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	Turkish Government detains Academics for calling for reconciliation with Kurds by AFP, Guardian News, agencies Turkey   Mar. 2016 (AFP)   Turkish riot police have fired plastic bullets and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters who gathered outside an opposition newspaper the day after it was seized by authorities in a violent raid. "Free press cannot be silenced," the protesters shouted.   Police used tear gas, water cannons and plastic bullets to disperse the crowd of around 500 protesters outside the Istanbul premises of Zaman daily, witnesses said.   The Zaman newspaper with the largest circulation in Turkey, was critical of government policies and was linked to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan''s rival Fethullah Gulen, was ordered into administration by Istanbul prosecutors yesterday.   It today published a defiant warning of the "darkest days" in the history of the press after authorities seized control of its headquarters in a dramatic late-night raid by riot police.   "The Constitution is suspended," the newspaper, which managed to print its latest issue after the violent takeover, said on its front page.   "The Turkish press has experienced one of the darkest days in its history. "Turkey''s mass circulation newspaper was seized despite Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu''s assurance that ''free press is our redline''."   EU enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said he was "extremely worried" about the move "which jeopardises progress" made by Turkey in other areas.   "The EU has repeatedly stressed that Turkey, as a candidate country, needs to respect and promote high democratic standards and practices, including freedom of the media," the EU''s diplomatic service said in a statement.   "Free, diverse and independent media constitute one of the cornerstones of a democratic society by facilitating the free flow of information and ideas, and by ensuring transparency and accountability. "Any country, and in particular those negotiating EU accession, needs to guarantee fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, and due judicial process, in line with the European Convention on Human Rights."   The United States said the action against the newspaper was "the latest in a series of troubling judicial and law enforcement actions taken by the Turkish government targeting media outlets and others critical of it".   "We urge Turkish authorities to ensure their actions uphold the universal democratic values enshrined in their own constitution, including freedom of speech and especially freedom of the press," State Department spokesman John Kirby said.   The daily Cumhuriyet newspaper''s editor-in-chief Can Dundar and Ankara bureau chief Erdem Gul were released on an order from Turkey''s top court last week after three months in jail on charges of publishing "state secrets". But they still face trial on March 25.   Independent pro-Kurdish television channel IMC TV was taken off air in Turkey last weekend following accusations that it broadcast "terrorist propaganda" for militants.   Meanwhile almost 2,000 journalists, bloggers and ordinary citizens, including high school students, have found themselves prosecuted on accusations of insulting President Erdogan.   http://gfmd.info/en/site/news/942/Distinctive-political-choice-Journalist-Union-of-Turkey-gets-Silver-Rose-Award.htm http://www.sbs.com.au/news/dateline/story/enemy-state   Jan. 2016   Turkish Government detains Academics for calling for reconciliation with Kurds   Global outcry over academic freedom and human rights erupted following news on Friday that the Turkish government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrested at least 18 academics and scholars for signing an open letter last week calling for an end of Turkey''s conflict with the country''s Kurdish people who make up over 10% of the population.   The controversy has been elevated internationally by the involvement of Noam Chomsky and other high-profile academics who have also expressed public contempt for Turkey''s policies towards the Kurds as well as Erdogan''s double-standards on fighting "terrorism" both inside his own country and in neighboring Syria.   According to the Guardian: Police have detained at least 12 academics over alleged “terror propaganda” after they signed a petition together with more than 1,400 others calling for an end to Turkey’s “deliberate massacre and deportation of Kurdish people”.   In a crackdown, condemned by the US ambassador as “chilling”, police are also still processing the paperwork of nine other academics who also face arrest.   President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has severely criticized the signatories, including political scientist Noam Chomsky and the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, and called on the judiciary to act against their alleged treachery.   Prosecutors launched an investigation into the academics over possible charges of insulting the state and engaging in terrorist propaganda.   Staff from 90 Turkish universities calling themselves “Academicians for Peace” signed the petition last week calling for an end to the military campaign against the Kurds and accusing the government of breaching international law.   The state-run Anadolu Agency reported that 15 academics from Kocaeli University in northwestern Turkey and three from Uludag University in the neighboring province of Bursa were among those detained for questioning.   Chief Prosecutor Mustafa Kucuk accused the group of spreading terrorist propaganda and "insulting the moral integrity of the state." Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu implied the academics had chosen to "align" themselves with terrorists.   On Friday, students protested the arrests under the banner "don''t touch my teacher."   Citing signatories that asked not to be named, the Guardian reported that some of the academics who signed the petition have been the subject of a backlash by nationalist students and the government. One accused Erdogan of a launching a witch hunt against the group while denying charges that the letter demanding reconciliation with the Kurdish population, and re-committing to peace negotiations with the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), should be interpreted as "sympathizing with terrorists."   "Students and extreme rightwing groups have been circulating our pictures on social media or pamphlets, accusing us of being PKK terrorist teachers," said one. "They have said we won’t let you breathe in this city or this university. So the threats are very direct."   The petition letter signed by those now detained and posted online reads in part (see link below):   "The Turkish state has effectively condemned its citizens in Sur, Silvan, Nusaybin, Cizre, Silopi, and many other towns and neighborhoods in the Kurdish provinces to hunger through its use of curfews that have been ongoing for weeks. It has attacked these settlements with heavy weapons and equipment that would only be mobilized in wartime. As a result, the right to life, liberty, and security, and in particular the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment protected by the constitution and international conventions have been violated.   This deliberate and planned massacre is in serious violation of Turkey’s own laws and international treaties to which Turkey is a party. These actions are in serious violation of international law.   We demand the state to abandon its deliberate massacre and deportation of Kurdish and other peoples in the region. We also demand the state to lift the curfew, punish those who are responsible for human rights violations, and compensate those citizens who have experienced material and psychological damage. For this purpose we demand that independent national and international observers to be given access to the region and that they be allowed to monitor and report on the incidents.   Chomsky, the MIT linguistics professor and one of the world''s most prominent intellectuals, has been entangled in a very public debate with Erdogan an in recent days as he defended both the signers of the petition and its contents.   After Erdogan publicly invited Chomsky to visit the country and allow the government to "host" him with a tour of various regions, the suggestion was rebuffed. "If I decide to go to Turkey," Chomsky wrote in an email to the Guardian on Thursday, "it will not be on his invitation, but as frequently before at the invitation of the many courageous dissidents, including Kurds who have been under severe attack for many years."   Chomsky did not back down from his critiques of the Turkish government and echoed the message of the original letter by calling on authorities to end the deaths of the Kurdish people and lift the siege imposed on their communities. Chomsky also repeated his accusation that in addition to waging a war against his own people, Erdogan continues to bolster various military factions across the border in Syria, including ISIS and the al Nusra Front.   "Turkey blamed ISIS (for the recent attack in Istanbul), which Erdogan has been aiding in many ways, while also supporting the al-Nusra Front, which is hardly different," Chomsky wrote in his email. "He then launched a tirade against those who condemn his crimes against Kurds, who happen to be the main ground force opposing Isis in both Syria and Iraq. Is there any need for further comment?"   http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/15/turkey-rounds-up-academics-who-signed-petition-denouncing-attacks-on-kurds http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/14/chomsky-hits-back-erdogan-double-standards-terrorism-bomb-istanbul http://www.opendemocracy.net/stop-global-crackdown-on-academic-freedom-act-now Visit the related web page
	Five million Somalis now food insecure by Reliefweb, OHCHR, Civicus, agencies Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council   Sep 2016   Five million Somalis – more than 40 per cent of the country’s population – do not have sufficient food, according to a new assessment report released this week. This includes over 300,000 children under five who are acutely malnourished, including more than 50,000 children who are severely malnourished and more vulnerable than any other group.   The latest numbers represent an increase of 300,000 people who are food insecure since the last review in February 2016.   “Humanitarian partners are ready to scale up response to help families struggling to find food to make it through the day,” said Peter de Clercq, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.   “The Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan for 2016 is 32 per cent funded and additional resources are urgently required to boost response and on-going efforts to sustainably address malnutrition and access to food, including support to comprehensive durable solutions.”   According to the FAO-managed Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET), more than 1.1 million people cannot meet their daily food requirements today, while another 3.9 million Somalis require livelihood support to reduce the risk of sliding into crisis.   The food and nutrition situation particularly affects the estimated 1.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) who are highly vulnerable to natural hazards, disease outbreaks, exploitation and abuse, some displaced multiple times during the past two decades.   An estimated 58 per cent of people who are acutely food insecure are internally displaced, many living in appalling conditions in settlements spread throughout the country, facing the continuous risk of forced evictions, discrimination, violation of children’s rights and pervasive gender-based violence.   Efforts to reduce levels of vulnerabilities continue to be undermined by irregular weather patterns which have influenced the food and nutrition situation.   http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/five-million-somalis-now-food-insecure   Feb 2016   In Somalia, food security and malnutrition situation is ''alarming'' – UN report   According to a new United Nations food security and nutrition assessment, the situation in Somalia is alarming and could get worse, especially in parts of Puntland and Somaliland, which have been hard hit by drought exacerbated by El Niño.   “We are deeply concerned that the proportion of severely food insecure people remains alarmingly high, especially people who are unable to meet their daily food needs. Some 3.7 million people will be acutely food insecure through mid-2016. With severe drought conditions intensifying in Puntland and Somaliland, many more people risk relapsing into crisis,” said Peter de Clercq, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, in a press release.   Produced by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) managed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and in collaboration with Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), the report says the situation is critical and could get worse.   This latest assessment confirms persistently high and alarming levels of food insecurity and malnutrition in Somalia, with an estimated 4.7 million people – nearly 40 per cent of the Somali population – in need of humanitarian assistance.   Nearly 950,000 of these people are acutely food insecure and struggle every day to meet their food needs. Internally displaced people make up more than two thirds, or 68 per cent, of acutely food insecure people and are in dire need of assistance.   “The level of malnutrition, especially among children, is of serious concern, with nearly 305,000 children under the age of five years acutely malnourished. We estimate that 58,300 children face death if they are not treated. The drought could push these numbers higher in the months to come. We must act now. Partners are ready to scale up response, but funding is urgently needed to ensure this is done in a timely manner,” Mr. de Clercq added.   Jan 2016   Counter-Terrorism measures threaten money sent home by Somali Diaspora, by Ben Emmerson, Philip Alston, Bahame Nyanduga.   The vital flow of remittances from diaspora countries into Somalia is under threat as a result of necessary, but inadequately thought-through counter-terrorism measures.   United Nations human rights experts have warned that the measures risk severely affecting the human rights of the people of Somalia, and have urged the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Somalia to ensure that such remittances continue to flow.   There have been many recent reports of Somali diaspora having difficulties in sending remittances back home, in part because commercial banks in sending countries are closing the bank accounts of Somali money transfer operators (MTOs), in response to important, but stringent domestic and international regulations to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.   “Remittances are an essential lifeline for Somalis and the closure of MTO bank accounts risks further impoverishing an already desperate population,” the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, Philip Alston, said. “Somalis living abroad have little option but to use MTOs to transfer money home in the absence of a formal banking system in Somalia."   Somalia has a large diaspora living in foreign countries after decades of chaos and civil strife in the country. The Somali diaspora is estimated to send at least $ 1.2 billion per year in remittances to family members and friends in Somalia. That represents at least 20 per cent of the country’s GDP and is more than the total amount of foreign aid that Somalia receives.   “A decrease in remittances to Somalia may severely affect the human rights of people living in the country,” Mr. Alston said, noting that most of the money is used by families to cover basic household expenses, such as food, clothing, education, and medical care, according to a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).   “The human rights to adequate food, to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and even the right to life could be at stake, as remittances decrease,” he warned.   After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the United States and other countries strengthened their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism regulations and their enforcement. While such regulations are clearly necessary according to the United Nations experts, their perhaps unintended consequence has been that various commercial banks have responded to the increased regulatory risks and burdens of the regulations by refusing to do business with Somali MTOs altogether because they are considered too high-risk.   “While these regulations fulfill entirely legitimate objectives, their impact on the human rights of Somalis should be proportionate to those objectives,” the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Ben Emmerson, said.   “The Somali expatriates that send money home on a regular basis, and the millions of friends and family members in Somalia who ultimately depend on them, should not have to suffer for the limited number of cases in which remittances have ended up in the wrong hands,” Mr. Emmerson stressed.   “Governments have a duty to ensure that their laws provide an environment conducive to business respect for human rights,” noted human rights expert Dante Pesce, who currently heads the United Nations Working Group on business and human rights. “Despite several praiseworthy initiatives by governments involved, there appears to be a need for additional measures to safeguard the flow of remittances.”   The United Nations Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, Bahame Nyanduga, also made a special appeal to the Somali authorities: “The Government of Somalia, despite the constraints it faces, can also do more to develop its banking system, including by more adequate monitoring and oversight of the Somali banking sector.”   “At the end of the day, all governments concerned have a duty to make sure that legitimate funds can continue to flow to the people of Somalia, whose livelihoods stand to suffer if these remittances are curtailed.   This could undermine the political and economic stabilization process which has been painstakingly built in the last few years, a process which also hinges on the Somali people having confidence in a growing economy,” Mr. Nyanduga said.   The mandate-holders have been in contact with the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Somalia to raise their concern and seek clarification about this situation.   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/SRExtremePovertyIndex.aspx http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Terrorism/Pages/SRTerrorismIndex.aspx http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/885-million-needed-humanitarian-aid-somalia   More than 50 Organizations ask U.S. Treasury, State for Help with Access to Banking Services. (Civicus)   On February 25, 2016, 58 nonprofit organizations (NPOs), including umbrella groups with more than 300 member organizations, sent a letter to the U.S. Departments of Treasury and State asking them to convene a multi-stakeholder dialogue as part of a broader effort to ensure that registered, law-abiding NPOs are able to access the global financial system. The signatories to this letter represent more than $8.3 billion annually in humanitarian aid and services to the world’s most needy.   As banks face significant regulation and the threat of heavy fines for noncompliance in the anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist financing arena, their appetite for risk has diminished. Without positive incentives to offer services to NPOs, banks’ risk-reward calculation will continue to be weighted towards dropping clients they perceive as high-risk.   The impact of this “de-risking” trend on NPOs is significant. Increasingly, these groups find it difficult to access the financial services necessary to provide life-saving aid to people in global hot spots where the need is greatest. Banks may delay, or refuse to make, transfers between organizations. Sometimes, NPOs are turned away as customers or have their accounts closed. For example, one charity was unable to pay for fuel needed to supply power to a hospital in Syria because of the banks’ lengthy delays in transmitting funds. More recently, aid to refugees streaming into Europe was impacted by a charity’s inability to make international wire transfers.   The U.S. government has said that banks should not “de-risk” but that policy has not been translated into concrete action or regulatory standards that remove current disincentives for banks to provide services to international NPOs. As a result, money will be taken out of transparent, regulated channels, making life more difficult for legitimate NPOs and easier for terrorist financiers.   U.S. banking laws and policies have a global impact. This is evidenced by the large number of foreign NPOs who have signed the letter, explained Kay Guinane, director of the Charity & Security Network. In addition, many nonprofits around the world carry out work funded by U.S. government or UN grants. “Finding a solution to the problem should be a priority for Treasury and State, in order to support U.S. foreign policy goals,” Guinane noted.   http://www.civicus.org/index.php/en/media-centre-129/news-and-resources-127/2365-more-than-50-organizations-ask-u-s-treasury-state-for-help-with-access-to-banking-services Visit the related web page
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