Category Archives: Government Oppression

Do you think there's no good protest music these days? So did I, until I started looking for it. The truth is, it's always been out there, but it's sometimes a bit difficult to find. Every month, I search it out, listen to it all, then round up the best of it that relates to that month's political news. Here's the round-up for August 2022.

Years ago, as a new immigrant to Australia, I watched a movie about Aboriginal massacres. The film,The Tracker, was powerful. But it was the soundtrack by Archie Roach that really hit me. In 2009, while in Adelaide to start an outback tour of Aboriginal communities, I caught Roach performing with his wife, Ruby Hunter, at an Indigenous music festival. She died just weeks later, at 54. This album of their live performances was released on August 1 this year, two days after Roach's death at 66. On it, he describes getting into an altercation with police because they wanted to fingerprint his 11-year-old son, who they'd arrested. The arrest depressed his son, so Roach wrote the song "Life Is Worth Living" for him. On August 15, an activist faced court for protesting against the jailing of Indigenous children as young as 10 at Darwin's Don Dale Youth Detention Centre. Many attempt suicide. LISTEN>>>

On August 19, Grammy-nominated blues singer Shemekia Copeland released her new album, which addresses the terror that non-white kids face. On "The Talk" she describes the discussion all African-American parents must have with their children to try to keep them safe. "I held my breath as you took your first steps," she sings. "I was proud as a mamma can get. Now it's been years you've grown tall, but I'm still worried you're gonna fall. Got to have The Talk." Such a talk could not save Black nurse Breonna Taylor, shot to death by police in her flat. On August 4, after years of protests, four officers were charged with her death. The new album Songs Of Slavery And Emancipationrecalls the roots of such oppression, as does the new album by chart-topping folk rocker Ben Harper. And on August 5, Welsh ragga-rockers Dub War's comeback album addressed the racist cop killing of George Floyd. LISTEN>>>

Floyd's death and the protests it sparked worldwide also inspired the new album by British political stadium rockers Muse, released on August 26. Discussing its song "Liberation", singer Matt Bellamy said: "[It's] leaning towards what I felt seeing the Black Lives Matter protests. I'm not gonna try to claim to have any understanding of what that culture's been through or anything, but 'intend to erase your place in history' was that feeling of anger... that emotion that you feel in the moment of revolution, where you just want to tear it down." The record, hailed as "the band's most politically on-point album to date", closes with the urgent anthem "We Are Fucking Fucked". "We're at death's door," Bellamy seethes. "Another world war. Wildfires and earthquakes I foresaw. A life in crisis, a deadly virus. Tsunamis of hate are gonna find us. We are fucking fucked." LISTEN>>>

Echoing that sentiment was a study published on August 16that said a nuclear war could wipe out 5 billion people. It came as Democratic US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi taunted nuclear-armed China by visiting Taiwan, sparking military drills by Beijing. US President Joe Biden distanced himself from Pelosi's grandstanding, as it made Biden's unhinged Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, look relatively sane. Meanwhile, Biden continued to taunt nuclear-armed Russia by funnelling arms to Ukraine as its Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant came under fire. Damning such recklessness is the new EP from Belarusian band Hnida, who have moved to Poland due to the repression in their country and the war in Ukraine. On the EP's closing track, "Nuclear Horizon", they sing: "The nuclear horizon will light up the road to nowhere." All proceeds from the record will be donated to help political prisoners in Belarus. LISTEN>>>

On August 5, Russian former political prisoners Pussy Riot released their long-awaited debut album, which rails against the patriarchy spreading war and oppression worldwide. "I love matriarchy," explained singer Nadya Tolokonnikova. "And I think now is the best time to bring it on. Our rights are being attacked, and that's just not cute." Noting how Russian President Vladimir Putin's jailing of the band only increased their popularity, she said: "I think it's a good lesson to every dictator who wants to silence activists and artists. If you put them in jail, often they will get out even stronger, and they will have a bigger platform, more influence. That's what happened with us. We ended up in jail, being a small movement. We had perhaps just a few dozens of members, and then got out of jail to hundreds and thousands of people identifying themselves as Pussy Riot." LISTEN>>>

On August 19, it was reported that the early release of Bali bomber Umar Patek was being discussed. The news sparked outrage in Australia, since the 2002 Islamist terror attack killed 88 Australians. The context is that the West has been raining terror on Muslims for centuries, from the Crusades to wars in Iraq, Libya, Yemen, Palestine and Afghanistan. But that does not excuse the Bali attack, as Balinese rockers Navicula pointed out in a new podcast series discussing their 25 years of music activism. The band say their song "Aku Bukan Mesin (I Am Not a Machine)", recorded in response to the Bali bombing, was "just the pure reaction as a human being, as a Balinese ... thinking about the people who have losing their heart, losing their entity as a human to do such a cruel, unimaginable action. It just destroys everything. The effect of the destruction is affecting everybody." LISTEN>>>

Meanwhile, Australian bosses continued to destroy Australians' lives as they used the excuse of inflation to cut wages, despite reporting record profits. Announcing a cash net profit after tax of $9.6 billion on August 10, Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn took a 35% pay rise, but opposed wage rises for his staff as "inflationary". On August 17, public servants rallying in Western Australia begged the government for fair pay, saying: "Were asking for the bare bloody minimum." Summing up the anger is the new album from Aussie punks The Chats, released two days later. On "Paid Late" they seethe: "Starin' at the ATM. It says insufficient funds. That's just not good enough. 'Cause right now I wanna get drunk." And on "The Price Of Smokes", they spit: "The price of smokes is going up again. I could already barely afford my rent. Those bastards in parliament ought to be hung by their necks." LISTEN>>>

On August 24, "those bastards in parliament", the supposedly climate-friendly new Labor government, released 10 new sites for oil and gas exploration. The same day, it was reported that "China's fragile economy" was "being hammered by the driest riverbeds since 1865" as droughts spread worldwide. A week earlier, Australian resources company Santos announced it was drilling for oil in Alaska, just days after it was reported Antarctica was losing ice even faster than first thought. That news came on August 11, the same day that it was reported that no rainwater that falls anywhere on Earth is now safe to drink. Answering back is the new album from Australian hardcore band In Hearts Wake, which soundtracks their new documentary about the climate crisis, their bid to make touring environmentally-friendly, and their recording of the "first carbon offset album" to hit the top five in Australia. LISTEN>>>

Also despairing at Australia's environmental vandalism are Indigenous surf rockers King Stingray, who released their debut album on August 5. The Arnhem Land band were nominated for the Environmental Music Prize for its lead single, "Hey Wanhaka". It carries an ancient songline about the celebration of nature and Yolngu way of life. We dont own Mother Earth, the Earth owns us," said singer Yirrnga Yunupingu, whose uncle led legendary Indigenous rock band Yothu Yindi. Guitarist Roy Kellaway, whose father was also in Yothu Yindi, said: Yolngu people are perhaps the original conservationists of Earth. Theyve been looking after country since the beginning. So theres a lot that Westerners and other people, I reckon, have to learn from Yolngu people Like what Yirrnga was saying: without the environment, we dont exist. I dont understand how humans have lost sight of that. LISTEN>>>

Want to get this column every month? Just email matwardmusic@gmail.com and I'll add you to my monthly email that includes a link to this column here atGreen Left.Yes, I want to read this column every month.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mat Ward has been writing forGreen Leftsince 2009. He also wrotethebookReal Talk: Aboriginal Rappers Talk About Their Music And Countryandmakespolitical music. This year,Mat Ward released his new album based on protest chants,Why I Protest. Stream ordownload it free for a limited time.

Stream our new"Best protest songs of 2022" playliston Spotify.This replacestheprevious"Political albums" playlist, that was getting too bigat more than 700 albums.

Read aboutmore political albums.

StreamGreen Left TV's political music playlist.

Themulti-award-winning journalist John Pilgersays: "There are few other newspapers radical or any other kind that draw together news and analysis that is as well informed, credible, and non-sectarian asGreen Left. Its work has influenced mine and has been a beacon to those who believe the press ought to be an agent of the people."

Visit link:

10 new albums that express anger at the world - Green Left

Dear Editor,

The African economy is in trouble not because Africans are lazy. It is not only chattel slavery that adversely impacted the African race, but Africans continue to face roadblocks in post-slavery society by individuals and groups seeking to suppress efforts and initiatives at economic self-determination. In the immediate post-slavery, our forebears struggled against former slave masters seeking to undermine the village economy by flooding their farmlands. At the dawn of internal self-government, many entered and have stayed in the public sector in service to the nation through the traditional public service, teaching, nursing, disciplined services, etc.

By virtue of the sheer numbers, Africans have been the single largest group that has not only kept the nations wheels of production turning but financed the states spending through taxes. Whereas tax deduction could be manipulated by those in the formal private sector, and many in the agriculture sector (rice, livestock, greens, etc) do not pay taxes, public servants cannot skew the numbers or avoid taxation because taxes are deducted before receiving their pay. Efforts to secure livable wages/salaries and better working conditions continue to be thwarted by government trampling the right to collective bargaining, thereby reducing purchasing power and negatively affecting standard of living.

Dire economic straits are impacting the African household, their ability to feed the families and send their children to school. When many parents are forced to turn to employment in private security that pays minimum wages, or do odds-and-ends jobs, they cannot provide three meals a day, pay rent or mortgage without support from overseas loved ones. It is well established as government engages in acts to shut Africans out of the public sector on claims of ethnic balancing, or GECOM reflecting the reality of Guyana as recently pronounced by Clement Rohee, there is no corresponding policy to see ethnic balance in the private sector through a process of Affirmative Action.

There are young people with 6 to 8 CXCs and university qualifications and cant get work commensurate with their qualifications. This is not because they arent looking but because of how they look. The cooperative sector where the African economy dominates is now under siege by government who, rather than work with the co-ops, is using the power of the state to take full control. The cooperative economy is worth approximately $50 billion and represents workers assets (money and lands). The cooperative credit unions provide loans at low interest rates for home ownership and repairs, cars, etc. Today we are witnessing a targeted onslaught on the African community from Bharrat Jagdeo and other East Indians who appointed themselves authority to determine the African reality. This is separate and apart from collaborating with Africans in giving voice to their reality. Such contempt for the race has never been seen post-1953 (internal self-government).

I am sure were African leaders attacking East Indians in similar manner members of the African community would have publicly condemned the conduct. The attacks are insidious, wicked and part of an overarching mindset, policy and programme to justify marginalising a section of society. These persons are ascribing to themselves what they feel should be given to the African community rather than what the community is entitled to. As the public is fed the diatribe that denigrates a race, there are acts presently being conducted to deprive Africans of their resources. The government is quietly surveying ancestral lands giving rise to legitimate fear the lands will be re-allocated to others and not the rightful heirs. One such exercise is being conducted at No. 53 and No. 54, Corentyne, East Berbice.

The United Nations (UN) warned, whereas apartheid as a system of government is toppled and racist legislation will not be tolerated, the underpinning belief of inferiority/superiority that built systems such as chattel slavery, indentureship, colonialism still exists and government can practice these through policies and programmes which we must be wary of in the process of working for a unitary society. As part of the African community, I live and walk among the affected, see and hear their cries of discrimination, marginalisation and enforced deprivations. As a trade unionist I also witness this in the workforce. The contempt for the right to collective bargaining in the public service, for teachers, and workers employed at the Bauxite Company Guyana Incorporated is largely in part because Africans dominate in these sectors, particularly when compared with the favourable treatment meted out to sugar workers.

There are similarities in the thinking and treatment of the government that gave rise to formations of oppressive systems. The UN urged the continued importance of policing human rights and challenging manifestation of conducts that could lead to the denial of these. The right to self-determination, political, economic and social justice are valued in societies that eschew thinking that sustained racist and apartheid states. The Cuffy250 Movement is entitled to expressing the reality of the group they represent. This at its most basic is a cherished right. After presentations have been made, society, moreso the government, should examine these and put systems in place for corrective action as we strive to live up to the national motto, which is the only slogan that matters. But to tell Africans they must not speak to their reality as they see it would be repeating the fundamental mistakes that led tojustifying oppression.

Sincerely,Lincoln Lewis

Read the original:

African-Guyanese must speak to their reality as they see it - Stabroek News

A march and rally organised by Nottingham Ukraine Solidarity Campaign (NUSC) brought together around 350 people in support of Ukraine to mark six months since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

On 24th August Ukrainians traditionally celebrate Ukrainian Independence day but celebrations this year were tempered by the date also being six months since the start of Russias full-scale invasion.

Today (August 27th) around 350 people of all ages, consisting of local residents, the local Ukrainian community and recently arrived refugees fleeing from war held a march and rally to raise awareness of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and to highlight the continued resolve of Ukrainians and people around the world to overcome Putins oppression.

People gathered at Speakers Corner by the Brian Clough statue in Nottingham city centre and marched down a busy Parliament Street to Sneinton Market.

People held banners showing solidarity with Ukraine and saying that Russia should get out of Ukraine. The crowd chanted for Ukraine to be free in both English and Ukrainian and called Russia a terrorist state.

Banners were also on display highlighting Russian war crimes, nuclear terrorism, and asking for the release of POWs illegally sentenced to death in the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic including Nottinghamshire man Aiden Aslin.

A group of protestors from the local Hong Kong campaign also joined the march in solidarity with their own struggle against an oppressive dictatorship.

At Sneinton Market supporters gave messages of solidarity and Ukrainians spoke about their experiences, sang the State Anthem of Ukraine and staged a performance of a locally produced short play.

The play showed a young lady who represented Ukraine with her children and possessions being stolen by people wearing the Russian Z for invasion symbol. It represented the impact of war on Ukraine but at the same time showed the resolve of the Ukrainian people to overcome the invasion and the support from other countries around the world.

Michael Holod, branch chair of the Nottingham Ukrainian Cultural Centre, said: Since 24th February we have witnessed with our own eyes the evil that the cancer we know as Putin has spread and will be accountable for.

We now have displaced adults and children amongst us here in Nottingham and in the UK at large, ask them what they have witnessed and why they have left their country if you have doubts about any of the western media.

The support in the UK must continue and we are forever grateful to anyone who has made a donation of any kind and in particular those who have opened their hearts and homes to Ukrainian refugees.

Zhenia Myronenko, Ukrainian citizen recently arrived in the UK, said: When the full-invasion started I had to leave my flat and I moved to Lviv in western Ukraine. I tried to find work there but it was impossible so I took the opportunity to travel with a friend who was going to Krakow in Poland. Someone there told me about the UK program that supports Ukrainians. I applied at the end of March and waited about six weeks for my application to be processed.

At the refugee centre in Poland there was a lot of noise, always from people and their pets. When I finally got to the UK in June I slept for ages. My host and the local Ukrainian Cultural Centre have been very supportive.

It is important to have protests like today so that we as Ukrainians can communicate with the British public and explain what is happening there and who we are. I want people to know that we are glad and happy to talk with them, we have a right to say what we have seen and it is helpful to us for people to listen to us.

Pete Radcliff, NUSC organiser, said: European governments including Britain are not doing enough to combat the hugely wealthy oligarchs behind Putin. By Zelenskys own reports, at the start of the war every government thought Ukraine would be defeated in a matter of days. Even now, many Western governments and businesses are keen to return to business as usual with the Russian regime. We must not allow that. The assets in British banks of any Russian oligarch, the oil oligarchs in particular, who dont denounce Putin and his wars should be seized, not just frozen. The price for their oil should not be paid in the lives of the Ukrainian people or soldiers. Dependency on the oil of the Russian oligarchs should end.

A future Ukraine must be no longer crippled with the international debt built up by the oligarchs greed and now by this war.

We must make sure that arms are supplied urgently to Ukraine for it to defeat the Russian army. Western government leaders must be held to their promises as above all, the Russian invasion must be beaten back.

View original post here:

Pictures: March and protest against six months of Russian invasion held in Nottingham - West Bridgford Wire

Religiously motivated violence has impelled the United Nations to dedicate 22 August as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. Despite the annual observance, incidents of religious intolerance and strife have increased at an alarming rate. How is the world community to combat incitements to hatred and violence? Repeated time and again throughout history, the pattern of demonizing and dehumanizing a segment of society is always a matter of grave concern. Through such propaganda, the victims humanity is denied. Blame for the economic and social problems of the country and often the wider world rests firmly with the other, who may be reviled as an animal, vermin, a pest, a disease, or as practicing witchcraft.

Some examples of violence perpetrated by the majority religious or ideologically driven population as reported in the media or the United Nations documents that may be cited is the situation of Tibetans and Uighurs in China, Bahs, Christians, Sunni minority and Sufis in Iran, Christians and Muslims in India, Hazara Muslim minority, Sikhs, and Hindus in Pakistan, Hindus in Bangladesh, the list can be expanded to include many other communities who are victims of oppression. The attacks and persecutions on defenceless victims take on various forms. Slanders and falsehoods are disseminated in state-controlled and state-sanctioned media, through pamphlets and tracts, from pulpits, and at public exhibitions and events. As a result, there are severe social and economic restrictions; thousands are deprived of employment and their property, children and youth are barred from education.

The clear objective is to strangulate and exterminate identified people; full details of the specific nature of the acts of violence are available in the public domain. Despite sustained efforts to combat incitement to hatred and violence at the international level there is no stopping the appalling oppression. It parallels with the acts of violence perpetrated due to racism, casteism, ethno-centrism, and deep-seated gender prejudices towards women and girls. As a member of the Bah community of India I am deeply shocked to learn of arrest of some 200 Bahs in Iran last week. They are being subjected to all types of discrimination and assaults. Deprived of their most basic civil rights solely because they belong to the Bah religion, these innocent people, including women and children, are being subjected to great oppression such as the confiscation of their property and belongings and the destruction of their houses, the denial of higher education to the youth, and even instances of individuals being prevented from earning a livelihood.

The United Nations General Assembly and the UN Commission on Human Rights violations, based on authentic reports submitted by the UN appointed Rapporteurs have regularly passed resolutions calling upon the Iranian Government to stop persecuting the religious minorities in their country and abide by the international covenants and treaties to which it is a signatory. Irans double-standard is glaring: it champions religious tolerance abroad only to deny it at home. Particularly with respect to followers of Bah religion, not only have they robbed them of their undisputed rights but by spreading untruths and calumnies against the community to which no informed and fair-minded person any longer pays heed, and by making empty and unfounded accusations, the Iranian Government also undermined and damaged its own reputation and credibility in the eyes of the public but also among the member countries of the United Nations system. Bahs around the globe, including India with its famous Lotus Temple in New Delhi, in a wide range of settings, are striving to establish a pattern of activity and community life that helps translate moral and spiritual precepts, which is the core of every religious and spiritual path, into practical forms of a new social reality.

So why should there be such violent response in the land of its birth? What is there except prejudice, bigotry, malice, and enmity that can thus extinguish understanding and reason and motivate the advancement of claims so untenable and specious that they would fail to deceive even a child, let alone the astute and perceptive people of Iran? The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men, Bahullh, Founder of the Bah Faith, proclaimed over one-and-half century ago. Learning about how this fundamental truth enshrined in all the extant religious systems of the world could be translated into the reality of a spiritually and materially prospering world civilization must be internalized by all who believe in freedom of belief as well as the practice and propagation of ones faith.

Read more here:

Iran's persecution of Bah's must end - The Statesman

By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: Minister for Housing Jogi Ramesh has predicted the defeat of TDP in all 175 Assembly constituencies, including Kuppam, the home segment of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu, in the next elections.Speaking to mediapersons on Sunday, he said TDP flags would slowly vanish from every constituency and the party itself would lose its cadre. Trusting Naidu would only led to the downfall of cadres, he said, advising them to choose another capable leader.

Naidu has 45 years of political experience and he served as CM for 14 years. But did nothing to his home constituency Kuppam though he represented it for more than three decades. Now, people of Kuppam are confronting Naidu for doing nothing for them, except treating them as mere vote banks, the minister said.Describing it as a peoples revolt against TDP, the minister said, People are impressed with what the Jagan Mohan Reddy government has been doing in the State for the last three years. Not a section of the society has been ignored and every eligible person is being provided the benefit of welfare schemes. This is evident from the response to Gadapa Gadapa Ku Mana Prabhutavam, he asserted.

Ramesh said people belonging to BC communities had witnessed oppression and negligence during the previous TDP regime. In the YSRC regime, they are being treated as backbone classes. The TDP can no longer show its face to people in any of the 175 Assembly constituencies, he remarked.Dismissing Jana Sena as a non-entity, Ramesh said there is no difference between the party started by evangelist KA Paul and the party floated by Pawan Kalyan. Both have no Assembly seats in the State. Pawan should listen to Paul and merge his party with Pauls party, Ramesh advised.

Read more here:

TDP will face defeat in all 175 Assembly segments: Jogi Ramesh - The New Indian Express

The Russian-language sign in this image says "exit."

I was going to write a post about the current debate over whether Western nations should bar all or most Russian migrants and visitors. But much of what I might have said has already been better stated in an article by Reason immigration policy writer Fiona Harrigan. Here is her summary of the ongoing debate:

In an interview with The Washington Post earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russians should "live in their own world until they change their philosophy." In practical terms, he suggested that countries should "close the borders" to Russian citizens. "Whichever kind of Russian," he said, "make them go to Russia."

A number of nations have taken steps to prevent Russians from entering. So far, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Poland have decided to stop issuing certain visas to Russian citizens. Finland will be slashing its current level of Russian tourist visas by 90 percent.

European Union foreign ministers are expected to discuss the issue of Russian visas on August 31. Ahead of that meeting, many major figuresincluding people within the Zelenskyy administrationhave argued against a blanket ban on visas for Russians. They recognize the ethical and practical issues that come with punishing civilians for the actions of an authoritarian government they can't feasibly control.

Oleksiy Arestovych, a military adviser to Zelenskyy, told The Washington Post that he's "not a supporter of collective responsibility [but of] individual." While it might be reasonable to sanction those who overtly support Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said, he favored a "more selective" approach to visa denials for Russians.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz likewise has rejected the idea of an E.U.-wide ban on Russian tourists, arguing that such a measure "would undermine the purpose and effect of targeted sanctions that have been applied to those supporting the war," explains Politico. "This is not the war of the Russian people, but it is Putin's war," Scholz said at a press conference last week. "It is important to us to understand that there are a lot of people fleeing from Russia, because they are disagreeing with the Russian regime."

On this issue, Zelensky is wrong and Arestovych, Scholz, and others are right. Harrigan explains some of the reasons why:

Zelenskyy argues that limiting the movement of Russian travelers should be done "until they change their philosophy." But keeping Russians in Russia isn't the right approach to encourage them to change their views. For one, the Kremlin has censored all manner of information about the war. Back in March, it blocked access to Facebook. It's cracked down on journalists and foreign websites, censoring sites like BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Deutsche Welle. And in March, Putin signed a law that would dole out prison sentences of up to 15 years for those who circulate "false news" about the invasion. Russia arrested over 13,000 anti-war protesters in just the first two weeks after the war began.

Isolating Russians will be counterproductive. Allowing them to travel will surely bring them some measure of joy, but it will also give them access to views and insights on the invasion of Ukraine that they'd be hard-pressed to find at home. Fencing Russians off from freer nations will ensure that they're kept in a hostile information environment, deprived of experiences that may make them more amenable to freedom and more hostile to their current regime. What's more, it could keep certain vulnerable groupslike LGBT people or political dissidentsfrom leaving for safer places.

A sweeping visa ban would harm the Russian citizens that could very well benefit either from an escape route or exposure to ideas outside Russia's borders. Keeping them isolated will only trap them in a country rife with censorship and risk alienating them from the West, playing directly into Putin's hands.

Harrigan also notes that it would be a mistake to try to screen Russians in order to keep out those who support Putin, because it would "require visa-issuing authorities to make any number of subjective judgments" about visa applicants' political views. More generally, imposing political viewpoint restriction on migration policy has much the same flaws as other government policies targeting people based on their political views. It's reasonable to sanction and otherwise punish Russians (and others) for perpetrating injustices and human rights violations - including those associated with the Putin's brutal war against Ukraine. But it's wrong to restrict people's liberty merely based on the fact that governments have concluded they have wrong political views. Restricting it merely because they have the misfortune of being born in a country with a horrible government is even worse.

In addition to the points made by Harrigan, it's also worth emphasizing that letting Russians migrate freely to the West can impose a "brain drain" on Putin, while simultaneously bolstering our own economy. It would also strengthen our position in the war of ideas against his brand of authoritarian nationalism. The potential risk of espionage by Russian migrants is low and can be addressed by measures other than exclusion. Instead of making it harder for Russians to enter the West, we should be making it easier, thereby simultaneously helping people fleeing oppression and strengthening ourselves.

It might be argued that barring short-term visitors is less harmful than banning those seeking to live and work in the West long-term. Perhaps so. But even relatively brief visits can open people's eyes to the fact that life in the West is happier, free, and more prosperous than in Russia, and thereby lead the visitors to question Putin's regime. A short-term visit could also lead some to leave permanently. In addition, barring visits is still a restriction on the liberty of innocent people that serves no useful purpose.

The war against Putin is supposed to be a war for liberal democratic values. Imposing collective punishment on innocent civilians - including those who have no hand in the war and in many cases even oppose it - is the kind of thing Putin and other authoritarians do. Rejecting such measures is one of the ways the West can show we differ from our enemies.

In earlier posts (e.g. here and here), I addressed claims that opening the door to Russians and Ukrainians is unfair so long as the West is less open to those fleeing violence and tyranny elsewhere. While such arguments have a certain degree of merit, the right way to deal with the problem is through "leveling up" by being more open to others, not by barring Russians and Ukrainians. For those interested in consistency, I have a long record of also advocating refuge for victims of war and and oppression from elsewhere in the world, including in this recent post about Chinese fleeing that country's brutal Covid lockdowns and other human rights violations. The Chinese government's atrocities are at least as bad as Putin's. If they do not justify barring Chinese from the West (and they don't!), the same goes for the Russian case.

In sum keeping Western doors open to Russian migrants is the right thing to do for both moral and strategic reasons. If we forget that and ignore our principles, the main beneficiary will be Vladimir Putin.

More:

Don't Play into Putin's Hands by Barring Russians from the West - Instead, let more in - Reason

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today issued the following statement on Black Ribbon Day, the National Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Communism and Nazism in Europe:

Today, we join people from around the world to honour the victims and survivors of communism and Nazism in Europe, and pledge to continue standing up for all those who still face violence and oppression at the hands of authoritarian regimes.

Black Ribbon Day marks the anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was signed on this day in 1939 between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany and resulted in the division of Poland and the annexation of the Baltic states as well as part of Romania by the Soviet Union.

Across Central and Eastern Europe, millions of people suffered tremendously under totalitarian regimes, including Jewish, Romani, Slavic, disability, and LGBTQ2 communities. They were robbed of their basic human rights, forced to flee their homes, and murdered. Many of those who escaped the Soviet and Nazi regimes found new homes in Canada and have helped shape the strong and diverse country we know today. Their stories remind us that we all have a responsibility to ensure atrocities like these never happen again.

This year, we also stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, who continue to face brutal violence from Russias illegal, unjustifiable, and expansionist war of choice in their country. Canada, together with our Allies and international partners, will continue to support Ukraine and stand up for democracy and human rights everywhere.

On behalf of the Government of Canada, I encourage all Canadians to pay tribute to those who have suffered or lost their lives to totalitarian and authoritarian regimes past or present. Together, we must continue to reject extremism, intolerance, and oppression, while promoting human rights, freedom, and democracy here in Canada and around the world.

See the original post here:

Statement by the Prime Minister on Black Ribbon Day - Prime Minister of Canada

On July 16, Sabine Schormann, managing director and CEO of Documenta 15, the worlds leading exhibition of contemporary art, resigned under massive political pressure. Previously, accusations of anti-Semitism against the art exhibition in Kassel had come to a head.

Accusations had already been raised before the opening of Documenta, hosted this year by the Indonesian artists collective Ruangrupa, which, in addition to making general criticisms of colonialism, is also critical of the Israeli governments Palestinian policy.

The accusations of anti-Semitism reached hurricane force when the exhibition briefly featured a huge, 20-year-old banner by the Indonesian collective Taring Padi, directed against the social conditions in Indonesia shaped by the Suharto dictatorship.

Among hundreds of figures and scenes on the banner, critics found two displaying anti-Semitic tropes. In a row of marching soldiers or policemen, one figure bears a pigs face, a scarf with a Star of David and a helmet with the words Mossadreference to the notorious Israeli foreign intelligence agencys involvement in Suhartos 1965 coup, which killed between 400,000 and 1 million, including Communists and students critical of the government.

The second figure, a man in a suit and tie with shark-like teeth, a cigar in his mouth and suggested temple curls (peyes) with an SS rune on his hat, fatally resembles Nazi caricatures of Jewish capitalists.

The curators and the artists themselves apologized several times and distanced themselves from anti-Semitism. They made clear that the banner was created from the perspective of the traumatic experience with the Suharto dictatorship. Its effect in Germany, which was responsible for the Holocaust, had not been clear to them. The offending banner was first partially covered and shortly after completely removed.

But the campaign against the exhibition, its management and the Documenta supervisory board continued unabated. The removed work, as well as several others dealing with the oppression of Palestinians by the Israeli government, served as a pretext to raise the charge of anti-Semitism against the entire exhibition. There were calls for those responsible to be recalled, for the exhibition to be cleaned up, or even for it to be closed altogether.

That anti-Semitism exists in Germany is beyond doubt. Last year, the Federal Interior Ministry recorded 3,027 anti-Semitic crimes, 84 percent of which it attributed to right-wing perpetrators. But criticism of the Israeli governments Palestinian policy is not anti-Semitism. One can only consistently combat anti-Semitism by rejecting all forms of oppression.

The campaign against Documenta is not about anti-Semitism, but about banning all criticism of war and militarism, colonial oppression, and exploitation. At a time when Germanyin the words of German Chancellor Olaf Scholzwants to become a geopolitical player again, no such criticism is to be tolerated, not even through the means of art.

This is not the first time that cultural events and institutions have been silenced under the false pretext of anti-Semitism. Others in the crosshairs include the Ruhrtriennale music and arts festival and the Jewish Museumin Berlin. In Britain, similar claims of anti-Semitism have assisted in the process of purging the Labour Party of left-wing elements and transforming it into a second edition of the reactionary Tory Party.

Since January, there have been accusations of anti-Semitism against the Ruangrupa curatorial team, a break-in at their exhibition space and even death threats. Consequently, Documenta managing director Sabine Schormann tried for a long time to protect the artists and the artistic direction, and with it the Ruangrupa collective experiment of not allowing hierarchies in art. She was concerned with showing the committed art of artist collectives, especially from the Southern Hemisphere, and rejecting any form of censorship.

Schormann explained that she considered an intervention by the exhibition management in the competencies of the curators as a step towards censorship. She said that artists concerns about not being welcome in Germany were justified. On the Documenta website, she wrote, We focused on educating and acting in the spirit of Documenta fifteen.

The demand that external experts with decision-making powers review the exhibition, raised again after the removal of the Taring Padi banner, had put enormous strain on the relationship of trust with Ruangrupa and the artists, Schormann explained.

But the pressure from political circles and the media grew. Claudia Roth (Green Party), federal government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, announced through her spokesperson that Ms. Schormanns statements and accounts of the events of the past months were wide of the mark and that the culture commissioner was very surprised and alienated by Schormanns statements.

Accordingly, Roth welcomed the decision of the Documenta supervisory board to force Schormann to resign: It is right and necessary that now a reappraisal can take place of how it was possible for anti-Semitic imagery to be exhibited, as well as to draw the necessary consequences for the art exhibition, she told the Frankfurter Rundschau.

Members of the Bundestag (federal parliament) from all parties welcomed Sabine Schormanns resignation. It is significant that the Alternative for Germany (AfD)a party that maintains close ties to neo-Nazi networks, trivializes the Nazi regime and counts numerous anti-Semites in its rankswas particularly vocal about this, especially in Hesse, the state which hosts the exhibition.

The cultural policy spokesman for the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Marc Jongen, called for the overdue resignation of the Documenta director to be followed by the resignation of Culture Commissioner Roth when it comes to dealing with the events. The AfD parliamentary group in the Hesse state parliament had previously demanded the closure of Documenta and the cancellation of funding for the renowned international art exhibition.

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) cultural policy spokesman in the Bundestag, Helge Lindh, described the termination of Schormanns employment contract in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper as an overdue liberation from a vicious circle of mismanagement and miscommunication.

Liberal Democratic Party (FDP) member of parliament Linda Teuteberg, responsible for Jewish life, followed suit and made clear that this was not about art, the Documenta anti-Semitism scandal makes an announcement and points beyond the art show: Israel-related anti-Semitism, like every manifestation of anti-Semitism, is unacceptable, as are trivializations with reference to the global South, she said.

Green Party member of the Bundestag Marlene Schnberger also called for an examination of the artworks.

The federal governments anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, demanded that the necessary structural consequences be drawn for the future. Anti-Semitism must not be accepted in any form in cultural life, no matter where the cultural workers come from. The BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] resolution of the Bundestag should be the binding guideline in the future for the use of public funds in cultural promotion.

The Bundestag resolution against the BDS campaign does not serve to combat anti-Semitism, but to suppress freedom of expression. It was therefore publicly condemned by 30 leading German cultural institutions and more than 1,000 artists from Germany, Israel and around the world.

The Bundestag resolution calls for denying public space and financial support to organizations and individuals who sympathize with the goals of BDS or have any connection to BDS. Numerous critics of Israels Palestine policy are affected.

As the WSWS wrote, The accusation of anti-Semitism against leftists and intellectuals plays into the hands of right-wing radicals and fascistssuch as Donald Trump, Viktor Orbn, Matteo Salvini, Rodrigo Duterte and the AfDwho identify with the racist policies of the Israeli government and have been greeted jubilantly as state guests in Jerusalem.

The attacks on Documenta are not about anti-Semitism, but rather involve the suppression of disliked art and opinions. This same process is evident in the poisonous debate surrounding the Hijacking Memory conference held a month ago at the House of World Cultures (HWK) in Berlin, which explored Holocaust memory and its political instrumentalization.

Susan Neiman, director of the Einstein Forum and one of the three organizers of the conference, noted there, No Jewish person, anywhere, will doubt the real danger of anti-Semitism. But the instrumentalization of the accusation of anti-Semitism was cynically used for nationalist purposes, she said.

Co-organizer Emily Dische-Becker, who also worked on the Documenta concept, told the Berliner Zeitung, We have observed that right-wing actors internationally, but also in Germany, are appropriating the commemoration of the Holocaust to conduct nationalist, xenophobic, right-wing populist politics.

After that, a similar campaign as in the case of Documenta broke out. Green Party politician Volker Beck questioned state funding for the HWK. Die Welt ran the headline, House of Cultures: a think tank of the new anti-Semitism. The executive director of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Daniel Botmann, also joined in, accusing the HKW, the Einstein Forum and the Centre for Research on Anti-Semitism (ZfA) of anti-Semitic tendencies.

Once again, the far-right AfD spoke out most clearly about what was at stake. It demanded that post-colonialism should no longer be the yardstick of our cultural and remembrance policies because it was inherently anti-Semitic.

The World Socialist Web Site disagrees with theories of post-colonialism that attribute colonial oppression to psychological and cultural factors rather than to the imperialist division of the world by monopolistic banks and corporations. But the point at stake is the banning of any criticism of colonial and imperialist oppression.

The political parties that today condemn Documenta for being anti-Semitic have themselves a long history of imperialist crimes and are preparing new ones.

German Chancellor Helmut Kohl (Christian Democratic Union) maintained close relations with Indonesian dictator and mass murderer Suharto, whom he called his friend. Christian Social Union chairman Franz-Josef Strau maintained close relations with Chilean dictator Pinochet. Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Green Party Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock appeared in Berlin just last week alongside the Butcher of Cairo, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whom they celebrated as a new ally in the fight against climate change.

Anti-Semitism served the Nazis as a means of directing the rage of petty-bourgeoisie strata of the population threatened with social ruin against the Jews. Socialists, on the other hand, fought the poison of anti-Semitism in the strongest possible terms. Now, the mendacious anti-Semitism campaign is being used to criminalize anyone who speaks out against oppression and militarism.

Sign up for the WSWS email newsletter

Read the original post:

The Documenta 15 exhibition and the false accusations of anti-Semitism - WSWS

We were saddened, but not surprised, when we opened Wednesday Journal (July 20) to see the full-page ad decrying the description of Israel as an apartheid state and vilifying those of us who agree with this, calling us anti-semites. N.Y. Times columnist Anthony Lewis had characterized another ad by this same California-based organization that placed the WJ ad as a sorry evasion of reality. Some [Israel] supporters find denial easier than looking at the facts.

The Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and Palestine (CJPIP) has been working for over 20 years to bring accurate information to Oak Park and the Chicago Metro community about the reality of life in Israel/Palestine. Since 2020, five extensive reports detailing the crimes of apartheid carried out by Israel against Palestinians have been issued by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, BTselem (Israels premier human rights organization), the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, and Harvard Law Schools International Human Rights Clinic, in partnership with Ramallah-based Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association.

While the term apartheid was originally used to refer to a political system in South Africa which explicitly enforced racial segregation, the crime against humanity of apartheid under the Apartheid Convention, the Rome Statute, and customary international law is committed when any inhuman or inhumane act [essentially a serious human rights violation] is perpetrated in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over another, with the intention to maintain that system. According to Amnesty International, Israels systemic apartheid consists of: fragmentation into domains of control, dispossession of land and property, segregation and control, and deprivation of social and economic rights.

Israel has and continues to engage in all of these practices against Palestinians.

Additionally, as the Israeli human rights organization BTselem details in its report, the distinction between the treatment of Palestinians in Israels sovereign territory and those Palestinian Territories that it occupies has become less relevant. [T]he entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River is organized under a single principle: advancing and cementing the supremacy of one group Jews over another Palestinians.

Apartheid anywhere whether in South Africa by the Myanmar government against the Rohingya or in Israel against the Palestinians is illegal and immoral. Because the U.S. government is using $3.8 billion of our taxes every year to provide military aid that supports the Israeli governments apartheid against the Palestinian people, those of us who support equality and justice must oppose this systemic oppression.

At Day in Our Village, CJPIP launched our Israel/Palestine Its All About Human Rights campaign, which we have been publicizing in ads in WJ. More info on this campaign can be found at http://www.cjpip.org/progressive-for-palestine. Through our information and related resources, we describe the impact of the Israeli occupation and systematic apartheid to everyone committed to peace, anti-racism, womens rights, workers rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and the environment.

We look forward to working with other individuals and community organizations who share a vision of equality and full human rights for all!

Committee for a Just Peace in Israel and PalestineOak Park and River Forest

See the rest here:

Israels systemic oppression is apartheid - Wednesday Journal

In the wake of the recent eruption of communal violence in Bangladesh against Hindu minorities, a countless arguments and numerous criticisms have been brought to light. Something odd is happeningBangladesh is being painted by elements as a violent state from which Hindus are persecuting and fleeing away, into India continuously.Hindus are being tortured in BangladeshSome claimed that Bangladesh has become quite a case of ethnic cleansing- subtly but forcefully ousting Hindu minorities across the border. Some even went further claiming that Bangladesh has failed to form a state where different religious and ethnic groups can coexist based on the principle of secularism- one of the four fundamental pillars of the liberation war in 1971. To cast evidence to those criticisms, most of them point fingers to the continuous decline of Hindu minority population in Bangladesh- a case drawn to demonstrate Bangladesh as a prolific ground of persecution against Hindu. But an objective discernment to those allegations, especially through comprehensivestatistical appraisal, relative systemic endeavors and broader political landscape, makes them, in most part, lose their grounds.

A country of communal harmony like Bangladesh is rare in the world. Despite being a Muslim majority country, for thousands of years other religions have been living together in a very peaceful and harmonious environment. In the 50 years of independence, there were no communal riots like in another South Asian country. In Bangladesh and there were no incidents of killing, oppression or torture of people of different religions. Dont happen again. Even if there are some isolated incidents, the fuel and motivation of some anti-Bangladeshi people are behind it, only common people can understand. Those who are behind these incidents must be investigated and judicial action must be taken against them till date. The reason for this is not difficult to understand. Domestic and foreign conspirators always remain elusive. However, the government should be alert and aware of the fact that those behind-the-scenes. Some vested quarters have become active and may try to destabilize the government by questioning the communal harmony in the upcoming national elections. It is true that Bangladesh government tries to take all measures to maintain communal harmony in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a country of communal harmony as people of different faiths have been living on this soil in peace from time immemorial. Members of Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian communities have been living here from time immemorial in amity and peace

Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has said already the government will ensure strict action against people who disturb communal harmony in the country.

No communal disharmony will be allowed here. Government is firm to ensure punishment for those who ransack communal harmony creating anarchy, he said.

Khan said this while addressing Indian media personnel in Dhaka on Saturday in a view of the recent attack on the Hindu community in Narail over a social media post.

He said that Bangladesh was trying to achieve a long-lasting development but a vested quarter was trying to dismantle things.

Todays Bangladesh is Bangabandhu Sheik Mujibs non-communal Bangladesh. We are a united nation. No communal disharmony will be placed here and will never get the opportunity too to root here.

The government will take stern action against all such evils, the home minister said, claiming the number of minority communities, including Hindus was increasing in Bangladesh.

Statistics and Apparent Assumptions

According tothe BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) data, the percentage of Hindu community to total population was 13.5% in 1974, on Bangladeshs first population census, which, as of the latest census in 2011, stands at 8.5% , and again increases to 10.7% in 2015. Ostensibly, these statistical figures, continuous decline in percentage, seem to confer voice to predominant arguments about the decline of Hindu population. But, mere percentage estimation tells only the half truth about the broader demographic landscape of Hindu minority in Bangladesh. If we take the increase in total number, other than mere percentage, over the years along with other factors that have contributed to decline, into account, it will substantially clarify the whole picture and weaken the predominant narratives about persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh.

Taking the total number into account, in 1974, the number of Hindu populations was 10.31 million which hit slightly above 12.7 million in2011 and 17 million in 2015. It is seen that the total number has remained increasing whereas percentage to total Muslim population, due to relatively higher growth in the number of Muslim populations from 65.24 million in 1974 to135.4million in 2011, has kept decreasing. It is true that growth in numbers is a little slow among Hindu population and could hit 22 million by 2011 only if it increased linearly in terms of percentage as reported in 1974 (13.5%). But that is not because of any systematic persecution against the minority rather, in most part, of international economic migration, relatively lower birth and high mortality rate among Hindu population, higher rate of contraceptive use and particular political reality in the history of Bangladesh.

According to the study paper prepared by researchers from ICDDR, Bs Health Systems and Population Studies Division and the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), studying the population data of 1989-2016 of Matlab Upazila in Chadpur to find out why Hindus have lower population growth than Muslims, the birth rate of Hindu populace in every thousand falls short by 3 points comparing to Muslims. While the probability of having a child among the Muslim women is 35, it is 32 among Hindu women.

The study found that the tendency to late marriage and having not more than 2 children and relatively higher use of contraceptives also contribute to the low birth rate among Hindu populace. Even higher numbers of deaths, 4 more than that ofMuslims in every ten thousand, can also be subscribed to the decrease in percentage. Finally, researchers concluded that 71 percent of low growth rate may be attributed to the the low rates of fertility and 23 percent to the international out-migration by Hindus.

In the report, they also observed that, since 2006, more Hindus have been opting for countries other than India for out-migration. Only 36 percent of the migrating Hindus of Matlab went to India between 2005 and 2012, but the bigger portion of them went to the states other than India for better living- a countervailing evidence against predominant propaganda that more Hindus have been leaving for India due to persecution.

Political Upheaval and Systemic liability

To be true, the percentage of Hindu minority comparing with that of Muslim has declined over last 50 years. But this estimation has overlooked a subtle but solid point: a fundamental political upheaval and constitution of Bangladesh from 1975 to 1991. Just take the number into account, from 1974 to 1991, percentage of Hindu minority to total population came down from 13.5 to 10.5 in 16 years. But, after the end of anti-secularism fueled military rule in 1991 and installation of constitutional democracy, percentage decline got little slower- 10.5 in 1991 to 8.5 in 2011 within 20 years of time span. In 2011, after the 15th amendment of Bangladesh constitution, secularism was restored which especially which has contribution to increase of percentage of Hindu people to total populace to 10.7% point in 2015. Unlike, its two bordering states- Myanmar and India, the former denying Muslim Rohingya minority of citizenship since 1982 out of pathological hatred and the latter rendering Muslims stateless through anti-Muslim laws, Bangladesh has never, particularly since 1991, intended to promote any discriminatory policy, be it in practice or by laws. Praiseworthy and prompt action taken by the Government of Bangladesh against the menace of recent Durga Puja incident, is a glaring example of this.

Minority is such a phenomenon which every country must possess, be it ethnic or linguistic or religious. But state sanctioned discriminatory policy, inherent ethnic or religious tension or historical schism mobilized by for political score usually contribute to violence against minorities. However, in Bangladesh mostly politically cornered vested groups have played out on minority to stoke crisis and tame the situation to their end. Besides long cherished pluralistic sentiment in Bangladesh is, rather in times, menaced by spill-over effectof politics and policies in proximate neighbors, of course by political fringe groups.

Follow this link:

The Persecution Narrative Against Hindu Minority In Bangladesh: False Information Concerning Treatment Of Minorities? OpEd - Eurasia Review