Friday, 17 May, 2019
10 FOREIGN NEWS
US pUllS Staff from Iraq amId ConCErnS ovEr Iran BAGHDAD
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AGENCIES
ASHINGTON ordered the departure of nonemergency American employees from its diplomatic missions in Iraq on Wednesday in another apparent show of concern about what it describes as threats from Iran. Helicopters took off throughout the day from the vast embassy compound near the Tigris River, carrying staff out, according to an Iraqi source and a diplomatic source inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone. The Iraqi source said US staff were headed for a military base at Baghdad airport. US President Donald Trump’s administration is applying new sanctions pressure on Tehran and says it is sending additional forces to the Middle East to counter what it
calls a heightened threat from Iran to US soldiers and interests in the region. Iran calls that “psychological warfare”, and a British commander cast doubt on US military concerns about threats to its roughly 5,000 soldiers in Iraq, who have been helping Iraqi security forces fight Daesh extremists. The US State Department said employees at both the US embassy in Baghdad and its consulate in Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, were being pulled out immediately due to safety concerns. It was unclear how many personnel were affected, and there was no word on any specific threat. Visa services were suspended at the heavily-fortified US missions. “Ensuring the safety of US government personnel and citizens is our highest priority … and we want to reduce the risk of harm,” a State Department spokesman said. Also on Wednesday, Germany, which has 160 soldiers in Iraq, and the Netherlands, which has 169 mil-
itary and civilian personnel, suspended military training operations, citing increasing regional tensions. The Dutch embassy in Baghdad said on its Twitter account that it remained open. The French army had no plans to suspend military training activities in Iraq, a source close to the defense ministry said. ‘DANGEROUS SITUATION’: Both the United States and Iran have said they do not want war, and Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said Tuesday he had indications “things will end well” despite the rhetoric. Iraq is one of the only countries that has close relations with both the US and Iran. It has said it will keep strong ties with Iran, and also with both the US and regional Arab neighbors, some of whom, such as Saudi Arabia, consider Tehran arch-rival. The US, which occupied Iraq from 2003-2011 after invading to topple dictator Saddam Hussein, sent troops back there in 2014 to help fight Daesh. Iran has
close ties to powerful Iraqi political parties and supports powerful militia groups. “I think we are now in a quite dangerous situation where a miscalculation by either side could lead us into conflict,” US Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CNN in an interview on Wednesday. KIRKUK ATTACK: The State Department reissued a travel advisory for Iraq saying US citizens were at high risk of violence and kidnapping. “Anti-US sectarian militias may also threaten US citizens
India's Muslims fear for their future under Narendra Modi AGENCIES
venezuela says talking with 'democratic' opposition in norway GENEVA: Talks are underway in Norway between Venezuela’s government and “democratic” opponents, an envoy said on Thursday, in a possible search for a mediated solution following a failed uprising against President Nicolas Maduro. “Yes, there are talks between the Bolivarian government and the democratic sectors of the opposition,” Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Jorge Valero, told reporters, denouncing U.S. interference. Calling Maduro a dictator, U.S. President Donald Trump has tightened sanctions against his government and spearheaded international recognition of opposition leader Juan Guaido who in January invoked the constitution to assume the interim presidency. “The Venezuelan government is a dialogue-loving government,” Valero added, calling Trump a war criminal. “Unfortunately, there’s also an opposition that is warmongering, terrorist and fascist … simply puppets of the U.S. empire.” Guaido, who calls Maduro’s 2018 re-election fraudulent, called for Venezuela’s military to rise up on April 30, but his push quickly petered out and the military’s top brass has since then sworn allegiance to Maduro. Norway’s Foreign Ministry said its norm was not to comment on possible roles in ongoing or potential peace talks. “Norway follows the situation in Venezuela with great concern. We strongly encourage the parties to find a political and peaceful solution in order to avoid further escalation,” a ministry spokeswoman said. Many Venezuelan opposition supporters are skeptical about mediation talks, given that past rounds have failed, divided the opposition and, in their view, merely bought time for Maduro to consolidate power and quash street protests. Valero gave no more specific details about the Norway talks. Information Minister Jorge Rodriguez and Miranda state governor Hector Rodriguez of the ruling Socialist Party both traveled to Oslo, according to opposition sources. Opposition legislator Stalin Gonzalez, along with political advisers Gerardo Blyde and Fernando Martinez have also gone, they said. Norway has a tradition of conflict mediation, including assistance with Colombia’s 2016 peace deal between the government and FARC rebels. AGENCIES
With an increase in hate crimes against Muslims in India in recent years, some fear the world’s largest democracy is becoming dangerously intolerant under the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), reported BBC‘s Rajini Vaidyanathan. It happened just days before the first phase of voting in the Indian elections. A Muslim trader in the north-eastern state of Assam was leaving work when he was accosted by a mob. Shaukat Ali was surrounded by the group, forced to kneel in sludge as he was attacked. “Are you Bangladeshi?” one man shouted, questioning his Indian citizenship. “Why did you sell beef here?” asked another as he jabbed his finger at Mr. Ali. Instead of stepping in to help, the crowds that gathered filmed the incident on their mobile phones. ‘AN ATTACK ON MY ENTIRE FAITH’: A month later and Mr. Ali is still struggling to walk. I met him at his home, a short drive from the market, surrounded by lush verdant countryside and rice fields. As the 48-year-old sat cross-
legged on his bed, his eyes filled with tears as he recounted the horror of what happened. “They beat me with a stick, they kicked me in the face,” he said, showing me the injuries to his rib cage and his head. For decades his family has served beef curry from their small food stall – but never before had they faced such trouble. Some states have made it illegal to sell beef because Hindus consider the cow sacred – but it is legal to sell it in Assam. Shaukat Ali wasn’t just injured physically – he was stripped of his dignity. The mob made the devout Muslim eat pork, forcing him to chew it and then gulp it down. “I have no reason to live now, ” he said as he broke down, “This was an attack on my entire faith.” On the day we met, dozens of members of the local Muslim community had gathered at his house to check on Mr. Ali. As they listened to his story, some started to cry as they wondered if they were now vulnerable too. As the world’s largest democracy goes to the polls, questions are being raised about how inclusive India is to its large Muslim minority population of 172 million.
Shaukat Ali is the latest victim of an increasing number of attacks perpetrated on those selling or suspected of selling beef. A February 2019 report from Human Rights Watch found that between May 2015 and December 2018, at least 44 people – 36 of them Muslims – were killed across 12 Indian states. Around 280 people were injured in more than 100 incidents across 20 states over the same period. In her annual report, United Nations Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet raised concerns over “increasing harassment and targeting of minorities – in particular, Muslims and people from historically disadvantaged and marginalized groups, such as Dalits (formerly known as untouchables).” Religious violence claiming victims of all faiths has been an unwelcome mainstay of this country’s history since its inception. But there’s a real concern that those who wield power in today’s India are embracing a culture of impunity. One of the most chilling examples was what happened in the aftermath of one of the most gruesome gang rapes in India in recent years.
Merkel dismisses speculation she could move to big EU job BERLIN AGENCIES
Germany’s Angela Merkel reaffirmed on Thursday that she would leave politics after serving out her fourth term as chancellor, dismissing speculation that she could take a big European Union job in Brussels. “I am not available for any further political office, regardless of where it is – including in Europe,” the 64year-old Merkel told a joint news conference with visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Speculation about Merkel’s future swirled in Berlin after she told Thursday’s edition of the Sueddeutsche newspaper: “Many people are concerned about Europe – including myself. This means I feel even more duty-bound to join others in making sure that Europe has a future.” She made clear at the news conference that she saw it as her responsibility in her role as chancellor to promote a “good, functional Europe given the situation we have and the polarization”. Anti-establishment, eurosceptic parties around the bloc see the May 23-26 European Parliament elections as a potentially defining moment and hope that a strong showing will bolster their efforts to slow European integration and return more power to national capitals. Merkel has loomed large on the European stage since 2005, helping guide the EU through the euro zone crisis and opening Germany’s doors to migrants fleeing war in the Middle East in 2015, a move that still divides the bloc and Germany. Europe’s longest-
serving leader, Merkel announced last October that her fourth term as chancellor would be her last and that she would not seek any political post after her term ends, beginning a stage-managed gradual exit from politics. In December, she then handed over the leadership of her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to heir apparent Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. Earlier this week, Merkel said politicians should not hang on in office “until nobody wants to see you anymore”. Kramp-Karrenbauer, sometimes dubbed “mini-Merkel”, said in comments published earlier this week that she had no ambition to succeed Merkel as chancellor until 2021, which is when the current German legislative term is due to expire. “The chancellor and the government are elected for a full term and citizens are right to expect that they take this mandate seriously,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper in an interview.
and Western companies throughout Iraq,” it said. Four Iraqi federal police officers were killed in Wednesday in an armed attack on their military vehicle 40 km southwest of the disputed oil-city Kirkuk, according to a local security source. Kirkuk has been the target of repeated guerilla-style attacks by Daesh, despite Iraq having declared victory over the group in December 2017. The militants were defeated by Iraqi Security Forces, who were backed by both the US-led coalition and Iran-backed militias.
India's Election Commission curtails campaign in West Bengal after violence India’s Election Commission cut off campaigning early in the eastern state of West Bengal after days of clashes in the final stretch of the country’s marathon elections, a drastic and unprecedented action in the world’s largest democracy. The three-member body said in the order on Thursday that “growing incidents of disruption and violence” were creating a “fear psychosis” among voters, and ordered campaigning to cease by 10pm on Thursday, a day before it had been scheduled to end. Normally campaigns run up to 48 hours before polls open, according to Indian law. On Tuesday, rival political supporters fought with sticks and rocks during a rally for India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which is trying to wrest seats from Trinamool Congress, a powerful regional party that currently governs West Bengal. Violence was also reported in the state during last Sunday’s polls. AGENCIES
China formally arrests two Canadians on state secrets charges BEIJING: Chinese authorities have formally arrested on state secrets charges two Canadians detained last year, the government said on Thursday, drawing condemnation from Canada in a case that is likely to further increase tension between Ottawa and Beijing. Businessman Michael Spavor, who worked with North Korea, and former diplomat Michael Kovrig were picked up separately in December, shortly after Canada arrested Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, who faces extradition to the United States. China has repeatedly demanded Meng be released, and has reacted angrily to extradition proceedings against her in a Canadian court. “According to Chinese prosecutors’ approval, Michael Kovrig, due to being suspected of crimes of gathering state secrets and intelligence for foreign (forces), and Michael Spavor, for being suspected of crimes of stealing and illegally providing state secrets for foreign (forces), have in recent days been approved for arrest according to law,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a daily news briefing. The measures were in accordance with the law, Lu said, and Beijing hoped Canada “will not make irresponsible remarks” about law enforcement and judicial proceedings in China. Canada’s government denounced the move. “Canada strongly condemns their arbitrary arrest as we condemned their arbitrary detention on Dec. 10. We reiterate our demand that China immediately release Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor,” Canada’s foreign ministry said. Canadian diplomats have made recent consular visits to them both, it added, declining to provide further details for privacy reasons. AGENCIES