Clipping CACD Internacional 18/05/2016

Sumrio
Clipping CACD Internacional 18/05/2016....................................................................1
Brasil................................................................................................................. 1
Dilma Rousseff and the Chronic Dysfunction of Brazils Politics.......................................1
O que revelam as primeiras investidas de Serra na diplomacia.........................................5
Brazils new leader has a lot to fix starting with the Olympics......................................9
Brsil, la Prsidente lue mise au coin au prix d'un cache-texte dmocratique haut risque.16
In Brazil, Rousseffs suspension looks like end of an era...............................................21
frica.............................................................................................................. 28
Al-Qaeda affiliates are threatening West Africas most peaceful cities..............................28
Amrica Latina e Caribe....................................................................................... 35
Latin America confronts the United States.................................................................35
The Electricity Crisis in Venezuela: A Cautionary Tale.................................................40
Oriente Mdio.................................................................................................... 44
Israel action threatens to close down rights group and 'chill' free speech..........................45
China............................................................................................................... 49
Is China Returning to the Madness of Maos Cultural Revolution?.................................49
Energia............................................................................................................ 54
Opinion: Nuclear power uproar a waste of energy.......................................................54

Brasil

Dilma Rousseff and the Chronic Dysfunction of Brazils

Politics
por: The New Yorker - leia na ntegra
Early last Thursday morning, after Brazils senators voted to begin an
impeachment trial against President Dilma Rousseff, fireworks crackled in
cities around the country. Rousseff was out at last. During her five and a
half years in office, she had presided over the countrys deepest recession
since the nineteen-thirties, and had been caught in the middle of a giant
corruption scandal. Thursdays vote forced her to step down for the
duration of the impeachment trial, and no one expects her to return to
power. But by the standards of the recent mass protests against Rousseff,
Thursdays celebrations were muted. In Braslia, the capital, a news
photographers lens captured a plume of smoke from fireworks rising
above the vast lawn of the Esplanade of Ministries, near the National
Congress building, where a small group of demonstrators had gathered.
Most Brazilians had wanted to see Rousseff gobut now they had to
worry about what comes next.

Brazilian politics suffers from chronic dysfunction. More than two dozen
political parties hold seats in Congress, and because most of them lack a
recognizable ideology governing coalitions are stitched together through
patronagea ministry here, a state bank there. This system explains how
Rousseff originally came to team up with Michel Temer, her Vice-
President, who is now Brazils acting President. Temer was not a member
of Rousseffs Workers Party, and never bought into its declared aims of
social justice. A lawyer and career politician, Temer was a member of the
old political establishment, and Rousseff relied on his skills as a power
broker to help her projects get through the legislature. But when public
opinion turned against her, so did he. In recent months, he had been
openly plotting to take her place.

For more than a decade, Brazil, a deeply unequal society, has been
governed by leaders who claim to speak for the poor. Temer represents a
break from that approach. At seventy-five, he has sunken cheeks, wears
his gray hair slicked back, and speaks a stilted Portuguese associated with
the old, urban upper class. A political rival once compared him to a butler
from a horror movie. On Thursday afternoon, when he made his first
televised Presidential address, he promised to deliver national salvation
and announced a plan to put up millions of billboards around the country
that read Dont speak of crisis; work! His voice caught twice during his
remarks. When he paused to take a sip from a glass of water, his lips
curled into an awkward smile.
Widespread anger over corruption helped to bring about Rousseffs
downfall. But, in getting rid of her, the Congress has swapped one
President tainted by scandal for another. Temer leads the Brazilian
Democratic Movement Party, which, like the Workers Party, has been
implicated in the petrolo (or big oil) scandal that saw billions of dollars
funnelled from the state oil company to off-the-books campaign coffers
and Swiss bank accounts. And while Rousseff is not suspected of direct
involvement in the scheme, Temer isas are several of his newly
appointed cabinet ministers.

Many Brazilians wanted Rousseff out, but they werent calling for Temer.
Surveys show that just two per cent of Brazilians would vote for him for
President, and that sixty per cent want to see him impeached, too. So far,
though, few outside Rousseffs base on the left have made any public
show of disapproval. Some Brazilians are tempted to blame the countrys
age-old corruption problems on the Workers Party alone, and many
others, after a period of bitter political polarization, are simply tired, and
have given up on politics altogether. A few small but vocal groups have
even called for the military to take over and rule, as it did from 1964 to
1985.

Like many of her supporters, Rousseff considers her impeachment a coup

masquerading as legislative procedure. She has made allusions to the
military dictatorship, during which she was imprisoned and tortured for
her role in an urban guerrilla group. Her rhetoric hasnt helped her case,
but theres no question that the impeachment process has been essentially
political, more about her record as a leader than about the technical issue
at hand: whether she committed a crime of responsibility when she
authorized spending without congressional permission.

The more urgent issue now, though, concerns Temers rise to power. His
path to the Presidency may have followed the letter of the law, but he was
not directly elected, and he has made few gestures toward representative
government. In a country where more than half the population is black or
mixed race, his new cabinet is all white and all male. Three of his new
ministers are the sons of regional political bosses. Many worry that he
might undercut the countrys recent advances against political corruption
and graft. But the empresariadothe business classlikes Temer. He has
promised to stabilize the economy without asking the wealthy to carry
more of the tax burden. To close a gaping budget deficit, he has proposed
amending the constitution so that the government is allowed to spend less
on health care and education. His advisers have even spoken of limiting
the scope of Bolsa Famlia, the welfare program that pays fourteen million
families a dollar or two a day if they send their kids to school. These
proposals are far more radical than any put forward by Rousseffs
conservative opponent during the 2014 election.

A majority of Brazilians want a bigger say in the future course of their

country. The country should have the chance to choose its President,
Robrio da Costa Oliveira, a thirty-one-year-old shipping-company
employee, told me last month, at an anti-Rousseff rally in So Paulo. His
dream candidate was Joaquim Barbosa, an Afro-Brazilian who grew up
poor and went on to serve as chief justice of the Supreme Court, where he
presided over a groundbreaking corruption case against the Workers
Party. But new elections would require Temer to resign, or be impeached
himself. And with the political class now coalescing around him, both
scenarios look unlikely: unless those who marched against Rousseff take
to the streets again, Temer may be here to stay. Three decades after the
military ceded power to a civilian government, Brazils latest experiment
with democracy is facing yet another identity crisis.
O que revelam as primeiras investidas de Serra na
diplomacia
por: Nexo Jornal - leia na ntegra

Serra discursa na votao do impeachment de Dilma pelo Senado

Os primeiros sinais emitidos pelo recm-empossado ministro das Relaes

Exteriores, Jos Serra, sugerem uma mudana de eixo no Itamaraty. Desde
que assumiu o cargo, na quinta-feira (12), Serra tomou pelo menos duas
atitudes que colocam as relaes do Brasil com os pases do hemisfrio sul
sob uma nova perspectiva.

Primeiro, o novo ministro rechaou publicamente e com veemncia as

crticas que foram feitas por pases vizinhos ao impeachment da presidente
Dilma Rousseff. Essa opo de bater de frente - e principalmente, por
meio de notas pblicas - incomum no apenas na relao do Brasil com
governos que eram mais alinhados ideologicamente com o PT, mas com os
demais pases do mundo, de maneira geral.

Foi o nmero de posts de Twitter que o Itamaraty publicou num espao de

apenas cinco minutos, rechaando as crticas ao processo de impeachment
de Dilma Rousseff, no dia 13 de maio

Alm disso, o novo chanceler encomendou um estudo sobre os custos de

manuteno das embaixadas abertas nos dois mandatos do ex-presidente
Luiz Incio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) no chamado "sul-global". O termo
"sul-global" empregado genericamente para se referir a pases de fora da
Europa e da Amrica do Norte. A medida foi vista como um pressgio de
redirecionamento de recursos.

O ritmo imposto por Lula comeou a diminuir em 2011, quando Dilma

assumiu. A partir de ento, nenhuma nova embaixada foi aberta. Alm
disso, Dilma fechou o Consulado-Geral de Beirute em 2015 e recebeu
reclamao de diplomatas sobre atrasos no repasse de recursos para
pagamento de contas bsicas em postos diplomticos no exterior. A
conteno de gastos j tinha, ento, impacto nas relaes exteriores. A
novidade, com Serra, a possibilidade de que novos fechamentos se deem
no apenas por questo oramentria, mas por deciso estratgica tambm.

Aqui esto mais detalhes dos eventos registrados no curto espao

transcorrido desde a posse de Serra:

Num espao de apenas trs dias, o Itamaraty entrou em atrito

publicamente com cinco pases vizinhos e dois organismos internacionais
acerca do impeachment. Na sexta-feira (13), primeiro dia de Serra em seu
novo posto, o Itamaraty disse rejeitar com veemncia as crticas que os
governos de Cuba, Venezuela, Equador, Bolvia e Nicargua fizeram ao
impeachment de Dilma e ascenso de Michel Temer ao cargo de
presidente interino.

No domingo (16), em nota oficial, o Brasil dobrou a carga e fez uma

ameaa velada a El Salvador, pelo mesmo motivo, lembrando que o
parceiro caribenho o maior beneficirio de cooperao tcnica
brasileira em toda a Amrica Central e deveria reconsiderar sua posio.
Por fim, afirmou que as opinies do secretrio-geral da Unasul (Unio de
Naes Sul-Americanas), o colombiano Ernesto Samper so
incompatveis com as funes que exerce. Samper tambm havia
criticado o impeachment de Dilma.

A comunicao pblica no a primeira ferramenta da diplomacia para

resolver impasses entre Estados. Os canais bilaterais e a discrio so,
normalmente, priorizados. Sob Serra, o Itamaraty usou todos os meios de
comunicao disposio para rebater seus crticos, dando o maior
alcance possvel divergncia. Se Lula e Dilma fizeram de tudo para
contornar atritos com lderes vistos muitas vezes como histrinicos na
regio, Serra fez do embate pblico com eles sua primeira medida, dando
a entender que a linha mudou.

Na tera-feira (17), veio a pblico a informao de que o Itamaraty realiza,

a pedido de Serra, um estudo sobre as embaixadas abertas pelo Brasil na
frica e no Caribe pelos governos petistas. O pedido levantou a hiptese
de que Serra esteja pensando em fechar embaixadas e redirecionar
prioridades.

Essa hiptese se baseia, principalmente, no sinais emitidos por Serra no

captulo sobre poltica externa no plano de governo com o qual disputou e
perdeu a Presidncia da Repblica em 2010. No texto, Serra no faz
qualquer meno s relaes com a frica, a sia e o Caribe. J sobre os
pases vizinhos, ele classifica como desvios a poltica de generosidade
e de afinidades ideolgicas na Amrica do Sul.

A contingncia de gastos no Itamaraty no uma novidade de Serra, ela

vinha desde o governo Dilma. O novo ministro, porm, transforma o
aperto de cinto numa medida estrutural e d a entender que os cortes
podem ser feitos justamente nos pases que representavam a opo petista
pelo sul-sul, ou seja a relao horizontal com pases fora do eixo EUA-
Europa.

O Nexo pediu a dois especialistas em relaes internacionais para

interpretarem as medidas tomadas por Serra luz das diferenas
ideolgicas e programticas entre o PT e o PSDB na conduo da poltica
externa.

Para Oliver Stuenkel, diferenas no so to grandes

O professor de Relaes Internacionais da FGV, Oliver Stuenkel,

considera que h certo exagero quando se consideram as diferenas
ideolgicas entre o PT e o PSDB na rea de poltica externa.

Para exemplificar o que diz, ele faz a seguinte comparao: Lula deu
nfase s relaes sul-sul, mas, se ele tivesse sido eleito nos anos 1990,
no teria dado. Era mais uma questo de contexto e de oportunidade, de
momento. Se Serra tivesse sido eleito em 2003, no lugar de Lula, a relao
sul-sul tambm teria sido uma marca de seu governo. J Dilma no
apostou no mesmo caminho. Ela no deixou ver uma orientao poltica
mais clara.

Stunekel diz que essas medidas [em estudo por Serra] esto no contexto
de um ajuste mais amplo, mas representam um risco, pois a presena de
outros pases [na frica e no Caribe] est crescendo, eles esto abrindo
novas embaixadas por l.

Para Camila Asano, deciso precisaria de consulta

A coordenadora de Poltica Externa da ONG Conectas Direitos Humanos,

Camila Asano, que trabalha com o monitoramento das polticas pblicas
brasileiras para o sul-global v os sinais de Serra com muita
preocupao. Para ela, uma deciso dessa envergadura, com tantos
impactos no cosmopolitismo e na imagem que o Brasil tem projetado nos
ltimos anos, no pode ser tomada a portas fechadas, sem consultar a
sociedade. A falta de participao sinaliza um reforo da cultura de
opacidade da poltica externa brasileira.

Camila considera ainda que o fechamento de embaixadas nessas regies

incoerente com o discurso que o pas tem sustentado nos ltimos anos, de
defesa da democratizao do sistema internacional. Se quer realmente ser
um ator relevante no mundo, poltica e economicamente, o Brasil precisa
ter informao em primeira mo sobre as realidades e situaes que
afetam os demais pases, e a manuteno de representaes diplomticas
uma importante ferramenta para isso.

Brazils new leader has a lot to fix starting with the

Olympics.
por: Washington Post - leia na ntegra
Brazil's interim president, Michel Temer, gives a thumbs-up during his
address to the nation on May 12, 2016, after the Senate voted to suspend
President Dilma Rousseff pending an impeachment trial. (Eraldo
Peres/AP)

BRASILIA Michel Temer says his top task as Brazils new leader will
be to stabilize the country after months of political upheaval. But he will
also need to quickly salvage this countrys reputation ahead of the Rio
Summer Olympics and convince the world that Brazil is not a basket case.

Few countries have faced so many problems ahead of hosting the Games.
A Zika-virus outbreak rages in Rio de Janeiro. Crime is surging after the
failure of a plan to pacify the citys slums, or favelas. Part of a bike path
built for the Games collapsed into the ocean last month, killing two and
triggering fears about shoddy construction work.

These troubles seemed to have barely registered with Brazilian politicians

consumed by their own crises. A drawn-out, messy impeachment fight
culminated in President Dilma Rousseffs suspension this week and
brought Temer to power.

In his first speech as interim president, he told Brazilians that the

Olympics would be a one-time opportunity to make a good global
impression.

Billions of people will watch the Games, and journalists from different
countries will be here to report on the host nation, he said. We know that
beyond sports, they will also focus on the political and economic
conditions of the country.

Brazil's senators voted overwhelmingly on Thursday, May 12, to put

President Dilma Rousseff on trial, an impeachment push driven by
mounting frustration in the country. (Dom Phillips,Nick Miroff,Jason
Aldag/The Washington Post)

Temer may want them to focus as little as possible on those two sore
points. But the Senate impeachment trial of Rousseff can extend up to 180
days meaning it could still be underway when the Games open on Aug.
5. Rousseff vows to fight charges of violating budget laws and insists that
she did not break the law.

On his first day on the job, Temers new sports minister, Leonardo
Picciani, issued a statement addressing charges that he has a conflict of
interest because he and his family are part owners of a company that
supplied gravel for the Olympic Park and a rapid-bus lane built for the
Games. He said that the ministry does not contract for construction
projects and that the Olympic infrastructure is already in place, so there is
no conflict of interest.

Organizers say the Olympic facilities are nearly complete and will be
ready on time. Still, a subway line connecting the suburb where the Games
are being held to the rest of the city has not opened. Officials have backed
off promises to clean up the filthy water of Guanabara Bay, where sailing
races will be staged.

When a 50-yard portion of a seaside bike path was struck by a wave last
month and plunged into the sea below, it also renewed fears of corner-
cutting on construction projects linked to the Games. Two people died, and
the path has remained closed amid reports that it was not securely attached
to its supporting stanchions.

Brazils new Olympic facilities will open under a cloud of suspicion, with
the chief executive of one major contractor recently sentenced to prison
for 19 years on corruption charges. Executives of other construction firms
are also in jail or under indictment.

U.S. officials estimate that as many as 200,000 Americans will visit Rio
for the Games, but for many spectators, the Zika epidemic may be more
worrisome than the state of the Games facilities.

Brazilian lawmakers weigh whether to oust the president as supporters and

opponents take to the streets in protest.

A public-health expert writing in the Harvard Public Health Review

argued this week that the Games should be canceled or moved, because
visitors infected with the Zika virus in Brazil will return home and
accelerate the spread of the virus.

Rio is not on the fringes of the outbreak, but inside its heart, wrote Amir
Attaran, a public-health and law professor at the University of Ottawa. He
cited Brazilian government data showing 26,000 suspected infections in
Rio, the highest of any state in Brazil.

Although most Zika-infected patients experience mild symptoms or none,

the virus can cause devastating birth defects and also can trigger Guillain-
Barr syndrome, a rare and sometimes fatal nerve disorder.

While Brazils Zika inevitably will spread globally given enough time,
viruses always do it helps nobody to speed that up, Attaran wrote.

The International Olympic Committee insists that the Games will go

forward as planned, and the World Health Organization issued a statement
Thursday encouraging travelers to use insect repellent, wear light-colored
clothing and take other precautions to avoid being bitten by Zika-infected
mosquitoes.

With the Brazilian economy in its worst depression since the 1930s and
millions out of work, the country that will welcome the world to Rio is a
battered and less confident version of the one picked as host in 2009, when
its economy was purring. Stretched finances have forced security spending
cuts in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where violent crime is increasing.

Brazil is the first nation in South America to host the Games, and the cost-
benefit record for the role of host has been a mixed one in the modern era.
The 1992 Olympics in Barcelona were a huge success for the city, turning
it into a major tourist destination. For Greece, which hosted the 2004
Games in Athens, the event was a loser.

Normally, it is the moment a country shows its best, said Lourdes

Casanova, an economist at Cornell University who is originally from
Barcelona. She predicted that Brazil would succeed, as it did with the
soccer World Cup in 2014.

I am sure this will be an excellent Games, she said.

Chris Gaffney, an expert on Brazils preparations for the Games,

disagreed.

The symbolic capital of winning the Olympics for Brazil has been spent
or lost, said Gaffney, a geographer at the University of Zurich, in
Switzerland. This is supposed to mark the emergence of a regional
powerhouse with pretensions for a seat on the U.N. Security Council. I
dont think anyone takes those claims as seriously as they did seven years
ago.
Read more:

Brsil, la Prsidente lue mise au coin au prix d'un cache-

texte dmocratique haut risque
por: Le Huffington Post - leia na ntegra
Dilma Rousseff rlue par 54 millions de Brsiliens en 2014 a t chasse
du pouvoir de vilaine manire en 2016 par snateurs et dputs.

Vilaine manire en effet si l'on s'en tient la lettre de la Constitution. Le

motif constitutionnel voqu est en effet si tnu, qu'il n'a pratiquement pas
t voqu par les parlementaires. La prsidente serait selon ceux qui l'ont
condamne rendre son tablier, auteur "d'un crime de responsabilit"
constitutionnelle. Son crime serait d'avoir prsent un budget
excessivement optimiste et donc trompeur la veille des prsidentielles de
2014. C'est la dfinition figurant l'article 85 de la Loi fondamentale
brsilienne qui a t l'alibi donnant une couverture minimale un coup bas
politique.

Vilaine manire en effet si l'on se reporte au rcit ayant accompagn la

destitution. Le rcit de cette mise l'cart, tel qu'il a t fabriqu et
vhicul par les mdias brsiliens, pratiquement tous opposs la
prsidente et sa formation, est d'une clart aveuglant la ralit des faits.
La Prsidente et son parti corrompus (le PT) auraient conduit le pays la
ruine. La chef de l'Etat paradoxalement en cette histoire n'est au cur
d'aucune affaire d'argent sale. Alors que Michel Temer, prsident par
intrim, est interdit d'lections dans son Etat d'origine So Paulo pour
fraude lectorale. Alors que le prsident du Snat est ml au scandale
Lava Jato. Tout comme celui du Congrs, dmis pour indignit... aprs
avoir orchestr le vote de destitution de la prsidente. Et que selon l'ONG
"Transparence Internationale", plus de 300 dputs et 61% de snateurs
ont t ces dernires annes mis en cause dans des affaires troubles.

Cache-texte dmocratique, oui, dans la mesure o dputs et snateurs

souhaitaient une autre politique conomique. La Constitution brsilienne
tant prsidentialiste, les parlementaires ne peuvent renverser l'excutif
par adoption d'une motion de censure. Les lus opposs Dilma Rousseff
ont donc bricol une alternance politique au prix d'un dtournement de
l'article 85 de la Loi fondamentale. Ce prcdent est tout la fois lourd de
consquence pour le prsent dmocratique du Brsil, ainsi que pour sa
stabilit institutionnelle. La Constitution ayant t adopte en 1988, tous
les responsables ayant prsent le budget de faon excessivement
avantageuse avant une consultation lectorale vont-ils faire l'objet de
poursuites ?

Cache-texte dmocratique avou par les parlementaires au moment de

justifier leur vote de destitution. Cache-texte dmocratique rvl ds la
constitution du gouvernement intrimaire de Michel Temer. Le 17 avril
2016 qu'ont dit les dputs pour justifier leur vote. Les plus sincres ont
vocifr, un "Dehors Dilma, dehors le PT !". Les intellectuels" ont
justifi leur fraude constitutionnelle par l'urgence, le pays ne pouvant plus
attendre une remise niveau d'une conomie en capilotade.

La manuvre politique est en effet haut risque. Dputs et snateurs

ayant vot la destitution taient pour beaucoup d'entre eux membres de la
majorit jusqu' la fin mars 2016. En quelques jours PMDB, PSD, PP, PR
ont tourn casaque. Pousss "au crime parlementaire" par une presse
vigoureusement engage contre la prsidente sous la houlette du groupe
Globo, et de la quasi-totalit des "grands hebdomadaires" (Epoca, Istoe, et
surtout Veja). Le patronat local tait galement de la partie et a encourag
avec ses moyens et sa dialectique le retournement des parlementaires. La
dmocratie brsilienne reconquise avec beaucoup de douleur la fin des
annes 1980 a en quelques jours perdu beaucoup de sa crdibilit et de sa
lgitimit.

La manuvre politique a pris des couleurs de lutte des classes ds la

constitution du gouvernement Temer. Pour la premire fois depuis le
rtablissement de la dmocratie le gouvernement brsilien ne compte
aucune femme, et pas un noir ou mtis. L'lite traditionnelle, hrite de
l'habitation esclavagiste (la casa grande) a repris les commandes sans
partage. Le ministre de l'ducation, Jos Mendona Filho, a prsent
comme dput des recours contre les lois votes ces dernires annes
accordant un quota correctif aux afro-descendants. Blairo Maggi, le
nouveau ministre de l'agriculture est un entrepreneur de l'agro-alimentaire.
Bruno Araujo doit sa nomination au ministre de la ville son vote,
comme dput, symboliquement dcisif pour la destitution de la
prsidente. Ronaldo Nogueira de Oliveira, ministre du travail, est un
pasteur vangliste, religion porteuse d'une thologie dite de la prosprit.
Ministres de la culture et du dveloppement social ont disparu. 30% des
membres de ce gouvernement sont cits dans le scandale financier, Lava
Jato.

Les premires mesures annonces ne sont d'ailleurs pas celles attendues

d'un gouvernement intrimaire. Loin de se borner grer les affaires
courantes pendant les 180 jours du procs intent la prsidente par
dputs et snateurs, Michel Temer a annonc une politique rompant avec
celle de ses prdcesseurs avec lesquels pourtant il a t lu. Le social ne
sera plus prioris. Il sera soumis au principe de ralit et de ncessaires
rformes visant rduire les dpenses de l'Etat. Henrique Meirelles,
ministre de l'conomie a indiqu que sans tarder la nouvelle quipe allait
procder " un ncessaire ajustement budgtaire". Des privatisations ont
t annonces. Le ministre de la sant a complt le tableau en ce qui le
concernait de la faon suivante : "Nous allons rviser les choses comme en
Grce qui a revu la baisse les retraites, parce que l'Etat n'a pas les
moyens de tout faire".

Ce cache-texte dmocratique embarrasse les partenaires du Brsil. La

sympathie politique de certains n'a pu s'exprimer pleinement en raison du
raccourci constitutionnel brutal pris par les tenants actuels du pouvoir.
D'autres ont clairement signal qu'ils ne reconnaitraient pas un
gouvernement leurs yeux non dmocratique. Dj au prise avec une
grave rcession conomique, le Brsil est dsormais entr dans une phase
d'incertitudes intrieures et diplomatiques gnratrice de remous chez ses
voisins.

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In Brazil, Rousseffs suspension looks like end of an era

por: Washington Post - leia na ntegra
BRASILIA Brazils once-lauded model of leftist government appeared
to come to an abrupt end Thursday, when lawmakers suspended President
Dilma Rousseff in an extraordinary repudiation of her administration and
the Workers Party that has ruled the country for 13 years.

Vice President Michel Temer quickly assumed control of Latin Americas

largest country, signaling that he will take Brazil in a more free-market-
friendly direction in an attempt to shore up its sagging economy and win
over a skeptical public. A member of the centrist PMDB party, Temer
introduced a conservative-leaning, all-male cabinet Thursday that swings
Brazil toward the right.

He called on Brazilians to trust in the countrys values and in the recovery

of its economy, which is suffering its worst crisis in 80 years. It is urgent
to pacify our nation and unify Brazil, he said.

Rousseffs removal sent shock waves throughout Latin America, where

Brazil was once viewed as an emerging economic power and the model
for a new form of leftist rule, matching support for big business with
muscular social-welfare programs to alleviate poverty and nurture a new
middle class. That project has come crashing down, and Rousseff paid the
price Thursday. She faces impeachment proceedings that could last six
months. An overwhelming vote against her in Brazils Senate indicated
that she had little chance of being acquitted.

Rousseff, 68, is accused of improperly using billions of dollars in loans

from government banks to fill budget shortfalls and pay for social
programs. But the impeachment vote became a broader referendum on her
leadership amid a painful recession and corruption scandals that have
swept up much of the countrys political elite.
Supporters of suspended President Dilma Rousseff hold up messages
outside her office in Brasilia on May 12, 2016, denouncing the Senate vote
against her as a coup. (Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images)

The countrys first female president vowed to fight the charges against her
raising the possibility of further political instability as Brazil stumbles
toward the Aug. 5 opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Rio de
Janeiro.

Rousseffs supporters called for strikes and demonstrations blocking

roadways, but the sympathizers who gathered at the presidential palace
Thursday appeared to number only in the hundreds.

A former leftist militant who was jailed and beaten as a young woman
during Brazils military dictatorship, Rousseff called her suspension an
injustice more painful than torture, blasting the impeachment vote as
fraudulent and a coup.

Her defiant remarks came after a 20-hour debate that ended with 55 of
Brazils 81 senators voting to put her on trial, far more than the simple
majority needed.

Her accusers say Rousseff systematically obscured the precarious state of

the countrys finances from lawmakers and the public to boost her
reelection prospects in 2014 and conceal her mismanagement. The
impeachment allegations cover only her present term, however.

Just hours after the vote, she insisted again that her predecessors had used
the same bookkeeping tactics. It was not a crime in their time. Its not a
crime in mine, she said in a brief televised speech.
Brazilian lawmakers weigh whether to oust the president as supporters and
opponents take to the streets in protest.

But her accusers say her accounting methods involved far greater sums.

Temer takes office with a weak government and mandate; recent polls
showed that only 2 percent of Brazilians wanted him to be president.

All of the 21 ministers Temer announced Thursday are men, a fact that
will fan accusations of gender bias in the push to oust Rousseff, especially
from backers of the Workers Party, which championed greater diversity in
government.

In his first comments after the impeachment vote, Temer said he would
focus on reviving the economy and would maintain popular social
programs. His new finance minister is a respected former banker,
Henrique Meirelles, who was central bank chief under Rousseffs
predecessor Luiz Incio Lula da Silva.

Temer also sought to give assurances that the Olympic Games will go off
well, saying that billions of people would be watching and that Brazil
could show itself at its best. We will never get another opportunity like
this, he said.

According to Marcos Troyjo, a former Brazilian diplomat who is a

professor of international affairs at Columbia University in New York,
Temers arrival is likely to bring a shift in trade policy that will make
Brazil more attractive for U.S. investors. Temer named Sen. Jos Serra,
who ran against Rousseff in the 2010 presidential election and voted
Thursday to remove her, as foreign minister.
Serra will bring Brazil closer to the West, not only in ideological terms,
but practical terms, in terms of market access, Troyjo said. Rousseff had
cordial, although not close, relations with the Obama administration.

Rousseffs departure was part of a broader political shift in Latin America,

Troyjo said, away from the center-left populist model that dominated the
region for most of the past decade.

It puts Brazil in line with a trend being felt around Latin America, he
said.

Temer assumes the presidency on an interim basis, but he would serve out
the rest of Rousseffs term if she were found guilty. In Brazils multiparty
system, it is not uncommon for a presidential candidate to run with a vice-
presidential candidate from a different party.

A career politician, Temers reputation is that of a skilled negotiator and

smooth behind-the-scenes operator. But he is hardly colorless.

Temer, 75, is a legal scholar and sometime poet who is famous for dapper
suits, slicked-back silver hair and young wife Marcela, who will turn 33
on Monday.

Temer is the author of a book of sensual verses inspired by his spouse, a

former beauty pageant contestant who became his third wife in 2003.

Temer is one of the many Brazilian politicians who have been implicated
in the Car Wash bribery scandal at state oil company Petrobras, but he
has not been charged. On Thursday, he said would protect the long-
running judicial investigation from any possible attempts to weaken it.
Rousseff is not under suspicion of graft in relation to that scandal.
Those who know Temer, the son of Lebanese Christian immigrants, say he
has the political skills to quickly win over a skeptical public.

I have never seen someone as prepared for this emotionally as Michel

Temer, said Jacob Goldberg, one of Brazils most celebrated
psychoanalysts. Goldberg said he has had a close relationship with Temer
for decades, calling him a cordial man, a man of dialogue and not a
man of confrontation.

He declined to confirm whether Temer had been his patient, citing

confidentiality.

The early-morning vote on Rousseff was the equivalent of impeachment in

most democracies. But legal experts say that, in the Brazilian context, a
politician is considered impeached only if found guilty.

Rousseffs removal is a once-unthinkable revolt against her Workers

Party, co-founded by her mentor Lula, who left office in 2010 with an 87
percent approval rating and an economy growing at an annual rate of 7.5
percent. Lula was among the aides who embraced Rousseff in an
emotional scene Thursday morning as she left her office for perhaps the
last time.

Lula, too, is under investigation on allegations of corruption and

obstruction of justice but says he is innocent.

Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more:
 frica

Al-Qaeda affiliates are threatening West Africas most

peaceful cities
por: Washington Post - leia na ntegra
Senegal, a predominately Muslim country, has been praised for its
tolerance in a region where increasing extremism has threatened its
peaceful atmosphere. (Jane Hahn/For The Washnington Post)

DAKAR, Senegal In a city where nightclubs and mosques coexist

peacefully, Islamist violence long felt like a foreign problem something
residents watched on news clips from the Middle East or other parts of
Africa.

We just didnt worry very much about it, said Abdullaye Diene, the
deputy imam of the countrys largest mosque. Here you can spend your
nights drinking at the disco and then shake the hand of the imam.

But Senegal and its neighbors are facing a new threat from extremists
moving far from their traditional strongholds in northwest Africa. Since
November, militant groups have killed dozens of people in assaults on
hotels, cafes and a beachside resort in West Africa, passing through porous
borders with impunity.

The attacks have occurred in countries that had been rebounding from
political turbulence, such as Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. Now fears of
such bloodshed are growing in this pro-Western democracy, which serves
as a regional hub for international organizations.

Its getting closer and closer to Senegal, said Aminata Tour, the
countrys former prime minister and an adviser to the current president.

The violence is a sign of the rapidly expanding reach of radical Islamist

armed groups on the continent. In East Africa, al-

Shabab militants with bases in Somalia have carried out massacres in

neighboring Kenya, killing more than 200 people and devastating its
tourism industry. Nigerias Boko Haram militants have moved into Niger,
Chad and Cameroon. In North Africa, the Islamic State and its affiliates
have seized territory in Libya and launched attacks in Tunisia and Egypt.

Senegal, a former French colony that has never suffered a major terrorist
incident, is now taking unprecedented security measures. It recently
hosted a U.S.-led training exercise for the third time in recent years; this
time it had a special focus on counterterrorism. Authorities have called for
a ban on the full-face Islamic veil, with President Macky Sall saying it
raises concerns in instances when women cannot be identified. The garb is
not part of our culture, he said.

For years, fighters with al-

Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) have lurked in the deserts of

northern Mali and Algeria, part of an ungoverned swath of land in
northwest Africa known as the Sahel. But AQIM and its affiliates appear
to have shifted their strategy. Rather than simply fighting Malian, French
or U.N. troops in northern Mali, they have launched attacks hundreds of
miles from their power base, in some of the regions most peaceful,
religiously tolerant cities.

There is perhaps no better example of a peaceful, religiously tolerant West

African city than Dakar, the capital of Senegal. The country has never had
a coup. Its population of 14 million is about 90 percent Muslim, but
Christians are widely accepted, hosting public Christmas celebrations. A
recent week here saw an international arts festival and a series of public
concerts; a flood of amateur surfers took to a local shore break.

AQIM had its origins in the fight against Algerias secular government in
the 1990s, after the cancellation of elections that seemed likely to bring
Islamists to power. The group expanded to parts of Mali, Mauritania and
Niger after formally establishing itself as an al-Qaeda affiliate in 2007.
Smaller, more localized groups joined as well, and many refer to AQIM as
more of a franchise than a single entity.

In 2012, AQIM seized vast tracts of land across Mali, also a former French
colony, and implemented a harsh version of sharia law. French troops
intervened in 2013, displacing the militants.

But AQIM and its affiliates have recently regrouped, according to experts.
In November, the militants killed 19 people during an attack on the
Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako, Malis capital, hundreds of miles from
AQIMs traditional base. Afterward, Yahya Abu el-Hammam, a senior
AQIM leader, released a statement directed at France, declaring that the
group will not spare any effort to fight you and strike your interests,
wherever they may be.

Guards search visitors outside Sea Plaza shopping mall in Dakar. As

attacks on French and foreign interests in West Africa have escalated in
recent months, countries such as Senegal are taking unprecedented
security measures. (Jane Hahn/For The Washnington Post)

Experts say AQIMs comeback is due in part to its ability to recruit young
men in areas of northern and central Mali ignored by the central
government.

There are places in Mali where jihadists are either filling the void left by
the absence of the state or gaining popularity as a result of government
abuse or neglect, said Corinne Dufka, the West Africa director for Human
Rights Watch.
Militants also have gotten weapons from Libya, where the 2011 fall of
leader Moammar Gaddafi has produced chaos.

In January, militants attacked the Splendid Hotel and Cappuccino Cafe in

Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, killing 28. And in March,
gunmen went on a shooting spree in Grand Bassam, a popular beach town
in Ivory Coast, leaving 19 dead. Most of the militants who carried out
those two attacks were originally from Mali, according to Jean Flix-

Paganon, the French ambassador to Senegal.

Many experts and officials believe that AQIM is trying to reassert itself
after the French military action in Mali, while also showing that it can
conduct Islamic State-like attacks.

Theres an element of competition between the two groups, Flix-

Paganon said.

Senegals leaders have responded to the new threats by increasing security

measures and strengthening ties with the United States. This month, the
foreign minister signed a defense partnership that would allow the U.S.
military to use Senegal as a staging ground in the case of a humanitarian
or security problem.

It makes our people feel safer to have this connection with the most
powerful country in the world, Mankeur Ndiaye, the foreign minister,
said in an interview.

AQIM isnt the only threat. Senegalese citizens have joined Boko Haram
and the Islamic State, according to security officials. Earlier this year, four
imams were arrested in the western Senegalese city of Kaolack for alleged
connections to Boko Haram. Other Senegalese roughly a dozen or two
are known to be fighting in Libya and Syria with the Islamic State,
officials said.

Dakars prominence as a cultural capital and logistics hub in the region

has made it a potential target, experts say. In other parts of Africa, sites
seen as Western-oriented have been attacked for instance, an upscale
shopping mall in Nairobi and a seaside resort in Tunisia. Senegals profile
is further elevated because it contributes troops to the U.N. peacekeeping
mission in Mali.

Senegal will never be safe if there is no security in Mali, Nigeria,

Burkina Faso and throughout the [West African] region and beyond in the
Sahel, said Ndiaye, the foreign minister.

Hotels, malls and government buildings in Dakar now have metal

detectors and guards, though security isnt as robust as in Nairobi or Tunis.
This month, authorities nearly canceled a famous jazz festival in the city
of Saint-Louis over security concerns.

Mariama Traor, the prefect for the region, blamed the vulnerability of
the municipality of Saint-Louis and the refusal of the organizers to engage
in the security efforts.

Its menacing everyone, Youssou Ndour, Senegals most well-known

musician, said in an interview.

On one recent day, standing between racks of imported mens suits and
leather dress shoes, Mouhamed Gueye watched broad-shouldered security
guards wearing sunglasses and earpieces stroll past his store in a Dakar
mall.

Its something, but its not enough, Gueye said.

Gueye fields calls from his friends and family nearly every day urging him
to quit his job or sell his store, whose clients include Western businessmen
and members of the Senegalese elite, the demographic most frequently
targeted by terrorists in this part of Africa.

But what can I do? he said. Im just waiting and hoping nothing
happens.

Read more

Amrica Latina e Caribe

Latin America confronts the United States

por: - leia na ntegra
US President Eisenhower greets the crowds in So Paulo (1960). Along
with his Argentine counterpart Frodizi, Brazil's President Juscelino
Kubitschek sought to convince Eisenhower to provide large-scale
development aid.

-----

Book review: Latin America confronts the United States. Asymmetry and
Influence. By Tom Long. Cambridge University Press, 2015. 274 pages,
U$64.14 (kindle, amazon.com)
The history of US-Latin American relations is, above all, shaped by the
vast power asymmetry between the two, US-American dominance over its
weaker neighbors in the South and attempts by Latin American leaders to
reduce the influence of the "Colossus of the North". Indeed, in
International Relations theory, large states are seen as decisive, while
small and weak states are vulnerable and usually enjoy only very limited
autonomy. Most traditional analyses of the topic ranging from Eduardo
Galeanos famous The Open Veins of Latin America and Lars Schoultzs
"Beneath the United States" to Moniz Bandeiras work use this framework
and generally identify attempts by the United States to dominate or
weaken Latin America, identifying the latter as an object or victim.

In a new book on the subject, Tom Long questions this traditional

approach, examining how Latin American leaders have been able to
overcome power asymmetries to influence US foreign policy. Latin
America confronts the United States explores a series of moments in post
World War II inter-American relations foreign economic policy before
the Alliance for Progress, the negotiation of the Panama Canal Treaties,
the NAFTA agreement, and the growth of counter narcotics in Plan
Colombia to show how Latin American leaders influenced Washington's
behavior.

Aside from providing detailed and engaging historical accounts of the

cases above, Long makes some interesting points vis--vis the dynamics
shaping asymmetrical relations between great powers and weaker ones,
arguing that Latin America has exercised more influence in US-Latin
America relations that is normally understood.

Longs first case describes Juscelino Kubitscheks efforts to rally the

region to obtain more development aid from the United States a
remarkable and often overlooked example of regional cooperation at a
time when ties between Brazil and its neighbors were still incipient (it
took another three decades before Brazils President Figueiredo would
become the countrys first head of state to visit Colombia and Peru). Long
says that while Latin American attempts to convince Eisenhower to
finance a new 'Marshall Plan' failed, they set the stage for Kennedy's
Alliance for Progress.

The second case, perhaps the book's most remarkable, explains how Omar
Torrijos, dictator of one of the hemisphere's smallest countries, shrewdly
used postcolonial rhetoric and international institutions to convince the
United States to hand over control of the Panama Canal, something US
foreign policy makers were strongly opposed to at first. Comparing
Torrijoss goals in 1972 with the final treaty, it becomes evident that
Panama attained most of its objectives, Long writes. Most importantly, the
treaties eliminated perpetuity. Panama began seeking a full transfer of
the canal by 1995. After more than five years of negotiations, Panamas
fallback position of 2000 was accepted a remarkable concession from
the 1972 US goal of perpetual defense rights, or a ninety-year extension.
Rejecting traditional historical accounts which point to Carter's arrival as
the transformative event in the negotiations, Long argues "that the treaties
figured so high on Carters agenda was a testament to a long Panamanian
struggle to put them there." The case sheds particular light on the ways in
which weaker-state leaders can use international institutions in pursuit of
their objectives, as well as the role weaker states can play in affecting the
political agendas of larger ones.

The third case describes the conclusion of the NAFTA trade agreement
and Mexico's role in it. Just as in the previous cases, Long believes the
standard narrative is flawed and exaggerates US agency and leadership.
The author's final case study assesses the Plan Colombia, illustrating that
Pastranas government had considerable influence in the creation and
shape of the historic undertaking. He thus contradicts common claims
which regard Plan Colombia as a Washington-led initiative or as a symbol
of US imperialism. Indeed, the book includes a particularly interesting
description of how Colombian diplomacy sought to influence decision-
makers in Washington. This part will be useful to policy makers from
Brazil and other Latin American countries, whose capacity to engage US
Congress is often quite limited.

The author concedes that, of course, power asymmetry remains the

defining element of US-Latin America relations. Still, the book provides a
fresh look at a discussion that is often dominated by Latin American
worries about US intervention, with little attention paid for ways for Latin
America to exercise influence in the United States. Other recent books,
such as Matias Spektors Kissinger e o Brasil, have questioned the
traditional framework used to understand US-Latin American relations,
weakening the claim that Latin American countries have been powerless
victims in the face of US policies throughout history. Longs book thus
provides an important analysis for Latin American scholars, but also to
those studying regional dynamics elsewhere, for example in Asia, where
Chinas growing influence is ever more important topic.

While its focus is clearly historic, the book provides some interesting
insights for policy makers from smaller countries that seek to enhance
their autonomy vis--vis a greater neighbor be it in Europe, Asia, Africa
of the Western Hemisphere. Describing what he considers to be the best
strategy to influence Washington, Long writes

The weaker state inhabits a tenuous position where it is perceived by U.S.

policymakers as a friendly country, but one that merits attention in order to
maintain its cooperation. A slavishly pro-U.S. country might receive little
attention and few resources. One that strays too far could attract the wrong
kind of attention. These boundaries fluctuate and are not always easily
discernable.

Equally important, he argues

The ability to exercise influence on U.S. policy will often depend on the
ability to win international allies and to work with other small and medium
states, which I refer to as collective foreign policy power. In situations
where the U.S. government rebuffs or ignores an initial weaker-state
demand, international allies will play a more significant role.

Successfully engaging and influencing the United States will be crucial for
Latin America in the coming years -- be it vis--vis designing policies to
combat drug trafficking and organized crime, fighting corruption, or
articulating a regional response to deal with China's growing influence.
Latin America Confronts the United States offers a very interesting look
back about how Latin America has been able to influence its dominant
neighbor in the North.

Read also:

How Brazils Crisis Is Bleeding into the Rest of South America (Americas
Quarterly)

US Military Bases, Quasi-bases, and Domestic Politics in Latin America

Brazil and Argentina must prepare joint plan as Venezuelan debt default
looms

The Electricity Crisis in Venezuela: A Cautionary Tale

por: The New Yorker - leia na ntegra
Last Friday, President Nicols Maduro declared a sixty-day state of
emergency throughout Venezuela. Alluding darkly to an American-backed
plot against his regime, Maduro said that the new measure would help him
protect his fellow-citizens from foreign and domestic threats, though he
didnt explain exactly how. There is certainly no denying that Venezuela is
in dire straits. Inflation is so high that the government cannot afford to pay
for the paper on which its currency, the bolvar, is printed. Lines at the
grocery store grow longer even as the shelves grow emptier, and hospitals,
such as they are, have run out of antibiotics, surgical supplies, and
functioning medical equipment. The countrys electrical grid, too, is in a
shambles. Planned blackouts roll through almost every region of the
country daily, including the capital, Caracas, which has been estimated to
have the highest murder rate of any city in the world. Early last month,
Maduro announced a national furlough of public employees, instituting a
four-day work week to conserve power; by the end of April, the week had
shrunk further, to only two days. Time itself has been bent to the
governments needs, with the countrys clocks pushed forward by half an
hour. Venezuelans will use all the daylight minutes they can get.

The main reason for these machinations, apart from long-term political
mismanagement, is drought. There has been little rain in Venezuela in the
past three years, and a crippling deficit last year in particulara
predictable effect of El Nio, the global climate cycle that periodically
warms parts of the Pacific Ocean, causing deluges in Texas and Florida,
warm weather in eastern Canada, and desiccation in Indonesia and parts of
Latin America. As a result, the water behind Venezuelas dams, which
supply around two-thirds of the countrys electricity, is at a historic low. At
the Guri Dam, the nations largest hydropower facility, the water is
reportedly within five metres of dead pool. At this low level, the worry is
that air will get into the dams inner workings along with the water,
producing vibrations in the metal turbine blades that can rattle the
structure to death. If Venezuelas reservoirs run dry and its dams stop
working, its grid will, too.

In an effort to conserve electricity, the Venezuelan government has

instituted rolling blackouts and a two-day work week for public
employees, yet the hydropower crisis continues. Photograph by Carlos
Garcia Rawlins / Reuters

Beneath all the chaos that now characterizes daily life in Venezuela, one
question rings forth: Why did the country with the largest fossil-fuel
resources in Latin America, and among the largest on Earth, decide to
generate its power with water, a notoriously unreliable substance?
Contrary to what we might assume, in todays sustainability-minded
world, the choice did not arise from a noble commitment to renewable
energy. The main reason that Venezuela has invested in hydro above all
else is to preserve as much of its oil as possible for export. Yet power
generation, and especially generation that relies on renewables, requires
diversification; Venezuela has failed to design its electrical infrastructure
in a way that accounts for the natural unpredictability of energy sources
like hydro, solar, and wind. After the last bad El Nio drought, in 2010,
the government did almost nothing to revamp. It commissioned a small
number of diesel-fuelled power plants, which were slow to reach
completion, and one new natural-gas plant, which canbut doesnt
churn out four per cent of the countrys electricity. (In a particularly bitter
Catch-22, the refinery that helps supply Venezuelas gas plants with fuel is
also powered by the Guri Dam.) The government has put all its eggs in
one basket, twice over. It diversified neither its economy nor its electricity
supply. The drop in oil prices that began in mid-2014 has emptied
Venezuelas mismanaged coffers, and the drought has sapped its power
the latter a particularly galling development, since the weather changes
caused by El Nios have been tracked in Latin America since the
seventeenth century, and by this point ought to come as no surprise.

Venezuelas precarious situation is also due in part to the difficulty of

stockpiling electric power. Electricity is a temporal product; unlike oil, it
cant be put aside for days or weeks or years. When a light switch is
flipped in Caracas, the current that leaps to the bulb was likely, less than a
second before, a drop of water behind the Guri Dam, four hundred and
fifty miles away. As it passed through the dam, a turbine spun, tearing
electrons from atoms and causing them to bump along, down cables and
wires to the city, through the wall, past the switch, and into the bulba
silent line of dominoes falling at nearly the speed of light. This
arrangement doesnt leave much wiggle room for water shortages. Less
water means less power, right now. In countries with more modern energy
infrastructures, the solution has been to balance different sources of
electricity. In the United States, for instance, new wind capacity tends to
be paired with new natural-gas capacity, so that when the weather changes
and the wind stops blowing, fossil fuels can make up the difference. In
places with a robust enough grid and the right sort of computerization,
even solar can balance wind, and vice versa. But in Venezuela no such
balancing exists, because most of the oil that is pulled up from
underground is exported, and much of its plentiful natural-gas production
is used to keep the oil fields pumping.

There is some historical precedent in the United States for what is

happening to Venezuelas power infrastructure. In April of 1977, President
Jimmy Carter proposed a sweeping series of measures to deal with the
nations ongoing energy crisis, itself a product of the 1973 OPEC oil
embargo. Although the sort of privation and anxiety that Venezuelans are
now experiencing was absent, it felt like lean times nevertheless. The
government urged Americans to reduce their gasoline consumption by
relying more on public transportation and car-pooling, and to make their
homes more energy-efficient. As part of the same plan, the Carter
Administration pushed for legislation that furthered diversification in the
electricity sectornuclear, solar, and hydroelectric development, which
Carter then forced Americas notoriously tight-fisted utility companies to
buy. Forty years later, as the United States slowly embraces more
renewables, an awareness of the importance of this diversification
remains. When any single source of fuel accounts for even a third of the
power flowing into a grid, the security of that system is difficult to
guarantee. At nearly seventy per cent hydro, Venezuela is running a
catastrophically uniform system. It is time for the countrys government to
figure out another way, not just the water way, to deliver electricity to its
people, with the regularity of unmanipulated clockwork.

Oriente Mdio
Israel action threatens to close down rights group and
'chill' free speech
por: the Guardian - leia na ntegra

An Israeli armoured personnel carrier in southern Israel near the border

with Gaza, during Operation Protective Edge in 2014. Photograph: Xinhua
/Landov/Barcroft Media

A high-profile Israeli human rights group that publishes the anonymous

testimonies of soldiers in the Palestinian territories is facing a court
hearing that threatens to shut down its work in what is being viewed as a
crucial test case for civil society.

The case, which will be heard in court next week, is being brought by the
Israeli government, which is demanding that Breaking the Silence identify
anonymous serving military personnel who have given it testimony
relating to alleged crimes in the 2014 Gaza war. The group says this is
likely to deter future potential testifiers coming forward.

The move follows months of attacks on the group by leading politicians as

well as rightwing activists including attempted infiltrations by figures
posing as sympathisers and a public accusation of treason by the
countrys defence minister.

Breaking the Silence staff and its legal team say the legal moves not only
pose a threat to the group but also threaten to chill both free speech and
human rights activism in Israel.

Lawyer Michael Sfard said: It is a judgment day for Breaking the

Silence, and its continued ability to work. But I think it is also pivotal
moment for Israeli civil society.

Founded 11 years ago, Breaking the Silence, which is staffed by former

military veterans, has long collected and published Israeli soldiers stories,
many of them exposing alleged human rights abuses.

Its high profile has, however, attracted many enemies on the right, who
have increasingly criticised the groups work, and it is one of the main
targets of a proposed new law that would hit the foreign funding of
leftwing NGOs.

The Guardian understands that the latest moves against it began after the
NGO published a hard-hitting report last year into the conduct of the 2014
conflict in Gaza, which contained a number of serious allegations of
Israeli military misconduct in the prosecution of the war.

The case brought against it, with the support of military investigators and
the new Israeli attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, seeks to compel the
group to identify soldiers who gave testimony over relatively minor
incidents including the theft of sunglasses and a tank damaging a civilian
car.

Breaking the Silences work, however, has been based on a guarantee of

anonymity for testifiers claiming their reporting as covered by
journalistic privilege. They argue that being compelled to identify
witnesses would effectively shut them down.

One of the groups founders, Yehuda Shaul, a former soldier himself,

defended how it operated.
In the past we have provided more information on alleged crimes and
abuses to military investigators than we have published on the cases. But
the crucial Chinese wall is about defending the identity of our sources. It
is not about preventing the possibility of investigation.

The court case is the latest chapter in what appears to be an increasingly

vigorous campaign to limit the activities of, or silence, Breaking the
Silence and other groups including BTselem.

That began in earnest in December when Israels defence minister, Moshe

Yaalon, said Breaking the Silence would be banned from activities on
Israeli military bases although it does little work on them. A few days
later, the far-right education minister, Naftali Bennett, made a similar
statement regarding banning the group in the education system.

More sinister, claims the group, have been attempts to infiltrate it and
provide false testimonies to discredit it, while it says there have been
multiple efforts to hack into its database.

A bill that opponents say targets Israeli human rights groups critical of
Israels policies towards the Palestinians has also won initial approval in
parliament with the support of rightwing parties.

Called a transparency bill by its sponsor, the far-right justice minister,

Ayelet Shaked, the legislation would require NGOs including Breaking
the Silence to give details of overseas donations in all their official
publications if more than half their funding comes from foreign
governments or bodies such as the European Union.

The group was informed in January it should comply with a court order
made in its absence to provide the identities of testifiers from its Gaza
war report. It appealed against the initial order but it is now facing a new
hearing next week in a court in Petah Tikvah.

Despite the criticism, Israeli government officials defended the legal

moves to attempt to compel the group to give up sources.

The state prosecutor said: The state of Israel believes there is public
interest of the highest degree to investigate the suspicions against the
suspect and against others involved.

An Israeli military spokesperson added: In order to advance the

investigation [into suspected crimes] there was a need to receive the
unabridged material that Breaking the Silence documented.

Defending the groups position, Sfard, who represents Breaking the

Silence and other Israeli human rights groups, told the Guardian: Society
has different institutions with different roles. It has law enforcement
agencies whose role is to investigate and bring justice.

There are other institutions like the media and human rights groups and
their role is different. Breaking the Silence was created to provide Israeli
society and to a degree the international community, information on what
Israeli soldiers are doing in service of the occupation.

There needs to be firewall between the information it collects and law

enforcement agencies.

The groups executive director, Yuli Novak, went even further, accusing
the Israeli state prosecutor of taking an unprecedented and worrying step
that endangers the organisation and its work by trying to force us to reveal
witnesses identities.
It is even more puzzling and bothersome that the attorneys demand is
part of an investigation of junior soldiers for offences that are not severe,
in the very least, that were described in testimonies or took place in
Protective Edge [Israels 2014 military operation in Gaza], and as far as
we know have nothing to do with killing or causing injury.

China

Is China Returning to the Madness of Maos Cultural

Revolution?
por: Foreign Policy - leia na ntegra

The song most representative of Chinas Cultural Revolution the 10-

year period between 1966 and 1976 of anarchy and anti-authority mania,
where students tortured their teachers, employees denounced their bosses,
and children murdered their parents is The East Is Red. A simple yet
catchy song about the brilliance of Chairman Mao Zedong, The East Is
Red is an unofficial anthem of that decade; it articulated the brainwashed
love people felt for the chairman. The sun is rising. From China comes
Mao Zedong, the song lyrics go. [Mao] strives for peoples happiness.
Hurrah, he is the peoples great savior!

But over the last few months, a modern version of the song has been
bouncing around the Internet. Titled The East Is Red Again, it proclaims
with modified lyrics: The sun again rises, and Xi Jinping succeeds Mao
Zedong. Hes striving for the peoples rejuvenation. Hurrah, he is the
peoples great lucky star! And even though censors deleted mentions of
the song on the Chinese Internet, Xi has not repudiated the comparison.
Indeed, an early May concert at Beijings massive legislative building, the
Great Hall of the People, featured a performance celebrating red, or
Communist, songs, including Socialism Is Good and Without the
Communist Party, There Would Be No New China. Because of their
popularity during the Cultural Revolution, these songs, and the act of
playing them, now glorify that horrifically tumultuous era, which began 50
years ago on May 16.

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Sadly, the celebration of red songs is not the only similarity between
Chinese politics today and in 1966. This March, during the annual meeting
of the National Peoples Congress, an important gathering of the ruling
Chinese Communist Party, the delegation from Tibet wore badges showing
Xis face. During the Cultural Revolution, people didnt leave their houses
without Mao badges. Like Mao, Xi has purged his political enemies
through mass anti-corruption campaigns. Xi has strengthened the partys
control over the media and official ideology through the internal party
communiqu Document No. 9, which warned about the dangers of press
freedom. He also emphasized the need for patriotism in creative works
during an influential October 2014 speech he delivered to important artists
and propaganda officials.

Xi has also resurrected the calcified, blindly pro-Communist discourse of

the Mao era; he regularly exhorts cadres to participate in mass line
campaigns, a hazily defined concept, and to bare their blades in the
ideological struggle.

Xi has also resurrected the calcified, blindly pro-Communist discourse of

the Mao era; he regularly exhorts cadres to participate in mass line
campaigns, a hazily defined concept, and to bare their blades in the
ideological struggle. The anti-vice campaign reminiscent of Maos
mania for mass movements that began in February 2014 in the southern
city of Dongguan and spread throughout the country is yet another
example of Xis Maoist madness.

In some ways, it feels like Xi is trying to turn back time and relive the
Cultural Revolution, where the party reigned supreme and invaded every
aspect of Chinese life. Luckily, he cant, for China and the world are
different now. Even if Xi wanted to, he could never realize Maos Cultural
Revolution-era disregard for all laws, human and holy, nor could he create
a pervasive cult of personality. Mao was historys harshest despot, its
greatest persecutor of humanity. But he wouldnt have been able to
persecute hundreds of millions of Chinese people without the historical
background, social structure, ideological framework, and international
environment of mid-20th-century China.

After Maos 1976 death, the party gradually settled on a system of

collective dictatorship in which a small group of leaders rule for two five-
year terms. Although the party operates above the law and seemingly
without any effective restriction, there are internal disagreements and even
power struggles among members at the highest levels. Moreover, there are
divisions between the central leadership and local governments, which
push back against orders from above. This so-called local tyranny poses
a great obstacle to Xis campaign to deify himself.

The Cultural Revolution saw the mobilization of hundreds of millions of

people into opposing, often warring factions the complete
destruction of Chinas legal system, and the deaths of hundreds of
thousands, if not millions, of people. That is also entirely different from
today. While there is a widening wealth gap between the rich and the poor,
mass mobilization is a thing of the past. Although totalitarianism makes an
occasional appearance, todays China has a legal system that performs
better than the chaos-riven courts of the Cultural Revolution. Moreover,
the arrests of high-level officials and political dissidents are at least
packaged in legal terms and implemented through ostensibly legal
procedures. And the violence present in Chinese society today is on a
much smaller scale than in the 1960s and 1970s.

But if one defines the Cultural Revolution by its strict one-party rule, total
control of the media, thought control, religious oppression, and
suppression of dissent, then today differs only in degree. Xi has adopted a
zero-tolerance policy toward political opposition and grassroots rights
defense movements. Since Xi assumed power in late 2012, hundreds, if
not thousands, of human rights defenders have been imprisoned. Civil
society organizations like the pro-constitutionalism New Citizens
Movement have been suppressed, and more than 300 human rights
lawyers have been detained or intimidated. Many NGOs have been shut
down; thousands of Christian crosses have been forcibly removed;
Christian churches have been destroyed; and practitioners of small
religious groups such as Falun Gong have been persecuted. Feminist
activists, defenders of labor rights, Internet celebrities, and journalists who
have dared to speak out have all been attacked.

Meanwhile, in the name of counterterrorism, Xi has cracked down on

the people of Xinjiang and Tibet, even imposing martial law in parts of
those regions. In Hong Kong, he has delayed honoring Beijings promise
of universal suffrage and suppressed the protest movement known as the
Umbrella Revolution. Xi has implemented the imperial tactic of punishing
an individuals entire family for the acts of that individual, detaining
Mainland China-based family members of overseas Chinese activists and
using them as political hostages. And in complete disrespect for basic,
internationally recognized human rights, Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai
was kidnapped from Thailand and forcibly transported to China all
because he was connected to a book about Xis romantic history.

But could the Cultural Revolution happen again in China? I dont think so.

But could the Cultural Revolution happen again in China? I dont think so.
The biggest difference between now and then is that Chinese people no
longer bestow the party with the legitimacy it would need to implement
such a campaign. Xi doesnt control the Chinese people as tightly as Mao
did nor does Xi command the same loyalty, respect, and love. The 1989
Tiananmen Massacre, where members of the Chinese military slaughtered
hundreds of unarmed student protestors, greatly reduced the partys basis
for rule. The authorities, knowing all too well the severity of their crimes,
downplayed the matter and attempted to force the people to forget about it
as well. Eventually, the party censored and forbade even the most oblique
of references to the massacre. Over the last few decades, because of
pervasive corruption, the forced demolition of many peoples homes, air
pollution, forced abortions, and religious persecution, among other ills,
dissatisfaction with the party has grown. The Internet and social media
have helped to organize this dissatisfaction and resistance.
So, what does this mean for China today? Yes, the party is suppressing
grassroots rights defense and dissent movements at a level unseen since
1989. But the party also knows that the development of Chinas Internet,
economy, legal system, and civil society means that these movements are
more powerful than they were in the 1980s. The existence of these
movements is the reason why Xi has sought to revive certain Cultural
Revolution-era practices. Those in power want to stop the clock and
prevent historical reckonings, to continue to monopolize power, to
embezzle, bribe, and squirrel away their ill-gotten assets.

But the time for that has passed. The party members who want to revive
The East Is Red should realize that Chinas national anthem, March of
the Volunteers, is more appropriate. As the opening of the song goes: All
those who refuse to be slaves, arise!

This article was translated from the Chinese by Liz Carter.

Image Credit: JEAN VINCENT/AFP/Getty Images

Energia

Opinion: Nuclear power uproar a waste of energy

por: DW.COM - leia na ntegra
An alleged European Commission plan for nuclear power has set off an
unforeseen chain reaction in Germany. Upon closer inspection, however, it
appears to be nothing more than waste of energy, says DW's Bernd
Riegert.

German Federal Minister of the Environment Barbara Hendricks laid it on

thick right out of the gate. She called the European Commission's alleged
ideas for the expansion of nuclear energy insane and irresponsible. Then
German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Sigmar Gabriel, who
just happened to be in Brussels, enthusiastically belted out the same,
wrong, note. He voiced his strict opposition to using European taxpayer
money for the resuscitation of a dying technology and said he felt blind-
sided by the EU proposal.

DW Europe correspondent Bernd Riegert

Both ministers are on the wrong track, misinformed or breathlessly

chasing after an article that gained much attention in Germany for a few
hours ahead of its official presentation Wednesday. Nevertheless, one must
refrain from joining in on the berating of Brussels, because, despite the
fact that it probably plays well at home, the facts just don't add up.

The European Commission did not prepare a strategy paper as Germany's

"Spiegel Online" suggested, but rather it presented a discussion paper that
is to be assessed by experts. The paper outlines possible research projects
in the nuclear technology sector. It's a sector that, despite Germany's
decision to phase out the use of nuclear energy, still represents an
enormous global market. Not to mention that nuclear power plants are still
being built in Europe.

Whether the high cost of such power plants makes sense is a decision that
operators and individual nations make - not the European Commission and
not "Brussels." The EU is not even responsible for energy policy, so the
accusation that the Commission wants to build new nuclear reactors is
simply wrong. It is fair to question whether EU taxpayer money should be
used to promote new type of reactors as the paper suggests. It is a point
that will have to be discussed. And that is exactly what the supposedly
explosive document was about, my artificially agitated German ministers -
discussions not decisions.

Germany's nuclear energy turnaround, its complete phase out of nuclear

energy and its concentration on renewables, is a German decision, not a
European one. Therefore, German ministers should not be surprised when
countries like France, Great Britain and Slovakia want to continue to
discuss and research nuclear energy. There is also no conspiracy of other
EU countries ganging up on Germany. The score is 14 to 14. Fourteen
member states use nuclear energy, and 14 do not. All without decisions
made in Brussels. Other EU member states are quite skeptical about
Germany's about face on the subject. They are watching closely as
Germany's energy companies begin to stumble economically in the midst
of the energy transition, and it is not something they necessarily want to
emulate.

In April, the European Commission published a report entitled "PINC,"

which addressed the safety of currently operating nuclear power plants and
the disposal of nuclear waste. The German ministers should have been
much more upset about that report as it included only the fuzziest of
formulations on operational safety in all of Europe's oldest nuclear power
plants. A plausible waste disposal plan was absent altogether while costs
for the disposal of our nuclear inheritance are quietly fudged downward
throughout the document. That is the actual scandal. Not the harmless
little paper leaked on Monday - all it managed to do was kick up a storm
in a teacup.

Have something to add? Share your views on nuclear power in the

comments below.

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