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The “ticket to happy life” politics of Indian marriages in the context of dowry-related violence · Global Voices
Keerthana Ram

Vismaya Nair, a screenshot from the YouTube Channel Self Tag. Fair use.
The recent death of 24-year-old medical student Vismaya Nair in the Indian state of Kerala has sparked widespread outrage and renewed discussions over dowries and domestic violence in India. Despite their illegality, dowries are largely seen as a source of pride and status among families on both sides. The dark underbelly of the practice includes discrimination against girls, femicide, abuse and endless violence against brides in the country. Vismaya’s death renewed the clamour for a permanent solution that would end the harmful practice.
Unravelling the murky origins of dowry in India is not easy. Dowries are essentially a payment made by the bride’s family in cash or goods in exchange for marriage. Women are expected to relinquish their rights to inheritance or property in exchange for a dowry, which many women are forced to accept because of family loyalty and fear of disputes. Women who refuse to offer a dowry often cannot wed and can be entirely cut off from their family members.
The dowry amount typically depends on diverse factors including religion, caste, location, education, class identity, prestige and social aspirations — with dictating power reserved solely by the groom and his family. Seeking a dowry has been outlawed in India since 1961, however, the practice remains. Enforcing the law has been a challenge. Data from 40,000 marriages that took place between 1960 and 2008 in rural India revealed that more than 95 percent of the reviewed marriages included some form of a dowry.
Dowries are popularly exchanged under the pretence of being a voluntary gift in order to avoid legal implications and are explained away as being necessary to ensure the daughter's comfort in her new home, making it difficult to regulate.
Anecdotal and quantitative evidence confirm that for a large proportion of women in India, access to resources and freedom obtained through education, vanish when they get married. Women are expected to labour invisibly, take up multiple roles and give up personal choices in marriage — often with their families’ encouragement. In recent years the dowry has permeated into communities where the practice has never existed in the first place.
On an early summer day in 1979, 24-year-old newly married Tarvinder Kaur was doused with kerosene and set alight by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law for failing to contribute a large enough dowry. Deep flames engulfed Tarvinder and burnt her to cinders. Her brother, H.S. Bhandari, consumed by grief and desolation, told India Today: ‘If only we had realized how serious the situation was. We thought it was just another instance of marital adjustment and that in a few days everything would be back to normal. She was actually quite desperate, and wanted to return home’.
Protests erupted and women's rights groups took to the streets, fiercely demanding an unbiased trial and fair reparations. Tarvinder's story set the stage for the 1980s movement against dowry killing and gender-based violence, leading to landmark anti-dowry laws in India. Emerging from a newly evolving feminist consciousness, these legislations laid out a strong pathway formulated through a survivor-centric vision. Regardless, dowry and dowry-related violence continued, leading to disillusionment, rage and personal suffering.
Forty-two years later on June 21, 2021, Vismaya — a medical student who had been married to Kiran Kumar, an educated government employee, for just over one year — was found dead in her home in coastal Kerala, southern India. Her dowry included 100 sovereigns of gold, one acre of land, and a car worth INR 10 lakh (roughly 13,000 US dollars). Vismaya faced brutal emotional and physical abuse from Kiran for not meeting his dowry expectations, which both her parents and her in-laws knew.
Vismaya apparently felt the need to try and make it work — she was worried about people's comments and did not possess the agency to shape her life. Caught between a family that wanted her to compromise and a household where violence was easily normalised, a distressed Vismaya was exhausted from fighting to survive. Investigations were carried out, Kiran was arrested and his bail was denied.
Countless stories similar to Vismaya and Tarvinder's have been shared across India over the years. The 2019 data from India’s National Crime Records Bureau presents a grim picture. Numbers reveal that these gruesome crimes went up by a whopping 7.3 percent from 2018 to 2019, with those hailing from poverty and marginalised backgrounds facing disproportionately higher incidences violence.
Vismaya’s death fueled anger and debate on social media, with many demanding an end to illegal dowry practices. Many users also speculated about the reasons behind the perpetuation of dowry practices. Radhika Roy, a lawyer and activist opined:
This is so tragic. Much of this stems from the premium that is placed on marriage as the be-all and end-all of a woman’s existence; that without a husband, no matter how cruel, a woman’s life does not amount to anything. https://t.co/oEuatAp6C0
— Radhika Roy (@royradhika7) June 22, 2021
Audiences also explored the root causes of gender-based violence like inequality, patriarchy and other types of oppression. Some asserted that decolonizing trauma, gender and power and recognizing that families could be sites of violence were integral to change.
Journalist Shepali Bhat reflected in an immersive thread on Twitter about the intergenerational trauma she faced as a young child, seeing her mother experience domestic violence, explaining why abused women can't ‘just leave':
A trauma therapist once told me our mind suppresses memory of a trauma, the body stores it. When something triggers that trauma, our body relives its horror. Reading this triggered the childhood trauma of witnessing my mother go through domestic violence. I'll talk about it today https://t.co/GsqtOAHGEe
— Shephali Bhatt (@ShephaliBhatt) June 22, 2021
Rogan_doh says on Reddit,
I might sound insensitive, but the girl's parents deserve blame as well. In spite of a history of abuse (one occasion even in front of the father) they did not take any steps to keep her away from the environment. It's sad that in our country “log kya kahenge”  [what will people tell] and oh God, my daughter might end up a divorcee who overcomes the need to protect the physical and mental well being of their child.”
Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted in solidarity and promised a range of measures:
As a society, we need to reform the prevailing marriage system. Marriage must not be a pompous show of the family's social status and wealth. Parents have to realise that the barbaric dowry system degrades our daughters as commodities. We must treat them better, as human beings.
— Pinarayi Vijayan (@vijayanpinarayi) June 23, 2021
However past records prove that local departments and governments have been largely unsuccessful. Access to medical and mental health support remains elusive for many. Pop-culture and regional films repeatedly glorify intimate partner violence as a side effect of love and centre tropes such as family honour, stalking, marital rape, control and domestic abuse. Most importantly, entire generations of young men continue to unabashedly demand dowries despite professing modern values. Only a grassroots level advocacy movement has the potential to completely overhaul the system and restore justice.

author: Keerthana Ram


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Vultures soar back into Pokhara · Global Voices
Nepali Times

Image by Krishna Mani Baral via Nepali Times. Used with permission.
This article by journalist Krishna Mani Baral was originally published in the Nepali Times. An edited version is republished by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.
Monsoon floods usually bring death and destruction in Nepal, but that is not necessarily bad news for the vultures of Pokhara Valley in Western Nepal which feed on the carcasses of dead animals brought down by Himalayan rivers.
The vigorous start to the monsoon rains has caused floods across central Nepal and triggered landslides that have blocked highways. While this has brought misery to humans, the raptors are enjoying a feeding frenzy.
A dog chases away a flock of Himalayan griffon and White-rumped vultures on the bank of Pokhara’s Fhusre River. Image by Krishna Mani Baral via Nepali Times. Used with permission.
Because of its low elevation, mild climate, and proximity to the Annapurna mountains which are over 8,000 meters high, Pokhara Valley is home to all nine species of South Asian vultures.
The valley’s terrain is ideal for vultures that soar on updrafts and circle back looking for food on the ground. Paragliders imitate the soaring vultures, often accompanying the birds above Sarangkot, making Pokhara a favourite international destination for the sport.
A vulture and paraglider in Pokhara’s Sarangkot. Image by Krishna Mani Baral via Nepali Times. Used with permission.
Vultures get a bad rap because of their morbid feeding habits, but are an integral part of Nepal's ecosystem, they protect humans and animals alike from various diseases by feeding on carcasses. Although vulture populations in Nepal’s mountains appear stable, they are declining in the plains and across South Asia.
In recent times, there has been a shortage of food as well as shelter for the vultures. Death due to high-voltage electric shock is also on the rise. Additionally, indiscriminate poisoning of stray animals using lethal pesticides is contaminating the raptors’ food sources, leading to mass deaths.
In April 2021, 69 vultures of four species (White-rumped, Himalayan Griffons, Cinereous and Slender-billed), two of them on the IUCN list of critically endangered birds were found dead on the grounds of a college campus in Nawalparasi.
Image by Krishna Mani Baral via Nepali Times. Used with permission.
The initial investigation found the cause of the death to be pesticide poisoning of dogs, a common vulture food source. The incident was a huge setback to Nepal’s successful effort to protect the birds from the brink of extinction after they started dying mysteriously in the 1990s.
An analgesic called Diclofenac used to treat sick livestock caused the decline. Just 30 ml of Diclofenac can kill as many as 800 vultures. Subsequently, the steroid was banned in South Asia and Nepal in 2006.
Since then, local communities and nature groups in the country have worked relentlessly to revive the vulture population, including establishing ‘jatayu restaurants’ (JR) —  vulture restaurants —  that serve safe, uncontaminated meat for the raptors to feed on and also care for rescued vulture chicks.
At a JR in Kaski’s Ghachok, one can easily spot 5–6 different species of vultures on a daily basis. Established in 2006, a JR is a community-managed feeding program for vultures, which provides safe food to the species raising awareness about the protected Vulture Safe Zone (VSZ). Globally critically endangered Slender-billed and White-rumped vultures have been nesting and rearing their chicks in Nirmal Pokhari and Bharat Pokhari areas for years.
Vultures feeding on a carcass of an ox by the Fhusre River. Image by Krishna Mani Baral via Nepali Times. Used with permission.
There are now over half a dozen jatayu restaurants in Nawalparasi, Rupandehi, Dang, Kailali, Kaski and Sunsari districts across the Tarai and foothills. The effort led to a significant revival of the vulture population in Nepal, which had declined from 1.6 million to 20,000 birds.

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Nepali Times


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In Colombia, ‘yatules’ are the Misak people’s pantry and pharmacy · Global Voices
J. Fernanda Sánchez Jaramillo

Photo of Mamá Adriana Velasco and her mother, Mamá Ascensión in Silvia, Guambía reserve, Colombia. Photo taken by the author.
The Indigenous Misak people call themselves sons and daughters of water and rainbows. They are known for their traditional agricultural practices known as yatules, family orchards around homes.
Traditionally, they have lived in the Cauca province, in southwestern Colombia. However, land scarcity has forced them to move. Now, they also live in neighboring departments such as Valle del Cauca, Huila, Putumayo, Caquetá, Meta, and Cundinamarca. According to 2018 national data, there are about 21,703 Misak, and they are one of more than a hundred Indigenous peoples in Colombia. Most of the Misak live in the Guambía reserve, a collective property near Popayán, the capital of the Cauca province.
Other than yatules, the Misak are also known for having a Misak University, located in the Guambía reserve, and most recently for toppling monuments dedicated to conquerors during Colombia's National Strike in May and June 2021.
For the Misak, the ancestral practice of yatules is essential. As they rely on agriculture, forgetting these farming practices may lead to economic and food failures. So they recover this knowledge and make it known to the whole community, especially to the younger generations. Women play an important role in preserving yatules.
When walking on their reserve, you can see diverse crops on the side of the road. Generation after generation, the Misak people have maintained an ancestral practice of the yatul. The yatul is made up of associated crops such as potato, corn, beans, and onion, among other medicinal plants, whose nutrients complement each other and keep the land healthy.
As they learned from their elders, preserving these yatules is paramount to the Misak peoples’ survival. Through seed planting and tending, this practice requires being respectful of the land, following earth cycles and moon phases as well as considering the altitude of their farms.
Yatules in the Guambía reserve, Colombia. Photo taken by the author.
Standing on the land of her ancestors, Mamá Cecilia Tombé states that her people's connection with Mother Earth begins in the mother's womb. Growing up, parents teach children how to take care of the land, milk cows, and do other agricultural labor.
Remembering ancestral ways helps the community avoid economic failure and prevents Mother Earth from falling sick. This may also involve practices regarding women's reproductive cycles. Tombé explained:
No se podía caminar sobre la tierra cuando se tuviera el periodo de la mujer. Esto era grave pues, aunque es señal de vida, a la vez es un “sucio” que ella expulsa. Como la tierra es muy sana, tiene su espíritu, no debemos ensuciarla.
We couldn't walk on the land while menstruating. This was serious because even if it is a sign of life, it is also something “dirty” that women expel. Mother Earth is very healthy, she has a spirit, we shouldn't dirty it.
Yatul and fire are essential in Misak life. Around the fire, the mother, father, and children spend time together at sunset. They have supper, talk about their activities, and plan the next day of work at their yatul.
Maria Victoria Muelas, a member of the Misak group Siembra (“Seeding”), emphasizes that each new family should take into consideration their yatul's location. It should be near the family kitchen, for example, because that is where they teach the younger generation how to cultivate the land and to love working.
Family orchards are not just found in the countryside. They exist also in urban areas. In the yard of her home in Silvia, the town of the reserve, María Antonia Muelas from the Misak people has a small yatul. She uses eggshells and plantains to make organic compost to fertilize the soil.
Mamá Adriana Velasco. Photo taken by the author.
María Antonia Muelas lives with her daughter, Mamá Adriana Velasco, a traditional doctor. Velasco's father was a well-known traditional healer among the Misak. At the age of 23, she followed his footsteps and broke down walls that prevent women from becoming whatever they want, including doctors.
At first, it was not easy, but now she is respected by her community, she said. She continued:
Ahorita estamos en ese tema de repensarnos la fuerza de la mujer. Ya las mujeres están saliendo a los espacios y las mujeres se están auto-reconociendo como sabedoras. Eso está bien porque se fortalece ante la gente la idea de que las mujeres también pueden ejercer la medicina propia.
Now, we are rethinking women's strength. Women are occupying spaces and we are recognizing ourselves as women of wisdom. This is good because it strengthens the idea, among people, that women can be traditional doctors too.
She uses the seeds cultivated by her mother to heal people who ask for help when they feel ill and “disharmonized,” meaning when people are feeling emotionally or physically out of sorts.
The succulenta (echeveria elegans). Photo of the author.
The succulenta, colloquially known in English as the white Mexican rose, is used to reduce fever; the pansy helps students keep their minds sharp and avoid confusion; avocado seeds cure insomnia, and an infusion of the native arrayán tree leaves helps with throat ache.
Misak people of Guambía have plenty of options to stay healthy. They can opt for traditional or western medicine, as both are provided by the nearby Hospital Mamá Dominga.
The hospital is managed by Mamá Ascensión. She also coordinates a health program that promotes a network of traditional doctors whom people can access nearby.
The network offers midwifery, emotional and physical harmonization practices, traditional medicines, and alternative therapies.
Ascensión said:
Esto se maneja desde la familia. Casi no van al hospital, sino que manejan la planta, la espiritualidad propia y con su médico o médica de confianza hacen refrescamientos o armonizaciones para no enfermar físicamente y para vivir en armonía con la familia, el entorno y la comunidad. Eso es lo primordial.
These practices are done within families. People rarely go to hospitals. They use plants, follow spiritual practices and, along with their trustworthy traditional doctor, they do refreshments or harmonizations to avoid falling ill and to live in a balanced way with their family, the environment and the community. This is very important.
Mamá Ascención picking succulentas
Misak people consider all plants special and serve as medicine or food. Yatules are essential to their culture. Plants accompany them at all stages of life: before they are born, during growth, and at death.
María Victoria Muelas says:
Unas horas antes del parto, la mujer consume plantas medicinales para calmar el dolor y después del nacimiento del bebé se utilizan para el baño de él y de la madre, para que ella se reponga y produzca más leche materna. Además, durante el primer periodo menstrual son utilizadas y a la hora de la muerte preparan sahumerios antes de que los espíritus retornen al inicio.
A few hours before childbirth, women take plants to reduce the pain and after the birth they use them for the babies and the mother’s bath. It is also used for women's recovery and to produce more breastmilk. Plants are used during the first menstrual period and at the time of death, a sahumerio [a smoke bath] is prepared before the spirits return to their origin.
Mercedes Tunubalá, the Mayor of Silvia, learned from her mother how to plant and harvest produce from the land. During her current tenure in local government, she wants to strengthen Indigenous and farmer economies based on the yatul, which helps families save 80 percent on essential foods.
In Colombia, local Indigenous economies work differently from the mainstream, neoliberal one prevailing in the rest of the region. Tunubalá said:
Desde la visión nuestra, la economía no es de mercado, sino de conservación. Siempre pensando en el medio ambiente, en el entorno, en el relacionamiento de los espíritus de la naturaleza y el respeto de la madre tierra, respeto que debe tenerse en cada uno de los pasos del ciclo de la producción.
From our perspective, economy is conservation, not a market. We are always thinking about the environment, our surroundings, our relationship with spirits of nature and our respect for Mother Earth. Respect that must be taken into account in each step of the production cycle.
*This story was produced with support from the Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, along with Diana Jembuel.

author: J. Fernanda Sánchez Jaramillo


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Cubans want more than just the lifting of the US blockade · Global Voices
Luis Rodriguez

Havana street, by Pedro Szekely/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
This article was written anonymously by an author in Cuba, using the fictitious name of “Luis Rodriguez.”
As many Cubans were resting in their homes on Sunday morning, July 11, a mass protest took place in the town of San Antonio de los Baños to demand access to vaccines, food, medicine, and freedom, for these are currently the main everyday concerns of the Cuban people.
Even President Miguel Díaz Canel went to that small town to try to bring calm to the situation, while protests spread to other places in the capital and the rest of the country. These events triggered a real social upheaval that shocked not only the Cuban regime, but also the international community.
It was an unprecedented event in Cuba's history, occurring after 62 years of Revolution, as many analysts and the international press argue that it has significantly surpassed the 1994 Maleconazo uprising. To minimize popular discontent and spontaneous action, the Cuban government persisted in legitimizing the narrative that the protests were led from the United States.
While it is true that U.S. sanctions are worsening our humanitarian crisis, the Cuban people are tired of the rhetoric that all our problems are linked to the U.S. embargo imposed on Cuba. Still, people are calling for the blockade to be lifted to ease our living conditions. While it is clear that it is not only the government's inefficiency in solving countless accumulated problems that catalyzed the July 11 protests in Cuba, minimizing the impact of the blockade and the measures taken by the Donald Trump administration would be an unfortunate mistake. I have always opposed the U.S. blockade of the island, which has caused the Cuban people too much suffering, and which the government has historically blamed for all of Cuba's ills.
The situation has changed a lot since the early 2000s when Cuba began to show greater political and economic stability because of a strategic geopolitical issue: the coming to power in Venezuela of the late President Hugo Chávez, Fidel Castro's political ally. Since that time to when Nicolás Maduro came to power, Venezuela has supplied Cuba with oil.
On December 17, 2014, another unprecedented event occurred: the governments of Cuba and the United States announced to the international community the decision to restore diplomatic relations, interrupted since 1961. Although sanctions continued, Cuba experienced a remarkable increase in the number of tourists from the U.S. which benefited the economy extraordinarily, not only in the state sector but also in the emerging private sector—especially small restaurants (known in Cuba as paladares) and rental homes. During that period there was an unusual increase in the standard of living of the Cuban people. In a general sense, the Cuban citizen today remembers that time with nostalgia, as a sign of hope for a better future.
The vast majority of Cubans on the island and in the diaspora in the U.S. did not suspect that the worst was yet to come. That began in 2017 during the Donald Trump administration, which was responsible for reversing almost entirely his predecessor's policy on Cuba. The Trump administration took punitive steps towards Cuba that have reached alarming levels. They included the suspension of remittances through Western Union, the cancellation of the family reunification program, and the closure of the country's consular services at the U.S. Embassy in Havana after serious accusations of alleged sonic attacks on its diplomatic staff, and, of course, the increase in sanctions.
The official figures from the Cuban government published in the prestigious US-based publication OnCuba News show: “The financial and trade embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba for almost six decades caused $9,157 million worth of losses to the island between April 2019 and December 2020.”
According to the Cuban-American academic María Isabel Alfonso, a scholar studying the impact of U.S. sanctions on Cuban families and especially women, the consequences are also emotional and psychological.
When we analyze that data in the context of the daily life of the island, the damaging impact that U.S. sanctions policy has had on Cuba in recent years is noticeable. But it is unquestionable that the main cause of the hardships that the Cuban people are going through lies, not in the embargo (although the sanctions have heightened them), but in the failure of the Cuban political model that prevents the development of productive forces, an essential precondition for Cubans to achieve a more dignified life in a democracy.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic on the island in early March 2020, everyday life deteriorated further. Currently, Cuba is going through the most acute health crisis since the start of the pandemic, with an average of more than 5,000 cases (up from 1,000 in June). Cities like Matanzas, for example, have had to bring medical staff from other provinces, as hospitals no longer have the capacity to respond to the increase in the number of infected patients in that province.
I dare to say that Cuba is facing the worst crisis in its history, becoming a humanitarian crisis similar to the one that Venezuela has gone through in recent years, with endless queues to buy basic products, like bread, while toiletries and milk powder are no longer available even in state stores that sell food and commodities in foreign currency. What is even worse and more devastating is the alarming shortfall of medicines, which puts the Cuban population in a situation of vulnerability in the midst of the pandemic.
Therefore, if the current U.S. President Joe Biden does not reverse the policies of his predecessor concerning Cuba, as soon as possible, the consequences can be tragic and unexpected. I also ask the Cuban government for a transparent portrayal of the protests in the media, without the confrontational rhetoric that causes more violence among Cubans. Even if most of us Cubans on the island are desperate because of poverty and the hardships of everyday life, we still hold the hope of seeing the light at the end of this seemingly endless tunnel.

author: Luis Rodriguez


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Fresh clashes on Nakhchivan border · Global Voices
OC Media

Yeraskh-Heydarabad-map-OC_Media
This article was first published on OC Media. An edited version is republished here under a content partnership agreement.
A number of clashes took place in the vicinity of the Armenian village of Yeraskh and the Azerbaijani village of Heydarabad, reportedly beginning late Monday, July 19, and lasting into the early hours of Tuesday, July 20. Two people were reportedly injured, one from each side of the conflict.
The clashes are a symptom of increasing tensions within the region as Azerbaijan looks to maximize pressure on Armenia and Russia. In a thread on Twitter analyzing the renewed tensions, Laurence Broers, South Caucasus Program Director at Conciliation Resources, noted that Azerbaijan is pressuring its neighbor Armenia for an additional peace agreement and also pressuring Russia to ‘deliver’ on agreements reached during the November 2020 peace agreement, following the 44-day war between the two countries.
Azerbaijan is consequently seeking to maximise pressure on Armenia to force it into a comprehensive peace agreement, for which – from Baku’s perspective – there will never be a better time than now.
— Laurence Broers (@LaurenceBroers) July 20, 2021
Tensions also put pressure on Russia to ‘deliver’ on agreements reached so far, especially on what Azerbaijan refers to as the “Zangezur corridor”, a right of safe transit across Armenia’s southernmost Syunik region conceded by Nikol Pashinyan in the 9/11/2020 CF declaration.
— Laurence Broers (@LaurenceBroers) July 20, 2021
Pashinyan is Armenia's Prime Minister who agreed to allow Azerbaijan transit across southern Armenia as part of the November 2020 peace agreement.
While the situation along the Armenian border with Nakhchivan has been tense in recent days, small clashes have occurred along much of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border since early May. Earlier in July, an Armenian soldier was wounded in a shooting near the Verin Shorzha village of Gegharkunik Province.
Following the latest incident, the Armenian Defence Ministry accused Azerbaijan of opening fire on Yeraskh using mortars. The village head, Radik Oghikyan, was injured, according to the ministry, while trying to extinguish a fire.
The ministry stated that it would not allow any change in the border, adding that the responsibility for any further escalation “falls on the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan.”
Similar statements were made by officials in Azerbaijan. According to the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry, Armenian forces fired in the direction of Heydarabad “using weapons of various calibres.”
Tensions along the northern border of Nakhchivan rose on July 14, after an Armenian soldier was killed as shots were exchanged over the border.
On the same day, Armenia reported that two of its soldiers had gone missing due to fog near Lake Sev, on the border between Armenia’s southern Syunik Province and Azerbaijan. No official information has since been released on their whereabouts, meanwhile, Sputnik has reported that, according to its sources, the two soldiers are currently in the custody of Azerbaijani authorities.
The area around the lake has been a hotspot since early May,  after an apparent incursion of Azerbaijani troops in the area as well as further north in Gegharkunik Province. No change in the situation has been reported since then.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has called for both sides to withdraw troops from the border. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has not accepted the proposal.
BREAKING: Heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces reported on the border near the Nakhchivan enclave
— Conflict News (@Conflicts) July 19, 2021
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a six-week war in 2020 over Nagorno-Karabakh, recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians since the early 1990s. The two sides signed a cease-fire on November 10, 2020, with Azerbaijan regaining control over a section of Nagorno-Karabakhall and all seven districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh previously under occupation. The agreement, signed between Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, also called for the deployment of some 2,000 Russian peacekeepers.
On June 12, Azerbaijan released 15 Armenian detainees in exchange for maps showing locations of nearly 100,000 landmines that Armenian forces had planted during last year’s bitter war.
Following the most recent clash, Armenia's Minister of Defense Vagharshak Harutyunyan, who was appointed to this position after the war, resigned.
BREAKING: Armenia's Minister of Defence Vagharshak Harutyunyan has resigned. He was appointed after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh war.
— OC Media (@OCMediaorg) July 20, 2021
Meanwhile, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, expressed concern over renewed tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan in a tweet:
Deeply worrying developments continue on ??-??state border. Reiterate our call for restraint and separation of forces & constructive engagement on border issues before new casualties are registered. ??stands ready to assist the sides.
— Toivo Klaar (@ToivoKlaar) July 20, 2021
Similarly, the US Embassy in Armenia called for de-escalation:
The U.S. Embassy is concerned by incidents along the border between #Armenia & #Azerbaijan, most recently near #Yeraskh #Sadarak. We call on both sides to swiftly and peacefully de-escalate tensions and urge a return as soon as possible to substantive negotiations.
— US Embassy, Armenia (@usembarmenia) July 20, 2021

author: OC Media


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Government announces new media regulations that could further constrain freedom of expression in Turkey · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

Journalism not a crime. Screenshot from a YouTube video taken from AFP report from May 3, 2017. The banner in Turkish “Journalism  – not a crime.”
A number of government statements issued last week in Turkey signal a further decline in media freedom.
On July 21, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in an interview that the ruling government was intent on introducing new regulations to combat “a terror of lies” while referring to false news spreading on social media platforms. The same day, the Director of the Presidential Communication Directorate announced plans to regulate foreign funded local media platforms “to ensure the people's access to accurate news.”
The new regulations, expected in the fall, would take aim at a handful of remaining independent online news platforms in Turkey. The move was condemned by the Media Freedom Rapid Response, a project that tracks, monitors and reacts to violations of press and media freedom in European Union (EU) member states and candidate countries, and partner organizations including Article 19, the Association of European Journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists and others. According to those organizations that issued a statement on July 23, the new measures are “a clear move to stifle further the free media in Turkey by controlling content.
Answering questions at the end of his visit to the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the Turkish President explained the government was planning to introduce measures, such as serious criminal sanctions, for disseminating false news through traditional and social media. The measures will be discussed at the upcoming fall session of the parliament and in the context of an already existing social media law that was introduced last year.
“We have conducted a study about international experience about this terror of lies, the kind of steps that are taken, the regulations and sanctions that exist. The situation in Turkey is severe. Because Turkish opposition has turned this terror of lies into its only political tool. This is why in Turkey, the situation is far worse and a big threat to our democracy,” said President Erdoğan in the interview.
Meanwhile, Fahrettin Altun, the head of the Directorate of Communications spoke of a different threat in his statement:
In an environment in which some foreign leaders openly express their intentions and efforts to shape  Turkish politics, we cannot interpret read into any foreign state or institution providing various funds to the media sector independently of such interests and goals. Everyone should rest assured that our democracy will not be a sitting target under the pretext of press freedom or for any other reasons. We will not allow fifth column activities under new disguises.
The planned restrictions come at a time, when one online local news platform, Oda TV published a story about foreign funded media platforms in Turkey, something that none of the news outlets mentioned in the story deny or hide. Oda TV targeted specifically Medyascope, a popular online television and news platform, founded by veteran journalist Ruşen Çakır.
Earlier this month, President Erdoğan also signaled plans to create a new monitoring agency for social media. Other ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials said the new agency will resemble the Radio, and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), a government agency notorious for censoring independent media. On July 17, Mahir Ünal AKP's Deputy Chair likened fighting disinformation on social media to “fighting terrorism”.
“We cannot describe terrorism as a structure based on armed violence. The main aim of terror is to create chaos and remove the idea of order,” said Ünal justifying his statement, based on the EU's experience to combat online disinformation within the member states. The party official did not mention what specific EU measures he was referring to.
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Kadri Gürsel, member of the executive board of Reporters Without Borders, said the “media ecosystem” in Turkey “is characterized by the devastating consequences of the authoritarian pressure of Erdoğan's rule,” that aims at “taking full or indirect government control of the mainstream media.” The recently announced measures are “a last-ditch attempt to kill independent media outlets that are becoming more influential than ever as the government-controlled media on the other hand becomes obsolete,” said Gürsel.
It is not just control over media that the government is after. The reports of on-going attacks against journalists in Turkey also continue at full speed. In June, AFP photographer Bülent Kılıç was hit in the face, pressed against the ground before getting detained as he covered police intervention during Pride march in Istanbul. On July 20, at least 20 journalists were subject to police violence during the commemoration for the 33 people killed in 2015 in Gaziantep's Suruç province by the Islamic State's suicide bomb attack.
Each time you watch journalists being attacked, intimidated, tear gassed in Turkey, remember that it’s YOUR right to information which is attacked, violated and tear gassed no matter where you are.
Protect your source to information!#JournalismIsNotACrime pic.twitter.com/97ybc7O9mb
— TRFreePress (@TRFreePress) July 21, 2021
This was reportedly the harshest treatment of journalists by the police to date. Speaking to the  International Press Institute, freelance journalist Emre Orman said, “we are used to being pushed around with police shields, and even hit by non-directly-aimed rubber bullets. But, for the first time since Gezi protests, it felt like we were directly targeted and aimed at with rubber bullets.”
Following the attacks, IPI's Turkey Programme Coordinator Renan Akyavaş said, “The number of cases where Turkish police use excessive force and violence against journalists has significantly increased over the last months. Journalists are responsible to provide the public with objective news and any attempt to prevent them from covering public events is a clear violation of public’s right to access information,” in a statement issued on July 21.
Recently, journalists who have left Turkey have also been increasingly under attack. The most recent case involves exiled Turkish journalist Erk Acarer. According to his own account, he was attacked in the courtyard of his home in Berlin.
Turkish journalist Erk Acarer was brutally assaulted at his home in Germany yesterday. IPI calls on authorities to hold all those responsible for this attack to account.https://t.co/TYhlVyf85Y
— IPI – The Global Network for Press Freedom (@globalfreemedia) July 9, 2021
Can Dündar, another Turkish journalist living in exile in Germany since 2016 said the attacks were a message from Turkey to Germany:
Direct message to Germany from Erdoğan:
“I have a long arm. We can attack a dissident journalist even in Berlin.”#ErkAcarer@HeikoMaas @amnesty_de @dwnews @spiegelonline @zeitonline @kulturforumtrd @BILD @AA_Kultur @AA_SicherReisen @welt https://t.co/rt7EZ8AkKw
— Can Dündar (@candundaradasi) July 7, 2021
Dündar was sentenced in absentia to 27 years in jail in December last year. In June, a court in Turkey said it would seek an Interpol Red Notice for his extradition to Turkey.
Following this attack, an Instagram user “jitemkurt” [the account has been terminated since the publication of the post] reportedly shared a hit list of 21 journalists living in Europe. Another Turkish journalist, Celal Başlangıç, whose name was on the alleged list, told Arti TV, that there is another list the  German police mentioned to him during their visit to his home in Cologne this month. “The German police officers who came to my home mentioned a third list consisting of 55 Erdoğan dissidents and said that my name was on that list,” said Başlangıç in an interview.
German Federation of Journalists (DJV) Chair Frank Überall called on the German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas to “make it unmistakably clear to the ambassador [of Turkey in Germany] that these were unacceptable crimes.”
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Erk Acarer said, “If there is no decisive action, there might be more attacks to come to intimidate and silence the journalists here.”

author: Arzu Geybullayeva


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In Azerbaijan’s capital, taxi drivers are now engaging in a generational war around technology · Global Voices
Chaikhana.media

Screenshot from the original video.
The following story was originally published by Chaikhana.media and is republished by Global Voices under a partnership agreement.
Afgan Maharramov, 54, has been driving a taxi on the central streets of Baku for nearly 20 years. He is the only breadwinner in his family. But Afgan, like many other traditional taxi drivers, is struggling to compete against new taxi apps. He says work for traditional taxis is gradually disappearing from the market, making it harder for drivers like him to earn a living.
Nearly a thousand drivers working in Baku have been boycotting taxi apps since the summer of 2020. They also established the Public Union of Taxi Drivers in order to protect the rights of taxi drivers in the age of smartphones.
Others, like young inventor Rahim Khoyski, believe rideshare apps are the future. Rahim, a former taxi driver, is developing his own app for cabbies and passengers. The following video in Azerbaijani with English subtitles tells their story.


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Indian photojournalist Danish Siddiqui who was killed in Afghanistan remembered and honoured online · Global Voices
Anumeha Verma

Danish Siddiqui speaking at TEDxGateway in 2010. Screenshot via YouTube channel TEDx Talks. Fair use.
Acclaimed Indian and Pulitzer Prize winner Danish Siddiqui was killed in Afghanistan on the 13th of July, 2021. He was on an assignment, embedded with a convoy of Afghan security forces and, according to the reports, was covering the clash between the security forces and Taliban near a border crossing with Pakistan. Danish's demise has led to a range of emotions being expressed across fraternities, from respectful tributes to critical comments (from naysayers).
Danish had a stellar career in journalism, working with television and prestigious news agencies across the world. His lens captured a range of happenings and made stories come alive through vivid photographs. From political conflicts to the countless struggles faced by people, Danish injected a world of depth into his work.
Before his demise, Danish had posted several pictures on his Twitter handle capturing the reported rescue mission by Afghan forces in Kandahar.
THREAD.
Afghan Special Forces, the elite fighters are on various frontlines across the country. I tagged along with these young men for some missions. Here is what happened in Kandahar today while they were on a rescue mission after spending the whole night on a combat mission. pic.twitter.com/HMTbOOtDqN
— Danish Siddiqui (@dansiddiqui) July 13, 2021
I could feel the tension in the air as ASF were expecting an imminent attack from the Taliban. There was sporadic machine gun fire but all hell broke loose as the Humvees reached the extraction point. pic.twitter.com/TqnnqiuTUr
— Danish Siddiqui (@dansiddiqui) July 13, 2021
Winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2018, in the category of feature photography along with other colleagues for documenting the state of the Rohingya community in Myanmar, was a milestone in his career. The documentary was significant in many ways: it won the Pulitzer, and it also opened a window that increased  the visibility of the struggles of the Rohingya community and their life in refugee camps.
Siddiqui's first brush with photography started early, with a borrowed black and white camera on a school trip to the Himalayas. After completing a bachelor's degree from Jamila Milia Islamia, one of the most prestigious universities in Delhi, he proceeded to get a master's degree in Mass Communication from the Communication Research Centre on the same campus. He kept being charmed by still photography all through his studies, and later during his television career.
The human angle was always big in his photo stories. His profile on the Wider Image of Reuters reads, “While I enjoy covering news stories — from business to politics to sports — what I enjoy most is capturing the human face of a breaking story.”
Whether it was the play of emotions on the faces of the people watching a Bollywood film at the Maratha theatre in Mumbai, or the heartbreaking plight of the Rohingya community, the ‘human’ essence indeed spoke loud and clear in Siddiqui's work.
His latest mission in Afghanistan brought him to a place where life hangs in balance by a delicate thread. Siddiqui's Twitter handle reveals that he was no stranger to the perils that lay in being a photojournalist embedded with the military. However, these challenges did not influence the riveting photo stories that he churned out.
Since he died, social media has been flooded with obituaries and tributes to his work, from diplomats to fellow journalists. Journalists all over India made temporary shrines with cameras to pay tribute to the departed photojournalist.
Expat Indian activist Naina Raathore tweeted:
Tribute to Danish Siddiqui
Trivandrum, Martyrs column, Palayam. #DanishSiddiqui pic.twitter.com/RS9RtNlOXP
— Naina R. #MakeIslamophobiaACrime?✊ (@NainaRaathore) July 17, 2021
Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India Farid Mamundzay tweeted:
Deeply disturbed by the sad news of the killing of a friend, Danish Seddiqi in Kandahar last night. The Indian Journalist & winner of Pulitzer Prize was embedded with Afghan security forces. I met him 2 weeks ago before his departure to Kabul. Condolences to his family & Reuters. pic.twitter.com/sGlsKHHein
— Farid Mamundzay फरीद मामुन्दजई فرید ماموندزی (@FMamundzay) July 16, 2021
One voice that has remained conspicuously silent though is the Prime Minister's Office in India. Notable journalist Karan Thapar asked in an Op-ed in Hindustan Times: “If the world felt the need to mourn his death, how come his own PM did not?”
On the other hand, the so-called members of the Lutyen's media, known for their left leanings, have been called out for failing to criticise the U.S. ideologies that allegedly led to an escalation of violence in Afghanistan.
Even in death, Danish has not been spared muck-raking from trolls, some of whom crossed the boundaries of human compassion and celebrated his death, while others questioned those who mourned his death.
François Gautier, a French journalist based in India who worked as a correspondent for several French-language dailies, tweeted:
#DanishSiddiqui death tragic, but he always put his Muslim identity before journalistic impartiality. His pro-Rohingya, anti-Hindu, hatred of @narendramodi well known. Lets not be hypocrites: whole media mourning him, but did they mourn 2 Hindu sadhus brutally murdered ?
— François Gautier (@fgautier26) July 16, 2021
User “For a cleaner Coimbatore…சுத்தமிகு கோவைக்காக” questioned:
So why is Danish being trolled ? Why is there an eruption of joy for someone s death ? Is that because he showed pics of your dismal attempt in covid and your heroes killing people and delhi or is it just because he is a muslim OR both ?? This is shameless , to say the least.
— For a cleaner Coimbatore…சுத்தமிகு கோவைக்காக ! (@CoimbatoreOf) July 18, 2021
From targeted killings to threats that leave them in a perilous state of mental distress and fear for their lives, journalists in Afghanistan face much peril. Danish Siddiqui's demise in the crossfires between the Afghan forces and Taliban is just one of the many tragedies in the larger web of a complex issue that the country is struggling with.

author: Anumeha Verma


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Russian internet censor blocks Team Navalny websites · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

A screenshot from globalcheck.net showing the accessibility of navalny.com in the past 24 hours up to 16:20 GMT+1 (18:20 Moscow time) on July 26, 2021. A sharp drop in accessibility can be observed around 9:00 GMT+1 (11:00 Moscow time).
Roskomnadzor, the Russian government agency tasked with monitoring and censoring the Russian internet, has blocked the website of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny for users in Russia.
On July 26, Navalny's team reported on Telegram that the main website, navalny.com, as well as free.navalny.com and 40 other webpages for Navalny's national network of campaign offices were added to Russia's state registry for blocked websites. The public mirror of the blacklist, run by digital rights group Roskomsvoboda, confirms a number of Navalny's websites were added to the list on July 26, bringing the total number of blocked webpages linked to Navalny to 79.
A screenshot posted by Team Navalny to their Telegram channel on July 26, 2021 of a browser message saying Navalny's website is blocked.
Translation: “This resource is blocked! On the basis of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation from 26 October 2012 No. 1101 and in accordance with Articles No. 9 and 151 of the Federal Law from July 27 2016 No. 149-FZ “On information, information technologies and protection of information”, this resource contains information whose dissemination in the Russian Federation is forbidden!”
According to Roskomnadzor, it was acting on a request from the Russian Attorney General’s Office, although the official reason for the blocking remains unknown. In June this year, the Moscow City Court designated Alexey Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), Citizens’ Rights Protection Foundation, and his regional campaign headquarters as “extremist organizations”, effectively putting a stop to their activities in Russia.
Navalny's team of activists said this move was “expected” and encouraged supporters to access the politician's blog through dedicated mobile apps, which remain available to Russian users as “there is definitely no way to block them.” They also reported that the website of their voter registration project, Umnoye Golosovanie (VoteSmart), was still accessible and encouraged users to register there. Team Navalny's YouTube channels also remain accessible.
Roskomsvoboda later found that a number of other websites were also blocked, including those run by Navalny's collaborators Lyubov Sobol and Leonid Volkov, soboll.ru and leonidvolkov.ru. Other blacklisted URLs include the official websites for Anti-Corruption Foundation (fbk.info), Teachers’ Union (teachers-union.ru) and Doctors’ Union (alyansvrachey.ru)—organisations collaborating with Navalny's movement, and websites for older Navalny anti-corruption projects RosZKH and RosYama.
Alexey Navalny is currently serving two and a half years in prison after a Moscow court in February 2021 reinstated his sentence for allegedly violating probation in 2020 while recovering from an alleged poisoning attempt in a German clinic.

author: Tanya Lokot


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Samoa’s first female prime minister takes helm three months after former leader refused to concede defeat · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Samoa's new Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa. Source: Screenshot from YouTube video uploaded by
Talamua Media
Fiame Naomi Mata’afa will be Samoa's first female prime minister after the country's Court of Appeal released a ruling on July 23 acknowledging her victory in the April 9 election. The election was followed by months of controversy after two candidates claimed victory.
The ruling Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) won 25 parliament seats while the opposition Fa’atuatua I le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST) Party, led by Fiame, won 26 seats. HRPP came to power in 1982 and its leader, Tuilaepa Dr Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, has been prime minister for the past 22 years. The loss signaled the loss of public support for the incumbent prime minister who was confident about another landslide election victory.
Tuilaepa and HRPP refused to recognize FAST's victory and brought the matter to Samoa's constitutional court. Fiame and other elected members of FAST were forced to hold their swearing-in ceremony on May 24 on the lawn outside the parliament building after the building was locked by HRPP allies.
Tuilaepa has dismissed the swearing-in as illegal and assumed the role of caretaker prime minister while the court debated the issue. The court finally made its decision on July 23 which ended the impasse in the country’s leadership.
Fiame held a meeting with her Cabinet members the following day. In a public address, she vowed to prioritize the passage of the government’s budget:
My administration is committed to returning this country to the special place dreamt of by our forefathers when they grabbed the mantle of independence almost 60 years ago.
Today, I and Cabinet met with key officials to begin transition of our new government into office.
At the earliest opportunity next week, Parliament will convene to carry out its first order of business to pass a budget to ensure the ongoing operations of Government.
For his part, Tuilaepa described the court order as “unconstitutional and disrespectful” but he has started vacating his office.
Samoa Observer newspaper published an editorial urging the new government to move forward instead of being bogged down by vindictive politics:
…our focus on a nation should be on moving forward and making progress not giving into the base and tribal instincts of politics.
The best answer to her critics will be for Fiame to govern well.
And if her administration is able to identify past instances of money lost through improper or negligent practices then imposing new standards will significantly boost her progress.
The court’s surprise retrospective installation of a new Government is a fittingly unexpected end to the highly convoluted story of Samoa’s April election of 2021.
Having Samoans unite and come together in spite of everything that has brought us to this point would be the ultimate conclusion.
The Samoa Observer also interviewed several residents about the court decision. Theresa Grace Finau was among those who witnessed the swearing-in ceremony in May:
I was there under the tent where the swearing in ceremony was held by FAST party. It was nothing unlawful and even if it was under a tree or whatever if it's time to convene parliament then let it push through. I would like to congratulate our first female Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa. All the best with the new Government of Samoa.
The court ruling was welcomed by many countries and institutions across the Pacific. One of the Pacific leaders who greeted the victory of Fiame was New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern:
It was such a pleasure to speak this morning with Samoa’s Prime Minister-Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, and congratulate her on behalf of New Zealand on her election victory. This is such a historic moment for Samoa’s democracy.
Samoa’s new parliament will convene this week.

author: Mong Palatino


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The French government’s U-turn on regional languages · Global Voices
Filip Noubel

Screenshot of a YouTube video showing protests in the Basque Country in support of immersive teaching
France's language policy has long placed French as the only “language of the Republic” and has ignored or even banned the use of more than 20 minority languages spoken across the country. Fast forward to the 21st century, attitudes have changed thanks to a renewed interest in regional cultures, as well as certain legislative measures. The debate has been reignited by a new law passed in May of this year, which aims to protect France's regional languages.
The new legislation, entitled the May 21 2021 Law intended to protect and promote regional languages. Also known as the Molac Law, named after the MP Paul Molac who spearheaded the bill, the legislation encourages certain advances in the use of regional languages. The bill recognises the overall importance of these languages by firstly awarding them the status of “national treasure” and, secondly, supporting the teaching of regional languages. The bill even obliges local authorities “to contribute to the tuition costs of private schools that offer bilingual education.”
However, the law also has a number of faults and continues to discriminate against speakers of regional languages in two areas: immersive teaching and the use of diacritics (a mark added to a letter indicating a change in pronunciation) specific to regional languages in identity documents.
In France, immersive teaching involves placing young children in a learning environment in which almost all subjects are taught in the target language. For example, history or mathematics are taught in Breton or Basque. There are currently 14,000 children who receive this type of education in France. This represents 0.1 percent of all French pupils, though this figure is steadily increasing.
Brittany led the way by creating the first Diwan schools in 1977, which offer bilingual education in more than 50 schools across the region. This was followed by the Calandreta schools, bilingual schools in southern France that teach in Occitan, as well as other schools for languages such as Alsatian, Corsican and Basque. These are recognised as community schools and are funded by the State and by the pupils’ families. The schools follow a curriculum approved by France's Ministry of Education and have the status of “contracted private education,” a category that most private Catholic schools also fall under.
In the final drafting of the 21 May Law, the Constitutional Council justified its rejection of immersive teaching in regional languages by referring to Article 2 of the French Constitution, which states that “the language of the French Republic is French.”
For the French state, centralisation is a fundamental part of its identity, and it includes the role of the French language.
French is a Romance language derived from Latin. In the Middle Ages, Latin evolved into two language groups spoken in the territory of present-day France: the langues d'oc (Occitan languages) spoken in the south and the langues d'oïl (Oïl languages) spoken in the north.
In 1539, the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, signed into law by Francis I of France, was the first document to declare that French should be used instead of Latin as the official language of all public documents. Although French initially remained a minority language that coexisted alongside other languages, it gradually became the dominant and exclusive language in all areas of public life: governance, case law, education, commerce, religion, literature and media.
In the 19th century, the education system began to reinforce this rejection of regional languages, in particular when the then minister of education, Jules Ferry, banned the use of regional languages in schools under the threat of punishment. State schools across the country displayed signs with the now famous phrase: “No spitting on the ground or speaking Breton” (or Basque, Occitan or any other regional language).
Today a government department, the General Delegation for the French language and the languages of France (DGLFLF), is in charge of all the languages spoken in France. The DGLFLF divides all languages other than French into three categories: regional languages spoken in mainland France, non-territorial languages such as Yiddish, Romani or sign language, and the more than 50 languages of France's overseas territories that includes Kanak, Tahitian, and Creole.
The 23 officially recognised regional languages represent France's great linguistic diversity. These include Romance (Catalan, Corsican, Occitan, Franco-Provençal), Germanic (Flemish, Alsatian), Celtic (Breton) and non-Indo-European languages such as Basque.
However, even though these languages were the mother tongues of millions of French people up until the 19th century, today the number of speakers of these languages is estimated at 2 million, or just under 3 percent of the population of mainland France. For this reason, the State must take action to curb this decline and encourage a diversity-based linguistic revival.
Nevertheless, the French state maintains an ambiguous position on the subject of regional languages, oscillating between linguistic diversity and an overprotection of the French language. In 1992, the French state was keen to amend the constitution of the Fifth Republic to stipulate for the first time the official status of the French language, cited in the aforementioned Article 2, in order to protect the French language which was seemingly at risk from an increased use of English.
What's more, France has signed but refuses to ratify the 39 articles of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, citing once again a contradiction with Article 2 of its constitution. This 1992 Council of Europe treaty aims to safeguard linguistic diversity in Europe and includes “the need for resolute action to promote regional or minority languages in order to safeguard them; the facilitation and/or encouragement of the oral and written use of regional or minority languages in public and private life; the provision of adequate resources and means for the teaching and study of regional or minority languages at all appropriate stages.”
During the 2008 constitutional revision, France's constitution was amended to include these languages. The new Article 75-1 stated that “regional languages form part of France’s heritage.” In this regard, the only area that has seen a relative commitment from the state is the financial assistance given to radio and TV programs, which are in addition to private initiatives, mainly for Alsatian, Basque, Breton, Corsican and Occitan.
In May, following the enactment of the 21 May Law, many demonstrations took place throughout France to condemn the censorship of immersive teaching, which largely depends on financial support from the State. Petitions have been launched citing that Article 2 of the constitution was created and presented as a method of protecting the French language against English. It should be noted that many French-English bilingual schools in France practice language immersion and do not seem to be subject to this law.
The activists also recall that the French President Emmanuel Macron had defended regional languages on 26 May and clearly opposed the Constitutional Council's decision. The Council later responded to this on 16 June by clarifying that immersive teaching is unconstitutional only in state education, but permitted in the private sector.
Activists are now focusing on the definition of the term ‘community school,’ as it could be interpreted that these types of schools also belong to the public sector. This game of political and legislative ping pong therefore looks set to continue. It remains to be seen whether students who speak Alsatian, Basque, Breton, Corsican or Occitan will be able to learn in these languages once they return to school on 2 September.

author: Filip Noubel


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Foreign journalists harassed by Chinese citizens over Zhengzhou flooding coverage · Global Voices
Hong Kong Free Press

Screen capture from BBC's report on Zhengzhou's floods damage. The reporter is Robin Brant.
The following report was originally written by Roda Kwan and published in the Hong Kong Free Press on July 26, 2021. It is republished on Global Voices under a content partnership agreement.
Correspondents for several international media outlets were harassed by citizens on the streets of Zhengzhou over the weekend as they covered the aftermath of severe flooding in the Chinese city on July 22.
The social media platform Weibo was flooded with a stream of angry posts criticising the BBC’s China Correspondent Robin Brant for a report that questioned the effectiveness of the city's multi-billions flood control construction project after a dozen people died in a subway train carriage during the the flooding.
‘We don’t know why they were left so vulnerable’, Brant said in a report last Friday, adding that Beijing had warned other local governments to examine their own preparedness and metro regulations.
Video footage circulated online during the flooding show passengers inundated up to their chests in crowded train cars.
Chinese netizens on the country’s Twitter-like Weibo platform have accused Brant of being a ‘rumour-mongering foreigner’ and ‘seriously distorting the facts’ in his reports on the flooding.
The town visited last night north of Zhengzhou is now facing rising water levels. Rescuers were moving people last night. Reports now that the nearby river will be diverted so more need to leave today. pic.twitter.com/byTUPqlQE2
— Robin Brant 白洛宾 (@robindbrant) July 23, 2021
‘BBC reporter Robin Brant has appeared in disaster-stricken areas of our city many times, and has seriously distorted the facts. If you find this person, please call the police immediately’, one post on Saturday read.
The next day, Beijing Bureau Chief for the LA Times Alice Su and Deutsche Welle’s China correspondent Mathias Boelinger were surrounded by an angry crowd who mistakenly believed Boelinger was Brant.
‘They kept pushing me yelling that I was a bad guy and that I should stop smearing China. One guy [tried] to snatch my phone’, Boelinger tweeted following the incident.
‘You should have a positive view on China’, one man told Boelinger, a video circulating on Weibo showed.
The pair were interviewing shopkeepers in the city on the challenges they faced amid the flooding and the ‘insufficient’ help from the government to drain their premises underground, Su tweeted.
Correspondents for Al Jazeera and the Associated Press also tweeted about being harassed by crowds, who took videos of them and called the authorities.
Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu tweeted that the incidents were a ‘sad sign of increasing anger and suspicion towards foreign media in China’.
Sad sign of increasing anger and suspicion towards foreign media in #China. When we filmed in front of the #Zhengzhou subway crowds were recording us and calling the authorities. This post on Weibo warns residents “don’t accept interviews from foreign media, don’t be used!” pic.twitter.com/3gI1eUjsIn
— Katrina Yu (@Katmyu) July 24, 2021
China has expelled at least 20 correspondents in the past two years, the largest number since 1989, according to the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China.
The incidents came as state-owned Global Times rebuked foreign media reports that the floods had shattered the ‘myth’ of Zhengzhou as a ‘sponge city’ after the government invested 50 billion RMB (7.72 billion US dollars) in 2018 in infrastructure to protect the city from severe flooding.
The articles also questioned authorities’ emergency response to the flooding.
‘Chinese observers refuted the reports, noting that these media reiterated the loss, but neglected one fact, that the floods in Zhengzhou is a once-in-a-century occasion and beyond any city’s bearing capacity’, the Global Times article read. ‘They noted that the Zhengzhou government has made its best efforts to limit the loss.’
Zhengzhou in Henan province saw an entire year’s worth of rain within three days last week, causing floods that have killed at least 56 people, according to official figures.

author: Hong Kong Free Press


text:
Hong Kong Pro-Beijing camp finds fault with Olympic badminton player’s black outfit · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Angus Ng's Instagram statement on July 25.
In Hong Kong, the hottest topic about the Tokoyo 2020 Olympic Games in recent days hasn't been the intense competitions or tight victories, but rather, about badminton player Angus Ng Ka-Long’s monochrome black outfit.
Photos of Hong Kong's number one badminton player, Angus Ng, flooded social media platforms soon after he defeated Mexican player Lino Munoz in the opening group game on July 24, 2021. Many praised his performance and some fawned over his monochrome outfit.
The online compliments about Ng’s black outfit unexpectedly caught the attention of pro-Beijing netizens and politicians, who consider black a politically incorrect colour as the majority of protesters wore black t-shirts during the 2019 anti-China extradition protests.
The strongest criticism came from Nicholas Muk, a member of the pro-Beijing party, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), who wrote on his now-suspended Facebook page:
強烈譴責羽毛球港隊成員伍家朗穿著沒有區旗標識的黑色衫代表中國香港出戰！！！！
其他香港隊員參與混雙比賽都是穿著印有區旗的整齊隊服，如果不想代表中國香港，請選擇退賽！
I strongly condemn Angus Ng, Hong Kong badminton player, for wearing a black outfit that did not carry Hong Kong’s flag or emblem representing Hong Kong China!!!!
Other badminton players in the mixed doubles were wearing proper uniforms with Hong Kong’s flag. If you don’t want to represent Hong Kong China, please choose to withdraw from the competition.
Similar criticisms were raised on Facebook by DAB’s lawmaker, Steve Ho:
羽毛球隊連在隊服上印上區旗區徽的錢都沒有嗎？ 成何體統？黑衫黑褲印白字，設計都沒錢了嗎？ 民政局要處理這事！
The badminton team doesn’t even have the money to print Hong Kong’s flag and emblem on its jersey? Where’s the decorum? An all black outfit with white letters. No money for a proper design? The Home Affairs Bureau has to take care of this!
In response to the outrage, Angus Ng wrote first in English (see the title image) and then in Chinese on his Instagram to explain his outfit:
我知道好多人都對我既球衣好關心，因為並唔係我之前着開既球衣牌子，喺上一個post我已經交代左我現時冇球衣贊助，所以着既衫係自己既，而需要印名既比賽球衣都係自己要攞出去街印，但我並冇獲得授權去印上??旗，所以我不能私自把區旗印在衣服上。
然而，我一直為自己代表??比賽而感到很自豪，我心底入面都好喜歡哩一朵洋紫荊花。
關於??旗既事，我已經喺東京積極處理緊，希望喺下一場比賽之前可以修正番。
最後，希望大家睇奧運都係專注睇番運動員喺場上面既表現，而唔係集中喺我件衫上面啦。
I know that many people are curious about my jersey because it was a different brand. I explained in my previous post that I currently do not have a sportswear sponsor and I have to prepare my own shirts and pay for the printing cost. However, I am not authorized to print the Hong Kong flag on them. I cannot do so without authorization.
I have always been proud to represent Hong Kong in competitions. Deep down in my heart, I also like this bauhinia flower [on Hong Kong's flag] very much.
Concerning the issue about ‘flag’, I am handling the matter in Tokyo and hope I can fix it in the next round of games.
Lastly, I hope that everyone can focus on the players’ performance rather than my shirt.
Ng did not renew his contract with his previous apparel sponsor, Yonex, before the Olympics. His current outfit was prepared in alignment with the International Olympic Committee's apparel requirements, which requires players to display their name and the region and they represent i.e. ‘Hong Kong, China’. He could not print Hong Kong’s logo on it because of Hong Kong's Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance, which requires government authorization to print the flag and emblem.
Despite the clarification, many from the pro-Beijing camp relay their anger on social media. One Pro-Beijing social media outlet, Speak Out Hong Kong invited its followers to comment on Ng's explanation in a post that attracted hundreds of hateful responses, such as:
垃圾，敢做唔敢認，做昆蟲都唔夠膽認，更睇你唔起呀，你不代表香港
Rubbish, he dares to act but not to admit. I despise you for not admitting to be an insect, you don’t represent Hong Kong. [Note: Beijing supporters called pro-democracy protesters cockroaches to justify brutal crackdown during the anti-extradition protests.]
而家啲后生，九成心態都係黄嘅啦！你只有選擇，支持或唔支持，勞氣盞傷自己身，我就選擇唔支持香港運動員，反正大多都係垃圾
The majority of 90 percent young people are yellow. You can only choose either to support or not. Don’t entangle in the fight of words, I choose not to support Hong Kong players, they are mostly rubbish.
Ronnie Tong, a member of the Executive Council also advised Ng to avoid black outfits in the future, though he did so in a lighthearted manner:
我地見過鬼怕黑呀，所以最好唔好著黑色啦，免有D人睇睇吓電視心臟病發….
We are afraid of the dark after encountering ghosts (meaning after the anti-China extradition protests), so you’d better avoid wearing black, otherwise some may have a heart attack while watching the television.
Tong is a founding member of the pro-democracy Civic Party. However, he quit the party after the massive ‘Occupy Central’ pro-democracy protests in 2014 and joined Carrie Lam's Chief Executive election campaign in 2017. Since then, he has acted as Lam's political advisor. Hundreds have left comments under his post criticizing him for supporting the political colour censorship:
點解你半句批評都唔會鬧穆家駿，反而喺度Blame the victim，係你地班人上綱上線在先。Damage is done，你知唔知你地咁做有幾影響運動員狀態，唔求你好似新加坡陳川仁咁supportive，只求你地做番個負責任ge人。知微見著，呢D小問題都唔肯道歉，唔好怪人地唔支持呢個政府
Why don't you spare a sentence to criticize Nicholas Muk but keep blaming the victim. Your camp brought up such unreasonable political accusation. Damage is done. Do you know how this can affect the players. I don't expect you  to be as supportive as the Singapore politician Tan Chuan-Jin, but at least be responsible. If Muk and you don't apologize over such as small issue, don't expect people to support such a government.
咁點解你頭像pro pic仲係著緊黑色西裝？
Why do you still wear a black suit in your profile picture?
咁旅發局啲海外傳宣使唔使叫遊客唔好著黑色衫呀？香港咁多黐線嘅人
Why don't you ask Hong Kong Tourism Board to urge tourists not to wear black outfits? There are so many nuts in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong Badminton Association issued a statement on July 26 saying they have arranged another jersey for Ng.
Nicholas Muk suspended his Facebook page on July 26 after thousands of netizens left angry comments demanding him to apologize to the athlete.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Pakistani woman cricketer Nida Dar faces sexism from a former cricketer · Global Voices
Rai M Azlan

Screenshot from the interview of Abdul Razzaq and Nida Dar from the YouTube version of the G Sarkar with Nauman Ijaz show. Fair use.
Cricket is the most popular game in Pakistan and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is trying to grow awareness of the game among young women in Pakistan. In general, Pakistani women have to overcome many challenges when they enter sports, as they face inequality and discrimination from their patriarchal society. A recent sexist comment on a woman cricketer by a former cricketer turned coach on a TV show has created controversy in Pakistan, revealing that even empowered role models are not spared.
Former Pakistan cricketers Sharmeen Khan and Shazia Khan are deemed the pioneers of women's cricket in Pakistan. In 1996, the sisters helped secure  International Women's Cricket Council membership for Pakistan, enabling its women's team to start playing international cricket in the following year. In 2005, the PCB established a women's wing to oversee all cricket affairs under the PCB's control.
While the Pakistan women’s team might not have broken any records, it has had a fair share of success—winning the Asian Games gold twice and producing legends of the game such as Sana Mir, Bismah Maroof, and Nida Dar.
The PCB, in March 2019, appointed an all-women national selection committee for the first time. Marina Iqbal became the first Pakistan women cricketer to turn commentator in 2018; Urooj Mumtaz, former captain and a successful dentist in Karachi, is not only the chair of the women’s selection committee but also has served as the acting head of women's cricket. Sana Mir is an iconic figure when it comes to women's empowerment and women in sports in Pakistan. Despite these notable achievements as a society, the acceptance of women's cricket and women cricketers has not reached the level at which it should be. Women cricketers are the targets of a negative attitude: their game, their looks, the way they speak and the way they carry themselves are constantly policed here.
Abdul Razzaq, a celebrated all-rounder at the height of his career, is the coach of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cricket team, which is the reigning champion of all three top-tier championships of Pakistan’s domestic cricket structure. Nida Dar is Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in the Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) format of cricket, and no other bowler in women’s or  men’s cricket has more wickets in the format for Pakistan. They both were guests in the lighthearted chat show G Sarkar, hosted by the legendary actor Nauman Ijaz, in an episode that aired on June 6 on Neo TV. The format of the show is that the moderator leads a discussion with two celebrity guests on the show, helped by a panel of comedians who make jokes about them.
During the show, Abdul Razzaq commented on Nida Dar’s appearance, implying that she looks more like a man than a woman. His comments included shocking phrases such as “shake her hands and you won't even feel she's a girl,” and “can you not play cricket with longer hair?”
The clip of the interview went viral on internet and it became a topic of discussion on social media, especially Twitter.
Razzaq is making fun of Nida Dar for looking manly ? pic.twitter.com/ECPBgGdBsp
— Ghumman (@emclub77) July 14, 2021
These remarks from a senior and internationally acclaimed former cricketer are not something new for women athletes in Pakistan. Former captain Shahid Afridi also made sexist remarks about women cricketers.
Meanwhile, Nida Dar took the comments in a dignified manner and said that women players have to undergo rigorous training sessions. “Our profession is such that we have to do batting, bowling and every other thing that cricket requires which needs fitness, so yes your body does become hard. If I hadn’t been a cricketer, I would have definitely been a sports professional of some sort,” she said.
Many on social media reacted to the interview while Razzaq was called out for his sexist comments.
Journalist Nazrana Yousufzai tweeted:
Will men ever shut up and mind their own business. Mr Razzak, you are cheap.
pic.twitter.com/26bjq5yE00
— Nazrana Yousufzai (@nazranayusufzai) July 14, 2021
Medical student Haris Malik called it pathetic to ridicule a Pakistan cricketer on national TV:
You became a world class all rounder but your mentality stayed there from where you started your career. Pathetic of you to ridicule a Pakistani star on national TV. Sexism and sense of humour(‘_’) at their peak. https://t.co/urGwnCcmNI
— Haris Malik (@f__ranky) July 14, 2021
Another user commented that this is what our women cricketers have to face constantly in this society, being told they will not get married:
Always knew Abdul Razzaq was sexist af. This is despicable. He kept on saying sexist stuff about Nida Dar being “manly” and “inki shaadi nai hoti” & everyone else kept laughing.
This is what our women cricketers have to face constantly in this society. https://t.co/7XRaRC9MMH
— A (@Bhuut_) July 14, 2021
TV anchor Maria Memon did a whole segment on this topic in her show, and shared her two cents:
Razzaq , an accomplished sportsmen himself, is well aware of the hard work, dedication & commitment that goes in the making of a sportsperson.
My 2 cents on why Nida Dar is sooo cool & what’s so problematic about ridiculing women for their unconventional choices. @CoolNidadar pic.twitter.com/Z1OjnYaGxp
— Maria Memon (@Maria_Memon) July 18, 2021
The guardian of cricket and the cricketers in Pakistan, the PCB, refrained from making any comment on this incident. However, Pakistan tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi extended his support for Nida saying, “This kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable.”
A post shared by Aisam Qureshi (@aisamqureshi)
“In my mind, I am having a breakdown on live TV,” wrote another user:
In my mind I am having a breakdown on live TV, I am screaming at Abdul Razzak and all three of them for cornering Nida like that with their sexist and misogynist BS. https://t.co/UEXiKZdzcK
— ماھم (@kiyamusibathai) July 14, 2021
Two days after the clip went viral, Abdul Razzaq shared his version and said that comments were made “in a light-hearted way.”
½ A clip from a TV show has surfaced, highlighting some comments I made towards my fellow cricketer Nida Dar. Although these comments were made in a lighted-hearted way and not to offend anyone, on reflection the choice of words and their presentation was poor and wrong.
— Abdul Razzaq (@ARazzaqPak) July 16, 2021
He further said that he already communicated his position to Nida Dar:
I have subsequently called Nida Dar and clarified my position. I have utmost respect for all women, especially our women cricketers, who have made great strides in our sport. Nida is our shining star and I hope she continues to make Pakistan proud
— Abdul Razzaq (@ARazzaqPak) July 16, 2021
While social media called Abdul Razzaq out and demanded that national heroes do better in their interviews and public statements, there was resounding support for Nida Dar for staying composed and calm during the exchange.

author: Rai M Azlan


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Religious cleric criticizes Turkey’s women’s volleyball team for their appearance in Tokyo Olympics · Global Voices
Arzu Geybullayeva

A screenshot from a video stream of the Turkey vs. China women's volleyball game, Tokyo Olympics, July 25, 2021.
Turkey's women's volleyball team, known as the “Sultans of the Net,” beat China 3–0 during a Tokyo Olympic match on July 25. It was a win worth celebrating — China has previously won six Olympic medals in women's volleyball including three gold. But as many praised the Turkish team whose next game will be against Italy, others are facing backlash for criticizing the players over their so-called decency.
İhsan Şenocak, the founder of Scientific and Intellectual Research Center (IFAM), a religious association in Turkey, has gone viral after criticizing the players’ modesty. His tweet criticizing the team and discussing a woman's place in Islam spurred backlash online and re-energized discussions about women's rights and secularism in Turkey.
İSLAMIN KIZI!
Sen OYUN ALANLARININ değil, imanın, iffetin, ahlakın, hayanın, edebin SUTANISIN; SEN “burnunu göstermekten utanan” ANALARIN EVLADISIN. Ekranlara ve sakallı ağabeylerinin popüler kültürün kurbanlarına “sultan” demesine aldanmayasın! Umudumuz da, duamız da SENSİN!
— İhsan Şenocak (@ihsansenocak) July 25, 2021
The daughters of Islam! You are not the Sultan of the playing courts. You are the Sultan of faith, chastity, morality, modesty, and decency. You are the daughter who is ashamed of showing your nose. Don't be fooled and become prey to the screens and the bearded brothers’ popular culture calling you a Sultan. You are our hope and our prayer.
The response to this tweet among Turkish Twitter users was overwhelming.
Apaçık cehalet ve yobazlığı, farklı görüş zannediyorlar. Değil… pic.twitter.com/7h7658bftU
— can gurses (@canitti) July 25, 2021
They think that open ignorance and bigotry is about having a different view. But it isn't.
İki resim arasındaki medeniyet farkını buraya bırakıyorum :) #FileninSultanları ❤ pic.twitter.com/pCWeJdfx1M
— Periyodik Neşriyat ♚ (@ugur_yumuk_) July 25, 2021
I am leaving here the cultural difference between these two pictures.
KADIN voleybol takımımız! İslamın Kızları filan diye git doğrudan bir konuş istersen @ihsansenocak, bak bakalım kafaya kaç smaç yiyeceksin? Bu arada, kimsin ki sen? O da ayrı mesele. pic.twitter.com/H9j8K7w7yP
— Banu Guven (@banuguven) July 26, 2021
Our women's volleyball team! Why don't you ask yourself Ihsan Senocak about daughters of Islam. Let's see how many dunks you will get on your head? Also, who do you think you are? That is a whole other question.
The reactions to Şenocak's tweet prompted the user to share another tweet in which he claimed “there was nothing offensive” in his earlier tweet and that it was “simply a call about what a woman should and should not be in Islam.”
In 2019, Şenocak delivered a sermon in which he reportedly said, “daughters, wives, wearing pants, going to universities, and getting their eyebrows done, will end up in hell.”
This is not the first time, the Sultans were under the scrutiny of predominantly male conservatives. In January 2020, a member of the National People's Party (MHP) Birol Şahin was removed from the party ranks, after accusing the team of being immodest. Following a victory against Germany that secured the team the right to attend the Tokyo Olympics, Şahin said, “By defying the order of God to cover your body lines, you are dressing immodestly, you are exposing yourselves and you are glad about it because you are going to Tokyo.”
The division between Turkey's staunch conservatives and secularists is an ongoing point of tension. In 2014, President Erdogan accused feminists of not understanding motherhood. Speaking at a summit in Istanbul, the president reportedly said, “Some people can understand this, while others can’t. You cannot explain this to feminists because they don’t accept the concept of motherhood.”
In June 2021, the government under the ruling Justice and Development Party withdrew from the Istanbul Convention — a doctrine protecting women from domestic abuse and sexual assault. In an article for Al-Monitor, Journalist Pinar Tremblay accused conservatives of claiming to defend womanhood, but also turning women into trophies.
The state’s patriarchal Islamist ideology has made women’s bodies vulnerable. In its logic, women are the property of men. Each political conflict is seen as a battle. When the battle is over, the winner can have the loot, including the women and girls. For example, after the July 15 attempted coup, pro-AKP social media posts claimed that the “wives of putschists are our trophies.” During the referendum of 2017, an employee of Istanbul Municipality posted on social media that it was war, and when those who oppose the presidential system lose the referendum, “we can have their daughters and wives.”


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Afghan refugees flood into Turkey as USA announces final troop withdrawal · Global Voices
Doga Celik

A screenshot captured from BBC News video, titled “Afgan göçmenler anlatıyor: Türkiye'ye neden ve nasıl geliyorlar?”
American president Joe Biden announced in a June 8th speech at the White House, that American troops would withdraw from Afghanistan by August 31, after 20 years of occupation in the region. US troops first entered Afghanistan following the September 11th attacks on New York's World Trade Center, when the Taliban was suspected of hiding Osama bin Laden and supporting al-Qaeda.
During his speech, President Biden asserted that the US has achieved its foremost goals and has “degraded” the terrorist threats in Afghanistan. He also said it was time for the Afghan nation to build itself, without foreign help. But since the announcement there have been renewed inter-clashes between Afghan forces, the Taliban fighters have made swift territorial gains, and a growing number of Afghans have left their homes, indicating Biden's expectations for Afghanistan may be far-fetched.
Turkey has seen a spike in the number of incoming Afghan refugees, with more than 125,000 Afghans seeking asylum in Turkey in 2020 alone, according to the UNHCR 2020 report. Afghan refugees make up the second-largest refugee population in Turkey after Syrians.
According to Halk TV, a news media platform in Turkey, police detained 85 undocumented refugees in Niğde province on July 19. Of the 85,  73 were from Afghanistan, and 12 were Pakistani nationals. Another 59 Afghan nationals were detained in Turkey's Van province. According to Turkish officials, police have detained a total of 1,500 mostly Afghan migrants since early July. Some say if conditions in Afghanistan do not improve, the numbers could get much higher, reaching 1,000–1,200 refugees each day. “Should the Taliban expand its advances in the country this number can reach more than 2,000 on daily basis in August and September,” said one Afghan scholar, who spoke to Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Fotoğraf Ankara'nın Şereflikoçhisar ilçesinden. Kaçak yollarla Türkiye'ye giren 100'e yakın Afgan, Başkent'e kadar geldi. Yol kenarında indirilen Afganlar bölgede beklemeye devam ediyor. pic.twitter.com/oufVAnbMOA
— Aykırı (@aykiricomtr) July 23, 2021
This photograph is from the province of Şereflikoçhisar in Ankara. Some 100 Afghans entering Turkey illegally have almost reached the capital. Afghans who are dropped off by the side of the road continue to wait in the area.
Almost all of the Afghan refugees crossing into Turkey are male and undocumented, risking their lives while embarking on a perilous journey from Afghanistan to Turkey. Some make it through, others don't. Last year, a group of migrants drowned in lake Van and earlier this month, at least 12 Afghan, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi nationals died when their vehicle crashed.
In 2016, Turkey signed a refugee deal with the EU, agreeing to stop the refugees from entering Europe in exchange for 6 billion Euros (7 billion US dollars). With renewed tensions in Afghanistan, fleeing Afghan refugees may be facing a similar path.
In addition to Turkey, Pakistan and Iran each have significant numbers of Afghan refugees. But recently the governments of both countries decided to stop allowing refugees to enter. In July 2021, Pakistan’s government declared they have reached “their limit” and won’t be accepting any more Afghan refugees. In Iran, a controversial draft law proposed in November 2020 threatened undocumented Afghan migrants with 25 years in prison and a hefty fine. It also would allow the police to freely shoot at undocumented migrants and vehicles suspected of transporting them. In Turkey, undocumented migrants typically face deportation. Official statistics indicate more than 25,000 irregular immigrants of Afghan origin were deported in the first half of 2021.
For now, many officials have focused on downplaying the influx. The Minister of Interior, Süleyman Soylu, tweeted that “Turkey’s greatest strength lies in its ability to handle illegal immigration,” but he didn’t mention Afghan refugees explicitly.
Türkiye’nin en güçlü olduğu alan, kaçak göçle mücadelesidir.
Türkiye, etrafımızdaki coğrafyada tüm olup bitene rağmen göçü yönetmekte; ecdadımıza, komşuluğumuza, asil milletimize yakışanı yapmaktadır.
Fitneye, fesata, düşmanlığa, fırsat vermeyeceğiz ⬇ pic.twitter.com/BqTxmXww39
— Süleyman Soylu (@suleymansoylu) July 19, 2021
Turkey's greatest strength lies in its handling of illegal migration. Turkey is controlling the migration in spite of what happens nearby; and is doing what is worthy of our mighty nation. We won't allow any hostility.
Ismail Catakli, the spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior, claimed videos depicting a refugee influx were misleading.
Afganistan'da, Taliban'ın güç kazanması sonrası on binlerce Afgan uyruklu mülteci ülkelerini terk etmeye başladı. Ülkelerinden yola çıkan mülteci kafileleri, gruplar halinde İran üzerinden Türkiye'ye girmeye başladı. pic.twitter.com/SuWQrfUdai
— Ruşen Takva (@RusenTakva) July 11, 2021
Tens of thousands of Afghan refugees are leaving Afghanistan as Taliban makes advances in the country. Refugee convoys, who set out from their country, are entering Turkey in groups via Iran.
The government has dispatched special operation battalions to three of Turkey's southeastern provinces bordering Iran including Van, Iğdır, and Ağrı. Additional measures include an increased number of patrols and checkpoints at key crossing points. Those who are caught illegally crossing are being deported back to Iran.
Despite assurances, reports of illegal border crossings have sparked criticism of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for their inability to stop the incoming migrants. Some, like the leader of the opposition Republican People's Party, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, are using a strong anti-immigrant policy approach to gain political points for the 2023 election.
İktidarımızda Suriyeli misafirlerimizle helalleşip iki yılda memleketlerine uğurlayacağız. Bu iktidarımızın en önemli beş önceliğinden biridir. Plan ve programlarımız hazır. Bu video da bunun taahhüdü olarak burada dursun istedim. pic.twitter.com/5kE4csutCo
— Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (@kilicdarogluk) July 16, 2021
If we become the government in power, we will say our farewells to our Syrian guests. This is one of our five goals. We have our plans and programmes ready. I wanted this video to be here as a proof.
Meanwhile, President Erdoğan has been talking with President Biden since June about Turkey's plans to take over Kabul's international airport, after US troops withdraw from Afghanistan. President Erdoğan reiterated Turkey's readiness to continue its presence in Kabul, while speaking to journalists from Northern Cyprus on July 20, dismissing the Taliban's opposition to the plan.
Turkey has been providing security at the Kabul airport since 2015 and currently has 500 troops deployed in non-combat missions in Afghanistan as part of NATO efforts. But the Taliban made it clear that it would regard any foreign troops as invaders come September. “Turkey is like a brother: we have a long history. Unfortunately, Turkey's actions in the last 20 years do not fit with our views, because they are situated in Afghanistan as a NATO member. Having foreign powers in Afghanistan is not desirable, because it means they might interfere with Afghanistan's domestic policy,” said Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mücahid.

author: Doga Celik