacturing equipment specific to Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for the potential expansion of manufacturing of that bulk drug substance into a third suite of Emergent’s Baltimore Bayview facility,” the company said.

The Department of Health and Human Services facilitated the move, the health official said in an email, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter.

AstraZeneca, whose vaccine has not been approved in the United States, said it will work with President Joe Biden’s administration to find an alternative site to produce its vaccine.

White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The development, first reported by the New York Times, further hampers AstraZeneca’s efforts in the United States. The government has criticized the drugmaker for using outdated data in the results of its vaccine trial. It later revised its study.

Workers at the Emergent BioSolutions plant several weeks ago conflated ingredients for the J&J and AstraZeneca vaccines, the Times said earlier in the week. J&J said at the time the ruined batch had not advanced to the fill-and-finish stage.

The government’s move to have the facility make only the J&J single-dose vaccine is meant to avoid future mix-ups, the Times said, citing two senior federal health officials.

The top U.S. infectious disease doctor told Reuters on Thursday the country may not need AstraZeneca’s vaccine even if it wins approval.

The United States has loan deals to send Mexico and Canada roughly 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, made at its U.S. facility.

Half of Republicans believe false accounts of deadly U.S. Capitol riot: Reuters/Ipsos poll

By James Oliphant, Chris Kahn

4/4/2021

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Since the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies have pushed false and misleading accounts to downplay the event that left five dead and scores of others wounded. His supporters appear to have listened.

Three months after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol to try to overturn his November election loss, about half of Republicans believe the siege was largely a non-violent protest or was the handiwork of left-wing activists “trying to make Trump look bad,” a new Reuters/Ipsos poll has found.

Six in 10 Republicans also believe the false claim put out by Trump that November’s presidential election “was stolen” from him due to widespread voter fraud, and the same proportion of Republicans think he should run again in 2024, the March 30-31 poll showed.

Since the Capitol attack, Trump, many of his allies within the Republican Party and right-wing media personalities have publicly painted a picture of the day’s events jarringly at odds with reality.

Hundreds of Trump’s supporters, mobilized by the former president’s false claims of a stolen election, climbed walls of the Capitol building and smashed windows to gain entry while lawmakers were inside voting to certify President Joe Biden’s election victory. The rioters - many of them sporting Trump campaign gear and waving flags - also included known white supremacist groups such as the Proud Boys.

In a recent interview with Fox News, Trump said the rioters posed “zero threat.” Other prominent Republicans, such as Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, have publicly doubted whether Trump supporters were behind the riot.

Last month, 12 Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against a resolution honoring Capitol Police officers who defended the grounds during the rampage, with one lawmaker saying that he objected using the word “insurrection” to describe the incident.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll shows a large number of rank-and-file Republicans have embraced the myth. While 59% of all Americans say Trump bears some responsibility for the attack, only three in 10 Republicans agree. Eight in 10 Democrats and six in 10 independents reject the false claims that the Capitol siege was “mostly peaceful” or it was staged by left-wing protestors.

“Republicans have their own version of reality,” said John Geer, an expert on public opinion at Vanderbilt University. “It is a huge problem. Democracy requires accountability and accountability requires evidence.”

The refusal of Trump and prominent Republicans to repudiate the events of Jan. 6 increases the likelihood of a similar incident happening again, said Susan Corke, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups.

“That is the biggest danger – normalizing this behavior,” Corke said. “I do think we are going to see more violence.”

In a fresh reminder of the security threats the U.S. Capitol faces since Jan. 6, a motorist rammed a car into U.S. Capitol police on Friday and brandished a knife, killing one officer and injuring another and forcing the Capitol complex to lock down. Officers shot and killed the suspect.

Allie Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, said its members condemned the Capitol attack and referred to a Jan. 13 statement from Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. “Violence has no place in our politics ... Those who partook in the assault on our nation’s Capitol and those who continue to threaten violence should be found, held accountable, and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” McDaniel said.

A representative for Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

‘DANGEROUS SPIN ON REALITY’

The disinformation campaign aimed at downplaying the insurrection and Trump’s role in it reflects a growing consensus within the Republican Party that its fortunes remain tethered to Trump and his devoted base, political observers say.

According to the new Reuters/Ipsos poll, Trump remains the most popular figure within the party, with eight in 10 Republicans continuing to hold a favorable impression of him.

“Congressional Republicans have assessed they need to max out the Trump vote to win,” said Tim Miller, a former spokesman for Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush. “That that is the path back to the majority.”

Republicans in Congress show few signs of breaking with Trump. Right after the deadly Capitol siege, 147 Republican lawmakers voted against certifying Biden’s election win. The Democratic-led House of Representatives impeached Trump for “inciting an insurrection”, making him the only U.S. president to be impeached twice, but most Senate Republicans acquitted him of the charge in a trial.

Last week, Republican congressman Jim Banks of Indiana said the party must cater to the working-class voters that comprise Trump’s political base ahead of next year’s critical midterm elections that will dictate control of Congress.

“Members who want to swap out working-class voters because they resent President Trump’s impact... are wrong,” Banks wrote in a memo to Republican House leader Kevin McCarthy, contents of which he posted on Twitter.

Banks was one of the 147 lawmakers who voted to block certification of Biden’s win, and he later voted against impeaching Trump. Banks did not respond to requests for comment.

Some mainstream Republicans contend that after Republicans lost both the White House and control of both chambers of Congress on Trump’s watch, the party must move on from the former president in order to attract suburban, moderate and independent voters.

In the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, only about three in 10 independents said they have a favorable view of Trump, among the lowest level recorded since his presidency. Most Americans -- about 60% -- also believe Biden won the November election fair and square, and said Trump should not run again.

Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, one of Trump’s top Republican critics in Congress, has criticized the push to rewrite the history of the Capitol attack.

The disinformation effort is “such a dangerous, disgusting spin on reality,” Kinzinger wrote in a fundraising appeal to supporters last month, “and what’s even worse is that it goes unchallenged by so many in the Republican Party.”

The window for the Republican Party to distance itself from Trump seems to have passed, Miller said.

“There was a chance after January 6 for Republican leaders to really put their foot down and say, ‘We can’t be the insurrectionist party,’” he said. “Now that opportunity is totally gone.”

The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout the United States. It gathered responses from 1,005 adults between March 30-31. The poll has a credibility interval, a measure of precision, of about 4 percentage points.


Editing by Soyoung Kim and Alistair Bell

With stories and puppets, environmentalist battles to save Indonesia's mangroves


By Tommy Ardiansyah, Stanley Widianto


INDRAMAYU, Indonesia (Reuters) - Caked in mud up to their knees, a small group of Indonesian youngsters plant mangrove saplings along a stretch of exposed coastline next to the Java Sea under the watchful eye of local environmentalist Samsudin.

A former school teacher, Samsudin has now dedicated his life to conservation and uses puppetry and storytelling to spread his message to the young about the importance of protecting mangroves in an area suffering massive coastal erosion.

“To keep tides from hitting us, we plant mangroves, forests for animals and oxygen for us to live. I weave everything into my stories,” said Samsudin, 50, as he mused how some people in the area saw mangroves as a “nuisance” and would pull them out.

Indonesia is home to over a fifth of the world’s mangrove forests, which naturally help keep out high tidal waters. But for years, coastal communities have chopped down trees to clear the way for fish and shrimp farms, and for rice paddies.

Samsudin teaches local children aged 11 to 15 three times a week about how to look after the environment, sometimes illustrating it with puppets of monkeys and orangutans.

Samsudin, who uses one name, reckons he has helped plant 700 hectares in the area.

While his efforts are locally focused, the issue has reached national attention and Indonesia recently embarked on one of the world’s biggest campaigns to restore mangroves, targeting 150,000 hectares (370,660 acres) annually across nine provinces up to 2024.

Indonesia, an archipelago of thousands of islands, has about 3.3 million hectares of mangrove, with more than 600,000 hectares in critical condition, Hartono, the chief of the mangrove restoration body, told Reuters.

Data from Indonesia’s forestry ministry from 2017 estimates more than 1.8 million hectares of mangroves are damaged

Hartono, who goes by one name like many Indonesians, said the main causes of the degradation in Indonesia were illegal logging and land conversion.

Cukup Rudiyanto, another activist in Indramayu who plants mangroves, also blames a lack of sedimentation in this coastal area east of the capital Jakarta for harming mangroves.

For Samsudin, teaching about the issue is a labour of love, even though he admits some in his own family question why he devotes so much time to it.

But for 12-year-old Muhammad Jefri, one of Samsudin’s students, the lessons resonate.

“I want to protect the environment, because it’s important for people,” he said.


Additional reporting by Willy Kurniawan and Johan Purnomo; Editing by Ed Davies and Himani Sarkar

MALE COACHES ARE RAPISTS

Hundreds of French sports figures accused of sexual violence

By ANGELA CHARLTON

AP

April 3, 2021

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2018 file photo, French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu leaves the Elysee Palace after the weekly cabinet meeting, in Paris. A year-long, nationwide French effort to uncover and combat sexual violence in sports has identified more than 400 coaches, teachers and others suspected of abuse or covering it up. Most of the victims were under 15, according to data released Friday April 2, 2021, by the sports ministry. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

PARIS (AP) — A year-long, nationwide French effort to uncover and combat sexual violence in sports has identified more than 400 coaches, teachers and others suspected of abuse or covering it up.

Most of the victims were under 15, according to data released Friday by the sports ministry. The alleged abuse included sexual assault, harassment or other violence.

Sixty people have faced criminal proceedings, more than 100 have been temporarily or permanently removed from their posts, and local investigations are under way into other cases, the ministry said.

The abuse reached across the country and across the whole sector, with accusations targeting a total of 48 sports federations.

Of those accused, 96% are men. Of the victims, 83% were women or girls, and 63% were under 15, the ministry said.

The fact-finding probe was launched in February 2020 after 10-time French skating champion Sarah Abitbol said in a book that she was raped by coach Gilles Beyer from 1990-92, when she was a teen. Beyer was handed preliminary charges of sexual assault and the investigation is ongoing.

In the wake of Abitbol’s accusations, more skaters spoke out to denounce alleged sexual violence from coaches. The sports ministry set up a dedicated platform for athletes’ testimonies and conducted a year of hearings.

In its statement, the ministry called Abitbol’s testimony “a historic moment for French sport” that raised awareness and has pushed authorities to crack down on abuse. A new law on tougher screening of sports educators, including volunteer coaches, went into effect Friday, and the French government and sports federations have pledged to respond faster and more effectively to reports of abuse.

Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu has played a key role in raising awareness. In a recent interview with The Associated Press, the former swimming champion described her own experiences facing sexism, and said it’s time for French mindsets to change when it comes to women’s rights within the male-dominated sports world.

At a government meeting Friday to assess efforts to fight sexual violence, Abitbol told the group that she’s “healing” and was glad to see other victims speaking out, according to L’Equipe newspaper. Former tennis champion Isabelle Demongeot described the “battle” she faced among the public and colleagues after accusing her coach of rape. Former hammer thrower Catherine Moyon de Beacque, who first spoke out about abuse in 1991, welcomed the current action “at the highest level of the state.”

Florida faces 'imminent' pollution catastrophe from phosphate mine pond

Richard Luscombe in Miami 

4/4/2021

Work crews were pumping millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater into an ecologically sensitive Florida bay on Sunday, as they tried to prevent the “imminent” collapse of a storage reservoir at an old phosphate mine.

© Provided by The Guardian Photograph: Tiffany Tompkins/AP

Officials in Manatee county extended an evacuation zone overnight and warned that up to 340m gallons could engulf the area in “a 20ft wall of water” if they could not repair the breach at the Piney Point reservoir in the Tampa Bay area, north of Bradenton.

Aerial images aired on local television showed water pouring from leaks in the walls of the retention pond.

Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor, declared a state of emergency after officials warned of the “imminent collapse” of the pond.

He toured the scene by helicopter and said at a press conference engineers were still attempting to plug breaches in the reservoir wall with rocks and other materials, and that other mitigation efforts included the controlled release of 35m gallons daily at Port Manatee.

© Photograph: Tiffany Tompkins/AP The old Piney Point phosphate mine in Bradenton, Florida.

He said the state’s department of environmental protection (DEP) had brought in 20 new pumps.

“What we’re looking at now is trying to prevent and respond to, if need be, a real catastrophic flood situation,” DeSantis said. “The water quality issues that are flowing from this for us is less than the risk of everyone’s health and safety, particularly folks who may live in the area.”

The governor also attempted to downplay reports that the water contained traces of radioactive materials.

“The water was tested prior to discharge [and] the primary concern is nutrients,” he said. “The water meets water quality standards, standards for marine waters, with the exception primarily of the phosphorus and the nitrogen.”

Scott Hopes, the acting county administrator, warned that despite a low population density, the nearby area could be overwhelmed by a sudden collapse of the 77-acre pond, even though discharges had lessened the quantity of remaining water.

“What if we should have a full breach? We’re down to about 340m gallons that could breach in totality in a period of minutes, and the models for less than an hour are as high as a 20ft wall of water.

“So if you’re in an evacuation area and you have not heeded that you need to think twice and follow the orders.”

Video: Wastewater leak prompts state of emergency for Tampa area (NBC News)

Officials widened the evacuation zone late on Saturday from a dozen or so properties to more than 300 houses. The Tampa Bay Times interviewed some residents who were refusing to leave.

A local jail a mile away from the leaky pond was not being evacuated, but officials were moving people and staff to the second story and putting sandbags on the ground floor. Hopes said models showed the area could be covered with between 1ft to 5ft of water, and the second floor is 10ft above ground.

County officials said well water remained unaffected and there was no threat to Lake Manatee, the area’s primary source of drinking water.

© Provided by The Guardian Governor Ron DeSantis tours the area over Piney Point. Photograph: twitter/AFP/Getty Images

The pond at the abandoned phosphate mine sits in a stack of phosphogypsum, a radioactive waste product from fertiliser manufacturing. The pond contains small amounts of naturally occurring radium and uranium. The stacks can also release large concentrations of radon gas.

Nikki Fried, the Florida agriculture commissioner and the only elected Democrat in statewide office, warned of an “environmental catastrophe” and called on DeSantis – who described the toxic water as “mixed saltwater” in a tweet announcing the state of emergency – to hold an emergency cabinet meeting.

“Floridians were evacuated from their homes on Easter weekend. 480m gallons of toxic wastewater could end up in Tampa Bay – this might become an environmental catastrophe,” she said on Twitter.

Environmental protection groups warned that more pollutants in Tampa Bay would heighten the risk to wildlife from toxic red tide algae blooms.

“Phosphate companies have had over 50 years to figure out a way to dispose of the radioactive gypsum wastes,” the activist group Mana-Sota 88 said. “At the present time there are no federal, state or local regulations requiring the industry to make final disposition of phosphogypsum wastes in an environmentally acceptable manner.”

In a statement, the group added: “The current crisis can be traced back to the absurd 2006 decision to allow dredged material from Port Manatee to be placed into one of the gyp stacks at Piney Point, something the stack was never designed for and should have never been allowed.”

At the Sunday press conference, Hopes said the long-term objective would be to entirely pump out the three reservoirs on the site and fill them in. Later in the day, he said the amount of water left in the reservoir was now below 300m gallons. The county commission said it was more comfortable than it had been, though a catastrophic collapse was still a possibility.

Hopes also said: “This could have been resolved over two decades ago.”

The owner of Piney Point, HRK Holdings, bought the site after it was abandoned by the Mulberry Corporation, which operated the phosphate plant for more than 40 years. As long ago as 2003, the Sarasota Herald Tribune reported, reservoir walls were crumbling. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) previously authorized the dumping of hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic water into the Gulf of Mexico.

At a meeting of the Manatee commission on Thursday, called after the seriousness of the new leak became apparent, engineers pointed to the deterioration of the pond’s decades-old plastic liner.

“The condition of the liner is not particularly great,” Mike Kelley, an engineer commissioned by HRK Holdings, told the meeting, the Times reported. “It’s old. There were some installation issues. There’s a long-documented history of that liner system having issues.”

The newspaper inspected records and found that staff documented small holes or weaknesses in plastic seams above the water line in July, October and December 2020.

On Sunday, DeSantis said HRK would be held accountable.

Florida crews working to avoid 'catastrophic' wastewater pond collapse
The Associated Press
Palmetto, Fla.
April 4, 2021.

An aerial view of a reservoir near the old Piney Point phosphate mine on Saturday in Bradenton, Fla. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a large pond of wastewater at the site threatened to caused flooding.
Tiffany Tompkins | Bradenton Herald via AP


Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that crews are working to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond in the Tampa Bay area while evacuating the area to avoid a “catastrophic flood.”

Manatee County officials say the latest models show that a breach at the old phosphate plant reservoir has the potential to gush out 340 million gallons of water in a matter of minutes, risking a 20-foot-high wall of water.

“What we are looking at now is trying to prevent and respond to, if need be, a real catastrophic flood situation,” DeSantis said at a press conference after flying over the old Piney Point phosphate mine.

Authorities have closed off portions of U.S. Highway 41 and ordered evacuations of 316 homes. Some families were placed in local hotels.

A local jail 1 mile away from the leaky pond is not being evacuated, but officials are moving people and staff to the second story and putting sandbags on the ground floor. Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes said the models show the area could be covered with between one foot to 5 feet of water, and the second floor is 10 feet above ground.

County officials say well water remains unaffected and there is no threat to Lake Manatee, the area’s primary source of drinking water.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says the water in the pond is primarily salt water mixed with wastewater and storm water. It has elevated levels of phosphorous and nitrogen and is acidic, but not expected to be toxic, the agency says.

Crews have been discharging water since the pond began leaking in March. On Friday, a significant leak that was detected escalated the response and prompted the first evacuations and a declaration of a state of emergency on Saturday. A portion of the containment wall in the reservoir shifted, leading officials to think a collapse could occur at any time.

Hopes, the county administrator, said Sunday that with new state resources, crews will be nearly doubling the amount of water being pumped out of the pond and taken to Port Manatee. Currently about 22,000 gallons of water are being discharged per minute, and Hopes said he expects the risk of collapse to decrease by Tuesday.

Early Sunday, officials saw an increase of water leaking out, but Hopes says it seems to have plateaued.

“Looking at the water that has been removed and the somewhat stability of the current breach, I think the team is much more comfortable today than we were yesterday," he said. “We are not out of the critical area yet.”

Hopes said he could not rule out that a full breach could destabilize the walls of the other ponds at the Piney Point site.

The Florida DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein said another pond has higher levels of metals.

“The radiologicals are still below surface water discharge standards. So, again this is not water we want to see leaving the site,” he said.

Officials said the federal Environmental Protection Agency is sending a representative to be at the command center in Manatee County. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Calls to the owner of the site, HRK Holdings, for comments went unanswered Saturday and Sunday.

The ponds sit in stacks of phosphogypsum, a solid radioactive byproduct from manufacturing fertilizer. State authorities say the water in the breached pond is not radioactive.

But the EPA says too much nitrogen in the wastewater causes algae to grow faster, leading to fish kills. Some algal blooms can also harm humans who come into contact with polluted waters, or eat tainted fish.

Environmental groups urged the federal government this weekend to step in to halt sending more wastewater to the existing so-called gypsum stacks and halting the creation of more phosphogypsum, which is left behind when phosphate rock is mined to produce fertilizer.

“We hope the contamination is not as bad as we fear, but are preparing for significant damage to Tampa Bay and the communities that rely on this precious resource,” Justin Bloom, founder of the Sarasota-based nonprofit organization Suncoast Waterkeeper, said in a statement.

  

Florida works to avoid 'catastrophic' pond collapse

AP NEWS

By CHRIS O'MEARA and ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON

4/4/2021

Acting Manatee County Administrator Dr. Scott Hopes speaks during a news conference Sunday, April 4, 2021, at the Manatee County Emergency Management office in Palmetto, Fla. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a leak at a large pond of wastewater threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted water. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

PALMETTO, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that crews are working to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond in the Tampa Bay area while evacuating the area to avoid a “catastrophic flood.”

Manatee County officials say the latest models show that a breach at the old phosphate plant reservoir has the potential to gush out 340 million gallons of water in a matter of minutes, risking a 20-foot-high (about 6.1-meter-high) wall of water.

“What we are looking at now is trying to prevent and respond to, if need be, a real catastrophic flood situation,” DeSantis said at a press conference after flying over the old Piney Point phosphate mine.

Authorities have closed off portions of the U.S. Highway 41 and ordered evacuations of 316 homes. Some families were placed in local hotels.

Manatee County Sheriff’s officials began evacuating about 345 inmates from a local jail about 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) away from the 77-acre pond first floor on Sunday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Manatee County Administrator Scott Hopes said models show the area could be covered with between 1 foot (30 centimeters) to 5 feet (1.5 meters) of water, and the second floor is 10 feet above ground.



Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that crews are working to prevent the collapse of a large wastewater pond to avoid a "catastrophic flood." (April 4)

Officials first announced that they would move people and staff to the second story and put sandbags on the ground floor, but Sheriff Rick Wells later said moving all the inmates to the second floor posed a security risk.

County officials say well water remains unaffected and there is no threat to Lake Manatee, the area’s primary source of drinking water.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection says the water in the pond is primarily salt water mixed with wastewater and storm water. It has elevated levels of phosphorous and nitrogen and is acidic, but not expected to be toxic, the agency says.

The Piney Point facility pond that is leaking contaminated water.

Crews have been discharging water since the pond began leaking in March. On Friday, a significant leak that was detected escalated the response and prompted the first evacuations and a declaration of a state of emergency on Saturday. A portion of the containment wall in the reservoir shifted, leading officials to think a collapse could occur at any time.

Hopes, the county administrator, said Sunday that with new state resources, crews will be nearly doubling the amount of water being pumped out of the pond and taken to Port Manatee. Currently about 22,000 gallons of water are being discharged per minute, and Hopes said he expects the risk of collapse to decrease by Tuesday.

Early Sunday, officials saw an increase of water leaking out, but Hopes says it seems to have plateaued. The water running out on its own is going to Piney Point creek and into Cockroach Bay, an aquatic preserve in the Tampa Bay north of the facility.

This aerial photo shows a reservoir near the old Piney Point phosphate mine, Saturday, April 3, 2021 in Bradenton, Fla. (Tiffany Tompkins/The Bradenton Herald via AP)

“Looking at the water that has been removed and the somewhat stability of the current breach, I think the team is much more comfortable today than we were yesterday,” he said. “We are not out of the critical area yet.”

Hopes said he could not rule out that a full breach could destabilize the walls of the other ponds at the Piney Point site.

The Florida DEP Secretary Noah Valenstein said another pond has higher levels of metals.

“The radiologicals are still below surface water discharge standards. So, again this is not water we want to see leaving the site,” he said.

Officials said the federal Environmental Protection Agency is sending a representative to be at the command center in Manatee County. The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Calls to the owner of the site, HRK Holdings, for comments went unanswered Saturday and Sunday.

The ponds sit in stacks of phosphogypsum, a solid radioactive byproduct from manufacturing fertilizer. State authorities say the water in the breached pond is not radioactive.

But the EPA says too much nitrogen in the wastewater causes algae to grow faster, leading to fish kills. Some algal blooms can also harm humans who come into contact with polluted waters, or eat tainted fish.

Environmental groups urged the federal government this weekend to step in to halt sending more wastewater to the existing so-called gypsum stacks and halting the creation of more phosphogypsum, which is left behind when phosphate rock is mined to produce fertilizer.

“We hope the contamination is not as bad as we fear, but are preparing for significant damage to Tampa Bay and the communities that rely on this precious resource,” Justin Bloom, founder of the Sarasota-based nonprofit organization Suncoast Waterkeeper, said in a statement.

___

Gomez Licon reported from Miami.

Thai protest leader on hunger strike given IV drip in prison
By BUSABA SIVASOMBOON

AP April 2, 2021



FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2020, file photo, pro-democracy activist Parit Chiwarak, raises a three-finger symbol of resistance, at Chana SongKhram police station in Bangkok, Thailand. Parit was being administered an intravenous fluid drip in prison on Friday, April 2, 2021, after officers said they found him weakened because of a hunger strike that has lasted longer than two weeks. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

BANGKOK (AP) — One of the leaders of Thailand’s pro-democracy movement was being administered an intravenous fluid drip in prison on Friday after officers said they found him weakened because of a hunger strike that has lasted longer than two weeks.

Parit Chiwarak, 22, was charged in February with sedition and defaming the monarchy for his role in leading demonstrations. Parit’s lawyer requested bail for him and three others charged with the same offences, but the court denied it.

Corrections officials at Pathumthani Detention Center north of Bangkok started giving Parit intravenous fluids last Saturday, a spokesperson from the Department of Corrections said.

Parit was one of several leaders behind the protest movement that has campaigned since last year for Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and his government to step down. They want the constitution amended to make it more democratic and for the monarchy to be reformed to make it more accountable.

The demand about the monarchy is the most radical and controversial, because the institution has been widely considered an untouchable, bedrock element of Thai nationalism. It has been considered taboo to publicly criticize the monarch, and insulting or defaming key royals is punishable by up to 15 years in prison per incident under the lese majeste law.

According to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, Parit faces at least 20 charges related to defaming the monarchy.

The activists focused late last year on the monarchy issue with speeches and activities that drew an increasing tough response from Prayuth’s government. After earlier pursuing other charges, it began bringing complaints of lese majeste against them. The charge had not been used for about three years at the request of King Maha Vajiarlongkorn.

Some 82 people related to the protests now face lese majeste charges since use of the law was revived in November last year.

Myanmar anti-coup protesters launch ‘Easter egg strike’

An anti-coup protester raises a decorated Easter egg along with the three-fingered symbol of resistance during a protest against the military coup on Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo)

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Anti-coup demonstrators in Myanmar, adept at finding themes to tie together protests nationwide, took to the streets holding painted eggs in a nod to the Easter holiday on Sunday.

In the biggest city of Yangon, one group marched through the Insein district chanting and singing protest songs and cradling eggs bearing the slogan “Spring Revolution.” Many of the eggs also bore a drawing of the three-fingered salute, a symbol of resistance to the Feb. 1 coup.

At dawn in Mandalay, the country’s second largest city, demonstrators gathered on motorbikes to shout protests against the power grab that overthrew the democratically elected government.

Young demonstrators participate in an anti-coup mask strike in Yangon, Myanmar, Sunday, April 4, 2021. Threats of lethal violence and arrests of protesters have failed to suppress daily demonstrations across Myanmar demanding the military step down and reinstate the democratically elected government. (AP Photo)

Myanmar’s military has violently cracked down on protesters and others in opposition, with the latest civilian death toll since the coup at 557, according to the independent Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. More than 2,750 people have been detained or sentenced, the group said.

On Sunday, security forces opened fire on a crowd of protesters in Pyinmana in central Myanmar, killing at least one person, local news outlet Khit Thit Media reported.

Pope Francis, in his Easter Sunday address at St. Peter’s Basilica, prayed for the “young people of Myanmar committed to supporting democracy and making their voices heard peacefully, in the knowledge that hatred can be dispelled only by love.”

Sunday’s so-called “Easter Egg Strike” follows other themed days. They included a “Flower Strike,” in which protesters laid flowers in public places to honor those killed by security forces, and a “Silent Strike,” in which people across the country left the streets deserted.

Dr. Sasa, the Myanmar special envoy to the U.N. who goes by one name, posted an image of painted eggs on Twitter and wrote that Myanmar’s people have a “great future in federal democracy,” reflecting hopes for the military to step down and reinstate a democratic system.

Security forces have continued to spread fear among ordinary citizens. Overnight, a resident of Yangon recorded video of a group of soldiers and police using sling shots to fire stones at the windows of homes, breaking the night’s silence. At other times, soldiers and police keep up their intimidation at night with raids on neighborhoods, during which they shout abuse, shoot at random, make arrests and vandalize property.

On Saturday, police opened fire killing several protesters in Monywa in central Myanmar and elsewhere.

With most of the internet access cut or severely restricted by the junta, it is becoming increasingly difficult for people in Myanmar to get images of their plight to the outside world.

After weeks of overnight internet cutoffs, the military on Friday shut all links apart from those using fiberoptic cable, which was working at drastically reduced speeds. Access to mobile networks and all wireless — the less costly options used by most people in the developing country — remained blocked on Sunday.

Minorities in Myanmar borderlands face fresh fear since coup

AP NEWS By VICTORIA MILKO

4/5/2021

 In this March 30, 2021, file photo, Karenni villagers from Myanmar arrive on a boat with an injured person as they evacuate to Ban Mae Sam Laep Health Center in Mae Hong Son province, northern Thailand. Far away in Myanmar’s borderlands, millions of others who hail from Myanmar’s minority ethnic groups are facing increasing uncertainty and waning security as longstanding conflicts between the military and minority guerrilla armies flare anew. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Before each rainy season Lu Lu Aung and other farmers living in a camp for internally displaced people in Myanmar’s far northern Kachin state would return to the village they fled and plant crops that would help keep them fed for the coming year.

But this year in the wake of February’s military coup, with the rains not far off, the farmers rarely step out of their makeshift homes and don’t dare leave their camp. They say it is simply too dangerous to risk running into soldiers from Myanmar’s army or their aligned militias.

“We can’t go anywhere and can’t do anything since the coup,” Lu Lu Aung said. “Every night, we hear the sounds of jet fighters flying so close above our camp.”

The military’s lethal crackdown on protesters in large central cities such as Yangon and Mandalay has received much of the attention since the coup that toppled Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government. But far away in Myanmar’s borderlands, Lu Lu Aung and millions of others who hail from Myanmar’s minority ethnic groups are facing increasing uncertainty and waning security as longstanding conflicts between the military and minority guerrilla armies flare anew.

It’s a situation that was thrust to the forefront over the past week as the military launched deadly airstrikes against ethnic Karen guerrillas in their homeland on the eastern border, displacing thousands and sending civilians fleeing into neighboring Thailand.

FILE - In this March 30, 2021, file photo, a health worker attends to an injured Karen villager from Myanmar as she and others arrive at Ban Mae Sam Laep Health Center in Mae Hong Son province, Thailand. Far away in Myanmar’s borderlands, millions of others who hail from Myanmar’s minority ethnic groups are facing increasing uncertainty and waning security as longstanding conflicts between the military and minority guerrilla armies flare anew. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Several of the rebel armies have threatened to join forces if the killing of civilians doesn’t stop, while a group made up of members of the deposed government has floated the idea of creating a new army that includes rebel groups. The U.N. special envoy for Myanmar, meanwhile, has warned the country faces the possibility of civil war.

Ethnic minorities make up about 40% of Myanmar’s 52 million people, but the central government and the military leadership have long been dominated by the country’s Burman ethnic majority. Since independence from Britain in 1948, more than a dozen ethnic groups have been seeking greater autonomy, with some maintaining their own independent armies.

That has put them at odds with Myanmar’s ultranationalist generals, who have long seen any ceding of territory — especially those in border areas that are often rich in natural resources — as tantamount to treason and have ruthlessly fought against the rebel armies with only occasional periods of ceasefire.

The violence has led to accusations of abuses against all sides, such as arbitrary taxes on civilians and forced recruitment, and according to the United Nations has displaced some 239,000 people since 2011 alone. That doesn’t include the more than 800,000 minority Rohingya who fled to Bangladesh to escape a military campaign the U.N. has called ethnic cleansing.

Since February anti-coup protests have taken place in every border state, and security forces have responded much as they have elsewhere with tear gas, rubber bullets and live ammunition. But residents and observers say the post-coup situation in geographically isolated borderlands has been made worse by increased skirmishes between the military and armed ethnic organizations jockeying for power and territory.

FILE - In this Tuesday March 30, 2021, file photo, an injured Karen villager from Myanmar rests at Ban Mae Sam Laep Health Center in Mae Hong Son province, northern Thailand, after they crossed Salawin river on a boat. Far away in Myanmar’s borderlands, millions of others who hail from Myanmar’s minority ethnic groups are facing increasing uncertainty and waning security as longstanding conflicts between the military and minority guerrilla armies flare anew. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

Lu Lu Aung, who hails from the Kachin ethnic group, said she participated in protests, but stopped as it was now too dangerous. She said Myanmar security forces and aligned militias recently occupied their old village where they planted crops and no one left the camp because they feared they would be forced into work for the army.

“Our students can no longer continue the schooling and for the adults it’s so much difficult to find a job and make money,” she said.

Humanitarian aid for civilians in the borderlands — already strained by the pandemic as well as the inherent difficulty outside groups face operating in many areas — has been hard it since the coup as well.

Communications have been crippled, banks have closed and security has become increasingly uncertain, said the director of a Myanmar-based organization supporting displaced persons who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.

“There is no more humanitarian help and support,” she said.

In eastern Karen State, where the airstrikes have displaced thousands, there are concerns that the arrival of rainy season could exacerbate a humanitarian situation already made difficult by reports that Thailand has sent back many of the civilians who fled. Thailand has said those who went back to Myanmar did so voluntarily.

Yet there are parts of the country’s borderlands that have hardly been impacted by the coup.

In Wa State, a region bordering China and Thailand that has its own government, army and ceasefire agreements with the Myanmar military, videos being shared online show life going on as usual, including the rollout of a coronavirus vaccination campaign.

Near Bangladesh in coastal Rakhine State, where the Rohingya were driven from and where violent clashes with the Arakan Army group have been ongoing for years, the junta last month removed the group from its list of terrorist groups, raising hopes a lowering of hostilities. The Arakan Army, unlike a number of other armed groups, had not criticized the coup.

FILE - In this May 6, 2018, file photo, internally displaced ethnic Kachins rest at their hut in compound of Trinity Baptist Church refugee camp in Myitkyina, Kachin State, northern Myanmar. Far away in Myanmar’s borderlands, millions of others who hail from Myanmar’s minority ethnic groups are facing increasing uncertainty and waning security as longstanding conflicts between the military and minority guerrilla armies flare anew. (AP Photo)

The group, however, since released a statement that declared its right to defend its territory and civilians against military attacks, leading some to fear a fresh escalation in fighting.

Other armed groups have issued similar statements. Some such as the Karen National Union have provided protection for civilians marching in anti-coup protests.

Such actions have contributed to the calls for a “federal army” bringing together armed ethnic groups from across the country. But analysts says such a vision would be hard to achieve due to logistical challenges and political disagreements among the groups.

“These groups are not in a position where they can provide the support against the Myanmar military needed in urban centers with large populations, or really too far outside their own regions,” said Ronan Lee, a visiting scholar at Queen Mary University of London’s International State Crime Initiative.

Despite the uncertainty of what’s to come, some minority activists say they have been heartened since the coup by the increased focus on the role ethnic groups can take in Myanmar’s future. They also say there appears to be greater understanding — at least among anti-coup protesters — of the struggle minorities have faced for so long.

“If there’s any silver lining in all of this, that’s it,” said one activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of fears for their safety.

Myanmar protesters defy military as internet curbs test resolve

(Reuters) - Demonstrators in Myanmar held protests demanding the restoration of Aung San Suu Kyi government on Monday and called for more coordinated nationwide dissent, defying the military’s moves to suppress attempts to rally opposition to its two-month rule.

FILE PHOTO: Villagers attend a protest against the military coup, in Launglon township, Myanmar April 4, 2021 in this picture obtained from social media. Dawei Watch/via REUTERS

Six people were killed at the weekend, according to activists, as police and soldiers used force to break up demonstrations that some protesters are calling a “spring revolution”.

The campaign against the ousting of the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi has included street marches, a civil disobedience campaign of strikes and quirky acts of rebellion organised on social media, which the junta has sought to control by shutting down wireless broadband and mobile data services.

Demonstrators with placards of Suu Kyi and signs asking for international intervention marched through the streets of the second-biggest city Mandalay, according to images on social media.

Protesters urged coordinated applause nationwide later Monday to recognise ethnic minority armies that have sided with the anti-coup movement, and youth demonstrators who battled security forces in the streets each day and tried to shield or rescue wounded protesters


“Lets clap for five minutes on April 5, 5 p.m. to honour Ethnic Armed Organisations and Gen Z defence youths from Myanmar including Yangon who are fighting in the revolution fight on behalf of us,” Ei Thinzar Maung, a protest leader, posted on Facebook.

Opponents of military rule inscribed messages of protest on Easter eggs on Sunday, like “we must win” and “get out MAH” - referring to junta leader Min Aung Hlaing.

At least 557 people have been killed since he led a coup on Feb. 1, just hours before a new parliament convened, to prevent Suu Kyi’s party from starting a second term in office.

It followed months of complaints by the military of fraud in an election in which Suu Kyi’s party won 83% of the vote, trouncing a party that was created by Min Aung Hlaing’s predecessor.

ASEAN leaders to meet over Myanmar, chair Brunei says

The coup and crackdown on demonstrations has caused an international outcry, prompting western sanctions on the military and its lucrative businesses.

‘UTMOST RESTRAINT’

In a speech to soldiers carried in state media on Sunday, Min Aung Hlaing said security forces were “exercising utmost restraint” against armed rioters who were causing violence and anarchy.

External pressure is growing on the military to stop the killings, with some countries calling for it to cede power and free all detainees, and others urging dialogue and new elections soon.

Some 2,658 have been detained under the junta, the Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) said on Monday.

The junta at the weekend announced arrest warrants for more than 60 celebrities, social media influencers, models and musicians on charges of incitement.

It also received flak and had comedy memes shared widely on Monday after a leaked clip from a CNN interview with a junta’s spokesman in which CNN asked what Suu Kyi’s father and hero of Myanmar’s independence, General Aung San, would think if he could see the state the country now.

“He would say ‘my daughter, you are such a fool’,” spokesman Zaw Min Tun responded in the clip, which has yet to be aired by the broadcaster and was filmed by an unknown person.

The military, which ruled with an iron first for half a century until 2011, has seen hostilities with armed ethnic minorities reignite on at least two fronts, raising fears of growing conflict and chaos in the country.

The Karen National Union, which signed a ceasefire in 2012, has seen the first military air strikes on its forces in more than 20 years, sending thousands of refugees into Thailand. Fighting has also raged between the army and ethnic Kachin insurgents in the north.

Fitch Solutions on Monday said the situation in Myanmar had “exceeded the point of uncertainty” and a conservative forecast for its economy would be a 20% contraction in the fiscal year that started in October, instead of the 2% seen before the coup.

It said the use of air strikes “marks a new frontier in the extent to which the military is willing to mobilise its arsenal to quell any dissent.”


Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Michael Perry