On 26 November, the European Parliament adopted an urgency resolution highlighting “The deteriorating human rights situation in Algeria, in particular the case of journalist Khaled Drareni,” who was sentenced to two years in prison on 15 September 2020. Proposed by six out of the seven political groups, the resolution signals a broad agreement across the political spectrum. The undersigned national and international civil society organizations consider its adoption to be a timely and much needed step to address the escalating crackdown on civil society, peaceful activists, artists, journalists, and the independence of the judiciary.
The adopted text recalls the EP’s urgency resolution from 28 November 2019 on the situation of civic freedoms in Algeria, and expresses solidarity with “all Algerian citizens – women and men, from diverse geographic, socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds – who have been peacefully demonstrating since February 2019”. It highlights that “in 2020 women’s rights movements have intensified in their denunciation of the increasing violence against women” and have called for “the review of existing laws in order to guarantee full equality.”
Ankara considers the resolution of the European Parliament regarding Turkey and the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to be biased, said Turkish MFA spokesman Hami Aksoy.
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Thursday calling for sanctions on Turkey because of its position on the Cyprus issue.
According to him, such a position does not serve the EU interests, the improvement of its relations with Turkey, and the settlement of the Cyprus issue, RIA Novosti reported.
Turkey will continue to resolutely defend both its own and the Turkish community’s rights, not succumbing to threats and blackmail and continuing its efforts for dialogue, Aksoy added.
President Trump deserves thanks for appointing three conservative Supreme Court justices , each of whom ruled this week in favor of religious groups and against New York government officials seeking to curb congregation sizes at religious services, a key supporter of the president wrote on Thanksgiving Day.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the late Rev. Billy Graham and himself a spiritual adviser to several U.S. presidents as head of Billy Graham Ministries, wrote on Twitter that he was “thankful for President @realDonald Trump’s appointment of 3 conservative #SCOTUS justices who ruled last night in favor of churches & against gov’t overreach in the state of New York.”
In another tweet, the 68-year-old Graham posted a quote from Trump-appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch’s decision in the 5-4 case, in which Chief Justice John Roberts sided with the court’s liberals.
“It is time … to make plain that, while the pandemic poses many grave challenges, there is no world in which the Constitution tolerates color-coded executive edicts that reopen liquor stores & bike shops but shutter churches, synagogues, & mosques,” Graham quoted from Gorsuch’s writing.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, son of the late evangelical Christian leader Billy Graham, is seen in Washington, Aug. 27, 2020. (Getty Images)
On Wednesday night, the high court blocked New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo from reimposing strict attendance caps at worship services in areas hit hard by the novel coronavirus.
The court ruled 5-4 to bar Cuomo from enforcing his Oct. 6 “Cluster Initiative” against houses of worship that sued to challenge the restrictions.
The order was also the first in which Justice Amy Coney Barrett played a decisive role. Barrett, who was President Trump’s third Supreme Court nominee, joined the court Oct. 27, after winning Senate confirmation following the Sept. 18 death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
In addition to Gorsuch and Barrett, Trump also appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas — conservatives who were appointed before Trump took office — also sided with the majority opinion.
In the dissenting opinion, Roberts and the three liberals — Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer — asserted that the court had acted rashly.
The order was aimed at worship services at some synagogues and Roman Catholic churches in parts of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, Bloomberg News reported.
In the hardest-hit areas of the city, which were designated red zones, the state limited attendance in houses of worship to 25% of their capacity or 10 people, whichever is fewer. The majority said Cuomo’s limits violated the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion.
The ruling was seen as a reversal from earlier actions taken during the pandemic this year by the high court in response to state restrictions on organized religion, reports said. The justices previously refused to lift restrictions on churches in California and Nevada.
The European Parliament has a chance to help free Europe’s regions from fossil fuels and support the creation of sustainable jobs.
On the week of 14 September, the European Parliament has a chance to help free Europe’s regions from fossil fuels and support the creation of sustainable jobs. MEPs will vote in plenary on the EUR17.5 billion Just Transition Fund, which aims to support EU regions such as the coal regions of Southwest Bulgaria’s and the Jiu Valley of Romania in their transition to climate neutrality.
The gas industry has been particularly busy lately, pandemic or no pandemic. Gas lobbyists have met with EU officials 49 times between March and July 2020 alone. It is no surprise that the industry is worried: the writing’s on the wall for fossil fuels. We are moving towards a zero carbon EU, and gas is terrible for the climate – leaked methane emissions can make it even worse than coal. Already, new gas infrastructure is not economically viable and there is far less demand for gas than previously estimated. Yet despite the facts, and with a crucial European Parliament vote just days away, the industry’s efforts appear to be paying off.
MEPs must overturn the regressive position of the Parliament’s Regional Affairs Committee, which voted in favour of gas being eligible for Just Transition funding. To the gas lobby, the concept of ‘fake news’ is all too familiar. It has been writing its own fake news for years, using its wealth and influence to portray itself as a clean and sustainable “transition fuel.” Polluting gas has no place in a climate neutral Europe and is not particularly effective for job creation.
The European Commission, EU Member States and the EU Committee of the Regions all oppose gas getting Just Transition funding.
“MEPs have a crucial choice. They can kick out fossil fuels and help Europe’s most vulnerable regions unlock the door to a sustainable future. Or they can take money away from those regions to give it to the polluting gas industry. Doing this would be a shocking betrayal both of European citizens and of the climate targets MEPs claim they endorse.” – Katie Treadwell, Energy Policy Officer, WWF European Policy Office
What does WWF want? To truly deliver, the EU Just Transition Mechanism should do three key things:
Exclude gas and other fossil fuels – only projects consistent with a sustainable and climate neutral Europe by 2040 should be financed;
Require plans to be aligned with EU climate targets to access funds, reward climate ambition and include coal phase-out dates of 2030 latest, and gas phase-out dates of 2035 latest; and
Encourage and enable effective partnerships by supporting transparency and meaningful engagement, including with civil society, local governments and trade unions.
Allowing the gas industry to get Just Transition Fund money would directly contradict the concept of a just transition to a zero carbon economy. Fossil gas has no role as a transitional fuel: it accelerates climate change and leaked methane emissions can make it worse for the climate than coal. There is also zero evidence that it would create many or decent jobs, while every $1 million (USD) invested in renewables creates three times more jobs than fossil fuels.
Last but not least, giving priority and money to gas projects would cement Europe’s future in a gas lock-in over the next 40-50 years and waste up to €29 billion of EU taxpayers’ money in stranded assets.Twenty-two organisations including WWF sent a letter on September 8 to the heads of the European political groups calling for the Parliament to reject any opening for fossil gas and ensure the fund prioritises support for Member States who have committed to an ambitious transition.
Background Just Transition in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) will contribute to achieving EU climate neutrality by 2050 and the local development of target regions by having a positive impact in all the important aspects of the transition process – social, economic and environmental. For example, the total coal reserves in Southwest Bulgaria are estimated to be relatively small – less than 15% of the country’s overall reserves; 5% of which is extracted. The two operational thermal power plants (TPPs) in the region, TPP Bobov Dol (Bobov Dol municipality) and TPP Republika (Pernik municipality) burn about 2.5% of the coal, and generate approximately 5% of Bulgaria’s annual electricity production. Closing down these two coal-fired power plants will leave an annual 903,781 MWh energy gap that will need to be filled by alternative sustainable sources.
A WWF study of the southwest coal region in Bulgaria provided 3 scenarios for possible development of the region. The analysis is an attempt to plan the future of coal regions in Bulgaria and to serve as a tool for policy planning and long-term strategic decision-making first in the districts of Pernik, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad and Sofia (without the city of Sofia); mainly in the municipalities of Bobov Dol and Pernik, as well as the already two other non-operational mines in the region.
There are over 150 protected areas of all types in Southwest Bulgaria, including two of the country’s three national parks: Rila National Park (the largest in Bulgaria) and Pirin National Park (also a UNESCO World Heritage Site). These conditions favour economic alternatives such as the development of various forms of tourism, organic farming, organic stock-breeding, sustainable forestry and fishing. Moving in this direction would also comply with the desire that economic activities should be compatible with the conservation of valuable species, habitats and nature in general. This fact should be a prerequisite for a sustainable future and be considered when deciding on alternative, Just Transition Mechanism-funded economic investments in the region.
For more information: Georgi Stefanov Chief Climate and Energy Expert, WWF-Bulgaria Tel: +359 889 517 976 Email: [email protected] www.wwf.bg / www.climatebg.org Skype: zoro_stefanov
The European Parliament has urged the EU to impose sanctions on Turkey after President Tayyip Erdogan this month paid a visit to the breakaway Turkish-held north of divided Cyprus.
With 631 votes in favour, three against and 59 abstentions, the parliament agreed a non-binding resolution in support of EU member Cyprus urging EU leaders to “take action and impose tough sanctions in response to Turkey’s illegal actions”.
The resolution is likely to bolster support for France’s push for EU sanctions on Turkey next month, following through on a threat made by the bloc in October over a dispute between Ankara and EU members Greece and Cyprus over natural gas rights.
The parliament resolution called Turkey’s gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean “illegal”.
Paris, at odds with Ankara on other issues too, has not yet drawn up detailed sanctions, but diplomats told Reuters that any measures would likely target areas of Turkey’s economy linked to its hydrocarbon exploration, such as shipping, energy and banking.
“Turkey knows what it needs to do,” French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told a French parliamentary hearing this week. “Confrontation or collaboration, it’s up to them.”
Cyprus has been divided since a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. Only Ankara, which still maintains troops in the north, recognises as illegal secessionist entity declared by Turkish Cypriots.
Erdogan incensed Cyprus on Nov. 15 by visiting Varosha, a resort that has been fenced-off and abandoned in no-man’s land since 1974. Ankara backed the partial re-opening of Varosha in a move criticised by the United States, Greece and Greek Cypriots.
The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have approved a resolution titled “Escalating tensions in Varosha following the illegal actions by Turkey and the urgent need for the resumption of talks.”
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the resolution, saying, “We completely reject the non-binding resolution adopted by the MEPs on our country and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.”
The press release issued by the European Parliament following the adoption of the resolution has emphasized the three following points: “Turkey must refrain from any action that alters Cyprus’ demographic balance”, “European Union (EU)-Turkey relations at a historic low and “Call for tough sanctions in response to Turkey’s illegal actions.”
While the resolution has been adopted by 631 votes in favour, 3 against and 59 abstentions, the MEPs have stated, “Turkey’s decision to ‘open’ the sealed-off suburb of Varosha undermines prospects of a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem.”
“MEPs condemn Turkey’s illegal activities in the Varosha suburb of the city of Famagusta and warn that its partial ‘opening’ weakens prospects of a comprehensive solution to the Cyprus problem, exacerbating divisions and entrenching the permanent partition of the island,” they have noted.
“MEPs call on Turkey to transfer Varosha to its lawful inhabitants under the temporary administration of the UN and to refrain from any actions that alter the demographic balance on the island through a policy of illegal settlement.”
The MEPs have also called for “tough sanctions” against Turkey:
“A sustainable solution to reunify the island of Cyprus and its people can only be found through dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiations, MEPs stress.
“They call on the European Council to maintain its unified position on Turkey’s illegal actions and impose tough sanctions in response.
“MEPs regret that the Turkish authorities have endorsed the two-state solution for Cyprus and reiterate their support for a fair, comprehensive and viable settlement on the basis of a bi-communal, bi-zonal federation with a single international legal status.
“They also call on the EU to play a more active role in bringing the negotiations under UN auspices to a successful conclusion.”
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry rejects the resolution
As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Turkey’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hami Aksoy has denounced the resolution in a statement, saying, “We completely reject the non-binding resolution adopted by the MEPs on our country and the TRNC.”
Underlining that Turkey fully supports the statement made by the Northern Cyprus Presidency on this issue, Aksoy has said, “This decision, which is undoubtedly dictated by the Greek Cypriot Administration, once again demonstrates how disconnected from reality and prejudiced the European Parliament is on the Cyprus issue.”
Aksoy has added that “if the European Parliament maintains this approach and mentality, it is not possible for European Union bodies to make a constructive contribution to the solution of the Cyprus issue.”
“Turkey calls on the EP and EU to face the realities on the island and take into account the presence of the Turkish Cypriot people as well as fulfill the EU commitments made in April 2004 to Turkish Cypriots,” he has stressed.
He has also noted that “Turkey will continue to protect both its own rights and those of Turkish Cypriots”, adding at the same time, Turkey will continue its efforts for dialogue and negotiations within this context.
Varosha, or Maraş, a coastal town in Cyprus’ Famagusta (Gazimağusa) reopened on October 8, 2020, nearly half a century after it was closed to settlement by a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution.
In a controversial move that led his government to break down, Northern Cyprus’ the then Prime Minister Ersin Tatar, now the President of the country, announced the decision on October 6 during a joint press conference with President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the capital city Ankara.
Following Turkey’s “Second Cyprus Peace Operation” in the 1974 war that eventually divided the Mediterranean island, the town was closed to settlement as it was on the “green line” between the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” and the “Republic of Cyprus.”
Passed by the UNSC in 1983, Resolution 550 stated, “… Deeply concerned about recent threats for settlement of Varosha by people other than its inhabitants, reaffirming its continuing support for the United Nations Peace-keeping Force in Cyprus…”
A major tourist attraction with its beaches and hotels, Varosha turned into a “ghost town” after this. (EKN/SD)
SEBASTIANO (“NELLO”) MUSUMECI, the governor of Sicily, counts off on his fingers some of the many things he says his island lacks: a hub-port to tap into the goods traffic that flows from the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean; an international airport (“Malta, smaller than the smallest Sicilian province, has one,” he notes indignantly); a modern rail system (large stretches of the existing network are either single-track or unelectrified, or both); and a motorway that fully encircles the triangular island (there is a long gap on one side). “Then there is all the social infrastructure we lack,” he goes on. Top of that list is a shortage of nursery schools.
Europe’s efforts to recover from covid-19 focus on poorer regions like Sicily. One of the aims of its €750bn recovery fund, currently blocked by Poland and Hungary (see article) but due to come on stream next year, is to “level up” the EU. The Italian government will soon spell out to the European Commission how it wants to spend its share of the loans and grants on offer—more than a quarter of the total, says the prime minister, Giuseppe Conte. Last month, Sicily’s regional government sent Rome a list of schemes it hopes will qualify for funding. But although the island’s needs are great, the EU scheme may not help to satisfy them.
Most of the projects the regional government wants for the island are large-scale, long-term and designed to fulfil relatively basic requirements. But the conditions attached to the EU’s main recovery fund prioritise schemes that are “smart”, green and can be completed quite fast. Vincenzo Provenzano, who teaches economics at the university of Palermo, worries that the regional government’s aims may be too ambitious and that it ought to focus more on the potential of the EU’s promised Green Deal. “If we want to have immediate effects, we need to work on areas where Sicily has a comparative advantage,” he says. Organic farming, which Sicily has a lot of, is a perfect example.
Other doubts over Sicily’s capacity to benefit from this unique opportunity have a longer history. The island’s bureaucracy is notoriously sluggish. It may struggle to meet the deadlines set for having access to the EU’s funds: 70% of the money has to be committed, with contracts awarded and signed, by the end of 2022, the remaining 30% within the year after. The entire fund has to be spent by the end of 2026. Sicily has in the past found it hard to devise projects suitable for EU funding and then spend the money it has been given.
In any event, a worry persists that EU or state money invested in Sicily will enrich the island’s Mafia, known to affiliates as Cosa Nostra (“Our Thing”). In this respect there are grounds for optimism. Once the beefiest of Italy’s three main organised-crime syndicates, Cosa Nostra has been losing ground since the 1990s to the Camorra, which operates in and around Naples, and to the Calabrian ’Ndrangheta. Since the early 1990s police and prosecutors have relentlessly pursued it. Under Mr Musumeci, a former president of Sicily’s anti-Mafia commission, they have had solid backing from the regional authorities.
One reason Cosa Nostra has retreated from the streets is that it has increasingly concentrated on white-collar crime. As many investigations have shown, it is still able to muscle in on the allocation of contracts and has a special penchant for helping itself to EU financing.
That has prompted the creation of numerous laws and regulations which are intended to thwart the mobsters’ infiltration of the legal economy but which also slow down the approval of public investment projects. Mr Musumeci argues that the precautions have become excessive. He wants the central government to simplify the procedures for being granted the EU’s funds. “We can’t not look to the future,” he says. ■
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “No cosying up to Cosa Nostra”
The European Parliament adopted on Thursday a resolution calling on Algeria to respect human rights and ensure basic freedoms in the country.
The resolution expresses concern with the deteriorating situation of human rights in Algeria, stressing, in particular, the case of journalist Khaled Drareni.
An Algerian court sentenced Drareni in August to three years in prison and fined him 50,000 Algerian dinars ($389) for filming police attacking Hirak demonstrators in Algiers.
The court formally charged the TV5 Monde correspondent with “inciting an unarmed gathering” and “undermining the integrity of national territory.” In September, a judge reduced his sentence to two years following an appeal.
<p>The European Parliament resolution “strongly condemns the escalation of arbitrary and unlawful arrests, detentions and judicial harassment of journalists, <a class="wpil_keyword_link " href="https://bit.ly/32MBOeM" title="human rights" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">human rights</a> defenders, trade unionists, lawyers, civil society and peaceful activists in Algeria.”</p><h4><strong>A true democratic transition requires the Algerian people’s participation</strong></h4><p>The resolution argues Algeria has not allowed any space for political dialogue on the undemocratic constitutional revision and the exercise of the freedoms of expression, assembly, and association.
It also denounces the use of emergency COVID-19 measures to limit the fundamental rights of the Algerian people.
The members of European Parliament (MEPs) formally call on Algerian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Khaled Drareni “and all those detained and charged for exercising their right to freedom of expression, both online and offline, and to freedom of assembly and association.”
With the resolution, MEPs reiterate their demands that Algerian authorities stop all forms of intimidation and criminalization of dissent, insisting that the country take appropriate steps to guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.
Dissent and criticism are fundamental to a fully democratic political transition, the resolution stresses.
Echoing the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, the resolution calls for the urgent release of all political prisoners and those detained for expressing dissenting views.
As well, the resolution urges Algerian authorities to unblock media outlets and expresses solidarity with the Algerian people who have demanded democracy, fighting against corruption.
The resolution also outlines its concerns with restrictive elements of Algerian law. It highlights, in particular, the new Law 20-06, “which arbitrarily criminalizes the dissemination of ‘fake news’ undermining the honor of public officials and the financing of associations.”
MEPs adopted the resolution with 669 votes in favor, three against, and 22 abstentions.
Repeated calls for cooperation
High Representative of the EU Joseph Borrell’s speech to the European Parliament plenary on Thursday underlined the EU’s interest “in a strong and strategic cooperation with Algeria” and attempts to “reinforce the bilateral partnership.”
He affirmed that the EU “stands ready to support the reforms that the Algerian authorities will want to undertake, keeping in mind that the ultimate objective is to respond to the legitimate expectations of the Algerian people.”
“We need more dialogue with Algeria, not less,” he stressed. “We are determined to deepen an open dialogue with Algeria, based on trust and constructive criticism.”
Algeria has experienced political, social, and economic turmoil since the Hirak (movement) began in February 2019 in response to former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announcing he would seek re-election for a fifth term.
Bouteflika, 83, eventually resigned in April 2020 under pressure from the military. With 20 years in office, he was Algeria’s longest-serving head of state.
Abdelmajjid Tebboune won the presidential election in December 2019 on promises of sweeping democratic “reforms.” Yet he ultimately failed to deliver, evidenced in the protests that raged even amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the record-low voter turnout and boycott against the recent constitutional referendum.
With Tebboune still in Germany one month after Algiers announced the president’s COVID-19 infection, Algeria is a ship without a captain. The country is suffering the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and global collapse in oil prices, an overwhelmed health system, social unrest, and international condemnation of human rights violations.
Brussels [Belgium], November 26 (ANI): Two prominent Members of European Parliament (MEP) wrote to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, condemning Islamabad for not yet having brought to justice those who orchestrated the 2008 Mumbai terror attack.
In a letter to Khan on November 24, Polish MEP Ryszard Czarnecki and Italian MEP Fulvio Martusciello requested to know what action has Pakistan “taken against Lashkar-e-Taiba, the terrorist organisation, based in Pakistan, known to have carried out the multiple shooting and bombing attacks that happened in Mumbai in 2008?”.
They further asked, “what action has, and is, Pakistan taking against terrorist groups operating within the country in general?”On November 26, 2008, ten terrorists trained by the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) carried out a series of coordinated attacks against multiple targets in Mumbai including the Taj Mahal hotel, the Oberoi hotel, the Leopold Cafe, the Nariman (Chabad) House, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus train station, killing 166 people.
In these gruesome attacks, nine terrorists were killed and the lone survivor, Ajmal Amir Kasab, was caught and was sentenced to death at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune in 2012. On November 11, 2012, Kasab was hanged in Yerawada Jail in Pune.
Pakistani authorities continue to deny culpability and are yet to take action on the multiple dossiers shared by India. A trial underway in a Pakistani anti-terrorism court against seven suspects has made little headway in more than a decade, as Pakistani officials serially question the sufficiency and legitimacy of evidence against them.
In a reminder to Khan, a Prime Minister who delivered a eulogy to Osama Bin Laden, hailing him as a “martyr” in May this year, the two MEPs said: “Terrorism is the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, often in pursuit of political or ideological aims,” EU Chronicle reported.
They added that as “European politicians, we are committed to fighting against terrorism and extremist violence. We all have a responsibility to condemn terrorism and bring to justice those who perpetrate such actions.”Czarnecki and Martusciello highlighted in their letter to Khan: “On 26 November 2008, an extremist terrorist organisation, Lashkar-e-Taiba, based in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the Mumbai bombings in which 166 innocent people were murdered, nine attackers killed, and more than 300 individuals sustained injuries.””Subsequent documented evidence from United States intelligence reports, from India’s intelligence services including DNA, photographs and identification of the origins of the attackers; and an admission by Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s of the country’s involvement in the crimes; highlight the engagement of accomplishes in Pakistan. However, to date, the senior coordinators and promoters who orchestrated the attacks remain at large,” he added.
As Europe also suffers from the impacts of horrific acts of increasingly radical and extremist jihadi attacks, the politicians said it was “essential that justice is served on those who have carried out, instructed or supported such terrorist activities. It is equally important that leaders of countries publicly condemn these acts of violence and proceed to ensure justice is done for the victims, by apprehending and sentencing the perpetrators.” (ANI)