Peace & Justice

Photo: An artist’s impression of Columbus arriving in America by Wilhem Berrouet. Credit: Salon de la Mappemonde/Flickr/CC)

Europe Slow in Recognising Global Impact of Colonialism

Viewpoint by Michael McEachrane*

LUND (IDN) – Centuries of European colonialism have had a tremendous impact on shaping inequities within and among countries, many of which are yet to be effectively addressed. This may seem like a trivial statement, but it is only recently being recognised by EU countries.

In 2019, the European Parliament passed a resolution on the Fundamental Rights of People of African Descent. It called for a comprehensive perspective on colonialism and slavery, which recognises their historical and contemporary adverse effects on people of African descent.

: Phil Harris; HUMAN RIGHTS; Racism; 23 February 2021

Photo: The Port of Djibouti is located at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, at the intersection of major international shipping lines connecting Asia, Africa and Europe. Credit: China Merchants Port Holdings.

Why the U.S. Should Build A New Base in Eritrea

Viewpoint by Daniel Haile*

COLLEGE STATION, Texas | USA (IDN) — The United States should abandon its base in Djibouti and build a new military base in Eritrea after the Communist regime in Asmara falls from power. daniel_haile.jpg

The communist regime of 78-year-old dictator Isaias Afwerki has an expiration date. When the current government in Asmara is overthrown, either from a coup d'état or the death of Afwerki, the US should build a strong relationship with Eritrea's future ruler to persuade them to host a US military base in Assab or Massawa.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 21 February 2021

Photo: A community kitchen at one of the protest sites. Credit: WNV/Manu Moudgil.

Farm Crisis Fuelling India’s Farmers’ Protests

By Manu Moudgil*

NEW DELHI (IDN) – On February 6, protesters blocked roads at an estimated 10,000 spots across India as part of the ongoing movement against the new farm laws enacted by the national government last year. For over two months, the most populous democracy in the world has witnessed what is being called one of the biggest protests in human history.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; South Asia; 19 February 2021

Photo: SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. Credit: Seikyo Shimbun

A Beacon of Hope from A Buddhist Leader in the Face of Crises

Viewpoint by Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) — Like the United Nations, the global community-based Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a beacon of hope to a world shrouded by dark clouds of unprecedented crises. An international association of the Soka Gakkai and an NGO in consultative status with UN ECOSOC, SGI has members in 192 countries and territories around the world. SGI President is Daisaku Ikeda, a Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder and educator.

: Ramesh Jaura; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 18 February 2021

Facebook News Ban Turns Attention to Tech Giants’ Impact on Journalism in Australia

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — The tech juggernaut Facebook’s shock decision to block all news feeds from Australian media outlets from February 18 in response to a proposed new Media Bargaining law, that will force social media giants to pay for news content that is posted on their platforms, has created fury among Australians here. But it is also turning attention to the impact of Facebook (and Google) on Australian journalism.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 18 February 2021

Photo: In Colombia, young people, activists and former FARC guerrilla fighters are being targeted for execution-style murders. Credit: EPA-EFE/Mauricio Duenas Castaneda

Mass Murders Threaten Colombia's Peace Agreement

Viewpoint by Camilo Tamayo Gomez*

BIRMINGHAM (IDN) – The murder of five students at a farm in Buga, in south-western Colombia, on January 24 highlights the fragility of the 2016 peace deal which brought to an end more than five decades of civil conflict between successive governments and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

January 2021 was the most violent month since the peace deal was signed, with 12 mass killings and total of 45 people murdered, according to the Colombian NGO INDEPAZ. The United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia and Human Rights Watch have recorded the deaths of 261 FARC ex-combatants and more than 400 human rights defenders and social leaders since 2016.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 17 February 2021

Photo: Protesters in Yangon carrying signs reading "Free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi" on 8 February 2021. CC BY-SA 4.0

MYANMAR: The Complicated Politics & Geopolitics of the Coup

Viewpoint by Vijay Prashad*

NORTHAMPTON, Massachusetts (IDN) — On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military — known as the Tatmadaw — invoked Article 417 of the 2008 constitution, dismissed State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, and arrested her and other members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) party. Condemnation of the coup was swift, although there would be the reason for hesitancy in the reaction:

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 17 February 2021

President Biden Should Resurrect the Iran Nuclear Deal

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — General Colin Powell should know. He was chief of staff of the US military, and later secretary of state under President George W. Bush. When the Syrian civil war broke out and there was an effort in Congress and the media to persuade President Barack Obama to intervene, Powell made an observation, the one posted in pottery shops: ”If you break it you own it”. He had also made the same pithy remark before the first Gulf war but then he went along with leading the invasion.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 16 February 2021

Photo: In this photo from Friday, August 14, 2020, protesters supported by New Orleans Workers Group march in support of African asylum seekers — many of them from Cameroon -- who've been conducting hunger strike at the Pine Prairie ICE Procession Center in Evangeline Parish. (Photo by Jason Kerzinski) Source: Louisiana Illuminator

Deportation of Africans Cancelled After Reports of Torture by the US Immigration Service

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — A plane carrying Cameroonian, Angolan and Congolese asylum seekers due to take off from Alexandria, Louisiana, was cancelled with minutes to spare after advocacy groups published affidavits by detainees of torture by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

The affidavits listed a host of violent tactics ICE officials had reportedly used to pressure the detainees to submit to their deportation. ICE agents were accused of choking, beating, and forcing the asylum seekers to agree to expulsion by threatening them placement in Covid-19 wards.

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Decent Work & Economic Growth; 16 February 2021

Photo: Security forces stand outside a polling station in Kampala, Uganda, on January 14, 2021. Source: The African Report.

Ugandan Election Rights Violations Elicit Threat of European Union Sanctions

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK | BRUSSELS (IDN) — As Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni bore down on rights groups and the opposition, the European Union (EU) Parliament responded with the threat of sanctions against Ugandan individuals and organizations they hold responsible for abuses during the recent general election.

Museveni apparently sparked the EU backlash when he instructed the Ministry of Finance, in a letter dated January 1, to suspend the activities of the Democratic Governance Facility, a basket fund of European countries that bankroll most Ugandan civil society organizations that work on governance, rights and related themes.