By Furquan Ameen Munawar Faruqui held for 25 days in a Madhya Pradesh jail despite police admitting he was charged for jokes he was ‘going to’ crack. Munawar Faruqui's performances included jokes on religious riots, the controversial citizenship law, police brutality against students and the ongoing farmers' protest [Screengrab] Furquan Ameen 26 Jan 2021 New Delhi, India – An Indian Muslim stand-up comic has spent 25 days in a Madhya Pradesh jail for jokes he did not tell an audience, but on suspicions he was “going to”. Mumbai-based Munawar Faruqui, 28, is facing legal action in two states. In Madhya Pradesh, he was arrested while performing by Indore police for allegedly insulting Hindu deities during rehearsals. In neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, he is sought by the police in another case of allegedly insulting Hindu deities as well as Home Minister Amit Shah. On Monday, the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court reserved its order on Faruqui’s bail application. The court was hearing the comedian’s bail application after two pleas were rejected by a lower court earlier this month. Both states are governed by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of which Shah is a member and which also controls the federal government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Was ‘going to’ crack anti-Hindu jokes On the night of January 1, Faruqui was heckled by Hindu vigilantes and forced to stop his performance at Indore’s Monroe cafe after members of a little-known Hindu group, called Hind Rakshak Sangathan, alleged he had insulted Hindu gods. Faruqui along with four others – Nalin Yadav, Prakhar Vyas, Priyam Vyas and Edwin Anthony – were roughed up and handed over to the police. Sadakat Khan, a friend of Faruqui who was not mentioned as one of the accused, was arrested the next day on charges of being a co-organiser of the comedy event. After their bail applications were rejected twice by a lower court, Faruqui’s lawyer moved to the high court, where the hearing listed for January 15 had to be adjourned because the Indore police failed to submit the case diary. The police were dragging their feet, Anshuman Srivastava, Faruqui’s lawyer, told Al Jazeera. Indore police initially claimed that “objectionable comments” were made against Hindu deities at the comedy event. The city’s Superintendent of Police Vijay Khatri issued a statement, claiming they had “enough evidence” against Faruqui and others arrested. Last week, however, Khatri told Article 14, an Indian news website, that Faruqui had not made the jokes in a performance but was “going to”. Indore police have not responded to Al Jazeera’s phone calls and emails seeking their response to allegations that Faruqui was arrested for a crime he “intended to commit”. Faruqui’s lawyer Srivastava told Al Jazeera that the police have failed to produce any evidence in court that shows the comedian violated laws by “deliberately intending to outrage religious feelings”. “A hypothetical allegation has been levelled by the complainant and merely on the basis of presumption the police has registered an offence,” said Srivastava, accusing the police of registering the complaint because of “political pressure”. The complainant, Eklavya Singh Gaur, is the son of a BJP legislator and former minister in the Madhya Pradesh government. Gaur is also the convenor of the Hindu vigilante group that heckled and interrupted the event. “BJP has no role in it. The case was filed at an individual level. You can’t say there is any political pressure or influence. Court will take a decision on the basis of arguments,” Rajneesh Agrawal, BJP’s state secretary in Madhya Pradesh, told Al Jazeera. On accusations of targeting a Muslim comedian for his political comments, Agrawal said the allegations are baseless and that the BJP government in the state “has looked out for Muslim welfare”. In the case against Faruqui in Uttar Pradesh, lawyer Ashutosh Mishra cited one of the comedian’s stand-up videos, claiming Faruqui was hinting in it that Home Minister Shah had incited the religious violence in Gujarat state in 2002, in which more than 1,000 people, most of them Muslims, were killed. Shah was Gujarat’s home minister at the time, while Modi was the chief minister. “Since the name of Amit Shah is involved, this political drama has taken place in Indore. How can they take cognisance of any comments made on any political person of any party?” Srivastava asked. Mishra’s complaint against Faruqui also mentions another video, alleging he made fun of Hindu gods in it. Comics under threat Over the past few years, several Indian comics have faced police cases or mob threats for allegedly harming religious or other sentiments, with many saying the pattern indicates the shrinking of freedom of speech in the country. In December, top comedian Kunal Kamra and young cartoonist Rachita Taneja were served show-cause notices by the Supreme Court in response to complaints alleging they had showed contempt to the top court. Taneja’s comic strip, called Sanitary Panels, insinuated the court was hand in glove with the governing BJP, while Kamra’s tweets called it “the most Supreme joke of the country”. He also shared an image of the court building painted saffron – the colour the BJP is identified with – with a party flag in the foreground. It is not uncommon for comedians to feel they have to cancel shows or hide because of threats from religious or political groups. In July last year, Agrima Joshua, a female stand-up comic from Mumbai, was at the receiving end of threats of rape and violence. The 2019 video for which she was attacked and charged with a case showed her telling jokes about the Maharashtra state government’s plans to build a massive statue of Shivaji, a 17th-century warrior-king. Joshua was forced to apologise through a video on social media. “They want to create a spectacle. It becomes a source of pride for them. It’s also to show you that you don’t belong in this country if you don’t match their ideology … and now, Munawar is being made an example,” Joshua told Al Jazeera. Radhika Vaz, another female comic, was trolled and harassed for defending Joshua on national news channels. Old videos where she made a reference to Karwa Chauth, a Hindu festival where women observe fast for their husbands were dug up as examples of her making fun of Hindu culture. Vaz’s claim that she was actually referencing “how we put the men first” didn’t help much. “They are creating this otherness because there is no other way to do it. My last name is a Christian last name and it is easier for them to say, oh, she doesn’t like Hindu culture,” Vaz told Al Jazeera. The same month, right-wing trolls went after several other comedians, accusing the comedy industry of being “Hinduphobic”. Like Vaz, several comedians, including Vir Das, Rohan Joshi and Kaneez Surka have been subjected to abuses and harassment over their past performances, forcing many to issue an apology. ‘Muslim first and last name’ Most popular comedians, however, steer clear of political satire or commenting on religious groups, often in fear of losing right-wing fans or inviting their ire. Faruqui, though a relative newcomer to India’s comedy scene, instead chose to comment on Prime Minister Modi, his government, the BJP and its ideological mentor, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which aims to turn India into an ethnic Hindu state. Faruqui’s performances have included jokes on the religious riots, the controversial citizenship law passed in 2019, police brutality against students, and the ongoing farmers’ protest – among others – topics considered “sensitive” in the country. Even as the comedian remains behind bars, the comedy industry and the political opposition has largely chosen to remain quiet on the issue. “There are comics who say all kinds of stupid things and are not in jail. Yes, we might get threatened or trolled but this is happening only because he [Munawar] has a Muslim first and last name,” said Vaz. SOURCE : AL JAZEERA See article here. © 2021 Al Jazeera

By Eric Ross and Nat Hill The purpose of this Genocide Watch report on Countries of Special Concern is to report on developments in countries with ongoing genocides and in countries at increased risk for genocidal massacres. Based on developments over the past six months, the countries and territories of most concern are: Afghanistan, Armenia/Azerbaijan, Colombia, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Libya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Philippines, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Western Sahara, and Yemen. For the Genocide Watch report covering the first half of 2020 see: Countries of Special Concern: January – July 2020. "Stages" refer to the ten genocidal processes monitored by Genocide Watch: The Ten Stages of Genocide. Active Emergencies: Afghanistan Stages: Organization (5), Preparation (7), Persecution (8), Extermination (9) In September 2020, Afghan government officials and Taliban negotiators met in Doha to begin long awaited peace talks. Despite this “historic opportunity,” the Taliban have since demonstrated that they are not good faith partners for peace, simultaneously negotiating with the government while escalating violence across the country. The Islamic State in Afghanistan has also increased its targeting of Afghan civilians and religious minorities. In October, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on an education center in a Shi'a-dominated area of Kabul, killing 24. The group followed this up with an assault on students at Kabul University in November, leaving 35 dead. Later that month, twin bombings killed 14 civilians in the city of Bamiyan, home to many members of the long-targeted Hazara ethnic minority. Taliban-sponsored violence is on the rise. With the Taliban now openly operating in the capital, Kabul, residents warn they are no longer safe. Due to the Taliban presence, Kabul has experienced a violent “campaign of terror,” including a recent spate of targeted killings of journalists and civil society leaders. Amid this wave of violence, renewed intra-Afghan negotiations were slated to restart in January 2021, but the Taliban haven't shown up. While President Trump ordered a withdrawal of American troops down to 2,500, President Biden is reviewing that order. Currently 10,000 NATO troops remain in the country to support Afghan government forces. Without them, the Taliban will take over, twenty years of progress in public health, education, and women's rights will be lost, and Afghanistan will again become a global exporter of Islamist terrorism. Armenia/Azerbaijan Stages: Persecution (8), Extermination (9), Denial (10) In late September 2020, Azerbaijani forces invadedthe Armenian Republic of Artsakh. As part of its military assault, Azerbaijan employed tactics that blatantly violated international law, including the use of cluster munitions, white phosphorus, and drone strikes against Armenian civilians and critical infrastructure. These attacks killed hundreds of civilians and forced thousands more to flee to neighboring Armenia. Azerbaijan, led by Ilham Aliyev and his government, habitually invokes hate speech against Armenians, including active denial of the 1915 Ottoman Genocide of Armenians. On November 10, 2020, a ceasefire was agreed, with Azerbaijan regaining large amounts of territory and the establishment of a Russian peacekeeping force. Azerbaijani troops have broken the ceasefire, and vandalized Armenian cultural heritage sites. During the armed conflict, Armenian and Artsakh forces shelled Azerbaijani civilians, including a missile attack on Azerbaijan's second-largest city, Ganja. Armenians fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh destroyed their homes, infrastructure, and supplies to prevent returning Azerbaijani displaced persons from resettling. China Stages: Discrimination (3), Organization (5), Persecution (8), Extermination (9), Denial (10) The Chinese government is committing genocide in Xinjiang. Across the region, millions of Uyghurs are being detained in concentration camps, where they endure political indoctrination, forced sterilization, organ harvesting, mass rape, and systematic destruction of their culture, religious beliefs, and right to bear and educate children. Despite official claims to the contrary, Beijing is expanding its network of camps, now with a suspected 380 facilities across Xinjiang. While attempting to “secularize” detainees, China is also changing the demography and the very landscape of Xinjiang, destroying mosques and religious and cultural heritage sites. In December, a BBC investigation revealed that 570,000 Uyghurs are being subjected to forced labor overseen by the state, picking cotton that provides as much as 85% of China’s cotton and at least 20% of the global supply. Despite this irrefutable evidence of genocide and crimes against humanity, the ICC recently declined to investigate China as China is not a state-party to the jurisdiction of the court. China's genocidal assault on ethnic and religious minorities and its authoritarian crackdown on political dissent is not limited to the Uyghurs or Xinjiang. In September, the government began forcing 500,000 Tibetans into labor camps. This comes amid a crackdown on political freedom in Hong Kong, where a national security law passed on June 30th places Hong Kong residents at the mercy of Beijing’s repressive regime. The measures against Uyghurs, Tibetans, and the people of Hong Kong are being justified under the guise of combatting the “three evils” of separatism, extremism, and terrorism. Democratic Republic of the Congo Stages: Discrimination (3), Organization (5), Persecution (8), Extermination (9) According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the first half of 2020, armed groups in DRC’s Ituri, North-Kivu, and South-Kivu provinces killed 1,300 people. Since then, widespread violence has continued. From July through December, ACLED places the death toll at 2,000, including the killings of more than 900 civilians. The interlinked conflicts in eastern DRC are driven by a deadly combination of ethnic, political, and communal conflicts. Among the principal perpetrators of genocidal massacres are Lendu ethnic militias, targeting the local Hema population, and Mai Mai militias which are attacking the DRC's Banyamulenge ethnic minority. In a well-organized attack in August, Lendu militia members targeted three villages in Ituri, leaving at least 19 dead. The armed Islamist rebel group, the ADF, continued its campaign terrorizing civilians throughout the region. In the second half of 2020, the ADF carried out a series of brutal massacres. These include the August killing of 13 civilians, twin attacks in September that killed 58 civilians in a span of two days, an October attack that killed 20, a November massacre that left 29 dead, and an attack on New Year’s Eve that killed at least 25 people. The relentless violence has forced tens of thousands Congolese to flee their homes in recent months, adding to the millions already displaced from years of conflict. Ethiopia Stages: Preparation (7), Persecution (8), Extermination (9) In November 2020 Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (a Nobel Peace Prize winner), ordered the invasion of the country's Tigray region in response to attacks by Tigrayan militias on Ethiopian Army bases. The conflict has killed thousands and displaced an estimated 200,000 people in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, and neighboring Sudan. After weeks of intense fighting, on November 28, 2020, the Ethiopian army captured the Tigrayan capital, Mekelle, cutting electricity off to the city and launching indiscriminate artillery strikes against Tigrayan civilians. Despite the capture of the city, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front vows to continue to fight, and the potential for future violence against civilians continues. Targeted attacks on ethnic minorities in regions dominated by ethnic majority militias have affected the Somali, Oromo, Amhara, Gedeo, Anuak and other ethnic groups in Ethiopia. On December 23, 2020, genocidal massacres in the Benishangual-Gumuz region left at least 100 dead. Mozambique Stages: Organization (5), Polarization (6), Persecution (8), Extermination (9) In Mozambique’s northernmost Cabo Delgado province, Islamic State linked militants continue to wage a brutal insurgency. According to ACLED, the fighting has killed 1650 people in 2020, including 879 since July. Civilians have borne the brunt of the violence. In November, militants massacred and beheaded 50 villagers. In April Islamists beheaded 52 villagers who refused to join their ranks. Such atrocities are the result of a growing Islamist insurgency that has reached “frightening and hard-to-contain levels.” The government has been ineffective in defeating the terrorists. Its brutal response is further inflaming the conflict. In their attempted crackdown, security forces have committed widespread rights abuses including extrajudicial killings and torture. A viral video shows men in military fatigues beating a woman before shooting her in the back 36 times as she fled. The Mozambique government denies its soldiers' involvement despite the video. The violence and instability have displaced more than 570,000 Cabo Delgado residents from a province with a total population of only two million. In December, the UN warned that as many as 1.1 million people directly impacted by the violence will require humanitarian assistance over the course of the next year. The human costs are only likely to rise, with the insurgency showing no signs of abating while now also demonstrating the potential to destabilize the broader region. Attacks have spilled over into neighboring Tanzania, with Islamist militants proclaiming their intention to overthrow the country's president. Nigeria Stages: Dehumanization (4), Preparation (7), Persecution (8), Extermination (9) Nigeria’s Boko Haram and its splinter group the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), are among the deadliest terrorist organizations in the world. Over the course of their decade-long genocidal campaign, the jihadists have killed nearly 40,000 people. They have especially targeted Christians. They sow terror not just in Nigeria but also in Niger, Cameroon, and Burkina Faso. In 2020, ACLED records nearly 2,500 civilians killed across Nigeria. In November, the Africa Center for Strategic Studies found that Boko Haram attacks were up 52% in Nigeria during 2020, and up 90% in northern Cameroon where Boko Haram has operated since 2014. That same month, Boko Haram massacred 110 farmers in Borno state, an attack the UN described as the “most violent direct attack against civilians this year.” Fulani jihadist militants are also perpetrating genocidal violence across the country, targeting Christians and non-Fulani civilians. The first six months of 2020 saw 1,100 killed by “bandits,” a euphemism that the Nigerian government uses to deny genocidal massacres by Fulani jihadists. In combatting insurgency and instability, Nigerian security forces have committed widespread abuses. Since 2011, at least 10,000 civilians have died in Nigerian Army or police custody, according to Amnesty International. In October 2020, government forces violently attacked peaceful protesters. Tens of thousands of Nigerians had taken to the streets to demand the abolition of the "SARS" special police force, which has long operated with brutality, corruption, and impunity. Security forces opened fire on protesters, killing at least 51 civilians. Yemen Stages: Persecution (8), Extermination (9) Since 2014, Yemen has been embroiled in a brutal civil war. In 2020 alone, continued fighting killed 20,000 people. It is a proxy war between Iranian backed Shi'a Houthis and Saudi led Sunni Arabs. Saudi airstrikes continue to bomb civilian populations. Both the Houthis and the Hadi government have committed war crimes, including the targeting of aid workers, bombing of hospitals, Houthi sniper murders of children, and obstruction of humanitarian aid. In their sales of advanced aircraft and laser-guided bombs, along with logistical support for the Saudi regime, the United States and its allies have aided and abetted the Saudi coalition's war crimes. "The world’s worst humanitarian crisis" continued with a massive cholera outbreak and the destruction of infrastructure, including Saudi bombing of 130 bridges. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of “the worst famine the world has seen for decades.” Thousands of Yemeni children face acute malnutrition, with humanitarian aid halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the heavy fighting. Minorities in Yemen (i.e Al-Akhdam, Ismaili, Bahai, Jews), continue to face persistent discrimination and persecution due to their ethnic and religious identity. Situations of Increased Risk: Colombia Stages: Organization (5), Preparation (7), Persecution (8) In 2016, the Colombian government and the Marxist FARC signed a historic peace agreement, ostensibly bringing an end to five decades of a conflict that killed at least 220,000 people. Despite achieving peace on paper, the reality on the ground has proven that peace is not at hand. According to the UNHCR, in 2020, Colombia recorded 375 violent deaths in 66 separate massacres (defined as the murder of three or more people). 2020 was Colombia’s most violent since 2016, and was among the deadliest in nearly two decades. While drug-funded paramilitary groups are leading this violent upsurge, these killings are not merely collateral damage from criminal activities. Rather, militias and death squads are targeting rural and indigenous communities, human rights and environmental defenders, and former FARC members. In just twelve days in August, armed groups killed 35 young people from Colombia’s rural communities. Many of the victims' bodies showed they had been tortured. Indonesia Stages: Discrimination (3), Dehumanization (4), Polarization (6), Persecution (8) In recent years, Indonesia has witnessed an increase in the marginalization and persecution of ethnic and religious minorities. Those most targeted include the pro-independence indigenous communities in Papua as well as Christians, who make up approximately 10% of the world’s largest Muslim-majority country. In late November, the UN Human Rights Office expressed its concern over the alarming rise in extrajudicial killings and arbitrary mass arrests of activists in Papua and West Papua. In December, Amnesty International reported that between February 2018 and November 2020, security forces carried out 103 killings in the two provinces. In November 2020, an Indonesian Islamic State-affiliate group attacked a Christian village in Sulawesi, killing four civilians and forcing more than 750 to flee. The attack raises concerns in a country that has been grappling with rising support for Islamist forces that are calling for fusion of Islam and the state. Libya Stages: Organization (5), Preparation (7), Extermination (9) Since 2011, Libya has been in a continuous civil war. Due to limited access to the country, the full human toll of the conflict is not fully known. However, evidence of genocidal massacres has recently surfaced. In August, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) estimated that 10,000 Libyans have “disappeared” over the course of the war. Many of the “disappeared” are likely victims of systematic mass killings, with officials finding more than 300 bodies in mass graves since June 2020. Despite a UN-backed agreement to hold elections in December 2021, the conflict is far from over. The Islamic State is taking advantage of the political vacuum to regroup within the country. The threat of escalation is also exacerbated by the presence of foreign mercenaries, with the UN warning that at least 20,000 Russians, Syrians, Turks, and other foreign nationals active in Libya. As a result of continued violence and instability, 1.3 million Libyans are likely to require humanitarian assistance by January 2021. Philippines Stages: Discrimination (3), Dehumanization (4), Persecution (8), Extermination (9) President Duterte has used the COVID-19 pandemic as a cover to further escalate his “war on drugs.” According to Human Rights Watch, between April and July, extrajudicial killings of suspected drug users were up more than 50 percent, a troubling trend that has continued into the second half of the year. Duterte’s draconian crackdown has also extended to human rights activists, with a “war against dissent” carrying out targeted killings of those who oppose Duterte politically. The Duterte government has openly expressed its intention to eliminate drug users and democracy and human rights activists across the country. By the government’s own admission in November 2020, Philippine police and associated anti-drug vigilante groups have killed more than 8,000 people since 2016. The UN puts that number even higher. In December, the ICC found in a preliminary report that Duterte has committed crimes against humanity, including murder and torture, in his ongoing violent crackdown on suspected drug users and dealers. Addicts are not distinguished from dealers. Both are targeted for extra-judicial executions. Somalia Stages: Organization (5), Persecution (8), Extermination (9) As the US moves forward with plans for a near full withdrawal of troops from Somalia, al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group, continues to ramp up violence nationwide. Over the past six months, al-Shabaab has killed hundreds of civilians and carried out a series of high-profile terrorist attacks. In August and September, militants stormed two separate hotels in the capital, Mogadishu, killing 31 people. Al-Shabaab was also responsible for a series of devastating suicide bombings in November and December 2020, targeting two restaurants, an ice cream parlor, a mosque, and a rally held by PM Mohamed Roble. For many across Somalia, the timing of the US withdrawal threatens to further embolden al-Shabaab and to roll back any of the modest gains made in countering the terrorist group. Recent reporting shows that al-Shabaab is poised to further solidify control over many rural areas of the country, with the group now collecting more revenue than the Somali government. South Sudan Stages: Extermination (9) Violent conflict continues between the South Sudanese government led by Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and a Nuer militia led by Vice President Riek Machar. Over 2,300 civilians were killed in 2020. 60% of the population faces an acute food shortage and 1.4 million children are severely malnourished. Floods have ravaged South Sudan, displacing an estimated one million people. The starvation and flooding could undermine attempts at a peace settlement. Absent robust UN armed protection of civilians, there is a high risk of continuing genocidal massacres by the Dinka and Nuer armies. Sudan Stages: Preparation (7), Persecution (8), Extermination (9) On August 31, 2020, the Transitional Government of Sudan and rebel factions under the banner of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front signed a landmark peace deal to end fighting in the regions of Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan. Despite the peace deal, genocidal massacres by Arabs against black Africans continue in Darfur. Following the outbreak of violence in Tigray, Ethiopia; 43,000 Ethiopians fled to Sudan and now face precarious conditions in refugee camps. In June 2020 authorities in the Central African Republic arrested Sudanese militia leader Ali Kushayb, a major leader of the Darfur genocide. Kushayb was subsequently brought to the Hague, where he faces charges at the International Criminal Court for 50 war crimes and crimes against humanity. Despite some reforms, the Sudanese government is still dominated by the Sudanese military, including generals and militia leaders who planned and directed past genocides. The government continues to execute and imprison pro-democracy activists, most notably killing seven protestors on October 15, 2020 in the town of Kassala. Western Sahara Stages: Discrimination (3), Organization (5), Preparation (6) In November, a 29-year ceasefire collapsed between Morocco and the Polisario Front, a Sahrawi national liberation group fighting for self-determination in Western Sahara. Morocco annexed Western Sahara in 1976 after Spain withdrew from the territory. The most recent outbreak of hostilities threatens to revive the dormant conflict that killed an estimated 10,000 and displaced 200,000 more from 1975-1991. Further escalating the risk of violence, in December 2020 President Trump unilaterally recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara as part of a Morocco-Israel normalization deal. The Trump administration recognition reverses decades of international consensus that the Sahrawi are entitled to vote on their own self-determination. More than 100,000 Sahrawis live in refugee camps in Western Sahara and neighboring Algeria. The recent US announcement threatens to further embolden Morocco’s ongoing crackdown on activists in the territory. For more information about countries of special concern, visit the Genocide Watch website. Report written by Early Warning Analysts, Eric Ross & Nat Hill.

By Eric Ross Since gaining independence from France in 1958, Guinea has experienced decades of political instability, authoritarian rule, and episodic state-led mass violence that continues to this day. In 2008, a military junta seized control of the country in a bloodless coup. The junta cracked down on civil society and all forms of political dissent, culminating in the September 2009 massacre of more than 150 civilians and the mass rape of protesters by security forces. Elections in 2010 promised to break the cycle of violence and repression and usher in a new era of Guinean democracy. Despite this optimism, the winner, Alpha Condé, has remained in power since and during his decade-long rule has presided over an increasingly violent and authoritarian regime. In October 2019 amid rumors that Condé would seek an unconstitutional third term in office, opposition figures and activists formed the National Front for the Defense of the Constitution (FNDC). In December, Condé confirmed these suspicions, announcing his intention to pursue a constitutional referendum. Meanwhile, the government responded to FNDC-led street protests with violence. Between October 2019 and January 2020, Guinean security forces killed at least 30 protesters. In the lead up to the referendum vote on March 22, 2020, pro-government forces arbitrarily detained and forcibly disappeared dozens of suspected opposition supporters. The opposition boycotted the referendum, which quickly devolved into bloodshed. In Guinea, political tensions have the potential to escalate into communal violence as political affiliation and ethnic identity are often closely interlinked. In Nzérékoré, referendum-induced violence between the pro-government Malinke and Soussou and the largely pro-opposition Peul left at least 32 dead. Separately, security forces killed eight protesters in the capital, Conakry. The referendum passed, receiving 90% of a vote that saw no opposition participation. In October 2020, Condé claimed victory in the election, securing his third presidential term at the age of 82. The presidential vote was shrouded in further violence and repression, leaving at least 21 people dead. Following the election, the government reinvigorated its crackdown on dissent with a wave of politically motivated arrests. Four opposition figures have now died in prison. Since October 2019, security forces have killed at least 92 opposition protesters, amid other serious and widespread allegations of ongoing state-sponsored atrocities. Due to increased state repression and rising political and ethnic tensions, Genocide Watch recognizes the situation in Guinea to be at Stage 6: Polarization. To prevent the situation in Guinea from further escalating, Genocide Watch recommends: - The government of Guinea uphold the legal right of its citizens to peaceful assembly, end the use of live fire against civilian protesters, and release arbitrarily detained political opposition figures. - Regional and international organizations such as the AU, ECOWAS, and the UN pressure Guinea’s government to work with outside observers to conduct credible investigations into violence against civilians, past and present, to end the country’s ongoing cycle of impunity. - Political, civil society, and local community leaders refrain from framing the ongoing political crisis in ethnic terms, which could incite further ethnic and inter-communal violence across the country.

By Faith Marie Stahl When the United Kingdom agreed to return Hong Kong to China in 1984, the two countries settled on a “one country, two system” policy. Enacted in 1997, the Basic Law of the HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) was intended to give Hong Kong 50 years of relative political and economic liberty. However, the policy strained the relationship between China and Hong Kong. Now China is abrogating the Basic Law's protections of civil rights. In May 2019, protestors gathered in opposition to the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019. Protestors feared the bill would erode HKSAR’s democracy by permitting the pro-China government to extradite political dissenters to China without legislative oversight. On June 15, 2019, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam suspended the bill but did not formally withdraw it until October 23. During the protests, police and gangs of pro-China supporters attacked protestors. Several protestors committed suicide with notes calling for a revolution in Hong Kong. Protestors asked countries gathering for the G20 conference in June 2019 to discuss the extradition bill and investigate police brutality. China kept discussion of Hong Kong off the G20 agenda. In early October, Lam’s ministry announced a mask ban to better identify and detain protestors. In November 2019, the ban was declared unconstitutional and ruled a violation of the Basic Law. The SARS-COVID19 pandemic halted the protests, further enabling China’s takeover. With the pandemic as an excuse, Hong Kong elections were delayed by a year. On July 31, 2020, China passed a new security law that marked many 2019 protest activities as "terrorist" and gave Beijing sole power to interpret the security law. Activists associated with the 2019 protests and opposed to the 2020 security law were arrested. Chinese citizens of Hong Kong also accused South Asian citizens of Hong Kong of the racist charge of spreading the coronavirus. In March 2021, China passed legislation restricting voter and candidate eligibility. In response to this legislation, the United Kingdom accused China of breaking the “one country, two systems” agreement. China is taking full political control of Hong Kong. Due to China's imposition of direct legal control over Hong Kong, police brutality, and the militarization of the police force, Genocide Watch recognizes the situation in Hong Kong to be at Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 5: Organization, and Stage 6: Polarization. To prevent the crisis in Hong Kong from further escalating, Genocide Watch recommends: · China must allow genuine democratic elections to be held in Hong Kong. · Hong Kong residents must have full freedom of speech, association, and voting rights. · All detained opposition leaders and demonstrators must be immediately released. · Demonstrators should maintain strict discipline and use only non-violent resistance. Violence will be met with violence, and cause the democratic movement to fail.

By Faith Marie Stahl Genocide Watch staff have published the twenty-fourth Timestream in a series of critical genocides in the world. This Timestream covers the Holodomor (loosely translated as "death by starvation), which was a man-made famine in Soviet-era Ukraine from 1931 to 1934. Despite Russia's denial, Stalin and his government engineered the famine with the intent of eliminating Ukrainians, as Ukraine was seen as a threat to Russia due to its perceived ethnic and cultural differences. Low estimates list the victims of the Holodomor at 2-4 million, while other estimates suggest 6-7 million. The global recognition of the Holodomor, which is currently recognized as genocide by just 17 countries, remains a mission of survivors and activists. See the full Timestream here and view our other Timestreams here.

By Eli Szydlo, Nathaniel Hill and Sarah Kane Genocide Watch staff have published the twenty-eighth Timestream in a series of critical genocides in the world. This Timestream covers the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, which is often viewed as the climax in a centuries-long genocide by the United States against indigenous populations who had rightfully and lawfully lived on their land for thousands of years. On December 29, 1890, the 7th Cavalry of the United States Army murdered in cold blood 300 Lakota men, women, and children at Wounded Knee in modern-day South Dakota. The Wounded Knee Massacre has had a huge effect on the collective memory of Native Americans and their relationship with the United States government. See the full Timestream here and view our other Timestreams here.

By Faith Marie Stahl In the 2020 Polish presidential elections, Andrzej Duda of the Law and Justice Party, was re-elected. Poland’s conservative nationalist government has used the COVID-19 pandemic to impose restrictions on freedom of expression, the right to protest, and access to asylum. On July 25, 2020, the government announced that it will withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a treaty prohibiting violence against women. [Poland has not yet formally withdrawn.] Poland contends that the treaty’s requirement that schools teach children about gender violates parents’ rights to teach their children following their religious traditions. A bill written in place of the treaty is named “Yes to Family, No to Gender.” Civil liberties groups fear that the bill will legalize domestic violence and encourage homophobia. Public homophobia has made the LGBT+ community feel unsafe. Several towns have taken to calling themselves ‘LGBT free zones’. Poland does not legally recognize civil unions. LGBT+ couples cannot adopt children, though single persons can still adopt. In March 2021, the government proposed closing adoption to all LGBT+ persons. President Duda has referred to LGBT+ rights as an “ideology” “more destructive than communism." Minister of Education and Science Przemyslaw Czarnek, has said about LGBT+ persons: “These people aren’t equal to normal people.” Civil liberties organizations fear that Czarnek will revise the nation's school curriculum to promote racism and homophobia. Since World War II, Poland has become one of Europe’s most ethnically homogeneous societies. Ethnic Poles constitute 97% of the population. Poland has become increasingly xenophobic. During the 2015 refugee crisis, Poland resisted accepting Muslim refugees and agreed to accept only 1% of Middle Eastern migrants seeking asylum in Europe. Ukrainian migrants on whose labor the Polish economy depends have been victims of hate crimes. The Never Again Association has documented xenophobic incidents against Asian citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Antisemitic language was used during election campaigns. Jewish property and cemeteries have been regularly vandalized. Poland is in denial over its national cooperation with the Holocaust. The state-funded Institute of National Remembrance promotes a denialist version of Polish history under Nazi occupation. A 2018 law made it illegal to associate the Polish nation with Nazi crimes. On Feb. 9, 2021, two historians were ordered to publicly apologize for labeling certain Polish nationals as Holocaust perpetrators. The head of the Polish League Against Defamation praised the decision, stating, “We don’t have to bear the stigma ascribed to us by historians as perpetrators of the Holocaust.” Genocide Watch considers Poland to be at Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 4: Dehumanization, and Stage 6: Polarization due to legislation that restricts the rights of women and the LGBT+ community. Poland is also at Stage 10: Denial concerning Polish cooperation with the Holocaust. Genocide Watch recommends: · Poland should not withdraw from the Istanbul Convention that protects women’s rights. · Poland should abide by the EU LGBTIQ Freedom Zone Resolution (2021). · Poland should protect the civil rights of LGBT+ persons, including the right to adopt children. · Poland’s education curriculum must oppose, rather than promote, xenophobia and homophobia. · Poland should recognize the dual role of Poles as both victims and participants in the Holocaust. · Polish government funding must not go to organizations that promote Holocaust revisionism. © Genocide Watch, 2021

By Fergal Keane We met in the cavernous interior of the foreign affairs ministry where the old regime once plotted its campaigns against international sanctions and isolation. On the walls are the portraits of past Burmese leaders, beginning with her father General Aung San, assassinated on the eve of independence in 1947, and continuing into the era of thuggish military rule, face after forgotten face for whom nobody had ever voted in a democratic election. The new leader, elected with an overwhelming popular mandate, arrived surrounded by civil servants and guarded by police, fresh from meetings and with many more planned later in the day. Her interview with me was the first this year and a rare encounter with the media. Aung San Suu Kyi has been bruised by the criticism over her handling of the Rohingya Muslim crisis in Rakhine state. It is a long way from the days when reporters, myself included, made the journey to her home by the lake in Rangoon, also known as Yangon, to listen to her expound on the virtues of universal human rights. Fergal Keane first met Aung San Suu Kyi more than two decades ago Back when I first met her in July 1995 she was a political prisoner a few days free, eager for news of the world and particularly South Africa, where I had just completed my assignment as the BBC correspondent covering the transition to democracy. She had followed my reports on the BBC World Service and was keen to know how the African National Congress managed to achieve the end of apartheid. There was an innocent eagerness about her back then, a hunger for knowledge on everything ranging from microfinance to the latest news in poetry and literary fiction. Then, as her popularity grew and the army became nervous, there was another long period of house arrest. The army continued with its repression. Thousands were rounded up during the peaceful, and abortive, protests by monks in 2007. She was only finally released three years later and allowed to resume a full-time political career. "The Lady" was released from house arrest in 2010 The woman I meet this week in Nay Pyi Taw in 2017 is undoubtedly changed. The heroine of the human rights community is now alienated from many of her old international supporters. She is wary of the media and disdainful of her international critics, far more the steely politician than the global icon feted from capital to capital when she was released seven years ago. Our exchange on Rakhine was polite but robust. I told her that having covered many conflicts I thought that what I'd seen in Rakhine state amounted to ethnic cleansing. Did she worry that instead of being remembered as an icon of human rights it would be as the Nobel laureate who refused to confront ethnic cleansing in her own country? No. She refuses to accept this definition, speaking instead of two communities divided and explaining her lack of public activism as not wishing to fan the flames of hatred through condemnation. It is also clear that the sharp turn in western voices, from adulation to condemnation, irks her. Truth, lies and Aung San Suu Kyi Myanmar country profile Hounded and ridiculed for complaining of rape The more UN officials demand she does something, the less likely, it strikes me, that she will accede. There is a profound paradox here. I and other journalists in Asia remember the days when it was the military regime that denounced our reporting of human rights abuses and accused us of exaggeration. Now these complaints are levelled by a democratically elected government led by a former political prisoner. It is true that not all of the allegations that emerge from Rakhine state are true, and that the latest violence was sparked by militant attacks on the police. But the weight of evidence suggests an appalling toll on the lives of innocent people going back well before the recent appearance of a radical Rohingya groups. One of the most powerful memories I have of ethnic intolerance - and this is after reporting on Rwanda and atrocities in the Balkans - is seeing the plight of Rohingya penned into a ghetto in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine, and listening to the toxic rhetoric of Buddhist monks near a burned out Muslim village. The UN issued a damning report on the treatment of Rohingya in February The crisis in Rakhine will cause Aung San Suu Kyi no problems among the majority of Burmese, who remain loyal supporters of her National League for Democracy. She has the support of the street even if her backing in ethnic minority areas is declining. However the alienation felt by international supporters could become a problem if the military refuses to accede to her demand to change a constitution that gives them power over key ministries like defence and home affairs, and which prevents Aung San Suu Kyi from becoming president. She is too shrewd a politician to be unaware of this risk. But conceding to international critics whose analysis she refuses to accept would be totally out of character. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (c) 2017 BBC News

Burn-out homes in the Zhambyl region of Kazakhstan following a deadly pogrom against ethnic Dungans by Kazakh mobs in February 2020. Photo Credit: RFE/RL's Kazakh Service By Nat Hill Country Report: Kazakhstan October 2021 Kazakhstan is the homeland of the Kazakh, a traditionally nomadic Turkic ethnic group that adheres to Sunni Islam. Its land area of 2,724,900 square kilometres (1,052,100 sq. mi.) is the size of western Europe. Kazakhs make up 65% of Kazakhstan’s population of 18.7 million people, with 19% comprised of Russians, and 16% of other ethnicities. The Russian Empire took control of Kazakhstan in the 1800s, set up a colonial government, and made Russian the official language. From the mid-1800s to the 1980s, Russia encouraged over 1,400,000 Russian, Ukrainian, German, Tatar, and Jewish peasants to settle on the Kazakh Steppe. In 1920, the Bolsheviks established the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin and the First Kazakh Party Secretary Filipp Goloshchyokin, implemented a policy of forced sedentarization in 1930 that deprived Kazakh livestock herders of their traditional income and food source. In 1931 - 1933, Kazakhstan was the victim of Soviet-imposed genocide. Between 1.5 and 2.3 million Kazakhs starved to death in the manmade Kazakh or Goloshchyokin Famine. After the famine, only 38% percent of Kazakhstan’s population was ethnic Kazakh. The Russian government and some scholarly genocide deniers refuse to call this intentional mass starvation "genocide," just as they deny that the 1932-1933 Ukrainian Holodomor was genocide. Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, Kazakhstan has been ruled by the authoritarian government of President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Nazarbayev maintains a cult of personality, reflected in his name for the new capital, Nur-Sultan, the world's second coldest capital city. Nazarbayev and his government torture and execute dissidents, rig elections, and violently break up protests. In 2011, Kazakh authorities murdered 14 striking oil workers in the city of Zhanaozen. Ethnic minorities in Kazakhstan face discrimination and oppression. In February 2020, the Dungan community (an ethnic Chinese Muslim group) in the Jambyl region of South Kazakhstan was targeted in a series of violent pogroms by Kazakh mobs, which killed eleven and forcibly displaced 20,000 people, most of whom fled to Kyrgyzstan. Kazakhstan has among the world's largest reserves of oil, gas, coal, iron, gold, uranium, chromium, lead, zinc, manganese and copper. Since the demise of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has attracted over $30 billion in foreign investment. The Kazakh per capita GDP is about $30,000 per year. Kazakhstan has an intensely authoritarian government. The willingness of the government and Kazakh vigilantes to use violence against minorities indicates a potential for genocide. Genocide Watch considers Kazakhstan to be at Stage 5: Organization, Stage 6: Polarization, and Stage 8: Persecution. Genocide Watch Recommends: · The EU, US, and other NATO countries should condition their imports of Kazakh oil, gas, uranium and metals on the Nazarbayev regime's improvement of human rights protection. · Western foreign policymakers should be educated about Kazakhstan's history, including the Kazakh Genocide, the Zhanaozen massacre and the 2020 attacks on the Dungan. · The Kazakh Famine of 1932 - 1933 should be officially recognized as genocide, along with other crimes committed by the Soviet Union, including the Ukrainian Holodomor.

Genocide Watch staff have published the twenty-ninth Timestream in a series of critical genocides in the world. This Timestream discusses the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009), which was built upon long-brewing ethnic tensions between the Tamil minority and the Sinhalese majority. Both the Sinhalese state and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam committed atrocities during the war, though Tamil civilians made up the majority of the victims. The alleged mass killing of Tamils by the Sinhalese government and allied armed groups has been described as genocide, a characterization that the Sri Lankan government denies. See the full Timestream here and view our other Timestreams here.

Sri Lanka is still recovering from a 26-year civil war that ended in May 2009 with victory by the Sinhalese majority government over Tamil Tiger separatists. National reconciliation is marred by obstruction of accountability or justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against Tamils during the civil war, and by continuing discrimination against Tamils and Muslims. Lasting from 1983 to 2009, the Civil War was precipitated by systematic discrimination against the Tamil minority by the Sinhalese majority. Tamils have always been treated as second class citizens. In 1983 the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched a separatist rebellion to establish an independent Tamil state in northern Sri Lanka. The Tigers were noted for terrorist suicide bombings using girls as bombers. In the Civil War, both Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan Army committed crimes against humanity and war crimes. Massacres of Tamils, particularly in the final months of the civil war, have been characterized as genocide. The Army has been accused of shelling hospitals, burning alive Tamil civilians, executing prisoners of war, and preventing food, medicine, and clean water from reaching civilians trapped in the war zones. The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has given UN rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, a mandate to collect evidence of war crimes in Sri Lanka during the Civil War. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, former commander of the Army and an accused war criminal himself, continues to shield and pardon convicted war criminals like army sergeant Sunil Ratnayake, who was convicted and sentenced to death by a Sri Lankan Court. Presidential pardon of war criminals has created a grave impunity crisis in Sri Lanka. In January 2021, the Mullivaikal Memorial at Jaffna University, constructed in memory of those who lost their lives in the war, was demolished upon orders of Rajapaksa. It was evidence of the government's official policy of Denial. Growing intolerance towards the Muslim minority has emerged since 2012. Since 2009, a virulent hate campaign spearheaded by the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) has led to many attacks on Muslims. They include the 2014 riots in the coastal district of Kalutara and the 2018 riots in Ampara. In March 2021, the government announced a ban on wearing burqas and its plan to close one thousand Islamic schools. The Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), gives the state powers to detain suspects for up to two years without charges. It is being used to arrest Muslim activists on ‘national security’ grounds. Genocide Watch recognizes discriminatory laws coupled with arbitrary arrest and torture of journalists and activists as Stage 3: Discrimination, Stage 5: Organization, and Stage 8: Persecution. President Rajapaksa’s pardons of war criminals promote impunity and Stage 10: Denial. Genocide Watch recommends: · Sri Lanka should fully cooperate with the UN Human Rights Commissioner’s investigation of war crimes during the Civil War. · Sri Lanka should repeal its Prevention of Terrorism Act and stop detaining Muslims without charges. · The U.N. Security Council should refer the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the Civil War to the International Criminal Court.

By Eric Ross and Nat Hill Genocide Watch is issuing a Genocide Emergency Alert regarding the Ethiopian government’s persecution of the Tigrayan people in its war with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Genocide Watch also condemns the TPLF’s targeting of the Amhara ethnic group. All parties to the conflict have committed gross violations of international law, including extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, and torture. Ethiopia’s ethnic fractionalization has produced dozens of ethnic militias that are committing crimes against humanity. The fighting in Tigray began in November 2020 after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed cancelled general elections on the pretext of public health measures against COVID-19. The TPLF held regional elections anyway. The TPLF then captured key Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) bases in Tigray. With the Eritrean Army, the ENDF struck back to regain control of Tigray and permanently oust the TPLF. The ENDF retook Mekelle, the capital of Tigray. But the TPLF fought back and retook most of Tigray. The conflict has now killed thousands of civilians and displaced over two million people. The ENDF and its Eritrean allies and Amhara militias, as well as the TPLF, have carried out mass rape with the explicit aims of “cleansing the bloodlines” of the Tigrayan and Amhara people. Both sides have committed ethnic-based massacres of hundreds of civilians. Because both sides target each other based on ethnic identity and intentionally destroy significant parts of ethnic groups, both sides are committing genocide. The civil war has created a humanitarian emergency in Tigray. The Ethiopian government has intentionally blocked food supplies to Tigray, using access to food aid as a weapon of war. This is a war crime. The government is intentionally starving the Tigrayan population. As many as 900,000 Tigrayans face famine. Tens of thousands of Tigrayans have fled to Sudan. Since the beginning of the ENDF assault on Tigray, Prime Minister Abiy, an ethnic Oromo and recipient of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, has promoted hate speech and incited genocide. Abiy recently called for Ethiopian citizens to take up arms and to “sacrifice our blood and bones to bury this enemy [the TPLF].” He describes Tigrayans as “rats” and a “cancer,” dehumanizing terms that indicate his genocidal intent. In recent weeks, the conflict has taken another alarming turn. Eight rebel groups, including the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), have joined the TPLF to topple Abiy’s government. The OLA has joined the TPLF in response to the Ethiopian government’s brutal crackdown in Oromia. The ENDF has detained thousands of ethnic Oromos and killed hundreds. TPLF and OLA forces have expanded beyond Tigray and now threaten the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. Prime Minister Abiy has declared a “state of emergency” granting him broad powers. The ENDF is arbitrarily arresting ethnic Tigrayans. The ENDF has gone door-to-door, rounding up and detaining thousands of Tigrayans in the capital, among them 16 UN staff members, whom the Ethiopian government has falsely accused of “terrorism.” This genocidal violence threatens all of Ethiopia. Without a diplomatic solution to the conflict, Ethiopia’s fragile federal system, including ten regional governments presiding over 80 ethnic groups, is at risk. The breakup of Ethiopia would set off a vicious civil war and spark further genocide. Due to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s hate speech and calls for war, the ENDF’s brutal attacks against Tigrayans, and the atrocities committed by the TPLF, Genocide Watch considers Ethiopia to be at Stage 4: Dehumanization, Stage 6: Polarization, Stage 8: Persecution, and Stage 9: Extermination. Genocide Watch Recommends: A ceasefire must be declared and honored by all sides, enforced by AU and UN peacekeepers. Food aid to Tigray must be allowed to reach Tigray. If the ENDF or TPLF block it, it should be taken in from Sudan, under the armed protection of African Union troops with US and UN support. The TPLF and OLA must halt their advance on Addis Ababa. The TPLF and Ethiopian government should engage in peace talks mediated by regional and international organizations such as the African Union or UN. Facebook, Twitter, and all other social media companies should block hate speech in Ethiopia. All sides must allow free access everywhere in Ethiopia for international observers and journalists.