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  • Curfew in New Caledonia after Kanak riots over French voting change plan

    By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews

    French authorities have imposed a curfew on New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa and banned public gatherings after supporters of the Pacific territory’s independence movement blocked roads, set fire to buildings and clashed with security forces.

    Tensions in New Caledonia have been inflamed by French government’s plans to give the vote to tens of thousands of French immigrants to the Melanesian island chain.

    The enfranchisement would create a significant obstacle to the self-determination aspirations of the indigenous Kanak people.

    “Very intense public order disturbances took place last night in Noumea and in neighboring towns, and are still ongoing at this time,” French High Commissioner to New Caledonia Louis Le Franc said in a statement today.

    About 36 people were arrested and numerous police were injured, the statement said.

    French control of New Caledonia and its surrounding islands gives the European nation a security and diplomatic role in the Pacific at a time when the US, Australia and other Western countries are pushing back against China’s inroads in the region.

    Kanaks make up about 40 percent of New Caledonia’s 270,000 people but are marginalised in their own land — they have lower incomes and poorer health than Europeans who make up a third of the population and predominate positions of power in the territory.

    Buildings, cars set ablaze
    Video and photos posted online showed buildings set ablaze, burned out vehicles at luxury car dealerships and security forces using tear gas to confront groups of protestors waving Kanaky flags and throwing petrol bombs at city intersections in the worst rioting in decades.

    Kanak protesters in Nouméa demanding independence and a halt to France's proposed constitutional changes
    Kanak protesters in Nouméa demanding independence and a halt to France’s proposed constitutional changes that change voting rights. Image: @CMannevy

    A dusk-to-dawn curfew was imposed today and could be renewed as long as necessary, the high commissioner’s statement said.

    Public gatherings in greater Noumea are banned and the sale of alcohol and carrying or transport of weapons is prohibited throughout New Caledonia.

    The violence erupted as the National Assembly, the lower house of France’s Parliament, debated a constitutional amendment to “unfreeze” the electoral roll, which would enfranchise relative newcomers to New Caledonia.

    It is scheduled to vote on the measure this afternoon in Paris. The French Senate approved the amendment in April.

    Local Congress opposes amendment
    New Caledonia’s territorial Congress, where pro-independence groups have a majority, on Monday passed a resolution that called for France to withdraw the amendment.

    It said political consensus has “historically served as a bulwark against intercommunity tensions and violence” in New Caledonia.

    “Any unilateral decision taken without prior consultation of New Caledonian political leaders could compromise the stability of New Caledonia,” the resolution said.

    French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told his country’s legislature that about 42,000 people — about one in five possible voters in New Caledonia — are denied the right to vote under the 1998 Noumea Accord between France and the independence movement that froze the electoral roll.

    “Democracy means voting,” he said.

    New Caledonia’s pro-independence government — the first in its history — could lose power in elections due in December if the electoral roll is enlarged.

    New Caledonia voted by small majorities to remain part of France in referendums held in 2018 and 2020 under a UN-mandated decolonisation process. Three ballots were organised as part of the Noumea Accord to increase Kanaks’ political power following deadly violence in the 1980s.

    Referendum legitimacy rejected
    A contentious final referendum in 2022 was overwhelmingly in favour of continuing with the status quo. However, supporters of independence have rejected its legitimacy due to very low turnout — it was boycotted by the independence movement — and because it was held during a serious phase of the covid-19 pandemic, which restricted campaigning.

    Representatives of the FLNKS (Front de Libération Nationale Kanak et Socialist) independence movement did not respond to interview requests.

    “When there’s no hope in front of us, we will fight, we will struggle. We’ll make sure you understand what we are talking about,” Patricia Goa, a New Caledonian politician said in an interview last month with Australian public broadcaster ABC.

    “Things can go wrong and our past shows that,” she said.

    Confrontations between protesters and security forces are continuing in Noumea.

    Darmanin has ordered reinforcements be sent to New Caledonia, including hundreds of police, urban violence special forces and elite tactical units.

    Copyright ©2015-2024, BenarNews. Used with the permission of BenarNews.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘A lot of fire, violence’: Nouméa erupts as protests halt New Caledonia

    RNZ Pacific

    New Caledonians lined up in long queues outside shopping centres to buy supplies in the capital Nouméa today amid political unrest in the French territory

    Demonstrations, marches and clashes with security forces erupted yesterday and French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the public broadcaster he had called for reinforcements to maintain law and order.

    The unrest comes amid proposed constitutional changes, which could strengthen voting rights for anti-independence supporters in New Caledonia.

    A Nouméa resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told RNZ Pacific people had started “panic buying” in scenes reminiscent of the covid-19 pandemic.

    “A lot of fire, violence . . . but it’s better. I stay safe at home. There are a lot of police and army. I want the government to put the action for the peace [sic].”

    The unrest comes amid proposed constitutional changes, which could strengthen voting rights for anti-independence supporters in New Caledonia.
    The unrest comes amid proposed constitutional changes, which could strengthen voting rights for anti-independence supporters in New Caledonia. Image: Screenshot/NC la 1ère/RNZ

    Authorities have imposed a curfew for Nouméa and its surrounds, from 6pm tonight to 6am tomorrow.

    Airports are closed due to protest action.

    Public services and schools in the affected areas announced they were sending staff and students home on Monday, and that they would remain closed for the next few days.

    Meanwhile, New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, who is on a five-country Pacific mission this week, has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to the unrest.

    Peters and a delegation of other ministers were due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • NZ foreign minister Peters cancels New Caledonia visit as unrest erupts

    New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to pro-independence unrest throughout the French Pacific territory.

    Peters and a delegation of other ministers was due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week.

    Nouméa’s La Tontouta International Airport is expected to remain closed until at least 5pm today (local time).

    The violence in Nouméa came as the National Assembly in Paris prepared to vote on a government-tabled constitutional amendment for New Caledonia.

    On Monday demonstrations, marches and confrontations with security forces spread throughout New Caledonia with flashpoints in suburbs of Nouméa.

    Police in New Caledonia during unrest.
    Police in New Caledonia guard the telecommunications office of OPT in Nouméa. Image: RNZ/@ncla1ere

    By the evening, several violent confrontations were still taking place between pro-independence militants and police.

    Officials were working to set a new date for the visit, Peters said.

    Aircalin flights cancelled
    New Caledonian airline Aircalin has also cancelled a flight due to leave Auckland for Nouméa this afternoon.

    Aircalin flight SB411 had been due to depart Auckland at 2pm.

    The airline said rescheduling information would be posted on its website as soon as possible.

    An alert issued by Aircalin stated flight SB410 from Nouméa, due to land in Auckland at 12.40pm today, had also been cancelled.

    However, as of noon, Auckland International Airport’s arrivals board had no indication of any changes to the flight, or cancellations.

    Meanwhile, Air New Zealand is monitoring the situation ahead of its next flight to Nouméa at 8.25am on Saturday, May 18.

    A spokesperson for the airline said that flight was still expected to leave on schedule.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Botched prison mutiny, protests ahead of New Caledonia constitution vote

    By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

    New Caledonia has gone through yet another day of tense political protests and a failed prison mutiny — a few hours ahead of a vote in Paris’s National Assembly on a government-tabled Constitutional amendment.

    This amendment would “unfreeze” the list of eligible voters at local elections.

    Demonstrations, marches and confrontations with security forces spread throughout the French Pacific territory yesterday, with flash points in the suburbs of the capital Nouméa, especially the villages of Saint Louis and nearby Mont-Dore.

    Several vehicles were burned on the roads.

    By last evening, several violent confrontations were still taking place between pro-independence militants and police.

    At Nouméa’s central prison, Camp Est, three penitentiary staff were briefly taken hostage by inmates, as part of a botched mutiny within the jail.

    The hostages were later released.

    Public services and schools in the affected areas announced they were sending staff and students home yesterday, and that they would remain closed for the next few days.

    Marches were organised by a pro-independence “field action coordination committee” (CCAT) close to the Union Calédonienne party (UC), one of the main components of the Kanak Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS).

    In Lifou, an estimated 1,000+ took part in demonstrations – Photo NC la 1ère
    In Lifou, at least 1000 people were estimated to have taken part in po-independence demonstrations. Image: NC la 1ère/RNZ

    CCAT said in a release this was “stage two and a half” (out of three stages) of its mobilisation.

    It involved marches in New Caledonia’s Loyalty Islands group, including Lifou, where at least 1000 people were estimated to have taken part in demonstrations.

    French High commissioner’s warning
    French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc announced through the public broadcaster La Première that he had called for reinforcements from Paris to maintain law and order.

    This included police, gendarmes and members of the SWAT group GIGN (Gendarmerie National Intervention Group) and RAID.

    Law enforcement officers were injured by stones and shots were fired from within Saint Louis on Monday, he said.

    Blockades at the entrance of the village of Saint Louis – Photo NC la 1ère
    A blockade at the entrance of the village of Saint Louis. Image: NC la 1ère/RNZ

    He said some of the weapons used by “youth” were high calibre hunting guns.

    Le Franc also warned if, in future, law enforcement officers were targeted again, they would consider themselves in a situation of “legitimate defence” and would retaliate.

    “So I’m warning these young people . . .  They should stop using weapons against gendarmes,” he said.

    “I don’t want to see dead people in New Caledonia, but everyone should take their responsibility.

    “I have also asked the custom chiefs [of Saint Louis] to do their job. They have an influence over these young people; they should restore calm.”

    He told journalists most delinquents seemed to be under the influence of alcohol.

    Le Franc also announced for the next 48 hours he had placed a ban on port and transport of weapons and ammunition, as well as another ban on the sale of liquor.

    “Thirty-five gendarmes have been injured [on Monday] by stones and gunshots of large calibre, semi-automatic hunting guns. These are about 200 aggressive youths,” he told the public media.

    While appealing for calm and respect for public order, he also strongly condemned the blockades and said the police and gendarmes’ first mission was to restore freedom of movement at blockades.

    About 15 people were arrested yesterday, he said.

    French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech in Nouméa on 26 July 2023
    French President Emmanuel Macron delivering a speech in Nouméa on 26 July 2023 Image: RNZ

    Macron to invite leaders for talks
    In an apparent wish to give more time for a local, inclusive agreement to take place, French President Emmanuel Macron’s entourage told French media at the weekend he would not convene the French Congress (a special gathering of both Houses of Parliament) for “several weeks”.

    The French President’s office was also ready to call on all of New Caledonia’s political parties (both pro-France and pro-independence) for a roundtable in Paris by the end of May, in order to find an agreement on New Caledonia’s long-term political future.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Fiji abstains from new UN vote on Palestinian membership bid

    Asia Pacific Report

    The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to grant Palestine new rights and privileges, calling on the Security Council to reconsider its bid for full UN membership, reports TrimFeed.

    The resolution on Friday was opposed by the US, Israel, and seven other countries — four of them island nations from the Pacific — citing concerns over direct negotiations and a two-state solution.

    Papua New Guinea, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau were among the countries voting against Palestine.

    Fiji Abstains from UN Vote on Palestinian Membership Bid
    Fiji abstains from UN vote on Palestinian membership bid. (Note: Australia voted yes, it did not abstain). Image: TrimFeed

    The UN General Assembly called on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s request to become the 194th member of the United Nations.

    The overwhelming vote in favour by 143-9, with 25 abstentions, reflects wide global support for full membership of Palestine in the world body.

    The outcome of this vote has significant implications for the Israel-Palestine conflict, as it may influence the trajectory of future negotiations and the prospects for a two-state solution.

    Furthermore, the level of international support for Palestinian statehood may impact on the balance of power in the region and beyond.

    Fiji, Vanuatu, and Marshall Islands were among the countries that abstained from the vote, alongside the United States, Israel, Argentina, Czechia, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Papua New Guinea voting against.

    US will veto statehood
    The US has made clear that it would block Palestinian membership and statehood until direct negotiations with Israel resolve key issues and lead to a two-state solution.

    The vote comes amid escalating violence and rising death tolls on the Palestinian people — more than 35,000 have been killed and almost 79,000 wounded in the War on Gaza

    Many countries have expressed outrage at the situation and fears of a major Israeli ground offensive in Rafah.

    Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN Ambassador, delivered an emotional speech, saying, “No words can capture what such loss and trauma signifies for Palestinians, their families, communities, and for our nation as a whole.”

    Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan vehemently opposed the resolution, accusing UN member nations of not mentioning Hamas’ October 7 attack that killed 1139 people and he shredded a copy of the UN charter in protest.

    US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said: “For the US to support Palestinian statehood, direct negotiations must guarantee Israel’s security and future as a democratic Jewish state, and that Palestinians can live in peace in a state of their own.”

    While the resolution grants Palestine some new rights and privileges, it reaffirms that it remains a non-member observer state without full UN membership and voting rights in the General Assembly.

    Humanitarian ceasefire vote
    Palestine became a UN non-member observer state in 2012. The United States vetoed a widely-backed council resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine.

    The General Assembly’s vote calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza on October 27 and the ongoing violence underscore the urgent need for a resolution to the long-standing crisis.

    As the international community remains divided on the issue of Palestinian statehood, the path to lasting peace remains uncertain.

    Republished from TrimFeed.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • 1000 protest in Auckland over Israel’s war on Gaza, honour Nakba victims

    Asia Pacific Report

    About 1000 people in Aotearoa New Zealand gathered for a two-hour rally in central Auckland today and marched down Queen Street and returned to Aotea Square to mark the Nakba three days early — and protest over Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

    They called for an immediate ceasefire in the war as the death toll passed more than 35,000 people killed — mostly women and children – and chanted “hands off Rafah” as the Israeli military intensified their attack on the southern part of the besieged enclave.

    Israel’s Defence Force (IDF) also deployed tanks in northern Gaza months after claiming that they had “dismantled” the resistance force Hamas in the area.

    For the past seven months, protesters have staged rallies across New Zealand every week at more than 25 different towns and locations and they have rarely been reported by the country’s news media.

    Ironically, today was also marked as Mother’s Day and many protesters carried placards and banners mourning the mothers and children killed in the seven-month war, such as “Every 15 min a Palestinian child dies”, “Israel/USA, how many kids did you kill today”, “Decolonise your mind — stand with Palestine”, and “Stop the genocide”.

    Some protesters carried photographs of named children killed in the war, honouring their short and tragic lives, such as 13-year-old Hala Abu Sada, who “had a passion for the arts – she made educational and entertaining videos for deaf children”.

    “Hala dreamed of becoming a singer.”

    The Nakba – ‘ethnic cleansing’
    Every year on May 15, Palestinians around the world, numbering about 12.4 million, mark the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the near-total destruction of Palestinian society in 1948, reports Al Jazeera.

    The Palestinian experience of dispossession and loss of a homeland is 76 years old this year.

    Happy Mothers' Day in New Zealand on Nakba Day
    “Happy Mothers’ Day” in New Zealand . . . but protesters mourn the loss of mothers and children as the death toll in Israel’s War on Gaza topped 35,000 on Nakba Day. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

    On that day, the State of Israel came into being. The creation of Israel was a violent process that entailed the forced expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland to establish a Jewish-majority state — the wishes of the Zionist movement.

    The 1948 Nakba
    The 1948 Nakba . . . more than 750,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homeland and become exiles in neighbouring states. Many dream of their UN-recognised right to return. Image: Wikipedia

    Between 1947 and 1949, at least 750,000 Palestinians from a 1.9 million population were forced out of their homeland and made refugees beyond the borders of the state.

    Zionist forces seized more than 78 percent of historic Palestine, ethnically cleansed and destroyed about 530 villages and cities, and killed about 15,000 Palestinians in a series of mass atrocities, including more than 70 massacres.

    The current resolution does not give Palestinians full membership, but recognises them as qualified to join, and it gives Palestine more participation and some rights within the UNGA.

    Overwhelming UN vote backs Palestine
    The UN General Assembly (UNGA) has overwhelmingly voted to support a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognising it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council “reconsider the matter favourably”.

    Memberships can only be decided by the UN Security Council, and last month, the US vetoed a bid for full membership.

    The current resolution does not give Palestinians full membership, but recognises them as qualified to join, and it gives Palestine more participation and some rights within the UNGA.

    Voting yes for the resolution were 143 countries, including three UN Security Council permanent members, China, France and Russia and also Australia, New Zealand and Timor-Leste.

    Nine countries voted against, with four Pacific nations, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea among those joining Israel and the US.

    Twenty five countries abstained, including UNSC permanent member United Kingdom and three Pacific countries, Fiji, Marshall Islands and Vanuatu.

    "Look up Nakba" . . . and The Key to returning home
    “Look up Nakba” . . . and The Key to returning home to historical Palestine. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report
    Palestinian children singing at Aotea Square today
    Palestinian children singing at Aotea Square today . . . a speaker said their future was in “good hands with our young people”. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report
    Some of the pro-Palestinian protesters at Auckland's Aotea Square today
    Some of the pro-Palestinian protesters at Auckland’s Aotea Square today . . . the background banner says “IDF = Murder Machine”. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • NZ delivers humanitarian supplies to disaster-hit PNG provinces

    PNG Post-Courier

    New Zealand High Commissioner Peter Zwart and PNG Defence Minister Dr Billy Joseph welcomed a C-130 Hercules to Port Moresby this week to support Papua New Guinea’s response to the March 24 earthquake and recent severe flooding.

    “Papua New Guinea has requested New Zealand’s assistance to transport emergency relief items from Port Moresby to affected areas,” said High Commissioner Zwart.

    “I am delighted that the New Zealand Defence Force has been able to provide an aircraft to help get these items to provinces and vulnerable communities that have been significantly impacted.”

    New Zealand High Commissioner Peter Zwart (second from right) and PNG Defence Minister Dr Billy Joseph (second from left)
    New Zealand High Commissioner Peter Zwart (second from right) and PNG Defence Minister Dr Billy Joseph (second from left) welcome the RNZAF crew to Papua New Guinea. Image: PNG Post-Courier

    The aircraft will stay in Papua New Guinea for about three days and is expected to deliver humanitarian supplies to several disaster affected provinces.

    The New Zealand High Commission remains in close contact with PNG government officials as the response continues.

    High Commissioner Zwart said: “New Zealand has a long-standing commitment to working with and supporting Pacific partners to respond to disasters and address humanitarian need, including in Papua New Guinea.”

    Republished from the PNG Post-Courier with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • New Caledonia marks Armistice Day with new NZ war memorial

    By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

    Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II.

    The ceremony took place in the township on the southwest coast of the main island of Grande Terre in the presence of New Zealand’s Nouméa-based Consul-General Felicity Roxburgh.

    Also present were Boulouparis Mayor Pascal Vittori and French Commissioner (South) Grégory Lecru, as well as military and civilian officials — and to the sounds of school children singing the New Zealand, French and New Caledonia anthems.

    “It’s not a well-known story, but we wanted to value this so we can honour our common values and the strong connections between New Caledonia, New Zealand and France, and the sacrifices during World War II, especially at this time when the region is facing geostrategic challenges,” Roxburgh told local media Radio Rythme Bleu.

    Vittori said: “New Zealanders were with us during the World War II And we wanted this to be remembered . . . and also to enable those New Zealanders who would like to come here and remember.”

    The new monument, which represents a New Zealand soldier, with a plaque at the base, is the result of a joint initiative from the local Veterans Association and the New Zealand Consulate.

    Further North on New Caledonia’s west coast, in Bourail and the nearby village of Nessadiou, a New Zealand cemetery contains the graves of about 246 soldiers.

    Thousands of New Zealand military personnel were based in New Caledonia during World War II, when Bourail was the Headquarters of the 3rd New Zealand Division.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • UN to vote over reviving Palestine’s bid for membership as Biden ‘pauses’ arms for Israel

    Pacific Media Watch

    The United Nations General Assembly is expected to vote later today on a resolution that would grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and that — again — calls on the UN Security Council to favourably reconsider Palestine’s request for full UN membership, reports Al Jazeera.

    The US vetoed a widely backed resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full UN membership for Palestine, a goal that Israel has worked strenuously to prevent and Washington has been instrumental in blocking on behalf of its key ally.

    The US Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, said yesterday that the Biden administration remained opposed to Palestinian membership.

    During the April 18 vote, Palestine’s application received strong support with a vote of 12 in favour, the UK and Switzerland abstaining, and the US alone in voting no.

    The State of Palestine appealed for support on Thursday, saying a vote for UN membership comes at “a critical moment for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State … [and] rightful place among the community of nations”.

    Palestinians are facing a critical shortage of clean water as Israel continues air strikes on eastern Rafah and blocks humanitarian aid from entering the besieged enclave.

    UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths has said that the Israeli military has not allowed anything or anyone to go in or get out of Gaza since its takeover of the Rafah crossing on Tuesday.

    “The closure of the crossings means no fuel. It means no trucks, no generators, no water, no electricity and no movement of people or goods. It means no aid,” he said.

    Hamas says ‘ball in Israel’s hands’
    French news agency AFP is reporting that Hamas announced early Friday that its delegation attending Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo had left the city for Qatar and stated that the “ball is now completely” in Israel’s hands.

    “The negotiating delegation left Cairo heading to Doha. In practice, the occupation [Israel] rejected the proposal submitted by the mediators and raised objections to it on several central issues,” the group said in a statement, adding it stood by the ceasefire proposal.

    “Accordingly, the ball is now completely in the hands of the occupation,” the group said.

    According to Al Jazeera’s Patty Culhane, reporting on the US President Joe Biden’s exclusive interview with Erin Burnett this week with CNN, “We saw President Biden come out and say, ‘look, if they do this large-scale invasion of Rafah — there will be no bombs, no artillery shells, perhaps none of the technologies that turn dumb bombs into smart bombs’.

    “And he is not just saying that it is going to happen. He is showing that it is already sort of happening.”

    A shipment of bombs — 1800 900kg bombs that cause massive destruction and 1700 230kg bombs — due for delivery to Israel have been “paused”.

    As student protests calling for an immediate ceasefire and divestment from universities in Israel spread around the globe, academics at two universities in New Zealand have condemned administrations for not standing up for their role as a “critic and conscience of society”.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – May 9, 2024 Biden Administration holds up military aid delivery to Israel over disagreement over planned Rafah raid.

    Comprehensive coverage of the day’s news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice.

    The post The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays – May 9, 2024 Biden Administration holds up military aid delivery to Israel over disagreement over planned Rafah raid. appeared first on KPFA.


    This content originally appeared on KPFA – The Pacifica Evening News, Weekdays and was authored by KPFA.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • China-Cambodia joint military exercise to kick off on May 16

    A major military exercise between China and Cambodia, the Golden Dragon 2024, is going to take place on May 16-30, a Cambodian official source said.

    The Royal Gendarmerie – a branch of Cambodia’s armed forces – said on its Facebook page that the drills will be held under the theme “Counter-terrorism Operations and Humanitarian Relief” at two main locations in Kampong Chhnang and Sihanoukville provinces.

    General Chhum Sucheat, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, also told a press conference in Phnom Penh that the exercise will begin on May 16.

    This is the sixth Golden Dragon joint exercise between the two militaries since 2016. It was canceled in 2021 and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Chhum Sucheat was quoted in Cambodian media as saying that the two Chinese vessels, which have been docking in Cambodia’s Ream naval base since last December, are there to help train the Cambodian navy and prepare for the joint exercise.

    The military spokesman rejected allegations that the Chinese navy had been using facilities at Ream as a military base.

    The prolonged training focuses on “technical skills in the use of ships and weapons as well as other new technologies,” according to Chhum Sucheat, who added that the Chinese side was also testing the quality of the upgraded Ream naval base which China helped develop.

    Cambodia is planning to purchase similar warships to those docked at the base, the general said.

    Naval drills

    The two Chinese warships at Ream are believed to be China-built Type 056 guide-missile corvettes. The 1,500-ton vessels are fitted with anti-ship missiles as well as torpedoes and can carry a helicopter. 

    Besides the two corvettes, the Chinese navy has also dispatched two more warships to Cambodia for training exercises with the Cambodian navy.

    Beijing’s Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday that training ship Qijiguang and landing ship Jinggangshan are on their way to train together with Cambodian naval personnel in May.

    The Jinggangshan, a Type 071 amphibious landing ship that can carry up to 800 troops, also took part in the Golden Dragon 2023 and conducted an unprecedented maritime exercise with the Cambodian navy in the waters off Sihanoukville.

    With the four Chinese warships present, the maritime drills this year are expected to be more extensive. Staff from the two navies will train in maritime counter-terrorism operations as well as search-and-rescue at sea. 

    Military ties between China and Cambodia have deepened in recent years, with Beijing providing aid, equipment and training to Cambodian forces. In 2021, the United States imposed an arms embargo on Cambodia over concerns about “deepening Chinese military influence”.

    Edited by Taejun Kang.


    This content originally appeared on Radio Free Asia and was authored by By RFA Staff.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • US lawyer threatens masked student Gaza protesters with ‘KKK’ felony charges

    Asia Pacific Report

    Ohio’s top lawyer has warned the state’s public universities that a law written to deter Ku Klux Klan demonstrations could be used to impose felony charges on students who wear face coverings while protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza, reports Al Jazeera.

    In a letter sent out this week, after weeks of pro-Palestinian campus protests around the United States, Republican Attorney-General Dave Yost advised the presidents of Ohio’s 34 public universities to forewarn students about the 1953 law.

    “In our society, there are few more significant career-wreckers than a felony charge,” the letter said.

    “I write to you today to inform your student bodies of an Ohio law that, in the context of some behavior during the recent pro-Palestinian protests, could have that effect.”

    Violating this “anti-disguise” law is punishable by a fourth-degree felony charge, up to US$5000 in fines and five years on community control, Yost wrote.

    College campuses around the world have exploded in recent weeks in protests — with the latest at the University of Amsterdam facing a crackdown down by Dutch police — as pro-Palestinian students and faculty members demonstrate against Israel’s war on Gaza, in which almost 35,000 people have been killed.

    Protests in NZ
    In New Zealand, there have been rallies at two of the largest universities in the country, Auckland and Otago, and open letters of protest by academics against government inaction against Israel, while there have been large weekly pro-Palestine demonstrations at more than 20 centres across the country for seven months.

    The global student protests are resonating with Palestinians who have endured the destruction of all 12 universities in Gaza.

    Palestinian university presidents signed an open letter saying the protests serve as a “beacon of hope”.

    Al Jazeera’s The Take podcast series speaks to student protesters as well as advocates in Palestine to examine the issue. Listen to the episode here.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Blinken Says Israeli Units Accused of Serious Violations Have Done Enough to Avoid Sanctions. Experts and Insiders Disagree.

    by Brett Murphy

    ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

    Years before Oct. 7, soldiers and officers in four Israeli security force units committed what the U.S. State Department would later determine to be serious human rights violations against Palestinians.

    In one incident in 2019, an Israel Defense Forces soldier shot and killed an unarmed Palestinian man on the side of a road in the West Bank. That soldier was given no jail time — only three months of community service.

    Under the U.S. Leahy Laws, the government must disqualify any military or law enforcement unit from receiving assistance if there’s credible information that the group had committed violations like rape or extrajudicial killings, unless the offending entity has taken adequate steps to punish the perpetrator.

    On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Congress he had determined the punishments for the soldiers and officers in all four cases — including the community service sentence — to be adequate, according to a State Department memo to Congress. The units won’t be disqualified from receiving American military assistance. The names of the units were previously reported by Al-Monitor. ProPublica obtained the memo with Blinken’s justifications.

    Some experts disagreed with that decision, saying that the punishment Israel meted out in the 2019 case was not adequate. They said the decision to continue the support was another example of special treatment for Israel.

    Community service is “not what would be considered appropriate punishment,” said Tim Rieser, a longtime aide to former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the chief author of 1997 laws that the State Department is meant to enforce.

    Rieser said Blinken’s justification was “not consistent with how the law was written and how it was intended to be applied.” A former State Department official said it was a “mockery.” Both officials, along with another congressional aid, were especially troubled that during the years it had taken to assess whether Israel had sufficiently punished the perpetrators, the State Department had apparently not disqualified the units from U.S. support.

    A State Department spokesperson did not answer questions about Blinken’s memo but told ProPublica the agency has taken “extensive steps to implement the Leahy law for all countries that receive applicable U.S. assistance, including Israel.” The spokesperson said the agency is continuing to review reports of violations. “Israel has a moral obligation and a strategic imperative to protect civilians,” the spokesperson added.

    ProPublica previously reported that a panel of internal State Department experts, known as the Israel Leahy Vetting Forum, had sent Blinken multiple cases of violations, along with recommendations to cut units off from assistance, months ago. The recommendations were an unusual escalation after years of deferential treatment of Israel, according to people close to the forum’s activities.

    Following the report three weeks ago, Blinken promised to announce his determinations “in the coming days.” At the time, several media outlets reported that the State Department was poised to sanction one of the units, Netzah Yehuda, the ultra-Orthodox military battalion that has operated in the West Bank and been accused of multiple human rights violations.

    The vetting forum reviewed the unit for an incident in which commanders gagged, handcuffed and left an elderly Palestinian American man for dead. (The commanders were reprimanded and demoted but did not face prison time, according to the vetting forum’s meeting minutes.) Israel’s leaders responded by fiercely pushing back against U.S. plans to withhold American assistance from the battalion. Blinken has since delayed his decision on it, Axios reported.

    Netzah Yehuda is not mentioned in Blinken’s Friday memo. In the meantime, the unit has apparently remained eligible for U.S. military assistance despite the finding that there was a violation.

    “That’s an outrage and another example of special treatment for Israel,” said Charles Blaha, the former director of the State Department’s Office of Security and Human Rights and a former participant in the forum. The larger issue, he added, is that “there are literally dozens of Israeli security force units that have committed gross violations of human rights and remain eligible for assistance because of the State Department’s failure to apply the law.”

    Blinken’s letter to Congress comes at a time of increasing tension between the U.S. and Israel. Last week, President Joe Biden withheld a shipment of 3,500 bombs to Israel after the country pledged to ignore international outcry and go forward with its incursion into the southern Gazan city of Rafah. It was the first known time since Hamas’ terrorist attack that the administration has halted an arms shipment. Then, on Wednesday, Biden told CNN he would not supply bombs and shells to Israel that it can use to attack Rafah, where there are 1 million civilians sheltering.

    Blinken is required to inform Congress about any State Department findings of gross human rights violations that he considered to be remediated. His memo on Friday detailed four cases he apparently decided met that standard.

    In one case, a senior officer in the Israeli National Police’s Ma’avarim unit deceived and coerced six women, including some in the Israeli military, to have sex with him. Another officer serving in the West Bank’s COGAT unit forced at least two Palestinian women who were seeking permits to work in Israel to have sex with him between 2013 and 2016. Both of those officers are currently serving significant prison sentences, punishments that experts said are an adequate response from the Israeli government.

    In March 2016, Elor Azaria, a medic in the Israel Defense Forces’ 92nd Shimshon Battalion, killed a 20-year-old Palestinian, Abed al-Fatah al Sharif. Al Sharif was disarmed and handcuffed on the ground after stabbing an Israeli soldier when Azaria shot and killed him. Azaria was charged and convicted with manslaughter and appealed before serving nine months in prison.

    The case received enormous attention in the Israeli media, spurring debate in Israel about whether the punishment was adequate.

    However, experts, including some State Department officials, say the handling of the fourth case is egregious.

    In that case in 2019, an unnamed officer from the Shahar Search and Rescue Battalion, which looks for Hamas weaponry and intelligence, shot and killed an unarmed Palestinian man named Ahmed Manasra. Manasra had pulled over on his way home from a wedding to help a woman on the side of the road. The soldier also shot and wounded another driver, who the soldier assumed had been throwing stones at Israeli motorists.

    The soldier reached a plea deal with military judges, who acknowledged he had “made a mistake of fact when he shot the victim,” before sentencing him to three months of community service and a three-month suspended sentence. He was also removed from the military.

    The Israeli military said during court proceedings that the soldier had “wrongly assumed” that Manasra was the stone thrower and that there was a report of a possible terror attack in the area before the incident, according to The Associated Press.

    The Israeli Embassy declined to comment.

    “To the best of the Department of State’s knowledge, the investigation and judicial processes were credible,” Blinken noted in his memo to Congress. He determined that the Israelis “are taking effective steps to bring to justice the responsible member of the Shahar Battalion.”

    Blaha, one of the former forum members, said if any other country offered such a paltry punishment, his office never would have accepted it as adequate remediation. “The whole process has been such a disappointment to me,” he said.

    This post was originally published on Articles and Investigations – ProPublica.

  • Mistrial: Abu Ghraib Survivors Detail Torture in Case Against U.S. Military Contractor


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Mistrial: Abu Ghraib Survivors Detail Torture in Case Against U.S. Military Contractor

    Seg3 caciandprison

    A historic case against U.S. military contractor CACI brought by three Iraqi survivors of torture at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq ended in mistrial in Virginia last week after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The lawsuit against CACI — which was hired to provide interrogation services at Abu Ghraib — was first filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights in 2008. Since then, CACI repeatedly attempted to have the case dismissed. Plaintiffs Suhail Al Shimari, Asa’ad Zuba’e and Salah Al-Ejaili had accused CACI of conspiring to commit war crimes at Abu Ghraib. The three were subjected to sexual abuse and other forms of torture by interrogators. Democracy Now! speaks with Baher Azmy, attorney in the case and legal director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who said it was “a historic human rights case” despite the outcome. “What they could not stop is three courageous human beings who stood up against every obstacle and told their story in a U.S. court in a breathtaking, compelling manner. And while we didn’t get a judgment from a jury, we got historical testimony that makes clear, I think, CACI’s responsibility for these clients’ harms,” says Azmy, who adds that they intend to retry the case.


    This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Rafah ‘last place of safety’ in Gaza, UN aid boss warns

    RNZ News

    As Israel presses ahead with strikes in Rafah and seizing the Rafah crossing from Egypt, aid agencies are sounding the alarm of a “catastrophic humanitarian situation”.

    Rafah was “significant” because it was the only part in Gaza that had not been terribly damaged by the conflict, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) senior deputy director Scott Anderson told RNZ Checkpoint.

    “Most of the infrastructure is intact,” he said.

    “And most importantly, we have 1.4 million of the 2.2 million people in Gaza sheltering here in Rafah. And of that number, more than half are children,” Anderson told Checkpoint.

    “It’s the last place of safety within Gaza.”

    United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) senior deputy director Scott Anderson.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVaZxk9a4-U
    UNRWA’s senior deputy director Scott Anderson . . . “Those two crossings very much are the lifeline of Gaza.” Image: Screenshot RNZ

    He said people struggled daily to find food, water, showers and toilets.

    Palestinians have now been ordered to evacuate parts of Rafah as Israel prepares for a long-threatened assault on Hamas holdouts in the city.

    People displaced five times
    Many of the people had already been displaced five or six times, Anderson said.

    “And now come the evacuation orders and it makes people very nervous and apprehensive.

    “For us it is a concern because Rafah is also where our main supply line for Gaza exists through Kerem Shalom from Israel, or through Rafah Gate from Egypt.”

    He said it would affect aid reaching Rafah.

    A map of southern Gaza showing the "evacuation" area from Rafah
    A map of southern Gaza showing the “evacuation” area from Rafah. Image: LM screenshot APR

    In the north of Gaza, only 30 to 50 trucks could enter a day, whereas Kerem Shalom in the south could accommodate up to 600 trucks.

    The Rafah terminal from Egypt was a path for fuel and diesel to come in.

    “If we don’t have diesel, we don’t have hospitals running, we don’t have food being delivered, water is not being produced, waste isn’t being picked up, and the sewers aren’t running.

    “So those two crossings very much are the lifeline of Gaza, and without those, it could become very much a catastrophic humanitarian situation beyond what already exists.”

    Palestinian militant group Hamas has agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • ‘Repair colonial violence’ and support Gaza ceasefire, say Otago academics

    Asia Pacific Report

    Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end divestment from any economic ties with Israel.

    “In order to honour commitments to decolonisation and human rights, universities must act now,” says the open letter signed by more than 165 academics.

    “As a te Tiriti-led university in Aotearoa New Zealand”, the academic staff said they were calling for the University of Otago to immediately:

    1. Endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and disclose and divest from any economic ties to the apartheid state of Israel,
    2. Condemn those universities [that] have called on police to violently remove protesters from their campuses, and
    3. Call for the protection of students’ rights to protest and assemble and endorse the aims of those protests — the immediate demand of ceasefire and longer term demands to end the apartheid, violence, and illegal occupations under which Palestinians continue to suffer.

    The full letter states:

    “Kia ora koutou,

    “As we write this letter, universities across the United States have become battlegrounds. University administrators are sanctioning and encouraging violence against students and faculty members as they protest the genocidal violence in Gaza.

    “Over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed—of those deaths, it is estimated that more than 13,000 of them have been children. Israel has destroyed all 12 universities in Gaza and targeted staff and students at those universities.

    “The recent discovery of mass graves in Gaza, the hands and feet of many victims bound, has shocked the conscience of the world.

    “In keeping with a long tradition of campus protest, students and staff are demanding their universities stop contributing to genocidal violence.

    Student bodies brutalised
    “In return, their bodies have been brutalised, their own universities endorsing their arrests. Universities should, at the very least, offer crucial spaces for protest, debate, and working through collective responses to urgent social issues. Instead, administrators have called in militarised police forces, fully decked out in anti-riot regalia to repress student protests.

    “The results have been predictable: Professors and students have been arrested en masse and physically assaulted (beaten, pepper-sprayed, shot with rubber bullets, knocked unconscious, choked, and dragged limp across university lawns, their hands cuffed behind them).

    “We at the University of Otago, an institution committed to acknowledging, confronting, and seeking to repair colonial violence, are part of a society that extends far beyond the borders of Aotearoa New Zealand.

    “Acknowledging our history, including that history within its students’ experiences and working practices, compels us as a collective to call out and condemn colonial violence as and when we see it. It is not at all surprising that many of the protests in Aotearoa New Zealand calling for a ceasefire in Gaza have been organised and led by Māori alongside Palestinian activists.

    “Most recently, the Ngāti Kahungunu iwi have come out against the genocide, with one of the rally organisers, Te Ōtane Huata, stating “Tino rangatiratanga to me isn’t only self-determination of our people, it is also collective liberation.”

    “If it is to mean anything to be a te Tiriti-led university here in Aotearoa New Zealand, we must include acknowledgment that the history of Aotearoa New Zealand has been marked by consistent and egregious violations of that very treaty, and that such violations are indelibly part of settler colonialism.

    “Violent expropriation, cultural annihilation, and suppression of resistance have been the hallmarks of this project.

    Decolonisation and human rights
    “In order to honour commitments to decolonisation and human rights, universities must act now. We thus call for the University of Otago to immediately:

    “1. Endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and disclose and divest from any economic ties to the apartheid state of Israel,
    “2. Condemn those universities who have called on police to violently remove protesters from their campuses,
    “3. Call for the protection of students’ rights to protest and assemble and endorse the aims of those protests – the immediate demand of ceasefire and longer term demands to end the apartheid, violence, and illegal occupations under which Palestinians continue to suffer.

    “In other words, the University must call for a liberated Palestinian state if it is to conceptualise itself as a university that seeks to confront its own settler-colonial foundations.

    “The above position aligns with the named values of our universities here in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is our duty that we make these demands, particularly as Palestinians have seen the systematic destruction of their universities and educational infrastructure while Palestinian students of our universities have witnessed their families and friends targeted by the Israeli government.

    “If the University of Otago wants to authentically position itself as an institution that takes seriously its role as a critic and conscience of society and acknowledges the importance of coming to grips with ongoing settler-colonial violence, it should take these demands seriously.

    “We further support the Open Letter to Vice-Chancellor Dawn Freshwater from Auckland University Staff in Solidarity with Students Protesting for Palestine.”

    In solidarity,
    Dr Peyton Bond (Teaching Fellow, Sociology, Gender Studies and Criminology)
    Dr Simon Barber (Lecturer in Sociology)
    Rachel Anna Billington (PhD candidate, Politics)
    Dr Neil Vallelly (Lecturer in Sociology)
    Erin Silver (PhD candidate, Sociology)
    Professor Richard Jackson (Leading Thinker Chair in Peace and Conflict Studies)
    Dr Lynley Edmeades (Lecturer in English)
    Dr Olivier Jutel (Lecturer in Media, Film and Communication)
    Lydia Le Gros (PhD candidate & Assistant Research Fellow, Public Health)
    Dr Abbi Virens (Postdoctoral Fellow, Centre for Sustainability)
    Sonja Bohn (PhD candidate, Sociology)
    Joshua James (PhD Candidate, Gender Studies)
    Sophie van der Linden (Postgrad Student, Bioethics)
    Dr Fairleigh Evelyn Gilmour (Lecturer in Gender Studies, Criminology)
    Brandon Johnstone (Administrator, TEU Otago Branch Committee Member)
    Dr David Jenkins (Lecturer in Politics)
    Jordan Dougherty (Masters student, Sociology)
    Rosemary Overell (Senior Lecturer in Media, Film and Communication)
    Dr Sebastiaan Bierema – (Research Fellow, Public Health)
    Dr Sabrina Moro (Lecturer in Media, Film and Communication studies)
    Rauhina Scott-Fyfe (Māori Archivist, Hocken Collections)
    Dr Lena Tan (Senior Lecturer, International Relations & Politics)
    Cassie Withey-Rila (Assistant Research Fellow, Otago Medical School)
    Duncan Newman (Postgrad student, Management)

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Auckland University staff appeal over Gaza protest in solidarity with students

    Asia Pacific Report

    A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine.

    They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by students over Israel’s war on Gaza, and criticised her for “minimising” the seriousness of the seven-month war that has been widely characterised as genocide.

    They have also criticised the vice-chancellor’s announcement for failing to acknowledge that “our students were planning to establish an encampment to urge the University of Auckland to divest from any entities and corporations enabling Israel’s ongoing military violence against Palestinians in Gaza, where at least 34,535 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military operations since 7 October 2023″.

    Their open letter said in full:

    “Tēnā koe Vice-Chancellor Dawn Freshwater,

    “As members of staff of the University of Auckland, we are deeply concerned by your announcement of 30 April 2024 advising students and staff of your decision to not support the establishment of an overnight encampment by students protesting in solidarity with Palestine.

    “Firstly, we are concerned that your announcement failed to acknowledge that our students were planning to establish an encampment to urge the University of Auckland to divest from any entities and corporations enabling Israel’s ongoing military violence against Palestinians in Gaza, where at least 34,535 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military operations since 7 October 2023. Importantly, UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese recently found that there are ‘reasonable grounds’ to determine that this violence by Israel amounts to the commission of the crime of genocide. Rather than acknowledging this cause, your announcement disappointingly mischaracterised and minimised Israel’s violence as a ‘conflict’ and the resulting humanitarian crisis as a ‘heightened geopolitical tension.’

    “Secondly, we are concerned that in making your decision, you sought advice from the New Zealand Police rather than from your own students and staff. We believe that this approach to such an important matter falls short of the ‘values which bind us as a university community’ you mentioned in your announcement.

    “Thirdly, we are concerned that the reason you have provided for your decision is that the University of Auckland needs to avoid ‘introducing the significant risks that such encampments have brought to other university campuses.’ We believe that this reasoning erroneously places the blame for any safety risks in overseas campuses on students and staff who established peaceful encampments, rather than on university administrators who decided to seek unnecessary police intervention to break up these encampments, which has then led to the unjust arrests and detainments of students and staff.

    “Finally, we are concerned that your decision to seek the advice of the New Zealand Police and blame peaceful encampments for safety risks in other campuses suggests that you intend to call the New Zealand Police on your students and staff who decide to exercise their right to protest with a peaceful encampment on campus grounds. We believe that making such a suggestion to students and staff also falls short of the ‘values which bind us as a university community’ you mentioned in your announcement.

    “Accordingly, we urge you to reverse your decision and to offer your full support to students and staff who may choose to exercise their right to protest by establishing a peaceful encampment on campus grounds.

    “We also urge you not to discipline or penalise students and staff who may choose to participate in peaceful protests and encampments in any way, and to engage with them in good faith and in accordance with the ‘values which bind us as a university community’.

    Ngā mihi nui,

    Auckland University Staff in Solidarity with Students

    Fuimaono Dylan Asafo
    Associate Professor Rhys Jones
    Professor Papaarangi Reid
    Professor Emeritus Jane Kelsey
    Dr Suliana Mone
    Professor Emeritus David V Williams
    Professor Andrew Jull
    Associate Professor Donna Cormack
    Dr Nav Sidhu
    Associate Professor George Laking
    Mia Carroll
    Ankita Askar
    Caitlin Merriman
    Dr Rebekah Jaung
    Dr Eileen Joy
    Sione Ma’u
    Arin Hectors
    Dr Ian Hyslop
    Dr Fleur Te Aho
    Associate Professor Treasa Dunworth
    Professor Nicholas Rowe
    Dr Emalani Case
    Emmy Rākete
    Kendra Cox
    Zoe Poutu Fay
    Kenzi Yee
    Niamh Pritchard
    Associate Professor Lisa Uperesa
    Eru Kapa-Kingi
    Daniel Wilson
    Kate Jack
    Dr Karly Burch
    Sean Sturm
    Campbell Talaepa
    Professor Liz Beddoe
    Erin Jia
    Emily Sposato
    Fahizah Sahib
    Dina Sharp
    Dr Murray Olsen
    Dr Cynthia Wensley
    Sasha Rodenko
    Gabbi Courtenay
    Atama Thompson
    Professor Paula Lorgelly
    Jess Kelly
    Amelia Kendall
    Abigail Siddayao-Ramos
    Bianca Parker
    Georgia Nemaia
    Muhammad Bazaan Ghaznavi
    Erica Farrelly
    Dr Vivienne Kent
    Morgan Allen
    Carrie Rudzinski
    Thomas Gregory
    Lauren Brentnall
    Lily Chen
    Awhi Marshall
    Max Stephens
    Dr. Charlotte Toma
    Sonia Fonua
    Benjamin Kauri Doyle
    Kyrin Bhula
    Isobel Rist
    Kelly Young
    Ngahuia Harrison
    Briar Meads
    Emma Parangi
    Mai AlSharaf
    Dr Anita Mudaliar
    Dave Henricks
    Maryam Madawi
    Yeray Madroño
    Marnie Reinfelds
    Maizurah Maidin
    Nida Zuhena
    Professor Virginia Braun
    Bridget Conor
    Amani Mashal
    Anastasia Papadakis
    Ayla Hoeta Lecturer, Assistant Associate Dean Maaori
    Associate Professor Elana Curtis
    Professor Nicola Gaston
    Nina Dyer
    Renz Alinabon

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Auckland academics call out university stance over pro-Palestine protest

    RNZ News

    A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians.

    This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it supported the right of students and staff to protest peacefully and legally, it would not support an overnight encampment due to health and safety concerns.

    The university’s statement said advice from police had been taken into account, and the university would “work constructively” with the protesters to facilitate an alternative form of protest.

    “This compromise enables students and staff who wish to express their views to do so in a peaceful and lawful manner, without introducing the significant risks that such encampments have brought to other university campuses,” the statement said.

    On Wednesday, more than 100 people gathered at the university’s central city campus for the rally, with those taking part expressing a range of views toward violence between Israel and Palestinians and the war in Gaza.

    Protest organisers Students for Justice in Palestine, said the demonstration was the initial event in a long-term campaign to advocate for Palestinian rights, in “support for justice and peace”, and invited any member of the university to take part, “regardless of background or affiliation”.

    After the university’s statement against the planned encampment, the group changed the event to a campus rally, which they said would make it more accessible to a more diverse range of people.

    Open letter of concern
    However, now an open letter signed by 65 university staff and academics says they held deep concerns about the university’s stance toward the protest.

    The institution’s reaction “mischaracterised” the focus of the protest, minimised the violence in Gaza, and had not acknowledged a call for the institution to “divest from any entities and corporations enabling Israel’s ongoing military violence against Palestinians in Gaza”, the letter said.

    It condemned the university for not seeking advice about the planned protest from its own students and staff, and said the institution’s stance had implied the protesters would “introduce significant risks”.

    One of the signatories, senior law lecturer Dylan Asafo, told RNZ the University of Auckland vice-chancellor had taken poor advice.

    “The vice-chancellor is essentially blaming the violence and unrest that we’re seeing on the newest campuses [overseas] on staff and students who set up peaceful encampments there, rather than on university administrators and police forces who have broken up those peaceful encampments.”

    The academics also want confirmation protesters won’t be punished by the university.

    “We also urge you not to discipline or penalise students and staff who may choose to participate in peaceful protests and encampments in any way, and to engage with them in good faith,” the letter said.

    The university has been approached for comment.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by APR editor.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • OPM’s Bomanak accuses UN of failing to uphold decolonisation role over West Papua

    Asia Pacific Report

    A West Papuan resistance leader has condemned the United Nations role in allowing Indonesia to “integrate” the Melanesian Pacific region in what is claimed to be an “egregious act of inhumanity” on 1 May 1963.

    In an open letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Organisasi Papua Merdeka-OPM (Free Papua Organisation) leader Jeffrey P Bomanak has also claimed that this was the “beginning of genocide” that could only have happened through the failure of the global body to “legally uphold its decolonisation responsibilities in accordance with the UN Charter”.

    Bomanak says in the letter dated yesterday that the UN failed to confront the “relentless barbarity of the Indonesian invasion force and expose the lie of the fraudulent 1969 gun-barrel ‘Act of No Choice’”.

    The open letter follows one released on the eve of Anzac Day last month which strongly criticised the role of Australia and the United States, accusing both countries of “betrayal” in Papuan aspirations for independence.

    According to RNZ News today, an Australian statement in response to the earlier OPM letter said the federal government “unreservedly recognises Indonesia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over the Papua provinces”.

    The White House has not responded.

    The OPM says it has compiled a “prima facie pictorial ‘integration’ history” of Indonesia’s actions in integrating the Pacific region into an Asian nation. It plans to present this evidence of “six decades of crimes against humanity” to Secretary-General Guterres and new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.

    The open letter states:

    May 1, 2024

    Dear Secretary-General Guterres,

    I am addressing you in an open letter which I will be releasing to media and governments because I have previously brought to your attention the history of the illegal annexation of West Papua on May 1st, 1963, and the role of your office in the fraudulent UN referendum in 1969, called an Act of Free Choice and I have never received a reply.

    Part of the opening page of the five-page OPM open letter to the United Nations
    Part of the opening page of the five-page OPM open letter to the United Nations. Image” Screenshot APR

    After six decades of OPM letters and Papuan appeals to the UN Secretariat, I am providing the transparency and accountability of an “open letter”, so that historians of the future can
    investigate the moral and ethical credibility of the UN Secretariat.

    May 1st is a day of mourning for Papuans. A day of grief over the illegal annexation of our ancestral Melanesian homeland by a violent occupation force from Southeast Asia.

    Indonesia’s annexation of Western New Guinea (Irian Jaya/West Papua) on May 1, 1963, is
    commemorated in Indonesia’s Parliament as a day of integration. The photos on these pages on these pages show a different story. The reality these photos portray is, in fact, one of the longest ongoing acts of genocide since the end of the Second World War.

    An invasion and an illegal annexation not unlike Nazi Germany’s annexation in 1938 of
    its neighbouring country, Austria. The difference for Papuans is that the UN and the USA were co-conspirators in preventing our right to determine a future that was our right to have under the UN decolonisation process: independence and nation-state sovereignty.

    A very chilling contradiction — the Allies we fought alongside, nursed back to life, and died with during WWII had joined forces with a mass-murderer not unlike Hitler — the Indonesian president Suharto (see Photo collage #2: Axis of Evil).

    Some scholars have called the May 1, 1963 annexation “Indonesia’s Anschluss”. Suharto and the conspirators goal of colonial invasion and conquest had been achieved through
    the illegal annexation of my people’s ancestral homeland, my homeland.

    General and president-in-waiting Suharto signed a contract in 1967 with American mining giant Freeport, another company associated with David Rockefeller, two years before we were to determine our future through the aforementioned gun-barrel UN referendum project-managed by a brutal occupation force. Our future had already been determined by Suharto, David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, and Suharto’s friend, UN secretary-General U Thant. U Thant had succeeded Dag Hammarskjöld who had been assassinated for his controversial view that human rights and freedom were absolutely universal and should not be subjected to the criminal whims of either tyrants like Suharto or a resource industry with views on human rights and freedom that resembled Suharto’s.

    I do not need to give you a blow-by-blow history for your edification — you already know the entire history and the victim tally — 350,000 adults and 150,000 children and babies. And rising. You are, after all, a man of some principle — Portugal’s former prime minister of Portugal from 1995 to 2002, as well as a member of the Portuguese Socialist Party. And presiding as Portuguese prime minster during the final years of Fretilin’s war of liberation in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony invaded by Indonesia in 1975 with anywhere up to 250,000 victims of genocide. Please explain to me the difference between the Indonesia’s
    invasion and “integration” of East Timor and Indonesia’s invasion and “integration” of my homeland, Western New Guinea (West Papua).

    Apart from the oil in the Timor Gap and the gold and copper all over my homeland — the wealth of someone else’s resources promoting the “integration” policies pictured over these pages.

    As a member of a socialist party, you might be attending May Day ceremonies today. I will be counselling victims and the families of loved ones who have been “integrated” today. Yes, the freedom-loving Papuans are holding rallies to protest the annexation of our homeland . . .  to protest the failure — your failure — to apply justice and to end this nightmare.

    The cost of the UN-approved annexation to Papuans in pain and suffering: massacres, torture, systemic rape by TNI and Polri, mutilation and dismemberment as a signature of your barbarity. Relentless barbarity causing six decades of physical and cultural genocide, ethnocide, infanticide, and wave after wave of ethnic cleansing.

    The cost to Papuans in the theft and plunder of our natural resources: genocide by starvation and famine.

    The cost to Papuans from the foreign resource industry plundering our natural resources: the devastation of pristine environments, whole ecosystems poisoned by the resource industry’s chemical toxicity, called tailings, released into rivers thereby destroying whole riverine catchments along with food sources from fishing and farming — catchment rivers and nearby farming lands contaminated by Freeport, and other’s. A failure to apply any international standards for risk management to prevent the associated birth defects
    in villages now living in contaminated catchments.

    That we would choose to become part of any nation so brutal defies credibility. That the UN approved integration should have been impossible based on the evidence of the ever-increasing numbers of defence and security forces landing in West Papua and undertaking military campaigns that include ever-increasing victims and internally displaced Papuans, the bombing of central highland villages a current example? Such courage! Why are foreign
    media not allowed into my people’s homeland?

    Secretary-General Guterres, future historians will judge the efficacy of the United Nations. The integrity. West Papua will feature as a part the UN Secretariat’s legacy. To this endeavour, as the leader of Organisasi Papua Merdeka, I ask, and demand that you comply with your obligations under article 85 part 2 and sundry articles of your Charter of United Nations which requires that you inform the Trusteeship Council about your General Assembly resolution 1752, with which you are subjugating our people and homelands of West New Guinea which we call West Papua.

    The agreement which your resolution 1752 is authorising, begins with the words “The Republic of Indonesia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, having in mind the interests and welfare of the people of the territory of West New Guinea (West Irian)”

    Your agreement is clearly a trusteeship agreement written according to your rules of Chapter XII of your Charter of the United Nations.

    The West Papuan people have always opposed your use of United Nations military to make our people’s human rights subject to the whim of your two administrators, UNTEA and from 1st May 1963 the Republic of Indonesia that is your current administrator.

    We refer to your organisation’s last official record about West Papua which still suffers your ongoing unjust administration managed by UNTEA and Indonesia:

    Because you also used article 81 and Chapter XII of your Charter to seize control of our homelands when you created your General Assembly resolution 1752, the Netherlands was excused by article 73(e), “to transmit regularly to the Secretary-General for information purposes, subject to such limitation as security and constitutional considerations may require, statistical and other information of a technical nature relating to economic, social, and educational conditions in the territories for which they are respectively responsible other than those territories to which Chapters XII and XIII apply”, from transmitting further reports about our people and the extrajudicial killings that your new administrators began using to silence our demands for our liberty and independence.

    We therefore demand your Trusteeship Council begin its unfinished duty of preparing your United Nations reports as articles 85 part 2, 87 and 88 of your Charter requires.

    West Papua is entitled to independence, and article 76 requires you assist. It is illegal for Indonesia to invade us and to impede our independence, and to subsequently subject us to six decades of every classification for crimes against humanity listed by the International Criminal Court.

    We know this trusteeship agreement was first proposed by the American lawyer John Henderson in 1959, and was discussed with Indonesian officials in 1961 six months before the death of your Dag Hammarskjöld. We think it is shameful that you then elected Indonesia’s friend U Thant as Secretary-General, and we demand that you permit the Secretariat to perform its proper duty of revealing your current annexation of West Papua (Resolution 1752) to your Trusteeship Council.

    I look forward to your reply.

    Yours sincerely,

    Jeffrey P Bomanak
    Chairman-Commander OPM
    Markas Victoria, May 1, 2024

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • 27 years in captivity – free Marwan Barghouti, ‘Palestine’s Mandela’

    SPECIAL REPORT: By Eugene Doyle

    He is the most popular Palestinian leader alive today — and yet few people in the West even know his name. Absolutely no one in Gaza or the West Bank does not know him.

    That difference speaks volumes about who dominates the media narrative that we are spoon-fed every day.

    Marwan Barghouti — known to many as “the Palestinian Mandela” — has spent more time in captivity than Nelson Mandela did.

    Barghouti, the “terrorist”, rotting in jail. Barghouti, the indomitable leader who has not given up on peace. Barghouti, loved by ordinary people as “a man of the street”. Barghouti, supporter of the Oslo Accords.

    Barghouti, the 15-year-old youth leader standing beside Yasser Arafat. Barghouti, once a member of Parliament and Fatah secretary-general. Barghouti, leader of Tanzim, a PLO military wing, choosing militancy after the betrayal of the Oslo promise by the Americans and Israelis became fully clear.

    Barghouti, a leader of the intifada that restored hope to a broken people. Barghouti, the scholar and thinker. Barghouti, the political strategist and unifier.

    Marwan Barghouti is also that most powerful thing: a living symbol of an oppressed people. Why do so few in the West even know his name? He declared:

    “Resistance is a holy right for the Palestinian people to face the Israeli occupation.

    “Nobody should forget that the Palestinian people negotiated for 10 years and accepted difficult and humiliating agreements, and in the end didn’t get anything except authority over the people, and no authority over land, or sovereignty.”

    Prison a defining part of Palestinian national consciousness
    Researcher-writer Emad Moussa says imprisonment has become a defining part of the Palestinian national consciousness. In a 2021 article for The New Arab, he says that Marwan Barghouti proves you can imprison the Palestinians but not their struggle.

    It’s not hard to understand why imprisonment is a central part of Palestinian consciousness.

    Norman Finkelstein describes October 7 as more like a slave revolt than a terrorist attack.

    Fellow Jewish scholar Masha Gessen likens Gaza to a Nazi-era Jewish ghetto.

    In fact, all 7.5 million Palestinians are prisoners of the Zionist state. They are all prisoners of the history imposed on them by the powerful white nations of the West. Between 1967 and 2015 over 850,000 Palestinians had been detained by the Israelis.

    According to the Israeli human rights group B’tselem more than 8000 Palestinians are held by the Israelis. Many are held in secret Israeli Defence Force (IDF) facilities and there have been verified cases of torture, sexual abuse and limb amputations due to prolonged shackling.

    Many children are also held in grim captivity.

    Denies the charges
    Barghouti, returned to jail in 2002, and was convicted by an Israeli court on five counts of murder in 2004. He denies the charges and does not recognise the court.

    Like many who see all non-violent avenues to peace shut off, Barghouti watched the Israelis relentlessly steal more and more Palestinian land and Palestinian homes, build hundreds of illegal settlements in defiance of international law and strangle his people with draconian controls — all while America and the powerful Western countries turned a blind eye.

    “How would you feel if on every hill in territory that belongs to you a new settlement would spring up? I reached a simple conclusion. You, Israel, don’t want to end the occupation and you don’t want to stop the settlements — so the only way to convince you is by force.”

    Lawyer and activist Fadwa Barghouti, Marwan’s wife, says: “Marwan’s goal has always been ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories.

    “Marwan Barghouti believes in politics. He’s a political and national leader loved by his people.

    “He fought for peace with bravery and spent time on the Palestinian street advocating for peace. But he also believes in international law, which gives the occupied people the right to fight for their independence and freedom.”

    Israeli journalist Gideon Levy at Haaretz agrees: “Marwan was not born to kill . . .  because he is not a violent person, but Israel pushed him and the entire Palestinian people.”

    ‘The ultimate leader’
    Alon Liel, formerly Israel’s most senior diplomat, proposed freeing Barghouti because he is “the ultimate leader of the Palestinian people,” and “he is the only one who can extricate us from the quagmire we are in.”

    He is not alone in this view. Jerome Karabel, professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, details Netanyahu’s support for Hamas (for example, facilitating money via Qatar to Hamas) as a way to neutralise the threat posed by pro-peace, pro-two-state figures like Barghouti to the Zionists’ own single Jewish supremacist state solution.

    “In this context, the popular and charismatic Barghouti has posed a unique threat to Israel and its persistent claim that it had no plausible interlocutor with whom to negotiate,” Karabel says.

    Was Barghouti involved in terror attacks? Quite possibly.

    He rejects such a label: “My crime is not “terrorism” — a term apparently only used to describe the deaths of Israeli civilians but never the deaths of Palestinians. My crime is that I insist on my freedom, freedom for my children, freedom for the entire Palestinian people.

    “And if indeed that is a crime, I proudly plead guilty.”

    The standard he is held to — five life sentences — bears no comparison with the impunity that Israelis enjoy — settlers who kill Palestinians are often rewarded with stolen land, through to political leaders greenlighting mass killings, even genocide, with the support of the US and the white Western countries.

    Abandon the myth
    “Israelis must abandon the myth that it is possible to have peace and occupation at the same time; that peaceful coexistence is possible between slave and master.

    “The lack of Israeli security is born of the lack of Palestinian freedom. Israel will have security only after the end of occupation, not before.”

    Beaten and abused in captivity, now being shunted from prison to prison and held in solitary confinement, Barghouti’s name only grows in stature as the US-Israeli violence against his people becomes clearer and clearer to a hitherto uncaring world.

    According to a March 2024 poll conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, “In presidential elections against current president Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas’ leader Ismail Haniyeh, Barghouti wins the majority of those participating in the elections.”

    It is the strange fate of the Palestinian people that most of their leaders — those that haven’t already been murdered — are either in Israeli jails, hiding from Israeli death squads or living in exile.

    One of the most incredible — and for Westerners virtually unknown — political moments in the Israel-Palestinian conflict was the creation of The Prisoners’ Document in 2006 – a break-through in negotiations, led by Barghouti, between the fractious factions that divide the Palestinian polity.

    In 18 points, the document calls for the unification of Palestinian factions and a revival of the PLO as the representative organisation of Palestine. It calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces to the 1967 borders, the right of return, and the release of prisoners.

    Freedom fighter and the options
    “The Palestinian Mandela” is a useful shorthand and there is some merit to the comparison. Nelson Mandela visited Gaza in 1999 and raised his voice to condemn racist, apartheid Israel.

    The freedom fighter who was jailed for terrorism in his own country made clear what options lay before the Palestinian people. He told his audience, which included Yasser Arafat:

    “Choose peace rather than confrontation, except in cases where we cannot move forward. Then, if the only alternative is violence, we will use violence.”

    “I was called a terrorist yesterday,” Mandela once said, “but when I came out of jail, many people embraced me, including my enemies, and that is what I normally tell other people who say those who are struggling for liberation in their country are terrorists.”

    Barghouti said: “Once Israel and the rest of the world understand this fundamental truth, the way forward becomes clear: End the occupation, allow the Palestinians to live in freedom and let the independent and equal neighbours of Israel and Palestine negotiate a peaceful future with close economic and cultural ties.”

    The Mandela comparison has its limits. Ahmed Abu Artema, one of the organisers of the Great Marches of Return in 2018 and 2019 in which thousands of peaceful Palestinian protesters were shot and hundreds killed by Israeli snipers, replied when asked, ‘Where is the Palestinian Mandela?’: “The simple answer to that is that the Israelis have killed many Mandelas.”

    Marwa Fatafta, a policy director at Access Now also dismisses the need for a Palestinian Mandela: “I don’t subscribe to the mythology. I don’t think Palestinians need a ‘saviour’ or one man to run the show. This Mandela idea dismisses the fact that Israel has one goal and one goal only: to establish an ethno-nationalist Jewish state — and that stands in complete contradiction with the idea of co-existence, peace and justice.

    Building from ground up
    “What we need on the Palestinian side is to build a movement from the ground up,” Fatafta said in 2022.

    That said, Barghouti has an immense standing in the Palestinian community and, in a slightly kinder, saner world, could play a significant role.

    In the racist narrative of Israel and the West, the only hostages are those held by Hamas. It’s time to free the Palestinian hostages, starting with Marwan Barghouti — the longest-suffering of thousands of hostages. All of the hostages should be freed — including the remaining 100 held by Hamas.

    To riff on The Specials 1984 song ‘Free Nelson Mandela’:

    “27 years in captivity

    “His body abused but his mind is still free

    “Are you so blind that you cannot see?

    “Free Marwan Barghouti, I’m begging you”

    Republished from Eugene Doyle’s website Solidarity with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Northern Ireland legacy act will harm Britain’s reputation, rights panel warns

    Report concludes state sheltered soldiers from prosecution for Troubles-era crimes, as amnesty legislation comes into force

    Britain’s reputation will be severely damaged by the Northern Ireland “legacy” act, an international panel of human rights experts has warned while calling for the government to scrap moves to grant conditional amnesties for Troubles-era crimes.

    The warning is being made as the legislation comes into force on Wednesday, offering soldiers and paramilitaries a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences for those who cooperate with a new body aimed at truth recovery.

    Continue reading…

    This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.

  • Palestine protesters stage Gaza ‘die-in’ as leaders call for step up in boycotts

    Asia Pacific Report

    A score of Palestine solidarity protesters draped themselves in white shrouds with mock blood in a sombre “die-in” demonstration at Te Komitanga Square — the heart of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city — today as speakers urged people to take a stronger boycott against Israeli products.

    The rally by hundreds of protesters marked Israel’s killing of more than 34,000 Palestinians — mostly women and children — and wounding more than 77,000 in its genocidal war on Gaza.

    The war has lasted 205 days so far with no let-up in the deadly assault on the besieged enclave and protesters staged 35 events around New Zealand this week as global demonstrations continue to grow.

    Opposition MPs took part in the rally, including Labour’s Shanan Halbert and Green Party’s Steve Abel and Ricardo Menéndez March.

    Activist and educator Maryam Perreira called on Palestine supporters to step up their boycott and divestments pressure — “it’s working, sanctions brought down apartheid South Africa and this will bring down the Israeli genocidal regime”.


    “Food not bombs for Gaza”.    Video: Café Pacific

    She said the courage and commitment of the Palestinian resistance had become an inspiration to the world.

    Send Israeli ambassador home
    Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa (PSNA) secretary Neil Scott called for sanctions action by the New Zealand government.

    He urged Palestine supporters to call on the government to:

    • Send the Israeli ambassador home, and
    • End the working holiday visa for 200 Israelis who come to New Zealand to rest and relax “after committing genocide in Gaza”.

    Scott called on New Zealanders to email Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Immigration Minister Erica Stanford to take action.

    “Try just one email and see how it goes. Then another on another topic. Then another. That’s how I started a while ago,” Scott said.

    “We need a tide of emails to get them to understand that Kiwis don’t want the Israeli ambassador here.

    “Neither do we want the young Israelis committing genocide today and to walk among us tomorrow.”

    More than 13,000 people have signed a petition calling for the closure of the Israeli embassy in Welington.


    “They can’t demonise an entire nation.”  Video: Café Pacific

    Superfund divestment
    Scott said divestment pressure also worked – it is one of the driving forces for student protests at some 70 universities across the US over the past week with police arresting hundreds.

    He spoke about the NZ government’s Superfund which has investments all over the world.

    “A few years ago, they invested in Israeli banks which were investing in the building of illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestine Territories. They were involved in investing and enabling crimes against humanity,” Scott said.

    “Our efforts got the NZ Superfund to divest from those banks in 2021.”


    “BDS – more action call.”    Video: Café Pacific

    He called on people with KiwiSaver fund accounts to check them out for investments in “Israeli companies who are in any way involved in the occupation”.

    “We’re now calling for everyone to boycott Israeli products — or those companies which are complicit in Israeli crimes against humanity or the illegal occupation, land theft, ethnic cleansing, apartheid and now genocide.”

    Scott cited the boycott target list of the global BDS movement — Ahava (“Dead Sea mineral skin care products”), BP and Caltex, Hewlett-Packard, McDonalds, Obela Hummus and SodaStream.

    “The key is for all of us to take action today. Remember — boycott, divest, sanction.”

    Palestinian flags in Auckland's Te Komititanga Square
    Palestinian flags in Auckland’s Te Komititanga Square today. Image: APR

    Meanwhile, 1News reports that three New Zealand doctors planning to sail with an independent flotilla carrying aid to Gaza have had their mission “scuppered at the last minute”. They blame Israel for the delay.

    The doctors — Dr Ali Al-Kenani, Dr Wasfi Shahin and Dr Faiez Idais — left for Istanbul 10 days ago where they joined other international volunteers in the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, said 1News.

    Organisers of the humanitarian aid mission said the boats were set to sail under the flag of the West African nation of Guineau Bisseau but said the country had withdrawn permission to use its flag under pressure from Israel.

    A Gaza "die-in body" in Te Komititanga Square
    A Gaza “die-in body” in Te Komititanga Square today. Image: APR

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Biden hails ‘press freedom, democracy’ but ignores Gaza media death toll of 142

    Pacific Media Watch

    US President Joe Biden has spoken at the annual White House Correspondents’ dinner in Washington in spite of protests over alleged “complicity” of media about Israel’s war on Gaza, offering a toast to “press freedom and democracy” but ignoring the death toll of Palestinian journalists.

    Demonstrators targeted the Washington Hilton hotel which hosted the dinner, denouncing the Biden administration’s handling of the war and urging guests — especially media — to boycott the event.

    Media freedom watchdogs have cited varying death toll figures for Palestinian journalists killed since October 7 although Al Jazeera network news today reported 142 dead — more than double the number of journalists killed in each of the Second World War and the Vietnam War.

    “It’s astonishing. We’ve never seen a White House correspondents’ dinner like this,” reported Al Jazeera’s Washington correspondent Shihab Rattansi.

    “The President is here to speak while being warmly applauded by the national US press core.

    “But these VIPs are all dressed up in the evening finery, and they have to run the gauntlet of hundreds of protesters out here who are shouting, ‘Shame on you’.

    “‘Shame on you’ for breaking bread when there are [142] journalists dead as a result of, as far as they say, Biden’s complicity in their murder.”

    Code Pink flag protest
    Members of the feminist organisation Code Pink dropped a huge Palestinian flag from a top floor window of the Washington Hilton hotel.

    The group said members involved in the action managed “to get out quickly and without arrest”.

    The protesters were gathered outside the hotel to express solidarity with the dozens of Palestinian journalists killed in Gaza.

    Protest outside Washington Hilton Hotel
    The protest outside the White House correspondents’ dinner hotel. Image: Anatolu video screenshot APR

    More than two dozen Palestinian journalists had called for a boycott of the dinner, writing an open letter urging their American colleagues not to attend.

    “You have a unique responsibility to speak truth to power and uphold journalistic integrity,” said the letter from the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate.

    “It is unacceptable to stay silent out of fear or professional concern while journalists in Gaza continue to be detained, tortured, and killed for doing our jobs.”

    ‘It hurts our souls’
    Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary was one of the signatories of the letter calling for the boycott.

    She spoke to the network from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, saying she did not “have the words” to describe what she had been going through.

    “This isn’t something that has been ending. It has been continuous every single day for more than 200 days.

    “We have been killed, displaced and homeless, and we’re not only reporting on this, but we’re also living it with every single detail.

    Gaza journalist Hind Khoudary . . . Palestinian
    Gaza journalist Hind Khoudary . . . Palestinian press plea to boycott the White House dinner. Image: @Hind_Gaza

    “We’re living this war in all aspects of life. We have not seen our families as journalists. We have not been able to eat well. We have been dehydrated.

    “We have been reporting in one of the harshest conditions any reporter can go through despite losing a lot of colleagues, and it hurts our souls and our hearts every single day.

    “We have been constantly targeted by the Israeli air strikes and shelling.

    “All of these daily things we have been living as journalists are overwhelming [and] exhausting, but we still continue because there have been at least 100 Palestinian journalists whom I personally know that have been killed since October 7.

    “If they were here today with us, they would be reporting, and they would be raising the voice of the voiceless Palestinians.”

    Protesters pose as Palestinian media casualties in Gaza
    Protesters pose as Palestinian media casualties in Gaza surrounded by blue press protective jackets. The death toll of Gaza journalists since October 7 is 142. Image: Anatolu video screenshot APR


    This content originally appeared on Asia Pacific Report and was authored by Pacific Media Watch.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • US student Palestine protests against Israel’s war on Gaza inspire global action

    Asia Pacific Report

    From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps.

    And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in the 1960s and 1980s.

    But authorities have cracked down at some institutions against the peaceful demonstrations with at least 550 being arrested in the US, reports Al Jazeera.

    Clashes between students and police officers have been reported across the US during intensifying university protests with encampments in at at least 20 institutions.

    Ali Harb, a Washington-based commentator on US foreign policy, Arab-American issues, civil rights and politics, says the Gaza-focused campus protest movement “highlights a generational divide over Israel” in the US.

    Young people are willing to challenge politicians and college administrators across the country, he says.

    “The opinion gap — with younger Americans generally more supportive of Palestinians than the generations that came before them — poses a risk to 81-year-old Democratic President Joe Biden’s re-election chances,” says Harb.

    “It could also threaten the bipartisan backing that Israel enjoys in Washington.”

    Divestment from Israel
    What started as the Gaza solidarity encampment at Columbia University, where students camped inside campus to push their institute to divest from companies linked to Israel, has since spread to campuses in California, Texas and other states.

    The students are protesting against Israel’s war on Gaza, where Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 34,000 people and its blockade has caused starvation.

    Students have been demonstrating worldwide in support of Gaza since the outbreak of the war on October 7.

    Following the Columbia encampments, the protests have further spread to universities from France to Australia. Here is a summary:

    In Paris, France, Sorbonne University students have taken to the streets. Additionally, the Palestine Committee from Sciences Po, is organising a protest where students set up about 10 tents on Wednesday. Despite a police crackdown, the protesters regathered on Thursday.

    In Australia, students from the University of Sydney set up pro-Palestine encampments on Tuesday, and they were continuing to protest yesterday. Also, University of Melbourne students have pitched tents on the south lawn of their main campus.

    In Rome, Italy, students from Sapienza University organised demonstrations, sit-ins and hunger strikes on April 17 and April 18.

    Investigating Israeli ties
    In the United Kingdom, students from the University of Warwick’s group Warwick Stands With Palestine have occupied the campus piazza. In Leicester, a protest broke out on Monday in which students from the University of Leicester Palestine Society also participated.

    Last month, students from the University of Leeds occupied a campus building in protest against the university’s involvement with Israel.

    Hicham, a student protesting at Sciences Po, which is also called the Paris Institute of Political Studies, told Al Jazeera, “We have a few demands but one of them is to start investigating all of the ties they [Sciences Po] have with the state of Israel, which [are] academic and financial”.

    The students are calling on the French government to provide more help to the Palestinians.

    Safeguard Gaza universities plea
    Meanwhile, nearly 30 Palestinian academics in the UK have called for “swift” action to safeguard universities in Gaza.

    The statement, whose signatories include Ghassan Abu Sittah, who has worked at al-Shifa and Alhi Arab hospitals in Gaza during the war, urged “friends and colleagues to take immediate steps to defend the integrity of Palestinian universities in occupied Palestine against the current plans and measures seeking to destroy them”.

    It added: “Having turned the universities of Gaza into detention centres before demolishing them, forcibly rendering Palestinian scholars, scientists, researchers and students homeless once again, Israel’s campaign of scholasticide has turned its attention to eliminating future independent Palestinian educational life in Gaza.”

    The academics also said they demand the institutions created by Palestinians in the face of “immense challenges” are not destroyed “but instead are rebuilt”.

    “They serve as a symbol of resilience and hope for the Palestinian people as a whole.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • AOC pushes massive military aid to Ukraine


    This content originally appeared on The Grayzone and was authored by The Grayzone.

    This post was originally published on Radio Free.

  • Israel delays Gaza Freedom Flotilla departure with bureaucratic ‘block’

    Asia Pacific Report

    The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza.

    All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave.

    However, organisers received word of an “administrative roadblock” initiated by Israel in an attempt to prevent the departure.

    Israel is reportedly pressuring the Republic of Guinea Bissau to withdraw its flag from the flotilla’s lead ship — Akdeniz (“Mediterranean”).

    This triggered a request for an additional inspection, this one by the flag state, that delayed yesterday’s planned departure.

    “This is another example of Israel obstructing the delivery of life-saving aid to the people in Gaza who face a deliberately created famine,” said a Freedom Flotilla statement.

    “How many more children will die of malnutrition and dehydration because of this delay and an ongoing siege which must be broken?”

    Israeli tactics
    This is not the first time that Israel has used such tactics to stop Freedom Flotilla ships from sailing.

    “We have overcome them before and are diligently working to overcome this latest attempt,” said the flotilla statement.

    “Our vessels have already passed all required inspections and we are confident that the Akdeniz will pass this inspection provided there is no political interference.

    “We expect this to be no more than a few days delay. Israel will not break our resolve to reach the people of Gaza.”


    ‘Freedom flotilla’ defying Israel’s Gaza blockade.       Video: Al Jazeera

    Al Jazeera reports that lawyers, aid workers and activists are on board the ship in preparation for efforts by the flotilla to break the Israeli air, land and sea blockade of Gaza.

    About 100 media people are on board as well, hoping to provide a more global eye on what is happening in Gaza.

    Chief Mandla Mandela, the grandson of former South African President Nelson Mandela, is part of the flotilla that plans to soon set off for Gaza.

    “For us South Africans, the Palestinian issue has always been close and dear to our hearts,” Mandela said, noting that this grandfather had also said, “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people.”

    Published in collaboration with Kia Ora Gaza.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Controversial Azerbaijan deal sparks fresh row in New Caledonia

    ANALYSIS: By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

    The signing of a controversial memorandum of cooperation between New Caledonia’s Congress and the National Assembly of Azerbaijan has fuelled more tension — and demands from anti-independence parties that the deal be scrapped altogether.

    The memorandum was signed on New Caledonia’s part by one pro-independence member of the Congress, Omayra Naisseline, on behalf of Congress Chair Roch Wamytan, and by Azerbaijan’s Milli Mejtis, the National Assembly Chair Sahibé Gafarova.

    It was presented as paving the way for “interparliamentary cooperation and strengthening friendly ties between the peoples of Azerbaijan and New Caledonia”.

    Speaking to Azeri media after the signing, Naisseline officially thanked the Bakou Initiative Group, the non-aligned movement, for their “support to the struggle of the Kanak people”.

    She said the agreement would cover such topics as “youth, culture, economics, environment and politics”.

    During the official signing of the document on April 18, Azerbaijan’s flag was placed on a desk near the Kanak flag which represents New Caledonia’s pro-independence movement.

    Pro-France parties were up in arms upon learning of the signing leading to Congress Chairman and pro-independence leader Wamytan held a media conference on Tuesday.

    Against French colonialism
    Wamytan told local media that since he could not  travel in person, he had asked Naisseline to sign the agreement on his behalf while she was travelling to Azerbaijan to attend a conference upon the invitation of the Bakou Initiative Group.

    The “Bakou Initiative Group Against French Colonialism” was set up in July 2023, on the margins of a meeting of the non-aligned movement held at the time in the Azerbaijan capital.

    New Caledonia’s Congress Chair Roch Wamytan speaking
    New Caledonia’s Congress Chair Roch Wamytan speaking at a press conference this week in Nouméa. Image: RRB

    Wamytan said the travel expenses were taken care of by the host country, and that Naisseline travelled there in her capacity as FLNKS representative.

    But referring to New Caledonia’s current tense negotiations on its political future status and a French move to modify voters eligibility at New Caledonia’s local polls, Wamytan also said on Tuesday that “we need to find external backing since (French) President Macron is no longer impartial”.

    “Azerbaijan has shown it has the capacity to help the (pro-independence) FLNKS, and those countries that help us can take initiatives vis-à-vis France, and this is what we need so that our voice can be heard,” he said, referring to New Caledonia’s indigenous Kanak people’s right to self-determination.

    Both Wamytan and Naisseline belong to the Union Calédonienne (UC), a major component of the pro-independence front FLNKS.

    Other FLNKS components such as the PALIKA (Kanak Liberation Party) and the UPM (Union of Melanesian Parties) have yet to comment on the fresh controversy.

    ‘Inappropriate’ and ‘shameful’
    This has since prompted an open row between pro-France parties within the Congress, who are denouncing the move as “inappropriate” and “shameful”.

    Les Loyalistes Congress caucus head Françoise Suvé told local media: “For Omayra Naisseline to go there and claim that she is representing the people of New Caledonia and its Congress is just unacceptable.”

    Pro-France Calédonie Ensemble MP, Philippe Dunoyer said this was shameful.

    “There is a confusion, an instrumentalisation and behind all this, a political will.

    “If the FLNKS wants to travel there, it has the right to do so, but not the Congress.”

    Azerbaijian’s National Assembly Chair Sahiba Gafarova (left) and pro-independence Congress member Omayra Naisseline signed a memorandum of cooperation in Bakou – Photo Bakou Initiative Group
    Signing up . . . Azerbaijian’s National Assembly Chair Sahiba Gafarova (left) and pro-independence Congress member Omayra Naisseline signing a memorandum of cooperation in Bakou. Image: Bakou Initiative Group

    It is also understood that Nicolas Metzdorf, another pro-French MP who is New Caledonia’s representative at the French National Assembly, officially wrote last week to French Foreign Affairs Minister Sébastien Séjourné, asking France to provide a “strong diplomatic response” in reaction to “Azerbaijan’s flagrant interference”.

    Relations between Paris and Bakou have been particularly tense over the past months.

    In December 2023, a journalist from that country was denied entry and later deported on her arrival at Nouméa-La Tontouta international airport.

    She claimed to be there to cover the French-hosted South Pacific defence ministers’ meeting in Nouméa, where hard-line members of the FLNKS were also holding protest marches against alleged French “re-militarisation” in New Caledonia.

    In a joint release on Tuesday, pro-France parties Les Loyalistes and Rassemblement said New Caledonia’s Congress (including their MPs) were at no stage informed or consulted on this memorandum.

    They said Naisseline had never been given the Congress’s endorsement to sign such a document on behalf of the Congress.

    “In keeping with the Nouméa Accord which you signed (in 1998), local political institutions do not have powers in terms of international relations outside the Pacific region,”, the release added.

    ‘Shared powers’
    Under the current Nouméa framework Accord (1998), which has been initiating a process of gradual transfer of powers from France to New Caledonia, the notion of “shared powers” applies to “international and regional relations”.

    “International relations remain the responsibility of the [French] state, which will) take New Caledonia’s specific interests into account in international relations conducted by France and will associate [New Caledonia] to the discussions,” it says.

    “New Caledonia may have representations in Pacific countries (and may) enter into agreements with these countries within its areas of responsibility.”

    The pro-France parties also claim in the same document that the document signed with Azerbaijan “solely serves the aims of the pro-independence movement which is now becoming an instrument of Bakou regime’s will to destabilise France”.

    “New Caledonia’s Congress cannot be seen as a partisan instrument serving foreign powers confronting France.”

    They are calling for a Congress extraordinary sitting so that the accord with Azerbaijan can be declared “null and void”.

    They also denounced the signing with “a country that is guilty of horrible crimes against its own population”.

    Meanwhile, they have officially lodged a legal complaint for possible “misuse of public funds” associated with the trip to Azerbaijan.

    The French High Commissioner in New Caledonia, Louis Le Franc, has indicated he would also challenge the legality of such a document.

    Wamytan told media on Tuesday he would not nullify the pact with Azerbaijan “unless a court ruling compels [him] to do so”.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Solemn ANZAC dawn service at PNG’s Isurava battle memorial

    PNG Post-Courier

    In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province.

    The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War II unfolded along the Kokoda Trail in 1942.

    The ceremony, marked by deep reflection and remembrance, was attended by notable dignitaries including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape.

    Wreath laying at the Battle of Isurava memorial site
    Wreath laying at the Battle of Isurava memorial site, Papua New Guinea’s Northern Province. Image: PNG Post-Courier

    The presence of both leaders underscored the enduring camaraderie and shared history between the two nations, as participants paid homage to the valour and sacrifices of those who fought on these grounds.

    This year’s ANZAC Day observances at Isurava not only commemorated the past but also reinforced the bonds of friendship and mutual respect that continue to flourish between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

    Paying homage at the Battle of Isurava memorial site
    Paying homage at the Battle of Isurava memorial site. Image: PNG Post-Courier

    Marape commends Biage people over WWII

    Prime Minister James Marape commended the Biage people of Northern Province for the significant role they played in World War II until today.

    He said this at an emotional ANZAC Day dawn service at Isurava along the Kokoda Trail attended by the Biage people, Australian Prime Minister Albanese, Northern Governor Garry Juffa, Australian High Commissioner John Feakes, members of the Australian and Papua New Guinea defence forces, Australian and PNG officials, alongside 200 Australian trekkers making a pilgrimage and their porters.

    PNG prime Minister James Marape and Australian Prime Minister Albanese
    PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Prime Minister Albanese walking the Kokoda Trail. Image: PNG Post-Courier

    The dawn service was the highlight of a two-day trek by the two prime ministers from Kokoda to Isurava and was the first time ever for the Biage people to see two prime ministers together at the same time.

    Prime Minister Marape said the Biage people were a peaceful people forced into a war that was not their doing and greatly assisted Australia forces during the dark days of WWII.

    Governor Juffa also spoke about the remarkable role of the Biage people, who he said formed the bulk of the “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels”, during WWII.

    PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Prime Minister Albanese shake hands
    PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Prime Minister Albanese shake hands on the Kokoda Trail. Image: PNG Post-Courier

    The Biage people continue to show their peacefulness and hospitality by being guides and porters in the lucrative Kokoda trekking industry, PNG’s biggest tourism product.

    Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Solemn ANZAC dawn service at PNG’s Isurava battle memorial

    PNG Post-Courier

    In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province.

    The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War II unfolded along the Kokoda Trail in 1942.

    The ceremony, marked by deep reflection and remembrance, was attended by notable dignitaries including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape.

    Wreath laying at the Battle of Isurava memorial site
    Wreath laying at the Battle of Isurava memorial site, Papua New Guinea’s Northern Province. Image: PNG Post-Courier

    The presence of both leaders underscored the enduring camaraderie and shared history between the two nations, as participants paid homage to the valour and sacrifices of those who fought on these grounds.

    This year’s ANZAC Day observances at Isurava not only commemorated the past but also reinforced the bonds of friendship and mutual respect that continue to flourish between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

    Paying homage at the Battle of Isurava memorial site
    Paying homage at the Battle of Isurava memorial site. Image: PNG Post-Courier

    Marape commends Biage people over WWII

    Prime Minister James Marape commended the Biage people of Northern Province for the significant role they played in World War II until today.

    He said this at an emotional ANZAC Day dawn service at Isurava along the Kokoda Trail attended by the Biage people, Australian Prime Minister Albanese, Northern Governor Garry Juffa, Australian High Commissioner John Feakes, members of the Australian and Papua New Guinea defence forces, Australian and PNG officials, alongside 200 Australian trekkers making a pilgrimage and their porters.

    PNG prime Minister James Marape and Australian Prime Minister Albanese
    PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Prime Minister Albanese walking the Kokoda Trail. Image: PNG Post-Courier

    The dawn service was the highlight of a two-day trek by the two prime ministers from Kokoda to Isurava and was the first time ever for the Biage people to see two prime ministers together at the same time.

    Prime Minister Marape said the Biage people were a peaceful people forced into a war that was not their doing and greatly assisted Australia forces during the dark days of WWII.

    Governor Juffa also spoke about the remarkable role of the Biage people, who he said formed the bulk of the “Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels”, during WWII.

    PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Prime Minister Albanese shake hands
    PNG Prime Minister James Marape and Australian Prime Minister Albanese shake hands on the Kokoda Trail. Image: PNG Post-Courier

    The Biage people continue to show their peacefulness and hospitality by being guides and porters in the lucrative Kokoda trekking industry, PNG’s biggest tourism product.

    Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.