World – Page 9 – The Speaker News Journal

Displaced people in South Sudan fear return over delay in peace implementation

March 1, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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JUBA, South Sudan – The South Sudan civil society forum has said that several internally displaced persons and refugees in neighboring countries are fearing to return to their homes because of delay in implementing the revitalized peace deal.

“Lack of plans by the government, looming insecurity and poor services continue to discourage IDPs and refugees from returning home,” said a statement issued by South Sudan Civil Society forum on Monday in Juba.

According to UN agencies, close to one million people are living in IDP camps in the country.

These people were displaced in the aftermath of violence that broke out in December 2013 and renewed violence in July 2016 that displaced thousands in Central, Eastern and Western Equatoria states respectively.

“A comprehensive national plan to facilitate and support repatriation, rehabilitation and resettlement of internally displaced persons and returnees in a voluntary and dignified manner has to be developed,” according to the forum.

It also expressed deep concern over slow implementation of the security arrangement that includes training and unification of the army.

South Sudan is supposed to complete training and unification of 83,000 estimated force to take charge of security during the transitional period before elections are held around 2023.

“The 2018 agreement provided for restoration of permanent and sustainable peace, security and stability in our country envisaged through training, graduation and deployment of national unified forces to take charge of security. Sadly, there is little progress to report on this front,” it said.

By Benjamin Takpiny

South Sudan to begin oil sector audit

March 1, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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JUBA, South Sudan – South Sudan’s government has directed a full audit into its oil resource management after years of reports of mismanagement of the environment in the oil producing areas.

Caesar Oliha Marko, deputy chairperson for a government oversight committee to oversee implementation of the audit revealed that a U.S.-based firm will audit production and sale of crude since the independence of South Sudan in 2011.

The oversight committee was established in a presidential decree on Feb. 18 this year.

“It is a very serious audit — it is for the first time since 2011,” Marko told reporters in Juba on Monday.

The audit will “ensure the government adopts measures to ensure that loss and wastage of petroleum resources in the course of extraction, processing, transportation and exportation is kept to a bare minimum so that the country derives maximum financial benefits from its exploitation,” Marko said.

Commenting on the humanitarian side of the issue, Marko said, “We have heard about children born with deformities and we are yet to establish real findings to prove it true and if it is true, someone will be held accountable for and that is why someone has to do work to prove it scientific to us.”

“In regard to when the auditing will start, we have already started and that is why we are here we are working out procedures and the real work will start when the audit plan is approved by the government,” Marko said.

The Ministry of Petroleum announced the tender in January of 2020 targeting competent international companies to bid to undertake an environmental audit in the oil producing northern Upper Nile, Unity states and the newly created Ruweng Administrative Area.

By Benjamin Takpiny

Amnesty International condemns Eritrean massacre in Tigray

March 1, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

15 Ethiopian peacekeepers in South Sudan refuse to return home

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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Amnesty has condemned the alleged human rights abuses by Eritrean troops in Axum, Tigray Region Ethiopia, said to have taken place between November 10 to November 20, 2013.

According to the institute’s 25-page report, hundreds of civilians were massacred by Eritrean forces in retaliation.

According to the report, when the Ethiopian Defense Forces entered the city, heavy artillery shelling was reported in the city, resulting in civilian casualties.

In the early hours of November 19, 2013, TPLF forces and militias attacked the Eritrean army with the help of locals armed with knives, machetes, and sticks, in a battle in the area known as Mai-Koho.

Eritrean soldiers who returned later that afternoon carried out massacres of civilians in military vehicles and tanks, witnesses told Amnesty.

One eyewitness told Amnesty he had seen 400 dead on November 20 alone, while another eyewitness had seen 200 dead at various funerals.

Despite this, the Ethiopian Defense Forces did not attempt to block Eritrean troops other than guarding government buildings.

Amnesty compiled their report by interviewing eyewitnesses, locals, and a number of individuals who know the area, and referring to satellite imagery. The organization presented its findings to State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia and Ambassador Redwan Hussein, a spokesman for the Emergency Task Force, but has not yet received a response. Amnesty also called on the UN to investigate the killings, kidnappings and robberies committed by Eritrean soldiers in Axum.

Eritrea has rejected the Amnesty report.

By Henok Alemayehu

Former French president sentenced to ‘prison’

March 1, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to three years for bribery and illicit influence by a Paris court Monday stemming from a conviction for conspiring with lawyers in order to obtain information into an investigation of his campaign finances.

Of the 3-year sentence, 2 years will be be spent on probation, reported French news agency AFP from the Paris Palace of Justice. The 66-year-old is unlikely to have to go to jail because the sentence can be served at home under electronic surveillance. He is the first former French president to be sentenced to prison.

He has 10 days to appeal.

By Milan Sime Martinic

ANC leadership to meet with former President Jacob Zuma

March 1, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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The African National Congress (ANC) leadership has proposed a meeting with Zuma over his refusal to appear before the Zondo commission of inquiry into the state capture.

Zuma agreed to a meeting which is expected to take place soon.

“With regards to former President Zuma, there are quite a number of engagements that are happening, and one of those is an engagement with the top leadership of the ANC which should be happening any day soon,” Ramaphosa told the South African National Editors’ Forum.

“It’s been agreed. He agreed to it. We’ve all agreed to it, that we are going to engage with him. He is a disciplined member of the ANC and we will be able to have an engagement with him. The massage will be earnest, simple and straightforward, that let us all abide by our constitution, respect our institutions, particularly the judiciary,” said Ramaphosa.

Zuma was recently summoned to testify at the Zondo commission. However, his lawyer wrote to the commission saying that would not be attending.

By Zakithi Dlamini

London’s bridges are falling apart

March 1, 2021March 1, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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An old fear of Londoners is becoming real. High traffic, lack of maintenance, climate change, and crumbling structures threaten the famous bridges over the Thames River, according to a BBC report that said many bridges have reached the limit of their capacity and in need of “immediate repair work.”

According to the BBC, more and more signs are appearing that prohibit people from even walking across a bridge. At the famous Tower Bridge one recent day the wheels jammed, leaving the raised deck stuck and causing chaos in traffic. Last year both the London Bridge and Vauxhall Bridge were shut down for repairs due to complaints from civil engineers, said the report.

Among bridges reported by the BBC as “problematic” are the Westminster Bridge in front of Parliament, Chiswick Bridge, and the historic Hammersmith Bridge in West London on which no motorized traffic is now allowed, and not even rowboats below are permitted to approach, with security guards keeping everyone away from the bridge 24/7.

It could take six years before the bridge is repaired, according to calculations by the London School of Economics (LSE). Of the different authorities responsible for the bridges, the Hammersmith and Fulham Town Councils say they do not have the money for such a mammoth repair, reported the BBC, and that the Bridge House Estate, a City of London asset holder also responsible for the bridges has said it is considering tariffs to cover repair costs.

“There are obviously structural problems with bridge supervision, with government responsibility, with politics,” wrote Professor Tony Travers, LSE transportation expert, commenting on the crumbling infrastructure.

By Milan Sime Martinic

‘Joujou’ is another name for hope in the Brazilian wetlands

February 27, 2021February 27, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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A male jaguar named Joujou has returned to his home sweet home in the wild.

In Brazil he has become a symbol of the efforts of environmentalists, volunteers and firefighters to protect and restore a much affected strip of the Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland area, which was ravaged by the fires last year.

Little by little, vegetation returning to the Serra do Amolar, a chain of mountains considered an environmental treasure because of the large number of species it houses.

Before the fires, 62 jaguars had been monitored in the region. Today, researchers are unable to say how many have survived and how many have returned to their habitat, which was scorched in the worst sequence of fires in 14 years. Between January and September of 2020, 2.3 million acres have been on fire, an area which is two times as big as the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Joujou has become a symbol of hope because he was shown on national TV with his paws burned. Some Brazilians said they cried in front of the screen when they saw the big cat suffering so much. In November, two jaguars were rescued. They could barely move. One of them didn’t make it. Joujou was taken to a center for housing and treatment of wild animals in the city of Campo Grande, capital of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul.

After months of intensive care, this example of the Americas’ biggest feline has recovered entirely and was flown back to Pantanal. Joujou now has a tracking collar and will be monitored for a year. He reached the hospital weighing just a hundred pounds. He now weighs almost 180 pounds.

Many other animals – including anteaters, armadillos, snakes, alligators and other jaguars – did not survive the blaze. However, Joujou, beautiful and strong, has been returned home safe and sound.

By Jorge Valente

The priest who left no sharp stones

February 27, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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SAO PAOLO, Brazil – One of the most iconic figures in the fight for the homeless in the city of São Paulo has been in the spotlight since the beginning of February.

Father Julio Lancelotti learned that the City Hall’s authorities had decided to cover the ground under a bridge with pointed stones, a move to prevent the homeless from sleeping underneath.

A reputed advocate of human rights, father Lancelotti had no second thoughts about the line of action he was about to take.

With a sledgehammer in hand, he took to the streets and positioned himself right below the bridge. And then attacked and destroyed furiously what he considered another serious breach of human rights in a city already plagued by many other violations.

On social media he later posted a picture showing the result of his action and wrote, “Outrage against oppression”.

São Paulo is believed to have more than 24,000 homeless living below the poverty line, according to a 2019 survey. But Human Rights Watch groups say this number skyrocketed during the pandemic.

City Hall authorities said that the decision to put the stones under the bridge was an “isolated action” and had already fired the employee who was in charge of the task.

Father Lancelotti, however, was skeptical about this take on things, and said another similar action had already been done, commenting, “It’s inhuman, looks like a concentration camp.”

By Jorge Valente

Tourists damage 1500-year-old Gate of the Sun and rock monoliths in Bolivia’s ancient city of Tiwanaku

February 27, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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Four women and one man from the eastern city of Santa Cruz were charged with damaging the carved stone relics of the civilization that flourished for five centuries on the site, forerunner of the Inca empire. The pre-Columbian ruins are part of the country’s most important archaeological treasures.

After seeing what they described as “suspicious activity,” caretakers said the group splashed the structures with an oily substance that stained surfaces and that experts say would attract gases into the stone, causing internal changes and deterioration.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Myanmar university students rally near Chinese embassy, protest SEAFOOD

February 27, 2021February 27, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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YANGON, Myanmar – University students in Yangon rallied near the Chinese embassy Feb. 27 and called for the Chinese government not to cooperate with the Myanmar military.

Protesters in Myanmar suspect that China is transporting hardware devices to build a firewall for controlling the internet in Myanmar. When the protesters asked the question, the embassy told them that China was sending SEAFOOD to Myanmar. “SEAFOOD” is defines as Software Engineering Approaches for Offshore and Outsourced Development.

There are three main telecommunication companies in Myanmar: MPT, Ooredo and Telenor have provided faster internet connections since 2014.

At present, there is an internet blackout between 1am to 9am daily throughout Myanmar, and when it is available, internet connections are slower than before the military grabbed power from the democratically-elected government.

By Htay Win
Featured image credit: Sit Htet Aung

Japan’s ruling party to allow women to watch its board meetings, but no talking

February 26, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party will invite up to five of its female members of parliament to board meetings, but they should not speak. This was announced by the party as it took what it said was a step toward equality.

“It’s important to fully understand what kind of discussions are going on,” said Toshihiro Nikai, the LDP general secretary. “Look. That’s what it’s about.” Nakai added that women should not have a say in the proceedings but can submit suggestions in writing after the meetings have concluded.

The party’s action has sparked criticism from the opposition, which charges male chauvinism and discrimination against women is ingrained in the LDP, which depends on the voices of Japan’s strong nationalist circles with their traditional role models. They are tentative in grappling with women-friendly ideas, according to women’s groups, and progress is slow. The party’s make-up is 40% female, but women only hold 10% of its parliamentary seats, a figure far below the 25% global average.

According to the World Economic Forum 2020 report, Japan ranks 121 out of 153 countries in its gender parity global ranking.

By Milan Sime Martinic

China charging Uighurs with “looking for an argument”

February 26, 2021 by The Speaker Editors

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Uighurs in China’s mostly Muslim Xinjiang province are receiving long prison terms for charges like “looking for an argument,” according to Human Rights Watch, with is claiming the legal attitude amounts to systematic persecution.

Claiming a ned to impose quick and severe sentences in the name of counter-terrorism, Chinese police and prosecutors are arresting and sentencing people who have not committed any real offense, according to the human rights organization. “Despite appearances of legality, many of the people in Xinjiang prisons are ordinary people who have been sentenced for going about their lives and practicing their religion,” said HRW Researcher Maya Wang in a statement.

More than 250,000 people in the northwestern region have been formally imprisoned since 2016, reported HRW, adding it has noted a dramatic increase in the lengths of prison sentences. Since 2017 the number of sentences for 5 years or more has risen from 11% to 87%. There are also an estimated one million Uighurs in “political education” camps in Xinjiang, according to HRW.

By Milan Sime Martinic