Month: April 2024

Q&A: Myanmar opposition minister calls junta claims not credible

Posted on by SeeEA

WASHINGTON — Deputy Minister of Human Rights of Myanmar’s shadow government, the National Unity Government (NUG), Aung Kyaw Moe told VOA that the Myanmar people distrust the ruling military leader’s recent claim that he is interested in restoring democracy in the country. In a recent interview with VOA, the minister, also the NUG’s first Rohingya minister, called for caution in assessing China’s efforts to facilitate the repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh and delved into the Rohingyas’ aspiration to align themselves with the Rakhine people against the junta, which overthrew a democratically elected government in 2021. 

The following interview has been translated into English and edited for length and clarity. 

VOA: The Myanmar junta’s senior general, Min Aung Hlaing, gave a speech at their Armed Forces Day parade on March 27th in which he claims he is holding power only “temporarily” to strengthen democracy. What is your opinion on that? 

Aung Kyaw Moe, NUG Deputy Human Rights Minister: The main leader of the military junta is Min Aung Hlaing. Almost every word that comes out of his mouth belies his intentions. From day one, when he first attempted to seize power, he has not been accountable for his words, and there is no accountability within the organization he leads. Therefore, listening to his words would be a waste of time and only serve to exhaust people seeking a genuine political solution. 

His political vision and the reality he faces are completely opposed. When the military attempted to seize power, their political calculation did not anticipate such a collective resistance from the public. They never expected such widespread opposition. This latest statement, although insincere, is calculated to craft a narrative that he can present to the international community, one that is more likely to be accepted by countries allied with them. This narrative is also an attempt to deceive the people amidst a rising political tide against his military government. However, the people are aware of the misinformation spread by the junta, and they won’t believe these false messages. 

VOA: Senior General Min Aung Hlaing also said in his speech that, by the end of this year, they will complete a new accounting of the voter pool in Myanmar. He didn’t say exactly when an election would be held but said that to hold this election, there must be unity between the people and the military. How do you see the prospects for unity before a new election? 

Aung Kyaw Moe: That election would be rigged — a fake election. They consistently claim that they view the election as a political exit strategy from their attempted seizure of power. Firstly, they haven’t been able to accomplish anything, let alone prepare for an election. Secondly, we already have a parliament composed of representatives elected by the people, who clearly emerged victorious in 2020. With this mandate from the people and the parliament, the junta have no justification for calling another election during this term. The public doesn’t accept it, ethnic revolutionary organizations don’t accept it, and democracy activists don’t accept it. Such statements by the junta cannot be tolerated in the current intense political climate in Myanmar. 

VOA: The United Nations has taken the lead in addressing the Rohingya crisis, but China has also gotten involved, for example, in the repatriation of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh back to Myanmar. How do you see China’s role in the Rohingya crisis going forward? 

Aung Kyaw Moe: It’s undeniable that China holds significant sway in Myanmar’s political landscape as a neighboring superpower. However, China needs to understand that the transition towards the rule of law in Myanmar is not a threat to its interests. Regarding the Rohingya, China calculates its interests carefully. The Rohingya issue doesn’t directly affect China’s borders, but Chinese investments in Rakhine State, including deep-sea ports and the Shwe Gas natural gas pipelines project, are substantial. Perhaps China’s desire for peace and stability in Rakhine State aligns with its national interests. However, China’s attempts to garner international acceptance for the military junta, potentially by facilitating Rohingya repatriation, could grant the junta the legitimacy it seeks in international relations. It’s also plausible that China is indirectly creating diplomatic room to legitimize the junta. 

VOA: Currently, the Rohingya community remaining in Rakhine faces pressure from both the junta and the Arakan Army (AA), particularly during the AA’s recent offensive, which saw military tactical positions and entire towns being occupied. The Rohingya are essentially caught in the crossfire between the military junta and the AA, as the group seeks autonomy from Myanmar’s central government in Rakhine state. Given this complex situation, how do you perceive the possibility of coexistence between these two communities, especially considering the differing perspectives on ethnic identity? 

Aung Kyaw Moe: There are two crucial aspects to consider here. Firstly, as a government member and a Rohingya myself, in the complex political landscape of Myanmar, I see my individual and collective rights intricately linked to my identity and circumstances. In a political environment shaped by identity, the promise of equality means little if we’re denied the right to identify ourselves as we choose. Hence, the assertion of our Rohingya identity is essential for safeguarding our rights and cultural heritage. 

Secondly, peaceful coexistence hinges on addressing political aspirations accurately. While we strive to dismantle the junta and forge our own destinies, it’s imperative to avoid replicating the very racism we condemn. Our unity must be grounded in moral integrity and responsibility, not reactive emotions. When addressing organized provocations by the junta, our response should prioritize the common interests of all ethnic groups in Rakhine state. By aligning with the Rakhine people’s interests, we counter the junta’s attempts to marginalize us, and we uphold our collective well-being. Embracing moral principles and responsibilities empowers us to resist exploitation by the junta while fostering genuine unity based on shared values and aspirations.
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Rights lawyers go to court to stop German arms deliveries to Israel

Posted on by SeeEU

berlin — Human rights lawyers said Friday they had filed an urgent appeal against Germany’s government to stop exports of war weapons to Israel, citing reasons to believe they were being used in ways violating international humanitarian law in Gaza.

A Dutch court has ordered the Netherlands to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used for attacks on civilian targets in the Israeli-besieged Gaza Strip, where tens of thousands have been killed.

Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians in the Gaza war, saying Hamas militants use residential areas for cover, which the Palestinian Islamist group denies.

The Berlin case, brought by several organizations including the European Legal Support Center (ELSC), Law for Palestine and the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy, was filed in an administrative court on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza.

In a statement, the lawyers said the arms deliveries and support Germany has provided to Israel violated the country’s obligations under the War Weapons Control Act.

They cited a January order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, which it has subjected to siege and invasion since Hamas’ October 7 attack. Israel denies genocide allegations.

“Just the assumption is sufficient — that the weapons are used to commit acts that violate international law — to revoke arms exports under the Act,” lawyer Ahmed Abed told a news conference Friday in Berlin.

He said he expected a ruling within two to three weeks.

Political pressure

German government spokesperson Christiane Hoffmann said she could not comment about the Berlin court case and whether Germany would suspend arms exports to Israel pending a ruling.

“The federal government generally examines each arms export individually and takes a number of factors into account — including human rights and humanitarian law,” she said when asked about the matter by reporters.

International law experts said the litigation was unlikely to be able to force a halt to such arms exports under administrative law, though it could push Berlin to review its stance if evidence were provided.

“It could build up political pressure on the German government … to be more transparent and declare which arms it is planning to transfer or which arms it actually has transferred to Israel,” Max Mutschler, a senior researcher at the Bonn International Center for Conflict Studies, said.

Rights groups would have a better chance of success if they took the case to the ICJ in The Hague, said lawyer Holger Rothbauer, who successfully sued arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch over arms deliveries to Mexico in 2010.

“It seems to me that a [German] law to cover the case is missing,”

Rothbauer told Reuters, saying only a party directly affected by an administrative decision could sue to stop it. The rights lawyers said they were acting on behalf of Palestinians.

More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed and 75,750 injured in Israel’s military offensive on Gaza since October 7, the Gaza health ministry said Friday in an update.

With Gaza in ruins, and most of its 2.3 million population forced from their homes and relying on aid for survival, Israel faces rising calls from allies to halt the war and allow unfettered aid into the enclave, with critics saying governments should threaten to withhold military aid if it does not do so.

Since Hamas’ October terrorism attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies, Germany has been one of Israel’s staunchest allies alongside the United States, underlining its commitment to atonement for its perpetration of the World War II Nazi Holocaust in which 6 million Jews died.

Last year, Germany approved arms exports to Israel worth a 326.5 million euros ($353.70 million), including military equipment and war weapons, a 10-fold increase compared with 2022, according to Economic Ministry data.
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Iceland’s prime minister resigns to run for president

Posted on by SeeEU

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK — Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir announced her resignation Friday and said that she will run for president, a ceremonial post that is mostly above the daily political fray.

It was not immediately clear who would succeed her as prime minister, a job she has held since late 2017.

“I had decided some time ago not to seek reelection in the next parliamentary elections. At the same time, I still have a burning desire to continue to offer my services to Icelandic society,” Jakobsdottir said in a video message.

Iceland will hold a vote on June 1 to elect its new head of state.

The island nation of almost 400,000 people faces uncertainty after recent volcanic eruptions that triggered the indefinite evacuation of thousands of people, adding to pressures on an economy already facing high inflation and soaring interest rates.

Still, Jakobsdottir said she believed that the government had made significant progress on the challenges and that the country was on a firmer footing than just a few months ago.

Jakobsdottir has been crucial in keeping together the current coalition of her own Left-Green Movement, the pro-business Independence Party and the center-right Progressive Party.

The government has been in power since 2017, providing unusual stability in a country that went to polls five times from 2007 to 2017, a period marked by political scandals and distrust of politicians following the 2008 financial crisis.
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US report: 68,000 guns illegally trafficked by unlicensed dealers over 5 years

Posted on by SeeUS

WASHINGTON — More than 68,000 illegally trafficked firearms in the United States over a five-year period came through unlicensed dealers who aren’t required to perform background checks, according to new data released Thursday by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. 

That represents 54% of the illegally trafficked firearms in the U.S. between 2017 and 2021, Justice Department officials said. The guns were used in 368 shooting cases, which are harder to investigate because unlicensed dealers aren’t required to keep records of their sales that could allow federal agents to trace the weapon back to the original buyer, said ATF Director Steve Dettelbach. 

The report, ordered by Attorney General Merrick Garland, is the first in-depth analysis of firearm trafficking investigations in more than 20 years. It examined more than 9,700 closed ATF firearm trafficking investigations that began between 2017 and 2021. Firearms trafficking is when guns are purposely moved into the illegal market for a criminal purpose or possession. 

The second-highest share of firearm-trafficking cases investigated by ATF was from straw purchases, when someone buys a gun for a person who can’t get it legally themselves. 

The report also shows that the recipients of trafficked firearms were people who had previously been convicted of a felony in almost 60% of the cases in which investigators were able to identify the background of the recipient. Furthermore, trafficked firearms were used to commit additional crimes in almost 25% of the cases, Dettelbach said. That includes more than 260 murders and more than 220 attempted murders, according to the report. 

“The data shows, therefore, that those who illegally traffic firearms, whether it’s out of a trunk, at a gun show or online, are responsible for real violence in this nation,” Dettelbach said. “In short, you can’t illegally help to arm violent people and not be responsible for the violence that follows.” 

The report found the average number of guns trafficked per case was 16. People who got them through unlicensed dealers bought 20 weapons on average, compared with 11 guns for straw buyers, according to the report. 

The Biden administration has separately proposed a rule that would require thousands more gun sellers to be licensed and run background checks. The Justice Department says it’s aimed at sellers who are in the business of firearm sales, but the proposal quickly drew protest from gun-rights groups who contend it could ensnare regular people who sometimes sell their own guns. 

The rule, which has not yet been finalized, is estimated to affect 24,500 to 328,000 sellers. During the five years documented in the report, 3,400 unlicensed dealers were investigated by the ATF. 
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US employers added 303,000 jobs in March in sign of economic strength

Posted on by SeeUS

WASHINGTON — America’s employers delivered another outpouring of jobs in March, adding a sizzling 303,000 workers to their payrolls and bolstering hopes that the economy can vanquish inflation without succumbing to a recession in the face of high interest rates. 

Last month’s job growth was up from a revised 270,000 in February and was far above the 200,000 economists had forecast. By any measure, it amounted to a strong month of hiring, and it reflected the economy’s ability to withstand the pressure of high borrowing costs resulting from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes. With the nation’s consumers continuing to spend, many employers have kept hiring to meet steady customer demand. 

Friday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that the unemployment rate dipped to 3.8% from 3.9% in February. That rate has now come in below 4% for 26 straight months, the longest such streak since the 1960s. 

Normally, a blockbuster bounty of new jobs would fan worries that the additional spending from those new workers could accelerate inflation. But the March jobs report showed that wage growth was mild last month, which might allay any such fears. Average hourly wages were up 4.1% from a year earlier, the smallest year-over-year increase since mid-2021. But hourly pay rose 0.3% from February to March after increasing 0.2% the month before. 

The economy is sure to weigh on Americans’ minds as the November presidential vote nears and they assess President Joe Biden’s reelection bid. Many people still feel squeezed by the inflation surge that erupted in the spring of 2021. Eleven rate increases by the Fed have helped send inflation tumbling from its peak over the past year and a half. But average prices are still about 18% higher than they were in February 2021 — a fact for which Biden might pay a political price. 

The Fed’s policymakers are tracking the state of the economy, the job market and inflation to determine when to begin cutting interest rates from their multidecade highs — a move eagerly awaited by Wall Street traders, businesses, homebuyers and people in need of cars, household appliances and other major purchases that are typically financed. Rate cuts by the Fed would likely lead, over time, to lower borrowing rates across the economy. 

The central bank’s policymakers started raising rates two years ago to try to tame inflation, which by mid-2022 was running at a four-decade high. Those rate hikes — 11 of them from March 2022 through July 2023 — helped drastically slow inflation. Consumer prices were up 3.2% in February from a year earlier, far below a year-over-year peak of 9.1% in June 2022. 

Yet the sharply higher borrowing costs for individuals and companies that resulted from the Fed’s rate hikes were widely expected to trigger a recession, with waves of layoffs and a painful rise in unemployment. Yet to the surprise of just about everyone, the economy has kept growing steadily and employers have kept hiring at a healthy pace. Layoffs remain low. 

Some economists believe that a rise in productivity — the amount of output that workers produce per hour — made it easier for companies to hire, raise pay and post bigger profits without having to raise prices. In addition, an influx of immigrants into the job market is believed to have addressed labor shortages and slowed upward pressure on wage growth. This helped allow inflation to cool even as the economy kept growing. 

In the meantime, the Fed has signaled that it expects to cut rates three times this year. But it is awaiting more inflation data to gain further confidence that annual price increases are heading toward its 2% target. Some economists have begun to question whether the Fed will need to cut rates anytime soon considering the consistently durable U.S. economy.
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Vietnam heatwave threatens farmers’ livelihoods, worsens challenges for Mekong

Posted on by SeeEA

Ho Chi Minh City — A heatwave in Vietnam is worsening environmental conditions in the Mekong Delta region, and farmers and gig workers have told VOA the heat is causing grueling working conditions and cutting crop yields.

The heatwave is fueled by the El Nino weather pattern causing hotter and drier conditions in Vietnam. Le Dinh Quyet, head of the Southern Regional Hydro-Meteorological Center, told local news outlet VnExpress that peak temperatures hit the South early this year due to the El Nino and a heatwave that started early March is expected to continue through April and delay the start of the rainy season.

Vo Quang Tuong, a lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City Open University specializing in Hydrology, told VOA by email April 2 that the El Nino is “expected to exacerbate extreme weather and climate events like heat waves, floods, and droughts.”

In Ho Chi Minh City, a driver with the Grab ride-hailing service in his 60s told VOA that the heat was difficult to bear midday while carrying passengers on his motorbike.

“You feel the heat reflecting from the asphalt and the sky,” he said in Vietnamese on March 8. “This combination makes the heat unbearable.”

Another Grab driver, in his 20s, told VOA the same day in Vietnamese that he starts working after 4:00 p.m. to stay out of the sun during the hottest hours. “I don’t think it is worth working under the crazy heat.. I don’t think we should sacrifice our health,” he said.

Decreased crop yields

Tuong, the Ho Chi Minh City lecturer said, “Vietnam should be prepared for low rainfall, leading to drought, saltwater intrusion, and water shortages.”

The soaring temperatures, lack of rainfall, and increased salinity are already posing challenges for farmers.

A 46-year-old selling vegetables at an outdoor market in Ho Chi Minh City on March 19 said that although he waters his crops three times daily, the soil dries quickly in the heat.

“This March is much hotter,” he said in Vietnamese. “My vegetables are dying from the heat. The crop yields dropped 30% to 40% compared to the past.”

In the Mekong Delta, the country’s southernmost region made up of 12 provinces and Can Tho City, saltwater is intruding into freshwater sources. 

According to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, a salinity rate of 4 grams per liter is expected to reach 24 to 40 miles inland between April 1 and 10 while most plants can only cope with one gram of salinity. The Delta is reliant on the Mekong River for fresh water, which flows through five countries before it reaches Vietnam, splits into nine tributaries and meets the sea. 

Local outlet VietnamNews reported that authorities are building dams, dredging canals, encouraging farmers to store water in ponds in their orchards, and setting up 77 free water supply sites in coastal Tien Giang province. 

A 42-year-old rice farmer in the Mekong Delta Province of Long An told VOA he expected crop yields will be 20% to 30% lower than normal this year.

“In other years, I did not have to add water to the rice field but this year I have to do it once every five to seven days,” he said, during a phone call in Vietnamese on March 20. 

“This March is too hot, my skin got burned. I have to be in the field from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. to work,” he said, adding that the majority of his day is spent extracting well water for his rice fields.

Resource competition

For Brian Eyler, co-lead of the Mekong Dam Monitor at the Stimson Center in Washington, the biggest threats to the Mekong Delta are caused by humans and complicated by China’s control of the largest dams and cooperation among the five lower Mekong countries. 

During a public talk in Ho Chi Minh City on March 19, Eyler said that decades of damming, sand mining, and groundwater extraction pose an existential threat to the river. 

“This is a river undergoing a heart attack,” he said of the disruption to the river’s natural ebb and flow.

Eyler said that out of the hundreds of dams built on the Mekong, the biggest are two Chinese hydropower dams which are large enough to “see from outer space” and make “severe changes” to the river.

Although there are solutions to restore the Mekong, Eyler said he sees shrinking space for hope. He said that cooperation is limited and although the Mekong River Commission was founded in 1957 to work with the governments of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam to jointly manage the sustainable development of the river, the organization lacks power. 

“There’s not enough water to go around these days – resource competition is increasing,” Eyler told VOA.

A new Cambodian project could “drive a wedge between Cambodia and Vietnam,” according to Eyler. Cambodia plans to start building a 111-mile waterway, the Funan Techo Canal, which would connect Phnom Penh with key ports and cut off Vietnam’s grip on the shipping industry. ((https://www.voanews.com/a/villagers-near-proposed-canal-in-cambodia-worry-and-wait/7552864.html)) 

“Shared resources like the Mekong need to be governed in a smart way otherwise there’s a race to the bottom,” Eyler said. “It’s starting to really look like those last days are here in a very profound way.”
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Botswana leads calls on G7 countries to review diamond tracking initiative

Posted on by SeeAF

GABORONE, BOTSWANA — Africa’s leading diamond producer, Botswana, has written to the Group of Seven leading industrial countries seeking to reverse an initiative requiring all producers to send gems to Belgium for certification. This follows G7 move to prevent the import of diamonds mined in Russia.

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi told diplomats in Gaborone Wednesday the G7 traceability mechanism poses an unfair burden on African diamond producers. 

The G7 is an informal grouping of seven of the world’s advanced economies, including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. They have required since March 1 that all diamonds entering G7 countries be sent through Antwerp, Belgium, to determine their origin.

The controls are meant to prevent Russian diamonds out of global markets amid concerns the revenues will be used to finance Russia’s Ukraine war.

“We cannot agree to an attempt to undermine our quest for development by taking charge and responsibility of our own value addition of our resources,” Masisi said. “Because if you make Belgium, Antwerp the single node for verification, gosh, what impudence. When we mine our diamonds here and we are certain they are mined here and you add another layer of cost, delay and time and risk to direct interaction with customers and clients and you take them still to Antwerp, it’s not acceptable.”

Masisi said African diamond producing countries were not consulted by the G7 before the measures were introduced in March.

“When the G7 made these propositions, that are inimical to our interests and particularly Botswana because we are one of the largest producers at least outside Russia,” he said. “They were essentially regulating our industry completely without our participation. You can’t do this without engaging us, particularly Botswana. They did reach out and send people here. The engagement was pretty patronizing. They had essentially made up their minds.”

Masisi said he is lobbying other leaders to protest the controls.

 

 

Botswana, together with Angola and Namibia, two other African diamond producers, sent a letter protesting G7’s move but there has been no response.

“We wrote a letter, we authored the main letter, we shared it with other producing countries namely Namibia and Angola and we asked them to be co-signatories and with minor amendments we all co-signed and sent it to G7 and we have not gotten a response. Apparently they say they are consulting but the requirements have kicked in and luckily the World Diamond Council has also protested because there has been serious disruption to the flow of diamond trade, and cost implications and delays.”

Masisi said Botswana in particular already has advanced verification and traceability systems. 

The G7 move is seen as undermining the Kimberley Process, an existing commitment to remove conflict diamonds from the global supply chain.

“The African Diamond Producers Association is very right to protect their interests,” said Jaff Bamenjo, coordinator of the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition, which acts as an observer of the Kimberly Process. 

“That is legitimate. However, the G7 is also right to protect the values and principles they cherish and defend. The main issue to us, as the Kimberley Process Civil Society Coalition, is how much we accommodate the legitimate concerns of each other. That is the question. But I should say, the G7 in my opinion, from the very onset made a mistake not to consult the African diamond producers right from the initial stages.” 

Belgian-based diamond industry researcher Hans Merket told VOA traceability measures are necessary but that there is also a need to respond to African producers’ concerns. 

“A serious advancement of traceability in the diamond trade is long overdue,” Merket said. “Too many actors have been overtly comfortable in a lack of transparency for many years. I think delays in the implementation of the scheme in the first month were a growing pain and have already been partly resolved after some adaptations. The added costs I think are also manageable given that the scheme only applies to more valuable diamonds of about 1 carat.”

More than 100 diamond businesses recently wrote a letter to the Antwerp World Diamond Centre expressing concerns over delays in customs clearance of diamonds since the G7 introduced the traceability measures.
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Namibian company turns invasive tree into building material

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In desert Namibia, invasive acacia trees are sucking up valuable groundwater. Farmers cut them down to make way for pasture for their livestock. Now a company has found a novel way to use fungi to turn the cut-down trees into eco-friendly bricks. Vitalio Angula has the story from Brakwater, Namibia
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Taiwan earthquake rescuers face threat of landslides, rockfalls

Posted on by SeeEA

HUALIEN, Taiwan — Rescuers in Taiwan faced the threat of further landslides and rockfalls in their search Friday for a dozen people still missing from this week’s earthquake, as the death toll rose to 12 and some of the stranded were brought to safety.

Searchers discovered two more bodies after Wednesday’s quake of magnitude 7.2 struck the sparsely populated, largely rural eastern county of Hualien, stranding hundreds in a national park as boulders barreled down mountains, cutting off roads.

As some 50 aftershocks rattled the area overnight, some felt as far away as Taipei, rescuers said about 400 people cut off in a luxury hotel in the Taroko Gorge national park were safe, with helicopters ferrying out the injured and bringing supplies.

“Rain increases the risks of rockfalls and landslides, which are currently the biggest challenges,” said Su Yu-ming, the leader of a search team helping the rescue effort.

“These factors are unpredictable, which means we cannot confirm the number of days required for the search and rescue operations.”

Taiwan’s fire department said two bodies were found in the mountains, but did not immediately update the death toll. It put the number of missing at 18, three of them foreigners of Australian and Canadian nationality.

It dropped from the list of missing an Indian national whose inclusion it called a mistake but did not elaborate.

A group of 50 hotel workers marooned on a road to the national park are now mostly safe.

“I am lucky to survive,” said David Chen, 63, a security manager at the hotel, after his rescue. “We were terrified when the earthquake first happened. We thought it was all over, all over, all over, because it was an earthquake, right?”

Rocks were still tumbling down nearby slopes as the group left, he added. “We had to navigate through the gaps between the falling rocks, with the rescue team out front.”

Chen’s 85-year-old mother wept in relief on being reunited with her son, as the family had not known for some time if he had survived.

“I was happy when he returned,” said the mother, Chen Lan-chih. “I didn’t sleep at all last night and couldn’t eat anything.”

The quake came a day before Taiwan began a long weekend holiday for the traditional tomb sweeping festival, when people head to their homes to spruce up ancestral graves.

Many others visit tourist spots, like Hualien, famed for its rugged beauty, but the earthquake has crushed business, with many bookings canceled, some businesses said.

“This is a disaster actually for us because no matter (whether) hotel, hostel, restaurants (everything) really depends on tourism,” said hostel owner Aga Syu, adding that her main concern was the well-being of guests. “I hope this won’t destroy their image of Hualien.”

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes. More than 100 people were killed in a 2016 quake in its south, while one of magnitude 7.3 killed more than 2,000 in 1999.
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Kansas newspaper publisher files lawsuit over police raid

Posted on by SeeUS

Washington — The publisher of a small Kansas newspaper that police raided in August is suing officials involved in the act, accusing them of violating the newspaper’s First Amendment rights.

When police in Marion, Kansas, raided the newsroom of the Marion County Record and the home of its publisher, Eric Meyer, the move was met with widespread condemnation from press freedom groups.

Meyer said he wanted to file the lawsuit because the raid on his weekly newspaper has major implications for press freedom across the United States.

“We’re the plaintiffs in this, but really, the plaintiff is American democracy,” Meyer told VOA. “They’re trying to silence criticism — silence anything other than the voice they want to hear. And we just can’t let that stand. We wouldn’t be doing our duty as Americans.”

During the August 11 raid, security footage showed police seizing computers, cell phones, hard drives and other devices from the newsroom. And in the Meyer household, footage reveals Eric’s 98-year-old mother, Joan, co-owner of the newspaper, confronting police during the raid on their home.

The lawsuit, which Meyer filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for Kansas, also alleges that the stress of the raid caused his mother’s death the day after.

After the raid, Joan “repeatedly told her son that her entire life was meaningless if this is what Marion had become,” the lawsuit said.

The nearly 130-page lawsuit, which Meyer said took some time to put together, is the fourth filed by current and former newspaper staffers over the incident.

Police defended the raid, saying they were responding to an identity theft complaint.

Meyer disagrees.

“This was an attempt by people to weaponize the criminal justice system for personal gains,” he said.

The newspaper was investigating the police chief who led the raid. Gideon Cody eventually resigned in October after body camera footage revealed him rifling through files about himself.

“It’s clear as anything that we didn’t do anything wrong,” said Meyer, who estimates the case won’t be resolved until 2026.  
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NATO members urged to provide air defense systems for Ukraine

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NATO members pledged to boost Ukraine’s air defenses against Russian attacks as the alliance marked its 75th anniversary Thursday, following a two-day summit of foreign ministers in Brussels. Members, however, did not agree on any specific military aid deal for Kyiv, as Henry Ridgwell reports.
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US official talks AUKUS expansion ahead of summit with Japan

Posted on by SeeUS

washington — U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has suggested that the U.S.-U.K.-Australia trilateral security partnership known as AUKUS may soon be expanded to include other Indo-Pacific nations.

AUKUS was established in 2021 in the face of China’s increasingly assertive presence in the Indo-Pacific. Talks about other countries joining the group or participating in what is called Pillar 2 have been circulating for more than a year.

“It was always believed when AUKUS was launched that, at some point, we would welcome new countries to participate, particularly in Pillar 2,” Campbell said while speaking Wednesday at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).

The first pillar of AUKUS was to provide Australia with a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine fleet, and the second pillar is to collaborate on advanced capabilities such as artificial intelligence, quantum technology, advanced network capabilities, hypersonic capabilities, electronic warfare and underwater capabilities.

Campbell added that other countries have expressed interest in participating in AUKUS when the time was right.

“I think you’ll hear that we have something to say about that next week,” he said.

Trilateral summit next

Next week, U.S. President Joe Biden will host a trilateral summit with Japan and the Philippines. Biden will also have a bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Campbell said the summit with Japan is expected to “historically” upgrade security cooperation relations, including the joint development of defense supplies.

According to Nikkei Asia, Campbell revealed on March 21 that the U.S.-Japan talks are expected to discuss technical cooperation between Japan and AUKUS.

According to the report, Campbell said Japan had made it “very clear” that it had no interest in participating in the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine project. But, he said, “there are clearly areas that Japan could bring substantial capacity to bear in security and technological pursuits that advance common goals in the Indo-Pacific.”

Campbell told Nikkei Asia that those areas include advanced robotics, cyber initiatives and some work in anti-submarine warfare.

At Wednesday’s event, Campbell noted that several countries in the Indo-Pacific region are undertaking critical research and development in areas Pillar 2 focuses on, including hypersonic capabilities, long-range strikes, undersea capabilities and cyber.

AUKUS to JAUKUS?

As China’s provocative actions have escalated in recent years, AUKUS has begun to set its sights on more countries.

During a “2+2” meeting between Japan and Australia in December 2022, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said that AUKUS could involve Japan.

In August 2023, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British House of Commons stated that AUKUS should invite Japan and South Korea to join.

Last November, former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso suggested during a visit to Australia that Japan join the group, which could be named JAUKUS. He said that would help send a unified signal on the Taiwan issue.

Australia and New Zealand also raised the possibility of New Zealand joining the second pillar of AUKUS after a ministerial meeting between the two countries in February.

Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst in defense strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, or ASPI, said the second pillar of AUKUS could draw on the strengths of Japan, New Zealand, Canada and even South Korea, but not necessarily as full members.

“Rather than bringing in these states as full AUKUS members, it’s better to bring them in on a project-by-project basis within pillar two areas of priority — for example, robotics and A.I., autonomous systems, advanced undersea warfare, electronic warfare, quantum technologies, and hypersonics,” Davis told VOA via email.

“It also opens up opportunities to add in some new priority areas — for example, space-related areas, where these states can make a great contribution.”

Bronte Munro, an analyst in the ASPI office in Washington, told VOA that Japan is an increasingly suitable candidate for joining AUKUS, noting major changes in its defense policy in response to the perceived Chinese threat. These include amendments to laws prohibiting the export of lethal weapons.

Munro said Japan’s manufacturing of advance semiconductors is critical for technology leadership, and the inclusion of Japan can help “secure semiconductor supply chains more explicitly for AUKUS partners.”

However, there are doubts in some circles about the wisdom of expanding AUKUS in view of the risks involved in sharing and transferring advanced technologies.

Andrew Hastie, the shadow defense minister of the Australian opposition party, told the U.S. media outlet Breaking Defense on March 28 that AUKUS’ focus should remain with the three countries already involved to ensure a seamless “transfer of the very sensitive secrets and intellectual property that’s involved with the heart of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2.”

When asked at the CNAS event whether Japan has established a security architecture to integrate into the second pillar of AUKUS, Campbell pointed out that the U.S. has been involved in “a series of engagements with Japan both on the intelligence side and in security spheres to encourage Japan to take on increasingly more strenuous activities that protect their intellectual property, that hold government officials accountable for the secrets they are trusted with.”

“It’s fair to say that Japan has taken some of those steps, but not all of them,” he said. “And we believe that ultimately, it is in our interest to share as much information and other technologies … with close partners like Japan to allow for a deeper, more fundamental alliance,” said Campbell.

He announced that “One of the things that I think you’ll see next week are steps, for the first time, that will allow the United States and Japan to work more collaboratively on joint development and potentially co-production of vital military and defense equipment.

“The U.S.-Japan Alliance is the cornerstone of our engagement in the Indo-Pacific.”

Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report.
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US, Japan, Philippines eye cooperation on South China Sea

Posted on by SeeEA

washington — Planning is already underway for three-nation naval patrols in the South China Sea ahead of a high-profile summit next week among the leaders of the United States, Japan and the Philippines, senior officials have said.

Philippine ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez was quoted by the Financial Times on Wednesday saying that Washington, Tokyo and Manila are finalizing details of an agreement on the patrols, including when to begin and how often they will take place.

The U.S. and the Philippines have conducted joint patrols in the past, but this will be the first time Japan has participated. Both Japan and the Philippines are treaty allies of the United States.

Asked about the plan, Pentagon spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Martin Meiners told VOA’s Korean Service via email this week that the U.S. has been concerned about “dangerous and destabilizing” actions in the region and is “committed to maintaining deterrence, peace, and stability” with its allies and partners.

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said the April 11 summit will be an occasion for “an unprecedented trilateral engagement” among the three countries that will lead to closer cooperation in the South China Sea and elsewhere.

He made the remark Wednesday at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

A senior U.S. official said the three leaders will discuss what was described as China’s “increasingly risky behavior” in the South China Sea.

“We are increasingly concerned that the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China’s] behavior in this space could lead us closer to really, unintended consequences,” the official said at a background White House press briefing this week.

“U.S. alliances and partnerships are not about China. … But oftentimes, Chinese action motivates a lot — much of what we talk about,” continued the official.

The most recent flare-up came on March 26 when the Chinese Coast Guard used water cannon to prevent a Philippine vessel from conducting a resupply mission to an outpost on a reef in waters within Manila’s 200-mile exclusive economic zone.

 
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told his Philippine counterpart Eduardo Año on Monday that the U.S. supports the Philippines against China’s “dangerous actions on March 26 obstructing a lawful Philippine resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal.”

Manila claims the shoal in the Spratly Islands as its own territory and has been keeping the BRP Sierra Madre, a World War II-era navy transport ship, grounded on the reef since late 1999.

Patrick Cronin, the Hudson Institute’s Asia-Pacific Security Chair, told VOA via email on Tuesday that the trilateral maritime patrols can provide “both a level of deterrence and a way of blocking Beijing’s efforts to create de facto control over disputed waters and some areas that clearly belong to the Philippines.”

He continued, “China will not desist from its ‘sovereignty enforcement’ efforts, use of white hulls and maritime militia to impose its domestic law on international waters, but it may have to shelve staking further claims in the face of concerted opposition from the three democracies.”

Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told VOA via email on Wednesday that “the military cooperation between the relevant countries must not interfere in South China Sea disputes,” and called for the three allies to avoid actions that would “harm China’s territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests and security interests.”

Liu continued, “The South China Sea issue is a matter between China and some ASEAN countries.”

Among ASEAN member states, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are official claimants against China, whose claims to virtually all of the resource-rich waters have been rejected by an international tribunal.

 
Prashanth Parameswaran, a fellow at the Wilson Center and founder of the weekly ASEAN Wonk newsletter, told VOA on Tuesday, that “more patrols by more countries is one of many ways to reinforce presence and prevent the nightmare scenario of the South China Sea becoming a Chinese lake.”

He continued, “In addition to alliance networking, the United States and its partners will have to find ways to work with Southeast Asian states which are not formal allies but are nonetheless critical in addressing China’s assertiveness as well.”
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Zimbabwe central bank says it has assets worth 2.5 tons of gold

Posted on by SeeAF

harare, zimbabwe — On the eve of the anticipated rollout of a new gold-backed currency, Zimbabwe’s central bank announced Thursday that it has the equivalent of 2.5 tons of gold reserves.

Speaking in Harare after seeing the assets of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, John Mushayakarara, the new bank’s governor, told President Emmerson Mnangagwa – whom he addressed as H.E., for his excellency – that the bank’s balance sheet was healthy, with reserves of gold and other minerals worth $175 million.

“I have taken over the control of the central bank,” Mushayakarara said, “and one of the things I had to do upon taking over was to verify the assets that the central bank holds. And this morning I showed H.E. the gold that is in the vaults, and I can confirm that we have in the vaults at the central bank 1.1 tons of gold.

“We also have other minerals – diamonds and so forth. If converted to gold, [they would] be equal to 0.4 ton of gold. We have other gold which is held offshore. It is worth 1 ton of gold.”

On Friday, Mushayakarara is expected to announce the introduction of a gold-backed currency to replace the worthless local dollar, which is currently trading at around 30,000 to one U.S. dollar and, unlike the South African rand, does not circulate in neighboring countries.

This was the first time in recent memory that the central bank gave an accounting of its gold and mineral assets. Mnangagwa said he was happy to physically see the assets that outgoing Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya handed over to Mushayakarara.

Responding to a question from journalists about whether the country had enough gold to back its anticipated new currency, Mnangagwa said, “Let me assure you that my government does not work on rumors. We work on facts. Rumors can continue flying, but you have been able to come here and see facts for yourselves. So you should compare the facts you see today and the rumors you hear in the streets.”

The press conference generated much debate on social media, with some saying the country’s gold reserves were being looted. One businessman allied with the ruling Zanu-PF party, Pedzisayi Sakupwanya, said he delivered 13 tons of gold to the central bank last year.

Zimbabwe has introduced and abandoned at least five currencies since independence in 1980, all of which lost value to become almost worthless. It remains to be seen how well the new gold-backed currency is accepted by the public, and how it trades against the dollar and the South African rand.
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People jump into sea to escape ferry fire in Gulf of Thailand; all 108 on board safe

Posted on by SeeEA

BANGKOK — Panicked passengers jumped into the sea to escape a raging ferry fire in the Gulf of Thailand early Thursday, and all 108 people on board were safe. 

The overnight ferry from Surat Thani province was about to arrive at Koh Tao, a popular tourist destination off the Thai coast, when one of the passengers suddenly heard a crackling sound and smelled smoke. 

Maitree Promjampa said he saw billowing smoke and fire less than five minutes later, and that was when people started shouting and rang the alarm. 

“We could barely get the life vests in time,” he told The Associated Press. “It was chaotic. People were weeping … I also teared up.” 

Of the 108 people on the ferry, 97 were passengers, Surat Thani officials said on Facebook. The province’s public relations department posted that everyone was rescued with no casualties. 

Videos showed people hurrying out of the ferry’s cabin while putting on life vests, as thick black smoke swept across the ferry. It was later engulfed in fire. 

Maitree, a Surat Thani resident who often travels to Koh Tao for work, said several boats came to their rescue around 20 minutes after they called for help, but the boats could not get close to the ferry out of fear of explosions. He said people had to jump into the sea to be rescued. Videos showed the ferry was also carrying several vehicles. 

“Everyone had to help themselves,” he said. 

Officials said the fire was since brought under control. It began in the engine, but the cause is being investigated. The ferry did not sink. 

The ferry from Surat Thani to Koh Tao carries both commuters and tourists. Koh Tao is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the coast. 
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US must care for migrant children in camps, judge says

Posted on by SeeUS

WASHINGTON — Migrant children who wait in makeshift camps along the U.S.-Mexico border for Customs and Border Protection officers to process them are in the agency’s custody and are subject to a long-standing court-supervised agreement that set standards for their treatment, a judge ruled.

The issue of when the children are officially in CPB custody is particularly important because of the 1997 court settlement on how migrant children in U.S. government custody must be treated. Those standards include a time limit on how long the children can be held and services such as toilets, sinks and temperature controls.

Wednesday’s ruling means the Department of Homeland Security must quickly process the children and place them in facilities that are “safe and sanitary.”

The border camps have become a flashpoint between immigrant advocates and the federal government. The U.S. has said smugglers send migrants to the camps and argued that the children are not yet in CPB custody because they haven’t been arrested. Advocates say the U.S. government has a responsibility for the children and that CBP often directs migrants to the camps, sometimes even driving them there.

Children traveling alone must be turned over within 72 hours to the U.S. Health and Human Services Department. That agency generally releases them to family in the United States while an immigration judge considers asylum. Asylum-seeking families are typically released in the U.S. while their cases wind through courts.

“This is a tremendous victory for children at open air detention sites, but it remains a tragedy that a court had to direct the government to do what basic human decency and the law clearly require,” Neha Desai, senior director of immigration at the National Center for Youth Law, said in a statement. “We expect CBP to comply with the court’s order swiftly, and we remain committed to holding CBP accountable for meeting the most rudimentary needs of children in their legal custody, including food, shelter, and basic medical care.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee’s decision could have far-reaching implications because of the changing face of who is coming to the United States. Decades ago, the typical person attempting to enter the U.S. was an adult male from Mexico seeking work. Now, families with children are increasingly making perilous journeys to the border seeking a new life. Caring for children puts different stresses on federal agencies more historically more geared toward adults.

The legal challenge focuses on two areas in California: one between two border fences in San Diego and another in a remote mountainous region east of San Diego. Migrants who cross the border illegally wait under open skies or sometimes in tents or structures made of tree branches while short on food and water. When the number of migrants was particularly high last year, they waited for several days for CBP agents to arrest and process them.

Gee ruled that the Customs and Border Protection’s juvenile coordinator must maintain records on minors held in the agency’s custody for more than 72 hours and that includes any time the minors spend in the camps. The agency must make sure that the treatment of minors at open-air sites complies with the 1997 agreement, Gee wrote.

Gee set a May 10 deadline for the juvenile coordinator to file an interim report about the number of minors held in open-air sites and how the agency was complying with the judge’s order.
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Hybrids, electric vehicles shine at New York auto show

Posted on by SeeUS

The 2024 New York International Auto Show kicked off in Manhattan in late March — and visitors have until April 7 to admire some of the coolest new car technology. Evgeny Maslov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Michael Eckels.
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Spain’s decision to recognize Palestinian state marks potential turning point for Europe

Posted on by SeeEU

Madrid — Spain’s announcement this week that it will recognize a Palestinian sovereign state by July could mark a major turning point with other European states poised to follow Madrid’s lead, analysts say.

Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told Spanish media Tuesday Spain would recognize Palestine diplomatically by July.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares confirmed the plan, saying it would help an independent Palestine’s entry into the United Nations.

Ignacio Molina, a specialist on Spanish foreign affairs at the Real Elcano Institute, a Madrid research group, said both domestic political and foreign policy reasons had led Spain to say it would recognize Palestinian sovereignty.

The catalyst was the attack on the World Central Kitchen convoy Tuesday by Israeli forces in which seven aid workers were killed, sparking outrage in Spain.

Prime Minister Sanchez Wednesday branded as “insufficient” and “unacceptable” the response from Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, who said Israeli forces had “unintentionally” killed the aid workers. The NGO that employed them is run by Spanish-American celebrity chef José Andrés.

“In terms of domestic politics, Spain’s government is composed of a left-wing coalition government which has been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause,” Molina told VOA.

“The far-left Podemos and now Sumar parties in the coalition had not been involved in foreign policy until now but the Spanish government has been more vocal on the issue of Gaza.”

In terms of foreign policy, Spain wants to demonstrate leadership on the international stage by encouraging other EU states to recognize an independent Palestinian state, Molina said.

“Palestine is one of the few issues in which Spain can make progressive foreign policy. It gives Spain a leadership role in the EU. Spain has a peculiar position internationally with links between the Arab and Latin America which gives it a certain moral authority on this issue,” he said.

Madrid did not recognize Israel diplomatically until 1986, after Spain joined the EU.

The role of history

Spain’s position on Israel has been linked to the events of the 20th century.

During the long dictatorship of Generalissimo Francisco Franco from 1939 until 1975, Spain maintained close links to Arab nations.

“Spain did not take part in the Second World War, so it did not have the same moral obligations over the Holocaust as other Western countries to recognize Israel and for domestic reasons, Madrid wanted good relations with Arab countries to supply petroleum,” Molina said.

But Spanish policy has also been influenced by centuries of history.

In 1492, under the Alhambra Decree, Catholic monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella ordered Jews to leave Spain or convert to Christianity.

More than 500 years later, in 2015, Madrid sought to make amends with an apology and offered Sephardic Jews Spanish citizenship.

Today Spain has a small Jewish community of about 50,000 people, compared with the 500,000 who live in France. Meanwhile, about 2.3 million Muslims, many of Moroccan origin, live in Spain according to figures from the Spanish statistics institute.

In 2014, under the then-ruling conservative People’s Party, the Spanish parliament approved a symbolic motion in favor of the Palestinian state.

Since the October attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent war, marches in support of the Palestinian people have been held in Spanish cities on a regular basis.

Compared to other nations in Western Europe, there have been far fewer pro-Israel demonstrations.

A survey by Simple Logica published in January by eldiario.es, a left-leaning news site, found 60.7% of Spaniards condemned the Israeli offensive in Gaza and 57.9% agreed with the Spanish government’s call for a cease-fire.

Separatist sympathies

Within Spanish society, there is sympathy for the Palestinian cause because Basques and Catalans see their own struggle for nationhood against Spain as similar to the Palestinian fight against Israeli occupation.

“I think of myself as a Basque person rather than Spanish. We have always identified with the Palestinians as they have been oppressed by the Israelis as we were oppressed by the Spanish,” Igor Otxoa, of the Guernica Palestine organization, told VOA.

“If Spain recognizes Palestine, it is a start, but it does not mean that it will break off relations with Israel. Spanish companies are still selling arms to Israel and other goods.”

Spain’s Jewish community criticized the government’s decision to recognize Palestinian statehood.

“We consider that the recognition of the Palestinian state should be reached from a consensus between all members of the EU. … Talking of two states, when one wants to push you into the sea, is difficult,” the Federation of Jewish Communities of Spain told VOA in a statement.

Last month, Spain, along with Ireland, Malta and Slovenia, issued a joint statement saying they were “ready to recognize Palestine.”

Vanessa Frazier, the current president of the U.N. Security Council and Malta’s ambassador to the U.N., said this week that she has received a letter from the Palestinian Authority asking to be recognized as a full member of the United Nations and that the letter has been circulated to Security Council members.

Nine out of the 27 EU member states recognize a sovereign Palestine.

In 2014, Sweden became the first member of the bloc to recognize a Palestinian state. Malta and Cyprus did so before they joined the EU. Some Eastern European states did so when they were members of the Soviet Union, but Hungary and the Czech Republic have since emerged as close allies of Israel.

Apart from Spain, domestic political reasons may prevent Ireland and Belgium from formally recognizing the Palestinian state in the short term, observers said.

Ireland faces a general election next year and Belgium has a coalition government that is not united on the issue.

Malta and Slovenia are more likely to follow Madrid’s example.
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Somalia expels Ethiopian ambassador, orders closure of two consulates

Posted on by SeeAF

WASHINGTON — Somalia said it expelled Ethiopia’s ambassador in Mogadishu and ordered the closure of two consulates — one each in the semi-autonomous Puntland region and the breakaway Somaliland region — in a dispute over a port deal. 

“The plain interference of Ethiopia’s government in the internal affairs of Somalia is a violation of the independence and sovereignty of Somalia,” said the office of Somalia’s prime minister in a statement Thursday. 

The decision followed a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hamza Barre in Mogadishu. 

A separate statement by Somalia’s foreign ministry said it had ordered Ethiopian Ambassador Muktar Mohamed Ware to leave the country within 72 hours, effective Thursday. 

In an interview with VOA Somali, Somalia’s information minister, Daud Aweis Jama, said the decision came as Ethiopia continued to interfere in Somalia’s internal affairs. 

“Nowadays Ethiopia has been repeatedly violating Somalia’s national, territorial independence. Therefore, the government has taken this decision to close two Ethiopian consulates and send [the] Ethiopian ambassador in Mogadishu and their diplomatic staff back to their country,” said Aweis. 

Tension has been simmering 

Tensions have been growing between Ethiopia and Somalia since January, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed “a memorandum of understanding” with Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi, who had been visiting Addis Ababa. 

Both Ethiopia and Somaliland authorities described it as a “historic” initial agreement that would give Somaliland a path to recognition and allow landlocked Ethiopia to have access to the Red Sea. 

Ethiopia said it wanted to set up a naval base there and offered possible recognition of Somaliland in exchange. 

Somaliland has operated independently from Somalia since 1991 but is not recognized by any other country as a sovereign state. 

The Somali government strongly rejected the memorandum of understanding and recalled its ambassador in Ethiopia in protest. 

A month later, in February, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called the deal illegal and said that his country would “defend itself” if Ethiopia goes ahead with it. 

Mohamud also said at the time, he did not plan to kick Ethiopian diplomats out of the country. 

 

Today’s government decision, however, came a day after the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, which is also a federal member state, announced it had signed a new cooperation agreement with Addis Ababa. 

Puntland, whose relationship with Mogadishu has been marred by political disputes, said days ago that it had withdrawn from the country’s federal system and that it would govern itself independently, following a dispute over constitutional changes approved by Somalia’s bicameral parliament. 

“Somalia’s federal government is responsible for the country’s foreign affairs and we consider any agreement a country signs with a different side or a region a clear violation against Somali sovereignty,” said Aweis. 

In response to today’s government decision, Puntland Information Minister Mohamud Aidid Dirir accused Mogadishu of trying to assert its control on “a territory it does not govern.” 

“Mogadishu has failed to eradicate terrorist groups and spread governance across the country and now it is trying to impose its decisions on a peaceful region that does not run with its orders. It cannot close a consulate in Puntland,” Aidid told VOA. 

In an interview with VOA Somali, Somaliland Deputy Foreign Minister Rhoda Jama Elmi described Mogadishu’s decision as “a mere dream.” 

The “Mogadishu government had nothing to do with opening of the Ethiopian consulate in Somaliland and its decision has nothing to do with us. It has no impact on Somaliland,” he said. 

According to Reuters, Ethiopia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Nebiyu Tedla, said it did not have information on the Somali government decisions. 

Meanwhile, the Somali Cabinet of Ministers approved the appointment of Abdullahi Mohamed Ali Sanbaloolshe as the new director of the National Security and Intelligence Agency of Somalia (NISA), during the council’s weekly meeting in Mogadishu on Thursday. 

The newly appointed director has previously held the position of NISA’s director twice and has served in other roles, including minister and ambassador. Currently, he is a member of the lower house. 

According to the country’s constitution, the prominent member of parliament, a close ally of President Mohamud, will automatically lose his parliamentary seat. 

The new director will replace Mahad Mohamed Salad, who vacated the position, citing personal and future political plans. Government sources who asked for anonymity said Salad intends to run for the leader of Galmudug regional state in an election this year. 
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Biden heralds 75th anniversary of NATO’s founding

Posted on by SeeEU

White House — President Joe Biden welcomed NATO’s 75th anniversary Thursday, as the security alliance hosted new member Sweden for the first time at a major meeting — and as Ukraine eagerly hopes for an invitation to join the group at an upcoming Washington summit. 

In a statement, Biden welcomed the recent addition of new members Finland and Sweden, saying “we must choose to protect this progress and build on it.” 

“This is the greatest military alliance in the history of the world,” Biden said. “But it didn’t happen by accident, nor was it inevitable. Generation after generation, the United States and our fellow Allies have chosen to come together to stand up for freedom and push back against aggression — knowing we are stronger, and the world is safer, when we do.” 

Biden’s Democratic allies agreed. 

“Despite [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s attempts to splinter our alliance with his war against Ukraine, the transatlantic partnership is more united than ever before, thanks to the determined leadership of Joe Biden,” said former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “On this monumental anniversary, we reaffirm that America’s commitment to NATO remains bipartisan and ironclad — and that we will never waver in our defense of democracy.” 

NATO allies have been increasingly unnerved by the prospect of former Republican President Donald Trump returning to the White House if he defeats Biden in the November 5 U.S. presidential election. 

As president, Trump frequently complained that numerous NATO countries were not meeting NATO’s recommendation that they spend 2% of their country’s economic output on defense. 

In February, at a campaign rally, Trump recounted what he said was a conversation he had when he was the U.S. leader with the “president of a big country.” 

“Well sir, if we don’t pay, and we’re attacked by Russia — will you protect us?” Trump quoted the unnamed leader as saying. 

“I said: ‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent.’

He said: ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.’

‘No, I would not protect you.,” said Trump. “In fact, I would encourage them [Russia] to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay.'”

The NATO countries’ pledge to defend each other has been invoked only once, when al-Qaida terrorists attacked the U.S. in 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people. 

The U.S. and its allies responded with a two-decade fight against the militants’ training sites and encampments in Afghanistan although Taliban rulers remained in power as Biden pulled out the last U.S. troops in 2021. 

Some analysts argue that the alliance remains relevant, citing Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. 

“Nearly a billion people sleep more soundly at night under NATO’s protective umbrella,” said Robert Benson, a senior policy analyst at the Center for American Progress, in a message sent to VOA. 

“Yet a small but vocal minority views the alliance as a relic of the past, an albatross, or a distraction — all this in a world where Russian imperial ambition has once again threatened international peace and security,” he said. “The United States must continue to support Ukraine and to strengthen NATO, not out of charity or moral obligation, but because it makes us safer here at home.” 

Sean Monaghan, a foreign affairs analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told VOA that he does not expect NATO to offer Ukraine a formal invitation to join the military alliance when it holds its 75th anniversary summit in Washington in July.

The allies agreed last year at NATO’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, not to invite Ukraine until its war with Russia has ended. 

“When the time is right,” Monaghan said, “NATO allies and Ukraine will want to move quickly from invitation to membership to avoid a drawn-out period where Ukraine is at risk of coercion but not protected” by the NATO treaty provision that all countries must defend each other if they are attacked. 

“The summit is likely to focus on boosting long-term support for Ukraine, including through NATO auspices,” Monaghan said. 
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