Tens of thousands of people rally in Tel Aviv to protest against the government’s proposed judicial overhaul.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have joined protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul the judiciary, despite soaring tensions after two deadly attacks a day earlier.

The protests against the plans, which were paused last month in the face of a wave of strikes and mass demonstrations, come amid surging violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

As protesters rallied in Tel Aviv on Saturday, Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said. Ahed Salim, 20, was hit in the chest and stomach by live fire in Azzun near Qalqilyah, the ministry said.

Separately, the Israeli military said three rockets were launched from Syria toward Israeli territory. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the rocket launches, which caused no damage or casualties.

Around Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, tens of thousands of worshippers were expected for evening prayers amid concerns about a possible repeat of nighttime Israeli police raids this week that were followed by rocket barrages into Israel and Israeli air attacks on Gaza and southern Lebanon.

Israelis were also on edge after a car-ramming in Tel Aviv on Friday that killed an Italian man and wounded five other tourists, hours after a shooting attack killed two Israeli sisters and wounded their mother near an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu has mobilised border police reservists and ordered the army to reinforce security positions to head off possible trouble, amid calls for calm from the United Nations, the European Union and the United States.

People ignore government calls

In central Tel Aviv, crowds waving the blue and white Israeli flags that have become a hallmark of the protests during the past three months gathered in a show of defiance against plans they see as an existential threat to Israeli democracy.

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tel Aviv, said that some 145,000 people were expected to attend the protest.

“There were calls and warnings issued by the government asking people not to attend the protest today due to the security concerns,” he said.

“However, protesters say that the government is using security as an excuse and it is not going to stop them from taking to streets,” he said.

“They say that it is a historic moment for the country and they are here to save democracy in Israel.”

The judicial proposals, which would give the government effective control over the appointment of Supreme Court judges and allow parliament to overrule many decisions of the court, have caused one of the biggest domestic crises in Israel’s recent history.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators, including army reservists, business leaders, members of Israel’s tech industry and leading academics have taken part, facing off against supporters of Netanyahu’s far-right religious-nationalist coalition.

Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, said that the growing crisis is further isolating Netanyahu.

He said that he is losing control of his government and was being subjected to “blackmail” by his coalition partners.

“He is losing big time in the polls in Israel. He is also losing the security situation as well as so-called stability and prosperity in the country.”

The government, which has accused activist judges of increasingly usurping the role of parliament, said the overhaul is needed to restore a proper balance between the judiciary and elected politicians.

Critics have said it will remove some of the vital checks and balances underpinning a democratic state and hand unchecked power to the government.

Before the protests, police had urged people to leave roads clear to allow emergency services to move freely following Friday’s car-ramming on a popular shoreline promenade in Tel Aviv.

World Opinions –  AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES

L’article Thousands join Israeli judicial protests amid soaring tensions est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Amid protests and increasing international pressure, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday agreed to suspend his proposed judicial overhaul. While in a televised speech he said he had decided to delay the vote “in order to give time for discussion,” in reality all he is doing is he is buying time to try and figure out how to solve the dilemma he is facing.

At this point in his career, in his sixth term in power, Netanyahu has one main target: staying out of jail. As a seasoned politician, he is driven by a sense of survival. He is facing accusations of fraud, breach of trust and bribery, which he denies. He needs to stay in power to stay out of jail. However, to do that, he needs to please the band of extremists in his government. And pleasing them means upsetting the street and Israel’s allies.

Before Netanyahu paused his reforms, the Histadrut labor federation — the General Organization of Workers in Israel — announced a general strike. The prime minister could not handle the general discontent or the international indignation. On the other hand, he cannot afford to lose any of his extremist partners. Hence, the best way to solve this dilemma was to postpone taking a decision.

Netanyahu is the king of deal-making. He is pragmatic and he does what it takes to get what he wants. Being pragmatic does not necessarily mean he is rational. Buying time will not change the choices he will face at some point in time. What he is banking on is making interim deals that can somehow become permanent. Netanyahu is very skilled at making distinctions between those whose acquiescence he requires and those he can simply discount.

Yoav Gallant, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party who reached the rank of major general in the Israel Defense Forces before entering politics, was fired by Netanyahu for objecting to the judicial reform. On the other hand, he had to humor Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is an integral part of his coalition. In return for supporting the delay, Ben-Gvir will be allowed to head his own armed militia outside of the jurisdiction of the Israeli army and police. This militia will not have to abide by the normal rules of engagement.

The Israeli prime minister’s plan seems to be to hang on to power as long as he can and delay the inevitable

Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib

Are we now back to the times of the Haganah and its offshoot, the Irgun? Probably. How will world opinion perceive such terrorism? Today is different from the early 20th century. Transgressions can easily be documented using a smartphone and spread all over the world. Will the world accept a new Haganah? Will the world’s Jewry identify with it? Probably not, and most likely they will be disgusted by it.

Where do the Palestinians stand in all this? They will be evicted from their homes, persecuted and even killed, and there will be no functioning justice system to defend them. Though the judicial system has always been biased against them, it was always there as a platform through which they could air their grievances. They do not even have the right to exist as a people, according to far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a main pillar of Netanyahu’s coalition. The Palestinians have no choice but to resist. A third intifada? Probably.

A rational actor would have thought through all these outcomes, but Netanyahu does not seem to be one of them.

How will the US look at Israel once it legitimizes Ben-Gvir’s illegitimate paramilitary force? How will Israel be different from some rogue country in South America? Can the US, which praises Israel for being an oasis of democracy in a desert of dictatorships, still stand by its ally? Will the US stand by an Israel where the rule of law is subjugated by the will of those in power and where the aim of the entire system is to preserve itself rather than serve the people.

However, Netanyahu is not thinking as a statesman, he is thinking as a politician. Tactical gains are what matter to him. What he can get now is what is most important. And his current most important goal is to stay out of prison. He is dividing the country, he is empowering the fanatics, he is driving away the Jewry worldwide and slowly losing the country’s allies. Nevertheless, this does not seem to matter. Netanyahu’s plan seems to be to hang on to power as long as he can and delay the inevitable. While hanging on to power, he tries to make deals and put on a balancing act to eliminate the negative externalities that might result from those deals.

He postponed the judicial overhaul to calm the raging streets and appease international allies. In parallel, to get the acquiescence of Ben-Gvir, he allowed him to have his militia that will go on a killing spree. Again, he can always use terror accusations against the Palestinians and a public relations campaign to attenuate the gravity of the crimes committed. This is the art of transactional politics aimed at keeping one’s position and gaining time.

However, Netanyahu does not seem to realize that this is not sustainable and it will blow up in his face at some point. When this tactic no longer works, what can he do? Provoke a fight with Lebanon or Iran, similar to what Ehud Olmert did in 2006 to divert public attention away from corruption accusations? Maybe, but this option involves too many risks and did not work well for Olmert. In fact, Olmert had to resign after his adventure in Lebanon as his popularity tanked. He eventually ended up in jail in February 2016.

In short, Netanyahu is buying time using these tactics of self-preservation. However, at some point, this will no longer work and he will be forced to face a tough reality, in which he will be held accountable.

By Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is president of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.

L’article Israel protests: Benjamin Netanyahu will have to face reality eventually est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Afew months before sweeping to power in the 2017 presidential election, Emmanuel Macron published a memoir-cum-personal manifesto, Revolution. In it, he made the case for rebellion against allegedly outmoded institutions and ideas that were holding back France. Six years on, it is the popular revolts against Mr Macron’s own policies which have taken centre-stage.

Recent months have seen some of the largest protests in the history of the Fifth Republic, as Mr Macron has sought to push through a deeply unpopular plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. On Monday, his government survived a related parliamentary motion of no confidence by the skin of its teeth. This followed the president’s controversial – though constitutional – decision to use executive powers to get his way, bypassing a vote in the national assembly that he thought he might lose.

Among his own MPs, the manoeuvre provoked public misgivings. Elsewhere, even allowing for the usual political game-playing, the response was authentically furious. One MP from the centre-right party Les Républicains – which Mr Macron’s minority government needs onside to achieve majorities – accused the president of acting in an “isolated, narcissistic way, impervious to French people’s lives”.

President Macron’s decision to force through his pension reforms without a vote damages French democracy

In this respect, the president could be said to have form. In 2018, his high-handed approach helped transform provincial protests against a fuel tax into the wider gilets jaunes revolt against elites. A penitent Mr Macron embarked on a nationwide “listening tour”. Then, when his Renaissance party lost its majority last June, he again promised a more consensual approach. But less than a year into his second term – amid widespread anxiety about falling living standards – he has reverted to Jupiterean type, defying the wishes of the two-thirds of the French population who oppose his reforms, and circumventing the democratic niceties of winning a debate in parliament.

For a smart president, this seems like strangely dumb politics. The protests and strikes may eventually fade, although more are planned and the sense of popular outrage is real. But Mr Macron’s reputation as an arrogant technocrat with little regard for social movements or civic sentiment is surely sealed. His prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, now appears to be a busted flush along with her government, but seems determined to stay in post. The president’s second term risks becoming a long and acrimonious goodbye, with little achieved.

An independent government body has judged that the pension system’s deficits are manageable for the foreseeable future, making it hard to understand why Mr Macron decided to take such a confrontational approach. Amid record levels of abstention at elections, the rise of online conspiracy theories and the all but accomplished normalisation of the far right, Mr Macron’s resort to government by decree has done nothing to ease the trust deficit in French politics. Marine Le Pen and the far right may well be the principal beneficiaries of that. Having presented himself as the right man to modernise the country, Mr Macron increasingly looks like a politician out of touch with the needs of the times.

World Opinions – The Guardian view

L’article  View on ruling by decree in France: deepening the trust deficit est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Acclaimed Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga has been convicted of inciting violence by carrying a placard calling for political reform.

The magistrate said the protest could have incited other people to join, and cause a breach of peace.

Ms Dangarembga agreed to pay a fine of about $110 (£100) to avoid serving a three-month jail term.

She had pleaded not guilty in a trial that critics say is the latest sign of a government crackdown on dissent.

This is despite the fact that President Emmerson Mnangagwa took power in 2017 with a promise to introduce reforms after the decades-long repressive rule of his predecessor, Robert Mugabe.

Ms Dangarembga is one of Zimbabwe’s most famous authors. Her novel, This Mournable Body, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, in 2020.

She was convicted along with a friend Julie Barnes.

The pair had walked along a road in the capital, Harare, two years ago, holding placards which called for political reform and the release of two government critics.

The courtroom gasped and the two women stood motionless as the verdict was pronounced.

« Guilty of inciting public violence and breaching the peace, » came the judgement.

The magistrate said that as they protested on a public road, and pictures were shared on social media, others could have been provoked to protest.

The two have until Tuesday to pay the fine. If they reoffend within the next five years they will be jailed for six months.

World Opinions – BBC News

L’article Analysis. Tsitsi Dangarembga: Zimbabwe author convicted over placard protest est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

The eruption of nationwide protests in Iran following the death in police custody of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman detained for allegedly failing to adhere to hijab (headscarf) rules is the most serious challenge Iran’s leadership has faced in years.

While authorities say Mahsa Amini died from underlying health reasons, her family and countless other Iranians believe she died as a result of having been beaten.

Protesters say that if they don’t act now, they could fall victim to the same fate. At least 30 people have been killed in the protests.

It has come at a time when Iranians are feeling particularly fed up. Systematic corruption among Iran’s political elite, growing poverty with inflation at more than 50%, deadlock in nuclear talks and lack of social and political freedom have left Iran’s young and vibrant population feeling hopeless.

According to Iran’s Social Security Organization Research Institute at least 25 million Iranians were living below the poverty line by June 2021. That number is even higher now.

These are not the first protests in the history of the Islamic republic of Iran. But many observers believe there is something different about them.

More than anything, this is a woman’s protest.

‘Society has shifted’

Civil liberties groups continually spotlight the suppression of women in Iran, an entire part of society who have been the biggest losers of the Islamic revolution of 1979.

Iranian women were forced to wear hijab (headscarf) soon after the revolution and have lost many of their rights, including right to travel, right to work and right to child custody over the age of seven. There was little objection to these changes from men at the time.

« The fact that many men are joining the protests shows that the society has shifted to more progressive demands, » says Mehrdad Darvishpour, an Iranian sociologist based in Sweden.

The main slogan of protesters is « Woman, Life, Freedom », a call for equality and a stance against religious fundamentalism.

Also, these protests are far more inclusive than the previous ones.

The so-called Green Movement of 2009 saw the middle class protest against alleged election fraud. Although it was large in size, it centred on major cities. Other major protests in 2017 and 2019 were confined to poorer areas.

But the current protests are now being reported in both middle class and working class areas. They seem to have moved from local or ethnic issues, to more inclusive ones.

« We are witnessing the birth of a mega-movement, » says Mr Darvishpour.

https://emp.bbc.com/emp/SMPj/2.46.1/iframe.htmlMedia caption,

How Mahsa Amini became a symbol of defiance in Iran

A movement that was being led by women but has managed to bring other movements together. And more importantly, the symbolic value of burning hijabs, has cracked the image of an unbreakable regime.

According to Mr Darvishpour, there is no going back from this experience.

Government’s options

The establishment is in a very difficult place. The death of Mahsa Amini has even shaken some of the hardcore supporters of the government.

Many of them, including some clerics, are questioning the violent tactics that are being used by morality police against women.

So, the government has two options: To change its strict hijab rules, which are part of the identity of the Islamic republic. But doing so may encourage protesters to continue until they reach their final demand for regime change.

Or not to change anything and continue the violent crackdown and killing of protesters, which may briefly calm down the unrest but will only add fuel to their ever growing anger.

Many of the riot police that are now suppressing the protests are also suffering from economic difficulties and are not necessarily supportive of the establishment.

If these protests continue they might switch sides.

On top of that, the Supreme Leader’s 83 years of age and his ill health is on the mind of many Iranians on both sides.

It’s unclear whether whoever succeeds him will be able to sustain the support of the regime’s hardcore supporters or not.

This might not be the final chapter, but it is a very important one.

Lives are being lost, but more cracks are appearing in a system that is no longer working for many angry Iranians who want a different way of life.

World Opinions + BBC News

L’article Iran grapples with most serious challenge in years est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Female protesters have been at the forefront of escalating protests in Iran and have been burning headscarves, after the death in custody of a woman detained for breaking hijab laws.

Videos of public protests are being posted on Iranian social media after the death of Mahsa Amini following her arrest by morality police.

Protesters chant "death to the dictator" near Argentina Square, central Tehran, tonight (35.7371115,51.4153741) pic.twitter.com/MXdwQOkyZZ

— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) September 16, 2022

Demonstrations have continued for five successive nights, and reached several towns and cities.

Mahsa Amini died in hospital on Friday after spending three days in a coma.

In Sari, north of Tehran, large crowds cheered as women set their hijabs alight in defiant acts of protest.

Ms Amini was arrested in the capital last week by Iran’s morality police, accused of breaking the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf, and their arms and legs with loose clothing.

She fell into a coma shortly after collapsing at a detention centre.

At Mahsa Amini's funeral in her hometown of Saqqez, Kurdistan province, women take their headscarves off in protest against Iran's forced hijab law amid "death to the dictator" chants.

Mahsa, 22, died in custody after being arrested by morality police.pic.twitter.com/MaqyberjNO

— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) September 17, 2022

Mahsa Amini, 22, was arrested by Iran's morality police for so-called "inappropriate hijab". She fell into a coma at a police station and sadly died at a hospital today. Morality police claim she had a "sudden heart attack". Her mother says Mahsa was murdered by the authorities. pic.twitter.com/ibWOnMBROk

— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) September 16, 2022

There were reports that police beat Ms Amini’s head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles, Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada al-Nashif said.

The police have denied that she was mistreated and said she suffered « sudden heart failure ». Ms Amini’s family has said she was fit and healthy.

The 22-year-old was from Kurdistan Province in western Iran, where three people were killed on Monday as security forces opened fire on protesters.

An aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei paid a visit to Ms Amini’s family on Monday and told them that « all institutions will take action to defend the rights that were violated », state media reported.

Senior MP Jalal Rashidi Koochi publicly criticised the morality police, saying the force was a « mistake » as it had only produced « loss and damage » for Iran.

World Opinions + BBC News

L’article Iran protests: Women burn headscarves in anti-hijab protests est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

A crowd of women has marched through the Afghan capital calling for women’s rights to be respected and accusing Taliban authorities of covertly killing soldiers who served the former United States-backed government.

About 30 women gathered near a mosque in the centre of Kabul on Tuesday and marched a few hundred metres chanting “justice, justice” before they were stopped by Taliban forces, an AFP correspondent reported.

The Taliban also tried to prevent journalists from covering the march, organised against the “mysterious murders of young people, particularly the country’s former soldiers”, according to social media invitations for the march.

Taliban fighters briefly detained a group of reporters and confiscated equipment from some photographers, deleting images from their cameras before returning them.

Since the Taliban returned to power in August, it has effectively banned unsanctioned protests and frequently intervene to block demonstrations against its rule.

The protest comes weeks after separate reports by the United Nations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said there were credible allegations of more than 100 extrajudicial killings by the Taliban since the takeover.

“I want to tell the world, tell the Taliban to stop killing. We want freedom, we want justice, we want human rights,” protester Nayera Koahistani told the AFP news agency.

In a statement read aloud by protester Laila Basam, the demonstrators called on the Taliban “to stop its criminal machine”.

Protesters say former soldiers and ex-employees of the overthrown government are ‘under direct threat’.

The statement said former soldiers and ex-employees of the overthrown government are “under direct threat”, violating a general amnesty announced by the Taliban in August.

The protesters also aired objections to the ratcheting restrictions women are facing under the Taliban rule.

The government issued new guidelines at the weekend, banning women from travelling long distances unless escorted by a close male relative.

“Women’s rights are human rights. We must defend our rights,” said Koahistani.

Speaking from Kabul, Mahbooba Saraj, chair of the Afghan Women’s Network, said the move made it difficult for women to get around as many “do not have a mahram [male guardian]” to accompany them.

“This is another way of placing restrictions on women for no apparent reason,” she told Al Jazeera.

Taliban leaders have sought to project a more moderate image in recent months, including saying women and girls will be able to attend school and work in accordance with Islamic law.

School for girls under the Taliban is erratic, and in many provinces, they are not allowed to attend school after grade six, but in more than 10 provinces, schools are open.

Video footage posted online on Tuesday showed another women’s protest held elsewhere in the capital that also called for women to be allowed education and work opportunities.

Taliban fighters fired into the air bringing an abrupt end to the protest demanding improved food supplies and work opportunities.

World Opinions – Agencies

L’article Afghan women call for rights, protest alleged Taliban killings est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Israel braced for more protests on Saturday after violence at East Jerusalem’s flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound wounded more than 200 people as the international community called for calm after days of escalating tensions.

Earlier today the Israeli police tried to disperse the weekly protest in #SheikhJarrah #SaveSheikhJarrah pic.twitter.com/NBrab2Ujru

— Oren Ziv (@OrenZiv1985) May 7, 2021

Israeli police fired rubber-coated metal bullets and stun grenades towards rock-hurling Palestinians at Al-Aqsa as anger grows over the potential eviction of Palestinians from homes on land claimed by Jewish settlers in East Jerusalem.

At least 205 Palestinians and 17 officers were injured in the night-time clashes at Islam’s third-holiest site and around East Jerusalem, Palestinian medics and Israeli police said, as thousands of Palestinians faced off with several hundred Israeli police in riot gear.

Violence erupted on Friday when Israeli police deployed heavily as Muslims were performing evening prayers at Al-Aqsa during the holy month of Ramadan.

Right now in Sheikh Jarrah: settlers are walking around armed while no Palestinians are allowed in. LOOK AND LOOK AGAIN.

What if they massacre us?! Our families are terrified. Who’s to save us?! pic.twitter.com/tic35KCFfN

— mohammed el-kurd (@m7mdkurd) May 7, 2021

Video footage from the scene shows worshippers throwing chairs, shoes and rocks towards the police and officers opening fire. Israeli police also closed gates leading to Al-Aqsa inside the walled Old City.

The Palestine Red Crescent ambulance service said one of the injured lost an eye, two suffered serious head wounds, and two had their jaws fractured. Most were wounded in the face and eyes by rubber-coated rounds and shrapnel from stun grenades.

Despite having no right to E Jerusalem, Israel nonetheless is carrying out an ethnic cleansing campaign in the city. The latest is an effort to evict Palestinian families from #SheikhJarrah & hand their homes to settlers. & this isn’t the 1st time:

pic.twitter.com/pt8l2sqbk6

— BAYAN❖🧈 free palestine (@billiewheein) May 8, 2021

An Al-Aqsa official appealed for calm on the compound through the mosque’s loudspeakers. “Police must immediately stop firing stun grenades at worshippers, and the youth must calm down and be quiet.”

Tens of thousands of Palestinian worshippers earlier packed into the mosque on the final Friday of Ramadan, and many stayed on to protest in support of Palestinians facing eviction from their homes on Israeli-occupied land claimed by Jewish settlers in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.

Calls for calm and restraint poured in from the United States and the United Nations, with others including the European Union and Jordan voicing alarm at the possible evictions.

No caption needed #SheikhJarrah #حي_الشيخ_جراح pic.twitter.com/ZKJkrHmiC9

— لينة (@LenaSuhail96) May 8, 2021

“If we don’t stand with this group of people here, [evictions] will [come] to my house, her house, his house and to every Palestinian who lives here,” said protester Bashar Mahmoud, 23, from the nearby Palestinian neighbourhood of Issawiya.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he “held [Israel] responsible for the dangerous developments and sinful attacks taking place in the holy city”, and called on the UN Security Council to hold an urgent session on the issue.

Abbas praised the “courageous stand” of the protesters.

Hoy todo el mundo debería ver lo que está haciendo la ocupación sionista en Jerusalén en la mezquita de #AlAqsa y el barrio de #SheikhJarrah y hablar y defender a las vidas de lo palestinos.🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸#PalestiniansLivesMatter #salvaSheikhJarrah #SaveSheikhJarrah #spain #español pic.twitter.com/0q7PZsDXM5

— Blue Star (@MiqdadiT) May 8, 2021

Protest groups affiliated with Hamas, rulers of the Gaza Strip, said they would resume demonstrations and the launching of incendiary balloons along the heavily guarded Gaza frontier. Hamas has largely curtailed such actions over the past two years as part of an informal ceasefire that now appears to be fraying.

In an interview with a Hamas-run TV station, the group’s top leader Ismail Haniyeh addressed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by name, warning him not to “play with fire”.

“Neither you nor your army and police can win this battle,” he said. “What’s happening in Jerusalem is an intifada that must not stop.”

Sheikh Jarrah’s residents are overwhelmingly Palestinian, but the neighbourhood also contains a site revered by religious Jews as the tomb of an ancient high priest, Simeon the Just.

The spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said the evictions, “if ordered and implemented, would violate Israel’s obligations under international law” on East Jerusalem territory it captured and occupied in the 1967 Middle East war.

World Opinions News – agencies

L’article Hundreds hurt as Palestinians protest evictions in Jerusalem.. Video est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

The killing of more than 100 anti-coup protesters in Myanmar has drawn global outrage, with defence ministers of 12 nations condemning the military.

The US accused the security forces of a « reign of terror » on Saturday, the deadliest day since last month’s coup.

Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing and his generals still threw a lavish party that night for Armed Forces Day.

On Sunday, funerals were held, with some reports the military had tried to intervene in the mourning.

More than 400 people have now been killed in the suppression of protests in Myanmar since the 1 February coup.

The military seized control of the South East Asian country after an election which Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide.

What has the international response been?

The defence chiefs of a dozen nations, including the UK, on Sunday issued a rare joint statement condemning the military’s violent actions.

The US, Japan and Australia were also among the signatories of a statement that said: « A professional military follows international standards for conduct and is responsible for protecting – not harming – the people it serves. »

Security forces opened fire in more than 40 locations on Saturday. The commercial centre, Yangon, saw dozens of deaths, but killings were recorded from Kachin in the north to Taninthartharyi in the far south.

The US said it was « horrified » by the killings. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused the military of « sacrificing the lives of the people to serve the few. »

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was « deeply shocked » by the violence, and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab called it a « new low ».

UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews called for an international emergency summit.

China and Russia have not joined the criticism, which means taking action through the UN Security Council – where they have vetoes – could be difficult.

Why did the generals attend a gala?

The luxury military party on Saturday was held to mark the annual Armed Forces Day, which commemorates the start of Myanmar’s military resistance against Japanese occupation in 1945.

Images from state TV shared on social media showed military officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, wearing white uniforms and bow ties, walking along a red carpet smiling, and seated at large tables for dinner.

The event drew an angry response from some on social media, including Burmese activist Maung Zarni.

Dear World, We #Myanmar no longer call or view armed gangs led by Ma Aa La our Armed Forces.
We call them Naypyidaw #Terrorists. Respect our overwhelming public's consensus view. At dinner parties these terrorists wear tuxedo. pic.twitter.com/Gv6Ab8qodJ

— maung zarni (@drzarni) March 28, 2021

World Opinions News by bbc.com

L’article Myanmar coup: Generals celebrated amid global fury over massacre est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.

Ye Swan Htet, 23, had joined a sit-down protest on a bridge in west Yangon when he saw police approaching. Officers were carrying guns, he remembered, but he didn’t expect them to actually shoot. The protest was peaceful; crowds were singing and clapping.

Then, gun fire rang out all around him. Bricks burst open and a branch snapped from a tree. “There was a guy who got hit in his thigh by a rubber bullet, so I carried him to an ambulance,” he said.

Ye Swan Htet saw five protesters run frantically towards him. They were carrying his cousin, Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, who had been shot in his lower abdomen.

Doctors in a nearby neighbourhood desperately tried to help, said Ye Swan Htet, but they were unable to save him. A video posted by news outlet Myanmar Now showed his last moments, as he laid motionless outside a school before other protesters, still seemingly under fire, lifted him away.

Nyi Nyi Aung Htet Naing, 23, was one of at least 18 people killed in violence by security forces on Sunday, according to UN estimates. Police, reinforced by notorious military troops, launched their most violent crackdown yet in an attempt to quash protests against the junta.

Streets in downtown Yangon resembled a war zone; the sound of security forces opening fire echoed as live ammunition and stun grenades were deployed against protesters. Footage from various points in the city, shared on social media, showed panicked crowds fleeing to safety. Protesters struggled to breathe as clouds of teargas spread.

World Opinions News / theguardian.com

L’article ‘We have to win’: Myanmar protesters persevere as forces ramp up violence est apparu en premier sur World Opinion | Alternative Média.