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The Week In News

Russia Dissolves Human Rts. Group

The Russian Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the dissolution of Memorial International, the oldest human rights group in the country, over alleged violations of a law on foreign agents.

But critics say the move is politically motivated and is retribution for the group’s efforts to shine a light on Soviet-era repression as Russian President Vladimir Putin cracks down on opposition groups and dissent.

Memorial was founded in the late 1980s, not long before the fall of the Soviet Union, and is considered Russia’s preeminent human rights organization.

“The real reason for Memorial’s closure is that the prosecutor’s office doesn’t like Memorial’s work rehabilitating the victims of Soviet terror,” Memorial International’s lawyer, Tatiana Glushkova, asserted.

Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, denounced the ruling as heart-breaking.

“Another blow to civil society in #Russia or what is left of it. Most likely it will not stop here. But if they have closed #Memorial, they cannot silence you or anyone else who stand for fundamental freedom and independent scrutiny,” she tweeted.

Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asian division of Human Rights Watch, noted, “Memorial had been doing the same work for 32 years. They haven’t changed. What’s changed, obviously, is the Russian gov. Question is, and how much more will it change? How far will repression go?”

Denber said that for over 30 years Memorial worked to “commemorate victims of Soviet repression, preserve truth about The Great Terror, & promote open debate.”

During the Great Terror, also known as the Great Purge, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin waged a ruthless campaign to root out those perceived as disloyal or a threat. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

The Kremlin in recent years has engaged in a broad crackdown on civil society. The Russian government has targeted human rights groups, activists, opposition figures, civil rights lawyers, and journalists with harassment and imprisonment.

But in public, Putin, a former KGB operative, has endeavored to downplay Soviet crimes. In fact, in a June 2017 interview, the Russian leader complained that “excessively demonizing Stalin is a means to attack Soviet Union and Russia.”

Removing Tiananmen Massacre Memories

Two Hong Kong universities removed monuments commemorating the Tiananmen massacre on Thursday, just one day after another university did the same.

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) removed a Goddess of Democracy statue, and the Lingnan University removed a relief sculpture. One day earlier, Hong Kong University removed a famous statue commemorating the same event.

“The University never authorized the display of the statue on its campus, and no organization has claimed responsibility for its maintenance and management,” CUHK said on Friday.

The 8-meter-tall Pillar of Shame, which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of each other, was made by Danish sculptor Jens Galschioet to symbolize the lives

lost during the military crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

Each year on June 4, members of the now-defunct student union would wash the statue to commemorate the massacre. The city, together with Macao, were the only places on Chinese soil where commemorations of the crackdown were allowed.

Lingnan University said that it “reviewed and assessed items on campus that may pose legal and safety risks” and “removed” them “in the best interest of the University.”

In 1989, thousands camped for weeks in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, calling for greater political freedoms. However, in June of that year, the military arrived and soldiers opened fire, killing what the Chinese government claims were 200 civilians and several dozen security personnel. Other sources claim the number of casualties was hundreds more.

The dismantling of the sculpture came days after pro-Beijing candidates scored a landslide victory in Hong Kong legislative elections, following amendments to election laws allowing the vetting of candidates to ensure they are “patriots” loyal to Beijing.

Turkey Investigates Istanbul Municipality

Turkey is investigating hundreds of staff members at the Istanbul municipality, sparking criticism from its mayor. The staff members in the opposition-run municipality have been accused of ties to terrorist groups.

On Sunday, Turkey’s Interior Ministry said on Twitter that 455 employees of the Istanbul municipality and related companies were being investigated on suspicion of having ties to Kurdish terrorists. The probe also included over 100 people who were allegedly connected to leftist and other groups.

Speaking to reporters, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said, “Our business is not with anyone’s municipality. Our business is with the fight against terror, and we have to keep Turkey on alert.”

Soylu emphasized that those being investigated are “not just those who clean and sweep the streets.”

Since a failed 2016 coup, Turkey has investigated and tried tens of thousands of people accused of militant links in a crackdown which rights groups say has been used as pretext to quash dissent. The government has said its actions are necessary given the gravity of the threats faced by Turkey.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said, “You give a number (of suspects) and make a judgement and then launch an investigation. What sort of an investigation is it? If you have reached a decision, then take them by the ear to prison.”

Imamoglu is from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and is seen as a potential challenger to President Tayyip Erdogan.

Flight Returned to China Mid-Air

Delta Airlines on Monday said that new COVID-19 cleaning requirements at the airport in Shanghai, China, forced a flight from Seattle to turn around mid-air. The turnaround prompted a protest from the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco, California.

The company said that the new rules at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport “require significantly extended ground time and are not operationally viable for Delta.”

According to Chinese media reports, the mid-air rerouting left passengers with expired U.S. visas and COVID-19 test results.

The San Francisco consulate confirmed that many U.S.-China flights have been delayed or canceled in recent days, including a flight which was more than halfway to its destination when it turned around. According to the statement, the consulate “had made a stern representation to the airline.”

According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency, both China Airlines

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On December 24, Delta also announced it would be forced to cut 90 flights, citing both coronavirus and severe weather in some areas of the country.

A spokesperson noted, “Delta teams have exhausted all options and resources — including rerouting and substitutions of aircraft and crews to cover scheduled flying — before canceling. We apologize to our customers for the delay in their holiday travel plans. Delta people are working hard to get them to where they need to be as quickly and as safely as possible on the next available flight.”

S. Korea: A Pardon for Former Pres.

South Korea’s government has pardoned the country’s former President Park Geun-hye.

Park, 69, was serving 22 years in prison for corruption, the country’s Justice Ministry said on Friday.

According to Park Kyung-mi, a spokesperson for South Korea’s presidential office, current President Moon Jae-in took the former President Park’s worsening health condition into consideration when deciding whether to grant a pardon.

Pres. Moon also hopes that the pardon will allow for a new era of unity and harmony.

In 2018, former Pres. Park was found guilty on multiple counts of abuse of power, bribery, and coercion. She was sentenced to 24 years in prison, but her sentence was commuted to 20 years after a retrial.

In January 2021, the country’s highest court upheld the 20-year sentence, and Park faced an additional two years for a 2018 election-meddling conviction.

In 2019, she underwent surgery while in prison.

On Friday, speaking through her lawyer, Park apologized “to the people for causing so much concern,” adding, “I will concentrate on getting treated and try to thank the people myself in the earliest time possible.”

Park, who will be freed on December 31, also thanked Pres. Moon and the government for her pardon.

Polish Pres. Vetoes Media Law

Polish President Andrzej Duda on Monday vetoed a law which would have blocked the U.S. Discovery media group from operating in the country. Critics of the government had said the law was aimed at silencing dissent.

Explaining his decision, Duda said the bill would have hurt Poland’s reputation as a place to do business.

The bill had passed Warsaw’s lower house when Duda vetoed it, granting a win to the Poles protesting against its passage.

Had it passed, it would have forced Discovery to give up its stake in Poland’s TVN broadcaster, by means of banning non-European outlets from owning a share of 50% or more in a Polish broadcaster.

Tea for Oil

Iran has agreed to accept Ceylon tea in payment for a Sri Lankan oil debt valued at $251 million.

“In recent negotiations, we reached a written deal to reimburse Iran’s debt and interest on it in the form of a monthly shipment of tea produced in Sri Lanka,” the head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization said.

Alireza Peyman-Pak is quoted as saying that “a deal was reached

on Tuesday, according to which Sri Lanka will export tea to Iran every month to settle a $251 million debt for Iranian oil supplied to Sri Lanka nine years ago.”

In 2016, Ceylon tea made up nearly half of Iranian consumption, although that has declined in years.

The barter deal will allow sanctions-hit Iran to avoid having to use up scarce hard currency to pay for imports of the widely consumed staple, Peyman-Pak noted.

“Iran and Sri Lanka have great potential to develop mutual trade,” he said, adding that Iran’s non-oil exports to the country are valued at less than $100 million a year.

Sri Lankan Plantation Industries Minister Ramesh Pathirana said the deal “will not violate any UN or U.S. sanctions since tea has been categorized as a food item under humanitarian grounds.”

Iranian banks that have been blacklisted under U.S. sanctions will not be involved in the transaction.

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BBC No. 3 for Antisemitism

Following closely behind Iran and Hamas, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s “Global Antisemitism Top Ten List” for 2021 lists the BBC in spot number 3.

The head of the center, Rabbi Marvin Hier, said that while people might assume the organization would put neo-Nazi groups on the list, “the BBC is there because when a globally recognized organization allows antisemitism to creep into its reporting, it makes it all the more insidious and dangerous.

“The decision to place the BBC at No. 3 came after months of intense debate and discussion,” he said.

Hier noted the antisemitic attack in London’s Oxford Street last month when a group of men made Nazi salutes and chanted anti-Israel slogans at a bus filled with Jewish teenagers celebrating Hanukkah.

“The BBC falsely reported that a victim on the bus used an anti-Muslim slur. But what was heard on tape

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The center condemned former BBC journalist Tala Halawa, who tweeted antisemitic statements such as “Hitler was right.”

Hier also cited the tweet made by senior BBC producer Alaa Daraghme captioned: “An Israeli settler ramming a Palestinian man near the Lions’ Gate.”

“In fact, the car drove onto the pavement after an attempt by Palestinians to lynch the Jewish driver, who lost control of the vehicle,” Hier said. The original tweet had been posted when there was “some confusion” over the incident, a BBC source said. Daraghme later clarified what happened in another tweet.

In response to being ranked third on the list, a BBC spokesman has responded by saying, “Antisemitism is abhorrent. The BBC strives to serve the Jewish community, and all communities across our country, fairly with accurate and impartial reporting.”

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The fire began while passengers on the three-story vessel slept. According to witnesses, the fire began in the engine room, which may have already been ablaze when the vessel left Dhaka late on Thursday.

Although the ferry was licensed to carry 420 people, survivors reported that it was overcrowded, and one official estimated that up to 700 people had been on board when it left Dhaka.

Moinul Islam, a local police chief, said that an unknown number of people jumped overboard, and the death toll may yet rise as many are in the hospital’s burn units. He added, “We have sent some 100 people with burn injuries to hospitals in Barisal.”

Local district administrator Johar Ali noted, “The fire went on for four or five hours before it was doused. The entire [ferry] has been gutted. But they managed to bring it to the shore.”

Golam Sadek, head of Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority, said, “It is a new ship. It was constructed in 2019 and it has its fitness cleared until 2022.”

It is common to see ferries capsize in Bangladesh. Passengers are loaded on to poorly maintained boats, with poorly trained crews, often way above the vessel’s rated capacity. Hundreds have drowned in the country’s rivers in the past 10 years. The fire that engulfed the ship this week added to the terrible tragedy.

Nearly 30% of Bangladesh’s 170 million people commute through river routes. Those who use the rivers are generally poor Bangladeshis. The government has mostly ignored their plight and has turned a blind eye to lax safety standards aboard the ferries. As such, it is generally the poor and those without political connections who suffer in these types of tragedies.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Dies

Archbishop Desmond Tutu, an Anglican cleric who won the Nobel Peace Prize and a South African native who was a prominent anti-apartheid leader, died this week at age 90.

In a Sunday statement confirming Tutu’s death, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa sent condolences to Tutu’s family and friends, calling him “a patriot without equal.”

Ramaphosa added that Tutu was “a man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid. He was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world.”

In 1990, former South African President F. W. de Klerk released Nelson Mandela from prison and took other steps to facilitate the country’s transition to multi-racial democracy. Tutu served from 1996 until 1998 as chair of the new government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which brought to light injustices committed under the apartheid regime, offering amnesty to the perpetrators and restitution to the victims under the principles of “restorative justice.”

Even after his retirement from official positions, Tutu remained active. He clashed publicly with several of Mandela’s presidential successors and was vocally pro-Palestinian. He made several pro-Holocaust comments during his lifetime. Attorney Alan Dershowitz noted that Tutu “minimized the suffering of Jews during the Holocaust. He said that getting killed in gas chambers was an easy death compared to apartheid. He said that Jews claimed a monopoly on the Holocaust.” Dershowitz added that “he demanded that Jews forgive the Nazis for killing them” during a 1989 visit to Yad Vashem.

Responding to Tutu’s death, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said, “He was larger than life, and for so many in South Africa and around the world his life has been a blessing. His contributions to struggles against injustice, locally and globally, are matched only by the depth of his thinking about the making of liberatory futures for human societies.”

Former U.S. President Barack Obama, who in 2009 awarded Tutu the Presidential Medal of Freedom, said after Tutu’s death that he was a “mentor, a friend, and a moral com-