International
Sri Lanka Implements Social Media Ban After Anti-Muslim Riots
Published
3 years agoon

- After a Muslim shopkeeper posted something on Facebook that many Christians perceived as a threat, anti-Muslim riots broke out in Sri Lanka.
- According to Reuters, one person died in the riots.
- Sri Lanka has now implemented its third social media ban since the terror attacks on Easter Sunday that killed over 250 people.
Riots Breakout
Sri Lanka has implemented another social media ban after a Facebook post caused anti-Muslim riots to break out on Sunday.
Groups of Christians threw rocks at mosques and local businesses owned by Muslims in Chilaw. According to reports, the violence spread to other areas of the country. These groups broke windows, vandalized property, and burnt copies of the Quran.
Police used tear gas to disperse crowds and regain control of the areas. Reuters reported that a 42-year-old-man died from stab wounds as a result of these outbursts.
The riots started after a Muslim shopkeeper allegedly left a comment on Facebook saying, “Don’t laugh more, 1 day u will cry.” Christians interpreted this as a threat of another attack targeted against them following the attacks on Easter Sunday that killed over 250 people. Several churches, as well as other tourist locations, were targeted in the series of bombings later claimed by ISIS.
Social Media Ban Implemented
After the Easter attacks, Sri Lanka enforced a social media ban that lasted for over a week. The government then imposed a second one on May 5 for one day after anti-muslim riots broke out in Negombo.
Following the violence in Chilaw, a third social media block has now gone into effect.
Dialog Axiata, one of Sri Lanka’s largest mobile networks, confirmed the block in a tweet saying that Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and other sites would be affected.
As per the directive issued by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) Facebook, WhatsApp,Viber, IMO, Snapchat, Instagram & YouTube would be restricted with immediate effect until further notice.
— Dialog Axiata (@dialoglk) May 13, 2019
The Director General of the Department of Government in Sri Lanka gave a statement to Reuters, saying that this block was for the safety of Sri Lanka.
“Social media blocked again as a temporary measure to maintain peace in the country,” he said.
The government also issued an island-wide curfew that lasts from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. Both the curfew and social media ban are temporary, but it is unclear how long each will last.
Spike in Anti-Muslim Violence
Anti-Muslim rhetoric and violence has grown since the attacks on Easter. In many cases, this violence is led and carried out by Christians.
In Sri Lanka, both Christianity and Islam are minority religions. Christians total a little over six percent of the population, while Muslims make up over seven percent. The largest religion in the country is Buddhism.
Last week, mobs broke out in the city of Negombo, where people burned the property of Muslims in the area, and damaged and ransacked their homes. Troops were deployed to stop the violence, and at least two people were arrested
Amnesty International brought attention to this trend, calling on government leaders to hold the right people accountable.
“Authorities must hold perpetrators to account & ensure the safety of vulnerable groups,” they said in a tweet.
A worrying trend of attacks against the Muslim community coming out of #SriLanka following #EasterSundayAttacksLK.
— Amnesty International South Asia (@amnestysasia) May 13, 2019
Authorities must hold perpetrators to account & ensure the safety of vulnerable groups. Historical injustices must not be repeated. #Negombo #Chilaw #Kuliyapitiya
According to a briefing, Presdient Maithripala Sirisena wants to emphasize that “the faith of the people of a whole nation cannot be put at stake due to terrorist acts of few extremists.”
See what others are saying: (Al Jazeera) (Reuters) (New York Times)
International
Leaked Documents and Photos Give Unprecedented Glimpse Inside Xinjiang’s Detention Camps
Published
4 days agoon
May 24, 2022By
Chris Tolve
The so-called vocational schools, which China claims Uyghurs enter willingly as students, oversee their detainees with watchtowers armed with machine guns and sniper rifles, as well as guards instructed to shoot to kill anyone trying to escape.
Detained for Growing a Beard
The BBC and a consortium of investigative journalists have authenticated and published a massive trove of leaked documents and photographs exposing the Chinese government’s persecution of Uyghur Muslims in unprecedented detail.
According to the outlet, an anonymous source hacked several police computer servers in the northwestern Xinjiang province, then sent what has been dubbed the Xinjiang police files to the scholar Dr. Adrian Zenz, who gave them to reporters.
Among the files are more than 5,000 police photographs of Uyghurs taken between January and July 2018, with accompanying data indicating at least 2,884 of them were detained.
Some of the photos show guards standing nearby with batons.
The youngest Uyghur photographed was 15 at the time of their detention, and the oldest was 73.
One document is a list titled “Relatives of the Detained,” which contains thousands of people placed under suspicion for guilt by association with certain family members. It includes a woman whose son authorities claimed had “strong religious leanings” because he didn’t smoke or drink alcohol. He was jailed for ten years on terrorism charges.
The files also include 452 spreadsheets with information on more than a quarter of a million Uyghurs, some of whom were detained retroactively for offenses committed years or even decades ago.
One man was jailed for ten years in 2017 because he “studied Islamic scripture with his grandmother” for a few days in 2010.
Authorities targeted hundreds more for their mobile phone use, like listening to “illegal lectures” or downloading encrypted apps. Others were punished for not using their phones enough, with “phone has run out of credit” listed as evidence they were trying to evade digital surveillance.
One man’s offense was “growing a beard under the influence of religious extremism.”
The Most Militarized Schools in the World
The files include documents outlining conditions inside Xinjiang’s detention camps, or so-called “Vocational Skills Education and Training Centers.”
Armed guards occupy every part of the facilities, with machine guns and sniper rifles stationed on watchtowers. Police protocols instruct guards to shoot to kill any so-called “students” trying to escape if they fail to stop after a warning shot.
Any apprehended escapees are to be taken away for interrogation while camp management focuses on “stabilizing other students’ thoughts and emotions.”
The BBC used the documents to reconstruct one of the camps, which data shows holds over 3,700 detainees guarded by 366 police officers who oversee them during lessons.
If a “student” must be transferred to another facility, the protocols say, police should blindfold them, handcuff them and shackle their feet.
Dr. Zenz published a peer-reviewed paper on the Xinjiang police files, in which he found that more than 12% of Uyghur adults were detained over 2017 and 2018.
“Scholars have argued that political paranoia is a common feature of atrocity crimes,” he wrote. “Here, it is suggested that the pre-emptive internment of large numbers of ordinary citizens can be explained as a devolution into political paranoia that promotes exaggerated threat perceptions.”
See what others are saying: (BBC) (Newsweek) (The Guardian)
International
Biden Vows to Defend Taiwan if Attacked by China
Published
5 days agoon
May 23, 2022By
Chris Tolve
Some praised the remarks for clarifying U.S. foreign policy, while others feared they could escalate tensions with China.
Biden’s Remarks Create Confusion
During a Monday press conference in Tokyo, U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States would intervene to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack.
The remark caught many off guard because it contradicted decades of traditional U.S. foreign policy toward China.
A reporter said, “You didn’t want to get involved in the Ukraine conflict militarily for obvious reasons. Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?”
“Yes,” Biden answered. “That’s a commitment we made. We are not — look, here’s the situation. We agree with a One China policy. We signed onto it and all the attendant agreements made from there.”
“But the idea that it can be taken by force — just taken by force — is just not appropriate,” he continued. “It will dislocate the entire region and be another action similar to what happened in Ukraine.”
Beijing considers the Taiwanese island to be a breakaway province, but Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, has claimed to represent the real historical lineage of China.
Since 1972, the U.S. has officially recognized only one China, with its capital in Beijing. However, Washington maintains extensive informal diplomatic ties with Taipei and provides military assistance through weapons and training.
Successive U.S. presidents have also committed to a policy of “strategic ambiguity,” refusing to promise or rule out a direct military intervention in case China attacks Taiwan.
The strategy is meant to deter China while avoiding a hard commitment to any action.
Biden Sparks Controversy
The White House quickly sent a statement to reporters appearing to walk back Biden’s remark.
“As the president said, our policy has not changed,” the statement said. “He reiterated our One China Policy and our commitment to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. He also reiterated our commitment under the Taiwan Relations Act to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself.”
Monday was not the first time Biden made similar remarks regarding China and Taiwan.
Last August, he promised that “we would respond” if there was an attack against a fellow member of NATO and then added, “same with Japan, same with South Korea, same with Taiwan.”
In October, he again told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that the U.S. would defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack, prompting the White House to hurriedly walk back his statement.
Monday’s remark was received with support as well as criticism.
“Strategic ambiguity is over. Strategic clarity is here,” Tweeted Matthew Kroenig, professor of government at Georgetown University. “This is the third time Biden has said this. Good. China should welcome this. Washington is helping Beijing to not miscalculate.”
Strategic ambiguity is over. Strategic clarity is here. This is the third time Biden has said this. Good. China should welcome this. Washington is helping Beijing to not miscalculate. https://t.co/v2WVIT0YeG
— Matthew Kroenig (@MatthewKroenig) May 23, 2022
“It is truly dangerous for the president to keep misstating U.S. policy toward Taiwan,” historian Stephen Wertheim wrote in a tweet. “How many more times will this happen?”
“The West’s robust response to Russian aggression in Ukraine could serve to deter China from invading Taiwan, but Biden’s statement risks undoing the potential benefit and instead helping to bring about a Taiwan conflict,” he added. “Self-injurious and entirely unforced.”
It is truly dangerous for the president to keep misstating U.S. policy toward Taiwan. How many more times will this happen? https://t.co/lpT6LnF6fz
— Stephen Wertheim (@stephenwertheim) May 23, 2022
Biden also unveiled the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), a trade agreement signed by the U.S. and 12 Asian nations.
The agreement appeared to many like another move to cut off China from regional trade pacts and supply chains in Washington’s strategic competition with Beijing.
See what others are saying: (CNN) (The New York Times) (The South China Morning Post)
International
Russia Takes Over 900 Azovstal Fighters Prisoner as Mariupol Surrenders
Published
1 week agoon
May 18, 2022By
Chris Tolve
Ukraine said the soldiers successfully completed their mission, but the fall of Mariupol represents a strategic win for Putin.
Azovstal Waves the White Flag
Russia’s foreign ministry announced on Wednesday that it had captured 959 Ukrainians from the Azovstal steelworks, where besieged soldiers have maintained the last pocket of resistance in Mariupol for weeks.
A ministry spokesperson said in a statement that 51 were being treated for injuries, and the rest were sent to a former prison colony in the town of Olenivka in a Russian-controlled area of Donetsk.
The defense ministry released videos of what it claimed were Ukrainian fighters receiving care at a hospital in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk. In one, a soldier tells the camera he is being treated “normally” and that he is not being psychologically pressured, though it is unclear whether he is speaking freely.
It was unclear if any Ukrainians remained in Azovstal, but Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed republic of Donetsk, said in a statement Wednesday that the “commanders of the highest level” were still hiding in the plant.
Previously, estimates put the number of soldiers inside Azovstal around 1,000.
Ukraine officially gave up Mariupol on Monday, when the first Azovstal fighters began surrendering.
Reuters filmed dozens of wounded Ukrainians being driven away in buses marked with the Russian pro-war “Z” symbol.
Ukraine’s deputy defense minister said in a Tuesday statement that the Ukrainian prisoners would be swapped in an exchange for captured Russians. But numerous Russian officials have signaled that the Ukrainian soldiers should be tried.
Mariupol Falls into Russian Hands
After nearly three months of bombardment that left Mariupol in ruins, Russia’s combat mission in the city has ended.
The sprawling complex of underground tunnels, caverns, and bunkers beneath Azovstal provided a defensible position for the Ukrainians there, and they came to represent the country’s resolve in the face of Russian aggression for many spectators.
Earlier this month, women, children, and the elderly were evacuated from the plant.
The definitive capture of Mariupol, a strategic port city, is a loss for Ukraine and a boon for Russia, which can now establish a land bridge between Crimea and parts of Eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian separatists. The development could also free up Russian troops around Mariupol to advance on the East, while additional reinforcements near Kharkiv descend from the north, potentially cutting off Ukrainian forces from the rest of the country.
The Ukrainian military has framed events in Mariupol as at least a partial success, arguing that the defenders of Azovstal completed their mission by tying down Russian troops and resources in the city and giving Ukrainians elsewhere more breathing room.
It claimed that doing so prevented Russia from rapidly capturing the city of Zaporizhzhia further to the west.
See what others are saying: (The Guardian) (BBC) (BBC)

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