RFA blogger Nguyen Tuong Thuy honored with Vietnam human rights award

The co-founder of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam is serving an 11-year prison sentence.

By RFA Vietnamese
2022.11.21

Nguyen Tuong Thuy holds flowers during a peaceful anti-China protest in Hanoi in 2014.

Jailed Radio Free Asia blogger Nguyen Tuong Thuy and six other activists have been awarded the 2022 Human Rights Prize by the U.S.-based Vietnam Human Rights Network (VHRN). The other recipients include poet Tran Duc Thach and members of the Vietnam National Self-Determination Coalition.

All of this year's recipients are serving long prison sentences. Thuy, 72, is serving 11-years for "propaganda against the state." Thach was sentenced to 12 years on the charge of "activities aimed at overthrowing the government."

The Vietnam National Self-Determination Coalition consisted of Luu Van Vinh, Nguyen Van Duc Do, Tu Cong Nghia, Nguyen Quoc Hoan, and Phan Trung. All were convicted of the same charge of "activities aimed at overthrowing the government" in a trial in Ho Chi Minh City in October 2018. They received prison sentences ranging from eight to 15 years.

“They fought with their own lives for human rights and democracy,” Nguyen Ba Tung, Executive Director of VHRN, told RFA.

“Poet Tran Duc Thach and journalist Nguyen Tuong Thuy used their pen to non-violently express their aspirations.

“Mr. Luu Van Vinh and his friends in the Vietnam National Coalition for Self-Determination worked to call on the Communist Party of Vietnam to return the right of national self-determination to the entire [Vietnamese] people so that the people have the full right to choose the political system that they want."

This year's winners were announced on Nov. 20. They were selected from 19 nominations from within Vietnam and abroad.

“The purpose of the Vietnam Human Rights Award is first and foremost to honor the contributions of Vietnamese human rights activists. At the same time, this is also a way to nurture and motivate those who are, and will be, committed to that noble mission,” said Tung.

Nguyen Tuong Thuy co-founded the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam in 2014. He was elected vice president of the organization until his arrest in May 2020. He was also a regular blogger for RFA on democracy, human rights, and social issues.

In early 2021, during a one-day trial, he was found guilty of a ‘propaganda’ charge, along with the group’s Chairman, Pham Chi Dung and Le Huu Minh Tuan, editor of the Vietnam Times website.

Tran Duc Thach, 70, was a North Vietnamese army officer during the Vietnam War. He is the author of the memoir "The Haunting Hole" recounting how North Vietnamese soldiers massacred hundreds of civilians in Dong Nai province during the final campaign of the Vietnam war in 1975. He received the Nguyen Chi Thien Prize 2020 for his work, an award named after a Vietnamese dissident poet who died in 2012.

In 2020, Thach was arrested on charges of “subversion” and sentenced to 11 years in prison plus three years of probation.

Luu Van Vinh, 55, participated in many peaceful protests in Hanoi against China's aggression in the South China Sea in 2011. He was arrested in November 2016. Two years later he was sentenced to 15 years in prison along with four other members of the Vietnam National Coalition for Self-Determination.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has reported that the arrests and conviction of Thuy, Thach and Vinh violate Vietnamese and international human rights treaties that Hanoi has signed and ratified.

This year's Vietnam Human Rights Award ceremony will be held in Germany on International Human Rights Day, which is marked on December 10.

CHIANG KAI SHEK FASCIST

Taiwan's Kuomintang finds new star in great grandson of Chinese nationalist leader

Chiang Wan-an, Taipei mayoral candidate for the oppositions party Kuomintang (KMT), speaks at a rally ahead of the election in Taoyuan, Taiwan, on Saturday. | REUTERS

BY CINDY WANG
BLOOMBERG
Nov 22, 2022

Chiang Wan-an was a teenager when his father sat him down to tell him about his heritage: he’s the great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek, the Chinese nationalist leader who fought Mao Zedong’s Communists forces before fleeing to Taiwan and ruling it with an iron fist.

Now the younger Chiang, who was a corporate lawyer in the U.S. before entering Taiwan politics several years ago, is running for Taipei mayor in an election that could help restore the popularity of his famous ancestor’s political party, the Kuomintang (KMT).


The once-dominant party, whose charter still calls for unification with China, has seen support wither.

Invigorated by Chiang’s youthful image and moderate approach on China, a KMT victory in the election Saturday could help the party’s chances at a comeback in national elections. That could also sway cross-strait relations — meaning it’s being watched closely by Xi Jinping, who secured his third term as leader last month.

“If Chiang wins, he could potentially revitalize the KMT by helping the party regain control of Taipei city and giving the party a prominent new political face,” said Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Washington-based Global Taiwan Institute. “The results could produce cascading effects that would have important implications for the 2024 presidential election and, in turn, the situation across the Taiwan Strait.”

The election is being held after a spike in tensions between Taiwan and China this year, with the People’s Liberation Army conducting a barrage of drills around the island. In October, China’s Communist Party enshrined its rejection of Taiwan’s independence into its constitution, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned that Beijing is trying to speed up its seizure of the island.

A meeting by U.S. President Joe Biden and Xi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit this month appeared to ease escalation, but it’s unclear how long this will last. Biden has said the U.S. would come to the island’s defense should it be attacked — something previous leaders have avoided expressing explicitly for fear of provoking China.
Security concerns

Many voters, particularly older generations with an affinity for the KMT, see Chiang, 43, as the safe choice in these uncertain times. While he may lack the political experience of his main opponent Chen Shih-chung, the 68-year-old former Health Minister and candidate of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, Chiang has gained a steady, if unremarkable, reputation as a lawmaker since winning a seat in 2016.

Although issues in the upcoming ballot are mostly local, voters and political analysts say security concerns are at the top of people’s minds.

“All I care about now is that I don’t want to see war happening in my life,” said Kathy Wang, a retired 70-year-old. She comes from what many Taiwan people describe as a “blue” family of KMT supporters, with connections to China.

“I think the ruling party should help us seek peace with China, not war. There is no prosperity without peace,” she said.Supporters of Chiang Wan-an take part in an election campaign event in Taipei on Nov. 17. | REUTERS

While polls have shown a majority of Taiwanese people are happy to maintain the status quo rather than seek unification or independence, her support for the KMT puts her in the minority. President Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP came to power in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020, her vow to protect Taiwan’s autonomy proving popular amid a crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.

The KMT, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party, once ruled China by reunifying a country fragmented by the collapse of its monarchy and battling Japanese invaders. Since moving to Taiwan as Mao’s forces advanced, the party has said it aims to retake the mainland and reunite China’s people, a goal now seen by many as out of date.

More voters now see themselves as Taiwanese first and foremost. Fewer stand by the dual, Taiwanese-Chinese identity that was more common a few decades ago, viewing Beijing and the prospect of peaceful unification with skepticism.

“I fear war, but I fear unification even more,” said Sabrina Hong, a 40-year-old local bank worker. “If KMT runs Taiwan’s government, maybe cross-strait ties will be less tense. But it’s concerning that Taiwan may eventually become part of China.”

While many feel a stronger KMT could help avoid military conflict with China, others believe the DPP government’s stance of keeping China at arm’s length, combined with support from Western allies, is the best way to extend the status quo.

Tsai hosted U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a visit in August, prompting China to cut off military and climate talks with the U.S. and fire ballistic missiles over the island. While some saw the trip as provocation, many believe bolstering Taiwan’s ties with the U.S. and others such as Japan is key to preventing a takeover.

Chiang showed he was well aware of such concerns during a two-hour debate in early November, emphasizing Taiwan’s democratic values and brushing off suggestions, including from Elon Musk, that Taiwan become a special administrative zone of China.

“There’s no need to even think about such a proposal. I’ll definitely oppose it to the end, and uphold the dignity of the Republic of China,” Chiang said, using the formal name of Taiwan.

Chiang, whose campaign promises to address the capital’s aging infrastructure and declining population, is also helped by criticism over Chen’s tenure as health minister. Taiwan’s early success at reining in the spread of COVID-19 has been overshadowed by a late spike in cases and criticism over vaccine shortages.

“He is more moderate and willing to listen,” said Dane Wang, a 43-year-old owner of a tech startup, adding that Chiang’s family background doesn’t matter to him. “What we care about more is what he can bring to the city and his personality.”

The KMT has the advantage in Taipei, which has a significant presence of “blue” voters. The party is traditionally favored by the island’s establishment and older voters, while the DPP has been more popular among farmers and working-class Taiwanese.
Complicated legacy

Chiang’s looks appear to be helping offset some concerns that he can sound scripted and less spontaneous than his more seasoned rivals. Chiang — a father of two with another on the way — is often mobbed on the campaign trail by smartphone-wielding female voters demanding selfies

.

Chiang Wan-an takes part in an election campaign in Taipei on Nov. 17. | REUTERS

His most obvious asset may be his name. But Chiang, who declined to comment for this story, has also been careful about brandishing it. The legacy is slightly complicated: his father — John Chiang, former vice premier and foreign minister — was an unrecognized son of Chiang Ching-kuo, son of Chiang Kai-shek.

Wan-an changed his surname from Chang to Chiang in 2005, when he was 27 and around a decade after his father first told him about his great-grandfather. Chiang has explained the delay as respect for Chiang Ching-Kuo’s widow, who died in 2004. Ching-kuo never publicly acknowledged John and his twin brother as his own.

Chiang hadn’t always pursued the role of heir to a political dynasty, and focused on venture capital as a lawyer. In a book, he said he turned to politics after seeing a struggling KMT, determined to “commemorate ancestors and show devotion to the country.” He won a seat in legislature in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020.

He’s likely aware that his name isn’t viewed favorably by all. The KMT’s single-party rule, including leadership by Chiang Kai-shek and his son, is remembered by many as a time of repression.

While the KMT government shifted toward democratization in the 1990s, its early days of rule in Taiwan were marked by the killing of opponents and attacks on civilians considered sympathetic toward communists.

Chen made an oblique reference to this during the televised debate. “I won’t ask him to be responsible for what Chiang family did, simply because he is Chiang’s descendant,” he said.

Huang Shan-shan, Taipei’s former deputy mayor and independent candidate, also took a dig at Chiang, saying she was running on her own merits rather than family connections.

For the DPP, a poor outcome on Saturday could serve as a blow to Tsai, whose term ends in 18 months. She may be forced to resign as party chair, giving her less influence over the party’s 2024 presidential nomination.

And a win by Chiang could bolster the KMT’s fortunes. KMT Chairman Eric Chu, who lost to Tsai in 2016, is widely seen as the party’s candidate for the next presidential race, but many say success as mayor could lead to Chiang’s nomination in the future.

Kharis Templeman, research fellow at the Hoover Institution, said the relatively young Chiang was KMT’s best bet at a comeback, but added that the party still had more work to do to prove its relevance.

“It needs to find ways to reassure Taiwanese voters that it would take security and sovereignty equally as serious as the DPP,” he said.

ANALYSE

'Riffians and Kabylians are merely disposable instruments in a higher-level geopolitical joust'

Algeria and Morocco's paradoxical support for independence movements

YASSIN AKOUH . (TRANSLATION BY KOMPRENO) . 22 NOVEMBER 2022


© Reuters

Are Morocco and Algeria using independence movements in a geopolitical joust for more power in the region? Polisario in Western Sahara has long enjoyed Algerian support, and now the Riffian movement is following suit. Conversely, Morocco supports the Kabylian cause in Algeria. ‘It is paradoxical for a country to support independence movements in a neighbouring country but fight them at home.’

This article was translated by Kompreno, with support from DeepL. Original Source, published in November 2022.

Western Sahara is a highly contested territory that has strongly influenced Moroccan and North African politics for decades. It is located on the north-west coast of Africa, north of Mauritania and south of Morocco. The latter still controls 80% of the area today.

For Morocco, Western Sahara has great symbolic and economic value. ‘The issue is the lens through which Morocco looks at the world’, King Mohammed VI said as recently as August, on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of the Revolution of the King and the People.

The Polisario independence movement has been fighting for the region’s independence since 1973. In 2007, Morocco proposed a plan to grant Western Sahara a far-reaching form of autonomy. But that plan was rejected by the independence movement. The kingdom would still retain control over foreign policy and defence.

Western Sahara was a Spanish colony until 1975. After Spain withdrew, a Polisario guerrilla campaign arose against the Moroccan and Mauritanian presence in the area. Mauritania soon withdrew and signed a peace agreement with the independence movement.Link


To give the journalism of MO* a future, the support of every reader is needed more than ever. Make a gift and support us in our mission.

Morocco, on the other hand, maintained that the area was Moroccan. But the Polisario, and its supporters, who did not identify themselves as Moroccan, continued to deny Morocco’s legitimacy over the area.


But Morocco cannot count on support everywhere and certainly not from neighbouring Algeria.

In 1991, a ceasefire agreement was reached between Morocco and the Polisario. The UN wanted to organise a referendum in which residents of Western Sahara could express their views on self-determination, but this still did not take place. Since 2007, Morocco has therefore been focusing on its autonomy plan.

In October, Antwerp mayor and N-VA president Bart De Wever announced that he considers the Moroccan autonomy plan a realistic solution. He did so following a working visit to Morocco where cooperation on the economy and security was discussed.

That same month, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib also announced during a working visit that Belgium supports the autonomy plan. In doing so, Belgium follows other European countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Spain.
Self-interest

But Morocco cannot count on support everywhere and certainly not from neighbouring Algeria. It is no secret that there have been frustrations between the two countries for years. Algeria also openly supports the Polisario in the process.

‘That support dates back to 1975’, explains Khadija Mohsen-Finan, political scientist and author of the book Sahara occidental: Les enjeux d’un conflit régional (Western Sahara: the stakes of a regional conflict, TN). ‘The motivation for that support is essentially political. It wants to weaken Morocco.’

This is because both countries want to strengthen their grip on the region. Unlike Morocco, Algeria has no access to the Atlantic Ocean, which Western Sahara can offer. There is also a lot of phosphate to mine, one of the main synthetic fertilisers, which is important for agricultural production. A Moroccan state-owned company now mines and exports it.

That Algeria supports the Polisario weakens the Moroccan state’s position, and they know it in Rabat. So Morocco is doing the same by openly supporting an Algerian independence movement.

The Mouvement pour l’autonomie de la Kabylie (MAK, or Movement for the Autonomy of Kabylia, TN) saw the light of day in 2001, and seeks an independent Kabylia in northeastern Algeria. The movement was founded by Ferhat Mehenni, a former singer who made the underrepresentation of the Amazigh Kabylian identity the spearhead of his activism. He saw that the identity, culture and language of the original inhabitants were not given enough space by the Algerian state. And this was compounded by great socio-economic dissatisfaction among this population.
Paradox?

Initially, the MAK sought only autonomy, but meanwhile the movement dreams of independence. Moroccan support for the Kabylian cause began in 2015. Moroccan diplomat Omar Rabi then called at the UN to grant Kabylia self-determination rights.


‘It is paradoxical: supporting independence movements in a neighbouring country, while they are not tolerated at home and are fought by all means.’

That position was reiterated in 2021 by Moroccan UN ambassador Omar Hilale at a meeting of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation. ‘More than anyone else, the people of Kabylia have the right to self-determination’, he affirmed.

Paolo De Mas calls this a striking paradox. ‘Supporting independence movements in a neighbouring country, while separatist and independence movements are not tolerated at home and are fought by all means.’ De Mas is a Morocco expert and former director of the Netherlands Institute in Morocco (NIMAR).

For Morocco, there is now the added risk that Algeria will support not only the Polisario but also Riffian independence movement. This is already happening in Algerian media and on social media.
Self-determination for Kabylia

Not long after Hilale’s statements at the UN in 2021, the Algerian Supreme Security Council indicated that relations between the two countries were in need of revision, due to ‘Morocco’s hostile actions against Algeria.’ That Security Council is a consultative body between the Algerian president, army and security forces.


‘In the struggle for regional hegemony, Morocco and Algeria are using all means, including propaganda, indoctrination and fake news.’

Algeria also accused Morocco and the MAK of starting fierce forest fires in Kabylia, although without any evidence. It also called the normalisation of relations between Morocco and Israel in 2020 problematic. Economically and militarily, the two countries now cooperate, while Algeria has strong solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

The issue is also heating up tempers this year. ‘You demand self-determination and the decolonisation of Western Sahara, but forget to end the colonisation of Kabylians, who have been living under Algerian occupation since as far back as 1962’, Moroccan UN ambassador Hilale said.

De Mas: ‘In the struggle for regional hegemony, Morocco and Algeria are using all means, including propaganda, indoctrination and fake news. Algerian support for the Polisario is countered by Morocco’s public support for the Kabylian movement in Algeria. Morocco repays Algeria with its own coin.’
Political strategy

Ferhat Mehenni, the MAK leader living in France, welcomes Moroccan support for the Kabylian cause. ‘Morocco can help us by opening a Kabylia diplomatic representation in Rabat’, he indicated in an interview with news site L’observateur.

Mehenni is also interfering on the Western Sahara issue. For instance, he thinks the Moroccan autonomy plan is more sensible than the Algerian stance. ‘That is a political strategy’, says Tashfin Essaguiar, an Amsterdam-based political science student, who closely follows political developments in North Africa related to Amazigh groups, as well as tensions between Morocco and Algeria. ‘Recognising Western Sahara as part of Morocco and thus taking a pro-Moroccan position is a strategic win-win situation for both sides.’

Moroccan support for the MAK, as a response to Algeria’s long-term support for the Polisario, may agitate Algeria psychologically. ‘Because of this Moroccan support, the MAK is high on the Algerian political agenda’, Essaguiar said. ‘And that makes it more difficult for MAK sympathisers in Algeria to promote the MAK in Kabylian regions.’

Support for the Riffian cause is also increasingly emerging. Polisario leader Brahim Ghali, for instance, spoke out clearly in an interview with television station Alhurra. ‘Let the Moroccan regime be generous and grant autonomy to the Rif’, he said.

Algeria classified the MAK as a terrorist organisation in 2021. Morocco did not yet make any official statements on the Riffian movements, such as The National Assembly of the Rif (NAR) or the Stichting Riffijns Republikeinse Congres (RRC, or the Riffian Republican Congress Foundation, TN).

NAR was founded in 2018 with coordinator Moussa Fathi living in Belgium. It aims to defend the human rights of Riffians worldwide, but does not officially seek an independent Riffian republic. However, many members and sympathisers are republican. In 2019, the RRC emerged in the Netherlands; unlike the NAR, the RRC focuses on the foundation of a Riffian republic.

‘Probably the government in Rabat does not yet see Riffian republicanism as a significant danger due to its amateurism, its small following and the movement’s lack of support and lack of growth’, Essaguiar says. But, he also stresses, that does not mean there is free rein for Riffian activists.
Disposable instruments


‘Riffians and Kabylians are merely disposable instruments in a higher-level geopolitical joust.’

De Mas considers it unlikely that support for independence movements could cause an escalation between Algeria and Morocco. ‘Propagandistic lip service’, he now calls it. But, he also nuances, ‘actual financial aid to separatist movements may well cause escalation again.’

Moreover, there is a big difference between Algerian support for the Polisario and Riffian movements. ‘Refugee camps in Tindouf (a town in Algeria, on the border with Western Sahara, ed.) are supported by Algeria. The support to the Rif is rather in words.’

With regards to accepting support from external players, Riffians and Kabylians should think carefully, stresses De Mas. ‘They are merely disposable instruments in a higher-level geopolitical joust.’

He also warns of the problems foreign support can create. ‘Secessionist movements are regarded in both countries as the ultimate high treason against which the government uses all means. Foreign support can be an additional pretext to strike down a movement and sentence leaders to severe punishments.’


This article was translated by Kompreno, with support from DeepL. Original Source, published in November 2022.

In Pictures: Ocean Groups Protest Against Fossil Fuels In London

Extinction Rebellion and other aligned groups protest at 13 sites across Central London on Monday, targeting the offices of companies and organisations that are linked to the fossil fuel industry. The groups sent a universal message that it’s time to ‘cut the ties’ with fossil fuels.


UPDATED: 22 NOV 2022 

Britain Fish Protest | Photo: AP/Alastair Grant

Demonstrators hold fish and wear fish masks as they protest outside the Home Office about the ecology of fishing over in London. The group argues about how damaged marine life is by overfishing.



Demonstrators hold fish and wear fish masks as they protest outside the Home Office about the ecology of fishing over in London.


Demonstrators hold fish and wear fish masks as they protest outside the Home Office about the ecology of fishing over in London.
46

Demonstrators hold fish as they protest outside the Home Office about the ecology of fishing over in London.

Demonstrators hold fish and wear fish masks as they protest outside the Home Office about the ecology of fishing over in London.

Demonstrators clear up fake blood and a fish head after their protest outside the Home Office about the ecology of fishing over in London.

Mazda unveils $11 bln EV spending plan, considers investing in battery production


Publishing date: Nov 22, 2022 • 

TOKYO — Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp on Tuesday unveiled a $10.6 billion spending plan to electrify its vehicles and said it was also considering investing in battery production.

The company also raised its sales target for electric vehicles (EVs) to up to 40% of its total global sales by 2030, as automakers worldwide spend billions of dollars to ramp up battery and EV production in the face of tougher environmental regulations.

The investment plan by Mazda follows similar announcements this year by domestic rivals such as Toyota and Honda, which have been criticized by environmentalists and green activist investors for being slow in electrification.

“We will promote the full-fledged launch of battery EVs and consider investing in battery production. We estimate Mazda’s EV ratio in global sales to rise to a range between 25% and 40% as of 2030,” Mazda said in a statement.

Its previous EV sales target was 25% by 2030.

The new forecast was in line with a broader industry trend, with consulting firm Deloitte expecting EV sales to make up about 32% of total new car sales globally by 2030.

As part of a three-phase plan, Mazda said it would introduce battery-EV models in the “latter half of phase 2” which it identified as the period between 2025 and 2027. It planned a full-scale launch of fully electric vehicles between 2028 and 2030, the company said.

Senior managing executive officer Akira Koga told reporters the 1.5 trillion yen ($10.6 billion) investment would be made along with its partners and would be used for research and development. The news was first reported by the Nikkei business daily.

Koga declined to give a detailed investment timeline, adding it would depend on how fast EVs became popular.

Still, Mazda CEO Akira Marumoto said the company will seek to introduce a new hybrid system and improve efficiency on internal combustion engine.

“We believe that a multi-solution approach will be effective,” he said.

The automaker said it had agreed to work with seven companies, including electric-component maker Rohm Co, to jointly develop and produce electric drive units.

Company executives also said Mazda had reached a supply agreement with battery maker Envision AESC for a limited period between 2025 and 2027.

“Beyond that, we would like to develop a strategy on procurement and securing (batteries) step by step,” said Koga.

Envision AESC chief executive Shoichi Matsumoto told Reuters last month his company was in talks with automakers in Japan, Europe, the United States and China for new supply deals.

Mazda is aiming for about 4.5 trillion yen in net sales for the business year ending March 2026, a jump of about 45% from the financial year ending March 2022, the company said. Deloitte expects total EV sales to reach 31.1 million by 2030, up from an expected 11.2 million in 2025 and 2.5 million in 2020.

($1 = 141.7500 yen) (Reporting by Tokyo Newsroom; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Bradley Perrett)

World-class act: Japanese fans clean up World Cup stadium even though it wasn't a Japan match

NOVEMBER 21, 2022
ByCLAUDIA TAN

Omar Farooq spotted some Japanese fans cleaning up rubbish at the stadium after the World Cup opening match.

Instagram/Omar Farooq

The Japanese are widely known for their impeccable manners and prosocial behaviour, and it seems they've brought this over with them to Qatar for the World Cup.

In a recent social media post, some Japanese football fans were spotted staying back at the Al Bayt Stadium stadium on Monday (Nov 21) to clear the rubbish left in the stands.

The best part? Their national team wasn't even playing that night. The opening match was between Qatar and Ecuador, where the latter won 2-0. 

Their actions were caught on video by Bahraini influencer Omar Farooq, who uploaded the clip on his Instagram account. 

"Something you haven't seen from the World Cup opening!" he wrote in the caption. 

In the video, several Japanese football fans wearing what looks like their national team jerseys were seen picking up empty bottles and food wrappers from between the rows of seats, placing them into plastic bags. 

"Japanese never leave rubbish behind," a woman told Omar in the video. "We respect the place." 

"Not for the cameras," another man said. 

Inspired by their graciousness, Omar joined in as well. 

Omar's video also garnered praise from netizens, one of whom even remarked: "I wish everyone would learn from Japan".

PHOTO: Screengrab/Instagram

This isn't the first time that the Japanese have shown their best side to the rest of the world. 

During the last World Cup in 2018, the Japanese football team were commended for cleaning up their locker room after their match against Belgium — which they lost. 

They even left a thank-you note written in Russian for their hosts. 

Even the football fans were spotted cleaning up after themselves at the venue. In an interview with AFP back then, one fan, Masaya Tsukada said that cleaning up after a game was an unofficial "fan rule". 

"Japan is not just the players, it is everything, the fans too. We need to play our part to represent the country well."

Russia's war on Ukraine: Amid risk of nuclear conflict, truth must not be allowed to become a casualty – Stewart McDonald

“Putin Bombs Nato” was the headline one paper went with. The others offered a range of less brazen headlines – from “Russian missiles hit Poland” to the more cautious “Russians blamed for fatal strike on Poland”, while online reactions were about as measured as could be expected.

Columnists
By Stewart McDonald
22nd Nov 2022,

An aerial view of the site where a missile strike killed two men in the 

eastern Poland village of Przewodow, near the border with Ukraine

 (Picture: Wojtek Radwanski and Damien Simonart/AFP via Getty Images)

“Article 5” – the part of Nato’s charter which recognises that an attack on one Allied state is an attack on all – was trending on Twitter while talking heads and anonymous accounts alike speculated about the possibility of nuclear war. Less than 24 hours after the news of the incident broke, it became clear that these reactions had little grounding in reality.

Even the speculation about Article 5 was half-baked. Its provisions are the cornerstone of the North Atlantic Treaty and one of the most famous international agreements in the world. It states that “an armed attack against one or more [Allied states] in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them” – a clause commonly understood to mean that an armed attack against one Nato state would lead to the whole alliance going to war.

However Article 5 concludes by stating that the alliance must take “such action as it deems necessary” in reaction to the armed attack. This could be as little as a strongly worded letter – if that was what the alliance thought was appropriate.

But those journalists and social media watchers were not alone in being blinded by the fog of war: even among Nato allies there was no consensus about the attack at the time of writing, with Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating explicitly that a “Russian-made” missile had landed in their territory just as the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was saying that there was a “general impression that this missile is not Russian made”. The public statement of these wildly differing opinions following a crisis is an act which damaged the credibility and stability of the alliance – and it is a mistake that Nato members must be careful not to repeat.

It doesn’t just look bad when allies go freelance – it plays directly into the hands of the Kremlin. Following the incident, and the diverging reactions across the West, Dmitry Peskov – Putin’s spokesperson – put out a statement condemning Poland for its “hysterical and frenzied Russophobic reaction” and praising the United States and President Joe Biden for the “restrained and professional reaction”. Meanwhile, the head of state-controlled RT Margarita Simonyan, issued a statement saying that “a Nato country is so badly protected that anyone can accidentally hit it with anything and all of NATO will not even know who hit it, with what and why.”

Make no mistake: the Kremlin has no interest in an honest evaluation of policy in Poland or the United States. The Russian government – as has long been known – seeks out any opportunity to sow division and discord within and between democratic states. We should be careful not to give them the chance.

This incident might not be the last in what is likely to be a protracted war of attrition against a paranoid, isolated and unpredictable Vladmir Putin. And, on balance, Nato reacted well: Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was explicit about the need to remain composed and prevent unnecessary escalation while most heads of state also made the case for calm until more information could be found. Unlike the sensationalist headline writers and online pundits, Article 5 was never on their lips.

That confusion in the public sphere, however, should give us all pause for thought. There are multiple nuclear powers directly and indirectly involved in the war in Ukraine, leaving little room for mistakes and miscalculations. And while Poland did back away from invoking Article 4, which would have recognised that its “territorial integrity, political independence or security” had been threatened, those brief moments of ambiguity show just how easy it would be for one small spark to ignite a full-scale war.

Among the ambiguities and unknowns, however, there is one eternal truth in this war: that these people would not have died if the Russian government was not intent on waging a war of colonial conquest against a sovereign state. None of them would. Instead, Vladmir Putin chose to conduct a terrorist campaign against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine – and that was a decision entirely of his making and for which he must one day face trial.

Until then, when incidents like these take place, all of us, whether we write tweets or newspaper front pages, should remember that this is a war where truth is a battlefield of its own. Sensational half-truths help no-one – they distort the information environment and cause unnecessary panic and alarm.

On one hand, it barely bears repeating; on the other, it cannot be said often enough. But nuclear war is a possibility which must be avoided at every single step – and every person watching this conflict has a responsibility to play in that. As former US President John F Kennedy reflected after the Cuban Missile Crisis, borders, nations and wars mean nothing to nuclear particles. “We all inhabit this small planet”, he said. “We all breathe the same air. And we are all mortal."


Stewart McDonald is the SNP MP for Glasgow South, his party’s spokesperson for defence, and a member of the House of Commons’ Foreign Affairs Committee

SPACE RACE 2.0
Japan's space agency fails to land probe on Moon due to communication issues

Xinhua
 2022-11-22

Japan's space agency on Tuesday said it has given up on a plan to land its Omotenashi space probe on the Moon's surface.

The news comes following the ultra-small, unmanned lander failing to maintain stable communications with controllers on Earth, and as a result, it was unable to correct its trajectory after its launch last week, sources close to the matters said.

They explained that the problem became known after the probe, regarded as being one of if not the world's smallest lunar lander, lifted off atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida last week.

The unstable communication between the probe and its controllers affected the probe's trajectory, as its solar panels were kept facing away from the sun, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) explained.

JAXA officials attempted to correct the craft's trajectory prior to its passing by the Moon and reduce its speed in a failed bid to land the 12.6-kilogram, box-shaped lander on the Moon's surface at around 11:55 pm local time on Monday, the agency said.

Plans for Japan to land its first probe on the Moon's surface were subsequently scrapped at around 2 am local time on Tuesday, JAXA officials said, with the decision based on there being no improvement in communications with Omotenashi.

Were the lunar landing to have gone ahead as planned, Japan would have been the fourth country to land a spacecraft on the Moon's surface, after the former Soviet Union, the United States and China.

According to JAXA, Omotenashi will still be used in the future for other missions already in the pipeline, including measuring levels of radiation exposure in space, among others, but only if the probe's communication problems can be corrected.
Source: Xinhua Editor: Wang Qingchu

Bacterial infections ‘second leading cause of death worldwide’



3D illustration with bacteria and microorganisms. (Stock photo)

AFP, Paris
Published: 22 November ,2022

Bacterial infections are the second leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for one in eight of all deaths in 2019, the first global estimate of their lethality revealed on Tuesday.

The massive new study, published in the Lancet journal, looked at deaths from 33 common bacterial pathogens and 11 types of infection across 204 countries and territories.

The pathogens were associated with 7.7 million deaths -- 13.6 percent of the global total -- in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic took off.

That made them the second-leading cause of death after ischaemic heart disease, which includes heart attacks, the study said.

Just five of the 33 bacteria were responsible for half of those deaths: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

S. aureus is a bacterium common in human skin and nostrils but behind a range of illnesses, while E. coli commonly causes food poisoning.

The study was conducted under the framework of the Global Burden of Disease, a vast research program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation involving thousands of researchers across the world.

“These new data for the first time reveal the full extent of the global public health challenge posed by bacterial infections,” said study co-author Christopher Murray, the director of US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

“It is of utmost importance to put these results on the radar of global health initiatives so that a deeper dive into these deadly pathogens can be conducted and proper investments are made to slash the number of deaths and infections.”

The research points to stark differences between poor and wealthy regions.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, there were 230 deaths per 100,000 population from the bacterial infections.

That number fell to 52 per 100,000 in what the study called the “high-income super-region” which included countries in Western Europe, North America and Australasia.

The authors called for increased funding, including for new vaccines, to lessen the number of deaths, also warning against “unwarranted antibiotic use.”

Hand washing is among the measures advised to prevent infection.

Atrocities Mount Amid the Return to War in Western Myanmar


Once mostly immune from the country’s post-coup turmoils, Rakhine State is beset by an increasingly devastating conflict.

By Kyaw Hsan Hlaing
November 22, 2022

The aftermath of an attack on a village by junta forces in Ponnagyun township, Rakhine State, on November 11, 2022.

Credit: Photo Supplied

About four months after fighting resumed between Myanmar’s military junta and the Arakan Army (AA) in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State, junta forces are increasingly resorting to airstrikes and artillery barrages against civilian populations, amid reported losses on the ground. One of Myanmar’s most powerful and well-organized ethnic revolutionary groups, the AA, which was formed by 26 Rakhine youths in 2009 under the guidance of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to fight for greater autonomy for the people of Rakhine State, now claims to have 30,000 troops under arms.

The recent fighting shattered an informal ceasefire agreement that the AA signed with the Myanmar military in November 2020, just before that month’s general election. This ended two years of intense fighting in northern Rakhine and southern Chin State. Soon after the military seized power in a coup in February last year, the junta offered several favors to the AA and Rakhine people to maintain the ceasefire, releasing from its custody several people including Rakhine nationalist politician Dr. Aye Maung and the family members of AA leaders. It also ended the two-year internet restriction in northern Rakhine and removed the AA from its list of “terrorist” organizations.

During the lull in fighting, the AA’s political wing, the United League of Arakan (ULA), focused on developing its administrative and judicial institutions across Rakhine State. As the ULA administration grew, the junta started making attempts to contain this administrative expansion and reinforced its troops in the area. Then, in early June, the AA refused an invitation to join junta-hosted peace talks in the capital Naypyidaw, soon after which junta forces began arresting dozens of people affiliated with the AA in northern Rakhine townships and blocked the gates of these towns. The AA responded by arresting at least 20 junta personnel in the areas of Rakhine State under its control.

On July 4, the tension between both exploded after the junta launched an airstrike against an AA base in a territory controlled by the Karen National Union in eastern Myanmar, killing at least six soldiers and injuring many others. A week later, the AA launched a retaliatory attack against junta forces in northern Rakhine, killing at least four, injuring many others, and capturing at least 14 alive.

In early August, a series of armed clashes between the AA and junta forces erupted in three locations in northern Rakhine, and another one in the southern part of neighboring Chin State.

The Rakhine War at a Glance

As of November 17, based on local news and statements from the AA, the author has identified around 100 battles that have broken out between the junta forces and the Arakan Army since July, while more than 15 clashes could be classified as fierce battles based on the intensity of clashes.

The four townships in which these clashes occurred are Maungdaw, Buthedaung, and Rethedaung townships in northern Rakhine and Paletwa township in Chin State. Other less frequent, small-scale armed clashes and mine explosions also happened in central and southern townships such as Kyauktaw, Mrauk U, Minbya, Maybone, Taunggok, and Ann. The most frequent clashes took place in Patetwa and Maungdaw, both of which possess international borders and thus have greater geostrategic significance.

During these clashes, more than 150 Myanmar junta soldiers are believed to have been killed, although the exact number is hard to determine. The exact number of casualties from the AA side is also hard to identify due to a lack of news reports, but at least 10 are reported to have died or been injured.

During the three months from August to October, at least 204 civilians were arbitrarily arrested by the junta, at least 62 of which remain in detention. The AA has responded by arresting at least 8 junta personnel in the areas of Rakhine State under its control.

Of those detained by the junta, at least 29 were members of its administrative apparatus, including school teachers, doctors, and people from the General Administration Department, who were accused of paying taxes or donating money to the ULA. They also include social workers accused of otherwise aiding AA members and civilians displaced by the conflict.

Apart from this, since the junta blocked the United Nations and international NGOs from accessing the six townships of northern Rakhine State on September 16, the residents, especially thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs), have faced shortages in food, shelter, and other relief items. Last month, the United Nations noted that the situation in Rakhine was “of particular concern” and that more than 17,400 people, including Rohingya, had been displaced.

Since fighting resumed after a brief pause in early August, junta forces have also blocked highways and roads linking the state capital Sittwe to both the commercial center Yangon and Rathedaung to Maungdaw in northern Rakhine.

Mounting Mass Atrocities


As the junta forces have lost ground to the AA and other ethnic resistance groups across Myanmar, it has reportedly come to rely more heavily on airstrikes on its opponents, in particular through targeting populations of unarmed civilians believed to support them.


The Irrawaddy reported that from October 1 to 28, the junta launched a total of 28 aerial attacks in five regions including Rakhine, leaving 111 dead and injuring at least 126. In particular, the recent brutal junta airstrike on a concert in Kachin State in the north of the country, killing more than 60 people and injuring many more. As of October 31 in Rakhine, at least seven aerial attacks have taken place since July, killing at least 18 civilians, including seven children, and injuring at least 31.

In addition to airstrikes, the junta ramped up its artillery offensives in Rakhine State in the first two weeks of November. In the six days between November 10 to 16, artillery shells killed at least 17 civilians and injured at least 50 in northern Rakhine.

November 16 was a particularly deadly day. According to local media reports, at least 11 civilians including three children were killed and at least 27 others were wounded after four mortar shells were launched into Jeitchaung village in northern Maungdaw township. On the same day, in Kyauktaw township, at least four residents were killed and three people, including a grade 9 student, were wounded in an artillery strike on Chaungtu Village.

Ten days earlier, junta soldiers from the military’s Ponnagyun-based Light Infantry Battalion No. 550 also shot and killed at least nine civilians, mainly elderly people including a 92-year-old woman, and burned at least 10 houses in Hsininngyi village, Ponnagyun township.

To sum up, in just the first 16 days of November, the numbers of junta atrocities in Rakhine State were greater than in the previous three months. From August to October, around 20 civilians were killed and 30 were injured due to artillery shells and airstrikes. Within 16 days of November, at least 36 including children and elders were killed, and at least 72 were injured. There were at least 12 civilian deaths and at least 39 injuries in Kyauktaw alone.

As the armed conflict between the junta forces and the AA escalates, and inevitably spreads to southern Rakhine – the latter issued a statement on November 11, vowing to retaliate against junta forces – the Myanmar military will undoubtedly launch airstrikes and artillery attacks on these areas as well. Despite nearly two years of relative peace in Rakhine, civilian casualties are once again on the rise and the humanitarian situation across the state is steadily worsening.

GUEST AUTHOR
Kyaw Hsan Hlaing
Kyaw Hsan Hlaing is an independent journalist and researcher, writing on human rights, political transitions, and issues related to the civil war and the military coup in Myanmar. Follow him on Twitter @kyawhsanhlaing1

ANZ set to pull out of pariah state Myanmar after facing 'increasing operational complexity'

By foreign affairs reporter Stephen Dziedzic
Posted Mon 21 Nov 2022 

ANZ's decision to pull out of Myanmar is likely to be welcomed by activists.

 (AAP Image: Sergio Dionisio)

ANZ has announced it will pull out of Myanmar, dealing a blow to the country's military junta and potentially ramping up pressure on other overseas banks to turn their backs on the regime.

Key points:

The bank is set to finish up operations in Myanmar by early next year

Activists revealed last month it had facilitated payments into a Myanmar military-controlled bank

ANZ said it had been facing "increasing operational complexity" in the country in recent months

In a brief statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the major Australian bank said it would cease its Myanmar operations by early next year "subject to local regulatory approval".

The move has been welcomed by activists who took aim at ANZ earlier this month after leaked records showed the bank had facilitated at least a handful of payments that foreign companies hold with a military-controlled bank in Myanmar.

ANZ said it had been facing "increasing operational complexity" in Myanmar over the past several months, and was "working with its institutional customers to transition to alternative banking arrangements".

"The decision follows careful consideration of the local operating conditions," said ANZ's international managing director, Simon Ireland.

"We thank the team for working tirelessly to support our customers during this time.

"Our international network and supporting the trade and capital flows of our customers around the region is a critical part of our strategy, and will continue to be for the long term."

Australia under pressure to sanction Myanmar junta

Australia is an outlier among like-minded countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union, all of which have imposed tough sanctions on Myanmar's military rulers since the coup on February 1 last year.


ANZ doesn't have a huge presence in Myanmar, with a small team of around two dozen local staff in the country.

Still, it's one of the first major overseas financial institution to leave Myanmar, and the decision means by early next year no substantial Western banks will remain in the country.

Multinational companies who bank with ANZ and operate in the country will now have to find an alternative at a time when the junta is grappling with US-led sanctions.

Civil society groups will also hope that the announcement will help ramp up pressure on other banks – including institutions based in Singapore and Japan – to announce they will also withdraw from the country.

A host of other multinationals – including Telenor and energy giant Woodside — have already announced they're leaving Myanmar in the wake of the military coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi's government in February last year.

Myanmar has also been increasingly turning towards Russian banks for finance as it grows more isolated from Western financial institutions.

Aung San Suu Kyi is in prison after her government was overthrown last year in a military coup. (AP: Aung Shine, file)

ANZ facilitated deposits into military-owned bank

The announcement comes after it was revealed that ANZ facilitated deposits for international companies into accounts they hold with Innwa Bank – which is owned by a military conglomerate, the Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC).

The United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union have all imposed sanctions on the MEC as part of a broader attempt to financially isolate the military junta, but Australia has yet to do the same.

The transactions totalled around $5,000 and were paid on behalf of a Malaysian telco infrastructure provider edotco, and a Hong Kong based insurer AIA.

The bank said at the time the transactions were made in Myanmar's local currency rather than US dollars, and it said it would be "misleading and deceptive" to suggest it breached sanctions.

But activists said dealing with the Innwa Bank – which plays a crucial role in helping the junta access the international financial system and fund military controlled businesses – was still morally inexcusable.

Myanmar's military has business interests across all sector's of the country's economy. (AP)

Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung said the group "cautiously welcomed" ANZ's decision and called on the company to "responsibly exit" the country.

"This must involve mitigating and remedying the impact on their staff and ensuring that they repatriate all funds so they do not leave a windfall for the terrorist military junta," she said.

Australia to prioritise visas for Myanmar nationals fleeing junta

The government says it will send $135 million in aid and prioritise onshore protection visas for people from the South-East Asian nation.


"ANZ is the first international bank to leave Myanmar and their planned exit is another sign of the destruction the junta is causing to Myanmar's economy through their coup attempt, war of terror and proliferation of illicit business activities under control of, or profiting the military, and its associates."

Ms Maung also said ANZ's past record highlighted the need for Australia to hit the junta with fresh sanctions.

"Since the military's illegal attempted coup, ANZ has transacted with the US, UK and EU sanctioned Innwa Bank and facilitated customer payments to the military junta, enabled by the refusal of the Australian government to sanction the junta and its businesses," she said.

"The Australian government's appalling inaction in response to the crisis in Myanmar undermines its democratic values and international obligations."

Human Rights Watch Asia director Elaine Pearson said ANZ's announcement was "welcome" but also "underscores why targeted sanctions by the Australian government are more than just 'virtue signalling'."

"The lack of targeted sanctions by the Australian government has reportedly enabled Australian companies to continue to do business with junta-controlled entities that have been sanctioned by other governments," she said.

"Sean Turnell is out now, so the Australian government should stop dragging its feet and act in the interests of the people of Myanmar.

"The Myanmar junta will not end its brutality unless there is a strong coordinated effort to impose financial pressure on junta-controlled entities."

Australian Sean Turnell tells of Myanmar jail squalor, torture fear

A handout photo shows Australian economic adviser Sean Turnell (right) and Australian Chargé d'Affaires to Myanmar Angela Corcoran, after Turnell's release from Insein prison in Yangon. ― AFP pic

=
Tuesday, 22 Nov 2022

SYDNEY, Nov 22 ― An Australian economist released last week after nearly two years in a Myanmar jail today told of interrogations in leg irons, squalor and the sounds of screams from tortured cellmates.

Sean Turnell, who returned home to Sydney on Friday after being released as part of an amnesty of almost 6,000 prisoners, gave the first public details of his incarceration in an interview with The Australian newspaper.

The former adviser to deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi was detained by the military in February 2021 shortly after its forces seized control of the country.

Turnell told the paper he was initially kept at Yangon's Insein prison in a six metre by 2.5 metre concrete cell in which an iron chair with leg irons had been bolted to the floor.

He then endured two months of interrogations, the paper said, sometimes being taken from his bed to be locked in the irons.

Officials accused him of working for British intelligence and gun-running, and quizzed him about his work for Suu Kyi, the economist was quoted as saying.

He told the paper he was infected with Covid-19 five times and kept in solitary confinement for months.

In the early days of his confinement, Turnell said he could hear the sounds of people outside banging pots and pans at night in protest against the military coup.

“Then came the explosions and gunfire and people being tortured in rooms nearby. I thought, they're not going to do that to me surely? Then after a while, I started thinking, maybe they will. I think they wanted me to hear it.”

'Ate out of a bucket'

Turnell said he had expected to be treated “with kid gloves”.

“They didn't stick electrodes to me, but I was thrown into filthy cells. The food they used to deliver to me (came) in a bucket. For 650 days, I ate out of a bucket.”

In the Naypyidaw detention centre, to which he was later transferred, “it wasn't even a new bucket, they were paint buckets”, he said.

“They didn't beat me, but they did push and shove me.”

In Naypyidaw, prisoners were locked away for 20 hours a day, Turnell said.

“In the monsoon, the roof would leak and we would sit there all night sometimes with water just pouring down through the roof, clutching your clothes and blanket to try to keep them dry,” he said.

Turnell said his wife, Ha Vu, an economist at Australia's Macquarie University, helped him survive with phone chats and by regularly sending books, cookies and cake through the Australian embassy.

The economist was sentenced in September to three years' imprisonment for breaching Myanmar's Official Secrets Act ― charges he denied ― before being released in last week's amnesty along with former British ambassador Vicky Bowman and Japanese journalist Toru Kubita. ― AFP