‘We thought Taliban had changed’: Afghan girls banned from school

‘We thought Taliban had changed’: Afghan girls banned from school
There has been no clear explanation for the Taliban’s last-minute reversal on girls going back to secondary schools in Afghanistan. (AFP)
Updated 25 March 2022

‘We thought Taliban had changed’: Afghan girls banned from school

‘We thought Taliban had changed’: Afghan girls banned from school
  • When the Taliban returned to power, they promised a softer rule compared with their first regime from 1996 to 2001

KABUL: Days after the Taliban staged a cruel U-turn on allowing Afghan girls back to school, Adeeba Haidari feels as if she is in prison.
The 13-year-old was one of thousands of jubilant girls who flocked back to secondary schools reopening across the country on Wednesday, for the first time since the Taliban seized power in August.
But just hours into classes, the education ministry announced a shock policy reversal that left schoolgirls feeling betrayed and the international community outraged.
“Not only me but everyone you asked believed that the Taliban had changed,” said Adeeba, who briefly returned to Al-Fatah Girls School in the capital, Kabul.
“When they sent everyone back home from school, we understood that the Taliban were the same Taliban of 25 years ago,” her 11-year-old sister Malahat added.
“We are being treated like criminals just because we are girls. Afghanistan has turned into a jail for us.”
When the Taliban returned to power, they promised a softer rule compared with their first regime from 1996 to 2001, which became notorious for human rights abuses.
They claimed to respect women’s rights, in line with their interpretation of Islamic sharia law, and said girls would be allowed to study through to university.
But the Taliban have imposed a slew of restrictions on women, effectively banning them from many government jobs, policing what they wear and preventing them from traveling outside of their cities alone.
They have also detained several women’s rights activists.
“We miss our freedom. We miss our classmates and teachers,” said Adeeba.
There has been no clear explanation for the last-minute reversal on secondary schools, but reports leaked from a secretive leadership meeting this week suggested motives ranging from problems with uniforms to an outright rejection of the need for education for teenage girls.
The education ministry still insists schools will restart, but only when new guidelines are issued.
Across town, Nargis Jafri, from the minority Shiite Hazara community, said the Taliban feel threatened by educated women.
“They believe that if we study, we will gain knowledge and we will fight against them,” the 14-year-old said, sitting with her books spread out on her study table at home.
It is agonizing for her to watch boys her age walking past her house on their way to school each morning.
“It is really hard and painful for me,” she said.
Like many families, history is repeating itself from one generation to the next.
Nargis’s mother, Hamida, was forced to leave school during the Taliban’s first rule when she was about 10 years old.
The stories from what she thought was a distant past are flooding into her mind again.
“I used to feel strange when she told us how she wore a burqa or a chador, or how a woman was not allowed to go out without a male relative,” Nargis said.
Hamida now struggles to accept a similar fate for her daughter.
“My daughter will be held back from going to school,” she said. “The dreams she has in her heart will be shattered.”


India’s Congress party to launch street protests against Rahul Gandhi’s conviction

India’s Congress party to launch street protests against Rahul Gandhi’s conviction
Updated 9 sec ago

India’s Congress party to launch street protests against Rahul Gandhi’s conviction

India’s Congress party to launch street protests against Rahul Gandhi’s conviction
  • Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi found guilty for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi
  • Two senior Congress leaders said that Gandhi will respect the local court’s verdict and will not attend parliament
NEW DELHI: Members of India’s main opposition Congress party will take to the streets on Friday to protest against leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction for defamation, party officials said a day after a magistrate’s court sentenced Gandhi to a two-year jail term.
Gandhi, 52, was found guilty for a 2019 speech in which he referred to thieves as having the surname Modi. He made the comment while campaigning ahead of the last general election to debunk economic policies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He was convicted by a court in the western state of Gujarat, which also gave him bail and suspended the sentence for one month.
That gives Gandhi time to appeal but he faces immediate disqualification from parliament following the conviction.
Two senior Congress leaders said that Gandhi will respect the local court’s verdict and will not attend parliament. “It is a fact that his membership stands disqualified for now but we will challenge the conviction in the court to ensure he can attend parliament proceedings,” said a federal lawmaker who is also a Congress leader.
The current parliament session began on January 31 and is scheduled to conclude on April 6.
Officials in the Congress party said they are also depending on regional opposition parties to galvanize political support against the verdict.
“It is a critical political test for Gandhi and we are depending on regional parties to support the Congress and stand against Modi’s party,” said a second senior Congress leader on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the press. The president’s office confirmed that Congress leaders have sought a meeting with President Draupadi Murmu to lodge a protest against the conviction with the top constitutional executive.

Philippines, China say to address maritime issues peacefully

Philippines, China say to address maritime issues peacefully
Updated 55 min 18 sec ago

Philippines, China say to address maritime issues peacefully

Philippines, China say to address maritime issues peacefully
  • Philippines hosts first in-person meeting between diplomats from the countries since before the COVID-19 pandemic
  • Last month, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. granted the United States expanded access to military bases

MANILA: Maritime issues between the Philippines and China remain a “serious concern,” a Philippine official said on Friday, as the countries pledged to use diplomacy to resolve differences peacefully during high-level talks.
The Philippines hosted this week the first in-person meeting between diplomats from the countries since before the COVID-19 pandemic, amid a flare-up in tensions over what Manila described as China’s “aggressive activities” in the South China Sea.
“Both our countries’ leaders agreed that maritime issues should be addressed through diplomacy and dialogue and never through coercion and intimidation,” Philippine foreign ministry undersecretary Theresa Lazaro said at the opening of bilateral talks on the South China Sea.
The discussions come two months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s state visit to China, where President Xi Jinping said he was ready to manage maritime issues “cordially” with Manila.
“Maritime issues are an important part of China-Philippines relations that should not be ignored,” China’s vice foreign minister Sun Weidong said.
“In the past years, through friendly dialogue and consultations, the two countries have generally managed and effectively dealt with our differences on maritime issues. And we have also advanced our practical cooperation and our mutual trust,” added Sun, who is on a three-day visit to Manila.
Beijing, which claims large parts of the South China Sea, including some areas in Philippine waters, has expressed concern over an increasing US military presence in its neighbor, accusing Washington of increasing regional tensions.
Last month, Marcos granted the United States expanded access to military bases, amid China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea and toward self-ruled Taiwan.
The agreement has been seen as a sign of a rekindling of ties between Manila and its former colonial master, which soured under his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.
Last month, the Philippines accused China’s coast guard of using a laser against one of its vessels supporting a resupply mission for troops in the disputed Spratly islands. Marcos later summoned the Chinese ambassador to relay his concern over the intensity and frequency of China’s activities in the area.
Maritime differences with Beijing were a “serious concern” but could be resolved through the “exhaustion of all diplomatic means,” Lazaro said.


US charges Korean crypto fugitive after reported arrest in Montenegro

US charges Korean crypto fugitive after reported arrest in Montenegro
Updated 24 March 2023

US charges Korean crypto fugitive after reported arrest in Montenegro

US charges Korean crypto fugitive after reported arrest in Montenegro
  • Kwon Do-hyung and five others connected to Terraform are wanted for fraud and the implosion of its digital currencies in May 2022
  • Montenegro’s interior ministry said Thursday the tycoon was apprehended on a South Korean warrant

WASHINGTON: Fugitive South Korean cryptocurrency entrepreneur Do Kwon, accused of orchestrating a multi-billion-dollar fraud that shook global crypto markets last year, has been arrested in Montenegro and faces fresh criminal charges in the United States.
Kwon was arrested along with another South Korean national, Montenegro’s interior ministry said Thursday, which added that the tycoon was apprehended on a South Korean warrant.
“Kwon Do-hyung and Han Chang-joon were arrested and brought to the state prosecutor’s office in Podgorica for the criminal act of document forgery,” an interior ministry statement said.
During passport control for a flight to Dubai the two “used falsified travel documents from Costa Rica, which was established also by Interpol checks,” it said.
Inspection of their luggage also found travel documents from Belgium and South Korea, while Interpol checks discovered that Belgian documents were forged, the ministry added.
Police seized from them three laptop devices and five mobile phones.
Their entry into Montenegro has not been registered, the ministry said.
South Korea has issued a warrant for them for the offense of “criminal association,” it added.
South Korea asked Interpol in September to circulate a “red notice” for the 31-year-old across the agency’s 195 member nations.
Kwon and five others connected to Terraform are wanted for fraud and the implosion of its digital currencies in May 2022.
The US federal indictment charged the 31-year-old Kwon with eight counts, including securities fraud, commodities fraud and wire fraud. The charges follow a lawsuit a month ago from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Kwon’s TerraUSD was designed as a “stablecoin,” which are pegged to stable assets like the US dollar to prevent drastic fluctuations in prices.
However, around $40 billion in market value was erased for the holders of TerraUSD and its floating sister currency, Luna, after the stablecoin plunged far below its $1 peg in May last year.
Kwon is accused of “orchestrating a multi-billion-dollar crypto asset securities fraud,” according to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Many investors lost their life savings when Luna and Terra entered a death spiral, and South Korean authorities had opened multiple criminal probes into the crash.
Cryptocurrencies have come under increasing scrutiny from regulators across the globe following a string of recent controversies, including the high-profile collapse of the crypto exchange FTX.
FTX and its sister trading house Alameda Research went bankrupt late last year, dissolving a virtual trading business that had been valued by the market at $32 billion.
The fall of FTX has caused major doubts about the long-term viability of cryptocurrency and heaped stress on further platforms and entities that rode the success of Bitcoin and other currencies.
To add to its mounting woes, the digital currency sector has also been hit hard by the demise of US crypto lenders Silvergate and Signature amid a string of banking failures that have rattled global markets and sparked fears of future economic turmoil.
 


Prince William thanks Poland for generosity to Ukrainians

Prince William thanks Poland for generosity to Ukrainians
Updated 24 March 2023

Prince William thanks Poland for generosity to Ukrainians

Prince William thanks Poland for generosity to Ukrainians
  • The heir to the throne’s visit to Poland underscores Britain’s support for both Ukraine and Poland
  • The UK has been one of the most outspoken supporters of bolstering NATO’s eastern flank in the face of Russia’s aggression

 

WARSAW, Poland: Britain’s Prince William paid tribute on Thursday to Poles who lost their lives in past wars, and expressed gratitude to the nation for what it is doing today to provide humanitarian and military support to Ukraine.
The heir to the throne’s visit to Poland underscores Britain’s support for both Ukraine and Poland, an ally on the front line of efforts to help refugees displaced by Russia’s war and to assist the Ukrainian military in fighting off the invasion.
William laid a wreath in Poland’s national colors, white and red, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and bowed his head solemnly. The memorial honors Poles who lost their lives in wars including World War II, when Polish and British soldiers were allies.
A note on the wreath that he left read: “In memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
He later headed to the presidential palace for a meeting with President Andrzej Duda, who has been a prominent ally of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than a year ago. Duda’s office said their talks focused on humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
“The Prince of Wales thanked the Poles for their generosity and hospitality,” Duda’s office said.
In the final stop on his two-day visit, the prince then went to a trendy food hall where he met with young Ukrainians working or continuing their studies in Poland.
William began his surprise visit Wednesday by meeting with British and Polish troops in Rzeszow, a city of 200,000 people in southeastern Poland that has become a hub for shipments of military and humanitarian aid bound for Ukraine.
“I just wanted to come here in person to say thank you for all that you’re doing, keeping everyone safe out here and keeping an eye on what’s going on,″ William said as he spoke to the troops.
He later traveled to a center in Warsaw that houses about 300 recent arrivals from Ukraine, meeting Ukrainians and playing table tennis with children.
The UK has been one of the most outspoken supporters of bolstering NATO’s eastern flank in the face of Russia’s aggression. The country sent troops to Poland and the Baltic states and provided more than 2.3 billion pounds ($2.8 billion) of military aid to Ukraine. It also has pledged 220 million pounds ($269 million) of humanitarian assistance.
Deploying the popular 40-year-old prince, a military veteran who also worked as a civilian air-sea rescue pilot, offers a more personal touch. While British political leaders have visited Poland regularly to trumpet their support for NATO and the Ukrainian cause, a senior royal like William is a symbol of the nation who can thank military personnel for their service without the baggage of party politics.
 


US lawmakers turn focus to plight of Uyghurs in China

US lawmakers turn focus to plight of Uyghurs in China
Updated 24 March 2023

US lawmakers turn focus to plight of Uyghurs in China

US lawmakers turn focus to plight of Uyghurs in China
  • Female Uyghur detainees were held by the thousands, heads shaved, tortured and gang-raped, witness testifies
  • China is accused of sweeping over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim ethnic minority groups into detention camps

WASHINGTON: Two women who experienced life in Chinese “reeducation” camps for Uyghurs told lawmakers Thursday of lives under imprisonment and surveillance, rape and torture as a special House committee focused on countering China shined a light on human rights abuses in the country.
Qelbinur Sidik, a member of China’s ethnic Uzbek minority who was forced to teach Chinese in separate detention facilities for Uyghur men and women, told lawmakers of male Uyghur detainees held chained and shackled in cells so tiny they had to crawl out when authorities summoned them. “They were called by numbers for interrogations. And then you would hear horrible screaming sounds from torture,” she said.
Innocent female Uyghur detainees were held by the thousands, heads shaved, in gray uniforms, Sidik said. Guards tortured the women by electric shocks and by gang rape, sometimes combining both. “And I have witnessed an 18- to 20-year-old girl” slowly bleed to death from the treatment, Sidik said.
Reeducation camps intended to drain the Uyghur inmates of their language, religious beliefs and customs forced men and women into “11 hours of brainwashing lessons on a daily basis,” testified Gulbahar Haitiwaji, a Uyghur who spent more than two years in two reeducation camps and police stations.
“Before eating, we have to praise them, say that we are grateful ... for China’s Communist Party and we are grateful for (President) Xi Jinping,” Haitiwaji said. “And after, to finish eating, we have to praise them again.”
Accused of “disorder” and detained with 30 to 40 people in a cell meant for nine, the Uyghur woman said, she and other female detainees were chained to their beds for 20 days at one point.
Detention left her gaunt. Freed and sent to France thanks to a pressure campaign by her family there in 2019, she was given more food by Chinese authorities before her release, so her appearance would not speak of her mistreatment.
In parting, Chinese officials warned Haitiwaji that “whatever I had witnessed in the concentration camp I should not talk about it,” she said. “If I do, they will retaliate against my family back home.”
The US and many other governments, the United Nations, and human rights groups accuse China of sweeping a million or more people from its Uyghur community and other predominantly Muslim ethnic minority groups into detention camps, where many have said they were tortured, sexually assaulted, and forced to abandon their language and religion. China denies the accusations, which are based on evidence including interviews with survivors and photos and satellite images from Uyghur’s home province of Xinjiang, a major hub for factories and farms in far western China.
“For a long time, some US politicians have repeatedly used Xinjiang-related issues to stir up rumors and engage in political manipulation under the pretext of human rights, in an attempt to tarnish China’s image and curb China’s development,” said Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington.
The Chinese government’s actions in Xinjiang were about “countering violence, terrorism, radicalization and separatism,” the embassy spokesman insisted.
The accusations also include draconian birth control policies, all-encompassing restrictions on people’s movement and forced labor.
The early focus on the plight of Uyghurs by the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is designed to show the Chinese government’s true nature, said Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, the committee’s Republican chairman.
“They are the first-hand witnesses to the systemic, unimaginable brutality, witnesses to the attempted elimination of a people, a culture, a civilization,” Gallagher said Thursday.
In advance of the hearing, human rights experts talked about the importance of focusing on treatment of the Uyghurs, including Elisha Wiesel. He is the son of the late Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and the author of the memoir “Night” about his experiences during the Holocaust and living in concentration camps.
“Looking at the world stage right now, it’s clear to me that there is no crime on such a massive scale taking place as what’s taking place with the Uyghur people,” Wiesel said.
Wiesel said that both the Trump and Biden administrations had been active on the topic, and pointed to passage of a bill on forced labor and sanctions against companies shown to be using forced labor of Uyghurs. “This is exactly the sort of pressure that needs to be continued,” he said.
Laura Murphy, a researcher at Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom, specializes in American businesses that draw on forced labor. She said it was important for the United States to keep identifying and penalizing companies using Uyghur forced labor.
“Most companies ... they not only don’t know, they intentionally don’t know,” Murphy said.
Outside of the sectors of cotton and components of solar panels, two industries in China that the US and others say relies heavily on forced labor by detained Uyghurs, companies that draw on supplies from China “would prefer not to look into it,” she said.
“So long as businesses continue to do business with the Uyghur region ... they are financing a genocide,” Murphy said.
The US should step up legislation rewarding companies that have shown they make no use of Uyghur forced labor, in terms of access to US markets, and increase information-sharing on companies that haven’t, she said.
The hearing also comes following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s trip to Russia to show support for President Vladimir Putin, underscoring just how badly US relations with China have deteriorated.
“What we’re seeing here is increasingly a de facto alliance against America and our allies to try and undercut our interests,” Gallagher said.
The formation of the special China committee this year was a top priority of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., but close to 150 Democrats also voted for the committee’s creation, and its work has been unusually bipartisan so far.
“This hearing is important because what happens to the Uyghur community in China impacts Americans at home,” said the committee’s ranking Democrat, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. “It’s in the goods produced with slave labor, it’s the degradation of human rights that makes the world less safe, and it’s the ceaseless persecution of Uyghurs abroad that includes those living in America.”
Haitiwaji, the ethnic Uyghur woman testifying before the committee, said she is speaking out because she feels an obligation to speak for those still languishing in detention centers. She is calling on lawmakers to follow the example of Canada, which has adopted a policy of accepting 10,000 Uyghur refugees from around the world.
“Please rescue Uyghur and other Turkic refugees, like Canada has done,” she said in her prepared remarks. “Please stop American companies from continuing to be complicit in surveilling our people and profiting from their labor.”