Tunisia rejects African Union’s criticism in immigration row

Tunisia rejects African Union’s criticism in immigration row
Tunisian government is trying to tamp down criticism and denunciations of racism, after President Kais Saied said the presence of sub-Saharan migrants was part of plot to transform the country into a "purely African" state. (FILE/AP)
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Updated 25 February 2023

Tunisia rejects African Union’s criticism in immigration row

Tunisia rejects African Union’s criticism in immigration row
  • President Kais Saied sparked an outcry after saying “hordes” of sub-Saharan African migrants were causing crime

The African Union or AU has criticized Tunisia and urged it to avoid “racialized hate speech” after President Kais Saied ordered the expulsion of undocumented migrants and said immigration was a plot aimed at changing his country’s demographic makeup.
Tunisia’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it was surprised by the AU statement issued late on Friday, and rejected what it called “baseless accusations” that it said misunderstood the government’s position.
The AU voiced what it said was “deep shock and concern at the form and substance of the statement” issued by Tunisian authorities and reminded Tunisia of its obligation within the 55-member state AU to treat migrants with dignity.
Saied this week ordered security forces to stop all illegal migration and expel all undocumented migrants, prompting a campaign of arrests that caused widespread fear among sub-Saharan Africans as well as Black Tunisians.
Announcing the measures, he said increased undocumented immigration from sub-Saharan Africa was a conspiracy aimed at changing Tunisia’s demographic makeup and stopping it from being an Arab and Muslim country.
His comments were praised by the French far-right politician Eric Zemmour.
In response to criticism from rights groups that his remarks were racist, Saied said he was not racist and that migrants living in Tunisia legally had nothing to fear.
Rights groups were holding a demonstration on Saturday to protest against Saied’s comments and the clampdown on migrants.
Aboubacar Dobe, head of a radio station for French-speaking migrants, said it was “clear that things are different since Saied’s speech.”
The head of Radio Libre Francophone said he had received threatening phone calls.
“When it was just the (recently created far-right) Tunisian Nationalist Party or on social media, people thought the state would protect them,” he said. “Now, they feel abandoned.”
Hosni Maati, a lawyer who helps an association for Ivorians in Tunisia, said that “since the president’s speech, (Tunisians) have totally lost it.”
Maati said sub-Saharan Africans had been living without papers in Tunisia for years as authorities turned a blind eye.
Bureaucratic obstacles prevented many from regularizing their status, making them easy targets for exploitation by unscrupulous employers as cheap labor.
Authorities began a wave of arrests targeting migrants two weeks ago and have so far detained around 400 people, rights groups say. Most have since been released.
“You can’t solve such a complex situation by making a speech and arresting people left, right and centre,” Maati said.

Jean Bedel Gnabli, deputy head of an association for sub-Saharan migrants, said the whole community -- also including Senegalese, Guineans, Congolese and Comorans -- was living in fear.

“They feel like they’ve been handed over to mob justice,” he said.

Even sub-Saharan African students at Tunisian universities, who in principle are in the country legally, have been affected.

AESAT, an association that supports them, sent out a message this week urging them “not to go out, even to go to class, until authorities ensure we are properly protected from these attacks.”

Gnabli predicted the Ivorian government would organize repatriation flights for those wishing to leave.

In the meantime, he called on Tunisian authorities to “guarantee their security” and “treat them with dignity.”

In the Bhar Lazreg neighborhood of north Tunis, streets of informal African restaurants and barber shops have closed, apparently for good.

A creche that had taken care of dozens of African children was nowhere to be seen.

Ivorians Blede Dibe and Michel Yere worked manual jobs in the neighbourhood until they found themselves abruptly unemployed two weeks ago.

But they agreed there was little point in returning to their home country.

“Go back to do what? There’s no work for us in Ivory Coast,” they said in unison.


Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile over 23 times limit of 2015 deal: IAEA

Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile over 23 times limit of 2015 deal: IAEA
Updated 8 sec ago

Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile over 23 times limit of 2015 deal: IAEA

Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile over 23 times limit of 2015 deal: IAEA

VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that Iran’s estimated stockpile of enriched uranium had reached more than 23 times the limit set out in the 2015 accord between Tehran and world powers.
According to a confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report seen by AFP, Iran’s total enriched uranium stockpile was estimated at 4,744.5 kilograms (10,459 pounds) as of 13 May. The limit in the 2015 deal was set at 202.8 kilograms.


Lebanon judge questions central bank chief over Munich arrest warrant

Lebanon judge questions central bank chief over Munich arrest warrant
Updated 39 min ago

Lebanon judge questions central bank chief over Munich arrest warrant

Lebanon judge questions central bank chief over Munich arrest warrant
  • Salameh has been the subject of a series of judicial probes both at home and abroad
  • Lebanese judge Imad Qabalan questioned Salameh over accusations of "money laundering, fraud, embezzlement and illicit enrichment"

BEIRUT: A Lebanese judge questioned central bank chief Riad Salameh on Wednesday after Beirut received a second Interpol Red Notice targeting him, this time following an arrest warrant from Munich, a judicial official said.
Salameh has been the subject of a series of judicial probes both at home and abroad into the fortune he has amassed during some three decades in the job.
France earlier this month issued an arrest warrant for Salameh after he failed to appear for questioning in Paris.
On Wednesday, Lebanese judge Imad Qabalan questioned Salameh over accusations of “money laundering, fraud, embezzlement and illicit enrichment,” the judicial official said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Two days earlier, Lebanon received an Interpol Red Notice pursuant to the arrest warrant issued in absentia by Munich’s public prosecutor, according to the judicial official.
Last week Qabalan had questioned Salameh, banned him from traveling, confiscated his French and Lebanese passports and released him pending investigation, after receiving the first Interpol Red Notice, issued following the French arrest warrant.
An Interpol Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant but asks authorities worldwide to provisionally detain people pending possible extradition or other legal actions.
Lebanon does not extradite its nationals but Salameh could go on trial in Lebanon if local judicial authorities decide the accusations against him are founded, an official previously told AFP.
Qabalan on Wednesday again banned Salameh from travel and released him pending investigation, the judicial official said.
He also requested Salameh’s file from the judiciary in Munich and noted that “only the Lebanese judiciary has the authority to try him,” the official added.
In March 2022, France, Germany and Luxembourg seized assets worth 120 million euros ($130 million) in a move linked to a probe into Salameh’s wealth.
In February, Lebanon charged Salameh with embezzlement, money laundering and tax evasion as part of its own investigations.
The domestic probe was opened following a request for assistance from Switzerland’s public prosecutor looking into more than $300 million in fund movements by Salameh and his brother.
Salameh, who was questioned for more than an hour on Wednesday, again “denied all charges against him” and said wealth came from private sources, the official added.
Salameh continues to serve as central bank governor. His mandate ends in July.
Activists say the travel ban helps shield him from being brought to justice abroad — and from potentially bringing down others in the entrenched political class, which is widely blamed for endemic corruption in the crisis-hit country.
His brother Raja was due to appear for questioning in France on Wednesday, but his lawyer said he was unable to attend due to medical reasons and the judge postponed the session for two months, the official added.


UAE launches quality mark for local products

UAE launches quality mark for local products
Updated 31 May 2023

UAE launches quality mark for local products

UAE launches quality mark for local products
  • The label will signify that the item meets national quality and safety standards, boosting its competitiveness in foreign markets

DUBAI: The UAE government has launched Made in the Emirates, a new quality mark for Emirati-produced products.

The label will signify that the item meets national quality and safety standards, boosting its competitiveness in foreign markets, the Emirates News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Saba Sanabel flour, made by Sharjah Agricultural and Livestock Production Establishment, was the first to bear the Made in the Emirates label.

The mark has also been issued to Yas Electronic Systems for traffic management technologies, Euro Pack Industries for biodegradable plastics, and Rubber Plas Tech LLC for food contact materials.

The new quality mark is in line with the UAE’s strategy for industry and advanced technology, which aims to support the growth of national industries while enhancing the reputation of the country’s industrial products and increasing exports to global markets.

Companies can apply for a license to use the Made in the Emirates mark directly through the website of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.
 


Jordanian university grants 10 scholarships to mark royal wedding

Jordanian university grants 10 scholarships to mark royal wedding
Updated 31 May 2023

Jordanian university grants 10 scholarships to mark royal wedding

Jordanian university grants 10 scholarships to mark royal wedding
  • Crown Prince Hussein will marry Saudi citizen Rajwa Al-Saif on Thursday

AMMAN: Jordan’s Zarqa University has granted 10 scholarships in honor of the upcoming wedding of Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II and Saudi citizen Rajwa Al-Saif, the Jordan News Agency reported.

The university said on Wednesday that the scholarships would be given to students from central Zarqa governorate.

Dr. Mahmoud Abu Shaira, chairman of the university’s board of directors, congratulated King Abdullah II, Queen Rania Abdullah and the Jordanian people on the royal wedding, which takes place on Thursday, and wished the couple a happy life together.
 


Houthis abduct 17 Baha’is in Sanaa raid: HRW

Houthis abduct 17 Baha’is in Sanaa raid: HRW
Updated 31 May 2023

Houthis abduct 17 Baha’is in Sanaa raid: HRW

Houthis abduct 17 Baha’is in Sanaa raid: HRW
  • Human Rights Watch: ‘The Houthis have systematically violated the rights of minorities in Yemen’
  • UN expert: Militia engaging in ‘persistent pattern of persecution’ of Baha’is

LONDON: Yemen’s Houthi militia detained and disappeared 17 people belonging to the Baha’i faith in the capital Sanaa on May 25, Human Rights Watch reported.

The religious minority has faced significant persecution under Houthi rule, with the Baha’i International Community, the faith’s world body, saying its members were deliberately targeted in the raid.

The abductions took place during an annual meeting by Yemeni Baha’is to elect members to their national body.

The 17 people were joined by other attendees via Zoom, one of whom described the incident to HRW based on footage he witnessed and recorded in the video call.

About 15 minutes into the meeting, he said, a loud bang, which “sounded like a door being knocked in,” shook the room.

The attendees “looked frightened and stood up,” and were then met by four armed Houthis who had entered the room and forced everyone to sit.

“I heard screaming and crying voices in the background. I saw their faces … They were shocked and some of them automatically raised their hands,” he said.

One of the Houthis then closed the laptop in the room, ending the footage of the event. The Baha’i International Community said all 17 people present in the meeting were detained and transported away, with Houthi authorities refusing to respond to requests for information on their whereabouts.

Niku Jafarnia, Yemen and Bahrain researcher at HRW, said: “Houthi authorities’ flagrant targeting of Baha’i solely on the basis of their religious beliefs is a clear violation of their human rights.

“They (the Houthis) should immediately reveal the condition and whereabouts of the detained Baha’i, release everyone detained solely for the peaceful religious practice, and respect the rights of all Yemenis to freedom of expression and belief.”

Ahmed Shaheed, the UN expert on freedom of religion, previously warned that the Houthis were engaging in a “persistent pattern of persecution” of Baha’is.

He noted that Abdel Malik Al-Houthi, the militia’s leader, had referred to Baha’is as “infidels” and “urged Yemenis to defend their country from the Baha’is and members of other religious minorities,” in a 2018 speech.

The raid on May 25 was the latest in a series of targeted attacks against Baha’is in Houthi-controlled areas across Yemen, HRW said.

In 2016, the militia raided a conference hosted by the faith in Sanaa and arrested more than 60 people.

Two years later, at least 22 Baha’is were charged with espionage and apostasy in a Houthi court, with the cases still remaining active.

The Baha’i member who spoke to HRW about the latest raid said many Yemenis of his faith were “forced to relocate to new houses, sometimes to new cities,” and that they have been forced to “keep a low profile.”

Jafarnia said: “The Houthis have systematically violated the rights of minorities in Yemen and show no sign of letting up on the pressure.

“The international community should stand in solidarity with the Baha’i community and exert pressure on the Houthi authorities to release the detained people immediately.”