Month: November 2019

As Turkey last month announced its military incursion into northeast Syria, Turkish officials said the operation was to “prevent the creation of a terror corridor” along Turkey’s southern border with Syria. Locally, however, their message added a religious zeal to the Muslim nation by depicting the offensive as an Islamic struggle against “infidels.”

Some experts and observers of the country say the government’s religious messaging is a mixture of ideology and political propaganda aimed at promoting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ambition to be seen as the leader and protector of the Muslim world.

While announcing the operation on October 9, Erdogan tweeted in English that the operation by the Turkish army and its allied Syrian militants was to “neutralize terror threats” against Turkey by the Kurds and to establish a safe zone for the return of Syrian refugees. In his tweets in Turkish and Arabic, however, he described the forces as “the heroes of the Mohammadian Army” — a term dating back to the Ottoman Empire.

Days into the operation, Erdogan in several public speeches framed it in religious terms, claiming it was to protect the dignity of the ummah, or the Muslim world. During a speech at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) group meeting on October 29, he praised the Turkey-backed Syrian rebels as “jihadists who even intimidate and kill death itself.”

Aykan Erdemir, a former Turkish lawmaker at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told VOA that Erdogan, since the establishment of the ruling AKP party in 2001, has attempted to portray himself to the West as a liberal democratic reformer while promoting a religious tone at home.    

“Reframing secular policy debates within the rhetoric of political Islam is one of the strategies Erdogan has used to strengthen his ideological hegemony,” said Erdemir, adding that the rhetoric can be used as an effective social engineering tool in the country.

“To this day, he has continued to use Islamist jargon to cater to his loyalists at home and abroad, while deploying a sanitized rhetoric to address his Western audiences,” he told VOA.

On October 25, after Friday’s prayer in an Istanbul mosque, Erdogan gave a speech citing the Quran and telling the worshippers that Allah has promised a victory to Muslims and commanded them to be hard on “infidels.”

Syria operation ordained by God

Citing religion for the offensive against U.S.-backed forces was not limited to Erdogan’s speeches.

Across Turkey’s mosques, the Diyanet, or the directorate of religious affairs, organized calls to prayer and recitation of the “Conquest” chapter in the Quran, broadcasting it over  loudspeakers. Turkish mainstream media, including state-run Anadolu Agency, broadcast Islamic clerics telling followers the northeast Syria operation was ordained by God.

The pro-government media outlet shared dozens of posts allegedly showing Muslims from around the world reciting the “Conquest” chapter of the Quran in support of the Turkish military.

Abdullah Bozkurt, a Turkish author and the director of Nordic Research and Monitoring Network, told VOA that utilizing religious institutions continues to pay off for Erdogan to mobilize his supporters, especially the hard-core religious base that is crucial for his political survival.

Through appealing to religious symbols and Islamic congregations, Bozkurt said, Erdogan sees an opportunity to also gain the sympathy of both Turkish and non-Turkish Muslim diaspora groups in the West.

“This, he thinks, helps him gain leverage and enhance his bargaining power with the Western policymakers. This was often displayed when Erdoğan made trips to the U.S. and European capitals where he had always met with Muslim and religious figures in a town hall meeting to deliver speeches with religious flavors,” he told VOA.

Michael Rubin, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), warned that the continued usage of religion by Turkish officials to justify their policies could spark a set of issues that the Turkish society will likely grapple with for years to come.

“After 16 years of Erdoganism, a whole generation of indoctrinated Turkish schoolchildren and Turkish military officers have fundamentally changed Turkey,” he said, adding that the strategy will likely also affect Turkey’s relations with Western countries that are concerned about the direction Turkey is headed.

“For those who have been watching Erdogan, it’s very worrisome,” Rubin said. He added that the pan-Islamic messaging is often coined with promoting incitement against the West, particularly when interests diverge in developments such as in northeast Syria.

Plotting a divide

The United States and its European allies have criticized Turkey’s operation against the Kurdish forces. U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to impose devastating sanctions and the European Union limited arms exports to Turkey in reaction to the offensive.

In return, Turkish officials have accused the West of plotting to divide the Muslim world and spread conflict among Muslim nations to extract their wealth.

During a press conference in Antalya, Turkey, Saturday, Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said their Syria operation thwarted a Western plot to create a “terror state” in northeast Syria by empowering Kurdish forces.

“A group of countries led by Israel wanted to establish a terror state in northern Syria and we foiled their plans,” Cavusoglu said during a joint press conference with Hadi Soleimanpour, an adviser to the Iranian foreign ministry and secretary general of Economic Cooperation Organization.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has made similar remarks, slamming the West, which according to him has “sworn to eliminate Islam and its people from these lands.”

Max Hoffman, a Turkey expert at Washington-based Center for American Progress, charged that Turkish officials’ rhetoric about the West reflects a fundamental change in their view of the U.S. influence in the world.

“More broadly, he and his inner circle believe the world is multipolar and the U.S. is in decline. They want Turkey to be a power in its own right,” Hoffman said, adding this worldview has led Erdogan to adopt a transactional approach toward the U.S. and Europe and cultivate ties with Iran, China and especially Russia.

While Erdogan will likely continue to cultivate religious support, Hoffman said it is unlikely that this policy could cause an “Islamization of Turkey.”

“Erdogan’s goal of raising a ‘pious generation’ is possibly backfiring but, at a minimum, has not been realized. But while society in the aggregate appears to becoming less religious, there is certainly concern in Turkey about small subsets of the population that have become increasingly radical in their religious views. Personally, I doubt Turkish society will move very far in that direction,” he told VOA. 

…

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is beefing up patrols by civilian militias across the nation as political rivals call for mass demonstrations against him.

Maduro in a national broadcast Tuesday ordered the nation’s 3.2 million militia members to patrol Venezuela’s streets. He gave the command seated between the nation’s top-ranking military leaders.

The heightened patrols overlap with a Saturday protest called by opposition lawmaker Juan Guaido, who has led a nearly year-long campaign to oust Maduro with backing from the U.S. and 50 other nations.

Guaido has not managed to rally large demonstrations in recent months.

However, a wave of political unrest has struck several Latin American nations, and Bolivian socialist leader Evo Morales abruptly resigned Sunday.

Maduro says the same “imperialist” forces that undermined Bolivia’s president seek to oust him.
 

…

A Michigan teenager was the recipient of what could be the first double lung transplant on a person whose lungs were severely damaged from vaping, health officials said Tuesday.

Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit described to reporters Tuesday the procedure that saved the 17-year-old’s life and pleaded for the public to understand the dangers of vaping.

The teen was admitted in early September to a Detroit-area hospital with what appeared to be pneumonia. He was transferred to Children’s Hospital of Michigan in Detroit and taken Oct. 3 to Henry Ford Hospital where the transplant was performed Oct. 15. The double lung transplant is believed to be the first performed on a patient due to vaping.

Doctors found an “enormous amount of inflammation and scarring” on the teen’s lungs, said Dr. Hassan Nemeh, surgical director of thoracic organ transplant at Henry Ford. “This is an evil I haven’t faced before. The damage that these vapes do to people’s lungs is irreversible. Please think of that — and tell your children to think of that.”

Health officials declined to release the teen’s name and said he is expected to recover. They also did not specify what the teen vaped or how long he vaped.

“We asked Henry Ford doctors to share that the horrific life-threatening effects of vaping are very real!” his family said in a statement released by the hospital. “Our family could never have imagined being at the center of the largest adolescent public health crisis to face our country in decades.”

“Within a very short period of time, our lives have been forever changed. He has gone from the typical life of a perfectly healthy 16-year old athlete — attending high school, hanging out with friends, sailing and playing video games — to waking up intubated and with two new lungs, facing a long and painful recovery process as he struggles to regain his strength and mobility, which has been severely impacted.”

The boy had his 17th birthday after initially being admitted to the hospital.

More than 2,000 Americans who vape have gotten sick since March, many of them teenagers and young adults, and at least 40 people have died.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week announced a breakthrough into the cause of a vaping illness outbreak, identifying the chemical compound vitamin E acetate as a “very strong culprit” after finding it in fluid taken from the lungs of 29 patients. Vitamin E acetate previously was found in liquid from electronic cigarettes and other vaping devices used by many who got sick and only recently has been used as a vaping fluid thickener.

Many who got sick said they had vaped liquids that contain THC, the high-inducing part of marijuana, with many saying they received them from friends or bought them on the black market.

E-cigarettes and other vaping devices heat a liquid into an inhalable vapor. Most products contained nicotine, but THC vaping has been growing more common.

Henry Ford doctors did not say Tuesday what the lung transplant recipient vaped. They did say that he was critically ill when he arrived at Henry Ford where he was placed Oct. 8 on an organ transplant waiting list. His lung damage due to vaping was so severe and he was so close to death that the teen immediately was placed at the top of the transplant waiting list, they said.

“Vaping-related injuries are all too common these days. Our adolescents are faced with a crisis,” said Dr. Lisa Allenspach, pulmonologist and the medical director of Henry Ford’s Lung Transplant Program. “We are just beginning to see the enormous health consequence jeopardizing the youth in our country … these vaping products should not be used in any fashion.”

The 17-year-old’s case does not open any new ethical considerations about transplants for people how who irreparably damage their own lungs by vaping, Nemeh told The Associated Press.

“It won’t change what we do on a routine basis. We will still evaluate every patient as an individual patient,” he said. “We hope sharing this patient’s story prevents anyone else from experiencing a vaping injury that would require a transplant.”

Nemeh added that lung transplants have been considered for ex-smokers who have quit and demonstrated that they quit smoking, but transplants are not routinely done for people over the age of 70.
“Children do receive priority over an adult for a transplant from a pediatric donor,” he said. “The United Network for Organ Sharing creates the rules and then offers the organs to recipients who are a match. We don’t decide who gets an offer.”

…

The fate of about 800,000 young, undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children is in the hands of nine U.S. Supreme Court justices. The court will decide if the Trump administration has the right to end the program, called DACA, which protects the young immigrants, known as dreamers, from deportation. For most of them, the United States is the only home they have ever known, and they are protesting losing their protected status. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports the U.S. high court heard arguments for both sides on Tuesday.

…

Exiled Bolivian president Evo Morales arrived Tuesday in Mexico, which granted him asylum after he resigned the presidency on Sunday and fled his country.  Mike O’Sullivan reports, Bolivian opposition leaders say they are working to ensure a peaceful transition despite continuing tensions.

…

While Southern California draws film and television students from all over the world, people in New Mexico don’t have to set foot outside the state to learn the trade, as local colleges are grooming talent for a booming entertainment industry that has sprung up about 1,200 kilometers from Hollywood.

Recently, Albuquerque Studios signed a billion-dollar contract with entertainment giant Netflix and a $500 million deal with NBC Universal Studios. These agreements come on the heels of New Mexico’s enhanced tax incentives to production companies, who film there and hire local talent. One of the seedbeds for such talent is Central New Mexico (CNM) Community College.
 

Albuquerque’s Community College, Seedbed of Local Film Industry

Teaser Description

For a few hundred dollars students train and network in Albuquerque’s thriving film industry

Program tied to jobs
 
Students at Central New Mexico Community College can learn about wardrobe assembly, electrical work, set lighting and camera operation — to name a few of the courses offered. For New Mexico residents, CNM charges $56 per credit hour; for nonresidents, $296 per credit hour. Even that price is nowhere near the five-figure yearly tuition at other colleges around the country, such as New York’s renowned School of Visual Arts, whether tuition is upwards of $50,000 a year, for a similar program.
 
Both schools promise connections and training to get their students hired. But in Albuquerque, students have an edge: a blossoming film industry that provides tax incentives for TV and film productions with crews made up of at least 60% local hires.

Amber Dodson, film liaison for the city of Albuquerque, said entertainment giant Netflix alone has committed over the next decade to spending $1 billion in production and generate 1,000 jobs a year throughout the state. She said students in Albuquerque learning “below-the-line” crafts, which include jobs on a film crew like a grip, “are getting jobs often times before they even graduate.”
 
Jim Graebner, CNM’s senior film instructor, described the school’s program for below-the-line crafts.
 
“Our program is only a two-term program, that’s basically half a (calendar) year, where we get through the whole protocol of how to make a movie and workflow, and then we expose people to all the different tools they’ll need on a set and then try to get them specialized in a different craft,” Graebner, or “Grubb” as he is known, added.
 
Work ethic
 
Graebner likened CNM’s program to a “boot camp,” where the students are working hard to learn skills to meet the needs of production companies and studios.
 
“The biggest thing we have to teach them is stamina, because they are coming in(to) a world where everybody expects an eight-hour workday. We’ve got 14 hours. It’s the average,” he said.
 
In a trade dominated by men for decades, women are beginning to make inroads.
 
“I have women – especially Hollywood’s big on upping the percentage of women on all the below-the-line (non-cast member) crafts – I have women who are grips now and they don’t have to be huge or strong. So, if you’re a woman, want to become a grip, I can get you a job tomorrow,” Graebner said.
 
Apart from learning to be a grip – that is, to be part of a team that builds and develops a movie set – students receive mentoring and gain on-set experience.
 
Graebner said the school connects students with the local union, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) 480, where they train with a paid union member and get evaluated for their skills. If they show competency, they can get into the workforce pipeline for the industry, which the union has negotiated for safe working conditions and labor benefits.
 
Good prospects
 
CNM instructional technician Gabe Reyes works full time at CNM and also freelances for the film industry.

With the influx of Hollywood in Albuquerque, Reyes said CNM’s Applied Technologies and Film program has taken off since he started in the summer of 2018.

Karen Grandinetti, enrollment strategist of CNM School of Applied Technologies, said the program had 220 students enrolled in the summer of 2018. This fall, there are 657 students.

Prospects are also good for homegrown New Mexican directors and actors who want to build a career in their home state.

One of them is Riley Del Rey, a student actor in the film program at CNM, who recently completed a short film called “Doubt.”
 
“I think it’s important for people that are moving here to work on productions to take a look at our work and to start selecting their directors and their talent from this market because that’s what’s going to get people to stay and that’s it’s gonna uplift our state,” she says.
 
Del Rey also pointed to the importance not having to set foot outside the state where she grew up to learn the trade and seek job opportunities.
 
“What’s making me stay here is that this is the place I’m getting my chops, and it’s where I have family. I also know people in the industry and, with the film community growing so much, it’s just more places for me to find where I fit in here,” Del Rey said. “It’s also less daunting than traveling thousands of miles to go somewhere where I’m not familiar with and (where) it’s kind of a make-it-or-break-it situation.

“I still have to take risks, but I still have all the support from my network here at school but also the family ties that I have to New Mexico,” she added.

…

An airstrike carried out by American forces in eastern Afghanistan has mistakenly killed at least four Afghan soldiers and injured six others.

A provincial police spokesman said the overnight incident occurred in the troubled Logar province during clashes between Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents.

Shahpoor Ahamadzai told VOA the fighting erupted Monday night after insurgents assaulted a security outpost near the provincial capital of Pul-e-Alam.

The Taliban attack prompted the Afghan National Army (ANA) to call in U.S. air support, which resulted in the “friendly fire” incident, Ahmadzai explained.

A U.S. military spokesman told VOA it was aware of reports an American airstrike conducted in support of Afghan forces may have resulted in ANA casualties.

“U.S. and Afghan forces are working closely together to develop a shared understanding of this event. A joint investigation is ongoing,” the spokesman said.

Separately, the provincial police confirmed a U.S. convoy was struck by a suicide car bomber near a foreign military base just outside Pul-e-Alam.

A U.S. military spokesman confirmed the attack, saying it only killed the assailant driving the vehicle.

“No U.S. or Coalition service members were wounded or killed in the attack. We are investigating the incident,” the spokesman added.

There were no claims of responsible from the Taliban, which often claims attacks against U.S. and NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan.  

…

Australians and Vietnamese are getting into a beef over pork.

After news last month that Australia withdrew a visa for a Vietnamese woman who brought pork to the country, another Vietnamese citizen faced the same punishment for a similar offense this month, prompting the Australian government to release an official statement on the matter.

The first time the pork crime happened, the reaction in Vietnam was one of bemusement. Local newspapers asked, “a woman didn’t declare the pork in her luggage and got deported?”   It wasn’t exactly cannabis or rhino horns. Locals made light of the news.

Australia “has plenty of stuff like Vietnam, why transport anything and make things difficult?” one commentator said in the state controlled Tuoi Tre newspaper.

But by the time of the second offense, Australia explained why it was more serious than a few undeclared items: swine flu.

“Travelers are banned from bringing most pork products from African swine fever countries into Australia.”  Australian Minister for Agriculture Bridget McKenzie said in a statement released last week. “It’s one of the heightened measures our government put in place to keep the devastating disease out of Australia and to protect our 2,700 pork producers.”

Although the two Vietnamese travelers appeared to be just bringing presents to relatives, they got caught up in a cross-border kerfuffle. Swine flu has been wreaking havoc across Asia, especially in the huge markets of China and Vietnam, where pork is a meat staple. These two and other nations have had to cull millions of pigs to contain the outbreak. Amid the pork shortage, prices have nearly doubled in some places in the past year, and China has reconsidered its limitations on U.S. pork imports despite the two sides fighting a trade war.

Bridget McKenzie said Australia had reason to worry that the outbreak could spread. “A recent round of testing found nearly 50 percent of pork products seized from air travelers tested positive for African swine fever,” she said.

Still,  many in Vietnam defended the travelers, feeling deportation was a grave punishment for an honest mistake. Australia could have confiscated the offending items and then allowed the travelers to proceed. Instead it deported them and prohibited them from returning for three years.

“We should also sympathize with her because she was just used to eating things a certain way in Vietnam,” netizen Hoang Tran said of the female traveler on Facebook.

Australia and Vietnam have an interest in maintaining a good relationship. Australia has had a huge population of Vietnamese since the Vietnam War, and it continues to receive many students going abroad for university.

Vietnam is one of Australia’s fastest growing trade markets in Southeast Asia, with trade growing approximately 12 percent a year on average, according to the Australian Trade and Investment Commission.
Australian Ambassador to Vietnam in Hanoi Robyn Mudie underscored the importance of that relationship.
“Australia appreciates Vietnam’s support in helping to protect Australia from serious biosecurity threats and hopes that travelers from Vietnam can continue to enjoy Australia’s hospitality,” she said.

…

Exiled Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy said Tuesday the European Union’s assessment of whether to suspend trade privileges for his country will add momentum to efforts to restore democracy despite a government crackdown.

The EU finalized a preliminary report Tuesday that Sam Rainsy said would be the basis for suspending trade privileges for Cambodia. The EU announced earlier this year that it would begin a monitoring process to decide on the ending of preferential duty-free and quota-free imports from the Southeast Asian nation. It said it acted on concerns that Cambodia was limiting human and labor rights.
 
The EU did not immediately make the report public but said it had been sent to the Cambodian authorities.
 
The report comes amid several developments that have shaken the Cambodian political scene.
 
Sam Rainsy made a well-publicized trip in which he vowed to return to his homeland to spark a popular movement to unseat long-serving authoritarian Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cambodia’s government had said he and other exiled colleagues were unwelcome, and managed to hinder them from entering on Saturday, their intended date.
 
However, as Sam Rainsy found himself stuck in Malaysia, a Cambodian court announced Sunday that it was releasing from house arrest Kem Sokha, his co-leader in the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, who had been detained without trial for more than two years on a treason charge widely seen as specious. It retained the charge against him and barred him from political activity.
 
The release of Kem Sokha suggested that Hun Sen, whose hard line included detaining scores of opposition supporters accused of supporting Sam Rainsy’s return plan, may be seeking to assuage his critics — especially the EU — by projecting an image of compromise.
 
The possibility of the EU junking Cambodia’s trade privileges is perhaps the greatest leverage the opposition holds over the situation, as an economic downturn could erode the support Hun Sen has earned with Cambodia’s economic growth.
 
“If they don’t want Cambodia to face an economic crisis, with hundreds of thousands of workers losing their jobs, they must restore democracy,” Sam Rainsy told a news conference outside Malaysia’s Parliament building after meeting a group of Malaysian lawmakers.
 
The EU initiated its move after Hun Sen’s ruling party won a sweeping victory in 2018 elections. The EU and others said the polls were not free and fair because the Cambodia National Rescue Party — the sole credible opposition force — was dissolved in 2017 by Cambodia’s Supreme Court, which is seen as being under the government’s influence.
 
Sam Rainsy insisted Tuesday that the timing was now right for peaceful resistance to topple Hun Sen’s government due to the “unique combination of internal pressure and external pressure.”
 
Phnom Penh’s release of Kem Sokha from house arrest was an indication of mounting pressure on the government, he said.
 
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng said Sunday on his Facebook page that Sam Rainsy was now allowed to enter Cambodia but would have to face a raft of charges and standing convictions. Sam Rainsy did not say Tuesday when he might make the journey.
 
“I will stay in the region because the situation can change very quickly, and I will go back to Cambodia,” he said.
      

…

One brother is considered a shoo-in for the job of Sri Lanka’s president in elections this weekend and another is eyeing the prime minister’s post when that election becomes due early next year.

Two other brothers are political strategists for their Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party and one of them is considering a shot at becoming the speaker in parliament. Three men of the family’s next generation are also in politics.

The Rajapaksas, best known for the brutal defeat of separatist Tamil rebels and then drawing Sri Lanka into China’s orbit when the West and India shunned the Indian Ocean island, are back at the centre of the nation’s deeply divisive politics and it is stoking fear.

While there are no formal opinion polls, former defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa is the hot favorite to win the presidential election this Saturday. His chief opponent Sajith Premadasa, a government minister, is seen to be trailing.

Gotabaya led the operations against the Tamil Tigers when his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa was president. Gotabaya has faced lawsuits in Sri Lanka and in the United States over allegations of staged killings of Tamil separatists, critics and journalists during the war.

Both brothers deny the allegations as part of a Western conspiracy to interfere in the island nation of 22 million that sits astride vital shipping lanes and has long been a tinder-box of tensions between the dominant Sinhalese Buddhists and minority ethnic Tamils.

In recent months, Sinhalese hardliners have also targeted the tiny Muslim community.

Mahinda lost the 2015 presidential election to a Cabinet colleague who turned against him — Maithripala Sirisena. After his ouster, the family’s fortunes fell into decline.

But Easter Sunday bombings on hotels and churches, in which more than 250 people were killed, derailed Sirisena’s presidency, and he has announced he will not contest this year.

The attacks, claimed by Islamic State, have rekindled support for the Rajapaksas and their brand of Sinhalese nationalism.

Mahinda is barred from running for president again, and is on the stump for Gotabaya, bringing an affable touch to the campaign against the rather gruff manner of his brother, more known for his military machismo.

Another brother, Basil, handles the party finances and striking deals with rival groups while a fourth brother and former speaker, Chamal, campaigns in the family borough in the south of the island.

Family prospect

Mahinda, who is currently leader of the opposition in parliament, is the obvious choice for prime minister when parliamentary elections are held early next year, said Keheliya Rambukwella, spokesman for the Gotabaya campaign.

Chamal Rajapaksa would be the choice for parliament speaker, a position he has previously held, political experts say. In all, seven members of the family are involved in politics, and some of the others could also end up in parliament.

“We are going to see family rule again, and all the excesses that came up with it the last time,” said Health Minister Rajitha Senarathne, who is opposed to the Rajapaksas. “They will suppress all dissent.”

In a front page editorial, the state-run Sunday Observer said it was “afraid” of a Gotabaya presidency and appealed to voters to make the “right choice.”

“A wrong choice will send the country hurtling toward authoritarianism and iron-fisted rule,” it said.

Gotabaya’s spokesman dismissed warnings of family rule, saying the candidate was quite clear merit will be only consideration for top political jobs.

“When Gotabaya comes to power he will appoint people with qualification to the positions, irrespective of their ties to him,” Rambukwella said.

On the campaign, Gotabaya has been uncompromising about the need to strengthen security, repeatedly raising the circumstances that led to the Easter Sunday attacks.

At a campaign rally in Wellawaye in central Sri Lanka Gotabaya said during his time as defense secretary, he had raised special military and intelligence units to tackle extremism, drug trafficking networks and the underworld. These cells had since been weakened, he said.

“There can be no higher priority than national security,” he said.

…

Only a few hundred people responded to the opposition’s call Sunday to protest in the streets of Haiti’s capital to continue pressuring President Jovenel Moise to step down.

On previous Sundays, tens of thousands have filled Port-au-Prince streets from morning to sundown.  

Much lower turnout for today’s anti-government protest in Port au Prince, #Haiti. The opposition blamed armed attacks against protesters, bribes of money and food and fear. But they vow to keep pressing the president to resign. pic.twitter.com/2uVAI8mCpd

— Sandra Lemaire (@SandraDVOA) November 11, 2019

Have the protests lost momentum? VOA Creole put the question to opposition leaders marching on Sunday.

Sen. Ricard Pierre said he thinks bribes and fear were partly to blame for the small crowd.

 “A significant number of Bel Air residents have died — an area that heavily supports the efforts of the Alternative (opposition group). We have people hiding out in the poor neighborhoods because the government has threatened to kill them,” the senator told VOA Creole. “There have been efforts to distribute weapons to residents of the slums. They’ve been offered money, offered food. But despite the massacres endured by the poor people, there are some of them in the streets today fighting (for a better life).”

VOA could not confirm the senator’s allegations.

Downtown, evangelical pastor Prophete Mackenson Dorilas, who, perched atop a carnival-style truck had been surrounded by thousands of followers during October protests, was seen marching in the street with only a handful of protesters. He blamed fear and the absence of his truck for the low turnout.

“The first truck we were offered, I turned down because it wasn’t what I requested. So, they said they would bring me another truck, and I’m still waiting. Some members of my church had intended to join the protest, but they heard the police was targeting protesters, so they ran away,” Dorilas told VOA Creole, adding that the people also need motivation.

“The churchgoers don’t like to see me walking on the street. They like to see me up high,” he said.

Also marching with about a dozen protesters was former Haitian Army Col. Himmler Rebu, who described his participation as the right thing to do.

“There are two efforts happening simultaneously. There are those (members of the opposition) who are in offices working on plans and strategy, and there are those who are accompanying the people marching in the streets. So today, that’s my job, ” he said.

Up north

Early Sunday, tires were seen burning in the middle of a main road in the northern city of Cape Haitian. There were also roadblocks made of tree branches, rocks, metal and debris.

Cape Haitian, #Haiti tires are burning as residents get ready for another day of anti-government protests. ?Yvan Martin Jasmin @VOAKreyolpic.twitter.com/rrN9ZKnL95

— Sandra Lemaire (@SandraDVOA) November 10, 2019

“These roadblocks are here because President Jovenel still refuses to resign. We will keep blocking the streets, and we will keep protesting until the president leaves,” a protester told VOA Creole.

Opposition summit

Back in the capital, members of the opposition spent the weekend meeting at the Marriott Hotel to discuss the transition process that would be activated if Moise were to resign.

“We are in agreement on four aspects of the transition: governance, control, steps forward and duration,” announced opposition Sen. Youri Latortue, who heads the Haitian Senate’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Committee. No further details were given.

On the subject of who would replace Moise, the group decided that the choice would be made by a five-member committee comprised of a representative of each opposition group. The transitional president would be chosen among the Supreme Court judges. The committee would also choose a prime minister.

“This is a historic event,” prominent businessman Gregory Brandt, who represented the private sector at the meeting, told VOA Creole. “The country has been suffering through a complicated situation for two months now. We aren’t selling merchandise, we aren’t receiving merchandise. Port-au-Prince is beginning to face a scarcity of basic goods. We’re facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, so we must sit down in all seriousness to discuss how we can resolve this crisis.”

US aid

Last week, Rob Thayer, director of USAID’s “Food for Peace” program, told VOA Creole the agency has earmarked 3,500 metric tons of emergency food aid for Haiti, which will be distributed to those in need.

In addition to the food aid, the U.S. Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort has been docked off Haiti’s shores since Nov. 6 for a seven-day medical and humanitarian mission. According to the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, the ship’s staff has seen more patients per day in Haiti than on any other stop of their five-nation tour.

What a week-end! We’re proud of the Comfort crew & their HAITIAN partners’ effort as they are seeing more patients at the clinic per day than they have on any other stop of the 5 months #EnduringPromise mission. – #AmbSisonpic.twitter.com/Jed9vSyGtg

— U.S. Embassy Haiti (@USEmbassyHaiti) November 9, 2019

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed concern about the situation in Haiti last week on Twitter.

The #USNSComfort has arrived to provide much-needed medical services in Haiti. We call on all of Haiti’s leaders to come together to solve the ongoing political & economic gridlock through dialogue & institutions. We stand with all Haitians who peacefully call for accountability. pic.twitter.com/C2GTw3kgzS

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) November 7, 2019

“The #USNSComfort has arrived to provide much needed medical services in Haiti. We call on all of Haiti’s leaders to come together to solve the ongoing political & economic gridlock through dialogue & institutions. We stand with all Haitians who peacefully call for accountability,” Pompeo tweeted.

President Moise

Meanwhile, Moise has been busy naming new cabinet ministers, meeting with members of the diplomatic corps, and giving interviews to the foreign press. He has also increased his visibility on the streets, in the national press and on social media.

“Since my first day in office, I have always preached the same thing — togetherness, unity — because the country is tired,” Moise said during a Nov. 7 speech. “Our (nation’s) motto is Unity is Power. But unfortunately, this system (of government), the system that uses people, gives us a different motto which is, Divide and Conquer. Whenever a person wants to enrich himself, he pits us against each other. And when we’ve taken the bait and died in battle, who benefits? Not us.”

Early Sunday morning, before the anti-government protest began, Moise visited police stations in Carrefour and Petionville, his press secretary announced. According to a press statement received by VOA Creole early Monday morning, Moise sought to see the working conditions for the policemen and asked for a detailed report on the current status of affairs that will be used to “better address the needs of the agents of the PNH (National Police of Haiti).”

Yvan Jasmin Martin in Cape Haitian, Renan Toussaint and Yves Manuel in Port-au-Prince and Ronald Cesar in Washington contributed to this report

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Ugandan police said Monday that in an operation around Kampala’s city center, they arrested 120 people suspected to have been using narcotics. However, members of the LGBT community say it was a health meeting that police interrupted.

Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, tells VOA they received intelligence information that the site of the raid — The Ram Bar — is used as a massage parlor during day and for smoking opium and shisha during the night.

Both products are outlawed in the Tobacco Control Act 2015 and people found guilty of using them are liable for a fine of $130 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.

“We are charging them under the Tobacco Control Act,” said Onyango. “We have started the process of screening and recording statements from them. There are those we shall give police bonds, students, and those who claim that they are innocent. They were just there for a dance and they were not participating in the smoking.”

At the Central Police Station in Kampala, friends and members of the local LGBT community move around, seemingly worried. Among them is Sean Mugisha a paralegal who is trying to secure bail for the arrested members.

Mugisha tells VOA that Ram Bar is the only safe place that the LGBT community has in Kampala.

“But most importantly it is a center for most outreaches.,” he said. “All these guys who give health care services, when they want to do outreaches for the community, it’s one of those venues that they have been accessing.  So, last night there was an arrest. I consistently got calls. I decided to come and follow up what is here.”

Frank Mugisha, the executive director Sexual Minorities Uganda, says the arrests Monday are based on trumped up charges by the police.

“We don’t know what will happen next. I think we are still looking at the worst. I think its totally aimed at intimidation of the LGBT Community,” he said. “The police is coming up with trumped up charges. I don’t think all 120 people were publicly smoking. So, we are waiting for court tomorrow and see what happens.”

This is the second time in less than a month that Ugandan police have raided a place frequented by members of the LGBT community. Last month 16 members of the LGBT Community were arrested but later released on police bond.

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U.S. President Donald Trump renewed his attacks Monday against the impeachment investigation, two days ahead of public hearings targeting him for allegedly abusing his office to help himself politically.

Before observing the annual Veterans Day tribute to the U.S. military at a New York ceremony, Trump claimed on Twitter, without offering any evidence, that Congressman Adam Schiff, the leader of the impeachment probe in the House of Representatives, had “doctored” transcripts of eight officials who have testified in recent weeks behind closed doors in a secure room at the U.S. Capitol.

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Trump Assails Impeachment Hearings as ‘Disgraceful’

US leader complains that Democrats have blocked testimony from the unnamed whistleblower who touched off inquiry about Trump’s pressuring Ukraine to open investigations to help him politically

According to the transcripts, the current and former diplomatic and national security officials have detailed how Trump and his aides pressed Ukraine to launch investigations of one of his chief 2020 Democratic presidential challengers, former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden’s work for a Ukrainian natural gas company and a debunked theory that Ukraine meddled in the 2016 election, not Russia, as the U.S. intelligence community concluded.

“Republicans should put out their own transcripts!” Trump demanded.  

Shifty Adam Schiff will only release doctored transcripts. We haven’t even seen the documents and are restricted from (get this) having a lawyer. Republicans should put out their own transcripts! Schiff must testify as to why he MADE UP a statement from me, and read it to all!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 11, 2019

Trump, in a late July call, asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy for “a favor,” to carry out these investigations, at a time he was temporarily withholding $391 million in military aid Ukraine wanted for its fight against pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country. Trump eventually released the assistance to Kyiv in September without Ukraine opening the investigations.

The impeachment inquiry was touched off by a complaint from an anonymous government whistleblower who said he was troubled by Trump’s request to Zelenskiy for the Biden investigations, since it seemed the president was seeking the help of a foreign government in next year’s election.

Trump, who has often described his call with Zelenskiy as “perfect,” tweeted that the impeachment investigation should be ended and that “the Whistleblower, his lawyer and Corrupt politician Schiff should be investigated (sic) for fraud!”

The lawyer for the Whistleblower takes away all credibility from this big Impeachment Scam! It should be ended and the Whistleblower, his lawyer and Corrupt politician Schiff should be investigared for fraud!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 11, 2019

In early 2017 as Trump assumed power, Washington attorney Mark Zaid, the whistleblower’s lawyer, tweeted that a “coup has started” and that “impeachment will follow ultimately,” later saying, “We will get rid of him, and this country is strong enough to survive even him and his supporters.”

It is only the fourth time in U.S. history that impeachment hearings have been opened against a president. In the previous three times, two presidents (Andrew Johnson in the mid-19th century and Bill Clinton two decades ago) were impeached but acquitted in Senate trials, while a third president, Richard Nixon, resigned ahead of all-but-certain impeachment in the 1970s.

As the hearings start Wednesday before Schiff’s House Intelligence Committee, two U.S. State Department officials, William Taylor and George Kent, are set to testify how Trump and his aides pressured Zelenskiy to open the investigations of the Bidens. Republicans are hoping to pinpoint any inconsistencies in their testimony and have temporarily named a staunch Trump supporter, Congressman Jim Jordan, to the panel to defend the president.

Trump on Monday and Sunday complained about the impeachment hearing rules adopted by the Democratic-controlled House, saying on Twitter that Schiff “will not allow a White House lawyer, nor will he allow ANY of our requested witnesses. This is a first in due process and Congressional history!”

Corrupt politician Adam Schiff wants people from the White House to testify in his and Pelosi’s disgraceful Witch Hunt, yet he will not allow a White House lawyer, nor will he allow ANY of our requested witnesses. This is a first in due process and Congressional history!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2019

Under the rules, Trump will be able to have a lawyer representing him when the House Judiciary Committee considers possible articles of impeachment against him in the coming weeks, and, if the full House impeaches him, at a trial in the Republican-majority Senate.

But the rules do not call for Trump legal representation at the House Intelligence panel’s hearings.

“The call to the Ukrainian President was PERFECT,” Trump tweeted. “Read the Transcript! There was NOTHING said that was in any way wrong. Republicans, don’t be led into the fools trap of saying it was not perfect, but is not impeachable. No, it is much stronger than that. NOTHING WAS DONE WRONG!”

The call to the Ukrainian President was PERFECT. Read the Transcript! There was NOTHING said that was in any way wrong. Republicans, don’t be led into the fools trap of saying it was not perfect, but is not impeachable. No, it is much stronger than that. NOTHING WAS DONE WRONG!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 10, 2019

Trump for weeks has denied his late July call with Zelenskiy amounted to a quid pro quo — the military aid in exchange for an investigation of the Bidens.

Schiff invited Republicans to submit a list of witnesses they want to question. But Schiff has rejected the two most prominent figures on the Republican wish list: Hunter Biden and the unnamed whistleblower.

Under U.S. law, the identity of inside-the-government whistleblowers alleging wrongdoing is protected from disclosure.

Trump, however, has urged that the whistleblower be named and says he should be able to confront his accuser. Democrats have voiced concerns about protecting the whistleblower’s safety and note that much of what he alleged has been corroborated by government officials who heard Trump’s call or were directed to push for the Ukraine investigations of the Bidens. In addition, a rough transcript of the Trump call with Zelenskiy released by the White House quoted Trump asking the Ukrainian leader for the Biden probes.

Calling in the whistleblower to testify would be “redundant and unnecessary,” said Schiff.

“The committee … will not facilitate efforts by President Trump and his allies in Congress to threaten, intimidate and retaliate against the whistleblower who courageously raised the initial alarm,” Schiff said in a letter to the top Republican on the Intelligence Committee, Congressman Devin Nunes. ” … The whistleblower has a right under laws championed by this committee to remain anonymous and to be protected from harm.”

Schiff said that after weeks of behind-closed-doors testimony, his inquiry “has gathered an ever-growing body of evidence – from witnesses and documents, including the president’s own words in his July 25 call record – that not only confirms but far exceeds the initial information in the whistleblower’s complaint …. In light of the president’s threats, the individual’s appearance before us would only place their personal safety at grave risk.”

Washington Gearing Up for Public Impeachment Hearings This Week

Teaser Description

Democrats say the president abused power by withholding military aid to Ukraine in exchange for dirt on a political foe

Schiff said the public impeachment hearings “will not serve as vehicles” for what he called “sham investigations into the Bidens or debunked conspiracies about 2016 U.S. election interference that President Trump pressed Ukraine to conduct for his personal political benefit.”

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Iraqi protesters took to the streets of at least half a dozen major towns and cities Monday, clashing with security forces in Baghdad, Nassiriya and Basra, while blocking roads in Karbala, Najaf, Hilla and Kut. United Nations envoy to Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, also met with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, urging reforms and an end to violence against protesters.

Hundreds of protesters chanted slogans against Iran and its Shi’ite proxy militias Monday in Nassiriya, while blocking three major bridges in the city. Large protests were also reported in the capitals of Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, Hilla and Kut.

Iraqi military spokesman Gen. Abdel Karim Khalaf told a press conference that most Iraqi protesters are peaceful but that violent groups have infiltrated the protests, claiming that they had used live ammunition against security forces in Baghdad and set fire to at least three government buildings.

He says that there is a difference between the peaceful protesters in (Baghdad’s) Tahrir Square and those who are blocking roads and bridges. Blocking roads and bridges, he insists, is a crime, even if the government is trying not to use force or inflict casualties.

Despite Khalaf’s claim, Arab media showed amateur video of a teenage protester being shot while filming demonstrations in Nassiriya. It was not clear if he survived.

Khalaf claimed the foreign press is being unfair in criticizing Iraq over its use of force, saying that countries “like France and the U.S. use force when facing security threats.” He also claimed that (outside parties) are “using the internet to try and overthrow the government.”

Iraqi media reported that the U.N.’s top envoy, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, met Shi’ite religious leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani Monday, urging Iraqi political leaders to carry out reforms that “meet the demands of protesters.”

Iraqi TV showed Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mehdi meeting with journalists Monday, telling them that economic reforms are a priority, including increasing revenues from non-oil sources and creating jobs not funded by the government.

Hilal Khashan, who teaches political science at the American University of Beirut, tells VOA that “Iraqi Shiites are rediscovering that they are Arab,” as they protest “against Iran’s meddling in their country.”

Dr. Paul Sullivan, a professor at the U.S. National Defense University, argues that “some Shi’ites in Iraq “toe the Iranian line, [while] others do not. The lines between these groups,” he says, “seems to be hardening,” and “Iran and its proxies are making the situation much worse.”

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Uranium particles have been detected at an undeclared nuclear site in Iran, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Monday.

In a confidential report obtained by news agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed that manmade uranium particles had been discovered, without revealing the location of the undeclared site.

The report also confirmed that Iran is enriching uranium at its underground Fordow facility — a site where, under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, it had agreed not to carry out any enrichment or enrichment-related research.

The U.S. pulled out of the nuclear agreement last year.

Over the weekend, Iran began pouring concrete for a second nuclear reactor at its Bushehr power plant, which is monitored by the IAEA.

Tehran has said its nuclear activity is for peaceful purposes — namely, providing energy to the country.

Iran has said it intends to enrich uranium to 4.5%, slightly above the the 3.67% limit allowed under 2015 deal. But breaking that barrier was part of Iran’s earlier steps away from the agreement as it calls for the other signatories to help it navigate around U.S. sanctions on its important oil exports. Enriching to 4.5% is far below the level needed to make a nuclear weapon.

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Hong Kong police opened fire on protesters early on Monday, Cable TV reported, as chaos erupted across the city, a day after officers fired tear gas to break up rallies as activists blocked roads and trashed shopping malls in the financial hub.

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Hong Kong Protesters Vandalize Subway Station, Storm Mall

Police made arrests across Hong Kong amid anger over demonstrator’s death and arrest of pro-democracy lawmakers

Police fired live rounds at protesters on the eastern side of Hong Kong island, local media reported.

Police declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

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Chancellor Angela Merkel led a series of commemorations in the German capital over weekend to mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, which divided the city during the Cold War until 1989. The wall was built by Communist East Germany to prevent its citizens fleeing to the capitalist west. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the hope and optimism in the years following the wall’s destruction have been replaced with fears over the resurgent tensions between Russia and the West

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Australian officials are warning of “catastrophic fire danger” as dozens of bushfires blazed in the state of New South Wales.

As of early Monday, 64 fires were burning the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said in a tweet. Of those, more than 40 were out of control. 

At 6am there’s 64 bush and grass fires across NSW, 40 not yet contained. Many of these fires won’t be contained ahead of tomorrow’s dangerous fire weather. Catastrophic fire danger has been declared for Tuesday in Sydney and Hunter areas. Use today to get ready. #nswrfspic.twitter.com/Qto5IF8PUH

— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) November 10, 2019

It warned residents in the area to expect conditions to get worse as high temperatures and gusting winds are forecast for Tuesday.

“Don’t wait for the last minute and ring for a firetruck because it may not get there,” said Jeremy Fewtrell, deputy commissioner of New South Wales Fire and Rescue. “We just don’t want to lose more people.”

Three people have been confirmed dead and more than 150 homes have been destroyed.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency Monday. It will stay in place for at least a week.  

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