Cameroonians are mourning the death of Christian Wiyghan Tumi, a Catholic cardinal who was well known for advocating for peace in the ongoing Anglophone separatist crisis in the country. The 90-year-old cleric was abducted for 24 hours by the separatist fighters in November for asking them to disarm. The Roman Catholic Church said Tumi died in the coastal city of Douala on Saturday. Tumi gained popularity when he advised the long-serving, 88-year-old Cameroonian President Paul Biya against running for presidential elections but Biya refused. Following the announcement of Tumi’s death, local stations such as Equinoxe TV, Royal FM and Magic FM broadcast some of his sermons, which were aimed at rooting out corruption in the country.In a sermon Tumi gave in 2010, while he was archbishop of Douala, he said any Christian who has siphoned off state funds should refund the people’s money. He said Catholic teachings oppose theft. Those who have stolen government money, he said, must confess and refund the stolen funds if they intend to be accepted into God’s heavenly kingdom. His message resonated beyond the confines of the church. Moussa Oumarou, the coordinator of the Council of Imams and Muslim Dignitaries of Cameroon, says Tumi was influential in promoting dialogue between rival religious groups and churches in Cameroon. Oumarou says the council is saddened by the cardinal’s death. He calls Tumi an apostle of peace who stood for interreligious dialogue to eliminate tensions between Cameroon’s Christian denominations and Muslims. He says Tumi’s legacy of love for the country, humanity and peace should be preserved. Tumi was abducted by Anglophone separatist fighters in Cameroon’s crisis-prone Northwest region in November and released after 24 hours. Separatists claimed responsibility for the abduction on social media. They said they were angry over the cleric’s suggestion that fighters should disarm and work toward a peaceful resolution in the restive western regions. Tumi accused both the military and separatist fighters of human rights abuses against civilians, burning public infrastructure, looting, rape and sexual violence in the region in media appearances. He also asked the government to withdraw its military from separatist areas and called for a cease-fire to end the separatist crisis. The governor of the English-speaking Northwest region, Deben Tchoffo, said the cardinal was a peace crusader. “He has been longing for peace and he was kidnapped when he tried to bring the message of peace to the people. He sent a report to the government suggesting that the government should continue to stretch a hand of fellowship to the young [Anglophone separatist fighters] who are still in the bush, asking them [Anglophone separatist fighters] to come out of the bush and join the other Cameroonians to rebuild this nation,” said Tchoffo.Before Cameroon’s October 2018 presidential election, Tumi gave interviews in which he asked long-serving Cameroonian President Paul Biya to give up power. Tumi said Biya, who was 86 in 2018, was too old to lead the country successfully. The Biya administration strongly criticized Tumi and called him a controversial religious leader. Andrew Nkea, archbishop of the Bamenda archdiocese in the English-speaking Northwest region said Tumi was a courageous prelate who defended the rights of the marginalized. “We remember Cardinal Tumi as a fearless apostle. He is a man who stood for the truth and was completely unwavering when it came to matters of justice and of truth,” he said.Nkea said Tumi educated hundreds of street children, fed the poor and provided funds to treat the sick. Tumi was appointed cardinal in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. He was born in Cameroon’s English-speaking northwestern village of Kikaikelaki in 1930. The Catholic church in Cameroon says Tumi spoke at least nine languages fluently.
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Month: April 2021
Ethiopia: Eritrean Troops Pulling Out of Tigray
Ethiopian authorities said on Saturday that Eritrean troops had started withdrawing from Tigray, where they have been fighting on the side of Ethiopian forces in a war against the region’s fugitive leaders.The Eritreans “have now started to evacuate” Tigray and Ethiopian forces have “taken over guarding the national border,” Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.It wasn’t clear how many Eritrean troops had left, and some in Tigray asserted that the Eritreans weren’t leaving at all. The region’s leaders have charged that Eritrean troops sometimes have dressed in Ethiopian military uniforms.Ethiopia’s government faces intense pressure to end the Tigray war, which started in November when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deployed troops there following an attack on federal military facilities. The region’s fugitive leaders have not recognized Abiy’s authority since a national election was postponed last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.The G-7 group of nations on Friday issued a strong statement calling for the “swift, unconditional and verifiable” withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Tigray after Abiy said last week the Eritreans had agreed to go.That statement also urged “the establishment of a clear, inclusive political process that is acceptable to all Ethiopians, including those in Tigray, and which leads to credible elections and a wider national reconciliation process.”Protracted warThe International Crisis Group, in an analysis released Friday, warned of the risk of a protracted war, citing an entrenched Tigrayan resistance combined with Ethiopian and Eritrean authorities’ determination to keep Tigray’s fugitive leaders from power.”That would further devastate Tigray and greatly harm Ethiopia, the linchpin state in the Horn of Africa,” the report said. “With a decisive battlefield win for either side a remote prospect, parties should consider a cessation of hostilities that allows for expanded humanitarian aid access. This practical first step would reduce civilian suffering and ideally pave the way for a return to dialogue down the road.”There are increasing reports of atrocities such as massacres and rapes in the war, and concern is growing about a lack of food and medical care in Tigray, home to 6 million of Ethiopia’s more than 110 million people.The United States has characterized some abuses in Tigray as “ethnic cleansing,” charges dismissed by Ethiopian authorities as unfounded. Officials in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, haven’t cited a death toll in the war.The United Nations and an Ethiopian rights agency announced last week they had agreed to carry out a joint investigation into abuses in Tigray, where fighting persists as government troops hunt down fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the party that dominated national politics for decades before the rise of Abiy.
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UK Arrests Over 100 in Protests Against Policing Bill
British police said Sunday that 107 people were arrested in London during demonstrations against government plans to increase police powers. Thousands marched in towns and cities across the country on Saturday to protest the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, defying coronavirus restrictions. Police said the “Kill the Bill” protests were mostly peaceful and most of those taking part observed social distancing. They said a small number of people were intent on causing disruptions, and that those arrested committed alleged offenses including violent disorder, assaulting police officers and breaches of coronavirus legislation. The force said 10 officers had been injured, though none of the injuries was believed to be serious. The proposed legislation would give police in England and Wales more powers to impose conditions on non-violent protests, including those deemed too noisy or a nuisance, with those convicted liable to fines or jail terms. A recent protest against the new police legislation in Bristol, southwest England, descended into widespread violence that saw police officers injured, a police station damaged and police vehicles torched.
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Pope Francis Calls for Access to Care and Vaccines for All
Pope Francis celebrated a second Easter as the coronavirus pandemic shows no signs of easing in Italy and has again forced a nationwide lockdown. The pope urged access to care and to vaccines for everyone, especially in low-income countries. He also decried “too many wars” that are still raging in the world. Pope Francis celebrated Easter mass with around 200 people in Saint Peter’s Basilica and then delivered his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” message and blessing on the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. The pope offers such messages which means “to the city [of Rome] and to the world,” during Easter and Christmas. In his message, the pope said, there are still too many wars and too much violence in the world today. He prayed that God may help people overcome the mindset of war. The Easter message, the pope said, does not offer a mirage or reveal a magic formula. It does not point to an escape from the difficult situation the world is experiencing, he said. The pope added that the pandemic is still spreading, while the social and economic crisis remains severe, especially for people who are economically marginalized. Nonetheless, he said, it is unfortunate that military spending and armed conflict continue during the pandemic. The pope said: “This is the scandal of today.” The risen Christ, the pope said, is hope for all those who continue to suffer from the pandemic, both the sick and those who have lost a loved one. He prayed that God may give them comfort and sustain the valiant efforts of doctors and nurses. The pope stressed how everyone and especially those most vulnerable must have access to the necessary care. He said COVID-19 vaccines are an essential tool in these times in the fight against the spread of the pandemic. He urged the international community, to join in a spirit of global responsibility, to commit in overcoming delays in the distribution of vaccines and to facilitate their distribution, especially in lower-income countries. The pandemic, the pope said, has unfortunately dramatically increased the numbers of vulnerable people and has pushed thousands into desperate conditions. He expressed the hope that those who find themselves in poor conditions may find hope once again. Pope Francis’ thoughts turned to those who have lost their jobs and face serious economic difficulties. He also mentioned the many young people who were forced to go extended periods without being able to attend school or university or without being able to spend time with their friends. Experiencing real personal relationships, not just virtual relationships, the pope stressed, is something that everyone needs. As is customary in his Easter message Pope Francis mentioned countries that are of particular concern in the world. The pope encouraged the people of Haiti not to let themselves be discouraged by the difficulties being faced. He said he was close to the people of Haiti and said he was praying for their problems to be definitively resolved. Pope Francis also expressed his praise to the young people of Myanmar. He commended their commitment for a democratic change and making their voices heard peacefully. He hoped for an end to the conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya and wished that people would be able to find peace so that war-weary peoples may begin the reconstruction of their countries. The pope also called for peace in several conflict areas in Africa, including the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia and the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique.
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Bulgarians Vote for New Parliament
Bulgarians began voting in a parliamentary election on Sunday that will decide whether long-serving Prime Minister Boyko Borissov wins a new four-year mandate despite persistent concerns about corruption in the European Union’s poorest member state. Opinion polls suggest Borissov’s center-right GERB will again be the largest party, with 28-29% of the vote, but will fall short of a majority and may struggle to build a stable coalition in a more fractured parliament. That could hamper Bulgaria’s ability to tap effectively the EU’s $884 billion Recovery Fund to help rebuild the bloc’s economy after the coronavirus pandemic. Borissov, 61, an ex-fireman in power almost without a break since 2009, has sought to showcase his successes in modernizing Bulgaria’s creaking infrastructure during a low-key campaign held as COVID-19 hit the country. “We showed what we have achieved,” Borissov said after casting his ballot, thanking his allies in the conservative European People’s Party for their support. He also thanked the European Commission, the EU executive, for 1.3 million additional COVID-19 vaccine shots, which the country will receive in the second quarter. More than 6.7 million Bulgarians are eligible to vote, but pollsters expect a low turnout because of voters’ concerns over COVID-19 and a slow vaccine roll-out. Bulgaria recorded an average of about 4,000 new coronavirus cases daily in March and has the second highest coronavirus-related death rate in the EU after Hungary, according to scientific online publication Our World in Data. Although hospitals are full, the government eased some lockdown restrictions before the vote, allowing restaurants to serve customers outdoors and cinemas and gyms to operate at 30% capacity. Kindergartens will reopen on Monday. Corruption Borissov’s government has presided over a 36% increase in the average monthly salary to $882, has kept public debt low, and secured entry to the ‘waiting room’ for joining the euro currency. But its failure to tackle endemic corruption and reform the judiciary brought thousands of protesters onto the streets for months during 2020. The protesters accused Borissov of cozying up to local oligarchs and funneling EU aid to businesses close to GERB, allegations which he denies. President Rumen Radev, who is a critic of Borissov but has a largely ceremonial role, says Bulgaria needs new faces and ideas. The main opposition Socialists campaigned on restoring trust in state institutions and reducing poverty but have been hampered by internal squabbles and are expected to win 20-22% of the vote. An anti-elite party led by TV host Slavi Trifonov looks set to finish third with 13%. Trifonov says he opposes any coalition with mainstream parties, raising the specter of a deadlocked parliament if his party performs well. Trifonov’s party is closely followed by the ethnic Turkish MRF party. Democratic Bulgaria and Stand Up! Mafia Out!, boosted by the protests, are also expected to win seats. GERB’s coalition partner, the nationalist VMRO party, is close to the 4% threshold, polls show. Polls will close at 1700 UTC.
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Kosovo Vote to Elect New President Stymied
Kosovo’s parliament failed to confirm a new president Saturday, despite backing from the reformist camp that swept this year’s elections, with politicians resuming the vote Sunday after a night of deadlock.Albin Kurti and his leftist movement Vetevendosje claimed more than 50% of February’s vote, promising to eradicate corruption in the poor nation that has been undermined by political instability.The election of Kurti’s candidate — law professor Vjosa Osmani — failed to take place after the opposition and Serbian minority boycotted the vote leaving the prime minister and his candidate short of the 80 out of 160 members of parliament or MPs needed.“Due to the lack of a quorum, the session … will continue tomorrow,” parliament speaker Glauk Konjufca announced after several hours of stalemate.Under the constitution failure to elect Osmani, 38, would see parliament dissolved and legislative elections held with 45 days.It would be the sixth general election in the former Serbian province since declaring independence in 2008, in a move still not recognized by Serbia.Ahead of parliament’s adjournment Kurti and Osmani were able to count on 58 votes plus several MPs from minor parties.U.S. ambassador Philip Kosnett urged all MPs to take responsibility and ensure a quorum.Around 300,000 people voted for Osmani personally in the February polls, a similar number to what former president Ibrahim Rugova — considered the father of the nation — had previously won.She stood in as president for several months for Hashim Thaci who was charged last November with war crimes.
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Russia to Build Airport in Laos, Train Armed Forces in Sign of Strengthening Military Ties
Russian troops have been clearing an area of around 500 hectares of unexploded ordnance, or UXO, in Laos’ Xieng Khouang province with plans to build a new airport and military facility as part of an expansion of military aid to the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, according to Lao officials.A Russian demining team has been working with Lao counterparts to clear the UXO since Dec. 5, provincial officials recently told RFA’s Lao Service, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the plans with the media.“The Russians came here to build a military airport on the other side of the Plain of Jars,” one of the officials said, referring to the archeological landscape in the Xieng Khouang Plateau that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019.“They’re currently clearing the UXO and then they’re going to upgrade the existing airport, making it larger and more beautiful.”Another Xieng Khouang official, who is a provincial military officer, provided further details about the new airport to RFA.“The Russian and Lao armed forces together are building this new airport that will be larger than the existing one and will be divided in two different zones,” he said.“One zone is for Lao and Russian military use and the other is for civilian use.”The officer said that the Russian military intends to provide substantial assistance to Laos going forward, including with training and developing the latter’s armed forces.“Some work on the new airport has already begun, but the actual construction will not start anytime soon because the UXO clearance will take some time,” he said.“Once the UXO has been cleared, we’ll lay underground powerlines. We’ll do our work step by step.”Besides the airport, the Russians intend to expand military cooperation with Laos that will include building a facility to train Lao troops on how to use Russian military equipment, according to a report by Russian news agency Sputniknews.com.A former senior government official in Laos told RFA that the two sides are expanding cooperation in line with an agreement they have in place on security and defense, as well as the new airport.“In the agreements, most cooperation would include training and teaching military techniques to the Lao armed forces,” said the former official, who also declined to be named.“We had more cooperation and more Russian military presence in Laos during the Soviet era,” he added.RFA spoke with an official at the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs who claimed not to know anything about the Russian military aid projects.Increased cooperationIn 2018, Laos ordered four jet fighters and 10 Yak-130 tanks from Russia following a state visit to Moscow a year earlier by Laos’ then-Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, during which the two nations signed a military cooperation agreement. Four of the tanks were later delivered to the Lao Ministry of Defense by Russia’s Rosoboronexport Company and took part in a 2019 parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Lao People’s Armed Forces in the capital, Vientiane.In April 2019, Russia’s TASS news agency reported that the Russian and Lao defense ministries had agreed on the areas of expanding military cooperation between their two countries on the sidelines of the Moscow International Conference on International Security, citing Lao Defense Minister Chansamone Chanyalath. The report did not provide details of the agreement.In June last year, Laos unveiled plans to build statues to honor two unnamed Soviet pilots who died while serving in the Southeast Asian country, angering citizens who said the $775,000 earmarked for the project could be better spent on recovering from the coronavirus pandemic. The pilots were in Laos as part of Moscow’s military presence in the fellow communist country between 1975 and 1992 and are believed to have been involved in training pilots in Laos’ air force. An official from the Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism told RFA at the time that the pilots were killed in a crash over Xieng Khouang province while on a practice mission.According to a report on the Lao Defense Ministry website, Chansamone met with Russian Ambassador to Laos Vladimir Kalinin at the Russian Embassy in Vientiane on Dec. 29 and thanked him for Russia’s gift of a hangar to store tanks in Xieng Khouang province. Chansamone also expressed gratitude for joint military exercises held in the province in 2019, Russia’s assistance with UXO clearance, its work in upgrading the airport in Xieng Khouang, and for building an office of the Russian military representative in the province. The meeting took place a week after Russia’s military donated an air force training center to Laos.Source of aidMoscow was a major arms supplier to Laos after its communist government, closely associated with the Soviet-aligned communist government in Vietnam, was established in 1975. According to a January report in The Diplomat, recent aid to Laos highlights the country’s importance in Russia’s desire for broader defense cooperation in Southeast Asia.Russia has provided various forms of assistance to Laos in recent years.In January, TASS cited Russian Ambassador Kalinin as saying that Moscow and Vientiane had agreed on deliveries of 2 million doses of Russia’s homegrown Sputnik V vaccine, which would be used to inoculate around 25% of the Lao population against the coronavirus.
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Christians Celebrate Easter in Unusual Circumstances Again This Year
Millions of Christians around the world are celebrating Easter Sunday in unusual circumstances again this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but there are fewer restrictions than the last year in some countries.In the United States, as more than 100 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, churches in some states are open for Easter services.Half a world away, Australians were celebrating Easter Sunday in a relatively unrestricted environment as the country did not report new locally acquired coronavirus cases. Community transmission of COVID-19 is largely eliminated in the country, according to health officials.In Italy, however, a strict Easter lockdown was observed, as the entire country is considered a high-risk zone.In a scaled-back Easter vigil service in St. Peter’s Basilica, in the Vatican on Saturday, Pope Francis urged the faithful not to lose hope during the “dark months” of the pandemic.Due to social-distancing requirements, only about 200 people wearing masks attended the service, which marks the period between Christ’s crucifixion and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.The Vatican cut out the traditional sacrament of baptism for a few adults to decrease the chance of contagion.
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India Police: Gunbattle Kills 5 Troops, Maoist Rebel
Indian security forces, acting on intelligence, raided a Maoist rebel hideout in the forests of the eastern Chhattisgarh state on Saturday, triggering a gunbattle that killed five paramilitary troops and one rebel, the state’s police said.Senior police officer D.M. Awasthi said hundreds of police and paramilitary soldiers took part in the raid after receiving intelligence that a large number of rebels were gathered in Bijapur district. He said at least 12 security personnel were injured in the four-hour firefight, and authorities were working to evacuate the wounded to hospitals.Awasthi said the body of one female rebel was also recovered.The rebels used automatic weapons and grenades during the gunbattle, according to Hemant Kumar Sahu, a paramilitary officer, who spoke with The Associated Press by phone.State-run All India Radio tweeted that at least 20 security personnel were missing after the engagement.The Maoist rebels, inspired by Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong, have been fighting the Indian government for more than four decades, demanding land and jobs for tenant farmers, the poor and indigenous communities.The government has called the rebels India’s biggest internal security threat. Last month, a roadside bomb killed at least four Indian policemen and wounded 14 in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh state as they were returning from an anti-Maoist operation.The rebels, also known as Naxalites, have ambushed police, destroyed government offices and abducted officials. They’ve also blown up train tracks, attacked prisons to free their comrades and stolen weapons from police and paramilitary warehouses to arm themselves.
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Scuffles Erupt in London as Thousands Join ‘Kill the Bill’ Rallies Across Britain
Thousands of demonstrators joined rallies across Britain on Saturday against a proposed law that would give police extra powers to curb protests, with some scuffles breaking out following a march in London.The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill aims to toughen measures officers can take to disperse demonstrations, such as imposing time and noise limits, which campaigners and activists fear would be used to curb dissent.”Kill the bill” marches were held in dozens of towns and cities, supported by big campaign groups such as climate change campaigners Extinction Rebellion and the Black Lives Matter movement.Police restrain a demonstrator during clashes following a ‘Kill the Bill’ protest in London, April 3, 2021. The demonstration is against the contentious Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.Nearly all were peaceful, but there were minor clashes in central London between protesters and police following a rally attended by several thousand people.”The policing operation in central London has now moved to the enforcement stage and arrests are being made,” said London’s Metropolitan Police on Twitter. The force deployed a large number of officers in the capital to end the protest.The new bill follows actions by Extinction Rebellion that paralyzed parts of London in early 2019 and fueled calls from some politicians for the police to be given tougher powers to prevent excessive disruption.Since the proposed law was brought before parliament last month, there have been sporadic demonstrations across the country, with Saturday’s rallies being part of what organizers said was a national weekend of action.Former Labor Party leader Jeremy Corbyn addresses demonstrators during a ‘Kill the Bill’ protest in London, April 3, 2021. The demonstration is against the contentious Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill going through Parliament.”[I’m here] to defend the rights of free speech, and the rights of organizations in our society,” said Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the opposition Labor Party, who was among those who took part in the London protest.”These demonstrations, 50 of them today, will make a difference,” he told Reuters opposite the houses of Parliament.Much of the protest so far has been focused in the southwestern English city of Bristol, where some demonstrations have turned violent; officers have been bombarded with projectiles and police vehicles set on fire, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson described as “disgraceful attacks.”A large crowd gathered again in Bristol on Saturday evening, although the rally there was peaceful.Some senior officers have said the “kill the bill” tag was deliberately provocative because “the bill” is a nickname in Britain for the police.
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Ethiopia: Eritrean Troops are Pulling out of Tigray
Ethiopian authorities said on Saturday that Eritrean troops had started withdrawing from Tigray, where they have been fighting on the side of Ethiopian forces in a war against the region’s fugitive leaders.The Eritreans “have now started to evacuate” Tigray and Ethiopian forces have “taken over guarding the national border,” Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.It wasn’t clear how many Eritrean troops had left, and some in Tigray asserted that the Eritreans weren’t leaving at all. The region’s leaders have charged that Eritrean troops sometimes have dressed in Ethiopian military uniforms.Ethiopia’s government faces intense pressure to end the Tigray war, which started in November when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deployed troops there following an attack on federal military facilities. The region’s fugitive leaders have not recognized Abiy’s authority since a national election was postponed last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.The G-7 group of nations on Friday issued a strong statement calling for the “swift, unconditional and verifiable” withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Tigray after Abiy said last week the Eritreans had agreed to go.That statement also urged “the establishment of a clear, inclusive political process that is acceptable to all Ethiopians, including those in Tigray, and which leads to credible elections and a wider national reconciliation process.”Protracted warThe International Crisis Group, in an analysis released Friday, warned of the risk of a protracted war, citing an entrenched Tigrayan resistance combined with Ethiopian and Eritrean authorities’ determination to keep Tigray’s fugitive leaders from power.”That would further devastate Tigray and greatly harm Ethiopia, the linchpin state in the Horn of Africa,” the report said. “With a decisive battlefield win for either side a remote prospect, parties should consider a cessation of hostilities that allows for expanded humanitarian aid access. This practical first step would reduce civilian suffering and ideally pave the way for a return to dialogue down the road.”There are increasing reports of atrocities such as massacres and rapes in the war, and concern is growing about a lack of food and medical care in Tigray, home to 6 million of Ethiopia’s more than 110 million people.The United States has characterized some abuses in Tigray as “ethnic cleansing,” charges dismissed by Ethiopian authorities as unfounded. Officials in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, haven’t cited a death toll in the war.The United Nations and an Ethiopian rights agency announced last week they had agreed to carry out a joint investigation into abuses in Tigray, where fighting persists as government troops hunt down fighters loyal to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the party that dominated national politics for decades before the rise of Abiy.
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Unrest Breaks Out in Northern Ireland for Second Straight Night
Cars were set alight and masked people pelted a police van with petrol bombs Saturday, the second straight evening of disorder in pro-British parts of Northern Ireland amid rising post-Brexit tensions in the region.Many pro-British unionists fiercely oppose the new trade barriers introduced between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom as part of Britain’s departure from the EU and have warned that their unease could lead to violence.Political leaders, including Britain’s Northern Ireland minister, had appealed for calm earlier Saturday, but police said they were responding to reports of disorder in Newtownabbey on the northern outskirts of Belfast.A video posted on Twitter by the Police Federation for Northern Ireland showed four masked individuals flinging petrol bombs from close range at an armored police van, which they also kicked and punched.Fifteen officers were injured in the Sandy Row area of Belfast on Friday when a small local protest developed into a riot. Police said the rioters attacked them with masonry, metal rods, fireworks and manhole covers.The injuries included burns, head wounds and a broken leg, resulting in the arrest and charging of seven people, two of them as young as 13 and 14. Twelve officers were also injured in separate rioting Friday in Londonderry.First minister blamedOther political parties blamed the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster on Saturday for stoking tensions with staunch opposition to the new trading arrangements.”By their words and actions they have sent a very dangerous message to young people in loyalist areas,” said Gerry Kelly, a lawmaker from the pro-Irish Sinn Fein party, which shares power in the devolved government with the DUP, in a statement.A DUP lawmaker, Christopher Stalford, said rioters were “acting out of frustration” after prosecutors opted not to charge any members of Sinn Fein last week for alleged breaches of COVID-19 restrictions.The DUP has called for the head of the police force to resign over the issue.The British-run region remains deeply split along sectarian lines, 23 years after a peace deal largely ended three decades of bloodshed. Many Catholic nationalists aspire to unification with Ireland while Protestant unionists want to stay in the U.K.
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Pope, at Easter Vigil, Hopes for Post-pandemic Rebirth
Pope Francis, leading an Easter vigil service scaled back because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Saturday that he hoped the dark times of the pandemic would end and that people could rediscover “the grace of everyday life.”This year is the second consecutive Easter that all papal services are being attended by about 200 people in a secondary altar of St. Peter’s Basilica instead of the nearly 10,000 that the largest church in Christendom can hold.The service began two hours earlier than usual so that participants could get home before a 10 p.m. curfew in Rome, which, like the rest of Italy, is under tough lockdown restrictions during the Easter weekend. Italy reported more than 140,000 new cases of the coronavirus in the past week, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, and nearly 3,100 deaths.At the start of the service, the basilica was in darkness except for the flames from candles held by participants to signify the darkness in the world before Jesus. As the pope, cardinals and bishops processed to the altar and a cantor chanted three times, the basilica’s lights were turned on.In his homily, Francis, marking the ninth Easter season of his pontificate, said the festival brought with it the hope for renewal on a personal as well as a global level.”In these dark months of the pandemic, let us listen to the risen Lord as he invites us to begin anew and never lose hope,” Francis said.Just as Jesus brought his message “to those struggling to live from day to day,” he said, people today should care for those most in need on the fringes of society.”[God] invites us to overcome barriers, banish prejudices and draw near to those around us every day in order to rediscover the grace of everyday life,” Francis said.On Easter Sunday, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar, the pope will deliver his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message.
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Egypt School for the Deaf Works Against Odds to Educate Children
Deaf children in Egypt face serious obstacles when seeking an education because many come from poor families and rural areas far from the capital, Cairo. Experts say nearly 5 million of Egypt’s 100 million residents are deaf, due in part to frequent intermarriage of close relatives.
Notwithstanding their broad smiles and bubbling enthusiasm, deaf children in Egypt must cope with serious challenges at the same time the organizations that work to educate them struggle to run quality programs.
Clair Malik, an educator who founded and built the Egyptian diocese of the Episcopal Church’s Deaf Unit from scratch in 1982, said the school must work not only with deaf children, but also with their parents, many of whom come from poor and rural areas and are often uneducated.
She said the school tries to teach the parents sign language to help them communicate with the children.
Malik, who studied at Gallaudet University for the deaf in Washington, D.C., even though she is not deaf, said there has been major progress in educating deaf people in recent years. Graduates of the Deaf Unit have gone on to attend university, she said, and Egypt now boasts sign-language interpreters on government TV and in at least one university.
Mary Ishaq, who runs the school, watches over the many details of how her staff interacts with the students. She told VOA there are both theoretical and practical aspects to educating deaf people:
“The children,” she said, “learn reading and writing from an academic perspective and then they learn a skill, so that they can earn a living and not depend on society to support them.”
The Rev. Clement Alfons, a deaf social worker, has worked to become a bridge between the deaf and those who can hear. He said he became involved with the deaf while growing up in Sudan and observing their hardships.
Father Alfons told VOA that deaf children like himself “were shoved aside by society and marginalized” when he was growing up.
“Deaf children,” he said, “often have bad habits and values because they frequently have bad role models.”
Anglican Bishop Dr. Mouneer Anis said that despite the constant challenge of raising funds to run the school and keep it staffed, he is proud of what it has accomplished.
He said that “rather than being just neglected children,” students of the Deaf Unit “are now cared for” and “given the chance to play sports, learn handcrafts and socialize with their peers.”
“They also get educated,” he said, “and some of them reach university …. becoming productive and respected members of society.”
One of the most serious problems facing the Deaf Unit this year is the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced the closure of the residential side of the program. Mouneer said that was a difficult decision to make.
He said the Deaf Unit used to provide accommodation for the many children who come from far away and who cannot afford transportation every day.
Because of the pandemic, he said, “we are not able to bring them close together, because this increases the risk of being infected with the virus.”
A graduate of the school, 16-year-old Esther is one of the lucky few among deaf children in Egypt, completing six years at the Episcopal Church’s Deaf Unit in Cairo, before going on to a government high school. She says she is proud of her accomplishment and comes back regularly to see former teachers and classmates.
Esther told VOA in sign language that “government schools are not as good as the Deaf Unit,” but that she “hopes to go on to college and study homemaking.” She adds jokingly that she’s “not sure if she wants to get married and have children.”
Ten-year-old Julia, who has learned to speak several short phrases, despite being deaf, enthusiastically shows off her new skills and language abilities. Malik said “it is now possible to help many deaf children to partly overcome their hearing impairments if they are given medical treatment early in life.”
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Cameroon Police Crack Down on Opposition
For the second consecutive time, heavily armed police dispersed an opposition leaders’ meeting held to propose reforms they say are needed to democratically change the more than four-decade-long rule of 88-year-old Cameroonian President Paul Biya. Opposition leaders, including three former presidential candidates, say the crackdown is the latest setback in their attempt to pave the way for peaceful transition of power from Africa’s second-longest-ruling president.
Seven opposition leaders said they were forcefully evicted from a meeting held in Yaounde Wednesday as they were pressing for reforms to rescue elections from the strong grip of Cameroon’s long-serving president, Paul Biya. The leaders issued a formal statement on April 3.
Among the attendees was Prince Michael Ngwese Ekosso. He is the president of the opposition United Socialist Democratic Party and said he took part in the meeting with hopes of easing tensions after allegations of election rigging. Opposition leaders say post-election tensions have risen after claims of fraud, with results skewed toward Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement party.
“It was a need for us the political leaders to see that the electoral code resembles the aspirations of Cameroonians in general,” Ekosso said. “We are living a country where democracy is not implemented. They (the government) do not want political leaders to hold meetings and they (the police) always come to disrupt. And also, it was a need for us to be able to discuss those things that have hampered true democracy, and then talk about the need for opposition parties to be able to form a reasonable platform to address some of the key issues,” he added.
Ekosso said the leaders avoided possible brutality and assault by peacefully leaving the hall when the police ordered an immediate stop to the meeting.
The government said it ordered the meeting to be ended because the opposition leaders failed to obtain an authorization, as stipulated by Cameroonian law.
Ekosso said the law requires an authorization only when there is a political rally. He said he and his peers were simply taking part in a meeting of seven opposition leaders.
Three candidates who lost the country’s October 7, 2018, presidential poll were in the meeting.
Maurice Kamto, who claims he won the election and that Biya stole his victory, said the decision to stop an opposition meeting was another step in a crackdown on the democratic process.
Cabral Libii, a former presidential aspirant and lawmaker of the opposition Cameroonian Party for National Reconciliation, and Joshua Osih, former presidential candidate and vice president of the Social Democratic Front, said the decision to stop the meeting was an afront to democracy.
Cameroon’s Higher Education Minister under Bia, Jacques Fame Ndongo, says there is no need for changes in the electoral code now.
He said Cameroonians gave Biya 71% of their votes in the 2018 presidential election, an indication that they agree with all of Biya’s policies and laws. He said people are expecting Biya to concentrate on developing Cameroon in fulfilment of the promises he made before the 2018 presidential poll.
Ndongo said political parties can make suggestions as to the changes they want in the electoral code for Cameroon’s Parliament to examine when lawmakers deem it necessary.
Mamoun Njoya of the Cameroon Civil Society group, which advocates for good governance in the country, says any opposition bill to change the electoral code will be thrown out of Parliament by majority lawmakers controlled by Biya.
He said Biya and his Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement party have drifted from the policy and values they promised the Cameroon people when the party was founded in 1985. He said Biya and his party are not ready to enact laws that will stop election rigging and the siphoning state funds.
Biya has been in power in Cameroon for 45 years, seven as prime minister and 38 as president. In 2008, he removed term limits from the constitution, allowing him to serve indefinitely.
He has won all of Cameroon’s elections, but the opposition has always contested his victory, saying Biya prepared the electoral code to favor him and his CPDM party.
Biya is the second-oldest serving president in sub-Saharan Africa after his neighbor, Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, who has been in power since 1979. When Biya’s latest term is finished, he would be 93 years old.
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Vatican Readies for Easter, Again With No Crowds
As Italy struggles with a resurgence of COVID-19 cases, the government announced a new nationwide lockdown across the country for the Easter holiday weekend.
The measures come as the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, officiated at the Way of the Cross procession in a nearly empty Saint Peter’s Square Friday, ahead of the Easter holiday Sunday, for the second consecutive year.
A new three-day national lockdown began Saturday in Italy as the country continues to struggle with a surge in COVID-19 infections and daily deaths amid a slow roll-out of vaccines.
The lockdown measures, enforced by thousands of police officers deployed across the country, do not allow any travel between Italian regions unless strictly necessary and limit visits to family members and friends to two people once a day. Customary Easter Monday picnics have also been banned.
The aim is to curb the spread of the virus as much as possible as hospitals and intensive care units countrywide are again seeing a resurgence of COVID-19 patients. After more than a year and over 110,000 deaths from the coronavirus, Italy has grown tired of the extended restrictions. But across the country, most of the population is complying with the rules.
At the Vatican, Good Friday began with a visit by Pope Francis to the vaccination center inside the city state where around 1,200 people were inoculated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this week. It is part of an effort to include the “poor and most marginalized people” according to the Papal Almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski.Pope Francis speaks to medical staff on Good Friday at a vaccination site at Paul VI Hall where the poor and homeless are being inoculated, at the Vatican, April 2, 2021. (Vatican Media/Handout via Reuters)The pope prayed for people suffering during the pandemic, asking for strength for those caring for the sick.
The “Via Crucis” or “Way of the Cross” procession was held for the second consecutive year in a nearly empty Saint Peter’s Square where candles were placed in a circle around its central obelisk.
The procession includes prayers at each of a series of images representing biblical events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The pandemic, however, has forced the traditional procession at Rome’s ancient Colosseum, normally attended by hundreds of people, to be scaled back and moved to the Vatican.
This year’s meditations were written and read during the ceremony by children and young people from Rome, many expressing feelings about this difficult year. One child wrote of feeling lonely because of the pandemic and not being able to visit grandparents, another of losing his grandad to the virus, alone in the hospital.
Italians will be allowed to attend Easter service this year officials said. Pope Francis is planning to hold an Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday and will be delivering his “Urbi et Orbi” or “To the City and the World” message on Easter Sunday, the most important day in the Christian liturgical calendar.
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