The Caravel | Volume X, Issue II

V O LU M E 10 | I S S U E 2

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India Rejects UN on Kashmir Mediation Damare Baker

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The Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected an offer by United Nations (UN) SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres to mediate the Indian-Pakistani conflict over Kashmir on February 16, instead saying that India would only discuss the issue bilaterally.

During his four-day visit to Pakistan, Guterres expressed concern over the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, telling journalists that he was “ready to help if both countries agree for mediation,” reported the Hindu.

“The issue of [Jammu and Kashmir] that needs to be addressed is that of vacation of the territories illegally and forcibly occupied by Pakistan,” the MEA’s official spokesperson said on February 16. “Further issues, if any, would be discussed bilaterally. There

Jim Sanborn’s Krpytos sculpture sits outside CIA headquarters in Virginia.

is no role or scope for third party mediation.”

The UN has intervened in the nearly 73-year-long conflict before.

After the First Kashmir War broke out in October 1947, India requested that the UN intervene to help the two countries find a solution, according to BBC. The UN suggested a vote to decide whether Kashmir would become a part of India or Pakistan, but the two sides could not reach an agreement on how to demilitarize the region before the vote.

The two countries later took the UN’s recommendation to hold a ceasefire and divided Kashmir between themselves. However, the ceasefire was short-lived. The countries fought a second war in 1965, and they engaged in a brief conflict in 1999.

See INDIA REJECTS MEDIATION on p. 10

CIA Shell Company Spied on Allies Syrian Forces Reach Aleppo Caleb Yip In an operation described as “the intelligence coup of the century,” the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and its West German counterpart operated a global encryption company that eavesdropped on the secured communications of both allies and adversaries for more than 50 years.

Known by the codename Rubicon, the project only came to light in a February 11 joint report between the Washington Post and ZDF, a German broadcaster.

After the end of World War II, the Swedish-born Boris Hagelin founded Crypto-AG, an encryption machine manufacturer, in Switzerland.

CIA documents unearthed by the

Washington Post show that the “Dark Ages of American cryptology” concerned U.S. officials, who were unable to crack the encryption of the Soviet Union and China. U.S. intelligence turned to Hagelin and began a partnership with Crypto-AG. Under the terms of the deal, the National Security Agency would tweak the algorithm so that codebreaking would take just seconds, compared to the months it previously took.

These compromised encryption machines were then sold to the majority of Crypto’s clientele, with secured machines sold only to a small list of countries approved by the U.S. government. As Hagelin aged, the CIA and the BND, West Germany’s intelligence service, bought

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 2-3

W. EUROPE & CANADA, 6-7

Rohrabacher Confirms Assange Pardon Offer, p. 2

German Police Arrest Twelve in Far-Right Terrorist Plot, p. 6

E. EUROPE & RUSSIA, 4-5 Russia Drops Dual Citizenship Restrictions, p. 5

Greece Seeks Return of Parthenon Marbles, p. 7

the company and assumed direct control of it without the knowledge of Crypto’s 180 employees. This allowed the Germans and Americans to quietly eavesdrop on the secured communications of more than 120 countries, including Iran and Libya, for more than two decades.

Nevertheless, the partnership between the U.S. and West Germany was fraught. The West Germans disproved of selling vulnerable machines to allies, while the U.S. was reluctant to lose valuable information from NATO countries like Spain, Greece, and Turkey, all of whom bought compromised encryption machines from Crypto.

See CIA Company Exposed on p. 2

LAT. AM. & THE CARIBBEAN, 8-9 Bolsonaro Demeans Female Journalist, p. 9 INDO-ASIA-PACIFIC, 10-11 North Korean Defector Runs for Korean Parliament, p. 10/11

Ye Bin Won

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced that government forces had taken control of Aleppo, one of the last remaining rebel strongholds in Syria, alongside Idlib, on February 17. Aided by Russian airstrikes and Iranian-backed militias, government forces advanced toward the SyrianTurkish border since early December.

Witnesses told Reuters that the bombardments resembled a “scorched earth policy,” leaving towns flattened and infrastructure damage in larger cities, according to Middle East Eye. Reuters reports that the government takeover precipitated the single largest population displacement of the Syrian Civil War thus far.

Following the increased violence, an unprecedented number of Syrians are fleeing Aleppo and Idlib. The U.N. estimates that roughly 900,000 Syrian refugees are heading toward Turkey.

Turkish refugee centers on the border reported an overwhelming influx of arrivals that they are not equipped to accept, with reports of refugees literally freezing to death.

In addition to the worsening humanitarian emergency, the Washington Post reported that Russian-led aerial raids killed fifteen Turkish soldiers this month. Ankara demanded al-Assad’s forces stop their aggression immediately and implement a ceasefire.

See SYRIAN GOV’T FORCES ADVANCE on p. 12

MIDDLE EAST & C. ASIA, 12-13

AFRICA, 14-15

Yemen’s Warring Sects Arrange Prisoner Swap, p. 12

Somalia Accused of Press Freedom Violations, p. 14

U.S. & Taliban Pursue Peace Amid Ceasefire, p. 13

Gunmen Attack Church in Burkina Faso, p. 15

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Rohrabacher Confirms CIA Company Assange Pardon Offer Exposed Sam Havard

Former Representative Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) revealed to Yahoo News that in a 2017 meeting at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, he told WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange that he could get him a presidential pardon. In return for this, Assange would have to provide evidence proving Russia was not involved in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2016.

Assange was arrested on April 11, 2019, when the Ecuadorian embassy ended its asylum deal with him.

Following this, the United States unsealed an indictment against Assange for computer intrusion and later released additional charges against Assange, including the violation of the Espionage Act. Assange is currently serving a 50-week sentence in a prison in London for bail violations, according to the Guardian.

“I spoke to Assange and told him if he would provide evidence about who gave WikiLeaks the emails, I would

petition the president to give him a pardon,” Rohrabacher said to Yahoo News. “He knew I could get to the president.”

Rohrabacher also admitted to pushing for evidence of the Seth Rich conspiracy theory during this meeting, according to the Hill. He further said that after his meeting with Assange, he contacted then White House Chief of Staff John Kelly.

Assange is currently serving a 50-week sentence in a prison in London.

Rohrabacher said that Kelly was “courteous” with Rohrabacher and “knew this had to be handled with care.” However, Kelly never contacted Rohrabacher again. Furthermore, Rohrabacher never spoke with President Trump directly concerning this ordeal, as the Daily Beast reported.

Rohrabacher’s statements come just one day after Assange’s lawyers claimed at a pre-extradition hearing that Rohrabacher offered the pardon deal as a direct order from Trump, according to CNBC. They used this as evidence suggesting that Assange’s indictment in the United States was politically motivated.

Assange’s legal team is currently preparing for his extradition hearing, which begins on February 24 and will determine whether the United Kingdom chooses to extradite Assange to the United States, as Reuters reported.

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham denied the president’s involvement in Assange’s pardon offer. She spoke on the claims made by Assange’s lawyers, saying in an interview with Yahoo News, “The President barely knows Dana Rohrabacher other than he’s an excongressman. He’s never spoken to him on this subject or almost any subject. It is a complete fabrication and a total lie.”

From p. 1 The CIA received more than 19,000 Iranian cables from CryptoAG machines during the hostage crisis and the Iran-Iraq War, but security was a perennial concern. In 1992, Iran, which had long been suspicious of Crypto-AG machines, arrested a company salesman named Hans Buehler. Although he knew nothing about the CIA’s involvement, the publicity brought renewed attention to the program.

It became increasingly difficult to conceal Crypto’s true ownership from the engineers and scientists who produced the machines. To maintain secrecy, the CIA recruited Kjell-Ove Widman, a renowned mathematics professor specializing in cryptology. Widman was introduced to Richard Schroeder, the CIA officer who managed the Agency’s affairs with Crypto-AG, and became the “irreplaceable man” in the program.

Schroeder retired from the CIA and is now a professor of science, technology, and international affairs

(STIA) at Georgetown University.

When reached by the Caravel, he declined to comment on the story, citing his secrecy obligation for any information not officially declassified by the CIA. The Washington Post reports that among the customers of Crypto-AG were South American dictatorships that participated in Operation Condor, an anti-communist program where thousands “disappeared.” Declassified files obtained by the National Security Archives show that the CIA would have been aware of the extent of human rights abuses, but the documents show no attempt by the CIA to expose or stop these violations.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Germans exited the program in 1993, fearing public exposure, but intelligence continued to flow in since many governments never updated the encryption machines they assumed were reliable. Finally, in 2017, CryptoAG’s headquarters was sold and its assets were split up and liquidated a year later.

Bloomberg Surges in Polls Felipe Lobo Koerich Madison Stern Advait Arun Paulina Song

ADMINISTRATIVE BOARD Publisher Editor-in-Chief Director of Digital Operations Executive Director

Christopher Stein Suzannah Mazur Paulina Song Kate Finn Max Dunat Sarah Weber Arin Chinnasathian Cristina Lopez Juliana Albuquerque Shaily Acharya Zoey Brown Madeline Hart Sam Hoag Ayushman Ghosh Brooke Tanner Martin Hiti

EDITORIAL STAFF Copy Chief Copy Chief Africa Editor Africa Editor Eastern Europe & Russia Editor Eastern Europe & Russia Editor Indo-Asia-Pacific Editor Indo-Asia-Pacific Editor Latin America & the Caribbean Editor Latin America & the Caribbean Editor Middle East & Central Asia Editor Middle East & Central Asia Editor United States of America Editor United States of America Editor Western Europe & Canada Editor Western Europe & Canada Editor

According to the latest ABC/ Washington Post polls, the former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg polled increasingly well in recent weeks. Bloomberg soared to third place at 14 percent behind former Vice President Joe Biden (16 percent) and Senator Bernie Sanders (D-VT) (32 percent) following poor performances from Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in the Iowa Caucus and New Hampshire Primary.

Bloomberg, who is the eighth richest person in the world according to Forbes, has taken an unconventional path to attempt to win the Democratic nomination. He skipped the early primary and caucus states, hoping to capitalize on the delegate-rich Super Tuesday primaries.

Bloomberg hopes to occupy the moderate lane of the party, especially given Vice President Biden’s fall in the polls. Bloomberg has criticized both Warren and Sanders for MedicareFor-All, wealth taxes, and other big-

government proposals.

The business mogul has spent more than $233 million on digital and television campaign advertisements, according to the Washington Post.

Rufus Gifford, the former finance director for the Obama campaign, said Bloomberg’s spending and strategy “is unprecedented… He remains a long-shot, but when you have Donald Trump as president and one of the 10 richest people running for president,

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Theodore Fairfield

anything can happen.”

As a result of his recent performance, Bloomberg became a target for his other primary competitors. In the most recent Las Vegas debate, Senator Warren took aim at Bloomberg, saying “I’d like to talk about who we’re running against: a billionaire who calls women fat broads and horse-faced lesbians. And no, I’m not talking about Donald Trump. I’m talking about Mayor Bloomberg.”

Michael Bloomberg has experienced a large surge in the polls recently.

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China Expels Three Wall Street Journal Reporters The Chinese government announced on February 19 that it will revoke the press credentials of three Wall Street Journal reporters due to a published Wall Street Journal opinion piece titled “China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia,” according to CNN. The piece, published on February 3, criticizes China’s response to the current COVID-19 outbreak, which originated in the city of Wuhan.

Specifically, author Walter Richard Mead called China’s response “less than

impressive” and questions whether COVID-19 will cause China’s economy and geopolitical footprint to shrink.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang responded to the article by saying that “the editors used such a racially discriminatory title, triggering indignation and condemnation among the Chinese people and the international community.”

The expression “sick man of Asia” was a derogatory term used in the late 1800s and early 1900s during the time of the Open Door Policy to characterize the Chinese people as

Three journalists’ press credentials have been suspended by the Chinese government.

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Srishti Khemka

“disease-ridden” and “unclean” and China as a weak nation, according to NBC. The Chinese government has criticized the title for not only being racially discriminatory but also for undermining and belittling the severity of COVID-19’s impact on the Chinese people. Managers and journalists at the Wall Street Journal have discussed potentially changing the headline due to China’s outrage over its insensitivity, but they have taken no action yet.

Author Walter Richard Mead called China’s response “less than impressive.”

The Chinese government has since revoked the press credentials of reporters Chao Deng and Philip Wen and Beijing Deputy Bureau Chief Josh Chin, all of whom were given five days to leave the country, despite not being involved with the controversial op-ed.

This is the largest expulsion of overseas media by the Chinese government in

more than three decades, according to CNN. While there is a strict separation between journalists and opinion staff like Mead, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Chinese government is expelling the journalists as punishment to the paper.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has denounced the Chinese actions against the Wall Street Journal, saying that “mature, responsible countries understand that a free press reports facts and expresses opinions. The correct response is to present counter arguments, not restrict speech.”

The Wall Street Journals’ Editorin-Chief Matt Murray released a statement in reaction to the expulsion of the journalists and indicated support for their work. He said his journalists “have produced stories notable for their rigor, care, knowledge and potency.” He added that “we all must stand alongside [the journalists] too. Let no one doubt that the Wall Street Journal remains fully committed to covering China…. We will support our journalists and their work and safety. And we will continue in the coming days to push for this action to be reversed.”

Boy Scouts Files For Bankruptcy Amid Sexual Abuse Scandals Chris Jang The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) formally filed for bankruptcy protection on February 18 as hundreds of former boy scouts stepped forward to share stories of sexual abuse, reports AP. In the organization’s official Chapter 11 filing, a move that helps accused parties protect their assets by placing ceilings on the amount of compensation given to victims, BSA claimed that they expect approximately 1,700 known abuse claims to be made, with 90 percent of such claims dating back up to 30 years ago, according to the Wall Street Journal. 1,000 to 5,000 victims are projected to seek compensation, according to AP. A statement released by the Boys Scouts says that “The BSA encourages victims to come forward to file a claim as the bankruptcy process moves forward.”

The number of victims willing to share their stories has sharply increased in the past two years as 14 states and the District of Columbia revised their laws to extend or suspend the statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims, reports AP. Victims can

now step forward about experiences that stretch decades back. Court papers show that the BSA acknowledges that approximately 12,000 people have been molested by 7,800 abusers since the 1920s, with victims coming from all 50 states.

BSA claimed that they expect approximately 1,700 known abuse claims to be made.

Christopher Veilleux opened up on the Fox News Rundown podcast to share his story of sexual abuse in 1982, urging other victims to “come forward, to be brave.” Jeff Williams, a former boy scout from Cincinnati who alleged that a scout leader molested him at age nine, expressed his own conflicted feelings toward the organization, saying, “I think that the thing that bothers me most is they could have stopped it…. Boy Scouts does so much good for so many young kids. It’s not a bad organization. It was run poorly,” KVOA reports.

Williams is unable to participate in any lawsuits due to Ohio’s statute of limitations on sexual abuse, which has been recognized as among the worst in the country, according to the Columbus Dispatch. Recently, Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) has come out in support of amending it.

In filing for bankruptcy, the BSA asked for a court order to halt the 275 pending lawsuits around the country and consolidate them in a Delaware federal court for a closed-to-thepublic mediation proceeding, reports the Wall Street Journal. If approved, the motion would prevent the BSA’s 261 independent local councils from facing juries over the alleged sexual abuses, allowing the BSA to protect major assets of local councils. An article by Axios noted the similarities between the BSA’s choice to file for bankruptcy protection now and the Catholic Church’s Chapter 11 filing.

With 70 percent of the organization’s $3.3 billion in assets held by local councils, the possibility remains that the local councils will be able to retain the majority of the organization’s properties.

Although BSA officials have come

forward to denounce the abusers, with Boy Scouts President and CEO Roger Mosby saying that he is “outraged that there have been times when individuals took advantage of our programs to harm innocent children.”

A lawsuit spearheaded by Abused in Scouting claims that the “BSA knew for decades that sexual predators of boys had infiltrated scouting” and “knew or should have known the dangers.”

The Boys Scouts had been insistent that they had never knowingly allowed a sexual predator to work with the scouts until last May. So far, Abused in Scouting has gathered more than 500 separate cases of abuse in the BSA, ranging from men as old as 88 to as young as 14. It plans to continue running TV advertisements in an attempt to uncover the depths of the scandal. Andrew Van Arsdale, a lead attorney with Abused in Scouting, put the magnitude of misconduct into context, saying, “Once the phones started ringing, they have not stopped.”

Although the BSA pledged to provide “equitable compensation [to] victims who were harmed during the time in Scouting,” it provided no further details.

EDITOR’S COLUMN: Sam Hoag

T

he National Archives’ mission statement reads, “Public access to government records strengthens democracy by allowing Americans to claim their rights of citizenship, hold their government accountable, and understand their history so they can participate more effectively in their government.”

How can citizens succeed in these civic duties, however, when the National Archives alters an original photo, purportedly to “not engage in political controversy?”

Since May, the Archives had displayed a photo from the Women’s March in 2017, the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, as a promotion for their exhibit on the 19th Amendment. The Archives edited the photo to remove Trump’s name and references to female anatomy from protest signs. The Archives claimed in a statement put out following the controversy that this was “an acceptable and prudent choice” because the photo was used to promote an exhibit, not as a part of the record. Emails released on February 20 by the National Archives even show that a Getty Images representative signed off on the alterations, according to BuzzFeed.

While many attack the Archives for betraying its mission and acting in a way so clearly against the purpose of the institution, this incident is indicative of the lengths to which both individuals and organizations are willing to go to avoid being accused of partisanship or hyperpolarization. The National Archives, attempting to stay objective, altered an objective photograph because of this fear.

The Archives titled its apology statement “Accepting Responsibility, Working to Rebuild Your Trust.” The real trust that needs to be rebuilt, however, is the trust that the American people and our elected officials should have in the institutions of the United States to fulfill their missions.

Instead of criticizing the Archives or the Environmental Protection Agency or any other government institution for favoring one political party over another, we should be more critical of the cultural climate that produces these accusations—a culture that existed in the United States even before the 2016 election.

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EASTERN EUROPE & RUSSIA Max Dunat

L

atvia is set to finally increase its excise duty on alcohol on March 1, according to ERR News, an Estonian radio broadcaster. This move follows a bitter “war” among the Baltic States, particularly Latvia and Estonia, over their alcohol tax rates; the two neighbors reduced their rates by 15 and 25 percent, respectively. Latvia’s capitulation to Estonia’s demands for tax hikes marks another victory for economic protectionism in a region that would greatly benefit from further market liberalization.

Triin Kutberg, CEO of the Estonian Association of Alcohol Producers and Alcohol Importers, told the Baltic Times that each “rise in the excise duty in Latvia will help the Estonian domestic market” by “further [halting] cross-border trade.”

While advocacy for less crossborder trade between two members of the world’s largest single market area is astounding, this rhetoric mirrors a broad reversal of trade and immigration liberalization as East European states pursue aggressively protectionist policies.

In 2016, Pew Research found that 82 percent of Hungarians and 76 percent of Poles believe that migrants will steal local jobs. In perhaps the most drastic example, Kosovo imposed a 100-percent tariff on Serbian imports, according to BBC. Estonia’s reversal of tax increases in 2018, intended to help the booze tourism industry recover, seemed to predict an end to some of Europe’s highest alcohol tax rates. Latvia’s comparatively low tax rates needed just a modest cut to win those customers back.

Instead of pressuring its neighbors to raise rates to protect domestic purchases, Estonia could signal its support for the European market and expand its alcohol industry by further lowering alcohol duties. Latvia’s capitulation to Estonian demands marks a rejection of competitive market forces benefiting consumers across the Baltic and a return to the protectionist norms that dominate the rest of the region.

Azerbaijani President Claims Election Victory Dennis Azvolinsky Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) secured a widely expected victory on February 9 in the nation’s snap parliamentary election amidst major voting irregularities, according to Al Jazeera.

The governing YAP retained their majority with 72 out of the 125 seats in Azerbaijan's National Assembly, gaining a total of three seats, reports Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Nineteen total political parties registered for the ballot. The only other party to gain any seats was the right-wing Civic Solidarity Party, gaining one seat for a total of three.

The remaining seats stayed in the control of small opposition parties and independents.

The election was originally scheduled for November 2020, but was pushed forward after Aliyev dissolved the National Assembly in December of last year. In forcing a snap election, Aliyev intended to increase the presence of the YAP in parliament and accelerate legislative and economic reforms, according to Eurasianet.

Economic concerns dominated

debate leading up to the election.

Despite being oil-rich, Azerbaijan has a history of high inflation and unemployment. Environmental issues such as air pollution were also an important concern for voters.

However, the predominant issue in the Azerbaijani election is the validity of the election itself. Witnesses claim to have seen numerous incidents of ballot-box stuffing and carousel voting, where citizens cast multiple separate ballots at different polling stations. One candidate even recorded an ambulance transporting voters to and from different polling stations.

Footage published to YouTube by Zartonk Media also shows voters and workers being beaten and forcefully removed from polling stations.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) reported the day after the election that “significant procedural violations during counting and tabulation raised concerns whether the results were established honestly.”

Reports of mass voter fraud are not new occurrences in Azerbaijan.

Since its independence in 1991, not a single election in the country has been deemed fair and free by international

U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Russia Cleary Waldo

The United States announced that it would impose additional economic sanctions against Russia due to Moscow’s support for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on February 18, reports the New York Times.

The sanctions specifically target a subsidiary of Rosneft, a Russian oil company that the U.S. government has deemed a supporter of Maduro’s regime for selling gasoline to Venezuela. Due to the deteriorating economic situation in Venezuela, the Financial Times reports that most refineries there have ceased operations, forcing the country to import gasoline.

Moscow has provided backing for Maduro despite many global powers, including the U.S., declaring their support for opposition leader Juan Guaidó last year. While the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Venezuela for over a decade, the Trump

administration increased them as a result of Maduro’s authoritarian leadership, according to the Congressional Research Service. These recent sanctions, however, are the first levied against a nation other than Venezuela over support for Maduro.

Currently, the implications of the sanctions depend on whether Rosneft Trading SA decides to continue its partnership with Venezuela. The Russian government has responded with calls of violation of international law, the Financial Times reports.

If business between Russia and Venezuela deteriorates as a result of the sanctions, Venezuelan economists such as Francisco Rodriguez fear that Maduro’s regime will be able to further consolidate power because of the economic damage, according to the Financial Times. As of now, it does not seem as though the United States nor Russia will back down on their positions in Venezuela.

election monitors such as the OSCE. Because of this, many opposition groups, including the National Council of Democratic Voters and the Azerbaijani Popular Front Party, have boycotted the election, according to Jam News.

Ali Karimi, an opposition party leader, stated in an interview with RFE/ RL that major parties are boycotting the election because they “don’t think that even the minimal requirements for democratic election have been met.”

He maintained that the nation has no freedom of assembly, speech, or press and that “all the election committees

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EDITOR’S COLUMN:

at any level are fully controlled by the government.”

However, many say that the boycotts actually help the reigning YAP. Ilqar Mammadov, leader of the Republican Alternative Party, told RFE/RL that the “boycotts give the government the ability to achieve what they want and curb the energy of the people.”

Despite the efforts of opposition parties and promises made by Aliyev, fully democratic elections in Azerbaijan remain unlikely based on the country’s track record of holding undemocratic elections.

President Ilham Aliyev has been president of Azerbaijan since 2003.

F E B. 2020 | 5

Russia Drops Dual Citizenship Restrictions Fertility Initiative The Kremlin is poised to ditch its restrictive dual citizenship prohibition as Russian lawmakers prepare to vote on a citizenship bill this month, according to Russian newspaper Kommersant.

These revolutionary measures come after President Vladimir Putin’s repeated emphasis on curtailing Russia’s depopulation problem.

Russia’s dramatically declining population prompted Putin to call the country’s exodus "the most acute problem of contemporary Russia” in 2006, according to ThoughtCo. Fourteen years later, Russia is tackling its demographic disaster with a revision in its citizenship bill that would allow foreigners to acquire dual citizenship. Under current law, one must first renounce their existing citizenship in order to acquire Russian citizenship.

This rule has proved off-putting to those who have considered moving to Russia but do not like the idea of never being able to return home. Experts acknowledge that the introduction of dual citizenship would make the decision to obtain Russian citizenship

easier for many considering the move.

Leonid Kalashnikov, the deputy of the Communist Party, appealed to President Putin last April to relax the citizenship rules. “It was about extending this to everyone in the world without exception. The President promised to look… It was decided to prepare a bill that allows you to get Russian citizenship without giving up the one that is,” he told Kommersant.

People living in the post-Soviet space could provide Russia with migrant labor.­­ The primary target of dual citizenship is Russian compatriots, or nationals of “fraternal states,” such as Belarus, Ukraine, and other former Soviet republics, according to RT. People living in the post-Soviet space could provide Russia with migrant labor, tackling not just population but also economic growth maintenance.

Dual citizenship would not be limited to individuals from these countries, however, as authors of

the bill expect relaxation of dual citizenship to attract between five and ten million Russian citizens from around the world. “We want this matter to be settled in the spring session of Parliament so that everyone can become Russian citizens,” Vice Speaker of the State Duma Peter Tolstoy told Kommersant. Member of Parliament Konstantin Zatulin added, “millions of Russians live abroad and would like to become Russian citizens.”

The change is anticipated to pass within the next few months. After passing through the legislative branch of the Russian parliament, the bill would only need President Putin’s signature. Starting last May, Putin started to introduce reforms, which, according to the Financial Times, allow inhabitants of Ukraine’s war-torn Donetsk and Lugansk regions to obtain Russian passports in an expedited three-month process. This precedent, coupled with Putin’s emphasis on regaining population, makes it likely that he would sign the law.

Other changes to the citizenship law would nullify the requirement for five years of continuous residence in Russia and abolish the need to exhibit a legitimate source of income.

Russia Behind Georgian Cyberattacks Sienna Siu

Georgia attributed a massive cyberattack that knocked over 2,000 websites offline and disrupted national broadcast services to Russia on February 20. The United Kingdom and the United States also blamed Russia for the incident, Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty reports.

The attacks, which occurred last October, took aim at a range of web providers, thousands of websites belonging to the Georgian government, courts, media, banks, and businesses, and the country’s national television broadcaster, according to the Financial Times. During the attack, websites’ content was replaced with an image of former-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili giving a thumbs-up under the slogan “I’ll be back!” Saakashvili was president during a five-day war with Russia in 2008 in which Georgia lost a fifth of its territory.

The attack "was intended to harm Georgian citizens and government structures by disrupting and paralyzing the functionality of various organizations, thereby causing anxiety among the general public," said

Georgian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimer Konstantinidi, according to Euronews.

“Georgia condemns this cyber attack, which goes against international norms and principles, once again infringing Georgia’s sovereignty in order to hinder the country’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration and democratic development,” a Georgian government statement read, according to the Financial Times.

The GRU, Russia's military intelligence, was almost certainly behind the attacks.

The GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service, was almost certainly behind the attacks, according to Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre, which worked with Georgia to identify the perpetrators. This incident was the first significant GRU cyberattack since 2017, carried out as part of a campaign to destabilize the pro-Western Caucasus state, BBC and

the Financial Times report.

The Sandworm team, a unit within the GRU that is said to have perpetrated the attacks, is also known as BlackEnergy, TeleBots, and VoodooBear and was responsible for a 2017 attack on Ukraine that resulted in huge infrastructural damages, according to the Financial Times.

Cybersecurity firms have also accused Sandworm of attacking American and French elections.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry denied the allegations, the Moscow Times reports. “Russia did not plan and is not planning to interfere in Georgia's internal affairs in any way," Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko told the Russian state-sponsored RIA news.

Georgia and Russia have a fraught relationship, as Georgia seeks to join Western trade organizations, which Moscow opposes. Violent protests took place outside Parliament in Tbilisi in summer 2019 when a Russian politician planned to speak in an assembly, the Financial Times wrote. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a blow to the country’s tourism industry by banning all direct flights from Russia to Georgia.

Reveals Xenophobic Sentiment in Hungary Sarah Keisler Hungary has begun to offer free in vitro fertilization fertility (IVF) treatments to its citizens beginning on February 1, according to BBC. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban championed the initiative as a part of his plan to increase Hungary’s stagnant birth rate. According to Balkan Insight, however, this ambition originates more from a desire to keep out immigrants than to fight population decline.

The CIA World Factbook ranked Hungary in the bottom 10 percent for global birth rates in 2017. Population decline is a concern for the entire central European region, and countries like Croatia and Poland are also attempting to boost their birth rates, according to Balkan Insight.

For most countries, the effort stems from a desire to maintain economic development. For Hungary, however, population growth is deeply connected to the right-wing government’s goal to curb immigration.

In January, the government nationalized the country’s fertility clinics to begin fulfilling their promise of free treatment, according to Hungary Today. Orban justified the change, arguing that population growth was of “strategic importance.”

Orban calls his government’s strategy “procreation over immigration,” according to BBC. Due to the problems that population decline brings, such as labor shortages and economic decline, Hungary would normally need to supplement its workforce with refugees, writes Balkan Insight. However, Hungary’s current government staunchly opposes

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Christine Ryzhov

immigration. In fact, Orban ran his 2010 campaign largely on preserving an ethnically Hungarian Hungary, writes BBC. Instead of addressing the population shortage by welcoming migrants, Balkan Insight reports, Orban’s administration is using fertility boosts to fill the gaps with a new generation of ethnic Hungarians in order to preserve homogeneity.

“If we want Hungarian children instead of immigrants and if the Hungarian economy can generate the necessary funding, then the only solution is to spend as much of the funds as possible on supporting families and raising children,” Orban said, according to NPR. In addition to offering free IVF treatment, Budapest has implemented income tax incentives for families who have four or more children and limited loan forgiveness for women who have more than three, according to NPR. Not only are these initiatives costly to the Hungarian government, but IVF treatments in the U.S. can cost up to $40,000 to $60,000 per birth, according to Fertility IQ. In short, this is not a low-cost operation for Orban’s government.

The program to offer free fertility treatment has struck a blow to Hungary’s relationship with the European Union (EU). DW reports that in 2017 the European Court of Justice ruled that Hungary has a legal obligation as an EU member to accept refugees. Hungary’s refusal to accept migrants has caused tension between Hungary and fellow EU members.

According to Balkan Insight, if the rift deepens, it is possible that the EU will invoke Article 7, which would suspend Hungary’s voting rights.

In vitro fertilization is an increasingly popular method of fertility treatment.

6 | F E B. 2020

WESTERN EUROPE & CANADA Martin Hiti

I

ndigenous solidarity protests throughout Canada have paralyzed the country’s rail lines and blocked ports for two weeks since February 6, placing immense pressure on President Justin Trudeau to resolve the crisis, according to the Washington Post.

While the protests drew large turnout, the attitude of Trudeau highlights the hypocrisy and inaction that prevents progress on the recognition of indigenous rights.

The controversy began with the proposed construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline, a $4.9 billion project that BBC reports would cut through the traditional territory of the Wet’suwet’en tribe.

Small protests have taken place since the pipeline was proposed in 2012, according to the Guardian, but after police enforced a courtordered injunction to clear Wet’suwet’en camps blocking the road to the pipeline, tensions erupted. Trudeau, whose Liberal Party came to power promising to transform the country’s relationship with indigenous communities, insists that “dialogue and mutual respect” are essential, according to the Guardian.

The troubling nature of Trudeau’s situation is ingrained in the country’s complicated relationship with reform for indigenous communities, explains human rights expert Dayna Scott.

New polling data from Ipsos suggests that three-quarters of the Canadian population believe that “the federal government must act now to help raise the quality of life of Canada’s aboriginal peoples.”

However, nearly two-thirds also disagree with the ongoing Wet’suwet’en solidarity blockade.

Trudeau’s position highlights this paradox: the country needs to improve its treatment of indigenous communities, but it refuses to take concrete action to prevent the pipeline from being constructed on indigenous land. If Trudeau and Canada are sincere, they must support the protesters and end the construction of the Coastal GasLink pipeline.

U.K. Plan Denies Low-Skilled Workers Visas Andi Kamyab The British government has unveiled plans to deny low-skilled workers visas.

The post-Brexit immigration plan comes as an effort to curb the U.K.’s long reliance on foreign labor, primarily from Eastern Europe, and to reduce turnover and increase technological development.

On Wednesday, in an interview with BBC Breakfast, Home Secretary Priti Patel said the plan will seek to “encourage people with the right talent” and “reduce the levels of people coming to the U.K. with low skills.”

Currently, workers from European Economic Area countries are automatically allowed to live and work in the U.K. regardless of their aptitude or salary.

Under the new system, set to take effect on January 1, 2021, entry would be granted on a points basis, according to the Independent. In an effort to secure “skilled” workers, overseas workers would have to accumulate a total of 70 points to be allowed employment in the country. Particular abilities will have a certain number of points attached to them. For instance,

speaking English and having an offer for a skilled job under an approved sponsor would be worth 50 points.

Other stipulations would include having workers educated to an A-level standard, along with a minimum salary requirement of £25,600 a year.

The plan comes with significant consequences. For example, the U.K.’s social care system, the employees of which are generally considered lowpaid workers, relies heavily on its foreign workforce. Under the new system, such staff would not be able to qualify for employment, according to BBC. With an average pay of under £20,000, and many of the workers not coming in via an A-level route, many applicants would ultimately fall short of the point threshold.

Other sectors, such as farming, catering, and nursing, are also predicted to suffer under the plan, with recruitment a severe issue, reports the Guardian. National Farmers’ Union president Minette Batters criticized the government’s “failure to recognize British food and farming’s needs,” in reference to the importance of an overseas labor force of workers who would not be qualified as “skilled” under the new rule. The Royal College

German Police Arrest Twelve In FarRight Terrorist Plot Kate Collins

German police arrested twelve men, including one police officer, after an investigation revealed they were members of a far-right extremist group planning multiple terrorist attacks, reports the New York Times.

According to the Guardian, police uncovered the plot when one of their informers infiltrated the group through their online messaging applications, which the group thought was secret. The arrests came about through raids carried out by heavily armed special police.

Federal prosecutors released a statement saying that the group’s goal had been “to shake up and ultimately overcome the state and social order of the Federal Republic,” per the Guardian. The four main suspects allegedly planned to incite “a civilwar-like situation … as yet undefined attacks on politicians, asylum seekers

and people of Muslim faith,” according to the prosecutors.

According to France 24, the group plotted to launch several simultaneous terrorist attacks on Muslim communities attending prayer services.

The group was inspired by the devastating shootings that took place in Christchurch, New Zealand last March in which 51 people at two mosques were killed.

Interior Ministry spokesman Björn Grünewälder told reporters from the Guardian that the investigation had revealed “shocking” information, demonstrating “that there are cells here that appear to have become radicalized in such a short space of time.” The chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany called the planned attacks “very alarming” and demanded greater state protection for the country’s Muslims and their mosques.

of Nursing noted that the proposal would “not meet the health and care needs of the population.” However, according to the BBC the U.K. argues that the 3.2 million EU citizens who have already applied to stay in the U.K. will meet the labor demands created by the policy.

The program has been met with resistance by a number of political factions. For example, the Labour Party has strongly criticized its alienating rhetoric, accusing it of potentially creating a “hostile environment” which would make it difficult to attract workers. Others

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have taken an even stronger stand, such as Liberal Democrat home affairs spokeswoman Christine Jardine, who said the proposal was rooted in “xenophobia.” Many, like Scotland’s First Minister and Scottish National Party leader, Nicola Sturgeon, attacked the plan as “devastating” for the Scottish economy, reports BBC. Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott remarked that the government did not “appear to have thought through what the effects of this policy will be on the economy as a whole and what message it sends to migrants already living and working here.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel defended the immigration plan to limit low-skilled workers.

F E B. 2020 | 7

German Economic Growth Flattens Paris Mayoral Germany saw zero growth in the final quarter of 2019, despite its standing as Europe’s largest economy.

According to the Guardian, there were also no signs of an upturn in the near future. In the third quarter of 2019, Germany had a growth rate of only 0.2 percent. Overall, the German economy grew at a rate of 0.6 percent in 2019, its lowest rate since 2013.

The slowdown was largely due to poor performance in the export sector.

With growing trade tensions with the U.S. and the rest of Europe on track for a slowdown as well, Germany’s export-oriented industries are under huge pressure. Additionally, the auto industry, one of Germany’s main exporters, is changing, and consumer and government spending dropped in the final quarter, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

German officials have also recognized the economy as “in a weak phase” and especially pointed out the “very weak” industrial production and decreasing orders for manufactured goods. Data from the Federal Statistical Office shows a sharp decline for these industries in December 2019.

“The German economy has gone from being the bastion of Eurozone growth to perhaps the greatest hindrance, with the industrial powerhouse continuing to suffer under the wrath of Donald Trump’s combative approach to global trade,” said Joshua Mahony, senior analyst at online trading firm IG, according to Proactive Investors.

In the third quarter of 2019, Germany had a growth rate of only 0.2 percent.

The overall growth rate in the Eurozone is also barely positive.

The euro is now the weakest it has been since 2017, dipping to a value of $1.0828. The Eurozone growth rate averaged 0.1 percent in the final quarter of 2019, a decrease from its third-quarter rate of 0.3 percent.

One possible trading partner that could grow Germany’s export industries is China, a huge market that could help restore the German economy. German economic growth

for at least the first quarter of 2020 may in fact depend on its exports to China. Some experts worry that the growing fears surrounding COVID-19 will affect the Chinese economy and its demand for imports, negatively impacting Germany especially in the short term.

Due to the fact that its economy is largely reliant on these exports to China, experts believe that a return to higher growth in the short term is unlikely based on the current situation of the disease and its effect on the world economy.

Despite the concerns, some remain more optimistic about the eurozone economy. For example, Bert Colijn, a senior economist for the ING said “The eurozone economy didn’t slow further in the third quarter, which is something to be relieved about in the current environment of uncertainty and poor monthly data,” reports the Guardian. This suggests that despite the less than impressive growth, Europe avoided slipping into the recession that many predicted. For example, France and Spain both demonstrated higher than expected growth rates, leading to hope that the German economy can follow this trend.

Greece Seeks Return of Parthenon Marbles Grady Stevens The EU has sought “the return of unlawfully removed cultural objects to their countries of origin” in a draft of European Union negotiating positions for upcoming talks with the United Kingdom over a trade deal, according to Reuters.

While this provision did not name any specific objects, an EU diplomat said that the provision was added at the request of Greece, suggesting that Greece may intend to reclaim the Parthenon marble sculptures currently held in the British Museum in London.

The U.K. and EU will begin talks on a trade deal in March and plan to come to an agreement before the Brexit transition period ends at the end of the year. Italy, Cyprus, and Spain all supported Greece’s provision and share a concern over the illegal trade of cultural artifacts through London auction houses. Other implications for the return of objects in British museums, especially the Parthenon Marbles, however, are more contentious among the Greeks.

The Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, have a

2,500 year history. The Scottish Lord Elgin removed the statues from the Parthenon in the early 19th century with the permission of the Ottoman government, which controlled Greece at the time, according to Business Insider. The British Museum claims that this constituted a legal removal, but the Greek government asserts that Elgin stole the states and that Britain must return them.

The Parthenon Marbles, also known as the Elgin Marbles, have a 2,500 year history.

The British Museum has said in the past that it has not returned the sculptures to Greece out of a desire to ensure their protection; however, since the construction of the Acropolis Museum in 2009, Athens has had access to a state-of-the-art preservation system and is capable of maintaining the valuable sculptures, reports the Independent. Should the sculptures be returned to Greece,

they would be housed in this museum and not returned to the Parthenon itself. Despite this new capability, there remains a significant risk in transporting the sculptures from London to Athens.

“Moving these objects is inherently dangerous, and we would need to think carefully about doing that,” said Catherine Keesling, professor of classics at Georgetown University.

According to the Sun, Greece’s culture minister, Lina Mendoni, said that Brexit created “the right conditions for [the Marbles’] permanent return,” but British officials have dismissed the attempt to recover the Parthenon Marbles by the EU, with a spokeswoman for the U.K. government reporting that the statues are the “legal responsibility of the British Museum” and that they were “not up for discussion as a part of our trade negotiations.”

The inclusion of the Parthenon Marbles is just the most recent in a number of EU demands as the two parties enter trade negotiations in March, suggesting that Greece’s fight for the Parthenon Marbles’ return may be merely a negotiation tactic.

Candidate Drops Out Due to Sex Tape Qianyin Wu Benjamin Griveaux, the former chief spokesperson for French President Emmanuel Macron, withdrew from the Paris mayoral race on February 14 following the leak of sex tapes, according to France 24.

Griveaux denounced the spread of the videos as “revolting attacks” and announced that he no longer wished to put “family” and himself “at risk,” saying, “No one should ever be subjected to such abuse,” Euronews reports.

The situation will have broader political effects. While Griveaux was not the frontrunner of the race, his withdrawal will still likely harm Macron’s Republic on the Move!

(LREM) during municipal elections in March. According to France 24, predictions show that Macron will likely suffer losses in rural areas following the yellow vest protests in 2018.

However, BBC explained that the party will likely retain majority control in Parliament because of its alliance with the Democratic Movement (MoDem). Euronews reported that the LREM party replaced Griveaux with Agnès Buzyn, the Minister of Health, as the new mayoral candidate in Paris.

The New York Times reports that Russian artist Pyotr Pavlensky, who had been granted political asylum in France, is responsible for publishing the leaked content, which circulated rapidly on social media.

According to France 24, Pavlensky previously staged other controversies, such as nailing his own scrotum onto Red Square in Russia. In an interview with AFP, Pavlensky defended his

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Yichu Huang

actions, revealing that he received the videos from a source who had a consensual relationship with Griveaux.

Pavlensky claimed that his motivations stem from combating political deceit rather than to attack Griveaux specifically.

Pavlensky criticized Griveaux’s mayoral campaign as a “disgusting hypocrisy” that used his family to paint himself as “an icon for all the fathers and husbands” in Paris.

According to BBC, Pavlensky said that he plans to target more politicians to fight their “puritanism.”

Voices across the political spectrum denounced the attacks on Griveaux’s private life. According to CNN, Alex Corbiere, a member of the left-wing party Unbowed France, and Sébastian Chenu, a politician from Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally, both condemned the “Americanization” of French politics. The current mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who is running for reelection, also called for “respect of privacy.” According to the New York Times, Cedric Villani, who was removed from On the March! after refusing to leave the mayoral race, also criticized the videos as “a serious threat to our democracy.”

The response of the French public to the leaked tapes reflects the country’s tendency to draw a distinction between the public and private realm. Fédérique Matonti, a political science professor at Paris’ Sorbonne University, explained to a CNN reporter that the public is not traditionally aroused by politicians’ private lives. Rather, Griveaux’s response can be attributed more to the “embarrassment” of attempting to campaign in the face of the circulated content.

The former spokesman for President Emmanuel Macron faced a personal attack.

8 | F E B. 2020

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN Juliana Albuquerque

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everal thousand people took part in simultaneous, yet opposite, protests in Santiago, Chile, on February 15, according to LatinNews. One group, comprised of more affluent Chileans, demonstrated their desire for retaining Chile’s current constitution in the city’s richest neighborhood, Las Condes; the opposing protest in Plaza Italia demanded further social equality through the drafting of a new constitution.

This tension comes before the plebiscite about rewriting the Chilean constitution takes place on April 26. Las Condes protesters argue that rewriting some articles of the constitution would suffice, while others believe it must be completely rewritten, since it was created by General Augusto Pinochet’s harsh administration when Chileans lived under his oppressive military regime.

Such a disparity then highlights the wealth inequality in the country, since the ones who benefit the most from the current constitution are more affluent and, as such, do not see the need to fully revise it. The more vocal opponents of the constitution view it as oppressive and hindering their socio-economic potential, which is why they demand a total rewrite.

President Sebastián Piñera must therefore take several more concrete measures toward peace and compromise, taking into account the dynamics of wealth inequality in the country.

There were no reported violent incidents at the recent rival protests, which characterized many other Chilean protests since the onset of social unrest began in October, prompted by wealth inequality and the high cost of living and exacerbated by a rise in rush-hour transit prices.

A deeper understanding of the entire population’s hopes for the future would be sure to ensure a smoother return to peace, which would in turn put an end to the manifestations and thus generate a more credible and proactive government.

Argentine National Debt Investigation Concludes Maylene Yeh The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a report on the state of Argentina’s national debt after a team led by the deputy director of the Western Hemisphere Department, Julie Kozack, and mission chief for Argentina, Luis Cubeddu, concluded their investigation into the country’s economic development and policy plans on February 19.

The report found that, since the last IMF Debt Sustainability Analysis in July, the country’s ability to resolve its national debt had deteriorated rapidly. Argentina has the highest national debt in Latin America, with figures reaching nearly 90 percent of GDP at the end of 2019.

Between July and February, the peso has depreciated by more than 40 percent, international reserves have declined by about $20 billion, and real GDP has fallen short of initial projections, according to the IMF report.

In short, a disastrous combination of economic recession, high inflation, and rising poverty rates has ruined Argentina’s capacity to service its debt. In light of these developments,

Kozack and Cubeddu declared that the debt is “unsustainable” and requires a “meaningful contribution from private creditors” to recuperate.

The report provides hope for the administration of President Alberto Fernández, who is looking to renegotiate $108 billion in national debt, the majority of which is denominated in foreign currency.

One of the country’s main creditors is the IMF, which granted it more than $44 billion between 2018 and 2019, one of the most generous loans in its history.

Despite lending support to the Fernández administration’s position in negotiations, the IMF does not plan to restructure its debt agreement with Argentina—at least, not according to spokesman Gerry Rice, who spoke at a press conference in Washington the week before the report’s publication.

According to their statement, debt restructuring would go against the statutes of the international organization.

Indeed, the language of the ongoing discussion makes it clear that the IMF expects private lenders to bear the brunt of the financial loss of an unpayable debt. The country expects

Dominicans Protest Election Glitch Channing Lee

Technical difficulties with the electronic ballot led officials to suspend the Dominican Republic’s municipal elections just four hours after they began on February 16.

In order to accommodate cities and regions with a relatively high population density, more than 62.4 percent of the 7.4 million eligible voters used an electronic system, accounting for 18 of the country’s 158 municipalities. Paper ballots were used in less-populated areas. Voters were expected to fill a total of 3,849 positions, according to Reuters.

Julio César Castaños, president of the Dominican Republic’s Central Electoral Board, admitted that nearly half of the electronic machines did not work properly, leaving many citizens unable to vote.

Soon, hundreds of protesters took to the streets, demanding that the

electoral board resign immediately.

Although Castaños announced that the board would start a “thorough investigation,” many suspected that the glitches were intentional because many opposition parties did not see their candidates on the faulty electronic ballots, according to the New York Times.

The New York Times reported that police said that they believed several people had tampered with the electronic voting system, which caused the ballot failure on February 20.

That same day, Dominican Republic authorities detained two people suspected of being involved: a police colonel who provides security for the opposition Modern Revolutionary Party’s presidential candidate and an information technology expert.

Officers found relevant information on the IT expert’s phone but did not provide any motive for the alleged tampering acts.

to pay private creditors $37 billion this year alone.

During the IMF delegation’s visit to Buenos Aires, the economy minister, Martin Guzman, said in a statement to Congress that Argentina had the “will,” but not the “capacity” to fulfill its debt.

Guzman places the blame for the extent of the crisis squarely on the shoulders of the IMF, asserting that the government has a defined economic plan that will not allow foreign organizations to set the trend for economic policy.

This statement reiterates the sentiment that Fernández expressed

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even before taking office in December, arguing that the crisis could not be overcome unless the debt was restructured to compensate for capital withdrawal and interest.

Guzman’s presentation has undermined investors’ confidence in Argentina. International markets reacted to the discussion with a seven percent increase in the Argentine country risk index to 2,087 points.

The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange fell more than four percent, and shares of Argentine banks decreased by seven percent on Wall Street, according to El País.

The Argentine peso has long been an unstable currency.

F E B. 2020 | 9

Bolsonaro Demeans Female Journalist Nicaraguans Brazilian President Bolsonaro implied in a statement on February 18 that journalist Patricia Campos Mello had traded sexual favors for information. He used the Portuguese term for a journalistic ‘beat,’ which can mean ‘scoop’ or ‘hole,’ to imply that the journalist had offered sexual favors to get intelligence. “[Campos Mello] desperately wanted to ‘give the beat,’” said Bolsonaro on February 18.

The president’s statement followed the testimony of Campos Mello’s former source, Hans River.

While testifying to a Congressional committee investigating fake news in Brazil, River falsely accused the journalist of trying to seduce him to get information.

River is now involved in a lawsuit for lying under oath. Bolsonaro’s wordplay perpetuated the false narrative that Campos Mello had offered Hans River sexual services to get access to the story. 71 Congressmen requested an investigation into the president’s comments.

River was the source of a 2018 article by the Folha de S. Paulo

exposing the irregular actions of the company Yacows leading up to Bolsonaro’s election.

According to the article, Yacows had used fake ID numbers in order to send multiple WhatsApp messages supporting Bolsonaro’s campaign.

Campos Mello was the journalist behind the piece, and she received leaked documents detailing the operation from a Yacows employee.

This incident is one in a long series of attacks on Brazilian free press.

The Joint Congressional Committee of Investigation on Fake News requested River’s presence to gain more insight on the mechanisms behind the massive spread of fake news during the 2018 presidential elections.

During his testimony on February 11, River accused Campos Mello of offering to sleep with him to get the documents.

He was applauded by Bolsonaro’s supporters, including one of the

president’s sons, Congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro.

Shortly after his testimony, the Folha de S. Paulo published Campos Mello’s conversation with Rivers, which revealed he had tried to initiate a sexual relationship.

This piece revealed that River had lied under oath to a Congressional Committee, which is a crime under Brazilian law.

In response to these events, more than one thousand women signed a manifesto defending the journalist and accusing River and his supporters of misogynistic attacks.

This incident is one in a long series of attacks on Brazilian free press. The National Federation of Journalism identified 116 attacks on free press coming from President Bolsonaro in 2019 alone.

Less than a month before River`s testimony, organizations including The Committee to Protect Journalists protested the persecution of Glenn Greenwald. Brazilian prosecutors had denounced Greenwald on January 21 as a cybercriminal after he had exposed Justice Minister Sergio Moro’s alleged misconduct and charged him with cybercrimes.

COVID-19 Hits Latin American Economies Keerat Singh Although there are no reported cases in Latin America, countries’ economies are still being affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, according to Newsweek.

China, which once played a relatively small role in Latin American economies, is now the region’s secondlargest trading partner and the top importer of goods from Brazil, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay, according to Quartz.

Trade between the region and China soared from $17 billion to $306 billion between 2002 and 2018, according to the Miami Herald.

China is frantically trying to brace its economy for the financial losses that will only increase until the disease is truly contained.

On February 3, the Chinese benchmark CSI 300 Index crashed nine percent, its worst open in almost 13 years, and closed almost eight percent lower.

The Shanghai Composite Index similarly fell eight percent, according to CCN. With almost 2,000 dead from the

virus and tens of thousands of others sick, the Chinese economy is running at 40 to 50 percent capacity, according to Time.

Reacting to this global crisis, officials in many Latin American states are scrambling to keep their economies from following China’s downward plunge.

Chinese purchases have fallen 50 to 60 percent since the outbreak, so Chile has been trying to offload shipments of wine, cherries, and seafood to other Asian countries, according to Bloomberg.

Before the outbreak, Latin America was already projected to have a slow year.

Goods like copper, which rely on the Chinese market, have been unable to find an alternative market. Instead, large shipments of copper simply linger in Chinese ports because there are no workers to unload the containers.

Before the outbreak, Latin America

was already projected to have a relatively slow year, with growth of only 1.6 percent. Now, with the uncertain effects of COVID-19, it stands to grow at a much slower rate.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), if China’s economic growth fell by even a single percentage point, the GDP of Chile and Peru would fall as well from somewhere between 0.3 and 0.5 percent.

South American commodity exporters, particularly Chile, Brazil, and Peru, would be the hardest-hit countries in the region.

The impact would be smaller in Brazil because the massive size of its economy can absorb the impact, but smaller countries do not have the same cushioning. As a result of the outbreak, China first began to import fewer perishable goods like soybean oil and fruits, which are South America’s primary exports to China.

Latin America’s economic future is not sealed—China’s summer season begins in April, which could bring about the end of COVID-19 and save Latin American economies from declining to an irrecoverable level.

Suffer Under Economic Issues Robert Dohrman Amid mounting economic troubles in Nicaragua, Assistant Secretary of State Hugo Rodríguez has asked U.S. allies to join the U.S. in imposing sanctions on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and members of his administration. According to Prensa Libre, Rodríguez announced that the U.S. encourages its “European counterparts to consider some of the same measures… and punish those involved in [the regime’s] behavior.”

Support for sanctions was already on the rise when Rodríguez began his trip. The day before he arrived in Brussels, a Spanish member of the European Parliament declared his support for European sanctions against Ortega’s government.

The United States has already sanctioned five institutions and 15 high-level officials. Trump administration officials also point to the nearly 80,000 Nicaraguan refugees as a motivating factor for the country’s staunch opposition to the Ortega regime. According to El Economista, Ortega has strongly denounced the recently renewed sanctions, saying that they assault democracy, peace, and the people of Nicaragua.

The push for new economic pressure against Ortega’s regime comes amid a prolonged economic crisis plaguing the country. As Prensa Libre explains, Moody’s Investors Service, an international credit rating agency, downgraded Nicaragua’s credit to a B3 rating just days prior to the push for new sanctions. B3 is one level above a junk credit rating, which indicates a high likelihood of default on loans

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and government debt. This change reflects the impact of the 2018 political crisis and authoritarian crackdown in Nicaragua, which subsequently crashed the economy. GDP growth fell from more than 4.5 percent to negative 3.8 percent in 2018, according to World Bank data.

The credit demotion is a result of the current recession but will also make recovery more difficult in the future. Experts interviewed by Canal 15 believe that the lower rating will slow foreign investment in Nicaragua while also impeding its ability to obtain other sources of income like loans and remittances. Some experts have even suggested that Nicaragua’s current trajectory could put it in a state of economic crisis similar to Venezuela’s—a forecast that deeply contrasts the optimism displayed by thousands of job-seekers earlier this month at a job fair covered by El Economista.

Employment could also be adversely affected by the diminished credit score. Analysis by Prensa Libre shows that as recovery slows due to a lack of foreign investment, thousands could potentially lose their jobs. This will worsen the impact of a rising poverty rate, which experts expect to rise from 20.1 percent in 2017 to more than 31 percent this year, Nicaragua’s highest level of poverty in nearly a decade. Another contributing factor is the relatively low minimum wage this year. Nicaragua adjusts its minimum wage annually to account for inflation and devaluation—but this year, the minimum wage grew 2.63 percent while purchasing power fell 12.6 percent, according to Canal 15.

Daniel Ortega’s administration has faced increasing economic problems.

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INDO-ASIA-PACIFIC

Cristina Lopez

T

he haze of tear gas, black and bloody flags, candycolored squares: these are the images of Hong Kong. In news reports about the protests, photographs and video footage of intense clashes between police and protesters dominate. Documenting these violent confrontations, while undeniably important, is not the only way in which protesters have proven the power of pictures.

By creating viral art, the local creative community has made a vital impact. A college student who goes by “Y” redesigned Hong Kong’s red flag in black and gave its central orchid withered, bloodstained petals—a symbol of the city’s wilting freedoms. Protesters flew the flag outside the Legislative Council as officials celebrated the anniversary of Britain’s handover of Hong Kong, South China Morning Post reported.

Y and a secret online network of more than 200 artists share pop culture parodies, educational infographics, and biting caricatures of pro-China officials on “Lennon walls” of colorful sticky notes, social media, and via AirDrop.

This work is the latest contribution to a long-standing tradition of art and iconography in protest of the Chinese Communist Party.

Active since the 1980s, Ai Weiwei condemned government negligence and commemorated the students who died in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake through an art installation featuring thousands of children’s backpacks. In 2011, moreover, Ai reimagined a popular homophone meme for censorship through a display of porcelain river crabs in the CCP’s colors.

Ai’s 81-day detainment and the demolition of his studio in 2011 are vivid, if extreme, illustrations of how protest art poses a real threat to the CCP’s authority. With “China’s Banksy,” Badiucao, also pressured into canceling his Hong Kong show in 2018 after receiving threats, it is clear that the CCP is going after not only those protesting on the streets but also the artists who are key to imbuing the movement with spirit and solidarity.

French Politician Proposes Tahiti Adopt Euro A French politician has proposed that the overseas territory of French Polynesia adopt the euro to counter the growing influence of China in the region and assert European control, reports Tahiti Infos.

The proposal came from Benoît Simian, a member of the French National Assembly who represents Gironde, a department in southwest France. He put forth the idea to the Bank of France during a meeting between the bank’s representatives and the Assembly, according to Tahiti Infos.

“The Polynesians are European citizens, but they are not switching to the euro while this region is currently under growing Chinese influence,” Simian said. “I know that the Polynesians are very attached to [France] and this would legitimize their European citizenship just a little bit more.”

Quoting former French President Jacques Chirac, Simian said that French Polynesia and the fellow French territory of New Caledonia should receive the euro at the same time in order to “reinforce European

influence” in the region.

French Polynesia, along with New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna, all use the French Pacific franc, which is issued by a Paris-based institute and whose value is directly tied to the euro.

As overseas territories, these islands are not officially at the same level as the mainland departments of France, though residents are able to vote in French presidential elections, Radio New Zealand reports.

Due to their location in the Pacific, the islands have found themselves under increasing influence from China, which is seeking to expand its domination over the region. French Polynesia has gained greater autonomy in international affairs since 2004 due to a change in French law, leading to such deals as the construction of a fish farm by Chinese corporation Tianrui in 2017.

The project is scheduled for completion in 2020 and intended to produce more than 50,000 tons of fish annually, according to the Diplomat.

The €1 billion ($1.084 billion) investment was an economic boon to French Polynesia, which suffers from high unemployment and a large trade deficit, with its exports covering only

From p. 1 Guterres has offered to mediate the Kashmir conflict several times, including when tensions increased after India’s decision to revoke the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August, the New York Times reported.

The Indian government’s rejection of Guterres’ offers has been routine, as it currently has the upper-hand in the conflict with its control over most of Kashmir.

Many Kashmiris, particularly older residents, do not want to be a part of India as they feel alienated from the Indian community, according to Netadata.

Kashmir originally opted for independence in 1947 and only agreed to be a part of India if it was granted autonomy.

However, India’s withdrawal of the region’s special status and the subsequent lockdown has threatened

such freedom.

India has blamed Pakistan for the persisting conflict and hopes that the UN will “emphasize on [sic] the imperative for Pakistan to take credible, sustained and irreversible action to put an end to cross-border terrorism against India.”

During a question-and-answer session at a press conference with Pakistan’s foreign minister, Guterres emphasized the importance of obtaining both parties’ commitment to mediation.

“From the beginning, I have offered my good offices in relation to the situation, and of course, good offices can only work when accepted by both sides.”

Guterres also acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism, saying, “I believe that one has to recognize that the efforts that Pakistan has made to fight terrorism are absolutely remarkable.”

Ishaan Rai

India Rejects Mediation

around six percent of its imports. The increase in Chinese investments has also led to greater diversification of the territory’s economy, which pearl culturing and tourism have previously dominated.

The relationship has not always been purely beneficial, however.

According to the Diplomat, in 2018, a major diplomatic scandal erupted when the Chinese consulate was found to be illegally occupying a house for office space in Tahiti; the consulate was given six months to vacate the property, but the consul, Shen Zhiliang, refused to leave.

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It was amid this rising tension that Simian proposed his plan to stop “growing Chinese influence” by bringing French Polynesia into the Eurozone.

Simian, however, received no response from the bank’s representatives about his proposal.

With China increasingly investing in the Pacific islands as well as an upcoming independence referendum in New Caledonia this September, France’s status as a “Pacific nation,” as President Emmanuel Macron has tweeted, could soon be called into question.

Benoît Simian, a delegate of the National Assembly, proposed the adoption of the Euro.

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Region Votes For Independence From P.N.G. North Korean The National Parliament of Papua New Guinea convened on February 11 to discuss for the first time the results and subsequent problems that occurred after the December 2019 Bougainville Referendum for independence, according to the PostCourier. Sir Puka Temu, the Papua New Guinean minister for Bougainville affairs, presented a summary of the referendum process and results and led a joint post-referendum ministerial task force. The task force intends to handle the legal and social implications of the referendum results; however, the details have not been publicized.

Currently, Bougainville is an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea. The national government approved a referendum in which Bougainville’s 300,000 residents could vote for independence. According to Radio New Zealand, the voter turnout was 87.4 percent; out of 181,067 ballots cast, 98 percent of the island’s voters favored complete independence over a greater degree of autonomy within Papua New Guinea.

The referendum was the result of the Bougainville Peace Agreement of

2001, reports BBC. A local secessionist movement, due to environmental and economic grievances, turned into a nine-year separatist war that began in 1988. The end of the fighting led to the Bougainville Peace Agreement in 2001, the creation of the Autonomous Bougainville Government, and the promise of a non-binding referendum on independence, reports BBC.

The end of fighting led to the promise of a referendum on independence.

Bougainville’s rich copper and gold resources made it significant to the economy of Papua New Guinea, reports BBC. In the early 1970s, Bougainville Copper Limited, a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, an AngloAustralian corporation, constructed a large mine on the island. Between 1978 and 1987, 60 percent of the company’s cash profit was distributed to the Papua New Guinean government, 35 percent to foreign shareholders, five percent to the local Bougainville government,

and 0.2 percent to local landowners, as reported in a journal article by the University of Wollongong.

While the P.N.G. government still has the final say on what becomes of Bougainville, the referendum result would complicate any effort on part of the Papua New Guinean government to indefinitely postpone a decision. Most national members of Parliament were hesitant to approve the independence, reports Radio New Zealand. Temu warned that the constitution does not allow secession or separation of any part of the country. He said, “the referendum result… has united Bougainville, but it has also caused most learned and informed Papua New Guineans, including leaders, to have preference for a unified country,” reports the Post-Courier.

During the convention, Sir Sam Akoitai, a Bougainvillean Member of Parliament, emphasized the region’s intention to become independent, says Radio New Zealand. He explained that Bougainville leaders made their first Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1975 and a second in 1990, and thus “a third one would have a stronger basis given the referendum result.”

New South Wales Wildfires Contained Ishaan Rai The devastating wildfires that have swept through Australia over the past few months have been successfully contained in New South Wales, the country’s most populous state, officials told BBC. “After what’s been a truly devastating fire season for both firefighters and residents, who’ve suffered so much this season, all fires are now contained in New South Wales,” said Rob Rogers, assistant commissioner of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS), a volunteer-based government agency that handles most of the state’s fires, on February 12. “It has taken a lot of work by firefighters, emergency services and communities to get to this point.”

The work of Australia’s largely volunteer fire brigades has been helped by the heavy rains that have swept the state since early February. Sydney experienced its heaviest rainfall in 30 years, according to EcoWatch.

The inclement weather has also caused flash floods, however, as well as baseball-sized hailstones in Sydney and the capital, Canberra. One man died as a result of the flash floods in

the state of Queensland.

The rain has been welcomed despite its extreme effects. Two blazes centered around the Currowan and Gospers mountains that each burned around 500,000 hectares were declared over due to the downpour, along with dozens of smaller fires.

Two blazes that each burned around 500,000 hectares were put out by the downpour.

Australia’s current wildfire crisis began in September 2019 when the seasonal bushfires first spread from the central areas of the country to the eastern states of New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory.

While bushfires are common in Australia due to its dry climate, the fires from the 2019-2020 season have been particularly destructive, sparking international conversations about how climate change has contributed to the severity of the fires. Thirty-four people

have died (including 11 firefighters), more than 2,500 homes have been destroyed, and scientists estimate that as many as 800 million animals have perished from the blazes. More than a billion animals have been directly affected, including many endangered species of plants and animals, according to Professor Chris Dickman of the University of Sydney.

The work against the fires is not yet finished. The fires continue to burn in Victoria and across the country, and scientists wonder if Australia’s forests, which have largely adapted to withstand frequent bushfires, will even be able to regrow from the sheer intensity of the recent blazes.

“The way the environment recovers from fire is a complex process with many variables. We can’t always predict exactly what will happen and when,” said Mark Antos, manager of science and management effectiveness in Parks Victoria, the government agency that is responsible for the management of the natural terrain of Australia’s second-most-populous state. “Some will provide spectacular displays, whereas other species may never recover.”

Defector Runs For Korean Parliament Frank Kim

Thae Yong-Ho has become the first high-profile North Korean official to run for election to South Korea’s parliament, which will take place on April 15, AsiaNews reported. Thae formerly served as North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom before defecting to South Korea with his wife and two children in 2016.

Within the last two decades, approximately 33,000 North Koreans have defected to South Korea. Most have been women from rural areas escaping poverty with their children, while only a few have previously served in the North Korean government. Thae is currently the second-highest North Korean official to defect, according to ABC News.

When questioned about his run for Parliament, Thae brought up two fishermen who were suspected murderers of their abusive captain and fifteen fellow sailors on a squidcatching ship. The decision to repatriate them alarmed many North Korean defectors at the time, including Thae. He said the South Korean government’s unprecedented move to repatriate the two North Korean fishermen in the fall of 2019 motivated him to represent fellow and future defectors, Public Radio International (PRI) reported. According to the New York Times, he compared the South Korean government to someone who refuses to help a drowning man due to his criminal history. Thae announced that he would implement a law requiring the South Korean government to accept all defectors regardless of criminal history.

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Judy Jiang

Ever since his defection in 2016, Thae has gradually become more vocal about protecting the human rights of the 33,523 North Korean defectors currently residing in South Korea. This culminated in his decision to join the conservative opposition party, United Future Party. According to AsiaNews, Thae expects to run in Gangnam, a wealthy constituency that is traditionally conservative. Critical of President Moon Jae-in’s approach to North Korea, Thae described Moon’s attempts to mediate U.S.-North Korea relations as “unrealistic,” reported ABC News. He also described Trump’s approach to North Korea as a “total failure and diplomatic catastrophe.”

However, Thae’s campaign still emphasizes working toward reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

According to ABC News, the former North Korean official identified his campaign as an opportunity to show thousands of North Koreans how democracy works.

In an interview, he said that “[his] campaign… can be a game-changing opportunity for [the] peninsula.”

Optimistically, Thae predicts North Korea’s elites will observe the elections via their smartphones and relay their experience to relatives back in North Korea.

Thae’s campaign will likely face opposition both abroad and in South Korea. Thae revealed to ABC News that China has banned him from entering the country due to its policy of repatriation and hostility toward North Korean defectors.

In South Korea, he faces questions from the ruling party, who argue that Thae’s platform runs counter to Moon’s policies toward North Korea.

Thae Yong-Ho defected with his wife and two sons to South Korea in 2016.

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MIDDLE EAST AND CENTRAL ASIA Madeline Hart

I

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into Palestine in a January 20 interview with Trinity Broadcasting Network that “everybody should rise up against this.” This overestimates Israel’s strengths on the international stage.

The ICC is conducting an examination into “alleged crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territory” from 2014 onwards, according to the ICC website, after the Government of Palestine granted the ICC jurisdiction to investigate in occupied Palestinian territory.

The Israeli government opposed this, saying that the ICC has no jurisdiction in the area, according to Israeli Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit. The investigation also examines war crimes committed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, according to Chief ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. The Israeli government believes that the investigation is aimed at them due to Bensouda’s statement that Israel “committed war crimes… in relation to the transfer of Israeli civilians into the West Bank.”

Netanyahu faced a choice— cooperate with the investigation or go against it. He chose to claim that the ICC attacks democracies, which harmed Israel’s reputation.

Netanyahu’s decision mirrors President Donald Trump’s criticism of an ICC investigation into its troops in Afghanistan in April 2019. The Trump administration revoked Bensouda’s visa, according to the Guardian. The ICC decided against opening the investigation.

In the interview, Netanyahu also advocated for “concrete actions… against the international court.”

As Netanyahu imitates Trump, he overestimates his strength.

If Netanyahu thinks that the international community will accept this, he is mistaken. Instead of solidifying Israel as a power unto itself, Netanyahu creates more regional rifts and increases the deep mistrust between Israel and other Middle Eastern countries.

Yemen’s Warring Sects Arrange Prisoner Swap Madiha Sohani In an encouraging display of cooperation, the two warring sides of Yemen’s civil war have agreed to participate in a prisoner swap, according to Al Jazeera.

This agreement marks the “first official large-scale” exchange of its kind since the beginning of the conflict.

The UN reported that “concluding a 7-day meeting in Amman, the parties agreed on details to complete the first exchange of prisoners.” The UN sees the prisoner exchange taking place as a step in the right direction and a possible move towards eventually releasing all detainees related to the conflict on both sides.

While officials have not released specific figures yet, Abdul-Wader alMurtaza, a rebel official, said in a tweet that the first phase would include the release of more than 1,400 prisoners.

There is no date set regarding the exact release.

The conflict in Yemen began in late 2014, beginning with the Houthis’ invasion of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. Months later, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) launched a joint military intervention

into the country in an attempt to restore the previous government and bring back peace.

The war has proven to be extremely detrimental to the country, including more than 20,500 air raids. According to the United Nations, at least 7,500 civilians died as a result of the war.

Other monitors state that more than 10,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives. Moreover, civilians continue to die not only because of the violence but also due to malnutrition, disease, and poor health. Part of the issue results from the fact that, according to VOA news, many hospitals have also been bombed. This has resulted in a lack of safe paces for people to go when they are injured or become sick.

These prospective peace talks, as a result, remain unstable and threaten to topple at any moment. The current breakthrough came only after a round of heavy fighting. That fighting included a Saudi-U.A.E.-led military coalition that killed more than 30 civilians.

According to Al Jazeera, the dead included a number of women and children, which the UN condemned as a “shocking” failure to protect the unarmed and vulnerable population of

Syrian Gov’t Forces Advance From p. 1 Turkey expressed concern that the Russian-backed al-Assad forces want Idlib, the final rebel bastion and Turkey and Russia’s agreed deescalation zone. Turkish and Russian officials called an emergency round of talks on February 17. Discussions only yielded tacit acceptance of accelerating violence. In the following days, Turkey deployed 15,000 more troops, and Russia remained committed to the alAssad regime.

The international community said his actions only accelerated “humanitarian catastrophe.” Following the capture of Aleppo, the European Union announced more economic sanctions. The British Foreign Office released a press statement reaffirming its commitment to the sanctions. “The U.K. continues to work closely with European partners to sanction those profiting from the devastating Syrian war,” the British minister of the Middle

East and North Africa confirmed.

On the other hand, Arab nations may be inching toward re-integrating Syria into the Arab League now that al-Assad has recently begun to consolidate greater military and political power.

Though not official, the former secretary-general of the Arab League, Amr Musa, told Sputnik, a Russian state-owned news agency, that the Arab League is close to reversing its 2011 ban on Syria’s participation.

As the turmoil worsens, international concern for Syrian refugees, especially children, who comprise more than half of the total refugee population, intensifies. A video of a Syrian father and daughter captures this. The father convinces his daughter the bombs are firecrackers.

“It’s not scary, it’s funny!” the daughter exclaims. When she leaves, the father quietly says, “my game will no longer be enough.”

the country.

The two groups have attempted prisoner swaps in the past. In 2018, they signed the Stockholm Agreement during peace talks in Sweden. The Houthis and the government agreed to participate in prisoner swaps as a confidence-building measure.

However, due to deep-seated mistrust, the plan fell through. As a result, the International Committee of the Red Cross is citing the current deal as a “great step forward.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross claimed that it facilitated the agreement. However, despite this

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claim, they are currently refusing to release the specific numbers regarding the prisoner exchange.

“The parties showed us that even with the growing challenges on the ground, the confidence they have been building can still yield positive results,” said Martin Griffiths, UN special envoy for Yemen.

According to Al Jazeera, the UN hopes that the two sides will honor their commitment. It has the potential to spell the end of a gruesome and devastating conflict that has taken thousands of lives since it began in 2014.

Yemen’s civil war has resulted in widespread destruction and famine.

F E B. 2020 | 13

Jake Powell Talks between Saudi Arabia and Qatar have stalled following conflict over different views of Qatar’s role in the Middle East, according to Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani. The countries have negotiated for more than two years, reports Newsweek, and they are unlikely to resume talks soon.

The crisis between Saudi Arabia and Qatar began two-and-a-half years ago, according to Newsweek. In 2017, four Arab states—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain—cut ties with Qatar over its alleged support of extremism, and they instituted a blockade around the country.

The disputes between the Saudi coalition and Qatar concern Qatar’s regional policy. Newsweek reports that Saudi Arabia’s concern is Qatar’s support for extremist groups, such as Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.

According to Saudi Arabia, the Qatariowned media outlet Al Jazeera is spreading anti-Saudi propaganda and propagating extremism in the region.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar also clashed over Qatar’s close relations with Iran,

a country at odds with Saudi Arabia, according to AP. For Saudi Arabia to lift the blockade, Qatar must cease funding both extremist groups and Al Jazeera and cut its ties with Iran.

Two years of negotiations have led nowhere except “back to square one.”

Negotiations between the Saudiled coalition and Qatar began after the blockade was enforced. In December 2019, the parties seemingly made a breakthrough, with AlThani announcing that the talks had “moved from stalemate to progress.”

In that same month, they competed in a soccer tournament that both had pledged to boycott, reports Al Jazeera.

However, diplomatic progress has reversed. In a speech, Al-Thani said that while “we have always been very open for dialogue… these efforts didn’t succeed and have been suspended.”

According to Gulf diplomats, however, Qatar “didn’t seem serious in reaching a compromise.” The

Saudi diplomats accused Qatar of “maneuvering” and making unreasonable demands. According to France24, the Saudis also wanted to reach an agreement that would appeal to all four members of their coalition.

Goals differ between the allies; for example, the United Arab Emirate seeks to cut Qatari ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, while Saudi Arabia is primarily concerned with Qatar’s close ties to Iran, reports France24.

The future of the talks between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is uncertain; however, the hope stemming from December’s progress seems to have faded. The two countries are once again at odds and appear unwilling to budge on their fundamental beliefs.

Both, however, may be driven to negotiate as they enter the new year: Qatar will be placed in the worldwide spotlight as the 2022 World Cup in Qatar approaches, and the 2020 U.S. election may see the inauguration of a new president with less affinity for Saudi Arabia than the current administration displays.

For now, talks have deadlocked. As the Middle East describes, two years of negotiations have led nowhere except “back to square one.”

U.A.E. Announces Nuclear Power Plant Ali Taha Brown Hamad al-Kaabi, deputy chairman of the U.A.E. Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), told reporters in Abu Dhabi on February 17 that FANR would provide an operating license for the Arab world’s first nuclear plant. The Barakah nuclear power plant, set to begin construction this year, will be managed by Emiratiled Naweh Energy Company.

In his briefing, al-Kaabi said that it was “another milestone for the U.A.E., culminating efforts of twelve years towards the development of the U.A.E. Nuclear Energy Programme.” The plant is only the second in the Middle East.

The plant will be built by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).

As the Barakah plant will be the only Korean-created nuclear plant outside of Korea, Korean officials are hopeful that the “Barakah operation could be proof of the technological prowess of KEPCO.” But, they acknowledged in the Korea Times that this “will not likely be a springboard for Korea to gain momentum in exporting nuclear reactors, given the political drive to

phase out nuclear power here.”

Qatar is worried about this development, which it expressed in a letter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in March 2019. Qatar cited radioactive plume discharge as a threat to the region’s water supply. The letter, issued by the Qatari Foreign Affairs Ministry, raised concerns over regional stability with a new nuclear power in the Arabian Peninsula. Paul Dorfman, a senior researcher at the Nuclear Consulting Group (NCG), echoed these concerns.

He said that “it’s the wrong reactor, in the wrong place, at the wrong time….

In a politically and militarily tense region, further nuclear proliferation would inevitably increase the risk.”

Qatar cited radioactive plume discharge as a threat to the region’s water supply The U.A.E. has already moved to assuage these fears by committing to non-proliferation and transparency;

al-Kaabi told reporters that the quality and safety of the Emirati nuclear program “gives a lot of countries in the region a way to develop such responsible programs to benefit from nuclear energy without raising concerns about other issues related to nuclear power such as nonproliferation and so on.” CNBC reporter Natasha Turak affirmed alKaabi’s words, writing that “the U.A.E. already partakes in what nuclear energy experts call the ‘gold standard’ of civilian nuclear partnerships: The U.S.-U.A.E. 123 Agreement for Peaceful Civilian Nuclear Energy Cooperation.”

The implications of this move could be wide-ranging. As Saudi Arabia has already expressed interest in developing a nuclear power plant, the Barakah plant’s creation could cause them to move quickly. Dorfman says that the region could become more volatile, especially in light of the recent breakdown of the Iran nuclear deal. On a positive note, the power plant will be environmentally friendly, as U.A.E. officials report the plant will contribute 25 percent of the country’s energy needs.

U.S. & Taliban Pursue Peace Amid Ceasefire Steele Schoeberl

The United States and the Taliban agreed to a seven-day ceasefire on February 14, the Washington Post reports. This truce is the first step in a peace agreement which would withdraw roughly 5,000 of the 12,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the Brookings Institute estimates. Both sides are optimistic, with a leading Taliban spokesman signaling they will sign a peace deal with the U.S. by “the end of the month,” reports the Washington Post.

The United States has been at war with the Taliban for control of Afghanistan since 2001. The Taliban took power in 1994, imposing Sharia law and sheltering jihadist organizations. Under the Taliban’s safe haven, Al-Qaeda operatives planned the 9/11 attacks. U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan, where they remain.

President Trump’s 2016 electoral platform promised to end America’s overseas conflicts. Over the past year, his administration entered talks with the Taliban. Al Jazeera reports that both sides reached a preliminary deal last September. However, Trump canceled the deal after a Taliban attack killed twelve people, including an American soldier, AP News reports.

Still, peace talks progressed under the State Department’s chief envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad. The Military Times reports that Khalilzad negotiated a prisoner exchange with the Taliban, releasing two Western professors in return for top-level Taliban officials.

Afghanistan has been embroiled in conflict for nearly four decades, and the human toll of the disaster is shocking. An analysis by the Economist

SIG FOR AFGHANISTAN RECONSTRUCTION

Saudi Arabia & Qatar Suspend Negotiations

found that violence in Afghanistan has surpassed that of the Syrian Civil War. Furthermore, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) estimated the Taliban control 15 percent of the country directly and have considerable influence over an additional 29 percent, while the Afghani government controls just 56 percent.

The newest deal will also initiate peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan national government. The Brookings Institute believes that these negotiations will seek to incorporate the Taliban into the political process in exchange for disarmament.

Critics of the policy denounce a U.S. withdrawal as unwise and potentially catastrophic, while others denounce the Taliban’s use of violence.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the Taliban of “[trying] to use terror to improve their negotiating position,” PBS reports.

The Afghan central government also faces internal divisions and turmoil. A September presidential election between incumbent President Ashraf Ghani and Afghanistan’s Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah was disputed for nearly five months. After Ghani won 50.6 percent of the vote and Abdullah secured 39.52 percent, both candidates declared victory, the New York Times reports.

Afghans overwhelmingly want to see the bloodshed end. Khalilzad hopes this sentiment will help to create a pathway to peace. “We urge all Afghans to seize the moment and end the misery of more than four decades of war,” he said, according to TOLO News.

Previous attempts at disarmament and demobilization have been largely unsuccessful.

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AFRICA Kate Fin

S

ecretary of State Mike Pompeo concluded his first official trip to the African continent on February 19, stopping in Senegal, Angola, and Ethiopia on diplomatic visits. Staunch anticorruption and pro-democracy rhetoric characterized the trip, widely regarded as an attack on China’s presence on the continent, according to DW. “Countries should be wary of authoritarian regimes with empty promises. They breed corruption, dependency,” Pompeo said in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, reports Al Jazeera.

Senegal, Angola, and Ethiopia represent key U.S. interests: Senegal is a stable democracy in a region beset by jihadist extremism; Angola, is a former Marxist state launching anti-corruption campaigns; and Ethiopia is a transitioning authoritarian country whose attempts at opening civic and political space have endeared it to Western powers. Coincidentally, Angola and Ethiopia have received more than $24 million in loans from China for public works projects, according to CGTN. Despite Pompeo’s pompous, pro-democratic rhetoric in attempt to signal solidarity with African countries, U.S. foreign policy in the region undercuts the message.

Two weeks prior to the tour, the Trump administration added four African countries to its travel ban list: Nigeria, Sudan, Eritrea, and Tanzania, the New York Times reports. Though Pompeo signaled a commitment to fight jihadist insurgencies in the Sahel, the U.S. declared its intention to draw down its troops in the region as the jihadist threat increases. The U.S. does not stand with African leaders’ attempts at consolidating democracy, fighting terrorism, and combating corruption, as Pompeo asserted during his visits.

Pompeo’s short-sighted trip is not enough to shore up the massive deficits in foreign policy towards Africa. Until the U.S. is ready to not only signal commitment but also to realize it, any attempt to seduce the continent away from Chinese influence will be in vain.

Somalia Accused of Press Freedom Violations Sonya Hu

Growing violence and hostility toward the press in Somalia have left journalists in a state of constant fear, according to a February 13 report released by Amnesty International.

The report, titled “We Live in Perpetual Fear,” documents the severe deterioration in the country’s freedoms of press and expression since President Mohamed “Farmajo” Abdullahi took office in February 2017.

According to the report, Somali journalists have been “under siege” from all sides, with federal and state government authorities as well as the armed insurgency group Al-Shabaab working to suppress media freedom.

At least eight journalists have been killed in Somalia since 2017, according to the Guardian.

Al Jazeera reports that Somali government violence towards journalists reached record levels in 2019. An “unprecedented” 37 journalists were beaten, shot at, or threatened at gunpoint that year.

Most were arrested while reporting on bombings, attacks, or corruption.

In comparison, 16 journalists were detained in 2017 and 12 in 2016,

according to Reuters.

Media restrictions have been especially harsh in security matters.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Somali government and armed groups such as Al-Shabaab are engaged in a “propaganda war.” Both sides have attempted to promote real and false military successes and restrict public access to casualty statistics. As a result, media coverage of bombings and other attacks is strictly regulated.

Reuters recounted the testimony of Nimco Mohamed Bashir, the director of Rajo Television Network.

She explained that the government specifically advised employees to avoid “covering stories of blasts,” and stated that after she had posted news of a bombing online, the police arrested her and threatened her family.

Similarly, Zakariye Mohamud Timaade, formerly a reporter for Universal TV, fled Somalia in June 2019 after receiving threats from both Al-Shabaab and the government for his coverage of security threats.

In his interview with Amnesty International, Timaade explained that his May 2019 article discussing Al-Shabaab’s activity in Mogadishu enraged security officials. As a result,

Rwandan Gospel Singer Dies in Police Custody Marianna Aslund Kizito Mihigo, a famous Rwandan gospel singer and previously convicted government critic, died of alleged suicide in police custody on February 17, according to the Guardian. Mihigo was arrested four days before his death after attempting to illegally cross the border to neighboring Burundi. Human rights activists have questioned the alleged suicide due to Mihigo’s complicated history with Rwandan officials, writes BBC. Mihigo played an active role in reconciliation between Rwanda’s longdivided ethnic groups, the Hutus and the Tutsis. In 2010, he founded the Kizito Mihigo Peace Foundation, a non-governmental organization which advocates for using art to bring intranational healing.

In 2014, Mihigo recorded a controversial song called “The Meaning of Death,” reports Voice

of America. Government officials interpreted the song as criticizing Rwandan President Paul Kagame and equating retaliatory acts against the Hutus with the 1994 genocide of the Tutsis, according to the Africa Report.

Mihigo himself is a survivor of the genocide, in which he lost his father.

Shortly after the song’s release, Mihigo was sentenced to ten years in prison for “conspiracy against the state” but was later pardoned in 2018.

Part of his terms of release included that he could not leave the country without judicial permission, according to BBC. Police accused Mihigo of bribing witnesses and intending to join antigovernment rebels in Burundi, but sources close to Mihigo deny these claims. Muleya Mwananyanda of Amnesty International said that the organization “is calling for an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into his death.”

he was summoned, interrogated, and repeatedly threatened.

Alongside the persistent violence and persecution, the age of social media has introduced a host of new threats to press freedom. As reported

by Africa News, Somalia’s government has allegedly created teams of online monitors to troll journalists and report them to Facebook to disable their accounts for “violating community standards.” Their efforts seemingly paid off. In June 2019, government censors shut down ten Facebook accounts belonging to highly influential journalists in a single day.

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The New York Times reports that these social media-monitoring teams help the government crack down on journalists. They observe content posted by reporters and demand that they remove posts critical of the government. If they refuse, “[they] are arrested and…Told you can remove this content... or we will prosecute you, or we will hang you,” according to Amnesty International researcher Abdullahi Hassan.

VOA reports that the situation will likely further deteriorate as the country prepares for local and presidential elections next year.

Journalists in Somalia are under attack from government and insurgent forces.

F E B. 2020 | 15

Hana Amdeta Armed men killed at least 31 people in the village of Ogossagou in Central Mali on February 13, according to the New York Times. Aly Ousmane Barry, the village chief, estimates that close to 30 armed assailants attacked Ogossagou a few hours after the Malian army withdrew from the area. The Union for the Republic and Democracy (URD), one of Mali’s main political parties, reported that more than 70 people are still missing, according to Info-Matin.

Barry described how the perpetrators set huts, crops, and livestock on fire, reports Al Jazeera.

Hamadou Dicko, a member of a local Fulani association, the village’s largest ethnic group, recounted how the perpetrators “came and shot everything that moved.”

A local government official who chose to remain anonymous blamed the attack on Dogon hunters, though as of yet, there exists little evidence to support that assertion.

The Dogon ethnic group is composed of sedentary farmers who have lived in central Mali for generations, while the Fulani are

traditionally semi-nomadic cattle breeders who move across West Africa. The two groups have grown increasingly hostile as violent jihadist uprisings have rocked the Sahel region in recent years. The conflict has created a critical geopolitical security issue in Central Mali where armed groups already frequently carry out attacks.

The perpetrators “came and shot everything that moved.”

—Hamadou Dicko More than 450 civilians in central Mali were killed in 2019 alone due to ethnic violence, according to Al Jazeera.

Dan Nan Ambassagou, a Dogon “self defense” group, asserts that it was not associated with the attack, reports aBamako. The militia’s leader, Youssouf Toloba, condemns the killings and claims to have initiated an investigation into the violence.

This is not the first time an assault of this scale has taken place in the Malian village. An attack in Ogossagou in March of last year killed more than

150 civilians, according to the Human Rights Watch. One of the survivors of the attack who participated in the mass burials that followed described the devastation: “Returning to the village after the guns quieted, bodies were everywhere. As people found their loved ones they cried, ‘Oh god, not my child!’ and ‘My grandfather, my mother!’ There were scores of bodies in the marabout’s house, most of them charred.”

The president of the Movement for the Protection of Human Rights, Boubacar N’Djim claims that the investigation into this massacre has not yielded any progress, according to Mali-Web. A year later, the Mali government has yet to arrest or try a single person.

After two deadly attacks in under a year, N’Djim expressed a lack of confidence in the Malian government’s ability to prevent further violence. He said in a press release reported on by Mali-We, “we do know that the state is no longer able to fulfill its sovereign mission of ensuring the security of all Malians and their property, and many organizations continue to question the size of the foreigner forces on our territory.”

U.S. Military Exercise Kicks-Off in Sahel Max Hamid U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) kicked off its largest annual exercise, Flintlock, on February 17 with over 1,600 participating service members from across 30 countries on the continent. Flintlock is a military and law enforcement exercise designed to expand the capabilities of its partner states’ forces. This year’s exercise took place in Mauritania and Senegal.

While border protection and domestic law enforcement are both covered in the exercise, Flintlock primarily emphasizes the improvement of local states’ capabilities in countering violent extremism. The exercise is held in the Sahel, an appropriate setting considering the Sahel was called the “tinderbox of terrorist activity,” according to the Military Times. The region houses several key terrorist organizations, including the Al-Qaeda affiliate Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM) and the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), according to the Cipher Brief.

The territorial losses of the Islamic State has led to increased terrorist activity in the Sahel in recent years.

According to AFRICOM commander General Stephen Townsend, terrorist activity in the region has increased by 250 percent since 2018. AfricaNews reports that exercises like Flintlock assist in developing the operating capacities of African states in the region in light of these growing threats, and help prevent extremist organizations from becoming a significant threat.

The Sahel was called the “tinderbox of terrorist activity.”

According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, violence in West Africa has steadily shifted downward into the Sahel from states such as Mali and Libya. Both states have been experiencing internal conflicts that have allowed extremists to find a new home.

The consequences of this spillover in violence has been evident in countries such as Burkina Faso. In 2018, Burkina Faso experienced nearly 300 civilian deaths, which was vastly overshadowed by the 2,200 civilian

deaths that occurred just a year later, reports AfricaNews. The decision to host Flintlock 2019 in Burkina Faso demonstrated an increasing emphasis on and pivot towards countering extremism in the Sahel.

An inspector general report referenced by the Military Times detailed how the U.S. shifted its focus in West Africa from degrading extremist organizations to containing them. This decision is part of an overall shift in U.S. strategy in line with the popular AFRICOM catchphrase: “African solutions for African problems.”

The Military Times further reports that, as part of Flintlock, participating forces conducted small-unit exercises, including hostage rescue operations, reconnaissance, and community engagement. Operational-level staff helped coordinate the exercise from a headquarters in Atar, Mauritania.

In addition to greatly improving partner state capabilities, the exercise improves regional interoperability by strongly emphasizing cooperation among security forces in the area. As such, the operation brings together over 1,600 troops from across Europe and Africa, reports Military Times.

Gunmen Attack Church in Burkina Faso Mark Agard

A group of armed men attacked a church in Yagha province in Burkina Faso on February 16, reports Al Jazeera. The group killed 24 people and wounded 18.

The government of Burkina Faso said in a statement that the gunmen “attacked the peaceful residents of [the] area after identifying them and separating them from nonresidents,” as reported by the New York Times.

Both Christians and Muslims were killed before the group set the church on fire.

AP reports that two other Burkinabe pastors were recently targets, one of murder and another of kidnapping.

“Since January 2016, my country has been facing large-scale terrorist attacks whose human, social, economic and living together impacts are incalculable,” said Burkinabe President Roch Kaboré at a UN Peacebuilding Commission meeting in September 2019, according to UN News. “The level of violence reached and insecurity have resulted in a humanitarian crisis with the result that thousands of internally displaced people, schools and health centers closed, and symbols of the state destroyed.”

DW reported that approximately 750 people have been killed since 2015, and around 600,000 people have been internally displaced.

The violence has largely spilled over from neighboring states. The Conversation reports that the unrest is centered around the country’s northern borders with Mali and Niger.

Reports by the North Africa Journal suggest that terrorist groups are

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Attack in Central Mali Kills at Least 31

partly responsible for stoking ethnic conflicts.

Corinne Dufka, the West Africa director for Human Rights Watch, pointed out that the attacks against civilians and religious groups are increasing rapidly, as reported by AP. “[P]erpetrators use victims’ links to government or their faith to justify the killings, while others appear to be reprisal killings for killings by the government security forces,” she said.

In an attempt to improve the security situation, the Burkinabe government has implemented increasingly aggressive policies, including arming civilian volunteers to combat extremist groups such as AlQaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, reports Voice of America. This measure came in response to a January 20 attack which killed 32 people.

Burkina Faso has been pursuing further cooperation with international partners such as the G5 Sahel. Jeune Afrique reported that Burkina Faso attended a mid-January meeting of this group hosted in Pau, France

by French President Emmanuel Macron. The G5 Sahel is a regional counterterrorism initiative containing Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger, and Mauritania which cooperates closely with the French military. The Africa Report noted that in spite of brewing anti-French sentiment in G5 countries, all representatives reaffirmed their commitment and desire for French military cooperation in the face of increasing violence. Similarly, AP reports that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres affirmed “the commitment of the United Nations to support Burkina Faso in the fight against violent extremism.”

Burkina Faso soldiers participate in training exercises to develop new skills and tactics.

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The views expressed herein represent the views of a majority of the members of the Caravel’s Editorial Board and are not reflective of the position of the newsroom staff or Georgetown University.

Students have never been entirely anonymous on university campuses.

After all, we pay tuition to the registrar’s office, where someone monitors our courses and bills. But, students have always been able to trust that their thoughts, inquiries, and locations could be kept private. This is no longer the case.

In the 1965 case, Griswold v Connecticut, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protects “zones of privacy,” which can be interpreted from several Amendments, notably the Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth. In the words of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, we have “the right to be left alone.” Yet, American universities are doing anything but leaving their students alone, and surreptitious data collection poses an ever-greater challenge to our understanding of privacy rights.

The Halls Have Ears The Washington Post reported in December that dozens of educational institutions use short-range phone sensors and campus-wide WiFi networks to track students’ whereabouts and predict academic performance, conduct, mental health, and other information. Universities like Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, the University of North Carolina system, Auburn University, University of Central Florida, Columbia University, Indiana University, and the University of Missouri system use similar technology. SpotterEDU dominates the market for short-range phone sensors, and Degree Analytics dominates Wi-Fi network surveillance technology. The latter tracks roughly 200,000 students across 19 institutions of higher education. Welcome to 1984, just 40 years later.

Syracuse University uses Bluetooth beacons to track class attendance.

Absences are logged and can negatively impact grades, while telling professors when students miss class. The app by SpotterEDU records a precise timeline of students’ locations so professors and advisers can see if they leave early or

take bathroom and water breaks.

Syracuse professor Jeff Rubin told the Washington Post, “They know I’m watching [attendance] and acting on it. So, behaviorally, they change.” This horrifying casualness illustrates a common view on the matter of student surveillance, which increasingly monitors all aspects of students’ lives.

NPR notes that data collection systems can gather as many as 6,000 location data points per student per day.

The Washington Post reports that these systems algorithms’ predict behavioral states, mental disorders, and physical ailments.

Some universities even use the data to create risk scores for students.

The Broward County Public Schools system, which includes Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, went further and announced the installation of a camera-software system to monitor students and track them by appearance through artificialintelligence to catch potential threats.

A Washington Post report described how the system allows administrators and guards to see everywhere a camera recorded individual students on campus and alert administrators of suspected risks.

“These days, it’s ‘We know where you are.’”

—Mitch Daniels In a similar attempt to catch threats, universities employ these invasive systems to divide students into groups, such as “students of color,” or “out-ofstate students,” for greater attention and further review, the Washington Post reports. Administrators compare these groups in analysis to “normal” behavior, mandating that minority groups abide by behavioral norms set by predominantly white students and labeling non-white students a risk.

These systems not only build a mentality that accepts constant and ubiquitous monitoring, but they undermine independence, hinder the pursuit of interests beyond the classroom or of which students feel administrators may disapprove, and stigmatize minority

Universities’ student surveillance is reminiscent of Orwell’s 1984.

groups and communities that are underrepresented and feel unwelcome at institutions of higher education.

In a further abuse of students’ privacy, NPR discovered that many universities do not properly notify students of the extent or nature of the data collection, which includes highly detailed and intimate information on their whereabouts on campus at all times within sensor or Wi-Fi range.

Students are sometimes required to download SpotterEDU or other apps by administrators during orientation, which they then consider opt-in and permission to collect students’ data.

Signing on to the university Wi-Fi is often considered permission as well, even though most students do not realize the extent of the data collection or that it is occurring at all.

Institutions are increasingly collecting and monitoring more data, beyond mere geolocation to include what students publish online or in university forums, how long they review material online, and whether they attended specific events or not. A lot of this data, collected and analyzed by third parties, does not fall under the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which restricts the kind of information universities can share with third parties, the Atlantic reports.

This data can be transferred and sold: advertising companies and data brokers can exploit the students’ data.

This data may also allow nefarious actors to impersonate students or faculty and gain access to protected research and other files. Gathering student data allows corporations to implicitly and insidiously shape our preferences and decisions.

ADVAIT ARUN (SFS ‘22)

EDITORIAL BOARD Alma Mater, Big Brother

Mitch Daniels, the president of Purdue University and formergovernor of Indiana, wrote in a Washington Post op-ed, “Isn’t technology wonderful?… We know where each student is anytime—which is virtually all the time—their mobile devices are connected to our Wi-Fi network.… Forget that old ominous line, ‘We know where you live.’ These days, it’s, ‘We know where you are.’”

Privacy is one of the most fundamental human rights and often one of the first violated by totalitarian institutions and governments. If an academic leader and former-governor proudly bragging about how he “knows where you are” at all times is not terrifying, then nothing is.

Information, Regulation, & the State of Our Nation Data privacy doesn’t have to be an unachievable dream. Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect in 2018, and California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which became effective in January, show that governments can regulate intrusive and invasive technologies from social media sites to university-sponsored spyware.

We have to rethink how we consider privacy in the United States. The foundation of any data privacy regulation should be an acknowledgment that the data we produce is our property. Just as an author has copyright over the ideas that come out of his or her mind, we must have ownership of the data that comes out of the way we live our lives.

Any data privacy framework that does not acknowledge this is doomed to paper over privacy concerns without

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fixing the fundamentals.

Consent is a key feature of GDPR and CCPA. Data collecting entities need to obtain informed consent from users before using their data. It is untenable and should be illegal to require participation in a tracking program as a condition of enrollment at a university. Lawmakers and regulators should look to Europe and California for ideas on how to better regulate privacy. But, in the end, they need to ensure that egregious breaches of personal privacy are relegated to the fictional world of Orwell’s 1984.

Collecting Problems The data collection itself is the problem. Despite the nominally good intentions behind administrators’ decisions to study our lives, the consequences of such data collection are too dire to ignore. These practices disregard students’ individual privacy and autonomy. Schools’ quests to know everything about their students’ lives would only be halted by eliminating the collection of invasive data entirely.

Anything short of a complete cessation of invasive data collection policies perpetuates a dangerous regulatory grey area that can be exploited to students’ detriment. Universities have never needed the data that such spying provides, and they can continue to survive without the trove of location and internet data tagged to each student’s ID number.

Unless students and privacy advocates can work together to expand both FERPA and general privacy protections in the United States, students may be stuck petitioning for change at the university level, where their voices are not always granted a say by unaccountable administrators.

Almost every piece of technology connected to the internet today tracks its user’s data, even a cell phone with its location services turned off.

The institutions where we commit ourselves to learning and free inquiry should be the places where we can be sure that our lives are not under invasive, exploitative scrutiny. Our autonomy, privacy, and personal freedoms are worth fighting for, and we deserve to know what is being done with our private data.

Read the full, expanded piece on our website.