Saturday 23 May 2020

Even If ‘Israel’ Polished the Prison Walls, It Won’t Polish Its Bloody History



Even If ‘Israel’ Polished the Prison Walls, It Won’t Polish Its Bloody History

South Lebanon – Before the liberation of Lebanon from the ‘Israeli’ enemy on May 25, 2000, one of the ‘Israeli’-run facilities, used to detain any member suspected of carrying out a resistance activity, was totally inhabitable.
The Khiam Detention Center, based on top of the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, which borders occupied Palestine, didn’t feature any aspect that makes it fit for the human survival. In addition to being located in an open and high altitude area, not a single detail in it made it fit for detaining humans inside it.
Inside cells that could barely fit for two, every five detainees spent years of their lives. Not a single light, not even a toilet… detainees adapted with such harsh circumstances.
Some solitary cells were flooded with rainwater in winter, and being as hot as hell in summer, and it was all fine for the prison’s administration.
One day, out of the blue, conditions turned upside down. The detainees were astonished…
In the early 1995, ‘Israelis’ started improving the place. They emptied prisons gradually and made radical changes inside. When every group of prisoners returned to their cell, they didn’t find it. Every four or five cells were merged together in a one big hall. Beds were added, and toilets were set inside. Hot water became also available, even lights appeared finally in the dark rooms.
Detainees didn’t understand the sudden transformation although they concluded that something is in the making. Days later, they learned that the International Committee for Red Cross [ICRC] will enter the place.
It was hence understood that the ‘Israeli’ was taking all precautionary measures to show the ICRC that the place is suitable and comfortable for the prisoners, so that when it reflects the image to the outer world it doesn’t harm the ‘Israeli’ one.
In that year, the ICRC representatives started entering the Khiam Detention Center and holding meetings with the detainees who, in fact, told them that everything they can see at the time are innovated, and things were in total mess before.
The representatives, however, wanted to stay on the safe side. They told the prisoners that they are concerned with what happens in the present and that they don’t want to tackle what happened before.
However, despite the apparent enhancement, the policies to torture and starve detainees continued. Although detainees were allowed to receive letters from their relatives, those letters have long been censored by the jailers who chose to cancel any part of it they don’t like. Methods of torture were always the same. The most brutal and painful was the electric pole upon which detainees were hanged upside down, and sometimes they hang them from one leg only. Detainees used to remain two to three days hanged in the whatsoever whether happens to be at time of their turn. They were deprived of food and water… with their heads covered in bags, but their entire bodies kept naked.
A lot of detainees were martyred on this electric pole in particular…
The Red Cross was not capable of holding the prison’s administration into account or even sue it. The administration, they say, is not a state, but rather a militia tied to the ‘Israeli’.
This might not seem weird regarding the practices of an enemy like the ‘Israeli’ one. ‘Israel’ has long sought polishing its blood-stained image, the blood of detainees, many of whom were martyred, while the rest have carried with them outside the bars, many chronic respiratory and dermal diseases.
‘Israel’, the murderous living thing on this planet, would be able to polish the walls of the prison. It would be able to wipe away the once-seen dirt and darkness, but would never be able to polish the blood on its hands, nor be able to change its history.
‘Israel’ is a master at performance. There is no doubt. ‘Israel’, however, wouldn’t master directing the scene. The enemy might be able to begin whatever it wants, yet the stable equation is that this enemy itself will remain dependent on the might of resistance, which, since more than a couple of decades, is deciding what it wants to end, the way it, only, wants.

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

AMERICA’S MEDDLING IN VENEZUELA HAS NO BOUNDARIES. AFTER A FAILED COUP ATTEMPT, TRYING TO INSTALL A BOGUS PRESIDENT AND IMPOSING CRIPPLING

May 21, 2020, RT.com
America’s meddling in Venezuela has no boundaries. After a failed coup attempt, trying to install a bogus president, and imposing crippling sanctions, will it ever be held to account?
Venezuela is back in the news again, just weeks after yet another failed coup attempt that was almost certainly backed by the US. This time, it’s the American sanctions against the country that are making the headlines – measures that caused US company AT&T to shut down satellite TV provider, DirecTV, thereby depriving Venezuelans of a number of foreign channels.
The irony, of course, is that while it’s US sanctions that are the cause of this shutdown, had it been President Nicolás Maduro who closed DirecTV, you can bet Western media headlines would be screaming about censorship of the media (although most were rather quiet when Estonia shut down Sputnik.).
The impact of this latest development will be a major inconvenience for most of Venezuela’s poorest – another example of how the sanctions are not merely targeting the administration but the people themselves. US sanctions against Syria, Venezuela, Iran and a long list of other targeted nations have deprived them of access to vital medicines, medical equipment, income and more.
As I noted in a prior article, the Center for Economic and Policy Research estimated that a staggering 40,000 Venezuelans died in 2017 and 2018 due to sanctions. This shameful statistic lends weight to former UN expert Alfred de Zayas naming sanctions as a form of terrorism, “because they invariably impact, directly or indirectly, the poor and vulnerable.”
So well done, America, for adding another layer of misery to the heap you’ve already created.
The plan to abduct Maduro
Just a couple of weeks beforehand, on May 3 and 4, Venezuelan forces had prevented 60 paramilitaries on two speedboats – including Americans – from carrying out their plan to kidnap Venezuela’s president and replace him with Juan Guaido, who the US and Canada have been attempting to install as president since early 2019.
Guaido, the self-appointed ‘interim president’, was aware of the plot, which involved a contract of $213million according to documents that have entered the public domain. The US and Canadian authorities were most likely in the loop, too. 
Guaido first announced himself as ‘interim president’ in January 2019, to the surprise of most Venezuelans and with no election. Most countries rejected this breach of Venezuela’s sovereignty, with only a smattering of Western terrorist supporting countries that advocate regime change – and some nations that they bully – endorsing him. 
A month later, there were failed Western-backed attempts to ram ‘aid trucks’ (loaded with wires and nails) through Colombia’s border with Venezuela, the goal being to vilify the government for failing to accept what was clearly not aid (and was not coming via a proper channel either).
In March, the unpopular Guaido was booed and fled from a pro-government area in Caracas, ironically with Venezuelan security protecting him from an angry crowd. In the same month, I tried to see the supposedly massive pro-opposition rallies I had heard of in the capital, but instead came across huge pro-government demonstrations



In April, Guaido and a violent right-wing opposition leader, with the backing of the US, attempted a coup— an attempt clearly rejected by masses of Venezuelans. Fast forward to January this year and Guaido failed to be re-elected as president of the country’s National Assembly.gwedo
Guaido attempted to scale a fence before the vote took place. His claims that he was barred from entering have been disputed. (Reuters) via Venezuelanalysis.com
In spite of the absurd amount of backing Guaido has received from Western governments, it seems even some opposition within Venezuela don’t want him, and would prefer to return to dialogue with Maduro’s government.
Perhaps this was down to Guaido staffers’ alleged involvement in embezzling ‘humanitarian aid’ funds. Photos taken with  Colombian drug traffickers and paramilitary leaders probably didn’t help his cause, either.
After so many Guaido false starts and flops, and their failure to bring him an iota of legitimacy, surely it’s time for the US and Canadian administrations to accept they are flogging a dead horse?
What’s the UN doing?
On Tuesday, Venezuela’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, tweeted: “May 20 at 3:00 pm, the UN Security Council will debate the situation in Venezuela. The meeting was requested by Russia after the terrorist armed attack carried out from Colombia on May 3. We will denounce to the world the aggression against our people.”
While I do of course support Venezuela’s desire to denounce the attempted coup, and the bloodshed that could have prevailed – including of civilians – had the paramilitaries been successful, forgive me for being cynical that justice will prevail.
After all, history has shown that nothing is done when the US and allies commit war crimes in Syria. Likewise, they have never been held accountable by the UN for what they did in Iraq. And what about the war crimes of Israel against Palestinian civilians, and the Saudis against the Yemenis?
Sadly, I don’t have an answer as to what’s a better option than attempts for justice and accountability via the UN.
But I know this much: this won’t be the last failed attempt to overthrow Venezuela’s government, and it won’t be the last time the country and its allies have to condemn immoral and illegal US and Canadian acts.
So vile are these governments that even now, while the world is focused on dealing with Covid-19, they are scheming to bring more misery to the people of Venezuela. They should hang their heads in shame, but they’ve got none.  
RELATED LINKS:
-Venezuelan woman: “We didn’t vote for you, Guaido. Trump, stop f*cking us over. [VIDEO]
-Reminder of Corporate Media Lies on Venezuela [VIDEO]

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Hinduphobia, Paracetamol, Kashmir and Changed Labour Policy



Dr Syed Nazir Gilani
Change is inevitable. The harbinger of change has to be smart, timely and on the lookout. This time around in the United Kingdom, there has been a change in Labour leadership and Sir Keir Rodney Starmer KCB PC QC, has replaced Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader. He identifies himself as a socialist and defender of human rights everywhere. He has claimed in his letter to Hindu Forum Britain (HFB), “I have fought all my life against injustices and to defend human rights”. Be it so.
Muslims in general and Kashmiri community living in Britain in particular have a cause to force a correction on the new Labour leader in regard to his failure to understand and appreciate the Kashmir Question correctly and address the Human Rights situation in Indian occupied Kashmir, at least in the manner, as addressed in the three report of the United Nations.
Hindu Forum Britain has remained on the look out and has squeezed a shift in labours policy on Kashmir and a rare admission of ‘Hinduphobia’ and racism suffered by a ‘peaceful and loyal’ Hindu community of millions living in the United Kingdom. HFB leadership has been able to further wrench a drop of gratitude from the Labour leader, to India for selling the much needed “PARACETAMOL during this difficult time”. It is for the first time that ‘Hinduphobia’ has been introduced in the British political vocabulary.
There is a lesson for Pakistani and Kashmiri Muslim community living in Britain, that the new Labour Leader initiated a contact with the leadership of Hindu Forum Britain (HFB), which has a claim of “representing more than 320 member organizations giving voice to the million strong Hindu community in the UK”. HFB has an impressive representative face. It is headed by Mrs. Trupti Patel FCIHT, MSc, BEng CE, MISTD. Who would not pay a respectful heed to this Patel, when we have another Patel in the British Cabinet and many more Hindus holding the key positions.
It is interesting to find that HFB did not rush into a meeting but decided to set out a 3 point agenda in their letter of 8 April 2020. The letter cautioned the Labour leader, “There are many issues of concern to the Hindu/Indian community, for the purpose of this letter, suffice to say, the following three I believe give us a good starting point for our proactive engagement, and a test of whether you and the Labour Party are serious about such engagement”. The three concerns have been identified as (1) Caste legislation, (2) Anti-India stance and (3) Hinduphobia in the party.
What a smart way to charge on new Labour Leader and squeeze concessions and gratitude from him. There could be merit in the issues raised but HFB has been very mischievous to hide its real motive in agenda item 2, and have squeezed a statement of their choice on Kashmir from Keir Starmer. There is an uproar in British Kashmiri and Pakistani community on the major shift in labour party. Pakistanis and Kashmiris in Britain are a numerical force and could offer any electoral challenge to any political party. Unfortunately this number has not been translated into a quality representation, to keep the merits of their case, in particular ‘Islamophobia’, ‘Human Rights Situation’ in Indian occupied Kashmir and the delay in UN supervised Plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir. We have a very poor and mediocre leadership, which has been ill handling the Kashmir case.
Labour Leader is no cousin of HFB or a cousin of Pakistani-Kashmiri community either. We should not be irked by his understanding on Kashmir. We should not interfere in his understanding of Caste legislation and Hinduphobia. However, we have a right to challenge his understanding of Kashmir case and convince him to fix it.
Keir Starmer, although a QC, seems to be sitting on the wrong table to understand Kashmir. Even majority or may be all the 320 Hindu organizations, may not have the right understanding of Kashmir case. Starmer’s statement on Kashmir, that it was a “Constitutional Matter for Indian Parliament” and a “Bilateral Issue for India and Pakistan”, is incorrect at core. One has to be fair to one’s opponent. I would say even 80% Pakistanis and Kashmiris also do not have a reliable knowledge of Kashmir case and an understanding of the UN Resolutions on Kashmir. We have also sinned against the people of Kashmir as Keir Starmer has sinned at this point.
JKCHR has done a report titled, “Indian Actions of 5 August and 31 October 2019 – Our Options”. It answers all these questions and answers Keir Starmer as well. India and Pakistan have both admitted on 31 December 1947 and 15 January 1948 that they have tried under article 33 of UN Charter a bilateral engagement on Kashmir and have failed. As a consequence both petitioned the UN Security Council under article 35 of UN Charter. Labour Prime Minister in his telegram on 22 November 1947, has proposed to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, if the latter would consider taking the matter to ICJ.
Labour Leader should be open to a counter argument from Kashmiris and Pakistanis on the issue of Kashmir. Two citations would be enough, to force Keir Starmer to correct his position. Firstly United Kingdom has argued at the 284th meeting of UN Security Council held on 17 April 1948 that Kashmir was “the greatest and gravest single issue in international affairs”.  Secondly, India has conceded at the 533rd meeting of the UN SC held on 01 March 1951, that “The people of Kashmir are not mere chattels to be disposed of according to a rigid formula; their future must be decided in their own interests and in accordance with their own desires”. A UN supervised Plebiscite has been agreed.
This is an age of engagement and argument. Kashmiris have a better case to argue. All available evidence of Indian non-compliance, aggression against the people and re-occupying the habitat from 5 August need to be placed before the Labour Leader. He is no cousin of HFB to award them a favour. Merits of Kashmir case would prevail.
(The author is President of London based Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights – NGO in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations.)

River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

Professor Sunetra Gupta: ‘COVID Epidemic on Its Way Out’

Source
UnHerd: Sunetra Gupta, Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at the University of Oxford and head of the team that released a study in March which speculated that as much as 50% of the population may already have been infected and the true Infection Fatality Rate could be as low as 0.1%. In her first major interview since the Oxford study was published, she goes further by arguing that Covid-19 has already passed through the population and is now on its way out. She said:
On antibodies:
• Many of the antibody tests are “extremely unreliable”
• They do not indicate the true level of exposure or level of immunity
• “Different countries have had different lockdown policies, and yet what we’ve observed is almost a uniform pattern of behaviour”
• “Much of the driving force was due to the build-up of immunity”
On IFR:• “Infection Fatality Rate is less than 1 in 1000 and probably closer to 1 in 10,000.”• That would be somewhere between 0.1% and 0.01%
On lock-down policy:
• Referring to the Imperial model: “Should we act on a possible worst case scenario, given the costs of lockdown? It seems to me that given that the costs of lockdown are mounting that case is becoming more and more fragile”
• Recommends “a more rapid exit from lockdown based more on certain heuristics, like who is dying and what is happening to the death rates”
On the UK Government response:
• “We might have done better by doing nothing at all, or at least by doing something different, which would have been to pay attention to protecting the vulnerable” On the R rate:
• It is “principally dependent on how many people are immune” and we don’t have that information.
• Deaths are the only reliable measure.
On New York:
• “When you have pockets of vulnerable people it might rip through those pockets in a way that it wouldn’t if the vulnerable people were more scattered within the general population.” On social distancing:
• “Remaining in a state of lockdown is extremely dangerous”
• “We used to live in a state approximating lockdown 100 years ago, and that was what created the conditions for the Spanish Flu to come in and kill 50m people.”
On next steps:
• “It is very dangerous to talk about lockdown without recognising the enormous costs that it has on other vulnerable sectors in the population”
• It is a “strong possibility” that if we return to full normal tomorrow — pubs, nightclubs, festivals — we would be fine.
On the politics of Covid:
• “There is a sort of libertarian argument for the release of lockdown, and I think it is unfortunate that those of us who feel we should think differently about lockdown”
• “The truth is that lockdown is a luxury, and it’s a luxury that the middle classes are enjoying and higher income countries are enjoying at the expense of the poor, the vulnerable and less developed countries.”
Watch this highly informative discussion with UnHerd host Freddie Sayer and Dr Gupta on the current status of the COVID-19 epidemic:


River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

يوم القدس العالمي..دعوة لإنعاش الذاكرة في زمن التهويد والتطبيع




في الخامس عشر من شهر آب 1979، وفي العام الأول لانتصار الثورة الإسلامية الإيرانية أعلن قائد الثورة الإسلامية الإيرانية الإمام الراحل السيد روح الله الموسوي الخميني، يوم القدس العالميّ، إذ دعا شعوب العالم لإحياء هذا اليوم في آخر جمعة من شهر رمضان المبارك، في محاولة حثيثة لإنعاش ذاكرة الشعوب بعد محاولات محوها من قبل حكامٍ لأنظمة استبدادية لا تقيم للقيم وزناً، ولا للمقدّسات حرمة. إنّ مواكبة القادة في إيران الثورة للقضية الفلسطينية، ليس مستجدّاً، بل تشكّلت في أسباب هذه الثورة وأهدافها. فمعظم الثورات اندلعت في العالم لأسباب محلّية لمواجهة طاغيةٍ عاث في الأرض فساداً وأفقر العباد وأقفر البلاد، وقد تكون ميزة للثورة الإسلامية الإيرانية أنّ أسبابها ليست فقط داخلية على الرغم من وجود كلّ المبرّرات لاندلاعها، وما ظلم الشاه وجلاوزته إلا السبب الكافي. ولكن كان الاعتراض الأشدّ على شاه إيران، علاقته بالكيان الصهيوني الغاصب على حساب الشعب الفلسطيني والقدس. ففلسطين من اسباب الثورة. ومن هنا نجد أنّ أدبيّات قادة الثورة الإسلامية في إيران في كلّ مناسبة، ومن خلال مؤلّفات ومنشورات وتسجيلات، نجد أنّ الهمّ الأكبر لهذه الثورة نصرة القدس وفلسطين وشعب فلسطين، وهي ميزة من ميزاتها على الرغم من أنّها إسلامية، إلا أنّها لم تقسم العالم إلى ديار الكفر وديار الإيمان كما هي حال بعض الحركات الأخرى في العالم، بل ثبّتت علاقتها ومواقفها على أساس جبهة المظلومين في وجه الظالمين، أو جبهة المستضعفين في وجه المستكبرين. فلا تكفير ولا تنفير ولا فتن، بل وحدة من أجل العدالة لكل إنسان والانسان كلّه. وما دعم قضيّة الشعب الفنزويلّي والتضامن معه، إلا مصداق حيّ، وترجمة حقيقيّة لتلك الأسس والقناعات الراسخة لدى قادة هذه الثورة. وإن كانت مناسبة إحياء يوم القدس، حيث نستذكر من خلالها القادة والشهداء الأبرار، الذين قضوا ومضوا على هذا الدرب، ولا يمكن ان يستقيم الكلام عن تحرير القدس من دون أن نستذكر قائدنا الامام السيد موسى الصدر. ويبقى الإمام السيد موسى الصدر (أعاده الله وأخويه) علامةً فارقةً في هذه المسيرة، حيث صدح باسم الله ثائراً وقائداً: “إنّ القدس هي قبلتنا وملتقى قيمنا، وتجسّد وحدتنا ومعراج رسالتنا، إنّها قدسنا وقضيتنا”.
وإنّ الإمام الصدر كان يعتبر أنّ القدس وفلسطين هما المكوّن الجمعيّ للعرب والمسلمين والمسيحيين والأحرار والعالم.
على درب الإمام مضت أفواج المقاومة اللبنانية أمل، وكان الشهداء في مواجهة الاحتلال الصهيوني. على درب الإمام الصدر، ما زالت هذه القضية حاضرةً في فكرنا وقلبنا وعقلنا. ومع الأخ الرئيس نبيه برّي، الذي في أكثر من مناسبة حذّر من عبث العابثين المحاولين لإسقاط القدس، داعياً ومطالباً بإغلاق السفارات العربية في واشنطن، وإنّ محاولات إسقاط القدس هي بداية، بل نهاية معظم العواصم العربية بالضربة القاضية.
في يوم القدس العالمي نستذكر شهيداً كبيراً عاش للّه واستشهد في سبيله، أحد كبار المسؤولين في حركتنا، الشهيد القائد مصطفى شمران، إذ تشهد له مواقع النضال والجهاد في لبنان وإيران. نستذكره مستعرضين خريطة آماله وآلامه حين قال: “أسعد لحظات حياتي، سقوط شاه إيران، وأكبر أمل عندي تحرير القدس، وأكبر ألم عندي، تغييب الإمام السيد موسى الصدر”.
أجل ستبقى القدس المؤشّر الحقيقي للجهاد والنضال، وهي البوصلة لمواجهة الظلم الأكبر المتمثّل باحتلال فلسطين. يوم القدس العالمي يجسّد وحدتنا بتعبير الإمام الصدر، هي مناسبة لتوجيه تحيّة لجميع الشهداء والجرحى والأسرى والقادة، والمستمرّين في حفظ هذه المسيرة من فلسطين والى كلّ العالم.
تحيّة إلى الإمام القائد السيد موسى الصدر الذي دفع ثمن إخلاصه للقدس وكامل القضية الفلسطينية، فأخفوه وأخويه خدمةً للمشروع الفتنوي والمعتدي، المتمثّل بالاحتلال الصهيوني، وعلى يد المجرم صنيعة “إسرائيل” معمّر القذافي.
أجل، ينبغي أن تبقى القدس حاضرةً لدى الأجيال على مساحة العالم، فإن كان رهان الصهاينة على مقولة أنّ الكبار يموتون والصغار ينسون، فإنّ حفظ القدس وتحريرها على عاتق الأجيال المؤمنة، وذلك بتحرير الوعي وإنعاش الذاكرة في مواجهة تكبيل الوعي، حيث ما زالت أبواق إعلامية صفراء عربية وإسلامية، مدفوعة من أنظمة التطبيع والتهويد وذلك بتعميم اليأس بين الناس.
أجل، ينبغي أن تبقى القدس حاضرة وتتقدّم على ما سواها، لأنّ تهويدها لم يعُد احتمالاً في ظلّ إصرار الإدارة الأميركية بدعم الصهاينة بتصفية القضية الفلسطينية، أرضاً وحجراً وبشراً، من مقدّمات دعم الكيان الكامل وتغطية جرائمه، الى محاولة الإدارة الأميركية لحشد أوسع تأييد دولي لتنفيذ صفقة القرن. هناك الكثير ما يمكن قوله فيما لا تحتويه سطور، ولكن نورد ما يستنبطه تصريح السفير الأميركي لدى الاحتلال الإسرائيلي دايفيد فريدمان مؤخّراً: “ليس من المنطق أن تتنازل إسرائيل عن الخليل وبيت إيل، تماماً مثلما أنّ الولايات المتحدة لا يمكن أن تتنازل عن تمثال الحرّية”. وأضاف: “إنّ مسألة الإعلان عن ضمّ أجزاء من الضفة الغربية وغور الأردن ستكون مسألة أسابيع وستنتهي”. لعلّ القضية الفلسطينية تمرّ بأخطر مراحلها. فإن لم يستشعر البعض بخطر تهويد القدس وكلّ فلسطين، فإنّه يعيش في سبات عميق، وقد لا يفيد إن استُدرك الأمر بعد فوات الأوان. أليس السكوت على الظلم هو نوع من أنواع الظلم؟
يوم القدس يوم التأكيد على المقاومة ودورها واستمرارها. يوم وحدة الموقف لجميع القوى الفلسطينية واللبنانية والعربية والإسلامية والمسيحية في العالم، على قاعدة أنّ “إسرائيل” شرّ مطلق والتعامل معها حرام، و”إسرائيل” غدّة سرطانية.
*عضو هيئة الرئاسة لحركة أمل.

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River to Sea Uprooted Palestinian   
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Blog!

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY FINALLY REACTED TO CENSORSHIP ON YOUTUBE AND FACEBOOK

South Front
Russian Foreign Ministry Finally Reacted To Censorship On YouTube And Facebook
On May 20, the Russian Foreign Ministry released an official statement on the censorship of four Russian-language media organizations – “Krim 24” (Crimea 24), “Anna News”, “News Front” and “Riafan” – on YouTube.
The YouTube channels of “Krim 24” (Crimea 24), “Anna News”, “News Front” were blocked on May 19, while the channel of “Riafan” was blocked on April 17.
““Krim 24” TV channel is one of the most popular sources of information on the peninsula. It is a part of Crimea’s largest media holding “Television and Radio Company “Krim” that unites  five television channels, three radio stations, an information portal and two Internet sites. The team of “Krim 24” TV channel traditionally covers the most relevant major news topics in this Russian region.
As a result of the deletion of the Krim 24 account on the Youtube platform, about 30 thousand subscribers lost access to videos that had tens of millions of views. The US platform has taken restrictive measures under the clearly far-fetched pretext of “violating hosting rules.”
The fact that Youtube did not provide any convincing facts explaining its actions, as well as the fact that the appeal of the channel’s team still remains unanswered, is unacceptable,” the foreign ministry said in its statement.
The foreign ministry emphasized that it considers “the actions of video hosting as another act of discrimination against Russian-language media resources by US-controlled Internet platforms that systematically resort to arbitrary censorship of content in Russian.”
The Russian side also recalled that in January 2019, Facebook deleted more than 500 pages related to Russia, including materials from the Sputnik news agency.
“These are just some examples of US Internet censorship of Russian information portals,” it said.
SouthFront cannot but express solidarity with the indignation of the Russian Foreign Ministry. Over the past years, SouthFront has repeatedly become a target of informational attacks, censorship and theft of content.
SouthFront immediately made an appeal of this decision on YouTube and sent requests of informational support to various organizations. We also sent emails to the Russian Foreign Ministry and a number of Russian mainstream media organizations. SouthFront emails and requests were expectedly ignored.
Russian Foreign Ministry Finally Reacted To Censorship On YouTube And Facebook
The reason is simple. SouthFront has no relations with the Russian government system. Russian official bodies and mainstream media do have no influence on the editorial policy of SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence. Therefore, they have no motive to provide SouthFront with any kind of support or informational assistance. On top of this, SouthFront critically covers the situation and political tendencies in Russia and has never pushed propaganda in the interests of Russia or any state.
In any case, we are glad to see that Russian media organizations that were censored on YouTube and Facebook got support from Russian official bodies.

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TURKISH ‘NEO-OTTOMAN’ PROJECT SHIFTS FOCUS FROM SYRIA TO LIBYA

South Front
This week, massive Turkish military support has finally allowed the Government of National Accord to achieve some breakthrough in the battle against the Libyan National Army (LNA).
On May 18, GNA forces and members of Turkish-backed militant groups from Syria supported by Turkish special forces and unmanned combat aerial vehicles captured the Watiya Air Base in the northwestern part of the country. LNA troops urgently retreated from it after several days of clashes in the nearby area. They left behind a UAE-supplied Pantsir-S1, an Mi-35 military helicopter and a notable amount of ammunition. The LNA defense at the air base was undermined by a week-long bombardment campaign by artillery and combat drones of Turkish-backed forces.
Additionally, pro-Turkish sources claimed that drone strikes destroyed another Pantsir-S1 air defense system near Sirte and even a Russian-made Krasukha mobile electronic warfare system. According to Turkish reports, all this equipment is being supplied to the Libyan Army by the UAE. Turkish sources regularly report about successful drone strikes on Libyan convoys with dozens of battle tanks. Some of these ‘military convoys’ later appeared to be trucks filled with water-melons.
In any case, the months of Turkish military efforts, thousands of deployed Syrian militants and hundreds of armoured vehicles supplied to the GNA finally payed off. The Watiya Air Base was an operational base of the LNA used for the advance on the GNA-controlled city of Tripoli. If the LNA does not take back the airbase in the near future, its entire flank southwest of Tripoli may collapse. It will also loose all chances to encircle the city. According to pro-Turkish sources, the next target of the Turkish-led advance on LNA positions will be Tarhuna. Earlier this year, Turkish-backed forces already failed to capture the town. Therefore, they seek to take a revanche.
This will lead to a further escalation of the situation in northern Libya and force the UAE and Egypt, the main backers of the LNA, to increase their support to the army. The UAE-Egypt bloc could bank on at least limited diplomatic support from Russia. Until now, Moscow has preferred to avoid direct involvement in the conflict because it may damage the delicate balance of Russian and Turkish interests. Russian private military contractors that operate in Libya represent the economic interests of some Russian elite groups rather than the foreign policy interests of the Russian state.
Additionally, Turkey, which is supported by Qatar and some NATO member states, has already announced its plans to begin oil and gas exploration off Libya’s coast. Ankara has ceased to hide the true intentions and goals of its military operation in Libya. Thus, the internal political conflict turned into an open confrontation of external actors for the natural resources of Libya.
The interesting fact is that the increasing military activity of Turkey in Libya goes amid the decrease of such actions in Syria. Thousands of Turkish proxies have been sent from Syria to Libya. This limits Ankara’s freedom of operations in the main Syrian hot point – Greater Idlib. In these conditions, Turkish statements about some mysterious battle against terrorism in Idlib look especially questionable. Indeed, in the current conditions, Ankara will be forced to cooperate with Idlib terrorists, first of all al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham even closer to maintain its influence in this part of Syria. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham plan to create a local quasi-state in the controlled territory and expand its own financial base by tightening the grip on the economic and social life in the region will gain additional momentum.
As to the Turkish government, it seems that in the current difficult economic conditions President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided to exchange his “Neo-Ottoman” foreign policy project for expanding in some not so rich regions of Syria for quite tangible additional income from the energy business in Libya.
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إيران وأميركا وجهاً لوجه: أزمة الكاريبيّ تتكرّر بعد 60 عاماً!

عام 1960 أي قبل 60 عاماً قامت وحدات من المخابرات الأميركية بمحاولة إنزال على شواطئ كوبا، وانتهت المحاولة بالفشل كما انتهت المحاولة المماثلة التي شهدتها السواحل الفنزويليّة قبل أسبوعين، والعملية التي عرفت باسم منطقة الإنزال، خليج الخنازير كانت فاتحة لتطورات تصاعدية وصلت عام 1962 إلى أعظم أزمة عالمية كادت تؤدي إلى أول مواجهة نووية بين واشنطن وموسكو منذ نهاية الحرب العالمية الثانية، وكان محورها نشر صواريخ نووية متبادلة سوفياتية وأميركية في كوبا وتركيا بالتوازي، لكن المواجهة كانت مرشحة للانفجار مع الحظر الذي فرضته واشنطن على السفن التي تقصد كوبا، ونشرها لمدمرات حربية في البحر الكاريبي لتطبيق قرار الحظر ومنع السفن السوفياتية الحاملة للصواريخ من بلوغ كوبا، وهو ما يحدث اليوم تحت عنوان منع وصول ناقلات مشتقات النفط الإيرانية إلى فنزويلا.
التحوّل الأول الذي تحمله الصورة الراهنة للنزاعات الدولية قياساً بما كان، هو أن واشنطن التي كانت تقود مشروع السيطرة بالصواريخ النووية على العالم، وقد بدأ انحدار زعامتها العسكرية بعد بلوغها ذروة القوة في منتصف فترة السنوات الستين الفاصلة، حيث كان عام 1990 موعد واشنطن مع التخلص من نفوذ موسكو، وفي العام 2020، بدأت واشنطن بإخلاء قواتها العسكرية من الكثير من نقاط التوتر، خصوصاً في العالمين العربي والإسلامي، بحصيلة مواجهات كانت إيران في واجهتها وروسيا والصين في خلفيتها الداعمة لإيران ضمن حلف عالمي لإضعاف النفوذ الأميركي، تقاسم الأدوار في المجالات الاقتصادية والسياسية والعسكرية.
التحول الثاني هو أن التسلح النووي ونشر الصواريخ، رغم بقائهما جزءاً من الخطة الأميركية، إلا أن فشل المواجهات التقليدية التي خاضتها واشنطن، لم يدفعها لتصعيد نووي، كما حدث قبل ستين عاماً، بل جعلها تعتمد على سلاحها المالي، الذي تطور وتعاظم شأنه بعد أزمة الكاريبي، قبل ستين عاماً، وبعدما صارت الحركة المالية المصرفية عصب الحياة الاقتصادية الدولية، وصارت نيويورك مركزها العالمي، والدولار الأميركي أداتها الحصرية، وصارت العقوبات الأميركية المالية أشد وطأة وتأثيراً من العقوبات الأممية، بحيث يتكفل الحصار المالي الناجم عنها إلى تهديد أي بلد بمواجهة المجاعة، وانهيار العملة الوطنية، ووقف الصادرات، ومثال إيران وفنزويلا المنتجتين للنفط، والواقعتين تحت الحصار الأميركي المالي، يبرز حجم تأثير هذا السلاح الجديد الفاعل.
التحوّل الثالث، هو أن طهران التي خرجت في موقع الرابح بالنقاط على واشنطن في المواجهات الإقليمية في البلاد العربية والإسلامية، خصوصاً في سورية واليمن، تنتقل بالتحدّي إلى الساحة الدولية، وفي الحديقة الخلفية لواشنطن، فتقرّر تبادل المشتقات النفطيّة بالذهب مع فنزويلا، في أهم نقلة إيرانيّة على لعبة الشطرنج في مواجهة مع الحصار المالي الأميركي، الذي خرجت المدمرات الأميركية إلى الكاريبي لحمايته، بينما التهديد الإيراني بالردّ في حال التعرض للناقلات المتجهة إلى فنزويلا، ما يعيد مشهد المدمّرات الأميركية تنتظر في الكاريبي السفن السوفياتية، مع فارق حمولة السفن، وما تشير إليه من تغيّر مضمون عناصر القوة، من الزمن النووي إلى الزمن المالي، وميزة النقلة الإيرانية أنها تأتي في زمن تفشي كورونا، وصعوبة تسويق التجويع كسياسة دولية مقبولة في لحظة شديدة القسوة على الصعيد الإنسانيّ.
الرد الإيراني المعلوم في حال التعرّض لناقلات النفط في الكاريبي، سيعيد التصعيد إلى المنطقة التي يرغب الأميركيون بالتهدئة فيها، وهي منطقة القوة الإيرانية، التي يتهم الأميركيون إيران بالسعي لاستدراجهم للمواجهة فيها، وكل ترجمة أميركية للتهديد، تصبّ الماء في طاحونة إيران بالذهاب نحو التصعيد بمشروعية حق الرد، وكل تراجع أميركي يفتح الباب لمعادلة بديلة للحصار المالي يكتشفها المحاصرون، وهي المبادلة السلعية ذات القيمة العالية، من دون المرور بالمصارف وبالدولار، والرئيس الأميركي المحرج بين الخيارين، محرج أكثر مع كورونا، ومحرج أكثر وأكثر مع اقتراب الاستحقاق الانتخابي الرئاسي، ومشروع ولايته الثانية، وطريق التسوية مع إيران أو طريق مواجهتها، سالكتان كمشاريع احتمالية للفوز بالرئاسة، فيما النتائج غير مؤكدة، بينما إيران جاهزة للاحتمالين بصيغة رابح رابح مكرر. وقبل ستين عاماً فازت لغة التسوية بنزع متبادل للصواريخ، فهل تفتح أزمة الكاريبي مجدداً الباب لنزع صواريخ الحرب المالية، سواء بالذهاب للمواجهة التي ستعقبها تسوية أم بالذهاب مباشرة للتسوية؟

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