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A video of several helicopters flying over the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung has been shared over Chinese-language social media posts with the claim that they are mainland Chinese military helicopters.
But the claim is false. The helicopters seen in the video are U.S. Apache and Black Hawk models. AFL also found no credible reports that show Chinese aircraft flew over Taiwan during the exercises.
The video was shared on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, on Oct. 14, 2024, which was during China’s military exercises in the Taiwan Strait and in waters around the island.
The one-minute and three-second video shows multiple helicopters flying over what appears to be a residential area.
The Chinese military said on Monday that it organized multiple forces for a joint drill around the Taiwan Strait and the island’s northern, southern, and eastern regions.
According to a spokesman for the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, the Joint Sword-2024B exercises involved vessels and aircraft approaching Taiwan from multiple directions and carrying out drills of joint force attacks.
But the claim about the helicopters seen in the video is false.
“A suspected Z-10 attack helicopter was seen flying over Kaohsiung, Taiwan,” the claim reads.
A Douyin user claimed that China sent helicopters over Taiwan during recent drills. (Screenshot/Douyin) Location
A closer look at the video found the video was taken at either a primary school or kindergarten campus. AFCL found the Chinese word “zhongshan” written on a wall of one of the buildings seen in the video.
A keyword search of “zhongshan elementary school” found two schools located in Kaohsiung.
A photo comparison between scenes in the video and Google Street View confirmed that the video was filmed in the city’s Fengshan District.
The video was recorded near the Zhongshan Elementary School in Kaohsiung’s Fengshan District. (Screenshots/Douyin and Google Street View) Origin of helicopters
Shu Hsiao-Huang, an associate researcher fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the helicopters seen in the video are actually two U.S. made models: the Boeing AH-64 Apache and the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.
Shu added that while the two U.S. models use four blades on their propeller, China’s Changhe Z-10 uses five.
The helicopters in the video only have four propellers, while the Changhe Z-10 has five. (Screenshots /Douyin. Images of the AH-64 and UH-60 provided by Shu Hsiao-Huang. Image of Changhe Z-10 used under CC license)
Shu pointed out distinctive features such as the Apache’s “longbow” fire-control radar and the Black Hawk’s upturned tail pipe, both located atop their respective engines, which are absent from the Changhe Z-10.These features are visible in the footage, with three Apache helicopters coming into view at the 24-second mark, and a Black Hawk appearing in the distance at the 54-second mark of the video.
The Apache’s longbow radar and the Black Hawk’s upturned tail pipe are not found on the Changhe Z-10. (Screenshots/Douyin)
Wang Hsin-wei, a spokesman for Taiwan’s Army Aviation Special Warfare Command Major, told AFCL that the aircraft in the video were Taiwan-owned Apaches and Black Hawks conducting routine training over Kaohsiung.Wang said that the video was old and is unrelated to recent Chinese military exercises.
Taiwan’s announcement
On Tuesday, Taiwan said that China deployed a record 153 military aircraft during war games around the democratic island, with 90 sorties entering Taiwan’s air defense identification zone over surrounding waters.
However, none of the aircraft were reported to have flown over the island itself.
Translated by Shen Ke. Edited by Shen Ke, Taejun Kang and Malcolm Foster.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Dong Zhe for Asia Fact Check Lab.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice.
- The Israeli military has confirmed that its forces killed Hamas’ top leader, Yahya Sinwar, in Gaza. Troops reportedly encountered him during a battle on Wednesday, later identifying his body in the rubble as the man Israel had been pursuing for over a year.
- President Joe Biden will make a quick trip to Berlin before US election to discuss Ukraine and democracy with allies.
- San Francisco board of supervisors approves proposed ‘cash not drugs’ sobriety pilot program.
- Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao urged voters to oppose recall during green industry event.
- Berkeley voters to decide on taxing large buildings for natural gas use in November.
Yahya Sinwar, head of Hamas in Gaza, chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, on April 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)
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By Stefan Armbruster 0f BenarNews
French Polynesia’s president and civil society leaders have called on the United Nations to bring France to the negotiating table and set a timetable for the decolonisation of the Pacific territory.
More than a decade after the archipelago was re-listed for decolonisation by the UN General Assembly, France has refused to acknowledge the world’s peak diplomatic organisation has a legitimate role.
France’s reputation has taken a battering as an out-of-touch colonial power since deadly violence erupted in Kanaky New Caledonia in May, sparked by a now abandoned French government attempt to dilute the voting power of indigenous Kanak people.
Pro-independence French Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson told the UN Decolonisation Committee’s annual meeting in New York on Monday that “after a decade of silence” France must be “guided” to participate in “dialogue.”
“Our government’s full support for a comprehensive, transparent and peaceful decolonisation process with France, under the scrutiny of the United Nations, can pave the way for a decolonisation process that serves as an example to the world,” Brotherson said.
Brotherson called for France to finally co-operate in creating a roadmap and timeline for the decolonisation process, pointing to unrest in New Caledonia that “reminds us of the delicate balance that peace requires”.
‘Problem with decolonisation’
In August, he warned France “always had a problem with decolonisation” in the Pacific, where it also controls the territories of New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna.The 121 islands of French Polynesia stretch over a vast expanse of the Pacific, with a population of about 280,000, and was first settled more than 2000 years ago.
Often referred to as Tahiti after the island with the biggest population, France declared the archipelago a protectorate in 1842, followed by full annexation in 1880.
France last year attended the UN committee for the first time since the territory’s re-inscription in 2013 as awaiting decolonisation, after decades of campaigning by French Polynesian politicians.
French Permanent Representative to the UN Nicolas De Rivière responds to French Polynesian President Moetai Brotherson at the 79th session of the Decolonisation Committe on Monday. Image: UNTV “I would like to clarify once again that this change of method does not imply a change of policy,” French permanent representative to the UN Nicolas De Rivière told the committee on Monday.
“There is no process between the state and the Polynesian territory that reserves a role for the United Nations,” he said, and pointed out France contributes almost 2 billion euros (US $2.2 billion) each year, or almost 30 percent of the territory’s GDP.
After the UN session, Brotherson told the media that France’s position is “off the mark”.
17 speakers back independence
French Polynesia was initially listed for decolonisation by the UN in 1946 but removed a year later as France fought to hold onto its overseas territories after the Second World War.Granted limited autonomy in 1984, with control over local government services, France retained administration over justice, security, defence, foreign policy and the currency.
Seventeen pro-independence and four pro-autonomy – who support the status quo – speakers gave impassioned testimony to the committee.
Lawyer and Protestant church spokesman Philippe Neuffer highlighted children in the territory “solely learn French and Western history”.
“They deserve the right to learn our complete history, not the one centred on the French side of the story,” he said.
“Talking about the nuclear tests without even mentioning our veterans’ history and how they fought to get a court to condemn France for poisoning people with nuclear radiation.”
France conducted 193 nuclear tests over three decades until 1996 in French Polynesia.
‘We demand justice’
“Our lands are contaminated, our health compromised and our spirits burned,” president of the Mururoa E Tatou Association Tevaerai Puarai told the UN denouncing it as French “nuclear colonialism”.“We demand justice. We demand freedom,” Puarai said.
He said France needed to take full responsibility for its “nuclear crimes”, referencing a controversial 10-year compensation deal reached in 2009.
Some Māʼohi indigenous people, many French residents and descendants in the territory fear independence and the resulting loss of subsidies would devastate the local economy and public services.
Pro-autonomy local Assembly member Tepuaraurii Teriitahi told the committee, “French Polynesia is neither oppressed nor exploited by France.”
“The idea that we could find 2 billion a year to replace this contribution on our own is an illusion that would lead to the impoverishment and downfall of our hitherto prosperous country,” she said.
Copyright ©2015-2024, BenarNews. Republished with the permission of BenarNews.
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Read RFA coverage of this topic in Burmese.
Junta authorities in western Myanmar have transferred nearly 370 prisoners out of the town of Sittwe in anticipation of an attack by ethnic minority fighters of the Arakan Army, or AA, to free them, a politician and family of the detainees told Radio Free Asia.
The AA is one of the most powerful guerrilla forces battling the Myanmar military and it has repeatedly announced its aim to capture the coastal town of Sittwe, capital of the western-most state, and one of the last important places the military holds there.
The military is worried that the prisoners may escape or be released if the AA attacks Sittwe, said Pe Than, a former member of parliament from the state.
“Sittwe wouldn’t be controlled by the junta if the AA attacked so they don’t want to see the inmates released after being prosecuted,” said the former member of the Arakan National Party.
“That’s why, I think, those arrested in such incidents have been transferred to other prisons,” he said, referring to people imprisoned on charges of aiding or collaborating with the insurgents.
RFA tried to contact Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson, Hla Thein, for information on the transfer but he did not answer calls.
The AA has captured territory some 24 kilometers (15 miles) from Sittwe but it does not appear an immediate threat to junta forces there.
However, AA fighters are advancing on the junta’s Western Command headquarters in Ann township, about 120 km (75 miles) southwest of Sittwe, capturing an important junta defensive position on a hill on the approach to Ann on Monday.
The AA, battling for self-determination for the mostly Buddhist Rakhine people, has taken territory across Rakhine state and controls 10 of the state’s 17 townships, and one in neighboring Chin state.
It would be the first Myanmar rebel group to take over a state if it seizes, as it has vowed to do, all territory in military control there.
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‘Transferred to Insein’
About 200 of the 366 people transferred from Sittwe’s prisons were detained during a bloody junta raid on Byain Phyu village, on the outskirts of Sittwe, in June for being suspected AA supporters, residents of Sittwe said.
“He said that they were about to be moved to other prisons and gave a message for the family not to worry and to take care of each other,” said a woman whose husband was among those transferred.
“He said they were being transferred to Insein and Pathein prisons,” said the woman, who declined to be identified for safety reasons.
Insein is Myanmar’s most notorious prison, in the main city of Yangon. Pathein is a town to the west of Yangon.
Dozens of people were killed in the sweep of Byain Phyu, human rights group said, by soldiers fearful that AA fighters would stage an attack on Sittwe from the village.
Most of the Byain Phyu villagers held in the prison were jailed for three years for unlawful association.
Rakhine-based reporter Htet Aung and an unidentified colleague from the Development Media Group news outlet, which has reported on human rights violations by junta troops, were among those transferred, family members said. The two had been jailed for five years under a counter-terrorism law.
Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The Pentagon was so desperate to smear China during the COVID 19 pandemic that they ran a covert anti-vaccine campaign overseas to stop people from taking a Chinese vaccine to protect against the virus. Also, a new analysis has found that just 50 individuals and corporations have poured more than one and a half billion […]
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This content originally appeared on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and was authored by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
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Read RFA coverage of these topics in Burmese.
Ethnic minority insurgents in Myanmar are battling hard to capture a major military headquarters in Rakhine state, residents told Radio Free Asia on Friday, the loss of which would deal the junta a serious setback in the western-most state.
Arakan Army, or AA, fighters have seized large areas of the state, from its far north on the border with Bangladesh, through central zones to its far south, in pursuit of self-determination for the state’s mostly Buddhist ethnic Rakhine people.
“They’re shooting nonstop with large and small weapons,” a resident of the town of Ann said of the AA offensive to capture the junta’s Western Command headquarters.
Fighting on Friday was centered at a place called Mae Hill, on the approach to Ann about 5 km (3 miles) from the headquarters.
“There’s been fighting at Mae Hill for 10 days, more or less. The junta is fighting with all its might, as is the AA,” said the resident, who declined to be identified for safety reasons.
“When Mae Hill falls, the AA will seize the junta’s headquarters and Ann town.”
RFA attempted to contact both AA spokesperson Khaing Thu Kha and Rakhine state’s junta spokesperson, Hla Thein, for comment on the situation but neither responded by the time of publication.
Neither side has released any information about the battle.
The AA has captured 10 townships in Rakhine state and one in neighboring Chin state since launching an offensive nearly a year ago. It is fighting to capture another three townships in Rakhine state where it has already seized border posts, a naval training base and an airport.
A villager sits by a home damaged in an airstrike in Kin Taung village in Rakhine state on Oct 4, 2024. (Arakan Princess Media) Planes strike at night
The AA launched its push to seize the military’s main headquarters in Rakhine state on Sept. 26, then capturing another hill called Thohein and forcing junta forces to concentrate their defenses at Mae Hill.
AA forces have intercepted junta columns trying to break the attack on Mae Hill inflicting casualties, residents said, but they had no details. Most of the residents of Ann town have fled but some civilians, including families and supporters of junta personnel remain, residents said.
While the focus is on Ann, AA fighter and junta forces are battling in other parts of the state, including in the central township of Toungup where villagers were trapped by fighting, said a resident there, who also declined to be identified.
Two junta airstrikes killed five civilians including a child in Kin Taung village in Tongup township, in the early hours of Friday, while a woman was killed in another air raid in the afternoon, residents there said. At least eight people were wounded, they said.
“People said they didn’t hear the sound of planes coming because they were sleeping,” one resident who declined to be identified, said of the two early attacks. “They were killed on the spot, limbs blasted off.”
There was no fighting nearby at the time of the airstrike, he said. Residents in Khaung Laung Tu village, about seven miles (11 kilometers) from Toungup town, also reported airstrikes on Thursday evening.
In Gwa township, in the far south of Rakhine state, the AA was fighting junta forces in Ya Da Nar Myaing village and the air force was bombing there too, residents said. Gwa township borders the junta stronghold of Ayeyarwady division.
According to data compiled by RFA, airstrikes killed 93 civilians and wounded 66 in Rakhine state’s Thandwe, Maungdaw, Pauktaw, Myaebon and Toungup townships in September.
RELATED STORIES:
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Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Kiana Duncan and Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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This live blog is closed
Popular Conservatism, or PopCon, has released the results of a survey of party members suggesting more than half of them favour a merger with Reform UK. Some 30% of the respondents said they tended to support the idea, and 23% were strongly in favour. The survey covered 470 members.
Annunziata Rees-Mogg, PopCon’s head of communications and a former Brexit party MEP, said:
Every Conservative activist and canvasser knows people who had been Tories, but voted Reform UK in July. It is no surprise our panellists understand that the next leader of the party needs to take action to bring many like-minded voters back to the Tories. Almost three-quarters want a relationship with Reform in order to unite the right.
The answer I was often given by people in government at the time was that lockdowns were very popular.
They were getting 60, 70, 80% popularity ratings in the opinion polls. But you mustn’t believe those opinion polls, they’re basically nonsense.
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
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Party leadership contender says Robert Jenrick’s remarks show ‘fundamental misunderstanding’ of law of war
The former security minister Tom Tugendhat has criticised the claim by one of his Conservative leadership rivals that UK special forces are “killing rather than capturing” terrorism suspects, saying they were a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the law of war.
Robert Jenrick, the former immigration minister, has defended his claim on Tuesday, and said it echoed those of the former defence secretary Ben Wallace because of fears that European laws would free any detained assailants.
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
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Pro-democracy insurgents battling Myanmar’s junta fired rockets at the military headquarters in the city of Mandalay, the group said on Monday, the latest in a series of strikes at the heart of the military’s command structure.
There was no immediate confirmation from the junta of the attack on the Central Military Headquarters in Myanmar’s second-biggest city early on Sunday, which an activist group called Brave Warriors for Myanmar (BMW) said its members carried out with 107 mm rockets.
“Two of the rockets hit a building where junta troops who are about to attack in northern Shan state are staying,” a member of the group who declined to be identified for safety reasons told Radio Free Asia.
He said some troops were believed to have been wounded in the attack but the extent of casualties and damage were being investigated. Those who carried out the attack escaped, he said.
RFA tried to contact the junta spokesman for Mandalay region, Thein Htay, by telephone to ask about the reported attack but he did not answer calls.
The headquarters is in the heart of Mandalay, on the site of what used to be the walled palace of Myanmar’s kings who were deposed by British colonialists in the 19th century. The place was largely destroyed during World War II but the site is of symbolic importance for the nation.
A resident of the area, which is known as Aungmyaethazan township, said he heard loud explosions early on Sunday.
“I heard three or four blasts at around 2.28 a.m. on Sunday morning, they were quite loud, from a big weapon, I think,” the resident, who declined to be identified for safety reasons, told RFA.
Myanmar’s military has been facing setbacks in fighting in several parts of the country over the past year, at the hands of its old ethnic minority insurgent enemies and new pro-democracy People’s Defense Forces, or PDFs, set up by activists largely from the majority Burman community, who took up arms after the generals overthrew an elected government in early 2021.
Despite the setbacks, which have included the loss of a regional command headquarters in Shan state, northeast of Mandalay, and of a naval base in Rakhine state in the west, the military remains in control of major cities and can unleash devastating strikes with its air force.
PDF fighters have launched several rocket attacks on military bases and junta leaders in the capital Naypyidaw as well as in the main city of Yangon. The junta has condemned what it calls “terrorist” attacks and arrested several groups of plotters.
The BWM member said his group and an allied faction called the Shadow Mandalay Group had attacked the Mandalay base twice before, on Dec. 21, 2023, and on Sept. 3 this year.
The BWM also helped plan a rocket attack on an air base in Naypyidaw in July, the group members said.
PDF insurgents and their ethnic minority force allies have also captured a growing number of towns in the Mandalay region including Mogoke, Thabeikkyin, Singu and Tagaung.
Anti-junta forces are also threatening Pyin Oo Lwin, a hill town 64 kilometers (40 miles) east of Mandalay that is home to the military’s Defense Services Academy.
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Edited by Mike Firn
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Burmese.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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A new study out of the United Kingdom has found that the chemicals in vaping fluid are causing a cascade of problems in the human body. Then, Vice President Harris recently received endorsements from some of the worst human beings in the country – a list that includes Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzalez. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss […]
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Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice.
- The Israeli army chief says the military is preparing for a possible ground operation in Lebanon.
- As fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, Palestinians in Gaza fear their plight is being overlooked by the international community.
- In a blow to the oil and gas industry, California Governor Gavin Newsom signs 3 bills in Los Angeles holding oil drillers accountable for pollution and giving more power to local governments to limit drilling.
- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors introduced a resolution this week urging the city attorney’s office to drop a controversial lawsuit going before the Supreme Court next month, which some fear could weaken the Environmental Protection Agency.
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This content originally appeared on The Intercept and was authored by The Intercept.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The United States is “fuelling confrontation” in Asia by regularizing its military behavior with South Korea, Japan, Australia, and others to create a giant military alliance, North Korea’s state media said on Monday.
Citing the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly known as the Quad, and the AUKUS security pact between Australia the United Kingdom and U.S., the Rodong Sinmun newspaper said that the “aggressive Indo-Pacific strategy” of the U.S. had led to tensions in the region and grave threats to peace and security.
“Although the U.S. wraps its Indo-Pacific strategy in the guise of ‘building a free and open Indo-Pacific region’ and ‘promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the world,’ it is actually trying to force its own side and mobilize its followers to surround and subdue Russia, China, and other countries to secure its hegemony,” the newspaper said.
“The U.S. military hegemony has led to the realization of a new Cold War in the Asia-Pacific region, and the atmosphere of war is hovering,” it added.
North Korea’s comments came after the leaders of the United States, India, Japan and Australia on Saturday denounced North Korea’s “destabilizing” missile launches and its nuclear program, and reaffirmed their commitment to the “complete” denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi take part in a Quad leaders summit family photo in Claymont, Delaware, U.S., Sept. 21, 2024. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a joint statement after the four countries’ fourth in-person Quad summit in Wilmington, Delaware.
“We condemn North Korea’s destabilizing ballistic missile launches and its continued pursuit of nuclear weapons in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions. These launches pose a grave threat to international peace and stability,” the leaders said in a statement they called “the Wilmington Declaration.”
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The leaders also said that countries who expanded military cooperation with the North were undermining the global nonproliferation regime.
“We express our grave concern over North Korea’s use of proliferation networks, malicious cyber activity and workers abroad to fund its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs,” they said.
“In that context, we urge all U.N. Member States to abide by the relevant UNSCRs including the prohibition on the transfer to North Korea or procurement from North Korea of all arms and related materiel,” they said, referring to U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Quad leaders also condemned China’s recent aggressive actions in the South China Sea.
“We continue to express our serious concern about the militarization of disputed features, and coercive and intimidating maneuvers in the South China Sea,” they said.
“We condemn the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, including increasing use of dangerous maneuvers.”
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Taejun Kang for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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Vice President Harris recently received endorsements from some of the worst human beings in the country – a list that includes Dick Cheney and Alberto Gonzalez. The campaign is thrilled about these endorsements, but average Democratic voters don’t like what they’re seeing. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software […]
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By Caleb Fotheringham, RNZ Pacific journalist
Racism, torture and arbitrary arrests are some examples of discrimination indigenous Papuans have dealt with over the last 60 years from Indonesia, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.
The report, If It’s Not Racism, What Is It? Discrimination and other abuses against Papuans in Indonesia, said the Indonesian government denies Papuans basic rights, like education and adequate health care.
Human Rights Watch researcher Andreas Harsono said Papuan people had been beaten, kidnapped and sexually abused for more than six decades.
- READ MORE: If it’s not racism, what is it? Discrimination and other abuses against Papuans in Indonesia — the full HRW report
- Other West Papua human rights reports
“I have heard about this day to day racism since I had my first Papuan friend when I was in my 20s in my college, it means that over the last 40 years, that kind of story keeps on going on today,” Harsono said.
“Regarding torture again this is not something new.”
The report said infant mortality rates in West Papua in some instances are close to 12 times higher than in Jakarta.
Pemerintah Indonesia seharusnya meninjau kebijakan soal Papua Barat, mengakui dan mengakhiri sejarah rasisme sistematis terhadap orang asli Papua, minta pertanggungjawaban dari mereka yang bertanggung jawab atas pelanggaran hak-hak orang Papua https://t.co/JfnAZhsi0E pic.twitter.com/lzB6n0zrJ5
— Andreas Harsono (@andreasharsono) September 19, 2024
Papuan children denied education
Papuan children are denied adequate education because the government has failed to recruit teachers, in some instance’s soldiers have stepped into the positions “and mostly teach children about Indonesian nationalism”.It said Papuan students find it difficult to find accommodation with landlords unwilling to rent to them while others were ostracised because of their racial identity.
In March, a video emerged of soldiers torturing Definus Kogoya in custody. He along with Alianus Murib and Warinus Kogoya were arrested in February for allegedly trying to burn down a medical clinic in Gome, Highland Papua province.
According to the Indonesian army, Warinus Kogoya died after allegedly “jumping off” a military vehicle.
President-elect Prabowo Subianto’s takes government next month.
Harsono said the report was launched yesterday because of this.
“We want this new [Indonesian] government to understand the problem and to think about new policies, new approaches, including to answer historical injustice, social injustice, economic injustice.”
Subianto’s poor human rights record
Harsono said Subianto has a poor human rights record but he hopes people close to him will flag the report.He said current President Joko Widodo had made promises while he was in power to allow foreign journalists into West Papua and release political prisoners, but this did not materialise.
When he came to power the number of political prisoners was around 100 and now it’s about 200, Harsono said.
He said few people inside Indonesia were aware of the discrimination West Papuan people face, with most only knowing West Papua only for its natural beauty.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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The man behind the 2000 coup in Fiji, George Speight, and the head of the mutineers, former soldier Shane Stevens, have been granted presidential pardons.
In a statement yesterday, the Fiji Correction Service said the pair were among seven prisoners who has been granted pardons by the President, Ratu Wiliame Katonivere, after recommendations by the Mercy Commission.
“These pardons were formally granted on 18 September 2024. As a result, the named individuals have been officially discharged from custody today, Thursday, 19 September 2024,” the statement said.
“The Fiji Correction Service and the government remain committed to the principles of justice, rehabilitation, and the rule of law, and the Mercy Commission plays a vital role in ensuring that petitions for clemency are considered carefully, with due regard to the circumstances of each case.”
Speight was serving a life sentence for the charge of treason while Stevens was serving a life sentence for the charge of mutiny.
Also released are Sekina Vosavakatini, Nioni Tagici, James Sanjesh Goundar, Adi Livini Radininausori and John Miller.
Speight sought pardon
In June 2023, Speight had applied for a presidential pardon under a mercy clause, raising the possibility of his release from prison after serving more than 20 years of a lifetime sentence.Speight’s 2000 coup was the only civilian to raise an armed group to overthrow the government.
In 2002, Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka — who started the coup culture in Fiji with two coups in 1987 — had stated a pardon for Speight would be a catastrophe and could pave the way for more coups.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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America’s Lawyer E115: A gunman was apprehended on Donald Trump’s golf course over the weekend, sparking new fears of domestic terrorism and potential assassination attempts. We’ll bring you the latest details. Boeing is in deep trouble as workers have gone on strike demanding better wages. This strike came after 16 years of workers being forced […]
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The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding that the Israeli government end its occupation of Palestinian territories within 12 months — but half of the countries that voted against are from the Pacific.
Affirming a recent International Court of Justice opinion that deemed the decades-long occupation unlawful, the opposition from seven Pacific nations further marginalised the region from world opinion against Israel.
Earlier this week several UN experts and officials warned against Israel becoming a global “pariah” state over its almost year-long genocidal war on Gaza.
- READ MORE: UN General Assembly overwhelmingly calls for end of Israeli occupation
- Israel will become a ‘pariah’ over Gaza ‘genocide’, UN rights experts say
- Other Israeli War on Palestine reports
The final vote tally was 124 member states in favour and 14 against, with 43 nations abstaining.
Pacific countries that voted with Israel and its main ally and arms-supplier United States against the Palestinian resolution are Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Tonga and Tuvalu.
Kiribati, Samoa and Vanuatu abstained while Solomon islands voted yes. Australia abstained while New Zealand and Timor-Leste also supported the resolution.
The Palestine-led resolution, co-sponsored by dozens of nations, calls on Israel to swiftly withdraw “all its military forces” from Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Palestine is a permanent observer state at the UN and it described the vote as “historic”.
Devastating war
Like the International Court of Justice (ICJ) opinion in July, which found the occupation “unlawful”, the resolution is not legally binding but carries considerable political weight.The court’s opinion had been sought in a 2022 request from the UN General Assembly.
The UNGA vote comes amid Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,250 Palestinians.
The United Kingdom, which recently suspended some arms export licenses for Israel, abstained from yesterday’s vote, a decision that the advocacy group Global Justice Now (GJN) said shows “complete disregard for the ongoing suffering of Palestinians forced to live under military-enforced racial discrimination”.
However, other US allies such as France voted for the resolution. Australia, Germany, Italy and Switzerland abstained but Ireland, Spain and Norway supported the vote.
“The vast majority of countries have made it clear: Israel’s occupation of Palestine must end, and all countries have a definite duty not to aid or assist its continuation,” said GJN’s Tim Bierley.
“To stay on the right side of international law, the UK’s dealings with Israel must drastically change, including closing all loopholes in its partial arms ban and revoking any trade or investment relations that might assist the occupation.”
NEWS: UN General Assembly adopts resolution demanding that Israel brings to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory without delay and within the next 12 months.https://t.co/Vj0Ve1lLBi pic.twitter.com/2rKKvDNDqd
— United Nations (@UN) September 18, 2024
BDS welcomes vote
The Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement welcomed passage of the resolution, noting that the UN General Assembly had voted “for the first time in 42 years” in favour of “imposing sanctions on Israel”, reports Common Dreams.The resolution specifically calls on all UN member states to “implement sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against natural and legal persons engaged in the maintenance of Israel’s unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, including in relation to settler violence.”
The resolution’s passage came nearly two months after the ICJ, or World Court, the UN’s highest legal body, handed down an advisory opinion concluding that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and must end “as rapidly as possible.”
The newly approved resolution states that “respect for the International Court of Justice and its functions . . . is essential to international law and justice and to an international order based on the rule of law.”
The Biden administration, which is heavily arming the Israeli military as it assails Gaza and the West Bank, criticised the ICJ’s opinion as overly broad.
Nihad Awad, national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a statement that “the Biden administration should join the overwhelming majority of nations around the world in condemning these crimes against the Palestinian people, demanding an end to the occupation, and exerting serious pressure on the Israeli government to comply”.
“We welcome this UN resolution demanding an end to one of the worst and ongoing crimes against humanity of the past century,” said Awad.
The UN General Assembly votes for the end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and for sanctions . . . an overwhelming “yes”. Image: Anadolu/Common Dreams Turning ‘blind eye’
Ahead of the vote, a group of UN experts said in a statement that many countries “appear unwilling or unable to take the necessary steps to meet their obligations” in the wake of the ICJ’s opinion.“Devastating attacks on Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory show that by continuing to turn a blind eye to the horrific plight of the Palestinian people, the international community is furthering genocidal violence,” the experts said.
“States must act now. They must listen to voices calling on them to take action to stop Israel’s attacks against the Palestinians and end its unlawful occupation.
“All states have a legal obligation to comply with the ICJ’s ruling and must promote adherence to norms that protect civilians.”
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war and subsequently annexed the entire holy city in 1980, reports Al Jazeera.
International law prohibits the acquisition of land by force.
Israel has also been building settlements — now home to hundreds of thousands of Israelis — in the West Bank in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which bans the occupying power from transferring “parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies”.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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Pro-independence fighters in the Indonesian-ruled West Papua region have proposed the terms of release for the New Zealand pilot taken hostage almost 18 months ago.
The armed faction of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) kidnapped Phillip Merhtens, a 38-year-old pilot working for the Indonesian internal feeder airline Susi Air, in February last year after he landed a small commercial plane in a remote, mountainous area.
The group has tried to use Mehrtens to broker independence from Indonesia.
- READ MORE: West Papua rebels propose terms for release of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens
- Other NZ kidnapped pilot reports
It is now asking the New Zealand government, including the police and army, to escort the pilot and for local and international journalists to be involved in the release process.
Both Foreign Affairs and the minister’s office say they are aware of the proposed plan.
In a statement, they say their focus remains on securing a peaceful resolution and the pilot’s safe release.
“We continue to work closely with all parties to achieve this and will not be discussing the details publicly.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
The Guardian reports that Indonesian human rights advocate Andreas Harsono, who covers the country for Human Rights Watch, said the proposal was “realistic”, despite Indonesia’s ongoing restriction on reporters and human rights monitors in the region.
“The top priority should be to release this man who has a wife and kids,” The Guardian quoted Harsono as saying.
West Papua’s armed group issued a proposal to release a New Zealand hostage, asking more than a dozen foreign journalists and rights monitors to be present in Wamena and Jayapura to witness the process https://t.co/4LAYNiipaL pic.twitter.com/yhRKYsX605
— Andreas Harsono (@andreasharsono) September 17, 2024
For the attention of NZ govt:
As the Liberation Army announced that they would release pilot Phillip Mehrtens soon, 2 military helicopters were spotted in Kenyam today.
The Liberation Army claimed there had been an airstrike this morning.
This jeopardizes the release process. pic.twitter.com/uq8IGOMh4A
— Veronica Koman 許愛茜 (@VeronicaKoman) September 16, 2024
Sebby Sambom, the TPN-PB spokesman, and Terianus Satto, a general affairs chief of the armed group, state that they issued a proposal to release the New Zealand pilot unconditionally but need witnesses to secure the release in West Papua pic.twitter.com/dg8InXQo6h
— Andreas Harsono (@andreasharsono) September 18, 2024
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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China imposed sanctions on Wednesday on nine U.S. military-linked firms for their sale of equipment to Taiwan and it denounced what it called the “dangerous trend” of U.S. military support for the democratic island.
On Monday, the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced the sale of aircraft spare parts and related logistics and support worth about US$228 million to Taiwan, adding that the spare parts would boost the island’s “ability to meet current and future threats.”
The sale included both classified and unclassified components for the aircraft, as well as related engineering, technical and logistics support services.
Washington’s arms sales to Taipei “seriously interfered in China’s internal affairs, and seriously damaged China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday.
China regards Taiwan as a renegade province that should be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. The democratic island has been self-governing since it effectively separated from mainland China in 1949 after the Chinese civil war.
A spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry on Wednesday also urged the U.S. to immediately stop the “dangerous trend” of arming Taiwan.
“Stop conniving and supporting Taiwan independence, and stop undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” said Lin Jian at a regular press briefing.
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The steps taken against the firms, including Sierra Nevada Corporation and Stick Rudder Enterprises LLC, come into effect on Wednesday and will freeze their property within China, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
It described the sanctions as countermeasures and said they also applied to Cubic Corporation, S3 Aerospace, TCOM Ltd Partnership, TextOre, Planate Management Group, ACT1 Federal and Exovera.
Organizations and individuals within China are prohibited from engaging in transactions with the firms, the ministry added.
China previously sanctioned and banned firms, including units of Lockheed Martin, for selling arms to Taiwan.
The latest sales were the 16th military sale to Taiwan authorized by the administration of President Joe Biden.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry expressed its appreciation for the U.S.support for Taiwan’s security while its Ministry of National Defense highlighted the strategic importance of the sale, noting that China’s gray zone tactics – a tactic using the threat of force to create fear and intimidation – had affected Taiwan’s training and operational readiness.
The aviation-related equipment would enhance the combat readiness and security of Taiwan’s air force, the ministry said.
Edited by Mike Firn.
This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By Taejun Kang for RFA.This post was originally published on Radio Free.
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The International Press Institute (IPI) has strongly condemned the Israeli government’s recent decision to revoke the press passes of Al Jazeera journalists, months after the global news outlet was banned in the country.
“The Israeli government’s decision to revoke Al Jazeera press passes highlights a broader and deeply alarming pattern of harassment of journalists and attacks on press freedom in Israel and the region,” IPI interim executive director Scott Griffen said.
The Israeli government announced it will be revoking all press passes previously issued to Al Jazeera journalists.
- READ MORE: Hezbollah blames Israel after Lebanon pager blasts killed at least 9 and wounded 2750 across Lebanon and Syria
- UN General Assembly debates end to Israeli occupation of Palestine
- Beyond Gaza: The terror in the West Bank
Nitzan Chen, director of Israel’s Government Press Office (GPO), announced the decision via X on Thursday, accusing Al Jazeera of spreading “false content” and “incitement against Israelis”.
Use of press office cards in the course of the journalists’ work could in itself “jeopardise state security at this time”, claimed Chen.
The journalists affected by the decision would be given a hearing before their passes are officially revoked.
While the GPO press card is not mandatory, without it a journalist in Israel will not be able to access Parliament, Israeli government ministries, or military infrastructure.
Only Israeli recognised pass
It is also the only card recognised at Israeli checkpoints in the West Bank.Griffen said the move was indicative of a “systematic effort” by Israeli authorities to “expand its control over media reporting about Israel, including reporting on and from Gaza”.
He added: “We strongly urge Israel to respect freedom of the press and access to information, which are fundamental human rights that all democracies must respect and protect.”
In May, Israel’s cabinet unanimously voted to shut down Al Jazeera in the country, immediately ordering the closure of its offices and a ban on the company’s broadcasts.
At the time, Al Jazeera described it as a “criminal act” and warned that Israel’s suppression of the free press “stands in contravention of international and humanitarian law”.
GPO Director Nitzan Chen: “Al Jazeera disseminates false content, which includes incitement against Israelis and Jews and constitutes a threat to IDF soldiers. Use of GPO cards in the course of the journalists’ work could in itself jeopardize state security at this time”.
(2/3)— Gov’t Press Office (@GPOIsrael) September 12, 2024
Al Jazeera is widely regarded as the most balanced global news network covering the war on Gaza in contrast to many Western news services perceived as biased in favour of Israel.
Media freedom petition rejected
A petition for military authorities to allow foreign journalists to report inside Gaza was rejected by the Israeli Supreme Court in January 2024.IPI and other media watchdogs have repeatedly called on Israel to allow international media access to Gaza and ensure the safety of journalists.
At least 173 Palestinian journalists are reported to have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza with the latest killing of reporter Abdullah Shakshak, who was shot by an Israeli military quadcopter in Rafah in southern Gaza.
UN General Assembly debates end to Israeli occupation of Palestine. Video: Al JazeeraDeadly pager attack
Meanwhile, the deadly en masse explosion of pagers in Lebanon and Syria killing 11 and wounding almost 3000 people that has widely been attributed to Israel raises questions about what the end game may be, amid rising tensions in the region, say analysts.Mairav Zonszein, a senior Israeli analyst at the International Crisis Group, told Al Jazeera that the attack was something that Israel had had in the works for several months and risked losing if Hezbollah became suspicious.
This concern may have led the Israeli army to trigger the blasts, but Israel’s strategy overall remains unclear.
“Where is Israel going to go from here? This question still hasn’t been answered,” Zonszein said.
“Without a ceasefire in Gaza, it’s unclear how Israel plans to de-escalate, or if Netanyahu is in fact trying to spark a broader war,” the analyst added, noting that more Israeli troops were now stationed in the West Bank and along the northern border than in the Gaza Strip.
In a historic moment, Palestine, newly promoted to observer status at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), has submitted a draft resolution at the body demanding an end to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.
Building on a recent International Court of Justice ruling, the resolution calls for Israel to withdraw its troops, halt settlement expansion, and return land taken since 1967 within 12 months.
While the US opposes the resolution, it has no veto power in the UNGA, and the body has previously supported Palestinian recognition.
The resolution, which will be voted on by UNGA members today, is not legally binding, but reflects global opinion as leaders gather for high-level UN meetings next week.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk
Fears of potential unrest on New Caledonia’s symbolic September 24 date have prompted stronger restrictions in New Caledonia and the deployment of large numbers of French security personnel.
The date originally marked what France termed the “taking of possession” of New Caledonia in 1853.
Since 2004, what the pro-independence Kanak movement has been calling for years “a day of mourning”, was consensually renamed “Citizenship Day” by the local government in a move to foster a sense of inclusiveness and common destiny.
But since violent and deadly riots erupted four months ago, on May 13, the date has been mentioned several times by the pro-independence movement’s Union Calédonienne (UC) party.
Since the riots emerged, UC leader Daniel Goa publicly claimed he intended to use the date to declare unilaterally the French Pacific archipelago’s independence.
While the overall situation of New Caledonia has been slowly returning to some kind of normalcy and despite some pockets of resistance and roadblocks, including in the Greater Nouméa area, the French High commission on Friday announced a package of restrictions, combining the current curfew (10pm to 5am) with new measures.
‘I am being prudent’
High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told local media: “There is considerable force to ensure that law and order will prevail . . . I am being prudent.“I have asked for reinforcements and I have got them”, he told local anti-independence radio RRB on Friday.
He said it is more than what was ever sent to New Caledonia during the hardest moments of 1984-1988 when the territory was in a state of insurrection.
Le Franc detailed that the security contingent deployed would comprise “almost 7000” personnel, including mobile gendarmes, police (to “protect sensitive areas”) and military.
General Nicolas Mathéos, who heads the French gendarmes in New Caledonia, also stressed he was determined.
Speaking on Monday to local TV Caledonia, he said the reinforcements came as the French) state “has put in every necessary means to ensure this 24 September and the days before that take place in a climate of serenity”.
“New Caledonia now needs serenity. It needs to rebuild. It needs to believe in its future after this violent crisis,” he said.
Numbers ‘in control’
“We will be in numbers to hold the territory, to control it, including on the roads, so that this day is a day of peace.“Because no one wants to go through again the nightmare of May.”
The general said reinforcements had already arrived.
“For the gendarmerie, this is almost 40 units mobilised.
“Public order will be maintained, on September 24, before September 24 and after September 24.”
General Nicolas Mathéos, head of French gendarmes in New Caledonia, speaking to TV Caledonia on September 16. Image: TV Caledonia screenshot The curfew itself, which had been gradually relaxed over the past few weeks, is now returning to a stricter 6pm-6am duration for the whole of New Caledonia, specifically concerning the September 21-24 period (a long weekend).
Additional measures include a ban on all public meetings within Nouméa and its outskirts.
Firearms, alcohol banned
Possession, transportation and sale of firearms, ammunition and alcohol also remain prohibited until September 24.Fuel distribution and transportation is subject to restrictions, the French High Commission said in a release on Friday.
High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told local media that the measures were taken due to the current circumstances and the appearance of some posts seen on social media which “call on public order disturbances on 24 September 2024”.
“Under those circumstances, a ban on circulation…is a measure that can efficiently prevent disruption of public order,” he said.
The restrictions, however, do not apply to persons who can provide evidence that they need to move within the prohibited hours for professional, medical emergency, domestic or international air and sea travel reasons.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan delegation from New Caledonia is scheduled to travel to Paris next week to meet high officials, including the presidents of both Houses of Parliament, French media has reported.
New Caledonia’s delegation is scheduled to travel from September 23 to October 4.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk
Fears of potential unrest on New Caledonia’s symbolic September 24 date have prompted stronger restrictions in New Caledonia and the deployment of large numbers of French security personnel.
The date originally marked what France termed the “taking of possession” of New Caledonia in 1853.
Since 2004, what the pro-independence Kanak movement has been calling for years “a day of mourning”, was consensually renamed “Citizenship Day” by the local government in a move to foster a sense of inclusiveness and common destiny.
But since violent and deadly riots erupted four months ago, on May 13, the date has been mentioned several times by the pro-independence movement’s Union Calédonienne (UC) party.
Since the riots emerged, UC leader Daniel Goa publicly claimed he intended to use the date to declare unilaterally the French Pacific archipelago’s independence.
While the overall situation of New Caledonia has been slowly returning to some kind of normalcy and despite some pockets of resistance and roadblocks, including in the Greater Nouméa area, the French High commission on Friday announced a package of restrictions, combining the current curfew (10pm to 5am) with new measures.
‘I am being prudent’
High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told local media: “There is considerable force to ensure that law and order will prevail . . . I am being prudent.“I have asked for reinforcements and I have got them”, he told local anti-independence radio RRB on Friday.
He said it is more than what was ever sent to New Caledonia during the hardest moments of 1984-1988 when the territory was in a state of insurrection.
Le Franc detailed that the security contingent deployed would comprise “almost 7000” personnel, including mobile gendarmes, police (to “protect sensitive areas”) and military.
General Nicolas Mathéos, who heads the French gendarmes in New Caledonia, also stressed he was determined.
Speaking on Monday to local TV Caledonia, he said the reinforcements came as the French) state “has put in every necessary means to ensure this 24 September and the days before that take place in a climate of serenity”.
“New Caledonia now needs serenity. It needs to rebuild. It needs to believe in its future after this violent crisis,” he said.
Numbers ‘in control’
“We will be in numbers to hold the territory, to control it, including on the roads, so that this day is a day of peace.“Because no one wants to go through again the nightmare of May.”
The general said reinforcements had already arrived.
“For the gendarmerie, this is almost 40 units mobilised.
“Public order will be maintained, on September 24, before September 24 and after September 24.”
General Nicolas Mathéos, head of French gendarmes in New Caledonia, speaking to TV Caledonia on September 16. Image: TV Caledonia screenshot The curfew itself, which had been gradually relaxed over the past few weeks, is now returning to a stricter 6pm-6am duration for the whole of New Caledonia, specifically concerning the September 21-24 period (a long weekend).
Additional measures include a ban on all public meetings within Nouméa and its outskirts.
Firearms, alcohol banned
Possession, transportation and sale of firearms, ammunition and alcohol also remain prohibited until September 24.Fuel distribution and transportation is subject to restrictions, the French High Commission said in a release on Friday.
High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told local media that the measures were taken due to the current circumstances and the appearance of some posts seen on social media which “call on public order disturbances on 24 September 2024”.
“Under those circumstances, a ban on circulation…is a measure that can efficiently prevent disruption of public order,” he said.
The restrictions, however, do not apply to persons who can provide evidence that they need to move within the prohibited hours for professional, medical emergency, domestic or international air and sea travel reasons.
Meanwhile, a bipartisan delegation from New Caledonia is scheduled to travel to Paris next week to meet high officials, including the presidents of both Houses of Parliament, French media has reported.
New Caledonia’s delegation is scheduled to travel from September 23 to October 4.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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BDS National Committee
The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the largest coalition in Palestinian society leading the global BDS movement, has called for immediate pressure on all states to support the updated resolution tabled at the UN General Assembly calling for sanctions on Israel.
The resolution is aimed at enacting the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) about the illegality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and its violation of the prohibition of apartheid under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
A vote is expected tomorrow.
- READ MORE: Katz threatens to ‘break and dissolve’ PA if it pushes UN resolution against Israel
- UN likely to vote on push to end Israel presence in Palestinian territory
- Israel has killed over 11,000 students in Gaza, West Bank: Ministry
This resolution, a diluted version of an earlier draft, falls below the bare minimum of the legal obligations of states to implement the ICJ ruling, undoubtedly a result of intense bullying and intimidation by the colonial West — led by the US and Israel’s partners in the ongoing Gaza genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians.
By relegating ending the Gaza genocide to an afterthought, the resolution ignores its utmost urgency.
Despite such obvious failure, the resolution does call for:
- Ending Israel’s illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, within 12 months;
- Ending states’ complicity in aiding or maintaining this occupation by imposing trade and military sanctions such as “ceasing the importation of any products originating in the Israeli settlements, as well as the provision or transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment” to Israel. In April 2024, the UN Human Rights Council called for an embargo on “the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, the occupying Power;”
- Preventing, prohibiting and eradicating Israel’s violations of article 3 of CERD identified in the advisory opinion, regarding apartheid;
- Imposing sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against individuals and entities engaged in the maintenance of Israel’s unlawful occupation.
Step in right direction
Limited in scope to addressing a mere subset of Palestinian rights, the resolution does not, indeed cannot, legally or morally prejudice the other rights of the Indigenous people of Palestine, particularly the right of our refugees since the 1948 Nakba to return and receive reparations and the right of the Palestinian people, including those who are citizens of apartheid Israel, to liberation from settler-colonialism and apartheid.Supporting this resolution would therefore be only a step in the right direction. It cannot absolve states of their legal and moral obligations to end all complicity with Israel’s regime of oppression.
Meaningful targeted sanctions by states and inter-state groups (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Arab League, African Union etc.) remain absolutely necessary to stop Israel’s genocide and end its occupation and apartheid.
Failing to do so would further shatter international law’s credibility and relevance to the global majority.
Dozens of UN human rights experts have confirmed that the ICJ ruling “has finally reaffirmed a principle that seemed unclear, even to the United Nations: Freedom from foreign military occupation, racial segregation and apartheid is absolutely non-negotiable”.
The ruling in effect affirms that BDS is not just a right but also “an obligation,” and it constitutes a paradigm shift from one centered on “negotiations” between oppressor and oppressed to one centered on accountability, sanctions and enforcement to end the system of oppression and to uphold the inalienable, internationally recognised rights of the Palestinian people.
States must be pressured
To sincerely implement the ICJ ruling on the occupation and fulfil the legal obligations triggered by the court’s earlier finding that Israel is plausibly perpetrating genocide in Gaza, and in line with the demands by UN human rights experts, all states must be pressured to immediately:- Impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, including the export, import, shipping and transit of military and dual-use items, military cooperation, and academic and industrial research;
- Impose sanctions on trade, finance, travel, technology and cooperation with Israel;
- “Review all diplomatic, political, and economic ties with Israel, inclusive of business and finance, pension funds, academia and charities,” as stated by UN experts, to ensure an end to all complicity in Israel’s illegal occupation;
- Impose an embargo on oil, coal and other energy exports to Israel;
- Declare support for suspending apartheid Israel’s membership in the UN, as apartheid South Africa was suspended;
- Take immediate actions to ensure that their economic relationship with Israel and the activities of corporations domiciled in their territories do not breach their duty to prevent and to not be complicit in genocide and are not complicit in Israel’s commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity; and
- Reaffirm the right of Palestinian refugees to return, as per UNGA Resolution 194, and fully support UNRWA until this right can be exercised.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
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BDS National Committee
The Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the largest coalition in Palestinian society leading the global BDS movement, has called for immediate pressure on all states to support the updated resolution tabled at the UN General Assembly calling for sanctions on Israel.
The resolution is aimed at enacting the July 2024 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) about the illegality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory and its violation of the prohibition of apartheid under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
A vote is expected tomorrow.
- READ MORE: Katz threatens to ‘break and dissolve’ PA if it pushes UN resolution against Israel
- UN likely to vote on push to end Israel presence in Palestinian territory
- Israel has killed over 11,000 students in Gaza, West Bank: Ministry
This resolution, a diluted version of an earlier draft, falls below the bare minimum of the legal obligations of states to implement the ICJ ruling, undoubtedly a result of intense bullying and intimidation by the colonial West — led by the US and Israel’s partners in the ongoing Gaza genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians.
By relegating ending the Gaza genocide to an afterthought, the resolution ignores its utmost urgency.
Despite such obvious failure, the resolution does call for:
- Ending Israel’s illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, within 12 months;
- Ending states’ complicity in aiding or maintaining this occupation by imposing trade and military sanctions such as “ceasing the importation of any products originating in the Israeli settlements, as well as the provision or transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment” to Israel. In April 2024, the UN Human Rights Council called for an embargo on “the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, the occupying Power;”
- Preventing, prohibiting and eradicating Israel’s violations of article 3 of CERD identified in the advisory opinion, regarding apartheid;
- Imposing sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against individuals and entities engaged in the maintenance of Israel’s unlawful occupation.
Step in right direction
Limited in scope to addressing a mere subset of Palestinian rights, the resolution does not, indeed cannot, legally or morally prejudice the other rights of the Indigenous people of Palestine, particularly the right of our refugees since the 1948 Nakba to return and receive reparations and the right of the Palestinian people, including those who are citizens of apartheid Israel, to liberation from settler-colonialism and apartheid.Supporting this resolution would therefore be only a step in the right direction. It cannot absolve states of their legal and moral obligations to end all complicity with Israel’s regime of oppression.
Meaningful targeted sanctions by states and inter-state groups (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Arab League, African Union etc.) remain absolutely necessary to stop Israel’s genocide and end its occupation and apartheid.
Failing to do so would further shatter international law’s credibility and relevance to the global majority.
Dozens of UN human rights experts have confirmed that the ICJ ruling “has finally reaffirmed a principle that seemed unclear, even to the United Nations: Freedom from foreign military occupation, racial segregation and apartheid is absolutely non-negotiable”.
The ruling in effect affirms that BDS is not just a right but also “an obligation,” and it constitutes a paradigm shift from one centered on “negotiations” between oppressor and oppressed to one centered on accountability, sanctions and enforcement to end the system of oppression and to uphold the inalienable, internationally recognised rights of the Palestinian people.
States must be pressured
To sincerely implement the ICJ ruling on the occupation and fulfil the legal obligations triggered by the court’s earlier finding that Israel is plausibly perpetrating genocide in Gaza, and in line with the demands by UN human rights experts, all states must be pressured to immediately:- Impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, including the export, import, shipping and transit of military and dual-use items, military cooperation, and academic and industrial research;
- Impose sanctions on trade, finance, travel, technology and cooperation with Israel;
- “Review all diplomatic, political, and economic ties with Israel, inclusive of business and finance, pension funds, academia and charities,” as stated by UN experts, to ensure an end to all complicity in Israel’s illegal occupation;
- Impose an embargo on oil, coal and other energy exports to Israel;
- Declare support for suspending apartheid Israel’s membership in the UN, as apartheid South Africa was suspended;
- Take immediate actions to ensure that their economic relationship with Israel and the activities of corporations domiciled in their territories do not breach their duty to prevent and to not be complicit in genocide and are not complicit in Israel’s commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity; and
- Reaffirm the right of Palestinian refugees to return, as per UNGA Resolution 194, and fully support UNRWA until this right can be exercised.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
