Month: May 2018

As France marks the half-century anniversary of May 1968, a profound period of social upheaval, protesters are back on the streets, venting their anger against reforms being pushed through by the year-old centrist government of President Emmanuel Macron. But from Paris, Lisa Bryant reports the spirit today is very different from that watershed year that left an indelible mark on French politics and society.
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The Russian government is struggling to block messaging app Telegram, and its bid to cut access to the instant messenger platform is causing widespread disruption to an array of websites and online services in Russia that have nothing to do with Telegram.

For three weeks, Russian regulators have been floundering in their efforts to block the app after a court imposed a ban on Telegram April 13 for its refusal to hand the security agencies encryption keys enabling them access to users’ private messages.

Telegram’s defiant founder, Pavel Durov, a Russian entrepreneur in self-imposed exile, has boasted that the user count hasn’t suffered since the Kremlin sought to ban the app. Russian intelligence chiefs say they need access to Telegram messages sent by terrorists and criminals.

While the censors’ efforts have not caused many problems for Telegram, they have resulted in access being blocked to a host of other websites and online services, intermittently affecting Russians’ ability to buy via the internet everything from movie tickets to car insurance.

Widespread disruption

Access to some news sites also has been impaired, and users of Gmail say they have not been able to check their accounts. Online gamers also say they are encountering disruption.

Following the crackdown, owners of several different smart TV models have been unable to connect their sets to the Internet, and owners of fitness trackers and blood-pressure-monitors also have been experiencing problems, according to Mikhail Klimarev, director of the Society for Internet Protection. He says parents are complaining that GPS watches for tracking the location of their children have been failing.

One of the country’s most popular online car-sharing services, Delimobil, says its app has stopped displaying crucial maps thanks to the censorship. The flight search and ticketing service Kupibilet notified customers that “some ticketing systems are having problems.”

Russia’s Federal Service for the Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, known as Roskomnadzor, denies the outages are being caused by its decision to block 15.8 million IP addresses on Amazon and Google’s cloud platforms in its bid to snuff out Telegram. But the widespread disruption has been reported since Roskomnadzor launched its censorship.

On Monday, more than 7,000 people rallied in Moscow to complain about the ban on Telegram — more than the number who took to the streets of Moscow after the re-election of Russian leader Vladimir Putin in April. They threw paper planes — the messaging service’s logo.

Advocating freedom

Russia’s best-known opposition activist, Alexei Navalny, told the crowd, “Our country is destitute, it’s a really poor country, where nobody has any prospects. The only sector that has developed in recent years by itself — without the state, or subsidies, or favors — is the internet. And those people say, ‘You’re behaving badly on your internet, so we’ll gobble it up.’”

Telegram’s Durov praised the protesters. “Thousands of young and progressive people are now protesting in defense of internet freedom in Moscow — this is unprecedented,” he wrote on his page on VKontakte, the Russian version of Facebook.

Protest organizers say they want the repeal of “repressive Internet laws” and the dissolution of Roskomnadzor. “Our rights regarding secrecy of correspondence, freedom of speech and conscience are guaranteed by the constitution and cannot be restricted either by law or by conscience,” they said in a statement.

Of even greater embarrassment for the federal censors, they appear to be losing the support of some Kremlin officials and pro-Putin lawmakers, who also are voicing frustration with the ban.

Natalya Timakova, spokeswoman of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, inadvertently publicized her irritation, and on Facebook recommended online tools to bypass any problems encountered when accessing Telegram. In a response to a lawmaker’s frustration, Timakova advised her to “install VPN,” a virtual private network that allows users to circumvent online restrictions.

The lawmaker, Natalya Kostenko, subsequently changed the settings on her Facebook account, so that only friends and family could view her page after the exchange with Timakova was picked up by news outlets.
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The leader of an Armenian protest movement that forced the country’s veteran leader to step down announced on Tuesday a nationwide campaign of civil disobedience after the ruling party thwarted his bid to take over as prime minister.

Addressing tens of thousands of people gathered in a square in the Armenian capital, Nikol Pashinyan said that starting from 8:15 (0415 UTC) on Wednesday morning, his supporters would block roads, railways and airports.

The planned day of protest in the small ex-Soviet state sets up a standoff between Pashinyan’s movement, which has mobilized thousands of people to take to the streets, and a ruling elite that is determined to hold on to power and still controls the security apparatus.

“We will block the streets, the airports, the metro, the railway, everything that can be blocked,” Pashinyan told his cheering supporters on Yerevan’s Republic Square.

“If everyone participates in a total act of civil disobedience, this will be a total victory of the people of Armenia. Our struggle is a struggle of nonviolence; it is a peaceful act of civil disobedience.”

After days of protests, veteran leader Serzh Sarksyan stepped down as prime minister last week. That seemed to signal a dramatic shift in power in Armenia, an ex-Soviet state closely aligned to Russia that has been run by the same cadre of people since the late 1990s.

Pashinyan, 42, a former journalist who spent two years in jail for fomenting unrest, was submitted to parliament as the only nominee for the vacant prime minister’s job.

But the ruling Republican Party, allied to Sarksyan, has a majority in the legislature, and after hours of acrimonious debate it withheld its support for Pashinyan’s candidacy, leaving him short of the support he needed.

​Wave of anger

Earlier on Tuesday, Pashinyan had warned the ruling elite it could face a “tsunami” of anger from the people if it stymied his move to become prime minister.

Supporters of Pashinyan, who had spent the day in the capital’s Republic Square to watch the parliamentary debate on two huge screens, shouted “shame” when the result of the vote was shown.

“It showed once again that they don’t care about us, about the ordinary people,” said Gurgen, 61, an unemployed man who was among the crowd.

The crisis in Armenia, which has a population of only about 3 million and has Russian military bases on its territory, is being closely watched in Moscow.

Officials there are wary of a repeat of a popular revolt in Ukraine in 2014 that swept to power new leaders who pulled away from Moscow’s orbit.

Protests flared when Sarksyan, an establishment veteran, announced he was seeking to become prime minister. He had previously been president, but was limited by the constitution from seeking another term.

Some Armenians saw Sarksyan’s bid for the prime minister’s job as a cynical ploy to extend his grip on power. Some voters accuse Sarksyan and his associates of cronyism and corruption, allegations they deny.

Pashinyan has pledged to keep Armenia close to Moscow, saying the changes he wants to make would instead focus on rooting out graft.

During the parliamentary debate, Republican Party lawmakers accused Pashinyan or being an irresponsible rabble-rouser. They alleged he recruited children to join his protest movement and said he lacked the qualities to command the Armenian armed forces.
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Workers and protesters throughout the world observed May Day Tuesday with rallies and strikes demanding their governments address better working conditions and other labor issues.

In addition to being an international day honoring workers or a traditional spring time festival, Tuesday is also International Worker’s Day in many countries.

Russia

In Moscow, about 120,000 people marched from Red Square to the main streets in a traditional May Day parade.

In St. Petersburg, Russia, several hundred citizens upset over the Kremlin’s efforts to restrict internet freedom, joined the official May Day celebration. They protested the ban of the messaging application Telegram, a move that triggered a rally in Moscow that was attended by 10,000 people.

Spain

Marches calling for gender equality, higher salaries and better pensions were held in more than 70 cities in Spain. Thousands of people turned out for the largest rally in Madrid, displaying a show of unity behind the slogan “Time to Win.”

General Union Workers’ Union of Spain leader Pepe Alvarez said meeting the demands of feminists, youths and workers are necessary to “redistribute wealth.”

Spain’s economy has been among the fastest growing in Europe in recent years.

United States

May Day Demonstrations for immigrant and labor rights were planned in California, New York, Florida and other U.S. cities.

“The Trump administration has made very clear that they’ve declared war on the immigrant community on all levels,” said Javier Valdez of the advocacy group Make the Road New York.

Immigration rights organizations have participated in May Day activities for over a decade to resist anti-immigration legislation. Now the advocates are focusing on voter turnout in the November mid-term elections.

South Korea

In downtown Seoul, South Korea, about 10,000 labor union members took to the streets to call for a higher minimum wage and to make other demands.

The rally, organized by the Korean Federation of Trade Unions, urged the government to approve a $9.34 minimum wage and convert non-regular workers to regular employees with equal pay.

Turkey

Dozens of demonstrators were detained during May Day events in Istanbul, most of whom tried to march toward the city’s main square in defiance of a government ban.

Citing security concerns, the Turkish government declared Taksim Square off-limits. Nevertheless, small groups of people chanting “Taskim cannot be off limits on May 1” tried to push their way into the square, resulting in scuffles and the detention of 45 demonstrators.

Taksim Square is symbolically significant to Turkey’s labor movement. Thirty-four people were killed there during a May Day event in 1977 when shots were fired into the crowd from a nearby building.

Indonesia

Some 10,000 workers rallied near the presidential palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, urging the government to raise wages and to refrain from outsourcing. They also called for a ban on foreign laborers in Indonesia, saying their presence reduces job opportunities for local workers.

Greece

Thousands of Greeks marched through central Athens in several May Day demonstrations.

Museums were closed and public transportation operated on a reduced schedule.

Police said at least 7,000 people attended one rally in Athens that was planned by the communist party-led union. They marched past parliament toward the United States Embassy.

Cambodia

Prime Minister Hun Sun observed May Day in Cambodia with about 5,000 garment workers just outside the capital of Phnom Penh.

About 2,000 other garment workers gathered at a park in Phnom Penh for a rally. They wanted to march to the National Assembly to convince lawmakers to assist them with labor issues, but the group was stopped by riot police.

Philippines

Some 5,000 people demonstrated near the presidential palace in Manila to protest Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s failure to fulfill a campaign promise to halt the practice of short-term employment.

They also demanded that the government provide higher wages and address joblessness and trade union repression.  

South Africa

Separate May Day marches organized by rival trade unions were held in the coastal South African city of Durban and in other parts of the country.

Riot police were deployed as members of the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Federation of Trade Unions marched through routes that were designed to put distance between the two unions.

On Monday, COSATU President S’dumo Diamini said at a news conference, “We call upon all workers to work together. Their enemy is one: Monopoly capital.”
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America’s European allies are drawing a sharply different collective conclusion from the U.S. about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dramatic presentation Monday of “evidence” he says demonstrates Iran lied about its nuclear program.  

And European diplomats suspect the Israeli leader’s presentation, during which he urged President Donald Trump to scrap the nuclear accord signed in 2015 between Tehran and six foreign powers, was choreographed with the White House. Netanyahu did not directly accuse Iran of violating the accord, but his aim, say analysts, was to counter the intense lobbying of Trump by the Europeans, who say the deal shouldn’t be discarded.

Netanyahu said “half a ton” of secret Iranian documents obtained in an intelligence coup showed Iran was “brazenly lying” when it said it never had a nuclear weapons program, and that it had not honored  the agreement by intensifying efforts to hide secret files after signing the deal that obliges Tehran to limit its nuclear energy program.

The Israeli leader based his allegations on approximately 55,000 pages of documents and 183 CDs of secret information Israeli intelligence operatives obtained from a Tehran facility.

Britain’s foreign minister Boris Johnson joined European counterparts Tuesday in defending the 2015 deal, which Trump has to decide by May 12 to renew or walk away from.

“The Israeli prime minister’s presentation on Iran’s past research into nuclear weapons technology underlines the importance of keeping the Iran nuclear deal’s constraints on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions,” Johnson said.

He added: “The Iran nuclear deal is not based on trust about Iran’s intentions; rather it is based on tough verification, including measures that allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency unprecedented access to Iran’s nuclear program. The fact that Iran conducted sensitive research in secret until 2003 shows why we need the intrusive inspections allowed by the Iran nuclear deal today.”

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May underlined Johnson’s remarks, saying, “We have never been naive about Iran and its nuclear intentions, that is why the International Atomic Energy Agency inspection regime agreed as part of the Iran nuclear deal is one of the most extensive and robust in the history of international nuclear accords.”

A spokesman for France’s foreign ministry says the “pertinence of the deal is reinforced by the details presented by Israel.” And the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, said Prime Minister Netanyahu’s disclosures have “not put into question Iran’s compliance.”

A French diplomat told VOA the view in Paris is that Netanyahu coordinated his presentation with the White House — underlining the French government’s conclusion that Trump is likely to walk away from the nuclear accord, despite French and European efforts to dissuade him from doing so. Last week, after a three-day visit to Washington, Macron told reporters on his departure from the U.S. capital that he thought that Trump would scrap the deal if only for domestic political reasons.

Providing some credence to the French suspicion of coordination between Israel and Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday he had “personally reviewed many of the Iranian files.” He argued, “What this means is the deal was not constructed on a foundation of good faith or transparency. It was built on Iran’s lies.”

Several analysts VOA spoke with say the Netanyahu disclosures about secret files show only that Iran once covertly pursued nuclear weapons, a widely held view, though always denied by Tehran. But that the major goal of the Israeli’s leader’s presentation Monday was  a public relations one.  “Netanyahu’s press conference was likely aimed at shaping U.S. public opinion,” says Hasnain Malik, head of research at the Dubai-based investment bank Exotix Capital.

“It is unclear whether any new information regarding Iran’s nuclear activities was revealed,” he said. “To a degree, this makes it easier for U.S. President Trump to scupper the deal and it raises the ultimate probability of restrictions on Iranian oil exports.”

Other analysts say Netanyahu’s presentation likely will strengthen the hand of those around Trump who want the accord scrapped, including National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Netanyahu’s speech Monday comes as a shadow war between Israel and Iran escalates dramatically in neighboring Syria, where Israel has struck several times at the military bases in the country used by Hezbollah, the Tehran-tied Lebanese Shi’ite militia, and Iranian Revolutionary Guard units. On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike on a base dug into a mountain near the city of Hama killed two dozen Iranian-linked fighters, according to monitors.

Sunday’s airstrike, timed as it was hours before Netanyahu’s speech, underlined the Israeli leader’s overarching message of his readiness to act against Iran, regardless of what happens to the nuclear accord, say European diplomats.
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