[Majorityrights News] Alex Navalny, born 4th June, 1976; died at Yamalo-Nenets penitentiary 16th February, 2024 Posted by Guessedworker on Friday, 16 February 2024 23:43.
[Majorityrights Central] A couple of exchanges on the nature and meaning of Christianity’s origin Posted by Guessedworker on Tuesday, 25 July 2023 22:19.
[Majorityrights News] Is the Ukrainian counter-offensive for Bakhmut the counter-offensive for Ukraine? Posted by Guessedworker on Thursday, 18 May 2023 18:55.
Survivors of the ISIS genocide in Shengal were among the targets of the Turkish state that carried out a massive aerial bombardment on several locations in South Kurdistan tonight.
As part of its genocidal all-out war against the Kurdish people in various parts of Kurdistan, the Turkish state has launched a wave of large-scale air raids in southern Kurdistan, northern Iraq tonight.
20 fighter jets of the Turkish army are reported to have conducted the massive campaign which started at around 00:00 local time. The strikes targeted several positions in the regions of Qandil, Maxmur and Shengal (Sinjar), including a refugee camp and hospital.
This is a heart-rending call:
The Yazidi Exile Council of Sinjar (Shengal) released a statement and asked: “What use did it have to end ISIS if Turkey is allowed to kill us anyway?”
The statement of the Yazidi Exile Council of Sinjar (MŞD) reads as follows:
“Today, 15 June, 2020, Turkey again bombed Sinjar, Iraq in a targeted and intended strike against the Yazidis. In one night Turkey bombed the survivors of a genocide 8 times. It is likely that a hospital was deliberately hit.
How many of our people is Turkey allowed to kill before this finally ends? Will the US and EU Members stop Turkey killing us? What use did it have to end ISIS if Turkey is allowed to kill us anyway? Why was all the money spent on defeating IS if Turkey is allowed to do the same now?
It is well known that the Yazidi religious community is the oldest religion in Mesopotamia. The Islamic State attacked the Yazidi religious community on August 3, 2014, and a cruel genocide was carried out. After this genocide, we Yazidis decided to found our own self-governing forces and fight against IS. Since we received no help at the beginning and afterwards and were left defenseless to the IS by the local armed forces. We then founded YBŞ, the self-governing armed forces of Sinjar, on January 14, 2015. To date and during the liberation of Sinjar, we have lost hundreds of Yazidi men and women in the fight against IS.
Even after that, we received no support from the United States, the United Nations or the European Community in any way for the reconstruction or the further fight against IS. Since the liberation from the IS terrorists, the Turkish state has repeatedly attacked the region in and around Sinjar. Since October 2019, simultaneously with the invasion of the Turkish state in North-East Syria, the Turkish state has bombed the region of Sinjar five times before today. Several Yazidi self-governing militants were killed in these previous attacks by the Turkish state.
A Kurdish migrant has been charged for the murder of his girlfriend, 17-year-old Wilma Andersson, who went missing six months ago. Her body was cut up into many pieces, some of which have not yet been found. Wilma’s head was found in a suitcase in the migrant’s flat.
In his defence, the migrant claimed that the fact that he had kept her head indicated that he loved Wilma too much to kill her.
Andersson had not been seen alive since November 14, when she was last known to have been in Wakesborg, Uddevalla, on Sweden’s western coast.
The 23-year-old Kurd, whose name has not been released, first came to Sweden as a refugee in 2006.
Police now believe that Wilma was murdered on the evening of November 14, according to a report by Expressen. Neighbors testified about hearing screams from the migrant’s apartment at the time. A number of motorists later called police to notify them that they had seen the migrant walking along a nearby highway and acting strangely.
Responding police stopped him on the highway that night to question him about his activities. The officers reported that the Kurd appeared to be in a state of shock. He told them that he was walking there as a consequence of having been in a fight and then missing a train.
After Wilma’s disappearance, police launched a massive search to locate her which involved many volunteers as well as police. Although body parts verified as belonging to Wilma were located, it wasn’t until two weeks later that police announced they had made a discovery which ruled out finding her alive. That discovery was her head.
Wilma’s head was found packed in a suitcase in the migrant’s apartment with aluminum foil and tape, alongside a stuffed animal.
Erdogan to Greece: “Don’t be stupid. The migrants don’t want to stay in your country. Just let them through to other countries in Europe.”
Erdogan: “Greece, these people won’t remain in your country. They will pass through and go to another country in Europe. Why do you feel disturbed? We told you! We said that if it goes on like this, we’ll open the gates, but you didn’t believe us. Oh, Greece, now I’m calling on you to open your gates. Get out from under this burden! Let them go to other countries of Europe. There is no other way. The burden must be shared and we are looking for partners.”
Posted by DanielS on Saturday, 19 January 2019 06:07.
Jerusalem Post, “U.S. SIGNS ELIE WIESEL GENOCIDE PREVENTION ACT INTO LAW”, 16 Jan 2019:
The law is intended to prevent genocide and other atrocities that threaten national and international security.
Elie Wiesel speaks at a World War II tribute. (photo credit: REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump signed a law on Monday declaring that the prevention of genocide and other atrocities is “a core national security interest” of the United States, adding that it is also “a core moral responsibility.”
The Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act, named for the world-renown Holocaust survivor and famed author, was signed into law by Trump after it passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate in December.
The law is intended to prevent genocide and other atrocities “which threaten national and international security, by enhancing United States government capacities to prevent, mitigate, and respond to such crises.”
The new law obligates the US to mitigate threats to its national “security by addressing the root causes of insecurity and violent conflict to prevent the mass slaughter of civilians; conditions that prompt internal displacement and the flow of refugees across borders; and other violence that wreaks havoc on regional stability and livelihoods.”
The US will enhance its capacity to “identify, prevent, address, and respond to the drivers of atrocities and violent conflict” as part of its “humanitarian, development and strategic interests.” It also entails the establishment a Complex Crisis Fund that will deal with strengthening local civil society, such as human rights groups, and nonprofit organizations that are already on the ground, working to thwart and deal with atrocities as they occur.
According to the new law, “Appropriate officials of the US government” must consult at least twice a year with representatives of nongovernmental organizations and civil society actors in an effort to “enhance the capacity of the US” to identify the conditions that could lead to such atrocities, “including strengthening the role of international organizations and international financial institutions in conflict prevention, mitigation and response.”
It also “encourages” the National Intelligence director to give a detailed review of countries and regions at risk of genocide in annual testimony to Congress, “including most likely pathways to violence, specific risk factors, potential perpetrators, and at-risk target groups.”
The secretary of state is also expected to write an evaluation report every three years.
Speaking in December, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ben Cardin said that “America’s strength around the world is rooted in our values.”
“It is in our national interest to ensure that the United States utilizes the full arsenal of diplomatic, economic and legal tools to take meaningful action before atrocities occur,” said Cardin. “Earlier this month, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum identified Burmese military actions against the Rohingya as genocide. From Burma to Iraq, South Sudan to Syria, atrocity crimes tragically persist all around the globe.” He added that the Prevention Act will help ensure that the United States does a better job of responding earlier and more effectively to these heinous crimes. “I urge our House colleagues to pass this landmark legislation before the 115th Congress adjourns.”
Sen. Todd Young, an original co-sponsor of the law and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, explained that the US has a moral and strategic imperative to help prevent and respond to acts of genocide and other mass atrocities, and this legislation would ensure that the US government is better prepared to fulfill this serious responsibility.
Prior to the signing, Sara Bloomfield, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum director, said that “senators Young and Cardin’s leadership on the bill honors Elie Wiesel’s vision for the museum as a living memorial that would help save victims of future genocides and in doing so honor the victims of the Holocaust.
“This legislation is an important effort toward developing a bipartisan congressional blueprint for making ‘never again’ real by taking practical steps to mitigate the systematic persecution of vulnerable groups,” she said.
Elie Wiesel speaks at a World War II tribute. (photo credit: REUTERS)