Month: April 2023

US State Departments Sets Up Special Task Force for Crisis in Sudan

Posted on by SeeUS

The U.S. State Department has established a special task force to deal with the crisis in Sudan, a spokesperson confirmed to VOA on Wednesday.

The spokesperson said the State Department has established a Sudan Military Conflict Task Force to oversee the Department’s planning, management and logistics related to events in Sudan.

The spokesperson told VOA: “The United States condemns in the strongest terms violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The ongoing fighting between the SAF and RSF threatens the security and safety of Sudanese civilians and undermines efforts to restore Sudan’s democratic transition.”

Fighting in Khartoum broke out Saturday between members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and has since spread further into the country, reportedly leaving hundreds of people dead and injured.

The leaders of the rival groups – SAF head General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF chief General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, popularly known as Hemedti – joined forces to mount a 2021 coup that returned the country to military rule.

The two men have since turned on each other, amid squabbles over power-sharing in the new government.

State Department officials told VOA late Tuesday they are unaware of the death or injury of any U.S. citizens in Sudan at this time.

The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum’s security alert of April 18 stated that because of the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and the closure of the airport, there are no plans for the U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of private U.S. citizens. It said travel alerts and Sudan’s Travel Advisory will be updated as the situation evolves.

The State Department said, “It is imperative that U.S. citizens in Sudan make their own arrangements to stay safe in these difficult circumstances.”

The State Department says the U.S. Embassy is continuing to closely monitor the situation in Khartoum and surrounding areas, where there is ongoing fighting, gunfire, and security force activity. It says U.S. citizens also are advised to remain sheltered in place; to attempt to stay at the lower levels of their location, remain away from windows, and attempt to keep away from the roadways; to monitor local media for updates; and to review State Department travel advisory for Sudan.

The State Department says Americans in Sudan should enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security alerts and email if they need assistance.

All routine consular services at the U.S. Embassy Khartoum are suspended at this time given the unsafe environment. The Embassy is providing only emergency consular services as the security situation in Sudan permits. The State Department says it will always seek to provide consular services wherever possible but the perilous security situation in Khartoum severely impacts its ability to perform that work currently.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking from a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven in Japan, said he delivered a message to both of Sudan’s warring leaders.

“This morning, I made calls to Generals Burhan and Hemedti, urging them to agree to a 24-hour cease-fire to allow Sudanese to safely reunite with their families and to obtain desperately needed relief supplies,” he said.   

 

VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell contributed to this story.
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US Supreme Court Poised to Rule on Abortion Pill Restrictions

Posted on by SeeUS

The Supreme Court is deciding whether women will face restrictions in getting a drug used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, while a lawsuit continues.

The justices are expected to issue an order on Wednesday in a fast-moving case from Texas in which abortion opponents are seeking to roll back Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug, mifepristone.

The drug first won FDA approval in 2000, and conditions on its use have been loosened in recent years, including making it available by mail in states that allow access.

The Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, the maker of the drug, want the nation’s highest court to reject limits on mifepristone’s use imposed by lower courts, at least as long as the legal case makes it way through the courts. They say women who want the drug and providers who dispense it will face chaos if limits on the drug take effect. Depending on what the justices decide, that could include requiring women to take a higher dosage of the drug than the FDA says is necessary.

Alliance Defending Freedom, representing anti-abortion doctors and medical groups in a challenge to the drug, is defending the rulings in calling on the Supreme Court to let the restrictions take effect now.

The legal fight over abortion comes less than a year after conservative justices reversed Roe v. Wade and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.

Even as the abortion landscape changed dramatically in several states, abortion opponents set their sights on medication abortions, which make up more than half of all abortions in the United States.

The abortion opponents filed suit in November in Amarillo, Texas. The legal challenge quickly reached the Supreme Court after a federal judge issued a ruling on April 7 that would revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions.

Less than a week later, a federal appeals court modified the ruling so that mifepristone would remain available while the case continues, but with limits. The appeals court said that the drug can’t be mailed or dispensed as a generic and that patients who seek it need to make three in-person visits with a doctor, among other things.

The generic version of mifepristone makes up two-thirds of the supply in the United States, its manufacturer, Las Vegas-based GenBioPro Inc., wrote in a court filing that underscored the perils of allowing the restrictions to be put into effect.

The court also said the drug should only be approved through seven weeks of pregnancy for now, even though the FDA since 2016 has endorsed its use through 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Complicating the situation, a federal judge in Washington has ordered the FDA to preserve access to mifepristone under the current rules in 17 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia that filed a separate lawsuit.

The Biden administration has said the rulings conflict and create an untenable situation for the FDA.

In an order issued last Friday by Justice Samuel Alito, the court put the restrictions on hold through Wednesday to give the court time to consider the emergency appeal.

If the justices aren’t inclined to block the ruling from taking effect for now, the Democratic administration and Danco have a fallback argument, asking the court to take up the challenge to mifepristone, hear arguments and decide the case by early summer.

The court only rarely takes such a step before at least one appeals court has thoroughly examined the legal issues involved.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans already has ordered an accelerated schedule for hearing the case, with arguments set for May 17.

Mifepristone has been available for use in medication abortions in the United States since the FDA granted approval in 2000. Since then, more than 5 million women have used it, along with another drug, misoprostol, to induce abortions.
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Ukraine’s Friends in Latvia Show No Signs of Giving Up

Posted on by SeeEU

The Baltic countries have remained an important source of support for Ukraine as Russia’s assault drags on. In Latvia, people have kept up efforts to assist the Ukrainian military, while accepting Ukrainian refugees and making them feel welcome in an exile that for many, seems to have no end. Marcus Harton narrates this report by Ricardo Marquina in the Latvian capital, Riga.
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Battle Continues in Khartoum as Sudan’s Rivals Ignore Cease-Fire

Posted on by SeeAF

The battle in the streets of Sudan’s capital continued Wednesday as the country’s two warring factions ignored a 24-hour cease-fire.  

Loud explosions and gunfire could be seen and heard in central Khartoum around the defense ministry and the city’s international airport as fighters swarmed otherwise empty streets.  

The fighting raged throughout Tuesday night despite public declarations by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of Sudan’s armed forces, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces earlier Tuesday to observe a cease-fire amid pressure from the United States, United Nations and African leaders to end four days of fighting that has forced many Khartoum residents to shelter in their homes. 

The pledges came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone to both Burhan and Dagalo, urging them to halt the fighting, in part to permit delivery of humanitarian aid.

The U.S. State Department said Blinken urged Burhan and Dagalo to allow the international community in Khartoum “to make sure its presence is secure” and stressed the responsibility of the two generals “to ensure the safety and well-being of civilians, diplomatic personnel and humanitarian workers.”

Secretary Blinken’s call to the two Sudanese rivals was one of many from the international community urging peace in the north African country. A communique issued Tuesday by foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations as they met in Karuizawa, Japan condemned the fighting. The foreign ministers said the fighting “threatens the security and safety of Sudanese civilians and undermines efforts to restore Sudan’s democratic transition.”

Fighting between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces broke out Saturday after months of rising tension over the country’s political future and plans to integrate the RSF into the national army.

The head of the World Health Organization said Tuesday that according to Sudanese authorities, 270 people have been killed in the fighting and more than 2,600 injured.

But the true nature of the death toll is uncertain because authorities have not been able to retrieve the bodies of those killed in the streets due to the heavy fighting. 

VOA reporter Michael Atit said a number of hospitals have been closed because of damage or insecurity.  

Large portions of the capital were without electricity and water. The violence also affected Khartoum’s adjoining sister cities of Omdurman and Bahri, with bridges linking the cities blocked by armored vehicles.

The U.S. Embassy issued a fresh alert to American citizens in Sudan strongly advising them to remain indoors and shelter in place. It said due to insecurity and the closure of the airport, there are no plans for a U.S. government-coordinated evacuation.

But Japan announced Wednesday that it has begun plans to evacuate about 60 Japanese citizens from Sudan aboard military planes due to the worsening situation in Khartoum. 

Calls for dialogue 

Residents of Khartoum said there has been no police presence on the city’s streets since the clashes began.

The European Union said its envoy to Sudan was assaulted in his residence on Monday but did not give further details.

Blinken confirmed that a U.S. diplomatic convoy came under fire Monday, adding that initial reports indicated the attack was by forces linked to the Rapid Support Forces. 

Calls to end the fighting have come from around the world and within Africa, including the African Union, the Arab League and IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development).

IGAD said Kenyan President William Ruto, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and Djibouti’s President Omar Guelleh will go to Khartoum to broker an immediate cease-fire.

“President Salva Kiir has already been in touch with both General Burhan and General Hemedti to convey the message of the summit. … Now, preparations are on the way to undertake this mission,” Nuur Mohamud Sheekh, a spokesperson for IGAD’s executive secretary, told VOA.

Sudan’s two top generals, however, have yet to express a willingness to negotiate and each has demanded the other’s surrender.

Dagalo said Monday on Twitter that he was defending democracy in Sudan and called Burhan a “radical Islamist.” Dagalo’s forces emerged from the notorious Janjaweed militias in Sudan’s Darfur region and have been accused of carrying out atrocities in the region.

The clashes are part of a power struggle between General Burhan, who also heads the transitional council, and General Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, the deputy head of the transitional council.  The two generals joined forces in October 2021 to overthrow the transitional government formed after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.  

The restructuring of the military was part of an effort to restore the country to civilian rule and end the political crisis.

VOA English to Africa’s Carol Van Dam Falk, VOA Africa correspondent Mariama Diallo, VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer, VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell, VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching and VOA reporter Michael Atit contributed to this report.  Some information for this article came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Latest in Ukraine: Russia Hits Odesa in Drone Attack       

Posted on by SeeEU

New developments:

Black Sea grain deal inspections resume in Turkey
Hungary adds honey, wine, bread, sugar to temporary ban on imports from Ukraine
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says like-minded countries should oppose “illegal unilateral pressure of the West”

 

Ukraine on Wednesday reported overnight drone attacks by Russian forces in the Odesa region of southern Ukraine.

Yuri Kruk, the head of Ukraine’s military command in the Odesa region, said the drones caused a fire at an infrastructure facility, but that there were no casualties.

Russia has made widespread use of drones to carry out attacks in Ukraine, including against infrastructure targets.

Sweden NATO

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin voiced support Wednesday for Sweden’s bid to join the NATO alliance.

Speaking during a visit to Sweden’s Musko Naval Base, Austin said the United States looks forward to “continuing to advocate for your swift admission to NATO and we’ll work hard to get that done before the summit.”

Austin said Swedish forces will “add a lot of value to NATO, our overall effort, you have a very, a highly professional military and you’ve invested a lot in modernization over the last several years.”

Sweden applied for NATO membership along with Finland in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

Finland formally joined the military alliance in early April. Sweden’s bid has been held up by objections from Hungary and Turkey, which says Sweden has not done enough to crack down on groups that Turkey considers terror organizations.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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US Cities Less Violent Than Two Years Ago, Data Shows

Posted on by SeeUS

The truth about American cities: Despite popular belief, they are much less violent than they were just a couple of years ago.

Violence has dropped across dozens of cities after a surge of shootings, murders and burglaries triggered by the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic.

Consider New York, the nation’s largest city and something of a gauge for crime trends in other big cities.

The city witnessed a staggering 50% increase in homicides in 2020 and 2021. But last year, they fell by 11% to 433, and so far this year, they’ve dropped another 7% to 113, according to city police data.

Although the city’s murder rate remains above its pre-pandemic level, it is far lower than the early 1990s when it recorded more than 2,200 murder victims, said David Kennedy, a criminologist at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

“The popular perception that New York City is distinctively dangerous is simply not correct,” Kennedy said in an interview. “It’s far safer than many, many, many other places in the United States.”

Yet most people don’t take a long view of crime trends, noted Eddie Garcia, chief of the Dallas Police Department and president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. 

“They don’t care where we were 25 to 30 years ago,” Garcia said. “They care where we are today. And certainly, violence has been rising for the last three to five years.”

Tapping into that fear, House Republicans traveled to New York on Monday for a hearing focused on “violent crime and lawlessness in the city.”

Accusing Manhattan’s top prosecutor, Alvin Bragg, of letting criminals off the hook, Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, cited 2022 data showing rising felony assaults, robberies, burglaries and auto thefts.

“Imagine that — you leave criminals on the street, you get more crime,” Jordan said.

Left unmentioned were homicides, which have fallen in New York over the past year, making it one of the safest big cities in the country.

“It is simply a fact that New York City is dramatically safer than it used to be,” Kennedy said.

New York’s fewer homicides reflects a national trend.

Consulting firm AH Datalytics reports a nearly 10% fall in homicides in more than 70 cities this year.

The list includes cities that have struggled with violent crime in recent years: Baltimore, Houston, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

Even Chicago, the nation’s “murder capital” last year, has slashed homicides by 17% through April 9.

But some cities buck the trend. Homicides are up in 25 cities tracked by AH Datalytics, such as Washington, Dallas and Kansas City.

“There is no single story about all major U.S. cities,” Kennedy said. “Except in the broadest terms, individual cities are often on very separate tracks.”

Garcia acknowledged that gun crime remains a challenge in his city, where homicides have spiked by 20% this year after a decline in 2022.

But gun-related aggravated assault, a better gauge of violent crime, is down in Dallas, Garcia said.

“Although one life is too many — we don’t want to lose lives — what would worry me would be if our gun-related aggravated assaults were rising,” Garcia said in an interview with VOA.

Under Garcia, Dallas has launched a new, data-driven crime plan focused on reducing violent incidents.

The plan is paying dividends, he said.

“We’ve had the least amount of violent incidents in the city of Dallas, more than we’ve had in five years,” he said.

Why crime falls in one city but not another is often hard to pin down with precision. But over the long run, most cities converge on a national trend, said Richard Rosenfeld, an emeritus professor of criminology at the University of Missouri.

That has fueled hope among some criminologists that U.S. cities may have turned a corner and may resume a decades-long downtrend in crime rates.

But Rosenfeld cautioned that the country is not out of the woods yet. Most U.S. cities still have higher homicide rates than before the pandemic, he said.

The pandemic delivered a shock to homicide rates by changing conditions in every sector of society, he said.

“But the undoing of the conditions of the pandemic has taken a far longer period of time than the abrupt changes that occurred when the pandemic first took place,” Rosenfeld said.

Among other disruptions, the pandemic unleashed a wave of unemployment and record inflation that wreaked havoc on society.

“Assuming that those conditions continue to … moderate, we should not see big spikes and homicide in the immediate future,” Rosenfeld said.

But crime ravages poor, mostly Black neighborhoods. And even if the overall violent crime rates drop, it will mean nothing to the people most vulnerable: young Black men.

“And the focus should be on that reality and not trying to read tea leaves about what’s going to happen in the next six months,” Kennedy said.

Republicans meeting in Manhattan on Monday blasted the city’s top prosecutor, saying he was coddling criminals instead of protecting victims.

Garcia said he agreed that “the lack of accountability has played a role in violence in this country.”

“I can tell you there have been irresponsible decisions made by judges allowing individuals back out on the street after they’ve admitted gun crime,” Garcia said.

“We don’t get to say we’re serious about gun crime in this country when I have men and women who sacrificed their lives to take criminal elements off the street … only to see those individuals back out on the street in a matter of days or weeks,” he said.
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Why China Is Building Africa’s New Parliaments

Posted on by SeeAF

Zimbabwe’s new parliament gives an architectural nod to the country’s famous ancient ruins; Lesotho’s has a design resembling a “mokorotlo,” the conical straw hat that’s part of national dress; and Malawi’s has a dome that looks like a calabash.

These local elements make these modern parliaments notable departures from southern Africa’s old European-style legislatures built in colonial times, but in fact the new buildings were also designed and built by a foreign power: China.

Despite the African design elements, the imposing buildings aren’t that different from China’s own brutalist architecture, and stand out in developing countries, some of which, like Malawi, are among the poorest in the world.

Africa’s largest trade partner has become known for its multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects on the continent, such as railways and ports. But for years it has also been building grand new parliaments and other government buildings, which cost less but are equally part of Beijing’s diplomatic push in the region.

These buildings, like the new $200 million Zimbabwean parliament, which opened last year, are usually given as gifts, with no loans attached.

“The prestige diplomacy helps to strengthen China’s ties with the African governments, especially the top leaders,” according to Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center.

“Building a government building named after a president does not cost much, but the goodwill and reputational benefits are tremendous,” she told VOA.

What’s in it for China?

China has so far built or refurbished parliaments in some 15 African countries, including the Republic of Congo, Liberia, Mozambique, the Seychelles and Guinea Bissau, as well as other government buildings such as Burundi’s presidential palace and the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia.

Innocent Batsani-Ncube, a postdoctoral researcher at SOAS University of London, has a forthcoming book on China’s parliaments in Africa. He told VOA such buildings aren’t just bricks and mortar; “you have to locate this within this idea of building influence.”

Beyond goodwill from African leaders, China’s parliament-building drive benefits the Asian giant in multiple other ways, he says.

It allows Beijing to gauge the “political temperature” of a country, he says, because while China often deals directly with ruling parties on the continent, in a multi-party democracy you’ll find all political factions in the parliament and it’s the one place China can connect with the opposition — which is valuable just in case there’s regime change.

“It provides a way of hedging their bets,” says Batsani-Ncube.

Even in political systems dominated by one party, he notes, there’s occasional leadership turnover and “it’s not enough to target the guy who’s in power now, you have to play the long game.”

Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, echoes that idea, saying “it affords China the opportunity to cultivate local elites.”

While it might garner the Chinese political savvy and connections as well as open the doors for Chinese economic interests, analyst Yunnan Chen says China’s parliament-building drive is not necessarily an attempt to export Beijing’s one-party system.

“I think it would be a very convoluted argument to make that the structure of a building carries a philosophy with it,” said Chen, a researcher at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), an independent global think tank. But, she noted, China does provide training and foreign exchanges for African government officials.

Batsani-Ncube agrees that the architectural efforts are different from more overtly political initiatives such as a leadership academy for African politicians opened by China last year in Tanzania. Beijing seems indifferent to the political systems in the countries where it is building parliaments, he says.

SEE ALSO: A related video by VOA’s Charles Kombe

Concerns have also been raised that the new buildings could be equipped for future Chinese espionage in light of a 2018 controversy over the reported bugging of the Chinese-built African Union headquarters in Ethiopia — something Beijing has repeatedly denied.

Asked about such concerns by reporters ahead of the opening of the new parliament in Zimbabwe last year, Cai Libo, from Shanghai Construction Group, the government-owned company that built it, responded that China and Zimbabwe were friends and “you would not do such kind of things to your friends.”

SEE ALSO: A related video by VOA’s Columbus Mavhunga

What’s in it for Africa?

The Washington-based Heritage Foundation, whose research on the topic has found that “since 1966, Chinese companies have built or renovated at least 186 African government buildings,” said China’s “palace diplomacy” serves “little purpose other than to curry favor with recipient governments.”

But the ODI’s Chen says many of the new buildings are not only wanted by African governments, but also needed because the old ones have become so dilapidated — even if the shiny new structures do “carry an element of vanity.”

Nantulya notes that countries like the U.S. don’t usually put money toward such projects, and for African governments, “one way that political support domestically can be mobilized is by showing voters that investments have been made in visible, tangible outputs like a building.”

Batsani-Ncube agrees there’s a need for new buildings as African legislatures and institutions expand in size, as increased staff entails more office space.

But, he adds, the big construction projects have little economic benefit for the recipient countries because China and Chinese firms control everything from the drawing table to completion.

That control of the process also leaves Chinese firms best equipped to handle future maintenance of the buildings, he said. China has just completed renovations on the parliament it built in Malawi.

“It leads to complaints [that] countries are not developing local expertise,” said Nantulya.

China’s institutional building drive in Africa is set to continue. A few weeks ago, ground was broken on Ghana’s new foreign ministry building, which is being paid for entirely by China, along with the new headquarters of West African bloc ECOWAS, currently under construction in Nigeria.
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California Domestic Violence Shelter Helps Immigrant Muslim Women

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During Ramadan, an Islamic community in California is raising awareness about domestic violence. For VOA, Genia Dulot brings us the story of a domestic violence shelter for Muslim immigrants in San Diego.
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For Afghans in Sweden, Iftar a Chance to Keep Culture Alive

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Afghans living in Sweden say that iftar — or breaking fast during the month of Ramadan — is an opportunity to get together and learn about their cultural heritage. Abdul Wali Arian has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.
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Leaked US Assessment Says China Readying Supersonic Spy Drone Unit – Washington Post

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A leaked U.S. military assessment says the Chinese military may soon deploy a high-altitude spy drone that travels at least three times the speed of sound, the Washington Post reported late on Tuesday. 

The newspaper cited a secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 

The document, which Reuters could not confirm or verify independently, features satellite imagery dated August 9 that shows two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 350 miles (560km) inland from Shanghai, according to the newspaper. 

The U.S. assessment said China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) had “almost certainly” established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base, which falls under the Eastern Theater Command, the branch of the Chinese military responsible for enforcing Chinese sovereignty claims over Taiwan, the newspaper reported. 

The U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Chinese government could not immediately be reached for comment. 

The Washington Post said it obtained the assessment of the program from a trove of images of classified files posted on the Discord messaging app, allegedly by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, who was arrested last week. 

The FBI on Thursday arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard, over the leaks online of classified documents that embarrassed Washington with allies around the world. 

The leaks first became widely known earlier this month, setting Washington on edge about the damage they may have caused. The episode embarrassed the U.S. by revealing its spying on allies and purported Ukrainian military vulnerabilities. 

Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen’s recent meeting with U.S. House of Representative Kevin McCarthy had upset Beijing. China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan is one of its provinces, says Taiwan is the single most important and sensitive issue in its relations with the United States. 

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims. 
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Virginia Mosque Publicly Broadcasts Adhan (Muslims’ Call to Prayer) During Holy Month of Ramadan

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During the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this year, a small town in Virginia, with only a handful of Muslim residents, offered them a rare opportunity to hear the Adhan, or call to prayer. VOA’s Saqib Ul Islam has more from Occoquan, Virginia.
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Ukraine, Poland, Agree on Deal to Restart Transit of Grain

Posted on by SeeEU

Polish and Ukrainian officials say convoys of Ukrainian grain transiting Poland for export abroad will be sealed, guarded and monitored to ensure the produce stops flooding the Polish market and playing havoc with prices.

Tuesday’s announcement came after two days of intensive talks following protests by Polish farmers, who said much of the Ukrainian grain was staying in Poland and creating a glut that caused them huge losses.

The deal will also end a temporary prohibition issued by Poland on Saturday to address the protests on the entry of grain from Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia, which are also affected by the transit of Ukrainian farm produce, later took similar measures. These moves drew the anger of the European Union’s executive branch, the European Commission, which manages trade for the 27 member countries.

Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus told a press conference on Tuesday that Warsaw and Kyiv “have worked out mechanisms that mean that not a single ton of (Ukraine) grain will remain in Poland, that it will all be passing in transit.”

He said that for an unspecified length of time, all Ukrainian produce in transit will be sealed, with traceable devices attached, and ferried in special, guarded convoys to Polish ports and border crossings, on its way to other countries.

The transit is to ease the accumulation of grain and other produce intended for export to needy countries that’s blocked in Ukraine by Russia’s invasion.

Telus said the weekend’s temporary ban was partly intended to draw the EU’s attention to the acute problem. He alleged that the EU, while supporting the idea of the transit, has done nothing to facilitate it and prevent the glut.

The issue led to the talks between Poland and Ukraine’s agriculture ministers, with the participation of Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko. The transit measures will be introduced Friday, when the temporary ban on grain — mainly wheat — will be lifted.

“We pay attention to the problems of our Polish colleagues with the same attention as Poland treats our problems. Therefore, we have to respond promptly and constructively to this crisis situation,” Svyrydenko said in Warsaw.

It was not clear when a ban on the entry of other Ukraine goods such as sugar, eggs, meat, milk and other dairy products and fruits and vegetables would be lifted.

Farmers in Poland and neighboring countries say that Ukrainian grain and farm produce, apart from flooding their markets, has filled their own storage areas, leaving no room for their own crops from this year.

After Russia blocked traditional export sea passages amid the war in Ukraine, the European Union lifted duties on Ukrainian grain to facilitate its transport to Africa and the Middle East and offered to pay some compensation, which the farmers said was insufficient.

Much of the grain ends up staying in transit countries, and some Polish unions and opposition politicians accuse government-linked companies of causing the problem by buying up cheap, low-quality Ukrainian grain, and then selling it to bread and pasta plants as high-quality Polish produce.

Poland’s main ruling party, Law and Justice, is seeking to ease the discontent of farmers — the party’s voter base — ahead of fall parliamentary elections.

In Romania, another country affected by Ukraine produce overflow, the ruling Social Democrat Party said Tuesday that it will ask its governing coalition partners to urgently look to issue a temporary suspension of imports of food products from Ukraine.

“Such a measure is necessary to protect Romanian farmers, in the context in which compensation received from the European Commission cannot cover the total value of the damage,” the party said in a statement.
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US, World Urge Sudan Combatants to Stop Fighting

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Conflict in Sudan has provoked global calls for a cease-fire, but questions remain how other countries can persuade combatants to lay down arms. U.S. officials in Congress and the White House say they’re using Washington’s status and limited leverage to try to make peace. VOA’s Anita Powell reports.
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Russian Court Refuses to Release US Journalist from Pretrial Detention

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A Russian court has refused to release U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich from jail while he awaits trial on accusations that he spied on Russia while on a reporting assignment last month. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.
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UN Expresses Concern to US Over Spying Reports

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The United Nations has lodged a formal complaint with the United States over reports that Washington spied on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other senior U.N. officials.

“We have now officially expressed to the host country our concern regarding the recent reports that the communications of the secretary-general and other senior U.N. officials have been the subject of surveillance and interference by the U.S. government,” U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Tuesday.

The reports related to Guterres and the U.N. emerged as part of a trove of highly classified U.S. documents that were leaked and circulated on social media sites for weeks. They included sensitive information about Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as information about U.S. allies, including Israel, Turkey and South Korea.

Dujarric said the U.N. sent a letter Monday evening via the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. He said no reply had been received by Tuesday afternoon.

“We have made it clear that such actions are inconsistent with the obligations of the United States as enumerated in the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” Dujarric said.

The U.S. government has not commented on the substance of the leaked documents. However, on April 13, Jack Teixeira, the Air National Guard member suspected of leaking the documents, was arrested in connection to the case. He faces two criminal charges: unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents.

The BBC first reported last week that Guterres may have been spied on, including his private conversations with Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. The leaked documents also contained Washington’s concerns that Guterres was too accommodating to Moscow.

The U.N. chief has been working to keep alive a nine-month-old grain deal that allows Ukraine to export its food products through the Black Sea. Moscow has repeatedly complained that benefits it was supposed to receive in exchange have not materialized and is threatening to leave the deal. But Guterres has been very vocal from the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that it is a violation of the U.N. Charter and international law.

“The secretary-general has been at his job for quite some time,” Dujarric said on April 13 when asked about those reports. “He’s been in politics and a public figure for quite some time. So, he’s not surprised, I think, by the fact that people are spying on him and listening on his private conversations. Unfortunately, either for various reasons, it allows such private conversations to be distorted and made public.”

The latest report, published Monday by The Washington Post, recounts Guterres’ anger over a letter from Ethiopia’s foreign minister rejecting the U.N. chief’s plan to visit northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region during a February 2023 trip to Ethiopia to attend the African Union Summit. Guterres did visit Addis Ababa on the trip but did not go to northern Ethiopia.
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China’s Military Chief Vows to Bolster Ties With Russia

Posted on by SeeEU

The Chinese defense chief vowed Tuesday to take military cooperation with Moscow to a new level, a statement that reflects increasingly close Russia-China ties amid the fighting in Ukraine. 

Chinese Defense Minister General Li Shangfu held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu after attending a meeting Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. 

“The armed forces of China and Russia will implement the agreements reached by the heads of state and expand military cooperation, military-technical ties and arms trade,” Li said in opening remarks at Tuesday’s meeting with Shoigu. “We will certainly take them to a new level.”

Li’s trip follows last month’s three-day state visit to the Russian capital by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, reflecting China’s strengthening engagement with Russia. Moscow and Beijing have closely aligned their policies in an attempt to reshape the world order to diminish the influence of the United States and its Western allies.

China has refused to criticize Russia’s actions in Ukraine and blamed the U.S. and NATO for provoking Moscow. Xi’s visit to Moscow gave a strong political boost to Putin, sending a message to Western leaders that their efforts to isolate Russia have fallen short.

After the talks, Putin and Xi issued joint declarations pledging to further bolster their “strategic cooperation,” develop cooperation in energy, high-tech industries and other spheres and expand the use of their currencies in mutual trade to reduce dependence on the West.

After more than a year of fighting in Ukraine and bruising Western sanctions, Russia’s dependence on China has increased significantly. Facing Western restrictions on its oil, gas and other exports, Russia has shifted its energy flows to China and sharply expanded other exports, resulting in a 30% hike in bilateral trade.

Last month, Putin and Xi also vowed to further develop military cooperation between Moscow and Beijing and conduct more joint sea and air patrols. There was no mention of any prospective Chinese weapons supplies to Russia, however, that the U.S. and other Western allies feared, and the Chinese foreign minister reaffirmed Friday that Beijing wouldn’t sell weapons to either side in the conflict in Ukraine. 
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Nigerian Agency Says Malaria Vaccine Could Protect Millions

Posted on by SeeAF

Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, announced a provisional approval of the R21 vaccine during a media briefing on Monday.

The regulatory agency’s consent came days after Ghana approved the vaccine.

NAFDAC said the vaccine is 70 to 80 percent efficient in preventing the mosquito-borne disease and could protect millions of children.

The agency’s director general, Mojisola Adeyeye, spoke to journalists in Abuja.

“The vaccine is indicated for prevention of clinical malaria on children from five months to 36 months of age,” Adeyeye said.

NAFDAC did not say when the vaccine will be rolled out, but Adeyeye said Nigeria will conduct in-country clinical trials and pharmacovigilance study.

The WHO says some 600,000 people die of malaria every year, most of them in Africa, many of them young children.

Nigeria accounts for the highest numbers of cases and deaths from malaria globally. Health experts say the vaccine could be a game changer.

Kunle Olobayo is a lead researcher at the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development.

“A proactive, preemptive intervention will definitely be most useful especially in countries like Nigeria,” said Olobayo. “Many interventions and steps that have been taken to reduce transmission have not been very successful because of our level of development, poverty. So, it will definitely change the dynamics.

The WHO has yet to approve the vaccine. The WHO Nigeria malaria program head, Lynda Ozor, said authorities are still reviewing the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.

“The WHO is reviewing the R21 data, and it’s being supported by an independent global advisory group on immunization and malaria experts.,” said Ozor. “This group will advise the WHO on whether to recommend the R21 vaccines for use. It has to be approved by the WHO to compliment the rollout of the first vaccine.”

Last year, the WHO consented to the world’s first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix.

Olobayo said that, without donor support, African countries could struggle to acquire the vaccines.

“Vaccines in Nigeria historically tend to be dependent on donor funding,” said Olobayo. “I have a feeling there might be some substantial international funding to get these products widely used.”

Oxford University is working with the Serum Institute of India to produce up to 200 million doses of R21 every year.
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China Reveals Details of Raytheon, Lockheed Sanctions

Posted on by SeeUS

China revealed on Tuesday new details of sanctions it previously announced against two U.S. weapons manufacturers, including a ban on Chinese companies doing business with them.

China imposed trade and investment sanctions in February on Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles & Defense, a division of Raytheon Technologies Corp., for supplying weapons to Taiwan, the self-governed island claimed by China.

China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement late Tuesday that the sanctions include a ban on exports and imports by the two companies from and to China “to prevent Chinese products from being used in their military business.”

It added that Chinese companies should “strengthen their due diligence and compliance system construction to verify transaction information” and should not knowingly conduct business with the two companies while importing, exporting or transporting products.

It wasn’t clear what immediate impact the penalties might have, but the restrictions on imports and exports could hurt the two companies. The United States bars most sales of weapons-related technology to China, but some military contractors also have civilian businesses in aerospace and other markets.

Last September, Raytheon Missiles and Defense was awarded a $412 million contract to upgrade Taiwanese military radar as part of a $1.1 billion package of U.S. arms sales to the island.

Taiwan buys most of its weapons from the U.S., which is its biggest unofficial ally. In recent years, China has frequently sent fighter jets and warships toward the island, surrounding it at different times in a campaign of military pressure and intimidation.

The sanctions also prohibit the senior executives of both companies from traveling to China or working there. They listed Lockheed Martin CEO James Donald Taiclet, COO Frank Andrew St. John and CFO Jesus Malave, and from Raytheon Missiles & Defense, President Wesley D. Kremer and Vice Presidents Agnes Soeder and Chander Nijhon.
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Oklahoma Governor Calls for Resignations as Officials Discuss Killing Journalists

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Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is calling for the resignation of four state officials after a local newspaper released a secret audio recording in which they appeared to discuss killing journalists and lynching Black people.

“I am both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County,” Stitt said in a statement. “There is no place for such hateful rhetoric in the state of Oklahoma, especially by those that serve to represent the community through their respective office.”

Stitt has called for the immediate resignation of McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, Investigator Alicia Manning and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix.

The recording was first detailed by the McCurtain Gazette-News after its publisher left a voice-activated recorder inside the room after a March 6 county commissioner’s meeting.

The journalist was cited in reports saying he did this because he believed the group was continuing to conduct county business after the meeting had ended, which is a violation of the state’s Open Meeting Act.

In the recording, the officials appear to discuss killing journalists and complain about no longer being able to lynch Black people.

“I know where two big deep holes are here if you ever need them,” Jennings said. “I’ve known two or three hit men. They’re very quiet guys,” Jennings later said in the conversation. “And would cut no [expletive] mercy.”

VOA could not independently verify the authenticity of the recording.

The McCurtain County sheriff department told VOA it had no comment.

In the recording, Jennings also appears to complain about not being able to hang Black people, saying, “They got more rights than we got.”

“It’s frightening any time we see those kinds of comments come to light. At the same time, this is just an occasion where they’ve come to light. I don’t think it’s the only time they occur,” said Ted Streuli, executive director of the investigative journalism nonprofit Oklahoma Watch. “It’s critical, in this situation and others, that the perpetrators be held to account.”

Oklahoma City’s KFOR-TV, Channel 4 reported that about 100 McCurtain County residents gathered outside the county commissioners’ office Monday morning to protest the officials’ comments.

At a March 6 commissioners’ meeting, Bruce Willingham, the publisher of the McCurtain Gazette-News, secretly recorded the officials allegedly discussing the killing and burying of reporters, including his son, Chris Willingham.

Earlier this year, Chris Willingham filed a defamation claim against the county and has written multiple stories examining the sheriff’s department’s conduct, according to an article published last weekend in the McCurtain Gazette-News.

Joey Senat, a journalism professor at Oklahoma State University, told the AP the recording would be legal under the state’s law if it were obtained in a place where the officials being recorded did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

“I talked on two different occasions to our attorneys to make sure I wasn’t doing anything illegal,” Bruce Willingham said.

The publisher told AP he believes the local officials were upset about critical stories the newspaper had recently published, including about the death of Bobby Barrick, an Oklahoma man who died at a hospital in March 2022 after McCurtain County deputies shot him with a stun gun.

The newspaper has filed a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office seeking body camera footage and other records related to Barrick’s death.

Mark Thomas, executive vice president of the Oklahoma Press Association, told The Journal Record, a daily Oklahoma newspaper, that these threats underscore how dangerous journalism can be.

“These are serious things that should not be ignored,” Thomas told The Journal Record. “Speaking truth to power has always been dangerous, and you have to always be prepared.”

This conversation comes amid an unusually deadly period for reporters in the United States.

Las Vegas investigative reporter Jeff German was stabbed to death outside his home last September. A former county official is on trial, accused of the killing of German in retaliation for critical coverage. And in February this year, Dylan Lyons, a journalist for Florida’s Spectrum News 13 station, was shot dead while on assignment.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker – a database of press freedom incidents in the United States – has also recorded more than 40 chilling statements made against journalists and news outlets since it started in 2017, including from state officials.o Streuli, the implications of this incident extend beyond McCurtain County.

“It’s incredibly disturbing to hear public officials fantasize about killing journalists, not to mention all the other abhorrent remarks they made,” the Freedom of the Press Foundation’s advocacy director, Seth Stern, told VOA. “Although their comments are extreme, they raise questions about how many other public officials across the United States hold similar contempt for the press and how those sentiments influence their actions and policies.”

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists has said it is “disgusted and disturbed” by the audio recordings.

“It is encouraging that authorities are looking into these recordings, and we hope their investigations are swift and transparent. Journalists should never face death threats over their work,” CPJ’s U.S. program coordinator, Katherine Jacobsen, said in a statement.

To Streuli, the implications of this incident extend beyond McCurtain County.

“The thing that bothers me the most about it is the press is the only industry protected by the Constitution,” Streuli said. “And when we see something like this, where we have employees of our government, who are sworn to uphold the Constitution, revealing such hatred toward the press for doing their jobs, I think what’s frightening about that goes well beyond the individual reporters involved.”

Some information in this report came from the AP.
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Mozambique Asks for Additional Cholera Vaccine After Cyclone Freddy

Posted on by SeeAF

Mozambique has asked the World Health Organization to supply an additional 2 million doses of a cholera vaccine as the country struggles to control a spreading outbreak. 

The head of the Department of National Health Surveillance at the Ministry of Health, Domingos Guihole, told VOA that the government awaits the WHO’s response to the cholera vaccine request, admitting difficulties due to the high global demand for vaccines.

“At this moment in Mozambique, the cholera situation is not good,” Guihole said. “It is not good because we have 10 provinces affected by cholera. We have 53 districts in the whole country, 45 of which have active cholera disease.”

The official said the intent is to vaccinate the population in high-risk areas, such as the northern province of Nampula and Zambezia in the central part of the country.

Both provinces were hit hard by Cyclone Freddy, which tore across Mozambique twice inside two weeks last month.

All five provinces impacted by Freddy on its first and second passes have witnessed cholera outbreaks.

In addition to the risk of cholera, the government is concerned about a potential increase in cases of other waterborne diseases such as dysentery. Malaria is a concern, too; both are among the leading causes of mortality in Mozambique.

“During almost seven months from October to April 16, we have notified 27,000 cases of cholera with 124 deaths, so the situation is not good,” said Guihole. “We have to say to all Mozambicans that we must follow the recommendations from the Ministry of Health related to the hygiene of water, hygiene of food, and even the collective hygiene as well.”

In many parts of Mozambique, health workers are struggling to treat infected citizens at clinics and hospitals that were badly damaged by Cyclone Freddy.

The record-breaking storm, which lasted for several weeks, killed dozens of people in Mozambique and Malawi and destroyed many roads and bridges in addition to hospitals.
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Erdogan Challenger Vows Reset with Western Allies

Posted on by SeeEU

With Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan languishing in many polls ahead of May elections, his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, is promising to mend strained ties with Turkey’s Western allies. Analysts say that could be bad news for Moscow. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.
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Sudan Clash Hinders Aid Delivery by Humanitarian Agencies

Posted on by SeeAF

United Nations and international aid agencies say it is almost impossible to provide humanitarian services in and around the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, because it is too dangerous for staff to move around without assurances of safety from the warring parties. 

“There are calls from various organizations and people trapped asking for evacuations,” said Farid Aiywar, head of delegation in Sudan for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Speaking on a video link from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, he said, “For the past four days, people have been out of water, food, and electricity has been rationed in some places or been totally disconnected. 

“So, we are talking about a situation where there have been calls to the Sudanese Red Crescent and also to the international Red Cross movement present in Sudan, almost on a daily basis from people wanting basic humanitarian services.” 

He said this will not be possible until there are assurances of safety for volunteers. “We have thousands of volunteers who are ready, able and trained to perform humanitarian services. Unfortunately, due to the current situation, they are not able to move.”

Nevertheless, he said the Sudanese Red Crescent has been able to mobilize 246 volunteers from its Khartoum branch to support medical staff in hospitals, adding that “This is very minimum compared to the total ability we are able to mobilize, which is almost 40,000 at one go” from the country’s 18 branches. 

In the four days since fighting broke out in Khartoum between the Sudanese army and Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces at least 185 people reportedly have been killed and 1,800 wounded. 

While much of the fighting is concentrated in the heavily populated parts of the capital, it has expanded into residential areas of cities throughout the country.

Volker Türk, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, who is calling for an immediate cessation to hostilities, warns the widespread use of air strikes, artillery shelling and explosive weapons in civilian areas is exposing the population to the risk of death and injury. 

“Both parties must remind their fighters of their obligations under international law to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals, and they must ensure that these obligations are respected.” 

The high commissioner chastised the warring parties, noting that, “The fighting is born out of power games and personal interests that only serve to alienate the democratic aspirations of the population. 

“Do those responsible not understand that the civilian population now only craves a peaceful life?” 

The biggest losers from this latest setback are the civilians who are likely to remain without essential aid for the foreseeable future. The World Health Organization says that many of the nine hospitals in Khartoum that are receiving injured civilians are reporting shortages of everything, including blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids, medical supplies, and other lifesaving commodities.

Margaret Harris, WHO spokeswoman, said movement is severely restricted because of the dangerous security situation and that “is making it so difficult for staff to get to the hospitals,” adding that, “We have seen serious attacks on healthcare.” 

She said the WHO has documented three attacks, though “We know of many more. At least three people have been killed and two injured but those are only the first that have been verified.” 

She condemned the attacks on healthcare, noting that, “they are a flagrant violation of humanitarian law and the right to health and they must stop now. It is absolutely critical for everybody concerned that those attacks stop. 

“Our staff currently, I understand are safe,” she said, “but it is also one of our crucial things, as for all our sister agencies, to protect their safety.”
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Sudan Fighting Creates Humanitarian Issues

Posted on by SeeAF

A third day of fighting between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces raged Monday in the capital, with both sides claiming control of strategic sites. A doctors’ union says nearly 100 people have been killed in the clashes as calls for a cease-fire are growing.

The sounds of gunfire echoed across the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and other towns Monday afternoon.

The military headquarters, Khartoum international airport and areas around the presidential palace are the current main battlefields between the military and the Rapid Support Forces.

The shooting affected the power supply and water systems in the capital, making life more difficult for those trapped indoors by the fighting and people wounded in the clashes.

In the Al-Kalakla neighborhood south of Khartoum, the situation seemed to be relatively calm, and people ventured out to get basic necessities.

Wisal Mohammed, a mother of three, says this is the first time in three days she’s come out to get food for her children.

She says the situation is difficult, and we are stranded. There is no electricity and water, and we cannot be mobile if there is an emergency. We are approaching the festivity time, and people are just indoors.

The fighting started on Saturday morning, and Sudanese doctors say nearly 100 people have been killed and several others injured, including civilians during the past three days.

Hamid Babikir sells vegetables along the Jebel Aulia highway south of Khartoum. He told VOA that he is unable to order more stock from the central market due to the tense situation.

He says roads are blocked, and we can’t risk going to get more vegetables. What I am selling today is left over from yesterday. Everybody keeps on complaining of the tense situation and an increase in prices because of a lack of fuel.

Al Muiz Hassan is a grocer in the Abu Adam neighborhood south of Khartoum. He says he is worried about robbery and has only partially opened his shop as a precaution. 

He called on the warring parties to put the interest of the country and civilians as the first priority.

“The fighting has affected all the shops, not only mine. I am not afraid of anything rather than losing lives,” he said. “The two who are fighting are all Sudanese and are only following their orders. We hope that God will change their hearts.”

The military said this afternoon that they had restored control over state-run TV and radio, which was taken over by the RSF yesterday.

The East African regional bloc IGAD has delegated the presidents of South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti to talk with the Sudanese warring parties in an effort to halt the fighting.
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Sweden Hopes Turkey Approves NATO Membership After May Election

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With Turkey and Hungary continuing to block Sweden’s application to join the NATO military alliance, the Swedish government hopes for a swift ratification soon by both countries after Turkish elections scheduled for May 14.  

Sweden and Finland lodged a joint application to join NATO just weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.  

The alliance welcomed Finland earlier this month – NATO’s 31st member state – after Turkish and Hungarian lawmakers finally voted through the ratification in March. Sweden’s application has yet to be approved by the same two NATO members.  

Anti-terror law  

Ankara has accused Sweden of harboring what it considers pro-Kurdish terrorists, including members of the PKK militant group, which Sweden denies.  

Sweden’s prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said he hoped next month’s presidential elections in Turkey could mark a turning point.

“Now we’re waiting for the Turkish elections. I think everyone realizes that there is a substantial role in this, which is about Turkish domestic politics and that is fully understandable, that’s how it is in most countries,” Kristersson said at a press conference March 31.  

Sweden is set to introduce a new anti-terrorism law, which it hopes will persuade Turkey to approve its NATO application. Speaking to reporters April 5, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, gave a measured response. “Of course, they have taken some steps but they are not enough. We are expecting additional efforts in the coming period,” he said.

NATO summit

NATO’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said he hopes that Sweden’s application is ratified in time for the alliance’s annual summit, scheduled for July 11-12 in Lithuania.  

Alper Coşkun, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the former director general for international security affairs at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told VOA Turkish approval of Sweden’s application is not guaranteed.

“It will depend more on whether in the aftermath of the elections – irrespective of who wins – the Turkish authorities will be able to say to themselves and to the public at large, that some of Turkey’s expectations from Sweden have been met in terms of the implementation of that very law,” he said.  

“I do not believe that it is necessarily in Turkey’s interest after the election and post the implementation of that (anti-terror) law in Sweden, to prolong the matter. So I would assume that it is still a realistic expectation that Sweden will be able to join (NATO) by the summit in Vilnius.”

Election campaign

Foreign policy comes second to domestic concerns in Turkey’s election campaign – and that could benefit Sweden’s NATO application, Coşkun added.

“Especially now, in the aftermath of the earthquakes and the economic circumstances in Turkey, it has even decreased even more. In that sense, I don’t think as far as the public opinion is concerned, or as far as the interest of the political parties in Turkey is concerned, it’s a leading topic, that there is attention on it. And I think that alleviates the domestic political pressure on the issue, which should facilitate a solution post-election.”  

Turkish opposition parties have rallied behind a single candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, in an effort to unseat incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Coşkun believes an opposition win could benefit Sweden. “They’ve made it clear that they will underline Turkey’s place within NATO, within the Western security architecture,” he said.  

Hungary  

Meanwhile, Hungarian lawmakers say they are blocking Sweden’s NATO bid over its recent criticism of their country’s democratic credentials, part of a long-running dispute over the rule of law between Budapest and its European allies.   

Analysts say that Turkey’s approval of Sweden’s bid would likely pressure Hungary to do the same, citing Budapest’s approval of Finland’s NATO application, which came just days after Ankara had signaled it would ratify Helsinki’s bid to join the alliance.   

Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, told the Associated Press March 25 that his country deserves more respect. “When Finnish and Swedish politicians question the democratic nature of our political system, that’s really unacceptable… As we give respect to all countries, we expect respect as well. And this respect was not really given,” he said.  

Szijjártó did not elaborate on whether Hungary would approve Sweden’s NATO application, if Turkey were to do so after the May 14 election.
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