CARACAS, Venezuela: Salsa music and long tirades blasted through loudspeakers for days at a colonial church in one of Venezuela’s toughest slums aimed at drowning out Monsignor Hector Lunar — an outspoken priest who isn’t shy about criticizing President Nicolas Maduro, even from the pulpit.
Then, the dark red letters appeared overnight, stenciled on the church’s pale pink facade: “HECTOR LUNAR — PEDOPHILE — TERRORIST.”
While appalled by the slurs, Lunar says he feels no need to defend himself. Parishioners show their support, he says, by filling the pews, knowing the attacks tapping into the worldwide sex-abuse scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church come from Maduro loyalists intent on discrediting him.
“They have nothing to grasp onto,” Lunar said. “We’re holding firm and pressing forward with this fight, because this country has to change.”
The conflict playing out in Petare, one of Latin America’s largest slums, underscores the critical role played by the Catholic Church as Venezuela’s political crisis crescendos. It also highlights divisions between local clergy and the Vatican on how best to confront Maduro.
While Venezuela’s bishops have been leading a charge for Maduro’s removal, urging a boycott of what they call an “illegitimate” presidential election last year and denouncing the government’s human rights abuses, the Vatican has pursued a softer approach, with Pope Francis surprising many by sending an emissary to the socialist president’s inauguration that dozens of countries shunned.
This unfolds as Venezuela’s deepening political and economic collapse nears a breaking point. Opposition leader Juan Guaido burst onto the scene in January launching the first viable bid in years to change course in the once oil-rich country following two decades of socialist rule. He has since won backing from the United States and some 50 countries demanding that Maduro leave power.
One political battleground is at Lunar’s Sweet Name of Jesus church on the edge of Petare, where some 400,000 people live crowded into the thousands of brightly colored cinderblock homes that blanket the Caracas hillsides as far as the eye can see. Notoriously poor and crime-ridden, the shanty town’s residents struggle daily with scarce running water and frequent blackouts.
In his visits deep into Petare, the 39-year-old Lunar describes children who go hungry and residents dying at home because they can’t afford medicine. Many of his young parishioners have been injured in clashes with security forces.
“Mass is Mass, but there have been moments when, yes, I’ve had to talk about the country’s social affairs. It’s impossible not to do so,” Lunar said of his sermons. “The problem is one person who goes by the name of Nicolas Maduro.”
Maduro refuses to abandon power and accuses the White House of mounting a coup against him to exploit the country’s oil, the largest reserves in the world. He has appealed to the Argentine-born Pope Francis as his presidency comes under attack from within and from a growing coalition of foreign governments.
Maduro welcomed the Vatican emissary, Polish Monsignor George Koovakod, to his Jan. 10 inauguration, marking the start to a second term of a presidency that is widely criticized as illegitimate following an election banning the most popular challengers and political parties.
Sending a representative from the Vatican to Maduro’s inauguration was seen by many as a goodwill gesture aimed at maintaining an open relationship with the government — in case the church could play a role in resolving Venezuela’s crisis.
However, Pope Francis has since declined a request from Maduro to help relaunch talks with the opposition, saying that the Vatican would only get involved if both sides in the conflict asked it to step in and facilitate mediation. The Vatican expended its institutional prestige in 2016, attempting to mediate a dialogue that the pope later said “went up in smoke,” placing blame on Maduro.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in Venezuela has taken a strong stance in recent years as an outspoken critic of Maduro’s policies. The country’s Episcopal Bishop’s Conference has called on Maduro to release political prisoners and rejected his policies to consolidate power by forming a constituent assembly that has effectively gutted the opposition-controlled National Assembly. And at the outset of deadly street protests that left more than 120 dead in 2017, the church demanded Maduro’s government immediately stop firing on protesters with tear gas, buckshot and live rounds — a call Maduro’s government did not heed.
“The Episcopal Conference has been and is very critical of the Maduro government,” said Hugo Perez Hernaiz, a former sociology professor at the Central University in Caracas. “They squarely blame the government, and they are very consistent on that.”
The Catholic Church in Venezuela historically has been one of the most respected institutions in the country, he said, noting that the clergy played an influential role bringing an end to the Marcos Perez Jimenez dictatorship in 1958, issuing a letter months before his ouster cutting ties with the government.
In the current crisis, other churches across Venezuela have also become flashpoints for violence. A group of Guaido supporters holding a rally at a church in the port city of Maracaibo came under attack by 40 men armed with clubs who entered the sanctuary, vandalizing the altar and injuring 15 people, some with open head wounds, local media reported.
In Petare, the Maduro supporters came to the plaza for 19 consecutive days in late January and early February. They set up a stage with speakers just steps from the church’s front doors, blasting loud music and politically charged speeches aimed at Lunar.
“He uses the excuse of being a priest and wearing the frock but has no right to be in the street promoting protests, promoting terrorism and asking for a military intervention,” a Maduro supporter and local councilman, Abraham Aparicio, shouted into the microphone, adding that US bombs won’t just kill government supporters. “They’re going to kill everyone, God forbid.”
The derogatory graffiti shaming Lunar was painted on the front of the church and along one side. Several church members gathered the next morning to paint over it.
Lunar was first to pick up the roller brush, applying a light coat over the dark red letters. “God is great,” he said in a booming voice as he handed the brush to parishioners who took turns painting. Several coats were required to finally hide the words.
One of the volunteers, 64-year-old Jose Teran, said the church is sacred and should not be desecrated. He called Lunar a good priest who creates an environment where followers can come for refuge in these difficult times.
Teran also said he didn’t believe the Maduro loyalists would give up quickly, expecting them to return with their speakers and more red paint.
“If they come to paint again,” Teran said, “we’ll cover it up again.”
Priest under siege in battle over Venezuela's political soul
Priest under siege in battle over Venezuela's political soul
- The conflict playing out in Petare, one of Latin America's largest slums, underscores the critical role played by the Catholic Church
- This unfolds as Venezuela's deepening political and economic collapse nears a breaking point
Majority of UK voters support Gaza ceasefire, suspending arms sales to Israel: Poll
- Only 13% of respondents want continuation of arms sales to Israel, just 8% oppose ceasefire
- Govt, opposition ‘continue to lag sluggishly behind British public opinion’: Council for Arab-British Understanding
London: Most British voters support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and ending arms sales to Israel for the duration of the conflict, according to a new poll.
Commissioned by the Council for Arab-British Understanding and Medical Aid for Palestinians, the YouGov survey reinforces the results of polls conducted earlier in the year.
It found that 55 percent of voters support ending arms sales to Israel for as long as the war in Gaza continues, and 73 percent support an immediate ceasefire.
Among people who voted for the governing Conservative Party in 2019, 40 percent support the suspension of arms sales, with 24 percent opposed.
Among Labour Party voters, 74 percent support an arms sales suspension, with 7 percent opposed.
Only 13 percent of all respondents want a continuation of arms sales to Israel.
“Seven months of Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment and siege have wrought the worst humanitarian crisis ever seen in Gaza,” said Rohan Talbot, MAP’s director of advocacy and campaigns.
“In recent days, Israeli forces’ escalating attacks on Rafah and the north have further displaced hundreds of thousands more people, many of them for the second or third time, and pushed humanitarian operations to the brink of total collapse.
“The feeling among the British public reaffirms the demands of humanitarians: UK leaders must do more to end the killing in Gaza, including halting arms sales so they cannot be used in further violations of international law.”
The statement for a ceasefire in Gaza is supported by 67 percent of Conservative voters and 86 percent of Labour voters.
Just 8 percent of all respondents said there should not be a ceasefire.
Both the government and opposition recorded low public approval in the YouGov poll. Only 18 percent of respondents approve of the government’s response to the war, while just 12 percent agree with the Labour response.
“What this and earlier polls continue to demonstrate is that the government and the Labour leadership continue to lag sluggishly behind British public opinion by failing to take the decisive actions needed to help bring the horrors we see in Gaza to a swift end — a trend also highlighted in polls across Europe,” said Chris Doyle, CAABU’s director.
“There is little confidence in the leadership of both the main parties in the handling of this major international crisis.”
8 EU members say conditions in Syria should be reassessed to allow voluntary refugee returns
- Officials from Austria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Malta and Poland said they agree on a re-assessment that would lead to “more effective ways of handling” Syrian refugees
- The eight countries said the EU should further boost support for Lebanon
NICOSIA, Cyprus: The governments of eight European Union member states said Friday the situation in Syria should be re-evaluated to allow for the voluntary return of Syrian refugees back to their homeland.
In a joint declaration, officials from Austria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Greece, Italy, Malta and Poland said they agree on a re-assessment that would lead to “more effective ways of handling” Syrian refugees trying to reach European Union countries.
The eight countries, which held talks during a summit meeting in the Cypriot capital, said the situation in Syria has “considerably evolved,” even though complete political stability hasn’t been achieved.
Cyprus has in recent months seen an upsurge of Syrian refugees reaching the island nation primarily from Lebanon aboard rickety boats.
Earlier this month, the EU announced a 1 billion euro ($1.06 billion) aid package for Lebanon aimed at boosting border controls to halt the flow of asylum seekers and migrants to Cyprus and Italy.
The eight countries said the EU should further boost support for Lebanon to “mitigate the risk of even greater flows from Lebanon to the EU.”
“Decisions as to who has the right to cross a member state’s borders, should be taken by the government of the relevant member state and not by criminal networks engaged in migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings,” the joint declaration said.
A Cypriot official said that any re-evaluation of conditions within Syria would not necessarily mean that Syrian refugees would be deported back to their country. Instead, Syrian refugees hailing from areas re-designated as safe would lose any allowances, benefits and the right to work, creating a disincentive to others to come to Cyprus.
The official was speaking on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t allowed to speak publicly about details of the proposal.
The countries said that while they “fully embrace” the need to support Syrian refugees in line with international law, they hoped their talks could open a wider debate within the 27-member bloc on the process of granting the migrants international protection.
In Lebanon, where anti-refugee sentiment has been surging recently, more than 300 Syrian refugees returned to Syria in a convoy earlier this week.
Lebanese officials have long urged the international community to either resettle the refugees in other countries or help them return to Syria.
Belgium’s Ghent university severs ties with three Israeli institutions
- Ties being cut with Holon Institute of Technology, MIGAL Galilee Research Institute, and the Volcani Center, which carries out agricultural research
- The three Israeli institutions did not immediately comment
BRUSSELS: Belgium’s University of Ghent (UGent) is severing ties with three Israeli educational or research institutions which it says no longer align with UGent’s human rights policy, its rector said.
Pro-Palestinian protesters in Ghent have been protesting against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and have been occupying parts of the university since early this month.
The university’s rector, Rik Van de Walle, said in a statement that ties were being cut with Holon Institute of Technology, MIGAL Galilee Research Institute, and the Volcani Center, which carries out agricultural research.
“We currently assess these three partners as (very) problematic according to the Ghent University human rights test, in contrast to the positive evaluation we gave these partners at the start of our collaboration,” Van de Walle said.
Partnerships with MIGAL Galilee Research Institute and the Volcani Center “were no longer desirable” due to their affiliation with Israeli ministries, an investigation by the University of Ghent found, and collaboration with the Holon Institute “was problematic” because it provided material support to the army for actions in Gaza.
A spokesperson for the university said the move would affect four projects.
The three Israeli institutions did not immediately comment.
The protesters told Belgian broadcaster VRT they welcomed the decision but regarded it as only a first step. They said they would continue their occupation of parts of the university “until UGent breaks its ties with all Israeli institutions.”
The actions mirror those of students in the United States and elsewhere in Europe, calling for an immediate permanent ceasefire and for schools to cut financial ties with companies they say are profiting from what they regard as the oppression of Palestinians.
Muslim professionals quit ‘hostile’ France in silent brain drain
PARIS: After being knocked back at some 50 interviews for consulting jobs in France despite his ample qualifications, Muslim business school graduate Adam packed his bags and moved to a new life in Dubai.
“I feel much better here than in France,” the 32-year-old of North African descent told AFP.
“We’re all equal. You can have a boss who’s Indian, Arab or a French person,” he said.
“My religion is more accepted.”
Highly-qualified French citizens from Muslim backgrounds, often the children of immigrants, are leaving France in a quiet brain drain, seeking a new start abroad in cities like London, New York, Montreal or Dubai, according to a new study.
The authors of “France, you love it but you leave it”, published last month, said it was difficult to estimate exactly how many.
But they found that 71 percent of more than 1,000 people who responded to their survey circulated online had left in part because of racism and discrimination.
Adam, who asked that his surname not be used, told AFP his new job in the United Arab Emirates has given him fresh perspective.
In France “you need to work twice as hard when you come from certain minorities”, he said.
He said he was “extremely grateful” for his French education and missed his friends, family and the rich cultural life of the country where he grew up.
But he said he was glad to have quit its “Islamophobia” and “systemic racism” that meant he was stopped by police for no reason.
France has long been a country of immigration, including from its former colonies in North and West Africa.
But today the descendants of Muslim immigrants who came to France seeking a better future say they have been living in an increasingly hostile environment, especially after the attacks in Paris in 2015 that killed 130 people.
They say France’s particular form of secularism, which bans all religious symbols in public schools including headscarves and long robes, seems to disproportionately focus on the attire of Muslim women.
Another French Muslim, a 33-year-old tech employee of Moroccan descent, told AFP he and his pregnant wife were planning to emigrate to “a more peaceful society” in southeast Asia.
He said he would miss France’s “sublime” cuisine and the queues outside the bakeries.
But “we’re suffocating in France”, said the business school graduate with a five-figure monthly salary.
He described wanting to leave “this ambient gloom”, in which television news channels seem to target all Muslims as scapegoats.
The tech employee, who moved to Paris after growing up in its lower-income suburbs, said he has been living in the same block of flats for two years.
“But still they ask me what I’m doing inside my building,” he said.
“It’s so humiliating.”
“This constant humiliation is even more frustrating as I contribute very honestly to this society as someone with a high income who pays a lot of taxes,” he added.
A 1978 French law bans collecting data on a person’s race, ethnicity or religion, which makes it difficult to have broad statistics on discrimination.
But a young person “perceived as black or Arab” is 20 times more likely to face an identity check than the rest of the population, France’s rights ombudsman found in 2017.
The Observatory for Inequalities says that racism is on the decline in France, with 60 percent of French people declaring they are “not at all racist”.
But still, it adds, a job candidate with a French name has a 50 percent better chance of being called by an employer than one with a North African one.
A third professional, a 30-year-old Franco-Algerian with two masters degrees from top schools, told AFP he was leaving in June for a job in Dubai because France had become “complicated”.
The investment banker, the son of an Algerian cleaner who grew up within Paris, said he enjoyed his job, but he was starting to feel he had hit a “glass ceiling”
He also said he had felt French politics shift to the right in recent years.
“The atmosphere in France has really deteriorated,” he said, alluding to some pundits equating all people of his background to extremists or troublemakers from housing estates.
“Muslims are clearly second-class citizens,” he said.
Adam, the consultant, said more privileged French Muslims emigrating was just the “tiny visible part of the iceberg”.
“When we see France today, we’re broken,” he said.
North Korea fires multiple short-range ballistic missiles, Seoul says
- South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff did not immediately provide details of the projectile or its trajectory
- North Korea has launched a range of ballistic and cruise missiles as well as tactical rockets in recent months
SEOUL: North Korea fired a number of short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Friday, South Korea’s military said, a day after the US and South Korea conducted joint drills with stealth fighter jets simulating air combat.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned the launch as a provocation. It said the projectiles were fired from the east coast town of Wonsan and flew about 300 km (186 miles) before landing in the sea.
Citing a government official, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK also reported that a short-range missile appeared to have been launched and had already fallen.
North Korea has launched ballistic and cruise missiles as well as tactical rockets in recent months, describing them as part of a program to upgrade its defensive capabilities.
South Korea’s military did not specify the latest type of weapon, but the North’s state media has reported that its military has been testing multiple launch rocket systems that are being upgraded.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un viewed the testing of 600 mm “super-large” multiple rocket launchers and 240 mm multiple launch rockets in recent weeks and also visited production facilities, state media reported.
Tensions on the Korean peninsula have increased since the North last year scrapped a 2018 pact aimed at de-escalating tensions near the military border drawn up under a truce ending the 1950-53 Korean War and then labelled the South “enemy No. 1.”
Earlier on Friday, the powerful sister of North Korea’s leader, Kim Yo Jong, said its tactical weapons were intended solely as a deterrent against South Korean military aggression, while again denying that Pyongyang was exporting the weapons.
US and South Korean officials have accused the North of shipping weapons to Russia to help Moscow replenish stocks for use in its war against Ukraine. Moscow and Pyongyang have denied the accusation.
Friday’s missile launches come at the same time as a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Chinese northeastern city of Harbin.
Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping criticized Washington and its allies on Thursday for what the leaders called “intimidation in the military sphere” against North Korea at a meeting in Beijing.
South Korea’s air force has said US and South Korean stealth fighters conducted “intense” joint exercises on Thursday in the central region to test and enhance offensive and defensive maneuverability.
