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Category: military

  • CIA Thinks Podcast Can Erase Agencies Dark History

    The CIA has launched a new podcast to help spread propaganda about the agency. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio:             The CIA has launched a new podcast to help spread prop, propaganda about their agency. This is, this is the CIA’s […]

    The post CIA Thinks Podcast Can Erase Agencies Dark History appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • America’s Lawyer: Is Matt Gaetz Gonna Get Away With It?

    America’s Lawyer E24: Employers are trapping their workers in a new form of indentured servitude – where it could cost you thousands of dollars if you quit your job. We’ll explain what’s happening. The US military has a new tool to spy on anyone on the internet – and the chances of that being abused […]

    The post America’s Lawyer: Is Matt Gaetz Gonna Get Away With It? appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • Judge Finds Sailor Not Guilty in Fire That Destroyed $1.2 Billion Navy Ship

    by Megan Rose

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

    A military judge found Seaman Recruit Ryan Mays not guilty on Friday of setting fire to a $1.2 billion Navy ship.

    Mays, 21, had stood trial on charges of aggravated arson and willfully hazarding a vessel for the four-day blaze that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard, an amphibious assault ship, in 2020.

    The acquittal marks the end of a two-year ordeal for Mays, who spent 55 days in the brig after he was arrested.

    On July 12, 2020, the Bonhomme Richard was moored at a San Diego Navy base and undergoing a major overhaul. That morning, an area of the ship known as the “lower V” caught fire, and the blaze quickly spread throughout the vessel. The warship was lost and had to be decommissioned.

    A ProPublica investigation into Mays’ case found there was little to connect him to the fire. There was no physical evidence that Mays — or anyone — purposefully set the fire. The Navy had one witness who placed Mays at the scene shortly before the fire but whose story changed over time.

    The criminal investigation into Mays also stood at odds with another Navy inquiry into the fire, which found that 34 people, including five admirals, either directly led to the loss of the ship or contributed to it. That investigation uncovered a litany of failures that put the ship at risk for a catastrophic fire, including poor training, insufficient oversight and dangerous storage of hazardous materials. Additionally, 87% of the ship’s fire stations were out of order.

    The Navy continued to pursue Mays even after a military judge recommended this year that the case be dropped for lack of evidence after a probable cause hearing.

    In closing remarks, Mays’ lead defense attorney, Lt. Cmdr. Jordi Torres, said the investigation was a “live-fire exercise in the dangers of confirmation bias.” He said investigators and then the prosecution discounted any evidence that didn’t fit the narrative of Mays as the arsonist.

    The lead prosecutor in the case, Capt. Jason Jones, told the judge, “You’re allowed to use inferences and circumstantial evidence” in making a determination of arson. Jones said criminal cases are like puzzles, and even when there is a missing piece, the picture is still clear.

    Jones also addressed some of the findings of the other Navy investigation in his closing remarks, saying the prosecution didn’t dispute that the ship was lost to firefighting failures. But, he said, the fire started as a “sucker punch from behind” that the Navy couldn’t have prevented.

    In the nine-day court-martial, the Navy had alleged that Mays was a disgruntled sailor who had gone down to the lower V with a bucket of flammable liquid, set the fire and then snuck out a hatch, changed his clothes and slipped back among the sailors on duty.

    Mays was 19 at the time of the fire, assigned to menial jobs such as mopping and painting. He had previously dropped out of SEAL training and had told fellow sailors that the special warfare program was where he thought he belonged. Being on a ship he disliked, the prosecution said, was his motive.

    Investigators found a blue Bic lighter in Mays’ possessions and have pointed to it as the possible way the fire was started. Torres was dismissive, saying “apparently just having a lighter makes you an arsonist.”

    The trial largely centered on two competing witnesses and arguments over whether a crime had even been committed.

    Fire investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ruled the blaze an arson that was started by someone putting an open flame on large cardboard boxes. But defense experts disputed that conclusion, saying that there were two other possible causes ATF investigators missed and that “undetermined” was the only reasonable conclusion. The defense experts testified that lithium batteries and arcing from an engine wire on a forklift could not be ruled out as causes of the fire.

    Phil Fouts, the fire investigator who testified on behalf of the defense, said he could not with any scientific certainty say whether the batteries, the forklift or arson was more likely the cause of the fire.

    An ATF electrical engineer testified that he did not take any pictures or notes about the batteries during his examination of the scene, even though the batteries were found in the area that the agency identified as the origin of the fire. The batteries were then stored in a Home Depot bucket by ATF investigators. The engineer also did not photograph the forklift. The engineer testified that upon further inspection and testing of both the batteries and the wire, he did not think either caused the fire.

    Trying to rebut the defense experts’ findings, the ATF engineer showed the judge a presentation using a forklift photo to highlight why he thought it couldn’t have caused the fire — but the photo was of the wrong forklift. There were two in the lower V, and the defense expert had found evidence of arcing in the other forklift.

    Jones said that arson cases are often based on circumstantial evidence and the government had done its due diligence in reexamining the possible causes brought up by the defense.

    The prosecution’s key witness, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kenji Velasco, testified that while he was standing watch the morning of the fire, he saw Mays go into the lower V shortly before he spotted smoke. Velasco at first told Naval Criminal Investigative Service agents he couldn’t identify the person he saw, but over several interviews he changed his story to say he was sure it was Mays. Velasco said the person he saw was wearing coveralls, but several witnesses testified they saw Mays in a different uniform that morning.

    In an unusual twist, the prosecution did not call the lead NCIS agent to the stand. However, defense lawyers did call agent Maya Kamat to testify. The defense mainly questioned Kamat about an alternative suspect she investigated for several months. Another witness told NCIS she had spotted the sailor, Seaman Recruit Elijah McGovern, sprinting from the lower V around the time she saw smoke that morning.

    Miya Polion, who is now out of the Navy, testified she saw McGovern jump over a cone that had been blocking off the lower V. “It’s kinda weird to be running on the ship,” she said, so she kept looking at him the entire time he was in view.

    The prosecution claimed that video evidence showed Polion could not have seen McGovern that day because there was too much contractor equipment, such as scaffolding and dumpsters, in the way.

    When interviewed by NCIS agents, McGovern denied setting the fire. McGovern had been searching online for fire characteristics the morning of the blaze and had a drawing on his phone depicting steps to set a coffee shop on fire. McGovern had told agents that the searches were research for a book he was writing about dragons, and that the novel began with a ship on fire.

    Kamat testified she stopped investigating McGovern because he left the Navy and NCIS no longer had jurisdiction. Several months later, the Navy charged Mays with the crimes.

    In response to prodding by the prosecutor during cross-examination, Kamat agreed that she also stopped investigating McGovern because she had exhausted all leads.

    In closing arguments, Jones dismissed McGovern as a sci-fi loving sailor who had been seen leaving the ship and had been properly cleared as suspect.

    The Navy and Butler have refused to release nearly all records in Mays’ case, citing Article 140a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice as well as a memo issued by the former Defense Department general counsel and Navy interpretations of that guidance. ProPublica has filed a complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to prevent the Navy from continuing to withhold court records in Mays’ case, contending that the Navy and the judge are violating the First Amendment and common law rights of access to court proceedings and records.

    During the court-martial, exhibits also weren’t always visible, including photographs of key evidence, and stipulations of fact, sometimes to correct testimony, weren’t publicly available.

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

  • Marshall Islands calls off talks after no US response on nuclear legacy plan

    By Giff Johnson, editor of the Marshall Islands Journal and RNZ Pacific correspondent

    On the eve of the US Pacific Islands Summit in Washington, a key ally in the region called off a scheduled negotiating session for a treaty Washington views as an essential hedge against China in the region.

    The Marshall Islands and the United States negotiators were scheduled for the third round of talks this weekend to renew some expiring provisions of a Compact of Free Association when leaders in Majuro called it off, saying the lack of response from Washington on the country’s US nuclear weapons testing legacy meant there was no reason to meet.

    Marshall Islands leaders have repeatedly said the continuing legacy of health, environmental and economic problems from 67 US nuclear tests from 1946-1958 must be satisfactorily addressed before they will agree to a new economic package with the US.

    Washington sees the Compact treaties with the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau, which stretch across an ocean area larger than the continental US, as key to countering the expansion of China in the region.

    “The unique security relationships established by the Compacts of Free Association have magnified the US power projection in the Indo-Pacific region, structured US defense planning and force posture, and contributed to essential defense capabilities,” said a new study released September 20 in Washington, DC by the United States Institute of Peace, “China’s Influence on the Freely Associated States of the Northern Pacific.”

    China’s naval expansion is increasing the value of the US relationship with the freely associated states (FAS).

    The freely associated states stretch across an ocean area in the north Pacific that is larger than the continental United States and are seen by Washington as a key strategic asset.
    The freely associated states stretch across an ocean area in the north Pacific that is larger than the continental United States and are seen by Washington as a key strategic asset. Image: United States Institute of Peace/RNZ

    China’s blue water ambitions
    China’s naval expansion is increasing the value of the US relationship with the freely associated states (FAS).

    “The value of the buffer created by US strategic denial over FAS territorial seas is poised to increase as China seeks to make good on its blue water navy ambitions and to deepen its security relationships with Pacific nations,” said the report whose primary authors were Admiral (Ret.) Philip Davidson, Brigadier-General (Ret.) and David Stilwell, former US Congressman from Guam Dr Robert Underwood.

    The Runit Dome was constructed on Marshall Islands Enewetak Atoll in 1979 to temporarily store radioactive waste produced from nuclear testing by the US military during the 1950s and 1960s.
    The Runit Dome was constructed on Marshall Islands Enewetak Atoll in 1979 to temporarily store radioactive waste produced from nuclear testing by the US military during the 1950s and 1960s. Image: RNZ

    “As Washington seeks to limit the scope of Beijing’s influence in the Indo-Pacific in concert with regional partners, the US-FAS relationship functions as a key vehicle for reinforcing regional norms and democratic values.”

    US and Marshall Islands negotiators have both said they hope for a speedy conclusion to the talks as the existing 20-year funding package expires on September 30, 2023. But the nuclear test legacy is the line in the sand for the Marshall Islands.

    “The entire Compact Negotiation Committee agreed — don’t go,” said Parliament Speaker Kenneth Kedi, who represents Rongelap Atoll, which was contaminated with nuclear test fallout by the 1954 Bravo hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll and other weapons tests.

    “It is not prudent to spend over $100,000 for our delegation to travel to Washington with no written response to our proposal. We are negotiating in good faith. We submitted our proposal in writing.” But he said on Friday, “there has been no answer or counter proposal from the US.”

    US and Marshall Islands officials had been aiming to sign a “memorandum of understanding” at the summit as an indication of progress in the discussions, but that now appears off the table.

    US Pacific summit
    Marshall Islands President David Kabua, who is currently in the US following a speech to the United Nations General Assembly Tuesday last week, is scheduled to participate in the White House-sponsored US Pacific Islands Summit on September 28-29.

    Kabua, while affirming in his speech at the UN that the Marshall Islands has a “strong partnership” with the US, added: “It is vital that the legacy and contemporary challenges of nuclear testing be better addressed” (during negotiations on the Compact of Free Association). “The exposure of our people and land has created impacts that have lasted – and will last – for generations.”

    The Marshall Islands submitted a proposed nuclear settlement agreement to US negotiators during the second round of talks in July. The US has not responded, Kedi and other negotiating committee members said Friday in Majuro.

    In response to questions about the postponement of the planned negotiating session, the State Department released a brief statement through its embassy in Majuro.

    “With respect to the Compact Negotiations, which are ongoing, both sides continue to work diligently towards an agreement,” the statement said. “Special Presidential Envoy for Compact Negotiations, Ambassador Joe Yun, is expected to meet with President Kabua while he is in Washington to continue to advance the discussions.”

    While the Marshall Islands decision to cancel its negotiating group’s attendance at a scheduled session in Washington is a blow to the Biden administration’s efforts to fast-track approval of the security and economic agreement for this strategic North Pacific area, island leaders continue to describe themselves as part of the “US family.”

    “The cancellation of the talks indicates the seriousness of this issue for the Marshall Islands,” said National Nuclear Commission Chairman Alson Kelen. “This is the best time for us to stand up for our rights.”

    ‘Fair and just’ nuclear settlement
    For decades, the Pacific Island Forum countries that will be represented at this week’s leader’s summit in Washington have stood behind the Marshall Islands in its quest for a fair and just nuclear settlement, said Kelen, who helped negotiators develop their plan submitted recently to the US government for addressing lingering problems of the 67 nuclear tests.

    “We live with the problem (from the nuclear tests),” said Kelen, a displaced Bikini Islander. “We know the big picture: bombs tested, people relocated from their islands, people exposed to nuclear fallout, and people studied. We can’t change that. What we can do now is work on the details for this today for the funding needed to mitigate the problems from the nuclear legacy.”

    Kedi said he was tired of US attempts to argue over legal issues from the original Compact of Free Association’s nuclear test settlement that was approved 40 years ago before the Marshall Islands was an independent nation.

    That agreement, which provided a now-exhausted $150 million nuclear compensation fund, was called “manifestly inadequate” by the country’s Nuclear Claims Tribunal, which over a two-decade period determined the value of claims to be over $3 billion.

    “Bottom line, the nuclear issue needs to be addressed,” Kedi said.

    “We need to come up with a dignified solution as family members. I’ve made it clear, once these key issues are addressed, we are ready to sign the Compact tomorrow.”

    President Kabua is scheduled to participate in the White House-sponsored US Pacific Islands Summit on September 28-29.

    Meanwhile, the members of his Compact negotiating team are in Majuro waiting for a response from the US government to their proposal to address the nuclear legacy.

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Fiji hosts US-led multinational military exercises on Pacific ‘threats’

    RNZ Pacific

    Mortar demonstrations involving military forces from five nations have taken place in Fiji.

    The tactical field training exercise called Exercise Cartwheel was a US and Fiji-led multinational exercise conducted in the Nausori Highlands.

    It involved defence personnel from the Republic of Fiji Military Forces, United States Army Pacific, the New Zealand Defence Force, the British Army and the Australian Defence Force.

    The exercise was designed to enhance capability in both urban and jungle environments.

    Training also included demonstrations of sustained fire machine guns, section attacks and ambushes, reacting to enemy indirect firing, and ethical decision-making scenarios.

    TVNZ reported Major Atonia Nagauna of the Fiji Infantry Regiment, Third Battalion, saying that Pacific nations faced challenges that require collective action.

    “When I talk about threats, I talk about natural disasters, I talk about illegal fishing, I talk about other traditional non-state actors which try and destabilise this part of the world,” he said.

    “We work together so we feel we are not alone and they also treat us as equal partners in this.”

    The exercise brings together the same allies which fought side-by-side in Solomon Islands during World War II.

    The tactical field training exercise imn Fiji, Exercise Cartwheel
    The tactical field training exercise, Exercise Cartwheel, was a US and Fiji-led multinational exercise conducted in the Nausori Highlands in Fiji. Image: Petty Officer Chris Weissenborn/RNZ

    Developing long-standing relationships in the Pacific
    The New Zealand Defence Force said a total of 55 combat soldiers from 1st (NZ) Brigade participated in the exercise.

    A light infantry platoon from Delta Company, 2nd/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment (RNZIR), also conducted reconnaissance operations, section and platoon harbours drills, survival and tracking training.

    New Zealand’s Land Component Commander, Brigadier Hugh McAslan, said New Zealand had long-standing relationships with their military partners in the Pacific and valued opportunities to train alongside them.

    “This exercise also provides opportunities for our people to immerse themselves in Fijian culture, build strong professional and personal relationships with our Pacific military whanau, as well as train in an environment that is different to New Zealand,” he said.

    “We are taking every opportunity to learn from one another. In doing so, these skills and relationships, coupled with professionalism, set the conditions for a bright future for our region.”

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

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Not over: Young generations wage fight to protect Martial Law memories

    Jairo Bolledo in Manila

    Karl Patrick Suyat, 19, has no personal experience of the tyrannical rule of late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. But memories of the atrocities and human rights violations committed during those dark moments have transcended time.

    The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law. But this year also saw the return of the Marcoses to power — Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is now the President of the republic and spoke yesterday at the UN General Assembly.

    Despite efforts of Martial Law survivors, human rights groups, and even academics to remind the Filipino people of the abuses of the Marcos family, Marcos Jr was still able to clinch the country’s top post.

    Fueled by outrage and anguish, Suyat thought of a way to channel his energy and still fight back despite the Marcoses’ victory — he founded “Project Gunita” (remember) along with Josiah Quising and Sarah Gomez.

    Project Gunita is a network of volunteers and members of various civil society organisations that aim to defend historical truth. They particularly push back against historical denialism and protect truths about the Martial Law years.

    Through the project, the three founders and their members created a digital archive of all materials that contain information about Marcos’ Martial Law to preserve them.

    Archiving is not new since other government offices and groups like the Bantayog ng mga Bayani Foundation and the Human Rights Violations Victims’ Memorial Commission, under the Commission on Human Rights, have made efforts to preserve Martial Law materials.

    But Project Gunita is born out of the spirit of volunteerism and nationalism among young Filipinos.

    From old newspapers, magazines, and books — Project Gunita members seek and buy materials, and then scan them to be preserved in the archives. The project’s archiving started right after Marcos Jr’s victory.

    Dictator Ferdinand Marcos
    Dictator Ferdinand Marcos … declared Martial Law in the Philippines on 21 September 1972 as reported in the Phlippine Daily Express three days later. Image: Wikipedia

    “Having read through the history of dictatorships, from Benito Mussolini to Adolf Hitler to Ferdinand Marcos himself, lagi’t-laging ang unang hinahabol, ang unang-unang tinatarget ng mga diktador ay ‘yong mga silid-aklatan, libraries, at ‘yong mga arkibo – the archives (always, the ones being targeted first by dictators are libraries and archives),” Suyat told Rappler.

    Suyat believes that the Marcoses won’t be content with just distorting and whitewashing the atrocities of the Marcos administration. They would eventually go after the archives to erase the truth, Suyat added.

    “The only question is when, it’s not a question of if, it’s a question of when. And I don’t want to wait until that time happens before we start to scramble around to save the archives.

    “Habang may panahon pa (while we still have time), while we can still do it, ‘di ba? (right?) Bakit hindi natin gagawin? (Why don’t we do it?).”

    Even before Marcos Jr’s victory, journalists have pointed out that his family not only revises history, but also introduces an alternative history that favours them. The Marcoses also rode on various disinformation networks to disseminate falsehoods.

    A two-part investigative story by Rappler showed how the Marcoses used social media to reclaim power and rewrite history to hide their wrongdoings.

    Passing the torch
    The personal experiences of Project Gunita founders fanned their desire to continue the fight of the generation who came before them. Suyat, who grew up in a family of Martial Law survivors, feels it is his responsibility to protect their stories.

    “I cannot allow their stories, as well as the stories of people I had gotten acquainted with later in life who are Martial Law survivors to be erased by historical denialism, that we all know is being perpetrated by the Marcos family,” Suyat told Rappler in a mix of English and Filipino.

    Josiah Quising, a co-founder of Project Gunita and a lawyer, believes that these stories should be preserved because true justice for Martial Law victims has yet to be attained.

    “It’s very frustrating ‘yong justice system sa Pilipinas and how, for decades, ay wala pa ring totoong hustisya sa mga nangyari during the Martial Law era,” Quising told Rappler. (It’s very frustrating, the justice system in the Philippines, and how, for decades, there has been no true justice for everything that happened during the Martial Law era.)

    On the inauguration of Marcos Jr, Martial Law survivors led by playwright Boni Ilagan pledged to continue guarding against tyranny.

    In the same event, they had a ceremonial passing of the torch, which symbolized the passing of hope and responsibility from Martial Law survivors to the younger generation.

    Suyat and Quising believe that their generation is equally responsible for guarding the country’s freedom — at least in their own way. They strongly believe that since the government is now being led by the dictator’s son, they cannot expect it to preserve the memories of Martial Law, so they have to step in.

    Preserving truths from generation to generation

    “Wala ka namang naririnig.
    ‘Di ka naman nakikinig
    Parang kuliling sa pandinig
    Kayong nagtataka
    Ha? Inosente lang ang nagtataka,”
    Inosente lang ang nagtataka by Bobby Balingit

    (You hear nothing. But you are not listening. Like a chime to the ear. You who wonder. What? Only the innocent wonder.)

    This song comes to Kris Lanot Lacaba’s mind whenever he hears people deny the atrocities of Martial Law. His father, Pete Lacaba, a poet and journalist, was tortured and arrested under the Marcos regime.

    As a son of a Martial Law survivor, Lacaba has heard stories of torture and violence straight from the victims themselves. He recalled that it was on the pavements of Camp Crame, where his father was imprisoned, that he learned how to walk.

    Even though decades have passed since those dark periods, he still vividly remembers how his father became a victim of Marcos’ oppressive rule.

    “Ang ginagawa ro’n, may dalawang kama tapos pinapahiga ‘yong tatay ko, ‘yong ulo niya sa isang kama, ‘yong paa niya sa isang kama. At ‘pag nahulog ‘yong kama niya ro’n eh gugulpihin pa siya lalo (What they did to my father was, there were two beds and they would tell my father to lie down, his head on one bed, and the other, on the other bed. If he fell, he would be beaten further),” Lacaba told Rappler.

    Aside from his father, his uncles Eman Lacaba and Leo Alto were both killed during Martial Law. It is extremely hard for Lacaba to respond to people who deny that human rights violations happened under Martial Law.

    Now that he has his own children, Lacaba passes on the stories of Martial Law to them so the memories would be preserved.

    “Mahirap eh, bilang magulang. Paano ba natin ikukuwento ito? Pa’no ba natin ipapamahagi ‘yong karanasan ng magulang nila at ng mga lolo’t lola nila?” Lacaba said. (It’s hard as a parent. How do we tell this story to the kids? How do we tell the kids about the experiences of their parents and grandparents?)

    He even thinks of ways to make the stories appropriate to his children.

    “So kinukuwento namin sa mga bata, ‘no? Hinahanapan namin ng paraan na maging appropriate sa age din nila ‘yong mga kuwento.” (So we tell the stories to my children. We find ways to make the stories appropriate to their age.)

    Aside from his kids, Lacaba says he would always accept invitations by schools and universities to share the Martial Law story of his family. He believes that in this way, he will not only share the truths he learned from his father, but get to listen to other stories, too.

    After all, Lacaba believes, conversation about Martial Law should reach everyone.

    Republished with permission.

  • Kurdish revolution teaches us to be wary of Western solidarity on Ukraine

    The Rojava revolution, which broke out with the onset of the Syrian Civil War brought freedom to millions of local Kurds, Arabs, and minorities, and hope to many more people across the globe. But it also showed that the Western left could not be trusted. In the UK and elsewhere, many comrades failed to stand in solidarity with the revolutionary element in that terrible conflict.

    As Russia’s war in Ukraine rages on, the same sections of the left are repeating the same cruel, cynical slogans. As in Syria, we must listen to local leftists who are taking a principled, democratic stand in the face of the onslaught of imperialist violence by Putin’s Russia.

    A failure of solidarity with Rojava

    In the course of the Syrian conflict, we learned the hard way that the British left can struggle to take a stance on issues which should be trivially obvious. Some elements of the left struggled to condemn ISIS, framing their rise as the sole result of Western intervention in the region. The authoritarian left struggled to condemn the Assad regime, responsible for mass butchery and the bulk of war crimes committed in the country.

    On the other hand, leftists of all stripes found reasons to condemn the Kurdish-led Rojava revolution. Some attacked the direct-democratic political project in North and East Syria (NES) for working alongside US airstrikes to defeat ISIS. Some attacked it for coordinating with the Assad regime to ensure continued supply of basic essentials to civilians in the region under its control.

    Neither side stopped to look at the other and realise that the situation in NES was far too complicated to fit their black-and-white narratives. Meanwhile, comrades on the ground were sacrificing their lives, and making whatever tough compromises were necessary, to keep their people alive.

    I once heard the region’s top political figure Ilham Ahmed tell a roomful of conservative sheikhs who had happily worked with ISIS but were now complaining about Rojava coordinating with the Syrian government in Damascus:

    I know how brutal the regime is. They have tortured and killed my friends. But I will sit down and negotiate with anyone who isn’t actually trying to cut my head off.

    No one can claim this is not a courageous or principled position. It is easy for Western leftists to sneer at comrades overseas, to wallow in purity politics which get them off the hook from actually doing anything. It’s difficult to do what Ilham and her comrades are doing. Our job is to stand alongside them and support them.

    Standing with comrades on the ground

    The conflicts in Syria and Ukraine are linked. Each forms a part of the ongoing contest between hard Russian imperialism and the USA’s subtler attempts to remain the dominant force on the global stage. The USA keeps troops in Syria not only because of the region’s paltry oilfields but in order to maintain a beachhead disrupting the Russian-Iranian axis of influence in the Middle East, while the Ukraine war has drawn previously recalcitrant European powers closer to a US-defined regional policy. Meanwhile, Russia’s naked aggression has darkened the skies in both Ukraine and Syria.

    There is not an obvious revolutionary third line in Ukraine, as there is in NES. Nonetheless, we must recognise Russia’s invasion for what it is – the bloody and destructive expansion of a capitalist regime. We do not need to think NATO or the Ukrainian government are worthy of support in and of themselves to recognise the need to stand with Ukrainian people.

    As such, we must support comrades working to stop or mitigate the brutal invasion – on both sides of the frontline. Like our comrades in the Rojava revolution, Ukrainian socialists and anarchists are not only risking their lives, but setting aside their own ideological disagreements with the Ukrainian state to fight for what is self-evidently right.

    Even if they are not willing to listen to comrades from the region when they call on the Western left to avoid “leftist Westsplaining” and ‘moral relativizing’, anyone who sits in their bedroom in the UK and praises Assad or Putin in the name of ‘anti-imperialism’ need only count the bodies.

    Resist Russia in Ukraine and the West at home

    We live in a world of uneven but multiple imperial capitalist poles, of which the USA is the richest, most powerful, and all-pervasive, and Russia the most brutal on the battlefield. In the Syrian conflict, Russia and its allies have been by far the most brutal on the battlefield, bearing responsibility for the majority of civilian deaths outside of the Syrian regime itself. Meanwhile post-Iraq the USA has adopted a subtler military doctrine of proxy warfare and power projection. Each must be resisted in their own way. Supporting the resistance against Russia does not diminish our efforts to challenge Western capitalist hegemony at home.

    In different ways, both the Ukranians and the Kurds have felt the sting of Western indifference, exceptionalism, and – in the Kurds’ case – orientalism. At the same time, the Rojava revolution reawakened a spirit of socialist internationalism in this country and elsewhere. In this spirit, we must stand alongside our comrades making tough choices in Syria, Ukraine, and across the globe.

    Featured image via the author, courtesy of the Internationalist Commune of Rojava

    By Matt Broomfield

  • United States: White soldier discharged for lying on high security form, not for wanting to kill Black people

    Racism is so deep in the US military, that 21-year-old white supremacist and soldier Killian Ryan was arrested and discharged from the Army for lying on a form, but his threats to kill Black people were seemingly overlooked, reports Malik Miah.

  • Big Pharma Fears Legal Marijuana & Terrorism Victims Blocked By Us Government

    A new study has found that states that legalize marijuana have seen a dramatic drop in prescription drug abuse among their residents. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Plus, Victims of terrorism have been trying to hold banks accountable for laundering terrorist money, but the US government doesn’t want that to happen. Attorney Chris Paulos joins Mike Papantonio to explain what’s happening. […]

    The post Big Pharma Fears Legal Marijuana & Terrorism Victims Blocked By Us Government appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • Honeywell Provided US Military With Defective Body Armor

    A major military contractor provided faulty bullet proof vests to the military – but they get to avoid a large penalty thanks to a very odd legal loophole. Attorney Michael Bixby, filing in for Mike Papantonio this week, is joined by Farron Cousins to discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please […]

    The post Honeywell Provided US Military With Defective Body Armor appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire.

  • America’s Lawyer: Putin’s Critics Keep “Falling” From Windows

    A top military contractor can avoid paying a $35 million dollar penalty for providing faulty materials to the military – we’ll explain the legal loophole that got them out of trouble. An entire Mississippi town spent more than a week without safe drinking water thanks to a series of failures following catastrophic floods. We’ll have […]

    The post America’s Lawyer: Putin’s Critics Keep “Falling” From Windows appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

  • Papuan families’ lawyer criticises murder reconstruction, calls for independent probe

    Tabloid Jubi in Jayapura

    The lawyer of the families of the victims of the Mimika murder case has criticised the military reconstruction of the killings and mutilation of the four Nduga residents, describing it as “odd” and calling for an independent investigation.

    “The reconstruction of the murder by the security forces is very odd,” lawyer Gustaf R Kawer said in Jayapura yesterday.

    “It is mostly the version of the perpetrators and less from the witnesses.”

    According to Kawer, the reconstruction that took place last Saturday demonstrated 40 scenes. Of these, only 10 showed the role of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade soldiers accused over the murder and mutilation.

    Kawer questioned how the reenactment of the crime emphasised the role of Roy or RMH — a fugitive still at large who did not participate in the reconstruction.

    “The story that was built in the reenactment from the beginning to the end revolved around Roy. But the person was not even there.

    “It was as if Roy was made the sole perpetrator even though there were Indonesian military [TNI] members named as suspects,” Kawer said.

    ‘Finding it strange’
    The murder and mutilation of four civilians from Nduga Regency occurred at Settlement Unit 1, Mimika Baru District, Mimika Regency on August 22, 2022.

    The four victims were Arnold Lokbere, Leman Nirigi, Irian Nirigi and Atis Tini.

    Kawer said the reenactment showed one of the victims, Arnold Lokbere, in front of a mosque at 10pm local time.

    “We find it strange that people around the location who are mentioned in the reenactment do not know about the murder,” he said.

    Kawer called for an independent team to fully investigate the chronology and reconstruction of the Mimika murder and mutilation.

    “The case has now been handed over to the military police and the police, and will be tried in the general court and military court as a general criminal case,” Kawer said.

    Meanwhile, Papua Legislative Council member Namantus Gwijangge said the victims’ families considered the reenactment of the murder scene as “rushed”.

    Call for ‘death sentence’
    “The family asked the Papua Legislative Council to have the case investigated by an independent team, and the perpetrators be sentenced to death,” Gwijangge said.

    On Monday, the Papua Office of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM Papua) said the reconstruction had not fully revealed the murder and mutilation.

    Komnas HAM Papua head Frits Ramandey noted that several accused refused to act out certain scenes so some roles were replaced by other people.

    Komnas HAM Papua also said that the reconstruction raised suspicion that there were two more soldiers of the Raider/20 Ima Jaya Keramo Infantry Brigade involved in the murder and mutilation but they had not been named as suspects.

    However, Komnas HAM Papua did not mention the names or ranks of the two other soldiers allegedly involved.

    Republished from Tabloid Jubi/West Papua Daily with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • The Navy Is Withholding Court Records in a High-Profile Ship Fire Case

    by Megan Rose

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

    Despite a 2016 law requiring more transparency of court-martials, the U.S. Navy is refusing to release nearly all court documents in a high-profile case in which a sailor faces life in prison.

    Seaman Recruit Ryan Mays, 21, has been charged with aggravated arson and hazarding a vessel in the 2020 fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard. Mays has maintained his innocence.

    On July 12, 2020, a fire started on the amphibious assault ship as it was moored at Naval Base San Diego and raged for more than four days. The Navy was not able to put the fire out until the ship was so badly damaged that the service had to scrap it, a more than $1 billion loss.

    Although the Navy has accused Mays of starting the fire, the service’s eight-month investigation found plenty of blame to go around. A more than 400-page report concluded that leaders, from those on board the Bonhomme Richard all the way to a three-star admiral, had failed to ensure the ship’s safety and allowed it to become a fire hazard. Fire response was also grossly mismanaged by leaders who had little understanding of how it should have worked, the Navy’s investigation found. Top Navy leaders called the dayslong blaze preventable and unacceptable.

    Last week, the military judge in Mays’ case denied requests made separately by the defense and ProPublica to make the records public. Cmdr. Derek Butler sidestepped the defense’s claims — that the government was violating Mays’ Sixth Amendment right to a public trial — and ProPublica’s assertions of the First Amendment. Butler didn’t address the constitutional issues at hand and instead said he didn’t have the authority to release the records.

    In July, ProPublica had first requested from the Navy’s Office of the Judge Advocate General all court records that have already been filed and discussed extensively in open court in the Mays case. That office denied access to all but two records already made public, refusing to release any more until the court-martial concludes — and only if Mays is found guilty. The court-martial is scheduled to begin Sept. 19.

    In August, ProPublica, along with Paul LeBlanc, a retired Navy judge and lawyer, filed a motion asking Butler to release the documents, arguing that the First Amendment requires the government to make the records public. ProPublica also argued that the public has a strong interest in understanding how and why the government is prosecuting Mays and in ensuring he receives a fair trial.

    “They’re attempting to put someone in prison for a very long time, and what they’re filing is hidden from the people,” LeBlanc said. “These documents are filed on behalf of the people of the United States, and the people of the United States should have the same right to see them and know what the government is doing on their behalf as they do in federal court.”

    “How can anybody have any sort of trust and confidence in a system if it won’t let them read what prosecutors are saying on their behalf?”

    In 2016, Congress passed a law requiring the military to make court-martial dockets, records and filings accessible to the public. The law was prompted in part by the military’s lack of transparency in sexual assault cases. Congress’ goal was to make court-martial records as available to the public as federal court records are.

    The law specifically states that the military should facilitate access during “pretrial, trial, post-trial, and appellate processes.” But the Department of the Defense has decided that the law only applies once a court-martial is over. It is simply too hard to turn court-martial records over to the public while a trial is happening, Capt. Jason Jones, the prosecutor in the Mays case, wrote in his brief asking the judge to deny records to the public. Military courts don’t have a clerk to coordinate records, and unlike civilian courts, which are in one place, military courts have to operate in a fluid environment, such as a war zone, he said.

    Butler also cited the 2016 law aimed at increasing transparency as why he didn’t have authority to release the records. He wrote that the law did not explicitly grant courts the power to release records but rather the secretary of the defense. He did not address ProPublica’s argument that he has the authority and obligation to release the records under the First Amendment, which Congress cannot take away.

    ProPublica Deputy General Counsel Sarah Matthews said the news organization disagreed with Butler’s interpretation of the law and would next ask the top lawyer for the Department of Defense, Caroline Krass, to clarify what the law requires the services do.

    The federal government has released the charge sheet and a search warrant that detailed the Navy’s case against Mays. By withholding all other records, including those favorable to the defense, the Navy is seeking to “shield the record in secrecy to its advantage,” Matthews wrote in the motion to Butler.

    “Records like these are open in every other courtroom in America. These records aren’t sealed or restricted. They have been discussed in open court, in a proceeding that could send a man to prison,” Matthews said separately. “The Navy believes it can arbitrarily delay or even deny access completely to these records, something all the more troubling because Congress has passed a law demanding more, not less, transparency from our armed services in cases like this.”

  • Smith & Wesson Shows Firearms for Military and Police Forces

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    The post Smith & Wesson Shows Firearms for Military and Police Forces appeared first on Asian Military Review.

    This post was originally published on Asian Military Review.

  • Suspicious ‘Papuan’ tweets promoted Indonesian government’s agenda

    ANALYSIS: By David Engel, Albert Zhang and Jake Wallis

    The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) has analysed thousands of suspicious tweets posted in 2021 relating to the Indonesian region of West Papua and assessed that they are inauthentic and were crafted to promote the policies and activities of the Indonesian government while condemning opponents such as Papuan pro-independence activists.

    This work continues ASPI’s research collaboration with Twitter focusing on information manipulation in the Indo-Pacific to encourage transparency around these activities and norms of behaviour that are conducive to open democracies in the region.

    It follows our August 24 analysis of a dataset made up of thousands of tweets relating to developments in Indonesia in late 2020, which Twitter had removed for breaching its platform manipulation and spam policies.

    This report on Papua focuses on similar Twitter activity from late February to late July 2021 that relates to developments in and about Indonesia’s easternmost region.

    This four-month period was noteworthy for several serious security incidents as well as an array of state-supported activities and events in the Papua region, then made up of the provinces of West Papua and Papua.

    These incidents were among many related to the long-running pro-independence conflict in the region.

    A report from Indonesia’s Human Rights Commission detailed 53 violent incidents in 2021 across the Papua region in which 24 people were killed at the hands of both security forces and the armed wing of the Free Papua Organisation (OPM) separatist movement, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB).

    ‘Armed criminal group’
    Jakarta normally referred to this group by the acronym “KKB”, which stands for “armed criminal group”.

    This upsurge in violence followed earlier cases involving multiple deaths. The most notorious took place in December 2018, when TPNPB insurgents reportedly murdered a soldier and at least 16 construction workers working on a part of the Trans-Papua Highway in the Nduga regency of Papua province (official Indonesian sources have put the death toll as high as 31).

    The Indonesian government responded by conducting Operation Nemangkawi, a major national police (POLRI) security operation by a taskforce comprising police and military units, including additional troops brought in from outside the province.

    The security operation led to bloody clashes, allegations of human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings, and the internal displacement of many thousands of Papuans, hundreds of whom, according to Amnesty International Indonesia, later died of hunger or illness.

    Besides anti-insurgency actions, an important component of the operation was the establishment of Binmas Noken Polri, a community policing initiative designed to conduct “humanitarian police missions or operations” and assist “community empowerment” through programmes covering education, agriculture and tourism development.

    “Noken” refers to a traditional Papuan bag that indigenous Papuans regard as a symbol of “dignity, civilisation and life”. Binmas Noken Polri was initiated by the then national police chief, Tito Karnavian, the same person who created the recently disbanded, shadowy Red and White Special Task Force highlighted in our August 24 report.

    A key development occurred in April 2021 when pro-independence militants killed the regional chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN) in an ambush. Coming on the back of other murders by independence fighters (including of two teachers alleged to be police spies earlier that month), this prompted the government to declare the KKB in Papua—that is, the TPNPB “and its affiliated organisations”—”terrorists” and President Joko Widodo to order a crackdown on the group.

    9 insurgents killed
    Nine alleged insurgents were killed shortly afterwards.

    In May 2021, hundreds of additional troops from outside Papua deployed to the province, some of which were part of an elite battalion nicknamed “Satan’s forces” that had earned notoriety in earlier conflicts in Indonesia’s Aceh province and Timir-Leste.

    During the same month, there were large-scale protests in Papua and elsewhere over the government’s moves to renew and revise the special autonomy law, under which the region had enjoyed particular rights and benefits since 2001.

    The protests included demonstrations staged by Papuan activists and students in Jakarta and the Javanese cities of Bandung and Yogyakarta from May 21-24. The revised law was ushered in by Karnavian, who was then (and is still) Indonesia’s Home Affairs Minister.

    The period also saw ongoing preparations for the staging of the National Sports Week (PON) in Papua. Delayed by one year because of the covid-19 pandemic, the event eventually was held in October at several specially built venues across the province.

    The dataset we analysed represents a diverse collection of thousands of tweets put out under such hashtags as #BinmasNokenPolri, #MenolakLupa (Refuse to forget), #TumpasKKBPapua (Annihilate the Papuan armed criminal group), #PapuaNKRI (Papua unitary state of the Republic of Indonesia), #Papua and #BongkarBiangRusuh (Take apart the culprits of the riots).

    Most were overtly political, either associating the Indonesian state with success and public benefits for Papuans or condemning the state’s opponents as criminals, and sometimes doing both in the same tweet.

    Papuan Games tweets
    Among several tweets under #Papua proclaiming that the province was ready to host the forthcoming PON thanks to Jakarta’s investment in facilities and security, 18 dispatched on June 25 proclaimed: “PAPUA IS READY TO IMPLEMENT PON 2020!!! Papua is safe, peaceful and already prepared to implement PON 2020. So there’s no need to be afraid. Shootings by the KKB … are far from the PON cluster [the various sports facilities] … Therefore everyone #ponpapua #papua”.

    Many tweets were clearly aimed at shaping public perceptions of the pro-independence militia and others challenging the state.

    Under #MenolakLupa in particular, numerous tweets related to past and contemporary acts of violence by the pro-independence militants. Two sets of tweets from March 22 and 24 that recall the 2018 attack at Nduga are especially noteworthy, in that both injected the term “terrorist” into the armed criminal group moniker that the state had been using hitherto, making it “KKTB”. This was a month before the formal designation of the OPM as a “terrorist” organisation.

    As if to stress the OPM’s terrorist nature, subsequent tweets under #MenolakLupa carried through with this loaded terminology. For example, tweets on June 15 stated that in 2017 “KKTB committed sexual violence” against as many as 12 women in two villages in Papua.

    A fortnight later, another set of tweets said that in 2018 the “armed terrorist criminal group” had held 14 teachers hostage and had taken turns in raping one of them, causing her “trauma”. Others claimed former pro-independence militants had converted to the cause of the Indonesian unitary state and therefore recognised its sovereignty over Papua.

    Some tweets relate directly to specific contemporary events. Examples are flurries of tweets posted on July 24-25 in response to the protests against the special autonomy law’s renewal that highlight the alleged irresponsibility of demonstrations during the pandemic, such as: “Let’s reject the invitation to demo and don’t be easily provoked by irresponsible [malign] people. Stay home and stay healthy always.”

    Others are tweets put out under #TumpasKKBPapua after the shooting of the two teachers, such as: “Any religion in the world surely opposes murder or any other such offence, let alone of this teacher. Secure the land of the Bird of Paradise.”

    Warning over ‘hoax’ allegations
    Other tweets warn Papuans not to succumb to “hoax” allegations about the security forces’ behaviour or other claims by overseas-based spokespeople such as United Liberation Movement of West Papua’s Benny Wenda and Amnesty International human rights lawyer Veronica Koman.

    Tweets on April 1 under #PapuaNKRI, for example, warned recipients not to “believe the KKB’s Media Propaganda, let’s be smart and wise in using the media lest we be swayed by fake news.”

    Many of the tweets in the dataset are strikingly mundane, with content that state agencies already were, or would have been, publicising openly. A tweet on February 27 under #Papua, for example, announced that the Transport Minister would prioritise the construction of transport infrastructure in the two provinces.

    Those under #BinmasNokenPolri often echoed advice that receivers of the tweet could just as easily see on other media, such as POLRI’s official Binmas Noken website.

    Some were public announcements about market conditions and community policing events where, for example, people could receive government assistance such as rice, basic items and other support.

    Most reflected Binmas Noken’s community engagement purpose, ranging from a series on May 20 promoting a child’s “trauma healing” session with Binmas Noken personnel to another tweeted out on June 20 advising of a badminton contest involving villages and police arranged under the Nemangkawi Task Force.

    ‘Healthy body, strong spirit’
    A further 34 tweets on June 20 advised that “inside a healthy body is a strong spirit”, of which the first nine began with the same broad sentiment expressed in the Latin motto derived from the Roman poet Juvenal, “Mens sana in corpore sano.” (Presumably, after this first group of tweets it dawned on the sender that his or her classical erudition was likely to be lost on indigenous Papuan residents.)

    As with the tweets analysed in our August 24 report, based on behavioural patterns within the data, we judge that these tweets are likely to be inauthentic—that is, they were the result of coordinated and covert activity intended to influence public opinion rather than organic expressions by genuine users on the platform.

    Without conclusively identifying the actors responsible, we assess that the tweets mirror the Widodo government’s general position on the Papuan region as being an inalienable part of the Indonesian state, as well as the government’s security policies and development agenda in the region.

    The vast majority are purposive: by promoting the government’s policies and activities and condemning opponents of those policies (whether pro-independence militia or protesters), the tweets are clearly designed to persuade recipients that the state is providing vital public goods such as security, development and basic support in the face of malignant, hostile forces, and hence that being Indonesian is in their interests.

    Dr David Engel is senior analyst on Indonesia in ASPI’s Defence and Strategy Programme. Albert Zhang is an analyst with ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre. His research interests include information and influence operations, and disinformation. Dr Jake Wallis is the Head of Programme, Information Operations and Disinformation with ASPI’s International Cyber Policy Centre. This article is republished from The Strategist with permission.

  • Fiji’s dilemma – how its military has become so deeply mired in politics

    ANALYSIS: By Sadhana Sen and Stephen Howes

    The last time the Australian Labor Party came to power (in 2007), Australia was imposing sanctions against Fiji as a result of the country’s fourth coup in 2006.

    Relations worsened before they improved and, partly at Australia’s prompting, Fiji was suspended from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in 2009.

    Fast forward to 2022. Fiji’s 2006 coup leader is now its prime minister, Fiji is chairing the Pacific Islands Forum, and it was the first Pacific country that Australia’s new Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, visited.

    In fact, not only is Voreqe Bainimarama Prime Minister, but his main rival in elections scheduled for later this year is the leader of Fiji’s first coup, in 1987, Sitiveni Rabuka.

    How did this come to pass?

    The only coup leader to have actually suffered as a result of their actions is George Speight, who led Fiji’s third coup. Significantly, Speight was not a soldier, and was only backed by one faction of the army.

    He was sentenced in 2000 to life imprisonment and remains in jail to this day.

    Both senior military leaders
    By contrast, both Bainimarama and Rabuka were senior military leaders. And they were clever and powerful enough after their coups to ensure that Fiji’s constitution was rewritten to absolve them of any legal wrongdoing.

    Rabuka was the pacesetter in terms of rewriting the constitution, and the first coup leader to become PM, returning five years after his coup to successfully contest the 1992 elections. He served as PM to 1999.

    Bainimarama was Fiji’s first coup leader to decide not to step back, but rather to stay in politics. He gave himself eight years of uncontested rule before facing elections, enough time to put him in a position to win.

    Fiji’s coups have been bad for both the country’s economy and for its democratic standing.  Today, it is classified by Freedom House as “partly free”. The think-tank sums up the situation in Fiji as follows:

    The repressive climate that followed a 2006 coup has eased since democratic elections were held in 2014 and 2018. However, the ruling party frequently interferes with opposition activities, the judiciary is subject to political influence, and military and police brutality is a significant problem.

    Combine this with whatever genuine support Bainimarama commands, and it has been difficult, indeed impossible so far, to dislodge him from power. This in turn has made those who want him out think that their only way to depose him is to back another strongman, another former coup leader and PM.

    Rabuka is seen as more moderate than some of the other alternatives to Bainimarama. But also, only Rabuka, it is now thought, can take on Bainimarama.

    Is this progress to democracy, or entrenchment of a coup culture? It has been 16 years since the last coup, in 2006. If Fiji was on a path to democracy, one might accept this dominance of coup-turned-political leaders as a necessary transition, a price to be paid to return Fiji to liberal democratic ways.

    Ethnic tensions
    If only this were the case.

    It is certainly true that the coups have led to a massive out-migration of Fijian Indians, whose share in the population has fallen from a threatening 50 percent in the late 1980s to only about 34 percent now. Ethnic tensions, a driving factor behind all the coups to date, have lessened, though by no means disappeared.

    But it would be a serious mistake to think that coups are a thing of the past. Rabuka and Bainimarama are both ageing: Rabuka is 74; Bainimarama is 68, and recently had serious heart surgery.

    Once they retire or die, it is quite possible that the Fijian political scene will become unstable and/or unpredictable, and that the army will, over time, see it as necessary to intervene. After all, it now has the constitutional role, given to it by Bainimarama, of ensuring not only Fiji’s security and defence but also its “well-being”.

    The military describes itself as its country’s “guardian”.

    In the meantime, Fiji remains stuck as, at best, a semi-democracy. Just last year, several MPs were arrested for opposing government legislation. A recent US government report on Fiji notes credible reports of “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment by government agents [and] serious restrictions on free expression and media, including censorship; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly; and trafficking in persons”.

    Personalised authoritarianism
    Fiji’s brand of authoritarianism is highly personalised:

    • A group of women are challenging a new law that requires married women who change their name to also change their birth certificate if they want to vote, a rule introduced last year that may disenfranchise up to 100,000 women.
    • This change apparently arises from a court case involving an opposition MP who incurred the government’s ire. The courts refused to disqualify the MP on the basis of the name he used to register to vote — not the one on his birth certificate. (The MP in question has since been sent to jail on other charges.)
    • The government also, at the start of last year, expelled the vice-chancellor of the University of the South Pacific (USP) and has refused him entry back into the country, because he blew the whistle on the former VC who is a government ally.
    • The government has this year charged prominent opposition-affiliated lawyer Richard Naidu with contempt of court because of a social media post he made responding to a spelling mistake in a court judgement. Amnesty International has highlighted the “climate of fear” this charge contributes to.

    As James Loxton has recently shown, the re-emergence of authoritarian leaders after democratic transitions is a global phenomenon.

    Thailand provides perhaps the closest parallel to Fiji. In that country, after enduring decades of alternating coups and democracy, the 2014 coup leader General Prayut Chan-o-cha decided that he would not relinquish power, and transitioned out of his military role into political leadership.

    Since then he has stayed as prime minister, winning elections in 2019, and protected by the same sort of rigging of rules that Bainimarama has engaged in.

    Vying for power
    However, while Thailand has had many more coups than Fiji, only in the latter do we see two former coup leaders vying for power.

    The situation in Fiji seems widely accepted. In 2014, former soldier turned academic Jone Baledrokadroka wrote of the “acquiescence to military intervention” of the Fijian people as “a hallmark of politics in the country”.

    Many coup critics have left the country; some have died. A number linked to the coup and/or subsequent governments now hold leadership positions within regional and international organisations.

    International partners have also changed tack. Australia’s Coalition, when it came to power in 2013, promised and delivered a new, more constructive approach to Fiji, on the basis that the adversarial approach of earlier years was driving Fiji into the arms of China.

    In the decade since, as concerns about China have escalated, those about democracy and human rights have been put on the back burner. Australia is now even supporting Fiji’s army, building a base to support its export of peacekeeping forces.

    Rabuka first went up against Bainimarama in the last, 2018 elections, and lost. His prospects are thought to be better this time round according to public opinion polling, but the lack of a united opposition makes predictions difficult.

    If Bainimarama is defeated in November, it will be the first time Fiji has changed its PM through the ballot box since 1999. That itself would be a victory for democracy.

    However, the fact remains that, whatever the outcome of this year’s election, it is most likely that the country’s next prime minister will be someone who first came to power through the barrel of a gun. This is a clear sign of how deeply entrenched in Fiji’s politics its military has become.

    Sadhana Sen is the regional communications adviser at the Development Policy Centre. Stephen Howes is director of the Development Policy Centre and professor of economics at the Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University. This article was first published here by DevPolicy Blog and published with permission under a Creative Commons licence.

     

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • America’s Lawyer: War Pimp Dick Cheney – Democrats’ New Hero

    America’s Lawyer E18: A former Twitter employee has been convicted of selling personal data to the Saudi Royal family so they could go after people who were critical of the regime. We’ll tell you all about this disturbing story. Starbucks is accusing employees of KIDNAPPING a manager – but all of the video evidence shows […]

    The post America’s Lawyer: War Pimp Dick Cheney – Democrats’ New Hero appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

  • Saudi Arabia Sets New Record…In Beheadings

    Saudi Arabia is setting a new record this year by beheading more alleged criminals than ever. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio:             Saudi Arabia is setting a new record this year by beheading more victims, more criminals. Okay. The thing that […]

    The post Saudi Arabia Sets New Record…In Beheadings appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

  • Will Fiji’s 2022 hotly contested elections further cement democracy?

    ANALYSIS: By Shailendra Singh of the University of the South Pacific

    In Fiji’s politically charged context, national elections are historically a risky period. Since the 2022 campaign period was declared open on April 26, the intensity has been increasing.

    Moreover, with three governments toppled by coups after the 1987, 1999 and 2006 elections, concerns about a smooth transfer of power are part of the national conversation.

    The frontrunners in the election, which must be held by January 2023 but is likely to be held later this year, are two former military strongmen — Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.

    Both men have been involved in Fijian coups in the past.  Rabuka took power through the 1987 coups in the name of Indigenous self-determination. He became the elected prime minister in 1992 but lost power in 1999 after forming a coalition with a largely Indo–Fijian party.

    Bainimarama staged his 2006 coup in the name of good governance, multiracialism and eradicating corruption, before restoring electoral democracy and winning elections under the FijiFirst (FF) party banner in 2014 and 2018.

    FijiFirst was formed by the leaders and supporters of the 2006 coup during the transition back to democratic government via the 2014 election. Many of the FF leaders were part of the post-coup interim government that created the 2013 constitution, which delivered substantial changes to Fiji’s electoral system.

    These changes included the elimination of seats reserved for specific ethnicities, replaced by a single multi-member constituency covering the whole country, and the creation of a single national electoral roll. Seat distribution is proportional, meaning each of the eight competing parties will need to get five percent of the vote to win one of the 55 seats up for grabs this year.

    Popularity a key factor
    As votes for a particular candidate are distributed to those lower down their parties’ ticket once they cross the five percent threshold, the popularity of single candidates can make or break a party’s electoral hopes.

    For example, Bainimarama individually garnered 69 percent of FF’s total votes in 2014 and 73.81 percent in 2018, demonstrating the extent to which his party’s fortunes rest on his personal brand.

    This will be crucial as FF’s majority rests on a razor thin margin, having won in 2018 with only 50.02 percent of the vote, compared to its 59.14 percent in 2014.

    As for his major rival Rabuka, following his split with the major Indigenous Fijian party, Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA), he formed and now heads the People’s Alliance Party (PAP).

    The split came after Rabuka lost a leadership tussle with SODELPA stalwart Viliame Gavoka. Rabuka’s departure is seen as a setback for SODELPA, given that he attracted 77,040, or 42.55 percent, of the total SODELPA votes in 2018.

    When it comes to issues, the state of the economy, including cost of living and national debt, are expected to be at the top of most voters’ minds. Covid-19 brought a sudden halt to tourism — which before the pandemic made up 39 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) — putting 115,000 people out of work.

    As a result, the government borrowed heavily during this period, which according to the Ministry of Economy saw the “debt-to-GDP ratio increase to over 80 percent at the end of March 2022 compared to around 48 per cent pre-pandemic”.

    Poverty ‘undercounted’
    The government stated that it borrowed to prevent economic collapse, while the opposition accused it of reckless spending. The World Bank put the poverty level at 24.1 percent in April 2022, but opposition politicians have claimed this is an undercount.

    For example, the leader of the National Federation Party (NFP) Professor Biman Prasad has claimed the real level of unemployment is more than 50 percent.

    Adding to this pressure is inflation, which reached 4.7 percent in April — up from 1.9 percent in February — and while the government blames price increases in wheat, fuel, and other staples on the war in Ukraine, the opposition attributes it to poor economic fundamentals.

    Another factor which could define the election outcome was the pre-election announcement of a coalition between the PAP and NFP. By combining the two largest opposition parties, there is clearly a hope to form a viable multiethnic alternative to FF.

    This strategy, however, is not without risks in the country’s complex political milieu. In the 1999 election, the coalition between Rabuka’s ruling Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei Party and NFP failed when Rabuka’s 1987 coup history was highlighted during campaigning.

    This saw NFP’s Fijian supporters of Indian descent desert the party.

    Whether history will repeat itself is one of the intriguing questions in this election. According to some estimates, FF received 71 percent of Indo-Fijian votes in 2014, and capturing this support base is crucial for the opposition’s chances.

    Transfer of power concerns
    Against the background of pressing economic and social issues loom concerns about a smooth transfer of power. Besides Fiji’s coup culture, such anxieties are fuelled by a constitutional provision seen to give the military carte blanche to intervene in national politics.

    Section 131(2) of the 2013 Fijian constitution states: ‘It shall be the overall responsibility of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces to ensure at all times the security, defence and well-being of Fiji and all Fijians’.

    This has concerned many opposition leaders, such as NFP president Pio Tikoduadua, who has called for the country to rethink how this aspect of the constitution should be understood.

    These concerns are likely to increase by the prospect of a close or hung election. As demonstrated after last year’s Samoan general election, the risk of a protracted dispute over the results could have adverse implications for a stable outcome.

    As such, it is essential that all candidates immediately commit to respect the final result of the election whatever it may be and lay the foundations for a peaceful transition of power. In the longer-term interest, however, it will be necessary for Fiji to clarify the potential domestic power of the military implied by the constitution to put all undue speculation to rest. 

    Dr Shailendra Singh is coordinator of the University of the South Pacific journalism programme. This article is based on a paper published by ANU Department of Pacific Affairs (DPA) as part of its “In brief” series. The original paper can be found here. It was first published at Policy Forum, Asia and the Pacific’s platform for public policy analysis and opinion. Republished with the permission of the author.

  • As voices for peace are shouted down, war in Asia looms large

    In February this year I was asked by friends – who mistook my interest in war and foreign policy for expertise – whether Vladimir Putin would invade Ukraine. No, I told them. This build-up was just posturing, precisely as there had been for years by that stage.

    Yet, quite soon after this I woke up to see that Russian armoured columns were streaming into Ukraine. And that centrist and Tory Russophobes and hawks were claiming that they were right all along to hype the threat of Russia. A first to be sure, though more by luck than judgement. A broken clock is right twice day after all.

    Add to this unpredictability the fact that anti-war voices are attacked by the powerful, and we’re faced with a dangerous climate.

    Great Powers

    What is clear is that, since February 2022, much has changed in terms of the rivalry between the Great Powers. Today, anything could happen – and US speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on 2 August seems to highlight this.

    Only minutes after Pelosi landed, China announced it would start live fire drills close to Taiwan, which it historically claims as its own territory.

    As NPR points out, the US plays both sides:

    By law, the U.S. is obligated to provide Taiwan with weapons and services. But the U.S. policy of “strategic ambiguity” keeps open the question of whether it would intervene in the case of a military invasion by China.

    Yet in these conflicted times, where assumptions – including my own – have been up-ended, it’s hard to even guess at the future.

    Misdirection

    Meanwhile in the UK, the few prominent voices for peace are mocked by the self appointed ‘adults in the room’:

    This being despite none other than Tony Blair, whose politics closely align with Farron’s, making almost identical arguments:

    It also ignores the fact that Blair himself has a long history of taking pro-Putin positions:

    Dangerous moment

    The potential for an escalation with China can’t be ignored. This is a historical moment, as Ukraine shows, when events can run away from us. The West’s large-scale material support of Ukraine suggests that it might be hard to do the same in Taiwan if it were invaded in terms of resources – and we can’t predict if the US and UK will open up a proxy war on that front too.

    Given these tensions, prominent voices for peace are more important than ever. However, they are coming under increasing pressure from both out-and-out hawks and misguided centrists who are more concerned with attacking the Left than ending wars.

    Featured image via Wikimedia Commons/MC3 Scott Pittman/U.S. Navy, cropped to 770 x 403, licensed under CC BY 2.0. 

    By Joe Glenton

  • Philippines’ People Power hero passes as dictator’s son takes over rule

    By Diana G. Mendoza in Manila

    The Philippine media described him as “Steady Eddie,” a warrior and survivor, and an accidental hero of the world-renowned People Power revolution who later became probably the country’s best president.

    But Fidel V. Ramos, or FVR, was also a study of contradictions.

    Also called Eddie by his friends, Ramos died on the last day of July, a month after the namesake son of dictator Ferdinand Marcos, who was ousted in the popular uprising in 1986 that Ramos led, took his oath as the new president in what observers believed was an election that was far from fair due to voting and election irregularities.

    The former armed forces chief died at 94 from a heart condition and dementia, unimaginable to his admirers who saw him as “cool,” “steady,” athletic, maintaining his military bearing until his old age.

    He was also a multi-tasking workaholic who played golf and jogged regularly while briefing journalists or preparing for his next travel to the communities under a rigorous schedule.

    He succeeded Corazon “Cory” Aquino as president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998 and was instrumental in boosting the Southeast Asian developing country’s growth through economic policies of deregulation, liberalisation and foreign investment, his Social Reform Agenda that reduced poverty and an anti-oligarch and anti-monopoly stance.

    The only Protestant president of the predominantly Roman Catholic country was also known for his transition from a military general who fought leftist and right-wing dissidents and entering into peace agreements with Islamic separatist groups and Communist insurgents.

    Contrast to ruthless military chief
    His commendable turn as president after Aquino was a contrast to his past as a hardline, ruthless Marcos military commander who led a security force that rounded up dissidents and violated human rights.

    His leadership also saw the harassment, incarceration and exile of Aquino’s husband Benigno, who was assassinated on his return to the country in 1983.

    Philippine General Fidel Ramos
    Flashback … Philippine General Fidel Ramos greeting supporters while barnstorming in his home province north of Manila amid the campaign for the national elections that swept him to power in 1992. Image: Romeo Gacad/PIT File/AFP

    The confluence of events in the years that followed, until the 1986 uprising, was marked by Ramos’ decision to break away from Marcos and to support Aquino, who was cheated massively in the elections.

    He and his military comrades, along with Catholic bishops, called on Filipinos to mount a peaceful revolution, making him a people power hero.

    Pulitzer Prize-winning Filipino journalist Manny Mogato, who covered Ramos when he headed the Defence Department and the military, said in a social media post that the late president was “a man of action… he even (did) push-ups with 300 soldiers who took part in an attempt to overthrow Cory Aquino”.

    Ramos neutralised rogue soldiers who attempted multiple coups against Aquino during her presidency.

    Ramos attended the US military academy at West Point, fought in the Korean War in the 1950s as a platoon leader and led the Philippine contingent in the late 1960s in the Vietnam War.

    ‘Best president ever’
    “Ramos was the best president the country ever had, guarded democracy, broke monopolies and made peace, ending right-wing rebellion, half finishing the Muslim secessionist war and almost reaching a peace deal with Maoist-led rebels,” Mogato said.

    “FVR left behind a legacy of peace, stability and prosperity Filipinos now enjoy.”

    Anastacio Corpuz, an 80-year-old war veteran, said he was saddened by Ramos’ passing, saying that he should have continued as a vocal authority and statesman.

    “Through the years, he was always vocal against corruption in government and abuses by the political elite — including the new government under the dictator’s son,” he lamented.

    “He will be greatly missed.”

    Diana G. Mendoza filed this report for Pacific Island Times in Guam. Republished with permission.

  • U.S. Lawmakers Demand Federal Scrutiny of Turkey’s Drones

    by Umar Farooq

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

    As countries around the globe add armed drones to their arsenals, federal lawmakers are pressing the Biden administration to investigate how U.S. parts and technology ended up in what has fast become one of the most popular models on the world market: Turkey’s TB2.

    Manufactured by the Turkish firm Baykar Technology, the TB2 can hover high above a battlefield and strike targets with laser-guided missiles. Baykar has maintained that the TB2s are domestically produced, with nearly all of the parts coming from within Turkey. But, as ProPublica reported this month, wreckage from downed drones in multiple conflicts has shown otherwise. A range of components were made by manufacturers in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

    To learn more, Rep. Tony Cárdenas, D-Calif., recently introduced an amendment to the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act. The annual budgeting bill is often an opportunity for lawmakers to require reports from the administration on pressing issues, and Cárdenas focused on the TB2, highlighting Azerbaijan’s deployment of the weapon in its 2020 war against neighboring Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Images of drone wreckage published by local media outlets and the Armenian military at the time showed parts that matched those made by several U.S.-based companies. Some of those firms told ProPublica they had taken steps to stop direct sales to Turkey, but others continue to sell key parts.

    Turkey has ramped up TB2 exports in recent years. At least 14 countries now own the drones, and 16 others are seeking to purchase them.

    “We’ve been paying close attention to Turkey’s drone sales and how these weapons have been deployed around the world,” Cárdenas told ProPublica in a statement. “I’m troubled about the destabilizing effects we’re seeing and the human rights concerns that follow, especially in places like Nagorno Karabakh. We need a full accounting of the role U.S manufactured parts are playing so that Congress can conduct proper oversight.”

    If enacted, the legislation would require the Defense Department, in consultation with the State Department, to produce a report on U.S. parts in the TB2s used in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and any potential violations of export laws, sanctions or other regulations. Neither the Turkish Embassy in Washington nor Baykar Technology returned requests for comment for this story. Previously, when asked about the source of key components in its drones, Baykar did not respond to specific questions and would only say those queries were based on unspecified “false accusations.”

    At issue are U.S. export laws. Typically, military parts are strictly controlled, requiring licenses from the State Department detailing their buyers and end uses. But many of the key components in the TB2 are commercial-grade technologies, which are found in a variety of consumer products and not subject to arms laws. And as a member of key global anti-arms compacts, Turkey can easily import the off-the-shelf parts, avoiding a web of sanctions and restrictions intended to curb the efforts of countries like Iran and China, which also operate drone programs.

    Some critics have called on the Biden administration to crack down on Turkey. Other countries, including Canada, have previously instituted export bans to keep key parts from flowing. But for the U.S., experts say, there are a number of diplomatic considerations. Turkey is a long-standing NATO ally. And, more recently, the TB2 has emerged as a critical tool in places like Ukraine, where the country’s military has used it to battle Russian forces — a fact that the drone maker, Baykar, has repeatedly emphasized in media coverage of the conflict. “I think it is one of the symbols of resistance,” Selçuk Bayraktar, the firm’s chief technology officer, told CNN. “It gives them hope.”

    Elsewhere, however, the TB2 is far less revered. In fact, it has been used to kill not just soldiers but civilians, drawing the ire of various governments and human rights groups.

    In 2019, for example, Turkey sent the drones to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord in Libya, despite a United Nations arms embargo. The U.N. said the weapon then helped transform a “low-intensity, low-technology” fight there into a bloody conflict. In Ethiopia, amid a war with rebels, the government used TB2s in airstrikes that have killed dozens of civilians, including those living in a camp for displaced people.

    Biden administration officials raised concerns about drone use in the Ethiopia conflict with their Turkish counterparts but stopped short of taking action, despite an executive order authorizing them to impose sanctions against any party involved in the fighting.

    This year’s National Defense Authorization Act reflects America’s tense relationship with Turkey. If signed into law, it would restrict the administration’s efforts to sell F-16 fighter jets to the country. Lawmakers cited a number of recent moves by Turkey, including its opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO. “How do you reward a nation that does all of those things,” Foreign Relations Committee Chair Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., told Politico.

    The House amendment on TB2s, introduced by Cárdenas and co-sponsored by 19 others, represents the second attempt in the past year to put the Turkish drone program on the White House’s radar.

    Last year, lawmakers sought a similar mandate for a report on U.S. parts and technology used in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. One version of the 2021 amendment, introduced by Menendez, called for a broad assessment of the TB2s, their sales since 2018 and U.S. parts used in them. The final version, however, was watered down. It did not name the Turkish drone or Turkey specifically, and it asked the Biden administration to look generally into American “weapon systems or controlled technology” used in the 2020 Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict. ProPublica found that the Turkish government had hired lobbyists to discuss the drones issue with lawmakers at the time.

    Under the law, that report was due in June, but the Defense Department has yet to release it. A spokesperson told ProPublica this month that it was “out for final review with pertinent stakeholders.” The department did not respond to subsequent requests for an update on when that review would be complete.

    To some administration critics, the delay is another indication of Turkey’s clout in Washington.

    “Taking something off the shelf and using it to patch together a weapon might not technically cross a legal line, but it should be of concern,” said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America, a pro-Armenia lobbying group that has called for a range of measures against Turkey. “It should be addressed as part of our general U.S.-Turkey relationship, and I’m not sure it is. I think they get a free pass on it.”

    The Senate is expected to finalize its version of the National Defense Authorization Act in the coming months.

  • Moresby police chief rejects call for capital curfew after election violence

    By Gynnie Kero in Port Moresby

    National Capital District Metropolitan Police Superintendent Gideon Ikumu has ruled out a proposal to impose a curfew in the capital city Port Moresby in the wake of the recent spate of violence.

    He said the situation was expected to return to normal after soldiers yesterday joined policemen on the city streets monitoring the crisis.

    A fight started on Sunday evening following a dispute between scrutineers of the Moresby Northeast candidates inside the counting venue at the Sir John Guise stadium.

    It spilled onto the main road where men armed with machetes attacked each other.

    It continued yesterday morning.

    Most business houses told their employees to stay at home yesterday for their own safety.

    Vanimo-Green MP Belden Namah called for an immediate declaration of a State of Emergency in troubled zones throughout the country.

    Namah calls for ‘state of emergency’
    “I am now calling for immediate declaration of the State of Emergency and curfew in Port Moresby, Enga and all the trouble zones,” Namah said.

    But Ikumu said a curfew was not necessary as security personnel were monitoring the situation.

    He hoped everything would return to normal today.

    He said police had rounded up 18 suspects since Sunday.

    “Less than 10 [people were] injured. Most didn’t go to the hospital,” Ikumu said.

    “No deaths. Police have to link those suspects to the incident.

    “They are subject to further investigations.”

    Police chief turned to military
    Police Commissioner David Manning asked Defence Force Chief Major-General Mark Goina for assistance.

    Caretaker Prime Minister James Marape yesterday said the National Capital District was no place for criminals.

    Marape said that additional manpower from the Papua New Guinea Defence had been deployed to support the Royal Papua New Guinea constabulary to police the nation’s Capital District.

    “If you do not like the results of the counting, take it to the court of disputed returns,” he said.

    “And let the Electoral Commission do its job and complete the counting process, send your scrutineers in to witness, and all candidates and supporters stay away from counting sites,” he said.

    Marape said that candidates who were contesting to become leaders should not try to take the law into their own hands.

    Gynnie Kero is a reporter for The National in Papua New Guinea. Republished with permission.

    Police and the PNG Defence Force jointly patrolling streets in Port Moresby
    Police and the PNG Defence Force jointly patrolling the streets in Waigani yesterday. Image: PNGDF

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • PNG police arrest 18 suspects following election attacks in Port Moresby

    Inside PNG News

    National Capital Dictrict (NCD) police have arrested 18 suspects following the slasher attacks on civilians yesterday outside Papua New Guinea’s national elections counting centre at Port Moresby’s Sir John Guise stadium.

    NCD Metropolitan Superintendent Gideon Ikumu said the men were “persons of interest” and police would continue investigating.

    “The men [suspects] are in custody with no charges laid until completion of the investigation by our CID,” Superintendent Ikumu said.

    He also reassured city residents and the public to remain calm as the police were now out in numbers to carry out patrols and maintain order in the city.

    “I hope this doesn’t happen again — our men are now dispatched to areas of concern to monitor and to ensure public safety is guaranteed,” Superintendent Ikumu said.

    Superintendent Ikumu said members of the PNG Defence Force were also assisting city police by protecting the counting area at the Sir John Guise Stadium.

    “This will now see support units assist regular police to maintain order in Port Moresby,” he said.

    The city police chief said opportunists were also taking advantage of the situation. He urged city residents and the general public to be vigilant.

    “While police and other security forces are out to ensure order, I call on residents to be mindful when moving around,” said Superintendent Ikumu.

    He had also asked the NCD Election Manager to suspend counting until tensions eased in the city.

    ‘Global shame’
    The National’s Rebecca Kuku reports that Papua New Guinea was “shamed internationally … when general election 2022 (GE22) candidates’ supporters turned the streets in the … capital Port Moresby into a battlefield.

    “Innocent people ran helter-skelter as political supporters wielding bush knives started chasing and slashing people indiscriminately on the streets in front of City Hall (the National Capital District Commission building) about 2.30pm.

    “People were seen running into the compound of the nearby Vision City Mega Mall for refuge as the assailants went about slashing their victims who collapsed on the spot.

    “The uncivilised electoral violence started at the nearby Sir John Guise Stadium where counting of GE22 ballots were in progress for the Moresby Northeast electorate.

    “Police said the knife-wielding offenders were supporters of two candidates and at least two were wounded.”

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Researchers warn of growing potential for mass killings in Papua region

    By Victor Mambor and Alvin Prasetyo in Jayapura

    The US Holocaust Memorial Museum is warning in a new report that mass killings of civilians could occur in Indonesia’s troubled West Papua region in the next year to 18 months if current conditions deteriorate to a worst-case scenario.

    Although large-scale violence against civilians is not occurring yet in Papua, early warning signs are visible and warrant attention, says the report, titled “Don’t Abandon Us: Preventing Mass Atrocities in Papua.”

    The museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide published the 45-page report this week authored by an Indonesian, Made Supriatma, who conducted field research in the region.

    “Indonesia ranks 27th on the list of countries with risks of mass atrocities. This report should be considered as an early warning,” Supriatma said.

    A combination of factors — increasing rebel attacks, better coordination and organisation of pro-independence civilian groups, and the ease of communication — makes it plausible that the unrest could reach a new level in the next 12-18 months, the report said.

    “If political and social unrest persist, and if it were to spread across the region, it is possible that the Indonesian government could determine that the scale or persistence of the protests would justify a more severe response, which could lead to large-scale killing of civilians,” it said.

    The risks are rooted in factors such as past mass atrocities in Indonesia, the exclusion of indigenous Papuans from political decision-making, Jakarta’s failure to address their grievances and conflicts over the exploitation of the region’s resources, according to the report.

    Human rights abuses
    Other factors include Papuans’ resentment over Jakarta’s failure to hold accountable security personnel implicated in human rights abuses and conflict between indigenous Papuans and migrants from other parts of Indonesia over economic, political, religious, and ideological issues, it said.

    Under one scenario that the report envisions, pro-Jakarta Papuan militia, backed by the military and police, commit mass atrocities against pro-independence Papuans.

    But such a scenario depends on indigenous Papuan groups remaining divided into pro-Jakarta and pro-independence groups, it said. The other scenario involves Indonesian migrants and Indonesian security forces committing atrocities against indigenous Papuans, the study said.

    "Don't Abandon Us"
    “Don’t Abandon Us”: Preventing mass atrocities in Papua, Indonesia. Image: EWP cover

    The report recommends that the government improve freedom of information and monitoring atrocity risks, manage conflicts through nonviolent means, and address local grievances and drivers of conflict.

    Supriatma said indigenous Papuans he spoke to as part of his research confirmed that real and perceived discrimination had fueled an “us-against-them” mentality between indigenous Papuans and Indonesians.

    Papua, on the western side of New Guinea Island, has been the scene of a low-level pro-independence insurgency since the mainly Melanesian region was incorporated into Indonesia in a United Nations-administered ballot in the late 1960s.

    In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded Papua — like Indonesia, a former Dutch colony — and annexed the region.

    Only 1025 people voted in the UN-sponsored referendum in 1969 that locals and activists said was a sham, but the United Nations accepted the result, essentially endorsing Jakarta’s rule.

    ‘Not based on facts’
    An expert at the Indonesian presidential staff office, Theofransus Litaay, questioned the study’s validity.

    “There’s something wrong in the identification of research questions. The author extrapolated events in East Timor to his research,” he said, referring to violence by pro-Jakarta militias before and after East Timor’s vote for independence from Indonesia in 1999.

    “It’s not based on the facts on the ground,” he said, without elaborating.

    Gabriel Lele, a senior researcher with the Papuan Task Force at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, said the report was based on limited data.

    “It is true that there has been an escalation of violence, but the main perpetrators are the OPM [Free Papua Movement] and the victims have been civilians, soldiers and police,” lele said.

    He said rebels had also attacked indigenous Papuans who did not support the pro-independence movement.

    Violence has intensified in Papua since 2018, when pro-independence rebels attacked workers who were building roads and bridges in Nduga regency, killing 20 people, including an Indonesian soldier.

    Suspected rebels killed civilians
    In the latest violence, suspected rebels gunned down 10 civilians, mostly non-indigenous Papuans, and wounded two others on July 16.

    A local rebel commander from the OPM’s armed wing, Egianus Kogoya, claimed responsibility.

    “We suspect they were spies, so we shot them dead on the spot,” the Media Indonesia newspaper quoted him as saying on Monday.

    The attack in Nduga regency came a little more than two weeks after legislators voted to create three new provinces in Papua amid opposition from indigenous people and rebel groups.

    In March this year, insurgents killed eight workers who were repairing a telecommunications tower in Beoga, a district of Puncak regency.

    No desire to address racism
    Reverend Dr Benny Giay, a member of the Papua Church Council, said Jakarta had not shown a desire to address racism against Papuans, who are ethnically Melanesian, and instead branded pro-independence groups terrorists.

    “Authorities allow arms trade between armed groups and members of the TNI [military] and police, which perpetuates the violence and in the end can have fatal consequences for the indigenous people,” Dr Giay said.

    The influx of migrants from other parts of Indonesia has created inter-communal tensions and conflicts over regional governance, analysts said.

    Indigenous people are concerned that a massive project to build a trans-Papua highway, as part of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s drive to boost infrastructure, could lead to economic domination by outsiders and the presence of more troops, said Cahyo Pamungkas, a researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN).

    “The road will mainly benefit non-Papuans, and indigenous people will benefit little economically because they are not ready to be involved in the economic system that the government wants to build,” Cahyo said.

    Republished from Benar News. Co-author Victor Mambor is editor-in-chief of the indigenous Papuan newspaper and website Jubi.

  • John Bolton Admits To Creating Government Coups On Live TV

    John Bolton recently admitted that he had helped orchestrate coups in other countries on behalf of the US government. Mike Papantonio & Farron Cousins discuss more. Transcript: *This transcript was generated by a third-party transcription software company, so please excuse any typos. Mike Papantonio:             John Bolton recently admitted what, by the way, what a nut case. But he, he recently […]

    The post John Bolton Admits To Creating Government Coups On Live TV appeared first on The Ring of Fire Network.

    This post was originally published on The Ring of Fire Network.

  • 18 people hacked to death in Porgera in under an hour amid PNG elections

    By Miriam Zarriga of the PNG Post-Courier

    A brutal massacre in Porgera town yesterday afternoon in which 18 innocent people were killed has rocked Enga province and shocked Papua New Guinea.

    Local police chief acting Superintendent George Kakas was shocked by the act of violence in the wake of the country’s national elections — he was left speechless when told by field officers about the killings.

    Last night, caretaker Prime Minister James Marape said Porgera was now in a state of emergency.

    “We have called out additional manpower from both the military and police, not just for Porgera but for other areas that need special assistance as well,” he said.

    “We will beef up security as election requirements have diluted normal police work and the present killing is related to an ongoing tribal fight.”

    In his policing career, Kakas has seen worse but yesterday’s act was one he thought was the work of a deranged mob who had no respect for the sanctity of life.

    Of the 18 dead, 13 were men and 5 were women. They were going about their normal lives when men armed with machetes and axes hacked them to death.

    Hour of wanton destruction
    It was an hour of wanton destruction in which no one in the path of the rampaging tribesmen was spared, Kakas said.

    Pictures of the dead posted online showed a trail of destruction with murderous intent. It seemed none of the dead had any chance of escaping.

    PNG police Superintendent George Kakas
    Local acting police commander Superintendent George Kakas … “We will beef up security as election requirements have diluted normal police work and the present killing is related to an ongoing tribal fight.” Image: RNZ

    In one picture, a woman clad in a PNG meri blouse lay next to a young girl, probably her daughter.

    In another, a man and a woman lie side by side, having fallen where they were attacked.

    The woman is on her knees, cowering in a foetal position, probably having begged for mercy — a futile attempt to evade the inevitable.

    Men examining the scene looking for relatives were shown carrying bush knives and axes.

    In turbulent Enga these are normal weapons.

    Disputed gold mine
    Porgera is the site of the disputed giant gold mine which has been closed for almost two years.

    A violent tribal fight between the Aiyala and Nomali tribes has been raging, which has severely affected the elections in that part of the region.

    The 18 deaths brings to 70 the number of people killed in Porgera in the past four months.

    Although an emergency was declared in Porgera, the fighting between Aiyala and Nomali has continued, Superintendent Kakas said.

    RNZ Pacific's report today of the Porgera killings
    RNZ Pacific’s report today of the Porgera killings. Image: RNZ

    Security forces are present in Porgera Town. Together with local police, there are about 150 police and army personnel, however they are outnumbered by the tribal warriors, who are heavily armed.

    “The 13 men and 5 women were killed in Paiam and Upper Porgera on Wednesday afternoon,” Kakas said.

    Of the 18, five people were killed in Upper Porgera Station and 13 people killed at Paiam.

    “Out of the 18 deaths, 3 men from Porgera town area were killed by Kandeps. This killing related to the ongoing tribal fight at Paiam has now escalated to Pogera Town.”

    Troops moving in
    “Police Commissioner David Manning said last night the PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) contribution troops for the task force were in the process of moving into Enga.

    “There is no SOE declared, 120 soldiers from the 2nd PIR Bravo Company were sent in yesterday afternoon. They are based in Wabag and once all logistics are in place, they will further deploy to the electorates of Porgera, Laiagam, and Kompiam and join their RPNGC MS counterparts who are currently on the ground.”

    Manning said the task force had 60 days to restore the rule of law in the electorates, secure the mine and provide protection for repairs to be done on damaged bridges –– especially on the Wabag-Kompiam road.

    “We received reports of continuous killings in Porgera that began over the weekend. Priority deployment is to the Porgera valley, to quell the fighting between the local Porgereans and settlers from other parts of Enga Province,” he said.

    “We have received urgent pleas to also evacuate non-Engans who currently work up there — for them to be escorted to safety.

    “The 3 meter wide, 4-5 meter deep trench that was dug across the Surinki stretch of Wabag-Porgera road is still undergoing repairs. However, a temporary bypass has been constructed to allow traffic.”

    Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

  • PNG police taskforce to hunt down 15 candidate suspects over Enga crisis

    By Miriam Zarriga of the PNG Post-Courier

    Papua New Guinea’s Police Commissioner David Manning has fired the first warning shot in the hunt for candidates who were involved in disrupting the national elections in Enga province.

    He is deploying a multipolice and army taskforce to hunt down 15 suspected candidates to bring them to justice in violence-torn Enga.

    He said Enga police have identified the 15 candidates who are alleged to have instigated criminal acts that impacted on the election.

    “This will allow for search warrants to be applied for on their persons, known associates, financial assets, and material property and if need be arrest warrants,” Commissioner Manning said.

    “We are not time bound by the elections. If these candidates think that we are, then they are sadly misinformed.

    “We plan to have this taskforce deployed in stages over the coming days.

    “In the last 72 hours there has seen an upsurge in the rate of lawlessness in parts of Enga.

    ‘Situation is serious’
    “The situation is very serious and I have grave concerns for the lives of many innocent people there who have become victims of barbaric and animalistic attacks,” he said.

    Manning has been up in the restive Highlands of PNG since day one of polling.

    “I have always maintained that the electoral process must be jointly delivered in partnership with the people, unfortunately certain candidates do not think this the way the elections should be delivered.

    “Reading through the reports on the situation on the ground it is frustrating and sickening to note that known candidates and their supporters have deliberately attacked opposing candidates and their supporters to influence a favorable outcome he said.

    PNG Post-Courier reports the Enga election crisis 150722
    How the PNG Post-Courier weekend edition reported the Enga election crisis. Image: PNG Post-Courier screenshot

    “To think that these candidates are considered to be highly educated and have successful careers, married and have children of their own, for them to condone such violent acts by their tribesman and supporters is sickening.

    “These so-called elites of the province despite their degrees are nothing but highly educated people with questionable morals.

    “We have a saying in many parts of the country with different versions depending where you are ‘mango diwai save karim mango, kapiak diwai save karim kapiak’, a law abiding upstanding citizen would not allow criminals to act on his/her behalf to better their chances of winning elections,” he said.

    Concerns given to PM
    “Similarly a citizen who resorts and supports illegal means of getting what he/she wants will never solicit the support of law abiding citizens to carry out their criminal activities.

    “I have conveyed my concerns to the Prime Minister as well as the Commander of the PNGDF, and we have resolved to establish a separate multiforce taskforce to enforce the rule of law in Enga immediately and also secure the Porgera mine.

    “The situation in Enga is no ordinary law and order situation, while many of the violent incidents are attributed to the elections there are sectors of the local communities in Enga that continue to engage in violent criminal activities pre-dating the elections and will continue throughout the election period.

    “It will be the joint taskforce’s primary objective to enforce the rule of law and respond appropriately where necessary to these individuals and/or groups.”

    “Candidates who have employed the services of these criminals or have supported these activities will be apprehended and face the criminal justice system.”

    Reports of violence in the last 72 hours include:

    Kompium- Ambum
    – Destruction of four bridges on the Wabag-Kompiam road.
    – Destruction of government Installations schools
    – Unconfirmed reports of widespread killings
    – Confirmed destruction of village homes and livestock
    – Continuous tribal fighting between rival candidates

    Lagaip
    – Destruction of culverts and the digging of a three-meter wide and six meter deep trench on the Sirunki section of the Wabag–Porgera Road.
    – Sporadic attacks on government security forces throughout the polling period.
    – Continuous tribal fighting between rival candidates.
    – Unconfirmed reports of killings.
    – Access by road to Porgera via Wabag continues to be cut off.

    Porgera-Paiela
    – Destruction of schools and teachers homes.
    – Destruction of shops and various other buildings in and around Paiam Station.
    – Tribal clashes continue between rival candidates.
    – Unconfirmed reports on unknown number of killings.
    – Manning said that so far boxes had been airlifted from Enga.

    Kompiam–Ambum
    – Despite efforts of the joint security task force, only a limited number of boxes were able to be located from Kompiam and extracted to Hagen.
    – All other boxes for the electorate that were extracted by road are currently being stored at the main storage containers in Wabag.
    – The Kompiam returning officer and his officials were on hand and were involved in assisting the extraction of the boxes from Kompiam and delivered to Mt Hagen.
    – All other remaining boxes not extracted will be left to the Returning Officer and Electoral Manager to decide as to what options to take.

    Wabag
    – All boxes that were in Maramuni were safely extracted and are securely stored in Mt Hagen after the use of Wampenamanda airport was discontinued.
    – Issues relating to the threat and risk assessment of counting has been assessed and recommendations for the counting of votes of specific electorates from Enga has been relayed to the Enga PESC and the PNGEC Commissioner. The key recommendation is to count these electorates outside of Enga province.

    Porgera-Paiela
    – PPC Enga had led a team by road through Southern Highlands to Porgera to extract the polled ballot boxes. The ballot boxes for Paiela were unpolled and were also retrieved and brought back to Wabag.

    Lagaip
    – Certain boxes were unable to be inserted into designated polling areas during the polling period due to rival candidates clashing in those areas.
    – The Returning Officer and the PEM will make representation to the PNGEC as to what can be done.
    – All remaining polled ballot boxes were retrieved and have been securely stored in Wabag.

    Miriam Zarriga is a PNG Post-Courier reporter. Republished with permission.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Advocacy group condemns failure to address West Papua at Pacific Forum

    Asia Pacific Report newsdesk

    The Australia West Papua Association (AWPA) has condemned the absence of West Papua in last week’s Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) official communique, saying it was “greatly disappointed” that the human rights situation in the Indonesian-ruled Melanesian region had not been mentioned.

    “it is understandable that the PIF has huge challenges in the region and in particular climate change. But for all the talk about inclusiveness it would appear West Papua is not a major concern for the Forum,” spokesperson Joe Collins said in a statement.

    “The PIF could have shown solidarity with the Papuan people by a simple statement of concern about the human rights situation in West Papua (particularly as the situation continues to deteriorate).”

    Collins called on the forum to continue to urge Jakarta to allow a fact-finding mission to the region.

    “The leaders would have had the support of the people of the Pacific region in doing so,” he added.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.

  • Bastille Day message: Paris must ‘re-arm in Pacific’, says commander

    RNZ Pacific

    A senior French military commander says France should re-arm in the Pacific and consider restoring its forces to a level of 30 years ago.

    Rear Admiral Jean-Mathieu Rey told Tahiti-infos on the eve of Bastille Day that France had to look at going back to being better armed ships with sonars, torpedoes, guns, and missiles.

    Reacting to alarm in the region over the security pact between China and Solomon Islands, Rey said France wanted to be a power of balance amid the rivalry between the United States and China.

    Rey said while nothing had happened yet, there was a risk that China could try to have a military installation in Solomon Islands, although Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has reassured the Pacific Islands Forum in Suva this week that this would not happen.

    Rey said that, if necessary, France opposed illegal actions by China, but maintained a dialogue with it.

    Maintaining ‘a balance’
    The commander said France would continue to maintain a balance by refusing the logic of the two blocs, which could lead to conflict.

    In June, then French Overseas Minister Sébastien Lecornu said two new patrol boats would be deployed this year, one in New Caledonia and one in French Polynesia for what he described as surveillance and sovereignty missions.

    Lecornu also said this year an exercise would be held involving Rafale fighter jets and A400 transport planes.

    He said the challenges posed by geopolitical rivalries in a multi-polar region could only be the subject of an inclusive and multilateral response based on respect for the law.

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

    Georges, a Tahitian volunteer in the French armed forces
    Georges, a Tahitian volunteer in the French armed forces, gears up for the annual Bastille Day parade in Paris yesterday. Image: Tahiti-Infos

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.