A 67-year-old Minnesota man who was unhappy with the care he’d received at area health centers in recent years opened fire at a clinic on Tuesday, wounding five patients, authorities said. The attack happened Tuesday morning at an Allina clinic in Buffalo, a community of about 15,000 people roughly 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis. Authorities said Gregory Paul Ulrich, of Buffalo, opened fire at the facility and was arrested before noon. Gov. Tim Walz said at a news conference that “some improvised explosive devices” were part of the attack, though he didn’t say whether any were detonated. And the FBI sent bomb technicians to the scene. While an exact motive wasn’t immediately known, authorities said Ulrich has had a long history of conflict with health care clinics in the area. “All I can say is, it’s a history that spans several years and there’s certainly a history of him being unhappy with health care … with the health care that he’d received,” police Chief Pat Budke said during a later news conference. Budke said Ulrich’s history led investigators to believe he was targeting the clinic or someone inside, but that it was too early in the investigation to know if it was a specific doctor. He said the shooting did not appear to be a case of domestic terrorism. A broken window is seen at the Allina Health Clinic in Buffalo, Minnesota, Feb. 9, 2021, after a gunman opened fire inside.”None of the information that we have from our past contact with him would indicate that he was unhappy with, or would direct his anger at, anyone other than people within the facilities where he had been treated or where they had attempted to give treatment,” Budke said. Kelly Spratt, the president of Buffalo Hospital, said the five patients who were wounded were rushed to hospitals, but that he didn’t know any of their conditions. Previous issuesWright County Sheriff Sean Deringer said Ulrich was well-known to law enforcement before the attack. “We have had several calls for service dating to 2003,” Deringer said. Public online court records for Ulrich list a handful of arrests and convictions for drunken driving and possession of small amounts of marijuana from 2004 through 2014, mostly in Wright County, including two convictions for gross misdemeanor drunken driving that resulted in short jail sentences. North Memorial Health spokeswoman Abigail Greenheck said multiple victims were brought to its hospital in Robbinsdale. She did not say how many or what condition they were in. Residents watch as agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives search for evidence after a shooting at the Allina Health Clinic in Buffalo, Minnesota, Feb. 9, 2021.Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ enforcement group and special agents from the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension also responded. The clinic is set off at the edge of Buffalo near an old red barn with flaking paint. Dozens of emergency vehicles and law enforcement officers carrying guns were on the scene, setting up a perimeter. TV footage showed little activity at the clinic itself, but several shattered plate-glass windows could be seen. At least two windows were shattered a nearby motel. Search warrantMore than three hours after the attack, law enforcement moved to cordon off a neighborhood about a mile from the clinic. An ATF agent on the edge of the perimeter declined to talk to an AP reporter. At least a half-dozen law enforcement vehicles were gathered near a small mobile home park near Pulaski Lake in the city. A woman from the sheriff’s office who declined to identify herself said they were executing a search warrant in connection to the clinic shooting. She declined to give any additional information. A state Department of Public Health spokesman said he didn’t immediately know if the clinic has been administering COVID-19 vaccinations. An Allina spokesman referred all questions to the Buffalo police and the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.
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Month: February 2021
Trump Impeachment Trial Opens With Dramatic Video Montage
Arguments are under way in Washington in the historic second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump, with lawmakers set to decide whether it is legal under the Constitution to try him after he has already left office.Nine Democratic lawmakers from the House of Representatives, acting as prosecutors against the former U.S. leader, are arguing at Trump’s trial before the 100-member Senate that he should be held accountable for inciting the storming of the Capitol on January 6. They say he urged hundreds of supporters to confront lawmakers as they were certifying that Democrat Joe Biden had defeated him in last November’s election.Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland told the Senate that if Trump is not held accountable, it “would create a brand-new January exception” where future presidents would not face consequences for any wrongdoing during their final month in office through impeachment and trial in the Senate.The Democrats showed the Senate a video of the chaos that unfolded in the Capitol building, with rampaging protesters storming past authorities and lawmakers scrambling to avoid the violence. Trump’s lawyers are expected to respond that the trial is unconstitutional because the Constitution says impeachment is a tool to remove officials from office if they are found guilty of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” That is impossible in Trump’s case, they contend, because Trump’s four-year term ended when Biden was inaugurated on January 20. The Senate, however, conducted an 1876 impeachment trial of a Cabinet secretary who resigned moments before he was impeached. Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives while still in office.Up to four hours of arguments are scheduled on the constitutional issue, but Trump’s legal effort to end the trial before it starts in earnest is likely to fail.FILE – Supporters of then-President Donald Trump riot in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a staunch Trump supporter, attempted last month to block the trial on the same grounds, but five Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting 55-45 to proceed with the trial. However it requires a two-thirds majority for conviction, meaning at least 12 of those Republican senators would have to reverse their votes for the prosecution to prevail. The 10-seat Senate is currently evenly divided 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats.Paul says there is a “zero chance of conviction.” If Trump is convicted, the Senate, on a simple majority vote, could bar him from ever holding federal office again. The protest January 6 turned into mayhem, as about 800 Trump supporters rampaged past authorities into the Capitol, smashed doors and windows, ransacked some congressional offices and scuffled with police. Five people were killed, including a Capitol Police officer and a rioter shot by an officer.FILE – Pro-Trump protesters storm the U.S. Capitol to contest the certification of the 2020 U.S. presidential election results by Congress, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Jan. 6, 2021.The 100 senators deciding the impeachment case against the single-term president are in a unique position: Many of them were witnesses themselves to the chaos as they fled the Senate chamber.Trump, the only U.S. president to be twice impeached, was acquitted a year ago when he was accused of soliciting the president of Ukraine to dig up dirt against Biden ahead of last November’s election.A week after the storming of the Capitol, the House voted 232-197, with 10 Republicans joining all 222 Democrats, to accuse Trump of “incitement of insurrection.” Then, on January 20, Biden was inaugurated as the country’s 46th president and Trump, no longer in power, flew for the last time on Air Force One to his Atlantic coastline mansion in Florida, where he has stayed since.Trump has declined a request from Democrats to testify in his defense at his impeachment trial and is not expected to attend. The trial could last a week or longer. The nine Democratic House impeachment managers bringing the case against Trump – several of them former prosecutors – say that Trump, by urging his supporters to contest his election defeat at the Capitol, was “singularly responsible” for the riot that ensued. Trump urged supporters to come to Washington on January 6, saying it would be “wild.” At a rally near the White House shortly before his supporters walked 16 blocks to the Capitol, Trump continued his weeks-long barrage of unfounded claims that election fraud had cost him another four-year term. At one time in speaking for more than an hour, Trump told his supporters “to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard” by marching to the Capitol.Later in the week, the Senate will have an opportunity to debate whether to call witnesses. The House managers could call some of the rioters to testify they were responding to Trump’s call for them on to confront lawmakers certifying Biden’s victory. Trump’s lawyers have mounted a vigorous defense and contend that the former president bears no responsibility for what occurred last month. In a brief filed Monday, they said the case against him amounts to “political theater” brought by anti-Trump Democrats. Trump’s lawyers suggested that he was simply exercising his constitutionally guaranteed right of free speech when he disputed the election results and argued that he explicitly encouraged his supporters to engage in a peaceful protest. “Instead, this was only ever a selfish attempt by Democratic leadership in the House to prey upon the feelings of horror and confusion that fell upon all Americans across the entire political spectrum upon seeing the destruction at the Capitol on Jan. 6 by a few hundred people,” the lawyers wrote.”Instead of acting to heal the nation, or at the very least focusing on prosecuting the lawbreakers who stormed the Capitol, the Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi) and her allies have tried to callously harness the chaos of the moment for their own political gain.” In response, the House Democrats prosecuting Trump said, “We live in a nation governed by the rule of law, not mob violence incited by presidents who cannot accept their own electoral defeat.” “The evidence of President Trump’s conduct is overwhelming,” the managers wrote. “He has no valid excuse or defense for his actions. And his efforts to escape accountability are entirely unavailing. As charged in the Article of Impeachment, President Trump violated his Oath of Office and betrayed the American people.”
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European Lawmakers Criticize Von Der Leyen, Borrell Over Missteps
The European Parliament has seen stormy sessions before but rarely as ugly as Tuesday’s when lawmakers scolded the bloc’s top officials for everything from their handling of the coronavirus pandemic to what they dubbed a disastrous trip last week to Moscow by Europe’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell. Several national governments had urged Borrell, a former Spanish foreign minister, to call off his trip to the Russian capital, arguing it was ill-timed in the wake of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny’s jailing and amid the Kremlin’s paramilitary-style crackdown on street protests. Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny stands inside a defendant dock before a court hearing in Moscow, Feb. 5, 2021.Furious European lawmakers are demanding Borrell resign for the visit, widely seen as having handed the Kremlin a propaganda victory. His critics accuse him of failing to stand up to Russian bullying. Eighty-one members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have signed a letter drafted by Estonian lawmaker Riho Terras calling for Borrell to go.“Borrell’s misjudgment in proactively deciding to visit Moscow, and his failure to stand for the interests and values of the European Union during his visit, have caused severe damage to the reputation of the EU,” the letter reads. “We believe that the president of the European Commission should take action, if Mr. Borrell does not resign,” the lawmakers added.The criticisms were echoed Tuesday in the European Parliament’s chamber, even though Borrell hardened his language about the Kremlin when addressing lawmakers, telling them he would propose to EU foreign ministers next week a list of Russian names to be sanctioned over the jailing of Navalny. “I will put forward concrete proposals,” he told lawmakers, adding that he had “no illusions before the visit.”Borrell said “the Russian government is going down a worrisome authoritarian route,” and that the country “seeks to divide us.”However, Borrell’s critics were not mollified.“We have never looked so weak and clueless about how to deal with Russia,” Belgian lawmaker Hilde Vautmans told Borrell.European delegation member Sophie in ‘t Veld arrives before a meeting at the Europe House on Dec. 3, 2019 in Valletta.Dutch parliamentarian Sophie in ‘t Veld said Borrell has a “credibility problem.”Borrell’s trip saw Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dub the EU an “unreliable partner” during a joint press conference in the Russian capital, leaving the EU’s top diplomat silent and half-smiling. European governments fumed when it emerged that Borrell only learned through Twitter during a meeting with Lavrov that the Kremlin had expelled three European diplomats for allegedly participating in demonstrations in support of Navalny.Some former and current European diplomats say Borrell probably should have abandoned the meeting upon learning about the expulsions. FILE – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks at the end of an EU summit video conference at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Jan. 21, 2021.Ursula von der Leyen has defended Borrell. Commission spokesperson on foreign policy Peter Stano said Borrell has her full backing. Stano said Borrell’s decision to remain silent during Lavrov’s verbal lashing of the EU was understandable. He said Borrell was “a diplomat” for whom “the press conference is not a platform for discussions or confrontations.” Stano argued that Borrell had been “very vocal in the negotiations with Mr. Lavrov.”But von der Leyen is not in a strong political position to protect Borrell, analysts say, and the Moscow trip is adding to alarm about her judgment, which increasingly is being called into question by European lawmakers and national governments. The criticism of von der Leyen has focused on the bloc’s coronavirus inoculation rollout, which has been marred by logistical mistakes and hidebound bureaucracy, leaving the EU desperately short of vaccine doses. The troubled rollout has lagged behind inoculation programs in Britain and the United States, with only two doses being administered so far for every 100 Europeans, compared to seven in the U.S. and 11 in Britain. Von der Leyen and her commissioners had pushed for vaccine procurement and disbursement to be handled by the EU, arguing it would advertise the bloc’s strength and solidarity while reducing the risk of vaccine rivalry among the 27 member states. But that is not the way it has turned out, and the European Commission president is now conceding that individual member states could have vaccinated their populations more quickly had they acted alone rather than having the EU oversee vaccine purchase and distribution.On Monday, von der Leyen inadvertently added fuel to the fire by acknowledging that a country like Britain acting on its own can out-maneuver like a “speedboat” the slower-moving EU “tanker.”EU lawmakers launched an onslaught on von der Leyen for the vaccine handling, dismissing her admission of errors as not enough.“When are they going to accept that they made mistakes?” asked Croatian MEP Ivan Sincic, who said EU commissioners had been “acting blindly.”The verbal lashing has left some observers questioning whether von der Leyen will complete her full five-year term as EC president. She has rejected calls from some quarters to resign, telling reporters last week that the time to “make a final assessment” of her performance will be at the end of her term in 2024.EU officials have cautioned that public expectations are in some ways too high, and people need to be more patient, though they acknowledge people are yearning for an end to lockdowns and a resumption of their normal lives. French President Emmanuel Macron looks on during a press conference with the Belgium’s Prime Minister after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, on Dec. 1, 2020.German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron have both defended von der Leyen.“What would people say if countries like France and Germany were competing with each other on vaccines?” Macron asked last week.Merkel on Friday said it would have been “a mess, and counterproductive” for member states to procure and compete for vaccines. Other national leaders are not convinced. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has been especially tough, saying recently he was “not happy with the pace” and that it was a mistake for EU member states to cast their lot together in the hunt for vaccine supplies. “There were manufacturers whose products were available sooner in Canada, the U.K,” he told Hungarian radio.He added, “We’re unable to move faster with inoculating people not because Hungarian health care is incapable of carrying out mass vaccinations rapidly, but because we have a shortage of vaccine supplies.”Hungary has broken ranks with the EU and ordered doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine. Several other countries, including the Czech Republic, Italy and Spain, are also questioning whether it was wise to entrust Brussels with cutting the deals to provide vaccines for the 450 million people living in the bloc. They, too, are now considering making their own purchases.
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White House Distances Biden from Trump Impeachment Trial
U.S. President Joe Biden says while the impeachment trial of his predecessor is under way in the Senate, he will be focused on alleviating the suffering from the coronavirus pandemic.“I am not,” Biden replied when asked by reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office whether he is watching the trial. “We have already lost over 450,000 people, and we could lose a whole lot more if we don’t act and act decisively and quickly. … A lot of children are going to bed hungry. A lot of families are food insecure. They’re in trouble. That’s my job. The Senate has their job, and they’re about to begin it, and I am sure they are going to conduct themselves well.”The president added he will not be saying anything further about impeachment of former President Donald Trump, whom Biden defeated in last November’s election.White House press secretary Jen Psaki speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Feb. 9, 2021, in Washington.“He’s not a pundit. He’s not going to opine on the back-and-forth arguments, nor is he watching them,” replied White House press secretary Jen Psaki, when asked earlier in the day by a reporter about the historic proceedings, which began Tuesday.Psaki was also asked how Biden, as the current officeholder, could not weigh in on whether it is constitutional for the Senate to put a former president on trial and whether it could set a dangerous precedent for the presidency.The press secretary did not give a direct answer.“He is going to wait for the Senate to determine the outcome of this,” she said during the White House daily media briefing. “His view is that his role should be currently focused on addressing the needs of the American people, putting people back to work, addressing the pandemic.”Focus on issues, not impeachmentThe White House is seeking to portray the president as focused on such issues while the impeachment trial takes place.The White House has arranged visits by Biden to the Defense Department and the National Institutes of Health this week. Next Tuesday, the president is to travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he will participate in a televised town hall-style event.During the February 16 live broadcast, the president will answer questions about his administration’s efforts “to contain the coronavirus pandemic and jump-start a troubled economy,” according to CNN, which will air the event. The cable network explained it will include “an invitation-only, socially distanced audience.”Administration officials say there is no political advantage for Biden, a former senator and vice president, to inject himself into the impeachment trial, which would be seen as a political move so early in his presidency and at a time when Americans are looking for him to focus on alleviating the suffering caused by the pandemic.Mob failed to stop certificationThe House of Representatives last month impeached Trump for inciting violence against the government on January 6, when a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol complex to try to halt the certification of electoral votes affirming Biden as the winner of last November’s election.Biden “has put out multiple statements conveying that what the (former) president did and his words and his actions, and of course the events of January 6, were a threat to our democracy,” Psaki said Tuesday.Trump is the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. The first time was in December of 2019 when the House voted he had abused his power and obstructed Congress, stemming from a July 2019 phone call in which he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation into Biden.The Senate acquitted Trump on both counts last year.
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With Mass Vaccination Program Under Way, Moscow Eyes Return to Normal
Across global cities big and small, the coronavirus pandemic has forced a shutdown of cultural life. But that’s changing in the Russian capital, where a mass vaccination program is in full swing. Charles Maynes reports from Moscow.Camera: Ricardo Marquina Montanana Produced by: Bronwyn Benito
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100-year-old Man Charged for Alleged Nazi-era War Crimes
German prosecutors announced Tuesday they have charged a 100-year-old man with being an accessory to 3,518 murders committed while he was allegedly a guard at the Sachsenhausen World War II concentration camp outside of Berlin. Neuruppin prosecutor Cryll Klement told the Associated Press that the man, whose name is being withheld under Germany’s privacy laws, is alleged to have worked at the Sachsenhausen camp between 1942 and 1945 as an enlisted member of the Nazi Party’s paramilitary wing. Klement, who led the investigation, said that despite his advanced age, the suspect is considered fit enough to stand trial, though accommodations may have to be made to limit how many hours per day the court is in session. FILE – Visitors walk past the gate, inscribed with the words “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work makes you free), of the former Sachsenhausen concentration camp, now a memorial, in Oranienburg, Feb. 7, 2020.The prosecutor said the Neuruppin office was given the case in 2019 by the special federal prosecutors’ office in Ludwigsburg charged with investigating Nazi-era war crimes. The charges come less than two weeks after prosecutors in the northern town of Itzehoe filed similar charges against a 95-year-old woman who worked during the war as the secretary to the SS commandant of the Stutthof concentration camp. Chief Nazi hunter at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Efraim Zuroff, told the AP the two new cases serve as “vital reminders to the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism and xenophobia.” He said the advanced ages of these defendants “is no excuse to ignore them and allow them to live in the peace and tranquility they denied their victims.” The Sachsenhausen concentration camp was established near Berlin in 1936 and was one of the first such camps established by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The camp was notorious for early experiments in the killing of inmates by gas in what became a trial run for the murder of millions in the gas chambers of Auschwitz.
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Behind the Scenes, America’s First Ladies Exert Powerful Influence
America’s latest first lady is breaking with tradition as the first presidential spouse to keep her job while in the White House. Jill Biden, who has a doctorate in education, is an English professor at a community college near Washington. “I think in particular, the fact that she is in a profession that is seen as a helping profession, that is seen as not innately a controversial profession, that she will be more accepted by the American people in continuing her professional life,” says Katherine Jellison, a professor of history at Ohio University. “Also, she’s in a traditionally female profession — teaching.” Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
Jacqueline Kennedy poses during a tour of the White House East Room in Washington in 1962.Ever since she embraced historic preservation in the 1960s, every first lady has adopted at least one public service project. Lady Bird Johnson was an environmentalist who pushed for the preservation of wildflowers and other native plants. Nancy Reagan encouraged children to “Just Say No” to drugs. Barbara Bush championed literacy for children and adults, while Michelle Obama promoted healthy eating by planting a White House vegetable garden. “Things that are related to women — children, health literacy, drugs, gardening, historical preservation — those are the things that Americans are comfortable with their first lady doing,” says Perry. “The American people have a limited role they want the first lady to play, and if she steps outside that role, they turn on her.” Hillary Clinton learned that firsthand in 1993 after President Bill Clinton appointed her to lead his task force on national health care reform. It was an unprecedented policy role for a first lady. But fierce public backlash, some of it personally directed at Clinton, herself, helped doom the plan, which never even got a floor vote in Congress. “We saw where that got her — much hatred, people turned on her, it didn’t pass,” Perry says. “And then, she had to go back to more soft-power approaches to being first lady.” Behind the scenes While first ladies are often seen as motherly symbols of American womanhood, history shows these women can have considerable behind-the-scenes influence. A portrait of former first ladies: Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush (standing). Seated, left to right: Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Rosalynn Carter and Betty Ford, Nov. 4, 1991 in Simi Valley, California.“Melania Trump had a top national security adviser fired in her husband’s administration because she didn’t like the way her staff was treated on a foreign trip by this adviser. So, they can also determine who’s around the president,” says presidential historian Kate Andersen Brower, author of “First Women.” “Nancy Reagan was really the human resources department for her husband. She decided who would be in and who was out.” And the same year she tried to push health care reform through Congress, Clinton made a quiet suggestion to her husband. “She’s one of the reasons why Ruth Bader Ginsburg was on the Supreme Court,” Andersen Brower says. “She told her husband that she thought she would make an excellent Supreme Court justice.” Former President Bill Clinton, left, Hillary Clinton, and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Oct. 30, 2019, in Washington.It’s an example of soft power and how private conversations between spouses can have a huge impact on the country. “These women are really strong. I think that they’re constantly underestimated, and I think that’s partially because women in our society are often underestimated,” says Andersen Brower. “I hope and I think that we are moving in the right direction having Jill Biden as a working woman who can be both things at the same time. She can be a wife, a supporting actor, but also a strong woman.” While Biden is redefining her current role, the biggest shake-up could come once a woman is elected president, Jellison says, and a man takes up the role of first spouse.
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Four Thai Activists Denied Bail Ahead of Next Month’s Trial
Four Thai activists were denied bail Tuesday and a court determined they should be held until their trial for crimes against the monarchy during student-led protests last year in the capital, Bangkok. Prosecutors charged them with lese majeste, the first time in three years anyone has been charged with the offense. The crime had been shelved at the behest of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. However, police began invoking the offense following recent widespread criticism of the monarchy and the government. Lese majeste makes it a crime to insult or defame the monarchy. Offenders could be imprisoned for up to 15 years. Some have also been charged with sedition and violating the Act on Ancient Monuments, among other crimes. FILE – Pro-democracy protesters light up their mobile phones as they attend a mass rally to call for the ouster of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s government and reforms in the monarchy, in Bangkok, Thailand, Sept. 19, 2020.The four — Parit “Penguin” Chiwarak, Arnon Nampa, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk and Patiwat Saraiyaem, also known as “Mor Lam Bank,” — have pleaded not guilty to the charges. “The prosecution against us is using the law to block our freedom of expression,” Parit told reporters. The activists were part of pro-democracy demonstrations near the Grand Palace on September 19 of last year. The activists were demanding monarchical reforms to make the king more accountable. They also requested the removal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and dissolution of his government, and want constitutional amendments enacted that would deepen democracy. The Thai Lawyers for Human Rights group said at least 55 activists have been charged under royal insult laws since November but these four activists are the first to go to court. It is also the first time defendants are being held without bail for a long time on such charges.The trials are scheduled to start next month.
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Explainer: How Are The Myanmar Protests Being Organized?
Protests in Myanmar against the military coup that removed Aung San Suu Kyi’s government from power have grown in recent days despite official efforts to make organizing them difficult or even illegal. Here’s a look at who is organizing the protests and the obstacles they face:Is Protesting Allowed?
It was a grey area for many days after the Feb. 1 coup, which also included the declaration of a state of emergency. But with the protests growing and spreading in recent days, the military on Monday issued decrees that effectively ban peaceful public protests in the country’s two biggest cities.
Rallies and gatherings of more than five people, along with motorized processions, are outlawed and an 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew has been imposed for areas of Yangon and Mandalay, where thousands of people have been demonstrating since Saturday.
The restrictions have raised concerns about the potential for a violent crackdown.Who Is Leading The Protests?
For the most part the protests have grown organically.
“This movement is leaderless — people are getting on the streets in their own way and at their own will,” said Thinzar Shunlei Yi, a prominent activist.
Activist groups, professional work groups, unions and individuals across Myanmar have all come out in opposition to the coup, as has Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.
Shortly after the return to direct military rule — which Myanmar experienced for five decades until 2012 — a Facebook page titled “Civil Disobedience Movement” started issuing calls for peaceful protests. The page now has more than 230,000 followers and hashtags associated with it are widely used by Myanmar Twitter users.
Health care workers also started a protest campaign, wearing red ribbons, holding signs and urging other medical staff to not work at state-operated health facilities.
Street protests over the weekend featured the heavy presence of unions, student groups and other groups representing professions as diverse as park rangers and book printers.
Yangon residents have voiced dissent by banging pots and pans together across the city at night.What Are The Obstacles?
One of the biggest challenges for protesters has been the military’s attempts at blocking communications.
Authorities first went after Facebook — which has more than 22 million users in Myanmar, or 40% of the population — but people simply moved to other platforms like Twitter.
Making the rounds have been copies of safety protocol information sheets, some of them originally from Hong Kong, with instructions on how to encrypt communications and how to stay safe during protests.
Over the weekend the military temporarily cut internet access and some phone services. Protestors were quick to adapt, with some even using phones registered in neighboring Thailand.
“Even when the internet was completely cut off on Saturday for 24 hours, people were able to communicate within Myanmar by phone and SMS,” said Clare Hammond, a senior campaigner the rights group Global Witness.
For some who don’t have phone service or internet access during blackouts, word of mouth and simply historical precedent has brought them to protest sites, many of which are the same as in previous uprisings against military rule.Will The Protests Continue?
So far protesters seem undeterred, even with the new restrictions on demonstrations.
Nevertheless, some are concerned that the military is laying the groundwork for a violent crackdown such as those that ended protest movements in 2007 and 1988.
Linda Lakhdhir, a legal advisor at Human Right Watch, said the military could try to use the violation of the military’s decrees as well as other laws already in place as justification for a crackdown.
“They may maybe a terrible, abusive, draconian laws, but the military will justify (use of them) as them following the law,” she said.
Authorities fired water cannons and rubber bullets at some protests on Tuesday, ratcheting up tensions.
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Sudan Prime Minister Hamdok Names New Cabinet
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has named a new cabinet as he tries to push through major reforms and secure financing from foreign entities. The new cabinet includes leaders of rebel groups that signed a peace agreement with the government in the South Sudan capital, Juba, in October.
In a nationally televised announcement Monday night, Hamdok named the 20 new ministers, including Darfur rebel leader Gibril Ibrahim as finance minister. Hamdok also named Mariam Assadiq Al Mahdi, the leader of the popular Umma Party and daughter of a former prime minister, as Sudan’s foreign affairs minister. Khalid Omer of the Sudanese Congress Party was named minister for cabinet affairs.
Hamdok kept six members of his previous cabinet, including Justice Minister Nassruddin Abdulbari and Defense Minister Yasin Ibrahim.
A minister for general education has yet to be appointed due to what Hamdok described as “further consultations” but said the position would be filled soon.
During his address, Hamdok said the new cabinet is “inclusive.”
“This cabinet came as a result of a political consensus for a long period of discussions that took months and we were all concerned about how to preserve this country from the stage of collapse. As you have been observing in our regions, there are a lot of conflicts and challenges. Many countries have collapsed within the past few years and as Sudanese, we should not follow their footsteps in our country,” said Hamdok.
Hamdok said over the past year-and-a-half, his government was able to reform Sudanese laws and restore freedom across the country.
He noted the transitional government signed a peace deal with armed opposition groups and made it possible to remove Sudan from the U.S. list of countries that sponsor terrorism. In December, the United States said it would give Sudan a $1 billion loan to help clear its arrears to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and pave the way for the country to receive renewed financial assistance.
Abdulhameed Awad, a journalist and political analyst with the Qatar-based Arabic newspaper Al Arabi Al Jadid, said despite those achievements, the new government faces many obstacles as Sudan struggles to repair its economy after decades of international sanctions under the 30-year rule of Omar al-Bashir.
Sudan lifted subsidies on fuel in October as part of an IMF-monitored reform program, causing sharp hikes in transportation fares and the prices of basic commodities. Sudan’s transitional government, however, hopes the reform program will open doors for development loans and direct foreign investment.
“There is no doubt that the new government is going to face a lot of economic, security and social complications. And they need to face these challenges with resilience and hard work, which need a huge financial support from the international community besides building up a true national unity of our people,” Awad told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus.
Awad believes restoring Sudan’s economy and improving people’s security and welfare should top the new government’s agenda.
“Prices of basic commodities such as vegetables, fruits, milk, sugar and meat are now very high in Sudanese market. This is a big problem. There are also serious shortages in bread and fuel. The new government needs to focus on these issues,” Awad told VOA.
Khartoum resident Amira Saleh welcomes the new cabinet and expects the economy to improve under its leadership.
“We have a lot of national resources in Sudan and if they are utilized in a good way it will increase our local production and our economy will improve. Let them also encourage foreign investors to come and invest in our resources and that way our local currency will get strong.”
Shortly after Hamdok’s announcement, Sudan’s Sovereign Council — the military-civilian body that is the highest power in the transitional government — held an extra ordinary session and endorsed the newly appointed ministers. The cabinet members are expected to be sworn in Wednesday afternoon.
During Hamdok’s announcement, demonstrators took to the streets in many states across Sudan to demand better living conditions. Local authorities in Al Obeid town in North Kordofan and Al Fashir of North Darfur shut down schools and imposed curfews in the two areas.
Other protests were reported Tuesday in Port Sudan and Nyala town of South Darfur against high prices and poor living conditions.
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Behind the Scenes, First Ladies Can Exert Powerful Influence
It’s not a job you apply for and it doesn’t pay. While there are no specific job requirements, Americans often expect first ladies to be warm, motherly figures. But, behind the scenes, first ladies can have significant political influence. As VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports, Jill Biden, who holds a doctorate in education, is already expanding perceptions of a first lady’s role.Camera: Mike Burke
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Cameroon’s Legless Professional Golfer Aims for Paralympic Gold
When Cameroonian golf champion Issa Nlareb Amang lost his legs and most of his fingers to meningitis in 2018, many thought his life in the sport was over. But, thanks to donors, he was able to get prosthetics that allowed him to return to the game and become the only disabled professional golfer in West Africa. Moki Edwin Kindzeka has this report by Anne Nzouankeu in Yaoundé. Camera: Anne Nzouankeu
Producer: Jon Spier
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At Least 10 Dead in New Congo Attack
At least 10 people have died in an overnight attack on a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The attackers, who invaded a village near the border with Uganda, are believed to be part of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan Islamist group.
Local authorities confirmed the army has been deployed to the region. Last week, the group committed a similar massacre that killed at least 12 people in the nearby village of Mabule.
Active in the region since the 1990s, the ADF has increased its attacks against civilians since 2019, when the Congolese army began an operation against it. In 2020 alone, the group killed over 840 people, according to United Nations data.
The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in the region, although ties between IS and ADF have never been confirmed.
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Hong Kongers in Britain Organize Support for Thousands of Newcomers
While China was preparing to implement a new National Security Law in Hong Kong in the summer of 2020, Jennifer was planning to relocate her family to Britain. Hundreds of thousands of Hong Kongers are expected to move to the United Kingdom in the coming years, where they are eligible to apply for British citizenship. Many of the thousands of newly arrived are now organizing initiatives to support others planning their move to Britain.
Like many others, Jennifer participated in the 2019 pro-democracy and anti-government demonstrations. But the law passed last summer has Jennifer and others worried their civil liberties could be undermined.
The National Security Law would prevent and punish what it calls acts of “secession, subversion or terrorism activities” that threaten national security. The law would also allow Chinese national security organizations to set up agencies in Hong Kong. Critics say it effectively curtails protests and freedom of speech; China says it is needed to restore order and stability.
Jennifer, who requested that her real name not be used, spent months online preparing to move her family:
“When I came, I was quite well-prepared because I could have everything for me settled by myself, through a lot of hard work in Hong Kong. So, I did a lot of online research and approaching different organization and departments in the U.K. to arrange my place to live and arrange school for my child and arrange my account and all that. Most of the families, they come here for the children’s future,” Jennifer said.FILE – A British National Overseas passport (BNO), right, and a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China passport are pictured in Hong Kong, Jan. 29, 2021.Despite never having lived in Britain before, she holds a British National Overseas passport. Her family is eligible to apply for a new visa that offers a path to British residency and citizenship. The British government estimates nearly 3 million people are eligible along with about 2.3 million dependents. Applications opened January 31. So far 7,000 people with a BNO passport have arrived from Hong Kong since July 2020.Hong Kong is a former British colony over which China regained control in 1997.
Jennifer now shares her knowledge about the moving process with other Hong Kongers through volunteer organizations. In recent months, several organizations were established in Britain to provide support to people arriving from Hong Kong and to those planning their move.
Simon Cheng is the co-founder and chairman of one such support group, Hongkongers in Britain. The volunteer-run organization hopes to fill information gaps and smooth the process for the 300,000 Hong Kongers believed to resettle in Britain over the next few years.
Cheng says that while there are a lot of questions about the practicality of relocating, such as finding employment and schools, there are deeper concerns regarding China’s ability to retaliate – even in Britain.
“About one month ago, we did the policy study to identify their needs and their concerns. The security would be the area of the concern. And they were a little bit worried that if they come here when they’ve been harassed, the Chinese authority would be very upset about it. We’re not sure yet about the future and potential retaliation,” Cheng said.FILE – Simon Cheng, founder of Hongkongers in Britain, attends an event protesting shrinking political freedoms in Hong Kong, in Leicester Square, central London, Dec. 12, 2020.There are dozens of YouTube channels, Facebook groups and other online platforms where relocated Hong Kongers are sharing information about the visa application and the resettling process.
Neil Jameson of UK Welcomes Refugees, an umbrella group helping people enter British society, says providing the right support and information to BNO holders will test British institutions:
“The problem would be landlords, the National Health Service, the police, and then they will suddenly see these papers they haven’t seen before, which is BNO passports. The vast number of people who will be coming, will be coming legitimately, do need to be welcomed, do need ideally to have a trusted group to go to in the places they choose to settle,” Jameson said.
Britain announced the updated British National Overseas passports visa program after the ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy activists by Chinese authorities in Hong Kong. The Chinese government announced it would stop recognizing the BNO as a valid travel document from the moment the BNO application program opened to Hong Kong residents.
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Myanmar Police Crack Down on Protesters
Myanmar police cracked down on people protesting Myanmar’s military coup in the capital of Naypyitaw Tuesday by firing warning shots, rubber bullets and water cannons, seriously injuring at least two protesters with what are believed to be gunshot wounds.Demonstrators gathered in the streets of Myanmar’s capital for a fourth consecutive day, defying a set of restrictions imposed by the military junta aimed at stopping the massive protests against the overthrow of the elected civilian governmentAn unnamed physician who treated protesters at a Naypyitaw hospital told VOA’s Burmese Service that at least two demonstrators sustained what he believes were live gunshot wounds, one to the head, the other to the chest.An injured protester is helped by his fellow protesters, at a rally against the military coup and to demand the release of elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Feb. 9, 2021.Twenty-year-old Myat Thwe Khine was placed on a ventilator as she slipped into a coma after receiving a gunshot wound to the head, according to the physician, who said X-rays show the bullet is still lodged in her head.The doctor said 23-year-old Soe Wai sustained a gunshot wound to the chest.The doctor could not say how may protesters were injured by bullets or water cannons, but he said most of the 20 people treated at the hospital were not injured by rubber bullets.Tuesday’s protests in Naypyitaw occurred just hours after the military announced an 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew would be imposed in the cities of Yangon and Mandalay. The regime has also banned gatherings of more than four people across the country.Maxar’s satellite image shows crowds during protests along Kyun Taw Road near Myanmar Radio and TV Yangon in Yangon, Feb. 8, 2021. (Satellite image ©2021 Maxar Technologies/Handout)Protesters also raised a three-finger salute as they marched, a sign of resistance against tyranny in the popular “Hunger Games” movies.The demonstrations entered a new phase Monday as civil servants, railway employees, teachers and workers in other sectors began a nationwide strike.But Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the general who led the coup, made no mention of the unrest in his address to the nation late Monday, his first since taking power exactly one week earlier.The general reiterated claims that last November’s elections, overwhelmingly won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, were fraudulent. But he promised to hold new elections to bring a “true and disciplined democracy” different from previous eras of military rule.He did not specify when the new elections would take place. The military has declared a one-year state of emergency. Suu Kyi remains under house arrest at her official residence in Naypyitaw, according to party spokesman Kyi Toe.She faces charges of illegally importing and using six unregistered walkie-talkie radios found during a search of her home.On Friday, nearly 300 members of Suu Kyi’s deposed ruling party proclaimed themselves to be the only lawful representatives of the country’s citizenry and called for global recognition as the stewards of the government.The military takeover has been condemned by U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders, who have called for the elected government to be restored to power.New Zealand said Tuesday it is suspending all high-level military and political contacts with Myanmar and is imposing a travel ban on its leaders.FILE – Aung San Suu Kyi, left, Myanmar’s foreign minister, walks with senior General Min Aung Hlaing, right, Myanmar military’s commander-in-chief, in Naypyitaw, May 6, 2016.The United Nations has called for the coup to be “reversed,” urging international actors to “carry out calls for a return to democracy.” The world body’s Human Rights Council will hold a special session Friday to discuss the crisis.Myanmar, also known as Burma, has long struggled between civilian and military rule, but until last week had been enjoying a hopeful transition to democracy.A British colony until 1948, the country was ruled by military-backed dictators from 1962 until 2010.An uprising in 1988 led to an election in 1990, which the NLD won in a landslide. But the elected members of parliament were imprisoned, and the dictatorship continued.Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s assassinated independence hero, Gen. Aung San, emerged as a leader in the pro-democracy rallies and in the NLD. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 while under house arrest.In 2010, Senior General Than Shwe announced the country would be handed over to civilian leaders, who included retired generals. They freed political prisoners, including the lawmakers from the NLD, and Suu Kyi, who was elected in a 2012 by-election and later became the state counsellor of Myanmar.While popular among Myanmar’s Buddhist majority, the 75-year-old Suu Kyi has seen her international reputation decline over her government’s treatment of the country’s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.In 2017, an army crackdown against the Rohingya, sparked by deadly attacks on police stations in Rakhine State, led hundreds of thousands of them to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where they remain.The International Criminal Court is investigating Myanmar for crimes against humanity.
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Mystery Metal Monolith Vanishes from Ancient Turkish Site
A metal monolith that mysteriously appeared on a field in southeast Turkey has now disappeared, Turkish media reported Tuesday, four days after it was discovered.
The three-meter-high (about 10-foot-high) metal slab bearing an ancient Turkic script, was found Friday by a farmer in Sanliurfa province. It was discovered near the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gobekli Tepe, which is home to megalithic structures dating to the 10th millennium B.C., thousands of years before Stonehenge.
The shiny structure, however, was reported gone Tuesday morning, days after authorities said they were investigating its appearance by looking through closed circuit television footage and searching for vehicles that may have transported it to the site.
It wasn’t immediately clear if it had been taken down by the authorities. Officials at the Sanliurfa governor’s office weren’t immediately available for comment.
The state-run Anadolu Agency quoted the field’s owner as saying he was baffled by both its appearance and disappearance.
“We don’t know if it was placed on my field for marketing purposes or as an advertisement,” Anadolu quoted Fuat Demirdil as saying. “We saw that the metal block was no longer at its place. Residents cannot solve the mystery of the metal block either.”
The agency also quoted local resident Hasan Yildiz as saying the block was still at the field Monday evening, but had disappeared by the morning.
The monolith bore an inscription that read: “Look at the sky, you will see the moon” in the ancient Turkic Gokturk alphabet, according to reports.
Other mysterious monoliths have similarly appeared and some have disappeared in numerous countries in recent months.
Gobekli Tepe was the setting of the Turkish Netflix mystery series, “The Gift.”
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Hong Kong’s Highest Court Denies Bail for Media Tycoon and Pro-Democracy Activist
Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai remains behind bars after the city’s highest court denied him bail during a court appearance Tuesday. The 73-year-old Lai was arrested on December 3 and spent three weeks behind bars before posting a $1.2 million bond. Prosecutors appealed the decision to grant Lai bail, claiming the judgement by a lower court was erroneous. The Court of Final Appeal agreed with prosecutors in its ruling, citing the new national security law that denies bail to a criminal suspect or defendant “unless the judge has sufficient grounds for believing that the criminal suspect or defendant will not continue to commit acts endangering national security.” The owner of Next Digital media company was initially charged with fraud, with prosecutors accusing him of violating terms of the company’s lease of its office space. Lai has since been charged under Hong Kong’s new national security law for “foreign collusion.” Lai was first arrested under the new law on suspicion of foreign collusion in August. Hours after his arrest, more than 100 police officers raided the headquarters of Next Digital, which publishes the newspaper Apple Day. The newspaper livestreamed the raid on its website, showing officers roaming the newsroom as they rummaged through reporters’ files, while Lai was led through the newsroom in handcuffs. He was eventually released on bail after 40 hours in custody. Lai is already in legal jeopardy for his pro-democracy activism. He was one of 15 activists arrested earlier this year and hit with seven charges, including organizing and participating in unauthorized assemblies and inciting others to take part in an unauthorized assembly. He is one of the highest-profile Hong Kongers targeted by the new security law since it went into effect last July. Under the law, anyone in Hong Kong believed to be carrying out terrorism, separatism, subversion of state power or collusion with foreign forces could be tried and face life in prison if convicted. The new law was imposed by Beijing in response to the massive and often violent pro-democracy demonstrations that engulfed the financial hub in the last half of last year, and is the cornerstone of its increasing grip on the city, which was granted an unusual amount of freedoms when Britain handed over control in 1997.
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Demonstrations Resume in Myanmar Against Military Junta Despite Curfews and Restrictions
Demonstrators gathered in the streets of Myanmar’s capital again Tuesday for a fourth consecutive day, defying a set of restrictions imposed by the military junta aimed at stopping the massive protests against the overthrow of the elected civilian government. Tuesday’s protests in Naypyitaw occurred just hours after the military announced an 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew would be imposed in the cities of Yangon and Mandalay. The regime has also banned gatherings of more than four people across the country. Demonstrations were also staged in Yangon and Mandalay. News agencies say the protesters were blasted with water cannon in all three cities. Tens of thousands of people have come out in force across Myanmar since the demonstrations began, holding signs reading “Save Myanmar,” “We want democracy,” as well as photographs of Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of the deposed government. Protesters also raised a three-finger salute as they marched, a sign of resistance against tyranny in the popular “Hunger Games” movies. The demonstrations entered a new phase Monday as civil servants, railway employees, teachers and workers in other sectors began a nationwide strike. But Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, the general who led the coup, made no mention of the unrest in his address to the nation Monday evening, his first since taking power exactly one week earlier. The general reiterated claims that last November’s elections, overwhelmingly won by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, were fraudulent. But he promised to hold new elections to bring a “true and disciplined democracy” different from previous eras of military rule. He did not specify when the new elections would take place. The military has declared a one year state of emergency.Rally against military coup in Naypyitaw, Feb. 9, 2021.Suu Kyi remains under house arrest at her official residence in Naypyitaw, according to party spokesman Kyi Toe. She faces charges of illegally importing and using six unregistered walkie-talkie radios found during a search of her home. On Friday, nearly 300 members of Suu Kyi’s deposed ruling party proclaimed themselves to be the only lawful representatives of the country’s citizenry and called for global recognition as the stewards of the government. The military takeover has been condemned by U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders, who called for the elected government to be restored to power. New Zealand said Tuesday it is suspending all high-level military and political contacts with Myanmar and is imposing a travel ban on its leaders. The United Nations has called for the coup to be “reversed,” urging international actors to “carry out calls for a return to democracy.” The world body’s Human Rights Council will hold a special session Friday to discuss the crisis. Myanmar, also known as Burma, has long struggled between civilian and military rule, but until last week had been enjoying a hopeful transition to democracy. A British colony until 1948, the country was ruled by military-backed dictators from 1962 until 2010.A street cleaner passes by the Myanmar embassy in the Mayfair district of central London, Feb. 1, 2021. An uprising in 1988 led to an election in 1990, which the NLD won in a landslide. But the elected members of parliament were imprisoned, and the dictatorship continued. Suu Kyi, the daughter of Myanmar’s assassinated independence hero, Gen. Aung San, emerged as a leader in the pro-democracy rallies and in the NLD. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 while under house arrest. In 2010, Senior General Than Shwe announced the country would be handed over to civilian leaders, who included retired generals. They freed political prisoners, including the lawmakers from the NLD, and Suu Kyi, who was elected in a 2012 by-election and later became the state counsellor of Myanmar. While popular among Myanmar’s Buddhist majority, the 75 year old Suu Kyi has seen her international reputation decline over her government’s treatment of the country’s mostly Muslim Rohingya minority. In 2017, an army crackdown against the Rohingya, sparked by deadly attacks on police stations in Rakhine State, led hundreds of thousands of them to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where they remain. The International Criminal Court is investigating Myanmar for crimes against humanity.
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American Dan Whitman Denies Any Involvement in Haiti Coup Attempt
Dan Whitman, a former U.S. Foreign Service officer and State Department employee, says he had no involvement in the foiled Haiti coup plot on Sunday. “I don’t know who is spreading this narrative, or why. I’ve never met or heard of any of the individuals mentioned — and don’t know why my name would be used in this regard,” Whitman told VOA in a phone interview Monday. The American, currently a professor at American University’s School of International Service, is depicted in a video distributed by Haiti’s Intelligence Service to members of the Haitian press on Sunday. A photo of Whitman is captioned as a “former member of the State Department” who, the video alleges, masterminded the plot to overthrow President Jovenel Moise with the help of national police officers. Whitman worked at the State Department from 1985 to 2009 and has written a book on Haiti, “A Haiti Chronicle: The Undoing of a Latent Democracy,” published in 2004. The professor is fluent in French and spoke a few words of Creole to VOA during the interview. Asked why he had been included in the Haitian video, Whitman told VOA, “I haven’t seen the video, I’ve heard about it.” As for whether he was in Haiti on Sunday (February 7), or recently, he said, “I left that country 20 years ago and I’ve never been back.”Dan Whitman worked at the U.S. State Department from 1985 to 2009. He is now a professor at American University’s School of International Studies. (Credit – courtesy)Whitman told VOA it upsets him that his name has been linked to the foiled coup attempt. VOA asked the State Department for comment on the video implicating a former employee. “It is our well-established practice to conduct diplomatic relations through our embassies, not private individuals,” a spokesperson said. “And we have a very capable embassy and ambassador in Port-Au-Prince. As you know, we do not discuss cases involving private U.S. citizens absent their written consent.” Haitian President Jovenel Moise announced during a Facebook Live event at noon Sunday that law enforcement officials had foiled a coup attempt and made more than 20 arrests. Moise stood on the tarmac of the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, alongside his wife, first lady Martine Moise, in front of a private plane that he boarded immediately afterward to visit the southern coastal town of Jacmel to kick off Carnival festivities. He said Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe would hold a press conference Sunday afternoon to provide further details. Jouthe told the press he saw and heard proof in the form of audio recordings produced by the Intelligence Service, signed documents and the text of a speech for the inauguration of the new president. VOA listened to the recordings — a video that shows a photo of who is speaking over the audio of their conversation in French and Creole — Monday. Here’s what was heard: The plot The alleged coup plot is laid out in a produced video featuring mobile phone footage of Supreme Court Justice Hiviquel Dabrezil shortly after his arrest and then segues to a series of audio recordings of conversations between the alleged coup plotters. In one exchange, Dimitri Herard, a commander of the USGPN (L’Unité de Sécurité Générale du Palais National), a specialized unit of the national police force tasked with protecting the national palace, is talking to National Police Force Inspector General Marie Antoinette Gauthier about plans. Gauthier is captioned in the video as “lead putschiste.” Dimitri Herard: “Hello, commander?” Marie Antoinette Gauthier: “Yes, hello. Dimitri? I’m listening.” DH: “Yes, commander.” MAG: “Listen, I received orders from the State Department.” DH: “OK…” MAG: “…to plan certain things.” DH: “Clearly. They contacted me as well so that’s why I was waiting for your call. I’m listening commander.” MAG: “Yes, listen. They told me that Friday or Saturday — you understand?” DH: “Uh-huh.” Whitman is never mentioned by name. But the Intelligence Service video narrator alleges “the group plotted with a former member of the Department of State — Dan Whitman — who they say was working with them to pull off this coup d’etat.” In another exchange, Herard and Gauthier discuss the “extraction” of President Moise. DH (in French): “I don’t know if it’s the same people who contacted you — OK? But they also mentioned an inauguration on Monday, the 8th, etc., but. …” MAG: “I’m coming over.” DH: “OK, the reason why I’m asking the question is I wanted to know what about the president? What is happening with him?” MAG: “Listen, listen the president — on the morning of the 7th, if he is still in power — are you listening?” DH: “Yes, I hear you clearly, commander.” MAG: “On the 7th, I’ll have to take control of him. Do you understand?” DH: “OK.” MAG: “I’ll let him know we have a warrant for his arrest, and we have to detain him and take him to — are you familiar with the Petit Bois complex?” DH: “The complex that is near the American Embassy?” MAG: “Yes.” The video alleges that the 23 arrests on Sunday gave authorities a clear picture about the plot and the prominent politicians, businessmen and law enforcement officials who agreed to participate in it. “We found that this coup was masterminded by Jean Henry Ceant (former prime minister),” the narrator says, “Reginald Boulos (millionaire businessman who is also an opposition politician), who would finance it; Jean Marie Vorbe — in fact the complex where they masterminded the plot belongs to Jean Marie Vorbe. Youri Chevry (Port-au-Prince mayor) and Nenel Cassy (former senator of Lavalas party) were responsible for arming and financing. Fantom 509 (rogue police officers), they were going to organize the coup and a member of the Supreme Court — Justice Mario Beauvoir and many other members of the opposition, many of whom have been arrested and other warrants are outstanding for the arrest of all the coup plotters.” US reaction Commenting on Sunday’s events, a State Department spokesperson told VOA, “The United States is following the situation in Haiti with concern and calls on all political actors to address their differences though peaceful means. We understand the Haitian National Police is investigating 23 individuals who were arrested over the weekend. The situation remains murky, and we await the results of the police investigation.” In response to VOA’s question about what message the United States would like to send Haitians who insist Moise’s term is expired, the spokesperson responded, “While the Haitian constitution does not clearly address today’s situation, President Jovenel Moise was elected in November 2016, following the annulment of the initial presidential polls in October of the previous year. He was sworn into office on February 7, 2017, for a five-year term, which is, therefore, scheduled to end on February 7, 2022.” Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks of New York tweeted Saturday that he co-led a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Congresswoman Yvette Clarke “to condemn President Moise’s undemocratic actions in Haiti, urging a Haitian-led democratic transition of power. The letter was signed by five other House representatives: Albio Sires, Andy Levin, Alcee Hastings, Ilhan Omar and Darren Soto.Today I co-led a letter to @SecBlinken with @RepYvetteClarke to condemn President Moïse’s undemocratic actions in Haiti, urging for a Haitian-led democratic transition of power. The full text of the letter: https://t.co/CDGgmpM45Lpic.twitter.com/pkuriOY5TS— Rep. Gregory Meeks (@RepGregoryMeeks) February 6, 2021Early Sunday, Congressman Levin tweeted condemnation of President Moise. “I am deeply saddened but unsurprised that Moise has escalated his anti-democratic campaign with a mass arrest of opposition officials and others on what should be his final day in office,” Levin tweeted.I am deeply saddened but unsurprised that Moïse has escalated his anti-democratic campaign with a mass arrest of opposition officials and others on what should be his final day in office.— Rep. Andy Levin (@RepAndyLevin) February 7, 2021The State Department told VOA it was aware of the lawmakers’ comments but decline to provide any details on communications. “We do not comment on specific communications with Congress,” the spokesperson said. “The department is briefing members on the situation in Haiti. The secretary appreciates insight and communication from Congress on foreign policy.” The United Nations also commented on Sunday’s events in Haiti, echoing the Biden administration’s stance. “On Haiti, I will tell you that we are obviously, both the secretary-general and the team on the ground, are following the situation with worry and concern. It is very important that all stakeholders address their differences though peaceful means,” spokesperson Stephane Durjarric told VOA. “We have also seen the reports and are very much aware that the Haitian National Police is investigating 23 individuals arrested over the weekend for allegedly plotting a coup. We are waiting and are interested in seeing the results of what that investigation is,” Dujarric said. Port-au Prince was calm Monday, according to VOA Creole reporters, who said most businesses and the Supreme Court were closed. Jean Samuel Pierre in Port-au-Prince, Cindy Saine at the State contributed to this report.
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Biden, Modi Commit to Fighting COVID, Climate Change
U.S. President Joe Biden and his Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, spoke Monday to discuss their commitment to fighting the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.The two leaders made no mention of ongoing protests by farmers in India, which have dominated the Indian news cycle for months, according to a readout of the call from the White House.“The United States and India will work closely together to win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, renew their partnership on climate change, rebuild the global economy in a way that benefits the people of both countries, and stand together against the scourge of global terrorism,” according to the White House readout of the call.“We discussed regional issues and our shared priorities,” Modi wrote on Twitter after the call.Spoke to @POTUS@JoeBiden and conveyed my best wishes for his success. We discussed regional issues and our shared priorities. We also agreed to further our co-operation against climate change.— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 8, 2021According to the White House, Modi welcomed calls to collaborate on combatting climate change and agreed to participate in a climate summit Biden will host in April.But India, the third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide after China and the United States, has argued that, as a developing country, it should not be subject to the same rules as richer countries.The United States and India had close ties under the previous U.S. administration. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, visited India in February 2020. Trump’s White House saw New Delhi as an ally in its hard-line stance against China.
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At Least 12 UN Peacekeepers Killed in 2020 in Line of Duty
Twelve United Nations personnel and three civilian staff members were killed in the line of duty in 2020, bringing the total number of deaths over the last decade to 440, according to findings of the Standing Committee for the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service of the United Nations Staff Union. In a press release Monday, the organization said the deliberate killings involved the use of improvised explosive devices and other weapons, targeted assassinations and suicide attacks. “We learn time and time again of the many colleagues serving around the world in the most dangerous places who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the United Nations flag,” said Patricia Nemeth, president of the U.N. Staff Union. Four of those killed were from Burundi, and three were from Chad. Three other peacekeepers who died were Egyptian citizens, one Indonesian and a Rwandan. The civilians killed were from the Central African Republic, Myanmar and Syria. The organization said the Indonesian casualty was serving with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and died in an armed ambush. In Syria, armed violence led to the death of a science teacher working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), while a staff driver for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Myanmar was killed in an attack while delivering COVID-19 samples. ‘Depth of sacrifice’Over the years, the U.N. has recorded numerous deaths of its staff in the field who were trying to ease the burden of people living in some of the most troublesome parts of the world. The highest number of deaths occurred in 2017 with 71 killings, followed closely with 61 personnel deaths in 2014. While the killings in 2020 pale against the 2019 total of 28 deaths, Nemeth said the deaths are sacrifices that are hard to come to terms with. “Even though we may not be directly affected by the wars raging around the globe, some of us may not fully comprehend the depth of sacrifice that is being made in our name,” she said. Suspects on trialNot all perpetrators have escaped the consequences of their crimes. So far, one suspect, 76-year-old Mahmoud Bazzi, who kidnapped and killed two Irish peacekeepers in the 1980s, was sentenced to 15 years. Also, the trial of Congolese militia leader Trésor Mputu Kankonde began in October 2020 for the 2017 murders of U.N. experts Zaida Catalan of Sweden, Michael Sharp of the United States and their interpreter, Betu Tshintela. Nemeth urged stakeholders to take a firmer stance against perpetrators of these killings. “There comes a point when we have to say, ‘enough is enough,’” she said. “We don’t see any other choice but to continue calling on the United Nations and the member states to enhance the security measures to protect the lives of our colleagues.” Additionally, the organization challenged the U.N. and member states to increase resources to civilian, military and police personnel on the front lines. The efforts and memories of the lost souls “will not be forgotten as they rest in the sacred and blessed grounds, marking their devotion to humankind around the world,” Nemeth noted.
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Pandemic Handling Gets Mixed Reviews Across US, Europe
Public opinion is mixed on how well Western governments have handled the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center, which also questioned people on their attitudes regarding compulsory vaccinations.Seventy-seven percent of Germans thought their government did a good job in handling the outbreak, while 58% of Americans say the U.S. government is doing a bad job.More than 4,000 adults were questioned in the United States, Britain, France and Germany.The survey was conducted in November and December 2020, before U.S. President Joe Biden took office in mid-January and just as vaccination programs were beginning to roll out in the United States and Britain.The European Union has been far slower in getting its vaccination programs under way, leading to some criticism of the bloc’s vaccine approval and procurement policy among EU citizens.An elderly visitor receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Cent Quatre cultural center in Paris, France, Feb. 1, 2021.France and other EU states have argued the process must not be rushed, fearing a loss of public trust. France has one of the highest levels of so-called “vaccine skepticism” in the world.A recent newspaper poll suggested that just over 40% of the adult population intend to get the coronavirus vaccine. French President Emmanuel Macron recently rejected calls for mandatory vaccines.The Pew survey questioned respondents on their attitudes to compulsory vaccinations.“In three of the countries where we asked that question, most people do not find that an acceptable idea,” report co-author Kat Devlin told VOA. “So, for instance, 75% in France do not like the idea of a government-mandated vaccine. The U.K. was the one country where we found more acceptance of the idea of a government-mandated vaccine — 62% find that an acceptable proposition.”Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
download this video to view it offline.Download File360p | 9 MB480p | 13 MB540p | 17 MB720p | 32 MB1080p | 71 MBOriginal | 224 MB Embed” />Copy Download AudioThe vaccination program is accelerating in Britain, with over 12 million people having now received their first dose. Britain has also suffered the highest number of coronavirus deaths in Europe.Analysts say local elections scheduled for May will offer another measure of public approval for the British government’s handling of the pandemic.
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Last US Vote Certified; New York Republican Elected to Congress
Democratic U.S. Rep. Anthony Brindisi conceded Monday that it was “time to close the book on this election,” hours after New York officials certified Republican Claudia Tenney’s razor-thin victory in the nation’s last undecided congressional race. Brindisi’s statement came three days after a state judge ruled that Tenney won the race for central New York’s 22nd Congressional District by 109 votes. Brindisi said he congratulated Tenney and offered to make the transition as smooth as possible after several months of legal wrangling over the results. “It has been the honor of a lifetime serving my hometown, the place I grew up and am raising my family,” Brindisi said in a prepared statement. “Unfortunately, this election and counting process was riddled with errors, inconsistencies and systematic violations of state and federal election laws.” FILE – Anthony Brindisi speaks to supporters on election night at the Delta Hotel in Utica, N.Y., Nov. 6, 2018.Judge Scott DelConte on Friday directed New York to certify results immediately. Commissioners with the state Board of Elections approved the results Monday in less than two minutes. Tenney had been the district’s representative for one term, until she was defeated by Brindisi in 2018. “Claudia looks forward to serving her constituents once again as their duly-elected representative in Congress,” campaign spokesperson Nick Stewart said in a prepared statement. DelConte’s ruling came after he spent three months reviewing ballot challenges and trying to fix a series of problems with vote tabulations. Tallies shifted as county election officials counted a flood of absentee ballots and courts weighed in on which challenged ballots could be counted. DelConte rejected an argument by Brindisi’s lawyers that certification of the election results should be delayed until an appeals court had a chance to review the case. The judge said that even if the results end up changing after any litigation, New York could simply amend its certification. The judge said only the U.S. House can order a new election or recount at this point. “Sadly, we may never know how many legal voters were turned away at the polls or ballots not counted due to the ineptitude of the Boards of Election, especially in Oneida County,” said Brindisi, hoping there will be an investigation into the “massive disenfranchisement of voters.” Democrats control the House with 221 seats. With Tenney yet to be sworn in, Republicans held 210 seats following the death on Sunday of U.S. Rep. Ron Wright of Texas, according to the House’s website.
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Myanmar Anti-Coup Protests Continue
Tens of thousands of people in Myanmar continue to protest a military coup and to demand the release of the country’s democratically elected leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Amid escalating confrontations, police have warned they may resort to live ammunition rounds, as VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports.
Produced by: Arash Arabasadi
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