The U.S. is reiterating its call Wednesday for free and fair legislative and presidential elections in Haiti, hours after Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe resigned and President Jovenel Moise named Foreign Minister Claude Joseph as his replacement.”The U.S. looks forward to continued cooperation with Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, the Government of Haiti and all Haitian stakeholders and international partners working to hold free and fair legislative and presidential elections in 2021,” tweeted Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs.The U.S. looks forward to continued cooperation with interim Prime Minster @claudejoseph03, the Government of Haiti and all Haitian stakeholders and international partners working to hold free and fair legislative and presidential elections in 2021.— Julie Chung (@WHAAsstSecty) April 14, 2021Jouthe announced his resignation in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday without explaining why he decided to step down. He had been at odds with other members of Moise’s Cabinet, who openly opposed and acted against Jouthe’s orders on issues pertaining to security and justice.”I gave my letter of resignation to the President of the Republic, SEM @moisejovenel. It has been an honor to serve my country as prime minister. I thank the members of my government, (and) our technical and financial partners for their collaboration. God Bless Haiti!” Jouthe said on Twitter.In a tweet, Moise said, “The resignation of the government, which I have accepted, will allow me to address the insecurity that is calling out to be handled and pursue discussions that will help us find the consensus that is necessary for political and institutional stability in our country.”Responding to VOA’s request for comment on the Cabinet reshuffle, a State Department spokesperson expressed the Biden administration’s commitment toward working with Haiti to promote democratic governance and the rule of law.”We encourage Haitian politicians, civil society and the business community to find common ground to work toward free and fair overdue legislative, as well as presidential, elections,” the spokesperson told VOA.The Moise government plans to hold a constitutional referendum in June, followed by legislative and presidential elections in September and November.Spike in kidnappingsThe Cabinet change follows a spike in kidnappings during recent days that saw Protestant pastors and church officials kidnapped at gunpoint during a live broadcast on Easter Sunday, the abduction for ransom of Catholic priests and nuns, and the killing of a prominent businessman in broad daylight during a failed kidnapping attempt.The Organization of American States expressed its concern late Tuesday about the deteriorating security situation.”The Secretary General of the OAS (Luis Almagro) is closely following the situation in Haiti and deplores the deterioration of the security situation, particularly the resurgence of kidnappings and killings, including five religious leaders over the weekend,” the OAS said in a tweet.”The right to life is a reflection of respect for human life, which is a fundamental human right. the OAS Secretary General calls on Haitian officials to take the necessary measures to protect the life and dignity of its citizens.”Communiqué du Secrétariat général de l’OEA sur la situation en matière de sécurité en Haïti🔗 https://t.co/dkPCYCbZbdpic.twitter.com/WGCkeTrs40— OAS (@OAS_official) April 14, 2021Laurent Weil, research analyst and specialist on Latin America and the Caribbean at The Economist magazine, said the Cabinet change was not enough to improve security.”A change of prime minister or Cabinet reshuffle is unlikely to be sufficient by itself to improve the security situation ahead of the referendum,” Weil told VOA. But he thinks the resignation could signal Moise’s willingness to engage in a more inclusive dialogue.”The move may reflect President Jovenel Moise’s recognition of the deteriorating situation and indicate that he is willing to engage in talks with some of his opponents to lower the heat on the political scene,” Weil said. “But the prospects for negotiations are slim, as very few political leaders are willing to cooperate.”The United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti, BINUH, criticized the electoral process Tuesday, saying it was neither inclusive nor transparent enough.”The national appropriation of the constitution project requires the engagement of a larger segment of political actors, civil society, women and religious groups from across the nation,” BINUH tweeted.A ce stade, le processus n’est pas suffisamment inclusif, participatif ou transparent. L’appropriation nationale du projet de constitution exige l’engagement d’un éventail plus large des acteurs politiques, sociétaux y compris les groupes de femmes et religieux dans tout le pays.— BINUH (@BINUH_UN) April 13, 2021Weil said there are steps Moise can take to show he is committed to free and fair elections.”At this stage, if the government is really committed to free and fair votes this year, its priority will be to improve citizens’ confidence by ensuring that a significant portion of the population takes ownership of the referendum and electoral process,” he told VOA.The new prime ministerJoseph is Haiti’s 164th minister of foreign affairs and religious affairs. Before being named foreign minister in March 2020, he held posts as Haitian ambassador to Argentina, and chargé d’affaires at the Haitian Embassy in Spain. Prior to working in politics, Joseph was a professor at the University of Connecticut and at Long Island University.Under normal circumstances, Joseph’s nomination would require Parliament‘s approval. But the legislative body is not functioning because of a failure to organize elections to renew the terms of lawmakers.Joseph has not responded to VOA’s request for comment on his new Cabinet position, but he did retweet Moise’s announcement of his appointment, as well as a congratulatory tweet from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan.”We welcome @moisejovenel’s naming of @claudejoseph03 as interim PM of Haiti & look forward to continuing close bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest benefiting the people of both countries and the region. Taiwan is Haiti’s true friend & partner in prosperity.”We welcome @moisejovenel’s naming of @claudejoseph03 as interim PM of Haiti & look forward to continuing close bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest benefiting the people of both countries & the region. #Taiwan🇹🇼 is #Haiti’s🇭🇹 true friend & partner in prosperity. https://t.co/sSO6C2S7l2— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) 🇹🇼 (@MOFA_Taiwan) April 14, 2021
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Month: April 2021
Nobel Doctor Calls Sexual Violence in Conflict a ‘Pandemic’
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege warned Wednesday that the scourge of sexual violence and rape in all conflicts is now “a real pandemic” and without sanctions and justice for the victims these horrific acts won’t stop.The Congolese doctor told the U.N. Security Council in a video briefing that “we are still far away from being able to draw a red line against the use of rape and sexual violence as a strategy of war domination and terror.”Mukwege appealed to the international community “to draw a red line against the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war.” And he stressed that the “red line” must mean “blacklists with economic, financial and political sanctions as well as judicial prosecutions against the perpetrators and instigators of these egregious crimes.”Mukwege founded the Panzi Hospital in the eastern Congo city of Bukavu, and for more than 20 years has treated countless women who were raped amid fighting between armed groups seeking control of some the central African nation’s vast mineral wealth. He lamented that sexual violence and impunity continue.He shared the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize with activist Nadia Murad, who was kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery by Islamic State militants in 2014 along with an estimated 3,000 Yazidi girls and women.Mukwege said there has been progress in international law, and the greatest challenge today is to transform commitments into obligations, and Security Council resolutions into results. Accountability and justice “are the best tools of prevention,” he said, and without punishment and sanctions, rapes and sexual violence in conflicts will continue.Mukwege spoke at a council meeting on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ latest report on sexual violence in conflict that said the COVID-19 pandemic led to a spike in gender-based violence last year. It focused on 18 countries where the U.N. said it has verified information that 52 warring parties are “credibly suspected” of patterns of “rape and other forms of sexual violence” in conflicts on the council agenda. The majority of the parties are opposition, rebel and terrorist groups — so-called “non-state actors” — and over 70% “are persistent perpetrators.”In the latest example, Pramila Patten, the U.N. special representative on conflict-related sexual violence, told the council that right now in Ethiopia’s remote, mountainous regions of north and central Tigray, where fighting continues between the government and the region’s fugitive leaders, “women and girls are being subjected to sexual violence with a level of cruelty beyond comprehension.””Health care workers are documenting new cases of rape and gang-rape daily, despite their fear of reprisals and attacks on the limited shelters and clinics in operation,” Patten said, noting that the report records allegations of over 100 rape cases since fighting began in November but it may take months to determine the full scale and magnitude of the atrocities.She said the report documents “over 2,500 U.N.-verified cases of conflict-related sexual violence committed in the course of 2020,” including in Congo, Central African Republic, Libya and South Sudan’s western Darfur region.”Each of these cases cries out for justice,” Patten said. “It is time to write a new social contract in which no military or political leader is above the law, and no woman or girl is beneath the scope of its protection.”Caroline Atim, director of the South Sudan Women with Disabilities Network who represented non-governmental organizations focused on women, peace and security, became the first deaf person to brief the Security Council. She used sign language for her remarks, which were voiced by an interpreter.Despite a 2018 peace deal, Atim said, “South Sudan remains engulfed by intercommunal, ethnic, political and armed conflicts where gender-based violence is deliberately used as a tool of humiliation against women and girls.””More than 65% of South Sudanese women have experienced sexual or physical violence, a figure that is double the global average and among the highest in the world,” she said, echoing calls for a halt to sexual violence, a survivor-centered approach for victims, and accountability for perpetrators.
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British Ministers Rebuff Dublin Pleas for Emergency Summit on Northern Ireland
Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney is expected to press his British counterpart, Dominic Rabb, this week during a meeting in London to convene an emergency British-Irish intergovernmental conference to discuss a recent outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland. But British ministers are reluctant. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told the House of Commons on Tuesday that the British government would “look for an appropriate time for a future meeting” but did not commit to do so as a matter of urgency, despite a growing clamor in the British Parliament for a summit, which would include Northern Irish politicians. Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland deny they have been behind an eruption of street violence in the British-ruled province, but they have warned that politicians in London, Dublin and Brussels are playing with fire, saying they underestimate the impact Brexit is having on the sectarian balance. The sustained nature of rioting in largely Protestant neighborhoods of Belfast and Londonderry is prompting rising alarm in government circles in Dublin and London, with fears mounting the province risks being dragged back into its dark past of sectarian violence between pro-British, mainly Protestant Unionists and mostly Catholic Irish nationalists. Loyalists are seen as Unionist paramilitaries. FILE – Rioters throw burning bottles at the police on the Springfield Road as protests continue in Belfast, Northern Ireland, April 8, 2021.The rioting has been among the worst seen since the U.S.-brokered Good Friday Agreement was struck in April 1998, which ended three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland. Many politicians and analysts agree that fury over the Brexit deal — which has left Northern Ireland inside the European Union’s single market and customs union, resulting in a regulatory “sea border” between it and the United Kingdom mainland — is the source of the rioting. Customs inspections are required under the Brexit agreement between London and Brussels on goods and agricultural produce to ensure compliance with EU standards. The imposition of a sea border meant a land border between the two halves of Ireland could be avoided, which would have risked sparking a violent reaction from nationalists and the paramilitary Provisional IRA. The reverse has happened — an outcome that some Unionists warned was likely. FILE – Graffiti in a loyalist area of south Belfast, Northern Ireland, against an Irish sea border is seen Feb. 2, 2021.Authorities say more than 90 police officers have been injured in the rioting, including 14 on Friday when youngsters lobbed bricks, fireworks and petrol bombs. The riots in Loyalist strongholds also have involved sectarian clashes along a peace wall in west Belfast with children as young as 13 years old participating. A burning car Monday was placed on the tracks of the Londonderry-to-Belfast rail-line. The engineer managed to bring her train to a standstill to avoid a collision. The unrest has cooled in recent days, but observers fear it will flare again. FILE – Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin speaks to the media in Brussels, Belgium, Oct. 16, 2020.Micheál Martin, the Irish prime minister, has been urging his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, to agree to the intergovernmental talks, according to Irish officials. Martin has also asked the White House to lobby for an emergency summit, insisting Northern Ireland must not be allowed to “spiral back to that dark place of sectarian murders and political discord.” U.S. President Joe Biden has echoed the appeal for calm. Northern Ireland’s Unionists worry the Brexit deal Johnson struck with Brussels will in effect start peeling the province away from the U.K., and they say it affects their cultural identity. Analysts are concerned it will inexorably lead to reunification of the island of Ireland and feed into a psyche of political grievance. Reaction to the Brexit trading arrangements has revealed how fragile peace in Northern Ireland remains, according to observers. Some blame politicians in London and Belfast for neglecting to build on the Good Friday Agreement and do more to dilute the province’s toxic sectarianism. The presence of youngsters in the rioting is especially worrying, they say. “More than 600,000 young people have been born in Northern Ireland since the Belfast Agreement was signed,” lamented Abby Wallace this week in the Irish Times, using another term for the Good Friday Agreement. “But under the broad umbrella of the ‘peace generation,’ not all young people have felt this peace in the same way. This is because our leaders have failed to build on the Belfast Agreement in a way which would allow all of Northern Ireland’s youth to feel that we are no longer living in the past. “More than 90 percent of Northern Ireland’s young people are still educated in segregated schools,” noted Wallace, a radio journalist and postgraduate politics student at Belfast’s Queen’s University. FILE – Pro-Union Loyalists demonstrate against the Northern Ireland Protocol implemented following Brexit, on the road leading to the Port of Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, April 6, 2021.Northern Ireland’s police chief says there is no evidence rioting has been sanctioned by Loyalist leaders. “We feel that there may be some people who could have connections to proscribed organizations, who have been present at the scenes of violence,” he said, but added in a statement that “we don’t believe it’s been sanctioned and organized by proscribed organizations.” Others are less sure. Irish news outlets have reported that much of the trouble has been in neighborhoods where criminal gangs and drug traffickers linked to Loyalist paramilitaries have a strong presence. The rioting came after a recent police crackdown on crime in some Loyalist areas. “The motivations of the rioters appear to be an inchoate mix of criminal aggression and political grievance, their anger stoked by the manipulations of drug gangs and a climate of instability, all underlaid by decades of community neglect,” the Irish Times newspaper said in an editorial. FILE – A police officer walks behind a police vehicle with flames leaping up after violence broke out in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast, in Northern Ireland, April 3, 2021.British officials say the unrest is being fueled by several factors — among them the impact of Brexit, which Lewis told the British Parliament overlaps “with wider questions about national identity and political allegiance and comes at a time of economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic.” The poisonous brew of disillusionment got an added ingredient last month when Northern Ireland officials declined to prosecute politicians from Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Provisional IRA, for attending the funeral of former IRA leader Bobby Storey, despite the funeral breaking pandemic restrictions. “To date there has been a spectacular collective failure to understand properly the scale and nature of unionist and loyalist anger,” Loyalist paramilitaries said in a joint statement last week. “Indeed, there is a complete failure to understand loyalists as people and equal citizens.” British and EU officials are now scrambling to see if they can tweak the trading arrangements to make them less intrusive, and they say they are making progress. But it remains unclear whether that will be a long-term cure. Sinn Fein, which always saw the Good Friday Agreement as a steppingstone to eventual Irish reunification, is pushing for a so-called border poll on the future of the British-ruled province, to the increasing frustration of Northern Ireland’s Unionists.
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Pakistan Bans Radical Islamist Party Following Clashes
Pakistan announced Wednesday that it would ban radical Islamist party Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan after its supporters clashed with law enforcement for a third day, leaving seven dead and injuring more than 300 police.Pakistan Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said the party was being banned under Rule 11-B of the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997.”I have approved a proposal sent by the government of Punjab to ban the TLP,” Ahmed said. “We have also warned those who are funding the TLP.”The government will deal with an iron fist with those who take the law into their own hands.”The announcement came hours after Pakistani Rangers cleared major routes following clashes with TLP supporters who were blocking the roads.Ahmed added that Rangers would remain in all major cities of the country during Ramadan to maintain peace.The TLP launched a countrywide protest Monday after the arrest of its leader, Saad Rizvi. He was arrested before the April 20 deadline that TLP had given to the government regarding the expulsion of the French ambassador over the publishing of cartoons in France of the Prophet Muhammad.
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South African Telecom App Helps Gender-Based Violence Survivors
Jeanine, 53, a South African woman who did not want to use her family name for this interview, was in an abusive relationship for two years. It got worse when her boyfriend lost work because of the coronavirus pandemic and took his frustrations out on her.Jeanine recalled in anguish those dark moments of her relationship, not knowing what to do.“He was mean and nasty and cruel and wanted to hurt me, physically, emotionally, verbally, mentally. They make you financially dependent on them. Then you think, ‘Where am I going to go? There is nowhere to go. What do I do?’ ”To help Jeanine and other survivors of gender-based violence, the South African telecom company Vodacom, along with its British parent company Vodafone and the charity Hestia, launched a mobile application, Bright Sky, in November.Vodacom’s chief officer of corporate affairs, Takalani Netshitenzhe, said Bright Sky provides a wide range of services.The app has a suite of 12 services, or “functionalities,” Netshitenzhe said, that will enable users to determine whether they are in abusive relationships. The app also offers emergency services, including geolocation that will pinpoint a user’s location and the nearest facility where help can be obtained.Avoiding stigmaVodacom said Bright Sky allows users to get help without the stigma of having to ask for it. It said the app has been downloaded about 1,000 times in South Africa, helping many women like Jeanine.“What I like about this app, it’s the two areas where you can get advice for yourself, or someone else,” she said. “It gives you a whole lot of scenarios. It explains what happens. It gives you a number where you can phone. There’s lots of information.”The app comes in three South African languages – English, Sesotho and isiZulu.South African police say reported annual sexual assaults have been rising since 2016 and surpassed 53,000 last year.Activists blame the pandemic lockdowns and say the actual number of assaults, including those that go unreported, are much higher.
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South African Telecom App Helps Gender-Based Violence Survivors
South African mobile communications company Vodacom South Africa, with British parent company Vodafone and charity Hestia, has launched a free mobile phone application to support targets of gender-based violence, which has soared during the coronavirus pandemic. The application, “Bright Sky,” provides information for people to identify gender-based violence and get counseling and emergency help. Franco Puglisi reports from Johannesburg.Producer: Rod James. Camera: Franco Puglisi.
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South Africa Pauses J&J Vaccination Campaign After US Expresses Concerns
South Africa’s health minister says the nation will still hit its COVID-19 vaccination targets, even as it pauses the use of the Johnson & Johnson shot amid concerns over blood clots. South Africa’s mass-inoculation campaign was dealt the setback following word that six women in the United States developed a blood clotting disorder after receiving the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. One person died. Nearly 7 million doses have been administered in the United States. This is now the second time that South Africa has had to shift gears in its vaccination campaign. In February, just days after receiving its first shipment of vaccines, authorities jettisoned plans to use the AstraZeneca product amid reports that it did not protect against the variant of the coronavirus that is most prevalent in South Africa. The coronavirus causes the COVID-19 respiratory disease. And now this, said Dr. Zweli Mkhize, the nation’s health minister. So far, he said, more than 290,000 South African health workers have been given the vaccine, with no reported blood clots. Nevertheless, he told officials, South Africa will pause the program until everyone is sure the vaccine is safe. As COVID-19 Epicenter, South Africa to Receive 41 Million Vaccine DosesSouth Africa lauds arrival of tens of millions of doses; announces alcohol ban over major holiday weekend “Based on their advice, we’ve determined to voluntarily suspend our rollout until the causal relationship between the development of clots and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is sufficiently interrogated,” he said to parliamentarians via webinar on Wednesday. “… I call for calm and patience as we ensure that we continue to be properly guided by science and ensuring the safety of our people as we roll out the vaccine campaign.” Mkhize says he hopes deliberations on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine’s safety will last only a few days and will not lead to complete withdrawal of the product. He says the news about the vaccine is disappointing as mortality rates from the coronavirus appear to be declining, and South Africa will soon receive a total of 30 million doses of the two-shot Pfizer vaccine. South Africa has more than 1.5 million confirmed cases, giving it the highest burden on the continent. But, he said, the bigger battle — the one he hasn’t been able to discuss until now — is the behind-the-scenes fight South African officials have waged with pharmaceutical giants. Both Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, he said, have asked for what he described as “difficult and unreasonable” guarantees from South Africa and other nations. “I can also assure you that we have not been sleeping on the job,” he said. “The fact that we previously did not disclose before parliament the blow-by-blow details of the intense negotiations is because we’re prioritizing the closing of those agreements in order to secure the vaccines we require for us to reach population immunity.”
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An Existential Choice? France’s Communist Party Eyes Presidential Race
France’s once-powerful Communist Party is fielding its first presidential candidate in years for the 2022 elections, a choice some consider vital for its very survival. It’s one of Western Europe’s last relevant Communist parties, whose latest move paradoxically risks further fracturing an already weakened French left. The French Communist Party’s presidential hopeful is Fabien Roussel, a former journalist with a reputation as a bon vivant and amateur fisherman, who has been at its helm since 2018. He got strong backing at a party meeting last weekend, although the movement’s base must still endorse his candidacy next month. A new poll finds France’s Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel would score only a tiny percentage in the next presidential vote. But some say a run is key if the party is to stay relevant. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)Announcing his run Sunday, Roussel said he wanted to offer the French people a program of hope — not only in defeating the coronavirus pandemic but also unemployment, poverty and inequality.
France’s century-old Communist Party was once a major political force. In the 1970s, it was the country’s most powerful leftist party, with about 20% popular support. It also governed a raft of working-class towns around Paris nicknamed the Red Belt, with streets named after communist icons like Marx and Lenin.
The French Communist Party headquarters in northeastern Paris, designed by leading Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1965, when the party was a major player in French political life. (Lisa Bryant/VOA)Today, it’s a shadow of its former self — although it’s among a handful of Communist parties across Europe with deputies in the European Parliament. Here in France, center- and far-right candidates have pierced the Paris-area “Red Belt” and the Communists now control just one French department. FILE – French Communist Party (PCF) deputy Marie-George Buffet attends a session of questions to the Government at the French National Assembly in Paris, Apr. 14, 2020.The party’s last presidential hopeful, Marie-George Buffet, got less than 2% of the vote in 2007. Roussel was partly elected on his call for another run. Political analyst Jean Petaux says Roussel’s move is almost an existential decision for the party. If the Communists don’t field a candidate they risk disappearing altogether. If they do, they risk another humiliating defeat.
FILE – French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a press conference, in Paris, France, Feb. 25, 2021.An IFOP poll Sunday found President Emmanuel Macron and far-right leader Marine Le Pen leading in voter intentions for next year’s elections. It found no leftist candidate would score more 13% — and Roussel only capturing 2.5%. FILE – Leader of France’s National Rally Party Marine Le Pen speaks during a news conference in Milan, Italy, May 18, 2019.Analyst Petaux says it’s a paradox, since the coronavirus crisis has left some French hungry for the kinds of messages the Communist Party has long embraced — like the return of the protector state. Yet even among the working class, the party has lost its shine. Many have turned instead to Le Pen’s far-right National Rally.
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160 Ethiopian Migrants Stranded in Yemen Repatriated
One hundred and sixty Ethiopian migrants stranded in Yemen for months in dire conditions were flown home from Yemen to Ethiopia on Tuesday, according to the International Organization for Migration.The migrants were returned home one day after at least 42 people died when a boat operated by smugglers capsized in the Gulf of Aden on its way to Djibouti. The boat was reportedly transporting some 60 migrants, including more than a dozen children, who were escaping conflict in Yemen. The IOM says tens of thousands of impoverished migrants from countries like Somalia and Ethiopia make the perilous journey to Yemen every year in search of work in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. IOM spokeswoman Angela Wells says many never make it across the border and find themselves stranded in Yemen. She says more than 32,000 migrants, most from Ethiopia, are currently trapped in the country. Ethiopian migrants leave an IOM shelter before they were flown back to Ethiopia, in Aden, Yemen, April 13, 2021.”Many of them are in precarious situations, sleeping rough without shelter or access to any services,” Wells said. “Others are in detention or are being held by smugglers. The conditions of migrants stranded in Yemen have become so tragic that many feel they have no option but to rely on smugglers to return home.” Migrants pay smugglers large sums of money for dangerous journeys home that too often end in tragedy. Despite the risks, desperate migrants continue to test their luck. At least 20 people drowned last month en route to Djibouti, according to Wells. “Since May 2020, over 11,000 migrants have returned to the Horn of Africa on dangerous boat journeys such as these, aided by smugglers,” she said. “IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Return program provides a lifeline to those stranded in Yemen. We call on all governments along the route to come together and support our efforts to allow migrants safe and dignified opportunities to travel home.” Since October, the IOM has registered more than 6,000 migrants in Yemen who need help getting home. The agency says thousands of other undocumented migrants are waiting for their nationality to be verified and travel documents provided so they too can return.
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US Can’t Justify Keeping Troops in Afghanistan , Biden Says
President Joe Biden is set to tell Americans on Wednesday that he is withdrawing all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 because the country cannot justify staying there two decades after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.WATCH LIVE at 2:15 pm EDT “We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago,” Biden says in excerpts of his address released by the White House. “That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021.”“We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, expecting a different result,” Biden said.The U.S. leader said he is now the fourth president to oversee an American troop presence in Afghanistan — two Republicans and two Democrats — and vowed to not pass on the responsibility to a fifth.“After consulting closely with our allies and partners, with our military leaders and intelligence professionals, with our diplomats and development experts, and with Congress and (Vice President Kamala Harris), I have concluded that it is time to end America’s longest war. It is time for American troops to come home,” he says.He said the U.S. would continue its diplomatic and humanitarian work in Afghanistan and support the Kabul government.Biden said the U.S. and its allies would support training and help equip nearly 300,000 Afghan forces, as well as peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban fighters.Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Brussels Wednesday to discuss the withdrawal plans with NATO allies, and said the United States remains committed to Afghanistan’s future.“Together we have achieved the goals that we set out to achieve, and now it is time to bring our forces home,” Blinken said.FILE – U.S. soldiers load onto a Chinook helicopter to head out on a mission in Afghanistan, Jan. 15, 2019.Biden’s decision will keep 3,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 deadline that had been agreed to in a deal Washington negotiated in Doha last year with the Taliban when Donald Trump was president.Taliban reacts
The Taliban on Wednesday said it wants all foreign forces out of Afghanistan “on the date specified in the Doha Agreement,” and that “if the agreement is adhered to, a pathway to addressing the remaining issues will also be found.”Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid added on Twitter, “If the agreement is breached and foreign forces fail to exit our country on the specified date, problems will certainly be compounded and those (who) failed to comply with the agreement will be held liable,”News of the U.S troop withdrawal plans had already prompted the Taliban to cancel its participation in a 10-day peace conference between Afghanistan’s warring sides later this month in Turkey.
Meanwhile, a pessimistic U.S. intelligence report predicted a peace deal is unlikely in the next year and the Taliban — an enemy of the democratically elected government of Afghanistan — will make battlefield gains.“The Afghan government will struggle to hold the Taliban at bay if the coalition withdraws support,” said an unclassified version of the report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.Republicans react
Several prominent senators of the opposition Republican party are assailing Biden’s troop withdrawal decision.The Biden administration “plans to turn tail and abandon the fight in Afghanistan,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement. “Precipitously withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a grave mistake.”“A full withdrawal from Afghanistan is dumber than dirt and devilishly dangerous,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally. “President Biden will have, in essence, cancelled an insurance policy against another 9/11.”Biden’s decision is winning praise from those who believe the United States is no closer to winning the war today than it was more than a decade ago or would be in the future.“It has been harder in Washington to end a war than it is to start one,” said Quincy Institute Chief Executive Officer Lora Lumpe, a veteran humanitarian disarmament campaigner. “With this decision Biden has proven his ability to make the right calls even when they’re extremely difficult. The White House should be applauded for taking this off ramp from the 20-year-long war.”Ken Bredemeier and National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin contributed to this report from Washington, Ayaz Gul from Islamabad.
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Haiti’s Prime Minister Resigns Following Months of Unrest
Haiti’s President has accepted the resignation of his Prime Minister, Joseph Jouthe, who announced on Twitter early Wednesday he would be stepping down, without saying why.
“I gave my letter of resignation to the President of the Republic, SEM @moisejovenel. It has been an honor to serve my country as prime minister. I thank the members of my government, our technical and financial partners for their collaboration. God Bless Haiti!” he tweeted. J’ai remis ce soir ma démission au Président de la République, SEM @moisejovenel. Ça a été un honneur de servir mon pays comme Premier ministre. Je remercie les membres de mon Gouvernement, les partenaires techniques et financiers pour leur collaboration.Que Dieu bénisse Haïti!— Joseph Jouthe (@JoutheJoseph) April 14, 2021
President Jovenel Moise responded an hour later on Twitter that the resignation will help find a solution to the acute insecurity problem that has saddled the government for months. Kidnappings have surged in Haiti as gangs broaden their targets for ransom. Just this month, a group of church officials were kidnapped during a live Easter Sunday broadcast.
“The resignation of the government, which I have accepted will allow me to address the insecurity that is calling out to be handled and pursue discussions that will help us find the consensus that is necessary for political and institutional stability in our country,” Moise tweeted.
La démission du Gouvernement, que j’ai acceptée, permettra d’adresser le problème criant de l’insécurité et poursuivre les discussions en vue de dégager le consensus nécessaire à la stabilité politique et institutionnelle de notre pays. Le ministre Claude Joseph est nommé PM a.i— Président Jovenel Moïse (@moisejovenel) April 14, 2021Foreign Minister Claude Joseph will replace Jouthe as acting prime minister, the president announced. Joseph becomes the 6th prime minister to serve the Moise government.
Jouthe’s role in Moise government
Before being named prime minister in March 2020, Jouthe served as minister of the Environment under then-Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant in September 2018, and then as minister of the Economy and Finance in September 2019. Jouthe had tried to resign on March 10 after a council meeting, but President Moise refused to accept his resignation. Le Nouvelliste newspaper reported at the time the decision was related to what Jouthe perceived to be a lack of “cohesion” within the government and that the prime minister was ready to step down at any moment, if it helped “enhance government cohesion.”
Jouthe has been at odds with other members of the cabinet who have openly opposed and acted against his orders on issues pertaining to security and justice.
Who is Claude Joseph? Claude Joseph, Haiti’s acting prime ministerNewly-appointed Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph is Haiti’s 164th Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Affairs. Before being named foreign minister in March 2020, he held posts as Haitian Ambassador to Argentina, and charge d’affaires at the Haitian embassy in Spain. Prior to working in politics, Joseph was a professor at the University of Connecticut and at Long Island University.
Under normal circumstances, the Parliament would need to approve his nomination, but the legislative body is not functioning due to a failure to organize elections to renew the terms of lawmakers. Those elections are now scheduled for September of this year. The current vacuum gives the president latitude to make unilateral, uncontested cabinet appointments.
Uptick in crime
Cabinet changes Wednesday follow a spike in kidnappings during recent days that saw Protestant pastors and church officials kidnapped at gunpoint during a live broadcast on Easter Sunday, the abduction for ransom of Catholic priests and nuns, and the killing of a prominent businessman in broad daylight during a failed kidnapping attempt.
Jouthe addressed the kidnappings Tuesday, describing the killing of businessman Patrick Thebaud as “an earthquake” that hit the capital.
“The police must increase its presence on the streets to dissuade these thugs from committing despicable crimes. We must take measures to reassure our citizens,” Jouthe said during a press conference in Port-au-Prince. He added that the cleanup operation within the national police continues.
“The police is a reflection on society. Just as there are engineers, agronomists, journalists who are defrocked [corrupt]—we find at all levels of societies people who are committing crimes. That doesn’t mean the society as a whole is bad. We have a lot of good people in Haiti, too,” Jouthe noted.
Acting Prime Minister Joseph has not yet commented on his new appointment. Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince contributed to this story
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EU Makes Deal with Pfizer-BioNTech for 50 Million More Vaccine Doses
European Commission President Urusula Von der Leyen Wednesday announced the European Union has reached a deal with pharmaceutical partners Pfizer-BioNTech for 50 million additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine, to be delivered in the coming months.
At a news briefing in Brussels, Von der Leyen said the new deal means the EU will have obtained 250 million doses. She said the bloc is negotiating a third contract with the partners for 1.8 billion doses to be delivered in 2022 and 2023.
She said the deal will “not only include the production of vaccines, but also the essential components. All of that will be based in the European Union.”
Von der Leyen said 100 million doses have been administered in the 27-nation EU bloc already, saying this is “a milestone we can be proud of.”
But, noting issues with AstraZeneca, and this week, the Johnson & Johnson shots, the European Commission president said many factors can disrupt the planned delivery schedules of vaccines.
She said, “It is therefore important to act swiftly, anticipate, and adjust whenever it is possible, and we are doing everything in our power to support Europe’s vaccination rollout.”
Several European nations suspended administering the AstraZeneca vaccine after reports of rare cases of blood clots. Tuesday, U.S. health regulators recommended pausing inoculations with Johnson & Johnson’s product because of similar reports.
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‘We Need a Voice at Peace Talks,’ Afghanistan’s Female Journalists Say
Female journalists in Afghanistan are calling on Kabul to include their representative at peace talks to ensure media and women’s rights are protected. Samsama Sirat has more in this report.
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St. Vincent Seeks Water, Funds as Volcano Keeps Erupting
Leaders of volcano-wracked St. Vincent said Tuesday that water is running short as heavy ash contaminates supplies, and they estimated that the eastern Caribbean island will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption of La Soufriere. Between 16,000 to 20,000 people have been evacuated from the island’s northern region, where the exploding volcano is located, with more than 3,000 of them staying at more than 80 government shelters. Dozens of people stood in lines on Tuesday for water or to retrieve money sent by friends and family abroad. Among those standing in one crowd was retired police officer Paul Smart. “The volcano caught us with our pants down, and it’s very devastating,” he said. “No water, lots of dust in our home. We thank God we are alive, but we need more help at this moment.” Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said in a press conference on local station NBC Radio that St. Vincent will need hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the eruption but did not give any details. He added that no casualties have been reported since the first big blast from the volcano early Friday. “We have to try and keep that record,” he said. Gonsalves said some people have refused to leave communities closest to the volcano and urged them to evacuate. Falling ash and pyroclastic flows have destroyed crops and contaminated water reservoirs. Garth Saunders, minister of the island’s water and sewer authority, noting that some communities have not yet received water. “The windward (eastern) coast is our biggest challenge today,” he said during the press conference of efforts to deploy water trucks. “What we are providing is a finite amount. We will run out at some point.” The prime minister said people in some shelters need food and water, and he thanked neighboring nations for shipments of items including cots, respiratory masks and water bottles and tanks. In addition, the World Bank has disbursed $20 million to the government of St. Vincent as part of an interest-free catastrophe financing program. Adam Billing, a retired police officer who lived and tended to his crops on land near the volcano, said he had more than 3 acres of plantains, tannias, yams and a variety of fruits and estimates he lost more than $9,000 worth of crops. “Everything that (means) livelihood is gone. Everything,” said Billing, who was evacuated. “We have to look at the next couple of months as it’s not going to be a quick fix from the government.” The volcano, which had seen a low-level eruption since December, experienced the first of several major explosions on Friday morning, and volcanologists say activity could continue for weeks.Another explosion was reported Tuesday morning, sending another massive plume of ash into the air. It came on the anniversary of the 1979 eruption, the last one produced by the volcano until Friday morning. A previous eruption in 1902 killed some 1,600 people. “It’s still a pretty dangerous volcano,” said Richard Robertson with the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center. “It can still cause serious damage.”
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Blinken Meeting with NATO Allies as US Sets Afghanistan Withdrawal
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to meet Wednesday in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and top diplomats from several U.S. allies as the United States launches it plans to withdraw forces from Afghanistan.U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is also participating in a meeting that includes German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi DiMaio, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.The Biden administration ended months of speculation about U.S. plans in Afghanistan by saying Tuesday it would withdraw remaining troops by September 11. That date is the anniversary of the 2001 attacks that saw al-Qaida terrorists hijack passenger planes and crash them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC.The attacks prompted the United States to topple the Taliban in Afghanistan in an effort that eventually grew to include more than 130,000 troops from 50 NATO and partner nations. Since 2015, the remaining forces, which now number fewer than 10,000, have been tasked with training and assisting Afghan security forces.U.S. officials have said the decision to leave Afghanistan would be taken in conjunction with NATO allies.Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, left, meets with United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, in Brussels, April 13, 2021.Blinken began his visit to Brussels on Tuesday with a focus on Ukraine, saying the United States supports an autonomous Ukraine, as Western allies watch a Russian buildup of forces along the border between the two countries.“The U.S. stands firmly behind the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine,” Blinken said, adding that he would discuss Ukraine’s “Euro-Atlantic aspirations” this week. The White House said President Joe Biden also “emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” during a phone call Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.“The president voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions,” the White House said in a readout of the conversation, adding Biden “proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia.”The Kremlin is overseeing the largest movement of Russian troops, tanks and missiles along the Ukrainian border since the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, according to Ukrainian and U.S. officials. Russia has conducted at least three military training exercises adjacent to the Ukrainian border since mid-March.“This meeting is extremely timely given what is happening along the Ukrainian border with Russia,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said just before talks with Blinken. The Ukrainian foreign minister expressed confidence that Western countries would also act to temper Russian aggression, which he said would force Ukraine to pay too high a price if left unchecked.Two U.S. warships are set to arrive in the Black Sea this week amid an escalation in fighting in eastern Ukraine between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed troops.The conflict began when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and has since killed some 14,000 people, according to Ukraine’s government.Blinken spoke with Stoltenberg about the situation Monday and said there was mutual agreement that “Russia must end its dangerous military buildup and ongoing aggression along Ukraine’s borders.” Stoltenberg expressed support for Ukraine as he spoke alongside Kuleba on Tuesday, saying “NATO stands with Ukraine.””Russia’s considerable military buildup is unjustified, unexplained and deeply concerning,” Stoltenberg said. “Russia must end this military buildup in and around Ukraine, stop its provocations and de-escalate immediately.”Kuleba said Ukraine “does not want war” and is “devoted to diplomatic and political means of settling the conflict.”But while highlighting the support of NATO, Kuleba also said, “Should Russia take any reckless move or start a new spiral of violence, it will be costly in all senses.”
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Biden to Pull All US Troops Out of Afghanistan Before September 11
President Joe Biden is set to announce in a speech Wednesday that the United States will withdraw all of its forces from Afghanistan before this year’s 20th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks that triggered America’s longest war. VOA’s Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine has the story.Camera: Ahmadullah Archiwal
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