On 18 August, the Palestinian Police Force issued an official statement banning the activities of alQaws for Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society. The announcement followed an unprecedented attack on alQaws in social media channels. The statement promotes incitement against alQaws - and LGBTQ Palestinians - by encouraging members of society to report on alQaws activities.
Palestinian Authority bans LGBT group, calls for repression
21 August 2019, byOn Saturday, August 17th, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority police, Louai Irzeqat, issued a statement concerning alQaws’ activities in the West Bank. This first-ever statement about alQaws declared that the PA police would prohibit any event organized or held by alQaws for Gender and Sexual Diversity in Palestinian Society. The police claimed it goes against “traditional Palestinian values” accusing us as “foreign agents.” The statement went further, calling on citizens to complain about any “suspicious” activities and for the persecution of alQaws staff and activists.
Support for Hong Kongers in struggle for their democratic rights
20 August 2019, byIt was indeed Beijing and the head of the local Government Executive, Carrie Lam, who took responsibility, almost four months ago, for opening up this crisis by calling into question the status enjoyed by this territory as a Special Administrative Region, a status that stems from the handover agreements of the former British colony. This ensures it a significant degree of autonomy in many fields. This status was due to remain in force until 2047 at least.
With the constitutional agreement, the Sudanese Revolution enters a new phase
20 August 2019, byThe Sudanese Revolution has won major victories. But it still needs to wrestle control from the military to popular forces.
The battle of the Bogside
19 August 2019, byMarking its 50th anniversary, Vincent Doherty looks at one of the most significant episodes in modern Irish history
Statement on India’s Revocation of Jammu & Kashmir’s Autonomous Status by the Indian Government
19 August 2019, byAs the Indian government resorts to annexation of the state of Jammu and Kashmir at gunpoint, detaining its political leaders and cutting off all means of communication, we extend our solidarity to the people of Jammu and Kashmir as they struggle for their most basic rights and freedoms.
Confrontation looming on Brexit
17 August 2019, byWith Parliament neutralised by the summer recess, battle lines are being drawn for the biggest constitutional crisis in modern times when it comes back next month. With his ‘War Cabinet’ rammed with hard-line Brexiteers, and with Nigel Farage looking over his shoulder, Johnson is on a single-minded mission to crash Britain out of the EU on October 31 – as he says ‘come what may’.
On the fight of the Sudanese Professionals Association: “We Want to Take Sudan From This Dark Corner to a Bright Future”
16 August 2019, by , ,On August 4, 2019, the Sudanese military council signed an agreement with Freedom and Change, a body representing the country’s mass protest movement. The agreement establishes the structures and powers of a transitional government that will lead the country out of almost three decades of authoritarian rule, with the expectation of elections in three years. It has been hailed as a major victory by protest leaders, who secured their terms on three key sticking points in several tense months of negotiations: limiting the participation of the military council in transitional structures, stripping military leaders of absolute immunity from prosecution, and subordinating the infamous Janjaweed militia to the general command of the armed forces.
The Portuguese solution and how to use it
15 August 2019, byIn Portugal there is an old, very old, popular saying, that “from Spain, there is neither good wind, nor good marriage”. Readers living in the Spanish state will, as I hope, understand the existence of some caution based on the history and popular perceptions of the only Iberian nationality that has not been subjected to the power of Madrid throughout the history of the last millennium. And also, what this saying manifests. Literally, it means that the winds coming from the Spanish state (from the east) are rare, but harmful for agriculture. Also, that weddings between the royal houses of the two states resulted in dynastic, diplomatic and military problems. Issues that, in fact, led to the only period in which Portugal was integrated into the kingdom of Castile, between 1580 and 1640. Hence the phrase “neither good wind, nor good marriage”.
India: The meaning of Kashmir
14 August 2019, byModi’s decision to revoke Article 35-A and Article 370 of the Indian constitution has fulfilled one of the cornerstones of Hindutva ideology – the forceful assimilation of Kashmir. The audacity of ambition combined with unprecedented secrecy amplified the menacing character of this event. Couching the operation as part of the fight against terror, arresting the entire political leadership of Kashmir, and cutting off communications throughout the valley indicates the colossal nature of the legal and political rupture taking place in the region.