![]() Pope Francis said the situation was not black and white and that the war was "perhaps in some way provoked". Rome: Pope Francis has taken a new series of swipes at Russia for its actions in Ukraine, saying its troops were brutal, cruel and ferocious, while praising "brave" Ukrainians for fighting for survival. But in the text of a conversation he had last month with editors of Jesuit media and published on Tuesday, he also said the situation was not black and white and that the war was "perhaps in some way provoked". While condemning "the ferocity, the cruelty of Russian troops, we must not forget the real problems if we want them to be solved," Francis said, including the armaments industry among the factors that provide incentives for war. "It is also true that the Russians thought it would all be over in a week. But they miscalculated. They encountered a brave people, a people who are struggling to survive and who have a history of struggle," he said in the transcript of the conversation, published by the Jesuit journal Civilta Cattolica. "This is what moves us: to see such heroism. I would really like to emphasize this point, the heroism of the Ukrainian people. What is before our eyes is a situation of world war, global interests, arms sales and geopolitical appropriation, which is martyring a heroic people," he said. 'Pastors of the People' Francis said that several months before President Vladimir Putin sent his forces into Ukraine, the pontiff had met with a head of state who expressed concern that NATO was "barking at the gates of Russia" in a way that could lead to war. Francis then said in his own words: "We do not see the whole drama unfolding behind this war, which was perhaps somehow either provoked or not prevented". Asking himself rhetorically if that made him "pro-Putin," he said: "No, I am not. It would be simplistic and wrong to say such a thing". Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a "special operation" to disarm Ukraine and protect it from fascists, a characterisation previously criticised by Francis. Ukraine and the West say the fascist allegation is baseless and that the war is an unprovoked act of aggression. In his comments, Francis also noted Russia's "monstrous" use of Chechen and Syrian mercenaries in Ukraine. Francis said he hoped to meet Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill at an inter-religious event in Kazakhstan in September. The two had been due to meet in Jerusalem on June but that trip was cancelled because of the war. Kirill, who is close to Putin, has given the war in Ukraine his full-throated backing. Francis said last month that Kirill could not become "Putin's altar boy", prompting a protest from the Russian Orthodox Church. In the conversation with the Jesuits, Francis said he had told Kirill during a video call in March: "Brother, we are not clerics of the state, we are pastors of the people".
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Russia-Ukraine War | There’s a gap between ground realities and Western policy illusions. Here’s why6/14/2022 The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is an example wherein despite the increasing difficulty faced by the Ukraine military, write ups and policy suggestions cropping up in Western journals are openly hinting towards a possible victory for Ukraine
While wars between two countries are always determined by the relative asymmetry of military capabilities, the eventual outcomes are often clouded by false illusions and misconstrued public opinion. Yet, we lay individuals often fall prey to such artificial constructs masquerading as ‘gospel truth’, even if they eventually turn out to be untrue. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is one such example wherein despite the increasing difficulty faced by the Ukraine military, write ups and policy suggestions cropping up in Western journals are openly hinting towards a possible victory for Ukraine. The current edition of the Foreign Affairs, published in the United States, for instance, has come out with some fascinating but one-sided write ups on the ongoing war. For instance, one write up makes us believe that ‘(Ukraine’s) victory in the war would not end the conflict with Russia’. Another one is quite emphatic, ‘Can Ukraine’s military keep winning?’ Yet another one sermonises as to ‘how not to invade a nation?’ This is based on the assumption that ‘Russia’s attack on Ukraine is a case study in bad strategy’. Or consider these: ‘Russians at war: Putin’s aggression has turned a nation against itself’; and ‘the Russian military’s people problem: it’s hard for Moscow to win while mistreating its soldiers’. But the funniest is captioned as ‘A Ukraine strategy for the long haul: the West needs a policy to manage a war that will go on’! We’ve been watching the war for a few months now. While it does seem to be protracted, the losses in terms of men, material, and territories are, without any doubt, quite significant on the Ukraine’s side. Every day, Ukraine is losing 100 to 200 soldiers. More than 20 percent of Ukraine’s territory is now under Russian occupation. Ukraine’s military-industrial base is badly damaged. The hapless small country is waging a lone battle against a military Leviathan without any diplomatic solution in sight. The West has not moved beyond verbal gymnastics and piecemeal material support. Yet, such write ups would like us to perceive and imagine an altogether different war outcome. There could be many reasons for the wide gap between the ground realities in the war zone and the intellectual research and policy illusions being churned out in Western think-tanks, journals, and op-ed articles. First, Ukraine is probably turning out to be a testing ground for Russia’s tactical mistakes, and internal fissures. Despite months of strategic planning, the Russian attack has not been as short and swift as initially expected in Kremlin. Russia’s military fate will probably decide its pecking order among the lead military powers. Failure to clinch Ukraine’s surrender on its own terms will probably cost Russia the capacity to take on the West either in Cold War-like politics, or direct conflicts. Second, this is the first major conflict in the post-Cold War period involving Russia, a known power in military technology and weapons exports, tangentially involving NATO powers. The ongoing war is, therefore, a testing ground for Russian weapons’ performance and tactical advantage. For instance, the Russian Iskander-M short range ballistic missiles have proved to be quite effective by evading Ukraine’s air defence and hitting targets in far-off places. However, more than the test of Russia’s weapons’ system, it is Russia’s preparations for future war that is being scrutinised. Third, both before the war and thereafter, there has been no serious effort in encouraging the two parties towards a diplomatic and negotiated solution. It was certainly possible to cater to Russia’s legitimate security apprehensions vis-à-vis Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership. Such negotiated outcome would have been a win-win solution for the two countries, and would have prevented the trappings of huge war costs and regressive economy. When two countries clash, the powerful one may have some sense of over confidence and (rightful) illusions about its victory. However, even smaller powers sometimes develop a sense of overconfidence and false illusions about their military capabilities. Pakistani forces, for instance, had false illusions of victory in East Pakistan in 1971 due to external support expectations. It is debatable if Ukraine would have gone for the whole hog against a much powerful neighbour ‘on its own’ since it readily gave up the nuclear option when it signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1994 as a non-nuclear weapons state. Since then, it has only been at the receiving end of Russia’s ire and incremental territorial annexation. It, therefore, emerges that Ukraine was popped up as the sacrificial lamb at the altar of great power politics and military competition. Russia considers Ukraine as its ‘strategic backyard’, and would not allow preponderant alignment of forces within its sphere of influence. However, rather than engaging the international community on the contours of an agreeable diplomatic solution, syndicated disinformation and false hopes about an impending victory for Ukraine are at best, playful warmongering. They will only prolong Ukraine’s ongoing military misfortune. Crypto Crash Update (6/14): Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Cardano, DOT, DOGE, XRP, BNB fall upto 15%6/14/2022 Crypto Market Crash Latest News Today (14th June): Top cryptocurrencies have suffered worst price drop in two years as the global crypto market cap fell below the $1 trillion mark.
Crypto Crash Latest News (14th June): Top cryptocurrencies have suffered worst price drop of 2022 as the global crypto market cap fell below the $1 trillion mark. This is the first time since January 2021 when the global crypto market cap is below $1 trillion. In fact, around $100 billion has been wiped out from the crypto markets in a day. The global crypto market cap has fallen to $912 billion, down from the $1.04 billion recorded yesterday morning. At the time of writing, almost every top crypto was in the red with prices of many touching new lows in the last 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap data (9.10 am, India time). Bitcoin (BTC) price has dropped by 14 percent percent in the last 24 hours to $21,966. The top crypto’s dominance has decreased nearly 2 percent to 45 percent of the total crypto market. In the last 7 days, Bitcoin price has decreased by massive 26 percent. Meanwhile, the total cryptocurrency market volume over the last 24 hours increased by 62 percent to $153 billion, indicating massive sell-off of crypto holdings by investors. The total volume in DeFi was $10.55 billion, which is 7 percent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume. Stable coins volume was $136 billion, which is 89 percent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume. Why market crashed?The massive sell-off in crypto markets was triggered due to fears of another systemic threat after crypto lending service Celsius announce pausing withdrawals due to “extreme” market conditions. “Bitcoin and the overall Crypto markets bled heavily with BTC falling by over 10% in a single day and dropping below the $21K level as the Dollar Index(DXY) continues to strengthen. The weekly trend for the BTC has broken below the triangle pattern and has fallen below its last support of $24,000,” analysts at WazirX Trade Desk shared in a note. “The next immediate and key support is expected at $19,000. The market sentiment has dipped to a new fear level of 8, the lowest in almost 2 years. The crypto markets could lose more ground if the Dollar Index stays strong and the Stock market continues to correct,” they added. Crypto Rupe Index ChangeCrypto Rupee Index (CRE8) by CoinSwitch fell 27 percent in the last one day to Rs 2245. CRE8 tracks crypto market performance in INR the time of writing, the index was down by Rs 829 in 24 hours. CRE8 is an Indian Rupee denominated crypto index reflecting Indian marketing conditions. Read more about CRE8 here) Top Cryptocurrency Prices on June 13Ethereum (ETH): Ethereum price has dropped 15 percent to $1159 in the last 24 hours. In the last 7 days, ETH price has decreased by 34 percent. It is currently ranked second largest crypto asset in terms of market capitalisation. Binance (BNB): Binance Chain coin’s price decreased by 10 percent to $217 in the last 24 hours. In the last 7 days, BNB price has decreased by 24 percent. It is currently ranked as fifth biggest crypto asset in terms of market capitalisation. XRP: XRP coin’s price decreased by 6 percent to $0.3134 in the last 24 hours. In the last 7 days, XRP price has decreased by 20 percent. It is currently ranked as 8th biggest crypto in terms of market capitalisation. Solana (SOL): Solana price decreased by 4 percent to $28.14 in the last 24 hours. In the last 7 days, SOL price has decreased by 29 percent. It is currently ranked as 9th biggest crypto asset in terms of market capitalisation. Cardano (ADA): Cardano token’s price decreased by 2 percent to $0.4711 In the last 24 hours. In the last 7 days, ADA price has decreased by 21 percent. It is currently ranked as 7th biggest crypto asset in terms of market capitalisation. Popular memecoin Dogecoin’s (DOGE) price decreased by 10 percent in the last 24 hours. DOGE is currently ranked 10th in terms of market capitalisation. The price of DOGE at the time of this report was $0.05464. Price of Polkadot (DOT) decreased to $7.16 while Avalanche (AVAX) price was down by 2 percent to $16.26 in the last 24 hours. Both DOT and AVAX are currently ranked 11th and 16th respectively on CoinMarketCap. Polygon (Matic) price fell by 10 percent to $0.4258 in the last 24 hours. It is currently ranked 18th on CoinMarketCap. Meanwhile, Tron (TRX) price has also decreased by 18 percent in the last 24 hours to $0.06072. It is currently ranked 13th on CoinMarketCap. (Cryptos and other virtual digital assets are unregulated in India. They are considered extremely risky for investment. Please consult your financial advisor before making any investment decision) World stocks fell towards fresh 2022 lows and the Japanese yen slid to levels not seen in nearly a quarter of a century on Monday as red-hot U.S. inflation fuelled worries about even more aggressive policy tightening in a big week for central banks.
The substantially higher-than-expected U.S. CPI print on Friday was hard to digest for investors, who sold both bonds and equities and quashed expectations that policymakers were starting to gain the upper hand in capping soaring prices. With inflationary signs showing no signs of abating and new mass COVID-19 testing in China sparking concerns of more crippling lockdowns and squeezed global supply chains, investors cut exposure to risky assets. An index of world stocks is down 0.7%, just shy of a new 2022 low. European stock indices are a sea of red in early trading with benchmark shares down nearly 2% while U.S. stock futures indicated a lower start. "This is happening in spite of the actions that have so far been taken by central banks and which are stoking fears that they will have to go harder and faster if inflation is to be tamed, the cost of which is being increasingly seen as lower growth and potentially recession," said Stuart Cole, chief macro strategist at Equiti Capital in London. Bond markets faced the brunt of the selloff with short-dated U.S. bond yields surging to their highest levels since late 2007 while the yield curve as measured by the gap between 10 and 2-year U.S. debt yields teetered above zero, a level traditionally seen as a harbinger of recession. European bonds were also caught up in the broadening debt market selloff after a hawkish European Central Bank meeting last week, with two-year German bond yields rising above 1% for the first time in more than a decade. [GVD/EUR] Money markets are pricing in a total of almost 250 bps in rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve to the end of the year with only five meetings remaining with some investment banks pencilling in a 75-basis-point hike at a policy meeting this week. Expectations of even more aggressive rate hikes from global central banks prompted investors to ramp up their bearish bets on global growth. This is a big week for central banks with the Fed, the Bank of England and Swiss National Bank holding policy meetings. Multiple indicators of growth in markets slumped on Monday from technology shares in Hong Kong to the Australian dollar as investors fled to the perceived safe haven shelter of the U.S. dollar. The dollar climbed as high as 135.22 yen, its highest since October 1998, buoyed by a rise in Treasury yields that continued into Tokyo trading while the British pound was down more than half a percent after data showed the UK economy unexpectedly shrank in April. [GBP/] CHINA LOCKDOWNS Focus in Asia was on the risk of fresh COVID-19 lockdowns with Beijing's most populous district of Chaoyang announcing three rounds of mass testing to quell a "ferocious" COVID-19 outbreak that emerged at a bar. Chinese blue chips fell 1.42% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng suffered a 3.29% slide. Japan's Nikkei slumped 3.03% and South Korea's Kospi declined 3.27%. "Anyone trying to pick the bottom in China's growth and equity markets on the basis that China was 'one and done' on lockdowns is naive," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA. China's growth shares sagged, with tech giants listed in Hong Kong slumping 4.45%. Index heavyweights Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), Tencent and Meituan were each down between 4% and 6%. Leading cryptocurrency bitcoin slumped more than 6% to the lowest since December 2020 at $24,888.88. Meanwhile, crude oil prices dropped, with Brent crude futures down 2% to $119.20 a barrel as growth concerns dominated sentiment. GRAPHIC: CPI and wage growth (https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-STOCKS/gkvlgznropb/cpiwages.png
The world’s richest man will be received by Bolsonaro Friday at a hotel about 70 miles from Sao Paulo, the country’s financial capital, O Globo reported on Thursday, without saying how it obtained the information. It added that the gathering was organized by Communications Minister Fabio Faria, who visited the billionaire last year in the US. Tesla and SpaceX did not respond to an inquiry about Musk’s travel plans. His plane was scheduled to depart to Brazil later on Friday, according to an automated Twitter account maintained by Jack Sweeney, who follows the whereabouts of the billionaire’s jet. While Bolsonaro’s office didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment, the president confirmed he’s traveling to Sao Paulo the next day. “We’ll have a meeting with a world-renowned person, who’s coming to help our Amazon,” he said during a live broadcast on social media on Thursday night, without revealing his guest’s name. O Globo reported the two men are going to discuss plans to connect rural schools to broadband Internet, as well as systems for the monitoring of the Amazon rainforest. Musk has become even more popular among Bolsonaro’s supporters after announcing plans to buy Twitter Inc. and use the platform to defend “free speech.” Bolsonaro himself has had several social media posts taken down by Twitter and Facebook after the companies considered the president was spreading falsehoods about topics including the Covid-19 pandemic and the safety of Brazil’s electronic voting system. Bolsonaro, who’s being investigated in Brazil for allegedly spreading fake news, has been stepping up his rhetoric against the country’s top court and its electoral authorities, raising concerns that he could dispute the result of the October election if he were to lose. TOPLINE : SpaceX paid $250,000 in 2018 to resolve allegations that CEO Elon Musk sexually propositioned a flight attendant aboard one of the company’s corporate jets, Insider reported Thursday, in a story the tech billionaire dismissed as a “politically motivated hit piece.”KEY FACTS: The flight attendant told her friend that Musk propositioned her in 2016 in his private cabin during a flight to London, Insider reported, citing unpublished documents and emails, as well as a declaration signed by the flight attendant’s friend — neither of whom Insider named.
Musk allegedly “exposed his genitals” to the attendant, touched her thigh and said he would buy her a horse if she gave him an “erotic massage,” according to Insider, which interviewed the friend and reviewed the friend’s declaration (Insider said the flight attendant declined to comment). The attendant told her friend that, after she refused Musk’s alleged advances, her work shifts were reduced, giving her the impression that she was being punished, Insider reported. According to Insider, the flight attendant filed a complaint with SpaceX’s human resources department in 2018 that was resolved without reaching arbitration after the attendant signed an agreement not to sue or to disclose information about Musk or his businesses, in return for a $250,000 severance package. In an email to Insider, Musk dismissed the story as a “politically motivated hit piece” and claimed there was “a lot more to this story.” Musk and SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes. KEY BACKGROUNDMusk’s accuser reportedly told her friend that, after beginning work as a cabin crew member, she was urged to become a licensed masseuse so she could give Musk massages, according to Insider. SpaceX employs an in-house massage therapist and offers massages as a perk to some employees. Musk has not been publicly accused of sexual misconduct before, though four female former SpaceX interns publicly alleged they faced sexual harassment at the company, including nonconsensual grabbing from male employees. SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell promised employees that the company would “rigorously investigate” all harassment claims, though at least one of the interns said she never received a response to sexual misconduct complaints she lodged with the company’s human resources department, the New York Times reported. Six women have also sued Tesla, where Musk is CEO, alleging they were subjected to “rampant sexual harassment” by other employees. TANGENTIn addition to his roles at Tesla and SpaceX, Musk — whose net worth stands at $218 billion according to Forbes’ estimates — owns a 9.2% stake in Twitter, and the social media company’s board has accepted his offer to buy the entire company for $44 billion. The billionaire said last week his deal to acquire Twitter is “on hold,” citing ostensible concerns about the magnitude of Twitter’s spam account problem, but Twitter’s board says it intends to close the deal. Source : https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharysmith/2022/05/19/spacex-reportedly-paid-250000-to-settle-sexual-harassment-accusation-against-elon-musk/?utm_campaign=forbes&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_term=Gordie&sh=76b88ba276e2 Shyam Maheshwari was the former Chief Executive Officer, Founder and Partner of SSG Capital Management Limited, and was primarily responsible for SSG’s investment activities in India. Shyam is a gold medallist (All India Rank 1) chartered accountant and also has an MBA from IIM Bangalore where he was the Institute topper.
According to Shyam Maheshwari, timely and proactive restructuring of stressed assets will also provide much-needed breathing room to the IBC to clear its large backlog, before a potential wave from the impact of Covid19. Until the IBC resumes stressed and distressed companies will either continue to limp along, knowing their fate but impotent to change course or they may revert to the pre-IBC status by compromising and doing arrangements under the Companies Act with the bias on lenders to determine debt restructuring. As the financiers are delighted about demonstrating their ‘Art of Restructuring’, Shyam Maheshwari points out some factors to identify a successful restructuring. Firstly, Shyam advices to pick the industry or sector carefully before engaging with an existing lender. Make sure the selection plays to your expertise and experience and is ripe for disruption (energy, shipping and aviation). Secondly, he says that one should conduct deep diligence to understand the business. Differentiate between the need to fix the business as opposed to fixing the balance sheet. The latter is always easier. Determining the efficacy of the existing management, changing if necessary and agreeing a path to fill gaps is the third factor. Shyam Maheshwari says that the fourth factor is negotiating an acquisition price that creates a sustainable capital structure for the underlying business while ensuring alignment of interest between various stakeholders. The fifth factor is to create buffers in the business plan for contingencies while recognising that things will not operate like clockwork. It invariably takes longer for things to fall into place, Mr. Maheshwari says. “The temporary halt on referrals to the IBC is a timely moment to reflect on its efficacy and ask how the process can be sharpened for a more impactful resumption. Most assessments of the IBC are based on the number of companies that have gone through its doors and emerged with a buyer at a reasonable price”, Shyam Maheshwari SSG explains. In sum, timely and proactive restructuring of stressed assets will also provide much-needed breathing room to the IBC to clear its large backlog — before a potential second wave from the impact of Covid19. Mahinda Rajapaksa rescued in a pre-dawn military operation after day of protests in which five people were killed
Sri Lanka has deployed thousands of troops and police to enforce a curfew after five people were killed in the worst violence in weeks of protests over an unprecedented economic crisis. Nearly 200 people were wounded on Monday as prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa resigned, but that did little to calm public anger. Rajapaksa had to be rescued in a pre-dawn operation by the military on Tuesday after thousands of anti-government protesters stormed his official residence in Colombo overnight, with police firing teargas and warning shots to keep back the crowd. Protesters who forced their way into the capital’s “Temple Trees” residence then attempted to storm the main two-storey building where Rajapaksa was holed up with his immediate family. “After a pre-dawn operation, the former PM and his family were evacuated to safety by the army,” a top security official told AFP. “At least 10 petrol bombs were thrown into the compound.” Rajapaksa’s evacuation to an undisclosed location followed a day of violent protests in which five people, including a lawmaker, were killed and nearly 200 wounded. The security official said police kept up a barrage of teargas and fired warning shots in the air to hold back mobs at all three entrances to the colonial-era building, a key symbol of state power. Dozens of homes of top Rajapaksa loyalists were torched elsewhere in the curfew-bound country, which has been under a state of emergency since Friday. The emergency order from president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the outgoing premier’s younger brother, gave sweeping powers to the military as protests demanding the duo’s resignation escalated over the country’s worst-ever economic crisis. Protesters and Sri Lankan religious leaders blamed the former prime minister for instigating the family’s supporters to attack unarmed protesters on Monday, sparking retaliatory attacks. Rajapaksa’s resignation follows months of protests over the country’s deepening economic crisis, as once-peaceful protests turned violent. Turmoil began to engulf the country on Monday after violence at a major protest site in Colombo, where pro-government supporters attacked demonstrators and police responded with teargas and water cannon. In one incident just outside Colombo, a politician from the ruling party opened fire on anti-government protesters blocking his car, killing a 27-year-old, and then later took his own life. According to police, another ruling party politician opened fire on protesters in the southern town of Weeraketiya, killing two and wounding five. Mahinda Rajapaksa had been asked to resign by his brother at a special meeting on Friday, in an attempt to appease demonstrators who have been taking to the streets in their thousands since March. Protesters have been calling for both members of Sri Lanka’s powerful Rajapaksa political dynasty to be removed from office for mishandling the economy and plunging the country into the worst financial crisis since independence. Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was president himself for a decade between 2005 and 2015, had reportedly been resistant to stepping down, but on Monday submitted his letter of resignation to the president. “Multiple stakeholders have indicated the best solution to the present crisis is the formation of an interim all-party government. Therefore, I have tendered my resignation so the next steps can be taken in accordance with the constitution,” he wrote. The resignation is the latest concession made by the Rajapaksas in the face of protracted anger and protests. The president recently agreed to repeal an amendment to the constitution which had concentrated power in his hands and hand power back to the parliament. Other members of the Rajapaksa family who had previously held seats in the cabinet have also stepped down, with the president the only remaining member of the political family still in power. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, known widely as Gota, has repeatedly said he will not resign as president, despite the clarion call of the protests being “Gota go home”. The Rajapaksas have largely controlled Sri Lankan politics for two decades, but the economic crisis has rattled their grip on power in the face of mass unrest from those who had previously been supporters of their brand of chauvinist nationalist politics, which pandered to the country’s Sinhalese Buddhist majority. Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves have dropped so low that the country cannot afford to import basic essentials, leading to shortages of fuel, food and medicines. People have been forced to endure daily power cuts of up to 10 hours, fuelling mass protests across the country since March. Over the weekend, the president declared a state of emergency in the country, the second in recent weeks, in a bid to regain control over the streets. However, Monday marked a violent shift in the demonstrations when hundreds of pro-government supporters gathered outside the prime minister’s residence in Colombo and urged Mahinda Rajapaksa not to resign. The group, some armed with sticks and wooden bars, then launched an attack on an anti-government protest camp nearby, with police reportedly looking on as the clashes began. read more : https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/10/troops-rescue-outgoing-sri-lanka-pm-as-houses-torched-in-deadly-night-of-unrest BANGKOK — A court in military-ruled Myanmar convicted the country’s former leader Aung San Suu Kyi of corruption and sentenced her to five years in prison Wednesday in the first of several corruption cases against her.
Suu Kyi, who was ousted by an army takeover last year, had denied the allegation that she had accepted gold and hundreds of thousands of dollars given her as a bribe by a top political colleague. Her supporters and independent legal experts consider her prosecution an unjust move to discredit Suu Kyi and legitimize the military’s seizure of power while keeping the 76-year-old elected leader from returning to an active role in politics. The daughter of Aung San, Myanmar’s founding father, Suu Kyi became a public figure in 1988 during a failed uprising against a previous military government when she helped found the National League for Democracy party. She spent 15 of the next 21 years under house arrest for leading a nonviolent struggle for democracy that earned her the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. When the army allowed an election in 2015, her party won a landslide victory and she became the de facto head of state. Her party won a greater majority in the 2020 polls. She has already been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in other cases and faces 10 more corruption charges. The maximum punishment under the Anti-Corruption Act is 15 years in prison and a fine. Convictions in the other cases could bring sentences of more than 100 years in prison in total. “These charges will not have credibility other than in the eyes of the junta’s stacked courts (and the military’s supporters),” said Moe Thuzar, a fellow at the Yusof Ishak Institute, a Southeast Asian studies center in Singapore. “Even if there were any legitimate concerns or complaints about corruption by any member of an elected government, a coup and enforced military rule are certainly not the way to pursue such concerns.” News of Wednesday’s verdict came from a legal official who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to release such information. Suu Kyi’s trial in the capital, Naypyitaw, was closed to the media, diplomats and spectators, and her lawyers were barred from speaking to the press. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in the 2020 general election, but lawmakers were not allowed to take their seats when the army seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, arresting Suu Kyi and many senior colleagues in her party and government. The army claimed it acted because there had been massive electoral fraud, but independent election observers didn’t find any major irregularities. The takeover was met with large nonviolent protests nationwide, which security forces quashed with lethal force that has so far led to the deaths of almost 1,800 civilians, according to a watchdog group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. As repression escalated, armed resistance against the military government grew, and some U.N. experts now characterize the country as being in a state of civil war. Suu Kyi has not been seen or allowed to speak in public since she was detained and is being held in an undisclosed location. However, at last week’s final hearing in the case, she appeared to be in good health and asked her supporters to “stay united,” said a legal official familiar with the proceedings who asked not to be named because he is not authorized to release information. In earlier cases, Suu Kyi was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment on convictions of illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions and sedition. In the case decided Wednesday, she was accused of receiving $600,000 and seven gold bars in 2017–18 from Phyo Min Thein, the former chief minister of Yangon, the country’s biggest city and a senior member of her political party. Her lawyers, before they were served with gag orders late last year, said she rejected all his testimony against her as “absurd.” The nine other cases currently being tried under the Anti-Corruption Act include several related to the purchase and rental of a helicopter by one of her former Cabinet ministers. Violations of the law carry a maximum penalty for each offense of 15 years in prison and a fine. Suu Kyi is also charged with diverting money meant as charitable donations to build a residence, and with misusing her position to obtain rental properties at lower-than-market prices for a foundation named after her mother. The state Anti-Corruption Commission has declared that several of her alleged actions deprived the state of revenue it would otherwise have earned. Another corruption charge alleging that she accepted a bribe has not yet gone to trial. Suu Kyi is also being tried on a charge of violating the Official Secrets Act, which carries a maximum sentence of 14 years, and on a charge alleging election fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of three years. “The days of Aung San Suu Kyi as a free woman are effectively over. Myanmar’s junta and the country’s kangaroo courts are walking in lockstep to put Aung San Suu Kyi away for what could ultimately be the equivalent of a life sentence, given her advanced age,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. “Destroying popular democracy in Myanmar also means getting rid of Aung San Suu Kyi, and the junta is leaving nothing to chance.” Syrian Network for Human Rights calls for action at the UN Security Council after leaked video appears to show execution of civilians
More than a dozen prominent Syrian civil society groups have urged the United States envoy to the United Nations to launch an investigation into the 2013 killing of 41 civilians in the neighbourhood of Tadamon in Syria’s capital Damascus. “We are writing to demand immediate action to address this massacre, which amounts to a war crime, and hold perpetrators accountable at the UN Security Council,” read a letter addressed to Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The letter was published by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) on Monday. The group of organisations also called on the US to convene a meeting at the UN Security Council during its presidency in May and launch an independent probe into the incident. “There can be no peace in Syria without justice,” the letter read. The appeal comes nearly two weeks after The Guardian published a report on a leaked video that appeared to show evidence of crimes committed by Syrian forces against civilians. The footage shows blindfolded and handcuffed civilians being told to run towards an execution ditch lying just in front of them in the Tadamon district, one of Damascus’ southern suburbs which at the time was a battlefront between Syrian government forces and opposition forces. The video also appears to show Syrian military intelligence officers of the infamous Branch 227 smiling and laughing as they assassinate the men before pouring gasoline over their bodies in the pit and setting it ablaze to hide the evidence. ‘Lack of response from international community’According to The Guardian, a horrified military recruit filmed the vicious incident and leaked the video, dated 16 April 2013, to a friend in France who then turned it over to researchers Annsar Shahhoud and Ugur Umit Ungor, from the University of Amsterdam’s Holocaust and Genocide Center. “Never before have we seen such clear evidence of a war crime committed and videotaped by Assad’s intelligence services in broad daylight, in cold blood, with no regard for the humanity of the victims or concern for consequences,” read the letter. The release of the video footage has triggered many Syrians, with some families recognising their relatives being executed in the video. read more : https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-rights-groups-urge-us-probe-tadamon-massacre |
MichaelMichael is Professor of Political Science and Head of Department. His research is on public administration and administrative reform, core executives, the role of civil servants in a transformed state, Archives
May 2024
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