Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins banned reporting from the chamber’s floor at the Statehouse in Topeka on Jan. 10, 2025, overturning longstanding practice in a move that journalists in the state said was retaliatory.
Payton Lacey, director of communications for Hawkins, sent the revised rules to reporters three days before the legislative session was scheduled to begin Jan. 13. In a copy of the email shared with the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Lacey directed members of the press to “review this document carefully as there have been significant changes made compared to past sessions’ rules.”
During the 2024 session, journalists were generally advised to remain in the “press box” — a table with six chairs in a corner of the chamber — during the session, according to rules reviewed by the Tracker. Photographs were only to be taken from the back wall of the chamber or the press box.
The new rules, however, eliminate press box access, instead directing members of the press to remain in a gallery above the back of the chamber. Photographs may still be taken from along the back and side walls, with filming allowed only from the back wall or the gallery above.
Hawkins, who did not respond to a request for comment, posted a copy of the new rules on the social platform X, adding, “As you can see, despite false reports, reporters are still allowed on the North, East, and South walls on the floor of the House.”
Sherman Smith, editor of the Kansas Reflector, told the Tracker that there has already been confusion with the new rules concerning whether journalists are allowed to take notes from the floor and if there are any limits on how long they can be in the chamber.
“Payton Lacey kind of had shifting explanations as to whether we could stand there for long periods of time during a lengthy session,” Smith said, “or whether, as she suggested at one point, ‘Can’t you just take two photos and go back out?’”
Lacey told the Reflector that the rule change was based on “congestion” in the area previously allotted to the press. The new rule also mirrors changes made in the Senate, which barred journalists from the chamber floor in 2022, citing space concerns. Multiple Republican-controlled state legislatures, including Iowa and Utah, also limited press access to their chamber floors in 2022.
Smith questioned the speaker’s rationale and said that there have been few occasions when the press box was overcrowded.
“It’s not about this kind of shifting and incoherent rationale that they’ve given us since that story published,” he said. “It’s really about getting people that they don’t like off the floor because they don’t like what we report.”
Emily Bradbury, executive director of the Kansas Press Association, told the Tracker that the change will have an immediate impact on journalists and the information they’re able to provide the public.
“Reporting from the floor is important because there are a lot of conversations that don’t happen behind the mic,” Bradbury said. “Sometimes we are the only source of information between the people of Kansas and their representatives. And by giving reporters access and being able to overhear those conversations, we’re able to report on what’s happening in real time, which also helps those public servants get their message out accurately.”
The Reflector’s Smith told the Tracker that he can’t recall how many times a legislator has approached him with a comment or explanation on the floor about why they voted a particular way or their hopes for a particular bill.
“With these changes, it means that we have to work a little bit harder to do this, and we’ll lose some of that context for the stories. We’re just going to have to continue to raise stories that hold people accountable,” Smith said.
Bradbury told the Tracker that while the press association was not consulted before the rules were changed, they are ready and willing to discuss solutions with the speaker that would be mutually agreeable.
Under a policy renewed on Friday by House Speaker Mike Johnson, transgender people will be prohibited from using single-sex bathrooms that correspond with their gender in areas belonging to the House of Representatives. The policy, which states that “all single-sex facilities — such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms — are reserved for individuals of that biological sex…
The U.S. House Ethics Committee has released its damning report on former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, whom Trump had picked to be his attorney general before the Florida politician was forced to withdraw from consideration. The bipartisan committee’s report found Gaetz “regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him” and possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy, on “multiple different occasions.” The report also found Gaetz had violated Florida’s statutory rape law by paying a 17-year-old high school student for sex in 2017. The Ethics Committee also investigated a trip Gaetz made in 2018 to the Bahamas where he accepted transportation and lodging in violation of the House rules and laws on gifts. “The report is detailed. There are extensive records showing these payments,” says Naomi Feinstein, staff writer at Miami New Times.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Istanbul, December 23, 2024 – The Committee to Protect Journalists urges Turkish authorities to release journalists who were jailed in Istanbul on Sunday and allow the media to report freely.
On Saturday, Turkish authorities detained several dozen people, including journalists, at a protest against the December 20 killing of Kurdish journalists Jihan Belkin and Nazim Dashdan, who hold Turkish citizenship, in a suspected Turkish drone strike in northern Syria on December 20. The next day, an Istanbul court placed five journalists and two media workers in police detention pending trial and placed five other journalists under judicial control.
“The Turkish government is attempting to control the flow of news about Syria by intimidating the press, as evidenced by the arrest of journalists at a protest, the house arrest of Özlem Gürses, and other legal actions,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “Turkish authorities must immediately release the imprisoned journalists and media workers, free Gürses, and allow members of the media to do their jobs without fear of retaliation.”
The journalists and media workers arrested at the Istanbul protest are:
Enes Sezgin, social media manager for the pro-Kurdish daily Yeni Yaşam
Osman Akın, news editor for Yeni Yaşam
Can Papila, designer for Yeni Yaşam
Serpil Ünal, reporter for the leftist outlet Mücadele Birliği
Journalists were also detained at a similar protest in the eastern city of Van Friday but they were released.
State owned Anatolia Agency reported on Sunday that the chief prosecutor’s office in Istanbul is investigating independent news website T24 over its coverage of the reactions to the two journalist killings in Syria. Authorities are also investigating Seyhan Avşar, a reporter with independent news website Gerçek Gündem, on suspicion of terrorism propaganda and knowingly spreading misinformation for social media posts on Belkin and Dashdan.
In a separate incident on Saturday, an Istanbul court put journalist Özlem Gürses under house arrest pending trial on suspicion of demeaning the Turkish military over her comments on her YouTube channel regarding Turkey’s military presence in Syria. Gürses continues broadcasting from her home in Istanbul.
In another incident, the chief prosecutor’s office in Istanbul opened an investigation into the Bar Society of Istanbul for suspicion of terrorism propaganda and spreading misinformation due to its statement on Saturday calling for an investigation into the suspected Turkish drone killings of Belkin and Dashdan, and the release of journalists and others detained in Istanbul at the protest against their deaths.
CPJ emailed the chief prosecutor’s office in Istanbul for comment but did not receive a reply.
A video showing Union minister Kiren Rijiju purportedly waking up Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during a session in the Lok Sabha went viral this week. In the video, Rijiju is heard jokingly saying, “This is why I tell you, dada, don’t talk all the time—you’ll fall asleep.”
The video was shared by verified X user @SaffronSunanda who claimed that it was Rahul Gandhi who had fallen asleep. She remarked, in her post, “…Rahul Gandhi is just a Joke in Indian Politics”. (Archive)
This man sleeps during Parliament proceedings and debates and he wants to become Prime Minister of India.
The post was then amplified by actor Paresh Rawal. Resharing the video, he wrote, “He is like a Bad joke with no Punch line!” referring to the Leader of Opposition. The post was later deleted. (Archive)
Several other Right-wing influencers amplified it. (Archives, 1, 2, 3, 4)
Upon checking, we found that this was not the first time this video went viral. In August, media outlet WION published a similar video as a Facebook reel titled, “Rahul Gandhi Caught Sleeping in Lok Sabha?”
On August 9, news channel NDTV published a video on its official YouTube channel with the title “Rahul Gandhi Sleeping In Lok Sabha | Giriraj Singh Reacts After Opposition MP Caught Sleeping In LS”. The previous day, Kerala-based media outlet Asianet News also published the same with the headline “Viral | Rahul Gandhi Caught Sleeping During Waqf Discussion? Rijiju & Giriraj Singh React”. However, neither of the videos shows Rahul Gandhi.
Alt News found that the viral video had been been clipped from Parliamentary proceedings of Lok Sabha’s Monsoon session held on August 8 where the Union minister of parliamentary and minority affairs introduced the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. A nine-hour-long video of the proceedings is available on news agency ANI’s YouTube channel. The chain of events seen in the viral video took place at the 4:01:13-minute mark.
Here, Rijiju was defending the Bill, against which Opposition leaders had raised concerns. “Dada was asking me if there are any Muslims in my constituency. There are many Muslim voters in my constituency…” he says just as BJP MP and Union minister of textiles Giriraj Singh, seated nearby, quips, “So gaye, so gaye…” (He has fallen asleep). This prompted laughter and ridicule from the treasury benches. Rijiju then jested, “This is why I tell you, dada, don’t talk all the time—you’ll fall asleep.”
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also commented, “If there’s a speech going on, will you go to sleep in the House?”
Rijiju further quipped, “I am not going to ask him what he was doing last night,” which led to uproar and protests from the Opposition.
During this entire exchange, not once did the camera focus on Rahul Gandhi.
In its fact-check report, Kerala-based publication Mathrubhumi contacted its Delhi bureau chief, Manoj Menon, who was present during the session. Menon said that it was senior Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy who had dozed off. However, it should be noted that the camera did not pan to any Opposition member while Rijiju spoke.
However, it is worth noting that ‘Dada’ is a term of endearment generally used for Bengali men.
Rahul Gandhi’s Clip From the Same Day
After carefully watching that day’s Parliamentary proceedings, Alt News found that the clip of Rahul Gandhi that is seen in the viral video is from same day (August 8). At the 3:17:45-minute mark of the ANI video, Rahul Gandhi can be seen sitting in the same position—head tilted to the side and arm stretched out against the backrest. In the viral clip, Gandhi’s image from this portion has been highly magnified, resulting in a noticeable degradation of image quality. This makes it hard to determine whether the Congress leader was simply looking down or asleep. Below is a screengrab of the moment.
Also, the three-second clip was looped repeatedly in the viral video, creating the false impression that the moment lasted longer than it actually did.
It’s also important to remember here that the camera focuses on Rahul Gandhi in the above position during Rijiju’s speech on the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024. However, in the viral video, the Opposition leader’s clip has been juxtaposed with Rijiju’s responses on the Bill, which actually happened later in the day. For clarity, look at the screengrabs below. The image on the left, showing Rahul Gandhi, is from 14:17 hours. The image on the right, where Rijiju and Giriraj Singh are pointing to the sleeping MP is from 15:01 hours.
So, the incidents happened at different times but were edited to make it seem like they were unfolding at the same time.
Also, Rahul Gandhi is the leader of the Opposition—a position that is often under constant scrutiny—and seated prominently at the front of the Opposition benches. It’s unlikely that him falling asleep during proceedings would have gone unnoticed by cameras in the House. We found no reports or videos since August that can conclusively show or indicate that it was Rahul Gandhi who had fallen asleep. Reports by news outlets such as The Indian Express as well as news agency ANI referred to whoever had fallen asleep simply as MP or an ‘Opposition MP’.
To sum it up, the video of Kiren Rijiju addressing and ridiculing an Opposition MP for falling asleep during House proceedings with the claim that the sleeping MP is Rahul Gandhi is misleading. A clip of Gandhi was edited into the video to create the false impression that Rijiju’s remarks against a sleeping MP were addressed to him.
Istanbul, November 27, 2024—Turkish authorities should stop treating journalists like terrorists by raiding their homes and detaining them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.
“Turkish authorities once more raided the homes of multiple journalists in the middle of the night, in order to portray them as dangerous criminals, and detained them without offering any justification. CPJ has monitored similar secretive operations in the past decade, and not one journalist has been proven to be involved with actual terrorism,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “The authorities should immediately release the journalists in custody and stop this systematic harassment of the media.”
In a statement Tuesday, Turkey’s Interior Ministry said police had conducted simultaneous operations in 30 cities and detained a total of 261 people who suspected of having ties to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) or alleged offshoot organizations. At least 12 journalists are reported to be held in custody:
The reasons for the detentions are unknown, as there is a court order of secrecy on the investigation, preventing the detainees and their lawyers from being informed of the investigation’s details and possible charges, a common practice in such crackdowns.
CPJ emailed Turkey’s Interior Ministry for comment but received no reply.
Separately, Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), threatened the pro-opposition outlet Halk TV and its commentators for criticizing his party with a vow that the MHP will make them suffer.
“We are taking note, one by one, of the ignorant and arrogant commentators, especially Halk TV,” Bahçeli said Tuesday at a MHP meeting in Ankara. In October, he had told the outlet to “watch your step.”
Editor’s note: The alert was updated to correct the name of Ahmet Sümbül.
The House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would empower the Treasury Department to revoke the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it deems has provided material support to a terrorist organization. A broad coalition of civil society groups have opposed the bill, warning that it would give the Trump administration sweeping powers to crack down on political opponents. H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act, passed the House 219 to 184 largely along party lines, with 15 Democrats supporting the Republican majority. “This bill is essentially a civil rights disaster,” says Darryl Li, an anthropologist, lawyer and legal scholar teaching at the University of Chicago. Li, who recently wrote a briefing paper on the anti-Palestinian origins of U.S. terrorism law, says “anti-Palestinian racism is one of the great bipartisan unifiers in Congress.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
Just hours after the United States vetoed yet another U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, the U.S. Senate on Wednesday rejected three resolutions supported by less than two dozen Democratic senators that sought to block the sale of U.S. tank rounds, bomb kits and other lethal weapons to Israel. HuffPost correspondent Akbar Shahid Ahmed reveals that the White House lobbied against the Senate resolutions and suggested that lawmakers who support blocking arms sales to Israel were aiding Hamas. In the face of such stringent opposition from Democratic leadership, even partial support from party members is “historic and symbolic.” As the Biden administration continues “working hand in glove” to provide weapons and rhetorical cover for Israel’s genocidal war, says Ahmed, such willingness to buck the status quo proves dissatisfaction with the U.S.’s role is “not going away.”
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday denied reports that the leader of an ethnic rebel army was being held under house arrest in Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar’s Shan state.
Peng Daxun, the leader of the insurgent Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army, or MNDAA, traveled to Yunnan last month for medical treatment and was still receiving care, spokesperson Lin Jian said at the ministry’s regular news conference.
Lin did not provide details about Peng’s condition or his exact whereabouts.
A source close to the military junta regime told RFA that Peng was being held at a hotel in Yunnan that’s owned by his father.
The MNDAA captured Lashio, northern Shan state’s biggest city, on Aug. 3. Since then, Beijing has put pressure on the rebel army to withdraw from the city, an important commercial gateway near the Chinese border.
Over the last year, the rebel army has seized control of more than a half dozen other towns in the area that serve as significant border trading hubs.
Border gate backlog
Also in Shan state, Chinese authorities on Tuesday morning reopened the Hsin Phyu border gate in Muse, allowing more than 300 delivery vehicles stuck in China’s Kyegong town for more than a week to enter Myanmar. Muse is about 170 km (108 miles) north of Lashio.
“Trucks loaded with potatoes and a variety of goods have entered this morning unexpectedly and immediately, while the road was repaired near the gate,” a border trade merchant told RFA.
Muse’s two other border connections with Kyegong remain closed to vehicles, merchants said.
China’s restrictions on small-scale, informal trade with northern Myanmar over the last few weeks increased in the wake of junta leader Min Aung Hlaing’s early November visit to China, but it wasn’t immediately clear if the two were linked. The recent border closures have resulted in price hikes in the region.
The military junta has yet to release any information about the status of the border gates.
The conditions under which Hsin Phyu – also known as the White Elephant gate – was reopened were unknown, another border trader said.
“It is not clear whether only the trapped cars will be allowed into Myanmar, or if the gate will be opened normally,” he said. “However, cars from the Myanmar side are not allowed to enter China.”
‘Kyaukpyu has been surrounded’
On the other side of the country, armed conflict between ethnic Arakan Army insurgents and junta troops has intensified in Rakhine state’s Kyaukphyu township, a seaside city where Chinese-funded projects include a deep sea port complex, a special economic zone and energy pipelines that could eventually stretch across Myanmar to the Chinese border.
Additionally, a 620 km (1,000 mile) high-speed railway and road network known as the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor is planned to run from Kunming city in Yunnan province through Myanmar’s major economic hubs and on to the port.
The corridor would ultimately give China crucial access to the Indian Ocean at Kyaukphyu.
The military junta has been reinforcing troops and tightening security in some neighborhoods and nearby areas of Kyaukphyu township, residents said on Tuesday. Junta authorities also ordered the closure of all private banks on Nov. 15.
“They have set up the defensive walls with concrete structure,” one Kyaukphyu resident told RFA. “These junta forces are not from the bases in Kyaukphyu, but from other battalions.”
The AA has blocked all land routes up to 10 kilometers (six miles) away from Kyaukphyu as fighting has taken place in nearby Taungup and Ann townships, residents said. Ann township is home to the junta’s Western Region Command headquarters.
An analyst on Rakhine military affairs who asked for anonymity for security reasons told RFA that the AA is expected to eventually advance toward Kyaukphyu town once it takes control of Toungup and Ann townships.
“Kyaukpyu has been surrounded for quite a long time,” he said.
The Arakan Army, or AA, has been fighting the junta for control of Rakhine state. The group is part of the Three Brotherhood Alliance of ethnic armies that also includes the MNDAA and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army. The alliance launched an offensive against the junta in October 2023.
Attempts by RFA to contact Hla Thein, the junta’s spokesman and attorney general for Rakhine state, were unsuccessful on Tuesday.
Translated by Kalyar Lwin and Aung Naing. Edited by Matt Reed.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by RFA Burmese.
With just days to go before the November 5 presidential election, fears are growing that Republicans intend to interfere with the official results in order to install Donald Trump as president. At Sunday’s Madison Square Garden rally, Trump said he had a “little secret” with House Speaker Mike Johnson that would have a “big impact” on the outcome, though neither he nor Johnson elaborated on what that entailed. Elie Mystal, the justice correspondent for The Nation, says the secret is almost certainly a plan to force a contingent election, whereby no candidate wins a majority of the Electoral College and the president is instead chosen by the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a slim majority. Mystal notes that even if Democrats challenge such an outcome, the case would still end up before a Supreme Court with a conservative supermajority that is likely to side with Trump.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in China on Tuesday on a three-day trip that includes talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and comes after complaints from China’s neighbors about what they see as its territorial intrusions.
Sullivan and Wang “will hold a new round of China-U.S. strategic communication,” according to China’s foreign ministry, exchanging views on bilateral relations, “sensitive issues” and “major international and regional hotspots.”
A senior White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters on Friday that Sullivan and Wang would discuss a range of topics including areas of disagreement, such as Taiwan, Ukraine and the Middle East.
The visit comes amid protests by U.S. allies Japan and the Philippines about what they say are Chinese incursions.
Japan said a Chinese Y-9 reconnaissance plane entered Japanese airspace for two minutes on Monday, which Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi described as “utterly unacceptable.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Tuesday China was trying to verify the report, adding that its military had “no intention of intruding” into any country’s airspace.
Meanwhile, Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said on Tuesday that China was “the biggest disrupter” of peace in Southeast Asia.
His comments came after a clash on Sunday between Philippine and Chinese vessels near a disputed reef in the South China Sea.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is welcomed by Director General of the Department of North American and Oceanian Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Yang Tao (C) and US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns (L) upon arriving at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Aug. 27, 2024. (Ng Han Guan/POOL/AFP)
Sullivan was greeted at Beijing’s Capital Airport by the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s North American and Oceanian department head Yang Tao, and U.S. ambassador Nicholas Burns.
His trip is the first official visit to China and the first by a national security adviser since Susan Rice went to Beijing under the Obama administration in 2016.
Sullivan and Wang have met in Washington, Vienna, Malta and Bangkok over the past 18 months.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Staff.
The Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election will be on the agenda but “not the point” of a three-day visit to China next week by President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, for talks with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a senior White House official told reporters on Friday.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the Aug. 27-29 trip, said the pair would discuss a range of topics including areas of disagreement, such as Taiwan, Ukraine and the Middle East.
“I wouldn’t tie this trip or associate it too closely with the election – that’s not the point,” the official said, adding that Sullivan and Wang had aimed to meet earlier in the year and were behind schedule.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, second right, attends a bilateral meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, second left, in Malta on Sept. 16, 2023. (Lian Yi/Xinhua via AP)
Still, the official acknowledged the high-stakes election was “always in the background in any engagement we have with foreign officials concerned about what comes next” in terms of U.S. foreign policy.
“But this meeting will be focused on the topics and the issues that we are dealing with now,” they said. “There is a lot we can get done.”
It will be the fifth in-person meeting between Sullivan and Wang in 18 months, when tense ties began to thaw, and their first in Beijing. The previous talks were held in Vienna in May 2023, Malta in September 2023, Washington in October 2023 and Bangkok in January.
The last U.S. national security adviser to travel to the Chinese capital was Susan Rice under President Barack Obama in 2016.
Harris or Trump?
The White House official declined to comment on Sullivan’s likely response to what they called “the continuity question” – whether the winner of the Nov. 5 election would change their policy in regards to China – even as they acknowledged it would likely be discussed.
“It’s up to the next administration to determine China policy and how they intend to use some of these channels of communication,” the official said. “What we can speak to is how we intend to manage the balance of this administration … [and] manage the transition.”
However, the official did say it “bears repeating that U.S. diplomacy and channels of communication do not indicate a change in approach” to China from the the White House, or a softening of relations.
“It really is about clearing up misperceptions and avoiding this competition from veering into conflict,” the official said. “Even amidst competition, we can find constructive ways to work with each other.”
Edited by Malcolm Foster
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Alex Willemyns for RFA.
Mira Rapp-Hooper is the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania at the White House National Security Council, or NSC.
During this week’s NATO Summit in Washington, she spoke with RFA Korean’s Lee Sangmin, touching on points related to increased cooperation between Russia and North Korea, following Vladimir Putin’s visit to North Korea last month.
The summit included representatives from the Indo-Pacific Four, or IP4, an informal grouping of South Korea, Japan, New Zealand and Australia, and Rapp-Hooper said that it was important to include those countries in discussions with NATO, especially considering that the partnership between North Korea and Russia concerns security in both the North Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
RFA: So how much are you concerned about the recent deepening relationship between Russia and North Korea?
Rapp-Hooper: We are extremely concerned about the relationship between Russia and North Korea. Of course, we have been for about a year as that relationship has grown closer and closer, and it has become clear that both Russia and North Korea are exchanging extremely worrisome forms of support with one another.
On the one hand, of course, we know that the (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK) has been providing Russia with millions of rounds of ammunition, as well as missiles that have been used on the battlefield in Ukraine to devastating effect fueling Russia’s war machine, and taking the lives of innocent civilians, all over the conflict. And that’s deeply disturbing.
But one of the things that is also very troubling about this relationship is the fact that we know that Russia is probably providing the DPRK with technical assistance, sophisticated forms of support for some of its military programs. But those forms of cooperation are much harder to track. So while we know what the DPRK is giving to Russia, we know less than we would like to about what Russia is giving to the DPRK. And that is something that should concern not only the countries of the Indo-Pacific who care about peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and beyond.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council, at the Asia Center in Washington, Sept. 13, 2023. (U.S. Institute of Peace via Flickr)
But countries in Europe are increasingly understanding that this relationship affects them, too. Now, of course, this has all become more prominent recently because of Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang, when the two countries released a declaration that looks very much like an alliance treaty.
But really, what this does is capture something that we knew the whole time, which is the fact that this is not just a marriage of convenience where these two powers are cooperating so that Russia can get help in its war against Ukraine. There is political buy-in at the highest levels, from both of these governments.
The piece of optimism that I would offer today, however, is that it is not just the ROK, the United States and Japan who are worried about this problem. We have very good trilateral cooperation amongst the three of us to share intelligence and to coordinate our policy actions.
But part of what you’re seeing here at NATO today is that all of our NATO allies also care about this problem, because Russia has brought DPRK technology to Europe in the form of ballistic missiles being used on the battlefield in Ukraine. So we’ve never seen our European allies more engaged in DPRK issues, more wanting to cooperate, to address, and limit, this relationship. And we are hopeful that that cooperation will have a stabilizing effect in the face of all of this destabilizing behavior.
RFA: In what ways can NATO and its allies counter cooperation between North Korea and Russia?
Rapp-Hooper: Well, there are, you know, certain areas where cooperation, unfortunately, is quite difficult to affect. We know that many of the shipments that take place between DPRK and Russia take place within their territorial seas or over rail lines. So there’s very few options for the international community there.
But there are other areas, where we do cooperate, and we will continue to do so. And that relates to things like financial sanctions that may run at the heart of their cooperation, and other measures that we can take, such as intelligence sharing, information sharing that might allow one country to be more empowered to limit this cooperation wherever they can.
There is also, of course, the role that we all play diplomatically, not just in putting pressure on both Pyongyang and Russia, but on additional countries, who might be able to take action to try to limit this relationship.
The world is, of course, watching (the People’s Republic of China, or PRC) and the question looms large, what Beijing will do about this relationship, given that it is so destabilizing and not in China’s interests either. But we’ve yet to see a clear answer to that question.
RFA: What kind of a role can China play in dealing with North Korea issues?
Rapp-Hooper: That’s really up to China. In the past, the PRC has long played a role on the Korean Peninsula. Obviously, it is a key continued trading partner of Pyongyang and a longtime political partner. There is obviously a very close political relationship as well, between Beijing and Moscow – which is its own cause for concern.
But there’s no doubt that if Beijing was interested in doing so, it could play a stabilizing and responsible role, to encourage in particular, the worst (aspects of the) DPRK-Russia cooperation to come to an end. But again, all eyes are on Beijing to see if it will make that choice.
RFA: Why is it significant that the IP4 are participating in the NATO Summit?
Rapp-Hooper: Our IP4 partners in the (Republic of Korea, or ROK), Japan, Australia and New Zealand have been at the last three NATO summits. And from our perspective, it really symbolizes the fact that the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific are increasingly connected.
Security problems that matter for Europe matter for the Indo-Pacific. And likewise, Asia matters greatly to our European partners. And when the Biden administration took office, we were very keen to help support the IP4 and build it out into something that is a more institutionalized meeting because we think it is strictly advantageous for our Indo-Pacific allies to be working with our European allies and vice versa.
But of course, the way that the IP4 really got increased, was after the tragic and aggressive invasion of Ukraine by Russia, in which so many of our Indo-Pacific allies stepped up to demonstrate that they stand with Ukraine and would provide assistance. And that, I think, really drove home to our European allies in NATO, the fundamental value of working with partners in the Indo-Pacific. So today, again, they’re here for their third summit.
Mira Rapp-Hooper, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council and Matthew Brest arrive at the White House for the State Dinner for Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and wife Kishida Yuko, April 10, 2024, in Washington. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
They have had the opportunity to participate in a plenary session, with significant substantive focus on the Indo-Pacific and the links between the two theaters. When we talk about those links, clearly DPRK-Russia cooperation is very squarely on the agenda. It has been a focus of their discussions. They participated in the leaders dinner last night. They had their own meeting with President Zelensky of Ukraine, which is an important demonstration of the fact that they are fiercely dedicated partners to Ukraine. And you saw that with two new announcements from New Zealand and Australia announcing new aid packages to Ukraine concomitant with the NATO summit.
And then, of course, the IP4 partners, had some time with the president, and Secretary General Stoltenberg, to affirm the importance of their participation here at NATO.
RFA: What role do you expect that South Korea can play in partnership with NATO?
Rapp-Hooper: We expect South Korea to play whatever role is most advantageous for South Korea. I think if you ask our South Korean friends, what they will say is they are extremely worried about DPRK-Russia cooperation, and they want to work with NATO partners to do the most that they can to limit that cooperation.
But really what they want to do is use these interconnections between the region to help keep the Indo-Pacific and the Korean Peninsula safer and more stable, and we’re fully supportive of that goal.
RFA: After the summit between North Korea and Russia,there has been growing sentiment in South Korea that it needs its own nuclear weapon. What kind of response would you have to that sentiment?
Rapp-Hooper: Well, what I would actually point to is the fact that President Biden and (South Korean) President Yoon spent some time together today. And after they did so, we released an important joint statement, signed off by each of them. And what that statement does is remind the world that it’s been a year since the Nuclear Consultative Group (or NCG) met for the first time in Seoul.
It was inaugurated following President Yoon’s state visit to Washington back in April of 2023. And over the course of that year, that nuclear consultative group has made remarkable progress, towards standing itself up as an institution, and doing the work that we will need to do together, as allies, to strengthen our extended return to the ROK.
Edited by Eugene Whong.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Lee Sangmin for RFA Korean.
Istanbul, June 14, 2024—Turkish authorities must do everything in their power to provide security for journalist Murat Ağırel and his family to protect them from harassment and intrusions, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday.
Ağırel, a columnist for Cumhuriyet, a daily known for its critical coverage of the government, said he observed people wandering around and filming his house in Istanbul, picking through his trash, damaging his car, and following his family members, according to four videos the journalist posted Wednesday on X, formerly known as Twitter, and a report by his outlet. Ağırel told CPJ he suspected these incidents were connected to his reporting and commentary on narcotics trafficking.
“Turkish authorities must do everything that they can to ensure the security of journalist Murat Ağırel and his family,” said Özgür Öğret, CPJ’s Turkey representative. “The authorities should take swift action before something irrevocable happens and prove that members of the media in Turkey are not defenseless against those who harass them and mean them harm.”
Ağırel told CPJ that some of the people were identified by the police and questioned, but authorities took no further action after the suspects denied spying on the journalist.
Ağırel told CPJ he filed a criminal complaint with police and applied for a gun license, which was denied because of his 2020 conviction for violating the country’s national intelligence laws in his reporting on the death of a National Intelligence Agency officer.
Ağırel said authorities told him that he could apply to the police and ask for close protection, but he did not because he had already asked for that in the criminal complaint.
“It feels ridiculous to me to apply again [and] again,” Ağırel told CPJ.
On Thursday, CPJ emailed the Interior Ministry of Turkey, which oversees the police, asking about what security measures are being taken to protect Ağırel. The email did not receive a reply.
Berlin, May 1, 2024—Russian authorities must drop legal proceedings against Sergey Mingazov, a journalist for the Russian edition of Forbes magazine, and detained journalists Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin and ensure that members of the press are not imprisoned for their work, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.
On April 27, a court in the city of Khabarovsk in Russia’s Far East placed Mingazov under house arrest for two months as he awaits trial, according to newsreports.
Mingazov was detained the previous day on charges of spreading “fake” information about the Russian army by reposting on the Telegram channel Khabarovskaya Mingazeta reports about the massacre of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha in 2022, according to the journalist’s lawyer, Konstantin Bubon, who spoke to CPJ, and newsreports.
If convicted, Mingazov could be jailed for up to 10 years under Russia’s criminal code, which was amended after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to include lengthy sentences for spreading false news about the army.
Bubon told CPJ that Mingazov’s case was directly linked to his journalistic work and authorities had seized the journalist’s electronic devices, as well as computers and phones belonging to his wife and children while searching his apartment, before taking him for further questioning.
Bubon also said he had filed a complaint challenging the court’s decision to ban Mingazov from using the internet.
Charged for working for ‘extremist’ Navalny channel
Separately, on April 27, Russian courts placed freelance videographer Karelin, who has worked for The Associated Press news agency and German broadcaster DW, and Gabov, who has worked with Reuters news agency and DW, under pre-trial detention for two months, according to newsreports.
The general jurisdiction courts of Moscow said on Telegram that Gabov, who was detained in Moscow on April 27, was accused of participating in an extremist organization for preparing photos and videos for Navalny LIVE. The YouTube channel is run by supporters of the opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in February.
The courts’ Telegram post described Navalny LIVE as a platform for posting content for Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, which Russian authorities have banned as extremist.
Karelin, who was detained on April 26 in the northern region of Murmansk, faces similar charges.
If convicted, the two journalists could face up to six years in prison each under Russia’s criminal code. CPJ was unable to determine exactly what materials the men were accused of producing.
“We are deeply troubled by the persistent pattern of intimidation and legal harassment faced by journalists in Russia,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. “Russian authorities should drop the charges and immediately release Sergey Mingazov from house arrest, provide information on the charges against Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin, and ensure that they are not prosecuted for journalistic work.”
The AP said that it was “very concerned” by Karelin’s detention and was “seeking additional information.”
Charged for working for ‘undesirable’ Meduza
In a separate case, on April 23, a district court in the Russian-occupied Crimean capital, Sevastopol, in Ukraine, charged freelance reporter Anastasiya Zhvik with participating in an “undesirable organization” for publishing in the exiled independent news website Meduza, the journalist told CPJ via messaging app.
The Russian Prosecutor General’s office outlawed Meduza as “undesirable” in 2023. Organizations that receive such a classification are banned from operating in Russia, and anyone who participates in them or works to organize their activities faces fines and up to six years imprisonment.
Zhvik told CPJ that as a first-time offender and based on fines given to other journalists for similar charges, she expected to be fined about 5,000 rubles (US$54) if convicted.
Russia held at least 22 journalists behind bars when CPJ conducted its 2023 prison census, making the country the world’s fourth-worst jailer of journalists that year. CPJ’s prison census documented those imprisoned as of December 1, 2023.
CPJ’s emails to district courts in Khabarovsk and Sevastopol, and the Anti-Corruption Foundation seeking comment did not receive any replies.
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