Tillerson says Myanmar violence must stop, supports Suu Kyi

Pakistani protesters burn an effigy of Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration to condemn ongoing violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, in Lahore, Pakistan, in this Sept.10, 2017 photo. (AP)
Updated 15 September 2017
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Tillerson says Myanmar violence must stop, supports Suu Kyi

LONDON: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has delivered the toughest condemnation yet from a Trump administration official of the persecution of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims, likening the violence against them to ethnic cleansing and demanding it stop.
On Thursday, Tillerson directed the blame toward Myanmar’s powerful military, which is responsible for security operations that have seen nearly 400,000 people flee to neighboring Bangladesh in the past three weeks after Rohingya insurgents launched coordinated attacks on government forces. He reiterated support for civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi who is facing growing pressure to speak out over the military’s conduct.
Tillerson said the US appreciated the “difficult and complex situation” Suu Kyi finds herself in, sharing political power with the military, but he also described the “horrors” occurring in the Southeast Asian nation as a “defining moment” for its new democracy.
“This violence must stop, this persecution must stop. It has been characterized by many as ethnic cleansing. That must stop,” Tillerson told a news conference in London after talks with Britain and France. “We need to support Aung San Suu Kyi and her leadership but also be very clear to the military that are power-sharing in that government that this is unacceptable.”
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was more strident in criticizing Suu Kyi. He said the suffering of the Rohingya people was an “abomination,” and that Suu Kyi must use her authority to halt the violence against them.
Johnson said he admired Suu Kyi’s fight against Myanmar’s former military junta — she spent about 15 years under house arrest — but “it is now vital for her to use that moral capital, that moral authority to make the point about the suffering” of the Rohingya. He said the Nobel laureate needs to “make clear that this is an abomination and that those people will be allowed back” to their homes.
Britain was the former colonial ruler of the country also known as Burma. It came under military rule little more than a decade after independence in 1948. The United States under President Barack Obama was instrumental in coaxing the generals give up direct rule five decades later and allow a civilian government. Following 2015 elections won by her party, Suu Kyi became its de facto leader.
But the transition has been blighted by the tensions between majority Buddhists and the Rohingya, who are widely loathed in Myanmar and regarded as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, although many have lived in Myanmar for generations.
In the past few years there have been periodic explosions of violence, culminating in the current crackdown by security forces that began Aug. 25 and which top UN officials have also described as ethnic cleansing.
On Thursday, Amnesty International said it had turned up evidence of an “orchestrated campaign of systematic burnings” by Myanmar security forces. Based on its analysis of video, satellite photos, witness accounts and other data, the human rights group said more than 80 inhabited sites, each at least 375 meters (1,230 feet) in length, have been torched in strife-hit Rakhine State.
“The evidence is irrefutable — the Myanmar security forces are setting northern Rakhine State ablaze in a targeted campaign to push the Rohingya people out of Myanmar,” said Tirana Hassan, Amnesty’s crisis response director said in a statement.
“Security forces surround a village, shoot people fleeing in panic and then torch houses to the ground,” she said. “In legal terms, these are crimes against humanity.”
While the Trump administration has been less active on Myanmar than the Obama administration, the current wave of global condemnation has begun to galvanize a response in Washington, where Suu Kyi has long been idolized for her peaceful struggle for democracy.
Senior Republican Sen. John McCain this week canned legislative plans to authorize deeper military ties between the US and Myanmar. He noted that the international community has called upon Suu Kyi to stop the violence and hold human rights abusers accountable, “but there has been no action to-date.”
On Thursday, the Senate’s top Republican, Mitch McConnell, who has long been at the forefront of US policy toward Myanmar, came to Suu Kyi’s defense. McConnell said he spoke with Suu Kyi by phone on Wednesday and she repeated her call for “peace and reconciliation” in strife-torn Rakhine state. She told him she was working toward securing immediate and improved humanitarian access to the region.
The Kentucky lawmaker said her civilian government has little control over Myanmar’s military and the nation’s path to a more democratic government will take time.
“Publicly condemning Aung San Suu Kyi — the best hope for democratic reform in Burma — is not constructive,” McConnell told the Senate. “Attacking the single political leader who has worked to further democracy within Burma is likely to hinder that objective in the long run.”


Le Pen threatens to topple French government over budget

Updated 58 min ago
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Le Pen threatens to topple French government over budget

  • The opposition on all sides of the spectrum have denounced the budget
  • Marine Le Pen downplayed the consequences of the budget being rejected

PARIS: French far-right figurehead Marine Le Pen on Monday threatened to back a no confidence motion that could topple the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier in a standoff over the budget, saying after talks both sides were entrenched in their positions.
Months of political tensions since right-winger Barnier became prime minister at the helm of a minority government appointed by President Emmanuel Macron in the wake of this summer’s elections are coming to a head over the budget which has yet to be approved by parliament.
The opposition on all sides of the spectrum have denounced the budget, prompting Barnier to consider brandishing the weapon of article 49.3 of the constitution which allows a government to force through legislation without a vote in parliament.
However, that could prompt Le Pen’s far right National Rally (RN) to team up in an unholy alliance with the left-wing bloc in parliament and find enough numbers to topple the government in a confidence vote.
Le Pen entered the Matignon residence of the French premier for the breakfast meeting and was to be followed later in the afternoon by hard left France Unbowed (LFI) parliamentary party leader Mathilde Panot as Barnier seeks to hear voices across the board.
“My position has not changed. No more, it seems, than that (the position) of the prime minister has changed,” Le Pen after meeting Barnier, describing him as “at the same time courteous but also entrenched in his positions.”
Asked if the RN would back a no confidence motion, she replied: “Of course.”
Le Pen downplayed the consequences of the budget being rejected, saying she did not believe “in this notion that ‘if this budget is rejected, if there is a no confidence motion, it will be dramatic, there will be chaos, etc’.”
Further complicating the situation is the constitutional rule in France that there must be a one year gap between legislative elections, meaning that Macron cannot call polls until the summer to resolve the crisis.
“Michel Barnier is creating the conditions for a vote of no confidence,” RN deputy leader Sebastien Chenu said on Sunday.
But he insisted that the move would not paralyze France and that Macron still had options, including resigning before his term ends in 2027, something the president has previously ruled out.
“The president has several options... reappoint the same prime minister, appoint a new prime minister, resign if he has no other solution, or call a referendum,” he added.
Government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon had warned in an interview published in the Le Parisien daily that France risked a “Greek-style situation” if the government was brought down, referring to Greece’s 2007-2008 financial crisis.
The issue comes at a critical time for three-time presidential candidate Le Pen, who fancies having her best ever crack at the Elysee in polls due in 2027.
Le Pen, 56, and other RN defendants are currently on trial accused of creating fake jobs at the EU parliament which they deny.
If convicted, she could receive a jail sentence and a ban from public office which would disqualify her from the presidential polls.
Her young lieutenant Jordan Bardella, 29, who is the RN party chief, is not among the accused and is seen by some as harboring his own presidential positions.
Baredella, who has just published his first book “Ce que je cherche” (“What I am Looking For”), told French television last week that “not having a criminal record is, for me, rule number one when you want to be an MP.”
While opponents dubbed him “Brutus” after the Roman politician who assassinated ex-ally Julius Ceasar, Le Pen denied any tensions with her protege, saying they had a “relationship of trust.”


Children killed in Mozambique election violence: HRW

Updated 25 November 2024
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Children killed in Mozambique election violence: HRW

  • The southern African nation has been rocked by unrest since an October 9 vote won by the ruling Frelimo party
  • Thousands of people have demonstrated across the country in recent weeks in protests brutally suppressed by the police

JOHANNESBURG: Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Monday that Mozambican security forces killed at least 10 children and injured dozens more in post-election violence.
The southern African nation has been rocked by unrest since an October 9 vote won by the ruling Frelimo party in power since independence but contested by the opposition.
Thousands of people have demonstrated across the country in recent weeks in protests brutally suppressed by the police.
One 13-year-old girl was “caught in a crowd of people fleeing tear gas and gunfire... One of the bullets hit her in the neck, and she instantly fell to the ground and died,” HRW said in a statement.
The rights group said it had documented “nine additional cases of children killed and at least 36 other children injured by gunfire during the protests.”
The authorities have not responded to HRW’s claims.
Police have also detained “hundreds of children, in many cases for days, without notifying their families, in violation of international human rights law,” HRW said.
President Filipe Nyusi, who is due to step down in January, condemned an “attempt to install chaos in our country” in a state of the nation address last week.
He said that 19 people had been killed in the recent clashes, five of them from the police force. More than 800 people were injured, including 66 police, he added.
Civil society groups recorded a higher death toll — with more than 67 people killed since the unrest began — and said that an estimated 2,000 others had been detained.
Nyusi, 65, has invited the main opposition leader, Venancio Mondlane, for talks.
Mondlane, who came in second after Frelimo’s Daniel Chapo, 47, but claims to have won, has been organizing most of the protests.
He said he would accept the president’s offer as long as the talks were held virtually and legal proceedings against him were dropped.
The 50-year-old is believed to have left the country for fear of arrest or attack but his whereabouts are unknown.


At least 22 Somalis dead after boats capsize off Madagascar, official says

Updated 25 November 2024
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At least 22 Somalis dead after boats capsize off Madagascar, official says

MOGADISHU/ANTANANARIVO: At least 22 Somali citizens died when two migrant boats capsized off the coast of Madagascar over the weekend, Somalia’s Information Minister Daud Aweis said.
Madagascar’s Port, Maritime, and River Authority (APMF) said the boats had set sail from Somalia for the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte on Nov. 2, a journey of several hundred kilometers.
On Saturday, the port authority reported that local fishermen discovered the first boat drifting on Friday near Nosy Iranja. They rescued 25 people, including 10 men and 15 women, but seven occupants died, the authority said.
A second boat carrying 38 people arrived at Madagascar’s Port du Cratère, according to APMF. The maritime authority did not disclose a death toll for the second boat but confirmed the rescue of 23 people.
Somali Information Minister Aweis, citing information from his counterparts in Madagascar, confirmed the total death toll at 22.
“They were about 70 Somalis, 22 of them died. One boat was carrying 38 people and the other boat was carrying 32 people,” Aweis said on state-owned television late on Sunday.
In recent decades thousands of people have attempted to make the crossing to Mayotte, which has a higher standard of living and access to the French welfare system.
Mayotte is officially part of France, although Comoros claims it.
Aweis said Somalia will investigate where the boats sailed from, terming those who organized the trip as criminals involved in illicit immigration.
“This is also a message of warning to those who want to immigrate illegally before they go and die in such manner. It is unfortunate people still go despite danger,” he added.
In early November, at least 25 people died off Comoros islands after traffickers capsized their boat.


Charlotte airport workers plan to strike during busy Thanksgiving travel week

Updated 25 November 2024
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Charlotte airport workers plan to strike during busy Thanksgiving travel week

  • Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services cast ballots Friday to authorize the work stoppage in North Carolina
  • Workers say they previously raised the alarm about their growing inability to afford basic necessities, including food and housing

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Service workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport plan to go on strike during a busy week of Thanksgiving travel to protest what they say are unlivable wages.
Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services cast ballots Friday to authorize the work stoppage in North Carolina, which is set to begin Monday at 5 a.m.
Officials with Service Employees International Union announced the impending strike in a statement early Monday, saying the workers would demand “an end to poverty wages and respect on the job during the holiday travel season.”
ABM and Prospect Airport Services contract with American Airlines to provide services including cleaning airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs.
Workers say they previously raised the alarm about their growing inability to afford basic necessities, including food and housing. They described living paycheck to paycheck, unable to cover expenses like car repairs while performing jobs that keep countless planes running on schedule.
“We’re on strike today because this is our last resort. We can’t keep living like this,” ABM cabin cleaner Priscilla Hoyle said in a statement. “We’re taking action because our families can’t survive.”
Several hundred workers were expected to walk off the job and continue the work stoppage throughout Monday.
Most of them earn between $12.50 and $19 an hour, which is well below the living wage for a single person with no children in the Charlotte area, union officials said.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport officials have said this holiday travel season is expected to be the busiest on record, with an estimated 1.02 million passengers departing the airport between last Thursday and the Monday after Thanksgiving.
In addition to walking off the job, striking workers plan to hold an 11 a.m. rally and a 1 p.m. “Strikesgiving” lunch “in place of the Thanksgiving meal that many of the workers won’t be able to afford later this week,” union officials said.
“Airport service workers make holiday travel possible by keeping airports safe, clean, and running,” the union said. “Despite their critical role in the profits that major corporations enjoy, many airport service workers must work two to three jobs to make ends meet.”
ABM said it would take steps to minimize disruptions from any demonstrations.
“At ABM, we appreciate the hard work our team members put in every day to support our clients and help keep spaces clean and people healthy,” the company said in a statement last week.
Prospect Airport Services said last week that the company recognizes the seriousness of the potential for a strike during the busy holiday travel season.


UK travel disrupted as Storm Bert fallout continues

Updated 25 November 2024
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UK travel disrupted as Storm Bert fallout continues

  • There were more 200 flood warnings and flood alerts in place across England and Wales
LONDON: Britain’s roads and railways were hit by closures on Monday after Storm Bert battered the country over the weekend, causing widespread flooding and killing four people.
There were more 200 flood warnings and flood alerts in place across England and Wales, while trains from London to the southwest were canceled and rail services in central England were severely disrupted.
“Do not attempt to travel on any route today,” Great Western Railway, whose trains connect London to Bristol and Cornwall, said on X.
Amongst those killed during the storm include a dog walker who in North Wales, and a man who died when a tree hit his car in southern England.
Major roads in Northamptonshire and Bristol were closed, while fallen trees on rail lines cut off services between London and Stansted Airport, Britain’s fourth busiest hub.
The disruption comes after Storm Bert hit Britain late on Friday, bringing snow, rain and strong winds.
The Met Office kept a warning for strong winds in place for northern Scotland on Monday and said the storm would clear from that part of the country early on Tuesday.