Southeast Asia

UN official: ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Rohingya continues

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Andrew Gilmour said that the "ethnic cleansing of Rohingya from Myanmar continues," after a four-day visit to Bangladesh. During his visit, he focused on the situation of thousands of refugees who have fled from Burma (Myanmar). Recently-arrived Rohingya gave credible accounts of continued violence against their people, including killings, rape, and forced starvation, Gilmour reported. Burma has been saying that it is ready to receive returning Rohingya refugees, but Gilmour maintains that safe returns are impossible under current conditions. (Photo: EU/ECHO via Flickr)

North America
CounterVortex

Podcast: Politics of the Second Amendment

In Episode Four of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg makes the case that the Second Amendment is a non-grammatical muddle of obfuscation—because the issue was just as contentious in 1789 as it is today, and the Framers fudged it. That’s why both the “gun control” and “gun rights” advocates can claim they have the correct interpretation—as they each advocate solutions that, in their own way, escalate the police state. In the wake of the latest school massacre, youth activists are pressing the issue, and this is long overdue. But the discussion that needs to be had would explore the social and cultural roots of this peculiarly American pathology. Listen on SoundCloud, and support us via Patreon.

The Andes

FARC renegades in slaying of indigenous activist

Four armed men attacked the cabildo (town hall) in the indigenous reserve of Pioyá in Colombia's Cauca department, killing Eider Campo Hurtado, a young activist with local media collective Pelsxhab Stéreo. Pioyá's Indigenous Guard mobilized in response to the attack, and apprehended four men said to be members of a renegade FARC faction that has refused to lay down arms and abide by the peace accords. The four are being held by Pioyá indigenous authorities; it is unclear if they will be turned over to state security forces.

North Africa

Environmental protester shuts Libyan oil-field

The company operating Libya's biggest oilfield, Sharara, announced that it had been shut down after a citizen closed the pipeline that pumps the field's oil. The field is run by a joint venture between Libya's National Oil Corporation and several multinationals. The individual claimed the pipeline caused environmental damage to his lands, and had also closed the pipeline last year to press his demands for a clean-up. With this latest closure, Libya's oil output dropped to a six-month low of 750,000 barrels per day. National Oil Corporation chairman Mustafa Sanallah described those who shut down oil-fields as "terrorists." (Photo: Libya Observer)

East Asia

Xi censors Orwell: too obvious. But the letter N?

Following the announcement that China’s Communist Party has proposed scrapping term limits for the presidency, effectively setting Xi Jinping up as president for life, the online reaction within the People’s Republic was initially voluble and irreverent. But authorities quickly cracked down, barring certain words and phrases from Sina Weibo search results. The absurd overkill in what what was blocked betrays an obvious fear of the masses on the part of China’s ruling elite. The very titles of George Orwell’s novels 1984 and Animal Farm have of course been suppressed. This is hardly surprising. It’s almost heartening that despots around the world still find Orwell so dangerous that they have to ban him. But some other samples of the verboten verbiage are more revealing—and enigmatic. (Photo: chinaworker.info)

Syria

UN rights chief sees war crimes in Eastern Ghouta

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein warned the Damascus government that air-strikes, shelling and use of toxic agents in Eastern Ghouta likely constitute war crimes. Zeid asserts that the citizens of Eastern Ghouta are enduring every kind of deprivation, with no aid getting through since November, except for one single convoy of humanitarian aid that managed to reach just 7,200 people, of the hundreds of thousands in the area.

North America

Judge dismisses challenge to Trump’s border wall

US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel in San Diego granted summary judgment for the Trump administration, allowing construction of a border wall between the US and Mexico to proceed. Plaintiffs, including several environmental groups and the state of California, were challenging waivers to public oversight issued by the Department of Homeland Security that designated San Diego and El Centro as "high areas of illegal entry" in need of replaced border fences. This new San Diego border fence would of course be but the first leg of Trump's proposed border wall.  (Photo: BBC World Service via Flickr)

Greater Middle East

UN concerned over claims of torture in Turkey

The UN Special Rapporteur on torture expressed concerns over allegations of torture and human rights violations committed by Turkish police. According to Nils Melzer, those suspected of being involved with the Gülenist Movement or the armed Kurdistan Workers' Party are alleged to be subject to brutal interrogation techniques, such as beatings, electrical shock, exposure to icy water, sleep deprivation, sexual assault and threats, to elicit confessions or incriminating statements against others. Perpetrators have not been held accountable as the state of emergency decree, which exempts public officials from criminal responsibility for actions taken to enforce the state of emergency, has been used to justify the dismissal of any complaints. (Map: CIA)

Greater Middle East

Egypt escalating arbitrary arrests of opposition

Human Rights Watch accused Egyptian authorities of escalating arbitrary arrests of political opponents as part of a government strategy to quell political protests ahead of presidential elections to be held in late March. A statement earlier this month by regional human rights organizations charges that "the Egyptian government has trampled over even the minimum requirements for free and fair elections."

Syria

Syria: new chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta

A child died and at least 13 other people suffered breathing difficulties after an apparent chemical attack on the besieged Syrian rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin the following day ordered a five-hour “humanitarian pause” in the bombardment of Eastern Ghouta to allow civilians to evacuate. This falls far short of the 30-day ceasefire being demanded by the United Nations.

Syria

Tragedy: Rojava Kurds close ranks with Assad

In a political tragedy that bodes more poorly than ever for any eventual return of peace to Syria, Assad regime forces joined the Kurdish militia defending the northern enclave of Afrin from Turkish aggression. This obviously heightens the threat of Arab-Kurdish ethnic war, as the regime continues its savage bombardment of rebel-held Idlib and Ghouta. And with the entry of regime forces into Afrin, there is now risk of NATO member Turkey directly engaging Assad’s troops, with obvious threat of international escalation. Of course, with Orwellian irony, Ankara is calling the offensive Operation “Olive Branch.”  (Photo: BasNews)