Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

Le Monde: Western donors punish human rights organizations because of their support for Gaza

    Wednesday, December 27, 2023   No comments

The French newspaper Le Monde said that civil society organizations in many Middle Eastern countries are extremely angry because of their loss of European funding, after they condemned the Israeli attack on Gaza.

The newspaper - in a report by its correspondents Laure Stephane in Beirut and Clotilde Mravco in Jerusalem - reviewed the story of the Egyptian lawyer Azza Soliman, who had been relying on German support for about 10 years, and learned that Germany would withdraw the funds allocated from her for a project to support women victims of human trafficking.

This came after it signed - with more than 200 Arab organizations - a text condemning “genocide against the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip” and calling for sanctions to be imposed on Israel, “the occupying and apartheid state.”

The punishment sparked intense anger within Egyptian civil society, which denounced this censorship. The lawyer said, “Do the German authorities want to discipline us? Teach us what we have the right to say? It is a scandal.” However, the German Foreign Ministry said that it acted because of “the public statements of the Seola organization and its founder, Azza Soliman.” , which contradicts “the Berlin line, including the call for an economic boycott of Israel.”


This decision comes within a broader framework - according to the newspaper - since the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, during which Germany reviewed the projects funded “in the region,” which “includes a re-evaluation of the political positions and announcements of our partners, with regard to these issues.” 

The newspaper saw that Arab human rights defenders risk losing their funding if they do not adhere to the political line of this donor regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at a time when the unconditional support provided by Washington and the majority of European leaders for Israel arouses discontent in the Arab world, in light of the massacre committed by Israel. against civilians in Gaza.

Other European governments want to reconsider their partnerships with civil society organizations in the Middle East, especially Palestinian NGOs, after the European Union generalized the “combat incitement” to hatred and violence clause to all new contracts signed with Palestinian actors, including vague language, which is likely To be used to force beneficiaries to silence their work denouncing the Israeli occupation.

For its part, Sweden intends to ask its Palestinian partners to condemn Hamas. Switzerland also announced the end of its cooperation with 3 Palestinian non-governmental organizations, considering that its statements after the Hamas attack are not consistent with its rules of conduct. The director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, lawyer Raji Sourani, says, “It is an issue that returns.” "For political motives."

At the end of November, Amnesty International and about 100 organizations denounced this pressure, which is seen in the Middle East as a reflection of right-wing policies in Europe, and considered it an obstacle to freedom of expression and opinion.

Le Monde believed that the conditions imposed on non-governmental organizations threaten to weaken civil societies that rely heavily on Western funds, at a time when their silence in the face of the ongoing massacre in Gaza means losing their credibility in the region.




Tuesday, December 12, 2023

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell: The destruction in Gaza is worse than what Germany witnessed during World War II

    Tuesday, December 12, 2023   No comments

Borrell: The situation is catastrophic and horrific, and the human suffering in the Strip constitutes an unprecedented challenge to the international community

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Monday described the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic and horrific,” with relatively “greater” destruction than what Germany witnessed during World War II.

After chairing a meeting of European Union foreign ministers, Borrell said that the Israeli army's response to the attacks launched by Hamas on October 7 led to an "incredible number of civilian casualties."

Borrell did not refer to the fact that Israel's war on Gaza has killed more children than any other conflict, with more than 70% of confirmed deaths being women and children.

Borrell also expressed the European Union's "concern" about the violence of extremist settlers in the West Bank, who are represented in the Israeli government by supremacists who suggested Israel drops a nuclear bomb on Gaza

Borrell also condemned the Israeli government's approval of the construction of 1,700 new housing units in Jerusalem, which Brussels considers a violation of international law.

Borrell said, “The destruction caused to buildings in Gaza...is somewhat greater than the destruction inflicted on German cities during World War II.”

He said that he presented to the foreign ministers of European Union countries a discussion paper to consider “imposing sanctions against extremist settlers in the West Bank” whose attacks against Palestinian residents have increased in intensity.

He indicated that he would soon turn the paper into an official proposal, based on an initiative taken by the United States, which announced last week that it would refuse to grant visas to extremist Israeli settlers.

But he acknowledged that there is no consensus yet on the issue among the governments of European Union countries.


Sunday, November 19, 2023

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar accuses other countries in the European Union, and the West in general, of double standards against the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East

    Sunday, November 19, 2023   No comments

Irish Prime Minister Calls Out ‘Double Standards’ in EU’s Israel-Palestine Policy

In an interview with the Irish radio station RTE, Varadkar accused the European Union and other Western countries, saying that “failing to take a reaction similar to the absolute rejection of what Russian President Vladimir Putin did in Ukraine, with regard to Israel, is seen as duplicity in Standards".


The Irish government warned, shortly after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation launched by the Palestinian resistance against Israel on October 7, that Israel should not exaggerate its reaction in the Gaza Strip, otherwise it would risk losing the support of other countries.


According to the German News Agency, Varadkar seeks to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, and said that his country early adopted a clear position that Israel has the right to...

To defend itself, but it has no right to violate humanitarian law.


Varadkar expressed concern that double standards on the part of some countries would undermine Ukraine's struggle, and stated that he and European leaders were working hard to gain support from the Global South for Ukraine.




Saturday, October 28, 2023

Keypoints from the President of Turkey, Erdogan, before a crowd organized in support of Gaza

    Saturday, October 28, 2023   No comments

Erdogan is the most successful opportunistic politician who will use every popular issue to plug in his relevance. After weeks of silence, he came to join a large crowd of people waving Turkish flags, invoking Gaza crisis but saying nothing of substance. He seemed more concerned with the optics than with the human cost accrued by people dying. Here are some of the ultimate showman’s statements.


* Unfortunately, in Turkey, there are politicians who claim that just as Netanyahu is a terrorist, so is HAMAS. They don't know what HAMAS is.

* Today, some in Turkey see Gaza as distant from us, and they don't care about what happens there. Gaza was an Ottoman city nearly 100 years ago. For us, it was one of our cities, like Adana and Mardin are today.

* Unfortunately, we were divided and separated by borders, and today they are trying to divide us with various temptations and games.

* Look closely at the statements of Israeli officials, and you will find plans of insult and betrayal, directed at our lands as well.

* I confirm that HAMAS is not a terrorist movement, and we will not be satisfied with the condemnation of what is happening in the Gaza Strip.

* Those who cried about injustice in Ukraine yesterday are today supporting Israel with blood on their hands.

* Israel won't last even three days without the support of Western countries.

* Turkey is preparing to declare Israel a war criminal to the entire world.

* Western officials have become deaf and cannot hear the cries of the casualties in Gaza or the appeals of the UN Secretary-General.

* Israel is committing a massacre in Gaza in the darkness, thinking that the world will not find out.


Sunday, September 24, 2023

News media review: Zelensky visited Poland during his return from Washington, but no official in the country received him

    Sunday, September 24, 2023   No comments

A report in the Singaporean newspaper “The Straits Times” said on Sunday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, returning from the United States, stopped in Poland, but no officials met with him.

The report added: “Zelensky gave Polish volunteers government awards during his stop in Poland yesterday, Saturday, but he did not meet any official, as relations between the two countries became tense due to grain supplies.”

Marcin Brzydak, head of the Polish Presidency's International Policy Office, said in an article in the Singaporean newspaper, The Straits Times, that "his office did not receive any official request to hold a meeting during Zelensky's stay in Poland."

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had previously warned President Zelenskiy of “new insults to Warsaw.”



Saturday, September 16, 2023

After waiting longer than any applicant, Erdogan now says Turkiye could 'part ways' with EU

    Saturday, September 16, 2023   No comments

After waiting far longer than any other country that applied and joined the Bloc, Turkiye is not frustrated with the process, but not giving up yet. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on 16 September that Ankara could “part ways” with the EU if necessary, following the release of a European Parliament report rejecting the possibility of Turkiye joining the EU soon.

The report instead suggested the EU explore “a parallel and realistic framework,” such as a customs union, to determine its ties with Ankara.

“The EU is trying to break away from Turkiye,” Erdogan told reporters. “We will make our evaluations against these developments and if necessary, we can part ways with the EU.”


Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said the European Parliament report contained unfounded allegations and prejudices and took “a shallow and non-visionary” approach to the country’s ties with the EU.


Visa liberalization, which would give Turkish citizens visa-free travel to the bloc for long periods, is a significant reason Turkiye wishes to join the EU. Many Turkish citizens work in EU states, most notably Germany, and EU membership for Turkiye would free them of the difficult bureaucratic process needed to obtain visas.


The European Parliament report follows renewed Turkish efforts to join the EU. Earlier this summer, President Erdogan sought to link Turkiye’s EU accession to approving Sweden’s bid to join NATO.


However, EU officials balked at linking the two issues, citing human rights abuses and the deterioration of the rule of law in Turkiye under Erdogan.


“We have recently seen a renewed interest from the Turkish government in reviving the EU accession process,” said the lead lawmaker on the file, Spanish Socialist Nacho Sánchez Amor, upon adopting the report on Wednesday.


“This will not happen because of geopolitical bargaining, but only when the Turkish authorities show real interest in stopping the continuing backsliding in fundamental freedoms and rule of law in the country,” Sánchez Amor said.


EU officials accuse Erdogan of stifling the media and imprisoning dissidents, including during a crackdown after a failed coup in 2016, which Erdogan blamed on the Gulen Movement. Turkiye’s occupation of parts of EU-member Cyprus has also led EU officials to criticize Erdogan.


In 2018, the European Council said in a statement that negotiations for Turkiye to join the EU “have come to a standstill.”


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