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nightslantern
suppressed news
concerned with the prevention of genocide
by j. b. gerald
graphics by j. maas

  suppressed news 2021          

2020

December 20, 2020

     Nova Scotia: while common sense points to an attempt to incapacitate if not wipe out a native band, the issue is hard to assess within a perspective of genocide due to incomplete media reports and huge investments in the seafood industry. It's unclear how well peoples of Indigenous ancestry are represented in the commercial fleet. Historical background is not mentioned in news reports. The media is reluctant to hold the government to account and provide an Indigenous band with adequate physical protection. See previous [Oct. 15, 2020]. Update: In the early hours of October 17th, a lobster storage facility friendly to the Sipekne'katik First Nation was burned to the ground at West Pubnico Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia RCMP found the fire 'suspicious.' It was the same warehouse threatened by a mob in the presence of RCMP officers October 13th. RCMP presence in the area was increased. One looked for unequivocal assurances of safety for a native community clearly under attack and received a more general governmental condemnation of violence. The native community was being physically terrorized and threatened. The nation began to refuse to fish at all for fear more of their gear be stolen or sabotaged. Canada's Supreme Court has had to affirm their assertion of their fishing rights. But according to Chief Mike Sacks, those cooperating with the Sipekne'katik also become ostracized and excluded from the economy. The band members cannot replace stolen or confiscated gear, or sell their catch. At risk of being economically destroyed, the Sipekne'katik First Nation with an alliance of Indigenous bands and British Columbia interests was able to buy partnership in Clearwater Seafoods of Halifax, North America's largest shellfish producer, which is likely to take over the lobster distribution in the area for natives as well as commercial lobstermen. The Band has sought and won an injunction at the Nova Scotia Supreme Court to prohibit attacks on Sipekne'katik people, boats, facilities. However the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has confiscated 500 lobster traps for alleged violations, pulling from the waters much of the gear belonging to Mi'kmaw fishermen. For its own safety the band has planned not to fish and lobster. The RCMP announced the arrest of 21 people associated with attacks on the band but has not brought specific charges. On December 7th the commercial lobstering and fishing season opened after delays due to weather conditions, and without participation of the Sipekne'katik band. In 2019 Nova Scotia's seafood industry exported 2.3 billion dollars of seafood to 80 countries. Commercial fishermen's spokespeople have declared their difficulty with the Sipekne'katik band is its depletion of lobster stock by opening its own season early. Experts have refuted the affect of this. It could be argued that the band was unwise to insist on its own schedule for opening the season. In fact the band is being denied its human and Supreme Court guaranteed rights. A genocide warning for the Sipekne'katik peoples of Nova Scotia should be understood within a perspective of ruthless commercial economic competition. Canada's United Steelworkers union (USW) National Director, Ken Neumann stated: "The federal government cannot stand by as tensions and violence escalate. Our union condemns the violence and racist attacks instigated by commercial fishers over Indigenous fishing rights in Nova Scotia." With sadness this update and entry notes as well the loss of a scallop fishing boat out of Digby N.S. early the 15th of December with six crew aboard. The boat is believed to have gone down in the rough weather as it returned home with its catch. The "Chief William Saulis" boat was named after a Maliseet chief and owned by Yarmouth Sea Products, a company rather than by individual ownership. No intentional or automatically triggered distress call was reported at the disappearance.

Partial sources: "RCMP say blaze is suspicious; man in hospital with life-threatening injuries," Alex Cooke, Cassidy Chisholm, Oct. 17, 2020, CBC News; "DFO officers seize 500 lobster traps in St. Marys Bay," Paul Withers, Nov. 26, 2020, CBC News; "Sipekne'katik First Nation halts talks with Ottawa over fishing rights," Cassidy Chisholm, Dec. 10, 2020, CBC News; "RCMP ask for help identifying people who ransacked buildings storing Mi'kmaw lobster catch," Dec 11, 2020, CBC News; "In 'Lobster War,' Indigenous Canadians Face Attacks by Fishermen," Dan Bilefsky, Oct. 20, 2020, The New York Times; "Steelworkers Union Calls for Resolution to Lobster fisheries dispute," Oct. 19, 2020, Whig Standard; "N.S. lobster fishing season underway, First Nation fishers to sit out," The Canadian Press Staff, Dec. 8, 2020, CTV News; "N.S. lobster season delayed in one fishing area, but goes ahead in another," Michael Tutton, Nov. 30, 2020, CTV News; "First Nations partner with B.C. company in $1B purchase of Clearwater Seafoods," Paul Withers, Nov. 9, 2020, CBC News; "Appendix 3 A Progression of Genocide Warnings for Canada's First Peoples since 2005," J.B.Gerald, June 6, 2020, Sources of Contemporary Genocide (Tablo/Gerald & Maas).

 

 

December 14, 2020

     Rochester N.Y.: in prison since 1971, Jalil Muntaqim was released by the New York State Parole Board Sept. 22, 2020, (see previous).He immediately registered to vote, yet without receiving a pardon from the Governor, which was technically necessary for him to vote. He was then arrested. The Rochester New York D.A. is threatening to press charges which will send Jalil Muntaqim back to prison for the rest of his life. "Jalil Muntaqim Recently paroled after 49 years was arrested Friday and is facing re-imprisonment for completing a voter registration form," Prisoner News mailing list, Oct. 31, 2020; "Drop the charges against Jalil Muntaqim," David Andreatta, Dec. 7, 2020, CITY News.

 

 

December 11, 2020.

     Montreal: author's note. Testing negative for COVID-19 it became increasingly hard for me to breathe during the month of October. On November 5th I went to the emergency room. After various procedures, open heart surgery, good care, I was discharged November 23rd and slowly recover.

 

Updating interrupted to recuperate.

October 15, 2020

     Quebec: concerning two Indigenous deaths under investigation: in October at a Quebec hospital racist mistreatment of an Indigenous mother of seven, Joyce Echaquan, drew outrage from many groups and an apology to the deceased's family from the Premier. An investigation is underway. No charges have been filed. Georges-Herve Awashish, an Indigenous man complained to his family of racist remarks by nurses while he was receiving dialysis,. He died about a week later. Partial sources: "Investigation underway after family says Indigenous man died in Quebec hospital after overhearing racist remarks," Daniel J. Rowe, Oct. 15, 2020, CTV News; "Death of Indigenous woman in Que. hospital highlights racist barriers to care: experts," Morgan Lowrie and Kelly Geraldine Malone, Oct. 4, 2020, CP24.

 

     Nova Scotia: the night of October 13th a mob of over 200 commercial fishermen attacked lobster pounds cooperating with Indigenous fishermen. One of the sites was at New Edinburgh, Digby County N.S., another at Middle West Pubnico, Yarmouth N.S. where an Indigenous lobsterman of the Sipekne'katik First Nation took his lobster catch. He was trapped inside with another Indigenous lobsterman when over two hundred non-Indigenous lobstermen appeared, destroyed the truck, 3400 pounds of lobster, and threatened to burn down the enterprise, all in the presence of RCMP officers. Non-Indigenous lobstermen claim it is off season and that Canadian Fishery rules for conservation apply to Indigenous people. 21 years ago Canada's Supreme Court's Marshall decision ruled that the Indigenous band has the right to lobster for a reasonable living, which is why the native fishery is operating. No arrests have been made. No protection is officially offered the native peoples in the face of white mob supremacy. Lethal threat was presented defenseless Indigenous people without action by the RCMP which claimed it didn't have enough officers on hand. No clear and outraged commitment to the defense of these Indigenous people was made by Federal or Provincial authorities. The government's refusal to provide protection against an overt instance of mob rule, presents a warning to Canadians and demands immediate correction. On October 5th, a 12 metre fishing boat owned by Robert Syliboy, a licensed Sipekne'katik fisherman was burned at the wharf of Comeauville, Digby County N.S..The cause of the fire remains unknown. On September 20th a boat swarm of non-Indigenous fishermen took out of the water 350 Indigenous lobster traps while the RCMP, police helicopters and Coast Guard watched without taking action.

Partial sources: "Lobster catch destroyed, vehicle burned as tension rises over Indigenous fishery in N.S.," Michael Tutton, Oct. 14, 2020, CTV News; "Mi'kmaw fishing vessel destroyed in suspicious fire at N.S. wharf," Haley Ryan, Oct. 5, 2020, CBC News; "Vehicle torched, lobster pounds storing Mi'kmaw catches trashed during night of unrest in N.S.," Taryn Grant, Oct. 14, 2020, CBC News; "N.S. Mi'kmaq chiefs call on Ottawa to denounce racism in lobster dispute; federal ministers respond," Danielle Edwards, Sept.21, 2020, CTV News.

 

 

October 8, 2020

     U.S.: Prisoner News reports that Jalil Muntaqim (previous) was released October 7th and has returned to his community and family. The New York City Jericho Movement noted he was finally granted parole Sept. 22, 2020, after continuous parole denials through his past twenty years of eligibility, despite an excellent record in prison. Of others in "The New York 3", in 2000 Albert Nuh Washington died in prison and Herman Bell was released in 2018. Of political prisoners who are elders of the Black Panthers, their allies, or were targeted in struggles for freedom, they continue to survive extremely long periods of confinement and they require their freedom. Among the well known: Edward Poindexter, David Gilbert, Bill Dunne, Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Imam Jamil Abdullah al-Amin, Jaan Laaman, Sundiata Acoli, Dr. Mutulu Shakur, Ruchell Cinque Magee, Russell Maroon Shoats. Many are ill. All as elders are understood to be at exceptionally high risk because of COVID-19. No judge assigned them to death by pandemic. They belong in their communities.

Partial sources: "[Pnews] Jalil Muntaqim is home after 49 years in prison!" Oct. 7, 2020, Prisoner News; "NY Parole Of Former Black Panther Activist Who Murdered 2 Cops Sparks Reform Debate," Brian Mann, Sept 27, 2020, NPR/VPR; "Former Black Panther to be released after more than 49 years in prison," Ed Pilkington, Sept. 24, 2020, The Guardian; "Why Are They Still in Prison?" John Bart Gerald. May 10, 2020, nightslantern.ca.

 

 

September 19, 2020

     U.S.: Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo has announced that two primary forces of the International Criminal Court are placed under U.S. Sanctions. Judge Fatou Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko, responsible for the Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division, will be barred from the U.S. and have any U.S. assets frozen, a punishment which is also meant to be applied to anyone helping them. Both are Africans. Any ICC Staff investigating U.S. citizens are not to be given visas. The ICC is currently investigating war crimes charges in Myanmar, Israel, and in Afghanistan where a preponderance of the complaints have been against U.S. forces. and covert agencies. Economic sanctions were initially applied against ICC officials June 11, 2020, by U.S. President Trump. The continuing attack on the ICC is consistent with the Trump administration's stated intention to destroy the court (previous). The Trump administration seems unaware that destruction of the International Criminal Court could cripple the United Nations and peaceful avenues of resolution for what might otherwise be war, a point made with better authority by Dr. Abbas Poorhashemi, in his Jurist article. The ICC provides one of the few legal avenues to actions against a genocide in progress. Technically an attack on the ICC signals complicity with the alleged perpetrators of crime.

Partial sources: "International Criminal Court officials sanctioned by US," Sept. 2, 2020, BBC News; "U.S. Sanctions Against the International Criminal Court: Where Is International Law Going?" Dr. Abbas Poorhashemi, Sept. 15, 2020, Jurist: "Trump joins the world's worst human rights violators in waging war on the ICC," Max Boot, Sept. 14, 2020 The Washington Post

 

     Canada: Ottawa based EKOS Research Associates has taken two polls exploring Canadians' relationship to Israel and the results indicate a large gap between what the people think and Canadian government policy: Canadians are against Canada moving its embassy to Jerusalem, a standard move by the U.S.- Israeli push to take exclusive control of Jerusalem as one country after another is pressured to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Canadians are against Israel's annexation of the West Bank. Canadians think Israel should be treated at law just like any other country. Canadians overwhelmingly support the International Criminal Court. and an overwhelming 84% are in favor of the ICC investigation of alleged war crimes, even in Israel. And all these while the Canadian government, whether it is Harper's Conservatives who were particularly sympathetic to Zionism, or Trudeau's Liberal government which has asked the ICC to back down from investigating Israel, continually favors an Israeli government noted for the ugliness of ongoing war crimes. The news release of the recent EKOS poll, sponsored by Independent Jewish Voices and the United Network for Justice and Peace in Palestine-Israel, is surprising in the difference between what Canadians want and their government's policy. Israel has damaged itself by suppression of its pacifists and patriots who have believed in a two state solution, who have struggled for the equality of Palestinians, as well as Islam and the right of the State of Israel to co-existence. As for Christians, the Christian community of Bethlehem points out Israel has already annexed the Mar Elias Monastery and separated Bethlehem from Jerusalem. Israel's further plans for annexation take more religious sites and some feel may end Christians' hopes for a future in the Holy Land.

Partial sources: "National Survey Explores Canadian Views on Israel," Candice Bodnaruk, Oct. 2020, Washington Report on Middle East Affairs; "An Open Letter from Christian Clergy from the Bethlehem Area," July 8, 2020, Global Ministries; "Survey: Canadians want Criminal Court to Investigate Israel / Sondage : Les Canadiens veulent que la Cour pénale enquête sur Israël," the CJPME team, Sept. 16, 2020, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East CJPME / CJPMO.

 

 

September 6, 2020

     Old Bailey London: the attempt to extradite Julian Assange to the U.S. to fight charges under the U.S. Espionage Act resumes September 7 with his extradition hearing. New charges from August 12th will be applied alleging encouragement of computer hacking. Assange is threatened with several lifetimes in prison. The attacks on him are attacks on freedom of expression and on the moral necessity of reporting and revealing war crimes. The reporting isn't only a necessity - it's required under law. England's tradition of law and American Justice risk being sacrificed to military controls trying to hide crimes of atrocity.

Partial sources: "The U.S. is Determined to Make Julian Assange Pay for Exposing the Cruelty of Its War on Iraq," Vijay Prashad, Sept. 2, 2020, counterpunch; "The War on Journalism: the Case of Julian Assange" by Juan Passarelli [access:< https://video.emergeheart.info/videos/watch/f2467447-f5a8-45c9-8d08-804d6a2d4747 >]; "Assange's US Extradition Hearing Resumes Monday - We Need To Step Up the Fight," Nozomi Hayase, Sept. 4, 2020, antiwar.com; "US decision to file new charges against Julian Assange 'astonishing and potentially abusive'," Charlie Jones, Aug. 14, 2020, ComputerWeekly.com.

 

 

 

September 5, 2020

     Canada: The Gambia will no longer have to stand alone before the International Court of Justice in its bid to bring Myanmar to account for alleged genocide against the Rohingya Muslims. See previous, 1 and 2. Both Canada and the Kingdom of the Netherlands are intervening in the case and joining The Gambia. In a statement issued Sept. 2nd, foreign ministers François-Philippe Champagne of Canada, and Stef Blok of the Netherlands upheld their countries' duty "to prevent the crime of genocide and hold those responsible to account" (Al Jazeera), commending The Gambia for taking the first step to end impunity. Their support includes focus on gender related aspects of genocide. The world's nations have been slow to fully support The Gambia. Larry Brown, President of Canada's National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) said, "I commend the Canadian government for taking leadership on this issue. We all have a responsibility to take action to stop the Rohingya genocide, and Canada is uniquely positioned to intervene and to support grassroots struggles."

Partial sources: "Canada and the Netherlands to Intervene in Myanmar Genocide Case at World Court," Press release, Sept. 2, 2020, Global Justice Center; "Canada, Netherlands join Gambia's genocide case against Myanmar," Sept. 3, 2020, Al Jazeera; "Canada to intervene in Rohingya genocide case at International Court of Justice," Sept. 2, 2020, national union of public and general employees.

 

 

September 3, 2020

     Canada: on October 29th, the Nora and Ted Sterling Prize in Support of Controversy for 2020 will be awarded to Tamara Starblanket, author of Suffer the Little Children: Genocide, Indigenous Nations and the Canadian State. SFU News reports that Starblanket's book "proves, according to international law, Canada committed genocide against Indigenous Peoples." Starblanket is Cree and Dean of Academics at Native Education College, Vancouver. Her book published in 2018, reveals Canada's successful attempts to limit the applicability of the Genocide Convention at inception, removing consideration of "cultural genocide." Christopher Black has reviewed the work for Anishinabek News, writing "She makes the irrefutable argument that deliberate destruction of a people's culture is a form of genocide, as Lemkin intended" (Socialist governments attempted to have cultural genocide included in the Convention). Black's review also point's out the Soviet's - in this instance proper perspective, that "the crime of genocide formed an integral part of the plan for world domination of the supporters of racial ideologies." Black's discussion of Starblanket's points confirms Canada's intent in its destruction of Indigenous peoples, to the point of legal action. So we are at a point in North American society where the understanding of genocide could and possibly should require cases at law. In a sense it is forbidden for anyone to mention this. The difficulty is that without appropriate legal response to ongoing evidence of genocidal policy or lack of action by government, genocide is "overlooked." Genocide warning. My own recent work (which I recommend) Sources of Contemporary Genocide, offers numerous chapters of evidence concerned with Canada's refusal to counter contemporary situations and policies which may lead to continuing genocide. Canada's strategy for dealing with its historical problem of genocide against First Peoples, is delay.

Partial Sources: "Sterling Prize 2020: How Canada changed the definition of genocide while engaging in crimes against Indigenous Peoples," August 20, 2020, Simon Fraser University; "Indigenous scholar Tamara Starblanket wins Nora and Ted Sterling Prize for exposing Canada's genocidal policies," Charlie Smith, August 22nd, 2020, Georgia Straight; "Book review: Suffer the Little Children: Genocide, Indigenous Nations and the Canadian State," Christopher Black, July 9, 2019, Anishinabek News.

 

     South Carolina: An article in The Hill August 31rst, reports the U.S. Department of Energy's announcement of $600 million to South Carolina for removing plutonium (used for making nuclear warheads). It's part of an attempt to deal with the lethal substance stored in the state. 7.1 metric tons of plutonium were shipped to the Savannah River nuclear plant site in South Carolina for a MOX (mixed oxide fuel) factory construction (see previous). The project was halted and abandoned in 2018. As early as 2002 a South Carolina Democrat Governor, Jim Hodges, threatened road blocks and to lie down in the road to block the shipments of plutonium. While according to the Energy Department the $600 million arrangement is "a promise to the people of South Carolina that plutonium will be removed safely from this state, while saving the American taxpayers over $1 billion" (The Hill). How will the 1 billion be saved? The government won't pay anything until 2037. And according to The Hill, South Carolina loses its right to sue the Department of Energy to make it remove the plutonium until 2037. It is expected that the plutonium will be downgraded and removed from South Carolina to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Carlsbad, New Mexico, by 2049. However Federal authorities first promised to remove over 11 metric tons of radioactive waste from South Carolina by 2016, and that was 17 years ago. No mention was made by the Department of Energy addressing either the current or long term mortality and sickness rates caused by the plutonium as well as its threat to all living things. There are some parallels in the U.S. Department of Energy's m.o. for dealing with the people of South Carolina, and the Canadian government m.o. in dealing with Indigenous peoples. Both rely on delays which increase the victim casualty rate. Savannah River Site Watch which monitors the D.O.E. 's activity, fears plans to bring 35 additional metric tons of plutonium into the state for downgrading, as well as attempts to build a Plutonium Bomb Plant at the Savannah River Site. The five nuclear plants in service at the SRS from the 1950's to 1980's "produced about 36 metric tons of weapon-grade plutonium" (Chronicle). Genocide warning for the people of South Carolina. Climate change and expectable flooding increases a substantial radiological risk to the general population, of nuclear materials and waste.

Partial Sources: "US, South Carolina reach deal on plutonium disposal," Rachel Frazin, Aug. 31, 2020, TheHill.com; "U.S. to Remove Plutonium Waste, Pay South Carolina $600 Million," Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Ari Natter, August 30, 2020, Bloomberg; "Feds to ship toxic radioactive metal out of SC after years of disputes with the state," Sammy Fretwell, Aug. 30, 2020, The State; "More Radio-active Plutonium Headed Our Way?" Jerry Bellune, Aug. 31, 2020, Lexington County Chronicle and Dispatch News; "Nuclear Notes: the Savannah River Watershed," J.B.Gerald, March 4, 2010, nightslantern.ca.

 

     Canada. A political prisoners update for Djamel Ameziane. A resident of Montreal Djamel Ameziane was refused refugee status in Canada and subsequently arrested in Afghanistan probably by bounty hunters and turned over to the Americans who placed him in Guantanamo. He was tortured. On finally obtaining clearance to leave, he was illegally deported to Algeria which he had escaped years before. Monitored by the International Red Cross for his safety the most recent information I could find for him was that he was denied work and a means to make a living. In 2017 stories appeared in The Globe and Mail, Al Jazeera, The Huffington Post, saying that his lawyer Nate Whitling was opening a suit against Canada for 50 million dollars on the grounds that Canada was complicit with U.S. authorities in his torture at Guantanamo. This is apparently true. Nate Whitling is a highly respected human rights lawyer who with Dennis Edney, handled Omar Khadr's case in Canada. Khadr was awarded over ten million dollars by the Canadian government for its complicity with American authorities in his case. Whitling linked Djamel Ameziane's case to a demand for investigation of Canadian complicity with the American authorities at Guantanamo. Torture is a crime in Canada and Canadian law is deeply tied to international law and the Roma Court. Ameziane said he needed to regain his self respect after being tortured. Then there was no further word from Canada of Djamel Ameziane. The case has disappeared. His attorney was appointed "a Justice of the Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta." However a decision by the International Commission on Human Rights (IAHCR) of the Organization of American States (a body considered particularly favorable to U.S. policies) may require a deeper look into Canadian complicity with U.S. authorities in this case. In DJAMEL AMEZIANE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, a case opened ten years ago by New York's Center for Constitutional Rights before the IAHCR the Court recently came to the brave conclusion that Ameziane was due reparations and apology for deplorable violations of his human rights, including arbitrary detention for 12 years, the effects of the conditions of his confinement and torture, the theft (unreturned illegal confiscation) of his property, all among other rebukes of the human rights violations implicit in Guantanamo's operation.

Partial sources: "IACHR Finds U.S. Responsible for Torture, Refoulement of Guantanamo Refugee," June 10, 2020, International Justice Resource Center; "Ex-Guantanamo captive set to sue Canadian government for $50-million," Colin Perkel / The Canadian Press, Nov. 5, 2017, The Globe and Mail; "Guantanamo: Ex-inmate sues Canada for alleged torture," Jillian Kestler-D'Amours, Nov. 10, 2017, Al Jazeera; "IACHR Condemns Guantanamo Abuses in First 'War on Terror' Decision," Lisa Reinsberg, July 7, 2000, Just Security; "Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Ground-Breaking Decision in the Case of Former Guantanamo Prisoner Djamel Ameziane," Andy Worthington, June 18, 2020, andyworthington.co.uk; "Report No 29/20 Case 12.865," OEA/Ser.L/V/II, Doc 39, April 22, 2020, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; "Government of Canada announces judicial appointments in the province of Alberta," March 6, 2020, Department of Justice Canada.

 

     U.S.A. The Kings Bay Plowshares 7 reports that the sentencing of the remaining six Plowshares activists which was after several postponements to be handed down September 3rd and 4th, has been deferred again until October 15th and 16th. Elizabeth McAllister was sentenced (previous) to time served. And. September 9th marks the fortieth anniversary of the original Plowshares 8 action at King of Prussia Pennsylvania. On that day in 1980, Fr. Carl Kabat, Elmer Maas, Phil Berrigan, Molly Rush, Fr. Dan Berrigan, Sr. Anne Montgomery, John Schuchardt, and Dean Hammer entered the General Electric facility, poured blood on blueprints and hammered the re-entry cones of Mark 12A nuclear missiles.

 

 

August 8, 2020

                      Political prisoners ~ some of those who helped build awareness.

leaflet

 

 

July 18, 2020

     U.S.A.: "It could be that the ongoing gratuitous murders by police across America are not mistakes but part of a program of terror and fear to control, to maintain unjust apportionment of power, resources, money, in the hands of a few. As the need rises, more..."(continue "Police Violence, the Tip of an Iceberg" by J.B.Gerald).

 

 

June 29, 2020

     Cameroon and Nigeria: there are currently continuing genocide warnings in both countries. "Cameroon and Nigeria: the Risk of Breathing," by J.B.Gerald.

 

 

June 15, 2020

     U.S.A.: noting finally the sentencing of the Kings Bay Plowshares Seven, I remember one of the early photographs of the action's participants holding a sign which read - "The ultimate logic of racism is genocide." It's the beginning of a quote by Martin Luther King Jr., which explains step by step the result of exclusion from society, as if police murders of one Black American after another is a program which the people have refused, and are still refusing on the streets. In Canada it's similar but the targeted victim is usually First Peoples. While the population refuses to accept the killings, not only of Black people or First Peoples, but of poor people, we live under a system which threatens to turn the atrocities of individual deaths to a geometric progression of deaths beyond counting from nuclear weapons. The activists of Plowshares groups have through forty years tried to wake people to insist on the humanity of us all. On April 4th 2018 seven Catholic anti-nuclear activists walked onto the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base to ritually protest their understanding of evil. On June 8th the eldest Kings Bay Plowshares 7 activist Elizabeth McAlister was sentenced to the amount of time she has already served in prison and three years of supervised parole. She must also pay a portion of the restitution for property damages judged against the defendants. The other defendants in this action are to be sentenced at the end of June [subsequently updated to the end of July]. The sentence was handed down by Judge Lisa Godbey Wood. Elizabeth McAlister's attorney was William Quigley. Plowshares Background.
 


     Burundi: an update. The country's internationally unpopular president, Pierre Nkurunziza, recognized for his concern with the lives of the people of Burundi and resistance to manipulation by western corporate power & wealth, is said to have died of a heart attack on June 8th at the age of 55. NATO's 'first world' democracies found him a despot. He was set to leave office in August after fifteen years of rule, to be replaced by his party's newly chosen candidate Evariste Ndayishimiye, who won the May 20th Presidential election by a substantial margin. The opposition candidate's challenge to the election commision's results was rejected by Burundi's Constitutional Court, which also ruled on June 12th that now the president-elect will take office as soon as possible. As previously noted Burundi is the second poorest country in Africa, burdened with malaria and lack of access to badly needed inexpensive pharmaceuticals. The U.S. has recently withdrawn as the principle funder of the World Health Organization. The U.N.'s Relief Web currently reports that the "Croix rouge de Burundi" has just received a grant from the United States Embassy in Burundi, of 240 five liter cans of soap and 340 liters of disinfectant. The embassy was impressed with Burundi volunteers risking the fight against Covid-19. The thoughtfulness of the U.S. gift suggests how deeply implicit the policies of dehumanization are within colonial policy, a lesson which is currently available on the streets of for example, New York. People of all races and nationalities identify with George Floyd, the knee of unjust authority on many throats. Burundi remains under genocide warning for the national group.

Partial sources: "Burundi court upholds poll results, says Ndayishimiye president," June 4, 2020, AlJazeera; "Burundi Leader Dies After 15 Years of Turbulent Rule," Paul Richardson, June 9, 2020, Bloomberg; "Burundi Court Orders New President Sworn In Soon as Possible," VOA, ,June 12, 2020, VOA; "The Embassy Of The United States In Burundi Has Just Granted The Burundi Red Cross A Donation Of 240 Cans, 5 Liters Each, Liquid Soap And 340 Liters Of Disinfectant," June 13, 2020, reliefweb.

 

 

June 7, 2020

     Canada: we announce international publication of sources of contemporary genocide, by John Bart Gerald with graphics by Julie Maas. Imprint John Bart Gerald & Julie Maas, Montreal / Tablo Pty Ltd., Melbourne. 2020. ISBN 9781922439604. 458 pages, paperback and available in an e-book / Kindle edition. The work is a distillation of much of my work on the three thousand pages of Night's Lantern, aware of patterns of persecution which lead to the destruction of entire peoples. It's a radical look at the risk of contemporary genocide in France, the American south, Myanmar, Libya, Canada, Guatemala Libya and elsewhere. It's against forgetting and these sequences of history further the struggle to recognize genocide, to avoid complicity, to confront the atrocities of our times and build a just future. More specifically, with the help of 418 endnotes, the work establishes witness to incidents of history which may be genocide and which might otherwise be hidden or falsified in efforts to re-write history. The crime of genocide carries no statute of limitations.

 

 

May 18, 2020

      Ukraine: in Kolomiya, some 250 miles from Kiev the National Police department of the Ukraine requested the Jewish community supply a list of all Jews, and their mobile phone numbers and addresses. The police wanted the same information about any Jewish students at university in Kolomyia and Ivano-Frankivsk. The order was given February 11, 2020 by a letter of Myhaylo Bank, in charge of the Strategic Investigations Department dealing with organized crime for the national police, and read in part: "Please provide us the following information regarding the Orthodox Jewish religious community of Kolomyya, namely: The organization's charter; list of members of the Jewish religious community, with indication of data, mobile phones and their places of residence." The request was revealed by Eduard Dolinsky, the Ukrainian Jewish Committee chairman. The JTA, a Jewish organization has protested the order as anti-Semitic. The head of the National Police, Sergei Klimenko, has ordered an official investigation and has attempted to assure the Jews of Ukraine that they needn't fear persecution. April 22, 2020 the U.S. Embassy in Kiev issued a statement of concern for Roma peoples in the region due to an order by Ruslan Martisinkiv, a local mayor, who "ordered the forced relocation of Roma residents from the city to a rural location in the Transcarpathian mountains" (the algemeiner). According to The New York Times which seems less worried, the country's President and Prime Minister are both Jewish. It notes that a Pew Research Center survey to find what percent of the population would not accept as fellow citizens, Jews, found: Ukrainians 5%, Poles 18%, Romanians 22%, and Lithuanians 23%. See previous.

Partial sources: "Ukrainian police official requests list of Jews in western city of Kolomyya: Jewish group accuses police of 'open anti-Semitism' after demand for list as part of an inquiry into organized crime," Cnaan Liphshiz, May 11, 2020, Times of Israel; "'God is telling us something' Deri says 70% of Israel's virus cases are Haredim," ToI Staff, May 10, 2020, Times of Israel. "Ukraine Police Chief Orders Official Investigation Into Demand for 'List of Jews'," Ben Cohen, May 12, 2020, Times of Israel; "Ukraine's Newly Elected President Is Jewish. So Is Its Prime Minister. Not All Jews There Are Pleased," Andrew Higgins, April 24, 2020, The New York Times.

     New York: Dr. Rafil Dhafir was freed from FCI Allenwood Low, Pennsylavania, May 15, to complete the rest of his sentence (projected to be until November 24. 2021) at home. You may remember Dr. Dhafir as the physician who was targeted as a criminal after providing medical supplies and food for Iraqi children. Saving the lives of Muslim children he has served over 17years, much of it in maximum security prison conditions (and see previous), although he was transferred to a low security prison for a short period prior to his release. The release of Dr. Dhafir is an important event, not noted by the establishment media. His case casts shame on the American justice system to the extent that it could expose American cases involving Muslims to eventual application of the Convention on Genocide.

Partial sources: "Doctor released after spending 17 years in US prison for humanitarian work," News editor, May 17, 2020, Islam21C; "Muslim philanthropist Dr. Rafil Dhafir released from prison after 17 years," Jack Cohen-Joppa, May 15, 2020, The Nuclear Resister.

 

 

April 16, 2020

      Myanmar: the Geneva International Centre for Justice has issued a March 2020 report on the situation in Myanmar: "Ongoing Human Rights Violations in Myanmar 2017 - 2020." The report notes the ICJ ruling against genocide of the Rohingya among the other international attempts to avert a genocide of the Rohingya while seeing no actual improvement in what the Rohingya are experiencing. April 8th, 2020, the country's President ordered the military and the government employees and the people at large not to commit genocide. This could be seen as an improvement.

Partial sources: "Ongoing Human Rights Violations in Myanmar 2017 - 2020," Marcel Florian Loehr, March 2020, Geneva International Centre for Justice; "Don't commit genocide," Diplomatic Correspondent, April 12, 2020, The Daily Star.

 

     Libya: in 2016 the Parliament of Great Britain recognized that NATO's war against Libya which destroyed the county's normalcy as an advanced state created by the Libyan people under Muammar Gaddafi, - was a war based on lies. As affirmed by the House of Commons Report "HC 119 Libya..." Sarkozy's France led the push for military intervention, then Cameron's United Kingdom, then Obama's United States which expanded the tactic of a no-fly zone over Libya to include "all necessary measures" (Wikipedia notes the U.S. and British navies launched Tomahawk missiles while the Canadian Air Force joined in the predominantly French air war). For those who remember the build up for the attacks on Libya, the report states: "the proposition that Muammar Gaddafi would have ordered the massacre of civilians in Benghazi was not supported by available evidence." In general, atrocities supposedly committed by Gaddafi did not occur. The report also points out "The combat performance of rebel ground forces was enhanced by personnel and intelligence provided by states such as the UK, France, Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates," (the report's #42) as well as Coalition air assets (#41). The New York Times points out that despite her disastrous support of the U.S. war against Iraq, Hillary Clinton assured U.S. support for the military intervention. NATO's military actions against Libya led to three genocide warnings by Night's Lantern in 2011 and 2012. Currently, Libya remains at war; on one side the UN supported government of Fayez al-Sarraj (the Government of National Accord), backed by Turkey and Qatar, and on the other, Khalifa Haftar, a U.S. citizen and General of the Libyan National Army based in Benghazi, backed by the U.S., Egypt the UAE , Israel and others. Military actions which kill more Libyans continue despite the immediate threats from Covid-19. There was no justification for NATO's destruction of Libya. As a bridge between the Arab world and Africa Gaddafi's Libya presented a threat.

Partial sources: "British Parliament Confirms: Libya War was Based on Lies," April 7, 2020, The Greanville Post; "HC 119 Libya: Examination of intervention and collapse and the UK's future policy options, Third Report of Session 2016 - 17," House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Sept. 14, 2016, House of Commons; Hillary Clinton, 'Smart Power' and a Dictator's Fall," Jo Becker and Scott Shane, Feb. 27, 2016, The New York Times; "Israel's little-known support for Haftar's war in Libya," Yossi Melman, April 15, 2020,Middle East Eye; "Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Quaeda links," Praveen Swami, Nick Squires and Duncan Gardham, March 25, 2011, Telegraph.

 

 

March 28, 2020

     U.S.: CBS News reported on March 26th that the U.S. Attorney General instructed the Bureau of Prisons to "increase the use of home confinement," which would release to their homes prisoners-at-risk of COVID-19, at the discretion of the Bureau of Prisons. There have been releases of small numbers of nonviolent prisoners at local levels. An Alabama judge Ben Fuller bravely ordered the release of minor-crime-accused in county jails causing a law enforcement uproar. Elsewhere, in Los Angeles county 1700 were released. According to France 24 a thousand inmates were released in Ontario Canada. In early March the government of Iran released 54,000. Since the option for release is available and its principle established, detention facilities could be held responsible for the effects of COVID-19 on prisoners, particularly prisoners who are accused pre-trial and all those who present no threat to the population. This includes all U.S. political prisoners whose presence in prison is usually a result of their attempts to find justice for their communities. The Nuclear Resister has put out a call for the release of Dr. Rafil Dhafir, currently serving in a low security Pennsylvania prison after years in a supermax. He has served over 17 years for basically, sending food and medical aid to Iraqi children when Iraq was "sanctioned" by the U.S.. His release date is Nov. 24, 2021. He's over seventy. Resisting what has amounted to a genocide in Iraq, he shouldn't be in prison. The Nuclear Resister has also noted Amnesty's call for the release of Leonard Peltier. Peltier at 75 is at medical risk and his numerous health concerns have been mentioned through these pages over the years.

Partial sources: "Barr tells federal prisons to send inmates home in response to coronavirus outbreak," Clara Hymes, March 27, 2020, CBSNews; "A Judge Ordered The Release Of Low-Level Prisoners Because Of The Coronavirus. People Were Absolutely Furious," Emmanuel Felton, March 27, 2020, BuzzFeed News; "Coronavirus: Scotland may release prisoners close to end of sentences," Libby Brooks, March 28, 2020, The Guardian; "Iran Releases 54,000 Prisoners to Contain Coronavirus Spread," Emma Tucker, March 4, 2020, thedailybeast.com; "Immediate support action needed for Dr. Rafil Dhafir, Humanitarian Political Prisoner," March 28, 2020, The Nuclear Resister; "The COVID-19 crisis underscores the need to release Leonard Peltier," Zeke Johnson/Amnesty International, March 26, 2020, The Nuclear Resister.

 

     Burma (Myanmar): the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has issued a warning that conditions have worsened since the International Court of Justice ruling that Myanmar stop genocidal acts against the Rohingya. The Commission specifically notes the internet blackout of the Rakhine region and the Myanmar military stepping up its actions. The Commission is "an independent bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on threats to religious freedom abroad." While North American media ignore the ICJ ruling the Commission maintains some concern for Burma and to note here its March Factsheet, the Commission currently reports amid other persecution, indiscriminate killing of Rohingya civilians by the military and destruction of homes. Myanmar's military is currently suing Reuters for its reporting of news. Refugees are not returning home. 120,000 Rohingya remain in displaced persons camps in the Rakhine and under duress. The Commission summarizes three current attempts to assure the Myanmar government's accountability. The Gambia's suit against Myanmar for genocide continues at the International Court of Justice which has ordered Myanmar to stop genocidal acts against the Rohingya and other minorities. The Gambia's claims have been found reasonable. And, "The ICJ noted that any signatory to the Convention on Genocide, including The Gambia, can bring suit for failure to enforce the treaty's provisions." A long drawn out legal procedure has begun, without immediate means of enforcement and the Court's affect relies on an "unbought" objective world media which is not available. The International Criminal Court is in the process of investigating Myanmar for crimes of genocide, as authorized Nov. 14, 2019, however Myanmar hasn't accepted the ICC's jurisdiction. The Commission report also notes the attempt by human rights organizations to bring a criminal complaint in Argentina against Myanmar officials under the principle of universal jurisdiction. The Commission presents a more thorough outline of steps being taken under law than presented in my essay of January 26, 2020, "To Keep the Rohingya Alive". The U.S. Commission notes its State Department's 2018 report of somewhat overwhelming crimes against the Rohingya which does not find the crimes a genocide, and encourages the U.S. government to "cooperate and support" investigative efforts. Generally U.S. attempts to disavow or destroy international law and international courts have extended to its reluctance to publicly declare the treatment of the Rohingya, a genocide. The Commission report's 2019 recommendations to the U.S. government include: reinstating the national emergency for Burma which was canceled by President Obama in 2016 because the government had made such great progress in human rights..., continuing targeted sanctions against military personnel for human rights violations, pursuing the need for an international court, and bringing a case against Myanmar for violating the Genocide Convention. The U.S. evaded its responsibility. The Gambia did not. Currently, within the largest refugee camp in the world, in Bangladesh, that government has imposed an internet blackout on the million refugees, leaving them cut off as they face COVID-19. The blackout affects not only refugees but ability of the health workers to communicate, obtain supplies etc.. Rohingya in Bangladesh are not allowed cellphone SIM cards, further isolating them from local emergency services. Both in Burma and Bangladesh the genocide warning for Rohingya peoples continues.

Partial sources: "Burma: Tier 1 USCIRF-Recommended Countries of Particular Concern (CPC)," USCIRF / Annual Report 2019; "USCIRF Alarmed by Worsening Conditions in Rakhine State Following International Court Ruling," Press release, March 27, 2020, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; "The Path Towards Justice: Accountability for International Crimes Against the Rohingya of Burma," Kirsten Lavery and Harrison Akins, March 2020, Factsheet Burma / United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; "Documentation of Atrocities in Northern Rakhine State," August 2018, Department of State, U.S.A.; "A Rohingya Coronavirus Catastrophe Looms if Their Internet Blackout Continues," Sirazul Islam, March 27, 2020, The Diplomat; ""Bangladesh: Internet Ban Risks Rohingya Lives," March 26, 2020, Human Rights Watch.

 

 

March 8, 2020    International Women's Day

 

 

 

March 6, 2020

     The Hague: On March 5th the International Criminal Court decided unanimously to pursue investigations of war crimes in Afghanistan, including allegations against Afghan and American forces, and the Taliban, of war crimes and atrocities. This overturns a previous ruling which kept investigations from moving forward. Now Americans could be charged and made to stand trial under law when arrested outside the protection of the U.S..The New York Times quotes the appeals court presiding justice:"The Prosecutor is authorized to commence an investigation into alleged crimes committed on the territory of Afghanistan since May 1, 2003, as well as other alleged crimes that have a nexus to the armed conflict in Afghanistan." The investigation is a necessary move against impunity. 123 world nations have subscribed to the International Criminal Court. Recent U.S. presidents discount the ICC's ability to bring atrocity criminals to justice since the U.S. does not subscribe to the Court. However, Article 29 of The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, reads "The crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court shall not be subject to any statute of limitations." In an interview with CBC Radio Katherine Gallagher, the human rights attorney, has pointed out that among those responsible for alleged torture are Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld if not current CIA director Gina Haspel, so this ICC decision may ask them to answer to history, and the courts and the people as well.

Sources: "I.C.C. Allows Afghanistan War Crimes Inquiry to Proceed, Angering U.S.," Elian Peltier & Fatima Faizi, March 5, 2020, The New York Times; "The ICC must hold the US accountable for crimes in Afghanistan," Katherine Gallagher, Feb. 16, 2018, The Guardian; "Guantanamo detainees' lawyer celebrates ICC probe into alleged U.S. war crimes," John McGill & Katherine Gallagher, March 5, 2020, CBC Radio; "Afghanistan: ICC Appeals Chamber authorises the opening of an investigation," Press release, March 5, 2020, International Criminal Court. Also ref. Night's Lantern Archive: Lawyers Against the War and Related Materials, LAW, Michael Mandel, Gail Davidson, & others, 2002-2018, nightslantern.ca. Recommended: "Situation in Afghanistan: Statement of ICC Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda", March 5, YouTube [access:< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRBqbOJihTs&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0SCOMD7fq8GDAthJOo5zx4yDxTwV1PqJGTHrKnvImgKI4bXwL3LMdRdGc >].


 

March 5, 2020

     The Hague: see previous. Foreseeing protest of any investigation of war crimes committed by Israel or Palestine, Fatou Bensouda, the International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor asked the Court for a ruling first, to affirm Palestine's eligibility for the Court's concern. It is the Prosecutor's belief after years of consideration that Palestine is eligible for those protections of international law insisted on by the ICC when extreme crimes have been committed (see genocide warnings). According to Hamodia, the Daily Paper of Torah Jewry on January 21, 2020, the ICC turned down the Prosecutor's request on technical grounds: papers submitted are limited by statute to 110 pages while the Prosecutor submitted about 120 pages asking for a waiver of the minimal discrepancy. While she is free to resubmit, Canada's Prime Minister Trudeau has sent a letter to the International Criminal Court declaring that Palestine isn't a state and therefore isn't eligible for consideration under the Rome Statute which formed and empowers the ICC. However Palestine is a member of the ICC. So is Canada. While the Premier's decision supports the position of Israel's government and the U.S. government (neither subscribes to the Rome Statute) Canada's Prime Minister has preempted the Court's business of thinking for itself, while noting that Canada contributes 10.6 million dollars to the Court, yearly. It is ill advised for the government to leverage the International Criminal Court's decisions with the force of its funding, or to turn a blind eye on ongoing unacceptable atrocities. Any withdrawal of support for the ICC by Canada puzzles the millions who have found in Canada a hope for human rights. In September 2018 the U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, said simply "We will let the ICC die on its own." Sources: "Canada Joins 'Friendly States' in Opposing ICC War Crimes Investigation in Palestine," Palestine Chronicle Staff, Feb.26, 2020, The Palestine Chronicle; "Canada says Palestine not a state, ICC can't investigate Israeli war crimes," Steve Sweeney, February 27, 2020, People's World; "In an open letter to Trudeau, AI says Canada must support ICC decision to investigate war crimes in Palestine," M.K., March 3, 2020, Wafa; "ICC Tells Bensouda to Revise and Try Again," Hamodia Staff, Jan. 21, 2020, Hamodia, "CJPME Disagrees with Trudeau Letter Discouraging ICC Prosecution of Israel," March 3, 2020, CJPME.
 

February 29, 2020

     Canada: in response to the British Columbia Provincial Police trespass and entry into Wet'suwet'en territory to arrest land defenders peacefully protesting an attempt to place a Coastal Gaslink pipeline on their lands (see previous), Indigenous bands and supportive groups throughout Canada have registered protest and solidarity. This has included the Mohawk Nation, where defenders have blockaded the passage of trains, and were forcefully removed and arrested. Whenever a blockade is removed by force others spring up. Micmaq peoples in Quebec Gaspe region have blockaded rail tracks for over two weeks in sympathy with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs' request for the RCMP to leave Wet'suwet'en territory, a precondition for negotiations. Many protest actions by Indigenous peoples, bands and their allies are noted in the media. On February 27 negotiations between Federal and Provincial governments and the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs began in British Columbia. Widespread solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs in support of nonviolent defense of their territory against environmental hazards also finds meaning among Canadians who don't identify as Indigenous but understand the need for a turn around in the country's treatment of First Peoples and its treatment of the environment, both sacrificed historically to the profits of resource extraction. Canada's Indigenous resistance has shown that in extremes it can nonviolently close the country down. This power will have to be respected. The refusal by Indigenous peoples and all land defenders to sacrifice the environment for money or favor, has to be respected. The Indigenous actions have helped sensitize the government to making real its promises to supply native communities with drinking water, to grant equal funding to Indigenous youth and education, to assure effective health care particularly to areas with extreme disease rates, to combat the 50% native children poverty rate, to assure land rights and rights of autonomy, to supply liveable housing in areas where the housing is unsafe and to protect the land and forests and waters for the future of everyone.

 

     Burma / Myanmar: the International Court of Justice decision ordering Myanmar to stop genocidal policies against the Rohingya is being muted by NATO country media. This is particularly noticeable in Canada where Parliament has declared a genocide in progress in Myanmar but has not provided substantial response to the ICJ ruling, possibly due to unresolved issues concerning historical policies of genocide in Canada. Recently joining The Gambia's ongoing case against Myanmar at the ICJ, is the Maldives, represented by the prominent London human rights attorney, Amal Clooney. The UN's high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, has recommended Myanmar repeal discriminatory laws and policies and revoke its use of "the concept of 'national races'", ensure the military's accountability to civilian review, and ratify the human rights treaties it has overlooked. Her recommendations submitted in a 17 page report Feb. 27, 2020 to the Human Rights Council's 43rd Session, urge the international community to support accountability of Myanmar. Environmentally vulnerable, Myanmar is continuing to lose farmland to climate change, flooding, sea level rise. This will strain the country's food resources and could be considered as a causative factor in the Army's genocide of the Rohingya. An estimated 2.5 million people on the country's southeast coast are at risk to rising water. The silence and inaction of Western countries and their media in response to Myanmar's 'genocidal intent' of its treatment of the Rohingya, suggests that the corporate powers unifying western government policies are willing to sacrifice the Rohingya as a people to corporate imperatives. See "genocide warnings." Partial sources: previous 1 and 2; "UN to Myanmar: Repeal laws discriminating against Rohingyas," Humayun Kabir Bhuiyan, Feb. 27, 2020, Reuters; "Rising sea levels put Myanmar's villages on frontline of climate change," Rozanna Latiff and Zaw Naing Oo, Feb. 26, 2020, National Post.

                   
     India: a genocide warning for Muslims in India grows from the government's new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) which is likely to deny citizenship to the Muslims of India who don't have birth registrations. New citizenship requirements for Muslims are more severe than for other persecuted minorities (Christian and Sikh among others). This measure specifically attacks the poor. There have been demonstrations against the legislation throughout the country. Having marked Hindu homes and businesses with saffron flags for safety, on February 24, mobs described as Hindu government thugs attacked the predominantly Muslim northeast of New Delhi with crimes of violence. Police are reported to have joined the attacks. In northeast India's Assam state 1.9 million predominantly Muslim people have already been declared illegal. (See previous). Another genocide warning for the Muslim people of India. Partial sources: "Anti-Muslim violence in India reaches alarming proportions," C.J. Werleman, Feb. 27, 2020, TRT World; "Indian Minister: We Made a Mistake Not Committing Genocide Against Muslims," Alan Macleod, Feb. 21, 2020, Mint Press News; "A mob out for blood: India's protests pit Hindus against Muslims," Danish Siddiqui and Devjyot Ghoshal, Feb. 26, 2020, Reuters; "How Hindu supremacists are tearing India apart," Samanth Subramanian, Feb. 20, 2020, The Guardian.

 

 

February 18, 2020

     Rwanda: a strong force for healing and reconciliation following Rwanda's genocide, Kizito Mihigo was arrested by Paul Kagame's government in April 2014 for a gospel song. The song was a prayer for genocide victims, both Tutsi and Hutu. Popular, his songs were then banned in Rwanda. He was convicted of plotting to assassinate Kagame and sentenced to ten years. Then he was pardoned by Kagame in 2018 as was Victoire Ingabire , a presidential hopeful imprisoned basically for attempting to mourn Hutu (as well as Tutsi) victims of Rwanda's genocide. Kizito Mihigo was re-arrested about Feb. 14th near Rwanda's border with Burundi and placed in solitary confinement in Kigali. He was found hanging in his cell Feb. 17th. Rwandan police have suggested he hanged himself. His family and non-government sources do not think it so. Background.. Partial sources online: "Shocking death of gospel singer in custody must be effectively investigated - Amnesty International," editor, Feb. 18, 2020, Rwanda News Agency. "Popular Rwandan singer found dead in police cell," Ivan R. Mugisha, Feb. 18, 2020, Daily Nation. "Le Parti FDU-Inkingi a appris avec Tristesse la Mort du Chanteur Rwandais Kizito Mihigo," Communique de Presse, Feb. 18, 2020, The Rwandan; "Kizito Mihigo - Wedding Song"[access:< https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Mfqm7i6JKA >].

 

 

February 12, 2020

     Lake Huron, Canada: In a referendum held January 31, the Anishnaabek Saugeen Ojibway Nation by an 86% majority voted against The Deep Geological Depository to store nuclear waste in their territory. Ontario Power Generation (OPG) sought the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of the people to bury 200,000 cubic meters of intermediate and low level nuclear waste 680 meters underground. This may end the company's billion dollar project planning to bury nuclear waste on the shores of Lake Huron. The Anishnaabek are protectors of their ancestral Lake Huron waters. The project could have affected the drinking water of forty million people. Partial sources online: "G'ganoonigonaa Zaagigan / The Lake Is Speaking To Us: Nuclear Waste In Saugeen Ojibway Nation Territory?" Bidaabinokwe and Waasekom,Jan. 29, 2020, Indigenous Governance / Yellowhead Institute; "The Deep Geologic Repository for low and intermediate level nuclear waste will not go ahead as planned, preparing for what's next," Press release, Feb. 1, 2020, G'ganoonigonaa Zaagigan / The Lake Is Speaking To Us; "OPG's plans for a nuclear dump near Lake Huron are dead, now everyone wonders what's next," Colin Butler, Feb. 11, 2020, CBC news.

     Loreto, Peru: in this northern region of the country a lawsuit by Indigenous peoples and the Institute of Legal Defense has forced the Ministry of Energy and Mines and Perupetro corporation, to suspend any development of the specified Indigenous territory lots 135, 138, 31B, which are part of the Sierra del Divisor National Park. Most Indigenous people there are uncontacted peoples and their informed permission can't be obtained. Since the informed consent law was effected in 2011, Indigenous peoples of the Amazon and Andes have successfully claimed their rights in court. Sources: "Peruvian indigenous group wins suit to block oil exploration in Amazonian region," Marcia Cervantes, Jan. 22, 2020, Reuters; "Indigenous Communities Push Back Against Amazon Development," Jonathan Stormer Pezzi, Jan. 26, 2020, Via News; "Court bars oil exploitation in Peru's Sierra del Divisor," Feb. 2, 2020, Countervortex.

 

February 8, 2020

     U.S.A.: Delbert Orr Africa was released on parole January 18th, Chuck Sims Africa was released on parole february 7th. This completes the releases of all surviving members of the MOVE 9 organization imprisoned on what many believe to have been false charges over forty years ago. They were sentenced to thirty years after the nine were convicted of third-degree murder of a policeman killed by one bullet amid a barrage of gunfire from police forces. In 2019 Janine Phillips Africa, Janet Holloway Africa, Eddie Goodman Africa were paroled. In 2018 Mike Africa Sr. and Debbie Sims Africa were paroled. Merle Africa and Phil Africa are reported to have died in confinement. Gerald and Maas Night's Lantern first noted the injustice of their imprisonment 2004. See also my "Open Letter to American Writers" of 1994, which notes Mumia Abu-Jamal's honest reporting on the Move 9 as a motive for his death sentence. Partial sources: "Out of prison after 41 years, MOVE member Delbert Africa rails against ‘unjust’ criminal justice system," Mensah M. Dean, Jan. 21, 2020, Prisoner News, Freedom Archives; "Chuck Sims Africa freed: final jailed Move 9 member released from prison," Ed Pilkington, Feb. 7, 2020, Prisoner News, Freedom Archives.

 

     U.S.A.: The U.S. Air Force has announced a marked increase in suicides among Air Force personnel. The 137 Air Force suicides in 2019 include Air National Guard and Reserve personnel and represents the highest number since official suicide count began in 2008. The number of suicides in all active military services (the casualties from covert service are not likely listed) in 2018 showed an increase of 40% from 2017. Regular Army suicide statistics are usually double the Air Force's. Whatever the DoD considers them, are these men and women "suicides" or casualties of policies against the peoples' interests? Partial sources: "Air Force Saw Record-Breaking Number of Suicides in 2019," Oriana Pawlyk, Feb. 4, 2020, military.com; "Department of Defense (DoD) Quarterly Suicide Report (QSR) 4th Quarter, CY 2018," Kevin Orbin DSPO, Defense Suicide Prevention Office.

 

     Myanmar /Burma: The UN Security Council failed to reach agreement in response to the International Court of Justice ordering Myanmar to prevent Genocide of the Rohingya. Unofficial reports are that China and Vietnam found objections. The European Union members believe the ICJ ruling "compulsory under international law" (Al Jazeera) and affecting Myanmar's Rakhine, Shan and Kachin States. See genocide warnings. Response to the Court's decision is downplayed if not censored in the U.S. and Canadian media. Partial sources: "UN fails to take action on order against Myanmar on Rohingya," Feb. 5, 2020, Al Jazeera; "UN did not reach an agreement against Myanmar," Feb. 5, 2020, Prensa Latina.

     Wet'suwet'en Access Point on Gidimt'en Territory: On the night of Feb. 7-8th, those witnessing Wet'suwet'en reported that the RCMP had towed from the road all the cars which belonged to those at Camp 27 leaving them without transportation, then told camp members that they had to leave or would be arrested. Among those at the camp is a 7 month pregnant woman. Subsequently the RCMP told them they could pass the night in their camp but would be arrested in the morning if they stayed. The procedure could suggests malice rather than policing. Partial source: live stream reporting from Wet'suwet'en territory.

Background: the hereditary chiefs of the Wet'suwet'en have not allowed Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. to place a pipeline through their unceded territory in British Columbia. Band members and their allies are nonviolently resisting. Fearing state violence the Unisto'ten camp asked for legal observers January 18th. There is evidence legal observers were subsequently blocked from access and entry to Unisto'ten territory. The RCMP, operating under a court issued injunction against the Indigenous resistance, is attempting to clear the native encampments. The court injunction is illegal under Wet'suwet'en law and rejected by Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs. RCMP actions are unwise in that they deprive the Indigenous people of Treaty rights, land rights, rights under UNDRIP (international law protecting Indigenous peoples), human rights and attempt to turn the Indigenous people against their own laws. While the company insists that it has the approval of numerous band councils to lay its pipeline, band councils do not have the same responsibility to protect their lands and people's future. Band councils may be subject to government and company persuasions, both legal and illegal. The Wet'suwet'en camp has asked the RCMP to leave the territory. In response to the RCMP actions, entry and takeover, there are resistance actions by Indigenous bands and Wet'suwet'en camp supporters throughout Canada as reported in the media.

 

 

February 4, 2020

      Canada: The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled against an Indigenous challenge to the 7.4 billion dollar Trans Mountain Expansion Project. The Indigenous immediate response to the court decision is these spoken truths noting the endangerment of the water, water table, sea, whales, land, and the high likelihood of oil spills. Indigenous law speaks to the ancestors, the present and the future. The Federal Court allows the pipeline to proceed with increasing its barrels-per-day capacity from 300,000 to 890,000, while climate change radically increases the pipeline risks to the environmment. On December 13th the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination ( CERD) issued a report calling on Canada "to immediately cease construction of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project and cancel all permits, until free, prior and informed consent is obtained from all the Secwepemc people, following the full and adequate discharge of the duty to consult." The CERD report was subsequently criticized by the Haisla Nation Chief for not consulting with First Nations peoples before issuing the directive. The Haisla Nation is one of the tribes that made an agreement with Coastal GasLink.

Partial sources online: "Live: First Nations respond to Trans Mountain appeal decision" [access:< https://www.facebook.com/cbccalgary/videos/1167756786757877/ >]; "Coldwater Indian Band v. Canada (Attorney General)," 2020 FCA 34, Feb. 4, 2020, Federal Court of Appeals; "First Nations chief blasts 'condescending' UN anti-racism directive that called for pipeline to be shut down," Jesse Snyder, Jan. 17, 2020, TheProvince: "Prevention of Racial Discrimination, Including Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure," Advance unedited version, 2801rst meeting Hundredth Session, Dec. 13, 2019, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination..

 

      Mexico: Raúl Hernández Romero, was last seen alive January 27th. His body was discovered February 1, badly beaten. He worked as a tour guide part-time, at the butterfly sanctuary. According to the BBC after the death of Homero Gómez González (previous) the police of the towns of Ocampo and Anganguero were held for questioning by authorities ("Second man with ties to Mexico's largest monarch butterfly reserve found dead," Kevin Sieff, Feb. 2, 2020, The Washington Post; "Second Mexico monarch butterfly activist found dead," Feb. 3, 2020, BBC News; "Mexican butterfly activist's disappearance: 53 police detained," Jan.22, 2020, BBC News).

 

 

January 31, 2020

      Mexico: Homero Gómez González, a former logger who managed the El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve, was known as Mexico's leading butterfly activist. His disappearance was reported January 14th. On January 29th his body was found floating at the bottom of a nearby well. Mexican laws protect the habitat against logging interests.

 

 

January 26, 2020

      Myanmar (Burma): the International Court of Justice released its ruling on Myanmar's genocide of the Rohingya, January 23rd. Its order of provisional measures is discussed here in "To Keep the Rohingya Alive," by John Bart Gerald.

 

 

January 18, 2020

      Quebec: The Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the National Council of Canadian Muslims, and Ichrak Nourel Hak have filed a 27 page brief with the Supreme Court of Canada, asking the Court to consider ruling on the legality of Quebec's Bill-21. As a Provincial law it outlaws the wearing of religious symbols by those in authority. The outlawing of Muslim religious symbols became politically fashionable as European countries moved to the right in response to a heavy influx of refugees from countries destroyed by NATO destabilization and bombing. The current (Coalition Avenir Quebec) Government of Quebec considers this law a way to prevent secularism in politics, to keep state and religious issues apart. There is some latitude; those wearing religious symbols at the passing of the law are allowed to continue. However the law deprives some people of their religious freedom. Judges of Quebec's appeals court where this issue was tested in December, while recognizing damage to individuals, ruled that the law will remain in effect until the issue is heard by Quebec Superior Court. Some background: 1     2     3     4     5     6. Night's Lantern first noted this as a danger to Muslim women's human rights March 11, 2010 (Partial sources: "Civil rights groups challenging Quebec's religious symbols ban file appeal to Canada's top court," Jan. 17, 2020, CBC News; "'I Feel Like a Stranger Here Now,'" Alia Youssef, Dec. 21, 2019, Globe and Mail; "Groups seek leave to appeal Quebec's secularism law to Supreme Court," The Canadian Press, Dec. 18, 2019, Globe and Mail).

 

      Iraq. Historical note: at this time 29 years ago the massive bombardment of Iraq was just beginning. On January 12th 1991 the U.S. Congress authorized war on the sovereign nation of Iraq. The Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution was approved in the Senate by 52 to 47 votes, and in the House by 250 to 183. In debate, with some thought to the future, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California (D) noted, "The King of Jordan last night on 'Nightline' said that if we go to war, we could have an ecological disaster of the first order." The bombardment of Iraq began about 6:30 PM January 16th and the January 17th headlines of The Boston Globe read "Gulf War Begins: US leads massive bombing of strategic sites in Iraq, Kuwait." The Globe January 18th headline read," Iraqi missiles strike Israel; region braces for retaliation."On February 24th U.S. and Coalition ground forces invaded: U.S. and Saudi forces are reported 40 to 50 miles inside Kuwait, while U.S., British and French forces are reported 70 miles within Iraq. By March 1 a cease fire was in effect. A UN team visiting Iraq from March 10th to 17th reported that the Allies had bombed Iraq into a "pre-industrial age"; the report found 72,000 homeless, and 9000 homes destroyed (NYTimes International). In 2010, Souad Al-Azzawi, distinguished Iraqi scientist and expert on depleted uranium, reported that Iraq's Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs numbers Iraqi orphans at 4.5 million with half a million living in the streets. The 700 children in Iraq's prisons and 100 in U.S. prisons were allegedly raped tortured and otherwise brutalized ("Violations Of Iraqi Children Rights Under The American Occupation," Souad Al-Azzawi, March 20, 2010, countercurrents.org). By 2019 Prof Souad Al-Azzawi notes 1.5 million Iraqi deaths caused by the war. She notes as well 940,000 Depleted Uranium "projectiles" fired with an additional 14,000 by the British, 210,004 bombs on cities, 39,336 cluster bombs dropped, 9342 smart bombs, in addition to missiles. She lists among everything destroyed these components of the civilian infrastructure: 833 sewage and drinking water facilities, 205 dams and water services, 145 radio & tv stations and museums, 44 orphanages & old age facilities, 159 religious buildings, 251 food related facilities, 421 hospitals and medical service facilities, 3968 educational facilities, etc.. ("Twenty-Eight Years of Continuous Aggression Against Iraq," Prof Souad N. Al-Azzawi. Jan. 21, 2019, Global Research). These remain unaddressed war crimes. A case was attempted before the Audiencia Nacional de Espana in 2009, but was not accepted. Its full text is available at http://usgenocide.org/the-legal-case/ . The crime of genocide has no statute of limitations.

 
 

 

 

 


January 8, 2020

      Night's Lantern starts the year with updates for U.S. political prisoners. Some are suffering inhumanly long sentences as targets for law enforcement control programs. Some are prisoners of war in our society's ongoing war on the poor. Many are pawns in a corporate prison industry that places as many people in prison as possible for profits, where imprisonment becomes a way of life for the survivors, or a kind of death sentence. In part political prisoners represent all prisoners and all peoples subject to the over-ruling greed of the unjust.

Imam Jamil Action Network [https://whathappened2rap.com/] has asked those who care, to call and ask friends to call the Bureau of Prisons and request cataract surgery for Imam Jamil Abdullah al-Amin. Diagnosed with Smoldering Myeloma (considered a precancerous condition), treatment is being denied. The number to call at USP Tucson is (520) 663-5000 and al-Amin's inmate number at Tucson is 99974-555. For those concerned with injustices of this case, the Action Network has posted the confession by another man to the killing of officers Imam Jamil Abdullah al-Amin was charged with killing and convicted of: "The Otis Jackson Confession," Imam Jamil Action Network [access:< https://whathappened2rap.com/pages/the-otis-jackson-confession >] ("Imam Jamil Al-Amin denied cataract surgery - Call Bureau of Prisons," Imam Jamil Action Network, Jan. 4, 2020, San Francisco BayView)

 
Bill Dunne is being added to our Political Prisoners pages. Arrested in 1979 for aiding and abetting the escape of Artie Ray Dufur and auto theft, Bill Dunne was sentenced to 80 years in a federal prison. He received an additional sentence of 15 years when he attempted to escape prison in 1983. This amounted to an inhuman sentence of 90 years in prison for non lethal crimes attempting freedom - release date 2043 ("Dunne, Bill," current, National Jericho Movement).

Denied parole ten times Robert Seth Hayes was released on parole July 24, 2018. He suffered serious and frequently untreated medical difficulties throughout his 45 years in prison; before parole these conditions included hepatitis C, diabetes, bleeding, abdominal growths, trouble breathing. He was 72 years old and at home when he ceased to be of our world, Dec. 21, 2019 ("Rest in Power Robert Seth Hayes!" Freedom Archives, Dec. 23, 2019, Prisoner News).

Last May Russell "Maroon" Shoatz was in hospital unable to keep fluids down, nausea and stomach pain. By August he was found to have stage 4 cancer. He's currently being treated. Donations are requested to help cover the costs: "Free Russell Maroon Shoatz!". His illness follows a successful legal battle against the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (DOC) (Shoatz was released into the general prison population from an over 22 year stretch of solitary confinement), and a statement by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture that conditions of his imprisonment were uncivilized.

According to a posting by his family and friends, Dr. Mutulu Shakur was diagnosed with malignant bone cancer this past October. After a year delay since he noticed pain and a four month delay since the Doctor requested a CT scan, suspecting cancer, and the diagnosis was confirmed. Dr. Mutulu Shakur at 69 is already known to suffer from diabetes and high blood pressure, high cholesterol as well and his sight is hampered by glaucoma. Compassionate release on health grounds was applied for to the Bureau of Prisons by his legal team and denied this past December 5th. He's currently undergoing chemotherapy. His original trial judge is being petitioned for release. A federal judge in California is being petitioned for his release under a habeas corpus request, due to previous unjust denials of parole. Dr. Shakur joins a number of U.S. political prisoners who have contracted cancer since arrest (" Mutulu Shakur - December 2019 Medical and Legal Update," Freedom Archives, Dec. 14, 2019, Prisoner News).

This suggests prison conditions lead to or advance the illness of political prisoners through contaminated or unhealthy environments, bad water, intentional psychological damage, contaminated food, institutional diets, spatial conditions which prohibit psychological healing and health, and physical regimens including isolation intended to destroy a person's psychological and then physical resistance. I remember that Phil Berrigan died of a fast moving stomach cancer probably contracted in prison. Marilyn Buck contracted cancer in prison which was not addressed quickly and which she died of on compassionate release. The prosecution and unjust long sentence for Lynne Stewart because of cancer became a death sentence though she was also granted a compassionate release. Imam Jamil Al-Amin is known to have contracted blood cancer. And there's the recently diagnosed cancer of Russell Maroon Shoatz. And now Dr. Shakur is among those whose fight against cancer is known to these pages.

 

 

 

2019 suppressed news

 

 

A branch that comes from violence will not take root;
for a blighted root is on sheer rock, like reeds by the
banks of a river, which are dried up before any grass; but
kindness, like eternity, will never be cut off, and faithfulness
will be established forever
- from Ben Sira
(Dead Sea Scrolls Bible, Abegg et al)

 

at first posting in 2002 this bulletin board was for emergency protests, attempts to counter
genocide, anti-war information, which were suppressed in the media; my interest remains in
how a society is moved into what have become genocidal wars, and how people are able to
resist... it becomes a kind of history in motion and a way to counter enforced forgetfulness,
the lies that say these things never happened, or that there is nothing wrong with the murders
of hundreds of thousands of innocents in other countries, or the continuing move toward
eradication of the poor by death, in north america; this account is against forgetfulness. - jbg
2008 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


by john bart gerald
graphics by julie maas
guest contributions as noted
December 20, 2020