Anti-Chinese campaign escalates in New Zealand

Tom Peters

In recent weeks New Zealand’s corporate media and sections of the political establishment and academia have ramped up a campaign against alleged Chinese political “influence” and “expansionism.”

Last month, opposition National Party MP Jami-Lee Ross left the party after accusing leader Simon Bridges of concealing a $100,000 donation from Chinese businessman Zhang Yikun in exchange for nominating an ethnic Chinese person for a seat in parliament. Bridges denied the allegation.

More sensationalist reports have followed, denouncing China’s infrastructure investment in the Pacific and calling for restrictions on democratic rights of Chinese and other immigrants.

The aim of the xenophobic propaganda is to shift New Zealand into closer alignment with Washington’s military encirclement and trade war against China. The anti-China campaign mirrors that of the Trump administration, which, without any evidence, accused Beijing of “meddling” in this month’s US mid-term elections and seeking to remove Trump. In Australia, strategic think tanks and members of the governing Coalition and opposition Labor Party are pushing for the country to fully support the US threats against China.

On November 4, the Sunday Star-Times published a front-page article saying New Zealand’s Labour Party-led government had been “blindsided” by a Chinese plan to invest $15 million to upgrade roads and wharfs in the tiny Pacific country of Niue. The Niuean government signed a memorandum of understanding to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), aimed at expanding China’s trade and investment internationally.

Niue, which has a population of only 1,600, was annexed by New Zealand in 1900 and ruled as a brutal dictatorship. The island suffered heavy losses of men sent to fight for New Zealand in World Wars I and II. While Niue was given limited self-government in 1974, the island remains a semi-colony. Its foreign affairs and defence policy is officially determined in Wellington.

Australia and New Zealand view the Pacific as their colonial backyard and are hostile to China’s growing relations with the region. The Star-Times report quoted Niue opposition MP Terry Doe who accused the island’s Premier Toke Talagi of being “anti-New Zealand at the moment.” Doe noted that Chinese flags were waved at Niue’s October 19 constitution day celebrations, while the New Zealand flag was not raised.

The newspaper declared “there are fears” in the Labour Party-New Zealand First-Greens coalition government that “the Cook Islands will be the next Pacific domino to fall.” The Cook Islands, with just over 17,000 inhabitants, is another New Zealand semi-colony with some self-government. According to the report, “China has already paid the Rarotonga administration millions for pelagic tuna fisheries licences, and there is talk of Beijing funding the development of a deep-water port on Penrhyn Island.”

The article noted that Foreign Minister Winston Peters, leader of the anti-Chinese New Zealand First Party, had met Cook Islands Premier Henry Puna and is understood to have warned him “be careful what you are getting into.”

In an inflammatory comment to the newspaper, pro-Washington academic Anne-Marie Brady said China’s BRI “has military-strategic aspects, it is not just an economic project… For example BRI partner states are being asked to host Beidou ground stations, China’s equivalent of GPS used for military and civil purposes.”

The nationalist Daily Blog, which is funded by a number of trade unions, quoted Brady’s remark and asserted: “Chinese expansion into Niue will be followed by military bases.”

Such claims are totally unsubstantiated. They are aimed at stoking fears of a Chinese invasion in order to justify war preparations. The Daily Blog previously endorsed the government’s military policy, which is aimed at integrating the country into US and Australian military plans against China and Russia.

For more than a year, Brady and her supporters have stoked the anti-China campaign and given it a veneer of academic respectability. Brady has repeatedly called for New Zealand’s spy agencies to investigate China’s “influence” in politics, business, universities and the media. Without any evidence, she has accused Chinese-born National Party MP Jian Yang and Labour MP Raymond Huo of being Chinese Communist Party members.

While the media promotes Brady as a disinterested “expert,” her research has been funded by the US government-sponsored Wilson Center and the NATO military alliance. Brady supports New Zealand’s alliance with the US, including its membership in the US-led Five Eyes intelligence network, which carries out mass surveillance throughout the world. She has urged the government to join Washington’s hypocritical denunciations of Chinese “expansionism” in the South China Sea.

Other academics are joining Brady. On November 6, Fairfax Media websites publicised a “policy briefing” by Dr Simon Chapple, from Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Government, entitled “Building Democratic Resilience.” It was published by a NATO-supported think tank, Small States and the New Security Environment, in which Brady plays a leading role.

The four-page briefing contains proposals for restricting democratic rights and promoting xenophobia and nationalism. Echoing the rhetoric of New Zealand First, Chapple wrote that one potential risk to democracy is “high and rising rates of immigration from diverse sources, including from countries where democratic norms and institutions are very different or in some cases completely non-existent.”

Chapple called for New Zealand to diminish its economic reliance on China, which he called corrupt, “economically unequal and authoritarian.” He said nothing about NZ’s support for the US, including its wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and preparations for war in Asia.

Chapple declared: “Democratic rights should be consciously limited to citizens.” He proposed eliminating the right to vote currently held by permanent residents who have spent more than a year in New Zealand. Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly from China, India and other parts of Asia and the Pacific, would be denied this basic democratic right.

There has been virtually no criticism of Brady and Chapple’s anti-democratic proposals in the media, academia or the political establishment. This includes the pseudo-left groups Socialist Aotearoa, the International Socialist Organisation and Fightback. Between 2011 and 2014, these three groups joined and campaigned for the Maori nationalist Mana Party, which sought to ally itself with NZ First and repeatedly demonised Chinese immigrants.

The anti-Chinese campaign underscores the correctness of the warnings made by the World Socialist Web Site that the Labour Party-led government is a right-wing nationalist formation. Far from being a “lesser evil” to the previous National Party government, Labour and NZ First have strengthened the alliance with US imperialism and named China and Russia the main “threats” to global stability.

US has spent almost $6 trillion on wars since 2001

Trévon Austin 

A report released by the Watson Institute of International & Public Affairs at Brown University indicates the total sum spent on the “war on terror” is much larger than previously suggested. Professor Neta C. Crawford, the author of the study, revealed that the US government is set to spend nearly $6 trillion on post-9/11 wars by the end of the 2019 fiscal year.

In March, the Department of Defense (DoD) released a report stating the military had spent $1.5 trillion on the wars. However, the Brown University report notes the DoD’s numbers were a conservative estimate that also failed to take into account spending across other federal departments. The new estimate not only includes expenditures from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), budget increases, and medical costs for veterans, but also interest on money borrowed to pay for the wars.

Including indirect war spending, the total amount of spending allocated since 2001 will be $4.6 trillion by the end of 2019. The report also estimates the government will be obligated to spend around $1 trillion for the future care of post 9/11 veterans until 2059. The total sum amounts to a staggering $5.993 trillion.

The study warns that continuing the multitude of US war and interventions for another four years would cost an additional $808 billion, even if the United States were to stop such actions by 2023. The accumulated costs would likely exceed the estimated $6.7 trillion because the number of veterans will continue to grow as long as the US continues military operations.

With no end in sight, the fiscal and human cost of US wars of aggression will continue to climb. A particular concern introduced in the latest study was the US government’s reliance on deficit spending and borrowing to fund war. In 2011 it was calculated that war appropriations, if capped at $1.5 trillion, would accrue $7.9 trillion in interest. War spending has substantially increased since the estimate, and more debt accumulated, so this would only be a conservative estimate.

The larger $5.9 trillion estimate over three times more than the Pentagon claimed has been spent out of war-related appropriations since 9/11. The DoD estimated $1.7 trillion would be spent by the end of the 2018 fiscal year, but this lower estimate only contains a portion of all war-related budgeting and spending.

The spending allocated by Congress is not included in the Pentagon’s estimate. Congress passes budgets that increase spending on other war-related areas, particularly “overseas contingency operations (OCO).” OCO spending directly supports the American empire’s global military operations. Along with the DoD, Congress has allocated over $2 trillion in OCO spending since 2001.

In addition to the unfathomable sums of money spent, the study estimates 370,000 lives lost from direct combat with many times more lost due to indirect consequences such as malnutrition, damaged infrastructure, and environmental degradation. Approximately 200,000 innocent civilians have been killed as well. Professor Crawford personally notes even these estimates are limited with many more likely killed due to US imperialism.

Crawford remarks, “Congress’ attitude almost seems to be that the Pentagon deserves whatever funding they ask for, no matter the cost, and regardless of whether or not this spending is efficient or wise.”

The number of veterans from the “war on terror” is also set to increase significantly. The Department of Veteran Affairs estimates the number of veterans will rise to 4.3 million by 2039. Many will return from combat severely injured or suffering mental illness, increasing the fiscal and societal toll.

The wars in the Middle East have created the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II with over 10 million refugees forced to flee their countries. Combined with the obscene amount of money spent, the wars waged by Washington and its allies highlight the crisis of capitalism. The ruling classes see no way forward other than war, but it means ruin for working people and society as a whole.

FameLab Competition 2019

Application Deadline: Ongoing

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: All

To be taken at (country): Participating countries. Finalists will be invited to the UK

About the Award: If you think you can explain a scientific concept to a general audience, in just three minutes, then why not enter? You could become the new face of science, representing your country at the FameLab International final in the UK, and open doors to global opportunities in science communication!
FameLab is an annual science communication competition that runs in many countries worldwide. Wherever you are in the world, the competition remains the same. You have just three minutes to present a concept from your field of study to a panel of judges. Make it funny, make it enlightening, and make it jaw-dropping. The judges are looking for somebody who can shine in content, clarity and charisma – all within the three minute allowance.
The national champion from each participating country will receive an invitation to the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK. There they will join an exclusive two-day masterclass led by expert UK trainers. They also get the chance to compete for the title of FameLab International Champion 2018.

Type: Contest


Eligibility: You must be 21 years old or older and working in or studying in science, technology, engineering, medicine or maths. Other eligibility criteria apply.

• You have only three minutes for your talk.
• Your talk must be about a science, technology, engineering, medicine or maths-based topic.
• You may not use PowerPoint or other similar presentation software.
• Props are limited to what you can carry on stage (and there is no time for set up).
• Your talk is a solo performance. You are not permitted to carry other people on to the stage to assist you in your talk.
• If you make it through your local heats to a regional  final in your country you will need a second presentation (which can be on the same topic, but must be demonstrably different in content).

Selection Criteria: The judges are looking for somebody who can shine in content, clarity and charisma.
CONTENT: The content of the presentations must be scientifically accurate. If the topic chosen has controversy or uncertainty around it, then the presentation must acknowledge the opposing views. The scientific topic presented should be well chosen to suit the audience.
CLARITY: Clarity is critical for effective science communication. The structure of the presentation must enable the audience and judges to easily follow the talk and they should be left with a full understanding of the scientific concept chosen.
CHARISMA: The audience and judges should be left inspired and enthused about science. The winner will be a charismatic presenter who makes the science easy to listen to, entertaining, exciting and who is not only able to communicate the science but who can share their passion for it.

Value of Contest: 

• The winners of the first, second and third place at all stages in the competition will receive trophies. There will also be audience favourite prizes and other special awards.
• The overall national winner and first runner up will attend the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK. The national winner will then compete in the FameLab International Final. Here a world of opportunities will really be opened up as you network with fellow scientists from across the globe
• Each candidate will have the opportunity to meet other science enthusiasts and gain access to the Famelab Egypt and Famelab International networks
• FameLab alumni will be invited to take part in science public engagement events in Egypt
• Finally you will undoubtedly win the appreciation of the audience for your passion for science!

How to Apply:

• UK: Find out more and how to enter FameLab 2018 on the Cheltenham Science Festival website .
• Countries around the word (apart from the UK):  Please check the website of your local British Council office to find out if your country takes part in FameLab.  A list of participating countries will be published on this website later this year.
• GOODLUCK!

Visit Contest Webpage for details


Award Provider: British Council

Israel – The Dan David Prize Scholarships 2019 for International Doctoral Students

Application Deadline: 10th March, 2019

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: All

To be taken at (country): Tel Aviv University, Israel

Eligible Fields of Researchers: Advanced doctoral and postdoctoral students of excellent achievements and promise studying topics related to the fields chosen for this year, are invited to apply for the Dan David Prize Scholarships 2018.

About the Award: The Dan David Prize is a joint international corporation, endowed by the Dan David Foundation and headquartered at Tel Aviv University.
The Dan David Prize recognizes and encourages innovative and interdisciplinary research that cuts across traditional boundaries and paradigms. It aims to foster universal values of excellence, creativity, justice, democracy and progress and to promote the scientific, technological and humanistic achievements that advance and improve our world.

The Dan David Prize covers three time dimensions – Past, Present and Future – that represent realms of human achievement. Each year the International Board chooses one field within each time dimension. Following a review process by independent Review Commitees comprised of renowned scholars and professionals, the International Board then chooses the laureates for each field.

Type: Doctoral/Postdoctoral, Research

Eligibility: Registered doctoral and post-doctoral researchers who study at recognized universities throughout the world, and whose research has been approved, are eligible to apply.

Selection Criteria: The Dan David Prize scholarships are granted according to merit, without discrimination based on gender, race, religion, nationality, or political affiliation.

Number of Awardees: 20 (10 scholarships are awarded to students from universities all over the world and 10 scholarships to students from Tel Aviv University)

Value of Scholarship: US$15,000

How to Apply: 

• The application process, including the uploading of required documents, must be completed online only via the Dan David Prize website.
• The requested Application Form and all documentation must be completed in English only.
• It is important to go through the Application Guidelines before applying.
• GOODLUCK!

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details

Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Fellowship 2019/2021 for Africans Worldwide

Application Deadline: 27th January 2019

Offered annually? Yes

To be taken at (country): Kigali, Rwanda

About the Award: The Next Einstein Forum (NEF), an African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) initiative in partnership with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, announces the opening of the Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Fellows Programme which will identify 15 of Africa’s top young scientists, honoring their achievement and contributions to Africa and the world’s development at the next Next Einstein Forum (NEF) Global Gathering.
The NEF Fellows is a select programme that recognises Africa’s best young scientists and technologists. These innovators and emerging leaders, at least 40 percent of whom are women, will have two main opportunities as a NEF Fellow
1. Advance their scientific career. NEF Fellows have a unique platform to:

• Present their work at the NEF Global Gathering in the presence of leading scientists, journalists, industries and business people from around the world.
• Gain exposure to a global audience of approximately 100 million viewers and readers worldwide.
• Draw upon the vast networks of NEF members and participants for support, connections, and counsel to advance their work.
• Develop mentoring relationships with leading scientists, policymakers, industry representatives and civil-society leaders

2. Inspire the next generation of African innovators. NEF Fellows participate in campaigns and events to encourage young people to pursue scientific careers.

Offered Since: 2013

Type: Fellowship

Eligibility: 

• Be 42 years of age or less as of 31 December, 2019
• Hold a passport from an African country
• Hold a PhD in a field of science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics or the social sciences
• Have a demonstrated track record of research/findings that have global impact
• You are passionate about raising Africa’s profile in STEM globally
• Able to clearly present their work to an audience in English or French

Selection Criteria:

• (30%): Outstanding academic qualifications as measured by the standards of their particular academic discipline. Examples of notable achievements include:
  • Publication record
  • Prizes and other awards, such as distinguished fellowships or memberships in prestigious academic circles (for example, in high-ranking committees, bodies, academies, etc.)
  • Independently raised funding from outside sources in a competitive process
  • Number of patents
  • The type and number of invited talks at international conferences
• (30%):  Academic maturity and clear evidence of scientific potential and a distinct research profile and direction. Examples of this include being a leader of an independent research group
• (20%): Relevance and impact – demonstrated commitment to advancing science and/or improving and impacting society, notably in Africa
• (10%): Communication skills as demonstrated in the video submission
• (10%):  Other distinctive characteristics

Number of Awardees: 15

Value of Scholarship:  Attend the prestigious, invitation-only NEF Global Gathering 2020 in Nairobi, Kenya, in March 2020 alongside: Nobel Prize winners; experienced and emerging scientists; Heads of State; and representatives from leading global corporations and civil society organizations.

• Attend the NEF Community of Scientists Annual Meeting and together with previous classes of fellows and ambassadors, finalize a work plan for the Community of Scientists.
• A unique opportunity to present your research and showcase your innovations as an example of the potential of young, exceptional scientific talent from Africa
• Collaborate with, receive mentoring from, and partner with leading scientists, policy-makers, industry representatives and civil-society leaders, as well as other exceptional young African scientists.
• A unique opportunity to be a part of the NEF Fellows Tour to an African country or participate in the NEF Visiting Scientist Programme to showcase your research project(s) and establish collaborations in your field
• Contribute to the establishment of a positive global view of science in Africa
• Application and programme participation are completely free

How to Apply: Download the Application Form here:

• in English
• in French

It is important to go through the Eligibility requirements and Application processes before applying.
GOODLUCK


Visit Fellowship Webpage for details

Russian Scholarship Project 2019/2020 for International Masters Students (Apply to study in Russia)

Application Deadline: 31st January 2019

Eligible Countries: International

To be taken at (country): Russia

About the Award: The Global Universities Association in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and Rossotrudnichestvo Federal Agency launched the Open Doors Olympiad: Russian Scholarship Project. Russian universities offer more than 300 scholarships to the winners and awardees of the competition.

Field of Study: Explore the offered study programmes and additional information about the universities (see in link below)
Study programmes of the Open Doors include:

1. Biology
2. Computer science
3. Mathematics
4. Business & Management
5. Politics & International Studies
6. Psychology
7. Physics
8. Philology & Linguistics
9. Chemistry
10. Economics

Type: Masters

Eligibility:

• The Open Doors: Russian Scholarship Project (also referred to as ‘the Olympiad’) is for prospective Master’s students.
• The competition is open to foreigners and stateless persons, including compatriots living abroad, having a degree or completing a degree programme not lower than Bachelor level in the year of the Olympiad. All participants are expected to consent to the processing of personal data.
• The official languages of the Olympiad are English and Russian.
• The winners and prize-winners of the Olympiad, having a degree or completing a degree programme not lower than Bachelor level in the year of the Olympiad are eligible to enrol in one of the Master’s programmes covered by the Olympiad subject areas without paying a tuition fee.
• The winners and prize-winners choose an educational programme taught in English or in Russian that is applicable for foreign students.
• The university determines the level of proficiency in Russian while admitting of the winner or the prize-winner. The winners and the prize-winners who need to improve the level of proficiency in Russian are eligible to have a preparatory Russian language course in the chosen university, if necessary. Enrolment in the Master’s programmes taught in Russian is only possible after a successful completion of the Russian language course.
• The Olympiad is held online in two rounds, using an Open Doors electronic platform. The first (qualifying) round is a competition of portfolios, and the second (final) round is a problem solving challenge. The online format of the competition implies establishing the participant’s identity as well as checking the independence of his/her performance during the final round.
• The Olympiad is free to enter. There is no participation fee.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: Your tuition fee will be paid by the Russian Federation. You will only have to cover your travel and accommodation costs, insurance and personal expenses.

Duration of Programme: Duration of candidate’s chosen course

How to Apply: 

• Apply here
• It is very important you go through the rules of participation and other application details before applying
• GOODLUCK!

Visit Programme Webpage for Details

Digital Lab Africa 2019 for Creative African Artists and Startups (€3,000 Cash Prize and Mentorship)

Application Deadline: 13th January 2019

Eligible Countries: Sub-Saharan African countries

To be taken at (country): France

About the Award: Digital Lab Africa call for projects is open to anyone, professional or not, from the sector of multimedia content creation: artists, producers, developers,, start-ups, SMEs, collectives, students or entrepreneurs, based in sub-Saharan Africa. The applicants have to be based in this region or being nationals of one of the Sub-Saharan African countries, provided the project development is mostly implemented locally. The objective of Digital Lab Africa is to provide a springboard for African talent in multimedia creation and to make their project happen with the support of French leading companies (studios, producers, broadcasters, distributors) such as ARTE (web creation), Okio-Studio (virtual reality),CCCP (video game), and 1D Touch/Believe Digital (digital music).

Eligible Fields: Digital Lab Africa is looking for projects at initial stage of development, in need of partners and financial support and innovative in terms of narration, content or technologies.

• Web Creation: This category is dedicated to all linear and non-linear format which offer an innovative storytelling and/or an immersive/interactive experience for the audience.
  This category includes all content,  irrespective of the genre – fiction, documentary, series, TV format, magazine, entertainment, news… – produced to be viewed mainly online (first digital content). Projects which combine several media (transmedia) or offer a cross media strategy and which aim to attract an audience, engage with it and retain it will be considered first.
  Examples: an interactive web documentary, a web series including a chat or a video game, a news show in 360°, a thematic web channel etc.
• Virtual Reality: The virtual reality category is open to any content which offers an immersive experience to the public, on any type of support (computer, tablet, smartphone and virtual reality headset), using virtual reality technologies, augmented reality, mixed reality, 360° video, and 3D interactions.
  Examples: journalism report, fiction or documentary movie, musical clip, museum visit, video game…
• Video Game: the video game category is open to all prototypes/concepts of video game for mobile application or full screen.
  Examples: action, strategy game, a game which aim to inform, train or educate.
• Digital Music: the digital music category is open to all projects which offer an innovative and enriching user experience using multimedia tools, solutions and content, based on one or several African artists, musical genres or African territories.
  Example: creating an app offering a multimedia world and an interactive community around an artist.
• Animation:  the Animation category is open to all projects/content which mainly use animation technics (2D, 3D, paper, film, sand, modeling clay, painting, figurine etc).Examples: an animated short film, an animated web-series, an animated comic, an animated application, etc.

Type: Contest

Eligibility: 

• DLA call for projects targets artists, producers, designers, start-ups, students in the media and creative industries. The call is open to any professional or individual from Sub-Saharan Africa having an innovative project in 5 categories of multimedia production: WEB CREATION, VIRTUAL REALITY, VIDEO GAME, ANIMATION and DIGITAL MUSIC.
  
• All submitted projects should be set down in French or English. They should target an international audience. It is about developing projects, researching partners and financial support. The projects should be innovative in form, narration, content or technologies employed.

Selection Criteria: The projects will then be evaluated by the DLA selection committee based on criteria of artistic/technical quality, technological/creative innovation and feasibility/economic potential.

Value of Programme: 

• The platform will allow creative multimedia projects to come to light with the support of French and Sub-Saharan African partners like Lagardère Studios, ARTE or Triggerfish Animation.
• Selected applicants will take part in a Pitch Competition. The winning projects win a 3,000 € cash prize and a Digital Lab Africa Incubation Pass to support the project development.
• The DLA project incubation includes mentorship and project development support by French and Sub-Saharan African partners for each category. Additionally, the Incubation Pass comprises residence time in France within digital cluster and participation in benchmark multimedia events. The expected outcome of Digital Lab Africa is market ready content/productions showcasing African creativity.

How to Apply: 
Download the call for projects presentation and rulesComplete the online form
Email the following application files (in French or in English) to applications@digilabafrica.com before January 13th, 2019

• Pitch deck / Presentation document (PDF, PowerPoint or Word) including:
  – project’s overview, concept, statement of intent…
  – development and production schedule, provisional budget, target audience and strategy
• Visual element and/or research document
  – Storyboard / mood board / graphics / portfolio / screenplay (for web creation, animation or VR projects
  – Game design document (for video game projects)
  – Any preview, pilot or video demo of the project (if available, for all types of projects)
• A cover letter explaining why you want to be part of the DLA Mentorship & Incubation program (1-page maximum)
• A resume/curriculum vitae of the applicant and/or description of the company represented
• A picture (.jpeg) of the applicant

Applicants can submit several projects (one form per project)

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details

Women as Repositories of Communal Values and Cultural Traditions

Nyla Ali Khan

Why is gender violence such a consistent feature of the insurgency and counterinsurgency that have wrenched apart the Indian subcontinent for decades? The equation of the native woman to the motherland in nationalist rhetoric has, in recent times, become more forceful. In effect, the native woman is constructed as a trough within which male aspirations are nurtured, and the most barbaric acts are justified as means to restore the lost dignity of women.

The story of the partition of India in 1947 into two separate nation-states, India and Pakistan, is replete with instances of women resorting to mass suicide to preserve the “honor” of the community. If a woman’s body belongs not to herself but to her community, then the violation of that body purportedly signifies an attack upon the honour (izzat) of the whole community.

In one instance, the crime of a boy from a lower social caste against a woman from a higher upper caste in Meerawala village in the central province of Punjab, Pakistan, in 2002, was punished in a revealing way by the “sagacious” tribal jury. After days of thoughtful consideration, the jury gave the verdict that the culprit’s teenage sister, Mai, should be gang-raped by goons from the wronged social group. The tribal jury ruled that to save the honor of the upper-caste Mastoi clan, Mai’s brother, Shakoor, should marry the woman with whom he was accused of having an illicit relationship, while Mai was to be given away in marriage to a Mastoi man. The prosecution said that when she rejected the decision she was gang-raped by four Mastoi men and made to walk home semi-naked in front of hundreds of people. The lawyer for one of the accused argued the rape charge was invalid because Mai was technically married to the defendant at the time of the incident (“Pakistan Court Expected to Rule on Gang-Rape Case,” Khaleej Times, 27 August 2002).

Such acts of violence that occur on the Indian subcontinent bear testimony to the intersecting notions of nation, family and community. The horrific stories of women, in most instances attributed to folklore, underscore the complicity of official and nationalist historiography in perpetuating these notions. I might add that the feminization of the “homeland” as the “motherland,” for which Indian soldiers, Kashmiri nationalists in Indian-administered Kashmir and in Pakistan-administered Kashmir are willing to lay down their lives, serves in effect to preserve the native woman in pristine retardation.

In order to highlight the groundbreaking work accomplished by local agencies, cadres and social networks in Kashmir, the distinction between traditional customs and practices that limit the role of women and progressive roles prescribed for women within Islamic norms needs to be underscored by responsible scholarship and social work. The western preoccupation with empirical observation has led to an inaccurate conflation of Islamic norms with practices.

Despite the political mobilization of Kashmiri women during the upheaval in 1931 and the politically volcanic Quit Kashmir movement of 1946, they have now reverted from the public sphere to the private realm. The onslaught of despotism in 1931 unleashed by Maharaja Hari Singh awakened Kashmiri women from their slumber and induced them to rattle the confining bars of the monarchical cage. Remarkably, the illiterate women of Srinagar, Kashmir, were initiated into political activism and it was they who heralded the political participation of educated women. The Quit Kashmir movement of 1946–47 saw the evolution of women into well-informed and articulate protestors, assuming leadership roles in the quest for a Kashmiri identity: “When male leadership was put behind bars or driven underground, women leaders took charge and gave a new direction to the struggle” (Misri 2002: 19). But this consciousness of the women, which could have produced women cadres, was diluted by the reversion to normative gender roles. Attempts to drown the voices of progressive women into oblivion became more frequent with the onset of militancy in 1989–90. Can women step out of their ascribed gender roles, once again, to significantly impact socio-political developments in J & K?

It is important to imagine confidence-building measures that emphasize the decisive role that women can play in raising consciousness, not just at the individual but at the collective level as well.

Is Dubai Really a Destination of Choice?

Faisal Khan

Attracted by the sun, sea, glamour and glitz many British people visit or choose to live and work in Dubai. With over 700 luxury hotels, some neck-creakingly tall buildings, tax-free salaries, futuristic design, high-end malls the appeal is obvious. At any given time, approximately a 100,000 British people live and work in Dubai and the UAE, and on average anywhere between half a million and one million British tourists visit annually.

However, the glamour and seductive appeal of Dubai (and the Emirates generally) disguises a dark side: it’s legal system and laws. An increasing number of British people are often unsuspectingly falling foul of these laws with at times devastating consequences. The UAE’s legal system is founded upon civil law principles (mostly influenced by Egyptian law) and Islamic Sharia law, the latter constituting the guiding principle and source of legislation. The laws are, however, often vague, confusing and arbitrarily applied.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Offices (FCO) British behaviour abroad report (2014) found a 30 per cent rise in the number of Britons arrested in the UAE between 2012 and 2014 and this despite a drop of more than a third in the number of British tourists to the UAE in the same period. The report found that the UAE was the fourth most likely country in which UK citizens would require consular assistance. The mere accusation of wrongdoing can have serious consequences; as Scottish electrician Jamie Harron discovered. He was sentenced to 3 months in jail for public indecency after he accidentally touched a man in a bar.

Afsana Lachaux, a former British civil servant, had her son taken from her while living in the UAE. Having moved there for a new life, events soon took a nasty turn. Her husband became abusive, and she felt that she had no choice but to flee with her son. However, instead of supporting her she found that the authorities and the legal system favoured her husband. The women’s shelter that she fled to told her husband where she was, and the courts dismissed her protestations and witnesses.

I connected with Afsana via twitter she tells me she ‘left the UAE in 2014 and is in the midst of legal proceedings here and in France to try and get the Dubai sharia divorce overturned and have some rights to see and speak to Louis. So far the U.K. has refused me jurisdiction.’ For her ‘the most despicable thing is that UK courts endorse the UAE legal system.’ I can’t imagine anything much worse for a mother to experience than to have her child taken from her.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) have highlighted issue’s facing women if they are embroiled in a legal dispute with their husband. HRW note that UAE Law is applied in a way which discriminates against women. It’s permissible, for example, for a husband to physically chastise his wife and a woman can’t work without the husbands permission. The NGO Detained in Dubai which helps Western expats with legal problems in the UAE warns that it is risky for women to report crimes such as rape to the police ‘The victim can be jailed themselves or subject to retaliatory accusations that can lead to lengthy detentions or legal proceedings.  One thing that rings true is that the system and its applications are volatile.’

Shezanne Cassim, found himself in a maximum-security prison in the middle of the desert for nine months after the authorities accused him of threatening national security because he created a sketch comedy parodying teenagers in Dubai and posted it on YouTube. Marc Owen Jones, Gulf expert formerly at Exeter University tells me:

‘In cases of national security, there is far more scope for a lack of transparency and accountability, which can increase the likelihood of politicised charges based on International relations, personal vendettas, paranoia and other motivations.’

Alas, in recent months Durham University PhD student Matthew Hedges who was carrying out research on UAE security policies was arrested on spying charges after one of his interviewees apparently reported him to the authorities. He had been held in solitary confinement since he was detained in May.

Recently released he remains in the UAE (his passport likely confiscated) pending legal proceedings. Some say that often in cases where expats are arbitrarily detained there is little support from the British consulate where the standard response is ‘we cannot interfere in the legal processes or prison systems of other countries’. In the case of Matt Hedges, however, Jeremy Hunt is now involved.

Commenting on the Matthew Hedges case, Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch opines:

“The UAE invests considerable time and money painting itself as a progressive and tolerant country, but Hedges case shows the face of an autocratic government with a fundamental lack of respect for the rule of law…UAE rulers cannot claim to preside over a global knowledge and education hub while locking up academics for months in solitary confinement.”

For most of us visiting Dubai and the UAE we may have a wonderful and trouble-free time. However, it’s worth remembering that behind some fairy-tales lurks a nightmare.

Canada and Saudi Arabia: Friends or Enemies?

Yves Engler

One has to admire the Canadian government’s manipulation of the media regarding its relationship with Saudi Arabia. Despite being partners with the Kingdom’s international crimes, the Liberals have managed to convince some gullible folks they are challenging Riyadh’s rights abuses.

By downplaying Ottawa’s support for violence in Yemen while amplifying Saudi reaction to an innocuous tweet the dominant media has wildly distorted the Trudeau government’s relationship to the monarchy.

In a story headlined “Trudeau says Canada has heard Turkish tape of Khashoggi murder”, Guardian diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour affirmed that “Canada has taken a tough line on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record for months.” Hogwash. Justin Trudeau’s government has okayed massive arms sales to the monarchy and largely ignored the Saudi’s devastating war in Yemen, which has left up to 80,000 dead, millions hungry and sparked a terrible cholera epidemic.

While Ottawa recently called for a ceasefire, the Liberals only direct condemnation  of the Saudi bombing in Yemenwas an October 2016 statement. It noted, “the Saudi-led coalition must move forward now on its commitment to investigate this incident” after two airstrikes killed over 150  and wounded 500 during a funeral in Sana’a.

By contrast when the first person was killed from a rocket launched into the Saudi capital seven months ago, Chrystia Freeland stated, “Canada strongly condemns the ballistic missile attacks launched by Houthi rebels on Sunday, against four towns and cities in Saudi Arabia, including Riyadh’s international airport. The deliberate targeting of civilians is unacceptable.” In her release Canada’s foreign minister also accepted the monarchy’s justification for waging war. “There is a real risk of escalation if these kinds of attacks by Houthi rebels continue and if Iran keeps supplying weapons to the Houthis”, Freeland added.

Ottawa has also aligned itself with Riyadh’s war aims on other occasions. With the $15 billion LAV sale to the monarchy under a court challenge in late 2016, federal government lawyers described Saudi Arabia as “a key military ally who backs efforts of the international community to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and the instability in Yemen. The acquisition of these next-generation vehicles will help in those efforts, which are compatible with Canadian defence interests.” The Canadian Embassy’s website currently claims “the Saudi government plays an important role in promoting regional peace and stability.”

In recent years the Saudis have been the second biggest recipients of Canadian weaponry, which are frequently used in Yemen. As Anthony Fenton has documented in painstaking detail, hundreds of armoured vehicles made by Canadian company Streit Group in the UAE have been videoed in Yemen.Equipment from three other Canadian armoured vehicle makers – Terradyne, IAG Guardian and General Dynamics Land Systems Canada– was found with Saudi-backed forcesin Yemen. Between May and July Canada exported $758.6 million worth of “tanks and other armored fighting vehicles” to the Saudis.

The Saudi coalition used Canadian-made rifles as well.“Canada helped fuel the war in Yemen by exporting more rifles to Saudi Arabia than it did to the U.S. ($7.15 million vs. $4.98 million)”, tweeted Fenton regarding export figures from July and August.

Some Saudi pilots that bombed Yemen were likely trained in Alberta and Saskatchewan. In recent years Saudi pilots have trained  with NATO’s Flying Training in Canada, which is run by the Canadian Forces and CAE. The Montreal-based flight simulator company also trained Royal Saudi Air Force pilots in the Middle East.

Training and arming the monarchy’s military while refusing to condemn its brutal war in Yemen shouldn’t be called a “tough line on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.” Rather, Canada’s role should be understood for what it is: War profiteer and enabler of massive human rights abuses.

Fiji First Party retains power in sham election

John Braddock 

In the second election since the 2006 coup, the Fiji First Party (FFP) of former coup leader Frank Bainimarama retained office with a 51.8 percent majority after last Wednesday’s poll. The FFP has been in power since the 2014 election following eight years of military rule.

Results at the end of provisional vote counting showed the FFP’s votes had dropped from 59 percent at the previous election. The Social Democratic Liberal Party (SODELPA) was on 37.9 percent, up from 28 percent, followed by the National Federation Party with 7.5 percent.

The turnout, based on over 600,000 registered voters, ranged from 53 to 61 percent across Fiji’s four divisions. Heavy rain and flooding forced the closure of 26 polling stations, affecting 7,800 people. Nevertheless, the turnout was well below the 84.6 percent who voted in 2014, indicating widespread disenchantment. A Fiji Times poll published in late October showed one in five voters were still undecided.

Following the 2014 election, the US and its local allies, Australia and New Zealand, rushed to legitimise the result as “democratic.” These powers, however, have supported coups in Fiji as long as the resulting regime lines up with their imperialist interests. Since 2014, they have sought to re-forge ties with Bainimarama in order to undercut China’s influence in the geo-strategically significant South Pacific state.

The 2018 election was a contest between two parties run by former coup leaders and military strong men. SODELPA, which benefited from the swing against the FFP, represents the interests of a nationalist layer of the privileged chiefly Fijian elite. It has been led since 2016 by Sitiveni Rabuka, the instigator of two military coups in 1987, the prime minister following the 1992 election and also the former chairman of the unelected Great Council of Chiefs.

The Labour Party, which has historically had a base of support in the Indo-Fijian community, received the second lowest number of votes at 0.66 percent. For the second time it failed to meet the 5 percent threshold to get into parliament. Labour had previously been elected to office in 1987 and 1999. On both occasions, the resulting government was rapidly overthrown by a coup.

The Fiji government rests directly on the military. Successive regimes have all been thoroughly authoritarian and anti-working class. The imposition of inequality and social misery—28 percent of the population lives below the poverty line—has been accompanied by harsh austerity measures, along with intimidation of opposition parties, repressive laws and rampant violence by the police and military.

Fears of another coup have not subsided. Wellington university lecturer Jon Fraenkel told Radio New Zealand on November 5 that any possibility of an opposition party succeeding would quickly “destabilise things.” Labour Party leader Aman Ravindra-Singh said the majority of the population “remains very scared.” Most people were not prepared to engage in discussion, he said, but were constantly “looking behind their backs” and “speaking in whispers.”

Two thousand police were deployed and the military placed on stand-by for polling day. Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho claimed, without substantiation, that rumours were circulating about “rogue groups” seeking to disrupt the polls. He warned that any attempts to do so would not be “taken lightly.” Several people were reportedly detained for “questioning.”

Six parties with a total of 233 candidates were vying for 51 seats. In an attempt to eliminate the largely ethnically-based voting that prevailed prior to the coup, in which ethnic Fijians often vied with Indo-Fijians, there are no longer constituency seats. Parties compete in a single national constituency.

The elections were conducted under stringent legal and political constraints. It is virtually impossible for independent candidates to stand. Registered parties produce lists, in which candidates are identified by numbers. Names and party identification are not allowed on ballot papers. A 48-hour media blackout applies prior to the polls closing, with all signage and campaign activities banned.

A multinational observer group reported there were only “minor glitches” in the electoral process. However, discrepancies were claimed in the electoral roll, with some 50,000 more voters than the latest census data. Opposition parties alleged widespread vote-buying in the guise of government grants.

Campaigning was characterised by the total suppression by all the parties of the social crisis. The FFP and SODELPA campaigned on their purported competing economic records. Bainimarama trumpeted nine years of “straight growth,” absurdly declaring that Fijians “now have more opportunities, more jobs, more income and more luxuries of life” under the FFP. Rabuka claimed even more impressive growth figures during SODELPA’s term in office.

Fiji’s economic outlook has in fact weakened, partly as a result of the damage and lost production from Cyclone Winston, which hit in February 2016, leaving tens of thousands homeless and causing losses equivalent to over 30 percent of GDP.

According to the Asia Development Bank, Fiji, which has a population of just over 914,000, is the third most impoverished country in the Pacific, behind Timor-Leste and Micronesia, with the fourth highest unemployment rate at 6.2 percent. Health indicators are appalling. Of every 1,000 babies born, 22 die before they turn five. Fiji has the highest rate of deaths from diabetes in the world. One in three adults has diabetes and three diabetes-related limb amputations are performed in hospitals every day.

Bainimarama contends that inequality has been reduced. While reliable figures are hard to find, the IMF reported in 2016 that in 2013–14 the poorest 10th of households received 3.2 percent of total income, whereas the proportion going to the richest 10th was 31 percent.

Bainimarama has imposed a raft of repressive measures to suppress any nascent opposition. These include anti-democratic restrictions on the media and bans on foreign journalists. Almost no criticism of the government is published or broadcast under the draconian 2010 Media Industry Development Decree. Violations are punishable by up to two years in prison. The editor, publisher and manager of the Fiji Times faced trumped-up sedition charges earlier this year after publishing an anti-Muslim letter in the Fijian language paper Nai Lalakai.

According to an Amnesty International report last December, Fiji’s police, corrections and military officers regularly torture people in custody. The report detailed repeated violations of international law by the security forces, including beatings, rape, sexual violence and even murder.

In September 2017, six leading opposition figures were arrested for criticising the country’s 2013 constitution at a political forum. The Public Order Amendment Decree, under which they were detained, was issued in 2012 by the military dictatorship. Government permits are required for any political meeting, and opposition meetings can be deemed threats to “public order.”

Resistance within the working class, however, is growing. In January, thousands of Fijians turned out to demonstrate their support for 200 airport workers locked-out for a month in an industrial dispute. Over 8,000 people rallied in Nadi in the biggest recent protest witnessed in Fiji.

There has been little international media commentary on this week’s election, and thus far no official response from Canberra or Wellington. The local powers, however, will be paying close attention to the result. Considerable diplomatic, financial and commercial efforts will be made to maintain a close engagement with Bainimarama in order to push back against Beijing.

French “Yellow Vest” protesters prepare road blockades against fuel tax hike

Anthony Torres

The “Yellow Vest” movement against high fuel prices, which is developing outside the trade union bureaucracy, is provoking growing fears in media and government circles of an uncontrollable explosion of social anger.

The movement emerged from social media on October 10, when two truck drivers from the Paris area proposed an event called “National blockade against fuel price increase.” It rapidly spread across social media, and now some 200,000 people say they will attend protests scheduled for tomorrow.

The “Yellow Vest” movement is heterogeneous, made up of small businessmen and truck owner-operators as well as workers hostile to French President Emmanuel Macron’s fuel tax increases. The Macron government has claimed that the tax increase would fund ecological progress, but it is leading to price hikes for consumers and businesses at the pump.

According to the French Union of Petroleum Industries, a liter of petrol was around €1.54 (US$1.73) at the end of October and a liter of diesel at €1.51 (US$1.69), up 14 and 22 percent respectively in one year. At the new year, a new tax increase of 6.5 cents per liter for diesel and 2.9 cents for petrol is planned. This is a consequence also of imperialist war policy in the Middle East and notably the embargo on Iran, which has not been offset by stepped-up oil production by US allies like Saudi Arabia.

In addition to the two truck drivers’ proposed events, others are also calling for blockades of roads or highways tomorrow. In total, 500 gatherings are being prepared across France. There have already been trial runs, notably in the Jura region a week ago, called by a group set up on social media. Around 500 vehicles of private individuals, professional drivers or farmers came together in Dole.

This is part of an international wave of protests against fuel price hikes. Recently, thousands of Bulgarians blocked the country’s main roads and highways to protest fuel price hikes, increases on punitive taxes for older or more polluting cars, and rising car insurance premiums.

The Macron government is terrified of any movement that is not organized by the union bureaucracies, which in France are financed and controlled by the state and business federations. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner demanded that “there be no total blockages” and threatened protesters with police crackdowns. “Anywhere there is a blockade and thus a risk to the operations of the security forces and free movement, we will intervene.”

Castaner added, “What is difficult is that there is no trade union that is used to setting up protests that is organizing this. For example, for a protest, you have to tell the police prefecture about it. But now, very few people are declaring them. I call on those who are listening to declare where they will be demonstrating.”

On Wednesday, the government tried to calm rising popular anger with a series of pronouncements. To help drivers to change cars and obtain more ecologically friendly vehicles, Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced programs to facilitate the buying of used vehicles, as well as an increase in fuel subsidies.

From the Navy aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, Macron made a few hypocritical statements bemoaning his own unpopularity. “There is impatience and there is anger. I share this anger, because if there is one thing that I have not succeeded in doing, it is reconciling the French people with its rulers. One sees this divorce in each and every Western democracy. This worries me.”

Rising anger among drivers against fuel tax increases is one expression of the far broader opposition against Macron’s regressive policies. He aims to put the costs of the tax cuts he is handing to the super-rich, as well as plans to spend hundreds of billions of euros on a military buildup, squarely on the backs of working people. Macron’s declaration that he would have liked to commemorate French fascist dictator Philippe Pétain on November 11 only underscores his violent hostility to the working class.

The money needed for the functioning of society must be found—not in the wallets of people filling up their petrol tank, but in the grotesque fortunes of the financial aristocracy.

Since the beginning of 2018, France’s 13 richest billionaires added €23.67 billion to their fortunes, making France the country where the billionaires are increasing their wealth the fastest in the world. Bernard Arnault, Europe’s richest man, has a fortune estimated at €65.5 billion, and François Pinault has €30.43 billion. According to economist Thomas Piketty’s 2010 report, the top 10 percent in France hold 62 percent of the country’s wealth.

Developing a struggle against Macron and the financial aristocracy requires opposing the political forces, primarily on the right, that are trying to intervene in the Yellow Vests protest, as well as the cowardly and reactionary policy of the union bureaucracies, which oppose the movement.

Laurent Wauquiez, the head of the right-wing The Republicans party, and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan of the far-right Arise France (DLF) party have said they will try to join the protest.

Neo-fascist leader Marine Le Pen told Le Parisien, “We were the first party to express our total support for this movement, which is apolitical, of course, but which appeals to many of our voters.” She added, however, that she would not participate in the blockades. “The role of a political leader, unless it is in exceptional circumstances, is not to be in the street, but precisely to offer choices on how to solve the French people’s problems through the ballot box.”

The trade unions and allied political parties have barely hidden their hostility to the Yellow Vests. Officials from Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s Unsubmissive France (LFI) said their organization would support the movement, but that LFI’s “ecosocialist” wing opposes reducing fuel taxes—supposedly to protect the environment.

As for the unions, which strangled strikes against Macron’s privatization of the National Railways, they are denouncing the Yellow Vests and demanding the workers submit to their diktat. One leaflet on the Yellow Vests distributed by the Stalinist General Confederation of Labor (CGT) denounces them as a “manipulation of the anger of citizens and workers by the far right and road transport interests.” The CGT proposed instead to organize “inter-industry struggles that cannot be organized by anyone but our union,” that is to say, that the Stalinists would doom to defeat.

For now, it appears that the Yellow Vests protest will have significant support. For those looking for a way to fight the Macron government, the critical question is the turn to the working class, and the organization of struggles of the working class independent of the trade unions. As in the October 1917 Russian Revolution and the French general strikes of 1936 and 1968, the working class is the only force that can settle accounts with the power of the financial aristocracy.

The way forward is a political and international struggle against imperialist embargos and wars, and Macron’s austerity policy. The development of such a struggle will inevitably raise the question of the independent organization of the working class and the transfer of state power to the working class in France and across Europe.