Headlines

Russia has sent a humanitarian convoy toward Ukraine. The convoy was to cross the border Wednesday, but has unexpectedly changed course. Currently, no Russian convoy is at the planned border crossing. The current course of the convoy is unknown. The Red Cross, reported to be acting with Russia on the humanitarian mission, has stated that they are “not in charge of this convoy at the moment,” and Ukrainian forces have been dispatched toward another border crossing near Krasnodon, where, Ukrainian officials have stated, the Russian convoy attempted to cross during the night.

Russia’s convoy was announced to be in participation with the Red Cross, but the Red Cross said that only that they “could be on board” but “needed to have some clarification first regarding modalities, practical steps that have to be implemented prior to a launch of such an operation.

The Red Cross also stated that it would participate only “according to our own principles, according to our own modalities.”

Russia has refused, however, to allow inspection of their large column of almost three hundred freight trucks.

The Red Cross later announced that they no were not in control of Russia’s convoy. “We’ve been told by Russian authorities that an aid convoy is heading to #Ukraine border. We’re not in charge of this convoy at the moment,” tweeted the ICRC.

Nothing has approached the planned border crossing. The convoy has switched direction toward the border near Krasnodon, Luhansk, Ukraine, according to Ukrainian sources.

Ukrinform published a report that the convoy was expected to arrive at a checkpoint in Kharkiv Wednesday but had bypassed the planned route, and that it was not clear what route the convoy would take.

Instead, the Russian convoy attempted to enter Ukraine over night by a different crossing, according to Ukrainian Presidential Administration Deputy Head Valery Chaly.

“Wednesday night… [there] was in fact an attempt to break through the Kharkiv region… It did not involve the Red Cross,” said Chaly.

Several units of the Ukrainian forces have been dispatched from Luhansk Airport to the road leading to Krasnodon, where a fierce battle is currently raging between Ukrainian forces and separatists, reportedly. The fighting involved shelling over Peremozhne village fired by separatists in Krasnodon. Numerous civilians have been reported killed.

Krasnodon and Sukhodilsk have also been used over the past months to transfer armored vehicles, including tanks, to Luhansk and Sverdlovsk. These tanks were not used, but kept hidden in abandoned factories, restorations and forested areas.

If Russia enters Ukraine by a different route, and continues to refuse inspection of its convoys, Russia may be considered to have invaded Ukraine.

Read more: Ukraine Agrees to Let Russians, Americans, Europeans Enter Ukraine for Humanitarian Mission Led by Red Cross 

Monday, US President Barack Obama held a telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Poroshenko, in which the leaders agreed that “any Russian intervention in Ukraine without the formal, express consent and authorization of the Ukraine government would be unacceptable and a violation of international law.”

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso also warned Moscow against any unilateral military action in Ukraine, even if it took place in the context of humanitarian circumstances.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

A forced eviction is set to take place in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in which 20,000 people will be set upon by 10,000 military police if they fail to comply with thousands of leaflets dropped from helicopters over the region, announcing to residents that violence will be their own fault if they fail to evict themselves. The community has stated none will leave their homes.

The military police action was announced despite the absence of a court decision regarding the eviction. The action was announced by means of leaflets dropped from helicopters, warning that failure to comply with the eviction will result in possible violence.

The leaflets stated that the Military Police of Minas Gerais (PMMG) would follow their orders for the repossession of the occupied lands, in accordance with the constitution and the fundamental principles of human rights, and suggested that pregnant women, seniors, children and people with special leave the location for their wellbeing.

“The responsibility for these people’s health lies with the (resistance) movement,” the leaflet stated.

The houses of the 8,000 families will be demolished. No relocation scheme has been set in place, so the evicted will be rendered homeless.

According to the commander of the PMMG, Colonel Machado, “The eviction will take place in the next 15 days, but I will not say the specific day. We will use full force. Leave the area.”

Human rights lawyers are contesting the eviction.

In the absence of legal defense, residents met and decided unanimously to attempt to remain in their homes.

“We will not leave this ground,” said one member of the community, Carvalho Elielma, “It was empty before and now it’s being used for housing. The three communities are united behind this idea,” Elielma said, referring to the affected Rosa Leon, Hope and Victory communities.

Brazilian news organization Averdade predicted that the police eviction may result in a “massacre.”

Belo Horizonte is the sixth largest city in Brazil and has 2.5 million municipal citizens and 5.2 metropolitian residents.

The land is wanted for development. The development is projected to be worth $6.5 billion.

By Sid Douglas

Noticias

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Six Tibetans have been located after being detained by Chinese police three years ago. The six were arrested during a protest against forced relocation and construction of a mining project in Lhundrub County, Tibet. The location of the six was confirmed to be Drapchi Prison, Lhasa. The six had received prison sentences ranging from eight to 12 years for their participation in the protest, according to Tibetan rights watch group, Free Tibet.

Two Tibetans received 12 years, three others received 11 years, and one person received 8 years.

The protest took place in April 2011 in Lhundrub County and was staged against a mining project in the area.

In 2009, the Chinese government began damming the Yarlung Tsangpo river, a river that stretches from western to south-central Tibet and is the source of India’s and Bangladesh’s Brahmaputra River.

Tibetans had been forced to relocate in preparation of the mining project, and were promised support. The support did not materialize, however.

When Tibetans requested that the project be discontinued, they were told that anyone who opposed the project would be arrested and charged with political crimes.

Frequently, when Tibetans are arrested by Chinese authorities, their families are not able to find information about their whereabouts.

China currently has plans to build up to 60 dams on the Tibetan Plateau. Twenty so far have been constructed. The dams have affected major riverways in Southeastern Asia, such as the Mekong River.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has agreed to an international humanitarian mission to be participated in by Russia, the US and the EU. The mission is to be led by the Red Cross, which stated that the ICRC would be involved in the operation so long as it was “according to our own principles, according to our own modalities.”

US President Barack Obama held a telephone conversation with Poroshenko Monday, in which the leaders agreed that “any Russian intervention in Ukraine without the formal, express consent and authorization of the Ukraine government would be unacceptable and a violation of international law.”

The Russian government also announced its intention to send a humanitarian convoy into Ukraine with Red Cross support. Moscow said that there would not be a Russian military escort for the convoy.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned Putin against any unilateral military action in Ukraine, even if it took place in the context of humanitarian circumstances.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday that he thought there was a “high probability” of Russian military intervention in Ukraine, however. Rasmussen said that Moscow was “developing the narrative and the pretext” for military action in Ukraine, noting that Russia had re-amassed 20,000 troops and other military equipment along the Ukraine border.

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Monday, however, that Russia has currently amassed 45,000 troops at the border, along with thousands of pieces of military equipment, including tanks, missile systems, warplanes and attack helicopters.

By Sid Douglas

In Xinjiang a recent protest turned riot ended in approximately 2,000 dead, according to Uyghur leaders. Local sources have put the number in the thousands as well. Recent official Chinese sources, however, have provided a number of 96 killed.

The incident took place July 28, on the eve of Eid al-Fitr, one of the largest Islamic holidays celebrated at the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Chinese authorities had imposed heavy religious restrictions in Xinjiang, which provoked an Uyghur uprising, reportedly.

Official Chinese and Uyghur account of the incident differ.

According to some Uyghur sources, the events leading to the riot began when around 40 women were detained by authorities for wearing excessively Islamic clothing–a crime in Xinjiang. When the family members of these women went to request the women return home to prepare for the celebration, their requests were denied.

Later, a religious gathering took place. A large security force attended the gathering, which they considered illegal, and the confrontation escalated. Fifteen to 20 people were shot initially. Riots spread to nearby villages.

According to Chinese authorities, there had been an “organized and premeditated” attack, in which Uighurs used knives and axes to ambush cars and trucks. Former imam Nuramat Sawut was identified by authorities as the mastermind behind the attack. Sawut had been fired from his office at a village mosque recently for disrespect of the elderly and poor knowledge of Islam, state news Xinjiang Daily reported.

Xinjiang daily quoted Sawut’s cousin, “He is the shame of our village. After the terrorist attack, everybody has drawn a clear line. We all support the Communist Party and the government in their efforts to strike a hard-line against terrorism and return a peaceful life to us.”

Chinese accounts of the event also included a narrative in which a “gang” of Uighurs, connected to the terrorist group East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), attacked police and government buildings in Elishku township, to which the authorities reacted with “a resolute crackdown to eradicate terrorists.”

Official reports initially reported that “dozens” of people had been killed, but later provided a figure of 96 deaths. Of the 96 deaths, officials reported that 37 were civilians killed in the incident and 59 were assailants shot dead by police. Thirty-five of the deaths were reported to be Han Chinese, two were Uyghurs, and the others were reported as “terrorists.”

Ninety-six deaths make the incident the deadliest example of ethnic violence in five years for China. In 2009, 200 people were killed in Xinjiang riots.

Additionally, 215 people were arrested.

Nury Turkel, Washington-based attorney active in the World Uighur Conference–a Germany-based group–made statements about a government action that was hidden. “Something terrible has happened that they are trying to sweep under the rug,” said Turkel.

Overseas Uighurs have also made statements that the official account is false, and that authorities had put the town on lock down, blocking telephone and internet communications, for days.

Exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, citing local sources, stated that at least 2,000 Uighurs may have been killed during the riots. Kadeer accused the Chinese authorities of covering up a “massacre” of Uighurs.

According to Kadeer, the riots began after a Uighur march to the police and government buildings protesting for justice “for the killing of innocent villagers,” including a police shooting death of a family of five during a dispute over traditional headscarves. Some protesters attacked government buildings and employees with sticks. Police shot down nearly all the protesters and went on a house-to-house search, killing other people, Kadeer reported.
“We have evidence in hand that at least 2,000 Uyghurs in the neighborhood of Elishku township have been killed by Chinese security forces on the first day and they ‘cleaned up’ the dead bodies on the second and third day during a curfew that was imposed,” stated Kadeer, “without even condemnation from the outside world.”

“It is clearly state terrorism and a crime against humanity by any standard committed by Chinese security forces against the unarmed Uyghur population,” said Kadeer.

Kadeer has lived as an exile in Washington, DC since her release from prison in China in 2005.

Han Chinese Source within Yarkand have put the number at “possibly more than 1,000,” and attributing the violence to “East Turkestanis” attacking people “with great, big chopping knives,” and comparing the region to Iraq, adding that some involved Uyghurs were foreign nationals from overseas and from Pakistan.

So far, no independent reporting has come out of the area. Local doctors have said that they are not able to answer questions about the injuries treated after the incident.

By James Haleavy

A Chinese Aerospace rocket crashed in Bulong Gachaa, in Arbas subdivision of Otog County, Ordos Administrative Region–a remote region in inner Mongolia, Thursday. The rocket caused a large explosion and impact crater, and was witnessed by many local residents.

Mongolians in the area have been evacuated from their homes, according to Chinese news agency Epoch Times.

After the crash, photos were posted on Chinese Sina Weibo social media platform, showing clouds of orange smoke and wreckage bearing China Aerospace logos, but the photos have since been deleted.

The rocket had originally been reported as a missile on social media, but this description was retracted.

China had announced missile launches in Inner Mongolia–one from Northwest Lop Nur region and another from a region to the west of the Alxa League.

China has not offered any explanation about the crash, and authorities quickly cleaned up the wreckage, according to eyewitnesses.

Chinese officials contacted by other news agencies have reportedly said that there was an incident, but the matter was secret,that there was nothing remaining at the scene, and that authorities were currently looking for the source of the photos posted online.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Recently, in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, Mongolian herders staged a protest against forced displacement from their land due to Chinese appropriation for mining and tourism purposes, and were broken up by police. Ten protesters were arrested.

“Return our green land”, “Return our hot spring”, “Return our livelihood”, “Who is accountable for the destruction of our natural environment?” read the banners displayed by the Mongolians who protested in the capital. Another banner read, “Let our natural environment remain in pristine condition, let our water and rivers be unpolluted, let our sky be blue forever, and let our people live without any suffering!”

The herders were from Hejing County, Bayangol Prefecture, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China. They were protesting the appropriation of their grazing lands by the Chinese government for the purposes of tourism and mining. The protesters also complained of destruction and pollution of the Mongolian lands by state-run and private industries.

“Compared to the tourism industries, mining is even more destructive to our land,” stated a communique from the region, “our land is opened up and water resources depleted.” Hejing is rich in iron, magnesium and copper. As of 2010, 28 mining licences had been issued. Another 400 target zones have been defined for prospective mineral extraction.

The displaced Mongolians were forced to give up their grazing land for such projects. According to Chinese sources, 80 percent of the houses of the herders were demolished by 2011 and road paving and other construction projects were carried out in the region. Last year, Chinese state media agency Xinjiang Daily reported that the herders had almost completed the “transition from herders to peasants” and were “living a happy life.”

According to Chinese news, the herders had been moved “in order to protect grassland”–they were moved because of the government’s development and nature conservation projects.

The herders have been protesting the appropriation of their grazing land and forced displacement for decades.

Local government authorities dispatched police to disperse the protest. Ten protesters were arrested.

“The Chinese have no idea how sacred and how valuable water is to the Mongolians,” one involved Mongolian told the Southern Mongolian Human Rights Information Center (SMHRIC), explaining one of the concerns the Mongolians had about Chinese use of their land–water.

“Polluting water source is absolutely not permitted by the Mongolians. However, recently some Chinese tourist companies came to destroy our grazing lands and even built toilets by the upper bank of the Arshaan River to dump their filth directly into our most sacred water source.”

By James Haleavy

US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, spoke Wednesday about the consequences of the prolonged crisis in South Sudan, saying four million South Sudanese were at “grave risk” of malnourishment and starvation in the upcoming year.

“Not only are people dying every day in what has deteriorated into an ethnic conflict, but the country now faces a horrible famine,” stated Power. “Four million people are at grave risk of famine. And that includes 50,000 kids, who, if we can’t get this back on track, if we can’t bring peace to the country, are at risk of dying over the course of the next year because of malnourishment.”

“…In a man-made famine,” Power added.

“The fighting continues to go on. Notwithstanding the rebel leader and the president sign the pieces of paper that are put in front of them. Because the fighting continues, it makes it impossible for the humanitarian aid deliveries to go through dangerous areas…”
Power cited recent ethnic killings in South Sudan, commenting that what began as a political conflict has become an ethnic one.

The UN warned earlier this month that tens of thousands of children could die of starvation in South Sudan, adding also that disease was a further concern.

Read more: South Sudan Crisis Could Not Have Been Predicted, Says UN Envoy, Preparing Step Down From Leadership in South Sudan 

“Cholera has broken out and malaria is rampant and many children are malnourished. Millions of people need emergency health care, food, clean water, proper sanitation and shelter to make it through the year,” said Toby Lanzer, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan.

In addition to starvation and disease, the prolonged crisis in South Sudan has given rise to a situation in which terrorists could flourish. The Ambassador stated, “We have seen elements from Darfur make their way into the Central African Republic, where there are reports of Boko Haram and al Shabaab taking root… That is, of course, a risk in Sudan. The connections between the government and some very unsavory terrorist actors, I think, are well-known.”

Nearly US$400 million has already gone to assist the world’s youngest country. The US ambassador commented that the numbers at risk of starvation would be “a lot worse” without this investment, and noted that the US has contributed a lot relative to other countries, despite the many pressing global issues currently taking place.

“We want to focus intrinsically… on the welfare of the population in South Sudan… but also in Darfur and in Sudan, where the killing and the airstrikes and the use of food as a weapon of war are also continued.”

The UN has appealed for more than $1 billion to help South Sudan, and is currently going nation-to-nation to appeal for contributions.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

UN