Na zich nog enigszins te hebben ‘ingehouden*, was het afgelopen dinsdag weer bal: voorafgaand aan het economisch nieuws van Maasbach (rond 9.17 u.), sprak Bas van Werven in de aankondiging daarvan diens naam op een uitermate belachelijke manier uit…… Weet niet of het met deze pesterij te maken heeft, maar de rest van de week was Maasbach niet meer te horen in het programma dat van Werven iedere werkdag van 6.00 tot 10.00 u. presenteert en waarin Maasbach 2 keer per uur te horen is……. (wel heel ‘toevallig…’)
Maasbach deed al maanden zijn best om met geslijm bij van Werven in de gunst te komen en deze te doen stoppen met zijn pesterijen, iets dat je vaak ziet bij mensen (en kinderen) die worden gepest…….
Ongelofelijk dat Sjors Fröhlich, tegenwoordig ‘de zetbaas’ van BNR, deze kwal van Werven telkens weer zijn gang laat gaan, zeker als je ziet hoeveel aandacht er de laatste jaren is voor pesten en de nare gevolgen die dit voor de gepesten heeft………
Waarschijnlijk denkt Fröhlich dat van Werven een luisterkanon is, echter de reden dat er goed naar zijn programma wordt geluisterd heeft alles te maken met eenzelfde programma op Radio1, gepresenteerd door het enorme leeghoofd Jurgen van den Berg….. In dat programma probeert men de luistercijfers op te krikken door elk uur ‘positief nieuws’ te brengen en minstens 2 keer per uur uitgebreid sport als onderwerp opvoert……. Dit nog met minstens 2 keer per uur een oud en meestal suf muziekje, in opdracht van de bedrijven die niet willen dat je overschakelt naar Radio1, als BNR haar reclame blokken heeft op tijden dat Radio1 deze niet uitzendt………
Trouwens behoorlijk onbegrijpelijk dat van Werven zich bezig houdt met pesten, zeker als je zijn enorme omvang ziet, iets waarvoor anderen zelf danig worden gepest…… Dezelfde van Werven die Trump al eens een ‘briljante man’ noemde……..
Foto’s waar van Werven helemaal op staat zijn amper te vinden, de foto’s waar dit wel het geval is, zijn nogal vaag.
* ‘Ingehouden”, daar hij dan niet zwaar overdreven de achternaam van collega Maasbach uitsprak, maar vervelend genoeg voor iemand die tijdenlang werd en wordt getreiterd om diens naam….. Voor Maasbach die al zo vaak werd gepest, was ook de wat minder overdreven manier van belachelijk maken uiteraard voldoende om zich zwaar vernederd te voelen…….
Voor meer berichten met deze kwal en nitwit de luxe, klik op het label ‘van Werven’.
Op 24 mei 2018 was de chef van BNR, Sjors Fröhlich te horen op Radio1 (na 9.30 u.). Onderwerp in Standpunt NL was ‘pesten’, n.a.v. een rapport waar de uitkomst van dit rapport stelt dat antipest-programma’s voor scholen veelal niet werken. Men kwam ook te spreken over pesten op het werk, dus door volwassenen. Volgens Fröhlich heeft BNR een strak pestprotocol en komt dit in de beoordeling ter sprake en de beoordeling zou dan behoorlijk negatief uitvallen……. Daar blijkt vooralsnog niets van, van Werven pest keer op keer Jelle Maasbach, hoe kan deze kwal dan nog steeds presenteren??? Hier de link naar het fragment waarin van Werven Maasbach tot 2 keer toe te kakken zet, let ook op het grinniken van Geert Jan Hahn als reactie op het pesten door van Werven (Hahn is bij toerbeurt de sidekick van van Werven)…….. Zal op 24 mei of snel daarna nog eens de aandacht op dit onderwerp vestigen.
Bolton* was één van de verantwoordelijken voor de illegale oorlog van de VS
tegen Irak in 2003. Deze kwaadaardige smeerlap zit door Trump hoger
in het zadel dan ooit en hij trekt samen met Netanyahu op tegen Iran,
met leugens en haatzaaierij proberen de 2, vaak aangeduid als B&B, een oorlog uit te lokken
tegen Iran…..
In
september 2002 sprak Netanyahu het VS congres toe en destijds durfde
hij glashard te zeggen, dat de verwijdering van het Saddam
Hoessein bewind een enorm positieve invloed zou hebben op de
regio…… De gevolgen van de illegale oorlog tegen Irak in 2003,
die Saddam Hoessein het leven kostte, heeft behalve de dood van 1,5
miljoen Irakezen, de regio in een grote chaos gedompeld……. Nee ‘echt enorm positief allemaal….’
De oorlog tegen het Syrische bewind is zonder meer door de VS geïnitieerd, al in 2006 maakte de VS met o.a. Turkije, Saoedi-Arabië en Groot-Brittannië de eerste plannen om het Assad bewind omver te werpen. De opstand (‘Arabische Lente’, beter gezegd: de VS Lente in het Midden-Oosten) in Syrië werd dan ook geregisseerd door de VS, dat tevens (samen met S-A) terreurgroepen uit Libië transporteerde richting Syrië en hen van wapens en rollend materieel heeft voorzien…….
‘Helaas’ voor de VS en haar samenzweerders, Assad kreeg men niet weg, plan mislukt, maar Syrië ligt wel voor een groot deel in puin en het is maar de vraag of de bevolkingsgroepen met verschillende religies in de toekomst nog naast elkaar kunnen leven, zoals ze dat deden voor de VS terreur losbarstte……..
Nu
zal Iran er aan moeten geloven, althans als Bolton, Netanyahu en
uiteraard de gehele Trump administratie hun zin krijgen……
Lees
het volgende artikel van Marco Carnelos, gepubliceerd op Middle EastEye (MEE):
Benjamin
Netanyahu and John Bolton are stirring up a fire in the Middle East –
again
A
disturbing sense of deja vu is permeating the Middle East. The sequel
of a movie, screened in the winter of 2002-2003, is under production.
With the same producer, director, screenplay and actors. John Bolton,
US President Donald Trump’s new national security adviser, who – in
the first movie – played the villain undermining the UN inspection
regime in Iraq, is now the chief villain.
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also has a leading role, while in
2002 he was only a supporting actor. However, his testimony at the US
Congress hearings on 12 September 2002 was not only an Oscar
performance, it will also go down in history as one of the most
accurate political prediction ever.
Netanyahu
confidently said: “If you take out Saddam’s [Hussain] regime, I
assure you it will have enormous positive reverberations in the
region.” He was absolutely right. Except for the fact that
the reverberations were positive only for Iran. Maybe also his
bizarre presentation on 30 April this year concerning Iran’s alleged
nuclear cheating will be remembered as another outstanding
performance.
Middle
East fire
B&B,
the duo of Bibi and Bolton, is manufacturing another crisis that
promises another bonanza for Iran: Washington has withdrawn from the
nuclear deal with Tehran, Syria is a shooting range for Israeli
fighters, the US embassy move to Jerusalem is stirring Arab and
Muslim anger, more than 100 Palestinians protesters have been killed
in Gaza so far – and, last but not least, a forthcoming
Israeli-Palestinian “peace plan” – courtesy of the US
president’s acquired family – could become, voluntarily assisted by
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the euthanasia of
Palestinian struggle.
In
more simple words: the Middle East’s fire has been effectively
stirred up again. The sequel to the Iraq war, “The Israel-Iran
War in Syria”, could not hope for a better advertising campaign
for its imminent release, and for the forthcoming final chapter of
the trilogy: “Regime change in Tehran.”
If
Iran was looking for a lobby firm to further improve its standing in
the Middle East, it could have never found a better partner than B&B
& Associates.
After
the excellent services rendered in Iraq in 2003, the firm is now back
in business sowing hatred and resentment in the region. Qassem
Suleimani, who leads Iran’s Quds Force, the elite special forces
arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, could take a vacation,
stopping further foreign meddling and wait comfortably for the
bonuses brought free of charge by B&B.
An
impending conflict
Leaving
sarcasm and metaphor aside, the perception of an impeding conflict in
the region is growing. The situation is reminicient of Europe in
the summer of 1914. At the time no one wished for a prolonged
conflict, but Europe ended up entrapped in a long and unprecedentedly
bloody war that changed European and Middle Eastern history. The hope
is that history will not repeat itself in Syria.
Israel
and its partners resemble to a poker player who has played his hand
badly and is trying to recover (AFP)
Although
this time round rules of engagement have been set and enforced by
Russia, Syria is crowded by so many actors that the chances of
miscalculation and escalation cannot be ignored. Last week, Netanyahu
visited Moscow, probably not just to attend a military parade, but to
reinforce these rules and, hopefully, to get from Putin a “cleared”
and less provocative targeting list for Israeli jets in Syria.
The
Middle East’s shifting power balance is another driver for a
conflict. As Germany’s rising in 1914 was a catalyst for the First
World War, Iran could follow the same script, also because Tehran’s
rise is accelerating, especially since the US invasion of Iraq in
2003 and its catastrophically managed aftermath.
Syrian
President Bashar al- Assad is winning; recent Lebanese elections have
consolidated Hezbollah’s powers. Irrespective of Moqtada Al Sadr’s
victory in the Iraqi elections, the political outcome in the country
will be more favourable to Tehran than Washington, and, finally,
Yemen is becoming the Afghanistan of Saudi Arabia.
Such
a debacle cannot be tolerated any longer by the Axis of Restoration,
the unholy alliance of the US, Israel and Sunni Arab kingdoms. The
“existential threat” represented by Tehran, Baghdad,
Damascus and Beirut, the Axis of Resistance, must be stopped and
rolled back.
Two
options
Israel
is at the forefront of this effort providing the narrative,
Washington is selling the military procurement, and Riyadh, as usual,
is giving the money. The first theatre selected to inverse the trend
is the already devastated Syria, while the main target is now the
Iranian presence in the country.
Israel
and its partners resemble a poker player who had played his hand
badly and is trying to recover from a largely compromised
situation. The obsession with the Shia Crescent led to more than a
flirtation with the Sunni jihadists in a joint bid for Assad’s
removal; unfortunately, the conflict took an outcome different from
the one hoped for.
Israel
and its partners are now confronted with two options: accepting the
fait-accompli, and disguising it with irrelevant strikes on secondary
Syrian targets cleared by Moscow, or overthrowing the table through a
direct conflict.
Trump’s
decision on Iran’s nuclear file should be understood within such a
context. It is similar to a wife who starts a lawsuit for divorce
today because her husband could betray her in 15 years time; in one
word: absurd.
It
is so self-damaging that it must conceal something else: a green
light for an Israeli-Iranian conflict in Syria. Effectively,
remaining at this poker table, the game is perceived as largely
compromised, and is no longer sustainable even for the serial
self-harming members of the Axis of Restoration.
Trump’s
proclaimed intention to disengage from the region is not serious. He
has already shown the capacity to disprove himself with the same ease
with which he breathes. Of course, if the US joins Israel in the
conflict, the chances of success would improve, but also the risks.
Russia
could react. Furthermore, it will not be easy to lure Iran into an
open conflict providing the solid casus belli that is currently
missing. Iranian leadership usually acts with restraint and prefers
to choose the timing and the place for its retaliation against
“provocations”.
Last
but not least, although B&B are specialised in manufacturing
cases for war, their reliability and marketing capabilities have
become less and less convincing.
And,
by the way, Middle East is still experiencing, after 15 years, the
“unintended consequences” of the first chapter of the
trilogy. Stay tuned: the best is yet to come.
–
Marco Carnelos is
a former Italian diplomat. He has been assigned in Somalia, Australia
and at the United Nations. He has served in the foreign policy staff
of three Italian prime ministers between 1995 and 2011. More recently
he has been Middle East Peace Process Coordinator Special Envoy for
Syria for the Italian government and, until November 2017, ambassador
of Italy to Iraq.
The
views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not
necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
Photo: US
President Donald Trump speaks alongside National Security Adviser
John Bolton (R) during a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the
White House in Washington, DC, 9 May 2018 (AFP)
* Bolton is tevens verantwoordelijk voor de veranderde houding van Noord-Korea de laatste week, waar die houding niet ineens plotseling is veranderd, zoals de
reguliere media je willen doen geloven, maar juist vanwege Boltons
uitlating over Noord-Korea en het Libië scenario dat hij het liefst
daar wil uitrollen. Niet Noord-Korea is totaal onbetrouwbaar, maar de
VS en dat heeft dit gestolen land al ongelofelijk vaak laten
zien, zoals in het geval van de illegale VS oorlog tegen Libië……
PS: ben het niet eens met de opgenomen kaart in bovenstaand artikel >> Iran zou de Houthi rebellen steunen in Jemen, echter behalve humanitaire goederen uit Iran is daar verder niets van gebleken. Jemen, waar Saoedi-Arabie met hulp van andere arabische landen, de VS en GB een genocide uitvoert op de sjiitische bevolking, iets waarvoor hier amper of geen belangstelling is, ondanks dat hiervoor een jaar geleden een inzamelingsactie tegen de hongersnood in Jemen werd gevoerd………
Excuus, zag na plaatsing dat ik de links naar gerelateerde berichten was vergeten en deze alsnog toegevoegd.
De VS traint niet alleen geheime diensten in het buitenland hoe ‘het best’ te martelen, of doet de training van ‘gematigde rebellen’ (psychopathische moordenaars, verkrachters en martelbeulen), maar traint ook de speciale troepen van dictaturen, zoals die van Honduras (waar meteen het martelen wordt ‘meegenomen in de training…’)….
Al meer dan een jaar verzetten bewoners van Pajuiles in Noord-Honduras zich tegen een elektriciteits-dam in de Mezapa rivier en al net zo lang is de uiterst agressieve houding van de overheid tegen de mensen van Pajuiles……
Het is duidelijk dat door de VS getrainde speciale eenheden TIGRES en COBRAS verantwoordelijk zijn voor talloze moorden in Honduras. De VS ontkent e.e.a., maar ja, tegen feiten in liegen is uitermate moeilijk….
Hillary Clinton kan overigens worden aangewezen als hoofdverantwoordelijke voor de bloedige staatsgreep die in 2009 in Honduras plaatsvond, alleen al daarmee is de VS hoofdverantwoordelijk voor het grote aantal doden die sindsdien zijn gevallen in Honduras, waaronder milieuactivisten en activisten die zich inzetten voor de arme oorspronkelijke bevolking van Honduras……..
Rusland wordt door het westen beschuldigd van bemoeienis met interne aangelegenheden van andere landen, dit zonder enig bewijs, echter de VS die dit daadwerkelijk wel doet en dat al meer dan 100 jaar wordt niet aangesproken op bijvoorbeeld het enorme aantal oorlogsmisdaden, of misdaden tegen de menselijkheid, misdaden waarvoor niet één enkel bewijs beschikbaar is, maar een enorme berg aan bewijzen, neem bijvoorbeeld de misdaden die vermeld zijn in de Wikileaks documenten, documenten van de VS overheid………
It started at dawn. A vehicle full of Honduran police officers showed up at around 5 am on May 3 in front of the community protest camp in Pajuiles, where residents have been present day and night for more than a year to prevent the passage of hydroelectric dam construction machinery. Less than two hours later, the whole area was crawling with hundreds of members of various police units, including regular national police, the Police Investigations Directorate, the elite COBRAS unit and the TIGRES special forces, which are heavily supported by the US and trained by Green Berets from the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne).
“It was like a war zone,” Pajuiles community leader Albertina López told Truthout.
Police forces lined the immediate area along the nearby highway that runs from El Progreso up to Tela, along the Caribbean coast in the Atlántida Department. Soon they were also lining the road past the camp and up to the contested construction site of the Mezapa River dam. They showed up in convoys, escorting machinery, construction materials and company personnel up to the site, where the Honduran company HIDROCEP has been trying to build a 1.3 megawatt dam.
“People were scared,” said López. Nevertheless, she and a few other women made an attempt to stop the machinery, lying down in the road in front of the protest camp to try to stop the machinery’s passage. “That’s when they started firing tear gas at us,” she said. People scattered, ushering a 75-year-old protester and children to safety, but López and others maintained their permanent presence at the roadside resistance camp throughout the police operations that lasted two full days.
State violence against community resistance to natural resource exploitation projects continues unabated in Honduras. The recent crackdown in Pajuiles to impose a fiercely contested hydroelectric dam project is just one of the latest incidents, but it provides a clear example of the involvement of US-trained and -supported special forces in repression against community activists.
Honduran Security Forces Trained by Green Berets
The Pajuiles community protest camp in northern Honduras celebrates its one year anniversary on March 22, 2018. (Photo: Movimiento Amplio por la Dignidad y Justicia)
“Honduran security forces, including those receiving funding and training from the United States, have been implicated in human rights violations in recent years,” Christine Wade, a Washington College professor of political science and international studies, told Truthout. “The targeting of environmental and land rights activists is just one facet of this.”
“Despite these abuses, funding continues to flow from the US, our military installations remain open to train Honduran security forces and impunity reigns. Unless the US acts decisively to suspend aid to security forces, these abuses will continue,” said Wade.
The Intelligence and Special Security Response Group Units (TIGRES, an acronym that spells “tigers” in Spanish) were created back in 2013, when current Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández proposed a bill as president of Congress. The initial proposal was for more of an explicitly military-police hybrid force that would have been transferred from civilian oversight to the Secretariat of Defense in times of war, but those elements were removed from the bill before its passage. The TIGRES now fall under the police Directorate of Special Forces.
Training of the first TIGRES recruits, drawn from military and police forces, began in 2014, the year Hernández took office as president of Honduras. They were trained by Green Berets from the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and Colombian members of the Comandos Jungla special police force. The same US and Colombian forces trained the following year’s recruits in a 12-week Comando basic course. Some TIGRES agents also received advanced training from Green Berets at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida in 2015.
In their first year in action, the TIGRES were implicated in a massive theft and corruption scandal. More than 20 TIGRES agents were suspended following the theft of more than $1 million during operations against a drug trafficker in western Honduras. Late last year, as reported by The Intercept, TIGRES were involved in raids and arrests targeting people who had been protesting the contested outcome of the November 2017 elections that officially resulted in Hernández’s re-election amid widespread reports of vote-rigging and fraud.
A Green Beret from the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and TIGRES forces engage in advanced marksmanship training during a 2014 tour by Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández of TIGRES training facilities. (Photo: Spc. Steven Young / DVIDS. The appearance of US Department of Defense visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.)
On April 10 of this year, a new TIGRES base, completed with US financing, was inaugurated in El Progreso. It is the second TIGRES base, joining the installations 25 miles west of Tegucigalpa, the Honduran capital. High-ranking Honduran and US government officials attended the inauguration in El Progreso, including Honduran President Hernández; Richard Glenn, acting deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs; and Heide Fulton, the chargé d’affaires at the US Embassy in Honduras, and currently the highest-ranking embassy official.
Less than one month later, TIGRES were involved in the crackdown in Pajuiles, only 23 miles north of the new installations. Media reports and Honduran and US officials highlight the TIGRES’ focus on combatting drug trafficking and organized crime, but on May 3, they were escorting dam company personnel and construction machinery along with other police forces that cracked down on community protest.
The Honduran Secretariat of Security did not provide a response to Truthout’s requests for comment or even confirm basic details, such as a ballpark figure of how many total police participated in the operations in Pajuiles. López, other local residents, and human rights observers estimated that approximately 250 to 300 members of the various police forces and units were present.
The US government did respond and is aware of the deployment of TIGRES to Pajuiles. “There was no U.S. involvement in this operation,” a Department of State spokesperson wrote in a response to Truthout’s request for comment.
“While we support the TIGRES professional development and specific missions related to key U.S. interests in Honduras, particularly combating drug trafficking and organized crime, we do not dictate their deployment or other operations they conduct. We aggressively review any allegation of wrong doing by the TIGRES or any other units of the security forces we support, irrespective of whether it is a mission we actively supported,” the Department of State spokesperson wrote.
Ryan Morgan, a member of the in-country human rights accompaniment team of Witness for Peace, a US nongovernmental organization, witnessed the presence and participation of TIGRES agents in operations in Pajuiles on May 3, following his arrival at the community a couple of hours after the police convoys began escorting the dam machinery.
“There were a lot of US taxpayer dollars in Pajuiles that day,” Morgan told Truthout. With regard to the TIGRES, Morgan believes their presence there should be considered problematic even by US lawmakers and embassy officials who believe their mandate is important for US national security in terms of fighting drug trafficking and organized crime.
“It would be very hard to explain or justify the involvement of the TIGRES in Pajuiles,” said Morgan. “This use of the TIGRES should outrage even people who on paper support their existence and US support for them,” he said.
TIGRES agents were the first police forces Morgan and his colleague saw when they were arriving at Pajuiles. They were stationed along the highway approximately a quarter of a mile south of the road leading to the protest camp, where a police roadblock was set up nearby. Morgan and his colleague stayed at the camp all day, until 5 pm or so. Convoys and machinery came and went up to the construction site, but by the camp itself it was mostly COBRAS who were guarding the area, armed with riot gear, tear gas and maybe only a pistol or two among the dozen or so agents who swapped out every two hours. Escorts for dam machinery were also largely provided by COBRAS, said Morgan, but that changed later in the afternoon.
At approximately 3 pm, a convoy came down from the dam construction site, reportedly escorting HIDROCEP executive Jason Hawit. Morgan didn’t see whether Hawit was in fact there or not, but he did note the difference in police forces accompanying the vehicles.
Pajuiles residents and the Broad Movement for Dignity and Justice celebrate the December 2017 acquittal of Albertina López (in the blue dress) and three other protest camp participants. Other Pajuiles residents still face trial. (Photo: Movimiento Amplio por la Dignidad y Justicia)
“I was really surprised to see two or three trucks full of TIGRES, all with automatic weapons, obviously, that had apparently been up at the construction site, providing security there all day,” Morgan told Truthout. Shortly thereafter, TIGRES also showed up in the area of the protest camp. “At 3:30 or so, rather than a new unit of COBRAS coming to relieve the one that was there, it was a mixed unit of COBRAS and TIGRES,” he said. As with those providing escort, the TIGRES carried automatic weapons, not riot gear. The TIGRES presence continued until the following night, on May 4.
Earlier in the morning of May 3, before Morgan arrived, police arrested a local Pajuiles resident while he was filming the security forces’ operations. Albertina López’s brother Nolberto López was taken into custody, accused by police of causing a public scandal. According to locals, however, he was arrested simply for recording police. He was released without charges later that afternoon. He is far from the first to suffer criminalization related to the protest camp, however. His sister was acquitted, but 11 Pajuiles residents are still facing trial.
Organized in local community groups by sector, Pajuiles residents are members of the Broad Movement for Dignity and Justice (MADJ), which grew out of a prosecutor’s hunger strike against corruption and now also focuses on natural resources and human rights issues. MADJ leaders and community members alike have been subject to a barrage of threats, intimidation and attacks, particularly in connection with the dam protest camps in Pajuiles and in Arizona, also located in the Atlántida Department.
“Pajuiles has been subject to intense repression,” MADJ coordinator of organization Saúl Ávila told Truthout. Many residents still face trial for criminal charges linked to the camp, and there have been past instances of police repression and militarization in Pajuiles.
One local resident, Geovanny Díaz, who had participated in the dam resistance camp was among the more than 35 people killed during the nationwide violent crackdown on protests against election fraud. Díaz was dragged out of his home in Pajuiles by men dressed in police uniforms, shot and killed shortly after a protest ended in the wee hours of January 23.
“There’s collusion between the dam company and state forces, but local divisions also aggravate the situation,” said Ávila. “The [company] completely divided the upper communities and turned them against the lower communities, which are the communities that will suffer from water shortages if the hydroelectric dam is built,” he said.
The Uphill Battle Up North to Cut Deadly Security Aid
TIGRES and other police unit members maintain a presence May 3 near the Pajuiles protest camp along the road leading to a contested dam construction site. (Photo: Witness for Peace)
Alex Main visited Pajuiles this past March for the one-year anniversary of the protest camp. A senior associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) based in Washington, DC, Main has reported on Honduran movements and US aid to security forces for years.
US congressional efforts to cut or condition security assistance to Honduras began in earnest back in 2010, according to Main. At the time, there was increased attention to the country in the wake of the June 2009 coup d’état that removed the elected president from office and led to a marked spike in homicides, state violence and murders of activists. Community-based land, environmental and Indigenous activists have been particularly targeted.
“Given that the situation has only grown worse since then, and that horrifyingly frequent reports of police and military involvement in activist killings have been met with near impunity, members of Congress have continued to demand full suspension of security assistance to Honduras in increasing numbers,” Main wrote in an email to Truthout.
One initiative to that effect is the Berta Cáceres Human Rights Act, a bill named in honor of the well-known Honduran Indigenous rights and social movement activist murdered in 2016. “[It] would instruct the US administration to suspend all security assistance to Honduras and to veto any loans from multilateral development banks to Honduran police and military forces. It has so far garnered 70 House co-sponsors,” Main noted.
Green Berets from the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) assist TIGRES forces during a 2015 shooting drill at the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. (Photo: Capt. Thomas Cieslak / DVIDS. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.)
At the moment, legislative action with regard to aid to Honduran security forces is limited to elements incorporated into appropriations legislation that condition half of US aid to Honduras on Department of State certification of compliance with a series of loosely worded human rights measures.
“These or similar requirements have been incorporated into appropriations legislation for a number of years now, and have had no observable positive effect to date,” wrote Main. “The last time they certified the government’s compliance was actually just two days after last year’s incredibly problematic elections, providing the government with a needed boost just as they began deploying security agents, including TIGRES, military police and conventional military troops, to violently repress protests.”
Back in Pajuiles, many residents are still shaken from the recent massive deployment of security forces there. Police took photographs of protest camp participants and community leaders during the operations, and they have been informed by other residents that death threats against them continue to circulate, said Albertina López. They’re planning to formally report the latest threats to Honduran authorities, but don’t have much faith it will result in any action.
“State institutions don’t function. They don’t function at all — not for us,” said López. However, López and other activists at the protest camp are not giving up and have vowed to resist the dam. “We continue the struggle,” she said.
Copyright, Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
Sandra Cuffe is a freelance journalist reporting on Indigenous land and resource struggles, militarization and human rights issues in Canada and Central America. Follow her on Twitter: @Sandra_Cuffe.
PS: hoewel het mensenrechtenschendende bewind van Honduras vaak het nieuws haalt (veelal op de sociale media) met moorden en andere ellende, hoor je amper of geen commentaar van de politieke bestuurders in de EU, de afzonderlijke EU landen of Canada……… Waar Assad maar een scheet hoeft te laten (beter gezegd: als het gerucht rondgaat dat hij een scheet heeft gelaten) of de hypocrieten verdringen zich voor de microfoons van de pers om hun verontwaardiging uit te spreken en militaire actie te eisen…….)
De
VS traint niet alleen geheime diensten in het buitenland hoe ‘het best’ te martelen, of doet de training van ‘gematigde rebellen’ (psychopathische moordenaars, verkrachters en martelbeulen), maar traint ook de speciale
troepen van dictaturen, zoals die van Honduras (waar meteen het martelen wordt ‘meegenomen in de training…’)….
Al
meer dan een jaar verzetten bewoners van Pajuiles in Noord-Honduras
zich tegen een elektriciteits-dam in de Mezapa rivier en al net zo lang is de
uiterst agressieve houding van de overheid tegen de mensen van
Pajuiles……
Het
is duidelijk dat door de VS getrainde speciale eenheden TIGRES en COBRAS verantwoordelijk zijn voor talloze moorden in Honduras. De VS ontkent
e.e.a., maar ja, tegen feiten in liegen is uitermate moeilijk….
Hillary
Clinton kan overigens worden aangewezen als hoofdverantwoordelijke
voor de bloedige staatsgreep die in 2009 in Honduras plaatsvond,
alleen al daarmee is de VS hoofdverantwoordelijk voor het grote
aantal doden die sindsdien zijn gevallen in Honduras, waaronder
milieuactivisten en activisten die zich inzetten voor de arme
oorspronkelijke bevolking van Honduras……..
Rusland
wordt door het westen beschuldigd van bemoeienis met interne
aangelegenheden van andere landen, dit zonder enig bewijs, echter de
VS die dit daadwerkelijk wel doet en dat al meer dan 100 jaar wordt niet aangesproken op bijvoorbeeld het enorme aantal oorlogsmisdaden, of misdaden tegen de menselijkheid, misdaden waarvoor niet één enkel bewijs beschikbaar is, maar een enorme berg aan
bewijzen, neem bijvoorbeeld de misdaden die vermeld zijn in de Wikileaks documenten, documenten van
de VS overheid………
It
started at dawn. A vehicle full of Honduran police officers showed up
at around 5 am on May 3 in front of the community protest camp in
Pajuiles, where residents have been present day and night for more
than a year to prevent the passage of hydroelectric dam construction
machinery. Less than two hours later, the whole area was crawling
with hundreds of members of various police units, including regular
national police, the Police Investigations Directorate, the elite
COBRAS unit and the TIGRES special forces, which are heavily
supported by the US and trained by Green Berets from the 7th Special
Forces Group (Airborne).
“It
was like a war zone,” Pajuiles community leader Albertina López
told Truthout.
Police
forces lined the immediate area along the nearby highway that runs
from El Progreso up to Tela, along the Caribbean coast in the
Atlántida Department. Soon they were also lining the road past the
camp and up to the contested construction site of the Mezapa River
dam. They showed up in convoys, escorting machinery, construction
materials and company personnel up to the site, where the Honduran
company HIDROCEP has been trying to build a 1.3 megawatt dam.
“People
were scared,” said López. Nevertheless, she and a few other
women made an attempt to stop the machinery, lying down in the road
in front of the protest camp to try to stop the machinery’s passage.
“That’s when they started firing tear gas at us,” she said.
People scattered, ushering a 75-year-old protester and children to
safety, but López and others maintained their permanent presence at
the roadside resistance camp throughout the police operations that
lasted two full days.
State
violence against community resistance to natural resource
exploitation projects continues unabated in Honduras. The recent
crackdown in Pajuiles to impose a fiercely contested hydroelectric
dam project is just one of the latest incidents, but it provides a
clear example of the involvement of US-trained and -supported special
forces in repression against community activists.
Honduran
Security Forces Trained by Green Berets
The
Pajuiles community protest camp in northern Honduras celebrates its
one year anniversary on March 22, 2018. (Photo: Movimiento Amplio por
la Dignidad y Justicia)
“Honduran
security forces, including those receiving funding and training from
the United States, have been implicated in human rights violations in
recent years,” Christine Wade, a Washington College professor of
political science and international studies, told Truthout. “The
targeting of environmental and land rights activists is just one
facet of this.”
“Despite
these abuses, funding continues to flow from the US, our military
installations remain open to train Honduran security forces and
impunity reigns. Unless the US acts decisively to suspend aid to
security forces, these abuses will continue,” said Wade.
The
Intelligence and Special Security Response Group Units (TIGRES, an
acronym that spells “tigers” in Spanish) were created back
in 2013, when current Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández
proposed a bill as president of Congress. The initial proposal was
for more of an explicitly military-police hybrid force that would
have been transferred from civilian oversight to the Secretariat of
Defense in times of war, but those elements were removed from the
bill before its passage. The TIGRES now fall under the police
Directorate of Special Forces.
Training
of the first TIGRES recruits, drawn from military and police forces,
began in 2014, the year Hernández took office as president of
Honduras. They were trained by Green Berets from the 7th Special
Forces Group (Airborne) and Colombian members of the Comandos Jungla
special police force. The same US and Colombian forces trained the
following year’s recruits in a 12-week Comando basic course. Some
TIGRES agents also received advanced training from Green Berets at
the Eglin Air Force Base in Florida in 2015.
In
their first year in action, the TIGRES were implicated in a massive
theft and corruption scandal. More than 20 TIGRES agents were
suspended following
the theft of more than $1 million during operations against a drug
trafficker in western Honduras. Late last year, as reported
by The Intercept,
TIGRES were involved in raids and arrests targeting people who had
been protesting the contested outcome of the November 2017 elections
that officially resulted in Hernández’s re-election amid widespread
reports of vote-rigging and fraud.
A
Green Beret from the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and TIGRES
forces engage in advanced marksmanship training during a 2014 tour by
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández of TIGRES training
facilities. (Photo: Spc. Steven Young / DVIDS. The appearance of US
Department of Defense visual information does not imply or constitute
DoD endorsement.)
On
April 10 of this year, a new TIGRES base, completed with US
financing, was inaugurated in El Progreso. It is the second TIGRES
base, joining the installations 25 miles west of Tegucigalpa, the
Honduran capital. High-ranking Honduran and US government officials
attended the inauguration in El Progreso, including Honduran
President Hernández; Richard Glenn, acting deputy assistant
secretary of state in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs; and Heide Fulton, the chargé d’affaires at the
US Embassy in Honduras, and currently the highest-ranking embassy
official.
Less
than one month later, TIGRES were involved in the crackdown in
Pajuiles, only 23 miles north of the new installations. Media reports
and Honduran and US officials highlight the TIGRES’ focus on
combatting drug trafficking and organized crime, but on May 3, they
were escorting dam company personnel and construction machinery along
with other police forces that cracked down on community protest.
The
Honduran Secretariat of Security did not provide a response to
Truthout’s requests for comment or even confirm basic details, such
as a ballpark figure of how many total police participated in the
operations in Pajuiles. López, other local residents, and human
rights observers estimated that approximately 250 to 300 members of
the various police forces and units were present.
The
US government did respond and is aware of the deployment of TIGRES to
Pajuiles. “There was no U.S. involvement in this operation,”
a Department of State spokesperson wrote in a response to Truthout’s
request for comment.
“While
we support the TIGRES professional development and specific missions
related to key U.S. interests in Honduras, particularly combating
drug trafficking and organized crime, we do not dictate their
deployment or other operations they conduct. We aggressively review
any allegation of wrong doing by the TIGRES or any other units of the
security forces we support, irrespective of whether it is a mission
we actively supported,” the Department of State spokesperson
wrote.
Ryan
Morgan, a member of the in-country human rights accompaniment team of
Witness for Peace, a US nongovernmental organization, witnessed the
presence and participation of TIGRES agents in operations in Pajuiles
on May 3, following his arrival at the community a couple of hours
after the police convoys began escorting the dam machinery.
“There
were a lot of US taxpayer dollars in Pajuiles that day,” Morgan
told Truthout. With regard to the TIGRES, Morgan believes their
presence there should be considered problematic even by US lawmakers
and embassy officials who believe their mandate is important for US
national security in terms of fighting drug trafficking and organized
crime.
“It
would be very hard to explain or justify the involvement of the
TIGRES in Pajuiles,” said Morgan. “This use of the TIGRES
should outrage even people who on paper support their existence and
US support for them,” he said.
TIGRES
agents were the first police forces Morgan and his colleague saw when
they were arriving at Pajuiles. They were stationed along the highway
approximately a quarter of a mile south of the road leading to the
protest camp, where a police roadblock was set up nearby. Morgan and
his colleague stayed at the camp all day, until 5 pm or so. Convoys
and machinery came and went up to the construction site, but by the
camp itself it was mostly COBRAS who were guarding the area, armed
with riot gear, tear gas and maybe only a pistol or two among the
dozen or so agents who swapped out every two hours. Escorts for dam
machinery were also largely provided by COBRAS, said Morgan, but that
changed later in the afternoon.
At
approximately 3 pm, a convoy came down from the dam construction
site, reportedly escorting HIDROCEP executive Jason Hawit. Morgan
didn’t see whether Hawit was in fact there or not, but he did note
the difference in police forces accompanying the vehicles.
Pajuiles
residents and the Broad Movement for Dignity and Justice celebrate
the December 2017 acquittal of Albertina López (in the blue dress)
and three other protest camp participants. Other Pajuiles residents
still face trial. (Photo: Movimiento Amplio por la Dignidad y
Justicia)
“I
was really surprised to see two or three trucks full of TIGRES, all
with automatic weapons, obviously, that had apparently been up at the
construction site, providing security there all day,” Morgan
told Truthout. Shortly thereafter, TIGRES also showed up in the area
of the protest camp. “At 3:30 or so, rather than a new unit of
COBRAS coming to relieve the one that was there, it was a mixed unit
of COBRAS and TIGRES,” he said. As with those providing escort,
the TIGRES carried automatic weapons, not riot gear. The TIGRES
presence continued until the following night, on May 4.
Earlier
in the morning of May 3, before Morgan arrived, police arrested a
local Pajuiles resident while he was filming the security forces’
operations. Albertina López’s brother Nolberto López was taken into
custody, accused by police of causing a public scandal. According to
locals, however, he was arrested simply for recording police. He was
released without charges later that afternoon. He is far from the
first to suffer criminalization related to the protest camp, however.
His sister was acquitted, but 11 Pajuiles residents are still facing
trial.
Organized
in local community groups by sector, Pajuiles residents are members
of the Broad Movement for Dignity and Justice (MADJ), which grew out
of a prosecutor’s hunger strike against corruption and now also
focuses on natural resources and human rights issues. MADJ leaders
and community members alike have been subject to a barrage of
threats, intimidation and attacks, particularly in connection with
the dam protest camps in Pajuiles and in Arizona, also located in the
Atlántida Department.
“Pajuiles
has been subject to intense repression,” MADJ coordinator of
organization Saúl Ávila told Truthout. Many residents still face
trial for criminal charges linked to the camp, and there have been
past instances of police repression and militarization in Pajuiles.
One
local resident, Geovanny Díaz, who had participated in the dam
resistance camp was among the more than 35 people killed during the
nationwide violent crackdown on protests against election fraud. Díaz
was dragged
out of his home in
Pajuiles by men dressed in police uniforms, shot and killed
shortly after a protest ended in
the wee hours of January 23.
“There’s
collusion between the dam company and state forces, but local
divisions also aggravate the situation,” said Ávila. “The
[company] completely divided the upper communities and turned them
against the lower communities, which are the communities that will
suffer from water shortages if the hydroelectric dam is built,”
he said.
The
Uphill Battle Up North to Cut Deadly Security Aid
TIGRES
and other police unit members maintain a presence May 3 near the
Pajuiles protest camp along the road leading to a contested dam
construction site. (Photo: Witness for Peace)
Alex
Main visited Pajuiles this past March for the one-year anniversary of
the protest camp. A senior associate at the Center for Economic and
Policy Research (CEPR) based in Washington, DC, Main has reported on
Honduran movements and US aid to security forces for years.
US
congressional efforts to cut or condition security assistance to
Honduras began in earnest back in 2010, according to Main. At the
time, there was increased attention to the country in the wake of the
June 2009 coup d’état that removed the elected president from office
and led to a marked spike in homicides, state violence and murders of
activists. Community-based land, environmental and Indigenous
activists have been particularly targeted.
“Given
that the situation has only grown worse since then, and that
horrifyingly frequent reports of police and military involvement in
activist killings have been met with near impunity, members of
Congress have continued to demand full suspension of security
assistance to Honduras in increasing numbers,” Main wrote in an
email to Truthout.
One
initiative to that effect is the Berta Cáceres Human Rights Act, a
bill named in honor of the well-known Honduran Indigenous rights and
social movement activist murdered in 2016. “[It] would instruct
the US administration to suspend all security assistance to Honduras
and to veto any loans from multilateral development banks to Honduran
police and military forces. It has so far garnered 70 House
co-sponsors,” Main noted.
Green
Berets from the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) assist TIGRES
forces during a 2015 shooting drill at the Eglin Air Force Base in
Florida. (Photo: Capt. Thomas Cieslak / DVIDS. The appearance of U.S.
Department of Defense visual information does not imply or constitute
DoD endorsement.)
At
the moment, legislative action with regard to aid to Honduran
security forces is limited to elements incorporated into
appropriations legislation that condition half of US aid to Honduras
on Department of State certification of compliance with a series of
loosely worded human rights measures.
“These
or similar requirements have been incorporated into appropriations
legislation for a number of years now, and have had no observable
positive effect to date,” wrote Main. “The last time they
certified the government’s compliance was actually just two days
after last year’s incredibly problematic elections, providing the
government with a needed boost just as they began deploying security
agents, including TIGRES, military police and conventional military
troops, to violently repress protests.”
Back
in Pajuiles, many residents are still shaken from the recent massive
deployment of security forces there. Police took photographs of
protest camp participants and community leaders during the
operations, and they have been informed by other residents that death
threats against them continue to circulate, said Albertina López.
They’re planning to formally report the latest threats to Honduran
authorities, but don’t have much faith it will result in any action.
“State
institutions don’t function. They don’t function at all — not for
us,” said López. However, López and other activists at the
protest camp are not giving up and have vowed to resist the dam. “We
continue the struggle,” she said.
Copyright,
Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.
Sandra
Cuffe is a freelance journalist reporting on Indigenous land and
resource struggles, militarization and human rights issues in Canada
and Central America. Follow her on Twitter: @Sandra_Cuffe.
PS: hoewel het mensenrechtenschendende bewind van Honduras vaak het nieuws haalt (veelal op de sociale media) met moorden en andere ellende, hoor je amper of geen commentaar van de politieke bestuurders in de EU, de afzonderlijke EU landen of Canada……… Waar Assad maar een scheet hoeft te laten (beter gezegd: als het gerucht rondgaat dat hij een scheet heeft gelaten) of de hypocrieten verdringen zich voor de microfoons van de pers om hun verontwaardiging uit te spreken en militaire actie te eisen…….)
Grapperhaus, de CDA minister voor Justitie en Veiligheid (nee niet van Veiligheid en Justitie, die naam was een heel dure vergissing…) liet afgelopen dinsdag weten dat overheden die een antivirusprogramma van Kaspersky Lab gebruiken, deze dienen te vervangen voor een ander antivirus programma.
Waarom? Simpel: volgens dombo Grapperhaus zou Rusland speciaal veel aandacht hebben voor Nederland (ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!) en via dit antivirusprogramma toegang hebben tot onze staatsgeheimen en andere zaken die het daglicht niet kunnen verdragen……. Overigens stelde hare D66 hufterigheid Ollongren eerder al eens dat Rusland het voornamelijk voorzien heeft op Nederland…*
Grapperhaus stelt dat Rusland niet te vertrouwen is en daarvoor haalt hij de zogenaamde manipulaties aan van de presidentsverkiezingen in de VS en het hacken van andere overheidszaken (ook in de EU)……. Geen flinter bewijs voor deze zaken, maar Grapperhaus weet dat ‘t waar is…… ha! ha! ha! ha! ha!
Waar wel tonnen bewijs voor liggen, zijn dergelijke smerige zaken door de VS gedaan, zelfs bij partners, zo hackte de NSA zelfs de telefoon van Angela Merkel, de Duitse premier…… Sterker nog: de CIA heeft de software van Kaspersky Lab gehackt** om in computers van gebruikers te komen en daar van alles te vergaren, waarbij het zelfs deze computers kan aanwijzen als gebruikt door ‘de Russen’ voor het hacken van overheidscomputers in de VS of de EU……
Met andere woorden, de CIA en NSA hebben doelbewust computers in Rusland gebruikt voor flase flag operaties, ofwel men bewees zogenaamd dat computers in Rusland werden gebruikt om overheidscomputers in de VS en de EU te hacken……. In de Vault 7 en 8 documenten (van de VS overheid) op Wikileaks staat e.e.a. uitvoerig beschreven……….
Kijk dat de VS dat doet interesseert het westen niet, nee men schuift als er al enige wrevel over VS bemoeienis is ontstaan, deze met grote graagte in de schoenen van de Russen, een smerig spel waaraan ook Grapperhaus meedoet……… Wat een oplichter, gadver!!
en: ‘Campagne Clinton, smeriger dan gedacht…………‘ (met daarin daarin opgenomen de volgende artikelen: ‘Donna Brazile Bombshell: ‘Proof’ Hillary ‘Rigged’ Primary Against Bernie‘ en ‘Democrats in Denial After Donna Brazile Says Primary Was Rigged for Hillary‘)
Het Klokkenluidershuis door Rutte 2 met veel tamtam gepresenteerd is verworden tot één grote mislukking. In de twee jaar dat dit huis bestaat is niet één zaak afgerond…….. Vanmorgen (rond 7.47 u.) meldde BNR over deze zaak.
Geen wonder als je de bepalingen ziet waar klokkenluiders zich aan dienen te houden bij inschakeling van dit platform. Zo mogen de klokkenluiders met niemand anders dan met beambten van dit huis spreken over de door hen aangedragen zaak……. Met andere woorden: als je al met anderen over deze zaak hebt gesproken, voordat je je aanmeldt, kan je het verder vergeten…….
Klokkenluiders hebben altijd belang bij een zo snel mogelijke afhandeling van hun klacht….. Als dit te lang duurt loopt de klokkenluider groot gevaar alsnog ontmaskerd te worden en op straat te worden geschopt, nog voordat hun klacht de openbaarheid haalt……. Bovendien gaat het om zaken die zo snel mogelijk moeten worden aangepakt, niet voor niets dat een arbeider, ambtenaar of anderen een zaak in de openbaarheid wil brengen, zodat bestaande zware misstanden zo snel mogelijk uit de wereld worden geholpen.
Logisch ook dat dit Klokkenluidershuis nooit een succes kan worden, daar de VVD één van de partijen was, die het meest hebben afgedongen op de mogelijkheden van hulpverlening aan klokkenluiders….. partijen als de VVD en het CDA zijn er vooral voor de beter gesitueerden en…. bedrijven! Dergelijke partijen hebben dan ook geen belang bij het beschermen van klokkenluiders, hoewel ze dat in de openbaarheid wel belijden…… (overigens is e.e.a. ook de PvdA aan te rekenen, waar hufters Wouter Bos en Plasterk een smerige rol hebben gespeeld bij de opzet van het Klokkenluidershuis…)
Het is een grof schandaal, dat zoveel jaar nadat Ad Bos de klok ging luiden, er nog steeds geen afdoende hulp is voor klokkenluiders. Ad Bos klapte uit de school over afspraken die de bouwmaffia onderling maakte, waarmee de bouwfraude aan het licht kwam, een fraude die de Nederlandse belastingbetaler miljarden heeft gekost…… Gestraft is er amper, wel werd Ad Bos jarenlang gestraft door de bouwmaffia (en in feite door de overheid) >> hij raakte alles kwijt, zelfs zijn huis……..
Ad Bos
Tijd voor een strafrechtelijk onderzoek naar deze grote mislukking, die in feite te voorzien was, sterker nog: ‘je zou bijna denken’ dat e.e.a. expres zo werd opgezet dat een mislukking verzekerd was……..
Tijdens
de protesten i.h.k.v. The Great Return March in de Gazastrook, maar
ook bij ‘opstootjes’ op de West Bank, maakt Israël, naast het neerschieten van ongewapende Palestijnen, ook gebruik van 3
verschillende soorten drones die traangasgranaten boven mensenmassa’s afwerpen……
Traangas is een chemisch wapen >> verboden in oorlogen door de conventie van Genève….
Geen
noodzaak om te stellen dat gebruik van traangas op deze manier uiterst gevaarlijk is, niet alleen
vanwege de hoge concentraties traangas, maar ook vanwege het
neerkomen van deze granaten in mensenmassa’s……… (overigens, het gebruik van traangas is altijd gevaarlijk, met drones wordt dit gevaar nog verder vergroot….)
Daarnaast
is het maar de vraag of Israël aan het gebruikte traangas andere
stoffen hebben toegevoegd, immers Israël is een van de weinige
landen die nog steeds chemische wapens ontwikkelt……
Afgelopen maandag overleed een baby van 8 maanden na een aanval met traangas in de Gazastrook aan de grens met Israël, daarnaast zouden er bewijzen zijn dat meerdere Palestijnse mensen zijn overleden na aanvallen met traangas door het Israëlische leger………
Israël verkoopt haar drones ook aan andere landen, zoals Duitsland, Birma (daar worden ze gebruikt gebruikt in de strijd tegen de Rohingya) en het agressieve Zuid-Soedan, uiteraard wordt ook de truc met traangas (of een nog gevaarlijker gas) desgevraagd meegeleverd…….
Lees
het volgende verontrustende relaas van Daniel Hilton, eerder
geplaatst op Middle East Eye (MEE):
Drones
over Gaza: How Israel tested its latest technology on protesters
The
mismatch between Palestinian protesters and Israeli forces has often
been likened to David and Goliath. Now, Goliath doesn’t even need
to enter the field of combat.
In
a new innovation, small drones have been used by Israel’s military
to drop tear gas on Palestinian protests along the Gaza Strip’s
border with Israel and in the occupied West Bank.
First
seen in early March, when Lebanon’s
Al-Mayadeen TV filmed
a group of protesters in Gaza as they were targeted by one, the
gas-carrying drones were used heavily in protests in the coastal
enclave and the occupied West Bank on Monday and Tuesday.
There
appear to be three types of drones being used to disperse the gas.
The
first, developed by Israeli company ISPRA and known as the “Cyclone
Riot Control Drone System”, is a small drone with rotas that
carries a box containing nine light aluminium cartridges which burn
up after they are released.
However,
two other models appear to have been used, which experts told MEE
have never been seen before.
One
is a drone that releases gas directly from the craft, like an
aerosol, dispersing a cloud on those below.
The
other, a potentially far more dangerous device, is a helicopter-style
drone which carries rubber bursting grenades with metal tops that
disperse gas as they fall.
(onderstaande video is niet behorend bij het twitterbericht daaronder, die ik niet weet over te nemen, wel is praktisch hetzelfde te zien)
VIDEO: Israel has developed drones that deploy tear gas. In mid-March Israeli military officials said they had experimented with them in Gaza. They now seem operational.
As
the Great March of Return protests came to a crescendo earlier this
week, the third type of drone became by far the most regularly used
of the three, according to experts spoken to by MEE.
An
Israeli drone drops tear gas canisters during clashes with
Palestinian protesters near the border east of Gaza City on May 15,
2018. (AFP)
This
drone does not appear to be a sophisticated device.
“It’s
more sophisticated [than a commercial drone] – it’s not something
that you would buy cheaply on Amazon, but I think it’s not far from
it,” Itay Mack, an Israeli human rights lawyer and activist who
tracks Israel’s military exports, told MEE.
The
drone appears to be fitted with a spring-loaded rack, which opens to
drop a number of tear gas grenades.
“I
think the pins are manually pulled from the grenades when they are
secured in the rack before takeoff,” James Bevan, executive
director of Conflict Armament Research, told MEE.
The
rack is then released once the drone is positioned over the area
where the controller wishes to disperse the gas.
“It
may be something as simple as a retracting pin attached to a
servomotor, which is wired into the drone’s circuits,” Bevan says.
“This is what Islamic State [IS] used in Iraq and Syria.”
According
to Bevan, IS is the only group for which there is physical evidence
of these small, helicopter-type drones’ use in combat situations,
mostly seen in Iraq’s Mosul and Syria’s Tal Afar.
“We
see drone use in other theatres, including by non-state groups, but
these have been military fixed-wing drones,” he said.
New
range, new danger
Monday’s
demonstrations in Gaza coincided with the ceremony marking the
official opening of the United States’ new embassy in Jerusalem
while Tuesday’s protests marked 70 years since the Palestinian Nakba
– or Catastrophe – when 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their
homes in historic Palestine in 1948.
Over
the two days, 62 Palestinians were killed by live fire or tear gas
inhalation, as Israeli forces attempted to quell the protests.
At
least 980 Palestinians were wounded by tear gas dropped on the
protests on Monday, Gaza’s health ministry said, including many
minors.
The
drones have given the Israeli forces new range. Previously, gas
canisters had only been fired into the Gaza Strip from vehicles on
the Israeli side of the divide.
The
large fence that separates the besieged enclave from Israel restricts
the military’s ability to fire gas across the border, unlike in the
West Bank where soldiers often fire the canisters from specially
equipped rifles.
Israeli
forces rarely make ground incursions into the Gaza Strip, which they
pulled out of in 2005, while they maintain a significant presence the
occupied West Bank.
This
new range has allowed the Israelis to target areas far from the
flashpoint border area, places more likely to be populated by
families, minors and the elderly.
Gas
a threat to the vulnerable
“The
problem with gas grenades is they are especially dangerous to small
children and elderly people,” Mack said.
The
gas can be fatal in two ways: suffocation and overdosing on the
chemicals used.
The
deaths of several Palestinians in the West Bank has been linked to
tear gas inhalation in recent years. In 2015 an eight-month-old
baby in
the village of Beit Fajjar died after soldiers fired tear gas into
his home
And
in 2014, Palestinian minister Ziad
Abu Ein died
from complications related to tear gas inhalation after attending a
protest near the village of Turmusaya.
A
report last year described the Aida refugee camp in the southern West
Bank as the “community most exposed to tear gas in the world”.
Reports
emerged on Tuesday that an eight-month-old baby, Leila al-Ghandour,
was also killed by tear gas in the Gaza Strip. She is said to have
been exposed to the gas while at a protest site far from the Israeli
separation fence, though at the time of publication this could not be
independently verified by MEE.
Indiscriminate
projectiles
Though
made of rubber, the gas grenades dropped from the drones are weighty
and have a metal top.
The
Israeli military has regulations banning firing such projectiles
directly at people. Gas canisters fired from specially fitted rifles
are particularly dangerous at short range.
The
long-range 40mm grenade launchers used by Israel are also considered
dangerous because they can be fired with only limited accuracy.
Palestinians
run to take cover as an Israeli drone fires tear gas grenades east of
Gaza City during clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces, on
May 15, 2018. (AFP)
A
spokesman from Omega
Research Foundation (ORF Ltd), which researches the manufacture, trade in and use of, military,
security and police technologies, told MEE that drones can be used to
increase accuracy when dispersing tear gas.
“On
a purely technical level, the drones can hover at a safe height to
drop the grenades and target individuals that pose a threat,” the
spokesman, who wished to remain anonymous, said.
However,
video footage of this week’s protests appears to show the canisters
dropping from a considerable height, reducing accuracy and increasing
the risk of head injuries.
Not
a threat
Israel
has repeatedly accused the protesters in Gaza of attempting to cross
the border fence and lay explosives in Israeli territory. It says the
use of live fire and tear gas is justified by the threat protesters
pose by breaching the barrier.
Israeli
police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told the AFP news agency previously
that the drones have “the capability of flying over certain zones
and certain areas and then letting go of tear gas in areas that we
want to prevent protesters from reaching”.
However,
MEE reporters in Gaza and the West Bank and videos emerging online
suggest Israeli forces targeted areas far from the border area and
people who did not appear to pose a threat.
(deze video is dezelfde als die in het daaronder staande twitterbericht wordt getoond)
Watch Israeli drones drop tear gas on journalists who were documenting Israel’s massacre in Gaza.
The entire Israeli enterprise is built on a war against truth. It not only spends hundreds of millions of dollars in propaganda (hasbara) but also deliberately targets journalists.
On
Monday, an MEE reporter was gassed by a drone along with several
other members of the media. The area targeted was clearly populated
by many journalists, with vehicles prominently displaying “Press”.
Video
footage also showed a drone dropping gas on a communal tent full of
women and children, apparently more than metres from the border.
The Israelis keep dropping tear gas with a drone on this communal tent full of women and kids. We’re 500+ yards from the border and I can’t see anyone throwing stones nearby or any other justification. #Gaza
The
deployment of gas grenades from above appears in some situations to
have sown confusion and fear among crowds, rather than dispersing
them to other locations.
In
a demonstration on Tuesday near the illegal Israeli settlement Beit
El in the West Bank at least four drones deployed gas directly onto
protesters.
A
20-year-old protester there, who wished to remain anonymous, told MEE
that “panic ensued” when the drones appeared in the sky.
“People
were running in all directions unsure of where to go as the drones
hovered above our heads waiting to drop tear gas,” the protester
told MEE.
“The
Israelis have only begun using these drones in the last few weeks.
They are indiscriminate, and show no mercy.”
According
to Gabriel Avner, an Israeli security consultant, Israel’s policy
in Gaza is a departure from its usual crowd-control methods.
“The
situation in Gaza right now is completely different to what is
happening anywhere else… they’re thinking of this as a
full-on conflict zone,” he told MEE.
“There
is some cause for concern because the rules of engagement are
hard-coded,” he said, adding that the Israeli military needed to
make sure soldiers were properly trained to understand the potential
consequences when new technology such as this is introduced.
‘Kite
terrorism’
The
use of drones is not limited to dispersing tear gas, however.
Some
Palestinians have been flying kites across the border, often
incendiary ones carrying burning coals with the objective of starting
bush fires in Israeli territory.
According
to Israeli daily Haaretz,
the Israeli military has enlisted amateur racer drones to intercept
the kites, using the rotas and fish hooks attached to the crafts to
cut their cords and send them off course.
An
Israeli army drone flies near a Palestinian kite along the border
between Israel and the Gaza Strip, east of Gaza City on May 14, 2018.
(AFP)
The
drones intercepting the kites are operated by hobbyists, and can
reach speeds of 110 metres per second, Haaretz reported.
One
of the kites that reached the Israeli side of the divide carried a
suspected remote-controlled bomb, the paper reported.
While
the device did not explode, and police sappers said it may have been
a dud or a fake, the paper speculated it could herald a new phase
along the border of what it called “kite terrorism”.
Many
of the kites are harmless, however, with protesters often using them
to fly the Palestinian flag.
If
not intercepted by drones, these kites are often shot down using live
fire.
Technology
to sell
Israel
is one of the world’s leading countries in drone technology.
It
has been using unmanned aerial vehicles since the late 1970s, when
they were used by the military for surveillance in south Lebanon, and
were widely deployed in Israel’s 1982 invasion of its neighbour to
the north.
Mack,
the human rights lawyer, noted that Israel has previously used
conflicts to showcase its weaponry with the intention of selling it
on.
Israel
sells its arms and technology to many countries. Last month
the German
Defence Ministry announced
its intention to sign a $1bn contract with Israel Aerospace
Industries to lease unmanned aerial vehicles.
Tel
Aviv has been criticised for selling
weaponry to
governments with poor human rights records, most
recently Myanmar,
which has reportedly bought Israeli military equipment as it conducts
an operation against the Rohingya minority. The Myanmar government’s
assault against Rohingya communities has been widely described as
ethnic cleansing.
Israeli
company Global
Group also
sold surveillance drones to the beleaguered and cash-strapped
government of South Sudan for millions of dollars in December.
The
South Sudanese government’s forces have been accused by the UN of
serious human rights abuses since its civil war broke out in 2013.
The
Israeli military’s use of drones to drop gas in Gaza and the West
Bank suggests that the models sold to South Sudan could equally be
adapted to release tear gas or other payloads.
“Larger
commercial drones … are designed to carry a range of payloads
(large cameras for sports events, crop-spraying attachments), so are
designed to operate payload functions remotely. This would be very
easy to configure,” Bevan said.
Kaamil
Ahmed, Tessa Fox and Hind Khoudary contributed to this report.
‘Israël gebruikt nieuw chemisch wapen tegen Palestijnse demonstranten in de Gazastrook‘ (Wel aandacht voor ‘Syrische gifgasaanval’ in Douma, maar als Israël daadwerkelijk dit wapen inzet, blijft het doodstil….Israël, samen met Egypte, de twee landen die nog steeds chemische wapens ontwikkelen, produceren, opslaan en…. exporteren!! Wellicht leveren deze landen ook aan de terreurgroepen, ofwel de ‘gematigde rebellen’ in Syrië, die met instemming van het westen over voorraden gifgas beschikken…… Zowel Israël als Egypte staan achter de psychopathische terreurgroepen in Syrië, groepen die, zoals gezegd, in het westen ‘gematigde rebellen’ worden genoemd…..)
PS: de Israëlische luchtmacht, één van de terreurorganisaties die Israël ‘rijk is’, heeft een aantal uren geleden een aanval uitgevoerd op de Gazastrook, waar het ‘posities van Hamas’ zou hebben getroffen aldus berichtte de BBC…….. Heb geen berichten over slachtoffers kunnen vinden op het net, daar de BBC meldde dat er geen slachtoffers zijn gevallen bij die aanval.
Schreef eerder al een bericht over de OVT uitzending van afgelopen zondag, waar katholiekenlikker Palm, presentator van het Radio1 programma vond dat Angela Davis best beschaafd kan spreken…*
In diezelfde uitzending kwam Marx ter sprake (China zou Marx herontdekt hebben…) en verdomd daar ging Palm weer gierend de bocht uit, toen hij tegen een ‘deskundige’ zei: “Als ik me niet vergis zag Marx de mens al mieren die de geschiedenisbalk moeten dragen….” De deskundige, sinoloog Rogier Creemers zei het met Palm eens te zijn…..
Tja, figuren als Palm hebben al hun idealen van weleer bij het grofvuil gezet en zijn doorgegaan als de voorhoede van het ijskoude, inhumane neoliberalisme………. Sterker nog, ze spugen op hun eerdere idealen, als zou de wereld intussen volmaakt zijn en:
er geen honger meer bestaat
de arbeiders overal fatsoenlijk worden behandeld
er geen slavernij meer bestaat
er geen oorlogen worden gevoerd om grondstoffen
er geen werk wordt uitbesteed naar arme landen, zodat de eigenaren nog dikkere winsten behalen
er geen zware sociale ongelijkheid meer bestaat
er geen corrupte meer bestaat
de banken de klanten geen poot meer uitdraaien en werken ten goede van de klant en de maatschappij in het geheel
de mens niet langer wordt vergiftigd middels voedselinname en ademhaling
de scholing voor een ieder gelijk is
iedereen toegang heeft tot een goede gezondheidszorg
men niet meer wordt belazerd met slechte producten en andere oplichterij
alsof de mens verlicht is en niet meer geestelijk wordt geknecht: -door religies, -valse voorlichting in scholing en manipulatie door de reguliere media en het grootste deel van de politieke richtingen…..
Tot slot: alsof er geen klassenmaatschappij meer bestaat………
Marx was voor een gelijke en fatsoenlijke behandeling van iedere wereldburger, waar geluk voor ieder mens prominent in zijn werk staan….. Dat is toch echt heel iets anders dan de mens als ‘werkmier’ neer te zetten…. * Zie ook: ‘Jos Palm (OVT presentator): “Angela Davis klinkt alleszins beschaafd…….”‘
Zie ook het volgende artikel op Aleke’s Blog!: ‘5 mei…..Karl Marx‘, met een link naar een mooie documentaire.
Voor meer berichten met Palm, klik op het label OVT, direct onder dit bericht.
Schreef eerder al een bericht over de OVT uitzending van afgelopen zondag, waar katholiekenlikker Palm, presentator van het Radio1 programma vond dat Angela Davis best beschaafd kan spreken…*
In diezelfde uitzending kwam Marx ter sprake (China zou Marx herontdekt hebben…) en verdomd daar ging Palm weer gierend de bocht uit, toen hij tegen een ‘deskundige’ zei: “Als ik me niet vergis zag Marx de mens al mieren die de geschiedenisbalk moeten dragen….” De deskundige, sinoloog Rogier Creemers zei het met Palm eens te zijn…..
Tja, figuren als Palm hebben al hun idealen van weleer bij het grofvuil gezet en zijn doorgegaan als de voorhoede van het ijskoude, inhumane neoliberalisme………. Sterker nog, ze spugen op hun eerdere idealen, als zou de wereld intussen volmaakt zijn en:
er geen honger meer bestaat
de arbeiders overal fatsoenlijk worden behandeld
er geen slavernij meer bestaat
er geen oorlogen worden gevoerd om grondstoffen
er geen werk wordt uitbesteed naar arme landen, zodat de eigenaren nog dikkere winsten behalen
er geen zware sociale ongelijkheid meer bestaat
er geen corrupte meer bestaat
de banken de klanten geen poot meer uitdraaien en werken ten goede van de klant en de maatschappij in het geheel
de mens niet langer wordt vergiftigd middels voedselinname en ademhaling
de scholing voor een ieder gelijk is
iedereen toegang heeft tot een goede gezondheidszorg
men niet meer wordt belazerd met slechte producten en andere oplichterij
alsof de mens verlicht is en niet meer geestelijk wordt geknecht: -door religies, -valse voorlichting in scholing en manipulatie door de reguliere media en het grootste deel van de politieke richtingen…..
Tot slot: alsof er geen klassenmaatschappij meer bestaat………
Marx was voor een gelijke en fatsoenlijke behandeling van iedere wereldburger, waar geluk voor ieder mens prominent in zijn werk staan….. Dat is toch echt heel iets anders dan de mens als ‘werkmier’ neer te zetten….
Gisteren kwam het cijfer weer eens langs: de Nederlander leeft door de uitstoot van o.a. auto’s, vliegtuigen en kolencentrales 13 maanden korter. Dit cijfer werd eerder vorig jaar ook door Milieudefensie naar buiten gebracht en zou in feite een gemiddelde moeten zijn.
Als je 17 miljoen (Nederlanders) maal 13 maanden berekent kom je op 221 miljoen maanden uit, ofwel 18.416.666 jaar. Stel dat de gemiddelde Nederlander 70 jaar oud wordt, zou dit een aantal van 263.095 mensenlevens opleveren……..
Lijkt me aan de te hoge kant, maar stelt tegelijkertijd dat de bewering onzinnig is dat er nog geen 10.000 mensen per jaar overlijden ten gevolge van grote luchtverontreiniging waarin zij jaren hebben moeten leven……
Tot een aantal jaren geleden stelde men dat de luchtverontreiniging jaarlijks aan 18.000 mensen het leven kost, maar blijkbaar geschrokken van dit enorme aantal (ter vergelijking: aan roken sterven jaarlijks 20.000 mensen), heeft men dit aantal fiks naar beneden toe bijgesteld….. (zoals men de normen voor vervuiling of andere overlast verhoogt als dit economisch goed uitkomt >> neem de overlast voor de omwonenden van Schiphol en andere vliegvelden…..)
Echter als je de hiervoor opgenomen berekening in ogenschouw neemt, is 18.000 overlijdens jaarlijks aan de veel te lage kant!! Daarnaast kan je stellen dat (veel) rokers niet alleen aan hun kankerverwekkende verslaving overlijden, maar ook door de luchtvervuiling waar ze buiten, of in hun huis vlak langs de snelweg, jarenlang mee te maken hebben gehad…….
Toch doet de regering niets tegen het autogebruik, integendeel de snelheid is (en wordt nog) op veel snelwegen verhoogd naar 130 km/u. (en op delen van de snelweg waar maximaal 80 km/u. mag worden gereden werd en wordt deze verhoogd naar 100 km/u.)……….. Beide snelheidsverhogingen geven een aanmerkelijke verhoging van de uitstoot…..
Uitermate verontrustend is het feit dat het openbaar vervoer in Nederland nog steeds geen alternatief is voor de auto, het vervoer is in verhouding duurder dan een goede tweede hands auto rijden en is wat betreft de opstappunten en de tijden waarop wordt gereden al helemaal een sof vergeleken met autorijden……. Ook dit is te danken aan de kabinetten Rutte (en aan alle voorgaande kabinetten)…….
Voorts hebben de kabinetten Rutte 1, 2 en 3 ingezet op kolenenergie, dit daar de VS en Australië hun steenkool tegen afbraakprijzen dumpen op de wereldmarkt. De gascentrales staan uitgeschakeld en de kolencentrales draaien op vol vermogen (de opgewekte energie wordt zelfs geëxporteerd….)…. In de nieuwe centrales worden hele bossen uit de VS verstookt, om die bomen om te hakken, te verwerken en de transporten wordt ook nog eens een enorme berg luchtvervuiling geproduceerd…..
Ondanks het voorgaande besloot VVD opperhufter Kamp begin vorig jaar, aan het eind van zijn ministerschap, deze kolencentrales meer dan 4 miljard euro aan subsidie toe te kennen voor deze oplichterspraktijk (houtpellets verbranding in kolencentrales), een praktijk die de bestaande kolencentrales allesbehalve schoner maakt……..
Kortom: wij worden dag in dag uit besodemieterd en dat kost een groot aantal mensen vroegtijdig het leven, dit na een akelig en niet zelden lang ziekbed…….
Nogmaals: onze regering doet niets en de hysterie over roken heeft intussen ‘hoogten’ bereikt’ die voorheen nooit zijn gezien. Gisteren maakte ‘Christen’Unie staatssecretaris Blokhuis zich nog druk om een tabaksverwarmer van Philip Morris, deze moet onder hetzelfde anti-rook regime gaan vallen als de gewone sigaret…… Hierbij maakte Blokhuis gisteren op BNR (na 8.30 u.) de opmerking dat ook hij de tabak fiks duurder gaat maken…. ‘Leuk’ voor de arme roker, die toch al van dag tot dag in de financiële penarie zit, een toestand die de wil om te stoppen met roken volledig om zeep helpt……
Waarom komt Blokhuis niet met een enorme verhoging van de benzine- en dieselprijs, om nog maar te zwijgen over de stookolie t.b.v. zeeschepen (zoals het achterlijk grote aantal cruiseschepen die de wereld verkankeren met hun smerige uitstoot) en de niet belastte kerosine voor vliegtuigen…….. Gezien die 13 maanden korter leven is daar alle reden toe, waar voor velen het leven met veel meer dan 13 maanden wordt verkort….. (vergeet niet dat de Nederlandse luchtkwaliteit tot de slechtste van de EU behoort en dat jaarlijks ook nog eens een groot aantal kinderen long- en/of luchtwegklachten oploopt door diezelfde luchtvervuiling…..)
De hoogste tijd om het openbaar vervoer gratis te maken, waarbij de dienstverlening en bereikbaarheid gigantisch veel verbetering nodig heeft…… Uiteraard moeten de kolencentrales veel eerder worden gesloten dan het onzalige kabinet Rutte 3 heeft besloten, niet in 2030 maar in 2020!
Stop eindelijk met de onzalige prijsverhogingen voor tabaksproducten, de enigen die hiervan profiteren zijn de overheid en de georganiseerde misdaad, waar bij de laatste de kurken eraf gaan als er weer een prijsverhoging wordt aangekondigd…… Ofwel de regering en in dit geval m.n. Blokhuis lobbyt voor en handelt in het belang van de maffia!!
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Wednesday
