Category Archives: Government Oppression

Following French President Emmanuel Macrons outburst at Israeli Shin Bet security officers outside the Church of St. Anne on Wednesday, several Israeli news outlets said his anger about Israeli security officials entering the church was due to the pro-BDS and anti-Semitic organization that is housed in the church.

No one really knows whether that prompted Macrons anger or he just has a bad temper but is there is a genuine reason he is so territorial about the church? The Church of St. Anne is a Roman Catholic church in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem which was given to France by the Ottoman Empire in 1856.

There definitely is a reason and its not pretty. What is indeed known about the Church of St. Anne is that it houses a branch of the organization called the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). EAPPI, founded by the Geneva-based World Council of Churches (WCC), brings activists to Judea and Samaria as tourists, who receive special training and are deployed at Palestinian checkpoints and other sensitive areas to provoke and video confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers. The tourists then return to Europe and use their first-hand experience and documentation to advance anti-Israel and pro-BDS campaigns.

The EAPPI activities, which are branded as working toward a just peace between Palestine and Israel, is completely slanted and one-sided with the only goal being to video Israeli oppression of Palestinians while completely ignoring the presence of anti-Israeli and pro-violence propaganda in Palestinian society, not to mention outright terror. Activists are required to have experience with video and digital tools in order to document the Israeli oppression and transfer the material for anti-Israel incitement campaigns as well as have connections with church or political groups in Europe to use as platforms for anti-Israel campaigns.

DMU, an organization that monitors the WCCs actions in Israel, stated: The French government has been tied over and over to activity against the state of Israel. In March 2018, a [French] embassy employee was caught smuggling weapons into the Gaza Strip. In July 2019, the French consulate chose a terrorism activist to manage a camp on its behalf in east Jerusalem. Throughout this time, the government continues to provide day-to-day protection to BDS activists. The French government should be pressured to end the free-reign of these activists and remove them from the compound.

A report by NGO Monitor in 2019 called EAPPI: The World Council of Churches Training Camp for Anti-Israel Advocacy said that the EAPPI has brought 1,800 volunteers to Judea and Samaria to witness life under occupation something the WCC does only in Israel and not in any other conflict zone throughout the world.

Despite marketing itself as a human rights and protection program, EAPPI places significant emphasis on political advocacy before, during, and after the trip, the NGO report states. When volunteers return to their home countries and churches, they engage in anti-Israel advocacy, such as BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) campaigns and comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany.

EAPPI partners with a number of political NGOs in the region, including groups that support BDS campaigns against Israel and/or that accuse Israel of war crimes.

Furthermore, a senior source told TPS in 2019 that EAPPI activists have directly supported terrorism. EAPPI activists visited the family of Palestinian terrorist Omar al-Abed, who murdered Yosef Salomon, his daughter Chaya, and his son Elad at their home in Neve Tsuf in July 2017. The visit was only a few days after the attack and the activists even gave the family money!

DMU told TPS that EAPPI activists have also visited terrorists homes in Hebron.

Since the EAPPI program is located in St. Annes compound under French jurisdiction, it enjoys diplomatic immunity from Israeli law enforcement officials and Israeli security officials are not allowed to enter the church without the permission of the French government. In other words, France is providing diplomatic power to anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian campaigns in the heart of Jerusalems Old City.

In 2016, the Christian Empowerment Council (CEC) wrote a letter to the French Ambassador to Israel complaining about the French diplomatic protection granted to EAPPI, according to a Jerusalem Post report.

I think that the fact their office is in the area under the auspices of the French government is serious and represents inappropriate relations between friendly nations, CECs leader, Father Gabriel Naddaf, wrote: The French government should take them out of the compound under its territory immediately and without delay and to stop assisting the organization, which is operating illegally.

(YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem)

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Was Macron's Outburst Tied To The Pro-BDS & Anti-Israel Program Housed In St. Anne's Church? - Yeshiva World News

DetailsPublished: Sunday, 26 January 2020

On the dawn of January 3, the worldparticularly the people of the Middle Eastwas released from a dangerous threat after Qassem Soleimani was taken out by a U.S. drone.

Soleimani as the commander of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force was responsible for many crimes against the people of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, etc. In the wake of Soleimanis elimination, many Iraqis and Syrians broke to streets and celebrated the news by dancing and distributing sweets.

In Iran, in contrast with the governments propaganda for styling him as a hero, youths distributed sweets to show their rejoicing over this significant occasion. Thanks, President Trump, read on sweets boxes, showing Iranians support for targeting the IRGC commander.

Some while later, protesters in different Iranian cities chanted the slogan, Soleimani is a murderer, as is his leader [the supreme leader Ali Khamenei]. Additionally, they tore down, trampled, and torched Soleimanis portraits to debunk the misinformation campaign run by the Iranian propaganda apparatus, called IRIB.

Now, his successor Esmail Ghaani has vowed to continue Soleimanis luminous path, which means mass killing Iranians, Syrians, Iraqis, and American citizens and troops. If Ghaani follows the same path of killing Americans then he will meet the same fate, U.S. special envoy for Iran Brian Hook told the Arabic-language daily Asharq al-Awsat. However, the new chief of the IRGC-QF has a long-time background in committing crimes against the people of Iran and the region.

Esmail Ghaani Akbarnejad who has just been replaced with the slain IRGC-QF commander, for many years was serving the oppressive, terrorist apparatus of the Iranian government as Soleimanis deputy. He was personally involved in all tracked and non-tracked crimes by the IRGC-QF.

Since 1980, when he was only 20 years old, the fledgling government of Iran dispatched him to Kurdistan to crack down on regional upheaval. During the Iran-Iraq war, he led many teenagers and minors to killing fields by horrendous methods.

Notably, the IRGC commanders were to employ the human wave tactic for sweeping minefields. They literally sacrificed many teenagers by giving them hollow promises about Heaven, and deceived them by giving them key to heaven and sending them to clear minefields. In 1987, Ghaani was appointed as the Ansar Corps Commander to orchestrate IRGC operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Also, several oppressive positions are seen in Ghaanis background. Following the end of the war with Iraq, Ghaani spent some time as the Commander of Intelligence in the Kurdistan region, Intelligence Office Chief of the IRGC Joint Command, and Deputy Intelligence Chief of the IRGC Joint Command.

In 1992, Ghaani played a decisive role in suppressing protests in Mashhad, his birthplace. In July 1999, he along with 23 other IRGC commanders including Qassem Soleimani, Hossein Hamedani, etc. signed a letter to then-President Mohammad Khatami demanding severe oppression of the student uprisings.

Hamedani as Soleimanis appointee for suppressing the Syrian revolt against Bashar al-Assads regime was killed by the Free Syrian Army. It is worth reminding that following Hamedanis death, Ghaani was sent to Syria and assumed command of oppressive operation in Aleppo.

Ghaani has also been involved in warmongering projects of the Iranian government. Since April 2014, he constantly traveled to Iraq to supervise the training and organizing Iran-backed militias, such as Kataib Hezbollah, Asaib Ahle Haq, Badr organization, etc.

Notably, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the commander of the Iraqi version of Lebanese Hezbollah was slain beside Soleimani on January 3. He was responsible for many crimes against the Iraqi people, in addition to foreign citizens, troops, and embassies in Kuwait and Iraq. Al-Muhandis spent the majority of his life in Iran and the ayatollahs considered him as a key implementer of their policy in this country.

Meanwhile, Ghaani played an essential role in expanding conflicts in Yemen by funding and training Houthi militants. The defenders of Yemen were trained under the flag of the Islamic Republic. The enemies cannot confront the Yemeni fighters, said Ghaani in an interview with the state-run TV on May 23, 2014.

The new commander of IRGC-QF like his predecessor was involved in underground transactions. He was responsible for organizing and overseeing the vast smuggling network of the Quds Force. The IRGC-QF pursues this dirty commerce to supply arms and funds terrorist proxies in various countries, including Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq. In November 2012, the U.S. Department of Treasury added Ghaani to the list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) in its effort to counter the funding of terrorism.

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Terrorism and Suppression, the Core of Iran's IRGC - Iran News Update

For many years, I tried to prevent the Holocaust from becoming a defining factor in my Judaism. Sadly, Ive found it unavoidable.

My family comes from a once thriving Jewish community in a small village in Lithuania. My grandfather, Barnett, came to the UK from there at the age of three. After they left, on just one day, Nazis and Lithuanian collaborators rounded up 2,000 Jewish residents, including the rest of my family, threw them into their synagogue and burnt it to the ground with all of them inside.

Keeping the flame of remembrance alive continued with my family. My father, Greville, co-founded the Holocaust Educational Trust with Merlyn Rees. This was key in lobbying for the War Crimes Act (1991) to bring those responsible for Nazi atrocities (and now resident in Britain) to justice; government-sponsored visits to Auschwitz; and for reparations for survivors. In the past I would rarely teach or speak about the Shoah but, after the death of my father, I feel the obligation, the duty as his daughter, to continue the work as best as I can.

I dont think it is possible for us ever to rid ourselves of the taste of destruction that the Holocaust has caused our community. Our task is to turn this devastation into something of meaning which keeps the flame going, to find strength and joy in being Jewish in the post-Holocaust world.

Psalm 100 tells us: ivdu et hashem bsimcha, bou lfanav birnana to serve God with joy and to come into the presence of the Eternal with singing.

That is my kind of Judaism one filled with fun, warmth and learning. Much in common with the Chassidic movement of the 18th century, my Judaism has always been a Judaism of joy over fear.

We cannot give those who seek our harm the victory of making us live unhappily, or partake in our Judaism quietly and furtively. This joy is the first element to keeping our flame lit.

The second way we keep our flame alive is through memories that we revisit and retell which can be a blessing they enable us to act proactively and appropriately when we believe something in our world is going wrong.

We need to use this central Jewish belief to speak out at the right time with conviction.

Yet memories also have the capacity to be a curse, leading us to see threats where they may not be, or as much greater than they really are. Our collective memory has given us a sixth sense for danger, but one we must keep calibrated. By speaking correctly when the time is right, turning the phrase never again into action, we take the second step to continuing to care for the flame of memory we hold.

Finally, we must look outwards. We alone do not have the fuel to keep the flame going we need to share it with others. While the Holocaust is part of the history of our community, it is a history which has value far beyond ourselves.

Sharing the memory with wider society allows other communities to be our allies in ensuring that our pain is never forgotten. More than that, we can share our pain with others who have experienced terrible oppression in history and find common ground to build lasting coalitions, to stand together, fighting against such oppression being carried out again.

We have this flame to carry together, but looking after it need not be a burden. We can take a legacy of pain and together we can transform it into a blessing for us and for our world.

Rabbi Janner-Klausner grew up in London; worked as an educator in Jerusalem for 15 years working with Jews and as dialogue facilitator trainer of Palestinians and Israelis. She is the Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism in the UK.

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Our legacy of pain can be turned into a blessing - Jewish News

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Malaysia has taken top spot in the Asean region on the 2019 Global Democracy Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Malaysia shares 43rd spot with Trinidad and Tobago with a score of 7.16 against the best score of 9.87 achieved by Norway in the global ranking of 167 political entities. Timor Leste is ranked the highest in South-east Asia, scoring 7.19 while achieving the 41st global position for democracy.

This is not an evaluation or ranking that most countries give much credence to especially if they are not ranked highly. The socialist and authoritarian countries would be particularly disdainful and dismissive of the ranking attempted.

Korea and Japan ahead

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It is significant that in Asia the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan are ranked the highest at 23rd and 24th position respectively at the top of the Flawed Democracy category. These two East Asian countries are ranked above the United States, which is slotted at 25th position.

This is somewhat of an irony when it is recalled how the famous US General Douglas MacArthur virtually dictated Japans postwar Constitution and saved the ROK from a deep crucible and firmly set both countries on a path of stabilisation, free enterprise and peaceful progress from the late 1940s.

India Downgraded

The most unsurprising element in the latest ranking exercise was India, which fell 10 places to position 51 from 41. India has slid back in many ways under its current government which came into power with much promise. It shows how the worlds largest democracy has receded into a narrow, negative path marshalling majoritarian religious sentiment to bear on its immigration and citizenship regulations. It is, however, heartening that the people of India, belonging to every religious faith, and most intellectuals including prominent writers, have protested and are continuing to protest over this discriminatory piece of legislation.

Malaysia Upgraded

Malaysia has steadily moved up the scale from position 59 in 2017 and 52 in 2018. It is an impressive climb but it does not do justice to Malaysia as it does not capture the difficult situation that the current government has had to navigate in upholding democratic values. In May 2018 the current government inherited a deeply flawed and faulty system from the previous government.

For a whole decade before May 10, 2018, the country had been slowly sinking under the weight of corruption, inefficiency, repressive laws, a huge debt servicing bill, a massive overdose of religion in schools with its concomitant impact of dividing the people and a steadily growing wage and pension bill that exceeded a third of the countrys Budget.

In Malaysias multicultural society the highest priority is the laying of a solid foundation for national unity but that again is conditioned by the reality of a plural system of education where different schools can provide instruction in Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mandarin and Tamil.

The effect of these varying systems of teaching is that the cultures of minority groups are well safeguarded and enhanced and ultimately the country has the innate and impressive capacity to communicate and interact with different parts of the world. In recent years Malaysia has also promoted itself as a centre of education and has been able to attract more than 170,000 students from other Asian countries, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. There is a truly cosmopolitan environment in the country on account of these factors.

Malaysias well-known tourism advertisement that Malaysia Is Truly Asia is not an empty slogan.

Given Malaysias central location in South-east Asia, its porous borders and its relative prosperity in relation to some of its neighbours, the country has attracted several million foreigners who have mainly sought employment and easier living conditions.

There are perhaps six million foreigners, more than half of them illegal or undocumented. The undocumented ones could not be expelled as that would have caused a major humanitarian crisis and affect relations with the countrys closest neighbours. Given this situation, Malaysia is in a somewhat awkward position although this government has attempted to fully subscribe to the ideals of democracy, good governance, transparency and accountability.

Sensitive Issues

The current Malaysian government abandoned efforts to ratify the International Convention Against All Forms of Racial Discrimination(ICERD) and the Rome Statute following strong opposition and protests by certain conservative groups. Such agitation, largely race-based was mainly orchestrated by the countrys opposition parties which, while preaching rather liberal policies, were actually practising oppression and restricting freedom of expression. The Malaysian government is unable to proceed with other democratic reforms as it does not enjoy the two-thirds majority required to approve amendments to its Constitution.

In examining the EIU methodology for rating Malaysia it is found that Malaysia achieved a score of 9.17 in the category for electoral process and pluralism and a relatively low score of 5.88 for civil liberties. The other scores were 7.86 for the functioning of government, 6.67 for political participation and 6.25 for political culture. The current government has to endeavour to improve the situation with civil liberties in the country. One strong feature in the current situation is a strong, impartial and fair National Election Commission.

Interestingly the Opposition, given the level playing field, has fared generally well in some of the by-elections held since May 2018. There is scope to further improve on civil liberties, wider political participation and the countrys political culture given a rather proactive Human Rights Commission, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, strong NGOs with good, committed leadership, the role of the press and media especially social media and the space provided by the current government for all these agencies and media to operate in.

The police authorities are largely perceived to be impartial although somewhat underfunded and undermanned. The countrys judiciary remains a strong and stable independent pillar but the ease with which its most senior retiring judges move into the private sector and para-statals is a matter of concern. There should be a reasonable cooling-off period of at least six months between these positions.

There is, however, still widespread concern over at least four missing (allegedly forced disappearances) persons, some unresolved cases of excesses by the security authorities and the politicisation of education.

In Malaysias current situation greater attention has to be paid to education provision which is STEM-based (i.e. science, technology, engineering and mathematics), neutral in respect of religion and focused on creating a united, vibrant, harmonious and forward-looking society which transcends race, religion and region.

More significantly the results of the last general election on May 9, 2018, seem to have crystallised a situation where the majority Malay-Muslim community feels that they have lost political power. Najib Razak, the former Prime Minister has thrown in his lot rather irresponsibly with this seemingly disenfranchised lot and is proving to be menacingly threatening to a sane and sober government. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad seems to be acutely aware of this fault line and has attempted to fashion policies to address the matter.

It is imperative that this matter is handled delicately and the governments narrative that it represents 99 per cent of the population is more widely known and appreciated. Malaysia has aspired to be not only more democratic but decent to its diverse population.

M Santhananaban

Dato M Santhananaban is a retired Malaysian ambassador with 45 years of public sector experience.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of The Independent Singapore. /TISG

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Dr Mahathir's Malaysia tops democracy index in the Asean region - The Independent

Omar Ameen is an Iraqi-American refugee currently housed in a maximum security cell an hour up the road from me in Sacramento. The United States government contends that Ameen is an ISIS commander who infiltrated the refugee stream coming out of the Middle East. He awaits a hearing next week that could result in his extradition back to a certain death in Iraq.

And yet all of the evidence indicates Ameen is not, in fact, an ISIS commander, but instead an innocent man who fled the sectarian violence and bloodshed that we contributed to in his home country in order to live out what was once considered the American dream with his family here.

Its the type of story that every part of you doesnt want to be truebecause if it is true it is so fucking maddening that you cant even see straight. Its enough to make part of you hope that youre missing something; to hope that Ameen might be secret ISIS after-all. Because if he isnt an ISIS commander who infiltrated the U.S. refugee program, then it means something much worsethat the U.S. government is terrorizing an innocent man on our behalf.

Even the person who spent months getting to the bottom of this atrocity wished he had it wrong. Last week, New Yorker writer Ben Taub tweeted that he is closing a story today one which, at every stage of reporting, I wanted to drop, I wanted to find wasnt true. But it is, and its important, and I hate it.

Podcast January 24 2020

On today's Friday Bulwark Megacast, host Charlie Sykes is joined by Jonathan V. Last and Jim Swift to discuss impeachmen...

Taubs story, The Fight To Save An Innocent Refugee From Almost Certain Death, lays out in horrific detail how the FBI, DHS, State Department, and DOJ have been co-opted into a campaign to extradite an innocent man to almost certain death, to make a racist talking point appear to be slightly less of a fiction. It reads more like a dystopian movieEnemy of the Racist Statethan a real-life story.

Except that is real. And you must read every word it.

Taub reports that Omar Ameen left Iraq for Turkey in 2012 on a tourist visa and once there sought refugee status on the basis of his family members death and kidnapping at the hand of terrorist groups. His wife and three children followed suit.

In 2014 they were resettled in Salt Lake City. Ameen found work at a Mormon charity and the family began taking English classes. A few months later the family moved to Sacramento for more familiar weather and to be closer to other Iraqi families. Once there, Ameen worked as an Uber and delivery driversometimes as much as 20 hours per day to support his family.

Three years later, as the Ameen family was starting to really acclimate to American life, out of nowhere their apartment was raided by dozens of armed men.

The Trump administration claimed that he was an ISIS commander who had infiltrated the American homeland. The New York Times headlined their story Isis Member Arrested in Sacramento and included a claim from the extradition report that Ameen was one of the founders of an al-Qaeda affiliate.

The basis of the arrest was an Iraqi extradition case. Ameen had been accused of killing a police officer in his home town of Rawah as part of an ISIS kill squad in 2014. When informed of the charge Ameen felt a brief moment of reliefbecause he wasnt in Iraq in 2014. He was in Turkey, awaiting resettlement. He knew the charge was ridiculous and assumed the authorities would realize their mistake, too.

But such exculpatory evidence didnt prove to make much of a difference. Iraq and the U.S. were eager to implement their extradition treaty. Plus an ISIS chief living a quiet life as an Uber driver in Sacramento was the perfect story for the Trump administration, which was looking for any possible excuse to justify its Middle East refugee ban.

And so a year and a half later, Ameen remains incarcerated, awaiting his deportation.

Why is Taub so sure that the government doesnt have it right?

For starters, the idea that one of the founders of a terrorist affiliate successfully navigated the muliti-agency refugee vetting system would be a remarkable achievement. When looking at the Ameen case, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was confused on this point as well, and requested information on how this could possibly happen. But a year and a half later, the details have not been publicized. Needless to say, an ISIS terrorist trying to come to America has a much much better chance at avoiding the feds by just coming here on a travel visa and staying. Going through a rigorous, years-long U.N. vetting process is a good way to get caught. Why would an ISIS commander have taken that risk?

But lets just pretend for a moment that Ameen is a terrorist founder and financier whorather than using a tourist visa, or flying to Canada and sneaking across the borderdecided to play it straight with the U.N. resettlement process. That he somehow gamed the vetting system. And that he then caught a lucky break in getting sent to the States rather than, say, Germany.

The U.S. governments theory of the case is that right before he completed this masterstroke of long-game deception, Ameen decided to risk it all by traveling from southern Turkey, through war-torn Syria, past the Free-Syrian Army, past various ISIS affiliates, and into al-Anbar provincethe most dangerous part of Iraqall so that he could commit a random murder of a policeman from his hometown.

Again: This all seems highly improbable. At the very least, you would want to have a great deal of evidence to convince you that it might be true.

But in the case of Ameen, the logistics, the evidence surrounding his involvement, and the first hand witnesses to the murder all point to his innocence.

First the timeline. Every Thursday, Ameen was required to sign in at the immigration office in Mersin, Turkey, where he had been resettled awaiting extradition. He signed in the Thursday before the murder. The murder was commited on a Sunday. Ameen then signed back in, at the Mersin office, on the next Thursday. Which means he would have had to make the 600 mile death march from Mersin to Rawahthrough multiple terrorist controlled landsin three days. Two weeks after the murder Ameen had to report to Istanbul for a medical screening, where he exhibited showed no signs of injury, which, again, seems improbable for someone who made two hasty, dangerous journeys and a committed a murder.

There is other evidence. On the day of the murder, Ameen (or someone using his account) liked a Facebook post. Which is important because in the weeks surrounding the murder the internet had been entirely shut down in the Anbar province.

Then there are the witnesses: Multiple witnesses say Ameen never left Turkey during June of 2014. Which makes sense, since part of his refugee agreement was that he was not allowed to leave Turkeyso just the act of leaving the country, even without the commission of a murder, would have put all of that work in jeopardy. Again: Why would an ISIS commander trying to fool the U.N. system take that risk?

But maybe thats not enough for you.

So try this: The victims parents and widow insist that Ameen is innocent.

And the victims final text message contains a LITERAL LIST OF SUSPECTS including those who had threatened [him] and who later showed up in ISIS propganda announcing [his] murder.

Omar Ameen was not on the list.

The United States Government has this exculpatory information. They know that, at minimum, the case against Ameen is deeply flawed.

And yet Ameen still sits alone in a cell. Refusing to eat. Wishing for death. While his family are in a prison of their own, living in a new land without their breadwinner, who stands wrongly accused by powerful foreigners of being a terrorist.

When you look at the Ameen story you see tales weve seen before: The wrong guy being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The broken criminal justice system in desperate need of reform. The cruel government agents who dont care about the truth.

And yes, its a story about all of those things.

But the Ameen story is also about what kind of country we are.

The Ameen family storythe first part, before the men with guns swooped in to ruin his lifeis one we used to pride ourselves on.

Refugees fleeing violence and oppression, seeing a beacon of hope shining across the ocean, and sacrificing everything to make it to America. A family does everything by the book, follows all of the rules to get here, then learns our language, helps at religious charities, joins a community, works hundred-hour weeks to support themselves, and comes to love our country for its beauty and opportunity.

Thats the American story. Or at least it used to be.

Today the American story is about sticking up for your own kind and taking what you think you deserve. Its about blocking others from the bounty. Its about being suspicious of anyone who doesnt look like you and being willing to put a family through the deepest circle of hell to prove that your prejudices are right. Its about accepting literally any story from your government, so long as the people suffering are from the other tribe. Its about being righteously aggrieved at the most minor slight while not blinking an eye at the maximum cruelty being imposed on the other.

Its a story I keep wanting to believe isnt true. But keep being reminded that it is.

And I hate it.

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Were Trying to Send a Refugee to Die to Make a Government Lie Seem True - The Bulwark

In 2008, the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Government of India marked January 24 to be celebrated as National Girl Child Day on January 24. This nationally observed day was initiated to raise awareness about the inequality that still persists in the country. Girls face challenges, sometimes even before they are born. From female foeticide, infanticide, discrimination in education, sexual abuse, child marriage, lack of reproducitve care and equal opportunities, girls and young women in the country have had to deal with tough times.

Artwork celebrating the National Girl Child Day. (Image source: C3)

However, just one day is not enough to spread awareness and tackle these issues, says Aparajita Gogoi with HerStory, Executive Director of Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3), an organisation focused on improving the condition of girls and women in the country.

Efforts must be taken everyday to break the cycle of oppression that many girls still face in the country. And work has to be done every day to ensure girls receive the resources that they deserve and achieve their full potential.

For over three decades, C3 has been working in the country to mobilise, equip, educate and empower girls and women to meet their full potential. Beginning in 1987, at the core of its work is the belief that gender equality is essential for development and democracy.

She adds, We specifically focus on girls completing 12 years of education atleast, and preventing child marriage. Then when the girl reaches her reproductive age, we work around ensuring that women and girls have access to information on family planning, contraception, and quality healthcare services. We try to work around the whole life cycle of a girl.

How does this translate to on ground work?

Modules and curriculums are designed to be delivered to girls and women in areas where intervention is necessary. C3 also works in partnership with governments to design and deliver scaled-up programmes. Its in-school adolescent education programme, Udaan is now delivered at every government school in Jharkhand.

Girls take part in digital literacy class. (Image source: C3)

We have two kinds of programmes. One is delivering these programs at scale. So we work through schools, Anganwadi centres, where we can reach maximum girls, she explains . It leverages the public system, the government schools, and collaborates with the government in this method.

Another method is to curate small programmes, such as offering scholarships to girls, where they can learn skilling or take karate classes. Or digital literacy courses where 3000-10,000 girls are learning digital skills. This is the kind of work where we still focus on the girl as an individual. The organisation has a small grants program called Unniti, which is based on the philosophy of small philanthropy that has helped over 2000 girls.

Other programmes include Pahel, which empowers women politically; Youth Life, its digital education program for adolescents; and Do Kadam, an intervention program in Bihar for preventing domestic violence.

The organisations work has helped over 1.9 million girls in the last 30 years.

Several staff, community members, peer educators and volunteers are involved in bringing these modules to the girls. The organisation which predominantly works in rural areas, has a presence in five states in the country.

Aparajita believes that its these on-ground changemakers and their work needs to acknowledged, recognised, and supported.

In Bilaspur, Chattisgarh, community members provided C3 with free space to run itsdigital and financial literacy classes for adolescent girls. In Jharkhand, Suparna Chatterjee, a life skills teacher with C3, helped a girl continue her education after several teasing incidents made her think of dropping out. Poonam Guria, a teacher at Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Ranchi has a secret box in her class where girls can ask any question. The questions range from relationship issues with parents to questions around sexuality, which she discusses openly in class. Her question box now gets 50 questions everyday.

Aparajita outlines three priorities that C3 feels hold the key to its endeavours to help girls and young women. One is to scale the model. We have added digital and financial literacy in some geographies. As the needs of young people change rapidly, the question is how do we keep these models relevant

The second is how can we take these cost-effective models to other states. Third is, how do we share what we are learning about programming to people in the sector, so that more people can work for women and girls, she adds.

(Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan)

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[National Girl Child Day] How this organisation aims to help girls achieve their full potential - YourStory

Lucknow: Undeterred by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanaths loud threats to file cases against them and undaunted by the biting cold, thousands of women are braving it out here to make their voices heard against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register for Citizens (NRC) .

Far from losing steam, as the dharna entered its ninth day under the open skies at Lucknows historical Hussainabad Clock Tower, the number of the demonstrators appears to be increasing. Fridays gathering looked not less than a 8,000-10,000 strong. Significantly, they are neither under a political banner nor guided by any recognised social activist group.

Similar protests by ordinary women have been on in Varanasi, Allahabad, Aligarh, Sambhal and some other UP towns. And despite being charged with the violation of Section 144 or for instigation, the protesters have not given up.

Sprawled over a roughly four-acre stone-paved platform in front of the 19th-century clock tower, these first-time demonstrators in Lucknow refused to get cowed down by Adityanaths threat to charge them with sedition and imprison them.

We are just staging a peaceful dharna in this corner of the city; what is most shocking is that simply because we raised this slogan of azadi, we are being accused of indulging in anti-national activity. How can someone equate our quest for azadi with that of separatists in Kashmir? asked Sabiha Rizvi, a BCom final year student at a local elite college who defied her family to participate in the anti-CAA dharna. She was referring to the chief ministers remark that if the demonstrators continued with their azadi slogan, they would be dealt with most severely.

Rizvi goes on to point out, What we are seeking is freedom from CAA and NRC , besides azadi from unemployment and illiteracy as well as azadi from heinous crimes like rape and dowry deaths.

Watch: During Anti-CAA Protests, UP Police Fired Shots at Most People Above the Waist

Well-known former BBC journalist Ramdutt Tripathi feels, This intimidation by the BJP government is a reflection of their aversion to the word azadi, because these right-wingers had nothing to do with Indias freedom movement; rather, some of them even joined hands with the British to oppose the freedom movement. Tripathi compares this protest to what Mahatma Gandhi did way back in 1906 in South Africa, against a new law that prescribed compulsory registration of all Indians, Chinese, Arabs and other Asians.

Meanwhile, emboldened by the chief ministers offensive attitude against the demonstrators, policemen went to the extent of snatching away blankets brought by volunteers to save the demonstrators from the extreme cold at night. The temperature usually drops very low because of the close proximity of the area to the Gomati river. Blanket snatching was stopped after stories of the kambal chors went viral on social media, leading Lucknows new police commissioner Sujit Pande to castigate his men in khakhi. But then, civic officials got down to switching off all the street lights in and around the area, thereby plunging it into darkness. They also locked public toilets in and around the area, but were compelled to open them after loud public outcry.

The Yogi Adityanath government thinks they can scare us through their petty acts of switching off lights at night or by taking away our blankets or locking up the public toilets, but such acts of intimidation are only giving us more strength to fight, asserts Naish Hasan, a middle-aged social activist.

Women with their children at the sit-in protest at Lucknows Clock Tower. Photo: PTI

The governments oppressive actions have failed to deter these protesting women, observed former Lucknow University vice-chancellor Roop Rekha Verma, who is a regular at the dharna site.

Seventy-six-year-old Verma, who is widely known for her activism, spends some time every day encouraging the younger lot, whose passion to fight for their rights is incredible. All India Democratic Womens Association leader Madhu Garg too extends all support to the protest with her team of activists, who make it a point to join the sit-in demonstration every day.

What came as another shot in the arm was the surprise visit by internationally acclaimed Shia scholar and cleric Maulana Kalbe Sadiq, who is also senior vice president of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB). The octogenarian, who has been battling cancer for three years now, stepped out of his hospital room for the first time to address the demonstrators. Sitting on a wheelchair, he expressed his admiration for the protestors .

These women have created history by doing what men have not done anywhere. This is the first time that I am witnessing ordinary housewives, young students and grandmothers all joining hands to stage a protest in this Gandhian way. And the manner in which Hindu, Muslim, Sikh and Christian women and young girls have joined hands to stage a round-the-clock demonstration braving the cold weather under the open skies is unparalleled, he said.

He went on to tell the protestors, My advise to you all is to not get cowed down by any kind of oppression or threats; maintain peace and calm and do not give up. I can assure you that victory will be yours once day.

Reacting to Union home minister Amit Shahs declaration at a public rally in Lucknow that he would not withdraw CAA or NRC under any circumstances, Sadiq hit back, If you dont take back this law, then these demonstrating women, these children will unseat you once day.

In his feeble but firm voice, he went on to add, Dont get disheartened by adversities and intimidation; remember every night is followed by a morning. He also flayed a UP minister for his saying if these anti-CAA protestors do not listen, we will teach them a lesson that their future generations will remember.

Less than 24 hours after his visit to the dharna site, Sadiq received the governments retort. His son, Kalbe Sibtain, has been booked for unlawful assembly and instigation. He had visited the dharna a day earlier.

Also read: A New Politics and Aesthetics of Protest Is Coming to Life in Kolkata

The UP government had been extremely harsh on anti-CAA protestors when they undertook their first demonstrations last month. Not only were thousands of protestors arrested and put in jails in different parts of the state, but about 17 protestors were killed in police firing. Yet, many of those who suffered were seen joining the dharna at the Clock Tower. These include activists like Deepak Kabir and Sadaf Jafar, who faced police violence and brutality, besides spending weeks in jail. Jafars crime was that she had dared to ask the cops why they were not arresting stone-pelting mobs, while Kabir was put in prison because he went looking for Jafar at a local police station.

That some policemen were trying to be more loyal than the king became glaringly obvious when they hauled up boys flying black kites and beat up others playing with black balloons. There was utter disregard for the fact that displaying black flags or sporting black bands is the most passive form of protest in a democracy.

While everyone wonders whether we are heading towards a police state, popular public support to the peaceful demonstration is becoming increasingly visible. Citizens are busy offering food, water, blankets and other essentials for the protestors. Some battery-operated lights have also been donated for the safety of demonstrators at night.

It would not be unfair to assume that the dharna has turned into a mass peoples movement in Lucknow something that must be making Adityanath and his government very uncomfortable.

Sharat Pradhanis a senior journalist in Lucknow.

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In Lucknow, Women's Unprecedented Anti-CAA Protest Gives the Adityanath Govt Jitters - The Wire

On Thursday night, protests calling for the resignation of Puerto Rican Gov. Wanda Vzquez Garced in Old San Juan culminated in violence: Police launched tear gas at the crowd gathered at Calle Fortaleza leading to the governors mansion around 11 p.m. Police Commissioner Henry Escalera told Wapa TV that the decision was made after objects were thrown at officials and claimed there were 14 warnings before gasses were used.Protesters allegedly tried to set fire to a Wapa TV van, which had been spray-painted with embusteros, or liars.

All around the archipelago and throughout the diaspora Puerto Ricans are again mobilizing.

The protest began with a 5 p.m. convening at the Capitol Building. Despite the rainy weather, hundreds of vexed Puerto Ricans attended the demonstration. The call was originally announced by workers syndicates earlier this week, but it was quickly supported by various unions, movements and resistance groups. An extra push was added with the endorsement of two famous Puerto Ricans: rapper Residente, who spoke at the protest, and Major League Baseball player Yadier Molina, who for days has battled back and forth with Puerto Rican senator and president of the archipelagos pro-statehood party Thomas Rivera Schatz on social media. Bad Bunny and Ricky Martin have also expressed support.

Throughout the protests, which began in Old San Juan on Monday, multiple guillotines have appeared. Demonstrators rallied around the execution apparatus on Tuesday evening at the corner of Calle Fortaleza and Calle Cristo as well as during Thursday nights rally. The device complements a new protest chant condemning Vazquez as an assassin who deserves the guillotine.

Protestors carrying a guillotine march in Old San Juan demanding the resignation of Puerto Ricos Gov. Wanda Vzquez Garced and Senate President Thomas Rivera Shatz on January 23, 2020 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photo by Jose Jimenez/Getty Images

All around the archipelago and throughout the diaspora Puerto Ricans are again mobilizing with posters, chants and cacerolas. Like the #RickyRenuncia movement, which ousted former Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossell in the summer of 2019, the biggest concentration is in Old San Juan, where daily protesters stomp the same cobblestones of last years historic events. Only now theyre calling for the resignation of Rossells successor, Vzquez.

This is our pueblo. We are the people who get up every day and fight for this country.

But Puerto Ricans have some other demands, too. Some hold signs indicating theyre protesting on behalf of everyone in the south, where thousands have been displaced into shelters and encampments while earthquakes and aftershocks have almost hourly rattled the region for nearly a full month. Others brandish placards about being fed up with governments corruption and lies. There are references to the estimated 4,645 people who died as a result of the crisis following Hurricane Mara, and there is outrage over the discovery last weekend of a warehouse in southern Ponce, a town hit hard by the earthquakes, stocked full of undistributed disaster aid, presumably intended for survivors of the 2017 disaster several items, like bottled water, bore 2017 expiration dates.

Despite the switch of figures in the crosshairs, these latest protests have mostly picked up where last summers campaign left off. Its another page in the same, very long book about colonialism, corruption and the systemic oppression of a people that has been accumulating chapters of resistance that dates back to the revolts of Indigenous Tanos against Spain in the early 1500s.

Still, something has shifted. Many Puerto Ricans seem angrier than they did last summer. The dissolution of the U.S. Federal Oversight Board, locally called La Junta, was demanded then and is being called for now as well. The removal of the governor, along with other corrupt politicians, is accompanied by calls for their imprisonment.

Residents are protesting after a warehouse full of relief supplies, reportedly dating back to Hurricane Maria in 2017, were found having been left undistributed to those in need. The sign reads murderous government. Photo by Jose Jimenez/Getty Images

Schatz, who is the president of the Senate, is one official specifically targeted. Last week, referring to the thousands of Puerto Ricans caravaning regularly to the south to help those affected by the earthquakes, he publicly called Puerto Ricans stupid for mistrusting the government with relief efforts. There are Puerto Ricans who believe the conservative politician is behind much of Vazquezs moves, too.

We have so much evidence [about] the hate this government has for the people.

Two signs held by protesters on Monday portrayed Schatz and Vazquez painted with Hitler mustaches on Nazi swastikas. More than a few activists expressed preferring to see these politicians heads on sticks rather than sitting behind bars.

Natalie Droz, a resident of Bayamn, leaned against the police-guarded barricades situated to block passage to La Fortaleza, the governors mansion, on Monday night. Shed been protesting for more than 10 hours at this point.

We have so much evidence [about] the hate this government has for the people, Droz tells Remezcla. This is our pueblo. We are the people who get up every day and fight for this country.

For Droz, thats only the tip of a massive, long-existing iceberg: We dont even know the quantity of lies weve been told these past few years and throughout our history, she adds.

That Monday night, the acrid stench of spray paint was thick. Stealthily moving among the mass of chanting protesters, all but their eyes covered for anonymity, a group of activists had covered nearly all reachable wall space in the area with anti-government messages: Government of lies, steals from us, kills us, read one. Above it was scrawled, the government doesnt exist. Many of these walls had only recently been repainted after having been graffitied during the #RickyRenuncia protests. A U.S. flag was also burned, lain flat on the cobblestones of Calle Fortaleza, that night.

The sign reads the government wants us dead, while the hide what is ours. Photo by Jose Jimenez/Getty Images

Vzquez initially affirmed she did not know about the warehouse in Ponce or others like it, as reports of which are continually surfacing. But various political figures, including Puerto Ricos Housing Secretary Fernando Gil Enseat who was fired by Vazquez after the scandal along with Emergency Management Director Carlos Acevedo, say she knew about the unused aid. Her signature also appears on documents acknowledging the existence of several warehouses, including the one in Ponce. On Thursday, she admitted in a press conference that everyone knew about the warehouses.

Its really important that they hear us again.

There is a steadfast faction of Puerto Ricans that does not support the protests. That group includes Rey Charlie, a social media personality and leader in last summers protests, who recently posted a video saying he wouldnt join these actions and that everyone should wait until November to vote in local elections.

Activists protesting now, though, say they cant wait. Burn your electoral card, reads another spray-painted message on walls of Old San Juan.

They need this [protest] for a wake-up call, William, a 24-year-old who works in Arecibo and asked that his last name be withheld, tells Remezcla about the government. [They have] to get the f**k out of here.

Like last summers weeks-long movement at La Fortaleza, the call to show up in Old San Juan is ongoing. Protests will likely continue through the weekend.

Additionally, on Wednesday, activists expulsed two political figures Ricardo Llerandi, former director of the Puerto Rico Trade and Export Company and once chief of staff under the Rossell administration (he resigned in the wake of Telegramgate), and Sen. Miguel Romero from a San Juan coffee shop. The protesters condemned the pair for corruption and their roles in loss of life post-Mara, calling them assassins.

A protester holds a sign that reads let the corrupts fall as demonstrators demand the resignation of Governor Wanda Vzquez Garced during new protests in front of Puerto Rico Capitol building on January 20, 2020 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photo by Jose Jimenez/Getty Images

Protests have also been organized around the archipelago, including on Monday in the outlying island of Vieques, where a 13-year-old girl recently died, allegedly due to a lack of medical care since the local hospital hasnt been rebuilt since it was destroyed by the 2017 hurricanes. Funds were approved by FEMA on Tuesday to build one.

Yamille Rodriguez, who on Monday had traveled to Old San Juan from the western municipality of Arecibo where he studies at the University of Puerto Rico, wore a rainbow flag like a cape as he stood near a wall that read Gobierno Asesino. His main impetus for making the drive: Were still dealing with the same lies, he tells Remezcla. The 23-year-old expressed complete distrust in the Puerto Rican government, saying he wasnt surprised by the discovery of the secret warehouses but was astonished by the governments continued mistreatment of the people.

The system collapsed a while ago.

They saw that we were able to take out Ricky, Rodriguez says. They saw that were engaged, and they still lie to us. Its really important that they hear us again.

On Google Maps, Old San Juans Calle Fortaleza is doubly labeled. During the summer protests that resulted in the August 2 resignation of former Gov. Rossell, activists renamed it Calle de la Resistencia. Earlier this week, the actual tile bearing the street name was altered again to bear its protest assignation.

Wearing a Calle Resistencia T-shirt on Monday night, Nitzayra Leonor stood outside the Capitol, along with hundreds of others who would soon march back to La Fortaleza, where the first demonstration began.

I feel like the system collapsed a while ago, the 22-year-old says. And we keep acting like the system hasnt collapsed.

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Puerto Ricans Take Over Old San Juan to Oust Another Corrupt Governor - Remezcla

On January 25, anti-war organizers in more than 200 cities across the world answered a global call to action initiated by the ANSWER Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition, CODEPINK, Popular Resistance, Black Alliance for Peace, National Iranian-American Council (NIAC), Veterans For Peace, US Labor Against the War (USLAW) and many more demanding no war with Iran, end the sanctions and remove all U.S. troops from the Middle East. The threat of wind and rain in forecasts across New England did not stop organizers from Manchester, New Hampshire to New Haven, Connecticut from responding to the call. Hundreds came out in support of the demands and to participate in the rallies, marches, and educational events.

Anti-war protesters march through downtown Boston. Liberation Photo.

A vigorous group of over 400 anti-war demonstrators rallied outside of the Massachusetts State House and then marched through downtown Boston to demand no war on Iran and U.S. out of Iraq and the Middle East. The demonstration brought crowds of young people in high school and college, in addition to veterans, union workers and public school teachers.

Nineteen groups endorsed the demonstration, including the ANSWER Coalition, National Iranian American Council, Pride at Work Eastern Massachusetts, I am Harriet Boston, Harvard Bookstore Union UAW Local 1596 and MIT Students Against War. Many speakers condemned sanctions as an act of war that only harm the working and oppressed people of the countries targeted. Others connected U.S. military intervention in the Middle East to the deteriorating living conditions domestically, arguing that the money spent building the war machine could be spent on health care, housing and poverty elimination. During the rally, more than 500 dollars was collected to donate to an earthquake relief organization on the ground in Puerto Rico.

Gerry Scoppettuolo addresses the crowd, speaking for USLAW outside Park Street Station in Boston. Liberation Photo.

Teacher and rank-and-file member of Boston Teachers Union Amrita D spoke about the racism that has anchored the U.S. governments imperialist wars, my students are growing up in a post 9/11 United States where the war on terror has deepened racism against South and Southeast Asians, Arabs and people from the Middle East. We have to talk about war with our young people, they deserve a prosperous and promising future, not a bleak horizon of endless wars for profits.

Mojgun from the National Iranian-American Council told the crowd, I want you all to think about what it means to be at war. Some of us have direct experiences with war. we have a personal connection to war. When I came to the United States in 1983, it was in the midst of the Iran-Iraq War. It was devastating for both countries. I remember at night we had black outs, we would board up our windows and pull the shades and curtains and light our candles and wait for the sirens and bombs. we didnt have cell phones and social media back then to get news immediately, we had to wait until the next morning to see what part of the city was hit and how many people died.

No War or Sanctions on Iran! Liberation Photo.

The march grew as it traveled through downtown Boston, with workers and patrons spilling out of coffee shops and stores to join the march, or take videos and educational flyers. It began to drizzle as the protest was ending, and about 50 energized demonstrators walked back to community organizing hub Encuentro5 to warm up with hot cider and talk about the future of the movement.

Over two dozen activists braved the freezing rain and gathered in front of L3Harris Technologies in Northampton, Massachusetts as part of the Global Day of Protest.

Activists rally outside of L3Harris in Northampton, Massachusetts. Liberation Photo.

Resistance Center for Peace and Justice organizer Miranda Groux explained the significance of this location: L3Harris is one of the top 10 defense contractors in the world, and the company is on track to become the sixth largest, providing the military with surveillance solutions, microwave weaponry, and tools for electronic warfare. The stocks in this company have soared since Trump has threatened to escalate in Iran. Organizer Yoav Elinevsky spoke about how the cost of the war is $5.4 trillion of public money.

Historian and director of the Tri-continental Institute for Social Research Vijay Prashad closed out the rally with a reminder, Its not Iran that has provoked the United States, its not Iran that has intervened in the U.S. political system, its the United States that since at least 1953 has intervened in Iran. He continued, Its important that we stand here against the war that is already going on in Iran, it is important that we stand here against the state that has totally given over to the mechanism of destruction.

Activists gather outside the Rhode Island State House in Providence. Photo courtesy of Mike Malpiedi. Used with permission.

Despite the cold and dreary weather, 50 people answered the global call to action at the Rhode Island State House in Providence. Endorsing organizations included No Endless War or Excessive Militarism, Providence Antiwar, RI based Advocacy Team, Brown War Watch, Rhode Island Anti-War Committee, East Bay Citizens for Peace and Providence Democratic Socialists of America.

ANSWER Coalition organizer Satya Mohapatra said in his speech All U.S. wars and occupations of the Middle East have been based on lies and deception WMD lies; Humanitarian Intervention lies. Many veterans were present to confirm these lies, and several Vietnam War era protest songs were sung during the rally, including Edwin Starrs War and Nat King Coles Aint Gonna Study War No More.

Direct Action for Rights and Equality member Terry White said, Lets stop U.S. war outside and war on our communities. The significant impact that the military industrial

Iranians do NOT want a war with the U.S.A. Photo courtesy of Mike Malpiedi. Used with permission.

complex has on communities of color was rightfully addressed during several of the speeches, specifically how military tactics are being taught to local and state police departments and government agencies. Monica Huerata of the group No LNG at PVD said, ICE and policing are the same extension of U.S. militarism.

Michael from the climate action group Sunrise Movement said War is a climate change issue and the U.S. military is the biggest polluter in the world. Matt Ritchie of Brown War Watch, a student anti-war group inside Brown University, stressed that student anti-war activism could boost the general anti-war movement now.

Rally organizer Jonathan Daly-LaBelle called out two Rhode Island Democrats U.S. House Representative James Langevin and Senator Jack Reed for being complicit in Trumps war by supporting the National Defense Authorization Act to increase the military budget.

Members of the local Iranian community brought signs written in both English and Farsi that read Iranians dont want war with the U.S.A. The intimate rally closed with a chant demanding that the U.S. stop this aggression with Iran and a call to action that people continue to stay informed.

Members of the New Haven Peace Council and others rally on the steps of New Haven City Hall. Liberation Photo.

Despite heavy rain, over three dozen people came out to protest in downtown New Haven. Henry Lowendorf of the Greater New Haven Peace Council kicked off the rally: Do we want a war with Iran? The crowd shouted back an emphatic No! Would we like the troops out of Iraq? Yes! The assassination of General Soleimani he said was an act of war and has escalated an economic war on Iran, a war that includes assassinations and sabotage going back to the 1950s overthrow of Mosaddegh.

Ward 3 Alder Ron Hurt, also an organizer with New Haven Rising, said I represent a ward where there is a hunger. The children in my ward go to sleep at nighttime without dinner. Theres an opioid crisis in our land. All this money theyre spending on defense can help curb these situations. Earlier in the week, the New Haven Board of Alders passed a resolution urging the Congressional delegation from Connecticut to support Tim Kaines resolution in the U.S. Senate against escalating military conflict with Iran.

A teach-in held at the New Haven Library on imperialism in the Middle East and the wars at home. Liberation Photo.

Jim Pandreau, an anti-war veteran and organizer reminded the demonstration that as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, the United States government is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today. King also said that a nation that keeps on spending more on war and the military is slowly approaching spiritual death, Pandreau said, to cheers from the crowd.

After the rally, people went to the New Haven Library for a panel and discussion on U.S. wars at home and abroad. Puerto Rican liberation activist Jason Ortiz drew connections between the movement against U.S. wars in the Middle East and the illegal U.S. occupation of Puerto Rico. Ortiz pointed out that its the same system U.S. imperialism that oppresses people around the world and our fight needs to include all those victims. Finally, Ahmad Abojaradeh, a Palestinian activist and the Founder and Executive Director of Life In My Days, talked about the urgency of raising up and centering the voices of oppressed people in the anti-war movement.

More than a dozen peace activists gathered at Veterans Memorial Park in Manchester at noon. They took turns leading chants to put forward a loud, clear and unified message, and held signs with slogans like Support the Troops End the Wars and U.S. Out of Iraq! End the Occupation!

ANSWER Coalition organizer Jamarr Jabari speaks at the rally in New Haven, Connecticut. Liberation Photo.

Over the course of an hour, the rally engaged with many passers-by. Drivers honked and waved in support. People at the park and nearby bus stop came over to converse. One man shared that he was illiterate and asked what the signs said and meant. He related to the events anti-war goals and shared that his father was a veteran. Many people approached the rally initially out of curiosity and ended up staying to have friendly, productive conversations about the dangers of war and the importance of building a strong anti-war movement in the United States.

At one point, the group circled up and everyone took turns sharing why they came. The majority of people said that they felt responsible to stand up to the violence being carried out by the U.S. ruling class in our name.

Before the action ended, the attendees made plans to follow up. There will be more actions to demand that U.S. troops exit the Middle East and to end the sanctions on Iran. In addition, there will be events joining the anti-war movement with the movement to free political-prisoner Leonard Peltier. One organizer said, just as we oppose national oppression and colonialism abroad, we oppose them at home. The anti-war struggle is also an anti-racist struggle and a struggle to free all political prisoners.

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Anti-war protesters in New England take the streets for global day... - Liberation

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The Syrian Refugee crisis has become a devasting disaster in the recent memory resulting in the death of Innocent Civilians, including Women, children, elderly and other vulnerable people. The available data suggest that the Syrian crisis has taken the lives of around 200,000 people and out of which an approximate 8000 documented killings of Children who have not attained the age of 18. The Population of Syria is approximately 22 million, of which the crisis has resulted in 7.6 million Internally Displaced Person, and additionally 3.2 million refugees. Moreover, the crisis has put a population of around 12.2 million in the immediate need for humanitarian assistance.[1]

Most of the Refugees from the Syrian flee to their neighbouring countries like Jordan, Lebanon, and turkey, and the number of Refugees reaching these countries are 600,000,1.14 million, and 1.6 million, respectively. Besides this, Syrians are also seeking shelter in Egypt, Iraq and some of the EU union nations like Greece, Italy and Germany. The Influx of refugees in these countries has propped up new challenges like physical protection, shelter, health, education, employment of these incoming people.[2]

The plight of these people has become increasingly dangerous as countries like Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon has no obligation to treat Syrians as refugees because they are not Signatories to the refugee convention of 1951 and its associated optional protocol. Hence the international responsibility of these countries to protect these people are legally absent. Another country that hosts most of these Syrians is turkey, and it is a signatory to the refugee convention 1951. But turkey has a geographical limitation on the Refugee convention of 1951 by making its obligation only applicable to the refugees from European Union Area who were affected by the events before January 1951. Hence the responsibility of Turkey concerning Syrian Refugees have been Negated by this Limitation.

However, Turkeys Obligation is different from other countries by being a member of the European Union. Besides Turkey, other European Union nations have also taken some of the burdens of the Syrian Population like Greece, Italy and Germany. Hence it becomes the Response of the EU to Syrian crisis becomes paramount in reducing the pain and degradation suffered by the Syrian Population. Besides Refugee Convention some of the Instruments that apply to Refugees in the area of European Union Includes association agreement in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership more famously known as Beijing declaration, European Neighbourhood policy instrument, Global Approach to Migration

and Mobility. In the backdrop of these legal instruments, it is vital to analyse the Response of the European Union to the Syrian crisis. This paper will trace the Syrian crisis from its origin and the Response of the European Union Nations to this conflict from the refugee law perspective.

The Syrian crisis started with the peaceful uprising against the president as a pro-democratic movement during the Arab spring in 2011. Even before the crisis began, there has been massive disenchantment with Syrian people against its president due to massive unemployment, corruption, and oppression. The Arab spring in the neighbouring countries gave a considerable impetus to the social, economic and political injustice felt by the Syrian People. Soon the peaceful uprising turned violent, and a large-scale civil war broke between the government and opposition supporters whose aim was to overthrow Dictatorship of the President.

Syria is a vast plural country comprising of the various ethnic groups like Sunnis, Shias, Alawis and Kurds. This plurality and diversity of opinion have given catalyst to the uprising and has been a source of exploitation for the international players to take sides based on their self-interest. Moreover, The Syrian Crisis has slowly transformed into a sectarian religious war between the majority Sunni Muslim community against the Shias Alawite sect of the president. The Religious Sectarianism has led to the further mushrooming of the fundamentalist jihadist groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaida to flourish. Another key player in this struggle is the Syrian Kurds who demand the right of self-government.[3]

Kurds are the ethnic minority people living in countries like Syria, Turkey, Iran and Iraq. Alongside Arabs, they form a critical ethnic group in the Syrian Region. The Kurds live mostly in the northern part of Syria bordering turkey. The Kurds got involved in the Syrian crisis to protect their territory from the chaos of the Syrian civil war. The warring factions in Syria to the following groups

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Countries like Russian and Iran support the pro-government militias. On the other hand, Countries like Turkey, USA, and several other gulf states who subscribe to the Sunni ideology of Islam have supported the forces fighting the ruling party. Additionally, the government had the backing of Lebanons Hezbollah and other militias from Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen. Each International power has different interests and motivations to be involved in the conflict. For, Example, one of the motivating factors for the turkey to support the rebel is to contain the spread of Kurdish forces in the north, whom the turkey believes may affect their internal security.[4]

The international Legal Refugee Protection has two Fundamental Principles namely the Principle of Burden Sharing and The Principle of Non-Refoulment

The modern Refugee law has origins from the mid of the twentieth century after the second world war. The International Legal Refugee Protection has a crucial concept called the Burden Sharing. According to this concept, it is the responsibility of the international community to offer protection and shelter to the refugees. According to this Principle, the refugee problem is the concern of the entire humanity. From the perspective of the Syrian crisis, the International Community is bound by a higher moral norm because most of the Developed Nations are involved in the Syrian crisis in some form or other.

Another Fundamental Principle of Refugee law is the Principle of Non-Refoulment. According to this Principle, the states cannot return foreign nationals to their home territory where they are subjected to torture, inhuman treatment or where their lives and freedom might be at risk. Also, The Principle is reflected in the following international instruments Geneva convention relating to the status of refugees, United Nations Convention on

Torture and other cruel, Inhuman or degrading treatment or Punishment which possess the prohibition of refoulment.

The principles of Refugee protection and the Right to Asylum have in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to Article 14(1) of the universal declaration of Human Rights, it has been stated that everyone has the right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. In terms of the International Institutions, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the main body responsible for providing international protection to the refugees. The Key Function of the UNHCR in the Syrian Crisis is to assist the refugees of Syria in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey. According to its mandate, its primary function is to promote the conclusion and ratification of international conventions for the protection of refugees, supervising their application and proposing amendments thereto[5]

Some of the key provisions of the International Law about Refugees Include the following:

The International refugee law is derived from two main sources

The 1951 refugee convention and its 1967 optional protocol has the following obligations to the state parties under the convention like Recognising those fleeing from war zones as refugees,

The major European countries where the Syrians have applied for asylums include Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Belgium etc. As of 2011, nearly 112,000 Syrians are living in the regions of the EU. It is believed that these Syrians are helping the refugees from Syria to reside in Eu without applying for asylum status. The Refugees from Syria reach the Eu through the land, sea and air routes. There has been a wide discrepancy between the

number of people fleeing and crossing Syria to the number of people being registered as asylum seekers or migrants in Europe. Hence it brings to the notice that many Syrians reach Europe unnoticed, which can be a huge challenge for the International Organizations like UNHCR to target and provide help to the Refugees who flee the conflict zone.

The approach of the European Union to the Syrian crisis can be grouped under the following actions, namely external and internal. The External responses include assisting the Syrian people by humanitarian assistance and, implementing a Regional protection programme in which a resettlement programme for the refugees within the EU region is envisaged. At the same time, the internal response mechanism includes increasing border security, granting asylum to several Syrians and, refraining from forcibly returning the Syrians to their homeland by rejecting asylum status.

The European Union countries also provide monetary support to the Refugees fleeing for their lives from Syria. According to European commission justice and home affairs council, the member states of the European Union has approximately provided 230 million in humanitarian assistance to the Syrian crisis. The European Commission claims that this comes around 53% of the international response making it the leading international donor in the Syrian crisis. Moreover, because the fundamental problem in the Syrian crisis is a political issue the EU has tried to bring about political change in the situation Syrian Region by bringing about the political change reflecting the pluralistic character the Syrian community.

Providing food, water, shelter and medicine to the displaced persons forms the core of the humanitarian assistance to the Syrian refugees. Through the channels of the Red Cross and other Ngo, the EU makes sure that Humanitarian Assistance reaches the Syrian refugees. However, some of the other actions by the European Union to the Syrian crisis has not conformed with the object and purpose of the International Refugee law and other Human Rights Convention.

The EU is taking external actions about the Syrian crisis by trying to bring political change in the Syrian Region and providing humanitarian assistance to the Victims. The ways

of political measures include imposing economic sanctions on the ruling Syrian government and by also terminating EU-Syrian bilateral cooperation.

Furthermore, the EU is taking several measures like condemning the Ruling regimes action through UN resolutions and calling for investigations about the rights abuses perpetrated by the regime.[6]

As the means of Internal action, the Eu states are taking strong measures by increasing security along their Border to prevent the Influx of refugees from these areas. For Example, Greece, which is an Eu nation that has been receiving Syrian refugees, has deployed additional forces in its Border, and this has significantly reduced the inflow of the refugees. This response mechanism is in complete violation of the Principle of Non-Refoulment Discussed. According to this Principle, the states which are party to the Refugee convention of 1951 and its optional protocol cannot return persons seeking asylum to their state of origin or prevent them from fleeing the war zone.

Thus, the Internal response mechanism adopted by the EU Countries is in Completely violation of its obligation under the International refugee law and its Core principles.

In conclusion, the action taken by the European Union nations has not in spirit satisfied the objective and purpose of the International Refugee Law. Some of the action taken by the European Union in form internal actions may jeopardise the wellbeing of the refugees and violate the Principle of the Non-Refoulment. Also, the European Union in addition to the Principle of the Burden sharing has special responsibilities towards Syrian refugees because it has actively engaged in armed combat operations in the Syrian Region by offering indirect help to armed militias which wage war against the authoritarian government. The European Union should be more welcoming of the Refugees from the Syrian Region and offer them full Refugee status under the Principles of the Refugee convention 1951. Granting Refugee status and providing them with asylum status is Vital to preserve the peace and stability of the Middle East and the Eastern European Regions like Greece, Turkey, Italy.

In order to fulfil the obligations under the Principle of Burden sharing, the European Union nations could initiate measures like providing proper educational opportunities in schools colleges and further following it with the adequate employment opportunities for the Syrians. Additionally, the European Union countries need to diffuse any misconceptions about these refugees as an internal security threat. The research has time and again proved

that refugees do not constitute a threat to inner peace and in most cases, they lead a peaceful life helping the host countries economically.

Also, refugees must be allowed to practise their religion peacefully in asylum countries without any discrimination and fear. In this regard, the government may facilitate access to religious sites and provide adequate security to the refugees when practising their religion. The most important step the European Union countries could take is to refrain from taking harsh measures in their border region against the incoming refugees because this endangers the lives of the refugees. The European Union is obligated both by international law and through high moral norm to respond to this crisis in a humane manner. The Positive Response by the European Union to the Refugee Crisis will contribute immensely to the Global and Regional Stability of the Middle East Region.

References:

[1] The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Refugees, Conflict, and International Law. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.democraticprogress.orginfo@democraticprogress.org+44

[3]Why is there a war in Syria? BBC News. (n.d.). Retrieved December 30, 2019, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35806229

[4] Who Are the Kurds, and Why Is Turkey Attacking Them in Syria? The New York Times. (n.d.). Retrieved December 30, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/14/world/middleeast/the-kurds-facts-history.html

[5] The Syrian Refugee Crisis: Refugees, Conflict, and International Law. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.democraticprogress.orginfo@democraticprogress.org+44

[6] Fargues, P., & Fandrich, C. (2012). MPC-Migration Policy Centre The European Response to the Syrian Refugee Crisis What Next?

By, MrBlessan M, LLB In IP Law, IIT KharagpurPresently pursuing LLM in Human Rights Law from National Law School India, Bangalore

Summary

Article Name

Syrian Refugee Crisis and The Response of the European Union

Description

The Syrian crisis started with the peaceful uprising against the president as a pro-democratic movement during the Arab spring in 2011. Even before the crisis began, there has been massive disenchantment with Syrian people against its president due to massive unemployment, corruption, and oppression.

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Syrian Refugee Crisis and The Response of the European Union - thepolicytimes.com