In Myanmar, Atrocities Rise as Army Comes Under Pressure The New York Times March 17, 2023 The rebellion against military rule is gaining strength, and analysts say soldiers are responding with increased brutality. Bullet holes in the wall of a Buddhist monastery near the village of Nanneint in central Myanmar. Rebels who are fighting Myanmar’s army say they found 22 bodies there on Sunday.Credit...Pa-Oh National Defense Force-Kham Koung, via Associated Press By Richard C. Paddock When the soldiers from Myanmar’s notorious army reached the village of Nanneint, the residents fled. Some took refuge in the basement of a nearby Buddhist monastery. “They thought the soldiers wouldn’t kill monks and people inside the monastery,” said one resident, Khun Htwe, who fled to another village. But the monastery was no sanctuary. On Sunday, ethnic rebels fighting Myanmar’s military regime said they had found the bullet-riddled bodies of 22 people there, slaughtered by the army. A gruesome video taken by a fighter with the Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, posted on Facebook, shows the victims lying on bloodstained ground or slumped against the monastery wall, which is pockmarked with dozens of bullet holes. Among the dead are three monks in saffron robes. “It appears they were lined up and shot in the head,” Khu Ree Du, a rebel soldier who saw the bodies, said by telephone. Since Myanmar’s army — which has a long history of atrocities against civilians — seized power two years ago, a resistance that began with peaceful protests has become an increasingly well-armed rebellion. Analysts who follow the conflict say the army is coming under pressure as the rebels gain strength, and that it is resorting to even bloodier tactics, like the killings near Nanneint. “Now we are talking beheadings, disembowelings and massacres, and this clearly reflects frustration and fury at field level in the military,” said Anthony Davis, a Bangkok-based security analyst with the Jane’s group of military publications. “It also reflects a broader strategy based on terrorizing the resistance’s civilian support base — which is to say, most of the population.” Ye Zaw, a doctor, said on Thursday that all 22 victims at the monastery had been tortured, some cut or burned with cigarettes. Most were shot in the head at close range, said Dr. Ye Zaw, who examined the bodies for the shadow National Unity Government, which considers itself Myanmar’s legitimate government. Its human rights minister, Aung Myo Min, said the victims were all civilians and called the killings “a war crime committed by the military.” The junta’s spokesman, Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, said in a statement that clashes began in the Nanneint area earlier this month, when “terrorists” from outside the region took up positions and the military tried to drive them out. “Misinformation was disseminated that villagers were killed,” he said. The general declined to take calls from The New York Times. The conflict raging now is a far cry from the early resistance to the February 2021 coup. In those first months, protesters fought soldiers and the police with slingshots and air guns made with plastic pipe. People in Yangon, Myanmar, used slingshots against security forces in March 2021 as they protested against military rule. The resistance is far better armed now. Credit...The New York Times After the demonstrations were crushed, many protesters left the cities and allied themselves with armed ethnic groups that had battled the military for decades. Together, the ethnic armies and the more recently formed Public Defense Force now hold much of the countryside, while the military controls the major urban areas. Factories in two areas held by ethnic armies manufacture assault rifles and grenade launchers, which have been spreading throughout the country, Mr. Davis said. Other weapons, including M16s and M4s, are smuggled across the border from Thailand. Drawing on the expertise of engineers and tech experts who fled to rebel-held territory, a cottage industry has sprung up to produce IEDs and adapt drones to drop explosives on enemy targets, Mr. Davis said. “What we have seen over the past year is a remarkable improvement in the level of organization and weaponry now used by resistance forces,” he said. “It is still David and Goliath, but David is looking increasingly cocky and combative.” The Tatmadaw, as the military is called, is perhaps most infamous for its ruthless campaign against Rohingya Muslims in 2017, which killed at least 24,000 people and drove more than 700,000 across the border into Bangladesh, where most still live in squalid refugee camps. During the protests against the coup in 2021, soldiers and the police gunned down demonstrators and bystanders, including young children. Many were shot in the head. Last October, military jets bombed a concert in Kachin State and killed 80. With the Tatmadaw facing an increasingly well-armed resistance, the regime placed 40 townships under martial law in February, adding to the 10 that already had been. The declaration sent troops the message that anything goes, Mr. Davis said. Since then, there has been a surge in military atrocities, including the beheading, disembowelment or dismemberment of nearly two dozen rebels and civilians this month in Sagaing Region. “All these crimes are not mere human rights abuses,” Myanmar’s ambassador to the United Nations, Kyaw Moe Tun, who was appointed before the coup, said in a speech to the General Assembly in New York on Thursday. “They are part of the military junta’s systematic, widespread and coordinated attacks against the civilian population.” He held up photos of the bodies at the Nanneint monastery. But Mr. Davis said the resistance was now too big and well armed for the Tatmadaw to bring it to heel with increased brutality. “The military is a large and robust organization, but it is also severely undermanned and overstretched, and obviously that creates vulnerabilities,” he said. “It is hard to see politically or militarily what more they can bring to the fight.” Members of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, one of the numerous armed ethnic groups opposing Myanmar’s military, training at a base camp in Shan State this month. Credit...Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Tom Andrews, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, called for a coordinated international approach to the conflict, like the coalition supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. “This is the forgotten war,” he said in an interview. For soldiers to massacre monks and other civilians in a monastery is a sign of how far the junta is willing to go in terrorizing the population, Mr. Andrews said. “They are losing ground and they understand they are losing ground,” he said. He cited a leaked memo from a December meeting of senior junta officials, who concluded that the resistance was beyond their control and that rebel attacks would escalate this year. The document was posted online by a Burmese-language news outlet, Khit Thit Media. According to the memo, officials said the resistance forces’ capabilities had grown so dramatically that instead of sneak attacks, they were staging artillery assaults with makeshift 107 mm rocket launchers. Officials also complained they were having trouble gathering intelligence, and that money budgeted to pay informants was going unspent. “The response of the junta to their increasingly perilous position is to double down on brutality,” Mr. Andrews said. “What they don’t realize is that it has the opposite effect of what they intend. It is increasing the resolve of the people to oppose the regime.” Nanneint, a village near the monastery where the massacre occurred, was bombed by military jets, a resident said.Credit...Karenni Nationalities Defense Force, via Associated Press In a statement Thursday condemning the Nanneint massacre, the National Unity Government and groups allied with it urged the international community to impose sanctions blocking the sale of jet fuel, weapons and technology to the junta. Nanneint, a village just 50 miles east of the capital, Naypyidaw, is in a part of Shan State that has largely remained under the military’s control. During the fighting there, military jets bombed the village, said Mr. Khun Htwe, the villager. Soldiers burned about 60 houses, he said. “The Myanmar army treats the people as enemies,” he said. “The Myanmar military will kill anyone if their interests are affected.” Richard C. Paddock has worked as a foreign correspondent in 50 countries on five continents with postings in Moscow, Jakarta, Singapore and Bangkok. He has spent nearly a dozen years reporting on Southeast Asia, which he has covered since 2016 as a contributor to The New York Times. @RCPaddock A version of this article appears in print on March 18, 2023, Section A, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: In Myanmar, Experts Say Atrocities Are Increasing As Army Faces Pressure. Copyright 2023 The New York Times Company

La policía y el ejército de Perú usaron fuerza excesiva contra manifestantes Una investigación de The New York Times revela que las fuerzas de seguridad dispararon municiones letales contra civiles desarmados, en las protestas de diciembre y enero. Hay muchas vídeos en el artículo. Prense este link por el artículo. PRESNE ESTE LINK POR LOS VIDEOS EN EL ARTICULO: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2023/03/16/espanol/peru-policia-ejercito-protestas-armas.html En el transcurso de cinco semanas, las fuerzas de seguridad de Perú respondieron repetidamente a las protestas antigubernamentales con lo que los expertos califican como fuerza excesiva, lo que incluye accionar escopetas con munición letal y disparar rifles de asalto contra los manifestantes que huían, así como ocasionar la muerte de personas desarmadas que estaban a cientos de metros de distancia, según revela una investigación de The New York Times. Las protestas comenzaron a principios de diciembre, desencadenadas por la destitución y detención del presidente Pedro Castillo, quien intentó disolver el Congreso y gobernar por decreto. Tanto los militares como las fuerzas de la Policía Nacional han participado en las medidas represivas que se han concentrado en las provincias del sur, donde Castillo tenía su base de apoyo. Algunos manifestantes exigen que se redacte una nueva Constitución que aborde los arraigados problemas de pobreza y desigualdad. Cuarenta y ocho civiles han muerto y más de 970 han resultado heridos, según la Defensoría del Pueblo de Perú. La investigación del Times descubrió que la mayoría de las muertes fueron causadas por armas de fuego. El Times analizó cientos de videos e imágenes, revisó informes de autopsias y balística y habló con testigos y expertos. Analizamos en detalle ocho muertes ocurridas en diciembre y enero en tres localidades —en las ciudades de Ayacucho, Juliaca y Macusani— para mostrar que los militares y la policía utilizaron tácticas letales, a menudo en aparente violación de sus propios protocolos, que estipulan el uso de fuerza razonable y proporcional al responder a disturbios civiles. “El factor clave es que la policía no está utilizando la fuerza letal de forma proporcional”, afirmó Joel Hernández, de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos. Hernández ayudó a efectuar una evaluación sobre el terreno de la violencia, y la calificó de “excesiva para el objetivo de controlar la protesta”. Las protestas han desembocado en escaramuzas violentas entre agentes de la policía y manifestantes. Al menos 363 agentes de las fuerzas de seguridad habían sido heridos hasta finales de febrero, según el Ministerio de Salud. Con la intención de tomar aeropuertos y atacar edificios gubernamentales, los manifestantes han arrojado piedras con hondas y lanzaron explosivos improvisados. Un oficial de policía murió cuando una turba enfurecida quemó su vehículo. Las autoridades dijeron que los bloqueos de carreteras de los manifestantes provocaron accidentes de tráfico e impidieron el traslado a los hospitales, lo que contribuyó a la muerte de 11 personas. La presidenta de Perú, Dina Boluarte, hizo campaña como líder de izquierda y aliada de los pobres de las zonas rurales, pero luego ha adoptado una línea dura contra los manifestantes. Boluarte ha dicho que la policía y el ejército respondieron conforme a la Constitución, las leyes y los protocolos del país, y culpa de las muertes a delincuentes violentos y armados. “Eso no es una protesta pacífica. Eso es una acción violenta generada por un grupo de personas radicales”, dijo Boluarte en un discurso el 24 de enero, después de que 18 civiles fallecieran en Juliaca. Ese grupo de personas, de acuerdo con la presidenta, tienen una agenda política y económica “basada en el narcotráfico, en la minería ilegal y el contrabando”. Pero en los cientos de imágenes y otros materiales examinados, el Times no encontró pruebas de que las armas caseras portadas por algunos manifestantes causaran muertes de civiles. Y la ministra de Relaciones Exteriores de Perú, Ana Cecilia Gervasi, declaró al Times en febrero que el gobierno no contaba con pruebas de que las protestas estuvieran siendo impulsadas por grupos criminales. La fiscalía peruana está investigando a Boluarte y las acciones de su gobierno relacionadas con las protestas. Tanto Boluarte, como el Ministerio de Defensa y la Policía Nacional del Perú no han respondido a las preguntas del Times. Los videos e imágenes de este reportaje contienen escenas de violencia explícita. Ayacucho: manifestantes baleados con fusiles de asalto El 15 de diciembre, un día después de que Boluarte declaró un estado de emergencia nacional que le otorgaba a la policía mayores poderes para detener a personas e ingresar en propiedades privadas sin orden judicial y autorizaba al ejército a colaborar en el control de los disturbios civiles, un grupo de soldados peruanos apostados en Ayacucho acudió al aeropuerto local para desalojar a los manifestantes que se encontraban ahí. Al final del día, 10 civiles habían muerto o recibido heridas mortales. Todos por armas de fuego. En dos de los casos en Ayacucho analizados por el Times, las pruebas visuales y los documentos muestran que los soldados desplegaron un uso excesivo y letal de la fuerza contra los civiles. Los videos muestran que alrededor de las 2:00 p. m., elementos de policía comienzan a disparar gases lacrimógenos contra unos 150 manifestantes reunidos en el aeropuerto, y que algunos respondieron lanzando o arrojando piedras. Más de una decena de soldados avanzaron con fusiles de asalto Galil. El Times tuvo acceso a un registro militar de las armas entregadas a los soldados destacados en Ayacucho que confirma que más de 80 efectivos recibieron fusiles Galil ese mismo día. Hay muchas vídeos en el artículo. Prense este link por el artículo. PRESNE ESTE LINK POR LOS VIDEOS EN EL ARTICULO: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2023/03/16/espanol/peru-policia-ejercito-protestas-armas.html : La Policía Nacional, apoyada por el ejército, empezó a disparar gas lacrimógeno a los manifestantes que se reunieron en el aeropuerto de Ayacucho. A medida que más manifestantes intentaban tomar el aeropuerto de nuevo, las imágenes muestran a los soldados haciendo que retrocedan y persiguiéndoles hasta las calles residenciales adyacentes, mientras disparaban de manera indiscriminada en dirección a los civiles que huían. Un video grabado hacia las 6:30 p. m. capta a varios soldados en la esquina suroeste del aeropuerto disparando hasta 20 veces con fusiles de asalto Galil en dirección a un parque de la ciudad donde había gente escondida detrás de árboles y muros bajos de hormigón. Los explosivos improvisados lanzados por los manifestantes detonaban a decenas de metros de los soldados, que parecían no inmutarse y seguían disparando. A las 6:35 p. m., a dos cuadras de distancia, una cámara de seguridad situada frente a un parque municipal graba una bala que alcanza por la espalda a Christopher Michael Ramos Aime, de 15 años, cuando cruzaba la calle. Hay muchas vídeos en el artículo. Prense este link por el artículo. PRESNE ESTE LINK POR LOS VIDEOS EN EL ARTICULO: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2023/03/16/espanol/peru-policia-ejercito-protestas-armas.html : Imágenes de cámaras de seguridad muestran el momento en que Christopher Michael Ramos Aime es derribado. La bala alcanzó a Christopher con tal fuerza que le atravesó la parte superior del torso, saliendo por el hombro opuesto, según un informe de balística realizado por la policía peruana y consultado por el Times. El reporte estimaba que la bala, que no fue recuperada, tenía unos 5 milímetros de diámetro. Las imágenes muestran a soldados disparando hacia donde estaba Christopher con fusiles de asalto Galil. Los soldados estaban a unos 90 metros de distancia, una distancia dentro del rango de alcance de 396 metros del arma, y dispararon proyectiles de 5,56 milímetros, consistentes con la bala que mató a Christopher, según un análisis del Times y la revisión de un experto forense que pidió permanecer en el anonimato porque no está autorizado para hablar con los medios de comunicación. Momentos después, a una cuadra de distancia, José Luis Aguilar Yucra, de 20 años, cae muerto de un balazo en la cabeza. Un video muestra que estaba parado en la acera entre un grupo de personas cuando es impactado por una bala. Hay muchas vídeos en el artículo. Prense este link por el artículo. PRESNE ESTE LINK POR LOS VIDEOS EN EL ARTICULO: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2023/03/16/espanol/peru-policia-ejercito-protestas-armas.html : Videos muestran el momento en que le disparan a José Luis Aguilar Yucra. Aproximadamente en ese momento, parece que los soldados disparaban desde un muro del cementerio ubicado a 76 metros de distancia, un rango dentro del alcance de un fusil Galil, y en la línea de visión del sitio donde Aguilar Yucra estaba de pie. Las imágenes muestran que, después de que los soldados se retiran el lugar, un grupo de personas recupera del pavimento más de una decena de casquillos usados, identificados por el Times como munición de 5,56 milímetros. Según el informe de balística, la herida de bala en la frente de Aguilar Yucra corresponde a un proyectil de 5 milímetros, consistente con la munición utilizada por el fusil de asalto militar Galil. El Ministerio de Defensa de Perú no ha respondido a las solicitudes de información sobre estos dos casos concretos, pero dijo en un comunicado el 16 de diciembre que su personal había sido atacado en el aeropuerto con “objetos contundentes, explosivos y armas de fuego artesanales”. En las imágenes analizadas, el Times no encontró indicios de que los manifestantes portaran armas. Los videos parecen mostrar que tanto Christopher como Aguilar Yucra estaban desarmados y, como estipulan los protocolos militares, no representaban “un peligro inminente de muerte o lesiones graves” para los agentes ni para nadie cuando recibieron disparos. Otras seis víctimas presentaban heridas de bala compatibles con el calibre de la munición disparada por los fusiles Galil, según los expertos forenses de la Policía Nacional. Un informe de balística muestra que la policía recuperó una bala de 5,56 milímetros en una de las víctimas. Juliaca: el día más mortífero de las protestas El 9 de enero, tras varios días de marchas, Juliaca se convirtió en el escenario de los enfrentamientos más mortíferos desde que comenzaron las protestas. Dieciocho civiles, entre ellos tres menores y un residente médico, murieron por disparos, según los registros hospitalarios y de autopsias obtenidos por el Times. Otras 70 personas resultaron heridas, al menos 31 de ellas por arma de fuego. Un suboficial de policía murió luego de que su patrulla fue incendiada esa noche. Las imágenes, documentos y testimonios recogidos por el Times ofrecen un relato detallado de la respuesta militar y policial desplegada ese día contra los manifestantes en el aeropuerto local, y sugieren que los agentes policiales que estaban en la primera línea fueron responsables de la mayoría de las personas heridas de bala y fallecidas. Las imágenes y los documentos oficiales también señalan la participación de elementos de la policía en otros tiroteos con civiles sucedidos en el centro de la ciudad esa noche. El tiroteo comenzó por la tarde, cuando cientos de manifestantes se dirigieron al aeropuerto de Juliaca, que estaba resguardado por las fuerzas de seguridad. Algunas personas intentaron tomar las instalaciones, lanzando piedras y disparando lo que parecían ser fuegos artificiales con lanzadores caseros. Los efectivos policiales disparaban gases lacrimógenos desde tierra y, finalmente, también lo hizo el ejército desde un helicóptero que volaba a baja altura. Las imágenes del aeropuerto y las calles cercanas muestran a los agentes apuntando y disparando repetidamente armas de fuego en la dirección en la que estaban los civiles. Un video muestra a un soldado disparándole a la multitud. El Times, en consulta con expertos en armamento, pudo identificar los tipos de armas de fuego que usaban los oficiales de policía y los militares ese día, y las municiones que dispararon. Poco antes de las 2:00 p. m., Gabriel Omar López Amanqui, de 35 años y padre de dos hijos, fue fotografiado lanzándole piedras a una fila de agentes de policía cerca del aeropuerto. Minutos después, le dispararon. En el informe de la autopsia se describen más de 70 pequeñas heridas penetrantes compatibles con perdigones o postas —un tipo de munición letal que suelen disparar las escopetas calibre 12—, algunas de las cuales le causaron lesiones mortales en el corazón y los pulmones. Según el experto forense que analizó los documentos para el Times, es probable que la escopeta disparada contra López apuntara por encima de la cintura a una distancia de menos de 20 metros. Pareciera que esa táctica viola los protocolos de la policía peruana, que establecen que ante manifestantes que lanzan objetos contundentes como piedras, los agentes deben usar balas de goma, apuntar a las extremidades inferiores y disparar a una distancia no inferior a los 35 metros. Las directrices policiales también establecen que el primer paso para controlar a una multitud descontrolada debe ser detener a los actores violentos. Ese día fueron detenidas 11 personas en las protestas en Juliaca, según la Coordinadora Nacional de Derechos Humanos, un grupo de defensa de los derechos humanos. Rápidamente las inmediaciones del aeropuerto se convierten en un caos, con varios muertos y decenas de heridos. Al anochecer, la multitud se dispersa, pero pequeños grupos de manifestantes seguían enfrentándose a los efectivos policiales en el centro de la ciudad, y al menos tres civiles más resultan muertos. Uno de esos civiles es Eberth Mamani Arqui, quien estaba varias cuadras al oeste de una comisaría de la Policía Nacional con un grupo de más de una decena de personas. Las imágenes tomadas en ese momento muestran a agentes armados con equipamiento antidisturbios que corrían en dirección a la multitud. Un video capta a los civiles gritando a los agentes por la calle, cuando se oye un disparo y Mamani cae de espaldas al suelo. Hay muchas vídeos en el artículo. Prense este link por el artículo. PRESNE ESTE LINK POR LOS VIDEOS EN EL ARTICULO: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2023/03/16/espanol/peru-policia-ejercito-protestas-armas.html : Eberth Mamani Arqui muere varias cuadras al oeste de la comisaría de la Policía Nacional, en medio de un enfrentamiento entre oficiales y manifestantes. Mamani, de 40 años, murió luego de recibir un disparo en el rostro. Era un operador de maquinaria pesada y tenía un hijo de 8 años. A dos cuadras al norte de la comisaría de la Policía Nacional se produjo otro enfrentamiento, en el que al menos cuatro civiles fueron heridos de bala, dos de ellos mortalmente. Según el análisis de las imágenes grabadas durante aproximadamente una hora, se produjeron repetidos disparos de fusil en dirección a los peatones y manifestantes, algunos de los cuales lanzaban lo que parecen ser fuegos artificiales hacia los agentes. Hay muchas vídeos en el artículo. Prense este link por el artículo. PRESNE ESTE LINK POR LOS VIDEOS EN EL ARTICULO: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2023/03/16/espanol/peru-policia-ejercito-protestas-armas.html : Al menos dos personas recibieron disparos fatales a dos cuadras al norte de una comisaría de policía. A las 7:51 p. m., las imágenes de un circuito cerrado de televisión mostraban a un grupo de personas que arrastraron fuera del campo de visión de los agentes de policía a dos jóvenes que recibieron disparos mortales. En imágenes tomadas con un teléfono celular en el lugar, las víctimas yacían en la acera, sangrando abundantemente. El Times ha identificado a estas dos víctimas como Paul Franklin Mamani Apaza, de 20 años, y Brayan Apaza Jumpiri, de 15. Según el informe de la autopsia de Mamani Apaza, el joven murió por un tiro de un proyectil de 7,62 milímetros en el pecho, que coincide con la munición de los fusiles de asalto Kalashnikov usados por los efectivos policiales. Brayan tenía una bala alojada en la cabeza, según los testimonios, los informes médicos y la autopsia. Murió tras permanecer tres días en coma. Los 18 civiles que resultaron heridos mortalmente en Juliaca el 9 de enero, excepto uno, murieron por disparos en la parte superior del cuerpo, cuatro de ellos en la cabeza. Los expertos forenses encontraron balas de 7,62 milímetros en cuatro de los cadáveres, incluido el de Mamani Apaza. Otras ocho víctimas también presentaban heridas compatibles con fusiles de asalto policiales y militares. Al menos tres víctimas, entre ellas López Amanqui, murieron por municiones letales que coinciden con las que usan las escopetas que portaban las fuerzas de seguridad en el aeropuerto. Según la Policía Nacional, un agente murió y otro resultó herido en la madrugada del 10 de enero en Juliaca, cuando fueron atacados por una turba enfurecida que incendió su patrulla. Otros seis agentes heridos durante las protestas del 9 de enero fueron trasladados en helicóptero a un hospital de Lima. En un discurso televisado dos semanas después, Boluarte afirmó que “no es la policía que está disparando” y que la mayoría de las muertes en Juliaca se debían a armas caseras o ilegales. “La policía no usa esas armas letales”, afirmó. El gobierno no ha aportado ninguna prueba que respalde esa afirmación. Macusani: disparos a distancia El 18 de enero, otros dos manifestantes, Sonia Aguilar Quispe y Salomón Valenzuela Chua, murieron por disparos mientras cientos de personas se concentraban en Macusani, una ciudad al sur de Perú. Los disparos que los mataron parecen haber sido efectuados por la Policía Nacional, según pruebas visuales, análisis de audio y relatos de testigos recogidos por el Times. Por la tarde, tras una marcha pacífica en Macusani, las imágenes muestran a decenas de personas dispersas a lo largo de un camino de tierra que pasa por la comisaría de la Policía Nacional de la ciudad. Algunos manifestantes lanzan piedras, explosivos improvisados e insultan a los agentes que estaban dentro y fuera del edificio, en un perímetro de unos 90 metros de distancia. Los agentes de policía lanzaron gases lacrimógenos y se oyeron disparos esporádicos. Hay muchas vídeos en el artículo. Prense este link por el artículo. PRESNE ESTE LINK POR LOS VIDEOS EN EL ARTICULO: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2023/03/16/espanol/peru-policia-ejercito-protestas-armas.html : Agentes de policía dispararon gases lacrimógenos contra un grupo de manifestantes ubicados en un cerro cercano a la comisaría de la Policía Nacional en Macusani, donde dos víctimas recibieron tiros mortales. En un video que parece filmado desde el interior de la comisaría, un agente disparaba con un fusil de asalto Kalashnikov contra los manifestantes que estaban en un cerro. Una transmisión en directo de una hora de duración desde el exterior de la comisaría capta disparos repetidos desde la entrada del edificio. Los agentes también disparaban desde el techo de la comisaría. Hay muchas vídeos en el artículo. Prense este link por el artículo. PRESNE ESTE LINK POR LOS VIDEOS EN EL ARTICULO: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2023/03/16/espanol/peru-policia-ejercito-protestas-armas.html Alrededor de las 5:50 p. m., se produjo una ráfaga de seis disparos en rápida sucesión que causaron conmoción en las personas que estaban en el cerro porque Aguilar Quispe recibió un disparo en la cabeza. Según los testimonios de los testigos, estaba de pie entre la multitud cuando la alcanzó la bala. Aguilar Quispe, de 35 años y madre soltera de dos niños pequeños, llegó al hospital ya muerta, con el cráneo fracturado por la bala, según los informes de la autopsia. El sonido de los disparos —uno de los cuales se cree que mató a Aguilar Quispe— fue captado en dos emisiones de video en directo: una se grabó cerca de la comisaría de policía y la otra en la protesta en lo alto del cerro, a menos de 45 metros de Aguilar Quispe. El Times les pidió a dos expertos que analizaran el audio. Robert C. Maher, experto en acústica de disparos de la Universidad Estatal de Montana en Bozeman, dijo que el sonido de los disparos era coherente con disparos de rifle dirigidos en la dirección general de los manifestantes. Steven Beck, exasesor de acústica del FBI, dijo que la distancia del tirador coincidía con la ubicación de la comisaría. Hay muchas vídeos en el artículo. Prense este link por el artículo. PRESNE ESTE LINK POR LOS VIDEOS EN EL ARTICULO: https://www.nytimes.com/es/2023/03/16/espanol/peru-policia-ejercito-protestas-armas.html : Cerca de las 5:50 p. m., dos grabaciones captan el sonido de seis disparos de arma de fuego, uno de los cuales se cree que mató a Aguilar. Valenzuela, de 30 años, camionero, operador de maquinaria pesada y padre de cuatro hijos, se encuentra cerca cuando Aguilar Quispe fue abatida. Una media hora más tarde, él también recibe un disparo, a pocos pasos de distancia, y fallece al día siguiente de un disparo en el pecho, según consta en su autopsia. Esa noche, una turba incendió la comisaría de la Policía Nacional de Macusani. Según las noticias locales, los agentes fueron rescatados en helicóptero. No se informó de ningún herido. Responsabilidad del gobierno En total, las 48 víctimas civiles de Perú tenían edades comprendidas entre los 15 y los 62 años. Entre las muertes analizadas se encuentran la de Sonia Aguilar Quispe, una mujer que estudiaba en el extranjero y regresó a casa para cuidar de sus padres; la de José Luis Aguilar Yucra, un joven padre que trabajaba en una tienda de refrescos, y la de Brayan Apaza Jumpiri, un estudiante de secundaria que decía que quería ser agente de policía. Algunos familiares entrevistados por el Times expresaron su temor a las represalias de las autoridades y dijeron que las víctimas han sido tachadas de terroristas en los medios de comunicación locales. “Mi hijo tenía un futuro adelante”, dijo Asunta Jumpiri Olbea, madre de Brayan, quien acababa de cumplir 15 años. “Mi hijo no es un terrorista. Ellos son terroristas y nos están matando como animales”. El Ministerio Público de la fiscalía de Perú está investigando a Boluarte por posibles delitos de “genocidio, homicidio calificado y lesiones graves” relacionados con las protestas e intenta determinar la responsabilidad de cada muerte por arma de fuego. Al mismo tiempo, en un documento interno oficial del 27 de febrero el ministerio ha dicho que dejará de prestar servicios de investigación, incluido el uso de expertos forenses y balísticos —servicios que pueden ser cruciales para las investigaciones de derechos humanos—, a menos que lo soliciten específicamente los principales fiscales del país. Hasta la fecha, no se ha acusado ni detenido a ningún militar o agente de policía en relación con las muertes ocurridas en las protestas. John Ismay colaboró desde Washington. Julie Turkewitz colaboró desde Bogotá, Colombia. Mitra Taj colaboró desde Lima. Haley Willis colaboró desde Nueva York. Brent McDonald es corresponsal sénior de video para el Times en Washington. Produce cortos documentales, reportajes en video e investigaciones visuales. @DocuBrent Ainara Tiefenthäler es videoperiodista y trabaja en el equipo de Investigaciones visuales. Fue una de las periodistas galardonadas con el Premio Pulitzer 2022 de Reportaje Internacional por la cobertura del Times sobre la gran cantidad de víctimas civiles en los ataques aéreos liderados por Estados Unidos. @tiefenthaeler

A New York Times investigation found that the country’s police and military fired lethal ammunition at unarmed civilians during protests in December and January. By Brent McDonald and Ainara Tiefenthäler Graphics by James Surdam March 16, 202311 MIN READ Over the course of five weeks, Peru’s security forces repeatedly responded to anti-government protests with what experts called excessive force, including firing shotguns at civilians with lethal ammunition, shooting assault rifles at fleeing protesters and killing unarmed people hundreds of feet away, a New York Times investigation found. The protests began in early December, set off by the arrest and ouster of President Pedro Castillo after he tried to dissolve Congress and rule by decree. Both the military and national police forces have participated in the clampdowns, which have unfolded mostly in the southern provinces where Mr. Castillo had his base of support. Some protesters have been calling for a new constitution, among other demands, to address longstanding issues of poverty and inequality. Forty-eight civilians have been killed, and more than 970 have been injured, according to Peru’s ombudsman. The Times investigation found that most of the deaths were caused by firearms. The Times analyzed hundreds of videos and images, reviewed autopsy and ballistics reports, and spoke to witnesses and experts. The investigation closely examined eight deaths in December and January across three locations — in the cities of Ayacucho, Juliaca and Macusani — to show how the military and the police used deadly tactics, often in apparent violation of their own protocols, which call for a reasonable and proportionate amount of force when responding to civil unrest. “The key factor is that the police are not using lethal force in a proportional manner,” said Joel Hernández of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He helped lead an on-the-ground assessment of the violence, and called it “excessive for the objective of controlling the protest.” The protests have led to violent skirmishes between the police and protesters. At least 363 officers have been injured as of late February, according to the Health Ministry. Protesters intent on occupying airports and attacking government buildings have hurled rocks with slings and launched improvised explosives. One police officer died when an angry mob burned his vehicle. Authorities said that roadblocks put up by protesters led to traffic accidents and hampered access to hospitals, contributing to the deaths of 11 people. Peru’s president, Dina Boluarte, campaigned as a leftist and an ally of the rural poor, but has since taken a hard line against the protesters. Ms. Boluarte has said the country’s police and military responded in accordance with the nation’s Constitution, laws and protocols, and has cast blame for the killings on violent criminals. “This is not a peaceful protest. It’s a violent action by a group of radical people who have a political and economic agenda,” Ms. Boluarte said in a speech on Jan. 24, after 18 civilians were killed in Juliaca. “And this economic agenda is based on drug trafficking, illegal mining and smuggling.” But in the hundreds of images and other materials examined, The Times found no evidence that homemade weapons carried by some protesters caused civilian deaths. And Peru’s foreign minister, Ana Cecilia Gervasi, told The Times in February the government had no evidence that the protests are being driven by criminal groups. Peru’s prosecutor’s office is currently investigating Ms. Boluarte and her government’s actions related to the protests. Ms. Boluarte, the Defense Ministry and the National Police of Peru have not responded to questions from The Times. The videos and images in this story contain scenes of graphic violence. Ayacucho: Protesters shot with assault weapons On Dec. 15, one day after Ms. Boluarte declared a national state of emergency that granted the police expanded powers to detain people and enter private property without a warrant, and authorized the military to assist with civil unrest, a group of Peruvian soldiers, based in Ayacucho, arrived to clear the local airport of protesters. By the end of the day, 10 civilians were dead or fatally injured. All were killed by gunfire. In two of the cases The Times examined in Ayacucho, visual evidence and documents show that soldiers used excessive, lethal force on civilians. Around 2 p.m., videos show that the police begin shooting tear gas at about 150 protesters gathered on the airfield, some of whom responded by throwing or slinging rocks. More than a dozen soldiers advance with Galil assault rifles. A military register of weapons issued to soldiers deployed in Ayacucho obtained by The Times confirms that more than 80 soldiers were given Galil rifles that day. PLEASE SEE LKINK FOR VIDEO: The national police, assisted by the military, begin shooting tear gas at protesters gathered on the Ayacuho airfield. As more protesters try to retake the airport, footage shows the soldiers pushing them back and chasing them into adjacent residential streets, firing indiscriminately in the direction of fleeing civilians. A video recorded around 6:30 p.m., captures several soldiers at the airport’s southwest corner shooting as many as 20 rounds with Galil assault rifles in the direction of a city park where people were cowering behind trees and low concrete walls. Improvised explosives launched by protesters detonate dozens of feet away from soldiers who appear unfazed and continue firing. At 6:35 p.m., two blocks away, a security camera across from a city park records one bullet hitting 15-year-old Christopher Michael Ramos Aime in the back as he crosses the street. PLEASE SEE LINK FOR VIDEO: Security footage shows the moment Christopher Michael Ramos Aime is shot. The bullet hit Christopher with such force that it tore through his upper torso, exiting his opposite shoulder, according to a ballistics report conducted by the Peruvian police and viewed by The Times. The report estimated that the bullet, which was not retrieved, to be about 5 millimeters in diameter. Footage shows soldiers around this time shooting in Christopher’s direction with Galil assault rifles. The soldiers were 300 feet away, a distance well within the rifle’s 1,300-foot range, and firing 5.56 millimeter rounds, consistent with the bullet that killed Christopher, according to a Times analysis and a review by a forensics expert who asked to remain anonymous because he is not authorized to speak to the news media. Moments later, a block away, 20-year-old José Luis Aguilar Yucra, drops dead from a bullet to the head. A video shows him standing on the sidewalk among a group of people when he’s hit. PLEASE SEE LINK OF VIDEO: Footage shows the moment José Luis Aguilar Yura is sht. Around this time, soldiers appear to shoot from a cemetery wall 250 feet away, again within a Galil’s range, and in the line of sight to where Mr. Aguilar had been standing. Footage shows that after soldiers leave the scene, a group of people recover over a dozen spent cartridge casings from the pavement, identified by The Times as 5.56-millimeter ammunition. According to the ballistics report, the bullet wound to Mr. Aguilar’s forehead corresponds to an estimated 5-millimeter round, consistent with the ammunition used by the military’s Galil assault rifle. Peru’s Defense Ministry has not responded to requests for information on these two specific cases, but said in a statement on Dec. 16 that its personnel had been attacked at the airport “with blunt objects, explosives and homemade firearms.” In the footage reviewed, The Times found no evidence of protesters carrying guns. Videos appear to show that both Christopher and Mr. Aguilar were unarmed and, as stipulated in military protocols, posed no “imminent danger of death or grave bodily harm,” to officers or anyone else when they were shot. Another six victims had bullet wounds consistent with the size of ammunition fired by the Galil rifles, according to forensic experts with the national police. A ballistics report shows the police recovered a 5.56-millimeter bullet in one victim. Juliaca: The deadliest day of protest On Jan. 9, following days of marches, Juliaca became the site of the deadliest clashes since protests began. Eighteen civilians, including three minors and one medic, were killed by gunfire, according to hospital and autopsy records obtained by The Times. Another 70 people were injured, including at least 31 by gunfire. One police officer died after his patrol car was set ablaze that night. Images, documents and testimonies collected by the Times provide a detailed account of the military and police response to protesters at the local airport that day, and suggest police officers on the front lines were responsible for most of the gunshot injuries and deaths. Footage and official documents also point to police officers’ involvement in several more civilian shooting deaths in the city center that evening. The shooting starts in the afternoon, when hundreds of protesters march to Juliaca’s heavily-protected airfield. Some try to storm the airport, hurling rocks and shooting what appear to be fireworks with homemade launchers. The police fire tear gas from the ground, and eventually, so does the military from a low-flying helicopter. Images from the airport and surrounding streets show officers repeatedly aiming and shooting firearms in the direction of civilians. One video shows a soldier firing at the crowd. The Times, in consultation with weapons experts, was able to identify the types of firearms the police and military were carrying that day, and the ammunition they fired. Shortly before 2 p.m., Gabriel Omar López Amanqui, a 35-year-old father of two, is photographed throwing rocks at a line of national police officers near the airport. Minutes later, he is shot. His autopsy report describes over 70 small penetrating wounds consistent with birdshot or buckshot — a type of lethal ammunition typically fired by 12-gauge shotguns — some of which caused fatal injuries to his heart and lungs. The shotgun fired at Mr. López was likely aimed above the waist at a distance of less than 65 feet, according to the forensics expert who reviewed the documents for The Times. The tactic appeared to violate Peru’s police protocols, which stipulate that when faced with protesters throwing blunt objects like rocks, officers should use rubber bullets, aiming at the lower extremities and firing at a distance of no less than 115 feet. Police guidelines also say that the first step in controlling an unruly crowd should be to arrest violent actors. In Juliaca that day, 11 people were detained at the protests, according to the human rights group CNDH. The scene near the airport rapidly descends into chaos, as several people are killed and dozens injured. At nightfall, the crowds disperse, but small groups of protesters continue to face off with the police in the city center, and at least three more civilians are killed. One of those civilians is Eberth Mamani Arqui. He’s several blocks west of a national police station, among a group of over a dozen people. Footage taken around this time shows armed officers in riot gear running in the direction of the crowd. A video captures the civilians shouting toward the officers down the road, when a gunshot is heard and Mr. Mamani is knocked backward to the ground. PLEASE SEE LINK FOR VIDEO: Eberth Mamani Arqui is killed several blocks west of the national police station amid a standoff between protesters and officers. Mr. Mamani, a 40-year-old heavy machinery operator and father of an 8-year-old son, is shot in the face and killed. Another confrontation unfolds two blocks north of the national police station, where at least four civilians were shot, two of them fatally. According to analysis of footage recorded over the span of about an hour, there’s repeated rifle fire in the direction of pedestrians and protesters, some of whom are launching what appear to be fireworks toward the officers. PLEASE SEE LINK FOR VIDEO: At least two people are fatally shot two blocks north of the national police station. At 7:51 p.m., CCTV footage shows a group of people dragging two young men who were fatally shot out of the police’s line of sight. In cellphone footage of the scene, the victims lie on the pavement, bleeding profusely. The Times has identified these two victims as 20-year-old Paul Franklin Mamani Apaza and 15-year-old Brayan Apaza Jumpiri. According to Mr. Mamani Apaza’s autopsy report, he was killed by a 7.62-millimeter bullet to the chest — matching the ammunition of the police’s Kalashnikov assault rifles. Brayan had a bullet lodged in his head, according to testimonies as well as medical and autopsy records. He died after three days in a coma. All but one of the 18 civilians who were fatally injured in Juliaca on Jan. 9 died from shots to the upper body — four to the head. Forensic experts found 7.62-millimeter bullets in four of the bodies, including the younger Mr. Mamani. Another eight victims also had wounds consistent with police and military assault rifles. At least three victims, including Mr. López, died from lethal ammunition matching the shotguns carried by security forces at the airport. According to the national police, one officer died and one was injured in the early morning hours of Jan. 10 in Juliaca, when they were attacked by an angry mob and their patrol car set on fire. Another six officers injured during the protests on Jan. 9 were flown to a hospital in Lima. In a televised speech two weeks later, Ms. Boluarte said, “It’s not the police who are shooting,” and that the majority of deaths in Juliaca resulted from homemade or illegal weapons. “Lethal weapons that the police don’t use,” she said. The government has not provided any evidence to support the claim. Macusani: Shooting from a distance On Jan. 18, two more protesters, Sonia Aguilar Quispe and Salomón Valenzuela Chua, were shot and killed, as hundreds rallied in Macusani in southern Peru. The shots that killed them appear to have been fired by the national police, according to visual evidence, audio analysis and witness accounts collected by The Times. In the afternoon, after a peaceful march through Macusani, footage shows scores of people scattered along a dirt road that runs above the city’s national police station. Some protesters are hurling rocks, improvised explosives and insults at the officers who are in and just outside the building about 100 yards away. The police fire tear gas, and gunfire is heard sporadically. PLEASE SEE LINK FOR VIDEO: The police fired tear gas at a group of protesters on a hillside above the national police station in Macusani, where two victims were later fatally shot. In a video that appears to be filmed by the police from inside the station, an officer fires at protesters on the hill with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. An hourlong livestream from outside the station repeatedly captures shots being fired from the entrance of the building. Officers are also shooting from the station’s roof. PLEASE SEE LINK FOR VIDEO: Footage shows officers firing from the police station's courtyward and entrance at protesters hundreds of feed away. Around 5:50 p.m., there’s a flurry of six shots in quick succession and commotion on the hill. Ms. Aguilar has been shot in the head. According to witness accounts, she was standing in the crowd when the bullet hit her. Ms. Aguilar, a 35-year-old single mother of two young children, arrived at the hospital already dead, her skull fractured from the bullet, according to autopsy records. The sound of the gunshots — one of which is believed to have killed Ms. Aguilar — was captured on two video livestreams: one filmed near the police station, the other at the protest atop the hill, less than 150 feet away from Ms. Aguilar. The Times asked two experts to analyze the audio. Robert C. Maher, a gunfire acoustics expert at Montana State University in Bozeman, said the sound of the shots was consistent with rifle fire aimed in the general direction of protesters. Steven Beck, a former acoustics consultant for the F.B.I., said the distance of the shooter matched the location of the police station. PLEASE SEE LINK FOR VIDEO: Around 5:50p.m., two recordings captured the sound of six gunshots--one of which is believed to have killed Ms. Aguilar. Mr. Valenzuela, a 30-year-old truck driver, heavy machinery operator and father of four, is nearby when Ms. Aguilar is killed. About half an hour later, he is shot in the chest, just steps away, and dies the next day, according to his autopsy records. That night, a mob set Macusani’s national police station on fire. According to local news reports, officers were rescued by helicopter. No one was reported injured. Government accountability All told, the 48 victims in Peru ranged in age from 15 to 62. The deaths we analyzed include Ms. Aguilar Quispe, a woman who studied abroad and returned home to take care of her parents; Mr. Aguilar Yucra, a young father who worked in a soda shop; and Brayan, a high school student who talked of becoming a police officer. Some family members The Times spoke to expressed fear of retaliation from the authorities and said that victims had been branded as terrorists in the local media. “My son had a future ahead of him,” said Asunta Jumpiri Olbea, the mother of Brayan, who had just turned 15. “My son was not a terrorist. They are terrorists and they are killing us like animals.” Peru’s Public Ministry is conducting an investigation into Ms. Boluarte for possible crimes of “genocide, homicide and serious injuries” related to the protests, while also seeking to determine responsibility for each gun death. At the same time, the ministry announced in an internal document on Feb. 27 that it will no longer provide investigative services, including the use of forensics and ballistics experts — services that can be crucial for human rights investigations — unless specifically called for by the country’s top prosecutors. To date, no military or police personnel have been charged or detained in connection with deaths at the protests. John Ismay contributed reporting from Washington. Julie Turkewitz contributed reporting from Bogotá, Colombia. Mitra Taj contributed reporting from Lima. Haley Willis contributed reporting from New York. Brent McDonald is a senior video journalist, based in Washington. He produces short documentaries, video news stories and visual investigations. @DocuBrent Ainara Tiefenthäler is a video journalist with the Visual Investigations team. She was among the recipients of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting for The Times's coverage of the vast civilian toll of U.S.-led airstrikes. @tiefenthaeler By Brent McDonald and Ainara Tiefenthäler Graphics by James Surdam March 16, 202311 MIN READ Leer en español

Deepfake ‘news’ videos ramp up misinformation in Venezuela UK tech company developed software used in fake news videos promoted by authoritarian government. As Venezuela prepared for carnival season last month, an English-language video was published on the “House of News” YouTube channel. Its presenter Noah lauded an alleged tourism boom as millions of citizens flocked to the country’s Caribbean islands to party. The report, which was widely circulated in media supportive of President Nicolás Maduro’s socialist government, suggested claims about widespread impoverishment in oil-rich Venezuela had been “exaggerated”. Another report claimed that the anti-Maduro interim government had been implicated in the alleged mismanagement of $152mn of funds before its recent dissolution, with Emma, the presenter, concluding that “Venezuelans do not actually feel there is any opposition to the government”. But the two stories were fake, and the two newsreaders do not exist. They are avatars, based on real actors, that were generated using technology from Synthesia, an artificial intelligence company based in London. Their American accents were synthesised, their talking visages generated by machine-learning algorithms. Last week, YouTube suspended five accounts, including House of News, that had shared government-aligned misinformation. But the emergence of deepfakes and AI-generated media represents a new frontier in Venezuela’s campaign of propaganda and misinformation, raising concerns about the potential influence on a population that has scant access to trustworthy news because of widespread censorship both on and offline. “In Venezuela, there is a desert of information where disinformation can thrive,” said Adrián González, director of Cazadores de Fake News, a misinformation monitor based in Caracas. “And now the technology is there to make convincing fake news videos.” González said the network of outlets in Venezuela distributing propaganda was vast, ranging from official media, independent but allied media and purveyors of fake news. On social media, posters have used automation tools to boost government talking points, helping posts reach the largest audiences. Over the past year, generative AI technologies — software that can create images, videos and text based on user prompts and descriptions — have grown in popularity. Products such as Dall-E and ChatGPT are being widely adopted by users ranging from schoolchildren to elite computer programmers. But there have also been concerns about the software’s potential to generate misinformation. Documented examples of exchanges with generative AI agents such as chatbots show how they spew false information, known as “hallucinations”, display bias and spout conspiracy theories. Synthesia’s technology, based on a type of AI technique known as deep learning, generates videos featuring avatars. These avatars speak from a user-generated script, in a variety of languages, and the videos can be created within 10 minutes. It says it produces about 10,000 videos a month and its clients range from advertising company WPP to the UK’s NHS, which uses it to create health information videos in different languages. The start-up has raised $66mn from Silicon Valley investors including Kleiner Perkins and GV, formerly Google Ventures. Synthesia said the Venezuelan client had been banned from using its service as soon as the video was discovered on Twitter by one of the company’s employees. “We have strict guidelines for which type of content we allow to be created on our platform. We enforce our terms of service and ban users who breach them,” it said. Synthesia added that it had implemented new restrictions on the use of its technology, including the banning of all news report-style content, a digital watermark that would mark the videos as AI-generated and a more stringent review process for each video. Synthesia has faced other instances of misuse. In January, political disinformation videos generated by the company were found circulating in Mali, and last month US-based information analysts Graphika discovered a pro-China operation promoting Synthesia-produced videos. According to its ethics guidelines, Synthesia said it would only release its product to “trusted clients” after an “explicit internal screening process”. When asked why these policies had failed in the Venezuelan case, the company said it had strengthened its regulations so its small content moderation team could see if a user’s requests had previously been rejected, to help flag potential misusers and reoffenders. Reliable information is a scarce resource in Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves but is saddled with inflation at an annual rate of 350 per cent this year, according to local researchers Ecoanalítica. Basic foods and medicines are often scarce or prohibitively expensive. Strict sanctions imposed by the US in 2019 have limited the government's room for manoeuvre despite the relaxation of controls. More then 7mm Venezuelans have fled the country since 2015. The economy is showing signs of modest improvement but Maduro's government has becomes more authoritarian during a decade in power, clamping down on dissent while o-opting or shutting down traditional news media. Leading newspaper El Nactional stopped its prints edition in 2018. Last year, state-controlled and private internet service provides blocked access to independent news service providers blocked access to independent news sites. Armies of uses in Twitter and other platforms help to promote Maduro's agenda. ProBox, a civil society organization which tracks misinformation on social media in Venezuela, has documented cases of the government rewarding people who promote regime talking points through a social credit system know in as the "homeland card". Common topics promoted include the economic recovery, improved living conditions and the fractured opposition' shortcomings. Government accounts share the propaganda, which curates freely on social media. House of News videos received hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. State broadcasters also aired them. The content should be persuasive, said ProBox head Maria Virginia Marin. "When you have a so-called reporter speaking in English in what looks like international media and selling you a reality that you don't see, it raises the question that perhaps it does exist and you're just outside of it," she said. The videos were partly targeted at an international audience, Marin added. "The goal is to muddle the international debate on Venezuela, and cover the reality of what is going on here." Joe Daniels in Bogotá and Madhumita Murgia in London 16 HOURS AGO Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2023. All rights reserved.

Leftist President Gabriel Boric has been reluctant to tackle arson in Mapuche communities to avoid alienating his base. This February, fires once again roared through swaths of Chile. The recurring summer blazes have become more widespread with climate change, and this season’s were the most destructive since 2017. Now mostly extinguished, the fires burned 436,000 hectares, according to national forestry service Conaf. Forestry plantations, native forest, farmland, and more than 2,000 homes burned; 26 people and thousands of farm animals died. In some disaffected southern regions that are the traditional heartland of the Indigenous Mapuche, the flames were also fanned by longstanding social and political grievances. According to preliminary internal data from Conaf obtained by Foreign Policy, arson caused two-thirds of the fires in the Biobío region this season. In neighboring La Araucanía region, the arson rate was 57 percent. Some municipalities in those regions were even harder hit, with arson rates of up to 88 percent. The data was derived from the initial reports of firefighters working for Conaf and forestry companies. Conaf told Foreign Policy that its subsequent investigations into a subset of 833 consequential fires this season—16.7 percent of the total—showed an average arson rate of just 26 percent, similar to historical levels but “with greater incidence in some regions.” The agency stressed that 70 percent of the fires it investigated were attributed to negligence and reckless acts. La Araucanía and Biobío rank among the poorest regions of Chile. Subject to decades of well-meaning but misguided government policies, Mapuche communities dot a verdant patchwork of forestry plantations and grain farms. Local towns continue to bear witness to the consequences of Chilean military conquest and European settlement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Take the municipality of Teodoro Schmidt, named for a German engineer whose land surveys helped forge the young Chilean republic. Today, around half of the municipality’s population is Mapuche. On Feb. 17, as blazes were devastating other parts of La Araucanía, back-to-back fires erupted in Teodoro Schmidt. Two Mapuche were severely burned as they tried to escape the flames. Two days earlier, masked armed assailants had torched equipment at a forestry industry site. An armed cell of the Arauco Malleco Coordinator (CAM), an insurgent group that has been waging attacks against forestry companies and landowners for more than 25 years in what it describes as a territorial and anti-capitalist struggle for Mapuche liberation, claimed responsibility for the attacks. “Sabotage to the forestry companies and other capitalist investments!” the group wrote in a statement posted on social media. “Freedom for CAM political prisoners!” The cause of the fires remains under official investigation. “Undoubtedly these people aren’t from our town,” Teodoro Schmidt Mayor Baldomero Santos told Foreign Policy. “We’re working people and we don’t share this way of expressing grievances, because the ones who are affected are those who have the least. We live together peacefully.” Despite the alarms sounded by mayors, governors, forestry companies, farmers, and other residents, officials in Chile’s federal government have repeatedly downplayed the threat of arson. For Chilean President Gabriel Boric, to do otherwise would be to acknowledge his own policy failings and abandon the ideological prism through which he and his urban political supporters interpret—and sometimes justify—the growing violence besetting rural Mapuche areas of Chile. Mapuche grievances against the Chilean state have long centered on outstanding land claims. For radical Mapuche, Chile’s big forestry companies are the ultimate symbol of dispossession. CAM’s narrative in particular is a legacy of the historical intersection between far left and subversive political movements during a tumultuous period of agrarian reform in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Five decades later, the radical Mapuche cause has become the ideological inheritance of Boric’s anti-capitalist urban supporters. Boric, a 37-year-old former student activist, took office in March 2022 promising to pay Chile’s “historical debt” to Indigenous groups. But in the rural southern regions, the urban left’s ideological agenda has proved out of sync with day-to-day concerns of Mapuche and non-Mapuche alike. In regions such as Biobío and La Araucanía, criminal elements cloak themselves in the Indigenous cause to carry out drug trafficking, wood theft, and other illicit acts, according to government and police officials, Mapuche civil society, and business chambers. Intelligence sources told Foreign Policy that 10 armed groups, all claiming a Mapuche mantle, are now active in the southern regions, up from seven two years ago. These groups attack forestry workers and landowners and burn logging trucks, schools, and churches, vying for territory and forcing locals—both Mapuche and non-Mapuche—to flee. La Araucanía Governor Luciano Rivas is among many who describe the violence as terrorism that weaponizes legitimate grievances. In October 2021, center-right then-President Sebastián Piñera decreed a state of emergency in and deployed the military to four provinces of La Araucanía and Biobío to quell unrest. The following month, then-Congressman Boric criticized the move and voted against its renewal—in line with the leftist parties that would help to elect him president weeks later. Shortly after Boric’s March 2022 inauguration, his then-Interior Minister Izkia Siches traveled to a notoriously radical Mapuche community in La Araucanía to initiate talks. As her convoy approached the community, gunfire rang out and it was forced to retreat. Months later, Boric scuttled his campaign promises by sending troops back into the troubled provinces. Many of Boric’s supporters felt betrayed, but his opponents claimed the move didn’t go far enough. Limited military patrols as well as the subsequent capture of a CAM leader and his sons all failed to quell the violence. Then, in September 2022, Chilean voters soundly defeated a proposed constitution that would have given Indigenous groups extensive rights and autonomy. The outcome marked a significant defeat for Boric, who had openly endorsed the draft charter as essential to his progressive platform. Even though Mapuche activists had figured prominently in the convention that drafted the document, La Araucanía was among the Chilean regions with the largest margin of “reject” votes. This contrast laid bare the political disconnect between the urban left and more conservative rural Mapuche whose interests it purports to defend. According to a 2022 poll by the Center for Public Studies (CEP), a think tank in Chile’s capital, Santiago, the top concern of Mapuche in La Araucanía, Biobío, and two neighboring rural regions was crime, followed by pensions and healthcare, consistent with the worries of their non-Mapuche neighbors. Only 4 percent of the Mapuche said they wanted autonomy. And an overwhelming majority identified as both Mapuche and Chilean, rather than one or the other. Only a small, radicalized minority of Mapuche and their urban sympathizers aspire to restore a discrete Indigenous identity. Through this lens, a pluralistic Chilean identity is perceived as a colonial and capitalist artifact that justifies violent resistance. “The Mapuche who take the violent path are forced into it because they remember how their fathers were beaten,” Auka Castro, a university student of the Mapuche language in La Araucanía’s capital Temuco, told Foreign Policy, alluding to repression during Chile’s 1973 to 1990 dictatorship. The cycle of violence and resentment has created a combustible dynamic. As the fires raged in February, Chilean urban planning consultancy Atisba compared data on violent attacks recorded in 2018 to 2022 in four southern regions with satellite images from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System. “The roads that lead to the burned areas are the same ones that were the focus of attacks in the past,” Atisba executive director Iván Poduje told Foreign Policy. The correlation was reinforced by the assertions of local authorities. In Biobío, the Santa Ana fire burned 74,000 hectares, the second largest in Chile’s history. The blaze killed 19 people and threatened the city of Concepción and a coal power plant in nearby Coronel. Coronel Mayor Boris Chamorro, a Boric ally, blamed arson. Biobío Governor Rodrigo Díaz concurred. The Boric administration, however, played down the threat of arson. Questioned by reporters over the extent to which arson was responsible for damage, Interior Minister Carolina Tohá said the debate was “not helpful in confronting the emergency.” Housing Minister Carlos Montes went so far as to blame rabbits for spreading flames by supposedly catching fire and hopping away. Behind the scenes, though, La Moneda Palace was clearly worried. As the fires spread, the administration invited former senior officials from the Piñera government, long maligned by Boric, to share their crisis-management experience. The administration then imposed nighttime curfews, restricted bulk fuel sales, and expanded military patrols in some affected regions. Boric himself had just flown out of Santiago for vacation in early February when the first fires erupted in Ñuble region, north of Biobío. On Feb. 10, he visited the affected town of Quillón, where he vowed swift reconstruction and new forestry regulations. Agriculture Minister Esteban Valenzuela then touted a planned levy to channel forestry revenue to local communities. But Tohá—a moderate who had replaced Siches after the constitutional blow last year—quickly shut down the idea, saying it was not part of the government’s proposed tax reforms and that forestry does not qualify for a royalty because it is not a state-owned, nonrenewable natural resource. The contradictory declarations exposed internal tensions between the left and center-left coalitions that support Boric, and critics were quick to decry the administration as incoherent and ill-prepared. Fire-fighting planes were not retrofitted and pre-deployed to fire-prone regions, either, center-left congressman and former La Araucanía superintendent Andrés Jouannet told Foreign Policy. Chilean diplomat Alfredo Moreno, who oversaw Indigenous affairs under Piñera, bemoaned the firing of experienced crisis managers after Boric took office. Congressman Diego Schalper of the center-right opposition National Renewal party, meanwhile, has demanded investigations into possible “concerted action of certain extremist groups with vengeful and/or political motives.” Natalia Caniguan, a social anthropologist and Indigenous researcher who is half Mapuche, told Foreign Policy that such investigations “could further criminalize Indigenous grievances.” At the end of February, police said 50 people had been detained in connection with the southern fires, without detailing whether the arrests were for negligence, recklessness, or arson. Regardless, the arrests were widely seen as disproportionate to the scale of the damage—reinforcing a public perception that proponents of the radical Mapuche cause continue to enjoy impunity under Boric. That could change if police expand a crackdown on wood theft, which may have helped to trigger a wave of retaliatory attacks in March. Another church and a school were burned, and even firefighters were attacked. As communities start to rebuild, the arson ordeal is lending new urgency to a government plan for Indigenous dialogue. A main theme will be historical land claims. “We need to find practical solutions so the Mapuche can make their own decisions,” Moreno told Foreign Policy. “But it is also essential to have security in places where the state has withdrawn and organized crime has moved in.” In the south, cooler autumn temperatures are helping to douse the remaining fires, while in Santiago, Chileans are taking another stab at rewriting their dictatorship-era constitution. If voters approve the new charter in a December referendum, Indigenous groups will finally gain constitutional recognition. The measure’s success may depend on whether Boric and his supporters can resist stoking the ideological embers of divisive narratives in the meantime. Patricia Garip is a freelance journalist based in Chile. Twitter: @GaripChile MARCH 15, 2023, 2:29 PM

People hold signs reading “Stop this war criminal” and “Stop Putin’s genocide against the people of Ukraine” during a demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Vienna on March 5, 2022. ALEX HALADA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Putin Wanted by ICC Over Alleged War Crimes Foreign Policy MARCH 17, 2023 By Amy Mackinnon, Christina Lu and Jack Detsch The court has issued arrest warrants for the Russian president and another senior official over the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over allegations that Ukrainian children have been deported from occupied territories to Russia, which could constitute a potential war crime. The existence of the warrants was made public in the interest of justice and in a bid to deter future crimes, ICC President Piotr Hofmanski said in an announcement on Friday, but the details of the allegations remain under seal to protect the victims. Although individual Russian soldiers have been found guilty of war crimes in Ukrainian courts, the warrants represent the first international charges to be brought against senior Russian officials since its invasion of Ukraine last February. At least 6,000 Ukrainian children are thought to have been held in a vast system of camps and other facilities in Russian-occupied Crimea and within Russia itself, according to a report released last month by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health. Some have been singled out for reeducation to make them more pro-Russian, according to the report, while others have been put up for adoption or placed with foster families in Russia—in a move that the researchers concluded could constitute a potential war crime under the Geneva Conventions. [Genocide Watch note: Forcible transfer of children is also an act of genocide under Article 2(e) of the Genocide Convention.] Lvova-Belova, Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, claimed to have adopted a teenage boy from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol. “This is a strong signal to the whole world, not just a political statement but a legal statement, that Putin is a suspected war criminal and whoever decides to deal with him will know about this fact,” said Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Kyiv-based Center for Civil Liberties, which won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. Russia does not recognize the authority of the international court. On Friday, Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, condemned the announcement as “outrageous” and “unacceptable.” The warrants are likely to compound the Russian leader’s international isolation and could complicate his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is set to travel to Moscow next week. “If they give him lethal weapons, which they were hinting at doing, then they’re aiding and abetting a war criminal,” said Harold Koh, an international law professor at Yale University. “Anything that de-legitimates him isolates him. Anything that isolates him weakens him. Anything that weakens him hurts his bargaining power,” added Koh, who served as the U.S. State Department’s top legal advisor during the Obama administration. U.S. officials have previously described the scale of atrocities carried out by Russian troops in Ukraine as a “Nuremberg moment” for the international community as the Ukrainian government has worked closely with its Western partners and international institutions to document and collect evidence of war crimes, which Ukrainian prosecutors believe already number in the tens of thousands. Ukraine is not a party to the ICC but has given the court jurisdiction in its territory to carry out investigations into potential Russian war crimes carried out over the course of the yearlong war. It’s unclear why the ICC sought to pursue charges of Russia’s alleged transfer of Ukrainian children first, but legal scholars underscored that international law offers more extensive protections to children. “We’re looking at multiple violations, not just of the law of war but also of associated international human rights law,” said Diane Desierto, an international human rights law professor at the University of Notre Dame, who noted that one of the oldest war crimes is the illegal or forced deportation of civilian populations. Koh added that it was more difficult for Putin to explain away his administration’s mass transfer of Ukrainian children to Russian territory. “It’s a very distinctive and completely heinous activity,” he said. Although Putin can attempt to rationalize the war, “stealing children is something that’s uniquely despicable and for which there appears to be no innocent explanation.” Further charges against Putin or other senior Russian officials may still be forthcoming, said Kelebogile Zvobgo, an assistant professor of government at the College of William and Mary. “Just because this is the first does not mean it will be the last,” she said. The ICC has previously ruled that senior officials and heads of state are not afforded immunity from prosecution while in office if charged with war crimes or crimes against humanity. But significant hurdles remain before Putin or Lvova-Belova are likely to see the inside of a courtroom as the ICC relies on national governments to enforce its arrest warrants and other edicts. (It does not have a police force of its own.) For that to happen, Putin or Lvova-Belova would have to travel to one of the 123 countries that are party to the Rome Statute, which established the court, or a country that has accepted the court’s jurisdiction. “There’s a big question mark there in terms of international cooperation, in terms of what country would be willing and able to do that,” Zvobgo said. Senior Western diplomats say accountability for Russian crimes goes beyond the ICC. “This International Criminal Court issue is just the start in the process of accountability and holding Russia and its leader to account,” Josep Borrell, the European Union’s top foreign-policy envoy, said in a press conference during a visit to North Macedonia on Friday. One immediate ramification of Friday’s announcement is that the Russian leader may seek to limit his travel to countries that are not parties to the Rome Statute, Zvobgo said. Putin is not the first head of state to be subject to an arrest warrant by the court. Both Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi were subject to arrest warrants over alleged crimes against humanity while in office. In 2014, then-Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta became the first head of state to appear before the court over his alleged involvement in post-election violence in the country, but the case collapsed later that year. Beyond the practical ramifications of an ICC arrest warrant, Friday’s announcement serves as a powerful international recognition of atrocities carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine. War crimes tribunals have historically served an important role in delivering justice and accountability but only after a conflict is over. Speaking to Foreign Policy at the Munich Security Conference last month, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas underscored the important role played by the Nuremberg trials in exposing crimes committed by Nazi Germany. “There was never a Moscow tribunal for the crimes they had committed in countries like mine or Poland or Ukraine,” Kallas said. “In order to cut that cycle, there has to be accountability and wider knowledge also for the Russian nation [about] what they have done,” she added. Additional reporting was conducted by FP’s Robbie Gramer. Amy Mackinnon is a national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @ak_mack Christina Lu is a reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @christinafei Jack Detsch is a Pentagon and national security reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @JackDetsch Copyright 2023 Foreign Policy

SC/15230 16 MARCH 2023 Security Council Extends Mandate of Special Political Mission in Afghanistan, Requests Independent Assessment of In-Country Efforts, Adopting Two Texts The Security Council today adopted two resolutions concerning Afghanistan, both unanimously, one of which extended the mandate of the United Nations special political mission for one year, while the other requested an independent assessment of — and recommendations for — efforts to address that country’s challenges. By the terms of resolution 2679 (2023) (to be issued as document S/RES/2679(2023)), the 15-member Council requested the Secretary-General to conduct and provide, no later than 17 November, an integrated, independent assessment, after consultations with all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders, including relevant authorities, Afghan women and civil society, as well as the region and the wider international community. By its other terms, the Council requested that the independent assessment provide forward-looking recommendations for an integrated and coherent approach among relevant political, humanitarian, and development actors, within and outside of the United Nations system, in order to address the current challenges faced by Afghanistan, including those relating to the humanitarian situation, human right —especially the rights of women and girls — religious and ethnic minorities, security and terrorism. The Council also adopted resolution 2678 (2023) (to be issued as document S/RES/2678(2023)), by whose terms members decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) until 17 March 2024. The text stressed the critical importance of the Mission’s continued presence and called upon all relevant Afghan political actors and stakeholders, including relevant authorities and international actors, to coordinate with UNAMA in the implementation of its mandate and to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of United Nations and associated personnel throughout the country. Both texts, which were co-sponsored by the delegations of Japan and the United Arab Emirates, were welcomed by many Council members, who hailed them as strong and unified signals of the organ’s commitment to the people of Afghanistan. Several delegates also expressed concern about the deteriorating human rights situation in that country, especially for women. Ishikane Kimihiro (Japan), who spoke before adoptions, outlined the contents of both draft resolutions. He noted that, while the first text renews UNAMA’s mandate so it can continue its important work, the second calls for an independent assessment that will provide forward-looking recommendations on how relevant actors can address challenges more coherently. Speaking after votes, Lana Zaki Nusseibeh (United Arab Emirates) said the resolution requesting the independent assessment recognizes that the challenges facing Afghanistan — including a severe deterioration in the rights of women and girls, rising humanitarian needs, security threats and an unsustainable economic situation — demand a departure from business as usual. Adding that the status quo that contributed to the worst women’s rights crisis in the world will continue unless the international community acts, she stressed: “The work truly begins now.” Also addressing the Council was Naseer Ahmad Faiq (Afghanistan) who underscored that the resolutions adopted today recognize the grave situation affecting his people. The mandate extension for UNAMA comes at a critical time, he said, noting the many promises broken by the Taliban. Thanking the Mission for its indefatigable efforts, he noted that, even despite adverse circumstances, “they stayed and delivered essential services”. On the comprehensive assessment resolution, he described the text as an important development that reflects a new degree of unity and consensus in the Council. The most effective way to stabilize Afghanistan is by paving the way for legitimate and inclusive governance that can deliver on the needs of its people, he stressed, calling on the United Nations to prioritize political dialogue. Robert A. Wood (United States) said the one-year extension of UNAMA’s mandate will enable the United Nations to foster the human rights of all Afghans, especially women and girls. The Mission will also continue to address the widespread humanitarian emergency, tackle the ongoing economic crisis and facilitate dialogue between relevant stakeholders. Further, the Council’s action directly supports the empowerment of women and girls, along with their human rights, fundamental freedoms and full, equal and meaningful participation in all stages of decision-making, he said. Vanessa Frazier (Malta) stressed that the experts appointed to conduct the independent assessment must have gender expertise and context-specific knowledge. Women’s rights are central to that assessment, she said, underscoring the need to engage with other relevant actors including the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) to ensure that a gender perspective is integrated into the assessment. Many delegates spotlighted the decisions and actions of the Taliban, which they said have only compounded the crisis in Afghanistan. Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom) noted that the recent decree barring Afghan women from working at non-governmental organizations has affected humanitarian efforts at a time when they are most needed. “We will work to hold the Taliban to account on its commitments,” she stressed. Nathalie Estival Broadhurst (France), also expressed concern about the massive human rights violations and the “freedom-killing measures” of the Taliban, calling on the group to respect the commitments it previously made to the international community. Pascale Christine Baeriswyl (Switzerland) observed that the situation in Afghanistan is dire because the Taliban is hindering the international community’s work. Highlighting the exclusion of women and girls from public life due to the Taliban’s repressive acts, she agreed with the representative of the United Arab Emirates that “work is just beginning” there. Striking a similar tone, Monica Soledad Sanchez Izquierdo (Ecuador) welcomed the balanced texts adopted today, which respond to the Taliban’s severe human rights violations. She said her delegation voted in favour of both draft resolutions, cognizant of the need to reverse policies that institutionalize discrimination against women. Anna M. Evstigneeva (Russian Federation) said the Council’s unanimous support is a signal to the people of Afghanistan of the entire international community’s commitment to assisting their long-suffering country. It is crucial to maintain the pragmatic cooperation of UNAMA with the de facto authorities, she said, adding that Afghanistan should not be isolated. Any attempts to politicize humanitarian assistance is immoral and unacceptable, she stressed, noting that the independent assessment must be based on consultations with the country’s authorities. Further, she added, its report should be balanced and must reflect real challenges, including the freezing of Afghan assets and the impact of unilateral sanctions. She also expressed appreciation for the efforts of Japan and the United Arab Emirates in finding compromise solutions. Sun Zhiqiang (China) also welcomed the work of the United Arab Emirates in building consensus for today’s resolutions. He stressed that mutual respect and dialogue, rather than pressure and sanctions, are necessary to find a true solution to the many crises Afghanistan is facing. The international community’s priorities should be relieving the humanitarian crisis, promoting socioeconomic development and supporting engagement with the Afghan authorities, he said, adding that unilateral sanctions that exacerbate the humanitarian crisis should be given close attention.

The Rohingya fled genocide. Now, violence stalks them as refugees. The Washington Post March 7, 2023 By Rebecca Tan Mohammad Ismail, 24, lost a forearm and lower leg in an abduction and attack in September. One member of his family had already been killed. By the end of the year, three others would be dead. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh — Just after 2:30 a.m. on a humid night, Mohammad Ismail was walking his wife to the latrine when he felt a gun pointed at his head. The men had been saying for weeks they were coming, he later recalled. Now, dozens were swarming around him, smashing their feet into his back. “You,” the men said, stuffing his mouth with cloth, “have been making life hard for us.” Six years after the Myanmar military conducted a genocidal campaign against its Rohingya Muslim minority, a wave of violence is sweeping through the camps in southeast Bangladesh where nearly a million Rohingya have sought refuge. Rohingya militant groups that once targeted the Myanmar military have turned against each other, their disagreements escalating into brutality amid the camp’s isolation and desperation. Abductions and armed robberies have surged. Radical groups have proliferated, imposing a reign of terror after dark. In the warren-like encampment, where families are crowded into thin, tarpaulin shelters jammed along narrow alleyways, every shriek and every gunshot has rippled through the community. Worst of all, refugees say, have been the targeted killings of community leaders and those branded, like Ismail was, as Bangladeshi government informants. At least 40 refugees were murdered in 2022, authorities say, though many in the camps say the actual number is far higher. Workers at a local morgue said that at times they have received multiple bodies in a single night, many of them mutilated and caked in mud. As the victims — often young, educated men — have been buried one after another, international and Bangladeshi agencies have failed to stem the violence, according to interviews with dozens of refugees, documents and photographic evidence of killings. Warnings of imminent attacks have been ignored. Appeals for relocation have gone unheard. The Rohingya, already one of the most persecuted populations in the world, have been left by the agencies charged with protecting them to face violence by themselves — yet again. Part of the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) The national flag of Bangladesh flies above the Armed Police Battalion shelter inside the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is the leading aid agency at the camps. But ensuring their security is not within UNHCR’s mandate, said country director Johannes van der Klaauw. “Ultimately, that is their responsibility,” he said, referring to the Bangladeshi government. Shahriar Alam, second-in-command at Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, scoffed at the idea that his country needs to be doing more. Bangladesh’s Armed Police Battalion (APBn) is the agency responsible for ensuring the security of the Rohingya camps, and its commanders say they’ve now gotten the violence under control. But higher-ranking officials acknowledged in interviews that security forces are still overwhelmed. Militant groups are smuggling in weapons from Myanmar, which has fallen into civil war. Barred from seeking a future in Bangladesh and unable to return to Myanmar, more Rohingya are being pushed toward radicalization. “The situation,” Alam admitted, “is worsening by the minute.” The futile search by Ismail and his family for protection exposes what happens when the world looks away from a humanitarian crisis of this severity. By the time Ismail was abducted in September, one member of his family had already been killed. By the end of the year, three others would be dead. That night, Ismail said, people watched through gaps in their bamboo and tarpaulin shelters as attackers dragged him to the bottom of a denuded hill. Some knew him — a soft-spoken, bespectacled 24-year-old who dreamed of becoming a teacher. Many knew the men. None would exit their shelters. Before they blindfolded him, Ismail saw the attackers pass forward knives, machetes and pipes. In seconds, both his kneecaps would be shattered. He strained his throat to beg, he said, but his words came out muffled. “Please,” he told them, weeping, “I didn’t do anything.” A police jeep at the Kutupalong refugee camp. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) A new threat emerges Ismail had felt fear like this before. He was 18 when soldiers burned his village in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state, forcing him and the rest of his family to flee west. They trekked for seven days in monsoon rains, he said, eventually crossing the Naf River into Bangladesh. After the exodus, several Rohingya insurgent groups that warred with Myanmar security forces in Rakhine set up bases in the refugee camps. Ismail had heard about the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) and the Rohingya Solidarity Organization (RSO) — how they’d sometimes turned their guns against their own, forcing Rohingya men to fight or die. Ismail didn’t believe in their methods, he said, but didn’t see them as a threat. He settled into life as a refugee, got married and found a job with a U.N. agency that paid a small stipend. Then in February 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power in a coup, crushing for many Rohingya the hope of ever returning to Rakhine. Despair, then anger, boiled over in the camps, culminating in the killing of Mohib Ullah, a prominent Rohingya activist. His family said ARSA had assassinated him for becoming too influential. An ARSA spokesman denied it. As militant groups began hunting other community leaders, called Majhis, one of Ismail’s cousins was tagged as a government informant. Mohammad Hossain, in a blue shirt third from left, in a family photo. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) Mohammad Hossain, 27, had a job reporting to Bangladeshi bureaucrats which shelters needed to be repaired, including those that had been damaged by miscreants overnight. In October 2021, he filed a police complaint, a copy of which was shared with The Washington Post, saying a criminal group had tried to kidnap him. In subsequent letters, he listed the names of those who had been intimidating him and pleaded for authorities to intervene. “I cannot communicate with my family or live in my shelter,” he wrote, “because the accused might suddenly attack.” Bangladeshi officials stamped his letters “received.” Six months later, Hossain’s bloodied body was found in a dirt field where children play soccer. He’d been stabbed to death, eyewitnesses told Ismail, in broad daylight. Rohingya refugees often choose not to participate in investigations into violent crime, police say. But when Hossain died, Ismail said he did everything he could to cooperate. He shared Hossain’s notes with law enforcement; he wrote letters in English and in Bengali to UNHCR; he circulated photos of Hossain’s body, trying, he said, to keep the case alive. No justice would come of these efforts. Ismail, however, would be punished for attempting to seek it. A statement Mohammad Hossain submitted to the police states that he was previously abducted twice and still was receiving death threats. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) A homicidal attack The morning call to prayer ended a sickening wait. Ismail’s family had spent hours looking for him when, at daybreak, someone said they’d found a mangled body at the bottom of a hill. Ismail’s father, Kefayet Ullah, 60, ran to the scene. There was a clearing in a field of bushes, Ullah recounted, where Ismail lay screaming. Ayat Ullah, Ismail’s older brother, and his brother-in-law, Mohammad Yasin, waded into the overgrowth to retrieve him. “Homicidal attack,” a member of Doctors Without Borders scribbled onto a patient referral form when Ismail was brought into one of its facilities at 7 a.m. “Near amputation of (L) arm above elbow joint and left leg above the ankle joint (L).” Ismail survived. But he wasn’t meant to, he said. In the weeks before and after his attack, at least a dozen other refugees were hacked to death with machetes like the ones that took off his limbs. The medical and security infrastructure of the camps struggled to cope. Doctors Without Borders, the lead medical provider, said its facilities were designed to treat diseases like scabies and dengue fever, not traumatic injuries. It doesn’t have staff to provide complex orthopedic or surgical care. Before it was assigned by the Bangladeshi government to ensure the security of the Rohingya camps, the APBn had served mainly as a riot police force, tasked with dispersing large crowds. Many of its 2,000 or so personnel in the camps are fresh out of basic training and ill-equipped to combat militant groups, said Syed Harun Or Rashid, battalion commander. Police guard the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) More significantly, Rashid said, the APBn does not have the authority to investigate crimes. Its charter, set by politicians in the capital, Dhaka, allows personnel to make arrests but not to launch formal investigations to root out gang leaders and put them in prison. The APBn sometimes refers cases to the local police district. But that agency was overwhelmed long before the Rohingya arrived. For most of the slayings referred to them last fall, said Police Chief Mahfuzul Islam, the district has yet to process post-mortem results. Even when police submit investigation reports to court, these cases can be tossed out by judges who don’t want to — or who don’t know how to — adjudicate cases in which the parties are stateless refugees. “There’s a capacity issue” in the criminal justice system, said the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Alam. An Armed Police Battalion officer talks on his walkie-talkie at the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) Police accommodations in the Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) But others say it’s not just a question of resources. A recent Human Rights Watch report found that APBn personnel have been extorting refugees and falsifying evidence to detain innocent people. The police agency denied those allegations. After Ismail was discharged from the hospital, Ullah and Yasin, his brother and brother-in-law, brought him again to see authorities, where he emphasized that the people who hurt him would be back. APBn personnel told him not to worry, Ismail said. The agency assigned staff to keep an eye on his family, but it “wasn’t possible” to station someone at their shelter overnight, said Mohammad Saifuzzaman, Rashid’s deputy. So when a mob returned to Ismail’s family’s shelter several weeks later, no security personnel were there. Ismail’s parents hid him under a blanket and sacks of rice. He heard screaming, he said, then gunshots. Yasin, 30, died on the spot. Ullah, 40, was transported to a hospital, where he bled out. APBn personnel arrived more than an hour later, Ismail said. “Yes,” Saifuzzaman said, nodding as he remembered the incident. “It took us much time.” Bangladeshi police officials, from left: Mohammad Saifuzzaman, deputy superintendent of the 14th Armed Police Battalion; Mohammad Amir Jafar, commanding officer of the 8th Armed Police Battalion; and Syed Harun Or Rashid, commanding officer of the 14th Armed Police Battalion, at the APBn office in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) Followed by fear Three months after the killings, Ismail sat in a windowless shelter lit by a dusty bulb. Unplugging his phone, he scrolled through new voice messages from unknown numbers. They always said similar things. “You’re an animal.” “You’re pathetic.” “You better stop talking.” Before Ullah and Yasin were even buried, militants killed another of his cousins, 26-year-old Mohammad Zoshim, Ismail said. He recently moved his immediate family to a new shelter that he hoped would be safer. But he said the men would find him sooner or later. In response to reporters’ questions, UNHCR declined to discuss Ismail’s case, saying only that the agency provides legal support to crime victims and sometimes relocates refugees facing extreme safety risks. UNHCR leaders said Bangladeshi security forces must ensure that their personnel have the training to weed out criminals and stamp out violence. Alam praised the efforts of the security forces, saying APBn personnel have been maimed by the same militants terrorizing the Rohingya. Bangladesh spends $1.2 billion a year on the camps in Cox’s Bazar, and has maintained its commitment even as wealthier nations have slashed their contributions. It is international apathy, not anything else, that’s letting Kutupalong become a cauldron of extremist violence, he said. Kefayet Ullah, 60, Mohammad Ismail's father. He lost his oldest son to the militant groups in the Rohingya refugee camp. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) The crutch Mohammad Ismail uses because of the injuries he suffered at the hands of his attackers at the Kutupalong camp. (Turjoy Chowdhury for The Washington Post) It’s unclear whether the descent into violence will jeopardize the Rohingya’s hopes for a better future. Alam suggested it might. “Why do you think no one wants a boat of Rohingya refugees now?” he asked. When reporters visited the camp earlier this year, residents came up to describe abductions and assaults, their eyes darting as they whispered about who they thought was responsible. Children said they slept with bags of their belongings, scared their families would be next. “Maybe it’s better to have been killed by the military,” one imam said sadly, “than to be killed by your own people.” Ismail felt this acutely. One morning, after sharing his experience with reporters over several days, he weighed again the risks of speaking out. He wanted to be identified, he said quietly, and to have his photo taken. His father looked at the floor. His mother, listening from behind a curtain partition, buckled into tears. Ismail straightened his posture for a photo. As his eyes softened behind his glasses, he looked, for a moment, like the teacher he’d always wanted to become. “I’m not scared anymore,” he said. “Let the world see.” Mohammad Ismail, 24, recently moved his immediate family to a new shelter that he hoped would be safer. But he said the militants would find him sooner or later. Azad Majumder in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, contributed to this report. By Rebecca Tan Rebecca Tan is the Southeast Asia Bureau Chief for the Washington Post. She was previously a reporter on the Local desk, covering government in D.C. and Maryland. She was part of the team that won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in public service for coverage of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Copyright 2023 The Washington Post

Then North Korea leader Kim Jong Il, left, and his son and now leader, Kim Jong Un, attend a military parade marking the 65th anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, in Pyongyang, North Korea, October 10, 2010.© 2010 Kyodo News via AP, File Country Report: North Korea March 2023 Beginning in 2017, President Moon Jae-in of South Korea pursued a new "pathway to peace" on the Korean Peninsula. It resulted in multiple inter-Korean summits over the following four years and two United States-North Korea summits. However, in 2019, then-President of the United States Donald Trump cut short a final, two-day summit with Kim Jong-un, Supreme Leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The US and North Korean leaders failed to reach agreement on sanctions relief and denuclearization programs. In 2020, North Korea closed its borders at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This tightened border control had severe ramifications for the survival of dissidents and defectors, who relied on lax border controls on the Chinese border to escape. China’s own tightened border policy due to COVID-19 also had dire implications for North Korean defectors as China increased repatriations of North Korean escapees. Returnees are often arrested, imprisoned, and murdered by North Korea. Reports by Korean civil society organizations (CSOs) that monitor the DPRK have highlighted the ongoing gross human rights violations in North Korea. A 2022 report on crimes against humanity in North Korean detention centers found that the human rights situation in North Korea has not improved since the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) report of systematic extermination and other crimes against humanity by a Commission of Inquiry in 2014. The 2022 report highlighted an imprisonment system designed to deprive detainees of their right to life. North Korea's racist rhetoric of maintaining racial purity remains its justification for forced abortion of pregnant repatriated defectors and infanticide of children of defector or Chinese parentage. Official state propaganda shows the genocidal intent of the North Korean regime's extermination of Chinese in North Korea. The accommodation by the South Korean government of President Moon Jae-in minimized the severity of human rights abuses under the DPRK. Fewer North Koreans successfully defected from North Korea. South Korea's Ministry for Unification limited CSOs from carrying out interviews with defectors to investigate North Korean human rights abuses and refused to publish its own findings. In 2019, South Korea even repatriated two North Korean fishermen against their will. The voters of South Korea rejected Moon's appeasement policies in the election of March 2022. On 10 May 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol was sworn in as South Korea's new president to succeed Moon Jae-in. Given the DPRK’s ongoing perpetration and denial of its systematic killings, deprivations of the right to survival of dissidents, and other grave human rights abuses, Genocide Watch considers North Korea to be at Stage 9: Extermination and Stage 10: Denial. Genocide Watch recommends that: · The United Nations Human Rights Council should continue to condemn the DPRK in its regular Universal Periodic Reviews, and strongly support the UN Special Rapporteur on North Korea. · UN member states should support the South Korean government's commitment to guaranteeing the protection of the rights of North Korean escapees. · U.N. member states should demand that North Korea submit reports on the measures it has taken to comply with the human rights treaties to which the DPRK is a party. · U.N. members should strongly support South Korean efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the Kim monarchy in the DPRK, to bring about the peaceful overthrow from within of its communist regime.

The cases before the International Criminal Court would accuse Russia of abducting Ukrainian children and of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure. A photograph released by Russian state media showing President Vladimir V. Putin and the commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, last month. Credit: Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik By Marlise Simons Reporting from Paris March 13, 2023 The International Criminal Court intends to open two war crimes cases tied to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and will seek arrest warrants for several people, according to current and former officials with knowledge of the decision who were not authorized to speak publicly. The cases represent the first international charges to be brought forward since the start of the conflict and come after months of work by special investigation teams. They allege that Russia abducted Ukrainian children and teenagers and sent them to Russian re-education camps, and that the Kremlin deliberately targeted civilian infrastructure. The chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, must first present his charges to a panel of pretrial judges who will decide whether the legal standards have been met for issuing arrest warrants, or whether investigators need more evidence. It was not clear whom the court planned to charge in each case. Asked to confirm the requests for arrest warrants, the prosecutor’s office said, “We do not publicly discuss specifics related to ongoing investigations.” Some outside diplomats and experts said it was possible that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could be charged, as the court does not recognize immunity for a head of state in cases involving war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. Still, the likelihood of a trial remains slim, experts say, as the court cannot hear cases in absentia and Russia is unlikely to surrender its own officials. The Kremlin has denied accusations of war crimes, but international and Ukrainian investigators have gathered powerful evidence of an array of atrocities since the invasion’s early days. The International Criminal Court prosecutor, Karim Khan, right, and Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Andriy Kostin, near Kyiv last month. Credit: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters The first case, the briefed officials said, deals with the widely reported abduction of Ukrainian children, ranging from toddlers to teenagers. As part of a Kremlin-sponsored program, they were taken from Ukraine and placed in homes to become Russian citizens or sent to summer camps to be re-educated, The New York Times and researchers have found. Some came from orphanages or group homes. Moscow has made no secret of its program, presenting it as a humanitarian mission to protect orphaned or abandoned Ukrainian children from the war. Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, the program’s public face, began sending children to Russia within weeks after the invasion began in February 2022 and has regularly appeared on television to promote adoptions. Mr. Putin signed a decree last May to speed up access to Russian citizenship for Ukrainians. Mr. Khan, the prosecutor, has publicly signaled his intentions to pursue this case, saying that illegal transfers of children to Russia or to occupied parts of Ukraine were a priority for his investigators. Earlier this month, he visited a children’s home in southern Ukraine, now vacated, and his office posted a photograph of him standing among empty cots. “Children cannot be treated as the spoils of war,” he said in a statement following his visit. A report published in February by Yale University and the Conflict Observatory program of the U.S. State Department said that at least 6,000 children from Ukraine were being held in a total of 43 camps in Russia, with the actual number thought to be higher. The National Information Bureau of the Ukrainian government said that as of early March it could be more than 16,000. A large residential building in Dnipro, Ukraine, after it was hit by a missile in January. Credit: Nicole Tung for The New York Times “There has been a lot of focus on this issue, and pursuing it as a crime will generate a lot of reaction,” said Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association. “It’s forbidden to forcibly transfer civilians across a border, and during a conflict it can be a war crime. It can also amount to crimes against humanity.” He added, “Deporting children could even be part of genocidal intent.” In the second case, the I.C.C. chief prosecutor is expected to address Russia’s unrelenting attacks on civilian infrastructure, including water supplies and gas and power plants, which are far from the fighting and are not considered legitimate military targets. The U.S. government has evidence shedding light on Kremlin decisions to deliberately target vital civilian infrastructure, and many in the Biden administration are said to favor sharing it with the court, although it is not a member. But the Defense Department is blocking the intelligence from being shared because it fears setting a precedent that could open the way for prosecuting Americans. President Biden has yet to decide whether to approve the release of the material, according to officials. Russian forces have repeatedly knocked out power in Ukraine. A blackout in Mykolaiv in December. Credit: David Guttenfelder for The New York Times Arrest warrants for suspects in either of the two cases are not expected imminently. In the past, the judges at the international court have taken several months to review charges before issuing arrest warrants or summons to appear. But the devastation taking place in Ukraine has put the court under pressure to act swiftly. More than 40 countries who are parties to the court have requested its intervention. Ukraine itself is not a formal member, but it has granted the court jurisdiction over its territory. Ukraine’s government is now holding its own war-crimes trials, and a host of other international bodies are also investigating. But looming over the investigations is the question of whether any cases against Russia will ever reach a courtroom. In recent weeks, a group of governments and international organizations have stepped up talks on the need to create a separate international court with the power to prosecute Russia for the crime of aggression, over which the I.C.C. has no jurisdiction. The court can hold individuals, even leaders, accountable for only war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in this case. But advocates of a new court argue that aggression is the paramount crime from which all others flow. It is effective because it addresses most directly the political or military leaders who decide to wage war. Still, Western governments believe that the I.C.C. does have a role and should proceed. The issuance of any arrest warrant, even if not carried out, is symbolically important because it can make someone a pariah as these charges do not go away, legal experts say. © 2023 The New York Times Company

BY ALEX HINTON, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 02/19/23 7:00 AM ET Tatiana Alexeyevna mourns over the coffin of her son, Col. Oleksiy Telizhenko, during his funeral in Bucha, near Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 18, 2022. In March, Oleksiy was abducted by Russian soldiers from his home in Bucha and six months later, his body was found with signals of torture buried in a forest not far from his village. As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion draws near, the reality of Russia’s genocide in Ukraine becomes clear. A long-time scholar of genocide, I immediately recognized that Russia was committing war crimes and soon saw warning signs of genocide. But I was hesitant to call Russia’s mass violence “genocide” without more information. Sufficient evidence is now in hand. Why has there been so much debate about this point? Politics and different understandings of genocide provide the answer. Naming genocide is political. It can sully a foe, summon outrage, and legitimate action. Indeed, a year ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin tried to justify his invasion by making the baseless claim that Ukraine was committing genocide in the Donbas. This “accusation in a mirror” was quickly called out. On March 9, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that the “genocide of Ukrainians is happening.” Others soon followed suit, especially after the early April discovery of a Russian massacre in Bucha. On April 12, President Biden declared that Russia was committing genocide. Lawmakers from other countries supporting Ukraine soon did the same. These political claims often play upon colloquial understandings, or the idea that genocide involves the mass killing of a group. The Holocaust looms in the backdrop of such understandings, with its iconic images of perpetrators, victims and large-scale killing. Thus, Zelensky made his March 9 claim in reference to Russia’s bombing of a children’s hospital. Biden, in turn, used the term “genocide” after the discovery of Bucha’s horrors. More broadly, because it is capacious, the colloquial understanding of genocide has been applied to everything from AIDS to abortion. Such colloquial usages rankle legalists, who are hesitant to invoke the term for two reasons. First, the law is slow. It takes years to gather evidence, make arrests, hold trials and render judgments. This process has barely begun in Ukraine. Second, for legalists, a determination of genocide requires proof of intent. This term is a centerpiece of the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention, which defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such.” Besides killing, the Convention specifies four other methods of group destruction: inflicting “serious bodily or mental harm,” creating harsh conditions of life, inhibiting reproduction, and “forcibly transferring children” to another group. If there is widespread agreement that Russia has committed war crimes and, quite likely, crimes against humanity in Ukraine, some politicians and legal scholars remain hesitant to label Russian atrocities “genocide” given the high standard of proof required by the Convention. Even when Biden used the term, U.S. officials clarified that this was his opinion, not the official U.S. position. Scholars who view genocide through a social scientific lens are less hesitant. Although their views vary, social scientists are more concerned with patterns of group destruction than with strict legal criteria — which are contested, have limits, and are intertwined with power. This social scientific perspective aligns with the work of Raphael Lemkin, the Polish jurist credited with coining the word “genocide” in 1944. Although physical destruction was often key, Lemkin pointed out that genocide includes attacks on a group’s cultural, economic, social, religious and political life and the attempt to replace these with “the national pattern of the oppressor.” The Nazis, he argued, sought to do this to multiple groups. Given these different understandings, how is it possible to determine whether Russia has committed genocide? There are grounds to do so based not just on the capacious conventional understanding but also on the legalistic and social scientific understandings. Significant evidence points to Russia’s genocidal intent and incitement. Putin, for example, repeatedly has claimed that Ukraine is really a part of Russia and needs to be “de-Nazified,” a claim his cronies have echoed. Among other legal evidence suggesting genocide, Russia has forcibly deported large numbers of Ukrainian children, a violation of the UN Genocide Convention. It has illegally annexed parts of Ukraine and set out to render them Russian — precisely the sort of imposition of the national pattern of the “oppressor” that Lemkin highlighted. For these reasons, I am convinced Russia has committed genocide. Regardless of one’s position, we must not lose sight of what is most important: bringing an end to the tremendous loss of life and suffering in Ukraine — and ultimately holding Russia accountable for its brutal war of aggression and crimes of atrocity. © 1998 - 2023 NEXSTAR MEDIA INC. | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Nurse anaesthetist Abdelbaset Khalil (2nd L) stands with others on the rubble of his house following a deadly earthquake, near the hospital in the town of Harim, in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province at the border with Turkey, on Feb. 11, 2023. - AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images Genocide Watch is declaring a Genocide Watch due to Turkey's campaign against the Kurds in northern Syria and Iraq, including Turkey's continuing bombing and its blockage of delivery and distribution of humanitarian aid for Kurdish earthquake victims in Turkey and northern Syria. The Red Cross has estimated that 26 million people across Turkey and northern Syria have been impacted by the two earthquakes that struck the region on February 6, 2023. As of March 6, around 50,000 people have been confirmed dead, with another 100,000 seriously injured. Turkey has committed acts of persecution and genocide against the Kurdish community since the 1920s through mass murders, deportations, and denial of Kurdish ethnic identity. Within Turkey, political oppression of the Kurds has restricted the ability of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) to deliver aid in the municipalities it governs. Since the 2019 Turkish elections, dozens of HDP politicians have been removed from office and jailed, with mayors being replaced by "trustees" appointed by President Erdoğan's government. HDP co-leader Pervin Buldan has charged that these "trustees" have obstructed relief to Kurds in regions affected by the earthquake. “Our municipalities were usurped. If this had not happened, these wounds would have healed much faster.” President Tayyip Erdoğan announced a three-month state of emergency across ten Turkish provinces in response to the earthquakes. The state of emergency is due to end just before Turkey's May 14th elections. Such emergency powers have been abused by President Erdoğan in the past as a means to consolidate his political power. Turkey’s last state of emergency in 2016 lasted for two years. States of emergency allow the suspension of fundamental rights under Turkey’s constitution. President Erdoğan’s invasion of Afrin and northern Syria in 2019 left hundreds of civilians dead and over 100,000 displaced. Chemical warfare was inflicted on Kurdish civilians. The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) perpetrated crimes against humanity, including forced displacement, looting, kidnapping, rape of Kurdish women and girls, and unlawful expropriation of property. Testimony gathered by Amnesty International indicates that humanitarian aid has been obstructed and diverted by both President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and the SNA. Rescue workers have been pressured into diverting aid to the SNA and other armed militias. This obstruction has prevented Kurdish-majority districts in Syria from receiving aid sent by Iraqi Kurdistan. International reliance on Turkey to fairly distribute aid to Kurds in northern Syria has been betrayed. Despite Turkey's earthquake, and a generous response by international donors, including rescue workers, medical personnel, and supplies from Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government, Turkey has resumed its ongoing bombing campaign against Iraqi Kurdistan. This obstruction of aid indicates Turkey's continuing Stage 8 Persecution of Kurds in Turkey, northern Syria, and Iraqi Kurdistan. Genocide Watch recommends: European and American assistance to Turkey for earthquake recovery should require that the aid be equally distributed to Kurds in Syria and Turkey. The EU, US, and NATO should demand that Turkey stop its bombing in Iraqi Kurdistan and northern Syria.