Indian government hits back at celebrity social media posts supporting farmers’ protests

US pop superstar Rihanna generated conversation with her Twitter post on Tuesday. (AFP)
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Updated 05 February 2021
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Indian government hits back at celebrity social media posts supporting farmers’ protests

  • Farmers and experts blast New Delhi’s ‘immature’ reaction to Rihanna’s support

NEW DELHI: Opposition parties and analysts criticized the Indian government’s “false sense of national pride” on Thursday after it launched a social media campaign targeting international celebrities who had commented on the farmers’ protests against agricultural reforms.

US pop superstar Rihanna generated conversation with her Twitter post on Tuesday, which asked her more than 100 million followers: “Why aren’t we talking about this?!” Above a news article on the demonstrations.

The tweet received more than 750,000 likes and 316,000 retweets, including from other celebrities such as Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Neena Harris, the niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris.

The flurry of social media attention has frustrated New Delhi, with the Indian Foreign Ministry breaking with protocol to issue a statement on Wednesday rejecting the claims and launching new hashtags #IndiaTogether and #IndiaAgainstPropaganda.

“The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible,” said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

“Before rushing to comment on such matters, we would urge that the facts be ascertained, and a proper understanding of the issues at hand be undertaken,” it added.

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Rihanna’s tweet received more than 750,000 likes and 316,000 retweets, including from Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and Neena Harris, the niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris.

Following the MEA’s statement, some renowned Bollywood stars and cricketers with proximity to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party retweeted the ministry’s statement and promoted the government’s hashtags on social media.

Legendary cricket icon, Sachin Tendulkar, called for unity in his tweet: “India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised. External forces can be spectators but not participants. Indians know India and should decide for India. Let’s remain united as a nation.”

Actor Akshay Kumar tweeted: “Farmers constitute an extremely important part of our country. And the efforts being undertaken to resolve their issues are evident. Let’s support an amicable resolution, rather than paying attention to anyone creating differences.”

Protesting farmers, however, hit back at the government’s counter-campaign on social media.

Asutosh Mishra of the All India Farmers Struggle Coordination Committee told Arab News: “What the government is indulging in is to divert the attention of the people from the pressing issues of farmers and to display a false sense of pride.”

He added: “The government is trolling international celebrities by coining hashtags and encouraging Indian actors to retweet their lines. The government should talk to farmers.”

For over two months, thousands of farmers and their families from across the country have held sit-in protests at different Delhi borders demanding the repeal of three farm acts passed in September.

They say the laws would leave them at the mercy of corporate giants and prevent the government from buying crops at guaranteed prices.

Farmers sell their products at wholesale markets owned by the government, which also sets the minimum support price (MSP) for grains, which is generally higher than the market price.

They fear that the new laws attack the core of traditional markets and the MSP by allowing the unregulated entry of private players into the farm sector, which employs more than 50 percent of India’s population.

However, the government claims that the new laws will bring greater prosperity to farmers and allow broader market access for their produce.

The government held 10 rounds of talks with farmers to resolve the issue, suspending the new laws for 15 months to reach an agreement. However, farmers rejected the proposal and demanded an abrogation of the laws.

On Jan. 26, farmers participated in a “tractor rally” which turned violent, claiming the life of one farmer and injuring several others, including some policemen.

Farmers blame the government for “creating chaos in the rally to discredit the movement.”

The government cracked down on the protesters at the three demonstrations in Delhi by fortifying the areas, limiting the water supply and suspending the internet.

“Farmers are living in very inhuman conditions every day the government is trying to discredit the movement. It’s like Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime is preparing for a war against farmers,” Mishra said.

Sunil Pradhan of the Indian Farmers’ Union said he appreciated the support from international celebrities.

“People all across the world sympathize with the farmers, but our government does not have any empathy for us,” Pradhan told Arab News, adding: “The norm across the world is when injustice is done, people stand by the sufferer.”

He said the government is “propagating false narrative and attaching their mistakes with national pride.”

Opposition parties said the government’s reaction was “puerile.”

“It is sad that someone as erudite and worldly-wise like Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar should allow such puerile reactions by the MEA,” P. Chidambaram, a senior leader of the opposition Congress Party and former finance minister, tweeted on Wednesday, adding that “issues of human rights and livelihoods do not recognize national boundaries.”

Political analysts said the government’s reactions were “unfortunate and a sign of immaturity.”

Satish Mishra, a senior fellow at the Delhi-based think tank the Observer Research Foundation, told Arab News: “A government which has been enjoying independent existence for more than seven decades to react on a tweet of a popular singer and deploy the entire propaganda machinery of the government is very unfortunate and a sign of immaturity.”

Mishra added: “The government is building fortresses to encircle farmers and fixing nails on the road to stop the movement. By indulging in propaganda, the government is diverting the popular attention.”

Prof. Ronki Ram of Panjab University told Arab News that “the world is a global village and people have easy access to information.”

Ram added: “When the government starts thinking itself as a nation, then there is a problem. The government and the nation are two different things. The nation represents the country’s people, and the government is a system that people have brought in.”


Turkiye offers Iraq technical help to bolster border security

Updated 8 sec ago
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Turkiye offers Iraq technical help to bolster border security

ANKARA: Turkiye is in discussions with Iraq to provide technical assistance to Baghdad for securing its borders to prevent movements of outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants around the region, a Turkish defense ministry official said on Thursday.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan visited Baghdad and Irbil this week as Ankara ramped up cross-border operations against PKK militants based in mountainous, mainly Kurdish northern Iraq.
The two countries agreed to a strategic framework agreement overseeing security, trade and energy as well as a defense cooperation deal during the visit.
“We told our counterparts that Turkiye is ready to provide assistance to Iraq on border security systems,” the Turkish official told reporters.
A delegation from Iraq earlier visited Turkiye to examine the border security systems that Turkiye offered to provide, the official also said, adding that the discussions for security cooperation were still under way.
During a joint press conference with Erdogan on Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said the two countries would cooperate to bolster border security, without mentioning the PKK specifically.
The PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies. Turkiye has conducted a series of cross-border operations against the group in northern Iraq since 2019.

Blinken calls for US, China to manage differences

Updated 25 April 2024
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Blinken calls for US, China to manage differences

  • China has not announced plans for US Secretary of State to meet Xi Jinping
  • Antony Blinken is the first US secretary of state in 14 years to visit Shanghai

SHANGHAI: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called Thursday on the United States and China to manage their differences “responsibly” as he went on a charm offensive ahead of expected tough talks.
A day before meeting Beijing’s top brass to tackle thorny issues including Russia, Taiwan and trade, Blinken’s visit to Shanghai has seen him sample local food, watch a basketball game and stroll along the city’s famous Bund promenade.
Visiting the local Communist Party leader in a room with sweeping views of the Shanghai skyline, Blinken said US President Joe Biden was committed to “direct and sustained” dialogue between the world’s two largest economies after years of mounting tension.
“I think it’s important to underscore the value — in fact, the necessity — of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them,” Blinken said.
“We have an obligation for our people — indeed an obligation to the world — to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly.”
The Chinese Communist Party secretary for Shanghai, Chen Jining, welcomed Blinken partly in English and spoke of the importance of US businesses to the city.
“Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation affects the well-being of both peoples, both countries and the future of humanity,” Chen told him.
The country’s financial capital, Shanghai is often a stepping stone to power in China, with President Xi Jinping previously serving briefly in the city.
China has not announced plans for Blinken to meet Xi, although on Blinken’s last visit in June, they saw each other in a meeting announced at the last minute.
On Thursday, Blinken also met students at the Shanghai campus of New York University, where he voiced hope for more Americans to study in China.
He insisted the United States was committed to welcoming Chinese students.
Beijing has repeatedly alleged that Chinese nationals with valid travel documents, including students, have been subject to aggressive interrogations and deportations at US airports.
“President Biden and President Xi are determined to strengthen our people-to-people ties,” Blinken said.
Blinken, the first US secretary of state in 14 years to visit Shanghai, opened his visit Wednesday evening at a restaurant serving steamed buns.
Sporting a suit without a tie, he ate with his senior staff in a shopping arcade as curious onlookers snapped pictures.
Blinken then went to watch a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks and Zhejiang Golden Bulls, staying until the end of the nail-biting play-off.
Such softer diplomacy, once a staple of US-China relations, would have been unimaginable until recently, with hawks in both countries speaking of an emerging new Cold War.
Blinken’s aides hope his smiling persona at public events draws an implicit contrast to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and his gruffer approach when he visited China earlier this month.
Blinken is expected to raise concerns about China’s relationship with Russia when he meets the leadership in Beijing.
Although US officials were initially pleased that Beijing has not shipped weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, they now say that China’s alarm at Moscow’s setbacks on the battlefield has prompted it to export vast quantities of industrial supplies to Russia.
US officials believe China is more receptive to Western concerns as it seeks to focus on managing economic headwinds at home and wants to avoid friction with the West.
But China is also furious about a series of moves by Biden — who is facing a tough re-election fight in November against Donald Trump — they say serve to constrain the Chinese economy.
Most recently, the US Congress approved legislation that would force the divestment of blockbuster social media app TikTok from its Chinese owners or face a ban in the world’s largest economy.
Biden supports the legislation, arguing that TikTok, popular among young people, poses security and privacy concerns. China has accused the United States of unfair economic coercion.
Unusually, Trump has distanced himself from a TikTok ban. He has otherwise championed a tough line on China, with vows to raise tariffs drastically if he returns to office.
US officials also say that Blinken will encourage China to act with restraint as Taiwan inaugurates a new president next month.
China claims the self-governing democracy as its own and has not ruled out using force to seize it.
Privately, US officials were relieved by China’s approach during Taiwan’s election, believing that easing US-China tensions helped.
They assessed that Beijing’s assertive military moves did not go beyond past precedent.


Rwanda’s Hope Hostel once housed young genocide survivors. Now it’s ready for migrants from Britain

Updated 25 April 2024
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Rwanda’s Hope Hostel once housed young genocide survivors. Now it’s ready for migrants from Britain

KIGALI, Rwanda: Rwanda says it’s ready to receive migrants from the United Kingdom after British Parliament this week approved a long-stalled and controversial bill seeking to stem the tide of people crossing the English Channel in small boats by deporting some of them to the East African country.

There is even a place ready and waiting for the migrants — a refurbished Hope Hostel in the vibrant upscale neighborhood of Kagugu, an area of the Rwandan capital of Kigali that is home to many expats and several international schools.

The hostel once housed college students whose parents died in the 1994 genocide, this African nation’s most horrific period in history when an estimated 800,000 Tutsi were killed by extremist Hutu in massacres that lasted over 100 days.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged the deportation flights would begin in July but has refused to provide details or say about how many people would be deported.

Rwanda government’s deputy spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda told The Associated Press on Tuesday that authorities here have been planning for the migrants’ arrival for two years.

“Even if they arrive now or tomorrow, all arrangements are in place,” he said.

The plan was long held up in British courts and by opposition from human rights activists who say it is illegal and inhumane. It envisages deporting to Rwanda some of those who enter the UK illegally and migrant advocates have vowed to continue to fight against the plan.

The measure is also meant to be a deterrent to migrants who risk their lives in leaky, inflatable boats in hopes that they will be able to claim asylum once they reach Britain. The UK also signed a new treaty with Rwanda to beef up protections for migrants, and adopted new legislation declaring Rwanda to be a safe country.

“The Rwanda critics and the UK judges who earlier said Rwanda is not a safe country have been proven wrong,” Mukuralinda said. “Rwanda is safe.”

The management at the four-story Hope Hostel says the facility is ready and can accommodate 100 people at full capacity. The government says it will serve as a transit center and that more accommodations would be made available as needed.

Thousands of migrants arrive in Britain every year.

After they arrive from Britain, the migrants will be shown to their rooms to rest, after which they will be offered food and given some orientation points about Kigali and Rwanda, said hostel manager Ismael Bakina.

Tents will be set up within the hostel’s compound for processing their documentation and for various briefings. The site is equipped with security cameras, visible across the compound.

Within the compound are also entertainment places, a mini-soccer field, a basketball and a volleyball court as well as a red-carpeted prayer room. For those who want to light up, “there is even a smoking room,” Bakina explained.

Meals will be prepared in the hostel’s main kitchen but provisions are also being made for those who want to prepare their own meals, he said. The migrants will be free to walk outside the hostel and even visit the nearby Kigali city center.

“We will have different translators, according to (their) languages,” Bakina added, saying they include English and Arabic.

The government has said the migrants will have their papers processed within the first three months. Those who want to remain in Rwanda will be allowed to do so while authorities will also assist those who wish to return to their home countries.

While in Rwanda, migrants who obtain legal status — presumably for Britain — will also be processed, authorities have said, though it’s unclear what that means exactly.

For those who choose to stay, Mukurilinda said Rwanda’s government will bear full financial and other responsibilities for five years, after which they will be considered integrated into the society.

At that point, they can start managing on their own.


Russia vetoes a UN resolution calling for the prevention of a dangerous nuclear arms race in space

Updated 25 April 2024
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Russia vetoes a UN resolution calling for the prevention of a dangerous nuclear arms race in space

  • The vetoed resolution sought to call on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space
  • Russia dismissed the resolution as “absolutely absurd and politicized” and didn’t go far enough in banning all types of weapons in space

UNITED NATIONS:  Russia on Wednesday vetoed a UN resolution sponsored by the United States and Japan calling on all nations to prevent a dangerous nuclear arms race in outer space, calling it “a dirty spectacle” that cherry picks weapons of mass destruction from all other weapons that should also be banned.
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13 in favor, Russia opposed and China abstaining.
The resolution would have called on all countries not to develop or deploy nuclear arms or other weapons of mass destruction in space, as banned under a 1967 international treaty that included the US and Russia, and to agree to the need to verify compliance.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote that Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield addresses members of the UN Security Council during a meeting on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons on April 24, 2024. (AP)

“Today’s veto begs the question: Why? Why, if you are following the rules, would you not support a resolution that reaffirms them? What could you possibly be hiding,” she asked. “It’s baffling. And it’s a shame.”
Putin was responding to White House confirmation in February that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Wednesday echoed Thomas-Greenfield, reiterating that “the United States assesses that Russia is developing a new satellite carrying a nuclear device.” If Putin has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, Sullivan said, “Russia would not have vetoed this resolution.”

Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia dismissed the resolution as “absolutely absurd and politicized,” and said it didn’t go far enough in banning all types of weapons in space.
Russia and China proposed an amendment to the US-Japan draft that would call on all countries, especially those with major space capabilities, “to prevent for all time the placement of weapons in outer space, and the threat of use of force in outer spaces.”
The vote was 7 countries in favor, 7 against, and one abstention and the amendment was defeated because it failed to get the minimum 9 “yes” votes required for adoption.
The US opposed the amendment, and after the vote Nebenzia addressed the US ambassador saying: “We want a ban on the placement of weapons of any kind in outer space, not just WMDs (weapons of mass destruction). But you don’t want that. And let me ask you that very same question. Why?”
He said much of the US and Japan’s actions become clear “if we recall that the US and their allies announced some time ago plans to place weapons … in outer space.”
Nebenzia accused the US of blocking a Russian-Chinese proposal since 2008 for a treaty against putting weapons in outer space.
Thomas-Greenfield accused Russia of undermining global treaties to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, irresponsibly invoking “dangerous nuclear rhetoric,” walking away from several of its arms control obligations, and refusing to engage “in substantive discussions around arms control or risk reduction.”
She called Wednesday’s vote “a real missed opportunity to rebuild much-needed trust in existing arms control obligations.”
Thomas-Greenfield’s announcement of the resolution on March 18 followed White House confirmation in February that Russia has obtained a “troubling” anti-satellite weapon capability, although such a weapon is not operational yet.
Putin declared later that Moscow has no intention of deploying nuclear weapons in space, claiming that the country has only developed space capabilities similar to those of the US.
Thomas-Greenfield said before the vote that the world is just beginning to understand “the catastrophic ramifications of a nuclear explosion in space.”
It could destroy “thousands of satellites operated by countries and companies around the world — and wipe out the vital communications, scientific, meteorological, agricultural, commercial, and national security services we all depend on,” she said.
The defeated draft resolution said “the prevention of an arms race in outer space would avert a grave danger for international peace and security.” It would have urged all countries carrying out activities in exploring and using outer space to comply with international law and the UN Charter.
The draft would have affirmed that countries that ratified the 1967 Outer Space Treaty must comply with their obligations not to put in orbit around the Earth “any objects” with weapons of mass destruction, or install them “on celestial bodies, or station such weapons in outer space.”
The treaty, ratified by some 114 countries, including the US and Russia, prohibits the deployment of “nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction” in orbit or the stationing of “weapons in outer space in any other manner.”
The draft resolution emphasized “the necessity of further measures, including political commitments and legally binding instruments, with appropriate and effective provisions for verification, to prevent an arms race in outer space in all its aspects.”
It reiterated that the UN Conference on Disarmament, based in Geneva, has the primary responsibility to negotiate agreements on preventing an arms race in outer space.
The 65-nation body has achieved few results and has largely devolved into a venue for countries to voice criticism of others’ weapons programs or defend their own. The draft resolution would have urged the conference “to adopt and implement a balanced and comprehensive program of work.”
At the March council meeting where the US-Japan initiative was launched, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that “geopolitical tensions and mistrust have escalated the risk of nuclear warfare to its highest point in decades.”
He said the movie “Oppenheimer” about Robert Oppenheimer, who directed the US project during World War II that developed the atomic bomb, “brought the harsh reality of nuclear doomsday to vivid life for millions around the world.”
“Humanity cannot survive a sequel to Oppenheimer,” the UN chief said.
 


Long-awaited US military aid no ‘silver bullet’ for Ukraine

Updated 25 April 2024
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Long-awaited US military aid no ‘silver bullet’ for Ukraine

  • Kyiv has been heavily reliant on billions of dollars of US military aid in its war with Russia following Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022

WASHINGTON, United States: The United States is the first to acknowledge that its long-awaited $61 billion aid package for Ukraine is not a "silver bullet."

As weapons and ammunition are rushed to the country, other issues such as manpower shortages in Kyiv's struggling military have come to the fore.

Meanwhile, the monthslong delay in passing the aid package — caused by wrangling among US lawmakers — has further weakened Ukraine's position on the battleground, according to analysts.

President Joe Biden, who quickly signed the law Wednesday after it passed Congress, said the bill "should have gotten there sooner."

Jake Sullivan, his National Security Advisor, said the aid package "will make a difference," but warned "there is no silver bullet in this conflict."

"One capability is not going to be the ultimate solution," Sullivan told a White House briefing, though he added "Ukraine's position in this conflict will improve and we believe that Ukraine can and will win."

Kyiv has been heavily reliant on billions of dollars of US military aid in its war with Russia following Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

But in recent months Ukrainian forces — outgunned and outmanned — have struggled to hold back Russian troops.

And in the United States — Ukraine's largest provider of military assistance — a bogged-down Congress had not approved large-scale funding for Kyiv since December 2022 before the new package was passed this week.

It contains nearly $14 billion to train, equip and finance the needs of the Ukrainian army.

Manpower shortage

Garret Martin, of the American University School of International Service in Washington, said the delay by US lawmakers in passing the aid package "had a cost."

"The aid can shore up Ukraine but it's not a magic wand that could fix all the challenges they face," Martin said.

"What the package cannot do is deal with the shortage of manpower," he added.

Biden and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky have discussed the manpower issue, according to the White House.

In April, Kyiv reduced the minimum age for military conscription from 27 to 25, making thousands more men eligible for the draft.

And this week, it stopped issuing new passports abroad to military-aged Ukrainian men, as part of measures to push them to return home and fight.

Max Bergmann, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that the impact of American aid would depend on European efforts.

"European nations need to ramp up (weapons) production now," Bergmann said.

"Europe's goal should be to put itself in a position to potentially fill a future gap left by the United States should it not pass another supplemental."

Bergmann said that Ukraine should use 2024 to "hold the line, exhaust and attrit Russian forces," with next year possibly presenting an opportunity for a Kyiv offensive.