Posts

Showing posts from February 17, 2019

For Yemen Child Soldiers, a Refuge Mixes Play With Saudi Propaganda

Image
A child’s drawing of a battle scene, right, at the Saudi-financed rehabilitation center for child soldiers. At left, a child in red identifies himself on a hill, facing his enemy on the other hill. Tyler Hicks/The New York Times MARIB, Yemen — A display on one side of the doorway holds children’s drawings of violence and gore: red scribbles of blood on pencil sketches of bombs, bullets and bodies; a machine gun firing across a stone wall into a tent; a detailed depiction in crayon of a Kalashnikov rifle. A display on the other side holds happy visions of the future — like a boy with his foot on a soccer ball holding up a trophy, and a smiling army officer with three big stars on each shoulder. In between is the entrance to the center for the rehabilitation of child soldiers in Marib, Yemen, financed by Saudi Arabia. A photograph of King Salman hangs on the wall. Open a little more than a year, the center has provided up to six weeks of schooling and play in a comfortab

Filipino rebel commanders become officials under peace deal

MANILA, Philippines — Some of the fiercest Muslim rebel commanders in the southern Philippines were sworn in Friday as administrators of a new Muslim autonomous region in a delicate milestone to settle one of Asia’s longest-raging rebellions. President Rodrigo Duterte led a ceremony to name Moro Islamic Liberation Front leader Murad Ebrahim and some of his top commanders as among 80 administrators of a transition government for the five-province region called Bangsamoro. About 12,000 combatants with thousands of firearms are to be demobilized starting this year under the peace deal. Thousands of other guerrillas would disarm if agreements under the deal would be followed, including providing the insurgents with livelihood to help them return to normal life. “We would like to see an end of the violence,” Duterte said. “After all, we go to war and shoot each other counting our victories not by the progress or development of the place but by the dead bodies that were strewn arou

Muhammadiyah to mobilize members to fight extremism

Islamic group Muhammadiyah is planning to mobilize its members to campaign for  wasatiyyah  (religious moderation) in a renewed attempt to stem the tide of religious extremism. Chairman Haedar Nashir said in Bengkulu on Sunday that major Islamic organizations, including Muhammadiyah, had “neglected” the issue, resulting in the rise of intolerance and hostility toward minorities. It is the time for major Islamic groups to “pay” for their mistake by engaging the community more and instilling the values of religious moderation, which include fairness, kindness, mutual respect and tolerance, he said.   Muhammadiyah, which has millions of members nationwide, operates thousands of educational institutions ranging from high schools to universities throughout the country.   “We now need to disseminate a counternarrative showcasing the tolerant and peaceful aspects of Islam to fight against rampant hoaxes and hate speech,” Haedar said. Muhammadiyah identified three groups who ar

Ex-child soldier fights for trans rights in Colombia

PASTO, Colombia — When Colombia’s FARC guerrillas turned up at the home of Cristian Camilo Gonzalez nearly two decades ago and shoved him into a truck when he was just 14, his happy childhood ended abruptly. Growing up in a rural hamlet, Gonzalez knew from an early age he was different from the other boys. He did not play football and was attracted to boys and women’s clothes. And despite being raised as a Catholic in a conservative home, his parents allowed Gonzalez to be different. But once forced into the ranks of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group, he quickly learned that being gay can have fatal consequences. “Under their rules, homosexuality was banned and punished even by death,” Gonzalez, now 33, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “For the FARC, homosexuality was seen as a Yankee affliction and a crime. My sexuality was incompatible with their rules.” Fighters who disobeyed the rules were punished, and their fate was decided by the

Prevent to protect: the recruitment and use of child soldiers as an early warning indicator, the case of Venezuela

Nicolás Maduro, pictured April 19, 2013, has been rapidly expanding the militia, tripling its size throughout the course of 2018. The UN has accused pro-government forces of targeting children during crackdowns on protests in January 2019, detaining some 77 children, some as young as 12.   P Every year, Feb. 12 is observed as the International Day to End the Use of Child Soldiers, and regrettably, the world is confronted with dangerous new crises every day that may lead to the recruitment and use of child soldiers. In Venezuela, more than 90 per cent of the population are now living below the poverty line, which has resulted in a critical humanitarian crisis that is disproportionately affecting children. The UN estimates that there will be 5.3 million Venezuelan refugees and migrants by the end of this year. Approximately one-third of those fleeing the country have landed in neighbouring Colombia, where some have been recruited into Colombian guerilla forces. In Venezu

Saudi Arabia strikes deal, talks de-radicalisation with Xi

BEIJING (Reuters) - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman cemented a $10 billion deal for a refining and petrochemical complex in China on Friday, meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping who urged joint efforts to counter extremism and terror. The Saudi delegation, including top executives from state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco, arrived on Thursday on an Asia tour that has already seen the kingdom pledge investment of $20 billion in Pakistan and seek to make additional investments in India's refining industry. Saudi Arabia signed 35 economic cooperation agreements with China worth a total of $28 billion at a joint investment forum during the visit, Saudi state news agency SPA said. "China is a good friend and partner to Saudi Arabia," President Xi Jinping told the crown prince in front of reporters. "The special nature of our bilateral relationship reflects the efforts you have made," added Xi, who has made stepping up China's presence in the Mi

Recruitment of new soldiers threatens South Sudan’s peace

South Sudan's rival armed groups are forcefully recruiting civilians, including child soldiers, violating a fragile peace deal signed five months ago. The evidence from numerous accounts that opposing sides are adding fighters to their ranks is a worrying sign that threatens the country's peace, say officials. In Yambio, near the border with Congo, all sides met recently to try to resolve their differences and strengthen the peace agreement. However, the meeting quickly turned tense as the government and opposition accused each other of recruiting new fighters, including child soldiers. The meeting highlighted the need for all fighters to be integrated into a single, unified national army, said observers. The reports of new recruitment come from all sides. In Twic state 1,200 men were forced into the government army, according to a letter sent from community leaders to the governor in January and seen by The Associated Press. In Upper Nile state opposition-leade

As a former child soldier, I know that governments are overlooking the young girls I fought with in warzones

At the age of 15, I had already spent three years fighting in the civil war in my home country of Sierra Leone. Having lost both of my parents, my brothers and my home to the conflict at 12 years old, I thought the army might offer me some safety. Instead I was forced to fight, forced to kill and to witness a whole new world of violence and terror. There was very little international protection for children in my position at that time – some of us didn’t even technically “exist” – we had no documentation, no birth records – nothing to prove who we were. By the time we left the military, it was symbolic of the way we felt. It was only three years later, when I was finally released, that I realised I had any rights as a child, let alone that I was too young to be fighting a war I knew nothing about.  I was placed in a rehabilitation home in Freetown before later moving to New York, and my life changed forever. I am a father now, with two daughters of my own and I feel overw

Syria Kurds evacuate civilians from IS redoubt, hail Trump troop reversal

NEAR BAGHOUZ, Syria/ERBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Kurdish-led forces in Syria said they would complete the evacuation of thousands of civilians from Islamic State's last redoubt in the area on Friday, and welcomed a White House reversal of President Donald Trump's decision to pull out all U.S. troops. With Washington's allies poised for victory against Islamic State fighters making a final stand in a pocket near the Iraqi border, the White House announced plans on Thursday to keep "a small peacekeeping force" of 200 troops in Syria. The announcement partially reversed Trump's abrupt decision in December to withdraw the entire 2,000-strong U.S. contingent, which had alarmed Washington's Kurdish allies and prompted Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to quit. Although the U.S. contingent would now be small, Kurdish leaders suggested it could have a major impact on the fate of the area, preventing a security vacuum. Washington could retain control of the air spa