GENEVA: The United Nations’ refugees chief denounced Monday the politicization of migration in European elections, warning that demonizing refugees would only make the issue more difficult to deal with.
Filippo Grandi told AFP that his main concern after the weekend’s European Parliament elections, which handed significant gains to far-right parties across much of the continent, was that “the refugee-migration theme has become so politicized in these elections.”
That, he said, was “partly because some politicians have manipulated it, have portrayed it as a threat, as a risk.”
Many European countries have for years focused on tightening migration policies, and a heftier far-right representation is expected to make itself felt on the EU’s migration and asylum agenda.
Grandi acknowledged that swelling numbers of refugees and migrants could pose significant challenges, “first and foremost for the people that are on the move, but also for the people hosting and receiving them, for the countries, governments receiving them.”
“But to simply say: this is an invasion... (of) ill-intentioned people that come here to steal your jobs, threaten your values, your security, and therefore they have to go away, we have to build barriers... does not solve the problem,” he said.
“It’s not just wrong, because... these people have rights, whoever they are, but also because these positions do not solve the problem — they make it worse,” Grandi said.
“To build barriers actually increases irregularity of movements which are more difficult to manage,” he said.
Instead of demonizing refugees and migrants, he said countries would be far wiser to work together on addressing the root causes pushing people to leave their homes.
Such an approach would be in Europe’s “self-interest,” he said.
He pointed to the largely neglected conflict raging in Sudan that in recent months has spurred a “steep rise in the arrival of Sudanese refugees... into North Africa, Libya, Tunisia and then across to Italy.”
“There’s no point in screaming and anguishing about these flows when... not enough is done to stop the reasons why they’re coming,” he said.
Focusing on addressing root causes and dismal conditions along migration routes that spur people to keep moving may be “less sexy in terms of political attraction, but that’s the right way to go,” he said.
“Unless we do that, this problem will become bigger, and then there will be no slogans to counter it, because we will all be in deep trouble.”
Speaking to journalists, Grandi voiced hope that the anti-migrant rhetoric in Europe would die down now that the EU Parliament voting was over, and politicians would focus on getting “to work.”
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, “will work with whoever will be part of the European institutions,” he said.
But he warned the results could impact attitudes far beyond the continent.
“Everybody looks at Europe in terms of how they deal with these matters,” he told AFP.
Grandi noted that the majority of people on the move globally were not heading for Europe.
“The number of people who have crossed the Mediterranean in the first few months of this year is about 60-70,000, that we know about,” he said.
Chad meanwhile “has received 600,000 Sudanese (refugees) in a year: 10 times more.”
If rich countries backtrack on the principles guaranteeing people the right to cross borders to seek protection from violence and oppression, Grandi said he was “very worried that we will start hearing other countries backtracking too.”
UN warns of ‘politicized’ migration after EU’s far-right tilt
https://arab.news/nbywk
UN warns of ‘politicized’ migration after EU’s far-right tilt
- Many European countries have for years focused on tightening migration policies, and a heftier far-right representation is expected to make itself felt on the EU’s migration and asylum agenda
Bangladesh to seek Interpol alert for fugitive ex-PM Hasina loyalists
- Dozens of Hasina loyalists accused of involvement in bloody crackdown have been arrested
- Red notices issued by Interpol alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives
DHAKA: Bangladesh said Sunday it would request an Interpol “red notice” alert for fugitive leaders of the ousted regime of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who was toppled in a revolution in August.
“Those responsible for the indiscriminate killings during the mass uprising in July and August will be brought back from wherever they have taken refuge,” Asif Nazrul, the interim government’s law adviser, told reporters on Sunday.
“We will ensure they are arrested and brought to justice.”
Dozens of Hasina’s allies have been taken into custody since her regime collapsed, accused of involvement in a police crackdown that killed more than 700 people during the unrest that led to her ouster.
France-based Interpol publishes red notices at the request of a member nation, based on an arrest warrant issued in their home country.
Nazrul did not mention any individual by name, but Bangladesh has already issued an arrest warrant for 77-year-old Hasina — last seen arriving in India after fleeing by helicopter as crowds stormed her palace.
Hasina’s 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents.
Red notices issued by the global police body alert law enforcement agencies worldwide about fugitives.
Nazrul said they would request a red notice “as soon as possible.”
India is a member of Interpol, but the red notice does not mean New Delhi must hand Hasina over.
Member countries can “apply their own laws in deciding whether to arrest a person,” according to the group, which organizes police cooperation between 196 member countries.
Hasina has been summoned to appear in court in Dhaka on November 18 to face charges of “massacres, killings, and crimes against humanity.”
Mohammad Tajul Islam, chief prosecutor of Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), told AFP on Sunday that the court had “sought arrest warrants for more than 60 individuals,” and that “so far, around 25 have been arrested,.”
Indonesia, China seal $10bn in deals on President Prabowo’s first overseas trip
- China is Indonesia’s largest trading partner and source of $7bn worth of investment
- Prabowo will continue his first overseas tour to US, South America, UK, Middle East
Jakarta: Indonesian and Chinese companies signed business agreements worth more than $10 billion on Sunday, as the two countries agreed to strengthen ties during a state visit by President Prabowo Subianto to Beijing.
Prabowo on Sunday wrapped up the first stop of his first overseas tour since taking office last month. After China, he will head to the US before making his way to South America for the APEC and G20 summits, which will be followed by trips to the UK and the Middle East.
He and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to deepen ties on Saturday, elevating security to a fifth “pillar” of cooperation, on top of political, economic, maritime and people-to-people exchange. The two countries will hold a first-ever joint meeting of their foreign and defense ministers next year, according to a joint statement.
“Indonesia and the People’s Republic of China are committed to strengthening our friendship and furthering the prosperity of our two nations,” Prabowo wrote on X on Sunday.
Before leaving Beijing for Washington, Indonesia’s new leader presided over a ceremony between the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and top Chinese corporations, during which they inked billions of dollars worth of deals on renewable energy, and health and food security, among other issues.
“The strong participation of Chinese businesses in Asia is an important element in close cooperation between our two countries. I have met the president and prime minister, where we agreed to continue this collaboration,” Prabowo said at the Indonesia-China Business Forum in Beijing, as reported by state news agency Antara.
“This is part of our synergy across all sectors, in education, business, industries, people-to-people … we are very optimistic about the prospects,” he added.
“We must give an example that in this modern age, collaboration — not confrontation — is the way for peace and prosperity.”
China, which was also Prabowo’s initial foreign destination as president-elect in April, is Indonesia’s biggest trading partner and the source of more than $7 billion of investment.
“The visit to China is significant because China currently supports Indonesia’s ambitious economic program through investment, including industrial downstreaming programs. China also supports various infrastructure projects … Prabowo has met Xi Jinping before and this visit strengthens the ties,” Dr. Ahmad Rizky Mardhatillah Umar, an Indonesian political researcher at the UK’s Aberystwyth University, told Arab News.
Economic and defense affairs appear to be a top priority for Prabowo for his overseas tour, which includes China and the US, the world’s two biggest economies.
“He's trying to balance and hedge between two sides,” Umar said. “He is trying to maximize economic benefits with China with trade and investment, and to bolster defense ties with the US for defense modernization.”
His choice of China as the first stop on his multi-country trip is likely a strategy to lure more investment from the US, said Teuku Rezasyah, an international relations expert from Padjadjaran University in West Java.
“This development will become an ammunition for Prabowo when he speaks with American businesses,” he said. “He’ll be able to say: If you want to make a comeback in Southeast Asia and be part of the economy, this is now the time.”
Prabowo is trying to establish his own legacy early on, Rezasyah added. Though the president has said he will continue the programs started by his predecessor, Joko Widodo, those are matters related to domestic affairs.
“He wants to give the international community some confidence that they’re dealing with the right person in their language because Prabowo speaks more than one international language,” Rezasyah said, referring to Prabowo’s ability to speak English, Dutch, French and German.
“So, he can easily convince the world.”
King Charles leads silence for UK war dead as Kate returns to public life
- Catherine watched the ceremony from a government building balcony as she stepped up her return to royal duties since ending chemotherapy in September
LONDON: King Charles III led Britain in two minutes of silence on Sunday to honor the country’s war dead at a remembrance service also attended by Catherine, Princess of Wales, as she returns to royal duties after cancer treatment.
The king, who was also diagnosed with cancer this year, was among the dignitaries laying wreaths at the Cenotaph memorial in central London after the nation fell silent at 11:00 am (1100 GMT).
Crowds lined the Whitehall area of the capital as political leaders including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, current and former members of the armed forces, and war veterans paid their respects to Britons killed in the world wars and other conflicts.
Catherine, wife of heir to the throne Prince William, watched the ceremony from a government building balcony as she stepped up her return to royal duties since ending chemotherapy in September.
The event came after she smiled and clapped alongside William at the Festival of Remembrance commemorative concert on Saturday night, the first major royal occasion she had attended since her treatment.
The events, two of the most important dates in the royal calendar, marked the first time the princess had carried out two consecutive days of public official engagements this year.
Buckingham Palace announced in February that Charles, 75, had been diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer and would withdraw from public life to undergo treatment.
The following month Kate, 42, revealed that she also had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
Both have since made limited returns to public duties, with Charles recently pausing his treatment while on tour in Australia and Samoa.
William said this week that the past year had been “brutal” and probably the “hardest” of his life because of the twin diagnoses.
“Honestly, it’s been dreadful,” he told reporters on Thursday at the end of a four-day visit to South Africa for his Earthshot prize initiative.
“So, trying to get through everything else and keep everything on track has been really difficult.”
Queen Camilla, Charles’s wife, missed the remembrance events due to a chest infection.
Services took place across the United Kingdom, including in Belfast where Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill became the first senior figure from the pro-Irish unity party Sinn Fein to attend a Remembrance Sunday service in the province.
O’Neill said her attendance backed her commitment to “moving beyond old limits and building bridges.”
Sinn Fein was the political wing of the paramilitary IRA during the Troubles — the three-decade sectarian conflict over British rule in Northern Ireland.
UK minister rules out using Nigel Farage as link to Trump
- Nigel Farage, the Brexit-campaigner and self-described troublemaker, is a friend of Donald Trump
- He has offered to act as an interlocutor between the British government and the Trump administration
LONDON: A British minister said on Sunday that the government is unlikely to ask the Reform party leader Nigel Farage to act as an intermediary to deal with US President-elect Donald Trump.
Farage, the Brexit-campaigner and self-described troublemaker, is a friend of Trump and was at his election victory party in Florida.
He has offered to act as an interlocutor between the British government and the Trump administration, which takes power in January.
The Treasury minister Darren Jones said on Sunday that the government would likely reject that offer.
“I think that’s probably unlikely,” he told Sky News, saying Farage, who is a member of parliament, should probably spend his time with his constituents rather than in the United States.
Governments around the world are trying to figure out how to deal with Trump, who has promised to increase tariffs and whose first four-year term was characterized by a protectionist trade policy and isolationist rhetoric, including threats to withdraw from NATO.
Starmer delayed starting a recruitment process for a new ambassador to Washington until the result of the US election was known.
The role will be crucial in the coming years in navigating Britain’s relationship with the Trump administration.
Farage said at the weekend he has “a great relationship” with Trump and would be willing to act as an intermediary for the government because it is in the national interest.
Indian soldiers battle Kashmir militants, one killed
- Police say two separate gunfights taking place in Zabarwan and Baramulla areas of Indian-administered Kashmir
- Kashmir has been divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan since their partition at end of British rule in 1947
NEW DELHI: Indian troops on Sunday were battling with gunmen in Indian-administered Kashmir with one suspected militant killed, the army said, the latest violence in the long-running insurgency in the disputed Muslim-majority territory.
Police said two separate gunfights were taking place in the Himalayan region, with fighting reported in both the Zabarwan and Baramulla areas.
“One terrorist has been neutralized by the security forces,” the army’s Chinar Corps said, a term they use indicating a gunman had been killed.
Kashmir has been divided between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan since their partition at the chaotic end of British rule in 1947, and both countries claim the territory in full.
India has at least 500,000 troops deployed in Kashmir in a bid to end a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers and militants since 1989.
Militant groups demand either independence or its merger with Pakistan.
New Delhi regularly blames Pakistan for arming militants and helping them launch attacks, an allegation Islamabad denies.
Last week, an attacker hurled a grenade at a busy market in the main city of Srinagar, wounding 12 people.
Attacks since October have included gunmen launching an ambush on an army convoy, as well as firing on a construction camp, killing seven people.
On Wednesday, Kashmir’s newly-elected regional assembly passed a resolution demanding New Delhi restore the territory’s partial autonomy, canceled in 2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government.
