SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt: Britain’s government is considering different options, including possibly delaying Brexit, if parliament fails to approve Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal by March 12.
With only 32 days until Britain is due to leave the European Union, May’s decision to push back a vote on her deal has upped the ante with parliament, which is deeply split over how, or even whether, the country should leave the bloc.
Before a vote on Wednesday on May’s next steps, lawmakers are stepping up ways to try to prevent the prime minister from taking Britain out of the EU without a deal, a scenario many businesses say could damage the world’s fifth largest economy.
Several of their plans would involve extending Article 50, which triggered the two-year Brexit negotiating period, delaying Britain’s departure Brexit beyond March 29 — something May has said would only delay a decision.
The government is “considering what to do if parliament makes that decision (does not pass the deal),” a UK official said when asked about a possible extension.
The Telegraph newspaper reported that May was considering a plan to delay Britain’s for up to two months.
Britain’s plan to leave the EU was thrown into crisis after parliament resoundingly rejected May’s deal last month with the biggest government defeat in modern British history.
That forced May to seek changes to her deal, which was agreed in November, but so far, her talks with the EU have yet to settle on a clear path that can win her the support of parliament, which is deeply divided over Brexit.
On Sunday, May said a so-called “meaningful vote” would not take place this week and instead would happen by March 12 — a move some lawmakers underlined that the prime minister had all but lost control of Brexit.
UK government mulls Brexit options, including possible delay, if deal fails
UK government mulls Brexit options, including possible delay, if deal fails
- Lawmakers are stepping up ways to try to prevent the prime minister from taking Britain out of the EU without a deal
- Businesses fear such scenario could damage the world’s fifth largest economy
UN’s top court opens Myanmar Rohingya genocide case
- The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the UN’s top court in 2019
- Verdict expected to impact Israel’s genocide case over war on Gaza
DHAKA: The International Court of Justice on Monday opened a landmark case accusing Myanmar of genocide against its mostly Muslim Rohingya minority.
The Gambia filed a case against Myanmar at the UN’s top court in 2019, two years after a military offensive forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from their homes into neighboring Bangladesh.
The hearings will last three weeks and conclude on Jan. 29.
“The ICJ must secure justice for the persecuted Rohingya. This process should not take much longer, as we all know that justice delayed is justice denied,” said Asma Begum, who has been living in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district since 2017.
A mostly Muslim ethnic minority, the Rohingya have lived for centuries in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state but were stripped of their citizenship in the 1980s and have faced systemic persecution ever since.
In 2017 alone, some 750,000 of them fled military atrocities and crossed to Bangladesh, in what the UN has called a textbook case of ethnic cleansing by Myanmar.
Today, about 1.3 million Rohingya shelter in 33 camps in Cox’s Bazar, turning the coastal district into the world’s largest refugee settlement.
“We experienced horrific acts such as arson, killings and rape in 2017, and fled to Bangladesh,” Begum told Arab News.
“I believe the ICJ verdict will pave the way for our repatriation to our homeland. The world should not forget us.”
A UN fact-finding mission has concluded that the Myanmar 2017 offensive included “genocidal acts” — an accusation rejected by Myanmar, which said it was a “clearance operation” against militants.
Now, there is hope for justice and a new future for those who have been displaced for years.
“We also have the right to live with dignity. I want to return to my homeland and live the rest of my life in my ancestral land. My children will reconnect with their roots and be able to build their own future,” said Syed Ahmed, who fled Myanmar in 2017 and has since been raising his four children in the Kutupalong camp.
“Despite the delay, I am optimistic that the perpetrators will be held accountable through the ICJ verdict. It will set a strong precedent for the world.”
The Myanmar trial is the first genocide case in more than a decade to be taken up by the ICJ. The outcome will also impact the genocide case that Israel is facing over its war on Gaza.
“The momentum of this case at the ICJ will send a strong message to all those (places) around the world where crimes against humanity have been committed,” Nur Khan, a Bangladeshi lawyer and human rights activist, told Arab News.
“The ICJ will play a significant role in ensuring justice regarding accusations of genocide in other parts of the world, such as the genocide and crimes against humanity committed by Israel against the people of Gaza.”
