Asia

Over 1,000 Rohingya Flee India for Bangladesh Fearing Crackdown

At least 1,300 Rohingya have crossed into Bangladesh from India since the start of the year, an official said on Wednesday, as fears of deportation to Myanmar spark an exodus. New Delhi has faced sharp criticism for turning Rohingya people over to Myanmar in the past months, despite the members of the persecuted minority facing threats to their safety there, with the United Nations and rights groups accusing India of disregarding international law.

‘India, which is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, arrested 230 Rohingya in 2018 – the highest number in years – as Hindu nationalists called for the Rohingya to be deported en masse. “For the past year, the government of India has been making life difficult for the Rohingya refugees in India”, Ravi Nair, of the South Asia Human Rights Documentation Centre (SAHRDC), told Al Jazeera. Nair said India must honour the principle of “non-refoulement” – the practice of not forcing refugees or asylum seekers to return to a country in which they can be subjected to persecution. He said that the Rohingya in India are subjected to “regular visits by local intelligence officials, this includes harassment about their paperwork. “A large number of Rohingya, our own data shows over 200, from Jammu to Tripura, Assam and West Bengal states have been arrested and imprisoned,” he said. The round-ups in India and fear of deportation to Myanmar have driven even more of the stateless Rohingya into Bangladesh, where a million already live in sprawling refugee camps in the country’s southeast.’ Associated Press reported for Al Jazeera.

‘New Delhi has faced sharp criticism for turning members of the persecuted minority over to Myanmar in recent weeks, despite the army there being accused of atrocities against the Rohingya. The United Nations and rights groups accused India of disregarding international law and returning the Rohingya to possible danger in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. India, which is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, arrested 230 Rohingya in 2018 — the most in years as Hindu hardliners called for the displaced Muslims to be deported en masse. The round-ups in India, and fear of deportation to Myanmar, have driven even more of the stateless Muslims into Bangladesh, where a million Rohingya live in giant refugee camps in the country’s southeast. Nayana Bose, a spokeswoman for the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG), which includes UN agencies and other foreign humanitarian organisations, said the pace of new arrivals had escalated since January 3. “Some 1,300 individuals from 300 families have arrived from India to Bangladesh until today,” she told AFP. The new arrivals were being housed in a UN transit centre, she added. UNHCR spokesman Firas Al-Khateeb said the UN refugee agency was “aware of the situation”. Those crossing the border in recent weeks have been detained by police and sent to Cox’s Bazar, a southern district home to the world’s largest refugee camps.’ Associated Press reported for The News International.

US Legislators Introduce Bills Targeting Chinese Tech Companies

A bipartisan group of legislators in the United States has introduced bills that would prohibit the sale of US chips or other components to Chinese telecommunications companies that violate Washington’s sanctions or export control laws.

‘The proposed law was introduced on Wednesday shortly before the Wall Street Journal reported that US authorities are in the “advanced” stages of a criminal probe that could result in an indictment of Chinese technology giant Huawei, the second-largest global smartphone maker and biggest producer of telecommunications equipment. Citing anonymous sources, the Journal said that an indictment could be coming soon on allegations that Huawei stole Tappy, a T-Mobile technology which mimicked human fingers and was used to test smartphones.’ Associated Press reported for Al Jazeera.

‘China has accused the US of trying to suppress its tech companies, as US prosecutors reportedly investigate allegations that Huawei stole trade secrets from US businesses. Adding to pressure on the Chinese telecoms firm, US lawmakers have proposed a ban on selling US chips or components to the company. “The real intent of the United States is to employ its state apparatus in every conceivable way to suppress and block out China’s high-tech companies,” said Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the foreign affairs ministry, at a regular news briefing on Thursday. She said the reported investigation would be not only “a violation of free and fair business competition but a violation rule of law.” The state-run Global Times called the latest pressure on Huawei a form of “technological McCarthyism” aimed at politicising and blocking Chinese businesses. Hu Xijin, the editor of the paper, said he believed US attitudes toward China had reached a level of “hysteria”.’ Lily Kuo and Leyland Cecco write for Guardian.

Middle East & North Africa

Rifts and Absences Overshadow ‘Failed’ Arab Summit in Beirut

The Arab Economic and Social Development Summit has kicked off in Lebanon’s capital, overshadowed by political rifts and poor attendance among Arab heads of state, many of whom pulled out at the last minute. The 20 countries taking part in the summit on Sunday aim to make a joint statement on a 29-item agenda that ranges from discussions on an Arab free trade zone and the economic effect of Syrian refugees on host countries.

‘The summit takes place amid increasing political and economic instability in Lebanon, which hosts hundreds of thousands of Syrian and Palestinian refugees. The economic meeting is a prelude to the actual Arab League summit taking place in Tunisia in March. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani left Beirut after a few hours of attending the summit on Sunday morning. “The emir was here only to attend the opening session, listen to President Michel Aoun’s speech, and note his support for Lebanon,” the Lebanese Presidential Palace’s media office told Al Jazeera on Sunday. The brief visit snubbed speculations that circulated across Lebanese media on Saturday that Qatar would pledge coverage of all the summit’s costs as well as a deposit of $1bn in Lebanon’s Central Bank.  In his opening speech, President Aoun reiterated calls for the “safe return” of Syrian refugees to their homeland “without linking this return”. In addition to the Qatari head of state, only Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz joined Aoun at the official summit meeting. Other countries have sent prime ministers and foreign ministers as representatives at the meeting. The summit has been marred by divisions among Lebanese politicians and regional leaders over the reinstatement of Syria into the 22-country Arab League and the status of Syrian refugees in host countries.’ Arwa Ibrahim writes for Al Jazeera.

‘Rifts among Arab states over Syria and its ally Iran, on top of divisions inside Lebanon, have overshadowed the summit being held this weekend, with several leaders pulling out. Although at least eight heads of state were originally due in Beirut, only the Somali and Mauritanian presidents were expected to come, a source in the committee organising the event said on Friday. However, Lebanese President Michel Aoun’s office said on Saturday that Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had informed it he would come to lead the Qatari delegation. Lebanon’s Hezbollah, which fights alongside Assad, and its political allies including Aoun, have stepped up calls for rapprochement with Damascus, a move Doha has opposed. With the lack of attendees at the summit, Lebanese newspapers ran despairing headlines on Friday. “The Beirut shock … a summit without heads of state,” the country’s oldest Arabic-language newspaper An-Nahar said. The conference is set to discuss the digital economy, as well as a long-suggested project for an Arab free-trade zone. Lebanon also hopes to put forward an initiative calling on countries in the region to help spread the burden of 1.5 million refugees living on its soil.’ Associated Press reported for the Middle East Eye.

Sub Saharan Africa

DR Congo Ethnic Violence Kills Nearly 900 in a Few Days: UN

At least 890 people are believed to have been killed in ethnic violence in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last month, declared the United Nations human rights office, warning that the actual toll could be higher still.

‘Communal fighting and widespread pillaging around the town of Yumbi led to an estimated 16,000 people seeking refuge by crossing the Congo River into the Republic of Congo, the UN rights office said. “According to allegations from credible sources, at least 890 people were killed between 16 and 18 December in four villages in Yumbi territory, Mai-Ndombe province in the west of the DRC, in what appear to have been clashes between the Banunu and Batende communities,” the UN human rights office statement read. It said 465 houses and buildings, including schools, a health centre, market and office of the national electoral commission, had been burned or pillaged. The violence broke out over a dispute linked to a tribal chief’s burial, Shamdasani said. While the bloodshed was not directly related to the election, a local activist told the Reuters news agency in December that tensions between the two ethnic groups had festered because Batende leaders were supporting the ruling coalition while Banunu leaders backed opposition candidates. Voting was cancelled in three cities in the area during the December 30 presidential polls. The election was meant to lead to the DRC’s first democratic transfer of power since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960 but the provisional results have been disputed by opposition groups and monitors.’ Associated Press reported for Al Jazeera.

‘At least 890 people were killed during three days of inter-communal clashes in western Democratic Republic of Congo last month, the United Nations said Wednesday. “It is crucial that this shocking violence be promptly, thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators be brought to justice,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.  The UN rights office said it had been informed by “credible sources” that the people were killed between December 16 and 18 in four villages in the Yumbi territory, Mai-Ndombe province, about 300 kilometres (180 miles) north of Kinshasa. The statement said that at least 82 people were also reportedly injured in “what appear to have been clashes between the Banunu and Batende communities”, but that the final casualty toll was expected to be higher. In Kinshasa, government spokesman Lambert Mende could not confirm the UN death toll, telling AFP: “We have around 100 dead according to the latest estimates that were presented to the government.” That level of violence prompted a request to postpone regional voting in the December 30 presidential election — though the clashes were unrelated to the polls.’ Shoaib ur Rehman writes for The Business Recorder.

Europe

Theresa May Survives No – Confidence Vote

Theresa May’s victory in a second no-confidence vote over her strategy for leaving the European Union will give the British prime minister breathing space, as she tries to resolve her political woes – yet by no means assures her survival.

‘Parliamentarians threw out a no-confidence motion put forward by the opposition Labour Party a day after May’s humiliating defeat on the Brexit deal she negotiated with the EU. But the implications of the latest vote could ultimately prove to be greater for Labour – whose leadership has placed its bets on unseating her “zombie government” and engineering a general election – by reviving its own demons over Europe. Professor Anand Menon, director of the think-tank, The UK in a Changing Europe, said: “All those Labour backbench MPs who to date have hidden behind the slogan ‘I want a general election’ are now finally at long last going to have to confront the real choice over Brexit”. Do they want to leave with a deal, do they want to leave without a deal, or do they want a referendum?” Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wants to topple May and win a subsequent election that would enable him to renegotiate the Conservative prime minister’s unpopular divorce deal. However, many of his own Labour MPs and party members want a second referendum that they hope could reverse the UK’s decision to leave Europe taken after a plebiscite in 2016. Gavin O’ Toole writes for Al Jazeera.

‘The days for that partisan approach are gone. She is in this mess because it does not work. She may be the least worst leader the Tory party has on offer, but she’s no Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with the magic touch. The penny dropped during the day that she would get nowhere if she insisted, as Andrea Leadsom appeared to say this morning, that she would not talk to Jeremy Corbyn and other party leaders but would instead talk directly to Labour and other opposition backbenchers. She can’t pick and choose whom to talk to. If she did so, she would hang them out to dry in their own parties. And she can’t insist on too many preconditions either. It is fair enough for May to insist that the goal, if she genuinely reaches out, is to deliver a Brexit opposition MPs will support. But that Brexit can only be a different one from the one she tried and failed to persuade her own party and the DUP to support this week. She has to be ready to compromise, and to change her red lines. She has to be open to ruling out a no-deal exit, to extending article 50, to a form of permanent customs union that would effectively eliminate the Northern Ireland backstop problem, and to guaranteed regulatory alignments with the single market. If she takes that approach, she will be denounced by the Tory extreme right. But she lives with that problem already. The extreme right denounces her anyway. They vote against her, both as party leader and on Brexit. They don’t want a compromise. They want no deal. They want a bonfire of the regulations. They don’t care about climate change, the “just about managing”, the union or Ireland.’ Martin Kettle writes for the Guardian.

Americas

Trump’s Shutdown; Historic Opportunity for Real Change or Yet Another Uncertain Move

President Trump closed the US government over a fabricated border crisis, and in doing so has sparked a real national security emergency. By shutting down the government, Trump has disabled America’s defenses against threats to national security.

‘Trump decided to shut down the government over the claim that America needs a wall to deal with a crisis at the border with Mexico. But there is no crisis on the border other than the humanitarian crisis of his own making, best illustrated by the thousands of children separated from their parents and the two children who died in Customs and Border Protection custody. Trump’s claims of more terrorists and crime flowing across the border are lies and the vast majority of hard drugs coming across the border come through official ports of entry, not between ports of entry where a wall might stand. Friday US briefing: Trump escalates feud with Pelosi amid shutdown. Just days before reversing course, Trump was ready to fund the government without funding for the wall and supported the bill the Senate passed without wall funding. And despite trying to blame others since then, Trump claimed responsibility: “I am proud to shut down the government … I will be the one to shut it down.” The impacts on the economic wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, the economy, and the image of a broken American political system are very real and grave. Equally grave are the ways in which Trump’s shutdown is endangering US national security.’ Michael H. Fuchs writes for the Guardian.

‘After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi moved to postpone President Trump’s State of the Union address, citing security concerns due to the government shutdown, Trump responded by grounding her military transport to Europe and Afghanistan. It was a classically petty example of political tit-for-tat, inviting derision on both sides. The risk for Pelosi, and the hope for Trump, is that the underlying government shutdown could be seen the same way. If the unprecedented crippling of federal operations is perceived as a case of two intransigent partisans who need to stop bickering and reach a compromise, the San Francisco congresswoman will take more of the blame for the accumulating consequences, and the president will be more likely to get the billions he is demanding for his border wall.’ The editorial board wrote for The Francisco Chronicle.

‘This week, the White House Council of Economic Advisers doubled its estimate of how much the shutdown – the longest in US history – will cost the economy. Others are warning that it could push the US towards a recession. Families across the country are scrambling to feed their children, keep their homes, and pay for expensive medications. As hundreds of thousands of federal and contract workers continue without pay, Trump has demanded that workers return to their jobs, stating that the shutdown will continue indefinitely – for months or even years – until his racist, multibillion-dollar border wall is approved.  Despite Trump’s claims that what he is doing is for the safety of everyday Americans, this moment could not make it plainer that he does not care about any of us – not even the working class white people he claims to represent. The wall’s aim is not to protect ordinary Americans, but to rile up Trump’s base using racism. This is a classic divide-and-conquer tactic, aiming to get poor white people to blame people of colour and not the political and corporate elite, for poverty. The wall will also make loads of money for an ever-growing corporate defence industry, who are deep in Trump’s pockets, and see militarised borders, surveillance, deportation, war and incarceration as opportunities to make cash.’ Rachel Glimer writes for Al Jazeera.