[Sudan Tribune] Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations has called for the condemnation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In a letter to the Security Council, he accuses the UAE of supporting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in their year-long war against the Sudanese army.
The 78-page complaint, seen by Sudan Tribune, alleges the UAE planned and supported the RSF’s aggression against the Sudanese military with assistance from Chad.
Sudan accuses the UAE of ongoing support for the RSF, including supplying weapons, equipment, and mercenaries. This support is deemed a violation of the UN Charter and a threat to regional and international security.
The Sudanese mission accuses Chad of complicity in the UAE’s actions. The letter claims Chad allowed the passage of military supplies and mercenaries through its territory while also enabling the evacuation of wounded RSF personnel to Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Abu Dhabi.
The April 15, 2023 attack by the RSF on strategic targets in Khartoum is described as a "coup attempt" targeting the President of the Sovereignty Council and other members.
The letter urges the UN Security Council to take action and force the UAE to immediately cease supporting the RSF.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2024 06:03 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[114 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Sudan
#1
Fascinating. The UAE has no love for Islamists, but to be active so far from home raises question: Who is backing the UAE? Saudi Arabia? The State Department, which sticks its nose into everyone's business, is preternaturally quiet on this event. Why?
[Africa News] In Egypt, population growth is at half-mast. In 2023, it slowed to 1.4%, its lowest rate in decades, according to figures by the Ministry of Planning data published on Thursday.
Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab world, with 106 million inhabitants, according to the official Egyptian statistics agency.
The fall in population is good news for the government. President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi had already warned of the burden of the birth rate on public finances and government services.
At a time when 60% of the population lives at or near the poverty line. Not only that, but the country also faces an infrastructure deficit in terms of schools and hospitals, among other things. And it is crumbling under the weight of a growing debt.
To curb the demographic push, the authorities launched the 2019 campaign, "Deux, c'est assez" (Two is enough).
In French, no less — one of the languages their educated class study in instead of Arabic. Recall, Egypt had to build an entire new capitol a few years ago because Cairo had become overfull. Median age alreay up to 24 years and rising — at what point do they reach the age where most are no longer interested in being vicious little terrorists?
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2024 00:45 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[85 views]
Top|| File under:
[IsraelTimes] The Squad member has accused Israel of ’genocide’ in its war against Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw, in Gazoo, previously asserted evidence and testimony of Hamas rapes during Oct 7 attacks was ’propaganda’
The three top Democrats in the US House of Representatives endorsed Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a fierce Israeli critic, days after the party’s leading Jewish group endorsed his primary challenger.
The endorsement is not unusual — House leaders in both parties routinely favor incumbents facing tough primary races — but it comes as the New York politician is facing a challenge from a popular local elected official, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, who has blasted Bowman’s Israel rhetoric and recently gained the backing of the Jewish Democratic Council of America.
The endorsement Friday, distributed by Bowman’s campaign, emphasized his local bona fides and did not touch on his condemnations of Israel, which he has accused of "genocide" in its war against Hamas in Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... "Congressman Bowman’s life experiences — raised by a single mom in public housing and founding a public school serving low-income children in the Bronx — have shaped him into a public servant who fights for economic justice and in defense of historically underrepresented communities," said the statement by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,.
Bowman was first elected in 2020 and is part of the Squad, the group of progressive Democratic representatives who are broadly critical of Israel. He represents a district that spans Westchester and part of the Bronx in New York City, and is home to a sizable Jewish community.
The Israel-Hamas war has become a focus of the campaign. Latimer has been firmly supportive of Israel since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, in which Death Eaters slaughtered 1,200 people in southern Israel and seized 253 hostages. In addition to the "genocide" charge, Bowman recently walked back a statement last year casting doubt on claims that Hamas committed rapes in its Oct. 7 massacre on Israel, which launched the war. He has also lost the endorsement of J Street, the liberal Israel lobby.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America announced its endorsement of Latimer on Thursday alongside 21 other candidates, including New Yorkers Mondaire Jones in the 17th district and Josh Riley in the 19th district.
In a statement, the council’s chair-elect, Susie Stern, called Latimer an ally to Jewish New Yorkers who "resolutely stands behind our community when challenging moments arise, including the current one."
Latimer hailed the council’s endorsement as well as the group’s support for causes including supporting Israel, fighting antisemitism, combating gun violence and protecting child sacrifice abortion rights.
"As we continue to build our grassroots campaign, their support will be vital for making sure every voice is heard in this critical election," Latimer said in a statement.
Latimer entered the race in December after months of speculation that he would mount a challenge to Bowman, who was first elected in 2020 and after receiving encouragement from Jewish supporters. He has also nabbed an endorsement from the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. The Democratic Majority for Israel, an advocacy group, applauded his entry into the race.
Both candidates raised around $1.4 million in the last quarter of 2023.
Bowman, a former middle school principal, unseated longtime incumbent Eliot Engel, who is Jewish, in 2020. His ties with many Jewish constituents had frayed before October 7 due to his criticism of Israel. He angered Jewish voters early in the war by urging a ceasefire on October 16 in a statement that did not mention Hamas, terrorism or Israeli hostages.
Deprecated: pg_query(): Automatic fetching of PostgreSQL connection is deprecated in /var/www/html/rantburg/ajax/refs.php on line 27
[IsraelTimes] Washington Post says weaponry to be provided amid growing US concerns over Gazoo campaign and plans for Rafah offensive
The United States in recent days authorized the transfer of billions of dollars worth of bombs and fighter jets to Israel even as it publicly expresses concerns about an anticipated military offensive in Rafah, The Washington Post reported Friday.
Good to know. On what sort of timing? (Trust but verify, donchaknow.)
Citing Pentagon and State Department officials, the daily said the new arms package includes 1,800 MK-84 2,000-pound bombs and 500 MK-82 500-pound bombs, along with 25 F-35s that were initially approved as part of a larger package by Congress in 2008. Israel requested the third squadron of 25 F-35s last July, which when delivered will bring the total size of the fleet to 75.
Washington gives $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to Israel, its longtime ally. The US has been rushing air defenses and munitions to Israel as it fights against Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, in Gaza, but some Democrats and Arab American groups have criticized the Biden administration (aka the Wilmington comorra) ...the collection of boodlers, grifters, hangers-on, and self-proclaimed experts affiliated with the Biden Crime Family. Entrusted with an entire nation as the result of a suspicious election, they set about happily implementing stuff they absorbed in college, all of which blew up and splattered the rest of us... ’s steadfast support of Israel, and called for leveraging military aid.
"We have continued to support Israel’s right to defend itself," a White House official told The Washington Post. "Conditioning aid has not been our policy."
Not America’s, no. But the Biden administration has recently been echoing the far left, Jew/Israel-hating wing of the Democratic party, not to mention CAIR, et al, and tqlking loudly about thinking about conditioning aid and whether, indeed Israel does have the right to defend itself against rampaging Palestinians, whom they call the colonized People of Color — even though Israelis and Palestinians are exactly the same shade of suntan. And some of both, indeed, have both blond hair and blue eyes, though for exactly the opposite reasons.
The US recently deemed Israel to be in compliance with a new national security memorandum after it received a written assurance from Jerusalem that it is using American weapons in line with international law and is not blocking humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
This assurance came last week via a "credible high-level official who has the ability and authority to make decisions and commitments about the issues at the heart of the assurances," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday, referring to the letter sent by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
"These assurances are prospective, but of course, our view of them is informed by our ongoing assessments of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza," Miller said during a press briefing.
"We’ve had ongoing assessments of Israel’s compliance with international humanitarian law. We have not found them to be in violation, either when it comes to the conduct of the war or the provision of humanitarian assistance. We view those assurances through that ongoing work we have done," he said.
The State Department has until May 8 to provide Congress with a report on Israel’s compliance with the memo.
The announcement came on the same day that the US abstained from a vote at the United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... Security Council calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages taken on October 7, without linking the two issues. The resolution, backed by Russia and China, passed with 14 votes.
The vote sparked a spat with Israel, which argued that its passage would make Hamas more obstinate in truce talks in Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... . Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also canceled a planned trip to Washington by his top aides to discuss plans for an offensive in the Gaza city of Rafah. Jerusalem has since agreed to reschedule that meeting.
The United States’ top general said on Thursday that Israel had not received every weapon it has asked for, in part because some of it could affect the US military’s readiness and there were capacity limitations.
"Although we’ve been supporting them with capability, they’ve not received everything they’ve asked for," said Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"Some of that is because they’ve asked for stuff that we either don’t have the capacity to provide or not willing to provide, not right now," Brown added, while speaking at an event hosted by the Defense Writers Group.
A spokesperson for Brown later on Thursday said his comments were in reference to "a standard practice before providing military aid to any of our allies and partners."
Tensions have been escalating over Israel’s plans for a large-scale ground operation in the southern Gaza city, which is both Hamas’s last major stronghold in the Strip and where over a million Gazooks displaced by the fighting are now located.
Washington and Jerusalem have also disagreed on the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, with Israel blaming the ailing humanitarian situation on aid agencies’ failure to distribute supplies, and on Hamas and gangs who have looted trucks entering the Gaza Strip.
The White House has shown increasing willingness in recent months to voice dissatisfaction with Israel over civilian casualties in Gaza and the humanitarian situation there, including adopting a harsher tone.
#4
"Washington gives $3.8 billion in annual military assistance to Israel, its longtime ally." And has been doing so for nearly a half-century following the Kissinger agreements. A stipend is also sent annually to Egypt, but in a lesser amount.
26. March 2024
[IsraelTimes] Gaza’s Palestinian aid agency, in funding shortage after Israel accused some employees of taking part in Oct. 7 massacre, initially said it would run out of money this month
The United Nations ...where theory meets practice and practice loses... agency for Paleostinian refugees (UNRWA) has enough funds to keep operating until at least the end of May, its chief told Swiss media on Tuesday.
UNRWA, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... , has faced severe funding cuts since Israel accused at least a dozen of its 13,000 employees in the Strip of taking part in Hamas, a regional Iranian catspaw,’s murderous onslaught against Israel on October 7.
Israel also uncovered a Hamas control center directly below the UNRWA’s Gaza headquarters, though the agency claimed it had no idea it was there.
This led many donor nations, including the United States, to abruptly suspend funding to the agency, threatening its efforts to deliver desperately needed aid in Gaza, where the UN has warned of an impending famine. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini had warned last month that the funding crunch was so great the organization might not might not be able to operate beyond March.
Lazzarini told Switzerland ...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell... ’s Keystone-ATS news agency Tuesday that "the situation today is less dramatic."
Even less so since yesterday’s announcement that France and Japan are bqck in.
"But we are still working from one month to the next," he said, adding that now "we have funding until the end of May."
Lazzarini was in Geneva to brief Switzerland’s parliamentary foreign policy commission on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and to address questions about Israel’s accusations against the UNRWA employees, the commission said in a brief statement.
The Swiss national is hoping to convince his country to follow the lead of the nations that have resumed their funding to UNRWA.
Switzerland, which in recent years has dished out around 20 million Swiss francs ($22 million) annually to UNRWA, said in late January the 2024 payment was in doubt following Israel’s allegations against the agency.
The UN has launched both an internal and an independent investigation, but has said Israel has not provided it with any evidence to support the claims against its staff.
Lazzarini has accused Israel of trying to destroy UNRWA, which employs some 30,000 people across the Paleostinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon Hezbollahstan ...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. ... and Syria.
He claimed last week to have been barred from entering Gaza and said over the weekend that Israel had definitively barred the agency from making aid deliveries into northern Gaza, where the threat of famine is highest. COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body governing civilian affairs in the Paleostinian territories, said on X that Lazzarini had not followed "the necessary coordination processes and channels" when requesting entry into Gaza.
Israel has started working with other groups in Gaza, such as the UN World Food Programme, to deliver humanitarian aid to Paleostinians instead of UNRWA, which it has said it is seeking to shut down following years of allegations.
A watchdog said in a new report that textbooks used in UNRWA schools in Gaza contain anti-Israel incitement, including the systematic erasure of Israel’s existence and the glorification of violent mostly peaceful jihad and martyrdom.
I think it’s a terrible idea, but at least it will keep all the ankle biters busy negotiating/sniping at each other until everyone finally gives it up as a dud — including whichever Arab countries who’d never intended to let their troops into the line of fire.
[IsraelTimes] Reports say proposed force to be staffed by troops from 3 unnamed Arab countries at peace with Israel, would be charged with protecting aid convoys from pillaging
Israel is pushing for the establishment of an international peacekeeping force to secure the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... Strip and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid in it, multiple Hebrew media outlets reported Friday evening, indicating a likely coordinated leak.
The reports all said Defense Minister Yoav Gallant had informed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he had made headway on the matter during his visit to Washington this week.
The force would be composed of troops from three different unnamed Arab countries — though not Saudi Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century... or Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi... , the latter being a longtime patron of Hamas, one of the armed feet of the Moslem Brüderbund millipede, that is one of the mediators in hostage-for-truce talks. Some reports intimated that Egypt and the UAE were two of the countries, and that the third also has a peace treaty with Israel. The force would be managed by the US, but with no American forces on the ground.
The idea is backed by the United States, the reports said. The force would likely be armed to uphold law and order and would work with Gazooks who don’t have links to Hamas, ostensibly figures linked to the Paleostinian Authority. US support, however, is contingent on Israel beginning to implement a post-war plan for the rehabilitation of Gaza, such as Gallant’s "day after" plan, which he presented three months ago, the reports said.
That plan, which has not received backing from the coalition, calls for Israel to maintain full military control of Gaza for now but to have no civilian presence there, and for civilian matters in the Strip to be administered by Paleostinians who are not hostile to Israel. Furthermore, the plan calls for stabilizing the Strip after the war with assistance from a multi-national force.
It is unclear whether Arab allies will actually be willing to participate in the peacekeeping scheme, given that they have repeatedly asserted that they will not take part in the management of Gaza after the war unless it is part of a broader initiative that includes the establishment of a pathway to a future Paleostinian state — something the current government firmly rejects.
The international force’s initial task would be to guard truck convoys containing humanitarian aid from pillaging by desparate Gazooks, as well as to secure the aid pier set to be built by the US off the coast of the Strip, which is expected to be ready in about a month.
Ynet reported that the progress in talks between the US and the unnamed Arab countries is a result of visits by Israeli defense officials to those countries and talks with the US government and CENTCOM.
According to Haaretz, no agreement has yet been reached on how to arm the force.
A Politico report this week said that the Pentagon is in early "conversations" on potential plans to fund a peacekeeping force. Channel 12 news reported that Netanyahu was resistant to the idea, but Gallant suggested it was the best option available.
[IsraelTimes] One of the holdups has been receiving approval from Israel, which is viewed as critical for getting Congress on board; source fears initial leak of story may torpedo negotiations
The Palestinian Authority is in the final stages of talks with the Biden administration about reforming its controversial welfare policy, which includes payments to terrorists and their families, two sources familiar with the matter told The Times of Israel on Friday.
Drafts of the altered policy have been vetted by the administration’s lawyers and the reform was on track to be announced in the coming weeks, one of the sources said, confirming reporting in Politico.
The altered policy would base welfare stipends that Palestinian security prisoners receive on the recipient’s financial need rather than the length of their sentence, as is currently the case, the source told The Times of Israel, adding that there were a number of outstanding issues still being negotiated.
The White House has sought for months — since well before the outbreak of the war in Gaza — to receive a nod of approval from Israel, worried that its rejection could lead pro-Israel lawmakers in Congress to follow suit, thereby hampering the reform’s legitimacy in Washington, the source said. They indicated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has been dragging its feet on the matter, even as the premier regularly cites the controversial policy to argue that the PA cannot be trusted.
The effort to coax the PA into implementing the reform was held tightly under wraps for the first three-plus years of the Biden administration, with only a small handful of people involved. But as progress was made in recent weeks and months, the circle of involvement had to be expanded, a second source familiar with the matter said, lamenting that Friday’s leak may well lead to the reform being scuttled entirely, as Ramallah didn’t want it to go public until the initiative was finalized.
The practice of paying allowances to those convicted of carrying out terror attacks and to the families of those killed while carrying out attacks — often referred to by some Israeli officials as a pay-to-slay policy — has been pilloried by critics as incentivizing terror.
Palestinian leaders have long defended the payments, describing them as a form of social welfare and necessary compensation for victims of Israel’s callous military justice system in the West Bank.
The PA initially sought to leverage its willingness to reform the policy in order to secure gestures from Washington, such as the scrapping of congressional legislation from 1987 that labeled the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) "and its affiliates" a terror group.
But Ramallah has long grown disillusioned by the Biden administration, which has failed to keep election promises to re-open missions for the Palestinians in Jerusalem and Washington, and had decided to move forward with the reform without any assurance of gestures from the US in return, a Palestinian source familiar with the matter said.
The source acknowledged that the reform would be domestically unpopular, given the widespread Palestinian solidarity with those imprisoned for confronting Israel’s military rule in the West Bank. However, they noted that the PA is already historically unpopular, and had the move been done at the right time, it had the potential of passing without major pushback, while granting Ramallah a much-needed jolt of international legitimacy as it seeks to return to governing Gaza after the war.
Reforming the welfare policy is designed to bring the PA into compliance with the 2018 congressional legislation known as the Taylor Force Act, which suspended US aid to the PA as long as it continued granting prisoners stipends based on time served.
The US would still be barred from directly funding the PA due to legislation preventing such aid once Ramallah began advancing investigations against Israel in the International Criminal Court. However, if the reform is deemed sufficient to place the PA in compliance with the Taylor Force Act, the US would be able to fund projects that directly benefit the PA.
Since entering office, US President Joe Biden has been largely limited to funding humanitarian projects in the West Bank and Gaza through the US Agency for International Development and donations to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA — though this too was barred following allegations that staffers participated in Hamas’s October 7 onslaught on southern Israel.
Israel also passed legislation similar to the Taylor Force Act that could be scrapped if Jerusalem deems the PA’s reform as credible.
Both the US and Israel will likely require a pilot period to test the reform’s implementation before they reach determinations regarding Ramallah’s compliance.
The welfare policy reform could also make it easier for the US to re-open the PLO diplomatic office in Washington, which was shuttered during the Trump administration. However, obstacles remain given the PLO’s ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a US-recognized terror organization.
As for the US consulate in Jerusalem, which former president Donald Trump also closed down, the Biden administration has been unable to make good on its promise to reopen the mission, citing a lack of cooperation from Israel, which views the move as an encroachment on its sovereignty in the capital city.
Pulling off the reform would be a major diplomatic achievement for Biden, succeeding in an endeavor previous administrations couldn’t pull off.
It would also bolster his vision for post-war Gaza, which includes a reformed PA returning to govern the enclave as part of a pathway to a two-state solution with Israel.
The US has a long list of areas in which it would like to see Palestinian reforms, but some international stakeholders place the welfare payments at the top of their lists.
Asked for comment on the original Politico report, a US State Department spokesperson told The Times of Israel, "From the outset of the Biden Administration, we have consistently made clear that we are strongly opposed" to the PA’s payments to security prisoners.
"We don’t have anything to offer on those reports," the spokesperson added.
#2
"Pulling off the reform would be a major diplomatic achievement for Biden, succeeding in an endeavor previous administrations couldn’t pull off.
It would also bolster his vision for post-war Gaza, which includes a reformed PA returning to govern the enclave as part of a pathway to a two-state solution with Israel." The two-state solution is as dead as the proverbial door-knob.
[BenarNews] Nowadays, it appears many Malaysians are becoming outraged over the littlest things that offend their cultural or religious sentiments, analysts and academics say. What makes these small things blow up, rather than blow over, is the "Outrage Industry" — comprising news television, social media and political party members — which has come of age in Malaysia. This industry gleefully pounces on every slight, magnifies it, and puts a virtual megaphone in the hands of the overly sensitive to exploit them for ratings or political gains, observers say. And in a multiethnic and multireligious Malaysia, where religious conservatism is also on the rise, this coalescing of outrage is what most worries many political observers, because it has the potential to inflame communities.
Just three months into 2024, Malaysia is already facing four big outrage-driven controversies that have caused divisions and disruptions — and, in fact, continue to do so.
The latest brouhaha — a supermarket chain selling socks with the word "Allah" inappropriately printed on it — began as a legitimate grievance. But action was taken, with the chain’s founder, a Malaysian-Chinese man, apologizing and saying he had terminated the services of the supplier the socks came from. That was not enough for the youth wing of the United Malays National Organization, a party that ruled Malaysia for close to 60 years, claiming to be the champion of Malay Moslem interests. The youth wing is stridently calling for the supermarket’s stores to be boycotted because, it says, those who insulted Islam need to be taught a lesson.
UMNO soon backed the youth wing’s calls — after all, it was supposed to be the champion of Malays, the country’s ethnic majority. Starting in 2018, when it lost a general election for the first time, UMNO’s support among the Malays has declined drastically because of a slew of corruption scandals involving its members.
The party’s traditional support base has moved to the Perikatan Nasional group, which comprises the Bersatu party and the hardline Islamic party, PAS. UMNO claimed its decision to back the boycott was not political, it was moral.
UMNO is part of the federal coalition that consists of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s secular Pakatan Harapan group, but it says its stance will not affect ties within.
However, some people cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go... Anwar is rather tired of the controversy around the socks being dragged on despite action having been taken.
"My stance is clear. ... lines were crossed and action must be taken. But after following the law, we move on," he told news hounds on March 20, according to several local media outlets.
"We shouldn’t continue discussing it as [if it is] a massive disaster. Take firm action and then move on."
At an event the next day, the PM didn’t bring up the controversy but had harsh words, presumably for those who were dragging it on.
Anwar said that endless "jumud" ("ignorant") and "lapuk" ("backward") discussions would be an obstacle in the development of Malaysia, the New Straits Times reported.
Political analyst Syaza Shukri told BenarNews that UMNO was playing identity politics with ethnic Malay Moslems with its reaction to the socks controversy.
"Identity politics itself is not dangerous if the understanding of our differences can be managed by a competent leader," Syaza, of the International Islamic University Malaysia, said.
"It becomes dangerous when the politicians instead of trying to solve problems only cause more problems. What we need are statesmen who see identity politics positively," the associate professor at the Department of Political Science said.
Ethnic Malays comprise 70% of Malaysia’s population, ethnic Chinese 22.6% and ethnic Indians 6.6%.
The other three recent controversies pitched ethnic Malays against ethnic Chinese, although one of the three also involved the Indians community. Malaysia has been relatively peaceful since the 1969 race riots, but the two larger groups continue to view each other with deep suspicion.
Nga Kor Ming, the minister of Local Government Development, announced on Feb. 1 that the government was making plans to nominate three villages — called Chinese "new villages" — for UNESCO World Heritage status.
Malaysia’s former colonial British rulers had interned Malaysian-Chinese on suspicion of ties with Communists in these villages.
A couple of weeks later, the government gazette published an announcement that the heritage commissioner had named a Malaysian-Chinese herbal pork dish, bak kut teh, one among 10 national heritage objects.
The third controversy kicked off after the Federal Court ruled that vernacular schools were constitutional and rejected an appeal application by two NGOs to overturn a lower court’s decision that also ruled these schools legal.
Many Malays were up in arms that Chinese villages were being nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Status. They said there were many Malaysian villages that were much older. In fact some Malaysian-Chinese were also unhappy, saying there was no need to make what were basically internment camps into a heritage site.
As for bak kut teh, the hardline Islamist party PAS and UMNO were outraged that a pork-based dish was being given national heritage status in a largely Moslem country. Followers of Islam are not allowed to eat pork.
Many in the Malaysian-Chinese community, in turn, claimed that the majority Malays were suppressing the minorities.
Vernacular schools for the ethnic Chinese and the Tamil Indians caused divisions in the country, UMNO claimed. The party said that for racial harmony there needed to be an integrated education system. The ethnic Chinese and Indian communities said they sent their children to these schools so they could learn their language.
In the past, similar tussles have arisen over the celebration of Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Oktoberfest, among others.
For Azmil Mohd Tayeb, from the Universiti Sains Malaysia, these controversies are a sign of how polarized Malaysia has become.
"Different groups retreat into their respective shells and become easily triggered by any perceived slights to their identity," the associate professor at the university’s School of Social Sciences told BenarNews.
He said these "ethno-religious" issues can turn dangerous and toxic if left to fester.
"People would simply focus on differences amongst them, which would deepen resentment and widen the polarization. It is dangerous and an affliction that Malaysia needs to slowly move away from," he said.
These issues arise also because many don’t respect diversity, said S. Shashi Kumar, president of the Global Human Rights Foundation.
"The acts of racial and religious intolerance exacerbate tensions and divisions within society," he told BenarNews.
"These acts not only showcase the ignorance and insensitivity of certain individuals but also highlight the need for greater understanding and respect for diversity in the country," he said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the shootout, Butch shot Black Bart's gun out of his hand...... as another observer sees it, "Excessive outrage" on social media can get out of control and lead to issues blowing up rather than blowing over.
According to Helen Ting Mu Hung, of the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, disaffection exists because minorities are disproportionately targeted by the country’s laws.
"More problematically, those who expressed extreme views openly on the social media, especially those against minorities, get away scot-free, in contrast to those who criticized the majority or the authorities, some of whom have experienced the weight of law swiftl," said the associate professor at the university’s Institute of Malaysian and International Studies.
"This lack of even-handedness may fail to appease a lingering sense of resentment especially when the event is viewed from a racial lens."
In a 2018 report, "Outrage in Malaysia: The Politics of Taking Offence," author Julian C. H. Lee said that in furores in the Southeast Asian country, "minority ethno-religious groups and individuals ostensibly caused offence to the majority Moslem Malay population."
Lee said that the so-called offenses were characterized "as transgressions of genuine sensitivities."
"[I] argue that politics of offence must be seen for the political utility it holds for those who claim to represent the majority group that has been putatively offended."
#1
In the "West" the garbage enlightened have many causes to justify their meaningless lives. But in Dar Islam provides to all such emotional needs. No wonder Islam, is taking over the "West".
Could be Mossad, or possibly not. They tend to get paranoid in that part of the world…
[BenarNews] Malaysian police arrested a suspected Israeli intelligence agent armed with a cache of handguns and ammunition at a Kuala Lumpur hotel earlier this week, the nation’s top police official said on Friday. Amid Malaysia’s staunch support for Palestinians in the ongoing battle with Israel in Gaza, police tightened security for the prime minister, the king and others following the arrest on Wednesday of the 36-year-old Israeli man, who was carrying two passports.
"He entered Malaysia on March 12 using a French passport, was arrested on March 27 and will be remanded until March 31 for further investigation," Inspector General of Police Razarudin Husain told reporters without naming the suspect. "During the probe, he handed us his Israeli passport."
Razarudin said the suspect apparently did not bring the handguns into the country.
"He told us the firearms were meant to kill another Israeli national and were bought in Malaysia using crypto currency," Razarudin said, adding that police were investigating the man’s statement.
"We cannot take all his words as truth. He could have another agenda," Razarudin said, adding police were trying to determine if the man was a member of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has spoken out against Israel since it began retaliating for an Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the Jewish state by Hamas militants that left at least 1,100 Israelis dead. Since then, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes and military operations in the Gaza Strip.
During his recent visit to Germany, Anwar criticized the "hypocrisy" of Western countries in dealing with the conflict in the Middle East. The criticism follows comments the Malaysian leader made just weeks after the original attack.
In late October 2023, Anwar refused to label Hamas as a terrorist group despite U.S. demands that Malaysia change its stance.
"Because of our reluctance to label Hamas a terrorist organization and consider Hamas as terrorists, I have received information that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received a ’démarche,’ or diplomatic protest, from the U.S. Embassy twice, first on Oct. 13 and second on Oct. 30," Anwar told Parliament a day after the second diplomatic protest.
"Malaysia will not change its stance, particularly our reluctance to consider Hamas as a terrorist group. ... Malaysia maintains its independent position."
Anwar said the stance was based on humanitarian grounds because Malaysia views Israel’s occupation of Gaza "as illegal under international law and norms."
"This conflict did not start just a month ago; it has been ongoing for decades, since 1998," he said at the time.
Malaysia has no formal diplomatic relations with Israel. In December, the Southeast Asian country imposed a docking ban on Israeli-owned ships from entering Malaysia following the Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.
LOADED WEAPONS
On Friday, Razarudin said police did not think the suspect was working alone. The nation’s police chief noted that three of the handguns were loaded and ready to fire.
"He probably has his network and contact here who we have yet to identify," Razarudin said, adding he likely did not bring the handguns with him because he traveled from the United Arab Emirates where security is tight.
Malaysian police are investigating the man under the Passport Act of 1966 and Section 7 of Firearms Act for unauthorized possession of weapons. If charged and found guilty, he could be sentenced to death.
MOSSAD LINK
Muhammad Danial Azman, senior lecturer from the International Institute of Public Policy and Management, University of Malaya, said the potential spy allegation could not be discounted.
"Simply assuming that the police are jumping to a conclusion is somewhat inaccurate. The security enforcement authority is acting not without ’reason,’ but mostly likely functioning after successive intelligence information," he told BenarNews.
"The current press release is instead updating the public based on what they have gathered so far, and this will eventually be followed by more eventual legal and security measures within the parameters of the constitution and security policy."
He added that a link between the suspect’s activity and Malaysia’s support for the Palestinian cause is plausible.
"After all, we have to consider past incidents of alleged involvement of Israeli intelligence agents in the extrajudicial killing of Fadi Mohammad," he told BenarNews.
Six years ago, a Palestinian engineer residing in Malaysia, Fadi Mohammad al-Batsh, was shot dead by "Europeans with links to foreign intelligence agency" riding a motorcycle near a local mosque in Kuala Lumpur. His family has blamed Mossad for his killing."
Several Hebrew-language news outlets identified the suspect as Shalom Avitan, 36, an associate of the Musli brothers crime family. The Mako news site reported that Avitan was en route to assassinate Eran Haya, head of a rival crime family.
The two syndicates have been engaged in a violent mostly peaceful feud for months. According to Channel 12, Avitan’s home, in Tel Aviv’s upscale Bavli neighborhood, was the target of several grenades tossed by Haya’s men in mid-March, around when Haya was said to have entered Malaysia.
According to reports, Avitan is expected to face 25 years in jail if convicted.
Three Malaysians, including a married couple, were arrested on Friday and have been remanded for seven days on suspicion of supplying weapons and acting as a driver to the Israeli suspect, Razarudin told Rooters on Saturday.
A pistol was retrieved from a car belonging to the couple, he said.
Malaysia, a majority-Moslem country, is a staunch supporter of the Paleostinians and has criticized Israel’s actions in the Gazoo ...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response... war. Malaysia, which does not have diplomatic ties with Israel, is home to around 600 Paleostinian refugees, according to the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... refugee agency.
In 2018, a Paleostinian scientist was rubbed out in the Malaysian capital by two faceless myrmidons in a killing that the Hamas ...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,... terror group suggested was carried out by Israel’s Mossad intelligence service. Israel denied the allegations. No, no! Certainly not!
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
![]("Pix/biden_admin.png" "\"Biden")
...the collection of boodlers, grifters, hangers-on, and self-proclaimed 
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. ...![]("Pix/9-Arabia.jpg" "\"Saudi")
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. Fifteen of the nineteen WTC hijackers were Saudis, and most major jihadi commanders were Saudis, to include Osama bin Laden. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman quietly folded that tent in 2016, doing terrible things to the guys running it, and has since been dragging the kingdom into the current century...
[IsraelTimes] One of the holdups has been receiving approval from Israel, which is viewed as critical for getting Congress on board; source fears initial leak of story may torpedo negotiations
...not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
