Contributor’s links post for April 19, 2019

Daily Links Post graphic

Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We muse use it while we can.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

94 Replies to “Contributor’s links post for April 19, 2019”

  1. China’s Military Drills Won’t Intimidate Taiwan | China’s Notre Dame Cathedral Fire Reactions

  2. Boko Haram kills 11 in overnight attack in Cameroon’s Far North (thedefensepost, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://thedefensepost.com/2019/04/19/cameroon-boko-haram-kills-11-tchakamari/

    “Boko Haram fighters have killed 11 civilians in an overnight attack in Cameroon’s troubled Far North Region, security sources told AFP on Friday, April 11.

    “Boko Haram made an incursion at night in the Tchakamari area. The toll is 11,” a source close to security services in the area said, confirming a report from a member of a local self-defense militia.

    The bodies were “charred,” the source close to security services said, adding that the attackers had burnt the village.

    The dead included both children and the aged and began at around 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) and lasted until about 1 a.m. Friday.

    It was the deadliest Boko Haram raid in recent months in Cameroon. In November, a female suicide bomber killed 29 people in a busy market in Amchide, also in the Far North…”

  3. Iran Trampling on US’ Reputation by Helping Iraq, Syria: Cleric (tasnimnews, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/04/19/1993007/iran-trampling-on-us-reputation-by-helping-iraq-syria-cleric

    “Tehran’s Provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Kazem Seddiqi highlighted the US government’s failures in the Middle East region and said the Islamic Republic managed to “trample on the reputation of the US” by helping to boost security in Iraq and Syria…”

  4. Iran’s Intelligence Forces Smash 114 Takfiri Terrorist Teams Last Year: Minister (tasnimnews, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/04/19/1992931/iran-s-intelligence-forces-smash-114-takfiri-terrorist-teams-last-year-minister

    “Iran’s Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alawi highlighted the achievements of the country’s security forces over the last Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2018 – March 20, 2019) and said 114 Takfiri terrorist teams were identified and disbanded during the period…”

  5. More Rallies in Algeria as First Casualty Reported (aawsat, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1686376/more-rallies-algeria-first-casualty-reported

    “Thousands of demonstrators went back to Algeria’s streets on Friday to reiterate their demands for major democratic change following Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s resignation which came after weeks of mass protests.

    The rallies shortly before the first casualty was announced in the six-week movement.

    A young man, 18, was wounded in protests in Algiers last week and died on Friday from injuries to the head, reported Ennahar TV said on Friday.

    Ennahar said there were two accounts regarding the death. The first was that he was beaten during last Friday’s protests and the second was that he fell from a truck on his way to the protests.

    Police are investigating his death, Ennahar added…”

  6. France comments on ‘security team’ detained in Tunisia (memo, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190419-france-comments-on-security-team-detained-in-tunisia/

    “France on Thursday evening issued remarks on a group of armed French nationals who were briefly detained by the Tunisian authorities earlier this week after entering the country from Libya, Anadolu reports.

    Paris insists that the 13-member group were members of a diplomatic “security team” tasked with guarding the French embassy in Libya.

    According to reports in the local media, however, the group consisted of military advisers who were providing support to renegade Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar.

    Early this month, Haftar launched a campaign — which remains ongoing — with the stated aim of capturing Libyan capital Tripoli.

    In a statement posted on Facebook, French Ambassador to Tunisia Olivier Poivre d’Arvor said the group’s equipment, which was seized by the Tunisian authorities, would be sent to France.

    According to d’Arvor, certain “military equipment” found in the group’s possession “was relevant to their task of protecting French Ambassador to Libya Beatrice du Hellen and securing her place of work [i.e., the embassy]”.

    The diplomat went on to assert that the group’s movements in Tunisia had been “coordinated with the Tunisian authorities, including the defense, interior and foreign ministries”.”

  7. Libyan Interior Ministry stops dealing with France (memo, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190419-libyan-interior-ministry-stops-dealing-with-france/

    “The interior minister in Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) has told ministry officials to “stop dealing with France” due to the latter’s support for renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, Anadolu reports.

    Early this month, Haftar, who is affiliated with a rival government based in the country’s east, launched a military campaign to capture capital Tripoli, where the GNA is headquartered.

    In a Thursday directive posted on Facebook, Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha ordered all ministry officials to halt all dealings with France, especially those pertaining to security agreements and military training.

    Bashagha attributed the move to the French government’s position “in support of the criminal Haftar”.

    Despite two weeks of fighting on Tripoli’s outskirts that has left scores dead, Haftar’s forces have so far failed to capture the capital.

    Libya has remained beset by turmoil since long-serving leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a bloody NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

    Since then, the country has seen the emergence of two rival governments: one in eastern Libya, with which Haftar is affiliated, and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN recognition.”

  8. Libya’s Tripoli-based government seeks Algerian support (memo, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190419-libyas-tripoli-based-government-seeks-algerian-support/

    “A senior official of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) has called on Algeria to support it against renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar, Anadolu reports.

    “We expect Algeria to demonstrate a strong presence for the resolution of the Libyan crisis,” Ahmed Maiteeq, vice president of the GNA’s Presidential Council, told Algerian state-run television after a meeting Thursday with Algeria’s interim president Abdelkader Bensalah in the capital, Algiers.

    “We know that Algeria takes the side of the people of Libya and supports the Libyan people’s demands for the establishment of a civil state, a new constitution and holding democratic elections,” Maiteeq said.

    Referring to the long border and important historical relations between the two countries, Maiteeq added that “the security of Algeria is the security Libya”.

    Following two weeks of intermittent fighting near Tripoli that has left scores dead, forces loyal to Haftar, who is affiliated with a rival government based in eastern Libya, have so far failed to capture the capital.

    Libya has remained beset by turmoil since long-serving leader Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a bloody NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

    Since then, the country has seen the emergence of two rival seats of power: one in eastern Libya, to which Haftar is affiliated, and another in Tripoli, which enjoys UN recognition.”

  9. WTH: California Judge Fines Jewish Rabbi Over $6,000 for Reporting Attack on Synagogue to Police
    By Pamela Geller – on April 18, 2019

    here is something terrible happening in this country. Jew-hatred is applauded — Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, et al are heroes of this evil. Imagine if this California judge imposed this sentence on an imam for reporting an attack on a mosque.

    https://gellerreport.com/2019/04/cali-judge-jew-hatred.html/

  10. John Kerry Sweating Bullets After Lawsuit Filed Over His Secret Meetings With Iran

    We can all hope that this lawsuit is successful in exposing Kerry’s manifest treason. President Trump saved us from a historical first, a treasonous administration. Kerry’s “unusual shadow diplomacy” proved ultimately unsuccessful when Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from Obama’s disastrous Iranian nuke deal. Iranian lawmakers responded that same day by setting an American flag on fire on the floor of parliament and chanting, “Death to America!” But still Kerry tried to salvage the deal. He needs to be held accountable.

    https://gellerreport.com/2019/04/kerry-lawsuit-filed.html/

    • Things are starting to get interesting, it looks like the Obama administration is getting into trouble, finally it looks like some of them may end up paying a price for their treason.

  11. Pope Francis Washes a Moroccan Prisoner’s Feet on Maundy Thursday (moroccoworldnews, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2019/04/271013/pope-francis-moroccan-prisoner-feet-maundy-thursday/

    “Pope Francis traveled to the south of Rome to celebrate the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday, April 18, in the Velletri prison.

    During the mass, the pope kissed and washed the feet of 12 prisoners, calling on them to help each other and abolish the “inmate hierarchy structure” in prisons.

    The 12 prisoners came from Italy, Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire, and Morocco.

    During the ceremony, the pope thanked the inmates for a “beautiful letter from several of them,” according to the Vatican News.

    “The pope reflected briefly on the gesture of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, which priests around the world repeat on Holy Thursday,” said that news outlet…”

  12. Pakistan ready to respond to any act of aggression: CJCSC (tribune, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://tribune.com.pk/story/1954412/1-pakistan-ready-respond-act-aggression-cjcsc/

    “ISLAMABAD: Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) Zubair Mahmood Hayat said on Friday that Pakistan was ready to respond to any act of aggression and misadventure, reported Express News.

    Addressing the Pakistan Summit, General Hayat said India had been rejecting its brutal act of violence in Kashmir and thousands of innocent Kashmiris have lost their lives due to Indian brutality.

    The CJCSC highlighted the need for Pakistan to take steps to increase its military exports. “Countries all over the world are engaged in the trade of military equipment and for the sake of its defence, Pakistan also needs to focus on that.”

    According to CJCSC, Muslim countries continue to face crisis and Islamophobia is also on the rise. “Al Aqsa mosque will remain in danger until there is peace in the Middle East,” he added.

    Regarding the conflict in Afghanistan, CJCSC said that there was no military solution to the Afghan issue and Pakistan supported peace efforts which would be beneficial not only for Afghanistan but the entire region.

    Separately, he met Turkey’s Deputy Chief of General Staff Metin Guruk at the Joint Staff Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

    Matters of mutual professional interest including further enhancement of scope of bilateral security and defence cooperation between the two brotherly countries were discussed during the meeting, according to the ISPR.

    Lt Gen Guruk lauded the professionalism of Pakistan’s armed forces and acknowledged the sacrifices made by Pakistan in fight against terrorism.”

  13. PM Imran endorses grievances of Pashtuns, but says agitation will not yield any benefits (dawn, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.dawn.com/news/1477157/pm-imran-endorses-grievances-of-pashtuns-but-says-agitation-will-not-yield-any-benefits

    “Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) rightly speaks about the hardships faced by the tribal areas and the Pashtun people, but the manner in which they are making such demands is “not good for our country”.

    Addressing a public gathering in the Orakzai tribal district, the premier said PTM advocates for the same things he has been talking about for the last 15 years.

    He acknowledged that during the counterterrorism operations in the tribal areas, people had to face difficulties and migrate to other areas and “when there is a war, innocents are killed.”

    But “how will it benefit Pakistan and the tribal areas [for PTM] to turn people who have been through pain against their army and raise slogans like this?” Imran asked.

    PTM is a rights-based alliance that, besides calling for the de-mining of the former tribal areas and greater freedom of movement in the latter, has insisted on an end to the practices of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and unlawful detentions, and for their practitioners to be held to account within a truth and reconciliation framework.

    The prime minister said he had vociferously spoken about the “difficult times” experienced by the residents of tribal areas, but “today we have to think how we will move forward.”

    Stressing that the Pakistan Army was not to blame for the destruction caused in the tribal region, he said “the blame lies with the ruler who on America’s instructions sent the Pakistani military to the tribal areas.”

    He said the biggest challenges were finding ways to improve people’s lives and provide them with an education so they can rise in society.

    “To only incite people by rubbing salt into their wounds regarding the past oppression and then not presenting any solution [to the issues does not help],” he stressed.

    Imran said the solution to the hardships faced by residents of tribal areas was to provide them redressal and compensate them for the damages caused to their houses. He announced that he has directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to provide financial aid to internally displaced persons to enable them to rebuild their houses and restart their businesses.

    He also revealed that the government will take steps to promote tourism in the former tribal areas to create opportunities for locals. He said young people would be given interest-free loans under the ‘Rozgaar Scheme’ to set up businesses along with skills education.

    All families in the tribal areas will be issued health cards, the premier further announced.

    Imran once again lashed out at his political rivals from the PPP and PML-N, saying it is because of the debt burden allegedly placed by them on the country that the incumbent government does not have enough funds to “completely revamp” the tribal areas.

    ‘Any minister not beneficial for country will be replaced’
    The prime minister advised the KP chief minister and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to “keep an eye” on their teams.

    “A good captain continuously keeps an eye on his team because he wants to win the match. To do that, he often has to change the batting order,” he told them.

    He said being the prime minister, he too aims to make his nation win and work for their uplift.

    Analogising Thursday’s major cabinet reshuffle that saw several top ministers being replaced or losing their portfolios with cricket management, Imran said: “I have changed the batting order and made a couple of changes in my team [and] I will do the same in the future.”

    “I want to tell all the ministers: whoever is not beneficial for my country will be replaced with a minister who is beneficial for my country,” Imran said.

    He said the heads of the state and provinces are answerable to God when the underprivileged sections of society are “unable to eat two meals a day, children don’t attend schools, proper treatment is unavailable at government hospitals and if prices of medicines suddenly skyrocket”.

    “Therefore we should always be ready to replace or change the batting order of a player who is not giving a good performance.””

  14. Tom Fitton: Mueller Report is a Political Document Designed to Smear President Trump

  15. Turkish court acquits ISIL emir’s wife in Gaziantep attack (hurriyetdailynews, Apr 19, 2019)
    http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-court-acquits-isil-emirs-wife-in-gaziantep-attack-142777

    “A Turkish court has acquitted an ISIL emir’s wife in a case concerning the Aug. 20, 2016, attack carried out in the southeastern province of Gaziantep.

    The acquittal was based on a number of legal reasons, one of which was that the jihadist group “does not accept women as group members.”

    A heavy penalty court in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri overseeing the case made the ruling.

    The Kayseri 4th Heavy Penalty Court has sentenced seven suspects in the case to 57 aggravated life sentences and 1,582 years in prison; one suspect to four aggravated life sentences and 227 years in prison; and two suspects to 9-34 years in prison. Two others suspects in the case were acquitted.

    According to the court, a Syrian national believed to be 20-25 years of age came to Turkey and stayed at the house of ISIL’s Gaziantep Emir Mehmet Kadir Cebael until the night of the attack. They also said that Cebael was killed in a police operation on Oct. 16, 2016, at the house.

    Fingerprints of Cebael’s wife, Fadile Cebael, were found on a bag containing materials used to make the suicide bomb detonated in the Gaziantep attack, according to the court.

    “My husband brought some needs of the house. And, I, like every housewife, would put the materials in the fridge and put away the emptied bags to someplace else. This is why my fingerprints would have been imprinted [on the bag],” Fadile Cebael told the authorities.

    The court ruling said that the presence of Cebael’s fingerprints on the bags was in line with the “nature of her daily life.” She had contact with the other suspects, but these did not prove that she joined the ISIL’s activities, according to the ruling.

    “Taking into account that ISIL does not accept women as group members – on the contrary, it sees them as goods – the only job of women is housekeeping, raising children and serving their husbands [in ISIL-managed houses] – a personal conviction has not arisen in our court that the suspect committed the offense charged, and therefore, she has been acquitted,” said the court in its ruling.”

  16. Istanbul conference addresses Islamophobia (hurriyetdailynews, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/istanbul-conference-addresses-islamophobia/1457358

    “Twenty scholars from around the globe deliberated on the roots and geopolitics of Islamophobia at a three-day conference last weekend in Istanbul, Turkey.

    They described Islamophobia as a very dangerous threat not only to Muslims but to all of humanity.

    “In Myanmar, the native Rohingya have been brutalized, killed and expelled for their Muslim faith,” said Mehmet Bulut, the rector of Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, which hosted the conference.

    Bulut said it was incumbent on all “concerned citizens of the world” to address the dire problem of Islamophobia in all its manifestations.

    “In India, Islamophobia has taken an ugly turn in Kashmir and other states, where Hindu nationalists have been turning peaceful co-existence into polarized communities. Uyghur Muslims [in China] are similarly being subjected to industrial-scale persecution,” he added.

    Need to educate

    The speakers said Muslims needed to educate themselves to fight this growing problem.

    Anne Norton, professor of Political Science and Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania in the U.S., said Islamophobia was part of a “greater network of bigotry and xenophobia” including that of antisemitism and anti-black racism.

    During her speech, Norton said people needed to be protected from the power of the state as well as from “torture, hunger, separation from their families and deprivation”.

    “To combat Islamophobia and other forms of hatred and bigotry, we must learn to love difference,” she said.

    Discussing the geopolitics of Islamophobia, Salman Sayyid, professor of rhetoric and decolonial thought at the University of Leeds in the U.K., observed that Islamophobia “transcends geography”, underlining that it was not the behavior of the victims that was to blame for Islamophobia.

    “What did the Rohingya ever do to deserve their fate? It is not a problem of behavior,” Sayyid said.

    Dangerous role of think-tanks

    Explaining the dangerous role of think-tanks in rationalizing Islamophobia, Farid Hafez, a senior researcher and lecturer at the University of Salzburg in Austria, said “like the counter-jihad movement, some right-wing circles or different foundations support specific political interests. They are supporting think tanks in order to create knowledge”.

    “They get funds in order to support, to analyze the reality; and what we can observe when it comes to anti-Muslim agendas within certain think tanks, they are following specific goals. They are offering expertise, offering advises to political actors,” he added.

    Islamophobia and anti-Semitism

    Explaining similarities and differences between Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, Tamara Sonn, a professor at Georgetown University in the U.S., said: “Islamophobia is hatred toward all Muslims because of the perceived actions of some Muslims. Similarly, anti-Semitism is hatred of all Jews because of the perceived actions of some Jews. These forms of bigotry must be dealt with together.”

    Islamophobia and anti-Semitism “share a common thread”, Sonn said.

    Asim Qureshi, research director at London-based advocacy group CAGE, said Islamophobia is a “kind of racism, not only because it employs the logic of racism, but also because it pathologizes Muslims”.

    In her presentation on the rise of the alt-right and mainstreaming of anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S., Dalia Fahmy, an associate professor of political science at Long Island University, said that there was a dramatic increase in anti-Muslim violence since 2015.

    Arab autocrats and Islamophobia

    Speaking on how Islamophobia was used as a tool in supporting autocratic rule, Usaama al-Azami, a lecturer at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education in the U.K., said Arab autocracies were the world’s “most powerful Islamophobes”.

    “[And] the geopolitical context of [such a phenomenon] is the Arab spring,” he said in his presentation.

    His talk was corroborated by Sami Al-Arian, director of the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), who said: “We have some governments in the region, in the Muslim world, who are helping Islamophobes and empowering practitioners of Islamophobia in order to fight their own citizens and movements because they are trying to keep their privileges and autocratic regimes.”

    Hatem Bazian, a professor and lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, said Western views of Islam are often constructed with limited or no actual engagement with Muslims — theologically, culturally or philosophically.

    “Islamophobia is not simply a form of cultural racism; it has roots in historical, biological racism against the inferior other,” he said.

    Ahmed Bedier, president of the U.S.-based organization United Voices of America, said Islamophobia is more than just racism.

    “It is a deliberate network with deep political roots,” Bedier said.

    “Islamophobia is more effective today because Muslims are weak,” he added.

    Legal framework needed

    In his recommendation, CIGA director Al-Arian said that understanding Islamophobia at every level is important and it needs to be confronted at all levels.

    “We need to educate and then act to confront Islamophobia,” he stressed.

    Talip Kucukcan, a former member of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and current professor at Istanbul’s Marmara University, said a legal framework against Islamophobia is needed.

    “Otherwise, whatever work we do [to fight Islamophobia], it will melt down,” he said.

    He insisted that politicians need to be involved in raising the issue of Islamophobia.

    The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has 57 member states, he said, and this issue needs to be raised and nation-states need to be engaged.

    Speaking about Islamophobia in India, Varsha Basheer, an academic at the University of Kerala, said the Muslim community requires structural changes from within.

    “We need power other than the intellect,” she added.

    Telling our story

    Elsadig Elsheikh, director of the global justice program at the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society at the University of California, said there is a need for intervention at multiple levels, including society, education, public policy and “how we tell our story”.

    “We need to decolonize ourselves, and there is a need for a lot of work within ourselves and our societies,” he said.

    James Carr, a lecturer at the University of Limerick in Ireland, said Muslims need to “engage with the systems [of state] but with open eyes”.

    “We need to display a robust Muslim identity,” Carr said.

    Shaireen Rasheed, a professor at Long Island University, said Muslims must also build coalitions with other communities.

    “Scholars need to translate their words into action,” she said.

    Ravza Kavakci Kan, a lawmaker from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, said attacks like last month’s mosque shooting in New Zealand cause more tension in society.

    “But by seeing that the people of New Zealand came together and stood in solidarity [with the victims] gives us hope as human beings in a world where there is increasing discrimination, increasing xenophobia and increasing Islamophobia which are linked together,” Kan said.”

  17. 13 Daesh terror suspects arrested in Turkey (aa, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkey/13-daesh-terror-suspects-arrested-in-turkey/1457823

    “Counter-terrorism operations across Turkey saw the arrest of 13 people for their suspected links to the Daesh, police sources said on Friday.

    The security forces conducted anti-terror operations across five cities to arrest the suspects, who were reportedly operating on behalf of Daesh, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

    In an operation based in the Aegean Izmir province, police arrested 12 Daesh suspects in Isparta and Bolu provinces.

    The suspects were reportedly operating for the terror group in Syria and Iraq.

    Separately, one suspect — who was sought by police over the Daesh link — was arrested in the Aegean Bursa province.

    Meanwhile, a Daesh terror suspect surrendered to Turkish security forces at the Oncupinar border gate in the southeastern Kilis province.

    More than 300 people have lost their lives in Daesh-claimed attacks in Turkey, where the terror organization has targeted civilians in suicide bombs, rocket and gun attacks.

    Turkish security forces have been involved in a long-running campaign to thwart Daesh activities.”

  18. Syria: See first drone footage of Al-Hol refugee camp since IS defeat

    A bird’s eye perspective of the Al-Hol refugee camp in northeastern Syria, was filmed on Thursday, for the first time since the defeat of the self-proclaimed Islamic State.

    The camp’s population has had a sharp increase since the start of the year, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross , with figures jumping from 11,000 to over 74,000 people in just a few months.

    In addition, the head of the ICRC Peter Maurer has said that mothers and children make up most of the population of the Al-Hol camp, many of whom are unaccompanied or orphaned.

  19. 3,000 on hunger strike in Turkey agianst Ocalan’s isolation (ansamed, Apr 19, 2019)
    http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/politics/2019/04/19/3000-on-hunger-strike-in-turkey-agianst-ocalans-isolation_16e0e0ff-88f2-4412-8e82-7c1a7b167f88.html

    “Protest is growing in Turkey against the ”complete isolation” in prison of the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan.

    Ocalan has been in the Imrali prison island on the Marmara Sea for 20 years. Over 3,000 activists, most of whom in prison, have been on hunger strike for several weeks to demand action from the Turkish and international authorities.

    Launching the protest on November 8 was HDP MP Leyla Guven, who was in jail at that time. In March, three other MPs from the same pro-Kurdish party joined in, signing a letter that denounces the ”legally, politically, morally unsustainable isolation policy” used for Ocalan. HDP claims that at least 8 detainees have committed suicide in recent months in protest. (ANSAmed).”

  20. Swiss village bordering France subsidises alarms for its burglary-prone residents (thelocal, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.thelocal.ch/20190419/swiss-village-subsidises-alarms-over-cross-border-burglary-fears

    “A Swiss village at the border with France will become the first to subsidise burglary alarms for all residents after a spike in break-ins, the mayor said in comments broadcast Friday.

    The small northwestern village of Boncourt, which counts just over 1,200 inhabitants, decided a few years ago to hire a security company to patrol the streets at night, and also requested that local and regional police as well as border guards patrol the area.

    The mayor at the time, Andre Goffinet, said such measures were needed after a string of burglaries, including of the local bank and gas station, which he blamed on “the border effect”.

    The village is located just one kilometre (0.6 miles) from the French border and 50 kilometres from Germany.

    But current mayor Lionel Maitre said Friday the break-ins were continuing.

    “We see that these measures (the patrols) are still not sufficient,” Maitre told the RTS public broadcaster.

    He said local authorities had therefore decided the village would become the first municipality in Switzerland to subsidise the installation of home-security systems for its residents.

    The village, which already spends around 25,000 Swiss francs ($25,000, 22,000 euros) annually on security patrols, plans to spend up to 30,000 more to cover part of the cost of installing the home-security systems.

    Maitre told RTS the cost was reasonable compared to the benefit it would bring in terms of added security.”

  21. Swedish Isis fighter’s seven orphaned children one step closer to returning home (thelocal, Apr 19, 2019)
    https://www.thelocal.se/20190419/swedish-is-fighters-seven-orphaned-children-one-step-closer-to-returning-home

    “The seven children of dead Swedish Isis fighter Michael Skråmo have been given the green light to be taken from a Syrian refugee camp to Sweden’s consulate in Iraq, reports TV4.

    Kurdish authorities in Iraq announced on Friday that the children of notorious Swedish Islamic State fighter and recruiter Michael Skråmo can be taken from the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria to Sweden’s consulate in the city of Erbil in Iraq.

    The children, aged between one and eight years old, were left orphaned and alone in the caliphate after their father was killed in battle in the Syrian town of Baghouz in late March. Their mother was also killed in early 2019…”