Global News Dispatches: 4 Stories from Jammu & Kashmir, Myanmar, Pakistan and Israel

• In Jammu and Kashmir, Eviction Drive Sparks Anger and Protests From a Cross-Section of Society
• New International Sanctions Announced on Myanmar’s Junta as Airstrikes, Arrests Keep Country on Edge
• Pakistani Brothers Finally Leave Guantanamo Bay After 20 Years Without Charge or Trial
• Attacks by Israeli Settlers on West Bank Result in Death of 65 Palestinians in the First Two Months of 2023

In Jammu and Kashmir, Eviction Drive Sparks Anger and Protests From a Cross-Section of Society

The administration of Jammu and Kashmir, which is directly under the Indian government, launched an eviction drive in January, many of whose victims were socioeconomically vulnerable people in the region such as farmers and workers. Political parties and people’s movements have slammed the evictions.

Between January and February 2023, residents of India’s Jammu and Kashmir—formerly a state, now a union territory—have been protesting what they see as overreach and intimidation, as the government has stepped up attempts to “take back” what it says is land that has been “illegally occupied.”

On February 24, members of farmers’ movement Jammu Kashmir Kisan Tehreek protested alongside activists from around the country in New Delhi against the targeting of farmers and workers by the eviction drive. Protesters alleged that the government wanted to take land away from the farmers and hand it over to industrialists.

The evictions have been denounced as an attack on the homes, livelihoods, and rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The drive began after the union territory’s government called for the removal of all encroachments on state-owned land on January 9. It was eventually halted on February 11 following protests and public pressure. However, uncertainty remains over the future of the people who have lived and worked on this land for decades.

***

New International Sanctions Announced on Myanmar’s Junta as Airstrikes, Arrests Keep Country on Edge

On February 20, the European Union announced a sixth round of sanctions on nine individuals and seven entities in military-ruled Myanmar in light of the “continuing escalation of violence, grave human rights violations and threats to the peace, security and stability in Myanmar/Burma” two years after the February 1, 2021, coup. The sanctions entail travel bans and asset freezes of influential businessmen, politicians, and military officers.

According to the EU, some of the targeted individuals were “involved in the process of death sentences and execution of four democracy activists in July 2022, and in Kachin State, where they oversaw air strikes, massacres, raids, arson and the use of human shields committed by the military.”

The EU said in its statement: “All hostilities must stop immediately. The military authorities must fully respect international humanitarian law, and put an end to the indiscriminate use of force.”

The announcement comes after democratic advocacy group Justice for Myanmar on January 25 reported on the networks established between foreign countries, intergovernmental organizations, and financial institutions that have been aiding the junta forces in acquiring “funds, resources, and power.”

Meanwhile, the conflict in Myanmar is intensifying. According to a report in Mizzima, the military government carried out 57 airstrikes in January, and 652 airstrikes since the coup in February 2021. More than 288 individuals, mostly civilians, have died, and 377 have been severely injured as a result of these strikes since the coup.

***

Pakistani Brothers Finally Leave Guantanamo Bay After 20 Years Without Charge or Trial

After spending two decades of their lives in the notorious Guantanamo Bay detention center on the U.S. Navy base in Cuba without any charge or trial, two Pakistani brothers were finally sent home by the U.S. authorities on February 23.

Abdul Rabbani (55) and Mohammed Rabbani (53) were first arrested by Pakistani authorities in 2002 from Karachi and were transferred to the CIA’s custody. The detention center at Guantanamo Bay was first established under former U.S. President George W. Bush’s administration as part of the so-called “global war on terrorism” after the September 11, 2001, attacks, with the objective of bypassing legal obligations related to detainees.

The brothers were accused by the U.S. of helping Al Qaeda operatives by providing them with shelter and other logistical support. However, they were never charged or tried formally.

They have accused the CIA of torturing them in custody before transferring them to Guantanamo Bay.

According to reports, at least 779 people have been detained at Guantanamo Bay since it was established in January 2002—it was constructed illegally in a U.S.-occupied part of Cuba. Over the years, many prisoners have been transferred to third countries or repatriated, especially after global attention was directed toward the human rights violations taking place at the facility following the publication of the Gitmo files by WikiLeaks.

According to the Associated Press, there are 32 more detainees in Guantanamo, of whom 18 are “eligible” for transfer—meaning they are not facing any charges or trial and will be transferred once countries willing to take them are found.

***

Attacks by Israeli Settlers on West Bank Result in Death of 65 Palestinians in the First Two Months of 2023

Hundreds of Israeli settlers attacked different towns and villages near the West Bank city of Nablus on February 26. At least one Palestinian—identified as 37-year-old Sameh Aqtash—was killed, and more than 100 were injured, according to WAFA. Around 65 Palestinians, including 13 children, have been killed in 2023 by Israeli forces in the first two months of 2023 alone in the areas of occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The settlers also attacked and burned dozens of Palestinian houses and vehicles across the region. Palestinians claimed that the settlers unleashed their violence under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces. They also claimed that the Israeli forces prevented medical aid from reaching those who needed it.

Nablus and nearby Jenin in the occupied West Bank have been the focal points of Israeli violence in the last few months. On February 22, Israeli occupation forces killed at least 11 Palestinians and injured more than 100 in Nablus in a daytime raid.

Following the attacks, Israeli forces imposed a siege around Nablus, restricting the movement of Palestinians, stated WAFA. The siege of Nablus was intensified when Israeli occupation forces increased deployment, claiming that they were attempting to apprehend the gunman who allegedly opened fire and killed two Israeli settlers in Huwara, just south of Nablus, in late February.

© Scoop Media