Category: military

May 16, 2024

NZ families worried as loved ones shelter from violent unrest in New Caledonia
By Adam Burns, RNZ News reporter

Worried New Caledonian expats in Aotearoa admit they are “terrified” for friends and family amid ongoing violence and civil unrest in the French Pacific territory.

The death toll remained at four tonight, and hundreds have been injured after electoral changes sparked widespread rioting by pro-independence supporters in the capital of Nouméa.

French President Emmanuel Macron has declared a 12-day state of emergency and about 1200 police enforcements are due to arrive from France.
Many worried locals have been confined to their homes.

New Zealand-based New Caledonians have explained how the situation in their homeland has left them on edge.

Pascale Desrumaux and her family have been in Auckland for two years.

With parts of the country in turmoil, she said she was scared for her family and friends back home in Nouméa.

“I’m terrified and I’m very stressed,” Desrumaux said.

“[My family] are afraid for their lives.”

‘Locked in’
The precarious situation is illustrated by the fact her family cannot leave their homes and neighbouring stores have been ransacked then torched by protesters.

“They are locked in at the moment, so they can’t move — so they feel anxiety of course,” Desrumaux said.

“On top of that, shortly they will run out of food.

“The situation is complex.”

Cars on fire in Nouméa during the latest political unrest. Image: @ncla1ere

Desrumaux is checking in with family members every few hours for updates.

Amid the current climate, she said she had mixed emotions about being abroad.

“This shared feeling of being relieved to be here in New Zealand and grateful because my kids and husband are not in danger,” she said.

“At the same time I feel so bad for my friends and family over there.”

‘A beautiful place’
She stressed her home country remained “a beautiful place” and hoped the crisis could be resolved peacefully.

Fellow Auckland-based New Caledonian Anais Bride said she had been left distraught by what was unfolding.

In the past 48 hours, her parents have vacated their Nouméa home to stay with Bride’s sister as tensions escalated.

Based on her conversations with loved ones, she said that international news coverage had not fully conveyed the fluid crisis facing citizens on the ground.

“It took my mother a little while for her to accept the fact that it was time to leave, because she wanted to stay where she lives.

“My sisters’ just told her ‘at the end of the day, it’s just your house, it’s material’.

“It’s been hard for my parents.”

One supermarket standing
She said there was only one supermarket left standing in Nouméa, with many markets destroyed by fire.

Kevin, who did not want his surname to be published, is another New Caledonian living in New Zealand.

While his family has not seen much unrest first hand, explosions and smoke were constant where they were, he said.

He said it was hard to predict how the unrest could be straightened out.

“It’s hard to tell,” he said.

“The most tragic thing of course is the four deaths, and many businesses have been burned down so many people will lose their job.

“The main thing is how people rebuild connections, peace and of course the economy.”

‘Timely exit’ from Nouméa
Christchurch woman Viki Moore spent a week in New Caledonia before making a “timely exit” out of Nouméa on Monday as civil tension intensified.

Some of the strong law enforcement presence at the airport in Nouméa on Monday. Image: Viki Moore/RNZ

“There was a heavy police presence out at the airport with two [armoured vehicles] at the entrance and heavily armed military police roaming around.

“Once we got into the airport we were relieved to be there in this sort of peaceful oasis.

“We didn’t really have a sense of what was still to come.”

She admitted that she did not fully comprehend the seriousness of it until she had left the territory.

An armoured vehicle on the road amid unrest in New Caledonia, on Monday. Image: Viki Moore/RNZ

Warnings for travellers
Flights through Nouméa are currently grounded.

Air New Zealand said it was monitoring the situation in New Caledonia, with its next flight NZ932 from Auckland to Nouméa still scheduled for Saturday morning.

Chief Operational Integrity and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan said this “could be subject to change”.

“The safety of our passengers, crew, and airport staff is our top priority and we will not operate flights unless their safety can be guaranteed,” he said.

“We will keep passengers updated on our services and advise customers currently in Nouméa to follow the advice of local authorities and the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.”

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

This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 16, 2024

‘Deadly spiral’ – state of emergency in Kanaky New Caledonia and the Paris vote that sparked riots
ANALYSIS: By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk
French President Emmanuel Macron has declared a state of emergency in New Caledonia after several days of civil unrest in the capital.

Four people are dead due to the unrest and violence in the capital, Nouméa.

France TV reports that a 22-year-old gendarme who had been seriously wounded has become the fourth death. The other three were reportedly Kanaks killed by vigilantes.
Macron posted on X, formerly Twitter, a message saying the nation was thinking of the gendarme’s family.

Hundreds of others have been injured with more casualties expected as French security forces struggle to restore law and order in Nouméa amid reports of clashes between rioters and “militia” groups being formed by city residents.

According to local media, the state of emergency was announced following a defence and national security council meeting in Paris between the Head of State and several government members, including the Prime Minister and ministers of the Armed Forces, the Interior, the Economy and Justice.

In a press conference last evening in Nouméa, France’s High Commissioner to New Caledonia, Louis Le Franc, told reporters he would call on the military forces if necessary and that reinforcements would be sent today.

Local leaders called for state of emergency
The state of emergency declaration came after the deteriorating crisis on Wednesday prompted Southern Province President Sonia Backès to call on President Macron to declare an emergency to allow the army to back up the police.

“Houses and businesses are being burnt down and looted — organised gangs are terrorising the population and putting at risk the life of inhabitants,” Backes said.

French High Commissioner to New Caledonia Louis Le Franc . . . 12-day state of emergency declared. Image: RNZ

“Law enforcement agents are certainly doing a great job but are obviously overwhelmed by the magnitude of this insurrection . . . Night and day, hastily formed citizen militias find themselves confronted with rioters fuelled by hate and the desire for violence.

“In the next few hours, without a massive and urgent intervention from France, we will lose control of New Caledonia,” Sonia Backès wrote.

She added: “We are now in a state of civil war.”

Backès was later joined by elected MPs for New Caledonia’s constituency, MP Nicolas Metzdorf and Senator Georges Naturel, who also appealed to the French President to declare a state of emergency.

“Mr President, we are at a critical moment and you alone can save New Caledonia,” they wrote.

More than 1700 law enforcement officers deployed
During a press conference on Wednesday evening, French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said two persons had died from gunshot wounds and another two were seriously injured during a clash between rioters and a local “civil defence group”.

He said the gunshot came from one member of the civil defence group who “was trying to defend himself”.

Other reliable sources later confirmed to RNZ the death toll from the same clash was at least three people.

High Commissioner Le Franc said that in the face of an escalating situation, the total number of law enforcement personnel deployed on the ground, mainly in Nouméa, was now about 1000 gendarmes, seven hundred police, as well as members of SWAT intervention groups from gendarmerie (GIGN) and police (RAID).

Le Franc said that a dusk-to-dawn curfew had been extended for another 24 hours.

“People have to respect the curfew, not go to confrontations with weapons, not to burn businesses, shops, pharmacies, schools.”

Police reinforcements have arrived in New Caledonia where three days of violent unrest has hit the capital Nouméa. Image: FB/info Route NC et Coup de Gueule Route

Armed groups formed on both sides
All commercial flights to and from the Nouméa-La Tontouta international airport remained cancelled for today, affecting an estimated 2500 passengers to and from Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane, Nadi, Papeete, Tokyo and Singapore.

The situation on the ground is being described by local leaders as “guerrilla warfare” bordering on a “civil war”, as more civilian clashes were reported yesterday on the outskirts of Nouméa, with opposing groups armed with weapons such as hunting rifles.

“We have now entered a dangerous spiral, a deadly spiral . . . There are armed groups on both sides and if they don’t heed calls for calms — there will be more deaths,” French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc warned.

“I sense dark hours coming in New Caledonia . . . The current situation is not meant to take this terrible twist, a form of civil war.”

Le Franc said if needed, he would call on “military” reinforcements.

Also yesterday, a group of armed rioters heading towards Nouméa’s industrial zone of Ducos, prompted an intervention from a RAID police squad.

As Nouméa residents woke up today the situation in Noumea remained volatile as, over the past 24 hours, pro-France citizens have started to set up “civil defence groups”, barricades and roadblocks to protect themselves.

Some of them have started to call themselves “militia” groups.

Political leaders call for calm
On the political front, there have been more calls for calm and appeasement from all quarters.

After New Caledonian territorial President Louis Mapou appealed on Tuesday for a “return to reason”, the umbrella body for pro-independence political parties, the FLNKS, yesterday also issued a release appealing for “calm and appeasement” and the lifting of blockades.

While “regretting” and “deploring” the latest developments, the pro-independence umbrella group recalled it had called for the French government’s proposed amendment on New Caledonia’s electoral changes to be withdrawn to “preserve the conditions to reach a comprehensive political agreement between all parties and the French State”.

“However, this situation cannot justify putting at risk peace and all that has been implemented towards a lasting ‘living together’ and exit the colonisation system,” the FLNKS statement said.

The FLNKS also noted that for the order to be validated, the controversial amendment still needed to be put to the vote of the French Congress (combined meeting of the Assembly and the Senate) and that French President Macron had indicated he would not convene the gathering of both Houses of the French Parliament immediately “to give a chance for dialogue and consensus”.

“This is an opportunity FLNKS wishes to seize so that everyone’s claims, including those engaged in demonstrations, can be heard and taken into account,” the statement said.

The President of the Loyalty Islands province, Jacques Lalié (pro-independence) on Wednesday called for “appeasement” and for “our youths to respect the values symbolised by our flag and maintain dignity in their engagement without succumbing to provocations”.

“Absolute priority must be given to dialogue and the search for intelligence to reach a consensus,” he said.

Paris vote which sparked unrest
Overnight in Paris, the French National Assembly voted 351 in favour (mostly right-wing parties) and 153 against (mostly left-wing parties) the proposed constitutional amendments that sparked the ill-fated protests in Noumea on Monday.

French National Assembly in session . . . controversial draft New Caledonia constitutional electoral change adopted by a 351-153 vote. Image: Assemblée Nationale

This followed hours of heated debate about the relevance of such a text, which New Caledonia’s pro-independence parties strongly oppose because, they say, it poses a serious risk and could shrink their political representation in local institutions (New Caledonia has three provincial assemblies as well as the local parliament, called its Congress).

New Caledonia’s pro-independence parties had been calling for the government to withdraw the text and instead, to send a high-level “dialogue mission” to the French Pacific archipelago.

The text, which is designed to open the restricted list of voters to those who have been residing in New Caledonia for an uninterrupted 10 years, has not completed its legislative path.

After its endorsement by the Senate (on 2 April 2024, with amendments) and the National Assembly (15 May 2024), it still needs to be put to the vote of the French Congress (a joint sitting of France’s both Houses of Parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate) and obtain a required majority of 60 percent.

The result of Tuesday’s controversial New Caledonia vote in the French National Assembly . . . 351 votes for the wider electoral roll with 153 against. Image: Assemblée Nationale

The bigger picture
The proposed constitutional amendments were tabled by the French Minister for Home Affairs and Overseas, Gérald Darmanin.

Darmanin has defended his bill by saying the original restrictions to New Caledonia’s electoral roll put in place under temporary measures prescribed by the 1998 Nouméa Accord needed to be readjusted to restore “a minimum of democracy” in line with universal suffrage and France’s Constitution.

The previous restrictions had been a pathway to decolonisation for New Caledonia inscribed in the French Constitution, which only allowed people who had been living in New Caledonia before 1998 to vote in local elections.

Those principles were at the centre of the heated discussions during the two days of debate in the National Assembly, where strong words were often exchanged between both sides.

More than 25 years after its implementation, the Accord– a kind of de facto embryonic Constitution for New Caledonia — is now deemed by France to have reached its expiry date after three self-determination referendums were held in 2018, 2020 and 2021, all resulting in a rejection of independence, although the last vote was highly controversial.

The third and final referendum — although conducted legally — was boycotted by a majority of the pro-independence Kanak political groups and their supporters resulting in an overwhelming “no” vote to Independence from France, a stark contrast to the earlier referendum results.

Results of New Caledonia referenda
- 2018: 56.67 percent voted against independence and 43.33 percent in favour.
- 2020: 53.26 percent voted against independence and 46.74 percent in favour.
- 2021: 96.5 percent voted against independence and 3.5 percent in favour. (However, However, the third and final vote in 2021 — during the height of the covid pandemic — under the Nouméa Accord was boycotted by the pro-indigenous Kanak population. In that vote, 96 percent of the people voted against independence — with a 44 percent turnout.)
Since the third referendum was held, numerous attempts have been made to convene all local political parties around the table to come up with a successor pact to the Nouméa Accord.

This would have to be the result of inclusive and bipartisan talks, but those meetings have not yet taken place, mainly because of differences between — and within — both pro-independence and pro-France parties.

Darmanin’s attempts to bring these talks to reality have so far failed, even though he has travelled to New Caledonia seven times over the past two years.

From the pro-independence parties’ point of view, Darmanin is now regarded as not the right person anymore and has been blamed by critics for the talks stalling.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 16, 2024

Nouméa ‘was on fire’ – New Zealander in New Caledonia tells of unrest
RNZ News

A New Zealand man has described scenes of chaos in the New Caledonia capital of Nouméa during the escalating civil unrest.

Four people have died and hundreds have been injured during rioting by pro-independence supporters over electoral changes.

French president Emmanuel Macron has declared a 12-day state of emergency and about 1200 police enforcements were due to arrive from France.
New Zealand has upgraded its SafeTravel alert for parts of New Caledonia.

All commercial flights to and from the Nouméa-La Tontouta international airport have been cancelled and many holiday makers have been stuck in Nouméa.

Aucklander Mike Lightfoot is one of those people. He arrived in Nouméa in Monday and described the scenes in the city for RNZ Morning Report.

Lightfoot said that as he and his wife started to make their way to their hotel they saw protesters, some with machetes, but they were not too worried.

‘Intersections on fire’
“It was very peaceful, we thought at the time, but as we got closer into town we could certainly see there was unrest.

“There was intersections on fire . . . as we came into the town itself there were the Gendarmerie in full gear . . . we thought this was getting serious.”

Burning cars at a Nouméa protest barricade today. Image: NC 1ère TV screenshot APR

Lightfoot said his wife needed a doctor for a chest condition and as they were in the doctor’s surgery “we heard explosions and gunshots very close to us”.

“They were rioting right through town, the town was on fire. Fortunately our taxi driver pulled down a side street, stopped for a second, got himself together. There were people running around our car and carrying on and he took off.

“We climbed up in through the suburbs and as we came down to try and get back to our hotel we came to a roundabout and they had the roundabout completely blocked off, there would have been, we estimate, around 150 of them there protesting.

“The whole roundabout was on fire, they had big blocks in the middle of the road.

“As we edged through, the smoke was so black we couldn’t really see the road. One of them whacked the car as we went through but yeah, it was pretty unsettling . . . ”

‘Be prepared to evacuate’
His hotel, Chateau Royal have asked people staying there not to step foot outside of the complex and “they’ve asked us to be prepared, that we may need to evacuate”.

About 51 New Zealanders were staying at the hotel, he said.

“We’re sort of feeling that people in New Zealand are really not understanding how serious this is and it’s quite unsettling for us all here, in fact we want out of here very quickly to be fair.”

Lightfoot said the airlines were keeping them informed.

“As soon as we are able to get to the airport they’ve [one airline] said that we are definitely on one of those planes. Air New Zealand at this point are planning to have a flight here on Saturday, if that goes ahead they also have us listed on that flight to get us out.”

Supplies in the issue were a problem and staff were living on site for their own safety, he said.

RNZ Pacific’s Koroi Hawkins said some Kanak leaders have told him they seem to have lost control of the youth.

Other residents in the city of Nouméa, some of them pro-French, have began to arm themselves as vigilantes.

Unrest a concern – Sepuloni
Labour Party’s deputy leader Carmel Sepuloni told RNZ’s First Up the growing unrest in New Caledonia was a concern.

Sepuloni said it was a worry, but she was not sure whether New Zealand would have any involvement in trying to bring the situation in the French territory under control.

At last year’s Pacific Leaders Forum, French Polynesian representatives were already expressing concern about how some policies from the French government might affect its inidgenous population, she said.

Glimmer of hope, says former envoy
A former Australian consul-general for New Caledonia Denise Fisher said measures in the French territory could hopefully fix the immediate security problem, but this was not the core issue.

“The key issue that set off the situation was about representation, who can vote in local elections.

“And it seems such an esoteric issue but it’s a critical issue, especially for the independence supporters.”

Fisher said 40 years ago, when peace agreements were reached after four years of violence, the key issue for the Kanak independence leaders was to constrain voting to only those with long term residence in New Caledonia.

“So it’s a core issue with the breaking down and the expiry of these agreements. We’re now in a political kind of a vacuum and talks about this haven’t got very far.”

She said there was a glimmer of hope on Wednesday.

“Some independence parties and some loyalist parties issued a joint communiqué calling for peace

“They’ve been having, as they have at the end of last year, informal talks, that they think they can talk and come to some sort of agreement to put to the French in the next couple of weeks.”
- Denise Fisher, a visiting fellow at Australian National University, gives her assessment on New Caledonia in detail in this Asia Pacific Report article.
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 15, 2024

France declares state of emergency in New Caledonia – four die in riots
Asia Pacific Report

France has declared a state of emergency on the Pacific territory of New Caledonia — New Zealand’s closest neighbour — after four people, including a police officer, have been killed in pro-independence riots over voting changes that further marginalise indigenous Kanaks, news agencies report.

The move came as the French government confirmed an additional 500 members of the French national police and gendarmerie were being sent to the territory to reinforce the 1800 already there and to try and quell the violence.

The state of emergency will last 12 days and give authorities additional powers to ban gatherings and forbid people from moving around the French-ruled territory.
The last time France imposed such measures on one of its overseas territories was in 1985 — also in New Caledonia in the middle of a similar upheaval known as “Les événements“, the Interior Ministry said.

Rioters torched vehicles and businesses and looted stores and this video below (in French) from the local Caledonia TV shows the destruction in the wake of the protests.

Deaths amid the third day of rioting. Video: Caledonia TV

This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 15, 2024

Gallery: From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free
Asia Pacific Report

As Israel drives the Palestinians deeper into another Nakba in Gaza with its assault on Rafah, the Palestine Youth Aotearoa (PYA) and solidarity supporters in Aotearoa New Zealand tonight commemorated the original Nakba — “the Catastrophe” — of 1948.
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

This was when Israeli militias slaughtered more than 15,000 people, perpetrated more than 70 massacres and occupied more than three quarters of Palestine, with 750,000 of the Palestinian population forced into becoming refugees from their own land.

The Nakba was a massive campaign of ethnic cleansing followed by the destruction of hundreds of villages, to prevent the return of the refugees — similar to what is being wrought now in Gaza.

The Nakba lies at the heart of 76 years of injustice for the Palestinians — and for the latest injustice, the seven-month long war on Gaza.

Participants told through their stories, poetry and songs by candlelight, they would not forget 1948 — “and we will not forget the genocide under way in Gaza.”

Photographs: David Robie

Nakba Day vigil in Tāmaki Makaurau in Aotearoa 2024

1 of 12

Nakba 1: Recalling the original Nakba in Palestine in 1948. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 2: Photos of the original 1948 Nakba and the atrocities that followed. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 3: A photographic timeline from 1948 until 2024. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 4: Blindfolded Palestinian captive. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 5: “Generation after generation until total liberation.” Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 6: Palestinian Kiwi children with miniature watermelons. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 7: Palestinian keys – symbolic of the Right To Return. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 8: Palestinian Kiwi child poet. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 9: “Return is our right, our destiny.” Image: Davd Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 10: A montage of Israeli settler colonial cruelty. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 11: Palestinian children sing about their homeland during the Nakba rally in Auckland’s Aotea Square on Sunday, 12 May 2024. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

Nakba 12: A giant “key of return” during the Queen Street Nakba march on Sunday, 12 May 2024. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

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

This post was originally published on Radio Free.
May 15, 2024

New Caledonia violence ‘unfortunate’ but ‘not surprising’, says Pacific Forum chief
RNZ Pacific

Outgoing Secretary-General Henry Puna of the Pacific Islands Forum is “not surprised” with the violent unrest in New Caledonia which has shut down the French Pacific territory.

New Caledonia has come to a virtual stop after three days of civil unrest, resulting in burning, shooting and looting, as leaders call for calm.

French police reinforcements have arrived in Nouméa, with reports of dozens of arrests being made.
New Caledonia’s territorial President, pro-independence leader Louis Mapou, has condemned violent actions, saying “anger cannot justify harming or destroying public property, production tools, all of which this country has taken decades to build”.

Secretary-General Puna told journalists in his final news conference as the region’s top diplomat from Rarotonga that “to see the collapse [and], protesting is very unfortunate” — but it was predictable.

He said the issue “has been boiling” since the 2021 independence referendum in the French territory, the third and final vote under the Nouméa Accord, which was boycotted by the pro-indigenous Kanak population.

He said he was there in December 2021 to monitor the independence referendum when it was taken and “it was unfortunate that it was allowed to go ahead during that time”.

‘In middle of covid pandemic’
“We were in the middle of the covid pandemic and the Kanak custom is that when somebody passes, they mourn for one year. So they weren’t allowed that freedom.

“As a result, they didn’t want to take part in the referendum because they couldn’t go against their tradition and go campaigning or do other work. That’s disrespectful for the custom.”

Puna said the Nouméa Accord — all the processes, and the steps leading to that referendum, had been set and agreed to by all parties and if that had been followed right through, the referendum would not have been held then but in September 2022.

“To see the collapse and protesting is very unfortunate because it does raise some issues that need to be resolved. But I think it can be resolved in the wisdom of our leaders at this time.

“That’s something that we really need to talk about openly and honestly. What the causes of the problem are, and what the solutions could be.

Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna . . . the New Caledonia unrest is “unfortunate”. Image: PIF Secretariat

‘Recognise greater autonomy’ – Mark Brown
The outgoing chair of the Forum and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said greater autonomy for the indigenous Kanak population was needed.

Brown said Pacific peoples valued sovereignty and the protests were in response to that.

He said many forum members were former colonies.

“If there’s one thing that specific countries value, it is the sovereignty and independence. To be able to have control over the destiny of your own country,” he said.

New Caledonia, French Polynesia were new entrants into the Forum and this was in recognition of their calls they had made for greater autonomy coming from their people.

“My initial view of the unrest that’s occurring in Caledonia, it is a call to recognise greater autonomy and greater independence from the people on those islands,” he said.

“As a member of the Forum now, we will be able to provide support assistance to these member countries as to the best way forward without trying to avoid any escalation of conflict.”

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

This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 15, 2024

Three dead in New Caledonia amid independence, electoral unrest
Three people have now died in New Caledonia in the wake of pro-independence protests and escalating unrest.

Charles Wea, a spokesperson for international relations in the New Caledonian territorial President’s office, confirmed the deaths to RNZ Pacific.

The circumstances are unclear in the French territory’s third day of violence.
France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said hundreds of people had been injured in rioting, Reuters reported.

French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc said: “I sense dark hours have arrived in New Caledonia.”

“So what we must remember from what I am going to tell you is a call for calm — stop, stop.

“Stop what has been started.”

Security forces bolstered
This follows France sending in more than 600 reinforcements to back up local police.

More than 130 people have been arrested and fears are turning to how these people will be detained, with the prison population already at capacity.

Local journalist Coralie Cochin told RNZ another curfew had been announced for this evening starting at 6pm local time.

A New Zealander holidaying in New Caledonia earlier told RNZ residents in the territory believed the situation could get worse.

Mike Lightfoot and his family are stuck in New Caledonia until at least Friday after the government imposed curfews and a drinking ban to try to quell protests.

The violence was provoked by a proposal by France which would allow French residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years, to vote in provincial elections — a move local pro-independence leaders fear will dilute the vote of the indigenous Kanak population.

Lightfoot said the situation seemed peaceful as his family returned from a beach north of Nouméa, but the number of protests escalated as they entered the capital.

‘Frightening — gunshots, explosions’
Intersections were blocked and some were on fire. There were riot police throughout the city.

He and his wife had to leave the hotel at night to find a doctor after she developed a chest infection.

“It was a frightening experience. We could hear gunshots. We heard explosions.”

They had to drive through a roundabout on fire, blocked by 150 protesters.

Lightfoot said locals and staff in the hotel had told them they believed protests could escalate with the presence of more riot police and latest moves from France.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 15, 2024

Violence erupts in New Caledonia as independence supporters oppose legislation in Paris
Macron’s plan has backfired. But there can be no sustainable solution without cooperation of all parties, writes a former Australian diplomat in New Caledonia.

ANALYSIS: By Denise Fisher

Monday night saw demonstrations by independence supporters in New Caledonia erupt into serious violence for the first time since the 1980s civil disturbances.

The mainly indigenous demonstrators were opposing President Emmanuel Macron’s imposition of constitutional change to widen voter eligibility unless discussions about the future begin soon.

The protests occurred the day before France’s National Assembly was to vote on the issue, and just after Macron had proposed new talks in Paris.
On Monday, May 13, in Noumea, as France’s National Assembly debated the constitutional change in Paris, their local counterparts in the New Caledonian Congress were debating a resolution calling for withdrawal of the legislation.

The debate was bitter, after months of deepening division between independence and loyalist parties and focusing as it did on one of the most sensitive issues to each side, that of voter eligibility. The resolution was passed, as independence parties secured the support of a small minority party to outnumber the loyalists.

Macron, in an eleventh hour bid to prompt all parties to participate in new discussions about the future, proposed on May 13 to hold talks in Paris, but only after the Assembly vote of May 14 (albeit before the next step in the constitutional amendment process, a meeting of both houses).

Independence party leaders had called on their supporters to demonstrate against the constitutional reform, to coincide with the National Assembly’s consideration of the issue. The evening of May 13 was marked by violence on a scale not seen in decades.

Burning of buildings, roadblocks
It included the burning of buildings and businesses, roadblocks preventing movement in and out of the capital, and the closure of airports and ports in some of the islands. Police were targeted with gunfire and stoning, resulting in 35 injured police.

As of yesterday, Tuesday May 14, people were being asked to stay at home, with a curfew imposed. France, which already had 700 police on the job in New Caledonia, has sent reinforcements to maintain order.

A curfew was imposed. France, which already had 700 police on the job in New Caledonia, has sent reinforcements to maintain order. Image: Al Jazeera screenshot APR

The violence immediately brought to the minds of leaders the bloodshed of the 1980s, termed “les événements”.

The French High Commissioner, or governor, suggested things were moving “towards an abyss” and cancelled some incoming flights to prevent complications from tourists being unable to access Noumea, while noting that the airport and main wharf remain open. He urged independence leaders to use their influence on the young to stop the violence.

The Mayor of Noumea, Sonia Lagarde, described the situation as “extremely well organised guerrilla warfare” involving “well-trained young people” and suggested “a sort of civil war” was approaching.

On the face of it, to an outsider, Macron’s plan to broaden voter eligibility to those with 10 years’ residence prior to any local election, unless discussions about the future begin, would seem reasonable.

He sees the three independence votes held from 2018–21 as legal, notwithstanding the largely indigenous boycott of the third. (Each referendum saw a vote to stay with France, although support was narrow, declining from 56.7% to 53.3% in the first two votes, but ballooning to 96.5% in the third vote boycotted by independence supporters.)

‘Radical’ for white Caledonians, ‘unconscionable’ for Kanaks
For New Caledonians, Macron’s positioning is radical. Loyalists see it as a vindication of their position.

But for independence parties, France’s stance has been unconscionable. Independence leaders reject the result of the boycotted referendum and want another self-determination vote soon.

Some have refused to participate in discussions organised by France, although one of the most recalcitrant elements suggested some discussion would be possible just days before the violent demonstrations.

But they have all strongly opposed Macron’s imposing constitutional change to widen voter eligibility unilaterally from Paris. They were affronted by his appointment of a prominent loyalist MP as the rapporteur responsible for shepherding the issue through the Assembly.

They have instead been calling for a special mission led by an impartial figure to bring about dialogue.

Protests included the burning of buildings and businesses, roadblocks preventing movement in and out of the capital, and the closure of airports and ports in some of the islands. Image: NC La Première TV

More importantly, they see the highly sensitive voter eligibility issue as a central negotiating chip in discussions about the future. Confining voter eligibility only to those with longstanding residence on a fixed basis — not by a number of years prior to any local election as Macron is proposing — was fundamental to securing independence party acceptance of peace agreements over 30 years, after France had operated a policy of bringing in French nationals from elsewhere to outweigh local independence supporters who are primarily indigenous.

Differences have deepened
With the inconclusive end of these agreements, differences have only deepened.

Loyalist leaders have accused independence leaders of planning the violence. Whether it was planned or whether demonstrations degenerated, either way it is clear that emotions are running high among independence supporters, who feel their position is not being respected.

No sustainable solution for the governance of New Caledonia is possible without the cooperation of all parties.

It seems that, regardless of Macron’s evident intention of spurring parties to come to the discussion table, his plan has backfired. Discussions are unlikely to resume soon.

Denise Fisher is a visiting fellow at Australian National University’s Centre for European Studies. She was an Australian diplomat for 30 years, serving in Australian diplomatic missions as a political and economic policy analyst in many Australian missions in Asia, Europe and Africa, including as Australian Consul-General in Nouméa, New Caledonia (2001-2004). She is the author of France in the South Pacific: Power and Politics (2013). This article was first published by the Lowy Institute’s The Interpreter and is republished by Asia Pacific Report with permission.

This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 14, 2024

New Caledonia unrest: Pro-independence calls for calm ‘to preserve peace’
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk

A group belonging to New Caledonia’s pro-independence movement, UNI (Union Nationale pour l’Indépendance), has released a communiqué saying they were “moved by and deplored the exactions and violence taking place“.

UNI member of New Caledonia’s Northern provincial assembly Patricia Goa said the violent unrest “affects the whole of our population”.

She said it was “necessary to preserve all that we have built together for over 30 years” and that the priority was “to preserve peace, social cohesion”.
- LISTEN TO RNZ PACIFIC WAVES: Curfew enforced in Noumea as tensions persist
- Other New Caledonia crisis reports
New Caledonia’s Northern provincial assembly Patricia Goa . . . call to “preserve all that we have built together for over 30 years.” Image: Walter Zweifel/RNZ

New Caledonia’s territorial President, pro-independence leader Louis Mapou, in a news release from his “collegial” government, appealed for “calm, peace, stability and reason”.

He said they “must remain our goals” in the face of “those events that can only show the persistence of profound fractures and misunderstandings”.

New Caledonia President Louis Mapou . . . an appeal to “bring back reason and calm”. Photo: RNZ Walter Zweifel

He called on all components of New Caledonia’s society to “use every way and means to bring back reason and calm”.

“Every explanation for these frustrations — anger cannot justify harming or destroying public property, production tools, all of which this country has taken decades to build,” he said, strongly condemning such actions.

Referring to current debates in the Paris National Assembly on changing the French Constitution — to allow more voters at New Caledonia’s local provincial elections — Mapou also appealed to French President Emmanuel Macron, to “bear in mind” that at all times, the priority must remain for a comprehensive agreement to be struck between all political leaders of New Caledonia, to pave the way for the archipelago’s long-term political future.

This accord has not taken place and Macron at the weekend invited all of New Caledonia’s leaders to restart discussions in Paris.

Protesters take part in a demonstration led by the Union of Kanak Workers and the Exploited (USTKE) and organisations of the Kanaky Solidarity Collective in support of Kanak people, with flags of the Socialist Kanak National Liberation Front (FLNKS) in Paris next to a statue of Vauban, a celebrated 18th century French military engineer who became a Marshal of France. Image: RNZ

Back in Paris, debates resumed last night in National Assembly, but the vote on a French government-proposed Constitutional change to modify the conditions of eligibility ended with a decisive yes 351-153 in spite of the strong opposition.

Left-wing MPs are supporting New Caledonia’s pro-independence movement in their struggle against a text they believe would seriously affect their political representation.

The constitutional change is regarded as the main cause of New Caledonia’s current unrest.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, is this week heading a political delegation in several Pacific island countries and territories, including Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Tuvalu.

However, the New Caledonian leg of the tour was officially cancelled and will be rescheduled to another date.

As part of the official travel programme, the delegation was to “meet with government, political and cultural leaders, visit New Zealand-supported development initiatives and participate in community activities”.

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

Burnt van and tyres at one roadblock near Nouméa’ Magenta industrial zone. Image: RNZ/La 1ère TV

This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 14, 2024

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 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.

L’Eau vive semble aux mains des manifestants pic.twitter.com/6qAuW4hMYI

— Charlotte Mannevy (@CMannevy) May 13, 2024

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.
May 14, 2024

‘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. Image: Screenshot/NC la 1ère/RNZ

Nouméa et le grand Nouméa se réveillent après une nuit de saccages et d’affrontements. Suivez la situation en direct https://t.co/JtW8NWH7Hf pic.twitter.com/5XTbB2D3Z4

— NC La 1ère (@ncla1ere) May 13, 2024

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

Airports are closed due to protest action.

Dans le centre-ville de la capitale, c’est Nouméa ville-morte au matin du mardi 14 mai pic.twitter.com/kEM21XcsJi

— NC La 1ère (@ncla1ere) May 13, 2024

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.
May 14, 2024

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).
- READ MORE: Botched prison mutiny, protests ahead of New Caledonia constitution vote
- Other New Caledonia reports
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 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.
May 13, 2024

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.
- READ MORE: Other New Caledonia reports
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, 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.

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 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.
May 13, 2024

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.
- READ MORE: How the countries voted on the UN Palestine resolution
- Fiji’s position over Israeli war on Gaza – international blunder or a domestic strategy?
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.
May 12, 2024

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 . . . 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 . . . 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.

Thank you to the peoples of the world, nations, & majority of States who voted for Palestinian self-determination, for Palestinian existence & future. Thank you for standing for humanity, for the UN Charter, & for freedom & justice. Onwards, until 194th Member pic.twitter.com/H15egK4zwj

— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) May 10, 2024

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 to historical Palestine. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

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 . . . the background banner says “IDF = Murder Machine”. Image: David Robie/Asia Pacific Report

This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 11, 2024

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.”
- READ MORE: Other PNG disaster relief reports
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.
May 10, 2024

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.
- READ MORE: Other New Caledonia reports
“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.
May 10, 2024

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.
- READ MORE: Israel’s war on Gaza live: Aid operation ‘completely crippled’ amid attacks — Al Jazeera
- Other Israel’s War on Gaza reports
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”.

The State of #Palestine renews its appeal to all States for their support of the draft resolution when it is voted on by the General Assembly tomorrow morning, (#NYT) Friday, 10 May. A letter which clarifies our position & appeal @UN pic.twitter.com/llABBZX3l0

— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) May 9, 2024

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.
May 9, 2024

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.
- Biden Administration holds up military aid delivery to Israel over disagreement over planned Rafah raid.
- Trump attorneys cross examine Stormy Daniels at New York hush money trial.
- New employment numbers show jobless claims up slightly.
- San Francisco homeless advocates hold Mothers Day rally for funding for homeless young mothers.
- Senate Committee takes on junk fees aimed at low income consumers.
- PUC approves electricity rate changes.
- Human Rights Watch reports on ethnic massacres in Sudan.
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.
May 9, 2024

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.
May 9, 2024

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.

“We stand here in solidarity with our fellow students in Gaza who do not have the same chance as us.”

University encampments and protests have now spread far beyond the United States.

We hear from a few of them on #AJTheTake pic.twitter.com/1PaYCaa62E

— Al Jazeera English Podcasts (@AJEPodcasts) May 8, 2024

This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 8, 2024

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.
May 8, 2024

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.
May 8, 2024

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

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.
May 8, 2024

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.
- READ MORE: Israel warned against creating a ‘humanitarian nightmare’ with Rafah attack
- Other War on Gaza reports
“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.”

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. 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.
May 7, 2024

‘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)
- The full list of signatories is here
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
May 5, 2024

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.
May 5, 2024

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.
May 2, 2024

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. 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.
April 30, 2024

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.
- READ MORE: Imprisoned Fatah politician Marwan Barghouti and the Palestinian presidency
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.