Author: kamalben_tunsia

Washington post

Sometime in 2006, Maria De Cartena decided that she wants to wear a hijab, the Islamic headscarf.

But every morning, staff at her high school in Lyon, France, would force then-13-year-old to remove it.

They would stand at the entrance to make sure she does not step onto the premises with her head covered.

“It was humiliating and frustrating. I was feeling that I was removing a part of me … It was very difficult,” De Cartena said in an interview with Anadolu.

For her and countless others, the recent ban on abayas – the loose overgarment worn by Muslim women – in French public schools has brought back painful memories of the past.

In 2004, France imposed a ban on all types of religious symbols in state schools and government buildings, such as the Christian crosses, Jewish kippahs and Muslim headscarves.

Almost 20 years later, the government announced new curbs for female Muslim students, ruling that they cannot wear abayas when the new academic year started this month.

French authorities claim the decision was taken in line with the country’s strict secularism laws. President Emmanuel Macron has backed the move, saying “religious symbols of any kind have no place” in French schools.

De Cartena, a legal and policy adviser at Perspectives Musulmanes, an anti-Islamophobia organization, emphasizes that these laws and prohibitions on clothes and practices have an emotional impact.

Today, young girls are asked to undress at their schools’ entrances, told to lift their dresses or skirts in front of everyone, she said.

De Cartena said the hijab ban imposed over two decades ago made her sad and angry.

“I was very angry as I did not understand this injustice toward me,” she said.

For six long years, she was not allowed to wear the hijab, first in high school and then college.

That also prevented her from going on school trips and affected every aspect of her life.

She was also unable to participate in swimming activities because of the prohibition on the Muslim burkini swimwear.

For young students, these decisions lead to frustrations and create mistrust in state authorities, she said.

 ‘Going too far’

French Muslims are concerned about the abaya ban and the criteria being used to enforce it.

Reports have emerged of schools suspending Muslim girls for just dressing modestly, not necessarily wearing the abaya.

A girl was turned away from school because she wore a black kimono, another was stopped for wearing white trousers. One was told her attire was beige and that it was an “Islamic color.”

“They target Muslim women just because they wear long dress or white trousers, or a kimono or black outfit or a beige outfit. This is going too far,” Kawtar Najib, an expert on Islamophobia, told Anadolu.

She said the ban particularly targets Muslim teenagers and is another example of state-backed Islamophobia in France.

“It’s not about just the abayas. It’s even not about long dresses. It’s just about who wears those type of dresses, and if they know that they are Muslims, then they will exclude them,” she said.

Najib believes that the recent ban shows that France will not stop pursuing its Islamophobic policies.

“They are very determined. To the point that they can develop laws that shock the world and they continue doing that,” she said.

In the near future, she foresees abayas being prohibited in universities, while a complete ban on the burkini might also be enforced.

In France, women wearing the hijab have less than 1% chance of finding a job, according to Najib.

Discussions are now in place for banning the hijab in schools for nannies or mothers accompanying their children for extracurricular activities.

As a French Muslim, Najib said she herself was unable to find a job in France.

De Cartena has the same views, saying that if there is no international mobilization by Muslims against such decisions, France will continue implementing more such discriminatory policies.​​

 ‘Proud of their Muslimness’

Despite the current situation, Najib is hopeful about the future of the Muslim community, stressing that Muslim youth in particular are proud of their identity.

“Today I can see from the youth, very, very powerful things coming. They are proud of their Muslimness,” she said.

In 2004, there were a few women wearing the hijab, but today many young women don the headscarf, she said.

A lot of people today also denounce the visible Islamophobia in France, which was not always the case, according to Najib.

She said the more a community is oppressed because of an identity, the more they will claim that identity.

“When people are attacked because of their Muslimness, because of their religious identity, then Muslims will be prouder of their religious identity than before,” she said.

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UNESCO on Tuesday confirmed reports of an Israeli diplomatic delegation attending its conference, an unprecedented piece of news as the gathering is taking place in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

“We confirm that a delegation from the State of Israel, which is a State Party to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, is present at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee which is being held in Riyadh,” UNESCO told Anadolu without giving further details.

On Monday, an Israeli official also confirmed the news for Anadolu, adding that this is the first time an Israeli delegation is paying an official visit to Saudi Arabia, which has no official ties with Israel.

The delegation is made up of Israeli Foreign Ministry officials, said the source, who asked not to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

Israeli army radio reported last week that the Saudi government had denied entry visas to both Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and Education Minister Yoav Kisch to attend the same international conference.

In recent months, Israeli officials have spoken about the possible normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia, but Riyadh has repeatedly confirmed that this will not happen before a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is reached.

Riyadh is currently hosting the 16-day UNESCO World Heritage Conference through Sept. 25.

Thousands of people have been reported missing following a deadly rainstorm in Libya, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Tuesday.

“We confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 persons so far,” Tamer Ramadan, head of the ICRC mission in Libya, said.

“The death toll is huge and might reach thousands,” he told reporters in Geneva via video link from Tunis.

More than 3,000 people have been reported dead and thousands remain unaccounted for after floods caused by Storm Daniel struck eastern Libya, according to Libyan officials.

Initial reports indicate that dozens of villages and towns were submerged by floods amid widespread damage to infrastructure.

Local authorities in Derna said two dams have collapsed in the city, adding to the devastating floods.

On Monday, Libya’s Presidency Council appealed to friendly countries and international aid groups to provide aid to the flood-stricken areas in the eastern region.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara

The military coup that overthrew Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 has proven as resolute as it was swift.

In the wake of the government’s rapid overthrow, Niger’s military administration has resisted diplomatic overtures from the US, other world powers and regional blocs aimed at restoring the country’s constitutional order, and has actively worked to entrench itself against any potential intervention.

Just over two weeks after the coup, Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland paid an unannounced visit to Niger, sitting down with military officials, including one of the self-proclaimed coup leaders Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou, for talks aimed at restoring Bazoum’s government.

Her visit, conducted at the behest of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, ended without a major diplomatic breakthrough. Nuland acknowledged that her discussions with the “people responsible to this challenge to the democratic order” were “extremely frank and at times quite difficult because, again, we were pushing for a negotiated solution.”

The senior diplomat departed Niamey, the Nigerien capital, empty-handed as questions mount over whether there is still time to achieve a negotiated resolution to the crisis.

Ken Opalo, interim director of the African Studies Program at Georgetown University, believes the clock has already run out.

“I do not think that the coup can be unscrambled. Restoring Bazoum would only amplify perceptions of the many weaknesses of his administration (and that before him) – including the heavy-handedness and crimes committed by security forces, the failure to deliver on Nigeriens’ material needs, and accusations that the ruling party had entrenched itself by deliberately cannibalizing the opposition,” he told Anadolu in an email interview.

A similarly dour assessment was offered by Chester Crocker, a former assistant secretary of state for African affairs, who said “you don’t say never” to the prospects for the restoration of Niger’s democratic governance, but noted that “each day that passes makes it look more and more like one has to recognize that this is a coup d’etat.”

The State Department maintains that it “remains focused on diplomatic efforts toward a peaceful resolution to preserve Niger’s hard-earned democracy.”

“We all want a peaceful end to this crisis and the preservation of the constitutional order. This situation in Niger remains very fluid and we are closely monitoring it,” a department spokesperson said in an email exchange with Anadolu on the condition of anonymity.

To use force or not?

While Bazoum assumed office as a result of Niger’s first peaceful democratic transition of power, his time in office has been dogged by allegations of abuses.

Freedom House, a non-profit based in Washington that assesses political freedoms and human rights globally, said Bazoum’s Nigerien Party for Democracy and Socialism had been working to co-opt opposition parties, which it said “have been divided into several coalitions and face serious difficulties in challenging the former ruling party.”

In assessing Niger as “partly free,” Freedom House further pointed to government bans on some rallies in 2022, and occasional government efforts to restrict the activities of non-government organizations.

It also noted that the judiciary “is subject to executive interference,” and found that “rulings against opposition leaders and civil society activists have decreased trust in the judiciary.”

In the wake of the late July military coup, there has been a noted resistance within the Biden administration to any form of military intervention to restore Bazoum’s government, a stark departure from the strong backing for the use of force offered by France, Niger’s former colonial power.

Asked why Washington remains reticent to back the use of force, Opalo said the US is “principally” interested in ensuring “a modicum of stability” in Niger to ensure it can continue its counterterrorism operations in the nation, where it has stationed roughly 1,100 troops.

The US and France have both used bases in Niger to carry out operations against the Daesh/ISIS and al-Qaeda terror groups in the region.

Opalo dismissed suggestions that the divergence between Washington and Paris over the use of force to oust the military administration has anything to do with a rivalry, saying the US “prefers to have France as a force multiplier in West Africa.”

The US operates its second-largest base in Africa, known as Air Base 201, near the Nigerien city of Agadez and uses it to conduct drone operations in Niger and beyond. It also runs operations out of a base near Niamey.

ECOWAS ‘brinkmanship’

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has repeatedly threatened to launch a military operation to restore Niger’s constitutional order, setting a publicly unspecified “D-Day” for the operation to begin should the military refuse to return power.

However, Opalo threw cold water on the prospects for such an intervention, saying that ECOWAS “does not have the capacity to carry out a successful operation” and would “not be able to stabilize Niger” if the military responds.

He termed the talk of invasion as “brinkmanship” aimed at forcing the military administration “to agree on a timeline for a return to civilian rule and to ensure that they do not harm Bazoum.”

“It is also a performative signal to their populations (and armies) that the region will not tolerate any more military coups. The US is likely quietly talking to Nigeria and other ECOWAS states to not cross the proverbial rubicon as far as an actual invasion goes,” he added.

The State Department spokesperson who spoke to Anadolu said ECOWAS leaders have “publicly indicated that military intervention is a last resort,” and maintained that diplomats are working with the regional bloc “to find a diplomatic solution.”

“Nigerian President (Bola) Tinubu also reiterated the importance of prioritizing diplomatic negotiations and dialogue as the bedrock to ECOWAS’ approach,” the spokesperson said.

“Democracy is the best foundation for development, social cohesion, and stability in Niger. We stand with the Nigerien people in working towards these goals.”

The Russia factor

Meanwhile, talks between Niger’s military and France aimed at the withdrawal of French troops from the West African nation remain ongoing as the former accuses Paris of meddling in its internal affairs.

Amid the diplomatic efforts, the Biden administration faces a stark choice over whether it will term the events in Niger a “coup,” a designation already applied by several countries around the world.

At stake for the State Department are restrictions enshrined in US law that would be triggered if such a determination is made, including the curtailing of certain forms of foreign assistance to Niamey, including a halt to all military aid.

However, a law known as Section 7008 does not establish a mandated timeline for the secretary of state to make a coup determination, allowing Blinken a wide window to continue diplomatic efforts.

Opalo said the State Department would “eventually” term the overthrow of Bazoum’s government a coup, but said “the US will try and buy as much time as possible as long as there is a possibility for dialogue.”

“They may eventually even cite an AU (African Union) or ECOWAS outcome as evidence that a ‘legitimate process’ resulted in a government in Niamey that they can work with. The US may also argue that it is cooperating with a foreign government without giving it direct aid,” he added.

Crocker, the former senior US diplomat who is now a fellow at Georgetown’s Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, said there may still be hope that the Niger’s military administration engages in a national dialogue aimed at the resumption of civilian control, but expressed doubts as to whether that might happen.

“The military officer corps themselves in Niger have to figure out where they are going and who are they doing it with. They may need to negotiate. Maybe not with us, but with other elements of Nigerien society,” he said.

“But so far, what I’ve seen doesn’t suggest that the coup leaders really are serious about the need for a transition back to a legitimate rule.”

As US policymakers weigh the potential coup designation, they are sure to be mindful of any possible advantage that Russia may seize upon if US assistance were to be cut, said Crocker.

He noted, however, that the situation in Russia “is quite fluid,” with the Wagner Group, whom Moscow relied heavily upon to project influence in Africa, including in the Sahel, on the outs with the Kremlin after an aborted rebellion in June.

“We don’t know the extent to which (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s GRU is going to be a carbon-copy successor of the Wagner Group. We do know that Prigozhin met his end, in part, because he wanted to keep his African business going and somebody in Moscow didn’t want him to,” he said, referring to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the ex-Wagner leader who died in a plane crash exactly two months after the failed rebellion.

The GRU is Russia’s military intelligence unit.

Still, Crocker said he is “sure” that Russia remains “a factor” in the deliberations.

“We do watch that, and we don’t want to see important friends, and Niger was an important friend, suddenly become attached somehow, or dependent somehow, on an adversary power. And that’s what Russia is, an adversary power,” he added.

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Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal, as well as its forces’ attacks on port facilities and silos, have caused a sharp increase in commodity prices in developing countries, the UN rights chief on Monday.

“The Russian Federation’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July, and attacks on grain facilities in Odesa and elsewhere, have again forced prices sky-high in many developing countries – taking the right to food far out of reach for many people,” Volker Turk said.

Turk’s remarks came during his opening speech at the 54th session of the Human Rights Council, which began with a minute of silence in solidarity with Morocco after the devastating earthquake.”The world is betraying our promise to end hunger by 2030,” he said, warning that the world has returned to hunger levels not seen since 2005, with their toll of stunted children and painfully abbreviated lives.

Citing a UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s latest report, he said 600 million people will be chronically undernourished by the end of this decade due to “climate change, the consequences of the pandemic, and Russia’s war on Ukraine.”

Right to ‘decent standard of living’

Turk underlined that people have legitimate expectations such as access to food, affordable medical care, education, equal opportunities, good economic prospects, a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, the freedom to make their own choices, objective information, and justice.

“People everywhere want – and have a right to – a decent standard of living,” he said, adding, “but time and again, I see people deprived of these rights, and crushed by development that is neither respectful nor fair.””Injustice, poverty, exploitation, and repression are the cause of grievances that drive tensions, conflicts, displacement and further misery – on and on,” he warned.

Shocked by ‘nonchalance’ against migrant/refugee deaths

The UN human rights chief expressed shock at the casual attitude toward migrant and refugee deaths, citing more than 2,300 people reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean this year, including more than 600 deaths in a single shipwreck off the coast of Greece in June.

He drew attention to the fact that that many more migrants and refugees are dying unnoticed in the seas around Europe, including the Channel.

People seeking protections in developed countries via perilous voyages through the Bay of Bengal and the Caribbean are constantly pushed back and deported to dangerous situations, while deportations and expedited removal processes raise serious concerns along the US-Mexico border, he said.

Additionally, he said his office is seeking urgent clarification on allegations of killings and mistreatment at the border of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

International probe into 2020 Beirut blast

Turk slammed the lack of accountability for the 2020 Beirut port blast, which killed over 200 people and injured over 7,000, including over 1,000 children.

“Three years after the Beirut explosion … there has been no accountability,” he said, recalling the numerous concerns raised about interference in the investigation.

“It may therefore be time to consider an international fact-finding mission to look into human rights violations related to this tragedy,” he added.

New bill against women in Iran

Turk voiced “serious” concern over a new bill currently under review that would impose severe penalties on women and girls in Iran who do not follow the compulsory dress code, including travel bans and loss of access to social services.

Noting that the bill was introduced a year after Mahsa Amini’s death, he said it also allows the use of surveillance technology to monitor women’s behavior and dress.

Reports of women facing legal action for dress code violations have multiplied even before the bill’s passage, he said, adding, “In this context, I flag my concern regarding renewed deployment of the morality police, a force almost exclusively aimed at controlling women and girls.”

Accountability for Amini’s death, as well as crimes committed during subsequent protests, he said, has been inadequate.

He underlined that the use of the death penalty has increased dramatically, particularly against ethnic Baloch and other minority groups in Iran.

Nationwide protests erupted in mid-September after the death of 22-year-old Amini, who was arrested by morality police for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women.​​​​​​​

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During the G-20 leaders’ summit, held Saturday in India, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the EU and seven countries to build an economic corridor linking Europe with the Middle East and India via rail and shipping lines.

The multinational railway and maritime project signed between India, the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Germany, Italy and the EU, aims to connect India to the Middle East and Europe to enhance trade, provide energy resources and develop digital connectivity.

While the signatory countries did not commit to a binding financial obligation, they agreed to prepare an action plan for the establishment of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor within two months.

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor will consist of two separate corridors: The Eastern corridor, which will connect India to West Asia and the Middle East, and the Northern corridor, linking West Asia and the Middle East to Europe.

The corridor will extend from India to the UAE, passing through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Israel and eventually connecting Europe.

While the corridor is seen as a challenge to China’s economic influence in the region, it is also expected to bring significant strategic and economic benefits to India.

Stressing the importance of the project, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the corridor would be a beacon of cooperation, innovation and shared progress for India, West Asia and Europe in the future.

During an afternoon session at the G-20 Leaders’ Summit, US President Joe Biden said the corridor would facilitate trade and energy exports.

Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, described it as a “green and digital bridge across continents and civilizations.”

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the project would contribute to developing railway networks and infrastructure and create long-term business opportunities.

Morocco’s deadly earthquake has affected more than 300,000 people in Marrakech city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Saturday.

At least 820 were killed and 672 others injured when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake jolted Morocco late Friday, according to the country’s Interior Ministry.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the epicenter of the earthquake, which hit just after 11 p.m. local time (22:00 GMT), was 75 kilometers (46.6 miles) southeast of Marrakech, at a depth of 18.5 km.

The situation was said to be particularly dire in Marrakech, where numerous buildings were said to be collapsed and residents trapped under debris.

Local media said some buildings, including the famous red walls that surround the old city were damaged.

“WHO expresses sincere condolences and support to the people of Morrocco affected by tragic earthquake that struck on 8 September, killing hundreds and affecting more than 300,000 people in Marrakech and surrounding areas,” WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean said in a statement.

WHO teams “are on standby to support the national response and ensure health services are quickly delivered where needed,” the statement said.

The earthquake was the strongest tremor to hit Morocco in the last century, the country’s National Geophysical Institute said.

Tremors were also felt in neighboring Algeria and Mauritania.

In 2004, more than 600 people were killed and many others injured when a magnitude 6.3 quake hit northeastern Morocco.