FLORIDA, USA: The American Civil Liberties Union challenged Florida’s ban on pro-Palestinian university groups, arguing in a federal lawsuit on Thursday that the state is violating students’ free speech as tensions roil US campuses over Israel’s war with Hamas.
Florida’s university system, joined by Governor Ron DeSantis, last month ordered colleges to shut down chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), a group at the center of US campus activism since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
The suit — against DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential hopeful, and several state university system officials — seeks a preliminary injunction to a state order blocking SJP from receiving school funds and using campus facilities.
At least two Florida universities — the University of Florida and the University of South Florida — have SJP chapters.
Students at US universities have clashed over issues emerging on both sides of the nearly six-week-old conflict. Some accuse their schools of not doing enough to denounce antisemitism and others that the schools ignore the plight of Gazans under Israeli fire.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Florida by the ACLU, ACLU of Florida and Palestine Legal, cites a Supreme Court decision affirming students’ right to associate and speak out on matters of public concern, and another case establishing that federal law does not criminalize “independent political advocacy” as long as it is not done in coordination with, or at the direction of, foreign terrorist groups.
Brandeis University has also banned SJP indefinitely, and Columbia University and George Washington University have suspended the group. The schools have cited the national organization’s support for the Hamas attack and said their campus chapters violated school policies.
The student groups call the suspensions and bans unjust. Videos posted to Instagram have shown Palestinian supporters rallying at Columbia and George Washington on Wednesday in protest over the SJP groups’ suspensions.
Florida’s university system has said it based its ban on a “toolkit” issued by the national organization to chapters that referred to Hamas’ attack as “the resistance” and stated “Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement.”
In his Oct. 24 memo ordering the ban, State University System of Florida Chancellor Ray Rodrigues said the national SJP identified itself as part of Hamas’ attack and that it was a felony under Florida law “to provide material support... to a designated foreign terrorist organization.”
Brian Hauss, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology project and counsel in the case, said the student plaintiffs in the state university system were victims of “guilt by association” in this case.
“They are a completely autonomous and independent group that is in no way beholden to the national Students for Justice in Palestine,” Hauss said in an interview, adding that he did not believe the national organization could be found criminally liable for its statements about Hamas.
Israel says Hamas killed 1,200 people in the Oct. 7 assault and took about 240 hostages to Gaza. Gaza health authorities say more than 11,000 people have been confirmed killed in Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza.
Florida sued over ban on pro-Palestinian student groups
https://arab.news/2bcj2
Florida sued over ban on pro-Palestinian student groups
- The suit seeks a preliminary injunction to a state order blocking SJP from receiving school funds and using campus facilities
- Students at US universities have clashed over issues emerging on both sides of the nearly six-week-old conflict
Families mourn those killed in a Congo mine landslide as some survivors prepare to return
GOMA, Congo: After a landslide last week killed at least 200 people in eastern Congo at a rebel-controlled coltan mine, families of the deceased and survivors are mourning their lost loved ones, and some survivors prepared to head back to the reopened mines.
On Wednesday, following heavy rains in eastern Congo, a network of hand-dug tunnels at the Rubaya mining complex collapsed, killing at least 200 artisanal miners and trapping an unknown number who remain missing. The mine, located around 25 miles (40 kilometers) to the west of the regional capital of Goma, has been under the control of Rwandan-backed M23 rebels since early 2024 and employs thousands of miners who work largely by hand.
Family members grieve
In the Mugunga neighborhood in Goma, the family of Bosco Nguvumali Kalabosh, 39, mourned his death Monday.
Since last Thursday, relatives, neighbors and loved ones have been gathering at the family home, sitting around a photograph of him placed up against a wall.
“He was supposed to return to Goma on Thursday,” said his older brother, Thimothée Kalabosh Nzanga.
Kalabosh had been a miner for more than 10 years. He owned his own mines on the site and came from a family where artisanal mining — mining for minerals using basic hand tools — had been passed down from generation to generation. He leaves behind a widow and four children, the eldest of whom is 5 years old.
Survivors head back to Rubaya
For survivors trickling back into town, the pressure to return to the mines is clear — despite the constant danger.
Tumaini Munguiko, a survivor of the collapse, came to offer his condolences to Kalabosh’s family. “Seeing our peers die is very painful. But despite the pain, we are forced to return to the mines to survive,” he said.
Munguiko calmly explained that he had already experienced several similar disasters. “It has almost become normal. We accept it because it is our means of survival. I was saved this time, but I lost five friends and my older brother.”
According to him, landslides are common in Rubaya, especially during the rainy season. “When it rains, the clay soils become unstable. Some take shelter, others perish, others survive, and others watch from afar,” he said.
Miners dig long tunnels, often parallel to one another, with limited support and no safe evacuation route in case of a collapse.
A former miner at the site told The Associated Press that there have been repeated landslides because the tunnels are dug by hand, poorly constructed and not maintained.
“People dig everywhere, without control or safety measures. In a single pit, there can be as many as 500 miners, and because the tunnels run parallel, one collapse can affect many pits at once,” former miner Clovis Mafare said.
“The diggers don’t have insurance,” said Mafare. Of potential compensation for families, he said: “It’s a whole legal process, and it’s very long. They might receive some money for the funerals, but that small amount isn’t compensation.”
Kalabosh’s family has not received compensation for their loss.
However, both Munguiko and Nzanga say they will return to the mines soon despite the risks.
“I have no choice. Our whole life is there,” said Munguiko.
Rare earth minerals
The Rubaya mines have been at the center of the recent fighting in eastern Congo, changing hands between the Congolese government and rebel groups. For over a year now, the site has been controlled by the M23 rebels.
The mines produce coltan — short for columbite-tantalite — an ore from which the metals tantalum and niobium are extracted. Both are considered critical raw materials by the United States, the European Union, China and Japan. Tantalum is used in mobile phones, computers and automotive electronics, as well as in aircraft engines, missile components and GPS systems. Niobium is used in pipelines, rockets and jet engines.
The mines at Rubaya are massive and attract people from across the region. Artisanal miners and workers have been flocking there for years, drawn to the site to earn a steady income in a region plagued by poverty and chronic insecurity. A disaster like this affects people across eastern Congo and the grief has spread to regional hubs like Goma.
For the last two weeks, Rubaya has been virtually cut off from the world. The mining town has no mobile network or Internet connection. Poor infrastructure, coupled with persistent conflict, means cellular service and electricity are unreliable. To communicate with the outside world, residents must pay around 5,000 Congolese francs — just over $2 — for 30 minutes of connection via a private Starlink system.
Congo’s government, in a statement on X, expressed solidarity with the victims’ families and accused the rebels of illegally and unsafely exploiting the region’s natural resources while blaming Rwanda. An M23 spokesperson accused the government of politicizing the tragedy and listed other collapses at government-controlled mines.
