New
Age Islam News Bureau
23
February 2021
An
ISIS member waves a flag in Raqqa, Syria on June 29, 2014. (File photo:
Reuters)
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• To
explain laws, AIMPLB to launch webseries and journal
• Pakistan
critical to pushing Taliban to reduce violence as peace talks resume
• UN
appeals for rescue of Rohingya Muslim stranded in Andaman Sea
• China
Rejects ‘Genocide’ Attack From UN on Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang
• Iran’s
Khamenei says ‘no one can stop Tehran’ from getting a nuclear weapon
• Boko
Haram beheads woodcutters in northeast Nigeria
• US
will not bow down to Iran’s conditions for dialogue, EU waiting on response
• Greece
rejects legal demands of Muslims for place of worship
Arab
World
• Study
shows people with violent extremist views may have worse cognitive abilities
• Attacks
targeting US personnel in Iraq increase as Biden, Europe wait for Iran
• Protester
shot dead in south Iraq, says medical source
• ‘Israeli
enemy ship’ responsible for oil leak in Eastern Mediterranean: Lebanon’s PM
• Rockets
target US Embassy in Iraq, no casualties reported: Security sources
• Iraq
decides not to go ahead with $2 bln China crude-supply deal, says Oil Minister
• Pope’s
visit to Iraqi Ziggurat to draw fresh attention to birthplace of Abraham
• Foreign
minister: Syria determined to continue fight against terrorism
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India
• To
explain laws, AIMPLB to launch webseries and journal
• NIA
files chargesheet against two LeT terrorists for conspiracy to wage war against
India
• ‘Love
jihad’ non-existent but BJP uses it to hunt Muslims, says Vijayaraghavan
• Farmers'
protest: Revival of brotherhood between Jats and Muslims in western Uttar
Pradesh
• Poll
lull in Shia waqf Board, 10 months after govt takeover
• India
permits Imran Khan's aircraft to use its airspace for travel to Sri Lanka
• HC
upholds bail granted to Kalyan resident with alleged ISIS links
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Pakistan
• Pakistan
critical to pushing Taliban to reduce violence as peace talks resume
• Political
parties across world oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs
under human rights pretext
• Fashion
to fund madressahs through Maulana Tariq Jamil's new clothing brand
• Pakistan
likely to stay in FATF grey list
• 4
Pak women aid workers killed in terror attack
• Pervaiz
Rashid is not an individual but an ideology: Maryam Nawaz
• ECP
asks PTI to submit response in suspected tampering of Daska by-poll by tomorrow
• Tribunal
dismisses Pervaiz Rashid's appeal against ECP's rejection of Senate nomination
papers
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South
Asia
• UN
appeals for rescue of Rohingya Muslim stranded in Andaman Sea
• Speaking
up to save Bangladesh's indigenous languages from dying
• UN:
Afghanistan war civilian casualties down by 15% last year
• Republic,
Taliban peace negotiators meet after many days: Doha
• Violence
in Afghanistan is a wave of systematic onslaught, UN calls for ‘global
ceasefire’
• Fears
for Rohingya stranded at sea for 10 days, as engines fail and eight die
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Southeast
Asia
• China
Rejects ‘Genocide’ Attack From UN on Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang
• Johor
police identify man in viral video apostasy case
• UK
slams ‘industrial scale’ abuses in China’s Xinjiang
• Federal
Court to rule on man’s challenge against unnatural sex charge
• Umno
to hold its closely watched annual assembly at end-March
• Top
court to decide Thursday on man challenging Selangor law that makes unnatural
sex a Shariah offence
• Malaysian
court delays deportation of 1,200 Myanmar migrants
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Mideast
• Iran’s
Khamenei says ‘no one can stop Tehran’ from getting a nuclear weapon
• Despite
claims of supporting global peace, EU gives $15mn to Israel war industry
• Assembly
of Experts: No Negotiation on Iran’s Defense, Missile Power
• Tehran,
Seoul Agree on Transfer of Iran’s Assets from South Korea
• Rouhani:
Unity of Sanctioned Nations Only Way to Counter US Illegal Moves
• Iranian
lawmakers criticize Tehran’s deal with IAEA on snap nuclear inspections
• Ma’rib
battle: Yemeni army close to retaking city from Saudi-led forces
• UAE-backed
mercenaries tortured Yemeni journalist: HRW
• COVID-19
vaccination begins in blockaded Gaza Strip
• Turkish
authorities investigating pro-Kurdish lawmaker over PKK affiliation
• Yemeni
prisoners committee says Amman swap talks failed
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Africa
• Boko
Haram beheads woodcutters in northeast Nigeria
• A
critical look at what’s missing from Muslim education in South Africa
• Thousands
of Algerians hit streets on Hirak protest movement anniversary
• Algerians
mark second year of ‘Hirak’ protest movement
• Libya's
interior minister escapes 'well-planned' assassination attempt in capital
• Suicide
bomber strikes near Somali mall, police station
• UN
envoy for Libya calls for compliance with cease-fire
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North
America
• US
will not bow down to Iran’s conditions for dialogue, EU waiting on response
• Canada’s
parliament passes motion saying China’s treatment of Uighurs is genocide
• US
seeks to ‘lengthen,’ ‘strengthen’ nuclear deal with Iran: Blinken
• US
special envoy for Yemen heading back to region for second time in a month
• Saudi
govt. complicit in shooting spree at US naval base: Victims' families
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Europe
• Greece
rejects legal demands of Muslims for place of worship
• Muslim
Council of Britain urges government to end non-engagement policy
• Germany
urges Iran to comply with nuclear pact, expects ‘compliance, transparency’
• British
arms sales to Saudi Arabia prolonging war in Yemen: Oxfam
• Bosnian
Serb Declares Victory In Rerun Srebrenica Vote Amid Muslim Boycott
Compiled
by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/study-shows-people-with-violent/d/124377
--------
Study
shows people with violent extremist views may have worse cognitive abilities
22
February ,2021
Marco
Ferrari
----------
People
with extremist views who endorse violence towards others may suffer from worse
cognitive abilities including working memory, according to a new study by
researchers from the University of Cambridge.
Those
who hold dogmatic and extreme ideological beliefs were also found to be worse
at taking evidence into account when making non-political decisions, and were
more impulsive than others.
The
study led scientists to believe that a person’s deep-rooted psychology has a
great deal to do with their political leanings.
Researchers
studied a group of 334 US residents by administering 37 cognitive tests which
had nothing to do with politics or ideology – assessing factors like working
memory and evidence-gathering skills.
After
two years had passed, the same group was quizzed about their political beliefs
and asked to rate how strongly they agreed with statements such as ‘I would
sacrifice my life if it saved another American's life’.
The
results published in the paper entitled ‘The cognitive and perceptual
correlates of ideological attitudes: a data-driven approach,’ showed that a
person’s cognitive ability was a far better way of predicting their ideological
beliefs than demographics such as age or gender.
People
who held extreme views in favor of their own ‘group,’ supporting violence
against others outside the group, were found to have worse working memory, were
slower to perceive new information, and tended to be more impulsive.
Those
who tested high in the dogmatism category of the ideological surveys were found
to be slower at accumulating evidence when making decisions, and less likely to
take social risks.
Participants
who reported being politically conservative were likely to exercise more
caution in the cognitive tests, taking more time to gather evidence before
making a decision.
“This
[study] may offer key insights for nuanced educational programs aimed at
fostering humility and social understanding,” the authors of the paper wrote.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/02/22/Terrorism-Study-shows-people-with-violent-extremist-views-may-have-worse-cognitive-abilities
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To
explain laws, AIMPLB to launch webseries and journal
February 23, 2021
AIMPLB
general secretary Syed Mohammad Wali Rahmani. (File)
-----------
The
All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) on Monday announced that it would
soon launch a legal journal in Urdu and English, and a webseries to spread
awareness about Sharia and Indian laws, and explain court judgments to Muslims.
The
decision was taken during a board meeting led by its president Mohd Rabey
Hasani Nadvi.
“The
working committee of AIMPLB passed a resolution to start a Sharia awareness
webseries. It also decided to start a legal journal in the Urdu and English
languages,” read a tweet from AIMPLB’s handle.
Speaking
to The Indian Express, AIMPLB general secretary Syed Mohammad Wali Rahmani said
the idea behind the web series was to spread awareness on legal issues for
Muslims. “The series will be done in an interview-discussion format… The series
will analyse high court and supreme court judgments so that common people can
understand them. Not just Sharia, we will also focus on the country’s laws and
judgments,” said Rahmani.
According
to a statement issued by the Board, board member Asma Zehra has been tasked
with preparing a blueprint for the webseries. Lawyer members like Yusuf Hatim
Muchhala, Zafaryab Jilani and M R Shamshad “endorsed this suggestion, and said
they will give it their time”.
Advocate
M R Shamshad has been asked to prepare a plan for the legal journal in English
and Urdu and “present it to the general secretary”.
In
the meeting, the issue of safeguarding Waqf properties was also discussed and a
campaign in this regard will be launched across the country.
“…The
Waqf Act was prepared and approved after a lot of hard work. It has provisions
to safeguard Waqf properties from being sold. But efforts are being made from
several quarters to make changes to these provisions, which can threaten the
safeguarding of Waqf properties. So, it was decided that for the safety of Waqf
properties, a campaign should be launched across the country,” read the
statement issued in Urdu.
The
board said it was fighting cases related to Waqf properties “in its full
capacity”.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/to-explain-laws-aimplb-to-launch-webseries-and-journal-7200338/
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Pakistan
critical to pushing Taliban to reduce violence as peace talks resume
February
23, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
After more than a month of delay, escalating violence and a flurry of
diplomatic activity peace talks between the Taliban and Kabul have resumed in
Qatar, with Pakistan seen as critical to pushing the Afganistan-based insurgent
group to reduce violence and eventually, agree on an outright ceasefire.
Taliban
spokesman Dr. Mohammad Naeem tweeted Monday night that talks had resumed in
Doha, where the insurgent movement maintains a political office. There were no
details other than the atmosphere was “cordial”, a commitment that negotiations
should continue and an announcement that the first item of business will be
setting the agenda.
When
talks ended abruptly in January, just days after beginning, both sides
submitted their wish lists for agendas. The task now is for the two sides to
sift through the respective wish lists, agree on items to negotiate and the
order in which they will be tackled.
The
priority for the Afghan government, Washington and NATO is a serious reduction
in the violence leading to a cease-fire. The Taliban have said it is
negotiable, but until now have resisted any immediate cease-fire.
Washington
is reviewing the February 2020 peace deal the previous Trump administration
signed with the Taliban that calls for the final withdrawal of international
forces by May 1. The Taliban have resisted suggestions of even a brief
extension, but a consensus is mounting in Washington for a delay in the
withdrawal deadline.
There
is even a suggestion of a smaller intelligence-based force staying behind that
would focus almost exclusively on counter-terrorism and an increasingly active
and deadly Islamic State affiliate, headquartered in eastern Afghanistan.
But
neither Washington nor NATO has yet to announce a decision on the fate of an
estimated 10,000 troops, including 2,500 American soldiers, still in
Afghanistan. The Biden administration has emphasized a political solution to
the protracted Afghan conflict, retained Zalmay Khalilzad, the man who
negotiated the US peace deal with the Taliban and until now avoided any
definitive statements about the road forward.
The
resumption in talks in Doha follows on the heels of a blizzard of diplomatic
activity including a steady stream of officials to Pakistan and Army Chief Gen
Qamar Javed Bajwa.
Pakistan
is seen as critical to getting the Taliban back to the table but also to pressing
the insurgent movement — whose leadership is headquartered in Pakistan — to
reduce violence in Afghanistan.
Just
this past week the US Central Command head Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie was in
Islamabad, as was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Afghan envoy, Zamir
Kabulov and Qatar’s foreign ministry’s special envoy Dr Mutlaq Bin Majed Al
Qahtani. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s special envoy Umar Daudzai is expected
in Islamabad on Wednesday.
While
details of the meetings have been sketchy, Afghanistan featured prominently and
officials familiar with the talks said a reduction of violence and eventual
cease-fire dominated discussions.
Pakistan,
which also still hosts 1.5 million Afghan refugees has repeatedly said the only
solution in Afghanistan is political and has previously been credited with
getting the Taliban to the negotiating table.
The
latest diplomatic activity in Islamabad also coincidentally comes as Pakistan
is being discussed at a meeting underway this week in Paris of the Financial
Action Task Force probing terrorism financing and money laundering. Pakistan is
currently on a so-called grey list, the last step before a blacklisting which
would seriously erode the country’s ability to borrow money.
Few
analysts expect Pakistan to be blacklisted, which so far includes only Iran and
North Korea, but Islamabad is pressing hard to be removed from the grey list.
While Pakistan has allies, like China, among the 37-member countries that make
up FATF, Russian and US support is critical to being removed from the grey
list.
Still,
the issues ahead for the Taliban and the Afghan government are thorny ones and
it isn’t immediately clear whether any country has sufficient influence with
either side to force a peace deal that will last.
Afghan
President Ashraf Ghani has flatly refused an interim administration, and his
critics accuse him of wanting to hold on to power. Meanwhile, a Taliban
official says they want a “new Islamic government” that would not include
Ghani, but refused to give details of this government and whether it would even
include elections. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to speak to the media.
In
an open letter to the American people last week, the Taliban’s lead negotiator
in the US-Taliban deal, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar urged compliance with the
deal, promised rights for men and women “based on Islamic law” without
stipulating, vowed not to interfere in any other nation, and also vowed to end
the world’s largest crop of poppies, which produces opium used in the
production of heroin.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/02/23/pakistan-critical-to-pushing-taliban-to-reduce-violence-as-peace-talks-resume/
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UN
appeals for rescue of Rohingya Muslim stranded in Andaman Sea
FEB
22, 2021
-------------
Adisabled
boat carrying ethnic Rohingya Muslim, some dying from lack of food and water,
is believed to drifting in the Andaman Sea, the United Nations' refugee agency
said Monday while appealing to Southeast Asian governments to rescue them.
The
vessel departed from Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf in Bangladesh 10 days ago and has
been adrift for over a week after the engine broke down, the U.N. High
Commission For Refugees (UNHCR) said. It could not confirm the number of people
or the location of the boat but said the refugees reported the vessel ran out
of food and water several days ago.
"In
the absence of precise information as to the refugees' location, we have
alerted the authorities of the relevant maritime states of these reports and
appealed for their swift assistance," the UNHCR said in a statement.
"Immediate
action is needed to save lives and prevent further tragedy," it said,
offering to support governments by providing humanitarian help and quarantine
measures to those rescued.
"Many
are in a highly vulnerable condition and are apparently suffering from extreme
dehydration. We understand that a number of refugees have already lost their
lives and that fatalities have risen over the past 24 hours," said Indrika
Ratwatte, UNHCR director for Asia and the Pacific, according to remarks carried
by The Associated Press (AP).
"The
fact that refugees and migrants continue to undertake fatal journeys
accentuates the need for immediate and collective regional response to search,
rescue and disembarkation," it added.
A
senior Indian Coast Guard official told Reuters the boat has been tracked and
was reported to be safe but did not yet know the condition of those aboard.
The
Rohingya are a Muslim minority that has suffered persecution in
Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled a deadly
crackdown by Myanmar's security forces in 2017 and poured into neighboring
Bangladesh, where about a million live in poor conditions in sprawling refugee
camps, unable to work or leave without government permission.
Many
Rohingya have fled in rickety boats while taking perilous journeys in the hope
of reaching Malaysia and Indonesia.
Malaysia,
with a predominantly Muslim population, has long been a favorite destination
for a group that ranks among the world's most persecuted peoples. While boat
trips have declined in recent years, Southeast Asian governments have tightened
borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last
year, dozens of refugees were found in boats drifting near the Malaysian island
of Langkawi, and many more went ashore with the help of locals in the
Indonesian province of Aceh.
A
report conducted by Save the Children last year said that Rohingya are still
willing to pay traders to travel, despite the risks. The Britain-based charity
said that since January 2020 at least 2000 refugees have been stranded on boats
in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal. It also noted that authorities found
over 150 unaccompanied children among the severely malnourished survivors after
a boat carrying refugees washed up in Bangladesh in April last year.
https://www.dailysabah.com/world/asia-pacific/un-appeals-for-rescue-of-rohingya-muslim-stranded-in-andaman-sea
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China
Rejects ‘Genocide’ Attack From UN on Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang
February
22, 2021
New
Delhi: China on Monday rejected the “slanderous attacks” about the treatment of
the ethnic minority of Muslim Uyghurs and other minorities are living in
Xinjiang region. The comment came in response to activists and UN rights
experts who claimed that at least one million Uyghurs Muslims have been
detained in camps in Xinjiang.
China
claims that these camps have benefited millions of workers through educational
and vocational training. However, according to testimony from survivors, these
so-called education camps are the worst places so far as human rights
violations are concerned.
The
Asian giant urged the US to stop “smearing” the ruling Communist Party of China
(CPC) and its one-party political system, lift sanctions on trade and halt
Washington’s backing of “separatist forces in Taiwan, Tibet, Hong Kong and
Xinjiang.
Responding
to the U.N. Human Rights Council, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China was
taking counter-terrorism measures in accordance with the law and that Xinjiang
enjoyed “social stability and sound development” after four years without any
“terrorist case”.
“These
basic facts show that there has never been so-called genocide, forced labour,
or religious oppression in Xinjiang,” Wang said, as quoted by Reuters.
“Such
inflammatory accusations are fabricated out of ignorance and prejudice, they
are simply malicious and politically driven hype and couldn’t be further from
the truth,” he added.
The
Chinese government has repeatedly refused to categorize Uyghurs as an
indigenous population and describe Uyghurs as a regional minority. One among
China’s fifty-five ethnic minorities, Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group
originating from central and eastern Asia.
As
a result, China is facing criticism and worldwide condemnation over its unkind
and harsh treatment towards the Uyghur Muslims.
https://www.india.com/news/world/china-rejects-genocide-attack-from-un-on-uyghur-muslims-in-xinjiang-4442758/
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Iran’s
Khamenei says ‘no one can stop Tehran’ from getting a nuclear weapon
22
February ,2021
Iran’s
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Monday that Tehran may enrich
uranium up to 60 percent purity if the country needed it, state TV reported,
adding that Tehran will never yield to the US pressure over the country’s
nuclear work.
“Iran’s
uranium enrichment level will not be limited to 20 percent. We will increase it
to whatever level the country needs ... We may increase it to 60 percent,”
state quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying.
He
said Tehran had never sought a nuclear weapon but if it wanted to, “no one
could stop Tehran from acquiring it.”
“Americans
and the European parties to the deal have used unjust language against
Iran...Iran will not yield to pressure. Our stance will not change,” Khamenei
said.
US
President Joe Biden’s administration said last week it was ready to talk to
Iran about both nations returning to the accord abandoned by Biden’s
predecessor Donald Trump.
Secretary
of State Antony Blinken said on Monday Washington would aim to bolster and
extend the 2015 pact, which aimed to limit Iran’s enrichment potential - a
possible pathway to atomic bombs - in exchange for a lifting of most sanctions.
Iran
and the United States have been at odds over who should take the first step to
revive the accord. Iran insists the United States must first rescind US
sanctions while Washington says Tehran must first return to full compliance.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/22/Iran-s-Khamenei-says-no-one-can-stop-Tehran-from-getting-a-nuclear-weapon
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Boko
Haram beheads woodcutters in northeast Nigeria
Olarewaju
Kola
23.02.2021
MAIDUGURI,
Nigeria
Boko
Haram terrorists beheaded six woodcutters in an attack in Nigeria’s
northeastern Borno state.
One
of the survivors, Ali Musa, said the men rode to the bush last Thursday in
search of firewood to sell but were attacked by the terrorists.
"Six
people were killed. They were beheaded," he told Anadolu Agency.
Some
locals said they recovered four corpses on the day of the attack, but two other
corpses were discovered the following day.
The
incident was not reported until late Monday due to poor communication and the
remoteness of the area.
Damboa,
the town where the attack occurred, is around 87 kilometers (54 miles) from
Maiduguri, Borno state’s capital and heartland of over a decade of Boko Haram
terror.
The
group has claimed responsibility for most of the violent attacks in the region.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/boko-haram-beheads-woodcutters-in-northeast-nigeria/2153740
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US
will not bow down to Iran’s conditions for dialogue, EU waiting on response
Joseph
Haboush
22
February ,2021
The
White House said Monday that the United States would not bow down to Iran’s
conditions for dialogue on a new nuclear treaty.
US
President Joe Biden’s press secretary, Jen Psaki, said that the US had clarified
before and it was unyielding in its stance the sanctions would not be lifted
before dialogue with Tehran.
“We
will discuss with Congress future steps on Iran,” Psaki told reporters.
But
Psaki was quick to play down Monday’s comments by Iran’s supreme leader that it
was capable of enriching uranium to 60 percent.
As
for the European Union’s offer to host US-Iran talks, Psaki said the EU was
still waiting for a response.
“What
we're willing to do is sit at a table and have a diplomatic conversation,
because we are looking to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and we
believe diplomacy is the best way to do that,” Psaki said.
Since
becoming US president, Joe Biden has said that Iran must first come back into
full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The US
would then do the same, Biden has said.
However,
on Monday, Iran announced that it would no longer comply with additional
protocol with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Iran’s
supreme leader also claimed that Iran could reach 60 percent uranium enrichment
if it wanted.
In
response, State Department Spokesman Ned Price played down Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei’s comments and urged Iran to return to compliance with the JCPOA.
While
Price expressed Washington’s concern over Iran’s decision to stop the
additional protocol, he reiterated calls for Iran to talk to the US.
“There
is now a proposition on the table,” Price said. “We certainly hope the Iranians
will be willing to be there.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/22/Iran-nuclear-deal-US-will-not-bow-down-to-Iran-s-conditions-for-dialogue-EU-waiting-on-response
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Greece
rejects legal demands of Muslims for place of worship
FEB
22, 2021
Greece
has committed another violation of freedom against the Muslim minority in the
country by rejecting the Muslim community's demand to open a place of worship
in Thessaloniki.
Located
in the second-largest city of Greece, Macedonia-Thrace Muslims Education
Culture Foundation made a formal application for the opening of a place of
worship after completing the necessary preliminary preparations in line with
legal regulations.
Prior
authorizations were taken from local authorities for the formal application, a
process that took two years. After that, Greece's Education and Religion
Ministry left the process in limbo, while it rejected the application on the
basis of a lack of additional documents and technical details.
Members
of the foundation slammed the decision saying that Greece wants to imply that
Muslims in Thessaloniki and its surrounding areas should pray in the streets if
they demand communal worship.
"Greece,
which does not open the existing mosques, also does not show Muslims another
place for their worship. Our applications to conduct our worship in our
foundation have been also rejected with excuses outside the legal
regulations," they said.
The
country's unwelcoming stance toward its Muslim population is not a new
phenomenon. For instance, up until recently, Athens was known as the only
European capital without a mosque, even though there are an estimated 300,000
Muslims in the greater Athens area. Back in November 2020, for the first time
since the 19th century, Athens witnessed the inauguration of an official
mosque, as years of efforts by the Muslim community finally paid off.
Greece
was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, until 1829 when the
Greek population succeeded in gaining independence from the empire. At the
time, there were many mosques and other Ottoman architecture all over Greece.
However, the riots and independence triggered a wave during which all such
architecture was damaged or removed, eventually leaving Athens without any
mosque. In fact, Athens' lack of mosques is a norm for the majority of the
Greek cities as the only officially sanctioned mosques in the country are in
the northern border region with Turkey where up to 150,000 members of the
Muslim minority live.
Turkey
has long decried Greek violations of the rights of its Muslim and Turkish
minority, from closing down mosques and letting historic mosques fall into
disrepair, to refusing to recognize Muslims' election of their own muftis.
These measures violate the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne as well as the European
Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) verdicts, making Greece a state that flouts the
law, Turkish officials say.
Similarly,
the election of muftis, or Islamic clerics, by Muslims in Greece has become yet
another point of contention that caused trouble for the Muslims in the country.
Even though it is regulated by the 1913 Treaty of Athens, a Greek-Ottoman
Empire pact that was implemented by Athens in 1920, that the community will be
able to elect their own muftis, in 1991, in violation of international law,
Greece annulled the treaty and unlawfully started to appoint the muftis itself.
The muftis appointed by the Greek state have since usurped local Muslims' right
of jurisdiction on family and inheritance matters. The majority of Muslim Turks
in Western Thrace do not recognize muftis appointed by the Greek state and
instead elect their own.
https://www.dailysabah.com/world/europe/greece-rejects-legal-demands-of-muslims-for-place-of-worship
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Arab
World
Attacks
targeting US personnel in Iraq increase as Biden, Europe wait for Iran
22
February ,2021
Joseph
Haboush
Rocket
attacks on Baghdad’s Green Zone are not an unusual development with the
highly-secured compound housing the US Embassy and other Western embassies.
The
Green Zone is a prime target for Iran-backed militias and other terrorist
groups.
But
over the last seven days, three separate rocket attacks have struck in and
around bases and compounds that have US troops or contractors stationed inside.
Erbil
attack
On
Feb. 15, at least 14 rockets struck near Iraq’s Erbil Airport in the country's
Kurdistan region. A civilian contractor, who was not a US citizen, was killed,
and several others were injured. It was one of the most significant strikes on
US-led coalition forces in the last year, and the worst strike since US
President Joe Biden took office.
A
pro-Iran Shia group claimed the attack, while Tehran denied any links to the
strike.
Al
Balad Airbase
Five
days later, Iraq’s military reported that four rockets hit the country’s Al
Balad Airbase. US companies operate inside the airbase, but there were
conflicting reports over injuries. At least one civilian contractor was
reported to have been injured.
US
Embassy targeted
On
Monday, a barrage of rockets was fired at Baghdad’s Green Zone with AFP saying
that the US Embassy was targeted. It was not hit, and US officials referred journalists
to the Iraqi military statement. The embassy was not hit, Iraq’s security
services said.
No
casualties or injuries have been reported.
Although
Iran has not and does not usually claim responsibility for attacks, US
officials have voiced their belief that pro-Tehran groups were behind them.
But
the attacks have not stopped the US president from softening Washington’s
stances on Iran.
Since
becoming president, Biden has revoked the terrorist designation of Iran-backed
groups and halted arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Additionally,
the Biden administration revoked snapback sanctions claimed by the Trump
administration against Iran and revoked travel restrictions on senior Iranian
diplomats at the United Nations.
Furthermore,
the Biden administration voiced its readiness to sit down with Iran to discuss
the now-defunct nuclear treaty that was engineered and signed in 2015 when
Biden was vice president to Barack Obama.
On
Monday, the State Department did not respond to whether Iran’s response to what
some have dubbed as US concessions was productive.
State
Department Ned Price tiptoed around the topic while reiterating and repeatedly
stating the US willingness to sit down with Iran “in the context of the P5+1
(Permanent UN Security Council members).”
As
for the recent attacks in Iraq, Price said the US was “outraged” and would
respond at a “time and place of our choosing.”
He
added that weapons were Iranian-made and provided by Iran “in the attack I
referred to.” When asked about which attack, Price backtracked and said he was
implying attacks in general.
https://english.alarabiya.net/features/2021/02/23/Iraqi-militias-Attacks-targeting-US-personnel-in-Iraq-increase-as-Biden-Europe-wait-for-Iran
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Protester
shot dead in south Iraq, says medical source
22
February ,2021
A
young man was shot dead on Monday during a protest in the capital of Iraq’s
southern Dhi Qar province over poor public services, a local medical source
told AFP.
Dozens
of demonstrators had gathered in front of the governorate to demand the
dismissal of governor Nazem al-Waeli over a deterioration in public services,
an AFP correspondent in the provincial capital of Nasiriyah said.
They
set tires alight and threw stones at the administrative building, before security
forces arrived and used both tear gas and live fire to break up the
demonstration.
“A
demonstrator who was under 20 years old was shot dead,” the medical source in
Nasiriyah told AFP, saying another four protesters and 12 security forces were
wounded.
Dhi
Qar authorities announced a strict curfew in all major cities across the
province to prevent further rallies.
Decades
of war, government graft and slim investments have left Iraq’s water,
electricity and other public works thoroughly lacking.
Many
households have only a few hours of state-provided electricity per day or
complain of polluted tap water, and the resulting anger has erupted into
protests in the past.
In
late 2019, public frustration over poor services, unemployment and corruption
morphed into an unprecedented anti-government movement across southern Iraq as
well as the capital Baghdad.
Nearly
600 people have been killed in protest-related violence since then, including
in mass violence at demonstrations but also in targeted assassinations of
activists.
Among
them are more than a dozen security forces.
In
January, a policeman was shot dead and dozens more people wounded during a
rally in Nasiriyah, which has long been a hotspot of protests.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/22/Protests-Protester-shot-dead-in-south-Iraq-says-medical-source
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‘Israeli
enemy ship’ responsible for oil leak in Eastern Mediterranean: Lebanon’s PM
Rawad
Taha
22
February ,2021
Lebanon
and Israel face the strongest marine ecological disaster since the 2006 war oil
spill after a recent oil leak that officials in Lebanon said has originated
from “a ship of the Israeli enemy” and has now reached the southern shores of
Lebanon.
Lebanon’s
Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s office said he has been following up on the oil
spill issue.
Diab
has assigned the Ministers of Defense and Environment in the caretaker
government, along with the National Council for Scientific Research, to follow
up on the matter in terms of informing the United Nations Interim Force in
Lebanon (UNIFIL) forces for them to conduct an official report, as well as in
dealing with the leakage and its damages.
The
Director of Programs at Lebanon-based Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa
Julian Jreissati commented on the issue of the oil spill, with a statement
calling on the Ministry of Environment to “take immediate measures to assess
the magnitude of the risk of this spill by setting up an urgent survey and
monitoring program.”
“The
authorities must develop a quick plan to reduce the impacts on the environment
and public health, and based on the results of the assessment, the authorities
should provide safety instructions to the Lebanese people, especially
concerning fishing and swimming activities,” Jreissati added.
Jreissati
added that this incident adds to a long list of oil spills that threaten the
rich marine biodiversity and affect the eastern Mediterranean region’s
inhabitants.
“It
is a manifestation of the destruction of nature resulting from the addiction of
the global systems to fossil fuels,” he added.
2006
oil spill
The
last oil spill in the region of such a scope happened during the 2006 war
between Lebanon and Israel after the Jiyeh Power Station in Lebanon was bombed
by Israel.
The
bombing resulted in the largest oil spill in the Mediterranean, caused by the
release of heavy fuel oil into the eastern basin of the Mediterranean.
The
plant’s damaged tanks leaked up to 30,000 tons of oil, a 10-kilometer-wide oil
slick covered 170 kilometer of coastline in Lebanon and has reached both Turkey
and Cyprus.
That
incident threatened the habitat of endangered green sea turtles.
In
2014, The UN General Assembly approved a resolution requesting Israel to pay
Lebanon over $850 million in damages for the oil.
The
assembly voted 170-6 in favor of the nonbinding resolution, with three
abstentions. Israel, the US, Canada, Australia, Micronesia, and Marshall
Islands were the only countries to vote with a “No”.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/22/-Israeli-enemy-ship-responsible-for-oil-leak-in-Eastern-Mediterranean-Lebanon-s-PM
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Rockets
target US Embassy in Iraq, no casualties reported: Security sources
22
February ,2021
A
volley of rockets on Monday targeted the high-security zone in the Iraqi
capital that is home to the US embassy, the military and security sources said.
The
attack is the third in a week to target Western diplomatic, military or
commercial installations across Iraq after months of relative calm.
At
least two rockets hit within the perimeter of the Green Zone, where the
American and other foreign embassies are based, according to a statement by
Iraq’s security services.
A
security source told AFP at least one rocket hit the headquarters of Iraq’s
National Security Service near the US diplomatic mission.
Others
crashed into nearby residential districts, including a multi-story parking
complex in the neighborhood of Harithiya, a witness told AFP.
The
Iraqi security services later announced that they found the rockets'
launchpads, which were fired from Baghdad’s Al Salam street.
The
attack comes one week after more than a dozen rockets targeted a military
complex at the Arbil airport in northern Iraq, which hosts foreign troops from
a US-led coalition helping Iraq fight jihadists since 2014.
Two
people were killed, including one foreign contractor based at the airport, who
died immediately, and a civilian, who died of his wounds on Monday.
On
Saturday, another wave of rockets hit the Al-Balad airbase north of Baghdad,
where Iraq keeps most of the F-16s it has purchased from the US in recent
years.
Security
sources said at least one local contractor for Sallyport, the US company that
maintains the planes, was wounded.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/22/Rockets-target-US-embassy-in-Iraqi-capital-Security-sources
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Iraq
decides not to go ahead with $2 bln China crude-supply deal, says Oil Minister
22
February ,2021
Iraq
has decided against signing an oil-supply deal with a Chinese state company
that would have seen the cash-strapped Arab nation get about $2 billion
upfront, according to its oil minister.
Baghdad
opted not to go ahead with the contract after oil prices rose in recent months,
Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said in an interview with BBC Arabic.
Iraq,
whose economy is reeling after last year’s crash in crude prices, in November
asked oil traders to bid for a five-year supply deal. Baghdad proposed
delivering 4 million barrels a month, or about 130,000 barrels a day, with the
buyer paying upfront for one year of supply.
China’s
Zhenhua Oil Co., a subsidiary of defense contractor Norinco, won the bid,
Bloomberg reported in December.
Prepayment
deals are rare in the oil world and this was meant to improve Iraq’s financial
situation. While the government is still struggling, its position has improved
because oil prices have soared 62 percent since the start of November to around
$63 a barrel, largely thanks to the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines.
OPEC’s
second-biggest producer had wanted as much liquidity as possible in January and
February this year and was concerned that oil prices would not exceed $40 a
barrel, Jabbar said in the interview.
After
prices stabilized, “we decided to freeze this attempt or option and we did not
activate it,” BBC Arabic cited him as saying.
In
an interview with the Iraq Oil Report earlier this month, Finance Minister Ali
Allawi said pre-payment oil deals were problematic because they required a
sovereign guarantee.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/22/Iraq-decides-not-to-go-ahead-with-2-bln-China-crude-supply-deal-says-Oil-Minister
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Pope’s
visit to Iraqi Ziggurat to draw fresh attention to birthplace of Abraham
22
February ,2021
Pope
Francis is due to hold an inter-religious prayer service at the ancient
Mesopotamian site of Ur when he visits Iraq next week -- an event local
archeologists
hope will draw renewed attention to the place revered as the birthplace of
Abraham.
Popular
with Western visitors in the 1970s and 1980s, Ur is scarcely visited today
after decades of war and political instability shattered Iraq’s international
tourism industry. The coronavirus crisis now also keeps local tourists away.
Located
about 300 km south of the capital Baghdad, the site comprises a pyramid-style
Ziggurat and an adjacent residential complex as well as temples and palaces.
It
was excavated about 100 years ago by Leonard Woolley, a Briton who recovered
treasures rivalling those found in Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt. But little work
has since been done on one of the world’s oldest cities, where urban dwelling,
writing and central state power began.
According
to the State Board for Antiquities and Heritage director for Ur, Ali Kadhim
Ghanim, the complex next to the Ziggurat dates back to about 1900 BC.
The
father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Abraham is described in the biblical
book of Genesis as living in the city before God called upon him to create a
new nation in a land he later learned was Canaan.
“This
is why it is believed that this building, or house, was the house of the prophet
Abraham,” Ghanim said, pointing at the residential complex.
According
to Ghanim, the housing settlement was restored in 1999, after Pope Francis’
predecessor, Pope John Paul II, announced a trip to Iraq. But his visit was
cancelled when negotiations with the government of then-Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein broke down.
This
time, Ghanim hopes that Pope Francis’ visit will attract international
attention to the site, which he says is badly needed to fund restoration works
on its palaces and temples.
“Not
only tourism, but we believe that there will be a Christian pilgrimage season,”
Ghanim said.
Un
Ponte Per, an Italian-based organization, is working with the United Nations
Development Program on infrastructure works such as paths, rest areas and
signposts to help visitors.
Roads
around the site are being renovated and powerlines extended ahead of the pope’s
visit.
But
without adequate funding, Ghanim says his administration has been limited to
containing further damage to the site, such as digging trenches to divert
rainwater from the ruins.
Basra’s
Archbishop Habib al-Naufaly stressed the symbolic importance of the pope’s
March 5-8 visit as Iraq is still recovering from the war against ISIS that
destroyed scores of Christian heritage sites.
The
inter-religious prayer service will be attended by Christians, Muslims,
Mandaean-Sabaean, Yazidi and other religious minorities present in Iraq.
The
focus will be on harmony between religious groups in a service the Vatican has
named “Prayer for the sons and daughters of Abraham.”
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/22/Pope-s-visit-to-Iraqi-Ziggurat-to-draw-fresh-attention-to-birthplace-of-Abraham
--------
Foreign
minister: Syria determined to continue fight against terrorism
22
February 2021
Syrian
Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad has reiterated his country’s determination to
combat terrorism and practice its legal right to put an end to any illegitimate
military presence on its soil.
Mekdad,
who is also a former permanent envoy to the United Nations, made the remarks in
a speech via video to the 46th session of Human Rights Council in Geneva on
Monday.
“Terrorism
remains a major threat and some countries are trying to exploit our country’s
suffering for political pressure,” Mekdad said, stressing that, “Syria is
determined to continue fighting terrorism and to exercise its legal right to
end any illegal presence on its territory.”
The
top Syrian diplomat pointed to right violations committed by occupation forces
in his country, particularly the recent activities by the Turkish military in
addition to Ankara’s support for terrorist groups in Syria.
“In
light of the Turkish, American and Israeli occupation, terrorist groups and
separatist militias continue to commit gross and systematic violations of human
rights to serve the interests of their operators and supporters,” Mekdad said.
“Water
cuts as a collective punishment for a million citizens in Hasakah Governorate
is one of the examples of the grave and systematic violations committed by the
Turkish occupation forces and their groups,” he added.
On
October 9, 2019, Turkish forces and Ankara-backed militants launched a
long-threatened cross-border invasion of northeastern Syria in a declared
attempt to push Kurdish militants affiliated with the so-called People’s
Protection Units (YPG) away from border areas.
Ankara
views the YPG, which is supported by the White House, as a terrorist
organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has
been seeking an autonomous Kurdish region in Turkey since 1984.
‘Sanctions
directly target Syrian civilians’ livelihood’
During
his virtual speech on Monday, Mekdad also touched on the issue of illegal
sanctions imposed on Syria and called on Human Rights Council to place the
grave and systematic violations resulting from the US and European unilateral
coercive measures against the Syrian people as a top priority.
“Those
who claim that these coercive measures do not affect ordinary citizens lie
because they only affect the citizens in their basic needs,” he said. “Some of
those who adopted the draft resolutions related to Syria and others are among
the governments that violate human rights the most.”
The
United States recently imposed a round of sanctions against Syria known as the
Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act.
The
sanctions came into effect on June 17 -- six months after being signed into law
by former US President Donald Trump -- targeting individuals and businesses
anywhere in the world that operate directly or indirectly within the sphere of Syria's
economy. This includes entities that help the Arab country produce oil or fight
terrorism in any way.
The
US economic measures have effectively blocked imports of essential goods,
impacting the Syrian people’s access to medical equipment, food, fuel, natural
gas, and electricity.
Moreover,
EU sanctions on the Syrian government have been in force since December 2011
and are subject to annual review.
Elsewhere
in his remarks, Mekdad stressed the "inalienable" right of his
country in the occupied Syrian Golan and said the right was guaranteed by
international references and agreed upon by principles of the international
law.
“Syria
renews its firm support for the right of the Palestinian people to establish
their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital on the borders of June 4,
1967, with guaranteeing the right of refugees to return home in implementation
of the United Nations relevant resolutions,” Mekdad added.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/22/645836/Syria-Faysal-Mekdad-combat-terrorism
--------
India
NIA
files chargesheet against two LeT terrorists for conspiracy to wage war against
India
22nd
February 2021
BENGALURU:
The NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet before a special court here on Monday
against two terrorists of Pakistan-based terror group LeT for their alleged
involvement in a conspiracy to commit subversive activities and wage a war
against India, besides killing key personalities of the Hindu community in the
country, an official said.
The
chargesheet was filed against Dr Sabeel Ahmed of Bengaluru and Asadulla Khan of
Hyderabad under sections of the India Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a spokesperson of the country's premier
investigation agency said.
The
case, initially registered in August 2012 in Bengaluru, pertains to a
conspiracy hatched by members of proscribed terror organisations
Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami (HuJI) to commit subversive
activities and wage a war against the government of India, the NIA official
said.
They
had procured illegal arms and ammunition for targeted killings of important
personalities of the Hindu community in Karnataka's Bengaluru and Hubli,
Maharashtra's Nanded and Telangana's Hyderabad to disturb communal harmony and
strike terror in the society, the official said.
The
National Investigation Agency (NIA) re-registered the case in November 2012 and
has filed chargesheets against 17 accused.
LeT
members Ahmed and Khan were involved in a criminal conspiracy, along with other
accused, in supporting and furthering the cause of the terror outfit in Saudi
Arabia's Dammam and Riyadh, the NIA spokesperson said.
They
actively participated in meetings, where terrorist activities like targeted
killings of important personalities of the Hindu community in Bengaluru, Hubli
and Nanded were planned, the official added.
The
special NIA court in Bengaluru convicted 13 accused in the case in September
2016 and sentenced them to five years of imprisonment for their involvement in
offences under the UAPA, IPC, Arms Act and Official Secrets Act.
A
trial is continuing against three accused who were named in an earlier
chargesheet, the NIA official said, adding that further investigation against
six absconding accused is underway.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2021/feb/22/nia-files-chargesheet-against-twolet-terrorists-for-conspiracy-to-wage-war-against-india-2267423.html
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‘Love
jihad’ non-existent but BJP uses it to hunt Muslims, says Vijayaraghavan
23rd
February 2021
MALAPPURAM:
CPM acting state secretary A Vijayaraghavan on Monday said ‘Love jihad’ is
non-existent and that is a creation of the Sangh Parivar. He said the usage
‘Love jihad’ is propagated to attack and hunt certain communities, especially
Muslims. He was responding to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s
statement on Sunday that the Kerala government encourages ‘Love jihad’.
“At
the flagging off ceremony of BJP’s election rally, Adityanath declared his
communal agenda. ‘Love jihad’ is a campaign tool created by the Sangh Parivar.
Some BJP-ruled states including Uttar Pradesh created laws against ‘Love
jihad’. But Kerala is not a place to create such barbaric laws as Chief
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier clarified. Pinarayi also took a strong
stand against implementing CAA in the state,” Vijayaraghavan said during a
press conference.
Further,
he said BJP leaders are not talking about the real issues of the people. “The
price of one litre of petrol has crossed `100 in the country. Unemployment rate
is also at an all-time high. Yet the BJP government talks about ‘Love jihad’,”
the CPM state secretary said.
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2021/feb/23/love-jihad-non-existent-but-bjp-uses-itto-hunt-muslims-says-vijayaraghavan-2267578.html
--------
Farmers'
protest: Revival of brotherhood between Jats and Muslims in western Uttar
Pradesh
J.P.
Yadav
23.02.21
At
85, farmer leader Ghulam Mohammad Jaula has found a new and invigorating reason
to live and die for. The revival of the “bhaichara” or brotherhood between Jats
and Muslims in western Uttar Pradesh, abutting Delhi.
For
decades, the unity between Jats and Muslims had dictated electoral politics in
the region, where either community made up about 30 per cent of the population.
But
the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots had shredded that bond, fuelling the BJP’s rise to
dominance in an area where it never had a foothold, and contributing to the
emergence of a nationwide political climate that led the party to victory in
the 2014 general election.
But
the Narendra Modi government’s imposition of the three farm laws and crackdown
on the farmer protests, particularly the one led by Rakesh Tikait at the
Ghazipur border, has tentatively brought the two communities together again,
promising to heal the wounds of 2013.
“Ab
hum unke liye ladenge aur woh hamare liye (Now they will fight for us and we
for them),” the six-foot-plus Jaula said, fingers firmly clasped around his
stick as he settled in a chair in his outhouse at Jaula village, 40km from district
headquarters Muzaffarnagar. “They” meant Jats and “us”, Muslims.
Jaula,
who derives his surname from the name of his village, wields considerable
authority in the region as former right-hand man of the legendary farmer leader
Mahendra Singh “Baba” Tikait, and one-time Muslim face of the Bharatiya Kisan
Union.
“Hamara
rishta sagey bhaiyon se bhi gehra tha (Our relationship was deeper than that
between blood brothers),” is how Jaula describes his bond with the elder
Tikait, whose death in 2011 left the BKU in the hands of his sons Naresh and
Rakesh.
Jaula
had dissociated himself from the BKU in 2013 after Jats and Muslims found
themselves pitted against each other as communal violence engulfed
Muzaffarnagar. More than 60 were killed and thousands of Muslim families forced
to flee.
With
the Tikait brothers accused of involvement in the riots, Jaula snapped ties and
floated his own outfit.
Today,
the octogenarian doesn’t want to recall the past: the present is too exciting
for him. He set off the efforts to bury the hatchet at a January 29
mahapanchayat in Muzaffarnagar, where he told Naresh Tikait to his face to
acknowledge the “two mistakes” he and his Jat brethren had committed. Naresh
did.
“I
told them (Naresh and the Jats) that their first mistake had been to defeat
their chaudhary (leader) Ajit Singh (in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls),” Jaula said.
Ajit,
Rashtriya Lok Dal leader and son of revered farmer leader and former Prime
Minister Charan Singh, had been fielded by a combined Opposition that included
the Samajawadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. He lost to the BJP’s Sanjeev
Balyan, who stands accused of instigating the 2013 riots.
It
was Charan who had in the 1970s united the Jats and Muslims, who stood firmly
behind him and Ajit through four decades, with the Samajwadis too benefiting
courtesy their off-and-on alliance with Ajit.
The
January 29 mahapanchayat had been called after videos from the previous night
showed Rakesh Tikait sobbing at the Ghazipur border, accusing the Uttar Pradesh
administration and “BJP goons” of conspiring to beat up and kill or evict the
protesting farmers.
By
the break of dawn, thousands — mainly from western Uttar Pradesh — had arrived
at the Ghazipur border in solidarity with the farmers, turning the tide against
the government.
However,
with their pride and dignity hurt like seldom before, Jat farmer leaders Naresh
and Rakesh began looking for political muscle to counter the government and hit
on the idea of exhibiting Jat-Muslim unity. Jaula was invited to the afternoon
mahapanchayat and he readily agreed.
At
the gathering, Jaula reminded the Jats also about their “second mistake”, which
actually came six years before the “first mistake”.
“The
Muslims had always been with you (the Jats) but you got them killed in 2013,”
Jaula told Naresh. A silent crowd, made up mostly of Jat farmers, listened
intently.
“These
are the two big mistakes you must accept before we move forward,” Jaula said.
Sitting
on the stage at the mahapanchayat, Naresh acknowledged the two mistakes and
vowed they won’t be repeated again. The crowd cheered.
“When
he (Naresh) acknowledged the mistakes, I too brushed aside the past and decided
to join the fight,” Jaula said. The following day, Jaula despatched his
supporters to the Ghazipur border in more than 200 vehicles in a show of
support for Rakesh.
“I’m
confident the bond has become stronger and will hold,” Jaula said. “We need
each other.”
Since
the mahapanchayat, a series of similar farmer gatherings have taken place
across western Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, reinforcing the message to the
government that the protest wouldn’t be called off until the new farm laws had
been repealed.
But
the implications of a renewed Jat-Muslim unity in western Uttar Pradesh could
go beyond the farmer agitation and have electoral repercussions, with Assembly
elections just about a year away.
Jaula
is certain that the farmers’ protest itself would influence the outcome of the
state polls, particularly if the government fails to repeal the contentious
farm laws. “The Jats and the Muslims will vote together in all future
elections,” he said.
Jaula’s
son Sajid Ali aka Munna Pradhan, a former gram panchayat pradhan, sounded less
confident than his father about a complete revival of the old Jat-Muslim ties.
“Yes,
a change is visible. Not only the older Jats but their youth too are
disappointed in the BJP,” Munna said.
But
he added after a pause: “Waise toh sab thik lag raha hai, lekin kaun janta hai
unke dil me kya hai (On the face of it everything looks fine but who knows what’s
in their heart).”
Recalling
the events leading to the Jats’ “first mistake”, Munna said that Ajit, for whom
Jaula had campaigned intensely, had looked set to drub Balyan in the 2019
general election.
“However,
in a sudden change on polling eve, Jat youths and many of their elders shifted
loyalties to the BJP,” Munna said.
Jaula
obliquely pointed a finger at the Tikait brothers. “They (the Tikait brothers)
called a panchayat and invited Ajit Singh to assure him support,” he said.
“I
don’t know what happened (behind the scenes) and the next day, the brothers
organised a second panchayat and invited Balyan and promised to support him.”
Balyan
belongs to the same “khap” -- the Balyan khap --- as the Tikait brothers. The
khap panchayats are traditional village councils that lack official sanctity
but wield enormous influence.
It’s
widely believed in Muzaffarnagar that the second panchayat called by the Tikait
brothers tilted the scales in Balyan’s favour. Ajit lost by just over 3,700
votes.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/farmer-protest-revival-of-brotherhood-between-jats-and-muslims-in-western-uttar-pradesh/cid/1807503
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Poll
lull in Shia waqf Board, 10 months after govt takeover
Feb
22, 2021
AYODHYA:
Amidst frenetic activity for UP Sunni Waqf Board elections scheduled on March
6, there’s a curious lull in the Shia Waqf Board, whose tenure ended in May
last year, but there’s no talk of elections even 10 months after the state
government took control over the Board.
Talking
to TOI, chief executive officer of Shia Waqf Board, Dr Naseer Hasan, said,
“Elections to the Shia Waqf Board can be held only after the state government
issues a notification or there is a court order. Elections to the Sunni Board
were necessitated by Allahabad High Court’s order, quashing the September 30,
2020, directive of the additional chief secretary minority welfare and waqf to
extend the board’s tenure.” Top sources in the Board told TOI that ongoing
investigations into corruption in functioning of the Shia waqf board has
delayed elections.
“Among
the 13 Waqf Board members, Bukkal Nawab and Shadab Fatima, who were elected
from MLA/MLC quota, have resigned. Akhtar Hasan Rizvi, member of Rajya Sabha
was elected from MP quota. Rizvi was the lone member from MP quota as there was
no other Shia Muslim MP from Uttar Pradesh. Aalima Zaidi and Afshaan Zaidi were
elected from the Bar Council quota and Maulana Azim Hussain and Wali Haiser
were nominated by the then state government,” said a Shia Board official.
On
May 21 last year, the state government took charge of the Shia Waqf Board, and
allowed Naseer Hasan to continue as chief executive officer.
In
November last year, CBI registered a case against former chairman of Shia Waqf
Board, Waseem Rizvi, for alleged illegal sale, purchase and transfer of waqf
properties, cheating, criminal intimidation and criminal breach of trust.
Talking
to TOI, state minorities affairs minister Mohsin Raza, said, “We are conducting
elections to Sunni Waqf Board as there is an order from the High Court.
However, there is no proposal yet of conducting elections to the Shia Board.”
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/poll-lull-in-shia-waqf-board-10-months-after-govt-takeover/articleshow/81151884.cms
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India
permits Imran Khan's aircraft to use its airspace for travel to Sri Lanka
Feb
23, 2021
NEW
DELHI: India has allowed Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's aircraft to use
Indian Air Space, according to informed sources.
Imran
Khan will be travelling to Sri Lanka on his maiden visit on February 23.
In
2019, Pakistan had denied opening its airspace for Prime Minister Narendra
Modi's flights to the US and Saudi Arabia citing alleged human rights
violations in Kashmir.
India
took up the denial of permission to VVIP flight with an International Civil
Aviation Organisation.
Under
normal circumstances, the VVIP aircraft are granted permission by countries.
However, Pakistan's denial of permission to VVIP aircraft was an aberration.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/india-permits-imran-khans-aircraft-to-use-its-airspace-for-travel-to-sri-lanka/articleshow/81164521.cms
--------
HC
upholds bail granted to Kalyan resident with alleged ISIS links
by
Omkar Gokhale
February
23, 2021
The
Bombay High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea by the National Investigation
Agency (NIA) seeking orders to set aside the bail granted by a special NIA
court to Kalyan-resident Areeb Majeed, accused of having links with the Islamic
State.
Majeed,
who has spent over six years in Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai, will be released on
bail pending trial, with stringent conditions on furnishing personal bond of Rs
1 lakh and sureties. He can neither leave Kalyan nor change his residence, and
will have to report to the nearest police station twice a day for two months,
after which he will have to report once a day for two months.
Rejected
the plea by Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, who was representing the
NIA, the HC said, “… this is a question of liberty and that the detention of
the accused for this long worked in his favour.”
While
the HC upheld the special court’s March 17, 2020 order on the aspect of
granting bail pending trial, it set aside the special court order pertaining to
the merits of the case.
On
February 4, while reserving its order on NIA’s appeal against Majeed, the HC
had observed that his actions had caused numerous problems for himself and his
family. Majeed travelled to Iraq and Syria in 2014 to allegedly join the terror
outfit.
The
HC had also directed the Mumbai Central prison to produce Majeed before the
court; he was present for the hearing today.
A
division bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale was hearing the case. On
February 4, the hearing continued for over three hours, exceeding the regular
court timing.
The
bail order, however, had been stayed by the court till March 27 on a plea by
the NIA, which said it wanted to file an appeal in the HC. The HC had continued
the stay on operation of the special court’s order.
Majeed
was part of a group of pilgrims travelling to Iraq in May 2020 along with three
others — Aman Tandel, Fahad Sheikh and Saheem Tanki. The NIA claimed the four
separated from the tour group and joined ISIS and carried out terror acts. It
said Majeed was arrested on November 28, 2014, after he returned to India with
“ulterior motives”.
Singh
had argued for the NIA that Majeed had returned with an intention to carry out
terrorist activities. He submitted a picture of Majeed, where he is holding a
purported weapon, and said he was involved in “terrorist activities”. The
judges, in chamber, had also reviewed video clips produced by the NIA related
to the “purpose” with which Majeed was allegedly involved with the banned
terrorist organisation.
However,
Majeed, who appeared in person before the court, said: “The entire charge is about
being in Iraq between June and November 2014. The present trial is not for any
offences in India, against India or anything pertaining to India. The charge of
ulterior motive is not present in the chargesheet, but was later added by the
prosecution.”
He
added that based on an application by his father, the NIA through the Indian
consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, had made arrangements for his return from
Istanbul. “They (NIA) do not want to admit the role they had played in my
return,” Majeed argued.
Justice
Pitale had asked Majeed, “Why would a 21-year-old go to Iraq, who is studying,
would leave family, to be with people you don’t even know and haven’t met in
life? Don’t you have enough suffering around you? By leaving your family
behind. You may be immature at that time like you said. Imagine the suffering
you’ve imposed on your family and parents.”
Majeed
responded, “As soon as I realised, I came back. My father had applied to the
NIA.”
The
bench said: “You have no idea what your parents must have gone through. You
cannot imagine.”
“Even
I have suffered for the past six years after they kept me away from them
(family),” Majeed said.
“I
will not shy away from what wrong I have done, but the accusations that the NIA
has made such as involvement in terrorist activities are hard to digest. The
NIA cannot assume things for the future. Aggrieved parties can always approach
the court in that case,” Majeed said.
When
the bench sought to know how he was spending time in jail, Majeed said he was
studying law.
Justice
Pitale said, “If you had utilised your abilities and skills to the best when
you were 21, that would have been a matter of joy for your family and the
country too.”
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/areeb-majeed-bail-plea-bombay-high-court-nia-7200846/
--------
Pakistan
Political
parties across world oppose interference in other countries’ internal affairs
under human rights pretext
February
22, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
In a major show of defiance, over 310 leaders and prominent personages
representing more than 190 political parties and organisations from 80 plus
countries on Monday expressed their resolve to oppose the western interference
into the affairs of sovereign countries in the name of ‘human rights’.
The
pledge was made by the leaders of 190 political parties and organisations from
80 plus countries, among which over 100 are from Islamic countries, at an
online conclave held under the aegis of the International Department of the CPC
Central Committee (IDCPC) and the Communist Party of China (CPC) Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Regional Committee who co-hosted the event titled ‘Stories of CPC’
Thematic Briefing on Xinjiang in Urumqi.
As
the event took place, the parties who have been involved in an in-depth
discussion on the theme of “A Better Life for All” reached broader consensus.
All parties were of the view that it is the common goal and responsibility of
political parties of all countries to work towards a better life for the
overwhelming majority of the people.
Political
parties of all countries vowed to take the improvement of people’s wellbeing as
their mission and strive to uplift the sense of fulfilment, happiness, and
security thereof. They also noted that Covid-19 has hit over 200 countries and
regions, affected more than seven billion people around the world and claimed
over two million lives.
They
called on all countries to continue to put the lives, safety and health of the
people above everything else by deploying medical expertise and critical
supplies to places where they are needed the most, saving lives with all might
and main, and further promoting global joint epidemic response so that the
pandemic is brought under control at an earliest possible date and the vision
of building a global community of health for all appears on the horizon.
They
also stressed that Covid-19 has plunged over 200 million people globally into
extreme poverty and inflicted serious impact on the economic and social
development of most countries, casting a dark shadow on the prospects of the
United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
They
called on all countries to continue to strengthen coordination on macroeconomic
policies, remain steadfast in maintaining the stability of the global financial
market as well as that of industrial and supply chains, and to take measures to
reduce debts and boost the flow of trade, so that the world economy could soon
recover and grow, which will help bring global poverty reduction back on the
right track as speedily as possible.
While
subscribing to the protection and development of human rights, the meeting
pointed out that the right to subsistence and the right to development are
principal and fundamental.
“Poverty
constitutes the chief obstacle to the realisation of human rights. The
interests of the people should be placed in the paramount position and
development should deliver greater benefit to the entire population in a more
equitable manner,” said the joint communique.
They
also emphasised that as there is no one-size-fits-all model to advance and
protect human rights, the diversity in the path of human rights development
should be respected and any attempt to politicise human rights, apply double
standards thereof, or to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries
under the pretext of human rights should be opposed.
They
called for the concerted efforts of all countries to promote the establishment
of a global governance architecture on human rights that is more equitable,
just and inclusive.
They
also acknowledged that the Thematic Briefing has enabled them to acquire a
comprehensive and in-depth understanding of China’s system of regional ethnic
autonomy and the development of areas with large ethnic minority populations,
including the actual situation in Xinjiang, where social stability as well as
equality and unity among various ethnic groups prevail, people’s livelihood
keeps improving and the economy develops constantly.
They
also expressed appreciation of what the Chinese government has done to promote
economic and social development of areas with large ethnic minority
populations, and to respect and protect the right of people of all ethnic
groups to freedom of religious belief and to use their own spoken and written
languages.
They
expressed opposition to the odious behaviour of a crumb of individuals from
certain countries in misleading the international perception and smearing other
countries with distorted and fabricated facts and disinformation of cooked-up
rumours of so-called China’s “ethnic cleansing” in Xinjiang.
Extending
their best wishes to the CPC and the Chinese people on the eve of the centenary
of the CPC, they applauded the CPC for its commitment to the original
aspiration and founding mission of seeking happiness for the people and
rejuvenation for the nation, for its leadership under which the Chinese people
have created the miracle of rapid economic development together with the
miracle of long-term social stability, and most recently, the major
achievements in both Covid-19 response and economic and social development.
The
conclave commend the important help China has offered to the global fight
against the virus, in particular the honouring of its commitment to make
vaccines a global public good. They expressed their willingness to strengthen
exchanges and mutual learning with the CPC on governance experience, and to
promote the deepening of mutually beneficial cooperation among countries
towards the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/02/22/political-parties-across-world-oppose-interference-in-other-countries-internal-affairs-under-human-rights-pretext/
--------
Fashion
to fund madressahs through Maulana Tariq Jamil's new clothing brand
February
23, 2021
Religious
scholar Maulana Tariq Jamil has revealed details about his upcoming namesake
clothing brand.
In
a video posted on social media, he also cited the reasons he chose to venture
into a clothing business.
Speaking
about his madressahs where numerous students come to acquire religious
education, he said operations had to be halted at the start of the pandemic due
to depleted finances.
"I
would pray to God to create a scenario where we didn't just have to rely on
zakat from people," he said.
"My
madressah never had an administration asking for charity. It was always me
getting in touch with people I know, who would then contribute whatever they
liked. However, after the pandemic I realised that everyone had been affected
and I said to myself I cannot ask anyone for any more aid. I then wondered 'how
will the system work now'?" he said, revealing how the idea came into
being.
"When
the pandemic hit, I then had the intention of starting a business whose profits
could sustain the seminaries," he added, thanking some of his friends and
financiers who contributed to the cause and helped him establish his namesake
brand MTJ.
But
he clarified that the business wasn't established for the sole purpose of
making money. "My entire life, I haven't made money," he said.
"God has blessed me with whatever I have. Instead, the profits will be
used on the MTJ Foundation, which we envision can establish a great hospital
and school," Maulana Jameel said, explaining how the latter was already in
process and required a great amount of investment.
"In
the Subcontinent, ulema involved in businesses are looked down upon and
criticised, though I don't know where this is coming from," the religious
scholar continued, citing the example of Imam Abu Hanifa who was a huge trader
and cloth merchant of his time.
"In
our era, a maulvi is only looked upon as a beggar. Someone who begs in front of
people," he said, reiterating that the brand wasn't created for business
purposes and praying that his madressah and religious institutions could
sustain themselves even after he has left this world.
https://images.dawn.com/news/1186601/fashion-to-fund-madressahs-through-maulana-tariq-jamils-new-clothing-brand
--------
Pakistan
likely to stay in FATF grey list
Feb
23, 2021
NEW
DELHI: The FATF plenary which started on Monday is examining Pakistan’s
compliance — or lack thereof — with the remaining six items in its 27-point
action plan meant to check terror-financing.
While
Pakistan is expected to remain on the grey list, it’s hoping that the
Parisbased terror watchdog will allow an onsite evaluation which it can use to
convince the member-states that it has done enough to get its name struck off
the grey or ‘increased monitoring’ list.
One
of the six terror-financing issues Pakistan was yet to address when FATF met in
October last year related to lack of action against UNSC-proscribed terrorists
like Masood Azhar. India believes Pakistan has continued to provide safe havens
to these terrorists.
FATF
had retained Pakistan in the grey list in October, despite acknowledging
“significant progress” made by Islamabad in addressing 21 other points. It had
asked Pakistan to address its “strategic deficiencies” by demonstrating
effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions against all UN 1267
and 1373 designated terrorists and those acting for or on their behalf.
It’s
unlikely that FATF will downgrade Pakistan to the blacklist as it enjoys the
support of China, Malaysia and Turkey. However, many other member-states are
still trying to ascertain if Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies are
identifying and probing terror-financing activities.
“Background
discussions with key officials and foreign diplomats suggest that the jury is
divided — with the authorities claiming sufficient progress to be confident of
a positive outcome but some diplomats suggesting that even in the best-case
scenario Pakistan would remain in the increased monitoring list until June,”
reported Dawn on Monday quoting officials.
Pakistan
media had also reported last week that some European countries, including
France, had recommended to the FATF that Pakistan remain on the grey list as
not all points had been fully addressed by Islamabad.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/pakistan-likely-to-stay-in-fatf-grey-list/articleshow/81163418.cms
--------
4
Pak women aid workers killed in terror attack
Feb
23, 2021
ISLAMABAD:
Masked gunmen on Monday shot dead at least four women aid workers in Pakistan’s
northwestern district of North Waziristan, a volatile region on the border with
Afghanistan that was once the headquarters of the Pakistani Taliban and a haven
for the Haqqani network.
The
incident occurred at 9.30am in Ippi village, near the Mir Ali town of North
Waziristan.
According
to police, a group of workers associated with the NGO Sabawoon was coming from
Bannu city and its adjoining areas to teach sewing and embroidery to village
women when the two motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire on their vehicle.
The victims died where they fell while the driver was wounded.
"This
is a militancy-stricken district, the threat is everywhere," senior police
official Shafiullah Gandapur said, adding that the police had cordoned off the
area and launched a search-and-strike operation.
The
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemned the killing and urged the state
to "book the perpetrators of this heinous crime".
"The
re-emergence of terror groups in the area is a matter of grave concern. It is
the responsibility of the authorities to protect the lives and property of
citizens at all costs," it tweeted.
HRCP
condemns the killing of four women social workers in #NorthWaziristan. The
state must bring to book the perpet… https://t.co/Ox3lTZhAmG
—
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) 1613983164000
North
Waziristan was once the headquarters of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a
conglomerate of outfits formed in 2007 with the sole aim of overthrowing the
Pakistani government and establishing a theocratic state in line with their
strict interpretation of Islam.
Movement
of women had been completely restricted when the Pakistani Taliban controlled
the region. The group had also banned NGOs.
In
2014, following a series of military offensives, the Pakistani army launched a
major operation in North Waziristan after evacuating the entire population. The
operation pushed the group’s leadership into eastern Afghanistan and dented its
operational capacity on Pakistani soil.
Since
then, violence has dropped significantly, although TTP sporadically mounts
attacks on civilians and security forces.
In
recent months, there has been a surge in terrorist attacks in North Waziristan
since internally displaced people started returning home after years of forced
exile. At least 58 people, including tribal leaders, security forces personnel
and others, have been killed in terrorist attacks in North Waziristan in the
last 10 months.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/4-pak-women-aid-workers-killed-in-terror-attack/articleshow/81159848.cms
--------
Pervaiz
Rashid is not an individual but an ideology: Maryam Nawaz
23
February,2021
LAHORE
(Dunya News) – Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) vice president Maryam Nawaz
on Tuesday has said that her party leader Pervaiz Rashid is not an individual
but an ideology.
While
responding to the decision of Election Tribunal, the PML-N leader took to
social-networking website Twitter and posted that Pervaiz Rashid is the bright
symbol of democracy.
Such
leaders always live. He will continue to be ex-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s
trustworthy companion, she added.
The
reaction came after Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Election Tribunal had upheld the
decision of returning officer and disqualified Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz
(PML-N) candidate Pervaiz Rashid from participating in the Senate polls.
While
announcing the verdict, LHC judge justice Shahid Waheed had rejected the appeal
of PML-N leader.
During
the proceedings, Pervaiz Rashid said that he was ready to pay due amount to
eliminate the objections raised by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
https://dunyanews.tv/en/Pakistan/589413-Pervaiz-Rashid-is-not-an-individual-but-an-ideology:-Maryam-Nawaz
--------
ECP
asks PTI to submit response in suspected tampering of Daska by-poll by tomorrow
Fahad
Chaudhry
February
23, 2021
The
Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Tuesday directed the PTI to submit its
response in the suspected tampering of the NA-75 Daska by-election results by
tomorrow.
The
hearing, presided over by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan
Raja, was adjourned till Thursday.
The
PTI's legal counsel had asked for more time to submit the record and had asked
for a week to submit "verified results and proof". However, the CEC
turned down the request, stating that the "weather was no longer
bad", in an apparent reference to the claims of the presiding officers
regarding fog on the night of the by-election.
He
also remarked that the ECP will reach a conclusion regarding the NA-75 by-poll.
"If the election was [fair], the results will be released. If it is not,
then re-polling can be done," he said.
During
today's hearing, the PML-N candidate's lawyer, Salman Akram Raja, stated that
an environment of "terror" was created in the constituency on polling
day. "Shots were being fired in broad day light," he said.
He
contended that 20 presiding officers suddenly vanished and
"miraculously" reappeared the next day. "Re-polling should not
only be done at those particular polling stations. We need to cast an eye on
the election in the whole constituency," he said, adding that this was a
pre-planned "operation".
A
video of shot fired outside a polling station in Daska was also presented to
the ECP. "PTI workers can be seen firing shots in the presence of the
party's candidate, Ali Asjad Malhi," the PML-N lawyer said.
The
returning office also submitted his report to the ECP. He said that the results
from 337 polling stations were added to the RMS by 3:30am. "There was a
delay [in the results] for 20 polling stations," he said, adding that 19
presiding officers could not be contacted.
"The
presiding officers were accompanied by police officials. Did you try contacting
them through the wireless?" asked the chief election commissioner. The
returning officer replied that he had instructed the Daska DSP to do so but
they were still unable to contact the presiding officers.
He
added that out of the 20 polling stations, the results of ten were received
between 4:30am and 6:30am. "There is no difference in the results of the
four of these polling stations; the results of the presiding officer and the
polling agents are the same," he said.
He
added that some of the presiding officers said that they were unreachable due
to car troubles or fog.
The
CEC noted that the RO seemed "distressed" when he contacted the
commission on the night of the by-poll. "You had said that the police and
the administration were not cooperating," he said.
The
RO replied that the administration did cooperate but a large crowd of people,
comprising PML-N and PTI supporters, had gathered outside the office.
'ECP
to take final decision'
Meanwhile,
Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that the ECP will take the final
decision regarding the NA-75 by-poll, Radio Pakistan reported.
Speaking
to the media in Islamabad, he said the PML-N disturbed law and order in the
recent by-elections. He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan has made an
important announcement regarding the PML-N's application for re-polling in 23
polling stations. He added that the prime minister has always accepted
challenges.
The
minister said the government wants to introduce electronic voting in the next
general elections, adding that the politics of the PML-N and the PPP is based
on lies.
Have
always struggled from free, fair elections: PM Imran
On
Monday, Prime Minister Imran Khan had requested the PTI candidate to ask for
re-polling at the 20 polling stations.
"Have
always struggled for fair and free elections. So even though there is no legal
compulsion to do so before ECP announces results, I would request our PTI
candidate to ask for re-polling in the 20 polling stations Opposition is crying
hoarse over in the Daska NA 75 be-election," he said.
"It
is because we want transparency that we are seeking open ballot for Senate
elections. We will always seek to strengthen a fair and free election process.
Unfortunately others lack this commitment. When we wanted 4 constituencies
opened after the 2013 elections, it took us over two years," he added.
The
by-election in the NA-75 constituency was marred by violence after two people
were killed and three others injured in a firing incident at a polling station
in Daska.
In
a statement last week, the ECP had said that it suspected results of 20 polling
stations had been falsified in the by-election for the NA-75 constituency. The
commission had said results of the NA-75 constituency were received with
"unnecessary delay", adding that it tried to contact the presiding
officers several times but with no success.
While
the PML-N had alleged massive rigging, the PTI had claimed to win the election
and had lashed out at the opposition party for only accepting results in their
favour.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1608950/ecp-asks-pti-to-submit-response-in-suspected-tampering-of-daska-by-poll-by-tomorrow
--------
Tribunal
dismisses Pervaiz Rashid's appeal against ECP's rejection of Senate nomination
papers
Rana
Bilal
February
23, 2021
An
election tribunal in Lahore dismissed on Tuesday an appeal filed by PML-N
leader Pervaiz Rashid against the rejection of his Senate nomination papers by
the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP).
Last
week, the ECP had rejected Rashid's nomination papers. The former minister was
told that he was a defaulter of the Punjab House in Islamabad and his
nomination would be accepted only after he cleared the dues.
The
same day, the retuning officer accepted the objection to Rashid's nomination
and said that he failed to provide evidence regarding having cleared the dues.
During
today's hearing, which was presided over by Justice Shahid Waheed, Rashid's
lawyer said that the RO had rejected his client's papers saying that the former
information minister was a defaulter of the Punjab House in Islamabad and his
nomination would be accepted only after he cleared the dues.
The
lawyer said that Rashid did not receive any prior notice for paying off his
dues and was given one during the scrutiny process.
The
judge asked the government's legal representative if the record of the Punjab
House and ECP had been released to which the latter responded in the
affirmative.
Rashid's
lawyer added that the former lawmaker had "collected Rs9.5 million after
borrowing money" but the amount was not received by the government. He
said that the PML-N leader was ready to pay off all his dues and a request in
this regard was submitted to the RO twice but there was no response.
The
legal aide of the former minister urged the court to check the Punjab House's
record to see that Rashid had not stayed in the government building. The lawyer
termed Rashid's rejection as "political revenge". The judge, however,
noted that Rashid had not mentioned this in his appeal.
"Pervez
Rashid has contested the Senate election before as well. No one raised the
issue of pending dues then," argued Rashid's legal team.
"This
game [that] is being played is based on the government's maliciousness,"
the lawyer insisted. He further said that the courts "always allow
contesting elections, after which the process of winning and losing
starts".
The
objector, in his arguments, said that Rashid knew that he had to pay
outstanding dues but did not submit any payment. He also raised questions over
the argument by Rashid's lawyer, in which the latter had denied that the PML-N
leader stayed at Punjab House.
"If
Pervez Rashid did not stay at the Punjab House, why is he ready to pay off the
dues?" asked the objector. He added that the RO had given Rashid 48 hours
to clear his dues but the former minister failed to do so.
"Where
did Pervez Rashid have to submit the dues?" asked the judge.
"The
money was supposed to be paid to the controller but it was not submitted,"
the objector responded. When the court asked Punjab House's controller, who was
also present in court, about the matter he said: "I was in the hospital
that day. No one contacted me or my staff."
The
controller presented the record of the Punjab House as well as the audit report
in court. He said that a notice regarding pending dues was sent at Rashid's DHA
residence.
Advocate
General (AG) of Punjab, who was also a respondent in the case, said that Rashid
in his appeal had not said that he did not book a room in Punjab House.
"Pervez
Rashid was not given a room on charity basis, there are charges for a
room," the AG said.
The
objector also brought up Ataul Haq Qasmi's controversial appointment as PTV's
head. The court asked Rashid's lawyer what he had to say about Qasmi's
appointment to which the latter responded that the former information
minister's answer had already been submitted in the relevant court and that
this matter had not come up before the RO.
After
hearing both sides' arguments, the tribunal turned down Rashid's appeal.
Soon
after the tribunal's decision, PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz tweeted a link
of the news, saying "Fixed match".
In
another tweet, the former premier's daughter paid tribute to the PML-N leader,
saying, "Pervaiz Rashid is not the name of an individual but of a mindset,
an ideology and a shining symbol of democracy. Such symbols stay alive in any
situation. He has been an asset to the party in the past and will remain an
asset of not only the party but of national politics as a respected companion
and a veteran soldier of democracy."
Meanwhile,
Rashid while talking to reporters after the tribunal's verdict said that in
2019, a "fake register" was prepared to reflect that he owed money to
Punjab House.
"I
know which crime I have been punished for and I will continue to commit this
crime," he told reporters.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1608951/tribunal-dismisses-pervaiz-rashids-appeal-against-ecps-rejection-of-senate-nomination-papers
--------
South
Asia
Speaking
up to save Bangladesh's indigenous languages from dying
Stephan
Uttom
February
23, 2021
Bangladesh's
indigenous languages are under threat and some could die without positive
action to preserve them.
Catholic
and ethnic community leaders have called on authorities to protect several
indigenous languages that face extinction due to a lack of government support
and community efforts.
The
call was made as people, irrespective of faith and ethnicity in Bangladesh and
across the globe, marked the United Nations-designated International Mother
Language Day on Feb. 21.
In
Bangladesh, the day honors the martyrs of the Bangla Language Movement of 1952
who died when police opened fire on protesters objecting to the Pakistan
government’s decision to impose Urdu as the only state language when Bangladesh
was East Pakistan. The popular movement forced the regime to introduce Bangla
as a state language alongside Urdu in the 1956 constitution.
The
Bangla Language Movement sparked a nationalist movement that culminated in
independence and the emergence of secular, democratic Bangladesh from the
military-ruled Islamic state of Pakistan in 1971.
Support
Asia's largest network of Catholic journalists and editors.
Since
independence, Feb. 21 has been known as Language Martyrs Day in Bangladesh.
UNESCO declared Feb. 21 as International Mother Language Day in 1999.
Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina, who attended the inauguration ceremony for a four-day
program at the International Mother Language Institute in Dhaka on the day,
said her government has been making notable efforts to preserve and protect
indigenous languages.
“When
we give away free textbooks every year, we print out ethnic language books and
give them away for free so that they [indigenous children] too can learn and
speak their own language. We have set up the International Mother Language
Institute to protect the rights of languages, to respect languages and to
preserve the lost languages of the world," Hasina said.
Bangla,
the national language, is spoken by 99 percent of people in Bengali- and
Muslim-majority Bangladesh, which has a population of more than 160 million.
There are about 45 ethnic indigenous groups with an estimated population of
three million who have distinct languages and cultures.
Sanjeeb
Drong, an ethnic Garo Catholic and secretary of the Bangladesh Indigenous
Peoples Forum, noted the government has published textbooks for primary
students in five indigenous languages, but this policy has not yielded the
expected results.
“The
government has published the books but there is no teacher recruitment and no
rules for teaching and training. Publishing of books is not enough — you have
to make arrangements for teaching properly,” Drong told UCA News.
He
cited a study conducted by the International Mother Language Institute that
shows at least 40 languages have been found in Bangladesh as mother tongues of
ethnic groups besides Bangla, the national language. Of these, 39 languages
belong to small ethnic groups and another is Urdu. Some 14 languages are in
danger of disappearing
“Language
is crucial to the survival of a nation. The Bangladesh government has at least
started, but I would say that for the last four years books have been coming
out in five languages but they are not being taught,” Drong added.
The
Bangladesh government has been publishing textbooks for pre-primary levels in
the Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Garo and Sadri languages for the past five years.
Bangladesh’s
National Education Policy 2010 stipulates that the government should take
necessary steps to teach children in their mother language.
The
Catholic Church has been at the forefront to protect and preserve minority
languages and cultures, according to Jyoti F. Gomes, secretary of the
Bangladesh Catholic Education Board, the Church’s education apostolate.
With
support from Catholic charity Caritas, the Church has been publishing mother
language textbooks and teaching them in schools for 15 years now, he told UCA
News.
“Catholic
schools pick up teachers from ethnic communities so that they can teach the
students properly. This is how we have been teaching ethnic children in their
mother tongue for a long time,” Gomes said.
Without
government support and good intentions, it won’t be possible to protect and
preserve indigenous languages, he noted.
“Even
though the books were being printed for four years, a mother language education
program was not implemented due to lack of teachers or training,” Gomes said.
Zinnat
Imtiaz Ali, a prominent linguist and director-general of the International
Mother Language Institute, said researchers would be appointed from next year
to preserve endangered languages.
“We
are sincere on behalf of the government of Bangladesh to preserve these
languages. But among the people who speak that language, it is becoming very
difficult to go ahead due to various reasons including a lack of educated
people from those communities. However, we are continuing to address this
issue,” Ali told UCA News.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/speaking-up-to-save-bangladeshs-indigenous-languages-from-dying/91511#
--------
UN:
Afghanistan war civilian casualties down by 15% last year
February
23, 2021
KABUL:
The number of civilians killed and wounded in violence across war-weary
Afghanistan fell by 15 percent last year compared to 2019, according to a
United Nations report released Tuesday.
The
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan and the UN Human Rights Office attributed
the drop in civilian casualties in part to an apparent tactical change by
insurgents to targeted killings, fewer suicide bombings and a stark drop in
casualties attributed to international military forces.
Still,
Afghanistan remains among the deadliest places in the world to be a civilian. A
distressing feature of the conflict remains the disproportionate impact on
Afghan women and children, who make up 43 percent of all casualties.
The
attacks targeting civilians include assaults on members of the judiciary, media
and activists. Also targeted have been religious minorities, especially the
Shiite Muslim population, most of whom also belong to the Hazara ethnic group,
and the Sikh population.
The
overall number of civilian casualties in 2020 of 8,820 – including 3,035 killed
and 5,785 others wounded – fell below 10,000 for the first time since 2013.
Last year’s total was 15 percent down compared to 2019, the UN said.
Afghanistan
has seen a nationwide spike in bombings, targeted killings and violence on the
battlefield as peace negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan
government have stalled. It’s been over a month since the sides last met to
discuss how to proceed.
Meanwhile,
President Joe Biden’s administration is reviewing the US-Taliban peace deal
that was signed Feb. 29 last year. As part of it, Washington committed to a May
1 withdrawal of all foreign troops from Afghanistan.
Afghanistan
peace negotiations between representatives of the Afghan government and the
Taliban in Qatar began on Sept. 12 but have failed to alleviate the scale of
civilian harm – a key indicator of violence levels. Instead, there was an
escalation of violence in the fourth quarter of the year.
For
the first time since it began systematic documentation in 2009, UNAMA tallied
an increase civilian casualties recorded in the fourth quarter compared with
the third quarter. In addition, this period marked a 45 percent increase in
civilian casualties compared to the same three months in 2019, especially from
the use of improvised explosive devices and targeted killings.
In
October, civilian casualties were the highest of any month in 2020, and in
November UNAMA documented the highest number of civilian casualties of any
November since it started systematic documentation in 2009. Alongside the
overall increase in violence as the year ended, the population was confronted
with a spate of targeted killings, referred to by many as “assassinations,” of
civilians, including media, civil society activists, members of the judiciary
and the civilian government administration, as well as civilian family members
of combatants.
“2020
could have been the year of peace in Afghanistan. Instead, thousands of Afghan
civilians perished due to the conflict,” said Deborah Lyons, the UN’s special
representative of the secretary-general for Afghanistan. “This important report
has the overriding objective of providing the parties responsible with the
facts, and recommendations, so they take immediate and concrete steps to protect
civilians. I urge them not to squander a single day in taking the urgent steps
to avoid more suffering.”
The
report blamed 62 percent of casualties on anti-government forces in 2020 with
the Taliban responsible for most of them – 46 percent – and the Daesh group
responsible for 8 percent.
Pro-government
forces caused a quarter of all civilian casualties, totaling 2,231, the report
said. That includes 841 killed and 1,390 wounded, a decrease of 24 percent from
2019, with the Afghan national security forces causing most of these – 22
percent of the total.
While
there was an increase in the number of civilian casualties that were unclaimed
by any party and for which UNAMA could not attribute responsibility, the report
found the Taliban caused 19 percent fewer civilian casualties than in 2019 and
IS caused 45 percent fewer than the previous year.
Ground
engagements were the leading cause of civilian casualties in 2020. They were
responsible for 36 percent of civilian casualties, a slight increase compared
with 2019. Next were suicide and non-suicide attacks using improvised explosive
devices, which caused 34.5 percent of the casualties last year, a 30 percent
decrease. Anti-government forces targeted killings caused 14 percent of
casualties in 2020, up by 45 percent, and pro-government airstrikes caused 8
percent of casualties, down 34 percent.
“Ultimately,
the best way to protect civilians is to establish a humanitarian cease-fire,”
said Lyons, who is also head of UNAMA. “Parties refusing to consider a cease-fire
must recognize the devastating consequences of such a posture on the lives of
Afghan civilians.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1814201/world
--------
Republic,
Taliban peace negotiators meet after many days: Doha
22
Feb 2021
A
meeting was held between heads and some members of the negotiating teams in
Doha on Monday evening and was focused on the continuation of the negotiations,
Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem said.
Mohammad
Naeem, Taliban spokesman on Monday tweeted, that a meeting was held between
both negotiating teams in Doha.
According
to Naeem, the meeting was aimed to focus on the continuation of the peace
talks.
Naeem
added that the teams were called on to continue their meetings and finalize the
agenda of peace negotiations.
This
comes as the head of High Council for National Reconciliation, Abdullah
Abdullah held the third monthly meeting of HCNR’s Regional and International
Affairs Commission alongside Foreign Minister, Mohammad Hanif Atmar, State
Minister for Peace, Sayed Sadat Mansoor Naderi, and Chief peace negotiator of
the republic Masoom Stanikzai
Head
of HCNR, Abdullah Abdullah tweeted “We exchanged views on peace process, the
challenges of the 2nd round of the talks, regional & international support
for peace. We fully briefed our international partners on the latest
developments in the process internally, regionally & internationally”.
Abdullah
added, that diplomatic corps and international partners shared their views and
called for the acceleration of the peace process, the return of the Taliban to
the table, and push for an immediate ceasefire.
During
the meeting, international partners and diplomatic corps also condemned
targeted killings and insisted on unified efforts in support of the peace
process.
Peace
meetings in Doha, Qatar between the two sides were halted for the last 36 days.
https://www.khaama.com/republic-taliban-peace-negotiators-held-a-meeting-doha-3242455/
--------
Violence
in Afghanistan is a wave of systematic onslaught, UN calls for ‘global
ceasefire’
22
Feb 2021
President
Ashraf Ghani in the 46th regular session of the UN human rights council on
Monday said that recent violence against Afghans is an indication of a
systematic onslaught, he added that targeted killings are the is sharp edge
directed towards the public and it indicates the profound transformation of the
Afghan society the last two decades.
“The
recent wave of violence against our people, civil and civic institutions, from
human rights and civil society organizations to the media, judicial, civil service
and security organizations to farmers and traders are indications of a
systematic onslaught against our society,” Ghani said while addressing in the
46th session of UN human rights council.
The
Afghan president said that the people of Afghanistan are committed and have the
capability of conviction and can bravely demonstrate a sense of urgency in such
situations.
“Human
rights, in general, and rights of citizens, women, girls, youth and social
categories, in particular, are going to figure prominently in the peace
negotiations,” Ghani added.
“Difficult
choices will have to be made to move from being a battlefield of unrestricted
warfare to a platform of an Asian roundabout and an international cooperation,”
Ghani said.
According
to President Ghani, the Afghan people and government are placing peace-making
efforts within a framework of international and regional partnership around the
aligned processes of peace-building, market-building, and state-building to
reinforce our shared destiny as a unified nation.
The
afghan public and its government are placing peace-building efforts within the
framework of international and regional partnership, aligned with processes of
market-building, state-building to reinforce the shared goal as a unified
country.
This
comes as UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, reiterated for a global
ceasefire so the world can focus on the COVID-19 pandemic.
He
tweeted that a safe world will create space for diplomacy and enable
humanitarian access to the rural parts of the earth.
“I
renew my call for a global ceasefire to ease suffering, create space for
diplomacy and enable humanitarian access – including for the delivery of
Covid-19 vaccines worldwide,” he said.
He
said, “The entire world is suffering from the sickness of violations of human
rights. The pandemic recovery gives us an opportunity to change that”.
He
added to his tweets that “Racism and racial inequality still permeate
institutions, social structures, and everyday life. We must do more than merely
condemn expressions and acts of racism. We must dig deeper. And we must act”.
This
comes as the seven economic power G-7 pledged to immunize developing countries
against the virus and increased its funding aids to $7.5 billion to UN-backed
COVID19 efforts.
https://www.khaama.com/violence-in-afghanistan-is-a-wave-of-a-systematic-onslaught-un-calls-for-global-ceasefire-4546535/
--------
Fears
for Rohingya stranded at sea for 10 days, as engines fail and eight die
23
Feb 2021
The
United Nations refugee agency has called for the immediate rescue of a group of
Rohingya refugees adrift in their boat in the Andaman Sea without food or
water, many of them ill and suffering from extreme dehydration.
The
UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) said it did not know the exact location
of the vessel and understood that some passengers had died. The boat had left
southern Bangladesh about 10 days ago and experienced engine failure, it said.
“Immediate
action is needed to save lives and prevent further tragedy,” UNHCR said in a
statement, offering to support governments by providing humanitarian help to
those rescued.
A
senior Indian coastguard official confirmed to Reuters that the boat has been
tracked to an area off the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
At
least eight people had died on the boat, according to Chris Lewa, director of
the Arakan Project, a group that monitors the Rohingya crisis.
Lewa
said Indian navy vessels that were close by had provided food and water. “But
we still don’t know what they will do afterwards,” she added.
A spokesperson
for India’s navy did not provide details of the situation but said a statement
would be issued later.
According
to UNHCR, the boat set out from the Bangladesh coastal district of Cox’s Bazar,
where about a million Rohingya live in dire conditions in sprawling refugee
camps.
In
Malaysia meanwhile, a court has temporarily stayed the deportation of 1,200
Myanmar nationals who were due to be returned home on boats provided by the
Myanmar military. The migrants included members of vulnerable minorities, and
had been sent to a military base on Malaysia’s west coas to be loaded on to
three boats for the journey home .
The
United States and the UN criticised the plan, and have called for the UN
refugee agency to be granted access to the detainees to assess whether any are
asylum seekers.
The
UN says it knows of at least six are registered with them and in need of
international protection.
Hundreds
of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh in 2017 after a deadly crackdown by
security forces in Myanmar.
Authorities
in Bangladesh said on Monday they were unaware of any boats leaving the camps.
“If we had such information, we would have stopped them,” said Rafiqul Islam,
an additional police superintendent in Cox’s Bazar.
Amnesty
International said in a statement that too many lives had already been lost
from countries refusing to assist Rohingya people at sea.
“Another
repeat of those shameful incidents must be avoided here,” said Amnesty South
Asia campaigner Saad Hammadi.
“After
years of limbo in Bangladesh and following the recent coup in Myanmar, Rohingya
people feel they have no option but to undertake these perilous journeys.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/23/fears-for-rohingya-stranded-at-sea-for-10-days-as-engines-fail-and-eight-die
--------
Southeast
Asia
Johor
police identify man in viral video apostasy case
21
Feb 2021
JOHOR
BARU, Feb 21 — Police have identified a man who claimed in a viral video to
have got a Muslim woman to apostatise.
Johor
Police chief Datuk Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay said this was following a police
inspection at a house in Perjiranan Dato Onn here, at 9.50pm yesterday.
“Police
received information that the 29-year-old man was in the house but later found
that only his father and sister live there, so no arrest and seizure was made,”
he said in a statement here today.
Ayob
Khan said the case was being investigated by the Bukit Aman Classified Criminal
Investigation Unit (USJT) under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948, Section
233 of the Multimedia Communications Act 1998 and Section 298 and 505 (C) of
the Penal Code.
In
the three minute and 26-second video, the man claimed to have got a Muslim
woman, believed to be his wife, to apostatise.
The
video has garnered thousands of views. — Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/02/21/johor-police-identify-man-in-viral-video-apostasy-case/1951511
--------
UK
slams ‘industrial scale’ abuses in China’s Xinjiang
February
22, 2021
GENEVA:
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Monday denounced torture, forced
labour and sterilisations that he said were taking place against Muslim Uighurs
on an “industrial scale” in China’s Xinjiang region.
Activists
and UN rights experts have said that at least 1 million Muslims are detained in
camps in the remote western region.
China
denies abuses and says its camps provide vocational training and are needed to
fight extremism.
Raab,
in a recorded speech to the UN Human Rights Council, said that the rights of
people in Hong Kong – a former British colony – were being “systematically
violated”.
The
national security law imposed by China was inhibiting freedoms, he said,
calling for free and fair legislative elections to take place.
“The
situation in Xinjiang is beyond the pale,” he told the Geneva forum where China
is among the 47 member states.
“The
reported abuses – which include torture, forced labour and forced sterilisation
of women – are extreme and they are extensive. They are taking place on an
industrial scale,” he said.
Raab
called for UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet or another
independent expert to be given “urgent and unfettered access” to Xinjiang and
said that there should be a resolution at the council to this effect.
The
Biden administration has endorsed a last-minute determination by the Trump
administration that China has committed genocide in Xinjiang and has said the
US must be prepared to impose costs on China.
Raab
told the rights forum the situation in Myanmar was worsening after a military
coup on Feb 1.
“The
military must step aside. Civilian leaders must be released. And the democratic
wishes of the people of Myanmar must be respected,” he said.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2021/02/22/uk-slams-industrial-scale-abuses-in-chinas-xinjiang/
--------
Federal
Court to rule on man’s challenge against unnatural sex charge
February
22, 2021
PUTRAJAYA:
The Federal Court will rule on Thursday on a legal challenge by a man that the
Selangor state legislature is incompetent to pass a shariah law that makes it
an offence to engage in unnatural sex.
Lawyer
A Surendra Ananth said a nine-member bench chaired by Chief Justice Tengku
Maimun Tuan Mat will deliver the verdict through a virtual hearing.
“The
parties were informed of the judgment date today,” he said in a text message to
FMT.
The
bench reserved judgment on Dec 14 after hearing submissions from counsel Malik
Imtiaz Sarwar, who appeared for the applicant together with Surendra.
Selangor
legal adviser Salim Soib @ Hamid represented the state government as the
respondent, and counsel Halimatunsa’diah Abu Ahmad acted for the Selangor
Islamic Religious Council as the second respondent.
Lawyer
Rahim Sinwan appeared for the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council as
amicus curiae or friend of the court.
The
35-year-old applicant, whose identity is being withheld at the request of his
lawyers, says Section 28 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Selangor) Enactment
1995 is unconstitutional.
Malik
submitted that only Parliament has legislative power to enact the Penal Code provisions,
and state legislatures would not have the power to enact such an offence under
the precepts of Islam if the said offence falls within the definition of
shariah criminal law.
“The
subject matter of unnatural sex is a matter within the federal list in the
Constitution and falls within the ambit of criminal law,” he said.
Salim
submitted that the state law against unnatural sex was valid as it was against
the precepts of the religion of Islam.
Among
others, he submitted that the state legislature was empowered to enact such a
law as per the Ninth Schedule of the Federal Constitution.
On
Aug 21, 2019, the chief sharie prosecutor decided to file a charge under
Section 28 of the enactment against the man in the Selangor Shariah High Court.
He
is said to have attempted to commit sexual intercourse against the order of
nature with other male persons in a house in Selangor on Nov 9, 2018.
The
man claimed trial but proceedings had been stayed pending the outcome of his
constitutional challenge in the Federal Court.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/02/22/federal-court-to-rule-on-mans-challenge-against-unnatural-sex-charge/
--------
Umno
to hold its closely watched annual assembly at end-March
February
23, 2021
PETALING
JAYA - Umno will hold its twice-postponed 2020 annual general assembly on March
27 and 28 this year, party secretary-general Ahmad Maslan said on Tuesday (Feb
23).
"The
2020 annual general assembly will be a combination of physical and virtual
meetings," he said in a statement as quoted by The Star daily.
Datuk
Seri Ahmad Maslan gave the assurance that all Covid-19 health protocols will be
strictly complied with.
One
key issue expected to be discussed at the closely watched annual meeting is a
motion to cut ties with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) led by Prime
Minister Muhyddin Yassin, while strengthening bonds with Parti Islam SeMalaysia
(PAS).
The
annual meeting of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) was at first
scheduled in early December last year but was dropped due to Covid-19
restrictions. Another one planned for late January was also postponed due to
the surge in coronavirus cases.
Umno
is part of the 11-month-old Perikatan Nasional government, and an official
split between Umno and Bersatu would have implications on how the two parties
will face the next general election, which is expected to be held later this
year.
Malaysia
will start its coronavirus vaccinations on Wednesday (Feb 24), two days earlier
than planned, raising hopes that the country would be able to progressively
remove restrictions on movements and socialising.
Selangor,
Johor and Penang states along with the Kuala Lumpur federal territories - the
main economic contributors to Malaysia's economic output - are under an
extended Movement Control Order that was first imposed in mid-January and will
last until March 4.
Umno's
information chief Shahril Hamdan said on Jan 7 that the party's decision-making
supreme council had decided to bring to the assembly a motion on severing ties
with Bersatu and consolidating cooperation with PAS, The Star reported.
Mr
Shahril said the decision was to enable the motion to be refined and decided at
the highest level of the party.
The
assembly is usually held at party headquarters in Putra World Trade Centre.
Most
of Umno's 191 divisions had also decided at their separate annual meetings last
year to raise the issue of Malaysia's general election at the assembly, Mr
Shahril had said in January.
The
party's divisions wanted the Umno leadership to push the Muhyiddin
administration to hold national polls before the end of the first quarter of
this year. It isn't clear if this motion will still be raised at the annual
meeting, which will be conducted at the end of the first quarter itself.
PM
Muhyiddin has said that he will call for the general election once the pandemic
is over. Malaysia is currently under an "emergency" until Aug 1.
A
independent committee - comprising government and opposition lawmakers , and
independent personalities - has been set up by the government to decide when to
lift the emergency, that has suspended all Parliament sittings.
Separately,
Umno is slated to hold its internal elections later this year, with the 191
divisions picking the party's president, deputy president, three vice-presidents
and other office bearers.
The
Umno polls are held every three years, with eyes on whether Umno president
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is facing a raft of corruption charges, will be
challenged.
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/umno-to-hold-its-closely-watched-annual-assembly-at-end-march
--------
Top
court to decide Thursday on man challenging Selangor law that makes unnatural
sex a Shariah offence
Monday,
22 Feb 2021
PUTRAJAYA,
Feb 22 — The Federal Court will deliver its verdict on Thursday in a
constitutional challenge brought by a 35-year-old man on a provision under the
Selangor shariah law on sexual intercourse against the order of nature.
Lawyer
A. Surendra Ananth, who is representing the man, said in a WhatsApp message
today that the decision of the nine-member bench would be delivered through
video conferencing via zoom application.
On
December 14 last year, the bench, led by Chief Justice Tun Tengku Maimun Tuan
Mat, reserved judgment in the motion initiated by the man to challenge Section
28 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Selangor) Enactment 1995, the provision he
was charged under for allegedly attempting to commit unnatural sex.
The
other judges who heard the motion were Court of Appeal president Tan Sri Rohana
Yusuf, Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Azahar Mohamed, Chief Judge of Sabah and
Sarawak Datuk Abang Iskandar Abang Hashim and Federal Court judges Datuk Seri
Mohd Zawawi Salleh, Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan, Datuk Vernon Ong Lam Kiat,
Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Seri Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.
On
May 25 last year, the Federal Court granted leave to the man to commence
proceedings by way of a petition against the Selangor government and for
Decemberlaration that Section 28 of the Syariah Criminal Offences (Selangor)
Enactment 1995 is invalid.
On
August 21, 2019, the chief syarie prosecutor through the syariah prosecutor
decided to proffer a charge under Section 28 of the enactment against the man
in the Selangor Syariah High Court.
The
man was charged with attempting to commit sexual intercourse against the order
of nature with certain other male persons in a house in Selangor on November 9,
2018.
He
pleaded not guilty to the charge and his trial at the Syariah High Court has
been stayed pending the outcome of his motion.
On
December 14 last year, the court heard submissions from the man’s lawyer Datuk
Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, who argued that the Selangor state legislature did not
have the power to enact the provision as the subject matter of the provision,
which is unnatural sex, was a matter within the Federal List in the Federal
Constitution.
He
argued that only Parliament has the exclusive power to enact laws that
criminalise unnatural sex as it was in relation to the justice system.
Selangor
state legal advisor Datuk Salim Soib@Hamid, who appeared for the Selangor
government, submitted that the state law against unnatural sex was valid as it
was against the precepts of the religion of Islam.
Counsel
Halimatunsa’diah Abu Ahmad, who acted for the second respondent, the Selangor
Islamic Religious Council (Mais), supported the state counsel’s argument. —
Bernama
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/02/22/top-court-to-decide-thursday-on-man-challenging-selangor-law-that-makes-unn/1951895
--------
Malaysian
court delays deportation of 1,200 Myanmar migrants
23
February ,2021
A
Malaysian court Tuesday ordered a halt to the planned deportation of 1,200
Myanmar migrants to hear an appeal by two human rights groups, which say
refugees, asylum seekers and minors were among those being sent back.
The
court order, following a legal bid by Amnesty International Malaysia and Asylum
Access Malaysia, came just after the migrants were transported to a naval base
where three Myanmar military ships were waiting to take them home.
“In
light of the court ruling, the government must respect the court order and
ensure that not one of the 1,200 individuals is deported today,” said Amnesty
International Malaysia’s director, Katrina Jorene Maliamauv.
Amnesty
said the court will hear their appeal Wednesday and urged the government to
reconsider its plans to send the migrants back home, where human rights
violations are high following a February 1 military coup that deposed the
country’s elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
“It’s
important to note that the stay of execution granted by the court does not mean
the 1,200 are safe from being deported. They are facing life-threatening
risks,” Maliamauv said in a statement.
Amnesty
urged the government to give the UN High Commissioner for Refugees access to
the 1,200 migrants and all immigration detention centers in general, which
Malaysia’s government has denied since August 2019.
Malaysian
immigration officials couldn’t be immediately reached for comment. The
department earlier said there were no UNHCR cardholders or ethnic Muslim
Rohingya refugees in the group, who were held for offenses including not having
valid travel documents, overstaying their visas and violating social visit
passes.
But
the two rights groups in their legal filing named three people registered with
the UNHCR and 17 minors who have at least one parent still in Malaysia. The
UNHCR has separately said there were at least six people registered with it
among the group due to be deported.
Amnesty
and Asylum Access have said the repatriation is tantamount to legitimizing
ongoing human rights violations by Myanmar’s military and would put the
migrants at risk of further persecution, violence and even death.
A
group of 27 Malaysian lawmakers and senators also sent a letter to Prime
Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on Sunday urging him to halt the deportation. There
was no response from the premier’s office.
Malaysia
doesn’t recognize asylum seekers or refugees but has allowed a large population
to stay on humanitarian grounds. It is home to some 180,000 UN refugees and
asylum seekers — including more than 100,000 Rohingya and other Myanmar ethnic
groups.
More
than 700,000 Rohingya have fled from Myanmar since August 2017, when the
military cracked down in response to attacks by a rebel group. The security
forces have been accused of mass rapes, killings and the burning of thousands
of homes.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2021/02/23/Malaysian-court-delays-deportation-of-1-200-Myanmar-migrants
--------
Mideast
Despite
claims of supporting global peace, EU gives $15mn to Israel war industry
22
February 2021
A
new report says despite claims by the European Union (EU) of advocating human
rights and international peace across the world, the bloc’s scientific arm has
already given the repressive Israeli regime millions of dollars to develop
weapons it unscrupulously uses against Palestinians.
In
a new report on Monday, the US-based Electronic Intifada, an online publication
covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said the EU gave 15 million dollars
in “creative” aid to Israel’s war machine, whose arms and troops have been
brutally used against Palestinians for decades.
The
report said two Israeli weapons firms – namely Elbit Systems and Israel
Aerospace Industries – together received generous aid from Horizon 2020, the
EU’s scientific research program.
Furthermore,
Horizon 2020 has indirectly supported Israel’s military through financially
supporting the regime’s universities, which are in a way or another linked to
the regime’s war machine.
Horizon
2020 gave Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science over 244 million dollars,
making it the occupying regime’s number-one beneficiary. Although the so-called
scientific institute claims to “advance science,” it also runs courses for
young people on the cusp of joining Israel’s military, which is infamous for
killing and maiming Palestinians.
The
Weizmann center has also teamed up with Israel’s weapons firms on various
projects.
Tel
Aviv University also gobbled up about 197 million dollars from Horizon 2020,
making it Israel’s number-two beneficiary.
“Elbit
and the university’s engineering department have set up what they call a
‘unique entrepreneurship program’ so that they can ‘boost the next generation
of technological leaders,’” the report added.
Horizon
2020 also gave Israel’s Hebrew University of Jerusalem almost 193 million
dollars, making it the regime’s third beneficiary.
“The
lavishing of Hebrew University can be seen as a triumph for creative thinking.
To justify it, the EU has disregarded how the university is active in occupied
East Jerusalem. The same kind of creativity can be discerned in how the EU acts
oblivious to how Hebrew University trains military spies,” the report said.
According
to the report, Israeli firms and institutions received more than 1.45 billion
dollars from the European bloc under Horizon 2020.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/22/645827/Israel-EU-weapons-Horizon-2020
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Assembly
of Experts: No Negotiation on Iran’s Defense, Missile Power
2021-February-22
“The
Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy has always been based on the
principle of honor, wisdom and expediency and on constructive negotiations and
interaction with the world, specially the regional states. However, we believe
renegotiation with the US on agreed issues (in the nuclear deal) as a redline
in the Islamic Republic and we consider our defense and missile issues as
non-negotiable,” the statement issued in the 8th official meeting of the
Assembly said.
It
also stressed that the US policy of cruel sanctions and maximum pressure
against Iran has failed thanks to the Iranian nation’s resistance, said
"another irrational US president (Trump) is now in the dustbin of
history" but the Islamic Republic continues its path powerfully.
“The
global arrogance should know that the return or non-return of the US to the
nuclear deal leaves no impact on the resistance of the honorable Iranian
people, and their return to the nuclear deal without the practical removal of
sanctions is not beneficial and is even harmful,” the statement said.
In
relevant remarks earlier today, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed
Khatibzadeh declared that Tehran will never hold talks on its defense and
missile program.
He
underlined that Iran “will not hold talks or make concessions on its national security
and defense power and everyone is aware of this and there is no need to
repetition”.
Also
in their Monday meeting, members of Iran’s Assembly of Experts re-elected
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati as the chairman of the body, which is empowered to
appoint the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and supervise his performance.
They
also re-elected Ayatollah Mohammad Ali Movahedi Kermani as the first deputy and
Ebrahim Rayeesi, who is also the head of the Judiciary, as the second deputy of
the assembly.
Speaking
at the event, Ayatollah Jannati paid homage to Lieutenant General Qassem
Soleimani, who was assassinated during a US strike in Iraq on January 3, 2020,
directly ordered by former US President Donald Trump.
“May
God damn Trump and America and those who played a role in the assassination of
this beloved martyr and made a nation suffer his loss,” he said.
The
Americans did not dare respond to Iran’s attack against Ain al-Assad airbase in
western Iraq, where US forces were stationed, said Ayatollah Jannati, who is
also the head of the Guardian Council, an oversight body which examines the
qualifications of candidates in elections.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991204000688/Assembly-f-Expers-N-Negiain-n-Iran%E2%80%99s-Defense-Missile-Pwer
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Tehran,
Seoul Agree on Transfer of Iran’s Assets from South Korea
2021-February-22
In
a meeting held at the request of South Korean embassy in Tehran, Hemmati
welcomed the approach by South Korea, reiterating, “Iran, however, would stand
up for its rights regarding damages caused by non-cooperation by Korean banks
in recent years.”
“The
Islamic Republic of Iran has been denied to use its assets with [South] Korean
banks, due to those banks’ full cooperation with the US maximum pressure
against Iran,” he continued.
Yu
Jang Hian, for his part, said that his government is ready to take any measure
required to transfer all Iran’s assets in South Korea and there was no cap or
limitations.
During
the meeting, an agreement was reached on transfer of Iran’s assets to specified
destinations and CBI’s decision on amount of the transfer and destination
banks.
In
relevant remarks in mid-February, Iran’s Vice-President for Legal Affairs Laya
Joneidi said that if diplomatic ways fail to relieve frozen assets from South
Korea, the country will initiate proceedings with international courts to get
access to its money.
Joneidi
said that if diplomacy does not work with regards to unfreezing the crude money
in the banks of Seoul, the Islamic Republic will take recourse to international
courts to unblock its assets.
She
noted that preparatory works for taking legal actions have been carried out.
“The
US is also trying to block Iran’s assets in Europe in a bid to enforce the
verdicts of its domestic courts against Iran,” the official went on to say.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991204000641/Tehran-Sel-Agree-n-Transfer-f-Iran%E2%80%99s-Asses-frm-Sh-Krea
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Rouhani:
Unity of Sanctioned Nations Only Way to Counter US Illegal Moves
2021-February-22
Rouhani,
in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said that
the countries that have been sanctioned by the US have no way but to get united
to thwart these sanctions.
He
voiced his support for Turkey against the US sanctions and underlined
strengthening cooperation between Tehran and Ankara for countering common
threats.
Rouhani
called for implementation of the agreements of the 6th Meeting of the
Turkey-Iran High Level Cooperation Council and expressed Iran’s readiness to
host the 28th Session of the Iran-Turkey Joint Economic Commission.
He
highlighted Iran-Turkey-Russia cooperation to solve the Syrian crisis.
President
Erdoğan, for his part, stressed expanding mutual ties, holding the joint
commission meeting, promoting trade ties, and holding effective talks for strengthening
the regional peace and security.
He
also stressed the usage of all capacities to remove the cruel and illegal US
sanctions.
In
relevant remarks in December last year, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad
Zarif strongly condemned the US unilateral sanctions against Turkey's defense
industry, and voiced the Islamic Republic's solidarity with the Turkish
government and nation.
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/13991204000594/Rhani-Uniy-f-Sancined-Nains-Only-Way-Cner-US-Illegal-Mves
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Iranian
lawmakers criticize Tehran’s deal with IAEA on snap nuclear inspections
22
February ,2021
Iranian
lawmakers protested on Monday against Tehran’s decision to permit “necessary”
monitoring by the UN nuclear watchdog for up to three months, saying the move broke
a law mandating an end to the agency’s snap inspections this week.
“The
government has no right to decide and act arbitrarily,” said Mojtaba Zolnour,
chairman of the parliament’s national security committee, according to Iranian
state media.
“This
arrangement is an insult to the parliament.”
Iran
has been gradually breaching terms of a 2015 nuclear pact with world powers
since then US President Donald Trump withdrew from it in 2018 and reimposed
sanctions. The pact aims to keep Iran at arm’s length from being able to make
nuclear arms, which Tehran says it has never wanted to build.
Under
the deal, Tehran agreed to implement the Additional Protocol, which allows the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to carry out short-notice inspections
at locations not declared to it.
But
to pressure President Joe Biden’s administration to lift sanctions, Iran’s
hardline-dominated parliament passed a law last year obliging the government to
end implementation of the Protocol from Tuesday if US sanctions are not lifted.
To
create room for diplomacy, the UN nuclear watchdog on Sunday reached a deal
with Iran to cushion the blow of Iran’s reduced cooperation with the agency and
its refusal to permit short-notice inspections.
Under
the new agreement, while the number of the IAEA inspectors on the ground will
remain the same, Iran has said it will withhold footage recorded by cameras at
some of its facilities from the IAEA for the time being, Iranian authorities
said.
Iran
has not said which cameras at which facilities, but the Additional Protocol
Iran is scrapping does generally extend IAEA monitoring to some activities such
as uranium mining.
If
Washington lifts the sanctions in that period of up to three months, Iran’s
IAEA envoy Kazem Gharibabadi tweeted, Iran will share the data with the agency.
“Otherwise
the data will be destroyed by Tehran forever,” Gharibabadi said on Twitter.
But
several prominent lawmakers criticized the agreement, accusing the government
of “bypassing the law.”
The
IAEA, in a statement on Sunday, said it would continue “necessary verification
and monitoring activities for up to three months”, without specifying what
those activities are.
However,
Iran’s foreign ministry on Monday said Tehran would continue implementing the
Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, its core obligations to the agency that
allow for monitoring of its declared nuclear facilities.
Both
Tehran and Washington say they are willing to come back into compliance with
the badly eroded nuclear deal if the other side moves first.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/22/Iran-nuclear-deal-Iranian-lawmakers-criticize-Tehran-s-deal-with-IAEA-on-snap-nuclear-inspections
--------
Ma’rib
battle: Yemeni army close to retaking city from Saudi-led forces
23
February 2021
Victory
appears to be on the horizon in the heated battle for Yemen’s strategic central
province of Ma’rib as army troops, backed by allied fighters from Popular
Committees, have reportedly taken control of most areas there and dislodged
Saudi-led coalition forces and Riyadh-backed militants from those regions.
A
Yemeni military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Arabic
service of Russia’s Sputnik news agency that Yemeni soldiers and their allies
had encircled Ma’rib city, following weeks of fierce clashes with Saudi-led
coalition forces and their mercenaries.
The
source added that Yemeni forces had cut off the main supply route into the
eastern flank of Ma’rib, which leads to the Arab country’s largest province of
Hadhramaut.
“After
gaining complete control over all the heights overlooking the city of Ma’rib
from all directions, mopping up
operations to clear the last remaining pockets of al-Qaeda elements and
mercenaries of the aggressors (Saudi-led coalition) are only a matter of time,”
he pointed out.
‘Qaeda-affiliated
Salafist Islah Party transferring militants to Ma’rib’
Meanwhile,
the governor of Yemen’s southern province of Aden has warned that the
al-Qaeda-affiliated Salafist Islah Party is transferring Takfiri militants from
southern areas to Ma’rib to join the ranks of Saudi-led coalition forces and
Hadi loyalists in battles against Yemeni soldiers and their allies.
“The
Islah Party, which is on the verge of collapse in Ma’rib, is brining Takfiri
militants from several regions, mostly from southern provinces under the
occupation of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), into Ma’rib,”
Tariq Salem told Yemen’s official Saba news agency.
He
stressed the need to confront the deployment of such terrorists, who are
seeking to carry out target killings and criminal schemes in Ma’rib in the face
of the anticipated triumph of Yemeni armed forces and their allies.
“What
people in the southern [Yemeni] provinces are enduring is the result of
continued [Saudi-UAE] occupation and the influx of Takfiri militants. It is
highly worth taking into consideration that no Yemeni citizen, either in Ma’rib
or elsewhere in the country, must subject their families, their properties as
well as public interests to danger,” Salem pointed out.
Pro-Hadi
battalion defects to Yemeni army: Reports
Furthermore,
Yemeni media reports say an entire battalion loyal to former Riyadh-backed
president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi has defected to the Yemeni army and allied
fighters from Popular Committees.
Over
the past few weeks, Ma’rib has been the scene of large-scale operations by the
Yemeni troops and allied Popular Committees fighters, who are pushing against
Saudi-backed Hadi supporters.
The
Daesh Takfiri terrorist group said last week that it had carried out operations
against the Yemeni armed forces in the province, killing and wounding a number
of them in the process.
Saudi-led
forces violate Hudaydah truce 148 times in 24 hours
Separately,
an unnamed source in Yemen’s Liaison and Coordination Officers Operations Room
said that during the past 24 hours, forces of the Saudi-led military coalition
and their mercenaries have breached 148 times an agreement reached between the
warring sides during a round of UN-sponsored peace negotiations in Sweden in
December 2018.
The
source at the monitor added that the violations in the western coastal province
of Hudaydah included formation of fortification lines near 50th Street,
al-Jabaliya and al-Mandhar neighborhoods, a dozen reconnaissance flights over
Hays, al-Durayhimi and al-Tuhayat districts, 35 counts of artillery and mortar
shelling, as well as 95 shooting incidents in various regions.
The
Sweden deal included three provisions: a ceasefire along the Hudaydah front and
the redeployment of armed forces out of the city and its port; an agreement on
prisoner exchange; and a statement of understanding on the southern Yemeni city
of Ta’izz.
UN:
Some 400,000 Yemeni children under 5 severely malnourished
Meanwhile,
the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and
Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, has warned that some 400,000 Yemeni
children under the age of five are so severely malnourished that they are in
“their last weeks and months.”
“We
are running out of time,” Lowcock said, noting that more than 16 million people
are going hungry across Yemen, five million of whom are “just one step away
from famine.”
Saudi
Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March
2015, with the goal of bringing the government of ex-president Hadi, back to
power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.
According
to the United Nations, 80 percent of Yemen’s 30 million people need some form
of aid or protection. About 13.5 million Yemenis currently face acute food
insecurity, UN data shows.
According
to the latest figures released by the UN in December last year, over 230,000
people have been killed since the onset of the Saudi-led war.
Yemeni
armed forces and allied popular groups, led by the Houthi Ansarullah movement,
have gone from strength to strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and
successfully defended Yemen against the aggression, leaving Riyadh and its
allies bogged down in the country.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/23/645862/Yemeni-army-forces,-allies-very-near-in-fight-to-take-complete-control-of-Marib
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UAE-backed
mercenaries tortured Yemeni journalist: HRW
23
February 2021
The
so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC) militants, backed by the United
Arab Emirates, have arbitrarily detained and possibly tortured a Yemeni
journalist since last September, the Human Rights Watch says.
The
Emirati-backed mercenaries have chained, threatened, and beat Adel al-Hasani to
make him confess to using his work as a journalist to spy for foreign
countries, a source close to the journalist said.
The
Human Rights Watch and Mwatana for Human Rights both urged STC militants to
immediately and unconditionally release al-Hasani.
They
also urged the STC authorities to investigate and take action against those
responsible for torturing or otherwise ill-treating al-Hasani.
“More
and more journalists across Yemen are subjected to threats, intimidation,
violence, or detention simply for doing their jobs reporting on the country,”
said Afrah Nasser, Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch.
“The
Southern Transitional Council’s deplorable treatment of Adel al-Hasani further
stains the appalling rights record of the STC and their UAE backers,” said the
researcher.
Human
Rights Watch spoke with a source with direct knowledge of the circumstances of
al-Hasani’s detention, as well as three of his relatives, his lawyer, and four
journalist colleagues. The source said that on September 17, around midday, STC
forces stopped al-Hasani in his car at Al-’Alam checkpoint, at the eastern entrance
to the Aden governorate, and detained him.
They
took him to Dofus checkpoint in Abyan governorate where they kept him for a few
hours alone in a room for interrogation, chaining and beating him with rifle
butts. The interrogators wore uniforms that indicated they were members of a
pro-STC force known as the Support and Reinforcement Brigades, the source said.
They
later transferred al-Hasani to a different unknown detention center, where they
also interrogated and beat him, the source said. On September 19, the STC
forces transferred Al-Hasani to Bir Ahmed, an informal detention facility in a
military camp the STC controls in al-Buraika district in Aden and kept him in
solitary confinement until October 11.
The
source said that the room in Bir Ahmed where al-Hasani was detained was filthy
and did not have a toilet or drinking water access. During interrogation
sessions, STC security personnel repeatedly threatened to kill al-Hasani’s
family if he did not confess to spying for foreign countries and groups. Later,
on an unspecified date, the STC personnel forced al-Hasani to sign a document
admitting that he was a spy.
Relatives
of al-Hasani told Human Rights Watch that they received no information about
him for 25 days after his arrest despite searching and asking about him in
police stations and detention centers in Aden. They said that STC authorities
denied that they were holding him, thus forcibly disappearing him. His
relatives learned where he was only after he was transferred to al-Mansoura.
Al-Hasani,
35, is an investigative journalist, producer, and fixer for international
journalists, based in the southern port city of Aden. In 2009, he co-founded
the news website, Aden al-Ghad, which covers current affairs in Aden and across
Yemen. Over the course of the Yemen war, he has worked with international
freelance reporters and major media outlets, such as the BBC, CNN, Vice, and
others.
He
worked directly with CNN reporters who revealed in 2019 that Saudi Arabia and
the UAE had transferred weapons purchased from the United States to
al-Qaeda-linked forces, extremist forces, and other armed groups in Yemen, in
violation of Saudi and UAE agreements with the US. The CNN report, for which al-Hasani was
listed as a producer, received nominations for two News and Documentary Emmy
awards in late 2020.
Human
Rights Watch has documented numerous abuses by UAE-backed security forces in
southern Yemen, including enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and
inhumane detention conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In
a September 2020 report, the UN Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen found that
the UAE was continuing its air operations and support for local Yemeni forces
on the ground in southern Yemen, despite apparently withdrawing most of its
ground troops in mid-2019.
“The
UAE claims that it is no longer involved in the Yemeni armed conflict, but its
backing of abusive local forces makes it responsible for their rampant abuses,”
said Radhya Almutawakel, the chairperson of Mwatana for Human Rights.
“The
UAE should end its support of abusive forces. Facilitating the prompt release
of al-Hasani would be a good place to start.”
Saudi
Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the campaign against Yemen
in March 2015, with the goal of bringing Hadi’s government back to power.
The
US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit
conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than
100,000 lives for more than the past five years.
The
Saudi regime has, however, failed to fulfill the objective of its deadly
campaign.
The
war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying
hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in
dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme
levels of hunger.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/23/645857/UAE-Yemen-war-HRW-journalist
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COVID-19
vaccination begins in blockaded Gaza Strip
23
February 2021
Ashraf
Shannon
The
Gaza Strip began its Coronavirus vaccination campaign using the Russian Sputnik
5 vaccine. Medical workers will be the first to receive the jabs.
The
vaccination comes after long delays by the Israeli regime that only allowed a
small shipment of the vaccine to reach Gaza last Thursday after coming under
heavy criticism by human rights organizations.
Another
shipment of the Russian vaccine arrived in through the Egyptian controlled
Rafah crossing on Sunday. Nearly fifty five thousand people in the blockaded
Gaza Strip have been infected with the Coronavirus mostly since late August 20.
Some 550 Gazans have also died of COVID-19.
Local
authorities in the Gaza Strip struggled for months to lower the Coronavirus
infection rates through strict measures. The Israeli blockade has compounded
the struggle of health workers in Gaza, undermining their efforts to contain
and track the spread of the Coronavirus.
Hundreds
of Gazan patients have already lost their lives in recent years due to the
Israeli regime’s inhumane practices under the watchful eye of the international
community. As vaccination begins in the blockaded enclave experts say Tel Aviv
must end its illegal policies and remove any barriers that may hinder
Palestinians from accessing proper medical care.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/22/645855/COVID-19-vaccination-begins-in-the-blockaded-Gaza-Strip
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Turkish
authorities investigating pro-Kurdish lawmaker over PKK affiliation
22
February 2021
Turkish
authorities have launched a probe against a legislator from the pro-Kurdish
Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on suspicion of affiliation to the Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group.
Ankara
Chief Public Prosecutor's Office took the measure against Dirayet Dilan
Taşdemir on Sunday, after Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told
Turkish-language A Haber television news network the previous day that the
38-year-old lawmaker had recently visited the northern Iraqi region of Gara.
The
probe came after Turkey’s military chief said earlier this month that PKK
militants had killed 13 Turkish civilians in northern Iraq.
“In
a search of a cave taken under control, the bodies of 13 of our abducted
citizens were found. In a first inspection it was determined that 12 of our
innocent and unarmed citizens were shot in the head and martyred and one shot
in the chest and martyred,” Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said.
“According
to initial information given by two terrorists captured alive, our citizens
were martyred at the start of the operation by the terrorist responsible for the
cave,” he noted at the operation’s control center near the Iraq border, which
he was visiting with military officials.
The
PKK said the 13 men had died when Turkish forces bombed the cave, where the
captives were being kept.
Taşdemir
dismissed Soulu’s allegations in a post published on her Twitter page, and
described them as “a big lie and slander.”
“The
interior minister of this country made a statement giving my name based on the
so-called accounts of one person. We will prove that this is a giant lie and
slander,” she wrote.
The
Turkish government has long accused the HDP of having links to the PKK, which
is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the US as well as the EU, and has
been calling for an autonomous Kurdish region since 1984.
In
January, the 21st Heavy Penal Court in Ankara found former HDP lawmaker Ferhat
Encu guilty of sharing pro-PKK posts on his social media accounts, calling for
an uprising against the Ankara government, and working to split up a portion of
the Turkish territory. He was sentenced to six years, nine months and seven
days in jail.
A
court in Turkey’s southeastern Kurdish city of Diyarbakir also sentenced former
Kurdish MP Leyla Guven to more than 22 years in prison on terror-related
charges back on December 21 last year.
The
court also issued an arrest warrant against the 55-year-old former member of
parliament from the HDP.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/22/645834/Turkish-authorities-investigating-pro-Kurdish-lawmaker-over-PKK-affiliation
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Yemeni
prisoners committee says Amman swap talks failed
22
February 2021
Abdullatif
Al-Washali
After
weeks of negotiating in Amman, the head of Yemen’s National Committee for
Prisoners Affairs says the talks have ended without making any progress due to
the inflexible approach of the delegation of former government, backed by Saudi
Arabia. The committee says it has made several proposals to overcome the
differences, all in vain.
A
member of the Supreme Political Council, Mohammed Al-Houthi, described the
Saudi-backed delegation’s refusal of swap deals as a crime. He said the failure
of talks is a message from Saudi Arabia and its allies that they are not
serious about any solution that may end the suffering of the Yemenis. He said
their calls for peace are not in line with any real action.
More
than 15,000 Yemenis were captured in battlefronts by both warring sides since
the beginning of the war in March 2015. Of these prisoners, only more than
one-thousand were released in 2020 under a UN-brokered deal, while hundreds of
others have been freed through local negotiations.
The
release of thousands of Yemenis from Saudi prisons needs more efforts by the
United Nations to pressure the representatives of the former government and the
Saudi-led coalition to stop hampering the swaps.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/22/645835/Yemeni-prisoners-committee-says-Amman-swap-talks-failed
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Africa
A
critical look at what’s missing from Muslim education in South Africa
February
23, 2021
Political
and social landscapes are shifting in most liberal democracies, and one of the
issues coming under the spotlight is the purpose and legitimacy of faith-based
schools. The South African Schools Act makes provision for the establishment of
independent schools, which includes privately run and faith-based schools.
Muslim
schooling in the country has its roots in the forced migration of slaves and
political prisoners from Indonesia and the Indian sub-continent, which lasted
until 1834. It has endured through different political milieus – colonisation,
apartheid and now democracy – and a changing Muslim world.
Because
Muslim schooling has been, and still is, partially informal, it’s difficult to
say exactly how many schools and learners there are in the country. Taking into
account statistics from the Association of Muslim Schools and provincial
directories, a conservative estimate would be 96 formally registered schools.
In
today’s South Africa, few would argue against the right of Muslim-based schools
to exist. Like other faith-based schools, they serve as an expression of human
and religious rights, and so are a necessary and desired feature of diverse
societies.
But
there’s a concern among scholars that Muslim schooling and education in South
Africa has remained unchanged in its ideas and the way it’s taught. The worry
is that Muslim schools and communities may be too isolated and may not
adequately prepare its learners or its teachers for the demands of a pluralist
and diverse society.
In
a recent journal paper we have argued that despite vast shifts in its
socio-political contexts, Muslim education has remained closed off from broader
political discourses. We raise the question of whether the cocooning of Muslim
education has rendered its educational institutions and communities incapable
of self-critique, reflection and interrogation, and hence, unprepared to
adequately prepare its learners for a democracy?
More
of the same
Muslim-based
schools in democratic South Africa slip into two distinct camps – influenced by
the historical heritage of Islam – of either a predominant “Malay” or “Indian”
ethos. Because these schools are classified as independent, they don’t enjoy
full state support. They rely on school fees or the generosity of donors. These
fees are often out of the reach of black Muslim communities, who, despite
immense political reform, continue to suffer economic marginalisation.
The
result is that Muslim-based schools have retained the same racial and cultural
exclusivity as that enforced during apartheid. This suggests particular
implications not only for whether learners at these schools are equipped for
dealing with those who are different to themselves, but also how these learners
conceive of themselves in pluralist society.
Furthermore,
Muslim-based schools, like all other schools irrespective of whether they are
public or independent, are obligated to implement the national curriculum of
South Africa. Often, the curricula of Muslim-based schools are characterised by
additional subjects such as Arabic, Qur’anic studies and Fiqh.
Pedagogical
practices at these schools reveal an overwhelming reliance on memorisation and
rote learning. Seemingly, scant attention is given to critical thinking and
consciousness. Teaching and learning are largely constructed along dichotomous
lines of the teacher as the only authority and the learner as a passive
recipient.
This
kind of teaching is closed off to deliberation and debate. Learners don’t get
the skills to make sense of who they are in relation to others, and their
worlds.
What
needs to be done
All
schools in a democracy have an obligation to ensure that the type of education
which they advance speaks to pluralism, diversity, mutual recognition and
peaceful co-existence. A democracy is reliant on democratic forms of
engagement, which necessarily implies a willingness to engage with divergent
views. The fact that Muslim-based schools, as well as all other faith-based
schools, exist in a democracy implies that they ought to contribute to that
democracy.
The
value of any form of education lies in its ability to respond to the broader
society. If education fails to address social problems of exclusion,
marginalisation and violence, then it has not fulfilled its responsibilities.
It needs to be rethought in line with the democratic aspirations of
post-apartheid South Africa.
It
doesn’t make sense to practise Muslim education as separate from education in
other schools, as if Muslim education were only concerned with the private,
spiritual aspects of human life. Integrating it into the broader school
curriculum would fuse the rational, emotional and spiritual dimensions of
education and relate them to the public sphere.
Muslim
education in South Africa’s colonial and apartheid past has always been
concerned with struggle and contestation. It should persist with the struggle
to become more relevant and responsive to socio-political developments of the
day.
The
challenge of education is to bring opposites – like the secular and non-secular
– into conversation and not to present them as out of touch with each other.
https://theconversation.com/a-critical-look-at-whats-missing-from-muslim-education-in-south-africa-153677
--------
Thousands
of Algerians hit streets on Hirak protest movement anniversary
22
February ,2021
Thousands
of Algerians marched on Monday in the capital and other cities to mark the
second anniversary of the North African nation’s anti-government “Hirak”
protest movement, AFP journalists said.
It
is the largest march seen in Algiers since the suspension of the Hirak marches
on March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The
protest movement in April 2019 forced longtime president Abdelaziz Bouteflika
into resigning.
On
Sunday, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced a government
reshuffle which saw few major changes, according to a list published by the
presidency.
Among
those keeping their posts are under-fire Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad and
Justice Minister Belkacem Zeghmati, seen as a symbol of Algeria’s judicial
crackdown on protesters and opposition activists.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/north-africa/2021/02/22/Protests-Thousands-of-Algerians-hit-streets-on-Hirak-protest-movement-anniversary
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Algerians
mark second year of ‘Hirak’ protest movement
22
February 2021
Algerians
have demonstrated in the capital and other cities to mark the second
anniversary of the anti-government ‘Hirak’ protest movement, which helped force
long-time President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power in April 2019.
Monday's
demonstration in the center of Algiers was the largest since March 2020, when
the movement suspended protest gatherings in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Security
forces desperately attempted to block protesters from gathering around the
Grand Post Office in the capital city, which was at the heart of the mass protests
that kicked off on February 22, 2019 to oppose Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth
term.
“We
are not here to celebrate, but to demand your departure,” the protesters
shouted.
“The
fateful hour has arrived,” read one banner brandished by demonstrators.
The
crowd also chanted slogans such as “A civilian state not a military state,”
“Enough is enough,” and “The people want independence.”
President
Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Friday dissolved the lower house of parliament and
called for snap legislative elections.
Tebboune,
once a prime minister under Bouteflika, was elected in December 2019.
Zaki
Hannache, a 33-year-old activist, said Hirak’s supporters were unimpressed by
the president's reshuffle and his call for early legislative polls.
“The
reshuffle doesn't interest me, it's the same old people. Same thing with
parliament, the new ones (deputies) will work, like the current regime, for
their own interests, not for the people.”
Elsewhere
in the country, massive demonstrations were held in Annaba, Oran, Setif and
Mostaganem.
In
Algeria, the army has been at the helm since the country won its independence
war against France in 1962.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/22/645843/Algeria-Hirak
--------
Libya's
interior minister escapes 'well-planned' assassination attempt in capital
22
February 2021
Libya’s
interior minister, Fathi Bashagha, has survived a "well-planned"
assassination attempt by gunmen in the capital Tripoli.
According
to a statement by the ministry, the gunmen encroached on Bashagha’s convoy on an
armored Toyota truck fitted with a machine gun, and opened fired on the
motorcade, as the minister was on his way “returning from his residence in
Janzur.”
One
of Bashagha’s guards and one of the assailants were killed in an exchange of
fire that followed.
An
interior ministry official confirmed that Bashagha is safe and unharmed.
The
guards pursued the escaping vehicle, but it overturned and they were able to
arrest two people at last.
Bashagha
told Reuters that, “It is not an incident that came by chance, but was
well-planned.”
Condemning
the incident, UN special envoy for Libya, Jan Kubis, said on twitter that such
“reckless” attempts are aimed at “derailing the political process” and threaten
“the stability and security” of the country.
The
shooting came as the Government of National Accord (GNA), in which Bashagha
serves, prepares to establish a new interim government in a process led by the
United Nations.
Libya
had experienced a period of relative calm in the recent weeks, although heavy
gunfire could be heard from central Tripoli over the weekend.
The
country has been grappling with unchecked violence since the overthrow of
former dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 during an operation backed by the
Western alliance of NATO.
Since
2014, two rival seats of power have emerged in Libya, namely the UN-recognized
government based Tripoli, and another camp based in the eastern city of Tobruk,
backed militarily by armed rebels.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/22/645786/Libyan-Interior-Minister-Escapes-Assassination-Attempt
--------
Suicide
bomber strikes near Somali mall, police station
Mohammed
Dhaysane
23.02.2021
MOGADISHU,
Somalia
A
suicide bomber blew himself up near a busy shopping mall and a police station
in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Tuesday, officials said, with no casualties
as yet confirmed.
"A
man blew himself up between the Mogadishu Mall and the Hamar Weyne District
Police Station in Mogadishu,” said Ismail Mukhtar Oronjo, spokesman for the
Information Ministry.
“He
exploded while security forces were chasing him after the police identified him
as a suspect before the bomb went off."
Eyewitness
who spoke to Anadolu Agency over the phone said that they saw at least two
people wounded.
Hamar
Weyne is a major commercial district in Mogadishu and the second-busiest market
in the capital.
No
group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but terrorist group
al-Shabaab, affiliated with al-Qaeda, has claimed responsibility for recent
attacks in the Horn of African country.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/suicide-bomber-strikes-near-somali-mall-police-station/2154082
--------
UN
envoy for Libya calls for compliance with cease-fire
Abdelrahman
Fathy, Ramadan Mohamed, Hamdi Yildiz
23.02.2021
A
UN official has called on all parties in Libya to comply with a cease-fire
agreement signed last year, according to a statement issued Monday by the
United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
Jan
Kubis, the UN secretary-general’s special envoy for Libya and head of UNSMIL,
held talks with the parties in the country for a week and advised them to
implement UN resolutions, including the expulsion of foreign powers and
mercenaries.
The
statement emphasized that Kubis will continue to support efforts to reach the
constitutional-based agreement necessary for holding elections in December
2021.
Delegations
of Libya’s warring parties signed a permanent cease-fire agreement last October
in Geneva for a truce with immediate effect in all areas of the country.
During
his visit to Libya, Kubis met with the president of the Tobruk House of
Representatives, Aguila Saleh, on Feb. 17 and the leader of the illegitimate
armed forces in the east of the country, Khalifa Haftar, on Feb. 19.
In
his statement last Saturday, Kubis had said that he would continue to support
Mohammad Younes Menfi, who was elected president of Libya’s interim government,
and Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah the prime minister.
Dbeibah,
who will serve as prime minister until presidential and parliamentary elections
on Dec. 24, is expected to form his cabinet by Feb. 26 at the latest and
present it to the House of Representatives to receive a vote of confidence.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/un-envoy-for-libya-calls-for-compliance-with-cease-fire/2153755
--------
North
America
Canada’s
parliament passes motion saying China’s treatment of Uighurs is genocide
February
23, 2021
OTTAWA:
Canada’s parliament passed a non-binding motion on Monday saying China’s
treatment of the Uighur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region constitutes
genocide, putting pressure on Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s
government to follow suit.
Canada’s
House of Commons voted 266-0 for the motion brought by the opposition
Conservative Party. Trudeau and his Cabinet abstained from the vote, although
Liberal backbenchers widely backed it.
The
motion was also amended just before the vote to call on the International
Olympic Committee to move the 2022 Winter Olympics from Beijing if the
treatment continues.
Trudeau’s
Conservative rivals have been pressuring him to get tougher on China. After
Canada arrested Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou in 2018 on a US
warrant, China detained two Canadians on spying charges, igniting bilateral
tensions that still linger.
China
has been widely condemned for setting up complexes in Xinjiang that it
describes as “vocational training centers” to stamp out extremism and give
people new skills, and which others have called concentration camps. Beijing
denies accusations of rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Citing
testimony, documents and media reports of human rights abuses against Uighurs,
Conservative lawmaker Michael Chong said: “We can no longer ignore this. We
must call it for what it is — a genocide.”
Chinese
foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday the motion “disregards
facts and common sense,” adding that Beijing had “lodged stern representations”
with Canada.
Cong
Peiwu, the Chinese ambassador to Ottawa, denied accusations of genocide.
“Western
countries are in no position to say what the human rights situation in China
looks like,” Cong said in an interview before the vote. “There is no so-called
genocide in Xinjiang at all.”
Trudeau
Caution
Trudeau
has been reluctant to use the word genocide, suggesting that seeking broad
consensus among Western allies on Chinese human rights issues would be the best
approach.
“Moving
forward multilaterally will be the best way to demonstrate the solidarity of
Western democracies ... that are extremely concerned and dismayed by reports of
what’s going on in Xinjiang,” Trudeau said on Friday after speaking to fellow
G7 leaders.
Trudeau
and US President Joe Biden will hold a virtual bilateral meeting on Tuesday
afternoon, and relations with China are likely to be discussed, a government
source said.
Former
US President Donald Trump — on his last full day in office last month — said
China had committed “genocide and crimes against humanity” by repressing Uighur
Muslims.
The
Biden administration is trying to ensure that the genocide declaration is
upheld, according to his pick to be ambassador to the United Nations, Linda
Thomas-Greenfield.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1814286/world
--------
US
seeks to ‘lengthen,’ ‘strengthen’ nuclear deal with Iran: Blinken
22
February ,2021
The
United States will seek to strengthen and extend the agreement between world
powers and Iran aimed at curbing its nuclear program, Secretary of State Antony
Blinken said on Monday.
The
UN nuclear watchdog said on Sunday it had struck a deal with Iran to cushion
the blow of steps Tehran plans to take this week that include ending snap
inspections, with both sides agreeing to keep “necessary” monitoring for up to
three months.
The
announcement by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi,
made at Vienna airport after a weekend trip to Iran, confirmed that Tehran
would go ahead with its plan to slash cooperation with the agency on Tuesday.
Blinken,
addressing the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, said in a
pre-recorded speech: “The United States remains committed to ensuring that Iran
never acquires a nuclear weapon. Diplomacy is the best path to achieve that
goal.”
President
Joe Biden has said that if Iran comes back into “strict compliance” with the
2015 pact, his administration will do the same, Blinken said.
“Working
with allies and partners, we will also seek to lengthen and strengthen the
JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and address other areas of concern,
including Iran’s destabilizing regional behavior and ballistic missile
development and proliferation,” Blinken said.
“Iran
must comply with its safeguards agreements with the IAEA and its international
obligations,” he added.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/22/US-seeks-to-lengthen-strengthen-nuclear-deal-with-Iran-Blinken-
--------
US
special envoy for Yemen heading back to region for second time in a month
22
February ,2021
The
US envoy seeking to end Yemen’s brutal war headed back to the region Monday as
Iran-backed Houthis press ahead with an offensive to take the government’s last
northern stronghold.
Tim
Lenderking, named by President Joe Biden in his first days in office in a sign
of renewed US effort to address the humanitarian catastrophe, will visit
several Gulf nations on a trip that will last through March 3, the State
Department said.
His
discussions “will focus on the United States’ dual-track approach to end the
conflict in Yemen: a lasting political solution and humanitarian relief for the
Yemeni people,” a statement from the State Department said, without specifying
his exact stops.
Lenderking
was in the region less than two weeks ago when he held talks in Saudi Arabia, a
US ally to which Biden has pledged to cut off support for offensive operations
in Yemen amid outrage over civilian casualties.
On
his return to Washington, Lenderking said the administration was working “to
energize international diplomatic efforts with our Gulf partners, the United
Nations and others to create the right conditions for a ceasefire and to push
the parties toward a negotiated settlement to end the war in Yemen.”
The
diplomacy comes as the Houthis shrug off international calls for restraint and
seek to capture Marib, the government’s last major bastion in the north which
lies next to some of Yemen’s richest oil fields.
The
Biden administration in one of its first moves ended a last-minute designation
by former president Donald Trump’s team of the Iranian-linked Houthis as a
terrorist organization.
The
move came after humanitarian groups warned that the designation would severely
hinder operations in a country where 80 percent of people survive thanks to
aid.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/gulf/2021/02/22/US-special-envoy-for-Yemen-heading-back-to-region-for-second-time-in-a-month
--------
Saudi
govt. complicit in shooting spree at US naval base: Victims' families
23
February 2021
The
families of the victims of a 2019 mass shooting by a Saudi air force officer at
a naval base in the US state of Florida have sued Riyadh for complicity in an
"act of international terrorism."
The
families of the three US service members killed and 13 others who were severely
injured at the Naval Air Station Pensacola filed the lawsuit in federal court
in Pensacola City on Monday, saying the Saudi government knew of the
assailant's plans and association with the al-Qaeda terrorist group.
The
attack took place at training facilities for foreign militaries at the naval
base on December 6, 2019.
The
shooter, who was identified as Royal Saudi Air Force flight student Mohammed
Alshamrani, was killed by local law enforcement during the incident.
US
authorities said the assailant had been preparing for the attack for years, and
had expressed Takfiri ideology and communicated with al-Qaeda operatives via an
encrypted cell phone.
The
FBI said Alshamrani contacted al-Qaeda the night before the shooting.
The
claimants said in the lawsuit that the shooter's colleagues and the Saudi
government were all aware of his Takfiri turn and anti-American views, which
"were publicly associated with a Twitter account bearing his name"
even before he joined the air force.
His
social media accounts were followed and commented on by Saudi government
officials and air force colleagues.
"Throughout
Alshamrani's service with the Royal Saudi Air Force, Alshamrani regularly
posted radical fundamental ideology on his social medial accounts, including
anti-American and anti-Jewish ideology," the suit said.
It
said that the fellow members of his group and an unnamed top air force official
who oversaw them were aware of his schemes.
That
makes the Saudi government complicit in an "act of international
terrorism" and therefore, Riyadh is not protected from lawsuits by the US
Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act, the families said.
They
also emphasized that the Riyadh government had not made good on promises to compensate
the families of the victims.
"The
time of empty promises is over," the lawsuit said.
"The
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia let this happen. While the prior White House
administration refused to even call me, this one must do its part to stop
coddling the Saudi regime and hold them accountable," ABC News quoted
Shane Walters, the father of Cameron Walters, who was killed in the attack, as
saying on Monday.
Following
the shooting rampage, 21 Saudi military cadets were expelled from the naval
base, and the training program was halted for several months until stronger
vetting procedures could be implemented for the members of the Saudi military.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/23/645871/Saudi-govt--complicit-in-shooting-spree-at-US-naval-base--Victims--families
--------
Europe
Muslim
Council of Britain urges government to end non-engagement policy
February
22, 2021
LONDON:
The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), the country’s largest Muslim civil society
organization, has urged ministers to reconsider their policy of non-engagement
with it, saying this has had “tragic consequences” throughout the coronavirus
pandemic.
The
MCB asked whether “similar faith-based, democratic bodies are excluded in this
way” at a time when there is concern about the levels of vaccine uptake among
members of minority communities, including the UK’s 2.5 million Muslims.
The
MCB’s work throughout the pandemic has included detailed guidance across a
range of issues for individuals and mosques.
Its
work has received praise from the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for
Emergencies.
But
the MCB has been blacklisted by the government since 2009 after some of its
leaders were accused of supporting violence against Israel.
Since
then, communication between the MCB and the government has been inconsistent.
The organization said contact was completely cut off last March.
“The
tragic consequences of such a policy were seen at the height of the pandemic,
when civil servants unexpectedly ceased engaging with the MCB, without
providing a reason,” said a spokesperson for the organization.
“This
took place at a time when both parties were working hard to provide vital
information and guidance to Muslim communities, and whilst government
ministries were sharing our work.”
Muslims
in the UK have found themselves at the sharp end of the pandemic. Last June,
official data found that Muslim men and women had the highest fatality of any
faith group during the period of March 1 to May 15.
They
also have lower vaccination rates than average, due partly to misinformation
surrounding the vaccines’ ingredients and health effects.
Earlier
this month, the MCB announced that it had elected its first female leader, Zara
Mohammed.
Her
election, it said, “represents an opportunity for both the MCB and the government
to come together and discuss areas where we could work together for the common
good.”
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1813981/world
--------
Germany
urges Iran to comply with nuclear pact, expects ‘compliance, transparency’
22
February ,2021
German
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas called on Monday for salvaging the 2015 nuclear
pact between Iran and world powers which he said was in Tehran’s interest.
Addressing
the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, he noted the Biden’s
administration’s stated readiness to rejoin the pact, adding: “It is in Iran’s
best interest to change course now, before the agreement is damaged beyond
repair.”
Maas
said that Germany expected “full compliance, full transparency and full
cooperation” from Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),
whose chief Rafael Grossi returned on Sunday from a trip to Tehran.
Iran
on Monday hailed as a “significant achievement” the outcome of a visit by the
head of the UN nuclear watchdog and a temporary agreement they reached on-site
inspections.
That
deal effectively bought time as the United States, European powers and Tehran
try to salvage the 2015 nuclear agreement that has been on the brink of
collapse since Donald Trump withdrew from it.
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/02/22/Iran-nuclear-deal-Germany-expects-full-compliance-transparency-from-Iran-with-IAEA
--------
British
arms sales to Saudi Arabia prolonging war in Yemen: Oxfam
22
February 2021
An
international charity organization has rebuked the British government for
allowing the export of air-to-air refueling equipment to Saudi Arabia, warning
that the gear could prolong the Yemen war as it would be used to help the Saudi
air force conduct indiscriminate bombing attacks in the Arab country.
Oxfam
said that the technology was licensed to the Riyadh regime last summer when
arms restrictions were lifted, and London approved an additional £1.4 billion
($1.96 billion) sale of other weapons, British daily newspaper the Guardian
reported on Monday.
“As
the US has called for an end to the conflict in Yemen, the UK is heading in the
opposite direction, ramping up its support for the brutal Saudi-led war by
increasing arms sales and refueling equipment that facilitate airstrikes,” Sam
Nadel, head of policy and advocacy at Oxfam, said.
On
February 4, President Joe Biden announced an end to United States support for
Saudi-led military offensive operations in Yemen.
However,
a senior Yemeni official cast doubt on the purported intention of the new US
administration, demanding that the Yemeni nation put up resistance in the face
of the Saudi-led aggression and siege.
“The
United States is seeking to lessen international hatred towards itself at the
same time as building up pressure on Yemeni people through a blockade. The
Yemeni nation is fairly familiar with such a ploy and trusts in God,” Yemeni
Information Minister Dhaifallah al-Shami said.
Late
last month, Italy decided to halt arms exports to Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates, which have been waging a devastating war on impoverished Yemen
for years.
“Today
I am announcing that the government has revoked the authorizations under way
for the export of missiles and aircraft bombs to Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates," Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said.
He
added, “[This is] an act that we considered due, a clear message of peace
coming from our country. For us, respect for human rights is an unbreakable
commitment.”
Italy’s
Peace and Disarmament Network, a campaign group, hailed the move as “historic”
and said the move would stop the supply of at least 12,700 bombs.
It
“puts an end, once and for all, to the possibility that thousands of ordnance
manufactured in Italy could strike civilian facilities, cause casualties among
the population or contribute to worsening the already serious humanitarian
situation”, the group said.
This
is while the UK has resisted pressure to follow suit as the humanitarian
situation worsens in Yemen.
British
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and International Trade Secretary Liz Truss
agreed to a surge in arms exports to Saudi Arabia in the third quarter of last
year, after they claimed following a court-mandated review that there were only
“isolated incidents” of humanitarian law breaches in Saudi Arabia’s atrocious
military campaign against Yemen.
Oxfam
also called on parties to the conflict in Yemen to adopt an urgent ceasefire,
and on the UK to halt all arms exports that could be used in the crisis.
“The
UK claims to support peace in Yemen. It can start by immediately ending the
sale of all arms that risk being used against civilians and exacerbating the
humanitarian crisis,” Nadel added.
Saudi
Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the war on Yemen in March
2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former president, Abd Rabbuh
Mansur Hadi, back to power and crushing the popular Ansarullah movement.
According
to the United Nations, 80 percent of Yemen’s 30 million people need some form
of aid or protection. About 13.5 million Yemenis currently face acute food
insecurity, UN data shows.
Ansarullah,
backed by the Yemeni armed forces and allied popular groups, has gone from
strength to strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and successfully defended
Yemen against the aggression, leaving Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the
county.
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2021/02/22/645825/British-arms-sales-to-Saudi-Arabia-prolonging-war-in-Yemen,-Oxfam-says
--------
Bosnian
Serb Declares Victory In Rerun Srebrenica Vote Amid Muslim Boycott
February
22, 2021
The
candidate of Bosnian Serb parties says he has won a repeat of local elections
in the town of Srebrenica despite a boycott of the vote by Bosnian Muslims.
Mladen
Grujicic declared victory in his mayoral reelection bid in the eastern town that
was the scene of the Bosnian war's worst atrocity when 8,000 Muslim men and
boys were killed by Serb forces in July 1995.
Elections
in Srebrenica and Doboj, in the north of the country, were repeated after
numerous irregularities had been reported in the November 2020 local elections,
dominated by Bosnian Serbs.
Grujicic
told RFE/RL that "even if there had been no boycott by Bosniak (Bosnian
Muslim) parties," the difference in the number of votes in his favor
"would have been large" and he would have won reelection anyway.
Grujicic
won the previous election in 2016, becoming the first Bosnian Serb to become
mayor of Srebrenica since 1999.
In
Doboj, where Bosnian Serbs make up about 70 percent of the population,
incumbent Boris Jerinic of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD)
also declared a "convincing" victory.
The
SNSD said Jerinic won almost 70 percent of the vote.
In
a news conference at midnight, Bosnia's Central Election Commission confirmed
Grujicic and Jerinic's victories.
The
turnout was almost 43 percent in Srebrenica and more than 55 percent in Doboj,
the election commission announced.
The
results of the February 21 repeat elections were almost certain to be
challenged and exacerbate already high political tensions in the area.
Bosnian
Muslims vowed to boycott the rerun in Srebrenica because, they said, officials
haven't done enough to rectify the problems that marred first elections in
November 2020 such as multiple voting and the discovery of caches of pre-marked
ballots before voting began.
Moreover,
the Bosniak parties complained, officials weren't including mail-in voters in
the new elections.
Bosnia
comprises two entities, the Muslim and Croat federation and the Serb-dominated
Republika Srpska.
Srebrenica
is regarded by some as a potential flashpoint for ethnic tensions because of
the massacre, the worst mass killing in post-World War II Europe.
The
massacre was labeled as genocide by international courts, but Serbian and
Bosnian Serb officials refuse to accept that wording.
The
episode came at the end of the 1992-95 Bosnian War pitting the Serbs against
Bosniaks and Croats that claimed some 100,000 lives.
The
country continues to struggle domestically and internationally under an
ethnically based deal -- known as the Dayton Agreement -- that ended fighting
among the sides.
https://www.rferl.org/a/bosnian-serb-declares-victory-in-rerun-srebrenica-vote-amid-muslim-boycott/31115527.html
--------
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