AUTHOR
BY LISA JUNG, ROBIN DIETEREN, KAROLINA KISIEL, SIAVASH GHASEMI, AYÇA ZEHRA KARABABA & HELENA PARISE SANVICENTE
THIS WEEKS BLOG ISSUE CONCERNS SEVERAL VERY SPECIFIC SITUATIONS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. THE TRIAL IN THE GEORGE FLOYD CASE MAY REPRESENT A HUGE VICTORY FOR THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT. THE SITUATION IN INDIA AND THE NETHERLANDS ILLUSTRATE HOW MUSLIMS ARE STILL BEING DISCRIMINATED. BESIDES THESE ISSUE, ATTENTION WILL BE DEVOTED TO THE TREATMENT OF REFUGEES, KIDNAPPINGS OF STUDENTS IN NIGERIA AND THE FIGHT IN THE PHILIPPINES AGAINST COMMUNISTS.
START OF THE CHAUVIN TRIAL – JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD
GEORGE FLOYD’S DEATH IGNITED A WORLDWIDE REVOLUTION AGAINST DISCRIMINATION. THIS TUESDAY JURY SELECTION BEGAN IN THE TRIAL OF DEREK CHAUVIN, THE OFFICER RESPONSIBLE FOR GEORGE’S DEATH. CHAUVIN HAS PLEADED NOT GUILTY TO ALL THREE CHARGES: SECOND-DEGREE UNINTENTIONAL MURDER, SECOND-DEGREE MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES AND THIRD-DEGREE MURDER. THE LAST CHARGE WAS ALSO ONLY REINSTATED LAST THURSDAY. THE JURY SELECTION BEGAN THIS TUESDAY AT HENNEPIN COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER AND IS EXPECTED TO LAST ABOUT THREE WEEKS.
THE DIFFICULTY LIES IN THE FACT THAT, GIVEN ALL THE MEDIA ATTENTION, IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND A JURY THAT HASN’T ALREADY HEARD ABOUT THE CASE. YET, THE GOAL IS NOT TO FIND IGNORANT, BUT IMPARTIAL PEOPLE THAT ARE OPEN TO HEARING EVIDENCE AND THE LAW. THE JURORS NEED TO BE ABLE TO SET ASIDE EVERYTHING THEY HAVE SEEN OR HEARD AND BASE THEIR DECISION SOLELY IN COURT EVIDENCE.
PAST DECEMBER, PROSPECTIVE JURORS WERE SENT A 16-PAGE QUESTIONNAIRE CONCERNING THEIR THOUGHTS ON THE BLM-MOVEMENT, THEIR VIEWS ON THE POLICE AND THEIR PERSONAL INTERACTIONS WITH THE POLICE. PAST TUESDAY, THE PROSPECTIVE JURORS WERE QUESTIONED ONE BY ONE IN A VOIR DIRE PROCESS.
THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK MIGHT HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE TRIAL, AND THE COURT HAS TAKEN A NUMBER OF PREVENTIVE MEASURES. EVERYONE WHO ATTENDS IS DISTANCED FORM ALL OTHERS AND WEARS A MASK. WITNESSES AND ATTORNEYS MAY REMOVE MASKS DURING THEIR STATEMENTS AND TESTIMONIES.
NO PLACE TO GO — ROHINGYA MUSLIMS DETAINED IN INDIA
IN 2013 THE UNITED NATIONALS ALREADY DECLARED THEM “THE MOST OPPRESSED PEOPLE IN THE WORLD”, AND ON JANUARY 23, 2020, THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT RULED THEY ARE INDEED IN DANGER OF BECOMING VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE.
THE ROHINGYA ARE A MUSLIM MINORITY GROUP ORIGINALLY FROM BANGLADESH. FOR CENTURIES THEY HAVE LIVED IN THE WESTERN BURMESE PROVINCE OF RAKHINE STATE, IN MYANMAR. HOWEVER, THE GOVERNMENT OF MYANMAR DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THEM AS CITIZENS – BUT DEEMS THEM TO BE ILLEGAL MIGRANTS FROM THE NEIGHBOURING STATE BANGLADESH. AS A CONSEQUENCE, THE ROHINGYA HAVE NO RIGHTS AND ARE SUBJECT TO RESTRICTIONS IN ALMOST EVERY ASPECT OF THEIR LIVES.
LEGAL TRAVELLING FOR THE ROHINGYA IS IMPOSSIBLE SINCE THEY ARE CONSIDERED STATELESS IN THEIR HOME COUNTRY. THIS MEANS THEY DO NOT HAVE PASSPORTS AND ARE UNABLE TO RECEIVE VISA’S. WHEN ABOUT 40,000 ROHINGYA PEOPLE FLED TO INDIA FROM MYANMAR, ONLY 16,000 OF THEM RECEIVED OFFICIAL REFUGEE DOCUMENTS.
AT THE SAME TIME, INDIA IS NOT A PARTY TO THE 1951 UNITED NATIONS REFUGEE CONVENTION OR ITS 1967 PROTOCOL. THE COUNTRY BELIEVES “ITS BORDERS ARE POROUS AND ANY CONFLICT CAN LEAD TO MASS MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE” WHICH WOULD ASK A LOT FROM THE COUNTRY’S ALREADY LIMITED RESOURCES. HOWEVER, INDIA’S RESPONSE TO THE ROHINGYA IS SURPRISING, SINCE IT HAS TRADITIONALLY OPENED ITS DOORS TO TIBETANS AND AFGHAN REFUGEES. A THE MOMENT INDIA TREATS ALL ROHINGYA ENTERING THE COUNTRY AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. AS A REASONING FOR THIS APPROACH, THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT STATES IT HAS EVIDENCE THERE ARE EXTREMISTS AMIDST THEM WHO POSE A THREAT TO THE COUNTRY’S SECURITY. THIS MOVED THE ROHINGYA PEOPLE TO FLEE INDIA OR TO GO UNDERGROUND WITH FEARS THAT THE GOVERNMENT WILL ARREST THEM FOR UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY INTO THE COUNTRY.
IN THE PAST MONTH, SECURITY FORCES HAVE SENT ROHINGYA’S ACROSS INDIA TO JAIL. AN ESTIMATED 300 TO 500 OF THEM ARE CURRENTLY DETAINED IN INDIAN JAILS ON GROUNDS OF ILLEGAL ENTRY. LAST MARCH SIX, OFFICIALS CALLED HUNDREDS OF ROHINGYA TO A STADIUM IN JAMMU. THE OFFICIALS TOOK THEIR PERSONAL DETAILS AND BIOMETRICS AND TESTED THEM FOR THE CORONAVIRUS. A JAIL HAS BEEN CONVERTED INTO A HOLDING CENTRE IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY, AND AT LEAST 168 ROHINGYA HAVE SO FAR BEEN SENT THERE.
BANGLADESH, MYANMAR, INDIA. THIS IS THE THIRD COUNTRY IN WHICH THE ROHINGYA PEOPLE ARE NOT WELCOME - NO ONE STANDS UP FOR THEM, AND THE WORLD TURNS A BLIND EYE. ITS IMPORTANT FOR THEIR STORY TO BE SHARED.
ASYLUM SEEKERS’ ABUSES AT THE US/MEXICAN BORDER
FORMER US PRESIDENT ADMINISTRATION HAS SENT THOUSANDS OF ASYLUM SEEKERS TO MEXICO WHERE THEY HAVE SUFFERED VIOLENCE AND EXTORTION BY MEXICAN POLICE. SINCE JANUARY 2019, THE UNITED STATES CLOSED THE SOUTHERN BORDER AND EFFECTIVELY PREVENTED MANY ASYLUM SEEKERS FROM GETTING INTO THE COUNTRY. UNDER THE “REMAIN IN MEXICO PROGRAM”, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT MORE THAN 71,000 ASYLUM SEEKERS HAVE BEEN SENT TO MEXICO. IN ADDITION TO THAT, SINCE MARCH 2020, THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN DENYING ACCESS TO THE US’ TERRITORY TO THE ASYLUM SEEKERS, CONSEQUENTLY EXPELLING THEM MORE THAN 400,000 TIMES!
THIS WAS ESPECIALLY DANGEROUS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AS MANY OF THE ASYLUM-SEEKERS HAVE BEEN DENIED THE CHANCE TO MAKE THEIR CLAIMS UNDER TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS.
“TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MIGRANT FAMILIES, INCLUDING VENEZUELANS SEEKING PROTECTION FROM TORTURE, PERSECUTION, AND ARBITRARY IMPRISONMENT, HAVE BEEN ABANDONED BY THE US AND MEXICAN GOVERNMENTS TO SUFFER EXTORTION AND VIOLENCE IN MEXICO,” SAID AMERICA’S DIRECTOR AT HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH.
THOSE WHO EXPERIENCED EXPULSION BY THE US AUTHORITIES REPORTED CRIMES AND ABUSE BY THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT. THEY WERE OFTEN NOT ABLE TO GET ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTS FOR WORK, HEALTHCARE AND SENDING THEIR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL. MOREOVER, IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT MANY OF THE ASYLUM SEEKERS MISSED THE COURT CASES. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH HAS INTERVIEWED PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS. MANY OF THEM REPORTED HAVING BEEN KIDNAPPED IN MEXICO. OTHERS WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE SOUTH, WHICH RESULTED IN BEING THOUSANDS OF KILOMETRES AWAY FROM THE LOCATION WHERE THE COURT HEARINGS TOOK PLACE.
STUDENTS IN NIGERIA ARE BEING TARGETED FOR MASS KIDNAPPING
NORTHWEST NIGERIA HAS SEEN A DRAMATIC INCREASE OF MASS KIDNAPPING OF GIRLS AND BOYS AT BOARDING SCHOOLS, THESE MASS KIDNAPPING HAVE BECOME A GROWING INDUSTRY IN THE WEST AFRICAN COUNTRY INFLUENCED BY THE COUNTRY’S ECONOMIC CRISIS.
300 SCHOOLGIRLS HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED FROM THEIR SCHOOL, IN ZAMFARA STATE, BY ARMED GANGS. SOME OF THE OVER 100 PERPETRATORS WHERE DRESSED AS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND FORCED THE CHILDREN INTO VANS.
HOWEVER, THE STUDENTS WERE RELEASED SOON AFTER. IT IS UNCLEAR AS TO HOW THE RELEASE OF THE STUDENTS WAS SECURED AS THE NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT STATED THAT NO RAMSON WAS PAYED.
THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT IN NIGERIA, IN 2014, 300 GIRLS WERE ABDUCTED FROM THEIR BOARDING SCHOOL IN CHIBOK, A TOWN LOCATED IN THE STATE OF BORNO. WHILE 200 GIRLS WERE RELEASED AFTER FOLLOWING NEGOTIATIONS, 100 ARE STILL UNACCOUNTED FOR.
NIGERIA MUST ENSURE THE CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION IN ORDER TO PREVENT THESE ATTACKS ON STUDENTS AS IN 2015, THE COUNTRY ENDORSED THE INTERNATIONAL SAFE SCHOOL DECLARATION AND COMMITTED TO SAFEGUARD EDUCATION IN ARMED CONFLICTS .FURTHERMORE THE PRESIDENT, MUHAMMADU BUHARI RATIFIED THE DECLARATION 4 YEARS LATER, COMMITTING TO LEGALLY IMPLEMENT THE DECLARATION.
UNLIKE THE VOTERS, WILDERS BASED HIS POLICIES ON "STOPPING ISLAMIZATION" IN THIS ELECTION
THE RIGHT-WING PVV VOTERS, ONE OF THE FAVORITES OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS TO BE HELD IN THE NETHERLANDS BETWEEN 15-17 MARCH, WANT PRESIDENT GEERT WILDERS TO SOFTEN HIS HARSH STYLE REGARDING MUSLIMS.
THE PRIORITY OF THE RIGHT-WING VOTERS IS NOT ISLAM. WILDERS SUPPORTERS CONSIDER THE PREVENTION OF IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM MORE IMPORTANT BY MAKING HEALTHCARE MORE ACCESSIBLE. HOWEVER, UNLIKE THE VOTERS, WILDERS BASED HIS POLICIES ON "STOPPING ISLAMIZATION" IN THIS ELECTION AS WELL. ACCORDING TO THE ELECTION PROGRAM, WILDERS WILL CLOSE MOSQUES AND ISLAMIC SCHOOLS IN THE NETHERLANDS IF HE COMES TO POWER. IT WILL BAN THE RIGHT OF DUAL NATIONALS TO VOTE AND BE ELECTED IN THE NETHERLANDS. IN THE WORDS OF DUTCH LAWYERS, WILDERS WILL MAKE MUSLIMS IN THE COUNTRY "SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS". THE RIGHT-WING LEADER, WHO ARGUES THAT MUSLIMS CAN WORSHIP IN THEIR HOMES, SAYS HE WILL COMPLETELY REMOVE ISLAM FROM THE PUBLIC SPHERE.
"THE SURVIVAL OF A FREE NETHERLANDS DEPENDS ON HOW FAR WE ARE ABLE TO PUSH BACK ISLAM," SAYS THE WILDERS. WILDERS ARGUES THAT ISLAM IS NOT A RELIGION BUT A "DANGEROUS, TOTALITARIAN IDEOLOGY". FOR THIS REASON, HE ARGUES, CLOSING MOSQUES IS NOT UNCONSTITUTIONAL. HOWEVER, ACCORDING TO BOTH HIS POLITICAL RIVALS AND DUTCH LAWYERS, THIS IS A COMPLETELY ABSURD IDEA. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW EXPERT PROF. DR. LEONARD BESSELINK EMPHASIZES TO THE DUTCH MEDIA THAT ISLAM, SUCH AS JUDAISM AND CHRISTIANITY, IS ONE OF THE LARGEST BIBLICAL RELIGIONS. DUTCH PROFESSOR, WILDERS' PROMISES, BUT ABOLITION OF CONSTITUTIONAL ARTICLES; HE SAYS THE NETHERLANDS CAN BE APPLIED IF IT DISSOLVES EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS TREATIES AND THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS.
PROF. DR. BASTIAAN RIJPKEMA CONSIDERS THE EXTREME RIGHT LEADER'S PROMISES AS "NONSENSE". EMPHASIZING THE FALSEHOOD OF DENYING THE RELIGIOUS ASPECT OF ISLAM, RIJPKEMA SEES THE EXISTENCE OF DUTCH VOTERS PREPARED TO THE IDEA THAT "THERE IS NOW A COMMUNITY OF CITIZENS WHO DO NOT DESERVE TO BE PROTECTED BY CERTAIN FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS" AS "WORRYING".
“FORGET ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS”: DUTERTE’S ORDERS CLAIM NEW VICTIMS ON MARCH 5TH, 2021, WHILE ADDRESSING THE GOVERNMENT IN A MEETING AIMED AT COUNTERING COMMUNISM, PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT RODRIGO DUTERTE GAVE ORDERS FOR THE MILITARY AND THE POLICE TO “SHOOT ON SIGHT” ANY COMMUNIST REBELS THEY MIGHT ENCOUNTER. IN HIS SPEECH, DUTERTE EXPLICITLY STATED THAT HE DOES NOT CARE ABOUT VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS IN ORDER TO SUPPRESS THE REBELLION. “KILL THEM, MAKE SURE YOU REALLY KILL THEM, AND FINISH THEM OFF IF THEY ARE ALIVE,” HE SAID. THE COMMUNIST REBELLION IN THE PHILIPPINES HAS BEEN ONGOING SINCE 1968, AND IT HAS CLAIMED TENS OF THOUSANDS OF LIVES SO FAR. WHEN DUTERTE RAN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016, HE SEEMED READY TO ENGAGE IN PEACE TALKS WITH THE REBEL FORCES, BUT AFTER ARMED CLASHES, HE LABELED COMMUNIST REBELS AS “TERRORISTS” IN 2017. SINCE THEN, HE HAS CREATED A “COUNTERINSURGENCY” TASK FORCE AGAINST COMMUNISM AND PUT IN PLACE LAWS THAT ENABLE THE PROSECUTION OF SUPPOSED MEMBERS OF THE REBELLION. ONE OF THE MAIN CONCERNS REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF THE ANTI-COMMUNISM MEASURES IMPOSED BY THE PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT IS THAT THESE THREATS INDISTINCTIVELY AFFECT ARMED REBELS, RIGHTS DEFENDERS, AND ANY GOVERNMENT CRITICS. SEVERAL ACTIVISTS, LAWYERS, AND DOCTORS WERE SHOT DEAD AFTER BEING LABELED AS COMMUNIST SYMPATHIZERS AND EXPOSED ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE PAST MONTHS. DUTERTE’S MOST RECENT SPEECH GAVE WAY TO A NEW WAVE OF VIOLENCE THAT ALREADY CLAIMED NINE LIVES OVER THE PAST WEEKEND. ACCORDING TO RIGHTS GROUPS SUCH AS KARAPATAN AND HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, THE MURDER OF NINE ACTIVISTS AFTER THE “KILL, KILL, KILL” ORDER WAS A COORDINATED OPERATION, AND THAT IT WAS A DELIBERATE EXECUTION. THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS AGENCY HAS DECLARED THE KILLINGS “APPARENTLY ARBITRARY” AND HAS URGED FOR DE-ESCALATION OF VIOLENCE AND VIOLENT RHETORIC, AND CALLED FOR AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE OPERATIONS THAT LED TO WHAT ACTIVISTS ARE CALLING “BLOODY SUNDAY.”
Comments