A police helicopter hovered over the National Unity Platform (NUP) party headquarters in Kampala Tuesday morning. Outside the offices, several police trucks were parked, supported by military police.
Over the noise, musician turned politician Robert Kyagulanyi, better known as Bobi Wine, called on Ugandans to take to the streets to protest January’s election results and what he calls the oppressive government of President Yoweri Museveni.
Wine started by highlighting human rights violations and election irregularities before, during and after the January 14 vote.
He said these include arrests and detention of NUP members, torture and brutality used against arrested Ugandans, and the refusal by the Supreme Court to accept over 200 affidavits which Wine says contained critical evidence to prove election fraud against Museveni.
It is for these reasons that Wine called on Ugandans to come out and protest.
“I call upon you to rise up peacefully, unarmed and demonstrate against a regime that has oppressed us,” he said to applause. “They’ve oppressed us, exploited us and turned into slaves in our own country. The women, whose sons are missing, the Ugandans who voted and your results were short-changed, come out and peacefully demonstrate against that impunity,” he said.
Next to Wine, as he addressed the media, were stacks of files he says were declaration forms proving he won the election. According to Wine, the forms show the NUP won the election with 54% of the vote, compared to the 35% allocated to him by the Electoral Commission.
In addition to the alleged election fraud, Wine said the protests will be premised on three key demands.
“We demand that General Museveni immediately puts an end to the abduction and kidnap of our people who are taken away every day. We demand that General Museveni releases all political prisoners with immediate effect. And finally, we are demanding that General Museveni immediately stops trying civilians in military courts,” Wine said.
In response to the call for protests, police have put all officers on standby telling them to enhance their visibility, enforce an ongoing curfew and set up checkpoints to monitor people’s movements, especially the youth.
Lucas Owoyesigire, the Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson, said the gatherings would be illegal and that its participants would be dealt with appropriately.
“The organizers of these illegal demonstrations are mobilizing the public using social media and leaflets with wordings that read, “Time is now, join the nationwide protests.” We will not at any time hesitate to arrest and charge in courts of law anyone who will be found participating in these illegal activities,” Owoyesigire said.
Political analyst Godber Tumushabe says Wine’s call is the right way to go, given that supporters of Museveni are, in his view, rationalizing the criminality being perpetuated by the government.
“I find it outrageous that you can have a regime kidnapping people, torturing people, killing people and then all of us Ugandans are quiet. We are only sending out more less like silent voices of approval,” Tumushabe said.
Last week, Museveni said he would consider the release of 50 suspects out of the 177 in detention. However, the NUP says 423 of their members are still missing and only 89 are acknowledged by the government to be in its custody.
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Month: March 2021
Black Lives Matter Movement Brings Change to Europe’s Schools
After the Black Lives Matter protests in both North America and Europe last year, there has been an ongoing push to include more black history into school curricula in Britain and elsewhere in Europe. But despite Europe’s complicated past of slavery and colonization, some complain that much is missing from the school program. Last year’s Black Lives Matter movement in the United States also sparked mass protests in many European countries. While the protests have ended, there is an ongoing push for change behind the scenes.Lavinya Stennett is the founder of the Black Curriculum, a group in Britain whose aim is to have Black history taught year ‘round, not only in October when Britain marks Black History Month. British City Officials Remove Black Lives Matter Protest Statue Artist’s tribute was placed in Bristol without permission on pedestal where slave trader statue stood She says that except for a little on slavery, Black history was not something she learned in school. Stennett says she has seen a huge increase in interest from schools that want to work with her organization since the Black Lives Matter protests. “Before when we were running the organization, there would be opportunities for us to work with schools, but it kind of seemed like the only schools that were doing it were the ones that were already during this kind of work, right,” said Stennett. “So I think after that Black Lives Matter, what we saw was just an outpouring of all different types of schools from across the country, rural areas as well, who understood that point that they could not progress without going forward with this.”Britain, after establishing dominance over many black people over the centuries, still hasn’t included Black history as mandatory in its schools. France has a similar program going, but some complain the process of introducing Black history in schools has been slow. Maboula Soumahoro, a French scholar in African studies says the only black history she was taught at a school was while she was studying in the United States. Part of the problem, she says, is that France does not officially recognize racial identities. She hopes things will be different in the future. “There will be changes because the demography is evolving, because the protest is growing more accepted by the mainstream” said Soumahoro. “And there will be more public conversations needed and also a need for the evolution of the institutions including school curricula. So yes, there will be change, but it’s going to be long and difficult.”Despite a 2001 law requiring slavery to be discussed in French schoolbooks, advocates say the impact was minimal because the role of France in its African colonies was mostly overlooked.They point to how schools in Germany – which in 1904 carried out the first genocide of the 20th century in what is now Namibia – rarely mention that history. Amarachi Adannaya Igboegwu is a doctoral student whose focus is on preparing teachers for working in classrooms where students are of diverse backgrounds – something that is becoming more common in Germany. She thinks it is important that teachers themselves are educated before they can teach parts of history that have been ignored in the past.”We have to recognize that Germany is a very diverse country, right. And how to identify, you know, implicit biases and how implicit biases can impact the teaching,” said Igboegwu. “The importance of critical self-reflection about their own history and personal narratives and how their background also impacts the way they teach.”Other European countries with histories of African colonization, slavery, and repression include Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Most initiatives to change the curriculum in Europe to include Black history in a more critical way have come from organizations and individuals pushing for change and inclusion.
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British Royals Say Race Issues Will Be Addressed ‘Privately’
Buckingham Palace said Tuesday the British royal family is “saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the past few years have been” for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, popularly known as Harry and Meghan.Following a widely publicized CBS interview Sunday with Oprah Winfrey, in which issues of race, family dynamics and suicidal thoughts were raised, a Buckingham Palace statement issued on behalf of Queen Elizabeth said, “While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”The statement, published on Twitter, also said the couple and their son Archie will always be “much loved family members.”The statement comes after Markle, who is biracial, said a member of the family raised concerns over “how dark” Archie would be. The former actress is now pregnant with her second child.In February, the palace announced the duke and duchess would not return as working royals, almost a year after it was announced that they would be stepping down from their duties as working members of the royal family. The couple moved to North America later that year. They currently reside in California.Tuesday marks the first time the royal family has publicly responded to the issues raised in the Sunday interview.
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With Its Sputnik Vaccine Going Global, Russian Soft Power Is on Display
With the Kremlin cutting deals to ship its Sputnik V vaccine to countries struggling to combat the coronavirus, Russian soft power is on display. Yet the global outreach campaign is happening amid signs the government is struggling to inoculate its own population at home. For VOA from Moscow, Charles Maynes reports.Camera: Ricardo Marquina
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Myanmar Detainees Get Deportation Reprieve from Malaysia
A Malaysian court on Tuesday agreed to let rights groups challenge the government’s plans to send detained Myanmar nationals home, where the United Nations says at least 50 people have been shot and killed in recent protests against a military coup.Malaysia sent 1,086 Myanmar nationals home on February 23, hours after the Kuala Lumpur High Court ordered a stay on deporting a group of 1,200.Rights groups Amnesty International and Asylum Access asked for the stay the day before, concerned that refugees and asylum-seekers may be among the group and that sending them back would put their lives at risk.Tuesday’s new ruling by the High Court grants an indefinite reprieve for the 114 Myanmar nationals among the original 1,200 who have yet to be deported.Brian Yap, a research consultant for Amnesty International Malaysia, said Tuesday’s decision means the 114 will stay in Malaysia at least until a judicial review of the government’s deportation plans runs its course.“In other words the government cannot deport these Myanmar nationals until the KL High Court has decided on this judicial review, which can take a few months or more,” he said. “There’s no exact date.”Malaysia Rights Groups Demand Explanation for Deportation of Myanmar Migrants More than 1,000 Myanmar nationals sent back home hours after high court ordered a stay pending appeal by human rights groups The rights groups are not sure who the 114 people are, or even whether that’s the right number, as the Malaysian government has not granted the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees access to its immigration depots since August 2019. But they believe at least six refugees registered with the U.N. and dozens more asylum-seekers may be among them, based on names they’ve been provided by the Myanmar community in Malaysia.Yap said the rights groups will be asking for the full name and age of each of the 1,200, along with details on exactly why each of them was detained and where the 114 still in Malaysia are being held.Malaysia’s Ministry of Home Affairs referred questions about the case to an assistant director in the immigration department who could not be reached. An email to the department requesting comment went unanswered.Asylum Access Malaysia Director Tham Hui Ying welcomed the court decision and said it could also prove a watershed for the country, which does not officially recognize refugees but lumps them together with illegal immigrants.“What’s really important for us was that … the judge acknowledged that this was a matter of public interest and that this is not a frivolous case and that NGOs have standing in situations such as this to … challenge the actions of the government,” she said.“This decision allows us to challenge other potential deportations or attempts by the government to deport people,” she added.Tham said rights groups believe Malaysia is holding at least 3,000 more Myanmar nationals across the country and worry there may also be refugees and asylum-seekers among them at risk of being deported to a country in the grips of a bloody military takeover.Myanmar’s military toppled the country’s democratically elected government on February 1 after rounding up the top ranks of the ruling National League for Democracy, including de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The military claims, without evidence, that a 2020 general election the NLD won was riddled with fraud.Since the putsch, hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets and gone on strike across Myanmar to demand that the military restore the country’s elected government. Police and soldiers have met the protests with tear gas, rubber bullets and live rounds. A local rights group says authorities have also arrested hundreds of additional protesters, activists and journalists both during the day and on nightly home raids.Yap said Malaysia should take humanitarian and other conditions into account when deciding who to deport and hoped that Tuesday’s court decision will nudge the government to do so.“This decision, it doesn’t mean that the government cannot deport anyone at all,” said Yap.“It simply means that if there are grounds that this person cannot be deported then the government should not deport, and I think that’s really the whole basis of this challenge. It’s not a blanket challenge against all government authority to deport people,” he added. “But there are very specific circumstances where you shouldn’t deport.”A spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Malaysia said the agency also welcomed Tuesday’s court ruling and was still urging the government to let it meet with detainees.“We remain concerned that there may be refugees and individuals in need of international protection among those detained and facing possible deportation, and are currently seeking clarification from Malaysian authorities on the matter,” said Yante Ismail.“As a matter of urgency we have asked the authorities that all individuals in need of international protection should not be deported to a situation where their lives or freedoms may be at risk.”While Malaysia does not officially recognize refugees, it has typically allowed the U.N. to issue them cards meant to grant them some protection from being arbitrarily deported.Of the nearly 179,000 refugees the UNHCR had registered in Malaysia as of December, 154,000 were from Myanmar.
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Second Official with Party of Ousted Myanmar De-Facto Leader Dies in Custody
A second official from ousted Myanmar de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy has died in custody as protests in defiance of the country’s new military government continue.Zaw Myat Lin died Tuesday after being arrested when trying to escape from a police raid in Yangon, according to reports from the Voice of Myanmar and other news outlets.A member of the upper house of parliament, which has been dissolved by the junta, Ba Myo Thein, said Zaw Myat Lin had been “participating continuously in the protests.”Zaw Myat Lin’s family was told to recover his body Tuesday but was not informed how he died, according to his friend and fellow activist Maung Saungkha.The first NLD official to die in custody was Khin Maung Latt, who had worked as a campaign manager for an NLD lawmaker, party lawmaker Sithu Maung confirmed to VOA’s Burmese service. He died after his arrest on Saturday night.Anti-coup protesters with makeshift shields walk to take positions in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 9, 2021.Tun Kyi, spokesperson of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), told VOA Burmese that he accompanied the bereaved family to claim Khin Maung Latt’s body on Sunday and witnessed blood on his head, his fingers blackened and wounds on his back.Human Rights Watch said Khin Maung Latt’s injuries were consistent with torture. The deaths of the two NLD officials while in custody raises questions about whether the government is torturing and murdering detained protesters.The police and military have not responded to media requests for comment on the deaths.During the protests in Yangon, a standoff between coup protesters and security forces in Myanmar’s largest city ended without further bloodshed.Witnesses in Yangon said as many as 200 young people were cornered in the Sanchaung neighborhood Monday night as they escaped the clutches of security forces that have carried out an increasingly bloody crackdown against the demonstrations.The army fired guns and stun grenades as the students fled into buildings and homes in the district and threatened to launch a door-to-door search for the youths.News of the youths spread quickly on social media, prompting thousands of people to fill the streets of Yangon in defiance of a nighttime curfew to demand that security forces end the siege, chanting “Free the students in Sanchaung.”The news also spread quickly outside of Myanmar’s borders, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “maximum restraint” and “the safe release of all without violence or arrests,” according to his spokesman.People carry an injured resident, who was shot with rubber bullets, as security force destroyed barricades erected by protesters against the military coup, in Yangon on March 9, 2021.The United Nations noted that many of those trapped were women who were peacefully marching in commemoration of International Women’s Day.The U.S. Embassy said in a statement, “We call on those security forces to withdraw and allow people to go home safely.”The students were able to leave shortly before dawn just hours after security forces left the area, but not before anywhere between 25 and 50 people had been arrested in Sanchaung after a house-to-house searchThe standoff happened as the junta revoked the licenses of five independent broadcasters – Mizzima News, the Democratic Voice of Burma, Khit Thit, Myanmar Now and 7Day News – that had been offering extensive coverage of the protests, especially through livestreaming video.Two journalists with independent Kamayut Media were arrested in Yangon as the military raided the offices of Mizzima News, witnesses said. Live video on social media also showed a nighttime raid on the offices of the Democratic Voice of BurmaIn addition to breaking up multiple protests in Yangon, police also fired stun grenades and tear gas at demonstrators in other towns across Myanmar.Myanmar has been consumed by chaos and violence since February 1, when the military overthrew the civilian government and detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking NLD officials. Military officials say widespread fraud occurred in last November’s election, which the NLD won in a landslide, a claim denied by Myanmar’s electoral commission.At least 50 people have been killed across Myanmar since the protests began, including at least two demonstrators Monday in the city of Myitkyina, the capital of northern Kachin State.VOA Burmese Service contributed to this report.
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US Climate Envoy in Brussels to Meet With EU Leaders
U.S. Special Envoy for Climate John Kerry was in Brussels Tuesday to discuss transatlantic cooperation with European Union (EU) officials and U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to rejoin the global climate change effort.
Speaking to reporters alongside EU climate chief Frans Timmermans, Kerry reiterated that climate is “one of the most important issues” that Biden’s “administration intends to deal with.”
Kerry said the climate summit scheduled for November of this year in Glasgow, Scotland “is the last, best opportunity that we have and the best hope that the world will come together and build on [the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference agreement reached in] Paris.”
Kerry said the Paris agreement did not go far enough, noting that if all the parties were doing everything in the Paris agreement — which they are not — the world would still see a warming of 3.7 degrees or more.
Biden had the U.S. rejoin the Paris climate accord in the first hours of his presidency, undoing the country’s withdrawal ordered by predecessor Donald Trump.
Kerry also met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and joined a weekly commission meeting on transatlantic climate action.
Before the meeting, von der Leyen referred to Kerry as “an old friend,” and described a phone conversation she had with Biden last week, in which, she said, the U.S. president told her the U.S. and the EU are working towards the common goal of becoming climate neutral, which she said was “music to my ears.”
The 2015 Paris climate change accord commits countries to put forward plans for reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, which is released from burning fossil fuels.
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Jury Selection Starts in Trial of Policeman Accused in George Floyd Death
Jury selection started Tuesday in the murder trial of former Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer Derek Chauvin, who is accused of killing a Black man, George Floyd, in an encounter that triggered months of protests throughout the world against police abuse of minorities.
The 44-year-old Chauvin, who is white, faces second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the death last May of the 46-year-old Floyd. He died in police custody after Chauvin pinned a knee on his neck for more than nine minutes as Floyd pleaded that he could not breathe.
Trial Judge Peter Cahill started the jury selection even though it remained unclear whether Chauvin would also face a third-degree murder charge. Prosecutors are asking the Minnesota Court of Appeals to put the trial on hold until the issue of adding the extra count is resolved.
But the appellate court did not immediately rule on that request. Cahill said, “Unless the Court of Appeals tells me otherwise, we’re going to keep moving” with the jury selection.
It could take as long as three weeks to pick 12 jurors and up to four alternates, with opening arguments in the case not expected to start before March 29. With coronavirus restrictions in place, the jurors will be seated two meters apart from each other in the courtroom.
Already, prospective jurors were mailed a 16-page questionnaire about the case, asking them about their views on policing, the criminal justice system and such advocacy movements as Black Lives Matter. The would-be jurors were asked to disclose everything they know about the widely publicized case, Floyd’s death, his nationally televised funeral and protests against police in the weeks that followed.
The questionnaire also asked prospective jurors whether they participated in the protests, and if they carried signs, what their messages said.
During the jury selection process, prosecutors and defense attorney Eric Nelson will closely question the jurors about their views of the case.
Cahill, a Hennepin County District Court judge, has sharply limited the number of people allowed in the courtroom for the trial, but because of the wide interest in the case, he has given Court TV the right to televise it, the first time a criminal trial in Minnesota will be broadcast in its entirety.Demonstrators gather outside the Hennepin County Government Center, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 8, 2021, ahead of the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin, accused in the death of George Floyd.Dozens of witnesses are expected to testify in the case, although it is not clear whether Chauvin, a 19-year veteran of the Minneapolis Police Department before he was fired after the May 25 incident, will take the witness stand in his defense.
The trial of three other dismissed Minneapolis police officers who were on the scene as Chauvin pinned down Floyd is not scheduled until August and could be canceled, and charges dropped, if Chauvin is acquitted.
Testimony in Chauvin’s case could last through most of April, with the jury not starting to decide the case until late in the month or early May.
Prosecutors will attempt to show that Chauvin used unreasonable restraint in holding down Floyd, who was suspected by a storekeeper of trying to pass a counterfeit $20 bill, and that Chauvin’s actions contributed directly to Floyd’s death. If convicted, Chauvin could face years in prison. The other three former officers in the case are facing charges of aiding and abetting manslaughter and murder.
Defense attorney Nelson has said that Chauvin is not guilty because he acted in self-defense in restraining Floyd and used reasonable and authorized force as a police officer.
In addition, Nelson is set to argue that Floyd died from drugs found in his body and other underlying health problems, including heart disease.
Hennepin County Medical Examiner Andrew Baker formally declared Floyd’s death a homicide, saying that neck compression was a key factor. But the medical examiner also listed heart disease, fentanyl intoxication, recent methamphetamine use and Floyd’s bout with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, as other “significant conditions.”
Baker is likely to be a key witness at the trial, as could Darnella Frazier, the 17-year-old who filmed Chauvin and the other officers as they restrained Floyd. Prosecutors have listed more than 300 possible witnesses, while the defense has listed 200 people it might call to testify.
Heavy security is in place around the courthouse in Minneapolis. Dozens of community activists have staged marches and peaceful protests in the lead-up to the trial, with vigils planned outside the courthouse during the proceedings.
About 2,000 National Guard troops have been called in to join at least 1,100 law enforcement officers from throughout the Minneapolis area to guard the courthouse and deter any unrest.
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In South Korea, UBI is Having a Moment Amid the Pandemic
The idea of universal basic income, where every citizen receives a regular amount of money from the government, has long been considered a fringe or radical idea in South Korea. The coronavirus pandemic may be changing that, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul.Contributer: Kim Hyungjin, Producer: Marcus Harton
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Senegalese Women Join Nationwide Protests
Violent protests erupted in Senegal over the past week, sparked by the arrest of opposition leader Ousmane Sonko on a rape charge he says is politically motivated. But for Senegalese women who endure high levels of domestic violence, the protests are also about showing solidarity for victims of sexual abuse.Hundreds of women dressed in white gathered in Dakar Monday to express their frustrations with the government and to show support for sexual abuse victims. Senegalese’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, charged with rape, gestures as he talks to media at his party’s headquarters in Dakar on March 8, 2021 after being freed from detention.The event was just one of many protests that have taken place over the last week, since the arrest of the country’s main opposition leader Ousmane Sonko, who is accused of raping a masseuse. He was freed on bail Monday. FILE – Senegal’s President Macky Sall attends The Paris Peace Forum at The Elysee Palace in Paris on Nov. 12, 2020.Senegalese President Macky Sall has been accused of arresting other political rivals on false charges since he took office in 2012. Many fear he will try to violate the constitution and seek a third term in elections this year. Sall denies that Sonko’s arrest was politically motivated.
Katouch Diop is an actress who attended the protest. She identifies as apolitical and doesn’t support Macky Sall or Ousmane Sonko. She attended the protest to fight for democracy and for the rights of victims of sexual abuse. She says the accuser is a woman, first and foremost. “When you’re a victim of rape, you have the right to be heard and for it to not be politicized, because the problem is, if it did not happen, then all the women who have endured abuse, they’re screwed,” she said. All she asks is that justice is served and that people listen to the accuser. Protesters gather at Place of the Nation during a protest in Dakar on March 8, 2021, after the country’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko was charged with rape.The sometimes violent clashes between protesters and security forces have shaken a nation known for its culture of peace and touted for its stable democracy. At least eight people have died, some at the hands of armed security forces, according to Amnesty International. Several businesses have been looted. French grocery chain Auchan — which many protesters view as a vestige of French colonialism — has been a prime target. Houreye Thiam helped organize the women’s protest. She says the women are mobilized so that they can fight for justice. But they must also respect the peace, which they strongly need, she says. The unrest has continued despite Sonko’s release. The predominantly male protesters are now venting their frustrations over unemployment, police violence and the economic toll of a COVID-19 curfew at 9 p.m. local time. On Tuesday the government pushed the start of the curfew to midnight, with it ending at 5 a.m. Meanwhile, the woman accusing Sonko of rape has been disparaged on social media. Female protesters are hoping to hear more calls for an end to a culture of victim shaming. DIatou Sonko, a volunteer with Jgen, a women’s rights organization, says that every time a girl accuses someone of rape, people ask what she was wearing. So, this dissuades victims from reporting. They think that if they report it, their name will be dragged through the mud, she says.Until last year, rape was only considered a misdemeanor in Senegal.
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Kenya Donkey Keepers Protect Animals from Slaughter for Medicine
In large parts of Africa, including Kenya, the humble donkey has been under threat from poaching for allegedly magic potions. To discourage thieves, Kenya last year banned donkey slaughterhouses and this month is holding its first donkey festival to encourage their protection.In Magadi, Kenya, donkey keepers are celebrating their animals at a special festival. The donkey, they say, is the workhorse of their community. Pilores Maberi, a resident of Magadi, has been keeping donkeys for a year now.”A donkey is the Masai people’s car. We carry heavy loads in Magadi. We go to sell feed for our children, carry water. The donkey has a lot of work at home,” she said.FIEL – A man rides his donkey cart with jerrycans of fresh water in Athi River, on the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, April 19, 2018.Thousands of donkeys, many of them stolen, were slaughtered here to be used in allegedly magic potions sold in China, until the Kenyan government banned donkey abattoirs in February of last year.Residents like Pilores say they can now keep their donkeys without fear.”I see we are OK. They are not stealing our donkeys. Those who don’t have, we buy for them, we tell people to buy donkeys because there is no more slaughtering,” she said.The chairman of the Donkey Owners Association in Magadi, Jackson Kupere, said the number of donkeys is climbing again after so many were lost to the slaughterhouses.”Donkeys were finished, but they stopped the selling of donkeys for slaughter. Now the donkeys are increasing. If you do the math, the donkeys were just about 100 to 200 in this whole community but now they have increased to about 1,000, they have increased a lot,” he said.Leaders in this community are teaching residents how to protect their donkeys from thieves. Daniel Lonkoi is the Magadi area senior chief.”We are meeting with stakeholders — chiefs, village elders and other opinion leaders — so that we as a community, we avoid selling and even slaughtering donkeys,” he said.Animal welfare organizations in Africa are partnering with donkey keepers on how to be vigilant against donkey abductions. Josiah Ojwang, the program coordinator for Africa Network for Animal Welfare, tells us how.”We are working with them so that they are able to form scouts, we call them community scouts, so that they are able to track, keep monitoring donkey movement on a daily basis and also report incidents of donkey theft to the authorities. So it’s a program known as community capacity building for resilience on donkey welfare,” he said.The donkey population in Kenya dropped from 1.8 million to 1.6 million according to a survey by the Kenya agriculture and livestock research organization in 2019.With protection measures in place, donkey keepers hope to restore the animal’s numbers soon.
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Myanmar Junta Continues Brutal Crackdown on Protesters
It has been more than five weeks since Myanmar’s military took full control of the Southeast Asia nation, removing the democratically elected government, in a move that has sparked nationwide anti-coup protests.Tens of thousands of citizens have taken to the streets in demonstrations that have included widespread strikes from the professional class aiming to stifle the rule of the junta government, officially the State Administrative Council (SAC).But despite street rallies that have become a daily occurrence, the military has ramped up efforts to silence demonstrators by aggressively responding with live ammunition to quell protests. Dozens have died, including members of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi.Anti-coup demonstrators sprays fire extinguishers over a barricade during a protests in Yangon, Myanmar, March 9, 2021.“Myanmar’s junta runs the security forces and can quickly find out who killed Khin Maung Latt if they want to. If they want to show they believe in the rule of law, all those responsible should be held account,” Brian Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch said.In response to the coup last month, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) was formed, representing the elected lawmakers of the ousted NLD party. After refusing to recognize the military, they have since notified diplomats and international parliaments they should liaise with the committee on government matters. Arkar Myo Htet admitted as the brutal crackdown continues in Myanmar, like many other NLD members, he could be next.“I stay hiding already. I have to move every three days. Over 100 NLD MP’s are already in jail,” he said.But despite the risk he faces, he believes the people of Myanmar are not afraid to protest the military, unlike previous revolutions.“When they threat in 1988 and 2007, the people did not have, did not feel the freedom. After five years of NLD government, people feel what the meaning is of democracy, why we need democracy,” he added.But the military has stepped up their efforts to detain opposition members, legislator Sithu Maung added, saying that on Sunday evening his father had also been arrested.”My father Peter (from) Hlaing Township, NLD party member has been arrested by soldiers and police,” part of his post on Facebook read.He now waits anxiously on the fate of his father, just like many families who have had loved ones detained with little update on their condition. The AAPPB reported that 1,857 have been detained with 1,538 still in detention or have faced charges since the coup began.Protesters in Myanmar Demand Security Forces Release Trapped YouthsUN and US urge restraint against youths barricaded inside residential apartmentsMyanmar, also known as Burma, was ruled by armed forces from 1962 until 2011 when democratic reforms led by Aung San Suu Kyi ended the military rule. In 2015, her NLD party won the country’s first open democratic election.In the general elections in November 2020, the military-backed opposition lost heavily to Suu Kyi’s democracy party. The opposition contested the results, claiming there was widespread electoral fraud.On February 1, the Myanmar military, also known as Tatmadaw, removed the NLD government.NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were detained and additionally charged. The military announced a one-year-long state of emergency with commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing taking power. He later announced a “free and fair general election” would be held.Zin Thu Aung contributed to this report.
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Australia Tales Action Against Myanmar Military
Australia has acted against Myanmar’s military in response to the country’s escalating violence following the toppling of the elected government.
Australia says it is gravely concerned about the repression of protests in Myanmar since the democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi was ousted by the military in early February. It has urged Myanmar security forces “to exercise restraint and refrain from violence against civilians.” Mass demonstrations have been held across the Southeast Asian country. The United Nations has said more than 50 people have been killed, so far. In response, Australia has cut defense programs in Myanmar and has said humanitarian aid would be directed to the people. “We have looked at the nature of the limited bilateral defense cooperation program we have had and that has been suspended,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne. “We have also looked at the development program and development support that we have provided and redirected that with an absolute focus on the immediate needs of some of the most vulnerable and poor in Myanmar, which is one of the poorest countries in ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations].” Payne said the decision was made after “extensive consultations with our international partners, particularly our ASEAN neighbors, Japan and India.” Canberra is also concerned for the safety of Sean Turnell, an Australian academic who has been a key economic aide to Myanmar’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. FILE – Sean Turnell discusses economic reforms by Myanmar’s NLD government at a seminar in Singapore, May 2018. (ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute/via Reuters)Her National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in an election last November with more than 80% of the vote. The military has detained Suu Kyi and Turnell for more than a month along with others. Myanmar, also known as Burma, became independent from Britain in 1948. It was controlled by a repressive military government from 1962 to 2011. A government effectively led by Suu Kyi came to power after elections in 2015.
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European Parliament Lifts Immunity of 3 Catalan Separatists
The European Parliament voted Tuesday to waive the immunity of the former head of Spain’s Catalonia region and two other separatists, raising the prospect they could be extradited to Spain to face sedition charges.
Carles Puigdemont and former cabinet members Toni Comin and Clara Ponsati have had immunity since winning seats in the European Parliament, and they plan to appeal Tuesday’s decision.
The Spanish government welcomed the European Parliament vote, saying the country’s matters should be settled internally.
Puigdemont and other separatists fled after a 2017 independence referendum for the Catalonia region. Puigdemont and Comin have been in self-imposed exile in Belgium, while Ponsati has been in Scotland.
Voters overwhelmingly approved the referendum, but the Spanish government called it illegal. A police crackdown injured hundreds of people in Catalonia.
In addition to sedition charges, Puigdemont and Comin are also facing charges of misusing public funds.
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Myanmar Protesters Cornered by Military in Attempt to Quash Dissent
A terrifying standoff between anti-coup protesters and security forces in Myanmar’s largest city ended early Tuesday morning without further bloodshed. Witnesses in Yangon said as many as 200 young people were cornered in the Sanchaung neighborhood Monday night as they escaped the clutches of security forces who have carried out an increasingly bloody crackdown against the demonstrations. The army fired guns and stun grenades as the students fled into buildings and homes in the district and threatened to launch a door-to-door search for the youths. People look at a police vehicle after Sanchaung district has been seized in search of anti-coup demonstrators in Yangon, Myanmar, March 8, 2021.News of the youths spread quickly on social media, prompting thousands of people to fill the streets of Yangon in defiance of a nighttime curfew to demand that security forces end the siege, chanting “Free the students in Sanchaung.” World reactionThe news also spread quickly outside of Myanmar’s borders, with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “maximum restraint” and “the safe release of all without violence or arrests,” according to his spokesman. The United Nations noted that many of those trapped are women who were peacefully marching in commemoration of International Women’s Day. The U.S. Embassy said in a statement, “We call on those security forces to withdraw and allow people to go home safely.” The diplomatic missions of Britain, Canada and the European Union also issued statements urging Myanmar security forces to allow the trapped people to return safely to their homes. The students were able to leave shortly before dawn just hours after security forces left the area, but not before anywhere between 25 and 50 people had been arrested in Sanchaung after a house-to-house search.Protesters take shelter behind homemade shields after tear gas was fired during a demonstration against the military coup in Yangon on March 8, 2021.The standoff happened as the junta revoked the licenses of five independent broadcasters — Mizzima, the Democratic Voice of Burma, Khit Thit, Myanmar Now and 7Day News — that had been offering extensive coverage of the protests, especially through livestreaming video. Myanmar has been consumed by chaos and violence since February 1, when the military overthrew the civilian government and detained de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other high-ranking NLD officials. Military officials say widespread fraud occurred in last November’s election, which the NLD won in a landslide, a claim denied by Myanmar’s electoral commission. Mounting casualties
At least 50 people have been killed across Myanmar since the protests began, including at least two demonstrators Monday in the city of Myitkyina, the capital of northern Kachin State. Photos taken by reporters with VOA’s Burmese service depict gunshot victims lying in the street in a pool of blood, some being attended to by emergency personnel. Another photo showed a woman being helped to her feet after suffering a gruesome arm injury. Reuters reported another person was killed at a protest in the town of Phyar Pon in the Irrawaddy Delta, citing a political activist and local media. In addition to Yangon, protests took place Monday in several cities in Myanmar, including the country’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, the capital, Naypyitaw, and the western town of Monywa. Riot police holding shields and guns march towards a gate of the Mandalay Technological University in Mandalay, Myanmar, March 7, 2021, in this still image obtained by Reuters from a CCTV footage.Protesters waved flags made from women’s sarongs or strung them on ropes across the roads to mark International Women’s Day. The sarongs were also meant to shame the police and military, as walking underneath them is traditionally considered bad luck. Riot police stand in formation in front of road barricade, as protesters hang women’s clothings overhead to mark the International Women’s Day in Yangon, Myanmar, March 8, 2021.Many businesses were closed across Yangon on Monday after an alliance of nine trade unions launched a general strike to back the anti-coup movement and pressure members of the military junta. Strikes by civil servants, including those operating trains in the country, have taken place for weeks. The calls to shut down the economy came Sunday after another bloody day between the protesters and the police and military, who are occupying hospitals in the main city of Yangon. The United Nations said Monday that the occupation of hospitals by security forces is “completely unacceptable.” A U.N. team in Myanmar said, “hospitals are, and must remain, places of sanctuary and unequivocal neutrality — to ensure that patients undergoing medical care are safe,” according to U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. An official from ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for (NLD) Democracy Party died in police custody, a party official confirmed to VOA’s Burmese service. People attend a funeral of U Khin Maung Latt, 58, National League for Democracy (NLD party member in Yangon, Myanmar, March 7, 2021.NLD member Khin Maung Latt was arrested during overnight raids in Yangon Saturday and died while in detention, party lawmaker Sithu Maung said. A cause of death was not released. Tun Kyi, spokesperson of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), told VOA Burmese that he accompanied the bereaved family to claim Khin Maung Latt’s body and witnessed blood on his head, his fingers blackened and wounds on his back.Police have not commented on the matter.
The AAPP advocacy group said Saturday that more than 1,700 people had been detained under the junta. Several journalists are among the detainees. VOA Burmese Service contributed to this report.
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Students and Schools still Grappling with Impact of COVID-19 in US
One year after many universities and colleges in the United States shut their doors and transitioned to virtual learning in response to COVID-19, the ripple effect continues to impact higher education. VOA’s Jesusemen Oni has more.
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Burundi to Release Thousands of Inmates to Ease Overcrowding
Burundi is set to release thousands of inmates to ease overcrowding in the east African nation’s prisons. Some 5,255 prisoners or roughly 40 percent of the prison population will be set free, according to a decree seen by the Agency France-Press. President Evariste Ndayishimiye reportedly said the clemency was a necessary step to reduce overcrowding and improve conditions. The AFP says inmates serving up to five years qualify for the presidential pardon, with the exception of those considered a risk to national security. Inmates serving time for corruption will be freed on the condition they pay back misused funds, including damages and court costs. The pending release of the inmates comes a little more than two months after President Ndayishimiye signed a decree freeing four journalists in a highly publicized move after making promises to ease restrictive tactics by his predecessor’s administration.
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Members of ‘Quad’ Nations to Meet Virtually Later This Week
Leaders of the United States, Japan, Australia and India will hold a virtual summit later this week under their informal diplomatic framework. Anonymous sources in Japan told news outlets that U.S. President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will likely hold talks as early as Friday.Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during a ceremony in Kutch district in western India, Dec. 15, 2020, in this handout photograph released by the Indian Press Information Bureau.The expected summit would be the first time the leaders of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, will meet since its formation in 2007. The Quad is considered to be a counterweight to China’s increasingly aggressive actions throughout the Asia-Pacific region; Beijing has denounced the Quad as an attempt to contain its development. The four-way meeting will take place just days before U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will visit Japan and South Korea. The trip will be the first overseas mission by Biden administration officials since President Biden’s inauguration on January 20.
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Nigerian Media: Gunmen Demand Ransom for Kidnapped Niece of Gov’t Minister
Gunmen are demanding more than $13,000 in ransom after kidnapping a niece of Nigerian Minister of Women Affairs Pauline Talen, according to a relative. Media reports, including the Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust, say the young victim was abducted at Rantiya Lowcost in Jos South LGA in Plateau State. The newspaper says a relative confirmed she was taken early Monday morning while everyone was asleep. The relative reportedly told the Daily Trust the abductors left the victim’s mother behind. Police have, so far, not commented on the incident. The victim, identified as Dapit Karen, was abducted at Rantiya Lowcost in Jos South Local Government Area of Plateau State. The abduction was confirmed by a relative to the victim. The relative, speaking to Daily Trust, said the gunmen stormed the residence around 5 am while they were asleep. He said the kidnappers only went away with the young lady and left behind the victim’s mother who was with her. The family member further revealed that the kidnappers had called after demanding N5m naira ransom. Spokesman of the Plateau Police Command, Ubah Gabriel, could not give details on the incident as at time of filling report.
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US Journalist Arrested During Protest on Trial
A court in the U.S. state of Iowa will hear arguments Tuesday on the second day of a trial of a journalist arrested while covering a Black Lives Matter protest in the city of Des Moines last May. Andrea Sahouri, a reporter for The Des Moines Register, was pepper-sprayed and briefly detained after police and protesters clashed during the protest over the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At the time, Sahouri was with her then-boyfriend, Spenser Robnett, who faces the same charges of failure to disperse and interference with official acts. A defense lawyer told jurors Monday that Sahouri was wrongly arrested while doing her job as a journalist. During the May 31 protest, some protesters threw water bottles and rocks at police. Some also broke store windows and vandalized a retail store. Officer Luke Wilson said Monday that Sahouri did not leave the area when he repeatedly used tear gas to disperse the crowd, and that he did not know she was a reporter. If convicted, Sahouri could face a $600 fine and up to 30 days in jail on each charge, although the Associated Press reported such jail time would be unusual. The case has attracted the attention of human rights and press freedom advocates, journalism schools and media companies who have asked authorities to drop the charges because, they say, Sahouri was just performing the work of a reporter. “That this trial is happening at all is a violation of free press rights and a miscarriage of justice,” The Des Moines Register’s editorial board wrote in an editorial. Officials have maintained that journalists do not have the right to ignore dispersal orders from police, adding that a similar order had been given 90 minutes earlier. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, which tracks “press freedom violations,” said it was unaware of a trial of a working journalist in the United States since 2018. The group said more than 125 reporters were detained during the nationwide civil unrest in 2020. Of those, 13, including Sahouri, still could face prosecution.
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US Denounces Russian ‘Disinformation’ Over COVID-19 Vaccines
The United States denounced Monday what it called a Russian disinformation campaign against U.S.-made COVID-19 vaccines, saying Moscow was putting lives at risk. The Global Engagement Center, an arm of the State Department whose activities include monitoring foreign propaganda, said that Russian intelligence was behind four online platforms involved in a campaign. The sites have “included disinformation about two of the vaccines that have now been approved by the FDA in this country,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters, referring to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. “It is very clear that Russia is up to its old tricks, and in doing so is potentially putting people at risk by spreading disinformation about vaccines that we know to be saving lives every day,” Price said.A medical specialist holds a vial of Sputnik V vaccine against the coronavirus in a department store in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 2, 2021.The Wall Street Journal first reported on the Global Engagement Center’s findings, which said that the websites played up risks of the U.S.-made Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines in an apparent bid to boost Russia’s homegrown Sputnik V. In an assessment provided last year to AFP, the Global Engagement Center said that thousands of Russian-linked social media accounts have run a coordinated campaign to undermine official narratives on COVID-19 including by spreading allegations of U.S. involvement. The center found that China briefly made a similar effort but ultimately decided it made more traction by highlighting Beijing’s own efforts. U.S. intelligence has long suspected Russia in disinformation campaigns on health, including spreading the myth in the 1980s that U.S. scientists created the HIV virus that causes AIDS.
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Death Toll Soars to 98 From Equatorial Guinea Explosions
The death toll from a series of explosions in a military barracks in Equatorial Guinea has risen to 98, the health ministry said Monday after volunteers searched the rubble for bodies. At least 615 people were injured in the Sunday blasts, which started with a fire at the Nkoantoma Military Base in the coastal city of Bata, according to the defense ministry. Citing Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the health ministry put the death toll at 98, more than triple an earlier estimate of 31 killed. Of the wounded, 299 remained hospitalized, the ministry wrote on Twitter. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the vice president’s father, has attributed the accident to negligence related to the handling of dynamite and said the explosions damaged almost all homes and buildings in Bata, a city of just more than 250,000 people. Equatorial Guinea’s health ministry posted on Twitter that it had prepared a mental health brigade made up of psychiatrists, psychologists and nurses to attend to the victims of the blast. “The damages are not only physical but also mental,” the ministry said. Images published by local media showed bodies wrapped in sheets and lined up on the side of a road, with children being pulled from piles of broken concrete and twisted metal. Television station TVGE showed the vice president visiting a hospital where victims were being treated Monday. The blasts come as Equatorial Guinea, an oil producer, is suffering a double economic shock because of the coronavirus pandemic and a drop in the price of crude oil, which provides around three-fourths of state revenue. The former Spanish colony has been run by Obiang, Africa’s longest-serving leader, since 1979. The majority of the population of 1.4 million lives in poverty. The government has called for international support to help in the search and rescue effort and also in efforts to rebuild. “Following the devastating explosions in Bata yesterday… Spain will proceed with the immediate dispatch of a shipment of humanitarian aid,” Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya wrote on Twitter.
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White House: US Stance on Taiwan Remains the Same
The administration of President Joe Biden is brushing off a fresh warning from China that is calling for a change of policy toward Taiwan.China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, says Washington needs to roll back what he termed the Trump administration’s “dangerous practice” of showing support for Taiwan — adding Beijing has “no room for compromise.”White House Press Secretary Jan Psaki, asked by VOA about the top diplomat’s warning, said the United States will maintain its long-standing commitments to Taipei.“And we will continue to assist Taiwan in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability. So, our position remains the same,” Psaki said.Biden has said he seeks a more civil relationship with China, but he has not rescinded Trump’s tough moves regarding technology, trade and human rights.
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Protesters in Myanmar Demand Security Forces Release Trapped Youths
Thousands of protesters took to the streets Monday in Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, in defiance of a nighttime curfew to demand that security forces stop their siege of hundreds of young anti-coup protesters.And protesters rallied across the city Monday night in support of the youths in the Sanchaung neighborhood, chanting, “Free the students in Sanchaung.”News of the youths spread quickly on social media, and people turned out on the streets to try to draw some of the security forces away from the young protesters who were trapped in a small area of the neighborhood.Riot police stand in formation in front of road barricade, as protesters hang women’s clothing overhead to mark the International Women’s Day in Yangon, Myanmar, March 8, 2021.The army threatened to search door to door for the youths as the United Nations, the United States and other countries appealed for them to be allowed to leave.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for “maximum restraint” and “the safe release of all without violence or arrests,” according to his spokesman.The United Nations noted that many of those trapped are women who were peacefully marching in commemoration of International Women’s Day.The U.S. Embassy said in a statement, “We call on those security forces to withdraw and allow people to go home safely.”The diplomatic missions of Britain, Canada and the European Union also issued statements urging Myanmar security forces to allow the trapped people to return safely to their homes.But the Reuters news agency reported that as of early Tuesday, 20 people had been arrested in Sanchaung after police searched houses.Earlier Monday, at least two protesters were killed in another day of public demonstrations against last month’s military overthrow of the civilian government.The latest fatalities occurred in the city of Myitkyina, the capital of northern Kachin State. Photos taken by reporters with VOA’s Burmese service depict gunshot victims lying in the street in a pool of blood, some being attended to by emergency personnel. Another photo showed a woman being helped to her feet after suffering a gruesome arm injury.Reuters reported another person was killed at a protest in the town of Phyar Pon in the Irrawaddy Delta, citing a political activist and local media.In addition to Yangon, protests took place Monday in several cities in Myanmar, including the country’s second-biggest city, Mandalay, the capital, Naypyitaw, and the western town of Monywa.Protesters waved flags made from women’s sarongs or strung them on ropes across the roads to mark International Women’s Day. The sarongs were also meant to shame the police and military, as walking underneath them is traditionally considered bad luck.Many businesses were closed across Yangon on Monday after an alliance of nine trade unions launched a general strike to back the anti-coup movement and pressure members of the military junta.”To continue economic and business activities as usual … will only benefit the military as they repress the energy of the Myanmar people,” they said in a joint statement. “The time to take action in defense of our democracy is now.”Strikes by civil servants, including those operating trains in the country, have taken place for weeks.The calls to shut down the economy came Sunday after another bloody day between the protesters and the police and military, who are occupying hospitals in the main city of Yangon.The United Nations said Monday that the occupation of hospitals by security forces is “completely unacceptable.” A U.N. team in Myanmar said, “hospitals are, and must remain, places of sanctuary and unequivocal neutrality — to ensure that patients undergoing medical care are safe,” according to U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.Anti-coup protesters discharge fire extinguishers to counter the impact of the tear gas fired by police during a demonstration in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, March 8, 2021.An official from ousted de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for (NLD) Democracy Party died in police custody, a party official confirmed to VOA’s Burmese service.NLD member Khin Maung Latt was arrested during overnight raids Saturday in Yangon and died while in detention, party lawmaker Sithu Maung said. A cause of death was not released.Tun Kyi, spokesperson of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), told VOA Burmese that he accompanied the bereaved family to claim Khin Maung Latt’s body and witnessed blood on his head, his fingers blackened and wounds on his back.Police have not commented on the matter.The AAPP advocacy group said Saturday that more than 1,700 people had been detained under the junta.”Detainees were punched and kicked with military boots, beaten with police batons, and then dragged into police vehicles,” AAPP said in a statement. “Security forces entered residential areas and tried to arrest further protesters and shot at the homes.”Myanmar has been consumed by chaos and violence since February 1, when the military overthrew the civilian government and detained Suu Kyi and other high-ranking NLD officials. Military officials say widespread fraud occurred in last November’s election, which the NLD won in a landslide. Election officials have denied any significant irregularities.VOA Burmese Service contributed to this report.
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