Miss World Brazil Letícia Frota and Pragnya Ayyagari, Miss Supranational India agreed that zero leprosy and campaigns to destigmatize the disease should not be sidelined because of COVID-19. Credit: Joyce Chimbi/IPS
by Joyce Chimbi (nairobi)
Inter Press Service
Nairobi, Nov 08 (IPS) – Deep-rooted discrimination against persons affected by leprosy or Hansen’s disease has marginalized individuals and communities. As social pariahs, opportunities to pursue their dreams are limited because, at best, they live at the periphery of society and, more often than not, are ostracized.
Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, said that because of discrimination and shame, “We had a long period when all people affected by leprosy had to live silently. Today, we have the Don’t Forget Leprosy Campaign, and we all have a role to play in this endeavor.”
Yohei Sasakawa, WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination, says everybody has a role to play in destigmatizing leprosy. Credit: Sasakawa Foundation
He was speaking during the third and final day of the 2nd Global Forum of People’s Organizations on Hansen’s Disease held by the Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) Initiative in Hyderabad, India, from November 6 to 8, 2022, where participation was both in person and virtual.
During the Forum, discussions centered on the challenges persons affected by leprosy face and the vision of the future they wish to create moving into the post-COVID era. The primary objective was to strengthen and maximize the roles and capacities of people’s organizations to promote the dignity of persons affected by Hansen’s Disease.
Speakers and participants at the 2nd Forum highlighted how persons affected by leprosy are increasingly speaking out and seeking participation in implementing leprosy programs and formulating related policies. There are at least 41 People’s Organizations on Hansen’s disease in 25 countries across the globe.
Good practices of how people’s organizations are building capacities and expanding roles to enhance the dignity of those affected by the ancient disease from countries such as Ethiopia, India, Nepal, and Indonesia were extensively shared on days one and two of the Global Forum.
This gave way to the third and final day for speakers and attending participants to host side events on a theme of their choice in line with the Forum’s overall objective.
Miss World Brazil Letícia Frota and Pragnya Ayyagari, Miss Supranational India held a special session to raise visibility about persons affected by leprosy within the context of the Don’t Forget Leprosy Campaign. They reminded the world that leprosy should not be sidelined amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The beauty queens spoke passionately about the need for a united vision toward a future without leprosy. They participated in a panel discussion that included Sasakawa and representatives of the Movement of Reintegration of Persons Afflicted by Hansen’s Disease (MORHAN) in Brazil and the Association of People Affected by Leprosy-India (APAL).
Discussions were firmly centered on the need to raise awareness and increase visibility around Hansen’s disease and the people affected, to work towards their inclusion and integration, and to particularly reach out to the younger generation as their role is critical towards zero leprosy.
“I am very empathetically connected to this cause, and I will use my influence to connect with young people in raising awareness about Hansen’s disease. I am very encouraged about ongoing efforts by MORHAN to educate school-going children about Hansen’s disease,” Ayyagari explained.
Frota stressed the need to spread awareness, especially to the younger generation who remain in the dark regarding leprosy. To change the future, she said, “We need to change the landscape of the disease by actively engaging young people. I will continue to engage and raise funds towards a future without leprosy.”
Miss World Brazil further spoke about the rights of people affected by leprosy to live and enjoy opportunities without discrimination. She highlighted the need for early detection and treatment of leprosy as critical to reaching zero leprosy.
Participants were pleased with the involvement of the beauty queens because, as celebrities, they can use their massive following to draw attention to the disease.
Representatives of MORHAN and APAL said that as people affected by leprosy, there is an urgent need to take the message to the world that leprosy is curable and that the community must not be forgotten even as COVID-19 continues to take center stage.
They all lauded ongoing efforts to bring the global community together to bring attention to the ancient disease and to forge a way forward toward its elimination.
Sasakawa encouraged those at the forefront of fighting stigma and discrimination against leprosy and those taking active steps towards its elimination always to remember that they are not alone.
“So many like-minded people support you and are comrades in this fight. You might face certain challenges going forward but remember that so many people are backing you,” he said.
During the panel discussion, persons affected by leprosy from different countries had an opportunity to speak about how they are still grappling with the pain of stigma and discrimination even after being healed from leprosy.
They stressed that even though they cannot transmit leprosy to others, they are still treated with fear, and many are silenced by the stigma, unable to live life to their full potential. They vowed to use this pain to fuel and boost the Don’t Forget Leprosy campaign towards a future free from all forms of discrimination against those affected by the ancient disease.
In all, representatives of persons affected by leprosy urged participants to use the little they have to do whatever they can. By and by, they said, the global campaign to eliminate leprosy will grow wings to fly to every corner of the world, to reach people with the message that leprosy is curable, and to give hope to every person affected by leprosy.
Asia-Pacific region records by far the biggest jump in passenger traffic amid easing border restrictions.
Global air travel continued its recovery from the pandemic in September as passenger traffic surged 57 percent compared with 2021, trade association figures have shown.
Passenger traffic reached 74 percent of pre-pandemic levels in September as people rushed back to travel following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also shown on Monday.
The Asia Pacific, which was slower than other regions to lift border restrictions, recorded by far the biggest jump in travel, with passenger traffic soaring 465 percent compared with last year.
Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan recently lifted border restrictions in an effort to revive their pandemic-battered travel industries. China, the region’s biggest economy by far, continues to restrict non-essential travel by its citizens and subject all arrivals to 10 days of quarantine under its ultra-strict “dynamic zero COVID” policy.
Middle Eastern airlines recorded the next biggest rise in passenger traffic, up 150 percent, followed by North American and Latin American airlines, which saw traffic rise 129 percent and 99 percent, respectively.
African airlines’ traffic climbed 91 percent, while European carriers saw traffic rise 78 percent.
Broken down by domestic and international travel, overseas traffic climbed 122 percent, while internal traffic rose 7 percent.
In contrast, global air cargo demand, while just slightly below pre-pandemic levels, fell 11 percent compared with September 2021 as slowing economic growth and recession fears weighed on demand.
IATA Director General Willie Walsh welcomed the figures as a positive sign for global aviation in the face of economic and geopolitical uncertainties.
“The outlier is still China with its pursuit of a zero-COVID strategy keeping borders largely closed and creating a demand roller coaster ride for its domestic market, with September being down 46.4 percent on the previous year,” Walsh said.
“That is in sharp contrast to the rest of Asia Pacific, which, despite China’s dismal performance, posted a 464.8 percent increase for international traffic compared to the year-ago period.”
Corals and coral reefs are found around the islands and atolls of the Pacific. In Vanuatu, the government, with the support of SPC, implemented a coral reef climate change adaptation project based on coral gardening. Photo credit: SPC
by Catherine Wilson (sydney)
Inter Press Service
Sydney, Nov 05 (IPS) – Today, the window of opportunity for scaled-up global climate action to prevent disastrous global warming and build resilience in the most vulnerable nations is closing fast. And a major impediment to reducing emissions and accelerating climate adaptation is both lack of financial investment and major bureaucratic hurdles to accessing those funds that are available.
For Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS), the failure of the international community to provide US$100 billion per year to address climate change impacts in the developing world, a pledge made thirteen years ago, has grave consequences. And it will be a major issue for Pacific leaders at the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference due to start in Egypt on Sunday.
On Kadavu and Ra Islands in Fiji, SPC supported the implementation of an Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) and climate change resilience project. Photo credit: SPC
“The Pacific is at the frontline of the impacts of climate change. Climate finance is critical to allow mitigation and adaptation actions, yet the region is suffering from a lack of access to the climate finance already committed to global mechanisms like the Green Climate Fund. Due to global priority setting or global priorities, it is not flowing to where it is needed most,” Dr Stuart Minchin, Director-General of the regional development organization, Pacific Community, in Noumea, New Caledonia, told IPS. “It seems the polluters are setting the rules, and consequently, the flow of climate finance is more like a drip feed than the torrent that is required to meet the challenges of the region.”
Island nations scattered across the Pacific Ocean are among the world’s most exposed to climate extremes, such as rising air temperatures, ocean acidification, more damaging cyclones, heatwaves and the critical loss of biodiversity, water and food security, the IPCC reported this year. The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat estimates that the region needs US$1 billion per year to implement its climate adaptation goals and US$5.2 billion annually by 2030.
“Without global funding, Pacific Island countries and territories will not be able to identify and implement climate solutions,” Anne-Claire Goarant, Programme Manager for the Pacific Community’s Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Programme in Noumea told IPS, adding that the costs will be high. “Already climate-induced disasters are causing economic costs of 0.5 percent to 6.6 percent of annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Pacific Island countries. This trend will continue in the future in the absence of urgent climate action. Without adaptation measures, a high island, such as Viti Levu in Fiji, could experience damages of US$23-52 million per year by 2050.”
The unique characteristics of islands, such as small land areas, the very close proximity of many communities, infrastructure and economic activities to coastlines and precarious economies, means that severe weather events can have disastrous impacts. Fifty-five percent of the Pacific Islanders live less than 1 kilometre from the sea, and every year more villages face relocation as their existence is endangered by flooding and sea erosion. Excessive heat, drought and rainfall are predicted to threaten crop and food production, and by the end of the century, important revenues from Pacific tourism could plummet by 27-34 percent.
The costs of climate adaptation could reach more than 25 percent of GDP in Kiribati, 15 percent of GDP in Tuvalu and more than 10 percent of GDP in Vanuatu. Yet Pacific Island nations are ‘among the least equipped to adapt, putting their economic development and macroeconomic stability at risk,’ reports the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
One of the two largest global sources of climate finance is the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which has the mandate to focus on the needs of developing countries, and another, the Adaptation Fund, supports tangible adaptation projects. However, most of the global funding tracked by Oxfam in 2017-2018 did not reach the most fragile nations. Only 20.5 percent of reported finance was allocated to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and 3 percent to Small Island Developing States.
“On financing adaptation in developing countries, what’s happened thus far is not good enough. We need to scale up quite dramatically the ambition within the multilateral development banks and bilateral donors. And we need to work on blended finance, where some public finance leverages private finance, and there is a proper sharing of risks between the private and public sectors,” Mark Carney, the United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Finance, has stated.
The Pacific Community is working closely with nations across the region to develop and submit climate funding proposals and support them in implementing projects once finance is approved. In Fiji, Nauru, Tonga and the Solomon Islands, for example, it is supporting projects on the ground to build climate resilience expertise and capacity among smallholder farmers with a Euro 4.6 million grant from the multi-donor Kiwa Initiative.
But many countries in the region are experiencing limited success with funding applications. In the Federated States of Micronesia, financial support is needed for increasing resilience in health, protecting coastal areas, lifeline access roads, and critical infrastructure from climate destruction and improving water security, Belinda Hadley, Team Leader in FSM’s National Designated Authority for the Green Climate Fund explained. But funding remains elusive as the island states struggle with overly difficult and resource-intensive application processes.
“The processes to apply for multilateral climate finance are heavy and complex. This makes accessing climate finance a slow and onerous process. In-country capacities within governments and other institutions are insufficient in the face of such complex processes. Many countries don’t have enough sufficient personnel to meet the burdensome requirements set by the donors,” Dirk Snyman, Co-ordinator of the Pacific Community’s Climate Finance Unit told IPS. “Even after project approval, disbursement of funds can still take one to two years. This does not allow countries to implement their adaptation and mitigation actions within the timeframes required.”
Funders need “to facilitate faster and easier access to climate finance in such a manner that the climate change priorities of Pacific communities, rather than the priorities and policies of the donors, are driving the regional portfolio of climate change projects,” Maëva Tesan, Communications and Knowledge Management Officer for the Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability Programme emphasized.
Snyman said that the situation could be improved if multilateral finance providers made application procedures more streamlined and flexible, changed the current compliance-based approach to a focus on positive project impacts and a dedicated climate fund was established for losses and damages in the region.
These views are echoed by the IMF, which recommends that climate finance providers should recognize ‘the shrinking window of opportunity to address the climate crisis’ and ‘consider further efforts to rebalance the risks to shareholders with the urgency of climate adaptation needs of small and fragile countries.’
The COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on 6-18 November.
PJAK copresident Zilan Vejin and a fellow fighter somewhere in the Kurdish mountains. Credit: Karlos Zurutuza/IPS
by Karlos Zurutuza (iran-iraq border)
Inter Press Service
IRAN-IRAQ BORDER, Nov 04 (IPS) – Iran-Iraq border -It usually takes hours of driving in a 4X4 before heading out on foot through a dense forest. There, protected under a sea of beech trees from the view of the drones, it is the guerrillas of the PJAK (Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan) who find us.
We are somewhere in the mountains across the border between Iran and Iraq. We cannot give our coordinates, nor can we photograph the guerrilla fighters or any spatial references that may give clues about their location. That’s the deal.
The PJAK is an organization made up mainly of Kurdish men and women from Iran fighting for the democratization of the country through the lines of “democratic confederalism,” a libertarian-left, culturally progressive ideology and political system defined by Abdullah Öcalan. He is the co-founder and leader of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) in prison since 1999 and sentenced to life by the Turkish state.
Two women in their thirties invite us to take a seat around a table inside a humble mountain hut. One of them is Zilan Vejin, the co-president of PJAK. We ask her about the most pressing issue: the chain of protests in Iran that are challenging the Shia theocracy in power since 1979.
It was last September 16 when Mahsa Amini , a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, was beaten to death by the Iranian “morality police” for wearing the Islamic headscarf incorrectly. Since then, thousands of men and women have taken to the streets chanting “Women, Life, Freedom”, a slogan that, Vejin recalls, was coined by her movement during a 2013 meeting.
“The problem of women’s freedom is an issue whose importance was identified, analyzed and defined by our leadership 40 years ago. Today, all the peoples of Iran are facing it,” the guerrilla fighter tells IPS.
Several international organizations such as Amnesty International have denounced the difficulties of ethnic minorities -such as Kurds, Baluch or Arabs- in accessing education, employment or housing.
In addition to socioeconomic discrimination, all women regardless of their ethnicity have seemingly become the target of the theocratic government.
In its latest report on the country, Human Rights Watch denounced the marginalization of half the population in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody. The lack of options for women in situations such as domestic violence or child marriage is also noted by the NGO.
Could this civil uprising put an end to all this? The PJAK co-leader is optimistic.
“This revolt is very different from all those that have occurred in the 43 years that the ayatollahs have spent in power. It started in Kurdistan led by women, and from there it spread throughout the country because it brings together people of all nationalities within Iran,” claims the senior guerrilla fighter.
The hijab, she stresses, is “the excuse for a revolt that calls for freedom and democracy. People don’t just want reforms without seeking to change the current policies, the system and the administration”.
On whether the armed struggle can be one of the means to achieve it, Vejin sticks to the right to “legitimate defense”.
“The armed struggle is only a part of our strength that also includes civil, social and democratic actions. Of course, if the State commits massacres, we will not remain idle,” says the Kurdish woman.
The moment when Zilan Vejin was elected as PJAK co-leader during a meeting of the party´s leadership (Courtesy PJAK)
On the Iranian board
PJAK militia women are not the only Kurdish women in Iran ready to take up arms. There are women fighting alongside men in the ranks of the PDKI (Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan), while the PAK (Kurdistan Freedom Party) even has an all-female contingent.
The latter’s ultimate goal is the creation of an independent Kurdish state that includes the four parts into which it is currently divided (Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria).
Hana Hussein Yazdanpana, the spokesperson for the PAK women’s contingent, spoke to IPS by telephone from an unspecified location in the mountains. Apparently, their bases in the valley have become a recurring target for Iranian missiles.
PAK fighters carry the body of a fellow fighter after the last Iranian bombing of their bases in Iraq´s Kurdistan Region (Courtesy PAK)
“The last one happened on September 28: we lost ten of ours and 21 were injured. Iran has threatened us with doing it again if we don’t stop supporting the protests and giving shelter to those fleeing the country,” explained Yazdanpana.
According to her, the PAK has 3,000 Peshmerga (“Those who face death,” in Kurdish) fighters. One-third are women who received training from the American and German contingents, among others, included in the international coalition against the Islamic State.
They have also fought Tehran-backed Shiite militias operating on Iraqi soil. As to whether they will take advantage of that experience to fight against the ayatollahs, Yazdanpana was blunt.
“The fight must be peaceful. The protest will only be successful if the free world openly supports the people and takes action against the Islamic Republic.”
Other than in the Kurdish mountains, the guerrillas can also be found on the Internet. On its website, the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan defines itself as “a social democratic party that advocates for a free and democratic federal Iran.”
Komala guerrilla fighters somewhere in the mountains between Iran and Iraq (Courtesy Komala)
With its bases in the southeastern corner of the Kurdish Autonomous Region of Iraq -very close to the border with Iran- Komala claims to be the first Kurdish organization to ever set up a battalion of women fighters, back in 1982.
“When Komala was founded in 1969 one of its main pillars, besides socialism and Kurdish self-determination, was gender equality,” Zagros Khosravi, a member of its central committee, told IPS over the phone.
He pointed to a contingent of “a few hundred fighters deployed in the mountains,” but insisted that their main strength lies in the “thousands” that can be mobilized inside Iran. “Many of them have been trained in civil resistance tactics,” noted the guerrilla.
One of the most recent milestones, he added, was the creation, together with the PDKI, of a cooperation node between Kurdish-Iranian political parties. “You can see the result in the high level of participation of the Kurdish nation in these protests,” he added.
From the Kurdish Peace Institute, Kamal Chomani, a Kurdish affairs analyst, told IPS over the phone that coordination between the Kurdish-Iranian organizations will be “key” if a potential escalation of violence against the protests leads to an open armed conflict with the regime.
The differences between the different Kurdish-Iranian organizations, he added, respond to the diversity of the Kurdish political arc as a whole.
“Whereas in Syria and Turkey the majority of Kurds subscribe to a leftist, progressive and communalist ideology, in Iran and Iraq we come across a nationalist and traditionalist variable in which tribal keys are also crucial,” explained Chomani.
As to how these actors are deployed on the troubled Iranian chessboard, the expert foresees this scenario:
“The PJAK is the one with the most experience in guerrilla warfare due to its links with the PKK and they have great organizational capacity. The PDKI, and especially Komala, have strong roots in Iran because they have been very active politically and militarily since the 1970s, and that will allow them to mobilize fighters within the country.”
Meanwhile, Iranian women continue to take to the streets. According to data from the HRANA news agency -managed by human rights activists-an estimated 300 have been killed since the protests began. The number of detainees now exceeds 13,000.
Noeleen Heyzer, UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, talks with Rohingya refugees in a camp in Bangladesh. October 2022. Credit: Office of the Special Envoy on Myanmar
Opinion by Jan Servaes (brussels)
Inter Press Service
BRUSSELS, Nov 04 (IPS) – For 10 days in November, the world’s diplomatic attention will largely be focused on three major diplomatic meetings in Southeast Asia.
These include the Group of 20 (G-20) Summit on November 15-16 in Bali, Indonesia, and the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, which will be held November 18-19 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Both follow the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and related meetings, which will take place November 8-13 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and include the East Asia Summit.
The meeting in Cambodia will be the first ASEAN meeting that US President Biden will attend in person as last year’s meetings were held remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He will also become only the second sitting U.S. president to visit the country, after President Barack Obama (also for an ASEAN meeting) in 2012.
While in Cambodia, Biden will, according to a White House statement, “explain the importance of advocating cooperation between the US and ASEAN in ensuring security and prosperity in the region, and the well-being of our combined one billion people”.
This is likely to include much reference to ASEAN’s important position in Washington’s “Indo-Pacific” strategy, and its emphasis on its prized position of ‘centrality’ in Asian diplomacy.
The crisis in Myanmar will also be central to all these meetings. In preparation, in June 2022, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) launched an International Parliamentary Inquiry (IPI) into the global response to the crisis in Myanmar with the aim of providing strategic, principled, achievable and time-bound policy recommendations to international actors, so that they can better work towards an end to violence and a return to democracy in the country.
Their report, titled “Time is not on our side – The failed international response to the Myanmar coup,” was presented at a press conference in Bangkok on Nov. 2.
The IPI is formed by a committee of MPs from seven different countries in Africa, America, Asia and Europe, consisting of IPI President Heidi Hautala (Vice President of the European Parliament), Mercy Chriesty Barends (Member of the House of Representatives in Indonesia and Board Member of APHR), Taufik Basari (Member of the House of Representatives in Indonesia), Amadou Camara (Member of the Gambia National Assembly, and Steering Committee Member of the African Parliamentary Association on Human Rights), Nqabayomzi Kwankwa (Member of the National Assembly Assembly of South Africa, and Chairman of the AfriPAHR), Ilhan Omar (US Congress member), Nitipon Piwmow (MP in Thailand) and Charles Santiago (MP in Malaysia and President of APHR).
The report: “Time is not on our side”
Since the military of Myanmar staged a coup d’état on February 1, 2021, the situation in the country has steadily deteriorated. The military junta, led by Major General Min Aung Hlaing, has waged a brutal war of attrition against its own people, perpetrating countless atrocities and destroying the country’s economy.
Armed forces have killed at least 2,371 people and displaced hundreds of thousands, bringing the total number of displaced persons in the country to more than 1.3 million. The junta has also imprisoned more than 15,000 political prisoners and routinely used torture against those arrested. At the same time, they cracked down on freedom of expression and association, including intense repression against independent media and civil society.
Yet the Burmese resisted en masse. The initial peaceful demonstrations in the immediate aftermath of the coup, as well as the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM) in which hundreds of thousands joined a general strike, demonstrated the population’s overwhelming rejection of a return to military rule. The coup has also led to an unprecedented level of unity among those who oppose the military across ethnic borders.
Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) was formed in April 2021 bringing together parliamentarians ousted in the coup, representatives of ethnic minorities and civil society actors. The NUG rightly claims a mandate as a legitimate representative of the Myanmar people. It enjoys widespread legitimacy and support, especially in the interior of the country, and represents the most inclusive government in Myanmar’s history.
The NUG is committed to the establishment of a new constitution and genuine federal democracy in Myanmar, which would be an important step towards fulfilling the ambitions for autonomy of the country’s ethnic minorities.
The junta’s attempts to quell the resistance with extreme violence failed dramatically, serving only to exacerbate existing tensions and incite some anti-junta activists to turn to armed struggle to defend themselves. Anti-military militias known as People’s Defense Forces (PDFs) – some commanded by the NUG – have been formed across the country, including in previously relatively peaceful areas.
The coup has also sparked a new wave of violence between the military and the Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs), which have struggled for decades for autonomy in the country’s border regions.
Some of these EAOs, such as the armed wings of the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), have joined the NUG. However, not all EAOs have formally joined the anti-military struggle as Myanmar’s political landscape remains highly complex and fractured.
The escalating violence has accelerated the near collapse of the economy and an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Myanmar’s GDP has fallen by 13 percent since 2019 and 40 percent of the country’s population now lives below the national poverty line. Despite the increased needs, humanitarian actors have struggled to reach vulnerable and remote populations as the military has severely restricted access for humanitarian aid.
Poor response by international community
The international community has been largely unable to respond effectively to the crisis. The junta’s international allies—notably Russia and China—prove steadfast and uncritical supporters, providing both weapons and legitimacy to an otherwise isolated regime.
However, foreign governments that support democracy have not supported their rhetoric with the same force. While a number of countries have imposed sanctions on junta leaders and their personal assets, these efforts remain uncoordinated and have failed to crack down on key revenue-generating entities such as the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE).
The United Nations, in particular, is hampered by internal divisions and appears unable to exert any influence. The NUG has attracted supporters worldwide and continues to occupy Myanmar’s seat at the UN, but most governments are hesitant to formally recognize them, despite calls from parliaments and advocates to do so.
ASEAN unable to respond effectively
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which Myanmar is a member, is also plagued by internal divisions and has been unable to respond effectively. The bloc’s five-point consensus, signed in April 2021 and aimed at tackling the crisis, has failed completely, hampered by a lack of will on the part of all ASEAN member states to enforce it, and a military leadership in Myanmar that has shown no intent to implement it.
While some member states, such as Malaysia, have called for new approaches, including direct involvement with the NUG and other pro-democracy forces, others, including Thailand or Cambodia, remain “junta enablers.”
As Myanmar slides into civil war, the possibility for a negotiated solution to the conflict is almost completely closed. The dialogue prescribed in ASEAN’s five-point consensus is impossible under the current circumstances.
The responsibility lies with the junta, which has shown no willingness to engage with those who oppose it and has instead relied solely on brute force in its effort to wipe out any opposition.
The July 2022 execution of four political prisoners, the country’s first judicial execution since 1988, highlighted both the brutality of the military and its complete disinterest in negotiations. The coup unceremoniously brought an end to the previous power-sharing arrangement with the civilian leadership. Now the vast majority of Myanmar’s population has expressed a clear desire not to return to the status quo of the past.
The military junta has failed to consolidate its power
Nineteen months after the coup, the military junta has failed to consolidate its power. This is also apparent from a recent report by Noeleen Heyzer, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Myanmar. Large parts of Myanmar’s territory are disputed between the military and forces affiliated with the NUG or EAOs, and it can be argued that the coup has failed.
In areas along the Thai border, EAOs are working together, providing basic services to the population. That way one is showing what a future Myanmar, in which different groups will work together instead of fighting each other, looks like.
In sum
With Myanmar’s future at stake, external pressure on the military and support for the resistance could be the deciding factor in the course of the conflict. The international community can and must do more to help the Myanmar people establish a federal democracy.
It should begin significantly increasing efforts to address the worsening humanitarian crisis, increasing pressure on the illegal junta through coordinated sanctions and arms embargoes, and recognizing the NUG as the legitimate authority in Myanmar.
The NUG, as well as the aligned EAOs, should be provided with funding and capacity building programs in governance and federalism. But urgent action is needed because, as Khin Ohmar, Myanmar activist and chairwoman of the Progressive Voice, said at one of the IPI hearings: “Time is not on our side”.
The countries and international institutions that claim to support democracy in Myanmar must act urgently. If they are serious about helping the Myanmar people in their hour of greatest need, they must adopt creative and effective policies to provide support and pave the way for a better future for the country.
Min Aung Hlaing’s junta has failed to take control of the country, but pro-democracy forces cannot drive the military out of Myanmar’s political life on their own. The forces fighting for federal democracy need all the help they can get from allies in the global community.
Recommendations
The International Parliamentary Inquiry (IPI) makes a number of recommendations that focus on the urgent need to increase humanitarian assistance to Myanmar, to urge neighboring countries (notably Thailand, India and Bangladesh) to provide more cross-border humanitarian aid and to work as much as possible directly with local, community-based aid groups, and not with the junta.
Pressure on the junta must also be increased, through coordinated and genuinely impactful sanctions. For instance, by calling on governments that have not yet sanctioned the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), especially the United States, to do so as soon as possible.
At the same time, Myanmar’s pro-democracy forces – including the NUG and ethnic organizations– should be recognized and given the political and financial support they need. The NUG and EAOs should start negotiating a future settlement for a federal democracy in Myanmar.
The NUG should also be encouraged to unconditionally restore Rohingya citizenship and accept the return of those who have sought refuge in Bangladesh over the years.
One should acknowledge that the five-point consensus has failed and that Min Aung Hlaing’s junta is not a reliable partner. ASEAN must abandon the five-point consensus in its current form and negotiate a new agreement on the crisis in Myanmar with the NUG, local civil society organizations (CSOs) and representatives of ethnic armed organizations (EAOs).
Jan Servaes was UNESCO-Chair in Communication for Sustainable Social Change at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He taught ‘international communication’ in Australia, Belgium, China, Hong Kong, the US, Netherlands and Thailand, in addition to short-term projects at about 120 universities in 55 countries. He is editor of the 2020 Handbook on Communication for Development and Social Change.https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-981-10-7035-8
As guests arrive at eastern Australia’s Warilla Hotel, a small camera equipped with facial recognition software scans their faces as part of a scheme to tackle problem gambling.
The tech – which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to identify addicts who have asked to be barred from betting sites – is set to be rolled out across gambling venues in the state of New South Wales next year.
Supporters say it will help curb problem gambling in a country where the addiction affects about 1 percent of the population and annual losses run to billions of dollars.
But the technology is “invasive, dangerous and undermines our most basic and fundamental rights”, said Samantha Floreani, programme lead at the non-profit group Digital Rights Watch.
“We should be exceptionally wary of introducing it into more areas of our lives and it should not be seen as a simple quick-fix solution to complex social issues,” she said.
The Warilla Hotel did not respond to requests for comment. Its website states it supports “responsible” gambling.
The AI scheme’s organisers, industry bodies ClubsNSW and the Australian Hotels Association NSW (AHA NSW), said “strict privacy protections” were in place.
‘Best opportunity’
Facial recognition systems use AI to match live images of a person against a database of images – in this case, a gallery of people who have voluntarily signed up to a “self-exclusion” scheme for problem gamblers.
If the camera identifies someone on the state-wide database, a member of staff is alerted so they can be denied entry to casinos or escorted away from slot machines in hotels and bars.
“We think this is the best opportunity we’ve got in preventing people who have self-excluded from entering the venues,” said John Green, director of AHA NSW.
The data collected will be secured and encrypted and will not be accessible by any third parties, including the police and even the gambling venues, said Green.
However, digital rights groups said the tech was ineffective in stopping problem gambling and could go on to be used for wider surveillance, adding such projects underline the need for tougher privacy and data rights laws to protect citizens.
“People who opt into self-exclusion programmes deserve meaningful support, rather than having punitive surveillance technology imposed upon them,” said Floreani of Digital Rights Watch.
“And those who have not opted into these programmes ought to be able to go to the pub without having their faces scanned and their privacy undermined.”
Digital rights campaigners want Australia’s 1988 Privacy Act to be reformed to better address the use of facial recognition technology, and clarify when and how it can be used.
Facial recognition technology is increasingly used across the globe for everything from unlocking mobile phones to checking in for flights. It has also been adopted by some police forces.
Advocates say it helps keep public order, solve crime and even find missing people.
Critics say there is little evidence it reduces crime and that it carries an inherent risk of bias and misidentification, especially for darker-skinned people and women.
Gambling industry bodies have said the facial recognition cameras would only be used to enforce the self-exclusion scheme.
But a draft law introduced in New South Wales’s parliament last month, which will formally legalise the tech in clubs and pubs includes language that would incorporate other uses, including people banned for being too drunk.
“There’s a capacity for scope creep, the capacity for this to facilitate further uses,” said Jake Goldenfein, a senior lecturer at Melbourne Law School, who studies technology.
He called for more regulation on facial recognition due to the sensitivity of the data captured and the heightened risks from data breaches.
“Facial templates are … not something we can change. If we lose control over our biometric information, it becomes particularly dangerous,” he said.
Advocates for reform have pushed for measures such as reduced opening hours of gambling venues and limits on the value of bets.
The use of facial recognition technology is the industry’s way of delaying such reforms and is unlikely to have a “practical effect” on problem gambling, said Tim Costello, chief advocate at the Alliance for Gambling Reform, a pressure group.
“The clubs are trying to look proactive … it’s complete window dressing to stop real reform,” he said.
Green at AHA NSW said a survey of self-excluded gamblers found that more than eight in 10 respondents felt using facial recognition would be effective.
There is growing pushback against facial recognition in Europe, the United States and elsewhere [File: Markus Schreiber/Reuters]
There is growing pushback against facial recognition in Europe, the United States and elsewhere, with companies including Microsoft and Amazon ending or curbing sales of the technology to the police.
In Australia, retail giants Bunnings and Kmart halted the use of facial recognition technology to monitor customers in their stores earlier this year after the country’s privacy regulator opened an investigation into whether they had broken the law.
Consumer rights group CHOICE, which referred the brands to the regulator, said the tech was “unreasonably intrusive” and “customers’ silence cannot be taken as consent” to its use.
The Australian Human Rights Commission last year called for a ban on facial recognition technology until it is better regulated with “stronger, clearer and more targeted” human rights protections.
“There are questions that existing law doesn’t have very good answers to,” said law lecturer Goldenfein.
“There’s so many ways to help problem gamblers that the idea that facial recognition technology is the solution is, frankly, preposterous.”
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The timing of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s imminent trip to China and what signals he will give to Beijing have raised questions at home, a German member of the European Parliament said Thursday.
Reinhard Butikofer of the Green Party, which is part of the governing coalition, said in Taiwan that Scholz’s one-day trip is “probably the most controversially debated visit in the country for the last 50 years.”
Scholz, who will be in Beijing on Friday, will be the first European leader to visit China since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Germany has strongly opposed. Beijing has provided Moscow with diplomatic backing, accused the U.S. and NATO of provoking the attack and scathingly criticized punishing economic sanctions imposed on Russia.
Some in the ranks of Scholz’s three-party governing coalition have questioned at least the timing of his visit. His trips to Ukraine and Russia in February also stirred controversy.
Butikofer, part of a delegation of European lawmakers in Taiwan, spoke to a joint news conference from his hotel room, where he was under quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.
“Just as in other European countries and the EU, … China policy will be in transformation, in transition for some time,” Butikofer said. “We cannot return to the China policy of yesterday here, because the realities have changed.”
Scholz has pledged to use his trip to make the case for Chinese moderation and assistance in calming the situations with Ukraine and Taiwan.
In the face of Chinese threats to annex Taiwan by military force, the self-governing island republic has drawn increasing support from Western politicians, even while their governments maintain only unofficial relations with Taipei in deference to Beijing.
Butikofer said Germany’s governing coalition had agreed on a first-ever “clear expression of support for Taiwan’s democracy against China’s aggression,” as well as Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in international organizations from which it is currently excluded at China’s insistence.
Butikofer is one of five members of the European Parliament banned from visiting China, a step taken by Beijing after the EU, Britain, Canada and the United States launched coordinated sanctions against officials in China over human rights abuses in the far-western Xinjiang region.
The European Parliament has said it won’t ratify a long-awaited business investment deal with China as long as sanctions against its legislators remain in place.
Visiting along with Butikofer were legislators Els Van Hoof of Belgium, Sjoerd Sjoerdsma of Holland and Mykola Kniazhytskyi of Ukraine.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian called the lawmakers’ visit a “clumsy political hype-up” and said efforts by Taiwan’s governing Democratic Progressive Party to garner foreign support are “doomed to fail.”
At the news conference, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said the delegation’s visit “demonstrates the strength of the relations between Taiwan and the European Union and the bond that unites us with like-minded democracies across the globe.”
Sjoerdsma said the visit had special resonance following last month’s twice-a-decade congress of China’s ruling Communist Party, at which Chinese leader Xi Jinping reiterated Beijing’s determination to “reunify” with Taiwan. The sides split amid civil war in 1949 and the vast majority of Taiwanese reject Beijing’s calls to accept Chinese rule.
“We have a message to Beijing and I think the core message of our visit here is … that Taiwan is not to be isolated, but that contacts will only increase, that we will not be intimidated, that we will be coming over more often, and that our relations and our friendships are not to be determined by others,” Sjoerdsma said.
Scholz’s visit to Beijing was also criticized by Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Nathan Law, who said it risked sending mixed messages over the Ukraine invasion.
“German Chancellor Scholz’s visit is damaging the unity that the world has against Russia’s war efforts,” Law told The Associated Press during a visit to Taiwan.
Scholz’s trip is “definitely giving a lot of opportunity for Xi Jinping to see it as a badge of honor, to see it as means to dismiss the unity of the free world and silently to decrease pressure for Russia,” said LLaw, who fled arrest in Hong Kong during a Beijing-ordered crackdown on dissidents in the semi-autonomous Chinese city. “I think this is such a bad move.”
___
Associated Press video journalists Johnson Lai and Taijing Wu contributed to this story.
Suspected ICBM launch triggers an alert for residents in northern Japan to seek shelter, though Tokyo later said the missile did not overfly the archipelago.
North Korea has fired multiple missiles, including a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that forced the Japanese government to issue evacuation alerts in northern and central parts of the country.
The launches on Thursday are the latest in a series of North Korean weapons tests in recent months that have raised tensions in the region. They came a day after Pyongyang fired more than 20 missiles, the most it has fired in a single day ever.
Despite an initial government warning that a missile had overflown Japan, Tokyo later said that was incorrect.
The office of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida issued warnings to residents in the northern and central prefectures of Miyagi, Yamagata and Niigata, instructing them to go inside firm buildings or underground. Bullet train services in those regions were temporarily suspended following the missile alert before resuming shortly.
Kishida condemned the North’s launches and said officials were analysing the details of the weapons.
“North Korea’s repeated missile launches are an outrage and absolutely cannot be forgiven,” he added.
Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada said the government had lost track of the first missile over the Sea of Japan, prompting it to correct its earlier announcement that it had flown over Japan.
“We detected a launch that showed the potential to fly over Japan and therefore triggered the J Alert, but after checking the flight we confirmed that it had not passed over Japan,” Hamada told reporters.
The first missile flew to an altitude of about 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) and a range of 750 kilometres (460 miles), he said. Such a flight pattern is called a “lofted trajectory”, in which a missile is fired high into space to avoid flying over neighbouring countries.
About half an hour after the launch was first reported, Japan’s Coast Guard said the missile had fallen.
The Yonhap news agency reported the first missile went through stage separation, suggesting it may be a long-range weapon such as an ICBM.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the long-range missile was launched from near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
About an hour after the first launch, South Korea’s military and the Japanese coast guard reported a second and third launch from North Korea. South Korea said both of those were short-range missiles fired from Kaechon, north of Pyongyang.
On October 4, North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan for the first time in five years, prompted a warning for residents there to take cover. It was the farthest that Pyongyang had ever fired a missile.
The drills, known as Vigilant Storm, involve some 240 warplanes, including F-35 fighters, staging around-the-clock simulated missions.
“Many of North Korea’s missile flights are direct violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, but its current provocation cycle is unlikely to peak until Pyongyang conducts its long-anticipated seventh nuclear test,” said Leif-Eric Easely, a professor at the Ehwa University in Seoul.
“The Kim regime may relish international anxiety in the lead up to its next nuclear detonation, believing that greater global attention will hasten begrudging acceptance of North Korea as a nuclear weapons state,” he added.
Police had received 11 reports of dangerous crowding in Itaewon up to four hours before the tragedy unfolded.
Demands are growing for South Korean police to explain why they took little action despite receiving multiple emergency calls about dangerous crowd levels up to four hours before more than 150 people were killed in a Halloween crowd crush.
Transcripts of emergency calls sent to police and other documents show that in the four hours before the crowd surge turned deadly on Saturday night, police had received 11 reports of dangerous crowding in the Itaewon nightlife area.
Police responded to four of the 11 reports by deploying officers to the sites to disperse crowds, South Korea’s official Yonhap News Agency reported on Wednesday.
Once dispersed, the officers returned to other duties and no action was taken in the case of the seven remaining emergency calls, according to Yonhap.
“A ‘Code 0’ police order calling for the promptest possible response had been issued for one of the 11 reports while the second-highest ‘Code 1’ had been applied to seven others, but police officers failed to take appropriate action,” the news agency reported.
Transcripts of the emergency calls warned in stark terms of the situation unfolding in the 3.2-metre-wide alley in the Itaewon area, where 156 people died after a crowd surge trapped the mostly young revellers who began to fall and pile up on each other. More than 150 others were injured, including 29 who remain in serious condition.
The first person to file a report four hours before the tragedy unfolded had urged police to take action and control the crowds, Yonhap reported.
“I feel like I would be almost crushed to death here because people continued to come up even though no more can go down…. I barely escaped, but police need to control the area because the crowd is too big,” according to an extract of the emergency report published by Yonhap.
(LEAD) (News Focus) Police under fire for lax response to emergency calls hours before Itaewon crush https://t.co/FcnrtCnVTK
Police deployed to the scene but “closed the case without tangible action”, the news agency said.
A second report was received 90 minutes later informing police that “there are people who fell over and got hurt because there are too many people”, according to Yonhap.
Other reports to police, more than an hour before the tragedy, conveyed the urgency of the situation: “We are on the verge of a terrible accident due to the massive crowds”, and another, “I am almost being crushed to death”.
Yonhap said South Korea’s National Police Agency had voluntarily released the transcripts of the police reports from the night of the accident to demonstrate a willingness “to get to the bottom of the truth”.
South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on Wednesday that police needed to explain their actions, the Reuters news agency reported.
“The police must conduct thorough inspections and provide a clear and transparent explanation to the public,” Han said at the televised beginning of a task force meeting on the disaster.
Officials with South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party also called on Wednesday for both police and government officials to take responsibility for the public safety failings that led to the deadly event.
A presidential official also told Yonhap on Wednesday that President Yoon Suk-yeol was enraged by the lack of action by police in responding to the 11 calls and reports of dangerous crowding in Itaewon.
On Tuesday, South Korea’s National Police Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun said he felt “limitless responsibility about public safety over this accident”.
The police commissioner acknowledged that multiple reports had been received by police telling of the “seriousness” of the situation before the tragedy unfolded and that the handling of the information had been “inadequate”.
South Korea’s Interior Minister Lee Sang-min and Seoul’s Mayor Oh Se-hoon have also apologised.
The Halloween celebrations in Itaewon were not an official event and did not have a central organiser, which meant authorities were not required to establish or enforce official safety protocols.
Opium cultivation in Afghanistan – latest findings and emerging threats, is the first report on the illicit opium trade since the Taliban’s return to power in August 2021.
The authorities banned all cultivation of opium poppy and all narcotics under strict new laws, in April 2022.
Opium is the essential ingredient for manufacturing the street drug heroin, and the class of medical prescription opioids which millions rely on for pain medication worldwide. Opioids have also been increasingly abused, causing widespread addiction issues in countries such as the United States.
This year’s harvest was largely exempted from the decree, said UNODC, and farmers in Afghanistan must now decide on planting opium poppy for next year amid continued uncertainty about how the Taliban will enforce the ban.
Sowing of the main 2023 opium crop must be done by early November this year.
Opiate limbo
“Afghan farmers are trapped in the illicit opiate economy, while seizure events around Afghanistan suggest that opiate trafficking continues unabated,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly, launching the new survey.
“The international community must work to address the acute needs of the Afghan people, and to step up responses to stop the criminal groups trafficking heroin and harming people in countries around the world.”
According to UNODC findings, cultivation of opium poppies in Afghanistan increased by 32 per cent over the previous year, to 233,000 hectares – making the 2022 crop the third largest area under cultivation since monitoring began.
Hub in Helmand
Cultivation continued to be concentrated in the southwestern parts of the country, which accounted for 73 per cent of the total area, and registering the largest crop increase.
In Helmand province, one-fifth of all arable land was dedicated to opium poppy cultivation.
Income triples
Opium prices have soared following the announcement of the cultivation ban in April. Income made by Afghan farmers from opium sales more than tripled, from $425 million in 2021 to $1.4 billion in 2022.
The new figure is equivalent to 29 per cent of the entire 2021 value of the agricultural sector. In 2021, the farm-gate value of opiates was only worth some nine per cent of the previous year’s agricultural output.
However, the increase in income did not necessarily translate into purchasing power, the UNDP survey notes, as inflation has soared during the same period, with the price of food increasing by 35 percent on average.
Yields down
Following a drought at the start of this year, opium yields declined from an average of 38.5 kilogrammes per hectare (kg/ha), in 2021, to an estimated 26.7 kg/ha this year, resulting in a harvest of 6,200 tons – 10 per cent smaller than in 2021.
The 2022 harvest can be converted into 350-380 tons of heroin of export quality, said UNDP, at 50-70 per cent purity.
Traffickers plough on
Seizure events collected by UNODC´s Drugs Monitoring Platform suggest that opiate trafficking from Afghanistan has been ongoing without interruption since August 2021. Afghan opiates supply some 80 per cent of all opiate users in the world.
Data Entry by Specially Trained Community Health Worker in Bangladesh. Credit: Abdullah Al Kafi
Opinion by Morseda Chowdhury (dhaka, bangladesh)
Inter Press Service
DHAKA, Bangladesh, Oct 31 (IPS) – The digital transformation of thousands of community health workers in Bangladesh has dramatically enhanced their work, while enabling the creation and tracking of a healthcare database covering 64 million people. The resulting model holds remarkable promise for the health of the world, especially in the context of evolving pandemics.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, BRAC digitalised the work of our 4,100 shasthya kormi, specially trained community health workers, in Bangladesh. Shasthya kormi are women experienced in health education, antenatal and postnatal checkups, non-communicable disease prevention, reproductive health and nutrition. The digital transformation of their work created benefits on a remarkable number of levels, underscored the vast potential for further scaling, and yielded insights directly relevant to increasing the quality of healthcare globally.
Each shasthya kormi was given an Android tablet and trained in its use. That enabled immediate time saving in myriad ways: faster and more accurate record-keeping; reports conveyed online rather than in person; training conducted online and at convenient times rather than only at designated times in person; and related administrative travel and costs avoided. The time saved can exceed a full day every two weeks. The digital devices also enabled us to save approximately USD3.8 million per year in monitoring costs.
But that is just the beginning of the benefits. The digital tablets enhance the prestige of shasthya kormi, as they now have access to vital information at their fingertips. They can screen for diseases and conditions, confirm diagnoses, have complete confidence in describing required treatment and management, and arrange video chats with doctors and specialists. Their decision-making is quicker and more accurate, improving their quality of care and giving them more time to spend with patients.
Electronic reporting enabled the creation of a database that we expect will grow to cover 76 million people. That database can now be tracked and analysed for trends – in the incidence of disease or other conditions, in the delivery of services, and in outcomes. Those trends can be analysed and addressed in real time – locally and nationally, as BRAC’s shasthya kormi cover 61 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts.
For COVID-19, for instance, reports of symptoms and test results can be tracked, as can vaccinations and outcomes. Recognizing the incidence of positive test results in Bangladesh’s border regions is especially valuable to understanding how trends evolve across regions.
For tuberculosis, 1.4 million samples have been collected and tracked. Similarly, non-communicable diseases like hypertension and diabetes, for both of which the incidences are rising in Bangladesh, can be tracked and addressed. If anyone has high blood pressure, a shasthya kormi can precisely record it. A blood glucose test administered by a shasthya kormi can detect abnormal blood sugar levels indicating possible diabetes. The database can track the percentage of pregnant women who are at high risk.
The overall database – with its 150 data points so far – also enables cross-tabulation of facility-specific and community-specific data. It makes it possible to merge BRAC’s trend analyses with data from government and other institutions. It responds to internal migration, with each individual’s medical records linked to their government-issued national identification card – so each person’s health record moves with them.
When these benefits are combined with the cost-effective nature of this digital approach, the potential for scaling increases dramatically. Each digital tablet costs about $100, so 4,100 shasthya kormi can be equipped for less than half a million dollars. In addition, they save money through the efficiencies described above. Patients also save – out-of-pocket expenditure makes up 63% of medical expenses in Bangladesh, and tests conducted by shasthya kormi often cost one tenth what they would in a private clinic. This in turn also takes pressure off health facilities.
The initiative has enormous potential to scale further – within Bangladesh and around the world. Shasthya kormi can be recruited locally and trained in a matter of weeks. They can be equipped digitally without great expense. The quality of their work can be monitored digitally, and everyone benefits from the enhanced access to health care that results.
Key to scaling are several insights that emerged as we orchestrated this digital transformation.
First, it was critical to track data input closely from the start, to identify anyone struggling with the transformation. One of the first clues was a lot of data being entered after 5:00 pm. It was not because people did not know how to enter it, but because they were nervous about using the devices in public, and did not want to make errors in front of the people who trust them.
Once we saw this in the data and figured out the reason behind it, we could easily work with each person to overcome it. Early on, we created a team of 40 technical officers who provided additional training and support for anyone struggling. The help was provided in some cases over the phone, but otherwise in person. Initially most people needed it, but now only about 10% of people need assistance.
Second, the digital tablets enabled constant, on-demand professional development. Needs, equipment and trends change regularly in the health sector, and these changes can occur rapidly. Shasthya kormi could assess their skills at any time convenient to them using tests available on the tablet, and the module would identify weaknesses and suggest further training to address it. Managers could also track their supervisee’s progress. This enhanced the expertise of the network broadly.
Third, we observed a tendency to skip entering critical but more difficult to obtain inputs, like National Identity numbers and birth registration numbers. Fortunately, we can often fill gaps by cross-tabulating with our mobile-based cash transfer system. We also noticed that counselling information was not recorded as seriously as service data. Iterative training has gradually solved these challenges.
Fourth, the digital transformation addressed a decades-old challenge – prestige. Shasthya kormi are often taken for granted, and they are sometimes welcomed, sometimes not. In order to establish the rapport they need to do their work, however, which is often of a sensitive nature, particularly in conservative communities, it is crucial that they are accepted into every household. Digitalisation has elevated the level of respect they receive in the community, particularly among men.
The success of this digital transformation, if scaled, could change community health globally. The result would be superior primary health care service delivery, operational efficiency and establishment of an infrastructure for real time health trend analysis, in a time when we have never struggled more with quality and accessibility of health care around the world.
Morseda Chowdhury is Director of the Health, Nutrition, and Population Programme at BRAC in Bangladesh.
The world’s richest man has taken charge of one of the largest social media platforms.
After months of uncertainty and a long legal battle, the world’s wealthiest person has taken charge of one of the most influential social media platforms.
But it is not yet clear what Elon Musk intends to do with Twitter.
There has already been a staffing shake-up, with Musk firing at least four top executives.
And there are speculations that he could reinstate banned Twitter accounts.
Many right-wing political figures see his takeover as a win for free speech, while others are concerned it may give rise to more hate speech on Twitter.
So, what is next for Twitter?
Presenter: Sami Zeidan
Guests:
Suzanne Nossel – CEO of PEN America, a leading human rights organisation, and author of Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All
Matt Navarra – Social media consultant and former digital communications adviser to the UK government
Bradley Tusk – Co-founder at Tusk Venture Partners and adjunct professor at Columbia Business School
Phillips scores blistering century, Boult takes four to leave Sri Lanka on the brink of elimination.
Glenn Phillips scored a brilliant century to rescue New Zealand after a rocky start and fire them to an emphatic 65-run victory over Sri Lanka at the T20 World Cup.
Saturday’s win also took the Black Caps clear at the top of Group 1.
The muscular right-hander helped resurrect New Zealand’s innings from 15 for three in the fourth over. He eventually fell in the final over having scored 104 with his team finishing the innings at 167 for seven.
With paceman Trent Boult (4-13) to the fore, the New Zealand bowlers took over and gave Sri Lanka an even worse start, reducing the 2014 champions to eight for four in the fourth over and dismissing them for 102 in the 20th.
Boult took four wickets in New Zealand’s dominant win over Sri Lanka [David Gray/AFP]
Tied with England, Australia and Ireland at the top of the rain-disrupted Super 12 group at the start of the day, New Zealand moved two points clear of their rivals and improved their already impressive net run rate.
Sri Lanka will now need a remarkable run of results to grab one of the top two spots and a place in the semi-finals.
It all started well for the Asia Cup champions on a balmy spring evening at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Finn Allen took apart Australia’s hallowed pace attack in their opening game during a 16-ball 42, but he managed just three balls and one run this time, confounded by an in-swinger in the opening over.
Devon Conway, who smashed an unbeaten 92 against Australia, fared little better, with spinner Dhananjaya de Silva dismissing him for just one.
Things got worse when skipper Kane Williamson (eight) got an outside edge off pace bowler Kasun Rajitha in the next over.
Phillips and Daryl Mitchell, returning to the side after fracturing his hand, crawled to 54 for three at the halfway point.
But Phillips then flicked a switch and began swinging the bat, with sloppy fielding aiding him, dropped by Pathum Nissanka on 12 and again on 45 by skipper Dasun Shanaka.
An 84-run stand with Mitchell ended when his partner was bowled for 22 by Wanindu Hasaranga. Mitchell Santner was alongside him when he brought up only his second T20 100 in the 19th over before being dismissed.
This was Glenn Phillips’ second T20 century [David Gray/AFP]
Dusk approaches in Yangon, Myanmar. Credit: Unsplash/Alexander Schimmeck
Opinion by Noeleen Heyzer (united nations)
Inter Press Service
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 27 (IPS) – The political, human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar continues to take a catastrophic toll on the people, with serious regional implications.
More than 13.2 million people are food insecure, about 40 percent of the population is living below the poverty line and 1.3 million are internally displaced. Military operations continue with disproportionate use of force including aerial bombings, burning of civilian structures, and the killing of civilians including children.
I condemn the indiscriminate airstrikes on a celebration in Kachin State that killed large numbers of civilians days ago. The People’s Defence Forces are also accused of targeting civilians.
The plight of the Rohingya people, along with other forcefully displaced communities, remains desperate, with many seeking refuge through dangerous land and sea journeys. The price of impunity is a grave reminder that accountability remains essential.
Since the release of the Report of the Secretary-General on the situation in Myanmar, violence between the Arakan Army and the military in Rakhine has escalated to levels not seen since late 2020, with significant cross-border incursions, endangering all communities, harming conditions for durable return, and prolonging the burden on Bangladesh as host of about 1 million Rohingya refugees.
As the Myanmar crisis deepens, I continue to promote a coordinated international strategy, in line with my mandate, engaging all stakeholders for an inclusive Myanmar-led process to return to the democratic transition.
A child looks after his younger sibling in Myanmar. Credit: World Bank/Tom Cheatham
My first visit to Myanmar as Special Envoy in August to meet the military’s Commander-in-Chief was part of broader efforts by the UN to urgently support a return to civilian rule based on the will and needs of the people.
I made six requests during the visit: ending aerial bombing and burning of civilian infrastructure; delivery of humanitarian assistance without discrimination; the release of all children and political prisoners; a moratorium on executions; the well-being of and engagement with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
I also highlighted Myanmar’s responsibility for creating conducive conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees. Soon after, I visited Dhaka and Cox’s Bazar on the five-year anniversary of the Rohingya’s mass displacement, where I expressed the United Nations’ appreciation for Bangladesh’s generosity and heeded Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s statements that the current situation is unsustainable.
A highlight of the visit was my discussions with women and youth in the refugee camps. They made it clear that they need to be engaged directly in discussions and decisions about their future.
Their rights and protection, in particular their citizenship, freedom of movement and security, must be guaranteed, guided by the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. Going forward, I will continue to strengthen co-operation with ASEAN and engagement with all stakeholders.
While there is little room for the de-escalation of violence or for “talks about talks” in the present zero-sum situation, there are some concrete ways to reducing the suffering of the people. Recognizing that many more people will be forced to flee the violence,
I will continue to urge ASEAN to develop a regional protection framework for refugees and forcefully displaced persons. The recent forced return of Myanmar nationals, some of whom were detained on arrival, underlines the urgency of a coordinated ASEAN response to address shared regional challenges caused by the conflict.
Education and skills development are powerful tools to prepare Rohingya refugees for their return to Myanmar, which I continue to advocate, working closely with leaders of ASEAN and neighbouring countries as well as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Key Ethnic Armed Organizations and the National Unity Government have together appealed for me to convene an Inclusive Forum for engagement to facilitate protection and humanitarian assistance to ALL people in need, in observance of International Humanitarian Law.
I have also initiated a women, peace and security (WPS) platform on Myanmar with the Foreign Minister of Indonesia to amplify the needs of women affected by the conflict, and their leadership as agents of change.
To conclude, there is a new political reality in Myanmar: a people demanding change, no longer willing to accept military rule. I will continue to appeal to all governments and other key stakeholders to listen to the people and be guided by their will to prevent deeper catastrophe in the heart of Asia.
Noeleen Heyzer, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, in her address to the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee 25 October 2022
BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai business tycoon and transgender activist has purchased the Miss Universe Organization for $20 million, her company announced Wednesday.
Chakrapong “Anne” Chakrajutathib, who controls JKN Global Group Public Co. Ltd., is a celebrity in Thailand who has starred in reality shows and is outspoken about being a transgender woman. She helped establish a nonprofit group, Life Inspired For Transsexual Foundation, to promote trans rights.
JKN said it acquired the rights to the Miss Universe pageant from IMG Worldwide LLC, a sports, talent and events marketing company which has held the Miss Universe Organization since 2015. Former U.S. President Donald Trump was part owner of the pageant rights from 1996 until IMG’s purchase.
JKN said it has established a subsidiary in the United States, JKN Metaverse Inc., to own the Miss Universe Organization. The Miss Universe pageant is broadcast in 165 countries, according to IMG.
In a statement, Chakrapong described the purchase as “a strong, strategic addition to our portfolio.” JKN, which is involved in content distribution, beverages, food supplements, beauty and consumer products, said the Miss Universe name will be used to promote its consumer products.
A profile of Chakrapong in the Bangkok Post newspaper earlier this year said in her youth, she studied at an all-male school where she was harassed for identifying as female. After attaining financial success, she spent 40 million baht ($1 million) on sex reassignment surgery and other procedures, the newspaper reported.
While Thailand enjoys a positive international reputation when it comes to the rights and lifestyles of LGBTQ communities, the absence of a procedure for transgender people to change their legal gender, coupled with insufficient legal protections and social stigma, limits transgender people’s access to services and exposes them to daily indignities, New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a report last year.
NEW YORK (AP) — The week dawned gloomily in New York, but the drab mist was little match for the holiday at hand: Diwali, the festival of lights that symbolizes the triumph over darkness.
Celebrated across South Asia in some fashion by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs and Buddhists, the multi-day festival has secured a sturdy foothold far from the subcontinent in places with significant diaspora populations — like New York.
“One thing I would say — the whole country celebrates, right? So it’s lit up,” fashion designer Prabal Gurung said of celebrations in Nepal, where Diwali is better known as Tihar. He sees signs of Diwali’s increased popularity in New York. But, he said, the whole city “is not celebrating yet — so I’m just giving them a year or two.”
Gurung was one of the hosts of Diwali New York, a glitzy soiree held Saturday at The Pierre, fittingly a Taj Hotel. The party, now in its third year, highlights Diwali by bringing together high-powered South Asians with other New York luminaries — people who “the world saw as leaders and role models,” said host Anita Chatterjee, CEO of A-Game Public Relations.
Five miles east of the five-star hotel, those already familiar with the holiday were embarking on preparations for their personal celebrations. Earlier Saturday, the first of the five-day celebration, the streets of Jackson Heights were replete with reminders of the festivities.
The many sweets shops of the Queens neighborhood, known for its South Asian community, were packed to the gills with little room for movement. In the stands outside Apna Bazaar, a grocery store, a sea of small clay pots and wicks for Diwali lamps lay alongside fresh bunches of cilantro and above bags of onions. Handwritten blue signs advertised Diwali specials for everything from 40-pound bags of rice to ghee, tea and pitted dates.
Every year, Sapna Pal comes to Butala Emporium to do her Diwali shopping. Carrying a basket brimming with tea lights and other decorations, the Delhi native said her Diwali celebrations in the United States are usually intimate family affairs because most people prefer to pray in their own homes.
When asked if she misses Diwali in India, Pal — who has lived in Queens for almost 25 years — responded: “Yes! Every day, every year, every year.” But she nonetheless still enjoys Diwali here, looking forward to the sweets — gulab jamun, rasmalai and different types of barfi are among her favorites — and the puja ceremonies.
Outside a Patel Brothers grocery store branch, Bhanu Shetty has run a pop-up Diwali stall for two decades. Her son Pratik says the temporary Flowers by Bhanu stall typically draws around 3,000 customers over three days. She is more circumspect: “People come.”
“We’ve always been known for flowers, but just for these three days we showcase all the temple offerings,” Pratik Shetty said, motioning to 3D stickers, garlands, stencils for the colored powder designs known as rangoli, pictures and, naturally, flowers. Most of the flowers are locally sourced, but the Diwali specialty is the $5 lotus imported from India.
Ratan Sharma, a manager at India Sari Palace, says sweet shops and grocery stores are the biggest beneficiaries of the Diwali shopping. But his clothing store does well, too: “Once a year we give a benefit to the customers,” she said, “and they take advantage of it.” Sharma said the silk saris — typically on the more expensive end — are the most popular item during the annual Diwali sale.
Jackson Heights is a multiethnic, multi-religious neighborhood, and some stores still featured signs offering Eid sales. Suneera Madhani, the Pakistani American founder of Stax, attended the Diwali party at The Pierre as a gesture of South Asian solidarity. She says she would love to heighten Eid’s profile in New York in a similar manner.
The Diwali gala was certainly high-profile: Host Radhika Jones, the top editor at Vanity Fair, mingled with Ronan Farrow and Kelly Ripa, all clad in South Asian fashions. Chatterjee said her firm helped connect some non-South Asian attendees to designers, including fellow hosts Falguni and Shane Peacock.
The party was at time raucous, with several bear hugs that lifted grown men clear off the ground. Gurung, clad in a glittering Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla ensemble, tore up the dance floor to the 2014 hit “Baby Doll.” He was subsequently handed blotting paper by a pink salwar kameez-clad Ripa, whose husband, actor Mark Consuelos, pat the table to the beat. Padma Lakshmi and Sarita Choudhury embraced for the camera, with the former demonstrating some hip-shaking thumkas.
“Our generation has really embraced our culture and the expression of it,” said another host, Anjula Acharia, Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ manager.
Normally, she’d be spending the holiday with her illustrious client. But, marveling at the progress Diwali has made outside of South Asia and its diaspora, she said she’s spending it this year with President Joe Biden.
“A few years ago, it really occurred to me: Diwali is not on the New York social scene in a way that I felt like it deserved to be, needed to be and I wanted it to be,” said restaurateur Maneesh Goyal, another host and the mastermind of the event.
While he said that Diwali is “personally” a day of reflection, it’s also about celebrations and “happiness, positivity, bringing people together.”
For Diwali to really permeate American culture, Gurung said, it will take “just us showing up consistently, constantly in the most graceful, beautiful, thoughtful way.” The resonance of the holiday’s themes alone — the victory of good over evil, light over dark — should do the rest of the work.
“It’s the right time,” he said. “And also, it’s about time.”
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Mallika Sen is the entertainment news editor for The Associated Press. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mallikavsen
BENGALURU, India (AP) — Spiraling energy costs caused by various economic factors and the Ukraine war could be a turning point toward cleaner energy, the International Energy Agency said in a report Thursday. It found the global demand for fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas, is set to peak or plateau in the next few decades.
The report looked at scenarios based on current policies and said that coal use will fall back within the next few years, natural gas demand will reach a plateau by the end of the decade and rising sales of electric vehicles mean that the need for oil will level off in the mid-2030s before ebbing slightly by mid-century. Total emissions are currently going up each year, but slowly.
“Energy markets and policies have changed as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, not just for the time being, but for decades to come,” said the IEA’s executive director Fatih Birol. A surge in demand following COVID-19 pandemic restrictions lifting and bottlenecks in supply chains have also contributed to soaring energy prices.
“The energy world is shifting dramatically before our eyes. Government responses around the world promise to make this a historic and definitive turning point toward a cleaner, more affordable and more secure energy system,” Birol said.
The role of natural gas as a “transition fuel” that will bridge the gap between a fossil-fuel based energy system to a renewable one has also taken a dent, the report said. Although it’s a fossil fuel, natural gas is considered cleaner than coal and oil, as burning it produces less carbon dioxide.
But despite the largely positive outlook, the report adds that the share of fossil fuels in the global energy mix puts the world on track to a warming of 2.5 degrees Celsius (4.5 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, a whole degree (1.8 Fahrenheit) more than the target set in the Paris climate deal.
That’s in line with a U.N. report released Wednesday that said current climate pledges are “nowhere near” where they need to be to meet the ambitious target. Top climate scientists say that to keep warming in line with the 1.5 C goal, emissions need to be slashed by 45% by 2030.
Energy policy analysts say that while there are promising steps in the right direction, the move toward clean energy needs to be much faster.
“Clean energy investment is delivering. It is the reason why the world is on track to peak CO2 emissions. But that’s only the first step. We need big emissions cuts, not a plateau,” said Dave Jones, an energy analyst at London-based environmental think-tank, Ember.
The report estimated that clean energy investment will be above $2 trillion by 2030 but added it would need to double to keep the transition in line with climate goals.
“The energy crisis has detracted from the climate crisis, but fortunately the answer is the same to both: a gigantic step up in clean energy investment,” Jones said.
“This report makes a very strong economic case for renewable energy which is not only more cost-competitive and affordable than fossil fuel alternatives but also is proving to be much more resilient to economic and geopolitical shocks,” said Maria Pastukhova a senior policy advisor at E3G, a climate change think-tank.
She added that leaders and negotiators at the U.N. climate conference in Egypt next month will need to “double down” on reducing the demand for energy and unlock finance for developing countries to help fund their transition to renewables which would speed up emissions cuts.
Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives support from several private foundations. See more about AP’s climate initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Achieving the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement requires not only slowing new construction, but also retiring existing coal power plants early, worldwide. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Opinion by Philippe Benoit (paris)
Inter Press Service
PARIS, Oct 26 (IPS) – With COP 27 approaching, pressure is mounting on wealthy countries to increase their support to poorer ones in the face of climate change. The recent floods in Pakistan have amplified this issue. China, as the world’s second largest economy, will similarly face increasing pressure to help other developing countries on climate.
At last year’s COP, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) unveiled an innovative program to fund the early retirement of coal power plants by mobilizing capital to buy-out the investors in these plants. This approach has an interesting, and potentially even easier, application to the coal plants financed by China in Pakistan and elsewhere overseas under its Belt and Road Initiative (“BRI”). The key to unlocking this, somewhat surprisingly, lies in the dominance of China’s state-owned companies in BRI transactions.
In response to this challenge, the ADB announced the Energy Transition Mechanism which includes an initiative to buy out existing coal investors to shutter their plants early and thereby avoid the attendant future emissions. Typically, this would involve mobilizing international financing from multilateral development banks, climate funds, etc. to compensate the private sector investors in these plants.
Interestingly, the dominance in the BRI’s overseas projects of China’s state-owned companies creates the opportunity for the Chinese Government to apply the ADB mechanism in a streamlined manner — under what could be called the “BRI Clean Energy Transition Mechanism”. How might this work? Some initial ideas follow.
As noted above, Chinese state-owned financial institutions are the major lenders to the BRI coal power projects in Pakistan. Similarly, Chinese government-owned energy firms are the dominant coal plant owners. It is the financial interests of these various Chinese state-owned lenders and other enterprises (SOEs) that would be affected adversely by any early retirement.
Consequently, under the proposed mechanism, China would be compensating its own SOEs for the revenues they would lose in the future from the early plant retirements in Pakistan. In essence, China would pay itself. This is a unique feature of this BRI coal retirement program that flows from China’s reliance on its own SOEs … and it presents several operational and financial advantages.
The financial arrangements for early retirement should be easier to negotiate and execute since the parties are all affiliated — i.e., the Chinese government, its state-owned banks and other SOEs. This should also reduce transaction costs.
In the ADB’s early retirement context, private sector investors would typically insist on some compensation being paid today for the loss of projected future revenues. In contrast, because the BRI context would involve compensation from the Chinese Government to its own SOEs, the Government could reasonably delay payments till the point at which the SOEs would actually be foregoing revenues. So, for example, if we assume early retirement in 2030 — an interval that would give Pakistan the time to replace the retired coal electricity generation with renewables in an orderly manner (see discussion below) – then the payments by the Chinese Government to its SOE lenders and energy firms could similarly be deferred till that time.
The Government would also, as a practical matter, enjoy significant discretion regarding the level of compensation to be paid to its SOE lenders and energy firms in 2030 and beyond. Notably, the Government could impose a discount on these future payments — especially if it has implemented by that time financial disincentives targeting coal generation (e.g., a carbon price) to support its own carbon peaking and neutrality goals.
The proposed BRI mechanism would resemble in various ways a debt-for-nature swap, notably from the perspective of China as a creditor/donor country. In this BRI “debt-for-coal” swap, China would forego the payments due its SOEs in the future from the operation of these Pakistan coal plants in exchange for the reduced emissions generated by their early retirement. Significantly, this mechanism would produce emissions avoidance benefits without China providing any new overseas funding.
What are some possible motivations for Beijing to launch this type of initiative?
Second, the ability to launch an international climate program that does not require China to disburse funds for the next several years — and, when it does so, to pay its own SOEs — may appeal to the Government, particularly given the current domestic economic stress. This is consistent with other debt-for-nature swap programs advanced by other donor countries where the financial cost to the donor is from foregone revenues, not new funding.
Moreover, the loss in revenues for China and its SOEs from the early BRI coal plant retirements would only take place in 2030 when China’s economy should be markedly larger and more capable of absorbing the expense.
Importantly, Pakistan and other BRI developing countries will need even more electricity to power their economic development. Consequently, the BRI Clean Energy Transition Mechanism needs to include additional funding for new renewables power generation capacity (as is the case under the ADB’s approach).
The extreme climate events of 2022 have increased awareness regarding the vulnerability of poorer countries to climate change and the consequent importance of reducing future emissions. This article sets out a proposal for how China could retire BRI coal plants early in Pakistan and elsewhere that capitalizes on its use of state-owned companies, while supporting more renewables in these countries to reduce the climate change threat and promote sustainable economic growth.
Philippe Benoit has over 20 years working on international energy, climate and development issues, including management positions at the World Bank and the International Energy Agency. He is currently research director at Global Infrastructure Analytics and Sustainability 2050.
Women living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s idyllic Swat valley are determined that Taliban militants will not take root in their community again. Credit: Zofeen T. Ebrahim/IPS
by Zofeen Ebrahim (karachi)
Inter Press Service
Karachi, Oct 26 (IPS) – The rise in militancy in Swat still haunts many locals with flashbacks of what they went through 15 years ago.
Dr Yasmin Gul can recall every last detail of the day she and her family were forced to leave their hometown of Matta, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) idyllic Swat valley, along with thousands, days before the Pakistan army launched an offensive, Operation Rah-e-Rast, against the militants of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) after the failed peace agreement with the latter, in 2009.
It was not just the “excruciating” pain running with her braces (Gul is a polio survivor) but the mayhem that afternoon that she recalls.
“We ran with nothing but the clothes on our back,” and went to Madyan, a town an hour’s drive from Matta, and stayed for three months with their uncle. She was among the nearly three million people, many of whom fled Swat for several years.
She can still recall the indignity faced by “the women, the children and the elderly – some of whom were being carried on the shoulders of their sons” after they ran for their lives amidst the sound of deafening “bombing”.
“The militants forced the burqa (an enveloping outer garment worn by women which fully covers the body and the face) upon us, but that afternoon I saw women running for their lives without covering themselves with the chadar (traditional Pashtun cloth that envelops the body from head to foot),” she said.
“I never want to go through that again,” she said resolutely. “We will not let anyone bring us to the brink, and this time, we will not be deceived.”
The images of dead bodies on streets are as fresh as the hushed tones that echo in her ears of elders talking of young girls from her family being kidnapped, raped, and even forced into marriage to militant commanders and of defiant men who were punished in the most barbaric manner including being beheaded and slaughtered. The victims were then put on public display. “I was old enough to remember many things,” she said.
“I don’t think I have healed and come out of the horror of all that I witnessed,” said Gul. “Neither has anyone else; we just don’t talk about it and have bottled it all up.”
In 2002 a firebrand cleric from Swat, Mullah Fazlullah, set up his headquarters at his village in Imam Dehri.
Between 2004 and 2007, he started wooing the locals, especially the women, through several dozen illegal FM radio stations promising the Nizam-e-Adal (Islamic justice system), not just in Swat but the entire Malakand division, of the KP province, comprising the districts of Bajaur, Buner, Chitral, Dir and Shangla. By 2007, the TTP had established its writ in the valley, just 160 km from the country’s capital, Islamabad, while the 20,000 army troops deployed looked on helplessly. The Taliban spokesperson Muslim Khan had told IPS in a 2009 interview: “We want to give women their rightful place in Islam”.
“People say it was the women of Swat who supported Fazlullah by giving large donations, even their jewellery, but no one asks why,” said Musarrat Ahmad Zeb, a Pakistani politician from Swat, who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, from June 2013 to May 2018.
Talking to IPS from Swat, she said the TTP promised quick justice to the locals, which they had enjoyed when the wali ruled Swat and had eroded after the princely state acceded to Pakistan in 1969. Zeb is the widowed wife of Miangul Ahmed Zeb, son of the wali of Swat, Miangul Jahan Zeb.
But instead of giving the women what the TTP promised, they took away their right to life altogether. They were forced to give up jobs where there was interaction with men, they were forbidden from walking to the market unescorted and adolescent girls were not allowed to go to school.
Twenty-one-year-old Neelum Noori is worried she may have to close down her beauty parlour in Mingora, the capital city of Swat.
“We had a fairly good clientele, but since the last two months, it’s a trickle. If this continues, how will we be able to pay the rent and utility bills of the place?” she told IPS over the phone. She not only supports her parents but also pays for her tuition. Noori is enrolled in the two-year diploma course for a lady health visitor programme.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Defence and National Security, told IPS the “resurgence of terrorism” in KP was of “serious concern”, recalling the sacrifices made by Pakistan’s armed forces and the people to combat and contain the “scourge”.
But the arrival of the Taliban is not new and not in Swat alone. “They have been there for many years and are everywhere in KP. I have been bringing it to the notice of colleagues in the assembly since 2018,” Mohsin Dawar, a legislator, from North Waziristan, and chairperson of the National Democratic Movement, a nationalist party.
He told IPS the militants got energized after the Taliban took over Kabul last year.
According to a recent research paper produced by the Islamabad-based think tank, Pak Institute of Peace Studies, as many as 433 people were killed and 719 injured in 250 attacks in Pakistan between August 15, 2021.
Terming them “isolated incidents of terrorism”, the officials claimed all did not take place in KP. However, the TTP has claimed responsibility for a majority of these attacks.
Last month eight six persons, including a former peace committee head Idrees Khan, were killed by a remote-controlled bomb attack. Khan was at the forefront of mobilizing resistance against the Taliban in 2007. Earlier this month, a minister of Gilgit Baltistan was taken hostage; in return, they demanded the release of their comrades involved in the deadly 2013 terrorist attack on the Nanga Parbat base camp, in which foreign climbers were targeted. They also wanted an end to women’s sports activities in GB. “These high-profile cases create fear among the general public and are very demoralizing for them,” Dawar had said in the assembly recently.
While it was the “people’s resistance” that had “contained” the situation, he warned it can get out of hand and become “even more dangerous than last time” if not taken notice of now.
Fazal Maula Zahid, a member of the Swat Qaumi Jirga (a platform of elders and notables working for peace in the region), had high hopes for the youth and women of the valley. “If they come out as a collective force and are organized,” he said, no harm can come to the valley.
“Today’s youth are energetic and have seen or heard the troubles of their elders; they will not allow history to repeat itself,” Zahid said, adding the people had no faith in government functionaries who have done little to protect the hapless people.
For a few weeks now, residents from different towns and cities of KP, like Khawazakhela, Kabal, Matta, Mingora, Charbagh and Madyan, have been coming out to protest against the surge in terrorist attacks.
“At Mingora, there were more than 80,000 at Nishtar Chowk; it was huge,” said Zahid, who attended the event. “I am told the one at Charbagh was even bigger!”
“It is heartening that people have risen against this resurgence and showed their resolve to never again allow this phenomenon to pollute their society,” said Sayed and the “gains of the recent past are not frittered away”.
He informed that at a committee meeting held earlier this month, it was resolved to “revitalise the counterterrorism apparatus”, especially the National Counter Terrorism Authority, (responsible for making counter-terrorism and counter-extremism policies and strategies). He hoped, there “won’t be a yawning chasm between words and deeds” and the interests of the people and the state will remain paramount, not “political expediency”.
But these were only men, as the custom of segregation in public spaces is still prevalent.
However, said Zahid, in an unprecedented move, on October 21, a handful of women also protested in Madyan.
Both Noori and Gul said they, too, want to come out. “I think if there are enough women, my family will give permission,” said Gul.
Annual price growth hit 7.3 percent in the July-September period, the highest since 1990.
Australian inflation raced to a 32-year high last quarter as the cost of home building and gas surged, a shock result that stoked pressure for a return to more aggressive rate hikes by the country’s central bank.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday showed the consumer price index (CPI) jumped 1.8 percent in the September quarter, topping market forecasts of 1.6 percent.
The annual rate shot up to 7.3 percent, from 6.1 percent, the highest since 1990 and almost three times the pace of wage growth.
A closely watched measure of core inflation, the trimmed mean, also climbed 1.8 percent in the quarter, lifting the annual pace to 6.1 percent and again far above forecasts of 5.6 percent.
That would be unwelcome news to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) which had thought core inflation would peak at 6 percent in the December quarter, with CPI topping at 7.75 percent.
Instead, analysts were warning that both core and headline inflation were certain to spike even further this quarter with the ABS’s new monthly CPI accelerating in September.
“The upshot is that CPI inflation will approach 8 percent in Q4,” said Marcel Thieliant, a senior economist at Capital Economics.
“The stronger-than-expected rise in consumer prices is consistent with our forecast that the RBA will hike rates more aggressively than most anticipate.”
It is particularly ill-timed for the RBA since it surprised many this month by downshifting to a quarter-point rate hike, following four moves of 50 basis points.
Rates have already risen by a massive 250 basis points since May and the RBA had wanted to go slower to see how the drastic tightening was impacting consumer spending.
Investors now suspected the central bank may have to reconsider, perhaps not at its policy meeting next week but rather in December.
Futures still imply a quarter-point move on November 1 to 2.85 percent, but now show some chance of a half-point hike in December and a peak for rates of approximately 4.20 percent in July.
The European Central Bank and the Bank of Canada are both expected to hike rates by 75 basis points this week, while the United States Federal Reserve should match that at its meeting on November 2.
Australia’s Labor government bowed to inflation concerns this week by restraining spending in its 2022-23 Budget, despite calls for more cost-of-living support amid soaring prices.
There are also fears recent flooding across eastern Australia will lift food prices even higher, with supermarket chain Coles warning of declining volumes in fresh food where prices were up 8.8 percent on a year earlier.
Wednesday’s CPI report showed food prices were already climbing at an annual pace of 9 percent, with the third quarter alone, seeing a surge of 3.2 percent.
The ABS noted that annual inflation for essential goods and services leapt to 8.4 percent in the September quarter, highlighting the extent of cost-of-living pressures.
